Hong Kong: National security tops agenda: CE

The Government will take forward numerous measures to safeguard national security in a comprehensive manner, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said.

Presenting her 2021 policy blueprint today, Mrs Lam said there is still a substantial amount of work for the Government, including the enactment of local legislation to implement Basic Law Article 23 in Hong Kong.

The Secretary for Security is drawing up effective and pragmatic proposals and provisions, and formulating effective publicity programmes to prevent those who are opposed to China and attempt to destablise Hong Kong from taking advantage of the situation to mislead the public with ill intentions, she added.

In addition, the Government will step up national security education and raise lawabiding awareness of Hong Kong people, in particular the youth, through different activities and approaches.

The Chief Executive said the six disciplined services and the two auxiliary services have committed to enhancing their work in helping young people develop positive thinking.

The Government will also address issues on combating fake news and ensuring cyber security, and strengthen counter-terrorism preparedness and response capability.

Improving electoral system

On improving polling arrangements, Mrs Lam said the Constitutional & Mainland Affairs Bureau will work closely with the Electoral Affairs Commission to ensure that the upcoming Legislative Council and Chief Executive elections are conducted in a fair, open and honest manner in accordance with the law, thereby fully implementing the principle of patriots administering Hong Kong.

Turning to public education on the Constitution, Basic Law and National Security Law, the Chief Executive noted that the Citizenship & Social Development subject has been introduced to replace the Liberal Studies subject starting from Secondary 4 in the current school year.

To enable teachers to have a better grasp of the issues, Mrs Lam said she has proposed to give a class to teachers who are interested.

Strengthening public education

More channels should be provided for public education work. Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK), as a public service broadcaster, should play an active role in promoting the Constitution and the Basic Law, so as to fulfil its public purposes and mission under the Charter of RTHK, which include promoting public understanding of the implementation of one country, two systems in Hong Kong, as well as engendering a sense of citizenship and national identity.

In this regard, I have expressly requested the Director of Broadcasting to follow up, she added.

The Chief Executive also highlighted the importance of improving the executive-legislative relationship so that LegCo can better perform its role in conveying public opinions.

The Government will announce 40 legislative proposals for early discussion at the community level.

Mrs Lam said: Many of these proposals have taken on board the views raised by incumbent members in the past, including introducing mandatory reporting for child abuse prevention, streamlining the statutory procedures for land development, and strengthening regulation over the service quality of residential care homes for the elderly and people with disabilities.

All secretaries of departments and directors of bureaus will enhance communication with lawmakers to achieve good administration and governance, she added.

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Hong Kong: New boost for HK economy

The Government plans to improve its listing regime, expand its offshore RMB business and grow green finance.

Delivering her Policy Address, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said Hong Kong is ready for a new start for economic development as the implementation of the National Security Law has restored stability in society.

We shall leverage the central governments support to enhance our competitiveness as the eight international centres or hubs charted in the 14th FiveYear Plan with a view to building a brighter future for Hong Kong.

She said despite the unprecedented challenges over the past two years, Hong Kongs financial system has remained stable and business has been vibrant.

HKs role more significant

Hong Kongs role as a bridge for international investors to access the Mainland market and Mainland funds reaching out to the international market will be all the more significant.

Mrs Lam said the central government has reiterated support for Hong Kong to further promote mutual financial market access with the Mainland, develop offshore RMB business, strengthen its position as an international asset management centre and develop into a green finance centre in the Greater Bay Area.

In this connection, the Government will step up its efforts in enhancing the citys listing regime. It will also assess the feasibility of developing Hong Kong into a regional carbon trading centre.

As for RMB business, the Government will expand the channels for the two-way flow of cross-boundary RMB funds and develop offshore RMB products. Tax cuts will be considered for luring family offices to establish a presence in Hong Kong.

To boost Hong Kongs status as an international transportation centre, the Government will develop a Smart Port and promote wider application of digital technology in maritime and port operations.

Turning to the convention and exhibition industry which was negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Mrs Lam said the Convention & Exhibition Industry Subsidy Scheme will be extended to the end of next year.

Noting that for the first time, the 14th Five-Year-Plan has stated support to develop Hong Kong into a regional intellectual property trading centre, the Chief Executive said a series of initiatives will be implemented to promote the development of IP trading in Hong Kong.

The Government also plans to revive the Copyright Ordinance amendment exercise and consult the public on modernising the copyright regime in the light of the digital environment, aiming to introduce an amendment bill in the next term of the Legislative Council.

Safeguarding business environment

Mrs Lam said Hong Kong is a free, open and diversified economy and a metropolis that attracts talent and organisations from all over the world.

Following the implementation of the National Security Law for a period of time, it appears initial concerns of foreign businesses have significantly subsided.

In the latest annual surveys, both the number of business operations in Hong Kong with parent companies overseas or on the Mainland and the number of startups reached an all-time high of 9,049 and 3,755 this year.

It can be seen that our business environment has not been underminded by the impact of the pandemic and the biased reports of Hong Kongs situation by certain Western media, she added.

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South Africa: Govt assesses state of wastewater treatment plants

The Department of Water and Sanitation says it has begun assessing wastewater treatment plants in several municipalities across the country.

This follows the recent relaunch of the Blue and Green Drop Certification Programmes, which advocate for excellent drinking water and wastewater quality management.

The department on Tuesday said the assessments are mainly for the Green Drop Certification Programme, which is aimed at ensuring that municipalities improve their maintenance and management of wastewater infrastructure.

The Green Drop assessments will be conducted at 963 wastewater systems and will be finalised by February 2022.

What we look for during these assessments are effluent and sludge quality compliance; the environmental, technical management, financial provision for operations and maintenance of the infrastructure, among other things, said the departments acting Chief Director Siboniso Mkhaliphi.

Mkhaliphi said to assess the maintenance capacity of wastewater systems, Water Services Institutions (WSIs) are required to provide evidence of a maintenance team used for general maintenance work at the plant and pump stations. They are also required to provide evidence of proof of competency of the team.

The reason for this is that the lifespan of the infrastructure partly depends on professionals who know what they are doing when carrying out operations and maintenance. Most importantly, the department has financially supported many WSIs in refurbishing wastewater treatment plants, Mkhaliphi said.

Mkhaliphi said at times, the infrastructure funded by the department often collapses due to poor operations and maintenance.

So these assessments are also meant to protect the taxpayers money, he said.

Ineffective maintenance often results in sewer blockages, which has dire negative health effects for residents and the environment.

While admitting that the main source of pollution in communities comes from wastewater treatment works (WWTWs) due to sewer blockages, poor operations and maintenance as well as those operating above design capacity, Mkhaliphi sent a stern warning to residents who also contribute to the malfunctioning of such infrastructure.

There are people who still flush foreign objects such as newspapers, disposable nappies and sanitary towels.

These may not block your drain in your household, but they impact negatively on wastewater treatment works and when the infrastructure fails, it is the same communities that cry foul.

As a department, we encourage municipalities to strengthen their bylaws because we do not enforce the bylaws. However, we will not hesitate to take steps against municipalities to ensure such environmental crimes are accounted for, he said.

Mkhaliphi said the other main source of pollution is from mining operations resulting in problems of acid mine drainage, especially in mining provinces.

The last Green Drop and Blue Drop reports were published in 2013 and 2014 respectively. The department is presently undertaking a full Green Drop audit and Blue Drop partial assessment in 2021.

A full Blue Drop audit and a Green Drop partial assessment will only happen in 2022.

Green Drop Certification is awarded to wastewater systems that obtain scores of 90% when compared against the criteria set for wastewater management.

This mainly assists Water Services Authorities to strive for improvement in their management of wastewater as part of the incentive-based regulation approach.

The department uses its regulatory and support arms to identify challenges and address them as early as practically possible, ideally before any emergency situation. The role of the Blue and Green Drops are key in this process.

We call on residents to play their part and stop flushing objects which shouldnt be flushed down the drains. Wastewater treatments works are built to handle human waste and nothing else.

We all have a responsibility to ensure our WWTWs perform optimally, and this can be achieved if we do what is right, Mkhaliphi said.  SAnews.gov.za

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South Africa: Well-trained, motivated teachers key to effective school system

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga has encouraged teachers to make winning a habit not just for one's individual satisfaction, but for the pursuance of excellence in teaching.

Motshekga was addressing the 21st National Teaching Awards (NTA) at Emperors Palace in Kempton Park on Wednesday.

The annual awards are hosted by the Department of Basic Education to recognise and celebrate outstanding educators who, often under challenging circumstances, remain committed to their noble craft and produce extraordinary outcomes.

Motshekga has applauded all teachers in the public sector and beyond for making the task of raising conscientious children possible.

Your relentless commitment to the national cause of educating the young ones gives all of us strength and, of course, pride. I hope this glitzy NTA affair of today will spur more excellence in the sector, especially in the foundation phase teaching of literacy and numeracy, the Minister said.

Motshekga said teaching has to be done right to avoid a generational catastrophe of adults without a future.

She said a review by the World Bank (2012) showed that teacher effectiveness is one of the most critical school-based predictors of student learning.

Interestingly, research confirms that experience is irreplaceable. Several years of teaching by outstanding teachers can offset the learning deficits of disadvantaged students.

A range of studies exploring what makes school systems effective has looked for common characteristics in the top-performing education systems. All found that the key is well trained and motivated teachers, Motshekga said.

The Minister said the key strategies that researchers have identified for improving student outcomes centre on developing a quality teacher workforce.

As a sector, through various initiatives, including the much-vaunted Funza Lushaka Bursary Scheme and our world-class research intensive universities, we do offer the best in initial teacher training. There are also many opportunities to further university studies while in employment, and I am happy to say our teachers are truly lifelong learners, she said.

Mosthekga said during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers have shown sustained resilience.

The Minister saluted and praised teachers for always going beyond the call of duty to succeed amidst social ills and socio-economic challenges.

Most teachers tell me that they play the role of caregiver, mother, father, counsellor, friend and godparent on any typical day to many of our learners from troubled homes and communities. Your toils in the service of our nation cannot go unnoticed, Motshekga said.  SAnews.gov.za

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South Africa: ICASA allocates timeslots for party election broadcasts

With the date for the municipal elections rapidly approaching, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA/the Authority) is readying itself to ensure equitable treatment for the election messages of all political parties and independent candidates on both public and community broadcasting platforms.

In line with Section 57 of the Electronic Communications Act, the Authority will allocate timeslots for party election broadcasts (PEBs) to ensure fair coverage for all political parties and independent candidates during the election period, ICASA said on Wednesday.

The allocation of PEB slots will take place on Friday at the Protea Hotel, Midrand from 9am.

The Authority will apply a hybrid model of engagement to allocate PEB slots to contesting political parties and independent candidates. The allocation will therefore be held both virtually and in-person (with a limited number of political party and independent candidate representatives in attendance).

The elections are a very important event in the history of the country, and it is very critical that, as the Authority, we should ensure that the public is able to make informed decisions in terms of who they want to elect as their political representatives especially at the local sphere of government which plays a key role in the delivery of essential services to communities, ICASA Chairperson, Dr Keabetswe Modimoeng, said.

Modimoeng has urged all political parties and independent candidates contesting the upcoming municipal elections to work with ICASA on this allocation process and to comply with the regulations.

Our regulations are carefully crafted to ensure equitable treatment of political parties and independent candidates during the election period, and we urge all stakeholders, including broadcasters, to support this process and comply with the regulations. The regulations are a basis on which we would ensure that every contesting political party and independent candidate receives coverage, and that they are able to share with the electorate what they can do for them as their representatives at local government level, Modimoeng said.

The Chairperson will be on SABC Morning Live, DSTV Channel 404 on Thursday, at 8:40am to unpack how the allocation process will unfold. SAnews.gov.za

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South Africa: Work to complete digital migration project underway

Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, has established a Project Steering Committee to ensure the country meets its deadline to complete the broadcast digital migration project.

Addressing a media briefing on Tuesday, the Minister said the committee is constituted by chief executive officers and technology executives of all affected and participating stakeholders.

The Steering Committee is chaired by the Minister and meets on a fortnightly basis to lead the switchover process.

I have also appointed a project manager to oversee the digital migration and analogue switch off (ASO) process. We will report to the Cabinet on a monthly basis and update the nation about the progress at least once a month, Ntshavheni said.

Cabinet recently approved the revised integrated analogue switch-off implementation plan, which is a schedule to complete the remaining areas by March 2022.

Cabinet has approved the adoption of a Managed Integrated Model that actively involves all broadcast media players to contribute to ramping up the Set-Top Box (STB) installation capacity through the use of their boxes to ensure rapid reach.

The broadcasters and Sentech will continue to use local installers as part of the small, micro, or medium enterprise (SMME) development. The department has started engagements with industry players and enterprise development entities including funders on additional opportunities and enterprise development support that could be made available to these installers amongst others, the Minister said.

Government has shifted from a staggered provincial approach towards a consolidated national approach, where STB installations and ASO will happen simultaneously in all nine provinces.

The government undertook to assist beneficiary households (households earning total salary of less than R3500 per month) with installation of set-top-boxes to ensure universal migration, the Minister said.

The process of registering beneficiary households to be supported commenced in 2015. To date 1.184 million qualifying households have been registered out of the estimated 3.75 million qualifying households (as per Stats SA 2018 data).

Since the inception of the Broadcasting Digital Migration (BDM) programme, 556 954 beneficiary households have been migrated from the current total of 1.184 million. In addition, almost 10.5 million households out of just over 14 million TV households (2018 Stats SA estimates) self-migrated through private satellite boxes, the Minister said.

To date, Sentech has been able to switch off all (84 sites) Multichoice analogue transmissions, 105 out of 288 (37%) South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) analogue transmissions and four of the 95 (4%) eTV analogue transmissions.

South African citizens who are still receiving television services directly from an Aerial/Antenna that get mounted on a pole and do not have set-top box or smart TV set, should find themselves a set-top box or a smart TV to be able to receive digital television

A set-top box is a device that enables you to receive digital television services, they can be accessed from the South African Post Office and various retailers across the country, the Minister said.

Cabinet approved a last call for registration with a cut-off date of 31 October 2021, for government assistance with the STB installation.

We call upon all eligible households to register at the nearest Post Office on or before the 31st October 2021 to receive government assistance for your STB installation. We are also finalising a registration app and the details will be announced in the near future.

You will not be affected by the analogue switch-off, if you are already receiving your television through DSTV, OVHD, Telkom-One, StarSat and any other streaming platforms or you have a digital tv, the Minister said. SAnews.gov.za

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South Africa: SADC renews military intervention in Mozambique

President Cyril Ramaphosa says the Southern African Development Community will continue to support Mozambique in its efforts to fight terrorism in the States Cabo Delgado province.

This as SADC convened an Extraordinary Summit of the Organ Troika of the Heads of State and Government where it agreed to continue its military mission to curb insurgency and violence in that country.

Mozambiques Cabo Delgado region in the north of the country has faced instability since 2017.

This came into sharp focus in March this year when an alleged Islamist extremist militant group raided the oil-rich town of Palma, where an unknown number of people were killed, including 112 people who were brutally beheaded, with thousands of others forced to flee.

In his closing address to the summit, President Ramaphosa reiterated the regions commitment to securing peace in that country following SADCs intervention in July this year.

We say that Mozambique will never walk alone. We will always be there to walk with Mozambique and indeed SADC as a family is determined to walk with any of its member countries whenever the need arises.

President Ramaphosa said although the military mission has recorded some gains, more still needs to be done to help Mozambique secure the area.

Progress has been made and we have been able, as a region, to make a meaningful contribution in securing and helping to secure peace and security in Mozambique as we continue to do so.

Whilst progress has been registered in the operation of the SADC missionmore ground will still need to be covered. The coming few months are therefore going to be critical in shaping the future trajectory of the SADC intervention in the districts of Cabo Delgado.

In a communique, the SADC announced that it will not only continue SADCs military mission  which was due to expire this month  but also provide humanitarian support.

According to the United Nations Refugee Agency, nearly 70 000 people are in need of this support as they have been displaced since fleeing the area in March - bringing the total number of those displaced since 2020 to nearly 800 000.

[The] summit approved the extension of the [mission] to continue with offensive operations against terrorists and violent extremists to consolidate stability of security and create a conducive environment for resettlement of the population and facilitate humanitarian assistance operations and sustainable development, the communique said.  SAnews.gov.za

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South Africa: SMMEs encouraged to enter Eskom competition

Investing in small businesses is critical to stimulating the countrys economic growth and alleviating poverty.

This is according to Eskom Development Foundation Chief Executive, Cecil Ramonotsi.

In support of small businesses, Eskom is encouraging small business owners to enter the power utilitys Business Investment Competition which closes at the end of this month.

The annual competition targets black-owned small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs).

This year, as many young black entrepreneurs as possible with registered businesses that are two years or older are encouraged to participate. Youth-owned enterprises require major investment and mentorship. Thus, Eskom focuses on boosting, rewarding, and empowering growing businesses.

In the South African context, development of black entrepreneurs is key to bolstering the countrys socio-economic growth and alleviating the prevailing poverty, crime, domestic violence, and other challenges within our communities, Ramonotsi said.

Entry requirements for the competition include 100% black owned small businesses that operate in the engineering, construction, manufacturing, agriculture and agri-processing or trade and services sectors.

Prize money of at least R300 000 is up for grabs for the overall winner with R131 250 for winners in different sectors.

The first and second runners-up will each receive R75 000 and R50 000.

Ramonotsi added that public and private investment in SMMEs would go a long way to ensure sustainable and inclusive economic growth, particularly in the townships and other marginalised communities.

Eskom is well aware of the concerted effort required to ensure inclusive economic participation. Our 2021 Business Investment Competition is intended to support black youth entrepreneurs with access to finance, as well as through skills and capacity building so that they are able to pivot the harsh economic environment brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

The Business Investment Competition is open for entries and will close at midnight on 31 October, 2021.

Enter at www.eskombic2021.co.za or email Grounded Media at bic@groundedmedia.co.za for support and assistance.  SAnews.gov.za

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South Africa: Nxesi encourages employees, public to vaccinate

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President Cyril Ramaphosa says the dedication and commitment of teachers drives social development and fosters inclusive economic growth. Working at times under difficult circumstances, our teachers are examples of resilience, excellence and professionalism, President Ramaphosa said. He was addressing the 21st National Teaching Award... See more
South Africa: Women empowerment key to job creation and fight against GBV

South Africas vision of an equal and just society will remain elusive if women continue to shoulder the greatest burden of poverty; struggle to start businesses and face discrimination in the workplace.

This is the sentiment shared by President Cyril Ramaphosa who was speaking in the inaugural Women Economic Assembly (WECONA)  an initiative to facilitate the participation of women-owned businesses in core areas of the economy.

While there is significant progress in some areas, the first citizen acknowledged that South Africa has not fundamentally transformed patterns of ownership, control and benefit in the economy.

The empowerment of women is, therefore, an integral part of our effort to achieve inclusive growth, create jobs and expand economic opportunities for all, he said on Wednesday.

Procurement

He reminded guests that the national government has allocated R21 billion to implement the National Strategic Plan over the next few years which is dedicated to economic empowerment programmes.

Every government department, public institution and private company can and should implement mechanisms to fast-track preferential procurement for women-owned enterprises.

In addition, the current public procurement accounts for 9% of gross domestic product, which is about R500 billion annually, of which 12% went to women-owned enterprises in the first and second quarters of 2021.

However, he said as government expands procurement opportunities for women in government, it would never be enough to answer the need.

Business, as the key driver of economic growth and employment, needs to step forward, he said, adding that business needs to intentionally use industry value and supply chains as key tools for economic transformation.

Through value chain transformation, we can promote the development of small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) owned by women, youth and black people.

By allowing them to produce value-added goods and services, the President said companies enable SMMEs to attract investment and employ more people. He highlighted six targets that are needed to advance through these commitments and plans.

These includes increasing the number of women-owned enterprises within the sector, establishing an ecosystem of support for female business owners and employment of women and youth with set targets. In addition, he said rebuilding township and rural economies in an inclusive manner, creating an enabling policy environment and encouraging similar commitments in related industries, was also key.

If effectively implemented by all stakeholders, our actions will benefit not only the women of this country, but the whole economy through employment creation, increased production capacity and accelerated economic growth.

The President said he would also like to see more women entrepreneurs trained in compliance and registration, procurement and regulatory framework, financial literacy, marketing and access to markets and finance and growth opportunities.

Underrepresentation

President Ramaphosa lamented the underrepresentation of women in almost every part of the economy and as owners in key industries like steel, energy, mining and agriculture.

Meanwhile, women continue to bear the brunt of an unemployment rate, which is nearly 37%, compared to 32% among men.

In addition, the President said, womens median monthly earnings were 76% of those of men in 2018.

He believed that these disparities not only lead to an imbalanced economy, but also contribute to gender inequality in society.

The President told delegates that 42% of children live only with their mother, compared to 4% who live only with their father.

Meanwhile, he raised his concern at the reasons given by children aged seven to 18 years for not attending school. He said 17% of females cited family commitments, while only 0.3% of males did.

The President called on every sector of society to roll up their sleeves and get involved in the process of social transformation.

Government is playing its part by prioritising women economic empowerment as one of the pillars of the National Strategic Plan of Gender-Based Violence and Femicide.

By improving the economic circumstances of women, we are reducing their vulnerability to abuse and violence. By being less economically dependent on male partners, women have a better chance of leaving an abusive relationship, he stressed.  SAnews.gov.za

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Hong Kong: Northwestern rail link essential: CE

(To watch the full press conference with sign language interpretation, click here.)

The proposed rail link between the northwestern part of Hong Kong and Qianhai in Shenzhen is necessary as the Government strives to create land for development.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam made the remarks at a press conference on the Policy Address this afternoon, explaining the importance of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Railway that will link up Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen and Qianhai.

The link is one of the five railway projects proposed to form the backbone of the Northern Metropolis plan unveiled today by Mrs Lam.

In order to create land for development and in order to ensure that there will be an easier flow of people and goods, you need good transport connectivity.

To suggest that we do not need this connection between Hung Shui Kiu and Qianhai, I am afraid you are going against public opinion.

Everybody who talks about the opportunities of Shenzhen and Qianhai for Hong Kong has been urging the Government to commit to this rail link.

The Chief Executive added that it will take only 10 to 15 minutes for Hung Shui Kiu residents to travel to Qianhai via the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Railway, and vice versa.

This is not a very long railway. If you look at the map, it becomes very logical that we should have a connection between the northwestern part of Hong Kong, that is Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen, Lau Fau Shan and Qianhai because it is just across the bay.

It is about 5km. It will take 10 minutes maybe, if there is a railway connection. It will take 10 to 15 minutes for a Hong Kong resident living in Hung Shui Kiu to go to work in Qianhai and vice versa.

That is the importance and significance of this rail link. Without which, you would have to travel by car via the Shenzhen expressway, go into the boundary control point and then travel through the roads in Shenzhen to reach Qianhai. That is the difference.

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RTHK: Pope expresses 'shame' at French sex abuse scandal

Pope Francis on Wednesday expressed personal shame at the sexual abuse by French Catholic clergy, after the scale of the problem was laid bare in a devastating report.

An independent commission on Tuesday revealed that French Catholic clergy had sexually abused at least 330,000 minors since 1950, a "massive phenomenon" that was covered up by a "veil of silence".

The years-long inquiry and 2,500-page report came as the Catholic Church continues to face huge numbers of abuse claims and prosecutions across the world.

"I wish to express to the victims my sadness and pain for the trauma they have suffered," he said during his weekly audience at the Vatican.

"And also my shame, our shame, my shame for the inability of the Church for too long to put them at the centre of its concerns."

Dealing with the avalanche of revelations about sexual abuse by clergy was one of the biggest challenges that Francis faced when he was elected pope in 2013.

He declared an end to impunity and changed Vatican law to make reporting abuse mandatory, but victims have warned it is not enough.

On Wednesday, he urged the clergy to keep working to ensure such situations were not repeated, offering support to French priests to face up to "this trial that is hard but healthy".

The pontiff, who prayed with four French bishops on Wednesday, invited French Catholics to "assume their responsibilities to ensure that the Church is a safe home for all".

French President Emmanuel Macron praised the Church on Wednesday for facing up to the issue with the report and apology.

"I hope that this work can continue in a clear-sighted and calm manner," he told reporters at an EU meeting in Slovenia.

"There is a need for truth and reparation," he said. (AFP)

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South Africa: Building a resilient economy

Minister in the Presidency, Mondli Gungubele, says the second Sustainable Infrastructure Development Symposium of South Africa (SIDSSA21) is intended to contribute to industrialisation and job creation as envisaged in the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan.

The interventions identified will boost demand and ensure effective coordination of all infrastructure players and it will also formalise systematic engagements of all the role players. It is envisaged that these interventions will contribute to building a resilient economy by accelerating the delivery of infrastructure, the Minister said on Wednesday.

He was addressing a media briefing on SIDSSA21 where he unpacked the thematic focus areas of the symposium and, by extension, the 2021 infrastructure pipeline.

The SIDSSA21 is focused on three focal areas as they have critical relevance to our country and to sustainable infrastructure delivery, namely development, which relates to development and delivery of infrastructure and the development of our people through infrastructure delivery, the Minister said.

The symposium will also focus on the recovery of the economy through infrastructure delivery as well inclusive growth, which relates to redressing spatial imbalances between urban and rural areas through infrastructure delivery programmes.

The entire population should be included in the benefits associated with the infrastructure investment and subsequent gross fixed capital formation, he said.

Since SIDSSA20, government has embarked on visits to all nine provinces to ensure that the infrastructure pipeline of the country includes all the provincial infrastructure priorities as well.

Our plans today will speak of the key progress and success areas, which further boosted the funding and investment case for the projects. One of these projects was South Africas emergence as a global exporter of green energy with major investment support from Sasol and Anglo American giving boost to the countrys green hydrogen projects.

Water infrastructure projects with the potential of achieving savings in excess of R400 billion and massive job creation possibilites are also set to benefit from the infrastructure initiative.

Transport programmes like the N2 Wild Coast development, which brings development, and job opportunities are also involved.

The programme also covers 18 long-standing strategic integrated projects focusing on social and economic infrastructure to assess progress and apply remedies where necessary to fast-track their implementation, Gungubele said.

Areas the symposium will tackle are on increasing infrastructure funding in the face of low economic growth, limited private sector participation and constraints on public borrowing as well as the role of investment attraction and retention strategies, regulatory reforms and critical skills.

Digital enablement also features on the agenda and delegates will take a look at the socio-political factors that impact on infrastructure provision and maintenance.

The two-day symposium is organised by the Investment and Infrastructure Office in the Presidency.

It is taking place under the theme: Quality infrastructure for development, recovery and inclusive growth.

The Minister said the symposium is preceded by a series of targeted engagements aimed at soliciting important feedback from financing institutions on potential projects for showcasing at the symposium on funding in the short to medium term.

The sessions are also able to give an indication of projects that will still need project preparation, he said.  SAnews.gov.za

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South Africa: Gauteng, Northern Cape and Sasol sign groundbreaking memoranda on green hydrogen

Chemicals and energy giant Sasol has announced a first-of-its-kind memorandum of agreement with the Northern Cape government to conduct a two-year feasibility study for a landmark green hydrogen project in the provinces Boegoebaai.

Another memorandum of agreement has also been signed with the Gauteng provincial government.

The announcement was made by Sasols Vice President for Energy Business Priscillah Mabelane, at the second annual Sustainable Infrastructure Development Symposium of South Africa (SIDSSA) on Wednesday.

According to Mabelane, the project in the Northern Cape could potentially produce at least 400 kilo tons of hydrogen every year.

The project underpins the province's Green Hydrogen strategy - a precursor to the country's Green Hydrogen strategy.

A project of this magnitude has the potential to create up to 6000 direct jobs  generating much needed socio-economic benefits including creating further indirect jobs across the ecosystem. We are very excited to be leading this feasibility study as part of unlocking South Africas ambition to a global green hydrogen export player, she said.

With countries moving towards lowering carbon emissions, hydrogen  which only emits water vapour when used  is considered to be the fuel of the future but large scale use of hydrogen was hampered because of the need to burn fossil fuels when extracting it.

Now countries such as South Africa, which have great potential and access to renewable energy resources, are able to produce clean hydrogen without the need to burn any fuel which can potentially place them as leading players in a green hydrogen economy.

This, Mabelane said, gives South Africa immense potential to benefit from the green economy.

South Africas total green hydrogen potential could reach four to seven million tons by 2050 with over three million tons of export opportunity. This catalyses the roll out of more than 50GW of renewable energy for South Africa, contributing more than R100 billion per annum to our economy and creating more than 370 000 jobs to 2050.

Mabelane added that as part of Sasols approach to developing a hydrogen economy, the company has established several partnerships  including signing a memorandum of agreement with the Gauteng government.

We signed a memorandum with the Gauteng provincial government to leverage special economic zones. These have been earmarked as enablers to unlock South Africas green hydrogen market potential for domestic use such as mobility, revitalisation of the steel industry and sustainable aviation fuel, particularly at OR Tambo [International Airport], she said.

Head of Infrastructure and Investment in the Presidency, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, said the memoranda of agreement are an indication of South Africas commitment to lowering the countrys carbon emissions.

Green hydrogen is the 21st century oil and its going to contribute in the agenda of the country as led by [Environment, Forestry and Fisheries] Minister Barbara Creecy of making sure that we meet our obligations with regard to our nationally determined contribution, the net zero [carbon emissions] path that we have articulated and it should constitute part of the totality of submission when we go to [the United Nations Climate Change conference], he said.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2021-10-06. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
South Africa: SIDSSA 2021 projects to create over 538 500 job opportunities

Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Patricia de Lille, has unveiled 55 new projects with some 538 500 estimated employment opportunities at the Sustainable Infrastructure Development Symposium South Africa (SIDSSA).

Speaking at the symposium held on Wednesday, the Minister said she was presenting the second round of 55 projects for SIDSSA 2021 to raise funding to get these projects into construction.

The 55 new projects being presented to the market are from various sectors valued at around R595 billion with a funding gap of around R441 billion.

One of the projects I am very proud being presented this year is the private sector Maitland Metro Precinct Development in Cape Town which is already in construction with the first units expected to be completed in November this year, de Lille said.

The Minister said that during her visit at the site of this integrated, affordable, well-located human settlements development a few weeks ago, she realised that the teams are moving fast to get the project completed and bring affordable housing to gap the market in Cape Town.

The private sector project will see around 1 200 new residential units being developed for the rental, social housing and FLISP market targeting low to middle income earners.

Progress since last SIDSSA

De Lille said that over the past 15 months good progress has been made with a greater impetus on infrastructure development since the 2020 SIDSSA.

On 23 June 2020, President Cyril Ramaphosa held the inaugural SIDSSA where 62 projects were pitched to the market.

These projects form the Infrastructure Investment Plan which was approved by Cabinet in May 2020.

The projects were pitched to the market at last years SIDSSA where we were able to raise R340 billion in funding commitments from the private sector which helped to take the pressure off the struggling fiscus, de Lille said.

The past year also saw the establishment of Infrastructure South Africa (ISA) headed by Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa as the single entry point for all infrastructure projects in the country.

ISA is the administrative arm responsible for monitoring and tracking the implementation of the projects in the Infrastructure Investment Plan, raising funding and assisting with project preparation to ensure that projects carry less risk upfront.

De Lille said that following SIDSSA last year, they have also operationalised the R100 billion Infrastructure Fund with R10 billion committed from government over a ten-year period as a blended financing instrument to crowd in additional private sector finance to grow the countrys infrastructure programme.

We have established various governance structures including the Investment Infrastructure Committee which approves the pipeline of projects that lend themselves to blended finance, she said.

The Infrastructure Fund manages a pipeline of more than R80 billion rand, providing the seed funding for these projects and crowding in investors through blended finance innovative approaches.

To date, the infrastructure investment committee has approved a number of projects that will be funded through the infrastructure fund.

De Lille has called on government and the private sector to work closer together to disrupt the old way of doing things.

We need to quickly address policy reforms, raise the necessary funding to get infrastructure delivery done right for the sake of our economy and our people who not only need infrastructure in their daily lives but desperately need jobs, she said.

The symposium will continue tomorrow under the theme: Quality infrastructure for development, recovery and inclusive growth.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2021-10-06. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Hong Kong: Islands' reclamation key to supply

(To watch the full press conference with sign language interpretation, click here.)

Chief Executive Carrie Lam today said the Government cannot forgo the Kau Yi Chau Artificial Islands reclamation as it is quite a big share of the housing supply in the next 20 to 25 years.

Elaborating on her Policy Address at a press conference this afternoon, Mrs Lam said the Government expects to provide more than one million housing units in the next 20 to 25 years, with the Kau Yi Chau Artificial Islands making up a large part of this figure.

She noted that there are inevitably objections to the Government's reclamation plans, but it needed to press ahead if Hong Kong was to move forward.

Of course in Hong Kong, there will be people disagreeing with anything we want to do. If we want to reclaim (land), they say "no". If we want to touch the country park, (they say) "no". Now we are going into some of the wetlands and fish ponds, they will say "no".

But at the end of the day, common sense prevails and rationality prevails. Do we want Hong Kong to move forward? If we want (that) then the Government has to be far more decisive and determined in order to press ahead with the various developments despite some objections. I do not think there is a lot of resistance.

The Chief Executive also noted that revenue generated from the islands' reclamation could help support other town planning purposes.

On the financial side, time and again, the real estate professionals have shown to Hong Kong people that this is a money-making business because the land to be reclaimed, formed and sold will generate a huge revenue for the Government not only to pay off the infrastructure but also to go into the government treasury to support other activities.

And on top of that, the Lantau Tomorrow Vision project, particularly the Kau Yi Chau Artificial Islands' reclamation will meet other town planning purposes. It will give us a third central business district of Hong Kong with about four million sq m, which is about the size of the entire Kowloon East office space, four million sq m. It will improve the road and rail connectivity between Hong Kong Island, Lantau Island and the northwestern part of the New Territories.

This story has been published on: 2021-10-06. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
South Africa: Infrastructure projects get the greenlight

Infrastructure investment in South Africa has made significant strides in the current financial year, with four projects worth a collective R21 billion getting the green light for implementation, the Infrastructure Fund (IF) has revealed.

Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) Chief Investment Officer and IF head, Mohale Rakgate, made the revelation during a press briefing of the two-day long Sustainable Infrastructure Development Symposium (SIDSSA) on Wednesday.

The IF is housed at the DBSA.

Unveiled by President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2018, the blended finance R100 billion fund was expected to provide catalytic finance over 10 years, leveraging as much as R1 trillion in new investment for strategic infrastructure projects.

In relation to the four projects, the IF had already gone through the Infrastructure South Africa (ISA) processes to get the projects approved.

What we're excited about is that even in the first year of the operation of the IF, there was commitment from Treasury under the current constrained fiscal environment, R4 billion in the current year, R6 billion and 8 billion in the following years. So we're talking about R24 billion of the R100 billion. We're excited about that because there's always this trust gap that we make commitments, but we don't follow up.

This, he said, was very important, saying it enabled the Fund to start looking at their programs and projects.

Significant progress had already been made in the first year.

Projects

In the past year, we have been able to get this project to a point where now they can be exposed to the market; the external financiers as well as developers [who] will be keen to partner with government in the implementation of the projects, he said

The projects have already been through their approval processes and prioritised through the ISA prioritisation criteria and admitted into the pipeline.

In addition to that, we went through the National Treasury processes to access a portion of this R24 billion and we are at advanced stages. We should be hearing from them within the next few weeks, leading to the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement, said Rakgate.

The first project was the R12.4 billion Mokolo project. Rakgate said what the IF was putting on the table is the mobilisation of a standby credit facility of R5 billion, with R1.5 billion coming from IF allocations to ensure that the project did not delay any longer.

Based in the water scarce Waterberg region in Limpopo, he said the project is "very key".

"[It is] an area that already has got constrained development and we think it will really address the political economy issues... around employment creation, economic growth, and all that multiplier effects that come with that.

The second program was the countrys 300 000 student housing infrastructure bed program backlog.

Having worked with the Department of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Treasury and the IF's dedicated program management office, it was anticipated that 9 600 beds would be shaved off the target. This, he said, would be through blended funding with market participation.

"We're creating a funding SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) so that you can get your institutional investors, DFIs and banks to come in and augment the [state's] contribution.

The 9 600 will in the following year cumulatively increase to 24 000.

"This is a program we're excited about. And once we prove this one to happen, we will plug and play with the rest that will come through up until you reach the 300 000 beds," he said.

A similar approach was expected to unfold in the Department of Human Settlement's social housing program. In this regard, the IF was in the current financial year piloting a R1.1 billion program from the R100 billion.

"We're seeking now to develop structures that will enable investors to come in and play a role for a portion of 30%, which sponsors of the project should raise on their own. The state is contributing 70% of that.

Bottlenecks were also expected to begin to clear in the Lepelle Northern Water Project in Limpopo. The fund is working with the Water Board and the department to help make this project happen.

"From the perspective of mobilising social infrastructure aspect of this project from this day, so that as you supply your commercial users, you don't leave behind indigents.

A figure of R4.5 billion, of which R1.4 billion had already been applied for from the R100 billion, was needed.

"We are in discussions with the department around the R1.2 billion to make the shortfall of R2 billion to come from commercial users. Polokwane had concluded an uptake with the water board.

He said the IF was also seeking to support the project around issues of governance and procurement to earn the confidence of investors.

The last project that was expected to proceed was the one-stop border management post with the Department of Home Affairs and the Border Management Agency.

"We haven't applied for government funding because it can stand on its own. All we are doing at this stage is to help with the structuring. We're talking about border posts with all South Africa's neighbours, except in Namibia. As you may know, you go to Beitbridge, Lebombo, it takes up to seven days for trucks to move from one country to the next.

"So, this seeks to really ensure that it's smooth to go between the countries," he said.

Along with National Treasury, the ISA was also expected to play a significant role in unblocking various challenges.

"IF is helping to structure the project so that we can find the best optimal model to ensure that there's value for money for the government.

All five projects, he said, were all at advanced stages of implementation. They will all be going out to market in the last quarter of this year and first quarter of 2022.

Glossing over projects in the pipeline, he mentioned the R53 billion SA Connect programme and R23 billion Umkomaas water projects. The two projects are also at advanced planning stages, having already been approved by the ISA governance structures but still yet to be submitted to National Treasury for support.

The SA Connect program sought to address the country's digital connectivity, especially in underdeveloped rural areas and government buildings. A feasibility study had already been concluded.

Several municipal projects were also still in development, he said. - SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2021-10-06. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
New Dantri Bridge built in Tuyen Quang

Dantri/Dtinews Newspaper has just started construction of a bridge for people in a remote village in the northern mountainous province of Tuyen Quang.













Dantri/Dtinews' Editor-in-Chief, Pham Tuan Anh (right) and officials in Tuyen Quang Province at the ground breaking ceremony of the bridge in Chiem Hoa District on October 6

The 20th Dantri Bridge project was started on October 6 in Yen Binh Village in Chiem Hoa District. The bridge, which will be 15 metres long and 3.5 metres wide, will be built with donations of VND300 million (USD13.043) from the Samsung Vietnam Company and some by Dantri/Dtinews' readers.











Head of Samsung Vietnam Company's Communications Department, Vu Dieu Linh (left) donates VND300 million to build the bridge



Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony for the bridge, Dantri/Dtinews' Editor-in-Chief, Pham Tuan Anh, shared that he was happy to carry out the project after a long time of preparations that were badly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.



"Now the pandemic has been gradually brought under control and were happy to continue with our charitable projects in many areas of our country," he said. "With this project we were joined by Samsung Vietnam Company and many readers through the Dantri's Charity Fund."



Pham expressed thanks to Samsung Vietnam, kind donors, as well as local authorities for supporting the newspaper in the construction of a new bridge for people in the area. He also shared that over the past 16 years, the newspaper has worked with readers and donors to build dozens of schools and bridges nationwide.



Attending the event, Chairman of Phu Binh Commune People's Committee, Ha Xuan Hung, said that the bridge from Samsung Vietnam and other donors was a major gift to local people.













Chairman of Phu Binh Commune People's Committee, Ha Xuan Hung speaks at the ceremony

"This is a very meaningful gift which will help facilitate socio-economic development in the area," the official said.

A local resident, Ban Van Si, said that the bridge had brought joy to all local people.



"Weve had to risk our lives crossing the stream during the flooding season for many years," he said. "Now well be safer and can transport our farm produce easier. We are really longing for the opening day of the bridge."
Vietnamese resorts named among Top 25 in Asia

The Anam and Six Senses Ninh Van Bay in Khanh Hoa province have been listed among the Top 25 resorts and hotels throughout Asia, as announced by popular travel magazine Conde Nast Traveler of the United States.







The Anam has been named in the list for the second time.



The information was announced on October 6 by the Khanh Hoa provincial Department of Tourism.



Making the cut this year marks the second time that The Anam has been named in the list. Readers of the travel magazine are particularly interested in the resorts sophisticated design, which harmoniously combines a classical French architectural style with traditional Vietnamese architecture.



The resort, that houses 117 villas and 96 hotel rooms, is known as a resort paradise for both domestic and international tourists visiting Khanh Hoa province.



Elsewhere, Six Senses Ninh Van Bay in Ninh Hoa town impresses visitors with its white sand beach coupled with its backdrop of towering mountains.



Two Vietnamese resorts have both been honoured in the Readers' Choice Awards 2021 which are voted on by 800,000 readers worldwide of travel magazine Conde Nast Traveler.



This year Vietnam has up to six resorts to be named in Top 25 in Asia. Besides The Anam and Six Senses Ninh Van Bay in Khanh Hoa province, there are Azerai Can Tho in Can Tho city, InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort in Da Nang city, Topas Ecolodge in Lao Cai province, and JW Marriott Phu Quoc Emerald Bay Resort & Spa in Phu Quoc island city.
Bamboo Airways allowed to run Vietnam-US flights

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has agreed to allow Bamboo Airways to operate regular direct flights to the US.













A Bamboo Airlines plane



According to a CAAV's letter sent to the Ministry of Transport, Bamboo Airways has been given licenses for both domestic and international air transport. The airline also has an air operator's certificate using B787-9 in the North American region.

As such Bamboo Airways is qualified to conduct passenger and cargo flights between Vietnam and the US, the letter said.



CAAV asked the Transport Ministry to seek help from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in getting approval from the US agencies allowing Bamboo Airways to conduct regular flights to the country.



CAAV's vice head Vo Huy Cuong said that on June 1, 2021, Bamboo Airways sent its documents to the United States Department of Transportation. On September 23, 2021, the airline conducted its first direct nonstop flight between Vietnam and the US which lasted 13 hours and 36 minutes.



The flight which landed in Los Angeles used a Boeing 787-9 plane and carried 20 crew members on board. The return flight on September 24 transported nearly 7 tonnes of medical equipment including 1,000 ventilators sponsored by the US-based California Waste Solutions to the Hanoi-based Bach Mai Hospital.



According to the airline, this is its first flight piloting the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Travel Pass, an electronic health passport application by the IATA, after nearly three months of related system preparations.



Vietnam Airlines also has permission to conduct regular direct flights to the US and the airline is now completing the final preparations for the first flights.



The national flag carrier received permission to conduct 12 charter flights last year and another 12 this year.
German police chief admits officers couldn't control anti-migrant mob

The chief of police in the German city of Chemnitz has admitted that officers struggled to gain control when an angry mob attempted to block migrants from getting off a bus in a nearby town.

GALLERY

The chief of police in the German city of Chemnitz has admitted that officers struggled to gain control when an angry mob attempted to block migrants from getting off a bus in a nearby town.

Clausnitz, Germany (dpa) - Up to 100 anti-migrant protesters gathered in front of accommodation for asylum seekers in Clausnitz, situated near the Czech border, in an attempt to blockade new arrivals on Thursday evening.There has been strong criticism of the police response, after police orders for the crowd to clear off were reportedly met with jeers and laughter."Looking back, it was a misjudgement," police chief Uwe Reissmann said on Saturday. Less than 20 officers had been present at the scene when tensions spiked.Reissmann added that they were outnumbered and therefore unable to clear the road.Videos of a police officer forcibly dragging a scared boy from the bus and into the accommodation have also sparked outrage online.However, Reissmann argued that the asylum seekers were partly to blame for the escalation and called the officers behaviour "absolutely necessary and appropriate."The police chief said the passengers in the bus were filming the incident and had made rude gestures at the protesters outside.Several charges have been filed for unlawful assembly and disturbing the peace. Reissmann expects that number could rise.The incident is the latest in a string of protests targeting refugee accommodation in Germany, as right-wing groups lash out at the countrys decision to open its doors to more than 1 million migrants last year.
'Chain of nuisances' could delay Berlin airport by 6 more months

A fresh set of technical glitches is expected to further delay the opening of Berlin's new airport by another four to six months, city mayor Michael Mueller said on Wednesday.

GALLERY

Berlin City mayor Michael Mueller

Germany"s new international airport has been beset with problems, with an opening originally planned for 2011 having been delayed about half a dozen times.

Berlin (dpa) - "There is a chain of nuisances," he told state lawmakers in the German capital. However, the long-drawn-out project is reportedly entering the "final phase."Germanys new international airport has been beset with problems, with an opening originally planned for 2011 having been delayed about half a dozen times.In January, planning officials ruled out a launch by the end of this year in a widely anticipated announcement, citing problems with around 1,000 doors and faulty plumbing in the sprinkler system.It is not clear when the building is now set to open.Mueller criticized Karsten Muehlenfeld, who heads the beleaguered construction project, for falsely claiming that these problems could be swiftly rectified in the final stages.
What happened at Istanbul's main international airport?

Three suicide bombers struck different points at Istanbul's major international airport, killing 36 people and injuring about 150, in an attack being blamed on Islamic State, as the Turkish city reels from the latest act of terrorism.

GALLERY

Turkish police block the entrance after an suicide bomb attack at Ataturk Airport in Istanbul, Turkey, 28 June 2016.

Turkish special forces members secure the area.

Istanbul (dpa) - The attacks started at 9:22 pm (1822 GMT), Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said, adding that the assailants arrived at the airport in a regular yellow taxi.The justice minister, Bekir Bozdag, confirmed at least one of the attackers had an assault rifle, which was used in the attack. It appeared to be a well coordinated mission.There was an exchange of gunfire between the attackers and the police near a security checkpoint by the arrivals terminal at the international section of the airport.One of the attackers then detonated explosives inside the terminal next to the entrance to the building by a security check, while another blew himself up outside the terminal and the third in a parking area, Turkish officials said.Videos posted to social media, which cannot be confirmed, showed an attacker inside the airport building and panic among passengers. Eye witnesses also reported explosions and gunshots in several areas, saying the attacks appeared to be on two separate floors.All three attackers were killed during the incident, which caused massive flight disruptions. The airport was shut for a number of hours and has only partially reopened, with many cancellations. Some flights are being rerouted through other airports.Ataturk airport is a major international transit hub, handling some 60 million passengers a year, making it one of the busiest in the region.There are foreign nationals among the dead and injured, though the nationalities have not yet been revealed. The nationality of the attackers is not yet known.
Merkel, Renzi, Hollande meet to revive EU dream after Brexit shock

The leaders of Germany, France and Italy flew to a tiny Mediterranean island on Monday to honour a founding father of the European Union before brainstorming on the blocs present-day crises, including migration, terrorism and Brexit.

GALLERY

Merkel, Renzi, Hollande meet to revive EU dream after Brexit shock

Ventotene, Italy (dpa) - Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi accompanied German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande to Ventotene, where Altiero Spinelli, a dissident exiled there by Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, wrote a manifesto for European unification in 1941.Quoting from it, Renzi said: "The moment has arrived in which we must know how to discard old burdens, how to be ready for the new world that is coming, that will be so different from what we have imagined."The Italian leader organized an event heavy on symbolism, taking Merkel and Hollande to lay flowers before Spinellis grave in Ventotene, before moving to an aircraft carrier that is normally engaged in rescuing migrants.Italys Garibaldi aircraft carrier is the flagship of the EUs anti-migrant smuggling operation in the Mediterranean Sea. The mission, code-named Operation Sophia, is preparing also to train Libyas coastguard and help enforce a United Nations arms embargo."Today we were able to sense and appreciate the roots of the European Union," Merkel said in a press conference where Renzi and Hollande also spoke. It was held before the three leaders actually sat down to talk business.They said they would discuss improving EU cooperation on intelligence and defence matters, giving aid to African nations to stop migration flows to Europe, and promoting growth and jobs, particularly for the younger generations."We sense in the face of Islamist terror, in the face of the civil war in Syria, that we must do more for our internal and external security," Merkel said, adding that Germany had also come round to the idea of tackling migration issues at EU level.Hollande mentioned "known challenges" at Europes borders such as "the tragedy in Aleppo, a humanitarian catastrophe which one day will be a shame for the international community if we do nothing about it," and called for EU unity against national "selfishness."Renzi urged "strong measures to support growth and fight youth unemployment," and dismissed talk of an existential threat for the EU. "A lot of people thought that after Brexit, it would be over for Europe. Thats not the case," he said.The EU is reeling from Britains referendum decision in June to leave the bloc - a major political setback that will require complicated negotiations and threatens to inspire the secession of other eurosceptic countries.The EUs remaining 27 states are to discuss the future of the bloc in Bratislava on September 16. To prepare the talks, EU President Donald Tusk held a working dinner with Merkel on Thursday, and is due to meet 10 other leaders, including British Prime Minister Teresa May.Europes refugee crisis also cast a heavy shadow over Mondays talks, especially since deadly terrorist attacks in France and Germany reawakened fears that the mass arrival of people from the Middle East and Africa may represent a security threat.Merkel defended a controversial EU-Turkey deal that has helped stem migration flows through the Balkans, but which has come under increased scrutiny because of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans slide towards authoritarianism.Italys woes were also on the agenda on the Garibaldi, after recent data showed that growth in the EUs fourth-largest economy has ground to a halt, while public debt is at a new record high and the banking sector remains in a precarious state.Renzi is seeking extended leeway from EU budget discipline constraints to spend money on reviving the economy. This could also help him win a crucial referendum on constitutional reforms expected to be held in November.Questioned about Italys chances to win concessions on deficit and debt rules, Merkel was non-committal, noting there are "flexibility" margins in EU regulations, but that it was up to the European Commission to see how they can be applied.
What the EU has done to tackle the migration crisis

The European Union hopes this week to strike a contentious deal with Turkey aimed at curbing the flow of migrants into Europe. The country has been the last stop for migrants before attempting the treacherous crossing of the Aegean Sea to reach EU member state Greece.

GALLERY

Italian rescue workers recover a dead body from a boat at the port of Lampedusa, Italy, 03 October 2013.

Brussels (dpa) - The plan is the blocs latest attempt to control its migration crisis, after more than 1 million migrants and asylum seekers reached European shores last year.Here is what the EU has done so far.The EU and Turkey agreed in October already to cooperate on stemming migration flows. The EU offered Turkey 3 billion euros (3.3 billion dollars) in refugee aid and promised to boost relations with the country, in return for efforts by Ankara to curb the migration flows. But the deal has had no obvious impact on arrivals.Under the new plan being considered this week, all future migrants and asylum seekers arriving in Greece from Turkey would be sent back. For every Syrian returned in this way, the EU would directly accept another Syrian asylum seeker out of Turkey. Under the deal, Ankara has also sought concessions on visa-free EU travel and its bid to join the bloc.The EU has struggled to adequately guard its external borders, with Greece particularly overwhelmed by the migrant arrivals from Turkey. The EU border agency Frontex has received more resources and deployed to Greece. Frontex is supposed to be expanded and upgraded into a European border and coastguard agency, under a proposal that EU officials hope will be finalized by the end of June. The bloc hopes that better protection of external borders will convince countries within its normally free-travel Schengen area to lift emergency border controls put in place to stem migration flows.The commission has created a new legal channel to provide the member states worst hit by the migration crisis with 700 million euros in humanitarian aid over three years. The needs are particularly acute in Greece, where an estimated 46,000 migrants and asylum seekers are stranded after borders were closed to them last week along the migration route leading from Greece to Europes wealthy northern states. EU governments gave their blessing Wednesday for a first disbursement of 100 million euros for Greece and other countries.The EU has launched a naval mission to crack down on the criminal networks smuggling migrants across the southern Mediterranean Sea. It can intercept boats and arrest suspected criminals in international waters. The NATO military alliance has also launched an operation to monitor the smuggling networks that help people cross the Aegean Sea from Turkey to Greece. It will only intervene if a vessel is in distress.The EU has been trying to implement a contentious emergency scheme for the redistribution of 160,000 asylum seekers from countries on the front lines of the migration crisis - such as Greece and Italy - to other member states. But by March 15, only 937 people had been relocated. Some member states are not keen to take in asylum seekers, who in turn have been reluctant to participate since they cannot choose where to go. This has started to change after the onward route from Greece was closed off last week, EU officials say. The European Commission now wants member states to relocate 6,000 people by mid-April and 20,000 by mid-May. It has also proposed the creation of a permanent relocation system.EU member states agreed last year to take in 20,000 displaced people who are outside the EU but in need of international protection, such as Syrians living in UN refugee camps. The commission is expected to propose this year the establishment of a "structured" resettlement system. The new deal being hashed out with Ankara could also see some member states voluntarily take in additional numbers of Syrian asylum seekers out of Turkey.: The EU wants to do a better job at sending back economic migrants who do not qualify for international protection. In the past, only about 40 per cent of such migrants have been returned to their countries of origin. The creation of beefed-up reception centres - known as hotspots - in Greece and Italy is supposed to help in quickly identifying economic migrants and initiating return procedures. The hotspots, which were slow to come online, are also meant to administer relocations.The EU has been working to enlist the help of migrants origin and transit countries to stem the flow heading its way, notably in Africa. It launched a 1.9-billion-euro fund in November to help tackle migration from that continent, but struggled to impress recipient countries, which accused Europe of focusing too much on sending Africans back home.The commission is expected in April to launch an attempt to reform the Dublin system, under which asylum claims are supposed to be registered in the first EU country where an asylum seeker sets foot. The system broke down during the migration crisis. The EUs executive is also working on proposals to make it easier for skilled migrants to legally enter the bloc.
Global exhibitors make final preparations as import expo nears

Xinhua) 09:14, October 06, 2021

-- As the first dedicated import exhibition in the world, this year's China International Import Expo (CIIE) is slated to be held offline in Shanghai from Nov. 5 to 10.

-- Global exhibitors have geared up for the upcoming expo while organizers have gone all out for final preparations.

SHANGHAI, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Though China's weeklong National Day holiday is ongoing, Pakistani businessman Habib Ur Rehman couldn't afford a day off, as he was getting ready for the 4th China International Import Expo (CIIE), which is just one month away.

This year Rehman has ordered more salt lamps, which are made from minerals in mountainous areas. He hopes to introduce the popular household gadget from Pakistan to the Chinese market.

At a matchmaking session for buyers and exhibitors to meet ahead of the expo, Rehman's products successfully aroused interest among merchants from across China, which has boosted his confidence.

This year, more than 200 exhibitors and over 500 purchasers participated in the matchmaking sessions.

An exhibitor presents his products during a matchmaking session for buyers and exhibitors ahead of the 4th China International Import Expo (CIIE) at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) in Shanghai, east China, July 15, 2021. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)

John Edwards, British trade commissioner for China, said in an e-mail interview that the Scottish Development International (SDI) was "particularly heavily involved in this year's CIIE" and for the second year running, Scotland will "have a significant presence."

The SDI will partner with Greenland Group, a Shanghai-based state-owned enterprise, to bring 37 Scottish companies to CIIE 2021, with 23 brands in the Food & Agricultural Products section, and 14 brands in the Consumer Goods section.

Official figures of the British government showed that the country secured more than 430 million GBP of commercial deals across a range of sectors during the 3rd CIIE last year.

Shu Jueting, spokesperson of China's Ministry of Commerce, said the exhibition area exceeded 360,000 square meters, and the number of signed exhibitors exceeded that of the previous year, adding that over 80 percent of the Fortune 500 and industry-leading companies from last year's CIIE will participate again in this year's event.

Returning multinationals such as Michelin, Shiseido, Fonterra, Amorepacific, ABB and Fast Retailing have even signed up for the 5th CIIE in advance.

Decorative plants for the 4th China International Import Expo (CIIE) are seen at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) in Shanghai, east China, Oct. 5, 2021. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)

Nicolas Hieronimus, CEO of France-based cosmetic giant L'Oreal, said the expo is a good chance for the company to showcase cutting-edge innovation and get in touch with the country's "dual circulation" strategy first-hand.

"I'm more than confident in the Chinese market. In fact, I'm very ambitious." He said with the rise of the middle class and the "dual circulation" development pattern, the domestic consumption of China is "something we are very confident about."

Global toy giant Lego Group just opened one of the world's largest Lego retail flagship stores in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou during the National Day holiday.

"We've seen very strong return brought by our previous participation at the CIIE as it offers a dialogue platform with local partners and government," said Niels B. Christiansen, CEO of LEGO Group, adding that the expo showed the success of China's moves to open up and improve the business environment, which encourages the company to further invest, develop and innovate in China.

LEGO opened more than 60 branded stores in the first half of the year with more than 40 of them in China. According to Christiansen, the company is expected to cover 85 Chinese cities with 300 retail stores by the end of this year.

A racing car by Michelin which is among the earliest exhibits in place for the 4th China International Import Expo (CIIE) arrives in Shanghai, east China, Sept. 27, 2021. (Xinhua)

A racing car by Michelin arrived in Shanghai last Monday, which was among the earliest exhibits in place for the 4th CIIE.

The Mission H24 car powered by hydrogen cleared customs in a single second thanks to innovative services, and will make its Asian debut at the upcoming CIIE.

"The CIIE is not only a platform for trade and investment, but also a window for multi-party dialogue and communication," said Kamran Vossoughi, president and CEO of Michelin China.

According to the customs, more than 200 batches of exhibits are expected to enter the country by sea, air and rail in the coming month.

Detailed measures to ensure the safety of the expo amidst the COVID-19 pandemic have also been high on the agenda.

For example, a special group consisting of a service staffer, a virus prevention specialist and three security personnel will be responsible for customer guidance in each and every restaurant of the exhibition center during the expo. Once the diner limit is reached, they will guide extra customers to outdoor dining areas.

Photo taken on Oct. 5, 2021 shows the Global Commodity Trading Hub near the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) in Shanghai, east China. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)

Gu Honghui, deputy secretary-general of the Shanghai municipal government, said efforts will be made to ensure the COVID-19 prevention and control is more precise, urban service more refined, and the spillover effect of the CIIE brand more prominent during the expo.

The CIIE is the first dedicated import exhibition in the world and has seen fruitful outcomes in the past three expos. The 4th CIIE is slated to be held offline in Shanghai from Nov. 5 to 10 this year.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Bianji)
Chinese envoy urges developed countries to shoulder more financial responsibilities for UN

Xinhua) 09:16, October 06, 2021

UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, on Monday urged developed countries to take on greater financial responsibilities for the world body.

Zhang made the remarks when addressing the Fifth Committee of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly, a major panel responsible for the organization's finance and budget.

"The current financial situation of the UN remains worrying," the Chinese envoy said. "One major contributor still has long-time unpaid assessments, which is the main cause of the UN liquidity crisis."

"China calls on member states, especially large contributors, to fulfill their financial obligations on time, in full and without conditions," he noted.

As the second largest contributor to the UN regular budget and peacekeeping assessments, China is always highly responsible, pays the assessments under regular and peacekeeping budgets in a timely manner, and has recently paid the peacekeeping assessments within the mandated period as of the end of this year by the Security Council, according to Zhang.

"China calls on developed countries to shoulder more financial responsibilities for the UN, and fully take into account the difficulties and concerns of developing countries," he added.

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Bianji)
3 scientists share 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics

Xinhua) 09:42, October 06, 2021

Portraits of the 2021 Nobel laureates in Physics Syukuro Manabe (L), Klaus Hasselmann (C) and Giorgio Parisi are seen on a screen during the prize announcement in Stockholm, Sweden, Oct. 5, 2021. The 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics is shared by three scientists, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced on Tuesday. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Physics 2021 "for groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of complex physical systems," with one half jointly to Syukuro Manabe and Klaus Hasselmann "for the physical modelling of Earth's climate, quantifying variability and reliably predicting global warming," and the other half to Giorgio Parisi "for the discovery of the interplay of disorder and fluctuations in physical systems from atomic to planetary scales." (Photo by Wei Xuechao/Xinhua)

STOCKHOLM, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- The 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics is shared by three scientists, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced on Tuesday.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Physics 2021 "for groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of complex physical systems," with one half jointly to Syukuro Manabe and Klaus Hasselmann "for the physical modelling of Earth's climate, quantifying variability and reliably predicting global warming," and the other half to Giorgio Parisi "for the discovery of the interplay of disorder and fluctuations in physical systems from atomic to planetary scales."

In the telephone interview onsite, Parisi said he was very happy with the news and that he was not expecting this. He also emphasized the importance of to "act now" against global warming.

Three Laureates share this year's Nobel Prize in Physics for their studies of chaotic and apparently random phenomena. Syukuro Manabe and Klaus Hasselmann laid the foundation of the knowledge of the Earth's climate and how humanity influences it. Giorgio Parisi is rewarded for his revolutionary contributions to the theory of disordered materials and random processes, according to a press release from the Academy.

"The discoveries being recognised this year demonstrate that our knowledge about the climate rests on a solid scientific foundation, based on a rigorous analysis of observations. This year's Laureates have all contributed to us gaining deeper insight into the properties and evolution of complex physical systems," said Thors Hans Hansson, chair of the Nobel Committee for Physics, in the release.

Syukuro Manabe, born in 1931 in Shingu, Japan, is a senior meteorologist at Princeton University in the United States.

Klaus Hasselmann, born in 1931 in Hamburg, Germany, is a professor at Max Planck Institute for Meteorology in Hamburg, Germany.

Giorgio Parisi, born in 1948 in Rome, Italy, is a professor at Sapienza University of Rome.

According to the Academy, this year's prize amount is 10 million Swedish kronor (about 1.15 million U.S. dollars), with one half jointly to Syukuro Manabe and Klaus Hasselmann and the other half to Giorgio Parisi.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Bianji)
China's Yunnan strengthens nature reserve construction to protect endangered animals

Xinhua) 09:53, October 06, 2021

KUNMING, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- The black-and-white snub-nosed monkeys, also known as Yunnan golden hair monkeys, are enjoying a peaceful life in their traditional habitat in southwest China. The population of one of the world's most endangered species is steadily increasing.

Zhong Tai, an engineer from Baima Snow Mountain National Nature Reserve in Yunnan Province, still remembers his first encounter with the "snow mountain elf" during a field investigation in 1985.

"They had a human-like face, and their big red lips were very special and beautiful," Zhong recalled. "The reason why they are called 'snow mountain elves' is not only because of their appearance, but also because they live in the depths of the snow mountains and are rarely seen."

Around the 1980s, hunting and logging damaged the habitats of the monkeys, posing threats to their survival.

"The monkeys disappeared from villagers' sight because they were afraid of people," said 69-year-old Yu Jianhua, a forest ranger.

Habitat improvement is fundamental to biodiversity conservation. In 1983, Yunnan established the reserve to save the endangered monkeys. In 1988, the reserve was upgraded to the national level.

To make the monkeys feel "at home," surrounding residents were also mobilized to participate in the conservation efforts.

"The villagers who once caused damage have gradually joined the ecology protection efforts," said Yu, adding that areas near many villages have become important habitats for the monkeys.

"The monkeys are not so afraid of people now and can sometimes be seen from less than 50 meters away," he said.

Thanks to the joint efforts of the government, researchers and local villagers, the number of Yunnan golden hair monkeys in the reserve has risen from no more than 500 to over 2,300, according to Zhong.

In addition to Baima Snow Mountain, Yunnan has been committed to building a scientific nature reserve system, effectively protecting the populations and habitats of a large number of rare and endangered animals such as green peacocks and Asian elephants.

Since the establishment of Xishuangbanna Nature Reserve, the first nature reserve in Yunnan, in 1958, 362 nature reserves of 11 types have been built, covering an area of nearly 5.5 million hectares, or about 14.32 percent of the province's land area, according to Wang Weibin, deputy head of the provincial forestry and grassland bureau.

According to investigations and monitoring, the population and distribution area of about 50 kinds of wild animals in Yunnan have increased and expanded, such as the Asian elephant and western black crested gibbon. As many as 420 species of birds migrate to Yunnan every year.

"Species such as black crested gibbon, snub-nosed monkey and green peacock play a flagship role in the ecosystem, and are also indicators of regional biodiversity. Protecting them will protect the biodiversity and ecosystem of the whole region," said Yang Yuming, a professor at Yunnan Academy of Forestry and Grassland.

By the end of 2020, China had 11,800 nature reserves of various types including 474 at the national level, accounting for 18 percent of its land area and achieving the 17-percent Aichi biodiversity target of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity ahead of schedule.

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Bianji)
Hong Kong embraces festive National Day holiday in peace, stability

Xinhua) 09:54, October 06, 2021

Hong Kong residents wave the Chinese national flags and the regional flags of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in Tsim Sha Tsui, south China's Hong Kong, Oct. 1, 2021. (Xinhua/Zhang Jiayi)

On this year's National Day, Hong Kong residents held various activities to joyfully celebrate the holiday. Five-star red flags dazzled the city of over 7 million people and classic patriotic songs such as Me and My Motherland echoed through the air -- a stunning contrast to the scenes on the same day two years ago.

Hong Kong, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Workers busily tilted the two-meter-high water barriers to release the liquid inside, and one by one, the giant white plastic containers were forklifted onto vans and removed from the headquarters of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government on the heels of China's National Day.

The water barriers, which had been standing in front of the government headquarters since 2019 to defend the complex from the attacks by bricks and Molotov cocktail-throwing rioters, were finally removed after two years, symbolizing that Hong Kong has returned from chaos to normalcy.

Water barriers in other locations, including the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR that had been targeted by rioters in the social unrest in 2019, have also been removed.

The Chinese national flags and the regional flags of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region are seen in the Central district of Hong Kong, south China, Oct. 1, 2021. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaochu)

On this year's National Day, Hong Kong residents held various activities to joyfully celebrate the holiday. Five-star red flags dazzled the city of over 7 million people and classic patriotic songs such as Me and My Motherland echoed through the air -- a stunning contrast to the scenes on the same day two years ago.

Lee Tung Street, known as the Wedding Card Street by locals and located just a few blocks away from the HKSAR government offices, saw a surge in visitors who came to take pictures of more than 100 red national flags and HKSAR flags hung above.

In Mong Kok, Kowloon, a street counter of a local civil society organization -- The Storm of Hong Kong distributed 5,000 small national flags to enthusiastic passers-by in less than half an hour.

"Our country has effectively reined in the COVID-19 epidemic. At the Tokyo Olympic Games, the national team and the Hong Kong team have achieved good results," said Tsui Tin-man, chairman of the organization. "Hong Kong will have a bright future as long as the country is strong."

Hong Kong residents wave the Chinese national flags and the regional flags of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on a tour bus in south China's Hong Kong, Oct. 1, 2021. (Xinhua/Lo Ping Fai)

A first-year student at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, which was upended by rioting in 2019, asked her roommate to take a picture of her and the high-flying five-star red flag after a flag-raising ceremony attended by over 700 teachers and students was held on campus in serenity.

"I can feel the strong bond of everyone with the country. We are proud of the development of our country," she told a Xinhua reporter.

Chief Executive of the HKSAR Carrie Lam said this year's National Day is of special significance to Hong Kong.

The SAR has truly got on the right track of "one country, two systems" under the double safeguards of the national security law in Hong Kong and the improved electoral system, she said at a reception celebrating the 72nd anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Hong Kong is now in the best position ever since its return to the motherland to leverage its unique advantages under "one country, two systems" in seeking to integrate into the national development and create a bright future, Lam said.

As Hong Kong has turned a new page, the central government and the HKSAR government are stepping up efforts to remove the obstacles to Hong Kong's development by addressing deep-seated problems.

Hong Kong residents wave the Chinese national flags in Tsim Sha Tsui, south China's Hong Kong, Oct. 1, 2021. (Xinhua/Zhang Jiayi)

Luo Huining, director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR, visited fishermen, young entrepreneurs, community residents, street shops, and residents in bed-space apartments ahead of the National Day. He conveyed the central government's care for the livelihood of the grassroots in Hong Kong, and listened to their opinions and suggestions.

Luo said the central government attaches great importance to Hong Kong's economy and people's livelihood, noting that 21 policies were introduced recently to benefit the Hong Kong people in different industries.

"The fundamental purpose is to allow ordinary people to live a better life. Only when the life of the general public is better and the sense of happiness is strong, can Hong Kong develop well," Luo said.

Hong Kong newspaper Ta Kung Pao, one of the oldest Chinese language newspapers, said in a commentary that more and more Hong Kong people recognize their Chinese identity and that the country is the most staunch backer of Hong Kong.

"A National Day more festive than before reflects a better Hong Kong," said the newspaper.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Bianji)
Outdoor public places in Xiamen starts to reopen

Xinhua) 09:57, October 06, 2021

Firemen disinfect a wetland park in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province, Oct. 5, 2021. Outdoor public places in Xiamen started to reopen from Oct. 5, as the results of the sixth round of citywide nucleic acid testing all came out negative. (Photo by Ye Yiheng/Xinhua)

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Bianji)
US urged to stop making the same errors

China Daily) 10:18, October 06, 2021

Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, reads a joint statement by 75 countries at the General Debate of the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly on Friday, Oct 1, 2021, calling for global solidarity for vaccine equity. [Photo/Xinhua]

China's ambassador to the United Nations on Monday called on the United States to cast off its arrogance and prejudices and to stop repeating the same mistakes.

At the 76th session of the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) of the General Assembly, Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, also refuted groundless comments on issues related to Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Tibet made by the US, Germany and other countries.

The envoy emphasized that China firmly opposes nations' use of the UN's platform to deliberately provoke confrontation and fabricate human rights issues to interfere in China's internal affairs, and he warned the US not to go further down the wrong path.

Zhang said the US conjured up crimes and lies for political purposes and made groundless accusations against China.

The so-called "forced labor" and "genocide" allegations made by the previous US administration that have purportedly been occurring in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region are the "lie of the century", and the current US leadership continues to push that narrative, engaging in "lie diplomacy", he said.

"Lies repeated a thousand times are still lies," the envoy said. "Countless facts have proved that the US' accusations are groundless and made to support its own political needs. The purpose is to cause chaos and contain China's overall development. China firmly opposes and rejects this."

Zhang also pointed out that the international community should pay attention to the human rights situation in the US. The country often regards itself as a defender of democracy and human rights, but in fact, it is the biggest destroyer of democracy and human rights, he said.

The world needs dialogue instead of confrontation, and countries should choose cooperation instead of confrontation, Zhang said.

"I hope that the United States will return to the correct path of dialogue and cooperation, and do something practical and good for the promotion and protection of human rights."

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Bianji)
Chinese envoy urges Security Council to respond to DRC concerns about sanctions

Xinhua) 10:28, October 06, 2021

UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Tuesday urged the UN Security Council to heed the concerns of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) about sanctions.

"The Security Council should actively respond to the concerns of the DRC Government regarding the adjustment of sanction measures to avoid the negative impact on the country's capacity building in security," Dai Bing, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, told the Security Council meeting on the DRC.

Dai praised the Government of the DRC for having formulated and implemented a three-year program of action, "which serves as a roadmap for lasting peace and sustainable developments in the country."

"China appreciates these efforts and hopes that the Government of the DRC will focus on promoting reforms in key areas and improving governance capabilities," he said. "China encourages all parties to carry out inclusive dialogue to properly resolve differences within the constitutional framework, said the ambassador."

Talking about the situation in the country, the envoy said that the DRC Government has taken a series of measures in the east, including declaring the state of siege, promulgating disarmament, demobilization and stabilization programs and appointing a coordinator in this regard.

"China recognizes the determination of the DRC Government in combating violent activities by armed groups, and hopes that the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) and the DRC armed forces will maintain coordination and cooperation to strengthen the protection of civilians.

Dai underscored that the DRC is faced with multiple health challenges such as COVID-19, malaria and cholera, as well as a large number of refugees and displaced persons in the country and its national development reform needs urgent financial support.

Referring to aid, the envoy said that the UN humanitarian response plan severely lacks funding, limiting its response capability to the current serious humanitarian situation. "China calls on the international community, in particular international financial institutions, to honor their aid commitments to the DRC, by increasing investment to help the country tackle the current challenges."

Turning back to sanctions, Dai said that China has always emphasized that sanctions are only a means, not an end. As the drawdown of MONUSCO continues, the DRC Government will gradually assume the main responsibility for maintaining national security and stability.

On China's support to the country, the envoy said that China has always been committed to helping the DRC achieve peace, stability and development.

"The 25th batch of Chinese peacekeepers to the DRC have all arrived at the mission area recently. Since 2003, China has sent more than 3,000 peacekeepers to the DRC to carry out more than 1,000 security and support missions. The 400,000 doses of COVID vaccines provided by China has recently arrived in the country. China will continue to work with the international community to support the efforts of the DRC Government in achieving long-term national peace and stability," Dai said.

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Bianji)
Chinese mainland reports 24 imported COVID-19 cases, 2 local infections

Xinhua) 10:33, October 06, 2021

A staff member checks the personal information of a traveler at Harbin Railway Station in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Oct. 2, 2021.(Xinhua/Zhang Tao)

BEIJING, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese mainland reported 24 imported COVID-19 cases and two locally-transmitted infections on Tuesday, the National Health Commission in its daily report on Wednesday.

One of the newly reported local cases was registered in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, and the other in Ili Kazak Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Of the new imported cases, 13 were reported in Yunnan, four in Shanghai, two in Guangxi, and one each in Jilin, Heilongjiang, Jiangsu, Fujian, and Shandong.

There were no new suspected cases or new deaths from COVID-19 on the mainland, the commission said.

A total of 9,190 imported cases had been reported on the mainland by the end of Tuesday. Of them, 8,663 had been discharged from hospitals following recovery, and 527 remained hospitalized. No deaths had been reported among the imported cases.

As of Tuesday, the mainland had reported a total of 96,310 confirmed COVID-19 cases. Of them, 90,836 had been discharged from hospitals following recovery, and 4,636 had died as a result of the virus.

Currently, there were 838 confirmed cases receiving treatment, two of whom were in severe conditions.

A total of 12 asymptomatic cases were newly reported Tuesday, one of whom was reported in Yunnan while the others were imported. There were 352 asymptomatic cases, of whom 338 were imported, still under medical observation as of Tuesday.

By the end of Tuesday, 12,237 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 213 deaths, had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), while 75 cases had been reported in the Macao SAR, and 16,262 cases, including 844 deaths, had been reported in Taiwan.

A total of 11,931 COVID-19 patients in the Hong Kong SAR had been discharged from hospitals following recovery, while 64 had been discharged in the Macao SAR, and 13,742 had been discharged in Taiwan.

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Bianji)
Chinese envoy rejects U.S. accusations at UN debate

Xinhua) 13:54, October 06, 2021

UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- In exercising the right of reply at the General Debate of the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly, a Chinese envoy on Monday rejected false U.S. accusations against China's human rights situation and called for solidarity and cooperation.

The United States used all sorts of trumped-up charges and fabricated lies to level unreasonable accusations against China. The allegation of so-called genocide in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is nothing but a lie of the century concocted by the previous U.S. administration. Today, the U.S. side has chosen to inherit this thinly veiled political conspiracy and continue along this path of "lie diplomacy," said Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations.

China firmly opposes and categorically rejects this allegation, which is entirely politically motivated to serve an ulterior motive to destabilize China and hobble China's development, Zhang noted.

The United States ostensibly claims to be a defender of democracy and human rights. But in fact, it is the biggest saboteur of democracy and human rights, said Zhang, stressing that attention needs to be paid to the human rights situation in the United States.

The Chinese envoy advised the United States and its followers to put aside arrogance and bigotry before it's too late, and avoid sliding further down the wrong path or doubling down on its mistakes with intransigence and duplicity.

Noting the world needs dialogue instead of confrontation, Zhang expressed the hope that the United States will mend its way, return to the right track of dialogue and cooperation, and actually do something concrete and positive for the promotion and protection of human rights.

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Bianji)
A total of 74 Houthi rebels and eight Yemeni army soldiers were killed on Tuesday in a battle between the two sides in Yemen's central province of Marib, Xinhua reported, citing a government military source.

The battle took place in the Lam'aa front line in Harib district, about 60 km southwest of the government-controlled Marib city center.

Houthi officials did not respond to a request for comment.

The Lam'aa front line is a key route to Marib and the Safer oil fields.

The Iran-backed Houthi militia launched in February a major offensive on Marib in an attempt to seize control of the oil-rich province, the last northern stronghold of the Saudi-backed Yemeni government.
The agency said people with a severely weakened immune system should be given a third dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine at least 28 days after they have received their second shot. The guidance comes as some EU member states have already begun administering booster shots, while others are still debating how broadly to use boosters in their populations.

The European Medicines Agency said in a statement Monday that a booster dose of the Pfizer vaccine "may be considered at least 6 months after the second dose for people aged 18 years and older." "Decisions for boosters will be taken by public health bodies at the national level," it added.

The European Union's drug regulator has approved the use of booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for those 18 and older but left it to individual countries to decide whether or not to recommend the shots for widespread use.

 New Zealand's Elimination Strategy

In another development Monday, New Zealand announced that it would abandon its COVID-19 elimination strategy. "This is a change in approach we were always going to make over time," Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Monday. "Our delta outbreak has accelerated this transition. Vaccines will support it."

The arrival of the highly contagious delta variant made it difficult for the country to repeat its accomplishment last year of reducing the number of COVID-19 cases to zero. Authorities reported 29 new cases on Monday.

The majority of New Zealand's COVID-19 cases were in Auckland, which has endured a 50-day lockdown. "It's clear that a long period of heavy restrictions has not got us to zero cases. But it's OK... elimination was important because we didn't have vaccinations," Ardern said during a news conference. "Now, we do. So, we can begin to change the way we do things."

The Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center has recorded 4,383 COVID-19 infections in New Zealand.

 Global Cases

There have been 235 million COVID-19 cases worldwide and nearly 5 million deaths since the start of the pandemic, Johns Hopkins reported Monday. In New York City, a COVID-19 vaccination requirement took effect Monday for everyone who works in the city's schools. Mayor Bill de Blasio said 95 percent of public school workers had received at least one vaccine dose as of Monday morning, in line with the vaccine mandate.

School staff who do not show proof of vaccination are being placed on unpaid leave. "Every adult in our schools is now vaccinated, and that's going to be the rule going forward," de Blasio said. The New York City school district is the largest in the United States.

In Indonesia, officials said the country would reopen the resort island of Bali for some international travelers beginning next week.

Israel said Sunday that only people who have received two COVID-19 vaccinations and a booster shot or who have recently recovered from COVID-19 will be considered fully vaccinated on their digital vaccine passports. Officials hope the new measure will prompt Israelis to get their booster shots. Without a third dose recorded on their vaccine passport, people will not be allowed into indoor venues.
U.S. President Joe Biden has kept the tariffs imposed by Trump in place while Tai conducted a months-long review of U.S. trade policy with China.

William Adams, a senior vice president and senior economist with PNC Financial Services Group, characterized the overall message of Tai's speech as "one of continuity with the Trump administration's approach to U.S.-China trade relations."

Tai said China has fallen short of its purchase promises and said she would seek a meeting with her Chinese counterpart, Vice Premier Liu He, to review the matter. "Above all else, we must defend -- to the hilt -- our economic interests," Tai said at Monday's event, hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

China committed to adding an extra $200 billion in purchases of U.S. exports as part of the Phase One trade deal negotiated during former President Donald Trump's administration.

In a speech Monday in Washington, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said, "China made commitments intended to benefit certain American industries, including agriculture, that we must enforce."

The top United States trade negotiator said China is failing to live up to its trade commitments from last year and that Washington would soon have "frank conversations" with Beijing.

Tai said Monday that going forward, the Biden administration would exclude some Chinese imports from tariffs imposed by Trump. Most previous tariff exclusions expired at the end of last year.

While she rejected the idea of Phase Two talks, as envisioned by Trump, to discuss China's domestic subsidies and other matters, she said such issues would still be part of U.S. talks with China going forward.

U.S. trade groups, which had been pushing the Biden administration to move quickly in laying out its China trade policy, largely welcomed Tai's remarks. "We applaud her readiness to engage in discussions with her Chinese counterparts" on trade issues, and "we agree with Ambassador Tai that China must be held accountable for their commitments under the Phase One agreement," Doug Barry, spokesman for U.S.-China Business Council, told VOA.

However, Barry said that his organization was still concerned about the possibility of more tariffs and that exclusions to tariffs were particularly important for farmers in the Midwest. Tai did not rule out opening new investigations under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which could lead to new sanctions against China.

 'Zero-Sum Dynamic'

One source of tension is the subsidies China gives to industries including steel, solar and semiconductors which make it harder for U.S. companies to compete on the global market.

Tai described the situation as a "zero-sum dynamic" where "China's growth and prosperity come at the expense of workers and economic opportunity here in the U.S. and other market-based democratic economies."

In the past, Chinese President Xi Jinping has said it is important to the country's national security to make Chinese goods essential to global supply chains. "The dependence of the international industrial chain on our country has formed a powerful countermeasure and deterrent capability for foreign parties to artificially cut off supply," Xi said in a speech in 2020.

In recent weeks as China has cracked down on its tech sector, Chinese Vice Premier Liu He sought to reassure business leaders that government support for industry will continue. "Guidelines and policies for supporting the private economy have not changed... and will not change in the future," Liu said according to a report from Xinhua news agency.

 'May Not Change'

Gary Hufbauer, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, told VOA in an interview that Tai was "very critical" of Chinese subsidies and that her zero-sum view of China is "very much in the thinking of the Trump administration."

Tai's speech also highlighted the Biden's administration's goal of working closer with allies to confront China, a difference from the Trump administration's approach. "The core of our strategy is a commitment to ensuring we work with our allies to create fair and open markets," Tai said.

Tai said the United States would also focus on investing in U.S. workers and infrastructure across the country to "give American workers and businesses the boost needed to embrace their global competitiveness."

She described the U.S.-China trade relationship as "one of profound consequence" and said the objective of engaging with China is "not to inflame trade tensions." "As the two largest economies in the world, how we relate to each other does not just affect our two countries. It impacts the entire world and billions of workers," she said.

A senior Biden administration official told reporters Monday that China is "increasingly explicit that it is doubling down on its authoritarian, state-centric approach and is resistant to addressing our structural concerns." The official said, "We recognize that China simply may not change, and that we have to have a strategy that deals with China as it is rather than as we might wish it to be."
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A monarch butterfly rests on an ilex decidua (Possumhaw holly) plant in December 2019. The Native Plant Society of Texas New Braunfels Chapter will sell native plants on Oct. 9 for The Monarch Festival in Fischer Park.
An American flag waves in the wind as flags decorate the Main Plaza in honor of Flag Day on Monday, June 14, 2021. MIKALA COMPTON | Herald-Zeitung
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Press Release

October 6, 2021 The pandemic response will be the highest priority in the 2022 national budget-- Angara In consideration of the continued impacts of COVID-19 on the country, Senator Sonny Angara said today that the pandemic response will be the foremost priority in the Senate's version of the 2022 national budget. As the Chairman of the Committee on Finance, Angara took note of how the proposed 2022 national budget, as submitted by Malacanang to Congress, did not include several key items related to the country's response to the pandemic. "Funds are very tight this year because as noted by our colleagues during the DBCC, parang hindi COVID budget yung sinabmit po ng DBM because there were no funds for contact tracing, no funds for testing outside of the booster shot, no funds for the testing of the 12 to 17 year olds, no funds for contact tracing, no funds for the SRA, the Special Risk Allowance of our health workers," Angara said. During the hearing on the 2022 budget of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Angara said that the challenge would be to find a balance between the various interests and requirement of the different agencies of government and the funds needed to address the pandemic. While the Senate will work hard to heed the various requests for funding increases of the agencies, Angara said the bias would be on strengthening the country's health response. "With the understanding of the department and all the other agencies, those will be our utmost priorities going into 2022. Yung health response po ng bansa, because that's our very existence under threat," Angara said. "You must admit that self-preservation is the ultimate goal of any individual or society. So, let's preserve ourselves first and then we can go towards the other more lofty goals," he added. Under the proposed P248.5 billion budget of the DILG for 2022, there was no provision for the hiring of contact tracers. DILG Secretary Eduardo Ano explained to the committee that no item for contact tracing was included in the agency's 2022 budget because when they submitted their request to the DBM, the Delta variant of COVID-19 was not yet in the picture. The Secretary noted that the 2021 budget of P500 million for contact tracing was no longer included by the DBM in the DILG's 2022 budget since this was a congressional initiative. Ano did acknowledge that the Delta and other emerging variants have altered the projections of the government on attaining herd immunity and as such the DILG has included a proposed budget for contact tracing in its "wish list" that was submitted to the Senate. The DILG is looking at hiring 25,000 contact tracers for the entire 2022. Angara assured the DILG that the Senate will continue to support its requests as much as possible as it has done in the past. "For the record, last year, the Senate raised the budget of the DILG family by more than P3 billion with the amendments proposed by Senator Bato, Senator Ping, Senator Nancy, Senator Win. Nagtulungan po kami para itaas ito," Angara said. "Yung nabanggit ng ating mga kasamahan, yung mga bodycam, yung mga police cars, police stations, fire stations na hindi nabibigyan po ng pansin over time, we'll try to consider that. Let's liken it to doing something while you're also running in place. Mahirap po talaga. But, please, trust in your lawmakers to make some difficult judgments," he added.
Press Release

October 6, 2021 Drilon prods DOJ on Bilibid transfer, decries deplorable condition of PH prison system Alarmed by a 344-percent jail congestion rate, Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon on Wednesday asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) to come up with a roadmap for the decongestion of jails as he decried the deplorable conditions of prisons in the country. Drilon deplored what he calls as "inhuman" the 344 percent congestion rate in the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa, which puts at risk the health and wellbeing of thousands of inmates especially during a pandemic. Drilon said the DOJ should take into serious consideration the long overdue transfer of the overpopulated New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City to another location and begin the preliminary works before the Duterte administration ends in June next year. "This is the long term solution. I am bringing this because of the present pandemic. Hindi po mga kabayo itong mga nakakulong para matulog ng nakatayo. It is inhuman to have a 344 percent congestion rate given the pandemic," said Drilon during the Senate committee on finance's deliberation on the P26.26 billion budget of the DOJ and its attached agencies. "The bottomline is we want to decongest our jails and provide better facilities for our fellow Filipinos who ran afoul with the law. They are not hopeless human beings. But sometimes when you look at their conditions, it looks like we have given up hope for them, which should not be the case," Drilon said. The Bureau of Corrections said that the NBP alone, the congestion rate stands at 344 percent. At present, there are 28,545 prisoners serving sentences in NBP when its original and ideal capacity is only 6,435. In response, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said that "they made it very clear that insofar as the correctional system or correctional services are concerned, we'll make it a point that before we end our administration in the Department of Justice there will be some very clear plans about the intention to transfer the location of the National Bilibid Prison elsewhere." Drilon said the NBP is one of the most expensive prisons in the world. The country's main correctional stands on a very valuable piece of land in Muntinlupa, which Drilon said can be used instead for national development. "Why can we not move the NBP out of Muntinlupa? We must transfer the NBP outside the capital region and provide better facilities. We should have a roadmap," said Drilon, adding that the proceeds for the sale of NBP properties can be used to finance the building of bigger and better prison facilities outside Metro Manila. "May we suggest to the secretary that part of your exit report at the end of this administration is a roadmap," he reiterated. Drilon noted that in other countries the private sector has been tapped to run penitentiaries. Meanwhile, Drilon sought the immediate release of persons deprived of liberty who are qualified to avail of the reduced sentences due to the amended Revised Penal Code. Drilon authored Republic Act No. 10951 or the Amendments to the Revised Penal Code, signed into law in 2017, adjusted fines, as well as the amount or the value of the property and damage on which a penalty is raised. "We cannot allow the continued deprivation of liberty because of the inefficiency of the BuCor. Kawawa naman ang mga iyon. We aggravate the congestion of our jails by the simple inability of the BuCor to send on time the carpeta or records of persons deprived of liberty," said Drilon. "This is not just an issue of congestion but an issue of equity. The law already reduced the sentence, then the PDLs are entitled to early release," he added.
Press Release

October 6, 2021 Bong Go hails improvements made in peace and order situation under PRRD; renews push for bill providing for more holistic approach to fighting illegal drugs Following the latest report of the Philippine National Police on the general criminality situation in the country, senator and Vice Chair of the Senate Committee on Public Order Christopher "Bong" Go commended the Duterte Administration for its tough stance on criminality and illegal drugs which has contributed to a drastic decrease in the volume of crime in the Philippines since 2016. "Una sa lahat, walang tigil dapat ang kampanya natin kontra iligal na droga, korapsyon, at kriminalidad. Ang taumbayan na ang humusga kung mas ligtas ba ngayon ang mga anak nila at walang pangamba dahil sa mga kriminal at adik," Go said in a message after filing his Certificate of Candidacy for vice president on Saturday, October 2. Go praised the reforms and measures taken to safeguard peace and order and underlined the need to continue adhering to the course taken to sustain the gains made and ensure the long-term security of the nation. "Hindi dapat masayang ang mga nasimulang ito kung kaya't sa susunod na anim na taon ay sisikapin nating lalong maproteksyunan ang buhay at kinabukasan ng ating mga anak," Go said. "Alam ng taumbayan na mas ligtas ang komunidad nila ngayon dahil nasusunod ang mga batas at napo-protektahan ang kapakanan ng pinakamahihirap. Ito ang serbisyong Tatak Duterte na patuloy na ibibigay namin sa inyo," he pledged. According to PNP Chief General Guillermo Eleazar, the Crime Solution Efficiency, or the percentage of solved cases, of the PNP rose by 86% from 26% from July 2010 to June 2015 to 49% from July 2016 to June 2021. The Crime Clearance Efficiency also increased by 81% from 38% from July 2010 to June 2015 to 68% from July 2016 to June 2021. A case is considered cleared if the offender or at least one of the offenders has been identified and a criminal complaint has been filed against them. Furthermore, the crime rate declined by 63% from 458,367 crimes against persons (e.g. murder, rape and physical injury) recorded from July 2010 to June 2015 to 170,168 under the Duterte Administration. The number of crimes against properties (e.g. robbery and theft) also sharply fell by 66% from 655,345 to 225,752 cases over the same periods. Under the current administration, Mindanao saw a 71% drop from 294,299 recorded crimes to 85,646. This is followed by Luzon (excluding Metro Manila) which saw a 65% decrease from 369,824 to 128,142 and the Visayas which went down by 60% from 240,289 to 96,987. Metro Manila followed closely with a 59% decline from 209,300 to 85,145. The PNP Chief noted that majority of the crimes were related to illegal drugs. Based on the latest figures from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, a total of P64.1 billion worth of illegal drugs and equipment were seized by authorities from July 2016 to August 2021. In the same period, 893 illegal drug dens and clandestine laboratories were also dismantled, with 22,858 barangays out of 42,045 in the country declared as drug-free. "Importante kay Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte na ma-eliminate itong problema natin sa droga. Sa nalalabing panahon niya bilang pangulo, we must be relentless and intensify our operations against illegal drugs. Sugpuin natin ang mga organisasyon at sindikato na involved sa illegal na droga," asserted Go. The senator, who also serves as Chair of the Senate Committee on Health, recognized the use of illegal drugs also as a major public health issue that must be addressed at the individual, community, and societal level. He reaffirmed his commitment to the rehabilitation and treatment of drug dependents with the filing of Senate Bill No. 399 which mandates the establishment of a drug treatment and rehabilitation center in every province across the country. To provide a more balanced and holistic approach to the drug problem, the bill provides for the establishment of centers which will provide care, treatment, and accommodation to drug dependents. They shall also offer after-care, follow-up and social reintegration services to assist their patients as they adjust to community life after completing their treatments. The bill likewise places emphasis on issues that need to be addressed concurrently, such as familial and health problems that drive a drug problem, by encouraging the formation of organizations composed of parents, guardians, and immediate relatives to enhance their participation in the rehabilitation of their loved ones. There are presently 64 drug rehabilitation centers accredited by the Department of Health with a total bed capacity of 4,840. Dr. Jose Bienvenido Leabres, program manager of the DOH's Dangerous Drugs Abuse and Treatment Program, reports an additional 11,911 beds are needed in 2021 to treat 16,751 drug dependents who are suffering from severe substance use disorders. The figure comprises just 2% of 1,679,122 persons who use drugs in the country, according to Dangerous Drugs Board figures in 2019. An estimated 90% or 1.59 million are mild substance users, while the remaining 67,000 cases suffer from moderate substance use disorders. "In addition to the fight for the nation's safety and security against the menace of illegal drugs, we must also direct attention towards the rehabilitation and recovery of its many victims. Drug dependents should be treated as victims in need of medical, psychological, and spiritual help. Habang patuloy ang pagpuksa sa mga drug pushers ay hindi natin pinapabayaan ang mga drug users na nais na magbagong buhay," said Go. "Iisa ang hangarin ko at ni Pangulong (Rodrigo) Duterte---ang wakasan ang kriminalidad at iligal na droga sa ating lipunan upang makapag-iwan ng tunay na pagbabago sa bansa na ramdam ng taumbayan. Ang taumbayan na ang humusga kung mas ligtas ba ngayon ang mga anak nila at walang pangamba dahil sa mga kriminal at adik."
Press Release

October 6, 2021 DDoS attack knocks Gordon's official website offline Senator Richard J. Gordon's official website has fallen victim to a coordinated online attack last Oct. 4, causing the site to shut down for several hours. Myke Cruz, information technology officer of Gordon's office, made the report as the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee which the Senator chairs pursues its probe into the alleged anomalous government's procurement deals. "We view such service outage or disruption as a serious concern as its timing comes when the Senate Blue Ribbon panel is investigating alleged irregularities in government procurement for COVID-19 supplies and equipment," he said. According to him, a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack, usually patched through the dark web by nefarious individuals in exchange for a high price, was the cause of the web services shutdown from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Administrators of dickgordon.ph were able to contain the problem by barring entry of traffic from outside the Philippines at around 1 p.m., but the foreign-led attack persisted until 3:04 p.m. Past instances have linked DDoS attacks to destabilizing the online presence of an opposing party. Traffic requests to Gordon's website primarily came from China, the United States, Ukraine, and other Southeast Asian countries, causing the usual bandwidth traffic to rise dramatically from less than 100MB to almost 1.8GB within an hour's span. "Ang nangyari, puwede mo ihalintulad sa sari-sari store, na usually may regular na bilang ng customers na bumibili sa loob ng isang minuto. Ngayon, biglang dinumog ng lahat ng residente ng Metro Manila ang sari-sari store para bumili, kaya di lahat matutugunan on time," explained Cruz. The botnet owner, the originator of the attack, usually develops a malicious software or malware distributed through email or website attachments. Owners of these infected computers unknowingly host this malware, which the attacker adds to the botnet to simultaneously make requests on a specific website or cloud service. As the servers are only capable of entertaining a certain number of simultaneous requests per second, it may cause the server to reach its computing resource, creating a bottleneck. Earlier, Gordon has cautioned the public to be more discriminate about disinformation and fake news being propagated from pro-administration pages on Facebook and Google (YouTube) meant to discredit him and other senators. Gordon's social media pages have also been pestered by "trolls" as he pursues the Senate probe into the alleged anomalous government procurement of COVID-19 medical supplies and equipment with Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation. These "trolls" have parroted President Rodrigo Roa Duterte's baseless allegations against Gordon through ready-made comments and spliced videos attacking him and rehashing long-settled issues in the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA). Duterte also ordered his Cabinet officials not to cooperate in the ongoing Senate inquiry which has linked former presidential economic adviser Michael Yang to the company, which is being called out for questionable financial, technical, and legal capacity.
Lacson Leadership to Fight 'Syndicates' In and Out of Gov't

More at: https://pinglacson.net/article/lacson-leadership-to-fight-syndicates-in-and-out-of-govt

A no-nonsense, corruption-free brand of leadership will be the best weapon against syndicates, both inside and outside the government.

Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson offered this brand of leadership on Wednesday as he filed his Certificate of Candidacy for President for the May 2022 general elections.

"Kahit minsan hindi tumanggap ng suhol kapalit ang serbisyo publiko - nananatiling walang bahid ng korapsyon ang siya naming gagamiting pinakamabisang armas upang buwagin ang mga sindikato sa loob at sa labas man ng gobyerno (A corruption-free brand of leadership is our strongest weapon against syndicates in and out of the government)," he said after filing his COC.

With Lacson was Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III, who filed his COC for Vice President.

Lacson - who during his public service gained experience as a soldier, Philippine National Police chief, Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery and senator - reiterated his leadership will include a disciplined bureaucracy and the proper use of the national budget to benefit all Filipinos, especially those in remote areas.

"Marapat lamang na mauna ang kapakanan ng higit na nakararaming Pilipino (It is only proper that we prioritize the greatest number of Filipinos)," he said.

Lacson said it is time for Filipinos to get back their dignity and self-respect, but this should start with their leaders.

"Kapag ang namumuno ay matino at nirerespeto, panalo ang pangkaraniwang Pilipino (When the leaders are competent and well-respected, the ordinary Filipino wins)!" he said.

For his part, Sotto said he and Lacson are offering themselves now to the people to hold the reins of the executive department.

"We know the ills, we know the solution. Balance the budget, budget reform, bring the money to the people and enhance the fight against illegal drugs by more emphasis on demand reduction strategy. Victory can only be achieved through God's grace. We choose to trust Him every step of the way," he said.
Emirates Tim Clark has revealed Emirates has no plans to set up a domestic airline in India as New Delhi move to privatize national carrier Air India (AI).

The Indian government has allowed 49 percent Foreign Direct Investment in Indian airlines. In an interview of with financial portal Money Control, T. Clark accepts competition following question if the Dubai-based airline will set up domestic airline in India.

At the moment no. It is probably along with China the most voluminous domestic market in the world. (But as you know) the Indian government controls the fares and they also have a tax on fuel which makes the whole economics a little bit marginal in my view, Clark responded during the interview that took place a panel discussion at the International Air Transport Associations Annual General Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts, US.

The AI privatization, Clark also noted that, will affect Emirates. Will it affect us? Of course it will affect us. But you know times change, you adapt and adjust. But this one is a bit of an outlier, he said.
According to information published by U.S. Navy on October 3, 2021, the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, USS Ralph Johnson (DDG 114) arrived to its new forward-deployed location in Yokosuka.

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Flight IIA Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Ralph Johnson (Picture source: U.S. Navy)

USS Ralph Johnson (DDG-114) is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer of the United States Navy. Ralph Johnson is the 64th ship of the class and was commissioned on 24 March 2018.

USS Ralph Johnson is the 65th Arleigh Burke-class destroyer to be commissioned, and the third and last of the DDG 51 Flight IIA restart ships to be commissioned. Flight IIA of the Arleigh Burke-class, authorized in the fiscal year 1994, was a redesign that incorporated alterations for littoral (coastal) warfare on a hull lengthened by six feet over Flight I and II ships.

USS Ralph Johnson is powered by gas turbine propulsion. Employing four General Electric LM 2500-30 gas turbines to produce 100,000 total shaft hp via a dual-shaft design, Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are capable to reach a maximum speed of 35 knots in open seas.

USS Ralph Johnson is armed with one 5-inch (127 mm)/62 caliber Mk.45 Mod. 4 naval gun, two 25mm Mk.38 automatic cannons, four .50 cal (12.7 mm) machine guns, one 20mm Phalanx CIWS (Close-In Weapon System), two Mk.32 triple torpedo tubes for Mk.46 torpedo and 96-cell Mk.41 VLS (Vertical Launching System) able to fire RIM-66 Standard medium-range surface-to-air Missile 2, BGM-109 Tomahawk long-range cruise missile and RUM-139 VL-ASROC anti-submarine missiles.
According to information published by Austal Limited, the company is pleased to announce Austal USA has been awarded its first steel vessel construction contract by the United States Navy, a US$145 million (~A$198.5 million) build of two Towing, Salvage, and Rescue ships (T-ATS 11 and 12).

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Keel laying of Navajo-class USNS Cherokee Nation (Picture source: U.S. Navy)

Austal was initially awarded a US$3.6 million contract by the United States Navy for the functional design of the Navajo-class T-ATS vessels. Overnight awarded the US$145 million (~ A$198.5 million) fixed-price incentive (firm target) contract modification, to include the detailed design and construction of two T-ATS 11 and 12, as well as the option for the additional ships.

The T-ATS contract is the first steel ship construction program awarded by the United States Navy to Austal USA and will be the first program to be delivered in the new steel shipbuilding facilities nearing completion at the shipyard in Mobile, Alabama.

Austal Limited Chief Executive Officer Paddy Gregg said the contract was an exciting milestone in the history of the company and a great demonstration of the companys new steel shipbuilding capabilities in the United States, following on from the successful addition of steel shipbuilding in Australia.

The Navajo class is a class of Towing, Salvage, and Rescue Ships of the United States Navy. They were ordered in 2017 as the planned replacement for the aging Safeguard-class rescue and salvage ships and Powhatan-class tugboats. The lead ship of the first batch of six ships was laid down in 2019. Two additional ships were ordered in 2020.

Rescue and salvage ships (hull classification symbol ARS) are a type of military salvage tug. They are tasked with coming to the aid of stricken vessels. Their general mission capabilities include combat salvage, lifting, towing, retraction of grounded vessels, off-ship firefighting, and manned diving operations.
According to information released on October 6, 2021, Thales Australia welcomes the announcement by Defence Industry Minister Melissa Price to award a $20m contract to maintain the Royal Australian Navys MU90 Light Weight torpedo, demonstrating Thaless established capability in Australia to sustain guided munitions and weapons systems.

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An MU-90 TVE Torpedo is fired from HMAS Warramunga during a weapons training exercise in the Western Australian Exercise Area. (Picture source Australia MoD)

The MU90 has been successfully supported by Thales Australias facility in Rockingham, Western Australia since it entered into service with the Navy in 2013.

The renewal of the in-service support contract for 3 years will be delivered utilizing 100% Australian Industry Capability (AIC), and will directly support jobs with Thales in Western Australia, and more in Thaless local WA supply chain.

Over the past decade, Thales has built a sovereign industrial capability in WA to ensure Australia has the capability to fully support the MU90 torpedo.

The MU90 is an advanced lightweight anti-submarine torpedo of the 3rd generation[3] developed by France and Italy for navies of France, Italy, Germany, Denmark, Australia and Poland. Designed and built with the most advanced technology, the weapon is a fire-and-forget type, conceived to cope with any task any environment capability requirements and meet the ASW (Anti-Submarine Warfare) operational needs of the 21st century.



The MU90 has been designed to counter any type of nuclear or conventional submarine, acoustically coated, deep and fast-evasive, deploying active or passive anti-torpedo effectors. The torpedo can be deployed by any type of platform such as surface vessels, fixed or rotary-wing aircraft, or missiles. Pre-arrangements to cope with Submarine-Launched Anti-Air Missiles (SLAAM) have been already incorporated into the system.



The MU90 torpedo is 323.7mm NATO Standard calibre, weight 304 kg and has a length of 2850mm long. The torpedo is powered through an Aluminium-Silver Oxide sea water battery using dissolved sodium-dioxide powder as electrolyte and incorporating an advanced closed-loop electrolyte re-circulation system, the torpedo is propelled by an electronically controlled high-RPM brush-less motor driving a skewed multi-blades pumpjet propulsor allowing a continuously variable torpedo speed automatically selected by the tactics of the weapon according to the scenario, the environment and the operational phase.



The Mu-90 torpedo operates without any speed degradation and any limitation of salinity and temperature in water depths in excess of 1,000 m and as shallow as 25 m, retaining navigation capability up to 3 m. The advanced acoustic seeker features multi pre-formed transmission and reception beams.
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The fiery exoplanet WASP-76b  a so-called hot Jupiter, where it rains iron  may be hotter than previously thought. CREDIT ESO/M. Kornmesser

Considered an ultra-hot Jupiter - a place where iron gets vaporized, condenses on the night side and then falls from the sky like rain - the fiery, inferno-like WASP-76b exoplanet may be even more sizzling than scientists had realized.

An international team, led by scientists at Cornell University, University of Toronto and Queen's University Belfast, reports the discovery of ionized calcium on the planet - suggesting an atmospheric temperature higher than previously thought, or strong upper atmosphere winds.

The discovery was made in high-resolution spectra obtained with Gemini North near the summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii.

Hot Jupiters are named for their high temperatures, due to proximity to their stars. WASP-76b, discovered in 2016, is about 640 light-years from Earth, but so close to its F-type star, which is slightly hotter than the sun, that the giant planet completes one orbit every 1.8 Earth days.

The research results are the first of a multiyear, Cornell-led project, Exoplanets with Gemini Spectroscopy survey, or ExoGemS, that explores the diversity of planetary atmospheres.

"As we do remote sensing of dozens of exoplanets, spanning a range of masses and temperatures, we will develop a more complete picture of the true diversity of alien worlds - from those hot enough to harbor iron rain to others with more moderate climates, from those heftier than Jupiter to others not much bigger than the Earth," said co-author Ray Jayawardhana, Harold Tanner Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Cornell University and a professor of astronomy.

"It's remarkable that with today's telescopes and instruments, we can already learn so much about the atmospheres - their constituents, physical properties, presence of clouds and even large-scale wind patterns - of planets that are orbiting stars hundreds of light-years away," Jayawardhana said.

The group spotted a rare trio of spectral lines in highly sensitive observations of the exoplanet WASP-76b's atmosphere, published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters on Sept. 28 and presented on Oct. 5 at the annual meeting of the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society.

"We're seeing so much calcium; it's a really strong feature," said first author Emily Deibert, a University of Toronto doctoral student, whose adviser is Jayawardhana.

"This spectral signature of ionized calcium could indicate that the exoplanet has very strong upper atmosphere winds," Deibert said. "Or the atmospheric temperature on the exoplanet is much higher than we thought."

Gemini North is part of the international Gemini Observatory, a program of National Science Foundation's NOIRLab.



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The ESA-owned Short Arm Human Centrifuge has been upgraded, installed and inaugurated at the Olympic Sport Centre Planica facility near Kranjska Gora, Slovenia.

Soon to be home to ESA bedrest studies, this recently enhanced clinical research centre will help further scientists' knowledge of human physiology in space.

Run by the Jozef Stefan Institute on behalf of ESA, bedrest studies at the facility offer scientists a way to see how the human body adapts to weightlessness. This allows researchers to test techniques, known as "countermeasures", to counteract the negative effects of living in space.

The Short-Arm Human Centrifuge offers an extra suite of possible countermeasures by exposing people to artificial gravity. At 35 revolutions of the 3-m arms per minute, riders may experience a force of gravity that is more than twice their own body weight at their centre of mass, and more than four times their body weight at their feet.

Artificial gravity has the potential to reduce many of the negative effects of weightlessness on the human body in one go. As spinning encourages blood to flow back towards a subject's feet, they are provided with a force to push against, while they follow a carefully controlled exercise regime of squats, jumps, heel raises and toe raises, for 30 minutes per day. These countermeasures should mitigate the reduction of bone and muscle mass that astronauts, and bedrest subjects, can otherwise experience.

The Planica facility provides equipment to collect all ESA Bedrest Core Data, allowing for comparison between different ESA-sponsored studies. It can also be maintained under adjustable environmental conditions, such as a low-oxygen atmosphere, which is highly relevant for human exploration missions.

In bedrest studies, volunteers spend from five to 60 days in bed, usually tilted backwards with their heads at 6 below the horizontal. They are not permitted to stand up unless a research programme demands it and must perform all daily activities in bed - including eating, showers and exercise.

The results of these studies also benefit people on Earth. Many negative effects of living in space are similar to those experienced naturally as we age, such as osteoporosis, muscle loss and orthostatic intolerance.

ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher signed the loan agreement for the centrifuge with representatives from the Jozef Stefan Institute during his tour of Slovenia last week.

Slovenia has been an ESA Associate member since 2016 and recently signed on to the Terrae Novae programme (formerly known as the European Exploration Envelope Programme (E3P).

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Even Atheists Praise God, Says Author of New Book

When They Say "Hallelujah," They Are Literally Praising God



NEWS PROVIDED BY

Manchild Publishing

Oct. 6, 2021



NORWOOD, Mo., Oct. 6, 2021 /Standard Newswire/ -- Author Kenneth Wayne Hancock says that he has uncovered a Biblical secret. Everyone, including atheists and agnostics, is extolling God when they say the word "Hallelujah."



He was reading Psalm 150:1 and noticed a footnote to the words "Praise the LORD." It read, "Hebrew Hallelu Yah." Intrigued, he looked both words up in several sources. Hallelu means "Praise." Yah is the "name of the God of Israel" ("Yah" Wiki).



"I have heard and spoken the word 'Hallelujah' all my life," Hancock said. "It is in hymns, pop music, movies, books and everyday speech. But no one ever told me what the word meant. We have been saying 'Praise Yah" and did not even know it."



Hancock said that this knowledge is a key that will help millions unlock even more Biblical mysteries. "God's Hebrew name is important like our own names are important to us. The knowledge of His name was once a hidden secret," Hancock said. "But God gets the last laugh. Even atheists are praising Him."



Hancock shares more on this in his latest book, "The Eleventh Commandment." Free promotional copies with free shipping are available to the public. To receive a copy, visit his website: https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com.



After serving in Vietnam, Hancock was a missionary in Mexico and Turkey. There he explored Mt. Ararat in search of Noah's Ark. He taught 30 years at both college and secondary levels. He is founder of the non-profit Manchild Publishing. He is the author of "The Royal Destiny" and "The Unveiling of the Sons of God" among others.



SOURCE Manchild Publishing



CONTACT: Kenneth Wayne Hancock, 417-693-1714, wayneman5@hotmail.com



Related Links



https://www.immortalityroad.wordpress.com


The Saudi British Bank (SABB) participated in the Global Trade Review (GTR) Saudi Arabia 2021 Virtual Event on October 5, to discuss the future of trade and the potential opportunities in the Kingdom in light of 2030 Vision.



The event was attended by a group of decision-makers, senior experts, professionals, and leaders in the trade sector from various governmental and private institutions in the region.



SABB was one of the lead sponsors of the event, which is one of the most important and largest Trade Finance conferences in the world, with over 800 key figures from global and regional markets attending each year.



This, in turn, helps to provide and attract opportunities for hundreds of companies involved in global trade to present their financial plans, discuss the future of trade in the region, and benefit from the most recent experiences and modern technologies to create an ideal environment for doing business.



During the conference's dialogue sessions, SABB presented its views on the future of trade in the Kingdom and the intended growth routes, highlighting the Kingdom's digital transformation experience as a model for success and development in the region.



Majed Najm, Deputy Managing Director, Corporate and Institutional Banking at SABB stated: "Our participation in this significant conference is a testament of the kingdoms pivotal role, making positive changes to the future of trade, as well as major strategic transformation led by Vision 2030. In addition to discussing how SABB is pioneering new technologies to more efficiently support the Trade finance requirements of companies from multinational through to SME. "



SABB is the leading bank in trade finance in Saudi Arabia by market share and according to several industry reviews, and was the first to launch several digital products and services aimed at promoting the role of trade finance, digitization, and sustainability in an effort to stimulate the economy and business development.  TradeArabia News Service
The Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (Apicorp), a multilateral development financial institution focused on the energy sector, announced that it has successfully raised $750 million from its debut green bonds.

The US-denominated five-year benchmark issuance, the first green bond in the Mena region issued by an energy-focused investment institution, was nearly three times oversubscribed, garnering $2.2 billion in orders from more than 80 institutional and sovereign investors.

All projects funded by Apicorp using these green bonds will be aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with a focus on renewable energy, green buildings, pollution prevention and control, and low-carbon technologies and solutions.

A designated Green Bond Committee (GBC) will oversee the evaluation process of the projects to ensure their compliance with Apicorps recently launched ESG and Green Bond Frameworks, alignment to best practices, and that they support local and national energy sustainability strategies.

In addition, Apicorp plans to issue an Annual Green Bond Report on the environmental impact of the bonds to ensure stakeholder visibility.

Commenting on the success of the bonds, Dr Ahmed Ali Attiga, CEO of Apicorp, said: The shift to more sustainable energy solutions is no longer an option, it is a must, and we at Apicorp are here to accelerate this shift within the region. Through our debut green bonds, Apicorp opens new investment avenues to build a more sustainable future for the Arab world and give millions of people access to safer, cleaner, and more affordable energy sources.

In terms of geographic distribution, investors from outside the Arab region accounted for 93% of the total subscribers of the issuance, with 45% based in the UK and Europe. Notably, 63% of the subscribers are strictly ESG-focused investors.

Dr Sherif El Sayed Ayoub, Chief Financial Officer of Apicorp, said: The success of our green bonds reflects the strong demand in sustainable investments. The interest from leading global institutional and sovereign investors in this issuance, particularly those focused on sustainable and responsible investing, also underscores the strong reputation Apicorp has built and their trust in our ability to promoting the ESG agenda in the Mena region.

Apicorp recently announced that it will allocate almost $1 billion to green energy projects over the next two years.-- TradeArabia News Service
GFH Financial Groups outlook has been upgraded to stable by Capital Intelligence Ratings, which now rates the groups long-term foreign currency rating (LT FCR) and short-term foreign currency rating (ST FCR) as BB- and B, respectively.

The improvement reflects the groups sound liquidity, coupled with a sizeable liquid sovereign sukuk portfolio, increasingly diversified sources of funding and increased share of non-Bahrain assets, said a statement.

The updated corporate ratings are also supported by GFHs extended debt maturity profile following a $500 million five-year Sukuk issue in 2020, low refinancing risk and satisfactory debt service capacity.

We are pleased that CI has recognised our efforts and significant progress towards improving our model and reducing our overall credit risk profile over the last few years. Despite the challenging market headwinds caused by Covid-19, we have managed to continue to effectively implement our ongoing strategy to transform GFH from a purely Islamic wholesale t bank into a fully integrated Shariaa compliant financial group, said Salem Patel, Managing Director of Asset Management at GFH.

GFH has a strong track record of operating through economic cycles, focusing on defensive sectors and recession proof investments to deliver growth and value creation for stakeholders. The group reported net profit attributable to shareholders of more than US$37 million for the first half of 2021, an increase of 146% compared with the same period in 2020.

CIs rating report noted that GFH has continued to diversify risk assets and revenue streams by launching new business segments. The report forecasted that GFHs risk profile is expected to improve further, particularly as diversification reduces historical concentrations in the real estate sector.

GFH is focused on building a broad and diverse portfolio covering sectors including healthcare, technology, education and yielding real estate. The group targets acquisitions of prime, high-quality assets in strategic geographies and high-growth areas.

Placements from financial and non-financial institutions together with term financing remain the largest component of funding at GFH, having more than doubled in recent years. These funds are sourced predominately from within the GCC region and have demonstrated a rather high degree of resilience, according to CI, despite the impact of Covid-19 and volatile oil prices on GCC economies.

Patel added: We are one of just a handful of universal banks in the GCC that has managed to weather the pandemic while generating a profit. Our new business segments, including developing treasury activities, are a boon to our model. Our focus now is on evolving further and achieving a Positive rating.

The report added that GFHs recently increased stake in Khaleeji Commercial Bank is expected to positively impact profitability in the medium to long-term, it said. - TradeArabia News Service
Intersec, the world-leading emergency services, security and safety event, will mark its return in January 2022 with a ground-breaking, elevated new programme uniting global and regional leaders in the industry.

Never-before seen additions to the event will see Cybersecurity and technology take centre stage, along with some of the worlds best speakers in the UAE for the first time.

The 23rd edition of the flagship event, under the patronage of Sheikh Mansoor Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, will be staged under the theme of Uniting the worlds leading industry specialists for the safety & security of future generations.

Sheikh Mansoor said: Intersec will be the most important platform of the year for businesses and governments to collaborate and continue on their paths of building a sustainable, safer and more secure world for our generation and those that follow. We look forward to hosting our communities once again, safely, physically and live in-person.

The first industry gathering of 2022, staged at Dubai World Trade Centre from January 16 to 18, is the only event in the region that brings the entire ecosystem of emergency services, security and safety together at one time.

Demonstrating Intersecs strategic importance to the UAE, long-standing Official Supporters include Dubai Police, Dubai Civil Defence, Security Industry Regulatory Agency (SIRA) and Dubai Municipality while additional government partners for 2022 will be announced shortly.

Intersecs innovation and technology focus will include its first ever Cyber Lab offering a vital platform for knowledge. Organiser Messe Frankfurt has worked closely with industry stakeholders, from both the private and public sector, to develop an event that reflects both their current and future needs that offers attendees bespoke platforms to gain expert insight on future capacity and capabilities.

Christine Davidson, Intersecs Group Exhibition Director, said: There has never been such an intense focus as there is today on the security and safety industry which has been at the frontline of protecting the worlds communities over the last 18 months during this time of significant global disruption.

Having invested heavily to deliver an outstanding program that will address the sectors most vital issues and opportunities, Intersec 2022 brings the industry together at this crucial juncture to share knowledge from recent experiences and look to the future with the events most powerful series of conferences including multiple platforms for strategic G2G, G2B and B2B discussions and deep dive sessions into key sector verticals.

Davidson added: The phenomenal development in the framework of the show will see the best minds in the industry come to the table with the most content-rich programme ever seen at Intersec. We have the most comprehensive line-up of international and regional speakers, dynamic networking opportunities, coupled with world-class exhibitors to bring the most relevant value to Intersecs attendees. We have built a world-class team to deliver this event and over the coming weeks we will be sharing further details of our elite speakers and conference programme that will demonstrate the extraordinary value of the event to our attendees.

Seen as a nexus for the industry, Intersec will bring together thousands of its most powerful stakeholders for bilateral government and business discussions on mitigating and addressing vulnerabilities of the future.

They will be joined by leading regional and international brands exhibiting the most innovative systems and solutions in a dynamic environment that will enable face-to-face and virtual exchange through interactive roundtables, workshops and closed-door confidential conversations.-- TradeArabia News Service
Leading Saudi developer Jabal Omar Development Company said it has signed an Islamic term finance agreement with kingdom's top banks - Saudi British Bank (SABB) and Saudi National Bank (formerly Samba Financial Group) - in bid to restructure its SR4.7 billion ($1.25 billion) loan that was taken six years ago.

As per the new agreement, the loans final maturity has been extended by three years to 2030, with an option to extend by another three years, said the company in its filing to the Saudi bourse Tadawul.

Jabal Omar said the tenor of the original loan was 12 years from the date of signing the agreement in 2015. The total financing limit has also increased by around 26 per cent to SR5.9 billion, it stated.

The Saudi developer operates the Jabal Omar complex of hotels and residential and commercial property within walking distance of Grand Mosque in Makkah. It was hard-hit when the pandemic reduced pilgrimages.

TradeArabia had recently reported that the company had sold a prime parcel of land within its Makkah project via a public auction for SR517 million ($138 million) in bid to boost its capital structure. The 2,600.32 sq m plot was sold at a rate of SR199,000 per sq m.

The Saudi developer pointed out that the restructuring was needed to complete Phases 2 & 4 of its Jabal Omar project in Makkah and improve the terms in line with its cash flows and capital structure.

This comes as part of the companys turnaround plan to improve its capital structure, decrease its financial obligations and accelerate the completion of the projects phases.-TradeArabia News Service
Dar Al Arkan, the leading real estate company in Saudi Arabia, has joined hands with luxury Italian fashion house Missoni (known for its bold colours and iconic zigzag motifs, stripes, and wave patterns) to unveil its new waterfront residential tower in Dubai - the Urban Oasis.

The launch of the AED800 million ($218 million) development marks two significant firsts for both the companies: Dar Al Arkans regional expansion with its first project in the UAE and the Arab worlds first-ever bespoke Missoni-inspired living spaces designed by the fashion brands MissoniHome line dedicated to interiors, decor, and furnishings.

Urban Oasis is situated in the heart of the city directly on the Dubai Water Canal in close proximity to Downtown Dubais top attractions such as Burj Khalifa and The Dubai Mall, and many other premium lifestyle locations.

The deluxe homes of Urban Oasis offer spectacular and uninterrupted views of the Dubai Water Canal, making the tower a true urban oasis within the bustling city.

Construction of the tower is currently underway and is set to be completed before the end of 2023.

On the new project, Vice Chairman Ziad El Chaar said: "Its location is in one of the most sought-after in the city, and were happy to have our first flagship development in the UAE situated in the heart of Dubai. The Dubai Water Canal is one of Dubais most attractive areas for homebuyers, and given its proximity to Downtown Dubai, Urban Oasis assures the best that the city life can offer, making it the ideal place to live."

"Working with Missoni is a clear indication of our continued dedication to providing our clients and investors with the highest standards of luxury living, while being completely unique compared to anything else on the market," he added.

The Urban Oasis in collaboration with Missoni is one of the best representatives of Italian fashion and contemporary design excellence around the world. It consists of 38 floors of high-end one, two and three-bedroom apartments and four-bedroom penthouses with luxury interiors from MissoniHome.

Missoni CEO Livio Proli said: "Were delighted to be working with Dar Al Arkan on the Urban Oasis project, our first in the region, and are excited to be furnishing these incredible apartments with the finest fabrics and Miami inspired design, which will give the homes a unique and original finish."

"Our creative team has come together to design bespoke luxury interiors that perfectly complement the apartments urban surroundings. The Dubai real estate sector continues to grow and were relishing being a part of a development that has so much to offer," stated Proli.

The unique penthouse apartments, which are accessible via a private elevator, come fully fitted with high-end Missoni fixtures and decor elements. The immaculately designed one, two, three apartments come in varying sizes and offer unique levels of five-star living, increadible water-front views and a closed kitchen.

Residents will also have access to luxury facilities and services. The tower features a swimming pool, a children's play area, car parking, an equipped gymnasium, and 24/7 conceirge and security service, he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Siemens Energy, one of the worlds leading energy technology companies, has opened the region's first one-stop-shop for the energy industry at Dammam, Saudi Arabia.

The facility, which now covers significant parts of the energy value chain, is the largest of its kind in the Middle East and Africa region and is ready to support neighboring countries.

Announcing the launch, Siemens Energy said this expansion of its hub in Dammam will help increase its local capabilities in the energy industry, in line with the Kingdoms Vision 2030.

Located in Modon 2nd Industrial City, the Siemens Energy Dammam hub (SEDH) is designed to manufacture a combination of up to 10 heavy-duty Gas Turbines and around 40 Compression Packages annually.

Having delivered 26 compressor trains for strategic Saudi projects already, the facility will deliver more compression trains for other strategic projects in the kingdom over the next few years.

Siemens Energy pointed out that it has already pumped in more than 100 million ($117 million) into the new facility that localises the energy value chain in the kingdom under one roof. It will continue to invest heavily in this one-stop-energy-shop.

The new admin building also houses a training center for its customers operation and maintenance teams. Several modern training rooms with state-of-the-art digital infrastructure

Speaking at the launch, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud said: "Saudi Arabias demand for electricity is rising with the growing population of around 34 million. The kingdom faces a pressing demand for power that is estimated to grow over 30 percent to 120 gigawatts this decade."

"We strive to empower the energy sector. This new Dammam facility will help Siemens Energy to boost local content and personnel," he added.

Mahmoud Sulaimani, Managing Director of Siemens Energy in Saudi Arabia, said: "The technology delivered by this facility will support the country in its push for sustainability and decarbonization amid an expanding energy industry."

"We are proud that this facility is a center of excellence which enables us to raise the skills of young

Saudis and serve the energy value chain inside the kingdom," he stated.

"After producing the first 'Made in KSA' gas turbine in 2016 Siemens Energy has continued to invest in the facility and has increased its manufacturing and assembling capabilities, to include compressor trains, water solution packages, process automation solutions, additive manufacturing capabilities, as well as Rotor Assembly and Repair, he added.

The hub was expanded further with the goal of covering all the services required for the product life cycle in the Kingdom while supporting low emission power generation and decarbonization of industrial processes.

Now the 75,000 sq m industrial hub, which houses around 300 employees, has supplemented its manufacturing capacity with a fully integrated service value chain that includes technologically advanced repairs.

This latest addition enables the hub to repair and overhaul equipment that would have otherwise been sent overseas, reducing service time and cost, and supporting in Kingdom value.

Its advanced service workshop enables any kind of rotating equipment to be serviced, covering general inspections, regular repairs, modifications and upgrades as well as 24/7 emergency servicing.

The hubs new Power Diagnostic Center (PDC) is connected to the Siemens Energy Gas Turbine fleet in Saudi Arabia.

The PDC collects, analyzes and stores operational data to proactively identify optimization potential in operating power plants and monitors performance using state of the art AI solutions. This digital service increases turbine availability, reliability and reduces cost by avoiding forced outages.-TradeArabia News Service
Rockwell Automation, the world's largest company dedicated to industrial automation and information technology, is showcasing sustainability solutions at the Water, Energy, Technology and Environment Exhibition (Wetex). The participation is in partnership with Al Ghandi Electrical and Automation.

In line with Rockwell Automations strategy to drive digital transformation in the Middle East, this participation highlights Rockwell Automations commitment towards sustainability and building smarter and more sustainable infrastructure in the water industry. The show takes place at the Dubai Exhibition Centre from October 5 to 7.

The Rockwell Automation and Al Ghandi Electrical and Automation teams have worked closely together to showcase their products and technologies for automated water and wastewater systems.

Commenting on this occasion, Sagren Govender, Water Wastewater Industry Coordinator for EMEA at Rockwell Automation, said: We are thrilled to be participating along with our distributor Al Ghandi Electrical and Automation in Wetex 2021. Over 20 years, Wetex has established itself as one of the largest and most important exhibition in the region. This is a significant milestone in our commitment towards sustainability and a unique occasion to showcase how our process automation and information solutions can help businesses manage their energy use and improve their water treatment operations.

An industry leader in the UAE for over 40 years, Al Ghandi Electrical and Automation operates from three office locations in Dubai, Jebel Al and Abu Dhabi and represents some of the worlds most renowned brands.

As a member of Rockwell Automations PartnerNetwork programme since 2020, Al Ghandi Electrical and Automation already delivers an extensive package of Rockwell Automations solutions in several industrial automation categories.

It is well-known that the Middle East and North Africa are the world's most water-scarce regions and it is crucial for businesses in the region to take critical action to meet their water/wastewater business objectives. I am confident that the technologies and solutions showcased at Wetex 20201 will deliver great impact and support our customers in their journey towards sustainability and compliance, added Srikrishna Ganesh, General Manager, Al Ghandi Electrical & Automation.-- TradeArabia News Service
Hitachi ABB Power Grids has announced that it is the lead in a consortium that has been awarded a multi-million-dollar contract from the Saudi Electricity Company and the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company.

The award is for the first ever large-scale high-voltage direct current (HVDC) inter-connection in the Middle East and North Africa, enabling the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the Arab Republic of Egypt to exchange up to 3,000 MW of electricity  much of which is expected to be generated from renewable energy sources in the future.

The connection will support the flow of power in multiple directions between three terminals and will be the first interconnection allowing the exchange of electric power between both countries.

The global technology and market leader will be delivering advanced technologies for HVDC power link between the countries. This includes the supply of three HVDC converter stations located at Medina and Tabuk in KSA, and Badr in Egypt.

The business will also be providing system studies, design and engineering, transformers, valves, high-voltage equipment, technical advisory, commissioning and service, in collaboration with two consortium partners  Saudi Services for Electro Mechanic Works in KSA and Orascom Construction in Egypt.

The HVDC link will give Egypt access to the interconnected power grids of the Arabian Gulf, and KSA access to those of North Africa, whilst strengthening grid resilience and power supply security.

Both countries have ambitious carbon-neutrality targets. KSA is working to increase the share of natural gas and renewable energy sources to approximately 50% by 2030, and Egypt intends to increase the supply of electricity generated from renewable sources to 42% by 2035.

The connection directly contributes to the realisation of these goals. The in-country value of the investment is significant, generating new jobs and knowledge transfer for people in KSA and Egypt.

Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman  Saudi Minister of Energy  unveiled that reaching such milestone highlights the sound directives and proper guidance paid by the two brotherly countries, significantly represented by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques - King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and President Abdelfattah Al-Sisi. Among a package of economic, development and political agreements accorded by the two countries, the MOU came to light, strengthening KSAs and Egypts prosperous cooperation in interconnecting their power grids.

The Minister of Energy pointed out that the electrical interconnection plans in the Saudi Arabia comply with Vision 2030, enjoying a due care from Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence. Leveraging its strategic location while optimising its ownership to the largest power grid in the Middle East and the Arab world, KSA aims at being a regional hub for energy exchange and a prominent trader in the market.

Egypts Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Dr Mohamed Shaker El-Markabi, affirmed that the project reflects the depth of Egyptian-Saudi relations throughout their rich history and the wise leadership of both countries. El-Markabi also highlighted the unceasing endeavors of Egypt & KSA to attain sustainable social and economic goals across the entire Arab world. He affirmed that such joint interconnection is a kickstart for a panArab interconnection, complementing their visions towards 2030.

Egypts Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy added that the robust connection between two of the largest electrical networks in the region, promise stability and reliability on power supply, with a thrive in the economic and developmental returns on exchanging around 3,000 megawatts of electricity.

Exhibiting their fruitful expansion plans for renewable energy resources, such cooperation is considered as a safety valve for the unstable nature of renewable energy. Huge investments shall be dedicated in the near future to address such unsteady nature.

The clean energy transition is one of the most urgent and important challenges of our times and we must innovate and collaborate to accelerate our carbon-neutral future, said Claudio Facchin, CEO, Hitachi ABB Power Grids. He continued: We are proud to have the opportunity to work with our esteemed customers and partners in KSA and Egypt for this prestigious project. At Hitachi ABB Power Grids, we are enabling interconnections between continents, with unique capability to reliably exchange electric power at scale, across borders and time zones.

In the longer term, the link has the potential to be part of a more broadly interconnected energy system with Europe and the eastern Mediterranean, allowing the exchange of solar power from the south and east with wind and hydro power from the north.

The HVDC interconnection will transport up to 3,000 MW of electricity at 500 kV along 1,350 km using overhead power lines and a subsea cable across the Red Sea.

The power will be able to flow in multiple directions between the three terminals  for instance, from Tabuk to Badr, but also simultaneously from Tabuk to Medina.

With the state-of-the-art MACH control system, the power flow can be controlled and reversed between the stations without interrupting the continuous power flow, providing maximum flexibility, grid resilience and supply security to both countries.

HVDC is a key enabling technology of the sustainable energy transition, and Hitachi ABB Power Grids is continually adding new capacity to meet the growing demand for HVDC solutions globally. For example, Hitachi ABB Power Grids was involved in the go live of the North Sea Link that was put into commercial operation earlier this month.

At 720 km, North Sea Link is the longest subsea electricity cable in the world connecting Norway and Britains energy markets enabling the exchange of renewable power between the countries. Hitachi ABB Power Grids pioneered commercial HVDC technology almost 70 years ago and has delivered more than half of all the HVDC projects in the world.-- TradeArabia News Service
Moro Hub, a subsidiary of Digital Dewa, has appointed NetApp, a global cloud-led, data-centric software company, as its platform to power the hubs application modernisation platform offering for businesses in the UAE. Digital Dewa is the digital arm of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa).

Moro Hub (Data Hub Integrated Solutions) hosts the regions first tier III certified solar-powered Green Data Centre that focuses on sustainable practices to deliver customer-centric innovation.

Our association with NetApp is the next step in the evolution of data services for our clients. It will not only provide a robust IT architecture for government and enterprise clients, but also help our efforts to tackle security challenges faced by businesses in the country. A key advantage is that NetApps unified software-defined platform supports all types of data across the Data Centre and the cloud, whether its Storage Area Network (SAN), Network Attached Storage (NAS), or Simple Storage Service (S3), which will help meet customers existing requirements while keeping the budgets affordable, said Eng Marwan Bin Haidar, Vice Chairman and Group CEO of Digital Dewa.

Moro Hub makes extensive use of container orchestration platforms such as Kubernetes, to provide scalability and flexibility required to modernise the applications and services.

Through this collaboration, Moro Hub aims to leverage the underlying technology and enhance the Kubernetes-native integration.

This will enable Moro Hub customers to get the most out of their investment by simplifying the deployment of containers throughout the enterprise while protecting and managing data, wherever and whenever it is needed, across the data fabric.

We are incredibly excited to be a key enabler in supporting Moro Hubs efforts to provide businesses with sustainable data management offerings, said Fadi Kanafani, Managing Director  Middle East at NetApp.

Not only does this engagement allow us to work with the first Green Solar-Powered Data Centre, but we also believe that the introduction of NetApp solutions will enrich Moro Hubs offerings to support their data life cycle management journeys.

With NetApps vast experience in NAS and NFS protocols, along with the solutions solid integration in containers, NetApp and Moro Hub aim to simplify, integrate and unify the use of container platform as a service.

NetApps roadmap and vision for helping customers to build their data fabrics, coupled with our hyperscaler alliances, allows Moro Hub to have a seamless integration and single data management platform in a hybrid-cloud model, across on-premises and public cloud environments when required, added Kanafani.

As a Dubai 10X enabler, Moro Hub works in line with the UAE Centennial 2071, to position the country at the forefront of technological innovation. In addition, Moro Hub will leverage this collaboration to host, manage, and secure customers data and grow without any disruptions or downtime by scaling up or out according to requirements.

Providing customers with best-of breed-data management is at the core of Moro Hubs operations, which helps the company associate with leading industry leaders.

The collaboration between Moro Hub and NetApp offers a unique contribution to the digital landscape in the UAE, as well as reinforces Moro Hubs goals in amplifying its application modernisation services to businesses that need the power to drive success.-- TradeArabia News Service
The Saudi Electricity Company and Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company have signed awarded contracts of the electric connection projects between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Egypt, reported Saudi Press Agency (SPA).



Saudi Arabias Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz said that reaching this important stage of the projects is a coronation of directives of the two countries' leaderships, which push for enhancing solid brotherly relations and instilling deep-rooted and distinguished ties between them.



Egyptian Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mohammed Shaker Al-Markabi said that the project is a result of deep-rooted Egyptian-Saudi ties throughout history, citing the directives of both countries' leaderships and ensuring the entrepreneurship of Cairo and Riyadh in realizing economic and social goals of countries of the entire Arab world.



He added that the project represents a strong connection between the biggest two power grids in the region and reflects the stability and increasing credibility of electric supplies between the two countries, in addition to the magnitude of the economic and development returns to exchange up to 3,000 megawatts of electricity.



He also added that in line of the ambitious plans of the two countries to expand reliance on renewable energy resources, this connection represents a safety valve for the two grids in facing the instable nature of renewable energies in general and provides huge investments to address any of these impacts.



The contracts that were signed in synchronization between Riyadh and Cairo included three alliances for local and international companies to implement the 3,000-megawatt connection projects with the HVDC technology at a total voltage of 500 kilovolts.



They also include establishing three high-voltage transfer stations: eastern Madinah and Tabouk stations in Saudi Arabia and Badr Station in Eastern Cairo, connected through aerial transmission lines with a total length of 1,350 kilometres and marine cables in the Gulf of Aqaba with a length of 22 kilometres at a total cost of $1.8 billion.
Emirates will restart flights to London Gatwick Airport (LGW) from December 10, responding to the easing of international travel restrictions and an upsurge in passenger demand for winter sun.

The airline will resume services to its second London gateway with a daily flight operated by a B777 aircraft, across First, Business and Economy class, the airline said.

Flight EK015, will depart Dubai International (DXB) at 07:40 and arrive in London Gatwick (LGW) at 11:40, while flight EK016 will depart London Gatwick at 13:35 and arrive in Dubai at 00:40 the following day (all times are local).

The addition of London Gatwick Airport to flight schedules in December will restore Emirates' UK operations to six gateways, alongside the six times daily A380 London Heathrow service; double daily A380 flights to Manchester, ten weekly service to Birmingham, daily service to Glasgow, and four weekly service to Newcastle, it said.

By the end of December, the airline will offer 84 weekly flights to the UK, making it easier for UK customers to access Emirates' growing global network of over 120 destinations - close to 90 percent of Emirates' pre-pandemic network, and for international travellers to visit the UK.

Adnan Kazim, Emirates' Chief Commercial Officer, commented: "With the UK simplifying travel and accepting international vaccination certificates, we've seen a big surge in demand as people have been a lot more confident in booking trips for the coming months and further ahead, be it for business, a winter sun escape or to visit family and friends. Gatwick has long been a valued partner for Emirates and we look forward to welcoming passengers back onboard an Emirates flight soon."

Stephen King, Head of Airline Relations at Gatwick Airport, said: "We are delighted to welcome Emirates back to Gatwick in December. Emirates has been a hugely popular airline for Gatwick passengers and it's fantastic that we are once again able to offer passengers across London and the South East the opportunity to connect with Dubai and beyond."
Business aviation company VistaJet has announced the launch of The Surprise Reunion, its latest creation in the Adventures in the Sky programme for families.

Designed in collaboration with event planners Sharky & George, the adventures bring friends and families together from every corner of the globe.

Prior to each journey, mysterious packages, including trip itineraries and challenge instructions, are delivered at each guests door. Perhaps an ancient map parchment, engraved coins, or a cryptic message, each will be different  and in some cases, delivered by unexpected characters, Vistajet said in a statement.

The company confirmed it will ensure seamless travel by private jet from anywhere in the world, to the final destination.

As friends and family may be flying simultaneously on separate VistaJet aircraft, all in-flight activities and challenges will share a common theme to create an atmosphere of togetherness leading up to the reunion.

EVP of Marketing and Innovation Matteo Atti said: "This past year has shown us that spending time with family and friends is what really matters. We assessed how to better serve our members and imagined a reunion with loved ones of all ages, commencing at 45,000ft in the sky. In collaboration with our partner Sharky & George, we did just that by creating The Surprise Reunion.

"After more than a year of missed milestones and holiday gatherings, our hope is that this will give families and friends

something exciting to look forward to, encouraging them to spend time together, exploring new places, creating new

traditions, and celebrating every moment big and small."

VistaJets itineraries include:

- The Ultimate Quest

- Adventure Race Across the Globe

- Immersive Historical Experience-TradeArabia News Service
The Origin of the Armenian Alphabet

The month of October is known as "The Cultural Month" for Armenians throughout the world. It is during this month that Armenian churches, organizations and people commemorate the memory of the Holy Translators who created the Golden Age of Armenian Literature in the fifth century.

The Holy Translators were a group of Armenian scholars, headed by two towering Armenian churchmen, St. Sahag Bartev (350-440) and St. Mesrob Mashdotz (345-440).

The fifth century was a crucial period for the Armenian nation. One of the most important events in the history of Armenia took place in 406 A.D., when the Armenian alphabet was created. Before that, for many centuries, various forms of cuneiforms had been used in Armenia. Obviously, they were not in use after the adoption of Christianity as a state religion. Greek and Syriac languages became the official languages of the church.

The use of these languages caused great concern for the religious leadership because:

The ordinary people did not understand them. They made the spread of Christianity difficult. Christian outreach and mission work was hampered by the absence of instructional literature in the Armenian language. They hindered the advance of the Armenian culture and created a serious obstacle to the intellectual, social and spiritual progress of the Armenian people.

No one knew this sad state of affairs as much as Mesrob Mashdotz, a cleric, who received orders from the Catholicos to go on a preaching tour to the region of Goghtn, in Vaspuragan province, to promote the Christian faith. It was in the course of his work that he received the idea of putting the Bible into the people's own language. An Armenian alphabet was to be devised to accomplish this task. Mesrob came to Neapolis and confided his thoughts to Catholicos Sahag Bartev. The two clergymen formed a fraternity of prayer to seek divine guidance in their task. They approached King Vramshapuh, who appreciated the value of an indigenous alphabet and its potential for shaping the cultural and spiritual unity of the Armenian people.

Having the moral as well as the financial support of the king and the Catholicos, Mesrob embarked upon the task of inventing a new Armenian alphabet. He traveled to Mesopotamia, Edessa (Urfa) and Samosata, the western Hellenized edge of Armenia, where he became acquainted with a well-known scholar and calligrapher Rufinus the Syrian, a personal friend of the famous theologian Theodore of Mopsuestia. Then, with the help of Rufinus, Mesrob accomplished his mission. He gave shape to 36 new letters, creating a precise match between the sounds of the Armenian language of the fifth century and its new alphabet. The invention took place in 404 A.D. and attained its final form in 406 A.D. This alphabet was an important creation in the history of the Armenian people. Those 36 letters were destined to be, as it were, "the 36 pillars of defense for the Armenian nation." It should be noted that during the Middle Ages, two more letters were added to the original alphabet.

The invention of the Armenian alphabet ushered in a new age of intellectual and spiritual enlightenment, with St. Sahag and St. Mesrob recruiting a select of group of intellectuals to embark upon the task of translating the patristic texts, the canons of the early church councils, the liturgies and historical texts.

Soon, a group of scholars, under the leadership of Mesrob and Sahag, launched the venture of translating the Bible. The first translation was made from one version of the Syriac text, probably from the Peshitta version. The very first sentence translated was the first verse of the Book of Proverbs: "For attaining wisdom and instruction; for understanding words of insight." Convinced of the superiority of the Greek text, Armenian scholars completed a second translation, called Pootanagi (meaning "hastily rendered") in the early 420s. Thereafter, some of the senior translators were sent to other centers of culture to further their education and collect Greek and Syriac manuscripts for future translations.

Upon their return, the senior translators made the final revision, comparing the already completed "Pootanagi version" to the selected Greek text. This was rendered sometime between the years 432-438. In the year 438, Catholicos Sahag placed his seal of approval on this fine translation and authorized its use in the Armenian church. This translation, which is considered the most accurate and stylistically eloquent, has been termed "Queen of Translations."

The new alphabet stimulated an unprecedented boom and extraordinary creativity in literature, so much so that the fifth century was later called the "Golden Age of Armenian Literature."

Scores of students trained by Mesrob in the workings of his new alphabet traveled to the major centers of learning of the known world where they translated many important works and brought them to Armenia. Numerous Greek historical and philosophical works, some of them by Plato and Aristotle, were also translated into Armenian. This proved to be providential, for in the course of time many of the Greek originals disappeared, and these works were preserved only through their Armenian translations.

Soon Armenian writers progressed from translating foreign works to creating original Armenian literature, such as sharagans (church hymns), religious and mystical poetry, biographies of the saints and martyrs and theological and historical works.

The historian Movses of Khoren preserved fragments of pagan Armenian ballads, epics and legends. Called the "Father of Armenian History," Movses wrote a three-volume work spanning Armenian history from the traditional history of the Armenian nation by Haig Nahabed (legendary patriarch of the Armenian nation) up until his own time. This work was the official textbook of Armenian history until the nineteenth century.

Koriun, a disciple and biographer of Mesrob, described the life and works of the creator of the alphabet.

Historical accounts of the times of King Drtad III and St. Gregory were written by Agathengelos and Faustus of Byzantium, while Lazarus of Pharp and Bishop Yeghishe related the struggle of the Armenians to maintain their religious and political identity in the face of Persian attack in the Vartanantz War.

The theologian Eznik of Kolb, in his "Refutation of the Sects," described and analyzed the beliefs and demonstrated the weaknesses of four religious groups of his day--the pagans, the Zoroastrians, the Greek philosophers and the Christian heretics.

For the Armenian people, the Golden Age of literature brought about an intellectual and spiritual rejuvenation. Learning spread across the country and continued through the centuries. With the establishment of schools and proliferation of writing, wider horizons opened up to the people. As a result, the Armenian church became a national church, offering its liturgy in the language of the people, and the national consciousness of the Armenian people increased.

The Armenian alphabet played an enormous role in preserving the national and cultural identity of the Armenian people. Since the year 406 A.D., the Armenian language has survived amidst our tumultuous history; it has evolved and flourished through the hands of dedicated writers and translators cementing our past to our present.

Throughout our long history, cruel enemies attempted to destroy and eradicate our alphabet, but they did not succeed. Those 36 letters have indeed served as the "Thirty-six Pillars of our Defense."

Today, however, in the Diaspora we face insurmountable threats of utter assimilation to our language and culture. There is an attitude of indifference on the part of many toward the very language and culture the past generations of Armenians fought so hard to defend and preserve.

May the observance of the Feast of the Holy Translators offer us a self-examining opportunity and awaken us to the reality of the threat our language and culture face. May it be an opportunity to renew and strengthen our resolve to preserve and perpetuate the Armenian culture by nourishing our precious language. May those 36 letters continue to serve as our "Thirty-six Pillars of Defense."
Iraqi Kurdish PM Grants Assyrian Neighbourhood Administrative Control

The Prime Minister of the Kurdish region of Iraq, Masrour Barzani, has announced that the Ainkawa district of Erbil has been placed under the administrative control of its Christian residents.

It is hoped that the move will create a home for Iraq and Syria's Christian minorities, who have been forced to flee their homes due to fears of persecution.

"From now, Ainkawa will be the biggest district of Christians in the Middle East. Most of its residents have fled persecution in Nineveh, Baghdad & Syria. They have been welcomed among us. And now we offer them the chance to lay deeper roots in a sanctuary of their own," Barzani wrote in a post on Twitter.

The Kurdish PM made the announcement during a visit to the Erbil suburb.

"We have come here as the government to tell you we will task the minister of interior, Erbil Governor, and the Erbil Provincial Council to declare Ainkawa a district so we can serve this area more," he said.

The decision to designate Ainkawa as a district in its own right, as opposed to its previous designation as a subdistrict, will mean its residents will have the opportunity to vote for their own civic leaders, officials, and take control of security.

Ainkawa will now be entitled to have its own mayor, who will have direct authority.

It is hoped that the increased autonomy for Ainkawa will see it become a shelter for Christians from other parts of Iraq seeking safety.

During his visit, Barzani described Ainkawa as a home for "religious and social coexistence and a place for peace. It has become a center for many of our Christian brothers and sisters who have not been able to stay in other places and regions of Iraq for whatever reason".

Residents of Ainkawa welcomed the news.

"As for the people of Ainkawa, and for me coming from Akre, we are very happy about this news," one shop owner commented in a video posted by the Kurdish PM.

Akre is a small city in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq. The decision was also received positively on Twitter.

"A clear & powerful message telling [the] peace loving world that Christians, other ethnic & religious groups in KR have full rights as other citizens and the right to manage their day to day lives and affairs with respect & full freedom," wrote one Twitter user.

Christians and other religious minorities have faced years of persecution in Iraq, most notably when the Islamic State group took control of vast swathes of the country, killing and displacing thousands.

The formalisation of the decision to grant administrative control to Ainkawa, which is already host to a large Christian population, a host of churches, and a Catholic university, will happen after the Iraqi parliamentary elections on 10 October.
by Vladimir Rozanskij

It will gather the Catholic communities of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. Kazakh Church consecrated to the special protection of St. Joseph. Steps have been taken to open the process for the beatification of Gertrude Detzel, a consecrated Kazakh laywoman who was persecuted in Stalinist concentration camps.

Moscow (AsiaNews) - The new Catholic Bishops' Conference of Central Asia has been founded, which will bring together Catholics from all the former Soviet countries of the region: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. These are minority Churches, in nations with a Muslim majority and with the significant presence of the Russian Orthodox Church, which are still very Russified realities after the long Soviet rule.

At the 41st plenary session of the Bishops' Conference of Kazakhstan, held on September 20 and 21, local bishops expressed their joy at the creation of the new regional body by the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

The Auxiliary of Karaganda, Msgr. Evgenij Zinkovskij (see photo 2), the first native bishop of Kazakhstan, born in 1975 in the village of Sortandy, then still part of the USSR was also participating in the meeting. The apostolic nuncio, Indian Archbishop Francis Assisi Chullikat was present to offer congratulations. The nuncio has been following relations with Kazakhstan and Tajikistan since 2016, assisted by Italian secretary Fr Michele Tutalo, who recently arrived in the Kazakh capital Nur-Sultan.

Kazakhstan is the largest of the five former Soviet republics of Central Asia; it has 15 million inhabitants and Catholics are estimated at about 250,000. There are the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Mary Most Holy in Astana, led by Polish Bishop Tomasz Peta; the Diocese of the Holy Trinity in Almaty, with Spanish Bishop Jose Luis Mombiela Sierra; and the Diocese of Karaganda, led by Italian Bishop Adelio Dell'Oro. The apostolic administration of Atyrau also depends on the diocese of Astana, while the Greek-Catholic bishop Vasyl Hovera is in charge of the administration of the Byzantine-rite Catholics of Kazakhstan and Central Asia.

In the other states of the region, Catholics are gathered in temporary structures, not being numerous enough to justify the presence of dioceses. In Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan there are two apostolic administrations: in Taskent there is the Polish Franciscan bishop Msgr. Jerzy Maculiewicz, while in Biskek since 2017 there is the US Jesuit Anthony James Corcoran, a longtime missionary in Moscow. In Tajikistan and Turkmenistan there are two missions "sui juris": in Dusanbe operate the Argentine missionaries of the Incarnate Word, headed by Fr. Pedro Ramiro Lopez; in Ashgabat there is only the parish of the Transfiguration, with the Polish missionary of Mary Immaculate, Fr. Andrzej Madej.

During their meeting, the bishops of Kazakhstan consecrated their Church to the special protection of St. Joseph, according to the indications of Pope Francis' letter, celebrating the 20th anniversary of the apostolic visit of the holy Pope John Paul II. They addressed several topics of pastoral commitment, such as the synodal path in the dioceses, to encourage the participation of all the faithful in the life of the Church. They also discussed the Theological Seminary of Karaganda and the national Caritas, noting the progress of the Catholic information center, the Mediatsentr in Nur-Sultan and the new concept of the Catholic magazine Credo.

The Kazakh bishops also presented the steps taken for the opening of the process of beatification of Gertrude Detzel (see photo 3), a consecrated Kazakh laywoman who was persecuted in Stalinist concentration camps and died in 1971 after leaving a great spiritual legacy to local Catholics. They then approved the Kazakh translations of the main Christian prayers: "Our Father", "Hail Mary" and "Glory to the Father". Kazakhstan is in a phase of transition towards an increasingly widespread adoption of Kazakh in place of Russian, a fact that has generated quite a few disagreements with Moscow.

The Catholics of Central Asia, albeit in the humility and witness of their small communities, are able to make a great contribution to inter-confessional dialogue and to the cultural renewal of local societies. These are realities suspended between various worlds and often various conflicts, but enlightened by the faith and the proclamation of the Gospel of so many believers, in fraternity with the entire population in search of its own religious dimension.
The agreement signed with Port Moresby ends the Regional Resettlement Arrangement by 31 December 2021 whereby asylum seekers were moved to the PNG. However, Australias borders remain closed for about 100 people languishing in Papua New Guinea for up to eight years. Any new refugees will be moved to the island of Nauru.

Port Moresby (AsiaNews)  The governments of Australia and Papua New Guinea have agreed to end by 31 December 2021 the Regional Resettlement Arrangement (RRA), a 2013 agreement whereby asylum seekers trying to reach Australia by sea were "diverted" to special camps in Manus, an island in Papua New Guinea in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

Australia will no longer send migrants to Papua New Guinea, but neither will it open its doors to the approximately 100 asylum seekers (mostly Asians, including some Afghans) still held in the neighbouring country for up to eight years.

According to the new agreement, if the refugees want, they can settle in Papua New Guinea as permanent migrants, be welcomed in a third country, or move to Nauru.

In fact, the RRA remains in place with Nauru allowing Australia to implement its zero-migrant policy.

According to the joint Australia-Papua New Guinea communique, Australias strong border protection policies  including regional processing  have not changed. Anyone who attempts to enter Australia illegally by boat will be returned, or sent to Nauru.

The new agreement has left the Catholic Church of Papua New Guinea and other groups opposed to Australias inhumane system with a bitter taste.

In a statement released last July to mark the RRAs anniversary, the Refugee Council of Australia reported that more than 200 of the 3,127 asylum seekers blocked at sea are still stuck in Port Moresby (after the holding centre on Manus Island was closed) and on the island of Nauru, many of them for up to eight years.

A lasting solution was found for only a thousand people, almost all resettled in the United States. More than 750 were repatriated to their countries of origin, either voluntarily or by force. Finally, at least 14 people died, including one killed by guards and six from suicide.

The Catholic bishops of Papua New Guinea in July appealed to the Australian parliament to accept at least those who have been detained in Manus and Nauru at any stage after 19 July 2013 and have no way, now and in the future, to be resettled to a third country.

Under the current legislation, they have no right to be resettled in Australia. But they have no duty to live in Papua New Guinea either, unless that is their free choice.

Australia forcing them to stay indefinitely on PNG soil against the wish of anybody here, contradicts the spirit of PNG self-determination.

We believe it is time for Australia to erase any trace of past colonial demand and fully implement a new style of compassionate and participative leadership in the Pacific.

The agreement signed by Australia and Papua New Guinea proves that the bishops appeal fell on deaf ears.
by Alessandra De Poli

For expert Muhammad Amir Rana, Pakistan's primary goals are protection from potential attacks by Delhi and encouraging Chinese infrastructure projects. To this end, the government of Imran Khan is seeking a deal with the TTP, but recent negotiations will lead nowhere. From July to mid-September, 55 attacks against Pakistani security forces were recorded with at least 149 deaths.

Islamabad (AsiaNews)  The Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan a few days ago told Turkish state-affiliated broadcaster TRT World that the United States will sooner or later have to recognise the Taliban government.

This follows previous statements to CNN in which the Pakistani leader declared that the way to peace in the region passes through dialogue with the Taliban.

A few days ago, Pakistani authorities signed a ceasefire agreement with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Pakistan Taliban.

The deal comes after Pakistan President Arif Alvi and Foreign Ministry Shah Mahmood Qureshi promised in mid-September amnesty to terrorists who lay down their arms and give up extremist ideology to create an emirate in Pakistan.

For Muhammad Amir Rana, director of independent think tank Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), The Pakistani government's vision is too optimistic.

Direct negotiations between TTP groups and government representatives are taking place, he told AsiaNews.

But Imran Khan's vision is simplistic; the government thinks that offering the Taliban a place in government there will be pacification, but this strategy has already failed in the past.

Even civil society is against the negotiations because it sees it as an insult to all the people who lost their lives in attacks, the expert said.

Prime Minister Khan asked the Pakistani Taliban to lay down their weapons, but after his interview with TRT, the group urged its fighters to continue their attacks. Their goal is to implement Sharia and free their prisoners.

From July to mid-September, PIPS recorded 55 attacks against Pakistani security forces. In the previous six months, the TTP had claimed 53.

In September alone, 149 members of the police were killed in the tribal areas on the border with Afghanistan but, Rana notes that in the negotiations there was no involvement of security experts or military officials operating in those areas.

Created out of the merger of armed tribal grips in December 2007, most of the TTP fled to Afghanistan in 2014 after a violent government crackdown.

Imran Khan thinks that the TTP are just a bunch of religious movements, when in fact they have multiple connections with their Afghan cousins: not only ideological, but also ethnic, tribal and historical," the researcher explained.

And now the TTP have political aspirations regarding the tribal areas on the border, which is porous, seen by the Taliban as a temporary dividing line.

"The Durand line was drawn to divide Afghanistan from British India, but several extremist groups, including the TTP, do not recognise it," PIPS director explained.

"With peace in Afghanistan, Pakistan hopes to make this border permanent through negotiations. There is some tepid optimism, but it will be hard to do.

The 11 September attacks were planned in the area, which the Pashtuns consider part of their territory. It is here that the TTP wants to set up another emirate after Afghanistans.

The Pakistani government fears instability for another reason: India.

For Rana, who authored several books on terrorism, The long-term strategy has always been to seek protection from potential attacks by Delhi. Pakistan is afraid that India will hit the country from behind and for this purpose it will foment separatist groups.

Pakistan is therefore trying to secure its borders. In Imran Khan's view, a stable government in Afghanistan would minimize Indian interference.

Thus, although he may not ideologically support the new government in Kabul, he wants the Taliban to consolidate their power to safeguard his strategic interests. In this context, paradoxically, the TTP are seen as the lesser evil.

At the same time, Pakistan wants stability to foster "transnational infrastructure projects in the region" by attracting foreign investment, especially Chinese.

Both Islamabad and Beijing hold the TTP responsible for an attack in Kohistan district in which nine Chinese engineers working on a hydroelectric project were killed.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is a set of infrastructure projects that began in 2013 worth US billion.

China does not want to intervene directly, and is seeking minimum stability to continue business.

Imran Khan hopes that playing a political role in the region will also have an economic payoff, which Islamabad desperately needs. But it may not turn out that way, Rana added.
Prime Minister Barzani made the announcement during a visit to the area. The decision will be implemented following next Sundays Iraqi parliamentary elections. For Archbishop Warda, this is an "important" decision, a strategic" move to maintain the local Christian presence. For the leaders of the autonomous region, it is a way to attract foreign investments.

Erbil (AsiaNews)  Ankawa, the Christian suburb of Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, has been designated a district. In the past it welcomed thousands of Christian families who fled from Mosul and the Nineveh plain following the rise of the Islamic State group.

Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani made the announcement on Monday during a visit to the area.

Archbishop Bashar Matti Warda of Erbil welcomed this major recognition. It is a very important decision for Ankawa, said the prelate, a "strategic" move to maintain the Christian presence in the region and an incentive for Christians to remain and invest in their community.

The decision to increase the degree of autonomy and representativeness of what was just once a (Christian) suburb is shared by the Kurdistan Interior Ministry, the governor of Erbil and the local provincial council.

With the new status, Ankawa passes under the "administrative control" of its Christian residents, most of whom fled persecution from Iraqs Nineveh plain and Syria, and will become "the biggest district of Christians in the Middle East."

From sub-district to full-fledged district, residents will be able to elect officials and representatives, run their administrators, be in charge of security and benefit, unlike the past, from a mayor with "direct authority".

For Kurdish leaders, who took in Christians during the rise of the Islamic State, the goal is to show the international community that the region is safe for Christians (and non-Christians), thus attracting investments and opportunities for economic development.

During his visit, Barzani described Ankawa as a home for religious and social coexistence and a place for peace, a centre for many of our Christian brothers and sisters who have not been able to stay in other places and regions of Iraq for whatever reason.

Residents welcomed the news with joy and satisfaction, using social media to underline how ethnic & religious groups in KR have full rights as other citizens [. . .] with respect & full freedom," wrote one Twitter user.

The decision to formally grant administrative autonomy to Ankawa, where several churches and a Catholic university are located, as well as a seminary, will take place after the Iraqi parliamentary elections scheduled for next Sunday.

The Chaldean archbishop of Erbil noted how often Christians have been collateral damage of decades of sectarian violence.

Their condition worsened with the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003, but they found in Ankawa a place for coexistence and economic and social prosperity.

In light of the good news, Archbishop Warda renewed his appeal for Christians to stay in Iraq and Kurdistan. We are trying to implement many projects such as schools, universities, and hospitals," he told Kurdistan24.

Our confidence in the future of Kurdistan makes us encourage Christians not only to stay but also to invest in this region.
Vatican City (AsiaNews) - The Christian is free, because of that freedom given by Jesus. "A preaching that would preclude freedom in Christ would never be evangelical," he said. "One can never force in the name of Jesus, one cannot make anyone a slave in the name of Jesus who makes us free," the Pope said continuing the cycle of catechesis on the Letter to the Galatians, on the theme, "Christ has set us free."

Addressing the French pilgrims present, Francis also expressed "pain" and "shame" over the report on sexual abuse committed by priests since 1950. He said. "Yesterday, the Conference of French Bishops and religious superiors received the report of the Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church, charged with assessing the extent of the phenomenon of abuse committed against minors since 1950." "It unfortunately results in considerable numbers."

"I wish to express to the victims my sadness and grief at the trauma they have suffered and my shame, our shame, at the Church's too long failure to place them at the center of its concerns, assuring them of my prayers. And I pray and we all pray together, "To you Lord the glory, to us the shame": this is the moment of shame. I encourage the bishops and you, dear brothers who have come here to share this moment, I encourage the bishops and religious superiors to continue to make every effort so that similar dramas will not be repeated. I express to the priests of France closeness and paternal support in the face of this trial, which is hard but will do us good, and I invite French Catholics to assume their responsibilities to ensure that the Church is a safe home for all."

Still to the French, he reminded them that "the Synod on Synodality opens on October 9. I invite you to pray," he said, "that the reflections and exchanges of this Assembly may help us rediscover the joy of being the People of God that walks together listening to everyone.

Earlier in his reflection, Francis had said that "in the Letter to the Galatians, St. Paul wrote immortal words about Christian freedom." Freedom which, he continued, "is a treasure that is truly appreciated only when we lose it. For many of us, accustomed to living in freedom, it often appears more like an acquired right than a gift and an inheritance to be cherished. How many misunderstandings around the theme of freedom, and how many different visions have clashed over the centuries!"

Paul, on the other hand, "proposes the teaching of Jesus, which we also find in the Gospel of John: 'If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples; you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free'" (8:31-32). The call, therefore, is first and foremost to abide in Jesus, the source of the truth that sets us free."

"Christian freedom, therefore, is founded on two fundamental pillars: first, the grace of the Lord Jesus; second, the truth that Christ reveals to us and which is He himself. First of all, it is a gift from the Lord. The freedom that the Galatians had received  and we like them  is the fruit of the death and resurrection of Jesus. The Apostle concentrates his entire proclamation on Christ, who had liberated him from the bonds of his past life: only from Him do the fruits of the new life according to the Spirit flow. In fact, the truest freedom, that from slavery to sin, flows from the Cross of Christ. God placed right there, where Jesus allowed himself to be nailed, the source of the radical liberation of the human person. This never ceases to amaze us: that the place where we are stripped of every freedom, that is, death, might become the source of freedom. But this is the mystery of Gods love! Jesus himself had proclaimed it when he said: For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again; this charge I have received from my Father (Jn 10:17-18). Jesus achieves complete freedom by giving himself up to death; He knows that only in this way could he obtain life for everyone."

"The second pillar of freedom is the truth. In this case as well, it is necessary to remember that the truth of faith is not an abstract theory, but the reality of the living Christ, who touches the daily and overall meaning of personal life. Freedom makes free to the extent to which it transforms a persons life and directs it toward the good. So as to be truly free, we not only need to know ourselves on the psychological level, but above all to activate the truth in ourselves on a more profound level  and there, in our heart, open ourselves to the grace of Christ. Truth must disturb us, it must constantly question us, so that we might always plunge deeper into what we really are. In this way we will discover that the journey of truth and freedom is an arduous one that lasts a lifetime. It is a journey on which the Love that comes from the Cross guides and sustains us: the Love that reveals truth to us and grants us freedom. This is the way to happiness."
by Emanuele Scimia

Taiwanese Defence Minister warns of "most serious" situation between two sides of straight in 40 years. In the last five days Chinese warplanes have carried out 150 air raids near the island. US expert: China's sorties are a ploy to mask a real attack in the future. Taipei unprepared for an invasion. Hypothesis of attack also immediately after the Beijing Olympics.

Rome (AsiaNews)  Taiwans Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng warned the National Parliament today China already has the capacity to invade Taiwan and will be able to launch a "large-scale" attack against the island by 2025. Several observers believe the dramatic prospect could even be optimistic.

Addressing the growing tensions with Beijing, Chiuo said the current situation is the most serious since he joined the Armed Forces 40 years ago. The minister explained that a misjudgment could lead to an immediate conflict along the Taiwan Strait.

He was referring to the repeated incursions by the Chinese air force into Taipei's air defense identification zone. In the past five days China's military aircraft have made 150 sorties, with a record high of 56 on October 4.

Beijing considers Taiwan a 'rebel province' and has never ruled out recapturing it by force. The island has been de facto independent from China since 1949, when Chiang Kai-shek's nationalists found refuge there after losing the civil war on the mainland to the communists, making it the heir to the Republic of China founded in 1912.

Taiwanese analysts argue that China's air raids serve to demonstrate the joint combat capabilities of its air force.

Lyle Goldstein, the next director of Asia Engagement for Defense Priorities, believes there is much more to it than that. The military expert tells AsiaNews, "the PLA is absolutely trying to test and strain Taiwan defenses. However Goldstein adds there is also a darker motive: "Once people on Taiwan and elsewhere become used to large PLA air formations in close proximity, that will help to disguise the real attack. It is a classic move to hide a real attack in the garb of a large exercise."

The Taiwanese government recently admitted that during an invasion attempt, China could quickly knock out the island's communication systems. In an article by Foreign Affairs, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen writes that her government has launched a series of initiatives to modernise and reorganise its armed forces.

Today Chiu presented a five-year plan for extra-budgetary military spending of 240 billion Taiwanese dollars (7.4 billion euros). These resources will be used mainly for warships and missiles. For the first time he also admitted the existence of the Yun Feng, a medium-range missile capable of hitting targets in mainland China at a distance of 1,500 km.

However, Goldstein has little confidence in Taiwan's ability to counter an armed blitz by China: "I believe mainland China's preparations are now nearly complete, whereas Taiwan has done comparatively little to prepare".

In the event of a Chinese attempt to recapture Taiwan, the minimum goal for Taipei's military is to slow down the Chinese advance to allow for US relief.

In a telephone conversation yesterday, US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping said that their countries must abide by the "Taiwan agreement." The expression used is unclear, but according to White House explanations it refers to the "one-China policy", under which Washington will continue to maintain official diplomatic ties with Beijing, but without accepting the Chinese position that Taiwan is part of China.

With the Taiwan Relations Act, the US promised to defend Taipei, in particular with military supplies. Adopted in 1979 after the formal diplomatic recognition of communist China, the act does not specify the actual nature of Washington's commitment: a 'strategic ambiguity' that produces continuous tensions with the Chinese government.

There is a growing belief in US military circles that China will try to invade Taiwan within six to ten years. Goldstein supports this prediction. He thinks the Chinese invasion attempt may come even earlier, after the Beijing Winter Olympics next February.

The academic explains: "Paradoxically, major steps to fill in gaps in Taiwan's defense could actually cause Beijing to attack. For example, Taiwan will take a major shipment of anti-ship cruise missiles from the US in 2023 and 2024. Could China want to attack before those missiles become operational? Yes, it might."
Approval rates toward the new prime minister range from 45% to 56%. These are lower than those of Suga when he took office. On October 14, the lower house of parliament will be dissolved in anticipation of general elections at the end of the month.

Tokyo (AsiaNews/Agencies) - The Kishida government is not off to the best start: according to various local polls, the approval rating for Japan's new prime minister is around 50%.

The Asahi Shimbun recorded an approval rating of 45%; 56% Nikkei. The percentages are much lower than when the previous government led by Yoshihide Suga took office and enjoyed a 66% approval rating.

"I'm aware of the polling results, but also believe that there is quite a gap depending on the company that conducted the survey," said Kishida to reporters on Wednesday morning.

"Regardless, I will reflect on my actions based on these results - including the low approval ratings - and continue to work hard toward the upcoming election," he said.

Although low for a new administration, the approval ratings are higher than those achieved by Suga just before the end of his term, when they had dropped to just over 30 percent due to his handling of the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Kishida reported that he will dissolve the House of Representatives on October 14, while a general election is scheduled for later this month: handling the pandemic and economic recovery will take on even more importance for the government.

For single-seat districts, according to the Mainichi poll, 41% of respondents would vote for the governing coalition, 34% would give their vote to the opposition, and 24% were silent. For the Yomiuri, on the other hand, support for Kishida's Liberal Democratic Party is at 43%, up 7 percentage points from an earlier poll by the same newspaper.

The prime minister unveiled the new government on Monday. Although more than half of the ministerial roles were filled with new faces, the formation was also influenced by former premiers Shinzo Abe and Taro Aso.
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The European Union and Germany (@Team Europe) have handed over a grant of EUR 100,000 (P 1,3 million ) to Cally Clothing & Corporate Gifts.

The Ceremony was graced by Sandra Kramer, Director for Africa at the Director General for International Partnership of the European Commission and by Annelenne Bremer, Head of Development Cooperation at the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany to Botswana, who symbolically handed a cheque to Callistus Phologolo, CEO of Cally Clothing Company in the presence of Khutula Sibanda representing SADC and Dr. Onalenna Kgokgwe, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Wellness representing Botswana government.



Cally Clothing & Corporate Gifts is one of 12 companies in the SADC region that have received support from the SIPS programme (Support towards Industrialization of the Productive Sectors), a programme co-funded by the European Union and the Government of Germany and managed by the SADC Secretariat.



Cally Clothings core business focuses on manufacturing branded clothing and other promotional material. With the EUR 100,000 received from the SIPS programme, the company will expand its core business to a new production line of personal protective equipment for health workers in the form of re-usable unisex scrubs and surgical gowns in response to the shortages of protective equipment and material in the Southern Africa market since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.



SIPS has signed 12 Grant Agreements in seven SADC Member States totalling EUR 1.2 million (BWP 15,6 million) with each grant ranging between EUR 100,000 to EUR 200,000 for small and medium-sized enterprises, a state-owned company and universities. With this action, SADC is strengthening its industrial base, thereby decreasing the regions dependency on imported products and mitigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and possible future pandemics. Besides personal protective equipment, including face masks, face shields and medical scrubs, the programme aims to scale up the manufacturing of hand sanitizers and hospital disinfectants, and hospital equipment including ventilators. The Programme will finance required machinery, raw materials, consulting, and training costs of innovative manufacturing projects.



Sandra Kramer, Director for Africa at the Directorate General for International Partnerships of the European Commission reiterated the vulnerabilities that the COVID-19 has highlighted in existing global supply chains for vaccines, medicines and health technology products and how much of Africa relies on international imports.

The European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen has committed EUR 1 billion through the Team Europe umbrella to step up the manufacturing and access to vaccines, medicines and health technologies in Africa.



Annelene Bremer, Head of Development Cooperation at the German Embassy said: This joint project of SADC, EU and Germany responds to the increased regional demand for personal protective equipment and clothing during the pandemic and the need by small and medium-sized enterprises to recover from the economic downturn. The German Government renders support because we believe the project is innovative, sustainable, and most importantly, it creates jobs.



The country Director of German Development Cooperation (GIZ) to Botswana and SADC, David Bargwitz also added his remarks.

Through these grants, the SADC Secretariat with the EU and German support expects to improve the access to COVID-19-relevant medical and pharmaceutical products, which will enhance the effectiveness of measures adopted by the SADC Member States to curb COVID-19 transmission and support socio-economic recovery in the region.








The U.S. withdrawal and the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan should force American policymakers to rethink Americas position and goals in Central Asia. For years U.S. policy in Central Asia was subordinated to the goal of winning the war even though Washington never fashioned either a satisfactory definition of what winning meant or an Afghan government capable of standing on its own and acquiring the legitimacy and capacity it needed to survive. Despite a more regionally inclusive white paper by the Trump Administration, neither it nor its successor have been able to overcome the primacy of military factors in regional policy and the insufficiency of economic and political means to conduct a truly robust regional policy in Central Asia.

BACKGROUND: The failure to think seriously about the region as a whole and its component parts continues to afflict U.S. policy even as the Taliban were sweeping to victory. Secretary of State Antonyen stated that the U.S. was departing from Afghanistan in order to concentrate on meeting the China challenge. Implicit in these remarks is a failure to understand that a critical element of Chinas challenges to the U.S. and international order take place in and due to Central Asian circumstances. For example, Chinas policy in Xinjiang  which increasing numbers of analysts claim meet the threshold of genocide  cannot be understood without reference to Chinese policies in Central Asia and vice versa. Chinese as well as Russian and Taliban opposition to, and threats against, Central Asian governments potentially allowing the U.S. to save something from the wreckage of its policies by hosting U.S. bases has deterred those states from complying with Washingtons vain hopes for such an outcome. Indeed, the last-minute scramble for such bases as well as efforts to secure the flood of refugees also betrayed a lack of foresight. The overall poor planning and evidence of disarray, such as leaving Bagram Air Force Base secretly during the night, also reflect badly on Washingtons posture in Central Asia.

If the U.S. is serious about countering China, it must undertake a thorough rethinking of its interests, goals, and available policy instruments in Central Asia. The means for doing so are available if Washington understands what must be done. At the recent G-7 and EU summits the participants, including the U.S., announced their readiness to establish funding vehicles for global infrastructural investment to counter Chinas Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The EU has now begun that process. As numerous press reports now show, much of the hype surrounding the BRI has been exposed as exaggerated. Chinas supposed largesse has been revealed to come along with serious problems, including the recipients risk of falling into debt traps that leads to sell-offs of key infrastructures in return for debt forgiveness, delays and contract failures by China, and jobs going to imported Chinese rather than native workers. Nevertheless, the BRI represents a powerful Chinese thrust, offering states across the world desperately needed investment that Central Asian states are in no position to refuse, especially in the absence of viable alternatives.

One major way Washington, especially if working in coordination with its European and Asian allies, can counter Chinas hegemonic drive in Central Asia is to go beyond programmatic promises to put real sums of money behind effective, well-designed, and necessary programs across Central Asia. The U.S. government, along with private corporations and NGOs, are already carrying out investments and projects in economics, connectivity, infrastructure and environmental reconstruction  of particular importance in Central Asia  throughout the region. Indeed, some projects, for example the CASA-1000 electricity project, received large amounts of U.S. political and financial support. Nonetheless these have not been the priority instruments of U.S. policy or policymakers, who have been preoccupied with Afghanistan. The withdrawal from Afghanistan and impending transfer of state power to the Taliban should impel a reconsideration of the importance of countering Chinas BRI with real programs that actually make a genuine contribution to socio-economic improvement.

IMPLICATIONS: Countering China successfully in areas where it is challenging international norms and order requires a much more generous policy  towards Africa and Asia generally and in this case Central Asia specifically. Survey evidence also shows that if the U.S. is not present, or perceived as being present in Central Asia, then its profile pales in contrast to China which is all too visible, even if negatively so, in the region.

To strengthen the U.S. and allied presence and positions in Central Asia it is necessary to formulate and execute a policy that goes beyond institutional fora like the 5+1 forum for foreign ministers, which is good but hardly enough, to a truly strategic vision that showcases American and Western competitive advantages in building successful long-term projects and partnerships with Central Asian societies, businesses, and governments in areas that are of vital interest to those audiences. The priority should be in healthcare, infrastructure, connectivity, and environmental reclamation, and be carried out in ways that enhances the agency of the recipients  not merely the profits and hegemony of the investor as in the Chinese case. For example, an initial step in this direction could be an expanded supply by the U.S. and its allies of vaccines and other vitally needed healthcare supplies, including doctors and nurses if possible, or even building clinics and hospitals to Central Asia.

Apart from a priority emphasis on solid socio-economic investments, we should encourage Central Asian governments to find regional solutions to regional problems. For example, the U.S. can use its convening power and the offer of economic assistance to Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, clearly the weakest links in Central Asia, to mediate their regional conflict. Such conflicts are by no means insoluble as the efforts of Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev vis-a-vis Tajikistan show. There is no reason why the leaders of those governments cannot move, with help and friendly persuasion, to improved ties leading to a peaceful, more cooperative bilateral relationship. Apart from helping to improve regional healthcare as suggested above, Washington and its allies could also launch initiatives to improve regional cooperation on a host of vital environmental issues that make a critical difference to people and societies in Central Asia.

While Americas defeat in Afghanistan marks the end of Western (including Russian) efforts to fashion a viable state and the rise of Asian actors  including Central Asian states  as models and patrons of what will likely be a new civil war, it does not mark the necessary end of a vigorous U.S. involvement with Central Asia. Indeed, this defeat should catalyze U.S. efforts to rethink Central Asia, grasp its growing importance in international affairs, and criticality to any effort to reduce the Russian and Chinese challenges to the West. This does not mean seeking bases but rather outcompeting those states on the basis of the comparative advantages of America and its allies in seeing through major projects to completion and making a profound difference on the ground to millions of people. This is not currently an area ripe for democracy but it could stand a good deal of liberalization and improved governance as well as enhanced regional cooperation. These benevolent outcomes can and should be fostered by powers like the U.S., which have everything to gain, as do the peoples and states of Central Asia from such processes.

CONCLUSIONS: The defeat in Afghanistan can become the springboard for a reconceptualization of what Central Asia needs, what its true and growing importance are about, and the opportunities for the U.S. and its allies to enhance their positions and influence in the area by means of a policy that privileges economic and political investment of direct benefit to Central Asia while also strengthening the region against the fallout of likely continued civil strife in Afghanistan. Russias efforts to bind the region through the Eurasian Economic Union and talk of a greater Eurasia have for a long time been exposed as cloaks for unilateral gain that provide little real benefit to the region.

Similarly, the BRIs negative externalities in terms of costs associated with it, are becoming ever more visible and Wolf Warrior diplomacy will be no more availing in Central Asia than it has been anywhere else. Consequently, and despite the defeat in Afghanistan, the field is open to a systematic U.S. government rethinking of its past policies in Central Asia where Washington and its allies in Asia and Europe could contribute by playing to their advantages rather than abandoning the area as a result of the U.S. defeat in Afghanistan. Washington must avoid the mistakes of the past, not least the failure to think seriously about Central Asian realities. The outcome of such failures is manifest in Afghanistan where Washingtons activity has amounted to putting out fires that it should have foreseen. That kind of activity is the antithesis of sound policy. Yet out of these fires there can arise a better and more soundly conceived approach to the region.

Stephen Blank is a Senior Fellow with the Foreign Policy Institute.
We will continue to work with our partners in law enforcement to ensure that the necessary work is done so that we may bring charges and ultimately secure a conviction for those that engage in the violence that we have seen across this city, Foxx said. That is our mission. It is not to try cases in the media nor to play politics on the deaths of children, and veterans, and people in our community.
During her travels, Carter had trained with Scully and brought him to Links to teach a workshop. Scully was close with a dancer named Poonie Dodson, who moved to Chicago after dancing for Bill T. Jones in New York. Bob Eisen, the co-founder of Links Hall with Carol Bobrow and Charlie Vernon, wrote of Dodson in an e-mail, Poonie was a beautiful person, both in his physical presence and in his general sense of being in the world. He was a beautiful dancer, with a charismatic presence to go along with strong technical skills.  But it was not in Poonies sensibility to work continually under anothers artistic direction  he was way too much a free spirit. It was always clear that Poonie was someone who was going to make his way in the world, no matter where he was or what he was doing. Dodson died of AIDS-related complications in the early 1990s.
Sandys also employs an alternate universe suggesting that Brecht is his own Galileo. Every time a location and year pops up for the Italian physicist on either a blackboard or in John Boesche's projections, a 20th-century parallel appears, tracking Brecht's own journeys in America after fleeing the Nazis. So, for example, cultured 17th-century Florence finds its double in New York, while Rome, the seat of power in Galileo's world, of course becomes Washington, D.C.  where Brecht gave testimony to the House Un-American Activities Committee that still stands as a masterpiece of ironic equivocation. (We're not sure what he might have whispered under his breath.)
They said, Look, well, the non-Jews suffered, Eizenstat, a former U.S. ambassador to the European Union, said on Tuesday. We were able to show them Nazi flyers that were dropped that said that Jews were the cause of the siege. So their level of persecution was greater.
Those challenges are evident as the district continues to fall short of its goal of having testing available at every CPS school. The program was initially slated to be up and running in all schools by Sept. 1, then the vendor said it planned to make testing available by Oct. 1. As of Tuesday, testing was available at 502 schools, with 12 schools still slated for future testing availability, Martinez said.
Heather Mack of Chicago, center, is mobbed by reporters as she arrives in the courtroom for her sentencing hearing at a district court in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, on April 21, 2015. Mack, who was convicted of assisting her then-boyfriend in her mother's murder and stuffing the body in a suitcase on the resort island in 2014, is being released early from a 10-year sentence, a prison official confirmed on Oct. 6, 2021. (Firdia Lisnawati/AP)
The driver was issued two citations, police spokeswoman Kellie Bartoli said. One was for failing to exercise due care with a pedestrian in the roadway and the other was for failing to stop and render aid or provide their information, she said.
As they walked, Aguirre accused the man of snitching. The witness said he didnt, and got on a bus and train home. He saw that Aguirre followed him, and when he ran Aguirre shot him nine times, in the back, abdomen, arms and leg in the 10200 block of South State Street in Far South Side Fernwood, prosecutors said.
I dont think the victims of the defendants rampages will be heartened by the fact that while in prison he picked up some new skills that are going to help him, like knitting and the like, Bhachu said.
She has since been told she can appeal at the FOPs next state convention. That is in 2022, and Henderson said the union has not informed him how that process works. Means has also appealed to the national FOP for help, writing to alert them she felt a local chapter had discriminated against her because she is Black.
By way of explanation, Lathem has testified that he wiped his MacBook because he was supposed to return it to the institution that gave it to him as part of a job offer that had fallen through. And he claimed that he disabled his location so Cornell couldnt see what he was up to with Warren, whom he at one point saw as a romantic prospect. He also testified that he threw out his phone after the stabbing because he feared getting in trouble for having texted about drugs and drug use.
Nearly 18 months after the start of the pandemic, Northern Illinois Food Banks pop-up and mobile food markets remain an all too common sight in suburbs such as Joliet, Elgin, Aurora and across other communities. Despite a recovering economy and a return to routine for many, hunger continues to be a very real issue for families across the 13 suburban and rural counties that Northern Illinois Food Bank serves. Last year, we distributed an unprecedented 100 million meals to our neighbors through our 900 local pantry partners and programs, and this year we estimate that 21% more people will face food insecurity (compared with pre-pandemic levels), which equates to 350,000 people, including 100,000 children, who will not have enough food to thrive.
The Medicare Part D program, for example, has been a success in the 15 years since its inception, utilizing competition to achieve affordability and access to the majority of medicines physicians prescribe. Polling has consistently shown that beneficiaries approve of the program, and a Kaiser Family Foundation survey showed that a majority of Americans oppose government involvement in pricing if it leads to reduced research of new treatments or limited access to medications (which CBO has said will be the case). However, even a successful program can be enhanced.
Public housing residents and those with housing choice vouchers are eligible, and landlords can apply on behalf of tenants. Priority will be given to renters facing eviction or living in a household with at least one person unemployed for at least 90 days before the application submission. Those who pay more than half their income in rent or live in crowded situations will also see their applications processed sooner.
The mansion is on West Superior Street in the Kingsbury Estates area, where plenty of other big sales occur. And while several celebrities  most notably, former Chicago Bulls star Jimmy Butler and longtime radio personality Jonathon Brandmeier  have sold their mansions in Kingsbury Estates and moved elsewhere, former Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte and his wife continue to own a five-bedroom, 6,720-square-foot Kingsbury Estates mansion, which they purchased for $4.03 million in 2014.
There was also a report of shots fired near I-94 at Addison Street in Chicago possibly involving the vehicle, police said. The Audi exited I-94 at Dempster Street into Skokie. There was also an encounter with the vehicle in Lincolnwood but no crime was committed, according to Lincolnwood police.
Workers busily tilted the two-meter-high water barriers to release the liquid inside, and one by one, the giant white plastic containers were forklifted onto vans and removed from the headquarters of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government on the heels of China's National Day.

The water barriers, which had been standing in front of the government headquarters since 2019 to defend the complex from the attacks by bricks and Molotov cocktail-throwing rioters, were finally removed after two years, symbolizing that Hong Kong has returned from chaos to normalcy.

Water barriers in other locations, including the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR that had been targeted by rioters in the social unrest in 2019, have also been removed.

On this year's National Day, Hong Kong residents held various activities to joyfully celebrate the holiday. Five-star red flags dazzled the city of over 7 million people and classic patriotic songs such as Me and My Motherland echoed through the air -- a stunning contrast to the scenes on the same day two years ago.

Lee Tung Street, known as the Wedding Card Street by locals and located just a few blocks away from the HKSAR government offices, saw a surge in visitors who came to take pictures of more than 100 red national flags and HKSAR flags hung above.

In Mong Kok, Kowloon, a street counter of a local civil society organization -- The Storm of Hong Kong distributed 5,000 small national flags to enthusiastic passers-by in less than half an hour.

"Our country has effectively reined in the COVID-19 epidemic. At the Tokyo Olympic Games, the national team and the Hong Kong team have achieved good results," said Tsui Tin-man, chairman of the organization. "Hong Kong will have a bright future as long as the country is strong."

A first-year student at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, which was upended by rioting in 2019, asked her roommate to take a picture of her and the high-flying five-star red flag after a flag-raising ceremony attended by over 700 teachers and students was held on campus in serenity.

"I can feel the strong bond of everyone with the country. We are proud of the development of our country," she told a Xinhua reporter.

Chief Executive of the HKSAR Carrie Lam said this year's National Day is of special significance to Hong Kong.

The SAR has truly got on the right track of "one country, two systems" under the double safeguards of the national security law in Hong Kong and the improved electoral system, she said at a reception celebrating the 72nd anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Hong Kong is now in the best position ever since its return to the motherland to leverage its unique advantages under "one country, two systems" in seeking to integrate into the national development and create a bright future, Lam said.

As Hong Kong has turned a new page, the central government and the HKSAR government are stepping up efforts to remove the obstacles to Hong Kong's development by addressing deep-seated problems.

Luo Huining, director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR, visited fishermen, young entrepreneurs, community residents, street shops, and residents in bed-space apartments ahead of the National Day. He conveyed the central government's care for the livelihood of the grassroots in Hong Kong, and listened to their opinions and suggestions.

Luo said the central government attaches great importance to Hong Kong's economy and people's livelihood, noting that 21 policies were introduced recently to benefit the Hong Kong people in different industries.

"The fundamental purpose is to allow ordinary people to live a better life. Only when the life of the general public is better and the sense of happiness is strong, can Hong Kong develop well," Luo said.

Hong Kong newspaper Ta Kung Pao, one of the oldest Chinese language newspapers, said in a commentary that more and more Hong Kong people recognize their Chinese identity and that the country is the most staunch backer of Hong Kong.

"A National Day more festive than before reflects a better Hong Kong," said the newspaper.




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The 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics is shared by three scientists, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced on Tuesday.



The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Physics 2021 "for groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of complex physical systems," with one half jointly to Syukuro Manabe and Klaus Hasselmann "for the physical modelling of Earth's climate, quantifying variability and reliably predicting global warming," and the other half to Giorgio Parisi "for the discovery of the interplay of disorder and fluctuations in physical systems from atomic to planetary scales."

In the telephone interview onsite, Parisi said he was very happy with the news and that he was not expecting this. He also emphasized the importance of to "act now" against global warming.

Three Laureates share this year's Nobel Prize in Physics for their studies of chaotic and apparently random phenomena. Syukuro Manabe and Klaus Hasselmann laid the foundation of the knowledge of the Earth's climate and how humanity influences it. Giorgio Parisi is rewarded for his revolutionary contributions to the theory of disordered materials and random processes, according to a press release from the Academy.

"The discoveries being recognised this year demonstrate that our knowledge about the climate rests on a solid scientific foundation, based on a rigorous analysis of observations. This year's Laureates have all contributed to us gaining deeper insight into the properties and evolution of complex physical systems," said Thors Hans Hansson, chair of the Nobel Committee for Physics, in the release.

Syukuro Manabe, born in 1931 in Shingu, Japan, is a senior meteorologist at Princeton University in the United States.

Klaus Hasselmann, born in 1931 in Hamburg, Germany, is a professor at Max Planck Institute for Meteorology in Hamburg, Germany.

Giorgio Parisi, born in 1948 in Rome, Italy, is a professor at Sapienza University of Rome.

According to the Academy, this year's prize amount is 10 million Swedish kronor (about 1.15 million U.S. dollars), with one half jointly to Syukuro Manabe and Klaus Hasselmann and the other half to Giorgio Parisi.
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Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, will meet with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in Zurich, Switzerland, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson announced on Wednesday.

Yang, also director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, will meet with Sullivan "according to the consensus reached by Chinese and US heads-of-state on Sept 10 in their phone call and as agreed upon by China and the United States," said Hua Chunying.

"They will exchange views on China-US relations and relevant issues." Hua said.
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Romania's Prime Minister Florin Citu is seen ahead of a no-confidence vote in the Parliament hall in Bucharest, Romania, Oct. 5, 2021. (Photo by Cristian Cristel/Xinhua)

Romania's coalition government led by Prime Minister Florin Citu collapsed on Tuesday after it lost a no-confidence vote initiated by the main opposition Social Democratic Party (PSD) and supported by all opposition parties in Parliament.

The motion was passed by 281 votes, much more than the required minimum of 234 or 50 percent plus one in the 467-seat bicameral Parliament.

Citu's cabinet was toppled ten days after he was elected leader of the ruling National Liberal Party (PNL) and less than ten months after his cabinet took office on Dec. 23, 2020.

Under the Constitution, the current cabinet shall continue to fulfill only the acts required for the administration of public affairs, until the members of the new government take the oath, Ludovic Orban, Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, said after the vote.

The PSD has only one decision to make right now -- early elections, party leader Marcel Ciolacu stressed, arguing that a technocratic government could lead the country until the eventual elections.

Dan Barna, co-chairman of the liberal, centrist USR PLUS party, said that the USR is willing to continue in the coalition with the PNL if the latter proposes a prime minister other than incumbent Citu. The USR PLUS voted against Citu and withdrew from the coalition after Citu dismissed Stelian Ion, the party's justice minister, from the cabinet.

"If this government is ousted in Parliament today, we will form another one, also around liberal values," Citu said on Tuesday during the debate on the censure motion.

According to him, "all the options, after today's vote, are on the table ... We will negotiate on projects with everyone."

Yet, referring to the possibility of a new coalition with the USR PLUS, Citu recalled an earlier decision of his party's leadership, which ruled out cooperation in a coalition with those who supported the censure motion against the PNL.

The collapse of the government is bound to usher in a period of uncertainty in the country's political arena and the ball is now in the court of President Klaus Iohannis, a staunch ally of Citu's.

Under the Constitution, the head of state will consult the parliamentary parties and name a new prime minister-designate. Within ten days, the candidate will have to present a new team and a program to Parliament for approval.
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Though China's weeklong National Day holiday is ongoing, Pakistani businessman Habib Ur Rehman couldn't afford a day off, as he was getting ready for the 4th China International Import Expo (CIIE), which is just one month away.

This year Rehman has ordered more salt lamps, which are made from minerals in mountainous areas. He hopes to introduce the popular household gadget from Pakistan to the Chinese market.

At a matchmaking session for buyers and exhibitors to meet ahead of the expo, Rehman's products successfully aroused interest among merchants from across China, which has boosted his confidence.

This year, more than 200 exhibitors and over 500 purchasers participated in the matchmaking sessions.

An exhibitor presents his products during a matchmaking session for buyers and exhibitors ahead of the 4th China International Import Expo (CIIE) at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) in Shanghai, east China, July 15, 2021. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)

John Edwards, British trade commissioner for China, said in an e-mail interview that the Scottish Development International (SDI) was "particularly heavily involved in this year's CIIE" and for the second year running, Scotland will "have a significant presence."

The SDI will partner with Greenland Group, a Shanghai-based state-owned enterprise, to bring 37 Scottish companies to CIIE 2021, with 23 brands in the Food & Agricultural Products section, and 14 brands in the Consumer Goods section.

Official figures of the British government showed that the country secured more than 430 million GBP of commercial deals across a range of sectors during the 3rd CIIE last year.

Shu Jueting, spokesperson of China's Ministry of Commerce, said the exhibition area exceeded 360,000 square meters, and the number of signed exhibitors exceeded that of the previous year, adding that over 80 percent of the Fortune 500 and industry-leading companies from last year's CIIE will participate again in this year's event.

Returning multinationals such as Michelin, Shiseido, Fonterra, Amorepacific, ABB and Fast Retailing have even signed up for the 5th CIIE in advance.

Decorative plants for the 4th China International Import Expo (CIIE) are seen at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) in Shanghai, east China, Oct. 5, 2021. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)

Nicolas Hieronimus, CEO of France-based cosmetic giant L'Oreal, said the expo is a good chance for the company to showcase cutting-edge innovation and get in touch with the country's "dual circulation" strategy first-hand.

"I'm more than confident in the Chinese market. In fact, I'm very ambitious." He said with the rise of the middle class and the "dual circulation" development pattern, the domestic consumption of China is "something we are very confident about."

Global toy giant Lego Group just opened one of the world's largest Lego retail flagship stores in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou during the National Day holiday.

"We've seen very strong return brought by our previous participation at the CIIE as it offers a dialogue platform with local partners and government," said Niels B. Christiansen, CEO of LEGO Group, adding that the expo showed the success of China's moves to open up and improve the business environment, which encourages the company to further invest, develop and innovate in China.

LEGO opened more than 60 branded stores in the first half of the year with more than 40 of them in China. According to Christiansen, the company is expected to cover 85 Chinese cities with 300 retail stores by the end of this year.

A racing car by Michelin which is among the earliest exhibits in place for the 4th China International Import Expo (CIIE) arrives in Shanghai, east China, Sept. 27, 2021. (Xinhua)

A racing car by Michelin arrived in Shanghai last Monday, which was among the earliest exhibits in place for the 4th CIIE.

The Mission H24 car powered by hydrogen cleared customs in a single second thanks to innovative services, and will make its Asian debut at the upcoming CIIE.

"The CIIE is not only a platform for trade and investment, but also a window for multi-party dialogue and communication," said Kamran Vossoughi, president and CEO of Michelin China.

According to the customs, more than 200 batches of exhibits are expected to enter the country by sea, air and rail in the coming month.

Detailed measures to ensure the safety of the expo amidst the COVID-19 pandemic have also been high on the agenda.

For example, a special group consisting of a service staffer, a virus prevention specialist and three security personnel will be responsible for customer guidance in each and every restaurant of the exhibition center during the expo. Once the diner limit is reached, they will guide extra customers to outdoor dining areas.

Photo taken on Oct. 5, 2021 shows the Global Commodity Trading Hub near the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) in Shanghai, east China. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)

Gu Honghui, deputy secretary-general of the Shanghai municipal government, said efforts will be made to ensure the COVID-19 prevention and control is more precise, urban service more refined, and the spillover effect of the CIIE brand more prominent during the expo.

The CIIE is the first dedicated import exhibition in the world and has seen fruitful outcomes in the past three expos. The 4th CIIE is slated to be held offline in Shanghai from Nov. 5 to 10 this year.
The caste system in India is an ancient way of structuring society. In 1950, Independent India's constitution banned discrimination based on caste, and, to correct historical injustices and provide a level playing field to the traditionally disadvantaged, the authorities announced quotas in government jobs and educational institutions for scheduled castes and tribes, the lowest in the caste hierarchy.

To simplify an incredibly complex caste system, there are four tiers: At the very top are Brahmins or priests and teachers. The next tier is Kshatriyas, who are the descendants of warriors and rulers or kings. Then come Vaishyas, who are farmers, traders and merchants. In the last tier are Shudras, or labourers.

And below even that are the Dalits, who are now meant to be known as Scheduled Castes or Tribes.

The term Dalit means ground down, or broken to pieces in both the Marathi and Hindi language, people who were continually suppressed and downtrodden. They were commonly known as untouchables, in occupations such as latrine cleaners, street sweepers, rock breakers in quarries etc, - the jobs no one else wanted.

But government edicts to end discrimination can only go a little way to change centuries of ingrained attitudes.

Though the Indian Constitution abolished untouchability, the oppressed status of Dalits remains a reality. Mahadalit is a term which was coined in 2007 by the government of Bihar (a northern state of India) for the poorest social groups within the Dalits  a superlative degree of Dalit, coined for political gain.

Revival in Bihar state

Kewla Devi, a Mahadalit village woman, has a chronically ill son who was not responding to medical treatment. When someone urged Kewla to seek the help of Christians in an adjoining village, Kewla - with nothing to lose - did! The Christians prayed and her son recovered. So remarkable was this miraculous healing that, not only did Kewla and her whole family become followers of Jesus, but so too did around 135 Mahadalit families in Belwadih village.

However, Indian mainstream media reported the story as a case of exploitation of superstitious villagers. As reported in OpIndia.com (17 July): 'Even as states across the country are formulating and implementing laws to curb the menace of religious conversions, a raft of people belonging to the Mahadalit community have abandoned their faith and converted to Christianity .... Reports claim the rampant conversions are being carried out under the pretext of curing maladies.'

But, reading further, one can only conclude that the Spirit of God is moving in that place.

Increased persecution

The media attention on conversions will doubtless make things worse for Christians. For example, on 27 July two men confronted Pastor Dhiraj and his wife, Ravita, at their church in Fatehpur township, Gaya District, Bihar State. According to International Christian Concern (3 August), 'The men demanded Pastor Dhiraj and his wife leave the area or they would kill him and demolish his church.'

The men returned twice, then on the evening of 29 July, a mob of up to 30 Hindu nationalists descended on the pastor's home and attempted to break in. Fortunately, local villagers heard their cries, came to the rescue, and dispelled the mob. Pastor Dhiraj and other church leaders have since met with village leaders and filed a complaint with the police.

In another incident, Nitish Kumar (14) was walking home when three unidentified men on a motorbike threw flammable liquid on him and set him on fire.

Morning Star News (MSN) reports (13 September) that Nitish's family has faced opposition from Hindu extremists since they left Hinduism for Christianity two years ago. His mother was delivered from tormenting spirits and health was restored to family members following healing prayer by Christians.

Suffering burns to 65 percent of his body, with 15 percent deep burns, Nitish is currently fighting for his life. Dr KN Tiwari of the burns unit of Appolo Burn Hospital in Patna, Bihar State, described Nitish's condition as 'very, very critical. His survival chances are low'. After expressing wonder that Nitish was still alive, the doctor touched on the source of our hope saying, 'It is only God's grace that Nitish has pulled through thus far with this extent of burns.'

Pray for India

Pray for the Kumar family and Pastor Dhirajs family and church, for God to protect and bless the new Christian community in Gaya District; may the Holy Spirit continue his work in the believers so they might confound their enemies by continuing to grow in grace, truth, love and unity; may all efforts to destroy this community be thwarted, may media reports intended to demean and vilify Christians and Christianity achieve the exact opposite.



Let us not forget Afghanistan

Afghanistans Christians are turning off phones and going into hiding. The Taliban is finding and executing Christians in Afghanistan with stunning speed. They are setting traps to flush out Christians from hiding. The Taliban are tracking them, stalking them, warning them they know where they are.

The Afghan Church and GCM Global Catalytic Ministries (GCM) believe that the best days are before us, and we will witness the greatest movement of salvation among Muslims from the ashes of this catastrophe.

Please pray for the Afghan Church to have strength and endurance. They continue to lead Bible studies, prayer meetings, and are proactively evangelizing during the very events you are seeing in the news. Pray for them to be hidden supernaturally by the hand of the Lord just like in John chapter 8, verse 59 when Jesus disappeared into the crowd.

Pray for those fleeing to the hills to be protected (Psalm chapter 91).

Pray for miraculous protection for women and children being forcibly taken and those that have already been taken for their protection, salvation, and deliverance. (2 Thessalonians chapter 3, verses 1-5)

Pray that the Afghan Church steps into her identity in Christ and walks in unity with the Holy Spirit. (Romans chapter 15, verses 5-6)
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Grain Mill Products Market by Product Type (Wheat, Rice, and Others) and Distribution Channel (Supermarket/Hypermarket, Grocery Stores, and Online Stores): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2019-2026". According to the report, the global grain mill products industry was pegged at $655.0 billion in 2018 and is projected to reach 830.8 billion by 2026, registering a CAGR of 3.4% from 2019 to 2026.

Chief reasons for market fluctuations

Rise in per capita income in emerging countries, and increase in awareness about gluten-free products are the two major factors driving the growth of the global grain mill products market. Furthermore, change in taste and preference of consumers and tradition of urban and modern lifestyles have fueled the growth of the market. However, volatile prices of raw materials and unfavorable conditions resulting in contamination in storage facilities impede the growth to certain extent. On the contrary, expansion of commercial farmlands in developing countries is expected to create lucrative opportunities in the near future.

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The wheat segment to rule the roost through 2026

Based on product, the wheat segment held the largest share in 2018, accounting for nearly half of the global grain mill products market. Furthermore, the segment is expected to maintain its dominance throughout the study period. Moreover, the segment is expected to portray the fastest CAGR of 3.2% during the forecast period. This is due to its use in majority of countries, as the leading source of carbohydrate and vegetable protein.

The supermarket and hypermarket segment dominated the market

Based on distribution channel, the supermarket and hypermarket segment held the lion's share in 2018, contributing to more than half of the global grain mill products market. The segment is expected to dominate the market throughout the forecast period. This is due to Increase in retail sales channel penetration in developing markets, and upsurge in deals and discounts drive the growth of the segment. However, the online segment is expected to manifest the fastest CAGR of 7.2% during the forecast period. This is due to availability of various options including detailed information, offers and discount, and free home delivery offered by e-commerce platforms, and increase in internet penetration.

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Asia-Pacific held the largest share in 2018, followed by North America

The global Grain mill products market across Asia-Pacific dominated in 2018, contributing to more than two-fifths of the market. Demographics, reduction of productivity, and rise of the digital economy impacts the long-term growth of the Asia-Pacific grain mill products market. On the other hand, North America contributed to the second highest revenue share in 2018. However, the Europe region is expected to register the fastest CAGR of 3.8% during the study period. This is due to rise in number of health-conscious consumers in this region.

Major market players
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Chronic Kidney Disease Market Research Report: By Diagnosis (Blood Test, Urine Test, Biopsy), by Treatment (Drugs, Dialysis, Kidney Transplant), by Indication (Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes, High Blood Pressure), End-User (Hospitals) - Forecast Till 2027

Market Highlights

The chronic kidney disease is characterized by the gradual loss of kidney function over the period. If left untreated, it may lead to kidney failure. Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, glomerulonephritis, interstitial nephritis, polycystic kidney disease, and others are the common indications for the chronic kidney disease. The disease can be treated through administration of drugs at the early stage and dialysis and kidney transplant at the last stage.

Global chronic kidney disease market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.2% during the forecast period, 2017 to 2023.

also read @ http://www.marketwatch.com/story/new-research-suggests-chronic-kidney-disease-market-2021-rising-demand-for-new-techniques-global-size-share-analysis-and-forecast-2023-2021-01-17

Chronic Kidney Disease Market Segmental Analysis

The segmental review of the chronic kidney disease market is conducted on the basis of treatment, diagnosis, indication, region, and end-user. The treatment segment of the chronic kidney disease market consists of dialysis, drugs, and kidney transplant. The drugs sub- segment includes beta-blockers, angiotensin-ii receptor blockers, ace inhibitors, calcium channel blockers, and erythropoiesis-stimulating agents. The indication segment of the chronic kidney disease market consists of polycystic kidney disease, Type 2 diabetes, Type 1 diabetes, high blood pressure, and others. The end-user segment of the chronic kidney disease market consists of diagnostic centers, hospitals, and clinics. The diagnosis segment of the chronic kidney disease market consists of imaging tests, urine tests, blood tests, and kidney biopsy. The region segment of the chronic kidney disease market consists of the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, and other lucrative regional markets.

Chronic Kidney Disease Market Detailed Regional Analysis

The regional assessment of the chronic kidney disease market consists of the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, and other lucrative regional markets. The Americas regions chronic kidney disease market is motivated by the extensive use of diagnostic tests for detecting kidney failure, the mounting population with kidney illnesses, and the collective demand for novel treatment options for kidney diseases. In the region of Europe, the chronic kidney disease market is propelled by the evolution of the medical device industry and the developing awareness about risk aspects for kidney diseases. Moreover, the growing number of diabetic residents and enormous investments in the medical device area by strategic market companies also powers the growth of the chronic kidney disease market. The Asia Pacific regional market is the fastest developing chronic kidney disease market due to the increasing prevalent diseases such as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. The developing hospital substructure and the incidence of skilled healthcare professionals are estimated to further enhance the APAC regional market.

Chronic Kidney Disease Market Competitive Analysis

The market is predicted to be driven by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, by ensuring that businesses can counteract situations like these in the future. The government support to the rebuilding of economic growth momentum is estimated to be increased than the past few years. The market landscape is estimated to be redefined by the absorption of smaller companies or startups as well as mergers between market titans to enhance their overall pull on the global market progress. The toll on the health and mental wellbeing of the workers in the market is estimated to have a notable impact on the resurgence of the markets expansion in the upcoming years. The upcoming products in the market are estimated to have a notable influence on the pandemic in terms of germicidal properties that can be observed in the coming period. The investment in sustainable technologies and product options is predicted to reign over the next phase of market development strategies in the forecast period.

The prominent companies in the Chronic Kidney Disease Market are Abbott, Beckman Coulter, ACON Laboratories, Inc., Randox Laboratories, URIT Medical, Nova Biomedical, AstraZeneca Plc, Sanofi S.A., GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Amgen Inc., AbbVie Inc., ARKRAY, OPTI Medical, 77 Elektronika, and Kissei Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.

Industry Updates:

Feb 2021 AstraZeneca Pharma India recently affirmed it has accepted approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for Dapagliflozin tablets for the remedy of patients with chronic kidney illness. The business has received Import and Market Consent in Form CT-20 (Subsequent New Drug Approval) from the DCGI for Dapagliflozin tablets 10 mg. The tablet is now permitted for additional indication, for the therapy of patients with chronic kidney disease(CKD) up to Stage III.

Jan 2021 AstraZeneca and BenevolentAI believe theyve discovered a probable solution after beginning a collaboration approximately two years ago to produce artificial intelligence for kidney drug design. By means of its biomedical datasets, BenevolentAIs machine learning platform projected the presence of a new target in the inherent cellular mechanisms that initiate chronic kidney diseasewhich was subsequently established through trials by AstraZeneca researchers. The AI-generated target has been chosen by the drugmaker as a new objective for its collection, making it the primary product to come out of the businesses collaboration, which also concentrates on idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Intended Audience

Pharmaceutical and Biotechnological Companies

Research and Development (R&D) Companies

Ambulatory Care Centers

Academic Institutes and Universities

Market Research and Consulting Service Providers

Potential Investors

Browse Detailed TOC with COVID-19 Impact Analysis at https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/chronic-kidney-disease-market-5744

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Neurodiagnostics Market: By Product (Diagnostic and Imaging Systems, Clinical Testing Instruments, Reagents & Consumables), Condition (Neuro Degenerative Diseases, Sleep Disorders, Epilepsy, Stroke, Headache Disorders, Others), End-User (Hospitals and Surgery Centers, Diagnostic Laboratories & Imaging Centers, Neurology Centers, Ambulatory Care Centers, Research Laboratories & Academic Institutes), Region (Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East Africa) - Forecast to 2027

Neurodiagnostics Market Forecast

Global Neurodiagnostics Market held a value of USD 4,848.48 Million in 2018 and is expected to register a CAGR of 6.88% during the assessment period of 2019 to 2025.

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Market players such as GE Healthcare, Siemens Healthineers, Philips Healthcare, and Hitachi, Ltd., currently dominate the global neurodiagnostics market. The key players are involved in product launches and agreements to strengthen their market positions. For instance, in December 2019, GE Healthcare (US), signed USD 100 million technology partnership agreement with AFFIDEA (Ireland). GE Healthcare will install 200+ new equipment in Affideas network of centers across Europe. The deal includes the provision of 60 new MRIs, 50 ultrasound devices, 40 CT scanners and 30 X-rays machines in the next 3 years. It also includes a six-year service contract.

Regional Analysis

The market has been divided, by region, into the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East & Africa. The Americas held maximum share in the base year 2018, owing to the high incidence rates of neurological disorders in countries such as US. According to the American Neurological Association, as of 2016, mealy 100 million Americans were affected by at least one of the neurological diseases. The Neurodiagnostics Market Trends in the Americas has further been branched into North America and Latin America, with the North American market divided into the US and Canada. The European neurodiagnostics market has been categorized as Western Europe and Eastern Europe. The Western European market has further been classified as Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Spain, and the rest of Western Europe. The neurodiagnostics market in Asia-Pacific has been segmented into Japan, China, India, South Korea, Australia, and the rest of Asia-Pacific. The neurodiagnostics market in this region is anticipated to be the fastest-growing during the assessment period due to the increasing awareness about the diagnostic treatments and favorable reimbursement policies. The neurodiagnostics market in the Middle East & Africa has been divided into the Middle East and Africa.

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Market Research Future (MRFR), enable customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.
The police officials, who had arrested four individuals earlier, said that they suspect the involvement of up to nine more persons in the scam. (Representational Image: PTI)

HYDERABAD: The CCS police has arrested six more persons, including the kingpin Chanduri Venkata Koti Sai Kumar, in connection with the multi-crore Telugu Akademi Fixed Deposits (FD) fraud on Wednesday. The police officials, who had arrested four individuals earlier, said that they suspect the involvement of up to nine more persons in the scam.

The arrested were identified as Segoori Ramesh alias Ravi, the administrative officer-in-charge of accounts, M. Sadhana, branch manager of Canara bank, Chandanagar, Chunduri Venkata Koti Sai Kumar (49), real estate agent, Nanduri Venkata Raman (50), Venkateshwar Rao alias Dr. Venkat alias Rajesh (43), a self-proclaimed RMP doctor and a real estate agent from Khammam district, and Somashekar alias Raj Kumar (35), also a real estate agent.

Sai Kumar, the mastermind of the fraud, was previously involved in three cases, including the Minority Welfare Society withdrawal of FDRs, the AP Housing Board scam of nearly Rs six crore in 2015 and Rs 25 crore FDR fraud of Northern Coalfields in Chennai, said police commissioner of Hyderabad, Anjani Kumar.

Officials also said that since December 2020, the accused had swindled Rs 64.50 crore of the Akademis 43 FDs in Karwan and Santosh Nagar branches of Union Bank of India and Canara Banks Chandanagar branch. The credit society got a commission of nearly Rs six crore for parking the Akademis money, and a majority of the share was taken by Sai Kumar, Ramesh and others.

Venkat Raman was also a co-accused in the 2012 AP Minority Welfare Society in FDR case. Sai Kumar was in debt due to certain investments in real estate. He got in contact with Ramesh, accounts officer of Telugu Acakemi and whenever a place required to create a fixed deposit, Sai Kumar would be contacted through the agent and in turn Kumar would send Dr. Venkat or Somashekar to collect the cheque from Ramesh. Subsequently, Venkat Ramana and Sai, with the help of their associates, would create fake FDRs and fake request letters. The fake request letters would be sent to the bank with the different amount and time period for the fixed deposits. The fake FDRs would be printed and sent back to the Akademi, explained the official.

Shaik Mastanvali of UBI and Sadhana of Canara Bank  would inform UTR numbers of FDRs to Venkat Raman and his associates who would use it on the fake FDRs. Withdrawals would be done in favour of A.P. Mercantile Co-operative Credit Society where the society would withdraw the amount in cash.

The fake account of Telugu Akademi in A.P. Mercantile Co-operative Society was created with the conveyance of managing director Satyanarayana using fake ID proofs with Somashekar posing as director of Telugu Akademi, added Avinash Mohanty, Joint CP of CCS.

They withdrew the money after transferring it to the Akademis fake account in AP Mercantile Co-Operative Credit Society from Agrasen Co-Operative Urban Bank Limited., he said.
Chennai: A delegation of DMK office-bearers, led by T K S Elangovan, the party's Rajya Sabha MP on Wednesday called on Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in Thiruvananthapuram and handed over a dossier on grounds for opposition to the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, seeking the neighbouring state's support to fight against it.

Elangovan gave a copy of a letter written by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin to Vijayan seeking Kerala's support to oppose the test and restore "the primacy of states" in education.

The DMK MP also presented a copy of the report-recommendations of the TN government appointed Justice A K Rajan Committee, a party release said here.

The panel, which submitted its report in July to the government looked into the impact of NEET in the state vis-a-vis, the marginalised sections, students studying in government schools and those belonging to the Backward classes and rural regions.

Days ago, Stalin had written to his counterparts in 11 non-BJP ruled states and Goa seeking their support in opposing NEET to ensure that the students in the respective states, hailing from rural areas and marginalised sections of the society are not put to hardship in obtaining admissions to higher educational institutions.

NEET went against the spirit of federalism and violated the constitutional balance of power by curbing the rights of the state governments to decide on the method of admission in medical institutions established and run by them, Stalin had underscored in the letter.

"We need to put up a united effort to restore the primacy of state governments in administering the education sector, as envisaged in our Constitution. I look forward to your cooperation in this crucial issue," he had said.

The committee had concluded that the NEET is not a fair or equitable method of admission since it favours the rich and elite section of the society and is against the disadvantaged groups.

Based on the panel's recommendations, the Tamil Nadu Assembly had last month adopted a Bill to dispense with NEET and provide for admission to medical courses based on Class XII marks.

Stalin has deputed his party MPs to reach out to the heads of the 12 states to drum up support to oppose NEET.

Tenkasi Lok Sabha MP Dhanush M Kumar, Kerala state DMK organiser Murugesan were among those who called on Vijayan.
The DPG is the apex official-level meeting mechanism between India's Defence Ministry and the US Department of Defence. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: The 2+2 dialogue between India and the United States is expected to take place in November and the two countries will hold a meeting of the Defence Policy Group (DPG) soon, sources said.

They said that India and the US will have a series of engagements and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar will be visiting the United States. A counter-terrorism and designation dialogue between the two countries will be held soon, the sources added.

The third India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue was held in New Delhi in October last year. The DPG is the apex official-level meeting mechanism between India's Defence Ministry and the US Department of Defence. It reviews and guides all aspects of bilateral defence cooperation between the two countries.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited the United States last month for a bilateral meeting with President Joe Biden. He had also taken part in the first in-person Quad leaders' Summit and addressed the UN General Assembly.

The joint statement issued after the bilateral meeting had said that President Biden reaffirmed the strength of the defence relationship between the United States and India and the unwavering commitment to India as a Major Defence Partner through close defence engagements in information sharing, sharing of logistics and military-to-military interactions.

The two countries are also strengthening cooperation in advanced military technologies, and expanding engagements in a multilateral framework including with regional partners.
Chennai: A Welfare Board for Non-Resident Tamils would be set up and a total allocation of Rs 20 crore shall be made, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin announced here on Wednesday.

Tamil Nadu Non-Resident Tamils' Welfare Act was enacted during the previous DMK regime on March 1, 2011 and setting up of a Welfare Board was also announced, Stalin said.

With the AIADMK assuming power later that year, the new regime did not set up the Board, the Chief Minister said adding, a welfare board for Non-Resident Tamils would now be founded.

The state government would constitute a Rs five crore benevolent fund for Non-Resident Tamils, an official release here said.

Tamils living in several parts of the world would be brought together and every year, January 12 would be celebrated as the "World Tamils Day," he said.

In total, Rs 20 crore would be set apart and it includes Rs 8.10 crore for welfare schemes.

The official release referred to the proposed Welfare Board as "Pulampeyar Tamizhar Nala Variyam."

While 'Pulampeyar' is a Tamil word used in reference to emigration and emigrated people, it may also mean and include the diaspora in general. Tamizhar Nala Variyam stands for a welfare board for Tamils.
It is unfortunate that the authorities are not complying with the court orders. The government or the authorities have a remedy to file appeals in case of any objections as regards the court orders.  DC file photo

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Tuesday cautioned state employees and the government itself against situations that would prompt it to exercise its contempt jurisdiction extensively.

The court was referring to the piling up of contempt cases and appeals in recent times, involving senior government officials.

A division bench comprising Justice Rajashekar Reddy and Justice Vinod Kumar was dealing with a set of contempt appeals filed in relation to Asifabad district SP Satyanarayana and the then SHO of Koutala, B. Srinivas, presently at the Srirampur women police station in Mancherial district.

The two police officials were convicted to six months imprisonment in a contempt case for wilful disobedience of court orders in a case of dispossessing owners from their land to build a police station in Chintha Manepally of Asifabad district. The officials filed an appeal to set aside the conviction orders against them.

Justice Rajashekhar Reddy commented that the courts and judges are not here to simply issue punishment orders against officers in contempt cases or to suspend the conviction orders issued against such officers who were punished by the courts after giving them several opportunities to obey the court orders.

We are only upholding the interest of the public as to ensure they get justice. When they do not get their rights from the executive, they will approach the court. After examining the cases, courts issue orders. It is unfortunate that the authorities are not complying with the court orders. The government or the authorities have a remedy to file appeals in case of any objections as regards the court orders. But you cannot sit idle and this will lead to contempt cases, which ultimately leads to punishing the concerned officers for not complying with the court orders, the court observed.

Questioning Advocate General B.S. Prasad about the gradual piling up of contempt cases every year, Justice Reddy observed Compare the number of such cases when we entered into practise and the number now. In those days, contempt cases were few. The officers were very attentive and complied with the orders of the court. But, nowadays, the opposite is happening. Think of it.

The bench suspended the imprisonment orders issued against the appellants and adjourned the case for further hearing.
Chennai: The Madras high court on Tuesday asked the forest department not to kill the elusive man-eater tiger, on the prowl in Ooty, immediately. The state government, in its response, said it has no plans to kill the animal, but only capture it. Forest teams supported by STF members and drones have been on the trail of the tiger named T23 which has killed four persons and livestock in the last 12 days.

Last week, principal chief conservator of forests and chief wildlife warden Dr Shekhar Kumar Niraj had issued orders to hunt down the tiger in Nilgiris district.

Meanwhile, a petition was filed in the Madras high court challenging the hunting order and Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee hearing the plea on Tuesday asked the forest department not to kill the tiger immediately. It may not be a man-eater tiger. There are only a few tigers left in the country, the first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice P.D. Audikesavalu said.

The court told the principal chief conservator of forests to ensure that the least number of persons intrude into the forest, since the natural habitat gets destroyed when a large posse of humans enter any forest, while searching for the tiger.

"All that can be said at the moment is that the other animals in the area should not be disturbed to the extent avoidable for the purpose of tracking down this animal, though some discreet measures may be used for such purpose with the object of ultimately treating the animal and respecting its right to remain wild and free to roam in the forest," the bench said.

The government pleader filed an affidavit detailing the ground operation and the department's efforts to mitigate the man-animal conflict using non-lethal measures like tranquilizing and capturing the tiger. He also told the judges that there was no plan to kill the animal or maim it. Efforts were also being made to capture the animal alive and study its psychology and behaviour to assess future course of treatment, he added.

The bench also asked the forest department to file a status report when the court reopens after Dasara vacation on October 21.
The state government is all set to raise the maximum annual income limit for various reserved categories to avail the benefits of welfare schemes and other sops offered by the government. (AFP file photo)

HYDERABAD: The state government is all set to raise the maximum annual income limit for various reserved categories to avail the benefits of welfare schemes and other sops offered by the government.

At present, the prescribed maximum annual income limit in rural areas is Rs 1.50 lakh and urban areas Rs 2 lakh, while for EWS (economically weaker sections) quota, it stands at Rs 8 lakh. Due to a huge anomaly between EWS quota and others, the government wants to enhance the income limit for other categories.

The issue of raising the annual income limit was figured in the ongoing monsoon session of the Legislative Assembly. AIMIM floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi and CLP leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka raised this issue during the debate on Dalit Bandhu scheme in the House.

They pointed out that since the state government was crediting Rs 10 lakh Dalit Bandhu amount in the bank accounts of beneficiaries, Dalits would face problems in getting income certificates for the existing Rs 1.50 lakh in rural areas and Rs 2 lakh in urban areas.

They also pointed out that since the state government was proposing Dalit Bandhu-type scheme to all other sections in the state in future, it would be better to raise the income limit accordingly. The Chief Minister assured to look into this issue soon.

People from general categories who are not covered under SC, ST and BC categories are eligible to claim reservations in education and employment under EWS quota whose annual income limit is Rs 8 lakh.

Prior to formation of Telangana state in June 2014, the maximum income limit in urban areas was Rs 90,000 in urban areas and Rs 75,000 in rural areas for availing the benefits of the government welfare schemes. Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao doubled this limit to Rs 1.50 lakh in rural areas and Rs 2 lakh in urban areas soon after the formation of the state. In fact, the income limit was much lower in the early 2000s, when it was Rs 24,000 in urban areas and Rs 20,000 in rural areas.

The then Chief Minister of undivided AP, Y.S. Rajashekar Reddy enhanced this limit to Rs 75,000 in urban areas and Rs 60,000 in rural areas in May 2008. It was again enhanced to Rs 90,000 in urban areas and Rs 75,000 in rural areas in 2011 during the Congress regime.
VIJAYAWADA: The family doctor concept will be ready by the next Republic Day, averred Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy while reviewing Covid-19 control measures, progress of vaccination, medical colleges and health hubs with health officials in his camp office in Tadepalli on Wednesday.

He said once the family doctor system is in place, there would be no need for patients from Andhra Pradesh to visit Hyderabad, Bengaluru or Chennai for any kind of treatments.

We have to find out the diseases for which most patients go to these cities for treatment and the hospitals they prefer. The same facilities can be created in Andhra Pradesh, he said.

Enquiring about the 16 medical colleges that are coming up in various parts of the State, the Chief Minister asked officials to find out the reasons for the delay and solve them by the end of the month.

With regard to the family doctor concept, he exhorted officials to set up new PHC centres and repair existing centres under Nadu-Nedu and procurement of 104 vehicles.

We have to be ready to launch the system by January 26. Hence, it is imperative to keep health infrastructure ready by then, Reddy said. He suggested recruitment of women doctors in PHCs since the government has launched health awareness programmes among girls.

The Chief Minister said phone numbers of Arogya Mitras and list of CM-empanelled hospitals should be displayed in hoardings at village and urban secretariat offices for the convenience of patients.

Discussing AP Digital Health, he said a patients details should be incorporated in the digital card so that treatment would be easier for doctors attending on patients.

Officials said that active Covid-19 cases were 9,141, the recovery rate has been at 98.86 per cent, while 2,201 patients are undergoing treatment in various hospitals. There are 313 in Covid care centres, home isolation 6,627, and zero cases have been reported in 11, 997 village/ward secretariats. The positivity rate was 1.62, 0-3 per cent in 12 districts, below three per cent in one district.

Speaking about preparations for the third wave, officials said that 20,964 oxygen concentrators were available in the State, there was a requirement of 2,493, around 27,311 D type oxygen cylinders are available and 140 oxygen plants are getting ready.

Approximately, 1,38,32,742 have received the first dose, the second dose figure stands at 1,44,94,731 and recipients of both doses is 2,83,27,473.

Health minister Alla Kali Krishna Srinivas, chief secretary Sameer Sharma, principal health secretary Anil Singhal, Covid-19 task force committee chairman MT Krishna Babu and others were present.
HYDERABAD: Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) president and Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao is most likely to stay away from Huzurabad bypoll campaigning, according to party sources.

TRS working president K.T. Rama Rao will campaign for the party along with 18 other star campaigners who include ministers, party MLAs, MLCs and senior leaders. Strict Covid-19 norms imposed by the Election Commission of India on election rallies is said to be the reason for the Chief Minister staying away from campaigning.

The TRS planned to hold a huge public meeting of the Chief Minister in Huzurabad after Dasara and sought the Election Commissions (EC) permission but the approval is pending.

Speaking to this newspaper, TRS former Lok Sabha member and vice-chairman of Telangana State Planning Board B. Vinod Kumar said, "If the EC permits, we will hold Chief Ministers public meeting in Huzurabad. The EC has imposed strict Covid norms on public meetings and election rallies by restricting public gatherings at just 1,000. Normally, the Chief Ministers public meetings will be attended by thousands of people in an Assembly constituency."

However, the party is also considering holding the Chief Ministers public meeting in surrounding areas of Huzurabad where the EC's permission is not required and its model code of conduct is not applicable.

TRS general secretary and MLC, Palla Rajeshwar Reddy told this newspaper, "Party leaders, cadre and people in Huzurabad are insisting on Chief Ministers public meeting but nothing has been finalised yet due to the EC's Covid restrictions on public gatherings."

Chandrashekar Rao already visited Huzurabad once and addressed a huge public meeting on August 16 on the occasion of formal launch of Dalit Bandhu scheme on a pilot-basis. The party leaders and cadre want him to hold another public meeting in Huzurabad after Dasara before Huzurabad bypoll on October 30 similar to that of Nagarjunasagar Assembly bypoll held in April this year.

The Chief Minister addressed two public meetings in Nagarjunasagar prior to issuance of poll notification by the EC and just before polling. Since he addressed a public meeting in Huzurabad prior to issuance of poll notification, they want one more public meeting just before polling to boost the morale and prospects of party in the Huzurabad bypoll where the TRS is engaged in a bitter battle with the BJP for political supremacy.
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.
If the F-22 Raptor ever meets a Su-35 Flanker-E in actual combat, the 5th generation fighter has a glaring deficiency that proves to be its Achilles heel. Sometimes lack of simple and tried systems can bring down even the most advanced fighter like the Raptor.

The Sukhoi Flanker-E is still widely used by the Russian despite its age and is one of the most exported fighters to other nations like the F-15 Eagle.

A fighter plane is supposed to have all the bells and whistles, but it is a problem faced by supposed to be invincible F-22.

Stealth is not enough for the F-22 Raptor

The Russians have always been practical in their planes; it proves to have an unexpected edge. Its rival has no infrared search and track capability (IRST sensor), also lacks side-looking radar in its expensive airframe, reported the Nationalist Interest.

No matter how advanced the Raptor is, the designer did not place an IRT sensor and side-looking radars. IRSTs are vital to avoid getting blind in the infrared to heat the signature of an opponent.

It seems US fighters have dropped the heat sensor after the F-14, although the IRST is an option available as a pod on the centerline drop tank on the Super Hornet. Dropping the tank would be unwise and expensive, noted USNI.

In a turning fight with the Su-35 Flanker-E, the Raptor will not get a target lock because it needs to point its nose to its opponent. In the 90-degree angle, the Sukhoi has a good chance of killing it.

Read Also: Spy Photos of Russian Jets Captured in Libya, US General Says

The deadly shortcoming has F-22 pilots shying away despite their plane's agility.

F-22 Raptor needs upgrades

Unlike the Su-35, the Raptor developed from the Advanced Tactical Fighter program started in 1981. Initially, the design requirement was for air to ground fighters, Mach 2.5, and from high to medium-altitude, to carry standoff weapons for killing tanks and ground targets.

Nothing happened because the air force was able to adapt the F-16 for the ATF needs. But in 1985, the US Air Force had major updates and wanted stealth instead. Later the YF-22 and YF-23 were products of this fly-off.

Two engines would be provided for the airframes, the Pratt & Whitney F119 engines, and General Electric F120 engines. This time, companies were asked to work together in twos.

Lockheed Martin teamed up with Boeing and General Dynamics, the other was Northrop and McDonnell Douglas, but the Rockwell and Grumman firms did not enter.

Everything is history as the Lockheed beat Northrop in the Advanced Tactical Fighter program, cited Air Force Technology. Some say the YF-23 should have won to this day.

Comparing the F-22 to Su-35

Compared to the 4.5 generation Russian plane, the Raptor has an internal payload, with supercruise engines, cutting-edge avionics, and a stealthy radar cross-section that makes it look smaller on the radar.

Overall, the F-22 is supposed to replace the F-15 and be better longer flight hours and less work needed to keep it flying. But instead, the stealth fighter became more expensive to maintain.

Most of the systems are cheaper to maintain now, but the lack of an IRST is because everything on the jet is expensive. Spending on extras is not wanted, even the check radars.

This concedes the advantage to the Su-35 Flanker-E in more combat dimensions that the F-22 lacks, something that the USAF might regret.

Related Article: Russia's Su-35 Fighter Known As the Most Advanced Aircraft May Needs to Be Modernized, Here's Why

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In 1958, the US air force bomber accidentally dropped an atomic bomb right into a family's backyard in South Carolina, leaving a crater. Fortunately, there was no nuclear explosion that would have been most unlucky.

What caused the accident was the navigator of the B-47 bomber, who pulled the release handle of the mechanism holding. He was trying to look for a handhold while moving inside the plane.

When the B-47 dropped a 30-kiloton bomb on a family residence

The Gregg Family, with six members living in Mars Bluff, South Carolina, reported the Daily Mail when the bomb's detonator cratered their yard.

On March 11, it created a 50-feet wide and 30-feet deep hole, showing a powerful impact that damaged the house, injured the family, and killed their chickens. It was one in a million that an atomic explosion could have happened when the US air force bomber accidentally dropped an atomic bomb on the family's backyard.

Read Also: Kim Jong Un Successfully Launches Hypersonic Missile; Joins Elite Club of China, Russia, and US Global Military Power

Inside the plane, the crew was in terror that they accidentally dropped the Mark 6 bomb and waited for a horrific mushroom cloud. There was nothing but the bursting impact that caused an explosion that concussed the family.

The Gregg family saved from the Mark 6 atomic bomb

Walter Gregg, the head of the family, recalls that day on March 11 at 4:00 pm that his daughters, Helen, 6, Francis, 9, with their cousin Ella Davies, 9, were playing in the playhouse then went to the yard on the house's side.

They were saved because they were able to leave in the impact zone of the bomb about 19 minutes before. Precisely at the moment later, a Mark 6, 30-kiloton A-bomb fell from 15,000-feet into the playhouse where the kids were playing, cited American Heritage in 2000.

Several speculations about the bomb's explosive core were about, and one is it was taken out of the bomb casing or kept in the plane. The damages by the TNT explosive detonator caused more than the descent, which started the chain reaction.

Walter added that he saw the debris caused by the explosion and chunks of soil, which struck and damaged his house and building from the blast.

Walter told Rense in 2003 that he relates working in the workshop to make benches with Walter Jr. His wife, Effie, was caught inside the house.

The dad said the explosion caused the soil to kick up, and it was hard to see 10-feet ahead. During the interview, he was already 82. He thought a plane had crashed too.

The day was unbelievable, Gregg added. Everything was crazy and indescribable too.

Ground crews struggled to secure the bomb due to time limit

This B-47 was part of the operation Snow furry, which prepared the crew for nuclear war. The team was going to the UK for a bombing run. Things were not going as planned too.

Those securing the Mark 6 into the harness had a time limit to put it in place on the ground. The Airforce practiced a time limit to sling it and lock a pin to secure it;

After the accident, it did not stop the US from flying with nukes, cited The Daily Beast, but increased overflights in 1960. The government wanted to settle when a US air force bomber accidentally dropped an atomic bomb on a South Carolina residence. The Greggs initially declined but was resolved later after two years.

Related Article: Kim Jong Un Ignores Joe Biden's Offer To Restart Negotiations; Pyongyang Would Rather Talk to Seoul To Promote Peace

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The South China Sea edges into conflict as the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) trails the US and British carrier strike groups (CSGs). The PLAN is keeping an eye on their activities in the Indo-Pacific. China has issue new maritime rules for all ships passing the area, especially military vessels.

Friction in the South China Sea had reached a critical threshold when satellite images revealed a Chinese warship stalking UK and US carrier groups.

This part of the world is a powder keg waiting to explode as China is getting bolder, and not considering Joe Biden political savvy as the situation degrades.

Tensions ride as nations claim territory in the South China Sea

It is one of the most contested bodies of water with several Asian nations, with China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Philippines. For the most part, everyone is on edge due to China's claims and belligerence against its neighbors, reported Express UK.

China has built bases on the reclaimed atolls and asserted itself in the world's busiest shipping lane as well.

Planned freedom of navigation operation(FONOP), which doubles as a show of strength, the Royal Navy's HMS Queen Elizabeth with support ships will pass in the South China Sea, which will undoubtedly ruffle Beijing's feathers.

Just this Monday, the UK CSG 21 was seen transiting the Bashi Channel.

When they reached the South China Sea, Chinese authorities were tracking the HMS Queen Elizabeth and the US strike groups, as seen in the satellite photographs.

Read Also: Taiwan Preps Against China's Threats of Invasion, Sets Budget to Buy New Jets Worth $1.4 Billion

Off-limits to the allies!

This follows months after Chinese state media vowed to "forcibly remove" all ships that stray dangerously close to islands it controls.

According to a Beijing academic, China gives wine to its friend but uses a shotgun on wolves. Clearly a warning for the west to stay out of Beijing's business.

So, Queen Elizabeth and her support ships are on deployment worldwide, as its inaugural event to visit many ports of entry. To date, the ship has represented Britain in joint military drills with other nations.

The Global Times recently said that Beijing would be doing several drills throughout it in several locations.

One expert said the drill is not for the UK warships but demonstrates how prepared they are. If the Royal Navy will do FONOPs close to Sino islands and reefs found there.

US and British carrier strike groups exercise Freedom of Navigation Operations in the South China Sea

Earlier in May of the year, the Chinese military's Southern Theatre Command mentioned the USS Curtis Wilbur went close to the Paracel's without permission, cited Reuters.

The US action trampled and jeopardized regional peace and stability. But the US 7th Fleet said that it lawfully crossed international waters at the Paracel Islands.

Most Chinese military's comments were false, it added.

A record-breaking number of 38 Chinese military jets were spotted in Taiwan's ADIZ, placing the two nations on the precipice of conflict.

Taiwan is a challenging subject for China after Chiang Kai-shek left the Chinese mainland in 1949, noted History, to establish the island. Anxiety has increased in recent months, fearing China's president-elect, Xi Jinping, will use armed power to unify Taiwan with the rest of the country as the South China Sea edges into conflict.

Related Article: Taipei Prepares for Possible Invasion by the PLA as Its Fighters Increase Incursions in Taiwan Airspace

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While speaking to protestors outside her house, Brian Laundrie's sister disclosed a deep family rift. Cassie and her husband Jim emerged from their privacy Monday night to speak to a crowd gathering outside her Lakeland Ranch front yard. Her parents' attorney has instructed them not to discuss Gabby Petito's death with anybody, including her.

It's the latest twist in a case that drew national attention after Brian Laundrie came home on a cross-country "van life" trip without Gabby Petito in early September.

The remains of the 22-year-old travel blogger were discovered in Wyoming's Bridger-Teton National Park on September 19. Petito died of homicide, according to preliminary autopsy results.

After being identified as a person of interest in the investigation, Brian Laundrie vanished. The FBI issued a warrant for his arrest on September 22 for allegedly exploiting someone else's debit card to make a cash transaction.

Per Inside Edition, Cassie responded, "I don't know," when asked if she felt her brother killed Petito. She also went on "Good Morning America" to say she last saw her brother on Labor Day at Fort De Soto Campground near Tampa.

Brian Laundrie's sister urges parents to help the police

Brian Laundrie's sister has asked her parents to "come clean" if they helped her brother following the death of his fiancee Gabby Petito. As the hunt for Brian goes on, Cassie Laundrie appealed to her parents to help the police, The Sun reported.

Brian Laundrie traveled back to Florida between August 17 and 23, according to Cassie, just days before Gabby was last seen on August 27. He was last seen on September 6, she said when his family went camping at Fort De Soto Park.

Brian disappeared from his parents' house on September 14 after informing them he was going hiking in the 24,000-acre Carlton nature reserve. Cassie asked Brian to "come out" and "help us out of this horrible mess" in her interview on Tuesday.

The fugitive is not a suspect in Gabby's death at this time, but he has been identified as a person of interest. On August 30, a warrant of arrest was released for misusing a debit card that did not belong to him.

Read Also: Boy in Medically Induced Coma After Lawnmower Projectile Fractured His Skull While Playing in Wisconsin Playground

Parents changed statements on Brian Laundre's disappearance

According to Daily Mail, fugitive Brian Laundrie departed for a hike in Florida swampland a day earlier than his parents informed authorities.

He went on the evening of Tuesday, September 14 - two weeks after he returned alone from the ill-fated cross-country road trip with girlfriend Gabby Petito, 22 - according to his father Christopher, 62, and mother Roberta, 55.

However, Laundrie lawyer Steve Bertolino claims that the parents have changed their story and now claim that their son vanished on September 13. The Laundries did not report their son missing until the next week, on Thursday.

When Laundrie's silver Ford Mustang convertible was abandoned near his house in North Port, Florida, on Tuesday night, authorities claimed it was handed a police ticket at one of the entrances to the alligator-infested Carlton Reserve.

When asked what time Brian left the house on Monday, Bertolino remained silent. However, around 1 pm that day, Dailymail.com came to the Laundrie house to cover the news of Gabby's disappearance. Brian Laundrie had already vanished, as the Mustang was not in the driveway.

On the night of Saturday, September 11, officers arrived to the Laundrie residence to talk with Brian. Gabby's distressed mother, Nichole Schmidt, had reported her missing to her local sheriff's office near her home on Long Island, New York, just hours before.

The Laundrie parents, on the other hand, refused to "make Brian available" at the door, insisting that everything be handled through Bertolino. Brian was not seen by any cops at the house that night. "He was not seen," North Port police said.

Related Article: Brian Laundrie' Parents May Face Obstruction and Accessory Charges; Fugitive Sighted in Tennessee, North Carolina Border





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After the Queen issued an official portrait showing off her heirs, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle thought the "entire institution" was conspiring against them, according to an updated book.

The Monarch posted a wonderful photo of herself with her son Prince Charles, her grandson Prince William, and the youngest future king, Prince George, to commemorate the start of the year 2020. It was taken in the Throne Room of Buckingham Palace, and it set out the British Monarchy's future as well as being a nice family portrait.

However, there has been a lot of conjecture that the snap sparked a stir within the royal walls. Andrew Morton believes it made Meghan Markle and Prince Harry rethink their place in 'The Firm' in a revised edition of his unauthorized book, 'Meghan: A Hollywood Princess.'

Only a few days later, on January 8, Meghan and Harry stunned the world when they announced on social media that they would be stepping down from their senior positions. They said that they wanted to "carve out a progressive new position inside the institution" while becoming financially independent, saying they had spent "many months" thinking about the choice.

In two high-profile interviews since then, the pair have spoken out about their choice to leave, as per MIRROR. While on an open-top bus tour of LA with James Cordon, Prince Harry was the first to explain their decision.

Queen Elizabeth caught in Pandora Papers

Meanwhile, the Pandora Papers have identified Queen Elizabeth II in relation to a $91 million property sale involving an entity that gives her official public financing, Newsweek reported.

Based on a leak of millions of confidential papers, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists has thrown light on the financial arrangements of the world's wealthy and powerful.

According to one disclosure, The Crown Estate, which is officially controlled by the Monarch, was involved in a property deal that netted a trust related to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev $42 million profit.

There's even a possibility that a money-laundering inquiry may be warranted to see whether illicit money was involved at any point. However, the Crown Estate has begun an investigation into the purchase, and the queen's relationship with the group is tense.

While it does give formal public financing to the royal family, she does not profit directly from it and is not engaged in management choices.

Read Also: Sarah Ferguson Likely To Face Court Amid Prince Andrew's Sexual Abuse Case

Her majesty was "extremely generous" to the Sussexes

According to a royal historian, the Queen was "extremely generous" to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry when they departed the Royal Family. Meghan, 40, and Harry, 37, just returned from a whirlwind trip to New York City, their first major outing since stepping down as senior royals.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex paid a visit to the 9/11 memorial and met with Mayor Bill de Blasio and Governor Kathy Hochul of New York State. Meghan also read to pupils at a Harlem school from her children's book "The Bench" in an effort to promote literacy.

The couple then returned to California and settled into their home in the celebrity-studded Montecito neighborhood. The couple's friend, US talk show host Oprah Winfrey, who attended their wedding, is among the celebrities who reside in the green enclave.

Prince Harry has been across the Atlantic twice since the Sussexes left the Royal Family and came to the United States. He went to the United Kingdom in April for the funeral of his grandfather, Prince Philip, and the unveiling of a statue of his late mother, Princess Diana.

The Queen's Platinum Jubilee next year, which will mark her historic 70 years on the throne, is one of the next major events for the Royal Family. Hugo Vickers, a royal historian, spoke with Express.co.uk about the event, as well as Meghan and Harry's royal farewell.

The novelist and broadcaster have published biographies of a number of famous people from the twentieth century, including Greta Garbo and the Queen Mother. He has also served as chairman of the Jubilee Walkway Trust and the Commonwealth Walkway Trust, as well as being involved in some of the planning for the Jubilee next year.

Related Article: Queen Elizabeth Speaks About Prince Philip For the First Time as Her Majesty Loses Grip on Royal Family Ahead of Platinum

@YouTube

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President Joe Biden has recently come under fire after ordering the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate a "disturbing trend" of harassment and threats against school officials across the nation.

Critics are calling out Biden for breaking his campaign promise to keep the DOJ non-political after Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a directive that ordered the Federal Bureau of Investigations to probe "threats of violence" at school board meetings.

Investigation of Disturbing Trend

According to the directive, the FBI and U.S. attorney's offices are expected to meet with federal, state and local law enforcement leaders to discuss plans to combat what the DOJ said was a "disturbing trend" of harassment against school officials.

In a directive, Garland said that not only were threatening public servants in the United States illegal, the actions were also contradictory to the nation's core values. The official added that officials who worked hard to give American children the proper education and safe environment they deserved had the right to do so without fearing for their own safety.

The directive comes after the National School Board Association, on Sept. 29, wrote a letter urging the Biden administration to treat parent protests at school board meetings as possible acts of "domestic terrorism."

"Coupled with attacks against school board members and educators for approving policies for masks to protect the health and safety of students and school employees, many public school officials are also facing physical threats because of propaganda purporting the false inclusion of critical race theory within classroom instruction and curricula," the National School Board Association wrote in its letter.

Legal experts and politicians are now calling Garland's move a "gross federal overreach." Many are also criticizing the move as an attempt to push critical race theory within classroom instruction.

Read Also: Joe Biden Lifts Abortion Ban Referrals By Family Planning Clinics Put In Place During Donald Trump's Administration

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich called the attempt "shameful", arguing that the Biden administration was continuously politicizing the DOJ, ignoring the rule of law, and undermining state sovereignty. The official added that they will not tolerate the heinous actions of federal overreach and intimidation of Arizona families, Fox News reported.

Inappropriate Actions

Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge also weighed in on the move, calling it "grossly inappropriate" and a "political stunt." She said that the Democratic president's use of federal law enforcement against parents would have been better used to protect Americans from the surge of individuals flooding the nation's southern border..

Wyn Hornbuckle, a spokesperson for the DOJ, dismissed claims that the directive aims to silence people with opinions about policies related to the COVID-19 pandemic or the school curricula. The spokesperson clarified that Garland's memorandum was set in place to help the administration root out criminal threats of violence.

During his 2016 campaign, President Biden promised to keep the DOJ non-political. But within the last few months, he has given the DOJ authority to pursue lawsuits against Georgian over its state election statute and Texas for its anti-abortion law.

The Biden administration on Monday also took steps to formally reverse a Trump-era rule that barred reproductive health care clinics providing abortion services from receiving funds from the federal government, according to NBC News.



Related Article: Psaki Confirms Biden's Virtual Meeting With the Progressive Democrats To Discuss the Final Reconciliation Bill

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More than 200,000 children have been sexually abused by members of the French clergy, according to a report published Tuesday.

In a 2,500-page report by the Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church, the researchers said that between 2,900 and 3,200 abusers who worked in the French Catholic Church have abused more an estimated 216,000 minors between 1950 and 2020.

Child Sexual Abuse Victims of the Catholic Church

The report noted that the Catholic Church was the location where sex violence cases were at their most frequent even compared to situations within family and circles of friends, CNN reported

The report also condemned the French clergy of its repeated attempts to silence sexual abuse victims, noting that it failed to file a report or discipline any of the clergy members involved in the incidents.

During a news conference in Paris, the president of the Indepdent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church, Jean-Marc Sauve said that Church authorities failed to acknowledge the slightest suggestions and did not implement strict protocols that were necessary to combat the crimes, The New York Times reported.

The report also said the number of victims rose to an estimated 330,000 when counting victims of people who were not clergy but were associated with the Church, including Catholic schools and youth programs.

Oliver Savignac, head of victims association Parler et Revivre (Speak Out and Live Again), was one of the victims who spoke out. In an interview with The Associated Press, he said he was abused by the director of a Catholical vacation camp at age 13.

Read Also: Protest in New York City Against COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Turns Violent; Unvaccinated Teachers Not Allowed To Work

"I perceived this priest as someone who was good, a caring person who would not harm me. But it was when I found myself on that bed half-naked and he was touching me that I realized something was wrong....And we keep this, it's like a growing cyst. It's like gangrene inside the victim's body and the victim's psyche." Savignac said, Fox News reported.

Investigations of the Cases

Authorities later found the priest guilty of child sexual abuse and he was sentenced to two years in prison in 2018. The head of the French bishops' conference, Archbishop Eric de Moulins-Beaufort, asked forgiveness from the victims, roughly 80% of whom were boys. Pope Francis also expressed gratitude towards victims who came forward with their experience with sexual abuse.

On Tuesday, the pope released a statement where he expressed his thoughts and sympathies to the victims and urged the Church of France to be aware of the terrible reality. He said that he hoped the involved church members would embark on a "path of redemption," Reuters reported.

The damning report came after members of the French Catholic Bishops conference and several French Catholic clergy groups commissioned the investigation in 2018. The members, who acted independently of the Church, were given access to the archives of religious institutions.

The report also came to light after a series of high-profile scandals rocked the church in France. To date, the report has the most extensive account of the scope of sexual abuse incidents involving a clergy in the country.



Related Article: Brian Laundrie's Sister Urges Parents To Talk To Police and "Come Clean," Reveals Family Rift While Speaking To Protestors Outside Her Home

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Reports say the British prime minister is reportedly fuming from Joe Biden's silence whether the travel ban will be lifted for travelers from the UK. This comes as Boris Johnson has been confused as to what Washington wants to do.

The Biden administration made the UK last in line after several meetings in the White House, which yielded nothing.

Many Brexit politicians are furious about the secondary treatment of the UK by the US president, who many suspects do not care for the special relationship that is not acknowledged.

White House remains in silence with UK

London has been waiting for the date that Washington determines when lockdown is lifted, and the international travel between the UK and US will be possible. Still, it is stonewalling silence from the White House, reported the Express UK.

This current administration's repeated snub of entreaties from Downing St. is stark compared to other administrations that always had Britain's priority in mind. For many UK politicians, this made them censure Biden if he could actually lead.

In one press conference, PM Johnson said no word if the travel lockdown would be eased or not.

Not befitting one of the US closest allies, Biden announced that travel restrictions would be lessened, but no mention of the UK leads to saying London was blindside intentionally.

Yet, again UK officials were expecting a definite date, but it has not yet been mentioned. The British PM is reportedly fuming from Joe Biden's silence in the matter.

Read Also: UK Foreign Secretary Called Joe Biden's Snub for Brexit Deal Waste of Time, Says Trans-Pacific Deal Could be Possible

One of the media outlets said that a source spoke about it. Instead, an unidentified government representative said no one knows when.

Saying the White House will decide policy, the situation is complicated as well.

The UK government speaks

The US Department of Transportation said they have no updates or new information at this time.

Simon Calder, the travel correspondent of The Independent, said it would be allegedly four weeks to go.

He added that for 18-months, flights to the US had been closed, and there was a demand for resumption of air travel to reopen this trans-Atlantic route, one of the most important markets.

If there are half-empty planes because of a travel ban, there are no chance airlines will schedule flights if they lose money.

Joe Biden's interference in the negotiations with London and Brussels concerning the Irish border has been scathed by UK Brexit minister David Frost. He told the US leader is out of place, which is thought to have been used as a cudgel by the White house.

Frost remarked that this week, Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol will be activated, should Brussel not bring up its concessions like customs checks with Britain and Northern Ireland, cited the Telegraph.

He added the Biden administration should acknowledge the principles of the Good Friday Agreement and not interfere with London. Should he attempt to influence domestic affairs, it will cause strains.

Democrat President Bill Clinton signed an agreement in 1998, establishing no border will exist in Ireland. That is if the White House does not choose to ignore it.

If the British PM is reportedly fuming from Joe Biden's silence, he will have a lot more to worry from Washington that does not seem to have a sure grip.

Related Article: UK Foreign Secretary Says US Snub Costs Brexit Nothing but More Chances at Better Deals Globally

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The Chinese space agency recently showcased plenty of new rocket mock-ups similar to SpaceX and Blue Origin for space tourism. The design used by the designers looking for a template to base a homegrown space vehicle.

The final design has the top part the Jeff Bezos, and the body of the spacecraft bears a similarity to the Elon Musk rocket. Added to the design are the SpaceX side fins controlling the descent.

CAS Space is a commercial firm like SpaceX, part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), that will make commercial applications of exploiting orbital operations for profit.

Commercial space flight soon

According to CAS Space, it will be 2024 when the first space flights start.

The company had a press statement that up to seven passengers would be accommodating the vehicle once the craft has gone a little over the Karman line that is outer limits of the Earth's upper atmosphere and outer space approximately 62 miles up, note Wiexin.

Profits from space tourism are actualized by business ventures starting from three billionaires, making science fiction into a potential new enterprise, reported The Daily Mail.

These are Richard Branson, Virgin Galactic, with Jeff Bezos of Amazon are into suborbital space tourists. But, the real winner of the three is Elon Musk, who has not taken a ride but instead chooses four civilians who took a three-day trip around the planet.

CAS Space, the next one in space tours

Refusing to forego the chance to earn from the upcoming space tourism industry, it would be ready with its first crew in two years. The new Chinese space agency showcases a new rocket for space tourism which is the keystone of this new industry.

Read Also: Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin Files Lawsuit to NASA for Granting Elon Musk's SpaceX the $2.9 Billion Moon Lander Contract

The actual booster and rocket system are for multiple uses, like the StarshipX. CAS Space will do all the tests to make it ready for real use for a manned mission.

Slated for a scheduled low orbit test launch in 2022, next will be an autonomous mission in 2023. Once the kinks are ironed out to prevent malfunctions and accidents, they will be out in 2024.

One criticism is the firm's intended fast-tracking for research and testing, which took American firms a long time but are now engaging in space tourism.

The Blue Origin had its first demo in 2015 but waited until 2021 to add a crew to an actual flight into orbit just this year.

One of CAS Space's goals is to expose all guests to training as an astronaut for a short time before the launch date. No one mentioned the training's extent, though.

Musk's recent expedition called the 'Insporation4 mission' had four civilians in the mission on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Unlike the Blue Origin that had a paying customer, these four were chosen, cited Space.

SpaceX did the works to train the four in specific situations that could be met in space, like launching, entering the atmosphere, splashdown, and if the craft needs evacuation.

Musk's competition

Sir Richard Branson is the first billionaire to see space, with six people who skimmed the outer limits of space about 53 miles up on July 11. The crew was free from gravity for eight minutes. Last July 20, Bezos had his journey in his Blue Origin.

CAS Space, a Chinese space agency, showcases a new rocket for space tourism competing in the space industry. However, it will have to wait if the spacecraft will be successful as well.

Related Article: SpaceX Cannot Lift Off Due to Liquid Oxygen Shortage as COVID-19 Patients Need Them in Hospitals

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New Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Tuesday signaled plans to cooperate with the United States to defend several disputed islets in the East China Sea as well as take a more assertive approach on China's aggression towards Taiwan.

During a press conference, Kishida revealed that he had been on a phone call with U.S. President Joe Biden. In the 20-minute phone call, both world leaders discussed their commitment to defending the disputed Senkaku Islands located in the East China Sea.

Japan's New Prime Minister

"We confirmed that we would work together toward the strengthening of the Japan-US alliance and free and open Indo-Pacific. We also confirmed we would work closely on issues related to China and North Korea," Kishida said during the press conference, according to CNBC.

The new Japanese Prime Minister added that he and Biden agreed to support the defense of the Asian nation with regards to Article 5 of the U.S.-Japan security treaty.

Kishida's latest move signals that he is intent on continuing former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's plan to boost security ties with the U.S. while preserving trade ties with China. He is also expected to deepen Japan's relationship with other powerhouse countries, including Australia and India.

During the press conference, Kishida also said that the Japanese government is considering its options for its plans to take a more assertive position on China's attempt at claiming Taiwan as its own territory. At one point, Beijing said it could claim the independent country by force if need be.

Read Also: Joe Biden Lifts Abortion Ban Referrals By Family Planning Clinics Put In Place During Donald Trump's Administration

Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said that Japan would, instead of simply monitoring the rising tensions between China and Taiwan, would take a more assertive approach on the issue. The official said the Japanese government hopes to weigh in on the various possible scenarios that could result from the confrontation between the two arguing nations, Yahoo News reported.

Lagging Poll Ratings

Despite his immediate responses on the international stage, Kishida is struggling to find his footing among Japanese voters. The incident comes only two days after he was seated as the country's prime minister and launched a new government.

The new prime minister's rating was somewhere from 45% to 49% at the lowest end while having 56% to 59% as more conservative reports. The amount of support shown for Kishida was much lower than that of his predecessor, Yoshihide Suga.

On Wednesday morning, Kishida said he was aware of the results of the poll for his ratings but noted that there were noticeably large gaps depending on the company that conducted the surveys. However, the new prime minister said he would use the results as a guide to better serve the country and win his people's trust and support.

Kishida said he would work to dissolve the lower house of parliament on Oct. 14 as a general election was scheduled on Oct. 31. The event would constitute major issues in Japan, including the coronavirus pandemic and recovery of the country's economy. While Kishida's poll results are low for a fresh administration, they are still higher than the lowest of his predecessor, Reuters reported.



Related Article: Protest in New York City Against COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Turns Violent; Unvaccinated Teachers Not Allowed To Work

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Former Vice President Mike Pence faces backlash for calling the Capitol riot "just another day in January."

The incident took place on Jan. 6 after Donald Trump's supporters flocked to the Capitol to prevent the Senate from declaring Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 election.

According to CNN, there's no reason for Pence ever to forget the events that transpired on Jan. 6, 2020, because he was at the Capitol back then.

At the time, several protesters also chanted "hang Mike Pence," resulting in the Secret Service hiding him and his entire family to ensure that they would not be in danger.

Pence was forced to turn his back on Trump when he declared his opponent as the winner even though the then-POTUS wanted him to say that the result of the election was rigged.

So, when the former vice president called the Capitol riot just another day in January, he faced a slew of criticisms online.

Read Also: Trump Affirms VP Pence Could Overturn Election Results: 'Hope Mike Pence Comes Through'

Mike Pence slams Joe Biden's administration during an interview

"I know the media wants to distract from the Biden administration's failed agenda by focusing on one day in January. They want to use that one day to try to demean the character and intentions of 74 million Americans who believed we could be strong again and prosperous again and supported our administration in 2016 and 2020," Pence said in an interview with FOX News via Youtube.

Pence also told interviewer Sean Hannity that he doesn't have ill feelings towards Trump. He also stressed that he managed to build a strong bond with Trump because they were always together for five years.

The former vice president also said that following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, he and Trump talked to each other. And they parted ways amicably.

On Twitter, several Pence critics slammed the former vice president. Some of them called the former vice president a Jan. 6 accomplice. Others said that Pence should be dragged in front of the Jan. 6 committee and asked about every conversation he had with Trump.

Mike Pence is a Jan 6 accomplice. I have zero sympathy for him. He was in on it.  Scott Dworkin (@funder) October 5, 2021

Other critics also questioned Pence's loyalty to Trump when the latter didn't protect him when rioters wanted to hang him during the Capitol riot.

Will Mike Pence run for president in the 2024 election?

There are also predictions that Pence would run for president in the 2024 election.

According to Yahoo! News, his recent statement about focusing on the future must have been a nod to his presidential aspirations.

However, Trump reportedly has plans to run for office in 2024, and it's unlikely for Republicans to choose Pence to challenge the ex-POTUS in the primary.

Trump is still considered as the GOP Alpha, and he has also been threatening his Republican opponents to stay out of the 2024 election.

He previously said that he would beat Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis just like how he beat everyone else. He also encouraged those that want to campaign against him just to drop up, Trump told Yahoo! Finance.

Related Article: Mike Pence Set To Attend GOP Dinner; Raises Speculation Of 2024 Presidential Race

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Haiti's former Justice Minister Rockefeller Vincent calls for the resignation of the country's Prime Minister Ariel Henry due to the latter's alleged connection to the assassination of former President Jovenel Moise.

Vincent used to be in charge of overseeing the murder investigation of Moise, but after he and Haiti's top country prosecutor Bed-Ford Claude started looking into Henry's possible involvement, both of them were fired from their jobs.

Henry said that Vincent and Claude were fired for breaking the law, which forbids them from prosecuting top officials without the permission of the head of the state.

However, Vincent believes that he was fired for refusing to sack Claude. In the end, Haiti's Interior Minister Liszt Quitel was the one that fired Claude.

Ariel Henry has ties to the mastermind behind the assassination

Vincent revealed that the ongoing murder investigation into the death of Moise reached Henry on Sept. 14. As a result, Claude said that he would ask for charges against the prime minister.

Claude cited evidence of phone calls between Henry and one of the masterminds behind the assassination. However, Henry claimed that he doesn't have any recollection of the alleged phone call.

The prime minister also said that he had nothing to do with Moise's death. The former president was gunned down in his home in July.

Read Also: Haiti Crisis Deepens As Prime Minister Fires Top Prosecutor For Seeking Charges In President's Killing

Rockefeller Vincent in hiding after getting fired

Vincent, who is currently in hiding amid fears that Henry would have him killed, said he was surprised by the prime minister's decision.

After all, if there are allegations of crime and murder, the common practice is for the accused to tender his resignation and not to fire those investigating his involvement.

"In all serious countries, once you are implicated in such an affair, the Prime Minister should offer his resignation. He should resign. And we are still waiting for him to resign. Because on the night of the president's death, a few hours later... He had phone conversations with the president's assassin," Vincent told CNN.

Following Moise's death, Henry assumed the role of prime minister weeks later.

Since Haiti doesn't have a president right now, Henry will also assume the role until next year's presidential election.

Quitel has also taken over Vincent's job, so he's doing double duty as the head of Haiti's interior and justice ministries.

Last week, Quitel said that the investigations led by Vincent didn't provide them with answers regarding Moise's assassination.

Phone operator confirmed Ariel Henry's link to murder mastermind

He also said that there is no proof that Henry spoke with the mastermind behind the former president's murder.

However, records obtained from phone operator Digicel confirmed that Henry spoke to Joseph Felix Badio, a justice ministry official accused of planning Moise's assassination.

Henry and Badio spoke on the phone twice shortly after Moise's murder. Geolocation also placed Badio near the scene of the crime while he was talking to Henry, according to the BBC.

As for Claude, he was replaced by Frantz Louis Juste, a prosecutor who oversaw the case involving the deaths of several children in a fire at an orphanage last year, according to the Associated Press.

Related Article: Haiti President Ariel Henry Addresses Evidence In Assassination Of President Jovenel Moise

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Russian authorities continue to struggle to contain the coronavirus pandemic in the region as records show the region has three times the number of cases compared to last year, a situation that many blame on the country's low vaccination rate.

Officials reported on Tuesday that there were 895 deaths and 25,110 new coronavirus infections, which brought the total confirmed cases to over 7.6 million. Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said on the same day that there was a 31% increase in COVID-19 cases since the beginning of September.

Russia's Coronavirus Situation

Golikova noted that the recent numbers were 3.1 times more compared to the same period last year. The situation has caused concerns to build among authorities with Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin expressing "serious concern" of the circumstances.

The head of health watchdog agency Rospotrednadzor, Anna Popova, said that Russia's current situation with the coronavirus pandemic was "extremely tense." The official's statements came as more than 200,000 residents were in hospitals after being infected by the deadly virus. Records also showed that nearly a million others were placed under medical watch for potentially being infected, CBS News reported.

The numbers on Tuesday were the third time that Russia observed a daily record of infections higher than 25,000. Many authorities claim that the slow administration of the coronavirus vaccines was to blame for the rising number of infections. This is despite the wide availability of the injections.

While the Kremlin acknowledged that the situation is a cause for concern, authorities have not considered a countrywide lockdown or other nationwide measures to curb the spread of the infection. Golikova revealed that she had talked with other officials about potential measures they can take to prevent another lockdown.

Read Also: Russia Presses Bid for WHO's Approval of Sputnik V Vaccine As Country Grapples With 3 Times More COVID-19 Cases During Last Fall

However, the official did not reveal details of the potential protocols and only implied that they would include a "stage-by-stage approach depending on the epidemiological situation in the specific region", ABC News reported.

Low Vaccination Rate

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that as the coronavirus becomes more virulent, residents who have not yet been vaccinated are more at risk of becoming severely ill and dying. The official's statements come as Russia has fully vaccinated 42.2 million residents and still has 35.9 million more people to go to reach collective immunity, said Golikova.

During a televised government meeting, the official said that 7.6 million people needed to receive a booster shot for the coronavirus infection. The country, which has a population of more than 142 million, has approved four domestically manufactured vaccines to use in inoculating its residents.

Another reason for the high number of coronavirus infections and deaths is the high vaccine hesitancy among residents. The situation has severely slowed down vaccination efforts in Russia as residents continue to fear new medical products and have little trust in authorities, Yahoo News reported.

The country's media have also reported seeing long queues of ambulances outside hospitals located in St. Petersburg, the second-largest city in the region. The situation caused an ambulance crew in the city of Vladimir to scramble to find a bed for a COVID-19 patient.



Related Article: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern Admits Country Can No Longer Maintain Zero-COVID Goals Amid Lagging Vaccination Rates

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State police in New York report a man may face seven years in jail for allegedly submitting fake COVID-19 vaccine card.

Devin R. Kemp, 24, of Eaton, was charged with possession of a forged instrument in the second degree on Friday. Kemp is accused of submitting a fake vaccination card to his workplace, a felony classified as a class "D" crime.

Man uses fake COVID-19 vaccine card to his employment

The state's Department of Health Vaccination Complaint Investigation Team called the New York State Police on September 27 to investigate a case of a fake COVID-19 vaccine card that had been submitted to them by a private firm, according to officials.

The maximum penalty for a class D felony in New York is seven years, according to the New York State Unified Court System. This was the first incident of vaccination card fraud that Trooper Jack Keller, a public relations officer for Troop D of the New York State Police, who handled the case, informed Newsweek.

He said that cases like these go via the Department of Health first. Once they've completed their investigation, the department will forward the accused to the proper police agency for processing.

President Joe Biden stated in early September that companies with more than 100 employees would be forced to require vaccination or weekly testing. He also mandated vaccinations for federal employees and contractors doing business with the government, as well as healthcare personnel at Medicare and Medicaid-accredited hospitals.

The number of fake COVID-19 vaccine card sellers has surged into the thousands as a result of Biden's broad vaccination mandate. According to Check Point Software Technologies' analysis, there were 800-900 sellers selling fraudulent vaccination cards for about $100 apiece in August.

A business representative noted that, while the pricing stayed the same, there were now up to 10,000 suppliers after the president's declaration. There have been reports of both fraudulent and legit COVID-19 vaccination cards.

At O'Hare International Airport, dozens of fake COVID-19 vaccine cards and "misbranded" ivermectin pills were discovered. The US Customs and Border Patrol discovered 41 fake COVID-19 vaccinations in two shipments, one claiming to contain PVC pipes and the other claiming to contain greeting cards, according to the agency.

Both cargoes originated in China and were en route to Seagraves, Texas, and Houston, respectively. Agents discovered a container of 100 ivermectin pills in another box from China that claimed to contain decorative beads.

Ivermectin tablets and 40 misbranded hydroxychloroquine pills were also found in a shipment from Mexico. Officials stated the drugs were being transported to Atlanta and Minnesota, respectively, ABC7 reported.

Read Also: Russia Presses Bid for WHO's Approval of Sputnik V Vaccine As Country Grapples With 3 Times More COVID-19 Cases During Last Fall

Law against fake COVID-19 vaccine card?

Someone possessing a fake vaccination card may be prosecuted with Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree, according to DA Flynn. Because this is a Class "D" felony, a conviction could result in a sentence of up to seven years in jail.

Letitia James, the attorney general of New York State, has also spoken out on the issue. Anyone who suspects they've been a victim of a COVID-19 vaccination card fraud can contact her office at 1-800-771-7755.

On the federal level, the FBI released a public service announcement this year explaining how Title 18 of the United States Code, Section 10-17, states that you cannot use the seal of any US government entity fraudulently, and that if you do, you may face up to 5 years in jail. Attorneys tell us that this will be addressed on a case-by-case basis, and that a lengthy prison sentence is unlikely, as per WGRZ via MSN.

Related Article: Fake COVID-19 Vaccine Card Selling On The Rise; What To Do When You Lost Your Proof of Vaccination?



@YouTube

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Arkansas Senate just passed a bill that could override federal vaccine mandate in the state.

Senate Bill 739 was proposed by State Senator Kim Hammer, and it is aimed at helping employees without a vaccine not to lose their jobs.

The bill also urges employers to require all their employees to get vaccinated to provide them with an exemption process that would include testing and proof of antibodies.

Once the bill takes into effect, employees that don't want to get vaccinated would still be allowed to work for as long as they are healthy and COVID-19-free.

More problems ahead even after Senate Bill 739 is passed

However, Dr. Daniel Bennett, a political science associate professor, said there could still be a challenge from the federal government even after the bill is passed.

"In a case where there's clear contradiction between state and federal law, the federal law is usually going to win. However, in cases where there is some confusion about the federal government's authority, states might benefit off of that confusion," he said via KNWA FOX 24.

Bennett added that it's not uncommon for states to try and override the federal government's mandates with legislation.

However, Senate Bill 739 would still have to go through a lengthy process before it can officially take into effect.

Read Also: Arkansas Governor Allows State's Public Health Emergency For COVID-19 To End; Clarifies That The State Feels The Effects Of Pandemic

After passing the Senate, it will head to the House of Public Health, Welfare, and Labor Committee this week.

Hammer included an emergency clause in the bill so that it could take into effect immediately after it was passed. However, the emergency clause wasn't approved, so the bill will only take into effect 90 days after it passes the legislature.

If enacted, it would expire in 2023 unless extended by lawmakers.

Arkansas lawmakers have been passing different bills

Other than Senate Bill 739, lawmakers have also been passing different bills that would present the residents of Arkansas.

On Monday, Senate Bill 730 was passed, and it will allow employees to file for unemployment if they are fired for refusing to get vaccinated, according to 4029 News.

However, Sen. Ricky Hill challenged Senate Bill 730 by saying that many people might take advantage of this because they are now being incentivized not to go back to work.

Earlier this week, Senate Bill 732 was also passed, and it prohibits the coercion of persons from taking the vaccine. However, the bill did not pass in the house committee on Tuesday.

Arkansas ranked 28th in the US for new COVID-19 cases

According to US News, Republican lawmakers have been filing several bills that will target vaccine mandates. This is in response to Joe Biden's previous order requiring employees to get vaccinated or get tested regularly.

The bills being passed come in the heels of the decreasing number of COVID-19 cases in Arkansas. The state is ranked 28th in the country for new cases per capita.

But even with the decrease in COVID-19 cases, Arkansas still recorded 529.7 new cases per 100,000 people over the past two weeks.

Related Article: Arkansas Prisoners Claims Doctor Gives Unproven COVID-19 Treatment Ivermectin To Run Secret Experiments

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Vladimir Putin's group snubs Joe Biden's call after an impending gas shortage will hit the US. Instead, Russia has ignored the US president's call to seek assistance to resolve the impending fuel crisis.

Fuel costs are rising in Europe and Asia, threatening economic gains and replacing them with a loss. The White House tries to contact Russia for some relief of sorts but gets ignored with no answer.

Putin snubs Biden request for help

Rising costs to acquire natural gas and coal are at their highest that has been experiencing recently. The big squeeze of energy supplies in Europe and Asia has affected millions, reported the Express UK.

Unpredictably, the energy crunch is now affecting the US, but no answer has been given despite calls from the White House to OPEC leaders. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries does not seem to mind what Biden has to say.

The OPEC has 13 member nations, including Russia, Algeria, Iraq, and Venezuela, ignoring the current US administration. Washington asked for an increase in crude oil production to offset the looming energy shortage, cited News Chant.

Call with Moscow as a member nation of the OPEC+ group from 2016, stated on Monday that the organization will not listen to the White House to increase the crude production per day. Only 400,000 barrels will be the threshold limit per day, even if the deficit needs to be counter-balanced.

The OPEC group snubs Joe Biden's call and sticks to their gun despite backlash from the US, UK, and China, further causing misgivings that impending gas shortage will sideline all economic comebacks when the pandemic is over.

Read Also: Putin Wants Live Debate Versus Biden After 'Killer' Remark

After the Biden snub, crude oil prices in the US are at their highest in the last seven years. Even more than the Trump years, that was far more stable.

Last Monday, the US petroleum benchmark West Texas Intermediate jumped up 3% to over $78 per barrel for the first time after 2014.

An increase to $82 per barrel according to Brent crude, one of the international marks was indicated from the last three years, noted the Economic Times. Last Tuesday, US oil was traded at $77.80 a barrel, while Brent crude price stayed at $81.60.

The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, remarked that all options would be in play, even if the US is not a member of the OPEC.

No matter what the White House says that it might find a solution, they could do nothing. OPEC is not blaming the block with Russian as one of the leading producers.

Group of oil-producing countries

OPEC is a group of oil-producing countries founded on September 14, 1960, in Baghdad, then joined by its first five members Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela. But more countries joined the group later.

OPEC+ is another set of countries that joined in succeeding years and made the bloc more powerful over the years, including Russia, Iran, Venezuela

But what should be noticed is that these countries do not meet with the US. Still, Putin's group snubs Joe Biden's call to prevent impending gas shortage because they control the flow of crude that will adversely affect both Europe and the US.

Related Article: Vladimir Putin Criticizes Biden's Thrust in Syria, Says Washington Cannot Keep Troops and Failed US Foreign Policy

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To support American families with their growing expenses, federal stimulus checks have been distributed across various states. These monetary benefits offer financial boost and immediate relief for low-income and medium-earner families. Depending on the state you live in, a fourth stimulus check could be heading your way.

After so much research, government officials and lawmakers acknowledged the efficiency of stimulus check payments. However, three stimulus check waves might not be enough. In fact, 21 senators wrote a letter to the president saying, "six in ten people say the $1,400 payments set to be included in the rescue package will last them less than three months."

Wanting to resolve these issues, state governments created their own stimulus program for residents. Note, however, that each state would have its own set of qualifications for the stimulus check.

Fourth Stimulus Check Update: New States With $1000 Payments and More

The stimulus checks programs below vary in quantity and eligibility. Each local state would also be responsible for its own distribution date schedule. Marca listed a few notable states and their financial aid programs.

Alaska Stimulus Checks

Alaska residents may qualify for financial aid through their Federal State Extended Benefits program. The program could bring 13 to 20 weeks of monetary checks. Also, it is important to note that no updates were made regarding residents' annual oil wealth checks.

Arizona Stimulus Checks

Governor Dough Ducey encouraged residents to find employment in this time of pandemic. The state's Back to Work program would release one-time $1,000 payments to unemployed workers who accept part-time work and $2,000 for full-timers.

Sinema's position is simply unpopular



"In Arizona, 72% supported the plan, with most giving credit to the Democratic Party for passing provisions including vaccine distribution, stimulus checks..."https://t.co/rGErSvsQsC  Mike Hamm (@mike_hamm) September 26, 2021

Connecticut Stimulus Checks

Connecticut's financial aid program takes a similar approach to Arizona. "Back to Work" plan would provide $1,000 to applicants who get back into the workforce after eight weeks off of unemployment, according to Governor Ned Lamont.

Connecticut's Courts Plan Tech Improvements With Federal Stimulus Funds, But What About Other States? https://t.co/ZmJLJ0IqSb  CT Law Tribune (@CTLawTribune) August 12, 2021

Delaware Stimulus Checks

Residents who do not typically file federal income tax returns are encouraged to watch out for their mailbox. State Treasurer Colleen Davis said, "though the federal government has already sent payments to almost 500,000 people in Delaware, I want to make sure everyone gets a payment who is entitled to."

Hawaii Stimulus Checks

Hawaii lawmakers initially offered $2,200 to teachers, but the program got vetoed by Governor David Ige. No update was mentioned for other financial aid programs.

Idaho Stimulus Checks

According to Boise State Public Radio, some residents may receive a one-time tax rebate in the coming months. The program is exclusive to full-time residents who submitted their 2019 and 2020 tax returns.

Indiana Stimulus Checks

Arguing against Governor Eric Holcomb's decision to end unemployment benefits early, residents won rights to receive federal unemployment benefits to those eligible.

Kentucky Stimulus Checks

Various internet sources and rumors claim a new stimulus check payment being distributed in Kentucky. Unfortunately, nothing concrete was announced by the local government.

Read Also: Fourth Stimulus Check? Insurance Rebate Can Get You $100 to $1000!

Minnesota Stimulus Checks

Some Minnesota residents registered to the $300 million grant should receive up to $1,200 on an incoming stimulus check payment.

Minnesota child-care providers will soon be receiving financial assistance under a $300 million program established by the Legislature, using federal money provided by the COVID-19 stimulus package. https://t.co/qjEewzIzVG  Star Tribune (@StarTribune) September 22, 2021

Missouri Stimulus Checks

Families in the low-income category and are unemployed are entitled to temporary Child Care Subsidy benefit for up to 60 days.

New Hampshire Stimulus Checks

Local government provides a $1,089 grant for American families of three who have no income.

Oklahoma Stimulus Checks

The local government and Oklahoma State Department of Education allocated $13 million for student teachers as COVID-19 relief money. They hoped the benefit would boost frontliner and worker morale.

A special thanks to Chris Russo from the @mercatus for his in depth overview this morning on how the markets have reacted to stimulus packages and his view on post-COVID economic expectations. pic.twitter.com/LW1rX0gQ2c  State Chamber of Oklahoma (@okstatechamber) September 28, 2021

South Dakota Stimulus Checks

Notably, the state of South Dakota chose not to receive the federally funded $300 weekly unemployment benefit. Instead, South Dakota cities and towns would split a $65.2 million pot of federal stimulus money, according to Twitter user @argusleader

South Dakota cities and towns with populations under 50,000 will split a $65.2 million pot of federal stimulus money.

https://t.co/v7VsuFy5TP  argusleader (@argusleader) August 20, 2021

Vermont Stimulus Checks

Local government officials tried to incentivize people with $7,500 reimbursement for people relocation on their jobs in selected industries. By February 2022, this program should also apply to remote workers.

Other States with Stimulus Check Programs Happening Now

These are only some of the most active stimulus check programs available in the United States. Residents are encouraged to visit their local government agencies and inquire directly to selected personnel for more information. This should give you an idea for all financial aid programs you could apply for.

For more details on other states with similar stimulus check programs, you could visit this article.



Related Article: Fourth Stimulus Check Update: $2000 Online Petition, $600 Golden State Payments for SSDI, SSA Recipients




By Park Ji-won







The Vienna Philharmonic, one of the world's most prestigious orchestras, could perform in Korea next month, becoming the first foreign orchestra with more than 100 members to hold concerts in Korea since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.







The Sejong Center for the Performing Arts said Tuesday that the health authorities here are considering giving the 120-member company a quarantine exemption for a six-day visit. Anyone who entering Korea is obliged to undergo a two-week quarantine, but if the visit is for "important business purposes," academic interest or humanitarian reasons, the government has been lifting the mandatory quarantine after reviewing applications.







The center said the orchestra has made its application and is awaiting a government review for the exemption.







There is a chance for the art troupe could be exempted as a number of conductors or musicians have visited Korea over the past few months without quarantine requirements and performed here.







If the orchestra is granted an exemption, led by conductor Italian maestro Riccardo Muti, it will perform Mozart's Symphony No. 35 and Schubert's Symphony No. 9 at the center, Nov. 14. The orchestra will also have two concerts at the Daejeon Arts Center, Nov. 15, and at the Seoul Arts Center, Nov. 16.







The orchestra was planning to perform a similar program in Korea last year, but postponed the performances due to the severe pandemic situation throughout the world.


A scene from tvN's rom-com series, "Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha" / Korea Times file



By Yoon Ja-young



Residents of a small seaside village in Pohang say they are suffering from fans of the drama who, in some cases, have even trespassed on residents' properties.



Through a social media message on Oct. 5, the production team of tvN's popular Saturday-Sunday drama, "Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha," urged fans not to visit private areas where the drama was filmed.



"The residences of Hye-jin, Du-sik, Gam-ri and Cho-hui in the drama are private properties that were granted permission for use during the shoot, and the owners currently reside there," the production team said in a statement.



"The owners provided support for the drama production in good will. However, their daily lives are now being interrupted due to visitors. When you visit the village from the series, please refrain from entering those residences."



Based on the 2004 film, "Mr. Handy," the drama features realistic, big-city dentist Yoon Hye-jin, played by actress Shin Min-a, moving to the small seaside village of Gongjin to open up her clinic and fall in love with the town's handsome, jack-of-all-trades, odd-job expert?Hong Du-sik, played by Kim Seon-ho. Stories of people around them, including Hye-jin's friend Mi-seon, grandmother Gam-ri, a divorced couple, and cafe owner, add to the charm of the drama.



The series has gained huge popularity in Korea and beyond, marking double-digit viewership here and making it to the list of Netflix Top 10 shows in many countries.



Though the drama is set in a village named Gongjin in Gangwon Province, it was actually filmed in Cheongha, a small village in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province.



According to Maeil Shinmun, a local newspaper in the Daegu-North Gyeongsang Province region, visitors to Cheongha have skyrocketed based on the drama's popularity. It reported that a total of 41,900 people visited the village during the five-day Chuseok holiday. A resident told the newspaper that they were bewildered to see so many visitors to the small town, with cars blocking the road to the village.


By Lee Gyu-lee







Actor Lee Joon-gi will be starring in SBS's upcoming series, "Again My Life," (direct translation), which is scheduled to air in the first half of next year.







The actor's agency, Namoo Actors, announced Wednesday that he had been confirmed in the lead role for the new series.







Based on the web novel of the same title, the series follows a prosecutor named Kim Hee-woo (Lee), seeking revenge for his death.







Hee-woo is a resilient, determined prosecutor who does not negotiate with criminals. After getting killed while trying to take down a powerful crime boss, he enters the afterlife but is sent back for a second chance at life.







Using his skill and determination, he uses this chance to hunt his murderer and take down the corrupt politician Cho Tae-sup (Lee Kyung-young) who runs his own crime cartel.







The series is directed by Han Chul-soo, whose previous work includes the mystery series, "Graceful Family."







Lee debuted in 2003 with a minor role in the popular sitcom, "Nonstop 4," and rose to stardom after landing the lead role in the local box-office hit, "The King and The Clown," in 2005.







He has taken roles in various TV series and films, including SBS's period series, "Iljimae," tvN's romance series, "Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo," and the romance film, "Never Said Goodbye," as well as the Hollywood film, "Resident Evil: The Final Chapter," in 2016.


NongHyup Financial Group Chairman Son Byung-hwan speaks during the group's global strategic meeting held at the headquarters of the financial group in central Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of NongHyup Financial Group



By Anna J. Park



NongHyup Bank plans to open six more overseas branches in 2022, in line with parent NongHyup Financial Group's strategic plan to bolster global businesses in the coming years.



In order to bolster its global investment banking business, NongHyup Bank aims to establish new branches in Sydney, Beijing, Ho Chi Minh City and Noida, India next year. The bank launched two new branches earlier this year in Hong Kong and London.



The bank also plans to keep nurturing investment professionals with global expertise to strengthen its worldwide network. In addition, the bank will take necessary measures to acquire licenses required in each country to expand its global investment banking operation.



The plan was revealed during the financial group's online global strategic meeting held earlier this week, which brought together the CEOs and key officials of NongHyup Financial Group's subsidiaries, including the bank and its brokerage arm.



The financial group said that the online meeting was held mainly to prepare for the group's 10th anniversary next year, aiming to track back the footsteps of NongHyup Financial Group's past decade of global advancement and to map out fresh global strategies for the new decade.



During the meeting, the group chairman again urged the heads of the subsidiaries to achieve the group's mid-term goal of 160 billion won ($134 million) in annual net profit from overseas branches located in 13 different countries.



"It's heart-warming to see the group subsidiaries' efforts to strengthen and expand global networks, despite various negative exterior conditions," Chairman Son said during the meeting.



"We once again urge all of our subsidiaries to pay particular attention so that our global business becomes the core strength of NongHyup Financial Group and the key source of momentum of the group's growth," the chairman stressed.



NongHyup Financial Group set a global vision in February this year to become Asia's representative global financial cooperative. The group plans to build a 10-year strategy largely based on global expansion.



Currently, the financial group operates networks in nine countries, with the total amount of its overseas assets standing at 1.3 trillion won. The group's global business raked in 28.9 billion won in net profit last year.






Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki attends a parliamentary audit of the Ministry of Economy and Finance at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap



FSC chair pledges tighter scrutiny for Upbit operator's monopoly



By Lee Kyung-min



Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said that taxation on gains from cryptocurrency trading will take effect next year as planned, in a clear show of distance from mounting calls from both ruling and opposition party lawmakers to delay the enforcement ahead of next year's presidential election.



The finance ministry initially planned to impose a 20 percent tax starting Oct. 1 on gains of over 2.5 million won ($2,125) made in a one-year period, but it was delayed for three months due to a lack of taxation infrastructure.



"Any further delay in the already postponed enforcement will lead to the loss of public trust in government policy and undermine stability in the legal system," he said during a parliamentary audit of the Ministry of Economy and Finance at the National Assembly on Yeouido, Seoul, Wednesday.



The taxation infrastructure has been established, Hong added, as backed by real-name accounts issued by commercial lenders and user data preserved and monitored by crypto exchanges.



"We have been preparing measures for the taxation for the past two years. The new law governing the digital asset, coupled with a revision to the existing one provides sufficient grounds for the government."



The remark came in response to a question raised by Rep. Yoo Gyeong-joon of the main opposition People Power Party on whether the government is pushing for the enforcement despite what he claims to be an unstable system for tax administration.



The former Statistics Korea head further asked the plan be delayed, saying the government has yet to find measures to identify taxable income from crypto trading by users of overseas exchanges.



"No cross-border cooperation measures are in place on taxation on crypto trading gains. It simply is unfair taxation for users of local exchanges as opposed to those who trade overseas," Yoo said.





Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Koh Seung-beom attends a parliamentary audit of the FSC at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap
This photo taken in 1988 by Jung Young-shin shows a woman walks down an unpaved road all the way to open-air market in Gure, South Jeolla Province, held every five days to buy daily necessities or to sell her agricultural products to earn a meager living. Courtesy of Noonbit Publishing



Jung Young-shin pays tribute to female farmers in her latest photo book, 'Homeland Mothers,' calling the publication long overdue



By Kang Hyun-kyung





Photographer Jung Young-shin / Courtesy of Jung Young-shin

Jung Young-shin's latest photo book, "Homeland Mothers," takes readers back to rural and underdeveloped scenes of Korea in the late 1980s.



Elderly female farmers with tanned faces living rustic, seemingly primitive lives are captured in the poetic black and white photographs taken mostly in 1987 and 1988.



Although they were taken only some three decades ago when parts of Korea were developed enough to host the 1988 Summer Olympics, farmers in rural areas still lived lives that seemed to be far from civilization.



Using cows, they plowed their paddies before planting rice. Oil-based machines had yet to be fully utilized in rice production. In one photo, an elderly farmer tries to straighten her back, taking a break while planting rice seedlings in her paddy. Another photo shows a female farmer strolling in a field that seems to be in the middle of nowhere as a dog trails behind her.



Other photos show farmers walking for long hours down windy, unpaved roads all the way to open-air markets held every five days to buy daily necessities or to sell their agricultural products to earn a meager living. The atmosphere of the market is resilient. In the heart-warming photos, an elderly women chat with each other, another haggling over the prices of vegetables, while some wait for buses.





Jung's 1988 photo taken in Damyang, South Jeolla Province / Courtesy of Noonbit Publishing



"This book is long overdue," Jung told The Korea Times. "I intended to publish it much earlier because I wanted to show it to the 'moms' who posed for my photographs, to recognize their hard work and sacrifices for their families. But I was unable to do so, due to various reasons."



Jung, 63, calls the elderly women in her photographs, "moms," partly because of the warmth they bestowed upon her during her photo projects and partly because they are her mother's age.



"I began to take photos of farmers and farmers' markets in the 1980s, and at that time, such markets were very common all across the country," she said. "Some of the moms grabbed me by my arms to take me to their homes and recommended trees and other scenery they felt were more suitable for photo projects, laughing at me for taking such boring pictures as mundane farmers' markets. They treated me with meals they prepared and we would chat for several hours."



The local farmers' hospitality became an unforgettable experience for her. The photographer said that she became emotional while sorting through the photos she took three decades ago for the book project.



"I'm a country girl and feel at home whenever I explore small rural towns and counties and meet the elderly farmers who work on their farms to support their families and children," she said, explaining how she became attached to farmers' markets and the people there.



Her photo book, "Homeland Mothers," is her tribute to the responsible, sacrificing Korean mothers who have lived selfless lives and had to overcome tremendous odds to feed their children and send them to school.





Farmers selling products in the open market in Geumsan, South Chungcheong Province. Courtesy of Noonbit Publishing



Jung's three decades of work in farmers' markets led her to make an interesting discovery among female farmers nowadays, compared to their counterparts in the 1980s: farmers today seem to care more about their fashion and hair styles than their counterparts did in the 1980s.



"In the 1980s, when I first visited farmers' markets for my photo project, the female farmers selling crops and vegetables they grew on their farmlands used to have almost the same hairstyle," she said. "They all had long hair that was tied up with a 'binyeo' (a traditional, long hair pin that Korean women have used since pre-modern days). But these days I meet many 'moms' who have their own hairstyles and colorful fashion. I think that this is from the impact of television on the way of life in rural areas, as moms there try to emulate the trendy fashion and hairstyles they see on TV."



The female farmers of the 1980s are in many ways icons of sacrifice and gender inequality.



Left unable to access much formal schooling in a patriarchal society where there was a preference for sons, they were taught to sacrifice themselves for their children and be obedient to their husbands. Such pervasive gender discrimination taught female farmers to be stoic. Some of them belatedly became aware of the importance of self-fulfillment, and regret their missed educational opportunities.



One farmer was quoted by Jung as saying that she could have earned a Ph.D. in her area of specialization if she had been able to invest the same amount of energy and time that she has put into her farm.



Divided into the three parts of mothers working on farms, doing household chores and going to farmers' markets, Jung's photography presents strong Korean women who survived harsh rural lives.



"Homeland Mothers" is Jung's ninth photo book since her debut as a photographer in 2002 with her photo book, "Tales of Rural Markets." She has captured on camera about 600 farmers' markets all across the country and held 10 exhibitions of her photographs so far.






By Park Han-sol





The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA) has released a new publication called "Korean Art 1900-2020" that sheds light on the country's modern and present-day art scene spanning 120 years.







As part of an ongoing research project into Korea's art history, the museum previously published "MMCA Collection 300," a visual anthology of 300 selected works from its holdings, in Korean in 2019 and in English earlier this year.







To present diverse perspectives and interpretations of the country's century-old art history, "Korean Art 1900-2020" invited contributions from 34 experts, including the museum's curators and researchers, and featured around 400 archived images of artworks in their original colors.







The first section of the book focuses on the early 20th century marked by Japan's annexation of Korea in 1910, up to national liberation in 1945  a period marked by clashes between tradition and modernization which left an impact on Korean art circles as well as general visual culture.







The subsequent sections concentrate on the representative art movements and features of each era. These include the transformation of North Korean art during 1945-67, Dansaekhwa ("monochrome painting") and other experimental movements of the 1970s, Minjung Art ("People's Art") provoked by a series of socio-political, pro-democracy protests in the 1980s, feminist art movement and video and media art after the 1990s.







The book's English-language edition is scheduled for publication in the first half of next year. It will be distributed across major international art institutions and libraries, and will be available for purchase from the museum's online store.


Andrew Kim, former founding director of the CIA's Korea Mission Center / Yonhap



North Korea is likely waiting to hear from the United States that Washington is committed to an action-for-action approach toward the complete denuclearization of North Korea, a former U.S. intelligence official said Tuesday.



Andrew Kim, former founding director of the CIA's Korea Mission Center, also insisted that Pyongyang may want to see an official statement from the U.S. that it is ready to sit down for talks without any conditions.



After a monthslong review of its North Korea policy, the Joe Biden administration said it will seek a calibrated, practical approach that explores diplomacy and engagement with North Korea. It has also offered to meet with North Korea anytime, anywhere without preconditions.



"I'm sure Pyongyang was patiently waiting to hear what the new U.S. administration's North Korea policy will look like," the former CIA official said in a webinar hosted by the Washington Times Foundation.



"The reason I'm saying that (is because) Pyongyang was probably hoping to see more concrete roadmap from the U.S. side, adopting action for action approach, with giving some credit to North Korea for what they have done for the last four years," he added, noting the North has maintained a self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile testing since late 2017.



North Korea remains unresponsive to numerous overtures from the Biden administration, while it has also stayed away from denuclearization talks with the U.S. since early 2019.



"They're probably waiting for some kind of a, you know, official statement that we're ready to sit down without any conditions," Kim said.



The North has staged seven missile tests since Biden took office in January, with one of the more recent launches last month involving what it claims to have been a newly developed "hypersonic" missile that Washington condemned as a violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions.



Kim insisted the North was still in a "low key."



"That means they still have some kind of hope to continue having some kind of negotiation in the future with us," he said. "I think they're focusing on right now domestic politics in South Korea, as you know the North Koreans always believe that they have some way to influence ... politics in South Korea."



South Korea is set to hold its next presidential election in March, with incumbent President Moon Jae-in's single five-year term set to end in May.



Joseph DeTrani, former U.S. envoy to six-party talks on ending North Korea's nuclear ambition, agreed North Korea is prepared to engage and even denuclearize but for the right price.



"North Korea is prepared to denuclearize. However, they're assuming they get their deliverables. They get what they need," he said in the virtual event.



DeTrani also stressed the need for a "catalyst" to reinstitute dialogue with North Korea, such as an end of war declaration that was proposed by Moon at the U.N. General Assembly in New York last month.



"This would be a confidence building gesture to the North."



South and North Korea technically remain at war as the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice and a peace treaty has never been signed.



Kim anticipated that the U.S. and North Korea will be engaged in a "fulsome conversation" within the next two to five years, but said the complete denuclearization of the North "probably will take longer than that." (Yonhap)


In this 2017 March file photo, a North Korea flag flutters next to concertina wire at the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Reuters-Yonhap



The U.S. State Department on Tuesday called on all members of the United Nations to faithfully implement U.N. sanctions on North Korea.



The call came after a panel of experts on U.N. Security Council resolutions on North Korea noted some member states continue to allow sanctions evasion activities by the North.



"We note that the PRC and Russia figure prominently in the report as two Member States who continue to condone sanctions evasion activities by the DPRK and other actors," a department spokesperson told Yonhap News Agency in an email when asked to comment on a report by the U.N. panel of experts.



The semestrial report, dated Sept. 8 and released Monday, did not specify countries that failed to implement U.N. Security Council sanctions.



"We reiterate the need for all Security Council members to take these violations seriously and to work together to peacefully resolve this challenge," the official added.



The department official also highlighted the North's continued efforts to advance its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, as pointed out in the U.N. report.



"We remain concerned by the DPRK's repeated violations of multiple UN Security Council Resolutions. As we've said these violations create greater prospects for instability and insecurity in the region," the spokesperson said, using the acronym of North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.



North Korea staged a series of missile tests last month, also claiming its latest test launches in late September involved a new hypersonic glide vehicle and a new anti-aircraft missile.



The United States condemned both launches as "violations of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions" that prohibit North Korea from developing or testing any ballistic missiles and other weapons of mass destruction.



"The DPRK's actions, as detailed in the report, threaten the peace, stability, and security of the Korean Peninsula and the broader region," the department spokesperson said.



"These efforts also have serious ramifications for the North Korean people, who are forced to suffer as the regime diverts badly needed resources to its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs."



The official reaffirmed the U.S.' commitment to denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.



"All UN Member States must do more to fully implement UN Security Council resolutions addressing the DPRK," the spokesperson said. "Our goal remains the complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and we will continue to coordinate closely with our allies and partners to that end, including at the U.N." (Yonhap)






A South Korean civic group working for the rights of wartime sexual slavery victims on Wednesday urged Japan's new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to apologize over the issue in an "irreversible way."







"(Kishida) should clearly admit to Japan's wartime crimes and apologize to its victims in an official and irreversible manner," Han Kyeong-hee, the secretary general of the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan, said during a weekly rally.







"We hope Prime Minister Kishida will take a step toward the future of peace," Han added.



The rally was the group's 1,512th protest since 1992. It has taken place in central Seoul almost every Wednesday.







The Japanese government should "disclose all information it has collected" on "comfort women," a euphemism for the sex slaves, and "put in systematic efforts to reveal the truth," the group said.







The group also called upon Tokyo to uphold the so-called Kono Statement, the landmark statement of apology to the victims made in 1993 by the country's then Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono. In the statement, Japan acknowledged for the first time that its military forcibly recruited women for sexual slavery.







Kishida, former Japanese foreign minister from 2012-17, took office as prime minister earlier this week to succeed Yoshihide Suga. He is known here for reaching a 2015 agreement with Seoul on Tokyo's sexual enslavement of Korean women during World War II, now in tatters as Seoul embraced the victims' claim that the deal was made without full consent from the victims. (Yonhap)


Suk-ja Lee-Fischer, third from right, poses with other officials during the opening ceremony at the Korea Center for Immigration's building at Yongsan-gu, central Seoul, Aug. 27. Courtesy of KCI



By Hwang Dong-hee



The past several weeks have been the busiest period of her life since the launch of a support group for foreign nationals in Seoul, Suk-ja Lee-Fischer, founder and CEO of the Korea Center for Immigration (KCI), said.



With staff from 26 countries, and more expected to join, the center is offering various services to those who are trying to settle in the city, including assisting with visa extensions, signing housing contracts or opening bank accounts.



"It's really difficult to settle in a country when you are not familiar with the language or the culture. Foreigners ask for help because they have no idea how to get a place through Zigbang, (a popular app for finding flats among Koreans) because they are not familiar with Korea's rental system," she told The Korea Times.



"Sadly, there are some cases where they had to pay extra commission or got tricked into paying a higher deposit. KCI's team can accompany them and help them with communication."





Members of KCI paint at the center during an art class. Courtesy of KCI



The center also provides a meeting place for foreign residents, as Lee frequently holds classes, where they can participate in different exercises such as knitting, painting or writing calligraphy.



"I open one-off classes from time to time. Last time, we knitted bags. And if the weather is nice, we meet up in small groups and go out together for a short picnic," Lee said.





Lee-Fischer, right, poses with her husband, Paul-Gerhard Fischer, after receiving the Minister of Justice's Commendation award, May 20. She was recognized for her volunteer work at the Seoul Immigration Office, for supporting the settlement and social integration of foreign national residents. Courtesy of KCI
Col. Park Ki-tae, director of the Republic of Korea Air Force Headquarters Space Center / Courtesy of the ROK Air Force



Air Force launches new organization after over 30 years of efforts



By Kang Seung-woo



After seeing the U.S. military victory in the 1990-91 Gulf War using space-based intelligence capabilities, the Republic of Korean Air Force started building up its own military space program.



Over 30 years of efforts toward enhancing space power finally paid off, Sept. 30, as the Air Force launched its space center  the first among the nation's three military branches.



Col. Park Ki-tae, director of the ROK Air Force Headquarters Space Center, described its establishment as an "inspiring achievement" from the organization's years-long commitment to enhancing its space capabilities.



"Despite assuming an important mission as the first head of the space center, I am ready to contribute to improving space power, taking advantage of the wealth of know-how that we have acquired in the lead-up to the center's creation," Park said in a written interview with The Korea Times.



Park admitted that the U.S. use of space power in the Gulf War 30 years ago had an influence on the Air Force's decision.



"Our review of the conflict found that space power in warfare was the key to operating air, naval and ground forces in warfare, and we formed a unit devoted to space," he said.



According to him, the unit belonged to the Space Division of the Air and Space Combat Development Branch, but the expanded space center is now under the direct control of the Air Force chief of staff, which the center head believes would make it far easier to cooperate with domestic and international partners.



According to the Air Force, the space center is comprised of three departments  the Space Policy Branch, the Space Asset Development Branch and the Korea Space Operations Center.



Park said that the Air Force plans to expand its cooperation with the U.S. Space Force, arguably the biggest military space program.



In August, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Park In-ho signed a memorandum of understanding with Gen. John Raymond, the U.S. Space Force's chief of space operations, on the formation of a joint space policy consultative body, becoming official partners in space security cooperation.



"In the future, the Air Force and the U.S. Space Force will share information on space surveillance and on improving joint space operations capabilities," the space center chief said.



Following the establishment of the Air Force's space center, the Army and the Navy are also developing their own space programs.



The colonel said, "If the three military branches cooperate on expanding space capabilities based on economic efficiency and integration, the nation could see a quantum leap in the field."


Seen above is the prototype of the KF-21 Boramae fighter jet displayed at Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province. April 9. Yonhap



By Nam Hyun-woo



A serious shortfall in Korea's military capability is expected in the near future, as the country's plan to secure new assets to replace aging military aircraft and warships remains insufficient, a lawmaker said, Wednesday.



According to Rep. Ahn Gyu-back of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, a significant portion of core assets owned by the Army, the Navy and the Air Force will be decommissioned in the near future. However, the pace of fielding new assets is slow and the number of aircraft and warships will be smaller than now even after their deployment is completed.



Citing Air Force data, Ahn said the number of fighter jets in operation stands at around 410 this year, but this number will decline to 360 in 2024 as old combat planes will reach the end of their service life.



Ahn said this is far below 430, which is the number of mission-proper fighter jets suggested by the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses (KIDA).



The Air Force has been pursuing the KF-X project, which is aimed at domestic development of the KF-21 Boramae fighter jet. However, the jet will be deployed no sooner than 2028, casting concerns of a potential deficit in air defense capability. The military said it plans to deploy 40 KF-21 Boramae fighter jets by 2028 and increase the number to 120 by 2032.



Ahn said the Army faces a similar situation, as nearly 80 percent of 280 attack helicopters in operation now have exceeded their service lives, with some of them operating more than 10 years longer than their lifespans.



"Given that the Army is planning to complete the deployment of new light armed helicopters and attack helicopters by early 2030, it is impossible to retire the current helicopters," Ahn said.





The Dosan Ahn Chang-ho submarine is seen in waters off Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, during a ceremony to mark the 73rd Armed Forces Day, Oct. 1. Korea Times photo by Wang Tae-seog
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon speaks during a discussion session with Jeffrey Jones, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea's Board of Governors, organized by The Korea Times and the city government at City Hall, Sept. 27. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk



Mayor seeks cooperation with central gov't to ease regulations



By Bahk Eun-ji



One of the major goals of Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon is to restore the capital's urban competitiveness, and he said that this is an impossible goal without achieving financial competitiveness.



"Financial competitiveness is a basic strength of a city or country, and an important economic growth factor that induces investment," Oh said.



"You can see it from the recent expansion of Korea's fintech companies. Using science and cutting-edge technology, they have expanded their influence into both other industries and our daily lives."



He mentioned Singapore and Hong Kong, two cities that have higher per capita income in Asia, adding that leading global companies and capital have concentrated there, enabling the creation of high-quality jobs and increases in income levels.



Among them, Singapore in particular is a competitor and a benchmark for Seoul, Oh argued.



"London and New York are financial hubs formed by the competition in global economic hegemony, and Hong Kong was a hub strategically formed through the combination of Asia's own financial markets and China's opening," the mayor said. "But Singapore is a hub developed independently with its own strategy. As a city-state, it made financial investment its survival strategy, establishing the Economic Development Administration (EDB) and the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), and used regulation reforms and incentives. It offers significant insight for Seoul."



Below is an excerpt from a discussion session on Seoul's financial competitiveness and the policy direction of the city government, between Oh and the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea's Board of Governors Chairman Jeffrey Jones, organized by The Korea Times and the Seoul Metropolitan Government on Sept. 27.





A night view of Yeouido, viewed on Dec. 4, 2018. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon plans to make Yeouido into a "special zone for digital finance." Korea Times file



Q: How do you evaluate the current level of Seoul's financial competitiveness?



A: Last year, Seoul ranked 25th among 121 cities across the world in the Global Financial Centers Index, compiled by Z/Yen Group. Its ranking has remained low over the past decade.



There are two main reasons for the decline in Seoul's financial competitiveness: One is that there is a lack of vision and strategy to lure global financial institutions to Seoul; and the other is regulation-centered government policy, which has stopped global companies from coming to Korea.



As cities around the world have been competing desperately to improve their business environment and offer incentives such as reducing corporate and income taxes, Seoul has been left behind.



To attract global financial companies, relevant infrastructure should be all together in one place, but the central government has dispersed it under the name of "balanced national development."



Tax benefits applied to financial centers in the provinces were also not applied to Seoul because it is part of the metropolitan area. Government regulations such as the 52-hour workweek are also factors that make financial companies based abroad hesitate to enter the country.









Q: You hope to increase Seoul's financial competitiveness so that it becomes one of the world's top five. Why is it important to increase this and how would you do so?



A: The goal of increasing Seoul's financial competitiveness is about more than just a numerical ranking, as it means creating a business-friendly environment where people gather, businesses gather, money flows and technology and information propagate. This would mean reviving the economy and creating jobs, so it would have very significant ripple effects.



We plan to take advantage of Seoul's potential, given that it has one of the world's best IT infrastructures, along with talented human resources and advanced fintech, to make Yeouido a "special zone for digital finance" and Seoul an "Asian hub of digital finance."



But few global financial institutions will be willing to move to Seoul if there are no clear incentives. So we desperately need state-level policy, along with strategic approaches and efforts from all sectors. That's why we need to establish the "Invest Seoul Center."



Invest Seoul Center, to be set up next year, may look similar to Invest Korea, but their purposes and strategies will be totally different. Invest Korea is a body under the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency and seeks to attract investment on a state-level under its purpose of balanced national development. So it is focused on investment in free economic zones in regions other than Seoul. But Invest Seoul Center will be at the city level and tailored for Seoul.



Through Invest Seoul Center, we'll find out what Seoul can do on its own, regardless of what the central government has to do, such as easing regulations. We'll study global financial institutions' needs thoroughly  such as which companies are reviewing possible transfers to Seoul, which incentives they want and what kind of business environment they want from Seoul  then provide them with information about Seoul, persuade them and negotiate with them.



For companies moving to Seoul through engaging with Invest Seoul Center, we will provide one-stop support, from office space to financial support for rent as well as investment consulting.





Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, left, listens during a discussion session with Jeffrey Jones, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea's Board of Governors, organized by The Korea Times and the city government at City Hall, Sept. 27. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, left, speaks during a discussion session with Jeffrey Jones, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea's Board of Governors, organized by The Korea Times and the city government at City Hall, Sept. 27. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk



Mayor Oh vows to turn capital into Asia's financial hub



By Bahk Eun-ji



Several Korean administrations have long sought to turn Seoul into an Asian financial hub, but the capital has been losing its attractiveness as an investment destination due to a wide range of factors, including strict regulations, an unattractive tax regime and the inflexible labor market.



Feeling a sense of urgency to shift strategies, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who took office in April, has vowed to create a foreigner-friendly environment by offering a full range of support services ranging from housing to education to attract more financial talent and foreign capital to the capital.



Turning Seoul into a leading financial hub of Asia is a core part of his Seoul Vision 2030, Oh's master plan for the city government's policy direction over the next decade, unveiled a month ago.







He believes that to increase the capital's financial competitiveness, improving Seoul's attractiveness as a destination friendly to foreign workers and businesses is the most crucial. Using London, New York, Hong Kong and Singapore not only as role models but also as competitor cities, Oh said the city government will set up the Invest Seoul Center dedicated to this goal next year.



Modeling after the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), it will be an organization in charge of all plans and procedures to attract domestic and foreign investment.



"The Invest Seoul Center will be a city-level body specializing in investment tailored to Seoul," Oh said in a discussion session with Jeffrey Jones, the chairman of American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) in Korea's Board of Governors, organized by The Korea Times and the Seoul Metropolitan Government, at City Hall, Sept. 27.











Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon speaks during a discussion session with Jeffrey Jones, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea's Board of Governors, organized by The Korea Times and the city government at City Hall, Sept. 27. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

"Based on the characteristics and strengths of Seoul, it will oversee all processes from pre-work to increase Seoul's charm as a city to invest in, to the establishment of investment plans, contact with companies, activities to induce their investment and support for the companies' activities here," Oh said.



Cities seeking financial hub status have been already operating city investment agencies, such as Singapore's GIC and Economic Development Board (EDB), Hong Kong's InvestHK and Britain's London & Partners, the mayor added.



"Seoul, where about half of Korea's foreign direct investment (FDI) is concentrated, has needed such an agency for a long time. [Setting up the Invest Seoul Center] is rather late," Oh said.



Seoul City plans to set up the agency next year and make it an affiliate of the city government in 2024.



Oh was Seoul's mayor from July 2006 to August 2011, and was re-elected in a by-election in April. Seeking another four-year term in local elections to be held next June, one of the mayor's goals to achieve by 2030 is to revive Seoul's urban competitiveness. He said financial competitiveness is key to that goal, because a city where people gather, businesses gather, and money flows, and technologies and information are concentrated will revitalize the economy and create jobs.



Unfortunately, Seoul's financial competitiveness has declined considerably over the past decade, according to the mayor.





Jeffrey Jones, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea's Board of Governors, attends a discussion session with Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, organized by The Korea Times and the city government at City Hall, Sept. 27. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
By Jung Da-min





Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, the current frontrunner among the main opposition People Power Party's presidential hopefuls, prepares for a TV debate at a local broadcaster's studio on Seoul's Yeouido, Tuesday. Joint Press Corps
People Power Party (PPP) Chairman Lee Jun-seok, second from left, holds a sign calling for an investigation by an independent special counsel into a land development scandal in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, during a rally at the National Assembly, Wednesday. Ruling Democratic Party of Korea presidential contender Lee Jae-myung was mayor of Seongnam at the time of the development project in 2015, and the PPP is demanding an investigation targeting his role in the scandal. Yonhap
By Kim Jin-heon





Changing climatic factors are no longer a surprise to us. The Kyunghyang Shinmun reported Aug. 25 that the sea temperature off Ulleung Island and in the East Sea reached 30.6 and 30.4 degrees Celsius, respectively, which was "2.5 degrees higher than their averages over the past 10 years."



This phenomenon caused squid to disappear. As a result, fishermen who make their living by catching squid during peak season became utterly despondent. Still worse, it changed the ocean's ecosystem.



Nowadays, as global sea levels continue to rise, more vapor forms, creating stronger typhoons and more rainfall. Increased rainfall reduces the salinity, or salt content, of the sea, which helps water evaporate more easily and causes unexpected meteorological events.



For example, South Korea saw heavy rainfall for almost three weeks from the end of July to August in 2020. At that time, Gurye, South Jeolla Province and the Seomjin River Basin were submerged for a few days by flooding from water flowing from Mt. Jiri and other nearby mountains.



In another example of unexpected weather, regions along the southern Rhine river basin in Germany and Belgium had record-high downpours and flooding not seen in almost 100 years, causing over a hundred deaths and destroying numerous homes and fields.



Citizens living on islands less than two meters above sea level in the South Pacific Sea are planning to leave their homes because the sea level continues to rise. Such phenomena will continue unless greenhouse gases are reduced.



The sixth report by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) on Aug. 9 stated that the resurgence of COVID-19 mutant viruses, floods, forest fires and heat waves had occurred due to human activity. It also mentioned that at present, because the Earth's surface temperature is almost 1 degree higher than it was during the Industrial Revolution, unusual weather events have occurred globally.



The report added that if carbon dioxide emissions continued to increase, the Earth's surface temperature in 2040 will rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius higher than that of the Industrial Revolution. If that happens, the ecosystem sustained harmoniously by water and air, could collapse, making it difficult for every living organism to coexist. In that scenario, the crises afflicting the Earth would increase exponentially.



Thus, to block this calamity, scientists have warned every country to set a limit for its carbon dioxide emissions every year and commit to it. It is important for each country to implement such a policy systematically.



Above all, each citizen's efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions such as reducing waste, turning off unnecessary lights, or riding public transit are more urgent because such measures will ultimately determine our survival.



If we hope to co-exist with Mother Nature, it's time for individuals, society, and governments to constantly participate in reducing gas emissions to save our Earth.





The writer is an English teacher at Chung-mu High School in South Jeolla Province.


By Nancy Qian





EVANSTON  China's commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2060, now enshrined in its 14th Five-Year Plan (5YP), has been met with international enthusiasm. If China succeeds, it could singlehandedly reduce global temperatures by 0.25 degrees Celsius, relative to their expected rise. But is its plan realistic?



Getting to carbon neutrality is a formidable challenge for any country, especially one with a large and developing economy. There are two dimensions to the problem: reducing economic activities that produce greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions, and producing fewer emissions either through offsets such as reforestation or by substituting renewable energy sources for fossil fuels.



In China's case, GHG-emitting economic activities are unlikely to decline. China is a middle-income country with 1.4 billion people, around half of whom live on incomes equal to or lower than those of Sub-Saharan Africa. Even if China can develop its high-tech sectors (as the new 5YP aims to do), there will still be hundreds of millions of people who will need jobs in energy-intensive sectors like manufacturing.



Moreover, although China's economic growth will be slower than in the early 2000s, household energy consumption will continue to increase, owing to rising demand for cars and other household appliances typical for middle-income earners.



In 2020, there were 281 million cars (204 per 1,000 people) in China, compared to 279 million (816 per 1,000 people) in the United States and 78.9 million (649 per 1,000 people) in Japan. If China's car-ownership rate reaches the same level as that of the U.S. or Japan, the number of cars there will triple.



To be sure, China's population is predicted to decline to less than 1.2 billion by 2065. Nonetheless, its total energy consumption will remain high. For comparison, in 2019, Americans consumed 26,291 terawatt-hours (TWh) per year with a population of 328.2 million, while the Japanese consumed a total of 5,187 TWh per year with a population of 126.3 million.



If the 1.2 billion Chinese of 2065 were to engage in the same activities as their richer counterparts do today, they would consume anywhere from 48,050 TWh (behaving like the Japanese) to 93,725 TWh (behaving like Americans) per year.



China's ability to phase in renewable energy sources is more promising. The country has already made enormous investments in building a public transportation system that does not rely on fossil fuels, and it is quickly forging ahead in the burgeoning field of electric vehicles. The big unknown is whether China will be able to generate enough energy for all its household and industrial needs without fossil fuels.



There are positive signs that it can. The new 5YP aims to increase the contribution of wind, hydroelectric, and solar power to 25 percent of the electricity mix by 2030, up from 15 percent in the previous 5YP. Although this is an ambitious target, recent technological advances have made it eminently achievable.



For example, because China's solar, wind, and hydroelectric resources are concentrated in its western provinces while most of its electricity usage is concentrated in its eastern coastal areas, highly inefficient long-distance electricity transmission previously limited the potential for renewables.



But after investing heavily in resolving this issue, China has mastered ultra-high-voltage electricity transmission, which allows electricity to move across the country at low cost. This advanced technology is now central to the government's new infrastructure plan, which aims to transform the structure of China's energy sector over the next five years.



Another source of renewable energy is nuclear power. China currently has 50 operable reactors that account for 4 percent of its total electricity generation. Another 18 are under construction, promising to increase the share to around 6 percent. Since 2016, Chinese authorities have been approving 6-8 new reactors per year, a rate that would bring the total to around 350 by 2060.



For nuclear power alone to replace coal, which accounts for 66 percent of the electricity mix, China will need to build more than 500 reactors by 2060. And if its energy needs double, it will need around 1,000 more reactors, giving it a reactor-to-population ratio similar to that of France, where 56 plants produce 70 percent of the power used by its 67 million people.



Building 1,000 more reactors in the next 40 years would seem financially and logistically impossible. But probably not for China, which has already transformed other forms of infrastructure over a similar period. For example, between 1988 and 2019, it extended its national highway system from around 35,000 kilometers (22,000 miles) to 161,000 kilometers, surpassing the U.S.



China is also less constrained by the key challenge facing most other countries when it comes to building nuclear reactors: public fear. After Japan's Fukushima disaster in 2011, Germany decided to abandon nuclear power, even though it accounted for 29 percent of its energy mix (as of 2014).



Similarly, after the partial meltdown at Three Mile Island in 1979, the construction of new nuclear plants in the U.S. nearly came to a halt. Nuclear power now accounts for 20 percent of the U.S. electricity mix, and continues to face staunch resistance from an unusual alliance of fossil-fuel interests and environmental organizations.



And yet, there is a consensus in the scientific community that nuclear power is both cost effective and environmentally friendly. New third-generation reactors are much safer and more efficient than the first-generation reactors that came to be associated with incidents like Chernobyl. Now, the consequences of an accident or a terrorist attack would be comparable to those of many other common risks that we simply take for granted. In pursuing its decarbonization targets, China can follow the data, rather than special interests.



Yes, China's domestic politics could still create some hurdles, particularly if instability in its Western regions frustrates the growth of wind, hydroelectric, and solar power. But the Chinese government has more political leeway than others when it comes to imposing its preferences.



If China can build 350-1,000 nuclear reactors safely, it will have established a mass-production supply chain capable of providing other countries  particularly middle-income economies such as India, Indonesia, and Mexico  with the same technologies at lower cost.



All told, the facts favor China's ambitious goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2060. The whole world stands to benefit from its success.





Nancy Qian, professor of managerial economics and decision sciences at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, is founding director of China Econ Lab and Northwestern's China Lab. This article was distributed by Project Syndicate (www.project-syndicate.org).


By Shim Jae-yun





Various indicators are appearing pointing to a possible inter-Korean summit between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. For starters, both Koreas have expressed a positive attitude about such a meeting, and China appears to expect a "peace mood" to prevail ahead of its hosting of the Beijing Winter Olympics next February. In addition, U.S. President Joe Biden reaffirmed Washington's stance of supporting Moon's peace process on the Korean Peninsula in a Sept. 21 speech at the United Nations.



Cross-border communications lines were reopened Monday, following an instruction from the "omnipotent" supreme leader Kim. His influential sister Kim Yo-jong said Sept. 25 that the North was ready to conditionally discuss an inter-Korean summit. It seems fair to say that she closely conferred on the matter with her brother. Former Unification Minister Jeong Se-hyun, a prominent North Korea expert, even forecast the summit could take place soon, possibly within this year, or at least around the time of the Olympics.



He said the two Koreas have allegedly had behind-the-scenes contacts to discuss the issue. "National Intelligence Service Director Park Jie-won and Kim Yo-jong may have contacted one another through a hotline," Jeong said during an interview with a JTBC program last Tuesday. Current Unification Minister Lee In-young expressed the hope that "South and North Korea could attend the Beijing Olympics together hand-in-hand." During a press interview in Germany, Monday, he said there was a possibility that high-level inter-Korean talks would take place soon to discuss various inter-Korean issues including a possible summit.



Desperate to tackle pressing difficulties, North Korea has seemed eager to resume inter-Korean dialogue. Pyongyang has been suffering from a continuing economic crunch since it closed its border areas due to the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with ongoing severe food shortages.



South Korea's recent military buildup campaign appears to have also prompted the North to come forward for talks. Following a summit between Moon and Biden, May 20, the two countries agreed to extend the range of missiles developed by the South to over 800 kilometers. Adding to the North's anxiety, Seoul successfully test-fired its own submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), Sept. 15. Elated by this, Moon instructed his staffers to proactively publicize the event as a brilliant achievement in the country's bid toward a self-reliant defense capability.



Against this backdrop, Pyongyang seems to have become keen to improve its relations with Seoul as a means of containing their respective military buildup drives. To establish detente, the relevant parties may refrain from military provocations. The resumption of exchanges with the South will enable the North to receive humanitarian assistance including much-needed coronavirus vaccines. The North could also expect to mend ties with the U.S. which have remained soured since the collapse of a summit between Kim and then U.S. President Donald Trump in Hanoi in 2019.



Despite such peace initiatives, Pyongyang has aroused skepticism over its "dual" approach by test-firing various missiles four times since Sept. 13, including a recent "hypersonic" missile launch last Wednesday. North Korea has taken flak for such "duality."



Yet, such an approach has long been the North's fallback tactic in coping with inter-Korean issues. The United Front Department of the North Korean Workers' Party has been dealing with exchanges with the South, while its armed forces have been in charge of military affairs. Given this, former President Kim Dae-jung cited the need to deal with certain matters separately, saying, "When the North sends negative signs, there are always positive ones."



The Kim Dae-jung administration sustained the principle of exchange and cooperation by separating economic and security issues. Instead of a simultaneous tit-for-tat, it relentlessly implemented an inclusive "engagement" approach toward Pyongyang, despite the North's military provocations including a submarine infiltration in June 1998, and the West Sea battle in June 1999.



Such efforts eventually bore fruit, resulting in the historic June 15 South-North Joint Declaration in 2000, and Oct. 4 Declaration in 2007 under then President Roh Moo-hyun. Moon had three summits with Kim in 2018. His historic speech in front of 150,000 Pyongyang citizens, where he stressed the need for the peoples of both Koreas to march together with a grandiose picture of a unified "fatherland," was enthralling.



It is high time for all the relevant parties to combine their efforts toward a single purpose  peace on the Korean Peninsula. The U.S., in particular, can play a crucial role toward that end. As already stated, the U.S. needs to cherish the spirit of the Singapore Agreement, a move toward peace and reconciliation. The North is desperate to earn equal status to other nations.



Once it feels regime safety, it will come forward to the international community as a responsible and "normal" member, instead of expanding its nuclear capabilities. For this, the easing of international "retaliations" is necessary and the U.S. role is all the more crucial. This will in turn lead to regional peace and the North's lessened dependence on China, which will be in the interests of the U.S.




By Scott Shepherd





Since our wedding, my wife and I have been thinking about getting a cat  by which I mean that I've been trying to convince my wife to let us get one. And last week, after over two years of careful consideration (pleading), we (my wife) finally decided that we were ready.







So off to the animal rescue center we trundled.





Weirdly, not long afterward  indeed, while I was still trying to get my thoughts together for this piece  The Korea Times

about what appears to be a kind of utopian animal rescue shelter, called the Bom Center in Paju. I suppose there's something in the air these days in Korea.







We live nowhere near Paju, so we happily settled on our local animal rescue center. The process was pretty straightforward. The person at the desk  I suppose a veterinarian nurse  led us through the hospital to the animal viewing room, and presented in turn each of the kittens up for adoption. We chose the youngest, signed some forms, paid for a few (pricey) medical procedures, and we were off. On the way home, we agreed on the name, "Podo," the Korean word for grape. Now we have a pet cat.







However, our experience was nothing like what I imagine the good residents of Paju go through when they visit their local pet rescue center.







The place where we got Podo consisted of two rooms: one customer-facing room and one back room. The former was a little shabby, but otherwise looked much like an ordinary shop in Korea, with a cashiers' desk at one end and along the walls, an assortment of pet toys, toothbrushes and  this being Korea  pet clothes for sale.







At the rear of the first room is a door that leads to the back room, where the cats are kept and where, presumably, the vets perform their work. As soon as our veterinarian guide opened that door, we were hit by the overwhelming odor of cat feces and urine. Inside there were two cages on the left, each with a dung-filled litter tray and about four or five kittens apiece. It was dark and dank.







Now I'm hardly the poster child for the WWF. I'm a proud omnivore and human supremacist. I believe animals are inferior to humans and should be treated as such; I love eating meat and I hate the personification of beasts. If we place too high a value on what some call an animal's rights, my personal view is that we risk devaluing the precious value of humanity. I positively loathe the sight of people carrying around little runt-like dogs dressed up in frilly pink costumes; a trip to the trendier areas of Seoul is therefore something of a risk for me.







Yet, despite these personal beliefs, I couldn't help but feel that the treatment of the cats in that shelter seems wrong. It was poorly ventilated, with no stimuli, no space, no light  just a stinking, overcrowded den. Contrary to all my own expectations, I actually felt guilty about the cats we were leaving behind.







The lucky ones will be rescued and taken to what will hopefully be a much more pleasant environment. That's certainly the case for the newly-christened Podo. It is unfortunate that Podo's peers may spend the rest of their short days in that dingy room.







It would be better to let the cats roam free, surely.







True, Korea is a land of stark contrasts between seasons, and it takes one tough cookie of a feline to cope with the scorching summers and freezing winters. Even aside from the weather, a feral or wild feline has a veritable smorgasbord of ways to shuffle off its mortal coil. There are all kinds of dangers, both natural and man-made.







But the word, "rescue," has lost all meaning if we're just taking them from one perilous situation and putting them in another. All we've done is to change the rules. In that dark cage, the poor things owe their existence on whether a human happens to choose them before the vet decides that they need to free up the space. If it's too ugly or old or the wrong breed, the moggy will eventually be put down  killed  by someone from the very institution that touts itself as a rescue center. At least in the wild, a cat's chances have to do with its own actions.







Of course, the country faces other more pressing issues than the welfare of abandoned cats, and I usually try to highlight them in my columns. It is my opinion that is quite right to put people before pets. Maybe I'm making much ado about nothing. It's only been a few days since we got little Podo, and it already seems well-adjusted with no evident trauma from its months confined in that cage. Podo escaped. Maybe the system is working well, and those animals that do end up being put down are just the natural and necessary by-products of an otherwise functioning balance between the humans and animals of this land. Maybe, but probably not.







We can treat animals better than this. While the zoological nirvana in Paju might be too expensive to be scaled up nationally, it is certainly a start. It's time that humans treat abandoned and stray pets better. Indeed, the very capacity to do so is one of the things that shows we are, in fact, humans. Let's start acting like it.











Dr. Scott Shepherd is a British-American academic. He has taught in universities in the U.K. and Korea, and is currently assistant professor of English at Chongshin University in Seoul. The views expressed in the article are the author's own and do not reflect the editorial direction of The Korea Times.


Former Facebook data scientist Frances Haugen speaks during a hearing of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security, on Capitol Hill, Washington, Oct. 5. AP-Yonhap



While accusing the giant social network of pursuing profits over safety, a former Facebook data scientist told Congress Tuesday she believes stricter government oversight could alleviate the dangers the company poses, from harming children to inciting political violence to fueling misinformation.



Frances Haugen, testifying to the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, presented a wide-ranging condemnation of Facebook. She accused the company of failing to make changes to Instagram after internal research showed apparent harm to some teens and being dishonest in its public fight against hate and misinformation. Haugen's accusations were buttressed by tens of thousands of pages of internal research documents she secretly copied before leaving her job in the company's civic integrity unit.



But she also offered thoughtful ideas about how Facebook's social media platforms could be made safer. Haugen laid responsibility for the company's profits-over-safety strategy right at the top, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg, but she also expressed empathy for Facebook's dilemma.



Haugen, who says she joined the company in 2019 because ''Facebook has the potential to bring out the best in us,'' said she didn't leak internal documents to a newspaper and then come before Congress in order to destroy the company or call for its breakup, as many consumer advocates and lawmakers of both parties have called for.



Haugen is a 37-year-old data expert from Iowa with a degree in computer engineering and a master's degree in business from Harvard. Prior to being recruited by Facebook, she worked for 15 years at tech companies including Google, Pinterest and Yelp.



''Facebook's products harm children, stoke division and weaken our democracy,'' Haugen said. ''The company's leadership knows how to make Facebook and Instagram safer but won't make the necessary changes because they have put their astronomical profits before people.''



''Congressional action is needed,'' she said. ''They won't solve this crisis without your help.''



Democrats and Republicans have shown a rare unity around the revelations of Facebook's handling of potential risks to teens from Instagram, and bipartisan bills have proliferated to address social media and data-privacy problems. But getting legislation through Congress is a heavy slog. The Federal Trade Commission has taken a stricter stance toward Facebook and other tech giants in recent years.



''Whenever you have Republicans and Democrats on the same page, you're probably more likely to see something,'' said Gautam Hans, a technology law and free speech expert at Vanderbilt University.



Haugen suggested, for example, that the minimum age for Facebook's popular Instagram photo-sharing platform could be increased from the current 13 to 16 or 18.



She also acknowledged the limitations of possible remedies. Facebook, like other social media companies, uses algorithms to rank and recommend content to users' news feeds. When the ranking is based on engagement  likes, shares and comments  as it is now with Facebook, users can be vulnerable to manipulation and misinformation. Haugen would prefer the ranking to be chronological. But, she testified, ''People will choose the more addictive option even if it is leading their daughters to eating disorders.''



Haugen said a 2018 change to the content flow contributed to more divisiveness and ill will in a network ostensibly created to bring people closer together.



Despite the enmity that the new algorithms were feeding, she said Facebook found that they helped keep people coming back  a pattern that helped the social media giant sell more of the digital ads that generate the vast majority of its revenue.



Haugen said she believed Facebook didn't set out to build a destructive platform. ''I have a huge amount of empathy for Facebook,'' she said. ''These are really hard questions, and I think they feel a little trapped and isolated.''





Facebook Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies at a House Financial Services Committee hearing in Washington, U.S., Oct. 23, 2019. Reuters-Yonhap




South Korea's trade ministry on Wednesday expressed concerns over Washington's latest request to local chipmakers to share information on their supply chains amid growing concerns over the leak of major trade secrets.







Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo met his U.S. counterpart, Katherine Tai, in Paris on the sidelines of the council meeting of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), sharing opinions on various bilateral trade issues, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.







During the meeting, Yeo said there has been growing concerns in South Korea that the information requested by Washington was too vast and may include trade secrets of related businesses.







In response, Tai said the move is aimed at coping with challenges in the global supply chain of semiconductors, and that Washington will continue to work with related organizations to deal with South Korea's concerns.







Last week, the U.S. Department of Commerce asked global chipmakers, including Samsung Electronics Co., to respond to the so-called request for information to "help improve trust and transparency within the supply chain."







The information covers details on "inventories, demand and delivery dynamic." The commerce department added companies are asked to share the information "voluntarily."







On the previous day, Industry Minister Moon Sung-wook also said during a parliamentary audit that the request was "unprecedented," and that South Korea will review rules of the World Trade Organization if necessary.







Chips take up roughly 20 percent of South Korea's outbound shipments, serving as the backbone of the export-reliant economy. (Yonhap)


A parliamentary audit on the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy is held by the National Assembly's Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee, Tuesday. The audit initially planned to summon multiple conglomerate leaders for questioning on controversial business issues before their aides scrambled to move them off the list. Yonhap



By Yi Whan-woo



The National Assembly's audit this year will be marked by the notable absence of the leaders of Korea's top 10 business conglomerates, in contrast to the past when they were routinely summoned to face tough questions from lawmakers over a wide range of controversial issues, which some politicians have criticized saying that the audits become a stage on which to humiliate the leaders.



Nevertheless, lawmakers still have a lot to improve in their process of screening business tycoons to be grilled, often on live broadcasts to drum up anti-chaebol sentiment.



The heads of at least six out of 10 major business conglomerates had initially been scheduled to be summoned, but were removed from the list at the last minute.



"The lawmakers were believed to be planning to 'exploit' chaebol chiefs as they did in the past," a source said, pointing out that the tycoons were to be questioned over issues that lower-ranking staffers are better suited to answer.



The source said the big business leaders were "spared" after the leaders of emerging tech firms became the center of focus for their aggressive expansion swallowing up mom-and-pop operations.



One lawmaker initially sought to bring three chairmen  Chey Tae-won of SK, Shin Dong-bin of Lotte and Kim Seung-youn of Hanwha  and have them explain their detailed action plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions.



POSCO Chairman Choi Jeong-woo was also believed to be slated for questioning over his carbon-neutrality plan in the steel industry, while Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun was set to be face questions over industrial accidents involving affiliates such as Hyundai E&C and Hyundai Steel.



"The chairmen are not always able to answer questions on these issues," Shin Yul, a political science professor at Myongji University said. "It is far from efficient considering the chairmen will have to stay a whole day before lawmakers and wait for their turn to be questioned about the issues that can simply be answered by their staffers."



Of the six, the POSCO chairman made it off the witness list at the last minute before the beginning of the audit, Oct. 1.



He otherwise was to appear on Oct. 5 during the audit by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and on Oct. 7 during the audit by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.



He is scheduled to attend a wrap-up audit by the trade ministry, Oct. 20. This should not be problematic for Choi as the meeting is to go over what was discussed concerning the ministry and related business.



"The cost of conglomerate leaders attending the audit will be considerable," another source said.



The source explained that POSCO hired former executive assistants of lawmakers, one from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and another from the main opposition People Power Party (PPP). The move was seen as bid to woo the National Assembly after Choi was scrutinized at a parliamentary hearing in February over a fatal accident at a POSCO plant in Pohang.






POSCO Chairman Choi Jeong-woo gives an opening speech at the company-hosted Hydrogen Iron & Steel Making Forum held at the Grand Intercontinental Seoul PARNAS, Wednesday. Courtesy of POSCO Group
Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo, right, talks with U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai in Paris on the sidelines of the OECD council meeting, Oct. 5. Yonhap



By Kim Yoo-chul



South Korea is on track to defend the best interests of the country's top two chipmakers  Samsung Electronics and SK hynix  as top trade negotiator officially stated his "grave concerns" regarding the Biden administration's move to apply the Defense Production Act (DPA).



In a rare move, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy released a statement, Wednesday, conveying Korea's concerns regarding Washington's request for Korean chipmakers operating in the U.S. to disclose classified information related to supply chains.



"The scope of the U.S. request is vast and included the sharing of trade secrets, points of concern in terms of South Korea's standpoint," Minister for Trade Yeo Han-koo was quoted as saying in the ministry's statement. His messages have been forwarded to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai on the sidelines of their encounter at an OECD council meeting in Paris.



Amid the years-long automotive chip shortage, semiconductors and batteries have become central to national security interests. Washington is on track to possibly invoke a Cold War-era national security law forcing semiconductor firms to share sensitive information.



U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo confirmed recently that the DPA would be applied if companies fail to share more details about supply shortages and hoarding.



But sharing any information related to supply chains, such as planned production targets or inventory levels, is too big a request for chipmakers, as this data is linked directly to clients. Samsung and Taiwan's TSMC have never opted to name their clients, though Samsung was said to have been supplying automotive chips and LED headlights to Tesla.



Plus, from Apple and Tesla's standpoint, because they demand their chip-sourcing partners to supply different type of chips based on a unique price matrix and differed specifications, sharing related data may result in weakened bargaining power for Korean chipmakers in terms of price negotiation, Samsung sources said by telephone.



But despite Minister Yeo's requests, Tai failed to mention any specific plans, only reiterating Washington's continued stance on the matter by saying the request is aimed at addressing mismatches in supply and demand for semiconductors. Tai added she would pass Korea's concerns on to relevant U.S. government agencies.



During this year's annual National Assembly audit of the ministry, Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Moon Sung-wook said he viewed Washington's request as "rare," and stressed the ministry will be active to intervene in that issue with the U.S. government to protect the best interests of South Korean companies.



The U.S. sent out "voluntary" questionnaires, giving companies 45 days to provide information. Samsung and SK are being urged to answer 14 questions on sensitive issues including their planned production (both memory chip and foundry chip), inventory amounts, the names of clients and management planning and target revenues.



Sources said Samsung and SK didn't rule out the possibility that providing such specifics would give Intel and U.S. chipmakers the upper hand, and the request is likely because Washington is backing Intel's moves to strengthen its foundry-related portfolio.


Taiwan honor guards perform during a national day rehearsal in Taipei, Oct. 5. Reuters-Yonhap



Military tensions with China are at their worst in more than 40 years, Taiwan's defense minister said on Wednesday, days after record numbers of Chinese aircraft flew into the island's air defense zone.



Tensions have hit a new high between Taipei and Beijing, which claims the democratic island as its own territory, and Chinese military aircraft have repeatedly flown through Taiwan's air defense identification zone.



Over a four day period beginning last Friday, Taiwan reported close to 150 Chinese air force aircraft entered its air defense zone, part of a pattern of what Taipei calls Beijing's continued harassment of the island.



Asked by a lawmaker on the current military tensions with China at the parliament, Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said the situation was "the most serious" in more than 40 years since he joined the military, adding there was a risk of a "misfire" across the sensitive Taiwan Strait.



"For me as a military man, the urgency is right in front of me," he told a parliamentary committee reviewing a special military spending of T$240 billion ($8.6 billion) for home-made weapons including missiles and warships.





In this undated file photo released by the Taiwan Ministry of Defense, a Chinese PLA J-16 fighter jet flies in an undisclosed location. AP-Yonhap
Scottish-born Princeton University professor David W.C. MacMillan, who shares the 2021 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the development of asymmetric organocatalysis, a "new and ingenious tool for molecule building," poses in Princeton, New Jersey, U.S. in 2012. / Reuters-Yonhap





Two scientists won the Nobel Prize for chemistry Wednesday for finding an ''ingenious'' new way to build molecules that can be used to make everything from medicines to food flavorings.



Benjamin List of Germany and Scotland-born David W.C. MacMillan developed ''asymmetric organocatalysis'' _ work that has already had a significant impact on pharmaceutical research, said Goran Hansson, secretary-general of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. The tool has also made chemistry ''greener,'' the judges said.



''It's already benefiting humankind greatly,'' said Pernilla Wittung-Stafshede, a member of the Nobel panel.



Making molecules _ which requires linking individual atoms together in specific arrangement _ is a difficult and slow task. Until beginning of the millennium, chemists had only two methods _ or catalysts _ to speed up the process.



''But in the year 2000, everything changed,'' said Wittung-Stafshede.



List, of the Max Planck Institute, and MacMillan, of Princeton University, independently reported that small organic molecules can be used to do the same job as big enzymes and metal catalysts in reactions that ''are precise, cheap, fast and environmentally friendly,'' she said. ''This new toolbox is used widely today, for example, in drug discovery and in fine chemicals production.''



Johan Aqvist, chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry, said: ''This concept for catalysis is as simple as it is ingenious, and the fact is that many people have wondered why we didn't think of it earlier.''



Speaking after the announcement, List said the award was a ''huge surprise.''



''I absolutely didn't expect this,'' the 53-year-old said, adding that he was on vacation in Amsterdam when the call from Sweden came in.



List said he did not initially know that MacMillan was working on the same subject and figured his hunch might just be a ''stupid idea'' _ until it worked.



''I did feel that this could be something big,'' he said.



It is common for several scientists who work in related fields to share the prize. Last year, the chemistry prize went to Emmanuelle Charpentier of France and Jennifer A. Doudna of the United States for developing a gene-editing tool that has revolutionized science by providing a way to alter DNA.



The prestigious award comes with a gold medal and 10 million Swedish kronor (over $1.14 million). The prize money comes from a bequest left by the prize's creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel, who died in 1895.



On Monday, the Nobel Committee awarded the prize in physiology or medicine to Americans David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian for their discoveries into how the human body perceives temperature and touch.



The Nobel Prize in physics was awarded Tuesday to three scientists whose work found order in seeming disorder, helping to explain and predict complex forces of nature, including expanding our understanding of climate change.

Over the coming days prizes will also be awarded for outstanding work in the fields of literature, peace and economics. (AP)




Acoustics DSP Engineer Santa Clara Valley (Cupertino) , California , United States Hardware Summary

Posted: Oct 4, 2021 Weekly Hours: 40 Role Number: 200294065 At Apple, new ideas have a way of quickly becoming extraordinary products, services and customer experiences. Sound is an essential and compelling facet of the customer experience. Apple has assembled a world-class Acoustics team that enables our customers to experience music with delight, communicate with clarity and appreciate our products without disturbance from noise. In Apple Acoustics we work with obsessive attention to detail, directly contributing to products that ship to millions of people around the world. Audio System Tuning team is looking for an Acoustics DSP Engineer to ensure the correct marriage between audio software and acoustic hardware in Apple's HW devices. The successful candidate will be responsible for all Audio DSP optimization in various iOS, OSX and Wireless device products, focusing in Speech Quality for Telephony and FaceTime applications. Key Qualifications Audio DSP knowledge for audio applications, such as Echo and Double Talk, Microphone Beam-Forming, Multi-Band compression, Equalization, Noise Suppression in portable devices.

Theoretical and practical knowledge of Machine Learning techniques used in optimizing Noise Canceller, Wind performance and delivering great Voice Quality for Telephony and VoIP applications.

Knowledge of Microphone arrays and Beam Forming techniques in Audio applications.

Tuning of echo cancellation algorithms, providing the correct tradeoff between echo return loss and double talk performance, and speech intelligibility.

Solid C/C++, Python and Matlab coding capabilities

Strong SW debugging skills

Knowledge on transducers and their Acoustic integration is preferred

Outstanding written and verbal communication skills, ability to work optimally in multi-functional teams. Description The candidate will be a member of Acoustic Hardware Team, and work day-to-day with the Audio Tuning Engineers and DSP algorithm teams. This role will require attention to details and excellent HW / SW debugging skills. You will be interacting with different teams at Apple, and as such, you should have great communication and collaboration skills. You will tune, optimize and listen to different internally developed algorithms for Apple HW with focus on advanced techniques to deliver the best Voice Quality in all Apple HWs. This role might require some international traveling as well. Apple delivers world class products and Audio should just makes these products even better with superb sound. Education & Experience Most of our engineers have advanced degrees in Acoustics, Mechanical Engineering, Electronics, or an equivalent field, but if you've followed a different path to expertise in Acoustic and Audio DSP, we still want to hear from you.




Description



System ID 734555

Category General Management

Relocation Type No

Employment Status Full-Time

Unit Description

Use your passion for service to create a positive impact and make a difference. Sodexo is seeking Service Response Center Manager 2 to work on the Day Shift to support Stamford Hospital, located in Stamford, Connecticut. The call center manager will oversee a team of 10 employees .The call center receives calls from the various locations throughout the day, where requests are for troubleshooting. Responsibilities/strengths include: Experience with Customer Service Training and Hospitality Best in Class Patient Satisfaction Scores Experience with payroll and scheduling staf

Ability to Recognize and Develop talented front-line staff

Ability to multi-task and prioritize in a high-volume call center

Proficient with computers and other technology

Have strong employee engagement and conflict resolution skills Learn more about Sodexo's Benefits Working for Sodexo: Sodexo fosters a culture committed to the growth of individuals through continuous learning, mentoring and career growth opportunities. Apply online today! " Stamford requires a COVID-19 vaccine (mask) to work at this location."

Position Summary

Manages response center services in a call center environment at an account by ensuring requests are dispatched and responded to in a timely manner.

Key Duties

-Manages operations and staff of the service response center by fulfilling contractual obligations.

-Ensures requests are dispatched and responded to in a timely manner and that appropriate equipment and resources are available.

-Identifies and sets-up new service providers, views and approves work orders, proposals, and invoices.

-Runs financial and call volume reports.

-Meet with client contacts to develop service improvements.

Qualifications & Requirements

Basic Education Requirement - Associate's Degree or equivalent experience Basic Management Experience - 2 years Basic Functional Experience - 2 years work experience in facilities (e.g., maintenance, plant operations, engineering services, grounds, custodial/environmental, or transportation) or food (e.g., food services or operations, concessions, retail sales, store operations, or vending) Sodexo is an EEO/AA/Minority/Female/Disability/Veteran employer.



Requirements

See Job Description






Data Scientist, Apple Retail Online Santa Clara Valley (Cupertino) , California , United States Operations and Supply Chain Summary Posted: Oct 5, 2021 Weekly Hours: 40 Role Number: 200296123 The people here at Apple don't just create products - we build the kind of wonder that's revolutionized entire industries! It's the diversity of our people and their ideas that encourages the innovation that runs through everything we do, from amazing technology to industry-leading environmental efforts. Join Apple and help us leave the world better than we found it! As part of a team of Retail-Online analytics specialists, you're deeply committed to the two-sided challenge of supporting the Apple's Retail Real Estate teams to drive data driven decision making, strategic insights and long term planning activities and help craft business strategies that are fueled by the output of this process. Key Qualifications 5-7 years leading sophisticated data science projects as an individual contributor.

Expert knowledge in developing econometric models, frameworks and solutions that help drive decision making and business strategy.

Expert level knowledge of applied regression techniques including, but not limited to: Linear, Logistic, Mixed models, Distributed Lags, Time Series, GLM & Simultaneous Equations.

Understanding of Experimental design, causal impact and Bayesian techniques to tackle complex business problems.

Demonstrated proficiency in synthesizing sophisticated analysis into simple, meaningful and measurable insights for leadership consumption whilst building tools for practical applications.

Hands on Python/R experience across both structured and distributed data environments with expertise across machine learning and data science libraries (e.g., scikit-learn, pandas, matplotlib, seaborn, tidyverse, etc.).

Excellent written and oral communications skills to prepare, present and explain sophisticated analyses to key partners including senior leadership. Description The Retail-Online Analytics team is responsible for providing insights and analytical solutions to Digital Marketing and Marcom, Online Merchandising and eCommerce commercial teams, Online Product Management, Retail Real Estate as well as Finance partners. We are seeking an experienced Data Scientist within the Decision Support COE to drive and execute strategic data science projects for Apple Retail. This role will primarily focus on: - Developing sophisticated econometric models that help understand efficiency and returns on future investment decisions - Drive strategic insights by diving deep into the data to uncover trends and patterns that support larger business objectives - Connect the dots between multiple complex sources of data within Apple to stitch a cohesive story backed by data driven approach - Proactiveness in exploring complex data, systems, tools whist working collaboratively across teams in driving projects forward Education & Experience Master's Degree in Statistics, GIS, Applied Economics, or related disciplines with 5 or more of related work experience Bachelor's Degree considered with at least 7+ years of relevant work experience


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Three northeastern provinces of China have endured weeks of power usage restrictions. This policy is set to continue, and has started to be applied elsewhere, though it remains most severe in the northeast. These provinces are the former industrial centres of China, which were ravaged by unemployment after the transition to capitalism. Now, they are being subjected to power restrictions that are wreaking havoc with public services and households alike.

Given Chinas relatively swift recovery from the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, and the CCP regimes braggadocious talk of a Great Revival of the Chinese Nation and an End to Poverty, how are these outages to be explained?

Why are there power shortages?

In fact, this policy to throttle power supplies had been foreshadowed. As early as this summer, people in some parts of China were experiencing power supply shortages and blackouts. Initially, they were not given any explanation. Only a few days later did they find out that this was the result of the state rerouting their electricity to supply industrial usage elsewhere.

The strain on the power supply in recent times is the product of a confluence of developments inside China.

Firstly, the price of coal used to fuel thermal power plants has skyrocketed. A major contributing factor to this is the ongoing clash between China and Australia. In recent times, the right-wing government of Australia under Scott Morrison has increasingly sided with US imperialism in their ongoing economic and political battle with China.

In 2020, Morrison further provoked China by joining with Donald Trump in calling for a weapon inspector style investigation of the origins of COVID-19 in China. As a response, China announced that it would ban coal imports from Australia in December 2020, which were worth over $14bn USD.

This move might have punished Australia economically, but it also led to consequences that severely affected China. As of 2020, over 70 percent of Chinas power supply still came from coal-fueled thermal power plants. The sudden banning of Australian coal imports drove up the price of other types of coal, with coking coal prices rising by more than 1,000 RMB (around $155USD) per ton in a month.

This development created a chain reaction. Firstly, although many power plants are still state owned in theory, the state has no control over the coal market, and many power plants have been subjected to a slew of measures that make them more responsible for their own financing in the states bid to marketise the energy sector. In other words, the plants and the power companies have to stay afloat by generating profit from the market rather than getting the necessary resources allocated by the state.

As the coal prices skyrocketed, many power plants found that theyd lose money by generating electricity. On the other hand, it would be profitable for them to resell the coal in their inventory. This is a clear indictment of the irrationality of profit-based production, in which essential commodities are nothing but exploitable resources to line the bosses pockets.

Concurrent with the complications caused by coal prices, Chinas relatively strong economic recovery from the global pandemic also drove the capitalists in other sectors to massively ramp up production in order to maximise their profits. The increased demand for electricity from these capitalists led the bosses in the energy sector to divert power away from the northeastern provinces towards more lucrative regions.

Finally, the CCP regimes hamfisted and hasty implementation of a new renewable energy grid has also led to a shortage in the existing power grids, which in turn made the power supply unstable. This situation is described by an expert writing in Chinas Energy () Magazine:

In terms of annual power generation, without power restrictions, the available capacity of coal power is more than 80 percent of the registered capacity, while the output of wind power and photovoltaic is only about one fifth of the registered capacity

During the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), China's installed capacity of wind and photovoltaic power has entered a period of rapid development, which has been accompanied by a significant slowdown in the construction of thermal power. The proportion of thermal power in the newly installed generators went from 50.65 percent in 2015 down to 29.18 percent in 2020. Wind and photovoltaic generators crowd out the share of thermal power in new installed capacity, they were not provided with a correspondingly large enough amount of available installed capacity.

Obviously, we are in favour of greener energy production in order to avert the climate crisis. On the basis of a healthy workers regime and a democratically planned economy, making the necessary investment in renewable energy infrastructure would be a priority, and could be carried out with no detriment to the lives and livelihoods of workers employed by the energy sector, or those currently reliant on polluting energy sources.

However, the governments crude and one-sided policies led to the newly built renewable energy grids that are not yet ready for use, while older plants are already getting shut down. This has left thousands of people without enough power to use.

In the final analysis, a catalogue of problems led to these power restrictions, all of which flow from the profit motive underpinning the marketised energy sector, and the narrow-minded mismanagement by the CCP.

Some local governments did not even bother to wait for orders from the central government, and simply took the lead in stopping residential power consumption, prioritising the key (and most-profitable) sectors of industry for access to the limited power supply.

A genuine socialist society faced with a power shortage would be able to limit unnecessary industrial production if necessary to supply critical sectors, without any loss in pay or jobs for the workers, while ensuring that peoples daily lives experience as little disruption as possible.

But China is not a socialist society or workers democracy. The CCP regime treats peoples livelihoods as dispensable, while the interests of the capitalists take priority.

Who suffers the consequences?

Before the blackouts, the government failed to take any action to explain or even notify the populace of these policies or the reasons behind them. Many people initially had no idea what was going on, and were taken aback by the sudden measures, which caused utter chaos across communities in the northeast.

Many hospitals were not given notices for the power shortages, and have had to rely on their own generators to scrape by, placing many lives at risk.

Shenyang during one of the blackouts. Some places don't even have power to run their traffic lights / Image: Fair Use

While some factories were kept open by rerouting power, many others faced outages. For example, a steel plant owned by the Liaoning Penghui Casting Corporation () suffered a blackout during production. The consequence of this unexpected blackout led to serious accidents, with 23 workers suffering gas poisoning.

Millions faced major disruption to their daily lives, and were even subject to life-threatening situations. Some people found themselves suddenly trapped in elevators, others lost the ability to contact friends and family, and many were unable to eat hot meals due to the blackouts.

One family had to resort to burning coal indoors to keep warm as indoor heating was gone, only to suffer carbon-monoxide poisoning as the ventilation fan of their buildings ventilation system was also shut down. Their lives were fortunately saved by their neighbours.

These power outages literally reduced many households to pre-industrial conditions overnight! So much for the Great National Revival. One angry resident took to Weibo to vent their frustration and place the responsibility on the state:

Any blackouts or power restrictions should have been done methodically and with a plan. This is especially true for workplaces in the industrial and mining sector. Sudden blackouts could cost lives!... If they (the government) kept on doing these disorderly blackouts, then the lives of ordinary people would definitely descend into chaos. I hope the power departments stop behaving like children!

The masses angered

It is clear from this saga that the CCP regime has a callous disregard for the lives of working-class and poor people in the northeast provinces. The state even took measures to redirect power from certain regions to guarantee the power supply of more important regions.

For instance, the brightly lit Shenzhen area stands in stark contrast to the bitterly cold and dark northeast. Shenzhen is home to some of the biggest corporations in China, among them Huawei, Tencent, and Evergrande. Here we would witness the differing treatment between the capitalist class and their interests as opposed to that of the working class during a time of shortage.

Welcome Home Meng Wanzhou! The great revival of the Chinese nation is already an irreversible historic process! / Image: TwitterAs the latest power shortages ravaged millions in China, the CCP was busy celebrating the release of Huaweis CFO Meng Wanzhou, ending her house arrest in Vancouver following a deal reached with US imperialism. One internet user summed up the difference in attitude that the CCP state has towards the rich and poor:

...isnt it strange that the people of the northeast have no water and electricity seems to be less important than a rich person returning home?

This episode reveals the utter hypocrisy of the co-called communist regime, which thumps its chest with nationalistic pride at the return of one of its favoured capitalists, while at the same time literally plunging millions of working-class citizens into darkness.

Scores of people from the Northeast were enraged by the omnipresent coverage of Meng Wanzhous return, while their own stories face censorship. Many ask: why is it that we are the forgotten ones? / Image: Weibo

A Great National Revival, or a Giant Contradiction?

As we have explained repeatedly elsewhere, China is on the verge of enormous instability, due to the contradictions inherent in capitalist production.

The criminal thugs at the head of the state, with Xi Jinping at their core, are attempting to resolve these contradictions through commandments from the top. However, on the basis of a capitalist market economy and profit-led production, these bureaucratic edicts not only fail to solve the problems, but also create even more crises.

This is the fundamental reason for the energy crisis that is taking place in China today. Under capitalism, private profit trumps all else, including essential human needs. The only solution is the establishment of a democratic economic plan, produced from the bottom up under a workers democracy.

This is how to effectively advance an energy transition plan sufficient to deal with the effects of climate change. The primary obstacle standing in the way of this workers' democracy to form is none other than the Chinese Communist Party regime and the capitalist class they represent.
An African Development Bank delegation led by Abdul Kamara, Deputy Director General of the East Africa Region, is taking part in a validation workshop for the African Unions (UA) second Biennial Continental Report on Agenda 2063, held from 20 September to 6 October in the Zimbabwean capital Harare.

The aim of this meeting is to monitor, examine and consolidate national reports on Agenda 2063 for preparation and finalization of the report, which will be presented to Member States and the next AU summit, in February 2022.

The Bank has contributed to this process through the Joint Secretariat Support Office, in its capacity as a member of the joint technical working group for the monitoring and evaluation of Agenda 2063. The Joint Secretariat Support Office comprises the AU Commission, UN Economic Commission for Africa and the African Development Bank.

The technical group is responsible for monitoring and evaluation, scrutiny and reporting on progress made in the implementation of Agenda 2063. Its methodology is based on a manual of well-designed indicators distributed to the 54 Member States of the AU.

Abdul Kamara commented: The meeting offers the Bank an opportunity to contribute to the process by presenting the continent-wide results and impacts of the High 5s. This will help to highlight the key role of the Bank in achieving the objectives of Agenda 2063 and its willingness to fully commit to the process with the objective of transformational development across the continent. The High 5s are the Banks strategic priorities that guide its development agenda in Africa.

The African Development Bank also provided capacity-building support for Member States and regional economic communities to create reliable, high-quality benchmarks and dashboards on the implementation of the flagship programmes of Agenda 2063, in addition to work on targets and related objectives.

The Bank has made several contributions to Agenda 2063, showing its ongoing commitment to the preparation and finalization of Agenda 2063 and the first ten-year implementation plan, particularly through the creation of the joint technical team for monitoring and evaluating Agenda 2063. This team is made up of members of the African Union Commission, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, the African Development Bank, the RECs, the African Capacity Building Foundation, the New Partnership for Africas Development and the African Union Development Agency (NEPAD-AUDA).

Thus, the Bank has supported implementation of Agenda 2063 not only by drafting and finalizing the terms of reference for the Agenda 2063 joint technical team, but also by revising and refining the Agenda 2063 monitoring and evaluation framework and manual of core indicators. The Bank also supported the drafting and finalizing of the first biennial report on the implementation of Agenda 2063 at the continental level.

Agenda 2063, adopted in 2015, pursues the objective of a prosperous Africa based on inclusive growth and sustainable development, with agriculture that contributes to collective food security, with natural endowments valued and preserved and with climate-resilient economies and communities. It is strongly aligned with the Banks High 5 strategic priorities. According to the United Nations Development Programme, implementation of the High 5s will contribute to achievement of around 90% of Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals.

The African Development Bank has played a major role in implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), in operation since January 2021, for an intensification of intra-African trade in goods and services with a potential market of 1.2 billion consumers. In 2021, the Bank increased its investments in climate adaptation to 63%. It is the executing agency of the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa, led by the AU Commission, the NEPAD Secretariat and the Bank. In 2019, 1,417 kilometres of roads, including 974 kilometres in low-income countries, were built, renovated or maintained with African Development Bank support. Lastly, at the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Bank mobilized a fund of $10 billion to strengthen the resilience of African economies and mitigate the impact of the pandemic on populations.

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This 4th of October 2021, His Excellency KAWAGUCHI Shuichiro, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary made a demonstration of Japanese cuisine at the Ecole Hoteliere Sir Gaetan Duval (EHSGD) in Ebene for the students of the Culinary Arts.

During about 2 hours, the Ambassador of Japan cooked 5 recipes (please find attached the document of the recipes) in the kitchen of the EHSGD:

1. Japanese Soup with vegetable

2. Fried eggplant and zucchini with sweet miso (bean paste) sauce

3. Sashimi (Fresh bite-size filet of fish)

4. Teriyaki (Grilled marlin fish with Sweet soy sauce)

5. Garlic flavored fried tomato

The aim of this activity is to promote cultural bilateral exchange between Japan and Mauritius. His Excellency KAWAGUCHI Shuichiro is a Japanese chef who started very early under the guidance of his mother and has always promoted Japanese cuisine during his diplomatic career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. He was even the host of a cooking show in Tanzania for years. I was very happy to work with the students of the Culinary Arts as I like to teach cooking and to meet aspiring chefs, explained the Ambassador of Japan.

This event was organized by the Embassy of Japan with the support of the EHSGD.

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Lotha organisations call for early solution to Naga issue

DIMAPUR | Publish Date: 10/6/2021 1:34:47 PM IST

LMRPO appeals for unity among Nagas

Lotha Middle Range Public organization (LMRPO) at its 6th consultative meeting held at Sanis Town on September 30, 2021 unanimously passed a resolution to support the Indo-Naga political issue for an early solution.

In a press release, LMRPO president Ntonsi Yanthan and general secretary Abemo Lapon appealed for unity to find a common goal for the Naga political solution.

The organsiation stated that Naga people had made their tryst with destiny a long time ago and lakhs of lives have been sacrificed for the cause of the Naga nation.

Appreciating the supreme sacrifice made by the Naga political group since the beginning of the movement, the LMRPO appealed to the groups to forget and forgive the past mistakes and come together as oneto give concerted effort in giving a push to the Naga political issue in the interest of the Nagas.

Further, the organisaiton said that the choice before the Nagas was to talk to each other to a position that realistically constitutes our Non-negotiable position for an inclusive, honourable and acceptable solution based on the unique history and situation of the Nagas.

LMRPO has also called upon the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to conclude the protracted Naga political issue at the earliest time.

LPO positive on appointment of Mishra

Lotha Public Organisation (LPO) is buoyant that Centres interlocutor AK Mishra will lead the Indo-Naga political issue towards a final settlement.

Appreciating the Government of India (GoI), Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah for assigning the former Intelligence Bureau special director as the Centres representative in the Naga peace talks, LPO president Sulanthung Humtsoe and vice-president Phyobemo Odyuo in a press release hoped that Mishra would help iron out the difference among the negotiating parties.

They said Naga people were happy that the Centre and NSCN (I-M) have resumed the peace talks to find an amicable solution to the protracted Naga political issue.

Observing that Modi and Shah were committed to peace, they pointed out that both were determined on a solution so that there could be peace and development in Naga homeland.

The LPO leaders said Mishras appointment as the Centres representative was a good sign towards resolving the Naga political issue as he was very well versed with Naga history, which they pointed out was another plus point for the Naga people.

Mentioning that the stalemate between the negotiating parties had thawed, LPO hoped that the talks would be carried forward in the right direction, so that an agreement could be reached at the earliest for permanent peace in our land.

According to LPO, Mishra has been given the important task of picking up the loose ends of Indo-Naga peace talks as he knew the Naga issue.

The Naga people were now confident that the vexed Indo-Naga political issue would be resolved and the much-desired results of the peace talks would be achieved, they added.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-10-05 14:29:33|Editor: huaxia

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Displaced people wait to return home in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, Oct. 4, 2021. Although the 20-year war in Afghanistan has ended, the pain has just begun for many displaced Afghans who are eager to return home with harsh challenges lying ahead. (Photo by Mohammad Jan Aria/Xinhua)

KABUL, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Although the 20-year war in Afghanistan has ended, the pain has just begun for many displaced Afghans who are eager to return home with harsh challenges lying ahead.

"We were forcibly displaced by bloody fighting and clashes to get away from deaths. We escaped from a province famous for its wonderful sceneries and beautiful views and we lost homes and all belongings. How can we return now? We have no cash and we have no home appliances. We lost everything," Mirza Mohammad, a displaced man from the northern Takhar province, told Xinhua on Monday.

"We are struggling to return home after three months of living on an open ground in the Shahr-e-Naw Park, but we are facing harsh economic woes and severe challenges," he said.

"Our home is destroyed. We have no saving and cash to rebuild our home. If we are assisted to rebuild our house in Takhar, we will not stay in Kabul anymore," said Mohammad, the only breadwinner of his nine-member household.

The security situation remained generally calm across Afghanistan since Taliban's takeover in mid-August.

However, the Islamic State-affiliated militants have staged a spate of bomb attacks in the national capital Kabul and Jalalabad city, the capital of eastern Nangarhar province in recent weeks.

Mohammad said Taliban authorities have announced that "the war is over," but security was not enough, as the war and drought affected all Afghans while they need work and employment, financial support and permanent shelter as well.

Mohammad said displaced families are still in fear of possible fighting between Taliban members and anti-Taliban forces consisting of local fighters and security forces from the former government.

Mohammad, after his house was hit by mortar and destroyed in the northern Takhar province, fled war along with his family and experienced hard days facing food and clothing shortage for more than three months in Kabul.

In late September, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said that it has started distribution of non-food items and emergency shelter kits to assist hundreds of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in a number of Afghan provinces.

Aminullah, a displaced man from Nejrab district of the eastern Kapisa province, said he received less from the aids. He said refugee affairs officials from the former administration repeatedly conducted survey in IDPs camps in Kabul, but some relief items disappeared before reaching the camps.

"If it was 1,000 afghani donations, we receive only 100 afghani of it. The remaining are distributed between those in the head," he said, pointing to the aid distributers who were cutting the aids for themselves.

The displaced families also include those Taliban bereaved families who were killed during the recent clashes and the war.

Binazir, the widow of a slain Taliban member in Takhar province, said she had fled war and drought along with 10 family members to Kabul to find shelter and food.

"My husband was a Taliban foot soldier who was killed during conflicts. I demand international organizations to help displaced people return to our province and rebuild our house," she said.

The Ministry of Refugee Affairs of the Taliban caretaker government, together with a number of aid agencies have started the relocation of thousands of internally displaced families, mostly from makeshift shelters in Kabul to their native provinces.

More than 1,000 IDP families have reportedly returned to their homes from the Kabul Shahr-e-Naw park under the cooperation between various aid agencies recently.

"The return is voluntarily. Each certain family returning to their province is given 10,000 afghani, about 110 U.S. dollars," Abdul Matin Rahimzai from Ministry of Refugee Affairs recently told local media.

"The Ministry of Refugee Affairs in collaboration with international aid agencies and UN organizations are working to support all IDPs to return from provincial capitals to their villages and home, as the security is fine and there are no clashes or fighting in rural areas across Afghanistan," he said.

Since the start of the year, over 634,000 people have been forcibly displaced by conflict. About 5.5 million people have been displaced since 2012, according to official figures.

On Sunday, in the northern Badakhshan province, about 600 displaced Afghans returned to their villages from an Afghanistan-Tajikistan border area, according to provincial Governor Maulvi Amanuddin Mansoor.

The returnees had been displaced during clashes prior to the Taliban's takeover in mid-August, Mansoor told reporters.

"They were living in a dire situation on an open ground. They returned after provincial officials ensured their security," he said.

Efforts are underway to help all displaced people return to their villages at an early date in the mountainous region as winter is approaching, the governor said.

According to United Nations officials, the UN would assist the Taliban administration on paving the way for international aid delivery and upholding the rights of Afghan women and girls at the time as basic services are lacking and food and other life-saving aid is about to run out. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-10-05 21:07:13|Editor: huaxia

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Lebopo Elton Mphinyane holds a piglet at his farm in Molongwane, about 25 kilometers north of Gaborone, Botswana, on Sept. 3, 2021. Lebopo Elton Mphinyane, a Botswana farmer, took up pig farming in 2015 after struggling to find a job after graduation. As soon as he realized how lucrative the endeavor could be, he decided to go for it in full force. (Photo by Tshekiso Tebalo/Xinhua)

GABORONE, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Lebopo Elton Mphinyane, a Botswana farmer, took up pig farming in 2015 after struggling to find a job after graduation.

As soon as he realized how lucrative the endeavor could be, he decided to go for it in full force.

The 30-year-old man owns a farm in Molongwane, about 25 kilometers north of Gaborone, Botswana's capital city.

"I've always had a passion for farming since I was a child, and after graduating from school in Accounting and Finance, I struggled to find work," said Mphinyane, who had to devise a strategy to create something that would sustain him.

He started by borrowing 30,000 Pula (about 2,656 U.S. dollars) from his family and bought pigs, which he sold every three months to supplement his income and invested in feeds and structure.

In 2017, he purchased two pigs that produced 10 to 12 piglets every three months. He now owns more than 50 pigs and sells a significant number of them each year.

He grew his business into a more commercial one, selling to local butcheries and large retail stores, as well as packaging and distributing pork to individuals.

He said that an 8-month-old pig could be sold for around 3,500 Pula and 3 kg of pork slices for 200 pula.

The market for pig products exists, but the challenge is the mindset of potential clients, who frequently do not understand the value of pigs and want to pay every little amount, which could make his venture unprofitable given the investment he makes and the high cost of feed, he said.

Since COVID-19, Mphinyane has faced numerous challenges because tourists used to buy some of his produce, and consumption has decreased.

"It has had a negative impact on my business because clients now want to buy it on the cheap," he said.

He has asked the government to assist farmers with subsidies due to the high cost of production.

"Other farmers purchase pigs from outside the country at a lower cost. I'd like our government to support us locally, to buy our product," Mphinyane said.

For the past six years, Mphinyane has been applying for the Youth Development Fund in the hopes of receiving funding to expand his business.

"I've been turned down six times now, but I'm not giving up," he told Xinhua.

In order to expand his business, he plans to build a much larger structure to house 200-300 pigs once he receives funding.

Pig farming in the southern African country has the potential to create jobs for young people who are interested in farming but aren't solely concerned with profits, he said.

He advised those interested in farming to work hard, be smart, and be motivated by a strong desire to succeed. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-10-06 19:53:14|Editor: huaxia

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Przewalski's horses are seen at the Kalamaili Nature Reserve, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Sept. 1, 2021. The number of Przewalski's horses in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region had grown to 487 by the end of 2020, according to the Xinjiang Wild Horse Breeding and Research Center. The Przewalski's horse is believed to be the only wild horse species in existence today. It is listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species and is under first-class national protection. Once extinct in China due to excessive poaching and environmental degradation, the Przewalski's horses were reintroduced to the country from Britain, Germany and the United States starting in the mid-1980s, and were raised in Xinjiang and Gansu Province. In 2000, the population of this rare horse in Xinjiang increased to nearly 100, and some of them had been released to a nature reserve since 2001. "Over the past 20 years, 16 batches of the rare horses have been released into the wild in Xinjiang. A total of 110 wild horses have returned to the wilderness and their population had increased to 274 by the end of last year," said Yang Jianming, director of the research center. (Xinhua/Ding Lei)
Source: Xinhua| 2021-10-06 08:57:00|Editor: huaxia

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Adefris Worku, an Ethiopian forestry expert, speaks during an interview with Xinhua in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Sept. 17, 2021. China's experience in reforestation and fighting desertification has injected lots of inspiration into Africa, which needs to curb the alarming expansion of the Sahara desert, Ethiopian experts have said. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)

ADDIS ABABA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- China's experience in reforestation and fighting desertification has injected lots of inspiration into Africa, which needs to curb the alarming expansion of the Sahara desert, Ethiopian experts have said.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recently estimated that by 2030, Africa will lose two thirds of its arable land if the march of desertification is not stopped in time.

"African countries have to do strategic interventions and approach to combat desertification, because desertification has become overwhelming, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa," Adefris Worku, an Ethiopian forestry expert, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

China's remarkable achievements in successfully restoring its lost lands as part of its massive reforestation endeavors can help African countries realize afforestation ambitions, he said.

According to the expert, Africa can learn from China ranging from the promotion of clean energy, climate financing, sharing of technologies, and knowledge and practices on landscape restoration.

"One of the things that we consider as an opportunity is that China has considered the issue of climate change as a very major agenda, that is really a very good and appreciated development," Worku said, who works as forestry expert at the Environment, Forest and Climate Change Commission of Ethiopia.

He said that desertification in Africa is mainly caused by fuelwood collection due to lack of access to energy sources, and China can help African countries to develop clean energy mechanisms.

"Unless and otherwise Ethiopia and the rest of Africa promote the use of clean energy technologies, there is no way that we could stop forest degradation and deforestation," he said.

Across Africa, China's support is already propelling ongoing efforts to promote forestry and mitigate the adverse impacts of climate change.

In Ethiopia, China-backed satellites are helping realize the country's aspiration of building an environmentally friendly and climate-resilient economy.

"We expect that the utilization of satellite imageries will impact the agricultural sector, including monitoring and taking the necessary measures in relation to climate change," Abdissa Yilma, director general of the Ethiopian Space Science and Technology Institute, told Xinhua recently.

In December 2019, Ethiopia launched its first ever satellite abbreviated as ETRSS-1 with support from the Chinese government. A year later, Ethiopia launched the second Chinese-backed satellite, abbreviated as ET-Smart-RSS from China's Wenchang spacecraft launch site.

Despite the daunting challenges, African countries have been introducing a number of ambitious initiatives to contain the rapid expansion of desertification.

The Great Green Wall Initiative, which was launched by the African Union in 2007, with an overarching aim of planting a wall of trees across Africa at the southern edge of the Sahara desert, is one African-led initiative that aims to restore Africa's degraded landscapes.

Worku said that Ethiopia, as one of the signatory countries of the initiative, considered the ambitious project as "a very important and relevant strategy to combat desertification and to ensure sustainable development in the country."

"We need China's technologies and resources to develop the degraded landscape," Worku said. Enditem


Source: Xinhua| 2021-10-06 09:50:40|Editor: huaxia

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HARARE, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Zimbabwean government on Tuesday announced the reopening of all licensed bars to fully vaccinated clients, as it continues to relax lockdown measures and open up the economy.

"Cabinet notes, with concern, that the continued closure of licensed bars and nightclubs has caused not only a loss of income and unemployment but also resulted in the mushrooming of illegal outlets," Zimbabwean Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said during a media briefing after a cabinet meeting.

"Cabinet therefore directed that all licensed bars be opened to fully vaccinated clients. Bar owners are also required to ensure that the World Health Organization and national protocols and guidelines are enforced," and would have their licenses withdrawn if they fail to do so, Mutsvangwa said, adding that "the bars are also required to adhere to curfew hours."

The bars had remained closed since June, despite some relaxation of the COVID-19 lockdown early last month.

Mutsvangwa said the government will strengthen the implementation of all public health and social measures in view of a potential fourth wave.

On Monday, the Zimbabwean Ministry of Health said 3,117,895 people had taken the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 2,322,862 people were fully vaccinated.

The government is aiming to inoculate at least 60 percent of the country's some 14 million citizens to achieve herd immunity by year-end. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-10-06 09:53:54|Editor: huaxia

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HARARE, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe's central bank on Tuesday blacklisted 47 more individuals for allegedly advertising and facilitating illegal foreign exchange transactions and money laundering through social media.

This came after 30 individuals were "blacklisted and barred from accessing financial and mobile telecommunication services for the same reasons" on Sept. 28, said John Mangudya, governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ).

The governor thanked the public for their information that is helping the RBZ's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) to identify and take action against the culprits.

When the RBZ blacklisted the 30 individuals, the FIU instructed banks, mobile money operators and other financial service providers to identify and freeze any accounts operated by the identified individuals and bar them from accessing financial services for a period of two years, Mangudya said.

The FIU had also requested the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe to bar them from operating mobile businesses.

Since then, 14 suspected illegal foreign currency dealers have been arrested, including four company directors, on charges of money laundering.

It is reported that the current rates in Zimbabwe's black market are more lucrative than those in the official banking system. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-10-06 17:52:32|Editor: huaxia

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KIGALI, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Rwanda's national flag carrier airline RwandAir has announced in a statement that it will launch new non-stop direct flights in December to Doha, the capital city of Qatar.

The planned launch of the new non-stop flights between Rwandan capital city Kigali and Doha is part of a comprehensive codeshare agreement that has been signed between RwandAir and Qatar Airways, according to the statement issued on Tuesday.

"This is a major milestone for RwandAir and marks the beginning of an exciting new journey with Qatar Airways. We are also immensely proud to welcome Doha to our route network, connecting customers with Qatar's hub and further expanding their flight map," said Yvonne Makolo, Chief Executive Officer of the RwandAir.

"This codeshare agreement will give our customers significantly more choice and flexibility, allowing RwandAir to strengthen its global presence and build on its strong and loyal African customer base," she said. RwandAir and Qatar Airways recently announced a loyalty partnership, giving RwandAir Dream Miles and Qatar Airways Privilege Club loyalty members access to each other's destinations.

The loyalty partnership gives customers the opportunity to accrue and redeem miles across their reciprocal route networks and access the airlines' airport lounges at both airline's hub homes in Doha and Kigali.

The new codeshare will enable RwandAir customers to book attractive offers to popular destinations in the United States, such as New York, Washington D.C., Dallas and Los Angeles, according to the statement.

The RwandAir and Qatar Airways partnership will also see the offers extend to key European cities, such as London, Zurich and Madrid, and points across Asia, such as Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, it added.

"We share a very close and collaborative bond with Rwanda and welcome RwandAir's new non-stop service between Kigali and our home in Doha," said Akbar Al-Baker, Group Chief Executive Officer, Qatar Airways.

"With this comprehensive codeshare agreement, we are committed to deliver greater choice and connectivity to our customers in Africa and around the world," he added.

The agreement will also increase Qatar Airways' footprint in Africa, with access to destinations such as Bujumbura, Kinshasa and Lubumbashi, according to the statement.

Earlier this year, RwandAir became the first African airline to achieve Diamond status in the APEX Health Safety audit powered by SimpliFlying, the important global recognition for airlines in health and hygiene matters.

RwandAir operates 12 airplanes with an average age of under six years.

The airline currently offers services to 25 destinations across 21 countries throughout Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-10-06 20:38:44|Editor: huaxia

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BAMAKO, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Mali's foreign ministry has called on France to "restrain itself," following what was described as "unfriendly and derogatory remarks" by French President Emmanuel Macron.

The Malian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said it had summoned the French ambassador to Mali after Macron's remarks on the "institutions" of the Republic of Mali.

Malian foreign minister Abdoulaye Diop expressed "indignation and disapproval" over and protested against "these regrettable remarks" that are likely to "harm the development of friendly relations between nations," the foreign ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

The protest came after Macron's remarks on Mali last Thursday, made on the sidelines of the "Africa 2020" event at the Elysee Palace.

"The legitimacy of the current government is undemocratic. Yesterday we presided over the national tribute to Sergeant Maxime Blasco (a French soldier killed in Mali on Sept. 24) and today he is buried among his own. What the Malian prime minister said is unacceptable. This is a disgrace. And it dishonors what is not even a government," Macron was reported to be saying.

In the statement on Tuesday, the Malian government called on the French authorities to "restrain themselves" by avoiding "value judgments" and to "concentrate on the essential," in particular the "fight against terrorism in the Sahel."

The Malian foreign minister, however, reiterated Mali's readiness to "build with willing partners sincere and concerted relations, respecting the principle of non-interference in accordance with the legitimate aspirations of the Malian people," the statement said.

In recent days, a verbal escalation between Bamako and Paris has been taking place since Sept. 25, when Malian Prime Minister Choguel Kokalla Maiga told the General Assembly of the United Nations that Macron's "unilateral" announcement last June of the reorganisation of the French military presence in the Sahel represented "a kind of abandonment in flight," saying this led Mali to open negotiations with other actors in order to diversify its partners in the fight against terrorism.

The remarks by Maiga prompted strong condemnation from Paris.

Since 2012, Mali, buffeted by political, economic difficulties and security challenges, has witnessed the death of thousands and displacement of hundreds and thousands others as a result of separatist insurrections, jihadist incursions and inter-communal violence, despite the presence of United Nations, French and European forces. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-10-06 21:27:21|Editor: huaxia

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RABAT, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Moroccan security services dismantled on Wednesday a terrorist cell linked to the Islamic State (IS) militant group operating in the northern city of Tangier, and arrested five suspects aged between 22 and 28.

Elements of the Special Force have faced a fierce resistance from the leader of the cell, said a statement of the Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation, Morocco's intelligence bureau.

They were forced to shoot sound bombs to neutralize the danger of this cell, which had pledged allegiance to the IS group, it said.

The statement added that nitric acid chemical residues, suspicious liquids, nails, electrical wires and six gas cylinders suspected of being used in the manufacture of homemade explosives were seized.

A large "banner" bearing the emblem of the "Daesh" (IS), para-military uniforms, as well as knifes of different calibers were also seized, it added.

The suspects will be brought to justice upon the completion of the investigation under the supervision of the public prosecutor's office, the statement said. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-10-06 21:43:24|Editor: huaxia

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by Tichaona Chifamba

HARARE, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- A traffic circle to the south of Zimbabwe's capital Harare, arguably the busiest in the country, is set for a major facelift after Cabinet agreed Tuesday to immediately upgrade it to an interchange.

Commonly referred to as the Mbudzi Roundabout, a reference to the selling of goats in the adjacent areas, the traffic circle has been a huge source of frustration to motorists who would spend up to two hours covering a stretch of less than a kilometer during peak hours due to congestion.

It is located at the crossroads of Simon Mazorodze, High Glen, Masvingo and Chitungwiza roads and caters for traffic coming into the city from as far as South Africa.

Some motorists coming from the eastern parts of the country seeking to bypass the city also use the roundabout as they travel to the western and northern parts of the country and to countries in the north such as Zambia.

Minister of Information Monica Mutsvangwa told a media briefing after the Cabinet meeting that increased traffic flow in the Beitbridge-Harare highway had caused more congestion at the traffic circle, prompting the government to deal with the situation.

"Cabinet has noted that works on the Beitbridge-Harare Highway are facilitating the smooth flow of traffic causing congestion at the Mbudzi Roundabout. Accordingly, Cabinet has approved the immediate construction of the Mbudzi Traffic Interchange in Harare," she was quoted saying by the Herald newspaper.

The cost of the project and the time it will take the contractors have not yet been revealed.

Harare City Council has said that it will work with the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development on the project.

However, a senior government official said recently that the government was negotiating with a financial institution which had expressed interest in advancing a loan or funding to Treasury.

The project will also lead to the demolition of more than 320 illegal structures in the area, as Harare City Council clears land for the mammoth project.

The structures include houses and shops which were built in road reservations. Owners were on Tuesday given 48 hours to leave the area, or the council would move in with bulldozers to demolish the illegal structures. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-10-06 23:31:53|Editor: huaxia

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ADDIS ABABA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- At least three members of a rebel group have been killed in clashes in Ethiopia's western Gambella regional state, an Ethiopian official said on Wednesday.

Abula Ubong, chief police commissioner of Gambella region police commission, said three members of a rebel group Gambella Liberation Front were killed and two others arrested during clashes on Tuesday.

Ubong further said five rifles were confiscated from the rebels, reported state media outlet Ethiopia News Agency.

In August, an armed attack by unidentified gunmen near Gambella city, regional capital of Gambella region, followed by reprisal attacks in the regional capital, left at least three people dead. At least three other people were injured in the violence. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-10-06 09:06:41|Editor: huaxia

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by Martina Fuchs

GENEVA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The rapid rise of premium beer and craft breweries has created fresh business opportunities in China, the largest beer market in the world, as local drinkers pay more attention to superior quality and exclusivity, CEO of Portuguese brewing company Super Bock Group has said.

Rui Lopes Ferreira told Xinhua in a recent interview that he has observed an expansion in China's premium beer market, thanks to the shift in retail consumption online due to COVID-19, a change in consumers' taste preference, and rising purchasing power in the country of 1.4 billion people.

"The Chinese beer market has shown amazing figures. But it's important to note that in total it has been declining," Ferreira noted. "There is a trend of premiumization, which obviously we want to explore and take profit."

"Our brand is positioned as a premium imported brand, and we can leverage the rise of this segment," said the CEO.

According to the China Beer Market Study 2021 by MarketResearch.com, China is the world's largest beer market by sales, with an annual consumption of almost 45.7 billion liters.

However, the market for mainstream beer is becoming saturated, said the report. While beer remains the top alcoholic beverage consumed in the country, consumption has been falling since 2014.

Currently, Chinese Baijiu (distilled spirits) is still the beverage of choice for the country, while the affinity for premium and flavored beer is rising rapidly, said the report.

"Also, we see a lot of craft breweries emerging and developing in all regions in China," he said. "We believe this trend will stay in the near future, and we will explore our opportunities and develop our brand based on this vision."

Based in the city of Porto, Super Bock Group was established in 1890 and maintains a leading position in the global beer market. Super Bock was launched in 1927 as a quality beer brand.

In China, the group operates in a joint venture with local importer and distributor Xiamen Bock.

"We are paying a lot of attention to Chinese consumer trends and habits in the regions where we are currently operating. We try to provide the best experience to Chinese consumers and make innovation in order to fit with their expectations for a premium international lager beer," Ferreira added.

He said that in the near term, the company's core business would remain in the two provinces of Fujian and Zhejiang. "We will keep focusing on these two regions and developing our brand as a premium imported brand and a respected brand in the Chinese market."

The company, one of Portugal's top beer brewers, recently announced its partnership with the Montreux Jazz Festival China, which takes place in Hangzhou, capital city of Zhejiang province, from Oct. 5 to 8 under the theme "When West Meets East."

"Our strategy is clearly to reinforce our connection and our link with music. We believe that music provides very interesting and enriching experiences for consumers. That (also) reinforces our brand values such as conviviality and friendship," said the CEO.

Super Bock has supported music festivals in Portugal and around the globe such as Rock in Rio for many years, Ferreira said, including the original and renowned Montreux Jazz Festival held every summer in Switzerland on the shores of Lake Geneva.

In Portugal, the brand has held the Super Bock Festival every year for more than 25 years.

Asked about the impact from COVID-19 on the business outlook, Ferreira said that "our activity has suffered during 2020 and also during 2021." In 2020, he added, "in Portugal our domestic and core market beer consumption decreased by 15% in total."

"I believe there will be a strong recovery in 2022. On top of that, we have benefited from the fact that we export to more than 50 countries in the world," he said.

On Aug. 23, Portugal moved from a "state of calamity," the country's highest response to a national emergency, to the "state of contingency," shortly after its health minister announced that Portugal has reached its target of fully vaccinating 70 percent of the population against COVID-19 in August.

"2022 is not going to recover to the levels of 2019, the pre-pandemic year. But I think we will be quite close to it by the end of 2023," Ferreira said. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-10-06 13:54:24|Editor: huaxia

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BRUSSELS, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The relations between the European Union (EU) and the United States came under fire on Tuesday when some members of the European Parliament (MEPs) urged the union to reposition itself with increased autonomy.

Frustrated by Washington's recent unilateral moves, especially the signing of the trilateral Australia-United Kingdom-United States (AUKUS) security partnership and its push for military withdrawal from Afghanistan, the MEPs started their first October plenary by spending two and a half hours debating the transatlantic partnership.

"I'm disappointed by President (Joe) Biden," said Belgian MEP Hilde Vautmans. "He claims America's back. Fair enough. But does that mean that in his perception, in his mind, and in his strategic approach, that also Europe is back? No."

She recalled that the Biden administration did not consult its European partners when announcing its withdrawal from Afghanistan and "completely sidelined" the Europeans in the AUKUS deal. Moreover, he did not even take the step to abolish American tariffs on European steel, added Vautmans.

German MEP Bernd Lange highlighted the trade disputes between the EU and the United States. "The honeymoon is over," he said.

Concerning the steel tariff row, Lange noted that the EU will double its counter measures if a solution is not found by the end of November. Meanwhile, the U.S. submarine deal with Australia "is certainly not something which has helped to make our relationship more stable," he said.

Maximilian Krah from the Identity and Democracy Group in the European Parliament called for a partnership with the United States based on real interests instead of pure ideologies.

Krah said he believes that there are different traditions in the multi-polar world and Westerners need to learn from and listen to other views. "The best way forward on this Earth is to try to negotiate and not imagine that we are the only people who know the real truth," he said.

Clare Daly from the Left Group in the European Parliament reminded that the United States is a country which "is ruthlessly pursuing an espionage case against Julian Assange for publishing information about U.S. war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq" and "plots regime change and imposes illegal sanctions that kill in every corner of the globe."

"American and European supremacy is over. We live in a different, multipolar world that's more interconnected and interdependent than ever before. The main challenge is climate change. Getting through it will require cooperation, not competition," she said. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-10-06 22:35:48|Editor: huaxia

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MOSCOW, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Moscow and Tehran have agreed that negotiations on the Iran nuclear deal in the Vienna format should resume as soon as possible, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday.

Russia opposes attempts of some countries to link the preservation of the Iran nuclear deal with Tehran's concessions on other issues, Lavrov said during a joint press conference with visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian following their talks in Moscow.

Lavrov said that the international community is still waiting for the United States to return to the nuclear deal and lift "illegal restrictions" on Iran and its economic partners.

Amir Abdollahian said that he had received signals from the U.S. administration that the White House intends to return to the nuclear deal and take into account the rights and interests of the Iranian people.

While discussing Afghanistan, both officials called on the new authorities to fight terrorism and illegal arms and drug trafficking so that the country would stop being a source of regional and global instability.

Lavrov and Amir Abdollahian agreed to arrange a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in the foreseeable future.

They also agreed to launch the production of Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine in Iran as soon as possible. Enditem
TRADERS yesterday described the Harare City Councils order for them to vacate Mbudzi roundabout within 48 hours as illegal and unconstitutional.

On Tuesday, council ordered traders who conduct their business at the densely-populated area to vacate and pave way for the construction of an interchange to allow the smooth flow of traffic.

But trade unions that represent both formal and informal traders challenged the order, accusing council of being insensitive to the needs of the general public.

Vendors for Social and Economic Transformation executive director Samuel Wadzai told NewsDay that traders would exhaust all legal channels to challenge the order.

This is totally unacceptable, he said.

As much as we appreciate the fact that the roundabout needs to be looked at in terms of improving the road network, we are totally against an ultimatum that puts pressure on members.

A 48-hour notice is really unacceptable. Why do they want to destroy livelihoods like that? These things should be done in a manner that is organised.

Wadzai added: We dont want our informal traders who are surviving from hand-to-mouth to be ambushed like that. We are considering challenging this in the courts of law as we are concerned that its illegal. This is uncalled for and we will not accept it, therefore, we are challenging it.

Zimbabwe Chamber of Informal Economy secretary-general Wisbon Malaya said: The issue of traders operating from Mbudzi roundabout is becoming a source of violence and harassment in the world of work. I am referring to the International Labour Organisation Convention 190 which was endorsed in 2019, where our country Zimbabwe is also a signatory to the convention.

The city fathers are always using confrontational engagement to the situation instead of having dialogue with key stakeholders so that we discuss mitigating measures and rescue measures for the people trading at the roundabout who have children to take care of and pay bills.

He said the city fathers should not view vendors as criminals and illegal traders as there were no job opportunities in the country.

Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Union secretary-general Japhet Moyo said he had not yet heard of the pending removal of vendors.

However, we have seen authorities destroying livelihoods of traders before without any alternative space provided for them to work from. It seems we have become specialists in impoverishing our own citizens, he said.

Moyo said the infrastructure to be put up by council should minimise disruption to businesses. Newsday
An election watchdog, the Election Resource Centre (ERC) has described Douglas Mwonzoras MDC-T as a dangerous political party that is a threat to democracy and constitutionalism in the country.

ERC was responding to calls by the MDC-T for the suspension of both the by-elections and the 2023 general polls in favour of a negotiated settlement with President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Early this week, MDC-T national chairman Morgen Komichi said the 2023 polls were a waste of time and resources, claiming his partys position was that it was better to negotiate with Mnangagwa.

But ERC said calling for the cancelling of elections was dangerous to constitutionalism and the principles and growth of democracy in the country.

ERC said MDC-Ts calls were reckless and should not be entertained.

Political players like the government, the electoral commission, Parliament of Zimbabwe must make concerted efforts to ensure that such reckless sentiments must never be entertained as they cause disharmony and despondency, ERC said in a statement yesterday.

There is an urgent need to implement electoral reforms which are now three years due since the 2018 harmonised elections.

On June 11, Mnangagwa and Mwonzora held a closed-door meeting at State House in Harare where, among other things, the MDC-T leader pleaded for the scrapping of the pending by-elections for the more than 40 legislative seats and more than 80 council seats triggered by his partys recall of MPs and councillors belonging to the MDC Alliance led by Nelson Chamisa.

Mnangagwa suspended by-elections citing COVID-19 restrictions and has maintained the ban despite lifting restrictions on almost everything, including opening of bars.

ERC said Mnangagwa was responsible for the countrys bad electoral policies that have led to electoral disputes in the past.

The President is on record regarding reforms, ERC said.

He stated that his administration will ensure the implementation of electoral reforms. However, within less than two years towards the 2023 harmonised elections, the government is silent regarding this important matter. ERC would like to reiterate that electoral reforms are central to any credible election and political stability in Zimbabwe.

ERC added: The Office of the President must call for the holding of by-elections in line with Zimbabwes constitutional provision section 159.

Accordingly, the conduct of these by-elections is of paramount importance as it will ensure that all citizens have representation and can play their oversight and legislative roles through their elected leaders at all levels.

The ERC believes that the resumption of by-elections must be preceded by the implementation of electoral reforms as by-elections without reforms pose a threat to the credibility and acceptability of electoral outcomes.

The electoral watchdog also called on the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) not to serve the interests of any political party.

In administering its constitutional mandate to oversee elections, Zec must be impartial and independent. Zecs activities, decisions and roles must not be influenced by anyone. More so, there ought to be transparency and accountability (responsibility to justify actions or decisions) to citizens, political parties and independent observers, ERC said.

Ensuring verifiability (demonstration of accuracy beyond reasonable doubt) and inclusivity (providing equal access) of processes will enhance public confidence in the Commission. These processes extend to voter mobilisation and education, ballot printing, results transmission and political parties and civil society engagement.

Zec has been accused by opposition parties of serving the interests of Zanu PF. Newsday
THE Zanu-PF Bulawayo province is appealing for donations that will go towards the national and provincial annual peoples conference which has been scheduled for October 26-31 this year.

Both the national and provincial conferences will run concurrently and only a selected few will attend physically in line with Covid-19 prevention measures.

The partys national conference will run from October 26 to 31, with some of the partys leaders converging at Bindura University of Science Education in Mashonaland Central while senior provincial party leaders will follow proceedings from designated centres in the countrys 10 provinces.

The Bulawayo fundraising committee is looking at raising US$57 000 for the national event and then $1 million which will be channelled towards the provincial conference.

Central committee member who is also spokesperson of the fundraising committee Cde Charles Chiponda said they will hold a fundraising dinner this Friday at the Rainbow Hotel.

The Zanu-PF Bulawayo province will this coming Friday, October 8 hold a fundraising dinner for the provincial partys national peoples conference to be held at Zimbabwe International Trade Fair from 26-31 October. This provincial conference will be concurrently held with the national as Covid-19 regulations do not allow for large gatherings, said Cde Chiponda.

The function is open to our key stakeholders Bulawayo, business community and the Zanu-PF political leadership.

We will be asking for donations in cash or kind since the success of the National Peoples Conference will be based on the financial support received from our key stakeholders.

Cde Chiponda said this years national peoples conference is very important in the sense that its major purpose will be to review the coming in of the new dispensation with its thrust on reviving the economy.

We will also discuss the new mantra that Zimbabwe is open for business, vision 2030 and how we are moving towards an upper middle-income, added Cde Chiponda.

He said that part of the programme will also be to discuss the recent changes to the legislation of indigenisation and economic empowerment.

Preparation of the national peoples conference are at an advanced stage. All cash donations would be deposited into the Zanu-PF Bulawayo province bank account at FBC Jason Moyo branch 6153001990115 while donations in kind will be collected by the partys finance officer Antonettah Tshalibe who can be contacted on 0712535739 or delivered to Davis Hall 6th Avenue Extension, he said.

I am appealing to the entire Bulawayo community to support the national peoples conference as this is where the party goes to deliberate issues that concern the nation as a whole.

All donations will be acknowledged in writing by the fundraising committee chairperson who is also Trade, Industry and Commerce deputy Minister Cde Raj Modi. I can be contacted on 0712978098. Chronicle
Rabat, Morocco (PANA) - Morocco launched this week its vaccination campaign against the coronavirus (COVID-19) with the third dose of the vaccine to immunize 63 per cent of the target population
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The 5+5 Joint Military Commission met in Geneva on Wednesday to discuss the development of a comprehensive action plan for the withdrawal of mercenaries, foreign fighters and foreign forces from Libya, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) announced
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Wanted vice-president of Russia's Sberbank arrested on embezzlement charges

 RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov

11:52 06/10/2021

MOSCOW, October 6 (RAPSI) - Vice-president of Russia's Sberbank Marina Rakova, who had earlier absconded the investigative authorities, was arrested as part of a case over large-scale embezzlement, the Interior Ministrys spokesperson Irina Volk told RAPSI on Wednesday.

She is currently in the bodys Moscow Main Investigations Directorate, Volk stated.

Earlier, the woman was placed on a wanted list as she had escaped.

A criminal case is opened against Rakova over large-scale embezzlement at the Federal State Autonomous Institution "The Fund for New Forms of Education Development".

On September 30, the Tverskoy District Court of Moscow ordered detention of ex-fund employees Eugeny Zak and Maxim Inkin as well as the executive director of the Moscow School of Social and Economic Sciences Christina Kryuchkova, who are also involved in the case, for two months.




Moscow court to proceed with Communist Partys lawsuits against e-voting results

 RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov

10:41 06/10/2021

MOSCOW, October 6 (RAPSI)  Moscows Presnensky District Court has set October 7 as a date for the talk on 15 lawsuits filed by the Russian Communist Party and candidates for State Duma lawmakers objecting the results of electronic voting, the courts press service told RAPSI.

In total, the party lodged 32 administrative claims against the e-voting results.

Elections to the State Duma were held last weekend, five parties passed to the lower house of parliament: United Russia received 324 mandates, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation - 57, A Just Russia - For Truth - 27, LDPR - 21 and New People - 13.

Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting with the leadership of the parties that passed to the State Duma noted that electronic voting, like technical progress, cannot be stopped, so it was important to monitor the quality of the process.
Appeal against ex-Inter RAO board members for espionage pending in Supreme Court

 The Moscow City Court's press service

12:14 06/10/2021

MOSCOW, October 6 (RAPSI)  The Supreme Court of Russia will consider a cassation appeal filed by ex-board member of Inter RAO energy holding Karina Tsurkan against her long prison sentence for espionage on October 14, her attorney Anna Stavitskaya has told RAPSI.

In December 2020, the Moscow City Court found Tsurkan guilty of espionage and sentenced her to 15 years in penal colony. The court also forfeited 656 million rubles ($9 million) seized from Tsurkan to the state.

Prosecutors demanded an 18-year jail sentence for Tsurkan.

Investigators claimed that in August 2004 Tsurkan became an agent involved in confidential and unofficial cooperation with a Moldovan secret service.

In April 2015, while staying in Moscow she received a digital version of a document on project prepared by the Ministry of Energy. The project was allegedly related to the actions of Russian energy companies in the sphere of international cooperation. In September of the same year, she transferred the document to a secret service, according to case papers.

The woman denied wrongdoing and claimed that she did not know representatives of foreign secret services and did not see the document in question.




The Insider editor-in-chief ordered to pay over $2K to Dutch journalist for libel

 Facebook page of Roman Dobrokhotov

14:33 06/10/2021

MOSCOW, October 6 (RAPSI)  Moscows Cheremushkinsky District Court on Wednesday ordered the editor-in-chief of The Insider (recognized in Russia as a media performing functions of a foreign agent) Roman Dobrokhotov to pay Dutch journalist Max van der Werff 156,000 rubles (over $2,000) upon the latters defamation lawsuit, lawyer Stalina Gurevich told RAPSI.

The court also obliged Dobrokhotov to refute information distributed by him on Twitter. The lawsuit by the Dutch journalist was granted in part as he demanded 2 million rubles ($27,500) from the defendant.

In July, investigators opened a criminal case over the fact of defamation against Dutch journalist Max van der Werff on the part of The Insider. A search at the office of the editor-in-chief of The Insider Roman Dobrokhotov was carried out as part of this case.

Representatives of the Dutch journalist allege that The Insider published false information that the journalist secretly cooperates with the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Russian General Staff (GRU) and is paid by the Directorate to disseminate materials about the crush of the Malaysian Boeing MH17 in 2014. Dobrokhotov also put a link to The Insider article on his Twitter adding that van der Werff commited a crime working for the Russian intelligence service.

Earlier, the lawyer cited an expert opinion saying that the article published by The Insider and Dobrokhotovs Twit contain negative information about the journalist.

In late September, Dobrokhotov was put on a wanted list on the illegal border crossing charges. According to the Federal Security Service (FSB), he illegally crossed Russias border with Ukraine.
Prosecutor seeks to restrict Doctors Alliance heads freedom for 20 months

 RAPSI, Eugeny Varlamov

13:40 06/10/2021

MOSCOW, October 6 (RAPSI)  A prosecutor on Wednesday demanded to put Anastasia Vasilyeva, the leader of medical workers' union Alyans Vrachei (Doctors' Alliance, an organization recognized by the Russian Justice Ministry as a foreign agent), under restraint to 20 months in a case over breaching sanitary norms at an unauthorized rally, RAPSI was told in the press service of Moscows Preobrazhensky District Court.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Vasilyeva took part in the unauthorized event on January 23 on Pushkin Square in Moscow, where coronavirus-positive persons ordered to isolation were identified among the rally participants. A criminal case over violation of sanitary and epidemiological rules was opened over this fact.

Earlier, several allies of jailed Alexey Navalny, including Lyubov Sobol and his brother Oleg, were convicted in this case.
Investigators seek to detain partner of investigated Sberbank vice-president

 RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov

17:26 06/10/2021

MOSCOW, October 6 (RAPSI)  Investigators on Wednesday lodged a motion seeking to place Artur Stetsenko, the common-law husband of vice-president of Russia's Sberbank Marina Rakova investigated as part of a case over large-scale embezzlement, in detention, RAPSI was told in the press service of Moscows Tverskoy District Court.

The court is to hear the motion soon.

Stetsenko is suspected of fraud, the statement reads.

Earlier on Wednesday, Rakova, who had earlier escaped from the investigative authorities, was arrested and questioned.

A criminal case is opened against Rakova over large-scale embezzlement at the Federal State Autonomous Institution "The Fund for New Forms of Education Development".

On September 30, the Tverskoy District Court of Moscow ordered detention of ex-fund employees Eugeny Zak and Maxim Inkin as well as the executive director of the Moscow School of Social and Economic Sciences Christina Kryuchkova, who are also involved in the case, for two months.
Moscow court upholds $83,000 fines imposed on Facebook

 RAPSI, Eugeny Varlamov

18:03 06/10/2021

MOSCOW, October 6 (RAPSI)  Moscows Tagansky District Court on Wednesday upheld administrative fines worth 6 million rubles ($83,000) imposed on Facebook social network, the courts press service told RAPSI.

The social network was found guilty of breaching the order of restriction of access to information.

Earlier, Russias communications agency Roskomnadzor reminded that failure to restrict access to banned information within 24 hours is punishable by fines ranging from 800,000 to 4 million rubles. Repeated violations are punished with the increased fines.




Russian Government approves stricter punishment for regular beatings

 flickr.com/ Mark Ramsay

15:33 06/10/2021

MOSCOW, October 6 (RAPSI)  The Government Law-Making Commission has backed draft amendments to the Criminal Code, increasing the punishment for regular assaults: the respective bill toughens the punishment for persons who have already had a criminal record of physical violence.

The initiative brings the Criminal Code into line with the legal positions of the Constitutional Court of Russia, according to Chairman of the Board of the Association of Lawyers of Russia (ALR) Vladimir Gruzdev.

Gruzdev reminds that from a legal point of view, violent actions that did not cause harm to individuals health are defined as beatings. It can be slaps in the face, punches and any use of force, after which the victim experienced pain, he said.

The ALR Chair stressed that today the law provides for a two-stage system of punishment for beatings: the principle of administrative prejudice is in effect.

For the first violation, a person will be punished under the Code of Administrative Offenses. For repeated beatings such a person is to be brought to criminal responsibility. Such a system is designed to prevent more serious consequences. As even the slightest manifestations of violence is punished, a person is made to understand that such behavior is unacceptable and will certainly entail responsibility, Gruzdev said.

But to make the mechanisms of punishment for beating, which does not result in bodily harm, work, it is necessary that the punishment be increased when the misconduct is repeated, Gruzdev points out.

Meanwhile, currently there is a legal gap in the system of punishment for beatings, which was pointed out by the Constitutional Court: if a person commits beatings for the third time, the punishment is not toughened. On the contrary, the person is brought to administrative responsibility again, the ALR Chair explained.

However, in a situation where the perpetrator regularly resorts to physical violence, albeit insignificant (compared to violence that causes harm to health), this is no longer enough. More stringent sanctions are needed, Gruzdev said.

The bill assumes that a person who has committed beatings for the third time or more will be prosecuted and the sanctions will become more strict. For regular physical violence, if it did not cause harm to health, there is to be introduced such punishments as compulsory work for up to 480 hours, restriction of freedom for up to a year and other sanctions, Gruzdev notes.

He reminded that, according to the Judicial Department at the Supreme Court of Russia, in 2020 more than 1,600 people were convicted under the respective article of the Criminal Code.

The number of those convicted under this article, compared to 2019, increased by 17.5 percent. At the same time, 104,000 people were punished under the Code of Administrative Offences in 2020. Thus, one and a half percent of citizens brought to administrative responsibility are repeated offenders, Gruzdev summed up.
A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
After haggling for over an hour over the mode of transport, senior UP officials finally allowed Congress MP Rahul Gandhi to leave the Lucknow airport.

A huge crowd had gathered at the airport to welcome the Congress leader who was accompanied by Chief Ministers of Chhattisgarh and Punjab, Bhupesh Baghel and Charanjit Singh Channi, respectively.

Less than an hour after the Uttar Pradesh government said Gandhi would be allowed to visit Lakhimpur Kheri - where violence at a farmers' protest on Sunday had left at nie dead, security personnel stopped him at the Lucknow airport.

An angry Rahul, who was accompanied by Baghel, and Channi, sat on a 'dharna' at the airport.

"Show this scene... they (the UP government) said that we are free to go and now they are stopping us. What kind of permission is this? This is Uttar Pradesh government's permission," he told the media.

Asked whether he was on a dharna now, Gandhi said: "'Kya karun? I will sit here'."

Earlier, police officials told the Congress leader that he would be taken in their vehicles but he declined, saying that he would use his own vehicle.

Meanwhile, the two Chief Ministers have announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 50 lakhs each to the families of those killed in Sunday's violence at Lakhimpur.
Condemning the October 3 violence in Lakhimpur Kheri that claimed nine lives, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to dismiss Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Kumar Mishra, whose son Ashish Mishra is the prime accused in the incident.

The Delhi Cm also urged the PM to meet the bereaved families.

"Indian citizens are watching what's happening in Lakhimpuri Kheri. They're expecting justice. But what kind of justice is this where a murderer is being shielded? Politicians and journalists are being stopped on their way to Lakhimpur," Kejriwal asked in a virtual address.

Ashish Mishra has been named in an FIR in connection with the violent incident at Tikunia village in Lakhimpur Kheri for allegedly mowing down farmers who were protesting against UP Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya's visit to the Union minister's ancestral village for a function.

A total of nine persons, including four farmers and a local journalist, were killed in the incident.

"India is celebrating 75th year of Independence with 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav'. This is what the tyrannical British used to do. Our forefathers did not sacrifice their lives for the country's Independence to see this day. What kind of celebration of Independence is this? What kind of message are we giving to our people," Kejriwal asked.

He went on to say that the Uttar Pradesh government is protecting the killers, otherwise why they have not been arrested yet, and why the murderers are being protected?

"Criminals mercilessly ran their cars over innocent people only to have the entire system bow down before them and shield them from the law. The car not only crushed the farmers present there, but also crushed the soul and spirit of the farmers of this country," Kejriwal said.

Demanding Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention in the matter, Kejriwal said, "You should sack the minister involved and meet the families of the victims, they will get some strength if the PM supports them."
The President of Sri Lanka, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, assured India on Tuesday that he will not allow Sri Lanka to be used to inflict any threat on India's security.

Issuing a statement following the meeting with Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, the President's media unit said that Rajapaksa made the assurance on India's security describing the importance of the geographical positioning of India and Sri Lanka.

Rajapaksa also explained his country's relationship with China and assured that India should not have any doubt about it.

During the meeting, discussion was also held on enhancing the opportunities for the Sri Lankan military to train in India.

The Sri Lankan President also reiterated the need to reintroduce former Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike's 1971 proposal to declare Indian Ocean as a Peace Zone and urged India's support for this endeavour.

The President stressed the need to reintroduce the strong ties between the two countries, similar to what it was during 1960s and 70s.

Rajapaksa also told the Indian Foreign Secretary that his government is taking measures to create an environment for all the Tamil people who left the country to return to the island nation and said that at the recently-concluded United Nations summit, he extended an open invitation to the Tamil diaspora and all Tamil people living around the world.

Rajapaksa has also stated that 90 per cent of the lands in the North and East acquired for security reasons during the war has been returned and compensation has been paid to the families of the disappeared.

While inviting Indian investors to Sri Lanka, Rajapaksa said that the subject minister has been vested with the responsibility to resolve the issue relating to the Trincomalee Oil Tanks in the East in a way that would benefit both countries.

Rajapaksa assured that the long-dragging issue relating to fishermen in the two countries could be resolved, providing benefits to the fishing communities in both parties.

Rajapaksa also extended an invitation to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Sri Lanka.

During the meeting with the President, the Indian Foreign Secretary underscored the importance India attaches to expeditiously taking forward mutually beneficial projects, including proposals to enhance air and sea connectivity between India and Sri Lanka.

He reiterated India's position on the complete implementation of the provisions under the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, including devolution of power and the holding of provincial council elections at the earliest.

Shringla later left Sri Lanka after completing his three-day visit. During his first-ever visit, the Foreign Secretary met Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, Foreign Minister G.L. Peiris, Lankan Foreign Secretary Admiral (Retd) Jayanath Colombage and some Tamil political leaders.

He also visited the historical Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic in Kandy, the India-run oil tanks in Trincomalee and the former war-torn Northern city of Jaffna.

During his meeting with Prime Minster Mahinda Rajapaksa on Monday, Shringla stated that India-Sri Lanka relations are underpinned by vibrant people-to-people ties which would be further strengthened with the signing of the inter-governmental MoU for the $15 million Buddhism grant.

As a mark of goodwill and to bolster cultural links between the two countries, he said India will welcome the inaugural flight from Sri Lanka to Kushinagar, a religiously important place for Buddhists.
WhatsApp rivals have recorded a surge in new users after a mass outage took the Facebook-owned messaging service offline for six hours on Monday.

Signal, a messaging tool that offers heightened privacy features, said millions of new people had download its app in the wake of the blackout.

Meanwhile Telegram, another encrypted messaging app, surged up the iPhone download charts to take the number one spot in the US.

Facebook was forced to apologise after a faulty update knocked out all of its apps for hours last night. Its website as well as the Messenger app, Instagram and WhatsApp all failed for nearly 3bn users.

WhatsApp is the worlds most popular mobile messaging app with an estimated 2bn users, offering encrypted text messaging as well as audio and video calls.

Signal has been endorsed by whistleblowers such as Edward Snowden as well as Jack Dorsey, the Twitter boss, and is run as a not-for-profit.

How facebook users comopare to other social media companies

The app is backed by $50m from Brian Acton, one of the founders of WhatsApp who quit Facebook in 2017. It has more than 50m downloads on Googles Android phones.

Telegram, an encrypted messaging service which has 1bn downloads, jumped from number 55 on the Apple App Store chart in the US to number one in messaging.

The app was founded by Russian internet entrepreneur Pavel Durov, who fled the country after coming under pressure from the Kremlin. The app has proved popular among dissidents.

Encrypted messaging services have been criticised for making it harder for authorities to track down criminals and block illegal content.

Facebook outages

Network experts attributed the problem to Facebooks own servers being unable to connect to the global Domain Name System used to direct internet traffic.

Facebook said that configuration changes it was making to its backbone servers accidentally disconnected its technology from the rest of the web.

Cloudflare, an internet infrastructure provider, said: It was as if someone had pulled the cables from their data centres all at once.

The problem also affected Facebooks own workplace messaging systems, emails and even door access systems, which all ran on the companys internal network.
Northbrook, IL -- (SBWIRE) -- 10/06/2021 -- The 5G enterprise market size is expected to reach USD 10.9 billion by 2027 from USD 2.1 billion in 2021 , at a CAGR of 31.8% during the forecast period.



A few major factors driving the growth of this market are the emergence of Industry 4.0 paving the way for mMTC, the development of smart infrastructure, and the delivery of differentiated 5G services using network slicing technique. The critical challenge faced by the market players is the requirement of the high spending capability of carriers to set up a 5G infrastructure. Similarly, the adoption of Wi-Fi communication technology by enterprises and security concerns in the 5G core network are the major factors hindering the market growth. Low latency connectivity with uRLLC and increasing demand for private networks from various enterprises and government organizations for mission-critical applications. Despite the market being in the infancy stage, a lot of research is being conducted in the market.



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Based on network type, private networks are projected to witness a higher CAGR as these networks enable enterprises to reduce their dependence on service providers because when they opt for private networks, they can have full control over operating methods. It also allows separate data processing and storage. Additionally, enterprises can customize the network the way they want.



Based on operator model, communication service providers (CSPs) held a larger market share in 2020. They are keen on utilizing their fully virtualized network architecture, having increasing agility, flexibility, visibility, and cost-efficiency.



Based on infrastructure, core network technology is projected to witness a higher CAGR in the 5G enterprise market during 20212027 owing to enhanced end user experience (UX), simplified network operations, increased service creation agility, and improved network capabilities.



Based on spectrum, the licensed spectrum is likely to hold a major share of the 5G enterprise market owing to network control and critical use cases for maintaining service quality, especially for end users from the defense and government organizations.



Based on frequency, mmWave would record a higher growth rate in the coming years owing to several advantages offered by this frequency band, such as high bandwidth (for higher data transfer rate), high resolution, low interference (systems with high immunity to cramming), small component sizes, and increased security and cost-efficacy.



Based on organization size, large enterprises are expected to dominate the 5G enterprise market in 2020 as they are anticipated to deploy 5G networks to increase data transmission speed, ensure higher device capacity and spectrum band, and adopt IIoT.



Based on application, AR/VR will be one of the fastest-growing applications in the coming years. Several companies are investing in AR/VR technology, fueling 5G adoption. One of the key factors driving adoption of AR/VR will be gaming sector. For instance, HTC Vive has already begun testing VR through 5G technology.



Based on vertical, manufacturing is attributed to holding a major share of the 5G enterprise market in the coming years as leading manufacturers, such as Gabler, are already deploying AR and VR technologies in equipment maintenance and training applications. AR/VR in HD resolution requires more than 100 Mbps for a smooth experience, while technically, the bandwidth requirement can be fulfilled by fiber or Wi-Fi networks; however, some remote sites/factories are not covered by fiber. Issues outside the corporate network can be resolved with 5G technology for AR/VR in manufacturing.



APAC is transforming dynamically with regard to the adoption of new technologies by organizations functioning across various sectors. The region has become the center of attraction for major investments and business expansion opportunities. Companies such as ZTE (China) and Huawei (China) are heavily investing in full-scale 5G enterprise deployment and upcoming 5G technology and are initiating field trials with a few leading mobile service carriers, such as AT&T (US), China Mobile (China), SoftBank (Japan), and China Unicom (China). These companies are entering into partnerships and collaborations with other players to remain dominant in the market.
New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 10/06/2021 -- Blockchain in Agriculture Market size in 2020 is estimated at $1,21 million and is growing at a CAGR of 31.4% during the forecast period 2021-2026. Blockchain technology is an open, distributed ledger that records transactions between two parties efficiently and permanently. In the era of Industry 4.0, e-agriculture is the new spin in the world of cultivation. Application of blockchain is revolutionizing the modern agricultural sector by improving the farming process and integrating transparency to food supply chain. The decision-making process in the agricultural industry can be tremendously improved by using blockchain technology. The global population is expected to surpass 9.7 billion by 2050, and the food demand is expected to grow by up to 60% by 2050. The recent surveys suggested that 755 million people in 2019 suffered from chronic hunger. And during the same time, around one-third of food produced was wasted or lost through food supply chain. Lack of food is not the reason for global hunger and malnutrition, rather, the poor accessibility of food is. The utilization of GPS and other technology will improve the food traceability and tracking which will enable better logistical supply and thereby reduce waste.



Blockchain in Agriculture Market Segment Analysis - By Type



By Type, Private Blockchain segment is forecast to be the fastest-growing segment and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 37.5% during the forecast period 2021-2026. This is owing to its advantages in banking and financial applications such as high security and reduction of fraud. Agriculture industry is undergoing policy reforms in almost every part of the world. Hence, new initiatives of production systems are being attempted in the form of contract farming or corporate farming. Big data analytics and processing is the collection of large and intricate data series which are generally difficult to process using common database management tools. Big data in agriculture is becoming a crucial aspect and accounts for nearly 5% of the market share of the entire big data industry. Big data analytics in the agriculture sector, in the near future, is anticipated to turn out to be the fifth largest industry in terms of market share.



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Blockchain in Agriculture Market Segment Analysis - By Technology



By application, the product traceability, tracking, and visibility are considered as dominating application in the blockchain in the agriculture market. This application in the blockchain in the agriculture market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 29.4%, during the forecast period. Food traceability is a major factor that is positively influencing the blockchain in the agriculture market. Increasing demand for solution and platform to attain detailed food traceability throughout its supply chain is the major factor supporting the demand for tracking, visibility, and traceability application. By enabling efficient traceability, fraud activities in the supply chain could be tracked easily with the help of GPS technology, which will consequently reduce food adulteration at a considerate level. Also, with food tracking solution, the customer will be informed about the status of their food and this will prevent any middlemen to breach the supply chain.



Blockchain in Agriculture Market Segment Analysis - By Geography



North America was observed as most profitable region in the blockchain in the agriculture market in 2020. The region accounted for 42.3% of the total blockchain in the agriculture market share. The presence of blockchain companies in the region is considered as major reason for huge market share. The region is witnessing abundant R&D activities to implement blockchain in the agriculture. The main reason inducing investment and research is growing concern over food safety and food accessibility. Additionally, blockchain technology also offers benefits to the farming sector in terms of land registry, payment, transparency, and food distribution. These aspects are supporting the growth of the North America blockchain in the agriculture market. Beside fast developments in North America, the blockchain in the agriculture market has shown significant potential in the Asia-Pacific. China and India are leading crop producers in the world, therefore the probability of food contamination, wastage, and fraud in the supply chain is relatively higher in these regions. Majority of APAC countries export their food products such as vegetables and fruits to European and North American countries. Thus, there exist a tremendous potential in the APAC region of the Blockchain in agriculture market.



Blockchain in Agriculture Market Drivers



Automation of Agricultural Equipment



Automation is taking over the processes involved in major end-user industries. Similarly, automation of agricultural equipment is transforming the operating processes involved in farming. Also, with automation, a considerate amount of data will be generated which can be handled using the blockchain. Thus, with high potential of blockchain technology in the agriculture sector, it is projected to drive revenue in the global blockchain in agriculture market.



Improved Logistics Handling



Short shelf-life of products is a major challenge faced by Logistics department of the agriculture industry, mismanaged logistics can cause heavy economical loss and food loss. Therefore, some transport companies are teaming up with blockchain companies to provide decentralized and traceable transit technology for agricultural products. A managed blockchain network can highly improve the availability and reach of food. Thus, mutual business strategies in both fields will contribute in growth of the blockchain in agriculture market.



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Blockchain in Agriculture Market Challenges



Limited Scalability



Technologies such as blockchain come into play, but questions still remain about scaling up. Today, the blockchain exists mainly through proof of concept addressing a limited number of users. It needs to prove it can perform (speed of transactions, storage capacity, volume of the ever-growing chain) for a wider audience. There are also questions of interoperability, in particular regarding the integration of blockchains into existing information systems. There is also need to improve understanding of the blockchain. In order for it to be used transparently, companies will need to understand its benefits while remembering its limitations.



Blockchain in Agriculture Market Landscape



Product launches, acquisitions, Partnerships and R&D activities are key strategies adopted by players in the Blockchain in Agriculture market. The Blockchain in Banking and Financial Services Market is consolidated with key players accounting for about 60% of the market revenue in 2020. The top players include Agridigital, Blockgrain, Arc-Net, Hyperledger, Origintrail, Kinakuta, R3 Consortium, and Others.



Acquisitions/Product Launches



In March, 2021 Sino-Global Shipping America, Ltd. announced it has agreed to acquire a 60% ownership of blockchain infrastructure developer Super Node LLC in an all stock transaction valued at $5 million.

In July 2021, Digital technology is being adopted by Kerala's beleaguered farming sector. According to K. Vasuki, Director of Agriculture, plans are afoot to roll out a digital platform for the farming sector, connecting all stakeholders and managing supply chains. The project is part of an e-governance initiative to establish an agriculture information management system and take the services of the department online.



Key Takeaways



Digital record of food and crops produced in a particular area is stored in a cloud infrastructure. The blockchain technology can be integrated with cloud computing techniques to streamline data storage and commodity management. Moreover, with cloud computing, operators in the sector can remotely manage the finance, traceability, and volume of the commodity.



The key players are adopting strategies such as product launches, acquisitions, and partnerships, with other players and companies as well to strengthen their presence in the market.



The high costs of private blockchain are challenging the market. Private Blockchain are more expensive than other blockchain as it is valid for only one entity.



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https://www.industryarc.com/Report/18882/agriculture-inputs-testing-market



B. Precision Agriculture Market

https://www.industryarc.com/Report/7444/precision-agriculture-market-forecast.html



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Los Angeles, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 10/06/2021 -- QY Research has recently published a new report, titled Global and China Hovercraft Market Insights, Forecast to 2027 . The report has been put together using primary and secondary research methodologies, which offer an accurate and precise understanding of the Hovercraft market. Analysts have used a top-down and bottom-up approach to evaluate the segments and provide a fair assessment of their impact on the global Hovercraft market. The report offers an overview of the market, which briefly describes the market condition and the leading segments. It also mentions the top players present in the global Hovercraft market.



Get a PDF Sample Copy of the Report to understand the structure of the complete report: (Including Full TOC, List of Tables & Figures, Chart) :



https://www.qyresearch.com/sample-form/form/3512073/global-and-china-hovercraft-market



The research report on the global Hovercraft market includes a SWOT analysis and Porter's five forces analysis, which help in providing the precise trajectory of the market. These market measurement tools help in identifying drivers, restraints, weaknesses, Hovercraft market opportunities, and threats. The research report offers global market figures as well as figures for regional markets and segments therein.



The Hovercraft research report opens with an executive summary that gives a brief overview of the market. It mentions the leading segments and the players that are expected to shape the market in the coming years. The executive summary offers a glance of the market without any bias. In the succeeding chapters, the research report on the global Hovercraft market focuses on the drivers. It explains the changing demographic that is expected to impact demand and supply in the Hovercraft market. It delves into the regulatory reforms that are projected to shift perspectives. Additionally, researchers have discussed the very source of the demand to analyze its nature.



The report also sheds light on the restraints present in the global Hovercraft market. Analysts have discussed the details highlighting the factors that are expected to hamper the growth of the market in the coming years. Evolving lifestyles, taxation policies, and purchasing powers of various economies have scrutinized in great detail. The report presents fair points about how these restraints can be turned into opportunities if assessed properly.



Hovercraft Market Competitive Landscape



The last chapter of the research report on the global Hovercraft market focuses on the key players and the competitive landscape present in the market. The report includes a list of strategic initiatives taken by the companies in recent years along with the ones that are expected to happen in the foreseeable future. Researchers have made a note of the financial outlook of these companies, their research and development activities, and their expansion plans for the near future. The research report on the global Hovercraft market is a sincere attempt at giving the readers a comprehensive view of the market to interested readers.



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Hovercraft Market Leading Players



Universal Hovercraft, GE, Neoteric Hovercraft, Mercier-Jones, Neptun Werft, Viper Hovercraft, Australian Hovercraft, Griffon Hoverwork, Airlift Hovercraft, Kvichak, Slider



Hovercraft Market Segmentation



Through the next chapters, the research report reveals the development of the Hovercraft market segments. Analysts have segmented the market on the basis of product, application, end-users, and geography. Each segment of the global Hovercraft market has been studied with in-depth insight. Analysts have evaluated the changing nature of the market segments, growing investments in manufacturing activities, and product innovation that are likely to impact them. In terms of geography, the report studies the changing political environment, social upliftment, and other government initiatives that are expected to contribute to the regional markets.



Hovercraft Segmentation by Product



Diesel Power Type

Gas Power Type

Other



Hovercraft Segmentation by Application



Military

Civil





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About QYResearch

QYResearch established as a research firm in 2007 and have since grown into a trusted brand amongst many industries. Over the years, we have consistently worked toward delivering high-quality customized solutions for wide range of clients ranging from ICT to healthcare industries. With over 50,000 satisfied clients, spread over 80 countries, we have sincerely strived to deliver the best analytics through exhaustive research methodologies.








Los Angeles, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 10/06/2021 -- QY Research has recently published a new report, titled Global and Japan RFID Market Size, Status and Forecast 2021-2027 The report has been put together using primary and secondary research methodologies, which offer an accurate and precise understanding of the RFID market. Analysts have used a top-down and bottom-up approach to evaluate the segments and provide a fair assessment of their impact on the global RFID market. The report offers an overview of the market, which briefly describes the market condition and the leading segments. It also mentions the top players present in the global RFID market.



Get a PDF Sample Copy of the Report to understand the structure of the complete report: (Including Full TOC, List of Tables & Figures, Chart) :



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The research report on the global RFID market includes a SWOT analysis and Porter's five forces analysis, which help in providing the precise trajectory of the market. These market measurement tools help in identifying drivers, restraints, weaknesses, RFID market opportunities, and threats. The research report offers global market figures as well as figures for regional markets and segments therein.



The RFID research report opens with an executive summary that gives a brief overview of the market. It mentions the leading segments and the players that are expected to shape the market in the coming years. The executive summary offers a glance of the market without any bias. In the succeeding chapters, the research report on the global RFID market focuses on the drivers. It explains the changing demographic that is expected to impact demand and supply in the RFID market. It delves into the regulatory reforms that are projected to shift perspectives. Additionally, researchers have discussed the very source of the demand to analyze its nature.



The report also sheds light on the restraints present in the global RFID market. Analysts have discussed the details highlighting the factors that are expected to hamper the growth of the market in the coming years. Evolving lifestyles, taxation policies, and purchasing powers of various economies have scrutinized in great detail. The report presents fair points about how these restraints can be turned into opportunities if assessed properly.



RFID Market Competitive Landscape



The last chapter of the research report on the global RFID market focuses on the key players and the competitive landscape present in the market. The report includes a list of strategic initiatives taken by the companies in recent years along with the ones that are expected to happen in the foreseeable future. Researchers have made a note of the financial outlook of these companies, their research and development activities, and their expansion plans for the near future. The research report on the global RFID market is a sincere attempt at giving the readers a comprehensive view of the market to interested readers.



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RFID Market Leading Players



Datalogic, Honeywell International, Zebra Technologies, Acreo Swedish ICT, Alien Technology, Avery Dennison, Checkpoint Systems, CipherLab, CoreRFID, FEIG ELECTRONIC, Fujitsu, GAO RFID, Impinj, ORBCOMM, Quantum Resources, Mojix, Mobile Aspects, Nedap, RFID4U, RF Ideas, Skytron, JADAK Technologies, Solstice Medical, Smartrac, Stanley InnerSpace, SATO VICINITY, TAGSYS RFID, Terso Solutions, Tellago, TIBCO Software



RFID Market Segmentation



Through the next chapters, the research report reveals the development of the RFID market segments. Analysts have segmented the market on the basis of product, application, end-users, and geography. Each segment of the global RFID market has been studied with in-depth insight. Analysts have evaluated the changing nature of the market segments, growing investments in manufacturing activities, and product innovation that are likely to impact them. In terms of geography, the report studies the changing political environment, social upliftment, and other government initiatives that are expected to contribute to the regional markets.



RFID Segmentation by Product



Passive RFID

Active RFID RFID



RFID Segmentation by Application



Commercial

Transportation and Logistics

Healthcare

Security and Access Control

Sports

Others





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Los Angeles, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 10/06/2021 -- QY Research has recently published a new report, titled Global and Japan Tulip Market Insights, Forecast to 2027 The report has been put together using primary and secondary research methodologies, which offer an accurate and precise understanding of the Tulip market. Analysts have used a top-down and bottom-up approach to evaluate the segments and provide a fair assessment of their impact on the global Tulip market. The report offers an overview of the market, which briefly describes the market condition and the leading segments. It also mentions the top players present in the global Tulip market.



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The research report on the global Tulip market includes a SWOT analysis and Porter's five forces analysis, which help in providing the precise trajectory of the market. These market measurement tools help in identifying drivers, restraints, weaknesses, Tulip market opportunities, and threats. The research report offers global market figures as well as figures for regional markets and segments therein.



The Tulip research report opens with an executive summary that gives a brief overview of the market. It mentions the leading segments and the players that are expected to shape the market in the coming years. The executive summary offers a glance of the market without any bias. In the succeeding chapters, the research report on the global Tulip market focuses on the drivers. It explains the changing demographic that is expected to impact demand and supply in the Tulip market. It delves into the regulatory reforms that are projected to shift perspectives. Additionally, researchers have discussed the very source of the demand to analyze its nature.



The report also sheds light on the restraints present in the global Tulip market. Analysts have discussed the details highlighting the factors that are expected to hamper the growth of the market in the coming years. Evolving lifestyles, taxation policies, and purchasing powers of various economies have scrutinized in great detail. The report presents fair points about how these restraints can be turned into opportunities if assessed properly.



Tulip Market Competitive Landscape



The last chapter of the research report on the global Tulip market focuses on the key players and the competitive landscape present in the market. The report includes a list of strategic initiatives taken by the companies in recent years along with the ones that are expected to happen in the foreseeable future. Researchers have made a note of the financial outlook of these companies, their research and development activities, and their expansion plans for the near future. The research report on the global Tulip market is a sincere attempt at giving the readers a comprehensive view of the market to interested readers.



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Tulip Market Leading Players



Peter Nyssen, Ruigrok Flowerbulbs, Holland Bulb, Eurobulb, Zhejiang Yongyue Industry, Yiwu O-Choice International



Tulip Market Segmentation



Through the next chapters, the research report reveals the development of the Tulip market segments. Analysts have segmented the market on the basis of product, application, end-users, and geography. Each segment of the global Tulip market has been studied with in-depth insight. Analysts have evaluated the changing nature of the market segments, growing investments in manufacturing activities, and product innovation that are likely to impact them. In terms of geography, the report studies the changing political environment, social upliftment, and other government initiatives that are expected to contribute to the regional markets.



Tulip Segmentation by Product



Fresh

Dry



Tulip Segmentation by Application



Wholesale

Retail





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Northbrook, IL -- (SBWIRE) -- 10/06/2021 -- The release agents market stood at USD 888.9 million in 2017; it is projected to grow at a CAGR of 4.1% from 2018, to reach USD 1,131.3 million by 2023. The global demand for release agents is on the rise, particularly in the bakery & confectionery industries. The demand is governed by the performance quality and functionality of the products. Increasing demand for release agents in the bakery & confectionery industries is one of the factors supporting the market development significantly.



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The bakery segment dominated the release agents market.



On the basis of application, the bakery segment dominated the market, this segment accounted for the largest share in 2017, due to the increase in demand for baked goods. Baked products are classified into three broad segments: bread, biscuits, and cakes; they witness high demand, mainly due to their low price, ease of production, and increasing popularity (due to their taste, nutritional value, varieties, and ease of availability), making them a vital part of several meals.



Carbon dioxide segment has the highest share in the food grade gases market.



The use of liquid release agents for bakery and confectionery applications, along with processed meat and convenience food, is constantly growing. Many specific liquid release agents have been introduced, which are available in spray cans to enable ease of application.



Rising demand for non-hydrogenated vegetable oils



On the basis of ingredients, the market is segmented into emulsifiers, vegetable oils, wax & wax esters, and antioxidants. Different ingredients and a specific manufacturing process are chosen, depending on the properties of the ingredients and the desired end application. Recently, the demand for non-hydrogenated vegetable oils has been on the rise, as it helps increase the shelf-life of the final product.



North America and Europe are dominant regions in the release agents market in 2017.



Europe and North America are the dominant regions in this market in 2017, owing to the high demand for baked goods, the presence of major players in these regions, and awareness about the benefits of using release agents. However, Asia Pacific is projected to be the fastest-growing market during the forecast period, due to greater awareness and increase in production of processed food in the region. Asian countries, especially China, have also emerged as leading destinations, thereby facilitating the market shift from developed economies to developing economies. In relatively saturated markets such as the US and Europe, value-based pricing and raw material sourcing have emerged as major strategies for companies looking to establish a strong foothold in these markets.



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This report includes a study of marketing and development strategies, along with the product portfolios of the leading companies. It includes profiles of leading companies such as ADM (US), Avatar Corporation (US), Par-Way Tryson (US), AAK AB (Sweden), and Associated British Foods (UK). Apart from these companies, other release agents companies, such as Mallet & Company (US), DowDuPont (US), IFC Solutions. (US), Lecico (Germany), Lallemand (Canada), Masterol Foods (US), Puratos (Belgium), Zeelandia (Netherlands), DUBOR (Germany), Sonneveld (The Netherlands), and Bakels (Switzerland).



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NewYork, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 10/06/2021 -- Resins in paints and coatings market size is forecast to reach US$50.5 billion by 2026, after growing at a CAGR of 4.3% during 2021-2026, owing to the increasing demand for resins in paints and coatings across various end-use industries such as automotive, aerospace, construction, marine, industrial, and more. The demand for paint and coating resins such as saturated polyester, acrylic acid, vinyl acetate, and more are on an upsurge in these end-use industries because of the various benefits it provides, such as improved longevity, power, dirt resistance, abrasion resistance features, and more. The rapid growth of the automotive and aerospace industry has increased the demand for resins in paints and coatings; thereby, fueling the market growth. Furthermore, the flourishing architecture industry is also expected to drive the resins in the paints and coatings industry substantially during the forecast period.



COVID-19 Impact



Import policies play a very important role in the determination of paint prices, as around 30% of the raw materials such as saturated polyester, acrylic acid, vinyl acetate, and more have to be imported from foreign countries. Any change to the import tax regime will therefore have an impact on costs. The paint industry needs a lot of working capital because the manufacturer has to buy raw materials from different suppliers. As a result, a company with a very robust vendor and distribution network will benefit greatly from it. COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted the paints and coatings industry. The paint and coating industry has seen demand dive in an unprecedented manner in the last few months. Although production at most of the paints and coatings units has resumed staggeringly, the continuing increase in the number of cases and the falling demand has caused anxiety among the leading resin producers.



Resins In Paints And Coatings Market Segment Analysis  By Resins



The acrylic segment held the largest share in the resins in paints and coatings market in 2020. Acrylic resins are based on acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, cyanoacrylic acid, and their esters as well as acrylonitrile and acrylamide Acrylic resins are based on acrylic acid and are used in various coatings market categories including architectural, protective, decorative, and more. The main benefits of acrylic acid-based industrial coatings are ease of use, physical properties, and low costs. They are resistant to fungi, have a longer pot life, and provide excellent moisture protection. World exports of acrylic resins were worth US$13,490,819 thousand in 2016 and US$15,291,934 thousand in 2017, according to the International Trade Centre (ITC), which increased further to US$17,152,076 thousand in 2018. Their longevity, combined with their ability to minimize the monthly energy bill, is two of the acrylic resin's key advantages. Thus, all these factors are boosting the demand for acrylic resin-based paints and coatings during the forecast period.



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Resins In Paints And Coatings Market Segment Analysis  By Coating Technology



The waterborne coatings segment held the largest share in the resins in paints and coatings market in 2020. Water-based coatings disperse a resin using water as a solvent, making them environmentally friendly and simple to apply. The main benefits of using water-based paint and coatings are that they are excellent primers and have decent heat and abrasion resistance. Due to low VOC levels and HAP emissions, they also have excellent adhesion, low toxicity, and flammability, allowing coating manufacturers to comply with clean air regulations. Due to the presence of toxic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and dangerous air contaminants (HAPs) such as toluene, xylene, ethylbenzene, and methyl ethyl ketone in solvent-based industrial coatings, water-based resins are the a preferred formulation for paints and coatings. Currently, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, various other manufacturers who have also planned to expand their production across Asian countries have postponed due to lockdown and other issues, due to this, the growth of water-based decorative coatings seems to be low, which tends to constrain the growth of the market.



Resins In Paints And Coatings Market Segment Analysis  By End-Use Industry



The industrial and protective coatings segment held the largest share in the resins in paints and coatings market in 2020 and is growing at a CAGR of 5.6%, owing to increasing usage of resins in paints and coatings in the industrial industries such as steel, ceramic, power generation, agriculture, and others. Resins are most commonly used to protect steel, which is then used in these industries. The drivers for the market in this segment are improved standard of living, infrastructural development, global GDP growth, and growth of the construction sector. The demand for motors, generators and transformers, agricultural equipment, and other industrial equipment is increasing globally, which is driving the demand for paint and coating resins in general industrial coatings applications.



Resins In Paints And Coatings Market Segment Analysis  By Geography



Asia-Pacific region held the largest share in the resins in paints and coatings market in 2020 up to 43%, owing to the increasing demand for resins in paints and coatings from the steel and power generation industry in the region. According to India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), India was the world's second-largest producer of steel with 111.2 million tonnes (MT) of production in 2019. Domestic availability of raw materials such as iron ore and cost-effective labor has powered growth in the Indian steel sector. India's consumption of finished steel rose to 100 MT at a CAGR of 5.2 percent during FY16-FY20. India's crude steel and finished steel production increased in FY20 to 108.5 MT and 101.03 MT, respectively. In addition, it is projected that solar energy will contribute 114 GW by 2022, followed by 67 GW from wind power and 15 GW from biomass and hydropower. The renewable energy goal has been raised to 227 GW by the year 2022. Thus, with the expanding steel and power generation industry in the region, the demand for resins in paints and coatings will also subsequently increase, which is anticipated to drive the market growth in the APAC region during the forecast period.



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Resins In Paints And Coatings Market Drivers



Increasing Automotive Production



Resins in paints and coatings are used to coat automotive surfaces, and they represent cutting-edge technology capable of producing long-lasting surfaces, exceeding customers' standards in terms of appearance, optimizing quality, and complying with environmental regulations. According to the Korea Trade & Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), there is an upsurge in the demand for commercial vehicles in the country. And the Saudi Arabian commercial vehicle (CV) sales reached 82,027 units in 2018 and expected to amount to 97,188 by 2023. According to Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles (OICA), the production of light commercial vehicles increased from 2002284 in 2019 to 2151347 in 2020, an increase of 7.4% in China. Thus, increasing automation production will require more resins in paints and coatings, which will act as a driver for the market during the forecast period.



Expanding Architecture Sector



The resins are extensively utilized in the formulation of paints and coatings to protect the architectural surfaces while enhancing their aesthetics. It protects masonry, stucco, concrete, drywall, and wood, from weathering, yellowing, moisture, efflorescence, staining, and more. The architecture sector is expanding in various regions owing to the increasing population, and per capita income of individuals. Total construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,366,697 in February 2020, according to the US Census Bureau, which is 6.0 percent higher than the rate of 1,288,951 in February 2019. According to the International Trade Administration, the Chinese construction industry is projected to develop at a real-terms annual pace of 5% between 2019 and 2023. The European Construction 2020 Action Plan also aims to improve investment conditions in Europe. Thus, the expanding architecture sector acts as a driver for the market growth during the forecast period.



Resins In Paints And Coatings Market Challenges



Fluctuation in Prices of Raw Materials



Paint prices are primarily based on the cost of raw materials. About 30% of the raw materials of paints and coatings are petroleum-based derivatives. As a result, any increase in crude oil prices would result in a change in the price of raw materials. The price of crude oil has risen dramatically in recent years, putting pressure on painting companies' profit margins. As a result of the recession and subsequent drop in demand, the pressure increased even further. Titanium dioxide, phthalic anhydride, and canarithrithol are the primary raw materials. They account for roughly half of the total expense. Titanium dioxide accounts for 30% of the total cost. The raw materials, such as linseed, castor, soya bean oils, etc., contribute up to 70% of the overall cost of the raw material. Thus, paint prices are very much dependent on raw materials, and any increases in the price of raw materials would eat up the company's profits.



Resins In Paints And Coatings Market Landscape



Technology launches, acquisitions, and R&D activities are key strategies adopted by players in the resins in paints and coatings market. Major players in the resins in paints and coatings market are Arkema, BASF, DSM, Allnex Netherlands B.V., Dow, The Sherwin-Williams Company, Evonik Industries AG, Polynt-Reichhold, and Covestro.



Acquisitions/Technology Launches



In November 2020, PRIMALTM RN 1000V is a Bio-based Acrylic Emulsion made with carbon from plants to partially replace petroleum-sourced material in Latin America, according to Dow and Tito Pabon.



In July 2020, PHENODUR PR 787/50MP, a new, environmentally friendly phenolic resin recommended for interior and exterior can coatings, was introduced by Allnex.



Key Takeaways



Asia-Pacific dominates the resins in paints and coatings market, owing to the increasing aerospace industry in the region. According to Boeing's Commercial Market Outlook 2018-2037, China would need 7,690 new aircraft worth US$1.2 trillion over the next 20 years.



Saturated polyester resins provide resistance to hydrolysis, good weather resistance, excellent gloss, and color retention, particularly for exterior applications. They also have other characteristics, such as clarity, UV resistance, and the high capacity of color for coating solutions. All of which is projected to increase the market growth.



Vinyl resins is a copolymer of vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate, and are economical products that find extensive usage in interior architectural paints and caulks, adhesives and sealants, paper and textile binders, engineered fabrics, and pigment dispersions. Its wide application is anticipated to boost the market growth.



Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, most of the countries have gone under lockdown, due to which the projects and operations of various industries such as construction and automotive are disruptively stopped, which is hampering the resins in paints and coatings market growth.



Related Reports:



A. Resins Market

https://www.industryarc.com/Report/18233/resins-market-research-report-analysis.html



B. Paints and Coatings Market

https://www.industryarc.com/Report/15244/paints-and-coating-market.html



For more Chemicals and Materials Market reports, please click here



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Scientists have described two new species of pit vipers in the genus Gloydius from Zayu in Tibet and Heishui in Sichuan, China.

Pit vipers of the genus Gloydius are venomous snakes distributed mainly in northern Asia, but extending into southern Europe in the case of a species called the Halys pit viper (Gloydius halys).

These small-bodied snakes are quite common and have radiated into various habitats.

At present, more than 20 Gloydius species mainly belonging to three groups  i.e., the Gloydius blomhoffii complex, Gloydius intermedius-halys complex, and Gloydius strauchi complex  are scientifically recognized.

The two new species, named the Nujiang pit viper (Gloydius lipipengi) and the Glacier pit viper (Gloydius swild), belong to the Gloydius strauchi complex.

The Nujiang pit viper has a grayish brown back with irregular black ring-shaped crossbands, wide, grayish-brown stripes behind the eyes, and relativity short fangs, said Dr. Jing-Song Shi from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Shenyang Normal University and colleagues.

The Glacier pit viper is blueish-gray, with zigzag stripes on its back, and has relatively narrow stripes behind its eyes.

The Nujiang pit viper is known only from one locality  Muza village, Zayu, Tibet.

The Glacier pit viper can be found in east part of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and Hengduanshan mountains, Heishui country, north Sichuan, about 15 km away from Dagu Holy-glacier National Geological Park.

The discovery of the latter species suggests that the glaciers might be considered as key factors to the isolation and speciation of the alpine pit vipers in the southwest China.

We were also astonished by the sceneries we encountered during the field work, the researchers said.

During the expeditions, we experienced striking views of sacred, crystal-like glacier lakes embraced by mountains, as well as colorful broadleaf-conifer forests and morning mists falling over the village.

During our expedition, we met a lot of hospitable Tibetan inhabitants and enjoyed their kindness and treats, which made the expedition more unforgettable.

The discovery is described in the journal ZooKeys.

_____

J.-S. Shi et al. 2021. Molecular phylogenetic analysis of the genus Gloydius (Squamata, Viperidae, Crotalinae), with description of two new alpine species from Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China. ZooKeys 1061: 87-108; doi: 10.3897/zookeys.1061.70420
Paleontologists have described a new genus and species of tardigrade found in a 16-million-year-old piece of amber from the Dominican Republic. Named Paradoryphoribius chronocaribbeus, it is the third fossil tardigrade from Miocene-period Dominican amber, the first tardigrade fossil described from the Cenozoic Era, and the first unambiguous fossil representative of the diverse tardigrade superfamily Isohypsibioidea.

Tardigrades are a diverse group of charismatic microscopic invertebrates that are best known for their ability to survive extreme conditions.

Despite their long evolutionary history and global distribution in both aquatic and terrestrial environments, the tardigrade fossil record is exceedingly sparse.

Due to their microscopic size and non-biomineralizing body, the chance of tardigrades to become fossilized is small.

Tardigrade fossils are rare. With our new study, the full tally includes only four specimens, from which only three are formally described and named, including Paradoryphoribius chronocaribbeus, said Professor Javier Ortega-Hernandez, a researcher in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University.

The discovery of a fossil tardigrade is truly a once-in-a-generation event, added Dr. Phil Barden, a researcher in the Department of Biological Sciences at New Jersey Institute of Technology and the Division of Invertebrate Zoology at the American Museum of Natural History.

What is so remarkable is that tardigrades are a ubiquitous ancient lineage that has seen it all on Earth, from the fall of the dinosaurs to the rise of terrestrial colonization of plants.

Yet, they are like a ghost lineage for paleontologists with almost no fossil record.

Finding any tardigrade fossil remains is an exciting moment where we can empirically see their progression through Earth history.

Paradoryphoribius chronocaribbeus is only the third tardigrade amber fossil to be fully described and formally named to date.

The other two fully described modern-looking tardigrade fossils are Milnesium swolenskyi and Beorn leggi, both known from Cretaceous-period amber in North America.

The new species is also the first fossil to be found embedded in Miocene Dominican amber and the first fossil representative of the tardigrade superfamily Isohypsibioidea.

Scientists know where tardigrades broadly fit in the tree of life, that they are related to arthropods, and that they have a deep origin during the Cambrian Explosion, Professor Ortega-Hernandez said.

The problem is that we have this extremely lonely phylum with only three named fossils.

Most of the fossils from this phylum are found in amber but, because theyre small, even if they are preserved it may be really difficult to see them.

Using confocal laser microscopy, Professor Ortega-Hernandez and colleagues were able to fully visualize two very important characters of Paradoryphoribius chronocaribbeus: the claws and the buccal apparatus, or the foregut of the animal.

Even though externally it looked like a modern tardigrade, with confocal laser microscopy we could see it had this unique foregut organization that warranted for us to erect a new genus within this extant group of tardigrade superfamilies, said Marc Mapalo, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University.

Paradoryphoribius chronocaribbeus is the only genus that has this specific unique character arrangement in the superfamily Isohypsibioidea.

The results were published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

_____

Marc A. Mapalo et al. 2021. A tardigrade in Dominican amber. Proc. R. Soc. B 288 (1960): 20211760; doi: 10.1098/rspb.2021.1760
Seeking answers to fundamental questions about the universe is what motivated Etienne Dreyer in his graduate research. This fascination, which he traces back to childhood, brought him to SFU in 2015 to start a masters program in the Department of Physics at the age of 20.

Although Dreyer had many options for graduate school, the warm reception he experienced at SFU is part of what helped him decide.

The people in the Physics Department were so helpful, and reached out to me on a personal level. I realized that this kind of relationship and support would be very valuable in my program of study, says Dreyer.

At the heart of Dreyers research was the search for an entirely new fundamental particle which is part of several new theories for how particles behave. If discovered, it would help make sense of current mysteries in theoretical physics.

For example, we know that particles such as electrons have mass, says Dreyer, However, we dont know why they have the different masses that they do. We also know that dark matter exists in outer space. But we dont know what particles are responsible for its make-up.
Its encouraging to see Wellington topping the first dose vaccination charts, says the Wellington Chamber of Commerce and Business Central.

"The projections show that Wellington is on track to hit our 90% vaccination target of the eligible, over 12 years old, population by November and reflect an excellent effort from Wellingtonians," says Chief Executive Simon Arcus.

"But we can do more - and we must. Todays announcement of a national day of vaccination on Saturday 16 October, or Super Saturday is one way to encourage our communities to get out and get the jab. Of our wider Central New Zealand membership region, Gisborne across to Taranaki and down to Nelson, we have a mixed set of results. We will be encouraging all our members and their employees to get out to get vaccinated.

"While we back the national day of vaccination, we also need Government to make it easier for business to get their workforces vaccinated. The feedback through our Covid Business helpline shows that vaccination status continues to be a minefield for employers, so were joining the calls from the EMA and BusinessNZ to make the carrying of digital vaccine passports to enter the workplace mandatory.

"Our members are doing all they can to keep their workforce and customers safe - we know of businesses like Premier Beehive that have offered all staff and contractors grocery vouchers, have not only given time off to get vaccinated but also organised appointments, and have arranged for an on-site vaccination clinic for staff and families just in the past week. Another member, Steel and Tube, have offered cash, KiwiSaver contributions or company shares if they get both doses of the vaccine by mid-November.

"Government needs to support businesses to keep our communities safe. Under health and safety legislation employers have to provide a safe and healthy workplace - carrying vaccine passports is another way, another tool, to support this. While the Government has made it very clear thats they wont mandate vaccinations, there is a policy gap between this decision and how it works in practice. We need clearer guidance and protection for businesses trying to manage and create vaccination policies in the workplace.

"This is especially needed to protect our vulnerable communities, those older, those who are immunocompromised, and for children who are not yet eligible and able to receive the vaccine."

For more information contact:

Holly Cotter | Corporate Affairs Manager | 021 242 7677

Source: Wellington Chamber of Commerce

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Mohibullahs mission was to protect the more than a million refugees living in squalid camps in the tip of southeast Bangladesh bordering Myanmar.

by Saleem Samad

The assassination of Rohingya refugee leader Mohammed Mohibullah in broad daylight on September 29 has shocked the world. The United Nations, the European Union, and leading human rights organizations including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have condemned the incident and demanded a judicious probe into the murder of the popular leader.

A prompt joint statement of 29 Rohingya organizations spread in Europe, North America, and Australasia, claiming that Mohibullah was shot dead by assassins belonging to the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (Arsa), an Islamic militant outfit.

They blamed the militant Rohingya outfit for creating a reign of terror in the Rohingya camps and engaging in extortion, looting, and pilferage of relief materials, abduction for ransom, and torture of helpless refugees.

Mohibullahs mission was to protect the more than a million refugees living in squalid camps in the tip of southeast Bangladesh bordering Myanmar. The refugees fled from Rakhine State after they were declared stateless and victims of textbook-style genocide by the Tatmadaw, the Myanmar armed forces.

The Rohingya militants have strong links with Jamaat-e-Islam (JeI) in Bangladesh and the militant leadership is headed by a 40-plus-year old Ataullahabu Ammar Junjuni, and has been aided and abetted by Jamaat-e-Islam. A top security agency official who is privy to the intel monitoring unit said that Bangladesh has been able to gather enough intelligence to engage in counter-terrorism operations and rout Arsa militancy.

Bangladeshi security forces intermittently raid hideouts and exchange firefights, which have significantly reduced the activities of Arsa. The military operation has forced Arsa to reduce militancy and instead mingle with the refugees.

Earlier, Bangladesh was utterly disappointed and aggrieved at Myanmar's allegation of the existence of Arakan Army and Arsa bases in Bangladesh. In a prompt media statement, the Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs protested such baseless and provocative accusations.

The spokesperson for the Myanmar President's Office on January 7, 2020, had alleged that there was an existence of two Arakan Army bases and three Arsa bases in Bangladesh.

The reality of the presence of Arsa is full of contradictions. When administering the camps, their presence is reportedly visible. There is a semblance of an authority structure, but publicly acknowledging Arsas presence and activities within the camps could jeopardize the confidence of international aid and praises of global leaders.

A communication officer of Unicef-Bangladesh, while sharing her experience after her visit to the Rohingya camps, said that the militant outfit often barges into Bracs community facilities, learning centres, and even child-friendly spaces and hands down fresh notes of Tk100 and Tk50 to each person in the centres, which causes chaos.

According to the law of the country, a refugee cannot be recruited for any paid job. Therefore, they are recruited as volunteers. Officials of the UN refugee agency UNHCR, the International Organization of Migrations (IOM), the Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), and international NGOs complain that the volunteers lives were threatened by Arsa.

The killing of Mohibullah will continue to haunt the camp dwellers and cause worries among international bodies and rights organizations who are watching Bangladeshs progress in the criminal investigation of the death of the Rohingya refugee leader.

Saleem Samad, is an independent journalist, media rights defender, recipient of Ashoka Fellowship and Hellman-Hammett Award. He could be reached at saleemsamad@hotmail.com and Twitter @saleemsamad
Our contemporary acclaimed political morality if there is any to a critical perceptive eye leans toward degeneration of humanity and leadership claims and counterclaims sound irrational and deceptive in pursuit of unbridled egoism and political power to deny reason and logic for transformation of much-needed change and a peaceful future.

by Mahboob A. Khawaja, PhD.

And if we do act, in however small a way, we dont have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory. ~ (Howard Zinn, late American historian and distinguished scholar of peace, justice and humanity).

Leaders Speak Words Written by Specialists But See No Irony in their own Actions

The UNO was evolved to act as a tangible force for change and future-making to ensure the systematic safeguard of humanity from the scourge of wars, global peace, human security and a sustainable future for all on this planet. Not so, you watched the leaders speaking from the UN General Assembly podium uttering third-party written words of wisdom and forbearance with overweening pride and prejudice in their own agenda. More often when they claim honor and achievements, they dip into crass materialism, ignorance, violations of basic human rights, disregard of peace and security of mankind, inherent economic greed and perpetuated violence against the vulnerable and innocent habitants of this earth.

Our contemporary acclaimed political morality if there is any to a critical perceptive eye leans toward degeneration of the humanity and leadership claims and counter claims sound irrational and deceptive in pursuit of unbridled egoism and political power to deny reason and logic for transformation of much needed change and a peaceful future. We, the People of the globe must realize the truth and urgency at a time of challenging transformation and our sensual abilities for survival under circumstances of extreme geo-political problems  continuous wars, COVID -19 Pandemic, climate change and violations of human rights and dangers of insane cruelty in policies and practices to endanger our own future on this planet. The global institutions do not operate on human morality and intellect. The disclosure of Pandora Papers reflect that reality.

The current global systems of political governance and leadership are overwhelmingly elite-class oriented and all global institutions are operated by pre-screened elite leaders who are disconnected to any relationship to the people, by the people and for the people norm. In a rational sense, We, the People of the Planet have become lifeless digits, numbers and seamless legal entities to be used when needed at the ballot box and nothing else. What has changed from the authoritarianism of Hitler, Mussolini and the European engineered Two WW killing millions and millions for their own ideas and ideas of political governance? One wonders, if the advanced and secretive space weapons will be the Weapons of Mass Destruction in a next overdue war or would it be the much possessed nuclear arsenals to extinguish life from this Plant? It appears contentious to predict scientifically and technologically based criterion to illustrate a logical definition of the end game between the conventional age of life and the beginning of an unknown new age of something beyond human imagination and history.

Contemporary Global Affairs under Rational Lens and Beyond

Looking at the contemporary world of acclaimed democracies, peace and national security of the states, almost everywhere frustration, cynicism and political endemic persists across the board. Political reasoning enforced by unilateral elite judgments view humanity just in a passing phrase for noble ideals of democracy and systems of governance devoid of legitimacy and public interest. Global leaders speak loud as actors at the UNO General Assembly but lack knowledge and wisdom to understand the pains and anguish of the victimized humanity. George Floyd continues to echo his voice across the US mainstream political activism: I cannot breathe I cannot breathe. George Floyd is not dead; he is living in the living conscience and soul of the masses all over the world. You know that Black Life Matters is not a poltical slogan but a reality and demand of human conscience all over the planet. Imagine, how 10 million people of Kashmir must be breathing under locked up forcible occupation by Indian occupying force. You wont hear their desperate voices because of continuous lockdowns under the guise of democracy, security and bogus terrorism. Pakistanis watch them as spectators without any moral leadership. Syria, Yemen and Iraq are bombed and masses are crushed every day  what happened to the UNO Peace and Conflict Management responsibility? The new Arab Pharaohs kept in bondage by the American-European alliances offer no hope of freedom and peace to the masses. Palestinians are flogged mentally and physically by Israeli security strategies to disrupt their freedom and national identity. They are without any proactive or intelligent leadership to escape out of the box of inhumanity. Almost one million Rohinga refugees ask patiently why they were evicted forcibly from their homes in Myanmar. Do the world leaders care about the real human sufferings?

It is awful and a tragedy of conscience to be speaking of politics when mankind urgently needs an effective cure for the Covid-19 pandemic. We are One Humanity - natural disasters and fatalities know not any borders, flags and nationalities but surge like wildfire as being witnessed in the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide. Not so, American and the EU still buried in the past would not consider Russian Covid-19 vaccine already prepared and administered or Chinese vaccine because they are manufactured by the politically opposing sides. Again political absolutism heightens animosity and hatred rather than human understanding and cooperation for a precious cause of saving the lives on Earth. To save life of one human being is to safeguard the whole of humanity. We are all born equal One Humanity:- the Divine Message of Al-Quran clarifies the truth:

Proclaim in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created, Created man (human being) out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood, Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful, He Who taught (the use of) the Pen, Taught man (human being) that which he knew not.

Leaders at the annual UN Assembly compete for fame and honor but share no creative or practical ideas and workable ideals to protect the rights of humanity. Are we living and witnessing another world of global redundancy and foolishness where survival of the fittest is granted but masses are denied the reasoned and legitimate proposition of a sustainable future? Were these not the historic factors leading to the Two World Wars?

Are We Witnessing a Decadent Culture of Human Morality and Intelligence?

We, the People, must be conscientious and attentive to a moral and intellectual compass of global political governance. We are moral human beings- a Creation of God created for a purpose in human life, enriched with intellect and wisdom much different than other animals moving on this earth. Our life, our rights, our dignity, our peace and security, our planet and our future cannot be traded-in at the UNO Forum. It is obvious that facts and truths vary in time and space, human destiny and casualty but human consciousness is waking up to the challenges of the 21st century defining the world of destiny and pulsation and the world of global conflicts and tensions- the world as we see it history linking us all into the nature of things of which we are an essential part; We, the People at the Heart of the God-given Universe, must seek our unity in changing fortunes of time and space or we could be destroyed by our obsessed ignorance and arrogance governing the global politics and human affairs. Leaders failed to lead us to any viable destiny for future-making. We must use an inward moral, intellectual and spiritual eye as being the Chief Creation of God to articulate an new culture of human communication to resolve problems across all the people and lands and to accord equal rights, peace and security to all, not the few arbitrarily conducting the UNO speaking forums.

Recall during the Two World Wars across Europe, millions and millions innocent civilians had perished in aerial bombings, political tyranny and forcible displacements. History is living not dead. We the 21st century conscientious and informed citizens must realize to eliminate insanity, tyranny of destruction, violations of human rights, ethnic conflicts and religious bigotry. Moses, Jesus and Mohammad preached the unity of mankind, respect and tolerance in adversity. None of the Messengers of God taught evil, intolerance and disrespect against the people. If we are witnessing it in the 21st century liberal democracies and immature leadership, it cannot flattened the moral, intellectual and political landscape as No Mans land of any super powers or elsewhere. Violence, killings and maltreatment of the citizens cannot be transformed into virtue of democracy or clash of fanaticism disguised in any political ideals of the individuals, political agendas or so called leaders.

Late Professor Howard Zinn envisaged the future of mankind in the following words of wisdom:

To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and placesand there are so manywhere people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction."

Dr. Mahboob A. Khawaja specializes in international affairs-global security, peace and conflict resolution with keen interests in Islamic-Western comparative cultures and civilizations, and author of several publications including the latest: One Humanity and the Remaking of Global Peace, Security and Conflict Resolution. Lambert Academic Publications, Germany
Official Youtube Channel of Lanka Courier, a monthly printed magazine published in Colombo has premiered the official anthem of State Intelligence Service, the prime intelligence arm in Sri Lanka. The newly composed official anthem of the State Intelligence Service ( SIS) was launched during its Oak Anniversary celebrations held recently. SIS celebrated its 80th Anniversary in a simple ceremony on Oct 01, 2021.

The SIS traces its roots to the early 1940s when on October 01, 1941, it was formed as a special branch of the Criminal Investigations Department. After going through many nominal and structural changes over the years, it finally came to be known in its present name in 2006 and continues its pivotal service in ensuring national security.

In keeping with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's vision and evolving times along with requirements of the country, the SIS has entered on a new journey harnessing the inherent professionalism and skill of its men, adopting innovation, enhancing the welfare of its men and in a conducive working environment.

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context: ... 21: </%method> 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: </%perl> 28: <table width="90%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> 29: <tr> ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25

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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(0x7f3fdd590a20)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fdd450770)', '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(0x7f3fdd590a20)') 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(0x7f3fdd450770)') 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(0x7f3fdd5a4310)') 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(0x7f3fdd450770)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fdd450770)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fdcc76e88)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fdd5481c0)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fdd5481c0)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0
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context: ... 21: </%method> 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: </%perl> 28: <table width="90%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> 29: <tr> ... 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

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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(0x7f3fddc2e1d8)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fdd11d4d0)', '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(0x7f3fddc2e1d8)') 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(0x7f3fdd11d4d0)') 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(0x7f3fddc456e8)') 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(0x7f3fdd11d4d0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fdd11d4d0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fdcc78068)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fddbecd08)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fddbecd08)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0
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context: ... 21: </%method> 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: </%perl> 28: <table width="90%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> 29: <tr> ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25

/usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:951

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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(0x7f3fddb8c1f8)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fdd9737a8)', '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(0x7f3fddb8c1f8)') 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(0x7f3fdd9737a8)') 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(0x7f3fddc585a0)') 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(0x7f3fdd9737a8)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fdd9737a8)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fdcc78098)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fdd5bd0f0)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fdd5bd0f0)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0
The parade at Happy Valley was strictly apolitical and secular. In contrast, the event at the Artillery Centre, Deolali, celebrated a single religion

by Ashok K Mehta

In the salubrious climes of Shillong, I am attending the attestation and passing out parade of the 192nd batch of recruits and veterans reunion in Happy Valley where 58 Gorkha Training Centre is nestled among pine conifers and gentle slopes luxuriating in grass. Rain can be a spoilsport as Cherrapunji, the worlds biggest recipient of rain, is just around the corner. Luckily, the parade was blessed with sunshine as 256 recruits passed through an archway of khukris to turn into Riflemen, who will join their battalions in East Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh and Tangdhar to Thiruvananthapuram. Young Gorkhas performed drill with Omega precision, pride and pageantry, watched over by Colonels of the two Regiments  5 GR and 8 GR and veterans from India and Nepal. Swearing on the Gita, recruits from Nepal and India took the oath pledging allegiance to security and integrity of India by obeying orders from their officers and commanders as authorised by the President of India even if it involved sacrificing their lives. The foundational structure of the oath is the Constitution of India although the word Constitution does not figure. What appears in the oath is vidhan (legislation), not samvidhan. Wonder why?

On commissioning, officers take the same oath at military academies. Army chief MM Naravane, on taking over, said the Army will be guided by the Constitution, implying its insulation from ideas and vision of political parties, especially the ruling establishment. Pointed deviations from the militarys ethics and ethos have occurred through directions of political leadership. This infringement of military values is markedly visible since the BJP came to power with its vision of turning India into a Hindu Rashtra with a military that follows its tenets. The BJP has won over the majority of the military which acknowledges the impressive emphasis by the BJP on defence and national security even if the Government will not walk the talk on funding for modernisation. The Congress by contrast was a laggard on defence reforms and transforming the archaic military structures.

In Shillong, the flavour at the attestation parade and associated ceremonies was strictly apolitical and secular. In the commentary accompanying the parade during the carriage of the Gita through the rank and file of recruits was this memorable passage: We respect equally the temple, mosque and Church. In one hand is the Gita and in the other, the Quran. These words and deeds were quite the opposite of the attestation parade of recruits at the Artillery Centre, Deolali, recently. Artillery is a mixed-class all-India regiment where soldiers are drawn from all faiths.

At this parade, surprisingly, aarti was recited on the parade, with recruits and soldiers clapping in unison. On a prominent boulder on the parade ground was enshrined the symbol Om. Together, aarti and Om celebrate a single religion, smacking of majoritarianism. This was the first time ever that aarti was sung on an official parade, attracting adverse comments on social media.

In Shillong, too, the aarti was sung but in its proper place, the temple, representing the faith of the single class regiment of Gorkhas from India and Nepal. Owing to the shortage of Indian-domiciled Gorkhas, some regiments are now recruiting Kumaonis and Garhwalis till the Indian-domiciled Gorkhas can fill up their quota of vacancies. The only deviation in Shillong from regimental traditions was the introduction of Bharat Mata ki jai as the decisive chant ending all formal functions even after the national anthem.

The BJP has managed to infiltrate majoritarianism and Hindutva into the military. The Hindu-ised version of the procedure followed at the Artillery attestation parade could be a trial balloon to codify aarti in other mixed-class regiments of the Army. This must have had the backing of the military establishment. So far, neither the MoD nor Army Headquarters has commented on this serious breach of Army rules and procedures for attestation parades. It is a crafty method to influence faith and religion at the very inception of a soldiers military career and is bound to disturb the secular traditions of the Army.

The Gorkha attestation parade combines every four years the reunion of veterans and their families from India and Nepal. Reunions are a perfect stimulus for bonding between the old and new. Regimental traditions, ethics and habits are therefore preserved. Regimental spirit is the strongest elixir. While Gorkhas are relaxed about religion and many are janjatis, they practise their religion and faith in the battalion mandir. Their officers are from across India: Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims, Parsis and Gorkhas. A Sikh or Parsi Commanding Officer will lead the mandir parade every Sunday. The mandir along with the religious teacher will accompany the unit into battle.

The Artillerys attestation parade focused on Hindu religious rites in a mixed-faith unit on parade, setting a bad precedent for all-India mixed-class regiments.

While the military is on the threshold of path-breaking defence reforms, its leadership must not permit the creep of practices and procedures that will undermine its professional, secular and apolitical virtues. Politicisation will weaken the operational capacity and jointness of the Army, which is the sword arm of the nation. Discard the Deolali model; take the Shillong way.

(The writer, a retired Major General, was Commander, IPKF South, Sri Lanka, and founder member of the Defence Planning Staff, currently the Integrated Defence Staff. The views expressed are personal.)
Ask not what you can do for the country, but what the country can do for you Pandora revelations

by Raj Gonsalkorale

The Pandora revelations have shown how much some political leaders have loved themselves and the extent of their greed. Perhaps they have found a way to take this wealth to their next life as well. In the context of the revelations, John Kennedy has probably turned in his grave with the Pandora revelations paraphrasing of his famous quote Ask not what the country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.

From Royalty to Prime Ministers and ministers and businessmen & women, it appears that a few have robbed the wealth of many to fatten individual coffers. A program on ABC TV in Australia stated that the Pandora revelations showed that this shadowy off shore economy accounted for 10% of the worlds GDP and deprived countries across the world billions of dollars in tax income, and money that could have helped to reduce the gap between the haves and have nots and improve basic services to millions of people at the lower end of the scale in societies throughout the world.

Sri Lanka too is in the headlines but for the wrong reasons. Nirupama Rajapaksa, a close relative of the ruling Rajapaksa family, and her husband, Thiru Nadesan, have been named as being amongst the people found in the Pandora box. This is unfortunate for Sri Lanka and it is a serious hit on its credibility when it is trying hard to attract much needed foreign investments.

Unless there is a full, independent investigation and any wrong doings exposed and wrong doers taken to task, Sri Lanka will suffer the ignominy that this revelation is only the tip and not the berg of potentially a huge iceberg.

This revelation could not have come at a worse time for Sri Lanka which appears to be in a situation that may be described as one of being up the river, without a paddle, meaning, the country is in an unfortunate economic situation, lost in mid-stream, unprepared and without much resources to remedy the matter.

The COVID pandemic has without doubt exacerbated the situation, with two major sources of foreign currency revenue, tourism and remittances gravely affected as a result.

Short of a major long term infusion of funds via the IMF, the country looks set to enter into numerous short term credit agreements with several countries to secure supplies of food, medicines, petroleum and other essentials. Whatever way one looks at it, belt tightening may have to exceed the levels advocated by Dr N M Perera in the early seventies when the country experienced a serious financial situation on account of what was then referred to as the oil shock when OPEC countries decided to raise the price of oil.

The prospect of an avalanche of tourists and tourist dollars, and a mighty rush to resume activity in the Middle East that employed so many Sri Lankans, is very unlikely. This will leave a yawning gap in foreign exchange earnings for a considerable period of time. With agriculture product exports of tea, rubber, coconut, spices etc, IT related service exports, garment exports being the main stay for foreign income, the country will have to seek borrowings, to fund its imports and to pay existing loans and interest on such loans. The governments ambitious Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) targets are yet to come to fruition. The Pandora revelations has made it much worse. The pandemic itself shows signs of abatement with vaccination rates progressing at a fast pace.

However, the attendant toll, in income disruptions for a vast number of persons dependent on a daily wage, or those in the tourist industry, has been severe and still is. Besides this, basic food shortages, steep prices of some essentials have hit the lower, lower middle and middle income households very badly and their struggles with the pandemic have been compounded.

In this tumultuous and unstable situation, many are concerned, very concerned, about what appears to be a government that is showing signs of being rudderless and leaderless, and signs of internal dissention.

Differences of opinion within is obviously different to dissention from within, and it is a healthy sign of democracy. The LNG deal, supposedly approved by the Cabinet, but the subject minister seeming to take a different view outside the cabinet points to dissention rather than a difference of opinion. The minister concerned is spearheading an effort to explore gas and petroleum reserves in the Mannar basin and one cannot but wonder whether this is not in the interest of some who hold a different view about how the petroleum and gas needs of the country should be met and the potential that exists for a vast infusion of foreign direct investments to exploit possible under sea wealth.

It is not long ago that the major constituent of the government itself called for the resignation of this particular minister thus helping to define what it is to be rudderless.

In a well-researched article titled The LNG Saga  Some unanswered questions! Urgent responses needed by Eng. Parakrama Jayasinghe published in the Island newspaper (https://island.lk/the-lng-saga-some-unanswered-questions-urgent-responses-needed/), the benefits and pit falls of the agreement has been well articulated. The LNG Saga as Eng Jayasinghe has called it is not good news to potential investors and FDIs. This saga appears to portend dangers that arise from being clueless deliberately or otherwise on matters of such importance.

What is confusing is the subject minister voicing an opinion contrary to what is understood as a cabinet decision of which the minister concerned is a member. This leaves onlookers with an impression that there are two cabinets in the country. A cabinet and an inner cabinet and that transparency is selective depending on which cabinet makes critical economic decisions. In the context of the Pandora revelations, the concerns that the general public will have on the process of governance, decision making on projects involving huge amounts of money, will increase and provide fodder to social media usurpers to misinform the public on matters of strategic importance to the country.

In this somewhat seemingly disjointed governance climate, the statement made by the Foreign Minister in Parliament, which could be interpreted to be a re set of foreign policy of the country, should be welcomed. One hopes that the minister has articulated the view of the entire government and not sections of it. It is also hoped that the Opposition political parties too are in agreement with the views expressed as bi partisanship of foreign policy is an important element of governance.

This statement appears more than a foreign policy re set and more like an economic policy re set revolving around internationalisation of the countrys economic policy. It recognises the importance of global economic alignment and the superfluous nature of modern political non alignment. Virtually every country is economically aligned to other countries, friend or foe, although political and security alignment via numerous kinds of groupings, separates them. This dichotomy appears absurd and it does give rise to the scepticism that security concerns are creations of the worlds biggest industry, the so called defence industry. Where diplomacy is practiced on the one hand for economic alignments, sabre rattling is used on the other hand for security threats with the very same countries. Sri Lanka of course cannot do any sabre rattling even if it wanted to, and the Minister has rightly stated that diplomacy will be sharpened and fine-tuned to serve the countrys interests.

In this context, the ministers statement on the need for a multinational, multi-lateral investment climate is implicit although not explicit. He has rightly implied that the age of Parakramabahu was a golden era while the world is a different one today.

Inter connectivity via technology and technology in general has transformed vistas of prosperity and it is making existing and past notions of nationhood with physical borders and conventional security means increasingly obsolete. In the context of internationalisation, opportunities that arise to meet the needs and challenges associated with it can be grasped only if countries look outside the wells they are in. The need to address human rights issues, avenues for peacebuilding amongst communities, reaching out to Tamil Diaspora organisations and the need to engage them in economic and social development activity in the country, not just in the North and East, is very explicit. What is needed now is specific action to address these issues from all sides.
I like to think more light would be shed by people who may know some almost forgotten facts connected to these aeroplanes.

by Capt Elmo Jayawardena

Some years ago, I was writing a book for the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka. They were commemorating 100 years of aviation in our skies. I was collecting information from every possible source, from people who remembered and from people who had heard aviation stories of yester-year that had connections to Ceylon. Thats when I came to know of The Jaffna, which sure has its own fascinating story.

The Aeroplane Called Jaffna

The year was 1915. A group of Jaffna Tamil people who had migrated to Malaya, takes the lead role to relate an unusual tale about a British Royal Flying Corps (R.F.C.) fighter plane that carried a Sri Lankan name.

Native people of countries conquered by the British Empire were called to serve the war effort against Germany. Many joined and saw action both on land and sea. Efforts were also made to collect funds for the military treasury. Special requests were sent out to colonial communities to sponsor the cost of aeroplanes. Approximately 10,000 aircraft were made for the war effort. A lot of them were paid for by private donors and a fair number of them came from the British colonies.

The Jaffna Tamil community of Malaya extended its generosity to the British Government by collecting money to pay for a fighter aeroplane. The cost was a tidy sum of 2,250 Sterling Pounds (see Letter). They formed a team led by Dr E.T. Macintyre (forefather of renowned playwright Ernest Macintyre)

Having the choice to name the plane they gifted to the war effort, the Tamil community in Malaya elected to call it 'The Jaffna.' It was in remembrance of a birthplace in a far-away land, of which their heartstrings may have often resonated nostalgic bells.

The gift was made on the 22nd of December 1915.

The aeroplane so paid for, was a F.E. 2b (original design by the great aeronautical Grandmaster Geoffrey de Havilland) which was fitted with a 120 HP Beardmore engine. The Jaffna was a two-seater, for the pilot and a gunner, and was known as a pusher with the prop being fixed behind the occupants. This arrangement made the front vision great and gave the machinegun mounted in the fore nacelle wide angles of maneuverability. In this era, only the German Luftstreitkrafte operated Anthony Fokker's invention of firing through a rotating propeller. The two-seater biplane called The Jaffna was used as a fighter and a bomber where the gunner threw bombs aimed at targets below.

These aeroplanes flew against the famed squadron of German ace Max Immelmann. The Jaffna too was in that same sky.





During this era (1915) the Times of Ceylon in Colombo published an appeal to raise money to buy planes for the British war effort. They collected adequate funds to buy three fighter planes and one observer plane.

The Fighters were Vickers FB.5 costing 2250 sterling pounds each and the reconnaisance plane was a BE2 C type costing 1500 pounds. There was an individual contribution too for an observer plane from a well-known lawyer called F J de Saram.

The Ceylonese four planes were called The Paddy Bird -  , The Devil Bird- , The Nightjar-  and The Flying Fox- . Unfortunately, with all possible efforts I just could not find the name of the De Saram plane.

What is available on the scattered remnants of the war records is that five aeroplanes, three fighters and two observer planes were paid for by the people of Ceylon.

As the world got older and aviation flourished in Sri Lanka, the locally registered aeroplanes in commercial service were named after prominent royalty and renowned cities, King Vijaya, Viharamaha Devi, City of Anuradhapura, City of Colombo, etc. All of these, plus a host of others, flew the skies, brandishing their Sri Lankan heritage with boldly-painted names. But the first Ceylonese name that got gifted to the sky was the little fighter plane 'The Jaffna,' certainly less known, but very much in the annals of aviation. Then there were the four with bird names and the de Saram plane.

Various civilian groups collected money in the British Empire to fund aeroplanes to support the war effort. Australia gave 41, Malaya paid for 53 fighter planes and five were from Ceylon. The era was the infancy of aerial warfare and the flying machines at best were flimsy, made of wood and fabric and a good number of the pilots were fledglings learning the art of flying. The crash rates were very high; more fatalities were recorded whilst in training pilots than in combat.

Any gift aeroplane like The Jaffna or the Ceylonese planes, if they crashed or was shot down the British Air Corps gave the same name to a new aeroplane. That way there was always a fighter plane called The Jaffna and the Paddy Bird, the Devil Bird, the Nightjar and the Flying Fox along with the de Saram plane in the sky till the guns went silent and the war came to an end.

There has to be records of where these memorable machines were laid to rest, the original or the replacement. Could be in a soft meadow in a green valley, broken and forgotten or maybe mothballed in some unknown wooden shed till it rotted and died.

Letter from the British Authorities

They sure did fly in some war-torn sky, in formation or in dog-fight, maybe in reconnaissance. Then they would have gone into oblivion leaving me to do a poor imitation of a reminiscence.

What I wrote is the truth as I came to know it. In Melbourne, in the Point Cook Air Force Museum, I saw a replica of these fighter planes. I dont think the Point Cook people know about The Jaffna and the three fighter planes and the two observer planes gifted by Ceylon.

I like to think more light would be shed by people who may know some almost forgotten facts connected to these aeroplanes. I am sure it is even possible to trace which squadrons were home to these almost forgotten magnificent flying machines.

Epilogue

The person who gave me the details of this story lives in Sydney. My heartfelt gratitude goes to Mr Thiru Arumugam for all the information he provided. He, like I am, is a pastured aviator having flown with a Private Pilots License in Nigeria.

Sitiyawan Gnanapathypillai is from Sangarathai near Vaddukoddai in Jaffna. He is the maternal grandfather of Thiru Arumugam. In the 1890s Sitiyawan as a teenager ran away from home and got on a sailing ship and went to Malaya. Perhaps he paid something like a dollar as travel fare.

He probably would have worked very hard and at the time he comes to this story he was living in Taipin Malaya and was the proud owner of a rubber plantation and a stone quarry. Sithiyawan Gnanapathipillai certainly was a rich businessman. He was Dr. Macintyres representative in Taipin area and collected money from the Jaffna Tamils settled in that part of Malaya. Mr Gnanapathypillai returned to Jaffa and spent his twilight years among his people living in the place where he belonged.

He passed away in the late 1930s.
MBABANE - Lurco Coal Eswatini has been granted a prospecting licence for coal resources at Mpaka Coal Mine in the Lubombo Region.

Lurco Eswatini is a subsidiary of Magni Investment Holdings (MiH). Ellington Nxumalo, co-founder of MiH, met with Eswatini Mining Commissioner, Robert Biyela on Monday to ink the agreement. Also witnessing the signing of the agreement were Eswatini Mining board members including its Chairperson Prince Guduza and other members in Sam Ntshalintshali, Gideon Gumede and Princess Lomajuba.

Others who were also present were MiH co-founder Aubrey Chauke, Commisioner of Mines Robert Biyela, and Lurco Eswatini Director Mlungisi Dlamini.

Accordings to Nkululeko Dhlamini, MiHs Accounts Manager, MiH will commence feasibility and exploration over the next few weeks and expects the timeline from this phase through construction to implementation to take between 24 to 36 months. Mpaka Coal Mine was last operated in 1992, having been mothballed after the previous owner exiting the Eswatini market.

Dhlamini said the nature of the coal is suitable for smelters, steel and cement industries and will bolster the countrys participation in the export market and create employment opportunities particularly for the youth.

Minister

Minister of Natural Resources and Energy Peter Bhembe said as custodians of the mineral resources of the Kingdom of Eswatini, his ministry worked to facilitate the creation of prosperity for all stakeholders through the promotion of the sustainable development and responsible exploitation of the countrys mineral wealth.

Eswatinis National Development Strategy sets out the long-term development programmes that will move the country towards the improvement in livelihood standards of the people by 2022.

It was further noted that while much has been achieved, the African Development Bank (AfDB) reports that a large proportion of the Eswatini population was not participating in the mainstream economy as the current economic growth was not pro-poor and unemployment remains high. Dhlamini said MiH believed that the Mpaka Coal Mine, once it was up and running efficiently, could be an important single point contributor to addressing this issue in Eswatini.

Inclusive

He said MiH was committed to delivering stakeholder value by creating inclusive economies through the responsible beneficiation of mineral resources. He said the company strives to add value locally, prioritising positive social impact and the inclusion of local people and communities in its operations. He said this would be achieved primarily via job creation, skills transfer, enterprise development, preferential procurement and share allocations to local communities and employees.

Consequently, MiH plans to meet with the Mpaka community to outline plans and timelines, undertake a needs assessment, answer questions, and agree on the way forward, he added. Ellington Nxumalo, co-founder of MiH said, Once up and running, we intend for Mpaka Coal Mine to contribute significantly to the local economy through employment, skills development and the creation of sustainable local value chains. We are currently in the exploration and feasibility stage, which is critical to scoping the scale of the operation. He (Nxumalo) said once all stages were completed they would be in a better position to quantify our local impact commitments.

He said, however, as MiH, they anticipated that most roles would be sourced from local hires, and wherever possible, this would include those requiring special skills. He said over time, they also planned for a community bursary scheme to ensure that local community members interested in mine-specific training and development could have the opportunity to follow their dreams.
MBABANE  Issues of national security are handled accordingly.

This was said by Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati when reached for comment concerning notices that are being found in some parts of the country claiming an army had been formed, which goes by the name Shield of The Nation. This comes after some members of the public claimed they had found notices or forms from various locations around the country which highlighted what the army was about, what its objectives were and how one could join.

According to the pamphlet, Shield of The Nation, which was also written in siSwati as Lihawu LemaSwati, is allegedly an army of the people of Eswatini and not a political party. The objectives of this supposed army include defending the people of the country from allegedly unjust wars, freeing all political prisoners, defending political groups and activists from security forces, punishing all corrupt officials and all those who allegedly stole from the nation, promote economic freedom for all emaSwati, bring together all freedom fighters from all political parties to fight the Tinkhundla system, to replace the Tinkhundla system with democracy and repatriate land taken without compensation and hand it back to rightful owners.

The sources of the pamphlets being distributed around the country are unknown and do not state their origin in the notice. What is also included in the notice is a list of things required in order for one to be eligible to join and also those who are forbidden from joining, which include children. The details of how to join this army and the contact details, which include a South African phone number +27766008906, are stated in the notice. Worth noting is that those who want to be recruited are urged not to call the number but only send an SMS.

The police mouthpiece further stated that such a notice was handled according to statutes of the police force and touched on national security, which they did not discuss with the public. We do not discuss such matters; we consider them and action accordingly, said Vilakati.

Plot

Meanwhile, Ngwane National Liberatory Congress President Sibongile Mazibuko was contacted for comment and she stated that this supposed army was most likely non-existent and was allegedly just a plot by people in favour of the Tinkhundla system to divert attention. As far as I know, this is a bogus recruitment developed by people who are trying to taint the pro-change movements image. Why would anyone against Tinkhundla want to recruit an army when the only army is the one we all know of, alleged Mazibuko.

Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force Public Relations Officer (PRO) Tengetile Khumalo was reached for comment on whether the army was aware of this notice, however, she did not respond to an SMS sent to her and her phone rang unanswered. To ascertain just how legitimated this army was, this reporter sent an SMS with the required details for recruitment at 9:30am, however, by 5:46pm no response had been received.
EZULWINI  The King is a symbol of unity.

This is according to Dr Roger Koranteng from the Commonwealth Secretariat (UK). He said this during a retreat for Members of Parliament (MPs) held at the Eswatini Revenue Service (ERS) Auditorium. Dr Koranteng was making emphasis that Eswatini had a unique system of government and it should not be done away with. The issue first started after Lomahasha MP Ndumiso Masimula asked, Is it okay for us to only pledge allegiance to the King, his heirs and successors? This was when the facilitator, Dr Koranteng, was educating the MPs on the importance of having a Leadership Code of Conduct law.

It should be noted that for over 10 years, Parliament has failed to compile its Leadership Code of Conduct and, therefore, does not have one. In making his presentation, Dr Koranteng from the Commonwealth Secretariat (UK), said one of the main provisions for a Code of Conduct and duties of the MPs was to ensure that one of them was to be faithful and pay true allegiance to their country. This was the statement which prompted MP Masimulas question. In our country, we pay allegiance to the King, heirs and successors instead of the country, what should we do? he asked.

Difference

In response, the Commonwealth expert asked if there was a difference in paying allegiance to the King or the monarch. He said this was the obtaining scenario in the United Kingdom, for example where the National Anthem even went as far as stating God save the Queen. He said this did not mean that the country was left out as the King and Queen were heads of the country. That is the symbol of the country as it is the King and that is why it is even called the Kingdom of Swaziland (Eswatini), he said.

The facilitator said in the past, if countries went to war and the King was killed, then that country was no longer considered a kingdom. He asked if the countrys National Anthem also did not include the King. He said the King was a symbol of unity. Dr Koranteng said countries like France still wished their palaces had people living in them as kings, stating that no system was perfect. You need to refine the system of Tinkhundla, but do not throw it away, he said. He likened such an act as throwing away the baby with the dirty water.

Dr Koranteng said Eswatinis system was unique and not one to be gotten rid off. He said most countries still wished they had monarchs, especially those in the 59 member Commonwealth. Meanwhile, Ndzingeni MP Lutfo Dlamini wondered why it had taken so long for Parliament not to have a Leadership Code of Conduct.

Conduct

Who does not want with this Code of Conduct because when we got to Parliament, we were told that there was one, asked Dlamini. He further asked why declarations made before the Integrity Commission by the parliamentarians were not made public knowledge. In response, Dr Koranteng said the code had to go through some parliamentary processes and he was not aware what was delaying it as it had not seen the light of day. Its not part of my job description, but once you accept it, it will guide you, he said.

He said the MPs, once it was passed, should ensure that they had a gift register process because they could not be declaring things like goats being given to them at community events as it was a cultural thing. Dr Koranteng said the House leaders should speed up the process.

Delay

Deputy Speaker MP Madala Mhlanga at this point invited the Parliamentary Counsel Lunga Dlamini to explain what was causing the delay in the tabling of the code. Dlamini said initially the project had been piloted by the Prime Ministers Office, but was now under the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs.

He said the ministry had a pile of Bills which they wanted to present to the House soon. MP Lutfo said he was not happy with the response as he had spoken like a lawyer and knew that nothing would be delivered anytime soon. Dr Koranteng said Eswatini had a brilliant system as did the Commonwealth. He said elected MPs were monitored by the people while the appointed one should be monitored by the appointing authority and not be returned to office if they did not deliver during the next cycle.
MANZINI  Four schools in the Manzini Region have been closed indefinitely.

These schools have been closed following that learners had in recent weeks, petitioned their administration with a variety of demands. They are Phumtile and Ngcoseni Central high schools in Mankayane, Moyeni High School at Mafutseni and Mvimbeko High School at Ntondozi. Phumtile High School was closed yesterday after pupils submitted a petition demanding, among other things, the release of the two incarcerated legislators  Hosea Constituency Member of Parliament (MP) Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza and Ngwempisi Constituency MP Mthandeni Dube. The pupils were also said to have demanded, among other things, a better menu for the food provided by the school.

Learners

Meanwhile, Ngcoseni Central High School was closed after the pupils demanded responses to the petition they delivered last week Tuesday. In their petition, the learners had raised the issue of the shortage of teachers, especially in external classes and having cabbage in the menu. The pupils were said to have pelted stones and sticks, breaking some windows. It was said police officers were called and dispersed the pupils.

On the other hand, at Moyeni High School, the school was closed after the pupils continued with their class boycott, which they had started on Monday. Their grievances, among other things, were that the school was supposedly not availing adequate textbooks to the pupils despite that they paid a book fee of E800 for Form V pupils while Form I-III paid E1 200. The learners also registered a concern that the food provided in the school was not good for them.

On the other hand, Mvimbeko High School was closed a fortnight ago after pupils forced a meeting between parents and the Manzini Regional Education Officer (REO) Sizwe Kunene, to end abruptly as they attacked them. The school was closed after pupils boycotted classes and petitioned the administration, demanding that there should be a reduction in the number of strokes administered as corporal punishment. They claimed that they received over 20 strokes, which was too much for them as this thereafter required medical attention.

The REO confirmed that the four schools were closed indefinitely. He said they were still organising meetings with their guardians. Kunene said a meeting with the parents of pupils at Phumtile High School would be held today. At Moyeni High School, he said they had hoped that the pupils would resume classes yesterday; however, when they showed no interest in doing that, the head teacher was advised to close the school indefinitely. He said a meeting between the parents and his office would be scheduled soon, depending on the availability of resources.Kunene said it was the same case at Ngcoseni Central High School, as the meeting was to be scheduled shortly.

Meanwhile, at Mvimbeko High School, Kunene said they would give another meeting a chance on Friday, following what transpired last Wednesday. He further said, despite the disturbances caused by class boycotts, external examinations for Form V pupils were ongoing. The REO said at Mvimbeko, the pupils were continuing with their examinations while at Moyeni High School, there were no learners sitting for the external exams.
NHLANGANO  Form V exams began in earnest in most schools despite the riots and protests that continue to characterise many of the learning institutions.

Yesterday marked the start of external examinations for Form Vs. The pupils sat for their Information and Communications Technology (ICT) practical examination. There were concerns that the unrest in schools may result in the pupils being unable to sit for their exams, but there were no reports of any school having suspended examinations due to the ongoing protests. In fact, those pupils who were to sit for the exams, abandoned all forms of protests and made their way to their respective examination rooms while those from other grades, who continued with the riots, were dispersed and sent home.

Protests

In schools around the Shiselweni Region, for instance, pupils from five high schools were engaged in protests and those from three schools proceeded to write their exams. The remaining two schools did not have the ICT subject in their syllabus. The protesting schools were Ebenezer, Mbukwane, Hosea, Mazombizwe and Qomintaba high schools, with the first three having pupils who were sitting for the ICT practical exams yesterday.

It was said that following the ongoing protests, the pupils who were not sitting for the exam were turned back to ensure smooth running of the examination.

It was said that in some of the schools, the pupils showed up with the intention to protest but were sent back and only those who were sitting for their ICT practical exams were allowed into the school premises.

These were pupils from Ebenezer, Mbukwane and Hosea high schools, where only those writing exams were allowed in. Police were seen patrolling the schools to ensure that the ongoing examinations were not interrupted. The pupils from Hosea are calling for the release of pro-change MPs Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza of Hosea and Mthandeni Dube of Ngwempisi. It was the same case at KaMazombizwe, Mbukwane SDA High as police were frequently seen patrolling the schools.

Pupils from Mbukwane, after being denied entry into the school premises, went to KaMazombizwe, a school about five kilometres away where they wanted to disturb classes.

Police came right on time as they were able to disperse the pupils. At Qomintaba High School, pupils also protested, demanding the employment of more teachers as they claimed that since schools reopened, they had been coming to school to do nothing as there were no teachers. It has been three weeks since the pupils had been protesting and yesterday, they burnt a water tank at the school.

Order

Police also came to maintain law and order and the pupils left the premises. The examination-writing schools head teachers stated that they were advised by the Office of the Shiselweni Regional Education Officer (REO) to send those who were protesting home. Shiselweni REO Siboniso Gumbi confirmed that he advised head teachers of the schools affected by protests to send the rest of the pupils home for smooth proceedings of the examinations. He said that was meant for the safety of the pupils as should they have missed the examination yesterday, they would not be allowed to write it again, adding that it was an international paper which had to be written at the same time across the board.

Recalled

When asked when the pupils would be recalled to school, Gumbi said there was a paper to be written tomorrow, adding that the rest of the pupils would be recalled on Friday. We still have to convene a meeting with the parents from the affected schools to hear from them a way forward, added Gumbi. Meanwhile, in the Lubombo Region, pupils from eight schools were engaged in protests. Of these schools, only pupils from three schools were to sit for their ICT exam yesterday.

These high schools were St. Philips, Big Bend and Nkonjwa High.

Subjects

According to the Lubombo Regional Education Officer (REO), Richard Dlamini, some schools were new and some had no educators for the subject, hence they did not register for it in the current year. Hlobsile Thwala, St Philips High Head teacher, said the pupils demanded that they be allowed to do hairstyles and to break early. She said the pupils also demanded the reduction in the number of subjects. Thwala said her Form V pupils sat for their ICT practical exams yesterday and would be sitting again tomorrow.

We have suspended classes for the other learners and I presume they will be back to their respective classrooms next Monday, she said. The REO advised head teachers to suspend classes if pupils riot as such could lead to the damage of property. They should analyse the situation and work with the police. Let me plead with the pupils to focus on their studies and leave politics to their parents, he said.

Majority

Lubombo ICT Schools Inspector Nkhululeko Dlamini said a majority of the high schools wrote their exams and only those where there were riots suspended the other classes and allowed their Form V pupils to sit for their practicals. In fact, we did not have any reports to the effect that some of the high schools did not sit for their exams, he said.

Meanwhile, in all the schools which were marred by riots, police were called to calm the situation. All other pupils from schools within the Siteki town sat for the ICT practical exams without experiencing any disturbances yesterday morning. The pupils at Lubombo Central High and Siteki Nazarene High sat for their practical exams, which started at 9am and ended just before noon. Lubombo Central High ICT Teacher Celumusa Dladla, said the pupils were able to cover up the lost time by having extra classes.

Dladla, said they also ensured that they attended their lessons an hour earlier than the rest of the pupils. The educator said they also conducted lessons during weekends. Everything is normal; we ensured that they cover up for the lost time during the COVID-19 pandemic, he said. At Siteki Nazarene High, Head teacher Bonginkosi Dlamini also shared the same sentiments, mentioning that they were fortunate as a school because they did not experience the riots that had been happening in other schools in the Lubombo Region.

Classes

They had extra classes to make up for the lost time. They also learnt through online sessions as that helped them a lot. I would like to thank our teaching staff for a commendable job in dedicating their time to the learners, Dlamini said. Overall, for Manzini and Hhohho-based schools, there were also no disturbances.

During a visit to some schools around town, it was gathered that exams went smoothly as there were no disturbances, particularly with class boycotts ever since they started in the past few weeks.

Form V pupils of St Theresas High School sat for their ICT practical examinations well from start to finish, and this was confirmed by the schools Head teacher, identified as Mr Sihlongonyane. Sihlongonyane said; The exams were quite successful and there were no challenges experienced. In the past, we had power cuts but this year we had no issues.

Success

The ICT exams were also a success at Manzini Nazarene High, where the Head teacher, Phindile Makhanya, also alluded to that obstacles were not experienced, neither by the examiners nor pupils while they sat for their exams. Likewise, Salesian, St Michaels and Mjingo high schools were reported to have written their examinations smoothly yesterday. Worth noting is that most schools in the rural areas, especially in the Shiselweni and Lubombo regions, are characterised by class boycotts, which saw the burning and vandalising of school property.
India's top engineering and construction firm Larsen & Toubro (L&T) is exhibiting its strengths with specific emphasis on power transmission, water and renewable energy projects at the ongoing Water, Energy, Technology and Environment Exhibition (Wetex) and Dubai Solar Show.

A multinational conglomerate engaged in technology, engineering, construction, manufacturing, and financial services with $21 billion in revenue, L&T is a platinum sponsor of this three-day event which has over 1200 exhibitors from 55 countries.

The Indian conglomerate established its presence in the Middle East over 4 decades ago.

"Over the years, Wetex has been an ideal platform for us to showcase our capabilities and track record, build partnerships, review the latest technologies, innovations and benefit from one of the best global experiences in the energy and water sectors," remarked T Madhava Das, Whole Time Director & Senior Executive Vice President (Utilities).

"While our power transmission & distribution business vertical has already established its credentials in the Middle East, our water infrastructure business is gradually gaining prominence having executed some key infrastructure projects including the Jebel Ali Sewerage Treatment Plant for the Dubai Municipality here in Dubai," stated Das.

Ranked among the top global contractors, L&T Construction is also Indias largest construction organization offering EPC solutions with single-source responsibility to execute large industrial and infrastructure projects from concept to commissioning. Its key areas of expertise include:

*Power Transmission & Distribution (PT&D) business - A force to reckon with across geographies

The PT&D business vertical is a leading global EPC player in India, Africa, Asean and the Middle East region in the realms of power transmission and distribution, renewables, installation and commissioning of transmission lines, substations, underground cable networks, distribution networks, power quality improvement projects, infrastructure electrification, solar PV plants, battery energy storage systems and mini/micro grid projects.

Renewables business - In the GCC region, the renewable arm of the business currently executes close to 2 GWp capacity of Solar plants in Saudi Arabia. Possessing experience in niche floating solar PV technology, the business already has an enviable track record in India: 5GWp+ solar portfolio, 150 MWhr energy storage projects with over 500 micro grids and is a single-stop solution for renewable generation, pooling & evacuation, substations. and transmission lines.

L&T Renewables offer flexible solutions from monocrystalline to bifacial PV module technologies, central or string inverters and fixed or tracking solutions to suit the extreme desert conditions.

WET business: Creating defining water infrastructure in the Middle East

L&Ts Water arm has successfully commissioned 10+ water infrastructure projects in the GCC region till date worth over $1 billion and has significant presence in Qatar, Oman, and the UAE.

Last year, the business commissioned the 375-million-litres-per-day sewage treatment plant in Jebel Ali, on a turnkey basis, the largest in the region. The company has executed projects for Ashghal in Qatar, PAW, PEIE, SFZ in Oman, DM, ADDC in UAE and have successfully completed projects with Advance Treatment Technologies (Ultra Filtration, UV Disinfection etc.) and High-end Automation, stated Das.

The business is now planning to build nature-friendly water infrastructure projects including ground water rejuvenation through Deep Well Injection, Bio Solid Fertilizers and Energy Saving from By-Products, he added.

According to Das, most GCC countries are increasingly tapping into green sources to bridge the power gap with smarter and more secure solutions to enhance reliability and effectively manage power distribution.

"This calls for strengthening power grids with greater adoption of gas insulated substations and extra high voltage transmission lines which open new vistas of opportunity to develop new infrastructure. L&T is well-placed on this front with strong associations with different entities in the Middle East," he added.

L&T said it water business was currently executing 85 substations, 1504 km of transmission lines and 908 km of cabling projects having already executed 283 substations, over 4,000 km of transmission lines of various voltages up to 400 kV, 300+ substations and 3,000+ km of cabling projects.-TradeArabia News Service
Enterprise software leader SAP has appointed Alaa Jaber as the managing director for its Qatar and fast growth markets (comprising Qatar, Oman, Libya, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestinian Territories, Yemen, and Sudan), with immediate effect.

Based out of SAPs office in Doha, Alaa will report to Sergio Maccotta, Senior Vice President, SAP Middle East South.

"Qatar's government-led digital transformation is a bellwether for the Middle East, and I am delighted to be able to contribute towards driving the exciting innovation agenda in the public and private sectors," commented Jaber.

"SAPs customer-first solutions allow organisations to transform at their speed and on their digital terms. Supported by our partners, we will enable Qatar's organisations to run at their best.

With this development, Mazen Raad has been promoted to Chief Innovation Officer, SAP Middle East South. In his new role, Raad will focus on cloud innovation and sustainable business to meet the acceleration of change across the region.

"I want to warmly welcome Alaa. I am confident that his deep industry expertise and tenure in Qatar will benefit our customers and partners innovative digital transformation roadmaps in one of our most strategic markets" said Maccotta. "I also would like to thank Mazen for his leadership and congratulate him on his new role." -TradeArabia News Service
Dana Gas, the Middle East's largest private sector natural gas firm, announces that its 9M 2021 collections from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) and Egypt have increased 102% year-on-year to $256 million (AED938 million). It was $127 million (AED466 million) in the corresponding period the previous year.

Dana Gas, which owns a 35% interest in Pearl Petroleum, saw its share of collections from sales of condensate, LPG and gas in the KRI jump 77% to $131 million (AED480 million) in the first nine months of 2021 as compared to $74 million (AED271 million) in the same period the previous year.

In Egypt, Dana Gas collected $125 million (AED458 million) during the first nine months of 2021, compared to $53 million (AED195 million) received in the same period of 2020, representing a 136% increase.

Dr Patrick Allman-Ward, CEO of Dana Gas, said: We are pleased with the improvement in our collections this year, which have been supported by a strong rebound in commodity prices. Continuing timely payment of invoices and the settlement of outstanding receivables is key to providing us with the confidence to carry on with our expansion plans in the KRI and Egypt.

The KM 250 project is the first stage of a two-train expansion project at Pearl Petroleums Khor Mor plant that aims to boost total production capacity to approach 1 billion standard cubic feet per day.

Pearl Petroleum recently signed a $250 million financing agreement with the US International Development Finance Corporation to support the Khor Mor gas expansion project, which is on track for completion in April 2023.-- TradeArabia News Service
Etihad Cargo has expanded its pharma sector reach into Africa with the signing of a Service Legal Agreement (SLA) with Astral Aviation and Kenya Airways. Through the agreement it will be able to provide reliable and cost-effective airfreight solutions across the continent.

Operating a fleet of 14 freighters out of its Nairobi and Johannesburg hub, Astral Aviation services a network of 15 African destinations, which Etihad Cargo will leverage for increased vaccine distribution across Africa.

Both carriers are members of The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) and Pharma.Aero, whose joint Project Sunrays initiative offers cross-industry collaboration for pharma shippers managing complex vaccine distribution logistics.

The SLA, a first Pharma Interline agreement, ensures Etihad Cargo partners are fully compliant with latest GDP and IATA Pharma regulations and standards, and guarantees processes, from booking to handling of such sensitive goods, are standardised and performed to the highest quality.

Etihad Cargo defined the steps and responsibilities of the SLA to ease the transfer between the two airlines, boost transparency and make sure pharma specific documentation, labelling and messaging are used and shared under a precise order and form.

In addition to significantly expanding Etihad Cargos reach across Africa, this inter-airline agreement ensures complete adherence to the specific requirements of pharmaceutical product transportation. Customers can be reassured that Etihad Cargo partners will expertly maintain cool chain integrity, explained Martin Drew, Senior Vice President Sales and Cargo, Etihad Aviation Group.

Etihad Cargo is committed to shipping and storing pharmaceuticals with passive packaging between the main temperature ranges known as COL (+2 to +8C), CRT (+15 to +25C) and ERT (+2 to +25 C).

We are honoured to partner with Etihad Cargo and participate in the critical distribution of Covid-19 vaccines to and within Africa. The equitable access and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines in Africa will be enhanced with the help of partnerships and collaborations within the aviation sector, such as the one enacted between Etihad Cargo and Astral, which will offer one-stop solution for the vaccines to and within Africa, said Sanjeev Gadhia, CEO of Astral Aviation.

Kenya Airways Cargo is excited to join Etihad Cargo in the HOPE Consortium initiative through providing logistical solutions in our home continent. With only 2.5 per cent of the African continent vaccinated against Covid-19, this will go a long way toward achieving the Africa Centre for Disease Control and prevention (CDC) to vaccinate 60 per cent of the population by the end of 2022 which will result in. This is a fundamental need and pre-requisite toward aviation recovery in Africa, commented Peter Musola, Head of Cargo Commercial at Kenya Airways.

With Etihad Cargos agreement with Kenya Airways and Astral Aviation providing a timely boost in Abu Dhabis positioning as a global logistics hub capable of facilitating vaccine distribution in Africa, which now covers 27 offline stations and four online stations, the partnership also enhances the capabilities of the Hope Consortium  the UAE capital-based private-public sector supply chain specialist which provides global Covid aid to the world.

The World Health Organisation has recently reported that only 2.5 per cent of African citizens are vaccinated against Covid-19 and that millions more doses are required to meet even modest targets, explained Drew.

Through Etihad Cargos ever-expanding portfolio of partnerships and collaborations, the HOPE Consortium can play a greater role in meeting vaccine demand.

Since the pandemic, Etihad Cargo has carried almost 2,500 tonnes of pharmaceuticals to Africa, including 41 dedicated flights on behalf of the UAE government. The carrier currently services 72 network destinations across the Middle East, Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Its fleet of 65 aircraft operate 430 weekly rotations, in addition to charter flights which service demand across non-network destinations.-- TradeArabia News Service
Saudi Arabia and Egypt yesterday (October 5) signed contracts with three consortiums of international and local companies to connect the two nations power grids in a project worth $1.8 billion.

The electric grid interconnection project between the two countries aims to exchange electrical capacities amounting to 3,000 megawatts (MW) with a 500 kV HVDC technology.

The project consists of the construction of three high-voltage substations, the East Madinah Station, the Tabuk Station in the Kingdom, and the Badr Station in East Cairo, linked by overhead transmission lines with a length of about 1,350 m and marine cables in the Gulf of Aqaba with a length of 22 km. It is scheduled to be operational in 2024.

Saudi Electricity Transmission Company signed an agreement with Hitachi ABB Power Grids and Saudi Electrical and Mechanical Services consortium for setting up a transformer station on Tabuk, Madinah and Badr land area, while Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company sealed the deal with Hitachi ABB Power Grids and Orascom Constructions consortium to implement two transformer stations on the Egyptian side. As for the implementation of overhead lines on Saudi lands, a contract was made with the National Contracting Company, and for the lines in Egypt, a contract was signed with the China Power Engineering Alliance - Giza Cables Industry - Xi'an Electrical Engineering.

This comes in line with the ambitious plans of both countries to expand its reliance on renewable energy resources.

This connection represents a safety valve for the two grids in facing the instable nature of renewable energies in general and provides huge investments to address any of these impacts, reported

Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

The agreements were signed by Khaled bin Hamad Al Qunun, CEO of the Saudi Electricity Company, and Sabah Mohamed Mashali, chairperson and managing director of the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company in the presence of Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz and Egyptian Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mohammed Shaker Al Markabi and Minister of International Cooperation and Rania Al Mashat.

"Reaching this important stage of the projects is a coronation of directives of the two countries' leaderships, which push for enhancing solid brotherly relations and instilling deep-rooted and distinguished ties between them," remarked Prince Abdulaziz.

Al Markabi said the project was a result of deep-rooted Egyptian-Saudi ties throughout history, citing the directives of both countries' leaderships and ensuring the entrepreneurship of Cairo and Riyadh in realizing economic and social goals of countries of the entire Arab world.

With regard to the aerial connection in Madinah city in Saudi Arabia, a contract was signed with Hyundai for Construction and Engineering Works, it added.-TradeArabia News Service
Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) has issued a circular that allows faculty members and other categories of workers in the public and private educational sector to travel directly to the Kingdom from the countries from which flights are suspended.

The circular stipulates the application of institutional quarantine to faculty members and the like in universities, colleges and institutes, male and female teachers in public education, the General Training Authority in the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation, training institutes, and scholarship students, including their companions and families, according to a press release from GACA.

The authority added that anyone who received one dose, or completed both doses of vaccines inside the Kingdom is excluded from the institutional quarantine.
British Airways is set to welcome back its first A380 aircraft in November and operate its biggest schedule since March 2020, with additional services to cities across the globe, including the US.

The UK airline's A380 will initially operate to a number of short-haul destinations to allow for crew service familiarisation in November, shortly followed by operating to Miami and Los Angeles in the US, as well as Dubai in December.

News that the airlines A380 aircraft is re-joining its fleet follows the announcement that vaccinated Brits will be able to travel to the United States from November. The airline is set to fly to 23 US airports this winter with up to 246 flights a week, more than any other transatlantic carrier.

Across its US network, British Airways will be increasing the number of flights it operates with services to city destinations including New York, which will initially be increasing to five a day, followed by eight in December.

The airline will also be operating double-daily services to Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, Dallas, Miami and Toronto, as well as daily services to Philadelphia, Phoenix, Seattle, Atlanta, Denver, Houston and Vancouver

In addition to frequency increases, in October and November British Airways will restart services to Austin, Orlando, Tampa, San Diego, Las Vegas and Baltimore.

In December the airline will also start flying to Nashville and New Orleans once again, which both proved to be a hit with customers when they first launched.

Closer to home, it has increased flights to a number of short-haul destinations by adding 13,000 more seats to holiday hot spots for families to get away this October.

Popular leisure destinations Marrakech and Dalaman will appear on flight schedules again in time for October half-term, and brand-new services to the Turkish resort of Antalya will also be launching.

Looking ahead to the winter, British Airways will be restarting a number of ski destinations including Innsbruck, Grenoble and Salzburg from December.

To help customers get away for some much-needed summer sun this Christmas, British Airways is extending its Caribbean programme with 12 services a week to Barbados and nine each to Antigua and St Lucia, which will be split across Heathrow and Gatwick airports.

Flights to popular luxury Indian Ocean destinations, Maldives and Mauritius, will also be increasing to 10 and six per week over the Christmas period.

Director of Network and Alliances Neil Chernoff said: "This is an exciting time for British Airways and our customers as we see borders re-opening. With welcome news from the US, we are dramatically increasing flights and bringing home some of our A380s to give our customers as many options as possible."

"Elsewhere across our network we are also adding additional services to destinations all over the world, to ensure our customers can take advantage of a much-needed holiday," he noted.

Elsewhere across its short-haul network British Airways will be increasing flights year-round to key European cities with 48 weekly services to Amsterdam, 33 to Geneva, 35 to Dublin, 28 to Milan and 21 to Berlin, Paris and Rome.

British Airways subsidiary BA City Flyer, is expected to operate a schedule of 43 flights a week to Edinburgh, 33 to Dublin, 25 to Glasgow, 18 to Belfast, 16 to Amsterdam, 15 to Rotterdam, 15 to Berlin, 12 to Frankfurt, 12 to Dusseldorf and 11 to Zurich.

The airline is also set to launch a new route from Belfast to Birmingham, as well as new ski destination Salzburg, from London City and Southampton.

To coincide with the increase in services as the world re-opens, the airlines lounges are also welcoming customers back. In September customers were invited to enjoy British Airways Concorde Room in London and New York. Lounges in Chicago, Washington, San Francisco and Houston are expected to open this week.-TradeArabia News Service
President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev held talks in Tashkent with President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, who arrived in the country on an official visit the day before.

The sides discussed the entire spectrum of the Turkmen-Uzbek cooperation and specified its priority areas, taking into account the implementation of the previously reached agreements and long-term prospects. According to the sides, cooperation in the trade and economic sphere develops steadily, demonstrating an upward trend as a whole.

The talks finished with the signing of bilateral documents. Later, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan hosted an official dinner in honor of the President of Turkmenistan, during which the heads of the two states exchanged speeches.

On the same day, the heads of state laid flowers at the monument to the first President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov. Then, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and Presidnet Shavkat Mirziyoyev proceeded to the Tashkent International Airport named after the first head of Uzbekistan, where the leaders of the two states said goodbye to each other, confirming the two countries commitment to developing full-scale cooperation in the interest of general welfare and prosperity.

 TURKMENISTAN.RU, 2021
Mumbai Oct 6 ( UNI) Veteran actor Arvind Trivedi who played the character of " Ravan" in the popular 1980s serial Ramayan passed away on Tuesday, it was reported on Wednesday.



He was 82.



The actor was not keeping well from past few months and suffered heart attack. His cremation will take place at Dahanukarwadi crematorium, Kandivali West, in Mumbai on Wednesday.



Actor Sunil Lahiri who played the character of Laxman shared a photograph with the actor and informed through Instagram that "It's very sad that Arvind bhai is no more, may his soul rest in peace, he was like father figure for me" wrote Lahiri.



The actor gained fame through the television serial Ramayan which was broadcast on Doordarshan in the 1980s and was directed by veteran director Ramanand Sagar.



His popularity through Ramayan led to Trivedi being elected member of parliament on a BJP ticket along with co star Deepika Chikhlia who played Sita in the same serial, from 91 to 96 from Sabarkatha constituency.

UNI SP 0954
Chennai, Nov 18 (UNI) Following is the bullion market closing rate here today.

18 Nov 2021 | 2:39 PM

CHENNAI, India, Nov. 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - A very rare stenting procedure was performed at Rela Hospital, Chennai on an 80-year-old female patient Ms.
New Delhi, Oct 6 (UNI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday expressed grief over the demise of actors Ghanashyam Nayak and Arvind Trivedi.

Nayak, popularly known for the role of 'Nattu Kaka' in the television show 'Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah', passed away at the age of 77 in Mumbai on October 3.

In a series of tweets, the PM said,

"In the last few days, we have lost two talented actors who won the hearts of people through their works. Shri Ghanashyam Nayak will be remembered for his multifaceted roles, most notably in the popular show Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah. He was also extremely kind and humble."

Condoling Trivedi's demise, "We have lost Arvind Trivedi, who was not only an exceptional actor but also was passionate about public service. For generations of Indians, he will be remembered for his work in the Ramayan TV serial. Condolences to the families and admirers of both actors. Om Shanti."

The veteran actor passed away on Tuesday in Mumbai. He was 82-years-old.

UNI DS SY 1235
Gift for UW-Casper Supports Faculty

The University of Wyoming at Casper, housed on the Casper College campus, will benefit from a $250,000 gift from retired UW-Casper faculty member Gail Zimmerman. (UW Photo)

A $250,000 gift from retired University of Wyoming at Casper faculty member Gail Zimmerman will establish a permanent fund that supports the work of junior and midcareer faculty -- the first fellowship of its kind at UW-Casper.

The faculty fellowship will allow one or two faculty members to obtain course release, to purchase laboratory equipment or to engage in activities that will help them toward tenure, extended-term status or promotion in their careers. Professional lecturers with high teaching loads will have the opportunity to use the fellowship for course redesign or other instructional purposes.

When I was in Casper, there were only two of us with active research agendas, Zimmerman says. I know from personal experience that it is a more challenging environment when youre off the main campus.

The Dr. Gail D. Zimmerman Faculty Fellowship will help retain UW-Caspers talented faculty and set up junior and midcareer faculty for long-term success, which will better serve students and the UW community in central Wyoming.

Most of the faculty at UW-Casper are junior or midcareer, says Brent Pickett, UW-Casper dean. Retaining those talented, award-winning faculty and recruiting the strongest candidates when we have open positions are critical to the success of UWs sole branch campus. Dr. Zimmermans generous gift will greatly help us in those efforts.

Zimmerman was a professor at Casper College before he began his career with UW-Casper. During his time as a professor, he not only enriched students with his teaching, but also had an active research agenda. As a result of his involvement in research, Zimmerman understands the challenges that come with making progress in reappointment and tenure at a branch campus -- which led to this gift.

As someone who went through the promotion process while at a branch campus, I know it can be challenging. The people voting just dont have as much of a chance to get to know you and your work as someone who is at UW-Laramie, Zimmerman says.

UW-Casper, originally University of Wyoming/Casper College Center, was founded in 1976 with Pete Simpson as its director. Caspers convenient central location made higher education more accessible for site-bound students who could not make the move to Laramie.

The branch campus offers small class sizes taught by experienced faculty while also creating a tight-knit community in Wyomings second-largest city. For the past 45 years, UW-Casper has served its students and the state of Wyoming.

This is not the first philanthropic venture for Zimmerman. Along with the faculty fellowship, he contributed to UWs student emergency fund, a student leadership fund, and a nontraditional and first-generation scholarship for students enrolled at UW-Casper. He also created the Zimmerman Secondary Science Education Award and is a trustee of the John Templeton Foundation.

Apart from teaching, Zimmerman served in the Wyoming State Legislature for 14 years -- first as a representative and then as a member of the Wyoming Senate.
UWs Fisher Innovation Launchpad Announces Six Finalists

Six innovative businesses -- ranging from a company that focuses on increasing outdoor recreational opportunities to one that reduces atmospheric carbon dioxide levels through the use of biomass -- are finalists in a University of Wyoming entrepreneurship competition.

The finalists are UW graduate and undergraduate students, UW faculty and entrepreneurs who will compete for seed funding to grow their businesses. Teams will make their presentations during the Fisher Innovation Launchpad Pitch Day Tuesday, Nov. 30.

The Fisher Innovation Launchpad has always been a phenomenal platform that allows UW students to solve real-world problems with their ideas and passions, and the sixth year of the competition is no different, says Fred Schmechel, interim director of IMPACT 307. These teams continue the tradition of putting UWs best foot forward as we improve the world.

The Fisher Innovation Launchpad is a business startup competition hosted by IMPACT 307, UWs network of business incubators, and supported by a financial gift from Donne and Sue Fisher, the launchpads namesake. The competition features teams that have been working over many months to hone their business models and create real-world companies that address real-world problems.

The qualifying businesses named as finalists are:

-- Bedrock Outfitters is a business seeking to get more people involved outdoors. It provides training to outdoor-focused businesses and covers topics such as gear use, recreation opportunities and sustainable practices. Emma Dixon, an environmental systems science, and outdoor recreation and tourism management major from Lawrence, Kan., and Taylor Davis, an outdoor recreation and tourism management major from Wylie, Texas, founded the company. Both are UW students.

-- Hawl-It is a business that is creating an application that allows independent freight truck drivers to select and manage their schedules and jobs. Hawl-It was founded by Brett Butler, a UW MBA student from Pinedale, and local entrepreneur Jarrod Butler.

-- GigaChar is a business that is employing a strategy to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide levels through the use of biomass. GigaChar was founded by Alexandra Howell, a UW Ph.D. candidate in mechanical engineering from Morrill, Neb., and Erica Belmont, an associate professor and head of the UW Department of Mechanical Engineering.

-- InsurXcel is a business that has created software to keep insurance providers up to date on industry trends while putting cybersecurity first. Finley McIlwaine and Kegan McIlwaine, both UW computer science graduate students from Cheyenne, founded the company.

-- Optima is a company that is designing a therapeutic system that can administer both hot and cold treatments for athletes, personal trainers and physical therapy patients. Todd Muller, a UW chemical engineering graduate student from Laramie, is the company founder who is working with a team.

-- Ashley Babcock, a graduate student in the College of Arts and Sciences, the Science and Math Teaching Center and the Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources from Edwards, Colo., and Ben Morley are addressing soil health through community-based compost collection systems. Their business does not yet have a formal name.

For more information, email laramie@uwyo.edu.
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A WCO National Customs Laboratory support mission, facilitated by the WCO Regional Customs Laboratory (RCL) for Europe, was held in Banja Luka, HQ Indirect Taxation Authority (ITA) Bosnia and Herzegovina, from August 31 to September 3.

One expert from RCL Europe and two experts from the Customs Administration of Croatia led the training that was divided in two parts: theoretical and practical. During the practical part all participants had a chance to practice with the sampling equipment.

The theoretical part was led by the project leader of the SAMANCTA Sampling Project Group. Participants were introduced to general information on SAMANCTA (Sampling Guide for Customs and Tax Authorities), published by the EU.

The practical part allowed participants to take real samples from a company that produces motor oils and fuel additives. This part of the training was demonstrated by the sampling experts from the Customs Administration of the Republic of Croatia.

At the end of the training, the Head of the Customs Laboratory Department of the ITA BiH thanked the WCO for their contribution to the modernization of the Customs Laboratory in terms of the presented WCO tools. He emphasized the importance of the customs laboratory and the practical relevance to taking representative samples for the correct identification and classification of products, thereby preventing fraud and collecting the correct customs excise and taxes.

Even in the difficult circumstances and restrictions caused by the COVID-19 situation, the WCO, through the ROCB, together with ITA Bosnia and Herzegovina made this mission a success, providing capacity building and training for the work of the Customs Laboratory of the ITA BiH, especially for customs officers on front line.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-09-09 16:00:38|Editor: huaxia

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ULAN BATOR, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia registered 3,680 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, marking the ninth consecutive day that saw more than 3,000 daily cases, bringing the national tally to 247,399, the country's Health Ministry said Thursday.

The ministry said that 10,317 samples were tested across the country in the past day, and the latest confirmed cases were local infections.

Meanwhile, 10 more patients died from the disease in the past day, pushing the death toll to 992.

The rate of infant deaths and premature births is expected to increase due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the country's health authorities said, urging pregnant women to be vaccinated to prevent potential risks.

More than 3,300 pregnant women have so far been infected with the virus in the country, and over 73 percent of them were unvaccinated, according to the ministry.

The resurgence of COVID-19 infections has continued with the highly contagious Delta variant spreading fast in most of the country's 21 provinces.

The Delta wave is expected to peak in late September, according to the country's health experts.

So far, 64.9 percent of Mongolia's population has been fully vaccinated since the Asian country launched a nationwide COVID-19 vaccination campaign in late February. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-10-06 10:21:16|Editor: huaxia

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CANBERRA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The government of Australia's Northern Territory (NT) has revealed a plan to achieve its goal of using 50 percent renewable energy by 2030.

Eva Lawler, NT's environment minister, on Tuesday released a plan for transforming the NT's largest power grid within nine years.

Under the plan, more reliance on solar power and battery storage will increase the proportion of renewable energy in the Darwin-Katherine electricity grid from 12 percent currently to 50 percent by 2030.

According to the government, doing so will reduce the annual cost of producing the NT's electricity from 346.2 million Australian dollars (252.4 million U.S. dollars) to 316.6 million Australian dollars (230.8 million U.S. dollars).

"This plan is really about making sure we get to that target and we get to it in a staged way," Lawler told reporters.

"It's about making sure we have secure energy, that we have affordable energy and that it's green energy into the future."

The NT's governing Labor Party committed to the 50 percent target by 2030 in the lead-up to the 2016 election but has been criticized for its slow and troubled rollout of renewables.

Under the electricity grid plan, a "renewable energy hub" of solar generators and a large-scale battery will be built at the Channel Island Power Station by 2024.

Another battery will come online by 2027 and the grid's gas-fired generators will be retired.

Lawler said the government has not yet decided whether the energy hub and batteries will be funded by the government or by the private sector.

"That is the work that needs to happen now -- we have mapped out that plan, then (the cost) will be around the implementation of that," she said. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-10-06 20:28:39|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken on Oct. 6, 2021 shows the world's largest container vessel "Ever Ace" at the Colombo Port in the Sri Lankan capital. The world's largest container vessel "Ever Ace" arrived at the Colombo Port in the Sri Lankan capital late on Tuesday, the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) said. According to officials at the SLPA, the vessel arrived to unload 1,600 TEUs at the Colombo international container terminal (CICT) in the port. The vessel sailing under the flag of Panama is some 400 meters in length. It weighs about 235,000 tons and can carry 23,992 TEUs. SLPA said that there are only 24 ports in the world with the capacity to handle such mega vessels, with the Colombo Port being the only one in South Asia. (Photo by Ajith Perera/Xinhua)

COLOMBO, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The world's largest container vessel "Ever Ace" arrived at the Colombo Port in the Sri Lankan capital late on Tuesday, the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) said.

According to officials at the SLPA, the vessel arrived to unload 1,600 TEUs at the Colombo international container terminal (CICT) in the port.

The vessel sailing under the flag of Panama is some 400 meters in length. It weighs about 235,000 tons and can carry 23,992 TEUs.

SLPA said that there are only 24 ports in the world with the capacity to handle such mega vessels, with the Colombo Port being the only one in South Asia. Boasting a depth of 18 meters, CICT is the first and only deepwater terminal in South Asia capable of handling such large vessels afloat.

There are currently three container terminals in the Colombo Port -- the Jaya container terminal (JCT) operated by SLPA, the South Asian gateway terminal (SAGT), and CICT, which is operated and managed by China Merchants Port.

As the only deepwater container terminal in South Asia, CICT has helped the Colombo port significantly enhance its position in the world shipping industry since its opening in 2013. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-10-06 22:13:48|Editor: huaxia

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JAKARTA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The face of Darius Sutanto, a gym buff, lit up when he read out a recent news story about the reopening of gyms in Indonesian capital Jakarta after long-time closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Indonesia has been easing its four-tiered COVID-19 restrictions on public activities, locally known as PPKM, following a drop in new cases, deaths and hospitalizations.

The peak of daily COVID-19 cases in the Southeast Asian country was reported in July this year, fueled by the Delta variant of the virus.

Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan has recently announced the extension of the PPKM to Oct. 18, with more adjustments made regarding the restrictions during the extension period.

The government will allow the reopening of fitness centers with a maximum capacity of 25 percent, the minister said, adding that movie fans can now consume food and beverages in movie theaters.

Cinema halls in the regions under PPKM Level 3, 2 and 1 are currently permitted to operate at a maximum capacity of 50 percent. Jakarta, home to more than 10 million people, is under PPKM Level 3.

For people like Sutanto who loves going to the gyms and cinemas, the announcement was good news.

With the relaxed restrictions, people will feel better physically and mentally, 31-year-old Sutanto, an accountant, told Xinhua on Wednesday.

"I'm going to hit the gym with friends after work today," he said, adding his last visit to a gym was in March last year.

The relaxation of the restrictions also gave hope to Dennis Wijaya, an entrepreneur working in the fitness industry for more than three years.

"In the days before the pandemic, my gym was visited by many people. I have been so desperate after the COVID-19 hits my business hard. Thankfully, I can now reopen it," the 35-year-old man said.

Both Wijaya and Sutanto expressed their hope that the government would keep improving the pandemic prevention and control in the country.

On Wednesday, the Health Ministry reported that the number of COVID-19 cases in the country rose by 1,484 within one day to 4.22 million, with the death toll adding by 75 to 142,413.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has likened the fighting of the pandemic to a war.

"Until today, we are still in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic. If it was likened to a war, fighting the COVID-19 virus at this time is like a protracted war," the president said during the 76th anniversary ceremony of the Indonesian National Armed Forces in the presidential palace in Jakarta on Tuesday.

The Indonesian government is targeting to inoculate 208.26 million people against COVID-19.

To date, at least 54.44 million people in the country have received two doses of vaccines, while 95.78 million have taken the first dose.

Both Wijaya and Sutanto, who have been fully vaccinated, are encouraging their families, relatives and friends to go for vaccination to contribute to the country's fight against the virus.

Getting vaccinated against COVID-19 not only keeps people healthy but also lowers healthcare costs, thus making it possible for people to return to work and resume economic activities, Sutanto said. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-10-07 00:07:42|Editor: huaxia

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VIENTIANE, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Lao Prime Minister Phankham Viphavanh said on Wednesday that the China-Laos Railway will open on Dec. 2 this year as scheduled.

Dec. 2 this year will mark the 46th anniversary of establishment of the Lao People's Democratic Republic.

The prime minister made the confirmation amid growing concerns that the escalating COVID-19 outbreak might affect the planned start of railway services. Currently, many provinces and Vientiane are under lockdown that restricts people's movements.

Local online newspaper Vientiane Times quoted Phankham as saying that the government will go ahead with the opening as planned. He told reporters both online and off-line that "(I) confirm that the railway will surely open on Dec. 2."

The Lao government is drawing up plans for the opening and operation of the railway under conditions that comply with COVID control measures to ensure the safety of everyone concerned.

The plans will address "how we can open services for tourism," he said, adding that the authorities are working out measures to be introduced at the Laos-China border for the inspection of goods and passengers prior to entry and exit.

Initially, railway operations will focus on freight transport. Services for tourists will be offered later depending on the circumstances in which traveler safety can be assured with respect to COVID-19 epidemic.

When it is able to operate normally, the Lao prime minister said, the railway will greatly benefit Laos given its significant role in bolstering tourism and the transport of goods.

It is expected that the 422.4-km railway will cut the cost of transport through Laos by 30-40 percent compared to travel by road, thus giving a boost to trade and investment, Vientiane Times reported.

The railway would be a significant force in enabling Laos to be part of a new global supply chain, according to Vientiane Logistics Park Co., Ltd., the developer of the Thanaleng Dry Port and Vientiane Logistics Park.

Chanthone Sitthixay, chairman of Vientiane Logistics Park Co., Ltd., said the transport of goods from Southeast Asia to Europe via the railway would take just over 10 days, much shorter than using the sea route which takes about 45 days, and he predicted that countries in the region would choose to ship their containers via the railway.

Initially, at least 300,000 containers from Laos, mainly from the Thanaleng Dry Port, are expected to be shipped via the China-Laos Railway to Europe through China each year. Later, shipments are estimated to rise further to between 1.2 and 1.8 million containers a year, according to Chanthone.

The China-Laos Railway is a strategic docking project between the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and Laos' strategy to convert itself from a landlocked country to a land-linked hub.

The electrified passenger and cargo railway is built with the full application of Chinese management and technical standards.

The project started in December 2016 and is scheduled to be completed and opened to traffic in December 2021. Enditem
Iraq Petroleum Sector Chronicle... Grand Opening for Big Push Strategy

   Ahmad Mousa Jiyad

Iraq/ Development Consultancy and Research, Norway

The Iraqi economy structure is lopsided with heavy dependency on export of natural raw material, i.e., crude oil. The modest unbalanced growth that was accumulated by the end of 1970s began eroding and all economic accomplishments had washed-away, gradually, since then. Four decades of wars, sever sanctions, political tyranny and America-led occupation pushed the country into the brinks of a failed state.





The post occupation sectarian political sharing system, known in Iraq al-muhasasa, brought the most devastating manifestation of "resource curse in the form of formalized legalized high level corruption, or Kleptocracy. When upstream petroleum became, once again but more urgently, the only sector capable for funding annual state budget for social welfare, reconstruction and development, it became the target for the corruptors, the Kleptocrrats and domestic politics abuse.





Also, under the then prevailed political order, upstream petroleum redevelopment and development were sought through active and substantive participation of the international oil companies- IOCs; this brings to the fore of debate the complex issues of the political economy of such participation.





The essence of the international political economy of petroleum relationship between the IOCs and a developing economy, e.g., Iraq, is the relative comparative strength of both parties to maximize their interest through any formalized relationship; this is premised on two basic issues: sovereignty and petroleum rent.





Sovereignty relates to ownership of petroleum (both reserves and production) or claim of title on them on one side and the decision making structure and mechanism of that relationship on the other.





Distribution of petroleum (resource) rent is decided formally through the type and terms of the contracting modality on one side and, empirically, through actual management of such contracting modality on the other. "Government take is the clearest manifestation of rent distribution; the higher is the government take the better it is for the host country, but what matters, in the final analysis, is the actual distribution more than the formal and contractual. This highlights the importance of the effective and efficient contract management, at all levels, during the entire life-cycle of the related contract.





Needless to say that host government and IOCs petroleum relationship are not, always, exclusive to them only, as the subject matter has other geopolitical and geostrategic considerations that go beyond the two parties; this implies the comparative strength of the host government on one side and the IOCs together with the geopolitics of their home-country government on the other has a lot to impact the petroleum relationship and their contractual modalities. More often than not geopolitical pressure and leverage are used to promote, enhance or even guarantee the interest of the IOCs through different ways and means and, when competition is transparent and tense the intervention becomes more intrusive an coercive. Those who failed winning in competitive bidding say that outcome reflects the dark side of transparency!!





One year after the invasion, Iraq pursued in 2004, what seems analytically and proven factually, a Grand Opining Big Push Policy in its petroleum sector by offering IOCs and foreign investors unprecedented opportunities to having access to and expansion in, particularly, upstream petroleum sub-sector.





Between 2004 to end 2008, the Ministry of Oil- MoO concluded over 40 memoranda of understanding/cooperation (MoU/Cs) with IOCs from 23 countries, with overwhelming dominance of the US (9); Japan and Norway (4 each); China, UAE, UK and Canada (2 each) and one company from each of other 16 countries.





For IOCs, MoU/Cs represent invaluable direct contact with Iraqi staff and professionals at all layers of responsibility and provide them access to most archives and database relating to upstream petroleum; that helped IOCs exploring where and what they could do to chart their way towards business in Iraqs upstream petroleum and beyond.





These MoU/Cs contributed in formulating and development of a model contract, and by the time they were terminated MoO succeeded, through direct government-to-government talks (with China), in converting Al-ahdab oilfield from production sharing to service contract.





The first bid round, for producing (brown) oilfields, was held end June 2009, followed by the second bid round for discovered but not commercially developed (green) fields on December 2009 and a third one for free-gas fields in October 2010.





120 IOCs participated in the qualification process for the bid rounds, 55 from 27 countries were qualified: Japan (9); USA (7); Russia (5); China and UK (4 each); Australia, India and Italy (2 each), and 19 other countries with one company each.





The outcome of the three bid rounds and Al-ahdab are: 14 oilfields contracted to 15 IOCs from 12 countries; total contracted/ targeted plateau production was 12.3mbd and their total proven reserves ca. 67 billion barrels (58% of the countrys proven reserves at that time). Three gas fields were contracted to 3 IOCs from 3 countries with total plateau production of 820 mcfd and proven reserves of 11.2tcf.





Moreover, the period prior to end 2010 witnessed developments relating to other important issues particularly the proposed federal oil and gas law-FOGL and INOC Law; promulgated private investment in refinery law and proposing many new modern refineries for foreign investors; conclude HoA that led, latter, to establishing Basra Gas Company joint venture with Royal Shell and Mitsubishi among others





Also during those years, the upstream petroleum in the country was a magnet of attention by the occupying countries, the IOCs, international legal and consulting firms and business and media sources and alike; the number, frequency and substance of what was published internationally on Iraq is a manifestation of that attention. That could be explained by or attributed to a "Newness factor as the country was reopened for the outside world after almost half a century of restricted access; to the "Invasion factor that made accessing the country easy after 2003 occupation since the invasion was "all about oil; to the "Business factor for IOCs and petroleum service companies to have a share in exploiting the vastness of petroleum in the country; the last frontiers for least cost petroleum. Much of the attention and preference of the occupying forces, IOCs and pro-IOCs entities was for Production Sharing Agreements/Contracts-PSA/C.





On the other side, most Iraqi oil professionals and experts inside the country, particularly from the South Oil Company, and those residing outside the country demonstrated vibrant engagement and strong keenness by calling, individually or collectively, for protecting the country petroleum wealth through sovereign national efforts and opposing any form of PSA/C; they premised their stand on still valid important laws and the 2005 Constitution.





Obviously, the course of events prior to end 2010 highlights different pathways for upstream petroleum contracting modalities; long term service contract emerged as the preferable choice.





One of the International Compact with Iraq-ICI offsprings was the formalization, for the first time in modern Iraq, of transparency principles and working modalities in Iraq petroleum sector. On 10 February 2010, Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) Board accepted Iraq as an EITI Candidate country; a new component in the governance of national upstream petroleum began in earnest with continuity and promising expectations, but time will tell!





Not surprisingly therefore that the period ended by December 2010 witnessed the most concerted efforts and vigorous debate among Iraqis relating to what could have been very significant milestones in the development of Iraq petroleum sector. Hence, the choice of end-2010 is the appropriate demarcation time-frame for this volume.





Over the last twenty years I have been compiling various, but related and relevant, documents, reports, studies, data and statistics and, accordingly, I have now very large, well organised, structured thematically and updated regularly, at least weekly, Database. Moreover, I developed and maintained relatively large network of contacts comprising senior government officials at different levels, parliamentarians, professionals, scholars, research institutions, academics, civil society organisation and media among others; such networking proved to be invaluable source of relevant insights, confidential materials and views from "inside the box.





My Database includes separate annual reports, exclusively, on the oil sector the first covers 2010 and earlier years and the latest is for 2021; these annual reports are the core of the archival efforts comprising well referenced, accurate, and verifiable data and sources. While archiving each annual report I read, commented and make different remarks on each item included in each annual report. Contents of parts two and three of this book are extracted from the annual report for 2010 and earlier years, but without incorporating my comments and remarks made on them then; I do not want to influence the readers understanding of these items with my own views.





Also, my Database comprises significant statistical data and time-series on different aspects of petroleum sector, which I compile, regularly, from formal and credible sources, both Iraqi and non-Iraqi.





In the same way I followed closely the related development in the country and had my own contributions through various research work, analyses, publications, presentations, consulting assignments and commentaries among others.





I found it opportune to launch major research and publication project aiming at documenting, professionally and objectively, the development of the petroleum sector in the country by presenting different informed thoughts, views and insights that impacted the debate, policies and course of events.





The project comprises many volumes and begins with this recently published book, the details of which are summarized as follows:





Book title: Iraq Petroleum Sector Chronicle





Book Sub-title: Grand Opening for Big Push Strategy, Volume 1, 2010 & earlier





Author: Ahmed Mousa Jiyad





Publisher: Lambert Scientific Publication





ISBN-13: 978-620-4-20851-0; ISBN-10:6204208519; EAN:9786204208510





Pages: 434





Price: 98.90  (Euro)
Archbishop Tutu and the Dalai Lama discuss how to find joy amid tragedy at the 11th Desmond Tutu Annual Peace Lecture

announcement

Cape Town  Four of the world's ethical leaders are to deliver the 11th Desmond Tutu International Peace Lecture, on Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu's 90th birthday on 7 October 2021. Join us and hear inspirational addresses from South Africa's former public protector, Thuli Madonsela; women's and children's rights activist Graca Machel; chair of The Elders Mary Robinson; and the Dalai Lama, Tibet's highest spiritual leader. The event will be online-only, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

REGISTER

When you attend this year's Desmond Tutu International Peace Lecture, you will also get to watch the film Mission Joy: Finding Happiness in Troubled Times, celebrating the decades-long friendship between Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama, Tibet's highest spiritual leader.

Since the inaugural lecture in 2011, the address has evolved into a flagship event, and the 11th Desmond Tutu International Peace Lecture will be delivered on the Archbishop's 90th birthday, 7 October 2021, exploring the topic Speaking Truth to Power: No future without justice. The event will be online-only, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The lecture event will be a unique opportunity for many to watch Mission Joy, which was created by a team that includes four Academy Award winners and is not being shown on the commercial film circuit or online. It is only available at selected film festivals in North America.

Mission Joy is a chuckle-filled documentary of a week-long discussion between the two spiritual leaders on how to find joy amid personal and collective suffering. Learn the insights to overcoming deeply traumatic events  of which both men have personal experience  and emerging unbroken. The film also delves into the science behind happiness, and how joy boosts human immune systems, helping us live longer.

Register for the 11th Desmond Tutu International Peace Lecture and gain a once-in-a-lifetime chance to watch Mission Joy, within the context of addresses by four prominent leaders who offer keys to carving a more sustainable and fulfilling future for humanity in the wake of the socio-economic devastation wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic.

REGISTER

Attendees will hear South Africa's former public protector, Thuli Madonsela, speak about constitutionalism and the rule of law; women's and children's rights activist Graca Machel, on how to support tomorrow's leaders as they develop and grow; chair of The Elders and former president of Ireland Mary Robinson, on our duty to defend the Earth so that there is a planet for humanity to share; and the Dalai Lama on how compassion is the bedrock for a secure and fulfilling future for all people.

Each of the four speakers has previously delivered the Desmond Tutu International Peace Lecture.

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As an African platform for international discourse, the annual Desmond Tutu International Peace Lecture is a vital element in the Foundation's mission to foster societal conversations about the important issues of the time. The peace lecture was initiated to honour and celebrate the contribution made by the Archbishop to global peace and justice, and takes place on his birthday each year. October is also the birth month of Leah Tutu, co-founder of the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation.

Register today to attend this once-in-a-lifetime event: https://events.tutu.org.za/register/31/desmond-tutu-11th-annual-peace-lecture-2021

Please find additional information below and follow the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation on Twitter on @TutuLegacy, Instagram: tutu_legacy_foundation or Facebook for further details.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nlUl5yNgIE&t=3s

Annual lecture access: https://events.tutu.org.za/

Mission Joy webpage: https://missionjoy.org/
Luanda  Angolan president of the Republic Joao Lourenco Tuesday in Cuito, central Bie province, that the Executive will continue to invest in improving the quality of the country's education subsystems, particularly in higher education.

Speaking at the opening of the 2021/2022 academic year in higher education, the Head of State reiterated the need for greater investment in education and teaching, particularly in higher education.

He said that the Executive pursues the objective of improving the quality of education, that is why it proposes to increase the budget for higher education in 2022.

The statesman recalled that the Executive has introduced, in recent years, different reforms in higher education subsystems, aiming at ensuring a model in line with its development and, thus, a better provision for the country.

The president acknowledged the shortage of teachers and administrative staff in higher education in the country, hoping that with greater investment this could be overcome.

Increased budget for Higher Education in 2022

In his speech, the Angolan Head of State called for the contribution of all to improve the quality of teaching and scientific research, and reiterated the need for greater investment in Education and Teaching, in general, and in Higher Education, in particular.

The President underlined the fact that the Executive proposes to improve the quality of education, with an increase in the Higher Education budget for 2022.

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The Incumbent of Executive Power considered it essential that the country's universities elect their directors, within the framework of the reforms introduced in the higher education subsystem.

He encouraged the completion of the self-assessment process for Angolan universities, preparing for regular external assessment and accreditation.

"In this way, the results of the assessment and accreditation processes can, in the coming years, help Higher Education Institutions know to what extent they are or are not aligned with international standards and indicators of performance and quality, and whether or not they are competitive enough", he stressed.

He stated that the results may help the Executive to improve decision-making within the framework of public policies for Higher Education.

Joao Lourenco said he wants to see Higher Education Institutions carry out the mandatory assessment of teaching performance, which was subject to the constraints of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Luanda  Angolan minister of State for Economic Coordination Manuel Nunes Junior Tuesday described trust, security, credibility and reputation as crucial for attracting investment and financing.

Speaking at the opening session of the Meeting of the Supervisory Committee of the Financial Information Unit (UIF), the official said that Angola has reported progress in the fight against bad practices in the Angolan financial system.

He spoke of the need for the country to increasingly show to its partners and the international financial supervision bodies the progress it has achieved in the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

"We must be capable to show, in this evaluation process, the progress the country has attained in terms of combat money laundering, terrorism financing and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction," said the official.

Manuel Nunes Junior went on saying that the aim is to ensure the rest of the world's confidence in the national financial system.

To him, "in the financial and business world, trust, security, credibility and reputation are crucial for attracting investments and financing".

"This preparatory meeting for the assessment that Angola will be submitted in June 2022, by the International Financial Action Group (GAFI), should imply the guarantee of technical compliance with the rules and procedures that the country applies", he said.

In this sense, the minister argued, the effectiveness of the system to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and the proliferation of weapons of destruction must be highlighted.

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According to him, "at the time of the evaluation, in 2022, the way in which the system reacts to eventual irregularities will be taken into account, as this will determine a positive evaluation, as proof that our system is strong, reliable and solid".

He explained that such assessment is based on theoretical and practical rules and procedures, in its action on illegal activities, with a view to increasing the credibility of the Angolan financial system, in order to increasingly attract investment to Angola.

Manuel Nunes Junior called on the technical working group of the UIF, made up of members of the Ministries of Interior, Finance, the National Bank of Angola (BNA) and the Attorney General's Office (PGR), to work closely together so that there is consistency and Angola obtains a positive assessment.

"This committee is tasked with ensuring that the evaluators of the Anti-Money Laundering Group in Southern and East Africa recognise the significant progress that the country has been implementing," he clarified.
Luanda  Supervisory Committee of the Financial Information Unit (UIF) met Tuesday to analyse actions to combat terrorism and money laundering and criminal financial operations in the country.

This was during the meeting chaired by the Minister of State for Economic Coordination, Manuel Nunes Junior.

The meeting serves as preparation for the assessment that Angola will be submitted in June 2022, by the Group of Assessors for Combating Money Laundering in Southern and Eastern Africa.

At the opening session, the Minister of State highlighted the role of the UIF so that Angola is positively evaluated by this body of the International Financial Action Group (GAFI).

"The success of this assessment will contribute to the creation of an environment of confidence in our financial system and to attracting more foreign investment to our economy, along with know-how, in order to make companies more efficient and productive", he stressed.

In turn, the director general of the Financial Information Unit (UIF), Francisca de Brito, said that the entity she leads regularly receives information on financial crimes that occur in the country.

"We are talking about economic or financial crimes that can lead to money laundering, from banks, insurance companies, ministries and the courts, which are obliged to report all their acts and how the cases and those involved are handled", she stressed.

Meanwhile, the official said that some institutions need to understand that they have actions to prevent and suppress money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

UIF comprises ministries of Interior, Finance, the National Bank of Angola (BNA) and the Attorney General's Office (PGR).

The Financial Action Group (GAFI) is an intergovernmental entity created in 1989 by the ministers of member jurisdictions.

FATF sets the standards and promotes the effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, as well as other threats to the integrity of the international financial system related to these crimes.
Cuito  Angola's minister of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation Maria do Rosario Braganca Sambo said Tuesday that the process of curricular harmonisation could only end this academic year.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the academic year 2021-2022, presided over by the President of the Republic, Joao Lourenco, the minister underlined that the non-completion of the process was due to the conditions imposed by Covid-19.

She said that the document is already being considered by specialists from the professional associations of the national curricular committees to start being implemented in 2022/2023.

This process is intended to avoid disparities that exist in higher education courses at various institutions, so that the graduate's exit profile fits the needs of the country's labour market.

Maria do Rosario Braganca Sambo also stated that the initial training of kindergarten teachers and teachers for primary and secondary education calls for the need to build a teacher training subsystem, with a necessary and increasingly impacting nature, with collaboration between the Ministries of Education, Public Administration, Labour and Social Security and Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation.

Furthermore, she informed that the ministry began to analyse at the national level the relevance of the training offer of higher pedagogical education institutions and those that have courses in the areas of education sciences for the proper adaptation to the real needs of the educational system, as established by the national programme training and management of teaching staff.

As part of the improvement of teacher training, Maria Braganca Sambo said that the first year of three master's courses in education methodology in the fields of childhood, primary education and teaching of the Portuguese language, in which 66 teachers are being trained to become trainers in higher education institutes.

In this first year, the training was carried out at a Portuguese university, and the trainees will now attend pedagogical internships in Angola.

For higher education, there are 152,000 vacancies (compared to 133, 672 in 2020/2021).

The government official considers it necessary to enhance the training offer in the areas of science, technology, engineering, mathematics and health.

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The minister took the opportunity to inform that the ministry will hold, from 29 to 30 November this year, the VII national conference on science and technology and the 2nd fair of inventions, innovation and technology-based entrepreneurship.

Maria do Rosario Braganca Sambo said that these activities are extremely important for the scientific community, for the dissemination of works and for the exchange of experience and exchange at national and international level, where achievements in the fields of science, technology and innovation will be discussed, as well as interacting with partners and creating more bridges for the strengthening of scientific cooperation.

She recalled that this will be the last edition of the conference and fair that will take place under the direct responsibility of the ministry, with future editions being organised by consortia of higher education and development research institutions, with sponsorship from this ministerial department.

Angola has 96 Higher Education Institutions (IES), 32 public and 64 private, divided between academies (1 public), universities (11 public and 10 private), higher institutes (16/52) and higher schools (4/2) .

Military units integrated in the higher education system follow their own regime.
press release

Today, the Minister of Community Safety, Albert Fritz, welcomes the arrest of two suspects in the murder of Scarlett Cottle last week. He has said that he will instruct the departmental Court Watching Brief Unit to follow the case closely to ensure that the suspects are brought to book.

In a separate matter, Minister Fritz is also devastated by the murder of Phumeza Madze allegedly by her partner in Manenberg on Monday night. It is reported that the woman was physically assaulted and stabbed to death. Her three-year-old daughter witnessed her killing. Minister Fritz has indicated that he would engage the Department of Social Development and ensure that the young girl receives counseling. He has also called on the South African Police Service to do everything in its power to ensure that the suspect is caught and faces the full might of the law.

In another matter, a 49-year-old male suspect has been released on bail after he was charged with sexual assault for exposing his genitals to a group of girls aged nine to 16 years. One of the girls is his daughter. The man has been released on bail by the Mitchells Plain Magistrates Court after the detective attached to the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit failed to arrive at court. The Minister has indicated that he will ask the Court Watching Brief to follow up on the matter to establish why the detective did not arrive at court.

Minister Fritz said, "we are monitoring these cases very closely. It is very important to us that justice is served in gang-related and gender-based violence cases. We need to establish and reinforce the perception that there are consequences for these heinous crimes committed against our women and children, often by the very people who are supposed to ensure their protection."

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Fritz continued, "so we are working hard to monitor these and many other such cases. The murder of Sinawo Mani, the grade 4 pupil from Silverstream Primary who was murdered over the weekend, is another one. I read that his aunty said he was on his way to the shop to buy chicken feet when he was caught in the crossfire. What we therefore have is a situation in which our women and children can't do the normal things of life, like go to the shop. We can not accept this. We are not going to back down from this fight."

Fritz continued, "we need to ensure that SAPS officers are doing the best work that they possibly can in this fight. I am shocked at reports that the detective didn't show up at court in the sexual assault case in Mitchells Plain. That is unacceptable, and we are going to get to the bottom of that. Our citizens are depending on us and we cannot let them down."

Minister Fritz concluded, "I want to again appeal to members of our communities to stand with us in this fight. Come forward with any information that you have which may assist the police in investigations. Together, we are going to win this fight."

Anyone with information about the incident that could assist the police in their investigations is urged to contact police on 08600 10111 or via the MySAPS App.
analysis

After a hair-raising journey, Barbara and I arrived in Zambia in October 1968 to a warm, friendly, if bureaucratic, welcome -- and a job with the 'Times' and 'Sunday Times of Zambia'. We soon started planning to settle in that country for a long haul: apartheid South Africa was making diplomatic progress into the continent and the ANC was apparently in a chaotic state. But little more than two years later, expelled from Zambia, we -- with infant daughter, dog, cat and portable goods -- were driving to Botswana where I again faced expulsion. It was then that I hatched perhaps my most hare-brained venture.

After arriving, hot and sweaty down a dusty road through the bush, the well-built Zambian border post appeared like an oasis, but of bricks and mortar. And the reception by crisply uniformed officials was the epitome of polite officialdom. "Good morning," said the senior officer as he ushered us through the door, "welcome to Zambia".

But then bureaucracy -- and a measure to forestall corruption -- interfered. Without the K5 given to us by my friend at the Zambian consulate in Lubumbashi, we could proceed no further. "I am sorry sir, but we do not...
press release

The Department of Employment and Labour Minister T W Nxesi has urged employees and clients of the Department to heed the call by Government in the fight against COVID-19 and get vaccinated.

The Minister said this during his oversight visit to the Rustenburg Labour Centre. This forms part of his scheduled series of visits to different departmental offices across the country to monitor the quality of services offered to clients.

Minister Nxesi also aims to create a platform for clients to engage him on challenges they experience and also to get an on-site understanding of the office dynamics by engaging employees who are the Department's ground forces.

"It is important for all of us to vaccinate. Though it is voluntary, remember that when you vaccinate, you do not protect yourself only, you protect your family and those that are around you. By vaccinating you also assist in allowing the economy to fully open. Please heed the call by Government and vaccinate as early as possible and help the country to save jobs and to reduce the rate of unemployment that is continuing to increase," said the Minister.

The Minister also visited Mogwase Industrial Site and continued to urge employees to vaccinate.

The call by Minister Nxesi to urge employees to vaccinate is part of the Government's concerted efforts to help the country and the world at large to fight against the deadly COVID-19 pandemic which has amongst others left the economies of many countries struggling to recover.
A renowned journalist with 40 years of experience in writing about foreign affairs and EU politics Martin Banks gives his assessment of the current political situation in Mali.

One of the current topics on the African continent is the political agenda in Mali. The country has experienced two total changes of power over the past year, while about 6 million people need humanitarian assistance due to the unstable security situation in the Sahel region. According to the Africa Centre for Strategic Studies, 2020 was the deadliest year of militant Islamist violence in the Sahel, a vast area that includes Mali, with an estimated 4,250 fatalities, an increase of 60% compared with 2019.

Assimi Goita, who now heads the transitional government, is trying to put the country in order to hold elections early next year. In May, Malis president and prime minister were ousted by Goita, the officer who led last years coup and became vice-president of an interim government. Goita says former President Bah Ndaw and Moctar Ouane, the countrys former prime minister, failed in their duties and were seeking to sabotage the countrys transition.

In addition to inner-political problems, a terrorist threat hangs over the country. Therefore, the Malian authorities are taking all necessary measures to restore security.

Despite the fact that the Constitutional Court of Bamako accepted the candidacy of the former interim vice-president and current transitional leader of Mali, as the countrys legitimate president, regional institutions such as ECOWAS and the AU do not accept this position. Also, international partners, in particular France, are in no hurry to recognize the leader supported by the Malian people. Thus, annihilating the sovereignty of the country and the desire of the people.

For example, Paris believes that Goita is not capable of leading an unstable West African country to a peaceful transition. By the way, Malis long-term instability, although there are French soldiers, is another topic for reflection. Perhaps Paris saw in general Goita a strong leader who is unlikely to bend under the neocolonial policy of the metropolis.

General Goita does not rule out the possibility of running for president in the 2022 elections: saying he meets all legal requirements for presidential candidates under the countrys constitution: he is of Malian origin, is 38 years old (the threshold is 35 years) and has no criminal record. However, there is some disagreement in the Charter of the Transitional Period and the Constitution of the country regarding the possibility of nominating Assimi Goita for the presidential election. Based on article 9 of the transition charter, adopted in 2020, the president and vice-president of the transitional period do not have the right to participate in presidential and parliamentary elections.

At the same time, the new leader of Mali has a high rating among the population. He formed a balanced government and has not abandoned agreements with other countries. Diplomatic missions have been allowed to continue their work in Mali and Malis constitutional court has officially recognized and legitimized Goita.

The overthrow of the pro-French Ibrahim Keith played an important role in strengthening the authority of Goita. Therefore, the appearance of his candidacy in the presidential election is quite real, especially since the legitimacy of any government lies in the ability of the government to meet the moral requirements of its people.
There were chaotic scenes on Friday at a food parcel distribution centre in Jeppestown co-ordinated by Gauteng Social Development.

Hundreds of immigrants were turned away despite being registered on the list.

In contrast, South Africans were registered on the spot and given food parcels.

The food truck left while still full of food.

The EFF was accused of hijacking the event, telling people to vote EFF after they received food parcels. The EFF denies this.

Civil society organisations have criticised the exclusion of immigrants from government food relief distribution programmes. But Gauteng Department of Social Development (DSD) spokesperson Feziwe Ndwayana says the department "does not discriminate against foreign nationals".

But in a chaotic distribution at Jeppestown on Friday, about 400 immigrants were turned away and only South Africans, about 100, received the food parcels, which meant to last a family for a month. When the food distribution truck left it was still full of food.

Food parcels are meant to be given to people who are on a list approved by the department. But GroundUp saw South Africans filling in forms on site and receiving parcels, while immigrants that had been registered in August last year by Ethel Musonza of Zimbabwe Isolated Women in South Africa (ZIWISA) to receive food parcels from the Gauteng DSD Buyisa Ubuntu Food Bank were returned away.

Things became so heated that Musonza, assaulted and threatened by South Africans, had to flee the event at the Mana Icreja Crista Church, corner of Andries and Charlene Street, while GroundUp was there on late Friday afternoon.

The department said, "Unfortunately, the foreign nationals who did not receive the food parcels were not on the list submitted by a person named 'Ethel'."

EFF Ward 61 election candidate Ayabonga Simson Tyhaliti and his supporters were also accused of hijacking the event for political gain with local elections looming.

"The Department cannot account for the allegations about the involvement of the EFF and its campaign" and "is not involved in any distribution that is politically motivated. As such, no political interference is acceptable nor entertained," said Ndwayana. "Any misunderstanding regarding Jeppestown food distribution is regrettable."

The EFF's Tyhaliti blamed the department for the mix-up. "The matter should be taken up with Social Development because they are the ones who instructed people working with the project not to take anything related to passports. They said it is difficult to enter them into their computer system. It is untrue that we are using food parcels to campaign, the people with IDs were registered," he said.

However, the DSD says, "The data system does not reject passports and asylum numbers that are legal." It only has its social workers "make assessments in communities ... to ensure that these services are not being used by people that do not need them".

Contrary to claims made by the DSD, Musonza says she has over 400 forms as evidence. All the names were verified by the Department and sent back to her, she says, and she . printed the forms and brought them to the distribution point. GroundUp has seen the forms.

Musonza said, "People from the Department tore up some of the forms belonging to foreign nationals in front of me. Instead, they started filling out new forms for the SA citizens they gave parcels to.

"If the Department is claiming that foreign nationals were given food on this day it is just trying to clear its name. All foreign nationals went home empty handed."

Among the immigrants turned away on Friday were people with disabilities, blind people who are surviving by begging, and domestic workers who have lost their jobs due to the pandemic. They were mostly Zimbabweans, Mozambicans, Congolese and Malawians who live on the streets or in dilapidated buildings in Doornfontein, inner-city Johannesburg.

Musonza said that at a previous food distribution in early September, refugees, asylum seekers and foreign passport holders were also turned away. She said people who benefited in September benefitted on Friday again. GroundUp spoke to three South Africans who said they had received parcels the previous month as well.

"The food parcels were long awaited and there was a dire need for food," said Musonza. "Initially the food distribution was supposed to take place in inner-city Johannesburg where most of the registered immigrants live, but representatives from Social Development changed the venue to Jeppestown where the people who previously benefited live."

Some of the immigrants told GroundUp they had not seen decent food for months.

When they arrived at the church in the morning they heard EFF slogans being chanted and that people receiving food parcels were told to vote for the EFF in the upcoming elections.

"The food parcels were hijacked by EFF members who were making their supporters jump the queue, while blind people, the disabled, and many other migrant communities were turned away after walking long distances from their homes. They claimed government food parcels were not meant for immigrants," said Musonza.

"We were surprised that even people who had passports, asylum and refugee documents were turned away."

Two friends, both of whom are visually impaired, Edward Hamadziripi and Edmore Makungura, who left Zimbabwe in 2010, said that although it was raining they had walked all the way from Ellis Park to the assembly point at Nugget Street where they boarded cars to Jeppestown.

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"Waiting the whole day only to be denied food was painful. For days we have not had any real food. It's hard to rely on the money we beg on the streets because sometimes we go home with nothing," said Hamadziripi.

"To think that we promised our children that we would soon have food. No one knew that they would refuse to give us food," said Charity Daniel originally from Lilongwe, Malawi.

"The shelves in our home are empty. There is no food. If l do not get food provisions soon my family will starve," said Chiedza Ndlovu, originally from Zimbabwe. She lost her job as a domestic worker due to the pandemic and now sells sweets on the streets. She too returned home empty handed.

"What happened did not surprise us, the South African government has been excluding us from food parcels since the pandemic started," said John Msusa from Congo.

"This exclusion is consistent with the policy of the DHA making migration and movement of predominantly black African people a crime," commented Sharon Ekambaram, Lawyers for Human Rights Manager for Refugee and Migrants Rights Programme.
Corruption- accused Edwin Sodi's NJR Projects showed "poor performance", says municipality. Meanwhile Lindelani families are still waiting for houses

Twenty years ago, many East Rand families were moved to Lindelani informal settlement in Ekurhuleni to make way for an industrial development.

They were promised housing and after a long wait it seemed this would materialise in 2020 with the launch of the Alliance project.

But few of the promised houses have been built, as several contractors were dumped by the City of Ekurhuleni because of poor performance.

One of the contractors is a company 50% owned by Edwin Sodi, co-accused with suspended ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule in the Free State asbestos roofing case.

Twenty years after being forcibly removed to make way for an industrial development, families in the Lindelani Informal Settlement in Ekurhuleni are still waiting for the RDP homes and services they were promised.

In 2020 they believed their long wait was finally over, when the multimillion rand Alliance housing project in the area was announced. So far 258 houses have been completed, 1,381 houses are in progress and the project should be completed by June 2022, according to the Ekurhuleni municipality.

But when GroundUp visited the area recently, we discovered that the project had stalled and many of the families are still living in their shacks. In Alliance Extension 9, toilets have been installed on serviced stands - at a cost of R174 million according to the municipality - but have not been connected to the sewerage system. Most families rely on communal toilets. Some families get water from tankers and others from communal water tanks on the street. In Alliance Extension 1, where RDP houses have been built, the houses are in different states of completion and still have no electricity. Yet tens of millions of rands have been paid to companies to build houses and provide services in the area.

The contracts of two developers who were awarded tenders to build new homes in both projects were cancelled because of poor performance.

DA MP Mat Cuthbert lodged a complaint with the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) in 2019 against the Ekurhuleni Municipality in connection with Lindelani. But instead of investigating, the SAHRC referred the matter to the municipality for "further handling".

Edwin Sodi

One of the companies whose contract was cancelled was NJR Projects, which trades as the G5 Group. It is linked to controversial tenderpreneur Edwin Sodi. Sodi is one of nine accused, along with suspended ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule and five companies, in a multimillion rand corruption case. Magashule and Sodi and the others have been charged with multiple financial crimes, including fraud, corruption, money laundering and contravening the Occupational Health and Safety Act, in respect of a R255 million project to eradicate asbestos roofing in the Free State. The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) swooped on Sodi in October last year in connection with the Free State case and seized luxury vehicles and properties worth millions of rands.

According to a report by the investigators for the Zondo Commission, Sodi has a 50% interest in NJR, "which assisted with emergency roof replacements in Gauteng at the end of 2013 for an amount of R70 million." The investigators said NJR had received a total of R1 billion nationally.

NJR has also been linked to a R173 million contract to build temporary housing in Duncan Village in the Eastern Cape. The SIU is investigating contracts valued at R300 million, which were aimed at stopping the spread of Covid-19. Only 279 of the contracted 1,800 temporary shelters were ever built.

The vast informal settlement of Lindelani on the outskirts of Benoni in Gauteng's East Rand has 15,000 residents according to the 2011 census, although the number has probably grown since then. The original residents of the settlement were moved there from another informal settlement in Apex around 1999, to make way for industrial development. The then Benoni Town Council undertook to provide houses and services for those who were moved. Since then more people have joined the list for housing.

Christina Hlatswayo, 74, was moved from Apex in 1999 and still lives in her shack in Lindelani. On the wall of the tiny two-roomed shack is a portrait of Nelson Mandela. She has been told that she does not qualify for a house in the Alliance project.

"I remember being chased from the informal settlement by white men with dogs," she says. "The move was rough. They threatened to demolish my shack if we did not move. We were told that we would get houses as soon as we moved to Lindelani, but l am still here and the holes on the roof of my shack are becoming bigger with every rainy season."

"To think that our country was freed in 1994, but look at the small shack I live in. I keep that picture of Mandela as a reminder. I have put many Xs inside the voter ballot boxes but that has not changed anything."

Sibongiseni Siyaya, who was also moved with his family from Apex to Lindelani, is also still waiting for the home he was promised. He is unemployed and says his dream is to get a house of his own.

"Those chemical toilets you see came only recently and at some point they were not being cleaned regularly enough," he says. Water supplies from Jojo tanks on the street are unreliable and the electricity they were promised has never materialised, he says "And where are the houses they promised us when we moved from Apex? It feels like we have been waiting forever."

Dina Gafe, who was moved to a serviced stand in Extension 9, suffered a stroke a few years ago and has lost the use of her hands, and uses a stick to walk. Her stand has a toilet, but she is unable to use it as it has been locked since the day she was moved there in 2014. The communal street chemical toilet is too far for her and she struggles every time she wants to use the toilet.

"I get frustrated every time I look at that toilet. I need it now more than ever because I cannot do much for myself, but no one has been able to give us answers," Gafe says.

She relies on her nine-year-old granddaughter to fetch water from the truck which comes to her street. But sometimes the child is at school when the truck comes.

"I'm tired of carrying water buckets, my head hurts from balancing water every day. I want an RDP house with a kitchen and a sink, as they promised us," said Nqobile Ndwandwe, another resident. "Officials only come here to entice us into voting and make empty promises. Afterwards they disappear only to show up when another election is near."

"For years we have protested but to no avail. We were told that a budget was released to build houses in Alliance but already there are problems and the project has stopped. We now watch as other people are being moved to the few houses which have been finished, but no one knows what criteria are being used."

Victor Hlatswayo, a community representative, says: "Nothing makes sense, we have been promised many things which have not materialised."

Politicians squabble as the wait goes on

In a response to a written parliamentary question from Cuthbert, which included a request for the names and details of companies awarded housing construction contracts in the area, then Human Settlements minister Lindiwe Sisulu responded: "I am constrained and prohibited by the document titled "Guide to Parliamentary Questions in the National Assembly" from providing the Honourable Member with the name of the contractor.

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This document states that: "Names of persons, bodies ... are only used in questions if the facts surrounding the case have been proven. As the mere mention of such names could be construed as publicity for or against them, it should be clear that this practice is highly undesirable.'"

Cuthbert then submitted a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) application for the information, including a request for the names of beneficiaries and contractors. Sisulu sent the PAIA request to the City of Ekurhuleni, which responded, naming several companies involved, including the Edwin Sodi-linked NJR Projects.

The City said the contracts of NJR and another company, KMSD-Seedi JV, had been "terminated due to poor performance." Another contractor, TCT Civil and Construction, had been appointed by the National Department of Human Settlements in Springs to complete the contracts of NJR and KMSD-Seedi. "But it ... could not continue ... after the rollover was approved".

Responding to questions from GroundUp, City spokesperson Nhlanhla Cebekhulu said the project in Alliance Extension 1 had ground to a halt due to budget constraints. He said the total project was valued at R211 million.

The project in extension 9 had been halted due to "non-cooperation from the community", and would continue after an audit had been conducted, he added.

"Currently the department has two projects relating to Alliance Ext 1 and 9," Cebekhulu said. "The first phase will cater for 1,639 houses and the next phase will cover the remainder of the residents. As soon as the projects are completed, the qualifying beneficiaries from Lindelani will be allocated. The remaining beneficiaries will then be re-blocked and electrified."

Edwin Sodi did not respond to a request for comment from GroundUp.
The Minister of State for Environment, Ms Beatrice Anywar Atim, has urged government to scatter refugees in various areas saying concentrating them in one place has led to environmental degradation.

Ms Anywar made the remarks while launching a new project dubbed 'restoring and conserving degraded and fragile ecosystems for improved livelihoods among the refugees and host communities' in Kampala yesterday.

Ms Anywar, who represented Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja, said Uganda has an open policy to refugees from other countries and UNHCR latest data, of August 31, shows that the country hosts 1.5 million of them.

"The daily needs [of refugees] have caused a lot of degradation because there is pressure to collect firewood to cook food everyday," she said.

Ms Anywar added that this had resulted in the destruction of the forest cover around refugee settlements.

"We have started incorporating them [refugees] in the conservation process with [the help of] our partners. We want to engage them in tree planting and giving them alternative cheap fuel," she said.

Ms Anywar said if the refugees are spread out, they can be engaged in a number of productive activities and restore the forest cover quickly.

Ms Anywar called on stakeholders to give priority to Kitgum District in the restoration project because it provides essential needs to refugees.

The European Union (EU) representative, Ms Caroline Adriaensen, said the project would ensure that refugees and host communities have access to alternative sources of cooking fuel and decrease the demand and utilisation of natural resources within and around refugee settlements.

"The project contributes directly to the implementation of government's water and environment sector refugee response plan and seeks to achieve synergies and strengthen coordination with other actions and development partners," she said.

Ms Adriaensen added that the project aims at improving access to sufficient, healthier, sustainable, and alternative sources of energy, increased capacity to construct and maintain the decreased dependence on energy for unsustainable and unregulated sources for households.

"The project will also enhance adoption of sustainable land management climate smart agriculture practices, agroforestry enterprises and woodlot establishment and good post-harvest handling," she said.

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The EU has injected more than Shs37.2b in the fight against the increasing environmental and ecosystem degradation in West Nile Sub-region especially in the refugee hosting districts.

The Save the Children country director, Ms Dragana Strinic, said: "This project aims to achieve construction and distribution of 44,000 improved cooking stoves for vulnerable households and increase community awareness through installation and demonstration at institutions."

She added that through these programmes, the key staff partners and volunteers will be trained on child protection including sexual exploitation and child abuse through child safeguarding policies.

The four-year project will be implemented in five districts which include Kikuube, Kyegegwa, Kamwenge, Terego and Yumbe. Other partners include Government of Uganda, World Agroforestry, Uganda Biodiversity Fund, and Enabel.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Justice Jane Frances Abodo, has said bail should be considered on a case-by-case basis.

This follows an ongoing debate on whether to grant or not to grant bail to suspected capital offenders, especially those facing murder charges

Speaking at the sidelines of the launch of the trafficking in persons prosecutor guidelines in Kampala yesterday, Justice Abodo said it is against African culture to release someone who is suspected to have killed another barely days after being arraigned before court.

"The debate about bail is ranging on and the law on bail is very clear. It says everyone has a right to apply, but whether you are granted or not, is at the discretion of the judicial officer. Which means, each case should be taken on its merit," the DPP said.

She added: "Someone is not yet buried and a person suspected to be the killer is moving around the village. That person can be lynched."

President Museveni has in the past fortnight -- in a back-to-back public engagements renewed his decade-long bid to scrap bail for suspected offenders, especially those facing murder charges.

The President said the release of murder suspects who have not yet completed 180 days on remand is a provocation. He added that he has a political remedy for it.

When asked whether there is need to prioritise the hearing of murder cases as proposed by President Museveni last week on Friday, Justice Abodo said that should be given to cases that are of public interest.

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"It depends on what kind of murder cases, if they are of public interest, then, definitely, they can be fast tracked. You remember the Entebbe women murders, those are cases that affect so many of us, so they can be fast tracked if there are resources in terms of money and human resources across board," she said.

Priority cases

The chief government prosecutor also said her office has been prioritising cases involving sexual violence such as aggravated defilement because they involve children who can easily forget their testimony.

DPP Abodo also said as government lawyers, their duty is to always oppose granting bail to suspects.

She said her office usually objects to releasing suspects on bail because of fear by the suspect to interfere with the investigations when they are still in infancy.

"We object to bail applications and it's a rule, you must object to bail and if I am not objecting to bail, I must sign a document saying I am not objecting. The law is, I must object to bail as the DPP," Justice Abodo said.
Maputo  The Mozambican health authorities on Tuesday reported a further 19 new cases of the Covid-19 respiratory disease.

12 of the new cases were men and seven were women. One was a child under 15 years of age. No positive cases at all were reported from six of the 11 provinces, including Maputo city. There were 12 cases from Zambezia (63.2 per cent of the total), two each from Cabo Delgado, Nampula and Maputo province and one from Gaza.

According to a Ministry of Health Tuesday press release, since the start of the pandemic 910,904 people had been tested for the coronavirus that causes Covid-19, 511 of them in the previous 24 hours. 492 of those tests yielded negative results, while 19 people tested positive for the virus. This brought the total number of people diagnosed with Covid-19 in Mozambique to 150,826.

The positivity rate (the percentage of people tested found to be carrying the virus) on Tuesday was 3.7 per cent - a considerable increase on the 0.7 per cent reported on Monday.

In Zambezia, the only province with a significant number of cases, the positivity rate was 11.9 per cent.

Over the same 24 hour period, three Covid-19 patients were discharged from hospital (one in Cabo Delgado, one in Niassa and one in Maputo), and three new cases were admitted (one in Niassa, one in Zambezia and one in Maputo).

The number of people under medical care in the Covid-19 treatment centres remained 21, the same as on Monday. Six of these patients were in Nampula, five in Maputo, five in Niassa, two in Zambezia, two in Inhambane, and one in Gaza.

No Covid-19 deaths were reported on Tuesday, and so the Mozambican death toll from the disease remained 1,919.

The Ministry release also reported that, over the previous 24 hours, 22 people were declared fully recovered from Covid-19 (13 in Inhambane, five in Zambezia and four in Tete). The total number of recoveries now stands at 147,605, or 97.9 per cent of all those ever diagnosed with Covid-19 in Mozambique.

The number of active Covid-19 cases fell slightly, from 1,301 on Monday to 1,298 on Tuesday. The geographical distribution of the active cases was as follows: Maputo city, 596 (45.9 per cent of the total); Nampula, 373; Cabo Delgado, 204; Maputo province, 38; Inhambane, 37; Zambezia, 16; Niassa, 14; Gaza, 12; Manica, seven; and Sofala, one. There were no active cases at all in Tete.




According to the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (Mincetur) , the 2021 list was unveiled in a ceremony broadcast live from Amsterdam by Green Destinations.





The Peruvian destinations and the regions they are situated in are listed below:





- Tambopata National Reserve (Madre de Dios)

- Alto Mayo  Tarapoto (San Martin)

- Pacaya Samiria National Reserve (Loreto)

- Gocta  Kuelap (Amazonas)

- Pomac Forest Historical Sanctuary (Lambayeque)

- Tingo Maria National Park (Huanuco)

- Titicaca, Sacred Lake of the Incas (Puno)

- Sandia, Coffee Route, and Bahuaja Sonene National Park (Puno - Madre de Dios)

- Colca Canyon (Arequipa)





Thanks to this recognition, Peru is part of an international group of destinations committed to sustainability, including Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Japan, among others, which will have important promotion opportunities regarding the use of the TOP 100 logo on their social networks and websites and will be included on the Good Travel Guide website.





In addition, the Peruvian destinations' good practice stories are eligible for nomination to the Green Destinations Stories Awards  held at ITB Berlin.





Peru's Foreign Trade and Tourism Minister Roberto Sanchez explained that being part of this list provides a boost to the work undertaken by the Government in coordination with regional and local agents in public and private sectors to position the country as a destination with unique experiences, because of its natural and cultural wealth.

Moreover, this is in line with the actions framed in the National Strategy for the Reactivation of the Tourism Sector, as well as the Safe Travels stamp , in order to have safe destinations that are more sustainable and better for local communities, as well as for national and international visitors.





(END) NDP/MDV/RMB

Nine Peruvian destinations have been included on this year's Top 100 Sustainable Destinations list, which features the most eco-friendly tourist destinations with the minimum possible impact on the environment and local culture.Published: 10/6/2021
14:00 | Cusco (Cusco region), Oct. 6.

This was established by Ministerial Resolution No. 000263-2021-DM/MC , which was recently published in the official gazette El Peruano
Con la unidad del pueblo es posible todo. pic.twitter.com/slTvUnL648
" " Wasps suffer from a bit of an image problem but they are hard-working pollinators and  dare we say it  possibly cute. Horst Bierau Photography - foto.bierau.net/Getty Images

Wasps have gotten a bad rap since day one.

In the Old Testament, when the Almighty wanted to really stick it to the enemies of Israel, he sent in a plague of hornets. And Aristotle, writing in 350 B.C.E., said that "hornets and wasps... are devoid of the extraordinary features which characterize bees; this we should expect, for they have nothing divine about them as the bees have."

While bees have long been beloved for their delicious golden honey and hardworking pollination habits, wasps  which include social species like hornets and yellow jackets  are universally despised. A beehive is a miraculous work of nature. A wasp hive is a reason to call the Orkin man.

But a team of scientists at University College London (UCL) believes that wasps deserve as much love as bees do. Wasps, like bees, are powerful pollinators. But unlike bees, wasps are also apex predators, regulating insect populations and killing off crop pests. Sure, wasps don't make sweet amber nectar by the jarful, but in some parts of the world wasp larvae are a seasonal delicacy (fine, the bees win that round).

Seirian Sumner, Ph.D. studies the evolution of insect social behavior at the Center for Biodiversity and Environment Research at UCL, where she's painfully aware that our unfounded bias against wasps undercuts scientific research on the misunderstood creatures. Who wants to fund a nasty wasp study, after all, when we can publish the one-trillionth paper on the beauty of bees?

"The reason we hate wasps culturally is because we don't understand what they do," says Sumner. "And the reason we don't understand what they do is because there's very little science to show what they do. If we can make people think about wasps the same way they think about bees, then we can turn the wheels around and change the public perception of wasps."

In a study published on Sept. 19, 2018 in Ecological Entomology, Sumner and her colleagues found that wasps are rarely the subject of research into the important "ecosystem services" performed by insects, things like pollination and pest control. Of 908 papers published on the topic since 1980, only 22 (2.4 percent) focused on wasps. And of the 2,543 conference abstracts submitted on bees or wasps in the past 20 years, 81.3 percent were exclusively about bees. And the "bee bias" has been increasing probably because of targeted funding for bee research over the past 10 years.

With such a scarcity of wasp research, it's no wonder that the general public has a dark opinion of the flying critters, known only for their sting and fabled aggressiveness. Sumner's team conducted an online survey asking people to list words they associated with bees, butterflies, wasps and flies. Butterflies generated the most positive results with words like "beautiful," "delicate" and "colorful," but bees were a close second with "honey," "flowers" and "pollination."

Wasps, on the other hand, conjured more negative emotions than even those buzzing black flies. The most common wasp words were "sting," "annoying," "dangerous" and "angry." A clear sign of our complete ignorance of wasp behavior is that the word "pollination" didn't even make the top ten.

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What Wasps Do (Besides Sting)

What little we know about wasps is that they are excellent and important pollinators. Sumner says that unlike bees, who can be "quite fussy" about what kinds of flowers they'll visit and pollinate, wasps are generalists who will pollinate "any old flower." Wasps could be useful for urban farmers, for example, where there aren't any lush flowery meadows for bees to frolic.

"Wasps might be good backup pollinators when it's just not nice enough for the bees," says Sumner. "If you think about way that we 'work' our bees for agriculture, why don't we work our wasps?"

Social wasps like hornets and yellowjackets make up only 1 percent of the 150,000 predatory wasp species, but because 10,000 worker wasps can live in a single hive, they're the most likely to come into contact with humans. Yes, they sting, but their stings are not more painful than honey bees' and no more dangerous to people without bee or wasp allergies, the study points out.

Sumner says that you can keep social wasps in a manmade box hive, just like honey bees, and that those hives could be moved around to support farmer's crops just like millions of beehives are shipped across the United States every year to pollinate almond orchards and pumpkin patches.

Besides being pollinators, predatory wasps are one of nature's most effective regulators of pest populations. Early research shows that wasps aren't picky about their prey, but will hunt down whatever insect is in abundance.

"If there are lots of caterpillars, they'll eat those. If there are tons of flies or another specific species, they'll eat those," says Sumner. "But when those prey populations get lower, the wasps are not going to hunt them to local extinction. In that way, they're not a threat."

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Giving Wasps an Image Makeover

In a world without wasps, farmers and regular households would need to use a lot more chemical pesticides to keep other insects at bay. And Sumner worries that wasp populations, like bees, are already being killed off by overuse of agricultural pesticides. But we'll never know until someone bothers to research it. "An overall increase of scientific understanding could, in turn, help to improve the public's perception of wasps," notes the study.

A further solution to the wasp's image problem, says Sumner, is to get the word out about all the good that they do, starting with the media (check!).

"People don't need much persuading," says Sumner. "As soon as I explain to people that wasps are useful, they immediately go, 'Oh, O.K., I won't squash them the next time I see one.'"

What wasps obviously need is a catchy hashtag that will go viral. How about #happyhornets or #waspwednesdays? We'll keep working on it...

Now That's Cool Back to eating wasp larvae, this cool Japanese travel blog talks about the traditional practice of tracking down wild yellowjacket nests. Hunters attach ribbons to individual wasps and follow them back to the nest, raising them in manmade hives and harvesting larvae from the comb one by one with tweezers.
Finnish Ambassador for Arctic and Antarctic Affairs Petteri Vuorimaki believes that the program of the Russian presidency in the Arctic Council is probably the most ambitious one in its history. Importantly, cooperation in the Arctic opens up opportunities for constructive interaction with Moscow. The politician made this statement at the Washington-based Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

At present, the Russian Federation chairs the Council, and this program is likely to be the most intensive and ambitious in its entire history. If I were to take part in all planned events, I would have to move to Moscow or some other place in Russia. It has planned an incredible number of events, he noted.

I keep saying that cooperation in the Arctic opens up opportunities for constructive cooperation with the largest Arctic country, the Russian Federation, despite difficulties in other areas, Vuorimaki said.

The Arctic Council is an inter-governmental organization of the Arctic states: Denmark (with Greenland and the Faroe Islands), Iceland, Canada, Norway, Russia, the United States, Finland and Sweden. In 2021, the year of the Councils 25th anniversary, Russia took over the two-year presidency from Iceland.
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ROME, OCTOBER 6, ARMENPRESS. During the meeting with his Italian counterpart in Rome, President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian presented his assessment to the situation around the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, reaffirming Armenias readiness to continue the works on peacefully settling the conflict with the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, Armenpress correspondent reports from Rome.

President Sarkissian has arrived in Italy on a state visit at the invitation of President Sergio Mattarella.

In this sense we valued the importance of maintaining balanced positions and approaches over the issues that are sensitive for us. We highly appreciate the readiness of the government of Italy to continue the support to the ROCHEMP (Center for Cultural Heritage) program and contribute through this program to the preservation of historical-cultural monuments both in Armenia and elsewhere, the Armenian President said.

He stated that Armenia is grateful to friendly Italy for demonstrating sensitivity on human rights matters. Sarkissian added that Armenia highly appreciates the resolution adopted by the Italian Parliament on March 2 which calls for the release of the Armenian prisoners of war from Azerbaijan.

We also welcome the documents adopted by nearly 50 regional and city councils of Italy in support of Artsakh and its people. We attach importance to the participation of the Italian specialists to the preservation of the Armenian historical-cultural heritage, as well as the direct cooperation with UNESCO, Armen Sarkissian said.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
ROME, OCTOBER 6, ARMENPRESS. Armenian President Armen Sarkissians this visit to Italy is historical as it coincides with the 30th anniversary of the independence of Armenia, President Sergio Mattarella said during the joint press conference with his Armenian counterpart in Rome, Armenpress correspondent reports from the scene.

I once again address my warm congratulations to President Armen Sarkissian. I am happy that we can conduct this visit as it was delayed because of the pandemic. Armenia and Italy can be proud of their friendly relations. We have several cooperation areas. I want to thank Mr. Sarkissian for Armenias engagement into the UN peacekeeping forces, the Italian President said.

Sergio Mattarella stated that the partnership of Italy and Armenia was reaffirmed also during the pandemic, as the doctors in both countries have worked together. A work has been done on providing vaccines against COVID-19 to Armenia.

Armenia is a reliable partner for Italy in the region. We know that reforms are taking place in Armenia, we are ready to carry out an exchange of experience in areas such as legal, judicial system. During the meeting we talked about the interests the Italian companies have towards the Armenian market. Some companies have already been set up in Armenia, he said.

The Armenian and Italian Presidents have also discussed the cooperation in cultural, technological and scientific sectors.

President Mattarella said that Italy attaches great importance to the Armenia-EU partnership. He once again thanked President Sarkissian for this visit, stating that its a good occasion to reaffirm the high level of the relations between the two countries.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 6, ARMENPRESS. The foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed to meet again under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs to discuss a number of humanitarian issues, including the return of Armenian captives who are illegally held in Azerbaijan, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said during a Q&A session in the Parliament.

Of course, the resumption of these format discussions, negotiation process is welcome and is definitely in the interests of Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh. We state once again that the issue is not solved. Azerbaijan likes to say that the issue doesnt exist anymore, but I think that this is one more assurance by the international community that the issue exists and requires solution, and the search for the solution must take place within the format of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship, the body having the only internationally recognized mandate, Mirzoyan said.

He highlighted the solution of the issue within the mandate of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship, stating that it at some stage supposes discussion of the most vital issues.

I positively assess the fact that there was a perception despite the existence of tension and many unresolved issues, we agreed to meet again and first of all discuss the humanitarian issues. Of course, the talk firstly concerns the issue relating to the prisoners of war and civilians who are illegal held in Azerbaijan, the issue of the existence of captives waiting for confirmation, the access of humanitarian missions, international organizations in Nagorno Karabakh, and many other issues. I think that the positive solution of these issues would first of all be an evidence of a constructive position by Azerbaijan and would create an environment where we can discuss the most important issues in the course of time, the Armenian FM said.

He proposed to pay attention to the formulations in the statement issued by the Co-Chairs. According to him, everything is said with that.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 6, ARMENPRESS. President of the Republic of Armenia Armen Sarkissian, who is in the Republic of Italy on a state visit, met with the President of the Italian Senate Maria Elisabetta Casellati.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the Presidents Office, welcoming the Armenian President on behalf of the Senate and her own behalf, Maria Casellati once again recorded with satisfaction the firm relations between the two countries. She said that the state visit of the President of Italy to Armenia in 2018 and the state visit of the President of Armenia to Italy today are a great impetus for cooperation between the two countries. Considering culture as an essential component of bilateral cooperation, she highlighted the activities of the Regional Center for the Preservation and Management of Italian Cultural Heritage opened in Yerevan in 2018.

Agreeing that the relations between the two countries are based on historical and cultural ties, the President of Armenia said that our peoples have millennia-old historical ties, and for the last two thousand years, they have also shared Christian history. We are nations who have always greatly valued culture, knowledge and arts, President Sarkissian said.

The President of Armenia highlighted the meetings with the heads of the legislatures within the framework of his foreign visits, considering the important role of the parliaments in the development of interstate relations, the formation of an atmosphere of mutual trust and understanding.

"We are interested to see closer ties between the parliaments of the two countries, including in international organizations, within the framework of interparliamentary assemblies," said President Sarkissian.

The interlocutors also spoke about regional developments and problems. In particular, President Sarkissian touched upon humanitarian issues, noting in this context that despite the efforts and calls of the international community, Azerbaijan continues to detain Armenian prisoners of war.

The directions and prospects of Armenia-European Union cooperation were also touched upon.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 6, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia NIkol Pashinyan informed about the negotiations on building a new nuclear power plant in Armenia, ARMENPRESS reports Pashinyan said during the parliament-Cabinet Q&A session, answering the question of MP Sergey Bagratyan representing Civil Contract Party.

Bagratyan reminded that recently the Chairman of the Board of Directors of GeoProMining Company announced about investing 2 billion USD in mining, he also spoke about 1.5 billion investment to build a new copper smelter.

Lets note that for the first time since the 2000s, Armenia and the people of Armenia are co-owners of the Zangezur Copper and Molybdenum Combine. I hope that this share will increase, but to such an extent that it will not distort the market nature of our economy," Pashinyan said.

The Prime Minister noted that when it was announced that the Government was becoming the co-owner of the Zangezur Copper and Molybdenum Combine, there were opinions that there was a dark and suspicious deal. "If the owner of that 15 percent was not the Government, but an offshore company, and the owner of that offshore company was another offshore company, and the offshore owner was a member of the Prime Minister's or any minister's family, then it would be a dark deal," he said.

Pashinyan noted that there are people sitting in the part of the hall representing the opposition who have made such deals during their activities, and believes that law enforcement agencies should seriously investigate into those deals to find out their cause and effect, including potentially treacherous deals.

An offer was made to Armenia by one of the owners of "Geopromining" company, a member of the Board of Directors, we discussed the offer, we saw that the offer corresponds to the economic and state interests of Armenia. This includes two very important components: the first is the construction of a copper smelter, which means that Armenia will no longer export concentrate and import ready-made copper from somewhere else to be used in other products, but copper will be produced in Armenia. Second, the construction of a new nuclear power plant is part of this program, and this large company has undertaken investment commitments for the establishment of a copper smelter, which has been duly recorded, and negotiations on the construction of a new nuclear power plant in Armenia have already started, PM Pashinyan said, adding that the participation of the Government in that process is important for that the nuclear power plant cannot be a fully private company, the Government should have active participation in it.

Pashinyan noted that now the Government's task is that the construction of a new copper smelter kicks off by June 2025. "And we must try to make the construction of the nuclear power plant happen in parallel. It would be good if the operation of the copper smelter and the nuclear power plant coincide," he said.
Rheinmetall Canada and Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles (RMMV) welcome Navistar Defence Canada to their partnership, dubbed Team 45 North (45N), in pursuit of Canadas Logistics Vehicle Modernization (LVM) project  an initiative that will revitalize the Canadian Armys light and heavy logistics vehicle capabilities. Drawing on more than 200 years of combined expertise in developing technical solutions in the realm of defence and vehicle programmes in Canada, Team 45N brings together two premier military vehicle manufacturers and a world-class integrator to offer the Canadian Army battle-tested trucks that are purpose-built for military use.

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Navistar Defence Canada rounds out Team 45N, offering significant experience in working with the Canadian government (Picture source: Navistar Defence Canada)

With its members extensive experience in various logistics vehicle solutions and in the execution of complex defence projects, Team 45N offers a low-risk, high-quality solution for Canadas LVM project. For decades, Rheinmetall Canada has been a trusted partner of the Canadian Armed Forces in several programmes. The company is an internationally acknowledged system integrator in the defence and security industry and a dependable provider of in-service support to large Canadian vehicle projects. Rheinmetall Canada is also known for its collaborative approach in working with its customers throughout the full lifecycle of their programmes.



Rheinmetall's HX family of vehicles offers a wide range of 4x4, 6x6, 8x8 and 10x10 variants (Picture source: Rheinmetall)

Bringing unique skills and deep knowledge to the team, RMMV has successfully developed, built, and serviced military vehicles around the globe for more than a century. To satisfy all of its customers needs and to support them in fulfilling their most demanding missions, the company offers a complete range of services, including project management, systems engineering and integration, through-life support, repair and maintenance, as well as spares management.

Navistar Defence Canada rounds out Team 45N, offering significant experience in working with the Canadian government. Navistar Defence Canada delivered 1,300 militarized commercial-off-the-shelf (MilCOTS) vehicles to the Canadian Department of National Defence for the Medium Support Vehicle System (MSVS) project to support domestic and expeditionary missions. It continues to provide logistic support through its vast parts and service network across Canada. The company also supplied the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) with armoured personnel carriers to provide increased protection and rescue capabilities for RCMP officers and members of the public in high-risk situations.

In collaboration with its partners, Team 45N will offer a comprehensive LVM solution that fulfills the Canadian Armys logistics mission profile, specifically designed to meet military requirements  durability, protection, payload capacity, mobility, and all-terrain capability.

RMMVs HX series of tactical trucks already has a successful track record globally and has a well-established group of user nations, including Canadas close allies (Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom) as well as other NATO nations (Germany, Norway, Denmark) and western countries (Austria, Sweden). These reliable military vehicles excel in all climates, are off-road capable, and  most importantly  offer an unparalleled level of protection to soldiers. The combat-proven ready-to-use design can also be upgraded and modified according to specific customer needs. A true military off-the-shelf solution, the HX family of vehicles combines professional logistics with force mobility support and tactical special role applications, making it a reliable enabler for joint operations in complex environments.

Navistar Defence Canadas vehicles are among the most versatile in the world. The flexible platforms are easily tailored to meet specific mission requirements and configured in several variants such as water tankers; petroleum, oil and lubricant trucks; general troop transporters; wreckers; dump trucks; heavy equipment transport trucks; and more. They have been used in recent natural disaster relief missions in Canada and have been a key logistics force multiplier on the front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Team 45N is committed to supporting the Canadian Armed Forces before, during, and after deliveries while creating pan-Canadian economic growth. The partnership draws on a coast-to-coast network of suppliers and will help bolster an in-country workforce and supply chain. Rheinmetall Canada and its partners excellent track record in fulfilling their Industrial and Technological Benefits (ITB) commitments are a testament to Team 45Ns dedication to the Canadian industry.

Thanks to the alliances exceptional product offering, extensive experience in working with the Canadian Armed Forces, and its commitment to Canadian economic growth, Team 45N is the solution of choice for Canadas LVM project, as well as all other future logistic vehicle initiatives.
Professor Neil Ferguson of Imperial College London (Parliament TV/PA) (PA Archive)

The UK does not have much headroom for rising Covid-19 cases before the NHS becomes heavily stressed, an expert advising the Government has told MPs.

Professor Neil Ferguson a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) from Imperial College London, said the political decision to live with Covid was behind the UKs current level of transmission, which is higher than in many other countries.

He also reiterated his belief that the UK was too slow to lock down last autumn, a decision that cost lives.

Prof Ferguson suggested the Governments Plan B for tacking Covid, which could see mandatory face masks brought back, Covid passports introduced and people told to work from home, could be triggered if hospital admissions reached 1,200 a day from the current figure of about 600.

(PA Graphics) (PA Graphics)

He told the all-party group on coronavirus: We are starting with quite a high incidence and so we dont have very much headroom for increases.

If we compare, for instance, incidence of Covid cases per day in France, Germany, Spain Italy and Portugal there is a much lower level than us, so they can afford to see something of a surge of transmission, which they may well, without unduly stressing the health system.

We are much closer to the limit of what the NHS can cope with. We will come on to plan B, I think that is what is exercising Whitehall and policymakers, is that limited headroom.

He said there was a high level of unpredictability in the modelling but added: We could see continued flat incidence, even slow decline if we get boosters out quickly.

So its not guaranteed we will see a large winter surge by any means, but we cant afford, at the current time, to have too much of a winter surge before really the NHS is very heavily stressed.

Asked about what other countries were doing, and whether the UK wants to keep case rates down, Prof Ferguson said: The Government clearly has said, its not really science here, its a political judgment, they want to live with Covid.

Story continues

Their prime criteria for acting is additional pressure on the NHS.

The lesson we have learned is that if you start seeing an upward trend and that is sustained, you need to get ahead of it

Prof Neil Ferguson

Later, Prof Ferguson said the winter plan from the Government was a template and did not specify when different escalation measures would take place.

He said: I should say theres a lot of work under way in governments at the moment involving academic groups such as my own, and many others, in terms of putting some more flesh on the bones answering directly those questions such as how quickly will we need to act?

I think lessons have been learned.

At the moment were running (at) 600 hospital admissions a day in the UK due to Covid.

I think if we saw that double, then that would be the sort of level where we would need to be thinking about moving to Plan B.

The lesson we have learned is that if you start seeing an upward trend and that is sustained for a period of time, then you need to get ahead of it.

But he added that if there was a sudden, rapid upsurge then we would need to act more intensively than if we see a gradual increase.

Nurses changing their PPE on a Covid ward at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley (Jane Barlow/PA) (PA Wire)

Prof Ferguson, whose modelling was instrumental to the UK going into lockdown in March 2020, also told MPs that the number of people who have died from Covid is intrinsically linked to when governments intervened to lock down.

He said: Historically, looking back on the pandemic, the principle determinate of mortality has been timing of interventions relative to the stage of the epidemic reached in a particular country.

And that explains certainly nearly all the variation Ive seen across Europe in the first wave of transmission.

I think a lot of countries frankly were much too slow in acting in the autumn of last year.

I wouldnt pick out the UK uniquely. Clearly there are some countries, like Denmark and others, who acted promptly, but a lot of the big nations in Europe acted rather slowly.

He said the UK had been unfortunate in seeing an early rise in Alpha variant cases and had been the worst-affected country in Europe by the Delta variant.

So some of these things are misfortune, lets say, and I think Ive been much more content with the timeliness of interventions since about December of last year than previously.

But still, it all comes down to timing.

Prof Ferguson said the key determinates of what is going to happen in the next few months, given that most countries have relaxed most social distancing, is the level of population immunity traded off against the level of contact rates in the population.

He said the UK was now behind Spain, Portugal and probably even France and Netherlands in terms of population immunity.

However, people in the UK were not seeing each other and having the same level of contact as before the pandemic, which was helping the situation.

I dont think were in a position where we can make reliable predictions of what the next few months will hold, (but) the key uncertainties are: what will happen to population immunity  we know that it wanes over time; what will happen to contact rates in the population; and then layered on top of that, the effect of seasonality in transmission due to climate  which we still dont fully understand either.

Prof Ferguson added: I personally think its unlikely well see a very large wave comparable to what we saw in the second wave last year, but we could still see quite a substantial wave of transmission, and the real challenge will be the extent to which that stresses the NHS, where capacity is limited.

The expert told MPs that in order to move away from the emergency situation of the pandemic, the number one thing the Government can do is increase vaccination coverage, increase booster coverage.

In terms of vaccine uptake - we were well in the lead at the beginning, but we have slipped considerably

Martin McKee, professor of European public health

He added that he believed that over the next few years the country would see seasonal surges of transmission that will challenge the health system on top of flu and everything else.

He added: Whether we need in some years to come to rely on some degree of mitigation beyond just vaccination remains to be seen.

Also speaking to MPs, Martin McKee, professor of European public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said the UK was not doing well in terms of cases or daily deaths when compared with other European countries.

In terms of vaccine uptake  we were well in the lead at the beginning, but we have slipped considerably so were running at about 66% or so of the total population, he added.

He said Portugal was at 85%, Spain at about 78%, and France is catching up quickly.

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A pair of upstate New York-based banking companies with branches in the Cayuga County area are planning to merge.

Dewitt-based Community Bank NA announced this week that has reached an agreement to acquire Elmira-based Elmira Savings Bank. The two companies said the sale should be completed in the first quarter of 2022. The deal requires regulatory and shareholder approvals.

For the $14.8 billion Community Bank, acquiring the $648.7 million in assets of Elmira Savings Bank expands it market into New York's Finger Lakes and Southern Tier regions.

One community where the two companies currently overlap is the Cayuga County village of Moravia. Each operate a branch on Main Street, about a block apart from each other.

Decisions about potential branch closures as a result of the merger have not been made, but Community Bank said it intends to keep "customer facing" Elmira Savings employees.

Community Bank and Elmira Savings Bank have a strong history of quality, local service and dedication to its customers and communities," said Joseph E. Sutaris, executive vice president and chief financial officer at Community Bank. "At this time, we are still evaluating the best way to operate in our communities. However, we recognize the strong relationships that have been forged over the years between customers and Elmira Savings Bank employees, therefore all customer facing Elmira Savings Bank branch employees will be offered employment at Community Bank. We are looking forward to the employees and customers of Elmira Savings Bank joining our banking family.

Community Bank has more than 215 locations across upstate New York, northeastern Pennsylvania, Vermont and western Massachusetts. In addition to Moravia, the company's Cayuga County-area branches are in Cato, Seneca Falls and Skaneateles. Elmira Savings Bank has 12 branches.

Were excited to welcome Elmira Savings Banks customers and employees to our Community Bank family, Community Banks President and Chief Executive Officer Mark E. Tryniski said in a press release. Elmira Savings Bank has a strong history of quality, local service and dedication to its customers and communities, which is the same philosophy as Community Bank. This shared philosophy and commitment to customer-focused community banking has been instrumental to our success.

Elmira Savings Banks President and Chief Executive Officer Thomas M. Carr touted the larger branch network and digital and mobile banking products that would be available for his company's customers in the combined company.

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"Breakthrough" cases  vaccinated individuals testing positive for COVID-19  have been reported in Cayuga County. But the percentage of cases among vaccinated residents has been low.

The Cayuga County Health Department said Tuesday that since Jan. 1, shortly after the COVID-19 vaccines became available for health care workers and long-term care residents, there have been 837 breakthrough cases. With more than 40,000 fully vaccinated residents, the breakthrough cases represent 2.1% of vaccinated individuals.

There has been a recent uptick in breakthrough cases. Since Aug. 23, when the health department began reporting the vaccination status of new cases, 65% of the county's COVID-19 cases were unvaccinated. But in the last 10 days, 43% of new cases (115 of 265) were vaccinated residents.

Health experts have issued constant reminders that while breakthrough infections are possible, the vaccines are highly effective at preventing serious illness, hospitalization or death in the vast majority of cases.

According to the local health department's situational updates, there have been vaccinated residents hospitalized with COVID-19. The latest report shows there are 23 Cayuga County residents with COVID-19 in four area hospitals. Eleven of the patients are vaccinated.

It's unknown if any vaccinated residents have died after contracting COVID-19. Cayuga County does not release the vaccination status of virus-related fatalities.

Despite the breakthrough cases, health officials are pushing to boost the vaccination rate. The state is partnering with the local health department as part of the #VaxtoSchool initiative. A pop-up clinic will be held from 4 to 5 p.m. Friday at Fingerlakes Mall in Aurelius. The Pfizer vaccine, which is available for individuals ages 12 and older, will be offered at the clinic. For adults ages 18 and older, the Johnson & Johnson and Moderna vaccines will also be available.

Any child ages 12-17 who gets the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine between now and Nov. 19 will receive a $25 Amazon gift card.

Registration will be required for the clinic. Individuals can register at cayugacounty.us/health.

"COVID-19 is still a risk for individuals of all ages, including children and adolescents, and getting vaccinated is the best way to protect yourself, friends, family and our school communities from the virus," the health department said.

Politics reporter Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding.

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SKANEATELES  The Skaneateles Central School District Board of Education approved the firing of a teaching assistant who told the board she's planning to file a religious discrimination lawsuit.

The agenda for Tuesday night's school board meeting included a resolution to terminate the employment of Holly Burroughs for "abandonment" of her position. All present board members unanimously approved the resolution without discussion.

Before the decision, Burroughs addressed the board during the first public comments portion of the meeting. She said she would never abandon her students.

"They are the reason I am here to do my job. It's not for the money. I'm dedicated to making sure that the students get their accommodations and the support that they need," she said.

Burroughs said she learned about her impending termination and the reason for it through the agenda on the district's website.

"This was a shock to me and a defamation of my character," she said. "I guess I was naive to think that the district would provide me with this information prior to that moment. And more importantly, I was told that I would not be permitted to work. So therefore, how could you consider that I abandoned my position?"

She noted she has a communication from Skaneateles Superintendent Eric Knuth saying she wouldn't be permitted to work, and added that her building principal told her to gather her things and he helped her carry them out.

"I'm deeply saddened and dismayed that the district will not honor any religious accommodations that I or anyone else files," Burroughs said.

She added she sent in religious exemptions and accommodations to the district twice.

"This ideology," she said, goes against the First Amendment of the U.S. constitution and violates the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964, which she said protect employees from religious discrimination.

She concluded by saying that she has retained a attorney "who is in the process of filing a lawsuit against the district and Onondaga County."

As she spoke, Burroughs did not specify what she was seeking a religious exemption for, but school districts in New York have been ordered by the state Department of Health to require all employees either be vaccinated against COVID-19 or submit to weekly testing.

Districts that fail to enforce the regulation could be subject to fines of $1,000 per day in which it has employees in violation.

The state's vaccination-related mandates have faced numerous challenges in recent weeks, including lawsuits from plaintiffs claiming they should be exempted for religious beliefs.

Staff writer Kelly Rocheleau can be reached at (315) 282-2243 or kelly.rocheleau@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @KellyRocheleau.

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Both candidates for Cayuga County Legislature's District 7 seat have suffered bouts with COVID-19 but they differ on what the role of a legislator should be in addressing the pandemic.

In a forum recorded Tuesday at Cayuga Community College, incumbent Keith Batman and challenger Robert Shea were asked about efforts to get more people in rural areas of the county vaccinated. District 7 includes the towns of Ledyard, Scipio and Springport.

During the hour-long forum, the candidates also shared their thoughts on issues specific to the district, such as Owasco and Cayuga Lake water quality concerns and local government's relationship with the Cayuga Nation. Additional topics included redistricting county Legislature seats and the best uses for more than $10 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds coming to the county.

On COVID-19, Batman, a Democrat from Scipio, called the virus an "ugly, ugly disease" and said that the county should be doing everything it can to promote mask wearing, social distancing and other preventative measures.

"I was sicker than I've ever been, and I don't wish it on anyone," he said.

"The problem we're having at this point is the people that are resistant to the vaccination," said Batman, who is also president of the county Board of Health. "I think we need to stay at it, we need to keep on it, and we need to encourage everyone  and I encourage anyone listening to this, if you haven't done so, to go out and get vaccinated."

Shea, a Republican from Union Springs, said he had also contracted the disease. "I also had COVID and got sick, even though I got the shot," he said.

He praised the job the Cayuga County Health Department has been doing with contact tracing, and encourages people to stay home and practice good personal hygiene such as mask wearing and frequent hand-washing, but he believes that vaccinations come down to a personal choice rather than something government should be heavily involved in.

"I think it needs to be an individual decision between you and your doctor," he said.

He pointed to different quarantine rules for essential and non-essential workers at the beginning of the pandemic and the disputed theory that the virus was easily passed by touching surfaces, as some of the inconsistencies in guidance from government.

"There is a consistency problem with the information. I think we need better information from our state and national government," he said.

As far as a log-term solution to how county government should be led from the top, Batman, who is finishing his second term on the Legislature, said that the county is no closer to resolving the issue since firing its most recent appointed administrator in the spring of 2019.

The administrator position, Batman said, has been proven time and again to be ineffective but that the Legislature, over several election cycles, has failed to come to an agreement about how to go forward.

"We need help," he said, adding that the public needs to get involved and that the county should consider bringing in an outside consultant to offer a recommendation as to how to proceed.

Shea said an elected executive position might be the best way to take the burden off the Legislature chair, who has been running the day-to-day operations of the government on an interim basis.

He said that rather having the Legislature continue to debate the idea, a referendum on electing an executive should be put before the people. Such a vote would be legally required in Cayuga County because of the way the government is currently structured.

"The voters should decide," he said.

Replays for the District 7 forum are scheduled for 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 7, on Spectrum channel 12, as well as 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 9, and Sunday, Oct. 10, on Spectrum channels 12 and 98 and Verizon channel 31, via the Auburn Regional Media Access programming. The programs will also be available for on-demand viewing at The Citizen's website, auburnpub.com. Audio from the forums is broadcast on the college's radio station, WDWN89.1 FM, starting at 10 a.m. Saturday.

Managing editor Mike Dowd can be reached at (315) 282-2234 or michael.dowd@lee.net.

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A group of laborers at a Long Island winery are officially members of the first farmworkers union in New York.

Local 338 RWDSU/UFCW has been certified by the state Public Employment Relations Board to represent field workers at Pindar Vineyards in Peconic, Suffolk County. Farm employees are able to form unions after the Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act was signed in 2019.

Before the law took effect, farmworkers were denied many labor rights, including the ability to collectively bargain.

Local 338 RWDSU/UFCW, part of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union and United Food and Commerical Workers, field to represent Pindar's field workers on May 28. The state board certified the union as the workers' representative on Sept. 27.

"My coworkers at Pindar and I joined Local 338 because we want dignity and respect," said Rodolfo M., who is a member of the new union and a worker at Pindar Vineyards. "Our work should be valued and only by receiving equal treatment and things like sick days and paid time off to spend with our loved ones will it be. We know that being a union member will help us get the recognition we deserve for all of our efforts."

Under the Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act, farm employees have a right to organize but cannot strike. According to the state Department of Labor, farmworkers are protected from retaliation if they are having conversations about conditions and organizing a union.

Farmworkers are also now eligible for disability insurance and paid family leave, unemployment insurance, workers' compensation and a day of rest in a week. Farms are also required to pay employees overtime if they work over 60 hours a week. That threshold could be lowered by a wage board. The board could meet as early as Nov. 1 to either keep the 60-hour overtime standard or lower it to 40 hours.

While the overtime debate needs to be settled, New York's labor movement is celebrating the new union established by workers at Pindar Vineyards. John Durso, president of Local 338 RWSDU/UFCW, believes it's a historic moment.

"We are incredibly proud to represent the workers at Pindar Vineyards and are looking forward to securing a strong collective bargaining agreement," Durso said.

It's also a major achievement for state legislators, including state Sen. Jessica Ramos, who advocated for the passage of the Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act. Ramos chairs the Senate Labor Committee and visited farms across New York before the state Legislature acted on the legislation in 2019.

As business groups and farms assailed the bill, Ramos continued to highlight the need for farmworkers to have labor rights, including the right to form a union.

"When we corrected the labor law to give farmworkers the same basic rights as other workers in New York and rid our state of a Jim Crow sin, we dreamt of the day workers would answer the call to organize for better wages and working conditions," Ramos, D-Queens, said. "Welcome, Pindar Vineyards workers, to the labor family and congratulations on choosing RWDSU Local 338. You're stronger together when negotiating a fair contract with your employer."

Politics reporter Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding.

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Denouncing corporations is easy. Using actual policy tools to hold them accountable and check their power is more difficult. Yet this is precisely what the National Farmers Union (NFU) is pushing the Biden administration to do.

In late September, the NFU began its nationwide Fairness for Farmers campaign, which seeks to pressure the government to enforce antitrust laws and break up agribusiness monopolies.

Some may scoff at the prospect of challenging corporate power. But, in fact, the Biden administration has given some indication that it is willing to do so.

First, there was Bidens executive order from earlier this year that mandated a thorough analysis and overview of supply chains, agriculture included, to determine weaknesses and places for improvement.

Lets remember how the early days of the coronavirus pandemic put a surprisingly fragile food system on display.

Dairy farmers were told to dump milk, and hog producers were urged to euthanize their animals, as consolidated supply chains proved incapable of meeting distribution bottlenecks caused by school, hotel and restaurant closings.

Billions had to be sent to farmers in relief  which, by the end of 2020, amounted to 40% of their income.

Its this system, as documented in a report from the Open Markets Institute, that allowed the four largest poultry processing firms to go from controlling 35% of the market in 1986 to 51% in 2015. For beef, the market share of the top four companies shot up from 25% in 1977 to 85% in that same year. During that same period, the top four corn seed companies control of the market went from 59% to 85%.

According to University of Missouri professor Mary Hendrickson, when four firms occupy more than 45% of a market, we begin to see competition-killing, innovation-suffocating practices such as price fixing and rigging contracts.

In short, our food system has, in the span of a few decades, seen competition turn into collusion, with billionaires controlling agriculture.

In this regard, Biden has made some promising moves. Specifically, the president has chosen Lina Khan as chair of the Federal Trade Commission and Timothy Wu as a special adviser to the National Economic Council. Both are outspoken critics of big business, penning articles and books that place corporate consolidation at the core of democratic decline.

And U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, the lead Democrat on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights, has introduced sweeping legislation to reinvigorate the United States antitrust laws and restore competition to domestic markets.

Klobuchars bill calls for reinvigorating the nations pillars of antitrust law  namely, the Progressive Era Sherman, Clayton and Federal Trade Commission Acts. Passed in the early 20th century, these laws were created to investigate and punish anti-competitive practices including mergers, price fixing and rigging contracts.

Klobuchars bill would amend these laws, providing officials greater leeway to investigate and punish corporate malfeasance.

The call being sounded in these quarters for addressing corporate power should speak to every American. We need to wake up to the fact that fewer and fewer powerful actors are being allowed to dictate terms to farmers and consumers, to maximize profits. We need to challenge the powers enforcing barriers that stymie innovation and freedom.

Our food system can change for the better. Its time to join the struggle and help the effort to make our agriculture system work better for everyone.

Anthony Pahnke is vice president for Family Farm Defenders and is an assistant professor of international relations at San Francisco State University.

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They believe that the Navajo Nation should be as a contiguous group and they should be represented by one representative. So that's a big issue that the independent redistricting commissioners are going to have to face immediately, Solop said. It's a difficult process. It's because any change in a district implies changes that have to be made in another district; it's this ripple effect.

Since the grid maps were released, communities have been sending in proposed changes to the maps, often in the form of completely alternative maps drawn up by communities.

Both the City of Flagstaff and Coconino County have submitted maps of their own and several Coconino County officials, including county manager Steve Peru and county board chair Matt Ryan, are expected to address the commission Thursday.

In a letter sent to the commission, the Flagstaff City Council listed the factors it hopes the commission takes into account when drawing up districts around the city.

As outlined in the letter, priorities for the city include keeping the entirety of the city and the greater Flagstaff area within a single legislative and congressional district.

While the city itself is contained within LD6 currently, parts of the greater Flagstaff area just outside the city are within LD7, including the areas of Fort Valley, Schultz, Mountain View and Winona. City officials hope to see that change through this redistricting process.

Adrian Skabelund can be reached by phone at (928) 556-2261, by email at askabelund@azdailysun.com or on Twitter at @AdrianSkabelund.

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Japan's new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (R) is formally inaugurated in a ceremony with Emperor Naruhito (L), in the presence of Kishida's predecessor Yoshihide Suga (2nd L) at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Japan, October 4, 2021. /Getty

Former Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida replaced Yoshihide Suga as the nation's prime minister on October 4 after winning the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's elections last week. He held a press conference afterward to announce that elections to the lower house of parliament will be held on October 31, earlier than the date sometime in November that observers expected. Kishida says that he needs the people's mandate to advance his vision of a new capitalism and new society after COVID-19.

According to him, these will be based on the dual pillars of growth and distribution. He plans to invest heavily in sci-tech-oriented growth, green technology, AI, digital industry, and biology. Kishida also promised to help expand the middle class, improve social security and healthcare, and incentivize more births. On the foreign front, he reaffirmed that the Japanese-U.S. alliance is his cornerstone. Kishida said that he's committed to promoting freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

This policy is directly influenced by Suga, who despite only spending a year on the job, left behind a very hostile regional legacy. It was under his rule that Chinese-Japanese relations severely deteriorated in parallel with Japanese-U.S. relations comprehensively intensifying. Suga will therefore go down in history as the man who significantly escalated tensions with his largest neighbor and surrendered more of his country's sovereignty to its transpacific patron at the expense of its objective national security interests.

Japanese foreign policy was far from perfect before Suga took office, but it at least used to attempt (however insincerely) to strike a balance between China and the United States. Upon him taking power, the Quad, comprising India, Australia, Japan, and the U.S., began to rapidly militarize. Suga therefore oversaw the bloc transforming into an increasingly hostile U.S.-led military force to "contain" China. This symbolized Japan's departure from its prior foreign policy, which was already years in the making.

Under Prime Minister Suga, Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi repeatedly attacked China over the Diaoyu Islands and Taiwan issues, saying in June that "the security of Taiwan is directly connected to that of Japan," and revealing in September that Japan might fight China over the Diaoyu Islands. It's difficult to imagine the top Japanese military official saying such things just a few short years ago, but that just shows how much former U.S. President Donald Trump succeeded in turning Japan against China.

It deserves to be mentioned that Suga's aggressive foreign policy moves can be interpreted as an attempted distraction from his country's COVID-19 and economic crises. In a sense, this is similar in spirit to U.S. President Joe Biden's attempt to divert his public's attention from these same two crises toward China. It therefore might not be a coincidence that Suga waited until Biden entered office before having Kishi saber-rattle against China. He simply followed the lead of his country's new foreign patron.

Kishida will retain Kishi as his defense minister but is replacing many others with close allies of Suga's predecessor. This suggests that he'll largely continue the anti-Chinese military policy that he inherited while actively attempting to reform parts of Japan's domestic policy. The annual white paper "Defense of Japan 2021," which the ministry of defense released in July, included the issue of Taiwan's security for the first time ever so it's now officially that country's policy. This makes it almost impossible for Kishida to remove the indelible stain that Suga left on Japanese policy through Kishi.

This might explain why Kishida decided to retain Suga's controversial defense minister, which was likely to appease the ruling party's anti-Chinese hawks. It would have been better had he decided to replace Kishi, but he's under tremendous pressure by the U.S. into keeping him. Kishida's primary challenge will be to assert Japan's objective regional interests of improving relations with China in the face of this foreign pressure.

Nevertheless, he doesn't seem too interested in striking such a balance. Kishida announced during his press conference that he'll protect Japan's airspace and maritime territory, which implies continuing Suga's policy of brinkmanship over the Diaoyu Islands. It was also concerning that he promised to enhance his country's missile defense and maritime capabilities. This will institutionalize Suga's counterproductive legacy on Chinese-Japanese relations as the so-called new normal. More U.S.-backed Japanese provocations in those islands and Taiwan can therefore be expected in the future.

The ideal scenario would be for Kishida to pay lip service to continuing Suga's anti-Chinese legacy via Kishi due to U.S. pressure, but in practice focus the bulk of his efforts on dealing with Japan's COVID-19 and economic crises instead. His vision of a new capitalism and new society is promising and deserves his full attention. In any case, it's clear that Suga left his mark on Japanese foreign policy in only a year by turning his country into one of the U.S.' vanguard proxy states against China. Hopefully, Kishida will wise up to what a dangerous position this placed his homeland in and accordingly moderate its hostile policies, though his press conference raised doubts about whether he will.

The author Andrew Korybko is a Moscow-based American political analyst. (Source: CGTN)






Monsters, princesses, animals and more will soon be able to gather once again for the Night of the Great Pumpkin event in downtown Beatrice.

The evening provides an opportunity for area kids to show off their Halloween costumes, play games and trick or treat at the areas businesses.

The event is sponsored by Main Street Beatrice, and regularly saw over 2,000 people in attendance along Court Street before the COVID-19 pandemic. The event was canceled last year, but returns this year on Thursday, Oct. 28 from 5-7p.m.

Main Street Director Michael Sothan said theyre looking forward to organizing the community event again. He said activities are still being developed with the participating businesses, but that attendees could expect to see games, a pumpkin giveaway and a Halloween movie at Beatrice Movies.

For the families, it provides a safe, fun opportunity for families to come out and do some trick or treating, Sothan said. Its mostly during the daylight, it kind of extends the Halloween season and those kids can use their costumes more than once. At the same time for our businesses, its a great way to be part of the community, offer family fun activities, hopefully bring some exposure.

More information will be shared leading up to the event on the Night of the Great Pumpkin 2021 Facebook event page, and on Main Streets website at mainstreetbeatrice.org/

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A Saunders County sheriff's deputy conducting a routine traffic stop on Nebraska 92 Monday night discovered 358 vacuum sealed bags of marijuana, according to an agency social media post.

The deputy, assisted by a K9 named Mac, found the nearly 400 pounds of marijuana while conducting a search of a U-Haul truck just east of Wahoo, according to the post.

Law enforcement searched the truck after the deputy observed "several indicators of criminal activity," according to the post.

Two people were taken into custody and booked at the Saunders County jail in Wahoo. It's unclear what charges they were jailed on.

Deputies at the Sheriff's Office weren't immediately available for comment.

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The pandemic is just still going on, said DeAnne Gallegos, the countys public information officer and director of the local chamber of commerce. We kept thinking it was going to end before this summer. Then we were thinking in November. Now were like, No, we dont know when.

So the county decided to backtrack: We went back to the tools that we knew we had, Gallegos said. Mask mandate indoors and then discouraging indoor events. Outdoor events continued, such as a brass band concert on the courthouse steps, and the areas signature Hardrockers Holidays mining competition, with its pneumatic mucking and spike driving.

On the whole, once the under-12 set is taken into account, 85% of the countys total population is fully vaccinated. But in the summer, the population nearly doubles as seasonal residents roost in second homes and RV parks, some vacationing while others take up seasonal jobs. Then, theres what Gallegos described as the tsunami of tourism  the daily influx of people arriving on the historical railroad from Durango and the dusty jeep trails through the mountains. Many of those visitors are of unknown vaccination status.
It's truly an honor to accept this appointment from Gov. Gianforte, Waller said in an email. I understand the complexity and importance of wildlife management and look forward to representing Region 2 and Montana as a whole. I am very passionate about Montana's wildlife, habitat and traditions and will listen to all sides of the issues to make sound decisions for the herds, flocks and people of Montana.

Wallers term will run until Jan. 1, 2023.

Lane owns and operates Crescent Cross Ranch, a family operation specializing in black Angus cattle. He said in an interview he believes he can bring the multifaceted perspective of a landowner, sportsman and former outfitter to the commission.

The biggest thing is I felt disconnect as far as being able to have our area represented, he said of his interest in serving on the commission. Not that they did a bad job but its way different in southeastern Montana than in western Montana, and I thought I could offer hopefully some common sense and listen to all different sides before I make my decision.
Gov. Greg Gianforte's office confirmed he will join a group of other Republican governors in Texas on Wednesday for a briefing and tour of the southern border.

Several GOP governors will attend a press conference with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to release a border security plan.

"Tomorrow morning, Gov. Gianforte will join other governors for a briefing on the border crisis, and later he will tour the border," a spokesperson for Gianforte said in an email Tuesday.

On Sept. 20, Gianforte signed a letter with 25 other Republican governors asking for a meeting with President Joe Biden about the southern border. Gianforte's office said Tuesday it has not received a reply to the letter, which asked for a meeting within 15 days.

In the email, Gianforte's spokesperson pointed to drug use in Montana and the amount of methamphetamine and fentanyl that originated in Mexico and has entered the state.

"Our nations southern border remains porous and insecure, with drug cartels and human traffickers taking full advantage of the situation," wrote spokesperson Jack O'Brien. "As Montana communities grapple with the devastation of illegal drug use and addiction, drug seizures at the southern border have skyrocketed as border apprehensions reach record levels."
Montana is the first state in history to shake its at-large congressional district status and regain a House seat lost in a previous U.S. Census. The state had two districts until the 1990 Census when low population cost Montana its second seat. The state was previously divided between a western district that favored Democrats and an eastern district that was reliably Republican. The GOP has won the states at-large district every year since 1996.

The Commission is comprised of two Democrats and two Republicans selected by state legislative leadership and chaired by a fifth member appointed by the Montana Supreme Court.

Commissioner Kendra Miller, of Bozeman, said the five maps submitted by Democrats balanced the population of two U.S. House districts, in some cases down to a one-person difference. Doing so put some neighbors on opposite sides of the political divide.

Achieving perfect population equality is very difficult. Anyone who was drawing maps knows that and I think that it also means that, you know, somewhere along that line, it's likely that two neighbors are going say, well, why on earth did you put the line there? Miller said.
The pre-evacuation status for those living south of the Boulder River, west of state Highway 69, and north of and including the Boulder Hot Springs, was lifted last weekend.

Also on Tuesday, officials said the Placer Fire, about 6 miles south of the Haystack fire and over 1 mile from Whitetail Reservoir, is now at 184 acres and 77% contained.

This fire has been transferred to the Butte District and is operating under Incident Cmdr. Kevin Smith.

High winds are expected to push the fire in a northerly direction. Areas with slopes and winds aligned will produce uphill runs and spotting.

The Montana Department of Environmental Quality said Tuesday that wildfire smoke has been causing particulate concentrations to trend upward across Montana, and many sites are seeing moderate levels. Boulder has seen considerable smoke impacts over the last couple of weeks due to fires in-state, and on Tuesday there is more smoke from California and Idaho fires as well. Concentrations measured at all monitors during the daylight hours have remained in the good to moderate range.
The University of Montana takes reports of sexual assault and harassment seriously, and continues to work hard to ensure all survivors can come forward and seek justice without fear of retribution," he added.

Johns wasnt surprised Kirgis was present at the walkout, he said.

I definitely agree with survivors who were uncomfortable having him there. I would be too if I were personally affected by his gaslighting, Johns said.

A combination of current and former students as well as law school faculty attended the event. Some held hand-painted signs with slogans of believe survivors and resign now. Others wore purple shirts with words printed on them such as survivor or solidarity.

This climate at the law school for female faculty and staff has caused many of us to leave and we have made many attempts to bring the problems here to the administration, to Title IX and to the provost to know what they are, retired UM law school professor Cynthia Ford said as she walked with the rally.

Another organizer of the event, Annie Holland, shared her experience as a survivor of domestic violence despite her fears that the perpetrator may retaliate against her for speaking out.
Forty-five more Wyomingites have died from COVID-19, the Wyoming Department of Health reported Tuesday.

There have now been 1,041 coronavirus-caused deaths in Wyoming since the pandemic arrived here in March 2020. Tuesday marked the first time that Wyoming crossed the 1,000-death threshold.

Deaths declined dramatically this spring, with the number reported each week in the single digits since mid-March. But the trend hasn't held. The weekly updates on COVID-19 deaths have been in the double digits for several of the past weeks. Figures are nearing but not quite what they were in early winter when the state was recording more than 50 deaths per week.

COVID-19 infections, too, had plummeted since the winter surge. But cases and hospitalizations are surging again as unvaccinated residents develop severe illness from the virus. Tuesday, 195 people were hospitalized for COVID-19 in Wyoming.

The state health department is not releasing the vaccine status of each hospitalized patient but has said just over 96% of recent hospitalizations have been among the unvaccinated.
Numerous vaccines are already required for the Montana University System and the Montana Annotated Code Title 20, Chapter 5, Part 4 states that postsecondary schools may impose immunization requirements as a condition of attendance that are more stringent than those required by this part. Further, the constitutional authority and moral responsibility to implement a vaccine requirement for the campuses in the Montana University System lies with the MUS Board of Regents. The Regents have full power, responsibility, and authority to supervise, coordinate, manage and control the Montana university system according to Section 9 of the Montana Constitution. To date, the Board of Regents has not publicly discussed their position or justification for not requiring vaccines to protect the entire campus community. The Board of Regents is charged with the health, safety, and wellbeing of the Montana University System. Why is the Board of Regents failing to act? Why are they not requiring vaccinations, which we know is the best-known solution to end the pandemic?
No charges will be filed against a North Dakota Highway Patrol trooper involved in the early September shooting death of a Montana man on Interstate 94 west of Mandan, an incident the man's father says showed his otherwise good son's "bad side" amid increased drinking following a divorce.

Trooper Steven Mayer was justified in discharging his firearm in defense of self and others, Assistant Morton County States Attorney Gabrielle Goter said in a letter to the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation. BCI handled the probe and turned the case over to the state's attorney's office for consideration of charges.

The patrol late Tuesday released video of the incident, along with reports from the BCI, Highway Patrol and Morton County Sheriffs Office and the letter from the states attorney's office. Mayer "acted within department policy in the incident," the patrol said.

Mayer was assisting Morton County sheriffs deputies who attempted to stop Craig Knutson, 45, of Billings, after receiving a call of a reckless driver on Sept. 7. Knutson continued east at highway speeds and slowed after authorities deflated the front left tire of his van with a spike strip.

A dispatcher can be heard in Highway Patrol video telling officers that Knutson was threatening to shoot himself in the heart. Knutson confirmed to the dispatcher that he had a gun. He also can be heard saying he had no intention of harming any law officers.

Knutson during the conversation with the dispatcher says he knows he's "not going to dig out of this," and that he "wants a last smoke." The dispatcher asks Knutson several times to pull over and talk to the officers. Knutson at one point said "it's come to the end for me," and tells the dispatcher "you've done everything you could."

The dispatcher tries again to get Knutson to pull over and let one officer approach the van. Knutson says he doesn't trust them and the dispatcher assures him there are "really great guys out there."

"I know, but the end is still the same," Knutson says.

He later told the dispatcher that he planned to take an exit ramp and stop, but Mayer shortly after used his patrol vehicle to push the van into a skid and parked in front of it. Authorities did not want Mayer taking the exit because of homes in that area, according to the BCI report. Knutson just before the shots are fired can be heard saying on the video, "They didn't listen."

After the van was stopped, Knutson waved the revolver and pointed it at Mayer, according to an account from the trooper detailed in the BCI report. Mayer got out of his squad car and pulled his handgun but did not shoot because he felt the deputies would be in the line of fire. He moved to the side of Knutson's vehicle and attempted to open the driver door but it was locked. The trooper realized he "had made a mistake and backed away from the vehicle," the report states.

Mayer and deputies can be heard more than half a dozen times telling Knutson to show his hands. Mayer as he moved from his squad car told deputies that Knutson had a gun.

Knutson was smoking a cigarette with his left hand. Mayer fired when he saw Knutson's right hand come up with the revolver in it, and at about the same time as Deputy Jonathan Moll fired a less-than-lethal round at the van's driver-side window, according to the report. Mayer was unsure after the shots if he had shot Knutson, if Knutson had shot himself, or if Knutson had shot at Mayer and Moll, the report said.

Moll said in a separate report that the shot that killed Knutson came "immediately after" Moll fired his beanbag round. The BCI report also indicates that Mayer shot second.

Another deputy at the scene, Angel Beltran, said in his report that he also saw Knutson's hand moving up right before Knutson was shot, though Beltran didn't indicate if Knutson held a gun.

Officers said they found a loaded revolver and a cellphone in or near Knutson's lap. During a search of the van they also found additional ammunition, along with other items including "various" prescription medication and a partially empty vodka bottle, according to the BCI report, which also noted that the interior of the van had an odor of alcohol.

The report does not say if authorities determined whether Knutson was under the influence. The patrol said it did not have the toxicology report on Knutston and referred the Tribune to the state's attorney's office. Goter told the Tribune that the results will not be available from the North Dakota Medical Examiners Office until the autopsy report is finalized.

Knutson's father, Jerry Knutson, also of Billings, told the Tribune that his son was "a good man, a good father, a good son," and that what people saw in September was the "bad side of Craig."

Craig Knutson had been divorced about two years ago, had his 17-year-old son living with him, was under a lot of pressure, and his drinking had intensified within the last year, his father said.

Jerry Knutson said he had no issues with Mayer being cleared because "he did what he had to do." He also said he was thankful his son did not get into a wreck on the highway or shoot an officer. He said there are law officers in the family.

"Why he would think to not stop, I don't understand," he said of his son.

Craig Knutson was in Bismarck for work for his father's company, West-Tech Supply and Services, which does underground storage and compliance out of Billings, according to Jerry Knutson.

Mayer is a patrol veteran of more than 15 years, with no disciplinary history, according to patrol spokesman Sgt. Wade Kadrmas. Mayer is a K9 handler with two bloodhounds assigned to him. He also has taught Active Threat Response at the Law Enforcement Training Academy, according to the BCI report.

He had been on administrative leave since the shooting, and on Tuesday was given clearance to return to full duty, Kadrmas said.

Investigation reports indicate Mayer underwent a drug test following the incident, but they do not include the test outcome. Kadrmas declined to provide the Tribune with results, saying any toxicology reports for Mayer would be confidential under state law.

(Online Producer Jason Heupel contributed to this story.)

Reach Travis Svihovec at 701-250-8260 or Travis.Svihovec@bismarcktribune.com

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North Dakota will receive 49 Afghan evacuees beginning later this month. It's possible some could come to Bismarck, but it doesn't appear likely that will happen immediately.

Most of the "legal and fully vetted" evacuees will resettle in Fargo, according to the state Department of Human Services.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services notified the agency of the coming evacuees, some of 37,000 aided through the federally funded Afghan Placement and Assistance Program.

The U.S. State Department on Wednesday approved a proposal submitted by Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services, the state's refugee resettlement agency, for resettling 49 evacuees, based on services of community organizations that welcome new Americans and teach English as a second language.

The resettlement agency is the only organization in North Dakota authorized by the State Department to receive newly arriving refugees. It provides services mainly in Fargo but can offer services within 100 miles, including Grand Forks.

"LIRS does have a partnership with The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to support the reunification of families in Bismarck, should that opportunity occur," Human Services spokeswoman LuWanna Lawrence said. "At this time, we know the first five individuals will be resettled in Fargo through family ties."

Julie Ramos Lagos, executive director of the immigrant assistance nonprofit Bismarck Global Neighbors, also said only family reunification cases can be resettled in Bismarck.

"Right now we dont know exactly who is coming or when," she said. "We do have a local Afghan family waiting for their family to be amongst those evacuees, but I dont believe they are a part of that group as of yet."

Global Neighbors plans to launch a campaign this weekend to collect supplies for Afghan refugees and is looking for possible drop-off points.

Before arriving in the U.S., the evacuees must complete a vetting process involving FBI fingerprint-based background checks and other security screenings, according to Human Services. They also will receive health and medical screenings, a COVID-19 vaccination and authorization to work.

Like so many North Dakotans with immigrant roots, refugees bring ingenuity and resilience that make our communities and the economy stronger, Human Services Executive Director Chris Jones said in a statement. Resettlement provides a life-saving solution for some of the most vulnerable people in the world and it also creates positive benefits for North Dakota.

North Dakota has resettled 115 Afghan refugees in the past 20 years. Some have become doctors and business owners, "and have held a variety of careers that contribute to North Dakotas economic well-being," according to Human Services.

Brittany Sachdeva, vice president of operations for Sanford Health in Fargo, said in a statement that As one of the largest employers in the state, we understand the positive impact those new to our country can have in helping solve our collective workforce challenges. We look forward to welcoming them to North Dakota and encourage them to join our Sanford family."

Human Services said that North Dakota "will collaborate on the large national effort to support vulnerable Afghans, including those who worked alongside the U.S. in Afghanistan for the past two decades, as they safely resettle in the U.S."

California is projected to take more arrivals than any other state -- more than 5,200 people, according to State Department data for the Afghan Placement and Assistance program obtained by The Associated Press. South Dakota, Hawaii, West Virginia, Wyoming and the District of Columbia are not expected to resettle anyone from the first group of evacuees who fled during the final days of the chaotic U.S. withdrawal last month.

Lutheran Social Services of South Dakota, which is the state's refugee resettlement agency, decided not to accept any Afghans after weighing local conditions and its ability to resettle them, the AP reported. Rebecca Kiesow-Knudsen, the groups chief operating officer, also said there isn't much of an Afghan community in South Dakota.

Republican South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem last month expressed reservations about accepting evacuees from Afghanistan. She told KSFY-TV, "We do not want them coming here unless we know they are an ally and a friend, and that they dont want to destroy this country.

More information on North Dakota refugee resettlement is available at bit.ly/3tNWpZq.

Reach Jack Dura at 701-250-8225 or jack.dura@bismarcktribune.com.

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The Supreme Courts watershed decision in Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) which, as we have seen, introduced a general constitutional right to privacy, sufficient to protect a married couple's right to use contraceptive devices, has exerted tremendous influence over the past half century.

Roe v. Wade (1973), very likely the most controversial ruling ever rendered by the High Tribunal, rests on Griswold and the right to privacy. In Roe, the courts opinion, authored by Justice Harry Blackmun, held that the right to privacy, whether grounded in the concept of personal liberty, protected by the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment, or in the Ninth Amendment, is broad enough to protect a womans decision whether to terminate her pregnancy.

In a Memorandum to the Conference,  the meeting of the Supreme Court Justices to discuss cases  Chief Justice Warren Burger, nominated by President Richard Nixon, justly wrote of Roe and the issue of reproductive rights, This is as sensitive and difficult an issue as any in this court in my time. At issue in Roe was a Texas statute that prohibited abortions except for the purpose of saving the mothers life.

The courts decision that reproductive rights are fundamental does not imply that the right is absolute or unqualified. Indeed, no constitutional right, enumerated or unenumerated, is absolute. Rather, every right is limited, as is every governmental power. In Roe, and in virtually every subsequent case involving abortion rights, the primary concern has been to strike a balance between a womans privacy interest and the states interest in the regulation of potential human life.

In Roe, the court determined that the states interest in future life becomes compelling at the point of fetal viability. After the first trimester, in which a womans privacy right, manifested as personal autonomy over her reproductive organs, is primary, and the states interest secondary, the state may begin to regulate or even proscribe abortions, except in cases where abortion is necessary to save the life or protect the health of the mother. As the pregnancy lengthens, the court said, the state is free to place increasing restrictions on abortion rights.

The laws governing reproductive rights continue to spike controversy across America. The status of Roe v. Wade and a womans fundamental right to an abortion is in doubt. In fact, the court will soon hear a case that may compel the justices to reassess whether there is a constitutional right to abortion, a challenge that will remind the citizenry of Chief Justice Burgers description of abortion rights cases as presenting the most sensitive and difficult issues that the court confronts.

The constitutional right to privacy, unmentioned in the Constitution, but embraced by virtually every American, plumbs the very depths of our conception of freedom and liberty, no matter how contentious or difficult its application is. What focuses our attention, of course, is whether there is, in a free nation, a right to be let alone.

That phrase, which reduces a right to privacy to its most fundamental basis, was developed by Justice Louis Brandeis. On the right of personal autonomy, Brandeis wrote in 1928, in Olmstead v. United States, in words quoted many times over: The makers of our Constitution conferred, as against the Government, the right to be let alone  the most comprehensive right and the most valued by civilized men. To protect that right, every unjustifiable intrusion by the Government upon the privacy of the individual, whatever the means employed, must be deemed a violation of the Constitution.

Precisely how we are to define unjustifiable intrusions will be discussed and debated as long as America remains a constitutional democracy, but the lack of certainty does not preclude some guidelines. Consider, for your own deliberation, a list created in a Dec. 30, 1971, letter from Justice William Brennan to Justice William O. Douglas. Justice Brennan suggested that the right to privacy is a species of liberty that protects three groups of fundamental freedoms encompassed by liberty. In this list, he considered freedom of choice pertaining to basic decisions of life, including marriage, divorce, procreation, contraception and raising children.

To these rights, we may add others, suggested by Justice Douglas: the freedom to walk, stroll or loaf. None of these rights is mentioned in the Constitution, of course, but neither is there, as Justice Arthur Goldberg declared, a provision in the Constitution that specifically prevents the Government from curtailing the marital right to bear children and raise a family. Goldberg added that Americans would find it shocking to believe that the personal liberty guaranteed by the Constitution does not include protection against such totalitarian limitation of family size, which is at complete variance with our constitutional concepts.

However we identify a right to privacy, there must exist in our world a right to live, as the Walt Whitmans simple separate person  freedom from arbitrary intervention and intrusion.

David Adler is president of The Alturas Institute. This "We the People" series is provided by the North Dakota Newspaper Association and Humanities North Dakota.

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Summit Midstream Partners recently settled a criminal case with the federal government over a historic oil field spill north of Williston in 2014-15. The company agreed to pay $15 million in fines.

A federal judge has signed off on another settlement in a civil suit brought by the federal government and North Dakota. Under that agreement, Summit will pay $20 million, which will be split between the federal and state governments.

Summit also has promised to take steps to prevent future spills through better training, installation, operating and testing requirements. The company reports it has spent $75 million on the improvements and spill cleanup.

It all sounds like it has cost Summit a lot of money.

But the Tribune editorial board believes the company got off easy.

Summit is responsible for a spill that occurred over five months. A pipeline leaked 700,000 barrels or 29 million gallons of produced water, which is highly saturated saltwater that comes up in wells alongside oil and gas. The produced water can contain oil.

Some of the wastewater reached Blacktail Creek, which flows into the Missouri River.

Not only is Summit responsible for the spill, it failed to immediately report it, delaying the states response. There was damage to the environment, and the landowners have had to endure years of recovery work at the site.

Theres no excuse for not reporting the spill immediately. The company ignored early warning signs and later made incomplete or misleading statements to investigators.

Summit employees attributed the missed opportunities to find and stop the leak to the amount of noise going on -- referring to the company's rapid expansion at the time.

Its important to remember that the state also had a lot of noise at the time as it worked to keep pace with rapid development. This Summit pipeline installation was not inspected by North Dakota regulators. The state Industrial Commission had established new rules governing gathering pipelines shortly before the project was installed, but funding for state pipeline inspectors did not become available until after the project was complete, the Department of Mineral Resources said in 2015.

Thats why the Tribune believes the money the state receives should be used for preventative steps. Most of the states share is expected to go to the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality and the rest to the North Dakota Industrial Commission and the state Game and Fish Department.

Environmental Quality is expected to use the funds for environmental cleanup work and other projects.

The Tribune urges the state to use the money to bolster the pipeline inspection program and take stock of pipelines like Summits which were built either before the state began inspecting gathering lines or before the state hired inspectors.

The state should also take a close look at pipelines like the one involved in the Summit spill that are made of Fiberspar LinePipe. The fiberglass-reinforced material can be problematic when installed incorrectly, according to a 2015 report from the Energy and Environmental Research Center at the University of North Dakota.

Spills involving Fiberspar, including a 2014 spill at Mandaree that leaked over 1 million gallons of brine, led the Tribal Business Council of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation to stop allowing fiberglass-reinforced pipelines for new construction. The state does not have this requirement.

Pipelines that pose a higher risk -- such as those near water sources or those constructed by the same contractor Summit used in the Williston project -- should be required to undergo more frequent pressure tests to detect problems sooner.

Meanwhile, the Legislature should continue to invest in state pipeline inspection programs and add more resources as more miles of pipe are installed.

If the state can prevent future spills, it will reduce the toll on the environment. That would be a positive outcome from a possibly preventable incident that the company belatedly reported.

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The Dobbs v Jackson Womens Health Organization case before the Supreme Court challenges a Mississippi law that restricts abortions after 15 weeks. The question is whether all pre-viability prohibitions on elective abortions are unconstitutional.

This case is an opportunity for the Court to catch up to the 21st Century. Scientific advances in fetal imaging have brought light into the womb. A 15-week-old baby has eyes and eyelids with a well-formed face, hands, and feet with toes and fingers. The baby is already making red blood cells and other organs are fast developing. Muscle and bones grow and become harder making it possible for the child to move. Weve all seen the images of the child making a fist or sucking their thumb.

They feel pain. From 15 weeks onward, the fetus is extremely sensitive to painful stimuli, and that this fact should be taken into account when performing invasive medical procedures on the fetus. It is necessary to apply adequate analgesia to prevent the suffering of the fetus. To refuse prohibitions on elective abortions is unethical and barbaric.

These are all logical reasons Americans overwhelmingly support a ban on late-term abortion and restricting it during the first trimester. A recent Marist poll found 75% of Americans, including 61% of those who identify as pro-choice, say abortion should be banned at the very least after the first trimester. Americans value life. Time for the Supreme Court to catch up.

Linda Thorson, Edinburg

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When it comes to designing or redesigning a website, its easy to get hung up on the aesthetics. Does that shade of blue look right? Should the logo be on the right side of the screen, or left? What if we put a giant animated GIF in the middle of the page?

However, in a world where folks have more than 1.8 billion websites they can potentially land on, you need to make sure yours is not just a pretty face. It should be designed for usability, how easy your website is to use, and user experience (UX), how enjoyable it is to interact with your website.

Now, you could spend years studying the ins and outs of these disciplines But for the sake of giving you a jumping-off point, we've assembled a list of the fundamental guidelines and best practices you can apply to your next website redesign or website launch. Then, well review 10 features youll need on your site to put these recommendations into practice. Lets dive in.

Website Design Guidelines Simplicity Visual Hierarchy Navigability Consistency Responsivity Accessibility Conventionality Credibility User-Centricity

1. Simplicity

While the appearance of your website is certainly important, most people aren't coming to your site to evaluate how slick the design is. They want to complete some action, or to find some specific piece of information.

Therefore, unnecessary design elements (i.e., those which serve no functional purpose) will only overwhelm and make it more difficult for visitors to accomplish what they're trying to accomplish.

From a usability and UX perspective, simplicity is your best friend. If you have all the necessary page elements, its hard to get too simple. You can employ this principle in a variety of different forms, such as:

Colors: Basically, don't use a lot. The Handbook of Computer-Human Interaction recommends using a maximum of five (plus or minus two) different colors in your design.

Basically, don't use a lot. The Handbook of Computer-Human Interaction recommends using a maximum of five (plus or minus two) different colors in your design. Typefaces: The typefaces you choose should be highly legible, so nothing too artsy and very minimal script fonts, if any. For text color, again, keep it minimal and always make sure it contrasts with the background color. A common recommendation is to use a maximum of three different typefaces in a maximum of three different sizes.

The typefaces you choose should be highly legible, so nothing too artsy and very minimal script fonts, if any. For text color, again, keep it minimal and always make sure it contrasts with the background color. A common recommendation is to use a maximum of three different typefaces in a maximum of three different sizes. Graphics: Only use graphics if they help a user complete a task or perform a specific function (don't just add graphics willy-nilly).

Here's a great example of a simple but effective homepage design from HERoines Inc:

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2. Visual Hierarchy

Closely tied to the principle of simplicity, visual hierarchy means arranging and organizing website elements so that visitors naturally gravitate toward the most important elements first.

Remember, when it comes to optimizing for usability and UX, the goal is to lead visitors to complete a desired action, but in a way that feels natural and enjoyable. By adjusting the position, color, or size of certain elements, you can structure your site in such a way that viewers will be drawn to those elements first.

In the example below from Spotify, you can see that the main heading Get 3 months of Premium for free sits atop the visual hierarchy with its size and page position. It draws your eye to their mission before anything else. This is followed by the "Get 3 Months Free" CTA, which prompts action. Users can click this CTA, or scan the menu items above for more actions.

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3. Navigability

Planning out intuitive navigation on your site is crucial to help visitors find what they're looking for. Ideally, a visitor should land on your site and not have to think extensively about where to click next. Moving from point A to point B should be as frictionless as possible.

Here are a few tips for optimizing your site's navigation:

Keep the structure of your primary navigation simple (and near the top of your page).

Include navigation in the footer of your site.

Consider using breadcrumbs on every page (except your homepage) so users remember their navigation trail.

Include a search bar near the top of your site so visitors can search by keywords.

Don't offer too many navigation options per page. Again, simplicity!

Include links within your page copy, and make it clear where those links go.

Don't make users dig too deep. Try making a basic wireframe map of all your site pages arranged like a pyramid: Your homepage is at the top, and each linked page from the previous forms the next layer. In most cases, its best to keep your map no more than three levels deep. Take HubSpots site map, for example.

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One more pointer: Once you've settled on what your site's main (top) navigation will be, keep it consistent. The labels and location of your navigation should remain the same on every page.

This leads us nicely into our next principle...

4. Consistency

In addition to keeping your navigation consistent, the overall look and feel of your site should be similar across all of your site's pages. Backgrounds, color schemes, typefaces, and even the tone of your writing are all areas where consistency has a positive impact on usability and UX.

That's not to say every page should follow the same layout. Instead, create different layouts for specific types of pages (e.g., landing pages, informational pages, etc.). By using those layouts consistently, you'll make it easier for visitors to understand what type of information they're likely to find on a given page.

In the example below, you can see that Airbnb uses the same layout for all of its "Help" pages, a common practice. Imagine what it would be like from a visitor's perspective if every "Help" page had its own, unique layout. There would probably be a lot of shoulder shrugging.

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5. Responsivity

According to Statista, 48% of page global views were from mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. And according to our research, 93% of people have left a website because it didnt display properly on their device.

The takeaway here: To provide a truly great user experience, your site has to be compatible with the many different devices that your visitors are using. In the tech world, this is known as responsive design.

Responsive design means investing in a highly flexible website structure. On a responsive site, content is automatically resized and reshuffled to fit the dimensions of whichever device a visitor happens to be using. This can be accomplished with mobile-friendly HTML templates, or by creating a special mobile site.

Ultimately, it's more important to provide a great experience across different devices than look identical across those devices.

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Alongside mobile-friendliness, its worth your while to test your websites cross-cross browser compatibility. In all likelihood, youve only viewed your site on one web browser, be it Google Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or something else.

Now is the time to open your pages on each of these browsers and evaluate how your elements appear. Ideally, there wont be much difference in presentation, but you cant know for sure until you see for yourself.

6. Accessibility

The goal of web accessibility is to make a website that anyone can use, including people with disabilities or limitations that affect their browsing experience. As a website designer, its your job to think of these users in your UX plan.

Like responsiveness, accessibility applies to your entire site: structure, page format, visuals, and both written and visual content. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), developed by the Web Accessibility Initiative and the World Wide Web Consortium, set the guidelines for web accessibility. In a broad sense, these guidelines state that websites must be:

Perceivable: Visitors are aware of the content on your site.

Visitors are aware of the content on your site. Operable: The functionality of your website should be possible in different ways.

The functionality of your website should be possible in different ways. Understandable: All content and alerts can be easily understood.

All content and alerts can be easily understood. Robust: Your website is usable across different assistive technologies, devices, and browsers.

For a deeper dive into this topic, see our Ultimate Guide to Web Accessibility.

7. Conventionality

A big challenge in web design is balancing originality with your expectations. Most of us are expert internet users, and there are specific conventions weve grown accustomed to over time. Such conventions include:

Placing the main navigation at the top (or left side) of a page.

Placing a logo at the top left (or center) of a page.

Making the logo clickable, so it always brings a visitor back to the homepage.

Having links and buttons that change color/appearance when you hover over them.

Using a shopping cart icon on an ecommerce site. The icon also has a number badge signifying the number of items in the cart.

Ensuring image sliders have buttons users can click to manually rotate slides.

While some might opt to throw these out the window for the sake of uniqueness, this is a mistake. Theres still plenty of room for creativity within the constraints of web conventionality.

Lets briefly consider another field of design, architecture. Building codes are put in place so that folks can easily and safely inhabit spaces. An architect doesnt complain about these codes or violate them because, aside from legal repercussions, they assure safety and comfort of guests. It doesnt matter how dazzling the building looks  if you trip on uneven stairs or you cant get out in a fire, you might prefer to stay outside.

In the same way, you can craft a memorable experience while meeting user expectations. If you violate what users anticipate, they may feel uncomfortable or even frustrated with your site.

8. Credibility

Sticking to web conventions lends your site credibility. In other words, it increases the level of trust your site conveys. And if you're striving to build a site that provides the best user experience possible, credibility goes a long way.

One of the best methods to improve your credibility is to be clear and honest about the product or service you're selling. Don't make visitors dig through dozens of pages to find what it is you do. Be up-front on your homepage, and dedicate some real estate to explaining the value behind what you do.

Another credibility tip: Have a pricing page, also linked on the homepage. Rather than force people to contact you to learn more about pricing, list your prices clearly on your site. This makes your business appear more trustworthy and legitimate.

Here's an example of an effective pricing page from the Box website:

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9. User-Centricity

At the end of the day, usability and user experience hinge on the preferences of the end-users. After all, if you're not designing for them, who are you designing for?

So, while the principles detailed in this list are a great starting point, the final key to improving the design of your site is to conduct user testing, gather feedback, and implement changes based on what you've learned.

And dont bother testing usability by yourself. Youve already invested a lot of time into your design, which brings your own biases into the equation. Get testers who have never seen your site before, the same as any first-time visitor.

Here are a few user testing tools to get you started:

For even more helpful options, see our list of the best user testing tools.

Hopefully, these guidelines are useful in informing the structure of your web pages and website as a whole. But, how does one put these guidelines into practice? Let's take a look at some actionable best practices you can follow during the design process.

Website Design Best Practices Select a typography thats easy to read and skim. Choose a color scheme that suits your brand. Use white space to break up text and other elements. Use texture to add personality and depth. Add images to engage and inform readers. Simplify your navigation. Make your CTAs stand out. Optimize for mobile. Limit the options presented to users.

1. Select a typography thats easy to read and skim.

Typography refers to how type  meaning letters and characters  are arranged and presented on the page. Since website typography affects not only how we read but how we feel about text on a web page, its important to pick carefully.

Ideally, you want a typeface that is:

easy to read

easy to skim

accessible to all users

legible across multiple devices and screen sizes

You also want it to match the look and feel of your brand. For example, the luxury fashion brand Burberry refreshed its logo for the first time in 20 years in 2018. It replaced the old serif typeface with a bold, all-caps, sans serif typeface and dropped the knight emblem. The result is a simpler and more modern-looking logo thats easier to read on any screen  and that reflects changes in the company to become more transparent and appeal to a younger generation.

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2. Choose a color scheme that suits your brand.

Like typography, color can affect not only how we understand and interact with content, but how we feel about it. Your color scheme should therefore check off the same boxes as your website typography. It should:

reinforce your brand identity

make your site easy to read and navigate

evoke emotion

look good

Buzzfeed, for examples, uses the primary colors yellow and red to grab users' attention and get them excited about the content. It reserves the use of the primary color blue  which is associated with trust  exclusively for links and CTA buttons. Both emotions are ideal to evoke for a media site.

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3. Use white space to break up text and other elements.

Whitespace refers to the negative areas in any composition. Whitespace provides users with visual breaks as they process a websites design or content, which is not only aesthetically pleasing. By minimizing distractions, whitespace makes it easier for users to focus, process information, and understand what its important.

That means you can use whitespace to avoid causing information overload or analysis paralysis  and to emphasize important elements on the page. This might help persuade users to take a specific action, like sign up for a newsletter, shop your latest collection, and more.

For example, Eb & flow Yoga Studio uses whitespace to lead users toward a specific action: to sign up for three weeks of classes. Notice that whitespace doesnt mean the absence of color or imagery. Instead, it means that every element on the page is positioned strategically, with lots of space in between, to avoid overwhelming or confusing visitors.

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4. Use texture to add personality and depth.

Resembling a three-dimensional, tactile surface, web textures aim to replicate the physical sensation of touch with another sensation  sight. Theyre a great design alternative to solid color backgrounds, particularly if you want to add personality and depth to your site.

Take a look at the texture on the homepage for the Santa Barbara-based restaurant Monys Tacos below. It looks like chalk drawn on a blackboard, doesnt it? I dont know about you but I can almost feel the chalk on my fingers just from looking at it. It's the perfect look for a restaurant that aims to be California's preferred Funk Zone choice for Mexican delights.

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5. Add images to engage and inform readers.

Striking a balance between text and images is essential in website design. Incorporating visuals can make your content more informative, engaging, and memorable. Youve probably heard the statistics that people remember only 20% of what they read, but 80% of what they see? While the exact percentages are debated, the basic idea isnt. Its easier for some people to learn and process information visually.

Here's a unique example of breaking up text with images from a cosmetic company's website. This shows how endless the possibilities of incorporating imagery into your website design are.

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6. Simplify your navigation.

Navigation is one of the most important design elements on a website. It impacts whether visitors arrive on your homepage and browse, or click the Back button. Thats why its important to keep it as simple as possible.

Many websites opt for a horizontal navigation bar. This navigation style lists the major pages side by side and is placed in the website header.

Take the navigation bar on Blavity as an example. The sections featured include three content categories  News, Op-Eds, and Lifestyle  as well as links to their submission page and sign-up page. This provides visitors with easy access to the pages theyre likely looking for. Other nav items are placed in a dropdown menu labelled "More" so they're still easy to find but not cluttered into the top-level navigation. Finally, the navigation bar is sticky so visitors wont have to scroll up and down the page to browse the site.

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7. Make your CTAs stand out.

CTAs are elements on a web page, advertisement, or another piece of content that encourages the audience to do something. The call to action could be to sign up, subscribe, start a free trial, or learn more, among many others.

You want your CTAs to pop in your website design. To make that happen, consider how youre using color as well as other elements like background color, surrounding images, and surrounding text.

Square provides an excellent call-to-action example. Using a single image to showcase the simplicity of using their product, Square uses bold typography to also show how unique and future-oriented their product is. Against this dramatic backdrop, the blue "Get Started" CTA awaits your click.

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8. Optimize for mobile.

Weve already discussed how important it is for your website to be responsive. But since mobile devices accounted for 59% of organic search engine visits in 2021, were doubling down on how important it is to design your website to be mobile-friendly. That might mean altering or removing some elements that would clutter smaller screen sizes or negatively impact load time.

For an example of one of the best mobile website designs, compare Etsys homepage on desktop vs mobile. On desktop, youll see a navbar with categories. Hovering over each category will reveal a dropdown menu.

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On mobile, this collapses behind a hamburger button, which improves the appearance and performance of the mobile site. You'll also notice that the images are larger  perfect for tapping with your finger on a mobile screen.

9. Limit the options presented to users.

According to Hicks Law, increasing the number and complexity of choices will increase the time it takes for a person to make a decision. This is bad news in website design. If a website visitor is presented with too many options, they might get frustrated and bounce  or they might pick an option you dont want, like abandoning their cart. Thats why its important to limit the number of options presented to a user.

For example, a visitor landing on the homepage of Shawn Michelle's Ice Cream will have three options: to learn more about the company, the flavors, or the ingredients. But instead of presenting all three options at the same time, they are presented one at a time in a slider. This is a great example of implementing Hicks Law in UX design.

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Now we understand the principles and best practices that should guide you throughout the design process. In the next section, let's run down the essential page elements that you should strongly consider including in your design plan.

Website Design Requirements Header and Footer Menu Navigation Search Bar Branding Color Palette Headers Clear Labels Visuals and Media Calls to Action (CTAs) Whitespace

1. Header and Footer

The header and footer are a staple of just about every modern website. Try to include them on most of your pages, from your homepage, to your blog posts, and even your No results found page.

Your header should contain your branding in the form of a logo and organization name, menu navigation, and maybe a CTA, and/or a search bar if well-spaced and minimal. On the other end, your footer is where many users will instinctively scroll for essential information. In your footer, place contact information, a signup form, links to your common pages, legal and privacy policies, links to translated versions of your site, and social media links.

2. Menu Navigation

Whether its a list of links across the header or a tidy and compact hamburger button in the corner, every website needs a guide for navigation positioned at the top of at least your homepage and other important pages. A good menu limits the number of clicks to reach any part of your website to just a few.

To reduce clutter, you might consider making some or all menu options a dropdown menu with links within it, as can be seen on HubSpot's homepage.

3. Search Bar

In addition to menu navigation, strongly consider placing a search bar at the top of your pages, so users can browse your site for content by keyword. If incorporating this functionality, make sure your results are relevant, forgiving of typos, and capable of approximate keyword matching. Most of us use a high-quality search engine every day, be it Google, Amazon, YouTube, or elsewhere. These all set the standard for your own site search.

4. Branding

Remember the conventions weve discussed? One that you see practically everywhere is a logo in the top left corner. On first landing, many visitors eyes will instinctively shift to this region to check theyre in the right place. Dont leave them hanging.

To reinforce this notion, incorporate your company branding into every element you add, piece of content you post, and color scheme you create. Thats why we recommend establishing brand guidelines if you havent already  check out our style guide for a reference.

5. Color Palette

Color choice plays a major role in your sites usability and UX as well. This decision tends to be more subjective than other requirements in this list. But, like everything else weve discussed, try to simplify  limit your color selection to 3-4 prominent colors at most.

Starting a color palette from scratch can be surprisingly difficult the first time. We seem to intuitively pick up on which colors work well together and which dont, but we stumble when trying to pick from the infinite combinations available.

The solution? Try a color palette thats been shown to work on other websites. Take influence from your favorite sites, and see our list of our favorite website color schemes to get started.

6. Headings

Headings are key to establishing the visual hierarchy we discussed earlier, especially on text-heavy pages. As users skim your pages what you need, a clear and to-the-point heading alerts readers to stop scrolling after finding what they want. Use only as many headings as there are distinct sections of your page, as too much blown-up and bolded text will dampen this effect.

7. Clear Labels

Whenever a user takes an action on your website, it must be obvious exactly what theyre doing and/or where theyre going. All buttons should have clear text or an icon to precisely and concisely signal their purpose. The same goes for in-text links and widgets (simple interactive elements, like dropdowns and text forms).

For example, a button linking to a pricing page should just read Pricing  anything beyond that (e.g., See our prices, Check out the pricing page for a deal) is superfluous. A search bar/button only needs a search glass icon (), and perhaps also the word Search, to denote its purpose.

User testing can be a major help here. While you yourself know what all of your interactive page elements do, the same cant be said for a new user. Testing will give valuable insight into what users think your labels mean beyond your own perspective.

8. Visuals and Media

When incorporating static images, gifs, videos, and other media into your pages, remember to be consistent and intentional in your choices. These elements will draw attention over most other text and will likely stay in users minds, so choose wisely.

Heres just one example of effective media on a homepage. Notice how every image complements the page aesthetic and supports the offer of personalized fitness training with results.

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Also, all images and videos should be optimized for search engines and include descriptive alt text for accessibility.

9. Calls to Action (CTAs)

Having a pleasing website is great, but how do you know whether your visitors are actually doing what you want? Are they engaging with your content? This is where CTAs come into play.

A CTA is any page element that prompts user action. The action could be adding a product to a card, downloading a content offer, or signing up for an email list. Make your CTA elements prominent in the visual hierarchy (remember our Spotify example), but not intrusive or distracting like many click-through ads tend to be.

If you need ideas for sleek CTAs that drive more conversions, see our CTA examples list.

10. Whitespace

As mentioned above, sometimes its about the elements you dont include. After reading these guidelines and requirements, you may feel tempted to stuff your pages with all the bits and bobs needed for a flawless UX. Dont forget that your viewers need room to digest all this new info, so give your elements room to breathe.

But, how much whitespace should you have? Thats another personal call, and varies from site to site. So, user testing is handy here as well. What are people focusing on? Do they feel overwhelmed with the density of content? Once again, it all ties back to our first guideline, simplicity.

Design that Puts Users First

Indeed, web design is largely subjective  your websites look and experience isnt going to please everyone. However, there are also tried-and-true UX principles that, when carefully considered and incorporated, help visitors feel more at home.

According to Amazon Web Services, 88% of website visitors are less likely to return to a website after a poor experience. And how could you blame them? Weve surely all been there.

So, as a final bit of usability/UX wisdom, start caring more! Imagine yourself into the shoes (or, more accurately, browser windows) of your visitors, and keep them in mind every step of the design process.
Last month, UCLA's Dr. Christopher Lake, an unvaccinated anesthesiologist, spoke at an anti-vax rally, telling the Kool-Aid-drunk crowd, "They want to force a vaccination or medication or treatment into my body that I don't want. So they're telling me, 'Take the jab or we take your job.' And I'm here to say no." The anti-vaxxers ate it up, hooting with excitement. (See @andrewkimmel's tweet below.)

For dramatic effect, as an aircraft flew over the rally, he held his hand up to the sky and shouts, "Wave for freedom! FREEDOM!"

Cut to yesterday's tweet by @InMinivanHell (below) showing a deflated Dr. Lake play-acting the martyr as he is being escorted out of UCLA "for standing up for freedom." He valiantly says, "This is what happens when you stand up for freedom, when you show up to work, willing to work, despite being unvaccinated [as a doctor!]  I'm willing to lose everything."

The comic relief comes when he tries to speak to one of his masked escorts, asking for the man's title, and the escort says, "Don't come near me."

Dr. Christopher Rake, UCLA anesthesiologist who previously attended an anti-vaxx rally in his white coat, was escorted out of a UCLA Medical Center today.



"This is what happens when you stand up for freedom, when you show up to work, willing to work, despite being unvaccinated." pic.twitter.com/5LW7MAVSst  InMinivanHell (@inminivanhell) October 5, 2021

Dr. Christopher Rake, an anesthesiologist from UCLA medical center, tells the crowd, "They want to force a vaccination or medication or treatment into my body that I don't want. So they're telling me, 'Take the jab or we take your job.' And I'm here to say no. That's not ok." pic.twitter.com/wP2kZyS1o7  Andrew Kimmel (@andrewkimmel) August 30, 2021

From UCLA's Daily Bruin, which doesn't mention Lake's chaperoned walk today, so I assume it was written beforehand:
Catholic Health System and the union representing about 2,500 of its workers got back to the bargaining table Tuesday, engaging in what both sides said were productive discussions amid the fifth day of a strike at Mercy Hospital in South Buffalo.

But a labor agreement doesn't sound imminent.

In a news conference Tuesday evening outside the Gateway Building in Hamburg, where the talks took place, Communications Workers of America area director Debora Hayes said the union and Catholic Health met at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday and negotiated for most of the day. Just prior to speaking with reporters at 6:30 p.m., Hayes said the union sent Catholic Health a "comprehensive economic package proposal." Staffing, which remains the union's core issue, was not included in that package, Hayes said, because the CWA is awaiting further information before it can draft a proposal.

Asked for a timeline on when she thinks a deal can be reached, Hayes didn't wish to speculate but felt comfortable saying she didn't think an agreement will be reached Wednesday.
FrightWorld returns in a new location with five haunted houses. Among the attractions, you'll have to find your way out of a basement filled with radioactive creatures in Nightstalkers Reloaded, escape from the Eerie State Asylum and survive a vengeful family at the Eeriepalooza Fear Festival.

EverHaunt, 144 Lake Ave., Angola

This popular walk-through haunted attraction is not only filled with scares of all levels, but it also contributes to local community organizations. New this year are the Delaware Creek Estate and Back Alley Games. Visit the updated Rosewood County Asylum, experience the virtual reality of Escape From Frankenstein and try the five-minute escape room. There will be a special appearance by "scare actor" Robby Takac on Oct. 16. Meet horror icons Alex Vincent ("Child's Play") on Oct. 21 and John Dugan ("Texas Chainsaw Massacre") on Oct. 29. Family Fall Festivals are noon to 4 p.m. Oct. 16, 23 and 30. Look online for the full schedule.
The festival kicks off with the U.S. premiere of "Laguna Avenue" at 9:30 p.m. Oct. 7 in the North Park Theatre. This sci-fi noir/horror film/buddy comedy about a former musician drawn into the dark world of his downstairs neighbor is produced by Buffalo native Ali Barone who will be here along with actors Russell Steinberg ("Adventureland"), James Markham Hall and Sheridan Ward plus actor, writer and producer Paul Papadeas and special effects supervisor Sarah Reeves. All will be in attendance for a post-film party at 9:30 p.m. Oct. 8 at the Tralf Music Hall.

A trio of talented Buffalo filmmakers  directors David R. Williams and Tilke Hill, and star and writer Aaron Krygier  will present "Rust Belt Driller," their sendup to grindhouse movies about an artist who descends into violence in his studio-turned-slaughterhouse at 9:45 p.m. Oct. 9 at the North Park. It was filmed in Western New York.
Eugene Sibick submitted a letter to The Buffalo News around that time saying he did not condone the fact many protesters entered the Capitol on Jan. 6. But to him, "the reason is that our elected representatives have become so distanced from We the People." The letter made no mention of his son's predicament.

Prosecutors followed the release of the younger Sibick with court papers seeking to confine him in a federal facility. They reported on his criminal record, which included six prior arrests and at least five convictions, one of which included the failure to stop or respond to a police command in Utah in 2015. Prosecutors also noted his shifting versions of events when agents asked him about his contact with Officer Fanone in light of new evidence, especially video from Fanones body camera. Eventually, Sibick produced Fanones badge, which he admitted burying in the yard of his home. Records show he also admitted taking the radio home from Washington but disposed of it. It has not been recovered.

In their bid to keep Thomas Sibick in home confinement, his public defenders mentioned that his father is a 34-year Navy veteran. Still, the chief judge for the U.S. district court in the District of Columbia was impressed by the weight of the governments evidence.
Here's how the first few minutes of the situation unfolded, according to the archived transmissions on broadcastify.com:

About 20 seconds after the first radio transmission by police on Sunday morning, the situation is described as a "possible robbery in progress."

About a minute after the first transmission, the dispatcher provides more information.

"They're in the back of the store in the office. It's a white male just pointing a gun at them," the dispatcher tells officers. "(inaudible) just said get in the back of the store and call police."

About 35 seconds later, another dispatcher alerts officers to "shots fired" in the store.

Less than a minute later, an officer reports shots. "I don't know if I hit him or not," the officer says.

An officer at the scene, about 20 seconds later, reports "it looks like a long gun."

About a minute later, less than five minutes after the initial radio transmission, an officer reports a witness has said there's a man "on his knees with his hands up in the air."
That's happening at Erie County Medical Center. ECMC has 48 beds in its ICU. On Tuesday, 42 of them were in use, but just four for patients being treated for Covid-19, a hospital spokesman said.

State and Erie County health officials declined to say whether the shrinking available ICU space is cause for concern, or what steps they would direct local hospitals to take if the trend continues.

The department is monitoring capacity in hospitals across the state," said Abigail Barker, a spokeswoman for the state Health Department.

Available ICU bed capacity statewide was at an average of 22% for the week ending Sunday. The Capital region, at 6%, had the lowest available capacity, and the Mid-Hudson region, at 34%, had the highest.

Aside from the Capital region, only Central New York, at 11%, and Mohawk Valley, at 12%, were lower than the 17% average for the Western New York region made up of Erie, Niagara, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Allegany counties. Put another way, this means roughly 83% of all ICU beds in the region were in use.

The average available capacity for all hospital beds in the region was 29% for the week ending Sunday.
Fanfare about historically low rates wont mean much to property owners who get a higher tax bill after seeing their homes valuation increase. Thats the no free lunch part of property appreciation.

The budget plan, using county and federal funds, increases spending on roads and bridges from $59.8 million this year to $80.8 million next year. Shoring up our infrastructure does not inspire supporters to march in the streets, but its necessary for the long term. Foes of the county executive who post signs saying Poloncarz, fix this road cannot in good conscience object to spending money to do it.

A new initiative worth watching is a $9 million pilot program aiming to help 200 families receiving public assistance make the transition to work. The program, designed by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, focuses on helping participants over the benefits cliff. That describes when people receiving public benefits earn a raise, and then discover that they make too much money to receive the benefits, but dont make enough money to sustain themselves and their household.
No question New York energy policy should be creating jobs in clean renewable power, and the more Gov. Kathy Hochul encourages homegrown wind and solar projects, the more people will be employed in good-paying ones.

Right now and very unfortunately, shes already given the go-ahead for the transmission line to bring hydropower from Canada, giving jobs to Canadians and taking them from New Yorkers. Pennsylvania natural gas is polluting our state and fueling the climate crisis that we all increasingly see and feel. But theres much more to be done to bring renewable energy investment to New York communities.

Residents in each affected community must realize that renewable energy projects are not only critical to a sustainable future but are economically beneficial on a local level. Wind and solar companies bring investment and jobs, often leasing underutilized farmland or brownfield sites.

By the way, 10 gigawatts of solar power is not so scary. It takes about 3.4 acres of solar panels to create one gigawatt. Thirty-four acres of solar panels distributed around the state is more than doable.

We must stop burning fossil fuels to keep the climate crisis from worsening to the point of no return. Its in Hochuls hands to forward smart climate policy that protects New Yorkers.
Theres no getting around the fact this will be a pretty quiet time for TV weathercasters in the Great Lakes. Periods like this present a challenge to keep the map discussions interesting (Ill be grappling with that problem Friday through Monday evenings on News 4). Even the National Weather Service office in northern Michigan is taking the tranquility to advantage to nicely explain how forecast uncertainty increases with time with a simple graphic.

Significant warming is on the near horizon. However, one of the biggest forecast challenges will be timing the clearing for the afternoon both on Wednesday and Thursday, after low clouds reform at night. If the temperature inversion remains stubborn without much mixing, moisture trapped in the cool near surface layer beneath a layer of warm air aloft could remain in place well into the afternoon in some locations. That would cancel out forecast low-mid 70s and keep readings in the mid-upper 60s wherever clouds remain in place. You can keep an eye on the progress of daytime clearing with this automatically updating satellite imagery.
Once youre in the door, theres plenty of advice floating around about style, project management, budget and all the restbut how do you actually get the job in the first place? Were asking designers to peel back the curtain and walk us through how they landed a project, step by step. Here, Chapel Hill, North Carolinabased designer Kristin Bartone of Bartone Interiors, who specializes in biophilic design, discusses a boutique orthodontists office created to resemble a cool coffee shop. The architect on the project, Richard Gurlitz, worked on the original space in the 1980s and brought on Bartone, a frequent partner on projects.

Kristin Bartone Courtesy of Bartone Interiors

What is a typical project for your firm, and where?

Were really focused on The Triangle: Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill. We do have a couple of vacation homes by the lakes and beaches and mountains, and thats typically a second home for a client were already working with. Commercially, we do new buildings and we do tenant fit-outs. The difference ... is with a fit-out, the core and shell are there and were renovating or building out the space to meet the clients needs. From a residential aspect, we work on new construction and then major renovations and furnishing and styling.

You specialize in biophilic and sensory-based design. What does that mean?

I found out through my son, in creating a home environment for him. He is on the autism spectrum, and my other son has ADHD, so in setting up our own home to be a respite for them from the outside world, which is very overwhelming, I found that a lot of clients needed the same things. The same issues were coming up: Im really sensitive to light. This space needs more organization. I dont like coming into this room, because theres all this visual clutter that makes me anxious. We found out that almost every client has one of those issues, or they have a tactile issue where they dont like scratchy things. I try to ask all of those questions so that we create a space that is truly calming. I think when your home doesnt provide that for you, youre on edge.

Can you give a specific example of how you recently solved a problem like that on a project?

One example would be a home where the client really wanted it to feel like they were on vacation all the time. We have the master bedroom oriented to where it looks out onto this pool deck and landscaping. One of the big things with biophilic design is just incorporating natural views or nature or fractal patterns, which is a repeating pattern that happens in nature. A palm leaf, thats a fractal pattern. Thats actually something we did for the orthodontists office. In the bathroom, theres a print of leaves. In a common area, we have a bar-height table thats live-edge, reclaimed wood. And then on their TV screen, they have rotating images of nature that are active, so if theres a picture of a stream running through a mountain area, the stream moves.

Yes, whats the backstory on the orthodontists office?

There was an architect that we share office space withI had done a project with him four or five years ago on a residence where we were friends with the homeowner, and they then introduced us to Richard Gurlitz. ... He took me under his wing as a mentor and has let me share office space with him. I didnt have to pay him rent for the first few years, because I didnt have enough money. He actually has been an architect in Chapel Hill for 40, 50 years, and he designed the original building that this [orthodontists] office is in. He brought me into the project, and I interviewed with the clients. Its sort of this spiderweb of relationships.

Bartones design accentuates the natural lighting in this orthodontists office. Lissa Gotwals

What was the vision for the office? How do you create a soothing orthodontists office?

A lot of natural light, and an open plan and a welcoming environment. The architecture itself is curved, so youre walking into a curved line, which is more restful and peaceful than a straight line. Theres a soffit that curves, and the reception desk curves. The first thing you see are natural elements: that live-edge table, leather, glass, granite and all these natural materials. Thats a way to put people at ease; those are all biophilic design elements.

Theres a cafewe tried to make it almost like a Starbucks atmosphere. Parents come in and have to wait for their kids for an hour and a half, two hours. They can sit and have a cup of coffee, pull out their laptop if they want to check their email. We also made it more of a comforting and homey atmosphere through the seating: a couch and chairs and the bar-height table and the little cafe tables. It all relates to somewhere where you actually would want to be. ... You walk in and it doesnt really look like an orthodontists officeit looks like a place to meet up with a friend for a cup of coffee.

I think the windows help, too. Were they already in place or part of the renovation?

No, they were original. One of the things that ... really sold the client on renting the space is the barrel ceilings that parallel those windows. It was nice to have Richard involved with these ceilings. The original idea was to have wood slabs, and they didnt have enough in the budget to do that, so we painted them and left them exposed and simple so that, again, you could see that curve of the architecturethe transom [and] all those soft, flowing lines really also support the architecture in being calming and serene.

What is your typical first interaction with a client?

We start every client with a discovery call. Theyll either submit something through the website or send us an email, or itll be a friend of a friend and they just call us. Well schedule a discovery call, and we have a list of questions to see if were a good match for that client.

What do you wear to a first client interaction, which might be happening on Zoom these days?

Im driving to meet a client right now. Its not a new client, but Im wearing a dress and some little platform sandals. The dress is so funit actually has all these houses on it, like a painting. I try to dress the part and be artistically dressed, but also not too wild and crazy, so that I can relate to most people. When youre hiring an interior designer, you want them to look like an interior designer.

Biophilic touches throughout the office contribute to a soothing atmosphere. Lissa Gotwals

How do you typically present a design concept?

We have a three-step process and its discover, design, deliver. Our first step is discover, and we go out and measure the space and ask all the questions. Our second step is the conceptual design, and that right now is being presented mainly on Zoom, because our concept phase is typically trying to nail down a floor plan. Usually, with us, it involves removing some walls, moving some halls, and some sort of construction aspect, along with a furniture layout and things like that. I also do AutoCAD for the floor plan, and if we are moving walls and renovating, I will do a SketchUp model to really help them understand what their space is going to look like. Because most people, the reason theyre hiring a designer is that they cant envision those on their own.

What do you bring to a site visit?

I bring a laser measure, a tape measure, my notebook. I bring my iPad Pro with cellular, so that I can show clients images of other projects, idea images and inspiration images of their project. If Im talking about a specific feature, like if I say an accordion door or a nesting door or ghost screens, I can look that up and show the client what Im talking about.

What do you want to know about a client personally?

Im looking for personal interests. If their profession is in a creative industry, if theyre artists. We had one client who makes quilts and used to make yarn purses that she took to craft shows in Philadelphia and all over. Were looking for connection points, things that we can use to ask questions to further get to know the client and fit our knowledge of what they may want their space to look like.

How do you turn down a client who is not a great fit?

Typically through the discovery call, well find out if theyre a good fit or not. Sometimes if its not a budgetary fit, thats easier to tease out than if its not a good personality fit. But when we talk about our process and our level of involvement, we include the clients along the way, but we have a pretty structured process to keep all our projects on track and moving forward. We do a presentation about our process, so thats the second touch point. The discovery, when we go out and measure, is the third touch point. And then we have two concept meetings, two detailed design meetings, and then a meeting at the end to go over all the pricing and the invoicing and kind of go line by line and make sure we know what theyre approving.

We basically have eight connection points with the client before we order, and then were going to be meeting them for implementationmeaning tradesand installing. Some people are comfortable with that, and some people want to call you every day. We just cant keep up with that with our client load, so some people will not want to work with us after they find out that were only going to meet with them eight times.

Do you refer people when its not a good fit?

Yes. Some people will want things that are services we just dont provide, like home staging. We have a three-room minimum, so if they just want to do a kitchen and no other space, then well refer them to a kitchen and bath designer.

Homepage image: Inside a boutique orthodontists office designed by Kristin Bartone of Bartone Interiors | Lissa Gotwals
STOCKHOLM, Oct. 6, 2021 /CNW/ -- GSB Gold Standard Pay KB (Sweden): Josip Heit, entrepreneur from the technology, real estate as well as the luxury services sector, with companies operating worldwide, recently published his own website: https://www.josipheit.com, from which one can learn more about the entrepreneur.

Josip Heit (PRNewsfoto/GSB Gold Standard Pay KB (Sweden))

In reference to a recent study by Hamburg Commercial Bank (HCOB) and the Frankfurt School Blockchain Center (FSBC) at the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, Josip Heit notes that the number of German companies offering "tokenised real estate" is second internationally behind the US.

There are currently 41 companies in 17 countries worldwide that have already tokenised real estate. These are primarily active in the USA (13), followed by Germany (6) and Switzerland (4). In general, Europe is far ahead of the rest of the world in this area, also with regard to the regulatory framework.

What is certain, however, is that some things, such as the implementation of digital land registers, will still take some time in technical terms. In principle, however, tokenisation makes it possible to denominate real estate as small as desired. According to Josip Heit, it is known that the promised annual savings can be in a wide range of up to more than 20 percent, among other things through the elimination of costs for bureaucracy and business trips.

Smart contracts also eliminate costs in the possible range of twenty per cent, and in some countries these may even be higher. If one considers that blockchain technologies can be used through the comfort zone of one's home, undreamt-of possibilities are inherited for the real estate sector, Josip Heit states in this context.I am sure that the topics of blockchain and tokenisation are more than hot for the future, especially due to the great simplifications that speak for themselves for all parties involved and the high savings potential! Therefore, there are good future prospects for tokenised real estate.

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As an investment instrument, the real estate token is comparable to a share in a closed-end real estate fund that invests in one or two properties.

Josip Heit explains: "Although the market for tokenised real estate is still in its infancy, the high dynamics can become a serious challenge, especially for providers of real estate funds, because for investors, tokenised real estate can be associated with above-average returns and lower costs, which should be particularly interesting for those investors who are open to corresponding innovations. Coupled with the divisibility of real estate and the thus significantly larger potential investor group, tokenised real estate can noticeably change this investment class in the long term."

The advantages of blockchain technology for the real estate sector in this context are almost gigantic; in particular, the divisibility of real estate into small, tradable units now offers real estate a larger investor group - which is why a revolution could currently be in the offing that will open up completely different and, above all, new opportunities for the entire real estate market worldwide!

Josip Heit concludes: "The use of blockchain in the real estate industry has many advantages, especially in the real estate sector! From property transfers to price negotiations, blockchain technology offers an easy way to securely conduct complex transactions."

Website: https://www.JosipHeit.com

META KEYS: Josip Heit, josipheit.com, josipheit, real estate, tokenised real estate, real estate industry, website josipheit.com, Josip Heit entrepreneur, real estate funds, blockchain technology, real estate sector, real estate, tokenisation, capital market

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Josip Heit,

Phone: +447470869360,

Media@GSB.Gold

https://www.JosipHeit.com

(PRNewsfoto/GSB Gold Standard Pay KB (Sweden))

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Most Read from Bloomberg

Kenyan startup Sendy Ltd. seeks to raise $100 million by 2022 to fund the digital logistics platforms plan to expand in western and southern Africa.

The Nairobi-based company, which facilitates door-to-door deliveries between individuals and businesses, will use the funds to commence business in the new markets, including Nigeria, Egypt, Ghana and South Africa, co-founder Malaika Judd said in an interview.

Sendy, backed by Toyota Tsusho Corp, is seeking growth and partnerships amid the continents push to boost trade through the African Continental Free Trade Agreement. The World Bank forecasts the accord will increase trade within the region by 80% to $532 billion by 2035, partly helped by improved technology-driven efficiency.

The long-term plan is to consolidate logistics in Africa, Judd said. The way to turbo-charge our growth is not necessarily to do it ourselves, but to partner with the entrepreneurs in the market who want to do the same things we want to do, she said.

Sendy has completed a strategic equity investment in Saviu Ventures-backed Kamtar International, which operates in Ivory Coast and Senegal with a network of at least 5,000 truck drivers, the companies said in an emailed statement on Wednesday.

We share a joint vision with Kamtar to make it easier to trade across Africa, Sendy Founder and Chief Executive Officer Mesh Alloys said in the statement. The new investment will enable Sendy to grow in West Africa, Alloys said.

Kamtar has developed delivery operations and eliminated some intermediaries in order to reduce costs. It has helped drivers access cheaper rates on items, including gas, insurance, spare parts and finance.

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Our goal is to combine the best of both companies to become the No. 1 freight and logistics provider in the Francophone region, Arthur Thuet, Saviu Ventures co-founder and managing partner at Kamtar, said in the statement.

(Updates with comments from companies throughout)

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2021 Bloomberg L.P.
FICTION: Inanimate objects speak in this thought-provoking novel.

"The Book of Form and Emptiness" by Ruth Ozeki; Viking (560 pages, $30)



Early in "The Book of Form and Emptiness," Ruth Ozeki's heady new novel, an off-course bird bangs into a classroom window: "THWACK!" The middle schoolers are stunned. One is particularly upset. Benny Oh approaches the glass. He whispers to it, then punches it. Why? The window was sobbing and "I needed it to stop," he explains.

Benny is an angry boy, but that's only part of the story. Since his father, Kenji, was killed in a truck accident, he's been getting an earful from inanimate objects. Library books wail for his attention as they're fed into a high-tech sorting system: "We are not units!" His mom's teapot disagrees that it's "short and stout." A pair of scissors taunts Benny until he jams the points into his thigh.

This last incident lands him in a psychiatric hospital, where he's prescribed drugs for his hallucinations. But something else is afoot, for Benny appears to be having real interactions with nonliving objects. The scissors, for instance, speak to him in Mandarin. Which makes a kind of sense  they were manufactured in China.

The author of the lauded novel "A Tale for the Time Being," Ozeki teaches at Smith College in Massachusetts. She's also a Zen Buddhist priest. This book ponders the very nature of things. Does the soul exist? Is it immortal? Do inanimate items possess a life force? How do we distinguish acute sensitivity from mental illness? These questions fuel a searching novel, one that combines a coming-of-age tale with an ode to the printed page.

Benny has grown-up tastes. He loves jazz and libraries. In between hospitalizations, he skips school and becomes friendly with bohemian teens and heavy-drinking poets, who encourage him to write, to channel the objects speaking to him. Words are "trapped inside" Benny, "looking for an exit," Ozeki writes. "That's the thing about words. They want to be out in the world."

Benny's despair over his father's death turns to rage at his mother, Annabelle. She clips newspaper articles for corporate clients, but in the early 2010s, the internet threatens her job. To cope with the stress, Annabelle, a budding hoarder, buys expensive snow globes.

As they try to keep their lives together, Benny and Annabelle spend their days surrounded by words. Consider this novel a rebuttal to those who say print is dead. For Ozeki's characters, books  particularly those printed on paper  are mighty, redemptive, unkillable.

Occasionally, Ozeki is overly clever. Books are among the objects that have humanlike consciousness, she writes. They identify as nonbinary: "Our pronouns are we, our, us."

More often, though, she's incisive on matters like consumerism and climate change. Meanwhile, her ruminations on life's greatest mysteries provide an elegant foundation for an intriguing story.



Kevin Canfield is a writer in New York City.

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With still more than a year until voters head to the polls, one of the most-watched congressional races in the upcoming midterms is beginning to heat up.

Wisconsin state Sen. Brad Pfaff, D-Onalaska, announced Monday that he is running, joining Derrick Van Orden, R-Prairie du Chien, and one other Democrat in the race.

The candidates are now battling for a seat that was left wide open after longtime incumbent Rep. Ron Kind, D-La Crosse, announced he was not seeking another term.

Van Orden narrowly lost to Kind in 2020, one of Kinds toughest opponents since he took office in the 90s, and a rematch between the two was flagged early by the Republican Party as instrumental to flipping the House.

Whoever is nominated to run as the Democrat in this race would undoubtedly be just another Pelosi-Approved rubber stamp for her radical agenda, Van Orden said in a statement Monday morning after Pfaff announced his run.

Pfaff has been in politics for decades, largely on the staff side, and last year narrowly beat a longtime Republican for Senate. But he finds himself up against a Republican of a new era in Van Orden, a loyal Trump ally who has fully embraced the former presidents style of politics.

In the early hours of Pfaffs campaign, the candidate has juggled messaging that he is both willing to work across the aisle while also being critical of Van Orden.

Pfaff has specifically already put Van Ordens presence in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6 at the forefront of his messaging.

We used our pitchforks for lifting hay, not for storming Congress, Pfaff said in a video released Monday morning.

If you want a representative who will go burn Washington to the ground, theres a guy for you, he said while the video displayed a photo of Van Orden in D.C. on Jan. 6, which was obtained and used by the Daily Beast in an article that investigated whether the candidate was on Capitol grounds during the insurrection. Van Orden has said the report is inaccurate.

Pfaff told the Tribune in an exclusive interview that he strongly believes that Washington needs to be cleaned up, and did not think Van Orden held the values needed in a representative.

In order for democracy to work we need to make sure that we listen and we respect one another, Pfaff said. You dont go to Prairie du Chien and march into a library and start talking to a teenage librarian aid in a manner thats not respectful. You do not participate in social media in manners that have been taking place. And of course, we all are aware of what happened on Jan. 6. And thats not the western Wisconsin way.

Van Orden ran a fiery campaign against Kind in 2020, and has made headlines since he jumped into the political ring.

A former Navy SEAL, Van Orden has raked in endorsements from top Republican leadership including former President Donald Trump and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. He is a frequent guest on Fox News and had a brief stint as an actor.

He has come under fire in recent months for different incidents, including his visit to D.C. on Jan. 6. The Democratic Party of Wisconsin has since filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission, calling for an investigation into whether he used leftover campaign money to fund the trip.

On top of big endorsements, Van Orden is a well-funded candidate. After a record amount of cash raised between candidates in the 2020 race for the seat, Van Ordens campaign announced on Monday that he raised more than $1 million in Quarter 3 ahead of the filing date of Oct. 15, on top of the $753,996 raised in the previous quarter.

Every day I meet with Wisconsinites who are tired of Washington politicians putting themselves above the people they represent. I cant thank the people of the 3rd District enough for putting their faith in me to represent them and continue to drive this movement forward, Van Orden said.

Brett Knudsen has also thrown his Democratic hat into the race. The Holmen native told the Tribune he served in the Navy for four years and attended classes at Western Technical College. He currently works at a Kwik Trip warehouse and described himself as a longtime member of the blue collar workforce.

I openly welcome more Democratic candidates to the table. Its imperative that we have each voice listened to and represented, Knudsen said in a statement to the Tribune after Pfaffs announcement.

With such a fringe candidate coming from the Republican Party, we must ensure that we do not create anymore divide. To do so, we must create as much dialogue as possible to ensure everyone has a fair chance to know their candidates and to seek fair representation, he said.

Madison and D.C.

Pfaff is jumping into the race after exactly eight months on the job as state senator. He told the Tribune his work so far in Madison demonstrates his willingness to work across the aisle.

When asked if he thinks running for higher office so soon after assuming his Senate seat would hurt him with voters, Pfaff said his dedication to his job as senator will not end.

I have nothing but respect to the voters, and I listen to the voters every single day. And I do my very best to be everywhere in this state Senate district that I represent, Pfaff said. He said he wanted the voters to know that he will continue to advocate and work for their issues, their interests in the Wisconsin state Legislature.

I work hard and I will continue to work hard. And I will make sure that our small businesses, our family farmers, our rural residents, our residents in the city of La Crosse and elsewhere know that theyve got a forceful and strong and passionate advocate for their interests, he said. Theres no doubt about that.

Pfaffs term as state senator for Wisconsins 32nd District ends in 2025.

Whoever voters choose to represent the district next November will enter into a very divided field of D.C. politics, especially for a Democrat, where moderates and liberals have been colliding.

Pfaff  who has often fallen in line with Kinds more moderate ideals  would not comment on the specifics of the ongoing negotiations and stalemates over the infrastructure bill, but said hes heard from Wisconsin residents that it includes pieces that are important to them.

I think the conversation thats taking place in Washington D.C., its very important for how we continue to move forward as a country, he said. But as far as the back and forth negotiation between the House and the Senate, as someone whos not there I cannot speak to the specifics, but can tell you the underlying topics that are being discussed are very, very important.

Uncertain maps

This contentious race is taking shape as Wisconsin prepares to redraw its electoral maps, and some options could shake up the district.

One draft of newly drawn congressional districts shifts Crawford County, where Van Orden currently lives in Prairie du Chien, out of the district. If an election was held today with that map, Van Orden would be running against incumbent Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Janesville, for the 1st District.

Van Orden previously lived in Hager City in Pierce County, but has since moved to the Crawford County seat.

The two other congressional drafts keep Crawford County with the 3rd District, and as Republicans have issued early complaints about the redistricting process, its unclear how far a map that would change the district so much would make it.

The general election for the 3rd District will be on the ballot Nov. 8, 2022. If necessary, a spring primary date is still to be determined.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 6)  "You should never allow anyone to tell you what to do. You need to believe in your core values and just trust in yourself because whatever you set your mind to, you will be able to achieve it."

That's the message of newly crowned Miss Universe Philippines 2021 Beatrice Gomez for young women who want to join the world of pageantry.

Speaking to CNN Philippines' New Day on Wednesday, the 26-year-old Cebuana advised aspiring beauty queens to not let other people make decisions for them.

"To all of the young girls and women who dream to become a beauty queen, it's very important that you believe in yourself and be confident," she said.

Gomez will be the first openly gay candidate who will be sent to the 70th edition of Miss Universe in Eliat City, Israel in December.

RELATED: 'The gays are winning': Miss Universe PH Beatrice Gomez proudly represents LGBTQIA+ community

Gomez called it a "breakthrough" for the Philippine pageantry to open doors for the LGBTQIA+ community. She expressed her gratitude to those who allowed her to represent the sector.

"It's very meaningful po, because as we all know our community has been discriminated a lot," she said. "We are just here to give love and positivity."

"It's a breakthrough for our country to be able to encourage the LGBTQIA+ that they can do what they want and achieve the dreams that they really want to," she also said.

Gomez also acknowledged her experience and "sense of purpose" as a community development worker and a reserve marine corporal at the Naval Reserve Center in Eastern Visayas.

"I am not here just to represent our country but I am here to serve all of our fellow Filipinos as well," the beauty queen said.

Gomez said she hopes to bring home the country's fifth Miss Universe crown.
Uh-oh! It could be you, or it could be us, but there's no page here.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 6)  Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra has expressed openness to a review of President Rodrigo Duterte's recent memo barring Cabinet officials from attending the Senate inquiry on COVID-19 response funds. But he said both sides should make adjustments.

Guevarra told senators during his agency's budget deliberations on Wednesday that he is willing to discuss the President's order with Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea.

However, he stressed the need for "mutual efforts" in addressing the matter.

Guevarra also said the order wasn't meant to go against Congress' constitutional prerogative but instead "protest the manner in which the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearings had been conducted."

The Justice secretary, who said he had no direct hand in the drafting of the memo, did not comment on its constitutionality. He said he would rather "delve on the matter of how this potential stalemate  some would say constitutional crisis  could be averted."

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, a former Justice secretary himself, said there's no intent to create such a crisis.

The veteran lawmaker emphasized the Blue Ribbon Committee's mandate is to probe into misfeasance and malfeasance in the government, and make recommendations to appropriate executive offices on the prosecution of such acts.

Guevarra, meanwhile, noted the Senate probe is "quite stepping beyond the original purpose," and that dealing with criminal investigation could "properly be handled" by the executive either through his agency or the Ombudsman.

The Blue Ribbon Committee has already conducted 11 hearings on the management of the pandemic response funds.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 6)  Tropical Depression Lannie exited the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) but another brewing cyclone may soon enter the country's monitoring area, state weather bureau officials said on Wednesday.

Lannie left PAR at 5 a.m. today, senior weather specialist Chris Perez of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) told CNN Philippines in a text message.

But the trough of Lannie may still bring rains to Metro Manila, Central Luzon, southern Luzon, Antique, and Aklan on Wednesday, according to PAGASA.

Agri damage, reported deaths

Latest reports from the regions said two drowning deaths were recorded in Cebu province, one in Consolacion town and another in Carcar City, amid the onslaught of Lannie.

Meanwhile, farmers in Western Visayas suffered losses worth over P1.69 million due to Lannie, according to initial estimates of the Department of Agriculture.

The department assured it will provide assistance to affected farmers.

Brewing cyclone

Meanwhile, the weather bureau said it is monitoring a low-pressure area outside PAR, which may develop into a tropical cyclone, PAGASA forecaster Aldczar Aurelio said in a briefing

The LPA is expected to enter PAR on Wednesday evening, Aurelio said.

It may become a tropical depression on Friday or Saturday, PAGASA weather specialist Ariel Rojas said on Twitter. It will be called Maring if it develops into a depression.
(CNN)  A spacecraft that will deliberately crash into an asteroid is preparing to launch.

The DART mission, or NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test, will lift off at 10:20 p.m. PT on November 23 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

After launching in November, NASA will test its asteroid deflection technology in September 2022 to see how it impacts the motion of a near-Earth asteroid in space.

The target of this asteroid deflection technology is Dimorphos, a small moon orbiting the near-Earth asteroid Didymos. This will be the agency's first full-scale demonstration of this type of technology on behalf of planetary defense.

Near-Earth objects are asteroids and comets whose orbits place them within 30 million miles of Earth. Detecting the threat of near-Earth objects, or NEOs, that could potentially cause grave harm is a primary focus of NASA and other space organizations around the world.

Didymos and Dimorphos

Two decades ago, a binary system involving a near-Earth asteroid was found to have a moon orbiting it, dubbed Didymos. In Greek, Didymos means "twin," which was used to describe how the larger asteroid, which is nearly half a mile across, is orbited by a smaller moon that is 525 feet in diameter. At the time, the moon was known as Didymos b.

Kleomenis Tsiganis, a planetary scientist at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and a member of the DART team, suggested that the moon be named Dimorphos.

"Dimorphos, which means 'two forms,' reflects the status of this object as the first celestial body to have the 'form' of its orbit significantly changed by humanity  in this case, by the DART impact," said Tsiganis. "As such, it will be the first object to be known to humans by two, very different forms, the one seen by DART before impact and the other seen by the European Space Agency's Hera, a few years later."

In September 2022, Didymos and Dimorphos will be relatively close to Earth and within 6,835,083 miles (11 million kilometers) of our planet. It's the perfect time for the DART mission to occur.

DART will deliberately crash into Dimorphos to change the asteroid's motion in space, according to NASA. This collision will be recorded by LICIACube, a companion CubeSat or cube satellite provided by the Italian Space Agency. The CubeSat will travel on DART and then be deployed from it prior to impact so it can record what happens.

"Astronomers will be able to compare observations from Earth-based telescopes before and after DART's kinetic impact to determine how much the orbital period of Dimorphos changed," said Tom Statler, DART program scientist at NASA Headquarters, in a statement. "That's the key measurement that will tell us how the asteroid responded to our deflection effort."

A few years after the impact, the European Space Agency's Hera mission will conduct a follow-up investigation of Didymos and Dimorphos.

While the DART mission was developed for NASA Planetary Defense Coordination Office and managed by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, the mission's team will work with the Hera mission team under an international collaboration known as the Asteroid Impact & Deflection Assessment, or AIDA.

"DART is a first step in testing methods for hazardous asteroid deflection," said Andrea Riley, DART program executive at NASA Headquarters, in a statement. "Potentially hazardous asteroids are a global concern, and we are excited to be working with our Italian and European colleagues to collect the most accurate data possible from this kinetic impact deflection demonstration."

A mission of firsts

Dimorphos was chosen for this mission because its size is relative to asteroids that could pose a threat to Earth.

DART will crash into Dimorphos moving at 14,763.8 miles per hour. A camera on DART, called DRACO, and autonomous navigation software will help the spacecraft detect and collide with Dimorphos.

This fast impact will only change Dimorphos' speed as it orbits Didymos by 1%, which doesn't sound like a lot -- but it will change the moon's orbital period by several minutes. That change can be observed and measured from ground-based telescopes on Earth. It will also be the first time humans have altered the dynamics of a solar system body in a measurable way, according to the European Space Agency.

Three years after the impact, Hera will arrive to study Dimorphos in detail, measuring physical properties of the moon, studying the DART impact and study its orbit.

This may sound like a long time to wait between the impact and follow-up, but it's based on lessons learned in the past.

In July 2005, NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft launched a 815-pound copper impact into a comet, Tempel 1. But the spacecraft was not able to see the crater that resulted because the impact released tons of dust and ice. However, NASA's Stardust mission in 2011 was able to characterize the impact  a 492-foot gash.

Together, the valuable data collected by DART and Hero will contribute to planetary defense strategies, especially understanding what kind of force is needed to shift the orbit of a near-Earth asteroid that may collide with our planet.

This story was first published on CNN.com NASA's DART mission will deliberately crash into an asteroid's moon in the name of planetary defense
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 6) The country on Wednesday received over one million more doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.

The fresh shipment contains a total of 1,015,560 government-procured shots, state media reported.

Of the number, 862,290 doses will be shipped to the Pharmaserv cold storage facility in Marikina City.

Around 76,050 doses were already delivered to Cebu, while 77,220 doses will be sent to Davao on Thursday.

Latest government data show that some 22 million Filipinos are now fully vaccinated, while more than 24 million have received their first vaccine dose.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 6)  The Department of Education (DepEd) on Wednesday said the implementation of the pilot run of in-person classes will begin on November 15.

"Tinaon po natin 'yan doon sa umpisa ng academic quarter two ng ating school calendar," DepEd Undersecretary Nepomuceno Malaluan told a Senate Basic Education Committee hearing.

[Translation: We timed it with the start of the academic quarter two of our school calendar.]

The pilot will run until the end of January next year. Education officials are targeting to reopen more schools by March.

"We will already be preparing for assessment of possible expansion schools, so by the time we are able to submit the recommendation to the President, hopefully in favor of bigger expansion, then we will also have ready schools for expansion," Nepomuceno explained.

Only 59 public schools have so far passed the Health department's assessment to carry out face-to-face classes. Most are located in the Visayas and Mindanao.

Students in these schools, however, will not be required to participate since parental consent is still needed.

Kung may agam-agam po ang mga magulang...nire-require naman po namin yung parent consent para may choice po ang magulang na sa bahay muna ang kanilang mga anak, DepEd Planning Service Director Roger Masapol told CNN Philippines.

[Translation: We require parental consent, so if the parents have reservations, theyre given the choice to let their children study from home.]

The class size will also be smaller. For instance, only up to 12 kindergarten students are allowed per classroom, from the previous maximum of 25. For Grades 1 to 3, the maximum is set at 16.

Meanwhile, up to 20 senior high school students per class may be allowed, but this would be reduced to 12 if they are in science laboratories or technical vocational livelihood workshops.

Masapol also reiterated that only vaccinated teaching and non-teaching personnel will be included in the pilot, adding that those who refuse to get vaccinated will be assigned to implement distance learning instead.

Based on its latest data, 57% or over 580,000 out of the agency's 970,000 teaching & non-teaching personnel have been inoculated against COVID-19.

The Senate Basic Education panel believes this is far from ideal.

"Nagugulat ako na sobrang baba ng sa DepEd, kasi sa mga ibang departamento, ang tataas na ng vaccination rate nila. Eh ang teachers, isa sa important frontliners," Senator Nancy Binay said.

[Translation: I'm surprised that the vaccination rate is so low in DepEd, when in other departments, the figures are high. Our teachers are among our important frontliners.]

Senators are also pushing the DepEd to fast-track the expansion of the pilot run so more schools can reopen sooner.

Senator Pia Cayetano pointed out that children are not necessarily at higher risk of getting infected if they go back to school.

"They're walking around, going to their neighbors' house unsupervised, walang pasok [when there are no classes]! So can we disabuse ourselves of that image that we are taking them from a very safe space to suddenly an exposure to school," Cayetano said.

There were also questions on the effectiveness of the pilot run if schools in the National Capital Region are not included.

Health officials explained reopening schools in urban areas will be trickier as these mostly remain at moderate or high risk for COVID19.

According to Masapol, DepEd has augmented funds of schools identified as part of the pilot run, so they can better implement health protocols. He added that this is apart from pledges from local government units, non-governmental organizations and civil society groups.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 6) Senators Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri and Joel Villanueva formalized their bids for reelection in 2022 after filing their certificates of candidacy (COC) on Wednesday.

Both will be running as independent candidates.

In separate speeches after filing, Zubiri and Villanueva highlighted their track records as politicians and cited the measures they helped pass while sitting in Congress.

Villanueva, a former secretary of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, won a Senate seat in 2016. He previously served as representative of the Citizens' Battle Against Corruption (CIBAC) party-list.

Zubiri also served both houses of Congress, having been representative of Bukidnon's 3rd district prior to his Senate stint.
Nebraska has reached a plateau in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, with both numbers mostly unchanged over recent weeks.

One notable change: The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week added 399 COVID-related deaths that it apparently had not previously counted in Nebraskas tally. That pushed the federal agencys death toll for the state to 2,840 for the pandemic, while the states count remained at 2,427.

Overall, however, Nebraska continued a monthlong flattening of its summer delta surge.

The state added 4,775 new cases for the week ending Friday. That was slightly above the 4,676 tallied during the previous week but about 10% below the roughly 5,300 the state counted during each of the three prior weeks.

More notable decreases in new cases continued in the states most populous counties. Douglas Countys cases have been on a slow decline for the past three weeks. For the week ending Saturday, the county tallied 836 cases, down from 1,004 the week before.

Cases within the Sarpy/Cass Health Department have trended downward from 639 in the last week of August to 265 last week. And the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department, which reinstated an indoor mask mandate Aug. 26, dropped from 1,021 cases the week ending Sept. 3 to 508 cases for the week ending Friday.

Case rates remain higher in some rural counties, including some in which vaccination rates remain lower than in more heavily populated counties.

COVID hospitalizations in the state also have flattened but remain elevated. An average of 415 patients a day were hospitalized with COVID-19 last week, down slightly from 421 the previous week. New daily admissions also were down slightly to 49 last week from 53 the week before.

In early June, the state was seeing just a few hundred cases a week. At that time, many adults were finishing their vaccination regimens and it appeared the pandemic might be nearing its end.

But after the delta variant began surging, particularly among the unvaccinated, Nebraskas weekly cases climbed over 5,000 and remained stuck there for about a month. While cases now are roughly a third of where they were during the massive surge last fall and winter, they remain far below safe transmission levels.

As of Sunday, the state had tallied 268,381 cases during the pandemic.

With cases falling nationally  down by about a third in the past two months  Nebraskas weekly per-capita case rate now is slightly above the U.S. average. Cases are falling across nearly three-fourths of states.

Nationally, deaths have topped 700,000, with some 100,000 of those deaths coming since vaccines were authorized for people ages 12 and older.

Why Nebraskas CDC-tallied deaths increased so sharply, however, wasnt immediately clear Monday.

Taylor Gage, a spokesman for Gov. Pete Ricketts, said in an email that it is likely that the federal agency added what are classified as probable deaths to its count for Nebraska.

The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services notes in its About the Data section that the CDC recommends defining confirmed and probable deaths. Confirmed deaths, according to the state, are those for which COVID-19 is listed as a cause of death on a death certificate and for which there was a positive PCR test, the gold standard for COVID tests. Only confirmed COVID deaths are counted in Nebraska statewide totals, according to the state.

Probable COVID-19 deaths, the state website indicates, are those for which COVID is listed as a cause of death and for which a positive antigen test is available. Cases with COVID-19 as a cause of death but no positive test also are listed as probable.

In a statement, state health department officials said the information is sent in separate fields to the CDC.

Nebraska has continued to send state COVID data in a variety of ways to the CDC, officials said. The state agency, they said, has been challenged at times by how this data is not always reported accurately by our federal partner.

A comment from the CDC was not immediately forthcoming Monday.

The Douglas County Health Department counts COVID-related deaths as those for which the virus is listed as a cause of death and for which there is either a positive antigen or PCR test, said Phil Rooney, a Health Department spokesman.

Vaccinations, meanwhile, are ticking up slightly in Nebraska, most likely due to the addition of booster shots. Some 27,500 shots were administered in the state last week, up slightly from the 24,000 the state had given in recent weeks.

Some 3% of the U.S. population has now received boosters, most of those going to people ages 65 and older.

In all, 54.8% of the states population is fully vaccinated, a rate that falls below the 55.9% U.S. rate.
A grass fire north of Rapid City has torched between 250 and 300 acres that led to evacuations Monday, while threatening residential and business structures.

According to Rapid City Fire Department Public Information Officer Tessa Jaeger, the Auburn Fire began at about 1:30 p.m. Monday near the Auburn Hills neighborhood west of Haines Avenue near Henderson Drive and was moving in a northerly direction. The cause is under investigation.

"We do have multiple crews out here working on the fire and it is still running really hot towards the Deadwood Avenue area," Jaeger said. "We do have air assets on the way."

As of 6:15 p.m. Monday, the Auburn fire was 250 to 300 acres in size, moving northeast and is 0% contained, Great Plains Fire Information said. The flames are being fueled by abnormally high temperatures and gusty winds, coupled with extreme dry conditions.

Early Monday evening, the fire crossed into Meade County, prompting officials there to warn residents that evacuations may be forthcoming.

"Any residents who live north of the Pennington County line, west of Erickson Ranch Road, and south of Elk Creek Road are encouraged to be ready to evacuate if an order is given," Meade County Emergency Management said in an alert sent Monday evening.

GPFI said Monday afternoon that single-engine air tankers were dropping retardant on the north and west flanks of the fire. Additional air attack platforms were en route and a helicopter was performing bucket work. The Rapid City Air Tanker Base at Rapid City Regional Airport reopened to supply water and retardant.

"On the north and east sides of the fire, firefighters are going as direct as possible to install containment lines," an update from GPFI said. "On the west side of the fire, firefighters are scouting the area, looking for control features that will provide for the highest probability of success. On the south side, firefighters are holding, patrolling and mopping up."

No structures have been damaged in the fire, GPFI said.

Brendyn Medina, public information officer with the Rapid City Police Department, said officers were along Deadwood Avenue, north of Interstate 90, to assist with mandatory evacuations in the Marvel Mountain neighborhood. Officers also assisted with traffic diversion after Deadwood Avenue and Peaceful Pines Road were closed.

"All available personnel from the police department are being called to assist with those mandatory evacuations," Medina said at the time.

Pennington County Emergency Management said the fire was impacting areas in Meade County. The Rapid City Police Department is asking the public to avoid the area north of Interstate 90 between Haines Avenue and Deadwood Avenue.

A phone line has been established for residents seeking information on the fire by calling 605-923-8868.

Contact Nathan Thompson at nathan.thompson@rapidcityjournal.com.

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" " This wonderful Doodle ran July 24, 2012, in honor of Amelia Earhart's 115th birthday. Google

Google, when it comes to cutting-edge technology and out-of-the-box thinking, is a Silicon Valley front-runner. They make cool phones. They've built self-driving cars. They put out maps that your self-driving car can use. And little home speakers that you can talk to ... and they talk back! And they basically created their own verb by building the leading internet browser.

So why is a forward-thinking company like Google doodling around with ... doodles?

You may have seen these often whimsical doodly-thingies while tapping around on the globe's most-used search engine (that'd be, um, Google): Sketches (sometimes animated), rich paintings, full-out videos and interactive games that occasionally appear over the top of the Google search bar, where the Google logo normally sits. These little one-offs, adapted to different Google versions worldwide, incorporate the well-known logo into their designs to celebrate anniversaries, birthdays or other historic happenings.

They may not be as utterly utilitarian as Docs or Drive or Waze or YouTube  all more Google products  but this endearing cyber artwork is undeniably educational, and out-of-the-box fun.

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Doodling Around at Google

In 1998, Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page slapped a stick man sketch onto the logo in honor of the Burning Man festival in Nevada as kind of an out-of-office sticky note. It was so well-received that, since then, more than 2,000 doodles have subbed in as the colorful logo on google.com.

Doodles, according to Google (via, of course, a Google search), are "fun, surprising, and sometimes spontaneous changes that are made to the Google logo to celebrate holidays, anniversaries, and the lives of famous artists, pioneers and scientists." Though "sometimes" spontaneous, these doodles are more likely well thought-out and painstakingly researched by a dedicated team of doodlers.

Yes. Google has a dedicated team of doodlers. Or, maybe, Doodlers.

"There're a little over a dozen illustrators, animators and designers on the Doodle team. (We call them Doodlers,)" Ryan Germick, the principal designer at Google Doodles, says via email. "We also collaborate with engineers and local culture experts in Google offices around the world, as well as guest artists from time to time."

Google team members from all over the world, including the Doodlers, get together once a year to go over ideas. They listen to users and to local experts, and then head to the calendar. (Probably, Calendar.) "To make time for research and coordination, we plan most of our Doodles 12 or more months in advance," Germick says.

Not all are produced so meticulously. When scientists discovered evidence of water on Mars on Sept. 29, 2015, for example, Doodlers didn't doodle around, knocking out this animated beauty in a few hours. Some, though, can take more than a year to craft.

Doodles can be simple (Halloween 1999), or complex (this tribute to Mister Rogers earlier this year). They can mark the familiar (the arrival of spring, say, in this typically funny Doodle from 2016) or the obscure (the 500th anniversary of the Piri Reis Map, on April 7, 2013). Mostly, though, they have to mean something. Doodles are not, evidently, just doodles.

"While there are many considerations," Germick writes, "overall the Doodle selection process has always aimed to celebrate a diverse mix of topics that reflect Google's personality, teach people something new, and most importantly, to make sure Doodles are meaningful to local culture."

" " Google created this Doodle on Nov. 13, 2009, when scientists announced water was found on the surface of the moon. Google

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The King of Doodles

Entire articles have been penned on the best Google Doodles of all time. The interactive Doodle marking the 30th anniversary of Pac-Man (May 21, 2010) was a classic. So, too, was the one on the 200th anniversary of Grimm's Fairy Tales (Dec. 20, 2012), an interactive storyboard of Red Riding Hood's adventure. (Some of the background on that Doodle is here.)

We asked Germick to pick out a favorite, which is probably a bit unfair considering he's had his hand in so many of them. He's been on the team since 2011.

Still, we asked. He answered.

"The Birth of Hip Hop Doodle [Aug. 11, 2017] stands out as a high-water mark. We enlisted the help of a wide group of collaborators to do justice to the artform, including graffiti artist Cey Adams, producer Prince Paul, and Youtube's own Lyor Cohen," Germick writes. "The Doodle featured a history primer from Fab Five Freddy of 'Yo! MTV Raps' fame, an interactive turntable with dozens of classic breakbeats (plus a polka record we snuck in), and game-like achievements celebrating hip-hop pioneers like Roxanne Shante, Kool Herc and others. We toured historical spots in the Bronx with Grandmaster Caz, viewed the personal archive of Disco Fever owner Sal Abbatiello, and even got to hear the story of Run DMC from DMC himself, Darryl McDaniels."

Google Doodlers will accept ideas for Doodles from anyone (users can send their brainstorms to proposals@google.com), and they will occasionally clear the deck to have guests or users have their own published (including students in the annual Doodle 4 Google competition). Good luck future Doodlers!

NOW THAT'S INTERESTING On June 9, 2011, to mark guitarist Les Paul's 96th birthday, Google unveiled a Doodle that doubled as a virtual guitar. The Doodle allowed users to record songs. In 48 hours, users did so 40 million times, resulting in more than five years' worth of music.
" " Private search engines, like Startpage, offer anonymous browsing so your searches aren't tracked, as well as unbiased search results. Startpage

Most people know our technology is spying on us. After all, how many times have you searched for something online, only to suddenly find ads popping up on your screen offering that exact same item or service? That might not seem too ominous; maybe you even appreciate the ads. But privacy experts warn that tech companies  namely Google, Microsoft and Apple  are quietly compiling an alarming amount of sensitive data about us, including information about our finances, medical history, political leanings, religion and more.

All of this data may be leaked, hacked, shared with government intelligence agencies, subpoenaed and used to influence our opinions, among other concerns. That's probably why a 2019 Pew Research Center survey showed that 81 percent of people in the U.S. say the potential risks from data collection outweigh the benefits. In addition, more than 60 percent of respondents feel it's not possible to go through daily life without the government or companies collecting data about them. Luckily, there are measures we can take to protect our personal info. And one of the easiest ways is to start using a web browser or search engine dedicated to privacy.

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A web browser is a piece of software that lets you access the internet  to visit or log in to websites, view multimedia, etc. Chrome was the most popular web browser in 2021, with 64 percent of the global market share, followed by Safari (19 percent), Firefox (3.3 percent) and Edge (3.2 percent). All browsers, in turn, use a search engine like Google, Bing or Yahoo! to carry out their web searches.

When you get a new laptop, tablet or phone, you don't normally have to select a web browser, as many devices come with one preinstalled. Apple products are loaded with Safari, for example, while most Android devices come with Chrome. Yet while these two ubiquitous browsers do offer some privacy features, including the ability to search under a privacy mode (like Chrome's Incognito), those features don't do much, says Robert Beens, co-founder and CEO of Startpage, a private search engine offering free, anonymous browsing. (Full disclosure: HowStuffWorks parent company System1 is an investor in Startpage.)

Searching under "incognito" or "privacy" mode, for example, mainly hides your web searches from other people who might use your device. The browser itself still sees and records all of the identifying details of your searches. "Privacy modes are great for marketing," says Beens, "but they don't do much for our privacy. That's the reality."

Why Private Browsers and Search Engines Are Better

One option, then, is to use a new browser dedicated to privacy. There are many out there, and switching to another one takes less than a minute. Mozilla's Firefox doesn't remember your history or logins, and it offers ad-blockers, an invisible shield that blocks certain trackers and a browser extension that makes it more difficult for Facebook to track your online activity. A few other well-regarded private browsers are Vivaldi, Tor, Brave, DuckDuckGo and Waterfox (Full disclosure: The Waterfox browser is owned by HowStuffWorks' parent company, System1).

Beens says his company, Startpage, offers the most secure internet experience available, as it delivers Google search results in privacy via a unique relationship with Google. Here's how it works: If you conduct a web search on Startpage, it strips off all of your identifying information, then passes on an anonymous query to Google. Google performs the search, then returns its results to Startpage and you. During the process, Startpage doesn't save or sell your search history or leave cookies. It also prevents third parties from targeting you.

In addition to protecting your privacy, private search engines like Startpage ensure you receive unbiased search results, says Beens, a concept critical to understand. Today, the more a search engine knows about you, the more it will try to skew all search results toward your preferences. Beens says if he enters "Egypt" into Google's search bar, for example, he might receive more information on diving sites in the Red Sea than someone else, because Google knows he's interested in diving. But someone who's interested in politics might receive more news links on political issues surrounding Egypt.

"Search results are not always true search results," he says, "because search engines often put you in a bubble. To break out of that bubble, you have to use a search engine that gives you absolutely unbiased search results.

Of course, there are limits to what any private browser or private search engine can do. None of them can protect you on any websites where you log in, for example, because once you do that, you've confirmed your personal information. Some private browsers may be slower, due to their enhanced privacy features. And private search engines performing their own searches  unlike Startpage's use of Google and its goliath search power  may not be as good at finding information for very niched searches. In the end, says Beens, it comes down to awareness.

For internet privacy today is not just about protecting our passwords and avoiding third-party ads; it's becoming aware about being manipulated. Technical companies try to keep you on their websites and in their ecosystems as long as they can, Beens says, and they achieve this in part by putting you in your own echo chamber, where you see and hear more and more of the same. This can reinforce your thoughts and impressions, and lead to the polarization among people that we're seeing in the U.S. and around the globe.

"Internet privacy is way more important than closing your curtains at night," he says.

Now That's a Monopoly In 2021, the top search engine was Google, with a whopping 92.2 percent of the worldwide market share. Far behind were Bing (8 percent), China's Baidu (7.3 percent) and Yahoo (3.4 percent).
Source: AdobeStock/rpbmedia

Crypto regulation is on the cards in Latin America  where Brazilian MPs are set to vote on a regulatory framework and the Uruguayan central bank is readying its own moves. Meanwhile, in Colombia, a senator has urged people in the nation to ditch cocaine production in favor of new Bitcoin (BTC) mining efforts.

In Brazil, a private members bill put forward by the MP Aureo Ribeiro has passed the committee stage and is now heading for a vote in the lower house.

Per the official website of the Brazil House of Deputies, the bill will be debated in the house before a vote, although no timeline has been set for this.

If adopted, the measure would bring crypto exchanges under a regulatory umbrella and would oblige them to keep records of client transactions, de-anonymize customers and obtain permission to operate from the Central Bank of Brazil.

Ribeiro drew up the measure after a crypto-themed financial pyramid sucked in 300,000 victims in the Rio de Janeiro region.

He was quoted as stating that a lack of regulation, has left people with no one to turn to. Crypto, he noted, was a market operating in the dark.

As such, the bill seeks to increase the length of jail terms handed out for crypto-themed money-laundering crimes, boosting them from 3-10 years to 4-16 years.

If adopted, crypto operators would be handed a 180-day grace period in which to fall in line following promulgation.

However, there is also a brighter side to the bill, from a crypto perspective. Per the media outlet Livecoins, the MP recently gave a radio interview where he indicated that the bill would also grant legitimacy to tokens such as bitcoin.

Ribeiro was quoted as stating:

We want to separate the wheat from the chaff, create regulations so that you can trade [crypto], know where you are buying it, and know who you are dealing with. [You could] have this asset [and use it] to buy a house, a car, go to McDonalds to buy a hamburger. It will be a currency in the country, as is the case in other countries.

He also claimed that crypto could be used in real estate deals and could even become a daily-use currency.

However, those hoping to see an imminent El Salvador-like BTC adoption in Brazil will likely need to curb their expectations, as the MP added that politicians would need to work with the Central Bank and the financial regulatory Securities and Exchange Commission of Brazil (CVM). These bodies are not overly crypto-friendly and would likely put a quick halt to any plans to use BTC in parallel with the fiat real.

Meanwhile, the Uruguayan Central Bank has made warnings about crypto, per El Pais. The bank said that it is currently working on draft proposals and an action plan that should be ready before the year is out.

But in the meantime, it noted, cryptoassets are not legal tender  unlike the fiat peso. The bank added that crypto-related activity is not within its regulatory remit, and are thus unregulated, adding that the public should conduct a full examination of the risks before making any crypto investments.

In Colombia, meanwhile, an outspoken Colombian senator has been talking about bitcoin mining. Gustavo Francisco Petro first made his name as a member of the revolutionary M-19 group during the 1980s, later going on to become the mayor of Bogota. He has most recently become a senator for the Humane Colombia party after finishing second in the 2018 presidential elections.

Petro was commenting on Twitter in response to a news story about El Salvadors volcanode BTC mining initiative.

The senator mused:

What if the Pacific coast took advantage of the steep waterfalls on the rivers of the western mountain range to produce all the energy for the coast and replace cocaine with energy for cryptocurrencies? Cryptocurrency is pure information and therefore energy.

____

Learn more:

- Colombian Bank Begins Second Phase of its Crypto Pilot with Exchanges

- Colombias Banco de Bogota Begins Crypto Pilot

- Brazilian Banking Boss Says Venezuelans Use Bitcoin & Alts as a Vehicle

- Brazil Dips a Cautious Toe in the CBDC Pool, Token May Debut in 2022

- Uruguay Senator Sartori Unveils Crypto Adoption and Regulation Bill

- Pundits Label Paraguayan MPs Crypto Bill a Huge Nothing Burger

- Academic Says Bukeles Bitcoin Mining Test Is Bad Business

- Level of LatAm Crypto Interest is Lowest in Chile, Survey Finds
Desloge is quickly becoming known for its picturesque lamp posts on Desloge Drive and now on State Street.

I was at a municipal meeting and there was a gentleman from Salem, Missouri, Mayor David Shaw said. And when he saw my name tag from Desloge, the first thing out right of his mouth was, Oh, you're the guys with the pretty lights on the street. I said, Yes, we are.

The addition of the signature dual-lamp street lights are just one part of the ongoing State Street project, which is rounding the corner to the finish.

City Administrator Dan Bryan said its a nice complement to what the city has going on Desloge Drive.

It's us creating identity for Desloge, he said. It's kind of painting a picture of what direction we want to take the city. Projects like this are very visible, and people get to see a lot of their money put to work.

Just like residents in surrounding communities compliment Desloge on their street conditions in the winter, he said, other residents are starting to notice the infrastructure improvements the city is making.

I think not only do Desloge residents appreciate it, but community members in that county appreciate it, he added.

The clock started on the project on May 19 and is slated to be completed by Nov. 19. Cochran Engineering is overseeing the project.

Improvements are being done to about a one mile stretch of the street from Evergreen Street to Desloge Drive/Highway 8.

We're going to be in probably the $1.8 to 1.9 million on total costs, Bryan said.

According to Bryan, the project includes stormwater, water line, and electrical work, as well as new sidewalks, curbs, and lining of the sewers.

Just that overall control of stormwater, where in that part of town, we were not able to do, Bryan said. Collect it and be able to have a little bit of control of what it was doing.

And, of course, it includes the signature lights.

The big thing is the lighting, he added. We've gone to the new dual lamp lighting that we did on Desloge Drive, which really gives it a clean look.

Currently, work is being done on the north end of the project. The southbound lane is closed near Grey Eagle Distributors, Auto Zone, and Plaza Tire to allow for a box culvert to be put in for stormwater.

Bryan said the project is moving along nicely now after encountering a lot of rock.

There's just a lot of underground work to do there, a lot of stormwater stuff, he explained. We got into some rock, which that's no surprise for St. Francois County. But we're going to have to make a little adjustment for  change order for  that rock because we already met what we budgeted for rock breaking.

But the good news is, after we went ahead and made the change order, we got past the big rocks. So hopefully the rest of the way, it will be good news for us as far as that goes.

At the September meeting, the Board of Aldermen approved a change order of $49,140.31 for project.

Over the past 10 days, the pavement from Evergreen Street to Elm Street has been done.

We're kind of also at the mercy of the weather and how long how long asphalt plants stay open and things like that, Bryan said. So we also are kind of playing a game with Mother Nature and trying to keep temperatures up where asphalt plants are still producing and taking material out of their plants.

But he still expects the project to be completed on time.

As you drive down the project today, you can really see that the sidewalks and the curbing are really catching up to where the heavy construction is going on, he added. So I believe here as soon as they tie everything in together, you are really going to see some rapid movement.

Bryan said they've gotten a lot of comments about the mailboxes in the sidewalk.

"It was not by our choice," he continued. "We would have loved to have had it on the backside of the sidewalk. Unfortunately, the postmaster declined our request to make that a walking route and so it's going to remain a driving route. They still have access to the boxes from the street so that's why they're there."

Shaw added that there is still sufficient room for wheelchairs to get around the mailboxes.

One of the first parts of the project was improvements to the sewer lines. The city did not have it in the budget to replace the sewer lines, so they went with a newer technology that improves the infrastructure of the sewer without having to replace it.

We've lined the sewers, Bryan explained. It basically heats up a resin sleeve to a temperature that it'll harden and it just becomes, essentially, a PVC pipe within the old clay pipe structure.

The work was done by Insituform for $129,902 as opposed to replacing the pipes for $200,000.

Its very durable, Shaw added.

As mayor, this is one of the first big projects during his tenure. And Shaw said hes been proud of the way the residents have handled it.

I'm proud of the fact that we've had very few complaints from the disruptions that it has caused for the citizens, he continued. I think because we tried to educate them on what was going to happen. And they've been very receptive to change.

They know it's a big hassle. But theres better times coming. I think we built on the success we had with the Desloge Drive project. I think that kind of paved the way for acceptance by a lot of our citizens.

In the end, Bryan said the project will give a nice look to what is probably going to be a growing commercial area.

I think on State Street, we're going to see some growth in commercial properties, he said. And I think that's really setting the stage. You can see that a lot of businesses along Desloge Drive have kind of picked up and cleaned up their properties and really done some upgrades. I think, not only are we talking upgrades, but we're talking new construction along State Street.

Special meeting

In a special meeting on Tuesday night, the Desloge Board of Aldermen voted to move this month's regular meeting to Oct. 18 instead of Oct. 11 because of the Columbus Day holiday.

The aldermen also reviewed a couple of use of vehicle and equipment policies. At last month's meeting, the board voted to allow department leaders to take home their city vehicles, so the policy needed to be updated accordingly.

The board members voted to change the policy to state that department leaders must live within a 10-mile radius, instead of a 15-mile radius, to be eligible to take their vehicle home. They also voted to change the policy to reflect that police/animal control officers can only take home their work vehicle home if they live within city limits. This was a request of Police Chief James "Jebo" Bullock.

Nikki Overfelt-Chifalu is a reporter for the Daily Journal. She can be reached at noverfelt@dailyjournalonline.com.

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OKeeffe! explores the complex relationship between the painter and her photographer husband, Alfred Stieglitz, and the conversation they had with their art, McDermott said. OKeeffes bond with Stieglitz, a quarter-century her senior, was complicated from the outset, but the thing that never changed was they were big believers in each others work. She influenced him as well. There was a back and forth.

Isolating and pursuing her own independent artistic vision  not something shaped by her art teachers or outside forces  was important enough to OKeeffe that she destroyed many of her early works to distance herself from influences that were not her own, McDermott said.

She had painted herself into a corner, McDermott said. The biggest obstacle for her to overcome in her 20s was when she realized everything she was painting was dictated to her by her teachers or other artists.

The play starts with her assessing her work at that moment  and not able to see herself in it.

Starting over meant working in black and white, stripping away everything that did not resonate before eventually returning to the world of color, which became a quality that set her work apart.
The only issue for us, quite frankly, is whether we fire the city manager for firing the police chief. And I want to say very clearly that I think that the answer to that is no, said councilor Lloyd Snook.

Snook has consistently said he upholds Boyles decision. Snook said he thinks its important to move forward from the decision to commit to a new and equitable style of policing.

I think that we had gotten to a point at the end of August, where we had significant questions about whether we were going to end up with a police department in chaos. We need not go back and revisit that, Snook said.

Walker said she is frustrated the other councilors didnt have more questions if they really do care about equity. Brackney is a Black woman, and some community members as well as Walker have voiced concerns about how officers impressions of Brackney could be racist, sexist or both. Walker asked Boyles when he had access to the PBA survey and internal city survey. He said he received the PBA survey at the same time as the councilors in August and received the internal survey after that.

In a discussion prior to Walker playing the recording, Boyles said he was not confident in Wells intentions. He also said the survey was very unscientific.
Health care: A survey by American Well  a telemedicine tech company  found that only 5% of doctors had used such platforms in 2015, whereas a July McKinsey study estimated 13% to 17% of patient visits were being conducted via telehealth.

Education: A Virginia Public Access Project graphic mapped the fall 2020 reopening statuses for K-12 school divisions across the state. Each had some form of virtual learning, and even as in-person schooling returned this fall, online communication is likely a more regular part of the school year than in 2015.

Transportation: There has been decline in licensed drivers, with younger people opting for ride-sharing and biking.

Meanwhile, more Amtrak passenger service from Norfolk, Newport News, Richmond and Roanoke to points north is taking shape. This growth is supported by a forthcoming second bridge over the Potomac River to provide better balance with freight traffic, while also easing congestion along major interstate highways.
Everyone eligible should be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of long-distance travel or employment.

Vaccination should be voluntary but those who don't get vaccinated should be frequently tested for COVID-19 as a condition of long-distance travel and employment.

Both vaccination and testing should be voluntary and not required as a condition of long-distance travel or employment.

I defer to the judgment of lawmakers as long as they base their decisions on a consensus of medical professionals.

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The Corvallis Parks and Recreation Department's maintenance and operations facilities are in Avery Park. The main building dates to the 1920s. The main yard of the complex consists of a series of similarly-aged buildings, equipment that is too large to fit under aging overhangs and surrounded by an aging, unsecured fence.

Across town on Northwest Circle Boulevard sits Fire Station No. 3. A wildland firefighting engine sits in the parking lot behind the station because the facility does not have enough apparatus bays. Firefighter turnouts (coats, helmets, boots, gloves, etc.) hang on hooks in the same bay as other engines, a no-no in modern firefighting.

The physical fitness area (daily workouts are mandatory for on-duty firefighters) sits in the back of the lone apparatus bay, where the gear  and its users  are subject to exhaust fumes when the engines pull out to answer calls.

City officials took a reporter and photographer on a tour of the two facilities on Tuesday as the city and hired consultants continue work on a project evaluating city facilities.

The project team will present a report on possible recommendations and phasing of the work at Thursdays City Council work session (see information box for the Zoom link). Final decisions are years away, and completing work on any new facilities could be a decade in the future.

Key issues that the project team has found to date include:

 Nearly half of city facilities, 47%, have exceeded average useful life.

 A lack of energy efficiency and green building practices.

 A lack of storage and work spaces.

 Limited weather protection for valuable equipment and materials.

 Facilities that cannot accommodate growth.

 Facilities that make it difficult to provide customer service.

 Inadequate living quarters at fire stations, including gender equity issues.

 Lack of Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance.

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Here is a look at some of the issues through the lens of the two facilities that were toured:

Parks & Recreation

Mary Steckel, the former Public Works Director who has been hired part-time to lead the facilities project, is standing in the center of the Parks & Rec yard.

This is a not a good layout, she said. Its not a place where vehicles should be or people should be. Its unsound.

There isnt enough room for the wide range of Parks & Rec vehicles under the overhangs. In the winter that means equipment gets wet. In the summer plastic parts take a beating from the sun.

Its not a good way to store your equipment, said Jude Geist, parks supervisor.

Floodplain, flood way and flood zone restrictions limit activities and access at the facility, which is just yards from the Marys River. The department also houses belongings of homeless campers that are stored for the required 30 days.

Thats space we cant use for other purposes, Geist said. We just run out of space.

The space issue presents itself throughout the compound. Bathroom, shower and locker space is at a premium in the staff room, partly because the facility was built during a time in which the workforce was entirely male.

An irrigation parts and repair workroom is so stuffed with materials the work bench has become a storage shelf. At least two of the buildings have upstairs loft areas accessed by steep, ancient steps, a situation that has led the department to only store items in the upper areas that wont need to be retrieved for a while.

Fire Station No. 3

The first item Chief Ken McCarthy shows on the tour is the engine in the parking lot. McCarthy already has outlined a proposal for a land swap with the Corvallis School District for property south of the station that would give the CFD room for a second apparatus bay.

McCarthys proposal also includes moving Fire Station No. 4 in South Corvallis to a new parcel of land on Highway 99W.

Inside Fire Station No. 3, what used to be a bedroom/office for a lieutenant has been converted into a two-bed womens dorm. The station, like the staff room at Parks & Rec, was built at a time when all firefighters were male, and sleeping areas, bathrooms and lockers all need upgrades to provide gender equity.

This is occurring across all of the facilities, Steckel said. We are not providing modern amenities. Things change. This is no longer 1974.

Stations 2 and 3 received some new firefighters paid for by funds provided by the November 2018 City Council passage of the public safety fee. The fee, which is part of the city services bill that includes street maintenance, urban forestry, water, storm water, waste water and sidewalks, enabled McCarthy to have five firefighters on duty for each shift.

The new personnel ended the either/or staffing challenge at the two stations. With only three firefighters on per shift if an ambulance went out and a fire call came in, there was no one in the station to take out the engine. Which hurt the department's response time.

But the five firefighters make for tight quarters throughout. And Fire Station No. 4 is so cramped with either/or staffing that McCarthy said it would be unlivable with five people.

Counting the beans

No cost estimates or budget are available for the facilities work, although the city might have as much as $13 million to work with in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding.

The fire station work alone would cost in the millions, even though the land for the new Fire Station 4 likely will be free.

City Manager Mark Shepard has urged the City Council to use as much of the ARPA money as practical on facilities. Shepard also has said that sending a bond measure to the voters is a possibility and that the city will pursue other state/federal funding opportunities that present themselves.

Shepard also noted that abandoning the Tunison station would open up that property for other community-focused purposes.

Were trying to make things work where we are at, McCarthy said, but I want to make it more modern. This is a time capsule  its like back to the '70s.

Contact reporter James Day at jim.day@lee.net or 541-812-6116. Follow at Twitter.com/jameshday or gazettetimes.com/blogs/jim-day.

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Progressive Rep. Pramila Jayapal has been all over TV trying to look reasonable with her ingratiating smile and syrupy references to the left's interest in "negotiations." At issue is the Democrats' final number on its social spending bill.

Sen. Bernie Sanders was playing the sleazy salesman, inflating his original price to offer a discount. This took the form of noting that his $3.5 trillion figure was a markdown from the $6 trillion he previously wanted.

New York Rep. Mondaire Jones, meanwhile, says he has a problem with people applying the term "moderate" to Democrats not on board with the left's social spending goals. He apparently thinks that progressives threatening to torpedo the wildly popular infrastructure bill if their demands aren't met should henceforth be called "the moderates."

What is it about the left that constantly wants to police language? It would seem part of an unconvincing charm offensive in a party whose majority increasingly resents the left's serial extortion demands  often delivered in words that hurt the very Democrats who have given them the ability to influence anything.

That ability shrunk in the 2020 election, as an electorate that preferred President Joe Biden by over 7 million votes also punished several House Democrats who held hard-won seats in purple districts.

Much of the blame goes to the far left's incontinent radical talk about "defunding the police." Jayapal, for one, said she would "redirect law enforcement funding to other community programs." Translation: Take money from police. This was propitiously timed during a spike in crime rates. Public safety had become a concern among Americans of all races, but the left-wing gentry had posturing to do.

All this created a politically stupid diversion from calls to reform law enforcement practices, a response to serious incidents of abusive policing. Democrat Max Rose from Staten Island had voted for the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, as did other swing-district Democrats, such as Abby Finkenauer of northeast Iowa and Anthony Brindisi from upstate New York. Rose, Finkenauer and Brindisi all lost in November. (Finkenauer is now running in Iowa for the Senate.)

A few months before the 2020 presidential election, while the Democratic primaries were still going on, "60 Minutes" did a feature in which Sanders renewed past praise of Fidel Castro for his literacy program and for expanding health care. The former Cuban dictator also tortured and murdered dissidents, it was pointed out.

Pressed on the matter, Sanders said he didn't approve of the torture part, but that wasn't enough to save Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-Powell. She lost her Miami-area district, home to many Cuban Americans.

The left can complain all it wants about West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin and his insistence that the price for the social spending come down. But he and (the incomprehensible) Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema have so much power, as Biden has noted, because the Senate is evenly divided. Democrats might have held more Senate seats were it not for the left's habit of scaring moderate voters.

Manchin did offer to accept $1.5 trillion in increased social spending. That is not a small sum, and perhaps he'd go higher. The left indicates it may go lower, but it's already weakened the Democrats' reputation as the party that can govern. It doesn't understand  or care  that the future of the country is also at stake as leaders of the opposite party work to destabilize democratic institutions.

The left is a minority within the Democratic Party. Its champions lost recent primaries in New York, Virginia, Louisiana and Ohio. The radical fringe seems larger than it is because it gets media attention, especially when it flames other Democrats. Only Democratic voters can exact a price for sabotaging the team.

Follow Froma Harrop on Twitter @FromaHarrop. She can be reached at fharrop@gmail.com.

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I follow the science and trust the experts, but let's be honest: They don't always get it right.

For instance, we recently learned that although public health experts had told us repeatedly that the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines were equally effective, that's not actually true. Half a dozen studies, the New York Times reported, now show that Moderna offers more protection.

And that's just the most recent screw-up. Don't wear masks, they told us in the beginning, until they changed their minds. COVID-19 is unlikely to be spread by asymptomatic people  oh, oops, yes it is. Wipe down your packages  um, no, actually that's not necessary.

A few days ago, irked by the most recent turnaround, I suddenly recalled a book I've had on my shelf for the last 37 years. Titled "The Experts Speak," it is a nearly 400-page doorstopper written in 1984 by Christopher Cerf and Victor Navasky that claims to be the "definitive compendium of authoritative misinformation."

Navasky and Cerf set out to lampoon the world's experts by showing how wrong they've been over the last 2,000 years about everything, including, they noted, facts, theories, dates, geography, predictions about the future, conclusions about the past and, yes, even assertions about the present.

"We are ready to concede that the experts are occasionally right," they wrote. "As a matter of fact, some of our colleagues have argued persuasively that the experts are right as much as half the time."

OK, they were being snarky, but their compendium is no joke. Here are a handful of the thousands of entries:

"Stocks have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau," Yale economics professor Irving Fisher said on Oct. 17, 1929, just a week before the market crash that devastated the U.S. economy.

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"Roosevelt will be a one-term president," wrote political columnist Mark Sullivan in the New York Herald in 1935. Roosevelt was elected to four terms and died in office in 1945.

"[Copulation] is  dangerous immediately after a meal," wrote Dr. Bernard S. Talmey in his treatise on the "science of sex-attraction" in 1919.

"A man-made moon voyage will never occur regardless of all future scientific advances," said Lee DeForest, an American inventor who has often been called the "father of the radio," in 1957.

"Clearing and colder, preceded by light snow," was the official New York City weather forecast for March 12, 1888, the day of the blizzard of '88, which killed more than 400 people.

"For the majority of people, smoking has a beneficial effect," Los Angeles surgeon Ian G. Macdonald told Newsweek in 1963.

I think I needn't go further. Their message is clear. Don't believe everything you hear, even from someone with an advanced degree. Especially when it predicts the future. Furthermore, even when the experts all agree  they might still be wrong.

But having said all that, what's the alternative?

With all due respect to Navasky and Cerf, no number of wrong assertions by a scientist or expert truly undermines the value of study, knowledge, experience, experimentation, data-gathering and the scientific method. (Nor do I think the authors meant to suggest it did.) And just because the experts make mistakes, that doesn't mean that they aren't right vastly more often than they're wrong, or that they don't know a lot more about viruses than you and I do.

What we sometimes forget is that science and expertise don't exist in a world of perfectly discernible truth and objectivity, but in one of uncertainty. Especially when it comes to advising on policy, scientists' conclusions and experts' recommendations are based, as often as not, on estimates and hypotheses, on projections and modeling. It is necessary to weigh evidence, reconcile contradictory findings and make judgments, sometimes with incomplete information.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists and policymakers have obviously been under pressure to move quickly. At the beginning, little was known about the virus, but policy recommendations were urgently necessary. Studies were sped up and assumptions were made, some of which didn't bear out. (There are currently more than 360,000 entries in the World Health Organization's database of global literature on the coronavirus.)

Unfortunately, mistakes, when they occur, give ammunition to skeptics. Mistakes encourage laypeople to trust their own anecdotal observations  or the baseless assertions of irresponsible people around them  rather than authoritative sources.

What's more, Americans  or at least a subset of them  have a long tradition of distrusting authority and people they see as pointy-headed know-it-alls. Historian Richard Hofstadter wrote a whole book in 1963 about "anti-intellectualism" in the United States, arguing that many Americans believe their own common sense "is an altogether adequate substitute for, if not actually much superior to, formal knowledge and expertise."

The Donald Trumps of the world take advantage of that. "The experts are terrible," said the demagogue-in-chief in 2016. Later he made empty promises like this one about COVID in March 2020: "It's going to go away, hopefully at the end of the month."

Sure, I now wish I'd gotten the Moderna vaccine rather than the Pfizer, but data evolve (and Pfizer is effective). It's easy to be irked by botched predictions and inaccurate assertions. But to discount rigorous methods, objective standards and open-minded inquiry  to discount science and expertise  is Dark Ages thinking. It's a much bigger mistake than doing a 360 on mask-wearing or which vaccine works best.

Nicholas Goldberg is an associate editor and Op-Ed columnist for the Los Angeles Times
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Denton ISD head talks worker shortage, mask mandates

Jenna Duncan / Jeff Woo/DRC Jamie Wilson, superintendent of Denton ISD, top center, speaks to the Denton Record-Chronicle Editorial Board during a livestream at the newspapers office Tuesday.

Denton ISD is ready to take the focus off the ongoing pandemic in exchange for a greater emphasis on learning.

Thats evidenced in the structure of public meetings, school board agendas have moved pandemic updates toward the end of each meeting in recent weeks. Its also clear from the way officials talk about their district, and theyll tell you as much.

Superintendent Jamie Wilson, for instance, said as much during his Tuesday afternoon appearance before the Denton Record-Chronicle Editorial Board.

That doesnt mean pandemic considerations arent still necessary or that the pandemic doesnt still have its less-than-subtle way of affecting most everything.

For example, Denton ISD, like many other school districts, is having a hard time filling entry-level positions and getting substitute teachers into classrooms.

Were seeing worker shortages in our entry-level paraprofessional, cafeteria worker, bus driver, maintenance and custodial areas, Wilson said Tuesday.

Thats not the same for substitutes, he said.

He explained most available substitute teachers are retired teachers, which is a group less willing to take health risks amid the pandemic.

A classroom in need of a substitute could reliably be filled more than 90% of the time in more normal years, but Wilson said that rate has dropped to 50-60% at times during the pandemic.

The need is greater than whats out there, he summarized.

Instead of a shortage, Texas is still grappling with a longer-term teacher retention issue. One way the state is trying to fight that, which Wilson alluded to Tuesday, is through an incentive program whereby the best performing teachers would get pay bonuses for helping the students who need them most.

You can do teacher incentive allotments, you can do compensation... but if thats not matching the growth and the retirement levels on the backend, youre going to have a gap, Wilson said.

Districts can push out incentive plans and higher compensation, but districts will still be left with shortages if they dont provide sweet enough deals to prospective teachers to at least keep up with the growing need.

In a fast growing district like DISD, replacing teachers who retire or leave the profession isnt enough each year when new campuses opening nearly every year becomes the norm.

Masking

DISD had changed its official stance toward mask wearing a few times during the 2021-22 school year by Tuesday afternoon, but the practical requirements for students and employees have remained the same.

Mask-wearing was optional from the start of the school year until Aug. 24, 2021, when Wilson announced during a board meeting that students and staffers would be required to mask up in most instances when indoors on campuses.

That policy shift didnt include any disciplinary measures for students who didnt comply, which led some mask proponents to cry foul and say the mask mandate was a mandate in name only.

Wilson and other DISD officials maintained the ultimate goal is to keep students learning in school, so sending them home for not wearing a face covering would be counterproductive.

The Texas Education Agency, which had so far maintained a rigid neutrality on the issue of mandatory masking, changed its guidance on Sept. 17 to fall in line with Gov. Greg Abbotts ban on local mask mandates.

DISD followed suit by reverting its policy on masking from required to recommended on Sept. 20.

When asked Tuesday if he would have made the same call without a move by TEA, Wilson said he might have gone another week or so before making the same ultimate decision.

He pointed to declining infection rates in DISD schools as the reason, but he said he might have been more conservative in his decision making had TEA not changed course.

Thinking back on the decision to more strongly recommend face coverings in school, Wilson recalled when the district had to call parents on eight kindergartners at Shultz Elementary to report their children had been in contact with somebody with the coronavirus.

He was already receiving advice from local health officials to require masking, and infections on campuses were skyrocketing.

To hear the fright in their tone and their voice, concern about their kid ... it was one of those deals of lets just do everything we can for that not to be the case moving forward, Wilson said.
Qatari multinational telecommunications company Ooredoo has selected Ericsson for deploying its Business Support Systems (BSS) solutions under a five-year frame agreement for several operating companies across the Middle East, North Africa, and Southeast Asia.

Ericsson BSS will enable digitalisation of and innovation within the Ooredoo Group, shortening time to market and increasing business opportunities. It will deploy Ericsson's Digital Monetisation Platform (DMP) for its most evolved operating companies, for charging and billing for every network technology (including 5G), business model, and customer type.

"In the partnership - aimed at driving the Groups digital transformation strategy, business operational excellence and customer experience transformation programmes - the deployment of Ericsson Business Support Systems (BSS) solutions will enable digitalisation of, and innovation within, the Group, shortening time to market and increasing business opportunities. The agreement will also facilitate greater operational flexibility and enhanced efficiency," said a press release.

Designed to meet communications service providers increasing demand for end-to-end best-in-suite solutions that combine powerful business performance with cost-efficient operations, management, and deployment, Ericsson DMP will drive Ooredoos digital transformation by enabling convergence, providing cost efficiency, and minimizing time-to-market for new Ooredoo customer offerings, as well as promoting innovation, it said.

Indosat Ooredoo is the first of the Ooredoo operating companies to transform its full BSS stack with Ericsson DMP. Ooredoo Tunisia, Ooredoo Kuwait, and Ooredoo Oman have also recently selected Ericsson Charging to improve their customer digital experiences.

In addition to Ericsson Digital Monetisation Platform and Ericsson Charging, the frame agreement also includes Ericsson Billing, Ericsson Catalog Manager, Ericsson Order Care, Ericsson Dynamic Activation, and Ericsson Mediation to support Ooredoos digital transformation and monetisation programmes.
Lebanon faces the imminent collapse of its telecoms sector as a result of ongoing fuel shortages, according to the countrys parliamentary Media and Communications Committee.

The stark warning was reported by Arab News, with a Committee statement reading: The quantity of diesel at Lebanons state-owned Touch and Alfa mobile companies and the state-run telecommunications company Ogero, which operates fixed lines and fixed internet, is enough to run for only a few days, [following which] telecom services will crumble.

Lebanon has experienced outages of voice and data services for several months as a result of its ongoing financial crisis, reports TeleGeography. Major shortages of diesel have made it impossible to power generators that ordinarily would provide a failsafe for electricity supplies, leading to power outages. This has had a knock-on effect on healthcare, education and communications.

The Committees head Hussein Hajj Hassan outlined the issues: The dilemma is not limited to the inability to secure diesel, but also the inability to purchase spare parts, whose prices have become exorbitant. In addition, we have thefts targeting telecom networks in Lebanon, some stolen pieces of spare parts and transmission poles are being sold online.

It turned out that Touch and Alfa, which get diesel from oil facilities, now have to pay for it in dollars, so now government institutions are required to pay in dollars. This is complicated because companies do not have the right to buy with dollars from the market, and this increases the cost, and this foreign currency is not available.

Committee member Rola Al-Tabash added: We would slide into a new crisis that paralyses everything in Lebanon and isolates it from the world if diesel for the telecom networks generators is not provided. The Ministry of Energys policy over the years has led to this inability to secure power. The General Directorate of Oil, which considers itself an independent administration, has set its prices in dollars, and the state cannot buy with dollars.

According to Arab News, the Committee has cleared an additional credit for Ogero to meet its needs for fuel and spare parts, at a value of LBP350 billion [USD232 million] in the 2021 budget.
Intracom Telecom, a global telecommunication systems, and solutions vendor announced a Smart City project in Belgrade, Serbia, focusing on monitoring the citys air pollution and improving the overall air quality.

The Greek telecom firm said in a press release that together with its partner Ecomaks Solutions, it has undertaken the implementation of this multi-year project, while first results are expected before the end of the year.

"The City of Belgrade, aiming at improving its citizens' quality of life and providing Smart City services, initiated the procedures and started looking for solutions to monitor and eventually reduce air pollution. Intracom Telecom is providing its state-of-the-art Unified IoT Orchestration platform (uiTOP) for data acquisition & visualization and its innovative Cognitiva suite of AI-powered applications for data modeling & forecasting, while Ecomaks Solutions is supplying the air quality stations," said the release.

Through this project, a wide network of air quality monitoring stations will be installed all over the city, monitoring and measuring several air pollutants, as well as other environmental parameters closely linked with air pollution, such as temperature, air pressure, wind, humidity, etc.

All advanced data processing, modelling & forecasting are performed leveraging AI & Machine Learning techniques, to predict pollutants levels based on the collected & enriched data.

Air pollution remains stubbornly high in many cities across Europe and we feel it is our obligation to contribute our innovative Smart Cities solutions portfolio to changing the air quality in our cities. Our IoT & AI technologies will help the City of Belgrade in having a healthier atmosphere and preventing many citizens from living in a polluted area. Through projects like this we aim at building a smart environment which will facilitate a healthy life, Efthymios Partsalis, CEO of Intracom Telecom DOO Belgrade, said.
PEACE Cable International Network Co Limited, the company behind the new subsea cable connecting Asia, Europe and Africa, has announced a deal with leading carrier and cloud-neutral data centre provider iColo.

This agreement means the PEACE (Pakistan & East Africa Connecting Europe) submarine cable system will be deployed at iColos data centre (MBA1) in Mombasa, Kenya.

This, say the partners, will widen the PEACE global network connection and increase its competitiveness and connectivity across Kenya, East Africa and the African continent. They add that this new cable system strengthens Mombasas role as what they call the Gateway to Africa.

PEACE will provide high-capacity, low-latency routes connecting Asia, Europe and Africa with high-speed access for connectivity providers. It will also maintain low-latency connections for data transmission in multiple aspects such as content, cloud, gaming and video streaming platforms.

This will provide access to the other networks at MBA1 for high-capacity routes directly to Europe and Asia. MBA1 has more than 40 connectivity providers and multiple internet exchanges supporting an even larger group of local and global customers.

iColos data centres are hyper-connected hubs that provide best-in-class colocation solutions which include power, security, network access, redundancy, rack space, and precision cooling to a wide network of customers.

The 15,000 km high-speed PEACE submarine cable adopts advanced technology of 16Tpbs per fibre pair with 200Gbps per single wavelength building a new routing path between the regions while providing greater resiliency and performance for interconnecting global workflows.

In addition to Kenya, the cable will reach France, Malta, Cyprus, Egypt, Seychelles, Pakistan and other countries and regions.
Bangladeshs state operator Teletalk has revealed its goal of launching 5G services before the end of 2021.

The countrys telecoms minister Mustafa Jabbar told local news outlet The Independent that the government had planned the 5G launch, with the operator testing the technology in partnership with Robi and Huawei. He added that other operators were planning to deploy 5G in 2022.

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has not yet sold 5G spectrum, although an auction is slated for December 2021. However, TeleGeography reports that the regulator allocated 60MHz of 3.5GHz spectrum to Teletalk in September this year as a means of ensuring it could implement its 5G offering.

A further 400MHz of 3.5GHz spectrum is available, and operators will be able to bid on it via a tender process.
Chamber elects new directors

Five new directors of the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce were introduced yesterday during the regular October board of directors meeting.

The five, elected last week by Chamber membership from a slate of 15 candidates, are: Harold Donaldson, vice president of Citizens State Bank; Richard Hand, co-owner of Hand Furniture Co.; E.J. Quigley, president of McCaskill-Quigley Ford Co.; Charles Brown, agent for State Farm Insurance; and Lucien Watson, owner of Watsons Drugstore and Pharmacy.

Terms begin Jan. 1, 1974 and expire Dec. 31, 1975. The five will join five other board members  Joe Sheffield, Fred Harris, Jerome Turner, Bob Cowen and Kelso Gillenwater  who were elected to two-year terms last fall.  Jackson County Floridan, Thursday, Oct. 18, 1973

Car hits trainGerald R. Dowling of Rt. 3, Bonifay, escaped injury early yesterday morning on an unpaved road near Cottondale when he collided with an L & N train, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

According to FHP, Dowling failed to stop and struck the train in the side. He was charged with failure to stop for a railroad crossing. Damage to his 1971 Ford truck was $200.  Jackson County Floridan, Thursday, Oct. 18, 1973
A recent obituary caught my eye. I saw the name Kay Alday and checked it out to see if it was the wife of an old friend.

It turned out it was his wife. Her obituary stated that she was preceded in death by the love of her life, her husband Walter. I hadnt thought about him in a long time until the other day when I saw his wifes obituary.

I met Walter in the late 1970s, after I started Gadsden Wholesale, a small wholesale store I owned in Quincy.

We became instant friends. He would frequent my store nearly every week. He actually worked for the state of Floridas agriculture department, but I knew him from his side business of running an ice cream truck.

He was one of those kinds of folks who always had something in the works to make an extra buck, much like myself, to be honest.

If he was in Quincy on his state job during the week, he would always drop by to see me, usually at lunch. Back in those days my store was very similar to Floyds Barber Shop, with a steady stream of customers and buddies dropping by for a visit.

There was an IGA store with a deli in it in the same shopping center. Our lunch would come from the deli and the long counter at the front of the store would be our table.
Wallace Community College in Dothan was recently recognized by Auburn University as one of the Top 10 feeder schools to the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, placing the local community college among the top schools whose students go on to enroll in engineering programs at Auburn.

This recognition is a testament of the dedication and commitment of every faculty and staff member at our institution to successfully guide and prepare our students to meet their educational goals, said Wallace Community College President Dr. Linda Young. We are so incredibly proud of our students and their continued success.

In a recognition letter, the engineering schools coordinator for recruitment, Andrew McGill, acknowledged that the College of Engineerings success was directly tied to the caliber of students that come from its top feeder schools.

We are very excited to recognize Wallace Community College, McGill said. We hope to continue to foster a relationship between the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering and Wallace Community College to provide opportunities for future engineers for years to come.

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Maddie Phillips was a 2017 Wallace student who transferred to Auburns College of Engineering after her freshman year at the Dothan campus.
Houston, Henry, and Barbour counties all have vaccination rates between 37% to nearly 39% among eligible residents in those counties. The remaining Wiregrass counties  Coffee, Covington, Dale, Geneva, and Pike  all have between 31% and 35% of eligible people fully vaccinated.

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The Wiregrass has had 57,363 cases of COVID-19 and 1,284 deaths due to the illness. There have been 804,249 cases reported in Alabama and 14,612 deaths statewide since the pandemic began.

The ADPH updates for schools, which were added last week, are exceptions to the standard 14-day quarantine after an exposure to COVID-19.

Under the test to stay option, unvaccinated close contacts exposed at school can return if they have isolated at home for seven days, show no symptoms of COVID-19 and have a negative PCR or antigen test on day five, six, or seven after exposure. They will also have to wear a mask while at school.

Unvaccinated close contacts who isolate for 10 days can return to school on day 11 without testing if they show no symptoms.
"Really it amazes me the number of people who have this huge fear, conspiracy theory about vaccines and will honest to God try anything, including a veterinary medicine, to get better," said Stanton.

MICHIGAN PULMONOLOGIST: Facebook post unleashes his frustration

For Trunsky, the vaccine pushback grew so intense that he turned to Facebook to describe the ire he confronts on a daily basis at his hospital in Troy, Michigan. The post listed eight encounters he had in the two previous days alone in which COVID-19 patients explained misinformation-fueled reasons for not getting vaccines or made demands for unproven treatments.

Example No. 5 was a patient who said he'd rather die than take the vaccine. Trunsky's response: "You may get your wish."

He has heard a litany of misinformation about the vaccine: They say it's not proven and only experimental when in fact it is not. Others tell him the vaccine is a "personal choice and that the government shouldn't tell me what to do." He also has heard patients tell them they are too sick and didn't want to risk the side effects of the vaccine. One young mother told him she wasn't vaccinated because she was breastfeeding, although her pediatrician and obstetrician urged her it was safe. She had to be hospitalized but eventually got a shot.
The mask matters

Looking at the myriad configurations of masks being foisted upon an unsuspecting populace, it is no wonder that the COVID virus continues to decimate thousands. You need a mask? Why, just grab anything available, cover your nose (maybe) and mouth, and loop it around your ears. Safe; right?

Lest you think so, one of the best explanations to burst your bubble was published by USA Today on June 11, 2020. Written by Eric Litke and entitled, Fact Check: No, N95 filters are not too large to stop COVID-19 particles, it carefully explains why you should be concerned about the mask you wear. Mask manufacturers have been around for many years. And, during those years, standards have been established to ensure conformity and safety for the wearers within the limitations of their respective environments. The N95 standard is one of the best all-around for every day protection from the COVID virus. The problem is those in the know understand this, which places such masks in high demand.
A worker is seen at Datalogic's factory in HCMC's Thu Duc City. Photo by VnExpress/An Phuong

Many HCMC companies have been providing financial and other support to their workers to keep them in the city amid the long closures caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Thanh Cong Textile Garment Investment Trading in Tan Phu District has seen 85 percent of its 4,400 employees return to work since Oct. 4, a high ratio amid the labor shortage plaguing the countrys biggest city as workers, after losing their livelihoods for months, left for their hometowns after the lockdown was lifted on October 1.

The reason for this high rate is that the companys policies made them feel secure, Nguyen Huu Tuan, its HR director, said.

In mid-July, when Thanh Cong got a limited number of employees working on-site as required by authorities, it still paid nearly 2,600 workers a minimum salary.

It also assisted them with paperwork to get government relief payments, financially assisted pregnant workers, those with young children and those who had contracted Covid-19.

After it resumed operations it paid the first weeks salary in advance besides VND1 million ($43.92) for each month workers were furloughed because of the pandemic.

"Workers, instead of packing their stuff and leaving the city, are told to install a travel tracking app on their phone and complete green pass requirements so they can return to work," Tuan said.

A worker is seen at Thanh Cong Textile Garment Investment Trading in Tan Phu District, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/An Phuong

Workers have been leaving the city in droves as they are unable to pay rents and job prospects are uncertain after months of social distancing.

There were over 288,000 workers at industrial parks and zones last month, but the figure has now dropped to 135,000, according to official data.

Employers have been working hard to retain workers.

Even during its three months of closure, footwear maker Freetrend Vietnam paid its 21,000 employees a minimum wage of over VND4 million a month.

It is set to resume production on Oct. 11, and is reviewing workers criteria to acquire green passes and providing them with financial support so that they would remain in the city, Lieu Quang Vinh, chairman of its labor union, said.

Nguyen Thi Thuy, deputy chairwoman of the Vietnam Textile and Garment Trade Union, said many companies are giving their employees food for the first 10 days after resuming work.

Around 70 percent of the unions members are ready to resume work, she said.

But it is not only employers who are anxious to mitigate the looming labor shortage.

The HCMC Federation of Labor has provided support worth VND40 billion to its members facing difficulties, deputy chairman Pham Chi Tam said.

If employees resume work this month they would only receive their salaries next month, making early support vital, he added.

The city is also providing financial support.

The Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs has provided over VND12 trillion worth of relief and is planning to provide another VND7.3 trillion to benefit around 7.3 million people.

Deputy Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Le Minh Tan said: "Cash support is a short-term solution. In the long run businesses need to quickly stabilize operations so workers can have security. This is the best way to keep workers in the city".
A batch of 300,000 AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine doses gifted by Australia arrives in Hanoi, September 30, 2021. Photo by the Australian Embassy in Vietnam

Australia has handed over 300,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses to Vietnam, while promising to assist Vietnam to purchase another 3.7 million doses.

Robyn Mudie, Australian ambassador to Vietnam, formally handed over the AstraZeneca vaccine doses to Deputy Minister of Health Truong Quoc Cuong at the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology on Wednesday, according to a press release from the Australian Embassy in Vietnam.

The doses, manufactured in Australia, had arrived in Hanoi last week, the release said. It also handed over more than 650,000 masks and gowns.

More than 700,000 doses have now been delivered to Vietnam, as part of Australia's commitment to share 1.5 million doses.

Mudie said Australia would increase its support to Vietnam by assisting it to purchase 3.7 million more Covid-19 vaccine doses through a procurement agreement with UNICEF and in partnership with the health ministry.

With the future purchase, Australia's contribution of vaccine doses to Vietnam would total to around 5.2 million doses.

Vietnam has vaccinated 35.4 million people with one Covid-19 vaccine shot. 11.6 million people have been fully vaccinated.

It aims to secure 150 million doses to cover at least 70 percent of its population by next year.
Provincial authorities have offered around 386 northern migrant workers returning from the south on foot a ride home.

On the morning of Oct. 2, Giang Minh Xa and his wife Song Thi Say, residing in Binh Duong Province, a major industrial hub that neighbors Ho Chi Minh City, started walking back to their hometown, which lies almost 2,000 kilometers (more than 1,200 miles) away in Yen Minh District of Ha Giang, the northernmost province of Vietnam bordering China.

A year ago, the couple migrated to Binh Duongs Tan Uyen District to work at a wood processing facility.

In June this year, the factory had to stop operations as the pandemic caused the company to lose orders.

Under strict social distancing rules applied across the province, the second hardest-hit locality in the latest Covid-19 outbreak after HCMC, they could not return home.

Spending over three months jobless in Binh Duong, Xa said he and his wife could not continue to feed themselves and their newborn baby.

Last week, as social distancing rules started to ease in Binh Duong, they decided to go home.

But as passenger bus services have yet to be resumed and while they have no motorbikes, the only option left was walking, and they did not hesitate.

Giang Minh Xa and his wife Song Thi Say, who is holding their baby, are on their trip to return home, October 4, 2021. Photo by VnExpress/Dac Thanh

The couple was joined by others, making a group of 11. Together, they left Binh Duong on foot last Saturday morning.

The next morning, they arrived in Binh Phuoc Province that borders Binh Duong where they joined another group of migrants who were also walking back home to the north. In all, there are 386 migrants in the party.

At that point, authorities in Binh Phuoc decided to lend them a helping hand, sending pickup trucks and passenger buses to drive them to the neighboring province of Dak Nong in the Central Highlands.

From Dak Nong, the group continued to receive help from local authorities, transferring them from province to province.

By Monday morning, Xa and Say had made it to Phuoc Son District in central Quang Nam Province.

Another migrant in the group, Giang A Hoa, said he left home in northern Dien Bien Province to work in Binh Duong four months ago.

"I only had VND1 million ($44) left to pay rent."

Without a motorbike, his only option was to walk home, even though he could not tell how many days the trip would take.

Major Tran Xuan Thai, deputy head of the Traffic Police Department in Phuoc Son District of Quang Nam Province, said between Oct. 1 and 5, the checkpoint where he is on duty had received around 5,000 people returning home to the north.

"If they traveled by motorbike, traffic police would pave the way for them to cross the province and in case they walked, authorities would send vehicles over to give them a ride."

Migrants returning home are offered food as they arrive in central Quang Tri Province, October 5, 2021. Photo by VnExpress/Hoang Tao

By Tuesday afternoon, the migrant caravan had been taken to central Quang Tri Province before Quang Binh authorities sent buses to carry them to Ha Tinh.

Along the way, they have been offered food from different sources.

"My journey back home is still a long way ahead and I hope to continue receiving support. In case there is none, I will keep walking home," said Hoa.

Over the past few days, tens of thousands of workers in HCMC and its neighboring provinces of Binh Duong, Dong Nai and Long An have been pouring back to their hometowns as localities began to relax coronavirus restrictions starting October.

All four localities are major industrial hubs that employ a large number of workers from across the country. All have been hit hardest in the latest Covid-19 wave that emerged in Vietnam in late April.
A woman shows her vaccine status to a security guard at a supermarket in Ho Chi Minh City on October 6, 2021. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran

Health authorities confirmed 4,356 new Covid-19 cases Wednesday, down four from Tuesday.

HCMC led with 1,960 cases, followed by Binh Duong, 852, and Dong Nai, 534.

Hanoi recorded nine new cases.

Vietnam has recorded 822,687 Covid-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic.

119 deaths were recorded Wednesday, bringing the national tally to 20,098.

The number of recoveries was 10,033, bringing the national tally to 757,086.

There are 5,743 patients in severe conditions.

Vietnam has given over 48 million vaccine doses, in which 12 million were second.
Special flight to take back Indian citizens from Vietnam

An aircraft of IndiGo Airlines at Noi Bai International Airport, Hanoi, 2020. Photo courtesy of IndiGo Airlines

India's IndiGo Airlines will operate a special flight on October 20 to repatriate Indian citizens stranded in Vietnam due to Covid-19.

It will leave Hanoi's Noi Bai Airport at 5:50 p.m.

To book a seat, people have to register with the Indian embassy, which said a ticket costs $370.

On arrival in India, passengers will have to abide by the decision of the appropriate government authority to undergo home quarantine or self-monitoring of their health for 14 days, or as warranted.

Last year India organized dozens of flights to repatriate its citizens stranded in Vietnam.

Vietnam suspended all international flights in March last year and a large number of foreigners remain in the country.

It has been grappling with a new coronavirus wave that began in late April, and there have been nearly 814,000 cases.
The four leaders of the diplomatic partnership known as the Quad recently met in person for the first time. On September 24, President Joe Biden hosted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga at the White House.

In a joint statement, the four leaders recommitted themselves to their partnership and to a region that is a bedrock of our shared security and prosperity  a free and open Indo-Pacific, which is also inclusive and resilient.

In his opening remarks, President Biden described the Quad as democratic partners who share a world view and have a common vision for the future, coming together to take on key challenges of our age. Among those challenges are COVID-19, climate change, emerging technologies, and infrastructure.

The four leaders agreed that progress has been made since their virtual meeting in March. Calling their partnership and focus on COVID-19 historic, they noted they have aligned efforts to combat the disease and are on track to meet the goal of donating 1.2 billion doses of the vaccine globally by the end of 2022. To date, they have provided 79 million safe, effective, and quality-assured vaccine doses to countries in the Indo-Pacific.

They also joined forces to tackle the climate crisis, working together to keep the Paris-aligned temperature limits within reach and pursuing efforts to limit warming to 1.5 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Among other initiatives, the Quad is pursuing nationally appropriate sectoral decarbonization efforts, including those aimed at deploying clean-hydrogen technology; and cooperating to establish responsible and resilient clean-energy supply chains.

In regard to emerging technologies, the four countries are working together to ensure that the way technology is designed is shaped by respect for universal human rights. The leaders pointed, for example, to efforts at working with industry to advance the deployment of secure, open, and transparent 5G and beyond 5G networks, and to their commitment to resilient, diverse, and secure supply chains, recognizing, as they say in their joint statement, the importance of government support of measures and policies that are transparent and market-oriented.

The four leaders also announced the launch of a new Quad infrastructure partnership to meet to coordinate efforts, map the regions infrastructure needs, and coordinate regional opportunities.

We are four major democracies with a long history of cooperation, said President Biden. We know how to get things done, and we are up to the challenge.
The United States reiterated its support for Sudans civilian-led transition after an attempt was made to seize power from the countrys Civilian Led Transitional Government, or CLTG.

According to Sudanese authorities, plotters loyal to former long-time president and dictator Omar Hassan al-Bashir attempted to seize power on September 21 but were thwarted.

Al-Bashir was ousted in 2019, after wide-spread peaceful protests demanded his removal. He is currently imprisoned in Khartoum and is subject to arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court in The Hague for charges that include genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. For the past two years, Sudan has been ruled by a civilian-led transitional government that is working to move the country toward democratic elections in early 2024. The U.S. government has worked closely with Sudan to safeguard democratic gains during this transition.

State Department Spokesperson Ned Price condemned the failed attempt by rogue military and civilian actors to seize power from Sudans Civilian Led Transitional Government. In a statement, he said, The United States continues to support the CLTG in its pursuit of a democratic transition for Sudan. Anti-democratic actions such as those of September 21 in Khartoum undermine the call of the Sudanese people for freedom and justice and place international support for Sudan, including the bilateral relationship with the United States, at risk.

Following the December 2020 rescission of Sudans designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism, the United States has continued to encourage greater collaboration with the CLTG and stepped-up the influx of aid to Sudan. But as Volker Perthes, Head of the U.N. Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan, or UNITAMS, told the Security Council earlier in September, Sudans challenges are immense, including a difficult economic situation, a lack of justice and accountability, and new outbreaks of violence in Darfur and the East. Mr. Perthes emphasized that the country requires sustained international support if it is to continue making progress in its transition to democracy.

Spokesperson Price noted that along with a wide range of international actors, the United States is mobilizing substantial assistance to help Sudan achieve the countrys economic and security goals.

Mr. Price declared, We will advance this support as Sudan makes continued progress in its ongoing transition, including the establishment of a legislative assembly, reform of the security sector under civilian leadership, and justice and accountability for past human rights abuses.
A proposal to tack a hardrock mining royalty onto the U.S. Senates budget reconciliation bill wont happen, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., said Tuesday following a Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources hearing.

Cortez Masto requested the hearing to talk about the royalty provision that the House Natural Resources Committee approved as part of the Houses $3.5 billion reconciliation bill, and she led bipartisan opposition to the royalty proposal.

She said the gross royalty would unfairly burden Nevadas mining industry and impact the thousands of jobs mining supports.

The House effort to put a gross royalty on hardrock minerals is not the first. Proposals have appeared in Congress many times over the years, calling for changes to the 1872 mining law. Some have sought royalties as high as 12%.

The latest effort in the Natural Resources Budget Reconciliation Act proposes an 8% gross royalty on new mines, a 4% gross royalty on existing operations, and a 7-cent-per-ton tax on dirt and rock moved during the extraction process.

Cortez Masto said at the hearing that moving this type of reform through a short-term budget process would create uncertainty for the industry, and the proposal would have an unfair, outsized impact on Nevada.

Rich Haddock, general counsel for Barrick Gold Corp., testified that Barrick operates Nevada Gold Mines is the largest gold-mining complex in the world with more than 7,000 employees and 4,000 contractors, who employ thousands more people.

These jobs pay average wages of $94,000  higher than any other industry in Nevada, said Haddock, adding that most of the mining takes place on land managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, so dominant federal ownership makes the mining law more important to Nevada than any other state.

He said the 1872 mining law is a land tenure law governing the acquisition of mineral rights on federal lands and the relationships between the claimholders and the United States as paramount title holder. It also governs the relationships between competing claimants. The mining law still does these jobs very well.

Still, Haddock said we recognize that the mining law is not perfect and that the law could be updated, but any reform should be consistent with the United States need for stable domestic supplies of critical minerals, including gold.

He testified Barrick has supported changes in the law that could include a reasonable prospective net royalty and an additional claim fee earmarked for reclamation and remediation of abandoned mine lands.

Haddocks testimony included explanation of the huge costs and many years it takes to bring mineral discoveries to mine production, stating that if miners dont find them, they will not be found.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee chairman, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, questioned in the hearing why hardrock miners should pay no royalties on the value of the resources they extract from federal land while oil, gas and coal producers pay a royalty.

In the written testimony of Autumn Hanna, vice president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, she stated that the organization believes public lands are taxpayer assets and should be managed in a way that preserves their value, ensures a fair return from private interests using them for profit and avoids future liability. The 1872 mining law fails by all these standards.

She said that under the mining law, valuable taxpayer lands and minerals are virtually given away to international mining conglomerates.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, thanked Cortez Masto for seeking the hearing because the Senate committee is where these conversations should happen. It should not be happening in a reconciliation bill on the House side or on any side, where you just kind of shove something in and hope to get it right.

Cortez Masto will continue to support Nevadas vital mining industry and the thousands of jobs it supports across the State of Nevada. As she moves forward, she will work with a bipartisan group of her colleagues in the Senate and with stakeholders across Nevada to ensure mining legislation will work for our state and rural communities, according to a statement from her office.

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ELKO  Schools deemed to be experiencing Covid-19 outbreaks in September will continue to be in outbreak status per the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services.

In a letter to Elko County School District, the Office of Public Health Investigations and Epidemiology stated that no outbreak statuses would be lifted for schools already enforcing universal mask wearing and other mitigation measures highlighted in Directive 048.

No Elko schools are currently in a situation where the outbreak would be determined over next week, the letter stated. After looking at the trends of cases in these schools, we would not be able to deem any outbreak over at this time. We will continue to monitor the situation.

Schools in ECSD currently deemed to be experiencing outbreaks are Elko High School, Flag View Intermediate School, Spring Creek High School, Adobe Middle School, Liberty Peak Elementary, Spring Creek Middle School, Spring Creek Elementary School, Northside Elementary, Grammar No. 2, Mountain View Elementary, Southside Elementary, Wells Combined Schools, Carlin Combined Schools, and Owyhee Combined Schools.

The first schools to report an outbreak of 10 or more positive cases on Sept. 8 were EHS, SCHS and Flag View. The next day, Adobe, Liberty Peak and SCMS announced outbreaks.

These schools are to require students to wear face coverings and maintain social distancing for 28 days, including weekends, or two 14-day infectious cycles.

The Department of Public and Behavioral Health will continue to work closely with schools and monitor the occurrences of disease. Factors taken into consideration to discontinue the universal mask wearing requirement include new cases identified within schools, the level of transmission within the community, and current CDC guidance.

Covid-19 cases in Nevada schools can be viewed and monitored on the States COVID-19 School Dashboard.

The data as of last Wednesday listed a total of 437 cumulative student cases and 50 staff cases in Elko County since the start of the school year.

There have been 228 school cases in the 89801 zip code, and 182 in the 89815 zip code.

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Now, more than ever, mining policy is energy policy. Wind turbines, solar panels, batteries, and electric vehicles (EVs) are driving soaring demand for the minerals and metals that make these technologies possible. But the supply chains needed to deploy these technologies at the speed and scale required to take on climate challenges arent keeping up. Nowhere is this truer than the United States.

With each new pledge and plan to accelerate renewable energy deployment and build the homegrown electric auto industry of tomorrow, we are financing enormous mineral demand while doing little more than paying lip service to building the industrial base needed to supply it. While the U.S. possesses vast mineral resources essential to a careful energy transition  everything from lithium and nickel to copper and rare earths  U.S. mineral import reliance has reached alarming levels, having doubled in the past two decades as the share of global mining investment in the U.S. has steadily declined.

When we should be working to lower barriers to domestic mining investment and shape policy to encourage production under world-leading environmental and labor standards, just the opposite is happening. A proposal included in the Reconciliation package working its way through Congress would effectively crush the industry when its needed most.

This proposed legislation would impose punitive new royalties and fees on production, eroding the competitiveness of the industry and undercutting any effort to re-shore production and build the supply chains the energy transition and American manufacturing demand.

U.S. mining operations already pay between 40 to 50 percent of earnings in federal, state, and local royalties, taxes and fees, similar to other major mineral-producing countries. This proposed legislation would push the U.S. well above the upper limit of that range, destroying the viability of existing operations and sending a clear signal for miners to go elsewhere.

Not only would this legislation undercut efforts to rebuild the front end of the nations industrial base, but it would destroy the opportunity to re-shore thousands of family-supporting jobs in places where investment and job creation is often scarce. The average U.S. miner earns more than $81,000 per year working in an industry that makes generational investments. The United States needs more mining, not less.

Just a week ago, when rolling out plans for $11 billion in new EV and lithium-ion battery manufacturing projects, the head of Ford Motors made a plea for more domestic mining. He said that we have to bring battery production here, but the supply chain has to go all the way to the mines. He continued, are we going to import lithium and pull cobalt from nation-states that have child labor and all sorts of corruption, or are we going to get serious about mining?

Hes absolutely right. The mineral demand on our doorstep is enormous and coming at startling speed. This May, the International Energy Agency projected that global lithium demand could soar 40 times by 2040 with cobalt and nickel demand jumping at least 20-fold. Copper demand will double and rare earth mineral demand will soar as well. The U.S. Department of Energy now expects that an all-EV future in the U.S. could require more than double current global lithium production.

Just a few weeks ago, President Biden signed an executive order to make half of all new cars sold in 2030 EVs. The future of the auto industry is electric. Theres no turning back, he said.

There is no turning back, but there is a great deal of work that needs to be done to move forward and that work begins with U.S. mining. Smart energy policy recognizes the irreplaceable role of U.S. mining in meeting the incredible mineral demand coming from a careful energy transition and EV revolution. The U.S. is at a crossroads; we can embrace responsible, domestic production by American miners or dismantle it with counterproductive, punitive legislation. The choice should be abundantly clear.

Katie Sweeney is the Executive Vice President and General Counsel of the National Mining Association.

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Headlines

- Researchers announce that the volcanos main cone has collapsed, increasing the lava flow.

- Lava now covers over 420 hectares, according to Spain's Dept of National Security (DSN)

- Last week the lava reached the sea, forming huge delta on La Palma coast

- Lower seismic activity on the island

- More than 1,000 buildings affected by the lava flow, with 6,000 people evacuated

- Spain's government announces 213-million-euro relief package for La Palma

Useful information

- Volcanologist speaks to AS about the effects of lava reaching the sea

- An overview of the active volcanoes on the Canary Islands

- When was the last volcanic eruption on the Canary Islands?

Related news articles:
After two separate incidents involving a firearm the Chiefs' player could be in some trouble.

Chiefs' Clark pleads not guilty

According to the L.A. County district attorney's office, Kansas City Chiefs' DE Frank Clark pleaded 'not guilty' on Monday in Los Angeles, to two counts of possession of an assault weapon. The pleas are related to two incidents that occurred in March and June of this year. On both occasions Clark was arrested on suspicion of having a concealed firearm in his vehicle. Clark's preliminary hearing is scheduled for January 17th

What are Frank Clark's options?

Should Clark be convicted of a felony could serve up to three years in prison. On the other hand the district attorney has indicated that it is still unclear what sentence the department will ultimately seek.

What was Clark previously arrested for?

Clark was arrested in March, along with another man. At the time - according to California Highway Patrol records - officers discovered two loaded weapons in his vehicle after a traffic stop. Clark who was a member of the well known "legion of boom" was also arrested in June in Los Angeles in a separate incident again involving a firearm. This time police officers saw a sub-machine gun in his car. It was alleged at the time by Clark's attorney, Alex Spiro that the gun belonged to Clark's bodyguard.

Clark has in fact had more brushes with the law before these two incidents as he was arrested for home invasion in 2012 and domestic violence in 2014, after a dispute with his girlfriend in a hotel in Ohio. In July, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office charged Clark with one felony weapons violation tied to his arrest in March.

What's next for Frank Clark?

A Super Bowl Winner in 2019, Clark was coy on details regarding his legal troubles in a recent interview. ""My legal team is taking care of everything," he said. "I've been advised not to speak on it until further notice. My legal team is taking care of everything and I have full confidence in everything they're doing."

Clark, who is a native of Los Angeles, has only featured in one game this season having struggled with a hamstring injury.
A photo by photographer Thomas Billhardt. (Photo: VNA)

Accordingly, there are three nominations for the Work Prize. They are the book and photo exhibition Hanoi 1967-1975 by photographer Thomas Billhardt, the set of books Thang Long Kinh ki-Ke cho by Nguyen Huy Thang and Nguyen Quoc Tin, and the book Tay choi by Mai Lam.

The Idea Prize sees four nominations, including the project on rebuilding the architecture of Dien Huu - One Pillar Pagoda by virtual reality technology; the idea of building an underground highway and renovating To Lich River into a historical, cultural and spiritual park; and the Red River urban subdivision planning project, and the idea of turning old factories into creative spaces in Hanoi.

Three other nominations have been named for the Job Prize. They are the Hanoi creative space design contest, the Hanoi is... drawing contest and the series of activities of the Hanoi Rethink project, and the COVID-19 vaccination campaign and efforts of the citys COVID-19 prevention and control forces.

The only nomination for and also the winner of the Grand Prize is kept secret. The prize is the most important award granted to an individual who has devoted his or her life to the development of Hanoi and has a career that is strongly connected to the capital.

The awards were initiated in 2008 by the The Thao & Van Hoa daily and Bui Xuan Phais family. The awards have been organised annually by the Hanoi Peoples Committee and sponsored by the The Thao & Van Hoa newspaper and Bui Xuan Phai Fund to honour painter Bui Xuan Phai (1920-1988), a founder of modern art in Vietnam.

The Grand Prize of the 13th Bui Xuan Phai For Love of Hanoi Awards went to music composer Phu Quang for his renowned and immortal songs about the capital city./.
Speaking at the event, Mr. Pham Quang Tu, Deputy Country Director, Oxfam Vietnam, appreciated the solidarity from the New Zealand and Swiss Embassies in providing support to people in need and leaving no-one behind. Humanitarian assistance is an important program in Oxfams country strategy. Cash provision is the first line of critical and pragmatic support, which offers people a maximum degree of choice, flexibility and dignity.

Representatives of the Embassies of New Zealand and Swiss at the online announcement. (Source: vietbao.vn)

We will also do further research to identify priorities in supporting communities recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, he added.

Over the next three months, the aid package will provide cash relief of 1.5 million VND to those in most need, following the on-going humanitarian crisis caused by the COVID-19 outbreak in the epicenter of Ho Chi Minh City.

Over 700 of the most vulnerable migrant workers, especially women, in the most severely hit districts (Districts 4, 6, 9, 7, 11, 12 and Binh Thanh), will receive a cash grant to help purchase essentials such as food and medicine.

The cash grants will be delivered by Oxfams partner organisations - the Center for Disability and Development (DRD), and the Center for Social Work Research and Community Development (SDRC)  who will work closely with local government and mass organizations.

This project demonstrates the strong partnership between New Zealand and Vietnam, said New Zealand Charge dAffaires to Vietnam, Joseph Mayhew. This project is a practical initiative to help ease the economic impacts of COVID-19 on workers and their families. I am proud to say that through the Head of Embassys Fund, we have been able to support more than 3,000 women throughout Vietnam impacted by COVID-19 in the last 12 months.

Switzerland stands with Vietnam to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier this year, Switzerland has delivered medical supplies worth USD 5.5 million (VND 126 billion) to Vietnam. Today, the Swiss Embassy is pleased to announce our humanitarian contribution to support vulnerable groups in HCMC, in joint partnership with Oxfam and SDRC, said Vanessa Di Giorgi, Diplomatic Attache at the Swiss Embassy in Vietnam.

The relief package was established following rapid assessments in August 2021 conducted by Oxfam in Vietnam, and the two partner organizations, among migrant workers affected by COVID-19 in Ho Chi Minh City.

The assessment found many informal migrant workers are facing a downward spiral of survival hardship. They have lost their jobs and income due to prolonged social distancing, and have few other options for receiving support./.
Chairman of the board of the state-owned Ukreximbank (Kyiv) Yevhen Metzger, who attacked the journalists of the Schemes TV program during the recording of an interview in the bank building, wrote a letter of resignation for the investigation period into the incident, the bank's press service said on Wednesday.

"My overly emotional reaction and unrestrained behavior towards journalists have no justification. I fully understand my responsibility. In order to remove at least some of the damage to the bank's reputation and divert the negativity towards its wonderful staff, I am immediately writing a statement of resignation as the chairman of the board during the necessary investigative actions of the National Police and an internal audit in the bank," the press service quoted Metzger as saying.

As Radio Liberty earlier reported, on Monday, October 4, the camera crew of the Skhemy (Schemes) television program was attacked during an interview with Ukreximbank Board Chairman Yevhen Metzger, allegedly because of one of the questions they did not like. According to the head of Schemes Natalia Sedletska, the bank employees took away two cameras, took away the cards on which the recording was carried out, and deleted the recorded video. According to journalists, all this time the camera crew remained locked in the office of the head of the bank's board in his presence. An hour later, the equipment was returned to the camera crew, but the video of the entire interview and the attack itself was removed.

The police in Kyiv reported that, at the request of journalists, the necessary investigative actions are being carried out, criminal proceedings have been started under Part 1 of Article 171 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - obstruction of the legitimate professional activities of journalists.

Ukreximbank rejected the accusations of violating the law and, in turn, accused them of provocation and an attempt to seize banking secrets. According to the financial institution, the actions of the journalists contained signs of both illegal seizure of bank secrets and violation of the Code of Ethics of a Ukrainian journalist in terms of using illegal methods of obtaining information.

The bank said that in this situation, it is considering the possibility of contacting law enforcement agencies and bodies regulating activities in the field of television and radio broadcasting.

Metzger was appointed head of the bank's board in March 2020. The head of the supervisory board of the financial institution is an independent member Oliana Hordiyenko. Dimitri Chichlo, Serhiy Konovets, Dominique Menu and Laszlo Urban are also independent members of the Supervisory Board. The Cabinet of Ministers is represented by Yuriy Butsa, the Verkhovna Rada by Yuriy Terentyev, and the Office of the President by Viktoria Strakhova.

According to the National Bank of Ukraine, as of June 1, 2021, Ukreximbank ranked third in terms of total assets (UAH 252.350 billion) among 73 banks operating in the country.
Head of the State Customs Service Pavlo Riabikin considers the idea of transferring the function of foreign exchange control of the customs processing regime to be unrealistic. However, he admits the possibility of expanding the amount of information that the customs office transfers to the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU).

"Now in certain circles they are discussing the possibility of transferring the function of FX control of the customs processing regime to the State Customs Service. But this idea seems unrealistic to me, since this is not part of the customs function," Riabikin said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

The authority does not have either the appropriate specialists or technical capabilities, he added.

"But to improve interaction with the National Bank and help the regulator in FX control, in my opinion, it would be possible to consider expanding the volume of information that is transmitted from us to the National Bank," Riabikin said.

In Ukraine, in September 2018, amendments to the Customs Code were adopted, which provided for the possibility of placing goods under the customs processing regime, regardless of the type of contract and forms of payment. This is a favorable regime for external investors, which allows importing raw materials into the country without paying taxes, producing finished products and selling them for export.

"Today, 355 enterprises process imported raw materials in this mode on the customs territory of Ukraine," Riabikin said.

"Let me remind you: in Ukraine, the subjects of FX supervision are the National Bank and the tax service. Customs in this story performs a semi-technical function. We participate in FX control only in transferring information from customs declarations to the National Bank in accordance with a special instruction from the regulator," he said.

At the same time, the volume of transmitted information is limited. Information in four of the 54 columns that appear in the document is given, the head of the service said.
British Ambassador to Ukraine Melinda Simmons is concerned over the attack on the journalists of the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty during an interview with the head of Ukreximbank (Kyiv).

"Worried about reports of inappropriate behaviour against Radio Svoboda journalists at state-owned Ukreximbank. Any attacks on media are unacceptable. Good to hear that police have started an investigation in Ukraine," Simmons wrote on Twitter on Tuesday evening.

As Radio Liberty earlier reported, on Monday, October 4, the camera crew of the the Skhemy (Schemes) television program was attacked during an interview with Ukreximbank Board Chairman Yevhen Metzger, allegedly because of one of the questions they did not like. According to the head of Schemes Natalia Sedletska, the bank employees took away two cameras, took away the cards on which the recording was carried out, and deleted the recorded video. According to journalists, all this time the camera crew remained locked in the office of the head of the bank's board in his presence. An hour later, the equipment was returned to the camera crew, but the video of the entire interview and the attack itself was removed.

The police in Kyiv reported that, at the request of journalists, the necessary investigative actions are being carried out, criminal proceedings have been started under Part 1 of Article 171 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - obstruction of the legitimate professional activities of journalists.

Ukreximbank rejected the accusations of violating the law and, in turn, accused them of provocation and an attempt to seize banking secrets. According to the financial institution, the actions of the journalists contained signs of both illegal seizure of bank secrets and violation of the Code of Ethics of a Ukrainian journalist in terms of using illegal methods of obtaining information.

The bank said that in this situation, it is considering the possibility of contacting law enforcement agencies and bodies regulating activities in the field of television and radio broadcasting.
The Office of the President of Ukraine fully supports the public condemnation of the actions of the management of the state-owned Ukreximbank, who attacked the journalists of the Schemes TV program during the recording of an interview in the bank's building, and considers it logical to suspend Ukreximbank Board Chairman Yevhen Metzger while the incident is being investigated.

According to the press service of the head of state, a statement was made by advisor to the head of the President's Office Mykhailo Podoliak.

"The situation around Ukreximbank can only be perceived negatively. Of course, the model of behavior that society has seen from the bank's representatives is unacceptable. Freedom of speech belongs to fundamental values in Ukraine. Therefore, the duty of officials of any level is to communicate correctly with journalists and respect their right to ask any questions of public importance," said Podoliak.

He noted that it does not matter what level of structure this establishment occupies and whether it operates in the public or private sector.

"The rules of respect for journalistic work and the formats for providing access to socially important information have long been worked out, and there can be no reason not to observe them," the advisor to the head of the President's Office said.

It is noted that as of the moment, the National Police and the Supervisory Board of Ukreximbank have made relevant statements. In particular, the National Police, within the framework of the initiated criminal proceedings, are analyzing all the circumstances of the incident, and the Supervisory Board announced that an audit was carried out within the framework of the rules approved for the state bank.

"Also, at the level of the Supervisory Board and in accordance with the procedures in the bank, moderation of the further development of this situation for the financial institution can take place," the President's Office said.

They add that, at the very least, the decision to remove the chairman of the bank's board from his post seems logical, "so that there is not a single, even hypothetical, obstacle to investigation and verification."

"As a maximum for leveling the damage, the bank and the state need, perhaps, more stringent personnel decisions in a financial institution. Institutional mechanisms for getting out of this situation are envisaged, and they must work," the President's Office said.

As Radio Liberty earlier reported, on Monday, October 4, the camera crew of the the Skhemy (Schemes) television program was attacked during an interview with Ukreximbank Board Chairman Yevhen Metzger, allegedly because of one of the questions they did not like. According to the head of Schemes Natalia Sedletska, the bank employees took away two cameras, took away the cards on which the recording was carried out, and deleted the recorded video. According to journalists, all this time the camera crew remained locked in the office of the head of the bank's board in his presence. An hour later, the equipment was returned to the camera crew, but the video of the entire interview and the attack itself was removed.

The police in Kyiv reported that, at the request of journalists, the necessary investigative actions are being carried out, criminal proceedings have been started under Part 1 of Article 171 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - obstruction of the legitimate professional activities of journalists.

Ukreximbank rejected the accusations of violating the law and, in turn, accused them of provocation and an attempt to seize banking secrets. According to the financial institution, the actions of the journalists contained signs of both illegal seizure of bank secrets and violation of the Code of Ethics of a Ukrainian journalist in terms of using illegal methods of obtaining information.

The bank said that in this situation, it is considering the possibility of contacting law enforcement agencies and bodies regulating activities in the field of television and radio broadcasting.

Metzger was appointed head of the bank's board in March 2020. The head of the supervisory board of the financial institution is an independent member Oliana Hordiyenko. Dimitri Chichlo, Serhiy Konovets, Dominique Menu and Laszlo Urban are also independent members of the Supervisory Board. The Cabinet of Ministers is represented by Yuriy Butsa, the Verkhovna Rada by Yuriy Terentyev, and the Office of the President by Viktoria Strakhova.

According to the National Bank of Ukraine, as of June 1, 2021, Ukreximbank ranked third in terms of total assets (UAH 252.350 billion) among 73 banks operating in the country.
The first 159 names of Nazi soldiers who killed Jews in Babyn Yar in 1941 were announced by the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center.

During 80 years, despite the large amount of evidence collected after the war, the criminals have not been convicted, the Holocaust Memorial Center's press service said on Wednesday.

"The Memorial Center began collecting evidence and testimonies revealing the truth about the terrible tragedy. And on the 80th anniversary of the Babyn Yar tragedy, it released the first part of an extensive study on those who killed Ukrainian Jews on September 29 and September 30, 1941. Then, in just two days at least 33,771 people were shot at Babyn Yar," the message says.

It notes that despite the fact that the commanders of Nazi units carrying out the murder are well known to historians, the new information released by the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center describes in detail the biographies and testimonies of commanders and ordinary soldiers who killed Jews, women and children, young and old in Babyn Yar.

"Despite the confession, evidence and testimonies that were provided back in the 1960s by some Nazi soldiers who committed the murders, only a small part of those involved were tried for their terrible crimes. In order to identify everyone who was involved or took a direct part in the executions of Jews in Babyn Yar, the Holocaust Memorial Center created a scientific working group," the Center said.

They clarify that the members of this group established not only the fact that hundreds of German soldiers, police officers of the SS personnel were involved in the shootings in Babyn Yar, but also revealed to the world the names of the first 159 Nazis who participated in the murder.

"These were people from all over Germany and other countries under Nazi control. They were between 20 and 60 years old. Some were educated, others were not. Engineers and teachers, drivers and salesmen were among them. Some were married. The vast majority after war has returned to normal life," the message says.

It is noted that most of the soldiers who committed the massacre testified in court and were found not guilty, with the exception of a few commanders and regular soldiers.

"Some of them killed, the next group convoyed Jews from their homes, while other seized their belongings and luggage. Some of them gave weapons, while other served sandwiches, tea and vodka to the killers. All of them are guilty of that massacre. Everyone who was somehow involved, either directly or indirectly, must be found guilty," Father Patrick Desbois, head the Academic Council of the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center and founder of the Yahad-In Unum organization, said.

Desbois cited the minutes of a German murderer's testimony that executions continued from early morning until 5:00 p.m., killing thousands, after which soldiers were treated to a feast and alcohol, and women were brought to them.

One of the killers featured in the testimony said during the investigation that after the Babyn Yar massacre, his unit was sent to a resort in order to "recover" before returning to the frontline, he said.

The studies conducted by the memorial center send a signal that "if you take part in genocide or a massive crime against humanity today, you will be held accountable for it," Desbois said.

"Only few of those men turned themselves in to judicial authorities after World War II... though a lot of them admitted to their role in post-war testimony. All of these men continued to lead a quiet, normal life after the war," Andriy Umansky, a historian and deputy chairman of the Academic Council of the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center, said.
Sandra Roelofs, former First Lady of Georgia, has said she views her husband, former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, who was arrested upon arrival in Georgia on October 1, as a political prisoner and demands his release.

"Mikheil Saakashvili is a political prisoner. As a citizen of Georgia, I fully support the demand of his immediate release from custody," Roelofs said on social media on Wednesday.

Saakashvili, who lived in Ukraine as a Ukrainian citizen for the past few years, released a video on October 1, the day of his detention in Georgia. The video said that Saakashvili and Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada deputy Yelyzaveta Yasko would soon get married. There have been no media reports about Saakashvili divorcing his spouse, Sandra Roelofs.

Roelofs said in that regard that she had been asked numerous questions about her private life.

"I would not deny that the video posted online on Friday caught me by surprise and its form was absolutely unacceptable. I stay calm despite my personal emotions and believe that we will emerge victorious from that fight," she said.

Meanwhile, Yasko came to Georgia and visited Saakashvili in the Rustavi prison on October 5.
Several regions of Ukraine may fall into 'red' zone in coming days  PM

Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal has said that in the coming days several regions may fall into the "red" zone of epidemiological danger.

"In the coming days, several regions may fall into the 'red' zone," Shmyhal said at a government meeting on Wednesday.

This means, as the prime minister said, that cinemas, cafes, restaurants, gyms, theaters and other public places will be able to work only if 100% of the institution's employees and 100% of visitors are fully vaccinated.

"The business itself must check the availability of the appropriate vaccination certificates. And we ask entrepreneurs to take this responsibly. Police officers and other authorities have the appropriate software, thanks to which they will check the presence of COVID certificates from visitors," added Shmyhal.
State-run Ukreximbank (Kyiv) Board Chairman Yevhen Metzger has apologized for the attack on the journalists of the Schemes TV program while recording an interview in the bank building.

"The events that took place in my office on October 4, 2021 and were subsequently published by the Schemes editorial staff are unacceptable on my part (...). I sincerely apologize to the employees of the Schemes program Kyrylo Ovsyany and Oleksandr Mazur! At the moment, in the form of a letter, but I am always ready to do it in any form convenient for them," the bank's press service quoted him as saying on Facebook on Tuesday.

In addition, Metzger apologized to his colleagues for damaging the bank's image, as well as to all journalists in Ukraine.

Earlier, Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Denys Monastyrsky said that the police had involved in the investigation materials the video from the office of Ukreximbank Board Chairman Yevhen Metzger, which recorded illegal actions against Radio Liberty journalists.

Also, the press service of Ukreximbank reported that Metzger, who attacked the journalists of the Schemes (Schemes) TV program during the recording of an interview in the bank building, wrote a letter of resignation for the period of the investigation into the incident.

As Radio Liberty earlier reported, on Monday, October 4, the camera crew of the Skhemy TV program was attacked during an interview with Metzger, allegedly because of one of the questions they did not like. According to the head of Schemes Natalia Sedletska, the bank employees took away two cameras, took away the cards on which the recording was carried out, and deleted the recorded video. According to journalists, all this time the camera crew remained locked in the office of the head of the bank's board in his presence. An hour later, the equipment was returned to the camera crew, but the video of the entire interview and the attack itself was removed.

The police in Kyiv reported that, at the request of journalists, the necessary investigative actions are being carried out, criminal proceedings have been started under Part 1 of Article 171 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine  obstruction of the legitimate professional activities of journalists.

Ukreximbank rejected the accusations of violating the law and, in turn, accused them of provocation and an attempt to seize banking secrets. According to the financial institution, the actions of the journalists contained signs of both illegal seizure of bank secrets and violation of the Code of Ethics of a Ukrainian journalist in terms of using illegal methods of obtaining information.

The bank said that in this situation, it is considering the possibility of contacting law enforcement agencies and bodies regulating activities in the field of television and radio broadcasting.

On October 6, the Supervisory Board of Ukreximbank dismissed the bank's board chairman Metzger for the period of investigation into the incident and appointed Serhiy Yermakov, a member of the board, as acting head of the board.

Metzger was appointed head of the bank's board in March 2020. The head of the supervisory board of the financial institution is an independent member Oliana Hordiyenko. Dimitri Chichlo, Serhiy Konovets, Dominique Menu and Laszlo Urban are also independent members of the Supervisory Board. The Cabinet of Ministers is represented by Yuriy Butsa, the Verkhovna Rada by Yuriy Terentyev, and the Office of the President by Viktoria Strakhova.

According to the National Bank of Ukraine, as of June 1, 2021, Ukreximbank ranked third in terms of total assets (UAH 252.350 billion) among 73 banks operating in the country.
Secretary of Kharkiv City Council Ihor Terekhov and Deputy Head of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in Ukraine Mark Magaletsky signed a memorandum on joining the city of Kharkiv to the Green Cities programme.

"This is a continuation of our very successful work with the city. This is a new area of cooperation. According to the memorandum, we will jointly develop a Green City Action Plan," Magaletsky said after a signing ceremony, which took place within the framework of the international conference "Kharkiv: Development and Investments" on Wednesday.

Magaletsky recalled that the EBRD has experience in implementing projects in Kharkiv, in particular, in the field of transport (purchase of new trolleybuses and construction of new metro stations).

The memorandum provides for a comprehensive analysis of the environmental situation in the city, preparation of an action plan for its improvement and drawing up a list of priority investments.

In turn, Terekhov noted that the signing of the memorandum provides credit resources for the implementation of investment programs.

"We have joined the Green Cities. This will give us the opportunity to access credit resources. We are especially focused on the development of electric transport. These are trolleybuses, and, of course, the subway, and trams. It is very important for us that we work together. I hope that today's signing is another step towards lending, another step towards the accessible new infrastructure of the city of Kharkiv," Terekhov said.

To date, 50 cities in Europe and Asia are members of the Green Cities programme. In Ukraine, Lviv, Kyiv, Mariupol, Kryvy Rih, Dnipro and Khmelnytsky have already joined it.
The Ukrainian authorities will react toughly to any cases of anti-Semitism, Head of the President's Office Andriy Yermak said at a meeting with representatives of the National Coalition Supporting Eurasian Jewry.

According to the presidential press service, the meeting was dedicated to the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Babyn Yar tragedy, where representatives of the National Coalition welcomed Ukraine's efforts to combat anti-Semitism.

In particular, they noted the importance of the adoption by the Verkhovna Rada of the law on preventing and countering anti-Semitism in Ukraine.

The head of the President's Office said the team of the head of state will do everything to ensure that the principles of this law are implemented as quickly as possible.

"Fortunately, today Ukraine has overcome anti-Semitism, but we are concerned about the attempts of some politicians to return hidden anti-Semitic messages to our national dialogue through their media holdings and in other ways. President [Volodymyr] Zelensky will not allow this," Yermak said.

He also stressed the importance of deepening relations between Ukraine and the National Coalition Supporting Eurasian Jewry.

"It is very important for us to maintain our relations. You are always welcome guests in our country, our friends," he said.

In addition, Yermak briefed the meeting participants about Ukraine's efforts to peacefully resolve the conflict in Donbas.
NATO has decided to decrease the size of the Russian mission to NATO by half and revoke the accreditation of eight staff members in response to "suspected malign Russian activities," the Sky News television channel reported.

"Eight diplomats, thought to be undeclared intelligence officers, will be asked to leave," Sky News journalist Deborah Haynes said on Twitter.

The activities deemed hostile included "killings and espionage," Sky News said.
KYIV. Oct 6 (Interfax-Ukraine)  The recall of Dmytro Razumkov from the post of the chairman of the Verkhovna Rada will mean the strengthening of the presidential vertical and the actual transition to a presidential republic, political analysts have said.

At a press conference at the Interfax-Ukraine agency on Wednesday, Vadym Karasiov, director of the Institute for Global Strategies, expressed opinion that the deputies would support Razumkov's resignation.

"I think that the vote on his [Razumkov's] removal will be positive. Although there may be problems with collecting votes ... This is important for the president, because if the president loses this fight, then for him it will be the beginning of the end of the current presidential team and there will definitely be no point in talking about the second term," Karasiov said.

At the same time, he added: "If the president wins this duel and Razumkov and the political forces that are grouping around him lose, this will mean strengthening presidential power, strengthening the presidential vertical with all the consequences."

The political expert also believes that after that the president will more assert his desire to run for a second presidential term.

Director of the sociological service Ukrainian Barometer Viktor Nebozhenko shared the opinion of his colleague. "It turns out that in front of our eyes the president himself appoints the prime minister, he himself appoints the head of the Verkhovna Rada ... we see a transition from a parliamentary-presidential republic to a purely presidential one," he stressed.

In addition, Nebozhenko pointed out the importance of the reaction of the judicial system and other state bodies in this matter.

"If tomorrow this issue is resolved [with the recall of Razumkov], then the matter is not even a violation of regulations and violation of the law, which is also dangerous, but that the judicial system should wake up - how the Constitutional Court will behave, how the Supreme Court will behave, and how other bodies will act," he said.

According to Nebozhenko, if the representatives of the judicial system "pretend that this does not concern them, this will mean that along with political movements there is an even greater deprivation of power of the judicial system."

"The concentration of power is, on the one hand, colossal opportunities, and on the other hand, a colossal responsibility. Then Washington directly presses on you and Moscow directly presses ... The President, in his desire to concentrate power, does not understand what political and personal threats these powers bear for him, and, on the other hand, does not understand that he is making the Ukrainian state machine corrupt," the director of the sociological service Ukrainian Barometer concluded.
KYIV. Oct 6 (Interfax-Ukraine)  Leakage of the Pandora Papers offshore documents is unlikely to weaken the power of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, Head of the Ukrainian Politics Foundation, political scientist Kost Bondarenko has said.

"Zelensky knew that eventually the issue of offshore companies would arise and appear on the agenda [...]. He could take the lead, but he failed," Bondarenko said during a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on Wednesday.

According to the political scientist, instead of taking the lead, the president's team "started to look for some way out." "First the campaign started "what is it? Offshore is good" [...] This helplessness testifies to the fact that strategically, Zelensky's team does not take the lead, only follow the principle "solve the problem when it appears," Bondarenko said.

The political scientist believes the disclosure of information about offshore companies will not affect the overall image of the head of state.

"They say that the offshore issue will undermine Zelensky's power, I think his influence is unlikely. This is just mere droplet, there will be many of them. I think the totality of all these droplets can become a factor that will lead to a weakening of Zelensky's power," Bondarenko said.

As reported with reference to the Slidstvo.Info data, information about over 1,500 Ukrainians, including President Volodymyr Zelensky and his colleagues from previous work, Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko, businessmen Oleksandr Yaroslavsky, Ihor Voronin and Rinat Akhmetov, former owners of PrivatBank Ihor Kolomoisky and Hennadiy Boholiubov, MP Oleksandr Hereha is mentioned in the Pandora Papers new global leak of offshore documents.

According to the data they received, the offshore companies of Zelensky and his team have received $40 million from offshore companies associated with Kolomoisky since 2012, when the Kvartal 95 studio started cooperating with the businessman's 1 + 1 television channel.

It is indicated that before being elected president in 2019, Zelensky transferred his share in the offshore company to First Assistant to the president Serhiy Shefir.
Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has warned the Supreme Leader that that the ruling system in the Islamic Republic has lost its legitimacy and said its leaders should be replaced through free and fair elections.

In a text published February 25 on Dolat-i Bahar (The Government of Spring), a website that supports Ahmadinejad, he expanded on what he had earlier suggested in an open letter to the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

He called on Khamenei to dismiss the head of judiciary, Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani, and hold free presidential and

In the current situation, keeping the heads of the three powers of the regime (executive, judiciary, and legislative branches) in their positions is facing big challenges that need to be tackled.

Directly addressing the heads of the three branches of power and their supporters Ahmadinejad asked Is there any better way to tackle the current challenges than referring to the popular vote and holding new elections? Or perhaps they believe that they should remain in power at any cost and the people and the country should endure them until their terms are over?

In addition to free elections, Ahmadinejad also demanded fundamental reforms in the three branches of government, as well as the office of the Supreme Leader, but did not elaborate on what sort of reforms he had in mind.

The former presidents explicit criticism of the ruling system has been widely circulated in social media.

Ahmadinejads controversial reelection as president in 2009 lead to massive protests known as the Green Revolution. His main challengers in that election, former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi and former parliament speaker Mehdi Karroubi have been under house arrest since 2011 for describing his reelection as engineered and rigged.

In his letter to Khamenei, Ahmadinejad further insisted that free elections should be held without any interference from the Guardian Council, a powerful 12-member body that has the constitutional authority to disqualify anyone running for president or a seat in parliament. He also said the Supreme Leader should forbid the military institutions, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) from interfering in the electoral process.

An essential necessity is the holding of immediate and free elections for the presidency and the parliament, of course without the engineering of the Guardian Council and interference of military and security institutions, so the people have the right to choose, the vociferous former president wrote to Khamenei.

In addition to the accusations from his challengers in the 2009 elections, Ahmadinejad has been repeatedly criticized by his mainly reformist opponents as a president who came to power through the intervention of the Supreme Leader, IRGC influence, and vote rigging.

Nevertheless, Ahmadinejad maintained, One of the internationally recognized ways of meeting the peoples demands is either the resignation of the managers, whose performance has been unsatisfactory, or the holding early elections.

Ahmadinejads headline-grabbing comments have elicited derisive responses even from his former allies.

The hardline conservative daily Kayhan, which was a staunch supporter of Ahmadinejad during his two-term presidency wrote, Are those who say everybody should resign and let us to control everything again unaware of the fact that people laugh at them?

The outspoken deputy parliament speaker and MP from Tehran, Ali Motahari, remarked, Calling for free parliamentary and presidential election without the Guardian Council and military interference means that recent elections, particularly the 2005 and 2009 presidential elections (Ahmadinejads two terms), were rigged and engineered.

Meanwhile, Motahari has challenged Ahmadinejad by asking him why he kept silent while he was in power.

Supreme Leader Khamenei has so far not responded directly to Ahmadinejads comments, though he has implicitly admonished him in speeches on at least two occasions.

Political analysts inside Iran are unsure how to account for why the former president seems to have suddenly turned on a system that supported him while he was in power.
An SUV is seen as U.S. Capitol Police vehicles block a street while investigating reports of a suspicious vehicle in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, U.S. (Photo : REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein)

U.S. Capitol Police said they extracted a man from a suspicious vehicle parked illegally in front of the U.S. Supreme Court where the nine justices were hearing oral arguments on Tuesday.



After an unsuccessful effort to negotiate with the man, tactical teams moved in and placed him under arrest, Operational Services Bureau Deputy Chief Jason Bell told a news conference.



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The man's motive was unclear to police. He refused to speak except to make a statement "to the effect of 'the time for talking is done,'" Bell said.



"At this time no weapons have been found," he said. Capitol Police identified the suspect as Dale Paul Melvin, 55, of Kimball, Michigan.



The department reported the investigation on Twitter and later added that an officer had extracted the driver from a sport utility vehicle and arrested him.



The nine justices began their new term on Monday with their first oral arguments in person in 19 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.



Law enforcement authorities have been on high alert in the U.S. capital since a deadly Jan. 6 riot by supporters of then-President Donald Trump.



In August, a man who claimed to have a bomb in a pickup truck near the U.S. Capitol surrendered to police after a standoff that paralyzed a swath of Washington for more than five hours.


BTS Bags Four Nominations At 2021 MTV EMAs, Second Most Nominations After Justin Bieber (Photo : REUTERS )

K-pop super band BTS has achieved another milestone in their illustrious career by becoming the first Korean artist to rank No. 1 on Rolling Stone's Top 100 Songs list with their collaborative song with rockband Coldplay called "My Universe".



The Bangtan Boys have created history at many points in their career by having many firsts to their credit, including becoming the first K-pop group to be nominated for a Grammy, the first K-pop group to top Billboard's HOT100, and many other such distinctions.



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Now BTS has become not only the first K-pop band but also the first Korean artist to top the music charts on Rolling Stone, a renowned magazine with an illustrious history. According to Rolling Stone, it's the first time that either BTS or Coldplay has topped the chart.



The Rolling Stone Top 100 chart is a list of the week's most popular songs in the United States. The ranks of the songs are established by song units, a number which is a combination of song sales and audio streams using a custom weighting system.



The chart excludes passive listening like digital or terrestrial radio. The Rolling Stone 100 chart is updated daily and once weekly Rolling Stone magazine finalizes and publishes an official version of the chart. It covers the week-long period ending with the previous Thursday.



The two bands' collaborative track "My Universe" dethroned Drake's "Way 2 Sexy", which fell to the second position. The pop-funk love song "My Universe" had only 8.5 million streams but sold an impressive number of downloads at more than 136,000.



After topping the Rolling Stone's Top 100 song's chart, both BTS and Coldplay took to social media to congratulate one another. In their tweet, Coldplay said congratulations to each of the seven members of BTS, namely RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook. The rockstars also thanked both their fans, the Coldplayers, and BTS's fans, the ARMY, and everyone else who made this feat happen.



BTS responded by tweeting that it has always been an honor to make all this happen with Coldplay. They also sent love and congratulated the rock band. The K-pop stars also gave out thanks to ARMY and Coldplayers.



"My Universe" is the second single on "Music of the Spheres", Coldplay's upcoming album that arrives on October 15. The music video of the song, which was released on September 30, surpassed 9 Million views on YouTube within 9 hours of its release.


BTS And UNICEF Raise $3.6 Million With Global Campaign LOVE MYSELF, Celebrate Four Successful Years (Photo : REUTERS )

BTS and UNICEF's global campaign "LOVE MYSELF" has raised $3.6 million and generated five million tweets with more than 50 million engagements, via comments, replies, and retweets, since its inception in 2017.



The campaign is geared toward helping end violence and neglect and promoting self-esteem globally. It has been successful in reaching almost every nation in the world with positive messages of self-care and self-love.



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UNICEF released the numbers, denoting the campaign's success, according to a new analysis in a flagship report "The State of the World's Children 2021", launched on October 5.



Now, the K-pop superstars, record label BIGHIT MUSIC, and UNICEF are marking the groundbreaking success of the campaign this week.



BTS stated that they had started "LOVE MYSELF" as a means to reach young people for helping to improve their lives and rights. During the campaign process, the K-pop band members also strove to follow the campaign principles and consequently grew as a team and individuals.



The Bangtan Boys added, "We hope that many people felt how the love received from others can become the power that allows them to love themselves."



BTS, a South-Korean band, who a whopping 33.9 million followers on Twitter, along with its record label BIGHIT Music, collaborated with UNICEF in autumn 2017 with a combined aim to help end bullying, abuse, and violence and promote well-being and self-esteem among young people and children worldwide.



During the collaboration, BTS has generated US$3.6 million for UNICEF's work to end violence, addressed world leaders and heads of state at the 76th Annual United Nations General Assembly in New York City, and also launched an exclusive music video for supporting UNICEF's campaign to promote kindness and love.



BTS concert venues all over the world also have had dedicated booths to provide information on how people can protect themselves and each other from bullying and violence.



UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore thanked the band for all the work they had done, for leading the significant campaign, and for the support to the UN organization for the last four years. Fore also added that BTS helped ignite a positive message in a groundbreaking way with its ARMY, which is the name of the band;'s fan club.



Earlier in 2021, BTS and BIGHIT music renewed their commitment to the campaign and pledged over $1 million to UNICEF, and also promised a portion of the album sales of "LOVE YOURSELF" and proceeds from the "LOVE YOURSELF" merchandise sale.


Egypt was re-elected on Wednesday to the Executive Board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) until 2025 with 130 votes, the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced in a statement on Wednesday.
EgyptAir Maintenance and Engineering company on Monday signed a contract with Jazeera Airways to provide daily maintenance services to the Kuwaiti airline's aircrafts at six Egyptian airports.
The House of Representatives gave on Tuesday a final approval of a new government-drafted law aiming to impose procedures and measures necessary to fight the spread of epidemics and pandemics.
At ground zero in New York City, Biden stood side by side with former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton at the National September 11 Memorial as the names of the dead were read aloud by their loved ones

From an urban memorial to a remote field to the heart of of the nation's military might, President Joe Biden on Saturday paid tribute at three hallowed places of grief and remembrance to honor the lives lost two decades ago in the 9/11 terror attacks.

The solemn day of commemoration offered frequent reminders for Americans of a time when they united in the face of unimaginable tragedy. That fading spirit of 9/11 was invoked most forcefully by the president at the time of the attacks, George W. Bush, who said, ``That is the America I know,'' in stark contrast to the bitterly divided nation Biden now leads.

Biden left the speech-making to others, paying his respects at the trio of sites in New York, Pennsylvania and outside Washington where four hijacked planes crashed on Sept. 11, 2001, killing nearly 3,000 people, shattering the nation's sense of security and launching the country into two decades of warfare.

Biden wiped away a tear as he stood in silence at the site where the World Trade Center towers fell, and looked up at the haunting sound of a jet plane under clear blue skies reminiscent of that fateful day.

In a grassy field in Pennsylvania, Biden comforted family members gathered at a stone boulder near Shanksville that marked where passengers brought down a hijacked plane that had been headed for the nation's capital. At the Pentagon, Biden and his wife, Jill, took a moment of silence before a wreath studded with white, purple and red flowers on display in front of the memorial benches that mark the victims of the attack at the military headquarters.

Delivering Bud Light and appreciation to the Shanksville Volunteer Fire Department, which responded to the crash of United Flight 93, Biden praised Bush's comments in his only public remarks of the day, saying the Republican ``made a really good speech today genuinely,`` and wondered aloud what those who died that day would think of today's rancor.

Gesturing to a cross-shaped memorial made of steel from the twin towers adjacent to the firehouse, Biden reflected: ``I'm thinking what, what what would the people who died, what would they be thinking. Would they think this makes sense for us to be doing this kind of thing where you ride down the street and someone has a sign saying `f- so-and-so?'''

It was a reference to an explicit sign attacking Biden last week in New Jersey as he toured storm damage that was displayed by supporters of former President Donald Trump. Biden expressed incredulity at recent comments by Trump, whom he accused of abandoning the nation's ideals during his time in office.

``Everyone says, `Biden, why do you keep insisting on trying to bring the country together?''' the president told reporters. ``That's the thing that's going to affect our well-being more than anything else.''

In a frequent refrain of his presidency warning of the rise of autocracies, he added, ``Are we going to, in the next four, five, six, ten years, demonstrate that democracies can work, or not?``

At ground zero in New York City, Biden stood side by side with former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton at the National September 11 Memorial as the names of the dead were read aloud by their loved ones. Each man wore a blue ribbon and held his hand over his heart as a procession marched a flag through the memorial before hundreds of people, some carrying photos of loved ones lost in the attacks.

Bush, delivering the keynote address in Shanksville, lamented that ``so much of our politics have become a naked appeal to anger, fear and resentment.''

``On America's day of trial and grief, I saw millions of people instinctively grab for a neighbor's hand, and rally for the cause of one another,'' Bush said. ``That is the America I know.''

Alluding to domestic turmoil, including the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol, Bush said that ``the dangers to our country can come not only across borders but from violence that gathers within.'' He added that while they have little cultural similarity to the 9/11 attackers, ``they are children of the same foul spirit, and it is our continuing duty to confront them.''

Vice President Kamala Harris also spoke at the Flight 93 National Memorial, echoing the theme of unity as she praised the courage of those passengers and the resilience of Americans who came together in the days after the attacks.

``In a time of outright terror, we turned toward each other,'' Harris said. ``If we do the hard work of working together as Americans, if we remain united in purpose, we will be prepared for whatever comes next.''

Biden was a US senator when hijackers commandeered four planes and carried out the attacks. He was Obama's vice president in 2011 when the country observed the 10th anniversary of the strikes. Saturday's commemoration was his first as commander in chief.

It is now Biden who shoulders the responsibility borne by his predecessors to prevent another strike. He must do that against fears of a rise in terrorism after the hasty U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, where those who planned the Sept. 11 attacks were sheltered.

In remarks at the firehouse Biden defended the withdrawal, which culminated with a massive airlift to evacuate more than 110,000 Americans and allies _ but still resulted in many being left behind for an uncertain future under Taliban rule.

``Could al-Qaida come back? Yeah. But guess what, it's already back other places,`` Biden said. ``What's the strategy? Every place where al-Qaida is, we're going to invade and have troops stay in? Cmon.''

Rather than deliver formal remarks, Biden released a taped address late Friday about the anniversary in which he spoke about the ``true sense of national unity'' that emerged after the attacks, seen in ``heroism everywhere in places expected and unexpected.''

``To me that's the central lesson of Sept. 11,'' he said. ``Unity is our greatest strength.''

Biden became the fourth president to console the nation on the anniversary of that dark day, one that has shaped many of the most consequential domestic and foreign policy decisions made by the chief executives over the past two decades.

Trump skipped the official 9/11 memorial ceremonies and instead visited a fire station and police precinct in New York, where he laced into Biden over his withdrawal from Afghanistan and repeated lies about the 2020 election as he paid tribute to New York's first responders.

Bush was reading a book to Florida schoolchildren when the planes slammed into the World Trade Center. He spent that day being kept out of Washington for security reasons a decision then-Sen. Biden urged him to reconsider, the current president has written and then delivered a brief, halting speech that night from the White House to a terrified nation.

The terrorist attack would define Bush's presidency. The following year, he chose Ellis Island as the location to deliver his first anniversary address, the Statue of Liberty over his shoulder as he pledged, ``What our enemies have begun, we will finish.''

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were still deadly when Obama visited the Pentagon to mark his first Sept. 11 in office in 2009.

By the time Obama spoke at the 10th anniversary, attack mastermind Osama bin Laden was dead, killed in a May 2011 Navy SEAL raid. Though the nation remained entangled overseas, and vigilant against threats, the anniversary became more about healing.

Trump pledged to get the US out of Afghanistan, but his words during his first Sept. 11 anniversary ceremony in 2017 were a vivid warning to terrorists, telling ``these savage killers that there is no dark corner beyond our reach, no sanctuary beyond our grasp, and nowhere to hide anywhere on this very large earth.''

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Political analyst Bassam al-Qazwini said the people of Iraq and Afghanistan paid the price of the US invasions after 9/11, not the quickly collapsing regimes in those countries

Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. But the terrorist attacks in the United States changed forever the lives of Iraqis.

In their aftermath, the U.S. invaded Afghanistan, swiftly deposing the Taliban regime that had been sheltering Osama bin Laden, the leader of the al-Qaida terror network blamed for the attacks.

But it was not long before President George W. Bush shifted his attention to Iraq, identifying it, along with Iran and North Korea, as part of an ``axis of evil'' and asserting that its brutal dictator, Saddam Hussein, was armed with weapons of mass destruction and had ties to al-Qaida. No evidence of either was found.

What followed was a U.S.-led invasion of a country in the heart of the Middle East that spurred a decade of war, with consequences that reverberate across the region to this day.

``At first, I was happy with the U.S. invasion, everyone was happy. We were filled with hope for a better future,'' said Mohammed Agha, an Iraqi Kurd who was 27 when the invasion began.

``But then what happened was that the country's institutions were destroyed and never rebuilt again,`` he said. ``There was no planning for the day after and no nation-building.``

Agha's words reflect the lingering anger and bitterness felt by many Iraqis over what they regard as a lost opportunity to remake their country following the ouster of Saddam, who ruled with an iron grip for almost 30 years.

The invasion reshaped Iraqi politics, including a shift in the country's power base from minority Arab Sunnis to majority Shiites, with Kurds gaining their own autonomous region. But while many Iraqis welcomed Saddam's ouster and the degree of democracy that followed, they expected the U.S. to bring good governance, security and reliable basic services like electricity.

Failure to achieve any of those things fueled resentment and led to an insurgency that ultimately devolved into civil war, with both Shiite and Sunni militias fighting the Americans for control of the country.

After decades of conflict, Iraq today has a relatively stable government, and the car bombings, suicide attacks and death squads have subsided. But the economy is in tatters, its infrastructure is crumbling and corruption is rampant. The government, with its fractious politics, is unable to control the dozens of powerful Iran-backed militias that wield enormous control.

For some, the loss is also personal

On the evening of April 7, 2003, two missiles crashed with such a deafening sound and force that they knocked Itimad Hassoun to the floor of her home in Baghdad's Jadriyah district and blasted her doors off their hinges.

The Americans had been bombing for more than two weeks as part of their ``shock and awe'' campaign to topple Saddam, and the Iraqi capital was in darkness. Hassoun had been sitting by candlelight with her husband. The next few moments were a blur, as she fumbled blindly, screaming for him and their children.

Her son, two daughters and a granddaughter lay dead in the rubble of their home next door. Only a newborn granddaughter survived.

Twenty years after 9/11, Hassoun is 74 and still dresses in black after losing her son 18 years ago. She says she will never forgive America for killing her loved ones.

``There's nothing that makes me happy. I have a pain that cannot be removed and an injury that cannot be healed. It's inside me,'' she said, looking frail and tired as she sat in a chair in a large guest room.

Baghdad fell on April 9, two days after the airstrike that killed Hassoun's family. Many Iraqis cheered as U.S. Marines pulled down a statue of Saddam in the capital's Firdous Square.

But the euphoria was short-lived, as hope gave way to occupation, as well as more daily death and destruction after the Americans dissolved the Iraqi army. The move led to the rise of al-Qaida and later the Islamic State group in the country.

The following years were stamped with images of horror. Among them: the bodies of four U.S. security contractors hanging from a bridge over the Euphrates River in Fallujah in March 2004; photos cataloging the abuse of Iraqis in the U.S.-run Abu Ghraib prison; the bloody battles between U.S. troops and al-Qaida militants in Fallujah in 2004; the February 2006 attack by Sunni extremists that shattered the golden dome of a revered Shiite shrine in Samarra, unleashing sectarian bloodletting.

By the time Washington withdrew its last combat troops in December 2011, tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians were dead, along with 4,487 Americans. U.S. troops were invited back in 2014 after Iraqi security forces collapsed in the face of an onslaught by the Islamic State group there and in neighboring Syria. Tens of thousands more Iraqis were killed before the last pockets of those militants were defeated in 2017.

``A dictatorship was removed for a supposed democracy, and we found ourselves with a civil war, al-Qaeda and ISIS, with no services and just thieves all around us,'' said Assim Salman, Hassoun's 53-year-old neighbor who helped dig out the bodies of her relatives that fateful night.

To hell with such democracy

In his 2010 memoir, ``Decision Points,'' Bush admitted to mistakes in Iraq, including the decision to disband the Iraqi army, and said he got a ``sickening feeling'' every time he thought about the failure to find weapons of mass destruction, his main justification for the war. But he stood by his decision to invade.

Political analyst Bassam al-Qazwini said the people of Iraq and Afghanistan paid the price of the U.S. invasions after 9/11, not the quickly collapsing regimes in those countries.

Instead of building democracy in Iraq, he said, the Americans supported a political class that created networks of corruption and militias that continue to rob the country. Even though it is rich in oil, Iraq suffers chronic blackouts and crumbling infrastructure because of graft, profiteering and mismanagement. Tens of thousands of students graduate each year with no hope of finding jobs.

``This corrupt network is capable of killing Iraqis to survive, the same way Saddam killed Iraqis to stay in power. So, what has changed?'' al-Qazwini said, citing the crackdown on peaceful anti-government protests in 2019.

Today, Hassoun lives in the same house in Jadriyah, 200 meters (yards) from the Tigris River. Black and white photos of her husband adorn the walls.

Dina, her granddaughter who survived the bombing, is now an 18-year-old student of dentistry.

Hassoun wants the few thousand Americans still in Iraq to leave ``a departure without a return, this time'' because of what they did to her family.

But her neighbor Salman, like many other Iraqis, views the US withdrawal from Afghanistan with concern, worried about a return of militant groups like the Islamic State.

``America needs to fix things,`` he said. ``It cannot do to us what it did to Afghanistan, where it fought the Taliban for 20 years and then gave the country back to them.''

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Christian Berger, the European Union (EU) Delegations Ambassador to Egypt, ,spoke to Ahram Online on the sidelines of the second ministerial conference of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), which kicked off in Cairo on Monday.

Berger said that Egypt is the biggest investment market for the EU in Africa and the second biggest market in the Mediterranean, thus there is a very strong and growing interest from European companies to invest and expand in the Egyptian market, which is a positive sign on the bilateral relations between the two sides.

Accordingly, Egypt is the EUs 29th largest trading partner globally, representing 0.7 percent of the EUs total trade in goods with the world in 2020 despite the severe impacts of the pandemic on trade and supply chains globally, according to Berger.

Meanwhile, the EU is Egypts biggest trading partner, covering 24.5 percent of Egypts trade size in 2020 and 25.8 percent of its imports; also, 21.8 percent of Egypts exports go to the EU.

On the total trade value in goods between the EU and Egypt, Berger said that it hit 24.5 billion in 2020; as EUs imports from Egypt amounted to 6.4 billion, mainly in fuel and mining, chemicals, agriculture products besides raw materials, and textiles and clothing.

Additionally, the EUs exports to Egypt recorded 18.1 billion in 2020, which mainly included machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, agriculture, raw materials, as well as fuel and mining products, said Berger.

On trade in bilateral services between the two sides, he explained that it reached 10.9 billion in 2019, however, it has decreased due to the global shock caused by the pandemic in 2020 and its impact on the tourism sector.

Regarding disruptions to supply chains amid the pandemic, Berger told Ahram Online that a lesson that should be learned from the coronavirus is the necessity of bringing production closer to the EU in the region.

He stressed that Egypt has very well-developed infrastructure, transportation, and a young skilled labour force, and that is a significant incentive for European companies to invest in the Egyptian market.

Concerning the recent update on the free trade area between the EU and Egypt under the Association Agreement signed in 2004, Berger told Ahram Online that the EU plans to upgrade this deal to an extensive comprehensive free trade arrangement, referring to ongoing talks between the two sides regarding the topic.

There are constant discussions between trade officials in the EU and Egypts Ministry of Trade and Industry on how to continue to improve the flow of goods between the two parties, Berger illustrated to Ahram Online.

This week, the EUs responsible director for trade will discuss with the Egyptian ministers of trade, finance, and agriculture ways to keep and improve the trade flow between Egypt and the EUs countries for the sake of increasing trade volume and avoiding any sorts of disruptions.

Concerning future steps the EU intends to take in the Egyptian market regarding boosting the economy and investment, the ambassador said that digitising the economy is one of the main areas that the EU is interested in, adding that Egyptian companies, the business community, and the concerned ministers are very eager to work on this, as it is a guarantee to stay ahead of the global market and to compete.

He added that the EUs commissioner for the Southern Neighbourhood will visit Egypt later in October to participate in Cairos Water Week event and will have talks to discuss ways to boost Egypts efforts in this area.

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When Iraqis go to the polls Sunday, they will vote for individual candidates rather than parties for the first time under a new electoral law meant to appease a youth-led protest movement fed up with the country's old-style politics.

In theory, the changes will strengthen local voices as candidates can now run at the district level and as independents, allowing new hopefuls such as tribal leaders, business people and civil society activists to join the race.

But the shadow of Iraq's traditional political blocs, which are mostly defined by religious sect or ethnic group, still hovers over many of the candidates who claim to be non-aligned, raising questions about the impact of the reform.

On campaign posters, many of the more than 3,200 hopefuls seeking office declare themselves to be free of affiliations with the powerful blocs in parliament -- but not everyone is convinced.

For many, it's simply an "electoral manoeuvre", argued political scientist Ihsan al-Shammari, saying they don't want to be associated with the entrenched forces widely blamed for inept governance, graft and shady backroom deal-making.

"The candidates want to distance themselves from the failures of their parties and try to adopt a new image, far from corruption and mismanagement," said Shammari of the Baghdad-based Iraqi Centre for Political Thought.

Iraq is emerging from almost two decades of war and insurgency since the 2003 US-led invasion toppled dictator Saddam Hussein. Sunday's parliamentary election is the fifth since then.

But there is little popular hope for major change through the ballot box, and widespread disillusionment persists over the political caste as most Iraqis worry more about a painful economic crisis.

More constituencies

Popular anger exploded in unprecedented street protests two years ago against youth joblessness, crumbling public services and a political class seen as more loyal to Iran or the US than to Iraqi citizens.

Hundreds died in months of protest-related violence, and more activists have been murdered, kidnapped or intimidated since, with no accountability for the deaths.

The activists have blamed pro-Iran armed groups -- often part of the Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary coalition that helped defeat the Islamic State jihadist group, and whose lawmakers now wield huge influence in parliament.

The protests prompted Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi to move forward the ballot originally scheduled for 2022, and authorities to reform the election rules -- but many of the activists and parties behind the uprising are boycotting the vote.

The new electoral law theoretically favours local candidates -- which means tribal figures or local potentates -- as the number of electoral districts has been increased to 83. Previously, under the list-based system, Iraq's electorate was divided according to the 18 governorates.

Now, all across the country, many candidates are calling themselves "independents", despite having had partisan affiliations in the past.

This is occurring across the political spectrum -- from the movement of firebrand Shia Muslim cleric Moqtada Sadr, to the coalition of secular former vice-president Iyad Allawi and to the State of Law Alliance of former prime minister Nuri al-Maliki.

One candidate, Ines Naji al-Maksousi, standing for office in the city of Kut, said: "I was an independent candidate within the Sadrists. Today, I am an independent candidate".

If elected, Maksousi does not rule out eventually siding with a bloc in parliament, where 329 seats are up for grabs.

"It's possible, if there is a convergence of vision with a political tendency or deputies, and if that serves our electorate," she said.

Dangling the bait

In Iraq, alliances tend to form and break up after each election and entire blocs can change sides.

The vote count and division of seats matter, but it is the horse-trading in the formation of parliamentary coalitions that is crucial to building a new government.

The favourite this time is the Sadrist movement, whose Saeroon bloc held 54 seats and was the largest in the outgoing parliament.

Sadr, with millions of devoted followers among Iraq's Shias and in command of paramilitary groups, has long been a crucial player in Iraqi politics.

Also powerful is the pro-Iran Shia camp around the Hashed al-Shaabi. It held the second-biggest bloc, the Fatah alliance.

Pro-Iran parties "are likely to retain approximately the same portion of seats", predicted Lahib Higel, an analyst for the International Crisis Group. "I don't see that there is going to be a significant increase for them."

But amid patronage rules and frequent fraud, experts don't rule out the co-opting of independents by dangling the bait of ministerial posts and other enticements.

Shammari agreed that in Iraqi politics "the traditional forces and parties have sufficient leeway to attract independents".

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Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri paid a three-day visit to Moscow this week during which he met his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov. The two top diplomats discussed bilateral relations as well as the latest developments in the Libyan crisis and the situation in Syria, and Shoukri conveyed a message from President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Shoukri also met with Secretary of the Security Council of Russia Nikolai Patrushev to discuss ways to boost cooperation and coordination between Cairo and Moscow.

Rakha Hassan, a former assistant to Egypts foreign minister, told Al-Ahram Weekly both states agree on the importance of combating extremism and terrorism on the bilateral and international levels, solving the problem in the Middle East and settling differences among its countries in order to focus more on the development of the region.

Shoukris visit came less than two months after Minister of Defence and Military Production Mohamed Zaki headed a high-level military delegation to Moscow. Zaki attended the seventh meeting of the Egyptian-Russian Joint Military Committee and held talks that aimed to enhance military cooperation between the two countries.

Regular visits reflect the growth in relations between Cairo and Moscow, says political science professor Nourhan Al-Sheikh.

Moscow helped with most of the major projects implemented in Egypt during the 1950s and 1960s. It also aided Egypt with the launch of satellites for scientific research in 2014 and 2019 and is a partner in many development projects, not least the Dabaa nuclear power station.

According to Hassan, the visits provide an opportunity to discuss and coordinate stands in the light of regional developments in various important files in the region. Citing the Syrian crisis, he said the two states needed to address opening the Syrian-Jordanian border, plans to deliver Egyptian natural gas to Lebanon via Jordanian and Syrian pipelines, and ways to return Syria to the Arab League, a demand that both Cairo and Moscow are pushing for.

On the Libyan issue, Hassan says both states need to discuss the fate of mercenaries, and whether they should withdraw simultaneously, before or after the presidential and parliamentary elections due in December.

On the bilateral level, military cooperation is a key element in the growing relations between Egypt and Russia. Since 2014, Egypt has signed several military deals to buy Russian weapons, including fighter jets, assault helicopters, air defence systems, and frigates. Egypt and Russia have also held regular joint military exercises since 2016 that have bolstered their military relationship.

In addition to the Dabaa nuclear power plant project, likely to cost $25 billion, the two countries have signed an agreement to establish a Russian industrial sector in the Suez Canal Economic Zone which is expected to increase the number of Russian companies and investments in Egypt and generate thousands of jobs.

Yet despite cooperating on various bilateral and regional projects, said a diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity, Moscow failed to support Egypt over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam [GERD] before the UN Security Council.

Cairo, added the diplomat, had expected full Russian support on the GERD file, and when that support was not forthcoming Egypts local media widely criticised Moscow, describing its position towards Cairo during the session as unfriendly.

The tensions first surfaced when Russian representative Vasily Nebenzya told the Security Council in July that diplomacy is the only option for resolving the disputes surrounding GERD. Days later, Moscow and Addis Ababa signed a military agreement.

El-Sheikh believes the media campaign was misdirected, pointing out that the Russian ambassador to Egypt had explained that Russia fully supports a return to negotiations.

Egypt was for long a favoured destination among Russian tourists. By 2014, Russia was dominating Egypts tourism market, especially in the Red Sea resorts, with the number of Russian tourists surpassing 3.1 million that year. In October 2015, following the downing of a Russian airliner over Sinai, Moscow ended all direct flights between Russia and Egypt. The ban was finally lifted in July this year and Egyptian operators are hopeful that Russian tourist numbers will soon recover.

Relations with Russia date back to 1943, when Egypt and the then Soviet Union exchanged ambassadors. Bilateral relations reached an apex in the 1950s and 1960s when Egypt was awash with Soviet experts. The Soviet Union was Egypts principal arms supplier from the mid-1950s to the early 1970s, when president Anwar Al-Sadat began a reorientation toward the US.

Relations have been growing since President Al-Sisi came to power in 2014, a year in which trade between the two states saw an 80 per cent rise.

In October 2018, presidents Al-Sisi and Putin signed a comprehensive partnership agreement covering military, security, trade, and economic cooperation. In December 2020, Egypts parliament ratified a second bilateral comprehensive agreement under which two countries agreed to exchange regular visits at the presidential level, and the level of foreign and defence ministers.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 7 October, 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Wednesday appointed the former head of war-hit Tigray's interim administration as defence minister, one of several shake-ups in his new government's 22-member cabinet.

Abiy, who was sworn in for his first full five-year term on Monday, also tapped a new head of the peace ministry, which has often served as the public face of humanitarian operations in northern Ethiopia, where the UN estimates conflict has driven hundreds of thousands of people into famine-like conditions.

The cabinet was approved by a majority vote in the lower house of parliament, with two votes against and 12 abstentions.

Abiy's office touted the fact that three new cabinet members hail from opposition parties, saying on Twitter this reflected a "commitment to inclusivity".

Abiy came to power in 2018 on the back of several years of anti-government protests.

He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019, but last year long-running tensions between Abiy and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which dominated national politics before Abiy took office, erupted into open conflict.

After driving the TPLF from Tigray's cities and towns last November, Abiy struggled to establish a federally-appointed interim administration in the northern region.

In a stunning about-turn, the TPLF recaptured most of Tigray including the regional capital Mekele by late June, and federal forces largely withdrew, but the conflict has spread to neighbouring regions.

Abraham Belay, a Tigray native who had led the interim administration since early May, was named defence minister.

He previously served with Abiy at the cyber-espionage Information Network Security Agency and as minister of innovation and technology, a cabinet position Abiy also once held.

Other key portfolios including the finance and foreign ministries did not change hands -- a sign Abiy is likely to continue with economic reforms such as revamping the telecoms industry and with a foreign policy that has coincided with worsening relations with Western powers.

The foreign ministry stoked global outrage last week by announcing the expulsion of seven senior UN officials -- a decision that was set to be discussed by the UN Security Council later Wednesday.

Abiy did, however, replace water minister Seleshi Bekele, who had taken the lead on a contentious mega-dam on the Blue Nile River that has fuelled tensions with downstream neighbours Egypt and Sudan.

That ministry will now be headed by Habtamu Itefa, formerly head of the water bureau of Abiy's native Oromia region.

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Inger Andersen, the executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme praised the work of Nobel laureates in understanding earths climate and predicting global warming in an interview with Ahram Online following the announcement of the Nobel Prize winners for Physics on Tuesday.

Thanks in large part to the work of scientists, there is increasing global awareness that Earth is facing an acute triple planetary crisis of climate change, loss of natural resources, and waste and pollution, she said.

The work of these Nobel laureates has been instrumental in our understanding of how humanity impacts our climate; the onus is on the rest of us  Governments, civil society, the private sector, and individuals  to use this knowledge to fundamentally shift our relationship with the natural world to ensure future generations live on a more sustainable planet.

On a similar note, Head of the PRIMA Programme Octavi Quintana mentioned that this years Nobel Prize in physics will help raise awareness of global citizens on the importance of climate change and therefore pave the way for the radical changes needed to cope with it.

He stressed that climate change has a severe impact on the Mediterranean Region, with important consequences on water, agriculture, and food.

It was noted that at the Nobel prize press conference, the organising committee of the physics award indicated that the science and mathematical models that scientists have reached over the years are the biggest support that climate change is a proven fact.

Professor Giorgio Parisi, one of the three winners of the Nobel prize this year, stressed that world leaders must take decisive and rapid action against global warming-related disasters in the coming COP 26 Summit in Glasgow, the United Kingdom.

Egypt will be hosting the COP 27 Summit next year in Sharm El-Sheikh.

The Nobel Prize of physics this year was shared between Dr. Syukuro Manabe of Princeton University, USA; Dr. Klaus Haselmann of the Max Planck Institute for Meteorological Research, Germany; and Dr. Giorgio Parisi of the University of Sapienza, Italy.

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The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) said that the drones were being manufactured at eight plants in Iran, sometimes using materials smuggled from abroad, and then sent to countries like Iraq and Syria where they are assembled and then deployed.

The Quds Force of the elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), responsible for Iran's controversial operations abroad, is increasingly using drones as the main means for carrying out air strikes and supplying proxies, an exiled opposition group said Wednesday.

The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) said that the drones were being manufactured at eight plants in Iran, sometimes using materials smuggled from abroad, and then sent to countries like Iraq and Syria where they are assembled and then deployed.

The NCRI, the political wing of the People's Mujahedin (MEK), which is banned in Iran, said it based its findings on reports from the network of supporters the MEK claims to maintain inside the country.

It supplied images that it claimed were of drone production plants but it was not immediately possible to independently verify the claims.

The Quds Force, which was led by commander Qassem Soleimani until his killing in a US strike in Iraq in 2020, is accused by the West of leading Iranian operations in Iraq, Syria and Yemen and seeking to strike Western targets.

The NCRI said the Quds Force is "chiefly using various unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for its terrorist operations as well as for supplying its proxies in the region."

"To an extent, the regime is trying to compensate for its outdated and decrepit air force with this technology," it added.

It said that to produce the drones, Iran has been smuggling some of the main parts, such as engines and electronic components from China as well as raw materials from Turkey and South Korea.

It said there is now a specialised UAV Command among the five command units of the IRGC Aerospace Force. The UAV Command has several groups that are stationed at various bases across Iran.

The Quds Force brings members of pro-Iran proxy militias abroad to Iran for training in the use of drones. The equipment is sent outside Iran by air via Mehrabad Airport in Tehran, by land concealed in trucks and, in the case of Yemen, by sea, it said.

It said in the Syria conflict, where Iran has intervened to bolster the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, the IRGC has "consistently" used drones to identify and attack Syrian opposition forces.

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Egypt's Ministry of Transportation has revealed images of the country's first monorail train being installed on its track in the New Administrative Capital.

Two monorail trains have arrived in Egypt out of 40 trains to be supplied for the East Nile Line project, while 30 other monorail trains will be supplied for the West Nile Line in 6 October City, according to the ministry.

The East Nile Line connects the administrative capital to Nasr City neighbourhood over a 56.5 km stretch of road, while the West Nile Line connects 6 October City to the Arab League headquarters in downtown Cairo along a route that is 42 km long.

Both monorails will be connected to Cairos third metro line in order to reduce commutes from Cairo and Giza to the administrative capital. Each monorail train takes less than 60 minutes to travel from one end of the line to the other.

The monorail project is entirely autonomous and features screen doors placed on the platform to conserve energy and ensure the safety of passengers. The monorail is being constructed entirely from aluminium to save weight and increase speed.

The administrative capital monorail is 21.2 percent complete as of July, and the first phase is projected to be completed by late May 2022, while the second phase should be completed by February 2023, according to Egypts Cabinet.

As for the 6 October line, it is expected to be operational by June 2023.

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Ahram Online looks back at the important milestones of the decade-long talks over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) between Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia that reached a deadlock six months ago and are soon-to-be resumed under the sponsorship of the African Union at an undisclosed date.

Egypts Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry expected on Friday 1 October 2021 the GERD talks to recommence soon between the three parties after they reached a deadlock in the latest round of the AU-mediated sessions in April and later elevated the issue to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in July.

Shoukry, however, criticized in a media statement the recent Ethiopian official statements, describing them as prevaricating and lacking in credibility.

Sudan, from its side, made it clear in late September to US Envoy for the Horn of Africa Jeffrey Feltman that it would not participate in any future talks on the GERD if they do not include the filing and operation policies of the dam.

Khartoum also refused to resume the talks with the same methodology used in previous talks, which has proven to be ineffective.

Both Cairo and Khartoum are on the same page, however, demanding Ethiopia to sign a legally binding agreement on the filing and operation of the dam, which Addis Ababa has been building on the Blue Nile since 2011.

The statements came as the UNSC issued a presidential statement in September calling for the resumption of talks between the three countries under the umbrella of the African Union within a timeframe to reach a legally binding agreement.

On the other hand, Addis Abbas, which already has its own share of domestic woes from a civil war in the Tigray region to the recently-imposed international sanctions, has made it clear that it wont sign any agreement which potentially affects its future development.

Below is a timeline in ascending order on the important milestones of the decade-long dispute from 2010 when the GERD was known as the Grand Millennium Dam, and until now.

2010: The Millennium Dams construction plan, Entebbe agreement

May 2010: Ethiopia announces it will construct a multi-billion-dollar dam, the Grand Millennium Dam on the Blue Nile River.

Nile Basin states sign the Nile Basin Cooperative Framework Agreement, AKA the Entebbe Agreement, except for Egypt and Sudan, which claim that the agreement does not protect their historic share of the Niles water.

The Entebbe Agreement was meant to replace the 1929 and 1959 Nile Water agreements that allocated 55.5 billion cubic metres of water to Egypt and 18.5 billion to Sudan and gave them the right to veto any projects upstream.

Egypt signs an agreement with Sudan to preserve their historical rights in the Nile water.

June 2010: Egypt raises the issue to the United Nations and the African Union.

November 2010: Ethiopia announces the dams designs are finished.

2011: A revolution in Egypt, dam construction begins

February 2011: Hosni Mubarak steps down in February in the face of a mass uprising.

March 2011: A day after the Millennium Dam project plan is made public, a $4.8 billion contract is awarded to the Italian company Salini Castratory.

April 2011: The dams foundation stone is laid by Ethiopian PM Meles Zenawi. In the same month, the Millennium Dam (originally Project X) becomes the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

May 2011: An Egyptian popular diplomacy delegation visits Ethiopia and the two countries agree to resolve their differences and widen cooperation. Ethiopia offers to share the dam plans with Egypt so that the latter could study how the dam would affect it.

September 2011: Cairo and Addis Abba agree to form an international committee to study the impact of the dam on Egypt and Sudan.

November 2011: The first meeting of the tripartite technical committee including the irrigation ministers of Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia was held after a proposal from Ethiopias prime minister.

An international panel of experts (IPoE) from the three countries, supplemented by four international experts, is established.

The IPoE produces a report, based on agreed terms of reference, covering, among other things, the safety and stability of the dam, hydrological studies, and its environmental and social impacts.

2012: New Egyptian president, Cairo calls for cooperation

July 2012: Egypts late Islamist President Mohamed Morsi visits Ethiopia to discuss African cooperation and the GERD. It was the first visit for an Egyptian president since 1995, as late President Mubarak never visited Ethiopia after the 1995 assassination attempt by Islamist extremists in Addis Ababa.

According to analysts, the assassination attempt had already overshadowed Egyptian Ethiopian relations.

August 2012: Ethiopias strongman PM Meles Zenawi, who ruled the country for two decades dies, and is succeed by foreign minister Hailemariam Desalegn a month later.

2013: Another revolution in Cairo, Addis Abba diverts the Nile

March 2013: According to a statement by the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, former Sudanese president Omar Al-Bashir tells the Ethiopian ambassador to Sudan that his country supported the GERD project.

April 2013: Al-Bashir and Morsi meet in Cairo to affirm Egypt and Sudans alliance in the face of challenges posed by the Entebbe Agreement.

May 2013: The committee assigned by the tripartite committee to study the impact of the dam on the downstream countries issues a report calling for more studies as Ethiopia announces that it began to divert the flow of the Blue Nile to build the GERD.

June 2013: The Ethiopian Parliament ratifies the 2010 Entebbe agreement. At the end of the month, Cairo witnesses mass protests on 30 June demanding the ouster of President Morsi.

2014: New President for Egypt, Malabo Declaration, and selecting the experts

March 2014: Ethiopia declares that 32 percent of the GERDs construction has been completed.

June 2014: President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi sworn into office. The newly elected president meets with the Ethiopian prime minister and issues the Malabo Declaration in the form of a joint statement guaranteeing that Ethiopia can develop the dam while diminishing possible damages affecting Egypt.

August 2014: Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia agree to implement the recommendations of the 2013 report and choose two consultancy firms to conduct the required studies.

October 2014: The tripartite committee selects a French and Dutch consultancy firm to conduct the studies.

2015: The Declaration of Principles and Khartoum Document

March 2015: The leaders of Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia sign the Declaration of Principles on the Renaissance Dam, which included 10 basic principles.

July 2015: In the seventh round of tripartite talks, held in Khartoum, the three countries agree on the principles governing the work of the consultancy firms.

September 2015: The Dutch consultancy firm withdraws from the task, citing concern over the absence of guarantees the work will be impartial.

December 2015: Foreign ministers from the three countries sign the Khartoum Agreement, restating their commitment to the Declaration of Principles. French Artelia Consultancy chosen in the meeting to replace Deltares to conduct the dams studies.

2016: Rejected dam holes suggestions, 60 percent of the dam completed

January 2016: Ethiopia rejects the Egyptian proposal to increase water holes in the Renaissance Dam from two to four, saying that the dam doesnt need to be redesigned to increase the holes.

May 2016: Ethiopia announces more than 60 percent of the dam is complete.

September 2016: Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan sign the final contracts for the long-awaited technical studies on the impact on downstream countries of the giant dam that Addis Ababa is building.

2017: Failed negotiations between Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia

May 2017: French consultancy firms issue their preliminary reports after a delay due to disagreements over the baseline to be used to assess the GERDs impact.

October 2017: Egypt accepts the preliminary reports but Sudan and Ethiopia express reservations.

November 2017: The 17th tripartite technical committee meeting on the GERD at the ministerial level, held in Cairo, fails to reach an agreement on the adoption of an introductory report on technical studies of the GERD.

Days later, El-Sisi publicly says that Egypt considers the Nile water a matter of life or death.

2018: Summit meetings as well as agreement and a regime change in Ethiopia

January 2018: During a three-day summit visit to Cairo, Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn rejects an Egyptian request to get the World Bank involved in the GERD talks as a technical party with an impartial view to decide on the differences in work of the Tripartite Committee.

In the same month, President El-Sisi agrees with his Ethiopian and Sudanese counterparts on the sidelines of the African Union summit in Addis Abba to resume tripartite negotiations.

February 2018: Protests in Ethiopia lead to the sudden resignation of Desalegn, and the GERD talks are postponed.

March 2018: Abiy Ahmed is appointed as the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, replacing Desalegn.

April 2018: The three countries hold the first nine-party meeting attended by the ministers of irrigation and foreign affairs and the intelligence chiefs of the three states.

They discuss the impact of the dam on the water shares of Egypt and Sudan. The meeting concludes without an agreement.

May 2018: A tripartite meeting takes place in Addis Ababa between the irrigation ministers of the three countries. During the meeting, the three countries submit their observations on the technical report issued by French consulting firms.

Ethiopia is delegated to communicate feedback from the three countries on technical issues to the French consultancy BRL Group. The email is never sent.

The three countries hold the second nine-party meeting in May in Addis Ababa. A document fixing the mechanism for organising future meetings is issued.

The document establishes a National Independent Scientific Research Study Group (NISRSG) to discuss means of enhancing the levels of understanding and cooperation among the three countries through addressing equitable and reasonable utilisation of shared water resources while taking all appropriate measures to prevent the causation of significant harm.

June 2018: Ethiopias PM Ahmed visits Egypt and reassures President El-Sisi that he wants only to aid development in Ethiopia without harming the Egyptian people.

September 2018: The NISRSG holds a meeting in which Ethiopia proposes the timetable for filling the reservoir be determined by annual studies of the floods and rainfall in each year.

After the meeting, Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Mohamed Abdel-Ati says the three countries have reiterated their commitment to continuing talks to reach a satisfactory agreement on the timing and method of filling the reservoir as per the Declaration of Principles.

2019: GERD goes to the UNGA then to Washington

April 2019: Sudanese strongman Omar Al-Bashir and his regime are ousted following protests across Sudan.

September 2019: New round of negotiations between Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia on the filling of the GERD reservoir and its rules of operation is launched in Cairo at the request of Egypt after months of suspension.

The negotiations fail after Ethiopia rejects Egypts proposal over the filing of the dam, saying that it puts its sovereignty in question.

At the UNGAs 74th session on 24 September, Egyptian President El-Sisi and his Ethiopian counterpart Sahle-Work Zewde address the GERD problem.

El-Sisi calls for international intervention in the GERD negotiations and emphasises that the Niles water is a matter of life and an issue of existence for Egypt. Zewde assures her countrys commitment to reaching a deal over the GERD.

October 2019: During the first round of talks in Addis Abba, Ethiopia refuses to discuss Egyptian proposals to resolve the problematic issues of filling and operating the dam.

Egypt declares that tripartite talks with Sudan and Ethiopia have reached a deadlock and calls for international mediation to help reach a fair and balanced agreement.

The White House issues a statement calling the three countries to reach a cooperative, sustainable, and mutually beneficial agreement

The second round of talks is held in Khartoum between the ministers of irrigation of the three countries. It, according to the spokesperson of the Egyptian Ministry of Irrigation and Water Recourses, reached a dead end due to the intransigency of the Ethiopian side.

The Donald Trump administration sends an invitation to the foreign ministers of Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan to meet with US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and president of the World Bank Group David Malpass to discuss the dam. The meeting is scheduled for 6 November.

November 2019: The first Washington meeting issues a joint statement. The three foreign ministers set a timetable for meetings to resolve outstanding issues and stressed joint commitment to reach a mutually beneficial agreement on the filling and operation of the dam and to establish a clear process for fulfilling that commitment in accordance with the 2015 Declaration of Principles.

They agree to hold four rounds of negotiations and set mid-January as the deadline for reaching an agreement. The first round of talks is held in Addis Abba.

December 2019: The second and third rounds are held in Cairo and Khartoum. The three ministers head to Washington to attend the second Washington meeting and report to the US Treasury and World Bank on the progress thus far.

2020: A failed agreement in DC, first filling of dam, and Egypt seeks UNSC help

January 2020: The fourth round takes place in Addis Ababa. All four rounds end without agreement.

February 2020: Ethiopia pulls out of the final meeting, where a deal was to be signed calling for more time for internal consultations.

After holding bilateral talks with Egypt and Sudan, the US releases a statement saying it believes an agreement has been reached.

Sudan declines to formally consent to the text, leaving Egypt as the only country to sign the deal.

March 2020: Sudan registers an official objection to a resolution proposed by Egypt to the Arab League supporting both Egypt and Sudan in the dispute on the grounds it was issued without consultation with Khartoum. The resolution passes without Sudans signature.

April 2020: Ethiopian PM Ahmed announces that his country will start filling the GERDs reservoir during the coming rainy season in June-July or September. Ethiopian officials say the construction of the dam is 72.4 percent complete.

Ethiopia offers a partial agreement to both Egypt and Sudan that only covers the first stage of the GERD filling, which both downstream countries reject.

President El-Sisi and Sudanese PM Hamdok send letters to Ethiopias premier rejecting his proposal for a transitional agreement on the initial filling of the GERD in mid-July.

May 2020: Egypt submits a 17-page letter to the UNSC protesting Ethiopias actions and demanding that it halt construction until an agreement is reached. Addis Ababa sends a letter to the UNSC saying Ethiopia has no legal obligation to seek Egypts approval to fill the GERD and blames Cairo for the deadlock in talks.

June 2020: Ethiopia announces that it will commence the filling of the dam unilaterally in July with or without an agreement. Egypt seeks UNSC intervention, describing the situation as an imminent threat to international peace and security.

Ethiopia responds in another letter to the UNSC, in which it avoids mentioning the earlier announcement of filling the dam without an agreement and criticizes Egypt for building the Aswan High Dam 50 years ago.

After mediation from South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, chair of the African Union (AU), the leaders of Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan speak by phone and agree to resume talks.

Sudan and Egypt say Ethiopia agreed to hold off on filling the reservoir as negotiations continue, while Ethiopia makes no mention of a delay.

July: Trilateral talks resume via videoconference under the AUs auspices. Observers from the EU, US, AU commission, and legal and technical experts attend the talks, but no consensus is reached at the technical and legal levels.

Egypt wants clear policies about the filing of the reservoir during periods of prolonged droughts, while Sudan wants any binding agreement to have a comprehensive mechanism for resolving future disputes.

Again, the talks reach a deadlock.

December 2020: Military clashes erupt between Sudanese and Ethiopian forces and Ethiopian-backed militias over the Al-Fashaga border region. Tensions between the two countries increase.

2021: New US administration, New AU Presidency, back to the UNSC

March 2021: Egypt supports Sudans suggestion to have a quartet mediation committee composed of the United Nations, European Union, US, and AU to mediate between the three African countries over the filling and operating of the GERD. Ethiopia rejects the suggestion.

No one can take a drop of water from Egypt, President El-Sisi says in remarks over the continued deadlock in the negotiations with Ethiopia over the disputed GERD.

If it happens, there will be inconceivable instability in the region that no one could imagine, the Egyptian president says, stressing that his message is not a threat.

Ethiopias PM Ahmed announces that his country will go on with the second filing of the GERD in July 2021, the start of the rainy reason, adding that Ethiopia may lose USD 1 billion if it does not go with the second filing.

April 2021: A new round of talks is held in Kinshasa between the three countries under the auspices of the AU and ends in a deadlock after Ethiopia rejects the suggested timeframes.

US President Joe Bidens administration appoints veteran diplomat Jeffery Feltman as the special envoy for the African Horn, with the GERD pinned at the top of his agenda.

May 2021: Ethiopia starts the second filing of the dam without an agreement with Egypt and Sudan.

July 2021: The UNSC holds a meeting in New York to discuss the latest developments on the GERD at the request of Egypt and Sudan.

Tunisia, the only non-permanent Arab member in the UNSC, presents a draft resolution to the 15-member council, calling on the three countries to finalise the text of a binding agreement on the filling and operation of the GERD within a period of six months.

September 2021: The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the chair of the AU in 2021, presents to Egypt a vision and a plan to resume the GERD talks.

The UNSC issues a presidential statement based on the draft resolution presented by Tunisia in July calling the three countries to finalise s settlement that is a mutually acceptable and binding agreement on the filling and operation of the GERD within a reasonable time frame under the umbrella of the African Union.

Egypt and Sudan welcome the UNSCs resolution while Ethiopia rejects it, claiming it is not binding.

El-Sisi says that Egypt is still committed to working to reach  in the nearest time possible  a fair, balanced, and legally binding agreement on the GERD in his speech in front of the 76th United Nations General Assembly meeting UNGA.

The GERD file is among the central points Shoukry speaks about in his meetings with his counterparts and officials from around the globe on the sidelines of the UNGA meetings.

The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres affirms the importance of resuming dialogue on the GERD with a spirit of reaching a compromise in his meeting with Ethiopian foreign minister.

October 2021: El-Sisi affirms Egypts continuous support for the DRC and its efforts to fulfill its vital responsibilities in overseeing African issues.

*Based on previous reports of Amira Howiedy, Doaa El-Bey, and Sama Osama from Ahram Online and Al-Ahram Weekly

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President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi praised the sacrifices made by the people of Sinai during times of war and peace, and the support they provided to the Egyptian Armed Forces against the Israeli occupation of the peninsula (1967-1981).

El-Sisi also pledged his continuous support for the citizens in the peninsula and his commitment to developing the entirety of Sinai.

The president's comments came during a cultural symposium titled October 1973 - Crossing to the Future, which was organised by the Armed Forces as part of the celebrations for the 48th anniversary of the October War victory on Wednesday.

El-Sisi began the symposium by acknowledging the contributions of Lieutenant General Abd-Rab El-Naby Hafez, the former Chief of Staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces (1981-1983) and one of the armys commanders in the October War in 1973.

Hafez took part in the Yemen War, the 1967 War, and the War of Attrition between 1967-1970.

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Minister of Defence Mohamed Zaki were among the army commanders, ministers, state officials, and media personnel who attended the event.

Egypt achieved victory in the October 1973 war against Israel, paving the way for the return of the occupied Sinai Peninsula to the homeland after a peace deal was signed with Israel.

During the symposium, Major General Samir Farag, the former head of the Army Morale Affairs Department, stressed that Egyptian soldiers shocked Israel with their bravery during the 6th of October War.

After the October war, Israeli leaders admitted that the Egyptian soldiers they faced in 1973 were not the same soldiers of 1956 or 1967, Farag said.

The president said he learned from Major General Farag, who was the commander of the first battalion El-Sisi served in as a young first lieutenant, that there is no problem that cannot be solved by [being calm and taking a moment to think].

On his part, Farag hailed El-Sisi's abilities as a young officer under his command, describing him as a capable decision-maker.

Farag added that the presidents decision-making capabilities were once again highlighted in 2013, when El-Sisi  then the countrys Minister of Defence  took the decision to stand by the Egyptian people and oust the Muslim Brotherhood.

History will always remember this decision, Farag said.

Egypts victory during the October War eventually led to Israeli forces withdrawing from the Sinai Peninsula on 25 April, 1982 after 15 years of occupation that ended when a peace treaty was signed between Egypt and Israel in 1979.

In 1981, Tel Aviv provoked a diplomatic crisis with Cairo by refusing to hand back the Taba region in South Sinai to Egypt using false border maps.

Egyptian diplomats, historians, and legal experts managed to reclaim Taba, however, after an intense legal battle before an international judiciary to prove that the area was Egyptian territory.

Mofid Shehab, a member of the Taba National Committee and a member of its judicial defence panel before the International Court of Arbitration, was also honoured during the event today.

Shehab, a professor of international law in Cairo University, said that Egypt resorted to international arbitration to restore sovereignty over its entire territory after the glorious October War because we were not willing to give up an inch of Egypts land.

No right has ever been lost by those who demand it, and as long as there is a will, determination, and willingness to sacrifice, [there is a way], Shehab said.

He said the legal advisor of the Israeli team after the arbitration admitted that Israel knew Taba belongs to the Egyptian people, but that Tel Aviv did not think Egyptians can successfully prove this fact and convince the panel of the validity of their claim.

The gavel fell on the legal battle for Taba on 29 September 1988, with the International Court of Arbitration issuing its historic ruling in a public session held in Geneva, announcing the return of Taba to the Egyptian homeland.

The Egyptian flag was raised in Taba on 19 March 1989.

El-Sisi thanked Shehab for his valuable efforts, saying that recalling history, including the Taba arbitration case, helps new generations learn about and appreciate such historic moments.

The opportunity had never arisen before to thank Shehab. All thanks, appreciation, and respect to [him], El-Sisi added.

El-Sisi also pledged continuous support for the citizens in Sinai and commitment to developing the entirety of the peninsula.

The president added that The battle to restore Taba to Egypt was successful due to the determination, will, knowledge, and expertise of the legal committee that was formed for this purpose.

We may have been 30 years late in developing Sinai, but  God willing  we will make up for those lost years.

On Tuesday, El-Sisi laid wreaths at the Unknown Soldier Memorial as well as at the tombs of former presidents Gamal Abdel-Nasser and Anwar El-Sadat as part of the celebrations of the 48th anniversary of the 6 October War victory.

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Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said on Wednesday that the initiative of late president Anwar El-Sadat to reach a peace deal with Israel reflected his ability to move beyond the entrenched ideas and policies of his era.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said on Wednesday that the initiative of late president Anwar El-Sadat to reach a peace deal with Israel reflected his ability to move beyond the entrenched ideas and policies of his era.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said on Wednesday that the initiative of late president Anwar El-Sadat to reach a peace deal with Israel reflected his ability to move beyond the entrenched ideas and policies of his era.

The president made the comments during a cultural symposium titled October 1973: Crossing to the Future, which was organised by the Armed Forces in celebration of the 48th anniversary of the 1973 October War.

El-Sisi said that in Sadat's time, the idea that the Arab world would be in a perpetual state of war with Israel was thought to be the norm, "and anything else was abnormal."

In 1979, sponsored by US president Jimmy Carter, Sadat signed a peace treaty with Israel, a year after the two sides signed the Camp David Accords, which represented a milestone in the negotiations.

El-Sisi urged leaders and officials in the region to follow Sadat's example and move beyond entrenched ideas.

More than 40 years later, Sadats evaluation has proven to be far ahead of its time, the president said.

I think All Mighty God enabled El-Sadat to see that these concepts would not last after the October War, and that they must be replaced by new concepts, El-Sisi said.

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Minister of Defence Mohamed Zaki were among the army commanders, ministers, state officials, and media personnel who attended the event.

Egypt achieved victory in the October 1973 war against Israel, paving the way for the return of the occupied Sinai Peninsula after a peace deal was signed with Israel.

The war eventually led to Israeli forces withdrawing from the Sinai Peninsula on 25 April 1982, after 15 years of occupation, based on a peace treaty signed between Egypt and Israel in 1979.

El-Sisi hailed El-Sadat as a great man who took the decision [to go to war] and shouldered its responsibility before God and history despite the disparity between the Egyptian and Israeli armies capabilities at the time.

The president paid tribute to the Egyptian people and army as well as the Arab countries that supported Egypt after its defeat in the 1967 War, saying their support was a major reason for the October War victory.

Egypt did not stand alone in its battle; its Arab brothers were there and supported it with men, weapons and money, the president said.

He also hailed the Arab countries support for Egypt since the 30 June Revolution in 2013.

El-Sisi said that Egypt has also constructed the wastewater treatment plant of Bahr Al-Baqqar, the site of an Israeli massacre of 19 Egyptian primary school students in the Nile Delta 1970. The plant was built thanks to long-term soft loans from the Saudi, Kuwaiti and Emirati funds.

El-Sisi also paid tribute to the people of Sinai for their role and support of the Egyptian Armed Forces against the Israeli occupation of the peninsula (1967-1981), saying development in the peninsula will cover all of Sinai and in various fields.

We will not leave any part of Sinai without developing it tourism, agriculture, industry, mining and others, El-Sisi said.

Sinai is Egyptian land. We seek with all our power to develop all of the lands of Egypt, El-Sisi stressed.

The president urged citizens, the army, and all state institutions to act as one man against the continuous attempts to divide and sow discord among us.

El-Sisi also warned against the atypical wars that seek to destroy nations from inside, adding that raising the public's awareness has become the country's most important task and the responsibility of all state institutions and civil society.

The president called for continuing all efforts to develop the nation, saying "Egypt has found the way for development and progress that is fitting with its history and civilisation."

Let us move forward together with strength and determination to build and develop our nation despite the growing internal and external challenges we face, especially in our turbulent and complicated regional surroundings and unprecedented international crises especially the coronavirus pandemic, El-Sisi said.

The president highlighted Egypts strenuous efforts to establish a modern state and the new republic he announced last July.

We have started a comprehensive, in-depth operation to formulate the desired future for our dear nation and current and future generations based on integrated and harmonious teamwork among all state agencies and also based on a well-informed vision and specific goals, El-Sisi said.

The president added that the state seeks to achieve these goals during the current decade under Egypts Vision 2030.

El-Sisi said the development efforts in the nation have touched all aspects of life without exception to maximise the states capabilities in all fields and achieve a better future for the country and citizens.

On Tuesday, El-Sisi laid wreaths at the Unknown Soldier Memorial in Cairo as well as at the tombs of former presidents Gamal Abdel-Nasser and El-Sadat ahead of the October War anniversary.

Wednesdays symposium witnessed a contribution by Major General Samir Farag, the former head of the Army Morale Affairs Department, who hailed the bravery of the Egyptian soldier in the October war.

Mofid Shehab, a member of the Taba National Committee and a member of its judicial defence panel before the International Court of Arbitration, also spoke about the struggle to restore Taba to Egyptian sovereignty, as the last part of Sinai to be liberated from the Israeli occupation in 1989.

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The United Nations said Wednesday it will open a human rights office in Burkina Faso "in the context of the complex security situation in the Sahel region".

The landlocked West African country is one of several in the Sahel battling a rising jihadist insurgency that has killed thousands, forced millions to flee and entrenched grinding poverty.

The agreement to create the new country office was signed by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet and Burkina Faso's Foreign Minister Alpha Barry during a ceremony in Geneva.

The new office in the capital Ouagadougou aims to "facilitate the implementation of Burkina Faso's human rights commitments," the UN Human Rights Office said in a statement.

"This is an important step in Burkina Faso's commitment to international human rights standards," Bachelet said.

"This new office will allow us to provide strengthened, tailored support to Burkina Faso in overcoming the many challenges it faces."

The statement said that "with the opening of the country office in Ouagadougou, all five member states of the G5 Sahel will now have a permanent and robust UN human rights country presence."

The G5 Sahel countries are Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger.

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In the US, the tendency to expand law enforcement powers in the name of combating terrorism and protecting national security has increased, justifying many violations in the process.

After 9/11, the US government initiated several trials against suspected terrorists and other individuals as part of the "war on terror". That period witnessed the most damage to the rule of law in the US in recent decades, and violations have increased.

If anyone can explain the impact of these violations on the rule of American law and the extent of the impact of politics on the law, it would be the renowned legal sociologist, professor Richard L. Abel.

Abel is a distinguished professor of law and research at the University of California. He has taught at the universities of Yale, New York, Fordham, and Southern California, and has worked as a human rights and social activist in the American civil rights struggles since the 1960s.

Abel's research and books focus on civil rights and the relationship between the rule of law and political power. He culminated his 20 books with two important volumes on legal abuses in the war on terror and the impact of power on the rule of law.

The first volume, Law's Wars: The Fate of the Rule of Law in the US War on Terror, reveals how the US war on terror has repeatedly violated rule of law values, and efforts to resist these abuses, focusing on five issues: Abu Ghraib prison abuses, Guantanamo Bay, interrogations, and surveillance, electronic warfare, international humanitarian law, and civilian battlefield casualties, including torture and targeted killings.

The second volume, a sequel, Law's Trials: The Performance of Legal Institutions in the US War on Terror is a 1,800-page comprehensive account of the 16 years of the Bush and Obama administrations, effective interventions to defend the rule of law by NGOs, journalists, the legislature, and the executive.

In his interview with Ahram Online, Abel reveals how the US litigation strategy has made convictions inevitable, and how the US government has relied on national security to justify its abuses to the rule of law and the impact of the overlap between politics and law.

Ahram Online: The post-9/11 wars have influenced US legal and political institutions, values of regularity and fairness, and the ability of legal structures to constrain government power or hold it to account. What were the most dangerous damages that were wrought in the name of national security?

RA: In terms of the damage to individuals, torture, secret prisons, indefinite detention without trial, and extraordinary rendition were the worst. In terms of damage to the rule of law, the abdication of federal judges of their responsibility to hear habeas corpus petitions from Guantanamo detainees, the abject failure of courts-martial to convict and punish military personnel guilty of war of law crimes, and the travesty of the military commissions, which 20 years after 9/11 have yet to complete a single trial.

AO: The intertwining between politics and the rule of law were raised intensively during the war on terror. How far have the legal structures built for constraining power succeeded or failed in pushing back against the violations of legal rules after 9/11 and constrain presidential maximalism in the war on terror in the Bush and Obama administrations?

RA: I mentioned some of the greatest failures above. I would contrast them with criminal prosecutions of those accused of terrorism offences. The material support statute (enacted before 9 /11, primarily a statute aimed at reaching those persons who provide material support to terrorists knowing that such support will be used to commit one of the offences specified in the statute) made it easier to convict, and the FBI used informants in uncontrolled and flawed ways that bordered on entrapment. But the trials themselves were fair. I would also contrast the treatment of civil liberties: rights of free speech and assembly were protected, and efforts to block the construction of mosques failed.

AO: How did the US betray the rule of law by making the legal authority on which it relied in its counter-terrorism operations a secret by blocking legal advice from been exposed to the public through the phenomenon known as secret law? How can a law be a secret, is this something legally acceptable? And how did the secrecy surrounding government action compromise the ability to hold public officials to account?

RA: It is important to distinguish between what is confidential and what is not. First, all laws and judicial decisions are published, and all trials are public. It is true that sessions of military commissions are often closed; that is just one of their many failings,but all laws and judicial opinions are public documents, and all civil trials are open to the public.

Of course, many of the activities of the national security services are classified, and they should be. The executive branch sometimes invokes that executive privilege to maintain confidential discussions among members of the executive. This applies outside the field of national security. The Office of the Legal Counsel at the Ministry of Justice also issues binding opinions to the executive branch; some are secret.

It is also true that the government often withholds information, invoking state secrets. That privilege has been badly abused. The privilege of secrecy was invoked during that war and that was one of the failures. This made it easier for the US government to withhold information, invoking secrets" and state secrets. This privilege has been severely abused, and this, of course, is linked to the failure of military courts to convict and punish US military personnel guilty of war crimes.

AO: How did the Congress and the courts fail to uphold the rule of law? And how did this strick the values of liberal democracy and the rule of law?

RA: I talked about courts above. Congress passed the Authorisation for the Use of Military Force almost unanimously, and both Bush and Obama used it to justify their actions (Bush, notably, in the disastrous and misguided declaration of war on Iraq). Congress also repeatedly re-enacted authority to conduct electronic surveillance, even after the exposure of its abuses.

AO: The US doctrine has always been meant to shield Americans from prosecutions, foreign and domestic, related to their engagement with questionable wartime practices. There were documents about detainee deaths in US custody since 9/11, including those who were tortured to death. You cited the Obama Justice Departments decision not to move forward with prosecuting federal agents implicated in the torture-related deaths of two detainees in US custody. No court had been able to declare such conduct criminally unlawful or formally punish the perpetrators. This seems to be a failure of justice. How did the law allow this and make it easy for violators to keep claiming their actions were legal?

RA: The failure of the US to prosecute those who engaged in torture or were involved in secret prisons or extraordinary rendition is totally reprehensible. I do not expect that to be corrected in the foreseeable future, and in the meantime the statute of limitations will run. As I say at the end of Laws Trials, it generally takes at least a generation to redress major social wrongs; I fear the same will be true of the crimes of the US war on terror.

AO: The entitlement of US citizens to fair notice is based on the terms of the social contract between the government and its citizens. What about foreigners who face the risk of being targeted by the US?

RA: Within the US, foreigners are treated equally with citizens in court. By contrast, they have almost no rights under immigration law. Abroad, I assume you are referring to targeted killing, mostly by drone strikes. The protections are those embodied in the law of war; the US pays lip service to that but often violates it.

AO: Guantanamo certainly remains a blatant symbol of American excesses and a disgrace to its government. Among the first orders issued by Obama in 2009 was to close the prison within a year, but this did not happen. Now, 12 years later, Biden -- Obama's former vice president and current president -- faces the same challenge. In addition to the opposition to closing it, military trials of the defendants in the September 11 attacks have not been held two decades later, and there are legal obstacles that prevent the transfer of prisoners to the US. How can these crises end legally and politically?

RA: Obama promised to close Guantanamo but, as you note, never did so. Part of the blame lies with Congress, which prohibited him from transferring detainees to the US. Biden has vowed to close Guantanamo, but he also is limited by that statute, and Republicans are likely to block its repeal. He has started transferring some detainees outside the US. I believe the military commissions should be abolished and those charged transferred to the US and tried in civilian courts, where I believe they can receive a fair trial.

AO: In your work, you analysed judges' perceived political orientations and their corresponding rulings, and even examined the political ideology of the president who appointed the judge to the federal bench to assess a judge's political orientation. How far does politics influence law and its executive action?

RA: I found statistically significant correlations between the political party of the appointing president and the actions of judges in many war on terror cases. I am now doing a similar analysis of judges during the Trump administration and finding even stronger correlations. Republicans have for decades politicised the judiciary, appointing only those with strong conservative credentials. Biden is committed to appointing judges, but Republicans have the power to block any appointment to the Supreme Court.

AO: Concerning those correlations, you've mentioned the politicisation of Republicans to eliminate them for decades. How has this affected the rule of law?

RA: Social scientists distinguish between correlation and cause. I am offering evidence of correlation and conventional statistical significance tests. I found a statistically significant correlation between the party of the appointing president and whether judges granted habeas corpus petitions, protected civil liberties, and claims by victims of the war on terror. Republican administrations as far back as Reagan have created a pipeline for conservative lawyers who join the Federalist Society and then become judges. As a result, Republican judges favour Republican administrations. This, of course, affected the politicisation of the law and court procedures, especially during the war on terror.

AO: This leads us to question how US institutions responded to assess the capacity of the legal system to resist political pressure in moments of crisis such as the war on terror?

RA: I think the basic failing in the war on terror was that of people, not laws or even institutions. Bad lawyers created legal justifications for torture, indefinite detention in Guantanamo, wiretapping, and extraordinary rendition. Bad judges undermined Supreme Court decisions recognising Guantanamo detainees had a right to habeas corpus petitions. The only way to get better people in government is through elections. As I said at the end of my books: the basic contradiction of the rule of law  in which I strongly believe  is that a principle whose virtue is to insulate the law from political contamination can only be protected through the political process itself, ie elections.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians lined up outside chambers of commerce across the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, hoping to get permits to work inside Israel after rumors circulated that more would be issued to residents of the territory ruled by the Hamas group.

Gaza's more than 2 million Palestinian residents have lived under a crippling Israeli blockade since Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces in the coastal region in 2007. Israel says the closures are needed to contain the group, while critics view it as a form of collective punishment.

An Israeli security official said authorities decided to allow in 7,000 workers in September but were only able to issue 4,500 permits. They are now taking applications for the remaining 2,500, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

Sharif Al-Faqawi, one of the workers lining up for a permit, said he shares a single room with his wife and eight children.

``We hope the crossings will be open so we can work and feed our children,'' he said. ``When I go north (into Israel), at least I will be able to feed them and build a future for them.''

Israel launched four assaults against the Palestinians living in Gaza since 2008, the most recent in May of this year. Hamas has demanded the easing of the blockade as part of an informal cease-fire brokered by Egypt. Israel has lifted some restrictions since the end of the 11-day May offensive while warning that any broader easing depends on continued calm.

Hamas recently organized a workshop to discuss the management of natural resources in what is now Israel once the group ``liberates'' historical Palestine. Critics saw the event as evidence of Hamas' disconnection from the daily hardships endured by Palestinians in Gaza, where employment hovers around 50%.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians from the occupied West Bank also work in Israel, mainly in construction and agriculture. Wages are much higher in Israel, in part because of Israel's 54-year military occupation of the territory.

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Iraq and Iran on Wednesday exchanged the remains of 31 soldiers killed in the 1980-1988 war between the two countries which have since become allies, the Red Cross said.

"Under the auspices of the #ICRC, the remains of 11 Iraqi & 20 Iranian soldiers were repatriated to their respective homelands today," the International Committee of the Red Cross said on Twitter.

It said the exchange took place at the Shalamcheh border post in the Basra region of southern Iraq.

"We will continue to support relevant authorities in providing answers to families of the #missing," since the UN-brokered ceasefire that ended the war, it said.

Several exchange ceremonies have been held in past years, with hundreds of remains being transferred to their home countries under a 2008 accord with the ICRC.

"Over 30 years have passed since the end of the conflict and thousands of families on both sides still remain in the dark on the fate of their loved ones," the ICRC said in April.

The war cost hundreds of thousands of lives on both sides, but Iran has become increasingly influential in Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

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Tunisian security forces on Wednesday seized broadcasting equipment used by an unlicensed television station close to the Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party, the country's media authority said.

Zitouna TV, considered close to Ennahdha and its ally Al-Karama, both of which oppose a July power grab by President Kais Saied, had been operating illegally, the Independent High Authority for Audiovisual Communication (HAICA) said.

"Broadcasting equipment was confiscated today from the Zitouna channel following a decision," HAICA president Nouri Lajmi told AFP.

"Zitouna has been broadcasting illegally for years and has not received a broadcasting licence as it has not respected the legal framework."

Nasreddine bin Hammouda, head of production at the Zitouna Network that produces programmes for Zitouna TV and other channels, said "security forces accompanied by members of the HAICA raided the headquarters of Zitouna Network... and began confiscating equipment".

"Nobody told us it was forbidden to work with Zitouna TV," he said.

The channel was still on air, he added.

Saied in July suspended parliament, sacked the Ennahdha-supported government of Hichem Mechichi and removed MPs' immunity following months of growing public anger over an ongoing economic crisis and failings in managing the coronavirus pandemic.

Hichem El-Senoussi, a member of HAICA, told AFP that decisions had been taken a month ago against Zitouna TV and other channels that had "failed to comply with orders to stop broadcasting".

Zitouna TV started broadcasting in 2012, following the fall of longtime dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in an uprising the previous year.

In 2015, some of its equipment was seized but it continued operating.

El-Senoussi said the HAICA had repeatedly ordered the channel to close, but that it had been "supported by political actors including Ennahdha", preventing the orders from being implemented.

Tunisian authorities on Sunday arrested Zitouna TV presenter Amer Ayad on charges of "plotting against state security", his lawyer said, along with an Al-Karama MP who appeared on Ayad's show and criticised Saied's moves.

It was the latest detention of a legislator after Saied lifted their immunity.

Military justice arrested Al-Karama's head Seifeddine Makhlouf on September 22 for "undermining the dignity of the army", his lawyer said at the time.

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European Union leaders gathered Wednesday to reassure six countries in the Balkans region that they could join the trading bloc one day if they meet its standards, but the presidents and prime ministers are unlikely to give any signal about when the nations might advance in their quests.

Despite years of talk about the 'European perspective' of Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia, the EU has seen its progress on admitting them stall. Albania and North Macedonia have met the criteria to start talks, but all 27 countries must agree unanimously for the process to move forward.

The latest hold-up focuses on Albania and North Macedonia. Those countries have fulfilled the criteria for beginning entry talks, but EU member Bulgaria opposes North Macedonia's inclusion because of a dispute over language and national identity.

The head of the EU's executive arm, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, braved the terrible weather outside Brdo Castle, a Renaissance-style fortified palace in Slovenia, to reiterate her message that the sextet of countries belong in the EU.

'We want them in the European Union, we are one European family', she said. 'We share the same history, we share the same values, and I'm deeply convinced we share the same destiny too'.

Slovenia, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, backs its Balkans neighbors' EU membership hopes. Croatia was the last country admitted into the EU, in 2013.

EU membership is based on a candidate's progress in areas such as respect for the rule of law and democratic standards, and the implementation of specific socio-economic reforms.

The six are at different stages on the EU membership path. Montenegro and Serbia are the most advanced, having opened formal accession talks years ago. Albania and North Macedonia are awaiting the official opening of negotiations, and Kosovo and Bosnia are potential candidates.

'I know that still work has to be done, for example, on the rule of law, on the judiciary, on the freedom of the media, to name some. But I think we should also acknowledge the effort that has been done in the past and the progress that has been done,' von der Leyen said.

According to a draft of the statement they are set to issue later, the EU leaders will reaffirm a 'commitment to the enlargement process' in general, but progress will be 'based upon credible reforms by partners, fair and rigorous conditionality and the principle of own merits'.

The draft, which was seen by The Associated Press, also underlines 'the importance that the EU can maintain and deepen its own development, ensuring its capacity to integrate new members'.

France insisted two years ago that the functioning and decision-making of the EU should be revamped before new members are admitted.

The prospect of EU membership has served as a powerful driver of political and economic reform in the Balkans and has sometimes helped to keep a lid on tensions in a region that was torn apart by war in the 1990s.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic told Serbian media that Slovenia proposed before the meeting that all Western Balkan nations should become members by 2030 but several existing member countries opposed the idea.

'We don't have any illusions about a quick entry into the EU,' Vucic said, adding that the matter was becoming 'a political question'.

Addressing the widespread belief that his country has been forging closer ties with Russia and China instead of working on EU membership criteria, he said, 'Serbian citizens . don't want that our relations with Russia and China deteriorate'.

Despite the lack of progress, von der Leyen praised the bloc's effort to invest 30 billion euros ($34.7 billion) in the Balkans over the next seven years to support the recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and to accelerate the transition to renewable energy.

'It is very important to make clear to the Western Balkans countries how much we care about them and that we are their favorite partner,' von der Leyen said.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Europe was to blame for the current energy crisis after soaring gas prices have spurred accusations that Moscow is withholding supplies to pressure the West.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Europe was to blame for the current energy crisis after soaring gas prices have spurred accusations that Moscow is withholding supplies to pressure the West.

"They've made mistakes," Putin said in a televised meeting with Russian energy officials after critics accused Moscow of intentionally limiting gas supplies in an effort to hasten the launch of the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline connecting Russia with Germany.

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The World Bank, French Development Agency (AFD), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and World Health Organisation (WHO) are set to provide Egypt with a facility worth $1 billion to finance the countrys universal health insurance system, Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait announced on Wednesday.

The announcement was made following a meeting of the finance minister, Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat and representatives from the four international institutions.

Maait said that $4.2 million out of the total sum are expected to be provided within the coming few months.

"The universal health insurance system is a turning point in Egypts government work programme that contributes to attaining inclusive growth in line with Egypts Vision 2030 and the UNs global sustainable development goals (SDGs) as well as the Africa We Want agenda 2063," Maait said.

Minister Al-Mashat said that Egypts healthcare sector proved its resilience in facing the pandemic by providing all the necessary healthcare tools to preserve public health and safety.

Al-Mashat added that the current project portfolio in the Egyptian healthcare sector includes 32 projects worth $1.4 billion that serve SDG 3 regarding good health and wellbeing.

Marina Wes, regional director of the World Bank office in Egypt, Yemen, and Djibouti, said that the facility contributes to extending the universal health insurance system to cover six governorates, improves citizens lives, and enhances the governance in the sector.

AFD country director for Egypt Fabio Grazi said that the agency supports the reformist initiatives in Egypt and that the announced facility guarantees the financial sustainability of the system.

Egypt launched the universal health insurance system in 2019 to be applied in five governorates: Port Said, Ismailia, Aswan, Luxor and Suez.

The system aims at extending high-quality medical services to the public without discrimination at affordable costs for the entire family.

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Representing Africa

AT ITS RED Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt was nominated to host the 27th edition of the UN Climate Summit COP (Conference of the Parties) in 2022, John Kerry, the US special presidential envoy for climate, announced on Saturday. This years conference will be held in Glasgow, Scotland, on 31 October.

Last month, during a meeting on climate with world leaders, President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi revealed Egypts hopes to host the 2022 session of the COP representing the African continent and cooperate with all parties for the interest of Africa and the world. Egypts hosting of the COP reflects the international communitys recognition of Egyptian efforts in preserving the environment, in addition to its positive contribution to the climate change file, Samir Tantawi, a climate change expert, was quoted as saying. Still, the host country, according to Tantawi, should be well prepared for such an important international event.

The host should be classified as a safe country according to UN standards. It should have a network of transportation, aviation and communications. All vital facilities such as security, hospitals and vaccination centres should be available, he added.

Cairo-Tel Aviv

AN EGYPTAIR plane landed in Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv on Sunday, making it the first official direct flight since the two countries signed their 1979 Peace Treaty. At the airport, celebrating Israelis greeted the flight. The airlines affiliate, AirSinai, has for decades operated flights to Israel without the company logo for fear of public anger. The national carrier will now run four weekly flights between Cairo and Tel Aviv with EgyptAir markings.

The Israeli Embassy in Cairo tweeted that direct flights are an important and welcome sign of strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries. The flight came two weeks after Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett made the first public visit to Egypt by an Israeli leader in over a decade. On Wednesday, Egypt celebrated the 48th anniversary of its October victory over Israel.

Peace-keeper killed

THE ARMED Forces announced on Sunday that an Egyptian peace-keeper was killed in a bomb attack on a UN peace-keeping mission in Mali. Four other peac-keepers were seriously injured. Armed Forces Spokesperson Gharib Abdel-Hafez offered condolences to the family of the peace-keeper, wishing a speedy recovery to the wounded. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the attack, calling upon the Malian authorities to quickly identify the perpetrators. Guterres expressed his condolences to the family of the victim as well as the government and people of Egypt.

According to the UN, Egypt is the seventh largest contributor of troops to UN peace-keeping operations at present. Nearly 3,200 Egyptian military and police personnel are deployed in UN peace-keeping operations in several African countries.

Stocking vaccines

LAST week, Egypt received 1.6 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine produced by Pfizer as a gift from the US, part of the COVAX initiative, in cooperation with the Vaccine Alliance (GAVI), reports Reem Leila. The batch is part of the eight million doses including Pfizer and Moderna which Egypt will receive from the US, all in gift form.

In a press conference immediately after the shipment arrived, Minister of Health Hala Zayed noted that the US gift is a valuable one, not only in financial terms but also the positive message it sends from the US people to Egyptians and the government during this crisis. Throughout the coming weeks Egypt will receive further doses of Pfizer and Moderna, Zayed said.

According to Zayed, Egypts fourth wave of the virus is in full force, with daily cases 10 times higher than what was recorded at the end of July. Current daily infections have exceeded 750, in addition to 40 deaths. However, the official figures are only 10 per cent of the actual figures. Accordingly, all citizens must swiftly register to receive the vaccine, Zayed added.

Manal Salem, coordinator of the Supreme Committee for Corona Crisis Management, said Zayed was currently negotiating with the US on locally manufacturing the US Moderna vaccine at the factories of the Holding Company for Biological Products and Vaccines (VACSERA) in order to fulfil the countrys needs.

Salem told Al-Ahram Weekly that the Pfizer doses will be distributed to the countrys 1,100 vaccination centres. The vaccine will be available to everyone, not only those who are travelling, she said. Only Johnson & Johnson is allocated strictly for travellers, Salem said.

Pfizer vaccine has emergency use approval from both the WHO and the Egyptian Medicines Authority. According to Salem, all of the vaccine shipments which Egypt has received are analysed in the Egyptian Medicine Authority laboratories. The Pfizer vaccine consists of two doses 21 days apart.

Egypt is keen on maintaining a stock of different types of coronavirus vaccines, Salem said. According to recent data from the WHO, by 27 September Egypt had received 16,223,309 of Covid-19 vaccine doses.

Bank services for the disabled

THE CENTRAL Bank of Egypt (CBE) is obliging all banks operating in the local market to provide the infrastructure necessary to facilitate services for people with disabilities. Banks are obligated to include such assistance and provide suitable banking products for the disabled. Moreover, special bank cards will be issued to the disabled to allow them to use their accounts with ease. Disabled customers can also use fingerprints as an alternative to signatures required in all banking procedures.

The new instructions say banks are to make opening account contracts and application forms for bank products and services clear and easy, with publications, bank notices and account statements available in braille or in the form of audio CDs. Furthermore, information about bank products and services will be available on a website accompanied by audio readings for people with visual disabilities and sign language for people with hearing disabilities. The instructions also ask banks to equip 10 per cent of their branches for people with disabilities.

ATMs with special specifications must be provided. Automated audio recordings will be provided in branches through a device equipped with headphones to read the most important terms and conditions included in contracts. Employees should be trained to communicate effectively with customers.

The CBE asked all banks to adjust their situation in accordance with the instructions within a maximum of one year.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 7 October, 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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Egypts 23 million school students will be expected to attend school as normal, Minister of Education Tarek Shawki stated on his official Facebook account. Against the backdrop of the Covid-19 fourth wave schools will be sterilised, said Shawki, and students will be required to wear face masks. Teachers and other school staff members will be allowed on to school premises only if they are vaccinated, though exceptions will made for those who have chronic conditions that prevent them from taking the vaccine.

More than 95 per cent of Egypts 1.6 million teachers and administrators have registered for vaccination, of whom 286,000 have already received two-doses, and 541,000 one dose.

The ministry has no intention of suspending or postponing the school year, which is scheduled to run until June 16, and it will not cancel any parts of curriculum, Reda Hegazi, deputy to the minister of education, told Al-Ahram Weekly. He said digital and other e-resources are a complement to the education process in schools and not an alternative, except in cases of extreme necessity.

The ministrys operations room is following up on developments related to the pandemic and will monitor the education process and ensure it continues, said Hegazi. He could not foresee any circumstances in which the school year will be cancelled.

International schools returned for the new academic year on 12 September, and though many parents are happy that their children are no longer studying online, concerns have been raised about the degree to which schools may act as a spreading ground for infection during the fourth wave of the pandemic, especially given the emergence of Covid-19 new variants.

International school headmistress Hoda Suleiman told the Weekly that all her staff had been vaccinated, with only a few waiting for their second shot. No students are allowed on school premises without masks and hand sanitizer, and classroom numbers have been restricted to a maximum of 15 students to allow for social distancing.

Meanwhile, universities have started vaccinating employees, teaching staff and students 18 years of age and above ahead of the new academic year. A press release issued by Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar said that universities have been summoning staff members and students in order to be vaccinated, and no student who is 18 or above will be allowed to enter university premises unless they have received the vaccine.

Vaccinating university students will help speed up vaccination rates among young people in general and reduce the spread of the disease among students, said Abdel-Ghaffar. He added that more than 400,000 university staff and students had been vaccinated at university hospitals.

Abdel-Ghaffar stressed that widespread vaccination was the only way to return to a full academic year except, a proviso that applies to all public, private and international universities.

In the case of someone refusing to be vaccinated, the alternative is to conduct a weekly swab at the relevant universitys central laboratories to reduce the chances of infection, said Abdel-Ghaffar.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 7 October, 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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The new board of the National Council for Human Rights gets a thumbs-up from MPs.

The House of Representatives General Committee has ratified the new list of members of the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR).

The 27-member NCHR will be led by Moushira Khattab as chairman, and Mahmoud Karim Mahmoud as deputy chairman.

Khattab, 77, served as minister for family and population between 2009 and 2011, and secretary-general of the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood between 1999 and 2009. She has held many diplomatic posts, including serving as assistant minister of foreign affairs, and ambassador to Czechoslovakia and South Africa.

In a statement on Monday, Khattab said the reconstitution of the NCHR comes at a very critical time, when Egypt is moving towards building a new republic.

The new republic requires a system for improving human rights that integrates the Egyptian Constitution, the implementation of international conventions on human rights and Egypts 2030 vision on sustainable development, said Khattab.

NCHR Deputy Chairman Mahmoud Karem is a former ambassador to Belgium and Japan (2000-2009). Karem served as NCHR secretary-general between 2010 and 2012, and was the coordinator of President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisis presidential election campaign in 2014.

The councils new board includes a mix of public figures, and includes prominent human rights and political activists; George Ishak and Nehad Abul-Qomsan.

Ishak was a founder of the Kefaya Enough movement which ptotested against the re-election of Hosni Mubarak in 2005.

In a recent article in El-Shorouk newspaper, Ishak called for a national dialogue on human rights and political freedoms in Egypt and argued there is an urgent need to amend laws on pre-trial detention.

Abul-Qomsan, who founded the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights (EOHR) with her late husband Hafez Abu Seada, is currently president of the Egyptian Centre for Womens Rights. She joins the NCHR along with Cairo University political science professor Nevine Mosaad; Editor-in-Chief of Al-Ahram Weekly and Ahram Online Ezzat Ibrahim; journalist Mahmoud Bassiouni; lawyer and human rights activist Essam Shiha and Chairman of the Reform and Development Party Mohamed Esmat Al-Sadat.

Al-Sadat, a nephew of late president Anwar Al-Sadat and a former MP, is the coordinator of a national campaign that seeks the release of activists remanded in custody pending trial. He revealed that the speaker of the Senate had promised him that hearing sessions will soon be held with civil society organisations to address the human rights and media freedom files.

The appointment of the NCHR comes three weeks after Egypt declared a new National Strategy for Human Rights, launched on 11 September in the New Administrative Capital, in the presence of President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi. The strategy runs until 2026 and addresses political, economic, social and cultural rights; the rights of marginalised groups (women, children, disabled people, youth and the elderly), and education and capacity building in the human rights field. The strategy, prepared by the Foreign Ministry and a number of civil society organisations, also aims to amend laws on human rights.

MP Amr Al-Sonbati said the reconstitution of the NCHR represents the first step towards turning the new Strategy into fact on the ground. The council is entrusted with supervising the human rights situation in Egypt, releasing periodical reports, and recommending new legislation that can push the human rights agenda forward, he said.

MP Ayman Abul-Ela, deputy chairman of parliaments Human Rights Committee, argued that the declaration of the new National Human Rights Strategy and the reconstitution of NCHR reflects serious political will to draw up a new roadmap for political rights in Egypt.

The new make-up of the NCHR includes prominent figures with a proven record in defending human rights and freedom of speech.

Khaled Qandil, a member of the Senates Human Rights Committee, said the reconstitution of NCHR sends a message that Egypt is serious about respecting human rights and is taking concrete steps in this direction. While Egypt has been under pressure in recent months, and since Joe Biden became US president, to implement the agenda of radical Western human rights organisations like Human Rights Watch, the new Human Rights Strategy implements an exclusively national agenda.

MP Sanaa Al-Said, a member of the Egyptian Socialist Democratic Party, said the NCHR now includes a mix of professional human rights experts, opposition figures, journalists, lawyers and political science professors. The most notable thing about the NCHR board, however, is that it will be led by a woman who has extensive experience in the field and who maintains good relations with most international organisations.

The fact that new members of the NCHR come from different political backgrounds shows the state is serious about pushing the human rights agenda, continued Al-Said. She added that she is optimistic that the law on pre-trial detention will soon be amended.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 7 October, 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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The visit by the vice president of Brazil to Cairo aimed at giving bilateral relations a push, Egyptian Ambassador in Brasilia, Wael Abul-Magd, tells Al-Ahram Weekly.

In the first high-level visit between the two countries since 2017, Antonio Hamilton Mourao, the vice president of Brazil, made a visit to Cairo last week.

He was received by President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi and held talks with top Egyptian officials including Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli to discuss ways of giving bilateral relations a boost over the coming years.

This visit and the talks that Vice President Mourao of Brazil held in Cairo and the fact that he was received by President Al-Sisi will certainly provide momentum to the bilateral relations on all fronts, said Wael Abul-Magd, Egypts ambassador to Brazil.

Despite the geographical distance separating the two countries, both Egypt and Brazil are keen to engage with one another, and to further advance their bilateral relations, Abul-Magd added.

Speaking to Al-Ahram Weekly by telephone from Brasilia, Abul-Magd noted that economic, trade, and cultural cooperation are among the top objectives for the expansion of bilateral relations between the two countries.

According to figures shared by Abul-Magd, Egypt is one of the top destinations for Brazilian exports among the Arab countries. During the first half of this year Brazilian exports to Egypt came to around $768 million. During the same period, Brazilian imports from Egypt came in at around $315 million.

Brazilian exports to Egypt for the first six months of the year dropped by 14 per cent, but Brazilian imports from Egypt saw a 215 per cent rise.

However, according to Abul-Magd, these figures do not reflect the actual potential for trade relations between two economies the size of Egypt and Brazil, who are not only two main emerging economies but also each can serve the other as a gateway to their respective regions and markets.

Egypt has a free-trade agreement with MERCOSUR, the South American trade bloc, that was signed in 2017. Since this agreement went into effect, Egyptian exports to the four member states of the group, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay, have increased by around 115 per cent.

The potential to expand trade with MERCOSUR is very high. We held the bilateral joint Egypt-MERCOSUR trade talks earlier this month to assess progress and address any potential impediments to fully benefiting from this important agreement, Egypts ambassador in Brasilia said.

Abul-Magd added that the despite our satisfaction with the gradual growth in trade between our two countries, we are working hard to expand our economic relations beyond just the import and export of goods and products to the broader realms of mutual investments, joint ventures, exchange of expertise, and cooperation in broader areas such as information technology, pharmaceuticals, and much more, commensurate with the capabilities of both countries.

We also need to do more to familiarise businesses on both sides of the opportunities available in both countries for mutual investments, particularly in the free-trade zones and the industrial zones, he said.

He added that direct flights between Cairo and Brasilia once launched would be a game changer in the bilateral relations, facilitating more frequent high-level interaction, easier contacts between business communities on both sides, as well as more people-to-people interaction through increased tourism and cultural exchange. The details for launching these flights, he added, were currently being discussed between the competent bodies in the two capitals.

I am hopeful things will move forward with the direct flights sooner rather than later, he said. But he declined to offer any specific dates.

Abul-Magd said that the opening of a regional office of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce on the sidelines of the visit of Mourao to Cairo last week will surely help to move things forward.

The chamber is constituted of world-class Brazilian businesses who have interests and investments in several Arab countries, he said, and hence they appreciate the potential gains incurred from having a presence in Egypt. I am confident that they will play a central role in building bridges and connecting businesses from both sides as well as providing relevant information and data with regard to potential trade and investment opportunities both in Brazil and in Egypt, Abul-Magd said.

He added that the two countries, with their two very rich cultures, have a lot more work to do to expand their cultural cooperation. I am really inspired and impressed by the interest that Brazilians have in Ancient Egyptian culture and civilization and I am sure they will be equally fascinated by other aspects of our civilisational heritage be it the Coptic Christian, Graeco-Roman, or Islamic, and I am confident that once direct flights are operating the volume of tourism between the two countries will jump dramatically, he said.

Government statistics indicate that the average number of tourists coming from Brazil to Egypt on an annual basis during the past five years has not gone far beyond half a million. In 2017, upon the signing of the free-trade agreement with MERCOSUR, the Ministry of Tourism targeted a doubling of this figure. However, things have not picked up.

Abul-Magd partially attributes this to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the global travel and tourism industry as well as the consequent economic slowdown worldwide which have taken their toll on the overall volume of international tourism. He said that as we gradually recover from the effects of the pandemic and when direct flights start operating, the situation would improve.

On the political front, he said that the visit of the vice president to Egypt was also an opportunity to update him of the most recent developments regarding regional issues particularly as Brazil is about to assume a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council starting 2022.

We are in constant consultation with officials in Brasilia. We keep them fully updated, and we trust that Brazil will continue to uphold its traditional positions based on the respect of International law and the peaceful settlement of disputes, Abul-Magd said.

In New York, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meetings a couple of weeks ago, foreign minister SamehShoukri met with his Brazilian counterpart Carlos Franca. The talks took place shortly before the visit of the vice-president of Brazil to Egypt "we hope these high-level engagements will usher in expanded cooperation on all fronts, the Ambassador added.

Mourao visited Cairo on his way to take part in the Expo2020 in Dubai. His trip will also see him visit Athens, Greece.





*A version of this article appears in print in the 7 October, 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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The US national security advisors stop in Cairo as part of a regional tour provided an opportunity to touch base on a range of issues of mutual interest to Egypt and the US.

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivans regional tour last week included Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. The visit covered a range of complex and interrelated issues. In Egypt, according to a statement from the Egyptian Presidency, Sullivan and President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi discussed Palestine, Libya, Iraq, Sudan, Tunisia, and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). According to unofficial sources, they also discussed the US administrations decision to withhold $130 million in US military assistance to Egypt over human rights concerns. Observers in Egypt strongly criticised the decision, claiming it failed to take into account positive developments in human rights, including Egypts recently launched National Strategy for Human Rights.

Sullivans visit to Cairo followed Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennetts visit to Sharm El-Sheikh to meet with President Al-Sisi. The Israeli prime minister was quoted in the Israeli press as describing the meeting as important and very good. An Egyptian source told Al-Ahram Weekly that Bennetts trip had raised hopes that it may be possible to revive the peace process, though that remained conditional on rehabilitating the Palestinian question after years of deferral. The US has a crucial role in this process, said the source, who added that Washington appreciates the importance of Egypt in securing the ceasefire between Palestinian factions and Israel. Egypt also has a critical role to play in the reconstruction of Gaza, another subject on the agenda of Sullivans visit, together with an Egyptian-brokered Palestinian-Israeli prisoner exchange deal.

According to a statement by US National Security Council Spokesperson Emily Horne, these subjects, as well as the outcomes of Bennetts visit, would form the framework of Sullivans talks with Israeli National Security Advisor Eyal Hulata during the latters visit to Washington on 5 October. Horne said that while in Egypt, Sullivan would discuss Egypts role in promoting security and prosperity for both Israelis and Palestinians following the visit by Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to Egypt earlier this month.

The same Egyptian source spoke of a shared Egyptian and US belief in the need to push the Palestinian-Israeli issue forward, and said Hornes statement underscored the confidence Washington has in Egypts contributions to this process.

On Libya, another area where Egypt has an important peace-making role, the presidency said discussions reflected the alignment of views on the need to intensify joint coordination between the two sides and international partners on preparations for holding the upcoming elections, ensuring the withdrawal of mercenaries and foreign forces, and uniting security and military institutions.

According to sources in Egypt, there considerable factors overlap between Cairos and Washingtons approach to the Libyan question, though shades of difference remain over some details. Both sides are determined to help the Libyans hold elections on schedule in December, and to push for the removal of foreign mercenaries from the war-torn country. In a noteworthy development, the day after Sullivans visit to Egypt the Libyan foreign minister announced that some progress has been made on the issue. Meanwhile, the 5+5 Joint Military Commission is scheduled to meet in Geneva this week to discuss security-related issues ahead of the poll.

While the US is focussed more on the presence of the Russian Wagner Group in Libya, Cairo wants Ankara to reduce the Turkish military presence and to remove the thousands of mercenaries it introduced. Libyan sources told the Weekly that while some of the mercenaries will be evacuated as a confidence-building step, Turkey is insisting on maintaining the military bases it established within the framework of agreements concluded with Libyas former Government of National Accord.

As Sullivan headed to Cairo the commander of the US Africa Command, General Stephen Townsend, was concluding a two-day visit to Libya, Tunisia, and Algeria to push for the implementation of the Libyan roadmap leading to elections. In Tripoli he met with the 5+5 Joint Military Commission. Following the meeting he said: We [US Africa Command] also support the UN-facilitated political reconciliation process and the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Libya. His meeting with the 5+5 Joint Military Commission was a gesture of US support for the reunification of the Libyan military establishment, a goal Cairo has long been promoting.

According to UN sources, UN peace-keeping forces will soon be deployed in Sirte. Egyptian sources say the issue should be discussed with Cairo given its crucial role in paving the way to the Libyan ceasefire agreement in October 2020. In June that year, President Al-Sisi had declared a red line from the central coastal town of Sirte southwards, effectively forcing a halt to hostilities on that front. He made it clear that the area east of the line fell within the immediate realm of Egypts national security.

Iraq was another subject on the agenda of the meeting between Sullivan and Al-Sisi. The US is winding down its military presence in Iraq, transferring most of its remaining troops to Kuwait, and will retain only a small presence for training purposes. Egypt, meanwhile, is part of the tripartite mechanism for development and cooperation recently agreed between Cairo, Baghdad, and Amman. Observers in Iraq say the development track is now vying with Irans militarisation project in Iraq. According to Iraqi political analyst Ihsan Al-Shammari, head of the Iraqi Centre for Political Thought, the situation is governed by Arab regional balances: what is important it to restore stability to Iraq and not to reduce the situation to one side against the other. He also believes that efforts to help Iraq recover its regional role will help alleviate tensions, citing Baghdads hosting of the Saudi-Iranian dialogue as a case in point.

According to observers, the US is encouraging the tripartite mechanism, as evidenced by Washingtons support for the gas supply line to Lebanon which will pass through Jordan and Syria.

On GERD, Egypt continues to favour resolving outstanding differences diplomatically. Washington has been sympathetic to Egypts position. According to the presidencys statement, Sullivan renewed the US administrations commitment to exerting efforts in order to ensure Egypts water rights, in a way that preserves the water and development rights of all parties. It is difficult to say at this point how Washington might pressure Addis Ababa on this issue, though some believe the US might impose fresh sanctions on Addis Ababa in relation to what the UN has described as gross human rights violations during the conflict in the Tigray region.

In mid-September, the UN Security Council adopted a statement calling on Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan to resume negotiations over GERD under the auspices of the African Union which Egypts Foreign Ministry welcomed as encouraging.

Sullivans visit to Cairo followed an aborted coup attempt in Khartoum. Tensions are running high within the transitional authority, against a backdrop of growing economic concerns and security-related problems in eastern Sudan. Cairo is keen to support the political framework in Sudan and keep the country from a precipitous slide, an outlook that Washington shares.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 7 October, 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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The pending introduction of a 10 per cent capital gains tax on stock transactions has stirred mixed reactions, reports Safeya Mounir

The government said this week that it was going ahead with a 10 per cent capital gains tax (CGT) on Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX) transactions starting on 1 January 2022.

The CGT has been repeatedly postponed since the idea was first floated in 2015. Fears of repelling EGX investors put the brakes on the project until 2017, and the application of the tax was then put off for three more years and instead replaced by a 0.125 per thousand stamp duty.

In 2019, the Ministry of Finance and the EGX negotiated draft amendments to the CGT to be enforced in 2020. The government has now decided to implement the CGT on the first day of 2022 as part of a batch of measures to back investment in Egyptian equities.

The tax will be applied in tandem with the launch of an initial public offering (IPO) programme that encompasses five companies, including e-finance and others operating in the public business sector.

Minister of the Public Business Sector Hisham Tawfik told the media that the idea of the CGT was proposed by the Egyptian Capital Market Association (ECMA). I was a mediator in the negotiations. The tax was proposed by market experts because it is way fairer for traders than the stamp duty, Tawfik said.

Regarding claims that this is not the right time for the CGT to see the light, Tawfik said there is never a right time to apply a tax.

Nonetheless, more than 20 MPs announced last week that they would draft a legislative amendment to postpone the implementation of the tax to 2023 instead of January 2022. They said that investors were already suffering as a result of the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic, and a new tax would make things worse.

However, Tawfik denied that the CGT would drive investors away, stressing that it is an alternative to the stamp duty. He said that the new tax will help investors because they will pay the tax from net profits after deducting losses. It is a very fair tax when compared with the stamp duty.

ECMA head Mohamed Maher said the market had already absorbed the shock of enforcing the tax. He added that some businesses had requested postponing the CGT, pointing out that emerging markets, such as Egypt, do not impose similar taxes.

The market is also still recovering from the repercussions of the 25 January 2011 Revolution and the coronavirus pandemic, raising fears of the results of the application of the CGT, he said.

He added that it was unclear how the tax would be applied and collected.

Concerning debates about the unfairness of applying the CGT to local investors but excluding foreigners, Maher said that foreigners pay stamp duty and it was difficult to tax them on capital gains.

Foreign investors in the EGX are exempt from paying the CGT, which will be collected from individuals and entities domiciled in Egypt.

In 2017, the government approved a gradual stamp duty on EGX transactions, starting with a rate of 1.25 per thousand on buying and selling operations in the first year of implementation, 1.5 per thousand in the second year, and 1.75 per thousand in the third year.

In July 2019, the government cancelled the increased scheduled for the third year, maintaining it at 1.5 per thousand.

Negotiations on the CGT three years ago resulted in lowering the stamp duty to 0.5 per thousand for resident buyers and sellers and reducing it to 1.25 per thousand, down from 1.5 per thousand, for foreign non-resident buyers and sellers.

A number of financial analysts and EGX investors objected to the decision, demanding the cancellation of the duty altogether.

The CGT will be calculated based on net portfolio earnings at the end of the tax year. Earlier on, there were fears that the tax would be determined based on equities, not portfolios, as is the case in the international market.

The Egyptian Tax Authority said that investors with portfolios over LE5 million may have to open a tax file to pay the CGT.

Small retail investors, who make up 80 per cent of traders in the EGX, do not need to open a tax file since the CGT will be collected by the Misr for Central Clearing and Deposits Agency.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) earlier criticised the governments decision to postpone the application of the CGT, saying that poorer segments of the population would be disproportionately shouldering tax burdens.

The new year will tell if policymakers fears that the CGT will negatively reflect on local investment in the EGX are justified.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 7 October, 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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Chair of the Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund James Harmon explains its plans to help grow Egypts private sector to Al-Ahram Weekly

The Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund (EAEF) was established by the US Congress in 2011 as a non-profit investment fund to support Egypts private sector.

The Congress authorised $300 million for the EAEF to provide direct investments, loans, technical assistance, and other forms of support to help stimulate private-sector investment in Egypt following the countrys 2011 Revolution.

The EAEF helps seed first-time investment managers in Egypt that invest in companies that can generate financial returns in alignment with the countrys development priorities such as education, healthcare, and financial inclusion.

It is committed to building strong and sustainable private equity and venture-capital markets in Egypt by supporting new fund managers that will continue to invest in businesses and attract foreign capital into Egypt long after the EAEFs mandate ends in 2028, stressed James Harmon, chair of the EAEF since 2012, in an interview with Al-Ahram Weekly.

According to Harmon, early in its mission the EAEF had realised that to be successful it would have to be an Egyptian-led effort. To advance the funds mandate in Egypt, it was Egyptianised by seeding a team of talented Egyptian financial professionals to serve as its investment advisors in 2014.

In recent years, it has supported four additional first-time investment managers in Egypt. Today, all the EAEFs portfolio managers are Egyptian, and almost all the members of the board of directors are Egyptian or Egyptian-American, speak Arabic, and have extensive private-sector experience in Egypt, Harmon said.

He said the EAEF was eager to support additional Egyptian fund managers, especially women-led funds, to build a sustainable investment ecosystem.

The enterprise fund model was originally created by the first Bush administration in the early 1990s to help build private sector-led economies in Central Asia and Eastern Europe following the collapse of the former Soviet Union. The EAEF is funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

According to Harmon, EAEF investment managers have invested in over 70 companies in sectors ranging from healthcare, agriculture, and food manufacturing to financial services and pharmaceuticals.

Its total investments are $314.5 million, but the market value of its assets is close to $600 million. It has also helped to attract an additional $447 million in foreign capital to Egypt, he said, adding that I expect the market value of our investments to exceed $1 billion at the time of our liquidation in 2028.

As a long-term investor in Egypt, we invest in companies that will generate healthy financial returns and have a strong development impact by contributing to job creation, support for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), and the growth of a strong private sector, he said.

The EAEF is not committed to any one sector, he stressed, but recently had focused on investing more in high-impact development sectors such as healthcare, education, and agriculture, and is now considering investments in new sectors, such as infrastructure.

Harmon, who also serves as co-chair of the World Resources Institute, a leading global environmental think tank, is hoping to leverage this expertise to help Egypt tackle climate change and urban transport problems.

He acknowledged Egypts success in completing a bold structural reform programme under IMF guidance from 2016 to 2019. These reforms had helped to stabilise the economy and boost investor confidence in Egypt, he said. They had also allowed Egypt to enter the Covid-19 pandemic with strong fiscal and external accounts that facilitated the governments rapid response.

Looking forward, Harmon said, the government should continue efforts to help the private sector become the leading engine of growth in Egypt. These include, but are not limited to, reducing the bureaucratic red tape that discourages entrepreneurs from registering their businesses, supporting policies that encourage foreign direct investment (FDI) outside of the oil and gas sectors, and narrowing the gender gap in Egypts labour market, he stressed.

He also called for greater support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as these are the backbone of Egypts economy, accounting for over 80 per cent of private-sector employment. He said the government had implemented a variety of policies to help SMEs, many of which are informal micro enterprises.

These policies include establishing the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency to coordinate efforts among government agencies to support the development of SMEs, improving access to finance for SMEs via Egypts Central Bank, and streamlining business license processes.

Concurrently, the government has launched initiatives to support start-ups and make Egypt a regional hub for entrepreneurship.

Harmon believes the government should continue efforts to support SMEs and start-ups by making it easier to register businesses, provide more incentives to join the formal economy, streamline government efforts to support SMEs, and increase educational resources for entrepreneurs to effectively manage and scale their businesses.

He is optimistic that the government will continue to build on the success of its IMF-supported reform programme by pursuing additional opportunities to grow the private sector, reduce the role of the state in the economy and debt-financing obligations, and attract new sources of non-oil FDI.

We are bullish on Egypt, Harmon said, adding that the country is one of the main cultural and political hubs of the Arab world, has one of the highest populations in Africa that represents a large domestic market, maintains a talented workforce, and occupies a strategic location as a gateway to Africa, Asia, and Europe.

Egypt is also becoming one of Africas leading hubs for tech entrepreneurship, he added. Egypts entrepreneurs are tackling tough societal challenges, such as financial services and mobility, with tech-enabled solutions that are attracting the interest of international investors, Harmon said. These prospects bode well for the future of the economy, and we are excited to play a role supporting Egypts growth.

The Covid-19 pandemic did not affect the work of the EAEF, which doubled efforts to support Egypts private sector. It loaned $10 million to the microfinance subsidiary of Fawry, the leading Egyptian e-payments platform and one of the EAEFs portfolio companies, to support micro and small businesses during the pandemic.

We agreed to take the first loss, if any, on the loan, which banks generally do not do, to expand additional financing to businesses impacted by the pandemic, Harmon said.

To support Egypts private healthcare market, the EAEF co-invested in the Al-Tayseer Healthcare Group in Zagazig as the largest healthcare provider in the Nile Delta region, a historically underserved and heavily populated area north of Cairo.

It also committed $50 million to investment advisor Lorax Capital Partners closing of its first independent investment fund. This was one of the only private equity closings in the Middle East and North Africa region in 2020 and helped demonstrate to investors that one could still do business in Egypt, even during a pandemic, Harmon said.

This year, the EAEF is hoping to commit additional funding to Ezdehar Management and Algebra Ventures, two highly regarded private equity and venture-capital investors, he added. We are eager to continue supporting the growth of the private sector, including Egypts exciting ecosystem of tech start-ups.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 7 October, 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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With discussion continuing about Syrias possible return to full membership of the Arab League, commentators have been pointing to many obstacles

It has been ten years since Syrias membership of the Arab League was suspended, Arab diplomatic representation to Syria downgraded and Arab ambassadors recalled because the regime led by Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad had not upheld League resolutions and had rejected the Arab Initiative for peace in the country.

Since then, there have been calls for Syrias membership of the Arab League to be restored, mostly to boost Arab regional security and in the interest of the Arab countries. But none of these have translated into tangible results thus far.

The most recent move was a telephone call by Al-Assad to Jordanian King Abdullah II in early October, in which the two men discussed bilateral relations and ways to strengthen cooperation. The call came after earlier steps to improve relations between Jordan and the Syrian regime.

In July, King Abdullah suggested easing the sanctions on the Al-Assad regime when he visited US President Joe Biden in Washington, together with a new approach to handling the Syrian crisis. He also asked members of the US Congress to intensify efforts to reach a political solution to the crisis that would safeguard the unity of Syrian territory and the safe return of refugees.

In late September, Jordan announced it would reopen its border crossing with Syria after a meeting in Amman, the first in a decade, attended by Jordanian and Syrian cabinet ministers. Jordanian Airlines also decided to restart routes between Amman and Damascus, and earlier there was a meeting between the Jordanian chair of the joint chief of staff, Youssef Al-Heneiti, and Syrian Defence Minister Ali Ayoub in Amman to coordinate efforts at securing the border between the two countries.

This was followed by talks between Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Al-Safadi and Syrian counterpart Faysal Al-Miqdad in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meetings. There have also been consultations on piping natural gas and electricity from Egypt via Jordan to Syria and Lebanon.

Warmer relations between Jordan and Syria serve the interests of both countries. Jordan would benefit from much-needed economic opportunities, and Syria would reap political benefits to end its isolation, hoping to persuade other regional countries to follow suit. The Al-Assad regime believes this could rehabilitate its image abroad and on the home front, where it could be used to persuade its supporters that it has been victorious in the civil war.

The rapprochement is possible because Washington has given the green light, since US sanctions against the Syrian regime, the Caesar Act, prohibit dealings with it.

Saudi Arabia has been more hesitant than Jordan in re-establishing relations with Syria. Although Riyadh sent Saudi Intelligence Chief Khaled Humaidan on a visit to Damascus in May, such cooperation is not unusual and may not indicate a political rapprochement.

Although the official Syrian media implied that the meeting was a shift in Saudi Arabias commitment to regime change in Syria, Riyadh does not want to reconcile with Damascus without the regime making significant changes.

Saudi Arabias permanent representative to the UN, Abdullah Al-Moualimi, said in May that his countrys official position on Syria had not changed. He said that the Syrian regime should curb its attacks on rebel-held cities and refugee intimidation before Saudi Arabia would restore ties with the country.

Syrias return to the Arab League would require a unanimous decision, he said, and most Arab countries remain hesitant about the situation in Syria. Saudi Arabias caution is due to its suspicion of Syrias relationship with Tehran, and it needs confirmation that Damascus would distance itself from Tehran and not be its proxy in the region.

Egypt is also cautious about rebooting relations with the Syrian regime and is taking slow, deliberate and diplomatic steps in this direction. Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri met with his Syrian counterpart at the UN in New York end of September, also the first such meeting for a decade, with some analysts viewing it as an exploratory meeting by Cairo.

Egypt severed diplomatic ties with Damascus in the early years of the Syrian conflict and proposed initiatives to resolve the crisis that were turned down by the Al-Assad regime. Cairo has since taken a middle-of-the-road position focused on the need for peace, finding a political solution to the crisis, and guaranteeing Syrias unity and an end to terrorism.

The Arab League itself says that the Arab countries disagree over Syrias return to the fold. Secretary-General Ahmed Abul-Gheit said in September that it is too early to talk about this matter, and his deputy Hussam Zaki said that we must look at the reasons why Syrias membership was suspended and then perhaps there will be a new approach in finding a way to restore Syrias seat.

Lebanon, Algeria, Iraq, Tunisia, Sudan, the UAE and Bahrain support Syrias return to the Arab fold. Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra said in August that the issue was on the agenda of the next Arab Summit meeting to be held in Algeria. Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein has said that his country will continue efforts to bring Syria back to the League.

The UAE and Bahrain restored relations with the Syrian regime in late 2018, while Oman appointed an ambassador to Damascus in 2020.

The position of the US remains a key driver of events in Syria, even if these relate to inter-Arab relations. In late September, Washington declared it would not encourage others to normalise relations with the Syrian regime and that the US does not itself have plans to do so.

The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a think tank, has published a report including recommendations submitted to the Biden administration on Syria. It cautions against normalising relations between the Arab countries and Syria and says that any Arab-Syrian rapprochement could harm US interests in the region, pointing to the alliance between Syria and Iran, the resistance camp in Iraq and Palestine, as well as Russia and China.

Moscow supports the return of Syria to the Arab League as part of its support for Al-Assad and his return to the Arab stage. However, Russia is keeping the US position in mind and understands that without the green light from Washington Syrias return to the Arab League would be impossible.

Although this is a strictly Arab issue, it cannot be discussed without consideration of Irans position. The Syrian regime has been using its closeness to Iran as leverage with some Arab governments. Al-Miqdad hinted as much when he proposed that his country could become a mediator between the Arab countries and Iran, saying that the Arab countries should respond with goodwill to Irans overtures.

The Al-Assad regime is making great efforts to end its political isolation and ease the impact of sanctions and the economic boycott. It wants to erase the image of itself that has been promoted through the period of civil conflict, using any opportunity to highlight its legitimacy.

But the normalisation of relations between the Arab countries and the Syrian regime will require many conditions to be met, most notably US approval. So far, this has not been forthcoming, and it is unlikely to emerge any time soon.

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In a comprehensive interview with Al-Ahram, Lieutenant-General Osama Rabie, the chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, stresses that "there is no alternative" to the Suez Canal.

In his interview with Al-Ahram, Suez Canal Authority Chairman Osama Rabie reveals many details about this key global waterway and the unprecedented upgrading it has witnessed in recent years as part of the overall development plans in the country.

This interview comes in conjunction with the celebrations of the anniversary of the 1973 October War victory, and deals with the details in the ongoing saga of the second crossing of the Suez Canal, which started with the building of the New Suez Canal a few years back.

As a top Egyptian naval commander, how do you see President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisis decision to begin his tenure with a giant project like the New Suez Canal?

The decision was very bold and exhibited a great sense of responsibility. The peoples solidarity with President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi during the projects funding period was an indicator of its eventual success. We were initially considering taking a loan to finance the project of the digging of the new canal. But the president insisted that the canal belongs to Egyptians and that we will not resort to borrowing, and that Egyptians will finance the project themselves.

We were greatly concerned about how to get the financing and the years it would take to get it. But the surprise was that Egyptians financed the project with LE64 billion in only eight days, when we needed to get only LE20 billion, and, therefore, some of these sums were directed to digging new tunnels under the canal.

What is your view on the Ever Given lodging incident?

The captain of the ship made a series of successive mistakes. It is true that the weather was not good and wind speed reached 40 knots. But, I would like to remind you that during the storm in Egypt - in which wind speeds reached 55 knots - we were able to conduct navigation on the canal and under more difficult circumstances than the ship faced.

The salvaging of the vessel on the sixth day of the incident must have been an important moment in the life of the Suez Canal.

In fact, the rescue operation resembled a surgical operation with a scalpel. There are usually losses incurred in rescue operations in the form of injuries to crew members, or the drowning of goods or the drowning of the vessel itself or opening of holes in the ships hull and so on.

There were many possible scenarios for dealing with the crisis, including the option of unloading-the-cargo option. However, that option was very difficult to implement because the ship was about 52 metres high and we did not have a crane for such elevations. The ship was also carrying 18,000 containers with each container weighing between 10 to 20 tonnes. An unloading of cargo would have required a whopping six long months to complete! But, in the end, the ship and its cargo came out intact. The vessel worked using its own machinery.

Turning now to the coronavirus pandemic, how did this crisis affect the Suez Canal, and what actions have been taken to minimize that effect?

In 2020, during the first year of the coronavirus crisis, we were able to maintain the level of passage ships and dollar returns. This was the subject of a lot of praise from international organisations, including the Baltic Organisation, which said it is strange that while world trade retreated by 11.6 per cent and container ships retreated by 16 per cent, the movement in the Suez Canal increased by 6.8 per cent. They concluded that there is only one explanation: this was due to the success of the marketing policy adopted by the Suez Canal at a time when the Panama Canal suffered losses of 40 per cent of its revenues.

What are the most important features of these flexible marketing policies adopted by the Suez Canal?

There are many details and great efforts. For example, there was constant contact with the owners and customers. We were constantly monitoring for ships that took the route of the Cape of Good Hope and talking to them, and inquiring about the reasons why they did not use the Suez Canal. And after thorough studies, we negotiated to give them discounts. This led to their return again to cross the Suez Canal. These policies helped us not to lose any ship, which led to my selection among the top 10 executive personalities in the Middle East, where I got first place in the Middle East and 10th in the world as the best CEO.

The Suez Canal has started implementing a giant project to develop the southern sector of the canal. How did the idea come about and how long will it take?

The strategic plan to develop the channel through 2023, which was presented to President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, included the development of the southern sector and this was scheduled to start next January. This plan also included the establishment of new garages for ships; the digital transformation project of 16 nautical guidance stations along the navigational course; and the upgrading of the dredgers fleet and the launches for the guides. However, after the recent entry of the two largest dredgers in the Middle East into service - the Mohab Mamish dredger and the Hussein Tantawi dredger, we opted to immediately start on the project of developing the southern sector instead of waiting until next January. We presented this to the president during his visit to the canal last May and he approved the decision to start implementation.

What are the details of this project?

The project consists of the development of the canals navigational course in the southern sector. It aims at creating a dual zone in the area from the canals 122km to 132km mark thus adding 10 kilometres to the New Suez Canal, increasing its length to 82 kilometres instead of 72 kilometres. The project also includes expanding and deepening the Suez Canals navigation from the canals 132km mark south of the Salty Lakes to the canals 162km at the Suez exit of the waterway. The new dual-lane project will improve navigation within the canal and increase its carrying capacity by another six ships. The new dual-lane will cover the equivalent of 25 per cent of the 40 kilometres stretch that has no dual lane in the south sector of the canal. It will include dredging work in the target area for duality at 45 million cubic metres of sand. The expansion and deepening of the remaining 40 kilometres would continue 40 metres to the east, and the deepening of the draft from 66 feet to 72 feet. All this will improve the process of the crossing of ships and increase the area of the waterway. The whole project will take 24-30 months to implement.

Will the entire waterways draft be deepened to 72 feet after the completion of this phase?

The deepening of the draft will start from a depth of 66 feet to 72 feet for a distance of 40 kilometres. After that the entire waterway will be deepened in stages to uniformly reach a depth of 72 feet. This will increase the crossing of the giant ships in the canal. Keep in mind that the Suez Canal can now accommodate 92 per cent of the size of an international fleet of ships.

The canal can also currently accommodate the ships of the fourth generation at loads exceeding 240,000 tonnes. Last month, a 17.5-metre-draft, 240,000-ton vessel crossed the canal. Today, all ship designs in the worlds ship arsenals must conform to the Suez Canals specifications.

Will the tunnels which have been built under the Suez Canal have an effect on the waterway?

They will not affect the Suez Canal at all because they are built at a depth of 40 metres from the surface of the canal. The largest draft that crosses the canal at the present time is no more than 18-19 metres deep. We have made calculations for any future expansions in the canal and we are ready for them.

In your point of view, how do the tunnel projects under the canal help in the development of the Suez Canal region?

Of course, it helps a lot. For example, trucks used to wait for up to a week for their turn to cross through ferries to and from the east and west of the Suez Canal. But the situation has changed. Crossing between east and west takes place within a period ranging from 10 to 20 minutes. The tunnels are a genius idea and are not less important than the New Suez Canal project. However, they did not get their fair share of media coverage. And by the way, they are fully secure and operate 24 hours a day. The Suez Canal Authority manages and maintains the tunnels. Now you can get out of the Long Live Egypt tunnels to find the New Ismailia city facing you directly and without barriers!

Competing channels and alternative roads are among the challenges facing the Suez Canal. What is your assessment of the danger these channels pose to the future of the canal?

I always say that there are alternative channels, but they are not an alternative to the Suez Canal. We are constantly monitoring these canals - how they impact our canal and by how much, and we are studying how to attract back the ships that these competing canals took away. I cannot tell any country not to operate a channel; everyone is looking for their own interest.

What are the possible effects of the Northern Sea Route on the Suez Canal? What is your assessment of these effects?

The Northern Sea Route operates only four months a year, and only 58 ships pass through it in one year, while 65 ships pass through the Suez Canal as a daily average.

The ships that pass through the Northern Sea Route have specific qualities and giant ships carrying 18,000 containers and loads of up to 240,000 tonnes cannot cross it. It only handles small vessels.

In addition, the cost of crossing the Northern Sea Route is very high because every ship must be preceded by an ice-breaker. It is a costly affair and carries a lot of danger.

Adding to these difficulties is the lack of continuity of maritime transport all year around. Moreover, this corridor mainly serves the inter-trade between the Russian cities themselves and between Russia and its neighbouring countries such as Kazakhstan. These are not your regular customers of the Suez Canal.

In addition to all that, ships that carry high-value goods such as electronic devices and medicines prefer fast and safe passages such as the Suez Canal.

What is the danger represented by the Panama Canal and what is being circulated about alternative routes such as the Silk Road?

At the outset, I would like to emphasise that the New Suez Canal has closed the door to any new canals that friends and enemies intended to establish to compete with the Suez Canal, especially after the canals rating has risen and after we have become number one in the world. As for the Panama Canal, it depends on the system of locks, which results in longer periods of time for any crossing. Any competitive waterway that depends on an interchanging system with railways will definitely not affect the Suez Canal.

We have ships carrying 23,000 containers on board that cross the Suez Canal. Can you imagine how many trains these containers need to be transported? With regards to the Silk Road, it includes land roads, sea routes and railways. The Suez Canal is one of these sea routes. Silk Road ships will pass through the Suez Canal.

What are your expectations for the volume of global trade during the coming period, given that the role of the Suez Canal as an important global player was confirmed during the Ever Given crisis?

There are indications of its improvement, especially after the long lockdown that occurred in 2020. I expect an improvement in the movement of global trade in the coming years, based on the reports of the International Monetary Fund and ship building centres, especially the giant ones, because they give strong indications of the development in the volume of global trade. In addition, there is an improvement in the navigation movement starting from last April compared to the same months of last year. We achieved revenues that amounted to $5,844 billion during the year 2020. During the period from January to August 2021, we achieved revenues amounting to $4 billion, which means that this years revenues will exceed $6 billion - the highest revenue in history for the Suez Canal since its inauguration to global trade. It is also a good indicator that 87 ships crossed the canal on 29 September with tonnages of 4.8 million and we collected $22.8 million in revenues in one day.

What is the Suez Canal Authoritys view of the Suez Canal Economic Zone? How could their integration benefit Egypt?

There is already integration between the two sides, especially in promising areas such as East Port Said and Ain Sokhna. The important thing about the Suez Canal Economic Zone is the genius of its location.

East Port Said enjoys the genius of a location and there are no barriers between it and Europe. It can now receive ships of the fourth generation with drafts of 17.5 metres. It has logistical areas to serve industry and trade, and the pharmaceutical and automobile industries have already started in it. This area will represent a vital addition to the prosperity of the Suez Canal because ships coming to the port will necessarily cross the canal, and those coming to it from the south will also reach it through crossing the canal.

I am talking about granting reductions in transit fees for ships that enter East Port Said port and unload cargo there.

It is worth noting that during the past year about 1.2 billion tonnes of goods crossed the canal but we did not benefit from a single tonne of this cargo and we did not add any added value to it.

In addition, the port at the city of Port Said is qualified to carry out the distribution of goods in an area close to the ports of Europe, which will achieve revenues in the handling of cargo and the crossing of the canal.

We will also grant a 50 per cent discount for cruise ships, provided that they remain in Egyptian ports for a period of not less than 48 hours. We have coordinated with the Ministry of Tourism to create programmes for tourists in Cairo. We are also thinking of organising tour programmes for the International Museum of the Suez Canal in Ismailia after its completion, in addition to organising visits for tourists of the monuments and churches in the governorate, and organising cruises on the canal where they can have lunch before completing their journey out of the canal. All this will achieve a great boom for this region of Egypt.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 7 October, 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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Iraqis will head to the polls on Sunday, 10 October, to take part in a high-stakes parliamentary election closely watched by Iraqs neighbours and key world powers. More than anything else, the election promises to be a referendum on the Tishreen protest movement which shook the country in October, 2019. The protests revealed widespread frustration with the Iraqi political establishment, and a deep desire for change.

Iraq is facing many challenges and threats ahead of those vital elections, topped with the old political parties monopoly on power, the uncontrolled spread of weaponry, and mistrust between voters and politicians. However, there is hope that the vote might kickstart the process of restoring security and stability in Iraq.

The ruling elite that has been in control since the United States invaded and occupied Iraq in 2003 must break with the past, uniting around an agenda for change. This will not be possible, however, unless the regional and international backers of competing political forces also agree on the need to stop using Iraq as a battleground to settle their differences.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi deserves praise for keeping his promise to hold early elections, in response to the popular protests that rocked the country two years ago. While the 2018 parliamentary elections saw claims of widespread electoral fraud, the government of Al-Kadhimi and the Iraqi Independent High Electoral Commission promised to avoid the mistakes of past elections by adopting biometric voting cards, requesting international observation missions and deploying a sizable security force. The over 3200 candidates competing in elections were also given free access to the media, allowing them to explain their programmes. However, there were also charges of vote buying by some wealthy candidates offering various gifts.

And yet the more difficult task to face Al- Kadhimi or other winners will be to form a stable government in a short time. No single party is expected to gain more than 60 out of the 329 seats contested in the upcoming elections. This means that at least seven parties will need to come together to form a coalition government. Following elections in 2018, it took the ruling parties nearly five months to agree on a prime minister and a government. After the protests in late 2019 resulted in the resignation of former premier Adel Abdel-Mahdi, Al-Kadhimi proved a successful choice, someone who understood Iraqs complicated politics, having no historical enmities with the dominant political actors. He also enjoys international acceptance, and preempts the zero-sum game calculations that would result if one of the dominant, pro-Iran Shiite political parties won a large number of seats. Allowing Al-Kadhimi a second term as a compromise candidate will be a significant achievement for Iraqs ruling elite.

If he manages to build a coalition of like-minded, cross ethnic-sectarian parties that embrace all Iraqi factions  Kurdish, Sunni and Shia  with a vision for reform, that will certainly bring about benefits. It will facilitate the election of a decisive premier willing to take on difficult issues like corruption, unemployment and improving living conditions, which are among the key demands of protesters taking to the streets since 2019.

On the regional and international levels, such a prime minister would face the difficult task of convincing both Iran and the United States to stop using Iraq as a front to settle their differences. The United States assassinated the key Iranian Revolutionary Army commander Qassem Suleimani, on Iraqi soil in 2019. Pro-Iranian militias responded by firing rockets on US forces based in northern Iraq. Perhaps if Washington and Tehran manage to revive the 2015 agreement aimed at controlling Irans nuclear programme that will help in bringing about stability and security in Iraq.

Though he has been in office for hardly a year, Al-Kadhimi also managed to restore Iraqs ties with its key regional neighbours, including Saudi Arabia. He personally paid a visit to Riyadh, assuring the support of the powerful kingdom on both the political and economic fronts. He also took part in the formation of a trilateral alliance that included Egypt and Jordan in order to enssure economic cooperation and exchange. The repeated meetings between President Abdel-Fatah Al-Sisi and the Iraqi prime minister confirmed Egypts desire to back efforts to restore security and stability in Iraq.

Building strong ties with Sunni political parties and tribes will also be another challenge awaiting the upcoming Iraqi prime minister. Such an alliance is a must to enssure a successful confrontation with the Islamic State, or Daesh, a militia that continue to pose a major security threat to Iraq.

The political process, led by the United States after its invasion of Iraq in 2003, has obviously failed to bring about tangible accomplishments and successes to Iraq. Such failure has weakened citizens confidence in the political process and increasingly prevented a strong turnout in recent rounds of elections. Al-Kadhimis toughest task is to regain their trust.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 7 October, 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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On 23 September, Saudi Arabias National Day was an occasion for Cairo to review progress in its relations with Riyadh in areas ranging from mutual economic interests to cooperation on regional and international issues. What this reflects most clearly is the achievements the two countries have made in their respective Vision 2030 sustainable development strategies, launched within months of each other in 2015. It also casts into relief their development orientation towards the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba, where a vast mutual prosperity zone is emerging and nurturing the aspiration to expand development efforts geographically and diversify resources and sources of income. Some months ago I visited Taba from where you could almost reach out and touch Jordan and Saudi Arabia. It was there that the concept of a mutual prosperity zone began to germinate, precisely because it seems so logical and timely.

Saudi Arabia is the second largest investor in Egypt, with over $6 billion worth of investments in more than 500 projects. Egypt ranks the second largest recipient of business operating licences in Saudi Arabia in 2020. Riyadh issued some 160 licences to Egyptian firms that year. Egyptian investments in the kingdom came to $1.4 billion by the end of 2020. This is a positive indicator, compared to the 42 per cent drop in global investment flows from 2019 to 2020, according to the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). There are 6,280 Saudi companies operating in Egypt and registered with the Egyptian Investment Authority. Their combined investment is around $20 billion. The volume of bilateral trade has grown steadily, year by year, topping $5.5 billion in 2020. Saudi-Egyptian exports climbed to $561.7 million in the first quarter of 2021, up from $412.3 million in the same period in 2020, or a rise of 13.9 per cent. The overall aim is to increase investments to $50 billion over the next five years and, generally, to bolster bilateral trade and joint ventures in diverse developmental fields.

One reason for such progress is the maritime border demarcation agreement signed between the two countries five years ago. The agreement had far-reaching economic and strategic implications as it freed the two sides to exploit their respective economic zones in the Red Sea more fully. This, in turn, stimulated major demographic shifts, which can be seen in Egypts development boom in the Sinai, starting from the area east of the Suez Canal. New urban centres are sprouting too, in tandem with tourist projects, mining industries, oil and gas discoveries in the Red Sea and opening horizons for linkages with their Eastern Mediterranean counterparts. On the Saudi side, they have begun to tap the economic and tourist potential of the more than 80 islands that sprinkle the Red Sea. New urban developments are emerging on the Saudi Red Sea coast as well. Of prime importance are Neom, which is visible from the Egyptian coast, as well as Al-Ula and Tabouk in northwestern Saudi Arabia.

The maritime agreement also provided an opportunity for oil and gas exploration and drilling activities for the first time in Egypts economic waters in the Red Sea. At the same time, the Saudi Tourist Authority has been inspired by nearby Hurghada, Sharm El-Sheikh and Marsa Alam to launch the Saudi Winter tourist season for R&R holiday makers in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, taking advantage of the pristine waters and golden beaches in Haql, Tabouk and other parts of the Saudi Red Sea coast.

Seven years of developmental achievements on the shores of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba have brought us to the threshold of a mutual prosperity zone straddling these bodies of water. From the Saudi side it is fed by the economic thrust westward in the framework of the Saudi drive for economic diversification into tourism (beyond religious tourism), mining, port, transportation and logistical services. Since it was possible to establish the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum, which has grown to include seven members keen to cooperate on the production, transport, liquefaction and export of natural gas, it is easy to picture a similar cooperation forum in the northern Red Sea. With Egypt and Saudi Arabia at its core, this could start in the realm of tourism and eventually branch out in numerous directions such as maritime services and oil and gas production, eventually complementing the Egyptian industrial corridor in the Suez Canal zone.

The establishment of King Salman University in the Sinai and King Abdullah University in Al-Galala near Ain Sukhna symbolise the new possibilities for interaction in education, scientific research and technological development. Noem, the construction of which is progressing rapidly, is another symbol of the potential for interaction, especially in the field of scientific research and development and cultural exchange.

All roads in Egypt and Saudi Arabia lead to the Red Sea, as they say these days. Urban development is moving out of the narrow confines of the Nile Valley to the expansive shores of the Red Sea and Mediterranean. On the Saudi side, the trajectory is towards the northwest and western coast of the peninsula. Saudi citizens and residents have growing choices for recreation tourism at home in their national cultural environment.

Despite the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, Egypt and Saudi Arabia have pressed ahead with their development drives in urban expansion, economic reform, diversification of resources and other domains. No less important are the advances in intellectual reform, both religious and secular. Although the end of the pandemic is not yet in sight, it is still possible to foresee the emergence of the forum for regional cooperation, the founding core of which is centred on the current processes of progress and development in Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Thanks to the current trend to reduce regional tensions, pave the way for reconciliation between regional adversaries, promote the Libyan political process and build bridges of communication through Jordan to Syria and to advance other conflict resolution processes, a new realm is opening up for bilateral and multilateral cooperation. In this framework, the growing space for innovative cooperation and mutual prosperity will greatly strengthen the nation state and its legacy in the region.

I have written quite a bit on the need for regional solutions to regional problems. I have no doubt that the key resides in a major project that stands apart from previous Arab experiments. This one will succeed where the other have failed because it derives its impetus from the nation state and its resolve to compete dynamically and effectively in the global race to progress.

*The writer is chairman of the board, CEO and director of the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 7 October, 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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On the occasion of the 51st anniversary of Gamal Abdel Nassers death, I received a letter from Abdel-Fattah Toukan, a classmate of mine from Victoria College and a great admirer of the famous Egyptian leader. Attached you will find a letter to me from Nasser, he wrote, a leader who made a powerful impact on me. It was my great honour to receive it while a student at Victoria College in Egypt. Please publish it in commemoration of his death, so that all will know the greatness of Egypt and its eternal leader who took the trouble to read every letter he received, even if it came from a foreign elementary school student.

The letter itself, bearing the Egyptian presidents official seal, said, I have received your kind letter which brims with patriotism and faith. Nothing is dearer to me than to see such fervent dedication. It gives me strength and encouragement in my work for the sake of the eternal Arab nation. I pray to God to grant us all success in the performance of our duty in our commitment to the advancement of the nation to which we all devote our lives and efforts.

The letter was signed by Nasser and dated 29 October 1963.

Abdel-Fattah Toukan now lives in Toronto, Canada. After graduating from Victoria College he studied engineering at the Alexandria University, earned his MA from the University of Liverpool and obtained his PhD in international law from the University of Alabama. He is chairman of the board of Arab Engineers for Engineering Services, and is currently supervising the construction of a water purification plant in Japan, the largest in the world, promising to deliver 400 million m3 of water a day. He is also overseeing a major engineering project to link Europe and Africa, known as the T Bridge. The T stands for Toukan.

In his letter to Nasser he wrote, I am a son of the Arab nation. My father and mother are Arabs. They believe in Arabism and Islam. They work together to help me understand the facts I do not know about usurped Palestine, how they had to leave it and how it was occupied by British colonial power which handed it to the Jews. When I listen to them, I find it hard to believe. I ask, How can that be? Where is Gamal, the giant rebel who expelled colonialism, nationalised the Suez Canal and built the great dam? They answer, Gamal and his free brothers were with us in the battlefield and felt the reality of the betrayal that occurred in 1948. I say, Why do we begin the sacred march to regain the usurped nation under the leadership of free and faithful Gamal? My father answers, The sacred march will begin soon. What we must do now is prepare for that day. Our duty is to stand as one behind Gamal, the destroyer of colonialism and the inspirer of hopes for Palestine and the return to our homes. By God, we will return. God is great. Long live Gamal.

The letter brought to mind how much Nasser epitomised pan-Arab hope in the heart of all Arab peoples. He inspired in them the sense that he was close to them, that they could speak to him at any time and he would answer. Recall that this was long before the internet, when the world relied on snail mail.

Like Toukan, I too was impressed by how the Egyptian leader, despite all his concerns, would respond to the letters he received, even from a ten year old Arab schoolchild. I was reminded of the story my friend Gaber Asfour once told me about how he wrote to Nasser to complain of being passed up for a university appointment despite his qualifications  only for Nasser to rectify the problem at once. Another example was Kamal Al-Menoufi, who wrote to the president to say that his academic stipend had been cut off despite his good grades. In this case, Nasser had the office of the presidency cover Al-Menoufis fees until his stipend was reinstated, after which Al-Menoufi went on to become dean of the Faculty of Economics and Political Science.

Former minister of State for Presidential Affairs Sami Sharaf once told me that Nasser took an interest in all the letters he received, whether from Egypt or abroad. At one point, they became so numerous that a single office was not enough to handle them. Mahmoud Al-Gayar headed one office, Abdel-Moneim Gibril another.

I had the opportunity to read some of these letters to Nasser which are in the possession of his daughter, Hoda Abdel-Nasser. All contained a special mark indicating that they had been shown to the president and acted on as per his instructions. For example, one letter indicated that someone had visited the letter writers home and found it unpainted and in a miserable condition. Another led to a new law making it possible for a fathers pension to be passed on directly to his children.

This unofficial correspondence between the president and ordinary people is a treasure. They offer a rare glimpse into the human side of the president and also help explain some of the background to his decisions. I hope that the eminent scholar Hoda Abdel-Nasser publishes a book containing these letters, making them available to the general public and providing a detailed record of an interaction between the famous political leader and the Arab people that is a world apart from politics.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 7 October, 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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A Google search for the word sustainability gave 970 million hits in English and 12 million in Arabic. The difference between the two reflects much more than just disparities in levels of awareness and usage.

In 1987, the UN defined sustainability as meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This definition is based on a concept of intergenerational justice developed by the World Commission on Environment and Development chaired at the time by former Norwegian prime minister Gro Harlem Brundtland.

In 2000, the UN announced a set of eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that focused on the fight against poverty, improving healthcare and education, and promoting gender parity. Environmental sustainability came seventh, and, like the other goals, it had some subsidiary aims such as the preservation of environmental diversity, reducing emissions harmful to the climate, providing clean water and sanitation services, and the reduction of slums.

As modest as the goals were, when it came time for the final evaluation in 2015, many developing countries fell short of the mark, particularly when it came to the environmental goals. Among the reasons for this were a lack of resources, poor policies and the incompetence of the institutions responsible for carrying them out, and the lack of follow-up programmes and of the data needed to guide policy-making, identify priorities, determine the feasibility of projects and to assess their performance.

On the other hand, there was exceptional progress in terms of international understandings and agreements, the way to which was paved by high levels of polarisation and tension, albeit lower than those we see around us today.

Even so, the world could now easily be on the threshold of another landmark year for international consensus. The geopolitical situation has worsened, economic disparities between the advanced industrialised nations and the developing nations have increased, especially since the Covid-19 pandemic, and dissonance has spread within the developing world. Under these circumstances, a new consensus is of the essence.

I am basing the above on my own experience as a participant at the Conference on Sustainable Development held in Rio de Janeiro in 2012 and as a contributor to discussions in various UN forums over the next three years on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that have been set for 2030. This new set of goals was announced at a special summit meeting in New York in September 2015. Before this, the framework for financing development was adopted in Addis Ababa in July 2015, and in December 2015 the first international climate accords were signed in Paris.

The politicisation of sustainability and the international polarisation over how best to implement the SDGs will cause enormous problems that will hit the poorer developing nations the hardest. The person mainly and unwittingly responsible for politicising climate change as never before and propelling it to the top of the world agenda was former US president Donald Trump. His decision, within months of taking office, to pull the US out of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, despite all the scientific evidence on the effects of greenhouse-gas emissions on the climate, precipitated an outcry among broad segments of the US public.

City mayors, state governors and the heads of major companies in the US all defied Trump by adopting measures in compliance with the Paris Agreement, thereby offsetting the detrimental effects triggered by the US federal government. It was not surprising that present US President Joe Biden made returning to the Paris Agreement one of his main campaign pledges and one of his first acts upon coming to power.

As serious as the threat of climate change is, it would be wrong to reduce the question of sustainability to this issue alone and to champion only certain measures as the keys to saving the planet and the quality of life on Earth from the ravages of environmental deterioration.

The unprecedented, and as yet unrepeated, international consensus in 2015 made the fight against climate change only one of 17 SDGs. Climate action is the 13th goal, and it is followed by life below water (14th) and life on land (15th). Together, they form a multidimensional action plan for the preservation of environmental health and diversity in accordance with the provisions of the Paris Agreement.

Unfortunately, they also tend to reduce the SDGs to one goal and to impose the very generous assumption that prioritising climate-change mitigation will bring mutual benefits that will realise development aspirations. This will prove counterproductive. Above all, it threatens to entrench disparities by fostering two separate tracks: a fast track that attracts greater attention and funding because it is promoted by developing nations that favour a concept of sustainability confined to climate change, and a slow track with poor funding and inhabited by developing nations struggling to order their priorities and marshal their meagre resources to meet all the SDGs, when these will never be met with the leftovers and hand-me-downs from the promised mutual benefits from investing in climate-change mitigation.

Of course, investing in action on climate change will help to bring some of the SDGs within closer reach. Obvious examples are the sixth and seventh  affordable and clean energy and clean water and sanitation  because of the investments needed to bring polluting industries in line with the climate goals. However, poverty elimination, zero hunger, healthcare, quality education and gender equality are another matter. It is difficult to see how these causes can be advanced through a narrow approach that has effectively de-prioritised these concerns, especially in terms of funding.

It is indisputable that climate change causes mounting poverty due to reduced employment, the destruction of productive sectors and forced migration. However, it is equally obvious that job creation and fighting poverty require a more comprehensive approach to sustainable development, and this is embodied in the 17 SDGs. We have only to implement them, even if that is easier said than done. As Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley asked in her address to the UN General Assembly in September, how many more times will we have a situation where we say the same thing over and over and over, to come to naught?

Mottleys speech was an impassioned critique of the international communitys inability to deal with the global Covid-19 pandemic, to make sufficient vaccines available worldwide and to live up to its word due to the lack of political will. How right she was. But there are still major obstacles at the government level to a comprehensive approach to development.

One, which I mentioned above, is poor policy-making, which comes from insufficient awareness of the political economy, culture and popular expectations of the target country. The second is the inability to communicate the purpose, substance, costs and anticipated benefits of a proposed policy in comparison with the potential alternatives. The third is the poor marshalling of resources or the lack of appropriate mechanisms for securing local and foreign financing and participation in development projects. The fourth is poor implementation, which, at least in part, is due to insufficient information or insufficiently accurate data needed to support a programme and its follow-up processes.

This problem was summed up by Peter Blair Henry, professor of economics and business at New York University in the US, under the heading To build back better, we need better data about the developing world on the US Fortune magazine Website. The article speaks of the problem of outdated information for infrastructure in the developing nations and the lack of a sufficient body of infrastructure estimates to enable governments and private-sector investors to make fact-based decisions as to where investment would be most efficient and profitable.

In this regard, in a work on the costs of sustainability, economists Dora Benedek and Edward Gemayel have cited studies that found that public spending on infrastructure can come to as high as 34 per cent of GDP in developing nations compared to 15 per cent in developed nations.

The Arab countries have a number of opportunities during the remainder of this year and next year to lay out their priorities and approach to sustainable development and profitable ways to invest in it. The Expo 2020 in Dubai, which has just had a very impressive launch, has profiled issues related to food, energy and water in the framework of the SDGs, for example.

On 25 October, Saudi Arabia is scheduled to host the Middle East Green Initiative, the first regional coalition to invest in and promote innovation, knowledge-transfer and environmental oversight mechanisms to reduce carbon emissions from the production of oil and gas by over 60 per cent. The project also aims to expand green spaces and contribute to land reclamation.

This Initiative could not be more timely, coming as it does before the forthcoming Glasgow Climate Change Conference, the COP26 meeting, in November. Another opportunity is forthcoming in Morocco, home to one of the worlds largest solar energy plants, in Ouarzazate, which will be hosting the annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank in October 2022. As for Egypt, it will host the 27th Climate Change Summit, the COP27, in November 2022. Over the past few years, Egypt has developed yet another one of the largest renewable energy projects in the world, the Benban Solar Park in Upper Egypt and, to the east, its wind energy farms are expanding rapidly. Moreover, Egypt has embarked on a very ambitious initiative, Decent Life, for localising SDGs, benefitting 60 per cent of the population.

These important events in the region will offer platforms for interacting with the rest of the world in the various fields of sustainable development. They will also invite suggestions for practical alternatives to attain the SDGs by 2030. Steady progress is of the essence, and there is no time for backsliding.

*An Arabic version of this article appeared on Wednesday in Asharq Al-Awsat.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 7 October, 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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Abdel-Aal Ayyash, a soldier during the October War, talks about letters, photographs, and magazine pages he kept from his days at the front.

If days were to wrench us apart, memories will always be our bond, wrote one soldier to another during the War of Attrition that came after the 1967 military defeat and before the 1973 October Crossing of the Suez Canal.

They appear in a letter sent from the front from Ahmed Abbas, a soldier, to Abdel-Aal Ayyash, another soldier, who was on leave in his village near Sohag in Upper Egypt.

It was not typical of soldiers to write letters to one another, but I was close to the members of my unit because I helped them to write letters to their families while we were at the front, Ayyash, now an old man, said in an interview he gave to mark the anniversary of the October War.

Ayyash still lives in Sohag, and in his house he keeps souvenirs from his days at the front.

They are just a few souvenirs in memory of those days. Some were sent to me when I got a few days leave every few months, and some I brought back home with me, including the picture of soldiers from my unit, Ayyash said.

For Ayyash, it is in memory of the war and of the men who fought and died at the front that he keeps these photographs and letters and also copies of a magazine that was distributed to soldiers between the death of former president Gamal Abdel-Nasser 51 years ago and the day of the Crossing of the Canal three years later.

I am not in touch with anyone who was on the front with me today. I dont know who is alive and who is not. I dont even recall any specific names. The war was about everyone really. We were not individuals. We were soldiers in the war, Ayyash said.

It was in 1972 that Ayyash started his military service, almost 18 months before the crossing. His military service continued until the end of 1976. During these years, he sent many letters home to his family.

I would send them a letter once every two weeks or so. They were very brief  I would just tell them I was alright and send my greetings to members of the family, Ayyash said. He added that in the letters he would never mention anything about other soldiers or anything relating to the front. Never  not a word, he said.

Ayyash used to ask his family to tear up the letters or to burn them once they had read them. He feared they could end up in the wrong hands if not. Even though he would never mention any news from the front, he still feared that they could offer some indications.

He knows that other soldiers did the same, and he has no regrets that all his letters were destroyed. It was the war that counted. It was all about the war, he said.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 7 October, 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, has arrived in Zurich, Switzerland, to meet with U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.

Yang, also director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, will meet with Sullivan "according to the consensus reached by Chinese and U.S. heads of state during their phone call on September 10 and as agreed upon by China and the United States," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying announced on Wednesday.

"They will exchange views on China-U.S. relations and relevant issues," Hua said.
KYODO NEWS - Oct 6, 2021 - 14:01 | All, Coronavirus, Japan

The National Governors' Association on Wednesday urged national parties to include in their campaign pledges stronger measures against the novel coronavirus ahead of the House of Representatives election at the end of the month.

The organization of Japan's 47 prefectural governors also called for the establishment of a children's agency and the promotion of rural economies to be included in the parties' campaign platforms.

It will formally ask the parties on Thursday to reflect the organization's proposals in their campaign pledges and seek to collect replies from all parties by next Wednesday with the results to be announced at a later date.

"We want (the issues) the governor's association has been appealing to be reflected in each party's discussions," said Tottori Gov. Shinji Hirai, who heads the entity.

The latest proposals include analyzing the country's response to the fifth wave of coronavirus infections this summer with the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant, and preparing for a potential sixth wave as well as swiftly presenting a plan to give people a third COVID-19 vaccine shot.

They also include increasing subsidies to support local businesses affected by the pandemic by about 2 trillion yen ($17.9 billion), establishing a new agency for a comprehensive policy on children, and other measures to help revive local economies and enhance readiness for disasters.

Until the last lower house election in 2017, the association had been rating campaign pledges released by the parties on its own to judge how much they reflected its proposals. But this time, it will seek answers to each proposal from the parties.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who became Japan's leader on Monday, has said he will dissolve the lower house on Oct. 14 for an election on Oct. 31.
KYODO NEWS - Oct 5, 2021 - 23:32 | All, Japan

Japanese-born American Syukuro Manabe, 90, has won a share in this year's Nobel Prize in physics for modeling the Earth's climate and reliably predicting global warming, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said Tuesday, sharing the prize with two other scientists.

Italian Giorgio Parisi, 73, was awarded half the prize, given "for groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of complex systems," with the other half shared by Manabe, a senior meteorologist at Princeton University, and Klaus Hasselmann, 89, of Germany.

Awarding the physics prize to research on climate change is unusual and reflects how interest in the issue has increased globally in recent years. The announcement came before a U.N. climate conference known as COP26 opens at the end of this month in Glasgow, Scotland.

"The discoveries being recognized this year demonstrate that our knowledge about the climate rests on a solid scientific foundation, based on a rigorous analysis of observations," Thors Hans Hansson, chairman of the Nobel Committee for Physics, said in a statement.

Manabe, who earned a doctorate of philosophy from the University of Tokyo, received the award for laying the groundwork for the development of current climate models, demonstrating how increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere lead to increased temperatures at the surface of the Earth, the statement said.

Manabe, who moved to the United States in 1958 to take a job at the U.S. Weather Bureau, now called the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told reporters who gathered at his home in Princeton, New Jersey, that he is very honored to receive the Nobel prize as a climate physicist, which is unprecedented.

"Nowadays, many events such as flooding and droughts have happened in Japan and around the world," which have been associated with global warming, he said through his family. "I am glad that everybody has recognized that."

His climate model explored the interaction between solar radiation and the vertical transportation of air masses through convection, while also looking into heat contributed by the cycle of the water.

Hasselmann, affiliated with the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, then came up with a model that "links together weather and climate" and developed methods used to prove that human emissions of carbon dioxide have led to increased temperatures, it said.

Parisi from Sapienza University of Rome was awarded for discovering the "hidden patterns in disordered complex materials," making it possible to describe and understand different materials and phenomena in a number of fields, including physics, mathematics and biology.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the award ceremony will be held online on Dec. 10. They will receive their medals in their country of residence.

Manabe was born in Ehime Prefecture in western Japan, and has also worked for Japan's now-defunct Science and Technology Agency and as a guest professor at Nagoya University.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida lauded Manabe's achievement, saying, "His discovery based on innovative ideas has contributed greatly to sustainable development of human society and the international community, and it was valued by the world."

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KYODO NEWS - Oct 6, 2021 - 14:48 | All, Japan

A former representative of a major Japanese egg producer was sentenced Wednesday to 20 months in prison, suspended for four years, for bribing a former farm minister to seek favors for egg farmers.

The Tokyo District Court found Yoshiki Akita, the former head of Akita Foods Co. in the western Japanese prefecture of Hiroshima, guilty of providing a total of 5 million yen ($44,700) to Takamori Yoshikawa, then agriculture, forestry and fisheries minister.

The court acknowledged that Akita, 87, handed the cash to Yoshikawa between November 2018 and August 2019 at a Tokyo hotel and the minister's office, in the hope that the farm ministry would oppose the implementation of strict international animal welfare standards and expand a government program to cover farmers' losses in the event egg prices fell sharply.

Prosecutors said during the trial Akita was concerned that such standards would raise the cost of keeping animals.

In return for the cash, the ministry held meetings with egg farmers over the standards, with lawmakers sometimes present.

In handing down the ruling, Presiding Judge Katsuko Mukai said the case "seriously damaged public trust in farming governance and national politics."

Akita was also found guilty of buying tickets worth a total of 5.34 million yen in other people's names for fundraising parties held by Yoshikawa and former Justice Minister Katsuyuki Kawai, in violation of the political funds control law.

"The act was self-centered as it was to avoid any disadvantage that could arise if the massive purchases were disclosed," Mukai said, adding the sentence was suspended, in consideration of the defendant's advanced age and his admission of guilt.

With Akita pleading guilty to the charges, his lawyers had called for leniency, claiming he was working for the benefit of the egg industry.

Former farm minister Yoshikawa has pleaded not guilty in his trial. The 70-year-old admitted to receiving the cash but claimed that he had taken it as a "political donation." He stepped down as a lawmaker in December last year.

Meanwhile, Kawai was sentenced in June to three years in prison and a forfeiture of 1.3 million yen in a separate high-profile case over buying votes for his wife Anri in her constituency in Hiroshima Prefecture in a 2019 upper house election.

Related coverage:

Former head of egg producer pleads guilty to bribing ex-farm minister

Japan farm officials punished for dining with bribery scandal executive

Ex-Japan farm minister Yoshikawa indicted for bribery without arrest
KYODO NEWS - Oct 6, 2021 - 10:15 | World, All

A group of French senators who form a France-Taiwan parliamentary friendship group, including former Defense Minister Alain Richard, arrived on the self-governed island on Wednesday, local media reported.

China lodged its strong opposition to their Taiwan visit when the plan came to light in March, with the Chinese ambassador to France sending a letter to Richard saying the move would run counter to the "one-China" principle.

The senators are expected to meet with Taiwanese officials during their visit, including President Tsai Ing-wen on Thursday, according to her office.

Taiwan's Foreign Ministry said on Twitter on Wednesday that it wishes the senators "a rewarding visit aimed at taking two-way ties to new heights."

When China objected to the senators' plan, the French Foreign Ministry brushed aside the complaint, saying they can freely decide on their planning for visits and meetings.

Beijing considers Taiwan a renegade province awaiting reunification by force if necessary.
KYODO NEWS - Oct 6, 2021 - 18:49 | World, All

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is considering whether to downgrade Myanmar's representation at ASEAN's summit meeting later this month due to its lack of cooperation with the group in ending the military-ruled country's political conflict, its special envoy said Wednesday.

ASEAN ministers are discussing whether Myanmar be represented at the Oct. 26-28 summit and, if so, who is going to represent it, Brunei's second foreign minister, Erywan Yusof, who was appointed as special envoy in August but has been unable to visit Myanmar to fulfil his mandate, said in an online press conference from his country's capital.

There have been some proposals on the matter, but no consensus has been reached yet, he said.

"We are also consulting with our dialogue partners as to how they feel about it," he said, referring to such countries as Japan, the United States, China, Australia, India and Russia.

He said ASEAN members are concerned that there has been "very limited" progress on implementing a five-point consensus agreed at an ASEAN summit in April in Jakarta.

"This has raised a concern because if this is the commitment that is agreed by Myanmar in April by the commander-in-chief (Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing), with all the other ASEAN leaders, then it is tantamount to basically backtracking," Erywan said.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah said in a Twitter post that he called for preventing Myanmar's military leader, who seized power in a Feb. 1 coup that ousted the democratically elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi, from attending the ASEAN summit.

"We are disappointed that the Myanmar authority have not cooperated with the Special Envoy of the ASEAN Chair on Myanmar, and unless there is progress, it would be difficult to have the Chairman of the SAC at the ASEAN Summit," he said, using an acronym for the State Administration Council headed by the general.

Erywan said the issue of Myanmar's representation at the ASEAN summit was also raised by several other ASEAN foreign ministers at the meeting.

He said he is still negotiating a visit he is supposed to make to Myanmar to mediate with all sides, as part of his mandate as special envoy, even as his call to all sides in the conflict for a cease-fire has gone unheeded.

"As special envoy, I am always open to the visit. I would say that I am on standby to go there anytime."

He said ASEAN member states reaffirmed that "we are an ASEAN family that wants to help them."

"And then we all respect the principle of noninterference in the affairs of another state," he added.
Washington:

As many as 22 terrorist training camps, including nine of Jaish-e-Mohammed are active in Pakistan, but no action is being taken against them, a senior Indian official said here on Thursday, warning that New Delhi will carry out operation similar to that of the Balakot airstrike if there is an act of terrorism coming from across the border. In a pinpointed and swift air strike that lasted less than two minutes, India pounded JeM's biggest training camp in Pakistan on February 26, killing up to 350 terrorists and trainers who were moved there for their protection after the February 14 attack on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama in which 40 soldiers were killed. The JeM claimed responsibility for the Pulwama strike.

Pakistan is a "global epicentre of terrorism and it needs to take verifiable and credible steps against terrorist organisations and terrorists", said the official on condition of anonymity.

The official also accused Pakistan and its leadership of being in denial mode and trying to create a war hysteria kind of situation between the two nuclear-weapon states.

"As many as 22 terrorist training camps, including nine of JeM are still being run in Pakistan and there has been no action against them," the official said.

The Balakot airstrike conducted by India was a counter-terrorism operation, which was well within the international laws. However, a day after on February 27, Pakistan attacked Indian military installation with as many as 20 fighter jets, the official claimed.

"Instead of taking action against terrorist groups, Pakistan escalated the situation and indulged in war hysteria by doing things like declaring emergency in Karachi, blocking air traffic and creating rumours, which is part of its familiar pattern," the official said, adding, "India on the other hand exercised restraint."

Islamabad now bears the responsibility to end terrorism, the official said and warned that "India will carry out retaliatory counter-terrorism operation like the one on February 26, deep inside Pakistan, anytime there is an act of terrorism coming from across the border".

Referring to the recent actions taken by Pakistan against several terrorist groups, the official said that these actions are "nothing unusual" as the country takes such steps after every terrorist strike in India.

"These actions", the official described, "are a revolving door policy, under which house arrest of terrorist leaders simply means keeping them in luxurious accommodation".

They are released once the situation becomes normal, the official said. But after the Pulwama attack, India has set "a new normal". "For every terrorist attack coming from across the border, India will retaliate and there will be a price that the neighbouring country would have to pay."

Accusing Pakistan of being a state sponsor of terrorism, the official said there is a feeling in India that Islamabad is unlikely to stop funding terror activities "unless the cost of it is too heavy for it to pay".

Asserting that India has the right to self-defence, the official told reporters that New Delhi by successfully carrying out strikes inside Pakistan "has been able to call the Pakistani bluff" on the nuclear front.

"This will not work in the future," the official said and warned Pakistan that "there will be reprisal" for every act of terrorism.

Responding to a question, the official said India has given to the US details of the violation of the end user agreement by Pakistan when it used F-16 fighter jets and advanced missiles against India on February 27.

India, the official said, is very closely engaged with the US and has support of the Trump administration.

The official also said India is opposed to any IMF bailout packages to Pakistan.

Pakistan has received as many as 21 bailout packages, including seven in the recent past, from the IMF. However, none of them have been able to address the economic woes of Pakistan because the money intended to improve the economy and developmental purposes have been diverted for non-civilian means.

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New Delhi:

In a significant development, the United Nations has rejected Mumbai terror attack mastermind and Jammat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeeds appeal to remove his name from its list of banned terrorists, government sources said on Thursday.

The development comes close on the heels of UN's 1267 Sanctions Committee receiving a new request to ban Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar after the Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed. Jaish, Pakistan-based banned terror outfit has claimed responsibility for the strike.

The UN decision to reject the appeal of Saeed, also a co-founder of terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), came after India provided detailed evidence including "highly confidential information" about his activities, sources told PTI, adding that the verdict of the global body was conveyed to his lawyer Haider Rasul Mirza earlier this week.

Saeed, chief of UN-designated terrorist organisation Jammat--ud-Dawa (JuD), was banned on December 10, 2008 by the United Nations Security Council after the horrific Mumbai attacks in which 166 people were killed.

Saeed had filed an appeal with the UN through Lahore-based law firm Mirza and Mirza in 2017, while he was still under house arrest in Pakistan, for removal of the ban.

Independent Ombudsperson Daniel Kipfer Fasciati, appointed by the UN to examine all such requests, has informed Saeed's lawyer that it has been decided following examination of his request that that he will "continue as a listed individual", sources said.

The Ombudsperson recommended that after gathering all information, it has been decided to continue with the ban as "there was sufficient information to provide a reasonable and credible basis for continuing the listing," sources said, adding the recommendation was endorsed by the UN's Sanctions Committee.

Saeed's request was opposed by India as well as other countries that had originally listed him - US, UK and France, sources said.

Significantly, Pakistan did not oppose the appeal despite claims by the new Imran Khan-led government there that it was taking action against the banned terrorists and their organisations in what they call a 'Naya Pakistan' (new Pakistan).

Last month, the US, the UK and France made a fresh bid at the UN to ban JeM head Masood Azhar, who is also residing in Pakistan as per Pakistani foreign minister's admission. JeM is already a UN-designated terrorist organisation.

Asked about the delay in deciding on Saeed's appeal, which normally takes six months from the time it is registered with the UN, sources said the delay happened because the Ombudsperson got changed before completion of the time period and then some time was taken to appoint a new one.

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New Delhi:

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has forged an alliance with the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) in Sikkim for the upcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in the state. The saffron party will challenge the Pawan Kumar Chamling-led Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) in the state. Briefing the media on the latest development BJP National General Secretary Ram Madhav said, "The Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) is the main opposition party in the state. Its President and MLAs came down to Delhi yesterday and met BJP President Amit Shah and today they came to meet me and finalised the understanding between BJP and SKM".

"We decided that both parties should fight the upcoming Parliament & Assembly elections together in Sikkim. Remaining details like seat sharing will be worked out in the next couple of days," Madhav added.

BJP National General Secretary Ram Madhav: We decided that both parties should fight the upcoming Parliament & Assembly elections together in Sikkim. Remaining details like seat sharing will be worked out in the next couple of days. https://t.co/whTFZVv36z  ANI (@ANI) March 8, 2019

Early in January, Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) president Prem Singh Tamang expressed confidence over their victory, saying the party will "sweep" the upcoming state assembly elections, as people are fed up of the "corrupt" Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) government.

Tamang, popularly known as PS Golay, also hit out at Chamling, his one-time mentor, for "dividing" the society on caste and communal grounds for "vote bank" politics. The SKM chief had to bear with the ignominy of being disqualified from the membership of the Sikkim legislative assembly in 2016, following his conviction for a year in a corruption case.

Read | 2019 Lok Sabha Election Analysis: What happened in Sikkim in 2014 polls? What will happen this year?

Meanwhile, there are also reports that Tamang will contest the upcoming assembly elections in the state following clarity on the legal position under the RPA Act with regard to disqualification of a member of assembly post-conviction in a case.

Golay had rebelled against Chamling after he was denied a ministerial berth following the SDF's victory in 2009 assembly polls. Four years later, the four-term MLA had floated the SKM to take on the ruling SDF. Supported by the Sikkim Sangram Parishad, the SKM had in 2014 Assembly Elections won 10 out of the 32 seats against SDF's 22.

Seven of these 10 SKM MLAs subsequently defected to the SDF while Golay himself was convicted to a year's imprisonment in a corruption case. He was released from jail after serving out the sentence in August last year.

In the 2014 Assembly elections, the SKM was supported by the Sikkim Sangram Parishad, which had ruled the state for three terms in the 1980s and early 1990s. Sangram president Dil Kumari Bhandari had recently asked the SKM to decide whether or not it was interested in an alliance this time as well.
New Delhi:

Former media executive Peter Mukerjea is the "silent killer" of Sheena Bora, the daughter of his wife Indrani Mukerjea from a previous relationship, the CBI told a special court Friday while opposing his bail plea in the 2012 murder case.

Peter Mukerjea, arrested in the sensational Sheena Bora murder case in 2015, had moved the bail application in November last year before special CBI Judge J C Jagdale. This is the third time he has approached the court for bail.

Opposing his bail plea, special public prosecutor Bharat Badami argued that the CBI has sufficient evidence to prove Peter Mukerjea's role in the murder conspiracy.

Badami told the court Peter Mukerjea didn't take any step to find Sheena Bora, who had gone missing, despite the fact that she was his son Rahul Mukerjea's fiancee.

"Peter was knowing everything...He was not a statue of the family. He took no step when Rahul was desperately asking about Sheena..... Peter is silent killer of Sheena," the CBI lawyer said.

Rahul Mukerjea is yet to depose before the court and if Peter Mukerjea is released on bail, he may try to win over the witness (Rahul), the lawyer added.

Badami argued there was sufficient material against Peter Mukerjea that led to framing of charges against him. Therefore, the accused cannot seek bail by merely stating the charges against him were "defective", he said.

One of the reasons forwarded by Peter Mukerjea for not being involved in Sheena's murder was that he was in London when the murder took place. However, the CBI contested this argument.

Hafiz Saeed (LeT chief) was in Pakistan when the 26/11 Mumbai attacks took place, but that doesn't mean he wasn't involved in the attacks. So, even if Peter Mukerjea was in London (at the time of the murder) it doesn't mean he was not part of the criminal conspiracy, the CBI counsel argued.

The April 2012 murder of Sheena Bora (24), Indrani Mukerjea's daughter from an earlier relationship, came to light in August 2015 when her driver Shyamvar Rai spilled the beans after being arrested in another case.

Indrani Mukerjea, a former media executive, her former husband Sanjeev Khanna, Rai and Peter Mukerjea were arrested in the case. Rai later became an approver and was pardoned.

Indrani Mukerjea, who is in jail since her arrest in August 2015, is facing murder charge, while Peter Mukerjea has been accused by the CBI of being a part of the criminal conspiracy.

The CBI has claimed a financial dispute led to the killing of Sheena Bora.

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New Delhi:

SpaceXs Crew Dragon capsule completed its NASA demonstration mission on Friday with a successful splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean, paving the way for the resumption of manned space flights from the US. After hours of suspense, the Crew Dragon touched down in the Atlantic Ocean at 8:45 am some 230 miles (370 kilometres) off the coast of the US state of Florida.



The capsule brought its "crew" of one test dummy back to Earth in the same way that American astronauts returned to the planet in the Apollo era in the 1960s and 1970s, before the 1981-2011 Space Shuttle Program. NASA TV footage showed the capsule gently drifting into the ocean, its decent slowed by its four main orange and white parachutes, which folded into the water around it as boats sped toward the site.



SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule: Timeline of events



March 2: Launched on Saturday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Dragon docked at ISS the following day before successfully undocking Friday some 250 miles over Sudan. On NASA TV, it looked like a slow-motion ballet, even though the two craft were actually orbiting Earth at 17,500 miles per hour.



March 3:



The spacecraft arrived at the station on March 3. The Demo-1 Crew Dragon delivered about 400 lbs. (181 kilograms) of supplies and gear for the station crew, NASA officials said. SpaceX employees who watched the landing at company headquarters in California cheered when the red and white parachutes opened to lower Crew Dragon into the water.



March 8:



SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule on Friday returned home from its historic six-day test flight. The final burn lasted about 15 minutes and helped the vehicle safely slice back through the Earth's thick atmosphere while still traveling thousands of miles per hour. A recovery ship called Go Searcher, waited at sea to use a large crane to haul the capsule out of the water. The ship is also equipped with medical quarters and a helicopter pad so that, when the crew is involved, it's ready for emergencies.

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New Delhi:

While post-strike images of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist training camp in Pakistan's Balakot showcase prominent bomb impact points in the area, the Pakistani security officials have reportedly barred the media from entering the site yet again on Friday, denying any damage to the place. A group of Reuters journalists on Friday reached Balakot to visit the Islamic seminary and the adjacent buildings but could not climb the hillock as the path to the buildings was blocked. The camp has been sealed off for journalists and visitors for an indefinite period of time, according to sources.

On February 26, the Indian Air Force (IAF)'s Mirage 2000 fighters armed with SPICE 2000 satellite-guided bombs had struck the Jaish-e-Mohammed's Balakot training camp in response to the gruesome terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14. Being touted as the Surgical Strike 2.0, the airstrike killed "a very large number of Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists, trainers, senior commanders, and groups of jihadis" at the alleged terror camp in Balakot, Indias foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale said.

This was the third time in the last nine days that the media professionals were prevented from entering the site, citing security, weather and organisational reasons. The press wing of the Pakistani military said that no media visits will be possible for a few more days.

Previously, the Pakistani military's press wing had cancelled media visits to the sites citing weather and organisational reasons. The military said no media visits will be possible for a few more days.

Meanwhile, the recently-released high-resolution private satellite images reviewed by Reuters show significant changes on the ground and possibly structures a short distance from the largest structure of the Jaish training camp in Balakot. A close analysis of pre-blast and post-blast images also indicated four likely bomb entry points on the roof of the structure.

However, Reuters, quoting satellite imagery experts, had disputed the claim of the Indian Air Force and the government that they had successfully struck the Jaish-e-Mohammed's Balakot camp.

According to Colonel Vinayak Bhat, a retired satellite imagery expert, the images show four dark spots on the roof, missing tents and burnt earth but walls and buildings intact".

Days after the Indian Air Force's Balakot airstrike, the Government of India and several ministers from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have indicated off the record that around 250-300 terrorists may have been killed in the camp. However, the government is yet to release any evidence in support of its statement.

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New Delhi:

Jawaharbhai Chavda, the Congress MLA from Gujarats Manavadar constituency, has resigned from the state Assembly. Chavda tendered his resignation to Speaker Assembly Rajendra Trivedi earlier in the day. News Nation has learnt that Chavda along with Alpesh Thakore are likely to join BJP at a press conference at around 4pm. He won the 2017 Assembly polls defeating Nitinkumar Valjibhai Fadadu of BJP. He won the election in 2012 with 72,879 votes defeating Ratibhai Gordhanbhai Sureja of BJP by 4,402 votes.

The development comes amid speculations that Gujarat Congress MLA Alpesh Thakore is likely to join the Bharatiya Janata Party. He will also directly get a ministerial berth, the sources added. However, the OBC leader and Congress legislator from Radhanpur in north Gujarat, denied rumours that he was preparing to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Earlier in September 2018, Thakore had rubbished all rumours stating that he was going join the BJP. "I don't know who is spreading these canards at regular intervals but I want to state clearly that I am in the Congress and shall remain in the Congress," Thakore told reporters, flanked by state Congress president Amit Chavda and Leader of Opposition Paresh Dhanani. He had asserted: "I had joined the Congress after seeking the opinion of over 20,000 followers and today I am entrusted with national responsibility in the party, including in Bihar." There had been rumours of Thakore negotiating with the ruling BJP and that he might be accommodated as a Minister in the Vijay Rupani government. Political circles have also been speculating that he may vacate his constituency for former Minister Shankar Chaudhary.

Thakore had courted controversy for raising his voice against the Congress and supporting the BJP govermnent's move to raise salaries for legislators in the state from Rs 70,000-plus to over Rs 1.16 lakh per month.
Lahore:

Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed has been barred by the government from delivering weekly Friday sermon at Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) headquarters in Lahore in Pakistan's Punjab province. This is perhaps for the first time in years that Saeed despite being present in Lahore will not be able to deliver Friday sermon at Jamia Masjid Qadsia, the JuD headquarters in Lahore.

Saeed was never stopped from delivering Friday sermons even during the years when Masjid Qadsia's control was under the Punjab government.

"As the Punjab police have sealed the Jamia Masjid Qadsia, Saeed will not be allowed to enter the premises to give his weekly sermon on Friday," a senior official of the Punjab government told PTI.

"Saeed requested the Punjab government to allow him give sermon on Friday at Qadsia Masjid but it was turned down. This is significant with regard to the 'clout' of Saeed as for the first time he is not being allowed by the government to give sermon on Friday," he added.

Pakistan authorities on Thursday sealed the Lahore headquarters of JuD and FIF and detained over 120 suspected terrorists as part of an ongoing crackdown on banned groups.

The JuD is believed to be the front organisation for the LeT which is responsible for carrying out the Mumbai attack that killed 166 people. It had been declared as a foreign terrorist organisation by the US in June 2014.

The US Department of the Treasury has designated its chief Saeed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, and the US, since 2012, has offered a $10 million reward for information that brings Saeed to justice.

Meanwhile, in a significant development, the United Nations has rejected Saeeds appeal to remove his name from its list of banned terrorists, government sources said on Thursday.

The development comes close on the heels of UN's 1267 Sanctions Committee receiving a new request to ban Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar after the Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed. Jaish, Pakistan-based banned terror outfit has claimed responsibility for the strike.

The UN decision to reject the appeal of Saeed, also a co-founder of terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), came after India provided detailed evidence including "highly confidential information" about his activities, sources told PTI, adding that the verdict of the global body was conveyed to his lawyer Haider Rasul Mirza earlier this week.

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New Delhi :

Amid continuousA ceasefire violations by Pakistan, Indian Army on Wednesday warned it anot to target civilian areasa. The Army said that situation along the Line of Control (LoC) is relatively calm after that, however, the ceasefire violations continue.A

aPost our warning to Pakistan Army aNOT to target civilian areasa, the overall situation along LoC remains relatively calm. In last 24 hours, Pakistan Army resorted to intense & unprovoked firing with heavy caliber weapons in selected areas of Krishna Ghati and Sunderbani,a tweeted ANI.

Indian Army: Post our warning to Pakistan Army aNOT to target civilian areasa,overall situation along LoC remains relatively calm. In last 24 hours, Pakistan Army resorted to intense & unprovoked firing with heavy caliber weapons in selected areas of Krishna Ghati and Sunderbani pic.twitter.com/x3JuUMoq7U a ANI (@ANI) March 6, 2019

"Would reiterate that as a professional Army we are committed to avoid civil casualties, especially along LoC. All actions taken by our defence forces are targeted towards counter-terrorism and terrorist infrastructure, away from civilian areas, to avoid civilian casualties," the Army said.

Indian Army: Would reiterate that as a professional Army we are committed to avoid civil casualties, especially along LoC. All actions taken by our defence forces are targeted towards counter terrorism&terrorist infrastructure,away from civilian areas,to avoid civilian casualties a ANI (@ANI) March 6, 2019

Meanwhile, Pakistan army on Wednesday targeted dozens of forward posts and villages with artillery guns along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri and Poonch districts, officials said.

The intense shelling and firing from across the border continued throughout the night in Sunderbani sector of Rajouri district, while it started in Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch in the early hours of Wednesday, they said.

Officials said the Indian Army retaliated strongly and effectively, and the exchange of heavy fire caused panic among the border residents. However, there was no report of any casualty on the Indian side, they said.

There has been a spurt in ceasefire violations by Pakistan after India's preemptive air strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammad terror camp in Balakot on February 26 following the February 14 suicide bombing in Pulwama in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed.

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Oslo:

Norway will today announce whether its sovereign wealth fund, which is the world's biggest and has been fuelled by petrodollars, will divest its oil and gas holdings in a decision keenly awaited by climate activists. While the decision is said to be based solely on financial considerations and not on the environment or climate change, a divestment by an investor worth more than $1 trillion would be a major blow to polluting fossil fuels.

Finance Minister Siv Jensen is expected to present the government's position at a press conference.

Norway's central bank, tasked with managing the mammoth fund -- commonly referred to as the "oil fund" but formally known as the Government Pension Fund -- made headlines in November 2017 when it called for the divestment of oil stocks in order to reduce the Norwegian state's exposure to the volatile oil sector.

"This advice is based exclusively on financial arguments and analyses of the government's total oil and gas exposure," the bank's deputy governor Egil Matsen said at the time.

It "does not reflect any particular view of future movements in oil and gas prices or the profitability or sustainability of the oil and gas sector," he added.

In Norway, the biggest hydrocarbon producer in western Europe, oil and gas represent almost half of exports and 20 per cent of the state's revenues.

All revenue from the state-owned oil and gas companies are placed in the sovereign wealth fund, which Oslo then taps to balance its budget.

In order to limit the state's exposure in the event of a steep drop in oil prices -- as was the case in 2014 -- the idea would be to no longer allow the fund to invest in oil stocks and sell its existing holdings.

At the end of 2018, the fund had holdings worth around $37 billion in the oil sector, with significant stakes in Shell, BP, Total and ExxonMobil among others.

Given the sums involved, a divestment would likely take years, but it would be seen as a clear victory in the fight against global warming at a time when the world is at pains to meet its Paris treaty goals.

While the climate change aspect is not officially part of Norway's justification for the move, a sell-off would "obviously be very important", said Greenpeace, which has campaigned for divestment for years.

Norway "could be a role model and show that it is entirely possible to have a fund that both makes money, with moderate risks, and stays out of oil and natural gas," said Martin Norman of Greenpeace's Norwegian branch.

Last year, a panel of experts appointed by the government advised against divesting oil stocks, arguing it would only have a marginal impact on Norway's oil exposure.

But business newspaper Dagens Naeringsliv reported on Thursday that there are indications the rightwing government is nonetheless leaning in that direction.

Friday's announcement is scheduled just hours before the annual congress for the Liberal party, a junior member of the coalition currently struggling in the polls and in need of a political victory to boost its popularity.

The decision is also important given the fact that the positions taken by the fund -- which controls 1.4 percent of global market capitalisation -- are closely watched by other investors.

In another significant move, the fund has already pulled out of the coal industry, both for environmental and financial reasons.

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New Delhi:

Suspected Kashmiri terrorists snatched an AK-47 rifle and dozens of bullets from the Protective Service Officer (PSO) of Kishtwar's deputy commissioner in the busy Shaheedi Mazar area on Friday night, sources said. Senior police officials have rush to the spot and cordoned off the area. The incident came soon after it was reported that an army jawan was kidnapped by suspected terrorists from his residence at Qazipora Chadura in Central Kashmir's Budgam district.

According to reports, the abducted jawan has been identified as Mohammad Yaseen Bhat. Yaseen, posted with Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry Regiment, was on leave from February 26 to March 31. A massive search operation has been launched by special operation group along with the army and Jammu & Kashmir police.

The family of Yaseen informed police that some people came to their house at Qazipora Chadura and took him away.

The kidnapping came at a time when the Army, and other security forces, in the Valley have been put on high alert following the face-off with Pakistan in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack on February 14 in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed.

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New Delhi:

Deciding to revisit its 21-year-old verdict made in the sensational sensational Jharkhand Mukti Morch (JMM) bribery case, the Supreme Court will now determine whether a Parliamentarian or MLA can claim immunity from criminal prosecution for taking bribe to give a speech or vote in an assembly or the Parliament.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi has referred to a larger bench the appeal of Sita Soren, incidentally also a JMM MLA, against Jharkhand High Court order which held that she could not claim immunity for allegedly taking bribe to vote for a particular candidate in Rajya Sabha elections held in 2012.

Sita Soren is also the daughter in-law of former union minister Shibu Soren who was involved in the JMM bribery case.

Shibu, along with his four party MPs, had allegedly taken bribe to vote against the no-confidence motion against the then Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao government in Centre in July 1993.

"Having considered the matter, we are of the view that having regard to the wide ramification of the question that has arisen, the doubts raised and the issue being a matter of substantial public importance we should be requesting for a reference of the matter to a larger bench, as may be considered appropriate, to hear and decide the issue arising," it said in an order, uploaded Friday.

The bench, also comprising Justices S Abdul Nazeer and Sanjiv Khana, directed the registry to place the records of the case before the Chief Justice on the administrative side for appropriate orders.

The top court Thursday considered its 1998 five-judge constitution bench verdict given in the PV Narasimha Rao versus CBI case.

It earlier verdict held that parliamentarians had immunity under the Constitution against criminal prosecution for their speech or vote given in the house.

The bench said that the majority view of the 1998 verdict despite "acutely conscious of the seriousness of the offence" felt that the wrongful act and the 'sense of indignation' of the court should not lead to a narrow construction of the constitutional provisions which may have the effect of impairing the guarantee to effective Parliamentary participation and debate.

Referring to the minority view of the 21-year-old verdict, the bench said Thursday that it took the view that the protection under Article 105(2)/194(2) of the Constitution and the immunity granted cannot extend to cases where bribery for making a speech or vote in a particular manner in the House is alleged.

Sita Soren has sought quashing of the criminal case lodged against her for allegedly taking bribe to vote in favour of a particular candidate in the Rajya Sabha election of 2012.

Advocate Vivek Kumar Singh, appearing for Sita Soren sought quashing of the case against her saying that she had immunity under Article 194(2) of the Constitution for her voting in assembly.

He said that under Article 194(2) an MLA cannot be liable to any proceedings in any court in respect of anything said or any vote given by him or her in the legislature.

Since the 1998 verdict was delivered by a five-judge bench, the question of law is likely to be sent to a seven-judge Constitution bench.

The Jharkhand High Court had on February 17, 2014 dismissed the plea of Sita Soren seeking to quash the criminal proceedings initiated against her.

She was charged by CBI for allegedly taking bribe from one candidate and voting for other.

(With PTI inputs)

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New Delhi:

The Supreme Court on Friday ordered mediation in the Ram Mandir case on Friday. The top court has appointed a panel of mediators in the case. The verdict was given by a five-judge Constitution Bench. Fourteen appeals have been filed in the apex court against the 2010 Allahabad High Court judgment, delivered in four civil suits, that the 2.77-acre land in Ayodhya be partitioned equally among the three parties -- the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla.

They Supreme Court-appointed panel will be headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice FM Kalifulla. Spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and lawyer Shriram Panchu are other two members. The mediation will remain confidential, the top court said. The deliberations will conclude within eight weeks and first status report will be submitted in four weeks. Mediation process will be held in Faizabad. The Supreme Court in its order also said that the media will be banned from reporting of the mediation proceedings.The Supreme Court has granted liberty to mediators to co-opt other members in the panel.

On Wednesday, all Hindu bodies except Nirmohi Akhara had opposed the suggestion of the apex court to refer the issue for mediation, while Muslim bodies backed it. However, after the order, Hindu Mahasabha chief Swami Chakrapani said that,  whatever happens, it will be good.

In last hearing, Justice Chandrachud had said that considering it is not just a property dispute between the parties but a dispute involving two communities, it would be very difficult to bind millions of people by way of mediation. Senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy had told the bench that the government has the right to give away land to whosoever it wants after paying compensation to the others. "P V Narsimha Rao government had in 1994 made commitment to apex court that if ever any evidence was found that there was a temple, land will be given for temple construction," Swamy had submitted.

Senior advocate C S Vaidyanathan, appearing for Hindu deity Ram Lala Virajman had said the faith that Lord Rama was born in Ayodhaya is not negotiable but the question is of Rama Janamsthan (birth place). "We are even willing to crowd-fund a mosque somewhere else but no negotiations can take place with respect of Lord Rama's birthplace. Mediation won't serve any purpose," he said.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government, had said the court should refer the matter for mediation only when there exists an element of settlement.

(With agency inputs)

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New Delhi :

A day after the grenade attack at Jammu bus stop that killed one person, security agencies on Friday recovered a circuit used in making bombs near Jammu airport. The circuit was connected with a battery. Following the recovery of the bomb circuit, a bomb disposal unit rushed to the spot and taken the device into their custody. As of now, the police has denied finding any kind of explosive but they launched a search operation around the airport premises. The area was already on high alert after the grenade blast at Jammu bus stop.

On Thursday, at least two persons were killed while 33 others sustained serious injuries in a grenade blast beneath a bus at Jammu bust stop. Jammu Medical Superintendent said. All the injured were rushed to Government Medical College hospital for treatment in critical condition. This is the third grenade attack by terrorists in Jammu bus stand since May last year.

Within hours of the blast, Yasir Javed Bhat, a resident of Khanpora-Dassein village in Kulgam whom the police said was tasked by terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen to carry out the attack was arrested.

Meanwhile, a day after the ghastly terror attack in the state, Jammu and Kashmir Police on Friday appealed to shopkeepers to install CCTV cameras to help the force to keep the city safe. Inspector General of Police, Jammu, M K Sinha made the appeal in a post on his Twitter account.

It was the third grenade attack by terrorists on Jammu bus stand since May 2018 and comes just three weeks after the gruesome terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama on February 14 that killed 42 CRPF jawans and injured dozens of others bringing India and Pakistan on brink of war.

The grenade explosion was carried out inside the general bus stand area around 11.50 am on Thursday morning. A parked bus of the state road transport corporation (SRTC) suffered extensive damage in the blast causing panic among the people.

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Kolkata:

The seat-sharing talks between the CPI(M) and the Congress hit a roadblock on Friday after the Left Front announced candidates for the Raiganj and Murshidabad Lok Sabha seats.

Miffed over the CPI(M)'s unilateral announcement, Congress'Bengal unit chief Somen Mitra accused the Left Front of not being keen on having an alliance.

"It seems that the Left Front is not keen on having an alliance with the Congress. The Left Front won't be able to win a single seat without the help of Congress in the state. But Congress would be able to retain its four seats," Mitra told reporters late in the night after an urgent meeting with state leaders.

"If needed we will fight alone in the state. We have our list of 42 candidates ready. We wanted an alliance till 2021 assembly polls so that our alliance or understanding gets acceptability from the masses. But the CPI(M) is more keen on short term political gains and doesn't want any long-term adjustment," he said.

Earlier in the day, Biman Bose, chairman of the CPI(M)-led Left Front, announced that the current MPs in the two seats -- Mohammed Salim from Raiganj and Badaruddoza Khan from Murshidabad -- would contest.

The announcement not only led to breakdown in the seat-sharing discussions between the two sides, but also paves way for a four-cornered contest in the state in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

The development came at a time when Congress president Rahul Gandhi had asked his party's in-charge of West Bengal, Gaurav Gogoi, to speak to CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury in order to resolve the impasse over seat-sharing.

Gandhi had also met the state Congress chief to discuss the matter. The state Congress had requested Gandhi to take a call on the matter.

The CPI(M)'s central committee on Monday came out with a proposal of "no mutual contest" in the Lok Sabha polls in the six seats held by the two parties in the state.

It was seen as a move to untangle the seat-sharing skein between the two parties, aimed at consolidating the anti-BJP and anti-TMC votes.

While the Congress had bagged four seats in the state in 2014, the Left party had won only Raiganj and Murshidabad.

The seats, won by the CPI(M) by a slender margin in a four-cornered contest, are known to be Congress bastions.

While North Dinajpur's Raiganj has been a pocket borough of Congress stalwart Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi, Murshidabad's politics has been dominated by the party's firebrand leader Adhir Chowdhury, who is also a vociferous supporter of the alliance with the Left.
New Delhi:

The inaugural India-Japan Space Dialogue was held here on Friday, with both the countries exploring ways to step up cooperation between their space agencies.

The Indian delegation was led by Indra Mani Pandey, Additional Secretary for Disarmament and International Security Affairs, Ministry of External Affairs, while the Japanese delegation was co-led by Kansuke Nagaoka, Deputy Assistant Minister, Foreign Policy Bureau, and Shuzo Takada, Director General, National Space Policy Secretariat.

The dialogue brought together ministries and agencies related to outer space in the two countries and provided an opportunity for information exchange on the respective space policies, the MEA said in a statement.

Discussions were also held on bilateral cooperation between JAXA-ISRO, their space industries, global navigation satellite system, space situational awareness (SSA), space security and space-related norms, it said.

For all the Latest Science News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

Jammu and Kashmir Police has arrested a man who threw a grenade at the Jammu bus stand, said state police chief Dilbag Singh. According to reports, the man arrested has been identified as Yasir Arhaan. Arhaan, who hails from South Kashmirs Kulgam, was arrested while fleeing.

The person who threw the grenade at the Jammu bus stand earlier today, has been arrested, DGP Dilbag Singh was quoted as saying by ANI.

A teenager was killed and 33 others sustained serious injuries in the grenade blast beneath a bus at Jammu bus stop on Thursday, Jammu Medical Superintendent said. All the injured were rushed to Government Medical College hospital for treatment in critical condition. Following the attack, security agencies cordoned off the entire area and a team of forensic experts reached the spot to investigate the blast.

This is the third grenade attack by terrorists in Jammu bus stand since May last year.

According to eyewitnesses, a loud explosion was heard inside a bus. Initially, people thought it was a tyre burst but when they reached the spot it was found out that a grenade has exploded there. So far, no group has claimed the responsibility of the attack.

"I thought it was a tyre burst. it was a big blast. The locals took the injured to the hospital in an ambulance," news agency ANI quoted one of the eyewitnesses as saying.

The incident took place days after Pulwama attack in which over 40 CRPF personnel were killed after a suicide bomber of the JeM drove an explosives-laden vehicle into a CRPF convoy. Pakistan-based terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed took the responsibility of the attack. Following this, Indian Air Force carried out a strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) camp inside Pakistan.

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New Delhi: The coal crisis in the country continues to deepen. This was stated by the Union Government's Ministry of Energy in a report. The deepening of the coal crisis will have a direct impact on power generation, as most of the power in the country is generated by coal. At present, there are 135 power plants in the country where coal is generated.

According to a note in coal production, 72 of these 135 power plants had less than three days of coal stock left. On the other hand, the number of power stations maintaining 4 to 10 days of stock is 50. The figures in the Energy Ministry note are intimidating. Power consumption was 106.6 billion units in August-September in 2019, compared to 124.2 billion units in August-September this year. Meanwhile, coal power generation increased from 61.91 per cent in 2019 to 66.35 per cent. Coal consumption increased by 18 per cent in these two months of this year as compared to August-September 2019. In March 2021, coal from Indonesia was $60 a tonne, but in September-October, it increased by $200 a tonne. This reduced the import of coal.

The consumption of coal-fired power increased during the monsoon season, leading to a shortage of coal in power stations. As of October 1, 2021, there are 135 plants with less than 3 days of coal remaining. There are 50 plants where there are 4 to 10 days of stock and there are only 13 plants that have stock of more than 10 days.

Common man hit by price rise again, LPG cylinders became costlier before festivals

Petrol price in the National Capital hiked by 30 paise, Costs Rs 102.94 per lire

Services PMI activities moderate in September: IHS Markit India
Jerusalem: The ongoing confrontation between Israel and Iran continues to escalate with the war of words between the two countries. Now Israel's army chief has called for intensifying other actions, including a covert operation against Iran and its nuclear program. LT Gen Aviv Kohavi said at an event that Israel and its intelligence community are "working against Iran's regional firm position in West Asia," the report said.

He said at the event, "The operation to destroy Iran's capabilities in different fields and at any time will continue, and the Army appointed Major General Aharon Haliva as its new intelligence chief.'' He further said, "Plans to campaign against Iran's nuclear program will continue and will continue to improve. No matter what the events, it is our duty to respond effectively and in time.''

Israel considers Iran's military presence in neighbouring Syria, its support to anti-terrorist organizations and the construction of long-range missiles capable of attacking Israel as the biggest threat to itself. Israel accuses them of attempting to build a nuclear bomb. However, Iran has denied the allegation. But this is not the first time that an Israeli official has threatened Iran. Similar statements have surfaced before.

Pakistan PM Imran Khan's revelation of talks with Taliban sparks uproar

World Meteorological Organization warns of looming global water crisis

Islamabad HC gave major relief to Kulbhushan Jadhav

Joe Biden, Xi Jinping to abide by Taiwan agreement
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan revealed that his leadership is in contact with the Pakistani Taliban and is working towards persuading them to lay down arms. In a recent interview, he revealed: "In fact, I think some of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP ) groups want to talk to our government for peace, for some reconciliation, and we are in talks with some of the groups", adding that "Afghan Taliban are also helping our government in this process".

Khan further said that the talks between his government and the TTP are taking place in Afghanistan. "In the sense that the talks are taking place in Afghanistan. In that sense yes", he said. Khans remarks have sparked fury among the locals in Pakistan, who are reminding him of the deadly attacks in schools, markets, mosques and other places, which have killed thousands of innocent people at the hands of the same Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, who he is talking to and offering them to become normal citizens of the country.

The Pakistani premier believes there is no military solution to the problem, which is why negotiation with the Pakistani Taliban is the only option for an anti-military solution. "I repeat, I dont believe in military solutions. I am anti-military solutions. So, I always believe that political dialogue is the way ahead which was the case in Afghanistan", said Imran Khan.

Khan's statement come with a backgrounder when President Dr. Arif Alvi and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had offered the Taliban to lay down weapons and be pardoned for their crimes.

World Meteorological Organization warns of looming global water crisis

Islamabad HC gave major relief to Kulbhushan Jadhav

Joe Biden, Xi Jinping to abide by Taiwan agreement
Kathmandu, October 6

A team of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deubas Nepali Congress party is visiting India from Thursday upon an invitation of Indias ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

Deubas confidant Prakash Sharan Mahat, who is also a former minister for foreign affairs, is leading the team to New Delhi. Udaya Shamsher Rana and Ajaya Chaurasiya are two other members of the team that is leaving for the Indian capital tomorrow.

Rana says the visit is focused on strengthening ties between the two parties.

Sources close to Prime Minister Deuba say he has prioritised improving his relations with the southern neighbour of late. Deuba is likely to pay a visit to New Delhi later this month.

The government is expecting a formal invitation from the Indian counterpart for Deubas official visit once he is able to give a full shape to his cabinet formed nearly three months ago. Deuba is said to induct new ministers in the government to give it a full shape by Friday.
" " John John Florence of Team USA surfs during a practice session at Tsurigasaki Surfing Beach ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games on July 22, 2021. Florence is one of the favorites to win surfing's first Olympic gold. Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

For the first time, surfing is on the Olympic stage.

The surfing event will last for three days and has to run within the dates from July 25 to Aug. 1. The reason for this window? Not all waves are created equal, and organizers and surfers will wait for the best day full of the best waves to hold the competition.

As a recreational surfer and physical oceanographer, I spend a lot of time thinking about waves. But for many people, this year's Olympics will be their first time watching the sport. They might be wondering: What generates the waves that surfers will ride at the Olympics? Where do the waves come from? And why will the new Olympians be surfing at Tsurigasaki Beach?

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Wind Creates Waves

Think for a few seconds about what happens when you throw a stone into a serene pond. It creates a ring of waves  depressions and elevations of the water's surface  that spread out from the center.

Waves in the ocean act similarly by propagating outward from where they are generated. The key difference is that the vast majority of ocean waves are formed by wind. As the wind blows over the surface of the water, some of the energy of the wind is transferred into the water, creating waves. The biggest and most powerful wind-generated waves are produced by strong storms that blow for a sustained period of time over a large area of the ocean.

The waves within a storm are usually messy and chaotic, but as they move away from the storm they grow more organized as faster waves outrun slower waves. This organization of the waves creates "swell," or regularly spaced lines of waves.

" " Surfers will be competing at Tsurigasaki Beach on the east coast of Japan, where the waves break on sandbars. Pullwell/WikimediaCommons (CC BY-SA)

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Seafloors Break Waves

As waves travel across the ocean, they don't actually bring water with them  a wave from a storm 1,000 miles (1,609 kilometers) away isn't made of water from 1,000 miles away. Waves are actually just energy moving from water molecule to water molecule. This energy doesn't just move through the top layer of the ocean, either. Ocean waves extend far below the surface, sometimes as deep as 500 feet (152 meters). When waves move into shallower water close to shore, they start to "feel" the seafloor as it pulls and drags on them, slowing them down. As seafloor gets shallower, it pushes upward against the bottoms of waves, but the energy has to go somewhere, so the waves grow taller.

As the waves move toward shore, the water gets ever more shallow and the waves keep growing until, eventually, they become unstable and the wave "breaks" as the crest spills over toward shore.

It is only here, after a wave has traveled perhaps thousands of miles, that the surfing starts. To catch a wave, a surfer paddles toward shore until their speed matches that of the wave. As soon as the wave starts to break, the surfer stands up quickly and maneuvers the surf board with their feet and weight to ride the wave just ahead of the crashing lip.

" " Carissa Moore of Team USA walks into the water during a practice session at Tsurigasaki Surfing Beach ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

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Waves at the Olympics

The waves that surfers ride at Tsurigasaki Beach for the Olympics will be generated from one of two different types of wind: trade winds and typhoons.

Trade winds consistently blow around 11 to 15 miles per hour (18 to 24 kilometers per hour) in a band that stretches across the Pacific Ocean from approximately Mexico to the Philippines. These winds generate small "trade swells" that propagate northward toward the East Coast of Japan and are usually a few feet tall when they arrive.

But if the surfers and spectators are lucky, a typhoon with wind speeds greater than 74 miles per hour (119 kilometers per hour) will be supplying powerful waves for the event. Typhoons are what hurricanes are called in much of Asia and are common near Japan and China during summer and fall. Winds in a typhoon are much stronger than the trade winds. Therefore, they generate much bigger waves. Olympic surfers obviously do not want a typhoon to hit Japan. What they want is for a typhoon to form about 500 to 1,500 miles (800 to 2,400 kilometers) to the southeast of Japan and generate big waves that will hit the coast of Japan after traveling across the ocean for one to three days.

Based on the current weather and surf forecasts, it looks like just such a situation will happen. As of July 22, 2021, weather models are predicting that a tropical cyclone or typhoon will almost certainly develop to the southeast of Japan over the next few days, and the winds from this storm will send a powerful swell to the Olympics. Currently, models are predicting that the waves could be 7 feet (2.1 meters) at Tsurigasaki Beach, just in time for the surfing event to start.

Once the swell from the trade winds or a far-off typhoon reaches Tsurigasaki Beach, it is the seafloor that will determine where the waves break. Tsurigasaki Beach is a "beach break," which means that the seafloor is sand, rather than rocks or coral reef. There are a series of human-made rock walls, called groins, sticking out perpendicularly from the beach. These have been engineered to prevent sand from moving along the beach and are meant to slow erosion. These groins create shallow sandbars a few hundred yards from shore that incoming waves will break on. This is where the athletes will surf.

When you tune in to watch the surfing competition at the Olympics, marvel at the amazing skills of elite surfers, but remember too the far-off storms and the underwater sandbars that come together to create the beautiful waves.

" " This map shows the tracks of all the tropical storms, typhoons and hurricanes that formed from 1945 to 2006. Note the hot spot of frequent, powerful storms south of Japan. Citynoise/WikimediaCommons (CC BY-SA)

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. You can find the original article here. Portions of the piece originally appeared in an article published on Dec. 3, 2020.

Sally Warner is an assistant professor of climate science at Brandeis University and physical oceanographer who studies how water moves and mixes in the ocean.
Cybersecurity

DHS adds cyber requirements for transportation industry

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced on Wednesday that the government will add requirements for cybersecurity information sharing to companies in the transportation sector.

The move comes as DHS is in the midst of a 60-day "sprint" launched in September focusing on transportation industry cybersecurity, Mayorkas said in a speech at the Billington Cybersecurity Summit.

The Coast Guard is expanding its oversight of maritime cybersecurity with the deployment of cybersecurity personnel to U.S. ports to supervise planning, response and recovery. Mayorkas also announced that 2,300 "maritime entities" are charged with sharing cybersecurity plans with the Coast Guard and following up on any weaknesses identified in those plans.

Additionally, the Transportation Security Administration is taking a more high-profile role in managing railroad industry cybersecurity. Under a security directive to be issued later this year, "higher risk" rail freight and rail transit companies will be required to designate a cybersecurity contact for government and to report incidents to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

On the aviation side, TSA is planning new requirements for critical industry players, including airport operators, passenger airlines and cargo aircraft operators, to name a cybersecurity contact and report incidents to CISA.

The move represents the continuing expansion of TSA's formal role as a cybersecurity regulator. In the wake of the Colonial Pipeline hack, TSA issued two sets of rules governing cybersecurity preparedness and reporting in that industry.

"Taken together, these elements -- a dedicated point of contact, cyber incident reporting and contingency planning -- represent the bare minimum of todays cybersecurity best practices," Mayorkas said in his speech.

Cyber bills advance in Senate

The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee advanced two pieces of cybersecurity legislation on Wednesday.

The Cyber Incident Reporting Act of 2021 sets a 72-hour reporting requirement for breaches and other incidents at covered companies, which include critical infrastructure firms. Additionally, the legislation requires covered companies to report any ransomware payments made to hackers within 24 hours. The bill also sets up a new office at CISA to receive reports from covered companies. That bill did advance, but it drew some opposition from committee Republicans because of the scope of coverage -- currently extending to small businesses with 50 or more employees. The bill was amended to except mandatory disclosures required under the legislation from being included in discovery in litigation initiated over cybersecurity breaches.

Earlier this year a bipartisan group of lawmakers on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence introduced their own bill that sets a 24-hour clock for critical infrastructure operators and federal contractors to report cybersecurity incidents.

The Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2021 requires federal civilian agencies to report breaches to CISA and the Office of Management and Budget, and it includes new authorities that make CISA the lead agency on cybersecurity incidents affecting federal civilian agency networks. That bill was advanced without objection.

Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), the chairman of the committee, announced his intention to add both pieces of legislation to the National Defense Authorization Act, which lawmakers hope to pass before the end of the calendar year.
(Add percentages of Toledo population already vaccinated)

BRASILIA, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc will study the effectiveness of its vaccine against COVID-19 by inoculating the entire population over the age of 12 in a town in southern Brazil, the company said on Wednesday.

The study will be conducted in Toledo, population 143,000, in the west of Parana state, together with Brazil's National Vaccination Program, local health authorities, a hospital and a federal university.

Pfizer, which developed the vaccine with German partner BioNTech SE, said the purpose was to study transmission of the coronavirus in a "real-life scenario" after the population has been vaccinated.

"The initiative is the first and only of its kind to be undertaken in collaboration with the pharmaceutical company in a developing country," Pfizer said.

A similar study was conducted by the Butantan Institute, one of Brazil's leading biomedical research centers, in the smaller town of Serrana, in Sao Paulo state. That trial tested the CoronaVac shot developed by China's Sinovac Biotech Ltd.

In May, Butantan said mass vaccination had reduced COVID-19 death by 95% in the town with a population of 45,644 people. The institute is considering extending the study for a third dose.

"Here we believe in science and we lament the almost 600,000 deaths from COVID-19 in Brazil," Toledo Mayor Beto Lunitti said at a news conference announcing the Pfizer study.

There is little anti-vaccine resistance in Toledo, where 98% of the population have had a first dose, mainly of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. AstraZeneca's COVID-19 shot and Sinovac's have also been used there, municipal health secretary Gabriela Kucharski said, adding that 56% are fully vaccinated.

Regis Goulart, a researcher at Porto Alegre's Moinhos de Vento Hospital taking part in the study, said its aim was to validate the real-world efficacy and safety of the vaccine seen in clinical trials.

The observational study also will provide an opportunity to do long-term monitoring for up to one year of participants, helping to answer lingering questions such as the duration of vaccine protection against COVID-19 and new virus variants, Goulart said. (Reporting by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Jason Neely, Mark Porter and Bill Berkrot)
Andreessen Horowitz and Coinbase Ventures have minted a new unicorn in India: CoinSwitch Kuber. The two firms have co-led a $260 million investment in the Bangalore-based cryptocurrency trading startup, valuing the young firm at $1.9 billion, they said on Tuesday.

This is a16zs first investment in India. TechCrunch reported last month -- twice -- that the two firms were in talks to back the Indian startup and had proposed a valuation of $1.9 billion.

The four-year-old startup, which including Wednesday's Series C round has raised about $300 million to date, was valued at over $500 million in its Series B financing in April this year.

Existing investors Tiger Global and Sequoia Capital India also participated in the new round, which is also the largest for a cryptocurrency startup in India. CoinSwitch is the 30th Indian startup to become a unicorn this year, and only the second in the crypto space. (B Capital-backed CoinDCX became the first Indian crypto unicorn in August.)

CoinSwitch is one of the handful of startups in India that allows users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies. From the functionality and user interface standpoints, its offerings are much superior, according to dozens of users TechCrunch has spoken to in recent days.

The eponymous app offers users over 70 cryptocurrencies to choose from and the trading is instant, said Ashish Singhal, co-founder and chief executive of CoinSwitch Kuber, in an interview with TechCrunch. Users on the app can trade as little as 100 Indian rupees, or $1.3.

CoinSwitch has amassed over 10 million registered users, most of whom are young and first-time investors, he said. More than half of the startups user base is aged 28 or below, he said.

CoinSwitch Kuber founders, from left to right, Vimal Sagar, Govind Soni and Ashish Singhal (Image Credits: CoinSwitch Kuber)

The excitement around trading in cryptocurrency comes as Indias largely young population has reached the inflection point, he said. Youngsters are increasingly looking at investments as an option, he said.

Indias Supreme Court overturning the nations central banks ban on cryptocurrency two years ago -- which led to banks playing nice (somewhat) with trading app -- also helped, he said. When that happened, many youngsters who had been watching crypto trading in the western markets and had realized that they were sort of late to get into crypto, decided to explore investments, he said.

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But it hasnt escaped the startup that most of its users are new to this investment world. To address this, CoinSwitch Kuber recently partnered with Indian news outlet NDTV to publish stories to explain cryptocurrencies, trading and the risks associated with them. It also hosts a podcast on this subject, he said.

Andreessen Horowitz's first India investment

We are incredibly excited about the crypto market opportunity in India, and with its breakout growth, CoinSwitch has emerged as the leading retail platform in the country, said David George, general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, in a statement. Ashish and the team have demonstrated strong execution abilities and the ambition to deliver an investment platform for the masses in India.

A16zs arrival in India comes at a time when the startups in the worlds second-largest internet market are raising record amounts of capital. Several of the firms global peers -- Tiger Global, Sequoia, Falcon Edge Capital, Lightspeed, Accel, Temasek and SoftBank -- have increased their pace of investments in the country in recent quarters.

The firm has been exploring markets like India for years. In a talk at Stanford Graduate School of Business five years ago, a16z co-founder and general partner Marc Andreessen (pictured above) said it was "extremely tempting" to back startups in emerging markets. But it was also challenging for a venture fund to expand to more countries, he explained. Venture capital is a "very hands-on process of understanding the people you're working with for both evaluating the company and work with the company."

"If it continues to be a hands-on business like that then there is the problem of geographic remoteness, which is if I'm not present in another geography, do I really know those people to make the decisions. So what a bunch of firms have been trying to do is staff local teams. But then there's the fundamental problem that if the local team is really good, then they can easily leave and run their own firms. If they are bad, they stay working for me...which has its own issues."

According to people familiar with the matter, A16z has evaluated a handful of other startups in India in recent months. The firm said its investing in CoinSwitch from both its crypto and growth funds.

We are humbled by the trust shown in CoinSwitch Kuber by two of the biggest names in the global crypto investment arena with Andreessen Horowitz choosing us to be their first investment in India. Coinbase Ventures investment is also testimony to the confidence they have in CoinSwitch Kubers business model and the tremendous potential Indias crypto space has to offer, said Singhal.

CoinSwitch Kuber's future plans

Singhal said the startup will deploy the fresh capital to add more asset classes for investment on its app. But he declined to reveal what those asset classes will be. Additionally, it's also working to add support for institutional clients to use the app, he said. The startup, which aims to amass over 50 million users, says it's also looking to hire for several roles at the firm, including many in leadership positions.

"It was the wax on, wax off moments of building skills that would one day come to use, when it wasnt obvious what it was for. They never once talked about pivoting from #crypto. @shaileshlakhani describes the conviction that powers @CoinSwitchKuber https://t.co/4wLOCKU4NC  Sequoia_India (@Sequoia_India) October 6, 2021

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One of the typical moves many of the Indian crypto trading startups have made in the past years is to expand outside of India. This is in part to offset any catastrophic regulatory changes in India. Singhal said CoinSwitch Kuber will continue to focus on users in India and has no plans to expand outside of the country.

In recent months, several Indian ministers have spoken negatively about the potential risks of cryptocurrencies and have suggested that they might ban cryptocurrency in the country. Singhal said the engagement he has had with lawmakers has been fruitful so far and by bringing so many high-profile and credible investors to the cryptocurrency space in India, he hopes CoinSwitch is able to make a case for its legitimacy.

Will there be stringent regulation on cryptocurrency? he asked. There should be because right now crypto is like the wild wild west.
Special Ministerial Conference for ASEAN Digital Public Health

Renewed lockdowns and the COVID-19 Delta variant outbreak have impacted the economic recovery of ASEAN-5  comprising Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines

Organised by EVYD Knowledge Hub, in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and Economy in Brunei Darussalam, Ministry of Health in Brunei Darussalam, Brunei Investment Agency and Temasek Foundation, the conference gathers over 50 speakers across the ASEAN region and internationally, including Ministers of Health, Finance and Economy, public health officials, researchers, industry experts and financiers

With a focus on regional collaboration, cross-learning, research and digitalisation in empowering scientific policymaking in healthcare, the conference aims to spearhead discussions and strategize viable solutions to build resilient public health systems that can withstand future challenges

SINGAPORE, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, EVYD Knowledge Hub by EVYD Technology announces the launch of the Special Ministerial Conference for ASEAN Digital Public Health, themed "Collaborate for a Happier and Healthier World Post Pandemic", on 6th to 7th October 2021. Organised in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and Economy in Brunei Darussalam, Ministry of Health in Brunei Darussalam, Brunei Investment Agency and Temasek Foundation, the conference highlights the urgency for ASEAN leaders to collaborate and strategize viable and sustainable solutions to build resilient healthcare systems that can withstand the challenges ahead.

COVID-19 and the Delta variant outbreak have exposed vulnerabilities in global healthcare systems, reinforcing the need for regional collaboration in navigating a pandemic of this scale. According to the Institute of International Finance (IIF)[1], renewed lockdowns and the outbreak of the COVID-19 Delta variant have cast a negative impact on the economic recovery of Asean-5  comprising Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines. Recognising the urgency to strengthen public healthcare infrastructure, EVYD Knowledge Hub co-led this conference alongside its partners as a shared platform to create awareness on the importance of collaboration, cross-learning, research and digitalisation in empowering scientific policymaking to improve public health.

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"As a company that was conceived during the pandemic, we witnessed first-hand the toll it took on our healthcare systems and healthcare providers as they work relentlessly on the frontlines to serve the people. As such, we are honoured to have the opportunity to co-organise this conference with the Ministries of Brunei Darussalam and Temasek Foundation, with the goal of bringing together ASEAN leaders to spearhead conversations on the importance of sharing of knowledge and the role of data and technology in improving public healthcare policymaking," said Chua Ming Jie, Chief Executive Officer, EVYD Technology.

The two-day conference which sees over 50 speakers participating has successfully kickstarted with day one, where opening remarks were made by Dato Lim Jock Hoi, Secretary-General ASEAN and welcome remarks were made by Dato Seri Setia Dr Amin Liew Abdullah, Minister at The Prime Minister's Office and Minister of Finance and Economy II, Brunei Darussalam and Dato Seri Setia Dr. Haji Mohammad Isham bin Haji Jaafar, Minister of Health, Brunei Darussalam. Comprised of four panels, two keynote sessions and a fireside chat, day one focused on discussions around lessons learnt from COVID-19, the role of research and digitalisation in shaping public health policies, as well as recovery and future preparedness.

The first panel discussion, Ministerial Panel: Lessons Learnt From Managing The COVID-19 Pandemic In ASEAN saw participation from ministers including Dato Dr Isham Jaafar, Minister of Health, Brunei Darussalam; Budi G. Sadikin, Minister of Health, Indonesia; Dr Bounfeng Phoummalaysith, Minister of Health, Lao PDR; Dr Or Vandine, Secretary of State for Health, Cambodia moderated by Dr Jeremy Lim, Director of the Leadership Institute for Global Health Transformation, Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore. They shared insights around the importance of navigating between finding a balance in safeguarding citizens' health and the nation's economy and deliberated on how the ASEAN region can better prepare for future pandemics.

Beginning with The Science Behind Pandemics: Why Are We Now More At Risk?, a keynote session by Professor Wang Linfa, Professor and Director, Emerging infectious Diseases Program, Duke-NUS Medical School, tracing the origins of COVID-19 and the SARS-CoV-2 virus from zoonotic diseases, the conference transitions into solutions-centric discussions on the importance of digitalisation, public health research and a strong economy in preparing the region for future pandemics and emergencies. They include How Can The ASEAN Region Prepare For Disease X?, Fireside Chat: Brunei Darussalam Healthcare Digital Transformation, Role of Research in Public Health and Building A Resilient Economy Post Pandemic. The first day of the 2-day conference concluded with the keynote session by Professor George F. Gao, Director General, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, on The Chinese CDC Experience.

"While the pandemic has affected many ASEAN countries, it has also demonstrated our spirit of resilience as we stand together in solidarity. Moving forward, it is crucial for us countries to continue to rally together and collaborate to ensure public health safety. Internally, it will also require the collective efforts of all sectors of our society including healthcare, finance, social and politics to ensure that we are well-prepared to deter any emerging pandemics, or new variants of the COVID-19 virus," shared Dato Dr Isham Jaafar, Minister of Health, Brunei Darussalam.

On the conference, Mr Benedict Cheong, Chief Executive, Temasek Foundation International, shared, "The COVID-19 pandemic holds many lessons for what we should be doing as a community in ASEAN. It is critical that regional communities come together to collaborate and share knowledge so that we can better respond to future health crises. We are pleased to co-host this conference together with the Brunei Ministry of Health, Ministry of Finance and Economy, Brunei Investment Agency and EVYD Technology, and hope that the discussions over the two days will lead to new partnerships and platforms for regional engagements and collective action."

EVYD Technology was founded in 2020 with the mission of transforming healthcare through Big Data and Artificial Intelligence to optimise sharper insights and outcomes for public health research. As part of its commitment to do so, it has recently launched EVYD Knowledge Hub with the objective of creating a knowledge-sharing community that connects and engages key stakeholders in public health.

[1] Institute of International Finance 2021, 'Macro Notes: ASEAN-5 - Delta Variant Threatening Recovery', https://www.iif.com/Publications/Members-Only-Content-Sign-in?returnurl=/publications/id/4565

About EVYD Technology

EVYD Technology is a healthcare AI and Big Data company with the mission to transform healthcare using data intelligence. Their solutions enable value-based healthcare that is safer, better and more accessible for global communities. They offer solutions to policymakers to enhance public health monitoring, generate insights for policymaking and implement initiatives such as value-based healthcare and population health management. They also offer solutions to the research community to enhance the efficiency and quality of their research, from which insights generated could be leveraged to benefit the broader ecosystem. Their flagship EVYDENCE operating platform aggregates raw data that reside in disparate information systems and convert them into computable, structured and standardised data so that they could be further processed to derive deep insights and knowledge using natural language processing, machine learning and other AI technologies. EVYD Technology is a Brunei Investment Agency investee company.

For more information, visit https://www.evydtech.com/

SOURCE EVYD Technology
Atlanta Housing

LaConia J. Dean 4004-825-3970 laconia.dean@atlantahousing.org

LaConia J. Dean 4004-825-3970 laconia.dean@atlantahousing.org

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Gloria Shanahan gloria.shanahan@hud.gov

Gloria Shanahan gloria.shanahan@hud.gov

Atlanta, Georgia, Oct. 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Two powerhouses in the housing sector, Atlanta Housing (AH), atlantahousing.org and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Georgia Office of Field Policy and Management, www.hud.gov/georgia have teamed up with The Family Health Centers of Georgia, Inc.(FHCGA) www.fhcga.org to make sure Atlanta Housing residents, and other communities, have access to free COVID-19 answers, vaccinations & testing.

Atlanta Housing is proud to work with The Family Health Centers of Georgia to advance the critically important cause of getting everyone in our communities vaccinated, said Eugene E. Jones, Jr., CEO of Atlanta Housing. Focusing on those in our communities who are hesitant and providing them with the right information will literally save lives, Jones said.

Georgia's current COVID-19 vaccination rates demonstrate that in Fulton County, a total of 57% of the population has received one dose and 51% are fully vaccinated. Of those percentages, only 39% of African Americans have received at least one dose. (source: www.dph.georgia.gov)

One of the biggest hindrances to the communities we serve getting vaccinated, stated Dr. Michael W. Brooks, President & CEO, is the misinformation that is traveling through social media and other channels. Dr. Brooks describes the partnership with AH and HUD as a unique opportunity to reach people through trusted voices and confidentially connect them to healthcare professionals who can provide accurate information, schedule free vaccination appointments and testing. FHCGA, in partnership with the Atlanta Housing, has provided free vaccinations to more than 600 senior residents to date. Reaching those who are vaccination hesitant or resistant is our priority, Dr. Brooks continued.

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HUD and Health and Human Services announced on April 30, 2021, a partnership to ensure that the national response to COVID-19 delivers equitable, comprehensive care to those experiencing disproportionate impact, including HUD-assisted individuals and households, said Shea Johnson, HUD Georgia Director of Operations. This partnership with FHCGA and AH is a natural extension of that partnership as it targets underserved communities in Atlanta. We aim to protect one person, one family at a time, to increase vaccination rates in Atlanta.

A big advantage for our community is that we can provide free transportation to vaccinations. Access to FREE COVID-19 answers, vaccination (with qualifying transportation) and testing are one call 1-800-935-6721 or one click away covid.fhcga.org.

M. Bledsoe

The Family Health Centers of Georgia, Inc.

pr@fhcga.org

LaConia J. Dean

Atlanta Housing

4004-825-3970

laconia.dean@atlantahousing.org

Gloria Shanahan

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

gloria.shanahan@hud.gov

Attachments

CONTACT: Margarethia Bledsoe The Family Health Centers of Georgia, Inc. mbledsoe@fhcga.org




BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's Economy Minister Paulo Guedes will provide prosecutors and the Supreme Court with voluntary evidence showing he broke no laws or had any conflicts of interest in regards to offshore investments, his lawyers said on Tuesday.

The statement comes after Guedes was named in reports by the consortium of news outlets covering the so-called "Pandora Papers" data dump, which triggered a preliminary investigation by prosecutors in Brazil.

The initial inquiry by the office of Brazil's prosecutor general (PGR) does not indicate any crime has been committed.

Guedes' lawyers said the minister had removed himself from the management of the offshore investment vehicle Dreadnoughts in 2018, relinquishing any participation in the financial decisions of the company. They added that Guedes had not moved any money abroad since he joined the government.

The offshore investment was first reported by Brazilian magazine Piaui and news website El Pais Brasil, which were part of a media consortium sifting through more than 11.9 million records, amounting to about 2.94 terabytes of data.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), a Washington, D.C.-based network of reporters and media organizations, said the files were linked to about 35 current and former national leaders, and more than 330 politicians and public officials in 91 countries and territories.

It did not say how the files were obtained, and Reuters could not independently verify the allegations or documents detailed by the consortium.

(Reporting by Maria Carolina Marcell; writing by Stephen Eisenhammer; Editing by Stephen Coates)
EXETER, N.H., October 06, 2021--(BUSINESS WIRE)--CAES, a leading provider of mission critical electronic solutions for aerospace and defense, announced today the construction of its new additive manufacturing (AM) operations in Exeter, New Hampshire. The dedicated 3D printing laboratory supports CAES partnership with SWISSto12, the leading provider of 3D printed technology for RF applications in the aerospace and defense industry, to bring additive manufacturing solutions and services to US-based customers.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005164/en/

3D printed array (Photo: Business Wire)

Additive Manufacturing (AM), or 3D printing, for RF systems is an ideal solution to address increasingly challenging size, weight, power and cost (SWaP-C) requirements for next generation aerospace and defense platforms. It requires high precision formats and complex geometries that allow form factors and performance that cannot be achieved with standard manufacturing solutions. Integrated subsystems that combine multiple components in one single homogeneous part that reduces weight and complexity, a key factor for defense prime manufacturers where cost and space are at a premium. SWISSto12 pioneered the development of tailored, patented and field-proven AM technologies aimed at delivering advanced RF performance, size and weight savings as well as product competitiveness through optimized manufacturing tolerances, surface finishes, plating techniques and RF designs.

"CAES investment in Additive Manufacturing is a direct response to our customers' next-generation design challenges for rugged, ever-smaller, and complex parts," said Dave Young, Chief Technology Officer, CAES. "We are excited to help our customers maintain competitive leadership by delivering high performance, SWaP optimized and mission-ready components."

The operations will consist of dedicated equipment for 3D-printed RF technology design and manufacturing including a qualified laser powder bed fusion machine, associated process support equipment, proprietary metal finishing and plating line, and complete RF testing capability. CAES and SWISSto12 engineering staff members are available to discuss custom additive manufacturing needs. To schedule a meeting or for more information, please visit www.caes.com/3dprinting.

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About CAES

CAES is a pioneer of advanced electronics for the most technologically challenging military and aerospace trusted systems. As the largest provider of mixed-signal and radiation-hardened technology to the United States aerospace and defense industry, CAES delivers high-reliability RF, microwave and millimeter wave, microelectronic, and digital solutions that enable our customers to ensure a safer, more secure world. On land, at sea, in the air, in space and in cyberspace, CAES' extensive electronics and enhanced manufacturing capabilities are at the forefront of mission-critical military and aerospace innovation. www.caes.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005164/en/

Contacts

Press:

Colleen Cronin

CAES

Colleen.cronin@caes.com
FORT WORTH, Texas, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Apache pilots for the United States Army require a reliable solution to strengthen mission success and crew safety when flying. Elbit Systems of America's Integrated Helmet And Display Sight System (IHADSS) offers this ability by presenting critical information directly in front of the pilot's eye. Elbit Systems of America has received a firm-fixed-price, Indefinite-Delivery/Indefinite-Quantity contract from the U.S. Army to provide IHADSS equipment needed to support the AH-64 Apache helicopter fleet.

This contract has a potential maximum value of approximately $76million and the company has already received its first delivery order worth approximately $6 million.

These IHADSS parts will be delivered to the Army from the company's Fort Worth engineering and manufacturing facility during the 5-year period of performance that runs through September 2026.

"This contract continues our decades-long relationship with the U.S. Army's Apache fleet," said Raanan Horowitz, President and CEO of Elbit Systems of America. "IHADSS is uniquely designed for the Apache. It displays flight and targeting information directly in front of the pilots' eyes. This is a significant tactical advantage that provides reliable situational awareness, eases the pilot's workload, helps to enhance their safety and achieve success when flying their most demanding missions."

In addition to the IHADSS for the Apache, the company provides the heart of the AH-64E model, the Multicore Mission Processor, which is used to provide all of the functionality of the onboard Apache systems. Elbit Systems of America's long-standing relationship with the customer and understanding of the mission needs, allows us to continue our work developing necessary products and solutions to keep the Apache effective into the future, including the next-generation helmet mounted display.

About Elbit Systems of America, LLC

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Elbit Systems of America, headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, is a leading provider of high-performance products, system solutions, and support services focusing on the defense, homeland security, law enforcement, commercial aviation, and medical instrumentation markets. With facilities throughout the U.S., Elbit Systems of America is dedicated to supporting those who contribute daily to the safety and security of the United States. Elbit Systems of America, LLC is wholly owned by Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ: ESLT) (TASE: ESLT), a global high technology company engaged in a wide range of programs for innovative defense and commercial applications. For additional information, visit: www.ElbitAmerica.com or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.

About Elbit Systems Ltd.

Elbit Systems Ltd. is an international high technology company engaged in a wide range of defense, homeland security and commercial programs throughout the world. The Company, which includes Elbit Systems and its subsidiaries, operates in the areas of aerospace, land and naval systems, command, control, communications, computers, intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance ("C4ISR"), unmanned aircraft systems, advanced electro-optics, electro-optic space systems, EW suites, signal intelligence systems, data links and communications systems, radios, cyber-based systems and munitions. The Company also focuses on the upgrading of existing platforms, developing new technologies for defense, homeland security and commercial applications and providing a range of support services, including training and simulation systems. For additional information, visit: https://elbitsystems.com/, follow us on Twitter or visit our official Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn Channels.

Trademarks

Elbit Systems of America and other trademarks, service marks and logos are registered or unregistered marks of Elbit Systems of America companies in the United States and in foreign countries. Copyright 2021Elbit Systems of America. All rights reserved.

Forward Looking Statement

This press release may contain forwardlooking 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 Israeli Securities Law, 1968) regarding Elbit Systems Ltd. and/or its subsidiaries (collectively the Company), to the extent such statements do not relate to historical or current facts. Forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions about future events. Forwardlooking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions about the Company, which are difficult to predict, including projections of the Company's future financial results, its anticipated growth strategies and anticipated trends in its business. Therefore, actual future results, performance and trends may differ materially from these forwardlooking statements due to a variety of factors, including, without limitation: scope and length of customer contracts; governmental regulations and approvals; changes in governmental budgeting priorities; general market, political and economic conditions in the countries in which the Company operates or sells, including Israel and the United States among others; changes in global health and macro-economic conditions; differences in anticipated and actual program performance, including the ability to perform under long-term fixed-price contracts; changes in the competitive environment; and the outcome of legal and/or regulatory proceedings. The factors listed above are not all-inclusive, and further information is contained in Elbit Systems Ltd.'s latest annual report on Form 20-F, which is on file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All forwardlooking statements speak only as of the date of this release. Although the Company believes the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements contained herein are reasonable, it cannot guarantee future results, level of activity, performance or achievements. Moreover, neither the Company nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of any of these forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to update its forward-looking statements.

Elbit Systems Ltd., its logo, brand, product, service and process names appearing in this Press Release are the trademarks or service marks of Elbit Systems Ltd. or its affiliated companies. All other brand, product, service and process names appearing are the trademarks of their respective holders. Reference to or use of a product, service or process other than those of Elbit Systems Ltd. does not imply recommendation, approval, affiliation or sponsorship of that product, service or process by Elbit Systems Ltd. Nothing contained herein shall be construed as conferring by implication, estoppel or otherwise any license or right under any patent, copyright, trademark or other intellectual property right of Elbit Systems Ltd. or any third party, except as expressly granted herein.

Elbit Systems of America, LLC

4700 Marine Creek Parkway

Fort Worth, Texas 76087

www.ElbitAmerica.com



Media Contacts:

Greg Caires, +1 682-286-2299, greg.caires@elbitsystems-us.com

Amy Hartley, +1 682-286-2411, amy.hartley@elbitsystems-us.com

Dana Noyman

Dana.Noyman@elbitsystems.com

+972-54-9998809

Cision

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SOURCE Elbit Systems of America, LLC
(Reuters) - Soaring energy prices caused alarm among European leaders and sent shivers through global markets on Wednesday, raising concerns of a winter fuel crisis that could play into the hands of gas-rich Russia.

U.S. oil prices briefly touched their highest in almost seven years and natural gas prices were at record levels as China and other big consumers struggle to cope with demand that has bounced back more quickly than expected from the COVID-19 downturn.

In Europe, natural gas prices have rocketed almost 600% this year on worries that current low storage levels will be insufficient for the winter. While in the United States, natural gas futures recently hit 12-year-highs.

Uncertainty over whether surging energy prices will spur inflation and interest rate rises hit global equity markets and bonds in Europe, particularly Britain, where several energy companies have collapsed as a result of the price surge.

With consumers facing a huge jump in winter fuel bills, energy prices topped the European Union's political agenda on Wednesday.

"I think we have to be very clear that the gas prices are sky-rocketing," EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said, calling for a renewed focus on renewables.

The EU, which imports 90% of its gas, notes that Russia had not followed the lead of its other main supplier, Norway, in stepping up supplies, von der Leyen said on Tuesday.

President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday Russia was boosting gas supplies to Europe and stood ready to stabilise the market.

But the deputy CEO of Russian gas company Gazprom was quoted as saying it was continuing to pump natural gas into underground storage facilities in Russia. Gazprom also said this week it would prioritise its home market over export sales because it expected a cold and snowy winter.

Some EU parliamentarians have alleged that Gazprom has not stepped up gas supplies to try to force swift approval for Nord Stream 2, a newly-built pipeline that will send Russian gas to Germany. The United States and some European nations oppose the project, saying it will make the EU even more dependant on Russian fuel.

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Russia has repeatedly denied any political agenda.

"There is absolutely no Russian role on what is happening on the gas market," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

NEXT STEPS

EU ministers debated whether the bloc should begin jointly buying gas to improve their bargaining position and form strategic supply reserves.

"There is no question that we need to take policy measures," EU energy commissioner Kadri Simson told a debate on the issue in the EU's parliament.

Some EU governments have already rolled out national subsidies and other measures, saying these are the best way to cushion consumers against high bills.

Simson said underground gas storage was more than 75% full across Europe, and countries have enough to cover their winter needs but that the price surge showed the need to quickly switch to renewables.

But EU gas stocks are at a 10-year low. And in Britain, which has left the EU, and where around 80% of homes are heated using gas, storage capacity is currently equivalent to around four-to-five days of winter gas demand, down from 15 days previously.

The Brent crude oil benchmark dropped on Wednesday after hitting a multi-year high above $83 a barrel, but some traders said it was a temporary reprieve. [O/R]

"An energy crisis is unfolding with winter in the northern hemisphere still to begin," Stephen Brennock of oil broker PVM said.

(Reporting by Reuters bureaux around the world; writing by Philippa Fletcher; editing by Jane Merriman)
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Former New York Jets and Miami Dolphins General Manager Mike Tannenbaum has joined the Fort Lauderdale-based legaltech company SettleForFree as well as become an Advisor of ZipClaims, Inc.

Tech Platform, SettleForFree.com, Launches to Disrupt Personal Injury Law

SettleForFree , the leading online platform for personal injury pre-litigation claim settlements, today announced Mike Tannenbaum has joined the law firm and tech platform as an Advisor. With the addition of Tannenbaum, the firm and tech platform will continue to expand in Florida.

SettleForFree has successfully launched its platform to provide the public with an alternative to hiring expensive personal injury lawyers. The consumer-friendly app automates what historically has been a very manual process, from intake and contract execution to document collection and client communications. SettleForFree helps personal injury victims injured in a car accident or slip and fall settle their case within 90 days, for free. This gives personal injury victims a more transparent and easy experience, without paying 30-40% or more to an attorney.

"We are excited to announce that Mike Tannenbaum has joined us. Mike knows what it's like to negotiate multi-million dollar deals and help the athletes and teams he's managed find success. Mike shares our passion to disrupt personal injury law and provide personal injury victims with a more efficient, modern user experience using data, analytics and legal expertise," said Jonathan Broder, CEO and founder of SettleForFree. "There has never been a better time to apply his business and legal skills to help redefine the personal injury field."

Hiring a personal injury lawyer is expensive and other personal injury lawyer's advertisements convince many victims they need to hire a personal injury lawyer even though 96% of cases settle without going to trial. "Not all accident cases require litigation or expensive representation, just like not all injuries require a brain surgeon," said Broder. "Personal injury lawyers advertise that they are the most aggressive and will take a case to trial. But why would you do that if you don't need it? The problem with personal injury law is that if you're injured, you pay the same fee regardless of whether your case is simple or complex. There's no price competition or alternatives. That's why I created SettleForFree."

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SettleForFree provides individuals injured in a car accident or slip and fall with a digital, user-friendly, and data-driven approach to handling their personal injury claim, with the added benefit of being represented by an attorney. SettleForFree's use of data provides a transparent experience that consumers have come to expect in other areas of their life, like when buying a car or applying for a mortgage online.

"SettleForFree is committed to making personal injury law faster and more efficient. I share its vision and am excited to join forces," said Tannenbaum. "Personal injury advertisements haven't changed much since I was a kid. They use a lot of fear and outrageous tactics to get noticed and hired. But the future of personal injury is in using data and analytics. The team at SettleForFree understands this and, together, we will help lead the industry into the future."

Visit us on the web today at www.settleforfree.com and keep your money.

Not all cases will qualify. Visit SettleForFree.com to see if your case qualifies. Restrictions apply.

CONTACT:

Karen Campbell,

+16672060208,

karen@karenelizabethcampbell.com

Keep 100% of Your Settlement Money (PRNewsfoto/Settle For Free)

Cision

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SOURCE SettleForFree.com
The leading global supply chain visibility platform sees significant EMEA momentum and hires industry veteran Marc Boileau as part of its aggressive growth strategy in the region

FourKItes Adds New Senior Leadership

Industry veteran Marc Boileau joins FourKites as part of company's aggressive growth strategy in EMEA

Industry veteran Marc Boileau joins FourKites as part of company's aggressive growth strategy in EMEA

AMSTERDAM, Oct. 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Marc Boileau joins FourKites  , the worlds leading real-time supply chain visibility platform , as Senior Vice President, Sales and Carrier Operations, EMEA. Boileau will accelerate the companys European expansion, bringing tenured supply chain experience and an aggressive strategy to build partnerships with both carriers and shippers. Prior to joining FourKites, Marc held leadership and commercial roles at supply chain visibility companies, including project44 and Transporean.



I am thrilled to be joining the FourKites team, says Boileau. With the biggest global brands on its platform and the largest data network in the industry, FourKites is driving unmatched innovation and a truly global end-to-end visibility experience. One of my top priorities is to build our network of carriers  including small and mid-size carriers  to ensure the value they get is in line with the value they bring. They are truly the unsung heroes in our ecosystem.

FourKites is investing more than 45 million in our European expansion this year, both through organic growth and acquisitions, and Marc joining us is the latest milestone in this strategy, says Mathew Elenjickal, founder and CEO of FourKites. He is an excellent fit with the team, and his deep knowledge of the industry will help to propel our European presence to new heights.

As the pandemic and an unprecedented series of disruptions continue to challenge global supply chains, including a European energy crisis, food shortages, labor shortages and more, European and multinational companies continue to turn to FourKites to track goods from origin to final destination to reduce costs, improve the customer experience and maximize business agility.

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Over the last 12 months, FourKites has seen:

148% growth in shipments in EMEA, with over 850+ million miles tracked in 2021 to date

A nearly 100% increase in new or existing FourKites customers starting to track loads in EMEA

More than 35% growth in number of carriers tracking loads in Europe

2.5x growth in monthly less than truckload (LTL) volume in Europe

About FourKites

FourKites is a leading global supply chain visibility platform, extending visibility beyond transportation into yards, warehouses, stores and beyond. Tracking more than 2 million shipments daily across road, rail, ocean, air, parcel and courier, and reaching 176 countries, FourKites combines real-time data and powerful machine learning to help companies digitise their end-to-end supply chains. More than 620 of the worlds most recognised brands  including 9 of the top-10 CPG and 18 of the top-20 food and beverage companies  trust FourKites to transform their business and create more agile, efficient and sustainable supply chains. To learn more, visit https://www.fourkites.com/ .

Media Contact:

Marianna Vyridi

Big Valley Marketing for FourKites

(650) 468-3263

mvyridi@bigvalley.co








Mauritius and U.K.-based investment company Juven went live today with plans to fund growth-stage technology and consumer companies in Africa.

The one-year-old firm is looking to invest large checks in companies "that have proven business models, strong revenue traction and large addressable markets," it said in a statement.

Juven is one of the few investment firms targeting growth deals on the continent, including TLcom, Novastar and Partech Africa, that have written significant checks in tech companies in recent years.

But unlike the others, Juven is not a venture capital fund; the evergreen investment company is a spinoff from Goldman Sachs' Africa principal team responsible for making several high-growth investments in the tech scene since 2014.

Juven founder Jules Frebault led the Africa team, the Special Situations Group. He joined Goldman Sachs in 2010 and grew out the department's strategy from a London office to back companies that could make good returns on the continent.

The team first made some investments across private equity and credit; the most notable bets were in telecom-led businesses and towers like the IHS Towers.

Down the line, Goldman Sachs dipped its hand into growth-stage investing in tech companies, backing Africa's first unicorn Jumia, Zipline and Eat'N'Go. It also led investments in Unicaf's Series B round, Jumo's second Series B, Kobo360's Series A and Twiga Foods' Series B round.

Frebault tells TechCrunch that the Juven team spun out off Goldman Sachs to "go after the growth-stage opportunity in Africa with a dedicated structure, capital, resources and mandate."

Thus, Goldman Sachs transferred its growth portfolio -- Unicaf, Jumo, Kobo360, Twiga and Eat'N'Go -- to Juven. Some former Goldman Sachs employees also left with Frebault to build out Juven's operations.

The firm is structured to have a holding company and a balance sheet that holds its assets and cash. This way, when an investment is monetized, the capital comes back and Juven redeploys it. Such methods allow for making multiple investments without raising multiple funds.

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"It's actually akin to a corporate in terms of how it's structured," Frebault said. "And the capital that we deploy either comes from our balance sheet or we take on follow-on investments from our shareholders."

In that light, Juven has re-invested in four companies in its current portfolio this year. Though it plans to add more investments before the next year runs out, Frebault says the firm might not make more than three investments per year.

The average ticket size will range from $10 million to $30 million, then $50 million or more in follow-on checks. The founder says that for tech companies, which is one of Juven's primary targets, it targets Series B and later-stage growth rounds.

Since Juven makes only a handful of investments per year, the firm will provide additional benefits around financial, legal, operational and strategic support.

"We have to be flexible and start at $10 million because it can be the right size for Series B rounds on the continent," Frebault said. "We don't take a venture capital approach, and we don't invest in many companies. We take concentrated positions and then continue investing in these companies over time."

Juven's focus is on entrepreneurs trying to leverage tech to solve problems around access for the masses, the company said. Frebault adds that Juven may also consider non-tech companies that can solve such problems.

Although the firm says it can invest in almost anything, businesses solving problems around food, education, healthcare, financial services, commerce and logistics will most likely get a nod before others.

"We can invest in everything but what we're staying away from is extractive industries," the founder said.

It's the same situation with countries as the investment firm has a preference for businesses expanding regionally in large consumer economies like Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, South Africa, Ghana and the Ivory Coast.

Even though the team that led Goldman Sachs' investments in Africa is now at Juven, Frebault says the 152-year-old investment giant's Asset Management division still has a global mandate that includes Africa, albeit focusing on a larger scale and institutional activity.

Goldman Sachs declined to comment on Frebault's move, Juven's activity, its own broader objectives or plans for the region in the future.
Appoints Lindsay Williams as SEA Country Manager and Peter Angelis as Director, Agency Partnerships

SINGAPORE, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Integral Ad Science (Nasdaq: IAS), a global leader in digital media quality, today announced two new appointments in Southeast Asia (SEA) including Lindsay Williams as Country Manager and Peter Angelis as Director, Agency Partnerships. In their new roles, Lindsay and Peter will actively work with brands, agencies, publishers, and technology partners to increase digital media quality and programmatic growth across SEA. Based in Singapore, both Lindsay and Peter report to Laura Quigley, SVP APAC.

Lindsay Williams SEA Country Manager, IAS, and Peter Angelis as Director Agency Partnerships, IAS

As Country Manager, SEA, Lindsay will focus on developing sales strategies to best support current clients, while building new partnerships with brands, agencies, publishers, and platforms to help them go beyond verification and make every ad impression count. With over a decade of publisher sales experience across Australia, Hong Kong, and Singapore, Lindsay brings strong expertise in business development, sales strategy, and scaling local market programs. Previously, she was Sales Director at Forbes Media where she worked with leading brands and agencies on digital advertising and content strategies across the region, most recently Regional Commercial Director at Time Out Asia. Lindsay has also held sales roles within leading publishers in Australia.

In his new role, Peter will lead the agency partnerships team in the region, developing localised programs, measurement projects, and training. He will work closely with the key agency stakeholders on programmatic best practices, technology partnerships, and additional projects. Peter's experience leading programmatic planning and optimisation, managing digital operations, and working with agencies across Australia, New York, and Singapore will be vital in his new role. Previously, he was Head of Platforms and Capabilities at OMG Singapore. Before that, he was Director, Programmatic Planning and Optimisation at OMD, New York. Peter started his career as a Screen Trader in Australia.

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"With our continued investment and growth plans in Southeast Asia, we are rapidly expanding our team across multiple functions in Singapore. I am thrilled to have Lindsay and Peter provide operational leadership in the region," said Laura Quigley, SVP APAC, IAS. "Both have strong track records of building strategic partnerships across these markets and growing business within the ad tech space. I am very confident Lindsay and Peter will successfully guide the teams and help clients improve their digital spending outcomes."

"With the growth of digital advertising comes a greater need for media quality measurement, which makes joining IAS at this critical moment an exciting opportunity," said Lindsay Williams, Country Manager, SEA, IAS. "Southeast Asia's digital media market is evolving quickly, and I look forward to working with marketers and publishers to tap into IAS' solutions that can help drive efficiency and return on their investments in new ways."

"I am excited by the continued growth in programmatic advertising in multiple markets across Southeast Asia and look forward to building deeper relationships with our agency partners," said Peter Angelis, Director, Agency Partnerships, IAS. "Understanding our agency partners' needs in SEA will ensure we continue to curate solutions and forge important integrations that make IAS the digital media quality partner of choice".

About Integral Ad Science

Integral Ad Science (IAS) is a global leader in digital media quality. IAS makes every impression count, ensuring that ads are viewable by real people in safe and suitable environments, activating contextual targeting, and driving supply path optimization. Our mission is to be the global benchmark for trust and transparency in digital media quality for the world's leading brands, publishers, and platforms. We do this through data-driven technologies with actionable real-time signals and insight. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in New York, IAS works with thousands of top advertisers and premium publishers worldwide. For more information, visit integralads.com.

Integral Ad Science Logo (PRNewsfoto/Integral Ad Science (IAS))

SOURCE Integral Ad Science (IAS)
LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / October 6, 2021 / The Schall Law Firm, a national shareholder rights litigation firm, announces the filing of a class action lawsuit against Waterdrop Inc. ("Waterdrop" or "the Company") (NYSE:WDH) for violations of the federal securities laws.

Investors who purchased the Company's shares pursuant and/or traceable to the Company's initial public offering conducted in May 2021 (the "IPO"), are encouraged to contact the firm before November 15, 2021.

If you are a shareholder who suffered a loss, click here to participate.

We also encourage you to contact Brian Schall of the Schall Law Firm, 2049 Century Park East, Suite 2460, Los Angeles, CA 90067, at 310-301-3335, to discuss your rights free of charge. You can also reach us through the firm's website at www.schallfirm.com, or by email at brian@schallfirm.com.

The class, in this case, has not yet been certified, and until certification occurs, you are not represented by an attorney. If you choose to take no action, you can remain an absent class member.

According to the Complaint, the Company made false and misleading statements to the market. Waterdrop achieved its past revenue growth through illicit means likely to draw the attention of Chinese regulators for violating their rules. The Company was ordered by the Chinese government to shut down its mutual aid platform because it did not comply with Chinese law. The Company's operating losses increased significantly in the first quarter of 2021 based on shutting down the mutual aid platform and increased customer acquisition costs. Based on these facts, the Company's public statements were false and materially misleading throughout the IPO period. When the market learned the truth about Waterdrop, investors suffered damages.

Join the case to recover your losses.

The Schall Law Firm represents investors around the world and specializes in securities class action lawsuits and shareholder rights litigation.

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This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and rules of ethics.

CONTACT:

The Schall Law Firm

Brian Schall, Esq.,

www.schallfirm.com

Office: 310-301-3335

info@schallfirm.com

SOURCE: The Schall Law Firm





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OKLAHOMA CITY, October 06, 2021--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Midlands Management Corporation announced today that Jennifer (Jennie) Reed has assumed the role of Vice President Brokerage. Reed will oversee the Wholesale Brokerage unit and will co-manage the Specialty Program Business unit, which includes strategic involvement with administration, consulting and servicing operations.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005496/en/

Jennifer Reed, Vice President Brokerage, Midlands (Photo: Business Wire)

Reed brings extensive brokerage expertise along with a valued skill set to her current roles and responsibilities. With 22 years of experience in the commercial lines brokerage industry, she offers extensive knowledge of both the retail and wholesale segments of the business. Prior to Midlands, she worked at top national wholesale brokerages where she became a leading expert in commercial brokerage, contract underwriting, sales and business development. She began her career as a commercial account manager for an independent retail insurance agency.

"I am very pleased to see Jennie promoted into this role," said Colin Caldwell, Executive Vice President at Midlands. "With her strong E&S background, along with the deep agency and carrier relationships that she has established in the industry, she is the ideal person to drive Midlands forward and continue to strengthen our position as a leading provider of consultative insurance solutions."

Reed is based out of Midlands Dallas, Texas office.

Midlands Management Corporation is a managing general agent, wholesale broker, program administrator and insurance services provider with a specialty in excess workers compensation and occupational accident. Shaped by values and backed by expertise, Midlands offers superior program management capabilities and innovative insurance solutions. Learn more at www.midlandsmgt.com.

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Contacts

Sarah Holmes

Midlands Management Corporation

sholmes@midman.com

972-588-2064
Aniai got selected as one of the ten startups in "Microsoft for Startups"

SEOUL, South Korea, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Aniai, a member of Born2Global Centre, got selected as one of the 10 companies that will participate in "Microsoft for Startups". Aniai, one of the most promising Korean startups, has developed a labor solution for quick service restaurants by building a robotic kitchen.

Aniai Selected by Microsoft for Startups

Aniai was selected as one of the 10 startups in Q3 by Microsoft. "Microsoft for Startups" is a startup accelerator run by Microsoft that identifies a rising startup that has already acquired its own core technology. Through this program, Microsoft provides strong support for the startup to enter the global markets. Microsoft assists with Azure credits equivalent to 120,000 dollars and also provides an opportunity to take part in Co-Sell with Microsoft.

Aniai develops a robotic kitchen based on its core robot technology to design/control robots. Its robots are further reinforced by its unique cognitive technology with artificial intelligence(AI). With these technologies, Aniai presents a shining solution for the quick service restaurants as the robotic kitchen can accelerate Digital Transformation(DX). A majority of the quick service restaurants and other restaurants are struggling with labor shortage due to the shrinking HR pool of young men and women. Aniai intends to supply the required labor force with the robotic kitchen and to guarantee the hygiene and quality of the food prepared in the restaurants. Moreover, Aniai will lower the work intensity in the kitchens which will lead to the higher employment rate for the senior workers in the entire food industry.

It is anticipated that Aniai will head for rapid growth with Microsoft for Startups. The program consists of an empowering process and networking programs with both domestic and overseas venture capital corporations. The Co-Sell with the partners of Microsoft will also result in the business opportunities with the domestic and overseas partners. Technology-wise, Aniai can use Microsoft's Azure Cloud to build the operating system of the robotic kitchen, allowing it to manage thousands of the equipment from headquarters.

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Aniai as one of the most promising startups in Korea, has won the first prize in the K-Startup League 2020. Aniai aims to build up its presence in domestic markets and expand into international markets as well.

For more detailed information on Aniai, visit https://aniai.ai/.

Media contact

Aniai: jungeun@aniai.ai

Born2Global Centre: jlee@born2global.com

Cision

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SOURCE Born2Global Centre
TORONTO, Oct. 6, 2021 /CNW/ - Following Canada's inaugural National Day of Truth and Reconciliation on Sept. 30, the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO) is urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to stop the federal government's long-standing court battle with First Nations children and their families, and to compensate them for the effects of inadequate and discriminatory funding.

On Sept. 29, the Federal Court dismissed an appeal by the federal government for a judicial review of the rulings of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal to compensate First Nations children and their families. RNAO deems this appeal and denial of compensation unacceptable. The rulings show that the federal government inadequately funded services for First Nations children and took an overly narrow approach to determining eligibility for Jordan's Principle, which states no health, social or educational service for a First Nations child be denied or delayed due to disagreements between different levels of government.

"First Nations children and their families must be compensated for the harm caused by the misguided and discriminatory decision of the past," says RNAO CEO Dr. Doris Grinspun. "This is a critically important concrete action to begin responding in a way that is congruent with the spirit of truth and reconciliation. It would be unthinkable to continue adding injustices to those inflicted in the past," urges Grinspun.

RNAO has issued an Action Alert and is encouraging everyone to sign it to urge the federal government to stop fighting First Nations children in court and pay children and their families what they are rightfully owed.

"This Action Alert provides Canadians with the opportunity to demand that the prime minister lead the federal government to end this fight and respect the rulings of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal," says RNAO President Morgan Hoffarth. "First Nations children and their families deserve compensation for the harm caused by the federal government's actions."

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The Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO) is the professional association representing registered nurses, nurse practitioners and nursing students in Ontario. Since 1925, RNAO has advocated for healthy public policy, promoted excellence in nursing practice, increased nurses' contribution to shaping the health system, and influenced decisions that affect nurses and the public they serve. For more information about RNAO, visit RNAO.ca or follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

SOURCE Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario

Cision

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IEDC Fireside Chat

Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman participated in a fireside chat at the IEDC Annual Conference with Jonas Peterson, President and CEO of Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance.

Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman participated in a fireside chat at the IEDC Annual Conference with Jonas Peterson, President and CEO of Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance.

Rudy's Jazz Room

Rep. Jim Cooper, Michael Braden, Owner, Rudys Jazz Room, Adam Charney, President, Rudys Jazz Room, SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman, Linde Hoefler, General Manager, Rudys Jazz Room and LaTanya Channel, Nashville SBA District Director at Rudys Jazz Room in Nashville, Tennessee

Rep. Jim Cooper, Michael Braden, Owner, Rudys Jazz Room, Adam Charney, President, Rudys Jazz Room, SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman, Linde Hoefler, General Manager, Rudys Jazz Room and LaTanya Channel, Nashville SBA District Director at Rudys Jazz Room in Nashville, Tennessee

Washington, Oct. 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman , head of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), visited Nashville, Tennessee, this Monday, October 4, as part of a national tour highlighting small business recovery and resources available to assist entrepreneurs.

Administrator Guzman met with small business owners who have benefited from the American Rescue Plan, community organizations, and economic development advocates to directly hear their experiences, and layout the Biden-Harris Administration's path forward for the small business community. She also encouraged vaccinations to help business owners continue to fully re-open their businesses and help Americans safely get back to work.

"I was thrilled to visit Nashville, a city with a strong entrepreneurial spirit and an outsized cultural impact. I heard firsthand from small business owners about how federal relief had been pivotal in their survival, and I learned about the many ways they used their extraordinary perseverance and resilience to stay afloat over the past year and a half. They also shared how SBA can continue to meet them where they are with the capital, market opportunities and networks they need to build back better, Administrator Guzman said.

Administrator Guzman kicked off her day in Music City at the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) Annual Conference. She participated in a conversation highlighting ways economic developers can partner with the SBA to help small businesses recover and rebuild from the ongoing pandemic.

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Later, Administrator Guzman visited the Nashville Entrepreneur Center, where she met local Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) recipients who have used the workspace to expand and showcase their small businesses.

Representative Jim Cooper joined Administrator Guzman to tour Rudy's Jazz Room, a small business and local cultural treasure that is now back up and operating after receiving relief through the SBA's Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program.

The trip also included a walking tour of historic Jefferson Street, where Administrator Guzman visited small business owners who directly benefited from SBA's disaster relief efforts. To close out her visit to Nashville, Administrator Guzman stopped by Imagen, a women-owned small business manufacturer that designs and builds visual exhibits.

This marks the Administrator's first visit to Tennessee. Since June, Administrator Guzman has visited 13 states and U.S. territories, including Puerto Rico.

###

About the U.S. Small Business Administration

The U.S. Small Business Administration makes the American dream of business ownership a reality. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow or expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.

Attachments

CONTACT: Press Office United States Small Business Administration press_office@sba.gov




NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / October 5, 2021 / Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of The Honest Company, Inc. ("The Honest Company" or the "Company") (NASDAQ:HNST). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at newaction@pomlaw.comor 888-476-6529, ext. 7980.

The investigation concerns whether The Honest Company 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 or about May 5, 2021, The Honest Company sold approximately 25.8 million shares of stock in its initial public stock offering (the "IPO") at $16.00 per share, raising nearly $413 million in new capital. Then, on August 13, 2021, The Honest Company released financial and operating results for the second quarter of 2021. The Company posted a net loss of $20.2 million, or $0.17 per share, for the quarter, compared to a loss of $375,000, or $0.01 per share, for the same period in the prior year.

On this news, the Company's stock price $3.98 per share, or 28.33%, to close at $10.07 per share on August 13, 2021.

Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Paris, and Tel Aviv, 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, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz 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.pomlaw.com.

SOURCE: Pomerantz LLP





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Spirit Airlines to give away 31 pairs of tickets to members of the Free Spirit loyalty program in conjunction with South Florida expansion at Miami International Airport

MIRAMAR, Fla., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Florida's Hometown Airline is brightening up the skies over Miami with a steady stream of its signature yellow planes. Today Spirit Airlines (NYSE: SAVE) launched service at Miami International Airport (MIA), with its first flight arriving from Atlantic City, N.J. (ACY) and first departure bound for Port-au-Prince, Haiti (PAP).

Spirit's presence at MIA begins with service to nine destinations, which will grow to 31 nonstop options by the time expansions in November and January are complete. The carrier will serve 20 markets domestically and 11 internationally.

Today's ribbon-cutting ceremony included the announcement of the Free Spirit Flyaway, a nationwide promotion in which Spirit will give away 31 pairs of roundtrip tickets in honor of each of its nonstop routes from MIA.1 Even betterthe only requirement for entering for a chance to win is to be a member of the Free Spirit loyalty program, which costs nothing to join and offers the fastest way to earn rewards and status.2

"Launching nonstop flights to 31 destinations right out of the gate in Miami is a huge milestone for us, and we want to share all that excitement with our Guests," said Ted Christie, President and CEO of Spirit Airlines. "We want our Free Spirit Loyalty winners to be able to choose their own destinations because flexibility is what we're providing in Miamimultiple daily flights that go all over the U.S. and stretch into South America. Combined with our flights from West Palm Beach and our position as the largest carrier in Fort Lauderdale, we're giving our Guests more options in South Florida than ever."

The celebration starts today at spirit.com/flyaway. Between now and Nov. 3, 2021 Guests can enter for a chance to win roundtrip tickets for two with complimentary airfare, bags, seat selection and Shortcut Boarding.3 Each of the winners will be able to plan a trip from their closest Spirit airport to any of the destinations the airline serves.4

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Free Spirit Members can take advantage of Spirit's Status Match Challenge, which offers anyone with elite status on another airline the equivalent Free Spirit Status for 90 days and the ability to quickly earn Free Spirit Silver or Gold Status after that.

"Spirit Airlines is America's only major airline headquartered in South Florida, and welcoming them to our airport is extremely special," said Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. "We proudly welcome the significant investment of flights, jobs and business revenue that Spirit is bringing to MIA and to Miami-Dade County, and we are excited to see the company grow as they offer more travel options to our residents and visitors."

"We are immensely grateful for Spirit's decision to not only expand to MIA, but with a sizeable presence of service to 31 cities," said Ralph Cutie, MIA Director and CEO. "With more than 200 weekly flights by January, Spirit will instantly become one of our busiest passenger airlines, giving our travelers even more options for flying to and from Miami-Dade County."

Spirit's full schedule is large enough to earn the airline a position as MIA's second largest carrier. Adding service at MIA is the next chapter of Spirit's story as the carrier steps up to meet the demand for high-value travel to and from South Florida. The carrier is staffing MIA with more than 200 new Spirit Family Members and supporting the expansion with 16 brand new fuel-efficient Airbus A320neo planes being delivered this year. Next year, Spirit plans to accept another 24 new planes into the airline's Fit Fleet, which is among the youngest in the industry.

Spirit Airlines Routes from MIA



Destination: Available: Start Date: Destination: Available: Start Date: Atlantic City (ACY) Daily Oct. 6 Detroit (DTW) Daily Nov. 17 Atlanta (ATL) Daily Oct. 6 Hartford-Bradley (BDL) Daily Nov. 17 Baltimore (BWI) Daily Oct. 6 Houston (IAH) Daily Nov. 17 Bogota (BOG)* Daily Oct. 7 Las Vegas (LAS) Daily Nov. 17 Guatemala City (GUA)* 4x per week Oct. 7 Myrtle Beach (MYR) Daily Nov. 17 Medellin (MDE)* Daily Oct. 6 New York LaGuardia (LGA) 2x per day Nov. 17 Newark (EWR) Daily Oct. 6 Orlando (MCO) Daily Nov. 17 Port-au-Prince (PAP)* 4x per week Oct. 6 Philadelphia (PHL) Daily Nov. 17 Santo Domingo (SDQ)* 3x per week Oct. 6 Raleigh-Durham (RDU) Daily Nov. 17 Barranquilla (BAQ)* Daily Nov. 17 San Pedro Sula (SAP)* 3x per week Nov. 18 Boston (BOS) Daily Nov. 17 San Juan (SJU) Daily Nov. 17 Cali (CLO)* Daily Nov. 17 Tegucigalpa-Palmerola (XPL)* 4x per week Nov. 17 Chicago O'Hare (ORD) Daily Nov. 17 San Jose, C.R. (SJO)* 4x per week Jan. 5 Cleveland (CLE) Daily Nov. 17 San Salvador (SAL)* 3x per week Jan. 6 Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) Daily Nov. 17 St. Thomas (STT) 3x per week Jan. 6 Denver (DEN) Daily Nov. 17







*Subject to government approval.

Spirit's Elevated Guest Experience

The Miami expansion arrives alongside Spirit's continuing commitment to invest in the Guest, which entails a number of initiatives aimed at delivering the best value in the sky.

An all-new cabin interior with ergonomically-designed seats and more usable legroom, featuring the best deal in the sky with our unique Big Front Seat

Fast onboard Wi-Fi that allows Guests to watch content from their favorite streaming services 5

Spirit's Signature Service

Recognition

Spirit continues to garner awards and recognition in 2021. Spirit is one of only three U.S. airlines listed on FORTUNE's 2021 list of World's Most Admired Companies, which measures companies with the strongest reputation within their industries. The carrier is a Gold Stevie Award winner for its groundbreaking self-bag drop system with biometric photo matching, which speeds the check-in process and reduces face-to-face contact. Spirit also earned "Platinum" status in the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) Health Safety initiative powered by SimpliFlying.

Guest Safety

Spirit's commitment to Safe Travels includes enhanced cleaning, advanced air filtration and a health acknowledgement at check-in. Airlines and airports remain subject to federal law requiring Guests to wear an appropriate face covering at airports and on flights. Please visit Spirit's COVID-19 Information Center for more information on safety enhancements.

1 The Free Spirit Flyaway promotion is open to legal permanent residents of the fifty (50) United States or the District of Columbia (excluding residents of Rhode Island and New York). See promotion rules for details. 2 Based on points earned on published fares (excluding sale fares) and optional services using the Free Spirit Credit Card (the "Card"), and includes status qualifying points earned by spending on Spirit and everyday purchases using the Card. 3 Each round trip includes base fare, taxes and fees, seat selection, one carry-on bag, one checked bag and Shortcut Boarding. See promotion rules for details. 4 Guests should check entry requirements for when planning trips including international destinations. 5 Available on select aircraft. Fleetwide availability estimated in early 2022.

About Spirit Airlines:

Spirit Airlines (NYSE: SAVE) is committed to delivering the best value in the sky. We are the leader in providing customizable travel options starting with an unbundled fare. This allows our Guests to pay only for the options they choose  like bags, seat assignments and refreshments  something we call A La Smarte. We make it possible for our Guests to venture further and discover more than ever before. Our Fit Fleet is one of the youngest and most fuel-efficient in the U.S. We serve destinations throughout the U.S., Latin America and the Caribbean, and are dedicated to giving back and improving those communities. Come save with us at spirit.com.

Cision

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SOURCE Spirit Airlines, Inc.
BOSTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / October 6, 2021 / The Thornton Law Firm alerts investors that it is investigating Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:DNA) for potential securities violations. Investors who currently own shares or options of DNA may contact the Thornton Law Firm's investor protection team by visiting www.tenlaw.com/cases/Ginkgo for more information. Investors may also email investors@tenlaw.com or call 617-531-3917.

Thornton Law Firm LLC, Attorneys At Law logo

FOR MORE INFORMATION: www.tenlaw.com/cases/Ginkgo

On October 6, 2021, short seller Scorpion Capital released a report alleging that Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings is a "colossal scam." The 175-page report alleges that Ginkgo Bioworks' business model is a "shell game," and that the company is highly dependent on related party transaction revenues. The report charges that the company is a "Frankenstein mash-up of the worst frauds of the last 20 years." Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings went public via a deSPAC transaction with blank check company Soaring Eagle Acquisition Corporation in September 2021. Shares of Ginkgo Bioworks have fallen 20% after publication of the report.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: www.tenlaw.com/cases/Ginkgo

Thornton Law Firm's securities attorneys are highly experienced in representing investors in recovering damages caused by violations of the securities laws. Its attorneys have established track records litigating securities cases in courts throughout the country and recovering losses on behalf of investors. This may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter.

CONTACT:

Thornton Law Firm LLP

1 Lincoln Street

State Street Financial Center

Boston, MA 02111

www.tenlaw.com/cases/Ginkgo

SOURCE: Thornton Law Firm LLP





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Key Players Covered in the F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd (Basel, Switzerland), Abbott Laboratories (Illinois, U.S.), Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (Massachusetts, U.S.), Sysmex Corporation (Hyogo, Japan), Siemens Healthineers AG (Munich, Germany), BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) (Franklin Lakes, U.S.), Seegene Inc. (Seoul, Republic of Korea), DiaSorin S.p.A. ( Saluggia, Italy), Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (New Jersey, U.S.), Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (Hercules, California, U.S.)

Pune, India, Oct. 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global In vitro Diagnostics Market Size was USD 80.43 billion in 2020. The market is projected to grow from USD 96.87 billion in 2021 to USD 149.03 billion in 2028 at a CAGR of 6.3% during the 2021-2028 period. Fortune Business Insights publishes this vital information in its report titled, In vitro Diagnostics Market, 2021-2028.

As per our research, the intensifying demand for point-of-care IVD devices and the growing adoption of these apparatuses have contributed to navigating the global market growth. Additionally, as per the British In-vitro Diagnostic Association, in-vitro diagnostic tests contribute to almost 70% of clinical judgments. Anyhow, out of the financial plan of NHS, below 1% is spent on the advancement of novel and innovative IVD products every year. This is anticipated to reinforce the IVD market growth during the forecast period.





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COVID-19 Impact

Rising Diagnostic Processes amid COVID-19 Pandemic to Impact Market Affirmatively

The market observed a sluggish growth in terms of incomes in 2020, owing to the varied impact of covid-19 on several industries. The COVID-19 pandemic has raised the demand for molecular diagnostics methods as it is utilized to detect the SARS-CoV-2 infection. Moreover, the demand for test kits increased, and consumables for observing blood glucose levels, troponin levels, and others, among hospitalized patients as they were detected COVID-19 positive.

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This resulted in a substantial upsurge in demand for point-of-care tests ground on serology and molecular methods universally. Key players perceived a significant rise in their incomes produced from sales of molecular tests as well as point of care tests. It is set to propel the market for In vitro Diagnostics in the near future.





To get to know more about the short-term and long-term impact of COVID-19 on this market, please visit:

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Report Coverage

We have employed an exclusive research approach that comprises statistics triangulation based on the famous bottom-up and top-down approaches. Our researchers have lead systematic primary research to verify the estimated size of the market for In vitro Diagnostics.

The statistics utilized to reveal the shares for multiple segments at the national, regional, and global levels are extracted from widespread interviews with various shareholders. Our specialists have also derived information from paid databases, industry journals, SEC filings, and many other similar resources.

Segmentation

On the basis of product type, the market is divided into instruments and reagents & consumables. The reagents & consumables segment held the leading share of the global market in 2020 owing to the rise in utilization of self-testing kits, POC tests, and numerous other progressive products in the in-vitro diagnosis.

Based on technique, the market is classified into immunodiagnostics, clinical chemistry, molecular diagnostics, and point of care, hematology, among other techniques. Whereas by setting, the market is bifurcated into laboratories and point-of-care. By application, the market is categorized into infectious diseases, cardiology, oncology, gastroenterology, and other applications.

By end-user, the market is segregated into clinical laboratories, hospitals, physician's offices, and others. In terms of region, the global market is separated into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa.





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Drivers and Restraints

Rising Incidence of Chronic Diseases to Augment the Market Growth

The occurrence of numerous sicknesses such as genetic, cardiovascular, and neurological diseases is surging considerably. As per World Health Organization (WHO), cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the primary cause of death across the globe, resulting in approximately 17.9 million deaths per year. This has resulted in an upsurge in consciousness about pre-mature diagnosis among the people and a rise in routine diagnosis, which supports the general growth of the market.

Furthermore, the innovation and development of new advanced IVD products are also contributing to the amplified growth of the market. Moreover, the rising geriatric population is another factor impacting the growth of the market. As per a survey conducted by the United Nations, in 2019, 1 in 11 people in the world are above the age of 65 and is projected to surge 1 in 6 people to be above the age of 65 by 2050. This concern is likely to aid the growth of the market during the mentioned timeframe.





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Competitive Landscape

Key Players and their Acquisition Strategies Set to Propel Market Growth

The global market for In vitro Diagnostics comprises players such as F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Abbott, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., and Sysmex Corporation, responsible for a substantial share in 2020. The leading market players emphasize approaches such as acquisitions, partnerships, and novel product developments and promotions to reinforce their market position worldwide.

For example, in March 2021, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. signed a conclusive merger contract with GenMark Diagnostics, Inc. This acquisition is likely to aid Roche in attaining admission to GenMarks novel technology to test for an extensive range of pathogens with one patient tester.





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Industry Development

April 2021: Siemens Healthineers successfully concludes the acquisition of Varian Medical Systems, Inc. This acquisition is expected to fortify the companys spot as a universal partner in healthcare.

List of Key Players Covered in this Market Report

F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd (Basel, Switzerland)

Abbott Laboratories (Illinois, U.S.)

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (Massachusetts, U.S.)

Sysmex Corporation (Hyogo, Japan)

Siemens Healthineers AG (Munich, Germany)

BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) (Franklin Lakes, U.S.)

Seegene Inc. (Seoul, Republic of Korea)

DiaSorin S.p.A. ( Saluggia, Italy)

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (New Jersey, U.S.)

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (Hercules, California, U.S.)

Table Of Content

Introduction Research Scope Market Segmentation Research Methodology Definitions and Assumptions

Executive Summary

Market Dynamics Market Drivers Market Restraints Market Opportunities

Key Insights Prevalence of Chronic and Infectious Diseases- Key Countries/Region, 2019-2020 Incidence of Cancer, By Key Countries, 2020 Technological Advancements in In vitro Diagnostics Key Industry Developments - Mergers, Acquisitions and Partnerships, 2020 Introduction of New Products / Approvals (By Major Players) Impact of COVID-19 on In vitro Diagnostics Market

Global In vitro Diagnostics Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2017-2028 Key Findings / Summary Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Product Type Instruments Reagents & Consumables Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Technique Immunodiagnostics Clinical Chemistry Molecular Diagnostics Haematology Other Applications Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Setting Laboratories Point-of-Care Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Application Infectious Diseases Cardiology Oncology Gastroenterology Other Applications Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By End User Clinical Laboratories Hospitals Physicians Offices Others Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Geography North America Europe Asia Pacific Latin America Middle East & Africa



ToC Continue





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Stafford supervisors voted Tuesday to appropriate nearly $6.7 million in Virginia Public School Authority bond funds to continue the design and engineering phases for the countys sixth high school.

Discussions are underway between a developer and the school division on purchasing land off U.S. 17 across from Village Parkway in the Hartwood District for the school.

The Stafford County School Board is interested in purchasing an 83.48886-acre portion of the referenced property and necessary easements for the proposed sixth high school, Chris Fulmer, the school divisions assistant superintendent of finance and administration, wrote in a letter provided to The Free LanceStar by the developer.

The new high school is expected to cost $125.5 million. The countys fifth high school, Mountain View, was built in 2005 at a cost of $46.6 million. A new Stafford High School was built in 2015 on the same land as the one it replaced at a cost of $66.6 million.
Park officials said the aim is to make the Old Rag experience as rewarding as possible for visitors. If implemented, the pilot program would run from next March through November and provide enough information to adopt a more permanent system with a different fee.

Weve got people backing up on the mountain, and we also have limitations on parking, said Patrick Kenney, superintendent of Shenandoah National Park.

Most public comment taken earlier this year on the proposed pilot program has been in favor of doing something, Kenney said. He said whether the 800-hiker figure works or should be revised would be determined by the pilot program.

A lot of the people who have done it feel like it is too crowded, Kenney said. The experience isnt quite what they envisioned a mountain climb to be  stacked up in the rock scramble ... and having to wait an hour to get through those areas because theres so many people ahead of you.

He added: Weve made some improvements on parking, but we want to bring things in sync  so youve got a ticket to climb and theres going to be some level of expectation that when you get there, there is going to be a place to park. Likewise, people dont want to park there and get caught up in a huge number of people up on the mountain, either.
WHEN IS a negotiation not really a negotiation? For starters, when one side has behind it the entire power and force of government.

That would be the reality if attempts by the White House and progressive Democrats to include in the massive $3.5 trillion spending bill new powers for Medicare to compel prescription drug manufacturers to negotiate under threat of severe financial punishment come to fruition.

Negotiating with Medicare is a bit like negotiating with a mobster seeking protection money. Behind the thin pretense of choice lies a heavy threat of force.

Concern over introducing yet more distortions in the health care market led policymakers to limit Medicares ability to directly negotiate prices at the time that the Part D prescription drug benefit was created.

But its not as if they left the government at the mercy of sellers. The private plans contracted with by Medicare are free to negotiate drug prices, and they aggressively do so.

The fact that prices are already being negotiated between plan providers and drug suppliers is why the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said in 2019, reaffirming many previous statements, that broad negotiating authority by itself would likely have a negligible effect on federal spending.
PLATTSMOUTH  Improvements to numerous streets around Plattsmouth will soon be coming down the road.

The City Council on Monday evening approved the latest one-year road construction plan, plus the longer-range six-year plan.

The one-year plan for 2022 includes construction work on Avenue C from Seventh to Eighth streets, First Avenue from 15th to 16th streets, the 15th Street intersection at Avenue F, 23rd Avenue from First Avenue to Avenue B, Lincoln Avenue from Second Avenue to 12th Avenue, and the Fourmile Road/Vireo Parkway to Wiles Road South.

Also included will be widening work on U.S. Highway 75 within the city limits.

The six-year projects remain unchanged from last year, said Steve Perry, the citys engineering consultant.

Those include overlay projects on North Fifth Street from Avenue A to Avenue D, Oakmont Drive from Fourth Avenue to Sixth Avenue, and reconstruction work on Avenue A from Sixth to Seventh streets.

In other action, the council approved refinancing of a bond to build the Plattsmouth Community Center back in 2006.

Originally the building was bonded with a rate greater than 4 percent interest. It was refinanced with lower rates in 2011 and 2016. That 2016 rate was at 2.505 percent.

The council approved a new rate of 1.149 percent. That could save the city nearly $217,000 on its bond for the center.

Thats a significant amount of money, Mayor Paul Lambert said.

The city has 10 years remaining to pay off the buildings debt.

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Having worked with Judy Allen in social services at the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska, Chris Legband said her friend was instrumental in the creation of the Elders Committee.

One of my passions was to work with her again and be on this board with her, and then she passed away, but I still wanted to serve, she said. And now I can serve for her instead of with her, even though I wish she was still here with us.

On Monday, Legband was voted in as chairperson of the Elders Committee, a group that focuses on resources and outreach for elders within the tribe.

Legband is a resident of Fremont, where she lives with her husband, Mark, a member of the Fremont City Council.

As an infant, Legband was adopted by a Lebanese family living in Fremont. She didnt get connected to her tribal roots until the 1990s, as her great-grandparents were members of the Ponca Tribe.

Ive been involved with so many different committees, and Ive worked with the tribe off and on since 2002, social services and in PR, Legband said. So I just have had a connection one way or another with the tribe once I got involved.

At the time, Legband was working at the Nebraska Childrens Home Society in Omaha, which she had been adopted through as a child, when she felt the need to work in case management.

Going to work as just a generic case worker for the tribe in their Lincoln office was a total game-changer for me, she said. It helped me learn about me, it helped me learn about my tribe and it helped me just to learn about Native culture just in general.

Since joining the tribe, Legband has had various positions, including vice chair of the Gaming Commission, which was instrumental in opening the Prairie Flower Casino at Carter Lake in 2018.

Prior to joining the Elders Committee, Legband worked as executive director of tribal affairs, which had her overlooking the day-to-day activities of all of the tribes staff and services.

The Elders Committee was formed in early 2021 and consists of two members for each of the four tribal council districts, as well as an at-large member. It first started having meetings in March.

It took a while to get us going because COVID put a stop to a lot of gatherings and meetings, and some things were being held via Zoom, but there were just a lot of things we had to do to get going again, Legband said.

The committees mission is to advocate for improved comprehensive services and to provide the leadership required to meet the needs of the tribes elders, or those 55 and older.

We meet because we want to help make their lives better, Legband said. Because with the culture, typically Native people dont speak up and advocate for themselves, and so they go without.

Legband said the committees nine members have experience in previous leadership positions and have strong ties to the community.

Weve started out having a lot of guest presenters to let us know about what things are being done right now as far as resources for the tribe that we provide, she said. And weve learned a lot, and then we find ways to get the information to members.

At the committees creation, Mark Peniska Jr. served as its chair. He was previously chairman of the Ponca Tribe from 2002 to 2006 and chair of the Northern Ponca Housing Authority.

Now, Peniska said hes more focused on providing those leadership opportunities to others within the tribe.

You can do the best job in the world, and everything comes back on you, he said. Its a hard job, but one thing about Chris is I think this is something she can do, and I think its the next step in her progression of leadership.

After being asked by Peniska to take on the role of chair, Legband said she was hesitant at first.

I know I can do the position, but I was nervous because Im in a group of people that I just admire and respect so greatly, she said. But they were just so gracious to me.

Having known Legband since the late 1990s, Peniska, who was elected vice chair of the committee, said she was a perfect fit as she is a detail-oriented person and wont give up on a goal.

Christine is proactive and she does have a lot of knowledge about the tribe, he said. She has a lot of knowledge about how to get things done.

With a background in social work and journalism, Legband said her role as chair is the best opportunity for her, as shes identifying the needs of others.

And the journalism part for me is the communication, because thats key, she said. We are the only tribe in Nebraska without a reservation, and so we have those barriers and hurdles to get past in order to reach our people.

Even if elders dont have modern communication sources such as email or internet, Legband said shes excited to find ways to get resources to them.

We just have to find ways and see whats been done and try to make it better in order to get the information to others before they get into an emergency situation, she said. So then if something comes up, they can say, Oh, I heard about this. Maybe I can call and they can help me.

Legband said her journey with the Ponca Tribe has been one thats near to her heart, and she continues to learn every day.

I love this group of people with the Elders Committee because they have such a wealth of knowledge that I can sit back and actually say the least bit ever and learn from them, she said. And I just love that.

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Sen. Tony Vargas of Omaha raised more than $400,000 in funding for his 2022 bid for metropolitan Omaha's 2nd District congressional seat during the third quarter of 2021, his campaign reported Wednesday.

That's a figure that his campaign said is the largest amount ever raised by a first-time candidate for that seat in the House during the first three months of his or her campaign.

"Proving Sen. Vargas's strong support among Nebraskans, nearly 80 percent of his donors are from Nebraska," the campaign stated.

"And 97 percent of donations are from individuals."

Vargas, who is serving his second term as a member of the nonpartisan Legislature, is seeking the Democratic nomination for the House seat now held by three-term Republican Rep. Don Bacon, who will be a candidate for reelection next year.

The 2nd District seat has been Nebraska's only competitive House race, and the contest will be conducted next year in a district where boundaries have been redrawn by redistricting approved by the Legislature last month.

Vargas, a Latino, represents a heavily Latino legislative district centered in South Omaha.

"The generosity of our supporters sends a message that Nebraska is ready for new leadership that listens and a voice in Congress that works for all of us," Vargas said.

Vargas serves as a member of the Appropriations Committee in the Legislature.

Bacon's most recent campaign finance statement showed $420,781 in cash on hand.

Democrats last won the House seat in 2014.

Alisha Shelton of Omaha is also seeking the Democratic nomination.

Reach the writer at 402-473-7248 or dwalton@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSdon

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COLUMBUS -- A local leader in manufacturing, Phil Raimondo, chairman and CEO of Behlen Mfg. Co., died Sunday.

Raimondo was 59.

Phil was a great guy, a good businessman, state Sen. Mike Moser of Columbus said. The Raimondo family have been great supporters of the Columbus community and believers in Nebraska and believers in manufacturing in the U.S.

Behlen Mfg. Co. was founded in 1936 by Walter D. Behlen. Wickes Corp. took over the company and Phil Raimondo's father, TR Raimondo, was its general manager.

TR Raimondo -- along with Dick Casey, Bob Theilen and Steve McGill -- bought the Columbus-based company in 1984 to return it to local ownership. They reportedly invested $30 million and lost $7 million in their first year. In June, Behlen was valued at $300 million.

Theyve been so important to the Columbus area because they rescued Behlen from the edge of extinction, Moser said. Theyve done such a great job in making it stronger than its ever been before.

Last year the company celebrated 36 years of local ownership. Behlen also has locations in Omaha; Boise, Idaho; Baker City, Oregon; McGregor, Texas; and Sarasota, Florida, according to its website.

At a June celebration to mark its 85th anniversary, Phil Raimondo attributed Behlens success to its more than 1,200 employees.

At the June event, Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts highlighted the companys involvement in the community, specifically an apprenticeship program in which Columbus High School students can learn about manufacturing and enter the workforce right after high school.

Ricketts also noted Behlens role during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"When some of the local folks were being furloughed from their companies, Behlen stood up to offer them temporary employment to help them get through a rough patch," Ricketts said. "That's what Nebraskans do. They help out their neighbors."

Columbus Mayor Jim Bulkley said Raimondos loss will be felt throughout the community.

Prayers go out to his family and to the Behlen corporation for the loss of a great leader and a great individual who has just been a tremendous asset to the Columbus community for many, many years, Bulkley said. He will be deeply missed.

Hannah Schrodt is the news editor of The Columbus Telegram. Reach her via email at hannah.schrodt@lee.net.

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TARIN KOWT, Afghanistan -- The Taliban has tried to portray itself as a more tolerant version of the hard-line Islamist group that last ruled Afghanistan two decades ago, but young men are finding that facial hair speaks volumes about the extremist group's purportedly new style of leadership.

"We cannot shorten our beards or trim our hair," Hekmatullah, a resident of the southern province of Uruzgan, told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi. "If we cut our beards the Taliban catch us and say: 'Youre a member of the former government,' and they beat us."

The 20-something described the grim realities of Afghanistans transition to Taliban rule following the withdrawal of foreign forces and the fall of the Western-backed government in Kabul in August.

Violations of a Taliban decree handed down in late September banning the shaving of beards can result in severe punishment, while barbers who were directly ordered to halt the practice are struggling to make ends meet.

One young man from Tarin Kowt, the provincial capital, told Radio Azadi on condition of anonymity that he was beaten and detained for a day after shaving his beard.

Meanwhile, barbers who have plied their trade for years with no restrictions say business has fallen off dramatically.

"Our jobs are vanishing, our economy is weak, and we have no flour at home," said Momin, a barber in the city, where the official population of 70,000 has swelled in recent years with the arrival of people fleeing fighting in the province.

People used to be lined up outside barbershops in Tarin Kowt, but Momin estimates he has lost 90 percent of his business since the Taliban overran it on August 13 in a blistering advance that culminated with the fall of the government in Kabul two days later.

"I have ill relatives at home; we are in debt," said Momin, who described himself as a wanderer who is originally from Maidan Wardak Province, which lies just west of the Afghan capital. Leaving is not an option.

"God knows we don't have any money at all. We are not allowed to go to Iran. We cannot go to Pakistan," he said. "We are stuck in our Afghanistan, so what can we do?"

The crackdown on Momin's livelihood came after the Taliban issued the decree banning the shaving of beards in neighboring Helmand Province, one of the extremist group's traditional strongholds.

According to the order, barbershops in the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah were warned of consequences if it was proven they had shaved or trimmed someone's beard because the acts were considered a violation of their interpretation of Islamic Shari'a law.

"If anyone violates the rule, they will be punished, and no one has a right to complain, the edict read.

The Taliban's director of information and culture, Hafiz Rashed Helmand, told the daily Etilaat-e Roz newspaper that the decree was made by the ruling group's religious police.

Copies of the decree circulated widely on social media showed that it bore official Taliban seals, and Helmand was quoted as saying the ban stood throughout Afghanistan.

But other officials within the Taliban, which has pledged to employ a milder form of rule than it did when it was last in power from 1996 to 2001, attempted to walk back the decree.

As news of the edict broke, Ahmadullah Wasiq, the deputy head of the Taliban's caretaker cultural commission who has recently said that women's sport was unnecessary, published an official letter on his Twitter account on September 26 saying that those who issued the decree were not authorized to do so.

But the accounts that the decree was indeed being enforced, which followed reports that the bodies of alleged kidnappers had been hung in public squares in the western province of Herat, have raised concerns that the Taliban has no intention of dropping its old ways.

The Taliban was infamous in the late 1990s for its brutal punishments, including amputations and public lashings and execution by stoning or shooting.

In late September, Mullah Noooruddin Turabi -- one of the Taliban's founders and the main enforcer of its brand of Islamic law -- said that executions and amputations would once again be carried out, albeit possibly not as publicly.

Turning back the clock 20 years is difficult to fathom for those who grew up heavily influenced by the West following the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

Fashion might be cyclical, but this is not what Afghan men who became accustomed to modern hairstyles and cleanly trimmed beards had in mind.

"In the past, we used to go to the hairdresser without fear. It felt good to be stylish," said Hekmatullah. "But now we cannot enjoy anything under the new government."

Written by RFE/RL correspondent Michael Scollon in Prague. Based on reporting by RFE/RL Radio Azadi correspondents in Afghanistan whose names are being withheld for their safety.
The Taliban says it has arrested four members of the rival Islamic State (IS) extremist group north of the Afghan capital, while at least two Taliban fighters were killed in an attack in the country's east.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on October 6 that the IS militants were arrested during an overnight operation in Kabul Provinces Paghman district in which documents and weapons were seized.

He provided no additional details.

The IS groups local affiliate, the Islamic State-Khorasan Province (IS-K), has not commented on the claims.

Since the Taliban took control of most of Afghanistan in August, IS-K militants have ramped up attacks against the countrys new rulers.

On October 5, reports said at least two Taliban members were shot and killed and three civilians were wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on a Taliban patrol at a vegetable market in the eastern city of Jalalabad.

The unknown assailants took the fighters' weapons before fleeing the scene.

IS-K militants did not claim the market shooting, but it has carried out similar attacks in and around Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar Province, since the Taliban takeover.

The group has claimed responsibility for a deadly blast that struck near the entrance of a Kabul mosque on October 3 as mourners left a prayer ceremony dedicated to the death of Mujahid's mother.

This story also includes reporting by Radio Azadi correspondents in Afghanistan. Their names are being withheld for their protection.

With reporting by AP and dpa
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Surging demand for COVID-19 tests from U.S. employers has exacerbated a nationwide shortage of rapid tests in recent weeks and is driving up costs for state and local testing programs, according to industry executives and state officials. But Colorado has "adequate supply" of rapid tests, a spokesman for the state said Tuesday.
UCHealth is terminating 119 employees statewide for failure to receive a COVID-19 vaccine or a religious or medical exemption, UCHealth Spokesman Dan Weaver said.

Of 26,500 employees statewide, the 119 employees represent less than .5% of the workforce, Weaver said in a statement. UCHealth will be firing 54 employees in the Denver metro region, 32 in southern Colorado and 33 in northern Colorado.

"Any of those leaving UCHealth employment are welcome  and encouraged  to re-apply for their positions should they decide to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and wish to return, " Weaver said.

UCHealth passed the deadline for employees to get the vaccine or an exemption Friday. The mandate was announced July 28.

Stevie Silvers, a permanent charge registered nurse who works for UCHealth out of Fort Collins, contends that others willingly left UCHealth before the deadline, avoiding termination. So the number of departed health care professionals due to the mandate could be higher.

Silvers, who received a religious exemption from UCHealth, is part of a group of UCHealth employees who sent a letter to the organization's administrators in opposition to the mandate after it was announced. After not taking a single day off last year, Silvers is shocked about the fact that she may now be seen as a villain for her personal beliefs.

"Last year we were the frontline heroes, praised for the work we did and we worked through the entire pandemic not being vaccinated," she said. "I went to work, not knowing what I was going to face, not knowing the potential risk that I was bringing to myself or to my family...To go from that being our story last year and being praised and put on a pedestal -- which is not what we asked for. We simply went to work to do what we were called to do --to this year being villainized for a personal choice and personal belief has been really beyond disheartening and beyond devastating. "

Silvers said she is practicing self care, taking proper precautions at work and staying physically healthy in order to fend off the virus.

Weaver said despite terminating employees who are not in compliance with the mandate, fewer employees are testing positive for COVID-19, which translates to an improvement in staffing.

"No hospital wants to lose valued employees, but we know vaccines save lives and increase safety for everyone," Wevaver said. "We appreciate our staff members and providers who have chosen to be vaccinated to protect their family members, coworkers and our patients. Our dedicated health care workers are improving the health of Colorados communities during what has been an extremely difficult time for everyone in health care."

Silvers found Weaver's statement to be confusing and disrespectful. How can a health care organization afford to lose able-bodied medical professionals at such a crucial juncture, especially when masking and social distancing have been deemed safe accommodations without the vaccine.

"If we were truly in the middle of a pandemic and a crisis, how could you fire anybody that's willing to show up and work," she said. "We have been critically short staffed on every unit at our hospital and in UCHealth as a system."

Another healthcare organization, Kaiser Permanente, also has a mandate in place. Kaiser has set a deadline of Dec. 1. More than 92% of all employees at Kaiser have been vaccinated.

"We hope none of our employees will choose to leave their jobs rather than be vaccinated, but we wont know with certainty until then," said Kaiser Permanente spokesman Nick Roper. "We will continue to work with this group of employees to allay concerns and educate them about the vaccines, their benefits, and risks."

As of Oct. 4, just over 2,200 Kaiser employees across the U.S. failed to respond to the vaccine requirement and were put on unpaid administrative leave. They have until Dec. 1 to become vaccinated if they want to return to work, a Kaiser spokesman added.
El Paso County finance officials unveiled Tuesday a proposed 2022 spending plan that includes more money to improve local roads, upgrade county software, hire new employees in several departments and increases pay for county employees.

County commissioners mulled the roughly $512 million proposed budget that includes about $159 million in discretionary money they can distribute to core services and departments. The rest of the budget is tied up by state and federal regulation.

The budget process continues Oct. 19 and Oct. 21, when each department will present the board with their critical needs. Residents can attend the hearings and offer feedback on budget allocations before commissioners adopt the final 2022 budget Dec. 7.

El Paso County 2022 Budget Hearings Schedule Oct. 19 and Oct. 21: County departments will present on critical needs, the Citizens Outreach Group will address the board, and the county controller will provide updated revenue projections and a five-year financial forecast. Nov. 16: Commissioners will discuss allocations and direct staff to prepare a final draft of the budget. Dec. 7: Commissioners will vote to adopt a 2022 budget, certify the county mill levy and authorize the county treasurer to transfer between funds. The hearings will take place during commissioners regular meetings, which start at 9 a.m. at Centennial Hall, 200 S. Cascade Ave. Residents may also participate remotely through Facebook Live on the El Paso County Facebook page. Residents can find the 2022 preliminary balanced budget on the county finance website, admin.elpasoco.com/financial-services. Click on the County Budget & Presentations button.

Sales and use tax revenues are significantly higher than budgeted projections this year  by about 25% over 2020, County Controller Nikki Simmons said. Retail, food service, hospitality and wholesale trade industries are all seeing boosts, she said.

We dont talk about 25% increases when we talk about budgeting forecasted sales tax growth. Thats not in the wheelhouse of normal, Simmons said.

Federal stimulus funding pumped into the local economy during the pandemic and population growth in El Paso County could be contributing to the increase.

Our county is growing, and we have a lot of new businesses, (so) were seeing our ability to keep our spending local to El Paso County, versus having our spending maybe happen in the Castle Rock or Denver Metro areas, Simmons said. Were finding were able to pull our revenues back into local business.

The budget also includes $26.4 million that wasnt spent in 2021, she said.

Eleven million dollars  the largest budget expenditure  is allocated to high impact road infrastructure in the proposed 2022 budget, part of the countys multi-year plan to address a backlog of road infrastructure needs, Simmons said. The Public Works Department will present commissioners a list of roads for which they want to prioritize the funding as budget discussions continue in the coming weeks.

El Paso County is also asking voters to decide this November if it can keep $15 million in excess government revenue, in part to fund road infrastructure projects. Commissioners Carrie Geitner and Longinos Gonzalez opposed the measure during discussions this summer. Gonzalez argued some previous road improvements, approved when voters last passed a tax retention question in 2017 to fund road projects, had still not broken ground. Geitner said residents are still struggling financially because of the pandemic and should receive the money they are legally owed.

The proposed 2022 budget also includes $7.4 million to increase pay for county employees to offset a projected 3.5% increase in the cost of living this year, Simmons said.

Other highlights of the proposed 2022 budget:

 $1 million to begin upgrading software the county uses for day-to-day operations, including time tracking and finances. In all, the project is expected to cost $10 million, Simmons said.

 Roughly $3.6 million to hire new employees in several departments, including the county attorney, community services, district attorney, emergency management, human resources, justice services, planning and community development, public works and sheriffs offices.

 $3 million to boost the Housing Authority Corpus, which provides low-interest long-term loans to assist in affordable housing projects.

 $1.5 million to bolster the countys Business Revolving Loan Fund, which provides loans to local private, for-profit small businesses and startup companies.

 $750,000 for ongoing major improvements to county facilities.

 Increased support for El Paso County Public Health by $150,000.

 Roughly $22 million in emergency funds, in addition to about $27 million in reserves.
Students in masks queue up to enter the building for the first day of in-class learning since the start of the pandemic at Garden Place Elementary School Monday, Aug. 23, 2021, in north Denver. All students, visitors and staff are required to wear face coverings while in Denver Public Schools regardless of vaccination status with the start of the school year.(AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Located off I-25 near Colorado Springs, the Christian-based Gateway Prayer Garden offers visitors a place to pray and meditate along its Fountain Creek Prayer Trails and inside a football field-sized pathway, shaped in the form of a cross by stone prayer benches. The garden is the only one of its kind in Colorado, and was dreamed up by a Texas artist in 2005. A Fountain couple, Ted and Audrey Beckett, donated $2 million worth of land to make the garden a reality.
A Fort Carson soldier will be tried for murder on charges he shot and killed his wife in February as their daughters watched in horror, a court ruled Tuesday.

Dermot Blake said in court Tuesday that police investigators findings were enough to likely prove hed killed his wife, Tashianna Blake, in a southeast Colorado Springs townhouse, and decided to send his case to trial.

Blake, 34, an Army radio expert of over four years who was stationed at Fort Carson, is expected back in court in mid-December. Part of that time, his attorney Steve Woodall said, would be used for possible negotiations with prosecutors.

Police allege that sometime around midnight on Feb. 20, Dermot and Tashiannas oldest daughter, was awakened by several loud shots, and the voice of her father, who ordered the girls to come out of their room.

When they did, the girl, 7 at the time, told officers she and her then 5-year-old sister saw their mother in a hallway outside their bedroom, drenched in blood from the waist down, telling Dermot she was sorry. As the children watched, the girl told police, Dermot shot Tashianna in the head.

The children told police Dermot shot their mother several more times, but stopped and retreated to his room when one of the sisters asked him not to shoot her.

I wanted to call the police  911  but I didnt want to because I love my dad really much even though he was killing my mom, the older daughter said.

Soon after, just before 1 a.m., Colorado Springs police received a report that someone had been shot and killed. The person who placed that call, they said, was Blake himself.

Patrol officers who responded to the home found Tashianna, 30 at the time, dead with several gunshot wounds. Blake, they said, was covered in blood, and police immediately put him in handcuffs.

Police also found the two girls sitting in the living room of the home, as well as a semiautomatic pistol next to the front door.

Upon investigation, police also learned that Dermot, who they said was still married to Tashianna, according to their Facebook statuses, had filed for divorce in 2019. They added that at one point that year, police had been called to their door for an argument during which Tashianna alleged over the phone that shed been hit by Dermot.

However, when officers arrived at the home on Squawbush Ridge Grove, both said the argument wasnt physical.

The two girls, police said in a February statement, were taken in by family members after the shooting.

Dermot, whos from Lawrenceville, Ga., is currently being held without bond in the El Paso County jail. Hes accused of the first-degree murder of Tashianna, as well as two child abuse charges for putting his children in the line of fire.
Colorado Politics senior political reporter

Joey Bunch is the senior correspondent and deputy managing editor of Colorado Politics. His 32-year career includes the last 16 in Colorado. He was part of the Denver Post team that won the Pulitzer Prize in 2013 and he is a two-time finalist.
Ohio builds sentencing database

The Ohio Criminal Sentencing Commission is working with the University of Cincinnati to build the Ohio Sentencing Data Platform (OSDP), a searchable website of sentencing data to guide judges and court staff on sentencing decisions.

The OSDP -- which will be managed by the Information Technology Solutions Center at University of Cincinnatis School of Information Technology -- will establish standardized data formats for compiling and tracking felony sentencing in all 88 Ohio counties. Built with $800,000 in funding from the court, the database will allow users to compare sentences across the state and see the broader demographics of those who are sentenced to identify race- or income-based inconsistencies, for example.

So far, 34 of the states 244 common pleas judges have opted into the program, which requires they fill out detailed forms on their sentences. More judges are signing up every week, according to Cleveland.com.

The platform is the first step to providing accessible and searchable information for judges making sentencing decisions and increasing transparency and accessibility for the public, journalists and researchers.

Until recently, Ohio didnt have a central index on sentencing, so it was difficult to find the number of people sentenced for a specific felony in a given year, the sentences imposed for each felony offender, how many of those were imposed as a result of a plea bargain or how many offenders were placed on community supervision.

The data-driven OSDP project is designed to tell the story of sentencing in Ohio by providing understanding and analysis of the criminal justice system by providing statewide, reliable and accessible information on sentencing outcomes, university officials said.

Those of us who have been entrusted with the duty to lead and to participate in the criminal justice system have an obligation to make sure there is public trust in that system and that the system delivers," Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen OConnor said at the partnerships launch. "Diverse justice for all. And data collection will make that happen.
Winnebago County supervisors continue to do their homework and due diligence when it comes to the Worthwhile Wind Project of Invenergy proposed for Worth and Winnebago Counties.

It is in Norway Township where residents have raised concerns in Winnebago County, which is slated for far fewer turbines than Worth County.

Worth County Zoning Commission Chair Jeff Gorball met with supervisors on Oct. 5 to discuss how Worth County has addressed zoning on the proposed wind turbines. He said a prior wind project in northeast Worth County, which was not zoned, placed turbines as close as 800 feet to homes, in some cases.

Turbines that were larger than originally stated were put in place, turbine locations were moved from what was originally stated, and more turbines went in than what was originally stated, Gorball said. It created quite a bit of disfavor to unfettered wind energy projects in the county.

As a result, Worth County supervisors passed a moratorium resolution on new wind turbine development in the county, which has a June 2022 sunset.

County officials there researched county ordinances and peer-reviewed scientific journals to develop an initial set of new guidelines. They compiled a draft ordinance solely for commercial wind development. An existing county ordinance there pertains to just three townships. It has not been extended countywide.

Gorball said written public feedback was solicited and a public hearing was held with about 200 people attending. There was overwhelming support for the draft ordinance at hearing and written comments.

However, some who commented did not want to preclude wind development in the county. The 40-page-plus ordinance specifies a noise complaint process, shadow flicker, and a recommendation to purchase noise-measuring devices was also made to the board of supervisors.

In side negotiation with supervisors, Invenergy recommended 30 hours of shadow flicker per year and 50 decibels of sound as acceptable. Gorball said his zoning commission decided upon maximum sound levels for day and night.

We thought two different levels would be appropriate, because sound at night can wake people up, he said. Not being able to sleep was a primary complaint.

He also said there should be no shadow. They recommended 1,600 feet for setback, citing a safety zone in case of fire from scientific literature for the specific turbine size proposed, and adopted a 3.75 times total height multiplier for other/larger turbines.

The Invenergy project stalled in Worth County on Oct. 4 (it has not started in Winnebago County) when supervisors discussed a proposed agreement with Invenergy, which failed for lack of a second motion to approve it.

Gorball said Invenergy officials have not moved from their original 1,500-foot setback, 30 hours of shadow, and 50 decibels of noise proposals.

Worth County supervisors failed agreement stemmed from a road and drainage agreement, with development terms added for this proposed wind project. Worth County is now looking to finalize the zoning commissions draft ordinance, he noted.

Winebago County supervisors also heard first from Winnebago County Zoning Administrator Matt Duve about the wind turbine permitting process.

My opinion is to keep a special exception permit to allow such zoning issues, Duve said. That allows us to look at the projects individually."

He noted his concerns with moving into a zoning ordinance like Worth County is considering, saying that if a developer checks all those boxes in the ordinance, Ive got to approve that permit to build turbines in Winnebago County. He also cited a potential lack of public input.

Worth County currently has a conditional use permit similar to the special use permit in Winnebago County, which gives everybody in the county with a vested interest some say, he added. A big difference is also that Winnebago County is 100 percent zoned and Worth County is zoned in just three townships.

Duve said he has had about six conversations with company officials in last 18 months.

Probably, as of three or four weeks ago, they arent planning on any wind turbines in Winnebago County right now, Duve said. They were focusing on Worth County.

He also noted that a special exception permit is not going to drive away wind development, noting that officials can garner conversations with the public.

In past weve had a couple of turbines allowed closer to properties than the setback, but thats because the adjacent landowners signed off on it, Duve said. Lets look at what they are proposing, have some public meetings, let me do my job and understand where the locations are, get in touch with the landowners adjacent, and lets talk about it.

No petition has been filed in Winnebago County. Gorball and Duve agreed the focus is on Worth County right now.

Gorball confirmed that the appendix of a development agreement, provided to Worth County officials on Sept. 28, shows five turbines to be located in Winnebago County. The vast majority are slated for Worth County with 50 locations, although the company is not necessarily planning all of those, according to Gorball.

Supervisor Susan Smith said she received no response from company officials when inquiring about proposed geolocations for turbines in Winnebago County.

In the past we used a setback number, Chair Terry Durby said. Im thinking the multiplier is probably a better way to go. That way, if they change their equipment (its addressed).

In other business, supervisors heard reports from:

 Julie Sorenson, who reported that 46.6 percent of Winnebago County residents who are eligible are fully vaccinated for COVID-19. She said that during the previous seven days, 11 percent of persons tested for COVID-19 in Winnebago County, which is nearly the same as the previous week and close to the statewide average.

 County Engineer Scott Meinders, who said that a new box was installed recently on a bridge replacement project just near Leland and that the bridge there could reopen by or before Oct. 11. The creek flow near the bridge has also been relocated further away from the road. The area will be grass-seeded before winter.

Rob Hillesland is community editor for the Summit-Tribune. He can be reached at 641-421-0534, or by email at rob.hillesland@globegazette.com.

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With any long period of service to an organization and to the community, a heartfelt sendoff is something to honk about.

A car parade of friends and local support traveled to Lime Creek Nature Center on Tuesday night to give their well wishes to conservation education manager Todd Von Ehwegen on his retirement.

Von Ehwegen has been working and educating at the Lime Creek Nature Center for over 30 years. In that time, he has done thousands of educational programs for the community and at schools.

The support organizer, Debby Friedrichs, said she coordinated the parade to show Von Ehwegen the impact that he has made at the Lime Creek Nature Center.

The nature center has grown so much in those 30 years and we certainly can attribute a lot of it to Todd, said Debby Friedrichs.

Debby Friedrichs organized the surprise to be right after the Lime Creek Nature Centers board meeting, which wrapped up after 7:45 p.m. When the time came to surprise Von Ehwegen, Debby Friedrichs told him to go outside due to some ruckus going on.

Von Ehwegen was met with over ten cars honking their horns and displaying homemade signs wishing him the best of luck with his retirement.

My first reaction was what is happening because the horns were honking and I didnt know what was going on but I figured it out. I was kind of overwhelmed with emotion. Im just really appreciative that they would do something like that for me, said Von Ehwegen.

Every car stopped so the passengers, while having big smiles on their faces, could say good luck and hand Von Ehwegen a card.

Rita Goranson came to know Von Ehwegen by coming to the nature center and helping out with activities. Because of the work he had done for both kids and the community, Goranson came out that cool night to wish Von Ehwegen a happy retirement.

He was so cool with the kids. He handles snakes and animals and that I felt was always really fun to see him and how he could interact with the kids and animals, said Goranson.

Goranson said she hopes that Von Ehwegen enjoys retirement to its fullest by doing his favorite activities.

Todd is just a wonderful guy, he really is. I really hope he enjoys his retirement, that he uses it to hunt and fish and enjoy life. Hes worked hard, said Goranson.

Bob Friedrichs, who came out to support, got to know Von Ehwegen through coming to the nature center and the presentations he would give to services clubs.

Hes given quite a few presentations over the years, said Bob Friedrichs. He cares about what hes doing and he likes to share that knowledge and expertise with people of all sorts of ages.

Bob Friedrichs said Von Ehwegen had left a big impression and was a driving force at the Lime Creek Nature Center. Bob Friedrichs added that Von Ehwegens steadiness was a trait he appreciated.

Hes just an even keel. Doesnt get too up or too down. Hes just steady but knowledgeable in that steadiness, said Bob Friedrichs.

Debby Friedrichs said she was happy to see the support that came out for Von Ehwegen and that the weather was perfect for the parade.

I know that that it will mean a lot to (Von Ehwegen) when he looks back on it, said Debby Friedrichs.

Von Ehwegen says the parade made an impact on him and made him realize how appreciated he is by people.

You put work in year after year and you know you are having an impact. But to have people that you really respect and appreciate tell you what an impact youve had, that really hits home, said Von Ehwegen. Its just an indescribable feeling. You just feel really good about the work that you have done through the years and that youve been appreciated.

Todd Von Ehwegen Retirement Lime Creek Nature Center Conservation Education Manager Todd Von Ehwegen, who is stepping away after 31 years in the position, showing off the

Von Ehwegen gave thanks to those who came out to support him that night and to the Lime Creek Nature Center supporters over the years.

Thanks to everybody in North Iowa that have been so supportive of Lime Creek Nature Center over the years. We would never be able to make it without the support of the community that we have here, said Von Ehwegen.

Von Ehwegens next steps are to take things a day at a time and enjoy his passions more freely.

Abby covers education and public safety for the Globe Gazette. Follow her on Twitter at @MkayAbby. Email her at Abby.Koch@GlobeGazette.com

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Following a unanimous vote of approval by the Mason City Council on Tuesday night, improvements are coming to one of the longest-running businesses in town.

The council members said yes to awarding Birdsall's a "downtown revitalization loan" of $30,000. In his application, Gary Schmit, who runs the business with his wife, Anne, as well as Marc and Michelle Murray, wrote that the funding from the city would be used to upgrade the restroom (to make it ADA compliant), repair the freezer area, give a facelift to the actual retail space and update the kitchen prep portion of the 91-year-old business at 518 N. Federal Ave.

In the latest council packet for the meeting, Director of Development Services Steven Van Steenhuyse wrote that improvements to the space, which changed hands earlier this year following the passing of David Vaughn Escher, will offer two different benefits for the city: the property value assessment will go up by 10.7% and one new full-time job will be added.

Along with Birdsall's, the city council also approved forgivable loans to: Bluehouse Properties (to convert the former Domino's space into a dine-in restaurant), Matt Brick (of Brick Furniture), Lucas Frein (of Frein Audio & Technology) and Johnson's Auto LLC. The city's "Corridor Revitalization Loan" and "Downtown Revitalization Loan" programs provide up to $30,000 for work meant to increase property values and improve a development's aesthetic quality. Program guidelines stipulate that the loan money has to be matched dollar-for-dollar and improvements funded by the loan needed to be maintained for at least seven years.

During discussion on the item, At-Large Council Member Paul Adams asked Van Steenhuyse whether or not the approval of the loans would exhaust such funds for the year. Van Steenhuyse said that the city is hoping to be able to make another loan or two before the year is up.

An over(hall)

Those spaces aren't the only ones in town getting revamped. Mason City Hall will see improvements worth at least $257,000 by about Feb. 14, 2022.

According to Mason City Finance Director Brent Hinson, the upgrades are related to safety and security in the reception area of the main floor.

"Ancillary benefits include improved storage, additional meeting space, improved functionality of work stations, and improved aesthetics," Hinson wrote in the meeting packet. The bid winner for the project is Dean Snyder Construction out of Clear Lake.

The council members voted 6-0 for the work which Mason City Mayor Bill Schickel said is largely being funded with COVID-19 relief funds.

Rezoned

Earlier this year, when city officials discussed the prospect of converting the vacant Sears building on Mason City's South End into indoor storage space, one concern was whether or not the area was properly zoned for such a use.

That's now no longer an issue.

All six councilors voted in the affirmative to rezone the property to what is called a "restricted industry zoning district," which allows Iowa Climate Controlled Indoor Storage Space Inc. to operate there. Previously, that area was considered a multi-use district.

Farther down South Federal Avenue, the city is making final payments to Black Hawk Roof Company for $86,422 worth of work on the Engine 2 Fire Station, which is a Public Works Administration project that is more than 80 years old. City officials have been pushing to get it added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Jared McNett covers local government for the Globe Gazette. You can reach him at Jared.McNett@globegazette.com or by phone at 641-421-0527. Follow Jared on Twitter at @TwoHeadedBoy98.

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DES MOINES  Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, a survivor of domestic violence and sexual assault, has proposed federal legislation calling for the deportation of individuals seeking to enter the United States who have been convicted of violent sexual crimes.

Speaking to Iowa reporters Wednesday, the Red Oak Republican said the U.S. immigration system is strained to its limits, which has made it difficult to properly vet people entering the country  particularly those who have been charged or convicted of sexual crimes.

While Democrats and Republicans disagree over many policy areas, she hoped consensus could be developed to make sexual assault and aggravated sexual violence a disqualifying act for entry, including those given the temporary status of humanitarian parole. 

Ernst said her proposed BE GONE Act, or the Better Enforcement of Grievous Offenses by un-Naturalized Emigrants, gives law enforcement the ability to deport those who have been convicted of sexual violent crimes or sexual assault and who are trying to immigrate.

Its not in law right now, she said during a teleconference. Right now, the current laws on the books dont effectively target those who have been convicted of sexual assault and sexual violence. We desperately need to update these laws to make sure we block sexual predators from immigrating to the U.S.

Specifically, she said, it would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 to include sexual assault and other forms of aggravated sexual violence as a disqualifying crime for foreign applicants for residence in the United States, and deportable for non-citizen resident immigrants.

A key challenge and easy fix we must address immediately is ensuring sexual predators and criminals are identified, stopped and deported, said Ernst. This measure is a common-sense solution to modernize the immigration system and combat sexual violence and those seeking to exploit our laws.

Currently, Ernst has 11 Republican co-sponsors for the bill and is hoping to attract bipartisan support.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, one of the co-sponsors, said the act would explicitly add sexual assault and aggravated sexual violence to the definition of aggravated felony in the Immigration and Nationality Act. Under the act, individuals who commit aggravated felonies are deportable from the U.S. and subject to expedited removal.

The crisis at our southern border has gotten out of control, with record-breaking illegal border crossings in recent months, he said. On top of that, there are circumstances where were letting folks into our country who have not been properly vetted.

We should not allow sexual predators into our country. Plain and simple. This common-sense legislation will provide additional federal protections to help keep predators off our streets.

Comments: (515) 243-7220; rod.boshart@thegazette.com James Q. Lynch of The Gazette contributed to this report.

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If the Facebook policies and practices described by Iowa City native Frances Haugen are true, the social media companys actions are immoral and unethical, U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley said Wednesday.

It's pretty discouraging to see that people would take action for profit that harms young people and teenagers, the Iowa Republican said during a call with Iowa news reporters.

Grassley is not a member of the Senate Commerce Committee panel that heard from Haugen, a former Facebook program manager, who, in media accounts and in her testimony Tuesday, accused the company of knowingly pushing products that harm children and young adults in pursuit of profits.

Haugen, an Iowa City West High School graduate who worked as a data scientist at Facebook, also told senators Facebook spreads misinformation, but refuses to make changes that would harm profits.

Based on the snippets hes heard from media reports, Grassley said, Haugens testimony gives credibility to his statements in recent years that Facebook and other so-called Big Tech companies are monopolies.

They are  well, in this case, Facebook, but I use a sweeping statement to cover a lot of platforms  monopolies, he said. They're protected from lawsuits, so they figure they got a license to do anything they want to.

The protections Congress has provided tech companies, including Section 230, which some members want to reform or rescind, were given when all these platforms were just young, budding businesses and Google and Facebook and Twitter, Instagram, those weren't even in our vocabulary, Grassley said.

Weve got to take another look at that section of it, but this is just simply immoral and unethical that they will set up an environment that hurts kids, he added.

Previous efforts to pass new regulations on social media have failed. However, senators indicated the new revelations about Facebook show its time to take action.

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The partisan temperature on Iowas local government races seems to be climbing rapidly.

That temperature spiked recently with Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds endorsing a suburban Des Moines school board candidate and encouraging those gathered at her fundraiser to evaluate and vote for like-minded local government candidates.

It looks like all partisan politics is local.

We can be honest here. This is a safe space. Local government elections  for mayor or city council, county supervisors, or school board  have never been as purely nonpartisan as theyre often billed.

Sure, local candidates are not listed as Democrats, Republicans or otherwise on the ballot as are the ones for the statehouse, Congress or governor. But these days, most voters know full well each local candidates political leaning. Democrats and Republicans alike for years have been working to elect ideologically approved candidates in local elections.

But the veil on allegedly nonpartisan local elections is being pulled back even more  maybe even removed altogether.

Reynolds recently appeared at a fundraising event for Sarah Barthole, a school board candidate in Ankeny who was one of the parents who encouraged Reynolds and statehouse Republicans to pass the new state law that required all school districts to offer full-time in-person instruction to all students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A governor not only endorsing but appearing at a fundraiser for a school board candidate is covering rare ground.

Then, during her annual fall fundraiser while speaking to a room full of roughly 1,000 donors  $50 per ticket at a minimum  Reynolds encouraged all in attendance to vote in their local elections for candidates whose viewpoints align with theirs.

"Please, please, please dont forget about the elections this November for school boards and city councils," Reynolds said. "Lets all come together and treat this November (election) like its next November (and the 2022 midterm elections). Find out where your school board and city council candidates stand on the issues that you care about, and then go vote.

"Again, its all about turnout. When we show up, we win."

Iowa Rep. Jennifer Konfrst, leader of the minority House Democrats, said she found Reynolds involvement in a school board race "quite concerning." Konfrst made the comments during her appearance on this weekends episode of "Iowa Press" on Iowa PBS.

It was pointed out to Konfrst that political parties have long helped local candidates and used those races and locally elected officials as recruiting grounds for future candidates for the statehouse, statewide or federal races.

"I would argue that not endorsing and not focusing on it are different things," Konfrst said. "I just dont think its appropriate as a leader to go in and put my thumb on the scale in a non-partisan race in that fashion."

It would appear that cat is out of the bag, most likely for good. Perhaps its time to take our heads out of the sand and acknowledge local races are no less partisan than any others. Perhaps its time to slap those Ds and Rs after local candidates names.

After all, one must essentially ignore reality to believe most voters dont already see those political labels in their minds anyway.

Erin Murphy is the editor of the Lee Des Moines Bureau. His email address is erin.murphy@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter at @ErinDMurphy.

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parker wrote:

This passage is so sneaky-- it *seems* straightforward and I wouldn't be surprised if people finished it well under time with a lot of confidence...only to find that they missed most of the questions.



Everyone's reading process differs, but so you have a sense of where I'm coming from, here's a breakdown of my mental process while reading:



For years, U.S. employers have counted on a steady flow of labor from Mexico willing to accept low-skilled, low paying jobs. (OK, social science passage...it's about labor but what's the main point? Also, this is an issue that is very much in the popular consciousness-- be extremely wary of bringing in outside knowledge) These workers, many of whom leave economically depressed villages in the Mexican interior, are often more than willing to work for wages well below both the U.S. minimum wage and the poverty line. (Mexican workers work in US for <min wage) However, thanks to a dramatic demographic shift currently taking place in Mexico, the seemingly inexhaustible supply of workers migrating from Mexico to the United States might one day greatly diminish if not cease. (Author's point of view! Probable main point of passage...bc of Mex demo shift the current Mex->US flow of migrant workers may shift or stop).



Notes:



I. For years, US employers count on low skill/pay Mex workers

Mex workers <min wage/pov line

Current Mex demo shift MAY ->flow of migrant workers shift/stop



On to P.2:



Predictions of such a drastic decrease in the number of Mexican immigrants, both legal and illegal, are driven by Mexicos rapidly diminishing population growth. (support for author's main point-- dec. pop growth) As a result of a decades-long family planning campaign, most Mexicans are having far fewer children than was the norm a generation ago. (decades-long campaign->fewer children for most) The campaign, organized around the slogan that the small family lives better, saw the Mexican government establish family-planning clinics and offer free contraception. (details of campaign...don't get bogged down in specifics...maybe just jot some key words) For nearly three decades, the governments message concerning population hasnt wavered. In fact, the Mexican Senate recently voted to extend public school sex education programs to kindergarten.



Notes:

II. REASON for predicted imm dec is dec in pop growth

decades of fam plan campaign-> fewer kids for most

(govt clinics, contracep, sex ed)



The result of Mexicos efforts to stem population growth is nothing short of stunning. (results awesome!) In 1968, the average Mexican woman had just fewer than seven children; today, the figure is slightly more than two. (7->2 kids per woman) For two primary reasons, (structure marker, pay attention to upcoming list) Mexicos new demographics could greatly impact the number of Mexicans seeking work in the U.S. First, smaller families by their nature limit the pool of potential migrants. (1--fewer people overall...duh...other one must be more interesting) Second, the slowing of Mexicos population growth has fostered hope that Mexico will develop a healthy middle class of people content to make their livelihoods in their home country. (2--hope for domestic Mex middle class)



Notes:

III.Campaign results = wow

7->2 kids/woman

2 reasons: (1) fewer people and (2) hope for domestic Mex mid-class



Though the former of these factors is all but assured, the growth of a healthy middle class is far from a foregone conclusion. (yup, second one is more interesting, as predicted) The critical (red flag word--pay attention) challenge for Mexico is what it does with the next 20 years. Mexico must (red flag word!) invest in education, job training, and infrastructure, as well as a social-security system to protect its aging population. If (structure word...we're dealing w/a conditional) Mexico is willing to step forward and meet this challenge, America may one day wake up to find that, like cheap gasoline, cheap Mexican labor has become a thing of the past.



Notes:

IV. Reason (1)=YES but reason (2)= MAYBE

For (2), in next 20 yrs, Mex MUST invest in ed, training, infra, SS for aging pop

If Mex does-> predicted shift happens



I like social science passages, and there wasn't any of the highly technical language that can sometimes trip me up, so it took me 2:39 to read and take notes on this passage, which means I should spend about 1 min per question to average out to a total of 6 min for both reading and 3 questions (2 min per question). The actual reading process might be faster/slower for you--adjust the time on and approach to your questions accordingly. Also, there are some symbols I used to cut down on writing time (arrows, etc) that I can't convey easily here-- use whatever system and symbols are most efficient for you.





Now onto the questions!



Q1. a NOT question...I'm going to have to examine all of them. What a pain!

(A) I remembered something about pop diminishing in P2, but looking at my notes saw that I had " pop growth " underlined. Typical sneaky Gmat tactic! This might be our answer, but let's keep looking just in case.

(B) 2 is about a third of 7? Pretty close. Cross off.

(C) This is pretty much what P1 says...there may be a shift "one day," but for now the workers are still coming. Cross off.

(D) Where did we see that word "aging"? In my notes for P4! Yup, the pop is aging-- the passage says so....is this the result of declining birth rates? If people are having fewer kids, then the population as a whole must be skewing more toward people who are already alive (older people), so yes this is true but involves some inference. Leave for now.

(E) P.4 notes again-- middle class is a MAYBE. Cross off.



Between (A) and (D), (D) requires a few more steps to reason through, but (A) has a concrete, identifiable error. The answer is (A). If we had gone too quickly and missed that sneaky word "growth" in (A), we might have gotten rid of all the answers . When that happens (and it will!) don't despair--cycle through them again and try to zero in on those little words you may have missed the first time--- getting rid of everything is often a result of rushing through the first time.



Q2. This is an inference question, so keep an eye out for any keywords that will tell us what part(s) of the passage we should focus on. Where did it talk about US employers? According to our notes--the first paragraph.



(A) This choice is a comparison-- make sure both parts are mentioned (and again, be very wary of bringing in outside knowledge--if "most" people know something, GMAC will try to use that info trip you up, so that info is highly suspect in an answer). The passage talks about the Mexican workers' pay, but never explicitly says anything about Americans' pay. What if most of these employers don't hire Americans at all? Eliminate .

(B) " Some " is a vague term that could mean as many as 100% and as few as 1. Do we know that at least one employer violates wage laws? Yes, the US counts on the labor of Mexican immigrants who are "often more than willing" to work for a wage "below the U.S. minimum wage." You could argue, however, that there is a little outside knowledge required here, too-- the fact that the minimum wage is a "wage law." Let's hold onto it for now but keep that flaw in mind.

(C) The passage doesn't specify what industry the workers are employed in. Eliminate .

(D) An argument about employers closing their businesses is never made. Eliminate .

(E) The words "no concern" are quite strong, and therefore you must have strong evidence to support it. The author states that the workers are often paid less-than-minimum wage, but does this mean there is absolutely zero concern on the part of the employers? Not necessarily. Eliminate .



We had a reservation about (B), but it's the only one left after all the others are eliminated, and requires the smallest "jump."



Q3. The phrase "one function" is very open-ended-- we only need ONE function, which may or may not be the primary function, of the final paragraph. Reread our notes for that paragraph.

(A) " certain " is a red-flag word. Is this certain? No, the paragraph lists conditions that must be fulfilled for the number of immigrants to decline. Eliminate .

(B) This info is in the passage, but not in the paragraph we care about (common GMAT trap). Eliminate .

(C) Does this happen in the final paragraph? Sort of...the author says that the decline is a "maybe" not a "definite," and proceeds to state the conditions that must be fulfilled (the implication being that if those conditions are NOT fulfilled, the prediction will not come true). The paragraph is primarily concerned with those conditions, but we're only looking for "one" function. Hold onto it for now.

(D) The passage DOES list infrastructure in which Mexico must invest...IF the prediction is to come true. This answer choice, however, simply says "Mexico must invest"--a very strong statement containing the red-flag word " must ." Mexico doesn't *have to* invest in those items-- if it doesn't, then the predicted shift may not happen. Eliminate .

(E) The predicted decrease is contingent on many things happening, and not a certainty. Eliminate .



Really really sneaky passage, but a great exercise in staying sharp about those little words that can make or break an answer choice.

Thanks Parker, but I am not still convinced with 1(I had this q appearing on one of my test on which I just managed a 36)The later part of the passage reinforces the thought that the there is a current change in the demo. The later part of the passage talks about statistics and shows that the decline in population has already begun?Your inputs appreciated
The application period is still open for local restaurants to participate in a new program that sends meals to senior citizens.

However, interest has been so high that a waiting list is forming, said Kathleen McEvoy, a Community Development Specialist for the West Piedmont Planning District Commission.

The program provides meals to low-to-moderate income senior citizens in the region. Participating eateries are eligible for a reimbursement of $20 per meal, a flat rate which covers the meal and other associated costs such as packaging.

Over the course of 35 weeks  this is its second  the Southern Area Agency on Aging is responsible for distributing the meals to approximately 300 qualifying seniors in Martinsville and Danville and the counties of Henry, Patrick, Franklin and Pittsylvania.

One lunch is provided per week to each senior. The day of the week varies depending on the seniors locality.

The meals are intended to address urgent needs in the community related to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, a news release states.
RIFAs capital investment to purchase and have work performed on the land was about $8.5 million, Adkins said. About $1.67 million in bonds issued by RIFA still must be paid off, which is expected to be done Jan. 1, 2025, he said.

As for getting the word out on the regions properties for development, our local, regional, and state economic development partners actively market available sites and buildings to prospective industry, Bobe said.

When IKEA announced its closure, word quickly spread about the facility that would become available, Bobe said. Not often does a community have a nearly 1 million-square-foot modern manufacturing building to market. The facility, along with skilled workers that would be in search of new jobs, were highly attractive to prospective industry.

Cane Creek Centre Industrial Park also includes Elkay, which has a 250,000-square-foot distribution facility.

RIFA still has about 250 acres at the park and a recently-completed 100,000-square-foot shell building that are being marketed to industries, Bobe said.
The already low graduation rate for Danville Public Schools dropped even further for the 2020-21 school year, dipping from 81.2% to 79.2%, according to figures from the Virginia Department of Education. That is more than a dozen percentage points less than the states overall rate.

In contrast, Pittsylvania County Schools graduation rate increased by 2.6 percentage points from 89.3% in 2019-20 to 91.9% last school year.

Virginias overall on-time graduation rate was 92.96%, according to information from the department released last week.

As for the citys high schools, George Washington High Schools on-time graduation rate was 74.8% and its dropout rate was 13.3% in 2020-21. Thats higher than the overall dropout rate of 10.7% in the city.

To improve the graduation rate at GW, the school is launching Operation Graduation, according to a news release sent out by the school division Wednesday afternoon.

We realize the opportunity for growth at George Washington High School, and thats why we have implemented [the program], GW Principal Johnnie Simmons said in a prepared statement. We will use this plan to help us reach our goal of raising the on-time graduation rate to 90% or higher.
New indictments charge a Rocky Mount man with murder in the death of his 7-year-old step-grandchild as well as bring cases against two other members of the family, according to court records and authorities.

John Robert Ebel, 50, was arrested on a charge of child abuse in July after his step-grandson died at a hospital of injuries that people claimed were the result of a fall, officials said.

Search warrants filed by investigators said that 7-year-old Hunter Wayne Cumbie was brought into Carilion Franklin Memorial Hospital on June 30, and airlifted to Roanoke where he was placed on a ventilator while being treated for head trauma.

He died two days later.

Ebel, described by officials as a caretaker to the child, was arrested days later and accused of felony child abuse.

The sheriffs office said at the time that its investigation remained ongoing. On Monday, indictments were issued accusing Ebel of second-degree murder in the childs death. A second charge of child abuse was also added to his case.

Ebel, whos listed as being held in jail without bond, hasnt yet appeared in court to respond to the allegations.
Marshall represents the 14th District (southeastern Henry County, Danville and southern areas of Pittsylvania County) in the General Assembly.

In Virginia, now, thanks to the Democrats, you can early vote, Marshall said. We are encouraging you to do that, the reason being is, you heard last year there were some votes that were stolen. You dont want to go on November the second, and somebody says, Well, somebodys already voted. If you go vote now, they cannot steal your vote.

Oct. 22 is the last day to register to vote, Marshall said, and if you have like-minded friends and family, encourage them to vote, he said. Early voting is weekdays, and Saturdays, Oct. 23 and 30, people can vote from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Ninth District (Franklin County, Patrick County and the western parts of Henry County) House of Delegates candidate Wren Williams said, How do yall think Joe Bidens doing? The crowd booed. You miss Trump yet? They cheered, and some shouted, Yes!

Me too, me too, he said.

What we can do here in Virginia is, we can set the tone for the rest of the nation. Thats what we have the opportunity to do this year.
GREENSBORO  A neighborhood that was pivotal in the civil rights movement as well as being an example of unique architecture is one step closer to being on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Benbow Park District of east Greensboro, known for its mid-century homes and churches designed and built by African-American architects, is part of a city effort to document the venerable neighborhoods history.

On Tuesday, the City Council voted unanimously to accept a $40,000 grant from the National Park Service to help prepare a nomination. The money will allow the city to hire a historian who will document sites of significance for the National Register.

The city will also continue to conduct oral history interviews to better illustrate the neighborhoods illustrious past.

Mike Cowhig, a senior planner for the city, said earlier this year that the Benbow Park area is historically significant for several reasons including the many examples of mid-century modern homes and churches designed and built by Black professionals. The area was also home to leaders and participants in the civil rights movement.

Residents include Henry Frye, the first African American chief justice of the state Supreme Court.
EDEN  The City of Eden is gearing up to welcome two patriotic exhibits this month  The Vietnam Traveling Wall, Oct. 14-17, and Heritage & Heroes, a Celebration of Our Nation, Oct. 14, both at Freedom Park.

The wall, a portable version of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D. C., will arrive in Eden on Oct. 13 at 3 p.m. and the public is invited to help escort vehicles carrying the structure to the park at 121 N. Edgewood Drive. To join the caravan, meet at the parking lot of Lowes in Reidsville by 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 13.

The memorial will open to the public Oct. 14 at noon. An opening ceremony is scheduled for Oct. 15 at 11 a.m. and the exhibit will close on Oct. 17 at 3 p.m. with a special walk-through event for Vietnam veterans.

The Heritage & Heroes celebration will take place Oct. 16 from 10 a.m.4 p.m. at the municipal park and will feature a performance by the 82nd Airborne Band from Fort Bragg, N.C., from 11 a.m.- 12: 30 p.m. The free event will also showcase military vehicles, feature tents for veteran speakers, kids activities and food. The celebration is also an opportunity for the public to make non-perishable food donations to the Rockingham County Veterans Coalition Food pantry.

For more information, call 336-552-6132.
Draper wrote in an article that was published in the Bulletin in 2007: The doors of the building opened to pupils for the first time, my father sat at a desk under the tutelage of Victoria M. Earley, who had come from the Dry Bridge Colored School on the Old Danville Road. Mrs. Earley taught grades one and two; Mrs. John. L. Hairston taught grades three and four; and John L. Hairston, the schools first leader, taught grades six and seven. Mr. and Mrs. Hairston, both of whom had taught at the Dry Bridge Colored School, lived across town on High Street. Every morning, my father remembers, the Hairstons rode to school in a buggy, drawn by their horse, Ben. Mrs. Earley could walk from her nearby home on East Church Street.
HIGH POINT  Some north High Point neighbors are raising concerns about a proposed commercial development that they argue would clash with their residential community.

Halvorsen Holdings of Boca Raton, Florida has applied to rezone 12 acres at the southeast corner of Skeet Club Road and Johnson Street from residential single-family to a conditional zoning retail center use.

A tentative site plan made public by the developer shows that the center would be anchored by a 48,000-square-foot grocery store surrounded by three or four outparcels for restaurants and retail space.

Nearby residents like Julianne Shamburg argue that this type of commercial development would be out of character with the largely residential surrounding area. She and others point out that the citys long-range plan classifies the area as low-density residential.

I think the feeling of a lot of people is, we just want it to stay residential. We have so many commercial areas nearby, said Shamburg, who started an online petition opposing the rezoning.

Georgette Brousseau began an opposition campaign by gathering signatures within her homeowners association before venturing beyond her neighborhood to try to raise awareness.
Seven new COVID-19 deaths in Danville and Pittsylvania County hit the record books Saturday and Sunday, the Virginia Department of Health reported.

Since health officials no longer update a dashboard on weekends, new fatalities werent revealed to the public until Monday.

Of the deaths  three women and four men  six were Danville residents and one lived in Pittsylvania County. One was in his or her 40s, three in their 60s, one in his or her 70s and another was 80 or older.

Even though the deaths were added over the weekend they likely occurred weeks ago. The health department waits for the official death certificate before verifying a fatality was linked to the illness caused by the novel coronavirus. In addition to the death certificate, officials sometimes contact the health provider and family to learn more details, extending the process.

So far, 275 residents of the Pittsylvania-Danville Health District have died of COVID-19 since the first fatality was recorded on March 25, 2020.

Both Danville and Pittsylvania County are adding about 58 new infections per day, a rate expected to remain high through at least this week, according to the University of Virginias Biocomplexity Institute.
The toys were so well received at the hospital that we wanted to make it an annual event, Joyce said.

As members of the Rockingham County Chapter of the North Carolina Firefighters Burned Children Fund, Joyce and Shelton have been able to see the benefits of delivering toys to these children. The toys are also distributed to children whose parents are hospitalized. Burns take a toll on a body in a multitude of ways, both physically and emotionally.

As someone is going through the recovery process, the last thing they need to be concerned with is shopping for a holiday, whether its a parent unable to shop because they are healing or a parent at the hospital with a child healing and recovering, Joyce said. Imagine being a child, having your darkest day, and then you get a favorite type toy or any toy to put a smile on your face. Words cannot describe what a difference something like that can make.

In addition to toys, the hospital is also accepting therapy and hygiene items. Joyce said she is confident Rockingham County residents will help make this years toy drive another huge success.

The citizens and employees who are here in Rockingham County have the biggest hearts, she said. We do not make the toy drive a successthey do.
This Supreme Court term, which began Monday, is the culmination of five decades of efforts by conservatives to seize control of the court.

It started when Richard Nixon ran for president in 1968 by campaigning against the liberal Warren Court and promising to fill the bench with strict constructionists. It continued with Ronald Reagan openly seeking to move the courts far to the right. And it concluded with Donald Trump picking three of the most conservative judges in the country for the Supreme Court.

This will be the first full term with five staunch conservatives: Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito Jr., Neil M. Gorsuch, Brett M. Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. Not surprisingly, they have filled the docket with cases with which they could alter constitutional rights in many different fields.
He now has difficulty walking, but is able to take labored steps.

Im anxious to be able to walk, he said.

Members of College Park Baptist are talking to local physicians and health care groups about helping the family while Mekonnens agency is working with Cone Health on providing some basic health care.

This family and others like them now being placed across the country are referred to as humanitarian parolees and initially werent entitled to the same rights and federal benefits as refugees who have spent years and even decades in camps before being allowed into the United States.

Over the weekend that changed through new federal legislation, and they will get additional benefits such as food stamps. Still, there are lots of gaps to cover in the towns and cities that will be their new homes.

At College Park, the church has set up committees and group emails on a variety of things most of us take for granted.

Theyd like to go out and leave the apartment, the Rev. Mike Usey shared with members.

On Tuesday, as the fathers eyes gazed around his new home, his mind and heart were looking elsewhere. To the future.
RALEIGH  Some supporters of former Republican Gov. Pat McCrorys efforts to contest the 2016 gubernatorial election results can be sued for allegedly defaming four residents who were falsely accused of voting twice, a North Carolina appeals court ruled Tuesday.

The complaint the Southern Coalition for Social Justice brought forward in 2017 could pave the way for lawmakers and their supporters to be penalized for making inaccurate voter fraud claims in future elections.

The unanimous ruling from the three appeals court judges allows a trial court to hear the case against the Pat McCrory Committee Legal Defense Fund and the Virginia-based Holtzman Vogel Josefiak Torchinsky law firm named in the complaint.

The judges also decided, however, that William Clark Porter, a GOP official in Greensboro whose signature was on one of the election protests that was filed, is entitled to a legal defense that would likely clear him of defamation claims because he participated in a quasi-judicial election protest proceeding.
Only 45.4% of K-12 students passed state reading, math and science exams given during the 2020-21 school year.

North Carolinas 1.5 million public school students received only limited amounts of in-person instruction last school year due to the pandemic. A state report about learning loss is scheduled to be presented to the state board in March.

The data validates to me, here again after years and years and years, nothing replaces a qualified teacher face-to-face with a group of students on a daily basis, said J. Wendell Hall, a state board member.

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The states Read To Achieve program was created in 2012 to try to get more students proficient in reading by the end of third grade. But state scores are lower for third-grade students than they were in the 2013-14 school year.

As part of the program, state officials must report annually on the reading performance of students in first through third grades.

This years 31% retention rate for third-grade students is much higher than the 15.5% rate at the end of the 2017-18 school year and the 17.7% rate at the end of the 2018-19 school year. No state exams were given at the end of the 2019-20 school year.
Because all political districts must have similar populations and those rural areas are small, they will have to be combined with other nearby communities that dont necessarily have the same kind of Hispanic population. Instead, Peralta said, the most likely places to see any potential districts with a large Latino influence would be Charlotte or Durham, the two cities with the largest Hispanic populations.

Almonte said that with Durhams Latino population growing, they can better pressure politicians to listen to them  but that gets harder if their community gets split up in the new maps, instead of being kept together.

We have neighborhoods that are 90% Latino where crime is high ... but you dont see politicians there, he said. They might come during an election, but after its over they disappear.

Peralta said there are two reasons why the urban areas might be the most likely places for districts friendly to Hispanic voters. One, the population density makes it easier. Two, there are also political considerations to be made.
Religion has very much been a center point for Hanford as a community. Many of the organizations currently found in the city have been around just as long as Hanford itself. The citys earliest mention comes from around 1876 and within a year, the town saw the founding of one of its first churches.
" " Be careful with biting down on a sandwich. You don't want to swallow a toothpick! LauriPatterso/Getty Images

You might occasionally read about some person swallowing a cell phone or a pen. That's crazy! But every day, people swallow more mundane things that they shouldn't.

Most "foreign-body ingestion" occurs with children under 6, who put the object in their mouths and swallow them by accident, says Dr. David Farcy, president of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM). It's a little different for adults.

"In the adult population, they usually swallow the object by accidentally mixing it with their food," explains Farcy via email.

In 80-90 percent of the cases (adult and children), the foreign objects pass out on their own, Farcy says, but those that don't can quickly turn into potentially dangerous medical concerns.

Some things are more likely than others to wind up in your stomach, simply because they're in close proximity to your food. Here are some of the most common, but dangerous, things adults swallow by accident:

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1. Toothpicks

Swallowing a toothpick is not as common as you might think, but it's a serious situation if it happens. "Toothpick ingestion is a medical emergency. Perforations of the intestine are common and the associated mortality is high," wrote a team of researchers who published a report in 2014. (They found 136 cases of toothpick swallowing in 116 publications and concluded ingested toothpicks "are a relatively rare event.") The study found that toothpicks caused gut perforation in 79 percent of the cases and death resulted in 9 percent. In 58 percent of the cases, the patient had to undergo surgery. Toothpicks can cause significant injury to the gut, resulting in sepsis or peritonitis, as well as death.

Since toothpicks often didn't show up during CT scans or ultrasound, "ingested toothpicks should be kept in mind as an important differential diagnosis in patients with acute abdomen," the researchers noted in the study.

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2. Fish Bones

A perfectly good filet of fish can quickly be ruined by a fish bone, particularly if it goes undetected until it's been swallowed. Indeed, fish bone foreign body (FFB) is the most commonly experienced esophageal foreign body found in adults in Asia, according to a 2016 study (in the Western world meat is the bigger danger).

Compared with other foreign food bodies, like steak, fish bones are more likely to result in bleeding and/or perforation, which is why they have to come out within 24 hours to avoid serious complications. "[Swallowing fish or chicken bones] can have severe consequences because the left atrium chamber of the heart is located at the back of the heart, right in front of the esophagus, and it can be punctured by these sharp objects," emails Dr. Richard Honaker, chief medical officer of Your Doctors Online.

Of course, a lot of factors can affect how a case of FFB turns out, such as the size, location where it's lodged and the amount of time since it got stuck there. If the bone is greater than 3 centimeters, it'll pose a higher risk than smaller, flimsier bones. If the bones don't come out on their own though, an endoscopy might be required.

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3. Metal Brush Bristles

Swallowing one of those metal bristles from the brush used to clean the barbecue grill is fairly common. The journal Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery reported in 2016 that barbecue brushes had caused around 1,698 emergency room visits between 2002 and 2014,

"Wire brush bristles are an increasingly recognized hazard that can present as a foreign body in the aerodigestive tract," noted a summary published in the journal Case Reports Otolaryngology in 2015. "Due to their small size and tendency to become embedded in surrounding tissue, these small metallic bristles present a unique operative challenge to otolaryngologists."

As a result, doctors typically have a tough time visualizing and removing these bristles through less invasive means, and often have to perform full-out surgery to correct the problem. That's an awful lot of trouble to go through because of a steak or hamburger.

Make sure your cookouts stay happy occasions by replacing grill brushes once a year to avoid any accidental bristle loss (Weber Gas Grills suggests the spring, when grilling season really kicks off).

Now That's Interesting Coins are often swallowed by kids, but they don't do lasting damage as they don't have any sharp edges. "Coins almost always pass without causing any serious problems but parents are advised to check the stool for a few days to ensure that the coin has exited the body," says Dr. Richard Honaker.
A second golden retriever has joined the ranks of the St. Peter's Health staff, doubling the capacity of the health system's facility dog program.

Mocha, a 3-year-old retriever, joined the staff approximately six weeks ago. She now works alongside and independently of Blue Bonnet, a 5-year-old golden retriever who has been at St. Peter's since this spring.

Both dogs come from Canine Assistants, an Atlanta, Georgia-based nonprofit that raises and places many different retrievers with hospitals and patients. For 30 years, the organization has placed dogs through its hospital program or with individuals for things such as seizure detection.

Though the organization doesn't charge for the animals, it does request a donation for the hospital placements. According to St. Peter's chaplain Kim Pepper, Mocha's handler, the hospital, its employees and members of the community raised around $25,000 to donate when receiving Mocha. Pepper said the Helena community basically funded an individual placement with their generosity.

St. Peter's has long wanted a facility dog program, according to Jacque Tescher, public relations specialist at St. Peter's. For years, volunteers would bring in their therapy dogs to visit with patients. It wasn't until April of this year that the long-awaited facility dog program was able to get paws on the ground.

Chaplain Trish Dick and her companion Blue Bonnet joined the team in spring 2021. Tescher said everything really just lined up to work out perfectly this year.

"We add an extra layer to ministry and care for the patients that they sometimes really need," Dick said. "It's really a delight to have patients respond to Blue. For instance, we had an Alzheimer's patient that wasn't responding to the staff at all, but they responded to Blue when spending time with her."

Prior to working at St. Peter's, Blue and Dick served at Shodair Children's Hospital in some capacity.

According to Pepper, the facility dogs don't just help with the hospital patients, but also the staff. The dogs visit the ICU, accounting, IT and many other departments across the hospital facility in a day. They can typically go anywhere in the hospital but do avoid the labor and delivery area. The hospital's infectious disease specialist helped craft the policy on the facility dog program to ensure safety at all times.

"They respond really well to it as well," Pepper said. "I really provides them their own time where they can decompress. Now they all want their own dedicated dogs."

The dogs are well trained at Canine Assistants, working approximately 3,000 hours in a hospital before being placed. This ensures the dogs are accustomed to life in the hospital, which can be chaotic and hectic at times. These dogs don't typically react to things like ambulance sirens or intercom announcements.

"They're kind of like the SWAT team of dogs," Dick said. "They have to be adaptable. They don't typically react to chaos and noise."

The dogs are also very good at intuiting a situation, according to Pepper. She shared a story about a time when Mocha could tell something was wrong with a family who had experienced a loss. Mocha very calmly worked her way into the family to where they could all pet her. This worked so well that the family immediately wanted to make a donation to the facility dog program, said Pepper.

"There is a diversity of religion here at St. Peter's. Maybe not everybody wants to talk with a chaplain," Pepper said. "But most people always want to see and pet a dog. And some people say no, but most appreciate the option."

However, the dogs are subject to their own stresses of the job. Pepper said they as handlers do have to pay attention to what the dogs are telling them. Canine Assistants told them it's important to to be patient with the dogs as they adjust to the facility. The dogs also get their own breaks, and there have been days when Pepper or Dick left them at home because they had a hard day previously.

Most weeks though, the dogs work five days.

At the end of each day, the dogs go home with Dick and Pepper. Dick said they have their own care routine that includes regular brushing of both teeth and fur and regular baths. They also regularly report the weight of the dogs to Canine Assistants to ensure they are not being overfed.

Dick said Canine Assistants really takes a bonding approach to these animals as they are placed. For the first 30 days the dog and handler don't separate at all to help them form a solid bond. Even after that, Pepper and Mocha don't separate for too long.

According to Dick, the dogs also bond with others at the facility. As part of their daily routine, the dogs will often take their handlers to visit with other staff members with whom they have formed bonds.

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Clean energy is popular, but sometimes its hard to see how were going to get there from here.

In a poll taken this spring, two-thirds of registered voters in the U.S. supported transitioning the U.S. economy from fossil fuels to 100% clean energy by 2050.

In a recent guest opinion, State Sen. Ankney, a tireless advocate for the people of Colstrip, said no one wants to cheer up [climate champion] Greta Thunberg more than I do, but he seems wary of the Clean Energy Payment Program (CEPP), and worried about losing affordable, reliable fossil fuel energy and jobs, saying No one knows how all of that energy would be replaced.

While there is always uncertainty, experts have been planning for this transformation to clean energy for decades. So have entrepreneurs, who are daily announcing 21st century innovations, like hydrogen gas storage in the salt domes of Utah, or the molten salt energy storage facility being considered for the decommissioned coal plant in Hayden, Colorado.

Closer to home, the Northwest Power and Conservation Councils latest five-year plan (draft, comment at nwcouncil.org) shows how market forces are already and will continue to be a large driver of this switch from coal, since wind and solar PV are the least expensive options for utilities and their customers.

The council is confident that concerns about the daily fluctuation in renewable energy can be managed reliably by coordinating with other sources, like hydropower, energy efficiency, demand response (voluntary reduction of demand at certain hours of the day), existing resources (gas, nuclear and remaining coal), and regional collaboration in the Western electric grid, which will produce significant cost savings and introduce more efficiency into system operations.

With some of the best wind energy potential in the country, Montana could even maintain our regional net exporter status and lower electricity rates by about 40% by 2050.

State regulators and legislators in Washington, Oregon and Idaho have also asked for coal retirements, as they face calls to lower carbon pollution and warming from agricultural producers and other outdoor industries who are being directly affected by drought, wildfire and heat; insurance companies and CEOs facing unmanageable risk; and young people afraid for our future.

The irony is that utilities are the industry most vulnerable to climate disruptions. (S&P Global) Coal plants have already had to shut down when water supplies are too hot to cool their systems.

Theres really no time to waste to start implementing an orderly transition to alternatives.

Sens. Tester and Daines should support cost-effective policies like carbon pricing that place a fee on carbon pollution and let the businesses, industries, utilities and families decide the least cost and most efficient way to reduce their emissions, without additional government mandates.

Economists affirm carbon prices act quickly and effectively. They also speed the development of innovative technologies, by making them cost competitive, and can influence other countries to have their own carbon price.

Most importantly, we need to take care of American households during this shift. Money raised by the carbon fee can be given as a cash-back rebate to families to offset higher energy costs. Some of that substantial revenue should be used to help fossil fuel workers and other communities with transition and resiliency needs.

Right now Congress has a chance to plan ahead and shape our energy future. We know Sens. Tester and Daines have Montana's best interests at heart. Ask them to smooth the clean energy transition for Americans with careful planning and well-designed carbon pricing. Lets cheer up Greta and Sen. Ankney.

Kristen Walser is co-coordinator for Citizens Climate Lobby Montana.

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As September reached its halfway point, trophy hunters were let loose across Montana  including on the edges of Yellowstone National Park  to hunt for some of the Greater Yellowstone ecosystems most iconic and ecologically charismatic species: wolves.

Restraints that had formerly limited the kill to one wolf in this hunting zone had recently been wiped away by Montana officials.

Within a few days, hunters shot three wolves in the zone bordering Americas first national park. Montanas cruel 2021 wolf hunt is championed not by the states wildlife management agency, but by wolf-hating forces in the Montana Legislature.

The methods sanctioned by the Legislature and signed into law by Montanas wolf-killing Gov. Greg Gianforte, include hunting with night vision scopes, baiting of wolves, and bounties. These brutal means of slaughtering wolves hearken back to another era, when wolves were eradicated from the landscape of the American West.

As the six-month wolf hunting season turns from fall to winter, the death toll will certainly rise. If Montana fulfills its ambitions, the killing wont stop until the body count reaches 450  half of Montanas wolf population. If a similar plan in Idaho meets its goal, 90% of the states wolves will be eradicated and the body count in the Northern Rockies could reach into the thousands.

This wolf slaughter is not meant to remedy problems or to feed the hungry. They are intended to feed a culture war in which wolves are mere pawns and in which the powerful exploit the vulnerable.

The hunts glorify cruelty, but they also reinforce a narrative built on lies. Montana and Idahos legislators lied to get these measures passed. They lied about wolves reducing opportunities to hunt deer and elk. They lied about the impact of wolves on livestock. And they used their biggest lie of all, that wolves threaten children and people, to create and reinforce fear.

For years the rallying cry of hunters, so vehemently opposed to wolves, has been to "smoke a pack a day." Thats not just a cruel slogan  now, its public policy in Montana and Idaho.

Theres only one conclusion for the rational or compassionate among us. For iconic, persecuted species like wolves, the states shouldnt be calling the shots. Wolves are not only intrinsically valuable, they are part of a public trust that serves and benefits all Americans.

At our nations founding, the states were intended to be laboratories of the best form of governance. Instead, at their worst, theyve become incubators for hate and violence.

A brief ray of hope came on the same day the Montana hunt began, when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said, in response to Endangered Species Act listing petitions from my organization and others, that wolves in the American West may warrant federal protections.

But that reprieve wont come in time for countless wolves that will die this year. Thats why there needs to be a deeper reckoning amongst the wildlife profession and its leaders. There is something profoundly wrong when entire packs of Yellowstone wolves can be slaughtered a few feet outside Yellowstone National Park.

When hunters shot the first wolves of the Montana hunting season, there was individual glory. But I am almost certain that wolves howled in grief. I have heard these howls before on the nights after some of Yellowstones most iconic wolves lost alpha members to hunters' bullets.

Though trophy hunters claim glory, I know millions of Americans will also collectively grieve for the loss of Americas wolves. We must use that grief to fuel our push to secure the protections that wolves now so desperately need.

John Horning is the Executive Director of WildEarth Guardians. Learn more at WildEarthGuardians.org.

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A federal agency has recommended that Tootsie Roll Industries pay more than $136,000 in fines after a machine at its Chicago plant cut off part of an employee's finger earlier this year.

In a news release, the U.S. Department of Labor said that its Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued one willful violation "for inadequate machine guarding" and proposed the fines after an investigation into the April 19 incident.

According to the release, a 48-year-old employee had reached into a machine to remove stuck paper debris when a bag sealer snapped shut on one of his fingers. And the Labor Department said the incident happened after the company had allowed the machine's access doors to remain unguarded.

"Hundreds of workers are injured needlessly each year because employers ignore safety guards, often to speed up production, and that's exactly what happened in this case," OSHA Chicago South Area Director James Martineck said in the release.

Calls on Tuesday to the company for comment were not immediately returned. According to the Labor Department, the company has 15 business days to comply with the recommended fines, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director, or contest the findings before the independent OSHA review commission.

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Meanwhile, city officials also voted to accept an additional $1.5 million in federal American Rescue Plan funds that will be earmarked to address housing insecurity.

The funds fall under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's HOME program.

According to HUD's website, uses for the funds include tenant-based rental assistance, housing rehabilitation, assistance to homebuyers and new construction of housing.

About $1.025 million in HOME funds were already included in the city's fiscal year 2021 budget. The city was later informed of the additional funds available through the federal stimulus package.

City officials said they are still waiting for further guidance from HUD on how this latest batch of funds can be deployed. The public will have an opportunity to give input on how the funds are spent.

In August, the council approved a budget amendment accounting for more than $21 million in federal COVID-19 stimulus funds, most of it through the ARP, which was signed into law in March.

Also at council Monday night:

Enterprise zone

The council approved an ordinance amending the Decatur Macon County Enterprise Zone that will allow developers of multi-unit housing developments to access economic incentives.
Bring insurance card and photo ID if possible. Minors must be accompanied by an adult parent or guardian. If someone other than a parent of legal guardian is planning to bring a child, the permission/proxy form will need to be filled out and signed beforehand.
DECATUR  Residents and commuters should be aware of a sewer line project that will repair pipes and enhance waste water flow in Decatur and Mount Zion.

The Sanitary District of Decatur is working on the $9 million project that includes installing a new pipe liner and the rehabilitation of manholes in the major sewer line that flows along the South Shores Drive.

The original interceptor was installed in the mid-1960s, said Kent Newton, executive director at the Sanitary District of Decatur. Over time, pipes develop small cracks and the joints can start to loosen or pull apart.

The project will include the installation of cured in-place pipe lining that will extend the life of 17,000 linear feet of sewer line up to 100 years by inserting a long fiber tube with resin into the existing sewer and then curing the resin with hot water or steam, Newton said.

Newton said an above-ground temporary bypass line is being installed along the South Shores Drive and under the U.S. 51 bridge to divert the flow of sewage so that repairs can be made. Sewage flowing along Lake Decatur and from the east side of the Sand Creek Basin  which includes parts of Decatur and all of Mount Zions waste water  will be diverted through this line.

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Because the South Shores Interceptor runs along the lake, it is better to have the temporary bypass line run further away from the lake to avoid any potential leaks from getting into the lake, Newton said.

There will smaller bypasses along the lake for sections of the sewer that connected directly to homes and after the project is over, the bypasses will be removed, Newton said.

Though most people are not going to see the direct impact from this project, Newton said the new liner will improve the conveyance of waste water to the sanitary districts main treatment facility by creating a smoother line with fewer joints that keeps sewage in and groundwater out.

The additions and rehabilitation to the South Shores Drive sewer system is being financed through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund which provides resources necessary to build, maintain and improve the infrastructure of water resources.

The fund administered by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and partially funded by the United States Environment Protection Agency.

Newton said the project is expected to be completed in March.

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The former Northwestern professor accused in the gruesome slaying of his young boyfriend took the stand Tuesday and in tearful, often strained tones, said it was his British companion Andrew Warren who fatally stabbed Trenton Cornell that night in July 2017.

But, Wyndham Lathem told jurors, afterward he felt wracked with guilt, thinking he was also culpable for Cornells death  which he characterized as a kinky, meth-fueled threesome gone horribly wrong.

I put Andrew and Trent in the same room, I gave Andrew the drugs, I took out a knife without telling Andrew about safe role play with knives, he said on the stand, red-faced, his eyes squeezed shut. I brought that drywall saw into the bedroom and I didnt stop Andrew from hurting him, I didnt, I hid in the bathroom like a coward.

Lathem is expected to be cross-examined Tuesday evening after a brief recess. Prosecutors put Warren, their centerpiece witness, on the stand last week to testify that it was Lathems idea to kill his boyfriend. Warren testified he only joined in after Lathem had begun to stab Cornell.

Lathem, by contrast, told jurors that he had invited Warren over for a threesome with Cornell. The three of them used meth, which Lathem and Cornell commonly took to boost libido, the former professor said, and Lathem told Warren they could use a drywall knife thinking it would be part of consensual, kinky knife-play.

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Lathem was running the dull side of the drywall knife down Cornells back when he felt someone else get on the bed, he testified.

All of a sudden Trent, he freezes, and a split second later he starts screaming  his head is right next to mine screaming in my ear. Hes screaming in my ear, Lathem testified, with tears in his eyes. Its like this melee that follows, like Im getting smacked and getting hit and Im trying to block and defend myself because I dont know whats happening, I dont know what Andrew is doing to him.

Lathem said he managed to get out of the bed and ran to the bathroom, listening to Cornells screams.

I hear him yell, Help me,  he said, then broke down into sobs on the witness stand. I didnt help him, I just stayed in the bathroom and he killed him.

The two men fled Chicago after the slaying, sparking a nationwide manhunt that ended more than a week later when Lathem and Warren turned themselves in the Bay Area.

Lathem testified that he cleared out the drug paraphernalia from his apartment, took some cash and left, believing that police would blame him for Cornells murder.

And during their travels across the country, Lathem became suicidal, and unsuccessfully attempted to kill himself at least twice, he testified.

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A DePaul University students online bragging about his computer skills and support for the Islamic State was nothing more than puffing and is protected free speech, the students lawyer told a federal jury Tuesday.

Its like someone going on their dating profile and saying theyre 6-foot-3 with abs of steel when they look like me, attorney Steve Greenberg said in his opening statement in the terrorism-related trial of his client, Thomas Osadzinski. Hes puffing ... hes saying stuff, but its not enough.

Osadzinski, 22, is accused in a federal indictment with using the computer skills he was learning at DePaul to craft a first-of-its-kind code designed to spread violent propaganda for the Islamic State terrorist group online.

Prosecutors alleged Osadzinski converted to Islam while a teen, expressing his devotion to the Islamic State in online forums that included undercover FBI employees he believed were terrorist sympathizers.

In her opening remarks Tuesday, prosecutor Alexandra Hughes, a trial attorney with the U.S. Justice Department, said Osadzinski was clear in his communications that he wanted to use the skills he was building at DePaul to wage jihad in media.

Many of his ideas failed, but in the summer of 2019, a script Osadzinski wrote was successful in automatically downloading and spreading thousands upon thousands of violent pro-ISIS videos and images before they could be deleted by social media companies, Hughes said.

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Osadzinski shared the script with an undercover FBI agent posing as an ISIS supporter, giving a step by step analysis of what he was doing, in order to teach others, Hughes said.

At the bottom line, the defendants process worked, she said. It did what it was supposed to do.

Greenberg, however, painted Osadzinski as a sad-sack college student who was getting a D in computer science. He said Osadzinski found solace in the online Islamic community and was eventually drawn in by a highly paid confidential FBI informant who befriended him and helped move the plot along.

He took advantage of this young man who was trying to find his way in life, Greenberg said.

Prosecutors first witness on Tuesday was an FBI language analyst who started chatting online with Osadzinski in June 2018 about the recipe for a powerful explosive favored by terrorists and suicide bombers.

The witness, testifying under the alias Mahammad Hazeem, said that when he told Osadzinski he should be careful, Osadzinski allegedly responded he will be doing some studying.

You mean studying for school? Hazeem responded in the chat, which was shown to jurors on a large screen in U.S. District Judge Robert Gettlemans courtroom.

Osadzinski allegedly replied, For jihad, followed by a heart emoji and a symbol associated with the Islamic State terrorist group.

Osadzinski also talked in their chat about plans for a potential attack in the U.S., according to Hazeems testimony.

At one point, Hazeem said he warned Osadzinski to choose any targets carefully so he wouldnt hurt innocent Muslims. Osadzinski responded it was best to target the government.

Osadzinski also wrote that targeting citizens can be risky unless they are committing blatant sins in public, such as at an LGBT parade drinking at bars and nightclubs, according to the testimony.

On cross-examination, Hazeem acknowledged that his alert level was low because Osadzinski didnt seem to have any concrete plans. In fact, after Osadzinski first posted something about jihad, Hazeem waited 23 days to communicate with him.

Osadzinski also made statements showing his seeming naivete. At one point, after Hazeem asked him if he had access to a gun, he responded he wasnt old enough legally buy one. Defense attorney Joshua Herman asked how that could be taken seriously, given the prevalence of guns in Chicago.

Sounds like an excuse? Herman asked.

Could be, Hazeem answered.

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Democratic Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker clapped back Tuesday at fellow billionaire and key political nemesis Ken Griffin, accusing the Citadel CEO of making Chicago and the state less safe through his support of former Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner.

Speaking to the Economic Club of Chicago a day earlier, Griffin said its a disgrace that our governor will not insert himself into the challenge of addressing crime in our city and inaccurately accused Pritzker of not deploying the National Guard during unrest last year over concerns about political optics.

Lets remember that Ken Griffin brought you Bruce Rauner, Pritzker said Tuesday after an unrelated event in Chicago. Ken Griffin was his biggest supporter.

While the ultra-wealthy Rauner actually was his own top contributor across two campaigns, Griffin made contributions totaling more than $36 million after the 2014 election.

During Rauners single term, funding for violence prevention programs and other social services was cut off as the state went more than two years without a complete budget amid a standoff with the Democratic-controlled legislature over the governors pro-business, union-weakening agenda.

I am very focused on the safety and security of the city of Chicago, the state of Illinois, Pritzker said. Ive increased significantly the resources, trying to build back from what Bruce Rauner did  with the support of Ken Griffin  to our state by increasing dollars to violence interruption, violence prevention programs, by investing in our communities.

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Still, Pritzker said, we are nearly at a state of emergency in our need to address crime.

We are very concerned about it at the state level and providing resources at a local level, not just to Chicago but to Rockford and other places around the state, Pritzker said. But we need local leadership, including the corporate leadership, to step up and help our cities.

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The governor said hes frequently in contact with prosecutors around the state, particularly Cook County States Attorney Kim Foxx, and judicial leaders about ways to curb violence.

As for Griffins assertion that Pritzker rebuffed requests to deploy the Guard last year, the governor said, Im not sure why he made the false remarks that he made.

Griffin recounted during his Economic Club appearance Monday that he was on a call with Pritzker last year during the unrest that damaged more than 2,000 business in Chicago.

I told him to deploy the National Guard, and he goes, It wont look good for there to be men and women on Michigan Avenue with assault weapons, Griffin said. If that saves the life of a child, I dont care. And he doesnt care.

A Pritzker spokeswoman on Monday called Griffin a liar in an emailed statement.

Asked for his own solutions to the problems facing Illinois and Chicago, Griffin fell back on familiar talking points that are likely to be key components of Republican campaigns next year: cutting public employee pension benefits, supporting law enforcement officers and fixing schools.

Griffin has yet to back any of the four declared GOP candidates seeking to challenge Pritzker next year. They are state Sen. Darren Bailey of Xenia, Bull Valley businessman Gary Rabine, former state Sen. Paul Schimpf of Waterloo and Petersburg venture capitalist Jesse Sullivan.

The back-and-forth over Chicagos violence is the latest flareup in a long-simmering feud between two of the states wealthiest residents.

Aside from backing Rauner in 2018, Griffin  whose net worth Forbes pegged at $16 billion as of Tuesday  contributed nearly $54 million toward defeating Pritzkers proposed graduated-rate income tax, the governors signature policy initiative.

Pritzker, the Hyatt Hotels heir whose fortune Forbes valued at $3.6 billion as of Tuesday, gave $58 million of his own money to the losing cause.

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Chicago public health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady cast a hopeful but cautious eye Tuesday toward on this winters holiday season as the latest COVID-19 wave driven by the delta variant shows signs of ebbing.

Though coronavirus in the U.S. has become dominated by that more contagious variant, the introduction of vaccines means Chicago is unlikely to face a cold-weather surge of COVID-19 as it did a year ago, Arwady said during a Facebook Live session. But that doesnt mean the tendency for more indoor gatherings wont throw in a wrench in the citys progress against the virus, she added.

Im not anticipating, you know, seeing an enormous surge like (last year), but I am a little worried, Arwady said. We know theres a reason that influenza season happens every late fall and winter here, and we could see that with COVID. I am hoping not, right? But I cannot guarantee for sure.

Also on Tuesday, one state was removed from Chicagos travel advisory, which lists places in the U.S. where unvaccinated people should take extra COVID-19 precautions when visiting, officials said.

Connecticut is now off the list of states from which travelers who are not fully vaccinated are asked to quarantine upon return to Chicago, and to take COVID-19 tests before and after, Arwady said.

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Most of the country is still quite deep in the delta surge, Arwady said about the more contagious variant of the coronavirus. But she noted the country is slowly but surely making progress.

Part of why Arwady is more confident about this upcoming winter than last years is because of improving vaccination rates across the city, she said. So  for now  it appears holiday celebrations can be tentatively planned.

If we continue to see cases like at the rate where we are right now, and especially ... if everybodys vaccinated and youre gathering, go for it, in my opinion, Arwady said. I know its hard to not have that full answer, but it wouldnt be responsible of me to say, I know whats going to be happening for sure at the end of November or at the end of December. Well have a better sense in early November.

As for children ages 5 to 11, who cannot yet get vaccinated, December holidays look more promising than Thanksgiving, Arwady said. She noted federal agencies are planning to begin the Pfizer vaccine approval process for that age group in mid-October, with the earliest inoculations possibly starting early November.

But because the Pfizer vaccine requires two shots plus a two-week period for full immunity, those children will likely just miss the window to be protected enough for Thanksgiving, she said.

Go ahead and make some tentative plans would be what I would say, but recognize that its possible guidance could have to shift, Arwady said about the holidays.

Arwadys remarks come as the citys latest data show a seven-day rolling average of 355 daily cases and a 2.3% positivity rate. The caseload dipping below 400 cases is a good sign, but the city has not yet rolled back an indoor mask mandate implemented during an earlier summer surge driven by the delta variant.

Still, Chicago is in a far better position than it was last October, when Gov. J.B. Pritzker ordered an indoor dining ban for the city, much to Mayor Lori Lightfoots displeasure.

Meanwhile, Tuesdays change the Chicagos travel advisory means there are now 47 states and three territories under Chicagos travel advisory. California and Puerto Rico are the only other areas not subject to the recommended COVID-19 mitigations for unvaccinated travelers. Washington, D.C., Massachusetts and Louisiana may get off the list within two weeks.

The most updated guidance from the city advised unvaccinated people get tested one to three days before leaving for their trip. Upon return, they should get a COVID-19 test within three to five days as well as quarantine for seven days. If they choose not to get tested, they should quarantine for 10 days.

States get on the list by surpassing 15 daily COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents, but Illinois is not subject to the advisory because the city does not want to restrict intrastate travel.

Chicago itself is seeing 13.1 daily cases per 100,000 residents, while Illinois is at 16.1 cases, meaning both are faring better than the country overall.

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HELENA, Mont.  An Illinois law firm filed lawsuits Monday against Amtrak and BNSF Railway on behalf of seven passengers who were on an Amtrak train when it derailed in north-central Montana late last month, killing three and injuring dozens of others.

The lawsuits were filed in federal court in Illinois on behalf of a Massachusetts couple, a Pennsylvania couple, an Indiana couple and a Montana man who were all injured in the Sept. 25 derailment of an Empire Builder train near Joplin, Montana, Clifford Law Offices said.

The lawsuits allege negligence in failing to prevent the derailment and seek damages for injuries and psychological trauma suffered when the train went off the tracks. They also seek to challenge a mandatory arbitration agreement Amtrak put in effect in January 2019.

Sean Driscoll, a partner at Clifford Law Offices, said the agreement denies passengers their constitutional right to a trial by jury if they are injured on an Amtrak train and sets a maximum of $295 million in damages per incident for Amtrak.

The arbitration agreement, but not the cap on damages, also applies to host railroads, such as BNSF, Driscoll said.

Both Amtrak and BNSF have declined to comment on pending litigation.

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Two plaintiffs  Ryan and Hanna Shea of Leverett, Massachusetts  were making their first trip by train when they felt a strong impact and a series of jolts that threw them against the walls as the train car rocked and shook side to side, the couple said in a statement. Their car came to rest off the tracks and tilted to the side. They were able to get out of the train car.

Brandi and Shawnee Gimse of York, Pennsylvania, were in a rail car that tipped on its side, their complaint states.

Morgan and Christopher Grosso of Lafayette, Indiana, were in an observation car when it tilted on its side and skidded about 200 feet 961 meters) before coming to a stop, the law offices said.

Theodore Hastreiter of Whitefish, Montana, suffered physical, psychological and emotional trauma as he witnessed fellow passengers die in the observation rail car, attorneys said.

Last week Rebecca Schneider, of Illinois, whose husband Zachariah Schneider was killed in the crash, filed a wrongful death lawsuit contending Amtrak and BNSF Railway failed to prevent the derailment.

Shortly before the derailment, Zachariah Schneider left Rebecca in the sleeping car and went to sit in the viewing car, where he was horrifically maimed and killed, the lawsuit said.

The Amtrak train had two locomotives and 10 cars. Four passenger cars ended up on their sides and a fifth was tilted. Others were off the tracks. The train carried 141 passengers and 16 crew members.

The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Railroad Administration are investigating the cause of the derailment.

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My dad cautioned me about impulse spending. Sleep on it, hed say. If the shiny new widget held my attention until morning, then buy it. Such insight saved me a lot of money.

Decades later, Ive learned how this thinking applies to other things  like voting.

Last year, when former N.Y. Governor Andrew Cuomo received rave reviews during his early handling of the COVID crisis, there were giddy whispers about a possible draft Cuomo movement. While I wasnt convinced, I didnt dismiss the idea totally. Former VP Joe Biden was struggling in the Democratic presidential primaries, and a younger, more forceful personality had some appeal. I slept on the idea, Cuomos sexual harassment story broke, and Dads theory proved accurate again.

Another of my fleeting hopes was that America would finally witness a civil, thoughtful campaign between two seasoned candidates. This would have required the Republicans to push Donald Trump aside in favor of someone more statesmanlike. Trumps exit would then force both sides to address  yes, Im serious  issues. Obviously, I have something to learn about wishful thinking.

Campaigns test our ability to evaluate candidates. Among Republicans, Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.), the first African-American to serve in both chambers of Congress, might be worth watching, and N.Y. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez turns 35 before election day 2024.

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It will also be interesting to see if hopefuls like Nikki Haley, Mike Pompeo, Ted Cruz, and others dutifully step aside in case Donald Trump runs again.

Good luck sleeping through that.

Jim Newton. Itasca

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The Vanishing Half is Bennetts second novel, and it came with high expectations. Bennetts acclaimed debut, the coming-of-age tale The Mothers, was published in 2016; its author, then a recent graduate of Stanford University and the University of Michigans Master of Fine Arts program, was only 26. Long before the publication of The Mothers, however, Bennett had begun work on The Vanishing Half, wanting to write a book that followed characters through a larger period of their lives. It was a very different experience  for the second book, she had an editor and an agent  but the author was grateful to have started the book with no external pressure.

Bennett doesnt outline her novels; she said she likes to see where the writing process takes her. The Vanishing Half changed substantially during the four or five years of its birth. Initially, she thought itd be a very clean, neat story: half from the perspective from one twin, half from another. I think for me, a lot of the process of writing this book was learning how to divorce myself from what I originally thought the book might be, and learning to follow all of the characters who interested me, who surprised me when they entered the story, and I wanted to follow them for a little bit of time  just allowing myself to go where I was most interested.
Similar arrests have been made across the country over the past few weeks. In a press conference last Thursday, DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said the DEA, in partnership with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, launched a public safety surge to combat a flood of fentanyl and fentanyl-laced pills across the U.S.

At least nine overdose deaths are being investigated in connection with the effort.

As part of the surge, Milgram said nearly 100 investigations had been launched and more than 60 search warrants had been executed. As a result, she said, 810 arrests had been made and 1.8 million fentanyl-containing pills had been seized. Felony charges are pending in both state and federal courts.

To put it simply, in eight weeks the DEA and our partners have seized enough fentanyl-laced pills to kill 700,000 Americans, she said.

Milgram said the counterfeit pills were being made by drug cartels in Mexico using precursor chemicals supplied by Chinese companies and are then sent to the U.S., where they are sold both on the street and on social media platforms, including Snapchat and Instagram.

The counterfeit pills are made to look nearly identical to prescription drugs like Oxycontin, Vicodin, Percocet and Xanax, Milgram said.
A trained workforce is also vital to the regions prosperity, Northam said.

Weve heard from some of the educational programs supported by ARC, and when we talk about bringing businesses and helping businesses grow in Appalachia, its important to have a talented workforce, so that will be important as we move forward as well, Northam said.

The Appalachian region includes 25 million people, Manchin said, that have a stronger voice when its leaders cooperate.

We have 13 strong governors, and I think theyre a powerful voice for the Appalachian region and, working together, I think we can actually transform our Appalachian region, and bring the parity. That is our mission: to bring parity to the Appalachian region through innovation, partnerships, working together, so we look forward to the work in front of us, she said.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said he recognizes the importance that tourism plays in small towns like St. Paul.
His beekeeping skills really started to soar during his third season. Holmes increased his bee colonies by learning how to catch wild bee swarms with traps. His friends also taught him how to split a bee colony by taking a portion of an established colony and transferring the hive to create two colonies.

Ive never had to buy bees since, he said.

For a man who had never worked with bees until just a few years ago, Holmes may be getting a reputation for producing some of the best honey around. He named his small business Holmes Hives.

The beekeeper estimates he will collect more than 30 gallons of honey this season with more to harvest in the next few weeks.

He rents his beehives to a local pumpkin grower to help with pollination of the crop.

The life lessons hes learned from beekeeping have helped to calm his spirit and give him hope, he said.

Beekeeping has helped me to concentrate and focus my mind. My mind used to wander from one thing to another.

Hes also fascinated by the culture of the honeybees  the role of the honeybee and the worker bees.
Earlier this year, the average cost of a new car crossed $40,000 nationally. Regardless of how much a driver pays for a vehicle, our roads are in disrepair. A February 2020 study by TRIP, a Washington nonprofit, said Richmond drivers lose roughly $1,500 per year due to added vehicle operating costs, traffic accidents and congestion delays. And dont forget the environmental element, as transportation is a leading cause of greenhouse gas emissions. These observations beg the question: Should cars be more or less of a staple six years from now?

 Broadband: During the COVID-19 pandemic, going to work, the doctor or a class online has been second nature for some people. For others without reliable internet, the process has been  and, in some cases, continues to be  a nightmare.

In 2015, the Virginia Telecommunications Initiative, a state-funded program that works with localities and providers to connect unserved areas, did not even exist. Since 2017, Virginia has awarded $124 million in grants, bringing more than 140,000 homes and businesses online.
If theres an overarching theme in these interviews, its that the pandemic has brought out the best in many Americans and the worst in others.

One of the heroes Saslow interviews is Burnell Cotlon, a New Orleans man who opened a neighborhood market in the Lower Ninth Ward to help the community recover from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. When the pandemic hit, Cotlons customers were among the first to lose their jobs. Even though he operated on a shoestring himself, he began giving them groceries on credit for the first time: Ive got sixty-two tabs in the book now. From zero to sixty-two in less than a month. And he does much more.

Another is New York City paramedic Anthony Almojera. He talks about his shockingly poorly paid co-workers: There are EMTs on my team whove been pulling double shifts in a pandemic and performing life support for sixteen hours, and then they go home and they have to drive Uber to pay their rent. Hes pulling those shifts too, and then trying to help suicidal colleagues. Heroes, right? The anger is blinding.
FICTION: Inanimate objects speak in this thought-provoking novel.

"The Book of Form and Emptiness" by Ruth Ozeki; Viking (560 pages, $30)



Early in "The Book of Form and Emptiness," Ruth Ozeki's heady new novel, an off-course bird bangs into a classroom window: "THWACK!" The middle schoolers are stunned. One is particularly upset. Benny Oh approaches the glass. He whispers to it, then punches it. Why? The window was sobbing and "I needed it to stop," he explains.

Benny is an angry boy, but that's only part of the story. Since his father, Kenji, was killed in a truck accident, he's been getting an earful from inanimate objects. Library books wail for his attention as they're fed into a high-tech sorting system: "We are not units!" His mom's teapot disagrees that it's "short and stout." A pair of scissors taunts Benny until he jams the points into his thigh.

This last incident lands him in a psychiatric hospital, where he's prescribed drugs for his hallucinations. But something else is afoot, for Benny appears to be having real interactions with nonliving objects. The scissors, for instance, speak to him in Mandarin. Which makes a kind of sense  they were manufactured in China.
FICTION: Brothers take to the road in the latest novel from Amor Towles.

"The Lincoln Highway" by Amor Towles; Viking (592 pages, $30)



Amor Towles' follow-up to his bestselling book "A Gentleman in Moscow" arrives on a wave of anticipation, at a time when we long for simpler days. Set in 1950s America, "The Lincoln Highway" is a road novel that celebrates the mythos of an era via a cross-country highway, and it delivers an overwhelming blast of nostalgia that many readers will welcome even if it doesn't add anything new to the genre.

Like the highway, the novel is long, and it winds through adventures in the style of an old-fashioned serial, with an abundance of last-second rescues and romantic philosophizing (about the moral caliber of men who can take a punch, codes of honor and the need to "balance the accounts" in life). The philosophizing does not always spring from the most trustworthy of sources. Still, "The Lincoln Highway" is a romantic novel, not in a passion-and-courtship sense but in its idealization of the era.
Tangela Parkers parents have received threatening phone calls, her attorney said in Catawba County Superior Court on Wednesday.

Parker is charged with the fatal shooting of Michelle Marlow at TCS Designs in Hickory in January. Parker and her husband Eric Parker evaded police for six months following the fatal shooting. The two were captured in Phoenix, Arizona.

Tangela Parkers attorney Victoria Jayne told Judge W. Todd Pomeroy that a member of the Marlow family called Parkers parents to threaten them. (Parkers parents) called to tell me that someone associated with the Marlow family has made calls to them to the effect that they would be idiots if they got my client out of jail and she better stay where she is, Jayne said.

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Judge Lisa Bell granted Tangela Parker a $250,000 bond on Sept. 8 with the condition that only Parkers parents could pay it.

Jayne said the parents did report the call to law enforcement and the authorities are investigating.

(Marlows family) are telling me they have not had contact with this defendant and/or her parents, Chief Assistant District Attorney Lance Sigmon said.
The need for truck drivers was at an all-time high in 2018 and 2019. Or at least, thats what industry leaders thought.

In 2018 and 2019 everyone said this would be a flash in the pan, we may never see anything like it again  until now, said Eric Wright, director of TransTech, a commercial drivers license (CDL) training business based in Newton.

Now, people are spending more than ever, which means goods need to be shipped across the country, and CDL tractor-trailer drivers are in demand.

Without enough drivers, shipments are delayed getting to the consumer. Because of delays in shipping, seaports are piling up with containers waiting to be taken out by truck drivers, Wright said. Container ships of cargo are left waiting for room to unload, Wright said.

Wright hesitates to blame the situation on COVID-19, but when the pandemic hit, orders took off, he said. The economy was already in good shape and the demand for truck drivers was already high before March of 2020.

Businesses expected orders to slow, but instead, people started ordering more, Wright said. Consumption hasnt slowed since. Another factor in the need for drivers is that about a quarter of drivers in the nation are over 55, Wright said. Many decided to retire during COVID-19.
" " The long, beaked mask of the plague doctor was typically filled with sweet or strong-smelling herbs, such as wormwood, the main ingredient in absinthe, which were believed to filter out miasma, or bad air. Roman Loft/Shutterstock

Some of the creepiest things out there are the ones that are supposed to be funny, and some of the funniest things are the ones we're supposed to take seriously. For instance, clowns are supposed to be hilarious, and yet, according to one 2016 Vox survey, more Americans report being more afraid of clowns than climate change. Similarly, during the outbreak of the bubonic plague in Italy in the 1650s, the doctors taking care of the sick  rich and poor alike  were purportedly mocked for their strange and somewhat frightening uniforms.

Although the plague that bedeviled southern Europe during this time wasn't nearly as destructive as the Black Death of the 14th century, it is estimated to have killed over a million people in Italy and surrounding areas over the course of the decade, but mostly between 1656 and 1658. No one was safe, and since the germ theory of disease wouldn't reinvent medicine for another 200 years, the Italians figured desperate times called for desperate measures, and so they sent their physicians out in the most bonkers costume imaginable.

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The Plague Doctor Costume

For starters, these doctors wore masks  but not just any mask. It was the face of a white bird, wearing goggles and a top hat. They wore long, dark robes, heavy gloves, and carried batons they used to point to things  maybe because it was hard to hear them through their masks? Paul Furst, a German visitor to Italy during this time, wrote about this outlandish Italian custom of physicians dressing like creepy bird people: "You believe it is a fable, what is written about Doctor Beak ... Oh, believe and don't look away, for the Plague rules Rome," he remarked.

And though the 15th century Germans, like the rest of us, thought the outfit seemed a little much, there was a reason for it, even if the reasons don't have any scientific backing by today's standards.

" " Frank To, a Glasgow-based artist, dresses in a medieval Plague Doctor costume while promoting his exhibition, "The Human Condition," in Edinburgh, Scotland. Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

"All the parts of the plague doctor's outfit, and especially the shape of the mask, were believed to provide protection for the doctor," says Winston Black, an independent historian of medicine and religion in the Middle Ages and author of "The Middle Ages: Facts and Fictions," in an email interview. "However, the protection wasn't from germs or bacteria on the patient, which would not be understood until the modern era. Instead, doctors believed that some disease, like plague, was generated by poisoned air called miasma."

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Miasma Theory of Disease

Miasma  also called "bad air" or "night air"  was thought to emanate from rotting organic matter and infect people through their respiratory system or skin. Of course, contaminated water, poor hygiene and the lack of sanitation in settlements were the real culprits behind most of the epidemics that took place up until the 19th century, but how were they to know? Instead of remedying those problems, they spent their time tricking out their plague doctor costumes.

"According to one set of instructions for plague doctors, the cloak and hat should cover the entire body and be made of oiled Moroccan leather, to prevent miasma entering the pores," says Black. "The most important element was the long, beaked mask. It was to be filled with sweet or strong-smelling herbs which were believed to block or 'filter' out the miasma. One of the most popular herbs was wormwood, the main ingredient of absinthe, which has a very sharp odor. The mask could also simply hold a vinegar-soaked sponge, since the strong smell of vinegar was also thought to block miasma."

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The Life of a Plague Doctor

Aside from the fact that they were made fun of by the Germans, not much is known about the plague doctors of the 17th century. Our best understanding is that they were municipal doctors, working in large cities for the urban government or the monarchy. They probably were most common in southern European cities like Rome, Milan, and some might even have been active in the south of France.

"Because they were public servants, they probably did not have 'clients,' per se," says Black. "Instead they went around the city during a plague outbreak, making decisions about which houses to lock up or condemn, which neighborhoods to quarantine, and so on."

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Did Plague Doctors Actually Wear This Costume?

Although there were certainly doctors attending to victims of the plague during the outbreak in the 17th century in southern Europe, evidence that anyone actually wore these outfits in a real plague outbreak is thin on the ground. Most of what we have are satirical writings and images  like modern political cartoons.

" " A 1656 colorized version of Gerhart Altzenbach's copper engraving of Doctor Schnabel, i.e Dr. Beak, a plague doctor in 17th century Rome. Wikimedia Commons

"It's telling that the most popular image, Gerhart Altzenbach's engraving of 1656, is called 'Doctor Beak from Rome,' which suggests few people took them seriously, and most considered them Italian," says Black.

Our best evidence that the elaborate costume even existed comes from a description of the French royal physician Charles de Lorme. De Lorme is sometimes given credit for inventing the getup, but according to Black, that's probably unlikely:

"There are already descriptions from the later 16th century of doctors wearing protective masks. Perhaps de Lorme should be credited with creating an outfit that was supposed to protect the entire body of the doctor. Despite this French claim to the creation of the outfit, most other Europeans agreed it was Italian in origin."

But even if the outfit wasn't as widespread as we now imagine, the development of the plague doctor and his creepy, silly costume still suggests important changes were afoot in medicine and public health during this time:

"Doctors were developing stronger ideas about how contagious diseases like plague could be, and more doctors were working in public capacities, hired to care for the health of entire cities or neighborhoods, and not just for individual, wealthy patients," says Black.

Now That's Interesting The word "malaria" comes directly from the miasma theory of disease. It means "bad air" in Italian.
The hopes and dreams of many startups have been realised through finding the right investor.

For every successful funding, there are many who miss out.

The good news for Australia is that funding is on the rise.

According to the latest KPMG Venture Pulse report, there were 327 Australian VC investment deals over the past financial year, up from a 311 over the previous 12 months.

Australia saw a continued rise in venture capital funding between 1 July 2020 and 1 July 2021, to a record US$2.5 billion, up from US$1.95 billion in the previous year.

Leading Australian investor, Blackbird Ventures, has more than a billion dollars under management and a portfolio of over 80 companies, including local successes Canva, Zoox, SafetyCulture, Culture Amp and Propeller Aero.

Melia Rayner, communications manager at Blackbird, says there is a right way to go about finding an investor.

Our role as investors is purely to help our founders be successful. We work for our founders; they dont work for us.

Rayner said most the common mistake startups make is not reaching out early; before there is a product, even if it's just an idea.

Nobody in our investment team is allowed to say, its too early. We have invested in a number of startups before there is even a product, including Canva.

Many startups, particularly those in frontier or "deep tech" will require more significant investment to test their idea and turn it into reality, for instance, you might need specialist facilities, highly-trained team members or specific equipment.

Where the money's going. Image: KMPG

Raising investment earlier will quicken the process.

A good investor should help with connections and advice on making your idea happen. We believe that founders are the best help to other founders, so we often introduce founders within our portfolio of companies to help on a topic or challenge theyre facing."

A warm introduction is a good place to make a connection.

If you know someone, thats a good a place to start, but not essential, she adds.

Investment opportunities come through our existing founder community, other VCs and even through our website and social media.

The common thread that clinches an investment deal is someone who expresses their mission in high definition and passion.

Our favourite time to meet founders is right when they're getting started. We dont have a niche, we invest across the spectrum  from self-driving cars, software companies, rockets, healthcare companies, and plant-based meat startups.

Blackbird runs free programs with other companies, such as their mentoring program Giants and the Startmate Accelerator.

Being part of these communities can help you get familiar with investors and build your relationships before raising investment.

On average, the Blackbird teams see more than 160 companies a month, and invest in around three per month.

In 2021, the company has already invested in 14 companies.

This number is an increase on previous years as weve grown our investments team over the last 12 months. Generally, each member of the team makes an average of 3-5 investments over the year.

Funding ranges from $30,000 to upwards of $30 million.

This completely depends on the size of the round, stage of the startup and what capital it needs to progress.

When raising a capital, a word of caution for startups from Rayner.

Remember, youre selling someone a piece of your company. Its important that founders are careful not to give too much away too soon; 10-20 per cent is a usual amount to sell in an early stage round.

Importantly, venture capital is a long-term commitment, so you want to bring in people that you trust.

Richard Moore, early stage technology advisor and angel investor, is a member of Brisbane Angels.

The group has 90 members and invests $4 million in twenty startups per year.

He provides background into the pitching process. Typically, his team meets once a month and listens to three pitches from entrepreneurs.

Angel groups have different processes, but all involve pitching to a room full of angels willing to invest in early stage companies. If theres sufficient interest, due diligence is undertaken and before investment begins a few weeks later.

There is one common thread for where pitches go wrong, or fail and that is when the entrepreneur does not have a clear and well articulated investment thesis.

The pitch should be targeted at investors and not customers of the business, says Moore.

Remember, investors are looking to buy shares in the company and not the product the company sells.

He recommends sourcing help on the right way to present pitch deck.

This internet is a great place start, youll find numerous standard pitch decks providing assistance. They highlight the 10/12 critical issues in which an angel investor is interested.

Before seeking investment, its common to join an accelerator program. Theres several accelerator programs across Australia. They help develop the investment thesis and refine the pitch. Once this is clear, you can approach an angel group, Moore recommends.

There is a list of angel investors at AirTree Ventures, where angels are willing to receive unsolicited investment enquiries from entrepreneurs.
MATTOON  Friends Rachel Akeman and Natalie Wendt, both of Effingham, were among many area high school students who checked out ambulances and other emergency medical equipment during Lake Land College's annual Career Day on Tuesday.

"I want to be either a nurse or a paramedic. I have always had an interest in the health field," Wendt said as she and Akeman were then heading to see a nearby Air Evac Lifeteam helicopter on the front lawn of campus. "I think (Career Day) is very interesting. I am thankful for the opportunity."

Abbott Ambulance Operations Manager Joseph Thies said he was thankful to be able to field questions from the two Effingham students and so many others at Career Day. He said this event offers a great opportunity at a critical time to attract potential future employees into his field and other industries.

"Everyone is pretty shorthanded, especially in the emergency medical field," Thies said, as his Abbott rig shared display space with Lake Land's Emergency Medical Services training ambulance in front of Neal Hall. Thies said there is a big demand for paramedics, adding that he has seen many in this field eventually go on to work as nurses, physicians assistants or doctors.

Career Day was slated to drawn nearly 1,200 high school juniors and seniors from area schools. The students had the opportunity to register for more than 175 different sessions in fields including agriculture, health care, business, information technology, cosmetology, humanities and arts, communications, math, science, engineering, education, criminal justice, human services, psychology, sociology, political science, history, automotive, construction, and technology.

Inside Neal Hall, nursing faculty member Tarah Haskenherm and senior level nursing instructor Bethany Workman shared information about educational opportunities in Lake Land's Allied Health Division and job opportunities in this field. They had a classroom full of students, among the room's practice mannequins, late Tuesday morning.

"I think our program is a really great program, so it's inspiring to see all the high school students that wanted to join," Haskenherm said.

Workman said she enjoyed getting to know the students in person and answering their questions. She said many of them were particularly curious about the differences between registered nurses (RNs) and licenses practical nurses (LPNs).

Courtney Sanders of Casey said she made sure to attend informational sessions on nursing and on biology because she wants to eventually have a career as a radiologist or a radiology oncologist. Sanders said she selected this career choice after volunteering at the Sarah Bush Lincoln Regional Cancer Center.

Casey-Westfield High School Assistant Principal Chris Seaton said they brought a group of 62 juniors to the Career Day. He said many of those students expressed interest beforehand in attending sessions on nursing and on various science and vocational careers. Seaton said the Career Day is a great way for the community college to serve its roles of helping area students and employers.

"Hopefully, (Career Day) opens students' eyes that they don't necessarily have to have a four-year degree for good paying jobs," Seaton said.

Contact Rob Stroud at 217-238-6861.

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"Future plans for these properties from our acquisition will form the seed portfolio for a potential U.S. logistics private fund  Mapletree US Logistics Private Trust," the spokesperson said.

The Guilford properties are included in the second portfolio of logistics assets that Mapletree bought for a combined $3 billion in May and September.

Mapletree said in a Sept. 30 news release that the second portfolio contains 117 assets covering a combined 22.3 million square feet of net leasable area across Greater Chicago, the Carolinas, Memphis, Houston and Washington DC and Baltimore.

The US logistics sector is amongst the best performing and most resilient of all the real estate markets in which Mapletree operates globally, Michael Smith, the companys regional chief executive of Europe and USA, said in the news release.

By combining these recently acquired assets with 14 logistics facilities that we currently own, we have attained sufficient scale and investor interest to create a fourth US focused private fund with a fully seeded portfolio of 155 logistics assets.

We now manage 355 logistics facilities ... totaling 70 million square feet of net leasable area, propelling Mapletree into the top 10 managers of logistics real estate in the US.
McFarlane was sitting in his vehicle about 6:56 p.m. when two masked men approached him and tried to rob him, police said.

McFarlane fought the men, and one of them shot McFarlane several times, police said.

The suspects left the scene and headed toward a nearby park, police said.

Investigators have a surveillance video of the incident, police said.

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McFarlane was taken to Baptist.

Boyd said she had no updates on McFarlanes condition.

About 15 minutes before that incident, police received a report about an 1-year-old gunshot victim at Brenner Childrens Hospital.

After they arrived at the hospital about 6:40 p.m., officers learned that a parent mishandled a gun inside a home, accidentally shooting the the little girl in the hand.

The child was in stable condition Monday at the hospital.

Boyd declined to identify the victim or the location where the shooting happened, citing the victims age. Boyd also declined to identify the parent involved in the incident.

No charges have been filed in the case, and police are investigating the incident.
A Kernersville man was convicted Tuesday on a charge that he slashed a womans throat twice on Salem Parkway in 2018. Just before he did it, he told the woman, Happy Mothers Day, according to search warrants.

The woman survived the attack.

Rosendo Jimenez Santiago, 38, of Afton Park Drive, entered what is called an Alford plea to felony assault with a deadly weapon, inflicting serious injury in Forsyth Superior Court. He was initially charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, inflicting serious injury. An Alford plea means Santiago did not admit guilt but acknowledged that Forsyth County prosecutors had enough evidence to convict him if the case had gone to trial.

According to court documents, Assistant District Attorney Lizmar Bosques and Alan Doorasamy, Santiagos attorney, agreed to a sentence  a minimum of one year, eight months and a maximum of three years. Judge Brian C. Wilks of Forsyth Superior Court handed down that sentence.

The attack happened just after 9:30 a.m. on May 11, 2018, on the side of the southbound lane of Salem Parkway near the Macy Grove exit. Kernersville police officers found the woman in her car on the side of the road. Large amounts of blood were found on the front seat of the car, according to search warrants.
Long-term care outbreaks

The number of COVID-19 outbreaks in Triad long-term care facilities has declined significantly in recent months.

The latest update of COVID-19 cases among congregate care facilities continues to list Arbor Acres United Methodist Retirement Community Inc. with a cluster of 21 staff members and eight residents, including one who died.

Arbor Acres management sent a memo last week to residents and staff members saying they are trying to get DHHS to remove the facility from the dashboard. The memo is signed by Andrew Applegate, the facilitys president and chief executive.

The facility said Thursday there are just two staff members with an active infection. Applegate said there has not been a new COVID-19 case among residents since Aug. 15.

Trinity Elms Health & Rehab is listed with 23 resident cases, including one death, and 10 staff cases.

Overall, there were 16 long-term care centers in Forsyth listed with clusters as of 3 p.m. Tuesday. There are a combined 86 staff members considered as having been infected, along with 62 residents, including two who died.
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The married couple spent 10 years in Istanbul. Dick got to know the city when he was in the handmade rug business, and, when their financial situation allowed them to live there, they jumped at the chance.

Their apartment overlooked the Bosphorus Strait, which flows between the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara. Its steeped in history, just like the rest of Istanbul, Dick said.

Its an ancient, ancient city. There is just history everywhere. Everywhere you go is antiquity, he said. The people are just wonderful folks.

The Turkish people love Murano glass and when Dick discovered chandeliers in the citys second-hand shops, he fell in love, too. Then he met a woman from Venice who sold them, and she introduced him to a glassblower and the monthly flea market at Piazzola sul Brenta.

Soon, Dick was making trips to Venice and the surrounding countryside to feed his new passion. Utku Eyyupoglu, a Turkish friend who spoke five languages and quickly picked up Italian, made the trips with him. He returned to the U.S. with the couple and just graduated with a nursing degree.

Venetians have been blowing glass for 400 to 500 years if not longer, Dick said. Before electricity, they had candles in them. The skillset is unbelievable.
A Lincoln man ended up facing felony drug charges after he allegedly stole a bag of chips and another customer's money at a downtown Lincoln sandwich shop early Saturday.

Prosecutors on Monday charged Tetus Therien, 40, with possession of methamphetamine over an ounce, theft by unlawful taking and shoplifting.

In an affidavit for Therien's arrest, Lincoln police say an officer on foot patrol was waved down shortly after 2 a.m. Saturday near Pickleman's at 1442 O St. by an employee about a man still inside the restaurant.

Employees said they had seen the man grab $13 from his table and take a bag of chips from the counter without paying.

After he was confronted, police said Therien asked if he could pay for the chips but denied taking the cash. When officers arrested him, they found a small amount of meth and marijuana on him.

At the jail, corrections staff allegedly found more than 2 ounces more of meth in his backpack.

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Two witnesses testified they heard four to six gunshots.

One witness, Paul Sorenson, was in the lobby of a medical clinic he operates with his wife at Third and Chestnut streets.

Sorenson said a delay of about two seconds followed two shots, followed by a volley of about four more.

Nikki Stevens was in a truck in the parking lot of the North Platte Federal Building complex, about a block away from Allens residence. Stevens testified that she heard four or five gunshots with a short pause after the first few as well.

Both Bellinger and North Platte police Sgt. Dale Matuszczak testified that Torres was slumped over in the drivers seat of the Tahoe and non-responsive when officers arrived.

Matuszczak said that when he arrived, Allen was leaning into the Tahoe on the drivers side and the woman with him was standing outside the passenger side and was hysterical.

Allen was placed into custody because the initial 911 calls reported a man in a red T-shirt had fired several shots, Matuszczak said, and Allen matched that description.
Rep. Jeff Fortenberry told a Lincoln Chamber of Commerce audience Tuesday that he believes a slimmed-down infrastructure bill eventually will clear Congress, "probably without Republican votes," while a measure to raise the nation's debt ceiling will be approved with some bipartisan support.

The Republican congressman did not say whether he might be one of those votes, and he left the Country Club of Lincoln following a luncheon address after scrapping a tentatively arranged media availability.

Fortenberry said he is "interested in a right-sized infrastructure bill."

As for the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package that contains safety-net funding for social programs, Fortenberry said "it probably would be pared way back if it passes."

Those issues have dominated the agenda in Washington in recent days, although the battleground is chiefly in the Senate, not the House.

President Joe Biden, in a bid to win over the votes of Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, has reduced the price tag on the so-called $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package to a range between $1.9 trillion and $2.2 trillion.

"Manchin has become a favorite son among Republicans," Fortenberry said.
Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds are among the Republican governors who are traveling to Texas Wednesday to tour the border with Mexico, according to the Associated Press.

Ricketts office could not be reached for confirmation.

Part of the cost of the trip will be picked up by taxpayers, according to the AP and at least one other news outlet.

A nonprofit Republican governor's group also will help fund the trip, the AP reported.

Reynolds spokesman Alex Murphy said the trip is an official visit and taxpayers will pay about $500 in lodging for Reynolds and staff accompanying her. The Republican Governors Public Policy Committee will fund the transportation to Texas.

A spokesman for Arizona's governor said taxpayers would be picking up part of the bill, according to the Arizona Daily Star.

Further details of the 2,400-mile round trip were not available.

Republican governors from across the country have focused on border issues and criticized Biden, a Democrat, for his immigration policies.
Im not wanting to disqualify President Biden, he said. Im satisfied with ensuring future elections, not invalidating prior ones.

However, Clements called it puzzling and unusual to have Democrat Joe Biden and GOP Rep. Don Bacon both secure victory in the Omaha metro areas 2nd Congressional District. The district had a similar split in 2008 as well, when Democrat Barack Obama and Republican Rep. Lee Terry both won.

He also hesitated when asked whether he has confidence in Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen and Gov. Pete Ricketts, two fellow Republicans who defended the safety and security of the states election system last fall. Clements ended up pointing to the concerns of constituents.

Later Tuesday, Clements offered a statement expressing absolute confidence and respect for both Evnen and Ricketts.

I know they believe ensuring the integrity of our electoral process is central to our democracy. I signed the 50 state election audit letter because it was a small way that I could register my lack of confidence in the 2020 electoral process in several other states.

Ricketts said concerns about 2020 were investigated.
President Joe Biden's administration has appointed Omaha political activist Precious McKesson to a position at the U.S. Department of Education.

According to the department's website, McKesson is now special assistant in the department's Office of Communications and Outreach based out of Washington, D.C. The Department of Education did not respond to the World-Herald's questions about McKesson's new role and appointment.

In 2020, McKesson cast the Omaha-based 2nd Congressional District's electoral ballot for Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. She was a staffer for the Biden campaign in Nebraska and has worked as finance director and constituency director for the Nebraska Democratic Party.

She's still the party's Black caucus chair, Chair Jane Kleeb said in a text message, but will soon pass that role to someone else. Before working for the party, McKesson worked in a staff position with Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha and the Legislature's Urban Affairs Committee.

She had considered running for Congress in the 2nd District but decided against it.
Gov. Pete Ricketts was among 10 Republican governors who joined Texas Gov. Greg Abbott near the border with Mexico on Wednesday to call upon President Joe Biden to take action to secure the border and end what Ricketts described as "this humanitarian and security crisis."

Mass migration into the United States is spreading "health hazards across our country," the governor said during a news conference in Mission, Texas, claiming that thousands of COVID-positive people have entered the country illegally.

The Biden administration needs to "properly resource the border" with U.S. Border Patrol personnel and National Guard troops, Ricketts said.

The president "thinks he can ignore" this crisis, the governor said.

"We are here to shine a light," he said, and force action to "help us stem this mass migration crisis."

The Nebraska National Guard is scheduled to deploy units from Grand Island and Columbus this month to help provide assistance at the border.

The deployment could last up to a year, Maj. Scott Ingalsbe, spokesperson for the Guard, said previously.
While the Legislature plans to appropriate the American Rescue Plan funds beginning in January, those funds must be spent by 2026 under the law passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden.

Bill Thorson, the chair of the Mead Board of Trustees, said those rescue plan dollars could be used to upgrade the village's water infrastructure should pesticides from the AltEn site be detected in its groundwater wells.

Mead has recently spent $3 million on a pair of new groundwater wells, a water treatment facility and new water tower, all before the contamination at AltEn was discovered.

Thorson said while groundwater typically moves to the southeast away from Mead, the village will continue monitoring its wells for potential pesticide contamination.

Mead would look at using federal dollars to repair roads damaged by trucks hauling loads of distiller's grains away from AltEn, as well as providing assistance to local businesses.

After the hearing, Thorson said he also believes the funding could be used to help pay for long-term environmental and health testing being done by University of Nebraska and Creighton University researchers.
Masks, vaccines, even the coronavirus itself have fallen victim to misinformation and manipulation -- seemingly often for political purposes.

Despite the wider swath of death and disruption, COVID, some have argued, is no different from the flu. Mask mandates and vaccination requirements have, for a vocal minority, become more about freedom than science or medicine.

Health care workers have always used the best tools and knowledge at their disposal to keep us alive -- whether we are threatened by cancer, heart disease, polio or smallpox. We can hope for nothing more, and we've come to expect nothing less.

And yet not only have we put them on the front lines of a lingering public health crisis. We have put them on the front lines of political battle.

Health care has never been a low-stress field. Medical personnel deal with people on some of their worst days. They help patients face pain and fear. They help loved ones face worry and grief. They trade in matters of life and death each day.

While the immediate strain of the pandemic may have been worse months ago, its cumulative effect weighs heavily on our health care workers. If they were heroes a year ago, they're even more heroic now for their continued service. They deserve our respect, not our abuse.

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PLEASANT PRAIRIE  One woman fled, while another was subdued by Taser, after they were suspected of stealing clothing and other merchandise from at least two stores at the Premium Outlets Tuesday afternoon, according to village police.

Officers responded to the call of theft at 3:06 p.m. after speaking with personnel at the Nike Factory Store where some of the items were taken, according to Sgt. Derek Andrews of the Pleasant Prairie Police Department. The women also allegedly stole items from the Columbia Factory Store nearby. Both stores are in the Premium Outlets at 11211 120th Ave.

An officer then encountered the two women as they were leaving the North Face store and they matched the suspect description he was given, Andrews said.

While on foot, one officer chased a 25-year-old Chicago woman who had been described as wearing a gray Calvin Klein hoodie. Her alleged accomplice, a woman in her 30s to 40s, was wearing an olive green track suit. The older woman also ran through the parking lot and eventually got away, according to Andrews.

He turned on his emergency lights and told them to stop and they both took off running in opposite directions, he said.

The younger suspect continued to run through the parking lot, but the officer eventually caught up with her and used his Taser to subdue her.

Andrews said the woman was transported to Froedtert Pleasant Prairie Hospital for minor injuries. Prongs from the electronic control device struck the woman in the upper and lower back. She also had abrasions from falling down, but was not seriously hurt, he said.

She was released from the hospital and taken to the Kenosha County Jail. Police recommended charges of misdemeanor theft and resisting and obstructing.

The other suspect remained at large as of late Tuesday. Police described her as a black woman between the ages of 30 and 40 years old, who stands 5 feet 9 inches to 6 feet tall. At the time of the incident, she wore an olive green velvet track suit, a lime green shirt and was carrying a black leather purse.

Andrews said she was last seen entering a vehicle before leaving the shopping center. It was not immediately known what type of vehicle she left in or which direction it was going at the time.

As of now were still reviewing all the footage for that, said Andrews.

The thefts remain under investigation. Anyone with information on the incident can contact the village Police Department at 262-694-7105. Callers wishing to remain anonymous can call Kenosha Area Crime Stoppers at 262-656-7333.

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CALEDONIA  A Racine man allegedly sexually assaulted a minor and sent sexually explicit photos to minors.

Edilberto C. Arias, 24, of the 1300 block of Carlisle Avenue, was charged with three felony counts of possession of child pornography and exposing a child to harmful material and three misdemeanor counts of sexual intercourse with a child.

According to a criminal complaint:

On June 7, an officer was sent to the 4600 block of Beacon Drive for a report of a minor receiving indecent photographs from an adult male.

Upon arrival, the officer spoke to the girl who said she received multiple images over Snapchat from a user she knew as Ed, later identified as Arias, of him naked. He then asked her if he liked the messages and said he wanted to have sex with her. She also said a friend of hers, also a minor, received similar messages from him. She learned that he was dating a 16-year-old and got her pregnant. One of the videos he sent was of him engaged in sexual activity.

A detective was assigned and learned that Arias lived in a duplex on Albert Street and that he is 24 years old. On June 17, an officer conducted a traffic stop on Arias vehicle in the 1200 block of Marquette Street. A detective was able to locate several messages sent from Arias to multiple underage girls of his genitalia and videos of him having sex with a minor.

Arias was given $6,000 in cash bonds in Racine County Circuit Court on Tuesday. A preliminary hearing is set for Oct. 14 at the Racine County Law Enforcement Center, 717 Wisconsin Ave., online court records show.
U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., following a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border this week, advocated for construction on the border wall to resume  but also acknowledged that the wall itself matters little in actually preventing illegal immigration.

Rather, during a radio interview Tuesday, he and Jay Weber of WISN (1130 AM) agreed that the messaging and policies of President Joe Bidens administration are what is drawing more migrants across the border, wall or otherwise.

But, a completed wall (or at least continuing construction on it, as the State of Texas is looking to do without federal help) could send a deterring message that might stop some of the thousands flooding toward the U.S. from wanting to come here.

In August 2020, while Donald Trump was still president, there were about 50,000 Southwest Land Border Encounters (i.e. attempted illegal border crossings), the Border Patrol reported. In August 2021 with Joe Biden in the Oval Office, there were about 200,000 attempted border crossings.

Also, under Trump, very few of those people were allowed to stay in the country  even if they claimed asylum. Under Biden, far more are being allowed in and given court dates that are often months or years down the road.

In August, the U.S. Supreme Court by a 6-3 vote said that Bidens attempt to killing Trumps Remain in Mexico policy likely violated federal law and thus ordered the policy to be put back in place, although its unclear what that decision could mean in actuality.Steil, the second-term Republican from Janesville whose district includes all of Racine and Kenosha counties, visited the Del Rio area of Texas. Its where thousands of Haitians fleeing their tumultuous home country recently camped.

In the final weeks of September, those migrants were cleared from their food-strapped camp under the International Bridge near Del Rio. There are reports of both thousands being allowed into the U.S. under a temporary legal status with a court date months of years down the road, and thousands more being deported but with the the Biden administration vowing to send them aid abroad  although Time Magazine reported that even a week after deportations began support never arrived.

Still, 60,000 more people could be coming from Haiti; it could be the biggest one-time surge in migrants in U.S. history if such rumors are true.

The Haitian situation is a litmus test for Americans on how those knocking at the door should be treated: Are they lawbreakers who should be kept out of the U.S.? Or should they be treated as refugees seeking a better life while their lives are at risk in their homeland?

Upon being sent back to Haiti, Returnees reacted angrily as they stepped off flights at Port-au-Prince airport after spending thousands of dollars on arduous voyages from the troubled Caribbean nation via South America hoping for a better life in the United States. On Tuesday (Sept. 21), they found themselves back where they started, Reuters reported. Tempers ran high, exacerbated by news the Haitian government had accepted the deportations.

The head of the United Nations refugee agency condemned the U.S., saying last month that the deportations may violate international law as it may constitute refoulement.

According to the United Nations, Under international human rights law, the principle of non-refoulement guarantees that no one should be returned to a country where they would face torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and other irreparable harm. This principle applies to all migrants at all times, irrespective of migration status.

The Washington Post reported last week that Haitian migrants thought Biden would welcome them. Now deported to Haiti, they have one mission: Leave again, indicating that deporting these thousands may have only prolonged the problem.

Still, Weber called the Haitians claims of wanting asylum in the U.S. bogus on Tuesday.

Steil said that the U.S. border still remains unprepared for the constant flow of those seeking a better life in the U.S.

Every single border agent that I talked to, and I talked to dozens yesterday, are beyond frustrated with the situation that theyre dealing with, Steil said Tuesday during the radio interview. He said that the Del Rio contingent of the Border Patrol has 1,500 officers  hundreds short of the desired employment level  to guard hundreds of miles of border.

Safety concerns

There has never been a terrorist attack perpetrated by someone who came into the U.S. illegally through the southern border. According to Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, From 1975 through the end of 2020, only nine people convicted of planning a terrorist attack entered the United States illegally  some of them on ships, airplanes, and walking across the border  Only three of the nine who entered illegally came across the border with Mexico as young children in 1984, 23 years before they were arrested for a comically planned terrorist attack on Fort Dix in 2007.

Regardless, the border situation has been linked with a fear of attack and American vulnerability.

There is zero chance that Islamist terrorists groups and other American enemies are not taking advantage of this open border situation, Weber claimed on air Tuesday. If they want to get new spies into the country completely unknown to us, without so much as a tourist visa application in our system to flag them, this is the way to do it.

There is a major national security risk, Steil said, adding that the Del Rio section of the Border Patrol said it encountered people in the past year from 90 different countries  including as far away as Nigeria.

Primarily, Steil called on the Biden administration to change its presentation of its border policies.

Vice President Kamala Harris June 7 speech in which she repeated in a message, supposedly for would-be migrants  Do not come  seems to have failed.

The Biden administration has cleared out the optics of this, but has done nothing to clear out the underlying problem, Steil said Tuesday. The message continues to be: The borders are open.

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RACINE  The Racine Branch of the NAACP sent a list of demands to the Racine Unified School District, calling on the district to better serve and represent its students of color.

The first three demands include:

1. Partnering with a consultant agency or group outside of Wisconsin to conduct an equity assessment and improvement plan for the district,

2. Creating an Ad Hoc Committee on equity to create a district equity policy to address the findings of the equity assessment, and

3. Committing resources toward recruiting and retaining teachers of color in the district.

During last weeks special board meeting, Rev. Lawrence Terry, who serves on the NAACP education committee and is a former RUSD principal, spoke to the board of education and pointed to a lack of minority representation and a wide achievement gap.

I am speaking on behalf of African American parents, Hispanic parents as well, Terry said. We are concerned and less satisfied to with the outcomes of our black and brown students.

In the 2018-2019 school year in English Language Arts, 71.4% of black students, 54.4% of Hispanic or Latino students, 35.1% of Native American students and 50.7% of students of two or more races were in the below basic performance category  compared to the 32% of white students in the same category.

For mathematics in the same year, 75.2% of black students, 57.4% of Hispanic or Latino students and 49.5% of students of two or more races performed below basic levels while 37.3% of white students did the same.

Terry also raised concerns over student representation in RUSD staff, which remains predominantly white. Research has shown that students of color perform better in school when they have at least one teacher of the same race as them.

Thats the lack of black and brown teachers; children need to see teachers who look like them, Terry said. This sends a message to our children. They want to connect with your teachers, if they dont ever see a teacher, what does that do for them? That diversity  studies show it over and over and over, it gets better results.

According to an RUSD 2018-2019 district fact sheet, the districts student body is:

38.72% white,

28.15% Hispanic or Latino,

26.22% African American,

1.13% Asian,

0.31% Native American,

0.05% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and

5.93% other or multiple races

Meanwhile, about 85% of Racine Unified teachers were white at the end of the same school year, according to Journal Times reporting.

This trend holds true statewide, according to The Urban Institute, with just 5% of Wisconsins teachers representing minorities while the student population is 24% minority.

NAACP Education Chair Yolanda Hodges said the organization is moving from asking to demanding action, saying the district has made very little progress on making changes NAACPs efforts to work with them. When asked why previous communications have not produced more change, Hodges said, I dont know.

She continued: I dont know why the Racine community is not up in arms about how the performance level of the students coming out of Racine Unified School District because it not only impacts those students lives, it impacts the Racine community as a whole.

Districts response

District officials confirmed that NAACP has been in regular contact with them and that meetings have occurred with Superintendent Dr. Eric Gallien in August and September.

RUSD Spokeswoman Stacy Tapp said the district has several academic strategies in place to close achievement gaps. The district, Tapp said in an email, is also focused on the whole child, which includes the creation of a physically, psychologically safe environment.

We continue to welcome the NAACP to the table, Tapp wrote. We value the active engagement of community partners to support our students and families to be successful.

The district is also working to implement a system of professional training for staff around equity, Tapp said.

One effort by the district to attract and retain minority teachers is the program in partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Parksides STAR and BSTAR residency programs, both of which were commended by Hodges. The programs are teacher licensure programs that seek to remove barriers that come with obtaining licenses post-baccalaureate.

Through the programs, Tapp said staff are able to teach in the classroom within the first week and attend class on Fridays, allowing them to get paid and reduce the cost of tuition. To participate in the program, participants commit to teaching in RUSD for a period of time.

Some progress but not enough, group says

The NAACP, however, wants to see more from the district.

If we look over the years, theres been slight improvements. But for the most part its not been sustained, Hodges said. And we need to see more from the district. We know that its not only the district, the community needs to work in conjunction with the district to help make things better.

Academic strategies RUSD already has in place Competency based diploma program at the high schools

Interventionists at all our schools

Expanded summer school sites and access

Career and Academic study halls

Expansion of after school programs to keep students engaged in learning and activities before/after school

Community liaisons to bridge schools and the community

Purchase of software that builds skills

Purchase of software that provides more leveled texts in all content areas (English, science, math)

New reading curriculum based on the Science of Reading and building background knowledge

Social-emotional health efforts RUSD already has in place Social emotional learning and curriculum implementation

Trauma Sensitive Schools

PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports)

Prevention and wellness (bully prevention, mental well-being, suicide prevention, inclusive and welcoming environments)

Youth mental health

Restorative practices

Mindfulness practices

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A Republican-authored bill being circulated for co-sponsors would effectively overhaul Wisconsins unemployment system, with a focus on getting more individuals off unemployment benefits and reemployed.

The GOP ideas include drug testing those claiming unemployment benefits, providing cash payments to businesses that hire the long-term unemployed  meaning those who have collected benefits for more than 27 weeks  and directing job seekers to apply for specific job positions.

However, some measures in the proposal  including one that would force Gov. Tony Evers to direct federal COVID-19 stimulus dollars to businesses that hire the long-term unemployed  may set the bill up for a veto as the Democratic governor has rejected similar GOP measures related to the use of federal funds in the past.

Rep. Warren Petryk, R-Town of Washington, and Sen. Roger Roth, R-Appleton, said in an interview with the Wisconsin State Journal the legislation aims to transform the states unemployment insurance system, which has struggled to quickly process an influx of claims brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, into a more individualized process that focuses more on getting people back to work.

Its good for the employee; its great for the employer because theyre struggling to find workers right now and its great for the state of Wisconsin, Roth said. The quicker we get people into jobs, the less theyre drawing on unemployment insurance and the more they are able to support their families and support our economy.

The Republicans said they hope to bring the proposal before a committee this fall.

Jennifer Sereno, spokesperson for the state Department of Workforce Development, said the department has significant concerns about the GOP proposal due to the anticipated reporting burden for employers, potential costs associated with the bill and a lack of a sustainable funding source. Sereno also said the department is already carrying out several provisions detailed in the proposal, including providing reemployment services and work-search requirements.

While DWD already is performing a number of key functions called out in the proposal, other requirements may not align with Wisconsins labor market challenges, Sereno said.

Sereno added that Wisconsins nonfarm jobs have returned to 96% of pre-pandemic levels in February 2020 as the states economy continues to recover from the ongoing pandemic.

However, Wisconsin employers in all sectors are finding it difficult to fill jobs due to a workforce gap driven by low birthrates, high retirement rates and low, if not negative, net migration and immigration flows, she said.

The state reported last month that Wisconsins unemployment rate remained at 3.9% for the month of August  the same level it has been since April. The states labor-participation rate increased from 66.4% in July to 66.5% in August.

Evers spokesperson Britt Cudaback said the governor has some concerns regarding the proposed bill, but did not provide specifics.

The bill

One of the primary measures in the bill would change language in state statute referring to unemployment insurance to reemployment assistance and require DWD to create a Division of Reemployment Assistance, according to an analysis of the bill by the nonpartisan Legislative Reference Bureau.

Under current law, unemployment claimants are required to conduct at least four work-search actions each week, although DWD has the ability to require an individual to conduct additional search actions in a week. After a claimants initial week of benefits, the individual must provide DWD with information such as job application materials, if requested, and take part in a public employment workshop, training program or similar reemployment service, according to LRB.

The proposed bill would require claimants to make at least two direct contacts with potential employers as part of their four work-search actions starting with their third week of benefits. Claimants living in Wisconsin also would need to keep a resume posted on DWDs job center website starting with their second week of benefits.

Under current law, DWD provides claimants with a list of potential job opportunities, but does not have to require individuals to apply for specific positions. The bill would require the department to provide such a list to claimants, who would need to apply for those positions in order to satisfy the work-search requirement and be eligible for benefits.

Youll have folks who take jobs to make sure they dont get financially punished, but it may not end up being the right fit for anyone, said Shawn Phetteplace, state manager for the Main Street Alliance, which represents small businesses across Wisconsin. We should be improving the (unemployment) system, improving the tech, improving the way that its implemented.

Another provision in the bill would require DWD to immediately promulgate rules requiring claimants to undergo drug testing in order to be eligible for benefits.

We really feel that we need to help people that have substance-abuse challenges and the only way to identify them is through drug testing so that is an important aspect of the bill, Petryk said.

The legislation also would require the governor to provide employers with up to two $1,000 payments for hiring a person who has been unemployed for more than 27 weeks. The payments would be to help cover costs including wages, training and benefits. The bill dictates that those funds would need to come from the federal American Rescue Plan Act.

A fiscal estimate for the bill was not available Wednesday, but Petryk said the required use of federal funds would sunset when ARPA dollars are exhausted or expire.

Changes underway

The GOP proposal comes as state officials continue to roll out updates to how DWD manages its unemployment claims, which skyrocketed in the early months of the pandemic and hampered the departments ability to quickly process, adjudicate and pay out claims.

DWD last week launched a customer service chatbot called Mattie Moo on the departments job center website jobcenterofwisconsin.com. The chatbot was developed through a partnership with Google and directs employers and prospective employees to resources including employment and unemployment data, programs for young adults and veterans, apprenticeships and the dislocated worker program for individuals who have lost their jobs.

Other upcoming changes to the unemployment process include updated call centers, which are expected to be fully implemented by February 2022, and a virtual career center that aims to better connect job seekers with prospective employers in the state. The department also has increased the number of administrative law judges, who preside over the appeals process for unemployment claims, from 17 before the pandemic to more than 60.

DWD last Wednesday also announced a $16.5 million contract with Madison-based software development company Flexion Inc. to begin updating the departments decades-old computer system.

The state anticipates a full overhaul of Wisconsins unemployment system will cost as much as $80 million. After multiple failed attempts to secure state funding from the GOP-led Legislature for the project, Evers now plans to fund the entirety of the effort using federal coronavirus stimulus funds.

Evers and state Democrats have also said addressing workforce challenges must include a focus on reducing other barriers to employment, including lack of childcare, transit and affordable health care.

While I am genuinely open to discussing ways to improve the system, I would be cautious of any legislative attempt to undermine the UI system by adding hurdles to slow down the process when it is relied upon by so many, said Rep. Katrina Shankland, D-Stevens Point.

Back in July, Evers allocated $130 million in federal stimulus funds to help connect unemployed people with work opportunities with hopes of addressing ongoing workforce shortage challenges across the state.

Under the governors plan, $100 million would go toward a workforce innovation program that would offer up to $10 million in grants to at least 10 local and regional collaborations that develop initiatives to help employers and workers connect. Another $30 million has been provided to DWD to administer a worker-advancement initiative through local employers and create a worker-connection program to assist individuals attempting to find work.

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A statue of Col. Hans Christian Heg, a man who lived in Racine County before serving in the Civil War, was returned to its rightful place on the state Capitol grounds on Sept. 21.

It was only violence, paired with astonishing ignorance, that caused his statue to be torn down 15 months before.

The anger over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody in May 2020 was understandable, the peaceful protests entirely justified. But the moment any person turns from peaceful protest  a right guaranteed by the First Amendment  to violence, those violent acts are subject to prosecution. That prosecution is justified as well.

The toppling of the Col. Heg statue on June 23, 2020, by those protesting the treatment of African Americans in American society was stunningly misguided.

An Associated Press report on the restoration said that the tearing down of the Heg statue  and that of a nearby statue of a woman symbolizing the states Forward motto  noted that Neither statue has any racist history associated with them, but protesters claimed they represented a false narrative that Wisconsin supports black people and racial equity.

Thats a rather ridiculous claim in the case of Heg.

Heg, who lived in the Town of Norway and in Waterford in Racine County before the war, was a Norwegian immigrant who became an outspoken abolitionist. To make things crystal-clear, Heg was someone who was arguing for the abolition of slavery at a time when some Americans were keeping other human beings as property.

Heg served in the 15th Wisconsin Regiment during the Civil War. He was killed at the Battle of Chickamauga in 1863, the highest-ranked Wisconsin officer to die in combat during the war.

The State has sent no braver soldier, and no truer patriot to aid in this mighty struggle for national unity, than Hans Christian Heg, the Wisconsin State Journal wrote Sept. 29, 1863, reporting the word of his death.

Heg was a man who went to war to defeat those who explicitly sought to preserve slavery in America. To those who would argue the Civil War was about states rights, we direct your attention to Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution of the Confederate States: No bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law denying or impairing the right of property in negro slaves shall be passed.

Theres a phrase often used when framing debates about the great issues of an era: A person is on the right side of history or on the wrong side of history.

Hans Christian Heg was on the right side of history. Tearing down a statue of him in the name of supporting African Americans is about as ignorant as it gets.

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I was watching a news report in which I assume a mother was screaming at the local school board. She was calling their requiring of masks demonic. How heinous can those people be as to want to help prevent children from getting sick from the virus or carrying it to at risk people? Maybe she does not understand what demonic means.

In another report, a high school student who was wearing a mask spoke to the school board and asked for a mask mandate. One of his reasons was that his grandmother had died of Covid-19 due to someone not wearing a mask. He was jeered and a woman in the audience rolled her eyes and had a smirk on her face. I would pay to have been in the room and to have slapped the smirk off or her face.

People believe a number of conspiracy theories, such as there are chips in the vaccine and the vaccine will magnetize you. Chips can only be made so small, so the gigantic size of the needle would be a giveaway that there was a chip being injected into your arm. The size of the needles used for the vaccine could not pass a chip into you. I saw a woman on the news who supposedly was magnetized since she had a spoon stuck to her face. Ferrous, number 26 on your periodic table, is the only thing that can be magnetized. Unless you are a James Bond villain with steel teeth, your face can not be magnetized.

Drew Sobota, Mount Pleasant

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The Best Little Floorhouse in Texas Your choice for flooring in Central Texas! Your flooring is more than just the surface you walk on  it's an integral part of your home. With over 35 years of flooring experience, The Best Little Floorhouse in Texas has the resources and knowled
1. Yes. Council members appear to have taken time to review each section carefully.

2. Yes. The council has set up town halls and a public hearing to inform the residents.

3. No. The council should have set up a charter review committee, including residents.

4. No. Some of the items proposed so far benefit the council more than the community.

5. Unsure. Its hard to say until after the public has had more opportunities to weigh in.

Vote

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KEARNEY  The University of Nebraska at Kearney begins a new campus tradition with its first 24 hours devoted to philanthropic support of the university. One Day for UNK: 24 Hours of Loper Giving begins at noon on Wednesday and concludes at noon on Thursday.

UNK is fortunate to enjoy tremendous loyalty and pride among its alumni and friends, said UNK Chancellor Doug Kristensen. One Day for UNK is an opportunity for everyone to celebrate this by giving back to an institution that has been important to so many.

One Day for UNK coincides with homecoming week and will use social media and other online communication to encourage philanthropic support for all areas of the university.

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The central point for involvement is at givingday.unk.edu where the university hopes to see 515 gifts or more made in recognition of each acre of the campus. Participants can select from a range of options to aid the university and follow the events progression at that site.

Participants can use #OneDayforUNK in sharing why UNK matters to them.
On Thursday, Oct. 7, the annual Vernon County Reads program will conclude with a presentation by Victoria Houston at the Westby Area Performing Arts Center at 7 p.m. Admission to the event is free of charge. Copies of the books in the series will be available for purchase at the book signing immediately following the program. Since late summer residents have been encouraged to stop by their local public library to check out the books in the Loon Lake Mystery series by Wisconsin author Victoria Houston.

Earlier this week we began offering free media conversion kit services again. Reserve a time to convert recorded material on VHS tapes to DVDs and slides to DVDs using two media conversion kits provided by the library. The kits are available to use daily through Nov. 19. Anyone using the kits will need to provide their own DVDs and must abide by all copyright restrictions. To reserve a date and time to use a kit, log onto the library website at www.mcintoshmemoriallibrary.org and select the reservation option to get started. The kits are being made possible in part by the Winding Rivers Library System and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Were teaming up with the Viroqua Fire Department to acknowledge Fire Prevention Week, Oct. 3-9. This years campaign Learn the Sounds of Fire Safety works to educate everyone about simple but important actions they can take to keep themselves and those around them safe. Members of the Viroqua Fire Department will be at the library Friday, Oct. 8 beginning at 4 p.m. with activities, food and a fire truck. The event is for all ages.

Over 100 handmade fiber items are on display and ready to be auctioned off during a fundraising event this month to support the Friends of the Library. The Friends are hosting their annual Fiber Faire Silent Auction Oct. 4-25. Stop by the library and place a silent auction bid on the donated items including hats, mittens, socks, quilts, afghans, toys, wall hangings, seasonal decor, table runners and more! New this year is phone a bid. Anyone wishing to place a bid over the phone may call the Friends Bookstore at 637-7151, extension 2. Callers will need to know the item number to have the bid recorded. Individuals receiving the highest bid on items will be notified by phone on Oct. 26. All funds raised from the event will be used by the organization to support programs and special projects at the library.

To stay up-to-date on everything happening at the library, like the Viroqua Library page on Facebook, visit our website at www.mcintoshmemoriallibrary.org, or visit us in person at 205 S. Rock Ave. in Viroqua.

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As we bring to your attention the 175th anniversary of the founding of Viroqua, we will highlight the life of another early settler of Deckerville, Orrin Wisel. Moses Decker and his sons Solomon and Reasoner were the first to arrive in 1846.

Orrin Wisel, who was born in New York, was a blacksmith by trade. Wisel, his wife Eliza and son Joseph first arrived in the vicinity of Liberty Pole about 1846 or 1847 at the same time as Daniel Read, who founded Readstown in 1849. David Wisel married Daniel Reads sister Julia and they were the parents of Orrin and his nine siblings.

Orrin and his family, which now included two more children, relocated in Deckerville in 1850 and became the third family to join the Deckers and the Terhunes. In August 1851, the entire population of Deckerville consisted of the Decker, Terhune, (Rufus) Dunlap and Wisel families. Wisel erected a board shanty on the site where the Historic Fortney (100 N. Main) stands and opened his blacksmith shop. He remained there for a short time and then moved to Readstown. Wisel served as the first county clerk and clerk of circuit court of Bad Axe County. The town of Kickapoo was organized in Wisels home on May 29, 1853. He also served as justice of the peace.

Wisel enlisted in the Civil War and was mustered into the Wisconsin 1st Cavalry, Company H on Jan. 23, 1862. His wife, Eliza, passed away on March 9, 1862. One wonders if Wisel was able to return home for her funeral, and who cared for their children, which numbered nine, the oldest being 17 and the youngest just 2. Wisel was mustered out of the Civil War on Feb. 19, 1865.

Eventually, Wisel left Vernon County, married and divorced in Minnesota, lived in Kansas and died Feb. 23, 1892 in Los Angeles at a National Home for Disabled Soldiers. Most likely he moved to California to be near his son Frank who was living there.

The 1884 book History of Vernon County, Wisconsin describes Wisel this way: he was a hale, jovial, rollicking fellow; but he was rude, uncultured and ignorant. He was an ardent Democrat and as such was elected to the offices of county clerk and clerk of circuit court.

Despite his short time in Vernon County, Wisel certainly made an impression on the formation of the county as well as the formation of the town of Kickapoo.

Thank you to all who attended our first drive through, carry out Pork Chop Dinner held at the Vernon County Museum on Sept. 25! We apologize if you missed out on the delicious chops grilled by Maynard Cox. This new format worked out so well that we plan on doing the same thing next year. We would also like to thank all the volunteers and donors who made this event possible. Hope to see you next year!

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A map redrawing the citys voting wards will head to the La Crosse Common Council next week, and officials say its a compromise to a difficult redistricting process they faced.

The new map reduces the amount of wards the city has from 35 to 26 and keeps 13 aldermanic districts, and members of the Redistricting Committee struggled over the decision to remain coterminous with the countys map, which means three council members will be moved out of their districts.

Remaining coterminous in this case means that the boundaries of the 13 city aldermanic and county supervisory districts align, and committee members identified it as critical in order to avoid voter confusion.

I dont love this district plan. I think we did what we could with the timeline and the constraints, council member Mackenzie Mindel said at Tuesday nights Judiciary & Administration meeting. She served on the Redistricting Committee and has been vocal about the thorniness of the situation.

The city faced a tight turnaround for its new maps, like most of Wisconsin in this decennial process after 2020 census data was released late amid the pandemic and what was typically a months-long process was condensed into only weeks.

Municipalities in La Crosse County had only one month to complete their map before it must be submitted by Oct. 25. Final maps will be approved at the county and local levels in November.

The map heading before the Common Council this month would specifically displace council members Justice Weaver, District 5, Chris Kahlow, District 6, and Jennifer Trost, District 11  all three of which voted to approve the map at the J&A meeting without discussion.

All of them would be able to serve out the remainder of their terms, but would either need to move in order to run again in their district or make a bid for their new one when it was up for re-election. Kahlow under this plan and her current address would be shifted into District 8, where she would potentially run against Mindel in 2024.

Mindel flagged several other concerns she had with the map, saying some districts disproportionately grouped wealthier populations together. She also asked if the colors of the map could be adjusted to better serve those with visual impairments.

Despite these concerns, officials have so far seemed to agree that its the best option born out of a complex situation.

I think this plan is the best plan that we could have given the circumstances, Mindel said.

The map was unanimously approved by J&A and will go before the council next Thursday.

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The La Crosse Common Council will look to approve a resolution next week that welcomes Afghan refugees to the community, part of a regional approach to signal support for the group that builds off the citys history of welcoming refugees, officials said Tuesday.

The resolution is largely a symbolic measure that does not necessarily take any tangible action, but is instead essentially a welcome mat laid out by the city. The Judiciary & Administration Committee passed the resolution unanimously Tuesday night, and it is receiving support from all wings of the council.

The majority of my life has been knowing that the war has been going on in Afghanistan. So I just want to acknowledge my own experience as a 28-year-old woman is vastly different than all of the women over there who have experienced a lifetime of trauma, said council member Mackenzie Mindel, who co-sponsored the resolution with council member Rebecca Schwarz.

I recognize that this must be some of the most difficult circumstances that they are experiencing and it means so much for us to voice our welcome of all of the people who are laboring for their lives to be free, Mindel said.

Nearly 13,000 refugees now call nearby Fort McCoy home  at least for the time being  after fleeing Afghanistan amid the U.S. exit from the country and the Taliban takeover.

And while the distance between La Crosse City Hall and Fort McCoy is only 38 miles, refugees are likely to scatter and find permanent homes all across the country. Still, Mayor Mitch Reynolds said in a recent meeting with the Departments of State and Homeland Security he made sure that La Crosse was on the radar for placements.

Its essential that we welcome refugees, said Mayor Mitch Reynolds. These people are coming to our shores after spending a generation helping our service members fulfill a promise to the Afghanistan people. And I think that it is frankly our duty to make certain that we provide them a home to come to.

The citys welcome nod comes a month after the La Crosse County Board unanimously approved its own, and Mindel said she worked closely with supervisors to craft the resolution heading before the Common Council, saying it was part of a larger, regional effort.

Council member Andrea Richmond, who also serves on the County Board, praised the refugee efforts after recently touring Fort McCoy.

Its unbelievable how I felt when I left there. The care that they are being given is unbelievable. I hope it continues  and it will because we are wrapping our arms around them, Richmond said, and whatever we can do as their community and our region, we need to continue that.

They are our neighbors, and we need to do what we do for our neighbors in La Crosse, she said.

The city of La Crosse has a long history of welcoming refugees. The city has opened its doors to German migrants, Syrian and Lebanese refugees, and Hmong refugees that fled from the fallout of the Vietnam War, many of them planting roots that have led to generations of different cultures that have become integral to the fabric of the community.

Still, the process to welcome and integrate refugees into the community is likely to take time and education as misinformation and fears of immigrants continue to be stoked by politicians and talking heads. But the city has already shown patience with differing views.

One resident, Shea Eden, spoke in opposition to the resolution at Tuesdays meeting. A veteran who served in Iraq from 2012-2014, he said he welcomed the refugees but had concerns over clashing cultures, as well as risks to public safety and health. He also questioned the citys ability to house the refugees.

Eden pointed to recent reports of two Afghan men charged with assault and engaging in a sexual act with a child while at Fort McCoy, cases of measles, and issued concerns that soldiers were being told to avoid looking at the Afghan women at the camp, an unproven claim, saying that the community should not be subservient to anyone bringing in different norms and calling for cultural training for refugees.

I do want these people to have a good and safe life here in America, he said. I welcome them, I hope they integrate well, I hope there are no problems. I just want people to be warned and be aware that there are some cultural norms that we do need to be concerned about and we should have broader public discussion on.

While thanking Eden for his service, officials walked through the various concerns he issued, both sides carrying out a largely civil discussion that is not often reserved for hot button topics such as immigration.

Reynolds said that Fort McCoy currently has a 100% vaccination rate against measles, mumps and rubella, and nearly the same rate for COVID-19 vaccines, and that breakthroughs are expected the same way with any community and vaccine. He also said the city will also continue to fight to create more homes for all people.

Officials spoke with similar confidence in response to cultural concerns.

I think we need to remember the ultimate goal here, said council member Scott Neumeister. While we may have a couple bad seeds and we will have to do our best to work on getting those out of here, we are here for the broader aspect of doing whats best for the 99% of those that truly want to be here and need us.

So while what were doing is more symbolic more than anything, I think we need to welcome them, he said.

The resolution will go before the La Crosse Common Council next Thursday, Oct. 14 for a final vote.

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DAKOTA, Minn.  Andy and Darienne Fricksons switch from dairy farming to direct marketing of the meats and produce that come from their Frickson Family Farms west of Dakota, Minn., has gone better than they expected.

The small retail store that Amish craftsmen built on their farm at 40221 County Road 104 opened in the spring of 2020 and is open from 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesdays and 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays.

With the holidays coming up, well probably be open a few more days, especially in December, Andy said. A lot of people like to give the gift of meat.

From spring through fall, a smaller selection of the farms products is available at the nearby Amish-built self-serve stand that the Fricksons added last spring. Its open daily during daylight hours, is based on the honor system and has such products as eggs, meat snack sticks and produce.

The Fricksons also offer free delivery of their products within 30 miles  a radius that includes both La Crosse and Winona. And they wholesale some of their products to area restaurants, convenience stores and campgrounds.

Frickson Family Farms also sells products from its website. It ships to customers within Minnesota and surrounding states.

In 2013, the Fricksons married and bought their 160-acre farm from Andys grandparents.

They got out of dairy farming in 2019 because of low prices. We were also selling beef, Darienne said. We would sell quarters and halves to family and friends to supplement our income, because dairy farming just wasnt enough.

Before leaving dairy farming, the Fricksons decided to go into direct marketing of their own meat and produce products.

Its gone way better than expected, Andy said.

One reason is that the consumer has been pandemic-driven, Darienne said. But I also think our generation wants to know where their food is coming from. Theyre eager to know where their food is sourced from.

Some restaurants have had difficulty getting certain products from their traditional suppliers because of disruptions in supply chains due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Andy said.

From the livestock they raise on their farm, the Fricksons sell beef, pork, pastured chickens and free-range eggs. Meats are available in bulk or in individual cuts and packages. Specialty products, such as sausage and snack sticks, also are available.

The farms meat products are processed by Dover Processing in Dover, Minn., which is inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

As for produce, sweet corn has been a big seller for Frickson Family Farms. This fall, the Fricksons have been selling home-grown pumpkins, Indian corn, potatoes, square bales of straw and corn shocks.

Their farm store also carries handcrafted items made by family, friends and other area residents, such as wooden crafts, custom embroidered aprons and hand-knitted scarves. It also sells some western wear and accessories, and Frickson Family Farms apparel.

Weve added dairy products from WW Homestead Dairy out of Waukon, Mikes Salsa and Seasonings products out of St. Charles, Minn., and billies kitchen products, Darienne said. She explained that billies kitchen is operated by a neighbor who makes and sells such things as soup, skillet meal and cookie mixes.

We would love to incorporate more local products in their on-farm store, Darienne said.

The busiest time of year at the on-farm store is from September through December. Its the holiday season, Andy said.

And people are stocking up for the winter, Darienne added.

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The nurse midwife program at SSM Health St. Marys Hospital will continue until a new, sustainable model is in place, a spokesperson said late Tuesday, after the Wisconsin State Journal and other media reported the hospitals earlier decision to end the program Dec. 31.

Though our current midwifery model is not sustainable, SSM Health truly values womens health and remains committed to offering equitable access to care, including midwifery services, spokesperson Kim Sveum said in the statement. We are in the process of exploring all options for a midwifery model that will continue to allow for in-hospital births at St. Marys Hospital.

The statement said we look forward to having meaningful conversations with area community-based midwifery providers. On Monday, a separate statement said some of that outreach has already started.

However, Ingrid Andersson, one of the main community-based midwives in Madison, said Wednesday those statements are misleading.

SSM Health as of this date has had no discussion with any community midwife regarding transitioning to community-based midwifery care, as a spokesperson stated they would, Andersson said. Dean Health Insurance has a history of shutting out midwives from their provider pool and reimburses no community-based midwife in this community.

SSM Health officials said in an internal email Friday and in a statement Monday that the midwife program, in which certified nurse midwives employed by the hospital have overseen some births since 2018, would cease at the end of the year. But officials say theyre exploring ways of using community-based midwives at the hospital. Most deliveries by community-based midwives are in homes.

Nurse midwives are available at Madisons other birthing hospital, UnityPoint Health-Meriter.

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RACINE  A suspect killed himself during a raid on a home in Racine's Georgetown neighborhood on Wednesday morning, the U.S. Marshals Service told The Journal Times. A federal agent was shot in the incident but the agent's injuries are reportedly not life-threatening, the Marshals Service said.

The U.S. Marshals coordinated a multijurisdictional operation, which involved federal and local law enforcement. It has not been disclosed publicly what the intent of the operation was.

One federal agent was shot during the operation, but is now in "stable condition," the Racine Police Department reported. In an email, a U.S. Marshals spokesman described the injuries as "non-life-threatening."

According to the Marshals, no law enforcement officers fired weapons during the raid: They were fired upon, then the male suspect killed himself.

FBI spokesman Leonard Peace in Milwaukee says his agency is currently in Racine investigating a shooting incident involving a federal officer.

Tense morning

The alert from the Racine Police Department listed the address as 3720 Clairmont St. and referred to the situation as a "critical incident." A later alert listed the situation as being "in the area of Sovereign Drive and Biscayne Avenue," one block east of Clairmont.

An alert sent to smartphones within radius of more than three miles from the home told residents to "remain in your homes until the situation has been resolved."

Rihannah Morales, who lives on Biscayne Avenue, said she was awakened at 7:30 a.m. "to the sound of police sirens." She saw law enforcement officers in unmarked vehicles swarming the home. Later, she saw a woman being taken out of a home in handcuffs.

At about 9:20 a.m. a witness, Erna Sabic, said she heard the sounds of breaking glass and tear gas being deployed by law enforcement.

As of 9:40 a.m., the scene remained active but calm, with dozens of law enforcement personnel in the area and the street blocked off with police tape.

At about 11:15 a.m., a woman and a young boy were escorted from the area.

At 11:25 a.m., loud booms  possibly flashbangs  were heard coming from the area.

Vehicles and officers from the FBI; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Racine Police Department and Racine County Sheriff's Office were on the scene, as was a SWAT team. An armored vehicle with a battering ram and officers in camouflage were in the area as well.

Police officers were seen escorting children on foot to school: EverGreen Academy, Concordia Lutheran School and Renaissance School-Taylor are all less than a mile from the scene; the nearest public school is Dr. Jones Elementary, about 1.3 miles away.

This story may be updated.

Rachel Kubik contributed reporting from the scene. Adam Rogan contributed reporting remotely. Reporting from the Associated Press is included in this article.

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A federal judge has dealt another blow to a group of Roman Catholic religious societys effort to sue a company that built a section of the Atlantic Sunrise pipeline on its West Hempfield Township property.

A district judge in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania dismissed a second lawsuit from the Adorers of the Blood of Christ that argued the Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co. should never have been able to build on their property against their will. The Adorers argued the pipeline violates their religious freedom.

District Judge Jeffrey Schmehl on Thursday ruled that the federal courts do not have jurisdiction on the issue because the Adorers failed to appeal the pipeline companys plans with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, an agency that oversees interstate pipelines and other energy-related business.

The Adorers of the Blood of Christ are disappointed, but not entirely surprised, in the courts ruling, read a statement issued by the group last week. The federal courts consistently protect the profit interests of the fossil fuel industry at the expense of religious liberties and property rights.

Attempts to reach Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Williams, Transcontinentals parent company, were not successful on Tuesday.

The Adorers of the Blood of Christ is a religious society in the Catholic church that traces its roots back to 19th-century Italy. It has had a presence near Columbia since 1906, according to the groups website.

The lawsuit dismissed last week was seeking monetary damages against Transcontinental for the pipeline that has already been built and operating since 2018. Transcontinental used eminent domain to build their Sunrise Atlantic pipeline on the religious societys land, after the Adorers refused to voluntarily give them the go-ahead.

In its first lawsuit, the society sought to block the pipeline plan from running through its property, arguing that it violates its religious beliefs that it must be responsible stewards of the earth and environment. The Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, which strengthened claims for religious exemptions over federal laws, precludes the society from being subject to Transcontinentals use of eminent domain, the societys suits have alleged.

The Adorers appealed the first case to the U.S. Supreme Court, but in 2019 the highest court declined to take on the case.

Dwight Yoder, attorney at Lancaster-based Gibbel Kraybill & Hess, represents the Adorers. He said the religious exemption law from 1993 is so strongly worded that the onus should be on Transcontinental to prove the Adorers objections arent protected by the 1993 law. The rulings in federal court that the society did not follow the right procedure to make its case incorrectly puts the burden on the Adorers instead, he said.

Its pretty clear its a very powerful statute, Yoder said of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Its where you get Hobby Lobby from, he said, referring to the case in which the Supreme Court ruled the company did not have to provide health insurance that offered contraception to employees as mandated by the Affordable Care Act, since it violated the company owners religious beliefs.

The pipeline connects the Marcellus and Utica shales to Williams multistate pipeline network. Williams in recent years has become one of the largest players in Pennsylvanias natural gas industry, according to the conglomerates website.

The Adorers are now deciding whether to pursue an appeal, Yoder said.

The Adorers believe that something good will come out of their ongoing struggle to remain true to their religious beliefs and practices, the groups Thursday statement said.

Read the judge's opinion:
Lancaster County Commissioner Ray DAgostino wants to create a voluntary, ongoing health advisory council that  failing renewal  would expire in two years.

The Republican lawmakers proposal came Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021, during a county work session, citing the success of a COVID-19 advisory group that was disbanded earlier this year. The plan is expected to be put to a vote at the commissioners meeting Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021, and could be implemented by January.

The advisory council would be composed of nine to 13 volunteer members appointed by commissioners to provide data analysis and recommendations on the detection, prevention and response to illnesses that pose a public health threat to Lancaster County residents.

The proposal stops short of what county leaders, organizations and health officials have for decades called for: the creation of a local health department.

So, let me be clear, this is not a health department, nor a substitute for one, and under the current law, given my research and outreach, I will not vote to study, much less establish a county health department in Lancaster County, DAgostino said, reading from prepared comments.

Commissioner Craig Lehman countered with an amendment that would request approval from the Pennsylvania Department of Health to consider establishing a local health department. The request  Lancasters only Democratic commissioner said  would not compel the county to create or pay for a local health department.

The advisory council really doubles down on the county being under the state regulatory control, Lehman said.

A 1951 state law permits counties like Lancaster to create a local health department, but it also has a laundry list of services that must be provided by a department.

Lehman added, If you want local control, whether you like the 1951 law or not, you need a local health department to do that.

His amendment is also expected to be put up for a vote Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021.

The right approach

Among Pennsylvanias 67 counties, the seven most populous have a local health department, except Lancaster and Delaware, which is in the process of launching one.

DAgostino said he had spent the past 18 months working on the concept of a health advisory council. He also is the one who proposed hiring an adviser to assist the county in navigating the COVID-19 pandemic.

The commissioners hired Edwin A. Hurston, of Martic Township, on a contractual basis as their public health emergency adviser in April 2020. He was paid $1,800 weekly. He retired in March.

A new position, "health and medical coordinator," was created in December as part of the county's emergency management department. Violet De Stefano, 23, a graduate of Winona State University in Minnesota with a bachelors of science in public health, was hired for the position at a yearly salary of $48,500 and began Feb. 16.

County lawmakers from various townships in attendance Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021, praised the proposal as a Lancaster County solution during public comments

We now have channels of communication that never existed before, East Hempfield Township Supervisor H. Scott Russell said of the public-private coalition that formed in the wake of the pandemic.

Russell, who also is the president of the Lancaster County Association of Township Supervisors, said there was no support among its members in April to create a county health department.

Russell called the proposal the right approach.

Denver Borough Mayor Rodney Redcay agreed.

Ive never experienced anything that has taxed us and divided us like this pandemic, Redcay said, adding he thought the advisory council was the correct approach.

Redcay added, One thing I know, we needed to coordinate all of our health systems in Lancaster County to work together to help us through this difficult time.

The proposal comes as state and federal health officials have struggled  in an era of politicizing public health  to effectively respond to COVID-19, which has now killed more Americans than the 1918 Spanish flu, the deadliest pandemic in U.S. history.

The Spanish flu killed about 675,000 Americans, when the U.S. population was about roughly a third of the size it is today, while the novel coronavirus this week surpassed 700,000 fatalities, according to the Associated Press.

Caught off guard

The COVID-19 pandemic managed to revitalize the ongoing debate over creating a health department in Lancaster County.

Manheim Township and Lancaster City Council approved resolutions earlier this year supporting a health department and called on Lancaster County commissioners to create one.

Earlier this year, a Franklin & Marshall College survey found 90% of Lancaster County adults in every group polled  regardless of political affiliation, racial or income attainment  support forming a local health department.

The researchers also noted the county lacks real-time data to respond to pressing health issues such as childhood lead poisoning, believed to have been exacerbated in the pandemic and now considered a public health crisis. The most recent state data for annual lead surveillance, for example, is for 2019.

Opposition to forming a health department revolves chiefly around bureaucracy and costs.

Virtually every county in the United States, including Lancaster County, was caught off guard by the coronavirus pandemic, said Ernest J. Schreiber, retired executive editor of the Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era/Sunday News, predecessor of LNP | LancasterOnline, in a prepared statement during public comments.

Schreiber added, This proposal takes the best of what health department advocates want and avoids the excesses that critics dislike.

Commissioners took no action Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021.
Lancaster County commissioners voted 2-1 Wednesday to create a health advisory council tasked with providing data analysis and recommendations to detect, prevent and respond to illnesses that pose a public health threat to residents.

The move stops short of creating a local health department  something county leaders, organizations and health officials have for decades pushed for  and instead creates an advisory council that cannot make public health statements on behalf of the county. Additionally, the council can only recommend strategies at the commissioners request.

It is for these reasons that Commissioner Craig Lehman said he could not support the health council, which commissioners Tuesday said could be implemented by January.

The measure passed along party lines, with Republican commissioners Josh Parsons and Ray DAgostino approving it and Democrat Lehman voting against it.

The resolution thats before us today specifically states that the advisory committee cant comment independently on any issue, period, Lehman said. So, I leave you folks with something to consider. Ask yourself the question if you only want elected officials to be telling you whats happening in an emergency.

An amendment by Lehman to begin a data-driven discussion on establishing a local health department died during the commissioners Tuesday work session for lack of a second motion.

The advisory council will include nine to 13 members appointed by commissioners. Lancaster County residents or those employed here are encouraged to apply for consideration.

Applications are available here and can be emailed along with a resume or brief bio to lycommero@co.lancaster.pa.us, or mailed to Lynn Commero at the Lancaster Commissioners Office, 150 N. Queen St., Suite 715, Lancaster, PA 17603.

DAgostino, who proposed the health advisory council, provided few details on how members  particularly those with expertise to provide recommendations on health issues  will be appointed. Instead, he referred to the resolution, which states, in part, that members may include knowledgeable community health representatives.

Typically, governing bodies that want to have specific professionals appointed to an advisory board or committee will require it by charter, often specifying a desired number to ensure this representation. The health advisory councils charter includes no such language.

The proposal for the advisory council was introduced during Tuesdays work session. DAgostino cited the success of a COVID-19 advisory group disbanded earlier this year as the inspiration for the council.

The proposal, DAgostino said, has been 18 months in the making and was specifically a workaround to the 1951 Local Public Health Administration Law, which authorizes the creation of local health departments in Pennsylvania.

Under the (1951) law, once a Board of Health is established theres no local oversight as the Board of Health, which would have complete autonomy, almost, DAgostino said, re-reading from notes he had prepared for Tuesdays work session.

DAgostino said officials at all four health systems in Lancaster County  Penn Medicine Lancaster General, Penn State Health, UPMC and WellSpan Health  support and would participate in the council.

Spokespeople with WellSpan and Penn State Health confirmed this, but declined to comment on whether the lack of independence would raise any concerns.

We are open to considering all efforts that seek to measurably improve the health and well-being of our community and look forward to learning more about the Councils work, LG Health spokesperson John Lines said in an email to LNP | LancasterOnline.

Officials with UPMC did not immediately respond to an LNP | LancasterOnline email seeking comment.

The proposal for a health advisory council comes as state and federal health officials have struggled to effectively respond to COVID-19, which has killed more Americans than the 1918 Spanish flu, the deadliest pandemic in U.S. history.

It also follows Manheim Township and Lancaster City Council approving resolutions supporting a local health department and calling on Lancaster County commissioners to create one.

County lawmakers from various townships have praised the health advisory council as a smart Lancaster County solution.

Of Pennsylvanias seven most populous counties  excluding Lancaster  Allegheny, Bucks, Chester, Montgomery and Philadelphia all have local health departments, while Delaware is in the process of launching one.
When: Supervisors meeting, Sept. 28.

What happened: Supervisors voted 3-0 to approve a request from the Lancaster County commissioners to hold a meeting at the township building at 870 Durlach Road, Stevens, on Wednesday, June 15, 2022 at 7 p.m.

Background: Township manager Bruce Leisey told supervisors the current board of commissioners set a goal to visit and hold a meeting in every Lancaster County municipality. They have not visited Clay Township yet.

Scheduling: In a Sept. 17 email, Tammy Moyer, deputy chief clerk of the county commissioners office, wrote she is in the process of arranging the 2022 schedule for the board. The commissioners have been holding evening meetings at different locations throughout Lancaster County for residents who are not able to come to the regular morning meetings. The township manager told supervisors the only thing Clay has to do is provide its facility and to make sure the meeting does not conflict with the 2022 meeting schedule.

Supervisor comment: Chair Tim Lausch asked if the supervisors can attend the meeting as citizens, with Leisey responding yes. Vice chair Keith Martin asked if a reminder could be sent to the supervisors closer to the event. Leisey said there will be plenty of correspondence between the township and the county.

Quotable: "It would be nice for you guys to be here," Leisey said to the supervisors.

Furnace Hills: Supervisors also voted unanimously to execute a parcel merger agreement with the Reinholds-based nonprofit organization Furnace Hills Retreat, with six out of the 10 total parcels merged into one parcel. The agreement grants 6,000 feet of stormwater exemptions. Lausch called the agreement "pretty fair."

Background: The property has a total of 160 deeded acres of land at 1610 Girl Scout Road, Denver. The Reinholds-based group obtained a special exemption to develop the property as a year-round spiritual growth retreat at a township zoning hearing board hearing on July 2, 2020. Furnace Hills Retreat bought the property in May 2019 for $1.2 million. The property was formerly home to a Girl Scout camp, Camp Furnace Hills, which closed in February 2017 due to wind damage.

Details: The parcel merger occurred with the intention of constructing a new building on the property and removing remaining structures. Furnace Hills Retreat will be entitled to one exemption of 1,000 feet and one small stormwater project of 1,500 feet on each lot in accordance with the township stormwater management ordinance. A lot add-on of land zoned in West Cocalico Township also will be included.

Quotable: "If theyre happy, I think it's a big win for us," Martin said.

What's next: Supervisors will meet at 6:30 pm Oct. 11 at the township building.
THE ISSUE

As news journalist Gillian McGoldrick wrote in the Lancaster Watchdog column in Sundays LNP | LancasterOnline, the records of every dollar spent in local elections, including the financing of school board and local borough council races, are stored in file cabinets in the Lancaster County Board of Elections office on North Queen Street in downtown Lancaster. Though they are public records, this information about how local politicians spend their money  and who they get their money from  is examined only by a few: county officials tasked with archiving them, politicians and their campaign staffs, and reporters, McGoldrick reported.

We find it difficult to believe that the campaign finance reports of candidates running for elected office in Lancaster County are stored, in 2021, on paper.

Change is hard. We get it (believe us, we get it). But, as things stand now, there is nothing public, in practical terms, about these supposedly public records.

As McGoldrick noted, Some counties go above and beyond to make these campaign finance filings accessible: Philadelphia posts all of its reports online for all local elections, archived through 2006; Allegheny County just moved its campaign finance filings online this year.

And both of those counties are considerably larger than our own, so while they have more resources, theyre also dealing with more candidates and more campaign finance reports.

Nevertheless, McGoldrick reported, Lancaster County has no plans to follow their lead. Members of the public must visit in person to look at the records, or rely on overworked newsrooms like LNP | LancasterOnlines to do it for them. Many of these filings, by the way, are filled out by hand, posing a challenge to anyone trying to decipher the handwriting of campaign treasurers.

It would not be too difficult to create a standard form for campaign finance reports that could be emailed to candidates campaigns and returned via email, or posted online for campaigns to download and complete. Make the campaigns do the scanning; then, their records could easily be uploaded to a county website.

But thats not the whole of the problem.

More obstacles to sunlight

McGoldrick pointed out that the current filing deadlines also make it difficult to inform voters, before they cast their ballots, about the contents of those reports. The last filing deadline for the municipal elections was June 17. The next one isnt until Oct. 22  less than two weeks before Election Day and more than four months since the last reports were due. This means voters wont have anywhere close to a full picture of how much money was spent to influence their local elections until nearly the last minute, when mail-in ballots are expected already to be in the hands of voters.

That may not matter in uncontested races  as, disappointingly, too many municipal races are  but in the high-profile races for Manheim Township commissioner, voters only know how much Republicans spent through the primary: more than $50,000, McGoldrick wrote. The June 7 documents, moreover, show that the Democratic candidates, who did not have competitive primaries, spent only $615. We can guarantee that greater sums of money have been spent since the last filing deadline.

Candidates in state-level races, at least, must file their campaign finance reports with the Pennsylvania Department of State, which then will make sure they are accessible online.

But the financing of municipal races remains essentially shielded by the outdated way in which records are collected and maintained. This can give candidates cover to collect funding from sources that some voters might find suspect or concerning. If, for instance, a school board candidate takes money from an extremist group, or a township supervisor accepts contributions from a developer, who is going to know unless this newspaper reports it?

Embrace new technology

As Pat Christmas, the policy director at good-government advocacy group Committee of Seventy, told McGoldrick, the campaign finance reporting structure was built before access to the internet was widely available.

This is a perfect example of where our law is just way too old, written for a time where there was no internet, no computers  at least not the sophisticated computers we have today, Christmas said.

Indeed. And its clearly time for both state lawmakers and county elections officials to adopt new technology to make campaign finance reports more accessible and transparent.

McGoldrick reported that there are two GOP-sponsored bills in the General Assembly that would require all state-level candidates and political action committees to file their campaign finance documents online through the Department of State, which is currently not required (though there is at least an online database where voters can view PDFs of the filings).

A House bill introduced by Perry County Republican state Rep. Perry Stambaugh passed unanimously out of committee; he expects it to pass unanimously on the floor. Which is promising.

As McGoldrick noted, many candidates and political action committees already file their reports online.

In our view, if they can solicit contributions online, they should be compelled to report online the money they receive.

Stambaugh told McGoldrick that online filing will save everybody a lot of time, and increase transparency. We laud him for pressing this reform.

We just wish it extended to local candidates. Stambaugh said he would consider widening his bill at some point to include them, and we hope he does.Anything that improves the ability for the public to look at expenditures that go to political candidates is definitely worth it, he said. At the end of the day, we shouldnt have anything to hide.

Wed like to write this in 60-point type, embroider it on pillows, wear T-shirts emblazoned with this message: Political candidates shouldnt have anything to hide.

In that spirit, counties should make candidates campaign finance reports readily accessible to the public.

Here, the future should be now

Christmas told McGoldrick that he understands why some counties dont scan and upload these reports; theyre busy with other tasks. But he also said this: Having hard-copy reports in a filing cabinet is not transparency.

It absolutely is not.

Christa Miller, Lancaster Countys chief registrar/chief clerk of elections, said the current system, of paper records in file cabinets, is working for them. Working for whom, though? Because its certainly not working for the convenience of voters.

As McGoldrick reported, Miller said that at one time during former chief clerk Mary Stehmans tenure, officials discussed moving these filings online but it didnt seem feasible. Stehmans tenure ended in 2011. Which was 10 years ago. Ten years!

Miller agreed that the information in these filings helps to paint a fuller picture of a candidates platform by showing where campaign money is coming from. And she admitted that its likely that most voters dont know the files exist in her office.

Nevertheless, she only was willing to say that requiring online reporting is something we could consider for the future. But when in the future?

The news journalists at LNP | LancasterOnline spent months creating their own database of filings from top political players in the county, which the newspaper hopes to expand and eventually make public, McGoldrick wrote. Reporters spent hours each week manually copying the filings into a digital, searchable version. But even this hand-built database is unlikely to include all of the information available in the countys filings, because there is not enough time in a week to copy down or scan all that information.

This is a valuable and impressive effort, but it is the county governments duty to make campaign finance reports accessible to voters. We agree with Christmas, of the Committee of Seventy, who told McGoldrick that the state Legislature shouldnt wait for counties to make the move to online filings on their own.

Because transparency with regard to campaign finance reports is essential to free and fair elections. And voters shouldnt have to wait for some vague and distant future to get it.
The COVID-19 pandemic robbed Lancaster County of many things last year, including a decades-old holiday tradition: the performance of Tchaikovskys The Nutcracker by local ballet students and members of the Donetsk Ballet Company of Ukraine.

But the cherished holiday classic is back this year, with four performances scheduled Dec. 3, 4 and 5 at Lancaster Mennonite High School.

Viktor Yeliohin, director of Viktor Yeliohin International Ballet Academy in Lancaster, has choreographed the childrens roles for nearly three decades and took over sponsorship of the performance in 2013. However, his fondness for The Nutcracker goes back much further.

Yeliohin grew up in the former Soviet Union, where The Nutcracker, like other classical ballets such as Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty, was performed year-round and not connected specifically to the Christmas season.

Its such a beautiful performance by itself, he says, fighting good against evil.

The story of young Clara, who dreams of a Nutcracker Prince and a battle against a rat king, has captivated U.S. audiences since it was first performed here in 1944. As a member of the prestigious Donetsk Ballet, Yeliohin performed as a soloist in The Nutcracker many times and was with the company when it first started touring in the U.S. in 1989.

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Yeliohin was in Philadelphia and chose to remain in the U.S. He soon was in demand as a ballet teacher and choreographer in Philadelphia, New Jersey and, eventually, Lancaster in 1993. Thats the same year he brought the Donetsk Ballet performance of The Nutcracker to Lancaster County.

Instead of having to go to Philadelphia or different places far away, they can see professional dancers and children from Lancaster County in Lancaster, he says. It was convenient, it was better, it was a beautiful production.

And it was the start of a tradition that is now in its 28th year.

But Yeliohin has brought more than just The Nutcracker to Lancaster. In 2010, he realized his dream of opening his own ballet school when the director of the Lancaster Ballet School moved out of its building at 214 W. Grant St. and the landlord asked Yeliohin if he would like the space.

I was thinking I needed to soon open my school, and I decided I would take it, he says. Now looking back Im glad I did this, and really happy to have my own ballet academy.

The Viktor Yeliohin International Ballet Academy offers a unique and classical experience that includes professional dancers and students in its productions. In addition to Yeliohin, who holds a degree as professor of choreography from the Ukrainian Academy of Dance, the school also has a faculty of dance professionals.

Four of Yeliohins students - Lucy Heitmann, Meighan Dubosq, Kaitlyn Staskel and Alexandra Bube  have been invited to perform next March in Grand Prix Kyiv, an international ballet competition and festival in the Ukraine.

The ballet academy presents a company performance every May to benefit the Releve Non-Profit for Childrens Health, a gala every June and, of course, The Nutcracker. This years performance of The Nutcracker will include professional dancers from Japan, Ukraine and America, along with about 60 students from local ballet schools. Over the years, Yeliohin has expanded the performance with a second act and new childrens roles. This year, he has designed and purchased new costumes for the performance.

I want the children to feel beautiful on stage and comfortable, he says. Im so grateful for all these children and volunteers for helping me continue this Nutcracker performance.

And while Yeliohin and his team of volunteers are giving the young performers all the support they need leading up to the performance, what he wants most of all is for the children to have the excitement of seeing large audiences filling the theater to support them, too.

It will be spectacular, he says.

The Nutcracker will be performed at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 3, 1 and 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 4, and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 5, at Lancaster Mennonite High School. Tickets are $35 for general admission, $30 for senior citizens and students, and $25 for the balcony. To reserve tickets, call 610-914-3663 or email vyibanutcrackertix@gmail.com. For more information about the Nutcracker performance, click here. For more information about the academy, please visit vyballet.com
Actor Michael K. Williams Cause of Death Ruled a Drug Overdose

Actor Michael K. Williams died of an accidental drug overdose, the New York City medical examiners office announced.

The 54-year-old star of The Wire  who was an Emmy nominee this year for his work on Lovecraft Country  died of acute intoxication from a lethal mix of fentanyl, p-fluorofentanyl, heroin and cocaine, the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner confirmed in a statement to media outlets Friday.

The death was ruled accidental. The medical examiner declined to comment further. Williams, 54, was found dead in his Brooklyn penthouse on Sept. 6. A five-time Emmy nominee. Williams also appeared on HBOs Boardwalk Empire, had been open in recent years about his struggles with drug

addiction.

He was nominated for an Emmy this year in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series category for his work in Lovecraft Country, but the award went to Tobias Menzies in The Crown.

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Williams was the brother of Compton City Councilwoman Michelle Chambers.

She released a statement on Tuesday saying, Our family has been shaken to the core (at) the loss of our Mike  I will miss my brother, but I know he will continue to watch over me and our family in heaven as he did on earth.
Head of NYPD Sergeant Union Out After FBI Raids Office, Home

Federal agents raided the offices Tuesday of a New York City police union, the Sergeants Benevolent Association, and the Long Island home of its bombastic leader, who has clashed with city officials over his incendiary tweets and hard-line tactics.

FBI spokesperson Martin Feely said agents were carrying out a law enforcement action in connection with an ongoing investigation.

Agents were seen carrying boxes out of the unions Manhattan headquarters and loading them into a van. The FBI also searched union president Ed Mullins home in Port Washington, Long Island, Feely said.

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Mullins resigned as the unions president Tuesday night, according to a message the unions board sent to members. The board said he did so at its urging. The union represents about 13,000 active and retired NYPD sergeants and controls a $264 million retirement fund.

The nature and scope of this criminal investigation has yet to be determined. However, it is clear that President Mullins is apparently the target of the federal investigation, the boards message said. We have no reason to believe that any other member of the SBA is involved or targeted in this matter.

The unions board said that while Mullins is presumed innocent, it asked him to step aside to ensure the unions day-to-day operations continue unimpeded. The board said the union was cooperating with the investigation.

Messages seeking comment were left with Mullins and the union. Calls to Mullins cellphone went to a full voicemail box.

Mullins, a police sergeant detached to full-time union work, is in the middle of department disciplinary proceedings for tweeting NYPD paperwork last year regarding the arrest of Mayor Bill de Blasios daughter during protests over the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd.

Mullins department trial began last month but was postponed indefinitely after one of his lawyers suffered a medical emergency.

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Mullins lawyer denies he violated department guidelines, arguing arrest papers with Chiara de Blasios personal identifying information, such as her date of birth and address, were already posted online.

Mullins is also suing the department, claiming they were trying to muzzle him by grilling him and recommending disciplinary action over his online missives, which have included claims that officers were at war with city leaders.

Responding to Mullins union resignation, Mayor de Blasio tweeted: Ed Mullins dishonored his uniform, his city and his union more times than I can count. It was just a matter of time before his endless hatred would catch up with him. That day has come.

The Sergeants Benevolent Association runs a Widows and Childrens Fund, a scholarship fund for members children, and Blue Christmas, which distributes toys to needy children.

Mullins, a police officer since 1982, rose to sergeant, a rank above detective but below captain and lieutenant, in 1993 and was elected president of the sergeants union in 2002.

Under Mullins leadership, the union has fought for better pay  with contracts resulting in pay increases of 40%  and staked a prominent position in the anti-reform movement.

Though hes a full-time union chief, city law has allowed Mullins to retain his sergeants position and collect salaries from both the union and the police department. Last year, Mullins made more than $220,000 between the two, according to public records: $88,757 from the union and $133,195 from the NYPD.

The NYPD referred questions about Mullins to the FBI.

Along with Mullins periodic appearances on cable networks like Fox News and Newsmax  including one in which he was pictured in front of a QAnon mug  perhaps the unions most powerful megaphone is its 45,000-follower Twitter account, which Mullins runs himself, often to fiery effect.

In 2018, amid a rash of incidents in which police officers were doused with water, Mullins suggested it was time for then-Commissioner James ONeill and Chief of Department Terence Monahan to consider another profession and tweeted that OKNEEL must go!

ONeill retorted that Mullins was a bit of a keyboard gangster who seldom showed up to department functions.

Last year, Mullins came under fire for tweets calling the citys former Health Commissioner, Dr. Oxiris Barbot, a b and U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres a first-class whore.

Mullins was upset over reports Barbot refused to give face masks to police in the early days of the pandemic and angry with Torres calls for an investigation into a potential police work slowdown in September 2020.

Torres, who is gay, denounced Mullins tweet as homophobic.

On Tuesday, Torres referenced that tweet in reacting to the news of the raid, writing: Ed Mullins, who famously called me a first-class whore for daring to ask questions about the @SBANYPD, just got a first-class raid from the FBI.

In 2019, it wasnt tweets that got Mullins in trouble, but rather comments he made in a radio interview suggesting that slain Barnard College student Tessa Majors had gone to the park where she was killed to buy marijuana. Police later arrested three teens, saying shed been stabbed during an attempted robbery.

Majors family called Mullins remarks on the radio show deeply inappropriate victim blaming and urged him not to engage in such irresponsible public speculation.
LA Metro Board Approves Free Transit Pilot Program for Students

K-12 students and community college students in Los Angeles County will be able to ride Metro for free under a 23-month pilot program approved by the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors today. Metro currently offers fare discounts to people who make $39,450 a year or less, people age 62 and older, veterans and people with disabilities, K- 12 students and people in college or vocational school.

Under the pilot program, K-12 students and people enrolled in community college of all incomes will be able to ride Metro fare-free. The program is expected to cost about $49.9 million in lost revenue over two years. Forty-one of Los Angeles Countys 87 school districts are interested in participating in the program.

The pilot will begin on Nov. 1, according to the office of Metro Board of Directors Chair and L.A. County Board of Supervisors Chair Hilda Solis. A marketing campaign will launch on Oct. 1 to spread the word about the opportunity to ride Metro for free. Starting with students  and as a student who rode the bus every single day when it was (the Southern California Rapid Transit District)  I think FSI can and will and must make transit available to anyone who needs it and can potentially make these young people lifetime transit riders. It can enhance their opportunities to see culture, to get out there and access jobs, its literally a game changer to have transportation, not just to and from schools, Los Angeles Mayor and Metro board member Eric Garcetti said.

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A majority of the pilot program  $41.5 million  will be paid by the federal American Rescue Plan. Garcetti noted that this year Metro has a unique opportunity for the pilot program, due to funding that it does not normally have and may not have in future years. But he said there could be new resources in the future with the potential passage of the $1 trillion infrastructure bill.

Metro fare revenue currently pays for transit operations and maintenance, but Metro receives additional funding through sales tax and state and federal grants. Additional funding options for the pilot program identified by Metro officials include advertising revenue, cost-sharing and grant funds through the Traffic Reduction Program. Metro initially explored expanding the program to low income riders, which is 70% of Metros riders, in January 2022, but that expansion is contingent on $416 million in new funding.

Councilman and board member Mike Bonin, who supports transitioning Metro to a universally fareless system, noted that not only was the vote Thursday for less than (the board) promised, but with the exclusion of low income riders, many bus riders will look at the vote as the board taking something away. Thats because buses, which have been fare free during the pandemic, will return to collecting fares in January.

While the board did not vote Thursday to implement the fareless system initiative for low income riders, it did vote to develop a plan to double the number of participants in its LIFE Program, which assists low income L.A. County residents with free or subsidized transit access.

Before the pandemic, about 35% of the systems low income riders were part of the LIFE program, while currently the program includes 60% of Metros low income riders. Board member and Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly Mitchell amended the initiative to double the number of LIFE Program enrollees by the end of 2022, partner with organizations to canvass buses and trains to enroll qualifying riders and provide three months of fareless transit to new enrollees

as an incentive to enrollment.

I strongly support making Metro a fare-free system for our riders. The economic merits of going fareless are crystal clear to me, Mitchell said.

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She added that her amendment wouldnt preclude Metro from going fareless in the future, but would serve as a temporary stop gap measure.Without further action from us, fares will resume on buses with few

alternatives for low income riders who depend on Metro services, Mitchell said. Metro Board of Directors Chair and Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Hilda Solis said Metro would seek funding to fill the funding gap for a fareless pilot program for Metros low income riders.

She responded to the public requesting that all riders be eligible for $26 monthly passes, instead of just those participating in the LIFE program, saying I dont think were there yet. But she said she thought the LIFE programs improvements presented by Mitchell would move Metro in the right direction.

Several people, many organized by the Bus Riders Union, called into the Metro board meeting to call for a universal fareless Metro system.The Bus Riders Union is calling on the MTA board to move rapidly forward with the implementation of a free public transportation for all. Free public transportation for students is very helpful, but it does not get their parents to work, said Bus Riders Union co-Chair Barbara Lott-Holland.

Ground Game Los Angeles member Kendall Mayhew said the most effective way she has convinced her vehicle-possessing friends and colleagues to switch to public transit is to tell them that buses are completely free to ride during the COVID-19 pandemic.

I cannot stress enough the massive psychological relief of being able to simply walk onto a bus without doing the mental calculations whether you can afford another fare this month, or having to even worry that you remembered your TAP card, Mayhew said. In a survey with about 46,000 responses, L.A. Metro found that 86% of Metro riders and 80% of non-Metro riders support going fareless.

The pilot was developed in part to allow Metro to test the feasibility of permanently eliminating all fares on Metro trains and buses. Metro staff advised that switching now to a fully fareless system was not feasible, and Bonin called on them to redo their analysis with more factors taken into account.

I think that we can get to universal fareless a lot sooner, and if wed had the right analysis today I think we could get their today, Bonin said.

He asked for an analysis that took into account the annual savings from eliminating fare enforcement as well as the cost of not doing universal fareless, including that Metros Federal Highway Funds could be at risk because the Air Quality Management District reported that the L.A. region has no viable path toward meeting federal air quality standards.

Would free transit put us closer to compliance and save us from losing that money? Thats something we need to look at in the analysis. What other financial benefits of fareless should we be aware of? Bonin asked.

After the pilot program concludes, the board will consider extending, modifying or discontinuing fareless service. To help inform that decision, Metro staff will report to the board each month on the status of the pilot program.

Metrics that will evaluate the success of the program may include financial sustainability, program participation, increased boarding by pilot participants, level of service, quality of services, increased trip by low- income riders, employee safety, rider safety, system security.
Photographer Settles Race, Age Discrimination Suit Against Visual Media Firm

A 73-year-old Black photographer settled his lawsuit against Getty Images U.S. Inc. in which he alleged he was subjected to racial and/or age discrimination because he was denied a fulltime position despite 26 years of competent freelance work.

Attorneys for Frederick Brown and the British-American visual media company announced the resolution on Thursday as jury selection was ongoing in the trial of the case in Los Angeles Superior Court. No terms were divulged and Judge Maurice A. Leiter dismissed the prospective jurors.

Brown was one of the first photographers hired at Getty Images US when the company opened for business in 1995, when he was retained as a stringer, the suit states.

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There is a class system at Getty, the suit stated. The staff positions have been reserved for white men and women, whereas the Black photographers are relegated to the low-paying stringer/contributor roles.

Throughout his more than two-decade career with Getty, Brown told hiring managers, assignment editors and others that he wanted to be a staff photographer, in part because of job security and the major pay difference, the suit states.

However, despite his decades of service and approximately 250,000 images taken by Mr. Brown and available for licensing on the Getty website, he has been passed over and over and again and again for employment as a staff photographer for Getty, the suit alleged.

A staff position pays $150,000 annually, plus benefits, but Browns income as a stringer/contributor in the last several years has ranged in the high $30,000s, the suit stated. In their court papers, Gettys attorneys denied any discrimination on the part of the company.

In his freelance work for (Getty), plaintiff was a competent but not exceptional photographer, who made little effort as an applicant to show that he could do the kind of versatile, innovative work required of a staff photographer, the Getty lawyers stated in their court papers. Photography is a competitive profession where artistic eye and vision mean everything. (Getty) selected the best candidate, irrespective of race or age  and that best candidate was not (Brown).
Suspect Arrested on Suspicion of Attack on Chapman Student

A 22-year-old Anaheim man was booked today on suspicion of attempting to sexually assault a Chapman University student. Dalante Jerome Bell was booked on suspicion of assault with the intent to commit rape, said Sgt. Phil McMullin of the Orange Police Department.

Bell is not a Chapman student and has no affiliation with the university, McMullin said. The sergeant said media coverage of the attack prompted Bells family to bring him in Monday night, and he was taken into

custody about 11 p.m., McMullin said. He was being held on $500,000 bail.

Police in the city of Orange released surveillance video Monday of a suspect in the attack on an 18-year-old student at Chapman. The suspect, wearing all black and a skeleton mask, attacked the woman and groped her about 12:40 a.m. Friday, McMullin said.

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The student was standing outside her dormitory, talking on her phone, when her attacker groped her, McMullin said. She fought back and screamed and ran away, McMullin said. Police were able to obtain video surveillance of the suspect without the mask, McMullin said.

The video surveillance came from a restaurant about a half-mile away from where the attack took place, McMullin said. Detectives spent the weekend going through video surveillance all around the crime scene.

The victim told reporters she is a second-degree black belt from Hawaii.
Wednesday, October 6, 2021

From The National:

Automatic legal services are allowing hundreds of women in Saudi Arabia to file, argue and win court proceedings that grant them a judge's approval to bypass their guardian's consent for marriage.

Saudi lawyer Hazim Al Madani says that while guardianship approval is a prerequisite for women's marriage in Islam, some guardians abuse the powers granted to them by the law. Many Saudi women's families would not consent to the marriage solely based on men's nationalities, "religiosity and morals."

In 2018, Saudi Arabia granted women the ability to work without getting permission from a legal guardian. This has given them the freedom to keep personal issues protected from scrutiny and abuse. Under previous guardianship restrictions, a woman could find herself redundant because her guardian no longer approved of her employment. Mr. Al Madani said the select number of court proceedings published by the ministry on its website encourages women in similar situations to tackle their own issues through the legal system.

Read more here.

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/family_law/2021/10/islam-guardian-approval-for-marriage-may-be-abused.html
Facebook suffered a major outage Monday that blocked the companys 3.5 billion users from its social media and messaging services. The company blamed the nearly six-hour outage on problems related to a configuration change made by its engineers.

The outage affected Facebooks main services, as well as the companys Instagram and WhatsApp products. The service outage was the largest ever recorded by the company Downdetector, an online internet website tracker.

Facebook said there was no evidence the outage was the result of an internet attack, and it appeared that no user data was endangered. It apologized to its users and said it was working to understand more about the cause.

Several Facebook employees who wanted to remain anonymous spoke to Reuters news agency about the outage. They said they believed it was caused by a mistake inside an area of the company that controls how internet traffic is routed to its systems.

The outage came one day after a former employee went public with her identity after providing secret documents about the company to The Wall Street Journal. The former data scientist, Frances Haugen, appeared Sunday night on the CBS television program 60 Minutes.

The documents Haugen provided suggested that Facebooks own research had shown how the companys products and decisions can be harmful to users.

Haugen also reached out anonymously to federal law enforcement to investigate Facebook. She provided company documents that she said showed how Facebook magnifies hate and misinformation and fuels political division. Haugen says Facebook has been dishonest in its public declarations about its efforts to fight hate speech and misinformation.

The documents also showed that the company was aware that Instagram can harm the mental health of girls and young women.

On Tuesday, Haugen discussed her criticisms of Facebook in front of the United States Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection. In her testimony, she accused Facebooks leaders of failing to make changes based on the research because they chose to put company profits above the safety of users.

In written testimony provided to the Senate group, Haugen said Facebooks leadership knows how to make Facebook and Instagram safer, but wont make the necessary changes because they have put their astronomical profits before people.

She added: Congressional action is needed. They wont solve this crisis without your help.

The Senate subcommittee is examining Facebooks use of its own research on Instagram that suggests possible harm for some of its young users, especially girls. The company has publicly downplayed such harmful effects.

Research included in documents provided by Haugen suggests some females between 13-19 years old who heavily use the popular photo-sharing service feel increased peer pressure. This can lead to mental health and body-image problems. In some cases, this can result in eating disorders and suicidal thoughts, the research showed.

One Facebook study showed that 13.5 percent of girls and young women said they feel Instagram can make thoughts of suicide worse, while 17 percent said it can make eating disorders worse.

Haugen said she decided to go public and speak out because of her belief that Facebooks products harm children, stoke division and weaken our democracy.

Im Bryan Lynn.

The Associated Press and Reuters reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English. Susan Shand 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

configure  v. to arrange something or change the controls on a computer or other device so it can be used in a particular way

track  v. to record the progress or development of something

anonymous  adj. not giving a name

route  v. to send something somewhere using a particular way or direction

magnify  v. to make something look larger or more important than it is

astronomical  adj. extremely large

downplay  v. make something seem less important or less bad than it really is

peer pressure  n. the strong influence of a group on members of that group to behave as everyone else does

stoke  v. to urge bad ideas or feelings in a lot of people


Japans Princess Mako and the man she wants to be her husband are expected to get married this month. Wedding ceremonies, however, are not planned.

The marriage of Princess Mako and Kei Komuro is not fully supported by the public. Palace officials say that is because of a financial controversy involving her future mother-in-law.

The controversy involving Komuros mother is a difficult issue for the imperial family. It has led to a public rebuke that has delayed their marriage for more than three years.

Komuro returned to Japan recently from New York. He was studying to become a lawyer in the city. He grew his hair long and tied it in a ponytail. That is considered unusual for someone marrying a princess because the Japanese imperial family is bound by tradition. His appearance only added to the criticism.

The two are to register their marriage on October 26. The Imperial Household Agency said they also will hold a news conference together at that time. The two are expected to start a new life together in New York later this year.

The agency said there will be no wedding celebration or other rituals for the couple because their marriage is not celebrated by many people.

Palace officials said Mako has also decided not to take a $1.35 million payment she has the right to receive for leaving the imperial family. Mako would be the first female imperial family member since World War II not to receive the payment when marrying a commoner, or a person who is not a part of royalty.

The agency said Mako was recently believed to have a mental condition that palace doctors described as a form of traumatic stress disorder. That condition is said to be caused by extreme mental tension.

Mako turns 30 three days before the wedding. She is a niece of Japans Emperor Naruhito. She and Komuro were classmates at Tokyos International Christian University when they announced in September 2017 that they wanted to marry the following year. But the financial controversy surfaced two months later. The wedding was suspended.

The controversy involved money Komuros mother received from a man she was to marry. It is not clear whether that money, which was spent on Komuros education in Japan, was a loan or a gift.

Komuro left for New York in 2018 to study law. He did not return to Japan until last week.

The Imperial House Law only permits males to carry forward the line of emperors. Female members of the royal family must give up their royal position when they marry a commoner. This rule has resulted in a decrease in the size of the royal family and a shortage of possible successors to the throne.

Im Mario Ritter, Jr.

Mari Yamaguchi reported this story for the Associated Press. Mario Ritter Jr. adapted it for VOA Learning English. Susan Shand was the editor.

____________________________________________________

Words in This Story

controversy n. argument that involves many people who strongly disagree about something

rebuke v. to speak in a way that shows displeasure or anger

rituals n. (pl.) a formal ceremony or series of acts that is always performed in the same way

couple n. two people who are to be married or who have an emotional relationship; two people or things that are together

royalty n. people who are related to a ruler in a country

niece n. the daughter of your brother or sister

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.
Industrialized nations have long used Africa to make money, enslaving its people and mining its gold and diamonds.

Digital resources are proving no different. Millions of internet IP addresses given to Africa have been taken, sometimes illegally.

An IP address, or internet protocol, is a one-of-a-kind address on the internet that belongs to an individuals internet connection. IP addresses are assigned to parts of the world by the organization IANA, the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority.

Instead of serving Africas internet development, many of the IP addresses have been taken by criminals. Other addresses are being used for Chinese gambling and pornography websites.

Within Africa, the nonprofit AFRINIC gives out IP addresses. A top employee appears to have given out addresses illegally in a major fraud case. New leadership at AFRINIC, which is based in Mauritius, is working to take back the stolen addresses.

But a legal fight by a rich Chinese businessman is threatening AFRINICs existence.

The businessman is Lu Heng, from Hong Kong. It is unclear how he received 6.2 million African addresses from 2013 to 2016. That is about 5 percent of the continents total and more than all of Kenya. Now, those addresses are worth $150 million.

When AFRINIC took back the addresses, Lu fought back. In late July, his lawyers persuaded a judge in Mauritius to freeze the groups bank accounts. His company also announced an $80 million defamation claim against AFRINIC and its new leadership.

Lus action is a shock to internet freedom supporters, who see the internet as a tool for advancing society. Some worry it could weaken the entire address system that makes the internet work.

The inside workings of the internet are little understood and rarely face public examination. Five nonprofit groups around the world decide who owns and operates the internets first-generation IP addresses. Created in 2003, AFRINIC was the last of the five groups to be created.

Lu told The Associated Press that he is honest and did not get the African addresses illegally. He also said that groups like AFRINIC should not decide where IP addresses are used.

AFRINIC is supposed to serve the internet, its not supposed to serve Africa, Lu said.

In taking back Lus addresses, AFRINIC is trying to reclaim internet space that is important for Africas development. The continent is behind the rest of the world in using internet resources to raise living conditions and improve health and education.

Africa has been given just 3 percent of the worlds first-generation IP addresses.

AFRINICs former number two official, Ernest Byaruhanga, was removed from the organization in 2019. He was accused of the theft of millions of AFRINIC IP addresses.

Byahuranga is believed to be living in his home country of Uganda, but could not be found for comment.

An Israeli business man also controls some AFRINIC IP addresses. He has also brought legal action against the organization for trying to reclaim the addresses.

Im Dan Novak.

The Associated Press reported this story. Dan Novak adapted it for VOA Learning English. Susan Shand was the editor.

Quiz - Millions of Africas Internet Addresses Stolen Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz

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Words in This Story

gamble  v. to play a game in which you can win or lose money or possessions : to bet money or other valuable things

pornography  n. movies, pictures, magazines, etc., that show or describe naked people or sex in a very open and direct way in order to cause sexual excitement

fraud  n. the crime of using dishonest methods to take something valuable from another person

defamation  n. the act of saying false things in order to make people have a bad opinion of someone or something : the act of defaming someone or something

misappropriate  v. to take (something, such as money) dishonestly for your own use : to appropriate (something) wrongly


Three scientists will share this years Nobel prize for physics for their findings about how complex physical systems operate.

The Nobel physics committee announced the winners Tuesday. They are Syukuro Manabe of Princeton University in the United States, Klaus Hasselmann of the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology in Germany and Giorgio Parisi of the Sapienza University of Italy.

The discoveries being recognized this year demonstrate that our knowledge about the climate rests on a solid scientific foundation, said the leader of the awards physics committee.

Manabe and Hasselmann were honored for the physical modeling of Earths climate as well as reliably predicting global warming, officials said.

Parisi is honored for his early 1980s discovery of "hidden rules" behind disordered movements in physical systems from the atomic to the planet level.

The Swedish Academy of Sciences awards the Nobel Prize. It said in a statement, "Syukuro Manabe and Klaus Hasselmann laid the foundation of our knowledge of the Earths climate and how humanity influences it.

Giorgio Parisi won the honor for his revolutionary contributions to the theory of disordered materials and random processes," the Academy said.

All three scientists work on what are known as complex systems, of which climate is just one example.

Manabe and Hasselmann looked into large global forces that shape daily lives.

Starting in the 1960s, Manabe created the first climate models that predicted what would happen as carbon dioxide built up in the atmosphere. The inventive method led to more exact predictions on climate change based on carbon pollution levels.

About ten years later, Hasselmann helped explain why climate models work for weather predicting. He also developed ways to look for signs of human influence on the climate. After winning the award, Hasselmann told The Associated Press he would rather have no global warming and no Nobel prize.

Co-winner Manabe called climate change a major crisis when he spoke to the AP after the announcement. Manabe said learning the physics behind the processes was 1,000 times easier than getting the world to do something about it.

Parisis work involves processes within atoms.

The Academy praised his work that built a deep physical and mathematical model that made it possible to understand complex systems in fields like mathematics, biology, brain science and machine learning.

The Academy will present the Nobel award to the three scientists in a ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden, on December 10. Manabe and Hasselmann will share half of the 1.1 million dollars in prize money. Parisi will receive the other half.

Im Dan Novak.

Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by The Associated Press and Reuters. Caty Weaver was the editor.

__________________________________________________

Words in This Story

reliable  adj. able to be trusted to do or provide what is needed : able to be relied on

global  adj. involving the entire world

foundation  n. something (such as an idea, a principle, or a fact) that provides support for something

contribution  n. something that is given to help a person, a cause, etc.

random  adj. chosen, done, etc., without a particular plan or pattern
In many countries, children have been going to school for more than a month. So far, fears the Delta coronavirus variant would prevent in-person learning have largely proven unfounded.

In twelve countries with high vaccination rates in Asia, Europe and the United States, case rates increased in August. Now, they have mostly fallen back, according to local data and officials.

It is unclear how much the decrease is due to a worldwide decline in cases, and how much it is linked to vaccinations and other measures. Public health experts say they will continue to watch for signs of an increase in cases as winter nears.

Monica Gandhi is a professor of medicine at University of California San Francisco Medical School.

In the United States, in-school transmission is higher in places with low adult vaccination and no mitigation, but, overall, schools have stayed open, Gandhi said.

Gandhi described the situation in schools as going better than expected.

Cases among children increased by nearly seven times in August. They reached their high in the first week of September, American Academy of Pediatrics data shows.

Only about 2 percent of U.S. schools have closed temporarily because of COVID-19 outbreaks. That information comes from research company Burbio.

Children represent the largest group of the unvaccinated in most wealthy countries. That is because either vaccinations for their age group have only just begun, or are not yet approved.

Public health experts suggest rising vaccinations, mitigation measures in schools and a broader decrease in community cases are helping.



Not all countries have seen a decrease in cases. In Singapore, cases among children have been on the rise for all of September.

But in Scandinavia, Scotland, Germany, France, South Korea and the United States, cases are falling. Earlier, there were fears the Delta variant would drive up infections.

In Sweden, schools have largely remained open throughout the coronavirus crisis. The country saw a rise in COVID-19 infections among children after the summer holidays. But cases are now at low levels - both among children and the wider population.

In Norway, cases increased to a daily record of 1,785 after the first two weeks of school, before falling by 60 percent as of last week.

Preben Aavitsland is a senior doctor at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.

"We do expect the current downward trend to continue for a few weeks and then level off at a low level, at least for a couple of months, Aavitsland told Reuters by email.

He added, Then there are uncertainties about the winter season.

Britain has seen some increase in cases in schools that opened early on, but it has not spread to the wider population, said Neil Ferguson of the Imperial College London.

In Scotland, schools re-opened in mid-August, and COVID cases increased to record numbers by the end of the month.

Now, however, cases among the under 19 have fallen each week since the first week of September.

While cases began rising in Scotland before schools opened, some level of transmission appears to be happening in schools.

Its very hard to separate community transmission that is related to schools, to transmission in schools. However, clusters of cases in single classrooms do not appear to be particularly high, suggesting that it is at least a mix of both, Rowland Kao of the University of Edinburgh wrote to Reuters by email.

Im John Russell.

Michael Erman, Gwladys Fouche and Alistair Smout reported on this story for Reuters. John Russell adapted it for Learning English. Susan Shand was the editor.

Quiz - School Returns Go Better Than Expected Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz

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Words in This Story

variant  n. something that is different in some way from others of the same kind

mitigation  n. the act of making something less severe, harmful, or painful

trend  n. general direction of change

cluster  n. a group of things or people that are close together
Taiwans President Tsai Ing-wen has warned that a failure to defend Taiwan against China would be catastrophic to peace in East Asia.

In an opinion piece for Foreign Affairs published on Tuesday, Tsai said Taiwan is part of the first island group which runs from northern Japan to Borneo; should this line be broken by force, the consequences would disrupt international trade and destabilize the entire western Pacific.

China sent a record number of military planes toward the island over the weekend. Since Friday, which is also National Day on the mainland, China has sent 148 military airplanes into the south and southwestern part of Taiwans air defense identification zone. The planes included fighter jets and bombers.

Experts noted that some flights were carried out at night when it was more difficult to see. The Associated Press reported that the total number of Chinese planes to enter Taiwans air defense zone has reached 814.

Taiwans Ministry of Defense said it sent fighter jets to follow the movements of the Chinese planes and observed them with its air defense system. It said China's activities were designed to wear out Taiwan's forces and to test Taiwan's defenses.



Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Taiwans Prime Minister Su Tseng-chang added, "Taiwan must be on alert. China is more and more over the top." He said Taiwan also needed to strengthen itself, adding "only then will countries that want to annex Taiwan not dare to easily resort to force.

Globalfirepower estimates that Taiwans air force has 739 aircraft compared to Chinas 3,260. Its navy is one-seventh the size of mainland Chinas. In addition, mainland China has more than 2.1 million active soldiers while the island has 165,000 troops.

Regional concerns

From Washington, D.C., White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Monday that the United States is concerned about Chinese military activity. She added it risks miscalculations and undermines regional peace and stability.

In a statement on Monday night, Chinas foreign ministry replied that China will take all necessary countermeasures and resolutely crush any Taiwan independence plot.

Japan also said it was watching the situation closely and said it hoped Taiwan and China could resolve their differences through talks. Over the weekend, the Japanese navy held joint exercises with naval forces from the United States, Britain and Canada. Other countries included the Netherlands and New Zealand. The exercises included American and British aircraft carriers.

Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs said it too was concerned by China's increased military activities and called for talks over issues in the area. Australia recently entered a partnership with the U.S. and Britain to build nuclear-powered submarines for its navy.



Taiwan  China conflict

China and Taiwan divided as a result of the Chinese Civil War. Since 1949, Taiwan has governed itself independently under the name Republic of China.

China, known as the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), has long claimed Taiwan as its territory which could be taken by force if necessary.

Relations between the two sides improved during the 1990s when Taiwan permitted visits and expanded investment in the mainland.

Tensions have increased since 2016 with the election of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen. In 2019, Tsai rejected Chinese President Xi Jinpings call for China to rule Taiwan under the one country, two systems model. That term describes Chinas policy toward Hong Kong since 1997, which permitted the city to keep its local laws and government systems.

Huge protests against Chinese rule in Hong Kong led to the establishment of a new security law last year. The law effectively ended Hong Kongs limited self-rule under the one country, two systems policy.

The United States recognizes the PRC as the only legal government of China. But it rejects the use of force to settle the dispute and sells weapons to Taiwan to defend itself. Under the administrations of former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden, the U.S. has increased its contacts with Taiwan.

Navy Admiral John Aquilino is head of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. Aquilino warned the U.S. Congress at his confirmation hearing in March that the threat of China attacking Taiwan is much closer than most think.

On Tuesday, Tsai repeated that Taiwan does not seek military confrontation with China. She added, But if its democracy and way of life are threatened, Taiwan will do whatever it takes to defend itself.

Im Jonathan Evans.

Hai Do wrote this report for Learning English with additional reporting from the Associated Press and Reuters . Mario Ritter Jr. was the editor.

____________________________________________________

Words in This Story

catastrophic n. a terrible disaster

consequences n.(pl.) something that happens as a result of a particular action or set of conditions

disrupt v. to cause something to be unable to continue in a normal way

destabilize v. to cause (something, such as a government) to be unable to continue existing or working in the usual or desired way: to make (something) unstable

zone n. an area that is different from other areas in a particular way

(on) alert n. the state of being ready for something you have been warned about (such as an attack)

miscalculation n. to make an error in judgement

resolutely adv. showing strong will to do something

confrontation n. a situation in which people or group fight or oppose each other in an angry way

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A prosecutor is opposing defense attorneys' request for a hearing to exclude doctors witness testimony in the case of a Lompoc man accused of killing is 26-day-old daughter in 2019.

The Sept. 30 filing seeks to exclude the testimony of three medical doctors who examined tissue samples of Evelyn Ramirez, the daughter of 30-year-old Jose Ramirez Jr., who is charged with her murder.

Deputy District Attorney Stephanie Schoenburg is opposing the request because it challenges the doctors' interpretations of the autopsy results based on their experience and training, rather than on the basis of a new procedure not widely accepted by science.

This is because lay minds might easily but erroneously assume that such procedures are objective and infallible," Schoenburg wrote. "All three pathologists the prosecution intends to call are clearly qualified to testify as to their post-mortem evaluations of Evelyn."

The request will be heard, along with other motions, from Nov. 15 to 17, according to Schoenburg.

Ramirez was arrested on May 23, 2019, and charged the next day with murder and a second strike enhancement.

The charges were upheld on Oct. 11, 2019, after a preliminary hearing in Lompoc Superior Court. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

During police questioning, Lompoc Police Cpl. Charles Scott informed Ramirez that Evelyn's autopsy showed that her skull had an approximately 9-centimeter fracture, indicating her head was slammed against a hard surface, according to a video played during the Oct. 11 hearing.

This is a significantly violent force that causes this fracture, said Dr. Manny Montez, a pathologist with the Sheriff-Coroner's Office, during the hearing.

Tissue samples were examined by Montez, and Stanford University neurologists Dr. Hannes Vogel and Donald Born, who indicated "nonaccidental" trauma to the head, according to Schoenburg's Sept. 30 filing.

In addition, tissue samples were sent to Dr. Terri L. Haddix, who evaluated them for the defense.

Defense attorneys Adrian Galvan and Marianne Zawadzki argue that abusive head trauma is a contested area of law and that Ramirez did not kill Evelyn.

A readiness and settlement conference is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Nov. 15 in Department 1 of Superior Court in Santa Maria. A trial confirmation is tentatively scheduled for Jan. 10.
Santa Maria Police officials on Tuesday unveiled a pink camouflaged police cruiser in a partnership that's meant to raise breast cancer awareness through the month of October.

The design on the Ford Explorer police cruiser isn't a new paint job but a vinyl wrap that's colored pink to coincide with Breast Cancer Awareness Month and to remind people to get screened, even during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Santa Maria Police Sgt. Eligio Lara.

In addition, Lara said the cruiser will be visible at local events where he hopes it will not only raise awareness but funds for Mission Hope Cancer Center in Santa Maria.

"When we talk about cancer awareness, its male and female, not just Breast Cancer Awareness Month," Lara said, referring to the pink color. "[We're] hoping that it will remind people to do a checkup."

The camouflage design was the idea of Officer Kenneth Mize due to the proximity to Vandenberg Space Force Base and because the department wanted to have some influence among local military personnel, according to Lara.

The wrap was installed by Tradesmen tint and wrap, located at 1118 W. Main St., and cost $2,400, which was paid for by Smitty's Towing, Action Towing, Mike's Tri-County Locksmiths and the Santa Maria Police Council.

The pink cruiser will be visible throughout Santa Maria in various locations as officers interact with the public and hand out English and Spanish flyers with information about cancer.

Members of the community are encouraged to interact with the cruiser and its officers, according to Lara.

"Go to your doctor if you have any suspicious bumps or anything like that," Lara said. "We're trying to deter cancer. The sooner you identify the cancer, the better off you are."
Santa Barbara County has channeled more than $13.2 million to tenants and is preparing to expend another $16.6 million in rental assistance to
Vassilis P Tzevelekos (University of Liverpool - School of Law & Social Justice) & Kanstantsin Dzehtsiarou (University of Liverpool) have posted Normal as Usual? Human Rights in Times of COVID-19 (European Convention on Human Rights Law Review) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

When we started drafting this editorial note, the coronavirus had not yet become a global threat. Our initial plan was to use this note to remind readers of the 50th anniversary in December 2019 of Greeces withdrawal from the Council of Europe. Withdrawing was a means for the dictators who ruled Greece at that time to avoid the embarrassment of the impending expulsion of Greece from the Council of Europe in the aftermath of the emblematic Greek case. We would then connect the dots between this instance in the history of the Council of Europe and the recent emergence of illiberal democracies in Europe. Our ambition was to ask how the Council of Europe can rise to this new challenge and use its multifaceted apparatus effectively to react and possibly to sanction this alarming phenomenon.
There are many ways of estimating how long a software project will take. All of them are a waste of time.

Some prefer to spend days analysing and planning their changes so that they can estimate more accurately  others choose to multiply by N whatever estimations they make. I wouldnt recommend any of these approaches.

The problem with the first approach is that it considers software development to be a deterministic process when, in fact, its stochastic. In other words, you cant accurately determine how long it will take to write a particular piece of code unless you have already written it.

The problem with multiplying estimations by N is that youre simply exchanging cycle time for predictability. Instead of actually trying to be accurate, youre merely adding a buffer to your estimations. That buffer wouldnt be a problem if it werent for the fact that engineers determine it by licking the tip of their finger and putting it up in the air.

Unfortunately, the only way to win at the estimation game is not to play it.

To learn more these types of problems, see Gordian Knot and The most efficient way to solve problems.

Estimation is a waste of time. Dont do it.  VACANTI, Daniel.

Instead of making informed guesses or multiplying estimations by N, we can embrace the randomness and variability involved in writing software and use more suitable statical methods, in this case, stochastic modeling techniques, to devise better forecasts. One of these techniques is the Monte Carlo method, which Ill use to make projections in the rest of this post.

This post will teach you how to replace estimations and guesses with a Monte Carlo simulation.

First, Ill explain what is the Monte Carlo method and show how it works. Then, I will demonstrate how you could use it to forecast when a project is likely to be finished.

In the third section of this blog post, Ill show you how to attach a probability value to your projections, turning them into actual forecasts. In this section, youll understand how to generate more or less optimistic forecasts depending on your risk appetite.

After those first three sections, Ill explain a few caveats and factors to which you should pay attention when running your Monte Carlo simulations to generate projections.

At last, explain where well go in the next blog posts and recommend further reading material.





What is the Monte Carlo method?

The Monte Carlo method consists of repeatedly simulating random individual events to understand the likelihood of possible outcomes.

Imagine, for example, that youd like to calculate the likelihood of rolling two dice and obtaining a sum of seven.

One of the ways of doing it is to enumerate all the 36 possible result combinations and count how many of those results yield a sum of seven. Considering 6 of those 36 results produce a sum of 7, the probability of rolling a seven is 16.67%.

Alternatively, you could roll two dices for the next couple of months, take notes of all the results, and check how often you rolled a seven. The more rolls youve made, the more precise your final probability estimation will be.

Now, rolling dice for days isnt very exciting (and takes too long). Instead, we could get the computer to roll the dice for us. Thanks to the machines, we can roll two dice a million times quite quickly.

Now, lets write a simple Rust program to roll two dice a million times and tell us how often it rolls a seven.

extern crate rand ; use rand :: distributions ::{ Distribution , Uniform }; use rand :: thread_rng ; const TOTAL_ROLLS : i32 = 1 _000_000 ; fn main () { let mut rng = thread_rng (); let die = Uniform :: from ( 1 .. 7 ); let mut sevens = 0 ; for _ in 0 .. TOTAL_ROLLS { let first_die = die .sample ( & mut rng ); let second_die = die .sample ( & mut rng ); if first_die + second_die == 7 { sevens += 1 } } let p : f64 = f64 :: from ( sevens ) / f64 :: from ( TOTAL_ROLLS ) * f64 :: from ( 100 ); println! ( "Total Rolls: {}" , TOTAL_ROLLS ); println! ( "Total Sevens: {}" , sevens ); println! ( "Probability of rolling a seven: {:.2} % " , p ); }

When running this program, itll simulate a million dice rolls, divide the number of sevens rolled by the total number of simulations, and output the empirical probability of rolling a seven. This probability will be close to 16.67%, which is the actual probability of rolling a seven.

Total Rolls: 1000000 Total Sevens: 166446 Probability of rolling a seven: 16.64%

Congratulations, you just did your first Monte Carlo simulation.





Simulating when a project will be complete

Now that youve done a Monte Carlo simulation, Ill teach you how to apply the same principles to a software project so that you can estimate when youll complete it.

Lets imagine youve read a Tim Ferris blog post saying that the optimal number of blog posts a year is 60 or more. Because its Tim Ferriss, youre convinced hes right, and youd like to follow his advice.

However, before you commit to this time-consuming endeavour, you want to know how likely you are to be able to write 60 or more posts in 365 days and, if not, what changes you could make to hit that mark. How can we do that?





A naive approach: uniformly distributed cycle-times

First, well take a naive approach: well assume you know how long it took to write each of the blog posts you published in the past three months. For the sake of this example, lets say that the shortest post took two days to complete, and the longest took ten.

Then, well pretend that youre equally likely to complete posts in any number of days between two and ten. To put it another way, well consider your posts cycle-time distribution to be uniform (just like a die).

Considering these assumptions would hold, you could write a program to repeatedly simulate how long it would take to write 60 blog posts.

In this simulation, for each blog post, your program would randomly pick a number between two and ten as if that were the number of days you took to write it.

After simulating how long each post took to write, your program would sum each posts turnaround and check whether all 60 posts took less than 365 days.

Finally, once it has run all the simulations, your program would calculate the probability of success by dividing the number of times you succeeded by the total number of simulations.

extern crate rand ; use rand :: distributions ::{ Distribution , Uniform }; use rand :: thread_rng ; const TOTAL_RUNS : i32 = 1 _000_000 ; const TOTAL_BLOG_POSTS : i32 = 60 ; fn main () { let mut rng = thread_rng (); let time_to_completion = Uniform :: from ( 2 .. 11 ); let mut successes = 0 ; for _ in 0 .. TOTAL_RUNS { let mut current_duration = 0 ; for _ in 0 .. TOTAL_BLOG_POSTS { current_duration += time_to_completion .sample ( & mut rng ); } if current_duration <= 365 { successes += 1 } } let p = f64 :: from ( successes ) / f64 :: from ( TOTAL_RUNS ) * f64 :: from ( 100 ); println! ( "Total Simulations: {}" , TOTAL_RUNS ); println! ( "Successes: {}" , successes ); println! ( "Probability of succeeding: {:.2} % " , p ); }

After running this program, you should see an output similar to this:

Total Simulations: 1000000 Successes: 608671 Probability of succeeding: 60.87%

Thats a great first attempt, but lets say it doesnt feel quite right to you. What could you do to make your simulation more accurate?





An okay approach: weighted probabilities

Now, assume that, even though the shortest story took two days and the longest took ten, you remembered that the time for most posts skews towards the ten-day mark.

In other words, you dont think that the posts cycle times are uniformly distributed: most posts take a long time, and only a few take two or three days.

In an attempt to make the model more accurate and get a more realistic forecast, you then gather the start and end date of each post and calculate each posts cycle time.

N Title Start Date End Date Time Taken 1 Why Your Software Never Works Out the Way You Plan 12/01/2022 19/01/2022 8 2 Ways Your Mother Lied to You About Software 21/01/2022 29/01/2022 9 3 A Software Success Story Youll Never Believe 02/02/2022 03/02/2022 2 4 Darth Vaders Guide to Software 18/02/2022 23/02/2022 6 5 How to Win Big in the Software Industry 24/02/2022 29/02/2022 6 6 Why Do People Think Software is a Good Idea? 01/03/2022 08/03/2022 8 7 Shocking Ways Software Will Make You a Better Dancer 09/03/2022 12/03/2022 3 8 What The Beatles Could Learn from Software 14/03/2022 23/03/2022 10 9 What Your Parents Never Told You About Software 23/03/2022 28/03/2022 6 10 How To Create The Worst Blog Post Titles 28/03/2022 31/03/2022 4

With this data, you can now calculate the probability of each duration occurring and build a table like the one below.

Duration Frequency Probability 10 1 10% 9 1 10% 8 2 20% 6 3 30% 4 1 10% 3 1 10% 2 1 10%

Knowing how likely each duration is to occur will make your simulation much more accurate.

In the naive approach youve just seen, an issue was equally likely to last two, six, or eight days, which doesnt reflect reality.

By looking at the table above, you can easily see that tasks are three times more likely to take six days than two days. In fact, only 30% of stories take four days or fewer.

Now, lets update our simulation so that it will obey the probability of each duration occurring.

extern crate rand ; use rand :: distributions ::{ Distribution , Uniform }; use rand :: thread_rng ; const TOTAL_RUNS : i32 = 1 _000_000 ; const TOTAL_BLOG_POSTS : i32 = 60 ; const DURATIONS : [ i32 ; 10 ] = [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 6 , 6 , 6 , 8 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]; fn main () { let mut rng = thread_rng (); let time_to_completion = Uniform :: from ( 0 .. DURATIONS .len ()); let mut successes = 0 ; for _ in 0 .. TOTAL_RUNS { let mut current_duration = 0 ; for _ in 0 .. TOTAL_BLOG_POSTS { let random_index = time_to_completion .sample ( & mut rng ); current_duration += DURATIONS [ random_index ]; } if current_duration <= 365 { successes += 1 } } let p = f64 :: from ( successes ) / f64 :: from ( TOTAL_RUNS ) * f64 :: from ( 100 ); println! ( "Total Simulations: {}" , TOTAL_RUNS ); println! ( "Successes: {}" , successes ); println! ( "Probability of succeeding: {:.2} % " , p ); }

After running this simulation, which is much more accurate, itll tell you that youre actually 36.69% likely to succeed. Thats almost half of the previous estimation!

Total Simulations: 1000000 Successes: 366944 Probability of succeeding: 36.69%

This estimation is probably good enough for a single person, but it wont work for a team. At least not without adjustments.

The problem with this simulation is that it assumes that blog posts will be written in series, not in parallel.

If you had two or more people working in parallel, youd have to record their individual cycle times, simulate how many blog posts each one could write in 365 days, and sum each persons output.

Not too difficult, but there is an easier way.





Sampling throughput

An easier way of simulating a teams performance without using individuals cycle times is to sample the teams throughput for each day in the simulation.

To perform such a simulation, you need to record the daily number of completed items for a determined length of time. With that data, youd then have the probability of having a throughput of 0, 1, 2, 3, or more items on any given day, which youd use when sampling.

If you were to write a program that did exactly that, youd have a piece of code like the one below.

extern crate rand ; use rand :: distributions ::{ Distribution , Uniform }; use rand :: thread_rng ; const TOTAL_RUNS : i32 = 1 _000_000 ; const TOTAL_STORIES : i32 = 500 ; const TEN_DAY_THROUGHPUTS : [ i32 ; 10 ] = [ 1 , 2 , 0 , 1 , 1 , 2 , 3 , 1 , 2 , 1 ]; fn main () { let mut rng = thread_rng (); let throughput = Uniform :: from ( 0 .. TEN_DAY_THROUGHPUTS .len ()); let mut successes = 0 ; for _ in 0 .. TOTAL_RUNS { let mut stories_completed = 0 ; for _ in 0 .. 366 { let random_index = throughput .sample ( & mut rng ); stories_completed += TEN_DAY_THROUGHPUTS [ random_index ]; } if stories_completed > TOTAL_STORIES { successes += 1 } } let p = f64 :: from ( successes ) / f64 :: from ( TOTAL_RUNS ) * f64 :: from ( 100 ); println! ( "Total Simulations: {}" , TOTAL_RUNS ); println! ( "Successes: {}" , successes ); println! ( "Probability of succeeding: {:.2} % " , p ); }

You could use this approach to determine whether a software development team could finish a particular number of items within a specific period.





Caveats to pay attention to when building Monte Carlo simulations

Before claiming that the simulation above is reliable, I must expose a few things youll need to pay attention to when using a Monte Carlo Simulation to make forecasts:

The quality of the inputs upon which your simulations depend.

The consistency and predictability of your team.

The need to re-forecast.

The size of your work packages.





Quality of the inputs

Assume you had a team of ten engineers last year, but half of them quit the company three months ago. If you were to simulate how long this team would take to complete a project, you should not use throughput data from more than three months ago.

If you use a 10-engineer teams throughput data to forecast the performance of a 5-engineer team, you will get over-optimistic results.

Similarly, if your team doubles in size, your simulation should not use historical data from when you had half the number of people. In this case, you also cant just assume projects will take half the time because its extremely unlikely that productivity will scale linearly as you hire more developers.

Additionally, other factors like holidays or a massive rewrite can impact your input data.

Your teams throughput between Christmas and New Years Eve, for example, will probably not be the same as the teams throughput in February. Similarly, a massive rewrite that drastically increases how easy it is to change and extend your software will have an equally dramatic impact on your cycle times.

As Daniel Vacanti explains in When Will It Be Done?, _ the fundamental assumption that the Monte Carlo Simulation is making is that the future youre trying to predict looks roughly like the past you have data for _.





Consistency and predictability

Our simulation will work just fine for the circumstances above because I came up with more predictable throughput values.

The range of throughputs used in that code is small, and, most of the days, the team is highly consistent: it gets one or two items done. In other words, the standard deviation for this cycle-time distribution is small.

In another blog post, Ill explain what would have happened if I had used more erratic throughput values in the previous section. For now, keep in mind that as long as you have a team with consistent throughput, this simulation will be reliable.

Quantifying predictability and consistency is also a topic for another blog post.





Re-forecast!

As your project advances, you will encounter delays, and, sometimes, youll get to be ahead of schedule. Therefore, re-forecasting as you progress will make your forecast more accurate because there will be fewer items and more data and, consequently, less room for error.

The more information and fewer items to simulate you have, the more your forecast will converge to reality.

Guessing wholl win the Premier League before it starts is much more difficult than guessing the winner halfway in, for example.

When the league starts, you have many games to simulate, so you have more room for error.

At that time, you also dont have data that reflects the current lineup performance. Imagine forecasting Barcelonas performance in 2021 using last years lineup, for example. It certainly wont be the same without Messi.

Re-forecasting is also important to remain agile.

Suppose you forecast only once at the beginning of your project and create a Gantt chart based on those estimations. In that case, youll simply be running a waterfall process with statistically accurate dates.

In an agile context, as you re-run these simulations, you will be able to adapt your plan and processes based on results that will be increasingly more accurate as reality converges with the estimated results.

To summarise: the fewer days and items you have to simulate, the smaller the error margin.





Sizing work

At the beginning of this blog post, I claimed that a statistical approach could do away with all estimations.

Even though that is technically true given you wont have to assign story points to anything anymore (nor make informed guesses), throughput-based simulations assume that work items are roughly the same size. Therefore, one could claim that making work packages approximately the same size is another form of estimation.

Despite that claim, these statistical approaches still yield much better results because outliers wont significantly impact your simulation.

Additionally, you wont need to waste time discussing whether something is worth two or three story points. Instead, you can always try to make stories as small as you can so that you have more revealing data.





Using Monte Carlo Simulations in practice: confidence intervals

In the real world, were seldom looking for the probability of a project succeeding within a particular time frame. Instead, were looking to understand the possible scenarios in which we could end up and how likely those scenarios are to happen. In other words, we want to know how our simulations outcomes are distributed and attach confidence values to our forecasts.

When it comes to visualising an outcome distribution, a histogram is an excellent visual tool. Furthermore, the histograms underlying data will allow us to attach confidence values to our forecasts.

To demonstrate how you could use histograms in practice, lets imagine your company needs to deliver a project of about 50 stories. For the project to succeed, your company wants you to forecast an end date so that the marketing and sales teams can prepare for the launch. Considering how critical marketing is for this important product to succeed, executives want you to be pretty sure of whatever forecast you make.

Now, lets try to solve this problem and come up with a precise forecast.

Given you want to play on the safe side, lets define a precise forecast as a forecast in which youre at least 95% confident.

First, well adapt our code to generate histograms that show the dates on which the project is likely to finish.

Go ahead and update the code to store the number of times each date appeared in your simulations.

extern crate rand ; use rand :: distributions ::{ Distribution , Uniform }; use rand :: thread_rng ; use std :: collections :: HashMap ; const TOTAL_RUNS : i32 = 1 _000_000 ; const STORIES_TARGET : i32 = 50 ; const TEN_DAY_THROUGHPUTS : [ i32 ; 10 ] = [ 1 , 2 , 0 , 1 , 1 , 2 , 3 , 1 , 2 , 1 ]; fn main () { let mut rng = thread_rng (); let throughput = Uniform :: from ( 0 .. TEN_DAY_THROUGHPUTS .len ()); let mut outcomes : HashMap < i64 , i32 > = HashMap :: new (); let one_day = Duration :: days ( 1 ); let start_date : DateTime < Local > = Local :: now (); for _ in 0 .. TOTAL_RUNS { let mut current_date = start_date ; let mut stories_completed = 0 ; while stories_completed < STORIES_TARGET { let random_index = throughput .sample ( & mut rng ); stories_completed += TEN_DAY_THROUGHPUTS [ random_index ]; current_date = current_date + one_day ; } let count = outcomes .entry ( current_date .timestamp ()) .or_insert ( 0 ); * count += 1 ; } println! ( "Total Simulations: {}" , TOTAL_RUNS ); }

As you can see in the code above, we are not targeting a particular outcome anymore. Instead, we are keeping track of how often the project ended on a specific date.

Remember: we want to understand how likely each delivery date is to come true so that we can make a forecast in which were 95% confident.

After this change, well write a function that uses the plotters crate to generate a histogram and save it to disk. This histogram will display possible delivery dates on its X-axis and the number of times each delivery date came out in the simulations.

The plotting function is reasonably long, and not really interesting for what we're doing here, so I'll omit it from this post. If you still wanna see it, have a look at this post's related GitHub repository.

After running the simulation, your program should yield a histogram similar to the one below.

Our project's estimated delivery dates follow a normal distribution, as the histogram shows.

Looking at this histogram, you can clearly see that if we start working on the projects 50 stories today (29th of September of 2021), the most likely date on which wed finish it would be the 4th of November of 2021.

If this werent an important project for which the company needs a precise forecast, you could tell executives that the 4th of November of 2021 is your best guess for the projects end date.

Unfortunately, you were asked to offer a precise forecast, so you cant simply provide the most likely end date. Instead, youll need to deliver a forecast in which youre at least 95% confident.

To generate a forecast in which youre at least 95% confident, you need to define what 95% confidence means in terms of our Monte Carlo simulation. In this case, you could say that youd be 95% confident in a particular end date if, in 95% of all the simulations, you finished the project on or before that date.

If, for example, you simulated a particular project a hundred times and in 95 of those simulations you finished the project on or before the 1st of April, then youd be 95% confident that you could complete the project on or before that date.

For those more familiar with statistics, these are merely percentiles. A percentile is a value at or below which a particular percentage of the distributions values falls (considering an inclusive definition).

Lets go ahead and create a function to calculate the 95th percentile for our simulation. This percentile will indicate the date at or before 95% of the simulations have finished. Therefore, we can say were 95% confident that this will be the projects end date.

fn calculate_percentile ( data : & HashMap < i64 , i32 > , percentile : i32 ) { let total_sims : i32 = data .values () .sum (); let p_qtd : i32 = total_sims - ( total_sims as f64 / ( 100 _f64 / percentile as f64 )) .ceil () as i32 ; let mut hash_vec : Vec < ( & i64 , & i32 ) > = data .iter () .collect (); hash_vec .sort_by (| a , b | b . 0 .cmp ( a . 0 )); let mut sum = 0 ; let mut percentile_timestamp : i64 = 0 ; for ( timestamp , freq ) in hash_vec { sum += freq ; if sum >= p_qtd { percentile_timestamp = * timestamp ; break ; } } println! ( "Percentile {}: {} ({}/{})" , percentile , Local .timestamp ( percentile_timestamp , 0 ) .format ( " % Y/ % m/ %d " ) .to_string (), sum , total_sims ); }

Once youve created this function, update your program so that it calls calculate_percentile passing the histograms data and 95 as the percentile in which youre interested. Doing this change and re-running will yield results similar to the following:

Total Simulations: 1000000 Percentile 95: 2021/11/13 (60032/1000000)

After seeing the programs output, you know that 95% of your simulations finished on or before the 13th of November. Consequently, you can go back to the companys executives and tell them that youre 95% confident that the project will finish on or before that date.

Now, imagine that your companys executives told you that theyd like to understand the likelihood of your project finishing on other dates. With that data, they could decide whether to hire more marketing professionals to prevent the product from being held up in case you finish writing the code earlier.

To provide your executives with that data, you can simply add a few more calls to calculate_percentile to calculate the 25th, 50th, 75th, 85th percentiles. These would be the dates on which or before 25%, 50%, 75%, and 85% of the simulations fall, respectively. Therefore, these are the final dates in which you could say youre 25%, 50%, 75% and 85% confident.

Total Simulations: 1000000 Percentile 25: 2021/11/05 (765267/1000000) Percentile 50: 2021/11/07 (546177/1000000) Percentile 75: 2021/11/09 (320170/1000000) Percentile 85: 2021/11/11 (152931/1000000) Percentile 95: 2021/11/13 (59527/1000000)

As an exercise, Id also recommend the reader to plot these percentiles in their histograms. This author would be interested in seeing your solution as hes given up on doing that after an arduous battle with Plotters and the Rust compiler.





On forecasting based on your risk appetite

Once you know how likely it is for an event to happen, you can gauge or risk appetite and decide how precise your forecast needs to be.

Imagine, Alice, your best friend, wants to make a bet. Shes got two dice to roll, and shes eager to bet $10 you wont get a sum of seven in a single roll.

Furthermore, shes willing to allow you more rolls in exchange for part of her bet. If you roll twice, shell bet $5 instead of $10. If you want to roll four times, shell bet $2.50.

With some quick statistics, you figure out your chance of rolling a seven in a single throw is about 17%. In two throws, it goes up to 34%. In four throws, youll have a 68% chance of winning.

Now, because you know the possible payouts and the likelihood of the desired outcome, you can gauge how many rolls youre willing to pay for.

If, for example, you desperately need an extra $2.50 to get the bus back home, you will probably want to bet $2.50 and roll four times so that you have a higher likelihood of winning. On the other hand, if you think it could be nice to make $10 and spoil yourself with great pizza, you may want to roll only once.





Where do we go from here?

I did my best to keep this blog post simple and give actionable advice. I intentionally and avoided too much classical statistics, but, in a further blog post, I do intend to answer questions like:

How many simulations do you need to obtain accurate results?

How do you define what accurate means or, in other words, how do you quantify accuracy?

How to quantify how predictable your team is?

These are all questions that could be answered with simple statistics. For those interested in skipping ahead, Id recommend this MIT lesson about Confidence Intervals.

Furthermore, I also plan to write a blog post about how Markov Chain Monte Carlo simulations could help make forecasts, especially for more unpredictable teams.





References

[1] I use Daniel Vacanti s definition of a forecast. In his words,  a forecast is a calculation about the future that includes both a range and a probability of that range occurring . This definition is important because, as Daniel himself explains in his book Actionable Agile Metrics For Predictability,  a forecast without an associated probability is deterministic, and, as you know, the future is anything but deterministic..

[2] Alternatively, a team could work serially to reduce cycle times. If thats the case, you dont need to change the simulation; you only need to update the data used to determine which cycle-time gets sampled. The problem with this approach is that its often impossible: I cant imagine more than ten people simultaneously writing a blog post, for example. If anything, it would take ten times as long.

[3] I would typically not recommend using stories at this stage of a project, especially if youre dealing with many of them. Doing so would require you to go into a massive effort to specify all requirements up-front, which isnt agile at all. Instead, Id break down scope into epics, and focus on releasing early and often, and re-forecasting as you progress. Remember: Im not saying you should use Monte Carlo simulations to attach more accurate dates to waterfall projects.





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United Way helps center continue to fill seniors' days

JESS HUFF/The Lufkin Daily News Doris Harkness shows off the fall cookies she decorated at the Angelina County Senior Center. JESS HUFF/The Lufkin Daily News Carol Love sits next to the tools she used to decorate cookies at the Angelina County Senior Center. JESS HUFF/The Lufkin Daily News From the left, Jeannette Miller and Melba Ferden smile next to their fall decorated cookies before going to get new craft materials for the next project at the Angelina County Senior Center. JESS HUFF/The Lufkin Daily News Linda Mount waits for her turn to get more crafting materials after finishing her fall cookies at the Angelina County Senior Center. JESS HUFF/The Lufkin Daily News Paralynn Canino displays a fall wreath she has been working on. She missed out on the craft the week before and worked on it while the other patrons of the Angelina County Senior Center worked on cookies. JESS HUFF/The Lufkin Daily News Teresa Moreno puts final touches on her fall cookies she decorated at the Angelina County Senior Center.

It never entered my mind that I would get to be this age, for one, said Jeannette Miller. And in fact, you dont feel as if you are.

Miller sat at a table with her friends Linda Mount, Carol Love and Melba Ferden at the Angelina County Senior Center while each decorated festive cookies for fall. The women have found companions in each other  joking and teasing as each works through their cookies  at the center, which focuses on helping seniors retain their independence as long as possible.

It is a place for seniors to grab a meal, exercise, and learn about health, fall prevention and many other things as well as meet new friends.

Were very fortunate to get here, Miller said. But it never entered my mind that the senior center would be something I would really enjoy.

The senior center is one of the 2021 United Way Campaign recipients. If the United Way reaches its $292,000 goal, the center would receive $4,000.

Its just a lot of good friends that you can meet and it keeps an older persons mind active, Miller said. But it doesnt take a whole day, which is what I like. You still have an opportunity to go home and get done what you need to do.

She has created her group of friends because they play games together, she said. But Miller and her friends most enjoy Thursdays when they get to dance, she said. Especially the chicken dance.

And some people do their own version, Mount said with a laugh.

The whole thing is to keep you active, Miller said. Its very beneficial.

The woman and enjoy getting out and dancing because they havent been able to since their husbands died, Mount said.

If you look around, most of us have lost our husbands, Miller said. Women outlive men and so theres a connection right off. A connection because weve all been through the same stories and some are just getting over it. Some have had 15 years.

Miller lost her husband, Alan, about 15 years ago. The two had been together for 51 years, though when the two met in Millers early high school years, she didnt care too much for him.

Mount lost her husband of 34 1/2 years, Ed, two years ago. Ed was a Yankee by all accounts, especially because he was from Ohio, she said.

He was a Yankee and we had the best time, she said.

Mount is the reason Miller first started attending the senior center. Since both women lost their husbands, they began traveling together; Jamaica was one of their favorite cruise spots, but the pandemic has limited their movements.

Its the most gorgeous place to go, as far as Im concerned, Miller said.

Mount began coming a few months ago and it wasnt too long before she convinced her longtime traveling buddy to come along too. They both were thrilled to have something to do that filled their days, they said.

Its just simple things, and you feel accomplished, Miller said. Rather than just sitting back and not feeling accomplished. Its just simple.
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As students rushed to class for a long-anticipated return to in-person learning, Rachel Litchman awaited the campus accessible shuttle on the first day of school. After standing 15 minutes at the stop to no avail, Litchman, a part-time University of Wisconsin-Madison student who has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, worried she may not make it to class on time.

To avoid the crowded Route 80 bus that travels throughout campus, Litchman requested a ride with the campus accessible shuttle.

The 80, which is something that I've taken in previous years, is not accessible to me because it's packed super full, she explained. Its just a nightmare, especially for someone with a disability who cant stand for a long period of time or more than a couple of minutes.

Despite the risks to her health, Litchman hiked nearly a mile across campus to her next class carrying a heavy load of books.

I ended up really causing a lot of pain for myself, and I am just worried because I can't continue to do that because it could really injure me, she said. But it's very hard to get to these classes without sacrificing my health, in some sort of way.

Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a connective tissue disorder, makes Litchman more prone to dislocating her joints. She also deals with POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome), a condition affecting her autonomic nervous system, which controls involuntary body functions, like heart rate and blood pressure.

That means I get really dizzy and I cant stand for a very long time, Litchman said.

Last summer, she was hospitalized due to muscle fatigue and weakness caused by her health conditions. Even simple tasks, like carrying a backpack or walking to class, still feel debilitating. Returning to class in person, she said, has only made coping with her symptoms more challenging.

For students with disabilities or those who are immunocompromised, the reentry into classrooms has brought feelings of isolation, anxiety and helplessness  contrary to many students who have embraced the return. Litchman said accommodations offered to them last year, like online courses, recorded lectures, extra transportation and overall flexibility, have begun to disappear, making it more difficult for students with illnesses to learn.

Weve all been scared that all that accessibility would go away once they decided to return in person, and thats very much been the case, she said. They only really care about accessibility when its people who don't have disabilities and when it impacts everyone.

The pandemic gave students with health conditions the accommodations they had been calling on for years, Litchman said. In fact, the last online year proved to her that the university is capable of adapting learning to all abilities. But the general excitement of returning to school has drowned out the voices of students with disabilities, she said, leaving them to fend for themselves as they scramble to find resources.

They just seem to not care about students who either have chronic health conditions or are immunocompromised, she said. That makes them feel really unwelcome at this university.

UW-Madison spokeswoman Meredith McGlone said the school is committed to supporting students with disabilities and medical conditions and to fulfilling our obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

We understand there are still questions and concerns related to COVID-19, she added.

Disabled students struggle with return to in-person

A student struggling with long-haul COVID, who asked to remain anonymous, said part of the issue lies in the lack of online courses offered this year. The junior studying computer science has dealt with persistent COVID symptoms, including fatigue, brain fog and shortness of breath after being diagnosed with the virus nine months ago.

Im having difficulty with a lot of things in general, like cooking for myself, showering, basic hygiene  I just do not have the energy at all, he said. Having an online format would hopefully make that easier for me, but not all of my classes are offering that this year and theyre making it really hard.

In a press conference Sept. 21, UW System interim president Tommy Thompson announced that 80% of classes in the System are being offered in person for the fall semester. Another 5% account for hybrid courses and 15% are online. This number exceeds Thompsons initial goal of 75%, set in February, and is a return to pre-pandemic levels of in-person undergraduate instruction.

He said there has been widespread enthusiasm toward face-to-face learning across all campuses, including UW-Madison, where 93% of undergraduate courses are delivered in person.

Im sure there are going to be some outliers who are not having a good experience  there always are, Thompson told the Cap Times. But I would say the vast majority of the students I talk to are very appreciative and very happy.

Not all students, as Thompson said, feel the same way. The computer science student said his illness has taken him away from his studies, and this semester hes opted to take only one course in order to manage.

The only reason Im taking the one course this fall is because this professor struggled with something similar to me, so hes been really willing to work with me, he said.

Before the semester began, the student met with the universitys McBurney Disability Resource Center to arrange for online accommodations. He recalled the request process would be a lot of paperwork," but his counselor committed to finding ways to work around the barriers.

McBurney couldnt make any promises that professors would adjust their teaching, and the advisor warned him a formal request through the university could take extra time and effort. The employee instead offered to advocate on his behalf, facilitating numerous conversations between him and his instructors.

In the end, it was really unlikely and there was no guarantee that it could get me an online class, he said. Still, it wasnt the first time the student had tried  and failed  to ask for virtual accommodations.

In the summer, he began emailing specific professors who taught the classes he needed to graduate, asking if theyd offer their courses online or through recorded lectures. He said only half responded. Ahead of the fall semester, he followed up a second time, but the others still made no effort to contact him, he said.

In a tweet posted Sept. 20, Sami Schalk, a UW-Madison gender and womens studies professor, asked, Why are so many accommodations being denied at UW-Madison? As a disability studies scholar and a disabled faculty member, she said shes concerned about the lack of support from the university. She told the Cap Times that UW-Madison continues to fail disabled members of the campus community.

Schalk also wrote that she personally knows of several disabled faculty, students and staff who have been offered alternate (cheaper) accommodations or have had their requests rejected altogether.

I am beyond disappointed, she wrote in the tweet. I am angry and scared that there will be no disabled people left here by the time the pandemic ends.

New report finds growing challenges in disability services

According to a 2020-2021 UW System report on services for students with disabilities, released Sept. 27, the number of people requesting accommodations is growing, even at campuses where enrollment has decreased. Last year, 11,226 students in the UW System used disability services  a 31% increase over the past five years.

While the report revealed that COVID-related changes posed new challenges to folks with disabilities, it also made learning environments more accessible for others. The UW System recorded that an additional 461 students received COVID-related accommodations in the 2020-2021 academic year.

Nearly 2,500 students with health and psychological conditions also requested flexibility for attendance and due dates last year. Once approved, however, coordination for each course is very time-intensive for students at the beginning of each semester, the report noted.

It found that remote classes, in addition to increased flexibility from instructors, allowed many disabled students to keep up with their workload and remain enrolled while also managing their health-related needs. Disability services offices also saw fewer missed appointments and higher attendance for remote meetings with students.

The review pointed out major obstacles to disability services, citing that staffing levels remained stagnant, despite the increase in students securing accommodations. The average coordinator caseload rose from 310 to 368, the report said, considerably higher than recommended by disability services professionals. This may cause staff to provide less individualized levels of resources, which could lead to lower rates of student success and retention for those with disabilities.

Disappearing accommodations

As UW-Madison transitions back to a pre-pandemic normal  though new COVID cases are still popping up in Dane County  Litchman said other accommodations have disappeared without notice.

Last year, campus transportation services implemented an extra trailer bus system to allow for social distancing on the 80. These yellow school buses followed the same university route, providing additional seats to make up for Metro Transits reduced capacity limits.

Trailer bus utilization was very low, and usage seemed to be limited to when someone missed the (Madison Metro-provided) campus bus and instead caught the trailer bus, said Steve Wagner, communications director for UW-Madisons facilities planning & management, in an email. This, coupled with public health guidance lifting ridership capacity for buses, led to the trailer bus service being discontinued.

Litchman, however, attributed low ridership to the fact that classes were all virtual last year. It would seem like they should just keep them because obviously everyones going to be in person this year, but they didnt, she said.

According to Wagner, Transportation Services has reduced the number of accessible shuttles this year, which are offered to students who are immunocompromised or have specific mobility needs.

The usual service rotation is two vehicles, he said. Currently one vehicle is in service following extremely low ridership in spring 2021. Another vehicle will be added if/when needed.

He said the department is not aware of any recurring arrival issues for the accessible shuttles, though Litchman cited construction as a likely contributor to late bus rides. Passengers can request to be picked up at certain times, Wagner said, but the drivers need a 20 minute buffer window to account for delays.

Litchman said more transportation options would be helpful for students who dont want to take the 80 bus, which is currently running at full capacity, or cannot get access to the campus accessible shuttle.

Students cite online modes as potential solution

Amy, a graduate student and teaching assistant who asked to be identified using only her first name, said the return to normal has caused the university to take steps backward, erasing significant strides made last year toward accessibility and inclusion.

I think that we all as a community had to get really creative with how to build classes and more flexibility was inherently included in that, she said. We'd really love to see the positive changes that were created during the pandemic and that those are carried through.

Amy called on the university to implement more universal design protocols that keep students with health conditions in mind. She hopes UW-Madison will do a better job including those with disabilities and illnesses into diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility efforts.

Essentially, making campus accessible for everybody benefits everybody, she said. The standard approach to accommodate individuals with disabilities is focused on equity, but this model falls short.

As a community, we are asking that the focus on accessibility move past equity, and instead remove the systemic barriers wherever possible.

While the four students interviewed for this story said McBurney has made significant efforts to help them, they blamed university administrators for creating an environment thats not conducive to learning. The problems are structural and institutional, they said, posing obstacles to McBurney that are often out of the departments control.

McBurney does an amazing job supporting students, which is focused primarily at the individual level, but students with disabilities will unfortunately still face challenges until campus as a whole makes changes to improve accessibility, Amy said.

The student with long COVID also suggested setting up an online portal containing live streams of major lecture halls on campus. He said this could allow students, whether they are immunocompromised, have mobility issues or are experiencing mental health issues, to log into class without having to physically be there.

The setup for professors would be minimal, he added, saying they could also provide pre-recorded lectures from previous semesters. He said he arranged with his current teacher to record his screen and voice, which has worked well as he copes with his symptoms.

Once I start losing focus, I cant pause a lecture in person, he said. It doesnt feel accommodating to me anymore and it felt like it was during the pandemic. I felt like we were being heard.

Students with disabilities found solace in the online format, he said. Now, he says he might not be able to graduate anytime soon with so few online courses offered.

Unfortunately, the way the university is set up is catering to the majority of students, and its leaving students with disabilities in the dust, he said. Being in person, its very hard to learn if youre worried about getting sick.

Talia Cohen, a graduate student studying psychology who identifies as disabled, said her chronic illness took her out of school for extended periods of time last fall. The experience made her realize the importance of resources like online classes, noticing that many students with disabilities were receiving real access for the first time.

I only think I was able to keep up as much as I did because we were online and because there was just general increased access, she said. COVID has also been awful for me, but it enabled me to do a lot from home. That was more inclusive for me and I do feel nervous now that everything at UW seems to be back to normal.

According to McGlone, 8% of courses at the university are fully remote and 2% are in a hybrid format. The options available this fall reflect a return to more typical campus operations.

Throughout the registration process we informed students that instructors are not required to provide remote/online instruction for in-person courses, she said in an email. And we encouraged students wishing to enroll in online courses to work with their academic advisors to identify options. That remains the best option for students wishing to find online courses.

Those interviewed for this story, however, emphasized that advocating for oneself can feel tiring, especially for students who are already juggling health conditions. Cohen said people with disabilities have significantly less time to do things compared to their peers, yet still an equal amount of work  sometimes even more when factoring in the time it takes to get their needs met.

Advocacy is completely depleting, and it's all coming from people who already have limited energy and resources, she said. Having a chronic illness is the daily effort that you need to put towards your health and well-being that most people dont have to think about. All of those things together are a full-time job when its bad and a part-time job all the time.

Cohen said she has encouraged faculty to implement virtual learning into their courses and show how people outside of the disabled community can also benefit. Still, she said her suggestions have prompted disinterest, with professors citing online options as a lot of work.

But now we know its not a lot of work, she said. The pandemic showed us that it wasnt and that there are systems in place.

We are at a time in technology where that is very easy and very possible, she added. To penalize students for not being able to attend class, or for missing class, or for not being able to keep up with the material during class  or whatever it is that not having that access does  is ableist.

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Read an update to this story here: Spanish teacher allowed to teach virtually at West High following student walkouts

Dozens of Madison West High School students walked out Wednesday to protest the school districts treatment of their former teacher, Deana Zorko.

Zorko, who taught Spanish 4 and advanced placement Spanish literature at West until Oct. 1, has been teaching virtually this year even as students returned in-person because she is immunocompromised as a dual organ transplant recipient. While many of Zorkos students say the virtual teaching while they are in the classroom has worked, she will now instead teach through the new Madison Promise online option for students in grades 6-12.

Students found out about the change during class last Friday, when Zorko shared it was her last day with them.

She started tearing up, she apologized for being emotional but she told us that she loved having the time she had with us, and it was just like a shock because there's really no reason for the district to be doing that to her, junior and AP Spanish literature student Kyla Sifuentes-Rotea said outside of West High School Wednesday morning.

District spokesman Tim LeMonds said in an email the change was not a reassignment.

Rather, she applied for a Spanish teaching position in Madison Promise and was accepted, LeMonds wrote.

Attorney Tamara Packard, speaking on behalf of Zorko in an interview Monday, said the teacher would "absolutely" prefer to stay at West.

In an interview, Madison Teachers Inc. president Michael Jones said Zorko had expressed interest in the Madison Promise option this summer, but he added that the change coming one month into the school year caused disruption to the relationships that are key to good teaching.

At least by (starting in the summer) she would have been able to prepare, be able to develop the curriculum that she thought would be best for the kids to help the students who are learning virtually, Jones said. To all of a sudden move teachers a month in, youre talking about building a strong relationship and then breaking that relationship away, thats a really emotional thing.

LeMonds wrote that the district could not comment on personnel issues in response to a question about the timing of the change.

The 18-year MMSD teacher asked the School Board for help with her situation in late August, just before the school year began. She explained that while she is vaccinated, she is not protected due to aggressive medication that I have to take to avoid organ rejection.

Im being forced to make a choice between the career and the students I love and my life and health, she told the board. The district administration has repeatedly refused, since July 23, to afford me accommodations to work virtually for the upcoming school year as outlined and supported by my doctors, and I quote, To keep Ms. Zorko safe from severe illness and death from COVID-19.

Zorko said she used the same accommodations in the spring, and they worked for my classes and my students. That included a large monitor in the front of the classroom where she appeared and microphones so she could hear students talking in the classroom while a substitute was physically present in the room.

Jones praised West principal Karen Borans handling of the situation, as Boran was paying for the physically present substitute out of Wests school budget. Boran visited briefly with the students during the walkout and thanked them for expressing their opinion.

While she said she could not comment on Zorkos situation, she said in an interview she 100% supports the students exercising their First Amendment rights, adding they are great kids and she feels lucky to be in a school where they can express themselves in this way.

Packard, who is Zorkos counsel, said that she and Zorko had not received an explanation from the district of why the method was appropriate in the spring and to begin the year but cannot continue.

They dont feel that they need to justify their decision to us and so theyve just said no, Packard said.

Jones, a former West dean of students, marched with a group of students around the building holding a sign that said, MTI Supports Deana Zorko.

She did not want any of this, she just wanted something that can make sure that she was safe and she was still teaching, Jones said. She loves teaching, and she just wants to focus on teaching, and it's super frustrating that something that's doable, that's within our sphere of influence as an education community, can't be done because of people's adherence to certain rules.

He called the situation an absolute tragedy, especially after a month of building relationships with these students.

The best interest of the kids is relationships, Jones said. You cant just plug and play an adult into a classroom and just assume because theyre an adult and even if they have the content knowledge  teaching is a skill, its an art, its a science, its a lot of things. Not everyone can do it.

Students at the final of four walkouts Wednesday  each of her four classes held one during their class period  said that while the different learning format took some getting used to at the start of the year, they felt lucky to learn from someone who has been recognized locally and nationally for her Spanish teaching.

You can tell that she cares a lot about her students, junior Miranda Garcia-Dove said. Shes very experienced and we can see that reflected in how she teaches her classes.

Instead, they now have an online program with assignments from Zorkos co-teacher and eventually a Spanish tutor will come into the classroom, they said. LeMonds wrote that the support from the co-teacher will last until a new Spanish teacher is hired.

Garcia-Dove said there was no student input on this decision. Senior Henry Merrell-Van Sickle, who started a petition that had more than 420 signatures as of early Wednesday afternoon, said the decision goes against the districts supposed student-centered approach, instead focused on aligning with what he considers a rigid policy of how teachers teach in these times.

I know it's cliche but these are very unprecedented times, Merrell-Van Sickle said. And we need to be more malleable and adjust more adequately to how things are working today.

This is just an example of they're just trying to follow their own rules, they're not really doing what's best for people.

Its premature to address whether Zorko is considering any sort of complaint or action against the district, Packard said, but that she appreciated the outpouring of support from students.

Ms. Zorko really loves her students at West High School and is very sad to not be able to continue this year with them, Packard said. (She is) very appreciative of their love and support of her. Its a tough time for everybody.

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.
"There was a substantial question about whether the elements of the crime could be proven," he said. "I regret we did not make this difficult decision closer to when I took office."

The alleged victim reportedly told police Luttinen bought her wine coolers after picking her up for a babysitting job. The girl said she drank a few and was feeling drunk when Luttinen and his wife returned from their evening out, police said.

She said she consumed a Jello shot offered to her by Luttinen, blacked out and awoke to Luttinen having sex with her.

He only stopped because his wife walked in and yelled after seeing what he was doing, the girl told police.

His wife reportedly told police she saw her husband kiss the girl on the lips shorty before walking in on them. She did not call police and later told them she "could not be the one to tell on James because she could not do that to her sons."

Luttinen reportedly asked his wife to tell the girl he was sorry and that "she could punch him if she wanted to."

Luttinen, who was interviewed with his attorney present, reportedly explained himself in part to police by saying he was drunk and "there was a young, good-looking girl, rubbing up against me."
For the first month of the school year, Zorko had been working online from home through Zoom with the help of a retired substitute teacher who facilitated in-person learning with students in the classroom.

While the situation of Ms. Zorko teaching online was not ideal for neither her nor her classes, many students preferred this teaching style to the one imposed after her departure, the student-led petition read. She has gone above and beyond to come up with creative solutions to make teaching virtually work for her students.

Zorko, a teacher for three decades who had been in the Madison School District for 18 years, underwent a double organ transplant due to complications from type 1 diabetes in 2013 and has since been on immunosuppressant medications to keep her body from rejecting the donated organs. Despite being vaccinated and receiving a booster shot, she remains at high risk of death if she were to contract COVID-19.

Up until this year, the district had been accommodating her needs, Packard told the Wisconsin State Journal at the start of the school year. Last spring, when the district pivoted back to in-person learning, Zorko was able to teach her in-class students from home with the help of other West High staff who were present in the classroom, a method Zorko said worked and that she was hoping to continue this year.
Plans for a roughly $600 million piece of the massive Alliant Energy Center expansion are coming in way over Dane Countys budget and arent shaping up the way County Board and committee members expected.

All three developers who submitted proposals for the first phase of the project ditched the expansion of the Dane County-owned Exhibition Hall and instead focused on the construction of a private hotel  a major change from what the county was looking for in its master plan for the center.

Even with the scaled-back proposals, theres a huge budget gap: Dane County would need to come up with about $100 million in public dollars under current project plans. The county doesnt have a plan for how to come up with that much money.

We dont have $100 million to spend on that right now, Dane County chief financial officer Charles Hicklin told members of the Alliant Energy Center Redevelopment Committee on Tuesday.

Two developers have been asked to adapt their plans by Friday to cut costs. But even if thats successful, Sup. Dave Ripp, 29th District, said hes disappointed that the plans dont include improvements to the countys existing facilities, namely the 74,000-square-foot Exhibition Hall expansion the county was seeking as part of the projects first phase.
Youll have folks who take jobs to make sure they dont get financially punished, but it may not end up being the right fit for anyone, said Shawn Phetteplace, state manager for the Main Street Alliance, which represents small businesses across Wisconsin. We should be improving the (unemployment) system, improving the tech, improving the way that its implemented.

Another provision in the bill would require DWD to immediately promulgate rules requiring claimants to undergo drug testing in order to be eligible for benefits.

We really feel that we need to help people that have substance-abuse challenges and the only way to identify them is through drug testing so that is an important aspect of the bill, Petryk said.

The legislation also would require the governor to provide employers with up to two $1,000 payments for hiring a person who has been unemployed for more than 27 weeks. The payments would be to help cover costs including wages, training and benefits. The bill dictates that those funds would need to come from the federal American Rescue Plan Act.

A fiscal estimate for the bill was not available Wednesday, but Petryk said the required use of federal funds would sunset when ARPA dollars are exhausted or expire.

Changes underway
It was hurtful at the time. She and I had barely had any interactions. This was purely turf protection.

And now, looking back, I have nothing but pity for those who feel like their only option as a woman in media is to literally lock out the competition. I decided then that, if I ever got the chance, Id help any young woman who asked for it.

The star anchors werent the only mean girls. When I first moved over to MSNBC, one of the women in public relations locked me out of interview requests, while eagerly pitching my colleagues to outlets. When I found out, I was devastated. There was no reason for it, other than she wanted to hurt me and my career.

Which reminds me of one final story.

I was excitedly unpacking my things in a new office at Columbus Circle, after being given my own show at HLN, CNNs sister network, when a head popped in.

Hey! Its so good to finally meet you, she said, clutching a hot tea, a clothes steamer and what looked like 50 pages of scripts. A veteran anchor, she had the show leading into mine, which is always a fraught and delicate situation. Is she happy about that, or pissed? I remember thinking.
TWIN FALLS  The College of Southern Idaho hosted a number of events on Monday, to kick off a weeklong celebration of the schools designation as a Hispanic Serving Institution. The school is Idahos first college or university to receive that designation, for schools where Hispanic students comprise at least 25% of the population.

As part of the days events, Idaho Education News Sami Edge moderated a panel discussion with CSI Hispanic students, to talk about their experiences with the Idaho education system and share their recommendations for how CSI and other colleges can best serve Hispanic youth.

Here is a bit of what they had to say, edited for clarity and brevity:

Edge: What has your experience been like as a Hispanic student in the Magic Valley, and at CSI?

Luiz Juarez, an engineering student from Oakley: Being Hispanic in the College of Southern Idaho has been a good experience so far. A lot of the staff that I work with are of Hispanic origin, so I feel that connection with them. As far as actual faculty, theres not the same connection, just because theyre of other backgrounds. You dont have that same connection in the classroom.

Edge: How does your cultural identity inform your approach to education, and your educational experiences so far?

Aurora Ortiz, from American Falls, who is a double-major in sociology and criminal justice: A part of my identity is that my mom is always telling me that shes making sacrifices so I can have a better life than she does. I feel like thats the same for a lot of immigrants. Thats what makes me want to work hard and push myself, so I dont disappoint her and the expectations that she has for me.

Edge: Who influenced your decision to come to college?

Valeria Cardona Lopez, born in Guanajuato, Mex., who is studying surgical technology: My parents both kept pushing me to go to college because they know what it means to not have an education. They always wanted me to pursue what I wanted to do  theyve always been supportive; theyve always pushed me and theyre there if I need them.

Rigo Acevedo, from Wendell, who is studying health science: The thing that keeps me going is showing my siblings that education is important, and being a good role model for them.

Edge: What barriers did you encounter enrolling in, or affording college?

Aurora: My biggest barrier was not knowing what to do. My mom didnt go to college, I feel like I was on my own trying to figure out where I should apply, and what the deadlines are.

Edge: How could high schools help prepare Hispanic, first-generation students who might have these questions?

Luiz: Having panels like these. Having Hispanic students who are in higher education going to high schools and asking these questions that maybe (students) are too intimated to ask, so maybe we can give a personal insight into what (college) is like, and what weve gone through, and possible insights so they can better succeed in higher education.

Edge: Do you feel youre pulled between two cultures?

Angel Montes De Oca, from Twin Falls, studying chemistry: Id say so. Here at school Im a completely different person than at home. At home I speak more Spanish to my mom and my siblings. Here I speak a lot of English. I have a lot of friends from different cultures, some similar, but at the end of the day my cultural background at my house is different than it is here at the College of Southern Idaho.

Edge: How can CSI best serve, or better serve, Hispanic students?

Valeria: Faculty could do some more work into understanding Hispanic students, just because they dont understand what we go through. Its not just like oh we show up to school for class and then thats it. We have other responsibilities. For some of us, we have to help our parents out because they dont know English as much. I have to schedule appointments for my parents, or even sometimes go (with them) because they dont have those bilingual resources. I have all that on top of my school work there are some staff that dont understand it, and are really very strict about it.

Karla Villafana, from American Falls, studying health science: Something I struggled with last year was you go to college and they expect you to know so much (English). Thats something thats a daily struggle. I feel like I dont know as much English, or my vocabulary isnt as big as I would like it to be I struggle to ask (for help) because I dont know exactly how to word it and I dont know what type of help I should ask for.

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BOISE  U.S. officials on Tuesday approved a long-lasting fire retardant that could significantly aid in fighting increasingly destructive wildfires by stopping them before they ever start.

The U.S. Forest Service approved Perimeter Solutions fire retardant that is intended to be used as a preventative measure and can last for months.

Its similar to the companys red-dyed retardant dropped from aircraft while fighting active wildfires, but its clear and sprayed by ground-based workers and equipment.

The real game-changer here is once you treat it, you can forget it, said Edward Goldberg, chief executive officer of St. Louis, Missouri-based Perimeter Solutions. Its there for the whole year.

The company said its primary use will be by industrial customers such as utility companies and railroads, but it can also be used to protect residential and commercial properties. Its intended to be sprayed on vegetation, not homes themselves, but can be sprayed on such things as wood fences.

The companys existing retardant is also used for that purpose, but can be problematic because its only effective until rain washes it away. Goldberg said the new product will remain effective even after a couple inches of rain, making the one-and-done application less expensive.

Cost, Goldberg said, depends on the topography and ranges from $7,000 to $15,000 per mile (1.6 kilometers) covering a 20-foot (6-meter) -wide strip.

Goldberg said the product will likely be most effective in the drier climate of the U.S. West, and could be applied in the spring to offer fire protection throughout the wildfire season. In July, it was applied to the grounds at former President Ronald Reagans coastal mountain ranch in the Santa Ynez mountains in California near Santa Barbara.

The company also said the new fire retardant had been applied at the start of the wildfire season along a fire-prone, 4-mile (6.5-kilometer) stretch of Californias Route 118. That resulted in no fires that season, the company said, after the previous fire season saw 37 fires start along the same stretch of road.

Stanton Florea, a spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service based at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, said the agency had no comment about its approval of the Perimeter Solutions fire retardant.

Goldberg said the new retardant has the potential to reduce the overall number of wildfires, freeing up firefighters that have been in short supply in recent years.

The fire center on its website said that so far this year, about 46,500 wildfires have burned 10,000 square miles (26,000 square kilometers). Those numbers are at roughly the 10-year average for number of wildfires and area burned.

Currently, there are 52 large wildfires, 18 of them in Idaho, nine in California and nine more in Montana.

The center is currently at National Preparedness Level 3, having dropped down from the maximum level 5 earlier this year when resources for fighting wildfires were hard to come by.

The center said that cooler, more favorable weather will pass through much of the Western U.S. in the next several days, but that drought conditions still leave the region open for continued wildfire potential.

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BOISE  With Idaho Gov. Brad Little out of the state on Tuesday, Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin issued an executive order involving COVID-19 vaccines.

Oh no you dont, said Little, who promised to rescind it in quick order.

The maneuvering of Idahos top leaders came while Little was in Texas meeting with nine other Republican governors over concerns on how President Joe Biden is handling border issues. McGeachin, a far-right Republican, is running for governor. In Idaho, the governor and lieutenant governor dont run on the same ticket.

McGeachins executive order issued Tuesday afternoon seeks, among other things, to prevent employers from requiring their employees be vaccinated against COVID-19. Most mainstream Republicans prefer to stay out of the employee-employer relationship.

I am in Texas performing my duties as the duly elected Governor of Idaho, and I have not authorized the Lt. Governor to act on my behalf, Little said in a statement shortly after arriving in Texas on Tuesday. I will be rescinding and reversing any actions taken by the Lt. Governor when I return.

Little was expected to be back in the state Wednesday evening.

Also on Tuesday, McGeachin was rebuffed by Major General Michael J. Garshak in a query about activating troops and sending them to the U.S.-Mexico border.

As of Wednesday, my constitutional authority as Governor affords me the power of activating the Idaho National Guard, McGeachin wrote to Garshak in the letter obtained by The Associated Press. As the Adjutant General, I am requesting information from you on the steps needed for the Governor to activate the National Guard.

Garshak replied with one paragraph on Tuesday afternoon.

I am unaware of any request for Idaho National Guard assistance under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) from Texas or Arizona, Garshak wrote, in part, to McGeachin. As you are aware, the Idaho National Guard is not a law enforcement agency.

Little in June sent a team of Idaho State Police troopers to the border to help with intelligence gathering and investigative work to stop drugs from coming across the border.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas and Republican Gov. Doug Ducey of Arizona had requested the help under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact that empowers states to help other states in times of disasters or emergencies.

On Sept 24, I spoke to my counterpart in Texas, Lt Gov. Dan Patricks office, and they affirmed the need for additional resources in helping the situation on our southern border, McGeachin told Garshak.

McGeachins office on Tuesday didnt respond to a request for comment.

Attempting to deploy our National Guard for political grandstanding is an affront to the Idaho constitution and insults the men and women who have dedicated their life to serving our state and the country, Little said in a statement.

In May when Little was out of state, she issued an executive order banning mask mandates that Little eliminated when he returned, saying mask mandate decisions were best left to local officials. Little has never issued a mask mandate.

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ELKO, Nev.  A marijuana dispensary has been cleared to open in the Nevada-Idaho border town of Jackpot.

The business could open by Monday, Thrive Cannabis Marketplace representative Dave Brown told Elko County commissioners on Wednesday.

Commissioners unanimously approved a license for the business after Undersheriff Justin Ames reported Thrive had passed background checks.

Ames said the investigation was similar to what would be done for someone applying to enter law enforcement.

We have no issues moving forward with the license, he said.

According to Brown, Thrive interviewed nearly 60 candidates to work in the dispensary, giving preference to Elko and Jackpot residents.

Thirty-five people were hired and were being paid as of Sept. 8. Sixty percent of them are Jackpot residents  including the manager of the facility, Brown said.

The company had been shooting for a mid-September opening of the $1.4 million dispensary. The nearest city is Twin Falls, about 45 miles north of the border.

We look forward to being a successful and safe business in Jackpot, Brown told Elko commissioners, thanking them and county staff for working with the company.

Thrive marketing director John Erminio earlier told the Times-News that the store will be open 24/7, 365 days a year. Shoppers will be able to come inside the store or use a drive-thru option. A range of products will be available including vapes, concentrate and edibles.

Establishment of marijuana sales in the unincorporated town faced an uphill battle as county commissioners originally opposed Nevadas ballot question legalizing marijuana.

Commissioner Rex Steninger was the first to embrace the idea back in 2016, saying I know people that use marijuana and they are normally functioning members of our society. It is a shame that they need to deal with the black market and risk the wrath of the law.

In 2017, the board voted 3-2 to ban growing, dispensing and producing marijuana, with Commissioner Jon Karr joining Steninger in opposition.

They changed course last year after the coronavirus pandemic left Jackpots casino-tourism economy in tatters. Commission Chairman Demar Dahl was the only opponent at that time.

Opposition to the dispensary continued from the Idaho side of the line, where marijuana is still outlawed.

Twin Falls County commissioners expressed concerns about road safety in the region, particularly on U.S. Highway 93.

Erminio said safety and abiding by laws are important to the company.

We want it to be safe, and obviously using and driving is against the law and something that we are not behind, he said.

Law enforcement agencies expect to increase patrols in the area once the dispensary opens.

Anyone engaging in illegal behavior should be aware they risk attracting attention from law enforcement, Idaho State Police said in a statement.

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Have you visited Hershey, PA? It started as a company town. Progressive employers saw a benefit in providing decent housing for their workers until the definition of decent changed and the idea became associated with indentured labor. Labor unions fought for higher wages, and the middle class of the industrial era was born. This middle class saw homeownership as a mark of pride and position.

Company towns had their drawbacks; remember the lyric, I owe my soul to the company store? However, the idea of company housing could be updated to provide affordable housing. The scale of the involvement would depend on a companys resources and their need for a stable and loyal workforce.

Government subsidies for housing usually apply to rental housing. Too often, they produce pockets of poverty and even streetscapes that could be considered slums. They subsidize lower wages for workers in the same way as food stamps and Medicare. They require tax dollars that are part of the social Safety Net that have become an understandable source of resentment to workers who dont qualify for them.

Renting a home is a suitable temporary choice for an individual or family. If there is a reasonable chance they will want to change their location before accumulating equity in a property, ownership is problematic. Maintenance of owned property can be expensive because of lack of skill, poor physical condition, or time. Renting makes repairs a part of a landlords services.

Homeownership accumulates equity in an asset. Asset accumulation is the foundation of the middle class and the entry point to wealth. When individuals have financial security, they develop interests beyond providing for necessities. Thriving communities contain people who have the time and motivation to engage with one another and gain social satisfaction.

Taxing business has significant drawbacks regardless of the popularity of the slogan. However, using incentives included in tax policy can encourage enterprises to compensate their employees at a level that keeps them away from government-provided financial subsidies.

One incentive could concern the cost of underwriting mortgage loans for employees. An employer could become the direct lender, which would allow them to carry the loan as an asset on their books. Another could be providing the down payment as a loan or a benefit of employment. These incentives should not include employees who already benefit from above-average compensation. They should be for workers who need to acquire what are called starter homes. Tax policy should be flexible enough to account for a diversity of business strategies.

I have been researching a term, the B corporation. Currently, there is a certificate program that only denotes faithful adherence to a set of standards promoting social benefit. There is no tax benefit associated with it. What if there was, indeed, a significant tax benefit? B Corps, properly audited, could qualify for special write-offs or even lower tax rates. Shareholders and owners could decide about the advantage of becoming a B Corp. So could workers. In a way, it would be like joining a union shop without paying union dues.

Communities are now finding that housing prices are rising. Part of the reason is lack of supply. Another is the current cost of building materials. However, there is another factor that I rarely hear mentioned. That is the profitability in lower-priced new building. If contractors make ten percent of the overall price of a house as their compensation, why would they want to spend time on a two hundred-thousand-dollar home when they could be building a four hundred-thousand-dollar home? Building apartment homes has the same profit incentive.

Employer incentives for homeownership would create greater demand in the starter home category, promoting demand for lower priced homes. Rental neighborhoods could once again become homeowner neighborhoods.

The chance for college tuition has become a benefit for beginning workers that once was only available with the military. For older, more skillful workers, homeownership provides the same type of individual and social well-being. It is time for those who make money because of the labor of others to reconsider what compensation their workforce deserves.

Linda Brugger, retired from the Air Force Reserve, leaning Democrat and community activist can be reached at IdahoAuthor@outlook.com. She welcomes feedback.

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Recently, State Representatives Scott Bedke, Speaker of the Idaho House of Representatives; Megan Blanksma, Majority Caucus Chair; Jason Monks, Assistant Majority Leader; and Mike Moyle, House Majority Leader, contributed an editorial to the business section of the Idaho Statesman. It was titled: Idahos Local Governments can cut your property tax bills right now with Federal Money.

Responses to the article from local governments have not been positive; some noting that the article is misleading at best; in reality it endorses the idea that local governments have access to federal funds (ARPA legislation) that could and should be used to lower taxes levied by counties. It is unfortunate that our state leaders, once again, come to the table ill- advised when making decisions that will ultimately affect all property owners in the state and all Idahoans relying on public services. They promoted tax law change (house Bill 389) that will continue to have unintended consequences for the quality of service that local governments, by state mandate, must provide. It is interesting to note that the State Tax Commission was specifically told they were not invited to the party. These are the very people who best understand tax law and how it will ultimately affect the population. HB389 creates a tax shift that, while providing exemptions to the middle class and wealthy, increases the tax on all residential property that is valued at or less than $200,000; this is the group of tax payers most hard hit by increasing taxes; some of whom are the most vulnerable members of our society. Finally, the attempt to cap taxes collected from new construction (HB389) also shifts the cost of services for those individuals and business to citizens already on the tax roll.

The article explicitly states: Although the state of Idaho is specifically excluded from using any federal dollars to offset taxes, cities and counties face no such constriction. Wrong again. Local governments are specifically restricted from using these dollars for direct tax relief purposes. If I may quote from the rebuttal made by Latah County,

Cities, Counties and school districts are not allowed to use ARPA money for already -existing services except in terms of replacing lost revenue, and the funds cannot be used for direct tax relief.

In summary, all ARPA expenditures must fit within one of these categories:

Address public health and economic impacts of Covid-19

Replace lost public sector revenue to maintain public services

Provide premium pay to essential workers

Invest in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure

I do not see property tax listed, but the money is meant to be used to improve the circumstances of disadvantaged groups in the communities who are most likely to be affected by the pandemic, these would include but not be limited to: youth, seniors, those living below the poverty level, minorities and others.

The state continues to mandate services be provided by local government (Public defense and road and bridge repair being two of the costliest) and expect counties and cities to fund those services. That can only be done through property taxes unless the state steps up to help with the cost, (these costs can be very high per capita in smaller counties). The State is currently holding a large surplus of revenue generated from online sales tax which could be used to supplement local funds. They could also take back the cost of funding schools allowing for equalized educational opportunities for students, regardless of where they live. This would take the burden off property owners by decreasing local tax and levying it against all employed members of our communities. While we all agree that rising taxes are an important issue that needs to be addressed, it continues to be a balance between the cost of services and the availability of those services.

Lincoln County Elected Officials

Rebecca Wood, Commissioner, Chair

Roy Hubert, Commissioner

Joann Rutler, Commissioner

Cindi Sievers, Clerk

Linda Jones, Assessor

Ann Youts, Treasurer

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The holiday shopping season is about to begin, and Radial, a local warehouse for online orders, is adding Santa's helpers to check off people's Christmas lists and ship out those gifts.

Radial is recruiting for approximately 1,000 seasonal jobs in Martinsville to meet increased eCommerce holiday demands.

The company announced the job offers through Twitter on Tuesday.

"Peak is a crucial time for our clients; year-over-year, the demands on ecommerce increase, making the jobs we are looking to fill absolutely essential," Radial Vice President of Human Resources Sabrina Wnorowski stated in a release. "We pride ourselves on the fun and engaging culture we create at each site and our people truly are the greatest assets at Radial.

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"We are pleased to be able to open so many positions for season employment in the community and look forward to having local talent join our team during such an exciting time of year," the release states.

Workers are needed to process online orders including picking, sorting, packing and shipping, although the release did not make clear what new workers would be paid.

Radial has fulfillment centers at 229 and 307 Hollie Drive in Martinsville and also at 3379 and 3375 Joseph Martin Highway in Martinsville.
In the afternoon, joined by Chriss husband, Rex, I traveled with Brookie Potter to Holston Mountain. We added some other birds to our list, including dark-eyed junco, red-breasted nuthatch and blue-headed vireo. Ill compile the results of the fall count in a future column.

Merlins have a reputation for being pint-sized punks among raptors. The merlin is a member of the falcon family, which also includes birds like the American kestrel and peregrine falcon. I once saw a merlin harassing a turkey vulture, diving on the much larger but less agile bird until the vulture finally veered in another direction. This observation reinforces the merlins reputation for aggressively meeting incursions into its territory by other raptors. Reference guides and websites with passages about merlins often accompany the description with such words as tenacious and fierce, and for good reason.

The merlin has long been associated with the forests of North America and Eurasia, but in recent decades it has proven capable of adapting to life in urban landscapes. In that respect, its merely following the example of its cousin, the peregrine falcon. Formerly making its nest on cliffs, peregrine falcons now substitute skyscrapers as nesting sites. A book for children titled Falcons Nest on Skyscrapers tells the story of a peregrine falcons successfully nesting on a skyscraper in Baltimore, Maryland.

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In another holiday and seasonal related matter, council heard a report from City Clerk/Public Information Officer Landdis Hollifield about the effort to get new and better Christmas decorations for downtown Marion.

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Hollifield said that great progress has been made with the new Christmas decorations and so far $13,000 has been pledged by McDowell County, the city of Marion, private businesses and individuals and orders can be placed now.

However, the prices have gone up from 150% to 200% for the big swags that will go across Main Street. Hollifield said the new solar lights for Main Street and new two wreaths with red bows for the city stage and the depot can be bought now.

This is a huge project for our community and every dollar should be used to the maximum, she said.

In other business, the Marion City Council:
In his first section, This Wet and Water-Loving Land, Simpson takes readers up and down the coast from sleepy Plymouth, to the British Cemetery on Ocracoke Island, through the swampy land of the Lumbee along the Lumber River, winding up in Southport and its gravesites beneath the bending and yearning live oaks, the small sassafras, the unmoving Spanish moss.

In his second section, Short Hills and Sand Hills, he guides us across the Piedmont including poignant stops from his boyhood in Chapel Hills Battle Woods, Forest Theatre and Gimghoul Castle.

He shows us other underappreciated sites all over the region, including, for instance, The Uwharries stand tall and proud high above the same-named river that flows through them, national forest and a mountain range (one of the oldest on earth) comprising the biggest wilderness in the middle of North Carolina, a great wild country scarcely known, if at all, to most of our citizens. South and west of Asheboro, west of Troy and the state zoo and the state pottery center in Seagrove, this 50,000-acre big empty with its almost 1,000-foot peaks lures wild spirits to it, for the Uwharries are full of streams, trails and ghosts.
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Australian medical tech manufacturer Ellume said it had recalled almost 200,000 at-home COVID-19 tests in the United States over an increased chance of false positives.

Ellume's rapid at-home coronavirus test last year became the first to receive emergency use authorisation in the US.

The US Food and Drug Administration issued an alert Tuesday over the "potential for false positive results with certain lots of the Ellume COVID-19 Home Test, due to a recently identified manufacturing issue".

"Negative results do not appear to be affected by the manufacturing issue," the statement said.

"The FDA is working closely with Ellume to assess the company's additional manufacturing checks and other corrective steps to help ensure that the issue is resolved."

A spokesman for Ellume told AFP on Wednesday that 195,000 of the 3.5 million tests shipped to the United States had been affected.

Among them were tests provided to the Department of Defense for distribution to community health programmes.

In a statement dated October 1, the company said the voluntary recall was ordered after false positive results were reported in some product batches at higher rates than expected.

"I offer my sincere apologiesand the apologies of our entire companyfor the stress or difficulties people may have experienced due to a false positive result," founder Sean Parsons said.

The firm said it had identified the cause of the issue and implemented additional controls, and had resumed distributing the tests to US retailers.

"We have and will continue to work diligently to ensure test accuracy, in all cases," Parsons added.

 2021 AFP
The Biden administration said Wednesday that it plans to purchase $1 billion worth of rapid, at-home coronavirus tests and take other actions to quadruple the number of tests available to Americans by December.

By the end of the year, the number of at-home tests should increase to 200 million a month, according to the White House, which will also expand the number of pharmacies in the federal government's free testing program to 20,000, an administration official told the Washington Post.

Increasing access to rapid tests is long overdue, public health experts said.

"This is a big deal," Scott Becker, chief executive officer of the Association of Public Health Laboratories, told the Post. "The White House is beginning to take testing as seriously as they've taken vaccinations."

In recent months, many Americans have reported difficulty getting testing appointments or buying at-home tests, according to the Post.

"These tests are cheap to makeand there's a lot of demand for it out there," Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, told the Post. "The reason the market hasn't worked is because the [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] has made it very difficult for these tests to get out into the marketplace."

One testing advocate said approvals of rapid tests are not coming fast enough.

"This slow trickle of [emergency authorizations] is all but promising to get us a large supply of rapid tests just in time for them to no longer be as effective against Delta," Michael Mina, a Harvard University epidemiologist who has advocated for at-home testing, told the Post. "There are amazing tests produced in the billions that simply don't exist here in the U.S."

FDA officials have said they are concerned that the rapid tests are less accurate than the slower PCR tests that need to be evaluated in a laboratory and can take days to produce results. On Wednesday, the Australian company Ellume recalled roughly 195,000 of its at-home coronavirus rapid tests after discovering an increased chance that the affected kits would return false positive results.

Explore further Australian firm recalls US COVID tests over false positives

More information: Visit the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for more on Visit the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for more on COVID testing.

 2021 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
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African American COVID-19 patients had the least physician follow-up and the longest delays in returning to work, a University of Michigan study found.

Nonwhite (Black, Asian, Latinx) patients also were most likely to be readmitted to the hospital within 60 days of release, according to the study, which characterizes health disparity trends among COVID-19 patients in Michigan that the pandemic has illuminated nationwide.

Sheria Robinson-Lane, assistant professor at the University of Michigan School of Nursing, and her team looked at health disparities in 2,217 COVID-19 patients discharged from Michigan hospitals in the past year and evaluated 60-day patient outcomes by race and ethnicity.

"Compared to white patients, Black patients were most likely to be furloughed (not necessarily related to health) and less likely to receive modified duties related to ongoing health issues," Robinson-Lane said. "Those who were not able to return to work had ongoing long COVID symptoms like fatigue, weakness, shortness of breath and a persistent cough."

Preexisting conditions may have influenced these health trajectories, and higher readmission rates for nonwhite patients could be due to several factors, she said.

"In addition to being more likely to have some underlying health conditions, there is a long history of bias and a low prioritization of the health of persons of color by health care providers," Robinson-Lane said. "In at least one study of COVID emergency room visits, which we cited in our paper, patients most likely to be sent home from the emergency room and then readmitted within 72 hours after presenting with COVID symptoms were Black."

About 41% of patients who were discharged from hospitals to extended care facilities initially came from home, rather than from nursing homes and other health care facilities.

"I don't think people really understand that death isn't the only outcome, and that it may not come quickly," she said. "Some people that were living in the community, perhaps independently, not only ended up in the hospital with COVID, but they never went back home. Instead, they went to a nursing home."

The largest number of deaths post-discharge were among white patients (21.5%), the majority of whom were discharged on palliative care, followed by Black (13.2%), Latinx (11.3%), Asian (10.2%) and Other/Unknown (8.2%). More white patients initially came to the hospital from nursing homes, so they would have more chronic health conditions, but comparatively, more Black patients were hospitalized.

Robinson-Lane said when looking at the findings, it's important to address the ways bias may influence care outcomes for various populations.

"There is a continued push to sort of rationalize differences and make the person experiencing the disparity at fault, versus acknowledging the various systems at play that may influence care outcomes," she said.

"For example, in looking at differences in return to work, we can jump to the idea that persons of color have more comorbid health conditions and say that is the result of lifestyle choices. This places the burden of addressing this issue back on the at-risk population and stops us from asking important questions like why are there such large differences in workplace accommodations."

Robinson-Lane said her study helps illustrate that COVID challenges don't end with surviving a hospital stay.

"There is still a fairly large window afterwards where a lot can go wrong, and there could be a new normal awaiting that patients and families are unprepared for," she said. "I also think that we have to do a much better job in understanding the sorts of community support available so that everyone can receive optimal support."

Better follow-up care for discharged patients is neededincluding more accurate collection of demographic data, she said.

"The study had a large number of people classified as 'other' and there isn't a consistent measure for collecting data on biracial or multiracial individuals, or people who identify as Middle Eastern/North African," she said.

The study appears in the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association.

Explore further 9 percent readmitted after index COVID-19 hospitalization

More information: Sheria G. Robinson-Lane et al, Race, Ethnicity, and 60-Day Outcomes After Hospitalization With COVID-19, Journal of the American Medical Directors Association (2021). Sheria G. Robinson-Lane et al, Race, Ethnicity, and 60-Day Outcomes After Hospitalization With COVID-19,(2021). DOI: 10.1016/j.jamda.2021.08.023
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

When they use an approach called evidence-based practice (EBP), clinicians and counselors rely on the best available research to provide care for patients. EBP could be used by college counselors to help meet the increased need for mental health services on campuses, but what are these counselors' attitudes towards EBP? A new study published in the Journal of College Counseling explores this topic.

Surveys of 205 U.S. college counselors revealed that institutional support and time spent training predict attitudes toward EBP. Therefore, college counseling centers should consider the resources that can encourage the use of EBPs among their counselors.

"It may be helpful for university counseling centers to facilitate a climate that encourages the use of EBP to support a standard of care in the field of college counseling," said lead author Sean Newhart, Ph.D., of Johns Hopkins University.

Explore further Study results support eliminating the term 'schizophrenic' from clinical practice

More information: Journal of College Counseling, DOI: 10.1002/jocc.12191
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Although there have been many studies into COVID-19, and even studies into the effect of SARS-CoV-2 infection on pregnant mothers, relatively few studies have looked at what impact maternal COVID-19 infection may have on the developing fetus.

A new study by researchers in the School of Immunology & Microbial Sciences at King's, published today in Nature Immunology, looked at the immune system of babies born to mothers exposed to SARS-CoV-2 at different stages of pregnancy.

They found that, perhaps unsurprisingly, babies born to mothers with recent or ongoing infection had enhanced levels of circulating mediators as well as increased percentages of cells known to be involved in rapid response to infection. Notably, the ability of immune cells to make mediators was enhanced even in babies born to mothers who had COVID-19 earlier in pregnancy. This suggests that infection in the mother has altered the immune system of the baby.

They also found that the mother did pass antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 to their baby through the placentaknown as the transfer of passive immunity. This was particularly evident if the infection was earlier in pregnancy.

Commenting on the importance of their findings, Dr. Deena Gibbons said that "this data highlights that the neonatal immune system can be affected by maternal state even in the absence of direct infection of the baby. This opens up many avenues of research and suggest that other maternal factors may be capable of changing fetal immune system development".

Sarah Gee, first author of the paper and a Ph.D. student in the Peter Gorer Department of Immunobiology, added that "it will be interesting to know whether these immune changes allow the neonate to make better responses to subsequent infections after birth."

The authors of the paper will be testing more neonates to see whether others may have specific responses to SARS-CoV-2 suggesting the transfer of the virus from the mother to the babywhich does appear to be rare. They are also now looking at how maternal infection may be changing the immune system of the infant and how long these changes might remain.

Explore further Low risk of infection in babies born to mothers with COVID-19

More information: Gee, S. et al. The legacy of maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection on the immunology of the neonate. Nat Immunol (2021). Journal information: Nature Immunology Gee, S. et al. The legacy of maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection on the immunology of the neonate.(2021). doi.org/10.1038/s41590-021-01049-2
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Teaching magic tricks to children with disabilities can enhance their feelings of self-esteem and confidence, a study has shown.

The study, published in Health Psychology Research, is a collaboration between the University of Alabama at Birmingham's Institute for Arts in Medicine, the School of Health Professions' Department of Occupational Therapy and illusionist and educator Kevin Spencer. It shows the effectiveness of a virtual summer magic camp program in enhancing self-esteem in children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Children with ADHD can experience low self-esteem.

Learning and performing magic tricks can benefit children and adults with disabilities. The approach promotes motivation and improves physical, psychological, perceptual or social functions in those who participate and has been shown to be an effective treatment technique. Magic trick programs have also been reported to enhance the self-esteem of children with severe emotional disturbances, and those with a diverse range of developmental disabilities such as communication difficulties, learning difficulties, (emotional) behavioral disorders, autism and ADHD.

The single-group study at UAB included six children with ADHD, ages 8-14, who participated in a virtual magic camp program designed for children with disabilities. The camp met three days a week, in sessions from 45 minutes to one hour, over four consecutive weeks, for a total of nine to 12 hours. Participants completed assessments before and after camp, and they and their parents were individually interviewed after camp to explore their camp experience.

Self-esteem scores after the magic camp were significantly higher than the self-esteem scores before camp. Findings were validated by the participants, who described gains in self-esteem after participating in the magic camp, and by the parents' statements regarding the positive impact on their child's psychological well-being.

ADHD is a common child and adolescent neurodevelopmental disorder. It is characterized by problems with attention skills, staying on task or being organized, and affects academic performance in school and daily activities. In addition to inattention and/or hyperactivity, children and adolescents with ADHD report psychological well-being difficulties such as low self-esteem. Considering their frequent challenges and failures in school, and adverse social feedback they encounter, these experiences may contribute to their low self-esteem.

Research on ADHD shows self-esteem problems can lead to maladaptive coping strategies, such as anxiety and depression, substance use and deviant peer choices, and disruptive behaviors such as bullying and peer victimization, the study says.

Psychosocial interventions have been recommended to help children and adolescents with ADHD cope with difficulties and failures in school and everyday life and increase self-esteem.

Future studies should investigate the holistic impact of magic camps on children and adolescents with ADHD and include measures that tap into other psychosocial attributes, such as social functioning, social skills and self-efficacy, the study authors say.

UAB Magic Camp, which is held each summer, is part of a collaboration between UAB Arts in Medicine, the UAB School of Health Professions' Department of Occupational Therapy, Children's of Alabama and Hocus Focus. UAB occupational therapy students are trained in the protocol developed by illusionist and educator Kevin Spenceran international authority on the therapeutic use of magic tricks in physical and psycho-social rehabilitationand provide instruction to the campers.

Each camper is paired with two OT students for the duration of the three-week summer camp. Through this pairing, campers work at their own speed and have a personalized learning experience. The end of each camp will feature a streamed magic show performance for friends and family. Camp is free and open to children ages 9-18 who have been diagnosed with a disability. The virtual camp welcomes participants from all over the United States and internationally.

Explore further Recommendations developed to prepare children for camp

More information: Hon K. Yuen et al, Contribution of a virtual magic camp to enhancing self-esteem in children with ADHD: A pilot study, Health Psychology Research (2021). Hon K. Yuen et al, Contribution of a virtual magic camp to enhancing self-esteem in children with ADHD: A pilot study,(2021). DOI: 10.52965/001c.26986
The Mouse Brain Atlas is a multi-year, multi-institutional effort to parse the genomics underlying form and function of the mouse brain, which serves as a model for related human research. Credit: Allen Brain Institute

The circuits of the human brain contain more than 100 billion neurons, each linked to many other neurons via thousands of synaptic connections, resulting in a three-pound organ that is profoundly more complex than the sum of its innumerable parts.

In recent years, however, transformative advances in imaging, sequencing and computational technologies have opened the possibility of mapping a human brain truly at the resolution of its molecular and cellular components. While that ultimate goal remains to be achieved, researchers have steadily progressed with a smaller, but no less momentous, effort: an atlas of the mouse brain.

In a special issue of Nature, publishing online October 7, 2021, researchers at the University of California San Diego, with colleagues across the country, describe their progress in collection of papers. Two of the papers, in which UC San Diego scientists served as senior authors, further refine the organization of cells within key regions of the mouse brain and, more critically, the organization of transcriptomic, epigenomic and regulatory factors and elements that provide these brain cells with function and purpose.

"To truly understand how the brain functions, and from that knowledge develop new drugs and therapies to improve human lives and health, we need to see and quantify brain structure, organization and function down to the level of single cells," said Bing Ren, Ph.D., director of the Center for Epigenomics, professor of cellular and molecular medicine at UC San Diego School of Medicine and member of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research at UC San Diego.

"Depth and specificity are essential," agreed Eran A. Mukamel, Ph.D., director of the Computational Neural DNA Dynamics Lab and associate professor in the Department of Cognitive Science at UC San Diego. "We want a comprehensive parts list for the brain, including not just the locations and connections of the neurons, but also the molecular and epigenetic fingerprints that give them their specialized identity."

Gene regulatory elements

Since 2006, there has been a concerted, international effort to create a three-dimensional atlas of the mouse brain, which is roughly the size of a pea and comprised of approximately eight to 14 million neurons and glial cells. Though the mouse brain is not a miniature version of the human brain, it has proven to be a powerful model for studying many human brain functions, diseases and mental disorders, in part because the genes responsible for building and operating both human and rodent organs are 90 percent identical.

In their paper, senior author Ren, colleagues and collaborators at the Center for Epigenomics focused on creating an atlas of gene regulatory elements in the mouse cerebrum, the evolutionarily youngest region of the brain that supports high-level sensory perception, motor control and cognitive functions.

Recent surveys of mouse and human brains have revealed that the cerebrum contains hundreds of neural cell types distributed in different regions, but the transcriptional regulatory programsthe directions responsible for each cell's unique pattern of gene expression, and hence its identity and functionremain unknown.

Ren's team probed accessible chromatinthe stuff of chromosomesin more than 800,000 individual cell nuclei from 45 locations in the adult mouse brain, then used the data to map the state of 491,818 candidate cis-regulatory DNA elements in 160 distinct cell types. Cis-regulatory elements are regions of non-coding DNA that regulate transcription (copying a segment of DNA into RNA) of neighboring genes.

They found that different types of neurons are located in distinct areas of the mouse brain, and the specificity of their spatial distribution and function is correlated, and likely driven, by the unique set of cis-regulatory DNA elements within each cell type. Indeed, some of the cell-type-specific elements identified by Ren's team were independently shown to be sufficient to drive reporter gene expression in specific sub-classes of neurons in the mouse brain.

Surprisingly, most of the mouse brain cis-regulatory elements mapped by the researchers have homologous or similar sequences in the human genome that may act as regulatory elements, and therefore could be used to annotate gene regulatory elements involved in human brain cell type specification.

Ren said the findings provide a foundation for comprehensive analysis of gene regulatory programs of the mammalian brain, including humans, and can assist in interpreting noncoding risk variants that contribute to various neurological diseases and traits in humans.

Transcriptomic and epigenomic elements

Each cell or population of cells produces a unique pattern of RNA transcriptsstrands of RNA transcribed from DNA that convey genetic instructions for the proteins that direct and sustain life. It's estimated that millions of chemical reactions occur within mammalian cells every second. That complexity, combined with growing datasets describing the functions of genes, fats, proteins, sugars and other players in cell biology, have complicated efforts to understand how the brain is organized and functions.

Mukamel and colleagues brought together advanced sequencing techniques to focus on the mouse primary motor cortex, a brain region fundamental to movement. They generated more than 500,000 transcriptomes and epigenomescomprehensive listings of all of the RNA molecules and modifications of DNA that make each mouse brain cell unique.

Using novel computational and statistical models, they created a multimodal atlas of 56 neuronal cell types in the mouse primary motor cortex that comprehensively describes their molecular, genomic and anatomic features.

Mukamel said the study showed that each brain cell has a coordinated pattern of gene expression and epigenetic regulation that can be recognized with high fidelity using different sequencing techniques. Just as an individual has characteristic handwriting, facial features, vocal patterns and personality traits, the authors found that the RNA and DNA signatures of cell types in the motor cortex differentiate each cell from its neighbors.

And just as our human individuality contributes to the strength and diversity of our communities, said Mukamel, the unique patterns of gene expression and regulation in brain circuits support a highly diverse network of cells with specialized roles and interdependent functions.

By combining both epigenomic and transcriptomic data from an unprecedented number of cells, Mukamel said the study demonstrates the potential of single-cell sequencing technologies to comprehensively map brain cell typesa lesson that will help in understanding the more complex circuits of the human brain.

Explore further Addiction-related brain areas examined across species explain some substance use disorders in humans

More information: "An atlas of gene regulatory elements in adult mouse cerebrum, Nature (2021). "An atlas of gene regulatory elements in adult mouse cerebrum,(2021). doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03604-1 "A transcriptomic and epigenomic cell atlas of the mouse primary motor cortex, Nature (2021). doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03500-8 Journal information: Nature
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Chinese Americans and Laotian Americans were over 10 and 14 times more likely to be diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer, respectively, than non-Hispanic white Americans, with incidence rates surpassing other Asian American subgroups, according to results presented at the virtual 14th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved, held October 6-8, 2021.

"It's become increasingly evident that studying the Asian American population as a single racial group may overlook critical ethnic-specific risk patterns," said Alice Lee, Ph.D., MPH, an assistant professor at California State University, Fullerton and lead author of the study. "Our findings identify those at highest risk of nasopharyngeal cancer, who would largely benefit from targeted interventions."

Nasopharyngeal cancer is a relatively rare head and neck cancer known to more frequently affect people of Asian descent. Previous research based on data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database estimates that the incidence of nasopharyngeal cancer is over seven times higher among Asian Americans than non-Hispanic white Americans.

However, Asian Americans represent a highly heterogeneous population with a variety of cultures and lifestyle practices that can differentially impact cancer risk. By disaggregating this population into ethnic subgroups, researchers can better identify the genetic, environmental, and behavioral factors that increase risk for nasopharyngeal cancer, Lee said.

In this study, the researchers identified approximately 9,700 cases of nasopharyngeal cancer in the SEER database, diagnosed in Asian Americans between 1990 and 2014. They divided the population into nine ethnic subgroupsChinese, Japanese, Filipino, Korean, Asian Indian/Pakistani, Vietnamese, Laotian, Cambodian, and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanderand, after adjusting for age, calculated the incidence rates for each group.

Lee and colleagues found that compared with non-Hispanic white Americans, the incidence of nasopharyngeal cancer was 14.71 times higher in Laotian Americans and 10.73 times higher in Chinese Americans. Most other ethnic subgroups also had a significantly increased risk of nasopharyngeal cancer when compared with non-Hispanic whites, with the exception of Japanese and Asian Indian/Pakistani individuals. Lee said this distinction might help researchers better understand the mechanisms underlying the etiology of nasopharyngeal cancer.

"Japanese and Asian Indian/Pakistani individuals will serve as a contrast to the higher risk groups in future research aimed at identifying risk factors and developing more targeted prevention programs," Lee explained.

The researchers also investigated whether these disparities persisted across different nasopharyngeal tumor histologies. While Chinese and Laotians had a higher risk for all histologies examined in the study, the risk was especially high for differentiated and undifferentiated non-keratinizing tumors, the latter of which had a 25-fold higher incidence in both Chinese and Laotian Americans when compared to non-Hispanic white Americans.

Lee hopes these data will promote a shift in the way cancer risk is studied in people of Asian descent and will spur research into the reasons behind these disparities.

"Our findings highlight the need to move away from examining cancer among Asian Americans as a single racial group, since there are clear ethnic-specific disparities that are missed with an aggregated approach," she said. "By identifying those disproportionately burdened by the disease, we can start thinking about the behavioral, biological, and social factors that may contribute to their higher risk."

Limitations of this study include a small sample size for some ethnic subgroups, as well as limited information about patient and lifestyle factorssuch as immigration history, smoking, alcohol use, and body mass indexwhich could confound the differences observed.

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Brain slice from a transgenic mouse, in which genetically defined neurons in the cerebral cortex are labeled with a red fluorescent reporter gene. Credit: Tanya Daigle, the Allen Institute

When you clicked to read this story, a band of cells across the top of your brain sent signals down your spine and out to your hand to tell the muscles in your index finger to press down with just the right amount of pressure to activate your mouse or track pad.

A slew of new studies now shows that the area of the brain responsible for initiating this actionthe primary motor cortex, which controls movementhas as many as 116 different types of cells that work together to make this happen.

The 17 studies, appearing online Oct. 6 in the journal Nature, are the result of five years of work by a huge consortium of researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health's Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative to identify the myriad of different cell types in one portion of the brain. It is the first step in a long-term project to generate an atlas of the entire brain to help understand how the neural networks in our head control our body and mind and how they are disrupted in cases of mental and physical problems.

"If you think of the brain as an extremely complex machine, how could we understand it without first breaking it down and knowing the parts?" asked cellular neuroscientist Helen Bateup, a University of California, Berkeley, associate professor of molecular and cell biology and co-author of the flagship paper that synthesizes the results of the other papers. "The first page of any manual of how the brain works should read: Here are all the cellular components, this is how many of them there are, here is where they are located and who they connect to."

Individual researchers have previously identified dozens of cell types based on their shape, size, electrical properties and which genes are expressed in them. The new studies identify about five times more cell types, though many are subtypes of well-known cell types. For example, cells that release specific neurotransmitters, like gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) or glutamate, each have more than a dozen subtypes distinguishable from one another by their gene expression and electrical firing patterns.

While the current papers address only the motor cortex, the BRAIN Initiative Cell Census Network (BICCN)created in 2017endeavors to map all the different cell types throughout the brain, which consists of more than 160 billion individual cells, both neurons and support cells called glia. The BRAIN Initiative was launched in 2013 by then-President Barack Obama.

"Once we have all those parts defined, we can then go up a level and start to understand how those parts work together, how they form a functional circuit, how that ultimately gives rise to perceptions and behavior and much more complex things," Bateup said.

Together with former UC Berkeley professor John Ngai, Bateup and UC Berkeley colleague Dirk Hockemeyer have already used CRISPR-Cas9 to create mice in which a specific cell type is labeled with a fluorescent marker, allowing them to track the connections these cells make throughout the brain. For the flagship journal paper, the Berkeley team created two strains of "knock-in" reporter mice that provided novel tools for illuminating the connections of the newly identified cell types, she said.

"One of our many limitations in developing effective therapies for human brain disorders is that we just don't know enough about which cells and connections are being affected by a particular disease and therefore can't pinpoint with precision what and where we need to target," said Ngai, who led UC Berkeley's Brain Initiative efforts before being tapped last year to direct the entire national initiative. "Detailed information about the types of cells that make up the brain and their properties will ultimately enable the development of new therapies for neurologic and neuropsychiatric diseases."

Ngai is one of 13 corresponding authors of the flagship paper, which has more than 250 co-authors in all.

Bateup, Hockemeyer and Ngai collaborated on an earlier study to profile all the active genes in single dopamine-producing cells in the mouse's midbrain, which has structures similar to human brains. This same profiling technique, which involves identifying all the specific messenger RNA molecules and their levels in each cell, was employed by other BICCN researchers to profile cells in the motor cortex. This type of analysis, using a technique called single-cell RNA sequencing, or scRNA-seq, is referred to as transcriptomics.

The scRNA-seq technique was one of nearly a dozen separate experimental methods used by the BICCN team to characterize the different cell types in three different mammals: mice, marmosets and humans. Four of these involved different ways of identifying gene expression levels and determining the genome's chromatin architecture and DNA methylation status, which is called the epigenome. Other techniques included classical electrophysiological patch clamp recordings to distinguish cells by how they fire action potentials, categorizing cells by shape, determining their connectivity, and looking at where the cells are spatially located within the brain. Several of these used machine learning or artificial intelligence to distinguish cell types.

"This was the most comprehensive description of these cell types, and with high resolution and different methodologies," Hockemeyer said. "The conclusion of the paper is that there's remarkable overlap and consistency in determining cell types with these different methods."

A team of statisticians combined data from all these experimental methods to determine how best to classify or cluster cells into different types and, presumably, different functions based on the observed differences in expression and epigenetic profiles among these cells. While there are many statistical algorithms for analyzing such data and identifying clusters, the challenge was to determine which clusters were truly different from one anothertruly different cell typessaid Sandrine Dudoit, a UC Berkeley professor and chair of the Department of Statistics. She and biostatistician Elizabeth Purdom, UC Berkeley associate professor of statistics, were key members of the statistical team and co-authors of the flagship paper.

"The idea is not to create yet another new clustering method, but to find ways of leveraging the strengths of different methods and combining methods and to assess the stability of the results, the reproducibility of the clusters you get," Dudoit said. "That's really a key message about all these studies that look for novel cell types or novel categories of cells: No matter what algorithm you try, you'll get clusters, so it is key to really have confidence in your results."

Bateup noted that the number of individual cell types identified in the new study depended on the technique used and ranged from dozens to 116. One finding, for example, was that humans have about twice as many different types of inhibitory neurons as excitatory neurons in this region of the brain, while mice have five times as many.

"Before, we had something like 10 or 20 different cell types that had been defined, but we had no idea if the cells we were defining by their patterns of gene expression were the same ones as those defined based on their electrophysiological properties, or the same as the neuron types defined by their morphology," Bateup said.

"The big advance by the BICCN is that we combined many different ways of defining a cell type and integrated them to come up with a consensus taxonomy that's not just based on gene expression or on physiology or morphology, but takes all of those properties into account," Hockemeyer said. "So, now we can say this particular cell type expresses these genes, has this morphology, has these physiological properties, and is located in this particular region of the cortex. So, you have a much deeper, granular understanding of what that cell type is and its basic properties."

Dudoit cautioned that future studies could show that the number of cell types identified in the motor cortex is an overestimate, but the current studies are a good start in assembling a cell atlas of the whole brain.

"Even among biologists, there are vastly different opinions as to how much resolution you should have for these systems, whether there is this very, very fine clustering structure or whether you really have higher level cell types that are more stable," she said. "Nevertheless, these results show the power of collaboration and pulling together efforts across different groups. We're starting with a biological question, but a biologist alone could not have solved that problem. To address a big challenging problem like that, you want a team of experts in a bunch of different disciplines that are able to communicate well and work well with each other."

Other members of the UC Berkeley team included postdoctoral scientists Rebecca Chance and David Stafford, graduate student Daniel Kramer, research technician Shona Allen of the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, doctoral student Hector Roux de Bezieux of the School of Public Health and postdoctoral fellow Koen Van den Berge of the Department of Statistics. Bateup is a member of the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, Hockemeyer is a member of the Innovative Genomics Institute, and both are investigators funded by the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub.

Explore further An ultra detailed map of the brain region that controls movement, from mice to monkeys to humans

More information: Neuroscience: Mapping the mammalian motor cortex, Nature (2021). Journal information: Nature Neuroscience: Mapping the mammalian motor cortex,(2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03950-0
Branch-like axons (in blue) connect with neurons (in green) in the last stage of an important neural circuit that links several major parts of the brain. Credit: Dong lab/UCLA

A UCLA study using mice reveals new insights into the wiring of a major circuit in the brain that is attacked by Parkinson's and Huntington's disease. The findings could hone scientists' understanding of how these disorders arise in the human brain and pinpoint new therapeutic targets.

Published today in Nature, the research is part of a special package of 17 articles written by a consortium of neuroscientists nationwide. The work was conducted under the auspices of the BRAIN Initiative Cell Census Network (BICCN) as part of a massive effort to compile a complete atlas of cells in the brain.

The ambitious project aims to unlock the mysteries of the primary motor cortex, a part of the mammalian brain that controls movement.

With funding from the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institutes of Health's BRAIN Initiative, the UCLA team meticulously investigated how the mouse brain is wired. Their research analyzed 600 pathways and cataloged nerve-cell connectivity to create a wiring diagram of critical brain circuits.

"Like any explorer traveling deep into uncharted territory, we make maps to guide future visitors," said Dr. Hong-Wei Dong, the study's lead author and a professor of neurobiology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. "My lab mapped out the circuitry of the mouse brain to enable other scientists to conduct more accurate experiments in mouse models of diseases like Parkinson's or Huntington's disease."

Dong and his colleagues labeled a small number of individual neurons with a green dye, enabling the team to track their connections with other neurons through arm-like projections called axons and dendrites. These connections, called circuits, process and communicate distinct types of sensory information in the brain.

In particular, the researchers scrutinized the cortico-basal ganglia-thalamic loop, a crucial neural circuit that links regions in the brain that regulate movement, emotions and complex cognitive processes like learning and memory. The loop is affected by neurodegenerative disorders like Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease, and a range of other neurological and psychiatric disorders.

Neurons (in fuchsia) make up the first stretch of an important neural circuit that links several major parts of the brain. Credit: UCLA/Dong lab

"We identified smaller circuits within the cortico-basal ganglia-thalamic loop that process information for specific functions," said Nicholas Foster, the study's first author and a project scientist in Dong's lab. "Some of these subcircuits enable the brain to control movement of the arms, legs and mouth. Other circuits process emotional input or complex cognitive processes, such as learning the consequences of actions."

Foster said the research gives scientists a baseline of what normal brain wiring looks like and pinpoints smaller circuits that could go awry when neurological diseases progress.

"These subcircuits could reveal new treatment targets and serve as physiological benchmarks to measure the effectiveness of new drug treatments in preclinical experiments," Foster said.

When researchers detect shortened axons and dendrites in the neurons of a particular circuit in a mouse with a certain disease, for example, they can observe where the disease is having an effect. And if scientists administer treatment to the mice and see axons and dendrites developing normally in that area, they can surmise that the treatment is effective.

"Our results illuminate clearer paths for future studies to follow by illustrating how different brain structures organize into networks and communicate with one another," said Dong, who also leads the UCLA Brain Research & Artificial Intelligence Nexus. "These findings will enable scientists to better understand how dysfunction in one small brain region can undermine the function of its larger neural circuit."

Dong and Foster's future research will explore the subthalamic nucleusan important target for deep brain stimulation to treat Parkinson's diseaseand how it connects to the cortico-basal ganglia-thalamic loop.

Explore further Distinct Parkinson's disease symptoms tied to different brain pathways

More information: Munoz-Castaneda, R. et al, Cellular anatomy of the mouse primary motor cortex, Nature (2021). Journal information: Nature Munoz-Castaneda, R. et al, Cellular anatomy of the mouse primary motor cortex,(2021). doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03970-w
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

At the beginning of the pandemic, Penny Weismuller, director of Cal State Fullerton's School of Nursing, said everyone in her Southern California neighborhood would come outside at 7 p.m. to make noise in celebration of the health care workers on the front lines.

Her neighborhood still comes out to honor the resiliency of health care workers, especially nurses.

Nurses have always had to be resilient, Weismuller said. The pandemic showcased that resiliency and pushed its limits in some cases.

She said for some nurses, this is their first disease outbreak. Weismuller, who for 30 years worked in disease control and epidemiology, has experienced multiple outbreaks. But this pandemic "has been very difficult for all of us."

With the fourth wave of cases, hospitalizations and deaths, some nurses and other health care professionals are burning out.

In a Mental Health America survey from June to September 2020, 93% of the more than 1,100 health care workers surveyed were experiencing stress. The survey found that 86% reported experiencing anxiety, 77% reported frustration, 76% reported exhaustion and burnout, and 75% said they were overwhelmed.

Emotional exhaustion was the most common answer when health care workers were asked what had changed for them recentlyfollowed by trouble sleeping, physical exhaustion and work-related dread.

About 39% of health care workers said that they did not feel like they had adequate support.

We spoke to four nurses on the front lines of the pandemic in Los Angeles County and one in academia to ask what challenges they've faced since March 2020 and how they are coping, personally and professionally. Here's what they said.

Anahiz Correa

Anahiz Correa remembers a strong connection with a patient at South L.A.'s Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital, where she is the head of nursing for the intensive care unit.

She and the patient shared a last name, and he happened to be from the same town in Mexico as her grandfather.

Correa had to fill in on night shifts when the hospital was short-staffed, on top of her normal duties. That's how she met and connected with this man.

"We knew that the chances of his survival weren't high," Correa said.

He had been in the intensive care unit for about two weeks, and by the end of his second, the unit's physician, with the patient's consent, made the decision to intubate him.

Correa helped the patient call his wife, knowing it might be the last time he would be able to speak to her. Correa and the other nurses stood by the patient to support him and each other in that moment.

"Witnessing that conversation, it really put me through how many times my staff has witnessed these conversations during this time," Correa said.

Correa's advice:After that phone call, Correa and her team stepped out of the room and talked about what they witnessed and how it made them feel.

Correa said those kinds of conversations occurred often. For some members of her team, that was enough. Others chose to seek professional helpincluding Correa. She began talking to a therapist about her work in the ICU.

She also relies on meditation and moments of gratitude before and after work to get herself in the right mindset to perform her duties in caring for her community.

When it came to helping her staff, Correa was integral in establishing a post-ICU clinic at Martin Luther King Jr. hospital.

She said nurses worried about whether discharged patients would get the specialty care they needed to completely recover from a bout with severe COVID-19.

"Our nurses were feeling like, 'We're saving these patients, but what was going to happen to them after?'" she said.

Correa collaborated with a physician to create the clinic where ICU nurses can participate in patients' follow-up care.

"It's absolutely healing for a lot of them to know that our patients are being taken care of," she said.

Joyce Leido

Joyce Leido is a support system at work and at home. Leido, chief nurse executive for Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center, looked after her team of nurses during the pandemic as well as her husband, who is a registered nurse in an ICU at another Kaiser hospital.

Her husband would come home from work with stories about telling a patient's out-of-town relatives that their loved one was going to die, or of caring for a critically ill patient.

She knew that if her husband was coming home with "this emotional and mental anguish and pain," then every single nurse at her hospital was dealing with the same thing.

"It was a magnifying glass. I just don't get to hear all of the stories from our 1,300 nurses [at Kaiser Los Angeles], but I know they're feeling the same thing," she said.

As a leader, Leido said, she was intentional about providing resources for them.

Leido's advice:Leido said she did a lot of listeningnot only about day-to-day experiences, but also fears. Many of the concerns she heard from her staff (and her husband) were about not knowing when the increase in patients would slow down or when the pandemic would end.

She provided a space to talk or cry for anyone who needed it. From that, she learned that many nurses carried a lot of guiltespecially when a patient died.

"He's an excellent nurse, but he would say, 'I wish I could have done something different,'" she said about her husband.

In these scenarios, she could tell a reassuring truth: They did the best they could; the patient knew they were cared for with 120% of you; this is a terrible disease; and there's nothing more that you or anyone else could have done because we all are doing our best.

Another way Leido has helped her team is by certifying her dogs Lani, a soft-coated Wheaten terrier, and Feta, a golden retriever, to be therapy dogs. Lani was a respite for Leido after a long day at work, so she shared her furry support with her staff. Her dogs go to work once a week, and just about every employee at the hospital finds a moment to destress with them.

Penny Weismuller

Typically, students attending Cal State Fullerton's nursing program need to fulfill a certain amount of direct-care hours, earned by working in a hospital setting, to become a nurse. In 2020, students earned their hours by assisting Orange County's emergency pandemic operations.

Penny Weismuller, director of the program, said the county public health department had students plan the conversion of a vacation facility to a hospital setting, conduct contact tracing and administer COVID-19 tests and vaccines.

"The hospitals didn't have the capacity for them to go into critical care because they didn't need the stress of a student at that moment," Weismuller said.

Weismuller's advice: People need to recognize that health care workers are all humans and don't have unlimited capacity to endure stress.

"In order to continue to provide care to other people, we have to take care of ourselves. ... We cannot burn through our bank of the amount of stress we can endure in our life," she said. "It's so important right now that those of us that are here need to be able to stay here as we get through the end of this pandemic hopefully."

When nurses are reaching their limits, Weismuller said, all public and private medical entities need to help them develop resilience.

She serves on the board of the California Assn. of Colleges of Nursing, which preaches "resilience, reflection and reimagination."

"In order to develop resilience, we need a time to reflect on what we've learned, what we could do differently, and reimagine how we can enhance our care for ourselves and others, for the future," Weismuller said.

Nancy Sumner

Nancy Sumner just celebrated her 45th anniversary at the Dignity Health Glendale Memorial Hospital and Health Center. She's a registered nurse in the emergency room and a retired colonel in the U.S. Air National Guard, where she specialized in aeromedical evacuation.

What has helped Sumner cope through the various phases of the pandemic?

"I always say Air Force core valueswhich [are] integrity, service before self, and excellencehave been my mantra," she said.

It reminds her, she said, to focus on what she can do for a patient and not allow herself to feel overwhelmed before exhausting other options or asking for help.

"You have to cope, get it done and move on," Sumner said.

Lately, Sumner's team has had to cope with a new challenge: political divisions entering the hospital room.

Sumner said a family recently denied that a young patient who died had been infected with COVID-19. It was frustrating to deal with family members who were not vaccinated, refused to wear masks in the emergency room and yelled at nurses. The family has every right to be angry after the death of a loved one, Sumner said. But other people in the packed emergency room also needed to be kept safe.

"Pre-COVID-19, nurses, front-liners, you were respected a little bit more. Now a lot of nurses don't feel as respected. ... We do feel respected by our hospital and staff," she said.

The other challenge for Sumner is that she doesn't talk about her experiences at work with her family, citing patient confidentiality and not wanting to scare them.

It's not easy for them to understand that she's taking precautions at work and feels safe, because family members are thinking only about her exposure to the virus.

But her adult children can tell when she's especially tired or when Sumner mentions she "dealt with a lot of COVID" that day.

Sumner's advice:Sumner finds solace in the fact that she can remove her scrubs at the end of her shift and change into clean clothes before leaving the hospital.

"It really made a difference for our staff because they felt they can leave everything [from the day] behind," she said.

When she has a difficult day, Sumner will take a longer route home. It gives her time to debrief, think about what she can do differently another day. She also listens to calming music or a meditation app. Or sometimes she just yells in the car, which she finds cathartic.

On her days off, decompressing means playing with her grandchildren, taking them horseback riding, going on a walk or swimming.

Noemi Gomez

Noemi Gomez is a registered nurse, a certified lactation consultant and a perinatal nursing supervisor for East Los Angeles Doctors Hospital. Gomez said she continues to find her work emotionally fulfilling, despite the challenges brought on by the pandemic.

She said East Los Angeles Doctors Hospital cares for an underserved community so the gratitude from patients is visible, especially from expecting or new mothers.

During the pandemic, expecting mothers have worried about possible exposure to the coronavirus when going to the hospital for prenatal care. Gomez said she participated in a lot of community outreach through public forums to educate the community about the safety protocols the hospital implemented.

The other challenge in the prenatal unit was that families couldn't always be physically present.

"We provide a very family-centered approach here, and having to limit the number of visitors that could be at the bedside during that time was a challenge. We had to be able to accommodate the patient with the father of the baby or a designated support person throughout their hospital stay, while simultaneously keeping the other patients and ourselves safe," Gomez said.

For pregnant women who tested positive for COVID-19, a designated support person wasn't able to be in the delivery room, so Gomez and other nurses in the unit were their support system.

"The role of the nurse as being also emotional support, I think, was just so much more enhanced during this pandemic because our pregnant mommies really needed us. It's like we became their second moms because their mom wasn't able to be with them and give them guidance at this moment of becoming a new mommy," she said.

Gomez's advice:Gomez said she always tries to find the positive.

"As hard as that might be sometimes, I try to surround myself with people that are optimistic," she said.

That positivity, for Gomez, can often be found in nature. So she regularly hikes and jogs.

She equates it to finding a little normalcy in the midst of all the chaos.

How can the community care for nurses?

Nurses The Times spoke to were unanimous: Saying a simple "thank you" goes a long way for health care workers.

They also talked about working together as a community to end the pandemic by practicing hand hygiene, wearing a mask and following local safety guidelines.

And Kaiser's Leido emphasized vaccination.

"The best way that you can help and provide support to all of our front-line health care workers, all of our essential workers, is to get vaccinated," Leido said.

Mental health resources for nurses

 Front-line workers, including health care workers, who are concerned about their mental health can visit Mental Health America to be screened and find resources and support.

 The American Nurses Association recommends nurses contact their organization's employee assistance program if stress, anxiety, fear, rumination or depressed moods are interfering with their functioning. Be proactive and do not wait until you're in crisis.

 Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation Grand Challenge is a program that aims to create a healthy nurse population.

 The American Psychiatric Nurses Association provides self-care strategies.

 Nurse associations collaborated to create the Well-Being Initiative, a nurses' guide to mental health support services.

 The National Alliance on Mental Illness created a guide for health care professionals that covers when to reach out, confidential and professional support, peer support resources, building resilience and other resources.

2021 Los Angeles Times.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Pancreatic cancer cells (blue) growing as a sphere encased in membranes (red). Credit: National Cancer Institute

A simulated pancreatic cancer clinical trial screening process showed that Black patients were significantly more likely than white patients to be excluded from clinical trials for a wide range of eligibility criteria, according to results presented at the virtual 14th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved, held October 6-8, 2021.

Clinical trials determine the safety and efficacy of cancer therapeutics and pave the way to approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Previous research has proven that racial and ethnic minorities are significantly underrepresented in clinical trials.

Clinical trials that do not include diverse populations may present an incomplete or inaccurate picture of how patients will respond to various medications, explained the study's lead author, Andrea N. Riner, MD, MPH, a research fellow and general surgery resident at the University of Florida in Gainesville. "Inequitable representation of participants leaves gaps in our knowledge, limits opportunities to receive investigational therapeutics, and subsequently perpetuates disparities in survivorship."

In this study, Riner and colleagues at VCU, under the mentorship of Jose G. Trevino, MD, surgeon in chief of VCU Massey Cancer Center, examined the criteria that are typically used to determine whether a patient will qualify for a trial. She explained that many trials use criteria that have been in place for a long time. However, depending on several factors, "these criteria may not be medically justifiable."

Riner and colleagues simulated a screening process for a pancreatic cancer clinical trial, using data from patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma who sought care at VCU Massey Cancer Center in Richmond, Virginia, from 2010-2019. They compiled common eligibility criteria for phase II and phase III pancreatic cancer trials listed in clinicaltrials.gov, and modeled inclusion and exclusion based on clinical variables determined from billing codes and medical records.

The criteria that had the highest propensity for exclusion of Black patients were related to nutrition and infectious diseases. They included:

Albumin, a marker of nutrition (14.07 percent of Black patients were excluded, compared with vs. 7.91 percent of white patients)

HIV (3.136 percent of Black patients were excluded, compared with 0.286 percent of white patients.)

Hepatitis B (1.742 percent of Black patients were excluded, compared with 0 percent of white patients.)

Hepatitis C (9.06 percent of Black patients were excluded, compared with 3.43 percent of white patients.)

Several other criteria also disproportionately excluded Black patients, although the results did not reach statistical significance. The only criteria that excluded more white patients than Black patients was a history of prior cancer treatment. Fourteen percent of white patients were excluded based on prior cancer treatment, compared with 9.06 percent of Black patients. This difference reflects more white patients receiving neoadjuvant therapy for their current pancreatic cancer, Riner explained.

When researchers removed certain criteria that they felt were not crucial to patient safety or well-being, the difference in eligibility was minimized, Riner said.

"The results of our study confirmed our suspicion that standard criteria lead to significantly fewer Black patients being eligible for pancreatic cancer clinical trials than white patients," Riner said. "We are creating bias in who may even qualify to participate, and we are sometimes doing so without a truly valid medical reason to exclude someone."

Riner said the study could be used to inform modifications to existing clinical trial enrollment.

"Modifications should be made on a trial-by-trial basis given the range of therapeutics being investigated," Riner said, noting that chemotherapy trials may require different criteria than immunotherapy trials based upon how the drugs work. "These decisions could be made between the sponsor of the trial and an advisory board of medical experts that would be able to decide which criteria are absolutely necessary."

"Alternative eligibility criteria can improve the diversity of participants, provide more equitable access to investigational therapeutics, and reduce disparities in survivorship, without compromising patient safety or study results," Riner added.

One limitation of the study is that it was based on data from a single cancer center, so the results may not be generalizable to the broader public. Also, based on the demographics of the patients in the study, researchers were only able to compare eligibility between patients who identified as Black or white. Riner said the team suspects their findings may be applicable to other minority groups, but further research would be necessary to confirm the results.

Explore further Pancreatic cancer trials are no more diverse now than over a decade ago
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

For the millions of older Americans who take care of a loved one with major medical needs, the pandemic has posed special challengesand the resulting feelings of stress, depression and isolation may affect how well they can perform their caregiving responsibilities, a new study suggests.

The findings highlight the importance of considering unpaid caregivers, as well as patients, when health systems, clinics and public policymakers make decisions related to the pandemic and beyond.

Published in the journal Innovation in Aging, the study uses data gathered through the National Poll on Healthy Aging to explore the experiences of people between the ages of 50 and 80 who provide unpaid care for an adult relative or friend with a chronic illness or disability.

Though the poll was taken in mid-2020, the findings have implications during the current surge of COVID-19 cases across the country, and beyond, says Amanda Leggett, Ph.D., first author and a research assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Michigan Medicine, the University of Michigan's academic medical center.

Leggett and colleagues are also conducting ongoing studies of the pandemic-era experiences of family caregivers for people with dementia, and people who have been hospitalized for COVID-19 at Michigan Medicine.

"We're finding in this new study, and in our other work, that caregivers across the board have really struggled during the pandemic with getting appointments for the person they care for, and with policies that governed whether they were allowed to be present during an appointment or a hospitalization for the person they care for," Leggett said. "These results show that caregivers who experienced challenges related to access to medical care for the person they care for were especially more likely to have negative mental health symptoms and worse well-being."

She continued, "Other research has shown that a stressed caregiver is a major predictor of rehospitalization and emergency visits for the patient. Stressed caregivers are less effective in the vital role that they play in the patient's life."

Key findings

The new study shows that 60% of the 311 caregivers surveyed had experienced at least one of five challenges that the study team asked about, and 23% reported experiencing at least two of these challenges.

The poll asked caregivers if they had experienced challenges related to getting medical care for the person they take care of, getting support services from professionals, getting support from family or friends, understanding public health guidelines, or reducing the amount of care they gave to prevent the spread of coronavirus to the person they support.

The poll also asked caregivers if they had received an increase in support from family and friends, which only 18% had; 21% said they had experienced a decrease in support from family and friends during the early phase of the pandemic.

In general, experiencing these challenges and lack of supports was associated with the caregivers' level of feeling stressed, their symptoms of depression and difficulties with interpersonal interactions that they reported on other poll questions.

Half of the caregivers surveyed said they felt isolated, and 20% had a score on a brief mental health questionnaire suggesting they had signs of depression or had lost pleasure in activities they once enjoyed.

Nearly 59% of the caregivers in the study were female, and 65% were between the ages of 50 and 64. Just over 69% were white, 8% were Black, 15% reported Hispanic heritage, and 7% were from other racial/ethnic backgrounds or multiple backgrounds.

Leggett worked with the U-M Biosocial Methods Collaborative team and the NPHA team to develop the questions in the poll.

She notes that as the pandemic continues, and as the role of unpaid caregivers gains attention in society and in public policy, it's important to note the specific role of in-person interactions between caregivers and clinicians. This is especially true during a patient's hospital stay as a form of training for providing at-home care.

"Caregivers often learn how to provide post-hospital care at the patient's bedside from nurses and others, so if they aren't able to be at the bedside, they won't know what's going on and that will make the transition to home more difficult," she explained. "You think you're out of the woods getting out of the hospital, especially for someone with COVID-19, but it's not the case."

She also notes that public health guidelines aimed at reducing the spread of coronavirus need to more specifically address how unpaid family caregivers can continue to provide care safely, especially if they don't live with the person or they work outside the home in addition to providing caregiving at home.

Explore further Adverse mental health symptoms up during pandemic for parents, caregivers

More information: Amanda Leggett et al, Care Challenges Due to COVID-19 and Mental Health Among Caregivers of U.S. Adults With a Chronic or Disabling Condition, Innovation in Aging, DOI: 10.1093/geroni/igab031 Amanda Leggett et al, Care Challenges Due to COVID-19 and Mental Health Among Caregivers of U.S. Adults With a Chronic or Disabling Condition,
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A peer-reviewed Environmental Working Group study shows how water quality data, community water system maps and demographic data such as race and ethnicity can help identify where cumulative cancer risks from polluted tap water plague communities already threatened by other environmental injustices.

The study, just published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, bolsters EWG's August request that the Environmental Protection Agency adopt drinking water as a metric in its environmental justice mapping tools, to create more equitable water quality policies and actions.

"EWG's analysis provides a framework for how policymakers can make safe drinking water part of the equation when analyzing the effects of new and existing public health policies," said Uloma Uche, Ph.D., EWG environmental health science fellow and one of the study's authors.

EWG's framework is designed to demonstrate to the EPA, the agency's National Environmental Justice Advisory Council and other decisionmakers that it is both feasible and important to consider drinking water quality data when identifying communities with significant, urgent environmental quality issues.

The framework fills a gap in the capacity of the EPA's Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool to identify communities facing multiple environmental injustices. The tool, known as EJSCREEN, aggregates and evaluates 11 environmental indicatorssuch as the presence of lead paint, proximity to Superfund sites and existence of nearby wastewater dischargesbut not drinking water quality.

EWG researchers applied the new framework to evaluate the cancer risk posed by toxic cocktails of tap water contaminants in California and Texas, where more than one in five U.S. residents lives. They combined data from three sources: the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey, the boundaries of the service areas for more than 7,000 community tap water systems and the results of federally mandated tests conducted by those systems.

EWG scientists calculated the cumulative effects, over a lifetime of exposure, of 30 carcinogenic tap water contaminants found across over 7,000 tap water systems in the two states. They found communities that skewed more Hispanic and/or Black, according to the American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates for 2019, had a statistically significant increase in risk from cancer due to exposure to tap water contamination, compared to communities with lower ratios of these populations.

The contaminants included 21 that are federally regulated, such as arsenic, nitrate, radium and disinfection byproducts, and nine that are not, including hexavalent chromium and 1,4-dioxane.

The new study builds on earlier EWG peer-reviewed research, published in 2019 in the journal Heliyon, finding that cumulative exposure to mixtures of toxic chemicals commonly found in U.S. tap water could result in more than 100,000 cancer cases.

The EPA's public health goal for tap water contaminationthe level of a chemical contaminant in drinking water that does not pose a significant risk to healthis a one-in-one-million lifetime risk of cancer.

The agency has not amended its list of regulated water contaminants since 2000, and it rarely revisits the maximum levels it sets for regulated contaminants, even when the latest science shows a clear risk to public health from cancer or other serious illnesses at amounts far lower than legal limits.

"Drinking water rarely, if ever, contains only one contaminant, yet federal regulators assess the public health risks of tap water pollutants one at a time," said EWG Science Analyst Sydney Evans, who worked on both studies.

"With our newest research, EWG continues to shine a light on the need for policymakers to evaluate the actual threat posed by the combinations of carcinogens so many people have no choice but to drink," she said.

U.S. drinking water infrastructure is long overdue for large investments that could significantly reduce contamination and better protect public health. Some water quality issues can be addressed with in-home water filters, but no filter can remove all contaminants. The most effective filters are unaffordable for many people facing the worst contamination.

"Everyone should have access to affordable, safe drinking water in the U.S., regardless of where they live," Evans said. "Safe water has become a privilege when it should be a right."

EWG's study didn't evaluate the levels of or risks from carcinogenic contaminants in private wells, which are not tracked by any government entity.

Explore further Study estimates more than 100,000 cancer cases could stem from contaminants in tap water

More information: Uloma Igara Uche et al, Community-Level Analysis of Drinking Water Data Highlights the Importance of Drinking Water Metrics for the State, Federal Environmental Health Justice Priorities in the United States, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2021). Journal information: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Uloma Igara Uche et al, Community-Level Analysis of Drinking Water Data Highlights the Importance of Drinking Water Metrics for the State, Federal Environmental Health Justice Priorities in the United States,(2021). DOI: 10.3390/ijerph181910401

Provided by Environmental Working Group
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, public health experts and scientists have struggled to get some segments of the public to heed their warnings about the importance of following public health measures aimed at controlling the spread of the virus.

Lise Saffran, an associate teaching professor at the MU School of Health Professions, studies public health and earned a master's degree in fine arts and creative writing from the University of Iowa Writer's Workshop. In a recently published commentary titled "Public health storytelling practice," she explains how storytelling can help public health officials resonate key messages with their intended audiences. Below are her comments:

Stories are more than just numbers

As scientists and public health officials, we need to first understand we are telling a story when we are speaking to the public, whether we realize it or not. We tend to just relay data, but we cannot just assume the data speaks for itself.

One powerful tool is metaphors. In the context of tracking the spread of COVID-19, an example could be thinking of case numbers being monitored in specific regions not as "Big Brother" watching over us, but rather as a smoke alarm. We may not always smell the smoke, but we need to know when there is smoke circulating nearby so we can help protect ourselves and others.

Another example could be when public health officials relay trends about COVID-19 case numbers to the public. Instead of simply stating that case numbers remained fairly steady one week and sharply rose the next week, an effective metaphor could be describing a sink that has water dripping slowly from a faucet one week and quickly overflooding the next week.

Employing that empathetic creativity and imagination helps our stories become more memorable and less abstract.

'Flat' characters versus 'round' characters

It can be tempting to label those who sometimes fail to comply with public health measures as simply selfish or evil individuals who just don't care, but effective storytelling requires putting aside assumptions and trying to understand why complex, multi-faceted human beings are making certain choices in a particular context.

For example, college students across the country were naturally excited to socialize with friends after coming back to campus during the fall semester of 2020 after their spring semester was halted abruptly by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some chose to socialize outdoors given the evidence that the coronavirus tends to spread more easily indoors, but in the cold wintertime, that outdoor socialization proved to be difficult. To help address these concerns, Northeastern University, for example, installed dozens of outdoor firepits and propane heaters.

Rather than simply labeling college students who choose to socialize during a pandemic as reckless and unsympathetic, remember that socialization is particularly important for the mental health and development of young adults.

Telling a more complete story not only highlights the complexities of an issue at hand, it also can lead to strategies to address the issue, as shown by the outdoor firepits at Northeastern University. In a TedTalk titled "The danger of a single story," Chimamanda Adichie said, "The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete, they make one story become the only story."

Social determinants of health

Finally, it is crucial to take a step back and recognize that social and structural determinants of health, such as education levels and socioeconomic status, influence behavior far more than individual choices. As Americans, we tend to think of ourselves as individuals making individual choices, but research shows a person's behavior varies widely depending on the context that person is in.

This applies to all aspects of public health, not just COVID-19. Before telling someone to stop smoking cigarettes, it would be wise to consider the stresses that person might be under at work, school or home that is causing the urge to smoke in the first place. Rather than telling someone to exercise more, consider if the person lives in a neighborhood with sidewalks available to exercise on. Empathy goes a long way when considering the circumstances disadvantaged people find themselves in, often by no fault of their own.

Explore further Crisis communication and the COVID-19 pandemic

More information: Lisa Saffran, Public health storytelling practice, The Lancet (2021). Journal information: The Lancet Lisa Saffran, Public health storytelling practice,(2021). DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00841-2
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Tiffany Braley, M.D., M.S., an associate professor of neurology at University of Michigan Health, was surprised when a patient she was caring for explained why they needed to go home from the hospital as soon as possible: their pets.

After she heard several more patients voice concern for their cats, dogs and other animals at home as they sat in the hospital, she soon realized that this occurrence was not uncommon. In many cases, it involved patients who were the sole caregivers for their pets.

"I've had patients with acute strokes explain to me that they needed to get home to their pets, even though it was in their best medical interest to be admitted or remain in the hospital," Braley said. "Through these interactions, it became evident to me that we needed to learn more about the scope of this problem and how we could find better ways to address it."

Braley, who also loves animals, then reached out to fellow animal lover colleagues in neurology, social work, nursing, and U-M's Office of Patient Experience to investigate this question. The first step: learning about pet owner experiences from Michigan Medicine's own patient advisors.

Study results

In partnership with U-M's Office of Patient Experience, Braley and colleagues sent a survey to patient and family advisors who previously offered to help share their experiences to improve the patient experience. The purpose of the survey was to understand how a need to care for animals at home might affect how hospitalized patients follow their doctors' recommendations.

Researchers published their findings in the Journal of Patient Experience.

More than half of the 113 people who responded to the survey (63%) reported difficulty figuring out pet care during their own hospitalization and/or that of a loved one.

Nearly a third reported that pet care needs impacted their decision, the decision of someone they knew, or both, about whether to stay at the hospital when the medical team recommended it.

And 16% of respondents said they know someone who has left the hospital against medical advice to go care for their pets.

"These patients are stressed already; how do you heal or accept staying in the hospital for treatment when you're also worried about the welfare of your beloved pets?" said first author Carri Polick, R.N., a doctoral student at the U-M School of Nursing. "It can be hard if a patient doesn't have a lot of social contacts or family members."

Although social work is typically brought in to help patients come up with care plans for their pets, they may not be notified until several days into the hospitalization, typically when the situation is urgent, and are usually forced to turn to the patient's social circle for help. Unfortunately, some patients do not have available social support, and there are limitations in what is available for assistance.

"We see a rising need for a formalized services to identify patients early in their course who need assistance with pet care, and a need to provide better resources, before it becomes a crisis and impacts their care or the welfare of their pets," said Braley, the senior author and principal investigator.

The study team notes that, while this study is an important first step, the survey was small and included mostly women and white participants who live in nearby Washtenaw, Wayne and Oakland counties, which could indicate low estimations of the issue at large. To learn more about the overall scope and impact of pet care needs in a larger, more diverse group, the team is now studying people currently hospitalized or in the Emergency Department at Michigan Medicine to explore how pet care needs affect their hospital outcomes.

They've also started talking with potential local partners, including the Michigan Humane Society, to brainstorm what a future foster care collaboration could look like.

"This research is further evidence that pets are truly a part of the family and an important part of how and why we make decisions," said Matt Pepper, the organization's president and CEO. "Here at Michigan Humane, our work has taught us that people will forego their own health and safety for that of their pet. This study reinforces the need for communities to support families inclusive of the pet."

Braley said a pilot program might start by focusing on a specific unit or patient population firstperhaps people needing inpatient rehabilitation, or parents of a child in the hospital who have an animal back at home. That way, the team could start helping people and their pets while they continue learning about the needs.

"Given the importance of pets to human health, follow-on studies are needed to explore how pet ownership impacts patients' healthcare decision-making and outcomes," Braley said. "If there is a link between pet ownership and adherence to medical treatments, I hope that early assessment of pet care needs and implementation of patient-centered methods to meet these needs will become standard of care for hospitalized patients."

Explore further Black adult patients have worse patient safety in hospitals

More information: Carri S. Polick et al, The Impact of Pet Care Needs on Medical Decision-Making among Hospitalized Patients: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Patient Experience, Journal of Patient Experience (2021). Carri S. Polick et al, The Impact of Pet Care Needs on Medical Decision-Making among Hospitalized Patients: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Patient Experience,(2021). DOI: 10.1177/23743735211046089
A group of GOP Congress members released an alternative to President Joe Bidens 30x30 land conservation initiative on Tuesday, pushing for more attention to productive management of working lands.

Conservation is part of our Montana way of life  we know how to be good stewards of our lands, Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, wrote of the proposal.

I believe its a conservative principle to conserve," Daines wrote. "Thats why Im pushing a new Western Conservation Principles initiative that uses science-based, time-tested, locally driven practices to bring about meaningful conservation outcomes, unlike President Bidens vague 30x30 initiative.

Daines co-authored the 9-page document with Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Washington. The version released on Tuesday afternoon contained 39 signatures, including House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, Wyoming senators Liz Cheney and John Barrasso and Idaho senators James Risch and Mike Crapo.

The proposal came in response to an initiative in Bidens Interior Department to protect 30% of the United States land and water by 2030. Bidens America the Beautiful initiative anticipates a 10-year national conservation effort of collaborative, voluntary, locally led projects. Its goals include protecting natural systems, adapting to climate change, and improving access to the outdoors.

America's farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners have an important role to play in combating the climate crisis and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, by sequestering carbon in soils, grasses, trees, and other vegetation and sourcing sustainable bioproducts and fuels, Biden said in the America the Beautiful announcement.

Coastal communities have an essential role to play in mitigating climate change and strengthening resilience by protecting and restoring coastal ecosystems, such as wetlands, seagrasses, coral and oyster reefs, and mangrove and kelp forests, to protect vulnerable coastlines, sequester carbon, and support biodiversity and fisheries.

In a video statement, Daines said Bidens proposal lacks clear information about what lands would qualify toward his 30x30 goals. Many stakeholders, he added, fear the administrations plan is just a way to lock up more land, and that he supports eliminating frivolous lawsuits" and conserving healthy landscapes instead of ambiguous land status.

Several Montana-based conservation groups contacted for response to the Western caucuses plan said they havent had enough time to review it. Alliance for the Wild Rockies Executive Director Michael Garrity responded to the lawsuit challenge, noting that winning lawsuits against federal agencies was proof the challenges were well-grounded.

President Trumps lawyer Rudy Giuliani got his law license suspended for filing what the court found to be frivolous lawsuits, Garrity said. No one has ever accused us of filing a frivolous lawsuit in court, and by definition when we win, its not frivolous. Congress wrote these laws and included citizen enforcement provisions because theres no police to call when these agencies do something unlawful.

The GOP Western Conservation Principles focus on invasive species; overgrown, diseased and infested forests; and post-wildfire restoration. Members of the Senate and Congressional Western caucuses called for streamlining the National Environmental Policy Act to increase active forest management, better control of invasive species, reducing overpopulation of wild horses and burros on rangeland, bringing more attention to federal Superfund hazardous waste cleanup projects, encouraging visitation to national parks, improving the checkerboard land access that mixes federal and private land through better mapping of easements, accelerating processing of endangered species recovery, offering title transfers on federal water facilities in need of repair, removing the D.C. knows best limitations on conservation policies, and providing creative financing agreements to leverage public-private partnerships.

It specifically calls for returning management of grizzly bears and gray wolves to state wildlife agencies.

In reporting and monitoring public lands, the proposal calls for better mapping and release of data on federal mineral resources. It also seeks audits of existing federal land programs to ensure alignment with their original mission and verify these funds are leveraged for the best rate of return on investment and going to where they are most needed.

We believe this objective assessment of our land is the best indicator of conservation efforts underway on all of our lands regardless of what the land is being managed for  be it wilderness, recreation, energy, grazing, timber or wildlife, the group statement noted.

Members also called for changes to court challenges of environmental reviews, saying, we can protect access to the courts while preventing the current abuses experienced.

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Missoula City Council advanced a proposal Wednesday to keep the emergency winter shelter at Johnson Street, with the capacity to house 150 people this year.

The Administration and Finance Committee voted 6-2 to move approving the Poverello Center as a partner in the project to the full council, where it will be discussed on Oct. 18. The move comes as Missoula and Missoula County continue to navigate an increasing unhoused population in the area due to the pandemic.

The city is using $311,000 out of its $14.2 million allocation of federal American Rescue Plan money, while the county added $100,000, half of which is from its ARPA allocation. The Human Resource Council is using $205,000 from a previously received federal grant for the project.

The shelter will open on Nov. 1 and operate through April, according to city documents. Last year, the shelter was open until the end of April.

We're trying to keep people alive, that's the bottom line," said Emily Armstrong, Missoula's Reaching Home program manager. "That's what this project is all about."

The emergency winter shelter was established in late 2020 due to the COVID pandemic. The Poverello Center operates the program and receives money from the city and county to do so.

It was created in response to the Pov having less capacity due to COVID CDC regulations. The Salvation Army did not operate a winter shelter last year.

The Johnson Street Community Center  the site of the winter shelter  is city-owned and part of redevelopment plans, so it was not immediately clear if it could be used this winter, Armstrong said. The property was bought by the city through the Missoula Redevelopment Agency several years ago.

This prompted a search for a new site and building, which came up empty. Officials worked with a realtor and sent out a general call to the public for a new location.

Criteria for a new site include an open floor plan, plumbing, capability for on-site laundry and proximity to bus routes.

Armstrong said they received several tips on potential sites from the public, but none of those who contacted the city owned the property they were suggesting. The strategy, though, has worked in the past  a landowner reached out to the city and county to volunteer land for the temporary safe outdoor space, the sanctioned camp near Buckhouse Bridge.

However, no viable sites were found to place the shelter outside of Johnson Street, Armstrong said. Improvements were made to the building and city documents state that the facility is expected to need $65,000 in expenses. Payroll will take the majority of the funding, totaling $538,107.

Thirty staffers will be hired to run the facility, with personnel on site 24/7, said Jesse Jaeger, the Poverello Center's director of development and advocacy.

"We appreciate our ongoing partnership with the City of Missoula and Missoula County on making sure our most vulnerable neighbors have a place to shelter during the coldest months of the year," Jaeger wrote in an email.

"We are especially thankful to our neighbors in the Franklin to the Fort neighborhood," he added. "The leadership of the Poverello Center understands that we are not an easy neighbor to have and welcomes ongoing feedback about how we can balance the needs of the neighborhood while also keeping people experiencing homelessness alive over the winter."

The hope, city officials said Wednesday, is that once the Trinity Apartments, the Villagio Project and other low-income and affordable housing options become available, the stock will increase and and more vouchers can be used in those places. At that point, fewer and smaller shelters will be needed, officials said.

For now, there are issues with voucher usage. The affordable housing crunch in Missoula has increased rental costs and few units are available.

Jim McGrath, the Montana Housing Authority's director of HUD programs, wrote in an email on Wednesday that "all of our voucher programs have seen both lower utilization and lower success rates in the past year than ever before."

The success rate measures how many families with a voucher can find somewhere to live before it expires. That rate used to be around 90%, but is now much lower, McGrath said, also noting the importance of the Trinity and Villagio projects.

"We are expecting to see better results in the coming months," McGrath wrote. "But its hard out there for anyone looking for housing."

City officials said they have received criticism from those who live in the Johnson Street shelter area. There is a school and park nearby, and the city has been looking at increasing security. Those details have yet to be finalized, city officials told the Missoulian.

The city even hired an outside media firm, Big Sky Public Relations, to get out information regarding the Johnson Street shelter and launched an Engage Missoula page about the topic. Ginny Merriam, the citys communications director, said 4,956 mailers were sent out to homes and businesses in the area.

There will be a neighborhood meeting, via Zoom, on the winter shelter on Oct. 12. There will also be an open house at the Johnson Street facility on Oct. 28.

"Both the city and the Poverello Center staff heard from people in the neighborhood around the Johnson Street shelter ... we want to address their concerns as fully as possible this year," Merriam said.

Homelessness in Missoula has been an ongoing issue and has spurred debate among several municipal political candidates for the coming election.

The problem is complex, Armstrong said.

"It's a symptom of a lot of other social issues," she said. We can work to address houselessness as much as possible and we are and that's important. We won't make a lot of progress if we don't become aware of all the other social issues also at play."

The city and county have collaborated extensively on combating the issue of homelessness in Missoula. Funding for the Poverello Center flows from both entities and money earmarked to help unhoused people is written into the fiscal year 2022 budget for the city and county.

"The city has really worked as a leader in (finding) the space and the county has worked to partner in the financial aspect," said Chris Lounsbury, Missoula County's chief administrative officer. "But in this last 18 to 24 months with COVID, it really gave the county and the city an opportunity to think a little more expansively about things."

The pandemic exacerbated the number of unhoused people, and in response a number of decisions were made by both government entities in the late spring and summer.

Missoula County recently approved a motion for staff to send an application for another outdoor camping site, dubbed the authorized camping area, which drew criticism from nearby businesses.

In another move, last month the city took action on an illegal camp across the street from the Poverello Center. Some at the site were given gift cards, a city news release said, while others were given jump-starts on their cars. The site was then cleared.

Both the city and county are looking at other options as far as where to place unhoused people, under the operation shelter project  sites near the Missoula County jail and Missoulas city cemetery have been discussed as options.

Missoula County is also looking to move the temporary safe outdoor space.

I just think the piece for folks to remember is these are really big, difficult issues, but we are moving as quickly as we can," Lounsbury said.

Jordan Hansen covers news and local government for the Missoulian. Shout at him on Twitter @jordyhansen or send him an email at Jordan.Hansen@Missoulian.com

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A law firm in Sidney is challenging a new law prohibiting private businesses from requiring that employees be vaccinated, arguing it runs afoul of the state Constitution's equal-protection clause and its guarantee of a "clean and healthful environment."

It's the second lawsuit challenging Montana's "vaccine discrimination" law, which is the only such law in the country that applies the prohibition to the private sector. Other states that have recently passed similar laws only affect government workplaces.

Netzer Law Office in Sidney filed the complaint in Richland County District Court on Tuesday. It names the state, Republican Attorney General Austin Knudsen and Commissioner of Labor and Industry Laurie Esau as defendants.

Joel Krautter, an attorney at the law firm, filed the complaint. Krautter is a former Republican state lawmaker, having served a single term as the representative from House District 35 before losing to a 2020 primary challenge.

House Bill 702, passed by Republican lawmakers and signed into law by Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte in May, aims to prevent workplaces and customers from discrimination based on their vaccination status.

While the conversation leading up to its passage focused mainly on the possibility of "vaccine passports" for COVID-19, it applies to all types of vaccinations.

The complaint argues that HB 702 "limits the ability of Netzer Law from exercising its professional judgment in determining the conditions of employment when necessary to address the health and safety of employees or potential employees, or to provide for the health and safety of its clients" and others. The law firm also has an office in Billings.

In making the case that HB 702 prevents the law office from providing "a safe and healthy environment" to clients and others, the lawsuit cites the fact that the ongoing surge in new COVID-19 cases throughout the state has overwhelmed critical care capacity at many hospitals. Gianforte last week dispatched four National Guard members to Sidney Health Center, and earlier in September sent 20 Guard members to the two largest hospitals in Billings.

Only 40% of eligible Richland County residents have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus as of Oct. 6, according to data published by the state Department of Public Health and Human Services. In Yellowstone County, that number is 53%.

HB 702 includes a carve-out for long-term care facilities but not hospitals or other medical settings. It also allows schools and day cares to continue to require some vaccinations. The complaint cites the former exemption to argue that the law hinders the firm's ability to meet the state's equal-protection guarantees, as it is "unable to provide its employees, potential clients, clients and other third parties the same healthy workplace environment that Montana nursing homes, long-term care facilities and assisted living facilities are able to provide."

In a statement Wednesday, AG spokeswoman Emilee Cantrell wrote: "Attorney General Knudsen will defend Montanas law. No one should be treated differently because of their vaccination status."

Department of Labor and Industry spokeswoman Jessica Nelson declined to comment.

The law firm is asking the court to grant an injunction to prohibit the enforcement of HB 702 and that the court declare HB 702 unconstitutional. It also requests reimbursement for the costs of litigation.

Netzer Law's complaint was filed two weeks after the Montana Medical Association, a Missoula hospital, medical clinics and people with compromised immune systems filed the first challenge to HB 702, in federal court in Missoula. That complaint makes the case that the vaccine law violates federal protections for people with disabilities and work safety standards in hospitals. It also argues that the new law prevents hospitals from appropriately addressing unvaccinated staff.

Despite skyrocketing COVID cases over the past two months, Montana's statewide vaccination rate has continued to lag behind the national average. Just 53% of Montana's eligible population is vaccinated, compared with 66% of Americans.

Unvaccinated Americans are 4.5 times more likely to get infected and are 11 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than those who have been fully vaccinated, according to studies published last month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Federal and state agencies, as well as medical experts and organizations from across the country, have emphasized that large-scale trials have shown each of the approved vaccines to be safe and effective in adults.

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" " How'd you like to be a professional mermaid? International Mermaid Swimming Instructors Association

If you're fascinated by mythological creatures, love to swim and know the entire score to "The Little Mermaid," your time has officially come. Mermaiding is an honest-to-goodness thing, and it's poised to explode at a mermaid school or birthday party near you. All you need is a tail (more on that in a minute)!

While it might seem like this is popping up out of nowhere, mermaids (and mermen) have actually been at it for years now. "Mermaiding has been around for 20+ years and I think it will only continue to grow in popularity." says Shelia Kieser, lead mermaid instructor at AquaMermaid in Austin, Texas in an email interview. "We teach ages 7-80 and they all have different reasons for wanting to come and experience being a mermaid or merman."

Amy Gardner recently took her first mermaid class at the Austin AquaMermaid location. She got interested when her daughter went to a mermaid party and the kids' mothers decided to try it as well. "My favorite skill that I learned that day was the dolphin movement, where I only used my hips/core to swim and go back and forth," she recalls via email. "I was baffled not to use my legs  it just seemed like something you would do. Your legs, or now 'mer-legs' just follow behind you in a wave-like motion."

Yes, the typical mermaid school has classes for both adults and children. And AquaMermaid, which currently has 12 locations worldwide, offers some very popular bachelorette parties.

"Mermaids have always been fairly popular but I think it's really popular now because mermaid tails are more accessible now than ever before. I also think it plays nicely into the unicorn trend as well," emails Brianne Bell, manager of the Toronto AquaMermaid location. "There are tons of mermaids on social media and even YouTube so that definitely helps people learn about mermaiding as well."

Kayla Marrama is a mermaid instructor (and professional belly dancer) in the Northern Virginia area. "I personally have loved mermaids since I was young and I have also loved the water," she says via email. "For children, when they have the chance to meet a 'real' mermaid and learn from one, they often are very excited to do so. Adults that are interested [in mermaiding] tend to do so for a few different reasons  to live out a childhood fantasy [or] to do something different and interesting." But, she notes, "It's a lot harder than it sounds!"

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Going to Mermaid Class

Indeed, mermaiding is definitely best done by confident swimmers. "We know that swimming in any capacity can be a tough workout. So, one must be a strong swimmer before putting on a tail, as a tail adds a new level of difficulty," Marrama explains. Tails may weigh between 15 and 35 pounds (6.8 and 15.9 kilograms).

Many mermaid schools require participants to be able to pass basic swim tests. "The minimum requirement to join the class is to be at least 7 years old and able to independently swim at least 25 meters [82 feet], tread water for one minute, and float on front and back," says Bell.

" " These kids attend a mermaid class at AquaMermaid in South Florida. AquaMermaid

In class, you'll learn some pretty cool tricks, like how to swim with a tail, the mermaid "high five," and how to do handstands, which soon translate into synchronized mermaid swimming skills. (Some classes also teach kids about caring for the oceans.)

Indeed, mermaid swimming is a killer way to get or stay in shape. Kieser of AquaMermaid Austin reports that a single hour of mermaid swimming can burn up to 600 calories. "It offers a total-body workout from toning your glutes, quads and abs, combined with great cardio exercises working on breath control underwater," emails co-head mermaid Rachael Rodeck with AquaMermaid Chicago.

Mermaiding is also ideal for people as they age. "AquaMermaid is a low impact sport that benefits from the buoyant effect of the water that takes pressure off joints, alleviating pain and discomfort," Rodeck explains.

At your first class, you usually just need to wear a swimsuit. The school will normally supply the monofin and the tailskin. The monofin is a piece of equipment with foot pockets that allows you to propel forward in the water. "Mermaid swimmers start by putting the monofin on both feet and the tailskin is pulled up to the waist," says Rodeck. "Then, the fabric of the tailskin is pulled over the monofin at the end to make a complete mermaid tail."

Oh yes, the tail! If you plan to stick with this, you may want to buy your own. AquaMermaid sells tails in a variety of waist sizes for $105 each. But professional mermaids spend a lot more. "Most realistic mermaid tails range from $500 to $3000," Kieser says.

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Mermaid Careers

Wait, you say, you can be a professional mermaid? You bet. Although some people take the classes just for fun and exercise, there's a growing contingent of professional mermaids around the world. Iryna Auchynnikava, co-head mermaid at AquaMermaid Chicago estimates that there are about 1,000 professional mermaids currently working in the U.S.

There's presently no standard certification program that all mer-people must pass, according to Marrama, who is a professional mermaid as well as an instructor. However there are area-specific programs and curriculum. "Also, there are several international mermaid conferences every year which attract 300 mermaid enthusiasts or more," Auchynnikava notes.

So how do you pursue a mer-career? Many pros become mermaid swim instructors, mermaid entertainers (at birthday parties and the like), "mermaid influencers" on social media and even custom mermaid tail makers. There are also mermaid modeling opportunities to be had. "This would be doing swimming or dry land events where you're there mainly for people to look at," Bell says. "You might be swimming in a pool or tank during a corporate event, or posing for a photoshoot, etc." Most professionals do a variety of these occupations.

Much like any career, there's some investment required on the front end to become a professional mer-person. First, a potential pro must have be strong swimmer and have a background teaching swimming or synchronized swimming, if he or she plans to be an instructor. "Early childhood education courses would be useful if you plan on doing kids' birthday parties and working with kids a lot," adds Bell. "Business courses such as marketing also come in handy if you plan on running your own business."

Getting paid to mermaid? Sounds like a real splash!

Now That's Cool Want to be a mermaid, but strapped for cash? Try your hand at making your own tail using materials like spandex, lycra, neoprene and more! Check out these tutorials for step-by-step instructions, or just to marvel at the resourcefulness some people have.
Yotam Ottolenghi and his co-author Noor Murad (PA)

Given the time it takes to research, compile and publish a recipe book, most of the titles hitting book shops right now started life long before the pandemic began. Shelf Love is different.

The first Ottolenghi Test Kitchen cookbook  co-authored by founder Yotam Ottolenghi and head of the OTK (as its known) Noor Murad, with recipe contributions from other team members  was conceived during the UKs first lockdown, as an ode to that one shelf in the back of your pantry (or fridge or freezer) where all kinds of pulses, grains, condiments, spices and other culinary surprises lie in wait.

Noor and I were having these conversations and it became really clear that something really quite dramatic is happening, Ottolenghi says, thinking back to spring 2020. People were really excited about the subject that we were were covering in this book, which is kind of rediscovering their kitchens, rediscovering old simple ingredients that you can get in abundance.

The Israeli-born chef, writer and restauranteur was unwell with Covid when the OTK  the recipe testing and writing hub, located under a railway arch in Londons Camden  was forced to close in March.

It wasnt as bad as other people got it, but it was bad enough for me not to be able to do anything for two or three weeks. Luckily, I didnt need to go to hospital I felt very sorry for myself for that period, it was was pretty tough, he recalls of being struck with the virus.

With their founder out of action, Murad and the rest of the team shuttered the kitchen, and went their separate ways to wait out lockdown.

But we stayed very connected with, you know, the beauty of social media and Zoom calls, says Murad, who returned to her native Bahrain (she has dual nationality, thanks to an English mother). That was when cookbook inspiration struck.

Raiding! is what Shelf Love is all about, she continues. Emptying out your shelves, using up what you have, being quite creative and playful with recipes, replacing certain spices with others based on what you have at home.

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As any Ottolenghi fan would expect, Middle Eastern flavours loom large, as do vegetarian dishes, like chickpeas cacio e pepe and sweet potato shakshuka, as well as carnivorous delights like sesame-crusted feta and black lime beef skewers.

What, you might ask, is a black lime? Murad says she wanted to put the dried citrus fruit on a pedestal in the new book: Theyve got a quite sour, bitter flavour  in the best way. I really want people to feel familiar with black limes, to the point that they will always have a bag or a jar in their cupboards.

Ottolenghi agrees: If you put [a black lime] into a stew without doing anything to it, it will give it a really, really different twist. It changes the whole flavour profile.

The 52-year-old, who moved to London in 1997 to study pastry making at Le Cordon Bleu, says hes noticed a real shift in attitudes towards food since he arrived, in terms of the knowledge of ingredients, that desire to test, try new things and enjoy new ways of cooking. You go to the supermarket, the most popular thing in a tub is houmous  its not coleslaw.

The chef himself is partly responsible for the phenomenal popularity of Middle Eastern cuisine in the UK. After founding his eponymous delicatessen in Notting Hill in 2002  which attracted a cult following and introduced customers to ingredients like zaatar, tahini and pomegranate molasses  the Test Kitchen opened the same year, followed by two more delis, two Ottolenghi eateries as well as the trendy Rovi and Nopi restaurants.

What was it like being a business owner during the pandemic, when restaurants were forced to close for months at a time and thousands of establishments had to shut their doors for good?

It was very traumatic, very difficult, very painful, Ottolenghi says. I never thought it would come to that moment. But now, Im glad to say that we are almost back to normal. Luckily, we havent had to shut anything and the business is doing well.

(Elena Heatherwick/PA)

Those dark days gave him a renewed sense of gratitude: I think thats the kind of trauma that stays with you. Everybody experienced that with the pandemic, but in their own worlds and in their own ways. For me, its just, I dont take anything for granted anymore.

And, looking on the bright side, both chefs agree that lockdown gave them one unexpected gift  more time with loved ones.

Murad says: My whole family lives in Bahrain. It had been five years that Id been away, so to be able to spend that time with them, which I never thought I would get again, was really quite priceless.

Ottolenghi admits the sophistication of my palate [went] down dramatically during that period due to a lot of stodge eaten while catering to Max, eight, and Flynn, six, his sons with husband Karl.

For me, being at home with my family was just lovely. I mean, the downside is the homeschooling, but I think that everybody struggled with homeschooling.

But the upside is so nice, because we really got to spend quality time getting to know each other, doing things that we havent done before  nature walks and things like that. And its just been really precious.

Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love by Noor Murad and Yotam Ottolenghi (pubished by Ebury Press, 25; photography by Elena Heatherwick) is available now.
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In his first section, This Wet and Water-Loving Land, Simpson takes readers up and down the coast from sleepy Plymouth, to the British Cemetery on Ocracoke Island, through the swampy land of the Lumbee along the Lumber River, winding up in Southport and its gravesites beneath the bending and yearning live oaks, the small sassafras, the unmoving Spanish moss.

In his second section, Short Hills and Sand Hills, he guides us across the Piedmont including poignant stops from his boyhood in Chapel Hills Battle Woods, Forest Theatre and Gimghoul Castle.

He shows us other underappreciated sites all over the region, including, for instance, The Uwharries stand tall and proud high above the same-named river that flows through them, national forest and a mountain range (one of the oldest on earth) comprising the biggest wilderness in the middle of North Carolina, a great wild country scarcely known, if at all, to most of our citizens. South and west of Asheboro, west of Troy and the state zoo and the state pottery center in Seagrove, this 50,000-acre big empty with its almost 1,000-foot peaks lures wild spirits to it, for the Uwharries are full of streams, trails and ghosts.
Underground mining exploration moved closer this week to returning to Butte. The Montana Department of Environmental Quality has approved Butte Blackjack Operating LLCs application for an exploration license.

On Monday, DEQ issued a final environmental assessment for the proposed exploration near Walkerville. The agency announced Wednesday it had approved the exploration license.

Blackjack will be required to file a reclamation and revegetation bond with DEQ in an amount to be determined by the agency.

Mark Hartmann, Blackjack director, said Wednesday the company is pleased about DEQs approval of the exploration license.

Were very excited about being able to get started, he said.

And that could happen as soon as Blackjack is confident it has all the necessary permits to proceed, he said.

DEQ reported that the agencys draft environmental impact received a total of 67 comments from 26 commenters.

One commenter observed, The private lands [where exploration will occur] are surrounded by neighborhoodsthat have been significantly impacted by past mining activities. It has taken years to repair the damage from past mining. These exploration activities will have a significant impact to the neighborhoods.

Other commenters expressed concern about how Blackjacks exploration activities could affect Superfund remedies. A portion of this exploration project falls within the Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit Superfund site boundaries.

DEQ said the EPA is responsible for requirements pertaining to mineral exploration within a Superfund site. DEQ will regularly communicate with the EPA to share observations and updates about site activities, as well as to coordinate site inspections, the agency said in a news release.

There was concern expressed too about how engaged Blackjack will be with the public as the work looms, proceeds and concludes.

Blackjack proposes to drill exploration holes and repair the Chief Joseph portal in order to extract 500 tons of material for metallurgical testing.

Following its initial application, Blackjack submitted an update that lowered the total number of proposed exploration holes from 37 to 35 and the number of drill pads from 12 to 10.

Drilling will occur at two sites: The Badger site is northwest of the Berkeley Pit and east of Walkerville. The Missoula site is in the open area southwest of the Lexington Mine and St. Lawrence OToole Church and northeast of the corner of Missoula Avenue and 5th Street.

The project would disturb about 3.54 acres. In addition to drilling and underground activities, Blackjack would use an existing road and overland travel to access the drill sites and would construct 225 feet of new road between the Chief Joseph portal and a 21,000-cubic-yard waste rock pile. All disturbances would need to be reclaimed.

Blackjack plans to determine whether there is enough silver, zinc and other metals to merit moving forward with an underground mine proposal. Combining past data and reports with the planned drilling, the company intends to develop an estimate of the quantity and quality of minerals underground.

Blackjack has said exploration would occur over two years, followed by up to two years of reclamation.

DEQ intends to issue the exploration license once a final bond is approved. An exploration license is limited to exploration projects and is not an operating permit to mine, which would require a separate and additional review process.

To view the Final EA and Decision Document, visit: https://deq.mt.gov/mining/Programs/hardrock#accordion2-collapse4

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Utility regulators have denied NorthWestern Energy a substantial rate increase following a plea to reconsider from Montanas consumer advocate.

Public service commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to dismiss NorthWesterns attempt to add $26.4 million to the base rate it collects annually from Montana customers. That base rate is $600.8 million.

NorthWestern argued last spring the rate increase was necessary because energy prices were coming in higher than it had forecaste. The utility asked that the rate increase be made permanent and that consumers bear the entire cost.

The rate increase started showing up on customers bills in July with PSC approval. For the average NorthWestern Energy residential customer, the increase was $26.40 a year.

But Montanas Consumer Counsel Jason Brown objected primarily for two reasons. First, NorthWestern and its customers normally split unexpected costs with customers picking up 90% and NorthWestern Energy paying 10%.

Secondly, that base rate isnt usually adjusted on the fly. Usually, the base rate is set after a months-long review of rates in general. The base rate becomes the foundation for what the utility is paid, then once year unanticipated expenses are either added or subtracted to the bill. The base rate stays the same until the utility requests another review of its rates in general, which it can do at any time.

Brown reminded commissioners that one point, NorthWestern agreed to only adjusting base rates during its next general rate case.

This rate increase was one of two proposed in the last six months. Together, the increases would have added $48.60 a year to the average residential customers bill. Additionally, the utility has sought preapproval to add the costs of a new gas-fired power plant to customer bills. It was expected the gas plant would have added $80 a year to customer bills, but NorthWestern withdrew its application for preapproval. The cost of the gas plant will be taken up again at a later date.

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DUBUQUE  A Dubuque County jury saw two videos of Milton Serrano Jr. getting into fights, including a few seconds of a fatal clash with Chantz Stevens, a Wilton teenager.

During the opening day of Serrano's first-degree murder trial, a jury of eight women and six men saw the testimony of Riley Kyle, the person who threw a party where Stevens was killed.

During opening arguments from attorneys, Assistant Cedar County Attorney Adam Blank said Serrano attended the party looking for a fight. Serrano's attorney, Miguel Fuentes admitted Serrano had stabbed Stevens said it was committed in self-defense.

On July 19, 2020, Serrano was arrested at a residence in Muscatine after reports of a fight at 938 Quincy Ave., Clarence, Iowa. Police reports say Serrano had attended the party and allegedly keyed a silver Toyota Camry, resulting in about $1,000 damage. He is also charged with second-degree criminal mischief for the incident.

The reports say that two physical altercations occurred as Serrano was asked to leave the party. During the first altercation, Serrano allegedly made reference to having a knife and threatening to stab people. During the second altercation, with Stevens, Serrano allegedly removed the knife from his pocket and stabbed Stevens twice in the abdomen.
The Lions Club planned to dedicate the memorial on Sept. 11. But in August, they learned the out-of-state engraving company had fallen behind on projects. The dedication was postponed indefinitely. But as of this week, the engraving company is at work on the memorial.

We just received a proof from the granite company thats doing the engraving, Hawley said. In September we received the first proof showing what it was going to look like, but there was one name that was missing, so we gave them the name and sent it back. Now that its been edited and everything else looks great, the company is able to get started on production. Were just waiting for the granite to come in. Once its in, well put it in place and schedule a dedication ceremony.

Hawley added that depending on when the granite comes in and any potential weather delays, the dedication may end up in the spring.

We want to make sure the granite gets to the site and stays there without toppling over or anything like that, she said. But all the fundraising is done, we have more than enough to pay for whats left of the charges from the granite, so were just being patient and waiting for the engraving to be completed.
During the first year of the program, the abatement would be 75%, followed by 60% in the second year; then 45% in the third year; 30% in the fourth year; and ending with 15% in the fifth year.

The second proposed resolution would encourage all incorporated cities in Louisa County to offer property tax incentives as a county-wide effort to encourage new development.

Norris said the second resolution would demonstrate the county was not singling out larger firms for the abatement program.

The proposed resolutions were presented by the two economic development officials only for discussion and no action was taken. However, the supervisors did agree to add both resolutions to the boards Oct. 12 meeting for action.

In another economic development discussion, supervisor chair Randy Griffin reported during the supervisors regular meetings attended update on a recent discussion he recently held with Karl Reichert, Muscatine, to discuss the possibility of establishing a port authority facility in the county.

It would (provide) an ability to ship and receive goods internationally, Griffin explained, adding he thought the closest port authority south was in St. Louis.
Norman Analista gestures during an interview with The Guam Daily Post at his store on the second floor of Tumon Sands Plaza.
Chinese President Xi Jinping shakes hands with then-U.S. Vice President Joe Biden inside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Dec. 4, 2013.
The Commonwealth Healthcare Corp.-Community Guidance Center, in collaboration with the Diocese Chalan Kanoa, hosted a mental health awareness outreach event Sept. 30, 2021 at the Joeten & Daidai Social Hall.
Fumio Kishida, Japan's new prime minister, speaks during a news conference at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo, Japan on Oct. 4, 2021.
Nvidia Corp. made early concessions to European Union regulators examining its bid for U.K.-based chip developer Arm Ltd.

The European Commission extended its deadline to rule on the deal until Oct. 27. It didnt say what the company had offered.

While an offer to divest operations or make changes to the business can sometimes allay regulators concerns, the EU is likely to extend its review by at least another four months.

That may also give it the chance to negotiate more complicated concessions.

Lengthy regulatory reviews look set to see the company miss its initial target to close in March 2022, which can be extended until September.

Rivals and chip customers have criticized the $40 billion deal after it was announced more than a year ago.

Qualcomm Inc. and Alphabet Inc.s Google have voiced complaints that Nvidias control of Arms licenses for essential chip technology could threaten the Cambridge, England-based chip designers role as a neutral partner often compared to the Switzerland of the semiconductor industry.

Other customers, including Broadcom Inc., MediaTek Inc. and Marvell Technology Group Ltd., have been supportive of the transaction.

The U.K.s Competition and Markets Authority separately recommended an in-depth investigation in August. It rejected as insufficient Nvidias offer to maintain Arms open licensing, nor did it see a partial sale of Arm intellectual property as allaying its initial concerns.

Nvidia declined to comment on its offer.

We are working through the regulatory process and we look forward to engaging with the European Commission to address any concerns they may have, it said in an emailed statement.

This transaction will be beneficial to Arm, its licensees, competition, and the industry.

Now read: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg loses R105 billion in a few hours
The Spring Mountain Fire Safe Council invites the public to a benefit screening of "No Time To Die," the new James Bond film, at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 18, at the Cameo Cinema in St. Helena.

Tickets are a suggested donation of $50, which can be made at https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/5268326. Tickets must be purchased in advance. All proceeds will be donated to the Spring Mountain Fire Safe Council. Guests will enjoy wines from wineries located in the Spring Mountain District growing region. Oak Avenue Catering will donate food bites. Bergman Family Vineyards, an estate-vineyard winery in the Spring Mountain District, is the event sponsor.

It has been a year since the Glass Fire roared through the Spring Mountain area, destroying wineries, homes and vineyards.

As we begin fundraising to support our outreach and fire prevention efforts, we wanted to start with something to gather our community together, SMFSC founders Pam Bergman and Shari Gardner said in a news release.

The Cameo follows COVID-19 protocols, including mask wearing inside.

"No Time To Die" stars Daniel Craig, Ralph Fiennes, Christoph Waltz, Jeffrey Wright and Lea Seydoux. Its directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga and runs for 163 minutes. In the film, James Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.
St. Helena educators are hoping an uptick in vandalism doesnt escalate into something more serious as a viral craze challenges kids to cause mayhem at school.

Devious Licks, which was trending on the social media app TikTok before being banned in mid-September, poses kids with a new challenge every month. They range from minor mischief (sleep in and be late) to criminal assault (smack a staff member, and jab a breast).

Boys bathrooms at Robert Louis Stevenson Middle School were vandalized five times in September, when Devious Licks called on kids to trash or steal something from their school bathrooms. The bathrooms at St. Helena High School were vandalized four or five times, according to Principal Ben Scinto.

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On one occasion when two RLS bathrooms were vandalized in one day, the school had to let kids use the faculty bathrooms while custodians cleaned up the student bathrooms, said Principal Karin Cox.

Weve had kids fling dye or soap everywhere  trashing the bathrooms and creating a big mess, but not breaking things, she said. It took the custodians forever to scrub off this orangey-red dye.

With the help of security cameras, the staff was able to identify and discipline those responsible, typically requiring them to help custodians during breaks, Cox said.

So far RLS has handled the discipline internally without involving police, although School Resource Officer Melissa Brown is aware of the issue, Cox said. Brown is on vacation this week and unavailable for comment.

Schools have warned teachers to be aware of the October challenge to smack a staff member, or in some variants slap a teacher. A South Carolina teacher was reportedly struck in the back of the head on Friday, but no staff members have been assaulted in St. Helena.

Everyone is aware of the October challenge but there would be some serious, life-altering ramifications/consequences should anybody follow through, Scinto said.

Frankly Id be very surprised if we had anything like that happen, said Cox, stressing that the overwhelming majority of RLS students are good kids. Thats a bridge too far and I think our students know better.

Cox said middle-schoolers are especially susceptible to viral challenges because they are experiencing intense peer pressure at a time when their prefrontal cortex, which helps them connect actions with consequences, is still developing.

They see this on TikTok and its portrayed as being humorous, Cox said. I dont think they realize that what theyre doing is vandalism. Its against the law and its not funny.

RLS already notified parents about Devious Licks. Cox encouraged parents to do whatever they can to monitor their kids social media use.

Kids are always five steps ahead of adults when it comes to social media, but the more parents talk to their kids the better, Cox said.

You can reach Jesse Duarte at 967-6803 or jduarte@sthelenastar.com.

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Sentencing hearings for people convicted of drug-dealing offenses in Napa County will soon come with something extra  a warning of potential murder charges if a person dies consuming fentanyl-laced drugs they traffic or sell.

The office of District Attorney Allison Haley announced this week that it will give a warning known as an advisement when defendants are sentenced, or file a plea, in cases involving the sale, manufacture, transport, or possession for sale of controlled substances.

The advisement informs defendants of the dangers of fentanyl and states they may be charged with murder if they sell drugs containing fentanyl to a person who later dies after ingesting the substance.

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The new policy is a response to an increase in overdose deaths linked to fentanyl, a synthetic opioid and painkiller that is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, the District Attorneys Office said in a news release.

Some drug dealers are mixing fentanyl with heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and MDMA because it is a cheaper option, or sell fentanyl as counterfeit oxycodone or alprazolam pills to increase the euphoric effect, Haleys office said.

More than 9.5 million counterfeit painkiller pills containing fentanyl and/or methamphetamine have been seized so far this year, more than in 2019 and 2020 combined, the federal Drug Enforcement Agency reported Sept. 27. DEA seizures of fentanyl-laced fake pills are up 430% in two years, according to the agency.

Aldea kicks off fentanyl awareness campaign at Napa Valley College Aldea is trying to help young people understand the hidden danger of the drug fentanyl.

The drug user often has no idea what they are taking, with sometimes lethal results. As little as 2 mg of fentanyl, the size of two grains of salt can be a fatal dose, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC reported more than 36,000 deaths in the U.S. from overdoses involving synthetic opioids in 2019, a 12-fold increase in six years.

In California from 2018 to 2019, there was a 90% increase in drug overdose death rates involving synthetic opioids, and statistics suggest an acceleration of overdose deaths since the COVID-19 pandemics emergence in the state in early 2020, the Napa County DAs office reported.

Napa Countys warning regarding fentanyl-related offenses is modeled after the Watson advisement, which is issued to California motorists who are convicted of driving under the influence and warns them of the danger impaired driving poses to other people as well as themselves. Defendants are advised that if they are involved in another drunken-driving crash that kills someone, they have been warned of the consequences and thus can be charged with murder.

The fentanyl advisement will not affect how Napa County handles narcotics cases, according to the DAs office, which cited California law that calls for diversion programs for offenders who possess controlled substances for personal use but not for sale.

You can reach Howard Yune at 530-763-2266 or hyune@napanews.com

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Napa County is marking Fire Prevention Week amid a wildfire season that  thankfully  has been on the tame side locally.

So far in 2021, the county has avoided mega-fires on the scale of 2017s Tubbs, Atlas and Nuns fires and 2020s LNU Lightning Complex and Glass fires. But its too soon to breathe a sigh of relief.

Just a reminder, were moving into October, November, county Fire Chief Jason Martin said. And historically, we have very windy conditions, dry conditions.

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The National Weather Service on Tuesday afternoon predicted a storm will move into to the area this week. But most of the rain on Thursday/Friday is expected to be in Central and Southern California, with only a slight chance locally. No wildfire-season-ending deluge forecast.

Fire Protection Week is sponsored by the National Fire Protection Association from Oct. 3-9. Martin brought the topic up at Tuesdays Napa County Board of Supervisors meeting.

Id like to remind everybody to still be prepared, to be vigilant, Martin said.

He recommended people keep their evacuation go bags ready. Contents should include a three-day supply of nonperishable food, three gallons of water per person, important documents, flashlight, battery-powered radio, first aid kit, extra batteries, clothing and medications.

Martin described several fuel-reduction projects to help the county during the remainder of fire season.

One is work done in Berryessa Estates, a remote community in the northeast county that has been threatened by several wildfires in recent years. A $1 million state grant prioritized seniors, low-income residents and others with special needs. It created defensible space around 144 of 179 homes and structures there.

That provides a huge defense mechanism for that community, Martin said.

Supervisor Ryan Gregory stressed this was a grant specifically to spend on private property. It is different from the money being used to create strategic fuel breaks to protect wide swaths of the county.

The Berryessa Estates project needs to be viewed as a public benefit project, Board of Supervisors Chairperson Alfredo Pedroza said.

I know there are some concerns about whether we are improving private property, he said. But the fact is, its creating a plan to keep our community safe. That includes working on private property for the benefit of the whole county of Napa, including our cities and town.

Some Berryessa Estates residents want to go even further. Supervisor Diane Dillon said they would like a siren to warn of danger.

Sirens are used in some places to warn of tsunamis. But Martin said that tsunamis come from a certain direction and wildfires are unpredictable. For local fires, he preferred using alert methods such as Nixle online that can also describe the threat and evacuation route.

Another project is a fuel break along Auberge Road in the hills northeast of Rutherford. Tall trees remain, but much of the vegetation along the road is gone. Work was done by the private property owners with their own money after consulting with local fire officials.

The result is amazing, Martin said.

Meanwhile, more vegetation is being cleared along Howell Mountain Road, a major evacuation route for Angwin. This time, work is being done outside the public right-of-way on private property with the permission of the owners, county officials said.

Residents can take fire preparedness and prevention steps beyond having a go-bag. The county plans in the coming days to post related videos on its social media sites, such as https://www.facebook.com/NapaCounty/.

You can reach Barry Eberling at 256-2253 or beberling@napanews.com.

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Natural disasters are an ever-lurking threat in California. Months filled with wildfires and smoke in recent years serve as tangible reminders of this; earthquakes and floods, whenever they choose to arrive, may bring destruction and throw lives out of balance just as quickly as fires.

Ken Arnold, lead instructor of Napas Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and former Napa Valley College police chief, said emergency training and evacuation preparation is the best way residents can increase their chances  and the chances of others around them  of making it through a disaster in a way that makes the best of their circumstances.

And, Arnold said, if evacuation is more complicated  which can be the case for people with health issues, mobility-limited seniors and people with pets, for example  the ability to swiftly snap into a disaster plan is even more necessary.

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Arnold said that he believes everyone should get some level of emergency training, especially if they choose to live in California.

California is a disaster theme park, Arnold said. If you live in California, youre going to be in an emergency at some point. Its just a given.

CERT  a federal program administered in over 2,800 local areas across the country  holds training for emergency preparedness throughout the year, Arnold said. Being trained how to handle emergencies allows people to maintain a sort of mental resilience when disaster strikes because theyre able to act according to a learned skill set, he said.

Having a skillset to turn to limits the stress caused by uncertainty, Arnold added, allowing people room to focus on what they can control.

When a disaster happens I dont get pushed very far out of normal, Arnold said. A lot of people get pushed out of normal  normal life, normal existence. When you push people out of that, if they dont have a plan or they dont have a skillset, many times theyre going to react badly to it.

He also said that, when it comes to evacuation, people should know how to personally respond because the government disaster response can become overwhelmed and unable to help everyone affected by a disaster immediately.

If you need more time to evacuate because you need assistance from a walker or medical equipment, you have to be thinking about that, Arnold said. You need to have that greater level of preparedness. Really, the idea is getting frankly anyone thinking about: how do I get my stuff ready, my medication. And not expecting the government to come save you right away.

Pets and livestock animals are also stressfully launched out of their normal routines whenever disaster strikes, according to Saanen Kerson, vice president of the Napa Community Animal Response Team. So, preparing pets for a disaster is also an important aspect of disaster planning, she said.

Currently, Napa CART is providing free evacuation toolkits and planning materials to seniors with companion animals. (Those interested can call (707) 253-4382 or email info@napacart.org)

So far, Kerson said, the organization has given out 80 kits to seniors in the community. Throughout the process  funded by the Napa Community Foundation and the David and Jane Gotelli Family Fund  the organization has also been working with several senior living communities and assisted living communities in Napa.

Weve been really glad to meet and work with some of the administrators in some of these communities, to have them see how important the human-animal bond is, Kerson said. Residents feel secure and have plans to make sure their pets are part of the process in an evacuation.

The planning materials help with preparing a routine for a pet in case of a disaster, she said, or the threat implied by a Red Flag Warning. The toolkit includes an evacuation crate, slip lead leash, collapsible water bowl, luggage tags and a guide on how to create an animal care information sheet.

Part of preparing animals for disasters involves accustoming them to the evacuation crate, according to an informational Napa CART video. That can be achieved by putting delicious food into the crate every so often, and by taking the animals outside, in the crate, for an occasional ride.

Napa CART started up soon after president Claudia Sonder  a large animal veterinarian  and several others now involved in the organization volunteered in the 2015 Valley Fire, in Lake County, Kerson said.

For quite a period of time we were up there volunteering and helping in Middletown and surrounding areas and just seeing the devastation of that fire, it was kind of the first really large fire in this area, Kerson said. We thought, my goodness, we need to figure out a plan for our county because we could be next.

Organization volunteers  who receive CERT training  have responded to disasters several times over the last couple of years, in tandem with Napa County. Napa CART, when necessary, works to evacuate and shelter large and small animals, and care for those left behind after a fire passes through.

But most of the time, Kerson said, the organization is focused on community education.

The best thing we can do is train individual residents of the county how to help their own animals and have their own plans, Kerson said.

Kerson added that the need for both community education around disasters and disaster response seems to have increased over the years, with the quantity of local natural disasters rising.

Sadly, its a growing need as incidents become closer together, Kerson said. That [Valley] Fire seemed like the biggest, most impossible scenario imaginable. It just seemed unimaginable, the scale, and since then every year theres been a fire larger and more destructive somewhere in the state. Its really, really sad.

You can reach Edward Booth at (707) 256-2213.

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Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Tuesday intended to streamline the state's process of approving requests by terminally ill patients to end their lives.

Senate Bill 380 will reduce the current mandatory minimum 15-day waiting period between requests for assisted suicide medication to 48 hours and will require health care providers to post their assisted suicide policies on their websites.

A 2018 study by Kaiser Permanente Southern California found that roughly one-third of nearly 400 terminally ill people who requested assisted suicide medication died during the 15-day waiting period.

Newsom signed SB 380 six years to the day that former Gov. Jerry Brown signed the state's End of Life Option Act, which first gave terminally ill but mentally capable people the option of ending their life via prescribed medication.

Assemblyman Jim Wood, D-Santa Rosa, and state Sen. Susan Talamantes Eggman, D-Stockton, co-authored the law, which received support from advocacy groups like the Compassion and Choices Action Network.

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"We cannot thank Gov. Gavin Newsom enough for his support of this compassionate act," Compassion and Choices Action Network President and CEO Kim Callinan said in a statement. "With his signature, eligible terminally ill adults will soon be able to more easily access the End of Life Option Act without needless suffering and unnecessary roadblocks."

The provisions of SB 380 will take effect after Jan 1, 2022.

Copyright  2021 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area.
For generations, public agencies have directed highways, landfills, meat processing plants, warehouses and other polluting facilities to South Fresno neighborhoods, an area of the San Joaquin Valley that is predominantly populated by lower-income households and people of color.

This activity has turned South Fresno into one of the most environmentally burdened neighborhoods in the state. Every day, thousands of trucks rumble past homes and schools. Domestic wells have run dry as warehouse landscaping springs up around them.

2020s devastating hardships brought important truths about the enduring legacy of structural racism and inequity in California to the forefront of public awareness. Some recognized for the first time that many communities suffer from a lack of access to clean air, reliable drinking water, quality housing, safe parks and other basic amenities due to this legacy.

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It does not need to be this way.

The California Environmental Quality Act, known as CEQA, is a powerful tool that shifts a legacy of environmental and social injustice and holds elected officials accountable for the health and safety of communities. Environmental justice advocates and grassroots leaders have relied on CEQA to protect public health for 50 years, and CEQA has become our states premier civil rights and environmental justice law.

Under CEQA, agencies must respond to public comments, study the environmental and health impacts of development, and reduce impacts to the greatest extent possible. If agencies fail to meet these requirements, communities can leverage the courts to secure protections they are rightfully owed.

Unfortunately, we continue to see decision-making practices that shut residents out of decisions that shape their communities, including in the debate over Californias affordable housing crisis. To truly solve this crisis, we must prioritize the needs of communities impacted by discriminatory housing and land-use policies. This would ensure the solutions we advance help people rather than put them further at risk.

That is what CEQA can do and is already doing, despite how developers have mischaracterized the law as a cause of Californias affordable housing crisis. Less than 1% of projects subject to environmental review have led to litigation. Decisions by local governments play a much more significant role in limiting the housing development needed by our communities than CEQA ever has. Targeting CEQA only obscures true solutions to the housing crisis, like the need for deep investments in affordable housing, housing preservation strategies and legal protections for tenants.

South Fresno residents have often used CEQA to protect their rights. The city approved a sprawling warehouse project in 2017 without meaningful environmental review and without public input. The project would have brought more than 2 million truck and car trips into the neighborhood each year, with no meaningful mitigation to reduce vulnerable populations exposure to hazardous air pollution.

When the city and the developer failed to respond to residents concerns, residents leveraged CEQA to stop the project. Earlier this year, this same community used CEQA to negotiate a settlement to mitigate the impacts of an Amazon warehouse expansion in the community. This time, the developer will complete the project, but they and the city have agreed to significant commitments to reduce impacts on local residents.

These commitments include extending sewer and water connections into the unincorporated community; making safety upgrades for pedestrians and bicyclists; and establishing a community benefits fund to provide home improvements, like dual-paned windows and air filtration, to reduce pollution exposure.

We know too well how environmental injustice impacts Californians. We must not continue to repeat the mistakes of the past. To achieve fair outcomes for all residents, we must create inclusive processes, not suppress public engagement.

In California, at this critical moment of opportunity to move beyond our legacy of environmental injustice and to achieve housing justice for all, it is incumbent on us  agencies, the public and developers  to give all residents a chance at dignity and security. Doing that means keeping CEQA strong.

Ashley Werner is a directing attorney at Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability. She wrote this for CalMatters, a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how Californias Capitol works and why it matters.
Nine months ago, when followers of President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol to halt the election of Joe Biden, the insurrection appeared to be the work of an extremist fringe led by right-wing militias and pro-Trump zealots.

But election denialism, the movement that spawned the uprising, has turned out to be much larger, more durable and every bit as worrisome as the violence of Jan. 6.

Stoked relentlessly by Trump, the belief that Biden stole the election has become a tenet of faith for most Republican voters.

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In fact, Biden won the election decisively  whether measured by the popular vote (where his margin was a healthy 7 million) or by electoral votes (where he won by the same majority Trump did four years before). It was not a close election.

Since Election Day, more evidence has proved that Trump's claims of fraud are groundless. The former president's lawyers filed 65 lawsuits to challenge the results and lost 64. (The single win wasn't about fraud; it was a suit to stop Pennsylvania from letting voters correct errors on mail-in ballots.)

Last month, a shambolic GOP "audit" of votes in Arizona's largest county found that Biden actually won more votes than had initially been counted.

None of that has stopped Trump from continuing to proclaim his spurious gospel of fraud.

"We won on the Arizona forensic audit yesterday at a level that you wouldn't believe," he told supporters in Georgia. "[Biden] didn't win in Arizona; he lost."

Biden won Arizona by more than 10,000 votes.

Unfortunately, the former president's disinformation campaign is succeeding  at least among the voters and donors he will need if he runs again.

And it's making violence around future elections more likely.

A CNN poll last month found that 78% of Republicans say Biden lost the election. Almost 6 in 10 said "believing that Donald Trump won the 2020 election" is an important part of being Republican  right up there with low taxes and limited government.

Another survey, the Economist/YouGov poll, found that election denialism has been growing. In January, only 33% of Republicans said Biden won the presidency "legitimately"; last month, it was down to 26%.

It's tempting to consider this merely more evidence of what psychologists call "motivated reasoning," the tendency to believe only those facts (in this case, imaginary facts) that conform with your partisan views.

But it's more dangerous than that. It means a Jan. 6-style insurgency could happen again.

"About 65 million Americans believe that Joe Biden stole the election and is an illegitimate president," Robert A. Pape, a terrorism expert at the University of Chicago, told me last week. "That's a lot of people."

Of those 65 million, he added, about 21 million believe violence is justified to restore Trump to the presidency, based on polling conducted by Pape's Chicago Project on Security and Threats. That number, he said, "is the pool of potential recruits" for a future insurrection.

"We know that only a small fraction of people who say they are willing to engage in violence will ultimately do so," he added. "So the size of the pool is important.

"Think about this as if it were a wildfire. Wildfires are often set off by lightning strikes, but there will always be lightning. The important question is how much dry wood is on the ground when it strikes. The tinder is more important than the match."

In other words, the growing pool of election denialists is like a thickening layer of dry wood on a forest floor.

One more finding from Pape's research: Most of the rioters arrested after the Jan. 6 insurrection aren't militia members or marginal cranks.

"More than half are business owners, executives or white-collar professionals  doctors, lawyers, accountants," he said. "Only 14% are members of militia groups, which means almost 90% are not. This is more a mainstream set of people than a fringe."

If Republicans lose any close congressional elections in 2022, or if Trump or any other GOP candidate loses the presidential race in 2024, a large pool of voters is primed to believe the only explanation must be fraud  and some are willing to resort to violence to reverse the result.

Americans once saw Election Day as an occasion that bound the nation together, the culmination of a peaceful competition that ended with a graceful concession speech from the loser  an essential declaration of faith in the democratic system.

Trump still hasn't conceded the 2020 race.

Thanks to him and his abettors, our next few elections will be dangerous opportunities for turmoil, instability  even, perhaps, another insurrection. It may not come in the same shape as Jan. 6; the Capitol Police may be better prepared next time. But Trump's disinformation campaign isn't a victimless crime. It has already made post-election violence more likely.

Doyle McManus is a columnist for the Los Angeles Times.
A drug dealer was busted after thousands of pounds of crack cocaine was found at a historic castle ruin in Scotland, Daily Record reported.

Anthony Savin's DNA was found on the class A drug after it was discovered by a volunteer who was picking up litter at Kerelaw Castle, in Stevenston, Ayrshire.

The 30-year-old was in jail over a previous drug offence at the time.

He tried to claim that the consignment had been there for four years.

He said it was from when he helped dealers to package the drug to fund his own habit.

Savin, of Darvel, Ayrshire, appeared in the dock at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court to be sentenced, having earlier pleaded guilty to a drug dealing charge.

Prosecutor Emma Gilliland said the "white rock-type substance" found weighed around 100g and was worth 7,140.

Defense solicitor Peter Murray said: "He has had a significant problem over the years with illicit substances - particularly the use of cocaine.

"The drugs were found nearly two-and-a-half years ago.

"These are unusual circumstances, they were found in a box as part of the clean-up of a fairly remote area.

"He advises me he was involved with others in and around 2017, assisting them in the packaging of this particular substance.

"He believes that, although the drugs were found in 2019, it actually harks back to an earlier date.

"In 2019, he received a 14-month prison sentence for a previous drugs case from 2017.

"These are the sins of the past catching up with him now.

"His position is this all happened at the same time - he was indebted to others and using cocaine at the same time."

Sheriff David Hall spared Savin jail, placing him on a Community Payback Order and Restriction of Liberty Order as a direct alternative to custody.

He will be supervised by social workers for two years and has to carry out 200 hours' unpaid work in 18 months.

He will also be electronically tagged and has to remain within his home between 7pm and 7am for five months.

Kerelaw Castle, which now only has three walls, is believed to date back as far as 1191.

It was sacked and burned during a feud in 1488 and later rebuilt.
Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan received the Secretary General of the International Organization of La Francophonie Louise Mushikiwabo.

After the meeting, Nikol Pashinyan and Louise Mushikiwabo issued statements summarizing the results of the meeting.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan  Dear media representatives, Ladies and Gentlemen,

First of all, I would like to once again welcome Mrs. Louise Mushikiwabo and assure her that the Secretary General of the International Organization of La Francophonie is an always an expected desired guest in the Republic of Armenia. We highlight Armenia's membership in the International Organization of La Francophonie and express our satisfaction with the role and level of Armenia's participation in this important international organization. One of the purposes of the Secretary General's visit was to sum up Armenia's presidency at the Francophonie Summit.

As you know, within the framework of the Francophonie Summit in Yerevan in 2018, Armenia assumed the presidency of the organization for two years term. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic the 18th summit to be held in 2020 was postponed, during which Armenia continued to hold the presidency. We took on this important role with great responsibility and readiness, but, unfortunately, it must be noted that we had to cancel a significant part of the programs adopted at the Yerevan Summit that we were going to implement due to the pandemic. We attach great importance to the proper preparation and holding of the next 18th summit of the Organization. Armenia, as the presiding country, intends to participate in the event at the highest level, to make active efforts to develop the documents to be adopted. During today's meeting with the Secretary General, we touched upon a wide range of international and regional issues, first of all, of course, security and peace in the region. I particularly emphasized the solution of the humanitarian issues that have emerged after the 44-day war, in particular, the immediate release of the Armenian prisoners of war and civilian hostages, as well as we highlight the proper protection of the Armenian historical, cultural and religious heritage.

Armenia is grateful to the Secretary General of the Francophonie for her support to our country in the fall of 2020. We are thankful to you, Mrs. Secretary-General, for the solidarity you have shown to Armenia and the Armenian people. The Government of Armenia is thankful to the Secretary General for sending an observation mission to the June parliamentary elections in Armenia. This was the first time that representatives of the Francophone family visited Armenia to observe the parliamentary elections. Armenia is ready to continue large-scale cooperation with the International Organization of La Francophonie, especially in the field of French language teaching, both in schools, universities and among Armenian civil servants. Armenia supports the Secretary General of the Francophonie in the implementation of the reforms arising from her position. In this context, Armenia also supports the Secretary-General's proposal for reforms in the activities of the organization's bodies. Thank you.

Secretary General of International Organisation of la Francophonie Louise Mushikiwabo - Thank you very much, Mr. Prime Minister, I am very pleased to be in Yerevan, the city where I was elected Secretary General. I have particular dependency on this country for a number of reasons. We spoke on the phone during the extremely difficult situation for Armenia related with war and pandemic, but I am glad to be able to meet with you now as the incumbent chairman, to talk about everything that has happened since 2018. Of course, we also met in Paris to discuss these issues, but since then a lot has happened in the world, in this country, so, first of all, I am glad to be here.

I once again congratulate you on being elected leader of this beautiful country and your beautiful voctpry. It was an honor for our organization to be able to send observers to these elections. They reported to me. We express great satisfaction with Armenia's participation in various programs and initiatives of our organization, and for your active measures, despite the sanitary situation that has complicated everyone's life.

As for the cooperation between our organization and this beautiful country, we are very interested in finding initiatives that will be related to the interaction between Armenian and other Francophone youth, be it in Africa, Asia or Europe. We are consulting together with Ambassador Ter-Stepanyan, who represents Armenia in the International Organization of La Francophonie. We try to find programs and initiatives that will meet the expectations of the Armenian youth. This, of course, is a supplement to our classic collaboration in the framework of the French language. And we are always happy to be back to this country, to hear more and more French-speaking voices.

But Francophonie does not refer only to the French language. French is a common language for the OIF member states, but, first of all, everyone has their own national language, they have other foreign languages. Francophonie is free of these complexes today. French can coexist with other languages. This is the reality of all our member states. So, of course, we give importance to the French language, which allows young Francophones to find a job, have new opportunities, travel, and understand the world. This is the Francophonie today. Armenia greatly contributes to the activities of our organization, let me emphasize once again, in a situation that is quite difficult.

The International Organisation of la Francophonie is very sensitive to Armenias political issues, which we discussed with the Prime Minister a while ago. We were following the developments, the pain of Armenians during the war. Our Organization has 88 member states, some of which have very close relations with Armenia, some are even involved in political developments, like France, which is also the headquarters of our Organization. And there are countries which are less sensible towards this issue. But the Organization, naturally, attaches great importance. Armenia is a member state of our Organization and is currently the presiding country, therefore, we remain very sesnitive and attentive towards this country. We are always ready to listen to the Prime Minister, the Armenian authorities. And, of course, the Prime Minister remains the incumbent Chairman until the next summit, which is to be held in Tunisia in about a month and a half. So we will keep in touch with the Prime Minister so that he can support this process until he passes the presidency to the next President, Tunisia.

Mr. Prime Minister, I would like to thank you for your hospitality, for the hospitality of Armenians. Indeed, we felt at home from the moment we arrived and thank you on behalf of the Organization.
Armenia parliament approves several legislative amendments

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Man, 49, found dead inside truck near Armenia village sand mine

Armenia emergency ministry uses off-road vehicles to provide for needs of Syunik Province border villages, says minister

Britney Spears demands to put her mother in jail

There is investment activeness in Syunik Province, says Armenia economy minister

Russia PM arrives in Yerevan

Minister on Armenia economic growth: We are from optimistic realist to optimist

Armenia President, Singapore deputy PM discuss avenues for expanding bilateral cooperation

Ombudsman: Armenophobia, propaganda of enmity have reached extremist fascism in Azerbaijan (VIDEO)

Philip Margo dies aged 79

Russia peacekeepers carry out round-the-clock monitoring of ceasefire in Karabakh

1 more person dies of coronavirus in Artsakh

Armenia premier: There is no Syunik Province settlement that is under blockade

Office of Armenia commissioner for diaspora, SADA Global Delivery Center sign memorandum of cooperation

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will not come to the Queen for Christmas

Armenia government approves 2021-2026 action plan

US develops new vaccine against COVID-19

Armenia PM: Russia MOD made proposals on preparatory phase of border delimitation with Azerbaijan

1,019 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Senator calls for end to US military aid to Azerbaijan

Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep, Timothee Chalamet and Jennifer Lawrence in the new Don't Look Up trailer

Armenia is elected to UNESCO Executive Board

Whose body is brought from Baku to Yerevan by Russian Southern Military District deputy commander?

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijan opened random fire at some directions of Tavush Province late Wednesday evening

World oil prices still dropping

Rapper Young Dolph killed at Memphis bakery shooting

Newspaper: Armenia has set task to change its foreign policy vector, Russia analysts say

Newspaper: Coronavirus death statistics in Armenia are incomplete

Armenian immigrant couple in California sentenced to prison for $20M fraud

Santos: Ronaldo trusts me completely

EEU countries PMs to arrive in Yerevan for intergovernmental council meeting

Brazil president: Holding World Cup every 2 years is good idea

Armenian army commander: Azerbaijan wants corridor, leader of Armenia gave consent to that, but refused later

Armenia FM holds phone conversations with Russian counterpart, Karen Donfried and OSCE Chairperson-in-Office

MTS launches inspection of its 'daughter' operations in Armenia upon request of U.S.

Armenia MOD: Defense minister receives Rustam Muradov, who brought body of deceased Armenian soldier to Yerevan

Taliban call on US Congress to ease sanctions and unfreeze Afghanistan's assets

Armenia PM: The meaning of being captured and the circumstances of captivity need to be investigated

Moscow, Ankara agree to not release details about joint manufacturing of S-400s

OSCE Chairperson-in-Office welcomes ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan after Russian mediation

Armenia Ombudsman discusses Armenian captives' issue with acting Head of ICRC Delegation

Armenia PM refutes possibility of giving order 'to not open fire' when it comes to homeland defense

Armenian PM tries to clarify situation regarding use of names "Eyvazli" and "Chayzami"

IAEA Director General to visit Iran

Armenia PM: Our goal is to sign a peace treaty

Rustam Muradov brings body of one Armenian serviceman

Reuters: UAE's high-ranking delegation to visit Tehran soon

James Langevin: Azerbaijani government again unleashed a volley of unprovoked violence against Armenia

Ambassador to the Holy See: Armenia calls on its international partners to condemn Azerbaijan's actions

Armenia President provides Singapore PM with information about Azerbaijan's aggressive actions

Armenia PM: Trilateral task force's work is not interrupted

Armenia Police's Educational Complex has new head

Jackie Speier: We're witnessing Aliyev's attempted land grab in real time

Mass media: Rustam Muradov bringing bodies of Armenian soldiers to Yerevan

Yerevan to host subsequent session of Eurasian Intergovernmental Council

Lionel Messi named top footballer of the year

Earthquake hits Turkey

Zakharova on possibility of enforcing Armenia-Russia Treaty, says consultations are being held

NEWS.am 17.11.21 digest: Latest on Armenia-Azerbaijan border situation

European People's Party issues statement on recent hostilities on Armenian-Azerbaijani border

Opposition 'Armenia' Alliance MP: Resistance movement will help get rid of this catastrophe, namely authorities soon

Armenia PM explains why he appointed new defense minister

Opposition MPs remind Armenia PM about treason, get into dispute with ruling party deputies

Armenian PM: There are territories of Soviet Azerbaijan that are under Armenia's control

Armenia ruling party MP Andranik Kocharyan continues to talk about creation of professional army

Tom Hanks to star in a biopic about Elvis Presley

Armenia and Russia Security Councils' Secretaries discuss regional security issues

Tata Steel India: Levon Aronian scores 3 victories on first day

Armenia Security Council Secretary: Azerbaijan fails to maintain ceasefire and isn't implementing reached agreements

Miramax wants to ban Tarantino from selling parts of the script for Pulp Fiction

Cavusoglu blames Armenia 'for terrorist attack against Azerbaijan'

Opposition 'Armenia' Alliance: Authorities' goal is to stay in power through ongoing concessions

Armenia PM: Our proposals are in effect, including proposal for start of delimitation and demarcation

Resident of Armenia's Shaki village panic when they hear the Azerbaijanis' gunshots

Armenia ruling party MP: Enemy can't achieve any success in Syunik Province

Armenia PM and ministers answering MPs' questions (LIVE)

Ambassador: Armenia Security Council Secretary will probably have separate meeting with Nikolai Patrushev

Armenia health minister: Kapan and Goris will have additional SUVs for paramedics

Armen Sarkissian presents situation on Armenia's borders at Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore

Armenia FM: International community reaction to Azerbaijans provocative, aggressive actions was not targeted, proper

Armenia Prosecutor General receives Egypt Ambassador

Who are advised to exclude apples from their diet?

Council of Europe Secretary General concerned about tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan

Armenian Assembly of America: Russian-brokered ceasefire is not enough

Tom Holland talks about how new Spider-Man movie will surprise viewers

Van Gaal: I would have retired if we had not qualified for 2022 World Cup

Armenia Security Council secretary: Yerevan expects diplomatic, military assistance from Moscow

Turkey and US hold talks on defense and security issues

Peskov: Moscow calls for restraint to parties to conflict on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

CSTO chief: There is still tension on line of contact between Armenian, Azerbaijani sides

Kremlin: All parties consent is necessary for contact between Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan leaders

Russia deputy FM, EU representative discuss situation on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Serena Williams: Each day together with Alexis Ohanian is special

Antidepressants lower risk of death from COVID-19, study claims

Danny Alves explains why he chose No. 8 jersey at Barca?

Armenia health minister: We are at reduction phase of Covid cases

2 more persons die of coronavirus in Artsakh

Biden bans members of the Nicaraguan government from entering US

168.am: Ex-commander of Russia peacekeepers in Karabakh is urgently sent to Armenia
There is an extreme war scenario where the arms race leads Greeces forces to use French frigates to fight Turkey, using German submarines, according to the Greek Reporter.

The respective naval deals of Greece with France and Turkey with Germany raise some questions that must be answered in terms of Europes push for strategic autonomy.

The TurkeyGermany deal was announced last July. Ankara tried to boost its naval power by procuring six new submarines from Germany, a move that shows it wants to flex its muscle in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Greece and France sealed their strategic partnership in late September, with an agreement for the sale of three frigates, with the option for a fourth. The first two will be delivered by 2025 and the third in 2026.

In June, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias formally petitioned Berlin against the sale of the six subs. He asked that Germany stop arming a country which has repeatedly violated territorial rights of two EU member states, Greece and Cyprus.

According to the German ministry, Thyssen, the company constructing the six type U-214 submarines, is bound by a contract signed in 2002.

As the episode with the Greek Nautical Geo vessel showed the other day, a minor incident in the Aegean could occur at any time. If that leads into an impasse between Greece and Turkey, the arms race with French frigates and German submarines could come into world view.

Of course these kinds of war games have been hanging over the two countries for over 50 years. Needless to say, both are still members of NATO, despite their endless conflicts.

There have been instances where the two neighboring countries have been close to a war. Turkeys military invasion of Northern Cyprus in 1974 drew a general Army mobilization on the Greek side. But given the collapse of the Greek junta and the rapid deployment of the Turkish forces, all-out war was ultimately averted.

Greece has always relied on EU support. Turkey is in perpetual negotiations with the EU for membership. Still, Germany, an EU and NATO member, is arming fellow NATO member Turkey with defense submarines which could be used in a conflict with EU member, Greece.

This might very well be a war game scenario for the ages. It also indicates the terms of allied rivalry, if not allied enmity, between Greece and Turkey.
Azerbaijan has lodged a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights reviewing the case of assassination attempt against blogger Alexander Lapshin. This is posted on Lapshins Facebook page.

Wonderful news: Azerbaijan has lodged a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights for review of the case in the ECHR on October 11, 2021. This is in our interest, and below I will tell you way.

On May 20, 2021, when the European Court of Human Rights decided that Azerbaijan was guilty of the tortures against me and the assassination attempt, I said it was necessary to provoke them, that is, appeal, and since decisions enter into force 98.5% and arent reviewed, this is shameful for any state, and it causes more harm to Azerbaijans reputation. I had stated that I know the mindset of the Azerbaijanis very well and know what they think and dream about and how they will act. Remember that I said the Azerbaijanis will be defeated again in the fall. As soon as everyone forgets the story, they will remember it again. Really? I was a little concerned and asked myself what if they show themselves as a little more literate than they can imagine and are not humiliated? However, I got rid of these foolish thoughts and was right  the Azerbaijanis are just like I had imagined. Ilham Akbar, Lapshin wrote.
Galaxy Group of Companies, one of the largest employers and taxpayers in Armenia, announces the launch of development projects campaign for 2022. The campaign launch is marked with an inspiriting motivational commercial addressed to young people in Armenia. The campaign goal is to inspire, support and encourage the youth of post-war Armenia to find hope and opportunities in their own country.

Gurgen Khachatryan, the co-founder of the Galaxy Group of Companies and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ucom CJSC, released a message on the occasion of the campaign launch, which reads as follows:

We all fail at some point in our lives. Individually or collectively, we all may fail at something sooner or later. This is what life is. My words are about what happens after we fall. My words are addressed to those young people in Armenia, who after the downfall of 2020 lost faith in succeeding in and for their own country.

I can relate to what you feel. Its hard, trust I know it. But it is possible. Difficulties come to test us, to strengthen our will. Its ok to undergo through difficulties and pain. We at Galaxy use to say that difficulties are opening doors to new opportunities. 90% of people give up and stop fighting not because of failures, but because they stop at the first failure.

We believe that Armenia can become a country that gives birth to innovations. We believe that if we support each other if we are responsible and professional, each of us in his own capabilities - a student at a university, a doctor at the hospital, a serviceman at the border, our team and partners in business - we can get ahead of time." And if we happen to fail, and if we happen to fall, we shall fall forward, because that way we will be one step closer to our destiny.

Fall forward, because the strong is not the one who never falls. But the one who falls forward and rises... We are starting a new wave of business and social development projects for the people of Armenia.

As of 2019-21, Galaxy Group of Companies with its Corporate Foundation Implemented about 20 development programs aimed at enhancing the positive image of Armenia, supporting social and educational development, improving lives and communities. Throughout the past two years, the number of direct beneficiaries of the programs has exceeded 12,000. For 2022 Galaxy plans to double the number of development programs, with a hope to make modest, yet sustainable contribution towards social improvement, recovery and development of Armenias economy.
Armenian News - NEWS.am presents the daily digest of Armenia-related top news as of 06.10.21:

Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) said it has started using Armenias airspace to carry passengers from Baku to Nakhchivan.

"From now on, AZAL can use all available air corridors, including those passing through the territories of Armenia and Iran, in carrying out this flight," the flag carrier of Azerbaijan added in its respective statement.

This information has caused concern in Armenian society.

It came after Iran had closed its airspace to the Azerbaijani air force, which carries out military supplies from Baku to Nakhchivan.

Since Wednesday morning, Armenian News-NEWS.am has been trying to contact the Civil Aviation Committee of Armenia to find out since when Armenia has allowed Azerbaijan to carry out passenger transportation through its airspace to Nakhchivan, whether this is a new decision or it was made earlier, but only now it is being announced by Azerbaijan.

But so far, the Civil Aviation Committee has not responded to us in any way.

Azerbaijan is ready to launch negotiations with Armenia for the normalization of relations and considers the active participation of the European Union in this process possible, said President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.

His remarks came during the meeting with Peter Mikhalko, the new Ambassador of the European Union to Azerbaijan, haqqin.az reports.

We want to establish relations with our neighbor Armenia. We are ready to launch talks over the signing of a peace treaty with Armenia, the conduct of demarcation, and the unblocking of communication routes. The process has partially begun, Aliyev said.

A rescue squad today conducted searches for the remains of Armenian servicemen in Jrakan (Jabrayil) in Nagorno-Karabakh - now controlled by Azerbaijan.

The rescue squad found the remains of another 2 Armenian servicemen who had died during the hostilities and were deemed to be missing to this day.

A total of 1,680 servicemen in and from the seized territories of Artsakh.

As of 9 am on Wednesday, it is snowing at the road bends of Dilijan, Armenia, the Road Department SNCO informs.

All interstate and national motorways in the country are open.

To avoid accidents and traffic jams, drivers are advised to use winter tires on their vehicles.

The head of the Meteorological Center of Armenia, Gagik Surenyan, on Wednesday posted a video on Facebook, noting that it is snowing in Vanadzor.

The video shows how the third-largest city in Armenia is covered with snow falling with large flakes.

As of Wednesday morning, 1,155 new cases of the coronavirus were confirmed in Armenia, and the total number of these cases has reached 267,363 in the country.

Also, 21 more deaths from COVID-19 were registered, making the respective total 5,440 cases.
Armenia parliament approves several legislative amendments

Turkish Nationalist Movement Party gifts Erdogan a map of Turkic World, with a part of Russia 'seized'

Man, 49, found dead inside truck near Armenia village sand mine

Armenia emergency ministry uses off-road vehicles to provide for needs of Syunik Province border villages, says minister

There is investment activeness in Syunik Province, says Armenia economy minister

Russia PM arrives in Yerevan

Minister on Armenia economic growth: We are from optimistic realist to optimist

Armenia President, Singapore deputy PM discuss avenues for expanding bilateral cooperation

Ombudsman: Armenophobia, propaganda of enmity have reached extremist fascism in Azerbaijan (VIDEO)

Russia peacekeepers carry out round-the-clock monitoring of ceasefire in Karabakh

1 more person dies of coronavirus in Artsakh

Armenia premier: There is no Syunik Province settlement that is under blockade

Office of Armenia commissioner for diaspora, SADA Global Delivery Center sign memorandum of cooperation

Armenia government approves 2021-2026 action plan

Armenia PM: Russia MOD made proposals on preparatory phase of border delimitation with Azerbaijan

1,019 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Senator calls for end to US military aid to Azerbaijan

Armenia is elected to UNESCO Executive Board

Whose body is brought from Baku to Yerevan by Russian Southern Military District deputy commander?

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijan opened random fire at some directions of Tavush Province late Wednesday evening

World oil prices still dropping

Newspaper: Armenia has set task to change its foreign policy vector, Russia analysts say

Newspaper: Coronavirus death statistics in Armenia are incomplete

Armenian immigrant couple in California sentenced to prison for $20M fraud

EEU countries PMs to arrive in Yerevan for intergovernmental council meeting

Armenian army commander: Azerbaijan wants corridor, leader of Armenia gave consent to that, but refused later

Armenia FM holds phone conversations with Russian counterpart, Karen Donfried and OSCE Chairperson-in-Office

MTS launches inspection of its 'daughter' operations in Armenia upon request of U.S.

Armenia MOD: Defense minister receives Rustam Muradov, who brought body of deceased Armenian soldier to Yerevan

Taliban call on US Congress to ease sanctions and unfreeze Afghanistan's assets

Armenia PM: The meaning of being captured and the circumstances of captivity need to be investigated

Moscow, Ankara agree to not release details about joint manufacturing of S-400s

OSCE Chairperson-in-Office welcomes ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan after Russian mediation

Armenia Ombudsman discusses Armenian captives' issue with acting Head of ICRC Delegation

Armenia PM refutes possibility of giving order 'to not open fire' when it comes to homeland defense

Armenian PM tries to clarify situation regarding use of names "Eyvazli" and "Chayzami"

IAEA Director General to visit Iran

Armenia PM: Our goal is to sign a peace treaty

Rustam Muradov brings body of one Armenian serviceman

Reuters: UAE's high-ranking delegation to visit Tehran soon

James Langevin: Azerbaijani government again unleashed a volley of unprovoked violence against Armenia

Ambassador to the Holy See: Armenia calls on its international partners to condemn Azerbaijan's actions

Armenia President provides Singapore PM with information about Azerbaijan's aggressive actions

Armenia PM: Trilateral task force's work is not interrupted

Armenia Police's Educational Complex has new head

Jackie Speier: We're witnessing Aliyev's attempted land grab in real time

Mass media: Rustam Muradov bringing bodies of Armenian soldiers to Yerevan

Yerevan to host subsequent session of Eurasian Intergovernmental Council

Earthquake hits Turkey

Zakharova on possibility of enforcing Armenia-Russia Treaty, says consultations are being held

NEWS.am 17.11.21 digest: Latest on Armenia-Azerbaijan border situation

European People's Party issues statement on recent hostilities on Armenian-Azerbaijani border

Opposition 'Armenia' Alliance MP: Resistance movement will help get rid of this catastrophe, namely authorities soon

Armenia PM explains why he appointed new defense minister

Opposition MPs remind Armenia PM about treason, get into dispute with ruling party deputies

Armenian PM: There are territories of Soviet Azerbaijan that are under Armenia's control

Armenia ruling party MP Andranik Kocharyan continues to talk about creation of professional army

Armenia and Russia Security Councils' Secretaries discuss regional security issues

Armenia Security Council Secretary: Azerbaijan fails to maintain ceasefire and isn't implementing reached agreements

Cavusoglu blames Armenia 'for terrorist attack against Azerbaijan'

Opposition 'Armenia' Alliance: Authorities' goal is to stay in power through ongoing concessions

Armenia PM: Our proposals are in effect, including proposal for start of delimitation and demarcation

Resident of Armenia's Shaki village panic when they hear the Azerbaijanis' gunshots

Armenia ruling party MP: Enemy can't achieve any success in Syunik Province

Armenia PM and ministers answering MPs' questions (LIVE)

Ambassador: Armenia Security Council Secretary will probably have separate meeting with Nikolai Patrushev

Armenia health minister: Kapan and Goris will have additional SUVs for paramedics

Armen Sarkissian presents situation on Armenia's borders at Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore

Armenia FM: International community reaction to Azerbaijans provocative, aggressive actions was not targeted, proper

Armenia Prosecutor General receives Egypt Ambassador

Council of Europe Secretary General concerned about tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan

Armenian Assembly of America: Russian-brokered ceasefire is not enough

Armenia Security Council secretary: Yerevan expects diplomatic, military assistance from Moscow

Turkey and US hold talks on defense and security issues

Peskov: Moscow calls for restraint to parties to conflict on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

CSTO chief: There is still tension on line of contact between Armenian, Azerbaijani sides

Kremlin: All parties consent is necessary for contact between Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan leaders

Russia deputy FM, EU representative discuss situation on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Armenia health minister: We are at reduction phase of Covid cases

2 more persons die of coronavirus in Artsakh

Biden bans members of the Nicaraguan government from entering US

168.am: Ex-commander of Russia peacekeepers in Karabakh is urgently sent to Armenia

Ambassador to Russia: Not ruled out that Armenia may apply to CSTO for assistance

Armenia, Azerbaijan attending annual meeting of CIS Security Councils' Secretaries

Ambassador: Yerevan continues contacts with Moscow regarding situation on border with Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan reports 7 military casualties during recent aggression against Armenia

Spokesperson: Armenia MFA has informed UN Security Council President on situation

Armenian captives continue to be 'tried' in Azerbaijan

Armenia MFA: Pashinyan, Putin discussed possible joint steps enshrined in bilateral legal framework

982 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Erdogan and Zelenskyy discuss bilateral relations

US Congressman: Azerbaijan must acknowledge, respect Armenia sovereignty

Adam Schiff: US must deter Azerbaijans ongoing aggression, show support for Armenian peoples sovereignty

Armenia legislature observes minute of silence in memory of fallen soldiers

Police forces being brought to Armenia parliament ahead of PM's visit

Armenia representative addresses UN Security Council discussion, speaks about Azerbaijan military aggression

World oil prices falling

Armenia MOD: Situation on eastern border relatively stable

Newspaper: Armenia Constitutional Court is tool in hands of executive branch of power

Russia peacekeepers deliver over 300 tons of humanitarian cargo to needy Karabakh residents in one year
Armenia welcomes the documents that nearly 50 regional and municipal councils of Italy have adopted in support of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). This is what President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian stated in his speech at the meeting with the President of Italy in Rome.

In his speech, Sarkissian particularly said the following: A short while ago, President Mattarella and I held very meaningful and effective talks, as well as underscored the high level of political dialogue and Italys and Armenias willingness to enhance the bilateral relations.

During our talks, we also touched upon the trade and economic relations between Armenia and Italy. I hope the relations very quickly reach the level of our dialogue.

Due to the restrictions set during the coronavirus pandemic, trade turnover declined in 2020, but it started growing in 2021 and was restored. The Italian president and I also attached importance to the development of cooperation in the areas of modern industry, information technology, biotechnologies, artificial intelligence, etc.

I presented the opportunities and directions for implementation of joint projects with Italian companies within the scope of the ATOM (Advanced Tomorrow) presidential initiative.

We attach great importance to human contacts and relations in both countries, particularly in the tourism sector.

Armenia would like for Italy to be more involved in the Armenian educational system so that the people learn more about Italian identity, culture and history.

I shared with my dear counterpart my evaluation of the situation regarding the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and reaffirmed Armenias willingness to continue the activities for a peaceful settlement of the conflict through the mediation of the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group. In this sense, we valued the importance of maintaining balanced positions on and approaches to issues that are sensitive for both countries.

Armenia highly appreciates the resolution that the Italian parliament adopted on March 2, calling for the release of Armenian prisoners of war. We also welcome the documents adopted by nearly 50 regional and municipal councils of Italy in support of Artsakh and the people of Artsakh.

Armenia attaches importance to the participation of Italian specialists in the preservation of Armenian historical and cultural heritage after the establishment of ceasefire, as well as the direct cooperation with the UNESCO. One of the best examples of our strong cooperation and friendship are the joint efforts for peace and security in Lebanon.

I cordially express gratitude for the Italian governments decision to provide several coronavirus vaccines to Armenia in this difficult stage of the pandemic. Armenia highly appreciates the multilateral cooperation with the European Union in areas such as democracy, human rights, protection of fundamental freedoms, as well as joint programs for sustainable development and effective governance.

I am certain that Italy and Armenia will continue their dialogue and cooperation with the vision for the future and that this visit will not only be the first and historic state visit, but will also serve as a basis for closer, deeper and warmer relations between Armenia and Italy in the decades to come.
This visit of President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian is historic and coincides with the 30th anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Armenia, and once again, I convey warm congratulatory remarks to President Armen Sarkissian. This is what President of Italy Sergio Mattarella state in his speech during a meeting with President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian in Rome.

I am glad that we were able to organize this visit, which was postponed due to the coronavirus. Armenia and Italy can boast about their friendly relations. We cooperate in several areas. I express gratitude to Mr. Sarkissian for Armenias involvement in the UN peacekeeping forces.

Our partnership was also reaffirmed during the epidemic. We are working on providing vaccines to Armenia and have asked Covax to provide its vaccine.

Armenia is a reliable partner for Italy in the region. We know that reforms are underway in Armenia and are ready to exchange experience in the fields such as the judiciary. We also talked a lot about the interests that Italian companies have in the Armenian market, and some companies have already become established in Armenia.

We talked about the high quality of culture and cooperation in science and technology. Today the Quirinal Palace is hosting an exhibition of the works of great Armenian painters of the 19th-20th centuries, and for this I thank President Sarkissian.

Italy attaches great importance to the Armenia-European Union cooperation. I thank President Sarkissian for his visit, which serves as an opportunity to reaffirm the high level of relations between the two countries.

Photo by Arsen Sargsyan/Armenian News-NEWS.am
Today President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian, who is on a state visit to Italy, met with President of the Italian Senate Maria Elisabetta Casellati, as reported the Staff of the President of Armenia.

Maria Casellati welcomed Sarkissian on behalf of herself and the Senate and said the state visit of the President of Italy to Armenia in 2018 and the state visit of the President of Armenia to Italy this year serve as a great impetus for the cooperation between the two countries.

The Armenian president attached importance to meetings with the heads of legislatures during his visits abroad, referring to the major role that parliaments play in the development of interstate relations and the formation of an atmosphere of mutual confidence and mutual understanding. Armenia is interested in seeing closer ties between the parliaments of both countries, including within international organizations and within the scope of interparliamentary assemblies, Sarkissian said.

The interlocutors also talked about the developments and problems in the region. President Sarkissian particularly touched upon humanitarian issues and, in this context, mentioned that, in spite of the efforts and calls of the international community, Azerbaijani still keeps Armenian prisoners of war detained to this day.

The parties also touched upon the directions and prospects for cooperation between Armenia and the European Union.
The issue regarding the territories of the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast, which are under the control of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan, will be discussed along with the issue related to the status of Nagorno-Karabakh. This is what Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan said in response to deputies questions during todays question-and-answer session with government officials in parliament.

Deputy of the opposition With Honor faction Hayk Mamijanyan stated that, in essence, the Armenian authorities arent talking about the occupation of a part of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic by the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan and that, according to him, pro-government politicians claim that its not worth talking about this constantly.

The topic of the territories of the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast which are under Azerbaijans control, is on our agenda, and we raise the issue on different international platforms, Mirzoyan said.

The foreign minister said he agrees with the opinion that this issue shouldnt be constantly raised since it wont create favorable conditions for serious and substantive discussions and wont help solve the mentioned problem.

On the contrary, it may create new threats and risks for Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, the minister clarified.
President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian, who is on a state visit to Italy, today met with President of the Chamber of Deputies of Italy Roberto Fico, as reported the Staff of the President of Armenia.

Fico welcomed the Armenian presidents state visit to Italy and stated that it serves as a good opportunity to discuss the partnering ties between the two countries and their respective parliaments. He also said Italy highly appreciates the friendship with Armenia and is interested in the establishment of peace and stability in the region.

President Sarkissian emphasized that Armenia attaches great importance to the strengthening of cooperation with Italy in all directions.

President Sarkissian also attached importance to the cooperation between the National Assembly of Armenia and the two chambers of the Italian parliament and, in this context, Ficos scheduled visit to Armenia and the active efforts of the parliamentary friendship groups in both parliaments.

The Armenian president also expressed his gratitude for the decision of the Chamber of Deputies to recognize the Armenian Genocide on April 10, 2019 and Ficos position on the decision. He also touched upon the 44-day war in Artsakh, the situation created in Armenia and the region following the war and particularly humanitarian issues. Sarkissian remembered, with gratitude, the resolution that the Italian parliament adopted on March 2 of this year, calling on the release of Armenian prisoners of war.

The interlocutors considered the Armenia-European Union cooperation one of the major directions on the agenda of bilateral relations.
YEREVAN.  Hraparak daily of Armenia writes: It turns out that NA [(National Assembly)] president Alen Simonyan did everything so that [former deputy prime minister] Armen Gevorgyan, an MP from the [opposition] "Armenia" bloc, leaveas part of the Armenian delegationfor Strasbourg with his colleagues, from September 25 to October 1, to participate in the regular PACE session, but the court prohibited the MP from leaving Armenia.

It is known that Armen Gevorgyan is included in a criminal case, and the court has chosen a signature bond on not leaving the country as a precautionary measure against him. We have reflected on this issue that the opposition is being deprived of going on business trips. Before the PACE session, the NA president prepared a special note and petitioned the court to allow Gevorgyan to leave [Armenia to attend the PACE session], but Judge Anna Danibekyan denied [the petition].

It is clear that the judge did not make that decision on her own. It remains to find out why the person who gave instruction to her did not prevent the NA presidents step of submitting a petition, and why they put the judge in such a difficult situation.
Story Highlights GOP given 54% to 39% advantage for handling terrorism, security

By 50% to 41%, Americans say GOP better for ensuring prosperity

Americans divided on party that can better address most important problem

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Americans by significant margins now view the Republican Party as better than the Democratic Party at protecting the nation from international threats (54% to 39%, respectively) and at ensuring the nation remains prosperous (50% to 41%). The 15-percentage-point GOP advantage on security matters is its largest since 2015, while its nine-point edge on prosperity is its largest since 2014. Last year, the GOP had a narrow advantage on international matters while the parties were essentially tied on economic matters. More of this change has come from declines in Americans perceiving the Democratic Party as better on these issues than from increases for the Republican Party.

Meanwhile, the public is narrowly divided (41% Republican Party, 38% Democratic Party) as to which party can better handle whichever issue it deems the most important facing the country. Americans most commonly name the coronavirus pandemic or the government itself as the most important problem.

The latest results are from Gallup's annual Governance survey, conducted Sept. 1-17. The survey was conducted just after the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and amid heightened numbers of coronavirus infections and a weaker-than-expected U.S. employment report.

Protection From International Threats

The 39% of Americans saying the Democratic Party will do a better job in the next few years of protecting the U.S. from terrorism and other international threats is down significantly from 46% last year. At the same time, there has been a smaller increase in the percentage of U.S. adults perceiving the Republican Party as better in this area, from 50% to 54%.

Line graph. Americans' perceptions of which political party can better protect the United States from international terrorism and other military threats. In 2021, 54% say the Republican Party is better and 39% say the Democratic Party is. The Republican Party has led most years except 2007 and 2012. Its advantages had typically been in the single digits from 2016 through 2020 before expanding this year to 15 points.

Americans typically see the Republican Party as more capable on national security matters, but the 15-point gap in favor of the GOP this year is the largest since a 16-point advantage in 2015. The party had an even larger 23-point gap in 2014, a time when the Obama administration was struggling to deal with the rise of the Islamic State in Iraq and renewed Middle East violence, among other issues.

Keeping the U.S. Prosperous

As is the case on international matters, there has been a seven-point drop in the percentage of Americans who say the Democratic Party is better able to keep the U.S. prosperous, from 48% to 41%. Now, 50% say the Republican Party is better, compared with 47% in 2020.

Republicans have had at least a small advantage on this for most of the past decade, with the current nine-point lead tying 2011 and 2014 as the largest for the GOP during this period. The only years since 2010 that Republicans have not led are 2012 and 2020, the two years in which Democratic candidates were elected president.

The last time that at least half of U.S. adults said the Republicans were better at keeping the country prosperous was in 1989, although there have been several measures of 48% or 49% since then.

Line graph. Americans' perceptions of which political party would be better able to keep the United States prosperous. In 2021, 50% say the Republican Party would be better and 41% say the Democratic Party would be. The Republican Party has led most years since 2010 except 2012 and 2018. From 1992 through 2009, the Democratic Party typically led. Republicans led between 1988 and 1991.

From 1992 through 2009, Americans typically said the Democratic Party was better at keeping the country prosperous, including advantages ranging between 11 and 20 points the last four years of that period. Those latter years spanned the housing market crash, the financial crisis and the Great Recession, which began while Republican George W. Bush was president.

Handling the 'Most Important Problem'

By 41% to 38%, U.S. adults say the Republican Party rather than the Democratic Party can better handle whichever problem they name (in an open-ended question format) as the most important facing the country. Last year, 47% said the Democratic Party and 39% said the Republican Party could better address the most important problem, when the coronavirus pandemic, the government and race relations were most commonly named as that issue.

This year, again, the coronavirus pandemic and government rank as the top two problems.

In both 2020 and now, those identifying the coronavirus as the most important problem widely say the Democratic Party can better handle it, including a 57% to 28% Democratic edge this year.

By contrast, those naming the government as the top problem are much more inclined to say the Republican Party can better handle it (60% to 19%), whereas last year, when President Donald Trump was in office, more said the Democratic Party could (51% to 44%). To a large degree, this shift reflects wide party differences this year in perceptions that the government is the most important problem, with 31% of Republicans but only 9% of Democrats naming it. Last year, 29% of both Democrats and Republicans said the government was the most important problem.

Historically, Democrats have more often had an edge in terms of being perceived as better able to handle whichever problem Americans think is most important. However, opinions have mostly been closely divided. The largest advantage for either party came in 2006 and 2007, when Democrats held leads of 17 and 15 points, respectively, at a time when Americans considered the war in Iraq to be the top problem.

Line graph. Americans' perceptions of which political party can better handle whichever problem they think is the most important facing the country. Forty-one percent say the Republican Party can better handle that problem, while 38% say the Democratic Party can and 20% do not see either party as better. Democrats have usually led on this though the advantages have been small in most years.

Independents Primarily Behind Expanded GOP Advantages

As might be expected, Republicans and Democrats overwhelmingly view their preferred party as better able to handle the most important problem, to keep the country safe from international threats and to keep the country prosperous. Thus, when perceptions of which party is better able to handle these issues change, as occurred this year, independents are usually behind those shifts.

Since last year, there have been double-digit declines in the percentages of independents who say the Democratic Party is better at handling the most important problem (from 42% to 31%), at keeping the nation secure (from 43% to 31%) and at keeping the nation prosperous (from 47% to 35%).

Republicans' gains on these same issues have been smaller, as some independents have shifted to saying neither party is better able to handle these issues. There has been an eight-point increase among independents in saying the Republican Party is better at keeping the country prosperous (from 43% to 51%), a five-point increase for keeping the nation secure (from 48% to 53%) and a nonsignificant two-point change on the most important problem (from 29% to 31%).

Bottom Line

Americans now generally see the Republican Party as better than the Democratic Party at handling two key government objectives -- protecting citizens from international threats and promoting a strong economy. Despite these issue advantages, the Democratic Party still maintains a slight edge in overall favorability, as it has for nearly all of the past decade even as the GOP has typically led on these issue measures. These results, therefore, suggest the Republican Party has not been able to translate its competence edge on key issues to a more positive image of the party overall.

While advantages in party favorability and perceived issue competence are desirable heading into next year's midterm elections, it is not clear that either will be necessary to achieve success. In the last three midterm elections, neither party had a significant edge in favorability, but Democrats had a strong showing in 2018 and the Republicans did in 2010 and 2014. And while Republicans had advantages in perceived handling of national security and the economy in 2010 and 2014, they also did in 2018.

Most often, performance in midterm elections hinges on the popularity of the incumbent president at the time of the election. With Joe Biden in office and his approval rating slumping, unless it improves substantially over the next year, Republicans would likely gain seats in Congress in next year's elections, and control of one or both chambers of Congress.

To stay up to date with the latest Gallup News insights and updates, follow us on Twitter.

Learn more about how the Gallup Poll Social Series works.

View complete question responses and trends (PDF download).
OSU partners with Catholic Charities to resettle Afghan refugees

Media Contact: Shannon Rigsby | Public Information Officer | 405-744-9081 | shannon.rigsby@okstate.edu

Oklahoma State University has partnered with Catholic Charities of Eastern Oklahoma (CCEOK) to help with the relocation and settlement of up to 40 Afghan families who were evacuated by the United States government after the fall of the Afghan government.

CCEOK was notified in early September that assistance was needed to resettle the evacuees into the Stillwater area. OSU and CCEOK are working together to provide support for these families.

The first group of Afghan refugees will arrive on campus in early November and will be housed in approximately 25 unoccupied Residential Life units. Although the full needs of the families are still not certain, CCEOK and OSU are working on providing English as a second language training through the English Language and Intercultural Center, transportation through the OSU community bus network, adult and child programming through the Family Resource Center, assistance with food and furniture drives and volunteer translation services offered by international and other student groups at OSU.

Want to volunteer?

OSU is seeking the help of the Cowboy family to assist with a warm community welcome for these families. Faculty, staff and student organization volunteers are needed to support the Afghan Family Project - Stillwater. Sign up to help.

Donations needed

These families, many with young children, are arriving with nothing but the clothes on their backs. CCEOK is seeking household items, monetary donations and gift cards to provide long-term assistance for these families. Item categories include: Furniture, dinnerware, linens, toiletries, cleaning supplies and more. Donate now.

A website has been created to provide ongoing updates, answer frequently asked questions and to coordinate assistance needed for this project. You can learn more at global.okstate.edu/afghan-project/index.html.

CCEOK is the lead agency on the Afghan Families-Stillwater Project. OSUs response is being led by the School of Global Studies and Partnerships and includes coordination with OSUs academic and auxiliary departments, including Student Affairs, Residential Life, OSU Parking and Transit and others.

Questions about the project can be directed to Dr. Randy Kluver, dean of the School of Global Studies and partnerships, at sgsp@okstate.edu or at 405-744-6606.
Oct. 6The Navy's new "Go for Broke " destroyer named for U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, a World War II hero and one of Hawaii's most influential statesmen, is sailing to its new home port of Pearl Harbor and a Dec. 8 commissioning at Kilo Pier.

The 509-foot warship and crew of about 350 departed Maine's Bath Iron Works shipyard Monday with Cmdr. DonAnn Gilmore at the helm, headed for the Panama Canal and then a straight shot to Hawaii.

The more than $1.5 billion USS Daniel Inouye is expected to be in the Aloha State by Thanksgivinga plus for many of the ship's families, who are already here.

Naval Surface Force U.S. Pacific Fleet said on its Facebook page that "the (commissioning ) date aligns with the 80th anniversary of Pearl Harbor Commemoration " the day before. Both events will be held on Kilo Pier at Pearl Harbor.

The last big ship commissioning in Hawaii was in 2017 when more than 2, 000 people turned out at Pearl Harbor to remember Dec. 7, 1941, hero John Finn and the San Diego destroyer named for him.

With COVID-19 still a concern, however, the Navy and Navy League Honolulu Council are developing a Plan A, B, C and maybe D to honor Inouye, who died in 2012, and the new ship named for him.

"I think the goal has been to think about, how do we continue to do the spirit of what we really want to do but be COVID-safe and figure out what does that mean in terms of numbers of people ?" said Jennifer Sabas, director of the Daniel K. Ino uye Institute in Honolulu.

Navy ship commissionings are usually big on pomp and circumstance and big crowds, and this one celebrates a local boy, Medal of Honor recipient and longtime member of the U.S. Senate, making it extra popular.

But with coronavirus protocols, "we have to be flexible " until there's a little more clarity "on how far can we do the spacing (of guests ) and still be compliant, " Sabas said.

Formal invitations will go out, but the plan already includes the possible need for some to watch the commissioning ceremony virtually, she said.

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DDG 118the other designation for the USS Daniel Inouyeis a Flight IIA Arleigh Burke-class destroyer equipped with Aegis Baseline 9 providing improved integrated air and missile defense, increased computing power and radar upgrades that boost detection range and reaction time against increasingly sophisticated air warfare and ballistic missile threats.

Bath Iron Works is also in production on the future destroyer USS Carl M. Levin, DDG 120, named after a friend of Inouye and fellow Democrat in the Senate, and also planned to be based at Pearl Harbor.

At age 17 following the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, Inouye was pressed into service by the Red Cross at an aid station at Lunalilo School, where he cared for civilian victims.

The Japanese American served with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team in World War II. On April 21, 1945, in Italy, Inouye used grenades and gunfire to neutralize two German machine gun nestseven though wounded by a sniper's bullet. He kept attacking even after a rifle grenade shattered his right arm, which he would lose.

The new destroyer's mottoGo for Brokewas also that of the 442nd and was a gambling reference to taking a big risk on a bet.

"It was an apt motto for the soldiers of the 442nd, " the Go for Broke National Education Center wrote. "As Nisei, or second-generation Japanese Americans, and American-born sons of Japanese immigrants during World War II, they needed to put everything on the line to 'win big.' For these Nisei, they were fighting to win two wars : the war against the Germans in Europe and the war against racial prejudice in America."

Sabas said "we're putting a lot of time and effort into " not only including Inouye memorabilia on the destroyer, including his Medal of Honor flag and certificate, but also incorporating some of the history of Hawaii with the commissioning of Native Hawaiian weaponry and a painting of warriors on the sea.

When the ship first arrives, there will be a welcome with lei, a haka warrior dance and hulaand a uniquely Hawaii bento box for each sailor from Zippy's Restaurants that's a twist on their famously popular Zip Pac.

In this case the sailors will receive a "Dan Pac " with some of the late senator's favorite Zippy's itemscorned beef hash, Spam, garlic chicken, fried noodles and riceSabas said.

The arrival of the USS Daniel Inouye in Hawaii is a long time coming.

General Dynamics Bath Iron Works started fabrication in late 2014. Its delivery was pushed back from December 2018 to April 2020 and then into 2021 due to the complexity of working on Arleigh Burkes and a type of futuristic destroyer known as the Zumwalt class. The builder also experienced labor issues.
Children's books on display at a library. AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File

Knowledge is power, and Emi Kim wants to use books as educational tools to help stop racism.

In July, the 9-year-old from Provo, Utah, opened a lemonade stand so she could earn enough money to buy books about diversity featuring people of color for her school's library. "It matters that everyone is represented," Emi told Good Morning America. "We're afraid of what we don't know and I think that's partly the reason why we treat people badly based on how they look."

Emi's goal was to purchase 15 books for her school, but she raised $762 and was able to donate books to five additional schools in Provo. She selected children's books with Black, Polynesian, Native American, Latino, and Asian main characters, which were "actually written or illustrated by someone of that race," Emi's mom, Dorie Kim, told GMA. After hearing what Emi did, the Provo school district purchased the same books to ensure students at every elementary school have access to the titles.

In September, Emi set up another lemonade stand, and raised $3,029, which will go toward buying books about children with disabilities. "I really just like to help people," she told GMA. "Being treated based on the way you look is not right. We're all people and that's all that really matters."

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(Refiles to correct date to Oct 6 in dateline)

By Daniel Wiessner

(Reuters) - Tesla Inc will likely seek to slash a $137 million jury award for a Black worker who accused the automaker of racial discrimination, but could have difficulty reducing the verdict amid claims that the company tolerated widespread harassment, legal experts said.

A federal jury in San Francisco on Monday ordered https://www.reuters.com/technology/tesla-ordered-pay-over-130-mln-black-former-worker-over-racism-wsj-2021-10-05 Tesla to pay $130 million in punitive damages to Owen Diaz, a contract worker who was employed as an elevator operator at the company's factory in Fremont, California, according to a court filing.

The jury found that Tesla failed to take steps to prevent race-based harassment of factory workers, including the use of racial slurs and racist graffiti in bathrooms. Tesla also was ordered to pay Diaz $6.9 million in compensatory damages.

Punitive damages are designed to punish and to deter future unlawful conduct, while compensatory damages are intended to pay victims for their actual losses.

The U.S. Supreme Court has said https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/538/408 punitive damages should generally not exceed 10 times the amount of compensatory damages, and that even a ratio greater than 4:1 might be excessive. As a result, large awards handed down by impassioned juries are commonly reduced by trial judges or appeals courts at the behest of defendants.

If Tesla challenges Monday's verdict, the company will likely point to the fact that the amount of punitive damages is nearly 19 times the compensatory damages, legal experts not involved in the case said. Tesla could also claim the verdict was not supported by evidence, and attempt to settle with Diaz to stave off further litigation over the size of the jury award, the experts said.

The Supreme Court guidelines can go out the window if misconduct has a widespread impact on workers and is found to be highly offensive or reprehensible, according to Catherine Sharkey, a professor at New York University School of Law.

Story continues

Since the jury found that Tesla had created a hostile work environment based on race, it follows that allegations that the company tolerated racist speech and graffiti affected other workers and could justify the massive award, she said.

"The idea is that making an employer pay for that widespread harm could lead them to put in place measures to avoid future harm," she said.

In a memo to employees on Monday, Tesla Vice President Valerie Workman said the company believed the facts of the case did not warrant the large award, and that Tesla took immediate action each of the three times that Diaz complained about racist conduct.

Tesla did not responded to requests for comment on a potential appeal.

Lawrence Organ, a lawyer for Diaz, said the case was unusual because of evidence of widespread use of the "N word" at the Fremont plant and Tesla's failure to address it.

"We would argue that ... the jury got it right, particularly in light of Tesla's financial condition as one of the wealthiest corporations in the world," Organ said.

Several legal experts said the award for Diaz was among the largest in a U.S. discrimination case involving a single plaintiff.

A federal jury in 2014 awarded $186 million to a former AutoZone Stores Inc manager in a pregnancy bias case, which at the time was widely reported in the media to be the largest verdict of its kind. AutoZone moved for a new trial but settled with the plaintiff on undisclosed terms before the motion was decided.

The nine-figure award for Diaz is "pretty unheard of," and sends a message to employers that tolerating discrimination can be costly, said David Lopez, a professor at Rutgers Law School in New Jersey who was general counsel of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission during the Obama administration.

Tesla has been accused of tolerating race-based harassment at the Fremont plant in several lawsuits aside from Diaz's, including a pending class action in California state court. The company has denied the claims and says it has adopted policies to better address complaints about racially-charged incidents.

Lopez said the jurors in Tesla's case likely took into account the pervasiveness of the conduct alleged by Diaz and the company's value and high profile, which could also come into play if the company seeks to lower the jury award.

Tesla's market value has reached https://www.reuters.com/article/tesla-stocks-int/tesla-market-value-crosses-800-billion-for-the-first-time-idUSKBN29D20B nearly $800 billion, making it the world's most valuable automaker.

"The jury was asking itself, 'what would sting Tesla and make sure they don't treat this as just another cost of doing business?'" Lopez said.

(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner; Additional reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Rebekah Mintzer, Noeleen Walder and Grant McCool)
By Rahman Muchtar and Heru Asprihanto

MAROS, Indonesia (Reuters) - Genetic traces in the body of a young woman who died 7,000 years ago furnish the first clue that mixing between early humans in Indonesia and those from faraway Siberia took place much earlier than previously thought.

Theories about early human migration in Asia could be transformed by the research https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03823-6 published in the scientific journal Nature in August, after analysis of the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), or the genetic fingerprint, of the woman who was given a ritual burial in an Indonesian cave.

"There is the possibility that the Wallacea region could have been a meeting point of two human species, between the Denisovans and early homo sapiens," said Basran Burhan, an archaeologist from Australia's Griffith University.

Burhan, one of the scientists who participated in the research, was referring to the region of Indonesia that includes South Sulawesi, where the body, buried with rocks in its hands and on the pelvis, was found in the Leang Pannige cave complexes.

The Denisovans were a group of ancient humans named after a cave in Siberia where their remains were first identified in 2010 and scientists understand little about them, even details of their appearance.

The DNA from Besse, as the researchers named the young woman in Indonesia, using the term for a new born baby girl in the regional Bugis language, is one of the few well-preserved specimens found in the tropics.

It showed she descended from the Austronesian people common to Southeast Asia and Oceania but with the inclusion of a small Denisovan portion, the scientists said.

"Genetic analyses show that this pre-Neolithic forager... represents a previously unknown divergent human lineage," they said in the paper.

Since scientists have until recently thought North Asian people such as the Denisovans only arrived in Southeast Asia about 3,500 years ago, Besse's DNA changes theories about patterns of early human migration.

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The discovery may also offer insights into the origins of Papuans and Indigenous Australian people who share Denisovan DNA.

"Theories about migration will change, as theories about race will also change," said Iwan Sumantri, a lecturer at Hasanuddin University in South Sulawesi, who is also involved in the project.

Besse's remains provide the first sign of Denisovans among Austronesians, who are Indonesia's oldest ethnic grouping, he added.

"Now try to imagine how they spread and distributed their genes for it to reach Indonesia," Sumantri said.

(Writing by Christian Schmollinger; Editing by Richard Pullin and Clarence Fernandez)
A nurse prepares a syringe containing a malaria vaccine at the maternity ward of the Ewin Polyclinic, the first Ghanaian clinic to roll out the malaria vaccine Mosquirix or RTS,S, in Cape Coast, Ghana, on April 30, 2019. Cristina Aldehuela/AFP/Getty

The World Health Organization recommended rolling out the world's first malaria vaccine Wednesday.

A pilot program in Africa showed four doses of the shot reduces the risk of getting malaria by 40%.

Malaria kills 400,000 people a year, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa. A majority of deaths occur in children under 5.

See more stories on Insider's business page.

The World Health Organization has recommended a global rollout of the world's first malaria vaccine.

Named RTS,S, or Mosquirix, the vaccine has been more than 30 years in the making. Created by pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline in 1987, it was subsequently developed and tested with support and funding from PATH, a Seattle-based global health group, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

According to clinical data, the vaccine prevents four in 10 cases of malaria and three in 10 cases of severe, life-threatening malaria - which should require hospitalization - among children between the ages of 5 months and 17 months at least four years after vaccination. (Children under age 5 are the most vulnerable to this illness; a majority of annual malaria deaths occur among individuals in this age group.)

"Using this vaccine in addition to existing tools to prevent malaria could save tens of thousands of young lives each year," WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a press conference Wednesday, adding that the shot "changes the course of public health history."

-World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) October 6, 2021

The agency said its recommendation is based on an ongoing pilot program in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi that has vaccinated more than 800,000 children with RTS,S since 2019. Results from the program reflect similar vaccine effectiveness in the real world - reducing the risk of getting malaria by 40%, and risk of needing hospitalization due to severe malaria by 30%, STAT reported.

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The first-ever vaccine against a human parasite

RTS,S is a four-dose vaccine. During the WHO pilot program, children in the three African countries recieved their first dose when they were either five or six months old, then recieved their second and third doses at monthly intervals after that. Then they got the fourth dose near their second birthday.

According to STAT, concerns over whether parents would bring their children into clinics to receive all four doses - particularly the delayed dose, which needs to be administered more than a year after the first three - prompted the WHO's scientific advisers to suggest the pilot program before recommending a broad rollout.

But Tedros said the program's results over the last two year indicate that "community demand for the vaccine is strong" and shots readily reach children at high coverage levels.

A baby receives a malaria vaccine from a nurse at the maternity ward of the Ewin Polyclinic, the first Ghanaian clinic to roll out the malaria vaccine Mosquirix or RTS,S, in Cape Coast, Ghana, on April 30, 2019. Cristina Aldehuela/AFP/Getty

Malaria is a disease caused by various Plasmodium parasites that get transmitted to humans by infected mosquitoes. Infected patients experience fever, chills, abdominal pain, vomiting, joint pain, and fatigue between one and two weeks after being bitten. If some infections are not treated within 24 hours of the first symptoms, a person can develop severe malaria.

Individuals with severe illness have a 90% risk of dying if they do not seek medical care. That risk drops to 20% for hospitalized patients.

The RTS,S vaccine is the first shot that targets a human parasite. It is also the first malaria vaccine that's advanced to Phase 3 clinical trials and considered by the WHO for a pilot program.

GlaxoSmithKline's clinical trials, which tested the shot on 15,500 participants (including 9,000 children between 5 and 17 months) in seven African countries between 2009 and 2014, showed a four-dose vaccine regimen would avert 484 malaria deaths per 100,000 children vaccinated. The vaccine was also 36% effective against malarial infection over 4 years of follow-up.

'Its value will be felt most in Africa'

Health officials prepare to vaccinate residents of the Malawi village of Tomali on December 11, 2019, where young children are test subjects for the world's first vaccine against malaria. Jerome Delay/AP

Preventive malarial treatment for developing fetuses during pregnancy, prompt treatment of confirmed cases with anti-malarial medicines, and insecticides and nets around beds to deter mosquitoes have all helped halve the number of global malaria deaths in the last two decades.

But more than 400,000 people still die of the illness every year.

Tedros said this vaccine is a gift to the world, but added "its value will be felt most in Africa, because that's where the burden of malaria is greatest."

More than 90% of malaria cases occur in Africa, according to the WHO.

Malaria killed 409,000 people in 2019 - the latest year with available data - and nearly all of them lived in sub-Saharan Africa. About 67% of those deaths, or more than a quarter-million fatalities, were children under age 5.

Read the original article on Business Insider
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Armed men killed at least 18 people and set ablaze cars and shops in Nigeria's Zamfara state, where the government has imposed a telecoms blackout as part of a security operation against groups of kidnappers, two residents said on Wednesday.

Northwest Nigeria has been engulfed in crisis since late 2020, when groups of armed men began a spate of mass abductions from schools and other violent attacks on villages and on people travelling by road.

Two residents said the attack on Kuryan Madaro village in Zamfara happened around 9 p.m. on Tuesday when a dozens of bandits rode into the village on motor-bikes.

Abubakar Yakubu a resident of Kuryan Madaro who had travelled to neighbouring Kebbi state told Reuters by phone that the men had shot sporadically, forcing villagers to flee.

Abubakar Abdullahi Alhassan, a lecturer at Kebbi State Polytechnic who has relatives in Zamfara, confirmed the attack.

"Many other people obtained various degrees of injuries as the result of this attack," said Alhassan said.

Zamfara state police spokesman Muhammed Shehu could not be reached for comment after repeated calls to his mobile phone.

Alhassan shared pictures of the burial of some of the people said to have died during the attack but Reuters could not independently verify them.

Zamfara State is among states worst hit by kidnappings and is under a telecoms blockade since early September, which authorities said they imposed to disrupt coordination among the bandits and help the armed forces to tackle them.

But that has also meant few people know what is going on in Zamfara as authorities are not forthcoming with information on their operations.

(Reporting by Maiduguri newsroom, Writing by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
Telecoms have long been accused of trying to skew politics, but a new report suggests AT&T might have gone further than most. According to The Verge, Reuters reports that AT&T is a major backer for One America News Network (OAN), a right-wing media outlet YouTube temporarily banned last November for spreading misinformation. While multiple TV providers carry the channel, an OAN accountant testified in 2020 that 90 percent of OAN parent Herring Networks' revenue, tens of millions of dollars, came through deals with AT&T-owned platforms that included DirecTV.

OAN founder Robert Herring separately testified that AT&T executives inspired him to launch the network in 2013 after looking at a media landscape with relatively few conservative outlets. Court documents also indicated that AT&T offered to buy a 5 percent equity stake in OAN and Herring's lifestyle channel AWE, although the two ended up choosing a different agreement.

OAN even claimed that one AT&T executive, Aaron Slator, offered to put the channel on DirecTV in return for help lobbying for the satellite broadcaster's 2014 merger. The Herring family also supposedly met FCC officials to talk about the merger and speak well of AT&T in news stories. AT&T has denied making the offer linked to Slator, and an OAN lawsuit alleging a breach of that deal supposedly led to AT&T adding OAN to DirecTV's selection.

AT&T rejected claims of undue influence in responses to Reuters and The Verge. The carrier maintained that DirecTV "does not dictate" channel programming, and that DirecTV merger support was "never a condition of or part of" any content carriage agreement. In a Twitter statement, AT&T maintained it "never had a financial interest" in OAN and that the decision to carry the network was now in DirecTV's hands.

The concern, as you might imagine, is that AT&T may have contributed to the spread of misinformation without being held to account like online providers and other companies. On top of YouTube suspending OAN following a violation of COVID-19 misinformation rules, voting machine maker Dominion sued the network in August this year over unproven claims of election fraud. If the report is accurate, there could easily be pressure on AT&T to distance itself from OAN and focus more on its core services than politics.
The World Health Organization on Wednesday recommended the first vaccine against malaria for widespread use inoculating children in sub-Saharan Africa and other at-risk regions.

Why it matters: Malaria kills more than 400,000 people per year, more than half of them children under 5. The introduction of the first vaccine could reinvigorate the fight against the disease, which has stagnated in recent years, per the press release.

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"Todays recommendation offers a glimmer of hope for the continent which shoulders the heaviest burden of the disease and we expect many more African children to be protected from malaria and grow into healthy adults," Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa, said in the press release.

The big picture: The new vaccine is administered in four doses and has already been used to inoculate more than 800,000 children in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi as part of a pilot program, per the press release.

Called RTS,S or Mosquirix, the new vaccine is also the first to be developed against any parasitic disease, notes the New York Times.

The vaccine acts against Plasmodium falciparum, the deadliest malaria parasite and the most common in Africa, per the press release.

This is a historic moment. The long-awaited malaria vaccine for children is a breakthrough for science, child health and malaria control, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in the press release.

Using this vaccine on top of existing tools to prevent malaria could save tens of thousands of young lives each year," he added.

But, but, but: The vaccine reduced severe cases of malaria by just 30%, and it's too soon to tell what impact it will have on the number of deaths, notes the Wall Street Journal.

It could also be years before the vaccine is widely available in sub-Saharan Africa, per the Journal.

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Miami Herald

She waited five years to confront Tom Privett, her former high school teacher, the man who groomed and manipulated her on campus. The man who raped her over and over inside his classroom.
By Ernest Scheyder

(Reuters) - BMW said on Wednesday it will invest in lithium technology startup Lilac Solutions Inc to support more-efficient ways to produce the electric vehicle battery metal.

Privately-held Lilac is part of a growing number of technology developers seeking to extract lithium from saltwater brines faster, cheaper and with less water than evaporation ponds, which have long been the industry standard.

BMW, which already buys lithium from China's Ganfeng Lithium Co and other traditional lithium producers, said it sees Lilac's technology as a way to boost global production of the white metal as demand grows from the EV market.

"This holds the promise of becoming a new extraction technology that allows access to more green lithium," said Kasper Sage of BMW i Ventures, BMW's venture capital fund.

The German automaker is participating in Lilac's Series B funding round alongside SK Materials Co, Sumitomo Corp investment arm Presidio Ventures and others.

BMW declined to discuss its investment amount, though the total from all investors announced on Wednesday was less than $20 million, according to regulatory filings. T. Rowe Price and others were part of an initial $130 million funding round for Lilac's Series B announced last month.

Lilac plans to use the funds to construct a U.S. manufacturing facility for ion exchange beads, which are core to its extraction process.

The company last month agreed to use its technology https://www.reuters.com/business/sustainable-business/australias-lake-resources-teams-up-with-clean-tech-firm-lilac-develop-argentina-2021-09-21 to develop a lithium project in Argentina with Lake Resources NL.

"Lilac has focused on proving our technology is reliable and scalable. And that's been resonating with members of the supply chain," said Dave Snydacker, Lilac's chief executive.

Lilac's peers include privately held EnergySource Minerals LLC and Energy Exploration Technologies Inc, as well as Vulcan Energy Resources Ltd, Standard Lithium Ltd and E3 Metals Corp.

(Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
Bretman Rock Roy Rochlin/Getty Images

Bretman Rock is Playboy's first openly gay cover star.

Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny was the first solo male Playboy cover star in 2020.

Rock, who is Filipino, appears on the cover during Filipino American History Month.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Bretman Rock, a 23-year-old Flipino influencer with an online audience of millions, is the first gay, male Playboy cover star, appearing on the magazine's October digital cover. With photos and video of Rock posing in the iconic Playboy bunny suit, the publication announced that he was the cover star on social media on October 1.

Rock rose to fame on YouTube predominately through beauty and makeup-focused content but began to shift his focus away from the beauty industry in 2020. The content creator has 8.8 million subscribers on YouTube and 17.8 million followers on Instagram.

He previously told Insider in a February interview that in the time since, he has expanded his purview, saying that he wanted to "switch up the gender labels of freakin' fashion." He's also starred in his own MTV reality show called "Following: Bretman Rock."

Rock, per Playboy, isn't the first man to don the iconic bunny suit. He's also not the first male star to adorn the cover, following in the footsteps of Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny, who made history by being the first man to appear alone on the cover, CNN reported, with the exception of Hugh Hefner, Playboy's founder.

Rock is, however, the first out gay man to appear solo on the cover.

"For Playboy to have a male on the cover is a huge deal for the LGBT community, for my brown people community and it's all so surreal. A total 'is this even fucking happening right now?' type of vibe. And I'm so pretty," Rock was quoted as saying in a tweet on the official Playboy account.

"I'm a @playboy bunny," Rock said in his own tweet about the digital cover. "DUHHHHHH."

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Anthony Allen Ramos, the head of talent at LGBTQ media advocacy group GLAAD, told Yahoo in a statement that Rock's appearance not only as a gay man but a Filipino one was a milestone.

"As the first out gay man to cover the magazine, especially during Filipino American History Month, Bretman Rock is continuing to defy gender norms and use his massive social platform to not only break down barriers for LGBTQ inclusion in the industry, but also inspire so many other LGBTQ Filipinos who have been underrepresented in fashion, modeling, and across media," Ramos told Yahoo.

In a Twitter thread, Playboy spoke out on Rock's behalf, saying that while it had received a great number of supportive comments, it had also received offensive ones regarding Rock's cover.

"If a gay man feels sexy in a bunny costume, an iconic symbol of sexiness, why shouldn't he be able to wear it proudly?" The official Playboy account tweeted.

Read more stories from Insider's Digital Culture desk.

Read the original article on Insider
By Jessica Resnick-Ault and Daniel Trotta

(Reuters) -Democratic members of Congress from California seized on the oil spill off the state's coast to call for investigations into why it took several hours before a pipeline operator reported the spill to federal authorities - and the subsequent lag before the public was notified of the danger of the spill.

Investigators were still searching for what caused the offshore pipeline to rupture, sending more than 3,000 barrels (126,000 gallons) of crude oil into the Pacific Ocean. The spill soiled the coastline and forced officials to close beaches in several cities in Orange County, just south of Los Angeles.

The U.S. Coast Guard and drilling company Amplify Energy Corp came under further scrutiny about the time it took to respond to the spill, amid reports that mariners in the area first reported seeing oil in the water on Friday night local time.

Official notification to the National Response Center (NRC) did not come until Saturday around midday.

Amplify's Chief Executive Martyn Willsher said the company was not informed of a spill until Saturday morning. "If we were aware of something on Friday night I promise you we would have immediately stopped all operations," he said at a Wednesday press conference.

A letter from the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to Amplify on Monday noted that the line ruptured at roughly 0530 EDT on Saturday, but Amplify subsidiary Beta Offshore did not shut the line for roughly three-and-a-half hours.

Willsher said the company is working with investigators to determine whether there was a loss of pipeline pressure that would have triggered leak detection warnings.

"The pipeline reportedly should have been monitored by an automated leak detection system," said wrote several Democratic members of Congress in a letter Wednesday, including Carolyn Maloney, chair of the House's oversight committee.

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Tom Umberg, a state Senator who represents the coastal region, told a news conference Tuesday that officials needed to explain why the response was delayed and whether the pipeline had been adequately inspected.

"It's very difficult for us to understand how this could occur," Umberg said.

The pipeline that burst is supposed to be inspected every two years, according to the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), which monitors offshore activity.

The pipeline's last internal inspection was October 2019, BSEE said. That inspection discovered eight anomalies, of which the two largest were reported as repaired, according to a memorandum detailing a 2019 inspection of the Beta Offshore pipeline.

The oil appears to have leaked through a 13-inch (33-cm) gash in the pipe, which was situated about 105 feet from where it should have been, Willsher said Tuesday. Amplify owns the pipeline and connected rigs.

In all, a 4,000-foot (1.2-km) section of the 17.7-mile (28.5 km) pipeline was displaced laterally from its official location according to mapping data, officials said.

The U.S. Coast Guard was investigating whether a vessel in the vicinity a few days earlier could be responsible, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The type of oil that is leaking is thick and tarry. According to federal filings, the crude has an American Petroleum Institute gravity ranging from 13 to 16, indicating its thick characteristics. That means some of it may not float, making it even harder to clean up.

(Reporting by Nichola Groom, Jessica Resnick Ault, Lisa Baertlein and Daniel Trotta; Editing by David Gaffen, David Gregorio and Lincoln Feast)
She never saw it coming.

A California psychic, Sophia Adams, and her business, Psychic Love Specialist by Sophia, are being sued for $25,000 by Mauro Restrepo, who claimed she failed to remove a curse placed on him by his ex-girlfriend, according to Fox 11.

CALIFORNIA TEACHERS UNION WARNS SCHOOLS ABOUT 'SLAP A STAFF MEMBER' TIKTOK CHALLENGE

"Despite [Adams's] promises, [she] did not in any way help [Restrepo's] marriage," the suit states.

Restrepo met with the Palos Verdes Estates psychic in September, and she told him a curse had been placed upon him and asked for $5,100 to have it removed. If the curse was not removed, Adams said the bad luck would ruin not only Restrepo but also his marriage and children, according to the suit.

Restrepo gave Adams a $1,000 down payment to remove the curse. Despite this, he still suffered "sleepless nights, anxiety and anguish," and he is suing Adams and her business for fraud, negligence, civil conspiracy, and intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress. In addition to Adams, the suit also lists her husband, her daughter, and her landlords, according to the suit.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Psychic Love Specialist by Sophia's Facebook page says it "has been helping relationships begin and grow for over 45 years." The business also is rated four out of five stars on Yelp, where it has 16 reviews.

Psychic Love Specialist by Sophia did not immediately respond to the Washington Examiner's request for comment.

Washington Examiner Videos

Tags: News, California, psychiatry, lawsuit

Original Author: Asher Notheis

Original Location: California man sues psychic for $25,000 for failing to remove curse
Education officials in California warned school faculty members Tuesday about a trend on TikTok that encourages students to slap their teachers on video.

The slapping trend reportedly started earlier in October, and one teacher in South Carolina was struck in the head, according to the Lancaster County School District.

"Educators beware!" the California Teachers Association posted. "As if widespread vandalism in our schools last month wasn't enough, the same 'challenge' circulating on social media networks TikTok and Twitter is now calling for students to 'slap a staff member.'"

TIKTOK HITS 1 BILLION ACTIVE MONTHLY USERS, PLATFORM SAYS

There have not been any reported incidents of teachers being slapped in the Los Angeles Unified School District, but the schools are on alert, a district spokesperson said.



TikTok will withdraw any videos that promote the challenge, a company spokesperson said.

"Slapping a teacher, regardless of whether it results in injury, is assault and battery, and is completely unacceptable," CTA President E. Toby Boyd said in a Tuesday memo.

"Recording in a classroom or on other school property without permission is illegal," he continued. "In addition to potential serious harm to victims, a student perpetrator could face serious consequences, including expulsion or criminal prosecution."

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

This latest challenge became popular about a month after another TikTok trend saw students vandalize and destroy school property, especially restrooms, across the country.

Washington Examiner Videos

Tags: News, California, Teachers Unions, TikTok, Social Media

Original Author: Luke Gentile

Original Location: California teachers union warns schools about 'slap a staff member' TikTok challenge
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All new Charlotte city government hires will be required to get the COVID-19 vaccine, city officials told employees in an email Wednesday.

Roughly 70% of Charlotte government employees are now at least partially vaccinated as of Wednesday. That rate means vaccinated city employees will likely miss out on an additional $250 offered by city leaders if employees could hit a 75% vaccination threshold by Sept. 30.

There are approximately 7,740 workers for the city  5,445 city workers are at least partially vaccinated.

Vaccinated employees will still get $250 just for getting the coronavirus vaccine by Sept. 30, but vaccinated employees could have gotten up to $500 in total if they had hit that 75% threshold. The city needed 360 more employees to get the vaccine to hit that threshold.

Employees who are partially vaccinated must get their second shot by Nov. 19 to get the initial $250 reward.

Roughly 70% of Charlotte government employees are now at least partially vaccinated.

The financial incentives will be paid out to employees by the end of the year, city spokesman Cory Burkarth told the Observer.

Rules for city workers

The monetary incentives program for vaccinations has ended, Burkarth said. But there are other incentives on the table for city employees through the end of the year, the city outlined in an email to employees Wednesday.

In that email, Charlotte officials outlined requirements for the COVID-19 vaccines for the first time.

The vaccines are not required for existing employees but will be require for any new hires, the city said in the email.

And employees (new and existing) must be vaccinated to be eligible for a Wellness Incentive program, part of the citys benefits plan. The program provides a financial reward to eligible employees and spouses through an annual medical premium savings or city contribution, according to the city.

The Wellness Incentive program provides an average of $775 a year in savings for employees, Burkarth said. Employees must upload proof of vaccination for themselves and their spouse, if enrolled in the citys medical plan, by Dec. 1 to enroll in the program.

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Mecklenburg County government has gone a step further than the city, requiring proof of vaccination or weekly testing for all employees.

As of last week, Mecklenburg County had fired 16 employees  including five full-time workers  for noncompliance with its COVID-19 protocols.

Unvaccinated employees who do not provide proof of testing each week are put on immediate unpaid suspension. And any employee who is noncompliant for two consecutive weeks will be dismissed, the county has said.

Department by department

Heres what the vaccination rates are by Charlotte city government department:

City attorney (39 employees): 94.9% vaccinated

Aviation (638 employees): 72.4% vaccinated

CATS (468 employees): 67.7% vaccinated

Communication (36 employees): 83.3% vaccinated

Transportation (351 employees): 76.4% vaccinated

City Clerk (8 employees): 62.5% vaccinated

Charlotte Water (913 employees): 72.5% vaccinated

Community Relations (16 employees): 100% vaccinated

City Manager (9 employees): 100% vaccinated

Economic Development (18 employees): 94.4%

Finance (95 employees): 92.6% vaccinated

Fire (1,224 employees): 59.4% vaccinated

General Services (411 employees): 78.4% vaccinated

Housing (218 employees): 76.2% vaccinated

Human Resources (54 employees): 90.7% vaccinated

Innovation & Technology (211 employees): 87.7% vaccinated

Internal Audit (10 employees): 100% vaccinated

Planning (109 employees): 91.7% vaccinated

Police (2,407 employees): 66.6% vaccinated

Strategy & Budget (15 employees): 93.3% vaccinated

Stormwater Services (185 employees): 81.1% vaccinated

Solid Waste (305 employees): 68.5% vaccinated

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated employees could still reach the 75% vaccination threshold to receive an additional $250 in incentives. The program ended Sept. 30. Workers can no longer get a one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine to receive a $250 incentive.
By Aislinn Laing and Allison Martell

CASABLANCA, Chile (Reuters) -Down a dusty farm track in Chilean wine country, behind a wooden gate wrapped in chains, forestry experts are nursing a plantation of saplings whose bark holds the promise of potent vaccines.

Quillay trees, technically known as Quillaja saponaria, are rare evergreens native to Chile that have long been used by the indigenous Mapuche people to make soap and medicine. In recent years, they have also been used to make a highly successful vaccine against shingles and the worlds first malaria vaccine, as well as foaming agents for products in the food, beverage and mining industries.

Now two saponin molecules, made from the bark of branches pruned from older trees in Chiles forests, are being used for a COVID-19 vaccine developed by drugmaker Novavax Inc. The chemicals are used to make adjuvant, a substance that boosts the immune system.

Over the next two years, Maryland-based Novavax plans to produce billions of doses of the vaccine, mostly for low- and middle-income countries, which would make it one of the largest COVID-19 vaccine suppliers in the world.

With no reliable data on how many healthy quillay trees are left in Chile, experts and industry officials are divided on how quickly the supply of older trees will be depleted by rising demand. But nearly everyone agrees that industries relying on quillay extracts will at some point need to switch to plantation-grown trees or a lab-grown alternative.

A Reuters analysis of export data from trade data provider ImportGenius shows that the supply of older trees is under increasing pressure. Exports of quillay products more than tripled to more than 3,600 tonnes per year in the decade before the pandemic.

Ricardo San Martin, who developed the pruning and extraction process that created the modern quillay industry, said producers must immediately work toward making quillay products from younger, plantation-grown trees.

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My estimate four years ago was that we were heading towards the sustainability limit, he said.

San Martin said he has toiled through the COVID-19 pandemic in the basement of his oceanfront cabin in Sea Ranch, California, to refine a process that could help produce saponins from leaves and twigs in order to maximize the yield.

I am working as though this needs to be done yesterday, said San Martin, who is also sponsoring a project in which drones would count quillay trees in remote and hard-to-access forests, to determine how many are left.

Quillay producers and their customers say the harvest can continue for now without decimating the supply of older trees.

We continue to monitor the situation in Chile, in close collaboration with our supplier, but at this time we are confident in our supply, Novavax said in a statement to Reuters. The company also said it was confident that uses such as life-saving vaccines will be prioritized.

The desert-plant extract company Desert King International Ltd, which runs the Casablanca plantation, is Novavaxs sole supplier of quillay extracts and Chiles largest quillay exporter by far.

The companys manager in Chile, Andres Gonzalez, told Reuters it is set to produce enough quillay extract from older trees to make up to 4.4 billion vaccine doses in 2022. With new supplies from privately owned native forests, they have enough raw material to meet demand for the rest of this year and part of next, he said.

Gonzalez said the company, where San Martin is a consultant, has built a new production plant and has the capacity to supply other interested pharmaceutical firms - all without harming the forests.

He acknowledged, however, that at some point these native forests will come to an end.

We want to start having very productive plantations, and we are working on that," he said.

A relatively small volume of quillay extract is required to make vaccines - just under one milligram per dose - but the supply is stretched by the demand from other industries. Quillay products are used, for instance, as a natural additive in animal feed, a biopesticide and an agent to reduce pollution in mining.

Individual quillay trees grow outside of Chile, but Chile is the only country where mature quillay is harvested from forests in large quantities.

AN ELUSIVE INGREDIENT

Novavaxs adjuvant, known as Matrix-M, contains two key saponin molecules. One of those, called QS-21, is more difficult to access because it is found mainly in trees that are at least 10 years old.

Among major pharmaceutical companies, only GlaxoSmithKline PLC and Novavax have bet heavily on QS-21, a relatively new pharmaceutical ingredient.

GSKs highly successful vaccine against shingles, Shingrix, and several other promising experimental vaccines contain QS-21 supplied by Desert King. In a statement, GSK said it has no specific challenges relating to sustainable supply of QS-21.

The quillay-based adjuvant used in Shingrix is also part of the worlds first malaria vaccine, Mosquirix. On Wednesday, the World Health Organization said it should be widely given to African children, marking what could be a major advance against malaria.

No other COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers are relying on quillay bark extracts. Some drugmakers are developing synthetic alternatives, but these could be years from regulatory approval. Switching out the ingredients in any existing vaccine would require new clinical studies to prove the product is safe and effective.

The Massachusetts-based pharmaceutical company Agenus stopped selling bark-derived QS-21 several years ago to focus full-time on trying to grow it from quillay plant cells in a laboratory.

The shortage of QS-21 has been an issue for a while, said Jason Paragas, Agenus vice president of strategic initiatives and growth exploration. We saw it before COVID, and we made the hard decision that we had to change.

Paragas said it is too soon to say when an alternative could be ready.

Entrepreneur Gaston Salinas said his Davis, California-based startup Botanical Solution Inc can already produce QS-21 from quillay tissue starting with seeds in the lab, and aims to eventually produce the chemical on a large scale to supply pharmaceutical companies.

You cannot afford to over-exploit the native Chilean forest because of a desire to develop modern vaccines. You need to find other ways to develop your products, even if its something so important,  he said.

AN EYE TOWARD THE FUTURE

Inside the gate of the carefully guarded Desert King plantation, gardeners carefully tend to the young trees using fertilizers and bountiful supplies of water. They were cloned from full-grown cousins whose dusty gray bark was especially rich in saponins.

If all goes well, the plantation could be producing for one customer in two to three years, according to Desert Kings business development manager Damian Hiley. He declined to name the company.

Desert King has its eye on future vaccines, some already in the works.

In early 2020, for instance, GSK licensed an experimental tuberculosis vaccine that contains GSKs QS-21-based adjuvant to the Bill and Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute. It showed promising results in a mid-stage trial.

And in April, researchers at Oxford University announced that a new malaria vaccine containing Novavaxs Matrix-M adjuvant appeared to be highly effective in a trial involving 450 children in Burkina Faso.

Gustavo Cruz, a researcher at the University of Chile who worked with San Martin to industrialize production of quillay, said he generally trusts quillay producers to manage supply and demand. He is more worried about other threats - specifically drought and fire.

The trees do eventually regrow, he said, but there comes a time when they don't anymore.

(Aislinn Laing reported from Casablanca; Allison Martell from Toronto. Additional reporting by Nivedita Balu in Bangalore. Editing by Caroline Humer, Peter Henderson and Julie Marquis)
Some Chinese TikTokers recorded themselves venturing into Evergrande to film the progress of construction work and check if the company was resuming work on its real estate projects. Screengrab/Douyin

Chinese TikTokers are taking it upon themselves to investigate Evergrande's claims that work on its real estate projects is resuming.

TikTokers recorded themselves visiting various construction sites, filming with drones and interviewing security staff.

Evergrande claimed last week that it had resumed work on 46 real estate projects across China.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Chinese TikTokers are taking it upon themselves to investigate whether or not the troubled real estate giant is resuming work on its construction projects.

In videos posted on the Chinese version of TikTok, Douyin, several content creators were seen visiting the construction sites of Evergrande's various real estate projects with drones and other filming equipment.

Evergrande is now the most indebted company in the world. It's currently facing more than $300 billion in liabilities. The company's failure to pay off its debts set off tremors across regional and international markets and sparked a debt crisis across its real estate and wealth management arms. It also caused work on most of Evergrande's 800 development projects across China to pause over the summer.

In a video posted on October 4, a TikToker with the ID Mr. Lu detailed his visit to an Evergrande construction site in Shenyang city, in China's north-eastern Liaoning province.

"Well, you can see that things are boarded up. And over here, the workers' dorms are all empty," Lu said, filming his walk around the site.

Undeterred from not being let past the barricades, Lu filmed himself sending a drone up to check out construction progress.

"I've flown over the entire development. You can see from the footage that no work is happening," Lu said.

In another video uploaded on October 5, Lu also filmed himself visiting another Evergrande construction site in Shenyang.

"There are no sounds of construction and no movement. Seems like nothing's happening at this development, too," Lu said, posting footage of the quiet construction site.

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Another TikTok account with the ID Heng Da Fu Gong Le Ma posted multiple videos detailing visits to various construction sites in Lishui city, in the southern province of Zhejiang. The user's latest video, posted on October 5, showed footage of garbage and steel pipes strewn around an empty construction site.

"Back at the construction site here in Lishui, no sound can be heard, and no movement can be seen," read the caption on another video posted by Heng Da Fu Gong Le Ma.

Other TikTok users also recorded the grim sight of abandoned and decaying construction site. One TikTok user with the ID Lao Cheng Zhao Fang wormed his way around the barricades at Evergrande's Urumqi Yang Sheng Gu development to film the site, which appeared empty and devoid of activity.

"Even the scaffolding was removed at some areas here, despite the place being half-built," he pointed out in his video. "This looks really bad."

TikTok users also found encouraging signs of work continuing at select locations

Evergrande said last week that it was resuming work on 46 of its real estate projects. Long Wei/Costfoto/Barcroft Media via Getty Images

Some TikTokers did, however, find encouraging signs that construction work was resuming in some areas. TikTok user Xi Yang Shuo Fang posted a video on September 25, showing herself visiting an Evergrande site in Luoyang and interviewing two Evergrande employees, who said there was some construction work going on, albeit with far fewer workers.

Another TikTok user with the ID Xi An Yi Yang Fang Chan visited an Evergrande construction site in the city of Xi'an, in the central Shaanxi province, on October 3. At the site, he filmed a crane moving and several workers milling around the area.

Evergrande claimed last week that it had resumed work on 46 real estate projects in cities across China. The real estate juggernaut made multiple posts on official WeChat accounts of local offices in the southwestern province of Guizhou, and the southern cities of Shenzhen and the Pearl River Delta, complete with what appeared to be time-stamped images of work resuming at various projects.

Evergrande did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on whether work was resuming at its other projects.

Read the original article on Insider
Container ships and an oil platform off Huntington Beach. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

The U.S. Coast Guard investigated a vessel in Oakland on Wednesday as part of its probe into whether a ship's anchor damaged an oil pipeline off Orange County and spilled 144,000 gallons of crude.

The container ship was in the area of the pipeline before the spill was discovered, according to a source familiar with the investigation, and later headed north. Investigators are probably looking for data showing the ship's movements and other mechanical information.

The examination is just one part of a wider investigation into how the spill occurred last weekend, sources familiar with the investigation told The Times. The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.

A final determination of the spill's cause may take months, but the probe of the ship underscores that investigators continue to zero in on a ship anchor as a possible cause. The inquiry remains in its early stages.

The shipping channels off Los Angeles and Orange counties have been jammed for months because of gridlock at the port, forcing more ships to lay down anchors near pipes that move oil from offshore platforms onto land.

Global positioning data provided to The Times show that the Rotterdam Express, a German container ship, was anchored Friday near the area of the oil spill and was in the Port of Oakland on Wednesday. A spokesman for the port confirmed the ship arrived Wednesday.

A spokesman for Hapag-Lloyd, the German firm that owns the Rotterdam Express, said the container ship was anchored in the vicinity of the oil spill, but was "pretty far away from the pipeline."

"At the moment, we believe we are not connected to the oil spill," spokesman Nils Haupt said by phone. He said the company would fully cooperate with investigators.

John Amos, president of Skytruth, a nonprofit organization that uses satellite technology to track environmental issues, said his firm has been analyzing data of ship movements Friday night, when the spill was first detected. Skytruth examined the location data for the Rotterdam Express over a number of days when it was anchored in the area and found it was the closest ship to the pipeline.

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But Skytruth also found that the Rotterdam Express was never closer than 1,500 feet to the line, according to satellite data. Instead, the ship kept to a semicircular pattern that would be expected of an anchored ship moved by wind and current. That distance, said Amos, makes it unlikely that its anchor could be the culprit.

"I don't think there is enough leash basically for a vessel to be anchored and be pushed around 1,500 feet," Amos said. Maybe the Coast Guard's investigation, he said, "will rule them out."

He added that the actual location of the pipeline could differ from what is shown in federal mapping data. Amos said the 40-year-old line could have shifted over time, moved either by natural events or other anchor strikes that didn't cause leaks, with the change going unnoted on official sources.

Hapag-Lloyd is aware that some marine traffic information showed that the Rotterdam Express had moved while it was anchored, but that "seems to be wrong," Haupt said. The ship's captain has provided logs, updated hourly, showing the ship did not leave its anchorage place for several days, he said.

The spill, which wasnt reported by the platform owner until Saturday morning, originated from a pipeline running from the Port of Long Beach to an offshore oil platform known as Elly.

Diver reports and footage from remote-controlled submarines showed that a 4,000-foot section of a nearly 18-mile pipeline had been displaced about 105 feet and had a 13-inch split along its length, according to the joint unified command that is overseeing the investigation.

The displacement, federal sources said, is best explained by a ships anchor dragging across the ocean floor and hooking the pipeline. There were multiple large cargo vessels in the immediate area of the leak before the oil was spotted.

Martyn Willsher, president and chief executive of the pipeline operators parent, Amplify Energy Corp., described the force as pulling the pipe in an almost semicircle. The pipeline has essentially been pulled like a bowstring, he said.

With the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach at near capacity, container ships and oil tankers have had to drop their massive, 30-ton anchors in designated sites that place them near oil platforms and an undersea infrastructure of oil lines, sewage treatment pipes and communications equipment.

Much like an air traffic control center, the Marine Exchange organizes the movement of vessels in and out of the ports. Their work begins when a ship comes within four days, or 800 miles, of the ports.

At that point, for security purposes, every commercial ship or yacht weighing more than 300 tons must submit to the Coast Guard an advance notice of arrival that reviews the vessels manifest.

Under normal conditions, ships are assigned an anchorage spot if a berth is not available. But in the last few months, arriving ships within 25 miles of the ports are assigned to a drift area, either between Catalina Island and the Palos Verdes Peninsula or off Dana Point. They then turn off their engines and drift in the current and wind, with occasional repositioning.

When there is an opening in the anchorage area, they proceed to a specific latitude and longitude, where they drop anchor. The Marine Exchange can direct them either to an area close to the Long Beach breakwater or down the coast off Huntington Beach.

The spill fouled sensitive marine areas along the Orange County coast.

Cleanup efforts have continued to ramp up. By the end of the week, officials expect to have 1,500 people helping remove oil from beaches and offshore, officials said.

The oil has been creeping slowly south in the last three days, with one slick still floating off Newport Beach and Huntington Beach and another moving off San Clemente.

More than 5,000 gallons of oil had been removed from the water as of Wednesday, but light oil remains along roughly 15 miles of shoreline. Officials deployed 11,360 feet of booms to protect the coast, according to the Coast Guard.

On Wednesday morning, anti-pollution vessels were seen off Newport Beach, Dana Point and San Clemente.

Times Staff Writer Thomas Curwen contributed to this report.





This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
CBS

In the nine months since Jan. 6, Stephen Colbert has done everything he can to stop talking about Donald Trump in his Late Show monologue, refusing to even say the former presidents name or show it on screen. But as he put it Tuesday night, sometimes the news forces him to give in.

Theres a new tell-all from former White House press secretary and Morticia Addams divorced sister, Stephanie Grisham, the host explained. Stephanie Grisham worked in the White House for four years, and as press secretary she famously never gave a single press conference. But now shes spilling all the tea in her new book, I Just Recently Gained a Spine.

The actual book is cynically titled Ill Take Your Questions Now: What I Saw at the Trump White House, but as Colbert told viewers, he doesnt want to help the author sell a single copy of her tell-all about the time she told us nothing. So, he added, Thats why Im going to spoil all the juicy details of Ill Take Your Money Now.

In response to Grisham using colorful language to describe the Trump White House as a clown car on fire running at full speed into a warehouse full of fireworks, the host pointed out that she knew all about the clown car and she still called shotgun for four years.

Dane Cook Never Wanted to Be a Frat Comic

From there, Colbert did as promised and ruined as many of the stories from Grishams new book as he could, from the time he wore some of her makeup during a speech in Saudi Arabia to the time Donald Trump Jr. tried to get his girlfriend, former Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle, into a state dinner with Queen Elizabeth.

Just who you want interacting with the queen, Colbert said, before imagining what would happen: Oh dear, Don Jr., you seem to have dropped your tiny baggie of sugar. Hmmm, lets put a little bit of it in my tea Then, in case anyone was confused, he added, Its cocaine.

For more, listen and subscribe to The Last Laugh podcast.

Story continues

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Joining TODAY to comment on former Facebook employee Frances Haugens damning testimony Tuesday about the social media giant and CEO Mark Zuckerbergs pushback to it, Kara Swisher, a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times, says Congress has not stepped in once here to do anything about all these problems, and they shouldnt be the ones making the decision. In that, Mark Zuckerbergs completely right.
A pill is seen with Merck logo displayed on a screen in the background in this illustration photo taken in Poland on 4 October, 2021. (PHOTO: NurPhoto via Getty Images)

UPDATE: The story has been updated with the Ministry of Health (MOH)'s response on 7 October.

SINGAPORE  Multinational pharmaceutical company Merck on Wednesday (6 October) entered into a supply and purchase agreement with the Singapore government for the investigational oral antiviral drug molnupiravir.

In a statement on Wednesday, Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD), known as Merck & Co in the United States and Canada, said the use of the drug depended on approval by Singapore health authorities.

In response to Yahoo News Singapore's media queries, the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Thursday confirmed that it had signed an agreement with MSD Pharma (Singapore) to purchase the drug.

The drug will be available for use after the MSD submits their data to the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) and obtains authorisation for use in Singapore, it added.

"The timeline for approval is dependent on the companys submission of data to the HSA. There is currently no molnupiravir clinical trial in Singapore," said the MOH.

It added that it will not be able to disclose more information due to commercial sensitivities and confidentiality undertakings in the agreement.

Early trial results suggest that the antiviral drug, originally developed to treat influenza, reduces hospitalisation and death from the coronavirus by half in patients recently infected with the virus.

Molnupiravir is currently undergoing two Phase 3 clinical trials globally, involving several thousand participants. It has been shown to be active in several pre-clinical models, including for prophylaxis, treatment, and prevention of transmission.

Pre-clinical and clinical data have also shown molnupiravir to be active against the most common COVID-19 variants, the drugmaker said.

Infectious diseases specialist Leong Hoe Nam said the drug would be a "game-changer" for early treatment of patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19, as it would limit disease progression to more severe illness, especially in high-risk patients.

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"Very significantly, we can arm our frontline doctors with oral medications that may make a difference at the point of diagnosis. This may shift treatment from hospitals to general practitioners and polyclinics as Singapore pivots towards endemic living with COVID-19, he added.

Merck is developing molnupiravir in collaboration with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics.

In anticipation of positive results from the trials, MSD expects to produce 10 million courses of molnupiravir treatment by the end of this year. It has also entered into supply and purchase agreements for molnupiravir with some governments.

The drugmaker said it is committed to providing timely access to molnupiravir globally if authorised or approved and plans to implement a tiered pricing approach based on World Bank country income criteria.

MSD previously announced that it had entered into non-exclusive voluntary licensing agreements for molnupiravir with manufacturers to accelerate the availability of the drug in more than 100 low- and middle-income countries following approvals or authorisation.

Stay in the know on-the-go: Join Yahoo Singapore's Telegram channel at http://t.me/YahooSingapore
By Michael Holden and Andrew MacAskill

LONDON (Reuters) -Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum ordered the phones of his ex-wife and her lawyers to be hacked as part of a "sustained campaign of intimidation and threat" during the custody battle over their children, England's High Court has ruled.

Mohammed used the sophisticated "Pegasus" software, developed by Israeli firm NSO for states to counter national security risks, to hack https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/youve-been-hacked-how-dubai-rulers-eavesdropping-was-uncovered-2021-10-06 the phones of Princess Haya bint al-Hussein, half-sister of Jordan's King Abdullah, and some of those closely connected to her, according to the rulings.

Those working for him also tried to buy https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/intimidating-dubai-ruler-tried-buy-30-mln-pound-estate-next-ex-wife-2021-10-06 a mansion next door to Haya's estate near the British capital, intimidatory action that the court ruled had left her feeling hunted, unsafe and like she "cannot breathe anymore".

The latest rulings come 19 months after the court concluded that Mohammed had abducted https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-dubai-court-idUSKBN20S23H two of his daughters, mistreated them and held them against their will.

"The findings represent a total abuse of trust, and indeed an abuse of power to a significant extent," Judge Andrew McFarlane, President of the Family Division in England and Wales, said in his ruling.

The sheikh rejected the court's conclusions, saying they were based on an incomplete picture.

"I have always denied the allegations made against me and I continue to do so," he said in a statement.

"In addition, the findings were based on evidence that was not disclosed to me or my advisers. I therefore maintain that they were made in a manner which was unfair."

Mohammed, 72, and Haya, 47, have been involved in a long, bitter and expensive custody battle since she fled to Britain with their two children, Jalila, 13, and Zayed, 9. She said she feared for her safety amid suspicions that she had had an affair with one of her British bodyguards.

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Among those targeted by the hacking was Haya's lawyer Fiona Shackleton, a member of Britain's House of Lords who represented British heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles in his divorce from his late first wife Princess Diana.

The activity came to light in August last year after Shackleton was urgently tipped off by Cherie Blair, the wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, that she and Haya had been hacked, the court was told.

Blair is also a prominent lawyer who worked as an external adviser for NSO.

At the same time a cyber expert from the University of Toronto's internet watchdog Citizen Lab, which researches digital surveillance, also alerted Haya's lawyers after tracking the hacking, the court heard.

Once the hacking was uncovered, NSO cancelled its contract with the UAE, Haya's lawyers said. The Israeli firm said it could not immediately comment on the case, but said it took action if it received evidence of misuse of Pegasus.

Shackleton and Blair declined to comment.

Mohammed is regarded as the visionary force behind Dubai's ascent into a global commercial hub. He has sought to burnish the Gulf city's reputation on issues such as human rights and equality.

There is no indication that last year's ruling caused any major damage to him personally or to the UAE. Last month Britain and the UAE announced a "new, ambitious Partnership for the Future" involving billions of dollars in trade and investment.

LONG, EXPENSIVE BATTLE

Reporting restrictions on McFarlane's findings after a year of hearings were lifted on Wednesday.

"I do not feel that I can move freely forward as things stand now, while I am and feel hunted all the time, and I am forced to look over my shoulder at every moment of the day," the British-educated princess said in one witness statement.

The legal costs of the case have run into millions of pounds, with the case involving some of Britain's most prominent lawyers. The costs of one appeal alone was cited by the court as costing 2.5 million pounds.

The sheikh, who is vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, initially sought to have the children brought back to Dubai, but has since suffered repeated defeats in the English courts.

In a judgment released on Wednesday, McFarlane ruled that the children should live with their mother.

In a ruling published last March, the judge concluded that Mohammed had subjected Haya to a campaign of intimidation which made her fear for her life.

He concluded the sheikh had arranged for his daughter Shamsa, then aged 18, to be kidnapped in 2000 off the streets of Cambridge in central England and flown back to Dubai.

The judge also found it was proved that Mohammed had arranged for Shamsa's younger sister Latifa to be snatched https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-dubai-court-escape-idUKKBN20S241 from a boat in international waters off India by Indian forces in 2018 and returned to the emirate.

While his findings do not amount to a determination of criminal guilt, they mean McFarlane is satisfied the allegations are proven on the balance of probabilities and that this may impact arrangements for contact with his children in the future.

"As the previous findings of fact establish, the father, who is the head of government of the UAE, is prepared to use the arm of the state to achieve what he regards as right," he said.

"He has harassed and intimidated the mother both before her departure to England and since. He is prepared to countenance those acting on his behalf doing so unlawfully within the UK."

FRIENDS WITH QUEEN

Haya's lawyers told the court that the British Foreign Office had been made aware of the hacking allegations, and police had expressed a desire to interview Haya and her lawyers as victims. Reuters was unable to establish if this took place.

London's police said detectives began a five-month investigation last year after receiving allegations of phone hacking. But in February, the investigation was closed because of a lack of "further investigative opportunities".

There was no immediate comment from the foreign ministry.

It is not the first time the UAE's cyber activities have come under scrutiny. Last month, three former U.S. intelligence operatives, who worked as UAE cyber spies, admitted to violating U.S. hacking laws to spy on human rights activists, journalists and rival governments.

During the London hearings, Mohammed's high powered team of lawyers battled for months to prevent the court from considering the hacking allegations, by saying it did not have the jurisdiction and that he had immunity, and then by trying to persuade the judge that the sheikh was not responsible.

Saudi Arabia and Jordan were amongst a host of other countries that could have been behind it, his legal team said.

McFarlane dismissed those suggestions, saying the idea it could be Jordan was "so insubstantial as to be without consequence" and was critical of how the sheikh had instructed his lawyers to act on his behalf.

In his statement, Mohammed said it was not appropriate for him to appear in court himself and neither the UAE nor the emirate itself were party to the case and so could not participate.

Instead of showing any concern for the safety of the mother of his children, "he has marshalled a formidable forensic team to challenge the findings sought by the mother and to fight the case against her on every point," McFarlane said.

He concluded, and the Court of Appeal agreed, that the sheikh had authorised the hacking of six phones which took place between July and August 2020 when a vulnerability in Apple's iPhone systems was exploited.

Expert cyber analysis revealed that on one occasion 265 megabytes of data were downloaded from Haya's phone, the equivalent of 24 hours of voice recording or 500 photos.

Exactly how much data and what information was taken from her and the other phones has not been determined.

Haya and Mohammed have been fixtures in British high society for decades and both are on friendly terms with members of the British royal family including Queen Elizabeth.

The sheikh, through the Godolphin stable which he founded, is a major player and investor in the British horse racing industry. His horse Adayar won this year's famous Epsom Derby flat race.

McFarlane also extended the provisions of a previous non-molestation order, which banned the sheikh from buying any land or property near her estate in rural Berkshire, west of London, after his agents tried to buy an adjoining 30 million pound mansion which overlooked her home.

"It feels like the walls are closing in on me, that I cannot protect the children and that we are not safe anywhere," Haya told McFarlane in a statement. "I feel like I cannot breathe anymore; it feels like being suffocated."

(Reporting by Michael Holden and Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Mike Collett-White)
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A Dutch court on Wednesday dismissed a call to scrap the 'corona pass' required to enter restaurants, bars, museums, theatres and other public places in the Netherlands.

The court in The Hague said the government had the right to demand proof of a COVID-19 vaccination or a recent negative coronavirus test to limit the spread of the coronavirus as most other social distancing measures were lifted last month.

It said the government had made it convincingly clear that unvaccinated people have a higher risk of a coronavirus infection and of infecting others.

It dismissed the claim by opponents that the rules discriminated against those unwilling or unable to be vaccinated.

"So far, it is not clear that there is a difference in treatment for which no objective, reasonable reason exists," the court said.

The government introduced the corona pass late last month, despite strong opposition in parliament, as Prime Minister Mark Rutte said it was needed to prevent a new wave of infections. Workplaces are not included in the scheme.

New coronavirus cases in the Netherlands rose 2% in the week through Tuesday, to 72 per 100,000 inhabitants, while the number of new COVID-19 patients in hospitals remained stable at the lowest level in months.

(Reporting by Bart Meijer; Editing by Catherine Evans and Philippa Fletcher)
Oct. 6East Catholic High officials issued an apology Tuesday to a Montville High cheerleader who said she was called a racist slur following a football game between the two schools Sept. 24.

Nadya Wynn, 16, said she was screamed at, spat on and told "go home, (N-word)" by students at East Catholic. She could not be reached to comment Tuesday.

The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference released two letters Tuesday afternoon from Montville High School and East Catholic High School addressing the events that took place at the game.

"We are heartbroken that a young woman from Montville High School had such a negative experience at East Catholic  if we knew who the offending party was, that person would have been disciplined by now. So instead, on behalf of our entire school, and myself personally, I apologize to this young woman and any others who may have had a negative experience," said East Catholic President Sean Brennan in a letter to Montville High School.

That statement comes just over a week after Brennan said school administrators did not believe anything inappropriate was said at the game but that the school would investigate and was taking the matter seriously.

Brennan's letter said representatives from both schools met Sept. 29 at CIAC offices to discuss the events. He said in addition to the schools pledging to work together to reinforce their commitment to equality, tolerance and embracing of all people, they have committed to sending student representatives to the CIAC offices for an upcoming meeting and Class Act Council training session.

The conference's news release said the Class Act School initiative is designed "to empower schools, and particularly students, to take ownership for all issues related to sportsmanship in the athletics department."

Leaders from Montville High School said the community accepted East Catholic's apologies and recognition that what occurred was unacceptable in a letter signed by Superintendent Laurie Pallin, Principal Heather Sangermano and Assistant Principal Rob Alves.

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The officials said they appreciated East Catholic's efforts to identify the people who made offensive remarks and displayed inappropriate behaviors toward Montville's cheerleaders.

"We respect the work which you have begun in your community to reinforce the values of equity and tolerance; we are committed to this same work in our community," the letter states. "We actively seek to protect our students from acts of intolerance and to teach them to display acceptance and respect in their interactions with others."

On Sept. 24, Wynn said East Catholic students stormed the field to where she and the cheerleaders were after East Catholic won the game, 27-16, in overtime.

"They were yelling and cheering on their team at first until they started screaming and yelling at us," she said in a phone interview.

That is when Wynn said the students began to taunt the Montville cheerleaders, calling them "losers," taking their food and bags, spitting on them and throwing water on them. All of which led to some students calling her the N-word, she said.

j.vazquez@theday.com
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission said on Wednesday it would increase support and extend existing measures for the wine, fruit and vegetable sectors after they suffered from spring frosts, floods and heat waves this year.

Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski said the sectors' problems had come on top of a difficult 2020 due to the COVID-19 crisis.

"These much-needed support measures will (relieve) producers across the EU during these difficult times, on top of the ones already put forward in 2020 and extended in 2021," he said.

For wine, the EU budget contribution to harvest insurance has been increased to 80% from 70%, and the bloc has doubled the support it provides to cover the cost of setting up mutual funds.

For fruit and vegetables, the EU will provide compensation to producer organisations of at least 85% of last year's production levels even if this year's value is lower.

The compensation is offered if production is down at least 35% from the previous year due to natural disasters, climatic events, plant diseases or pest infestations.

The Commission has already offered support to the wine sector, with measures in 2020 including the provision of more funds for vineyard conversion and green harvesting. Other measures have helped fruit and vegetable producers.

These "flexibility measures" would be extended until Oct. 15, 2022, the Commission said.

(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Jan Harvey)
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP)  Chandra Dobbs was stunned when the constable showed up on her doorstep with a fat packet of eviction papers. She thought she had more time.

I didnt think I was going to be evicted because I applied for rental assistance money, Dobbs said a few days later. But they didnt want to wait the four to six weeks. So now were homeless - me, my 16-year-old son, my daughter and my grandchild, a toddler.

Her confusion is a common theme across America at a time when the federal government has ended renter protections while doling out billions of dollars in rental assistance. Instead of the expected surge in evictions, many landlords are holding off, waiting for the federal money to come through.

But while a few jurisdictions bar landlords from evicting renters who have applied for the money, most do not.

Court records show the eviction judgment against Dobbs was for $3,837, which included $2,700 in rent plus late fees and court and legal costs. Encore Management LLC, which filed for the eviction, did not respond to a request for comment about its side of the case.

Dobbs, who was laid off from her job as an exotic dancer during the pandemic, said her family is staying temporarily with friends while working with a nonprofit to find a new home and get money for a rent deposit.

After a slow start, the pace to distribute the first $25 billion installment of $46.5 billion in rental assistance is picking up. Treasury Department officials said the program had served 420,000 households in August  up from 340,000 in July  and distributed $7.7 billion since January.

Treasury officials said the strong signs of progress came from New Jersey, New York and South Carolina, which at first struggled to get their programs going. New Jersey, for example, sent out no money in the first quarter but now has distributed 78% of its first-installment money and doubled the number of households served in August compared with July.

Spending in Florida increased from $60.9 million in July to $141.4 million in August while South Carolina went from $10.6 million to $25.3 million. New York saw a jump from $8.5 million to $307 million.

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These numbers are still early, uncertain and there is likely additional pain and hardship not showing up in these reports, said Gene Sperling, who is charged with overseeing implementation of Bidens $1.9 trillion coronavirus rescue package. But what is out so far is certainly better than anyones previous best case scenario for the month after the moratorium.

Sperling credited rental assistance and an increase in eviction diversion programs as key reasons the tidal wave predictions didnt come through, adding that it was important to keep speeding relief money to landlords. On Wednesday, the Department of Housing and Urban Development issued a new rule barring landlords from evicting tenants in HUD-subsidized public housing without providing them 30 days notice and information about available federal emergency rental assistance.

Some tenants have benefited from remaining eviction moratoriums including in California which ended last month, New York's which runs through the end of the year and Boston's which is ongoing.

Others have taken advantage of newly created programs from Washington to Texas to Philadelphia to New Hampshire that aimed at keeping eviction cases out of the courts and keeping renters in their homes. Some court systems have also put in place policies staying evictions if a tenant has applied for rental assistance while at least three states and 10 cities have approved measures providing tenants with free legal counsel in eviction proceedings.

Diane Yentel, president and CEO of the low income coalition, said the nonprofit has encouraged leaders of state and local governments to maintain the few local eviction bans still remaining after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention moratorium ended in late August.

Landlord advocacy groups have encouraged members not to evict tenants who have applied for government funds to pay their back rent, but owners dont always follow that suggestion. Smaller property owners in particular have struggled for months to pay their own mortgages and taxes with many tenants not paying rent.

The vast majority of property owners have worked with their residents for nearly two years to keep people in their homes, said Courtney Gilstrap LeVinus, president of the Arizona Multihousing Association.

She has defended landlords throughout the pandemic, noting that many have been pushed to the brink of bankruptcy.

Many property owners were more willing to offer concessions during the pandemic, waiving late fees and sometimes reducing or forgiving rent, according to a synthesis of two recent studies of mostly small landlords carried out by the Terner Center of Housing Innovation at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University.

The findings also highlighted the financial hardships landlords have faced, with some opting to sell their properties, a move that could could lead to a loss of affordable housing stock in some communities.

U.S. Marine veteran Paul Wunder, who was also on Constable Kristen Randall's schedule the following week for eviction from his Tucson apartment, said all landlords should wait to receive federal money set aside for rental assistance so they can get the rent money they are owed.

If they just wait one month, theyll get all their money, said Wunder, cradling his small dog Missy, a shaggy terrier mix, inside his apartment a few days before he was locked out. The 66-year-old was laid off early in the pandemic, then laid off again after getting another job as an air conditioner technician.

If they throw us into the street," he said, theyll get nothing.

-

Michael Casey contributed to this report from Boston.



Follow Anita Snow on Twitter: www.twitter.com/asnowreports
HONG KONG (AP)  Land-starved Hong Kong plans to build more affordable housing in response to public demands that have fueled social unrest.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced a major development project Wednesday for Hong Kongs border area with mainland China in the last annual policy address of her current term.

The Northern Metropolis plan aims to provide hundreds of thousands more homes and tens of thousands of jobs. It fits in with broader plans for closer ties across the border with mainland China.

Lams administration is under pressure to ease a shortage of affordable homes that makes it difficult for some of Asias best educated and most cosmopolitan citizens to find housing.

Public housing estates have not kept up with demand, and Hong Kong's property is among priciest in the world: it tied Zurich and Paris last year as the most expensive city in a survey by the World Economic Forum.

Astronomical prices helped drive months of anti-government protests in 2019 that have prompted a major security crackdown by the central government in Beijing.

In her address, Lam repeatedly defended Hong Kongs National Security Law, imposed by Beijing last year, along with changes to the election system that reduce the number of members of the local legislature elected by universal suffrage and establish a strict vetting system to screen out candidates considered insufficiently patriotic.

The law criminalizes subversion, secession, terrorism and foreign collusion to interfere in the citys affairs. It has amounted to a crackdown on the political opposition and on free speech, rolling rolls back freedoms promised to the former British colony when it was handed over to China in 1997.

Such measures led the U.S. to impose sanctions on Hong Kong and Chinese officials.

Hong Kong is mostly perched on mountains and islands and it has more than 90,000 people per square mile (36,000 per square kilometer) in its urban core. Much of its 1,100 square kilometers (425 square miles) of wild space has not been developed.

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Critics say the government restricted the amount of land available for housing after the 1980s to help drive prices higher, providing a windfall for developers but pushing home ownership out of the reach of the average family.

The average household has 15 square meters (150 square feet) of living space per person, according to the territorys Census and Statistics Department. Most of the territorys 7.4 million people live in high-rise, government-owned apartment buildings.

Buying one of Hong Kongs cramped apartments costs an average of $28,570 per square meter ($2,850 per square foot), 2 1/2 times the price in mainland China and 1 1/2 times Japans level, according to a survey by Global Property Guide.

While living costs are high and rising, Hong Kongs median income has fallen by about 6% since last year, according to the statistics department.
The claim: A French doctor was arrested for prescribing ivermectin

A video circulating widely online shows a French doctor being arrested by police. His crime, according to social media users?

Prescribing an anti-parasitic drug to treat COVID-19.

"French doctor is arrested and beaten by for (sic) police for prescribing life-saving Ivermectin to his sick patients," reads the caption of an Oct. 3 video posted to Facebook.

Authorities arrested the doctor, Jean-Paul Theron, Sept. 20 in Paea, a commune near Papeete in French Polynesia, according to the Associated Press. But not for prescribing the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin, as the post claims  Theron was arrested for assault.

Fact check: Claim that ivermectin causes male sterility is based on deeply flawed study

USA TODAY reached out to social media users who shared the post for comment.

French doctor arrested for assault

The social media posts misrepresent the nature of Theron's arrest, as other independent fact-checking organizations have pointed out.

The claim appears to stem from several complaints against Theron from authorities in French Polynesia. The AP reported officials are investigating Theron for practicing medicine in retirement and for not having a permanent practice or adequate medical supplies.

CheckNews, a French fact-checking organization, reported Theron is also accused of prescribing hydroxychloroquine, a drug used to treat lupus rheumatoid arthritis, to 140 patients outside of hospital protocol.

This Monday, April 6, 2020, photo shows an arrangement of hydroxychloroquine pills in Las Vegas.

On Sept. 16, a bailiff visited Theron's home to deliver documents related to the investigation. Prosecutors say Theron verbally and physically attacked the bailiff, according to Radio 1, a news outlet in French Polynesia. The officer then accused him of assault.

When authorities visited Theron's home Sept. 18 to question him, the doctor allegedly verbally assaulted the officers, Radio 1 reported. Officials then opened an investigation of contempt against Theron.

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Police say the doctor did not show up for his court appearance Sept. 19, and he was arrested Sept. 20, the AP reported.

Fact check: Biden received his COVID-19 booster shot

The head of the public prosecutor's office said in a recording published by Radio 1 that the arrests are not related to Theron's activity as a doctor.

Our rating: False

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that a French doctor was arrested for prescribing ivermectin. Theron was arrested for allegedly assaulting a bailiff.

Our fact-check sources:

Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here.

Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: French doctor not arrested for prescribing ivermectin
A federal court has ordered Tesla to shell out $137 million to a former Black employee after he sued the company over a racist and hostile work environment. NBC News' Priscilla Thompson speaks to the former employee about what he encountered while working for the company.
Nine months after the Capitol attack, the feds have charged more than 625 people. At the current pace, they'd still be bringing new cases in 2024. (Photo: Illustration: Damon Dahlen/HuffPost; Photos: Getty/U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Columbia)

Last November, as then-President Donald Trump ramped up his dangerous lies about mass voter fraud, a man hopped into a Hummer bearing a QAnon sticker and headed to a Philadelphia vote-counting location to stop what he believed was an election that was being stolen. The QAnon obsessive, along with a co-founder of Vets for Trump, were arrested by Philadelphia police, who found them in possession of an AR-style rifle and a samurai sword.

Two months later, in the nations capital, the same QAnon follower stormed the U.S. Capitol, entering the building alongside dozens of fellow conspiracy theorists who had bought into Trumps lies about the outcome of the 2020 election. Now, nine months after the Jan. 6 attack, hes one of hundreds of Trump supporters who were captured on video violating federal law that day, but who havent yet faced federal charges for their conduct.

Federal authorities have posted some impressive numbers in the nine months since Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in support of his lies about a stolen election, and then left the scene without being arrested, leaving behind injured officers and millions of dollars in damage and security costs. The feds have made more than 625 arrests since Jan. 6 as part of what authorities have repeatedly described as one of the largest investigative and prosecutorial efforts in American history.

Yet even with hundreds of arrests and months of painstaking work in the unprecedented investigation, federal authorities have arrested just a fraction of all the potential defendants who were captured on video committing criminal offenses that prosecutors have said warrant charges.

Law enforcement was unprepared and overwhelmed by the onslaught of pro-Trump rioters on Jan. 6. Now, law enforcement is at risk of being overwhelmed by the mob of Jan. 6 cases that are flooding the system at every step.

In the weeks after the attack, law enforcement officials estimated that 800 people had entered the Capitol. That number stuck around in media coverage for months, becoming a benchmark against which the FBIs progress has been measured. The 800 figure has been mentioned in stories as recently as this week.

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In reality, as online sleuths have discovered over the past several months, thats only a fraction of the scope of criminal activity that day. A HuffPost analysis of public-facing data on the Capitol attack, combined with the findings of online investigators working under the #SeditionHunters moniker, shows that the total number of Jan. 6 participants who could face charges if identified tops 2,500.

Federal investigators have quietly ticked up their own estimate. In a budget request earlier this year, the FBI told Congress that approximately 2000 individuals are believed to have been involved with the siege. Law enforcement officials did not dispute HuffPosts 2,500 figure.

That means federal authorities have charged about 25% of the suspects who could face criminal charges for their conduct on Jan. 6. At the current pace, it would take federal authorities until early 2024 to bring cases against 2,500 defendants. And some of the easiest cases to bring, the low-hanging fruit, have already been charged.

Online investigators, who have been responsible for identifying countless Jan. 6 defendants and will play a role in dozens of forthcoming FBI cases, have counted more than 2,000 individuals they say breached the Capitol building. These sleuths refer to the people they say they spotted inside the Capitol as Sedition Insiders, and have collected the highest-quality image theyve found of each rioter (even if that photo was snapped while the suspect was outside the Capitol).

Of that group of Sedition Insiders, the Sedition Hunters believe, more than 1,500 are still at large.

The SeditionHunters.org website has identified more than 2,000 people it says were inside the Capitol building on Jan. 6. (Photo: SeditionHunters.org)

Hundreds more potential defendants who were not spotted inside the building are either publicly wanted by the FBI for activities outside the Capitol, or were captured on video committing crimes but not on the FBIs website.

The FBIs Capitol violence webpage, which was upgraded in February and now lists 475 suspects, features roughly 350 suspects who are still at large.

Images on the FBI's website of Trump supporters wanted for assaulting federal officers on Jan. 6. (Photo: FBI)

Most of the thousands of people who passed police barricades and were on restricted grounds at the Capitol on Jan. 6 will never be charged. On the west side of the building alone, according to an analysis Carnegie Mellon University researchers conducted for The Washington Post, there were more than 9,400 people. Officers were outnumbered more than 58 to 1.

There are plenty of cases in the works, including presumably the arrests of Matthew Beddingfield of North Carolina (who fought with police and stormed the Capitol while out on bond for attempted murder), Taylor Taranto of Washington state (a county GOP webmaster who stormed the Capitol with a weapon and wondered this summer when the feds would get this party rolling!), and David Walls-Kaufman, a Capitol Hill chiropractor who lives within sight of the building he stormed while wearing a distinctive jacket.

Antonio LaMotta is the QAnon believer who traveled to Philadelphia with Vets for Trump co-founder Joshua Macias last November. LaMotta and Macias spent about a month behind bars before posting bail. After the Capitol attack, Philadelphia prosecutors moved to revoke their bail, saying they were in D.C. at the time and that Macias gave a speech that helped incite the mob. LaMotta, as the Daily Beast reported, was caught in CNN footage with members of the Oath Keepers on Capitol grounds.

At a hearing in January, LaMottas lawyer argued that LaMotta was clearly just standing there at the Capitol. A Philadelphia judge increased LaMottas $750,000 bail by $15,000, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported, meaning that LaMotta had to pay $1,500 to get out of jail again. Both men were barred from attending rallies or using social media.

At the time, authorities didnt know whether either of the men entered the Capitol. But online sleuths managed to find LaMotta inside. Back in June, a member of a sleuthing group named Capitol Terrorists Exposers spotted LaMotta in surveillance footage released in connection with another Capitol case, against Grady Owens, who came to D.C. with his extended family and appears to have been identified by federal authorities using facial recognition.

The footage shows LaMotta inside the Capitol as police try to force the mob back outside. LaMotta is on the front line and comes face to face with officers. He makes no attempt to retreat, and when hes eventually shoved toward the doorway, he appears to try to stay inside despite a clear path to the exit.

Knowing that LaMotta was at the eastern doors of the Capitol that lead into the rotunda, sleuths  sometimes using the hashtag #IAmAntonioLamotta  found clear footage that featured the man at the top of the Capitol steps as the battle between police and Trump supporters continued.

An attorney who represented LaMotta in his Philadelphia case did not respond to requests for comment in June or this month, and the Philadelphia District Attorneys Office and the FBI didnt comment on a potential federal case against LaMotta.

For now, LaMotta is like a lot of Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol: waiting to see when his time will come.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.

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PARIS (Reuters) -France will send its ambassador back to Australia to help redefine relations after withdrawing the envoy when Canberra ditched a defence accord with Paris in favour of a tie-up with Britain and the United States, its foreign minister said.

France has accused its allies of stabbing it in the back when Australia opted for nuclear-powered submarines to be built with U.S. and British technology instead of a multi-billion dollar French submarine programme.

But while France has sought to mend fences with Washington, it had frozen its contacts with Australia.

"I have now asked our ambassador to return to Canberra with two missions, to help redefine the terms of our relationship with Australia in the future...and to defend our interests in the concrete implementation of the Australian decision to end the programme for future submarines, Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told a parliamentary hearing on Wednesday.

France had considered the partnership with Australia dating back to 2016 as the cornerstone of its Indo-Pacific policy and French officials say they feel particularly betrayed by Canberra. They say Canberra gave them no indications despite launching its plan to switch deals 18 months earlier.

Le Drian said Paris had completely reviewed its bilateral relationship with Australia given that the submarine deal had been part of that broader strategy. "Starting afresh in our bilateral relations will not have any impact in our determination to remain engaged in the Pacific," he said.

Australia has said it regretted the ambassador's recall, and that it values the relationship with France and wants to keep engaging with Paris on issues including the Indo-Pacific.

Diplomats have said the crisis in confidence will need some strong acts from Canberra that would benefit French interests in the region.

(Reporting by John Irish; editing by Mark Heinrich)
By Mathieu Rosemain

PARIS (Reuters) - Defence company Thales and Google are partnering to offer state-vetted cloud computing services for the storage of some of France's most sensitive data, the companies said on Wednesday.

The alliance between Thales, Europe's largest defence electronics supplier, and the Alphabet unit fulfils a May government plan under which France acknowledged U.S. technological superiority in the field.

The French government said then that cloud computing services developed by Google and Microsoft could be used to store France's most sensitive state and corporate data, provided the services were licensed to French companies.

In their joint statement, Thales and Google Cloud said they will create a France-based company and Thales will be the majority shareholder.

That company will provide the whole range of Google Cloud's services but its network and servers would be separate from those used for regular Google clients.

"The company is going to run Google software on its infrastructure... with layers of security to ensure cybersecurity and protection of data from extraterritorial rules," said Marc Darmon, head of secure communications and information systems at Thales.

Google and Microsoft, along with market leader Amazon.com's Amazon Web Services, dominate cloud storage worldwide, fuelling concerns in Europe over the risk of surveillance by the United States in the wake of the adoption of the U.S. CLOUD Act of 2018.

The Thales-Google partnership will need the blessing of France's cybersecurity agency ANSSI to get a "trusted cloud" label.

However, its head, Guillaume Poupard, has already welcomed the project, saying in a statement it fulfilled the criteria needed for the certification.

The company should be created in first-half of 2022 and be running by the start of 2023, the two groups said.

It would compete against Bleu, a joint company to be set up by IT consulting firm Capgemini and telecoms group Orange and which aims to use Microsoft's cloud technology.

(Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
Factory

German growth forecasts may be slashed after manufacturers suffered a plunge in orders during August, economists warned.

There was a 7.7pc drop in demand across the month as customers were driven away by sustained shortages and lengthy delivery times. The slide was more than triple the average drop expected by economists.



Germanys automotive sector was hit especially hard amid a severe lack of semiconductors, with orders down 12pc.



Major car manufacturers including Daimler and Volkwagen were forced to cut down on working hours during the month as they grappled with shortfalls.

Meanwhile, Eurozone retail sales growth disappointed, indicating a consumer-led rebound after lockdown is fizzling out.

Retail sales in the eurozone rose 0.3pc during August, below the 0.8pc increase forecast. Overall, sales were flat compared with the same month a year ago.

Economists predicted the drop in orders would prompt downgrades to growth forecasts for Germany.

Claus Vistesen of Pantheon Macroeconomics said manufacturing had hit a brick wall during the third quarter of the year, one that will be further emphasised by Thursdays industrial production figures for August.

He added: We never expected manufacturing to have supported growth in the third quarter, but we didnt expect it to fall off a cliff either.



Oliver Rakau, chief German economist at Oxford Economics, said the sudden massive drop in orders could be pinned on bottlenecks and other temporary issues, rather than indicating the post-pandemic industrial boom has run its course.



But it surely marks a meaningful headwind for [second half] GDP growth, he tweeted.



The drop spells trouble ahead for Germanys manufacturing-heavy economy, which is continuing to face shortages of parts as well as the squeeze of the current energy crisis.

Economists have predicted the problems may delay the full recovery of the eurozones biggest economy until 2022, and offer a bumpy start for Germanys next government as coalition talks continue.

Business confidence in Germany has tumbled to its lowest level since the start of the pandemic by one measure, while inflation is at a three-decade high.



Germanys economic ministry said the decline may also reflect a slowdown in orders following bulk buying in the months before. Orders were still 12pc higher year-on-year, reflecting a rebound in demand since the early months of the pandemic.
As Washington continues to haggle over an infrastructure bill, a free enterprise organization is targeting Congressman Adam Kinzingers Illinois district to voice opposition to the package.

The group Club for Growth recently bought television ads in Illinois 16th congressional district opposing the over $3 trillion tax increase proposed in the reconciliation bill. The ad was called Pickpocket and ran for one week.

Washington is out of touch with America, Club for Growth President David McIntosh said. Republicans need to realize that their constituents will roundly reject the out-of-control spending and $3 trillion increase in taxes.

The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates the tax changes would raise more than $2 trillion in revenue over 10 years, with roughly $1 trillion in tax increases from high-income Americans and nearly $1 trillion in corporate and international tax reforms.

Because the bill is opposed by Republicans, Democrats are trying to enact it through a budgetary process called reconciliation, solely with Democratic support. But this would require a yes vote from every Senate Democrat, and two of them, Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin, say they wont support it unless the price comes down.

The legislation would fund numerous things from free community college, the expansion of Medicare, and paid family and medical leave.

It could also use tax credits and other incentives to encourage the adoption of green energy and the construction of infrastructure more resilient against severe weather. Democrats say they plan to offset the sending with tax increases on corporations and the wealthiest Americans.

The corporate tax rate would rise from 21% to 26%, and the top income tax rate for Americans making over $400,000 would increase from 37% to 39.6%. The top capital gains rate would go from 20% to 25%.

Illinois U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth told the Paul Simon Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University the package must be approved for the United States to remain a global leader.

Story continues

How do we compete with the likes of South Korea, Germany and China if we dont have world-class infrastructure, so we need to do that, Duckworth said.

Democrats say they hope to pass President Joe Bidens economic agenda by the end of October.

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Tags: News, Adam Kinzinger, Illinois, State

Original Author: Kevin Bessler, The Center Square

Original Location: Group urges Kinzinger to oppose infrastructure bill
Charles Randolph, 52, at his home in Los Angeles, has worked in the film industry as an on-set dresser, prop manager and more for the last 16 years. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

Sharron Enriquez, a veteran script supervisor who over the last four decades has worked on productions including The Queens Gambit, Mank and three Pirates of the Caribbean films, has had a front-row seat to what she views as the steady erosion of working conditions that accelerated during the pandemic.

The long hours without breaks, the shorter turnaround times and the lack of sleep spurred Enriquez to call it a day.

After finishing a production in Boston in August where the 66-year-old worked 12-hour days on a 10-week shoot and rarely broke for lunch, Enriquez realized she was done.

I reached a breaking point," Enriquez said. "I was starting to lose my temper and have less patience.

Enriquez's sentiments are shared widely among the 60,000 film and TV industry members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, which includes costumers, makeup artists, camera operators, set builders and writers' assistants.

For the first time in its 128-year history, the usually acquiescent union voted overwhelmingly to support a nationwide strike if no deal is reached with the studios. The last time crews staged a major strike was in 1945 in the walkout known as "Hollywood's Bloody Friday."

The union is seeking improved pay, especially for streaming productions; more rest periods to reduce long hours of filming; and higher contributions to the unions health and pension plans.

I don't think anyone wants a strike, but everyone wants a fair contract, said Michael Miller, IATSE vice president and director of motion picture and television production, who is on its negotiating team. The studios have not put us in this position before. It's surprising for us because many of our core issues that they refuse to address shouldn't cost them a penny.

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the major studios, declined to comment. But the group has previously disputed the union's claims, saying it has offered to increase rates for the lowest-paid workers and for certain types of streaming productions as well as to cover a projected health and pension deficit.

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A walkout would halt production nationwide, upending one of Southern California's cornerstone industries and hobbling major studios' attempts to catch up on productions delayed by the pandemic and meet urgent demand to feed new streaming platforms.

Mike Miller, vice president of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, speaks to members at a rally on Sept. 26. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

The conflict has exposed a widening divide between A-listers or star filmmakers and the technicians who work behind the scenes on film sets. While the runaway success of new streaming platforms through the pandemic has driven up the stocks of many media conglomerates, fueling multimillion-dollar pay packages for chief executives, the benefits have not trickled down to crews, union officials say.

"If you want people to stay and have families and have a middle class in the industry, you need to make it viable for people to do that, said Kevin Klowden, executive director of the Milken Institute's Center for Regional Economics and California Center. And there's been a huge amount of pressure on the middle class in Hollywood."

One of the biggest beefs among film set workers has been grueling hours and lack of breaks between shoots, a long-standing problem that has been exacerbated by a race to make up for lost time caused by pandemic shutdowns. A New York set lighting technician recently launched an Instagram page highlighting the safety hazards caused by long hours on set.

Geneva Nash-Morgan is a makeup artist who is among film and television crew members pushing for better working conditions. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

Geneva Nash-Morgan is a longtime Hollywood makeup artist who has worked for such stars as Stevie Wonder and Spike Lee, and on big budget movies including 20th Century Fox's "Planet of the Apes" and Walt Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl."

The 63-year-old recently finished work on an HBO Max comedy, on which she said 12- to 14-hour days were the norm.

Although Nash-Morgan said she enjoyed working on the show, she found the hours brutal. A typical day, she said, would begin at 4 a.m. to ready actors for their 7 a.m. shoot, and continue until 7 p.m. or 8 p.m.

Actors get a minimum of 12 hours' rest between shoot days  so-called turnaround time  and at least 54 hours of rest on weekends. But that's not the case for Nash-Morgan and other crew members, who have no union-mandated weekend rest time.

Nash-Morgan said she routinely would arrive at her trailer on Fridays at 11 a.m. and return home as late as 5 a.m. Saturday morning in what crews call "Fraturdays."

The extra hours bring in overtime pay, and many crew members are grateful to be working after thousands lost jobs during the pandemic. But many say the long hours come at a cost to personal health and safety.

Nash-Morgan said she was so exhausted at times she would bump into objects and get bruises on her body.

"You have to have a mind-set to be able to have the stamina to get to the end of the week," Nash-Morgan said.

Additionally, many workers complain that they struggle to make ends meet, especially living in Los Angeles, and that attempts to negotiate their rates are rebuffed, even as they watch productions spending lavishly on sets and, most recently, on COVID-19 safety protocols.

Marisa Shipley, art department coordinator and vice president of IATSE Local 871, at her home. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)

Art department coordinator Marisa Shipley is vice president of Local 871, which represents some of the lowest-paid crafts. She joined the union five years ago after working with her father, who built sets for commercials.

The 33-year-old, who has worked on Netflix's "Grace and Frankie," among other productions, said she has to fight for an increase over her union locals minimum hourly rate of $16.82 each time she takes on a new job. California's minimum wage is $14 an hour.

It's really, really exhausting and demoralizing to have to negotiate for and prove your worth on every single project," Shipley said. "I had a [unit production manager] say to me one time, 'Well, I work for scale,' and I said, 'Well, I'd work for your scale too.'"

Colby Bachiller, a 29-year-old script coordinator, shares a similar story.

Bachiller said that when she was asked to return for a second season on a network series this year, she took the opportunity to negotiate.

But when the Philippines native, who had moved to Los Angeles from Georgia in 2019, asked for a 30-cent hourly increase over the $19.70 minimum rate the studio was paying, she was rebuffed.

The studio rep kept saying, No, Im sorry, we cant go above, and if you feel that youll have to take another job, then please let me know by Monday, Bachiller said. "I had already cut back to eating one meal a day. What else can I do other than get rid of my dog and cat or move back home to Georgia? I was humiliated.

Another point of friction involves the union's health and pension benefits.

Colby Bachiller, a script coordinator and IATSE member, with her dog Cody. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

In previous bargaining rounds, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers has increased the number of hours of work needed for crews to qualify for benefits. Now, the studios are seeking to again increase the hours to qualify for the pension plan, in exchange for covering a forecast $400-million deficit in the union health and pension plans.

The concern is that the change will make it harder for more crew workers to qualify for benefits at a time when many are still struggling to recover from losses caused by the pandemic-induced shutdowns.

The union's health and pension plans have come under strain as streaming has taken over the television industry. Unlike actors who get residual checks, crews depend on residuals  the fees generated from reruns  to fund the IATSE's health and pension plans. But streaming platforms pay lower residual rates than traditional broadcast television.

Charles Randolph, 52, a Los Angeles-based on-set dresser and member of Local 44 who has worked on some of TV's biggest shows including AMC's "Mad Men," is worried about working enough hours to keep his benefits.

"They've been pushing those numbers higher and higher over the last couple of contract negotiations," Randolph said. "Someone who has been in 20 years ... is going to have to work crazy hours in order to get healthcare even though he's put 20 years of money into the system. And copays are going up, it's just kind of insane."

At 19, Randolph got his first break as a production assistant on the show "In Living Color." And by his mid-30s he joined IATSE Local 44, enabling him to secure multiple jobs, make more than six figures a year and access union benefits.

In a business where jobs can be sporadic, Randolph has to work more than 400 hours every six months to keep his health and pension coverage  and make ends meet. "Otherwise well have a hard time surviving in Los Angeles," he said.

He works 13 or 14 hours a day on the Hulu miniseries "The Drop Out," which leaves little time with his wife and son.

"I don't see them very often during the week and then on weekends I sleep, so I see them or talk to them on Sundays," he said. "Then when I'm over a job, we travel somewhere."

Randolph recalled how much the business has changed since he began his career. "If you were lucky to be part of that [world], you were brought up into that world and you were taken care of. There's not so much of that today."

To be sure, a walkout would cause widespread hardship for workers, many of whom lost jobs during the early stages of the pandemic. But Enriquez and many union members view the strike vote as an important line in the sand.

I love filmmaking and I love storytelling and that is still important to me, said Enriquez, a Texas native who became a script supervisor in 1982. "We're just trying to get some protections, so we have some rest periods and decent turnarounds and we have a weekend when we can live like normal human beings."





This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Ian White battled back from two sets down to win (Steven Paston/PA) (PA Archive)

Stokes Ian White fought back from a two-set deficit to book his place in the quarter-finals of the World Grand Prix in Leicester.

Debutant Darius Labanauskas, from Lithuania won the first six legs without reply to put himself within touching distance of the last eight.

A 14-dart leg finally got White on the board but he was still made to work hard for his 3-2 victory, winning eight of the next 11 legs as the match went right down to the wire.

    



A sensational performance from Krzysztof Ratajski there who seals his spot in the Last 8 with a 3-1 success over Rob Cross!



    Danny Noppert v Vincent van der Voort pic.twitter.com/pVRLaW5s6c  PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) October 6, 2021

World Matchplay semi-finalist Krzysztof Ratajski also got off to a flying start in his match against former world champion Rob Cross.

The Pole also won the first set without losing a leg and eventually went on to close out a 3-1 victory with a 14-dart finish culminating on double four.
Janice McGeachin Nathan Howard/Getty Images

"Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em," William Shakespeare wrote in Twelfth Night, setting up a prank to humiliate a pretentious servant. It isn't clear which camp Idaho Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin (R) would place herself in, but on Tuesday she took advantage of Gov. Brad Little's (R) out-of-state travels  for the second time this year  to issue a pandemic-related executive order and move to press the Idaho National Guard into border patrol duty.

As soon as Little left to meet with nine other GOP governors in Texas, McGeachin issued an executive order prohibiting private companies from requiring employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19, among other things. She also asked Maj. Gen. Michael J. Garshak how she could activate the National Guard and send them to the U.S.-Mexico border, The Associated Press reports.

"I am unaware of any request for Idaho National Guard assistance under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) from Texas or Arizona," Garshak said in a one-paragraph reply. "As you are aware, the Idaho National Guard is not a law enforcement agency."

Little, who did send State Police troopers to the border in June to help stop cross-border drug trafficking, was a little more direct. "I am in Texas performing my duties as the duly elected governor of Idaho, and I have not authorized the lieutenant governor to act on my behalf," he said in a statement. "I will be rescinding and reversing any actions taken by the lieutenant governor when I return." He added, "Attempting to deploy our National Guard for political grandstanding is an affront to the Idaho constitution and insults the men and women who have dedicated their life to serving our state and the country."

In May, McGeachin issued a ban on mask mandates when Little was on an official trip to Tennessee. Little rescinded that order as soon as he returned. McGeachin is one of a crowded field of Republicans running to replace Little in 2022. Little has not indicated whether he is seeking re-election.

Story continues

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By Sharon Bernstein and Callaghan O'Hare

ST. LOUIS (Reuters) -When her 2-year-old started feeling sick early last week, Tiffany Jackson didn't think it might be COVID-19.

No one else in the family was sick. Adrian James just had a bit of a cough. She gave him cough syrup and put a humidifier in his room.

But by Friday he was sweaty and his breathing was labored. Jackson took him to an emergency room in her small town of Mount Vernon, Illinois. Doctors and nurses there did a chest X-ray and swabbed him for COVID - and then airlifted the child to Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital in St. Louis, about 80 miles (129 km) away.

Jackson followed in a car, her grandmother at the wheel. They made the usually 90 minute-drive in about an hour.

"I didnt know if he was going to make it or not," Jackson said. "I was very emotional and just very upset."

Her son is one of more than 840,000 children under the age of four to contract COVID-19 in the United States since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#demographics (CDC). Hospitalizations like Adrian's remain rare: less than 1% of children with reported cases of COVID-19 are hospitalized and children account for 2.5% of all COVID-19 related hospitalizations, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics https://bit.ly/3oFxjLW.

While nationally COVID cases and hospitalizations https://tmsnrt.rs/2WTOZDR have fallen, parts of the United States are being ravaged by the highly contagious Delta variant, which Adrian has.

By late Tuesday night, he was intubated and heavily sedated, wrapped in his baby blanket with his favorite Paw Patrol stuffed animal at hand.

Over the past couple of days, his lungs have been able to do more of the work of breathing, and it is possible that he may be removed from the ventilator soon.

The United States last week crossed the milestone of 700,000 COVID deaths since the pandemic started, including 520 children https://bit.ly/3oFxjLW. U.S. health regulators will meet later this month to consider approving the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for ages 5-11, followed later this year or early next year with a decision for those under 5.

Story continues

Transmission of the virus https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#cases_community remains high in every state except California and Connecticut, CDC data show.

'IT IS SERIOUS'

Adrian, who will be 3 years old next month, had developed pneumonia in his left lung. He was breathing fast, trying to gulp air with 76 respirations per minute, nearly twice the normal 40, Jackson said.

At the hospital, doctors and nurses wearing masks, face shields and protective gowns sedated him and put him on a breathing tube attached to a ventilator in the intensive care unit.

Jackson has been sleeping on a couch in his room in the ICU. She does not know how her son contracted COVID. She had COVID last summer. She says she did not get vaccinated for COVID due to a rare auto-immune disorder called Guillain-Barre syndrome that she contracted as a result of a flu shot when she was 16. The syndrome, which is incurable, causes nervous system damage.

Adrian's father, who is home with their younger child in Illinois, received one dose of a COVID vaccine but not the second dose, she said. Maybe, she thinks, someone at work passed it to him, although everyone in the factory where he is employed is supposed to wear masks and practice physical distancing.

Jackson, 21, is profoundly grateful for the care her child has received. She is beginning to believe that it will save his life.

And she hopes that Adrian's story will help people understand what it could mean to pass the virus to young children and to people with vulnerable immune systems.

"I just want people to realize it is serious," she said.

(Reporting by Sharon Bernstein in Sacramento, California and Callaghan O'Hare in St. Louis; Editing by Donna Bryson, Robert Birsel and Lisa Shumaker)
An Iranian-born research scientist alleges that a former University of Alabama at Birmingham co-worker harassed her for nine years because of her ethnicity and even threatened her with a pistol but that the school failed to stop the abuse even after she repeatedly complained.

Image: Fariba Moeinpour. (Courtesy Barrett and Farahany)

The woman, Fariba Moeinpour, said in a federal discrimination lawsuit filed in the Northern District of Alabama that Mary Jo Cagle, a data analyst at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, or UAB, taunted her for having a weird ass name, called her a b---- and told her repeatedly to go back to Iran.

Our country does not need your kind, Cagle said, the lawsuit alleged.

The abuse escalated over the years, Moeinpour said in the lawsuit, which claimed that Cagle once nearly ran her and her daughter over with a car and that she later pulled a gun on her in the UAB parking deck while telling her that this is what we do to a sand n-----.

Moeinpour said she repeatedly complained over the nine-year period to UABs human resources department and to her and Cagles supervisor, Clinton Grubbs, about the harassment. Grubbs initially dismissed her complaints and told her to focus on her work, the lawsuit alleged. When he did intervene, Grubbs told Moeinpour that Cagle had also threatened him, it said. It all came to a head on Feb. 18, 2020, when Moeinpour was fired after an argument with Grubbs over how to deal with Cagle escalated into violence, according to court documents.

In response to a series of questions about Moeinpours claims, UAB spokeswoman Alicia Rohan said, UAB does not comment on pending litigation.

A woman who answered Cagles cellphone number said, Im not speaking with anyone at this time.

Also named in the lawsuit were UABs employee relations chief, Kelly Mayer, and the University of Alabama board of trustees, which oversees the states public university system. NBC News has reached out to both. NBC News also left a message for Grubbs, who is not named as a defendant. It was not immediately clear whether Grubbs still works for UAB.

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Moeinpour, 59, a naturalized U.S. citizen who emigrated from Iran in 1989, said she has been struggling to find another job since she was fired and that she is surviving with the help of her daughter.

What happened to me was awful, she said. The abuse just continued and continued and continued, and nobody would help me, not Dr. Grubbs, not UAB, not anybody. I had to tolerate everything, because I am a scientist and I needed this job, because I have a daughter.

Moeinpour, who had worked for another UAB researcher, transferred to Grubbs lab in February 2011 after she found evidence of data falsification and manipulation and reported it to the Office of Research Integrity, an agency of the federal Department of Health and Human Services, said Grace Starling, one of her attorneys at the Barrett & Farahany law firm in Atlanta.

The lawsuit alleged that Cagle began abusing Moeinpour almost from the moment she started working for Grubbs at the UAB School of Medicine.

The matter was brought to the attention of a UAB associate vice president in 2012, according to a letter shared with NBC News. In the letter, David Wright, director of the Office of Research Integrity, questioned whether Cagle and another lab worker were punishing Moeinpour for being a whistleblower.

Moeinpour alleged that nothing changed.

Over the next several years, Defendant Cagle continued her campaign of harassment unabated, the suit said. She told fellow employees that, because Ms. Moeinpour is a Middle Eastern woman from Iran, she is a non-believer in God, that she is stupid, and that she hated Ms. Moeinpours accent.

Cagle, the lawsuit said, spat on the ground while passing Moeinpour, urged Grubbs to get rid of her and recruited fellow employees to help her in harassing and abusing Ms. Moeinpour.

Moeinpour said in the court papers that Grubbs told her he was threatened after he told Cagle she would be fired if she did not stop her abusive behavior. The next day, four men came to his house, shoved him against the car, and said, This is your second warning. If you do it again, there wont be a third one and left, according to the lawsuit.

Grubbs told Moeinpour that Cagle was in the mafia and that he was afraid of her, according to the lawsuit. Afterward, Moeinpour said, Grubbs refused to discipline Cagle and said that if Moeinpour kept trying to complain, it would be his word against hers, according to the lawsuit.

Moeinpour said she appealed to Mayer, the employee relations director, for help but that she was ignored, rebuffed, and on at least one occasion told by Defendant Mayer to go see a psychologist.

Despite Ms. Moeinpours reports of discrimination to Defendant Mayer in Human Resources and to her supervisor, Dr. Grubbs, Defendant Cagle continued to discriminate, harass, and mock Ms. Moeinpour on a near-daily basis because she was Middle Eastern and from Iran, the suit said.

Finally, in February 2020, the lawsuit said, Moeinpour informed Grubbs that she had called human relations and reported that Cagle had threatened his life and that she was going to tell his supervisor, as well.

Dr. Grubbs grew increasingly agitated, said he would lose his job, that they would ask why he hadnt reported her complaints, and that he would kill himself if that happened, the lawsuit said.

Grubbs, the lawsuit alleged, had called campus police to have Moeinpour arrested to shut her up about Defendant Cagles actions.

Moeinpour said that when she told Grubbs she had proof that she had told him about her allegation of abuse against Cagle, Grubbs grabbed Ms. Moeinpour by the chin and knocked her down, cutting her face with his nails and causing her to bleed, the lawsuit said.

When Ms. Moeinpour fell to the floor, he fell on top of her and held her down, it said. In an effort to get him off of her, Ms. Moeinpour slapped him.

Moeinpour admitted when campus police arrived that she had struck Grubbs to try to make him stop attacking and groping her, according to the lawsuit.

Moeinpour was being driven to jail hours later, according to the lawsuit, which said UAB subsequently fired her for violating its policy against fighting and absenteeism, despite knowing that Ms. Moeinpour had said she was attacked by Grubbs and without interviewing her or asked her for evidence to substantiate her claims.

Moeinpour repeated her account in the complaint she filed with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in August 2020 under her former married name, Fariba Moeinpour Lawsen. She is divorced.

The UAB police departments Feb. 13, 2020, domestic violence report described Moeinpour as an out of control aggressor who slapped Grubbs during an argument.

Grubbs said in the report that the quarrel was sparked when Moeinpour went over his head and contacted his supervisor without first contacting him. The report did not say why Moeinpour did so. Grubbs said he did not want to press charges and that they had been in a relationship in the past year.

Moeinpour told NBC News: I never had a romantic relationship with Dr. Grubbs.

Moeinpour, who is seeking unspecified damages for "mental and emotional suffering," grew emotional as she recounted her ordeal.

"It was nine years of anguish," she said.
John Boyega models his new collection for H&M (H&M)

High street retailer H&M has announced an upcoming sustainable menswear collection in collaboration with London-born actor John Boyega.

Boyega, who is most well-known for his role in the Star Wars franchise, has worked with the brand to create an autumn/winter line featuring colourful knitwear, checked overcoats, a chunky grass green cardigan and floral cargo trousers.

Launching in stores and online on 28 October, items in Edition by John Boyega, as the collection is named, have been made using materials such as recycled wool, vegan leather and organic cotton.

John Boyega models his new H&M collection (H&M)

Other products in the collection include a patchwork denim jacket crafted from pieces of pre-loved denim garments, a checked coat made from Italian recycled wool, a striped shirt, and a burgundy puffer jacket.

T-shirts in the collection have been emblazoned with a graphic of the Earth and the statement: A better present leads to a better future.

Im excited to collaborate with H&M on a collection that aligns my passions with purpose, Boyega said in a statement.

Sustainability to me means thinking about longevity for the benefit of those coming after us.

Ross Lydon, head of menswear design at H&M, said the Swedish brand is proud to have collaborated on a contemporary, more sustainable collection for men.

John Boyega models his new collection in partnership with H&M (H&M)

He added: John Boyega is a brave leader of a generation thats speaking up for change, believing theres a better way to treat each other and the planet.

In an interview with GQ this week, Boyega said he wanted to subtly hint at his Nigerian heritage in the H&M collection through patterns and prints.

He added: I wear these wildly-patterned [Nigerian] robes in the house that Ill never show anyone else that I rock, but theyre amazing. I love a loose fit; theyre so comfortable.

Boyega also described fashion as a good way of being personally responsible for his own sustainability and carbon output.

Lets face it, people cant always be sustainable in every aspect of their lives, he said.

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With your fashion choices you can be better more easily, as there are so many brands doing good stuff, or you can learn to reuse. I wanted that to be intrinsic to the H&M collection.

Read More

Miami designer creates hospital gowns for transplant patients

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Selling Sunsets Christine Quinn on playing the villain, her first make-up range and why becoming a mum made her reassess her priorities

Jane Fonda covers Vogue Polands courage issue
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)  A California judge said Wednesday that she plans to resentence Scott Peterson to life in prison Dec. 8 while she separately considers whether he receives a new trial in the 2002 murders of his pregnant wife and unborn son.

Peterson was sentenced to death in 2005 and has spent more than 15 years on death row, but the California Supreme Court tossed out his sentence last year and prosecutors say they won't again seek to have him executed.

This is no longer a death penalty case," Stanislaus County District Attorney Birgit Fladager reiterated during Wednesday's brief hearing. "There is no way in the world this is anything other than a life without parole case.

She expects the resentencing hearing to last no longer than two hours, with brief statements from family members of 27-year-old Laci Peterson, who was eight months pregnant at the time of her killing.

Peterson has been appearing at the hearings through a remote link from San Quentin State Prison, home to California's death row, but will be present in person for his resentencing.

The high court ruled last year that jurors who personally disagreed with the death penalty but were willing to impose it were improperly dismissed.

It separately ordered Superior Court Judge Anne-Christine Massullo to decide if Peterson must receive an entirely new trial because of juror misconduct.

That in turn has complicated who should represent him, and the timing of the retrial decision. Defense attorneys who work for the Habeas Corpus attorneys may no longer be able to represent Peterson because by law they can only be involved in death penalty cases.

One of Peterson's attorneys, Pat Harris, told Massullo that removing those attorneys could mean delaying the retrial decision for what could be a substantial amount of time ... maybe even a year or more for new counsel to get up to date. That obviously causes us a great deal of concern.

Harris instead proposed holding the retrial hearing in mid-November, before Peterson's resentencing date.

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Massullo plans to consider the timing and who should represent Peterson during a hearing later this month.

Petersons lawyers contend the woman known as Juror 7 falsely answered questions during the selection process as she sought to join the jury. She later coauthored a book on the case.

Supreme Court justices said there was considerable circumstantial evidence incriminating Peterson in the first-degree murder of his wife and the second-degree murder of the boy they planned to name Connor.

Prosecutors said Peterson took his wifes body from their Modesto home on Christmas Eve 2002 and dumped her in San Francisco Bay from his fishing boat. The bodies washed ashore in April 2003.

Defense attorneys say they have new evidence that nearby burglars may have committed the crime, though investigators say they were ruled out as suspects.

To get the chance to prove it, Peterson's attorneys must persuade Massullo that the juror was biased because she had been a crime victim, something she did not disclose during jury selection.

It was later learned that the woman had been beaten by a boyfriend while she was pregnant in 2001. She also didnt reveal that during another pregnancy she had obtained a restraining order against a boyfriends ex-girlfriend because she was fearful the woman would harm her unborn child.
(Reuters) - London's High Court has ruled https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/dubais-sheikh-mohammed-ordered-phones-ex-wife-lawyers-be-hacked-uk-court-says-2021-10-06 that Dubai's leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum ordered the hacking of the phones of his ex-wife and those close to her as part of a bitter custody battle over their children.

Here is a timeline of the main events connected with the case, based on statements and findings made in the English courts.

June 2000 - Sheikha Shamsa, daughter of Mohammed and his Algerian wife Huriah Ahmed al M'aash, flees from her family while on holiday in England. Two months later she is abducted from the streets of Cambridge and taken back to Dubai.

2004 - Mohammed, the ruler of Dubai and vice president of the United Arab Emirates, marries Princess Haya bint al-Hussein, half sister of Jordanian King Abdullah. They go on to have two children.

March 4, 2018 - Sheikha Latifa, Shamsa's younger sister who tried to run away from her family in 2002, attempts to escape again. Armed Indian coast guards board the boat https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-dubai-court-escape-idUKKBN20S241 she was on 20 miles off the coast of India in international waters. Those on board are taken to Dubai.

April 15, 2019 - Haya, who had begun an affair with her British bodyguard at some stage in 2017 or 2018, flees Dubai with her two children, having become fearful for her life.

She later discovers that Mohammed had divorced her on under sharia on Feb. 7, the 20th anniversary of the death of her father, King Hussein.

May 14, 2019 - Mohammed begins legal action at the High Court in London seeking to have the children returned to Dubai.

July 2019 - Mohammed and Haya issue a statement saying the case did not concern divorce or finances but was limited to their children's welfare.

March 2020 - After a series of hearings held in private, reporting restrictions are lifted to reveal that senior judge Andrew McFarlane had ruled that he accepted as proved a series of allegations made by Haya.

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These included that Mohammed was responsible for the abductions of Shamsa and Latifa, and they remained deprived of their liberty. The judge also concluded the sheikh had subjected his ex-wife to a campaign of intimidation which put her in fear of her life.

July 2020 - Agents working for Mohammed exploit a vulnerability in Apple's iPhone to use the Pegasus software made by Israel's NSO Group to hack the phones of Haya, her British lawyers Fiona Shackleton and Nick Manners, her personal assistant and two of her security team.

Aug. 5, 2020 - Shackleton is notified by another lawyer that their phones might have been hacked after a cyber expert monitoring the use of Pegasus becomes aware of the action.

The same day, Shackleton receives an urgent call from human rights lawyer Cherie Blair, an adviser to the NSO and wife of former Prime Minister Tony Blair, warning her that it was suspected that her phone had been hacked.

Sept. 7, 2020 - Lawyers for Haya tell the High Court about the hacking.

May 5, 2021 - McFarlane rules that it was "more probable than not" the sheikh was responsible for the hacking.

June 2021 - A statement issued by Latifa through lawyers says she is now free to travel, after pictures of her abroad and in a shopping mall in Dubai are published on social media. Two months later, a campaign group which had been working to secure her release from Dubai said it was ending its work.

(Reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Mike Collett-White)
A woman holding a knife. (PHOTO: Getty Images)

SINGAPORE  Upset that her girlfriend was supposedly keeping a secret phone, a woman took her knife from her employers kitchen to confront her fellow maid.

Calastre Elena Canto, 44, was jailed for three months on Wednesday (6 October), after she pleaded guilty to one count of criminally intimidating her 42-year-old girlfriend.

One count each of causing hurt to the victim by slapping her face in the same incident and possessing an offensive weapon were considered for sentencing.

The women from the Philippines were working for different employers and staying in separate areas. They had known each other for five years.

On 2 August this year, the women argued about a secret phone allegedly belonging to the victim. Calastre became angry that the victim was allegedly keeping secrets from her. She told the victim that she would speak to her at the victims employers house. Their relationship had been strained by then.

Before leaving, Calastre took a silver kitchen knife from her employers house, intending to scare the victim with it. She hid the knife in her pants.

When Calastre reached the victims residence, the victim went outside to speak to her.

Calastre then confronted the victim about her phone and slapped the victim on both cheeks. She then took out the knife from her pants, intending to cause alarm to the victim.

The victim, who screamed throughout the confrontation, caught the attention of an unknown male passerby who told Calastre to stop. Calastre told him to mind his own business.

Meanwhile, the victim fled and ran into her employers house. Fearing that she would get into trouble with the law, Calastre threw the knife into a cluster of potted plants. The knife was later recovered by the police.

In mitigation, Calastre said that she was sorry to the people of Singapore through a Tagalog interpreter.

I have no intention to hurt my girlfriend using the knife (and) no intention to kill her. I still love her in spite of all the things I have done. I am very remorseful and I am asking for forgiveness. I have regretted all these things, said the maid, who appeared in court via videolink.

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For criminal intimidation, she could have been jailed up to two years, or fined, or both.

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A Texas man who posted on Facebook that he paid someone sick with COVID-19 to intentionally spread the virus at San Antonio grocery stores by licking items was sentenced Monday to just over a year in prison.

Christopher Charles Perez, who also goes by the last name Robbins, was found guilty by a federal jury of two counts of making false hoaxes related to biological weapons, the Justice Department said in a statement.

According to court documents, Perez posted: "My homeboys cousin has covid19 and has licked every thing for past 2 days cause we paid him too [sic]. Big difference is we told him not to be these f------ idiots who record and post online. . .YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!!"

A screenshot of the post was sent April 5, 2020, to the Southwest Texas Fusion Center, which then contacted the FBI bureau in San Antonio.

Perez, 40, told investigators that the post was a hoax. He said he wrote it because he thought too many people were still out grocery shopping and "was trying to scare people from the stores in order to stop them from spreading the virus to keep people safe," court documents state. He added that he did not know anyone who had the coronavirus, according to the documents.

Investigators also determined that the post was a hoax, but U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff said "trying to scare people with the threat of spreading dangerous diseases is no joking matter."

This office takes seriously threats to harm the community and will prosecute them to the full extent of the law," Hoff said in the statement.

Those who would threaten to use COVID-19 as a weapon against others will be held accountable for their actions, even if the threat was a hoax, FBI San Antonio Division Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs added. Perezs actions were knowingly designed to spread fear and panic and todays sentencing illustrates the seriousness of this crime. The FBI would like to thank our law enforcement partners for their help in this case.

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In addition to time in prison, Perez was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine.

This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com.

Related:
SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Pharmaceutical company Merck announced on Wednesday a supply and purchase agreement with Singapore that will ensure it access to its experimental oral COVID-19 antiviral drug, the latest Asian country aiming to get supplies.

The drug Molnupiravir is designed to introduce errors into the genetic code of the coronavirus and would be the first oral antiviral medication for COVID-19. Merck is seeking approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the pill.

Singapores health ministry confirmed the deal though it declined to comment on the number of doses it purchased, citing commercial sensitivities.

The ministry said molnupiravir would be available for use after Merck, also known as MSD Pharma in Singapore, submitted data to the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) and gets authorisation for use in Singapore.

"The addition of molnupiravir to our portfolio of COVID-19 therapeutics ensures that we have a range of treatment options for different patient groups," the ministry told Reuters in an email.

There is no molnupiravir clinical trial in Singapore, it added.

Australia https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/australia-buy-300000-doses-mercks-covid-19-antiviral-pill-2021-10-04 has also bought the Merck pill, while Thailand https://reut.rs/3Ag48RI, South Korea, Taiwan and Malaysia have been in talks to buy it. The Philippines hopes its trial of the pill would allow it access.

The rush to order the drug comes after data from interim clinical trials https://reut.rs/3a9O5dk released on Friday indicated it could reduce by about 50% the likelihood of hospitalisation or death for patients at risk of severe COVID-19.

Singapore reported a record 3,486 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday as it deals with its biggest outbreak of the pandemic.

It has vaccinated 83% of its people against COVID-19.

(Reporting by Chen Lin; Editing by Martin Petty, Robert Birsel)
The 10th anniversary of the death of legendary Apple (AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs on Tuesday brought a memorial from the company and a note of remembrance from current CEO Tim Cook.

The day also saw the release of a new business memoir entitled, "Play Nice But Win," from Dell Technologies (DELL) Chairman and CEO Michael Dell, a longtime rival of Jobs in the high-profile and high-stakes battle between the PC and the Mac.

But the competition hasn't stopped Dell from admiring Jobs. In a new interview, Dell tells Yahoo Finance that as an aspiring business person he learned from the example of Jobs and former Microsoft (MSFT) CEO Bill Gates.

While Dell acknowledges that Jobs and Gates are "very different people," he says he enjoyed watching their careers play out. "It was fun to see both of their trajectories," he adds.

At age 15, Dell met a then 25-year-old Jobs when he gave a speech to Dell's Houston-based computer club. A few years later, in his dorm room at the University of Texas, Dell would launch PC's Limited, the company that would later become Dell.

"Steve [Jobs] had this kind of incredible idealism, which turned out to be super powerful as he pursued various projects," Dell says.

In 1985, Jobs left Apple and put $12 million of his own money toward the launch of a computer and software company called NeXT, where he tried to convince Dell to use its operating system, Dell says.

"I got to know him better when he was at NeXT and he was trying to get us to work with his next operating system, after they decided to just be a software company," Dell says.

"You have to admire the idealism, really, that led to all of the incredible breakthroughs later on with the iPad and the iPhone," Dell adds. "Many years later."

Apple CEO Steve Jobs poses with the new iPhone 4 during the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, California, June 7, 2010. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith (UNITED STATES - Tags: SCI TECH)

A business partnership also brought Dell together with Gates, since many Dell PCs used Microsoft software. That partnership has persisted for decades, and expanded as recently as 2019.

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The striking feature of Gates was his combination of technical smarts and business acumen, Dell said.

"Bill obviously [is] super smart, unbelievably technical, [and] very tenacious and determined, and persistent as a business person."

To be sure, both Jobs and Gates had their flaws. Critics of Jobs point to his treatment of his daughter, Lisa Brennan-Jobs, who recounted her memories of her father's harsh words and frugality in a memoir released in 2018.

Meanwhile, Gates carried on a personal relationship with now-deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Gates met with Epstein on numerous occasions beginning in 2011  years after Epstein was convicted of a sex crime, The New York Times reported.

Bill Gates regrets ever meeting with Epstein and recognizes it was an error in judgment to do so, Bridgitt Arnold, a spokeswoman for Gates, told the Times.

Speaking to Yahoo Finance, Dell said when he first got to know Jobs and Gates, Dell noted one characteristic he identified as something to avoid.

"They were both about 10 years older than than I am, and they weren't married," Dell says. "To me, I didn't want to wake up and be 35 years old and not married  that would have been a very sad existence for me."

"So, I wanted to get married, and did when I was 24," Dell says.

Read more:

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Mic Smith/AP

South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh allegedly diverted millions of dollars from a wrongful death settlement meant for the sons of his familys former housekeeper and nanny, according to new court papers.

Court documents, first reported by The State, allege that after Gloria Satterfield died on Murdaugh property in 2018, her sons were supposed to receive upward of $4.3 million in a wrongful death lawsuit from the scions insurance company. Instead, Tony Satterfield and Brian Harriot have yet to receive a dime of the court-approved 2019 settlement now believed to have been diverted to a bank account set up by Murdaugh himself.

Copies of the at least four checks provided in Tuesdays filing show the exact amounts of the settlement that was approved by a judge. The checks, which were made out to Forge and allegedly sent to a P.O. Box in Hampton County, South Carolina, were never received by Satterfields family, according to the court documents.

The more we find out about the settlement, the more questions we have about Alex Murdaughs role, Eric Bland, who is representing Satterfields sons, told The Daily Beast in September. The Murdaughs considered Gloria familyso knowing that her sons have not seen a dime of the settlement Alex encouraged is concerning.

While the allegation that Murdaugh conspired to reallocate money from the settlement had been previously made in a lawsuit filed by Satterfields sons last month, the new court filing provides new details into how the attorney allegedly directed others to move the funds. Murdaughs legal team did not immediately respond to The Daily Beasts request for comment.

Alex Murdaugh Finally Arrested for Trying to Orchestrate His Own Killing

Tuesdays filing also accuses Murdaughs former law firm of being aware of the settlement early ondespite a statement on its website denying any involvement in the Satterfield case in the latest eerie twist in a cascading legal soap era. The filing has requested that Murdaugh and two of his alleged conspirators testify under oath in court about the settlement, alleging that the group must be held in contempt of court for the blatant and willful violations of previous orders.

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Questions about Satterfields death and settlement represent just one branch of the sprawling mystery associated with the embattled Murdaugh legal dynasty, which has also been hit with allegations involving embezzlement, drug addiction, a fatal boat crash, a botched staged murder, and at least two homicides.

The family, once known for effectively being the law in the South Carolina Lowcountry, was first thrust into the national spotlight in June, after Murdaughs wife and son were found fatally shot at their estate. At the time, the son, Paul, was facing criminal charges over his role in a fatal 2019 boat crash.

Then, early this month, things took a turn for the truly surreal when police say Alex Murdaugh, 53, and his former drug dealer attempt to stage his murder to arrange an insurance payout to his surviving son, Buster. Both Alex Murdaughwho was allowed to leave jail and go to rehab in another stateand the alleged dealer face criminal charges in the bizarre episode.

In addition to the murders and Murdaughs twisted suicide insurance ploy, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) is investigating Satterfields death, which was initially described in a wrongful death settlement as a trip and fall accident. The investigation came at the request of a local coroner, who said there were inconsistencies'' surrounding Satterfields deathand noted that no autopsy was ever performed.

The SLED investigation was announced just hours after Satterfieds sons filed a bombshell lawsuit against several individualsincluding Murdaughover the settlement for her death.

The suit, and subsequent court filings, allege that after Satterfields death, Murdaugh told her sons that the accident was his fault and encouraged them to file a claim against him. Murdaugh then introduced them to Cory Fleming, who has been described in court documents as the scions former college roommate and best friend.

As The Daily Beast previously reported, Fleming has also been accused of trying to help direct the blame away from Paul Murdaugh and onto another passenger in the fatal 2019 boat crash.

It was Alexs idea to take these boys to Cory Fleming, Bland previously told The Daily Beast. It was an unusual situation to bring a claim against Alex personally so that Alex could turn it over to his insurance.

The suit alleges that soon after Satterfields sons retained Fleming as their lawyer, the pair never heard about any meaningful developments in the case. The new court filing also alleges that at one point the sons were even retained by Murdaughs former law firm, Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth, and Detrick (PMPED).

PMPED sent letters of representation of the Estate to third parties, prepared probate documents for the Estate and the Personal Representative of the Estate, notarized probate documents and exchanged emails with Cory Fleming, also attorney for the Personal Representative and the beneficiaries of the Estate about the settlement funds, the motion said.

The documents also state that Fleming made two separate wrongful death claims against Murdaugh: one for $505,000 and the other for $3.8 million. Of the latter, $2.76 million would go to Satterfields sonsand the rest to legal fees, according to The State.

According to the lawsuit, a judge approved both claims and the checks were signed Forge by Flemings law firm, Moss, Kuhn, & Fleming. Fleming and his firm did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

Forge Consulting LLC, a financial firm known for helping with settlement agreements, denied involvement with Alex Murdaugh in a statement to The Daily Beast last monthand said that when it heard about the settlement and learned of the alleged account bearing the company name, it reported those details to law enforcement.

Unfortunately, it appears that Mr. Murdaugh, and possibly others working with him, leveraged the Forge Consulting name and reputation by establishing a bank account titled Forge without our knowledge or consent, the company said, adding it had no involvement in or knowledge of the alleged inappropriate conduct of Alex Murdaugh.

In a statement on Sunday, Bland announced it has finally reached a settlement with Fleming and his law firm and that Satterfields sons intend to pursue other culpable parties who resist acceptance of responsibility for their part in this tragic matter.

Mr. Fleming stepped forward and did the right thing by the Estate, the statement concluded. Mr. Fleming and his law firm maintain theylike otherswere victims of Alex Murdaughs fraudulent scheme.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Win McNamee/Getty

NATO is taking the extraordinary step of kicking out eight members of Russias delegation to the military alliance over allegations that those supposed diplomats were acting as spies for the Kremlin.

The officials, operating as representatives for Russias Mission to NATO, were actually undeclared Russian intelligence officers, a NATO official told The Daily Beast.

The officials must leave their posts by October 31.

The decision to remove the alleged spies from the alliance is in retaliation for Russias brazen activities in recent years, including conducting espionage and state-sanctioned killing operations, according to Sky News, which first reported the decision.

Naval Officer Busted Selling Top NATO Secrets to Russia for Just $6K

NATOs policy towards Russia remains consistent, a NATO official said, declining to name a specific incident that triggered the expulsion. We have strengthened our deterrence and defence in response to Russias aggressive actions, while at the same time we remain open for a meaningful dialogue.

The U.S. Mission to NATO declined to comment on the reasons behind the expulsion, but confirmed the decision to The Daily Beast.

It was based on intelligence, and we dont discuss intelligence matters, said Jeff Adler, a spokesperson for the U.S. Mission to NATO.

The alliance also reduced the number of Russian representatives that can receive accreditation from NATO from 20 to 10, the NATO official said.

The decision comes just two weeks after U.K. police charged a third Russian man for alleged involvement in the 2018 poisoning of Sergei Skripal, a former double agent, and his daughter Yulia Skripal, in Salisbury, England. The European Court of Human Rights also ruled in recent weeks that Russia was responsible for the 2006 poisoning of former intelligence officer Alexander V. Litvinenko.

NATO has taken action against Russian officials serving as representatives to the countrys NATO Mission in previous years following major international espionage scandals, including attempted murders.

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Following the attempted poisoning of the Skripals, NATO cracked down on seven staff members accredited to the Russian Mission to NATO and blocked accreditation requests from several others. The overall mission was reduced from 30 to 20 at the time as well.

Why the Hell Did America Just Send This Master Cybercriminal Back to Russia?

The decision to reduce Russias participation in NATO comes as countries around the world continue to work to thwart Russian espionage. Last year, Norway declared a Russian diplomat persona non grata for alleged connections to a case of spying in the country. And just months ago, the Biden administration expelled 10 Russian diplomats, including several intelligence operatives, from the U.S. following a flurry of hacking and espionage that affected hundreds of U.S. companies and federal government agencies. Poland also expelled several Russian diplomats in solidarity.

The Czech Republic, a NATO member, also expelled dozens of Russian diplomats earlier this year over suspicions that Russian intelligence services were involved in causing a deadly explosion at a military ammunition depot in the country. Romania followed suit and expelled a Russian diplomat over the incident as well.

The Kremlin typically responds tit-for-tat when other countries accuse Russian officials of spying for Moscow. Russia expelled U.S. diplomats in July in response to the Biden administrations recent decision to remove Russian officials from the U.S.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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The Netflix series

A South Korean woman's phone has rung off the hook since her number appeared in the hit Netflix series "Squid Game," but she may catch a break soon as the streaming giant and its South Korean production partner have reportedly agreed to edit her digits out of the series.

The Reuters news agency on Wednesday quoted Netflix as saying in a statement that, along with the Siren Pictures production house, it was "working to resolve this matter, including editing scenes with phone numbers where necessary." Netflix also urged fans of the show to stop pranking the woman.

In the hugely popular show, the last eight digits of the real-world woman's phone number can be seen on an invitation card given to potential players in the "Squid Game," which involves cash-strapped contestants competing in a series of simple challenges, based on children's games, for a huge cash prize. The price of failure in all the challenges, or for any perceived violation of the rules, is death.

Korean TV network SBS interviewed the owner of the phone number in September, identifying her as Kim Gil-young, a businesswoman in the southern county of Seongju. She spoke about the kind of prank calls she was getting, most of which referenced the Netflix show.

Related video: Filmmaker heads into orbit for first-ever movie shot in space

The South Korean Film Council offers movie production companies phone numbers that aren't in use to show on screen, according to Reuters, but streaming shows don't have access to the service.

The news agency said Netflix and Siren had both previously explained that when the made "Squid Game," they only showed the final eight digits of the cell phone number. They said they didn't realize that, when those last eight digits are dialed within the country, the phone system automatically adds the missing initial digits, or prefix, to complete the call.

Kim told SBS that she couldn't just change her phone number to dodge the nuisance calls as it is used by her clients.

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She also said, according to Reuters, that she had declined an offer from the "Squid Game" makers of about $840 in compensation for her trouble. The SBS network said she was later offered five times that sum, but Reuters said both Netflix and Siren Pictures had declined to discuss any such offers.

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By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Nvidia has offered concessions in a bid to secure EU antitrust approval for its $54 billion acquisition of British chip designer Arm, a European Commission filing showed on Wednesday.

The deal announced by world's biggest maker of graphics and AI chips last year has sparked concerns in the semiconductor industry over whether Arm could remain a neutral player licensing intellectual property to customers and rivals.

The EU competition enforcer, which did not provide details of the concessions in line with its policy, set an Oct. 27 deadline for its decision.

It will now seek feedback from rivals and customers before deciding whether to accept the concessions, demand more or open a four-month long investigation.

Nvidia has said it would maintain Arm as a neutral technology supplier as it aims to allay concerns from customers such as Qualcomm Inc, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Apple Inc.

Arm customers Broadcom, MediaTek and Marvell are supporters of the deal.

Arm, owned by Japan's SoftBank Group Corp, is a major player in global semiconductors. Its designs power nearly every smartphone and millions of other devices.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by Louise Heavens and Jason Neely)
Philadelphia will apply for more federal rental assistance as the U.S. Treasury looks to reallocate billions of dollars in rent relief, city officials confirmed to Axios Tuesday.

Why it matters: Despite the city receiving an additional $35 million in federal rent aid Friday, Philly is on the verge of running out of money for applicants in need.

City spokesperson Jamila Davis told Axios the new emergency rental assistance funds would only last another five to six weeks.

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State of play: The Treasury announced Monday that it'll be reallocating federal rental assistance in an effort to reach more tenants facing eviction.

Meanwhile, Philadelphia has gone through 75% of its available funds, as of Tuesday.

The city has dispersed more than $188 million in total emergency rental assistance to more than 30,000 households since May 2020.

What to watch: City staffers are barely halfway through processing more than 60,000 applications for emergency rental assistance, and Davis said they're averaging about 1,500 new applications weekly.

Philly would need $313 million to cover the amount of applications it has received.

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Priyanka Chopra is out of office.

The Isnt It Romantic? star took to Instagram on Wednesday to share photos of herself enjoying the "perfect day off" with her mom, Madhu Akhouri Chopra, and two friends. In a series of pics, the actress and her day off squad posed on a boat off the coast of Valencia, Spain, where Chopra sported a bright yellow swimsuit and oversized sunglasses.

Missing from the action was Chopras husband, Nick Jonas, who commented on the post, "Damn girl" alongside a fire emoji.

Though Chopra  who will next star in and produce the film Sheela, based on Rajneeshee leader and Wild, Wild Country subject Ma Anand Sheela  posted photos of herself taking a much-needed break from her busy schedule, the VS Collective ambassador recently spoke on the first episode of Victorias Secrets new podcast VS Voices about what she doesnt show on social media.

"I think for me, I dont like digging too deep," Chopra explained to fellow VS Collective ambassador Amanda de Cadenet, the host of the new interview series. "I will maybe show an image of me and my husband, or me and my mom and brother, and I'll be like 'Merry Christmas,' but youll never see what actually happens within the sacred safe space of my home. It's a little ornamental, I feel like, with what I share, unless I'm having a moment where Im feeling vulnerable and I'll talk about my feelings in a caption, which I have done. But, they're few and far between."

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Dallas-based Southwest Airlines announced this week that all 60,000 employees must be vaccinated against COVID-19 or receive an exemption by Nov. 24.

Why it matters: The airline and health care industries account for hundreds of thousands of local jobs. Compliance numbers show that workers are choosing their jobs over their vaccine concerns.

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If the airlines don't abide by the federal government's requirement to have all employees vaccinated by Dec. 8, they risk losing lucrative contracts.

Southwest joins Fort Worth-based American Airlines, which announced last week that it would also require vaccines or exemptions for all 100,000 employees.

Baylor Scott & White Health, which instituted a company-wide mandate earlier this year, says 98% of its more than 40,000 employees have already been vaccinated against COVID-19.

Children's Health and Cook Children's both reported that 99% of their combined 15,000 employees have received vaccines.

What they're saying: "Southwest Airlines must join our industry peers in complying with the federal government's COVID-19 vaccination directive," Southwest CEO Gary Kelly said in a statement. "I encourage all Southwest Employees to meet the federal directive, as quickly as possible, since we value every individual and want to ensure job security for all."

In company memos, Kelly told employees that he thinks they should be able to choose for themselves whether to get vaccinated but also said the government has the right to enforce mandates, according to the Dallas Morning News.

The other side: The union representing Southwest's pilot says the airline's mandate violates its collective bargaining agreement and that the 60-day timeline for vaccination might interfere with holiday travel.

The bottom line: Get used to this new normal. More and more jobs are requiring vaccination.

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New details emerged on AT&T's "lucrative relationship" with far-right cable channel One America News Network (OAN) in a new Reuters investigation. Ronald Martinez, Drew Angerer/Getty Images

One America News was AT&T's original idea, according to a Reuters investigation.

The founder of OAN testified in a 2019 deposition that the concept originated with AT&T.

Reuters found a "lucrative relationship" between the two despite OAN's blatant conspiracy theories.

See more stories on Insider's business page.

AT&T played a significant hand in the creation and continual support of One America News, the far-right media outlet that built its coverage around election conspiracy theories and COVID misinformation, creating a "lucrative relationship" between the two companies, according to a Reuters investigation published Wednesday.

Between the 2020 election and the January 6 insurrection, OAN enjoyed a boost to its relatively minor ratings and increasingly became former President Donald Trump's preferred cable network.

Despite his long-running cozy relationship with Fox News, Trump and his surrogates found a home for their demonstrably false conspiracy theories about a rigged election on OAN - and to a similar extent, Newsmax - before both faced costly lawsuits from Dominion Voting Systems.

However, the Reuters investigation found that those legal entanglements did not stop AT&T executives from propping up the network as it faced a potential financial doomsday scenario.

OAN founder and CEO Richard Herring Sr. revealed the importance of AT&T's contributions to the survival of the network in a court deposition in 2019, which was reviewed by Reuters.

Herring testified that he was offered $250 million for OAN, and that the concept for the network was AT&T's original idea, not his. Since then, AT&T has stayed a vital source of revenue flow for OAN, providing tens of millions of dollars via deals to carry its channel on TV platforms, according to court documents.

Ninety percent of OAN's revenue came from a contract with AT&T-owned television platforms like DirecTV, an OAN accountant revealed in 2020, according to Reuters; AT&T bought DirecTV in 2015 and spun them off in August 2021. Without the DIRECTV deal, the accountant said under oath, the network's value "would be zero."

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"If Herring Networks, for instance, was to lose or not be renewed on DirecTV, the company would go out of business tomorrow," OAN lawyer Patrick Nellies told the court, according to the deposition's transcript.

Jim Greer, a spokesperson for AT&T, said DirecTV has had a contract to carry OAN and disputed Reuters' characterization that this funds OAN. In a statement, he did not address allegations that AT&T executives first proposed the idea for the conservative channel to Herring:

AT&T has never had a financial interest in OAN's success and does not 'fund' OAN. When AT&T acquired DIRECTV, we refused to carry OAN on that platform, and OAN sued DIRECTV as a result. Four years ago, DIRECTV reached a commercial carriage agreement with OAN, as it has with hundreds of other channels and as OAN has done with the other TV providers that carry its programming.

DIRECTV offers a wide variety of programming, including many news channels that offer a variety of viewpoints, but it does not dictate or control programming on the channels. Any suggestion otherwise is wrong. The decision of whether to renew the carriage agreement upon its expiration will be up to DIRECTV, which is now a separate company outside of AT&T.

One of OAN's biggest challenges is that it is not carried on nearly as many cable packages as Fox News or the likes of CNN and MSNBC, reaching only about a quarter of the estimated 121 million TV sets nationwide, according to Reuters. Crucially, neither Nielsen or Comscore release OAN ratings numbers because the channel is so minimally distributed.

The week of the insurrection, OAN's news director told staff they experienced their "best ever" ratings, but did not provide a figure, according to Reuters.

A spokesperson for OAN did not return Insider's request for comment.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Tesco said its profit had been boosted by people holidaying in the UK and the Euro 2020 football tournament. Photo: Getty

Tesco (TSCO.L) upped profit forecasts and hailed strong first-half year sales in results published on Wednesday, while it said it would start a 500m ($678.9m) share buyback scheme.

The group's sales (ex-fuel and ex-VAT) were up 3% to 27.3bn in the six months to August, a beat on consensus.

Revenues were up by 5.9% to 30.4bn for the first six months, compared with the same period last year.

Profits were also up 28% to 1.3bn for that period.

The FTSE 100 (^FTSE) company lifted its adjusted operating profit target for the year up to between 2.5bn and 2.6bn.

It said sales had been lifted by clothing and other household goods, as well as shoppers buying for the Euro 2020 football tournament and "staycations."

Defying wider gloom in the sector due to HGV driver shortages and knock-on supply chain issues, the company said its links to suppliers had been "resilient."

"With various different challenges currently affecting the industry, the resilience of our supply chain and the depth of our supplier partnerships has once again been shown to be a key asset," said Ken Murphy, Tesco CEO.

Read more: Revealed: UK's most expensive streets

UK online sales rose again, by 2.3% against a tough comparative (two-year like-for-like of 74%).

Group retailing trading profit rose by a strong 16.6%, noting that at a reported level in H1 FY21 Tesco was "benefiting" from business tax relief plus also facing into material COVID-19 related costs, noting the payment of rates in H2.

Tesco said its UK market share growth was fuelled by strong execution, the effectiveness of Clubcard Prices, "unbeatable" EDLP and the Aldi Price Match.

Year-on-year, Tesco also saw a rebound in the headline performance of its Bank, which recorded a trading profit of 72m in the period (FY20; a loss of 155m).

Tesco shares jumped 4.8% in early trade in London following the results.

Tesco's stock jumped as it announced results that beat expectations. Chart: Yahoo Finance UK

There has been much speculation around the future of the UK grocery market in recent months following a drawn out takeover battle for Morrisons (MRW.L) by mostly US private equity houses. Some in the market think other players in the space could go private next, as Morrisons' failed suitors look for a place to deploy their cash.

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Read more: What it takes to be an HGV driver in the UK

Industry insiders say Tesco is less attractive than Sainsburys (SBRY.L) because it lacks an extensive property portfolio, however it does offer exciting digital expansion plans, with its online infrastructure superior to its big four competitors," said Ross Hindle, analyst at Third Bridge.

Tesco has capitalised on the acquisition distraction at Morrisons, grabbing 20 basis points of market share."

Watch: What is inflation and why is it important?
Jacobs Stock Photography Ltd/Getty Images

A Texas man claimed on Facebook that he paid a family member with COVID-19 to lick groceries at a store.

Christopher Perez, 40, was sentenced to 15 months in prison for the hoax.

He told investigators he thought it was "stupid" for people to shop during the pandemic.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

A Texas man who said he had people sick with COVID-19 lick groceries at a store was sentenced to 15 months in prison, according to the Department of Justice.

Christopher Perez, 40, posted the threats to the San Antonio, Texas businesses onto his Facebook account in April 2021.

"PSA!! Yo rt GROCERY STOREMERCADO!! My homeboys cousin has covid19 and has licked every thing for past 2 days case we paid him too," Perez wrote. "YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!! GROCERY STORE on nogalitos next ;)."

In reality, Perez told investigators that he nor none of his family had COVID-19 and that he was really just "shit talking" because he wanted to stop people from shopping for their own safety.

Court filings show Perez told investigators he "thought it was stupid for people to be out shopping and he was trying scare people from the stores in order to stop them from spreading the virus to keep people safe."

The DOJ did not seem to appreciate Perez's health and safety advice and assigned an FBI agent to the case with "weapons of mass destruction" experience. Prosecutors pinned Perez with two criminal charges that criminalize "false information and hoaxes related to biological weapons."

Christopher Combs, the FBI San Antonio Division special agent in charge, said the FBI will look to prosecute anyone who claims to use coronavirus as a weapon, true or not.

"Those who would threaten to use COVID-19 as a weapon against others will be held accountable for their actions, even if the threat was a hoax," Combs said.

When asked if he was happy that one of the groceries shut down because of his antics, Perez was split, telling investigators "50/50."

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Combs must also pay a $1,000 fine in addition to his prison sentence.

Read the original article on Insider
ZURICH (AP)  With tensions rising between the global powers, President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are expected to hold a virtual meeting before years end, according to the White House.

The agreement in principle for the talks was disclosed after White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan and senior Chinese foreign policy adviser Yang Jiechi met for six hours in Zurich.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the two sides are still working through what the virtual meeting "would look like.

The presidential meeting was proposed after Biden, who spent a substantial amount of time with Xi when the two were vice presidents, mentioned during their call last month that he would like to be able to see Xi again, according to a senior administration official, who was not authorized to comment publicly on the talks between Sullivan and Yang and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Xi has not left China during the coronavirus pandemic and is not expected to attend in person the upcoming Group of 20 summit in Rome and a U.N. climate conference in Scotland.

A White House statement on the Swiss meeting said Sullivan stressed to Yang the need to maintain open lines of communication, while raising concerns about China's recent military provocations against Taiwan, human rights abuses against ethnic minorities and Beijing's efforts to squelch pro-democracy advocates in Hong Kong.

Sullivan made clear that while the United States would continue to invest in our own national strength," it sought better engagement at a senior level to ensure responsible competition," the statement said.

U.S. officials have expressed frustration that interactions with high-level Chinese counterparts, including Yang, in the early stages of Biden's presidency have been less than constructive. But the talks Wednesday were described as respectful, constructive and perhaps the most in-depth between the sides since Biden took office in January, according to the administration official.

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China's official Xinhua News Agency echoed that description, saying the two sides had a candid and in-depth exchange of views. It quoted Yang as saying that China attaches importance to the positive remarks on China-U.S. relations made recently by U.S. President Joe Biden, and China has noticed that the U.S. side said it ... is not seeking a new Cold War.

Yang added, however, that China opposes defining the relationship as competitive and urged the U.S. to stop using Taiwan, Hong Kong, human rights and other issues to interfere in what China calls its internal affairs.

The White House said the meeting was intended to serve as a follow-up to last month's call between Biden and Xi in which Biden stressed the need to set clear parameters in their competition.

Still, the U.S.-China relationship has been under strain, exacerbated recently by the Chinese military's flying dozens of sorties near the self-ruled island of Taiwan, which Beijing considers part of its territory.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday reiterated concerns that Beijing was undermining regional peace and stability with its provocative action. China sent a record 56 fighter planes toward Taiwan on Monday alone.

We strongly urge Beijing to cease its military, diplomatic and economic pressure and coercion directed at Taiwan, said Blinken, who was in Paris for talks with French officials.

At the start of Biden's presidency, he pledged to press Beijing on its human rights record. His administration has affirmed the U.S. position, first made late in the Trump administration, that China's repression of Uyghur Muslims and other minorities in its northwest Xinjiang region was genocide.

In March, the United States, in coordination with the European Union, United Kingdom and Canada, imposed sanctions on top communist party officials for their roles in detaining and abusing Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities. At Junes Group of Seven summit in England, Biden successfully pressed fellow leaders to include specific language criticizing Chinas use of forced labor and other human rights abuses in the leaders' joint statement.

Human rights advocates and Republican lawmakers in the U.S. have raised concerns that the administration might be easing pressure on human rights as it looks for cooperation from Beijing on the global effort on climate change and in thwarting North Korea's nuclear program.

The White House said last week it did not have a position on the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which was passed by the U.S. Senate in July.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican and sponsor of the legislation, wrote in the Washington Examiner on Wednesday that the Biden administration is choosing to ignore the Chinese Communist Partys egregious human rights abuses to strike a deal on climate.

Psaki pushed back against the criticism. She asserted that Biden, unlike President Donald Trump, has spoken out against human rights abuses, has raised his concerns about human rights abuses directly with President Xi and we have done that at every level.

The U.S. signaled this week that, for the time being, it plans to stick with tariffs levied against China during the Trump administration.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, in a speech in Washington this week, said she would begin engaging her Chinese counterparts to discuss Beijing's failure to meet commitments made in the first phase of a U.S.-China trade agreement signed in January 2020. Biden has criticized Beijing for coercive trade practices, including its use of forced labor, that has led to an unfair playing field.

"We will use the full range of tools we have and develop new tools as needed to defend American economic interests from harmful policies and practices, Tai said.

___

Madhani reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Alexandra Jaffe in Washington, Matthew Lee in Paris and Ken Moritsugu in Beijing contributed to this report.
TORONTO (AP)  Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday he made a mistake traveling for a vacation last week on a day meant to honor Indigenous survivors of Canadas residential schools system.

The newly reelected prime minister has faced intense criticism for the Sept. 30 trip after he was filmed on a beach on Vancouver island. His itinerary initially reported he was in Ottawa for private meetings.

Travelling on the 30th was a mistake, and I regret it, Trudeau said at a news conference. This first National Day of Truth and Reconciliation was an important moment for all of us  Indigenous and non-Indigenous  to reflect, and to remember.

Trudeau thanked a local chief for taking his call on the weekend so he could apologize for not accepting an invitation to her community on the day.

The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was declared by Trudeaus government after the discovery of 215 children found buried at a former Indigenous residential school in Kamloops, British Columbia, attracted worldwide attention this year.

Many non-Indigenous Canadians had not been aware of the extent of the problems at the schools until the remains were found.

From the 19th century until the 1970s, more than 150,000 Indigenous children were forced to attend state-funded Christian boarding schools in an effort to assimilate them into Canadian society. Thousands of children died there of disease and other causes, with many never returned to their families

"Im focused on making this right," Trudeau said.

Many analysts have called Trudeau tone deaf for his vacation and questioned who is advising him

How it happened is far less important than it happened, he said.

Daniel Beland, a politics professor at McGill University in Montreal, said it shows Trudeau has bad advisers or, even worse, that he doesnt listen to advice.

It doesnt take a rocket scientist to know that going on hidden vacations on the first ever national holiday you help create is bad optics to say the least, Beland said.

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"The accumulation of obvious lapses in judgement on the part of the PM is something that is increasingly harder to hide for the Liberals, which is why the discussion about potential leadership change within the party is likely to continue, at least behind closed doors.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland appeared with Trudeau at the news conference and is considered a favorite to replace him eventually.

Trudeau's Liberal Party won reelection last month but must rely on one opposition party to pass legislation. Trudeau called the election for last month hoping to win the majority of seats, but ended up with a result similar to the last election. He has won three straight elections, but failed to win a majority in the last two.

Nelson Wiseman, a political science professor at the University of Toronto, called Trudeau's vacation a fiasco that will stick to him.

I expect Trudeau to announce his resignation in about a year, leaving the Liberal party time to select a new leader before they face the electorate again," Wiseman said. The most egregious aspect of this story is that Trudeau lied, having his office announce that he was to spend the day in private meetings in Ottawa.
By Patricia Zengerle and Phil Stewart

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -John Sopko, the U.S. special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, said on Wednesday his office would look into allegations that former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani took millions of dollars with him when he left the country.

Ghani has said https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/exiled-ghani-says-he-left-kabul-prevent-bloodshed-did-not-take-money-2021-08-18 he left Kabul to prevent bloodshed and denied reports he took large sums of money with him. But speculation has persisted, and Congress asked Sopko's team to get to the bottom of it.

"We haven't proven that yet. We're looking into that. Actually, the Oversight and Government Reform Committee has asked us to look into that," Sopko told a House of Representatives subcommittee.

Ghani has been bitterly criticized for fleeing as the militant Islamist Taliban reached the outskirts of Kabul in August.

Sopko's Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has long been investigating fraud, waste and abuse during America's massive state-building effort, which came to an ignoble end after 20 years with the Taliban takeover.

Sopko suggested to the House Foreign Affairs Committee subcommittee that oversees development aid that the failure of the U.S. project shouldn't have been a surprise, given rampant corruption and mismanagement.

"Corruption grew so pervasive that it ultimately threatened the security and reconstruction mission in Afghanistan," he told the House panel.

The congressional hearing was one of a series looking at the chaotic U.S. withdrawal and the path forward. "We can apply the lessons learned in other conflict zones," Representative Joaquin Castro, the subcommittee's Democratic chairman, said.

The United States and other countries have cut off almost all aid to Afghanistan.

"These are trying times for all of us who care about the future of the Afghan people, especially the Afghans that aided the U.S. and its allies over the past 20 years," Sopko said.

He said all of SIGAR's staff - including locally employed Afghan staff - were safely evacuated from Kabul.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle and Phil Stewart;Editing by Chris Reese and Hugh Lawson)
By Erwin Seba

HOUSTON (Reuters) -Members of the union representing locked-out workers at Exxon Mobil Corp's Beaumont, Texas, refinery have submitted a petition to force a vote on removing the union, the union and company said on Wednesday.

Exxon and the local United Steelworkers union said they were notified by the U.S. National Labor Relations Board, which will oversee the vote, that a petition calling for removal had been filed. It was unclear when the vote would occur.

The union represents 650 workers who have been locked out of their jobs since May 1, following failure to reach a new contract after the previous one expired in February.

At least 30% of the members must sign the petition for the decertification vote to take place. Decertification is the formal name for the removal process.

"You've got people that have been locked out for six months, it's getting pretty tough," Bryan Gross, USW international representative, said about the petition.

"The company respects employee choice and believes in the value of a direct relationship between the company and employees, without a third party union," Exxon said in a message to Beaumont employees, as confirmed by an Exxon spokesperson.

The USW in April filed a complaint with the NLRB alleging Exxon had violated federal law by providing an employee with decertification materials, employee email addresses and use of a company computer and email system to campaign for decertification.

The petition comes a week after Exxon made its first concession at the bargaining table when it offered greater seniority and job security protection for the lube oil plant workers.

Exxon said it began the lockout to avoid the disruption of a possible strike. The USW said the company's contract proposal would wipe out seniority and create separate contracts for the workers at the refinery and the adjoining lubricant oil plant.

(Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Chris Reese and Cynthia Osterman)
Teachers protested New York City's vaccine mandate on Monday. Mary Altaffer/AP

New York City public school teachers and employees were required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Monday or be placed on unpaid leave, per the city's vaccine mandate.

Of approximately 150,000 employees, about 8,000 refused the shot and were placed on unpaid leave, the New York Times reported.

Some teachers have tried to fight the mandate through religious exemptions, legal challenges, and protests.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Frantz Conde, 47, was placed on unpaid leave from his Brooklyn middle school, where he has taught for 18 years. He is numbered among the less than 6% of employees in the public school system - about 8,000 out of approximately 150,000 - who refused to take the vaccine and were placed on unpaid leave, the New York Times reported.

Conde told Insider that New York City's vaccination mandate, which went into effect Monday and requires teachers and other Department of Education employees to get the COVID-19 shot, feels forced. Teachers and employees who refuse the shot are prohibited from teaching or entering schools, and they are placed on a year-long unpaid leave.

"The issue is not the vaccine. The issue is being forced, coerced, bullied, cajoled into taking a vaccine against your will," said Conde, who said his religious exemption to the vaccine was denied.

Days before the mandate took full effect, Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a CNN appearance that if teachers who are on leave "don't come back in a reasonable period of time, you're not going to have a job."

"But look, the message to people is this: we've got to keep each other safe. We've got to put the COVID era behind us. The mandates have worked," he added, calling mandates "strikingly effective."

Of all full-time employees of the Department of Education, 95% were vaccinated, including 96% of teachers and 99% of principals, de Blasio said at a press conference on Monday. He added that over 43,000 vaccines had been given to public school employees since the rule was announced in August.

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Conde said in addition to financial and emotional pressures the mandate has put on teachers, "one of the most negative repercussions" has been separating teachers from students who rely on them, which he said is akin to ripping apart a family.

"And the irony is it's supposed to be in service of the kids and their safety," Conde said.

As Insider's Erin Schumaker previously reported, although Americans have been divided about vaccine mandates, poll after poll has shown that their overall popularity has grown, especially for workers in industries like education and government.

In August, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that an unvaccinated primary-school teacher in Marin County, California, spread COVID-19 to 50% of their classroom, after spending two days sick with the coronavirus at school and not consistently wearing a mask.

Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, told MSNBC in August vaccine mandates for teachers help to protect students, especially those who are too young to get inoculated. She also noted that there should be accommodations made for religious and medical exemptions.

Stephanie Edmonds, a 31-year-old teacher, told Insider she was unable to enter her Bronx high school on Monday. She said she filed a religious exemption to the vaccine, which was denied, and now she is seeking an appeal.

"I'm still, fortunately, unlike other teachers, receiving pay, but I'm not allowed to teach. So, I'm not allowed in my building. I don't know really what I'm supposed to be doing," Edmonds said, adding that if her exemption is approved, she will be given an off-site administrative job while she remains unvaccinated.

Some teachers attempted to fight the mandate in the courts, but none have been successful so far. A temporary injunction that was initially granted was later denied by two federal courts, and an emergency injunction was denied by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor last week. A US Court of Appeals will hear the teachers' appeal on October 14, the Times reported.

Protestors against vaccine mandates for city employees took to the streets on Monday. Some tore down a mobile COVID-19 testing site tent in Manhattan, flipping the table and chairs.

Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers, said 97% of the city's teachers who are union members were vaccinated by Monday.

"I'm happy about 97%, but I wish it was 100%," Mulgrew said on Monday. "For me as a union leader, that's a sad thing, but I have to focus first more on the people who are vaccinated right now to keep them safe."

Mulgrew said "under 4,000 people" who are union members remain unvaccinated, but they can return to work "at any time" if they choose to get vaccinated.

While the COVID-19 vaccines have not been authorized for use on children under 12, California became the first state to announce it will require vaccinations for schoolchildren after the Food and Drug Administration grants full approval. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, said on Sunday he backs California Gov. Gavin Newsom's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for children.

"When we see pushback on that, it's as if this never happened before," Fauci continued. "It's actually ongoing with other vaccines, so let's do it with a virus that's very, very serious," Fauci said.

Conde said he might get the vaccine if God told him to. Edmonds said she doesn't think she will ever get the coronavirus vaccine, and she also won't allow her 5-year-old son to get it.

"I'm going to fight this fight all the way to the end because I think it's very important because after us, it's all the other workers, and then what I'm really scared for is the kids," Edmonds said. "If they go through with this mandate, okay, what are they going to mandate you to do next?"

Read the original article on Insider
HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam is planning from December to reopen key tourist destinations to vaccinated visitors from countries deemed a low COVID-19 risk, the government said on Wednesday, ahead of a full resumption targeted for June next year.

Vietnam imposed tight border controls at the start of the pandemic in an effort to keep out COVID-19, with some initial success, but that harmed its burgeoning tourism sector, which typically accounts for about 10% of gross domestic product.

Vietnam last month announced it would reopen the resort island Phu Quoc https://reut.rs/3Dg54Hv for vaccinated travellers from November.

It will from December also allow tourists from approved countries to visit UNESCO world heritage site Halong Bay and Hoi An, the highlands town of Dalat and beach destination Nha Trang.

"We are only open when it's truly safe," the government said in a statement.

"We are moving step by step, cautiously but flexibly to adapt to real situations of the pandemic."

The move follows similar steps taken by neighbouring Thailand https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/thailand-further-ease-coronavirus-restrictions-2021-09-27, which will next month expand locations in its pilot scheme to allow vaccinated visitors.

Foreign arrivals to Vietnam fell to 3.8 million last year down from 18 million in 2019, when tourism revenue was $31 billion, equivalent to 12% of GDP.

The country is trying to speed up COVID-19 vaccinations, with just 13% of its 98 million people inoculated so far, one of the lowest rates in Asia.

(Editing by Martin Petty)
People walk down the road outside YES Prep Southwest Secondary school after a shooting on Friday, Oct. 1, 2021 in Houston. AP Photo/David J. Phillip

Two TikToks purporting to show students evacuating following a school shooting have gone viral.

The TikToks, which have nearly 12 million views, appear to have been posted by a YES Prep student.

The school principal was injured in the shooting in Texas on Friday.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

TikTok videos purportedly showing the moment students were evacuated out of their school following a shooting, which injured the principal, have gone viral.

The TikToks appear to have been posted by a student at YES Prep Southwest Secondary School, according to comments from the creator and the hashtags added in the caption. The public charter school, which is located in Houston, Texas, had an active shooting incident at approximately 11:45 am on Friday, as Insider previously reported.

Combined, the two TikToks have amassed nearly 12 million views.

In the first of two TikTok videos posted on Saturday, a line of students with their hands up appear to be led out of the school by armed guards. One person leading the line can be heard saying, "it's okay, keep moving."

A shattered glass door and blood-spattered floors can also be seen in the footage, with the person filming whispering "oh my god" upon seeing the destruction.

"Well, this happened today," reads on-screen text. The creator did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The second part of the TikTok shows screenshots of posts purportedly from the Facebook page of Dexter Kelsey, a former student of the school that was charged with aggravated assault against a public servant and deadly conduct in relation to the incident according to Houston police.

Family members and two unnamed sources reportedly told local outlet KHOU 11 that the screenshots circulating came from Kelsey's now-deleted Facebook account. Insider was unable to independently verify the Facebook account.

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The screenshots are intercut with more footage of the school's blood-smeared floors while Childish Gambino's "This Is America," which has been widely interpreted as a response to gun violence in the US, plays in the background. The TikTok creator captioned the post with, "never thought this would actually happen."

Screenshots of various posts from the same purported Facebook account - several of which have also circulated online on forums like Reddit - suggest that one post was edited on September 30, 2021, the day before the shooting. Purported screenshots of that updated post included a "list" of former and current staff and students from the school that the account wrote were "responsible."

Eric Espinoza, the school's principal, was one of the school officials named on the alleged list. As previously reported by Insider, police said Espinoza was injured by the shooting after a bullet grazed his back as he tried to alert students and teachers of the shooter.

According to the Houston Chronicle, the hearing officer at Kelsey's preliminary trial on Sunday alleged that he was targeting a female staff member in the shooting. The Chronicle reported that the hearing officer said that Kelsey had held a grudge against the staff member since 2015.

The school said in a Facebook post that no students were injured in the incident.

The purported YES Prep student who posted the two TikToks said in the comment section that Espinosa "saved us all from harm." The user's TikTok bio links to a GoFundMe campaign raising money "to show appreciation for the courage and effort that Mr. Espinoza took towards the incident that occurred at the Yes Prep Southwest school," the fundraiser page says.

Houston police said in their press statement that Kelsey was arrested on Friday shortly after the shooting.

According to KHOU 11, Kelsey is currently being held at Harris County Jail, with his bond set at $5.25 million. The station also reported that Kelsey did not appear in court on Monday as scheduled and that his attorney requested a mental health evaluation. Court documents reportedly obtained by KHOU 11 say that Kelsey is due to appear in a Harris County District Court in December.

The Houston Police Department and YES Prep Southwest Secondary School did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

Read the original article on Insider
WASHINGTON  Tensions between the U.S. and China have flared in recent days as the Biden administration rebuked Beijing for its military aggression against Taiwan, prompting a fierce backlash from Chinese officials.

The verbal sparring serves as a stark illustration of China's mounting aggression against its neighbors and highlights President Joe Biden's quandary as he tries to counter China's military expansion.

Some experts fear that if the brewing "cold war" between Washington and Beijing turns hot, Taiwan will be the spark. China views Taiwan as part of its territory; Taiwan sees itself as an independent, sovereign nation. The U.S. has long tried to navigate a fraught middle ground that aims to support Taiwan without infuriating China. That balancing act is now being stress-tested.

Demonstrators spray paint over an upside down portrait of Chinese leader Xi Jinping during an anti-China protest on October 1, 2021 in Taipei, Taiwan. China's National Day is celebrated over a one-week period, beginning from October 1 and running until October 7. The event is usually met with protests in Taiwan and takes on a special significance this year as tensions rise in the region.

China's military has sent more than 100 warplanes into Taiwan's air defense zone over the past several days, according to Taiwan's defense ministry.

On Sunday, the State Department accused Beijing of engaging in "provocative" and "destabilizing" behavior and reiterated America's support for Taiwan.

"We urge Beijing to cease its military, diplomatic, and economic pressure and coercion against Taiwan," State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement Sunday. "The U.S. commitment to Taiwan is rock solid and contributes to the maintenance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait."

In response, a spokeswoman for China's foreign ministry, Hua Chunying, essentially told the Biden administration to butt out.

"Taiwan belongs to China, and the U.S. is in no position to make irresponsible remarks," she said on Monday. "China will take all necessary measures to resolutely crush all attempts at 'Taiwan independence.'"

Taiwan's president, Tsai Ing-Wen, cast the latest confrontation in stark terms, saying her country is "on the frontlines of a new clash of ideologies" between democracy and authoritarianism.

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"If Taiwan were to fall, the consequences would be catastrophic for regional peace and the democratic alliance system," she wrote in an op-ed published Tuesday by Foreign Affairs magazine. "It would signal that in todays global contest of values, authoritarianism has the upper hand over democracy."

Weighing threat vs. bluster

Experts are divided over whether the record number of Chinese military flights, along with other recent threats against Taiwan, signal a looming invasion of the territory or military bluster. But most agree the Biden administration needs to tread carefully to avoid stumbling into a war with a country that has spent billions of dollars transforming its military over the past decade.

"Theres a bit of a war scare right now, with some people believing that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could come sooner rather than later," said Eric Heginbotham, a research scientist at MIT's Center for International Studies and expert in Asian security issues.

Craig Singleton, an adjunct fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, a hawkish think thank, noted that China's recent moves began on China's national day celebration and said they have more to do with stirring up nationalist sentiment than with threatening Taiwan or provoking the U.S.

"It would be a mistake to read too much into these latest military maneuvers," he said.

He said Xi Jinping's government is under intense internal stress because of economic problems, most notably the possible default of Evergrande, an overleveraged real estate giant that helped fuel China's housing bubble. Xi will continue to pursue hostile policies toward the U.S. and Taiwan as he tries to cement his grip on power before next fall's Communist Party gathering, Singleton said.

The potential for miscalculation vis-a-vis Taiwan is only likely to increase in the lead-up to next October's Party Congress," he said.

Bonny Lin, an expert on China with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Chinas leaders have incentives to exaggerate the countrys military capabilities for deterrence and coercion, and she notes the country spends more on internal security  surveillance and repression of dissent  than it does on its external defense.

'Obsessed' with China as its military spending skyrockets

Biden has put China at the center of his foreign policy, arguing that Beijing's economic growth and military expansion is a threat to American prosperity, Western democracy and the international order.

That outlook has driven many of Biden's priorities  including a recent defense agreement with Australia designed to counter China's regional aggression.

Lin said that deal was a good first step, but it's impact won't be clear for decades.

In terms of how much it changes the military balance of power, it remains to be seen, she said, noting it will take 20 to 30 years for the submarines in the U.S.-Australia agreement to come online. Other elements of the agreement, such as provisions to share artificial intelligence, need to be fleshed out, she said.

Heginbotham and others note that China has dramatically increased its military capabilities in recent years. It now boasts the world's largest Navy in terms of the number of ships, and it has formidable ballistic and cruise missile programs.

Biden's secretary of the Air Force, Frank Kendall, has said the U.S. military needs to retool its strategy to focus on advanced technologies that will "scare" China. He made the remarks in an interview in August with Defense News.

Ive been obsessed, if you will, with China for quite a long time now  and its military modernization, what that implies for the U.S. and for security, Kendall told the news outlet. "Theyre moving faster than I might have anticipated. So, we have a lot of work to do.

His remarks prompted a response from Beijing: "We'll meet you in the sky," Wang Wei, a deputy commander in China's air force, told reporters last week during an airshow where the Chinese were showing off their latest warplanes.

Chinas military expenditures are the second-highest in the world after the United States, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Chinas defense spending has increased for 26 consecutive years, the longest series of uninterrupted increases by any country, according to the institute's analysis.

Heginbotham says China has the ability to inflict significant damage on the U.S. in a way its military has not experienced in decades.

"That doesn't mean war is imminent or even in the foreseeable future," he said. And policymakers in Washington need to be careful not to provoke an unwanted conflict by tinkering with U.S. policy on Taiwan, he said.

Lin said that as China has become stronger economically and militarily over the past decade, it also has become more willing to use that strength to coerce neighboring countries. Lin does not believe Xi's government will launch an invasion of Taiwan anytime soon. But that doesnt mean the U.S. can turn its attention elsewhere.

We still need to be there to support our allies and partners, she said.

You may also want to read:

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: China's threats to Taiwan put Biden, US military, diplomats on alert
Idaho Lieutenant Governor Janice McGeachin speaks during a mask burning event at the Idaho Statehouse on March 6, 2021 in Boise, Idaho. Nathan Howard/Getty Images

Idaho Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin was elected in 2018.

She has announced plans to run for governor in 2022.

Gov. Brad Little, a fellow Republican, is expected to run for reelection.

See more stories on Insider's business page.

The head of Idaho's National Guard has rejected a request from the state's lieutenant governor to deploy to the US-Mexico border, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.

Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin sought to activate the state's militia while Idaho Gov. Brad Little was out of state touring the border himself, a move he denounced as "political grandstanding." The two are expected to compete for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in 2022.

"Before I even left the state, the Lt. Governor unabashedly requested information from the Adjutant General to deploy our National Guard to the border," Little said in a statement Tuesday night. He called the move an "affront to the Idaho constitution."

In July, Little himself sent five Idaho state troopers to the US-Mexico border to assist with illegal drug interdiction. He is currently in Texas with other Republican governors who have sought to blame the Biden administration for an increase in migrants seeking asylum.

The border is not the only area where Little's second in command has sought to outflank him on the right. On Twitter, McGeachin announced Tuesday that she had "fixed" an executive order from Little that had banned Idaho government entities from requesting proof of vaccination against COVID-19.

Under McGeachin's order, public schools and universities would be prohibited from requiring either vaccines or testing.

In May, she likewise banned mask mandates while Little was away - an order that the governor soon reversed, labeling it another "irresponsible, self-serving political stunt."

Have a news tip? Email this reporter: cdavis@insider.com

Read the original article on Business Insider
To me, this is the most important item on our agenda by far, bar none. If you would have told me two years ago that the federal government would direct that we impose a mandate of a medical decision as a condition of employment ... the mandate is not scientifically based, he said.

As far as I know we are the only county in the state that has that white flag with the snake on it over therehas a history of standing up for libertydont tread on me, it is essential that we stand up for our employees.

Underwood proceeded to call his colleagues on the board a bunch of wimps for not supporting him.

The president of the United States said he had run out of patience with us, said get the vaccine. He said if you have more than 100 employees you are going to be fined if you dont mandate it, he said. When you get on an airplane right now they say it is federal law you must wear a maskWe are not acting in hasteThis is exactly when we need to make a stand.
Is it still too early to say that Donald Trump is planning to run for president, and that he stands a remarkably decent chance of winning? Again?

I say this not because Im rooting for it but because Im a realist who decided after his 2016 victory that I would never underestimate Trump or his supporters again. His base is still strong. So is his grip on most of the GOP, as evidenced in its one-page 2020 platform, which announced the partys decision to not have a platform:

The RNC (Republican National Committee), had the Platform Committee been able to convene in 2020, it read in part, would have undoubtedly unanimously agreed to reassert the partys strong support for President Donald Trump and his administration.

Translation, the party believes whatever Trump says  it believes. Continuously we see why Trump as president seemed to get along much more cheerfully with autocrats than with leaders compelled by their democratic governments to actually answer to ordinary voters.

Of course, its important to remember that Biden and other Dems can still recover. The 2024 presidential election is still a long way away. But first come the midterm elections next year, in which the electoral map heavily favors Republicans, threatening the Democrats paper-thin majority in both houses of Congress.
My parents want me to go to Iowa State, he said. Im not so sure.

Avery Heller, a Lewis Central junior, is interested in science  especially animal science. She thinks she might want to be a zoologist or a veterinary technician.

LCHS students focus on careers twice a week during Titan Time and keep the same career counselor throughout high school, Bode-Steinke said. Depending on the session, they may take an interest inventory or aptitude test, learn about work values or entrance requirements for certain kinds of programs, or spend the time researching careers.

We by no means think that a four-year degree is the only route for everybody, she said.

Other options include earning a credential at a community college or trade school, completing an apprenticeship, or enlisting in the Armed Forces, Bode-Steinke said.

By the time you graduate, we want you to have a plan in place for one of those four options, she said.
Peterson said he has three plans for Council Bluffs if elected to the City Council  responsible economic development, fiscal responsibility and being an advocate for families in Council Bluffs. Another focus Peterson has is removing barriers for small businesses and creating environments within the city that will attract talent and visitors to the community.

Hunter received 382 votes (18.63%) and said hes excited to get to work and continue the campaign.

Im planning to engage with as many people as I can in the community until the general election, Hunter said. Im hoping to encourage people to come out and vote.

Hunter said he is running for City Council to make sure younger generations have opportunities in the community including being able to find work, own their own homes and live in a city that reflects their values. He wants to focus on how the city will attract businesses and see the opportunities those businesses will provide community members.

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Danielsen received 371 votes (18.09%) and it feels awesome to be one of the final four and that she has some steps in place to continue the campaign until the general election.
Democratic National Committee spokesperson Adonna Biel said the governors are the same ones who stood idly by as Donald Trump spent four years destroying our immigration system and spreading vile, xenophobic rhetoric and said the event was just to further their own political aspirations.

Reynolds bristled when asked her reaction to her Texas visit being a political stunt, saying those critics are missing the point and not looking at the data.

If you think this is a political stunt, then people better wake up, the Iowa governor told reporters. No, its not a political stunt. This is the real thing. Biden owns this. This is a self-inflicted crisis.

Both Iowa GOP U.S. senators came to Reynolds aid Wednesday, with Joni Ernst calling the dire situation a humanitarian crisis of epic proportion with no sign of improving as U.S. Customs and Border Protection projects over 2.3 million individuals will attempt to enter the country this year.

Folks, these numbers are staggering, the Red Oak Republican told Iowa reporters, noting that border enforcement officers are overwhelmed and the Biden administration is woefully unprepared to handle it.
Iowa House Republicans stand ready to do our due diligence to ensure the second set of maps is a fair map for the people of Iowa, he said.

But House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights, said Republicans chose politics over the common good again today. Iowans, she said, dont want politicians using their political power to stack the odds in their favor.

The process now returns to the agency to prepare a second map. Like the first, lawmakers will vote it up or down without amendment. If that is rejected, a third map will be prepared. If they choose, lawmakers can amend that one  essentially drawing their own map.

But time is not on their side. The state code and constitution call for the Legislature to complete redistricting by Sept. 15 or the Iowa Supreme Court finishes the job. Due to census delays across the nation, the agency received the needed population data in mid-August and delivered the first plan five weeks later. Now the agency has up to 35 days to submit a second plan and lawmakers will have to come back to vote on it.

Under legislative rules, state House and Senate members receive their regular daily expense money for the special session, which amounts to $175 for most lawmakers and $131.25 for those residing in Polk County.
Sen. Tony Vargas of Omaha raised more than $400,000 in funding for his 2022 bid for metropolitan Omaha's 2nd District congressional seat during the third quarter of 2021, his campaign reported Wednesday.

That's a figure that his campaign said is the largest amount ever raised by a first-time candidate for that seat in the House during the first three months of his or her campaign.

"Proving Sen. Vargas's strong support among Nebraskans, nearly 80 percent of his donors are from Nebraska," the campaign stated.

"And 97 percent of donations are from individuals."

Vargas, who is serving his second term as a member of the nonpartisan Legislature, is seeking the Democratic nomination for the House seat now held by three-term Republican Rep. Don Bacon, who will be a candidate for reelection next year.

The 2nd District seat has been Nebraska's only competitive House race, and the contest will be conducted next year in a district where boundaries have been redrawn by redistricting approved by the Legislature last month.

Vargas, a Latino, represents a heavily Latino legislative district centered in South Omaha.
Weve read, seen and heard it all before  too many times. First comes doomsday predictions about what will happen to the United States and its economy if the nations debt ceiling isnt lifted by Congress. After considerable political wrangling, a short-term extension is approved, thereby alleviating the crisis for a few more weeks or months.
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Allen had dried blood on the fingers and cuticles of both hands, Bellinger said.

Bellinger was the third witness of four to testify after the trial began about 1:45 p.m. A 12-member jury  nine men and three women along with two male alternates  was sworn in just after noon.

In her opening statement, Roberts-Connick told jurors it is a straightforward case leading to a conclusion that Allen shot and killed Torres with deliberate and premeditated malice.

She said a love triangle and jealousy preceded the shooting in an alley at Allens residence.

Allens attorney, Todd Lancaster, said it wasnt a case of whodunit but rather of why.

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Lancaster told the jury that Torres had sent countless social media messages and texts to his ex-girlfriend  a number of them threatening  in the days leading to the incident. He added that Torres was obsessed with tracking down his ex-girlfriend and confronting her and Allen.

He said Torres had an addiction problem, and his autopsy showed that cocaine and methamphetamine were both in his system.

Lancaster said witnesses will testify to Torres aggressive and violent nature when he was under the influence.
Through blended course offerings, students could take non-credit classes in a variety of formats such as Zoom, Canvas, in-person, distance learning and online.

As the MPCC GAP coordinator, Kircher takes care of financial aid for short-term training for high-demand jobs. She meets with students to determine their qualification for the program and assists them in finding the right educational training, whether it be for-credit or non-credit courses.

Probably one of her greatest accomplishments, however, has been her collaboration with the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services Work Ethic Camp in McCook. That resulted in training courses to discourage recidivism and provide incarcerated individuals with opportunities to obtain vocational certifications that could aid them in finding employment after release.

Kirchers department also works with Southwest Nebraska businesses to put on the Hormel Entrepreneurship Competition  offered every other year to contestants from seven communities to support economic growth.

Her advice and mentorship with that competition has led to similar contests in other MPCC communities, including Ogallala and Valentine.
We struggle getting and implementing high-quality instructional materials, and thats one of the needs we expressed during the tour, McGown said. Working with our ESU on that is going to be very beneficial for us. That benefits every student, no matter their ability. Getting those resources in our hands benefits every teacher and every student.

Scott Jones, director of network operations, appreciated the opportunity to get back on the same page with each district. Relationships naturally were strained because of the pandemic. It was nice to reconnect without the use of Zoom or other webcasting services, although everybodys newfound comfort in those areas is a silver lining to come from the pandemic.

We are going back out and reinforcing, re-instilling and sometimes even creating that trust thats imperative to have between the ESU and the school district, said Jones. Weve been separated for so long that there has been a growing divide between us. When we can be there in person, it really changes everything.

ESU 16 historically has been a binding agent for the districts in their area, no matter how many miles may exist between buildings. They prioritize professional development and even spearheaded a regional professional learning community that came from a conversation between Paulman, McGown and Schaeffer.
Shipenko, 38, who has made several commercially successful movies, also described their fast-track, four-month preparation for the flight as tough.

"Of course, we couldn't make many things at the first try, and sometimes even at a third attempt, but it's normal," he said.

Shipenko, who will complete the shooting on Earth after filming space episodes, said that Shkaplerov and two other Russian cosmonauts on board the station will all play parts in the new movie.

Russia's state-controlled Channel One television, which is involved in making the movie, has extensively covered the crew training and the launch.

"I'm in shock. I still can't imagine that my mom is out there," Peresild's daughter, Anna, said in televised remarks minutes after the launch.

Dmitry Rogozin, head of the Russian state space corporation Roscosmos, was a key force behind the project, describing it as a chance to burnish the nation's space glory and rejecting criticism from some Russian media.
Kyrsten Sinema, who is not in a tough (or any) 2022 reelection race. Photo: Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images

In the extended struggle on Capitol Hill between a relatively small number of centrist Democrats and the rest of the party over the size and shape of the Build Back Better budget-reconciliation blueprint and its relationship to Senate-passed infrastructure legislation, its often assumed that the centrists are electorally vulnerable pols facing voters in the treacherous environment of a midterm backlash against the party in power. Thats true of some of the House centrists, like Stephanie Murphy of Florida, Carolyn Bordeaux of Georgia, Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, Jared Golden of Maine, or Vicente Gonzalez of Texas. But the much bigger wheels in the wheeling and dealing, senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, arent up for reelection in 2022 at all. They wont face voters until 2024, and by then, who knows? We may be dealing with a new pandemic, an invasion by space aliens, or a second attempted election coup by Donald J. Trump.

Manchin gets some benefit of the doubt because his state is profoundly Republican: West Virginia gave Trump his second-best percentage in 2020 (68 percent), trailing only Wyoming as super-MAGA country. If he has any thought of running for another Senate term in 2024 (and why wouldnt he since hes nine months younger than presumed 2024 presidential candidate Joe Biden?), Manchin absolutely has to triangulate against his own party. And he has always been consistently on the outer conservative edge of its ideological spectrum.

Sinema is from a battleground state Biden carried in 2020 in which her party is regularly competitive these days. Many observers have tried to discern some distinctive ideology she may represent, but on those occasions when shes not a standard-brand Democrat, she seems to have simply made a fetish of bipartisanship. And there isnt a great deal of future in that point of view. As Ron Brownstein recently noted, the infrastructure deal (which may wind up getting only a handful of Republican votes in the House) could be the very rare exception to the rule that Republicans will not respond to even the most eager offers of cooperation across party lines. So the power of people like Manchin and Sinema, as Brownstein puts it, is now almost entirely negative. They can block their own partys ideas, but on virtually all issues, they cant create the bipartisan alternative they claim to seek.

So the question has to be asked: Why havent more-vulnerable Democratic senators with their own taste for bipartisanship broken with their party to the extent that Sinema has? Why arent they out there issuing veto threats, making demands, and happily courting the anger of progressives?

According to The Cook Political Report, four Democratic senators up for reelection in 2022 are very likely to be in competitive contests: Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Ralph Warnock of Georgia, and Sinemas Arizona colleague Mark Kelly. Cortez Masto, Warnock, and Kelly represent states very narrowly carried by Biden in 2020, and Hassan was trailing her potential Republican opponent Chris Sununu in the most recent poll. All of these senators other than Cortez Masto were part of the group that sponsored and negotiated the bipartisan infrastructure deal. Why are none of them in Sinemas position? Yes, Kelly has echoed some of his colleagues expressions of concern over the size of the reconciliation package, but hes not shaking down his partys congressional leaders or the White House, as far as we know.

The fundamental reality here is that the dynamics of a 50-50 Senate in which Republicans are in full and unified opposition make any one senator a potential dictator in the sense of dictating what her party can do. Most senators resist the temptation to undermine their party, particularly when it comes to public hostage-taking or posturing. Manchin probably thinks he has no choice but to stake a stand. Only Sinema has grabbed with both hands the opportunity to play the swashbuckling rogue who doesnt give a damn about party or principle. And so she has earned much of the progressive disdain she is enduring now. As my colleague Sarah Jones said of Sinema, She isnt in office to pass legislation. Shes there for herself.
New Chief Solutions Architect Treion Muller Brings 20 Years of L&D Experience

AMERICAN FORK, Utah, October 06, 2021--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Learning solutions leader eLearning Brothers today announced a new strategic consulting service, the Strategic Learning Blueprint that evaluates an organizations existing training, architects a custom plan, and activates a modern learning strategy.

"Businesses cant afford to provide training that doesn't work," said Andrew Scivally, Co-founder and CEO of eLearning Brothers. "Organizations need effective learning solutions that are engaging, change behaviors, reduce costs, and deliver results. As an end-to-end learning solutions provider, eLearning Brothers is uniquely positioned to develop custom training for organizations, whether thats virtual reality, gamification, or other types of interactive learning experiences."

Joining the eLearning Brothers team to spearhead the Strategic Learning Blueprint is Treion Muller, the new Chief Solutions Architect at eLearning Brothers. Treion has close to 20 years of experience innovating, developing, designing, digitally transforming, and strategizing in the learning and development space with some of the largest L&D players in the world.

The Strategic Learning Blueprint has 3 simple steps:

STEP 1. Assess - We start with an assessment of your existing training plan, offerings, and technologies and identify training needs, objectives, and behavioral change gaps.





STEP 2. Architect - We design a custom learning plan for your specific training needs and objectives based on what is discovered. This includes selecting the right solutions, technologies, partnerships, and modern learning approach.





STEP 3. Activate - We launch your modern learning training solutions, accountability processes, and success tracking system to assure your goals are achieved.

Implementing the Strategic Learning Blueprint changes behaviors, reduces training costs, and achieves measurable ROI. You then empower learning rockstars for your organization.

Story continues

Organizations can contact eLearning Brothers to schedule a FREE strategy session.

About eLearning Brothers

eLearning Brothers is a leader in learning technology solutions that enable organizations to conquer performance and development challenges. The company offers a one-stop-shop for learning development and delivery, ranging from strategic consulting and custom learning development to content libraries and development tools, all paired with an easy-to-use platform for delivering and tracking learning. eLearning Brothers helps everyone create and deliver measurable learning experiences that rock.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005162/en/

Contacts

John Pilmer

PilmerPR, a Benefit LLC

801-369-7535
Bachmans sparrows, one of the two mainland bird species, likely were specialists of canebrake habitat, which was the first habitat to be plowed in when people of European descent moved into the Southeast, Hill said. They likely disappeared with their habitat more than 100 years ago.

In contrast, the ivory-billed woodpecker was shot to near extinction. Hill said habitat loss had very little to do with the decline of ivory-billed woodpeckers. There has always been extensive habitat for ivory-billed woodpeckers in the southeastern U.S.

These birds were systematically hunted until all vulnerable individuals were dead, said Hill. The few birds that remained were very good at staying away from people. They still are.

During Hills lifetime, it has been a very rare occurrence for wildlife officials to make declarations like this.

Nearly every endangered species of bird in the continental U.S. is recoveringbecoming more common, said Hill. It has become much more common to hear success stories of rare birds, like bald eagles, that are no longer endangered.

Hill said it was irresponsible activities in the 18th and early 19th centuries that wiped out, or nearly wiped out, Bachmans warblers and ivory-billed woodpeckers.
Sentencing for former Lee County District Attorney Brandon Hughes has been postponed from its original date of Tuesday following the Monday death of a law clerk for the defense, according to Richard White, an attorney for Hughes.

It will be rescheduled for a later date that has not yet been set.

Hughes, who on June 24 agreed to a three-year sentence for two felony counts, including first-degree perjury and using his public office for personal gain, was expected to spend at least 10 months in jail according to his plea agreement, but on Sept. 8 he submitted a motion to avoid jail time in favor of a community corrections program along with two years of unsupervised probation.

Hughes lawyers argued that Hughes does not pose a threat to the community. The community program would allow him to receive the rehabilitative care he needs to learn from his mistakes, and he would be able to continue financially supporting his family if he was admitted into the program.

The State of Alabama opposes this motion.

According to the states response to the defenses motion filed Sept. 9, state prosecuting attorneys said, if Hughes were approved by the court to serve his time in a community program, it would show favoritism of the elite.


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Top 10 OSHA Citations What Are They and How Do I Avoid Them

With thousands of OSHA Standards, many employers find the rules are too numerous to memorize, not to mention they are often difficult to decipher and implement. Each year, OSHA publishes a list of Top Ten Most Frequently Cited Standards in an effort to alert employers about the most common standards the agency has issued citations for violative conditions.

The hope is employers will learn from reviewing these most common ("Top Ten") cited standards, and take steps to correct and abate the hazards associated with these of standards, before an issue occurs and OSHA conducts a site visit.

OSHA officials and safety professionals alike believe that most injuries and illnesses that occur in the workplace are preventable, if compliance is met. In this presentation we will address OSHAs Top Ten Most Frequently Cited Standards" and discuss simple methods employers can take to create and maintain a safe and compliant workplace.

: November 4, 2021: 2:00PM ET - 1:00PM CT - 11:00AM PT

Speaker:

Paul A. Andersen is a Senior Safety Advisor at OSHA Compliance Services, LLC. He has 24 years as a Safety Professional, holds several professional certifications, and is a Registered Environmental Assessor (REA). Paul formerly worked for Cal/OSHA as a Safety Engineer and is a subject matter expert with Cal/OSHA Title 8 Standards, CFR 1910, CFR 1926 and is an authorize OSHA Outreach Instructor.



Possessing a strong technical background and pragmatic business acumen, Paul has a proven history of success working with federal and state regulatory agencies to assist his clients with safety and compliance issues. During this presentation, he will share his experience and knowledge gained while working as an Associate Safety Engineer for Cal/OSHA Enforcement Division, High Hazard Unit.

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KPA is a leading provider of EHS software and services for mid-sized businesses. KPA solutions enable clients to identify, remedy, and prevent workplace safety and compliance problems across their enterprise. The combination of KPA's EHS software, consulting, and award-winning training content helps organizations minimize risk so they can focus on what's importantatheir core business. Learn more at www.kpa.io

Avetta connects global organizations with more than 100,000 qualified suppliers, contractors, and vendors across 100+ countries. We support the continued growth of supply chains through trusted contractor prequalification, safety audits, monitoring, and more. With real results in reducing TRIR, our highly configurable solutions elevate safety and sustainability in every workplace. https://www.avetta.com

SKL Compliance

Skillsoft Compliance Solutions provides both workplace safety training and ethics training tailored to meet an organizationOs unique, industry-specific requirements. Their advanced learning management system, Percipio Compliance, delivers an engaging user experience and robust functionality. With over 500 risk topics in 32 languages, Skillsoft offers one of the largest selections of compliance training to ensure organizations can effectively meet regulatory obligations, safeguard employees and encourage a culture of compliance. www.skillsoftcompliance.com

Intelex Technologies, ULC is a global leader in environmental, health, safety, and quality (EHSQ) management software. Its scalable, web-based platform and applications have helped clients across all industries improve business performance, mitigate organization-wide risk, and ensure sustained compliance with internationally accepted standards (e.g., ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001 and OHSAS 18001) and regulatory requirements. Over 1,100 customers in 172 countries trust Intelex to power their EHSQ initiatives. For more information about Intelex, please visit www.intelex.com

National Fire Protection Association

NFPA LiNK is the information delivery platform set to revolutionize how you work. Put safety expertise at your fingertips with digital NFPA codes and standards. Utilize dynamic search functionality, bookmarking, and the ability to share and collaborate with others to save time and get the job done right. With NFPA LiNK you can go by the book without the book to get the job done right faster and more efficiently. https://www.nfpa.org/link

Fulcrum enables EHS professionals to rapidly deploy mobile apps for safety inspections in minutes rather than days - without writing code. Our customers rely on Fulcrum to protect their field workforces with digital checklists, geotagged, rich-data collection, workflow automation, and more. Our SaaS platform helps ensure regulatory compliance, streamline safety reporting, and provide shared views of their safety posture. https://www.fulcrumapp.com



Bradley

For 100 years, Bradley has created the most advanced and complete commercial washrooms and comprehensive solutions that make industrial environments hygienic and safe. Dedicated to innovating healthy handwashing technologies such as touchless fixtures and hand sanitizer dispensers, Bradley is the industry's leading source for the most sanitary multi-function handwashing and drying fixtures. Washroom accessories, partitions, solid plastic lockers, as well as emergency safety fixtures and electric tankless heaters for industrial applications round out Bradley's premiere industry offerings. Headquartered in Menomonee Falls, Wis., USA, Bradley serves commercial, institutional and industrial building markets worldwide. https://www.bradleycorp.com/industrial



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Duration: 1 Hour
SMR reactors have the support of companies in Poland, Britain, the U.S., and Canada, with even big names such as Bill Gates supporting them

Small scale nuclear companies are picking up pace, following the example of bigger nuclear firms looking for their place in future of renewables, as nuclear power finally makes a comeback following years of criticism and fear of power stations.

Two companies in Poland, KGHM and Synthos, are looking to get small-scale modular SMR nuclear reactors up and running in a bid to stake their claim to the future of Europes nuclear power. To date, over 70 companies around the world are involved in SMR nuclear reactor projects, with the popularity of small-scale nuclear business quickly expanding.

Both KGHM and Synthos are planning to work with American companies familiar with the SMR technology to advance their independent projects in Poland, in line with European Union expectations for net-zero carbon emissions within the next few decades.

Critics of the small-scale projects suggest that opponents of nuclear energy will use the same arguments as those of larger nuclear projects, that because of the cost and safety concerns around nuclear power, alternatives such as wind and solar energy projects are far more useful to invest in and will be more technologically advanced in a shorter timeframe. In addition, much of the small-scale technology still requires extensive testing to ensure its safety. However, small nuclear plants may be able to bridge the gap in energy output that wind and solar energy production faces. When there is a lull in renewable energy production, small-scale nuclear power could plug the gap in a way that is not possible for larger nuclear projects to do due to their high cost to energy value.

The next step is for countries developing the technology, such as the U.S., the U.K., and Canada, to work alongside the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and national regulators to continue testing the safety of SMR reactors and agree upon international protocols and safety procedures.

But companies like KGHM and Synthos are simply following the examples of countries like the U.K., the U.S. and France, which have been proponents of nuclear power for years and continue to back nuclear energy despite criticism over safety and potentially life-threatening failures.

Many countries are highlighting nuclear power as a necesity in a zero-carbon future, with the U.K. announcing this week that it is planning for a fossil fuel-free power grid by 2035 through the use of nuclear energy. Nuclear energy will be used by the U.K. as a back-up for renewable energy production during the energy transition period. To drive this transition, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has promised the construction of at least one large-scale nuclear project by 2025.

As some of the worlds energy leaders are showing their support for large-scale nuclear projects, some popular names are also backing the new small-scale technology. Bill Gates Terrapower, for example, is planning to demonstrate an advanced nuclear technology in Wyoming at a retiring coal plant.

A major appeal of SMR reactors is that they can be factory-built and then shipped, adding more as energy demand rises. These reactors have an output of anything between 50 and 300 megawatts but can be combined to form a powerplant of up to 1,000 megawatts. Furthermore, if one of the modules breaks, it can be repaired without completely stopping operations. This reduces the environmental risk as well as the cost of the project  which is often criticized by energy companies and opponents of nuclear power.

The backing of nuclear energy by several governments, companies, and leading energy names around the world is largely due to the desire to move away from fossil fuels towards renewable alternatives and the lack of scope currently available for renewable energy production. While wind, solar, hydro, and other renewable energies have come a long way, there is still a significant road to track before the scale of these projects can meet the energy demand of 7.9 billion people worldwide.

But its important to remember that nuclear energy still has a bad rep. After the monumental failures of Fukushima and Chernobyl, several countries swore off nuclear power completely. Many people around the world oppose nuclear power for fear of safety issues, fighting governments who want to build new nuclear plants. But many now question if the safety concerns, for both people and the environment, are any worse than those we face because of continued oil and gas use. As the energy transition becomes unavoidable, proponents of nuclear power are likely to remind us of this comparison and the need for something beyond renewable energy projects to bridge the gap.

Yet, while some small companies and major governments are welcoming nuclear power once again, others continue to reject it. Nuclear power, it seems, is not for everyone - even in regions that are in dire need of sustainable electricity sources such as California. The Diablo Canyon nuclear powerplant, based in San Luis Obispo County, California, is currently in the middle of a ten-year decommissioning project, which will entirely strip the state of nuclear power. This is a questionable decision for a state that has experienced severe electricity cuts in the face of annual heatwaves.

Some of the arguments against nuclear power in California include the risk of earthquakes potentially leading to failures in the plants, utility companies in the region that are not willing to buy nuclear power, and the cost involved in the development of nuclear power plants compared to other energy options such as wind and solar power. So, while nuclear power could provide the low-carbon energy production so direly needed in California, the risks are deemed too costly.

There seem to be mixed messages when it comes to nuclear power. Advocates believe that nuclear energy is necessary if we hope to meet the worlds energy demand as we transition away from fossil fuels, as well as being more environmentally friendly  providing rigorous international safety guidelines are met. However, not everyone agrees. Whether for the cost or for fear of failure, some governments may never get on board. What we may start to see, however, is the development of small-scale nuclear projects that support renewable energy advances over the next decade, providing competition to larger energy companies that do not want to get involved.

By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com

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The benchmark European gas prices continued their rally this week, surging to new record highs on Wednesday

As Europes benchmark gas prices hit records highs every day amid tight supply, the European Union (EU) is looking at a single-market response to the surging energy prices as it scrambles to keep its green targets amid soaring power bills.

The benchmark European gas prices continued their rally this week, surging to new record highs on Tuesday to an equivalent of $205 a barrel oil, amid a wider energy commodity rally driven by supply concerns ahead of the winter. The gas price at the Dutch TTF hub, the benchmark gas price for Europe, even topped 160 euro per MWh on Wednesday, before falling back toward 100 euro per MWh.

Some countries, such as Spain, called on the European Commission last month to provide the 27 member states with options to tackle the surging energy prices which are already hitting consumers across the bloc.

As energy prices continued to set records day after day in October, European Energy Commissioner, Kadri Simson, told the European Parliament on Wednesday:

The Commission will present next week a toolbox of measures Members States can take in line with EU law, both short and medium term.

In the Commission view, Europe must respond by delivering swift coordinated action at Member States level, by leveraging the strength of its single market and by increasing its preparedness for future crisis, Simson said during the European Parliament plenary session on energy prices.

The current energy crisis is not the result of the EUs climate policies, which aim at a net-zero bloc by 2050, the commissioner noted.

The current price hike has little to do with our climate policies and much to do with our dependence on imported fossil fuels and their volatile prices, Simson said.

The Green Deal provides the only lasting solution to Europes energy challenge: more renewables and improved energy efficiency, she noted.

Five European countries, which include Spain and France, issued a joint statement on Wednesday on the troublesome high energy prices. Among other things, the statement calls for a probe into the gas market and for a reform of the wholesale electricity market. Other mentions are calls to achieve energy independence.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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Electricity supply in the United Kingdom will be tighter this winter compared to previous years, the chief executive of the UKs National Grid told a Financial Times conference on Wednesday, noting that consumers and businesses will see no respite from the record-high gas prices soon.

This winter, the margin between supply and demand could be the tightest in five years, National Grid CEO John Pettigrew said during the Financial Times Energy Transition Strategies Summit today.

When margins between supply and demand are tight, the cost of additional supply to balance the grid impacts electricity bills.

While the head of the National Grid was warning about tighter power supply in the next few months, the British day-ahead natural gas price surged again to a record high on Wednesday, along with the gas price at the Dutch TTF hub, the benchmark gas price for Europe.

On Tuesday, the benchmark European gas prices jumped to an equivalent of a $205 oil barrel amid a wider energy commodity rally driven by supply concerns ahead of the winter.

Expectations of low wind speeds and colder than usual temperatures in the UK also contributed to the surge in natural gas prices this week.

In just 24 hours, the UK wholesale gas prices rallied by 37 percent, as per estimates from the BBC.

Meanwhile, UK businesses using a lot of energy have called on the government to help them keep running throughout the winter.

Some industries, including British Steel, the second-largest steel producer in the UK, warned last month that electricity prices were spiralling out of control, and a 50-fold jump in quoted power rates makes production unprofitable at certain times in the UK.

On Wednesday, the Energy Intensive Users Group of the UK said, via chairman Richard Leese: We have already seen the impact of the truly astronomical increases in energy costs on production in the fertiliser and steel sectors.

Nobody wants to see a repeat in other industries this winter, given that UK EIIs [energy intensive industries] produce so many essential domestic and industrial products and are intrinsically linked with many supply chains, Leese said, as quoted by the BBC.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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Saudi Arabia has cut its official crude oil selling price for Asian buyers following the latest price rise spurred by the OPEC+ decision to stick to monthly additions of 400,000 bpd in total rather than boosting output more to cap international prices.

Bloomberg reports that Aramco had cut the prices for all grades for its biggest market, with Arab Light now selling for $0.40 per barrel less, for a total price of $1.30 above the Dubai benchmark.

It is the lowest premium since March.

The Kingdom also cut the prices for most of its oil shipments to the Mediterranean Northwest Europe and the United States.

Earlier this week, Aramco's chief executive Amin Nasser said the global gas crunch had boosted oil demand by half a million barrels daily. Nasser also said he expected oil demand to reach 99 million bpd by the end of this year and rise further to top 100 million bpd in 2022. This appears to have strengthened Aramco's resolve to boost its maximum sustained production capacity to 13 million bpd.

"Our maximum sustained capacity from 12 to 13 million (bpd)... is not going to come to full capacity at 13 million bpd until 2027," Nasser said, however, as quoted by Reuters, during an energy conference.

With the demand outlook so bright and prices so favorable, it makes sense for the world's top exporter of oil to give buyers a little break and lower prices. Bloomberg notes that Asia accounts for as much as 60 percent of Aramco's oil exports.

International crude oil prices, meanwhile, continue strong. At the time of writing, Brent crude was trading above $82 per barrel, with West Texas Intermediate climbing closer to $79 per barrel. The trend reflects the shift from gas to oil for some power plants as gas becomes prohibitively expensive.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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China is so desperate for coal amid a power crunch threatening its economic growth that it has released Australian coal that has been sitting in bonded storage not cleared by customs because of the spat between the two countries.

China is scrambling for energy supply ahead of the winter, with a global shortage of natural gas and coal that have led to record-high prices of the fuels in Asia. China last week reportedly ordered its state energy companies to secure supply at all costs despite the rallying prices of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and coal.

The worlds second-largest economy is looking to prevent further power outages, rationing, and blackouts that could slow its economic growth and exacerbate global supply chain problems.

Last week, China restricted power use in at least 20 regions and provinces that contribute more than half to the Chinese economy.

In recent days, China has released Australian coal from bonded warehouses, according to traders with knowledge of the matter who spoke to Reuters.

Since the China-Australia spat began in October last year, as much as one million tons of Australian coal hasnt cleared import customs yet, a trader based in eastern China told Reuters.

Some of the Australian coal stuck at Chinese ports started to be released at the end of last month...though many of those (cargoes) had already been diverted to markets like India, the trader said.

China has received a handful of Australian coal cargoes to the total tune of 450,000 tons, the Financial Times reported earlier this week, citing a ship brokering source. This added to another set of shipments totaling 383,000 tons, unloaded last month, according to data from Kpler.

China has also been boosting imports of coal from Mozambique, South Africa, Kazakhstan, Myanmar, and Colombia since the beginning of 2021, due to the ban on Australian coal and the surging demand with rebounding economy, South China Morning Post reported on Tuesday.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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About six hours later, they tried 911 again. Alcantara, who works patrol in the Police Departments southeast precinct, showed up at Shufftys home and listened to Cantu and others describe the situation.

Alcantara had an idea.

She checked in with one of the Police Departments mental health co-responders and her sergeant to see if she could place Shuffty in emergency protective custody, which occurs when people are suicidal or a danger to others.

It was a special situation, Alcantara said, because officers dont use EPC unless the person meets certain criteria. But as a vulnerable adult and because of his dementia and history of wandering, she thought Shuffty could hurt himself or get lost and spread COVID to others. Her supervisor agreed and authorized the EPC.

While awaiting an ambulance, she talked to Shuffty and realized how severe his cognitive symptoms were  he had difficulties saying what day of the week it was and naming the current U.S. president.

I dont think he had a full grasp of what COVID was and how dire the situation was in that moment, she said. In his mind, he believes that hes fine and he can take care of himself, he wasnt sick and he felt great.
We have resources that we didnt have before, Wyble said.

That may address concerns of such property owners and managers as Andy Panebianco of Omaha. He and Sabrina Atkins, his Airbnb business partner and property manager, are the Airbnb hosts of the Afghan family that arrived last week. They joined a group of about 50 people who welcomed the family at the airport.

Panebianco, who owns about 250 rental properties and manages many more for other owners, said Mitch Strong had reached out to him about the Airbnb rental. Panebianco said he was impressed by Strong and comfortable with the arrangement. He said he is open to renting more to refugees longer term, but has concerns because of mixed success in doing so in the past. He attributed the problems to a shortage of staffing at the resettlement agencies.

There is obviously a need and Im open to it, Panebianco said. There needs to be some kind of financial protections for the landlords. ... And I just really hope that the agencies have the proper staffing and training and ongoing support.
Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts on Wednesday was one of nine Republican governors to join Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for a tour of the states southern border and a press conference where they decried President Joe Bidens border enforcement policies and proposed their own.

At the press conference in Mission, Texas, speakers framed the issue as a far-reaching federal failure that has forced states to step in to help.

President Biden thinks that he can ignore this humanitarian and security crisis and it will go away, Ricketts said. But we are here today to shine a light on what is going on here at the southern border and how it is impacting all of our states, not just the state of Texas.

Ricketts spokesperson Taylor Gage said the governor was accompanied only by his security detail for the one-day trip. As is customary, Lt. Gov. Mike Foley was in charge of the state in his stead. The only expenses incurred by the state would be travel expenses related to the security detail, Gage wrote via email, and the governor is paying personally for his travel.

Gage did not have an estimated cost for the security detail travel expenses, though he said it would come from the same budget that funds security travel expenses on other trips.
A nonprofit Republican governor's group also will help fund the trip, the AP reported. Reynolds spokesman Alex Murphy said the trip is an official visit and taxpayers will pay about $500 in lodging for Reynolds and staff accompanying her. The Republican Governors Public Policy Committee will fund the transportation to Texas.

A spokesman for Arizona's governor said taxpayers would be picking up part of the bill, according to the Arizona Daily Star.

Further details of the 2,400-mile round trip were not available.

In both media appearances, Ricketts offered the same example of the impact of unauthorized border crossings in Nebraska, saying on Fox that people who had crossed unauthorized were exploited by an unscrupulous employer. On the KFAB radio show, he said it happened in ONeill, in an apparent reference to a case from 2018, spurred by a Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation during Donald Trumps presidency.

At the time, officials described the operation as one of the largest in Homeland Security Investigations 15-year history. More than 130 workers were detained and 17 people arrested in connection with an illegal employment service run by Juan Pablo Sanchez-Delgado, who took a cut of the undocumented workers' paychecks and failed to pay taxes.
Bill sponsor Sen. Mike McDonnell of Omaha said Tuesday that he still intends to ask that all qualified proposals be funded, but he did not know a timeline for determining how many applicants qualify.

Gov. Pete Ricketts is expected to bring his plan for spending the money in the form of a bill in the legislative session that starts in January. That bill will work its way through the Appropriations Committee, where there will be more opportunities for public input before the committee makes its recommendations to the full Legislature.

Sen. Anna Wishart of Lincoln, who proposed the study that prompted Tuesdays hearing, said filtering through all of their ideas will involve identifying priorities, ensuring the money is used as one-time funding, and listening to voices from across the state.

After the hearing, she said she was excited about the variety of the requests heard, and pointed out that the Appropriations Committee members represent geographically diverse areas of Nebraska.

When we do go through priorities, I feel really confident that were going to be able to support all of the state and all of the states needs, she said.

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Evnen did not respond to a request seeking comment Tuesday.

In November, Evnen touted the state general election as historic. He said a record number of voters cast their ballots in the midst of a pandemic and within the existing legal framework in our state. Trump supporters have criticized states where election officials made changes in election rules in light of the pandemic.

His office noted that all 93 counties got new ballot counting machines and Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant ballot marking equipment and the state received an award from the National Association of State Election Directors for its work in election security.

Evnen, however, backs efforts to pass voter identification requirements for Nebraska, even though he acknowledges that cases of fraud that could be prevented by such laws have been virtually nonexistent in the state.

But Jane Kleeb, the Nebraska Democratic Party chairwoman, said, It continues to baffle me that Republicans mistrust their Republican colleagues who are responsible for the election security in our state.
Nebraska prison officials have reported the deaths of two inmates at separate facilities.

A 92-year-old inmate serving a life sentence for first-degree murder has died at the Nebraska State Penitentiary in Lincoln.

Lawrence Ortiz, who died Monday, was convicted in Buffalo County of killing Charlotte Whittington, 29, of Kearney. Her burned, beaten and mutilated body was found Aug. 31, 1970, along the Platte River about 15 miles west of Kearney.

Investigators later found blood in Ortizs car, which he had sold to a used car dealer in Lincoln. Ortiz said he and Whittington had been staying in a Lincoln motel two days before her body was found.

Ortiz also was sentenced to 10 to 15 years for assault by a confined person in Lancaster County and six to 10 years for escape out of Douglas County.

Robert Camacho, 36, died Monday at the Community Corrections Center in Omaha. He had been serving a 15- to 20-year sentence for first-degree arson.

Camacho set fire to an apartment house/tavern in the Millard area in 2015. The fire caused about $50,000 in damage to the building at 4932 S. 135th St. Smoke damaged the attached Brick Street Tavern.
Paul Judge Interview

Introduction | Judge interview

Paul Judge

Habitue of Kellys Cove at

Ocean Beach, San Francisco, California

Interview conducted by

Stephen Woody LaBounty

April 29, 2013

Interview Description  Paul Judge

Paul Judge lived in the Outer Richmond District from the 1950s into the 1970s with a back-window view of the Pacific Ocean. A love of nature and maritime life, passed down by his father, drew Paul to the activities and people at Ocean Beachs Kellys Cove.

Born in 1950, Mr. Judge went to Richmond District parochial and public schools before graduating from Washington High School. Family outings and walks with his father took him all over the city and Bay Area, and Paul made his own childhood ventures from Golden Gate Park to China and Bakers Beaches, to the seawall at Fort Point. Beginning in the mid 1960s he followed friends to Kellys Cove to hang around the bonfire and the wall with surfers, skateboarders, musicians, and philosophers. Mr. Judge is a volunteer and frequent attendee of the annual Kellys Cove reunion. He still has a love of the natural world and the ocean and volunteers for the National Park Service as a docent at the Lands End lookout.

The interview took place in the backyard of Mr. Judges house in Sebastopol, California and was conducted with other former Kellys Cove denizens, Dennis ORorke and Patrick F. Cunneen. It was recorded on a digital recorder, transcribed, and audited, with Mr. Judges memories edited from the group discussion. Mr. Judge reviewed the interview and offered clarifying edits for incorporation.

Kelly's Cove has been a retreat for fitness-oriented San Franciscans from at least the 1940s. Tucked under the famous Cliff House restaurant, the curve of sand at the north end of Ocean Beach became a meeting place for cold-water swimmers, runners, and practitioners of calisthenics who used rocky outcrops and a nearby iron pier to exercise. After World War II, Kelly's Cove became an early body and board surfing spot. A dedication to physical development in a natural environment kept company with a companionable party atmosphere. One Kelly's bodysurfer, Jack O'Neill, opened a surf shop at the beach in 1952, and developed the first commercially available wetsuit in response to the frigid water of Ocean Beach. The O'Neill Company is now a leader in beach lifestyle sportswear and sells the majority of the world's wetsuits.

Beyond the roots of surf technology and commerce, Kelly's Cove visitors reflected and developed a California surfing ethos with roots in Polynesian culture as well as alternative and counterculture movements developing in postwar San Francisco.

Western Neighborhoods Project launched Tales from Kellys Cove to bring about a greater public understanding of the role a cold-water cove in San Francisco had in creating the world's view of surfing, and by association, California life.

Western Neighborhoods Project (WNP) is a California nonprofit organization formed in 1999 to preserve and share the history of western San Francisco. In 2013, WNP initiated the Tales from Kellys Cove project to collect and share the oral histories of men and women who have frequented the northernmost corner of San Francisco's Ocean Beach, an early surfing and community gathering spot. The primary objective of Tales from Kellys Cove is to increase public awareness of the area's nascent role in the history of California's surfing, fitness, and counterculture movements. More information on the project, photographs, and other Kellys Cove interviews can be found on this website.

This project was made possible with support from Cal Humanities, an independent non-profit state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. For more information, visit www.calhum.org. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this interview do not necessarily represent those of Cal Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.

About Oral History

Oral history is a field of study and a method of gathering, preserving and interpreting the voices and memories of people, communities, and participants in past events. Firsthand historical information is collected through recorded interviews between a subject and interviewer. The recordings are transcribed, edited for clarity, and reviewed by the interviewee for a final edit. The recordings and corrected manuscripts for the Tales from Kellys Cove interviews are held at Western Neighborhoods Project and other research collections for review and scholarly use. More on oral history principles and best practices can be found on the website of the Oral History Association: www.oralhistory.org

Citation and Use

All uses of this manuscript are covered by a legal agreement between Western Neighborhoods Project and Paul Judge dated April 29, 2013. Copyright is shared between Paul Judge and Western Neighborhoods Project. The manuscript is available for research purposes. Excerpts up to 1000 words from this interview may be quoted for publication without seeking permission as long as the use is non-commercial and properly cited. Requests for permission to quote should be sent to Western Neighborhoods Project.

Recommended citation:



Paul Judge Habitue of Kellys Cove at Ocean Beach, San Francisco, California conducted by Stephen Woody LaBounty, Western Neighborhoods Project, San Francisco, California, 2013.

The digital recording files and transcript of this interview are available for research use at the Western Neighborhoods Project office. A copy of the transcript has also been deposited at the San Francisco History Center at the San Francisco Public Library.

Stephen Woody LaBounty

Western Neighborhoods Project

San Francisco, California

August 2014

[Begin reading the interview.]

Introduction | Judge interview

This project was made possible with support from Cal Humanities, an independent non-profit state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. For more information, visit www.calhum.org.



Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this Web site do not necessarily represent those of Cal Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.

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Remembering the Coliseum

by Pat French Swendsen



(Originally published in the Richmond Review, May 2001)

Remembering the Coliseum. What a delight!

Going to the Saturday matinee movies was the highlight of the week for all the neighborhood kids. Sure it only cost a dime, but this was the Depression. A dime was hard to come by. Ambitious boys scrubbed stoops for neighbors or swept sidewalks. Girls begged their fathers or made the beds for their siblings to come up with the money. Somehow, some way, each acquired a dime-- 10 cents that opened the treasures of the moviedom universe to fulfill everyone's dreams.

First of all, the preliminary ritual was overwhelming because we had to skate to the Coliseum. We tightened four-year-old skates with a key that was held by a knotted string around the neck. Some girls has strips of sheep's fleece facing their ankles on the top strap. This was a Cadillac touch.

At Ninth and Clement we queued up and sometimes pooled our pennies to go into the fabulous candy store next door, owned by "Nick the Greek." It was as small as a closet and full of every kind of candy imaginable.

We bought "pink and white" capsules of candy-coated licorice doled out ceremoniously from a huge glass apothecary jar and weighed out on an unforgiving scale. Big boys with newspaper routes bought Nick's frozen bananas, which were covered in chocolate, as a teeth-numbing treat.

Going into the Coliseum we went through the main doorway and produced our tickets to a uniformed usher, a high school student looking very militaristic and hired because he fit the suit owned by management. His high school buddies would get in free if he gave them the torn-off stub from someone else's ticket.

If it were a special matinee, there would be an usher on the left as you entered the theater handing out promotional Baby Ruth and Milky Way candy bars or Boston Beans.

Inside, there was always an uproar. Some kids saved seats for others and got into hassles with bigger kids. Some little girls spent the entire time with their hands over their ears with a pained expression because of the noise, made mostly by the boys.

The assistant manager would come out on stage and threaten to not start the movies if anyone threw any more spitballs. Inevitably, some boy with a sling shot would shoot one at him. No one was allowed in the balcony because of such goings-on.

Girls constantly trekked up the thick carpeted stairs to the rest room, where they primped in front of the huge gold-framed mirrors and tried on pale orange-colored Tangee lipstick from a tiny case.

The movies we generally saw were usually in a double-bill with Fox Movietone news reels (with hoots from the restless audience), cartoon (jubilant noises) and serials (with hysterical noise - and lots of opinions and warnings being shouted during the "cliffhanger").

Sometimes the manager would come back on the stage and hold a contest. The whole main floor was packed with kids and he would hold a yelling contest between the boys and girls with the winners getting free admission the next Saturday. Then, there might even be a sing-a-long with a bouncing ball over the words on the screen.

Then, when the movie ended, we would wait for an usher to unlock the skate vault - a closet with hooks on the wall for our skates in exchange for a disk with a number on it. The procedure was so tantalizing some kids skated only one block from the theater to partake in the ceremony.

That hard-to-come-by dime opened cowboy vistas, brought tears during Shirley Temple's exploits, suffered valiantly with Freddy Bartholomew and rolled with laughter with Mickey Mouse and Popeye. And it created 65 years of poignant memories of great Saturday afternoon adventures.

Read other Pat French Swendsen columns:



Playland was our Adventure



Golden Gate Park Children's Playground

Image credits: San Francisco Chronicle, September 1927.

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"Voices From the Pandemic: Americans Tell Their Stories of Crisis, Courage and Resilience" by Eli Saslow; Doubleday (240 pages, $27)



"Voices From the Pandemic" is an eerie reading experience: It seems both painfully immediate and an account of a past weve already started to forget.

The books 27 interviews with a wide range of Americans were conducted during the first year of the coronavirus epidemic, from January 2020, when it seemed little more than a rumor, to January of this year, as vaccines were rolled out and hope seemed possible despite more than half a million deaths.

The interviews are drawn from a series of articles that journalist Eli Saslow wrote for the Washington Post during that year. The series earned him the 2020 George Polk award for oral history.

Saslows last book, "Rising Out of Hatred," won the 2019 Dayton Literary Peace Prize for its recounting of the story of Derek Black, a young white supremacist leader whose life was dramatically changed when he attended New College in Sarasota, Florida. Saslow, a longtime Post reporter, won the Pulitzer Prize for explanatory reporting in 2014 and has been a Pulitzer finalist several times.

"Voices From the Pandemic" is a diverse chorus: first responders, medical professionals, government employees, nursing home residents, business owners, coronavirus survivors and the families of those who dont survive.

If theres an overarching theme in these interviews, its that the pandemic has brought out the best in many Americans and the worst in others.

One of the heroes Saslow interviews is Burnell Cotlon, a New Orleans man who opened a neighborhood market in the Lower Ninth Ward to help the community recover from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. When the pandemic hit, Cotlons customers were among the first to lose their jobs. Even though he operated on a shoestring himself, he began giving them groceries on credit for the first time: Ive got sixty-two tabs in the book now. From zero to sixty-two in less than a month. And he does much more.

Another is New York City paramedic Anthony Almojera. He talks about his shockingly poorly paid co-workers: There are EMTs on my team whove been pulling double shifts in a pandemic and performing life support for sixteen hours, and then they go home and they have to drive Uber to pay their rent. Hes pulling those shifts too, and then trying to help suicidal colleagues. Heroes, right? The anger is blinding.

Saslow talks to doctors and nurses about their nightmarish experiences: A Chicago doctor who is working six nights a week, 14 hours a night, doing nothing but intubating patients. An emergency nurse who normally oversees four patients trying to handle two dozen, all of them critically ill. An ER nursing manager who talks about patients sitting in the waiting room for a full day after admission because that chair is the only place left to put them.

Some of the interview subjects are people whose jobs bring them into conflict with anti-maskers and conspiracy theorists of various stripes. Lori Wagoner is a retail clerk in North Carolina who is menaced so viciously when she asks customers to wear masks that the stores owners begin locking the doors during business hours, and she keeps pepper spray at the register.

Amber Elliot is a county health director in Missouri who is blindsided by the hostility of people who rage against her at meetings and on social media. Its true, she says. I do have an agenda. I want disease transmission to go down. I want to keep this community safe. I want fewer people to die. Her county is a COVID-19 hot spot at the time of the interview, but shes so disturbed by people following her children and making death threats against her that she resigns.

Saslow talks to coronavirus patients as well. Darlene Krawetz of Syracuse, New York, is a 52-year-old nurse who contracts COVID-19 and tells him about her overwhelming symptoms in careful detail. After she dies, Saslow interviews her son and daughter.

Another subject, Kaitlin Denis, survives the coronavirus but is interviewed nine months later, when shes still suffering long COVID. When she caught the virus, she was 30, a new bride, an insanely healthy runner with a high-powered job in finance. Now she suffers such severe fatigue, brain fog and other symptoms that she cant work and gets winded from taking a shower. A few months ago, she says, I was making million-dollar trades and traveling all over the country. Now I draw little scarecrows and tape them up on the wall.

Florida makes several appearances in the book. Roger Desjarlais, county manager in Lee County, talks about the disastrous bumbling of the initial vaccine rollout in December 2020, when the federal government handed it off to the states and Florida in turn dropped it on the unprepared counties. Fort Myers resident Marlene Roehm talks about she and her husband making 248 calls to the vaccine appointment hotline before they hit the jackpot.

Johnny Rivero of Brandon, Florida, whom Saslow interviewed in May 2020 as he stood in line at a food bank, is a Coast Guard vet whos never needed assistance before, but the long-lasting breakdown of Floridas unemployment system in the first part of the pandemic leaves him desperate.

"Voices From the Pandemic" ends with some voices of hope: a virologist who consulted on the development of vaccines, a nursing home resident who celebrates finally getting a shot.

That was in January, before the delta variant and the anti-vaxxers. Saslow has done a sterling job of capturing real peoples experiences of the start of the pandemic. Its going to be interesting to read the chronicles of the second year.

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BLOOMINGTON  Ten residents demands for compensation from the city of Bloomington for damage they endured when city sewage engulfed by storm water in June flooded their homes has been denied.

Outside defense lawyer Peter Jennetten, of Peoria-based Quinn Johnston law firm, responded Tuesday to a lawyers demand letter which asked for a settlement of $310,000 for the residents, citing the Tort Immunity Act as the reason why the city is not liable for damages.

Bloomington-based lawyer William Mahrt sent the demand letter Sept. 21 to the city corporation counsel after more than 500 residents claims for compensation through the citys insurer, PMA, were denied.

Mahrt told The Pantagraph Tuesday that while he is considering filing a lawsuit in McLean County court, he first wants to understand the Bloomington City Councils involvement in the citys written response.

The citys denial holds firm on its stance that it is not liable for the sewer system failing to remain out of residents homes because it was an act of God.

Our position has been and remains consistent. While we empathize with residents who were impacted by this extraordinary storm, the city is not liable for damages caused by that storm. We do not have any further comment, Jennetten told The Pantagraph.

The rain storms through Central Illinois June 25 and 26 that brought nearly a foot of flooding in some areas caused parts of Bloomingtons combined sewer system to be overwhelmed, bringing raw sewage into peoples basements.

It has ruined a lot of lives, Mahrt said of the sewage flooding. I have talked to people who every possession they owned in the world was in a basement and was covered in sewage. Some people had sewage all the way up to their basement ceilings.

Mahrt, who lives in the South Hill neighborhood and suffered damage from the flooding, said one provision within the Illinois Tort Immunity Act exempts municipalities from immunity when the damage is caused by city-owned property.

The citys not responsible for rain, thats not something the city owns or is in control of, but it is responsible for its sewers, especially its sanitary sewers, Mahrt said. It actually has a special duty not to discharge sanitary sewage onto private property.

He argued that the city is liable because it knew the combined sewer system had the risk of being engulfed by a flood of rain water and submerging homes, pointing to a 2014 stormwater and sanitary sewer master plan which concluded that some of the infrastructure installed as part of the (citys) expansion is deteriorating to a point where it is not providing an adequate Level of Service.

Mahrt said 50 to 60 residents had reached out to him with interest in litigation against the city. Of those residents, he said 10 wrote him checks to negotiate a settlement with the city, but none have asked him to sue the city yet.

"That is what I'll be doing over the next few weeks is reaching out to see out of all these 50, 60 people who have contacted me, how many are interested actually in pursuing a lawsuit in court," Mahrt said. "I'm going to be doing that for myself and others are going to join in."

The Pantagraph earlier this year reported that the 2014 stormwater and sanitary sewer master plan concluded that "some of the infrastructure installed as part of the (city's) expansion is deteriorating to a point where it is not providing an adequate Level of Service."

Contact Kade Heather at 309-820-3256. Follow him on Twitter: @kadeheather

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If anyone should have been prepared for this  this surreal, tragic phase of the pandemic and the derangement of our collective response  it might be me. I am both a red-state native and a historian who studies infectious diseases.

In 2017, I wrote that the risk of a big one, a biological event that threatens to break down our public health infrastructure and rattle the foundations of the global order, is out there, lurking. That same year, I started writing a global history of infectious disease from our primate origins down to  SARS-1 and Ebola virus. The early drafts of the book warned that a new pandemic was inevitable in the future, whether tomorrow or in another lifetime.

Then COVID-19 came, and so much of what has unfolded seems eerily familiar to a student of history.

The kung flu smear and the Wuhan blame game? Finding scapegoats for epidemics is as old as time, from the Black Death to the AIDS crisis.

Leaders who brazenly project an alternate reality, at unfathomable cost? Read the gripping story of the delusional reaction to the plague in 1630-31 in Milan, a town with maybe the most advanced public health system in the world at the time, but which ultimately lost over 40% of its population in the outbreak.

Private interests that shamelessly peddle misinformation? The history of British mercantilists lobbying against quarantine sounds perfectly contemporary. Resistance to medical science? Since the introduction of smallpox inoculation and then vaccination, a weird alliance of religious militancy and pseudoscience has worked to stoke fears and doubts about our best tools to protect human health. Livestock dewormer? Just a fresh take on the venerable tradition of quackery. Its hard to be original in the annals of human folly.

Still, complete immersion in the chronicles of past disease did not really prepare me for how bewildering our social response would be. The disorienting experience of living through a pandemic has certainly been made more vivid because I not only live in ruby-red Oklahoma but was born and raised here, and I am a patriotic Okie. I love this place and its people. But I have to admit it has been a struggle to understand this alienating failure of community.

Family and friends, otherwise reasonable people, refuse to make the small sacrifice in the form of masking to keep others safe. We are sending our kids back to school, in a state where the Delta variant is raging and the Legislature has banned mask mandates. At my university, we have to implore students, faculty and staff to wear masks. Vaccinations that should have been our technical salvation have become polarizing  and the strong federal actions to expand vaccination requirements are certain to harden divisions too.

The thing about the really nefarious new diseases throughout history, the big ones, is that they seem to infect everything, to find and expose all of our other social pathologies. The smallpox pandemics that ravaged the Indigenous peoples of the New World werent caused by a Great Germ without context  rather, the brutal dislocation of conquest worked hand in hand with disease to destroy complex American civilizations.

In war-torn 17th Europe, epidemics caused by typhus, the microbe of misery, were the sequel of conflict and chaos. In the 19th century, cholera pandemics fell right along the stress lines that had formed amid the growing inequalities both within and between societies.

And like a radioactive tracer, this COVID pandemic has given us a view into our own faults and failings and the cultural polarization that makes it impossible to achieve societal consensus. It has also weakened our instincts of obligation to one another. We have now learned, the hard way, that a nearly miraculous technical intervention to stop the disease is not enough. It will take both scientific progress and a reckoning in our political life for us to regain control.

Vaccinations never felt like a trade-off between freedom and health  and certainly not like a choice between Republican and Democrat, red state and blue state allegiance. The government approved the shots. The family doctor advised and administered them. With the terrors of polio fresh and visceral, few people asked questions.

It was what you did, as a parent and a citizen. People got vaccinated not because they had fully considered the rational arguments but because it was part of the implicit social contract, quietly rooted in structures of trust and an understanding of what we owe each other.

That bit of fabric has come undone.

Kyle Harper is a professor of classics and letters at the University of Oklahoma.

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When Instagram crashed for six hours on Monday, Sarah Choi's reaction hopscotched from "FREEDOM!" to "addiction."

The Richmond, Va.-based marketing consultant noticed her finger opening the Instagram app on her phone out of habit. "It felt way more than 6 hours because I was in a low-signal zone all morning," Choi said Monday night during -- of course -- our direct message chat on Instagram. She called it "sobering" how often she opens the app when she doesn't need to. "It is an addiction."

We survived the blackout. But can we survive the influence of Facebook, whose products can be so destabilizing on a personal and national level?

In the wake of allegations by a whistleblower who formerly worked at the company, some folks would love to see Facebook -- whose media empire includes Instagram and WhatsApp -- go offline for good.

Tuesday, Frances Haugen, who shared the company's internal documents with the media and federal law enforcement, testified before Congress that Facebook's products "harm children, stoke division and weaken our democracy. The company's leadership knows how to make Facebook and Instagram safer, but won't make the necessary changes because they have put their astronomical profits before people."

There's no problem Facebook can't exacerbate by hosting a toxic stream of misinformation about election integrity, global warming or the pandemic. As NBC12 meteorologist Andrew Freiden wryly tweeted: "Lots of covid-19 and climate change research taking a pause today because Facebook is down." (Twitter, which for too long enabled a lying wannabe autocrat, needs this sort of whistleblower.)

With a few taps on a keyboard, the folks who eked out a D in science have become experts in climatology, virology and vote tabulation.

Facebook is their superpower.

Meanwhile, Instagram is causing mental-health issues, particularly among teenage girls confronted with images of seemingly perfect bodies, according to the company's own research. Facebook has pumped the brakes on the rollout of a supposedly kid-friendly version of Instagram.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., noted in an Instagram video Monday evening that Instagram and WhatsApp were successful independent apps before they were purchased by Facebook.

"Maybe we should be asking ourselves why one company is trying to monopolize the internet communication platforms and digital commerce and maybe we should break them up," she said.

Indeed, too much information and communication in too few hands is demonstrably bad for democracy. But as our climate dilemma shows, Facebook isn't the only corporation reaping huge profits at our potential peril.

What afflicts social media is a symptom. We can't arrive at a cure without curbing the appetite of rapacious capitalism, whose special talent is pushing products that are too unsustainable to live with, but too useful -- or even seductive -- to live without.

I have friends and colleagues I rarely see anymore, but a virtual facsimile of their lives is as close as the Instagram app. For me, Instagram has filled gaps in interpersonal connection created by the pandemic.

But Choi took long stretches away from social media during this pandemic "especially after it showed how differently my 'friends' feel about social justice, racial equity and getting vaccinated." And I've found myself creating distance after overdosing on Facebook's corrosive discourse.

For Choi, Instagram is more than a diversion; it's a crucial tool in her business. When I asked what she would have done if the outrage had extended into days, she replied: "Work wise, I would have to get together with clients to develop Plan B. I'm running communication for a friend who's running for a city council seat in New Orleans and we were supposed to 'come back' after [Hurricane] Ida today.

"October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, so a longer delay would mean we would have to shuffle content or think of other ways to share, like an email campaign for YWCA Richmond."

Beyond her business, Choi's Instagram posts and stories are a warm mix of sisterhood nurtured, Korean heritage celebrated, and delectable food about to be consumed. A constant subtext is her life as a single mom. "For me, it is a personal growth diary and parenting diary for my son," she said.

Instagram, she said, is only viable when used properly. "It only shows tips of icebergs. Real work is off Instagram and looking at the whole of the iceberg."

Haugen said Tuesday that Facebook "has the potential to bring out the best in us." But we shouldn't need it to do that for us.

That blackout was a signal to create our own social media breaks and explore what's important -- our health, our values, our community, our imperfections -- with greater openness, depth and compassion.

Because as we all know, it's the unseen part of the iceberg that sinks us.

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100 years ago

Oct. 6, 1921: Two burglars blew up the deposit box safe at the Holder bank in the middle of the night. It took four charges to do the job. A crowd gathered outside and watched but no one dared go in. The burglars calmly got away with their loot without even trying to steal money.

75 years ago

Oct. 6, 1946: Two local groups are celebrating 50 years. The Normal Literary Center was first organized to meet once a week as a study class. In Bloomington, the Womans Club will begin its 50th year with a lunch and program at Lakeside Country Club and music from an IWU quartet.

50 years ago

Oct. 6, 1971: Bloomingtons Ritchie Grethey was wounded in Vietnam while serving with a Seabee (Construction Battalion) unit. His wounds are reportedly not too serious, so his parents are hopeful for his recovery. Grethey is a 1967 BHS graduate in this tour of duty overseas.

25 years ago

Oct. 6, 1996: Notable losses today include Joseph Wally Calvert, 86. He was an Alton and GM&O railroader for 40 years, and was best known for his service as yardmaster. Also computer wizard Seymour Cray died of injuries suffered in a traffic accident. He was 71.

Compiled by Jack Keefe; jkeefe@coldwellhomes.com.
Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has not resigned from his post as being speculated on social media, the Ministry of Finance has said in a statement issued on Tuesday, 5 October 2021.



The attention of the Ministry of Finance has been drawn to rumours circulating on social media platforms that the Minister of Finance, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, has resigned from his position, the statement said.



It said Mr Ofori-Atta is at post.



The Ministry wishes to assure the general public that there is no truth in these rumours, the statement added.



Mr Ken Ofori-Atta is at post and focused on his mandate, given to him by His Excellency the President, to serve the people of Ghana in his capacity as Finance Minister.



The general public is advised to disregard these rumours.









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A Tricycle rider who entered the house of an Electrical engineer and made away with home gadgets and personal effects, has been sentenced to nine months imprisonment by an Accra Circuit Court.



Osman Musah told the Police that it was one Yakubu, now at large, who engaged him to steal the items for a fee of GH200.00.



Charged with unlawful entry and causing unlawful damage and three counts of stealing, pleaded guilty.



The court presided over by Mrs. Rosemond Baah Torsu convicted Musah on his own plea and sentenced him accordingly.



Prosecuting, Chief Inspector Martin Adu Acheampong narrating the facts told the court that the complainant, Kwabena Osei, is an electrical Engineer residing at Community 20, Lashibi. Accused reside at Shalom Spot at Lashibi.



On September 9, this year, at about 1100 hours, the complainant and his daughter left home to a barbering salon at Community 17, Lashibi leaving his wife who was then working at the boys quarters of the house.



Chief Inspector Acheampong said on their return, the complainant realized that a thief or thieves had broken into the house and his wife did not see them.



According to Prosecution, the complainant indicated that the thieves had made away with his 50-inch Sumsung television, 43 inches Hisense TV, a pair of Nike sneakers, and a book bag.



The complainant reported the matter to the Police who inspected the scene and the Police noticed that the door to the garage had been damaged.



Also, a steel door with a wooden frame at the garage leading to the hall has also been damaged.

Prosecution said the complainant played his CCTV Camera and it captured the accused stealing the items all valued at GH6,950.



Chief Inspector Acheampong said on September 25, this year, at about 1000 hours, Musah was found lurking around in the area.



The complainant called the Police and the accused was arrested. Musah in the presence of an independent witness, admitted the offence saying, it was one Yakubu, now at large, who engaged his services to steal for a fee of GH200.00





Source: GNA









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The Chief Executive Officer of Think About Mentally Challenged Person Near You (TAMeCPeNY), an NGO, Mr Evans Appiah-Kubi has called on the government to train more psychiatrists to help address mental health issues in the country.



According to him, there are limited formal avenues for professional interaction and referrals to mental health professionals, thus expressed concerned about the development.



Speaking to the media in Accra yesterday, Mr Appiah-Kubi noted that the Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, stated that a total of 3.1 million Ghanaians, representing 10 per cent of the countrys 31 million population had mental disorders.



He indicated that the development was due to the less attention the country gave to mental illness and its treatment.



The words mental illness, Mr Appiah-Kubi, said were scary to some people, stressing that there is, unfortunately, a type of stigma associated with the term making it impossible for people to seek psychological attention when the need arises.



He indicated that mental illness was very common and it was estimated that around a fifth of the population had some form of mental disorder such as anxiety, depression, or bipolar disorder.



According to Mr Appiah-Kubi, boredom that arose from unemployment and other related issues had made many individuals develop mental illnesses that needed psychological attention.



There are numerous causes, such as stress and chemical imbalances, of mental health issues, and a psychiatric evaluation can help identify a problem, its cause, and treatment options, he added.



Mr Appiah-Kubi regretted that people who had mental problems often did not seek help.



Being able to recognise when someone may need help is important, and there are a number of signs that indicate a psychiatric evaluation is a good idea therefore the government has to invest in the area to tackle the issue, he said.



Mr Appiah-Kubi underscored the need for the government to make the psychiatric profession attractive for people to enrol, while also educating Ghanaians on the need to seek psychological attention when they have trauma and other psychological problems.



It is established that some Ghanaians have psychological distress, which is either mild, moderate or severe, and it costs the nation about 7 per cent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) loss so we have to act fast as a nation and prioritise mental health just like the international communities, he added.

Source: Daniel Adu Darko/Peacefmonline.com









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NDC Member of Parliament for South Dayi constituency, Rockson Dafeamekpor is daring a group made up of academics, lawyers, researchers, Civil Society Organizations and human rights activists who have kicked against the current bill before Parliament which seeks to criminalise and impose jail terms on LGBTQ+ to go to the Supreme Court to challenge it when it becomes a law.



According to the group, the bill (Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill) when passed into law, would erode fundamental human rights, as enshrined in the 1992 Constitution, and send Ghana to the dark ages of lawlessness and intolerance.



The group, made up of 18 members, has already submitted a 30-page memorandum to Parliament, detailing what it described as the unconstitutionality of the bill; adding that its advocacy was not about whether lesbianism or gayism was right or wrong, but rather it was worried about the blatant violations of human rights, as contained in the bill.



Reacting on Okay FMs 'Ade Akye Abia' Morning Show to the group led by lawyer Akoto Ampaw, Hon. Dafeamekpor acknowledging receipt of the memo from the group in Parliament said that the memo simply is seeking the scrapping of the bill contrary to the media report that the groups advocacy was not about whether right or wrong of the LGBTQ+.



He stressed that the group in their memorandum to Parliament did not go straight to the point but sought to insult Parliament as it describes the conduct of the House as unbecoming of a modern Parliament, making it appear as if the House doesnt know what it is doing.



So they are not even making suggestions to the contents of the bill. It is a wholesome attack against the bill; that it should not be passed at all. That is what they wrote in the memo and they followed it up with a press conference, he asserted.



He asserted that the members of the group fighting the LGBTQ+ Bill benefit from the homosexuals in terms of consultations, thus, they have team up to fight the bill to protect their interests.



". . he is fighting for faceless people. If he speaks for a minority group of people, they must be identifiable people and not any imaginary minority . . . we want to know who these minority groups are for which he is fighting for their rights. We will listen to them in parliament and we will continue to do our work, and if they are not happy with it, they should go to the Supreme Court, he dared.



 . . he should show me the minority that he knows to be gay and lesbians who have formed an association to conclude that when the bill is passed their rights or freedom will be violated. He should show me the minority, he added.



Watch video below





Source: Daniel Adu Darko/Peacefmonline.com









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Deputy National Organiser of the largest opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Chief Nixon Biney, has kicked against the group led by Lawyer Akoto Ampaw fighting against the passage of the LGBTQ+ Bill into law.



Speaking on UTV's 'Adekye Nsroma' programme on Tuesday, he suspects the group is preparing grounds to set an unwholesome agenda.



According to him there are people who are in high offices who are interested in fighting the bill just for their own material benefit.



"There is no smoke without fire . . . we have to look at the lives of these people . . . we have to monitor their movement."



" . . why don't they go to Arab contries and tell them it is human rights. . . since they are professors they should buy plane tickets and go and advocate there," he added.





Wereko-Brobby, Tsikata, Akoto Ampaw Others Kick Against LGBTQ Bill



According to the group, the bill  Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill  when passed into law, would erode fundamental human rights, as enshrined in the 1992 Constitution, and send Ghana to the dark ages of lawlessness and intolerance.



The group, made up of 18 members, has already submitted a 30-page memorandum to Parliament, detailing what it described as the unconstitutionality of the bill.



At a press conference in Accra, the group said its advocacy was not about whether lesbianism or gayism was right or wrong but rather it was worried about the blatant violations of human rights, as contained in the bill.



Members



The group include lawyer Mr Akoto Ampaw; author, scholar and former Director of the UN Economic Commission for Africa, Prof. Emerita Takyiwaa Manuh; a communications and media expert, Prof. Kwame Karikari; the Dean of the University of Ghana (Legon) School of Law, Prof. Raymond Atuguba, and the Dean of the University of Ghana School of Information and Communication Studies, Prof. Audrey Gadzekpo.



The Director of the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, Professor Dzodzi Tsikata; the Executive Director of the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Professor H. Kwasi Prempeh, and a former Executive Director of CDD-Ghana, Prof. Kofi Gyimah-Boadi, are also members of the group.



Others are Dr Rose Mensah-Kutin, Dr Yao Graham, Mr Kwasi Adu Amankwah, Dr Kojo Asante, Mr Kingsley Ofei-Nkansah, Mr Akunu Dake, Mr Tetteh Hormeku-Ajie, Dr Charles Wereko-Brobby, Dr Joseph Asunka and Nana Ama Agyemang Asante.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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An explosion at the Juaben Oil Mills Limited at Juaben in the Ashanti Region has claimed the lives of three people.



Six other people sustained injuries and are responding to treatment.



Two students from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) who were on practical industrial attachment at the mills are among the dead.



The explosion occurred on Tuesday (October 5).



Five of the injured persons have since been discharged from hospital.



The sixth person is in critical condition and on admission at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi.



The incident occurred in the early hours of Tuesday.



Confirming the incident to Graphic Online, the Juaben District Police Commander, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Mr Emmanuel Honu-Broni said at about 10am on Tuesday, one of the industrial boiler machines at the oil mills exploded and injured nine workers.



He said the three who died had between 80 to 100 per cent burns.



The injured were first sent to Juaben Government Hospital from where they were referred to Komfo Anokye in Kumasi.



Mr Honu-Broni said the cause of the blast was yet to be determined as investigations were ongoing.







Source: graphiconline.com









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Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp likened refusal to take the COVID-19 vaccine (jab) to drink-driving, saying such people endanger others.



Klopp said he took the vaccine to protect not just himself but all the people around me. The 54-year-old also said that 99% of his Liverpool players are vaccinated and that he did not have to convince anyone to do so.



British media reported last week that only seven of the 20 Premier League clubs have squads where more than 50% of players are vaccinated.



If I say I am vaccinated, other people say: How can you tell me I should be vaccinated? It is a little bit like drink-driving, Klopp said ahead of Sundays home game with Manchester City.



We all probably were in a situation where we had a beer or two and thought we still could drive but [because of] the law, we are not allowed to drive so we dont drive.



But this law is not there for protecting me when I drink two beers and want to drive, its for protecting all the other people because Im drunk and we accept that as a law.



Klopp said vaccination is not a limit on freedom.



I dont understand why that is a limitation of freedom because, if it is, then not being allowed to drink and drive is a limitation of freedom as well, he said.



I got the vaccination because I was concerned about myself but even more so about everybody around me. If I get [COVID-19] and I suffer from it: my fault. If I get it and spread it to someone else: my fault and not their fault.













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An Accra Circuit Court has remanded into police custody Emmanuel Kofi Addo, a banker, for allegedly defiling his 13-year-old niece at New Weija, Accra.



Addo is said to have started defiling the victim when she was 11 years.



He pleaded not guilty for defilement.



The State Attorneys prayed the court to remand Addo because the police had difficulties in arresting him.



Counsel for Addo, however, prayed for bail, saying the grant of bail was at the discretion of the court and urged it to exercise that discretion in their favour.



The court, presided over by Mrs Christina Cann, declined the bail application and adjourned the matter to October 18 for trial.



The case of the State is that the complainant, name withheld, is a social worker at Weija-Gbawe Municipal Assembly.



The State said Addo lived with the victim in the same room and they used the same bed at New Weija for seven years.



It said on March 26, this year, the victim confided in one of her teachers at school that Addo started having sexual intercourse with her at the age of 11.



The teacher reported the matter to the complainant, who lodged a complaint at the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) at Weija, following which the complainant was given a medical form to seek medical assistance for the victim.



The report, endorsed by a medical practitioner, said the victim was well but a pelvic examination showed blood in the groin.



It also indicated that the last time the victim had a sexual encounter was a week before the medical examination and that the birth canal was portent and accommodated two fingers.



The State said Addo was arrested on September 30, this year, and charged accordingly.





Source: GNA









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The government of Ghana has put on hold its plan to demolish the Buduburam refugee camp which has hosted Liberian refugees for the past two decades. The pause is to give adequate time to the residents there to find alternative places of abode.



A few days ago, the Liberian residents at the camp in the Gomoa East District said they will not vacate the place to pave the way for the demolition exercise.



They had been given up to Thursday, 30 September 2021, to relocate. The ultimatum was contained in a letter signed by the District Chief Executive for the area, Mr Solomon Darko Quarm.



The government intends to gentrify the area by providing a senior high school, a residential community, and a modern market.



The camp, which was decommissioned as a refugee base by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in June 2010, has become a settlement and now bears the infamous credential as a hideout for social deviants, including alleged robbery gangs and prostitutes.



Speaking to the media about the imminent demolition exercise, a female refugee said: They say we should leave and we are not getting anything from them yet.



How can we leave today and well not leave. Even if they break the houses, well still be there, she said.



A male refugee also said: I will stay here, sleep on the street; that is it.



Another male refugee said: If the Liberians were working here with a passport that is valid and you ask them to leave, they wont mind you because right now they are making money but youve stated in the passport that we cannot work here, he bemoaned.



One of them also insinuated that there could be reprisal action against Ghanaians in Liberia should the government of Ghana go ahead to demolish the camp.



Let it go to President Nana Addo that if he does this, we are all ECOWAS citizens; if you do this, you are failing ECOWAS citizens here. He should think about what is going to happen back home in Liberia where you have the Liberian population, which is not even six million but Ghanaians are about 2.5 million. They vote, they live there because Liberians embrace everybody; they dont choose who is who, another male refugee intimated.



A fifth refugee asked: How will we go? Well fly and go? No. We cant fly and go.





Source: classfmonline.com









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Nigerians below 18 have been disqualified from registering and owning a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) by the Nigerian Communications Commission.



In a draft copy of the modified Registration of Telephone Subscribers Regulations published on the commissions website, the NCC said the regulations were made in line with the powers conferred upon the commission by section 70 of the Nigerian Communications Act,2003.



The announcement was made at a Public Inquiry on the Registration of Telephone Subscribers Regulations, alongside the draft SIM Replacement Guidelines and the draft Spectrum Trading Guidelines at NCC's head office in Abuja on Tuesday October 5.



NCCs Executive Commissioner Stakeholders Management, Mr Adeleke Adewolu who spoke at the event said;



The public inquiry is an avenue that enables the commission develop and review its regulatory instruments by incorporating the comments and suggestions of industry stakeholders.



Some stakeholders and telecommunication companies however appealed to the NCC to revise the age limit and make it 14 years and above.













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Former NPP Member of Parliament (MP) for Ayensuano constituency, Samuel Ayeh-Paye, has lauded the Ashanti Regional Secretary of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) over his appointment as the new Kumasi Metropolitan Chief Executive.



Sam Pyne doubles as a teacher at the Kumasi Anglican Senior High School.



Fifty-five out of the 58 members voted in favour of Mr. Pyne, giving him 94.8 percent to validate his nomination in an election supervised by the Metropolitan office of the Electoral Commission (EC).



He pledged his commitment to work with all stakeholders to accelerate the development of the Kumasi metropolis.



My endorsement has placed a huge task on my shoulders, but with determination, hard work and assistance from all the stakeholders, Im optimistic of telling a success story at the end of my tenure, he said.



Speaking on Peace FM's ''Kokrokoo'', Samuel Ayeh-Paye expressed excitement over Sam Pyne's approval saying, "I was glad when they approved Sam Pyne as Mayor of Kumasi . . . our biggest thanks goes to the Assembly members within Kumasi metropolis who voted to confirm Sam Pyne" but advised him to be down to earth in his service to the people of Kumasi.



He noted that, "consultation is key", hence called on Mr. Pyne to regularly meet with all stakeholders including Chiefs in the metropolis in order to meet the needs of the people.





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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Governance Lecturer at the Central University, Dr. Benjamin Otchere-Ankrah, has commended President Nana Akufo-Addo and Assembly members in Kumasi for confirming Sam Pyne as the Chief Executive of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly.



Sam Pyne clinched a landslide victory during voting by the Assembly members, polling 94.8 percent of the votes to become the KMA boss.



Delivering a speech after his election, he pledged to work with all stakeholders to accelerate the development of the Kumasi saying my endorsement has placed a huge task on my shoulders, but with determination, hard work and assistance from all the stakeholders, Im optimistic of telling a success story at the end of my tenure.



Dr. Benjamin Otchere-Ankrah believes Sam Pyne is a good choice for the KMA position.



To him, he (Sam Pyne) has proven beyond doubt his hard work and therefore was optimistic he will transform the Kumasi metropolis.



"Sam Pyne has really suffered in the NPP. So, this is a reward," he said on Peace FM's 'Kokrokoo'.





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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"The President won the elections for Sam Pyne," says Bernard Allotey Jacobs, during a panel discussion on Peace FM's 'Kokrokoo' programme Wednesday morning.



According to Allotey Jacobs, President Nana Akufo-Addo's statements regarding threats to reject the nomination of the NPP Ashanti Regional Secretary, Sam Pyne as Mayor of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) made a huge difference for the nominee.



Issues have been raised about the Assembly incurring a 50 million debt since the regime of Ex-President J.A. Kufuor.



In an interview with Citi News, the KMA Presiding Member, Stephen Ofori said the Assembly members had reached a consensus to not approve any nominee unless all debts hanging on the Assembly were cleared by the government.



The President, delivering a speech during his four-day official visit to the Ashanti Region, pleaded with the Assembly not to refuse the nominee stating it is unfair to attach him to an issue that happened in the past.



To Allotey Jacobs, Sam Pyne owes the President a pool of gratitude.



"The President won the elections for Sam Pyne. You see the President is the ultimate. When the Presiding Member saw things weren't favouring his expectations, that's why he said they should lay aside the debt and threats. No, because immediately the President steps in, all must bow!", he asserted.





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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Fomer NDC Central Regional Chairman and now Social commentator, Bernard Allotey Jacobs, has advised the new KMA Chief Executive, Sam Pyne, to be beware of people who come to him singing his praises and pledging unflinching support for him.



According to him, some of those people have ulterior motives.



Making his submissions on Peace FM's 'Kokrokoo' programme, Allotey Jacobs said; "He (Sam Pyne) should be beware of those who come to him to profess that 'as for me, I'm with you', 'will follow you' and so forth because as they tell you this is the same way they will go to another person to say something different about Sam Pyne. Let your human relations lead you. Your respect for authority, that is the Regional Minister, if you unite with him; you will succeed.''



He also offered a helpful message to Mr. Pyne as a guide for his leadership saying, "he should take good care of his party people. Speak the truth! . . . .You will always be confronted with some bad guys who will come as agents, so he should watch out!!''



Allotey Jacobs made these comments while complimenting Mr. Pyne for his new appointment.



Sam Pyne, in an election supervised by the Metropolitan office of the Electoral Commission (EC), won fifty-five votes out of the 58 votes representing 94.8 percent to be confirmed the KMA Boss.





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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Kumawood actor, Big Akwes has lashed out at fellow actor Kojo Nkansah Lilwin for not attending the funeral of the late mother of their colleague, Bill Asamoah.



In a video he shared on Instagram, he described Lilwin as an ingrate.



Lilwin didnt show up at Bill Asamoahs mother funeral. If I say Lilwin had issues with most Kumawood actors, people dont understand me  he has issues with everyone. He didnt come to Bills funeral but I quite remember about 5 to 6years ago, when you Lilwin lost your father, Bill Asamoah came for you. Its not that we hate Lilwin, its his attitude that we hate, he stated.



According to him, the CEO of Weezy Empire didnt show up only because he has issues with Bill Asamoah but also because he (Akwes) warned him not to attend the funeral if he would come and disrupt the ceremony by spraying money.



On different occasions, he alleged that Lilwin caused commotion at funeral grounds by spraying his 1 cedi notes to followers.



People, he has said are not happy about that attitude but they are unable to tell him. However, he wasnt scared to tell him.



This is not the first time Big Akwes has called out Lilwin.



Last week he was in the news for saying any actor that works with him strangely loses significance in the industry as a result of their association.



The Bill Asamoahs mom funeral brouhaha is his latest rant about the actor cum musician who has responded by also calling Big Akwes an ingrate.



A grateful dog is better than an ungrateful man. Am not angry with an ungrateful person; probably they are confused or inexperienced, Lilwin wrote on Instagram.

Source: Daily Guide









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Alleged Ex Girlfriend Of Dangote, Ms Spike Reacts As US Court Dismisses Case Filed Against Her.

The American lady and alleged former girlfriend of Aliko Dangote's, Autumn Spike, has taken to the social media to jubilate after a US court dismissed the lawsuit the African richest man filed against her.

Aliko Dangote under the pseudonym John Doe filed a civil suit against Ms Spike in January, seeking "excess of $30,000" in damages against her after she shared a controversial video of herself together with Dangote on her Instagram page on January 1st, 2021.

The video which quickly went viral on social media after Spike first posted it on her Instagram account showed the African richest person lying on a couch with Ms Spike sitting next to her. However, the subject of controversy in the video was the exposure of Dangote's buttock in the video.

Following this, Dangote accused Spike of libel, defamation and a breach of agreement "to keep their relationship private and away from the social media." Also, Dangote accused her of attempting to extort him through her demand for $5,000 million in palimony.

However, the court has now dismissed the case following the plaintiff, Aliko Dangote's voluntary withdrawal. While Dangote's counsel stated in the "Notice of Dismissal" that Spike's conduct which was the object of complaint has ceased, she insisted she was vindicated because Dangote's legal team had no evidence to back claims against her.

"Never extorted him. Never was a side chick. Never was an escort, never was a prostitute, you were a part of me for the past decade and you really hurt me with this." Ms Spike stated in her message to Dangote saying it is now her turn to tell her truth.

Source: Get It Right Nigerians/facebook









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Back in April, Facebook said it would make it harder for people to find groups and profiles that buy and sell fake reviews. But the probem persists. Photo: AP

Its very easy for businesses to pay as little as 6.50 ($8.81) to companies that will write fake reviews for them and boost their pages on Facebook (FB), a new report revealed.

As part of its investigation, consumer group Which? set up a fake business page on Facebook and contacted a number of websites offering fake review services.

It was inundated with dozens of fake five-star recommendations and hundreds of "page likes."

Our investigations continue to expose how easy it is for the fake reviews industry to infiltrate online platforms like Facebook and avoid detection, despite the incredibly sophisticated technology these companies have at their disposal, said Rocio Concha, Which? director of policy and advocacy.

This is increasingly worrying as people continue to rely on these sites to find local businesses and it raises big questions about whether consumers can trust the reviews they see online.

Back in April, after intervention from the UKs Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), Facebook said it would make it harder for people to find groups and profiles that buy and sell fake reviews. Some 16,000 trading groups were removed with suspensions or bans for users involved.

Read more: UK rents eat nearly 40% income of low earners

But the problem persists.

In June, the CMA had opened a formal probe into Amazon (AMZN) and Google (GOOGL) for not doing enough to combat fake reviews on their sites.

Concha said the CMA should also strongly consider whether Facebook should be brought into the scope of this probe.

Meanwhile Which?s #JustNotBuyingIt campaign is demanding that strong laws are introduced by the government to force tech giants to protect people online.

Which? is urging the government to give regulators the power to make online platforms take greater responsibility for preventing and removing harmful content, at a time when the government is consulting on making the writing or hosting of fake reviews illegal.

Story continues

The seven companies that offered Which? fake review services were easily found through Google by searching for terms like "buy Facebook business recommendations."

Read more: Amazon opens first non-food retail store in the UK

They were: App Sally, Famous Follower, Fast Face Likes, Gold Star Marketing, Online Boost Up, Red Social, and Woorke. They all agreed to artificially boost the company page in return for money.

Which? bought a package that included 10 recommendations from Gold Star Marketing for 99, a collection of 500 page likes and 10 recommendations from Fast Face Likes for 16, as well as 10 glowing reviews from Famous Follower for 6.50.

AppSally said it would "drip feed" the recommendations Which? purchased to "help avoid getting [the reviews] removed by Facebook".

The majority (76%) of the profiles reviewing Which?s fake business were male. Almost all were from Bangladesh while 2.2% were from the US and Portugal and Oman both clocked up 0.2%.

All of the tactics identified in the investigation are strictly against Facebooks community guidelines.

In a Which? survey of 2,000 UK adults, around two fifths (39%) of people said they had used review websites or apps over the previous 12 months to look for local trade businesses.

Read more: Bitcoin climbs as US says it won't ban cryptos like China

Facebook was the most popular review website or app used  almost half (47%) of consumers had used the online platform for this purpose.

CMA research suggests 23bn ($31.2bn) a year of consumer spending is influenced by online reviews.

Watch: How do influencers make money from Instagram?
Names change: from New Amsterdam to New York, manahahtaan to Manhattan. Credit: shutterstock

Our names are a critical part of our identity. They are a personal and social anchor tying us to our families, our culture, our history and place in the world.

For Maori, a name is intrinsic to, and linked by, our whakapapa (genealogy), often reflecting the elements observed, such as a river (awa), at the time of birth before entering Te Ao Marama, the world of life and light.

In law, names matter too. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Aotearoa New Zealand accepted in 1993, states that every child has the right to a name. The law governs the naming of individuals as well as the changing of names.

But no such laws exist for countries. Nations can and do change their own names (such as when they gain independence), or have them changed by others (such as after a war). What worked for an earlier generation may not for later ones, as national values and identities evolve.

This is the challenge presented in a petition organised by Te Pati Maori (Maori Party). As well as calling for Aotearoa to become the country's official name, the party also wants to restore all original Maori place names by 2026.

Names can change

As these and other lands were colonised, so too were their original place names, with the colonisers seeking to assert their authority and versions of history.

Power, the politics of language and the naming of places are all closely related. As the old saying goes, "the namer of names is the father of all things".

Many European explorers preferred to name what they "discovered" after something they were familiar with. New York was named by the British after they defeated the Dutch, who had named their settlement New Amsterdam, part of the region they called New Netherland.

Before the arrival of the Dutch and British, the wider area was called manahahtaan, from the Indigenous Munsee language of the Lenape people, which lives on in the name Manhattan.

Closer to home, the Dutch name New Holland was slowly phased out in the early 19th century by the colonial authorities in favour of Australia, from the Latin "Terra Australis" (Southern Land), a reference to the mythical great unknown southern land "terra australis incognita".

A short history of Nieuw Zeeland

Over the years there have been various petitions and attempts to change the name of New Zealand, including in 1895 a call to officially adopt "Maoriland", already a common unofficial name for the country.

When Abel Tasman sighted these well-populated shores in 1642, he called the place Staten Land in the belief it was somehow connected to an Isla de los Estados (Staten Island) in what is now modern Argentina.

Later, however, a Dutch East India Company cartographer conferred the name Nieuw Zeeland (or Nova Zeelandia in Latin).

"Zee" in Dutch translates as "sea", and its English etymology is complicated. It seems to be of Gothic origin, emerging from Germany, and was adopted into the languages of Northern Europe where, for example, Sjlland (sea-land) described a place closely connected to the sea.

Maori on the first map

Our country was not named directly after the link between land and sea, but rather after the Dutch place that already had this namespecifically, Zeeland in the south-west of the Netherlands. Forts in modern-day Taiwan and Guyana were also called Zeelandia by early Dutch explorers.

When James Cook arrived in 1769, Nieuw Zeeland was anglicised to New Zealand, as can be seen in his famous 1770 map. Cook renamed Te Moana-o-Raukawa as Cook Strait, and imposed dozens more English place names.

He did, however, attempt to retain Maori names for both main islands: his map records "Eaheinomauwe" (possibly He-mea-hi-no-Maui, or the things Maui fished up) for the North Island and "T Avai Poonamoo" (Te Wai Pounamu, or greenstone waters) for the South Island.

The first reference in legislation to "New Zealand" was in the Murders Abroad Act of 1817, passed by parliament in England in response to increasing lawlessness in the South Pacificincluding the maltreatment of Indigenous sailors aboard European ships.

Paradoxically, perhaps, the act demonstrated a British view that New Zealand was not truly part of the British realm.

Nu Tirene appears

By 1835, a number of iwi (tribes) engaged in international trade and politics were using the name "Nu Tireni" to describe New Zealand in their correspondence with Britain.

Nu Tirene then appeared in the 1835 Declaration of Independence of the United Tribes of New Zealand, and then Te Tiriti o Waitangi in 1840.

The Maori Legal Corpus, a digitised collection of thousands of pages of legal texts in te reo Maori spanning 1829 to 2009, contains around 4,800 references to Nu Tirene, Niu Tirani and Niu Tirene.

The translation into te reo Maori of the Maori Language Act 1987 refers to Niu Tireni, as does the Maori Language Act 2016.

Locating Aotearoa

The precise origin of the composite term "Aotearoa" is not known. But if we translate "Ao" as world, "tea" as bright or white, and "roa" as long, we have the common translation of "long bright world" or "long white cloud".

Sir George Grey used Aotearoa in his 1855 Polynesian Mythology, and Ancient Traditional History of the New Zealand Race, and in his 1857 Maori proverbs work, Ko nga whakapepeha me nga whakaahuareka a nga tipuna o Aotea-roa.

The Maori Legal Corpus mentions Aotearoa 2,748 times, with one of the earliest written references being Wiremu Tamehana's hui invitation to other chiefs in October 1862.

The popularity of Aotearoa can be gauged from William Pember Reeves' 1898 history of New Zealand: The Long White Cloud Ao Tea Roa.

Today, government departments commonly use Aotearoa, and it appears on the national currency. One of the commonest expressions of personal and national identity is the "Uruwhenua Aotearoa New Zealand" passport.

Time for change?

Whether enough New Zealanders want a formal change isn't clear. A recent poll showed a majority wanting to retain New Zealand, but a significant number interested in a combined Aotearoa New Zealand.

Nor is there consensus on Aotearoa being the best alternative, with some debate about whether the name originally referred only to the North Island and Aotearoa me Te Waipounamu being used in the south.

At the same time, there is a growing awareness of te reo Maori (as an official language, including among Pakeha) and understanding of our national names and their significance. This allows us to better understand where we have come from and where we want to go.

By also acknowledging Maori names, we give substance to our distinctness as a nation. In time, perhaps, it will lead to us embracing a name that better reflects our history, our place in the world and our shared future.

Explore further Understanding Maori language learners

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

In the modern workplace, the mechanics of seeking help on the job aren't clearly understood by managers or employees, especially regarding its interpersonal benefits and costs. A new paper co-written by a team of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign experts who study occupational well-being says distinct types of help-seeking can be activated by different work demands and work-related characteristics, which can lead to varying consequences for help-seekers.

According to a paper co-written by Yihao Liu and Fan Xuan Chen, "autonomous help-seeking"when an employee solicits help with the aim of ultimately achieving independent mastery of a taskis positively related to self-perceived competence and supervisor performance ratings. But "dependent help-seeking"that is, asking a colleague to swoop in and immediately solve a problemis negatively related to how those help-seekers are perceived by colleagues and supervisors regarding their work competencies.

"Metaphorically, what distinguishes these two types of help-seeking is the difference between asking someone to teach you how to fish versus just asking them for fish," said Liu, a professor of labor and employment relations and of psychology at Illinois.

"When you engage in autonomous help-seeking to solve a problem at work, it brings more potential benefits to you as a member of an organization, foremost of which is that you are likely to learn about the principles and 'know-how' of the problem," said Chen, a doctoral student in psychology at Illinois. "Beyond the actual learning, autonomous help-seeking also signals to your co-workers about your independence and genuine interest in learning and developing long-term skills, all of which helps cultivate a more positive reputation and professional image among your co-workers.

"You're asking so next time you can do it on your own, and that's very powerful in the workplace."

In the research, Liu and Chen studied two types of help-seeking behaviors as well as the context associated with them: challenge stressors and hindrance stressors.

"Challenge stressors are what individuals tend to perceive as opportunities for learning, growth and accomplishment, whereas hindrance stressors usually manifest as impediments to one's goals, such as role conflict and ambiguity, office politics, red tape and bureaucracy," Liu said. "The daily hassles of work."

Modern work creates distinct coping reactions for those stressors, triggering employees to seek help in different ways: Challenge stressors lead to an increase in autonomous help-seeking, while hindrance stressors lead to an increase in dependent help-seeking, according to the paper.

"Problematic work situations that encourage or enhance a motivation to learn push employees to seek more autonomous help," Liu said. "Hindrance stressors, on the other hand, really demotivate employees from learning and developing long-term work skills and instead make them prioritize getting the task in front of them done and the problem quickly fixed, which likely serves to increase their dependent help-seeking."

The research has wide-ranging implications for employees, managers and workplaces, the researchers said.

"One takeaway from the research is that sometimes it's not completely intentional or even a rational choice as to which type of help an employee seeks," Chen said. "A lot of times it's driven by the situation they're facing at work, such as the nature of work stressors they have to deal with."

"Because of the clear links we observed between the different type of work stressors and different types of help-seeking, employees should be encouraged to identify workplace factors that may either constrain or foster the occurrence of autonomous or dependent help-seeking. That way, they can properly prepare when those factors arise," Liu said. "For example, employees can rely on job-crafting techniques to create their preferred work conditions, such as strategically creating manageable time pressure and removing any hindrance factors such as work boundaries, as well as preemptively seeking clarifications on work task expectations."

As for managers and organizations, the findings suggest the importance of creating an organizational culture that encourages "asking how to fish" instead of simply "asking for fish," Liu said.

"Managers can communicate to employees about having a learning-oriented organizational culture and create incentives for them to engage in learning-oriented developmental activities," he said. "They can also encourage their workers to designate some portion of their work week to learning from one anothereven if this comes at the cost of slightly less productivityas long as doing so won't hurt the on-time delivery of their work outputs."

The paper was published in the journal Personnel Psychology.

More information: Yihao Liu et al, Asking how to fish vs. asking for fish: Antecedents and outcomes of different types of helpseeking at work, Personnel Psychology (2021). Journal information: Personnel Psychology Yihao Liu et al, Asking how to fish vs. asking for fish: Antecedents and outcomes of different types of helpseeking at work,(2021). DOI: 10.1111/peps.12479
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

In a year that has set records for the number of ships coming and going through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Friday was not unusual. Winds were light, and the steady movement of traffic at sea was routine.

"I describe it as 'status quo,'" said Kip Louttit, executive director of the Marine Exchange of Southern California, the agency that directs local maritime traffic.

But the status quo, compared to previous years, was extraordinary, given the heavy concentration of ships waiting offshore to deliver cargo. Container ship traffic has increased fivefold since 2019, and supply chains, affected by production slowdowns and high consumer demand related to the pandemic, are in an unprecedented bottleneck.

With Los Angeles and Long Beach harbors at near capacity, container ships and oil tankers have had to drop massive anchors in designated sites that place them near oil platforms and an undersea infrastructure of oil lines, sewage treatment pipes and communications equipment.

The combination of oil production and global shipping in the same coastal area is now at the center of an investigation into the cause of a massive oil spill that sent crude onto Orange County beaches and sensitive wetland areas.

The U.S. Coast Guard is looking at the possibility that the crush of shipping traffic came into violent contact with this network of undersea infrastructure and triggered a spill that sent an estimated 144,000 gallons of oil into the ocean.

On Tuesday, diver reports and footage from remotely operated submarines showed that a 4,000-foot section of a nearly 18-mile oil pipeline had been displaced approximately 105 feet and had a 13-inch split along its length, according to the Joint Unified Command, which is overseeing the investigation.

The displacement, federal sources said, is best explained by a ship's anchor dragging across the ocean floor and hooking into the pipeline. There were multiple large cargo vessels in the immediate area of the leak before the oil was spotted.

A final determination for the cause of the spill may take months, but Coast Guard investigators have come up with no other explanation, federal sources said.

Martyn Willsher, president and chief executive of the pipeline operator's parent, Amplify Energy Corp., described the force as pulling the pipe in an almost "semicircle."

"The pipeline has essentially been pulled like a bowstring," he said.

Louttit said anchors typically weigh 30 tons and can bury themselves up to 10 feet in offshore sediment. Anchor dragging is rare, he added, and typically occurs in winds over 35 knots.

"We haven't had one drag since last winter," he said. "We haven't had that much wind in months."

Some wonder whether the damage to the pipeline took place recently or if it happened months ago, and corrosion finally opened a rupture.

Despite high temperatures Friday, winds were light, and the sky was clear. No marine hazards had been forecast.

While an accident like this would be unusual, given the history of ships safely anchoring in the harbors, traffic has dramatically increased since July.

Last month, the Marine Exchange reported the arrival of 414 vessels to the ports, compared with 344 in 2020. The backup has been pronounced, said Louttit, but he is reluctant to call it a traffic jam.

"The anchorages are preplanned, and standards of care for anchoring the ships are always in place," he said.

Ships entering the harbor can be sent to one of 60 locations, identified by the Coast Guard and Marine Exchange, to safely drop their anchors, said Louttit. On Friday afternoon, nearly 55 of those sites were occupied, a number that has remained consistent over the last few months.

The sites are away from pipelines, sewage outfalls and underwater communication lines that snake across the ocean floor. Ships are positioned in water ranging in depth from 60 feet to 210 feet, which is the draft of the largest vessel, an oil tanker, and the maximum amount of anchor chain carried by ships. Southern California's marine shelf, with its steep drop-off, keeps vessels close to shore.

Federal regulators said the location of the spill may be about five miles offshore, where the water is about 98 feet deep.

Louttit describes a methodical and well-orchestrated movement of ships in their approach to Southern California. Container ships and oil tankers, waiting for a berth, are assigned a place to anchor in the roadstead off Long Beach and Huntington Harbor.

An overflow section off Huntington Beach, located between a series of oil platforms, was also being used, but ships have not been assigned to that area since the oil spill.

Much like an air traffic control center, the Marine Exchange organizes the flow of vessels coming in and out of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Their work, said Louttit, begins as soon as a ship comes within four days, or 800 miles, of the ports.

At that point, every commercial ship or yacht weighing more than 300 tons must submit to the Coast Guard an advance notice of arrival that reviews the vessel's manifest, for security purposes.

Under normal conditions, ships are assigned an anchorage if their berth is not available, but in the last few months, ships that come within 25 miles of the ports are assigned to a "drift area" either between Catalina Island and the Palos Verdes Peninsula or off Dana Point. They then turn off the engines that drive the propellers and drift in the current and wind, with occasional repositioning.

When there is an opening for them in the anchorage, they proceed to a specific latitude and longitude, where they drop their anchor. The Marine Exchange can direct them either to an area close to the Long Beach breakwater or down the coast off Huntington Beach.

Most ships are 200 yards to 400 yards long, and the Marine Exchange, which stays in touch with the captain during anchoring operations, gives ships a 100-yard leeway in hitting their coordinate.

Ships typically prefer to be closer to the port, where they can more easily be reached by water taxis for the purpose of changing crews, picking up groceries or running repairs.

Once a berth is open, the ship is given a specific time to arrive at a designated area closer to the port and rendezvous with the port pilot, who, with the help of tugboats, guides the ship in, where it is offloaded by longshoremen.

While traffic is circulating throughout the harbor 24/7, most ships start moving toward their assigned berths at 4 a.m., approximately four hours before the longshoremen start the morning shift.

In the days ahead, studying ship movementsdown to the hourwill become critical to identifying the vessel responsible for the oil spill.

Pipeline expert Richard Kuprewicz expects investigators to remove the damaged pipeline, then begin a metallurgical examination of the steel.

"When did the strain occur?" he asked. "Days before? Or did something in its operation cause it to rupture Friday night? The forensic science is sophisticated, and they should be able to tell if the damage was delayed or immediate."

Explore further Frantic fight to protect coast as worsening Orange County oil spill stalks beaches

2021 Los Angeles Times.

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Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Two NAU astronomers presented groundbreaking research at the annual meeting of the Division for Planetary Sciences, a branch of the American Academy of Sciences.

Where does Earth's water come from?

A Northern Arizona University researcher who studies active asteroids, which are rare asteroids with comet-like tails, presented groundbreaking research today at the annual meeting of the Division for Planetary Sciences, a branch of the American Academy of Sciences.

Colin Chandler, a doctoral student in the Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science at Northern Arizona University and recipient of the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, presented "Recurrent activity from a Main Belt Comet."

Active asteroids hold clues about the origins of water on Earth and where water can be found today in the solar system. Fewer than 30 of these objects have been discovered since 1949. Most recently, asteroid (248370), also known as 2005 QN173, was found to be active on July 7. Chandler began digging into historical astronomical data to learn more about the object's past, and he and co-authors Chad Trujillo of NAU and Henry Hsieh of the Planetary Science Institute discovered an image from July 2016 that showed the object with a long, thin tail.

Because the picture was from a previous orbit from this object, the team concluded the 2021 outburst was probably not the result of a one-off event like a collision with another asteroid.

The team has submitted their discovery to Michael Rudenko at the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center with the goal of (248370) 2005 QN173 be designated a comet; they're hoping for a somewhat more memorable moniker, Chandler said.

"Recurrent activity is often caused by ices sublimating, similar to what dry ice does here on Earth," Chandler said. "This is a very rare discovery; it's only the eighth recurrently active asteroid known to date."

Preparing for DART's impact

Cristina Thomas, an assistant professor in NAU's Department of Astronomy and Planetary Sciences, presented "Lightcurve Observations in Support of the DART Mission: Understanding the Orbit of the Didymos-Dimorphos System."

Thomas leads the DART Observations Working Group; DART is NASA's first planetary defense mission and demonstration of asteroid deflection by kinetic impact. She will discuss the last pre-launch update regarding the orbit of Dimorphos around Didymos. The international working group is preparing for launch, likely in November; the primary goal of the mission is to impact the satellite of the near-Earth asteroid Didymos system and change the orbit of that satellite, Dimorphos, around the primary asteroid. The Observations Working Group has been working for several years to obtain a precise pre-impact orbit of Dimorphos around Didymos.

Using data from 2003, when the satellite was discovered, through early 2021, astronomers have been able to precisely constrain the characteristics of the orbit and the position of Dimorphos in the orbit at the time of impact in fall 2022.

"We do this through observing the light curve of an objectby taking repeated images of the same object we can see dips in brightness when the satellite passes in front of or behind the primary," Thomas said. "We can use the timing of these brightness dips, which we call mutual events, to determine the orbital period of the satellite. This is essentially thinking of the satellite Dimorphos as a clock that will return to its position in front of or behind Didymos at consistent intervals. Our working group will begin observations again in the months prior to the DART impact. We want to have the most complete picture of the current orbit before we change it through impact."

They will continue making observations after impact to determine the change in the orbital period caused by the spacecraft's impact.

You can make a scientific discovery

When Chandler opened his Active Asteroids project to the public, he wasn't sure how long it would take volunteers to review the 10,000 initial images he'd uploaded. These citizen scientists were looking for evidence of active asteroids, which are rare asteroids with comet-like tails.

He got his answer the next day: less than 24 hours. Hundreds of volunteers signed up and scanned images of the sky, and a few flagged some items of interest.

Those findings include an exciting discovery: The teamChandler, NAU professor Chad Trujillo, Planetary Science Institute Henry Hsieh and NAU alum and current University of Arizona doctoral student Jay Kuenydiscovered a new active object, known as a Jupiter Family Comet, called 2015 TC1. The initial discovery was made by a volunteer citizen scientist within weeks of the project's launch at the end of August and demonstrates the potential for success in using citizen science to further our understanding of the solar system.

Marvin Huddleston, a citizen scientist from Mesquite, Texas, has been volunteering to help with citizen science for decades; he's completed a whopping 25,000 dataset classifications for Active Asteroids and another 125,000 observations through Zooniverse. He's long had a love of science and being involved, so this was a good fit for him.

"Your work assists in unlocking the mysteries of our cosmos," Huddleston said. "You assist us in answering questions concerning the formation of our solar system in particular as well as the entire universe."

Explore further The incredible adventures of the Hera mission

More information: To see an archived version of the conference, see the To see an archived version of the conference, see the AAS Press Office YouTube channel.
Locations of earthquakes (red) and corresponding seismic stations (yellow pins). Credit: Butler and Tsuboi (2021).

3,200 miles beneath Earth's surface lies the inner core, a ball-shaped mass of mostly iron that is responsible for Earth's magnetic field. In the 1950's, researchers suggested the inner core was solid, in contrast to the liquid metal region surrounding it.

New research led by Rhett Butler, a geophysicist at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST), suggests that Earth's "solid" inner core is, in fact, endowed with a range of liquid, soft, and hard structures which vary across the top 150 miles of the inner core.

No human, nor machine has been to this region. The depth, pressure and temperature make inner Earth inaccessible. So Butler, a researcher at SOEST's Hawai'i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, and co-author Seiji Tsuboi, research scientist at the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, relied on the only means available to probe the innermost Earthearthquake waves.

"Illuminated by earthquakes in the crust and upper mantle, and observed by seismic observatories at Earth's surface, seismology offers the only direct way to investigate the inner core and its processes," said Butler.

As seismic waves move through various layers of Earth, their speed changes and they may reflect or refract depending on the minerals, temperature and density of that layer.

In order to infer features of the inner core, Butler and Tsuboi utilized data from seismometers directly opposite of the location where an earthquake was generated. Using Japan's Earth Simulator supercomputer, they assessed five pairings to broadly cover the inner core region: TongaAlgeria, IndonesiaBrazil, and three between ChileChina.

"In stark contrast to the homogeneous, soft iron alloys considered in all Earth models of the inner core since the 1970's, our models suggest there are adjacent regions of hard, soft, and liquid or mushy iron alloys in the top 150 miles of the inner core," said Butler. "This puts new constraints upon the composition, thermal history, and evolution of Earth.

The study of the inner core and discovery of its heterogeneous structure provide important new information about dynamics at the boundary between the inner and outer core, which impact the generation Earth's magnetic field.

"Knowledge of this boundary condition from seismology may enable better, predictive models of the geomagnetic field which shields and protects life on our planet," said Butler.

The researchers plan to model the inner core structure in finer detail using the Earth Simulator and compare how that structure compares with various characteristics of Earth's geomagnetic field.

The research was published in Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors.

Explore further Scientists dig deep to reveal Earth's hidden layer

More information: Rhett Butler et al, Antipodal seismic reflections upon shear wave velocity structures within Earth's inner core, Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors (2021). Rhett Butler et al, Antipodal seismic reflections upon shear wave velocity structures within Earth's inner core,(2021). doi.org/10.1016/j.pepi.2021.106802
A municipal worker walks past a man holding a banner reading 'Politicians you have let the Mar Menor lagoon die'. Ecologists say Spain isn't doing enough to protect one of Europe's largest saltwater lagoons.

Ecologists said Wednesday they had submitted a formal complaint to the EU over Spain's "continued failure" to protect the Mar Menor, one of Europe's largest saltwater lagoons, against agricultural pollution.

In a statement outlining details of the complaint, ClientEarth and Spain's Ecologists in Action urge the European Commission to take "immediate action against Spain" as harmful agricultural practices were pushing the lagoon "to the brink of ecological collapse".

It said the "continuous build-up of fertilisers from nearby agricultural land has created toxic conditions in the Mar Menor" which breach both EU and Spanish laws.

In August, millions of dead fish and crustaceans began washing up on the shores of the Mar Menor, located on Spain's southeastern coast, which experts have repeatedly blamed on agricultural pollution.

They argue that sealife died due to a lack of oxygen caused by hundreds of tonnes of fertiliser nitrates leaking into the waters causing a phenomenon known as eutrophication which collapses aquatic ecosystems.

Two similar catastrophic pollution events occurred in 2016 and 2019.

Although the lagoon is protected under various EU directives and the UN environment programme, Spain had failed to comply with its legal obligations, taking "only superficial steps to safeguard the Mar Menor from damaging agricultural practices", the environmental groups said.

"The European Commission must urgently act to stop this environmental crisis. As legal guardian of the Mar Menor, the Spanish authorities have a duty to safeguard the lagoon.. which risks disappearing forever," ClientEarth lawyer Soledad Gallego said in a statement.

"Spain's lack of meaningful action to protect this iconic site means we are witnessing the Mar Menor breaking down before our eyes. Protected species and habitats clearly cannot survive, let alone thrive, under the suffocating conditions caused by current industrial farming."

Spain's environment minister has accused the regional authorities of turning a blind eye to farming irregularities in the Campo de Cartagena, a vast area of intensive agriculture surrounding the lagoon.

But agricultural groups insist they comply scrupulously with environmental legislation.

If intensive agricultural practices are not curbed, there will be damaging long-term consequences, the NGOs warned.

"Continuing to compromise the Mar Menor and the surrounding farmland in favour of short-term gains is already causing irreversible harm and will eventually leave the area barren, which will have environmental as well as economic and social repercussions," said Gallego.

Experts at Ecologists in Action believe the lagoon could recover if the area of irrigated land was reduced, if stricter limits were imposed on the use of fertilisers and if natural solutions were found to help retain excess nutrients and prevent soil loss.

Activists, who held a mass demonstration in August, are planning a new rally on Thursday evening in the city of Murcia to demand urgent action to save the lagoon.

 2021 AFP
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Farming should be as high-yield as possible so it can be limited to relatively small areas, allowing much more land to be left as natural habitats while still meeting future food targets, according to a major new analysis of over a decade of research.

Most species fare better under this "land sparing" approach than if farming tries to share land with natureas wildlife-friendly agriculture still damages most biodiversity and requires far more land to produce the same amount of food.

This is the conclusion of research that takes into account over 2,500 individually assessed plant, insect and vertebrate species from five continents. The review, conducted by Prof Andrew Balmford, also suggests that "land sparing" sequesters more carbon, and may well benefit marine life if applied to oceans.

"Figuring out how to feed, clothe and power 11 billion people without causing mass species extinction and wrecking the climate is this century's greatest challenge," he said. "Preserving diverse life while meeting humanity's needs will mean enormous trade-offs, but the evidence is starting to point in one direction."

In a paper published today in the Journal of Zoology, Balmford lays out the case for securing the highest levels of production we can from landand wateralready farmed, in order to spare remaining wilderness from cows, plows, chainsaws and trawler nets.

"Most species fare much better if habitats are left intact, which means reducing the space needed for farming. So areas that are farmed need to be as productive as we can possibly make them," he said.

Some species thrive on traditional farmland, particularly in Europe, where light grazing by livestock can imitate "disturbance" once caused by large prehistoric mammals, creating habitats for many species that otherwise struggle. As such, some low-yield farming should be factored in, says Balmford, but at a low level.

The UK Government-commissioned National Food Strategy (NFS), published in the summer, recommended that Balmford's "three-compartment" modelharnessing high-yield farming in order to leave space for many more protected habitats, with pockets of traditional agriculture to preserve farmland-associated speciesshould form the basis of a new "Rural Land Use framework".

The NFS points out that around 21% of farmed land in England will need to be re-wilded to some extent or used for biofuel if the UK is to meet its net zero targets, and that the entire bottom third of farmed land produces just 15% of English agricultural output.

Balmford's latest paper summarizes a decade of global research on trade-offs between crop production and biodiversity. This includes Cambridge-led studies on bird and tree species in India and West Africa, finding thatwhile all species are "losers" if mid-century food targets are metmore species "fare least badly" under extreme land sparing: concentrated farming that allows for more natural habitat.

"Colleagues have replicated these findings in field sites ranging from Mexico and the Pampas to Colombia and Kazakhstan," said Balmford. "Most species are specialized to particular environments. Even minor disruptions reduce their populations. This is why so many species decline even with gentler farming."

Retaining and increasing habitats to create patchwork landscapes of nature and mostly high-yield farming will not just preserve species in isolated areas but allow them to "seed" and repopulate entire regions and nations.

Balmford highlights the success of just four sq. kilometers of restored wetland near Lakenheath in the east of England. Covered with carrot fields as recently as 1995, the site is now a launchpad for egrets spreading northwards under climate change, and home to the first breeding cranes seen in The Fens for over 300 years.

In addition to biodiversity benefits, emerging evidence from areas including the Andes, the US and the UK suggests "land sparing" is an ally in the fight against climate change, as carbon storage levels are higher if high-yield production allows for more natural vegetation.

Previous research by Balmford suggests that if 30% of UK land was spared for woods and wetlands, it could store enough carbon to offset almost all emissions from UK farming by 2050and provide a colossal boost to British wildlife.

Support for "land sparing" is not a whole-hearted endorsement of industrial production, says Balmford. Driving up farm yields also means supporting smallholder farmers and adopting nature-based agricultural science.

For example, when millions of Chinese farmers turned to a simple system that matched methods to local soil and weather conditions, yields went up 11% while fertilizer use fell by a sixth.

Farming carp in rice paddiesthe fish eat pests, provide fertilizer through feces, and are themselves an extra cropis another of numerous possibilities that utilize natural ecosystems. Emerging technologies such as boosted photosynthesis in rice also offer hope for sustainably high yields.

More recently, the concept of "land sparing" has been used by researchers to investigate recreation, forestry and even urban planningwith early evidence pointing to this approach as the most promising way of meeting human demands at least cost to nature.

The effects of tourism on wildlife appear to be reduced by concentrating visitors to wild areas into small portions of the landscape, while New Zealand is already taking a "sparing" approach to its forests: over 70% is now protected, while timber is intensively harvested from pockets of pine plantation.

Early research suggests the "sparing" philosophy also offers hope for depleted oceans. Aquaculture farming and locally intensive fishing could provide enough "output" to allow dramatic expansion of "no-take" Marine Protected Areas, and avoid the costs of trying to regulate equipment and catch sizes across all open water.

However, support for high-yield techniques must be tied to saving or restoring habitatsand not exploited to increase profit. Linking financial support for smallholders or access to high-value markets with land-use restrictions that preserve forests has already proved successful in India and the Brazilian Amazon.

Public pressure on business and government to commit to sparing land for nature will be vital, says Balmford. As with emissions, the organizations causing the most damage to habitats may find it increasingly difficult to hide. "Some giant corporations, often the worst offenders for land conversion, are actually in a position to think longer-term than many democratic governments," he said.

Balmford's research is partly inspired by Cambridge polymath David MacKay, who died of cancer in 2016 aged just 48. Mackay had a no-nonsense take on sustainabilityinsisting that low-carbon initiatives can only be meaningfully compared at the same level of output. Without that, humanity risks getting distracted by solutions that don't come close to meeting energy needs.

Similarly, farming systems can only be usefully compared when they're actually meeting society's food needs. "You can't convince people to save nature if they are hungry. We need to ensure we can harvest enough from the biosphere while preserving the planet," said Balmford. "Conservation has to be pragmatic if we are to interrupt an ecological catastrophe."

More information: Concentrating vs. spreading our footprint: how to meet humanity's needs at least cost to nature, Journal of Zoology (2021). Journal information: Journal of Zoology Concentrating vs. spreading our footprint: how to meet humanity's needs at least cost to nature,(2021). DOI: 10.1111/jzo.1292
A diver surveys the wreckage of a warship sunk in the World War I Gallipoli Campaign off the coast of Canakkale.

Hulking hulls of mighty warships greet divers off Turkey's western shore, testament to a World War I battle that gave birth to nations and is now an underwater museum.

The British Royal Navy's "HMS Majestic" is just one of 14 shipwrecks at Gallipoli, a peninsula that has been the graveyard of navies stretching back to ancient times.

The last great battle for its adjoining Dardanelles Strait leading from the Mediterranean toward Russia was a fiasco for British and French forces, who beat a retreat after months of fighting that claimed tens of thousands of lives.

And while the Allies eventually won the war, their sacrifices in the 1915 battle were a touchstone moment in the formation of national consciousness in modern Turkey, Australia and New Zealand.

Now Turkey, where history and politics seem inextricably interlinked, is opening the site up to the world's diversjust in time for the country's centenary celebrations in 2023.

"It's like a time machine that takes you back to 1915 and World War I," says Savas Karakas, a diver and documentary maker who was one of the first to inspect the wrecks when they opened to the public this month.

"It's a good opportunity for us to remember our past," says professional underwater photographer Ethem Keskin of the wrecks, some lying just a few metres under the sea and others up to 80 metres.

"I thought about the moment they sank and you feel the stress of war."

Uunderwater photographer Ethem Keskin in Canakkale: 'You feel the stress of war'

'Emotional moment'

Turkey wants Gallipoli to be the new go-to destination for divers looking to connect with events that shaped the present world.

Other hotspots include the Chuuk Lagoon in Papua New Guineafamous for its World War II wrecksand the Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands, which still suffers the ills of US nuclear testing in the 1940s and 50s.

"Now Gallipoli is becoming an alternative," Karakas said. "This is history, and each shipwreck is like a medal on our chest."

Allied troops waded ashore on the peninsula at the start of an ill-fated land campaign to wrest the Dardanelles from the Ottoman Empire, which was already in its dying throes.

The battle began on April 25, 1915, pitting Allied troops from France, Britain, Australia and New Zealand against the Ottomans and Germany.

The Allies intended to secure a supply route to Russia and capture Constantinople, as Istanbul was known when it was the capital of the Ottoman and Byzantine empires.

Experienced diver and documentary-maker Savas Karakas: 'It's like a time machine that takes you back to 1915 and World War I'

They gave up after nearly nine months of gruelling warfare in which more than 100,000 were killed on all sides, according to different estimates.

April 25 is still honoured as Anzac Day in Australia and New Zealand, whose joint Army Corps lost an estimated 11,000 lives in the campaign.

"I dived into the remains with an Australian: a shipwreck which may not mean much to us aroused his interest," diving instructor Ercan Zeybek said.

"It was an emotional moment for him."

'Holding grandfather's hand'

Access to the wrecks required a special permit until 2017, when Ismail Kasdemir, who heads the area's Canakkale Historical Site, began pushing the idea of opening the seabed to the broader public.

"There was history and treasure lying underwater for more than 100 years," he said. "The diving community was curious."

The Mehmetcik Lighthouse, where parts of battleships which were sunk in the World War I Gallipoli Campaign, are on display.

'This is history, and each shipwreck is like a medal on our chest'

Canakkale already attracts global tourists intrigued by remnants of the legendary city of Troy, which rests on the Dardanelles' eastern bank.

"You can already smell the history above the water," Derya Can, who has set multiple free-diving records, told AFP at the underwater park's unveiling.

"Now, divers will be able to survey the underwater history."

For film maker Karakas, this history is also personal since his name Savas (meaning "war" in Turkish) honours the Gallipoli campaign, where his grandfather was wounded.

"His hand was burnt and I was very scared when I was a child. Each time he was trying to touch me... I was looking at his hand and feeling a little bit weird," he recalled.

"When I dive, I remember this hand. The rusted steel feels like the hand burnt by shells from those ships, so it's like holding my grandfather's hand."

Explore further Greece's first underwater museum opens ancient world to dive tourists

 2021 AFP
A Seba's short-tailed bat (Carollia perspicillata) collecting fruit from a Piper sancti-felicis plant. The Whitehead lab has shown that chemical compounds in Piper fruits can protect the plant against pathogens and animals that attack unripe seeds. Credit: Susan Whitehead.

If you're going apple picking this fall, you may find yourself being drawn to the biggest, brightest, and most aromatic apples you can find. Apple trees and other fruit-bearing plants have evolved to produce such appetizing fruit for a reason: to entice people and wild animals to eat their fruit and disperse their seeds.

Several researchers in the lab of Susan Whitehead, an assistant professor of biological sciences in the College of Science, have been studying seed dispersal to understand how chemicals impact interactions between fruit and the animals that eat them.

In a new paper, which was published in the journal Trends in Ecology and Evolution, the lab describes the intricacies of the chemical ecology of seed dispersal and how future studies could shed more light on this little-known, but important subject.

"Our understanding of the chemical ecology of seed dispersal is still pretty basic. A lot of the chemicals in fruits haven't yet been described, and we know very little about the functions that these chemicals may have," said Annika Nelson, a postdoctoral associate in the Whitehead lab and the lead author of the paper. "There is so much research potential in this field, and I hope that our paper will spark conversations between chemical ecologists and other researchers who study seed dispersal."

Just like humans, plant parents want their offspring to be successful after they leave the metaphorical nest. To have the highest chance of success, seeds need to be planted away from their parents to minimize competition for water, nutrients, and light. Plants, however, are rooted in the ground and often unable to disperse their seeds on their own.

If plants want their seeds to make it far in life, they have to get creative.

For example, some plants, like Virginia stickseed, make their seeds extremely sticky so that they cling to passers-by. Other plants, like maple trees, have created wings for their seeds so that they can glide with the wind. But, one of the most common ways for parent plants to distribute their seeds is through animalsand their digestive systems.

Fruit-bearing plants enclose their seeds in eye-catching, delicious fruit in the hopes that animals will eat them, carry them by foot or flight, and defecate them in a new location. To attract potential seed dispersers, plants use chemicals termed secondary metabolites, which give fruit their distinct aroma, color, and flavor, and may also serve as essential nutrients for animals.

However, the plants must choose the timing of their attraction carefully. If plants are constantly attracting animals, they will eat the parent plant's seeds before they are ready to go out into the world. To avoid this, some plants use secondary metabolites to notify seed dispersers when it's time for them to harvest a fruit.

"Ripe fruits are often a lot smellier and tastier than unripe fruits on purpose," said Nelson. "It communicates to animals when fruits are ready to be removed. If seeds are removed from a plant before they are fully developed, they often won't survive."

Secondary metabolites can have a repelling effect on seed dispersers, too. Oftentimes, plants produce toxic or bitter secondary metabolites to prevent animals from destroying their seeds and to fend off disease.

Plants need to be cautious. These repelling secondary metabolites could also prevent seed dispersers from eating and dispersing their seeds entirely. Essentially, plants must strike a careful balance between attracting animals to distribute their seeds and protecting their seeds against animals or viruses that may attack and kill them.

The Whitehead lab has found an intriguing seed dispersal mechanism in the forests of Costa Rica. Piper sancti-felicis plants, which are broad-leaf shrubs with unique spear-like fruit clusters, are forcing its primary seed dispersers, Seba's short-tailed bats, to eat just half a fruit before spitting it on the ground.

Whitehead thinks that the Seba's short-tailed bats are less likely to finish their meals because the Piper sancti-felicis fruits contain high concentrations of secondary metabolites, which make the fruit less tasty. But the question remains: Why do the Piper sancti-felicis plants want bats to only eat half of their fruit?

Whitehead thinks that ants may hold the key.

"Half-eaten fruits dropped below a bat roost are very rapidly discovered and carried away by ants," said Whitehead, who is an affiliate of the Translational Plant Sciences Center, an arm of the Fralin Life Sciences Institute. "Ants often consume just the fruit pulp and discard the clean seeds right outside their nest. We think this second stage of the seed dispersal process might increase the chance of seed survival."

If it wasn't clear before, there are many relationships that exist between plants, fruits, chemicals, and their animal dispersers. According to Nelson, there are so many factors to consider in each seed dispersal system that it can be difficult to measure the impacts of secondary metabolites on plant seed dispersal success in a systematic way.

In their paper, Nelson and Whitehead have emphasized the importance of secondary metabolites by fitting them into the conceptual framework of "seed dispersal effectiveness," which will help researchers think about the chemical ecology of seed dispersal and the effects of secondary metabolites on plant fitness in smaller, more digestible chunks.

"The Seed Dispersal Effectiveness framework divides seed dispersal into different steps, such as when and how many seeds are first removed or when and where seeds are eventually deposited, that are easier to individually measure," said Nelson. "The benefit of this framework is that you can use it to tackle separate pieces of the seed dispersal process and then put them all together in the end to quantify how many seeds an animal is effectively dispersing for a plant."

The Whitehead lab plans to travel to Costa Rica in the fall to continue their research on the secondary dispersal of the Piper sancti-felicis fruits by ants.

Nelson is also studying bloodroot, a native herbaceous plant in Virginia that produces bright red, highly toxic alkaloids in their roots, leaves, and fruits. So far, she has found that in addition to defending the plant against attack, these alkaloids appear to deter seed-dispersing ants. The plant seems to adjust its alkaloid production in fruits depending on whether it's more advantageous to guard the fruit or attract an animal to disperse its seeds.

Explore further How chemical diversity in plants facilitates plant-animal interactions
An artistic rendering of a discourse sheaf, with vector spaces (depicted as rectangles) connected to a network (shown as a series of circles, or nodes, and connecting lines, or edges). Credit: Robert Ghrist

Research published in the SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics describes a new mathematical model for studying influence across social networks. Using tools from the field of topology, Robert Ghrist and Ph.D. graduate Jakob Hansen developed a framework to track how opinions change over time in a wide range of scenarios, including ones where individuals can use deceptive behaviors and propaganda agents can drive a group's consensus.

With the rise of social media platforms, there has been increased interest in developing different types of models to study behavior over networks; in mathematics, that means studying networks, groups of individuals, known as nodes, and their connections to one another, known as edges. The current challenge, says Ghrist, is developing mathematical frameworks that can incorporate a broader range of features to help model more real-world types of scenarios.

"There are a lot of people putting out models that have one or or two novel features; one allows for multiple opinions, another allows people to selectively lie to their neighbors, and another has the introduction of a propagandist," he says. "What we were looking to do was come up with a framework that can incorporate all of these different aspects, yet still be able to prove rigorous theorems about how the model behaves."

To do this, Ghrist and Hansen used topological tools called sheaves, previously used in their group. Sheaves are algebraic data structures, or collections of vector spaces, that are tethered to a network and link information to individual nodes or edges. Using a transportation network as an illustrative example, where train stations are nodes and the tracks are the edges, sheaves are used to carry information about the network, such as passenger counts or the number of on-time departures, not only for specific stations but also on the connections between stations.

"These vector spaces can have different features and dimensions, and they can encode different quantities and types of information," says Ghrist. "So the sheave consists of collections of vectors over top of each node and each edge with matrices that connect them all together. Collectively, this is a big data structure floating over top of your network."

One of the core mathematical concepts that enabled this work was the incorporation of Laplacian operators and diffusion dynamics into the model. Laplacians were used in a classic study of opinion dynamics, which found that, for individuals with a scaled opinion on a specific topic, such as their opinion of the president from 1 to 10, interacting with their neighbors in the network would move their opinion towards a local average.

"If that were an accurate model, what that would mean is that the more we talk to each other over social media the more we all come to believe the same thing," Ghrist says. "That didn't work out so well and leads us to the problem of explaining cleavage or polarization. So what we do in our paper is build this new framework that can accommodate all kinds of interesting twists on the classical situation."

By incorporating Laplacians into their "discourse shaves," the researchers were able to create an opinion dynamics model that was incredibly flexible and able to incorporate a wide variety of scenarios, parameters, and features. This includes the ability to have agents who can lie about their feelings on a specific topic or tell different opinions to others depending on how they are connected, all within a rigorous and testable mathematical framework.

"The key mathematical innovation here is a Laplacian for sheaves that allows the system to evolve in such a way that you can prove results about public consensus. What we see when we run certain examples is that you can have systems where people start off being neighbors and very much in disagreement, and the system naturally evolves towards a public agreement while people can maintain their private opinions," says Ghrist.

Another interesting finding, Ghrist says, is how, using "co-homology," one can characterize when this model is both observable and controllable, meaning that one can get a social network to evolve to a particular opinion by designating specific agents as inputs, ones that broadcast propaganda, and others as outputs, ones that are observed to track opinion change. "There are conditions under which you can designate a set of target individuals and control their opinions by seeding the network with propaganda and letting the system evolve," says Ghrist, adding that, while the findings are concerning, there is a gap between using these models to study networks versus controlling how ideas spread in the real world.

The next step for Ghrist and his group is to find ways to work with more complex sheaves, such as ones with logical statements instead of numerical values. "The mathematical challenges associated with this are substantial, and my group and I have been working very hard on trying to lift all the mathematics to incorporate these more complex data types," he says.

Ghrist also hopes that researchers from a variety of other fields, from economics to neuroscience, will find these tools useful because of their adaptivity and flexibility. "Sheaf theory was developed in the 1950s, and yet it's one of these things that never crossed over into applied math in part because it's very abstract," he says. "I have been working for about 15 years on adapting ideas from sheaves and sheaf theory into a context that people can use outside of math, and I'm hopeful that this paper really pushes things in that direction."

More information: Jakob Hansen et al, Opinion Dynamics on Discourse Sheaves, SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics (2021). Journal information: SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics Jakob Hansen et al, Opinion Dynamics on Discourse Sheaves,(2021). DOI: 10.1137/20M1341088
Goran K Hansson, Permanent Secretary of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, centre, announces the winners of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, in Stockholm, Sweden, Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021. Professor Pernilla Wittung-Stafhede, is seated at left and Professor Peter Somfai at right. Two scientists have won the Nobel Prize for chemistry for finding an "ingenious" new way to build molecules that can be used to make everything from medicines to food flavorings. Benjamin List of Germany and Scotland-born David W.C. MacMillan developed "asymmetric organocatalysis." Goran Hansson of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said Wednesday that work has already had a significant impact on pharmaceutical research. Credit: Claudio Bresciani/TT New Agency via AP

Two scientists won the Nobel Prize in chemistry Wednesday for finding an ingenious and environmentally cleaner way to build moleculesan approach now used to make a variety of compounds, including medicines and pesticides.

The work of Benjamin List and David W.C. MacMillan has allowed scientists to produce those molecules more cheaply, efficiently, safely and with significantly less hazardous waste.

"It's already benefiting humankind greatly," said Pernilla Wittung-Stafshede, a member of the Nobel panel.

It was the second day in a row that a Nobel rewarded work that had environmental implications. The physics prize honored developments that expanded our understanding of climate change, just weeks before the start of global climate negotiations in Scotland.

The chemistry prize focused on the making of molecules. That requires linking atoms together in specific arrangements, an often difficult and slow task. Until the beginning of the millennium, chemists had only two methodsor catalyststo speed up the process, using either complicated enzymes or metal catalysts.

That all changed when List, of the Max Planck Institute in Germany, and MacMillan, of Princeton University in New Jersey, independently reported that small organic molecules can be used to do the job. The new tools have been important for developing medicines and minimizing drug manufacturing glitches, including problems that can cause harmful side effects.

Johan Aqvist, chair of the Nobel panel, called the method as "simple as it is ingenious."

"The fact is that many people have wondered why we didn't think of it earlier," he added.

MacMillan said that winning the prize left him "stunned, shocked, happy, very proud."

"I grew up in Scotland, a working-class kid. My dad's a steelworker. My mom was a home help.  I was lucky enough to get a chance to come to America, to do my Ph.D.," he said.

In fact, he said at a news conference in Princeton, he was planning to follow his older brother into physics, but the physics classes in college were at 8 a.m. in a cold and leaky classroom in rainy Scotland, while the chemistry courses were two hours later in warmer, drier spaces. As he told that story, he said he could hear his wife pleading with him not to share it.

David W.C. MacMillan, one of two winners of the Nobel Prize for chemistry, smiles as he is interviewed outside the Frick Chemistry Laboratory and Department of Chemistry at Princeton University, Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021, in Princeton, N.J. The work of Benjamin List of Germany and Scotland-born David W.C. MacMillan were awarded for finding an "ingenious" and environmentally cleaner way to build molecules that can be used to make everything from medicines to food flavorings. Credit: AP Photo/John Minchillo

This undated photo provided on Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021 by the German Max-Plank-Society shows the German scientist Benjamin List. Two scientists have won the Nobel Prize for chemistry for finding an "ingenious" new way to build molecules that can be used to make everything from medicines to food flavorings. Benjamin List of Germany and Scotland-born David W.C. MacMillan developed "asymmetric organocatalysis." Credit: David Ausserhofer, Max-Plank-Society via AP

His said the inspiration for his Nobel-winning work came when thinking about the dirty process of making chemicalsone that requires precautions he likened to those taken at nuclear power plants.

If he could devise a way of making medicines faster by completely different means that didn't require vats of metal catalysts, the process would be safer for both workers and the planet, he reasoned.

List said he did not initially know MacMillan was working on the same subject and figured his own hunch might just be a "stupid idea"until it worked. At that eureka moment, "I did feel that this could be something big," the 53-year-old said.

H.N. Cheng, president of the American Chemical Society, said the laureates developed "new magic wands."

Before the their work, "the standard catalysts frequently used were metals, which frequently have environmental downsides," Cheng said. "They accumulate, they leach, they may be hazardous."

This undated photo provided on Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021 by the German Max-Plank-Society shows the German scientist Benjamin List, center. Two scientists have won the Nobel Prize for chemistry for finding an "ingenious" new way to build molecules that can be used to make everything from medicines to food flavorings. Benjamin List of Germany and Scotland-born David W.C. MacMillan developed "asymmetric organocatalysis." Credit: David Ausserhofer, Max-Plank-Society via AP

The catalysts that MacMillan and List pioneered "are organic, so they will degrade faster, and they are also cheaper," he said.

The Nobel panel noted that their contributions made the production of key drugs easier, including an antiviral and an anti-anxiety medication.

"One way to look at their work is like molecular carpentry," said John Lorsch, director of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences at the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

"They've found ways to not only speed up the chemical joining," he said, "but to make sure it only goes in either the right-handed or left-handed direction."

The ability to control the orientation in which new atoms are added to molecules is important. Failing to do so can result in side effects in drugs, the Nobel panel explained, citing the catastrophic example of thalidomide, which caused severe birth defects in children.

David W.C. MacMillan, one of two winners of the Nobel Prize for chemistry, is interviewed outside the Frick Chemistry Laboratory and Department of Chemistry at Princeton University, Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021, in Princeton, N.J. The work of Benjamin List of Germany and Scotland-born David W.C. MacMillan were awarded for finding an "ingenious" and environmentally cleaner way to build molecules that can be used to make everything from medicines to food flavorings. Credit: AP Photo/John Minchillo

David W.C. MacMillan, one of two winners of the Nobel Prize for chemistry, smiles as he is interviewed outside the Frick Chemistry Laboratory and Department of Chemistry at Princeton University, Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021, in Princeton, N.J. The work of Benjamin List of Germany and Scotland-born David W.C. MacMillan were awarded for finding an "ingenious" and environmentally cleaner way to build molecules that can be used to make everything from medicines to food flavorings. Credit: AP Photo/John Minchillo

German scientist Benjamin List waves out of a car as he arrives at the Max-Planck-Institute for Coal Research in Muelheim, Germany, Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021. Two scientists have won the Nobel Prize for chemistry for finding an "ingenious" new way to build molecules that can be used to make everything from medicines to food flavorings. Benjamin List of Germany and Scotland-born David W.C. MacMillan developed "asymmetric organocatalysis." Credit: AP Photo/Martin Meissner

German scientist Benjamin List poses next to a poster with a medal of Alfred Nobel as arrives at the Max-Planck-Institute for Coal Research in Muelheim, Germany, Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021. Two scientists have won the Nobel Prize for chemistry for finding an "ingenious" new way to build molecules that can be used to make everything from medicines to food flavorings. Benjamin List of Germany and Scotland-born David W.C. MacMillan developed "asymmetric organocatalysis." Credit: AP Photo/Martin Meissner

German scientist Benjamin List drinks champagne as arrives at the Max-Planck-Institute for Coal Research in Muelheim, Germany, Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021. Two scientists have won the Nobel Prize for chemistry for finding an "ingenious" new way to build molecules that can be used to make everything from medicines to food flavorings. Benjamin List of Germany and Scotland-born David W.C. MacMillan developed "asymmetric organocatalysis." Credit: AP Photo/Martin Meissner

German scientist Benjamin List arrives at the Max-Planck-Institute for Coal Research in Muelheim, Germany, Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021 after he was informed about winining the Nobel Prize for chemistry. Two scientists have won the Nobel Prize for chemistry for finding an "ingenious" new way to build molecules that can be used to make everything from medicines to food flavorings. Benjamin List of Germany and Scotland-born David W.C. MacMillan developed "asymmetric organocatalysis." Credit: AP Photo/Martin Meissner

Since the scientists' discovery, the tool has been further refined, making it many times more efficient.

Peter Somfai, another member of the committee, stressed the importance of the discovery for the world economy.

"It has been estimated that catalysis is responsible for about 35% of the world's GDP, which is a pretty impressive figure," he said. "If we have a more environmentally friendly alternative, it's expected that that will make a difference."

The NIH supported List's research with a grant in 2002. MacMillan's work has received funding from NIH since 2000, for a total of around $14.5 million to date.

"It's a great example of supporting basic science that you don't necessarily know where it's going to go" but can have major impact, said Francis Collins, NIH director.

The Nobel comes with a gold medal and 10 million Swedish kronor,, or more than $1.14 million. The money comes from a bequest left by the prize's creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel, who died in 1895.

Over the coming days, Nobels will be awarded in literature, peace and economics.

******

Nobel Committee press release: The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2021

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2021 to

Benjamin List

Max-Planck-Institut fur Kohlenforschung, Mulheim an der Ruhr, Germany

David W.C. MacMillan

Princeton University, USA

"for the development of asymmetric organocatalysis"

An ingenious tool for building molecules

Building molecules is a difficult art. Benjamin List and David MacMillan are awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2021 for their development of a precise new tool for molecular construction: organocatalysis. This has had a great impact on pharmaceutical research, and has made chemistry greener.

Many research areas and industries are dependent on chemists' ability to construct molecules that can form elastic and durable materials, store energy in batteries or inhibit the progression of diseases. This work requires catalysts, which are substances that control and accelerate chemical reactions, without becoming part of the final product. For example, catalysts in cars transform toxic substances in exhaust fumes to harmless molecules. Our bodies also contain thousands of catalysts in the form of enzymes, which chisel out the molecules necessary for life.

Catalysts are thus fundamental tools for chemists, but researchers long believed that there were, in principle, just two types of catalysts available: metals and enzymes. Benjamin List and David MacMillan are awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2021 because in 2000 they, independent of each other, developed a third type of catalysis. It is called asymmetric organocatalysis and builds upon small organic molecules.

"This concept for catalysis is as simple as it is ingenious, and the fact is that many people have wondered why we didn't think of it earlier," says Johan Aqvist, who is chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry.

Organic catalysts have a stable framework of carbon atoms, to which more active chemical groups can attach. These often contain common elements such as oxygen, nitrogen, sulphur or phosphorus. This means that these catalysts are both environmentally friendly and cheap to produce.

The rapid expansion in the use of organic catalysts is primarily due to their ability to drive asymmetric catalysis. When molecules are being built, situations often occur where two different molecules can form, which  just like our hands  are each other's mirror image. Chemists will often only want one of these, particularly when producing pharmaceuticals.

Organocatalysis has developed at an astounding speed since 2000. Benjamin List and David MacMillan remain leaders in the field, and have shown that organic catalysts can be used to drive multitudes of chemical reactions. Using these reactions, researchers can now more efficiently construct anything from new pharmaceuticals to molecules that can capture light in solar cells. In this way, organocatalysts are bringing the greatest benefit to humankind.

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Their tools revolutionised the construction of molecules

Chemists can create new molecules by linking together small chemical building blocks, but controlling invisible substances so they bond in the desired way is diffcult. Benjamin List and David MacMillan are awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2021 for their development of a new and ingenious tool for molecule building: organocatalysis. Its uses include research into new pharmaceuticals and it has also helped make chemistry greener.

Many industries and felds of research depend on chemists' ability to build new and functional molecules. These could be anything from substances that capture light in solar cells or store energy in batteries, to molecules that can make lightweight running shoes or inhibit the progress of disease in the body.

However, if we compare nature's ability to build chemical creations with our own, we were long stuck in the Stone Age. Evolution has produced incredibly specifc tools, enzymes, for constructing the molecular complexes that give life its shapes, colours and functions. Initially, when chemists isolated these chemical masterpieces, they just looked at them in admiration. The hammers and chisels in their own toolboxes for molecular construction were blunt and unreliable, so they often ended up with lots of unwanted byproducts when they copied nature's products.

New tools for finer chemistry

Each new tool that chemists have added to their toolbox has increased the precision of their molecular constructions. Slowly but surely, chemistry has progressed from chiselling in stone to something more like fine craftsmanship. This has been of great beneft to humanity and several of these tools have been rewarded with the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

The discovery being awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2021 has taken molecular construction to an entirely new level. It has not only made chemistry greener, but also made it much easier to produce asymmetric molecules. During chemical construction a situation often arises in which two molecules can form, which  just like our hands  are each other's mirror image. Chemists often just want one of these mirror images, particularly when producing pharmaceuticals, but it has been difficult to find efficient methods for doing this. The concept developed by Benjamin List and David MacMillan  asymmetric organocatalysis  is as simple as it is brilliant. The fact is that many people have wondered why we didn't think of it earlier.

Why indeed? This is no easy question to answer, but before we even try we need to take a quick look back at history. We will define the terms catalysis and catalyst, and set the stage for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2021.

Catalysts accelerate chemical reactions

In the nineteenth century, when chemists began exploring the ways that different chemicals react with each other, they made some strange discoveries. For example, if they put silver in a beaker with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), the hydrogen peroxide suddenly began to break down into water (H2O) and oxygen (O2). But the silver  which started the process  did not seem affected by the reaction at all. Similarly, a substance obtained from sprouting grains could break down starch into glucose.

In 1835, the renowned Swedish chemist Jacob Berzelius started to see a pattern in this. In the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences' annual report, describing the latest progress in physics and chemistry, he writes about a new "force" that can "generate chemical activity". He listed several examples in which just the presence of a substance started a chemical reaction, stating how this phenomenon appeared to be considerably more common than was previously thought. He believed that the substance had a catalytic force and called the phenomenon itself catalysis.

Catalysts produce plastic, perfume and flavoursome food

A great deal of water has run through chemists' pipettes since Berzelius' time. They have discovered a multitude of catalysts that can break down molecules or join them together. Thanks to these, they can now carve out the thousands of different substances we use in our everyday lives, such as pharmaceuticals, plastics, perfumes and food flavourings. The fact is, it is estimated that 35 per cent of the world's total GDP in some way involves chemical catalysis.

In principle, all catalysts discovered before the year 2000 belonged to one of two groups: they were either metals or enzymes. Metals are often excellent catalysts because they have a special ability to temporarily accommodate electrons or to provide them to other molecules during a chemical process. This helps loosen the bonds between the atoms in a molecule, so bonds that are otherwise strong can be broken and new ones can form.

However, one problem with some metal catalysts is that they are very sensitive to oxygen and water so, for these to work, they need an environment free of oxygen and moisture. This is difficult to achieve in large-scale industries. Also, many metal catalysts are heavy metals, which can be harmful to the environment.

Life's catalysts work with astounding precision

The second form of catalyst is comprised of the proteins known as enzymes. All living things have thousands of different enzymes that drive the chemical reactions necessary for life. Many enzymes are specialists in asymmetric catalysis and, in principle, always form one mirror image out of the two that are possible. They also work side by side; when one enzyme is finished with a reaction, another one takes over. In this way, they can build complicated molecules with amazing precision, such as cholesterol, chlorophyll or the toxin called strychnine, which is one of the most complex molecules we know of (we will return to this).

Because enzymes are such efficient catalysts, researchers in the 1990s tried to develop new enzyme variants to drive the chemical reactions needed by humanity. One research group working on this was based at the Scripps Research Institute in southern California and was led by the late Carlos F. Barbas III. Benjamin List had a postdoctoral position in Barbas' research group when the brilliant idea that led to one of the discoveries behind this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry was born.

Benjamin List thinks outside the box

Benjamin List worked with catalytic antibodies. Normally, antibodies attach to foreign viruses or bacteria in our bodies, but the researchers at Scripps redesigned them so they could drive chemical reactions instead.

During his work with catalytic antibodies, Benjamin List started to think about how enzymes actually work. They are usually huge molecules that are built from hundreds of amino acids. In addition to these amino acids, a significant proportion of enzymes also have metals that help drive chemical processes. But  and this is the point  many enzymes catalyse chemical reactions without the help of metals. Instead, the reactions are driven by one or a few individual amino acids in the enzyme. Benjamin List's out-of-the-box question was: do amino acids have to be part of an enzyme in order to catalyse a chemical reaction? Or could a single amino acid, or other similar simple molecules, do the same job?

with a revolutionary result

He knew that there was research from the early 1970s where an amino acid called proline had been used as a catalyst  but that was more than 25 years ago. Surely, if proline really had been an effective catalyst, someone would have continued working on it?

This is more or less what Benjamin List thought; he assumed that the reason why no one had continued studying the phenomenon was that it had not worked particularly well. Without any real expectations, he tested whether proline could catalyse an aldol reaction, in which carbon atoms from two different molecules are bonded together. It was a simple attempt that, amazingly, worked straight away.

Benjamin List staked out his future

With his experiments, Benjamin List not only demonstrated that proline is an efficient catalyst, but also that this amino acid can drive asymmetric catalysis. Of the two possible mirror images, it was much more common for one of them to form than the other.

Unlike the researchers who had previously tested proline as a catalyst, Benjamin List understood the enormous potential it could have. Compared to both metals and enzymes, proline is a dream tool for chemists. It is a very simple, cheap and environmentally-friendly molecule. When he published his discovery in February 2000, List described asymmetric catalysis with organic molecules as a new concept with many opportunities: "The design and screening of these catalysts is one of our future aims".

However, he was not alone in this. In a laboratory further north in California, David MacMillan was also working towards the same goal.

David MacMillan leaves sensitive metals behind

Two years previously, David MacMillan had moved from Harvard to UC Berkeley. At Harvard he had worked on improving asymmetric catalysis using metals. This was an area which was attracting a lot of attention from researchers, but David MacMillan noted how the catalysts that were developed were rarely used in industry. He started to think about why, and assumed that the sensitive metals were quite simply too difficult and expensive to use. Achieving the oxygen-free and moisturefree conditions demanded by some metal catalysts is relatively simple in a laboratory, but conducting large-scale industrial manufacturing in such conditions is complicated.

His conclusion was that if the chemical tools he was developing were to be useful, he needed a rethink. So, when he moved to Berkeley, he left the metals behind.

and develops a simpler form of catalyst

Instead, David MacMillan started to design simple organic molecules which  just like metals  could temporarily provide or accommodate electrons. Here, we need to define what organic molecules are  in brief, these are the molecules that build all living things. They have a stable framework of carbon atoms. Active chemical groups are attached to this carbon framework, and they often contain oxygen, nitrogen, sulphur or phosphorus.

Organic molecules thus consist of simple and common elements but, depending on how they are put together, they can have complex properties. David MacMillan's knowledge of chemistry told him that for an organic molecule to catalyse the reaction he was interested in, it needed to be able to form an iminium ion. This contains a nitrogen atom, which has an inherent affinity for electrons.

He selected several organic molecules with the right properties, and then tested their ability to drive a DielsAlder reaction, which chemists use to build rings of carbon atoms. Just as he had hoped and believed, it worked brilliantly. Some of the organic molecules were also excellent at asymmetric catalysis. Of two possible mirror images, one of them comprised more than 90 per cent of the product.

David MacMillan coins the term organocatalysis

When David MacMillan was ready to publish his results, he realised that the concept for catalysis he had discovered needed a name. The fact was that researchers had previously succeeded in catalysing chemical reactions using small organic molecules, but these were isolated examples and no one had realised that the method could be generalised.

David MacMillan wanted to find a term to describe the method so other researchers would understand that there were more organic catalysts to discover. His choice was organocatalysis.

In January 2000, just before Benjamin List published his discovery, David MacMillan submitted his manuscript for publication in a scientific journal. The introduction states: "Herein, we introduce a new strategy for organocatalysis that we expect will be amenable to a range of asymmetric transformations".

The use of organocatalysis has boomed

Independently of each other, Benjamin List and David MacMillan had discovered an entirely new concept for catalysis. Since 2000, developments in this area can almost be likened to a gold rush, in which List and MacMillan maintain leading positions. They have designed multitudes of cheap and stable organocatalysts, which can be used to drive a huge variety of chemical reactions.

Not only do organocatalysts often consist of simple molecules, in some cases  just like nature's enzymes  they can work on a conveyor belt. Previously, in chemical production processes it was necessary to isolate and purify each intermediate product, otherwise the volume of byproducts would be too great. This led to some of the substance being lost at every step of a chemical construction.

Organocatalysts are much more forgiving as, relatively often, several steps in a production process can be performed in an unbroken sequence. This is called a cascade reaction, which can considerably reduce waste in chemical manufacturing.

Strychnine synthesis now 7,000 times more efficient

One example of how organocatalysis has led to more efficient molecular constructions is the synthesis of the natural, and astoundingly complex, strychnine molecule. Many people will recognise strychnine from books by Agatha Christie, queen of the murder mystery. However, for chemists, strychnine is like a Rubik's Cube: a challenge that you want to solve in as few steps as possible.

When strychnine was first synthesised, in 1952, it required 29 different chemical reactions and only 0.0009 per cent of the initial material formed strychnine. The rest was wasted.

In 2011, researchers were able to use organocatalysis and a cascade reaction to build strychnine in just 12 steps, and the production process was 7,000 times more efficient.

Organocatalysis is most important in pharmaceutical production

Organocatalysis has had a significant impact on pharmaceutical research, which frequently requires asymmetric catalysis. Until chemists could conduct asymmetric catalysis, many pharmaceuticals contained both mirror images of a molecule; one of these was active, while the other could sometimes have unwanted effects. A catastrophic example of this was the thalidomide scandal in the 1960s, in which one mirror image of the thalidomide pharmaceutical caused serious deformities in thousands of developing human embryos.

Using organocatalysis, researchers can now make large volumes of different asymmetric molecules relatively simply. For example, they can artificially produce potentially curative substances that can otherwise only be isolated in small amounts from rare plants or deep-sea organisms.

At pharmaceutical companies, the method is also used to streamline the production of existing pharmaceuticals. Examples of this include paroxetine, which is used to treat anxiety and depression, and the antiviral medication oseltamivir, which is used to treat respiratory infections.

Simple ideas are often the most difficult to imagine

It is possible to list thousands of examples of how organocatalysis is used  but why did no one come up with this simple, green and cheap concept for asymmetric catalysis earlier? This question has many answers. One is that the simple ideas are often the most difficult to imagine. Our view is obscured by strong preconceptions about how the world should work, such as the idea that only metals or enzymes can drive chemical reactions. Benjamin List and David MacMillan succeeded in seeing past these preconceptions to find an ingenious solution to a problem with which chemists had struggled for decades. Organocatalysts are thus bringing  right now  the greatest benefit to humankind.

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The oil spill that's fouling Southern California beaches has many Californians wondering why the state still has offshore oil wells more than 50 years after the state declared an end to new drilling, and more than 35 years after the federal government stopped issuing new leases.

The reason is that once a lease is issued and permits are granted, they remain in use until they are revoked or a well is pumped dry. And the decades-old wells continue to produce, contributing thousands of barrels of crude oil each day to the U.S. output.

Here are the answers to some basic questions about offshore wells and the role they play in the larger energy picture.

Q: Why drill in the ocean?

A: The simple answer is that there's oil. Although sizable reserves remain on land, Alexei Milkov, a professor of geology and geological engineering at the Colorado School of Mines, said people have been searching onshore for oil fields for 150 years, "so any large accumulations onshore have been found and exploited." Offshore, there's still the chance to find big new fields. Hence the interest in offshore development.

Nevertheless, offshore oil drilling accounted for only about 16% of the 12.2 million barrels of oil produced each day in the U.S. in 2019, according to federal records. The vast majority of that came from the Gulf of Mexico; the offshore wells in the Pacific, which produced an average of 12,200 barrels a day, contributed one-tenth of 1%.

There's nothing special about undersea oil, Milkov said. It can be heavy or light, more or less biodegraded, depending on the same factors that affect oil in land-based deposits.

Q. Isn't it too costly to drill offshore?

A. No, it can be less expensive than some kinds of onshore development, such as extracting oil from shale deposits. Which is not to say that it's easy and cheap to drill in the ocean; according to the American Geosciences Institute, it can take 10 years and cost several billion dollars to develop a well in deep waterin other words, deeper than 300 meters (about 1,000 feet).

The profitability of an offshore well depends on several factors, including how much it can produce, the quality of the oil and the cost of pumping it out. But a key determinant is the price the operator can collect for each barrel of crude oil it produces. According to the research firm Rystad Energy, a deep water well can break even if oil is selling for $43 a barrel. Crude oil is currently selling for about $79 a barrel.

Q. How do offshore wells work?

A. The rigs off the California coast are planted into the ocean floor on a tower, rather than floating as some newer deep-water rigs do. The interconnected Ellen and Elly platforms off the coast of Huntington Beach stand in 265 feet of water; the nearby Eureka platform is in 700 feet of water.

The Ellen and Eureka platforms each operate dozens of wells, producing both oil and gas. Pipes extend from the underside of each platform at various angles to reach multiple points on the floor hundreds of feet below; each one stretches considerably deeper into the ground, reaching into a hidden chamber where oil had collected after rising from petroleum-forming rocks even farther below.

The oil enters through perforations in the pipe, then is typically forced up to the surface by a submersible pump. At the surface, the oil may be piped to another platform for processingthat's the case off the coast of Huntington Beach, where equipment on the Elly platform tests, separates, measures and treats the oil and gas brought to the surface, while also generating the power for the undersea pump.

Elly also pumps the collected oil and gas to shore at the Port of Long Beach through a pipeline that runs along the seabed.

Investigators believe that a tear in that pipeline caused the massive leak over the weekend, and they're looking at whether the culprit was an anchor from one of the many ships waiting to enter the backlogged Long Beach port. The system is supposed to prevent this kind of accident, however. The pipelines in the area are marked on nautical maps, and ships aren't allowed to set anchor randomly; instead, they are assigned spots by the Marine Exchange of Southern California.

Q. Whose permission is required to drill?

A. U.S. territorial waters stretch 12 nautical miles out from the coastal low-tide line. California, however, has jurisdiction over the first 3 nautical miles, meaning that it controls the leases and the permits within that zone.

As noted above, no new leases have been awarded in either state or federal waters for decades, which means no rigs have been added to the mix. Congress has imposed a number of temporary bans on offshore drilling in much of the U.S., although some Republican presidents have sought to allow new rigs off the coast of California and other states. The Biden administration recently restarted offshore lease sales under pressure from a federal judge, but only in the Gulf of Mexico.

Before new leases could be awarded in state waters, the state Legislature would have to pass a bill lifting the current ban, and the governor would have to sign it into law.

It's worth noting, however, that both the state and the federal government have continued to issue permits that extend the life of offshore rigs by allowing them to repair, modify or upgrade their wells. According to Kyle Ferrar, western program coordinator for the Pittsburgh-based research firm Fractracker Alliance, the state has issued 138 permits for these purposes, including several that allow the drilling of new wells.

"A lot of the wells that are still producing were drilled in the 1960s," Ferrar said, adding that the safety requirements and the technologies used have changed drastically since then. "Just the fact that they've existed for so long means that you run into a lot of operational issues."

Q. How are oil rigs monitored?

A. In state waters, the Geological Energy Management Division, part of the California Department of Conservation, regulates all oil and gas operations.

In federal waters off the coast of California, the responsibility falls on the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, part of the Interior Department.

Although the companies that own and operate their oil and gas facilities are in charge of the safety of their employees and pollution prevention, the bureau monitors compliance.

According to the bureau, its inspectors are on site at least once a week, overseeing drilling and production operations on unannounced routine inspections. There is also an extensive annual inspection of each facility that can last two to three weeks, depending on the complexity of the facility.

Q. Where are offshore rigs in California now?

A. There are four offshore oil platforms in state waters off the coast of California: Holly in Santa Barbara County, Eva and Emmy in Huntington Beach, and Esther off Seal Beach.

There are also four large artificial islands in Long Beach Harbor, known as the THUMS Islands or Astronaut islands, and one small artificial island, Rincon Island, off Rincon Beach in Ventura County.

In federal waters, or the Pacific Outer Continental Shelf Region, there are 23 platforms. Of the 23 facilities, 22 produce oil and gas, while the other is a processing facility.

These platforms include the following:

 Beta Operating Co. operates the platforms Ellen, Elly, and Eureka south of Long Beach.

 Venoco operates Gail and Grace off Carpinteria.

 ExxonMobil Corp. operates the platforms Harmony, Heritage and Hondo within the Santa Barbara Channel.

 Pacific Operators Offshore operates platforms Hogan and Houchin, located southeast of Santa Barbara.

 Freeport McMoRan Oil & Gas operates platforms Harvest, Hermosa, Hidalgo and Irene in the Santa Maria Basin.

 DCOR operates platforms A, B, C, Edith, Gilda, Gina, Habitat, Henry and Hillhouse six miles southeast of Santa Barbara.

Q. What's California's history with offshore oil?

A. Oil has long played a role in California's identity and economy. And the Golden State made history in 1896 when oil extraction from the ocean began from piers near Santa Barbara. It would be decades longer before drilling from platforms began, according to the 1998 book "Listening to the Sea," by Robert Jay Wilder.

Spills have also been part of the state's history.

1969: A major spill off Santa Barbara led to significant changes in policy. A Union Oil Co. well had a blowout and dumped almost 80,000 gallons of oil into the Santa Barbara Channel. It was the worst oil spill in American waters (until the Exxon Valdez spill off Alaska in 1989).

In response, California lawmakers prohibited new offshore leases. The spill also partly inspired U.S. Sen. Gaylord Nelson to establish Earth Day.

1971: Just two years later, another oil spill occurred in the San Francisco Bay after two tankers collided, causing 800,000 gallons of oil to spill into the water.

1984: As president, Ronald Reagan sought to expand offshore oil drilling, but his efforts were blocked by California lawmakers in 1984 when they expanded the 1969 ban to include federal waters.

1990: The Orange County coast was hit by an oil spill in 1990 when the tanker American Trader ran its anchor over a pipeline, causing close to 417,000 gallons of oil to seep out and foul the coastline and kill wildlife.

1994: The state Legislature passed the California Coastal Sanctuary Act in 1994, which reinforced the ban on new offshore oil drilling in state waters originally passed in 1969.

2007: The San Francisco Bay was hit with another spill in 2007 when a cargo ship struck the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, causing 58,000 gallons of fuel to leak into the waters.

2015: A pipeline ruptured, causing 143,000 gallons of crude oil to taint the waters off the coast of Santa Barbara yet again.

2018: During Donald Trump's presidency, attempts to reestablish offshore drilling leases off California failed.

2021: Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who earlier this year introduced the West Coast Protection Act, said in a statement Monday that the recent spill "highlights why we must also take action to prevent future spills, including passing the West Coast Ocean Protection Act. Our bill would permanently ban oil and gas drilling in federal waters off the coast of California, Oregon and Washington."

Explore further Oil spills have marred the California coast and shaped its politics

2021 Los Angeles Times.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
The Nobel Prize in Physics for 2021 has been jointly awarded to Italy's Giorgio Parisi, Japan's Syukuro Manabe and Germany's Klaus Hasselmann for their "groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of complex systems".

When I heard the news, I could hardly believe it. I studied for my master's thesis and my Ph.D. in theoretical physics under Professor Parisi at Sapienza University in Rome.

When I say I was in disbelief, don't misunderstand me. Of all the people I've ever met in my research experienceperhaps in my lifehe is without doubt the most ingenious. So I wasn't surprised about the Nobel Prize committee's decision to name him as a Laureate. Rather, it was their decision to recognise his "contributions to our understanding of complex systems" that piqued my interest.

This prize for Professor Parisi, split with trail-blazing meteorologists Professor Manabe and Professor Hasselmann, is an amazing recognition of an entire research areaperhaps a little less glamorous than the likes of general relativity or string theorythat attempts to understand and model what we in physics call "complex systems".

These include things like climate ecosystems, financial systems, and biological phenomena, to name a few. The sheer variety of complex systemsrepresented in fluctuating markets and flocking starlingsmakes it very hard to derive any sort of universal rules for them. Parisi's work has allowed us to derive unprecedented conclusions about such systems that, on the surface, look random, unpredictable and impossible to model theoretically.

Unlike some other physics models, complex systems are not a collection of identical particles, regularly interacting in a way that is consistent and predictable. Instead, complex systems are systems of elements, potentially different from each other, interacting in different and seemingly unpredictable ways while exposed to varying external conditions.

The replica trick can be conducted by compressing balls in a box. Credit: Johan Jarnestad/The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, CC BY-NC

A stepping stone for modelling complex systems is the theory of "disordered systems". These are essentially systems in which different pairs of elements experience different, potentially conflicting forces that can lead the elements to become "frustrated".

A way of illustrating this is to imagine a party (a closed social system), where Alice may want to chat with Bob, and Bob may want to chat with Charlie, but Charlie may not want to chat with Alice. There's frustration hereso what should they do?

Professor Parisi's research clarified what happens when frustration occurs in disordered and complex systems. He identified that complex systems are able to remember their trajectories over time, and can get stuck in sub-optimal states for a long time.

In our party example, imagine Alice, Bob, Charlie, and other guests irregularly changing conversational groups and partners, hoping to find the best group of people to chat withyet potentially never finding it. That's the sub-optimal state complex systems can get stuck in.

Patterns from disorder

One of the many theoretical tools Professor Parisi has used to establish his theory is the so-called "replica trick"a mathematical method which takes a disordered system, replicates it multiple times, and compares how different replicas of the system behave. You can do this, for instance, by compressing marbles in a box, which will form a different configuration each time you make the compression. Over many repetitions, Parisi knew, telling patterns might emerge.

This method is now one of the few theoretical pillars for the development of the whole theory of complex systems as we know it today. Professor Parisi's theory has been shown to give reliable predictions on the statistical properties of complex systems ranging from supercooled liquids (liquids below their solidification temperature), frozen liquids, amorphous solids such as glass, and even flocks of starlings.

The theory of disordered systems allows us to make sense of the beautiful emergence of coherent flight patterns within tight flocks of birdswho manage to stick together and form vast groupings despite adverse conditions.

The same framework has been used to make sense of Earth's climate. The meteorologists who share the Nobel prize with Professor Parisi will have relied upon breakthroughs in theoretical physics to produce the models we now use to reliably demonstrate global warming.

I had the chance to discuss these topics with Professor Parisi in Rome, while his experiments with flocks of birds were taking place and during his computer simulations on the behaviour of glass. Knowing a little of his mind, I am not at all surprised he has been awarded the Nobel prize in physics.

But I am pleasantly surprised that the field of complex systems, which is quietly pushing at the frontier of theoretical research in physics, has been given this exposure. This Nobel award has delivered new legitimacyand, we can hope, new mindsto this fascinating area of contemporary physics.

Explore further Physics Nobel: deciphering climate disorder to better predict it

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Food security policies implemented by governments, businesses and organizations such as the UN rely partly on global models that assess current and potential crop yields. Scientists at Wageningen University & Research (WUR) and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln warn that these global top-down models have certain shortcomings.

They argue that the models rely too much on coarse data regarding weather, soils and crops, and that there is too little input and validation using local data. In an article in Nature Food, they call for these estimates to be improved through the structural application of locally collected data and by testing the models more regularly with local experiments.

In their article, the researchers compared the performance of two commonly used top-down models (Global Agro-ecological Zones and the Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project) with the performance of their own bottom-up approach, the Global Yield Gap Atlas.

Systematically low estimates

"The estimates provided by global top-down models for a large country such as the United States or a whole continent are oftenthough certainly not alwaysreasonably accurate, but when you look at specific regions or smaller countries, the results become unreliable. In fact, the estimated potential agricultural production for a country is often lower than the actual production achieved in preceding years," says co-author Professor Martin van Ittersum of WUR's Plant Production Systems chair group.

By way of example, he points to the results from the global models for rice in Asia and maize in sub-Saharan Africa: "For rice in Asia, the potential yield estimates made by the top-down models are systematically much too low, while the models fail to sufficiently distinguish between countries with demonstrably high and low potential yields for maize in sub-Saharan Africa."

Rough data and a lack of testing

Shortcomings in the top-down models are caused by the tendency of the databases to take a broad-brush approach, and the fact that they are based on generated weather data or assumptions about crop calendars. For example, they don't always correctly estimate when a crop in a particularly region will be sown and harvested. Global studies also use a single model for a wide range of crops and for the entire world, even though the models have not been tested locally with well-executed experiments.

"Potential crop yields in a particular area can therefore actually be dozens of percentage points higher than the assumptions made in the top-down models," says Van Ittersum. Investors, seed producers and other stakeholders make decisions based partly on these models, so there can be far-reaching consequences. "We cannot afford to make poorly substantiated decisions in our efforts to improve food security in Africa or other parts of the world, and in the way we use scarce resources such as land and water as part of those efforts."

Integrating local data

According to the authors, the problem could be solved by making structural use of local data in global studies. This local data (with regard to weather, soils, and crop management) and simulations are already available, having been systematically recorded since 2011 in the Global Yield Gap Atlas project (GYGA) which is co-managed by Van Ittersum.

"We started this project jointly with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln because we had found that the global models were often significantly inaccurate for specific countries and regions. We've now been able to compile high-quality and locally relevant data for about 70 countries, with the help of local experts. Because of this, we now know what the yield gap is for some of the major agricultural crops on 80% of the world's surface area. This bottom-up approach is very demanding, but it does generate highly valuable information for policymakers and researchers working on the issue of how various countries and continents will be able to feed themselves in the future, and where the greatest opportunities might be found."

Explore further Yield gap study highlights potential for higher crop yields in Africa

More information: Juan I. Rattalino Edreira et al, Spatial frameworks for robust estimation of yield gaps, Nature Food (2021). Journal information: Nature Food Juan I. Rattalino Edreira et al, Spatial frameworks for robust estimation of yield gaps,(2021). DOI: 10.1038/s43016-021-00365-y
Howard Knox and Christine Jorgensen are denied a marriage license in 1959. Credit: Public domain photo.

The endeavor of individuals who want to medically change their gender has become a hot-button topic in contemporary society. But it's actually been part of the cultural dialog for more than a century.

"The understanding is that it has always been a one-sided relationship," said Marta Vicente, a professor of history and of women, gender & sexuality studies at the University of Kansas.

"The argument has been that scientific and medical developments in the 20th century made 'sex-reassignment' surgery possible, which helped the patients. What I see instead is that people seeking medical help were part of a relationship with surgeons and physicians, and each group benefited from it."

Her new article titled "The Medicalization of the Transsexual: Patient-Physician Narratives in the First Half of the Twentieth Century" explores the history of what was labeled in 1966 as "the transsexual phenomenon." This study reveals how the newsworthy narrative was created from the intersection of interests from both patients and their physicians, and how the media's coverage of this factored into the process. The article appears in the Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences.

"People's lives are shaped so much by the possibilities medical technology has to offer," Vicente said. "This dilemma concerns who is in control. Is the patient in control? The physician? Who has the agency to decide how a body is transformed? By examining the relationship between these doctors and their patients, it's valuable to see how it was shaped by interest from both parties."

Vicente's piece analyzes three historical narratives: the medicalization of the homosexual, the birth of the transsexual and the physician-patient relationship in transsexual narratives.

Throughout these phases, the media took on a "very important role in shaping this conversation," she said.

"Physicians and journalists had different audiences and targets. They were highlighting specific aspects of the transformation without really getting at the complexity of the experience. Especially for the American component of the media, it was the sensation of how bodies can be transformed by medical science. They all paid close attention to the surgery, while in fact, the journey of the transsexual started with endocrinologists and the emphasis on hormones."

The media helped make celebrities out of several individuals during this formative medical era. The first was Lili Elbe, whose story provided the basis for the Oscar-winning 2015 biopic "The Danish Girl."

"I didn't care for that movie," Vicente said. "But it's based on a novel inspired by the lives of Lili Elbe and Gerde Wegener, and I was totally taken by the facts of the story. It's very tragic. She died shortly after her last surgery (in 1931). While she was having the surgery, it was on the front page of American newspaperslike the Omaha World-Herald. Everyone knew about Lili."

Even better known was the account of Christine Jorgensen, an American Army veteran seeking a sex change who became an international celebrity in the 1950s.

"Everyone was waiting for this case to happenit had been building up for decadesand then it burst," Vicente said.

Although Jorgensen's surgery was successful, her engagement to Howard Knox stalled when New York refused to grant them a marriage license because her birth certificate listed her as male. She became a trailblazer for transgender rights, along with gaining fans as an actress and popular nightclub entertainer.

"Nowadays, transgender scholars have criticized Jorgensen as someone who fell into this feminine stereotype of the 1950s as the perfect housewife," Vicente said. "While they recognized her role as a pioneer of transgender rights, they were critical of how much she tried to fit within the system. But if you look at all those cases carefully, you see that there are more nuances."

As noted in Vicente's article, "once sex-reassignment surgery was legalized in the United States, physicians, sometimes aided by the law, would refuse to operate on a body that did not fulfill the requirements of 'the good transsexual,' one that was white, heterosexual and displaying the expected middle-class characteristics of a good wife or husband."

While the drama surrounding those standards appears somewhat antiquated, a contemporary controversy remains: language.

"How do you talk about gender identity, all those people and their experiences, when the current terms did not exist? How do you bypass the fact that 'transsexual' was a word not widely used until the 1960s? Now some individuals may find it offensive to be called transsexual instead of transgender. But before transsexual, people were using words such as androgynous, homosexual and hermaphrodite," she said.

"So it's a challenge using words that mean something only in a historical context while still being able to provide an umbrella to understand experiences that trespass different historical contexts."

A native of Barcelona, Vicente has been at KU since 1997. She is the author of "Debating Sex and Gender in Eighteenth-Century Spain" (Cambridge, 2017). Her expertise centers on queer studies, queer theory, feminist history and sexuality.

"I hope this article adds to the new amount of research being done in how much we need the historical understanding of transgender history and how this is going to reveal more about the construction of gender," Vicente said.

"Transgender history is not isolated from other issues. Ultimately, we're all in this together."

Explore further Having to defend one's sexuality increases fear of childbirth

More information: Marta V Vicente, The Medicalization of the Transsexual: Patient-Physician Narratives in the First Half of the Twentieth Century, Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences (2021). Marta V Vicente, The Medicalization of the Transsexual: Patient-Physician Narratives in the First Half of the Twentieth Century,(2021). DOI: 10.1093/jhmas/jrab037
Credit: University of Florida

By utilizing two of the most invasive termite species in Florida, scientists have gained insights at how animals living in groupstermites particularlycoordinate their leader-follower behaviors to thrive.

Thomas Chouvenc, an assistant professor of urban entomology at the UF/IFAS Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center (REC), collaborated with colleagues at Arizona State University on new research. In the study, scientists used Formosan subterranean termites and Asian subterranean termitestwo of the most invasive species in Florida.

A new paper "Coordination of movement via complementary interactions of leaders and followers in termite mating pairs" in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B explores the hidden relationship in termite species behind the behavioral traits of leaders and followers.

As social insects, termite queen and king wannabes directly influence their respective movement for mating success and survival. The key is in the female's pheromones. In termites, during the mating season, winged individuals fly from their colonies to find a mate and create a new colony. The female produces a pheromone that allows a male to find her. In this interaction, the female is the leader, while the male is the follower, as both partners look for a place to start a colony.

The rules of engagement guiding the behavior of leader-follower are often species-specific. Also, they are believed to result from the fine-tuning of the two opposite behavioral traitsleading and followingthrough natural selection.

South Florida presented a unique opportunity to further test that hypothesis, which is why researchers turned to the termite lab at UF/IFAS Fort Lauderdale REC where Chouvenc specializes in termite biology. Studies on the biology of termites yield insights into pest management strategies, but also provide novel understanding of complex evolutionary processes.

"In South Florida, we have these two established invasive termite species that cause a lot of damage to structures and trees," said Chouvenc. "They sometimes engage in interspecific mating activity, with a potential for hybridization, which gave us the ideal opportunity to test this hypothesis."

"It is challenging to test the hypothesis that the leader-follower behavioral rules are finely co-evolved in an animal species. Such two behavioral traits are inherently linked and difficult to dissect," said Nobuaki Mizumoto, who led the study as a postdoctoral researcher at Arizona State University and is now at Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology.

This new study revealed that both the leader and follower have evolved to expect a set of cues from their partner, and if these expectations are not met, then the coordination falls apart, said Mizumoto,

"Our results have implications on how large groups of animals came to coordinate their efforts through natural selection, or how sexual selection has shaped sex-specific traits to meet a differential expectation between partners," concluded Mizumoto.

Because the two invasive termite species have evolved separately for about 18 million years, the leader-follow rule in the two species can be slightly different, explains Chouvenc.

"Despite sharing the same pheromone, Formosan subterranean termite females produce much more pheromone than the Asian subterranean termite females," he said. "We, therefore, hypothesized that the leader-follower rule discrepancies between the two species would reveal a lack of optimization through evolutionary fine-tuning."

This unique approach allowed the team of researchers to show that males of Formosan subterranean termites cannot properly follow females of the Asian subterranean termite. Meanwhile, males of the Asian subterranean termite are fully capable of following Formosan subterranean termite females.

"This asymmetric result was remarkable because it indicated that male Formosan subterranean termites were not capable or were not motivated to follow females of a species that produce little pheromones. On the other hand, males of Asian subterranean termites were perfectly able to follow females of the Formosan subterranean termites, which produces far more pheromone than these males evolved to track," added Chouvenc.

"In a previous collaborative study, we were able to show that males optimize their movement to keep up with females, while the females adapt her movements depending on the feedback from the male following her," Mizumoto said. The current study highlighted that such optimization was the result of evolutionary processes

While the discovery of the two termite species finding love in Florida remains a concern for their potential impact on our houses, it provides opportunities to test a unique hypothesis, that helps understand how coordination behaviors of animals have evolved, Chouvenc explains.

Explore further Two exotic termites find love in Florida, worrying researchers

More information: Nobuaki Mizumoto et al, Coordination of movement via complementary interactions of leaders and followers in termite mating pairs, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (2021). Journal information: Proceedings of the Royal Society B Nobuaki Mizumoto et al, Coordination of movement via complementary interactions of leaders and followers in termite mating pairs,(2021). DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.0998
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

It was nearly 2 p.m. Tuesday when the Alenia C-27J Spartan, a U.S. Coast Guard aircraft, began its flight along the Orange County coast.

In the back of the plane with the cargo door open, two flight mechanics looked for oil sheens on the dark teal ocean while reporters on board watched.

Since Saturday, when the spill from the Amplify Energy underwater oil pipeline was reported, the fixed-wing aircraft has flown daily, relaying information about the size and direction of the oil spill to a command center and to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, according to Coast Guard Petty Officer Steve Strohmaier.

"It's one of the many assets that the Coast Guard has to assist our local partners to help mitigate environmental disasters," he said.

Major oil spills are often visible to the eye. The layers of oil on the surface of water vary in thickness, size and color from dull brown to silver.

But on Tuesday's flight, the ocean looked ordinary, with the exception of oil on the beaches.

Private pilot Bryan Keith also reported not seeing much while flying over the oil spill this past weekend.

The 48-year-old was at home in Los Angeles, reading about the disaster, when he decided to look for aerial footage.

He was unable to find anything, so he flew over the disaster area with a friend, hoping to upload some video on his aviation-themed YouTube channel, Wolficorn.

"We really didn't see a lot of oil in the water," he said. "We saw some oil on the sand and some oil sheen."

"I was a little perplexed by it," he added.

But later in the day, as he reviewed the footage he had taken, he spotted a large area of oil along the coastline.

"It was a frightening realization," he said. "It was bad, and the oil was doing considerable damage."

He said glare from the sun may have prevented him from seeing the oil at times.

"In retrospect, it makes sensewhen the sun hits the water, it polarizes the light," he said. "Depending on the angle, you're going to see different things."

On Monday afternoon, oil spill monitoring and cleanup operations were hampered when a storm system moved over the region, producing rain, thunder and lightning. Gusty winds created higher seas, moving the oil.

It is not clear what caused the damage to the pipeline, which allowed tens of thousands of gallons of crude to spill into the waters off Orange County.

Investigators have said they are looking into whether a ship's anchor caused the pipe breach, but officials did not provide more information about that probe on Tuesday. Divers and remote vehicle footage have confirmed that the pipeline is no longer leaking, officials said.

Strohmaier said the Coast Guard plane monitoring the oil's movement is equipped with infrared equipment to help flight crews track it. The plane, he said, was designed to be used for various missions, including search and rescue, transporting resources to disaster zones and surveying oil spills.

On Tuesday, with the storms gone, the 74-foot plane flew over Huntington Beach, Newport Beach and Laguna Beach.

From the high vantage point, all that was visible to those on the plane were cargo ships, swaths of expensive real estate, kelp and crashing waves.

Explore further Frantic fight to protect coast as worsening Orange County oil spill stalks beaches

2021 Los Angeles Times. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Pendraig milnerae was a small species of carnivorous dinosaur, living in what is now southern Wales. Credit:  James Robbins

The oldest-known meat-eating dinosaur discovered in the UK has been named in honor of trailblazing Museum scientist Angela Milner, who passed away in August 2021.

The small carnivorous dinosaur lived over 200 million years ago in what is now Wales. Discovered in a quarry in the 1950s, it was initially thought to be part of a different group of dinosaurs altogether, but scientists have now realized it represents an entirely new species, Pendraig milnerae.

Its name honors both its Welsh origins and Angela Milner, a palaeontologist at the Museum who was the driving force behind its Dinosaurs gallery and who named a variety of new species herself.

As well as being a leading light in the field for decades, the naming also reflects Angela's help in relocating the dinosaur after it went missing in the Museum for many years.

Dr. Susannah Maidment, a senior researcher in palaeobiology at the Museum who studied under Angela, says, "I told her that I couldn't find it, and so she went away and about three hours later she had it.

"She found it in a drawer of crocodile material, and she must have had the specimen in her mind's eye from when she had previously looked through it. This paper would not have been possible without her."

The new species has been described in the journal Royal Society Open Science.

Missing in action

The new species has something of a mysterious past, having been lost, found and renamed over the last 40 years.

It was originally discovered at Pant-y-ffynnon in southern Wales, in a type of deposit known as a fissure fill. This is where remains fell into crevices before being covered over and fossilizing.

The fossilised bones were mistaken for another species for many years. Credit:  Stephan Spiekman et al. 2021

Over the years these fissure fills have provided a variety of fossils dating to the Triassic Period, giving researchers a look at the early evolutionary history of mammals, crocodiles and dinosaurs.

In 1952 a few of the dinosaur's bones, including parts of the back, legs and hips, were discovered from one of the fissures. Though it may not have been much to go on, the researchers were able to discern that the animal was probably a coelophysoid. This was a smaller, carnivorous dinosaur with a long, narrow snout, common to the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic.

The species is the oldest-known theropod dinosaur found in the UK and represents a major leap in our understanding of the early evolution of Europe's dinosaurs.

Dr. Stephan Spiekman, a research fellow at the Museum and the paper's lead author, says, "There is no obvious character that set this species apart. It has a certain combination of several characters that are unique amongst its group, which showed to us it was clearly a new species."

It is thought that the small size of P. milnerae could be because the bones come from a juvenile. The adult animal may have grown larger than the specimen discovered in Wales, but due to the process of fossilization, this can't be confirmed.

This is further complicated by its presumed habitat, which is thought to have been an island archipelago. Species living on islands often get smaller due to the reduced resources available for them, as well as a lack of larger predators. This shrinking is a process known as island dwarfism.

Because of this, there has been a lot of uncertainty around the exact identity of the dinosaur.

Fossils of juvenile animals often don't show all the distinctive features that help set a species apart from another. In the case of this dinosaur, this has caused a lot of confusion over the years, with scientists in the 1990s initially describing it as a species of Syntarsus.

However, this name was dropped shortly afterwards after scientists decided the Syntarsus species were actually related to other groups and reassigned them, so further study was required.

But when scientists went to look for the bones to re-evaluate it in the wake of these changes, the remains were not where the researchers thought they were. The hunt for the bones would require help from an expert in palaeontology and an old hand at the Museum, and so the researchers turned to Dr. Angela Milner.

Pendraig milnerae was named in honour of Dr Angela Milner, who passed away in 2021. Credit:  The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London

"Claw blimey'

Angela was an influential figure in palaeontology during and after her four-decade-long career. She was a specialist in tetrapods (four-legged vertebrates) including mammals, reptiles and amphibians.

In 1976 she joined the Museum as a curator and began expanding her research across a range of dinosaurs. In 1983, she and fellow palaeontologist Alan Charig formally described the newly discovered Baryonyx walkeri, a large carnivorous dinosaur whose distinctive giant hand claw led to the headline "Claw blimey! A new dinosaur!" in The Sun newspaper.

In addition to the new research she led, Angela's years at the Museum gave her a deep understanding of how best to educate the public on dinosaurs. She was instrumental in developing the Museum's Dinosaurs gallery, showcasing many iconic species including some she had been involved in naming.

Angela's work across so many areas of the Museum proved inspirational to those who worked with her.

Susannah says, "Angela was really important in the Museum for many years. She was not only the premier dinosaur researcher but also in a senior position when women didn't have those roles in the museum, so for me as a student it was really important.

"She really inspired me and was incredibly helpful when I joined the Museum. She went out of her way to show me the ropes, and that goes for me and so many others, including three of us on this paper."

The species was named in Angela's honor, joining a number of other species, such as Veterupristisaurus milneri, that also bear her name. This includes a species of spinosaurid dinosaur, Riparovenator milnerae, which was recently named after her.

The researchers now hope to dig deeper into the life of P. milnerae and the fauna it lived alongside, to prove whether its size was a result of island dwelling.

Explore further Two new species of large predatory dinosaur discovered on Isle of Wight

More information: Stephan N. F. Spiekman et al, Pendraig milnerae , a new small-sized coelophysoid theropod from the Late Triassic of Wales, Royal Society Open Science (2021). Journal information: Royal Society Open Science Stephan N. F. Spiekman et al, Pendraig milnerae , a new small-sized coelophysoid theropod from the Late Triassic of Wales,(2021). DOI: 10.1098/rsos.210915
Credit: University of Tsukuba

They may be tiny, but mites have shown that we have something to learn from them. Researchers from Japan have discovered that mites can aid in the understanding of the evolution of reproductive barriers.

In a study published this month in BMC Ecology and Evolution, researchers from the University of Tsukuba and Ryutsu Keizai University have revealed that their research on a particular kind of spider mite supports the predominant view of how species diverge.

Speciationthe process by which populations become distinct speciesis driven by reproductive isolation, which allows closely related groups to diverge by limiting gene flow. The evolution of reproductive isolation is therefore key to understanding speciation. Existing studies have focused on diploid animals (i.e., those that have paired chromosomes, one from each parent), and support the predominant view that reproductive isolation evolves gradually via accumulated genetic changes. The view is supported by comparative studies of various taxonomic groups that have shown a positive relationship between genetic distance and the extent of reproductive isolation.

"To understand speciation, a range of different types of organisms needs to be studied," says lead author of the study, Professor Yukie Sato. "Haplodiploid animals are expected to add further insight to this evolutionary story. But few studies have examined whether this is the casethis is what we investigated."

Haplodiploidy is a sex-determination system where males are haploid (i.e., have only one set of chromosomes) and develop from unfertilized eggs, and females are diploid and develop from fertilized eggs. The research team investigated populations of the spider mite Amphitetranychus viennensis by measuring genetic distance via the differences in their mitochondrial DNA, and by conducting crossbreeding experiments between the population samples. They examined how lack of fertilization rate, in addition to non-viability and sterility in hybrids, changes with genetic distance.

"Among cross combinations, we found that the extent of reproductive isolation differed," explains Professor Tetsuo Gotoh, senior author. "Additionally, there was a positive relationship between genetic distance and all three measures of reproductive isolation."

The researchers also found asymmetries in reproductive isolation. Combined with the varying degree of reproductive isolation, these asymmetries underscore the importance of strengthened reproductive isolation at an early developmental stage via reproductive incompatibility, and the importance of interactions within cells, e.g., between mitochondrial and cell nuclear genes, for reproductive isolation in haplodiploid spider mites.

"Our results support the prevalent view on the evolution of reproductive isolation," says Professor Sato.

The outcomes of this study are important for understanding how reproductive isolation evolves in haplodiploid animals. The team's findings will also enable comparisons between major model organisms and other taxonomic groups to reveal factors underlying evolutionary differences.

Explore further Divergence in flowering time contributes reproductive isolation between wild rice species

More information: Yukie Sato et al, Patterns of reproductive isolation in a haplodiploid mite, Amphitetranychus viennensis: prezygotic isolation, hybrid inviability and hybrid sterility, BMC Ecology and Evolution (2021). Journal information: BMC Ecology and Evolution Yukie Sato et al, Patterns of reproductive isolation in a haplodiploid mite, Amphitetranychus viennensis: prezygotic isolation, hybrid inviability and hybrid sterility,(2021). DOI: 10.1186/s12862-021-01896-5
KINGSBURY  A Pennsylvania-based biscotti manufacturer wants to build a new plant in the Airport Industrial Park and relocate its operation.

Bucks County Biscotti wants to buy a 3-acre lot in the industrial park, which straddles the Warren/Washington county line in Queensbury and Kingsbury and put up a 5,000-square-foot building.

Riley Silbert, a representative from Bucks County Biscotti, said the business was started in 1993 by his parents, Karen and Craig, and he has been involved for the last two years.

The company describes itself as offering handmade artisanal biscotti. It started with a farm stand at the local farmers market in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. It makes 10 flavors of the twice-baked Italian dipping cookie, which it distributes to more than 200 cafes, coffee shops and specialty food stores, according to its website.

Silbert said the company supplies biscotti to businesses between New York and Washington and other accounts across the country. It also offers direct-to-consumer gift boxes online.

The company operates out of a home office with an attached bakery, according to Silbert.

Weve successfully outgrown our current facility, he said at Wednesdays meeting of the Warren-Washington Industrial Development Agency Executive Committee.

Silbert said he believes the lot in the industrial park would be a perfect fit. Right now, the only employees are his parents and him. They do have some part-time seasonal employees.

The company would hire the equivalent of five full-time employees, according to its application.

When we develop the bakery in New York, we would be selling the property down there and all of us would be moving to Queensbury full-time, he said.

Silbert said company officials are well into the process of obtaining financing and working with an engineer to draw up plans. They are also communicating with local officials about lining up Planning Board approvals.

He said they are trying to get all the cogs in place for when the financing is close we can move forward pretty quickly.

The cost to buy the lot is $41,000. Bucks County Biscotti is seeking a $49,000 sales tax exemption from the IDA.

The cost of the project is about $1 million, according to the application, which includes about $783,000 for construction materials and $104,000 for labor.

The company plans to spend $70,000 on manufacturing equipment and $21,000 on other equipment, according to the application.

Construction would start in January and be completed in May with occupancy in June.

The committee was excited about the project.

Its really easy to change the name of it from Bucks County to Washington County, quipped board member Michael Bittel, who is also president of the Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce.

The project will be reviewed by the full board at a later meeting.

Michael Goot covers politics, crime and courts, Warren County, education and business. Reach him at 518-742-3320 or mgoot@poststar.com.

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Woman charged with endangerment

QUEENSBURY  A Glens Falls woman is accused of not allowing an ambulance to pass, and driving recklessly, which led to a crash.

State police responded to a report of a crash on Sept. 29 at about 7:30 p.m. on the southbound lane of the Northway near Exit 19. Police said an ambulance flashed its high beams in an effort to get around a vehicle driven by 37-year-old Saide M. Olden.

Olden allegedly slammed her brakes in response and made obscene gestures. The ambulance then activated its emergency lights and Olden pulled to the left shoulder, stopping partially in the left lane.

The ambulance was unable to avoid Olden and struck her vehicle, police said.

No one was injured.

Olden was charged with a misdemeanor of second-degree reckless endangerment. She was released and due in Queensbury Town Court on Oct. 25 at 9 a.m.

Hammer damages police cruiser

GLENS FALLS  A homeless woman was arrested recently for allegedly throwing a hammer at a police car.

A Glens Falls police officer responded to the area of Sherman Avenue on Sept. 13 at around 10:45 a.m. for a report of a suspicious woman in or around an abandoned house.

Glens Falls Police Detective Lt. Seth French said the officer told the woman, later identified as 29-year-old Autumn J. Rivers, that she could not be there and asked her to leave.

Rivers said she would comply and as the officer was leaving, she threw a hammer at the police car. It scratched and dented the roof, causing about $1,500 worth of damage.

No one was hurt.

Rivers, whose last known address was Dixon Road in Queensbury, was charged with felony criminal mischief and misdemeanor resisting arrest.

Police: Local woman sold heroin

GANSEVOORT  Police arrested a Gansevoort woman on Monday for allegedly distributing quantities of heroin and fentanyl throughout Saratoga County.

Gina M. Battista, 29, was charged with felony counts of third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance and third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, according to a news release.

Battista was arraigned in Wilton Town Court and released to pretrial services.

The arrest came after a lengthy investigation into drug trafficking by the Saratoga County Sheriffs Office Narcotics Unit.

Police: Woman stole from Best Buy

WILTON  A Troy woman was arrested on Monday after police said she stole more than $8,000 in merchandise from Best Buy.

Makayla P. Minius, 21, is accused of taking the items on Aug. 30, according to a news release from the Saratoga County Sheriffs Office. Police did not identify the type of merchandise she is accused of stealing.

Minius was charged with two felony counts of third-degree grand larceny.

She was released and is due back in Wilton Town Court on Oct. 12 at 4 p.m.

Police said the case is still under investigation and more arrests are expected.

Inmate accused of throwing feces

FORT ANN  An inmate at Great Meadow Correctional Facility is accused of throwing feces at a correction officer.

State police charged Elijah R. Tripp, 28, of Alden with a felony count of aggravated harassment of an employee by an incarcerated individual.

Tripp was arraigned in Washington County Court and returned to prison. He is due back in court at a later date.
GLENS FALLS  Seven years ago, Kelly Stevens was working at Kensington Road School as a teaching assistant. A student in her class always arrived for the day without a snack.

The girl asked for three days if Stevens could give her a snack. The Glens Falls mom and her daughter, Emma, made a snack bag for the third-grade student so she wouldnt go without.

They shared their generous task on Facebook.

Within an hour, different people from the community rallied to provide weeks worth of snacks for the homeless child.

We did research on the program and found that teachers spend between $600-$700 a year out of pocket to feed kids, Stevens said.

In response to this growing need, Stevens started a charity called Food for Thought.

Stevens pointed out that all school districts  even those commonly considered wealthy districts  have kids who struggle with access to food.

We started off with one snack and last year we did 55,000, Stevens said. This year its looking like 69,000.

Right now, Stevens is supplying snacks to 22 schools in Warren, Washington and Saratoga counties, including Whitehall, Abraham Wing, Harrison Avenue, Jackson Heights, Bolton, Tanglewood, Big Cross, Greenwich, Glens Falls Middle School, Queensbury, Fort Ann, Hudson Falls, Corinth, Fort Edward, Ballard, Cambridge, Warrensburg, Moreau and Kensington Road School.

The schools get about 300 snacks per month.

All that was accomplished by word of mouth.

This is for the kids who come to school who dont have a snack at snack time, Stevens said.

Stevens is looking into registering the growing organization as a nonprofit, so she can apply for grant money. In the meantime, she relies on donations.

Donations can be made directly to the groups Amazon account. People can donate money or use the Food for Thought Amazon link and the items will be delivered right to Stevens garage.

Kids need snacks to fuel their brains, hence the name Food for Thought.

There are some kids who come to school to learn and there are some that come to eat, said Sara DiLandro, who helps with the program. They cant really learn until theyre fed.

DiLandro, who used to teach in Saratoga County, often spent her own money on snacks for kids in her classroom.

I feel like its a communitys responsibility to take care of all the kids, DiLandro said, not just your own.

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GLENS FALLS  Hudson Headwaters Health Network on Tuesday gained Planning Board support for a proposed zoning change needed to build a 30,000-square-foot medical complex along Larose Street.

Board members issued a favorable opinion to rezone a 4.48-acre parcel that sits near Hannaford Plaza between Larose Street and Western Avenue from residential to cultural professional. The cultural professional zoning allows for the construction of medical offices, museums and small offices with Planning Board approval, according to the citys zoning laws.

But the organizations plans to put up a 2,500-square-foot pharmacy in the same neighborhood were dealt a blow when board members issued an unfavorable opinion on a request to rezone a 0.65-acre parcel for commercial purposes, citing concerns about the surrounding residential neighborhood.

The Common Council must now decide whether to approve the zoning change. A public hearing must be scheduled before a final vote.

Hudson Headwaters has for months been seeking to rezone the property at 38 Larose St. to construct a primary care center and an elder-care program that aims to keep senior citizens out of nursing homes.

The organization has owned the land, which is made up of two separate parcels, since 2012, according to Warren County property records.

In August, Planning Board members issued an unfavorable opinion on a zoning-change request after Hudson Headwaters sought to rezone the entire property for commercial purposes.

Members cited concerns about having a high-density zoning district next to a residential neighborhood without some type of buffer and about the future of the property if Hudson Headwaters ever relocated.

Several neighborhood residents expressed concerns about the future of the property and the impact the medical center would have.

Hudson Headwaters currently operates a primary care and urgent care center along Broad Street. The facility, however, is being renovated and will house just the urgent care center moving forward.

In late August, the organization submitted a new rezoning request, which sought to extend the existing cultural professional district for most of the property and rezone about half an acre as commercial to accommodate the pharmacy.

Under that proposal, the cultural professional district would separate the residential neighborhood from the commercial lot.

Planning Board members rejected that, arguing residents bought their homes with a reasonable expectation that commercial operations would not be built next door. They also said the proposal amounted to spot zoning, which goes against city zoning codes.

I think the melding of a cultural professional district is OK, but to change one particular lot is spot zoning, said board member Ethan Hall.

Neighbors also questioned the need for an additional pharmacy in the city, but noted they were glad Hudson Headwaters attempted to address their concerns.

Im pleased to see its gone to cultural professional. Im glad that youre willing to be good neighbors. Im in favor of it now that its cultural professional, said Tina Webber, who owns a home along James Court. That said, I still dont think we need another pharmacy.

Christopher Tournier, chief financial officer for Hudson Headwaters, said the organization often builds pharmacies next to health centers for customer convenience and noted the pharmacy would be used primarily as a drive-thru.

If a patient is diagnosed with a disease, we want to make sure they can get their medication, he said.

The organization can still seek variances to construct the pharmacy.

Still, the project is likely months from final approval.

If the Common Council does approve the zoning change, Hudson Headwaters must still gain site plan approval and undergo an architectural review by the Planning Board before breaking any ground.

Chad Arnold is a reporter for The Post-Star covering the city of Glens Falls and the town and village of Lake George and Washington County government. Follow him on Twitter @ChadGArnold.

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QUEENSBURY  Queensbury Auto Mall is looking to move to a brand-new building near Walmart off Quaker Road.

The independent car dealership has filed an application with the town to construct a 6,260-square-foot sales and service building on a 1.58-acre site at 44 East Quaker Road next to Sportline Power Products.

There would be 99 parking spaces and extensive landscaping, as well as upgrades to drainage and installation of lighting that does not spill off the property, according to the application.

Queensbury Auto Mall owner Matt Emberlein said the business has been at its current location at 635 Upper Glen St. for 20 years.

The building has been deteriorating. Ive had that property for some time. We decided to move forward with a new building, he said.

The community has been supportive of the business, Emberlein said, and a new building and service department will be a good way to give back.

The project is in the preliminary stages. The Planning Board will review some concepts at its November meeting. He did not have a cost estimate of the construction.

He said he hopes to complete the project by the middle of next year, pending town approvals and COVID supply chain issues.

The dealership carries a variety of makes and models of pre-owned cars.

Emberlein leases the current property.

Were going to keep it for a period of time even after construction and use it for storage, he said.

Michael Goot covers politics, crime and courts, Warren County, education and business. Reach him at 518-742-3320 or mgoot@poststar.com.

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Besides ranting on Twitter that President Biden should fire Anthony Fauci to save Christmas, we dont know what Elise Stefanik has been doing these days in Washington, D.C., where, people say, she is working as our congresswoman.

A recent press release from her office bragged about a $1.5 million federal grant to Hudson Headwaters Health Network that the organization will use to renovate its Broad Street building.

Im proud to announce these taxpayer dollars are returning to our district to support meeting the needs of the residents of Warren County, the press release quoted her as saying.

You can feel proud of spending you opposed, we guess. But its misleading to announce that spending as if you had something to do with it.

The money came from the American Rescue Plan Act, which is helping to fund projects at health centers nationwide, along with sending billions of dollars to communities for pandemic recovery and infrastructure projects.

Glens Falls is getting more than $12 million and local officials just decided on the first project they will spend some of the money on  $1.6 million for repair and improvement of the citys drinking water system. Water and sewer projects are a priority of the Rescue Plan, as is broadband infrastructure, and those are two of the top needs here in upstate New York.

Still, Stefanik voted against the bill. This area and other rural areas are desperate for the investment, and in the midst of the pandemic, the country needed the economic boost the bill provides.

We would think since Stefanik opposed the bill, the decent thing would be not to take credit for projects it is paying for.

Since she opposes this sort of fundamental local need, we have to wonder what Elise Stefanik supports. She never fails to announce what she is against, using the megaphone of her position to shout on social media platforms and elsewhere about what and who she despises.

Much of her energy in recent days, judging by the emojis and exclamation points on her Twitter feed, has gone into attacking Anthony Fauci, because he is still urging caution about large gatherings when it comes to COVID-19.

No one likes a killjoy, but few things will ruin your mood like getting thoroughly sick for a couple of weeks or, God forbid, for the rest of your short life. Is it bad that Dr. Fauci feels a responsibility to encourage vaccinations that save peoples lives and preventative measures that do the same?

The sniping at public servants like Fauci, who are doing their best for the good of all, is destructive of the national effort to beat the pandemic.

When you become known for carping and criticizing, it sounds off when you try to praise and celebrate, as Stefanik tried with the Hudson Headwaters project. Putting aside that this is funding she opposed, her shtick has grown so negative that attempts like this to horn in on something positive feel forced and fall flat.

Local editorials are written by the Post-Star editorial board, which includes Ben Rogers, president and director of local sales and marketing; Brian Corcoran, regional finance director and former publisher; Will Doolittle, projects editor; and Bob Condon, local news editor.

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Womans Club meeting: The Womans Club of Vineland will hold its next meeting at 1 p.m. Oct. 11. The club is looking for women interested in helping the community with various projects and meeting other women with similar interests. Meetings are held in the clubhouse at 677 S. Main Road. For more information, call 856-696-3944 or like the group on Facebook.

West Cape May

Borough yard sale: The community is invited to participate in a borough-wide yard sale from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 16. The event will be held rain or shine. The sale is sponsored by the Environmental Commission, there are no fees or permits needed. Sellers are encouraged to put a sign at the end of their street to point the way. Register at Borough Hall or call 609-884-1005, ext. 100. Also, a community bulk trash pickup is scheduled for Oct. 20. For information, visit the Public Works Department at westcapemay.com.

Woodbine

Car Show and Swap Meet: The Greater Woodbine Chamber of Commerce will host the 10th annual Car Show and Swap Meet from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. The rain date will be Oct. 10. The event will be held along the boroughs bike path/greenway at Route 550 and Washington Avenue. There will be free parking and admission to all spectators, with craft and food vendors on site. For more information, call Lisa Fisher at 609-780-3088 or email lisamcveyfisher@yahoo.com
Here I am, Dillio said.

To begin the process, Dillio would need to gather the signatures of registered voters in the township on a petition asking for a referendum on the issue. Gandy promised to let Dillio know how many signatures were needed.

Three years ago, Tim Donohue pushed hard for the township to explore expanding its form of government. At the time, he was the lone Republican on the governing body. Now, he is the mayor, heading up an all-Republican government.

Donohue was not at the Monday meeting. In previous public statements, he also said it should be up to the residents to petition for the change.

In forming the advisory panel that explored the matter, Donohue said he wanted to keep partisan politics out of the process. The members were picked to include a cross-section of residents from both major parties and from across the smaller communities that make up the township.

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Members interviewed current and former elected officials in the township, experts in the state laws governing local governments and representatives of other municipal governments. But the board could not reach a unanimous conclusion on the best form of government, leading to a 17-page report delivered in July 2019 that outlined four options but did not recommend a specific change.
Insas plans call for cannabis to be grown and processed in a new building at the site of the former La Monica seafood plant in the Goshen section of the township, and sold there to those with medical marijuana cards. In previous interviews, Steve Reilly, co-owner of Insa, has said the company still wants a medical license and is considering expanding into growing for the recreational market, but does not plan to sell to the general public at that site. The company could explore opening a separate dispensary or selling to other retailers.

In Massachusetts, the company operates medical and recreational facilities.

As Gandy pointed out after the Monday meeting, once the first dispensaries open for adult use in New Jersey, all of the cannabis and products including cannabis offered for sale will need to be grown in the state.

While New Jersey has joined multiple other states in legalization, marijuana remains illegal at the federal level, listed as among the most dangerous drugs. That means shipping between states is a federal crime, even if both states allow marijuana possession and sales.

The township also is moving to allow Insa to grow for the recreational cannabis market.
TRENTON  All school districts will be required to report weekly COVID-19 data to the state Department of Health, Gov. Phil Murphy announced Wednesday.

Effective Oct. 26, schools will submit weekly numbers to the departments online Communicable Disease Reporting Surveillance System.

This reporting will give us a more complete picture of the cases and vaccination rates among students and staff, Murphy said during a media briefing.

Some schools had been reporting cases and vaccination rates directly to the department, but Wednesdays order now requires all districts to report data through the online surveillance system, according to a Health Department spokesperson.

Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli said the data reported to the department will include any testing conducted by the schools, the testing vendors and cases reported by parents, students and staff.

The aggregate reporting does not replace the requirement that testing administrators report individual COVID-19 test results to their public health authorities, Persichilli said.

Murphy signs bill requiring advocates in veterans homes New Jerseys three veterans homes must now employ resident advocates, after Gov. Phil Murph

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Murphy also clarified the details of an executive order issued last month that requires all school staff to be vaccinated by Oct. 18 or face regular testing.
Rivera said to us, I received an email from your office so that I could apply (for rental assistance). I went in immediately and applied. My landlord had also informed me that he saw something on our mayors social media about it and that he applied also on my behalf. I really appreciate it and am humbled that he would do that for me. These are definitely humbling times and times of thanksgiving to everyone that is trying to help us through these difficult times.

These are indeed difficult times, and the fallout of this pandemic is widespread in that tens of thousands of people who are applying for rental and utility assistance have never before had to ask for financial help from the government. We understand this can be humbling, but no one should be ashamed.

We know there are many more people who are struggling. Which is why we are trying to dispel the false narrative that getting $1 billion dollars in rental assistance out to people is unachievable. The state is working toward this goal and we wont stop until every dollar makes its way to those in need.

There are a couple different ways people can apply. If they have access to a computer, its easiest for them to apply online by visiting: njdca.onlinepha.com. If they do not have access to a computer, they can call 609-490-4550.
DUBUQUE  A Dubuque County jury saw two videos Wednesday of Milton Jermaine Cole Serrano Jr., 22, getting into fights, including a few seconds of a fatal clash with Chantz Stevens, a Wilton teenager.

During the opening day of Serrano's first-degree murder trial  moved from Cedar County to Dubuque County on a change of venue  a jury of eight women and six men saw the testimony of Riley Kiel, the man who threw the party where Stevens was killed. It was at his parents' rural farmstead while they were out of town. The nearest town is over five miles away.

During opening arguments, Assistant Cedar County Attorney Adam Blank said Serrano attended the party looking for a fight. He said the state planned to prove Serrano was in two fights that night, the second the fatal encounter with Stevens.

"As we sit here today, the defendant has one more fight on his hands," Blank said. "A fight he picked for himself on July 19, 2020. It is a fight against the facts that you will see and hear and the law you will be instructed on."

Serrano's attorney, Miguel Puentes, admitted Serrano stabbed Stevens but said it was an act of self-defense.
"There was no mention of available properties to develop or development agreements," McGuire said. "There was no real effort to keep us here. I know my business isn't huge, but as a resident, I think we should fight for every business. Our taxes keep rising, and I wish there had been a little more of, 'I know just the place for you.'"

McGuire founded his business in 2014 and has since expanded it by selling primarily to other retailers located in all 50 states, Canada and at least seven European countries. A skilled artisan and woodworker, he crafts hand-made spoons, wooden kitchen utensils, pizza paddles, cutting boards, coffee tables, shaving accessories and other specialty items.

He used to have retail space in Rock Island, too, until the pandemic closed businesses.

Miles Brainard, interim community and economic development director, said it was his team's understanding that McGuire was "looking for an existing building and was not interested in a vacant site on which to construct a new building."
Warren, Lathems onetime co-defendant, took the stand last week and told jurors that killing 26-year-old Trenton Cornell had been Lathems idea. Lathem paid to fly Warren to Chicago from England as part of a suicidal pact to kill each other, but instead Lathem ended up stabbing Cornell to death with Warrens help, he testified.

Lathem, by contrast, testified this week that he had invited Warren over for a threesome with Cornell and the three of them used crystal meth. Lathem said he showed Warren a jagged drywall knife and said they could use it, intending it to be a part of consensual, safe knife play. Instead, he said, Warren attacked Cornell out of nowhere while the three of them were in bed together and Lathem escaped to hide in the bathroom.

Cornell was stabbed and sliced nearly 80 times, according to testimony last week from the countys chief medical examiner. Jurors have seen gruesome photos and video of Lathems apartment after the killing.

Lathem acknowledged Wednesday that in the days leading up to and after the stabbing, he erased his MacBook, disabled location information on his iPad and reset it, and threw out his cellphone.
Gaines then took a medical leave for an on-duty shoulder injury. But before he returned, two deputies visited him on March 12 of this year and asked for his credentials, informing him that he was terminated, according to the suit.

I cant explain how that affected my family, Gaines said. Youre told after giving years of service that you will be without the (health insurance) coverage for a sick wife that I had, or for myself, within a matter of weeks. Not knowing the reasoning behind it.

After his inquiries to various sheriffs office staffers about his firing went unanswered, Gaines learned via a Freedom of Information Act request that Ruffin had allegedly filed an internal complaint against him for visiting a doctors office during working hours. That complaint was made one week after her conversation with him in August 2019, according to the suit.

In his suit, Gaines rebuts that he in his entire career, never abused benefit and medical time, came to work nearly every day, and was the farthest thing from an attendance problem.

A statement released by a sheriffs spokesperson in response to the lawsuit, though, said Gaines was terminated because he was found to have left his work assignment for several hours without permission or notification.
The report said economic instability is due in large part to a lifetime of employment discrimination that LGBTQ older adults have faced, resulting in lower earning power and lower payments or income from Social Security, retirement, or pensions.

Further, LGBTQ older adults whose spouse or partner died or retired before the freedom to marry may be unable to access Social Security survivor benefits or their partners benefits or assets, according to the report. As a result, 44 % of LGBTQ older adults report being concerned about having to work well beyond retirement age (compared to 26% of non-LGBTQ people).

LGBTQ individuals may also be facing estrangement from family, and many dont have children to provide informal care. Anderson said older LGBTQ adults are twice as likely to live alone and three out of four are very concerned about who will care for them as they age.

We've made a lot of strides in the last 20 years, she said. I mean, 20 years ago, I never would have thought that my wife and I could get legally married. I never would have thought we'd actually been able to create a family.
Chicago public health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady cast a hopeful but cautious eye Tuesday toward on this winters holiday season as the latest COVID-19 wave driven by the delta variant shows signs of ebbing.

Though coronavirus in the U.S. has become dominated by that more contagious variant, the introduction of vaccines means Chicago is unlikely to face a cold-weather surge of COVID-19 as it did a year ago, Arwady said during a Facebook Live session. But that doesnt mean the tendency for more indoor gatherings wont throw in a wrench in the citys progress against the virus, she added.

Im not anticipating, you know, seeing an enormous surge like (last year), but I am a little worried, Arwady said. We know theres a reason that influenza season happens every late fall and winter here, and we could see that with COVID. I am hoping not, right? But I cannot guarantee for sure.

Also on Tuesday, one state was removed from Chicagos travel advisory, which lists places in the U.S. where unvaccinated people should take extra COVID-19 precautions when visiting, officials said.

Connecticut is now off the list of states from which travelers who are not fully vaccinated are asked to quarantine upon return to Chicago, and to take COVID-19 tests before and after, Arwady said.
As Valerie Seales reflected on data measuring reading skills among students in the Rapid City Area Schools district, she noted some progress  but also of work left to do.

Seales, the director of teaching, learning, and innovation at the district, delivered a report on student reading progress based on Acadience Learning measurements, a tool used by the district. As she presented the findings, she touched on staffing shortages driven largely by illness and quarantines stemming from COVID-19.

Seales spoke at the districts Board of Education meeting Tuesday night in the Rapid City Council Chambers. Earlier in the meeting, board members voted unanimously to apply for a grant of up to $165,000, as part of the federal American Rescue Plan, passed in March. The grant would be administered by the South Dakota Department of Education to help students experiencing homelessness.

In the same vote, they unanimously approved a grant from the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation for $200,051 focusing on the tracking of student attendance. They also voted to approve a memorandum of understanding with the City of Rapid City to continue meeting in City Council Chambers.

But much of the meeting involved looking closely at student academic progress  progress that Superintendent Lori Simon emphasized was deeply affected by the prevalence of COVID-19.

I think its worth noting, in the first six weeks of school weve had 951 COVID cases, Simon explained. In the entire last school year we had (about) 1,256 cases. So in the first six weeks (of this school year) we have 75% the amount of COVID cases that we had the entire last school year. I think thats an important note for the board to understand because we have tons and tons and tons of student absenteeism right now, and that is very definitely going to impact our student learning.

As Seales delivered her presentation, she showed figures indicating that about 40% of kindergartners over the last four school years started the year at benchmark, or knowing enough letters, knowing enough sounds to meet the national norm.

She noted the flip side of those numbers.

Every year, roughly 60% of our students come in not knowing their letters, not knowing their sounds, she said. So we are immediately behind the 8-ball with those kindergartners trying to catch up for lost ground. I think thats worth noting.

As she moved through other grades, she observed that the percentage had risen by third grade to about 55% at benchmark.

Its still not where we need to be, but its better than where we started, Seales said after the meeting. We all  school, family, community  have work to do.

Seales reflected on concerns behind the numbers during her presentation.

Were all aware of the sub shortage, she said, and she emphasized that intervention strategists and literacy teachers are frequently the people who fill classroom positions when substitutes arent available.

It logically makes sense, but what it means is that were missing that small group instruction and other forms of interaction with students, she said.

As Seales described the day-to-day staffing problems, she pointed to the significant number of days classroom teachers are not present because of quarantine for themselves or their children, or other illnesses. She added that teachers are not currently allowed to miss class for professional development given the current circumstances.

She also pointed out some bright spots.

There are things we are doing to support our teachers, she said, noting, among other things, data interpretation training for teachers and other staff members.

The presentation drew questions from the board. Amy Policky, the Area 6 representative, asked if the data can be broken down into various student groups. Seales said they could.

Board President Kate Thomas emphasized the importance of going over the data thoroughly.

Theres a number of different complex things going on here, Thomas said. I think it would be important to bring this to a study session  because this is the core of what we do here to make sure that these kids achieve.

Seales said presentations on other students work, including those students in higher grades, would be forthcoming.

Simon, during her report to the board, noted that  based on the new state law  the district would be crafting a policy regarding medical cannabis.

She said the district would base its policy on what had been developed by a number of state associations, including the South Dakota departments of education and health. She outlined several points, including the designation by the student's family of someone to administer the medical cannabis.

That person must bring the medical cannabis with them to school, administer it to the student in the health office, and then take the medical cannabis back home, she said.

Early in the meeting 11 people from the public addressed the board, mentioning health, educational and other concerns. Pastor Craig Moore of the First Assembly of God delivered an invocation at the beginning of the meeting. It was the first invocation at a Board of Education meeting in at least several years, according to Katy Urban, the districts public information manager.

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Crisis care for youths and transportation are among the community needs that received funding from the first United Way of the Black Hills community impact grants. Programs and services at 17 nonprofit organizations were awarded a total of $240,000 in grant funds this fall.

In 2020, UWBH announced it was transitioning from being solely a funder to becoming a community impact organization. UWBH is addressing Black Hills communities most urgent needs through advocacy efforts and by securing additional money to distribute to organizations. UWBH will continue its annual fundraising campaign, as well.

Jamie Toennies, UWBH executive director, said money raised that exceeded UWBHs 2020 fundraising campaign goal, along with a portion of funds from the 2020 campaign, were used for community impact grants. Agencies that currently receive United Way funding are encouraged to apply for future community impact grants.

WellFully in Rapid City received a $52,150 community impact grant from UWBH on Sept. 24. WellFully is the only organization in western South Dakota that provides in-patient drug rehabilitation and residential behavioral health care for adolescents in crisis. The grant funds will help WellFully to transform a section of its existing facility to provide crisis counseling and care for local youths.

South Dakota has the second-highest level of per capita suicide among youth in the country. Currently, we have only one level of care and support for youth who are considering suicide or who are in crisis, said Burke Eilers, executive director at WellFully.

WellFullys crisis care center will provide services 24 hours a day, seven days a week for youths in middle and high school. The outpatient, voluntary, walk-in center will screen, assess, observe, de-escalate and stabilize youths in crisis in a culturally appropriate way. The center will also be an access point to refer youths to appropriate services and levels of care.

Between January 2016 and August 2018, 2,393 patients younger than 18 were seen at Monument Health Rapid City Hospitals emergency room for a behavioral health issue, but 21% of those youths  more than 500 individuals  were discharged from the emergency room without receiving any services, Eilers said.

Currently, kids in crisis need to go to Monuments emergency room to be evaluated to see if they qualify for (treatment at) the behavioral west unit of the hospital, he said.

Youths that dont meet the requirements for treatment at the hospital still need services, Eilers said, and WellFullys crisis care center hopes to fill that gap in care.

In addition, OneHeart in Rapid City received a $10,000 community impact grant for transportation. OneHeart offers a recovery-oriented environment and transitional housing for people who are referred to the program. Its campus includes a center where human services agencies can provide mental health counseling, life skills, job training, child care and other support services.

OneHeart's transportation program helps clients obtain and maintain employment, get to and from school, and travel to and from off-campus appointments when other transportation options are not reliable or available.

Transportation is one of the biggest barriers keeping individuals from getting the support and services they need," Toennies said. We are pleased to help support OneHearts efforts to minimize this barrier so that their clients can get to the critical programs and services they need to be successful.

In addition to WellFully and OneHeart, the following Black Hills nonprofit organizations received UWBH community impact grants: Consumer Credit Counseling Service of the Black Hills; American Red Cross; Working Against Violence, Inc.; Volunteers of America; 2-1-1 Helpline Center; Black Hills Special Services Cooperative; CASA 7th Circuit; Literacy Council of the Black Hills; CASA of the Northern Hills; Victims of Violence intervention program; Americas Kids Belong; Crisis Intervention Shelter Service; Lutheran Social Services of South Dakota; National Alliance on Mental Illness South Dakota; and Fork Real Community Cafe.

Toennies said UWBH launched its new community impact grants to support organizations that focus on priority issues identified in the UWBH 2019 Community Needs Assessment (unitedwayblackhills.org/community-needs-assessment.) In the Black Hills, mental health services, treatment for substance and alcohol abuse, child care, food security, housing, combatting child and domestic abuse and job training are among the priorities that most urgently need more resources and support.

A major part of what we do is investing wisely in these programs and resources, and we cannot make this happen without the generous support of our community and donors. Whether you are only able to give $1 or $100, your gift helps in creating sustainable impact, Toennies said.

To donate to United Way of the Black Hills, go to unitedwayblackhills.org/donate, or call the United Way office at 605-343-5872.

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I have a magic wand. Anyone who has visited my office can find out a lot about me- places Ive visited, friends and family closest to me, phrases I find inspirational, fairly typical office embellishments. However, one item that may seem unusual is a sparkly, delicately ribboned, pink magic wand.

Fifteen years ago, I was freshly divorced, with three children under the age of four and $3 in my checking account. At 24, I was alone, my first business was closed, my credit score was toast, and I was working five twelve-hour shifts a week as a patient care tech, living paycheck to paycheck and struggling to make ends meet.

I visited an office in Rapid City that offered credit counseling and other helpful services- debt consolidation, budgeting, a plan to help people in my situation to get on track.

I sat down in the dark, paneled office to visit with a credit counselor. I told her of my recent divorce, the big-on-dream-short-on-cashflow business closure, the damage done to my credit score, how I was working overtime and walking the three miles roundtrip to work every day trying to better my situation. I told her I was determined to work hard for a better life for myself and my kids. I told her I wanted to obtain a business degree to become a business manager and one day own a business of my own again.

She sat and stared at me for a long time in silence. What she said next, I will never forget.

You will never accomplish any of that. No one will ever allow someone like you to manage their business. Then she pointed to a wand she had hanging above her desk. Do you see that? she asked. I nodded, fighting back angry tears. She continued, That is in my office so I can remind people to be realistic.

Anyone who knows me well knows that telling me Im incapable of doing something is the best way to ensure I do it. So, I worked for the next four years to advance my education and experience. In March of this year, I celebrated the 11th anniversary of my own small business in Rapid City, which grew from a small in-home operation to three commercial locations. Along the way, I was awarded the SD CEO Young Enterprising Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2016, the Small Business Administrations South Dakota Woman-Owned Small Business of the Year Award in 2018, and have become a Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses alumni. Heck, with the sincerest gratitude to my friends and neighbors in District 35, I even became a South Dakota State Senator along the way.

I am passionate about trying to help everyone, whether its the generational ag producer or the single parent trying to obtain a technical college degree. This is why I work to help small businesses, why Im dedicated to addressing taxation, why I support workforce development, why I support alternative education pathways. This is why I will always do my best to help the struggling dreamers in South Dakota. I see you because I am you.

Sitting in that dark-paneled cube in 2006, I vowed that one day when I had my own office, I too would have a magic wand on my wall. Not to point out to others how they were insufficient, incapable, or less than. But to use my wand to encourage others that through diligence, grit, and hard work, we can all pursue a better life. Thats how I wield my wand; how will you wield yours?

Senator Jessica Castleberry represents District 35. She is the Vice Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee and the Vice Chair of the Senate Military and Veterans Affairs Committee. She also serves on the Senate Taxation Committee

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We have been traveling quite a bit lately meeting with ranchers, growers, representatives, and senators across the entire state and talking with them about a grassland tax relief bill I will be introducing next session. As we met with South Dakotans across the state, and they learned that our ranchers are facing a possible increase in their taxes of up to 300% if the proposed new soil reassessment and tax tables are implemented, the majority of those we have met with, whether East River or West River, shake their heads and say, This is not right!

As with any issue, there are those, although few, who acknowledge that This is not right, but for whatever reason, you know down deep that they have reservations about supporting the ranchers or our Agriculture Community, the largest industry in South Dakota. Some of these West River ranching families have worked the ranch and grassland consisting of some grass, rocks, prickly pear cactus and yucca bushes for generations. These dedicated ranchers and their families deserve our support. They work diligently every day to manage the grass to grow protein for us.

I have to admit that it is good to be back home. On Saturday, we had the opportunity to reconnect with friends and constituents at the Fall River County Lincoln Day Dinner.

It was a delicious evening filled with introductions, conversation, and laughter, not to mention the amazing prime rib supper prepared by Sweet and Sassy. After desert we also had the opportunity to meet new candidates and learn who they are, as well as their passions and their motivation for running for office. The candidates running for both the US Congress and South Dakota House of Representatives, told us about their ideas on how they might be able to contribute and help our communities, state, and nation.

Their enthusiasm was great to see and gave me hope that there are people stepping up that share my passion to work hard to keep South Dakota a free state as well as those who are willing to stand up against the corruption we face at the federal level. This is what America is all about: a place where We the People have the opportunity and the right to voice our opinions, and where those who have the vision and fortitude, can step up and try to facilitate change for the people by running for office. Best news of all, we still have the right to do just that! Only in America!

I have learned over the past year of service in the House of Representatives, that service to our state is not for the faint of heart, and things are now always as they seem. You learn to surround yourself with those you can trust. As in life, there are always those who support you and those who try to derail you. Recognizing the role that each person politically plays, is the key. Last January when I stepped onto the floor, I felt that with my life experiences, I was where I was supposed to be.

I didnt expect that! It has been a year of learning the ropes and sticking to whats morally right, even when it didnt make the powers that be happy. I am anxious to use the knowledge and experience I have gained this past year, to stand courageously for the rights and needs of the people of District 30 and the state of South Dakota.

Representative Trish Ladner, District 30

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A traditional blues man, Golden described his sound as a modern or contemporary take on traditional blues. I play some soul music, a little bit of folk-gospel, but its all about the blues.

Golden will be debuting several new songs from his upcoming album Hard Times & A Woman at the Folk Festival. To get a taste of his sound, he recently dropped a new single, It Aint Much, on streaming services such as Spotify.

Trumpeter Sean Jones, who goes by the stage name Dizzy Spellz, will be headed to the festival, along with his wife, tap dancer Brinae Ali. They perform a mix of jazz, hip-hop and tap dancing as a tribute to the famous trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie.

We perform some of Dizzys music and a few of our own originals, Jones said.

Were using his music as a blueprint to analyze current day challenges, Ali said. She sees Gillespie as an important figure of Afrofuturism, a man ahead of his time, who saw equality for all people as well as being a forefather of bebop. Gillespie was also married to a dancer, which is where Alis tap-dancing comes in.

Hip-hop is the natural evolution of bebop. A few of the songs [we perform], youll hear both elements together. They all influence one another, Jones said.
Police believe the teen was manipulating the partially constructed gun when it discharged, striking him in the leg. The gun had a single round in the chamber when it discharged. The gun was not sufficiently complete to hold a magazine with additional rounds.

When we spoke to him briefly, he said he came across the [gun] parts, but he did not give us any more details than that, Casale said. And thats where our investigation is now  where did he obtain these parts and how? They basically appeared to be replacement parts that he had put together for the top half of the gun.

Investigators learned the teen had purchased an AnyCubic 3D printer for $249 and apparently acquired schematic blueprints for a 9 mm semiautomatic pistol that can be downloaded to the printer.

The boys parents told investigators that their son had purchased the printer for the purpose of hobby making, Casale said.

Based on the printed parts that police recovered, it was apparent the teen had been experimenting with the 3D printing process. He printed two pieces that went unused before printing a third that was attached to existing barrel and slide.
Anderson and Powe  who, according to court documents and testimony, were otherwise small business owners and good parents  apologized to Gibney for their involvement in the dog fighting and expressed remorse for the harm suffered by the dogs.

Congress first enacted the federal animal fighting prohibition in 1976 and it was not until 1997 that the first case was prosecuted. The next prosecution was not until 2007, when Michael Vick was prosecuted in Richmond and sentenced to 23 months in prison, said the U.S. attorneys office.

The Vick case exposed the public to the extreme animal abuse involved in dog fighting, including the animal suffering that occurs before, during, and after dog fights. In particular, the defendants in that case admitted as part of their guilty pleas to having routinely executed underperforming fighting dogs by drowning, hanging, and other brutal means, wrote prosecutors to Gibney in Powes case.

The April 3, 2016, dog fights were held behind a house owned by a relative of Carlos L. Harvey, 47, of King George. Harvey has pleaded guilty to the same conspiracy charge and is to be sentenced on Nov. 5. Chester A. Moody Jr., 46, of Glenn Dale, Md., was sentenced to 12 months in prison by Gibney on Aug. 27.
The deaths of students Adam Oakes and Cody Woodson, which occurred in 2021, were not reflected in this report. Oakes died in February at a Delta Chi fraternity party. Eleven former members of the fraternity have been charged with unlawful hazing or providing alcohol to a minor and hazing.

Woodson was shot in April on Gilmer Street, a day after a 17-year-old boy was shot and killed on the same block. Woodsons girlfriend said she believed Woodson was a random victim.

At the University of Richmond, instances of rape dropped from 13 in 2019 to three in 2020. Burglary declined, and there were no arrests for dating violence, liquor law violations or drug violations. The number of liquor law referrals plummeted from 112 to 66. Drug referrals nearly disappeared, dropping from 66 to seven.

UR reported four hate crimes in 2020 after reporting none in 2018 or 2019. Of the four, one was anti-Islamic vandalism, one was simple assault on an Asian/Pacific Islander, another was vandalism classified as other race/ethnicity/ancestry and one was anti-Black or African American vandalism.
Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin are in a close contest to become the next governor of Virginia, according to a new Emerson College and Nexstar Media poll.

The poll, in line with other recent surveys, shows a tightening race between the major party candidates: McAuliffe received 49% among likely voters to 48% for Youngkin. Just 2% of voters said they were undecided and 1% said they plan to vote for someone else. Princess Blanding also is on the ballot.

The survey, conducted Oct. 1-3, had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.

The poll found McAuliffe is leading in support among female and Black voters, while Youngkin leads among men and white and Hispanic voters. Among suburban voters Youngkin received 49% to 48% for McAuliffe.

Youngkin is vying to become the first Republican elected statewide since 2009. McAuliffe, who served as governor from 2014 to 2018, came into the race with the advantages of an incumbent in name recognition and in the states trend toward Democrats in recent election cycles.
The calamity in Washington that is buffeting Joe Biden  and by extension, McAuliffe  is not a patch on the one that would take out Richard Nixon and threaten Godwin. They are alike in that both disheartened the grassroots: Democrats fretting over Bidens stalled program, Republicans fuming that Nixon was a criminal-in-chief.

These external events energized the opposition, instilling in those out of power a sense that Virginia, a state slow to change, could suddenly do so.

In 1973, the vehicle for such ambition was Henry Howell Jr., a peppery liberal Democrat who ran as an independent, in part, to put some distance between himself and a national party that had moved even further left, nominating the previous year for president a disastrous South Dakota dove, George McGovern.

Howell, in his second go for governor, was running  as he did in his first in 1969 and in his last in 1977  as a man of the people. He promised to rein in the corporacy that ruled Virginia government as if it were a wholly owned subsidiary. One of Howells signature proposals: ending the sales tax on groceries.
Jessica D. Aber, a federal prosecutor based in Richmond, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Tuesday as the new U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, one of the premier districts in the country.

Aber, an assistant U.S. attorney since 2009, has handled financial fraud, violent crime and child exploitation cases and has been the deputy chief of the criminal division for the office since 2016. From 2015 to 2016, she served on a detail assignment as counsel to the assistant attorney general for the criminal division of the Department of Justice.

She is a 2003 graduate of the University of Richmond and a 2006 graduate of the William & Mary School of Law. Before joining the Department of Justice, Aber was an associate at McGuireWoods LLP from 2007 to 2008 and was a law clerk for then-Magistrate Judge Hannah Lauck from 2006 to 2007.

The Eastern District of Virginia stretches from Northern Virginia through Richmond and central Virginia to the Tidewater region and serves roughly 6 million people. Because of the many military, government and high-tech facilities located there, it is one of the preeminent districts among the 93 districts in the country.
Worker misclassification involves falsely identifying workers as independent contractors to avoid paying taxes on the workers and avoid costs of covering employees with workers compensation and unemployment insurance, according to the attorney generals office, and has been consistently shown to drive down the wages of other workers.

The Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters, covering Virginia, five other states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, has alleged that about 60 workers in drywall and other interior construction in the new General Assembly Building have been misclassified as independent contractors and subject to wage theft by being denied overtime pay.

Members of the carpenters union regularly hold a banner outside the General Assembly Building construction site to draw attention to the problem. Actions could have been taken in the General Assembly to prevent this, Mahoney said.
Honoring VCU's DePillars

by name and by deed

Editor, Times-Dispatch:

It warmed my heart to read the recent news story that Virginia Commonwealth University has renamed its fine-arts building at West Broad and Shafer streets for the late Dr. Murry DePillars. Not only a great artist, DePillars was a humanitarian who courageously defended the historic Oregon Hill neighborhood from encroachment by VCU when he was dean of the VCU School of the Arts for nearly two decades.

DePillars served as VCU's representative on the state Art and Architectural Review Board, which reviews master plans of state institutions. On Nov. 2, 1990, the AARB considered the new 1990 master plan, already approved by the VCU Board of Visitors, that would have encroached further into Oregon Hill. DePillars' valiant position in defense of Oregon Hill was pivotal in the AARB's rejection of VCU's master plan.
A career prosecutor with experience in Washington D.C. and across Western Virginia has been appointed the regions new U.S. Attorney.

Chris Kavanaugh was confirmed by the Senate on Tuesday, according to a statement issued by Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine.

He will head prosecutions in the Western District of Virginia, which is headquartered in Roanoke and stretches from the Lynchburg area to far Southwest Virginia and north to Winchester.

We were deeply impressed by their exceptional backgrounds, the Democratic senators said of Kavanaugh and Jessica Aber, who was appointed U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Kavanaugh most recently was an assistant U.S. Attorney in Charlottesville while on duty in Washington D.C., where he served as senior counsel to the U.S. deputy attorney general.

A member of the U.S. Attorneys office since 2014, Kavanaugh has practiced before every judge in the Western District, Warner and Kaine said. Before then, he was an assistant federal prosecutor for seven years in Washington, D.C.
Judge Mike Fleenor, who also was new to the case, said that Helms did not have to worry about being forgotten. But the judge said that he also would remember what happened to Harriet Shank Allen, a retired nurse who lived in the same Harris-Cannaday section of Floyd County as Helms did when he was growing up. In June 1992, Allens body was found on the ground outside her home.

Though that was a very long time ago, thats the reason he is where he is, Fleenor said.

Helms, who was arrested soon after Allens death, gave investigators several accounts of what happened, including completely denying involvement and saying that a masked man forced him to take part in the crime, then had him walk over the mans tracks to remove signs of the mans presence.

In 1996, after several years of mental health care and court hearings, Helms received a not guilty by reason of insanity verdict and settled into a long residency at Western State Hospital in Staunton.

At Tuesdays hearing, Helms said that he had followed the rules to a T and met all obligations, and arrived at a place in his treatment where he had been allowed to leave the hospital for 22 overnight stays at a residential mental health support facility in Central Virginia.
Those few extra hours during the remainder of the semester will allow teachers more time to plan, conduct one-on-one student remediation, contact parents and take care of whatever other instructional efforts need addressing, Stegall said. It also allows them time to receive COVID-19 booster shots, she added.

School board Chairman Jason Moretz said he received nothing but positive feedback from the teachers he spoke to about the schedule changes. Board member David Wymer said teachers he spoke to treasured the added planning time above all else.

Those two hours will be spent benefitting the children, Wymer said.

To address a shortage of substitute teachers, the school board also temporarily increased substitute teacher pay for the remainder of the 2021-22 school year. All votes Tuesday were made among a four-person school board, with member David Linden absent.

The board also heard from staff about learning loss that has occurred as a complication of the coronavirus. Comparing standardized test results from 2019 and 2021, staff noted some decreased scores in reading, among other subjects, especially for elementary students.
Hollins University will begin offering tuition-free education to young women in the Roanoke region selected for a special program.

The Hope Scholar Program, which stands for Hollins Opportunity for Promise through Education, exists to alleviate the hardship of affording private college tuition for students with financial need, officials said.

If you thought attending Hollins University was out of reach, weve got great news for you, the university said on its website.

In choosing participants, the university will give preference to applicants from families with household adjusted gross income of $50,000 or less, said Ashley Browning, vice president of enrollment management. It is taking applications through Jan. 1 from interested women enrolled at a Virginia high school who live within 40 miles of the Hollins campus. Those selected will begin class in fall 2022.

Tuition at Hollins is currently $39,360 a year. However, all students can receive financial aid of at least $24,000, more if academically strong. The Hope program, as a last dollar scholarship program, will pay the remainder of the tuition bill left after financial aid, reducing the students tuition cost to zero. Hollins plans to contribute its own endowment money to make it all possible, Browning said.
One of the exciting aspects of HOPE is its anticipated role as a catalyst for growing the workforce talent pool locally. Currently, about 12% of Hollins student body hails from the greater Roanoke Valley, and many graduates choose to remain here after earning their degrees. A vibrant network of over 1,200 Hollins alumnae/i currently live in the area and they make invaluable contributions to our quality of life, whether through business, the visual and performing arts, the sciences, or our schools.

As I reflect on this powerful, life-changing opportunity, I am reminded of my favorite essay Only Connect: The Goals of a Liberal Education by the historian William Cronon. More than anything else, Cronon said, Being an educated person means being able to see connections that allow one to make sense of the world and act within it in creative ways. In his conclusion, which I believe to be the most compelling part of his essay, Cronon noted, Liberal education nurtures human freedom in the service of human community, which is to say that in the end it celebrates love. Whether we speak of our schools or our universities or ourselves, I hope we will hold fast to this as our constant practice, in the full depth and richness of its many meanings: Only connect.
RE: Don't vote for Democrats (Sept. 25 letter):

Trump did not give energy independence, the Keystone pipeline was not for the benefit of the USA as most think. China's trade cheating is the same as the USA's trade cheating that costs American farmers and manufacturing a bunch. He blamed, European Union for unfair trade practice. The Southern border was not under control just because he stopped people from crossing by leaving them in Mexico to die. They were coming with or without Trump. They want a better life. The countries they come from have no economy, food or jobs. Immigration is what this country was built on. It is the foundation of this country.

Who cares if Trump was nominated for the NPP. He didn't earn a nomination, yet he got it. So no one cares about it. You can't claim peace in countries there was no war. The Abraham Accords normalized relations between Israel and three Arab states...Trump hailed it as bringing an end to blood in the [Middle East] sand, although two of the countries...have never fired a shot at Israel.
Home News Can Scientists Train Machines to Listen for Marine Ecosystem Health?

September 2021

What if we could detect a problem within a marine ecosystem just like a doctor can detect a heart murmur using a stethoscope? Listening to the heart and hearing the murmur tells the doctor there may be a more serious underlying condition that should be addressed before it gets worse. In an ocean world where things like climate change and overfishing have the ability to drastically alter the functionality of entire ecosystems, having a stethoscope to detect signs of major issues could really come in handy to marine resource managers. Thats where sound monitoring, artificial intelligence, and machine learning come in.

Since 2018, NOAA and the U.S. Navy have engaged in a multi-year effort to monitor underwater sound within the National Marine Sanctuary System. The agencies worked with numerous scientific partners to study sound within seven national marine sanctuaries and one marine national monument on the U.S. east and west coasts and in the Pacific Islands region. As the first coordinated monitoring effort of its kind for the National Marine Sanctuary System, SanctSound was designed to provide standardized acoustic data collection to document how much sound is present within these protected areas as well as potential impacts of unnatural noises to the areas marine taxa and habitats.

U.S. map showing the seven national marine sanctuaries and one marine national monument where sound is being recorded through SanctSound.

SanctSound project scientists published a paper in Frontiers in Marine Science that showcases what theyve learned so far, and how that relates to the information needed for managing national marine sanctuaries. They show that some of the basic techniques for measuring and comparing sound characteristics recorded in different geographic locations are complicated to interpret, especially at the scale of this project.

The analysis incorporated efforts of the projects many collaborators to identify sound signals of interest from large collections of data (datasets) at each sanctuary location. Then, researchers described the unique combination of sounds at each site that make up the soundscape, and made comparisons across sanctuaries. The methods used in this study laid the groundwork to be able to more robustly test emerging automated approaches in the future, including artificial intelligence and machine learning, to characterize soundscapes, their dominant features, and changing conditions. A review of these methods highlights how this expanding field of science will advance the application of soundscape research in national marine sanctuaries and beyond.

Using Automated Methods to Characterize Soundscapes

This project will gather over 300 terabytes (TB) of data over its three years of listening. For context, 1 TB gives you the option of storing roughly: 250,000 photos taken with a 12 megapixel camera, 250 movies, or 500 hours of HD video. Three hundred TB is a lot of data to store and process in a way that gives meaningful information about the health of the underwater environments that people care about. When working with massive datasets such as this, using automated approaches will be an important advance in producing faster and more insightful soundscape interpretations across vast networks of underwater sound recorders (hydrophones).

Researchers collect acoustic data using underwater sound recorders, like this one maintained by divers in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Photo: FWC At deeper locations, like this one in Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, researchers deploy underwater sound recorders attached to an anchor and release system over the side of research vessels. Photo: NOAA

The application of artificial intelligence, including machine learning, accelerates the analysis of large volumes of data, while greatly reducing cost. Put simply, artificial intelligence is when machines carry out tasks in a way that humans would consider smart. Machine learning is one particular application of artificial intelligence that involves giving machines access to large sets of data and either training them to learn (supervised), or letting them learn on their own (unsupervised). In the context of SanctSound, the broader idea is that it may be possible to teach machines to know which sounds are part of the usual chorus of a particular marine ecosystem, and which ones are anomalies (outside of the norm). Detecting these anomalies with this smart stethoscope can alert marine resource managers that there may be a problem within an ecosystem if something isnt done about it soon.

This project is a great example of the power of artificial intelligence to transform our understanding of the marine environment, said Gregory Dusek, senior scientist with the National Ocean Service and chair of the NOAA AI Executive Committee. The amount of acoustic data collected is so vast, that without artificial intelligence, a thorough manual analysis would be nearly impossible.

SanctSound points us towards the types of advancements in quality and timeliness afforded by artificial intelligence approaches, said Jordan Watson, acting deputy director for NOAAs Center for Artificial Intelligence. Furthermore, it serves as an example of the key role that cooperative partnerships play in optimizing resources, effort, and impact."

What Have We Learned So Far?

The team of researchers collaborating on this analysis used standardized tools to summarize sound levels across recording locations. They also used automated tools to identify sound features of interest that were shared across datasets, including invertebrate snapping sounds common to warmer water reefs, whale and dolphin calls made by a wide-range of species, the sounds made by wind, waves, rain, and storms, and sounds introduced by vessels and other human activities. More hands-on efforts further identified sounds unique to individual sanctuaries, including local fish populations. All of these sound-based descriptions were then pooled together to describe the dominant drivers of the underwater soundscape in each place, and, based on those core characteristics, which places across the sanctuary system were more similar vs. more different from each other.

Megan McKenna analyzes SanctSound data from her office at Stanford University. Photo: Mehr Kumar/Stanford University.

This analysis showed that initial methods for comparing soundscapes dont always tell the whole story. For example, places can have higher levels of sound (loudness) at similar frequencies (tones), but for very different reasons, said Megan McKenna, an acoustic biologist at Stanford University and the papers lead author. Understanding these differences is key to advancing soundscape analysis for marine sanctuaries and beyond.

Listen below to sounds recorded at Olympic Coast, Stellwagen Bank, and Grays Reef national marine sanctuaries. These sites all have higher levels of sound when summarized over the same frequencies and time periods of recording. However, the broader suite of measurements made from these data sets show that sound levels in the mouth of Puget Sound in Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary off the coast of Washington state are driven by tidal flow across the hydrophone at that location, while levels at Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary off the coast of Massachusetts are driven by vessels coming and going from the Port of Boston, and levels at Grays Reef National Marine Sanctuary off the coast of Georgia are driven by marine animals, including chorusing fish and snapping shrimp.

Listen to underwater sounds at Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary. Credit: NOAA Listen to underwater sounds at Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Credit: NOAA Listen to underwater sounds at Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary. Credit: NOAA

U.S. map showing the seven national marine sanctuaries and one marine national monument where sound is being recorded through SanctSound. Inset maps of Olympic Coast, Stellwagen Bank and Grays Reef national marine sanctuaries showing recording locations, shipping lanes, and other drivers of sound levels at these locations. Image: NOAA.

So far, SanctSound has completed a deep dive into the patterns of sound at each recording location. The broader goal of this comprehensive analysis, however, is to advance future methods that are more sustainable. The paper explains that using these higher resolution results as a training and ground-truthing dataset, we can now ask whether machine learning and other artificial intelligence approaches could return signals of interest more efficiently. Can computers search through years of data from widely dispersed recording locations and characterize the same dominant features identified by human researchers? Where and when the projects work identified shifts in these dominant features or the occurrence of rare events, can these new approaches find the same changes and anomalies? Where there are gaps in using a particular artificial intelligence approach, can we develop a unique combination of approaches that can help us answer a suite of research questions?

By making the data from this project publicly available, we are hoping to leverage the community of big data specialists to continue to apply new techniques to underwater recordings in order to increase the utility of sound as a marine resource management tool for sanctuaries and beyond. Such proliferations of public, artificial intelligence-ready data sets are critical to NOAA and broader efforts to maximize innovations and efficiencies from artificial intelligence.

Leila Hatch is a marine ecologist at Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary and co-lead of the SanctSound project

Rachel Plunkett is the writer/editor for NOAAs Office of National Marine Sanctuaries
" " Ice volcanoes, such as the one seen "erupting" here along the shores of Lake Michigan, are created when a wave forces water out of a hole in the ice, causing it to run down like lava and freeze. Deb Perry/Getty Images

Ice does all kinds of weird things on the Great Lakes: It forms perfect balls on the shore and piles up in heaving ice tsunamis when winds on the lake are violent in winter. But maybe the most exciting of the Great Lakes ice spectacles are the ice volcanoes.

Ice volcanoes are not, of course, real volcanoes belching magma from the bowels of the planet  it's impossible for Earth volcanoes to spew ice, though other planets and moons in our solar system have cryovolcanoes, which erupt frozen liquid like ammonia and water. No, these earthly ice volcanoes have three ingredients: water, freezing temperatures (so that the water will freeze after it erupts out of the holes) and choppy waters. It's kind of a treat to get to see them, if only because it can remind you of how lucky you are to be able to go home to some nice warm blankies and a cup of tea.

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Ice volcanoes form when it's really cold outside  at least 32 degrees F (0 degrees C), or even "several degrees below freezing," according to researchers at Michigan Tech University, and cold enough to form a sheet of ice along the edge of the water. High winds out on the water create waves that break through the bottom of this shore-hugging ice, causing water and slush to squirt up onto the surface of it. From here, a little mound of ice forms around this hole, and grows each time more water shoots up through it. In this way the ice forms a cone around the hole, similar to that of a volcano.

Of course, conditions have to be just perfect for ice volcanoes to form, and they don't stay around forever. For starters, it has to be very cold  cold enough for ice to form along the shore, which doesn't always happen  but also it must stay cold around the clock so the ice cone doesn't melt. Finally, the winds out on bodies of water such as the Great Lakes need to be whipping up waves forceful enough to shoot water up through the hole in the ice shelf. Ice volcanoes have been seen along the northern shores of Lake Superior and Lake Erie, too, and can presumably form on any body of water where the same conditions occur.

When ice volcanoes happen, they're a sight to behold. But please don't climb on them  they're hollow and thus not as sturdy as the surrounding ice. And once you fall into an ice volcano, it's hard to get you back out.

Now That's Interesting The collective ice on Earth is called the "cryosphere."
FLORENCE, S.C.  Jermaine Ford might have found his permanent home.

Ford was appointed president of Florence-Darlington Technical College in August. He began working on Monday, just in time for a Tuesday meeting of the colleges governing commission.

After the meeting, he told the Morning News that he applied for the position because he felt like the community was similar to his hometown in Illinois  he estimated his hometown had three or five traffic lights  and to the community served by Southern Louisiana Technical College, where he served as vice president of workforce and economic development.

For me, it was like coming home, Ford said. Although, I didnt grow up here, it was like coming home.

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He said that when he interviewed with the commission, he and his wife didnt leave right afterward. They stayed for another day to see the people and learn about the community.

My wife said, Dear, this feels like home, Ford said. I said yes it does. Happy wife, happy life.

Fords love for the region apparently was similar to the love the colleges governing commission had for him. Ford was unanimously appointed by the colleges governing commission in August.
 Wooden it be remarkable if the Constitution again has something to say about applying ACCA? | Main | "Speeding While Black: Black Motorists Face More-Serious Charges for Excessive Speeding than White Motorists Do" 

October 5, 2021

Missouri completes execution of inmate who claimed to be intellectually disabled

As reported in this NBC News piece, "Missouri on Tuesday executed Ernest Johnson, despite claims by his attorney and death penalty opponents that he had an intellectual disability and killing him violated the Constitution." Here is more:

Johnson, 61, who was convicted in the murders of three convenience store employees almost three decades ago, was executed by lethal injection at a state prison in Bonne Terre. He was pronounced dead at 6:11 p.m. local time, a spokeswoman for the state department of corrections said. Pope Francis, two members of Congress and former Democratic governor Bob Holden were among those who spoke out against the execution. On Monday Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican, denied Johnson clemency and said the state would carry out the execution. The U.S. Supreme Court denied an application for a stay of execution Tuesday. In a filing to the high court Tuesday, Johnson's legal team reiterated IQ tests have indicated he had the intellectual capacity of a child and wrote that there would be "no tangible harm" if his execution was delayed while questions over whether lower courts had "constitutionally considered" his disability were further explored.

As revealed in this SCOTUS order, no Justices dissented from the denial of a stay and denial of cert before the execution.

October 5, 2021 at 09:08 PM | Permalink

Comments

There were dissents in the earlier case on the means of execution.

https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf/20-287_8mjp.pdf

Posted by: Joe | Oct 5, 2021 9:46:25 PM

Yep, but October seems different May when those were filed. If states want to move forward with executions, it seems like this current set of Justices will not be eager to get in way.

Posted by: Doug B. | Oct 5, 2021 10:48:44 PM

The current majority wasn't very interested in getting in the way then either. The main difference is the lack of a dissent.



Posted by: Joe | Oct 5, 2021 11:23:02 PM

Oh no, Breyer, Sotomayor, or Kagan didn't dissent. Well, it's clearly their fault this guy's dead then. Not, you know, the bloodthirsty reactionaries who ordered or refused to halt the execution.

Posted by: kotodama | Oct 6, 2021 10:19:10 AM

What the story omits is that the potential to claim an intellectual disability has been around for years (at least as long as Johnson was raising the method of execution claim). He filed a motion to recall the mandate on his direct appeal with the Missouri Supreme Court in 2015 raising the issue, but waited until June to file a separate state habeas petition (which was denied in August). Given that he could have filed the state habeas six years ago and have been pursuing federal review on that claim for the last six years, it does not seem unreasonable for the courts to decline to delay his execution due to his own decision to delay pursuing this claim.

Posted by: tmm | Oct 6, 2021 10:32:15 AM

The story is not a complete legal analysis of his case.

It spells out the basics of what happened, including him being executed even though an intellectual disability claim was made and so forth.

It does state that the lawyers "reiterated" something. That might be interpreted to mean that they ... well the word suggests they said it before.

I don't know all the procedural choices that were made & the lawyers (or others) probably can at least partially justify the choices made based on the openings left open by the current appellate process. [See, e.g., the application for stay of execution.]

Given the state of the law, I understand the final result here, though my idiosyncratic belief is that before the U.S. Supreme Court gives the final okay to execute someone that a brief discussion on the final legal judgments is warranted with a dissent often appropriate as well. That's an aside on my part.

Anyway, I might say it was not "unreasonable" to do such and such & still think before you execute someone, a bit more should be said. I realize the narrow nature of the comment but then the article is also not meant to be a complete legal analysis of the situation either.

Posted by: Joe | Oct 6, 2021 11:04:19 AM

I'll cop to not following all the procedural niceties, but whatever his lawyers did or didn't do still in no way absolves the main bad actors herethe bloodthirsty reactionaries.

Posted by: kotodama | Oct 6, 2021 11:07:23 AM

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SAC CITY, Iowa -- A Lytton, Iowa, man charged with stabbing another man faces a 10-year prison sentence after entering a plea.

David Littlefield, 58, entered a written Alford plea Tuesday in Sac County District Court to one count of willful injury. In an Alford plea, a defendant does not admit guilt, and the judge will enter a guilty plea into the record.

According to court documents, Littlefield entered a plea agreement in which he will be sentenced to 10 years in prison. A charge of attempted murder will be dismissed.

Littlefield was charged with stabbing Luke Clark six times with a knife on Jan. 23, 2020. The stabbing is believed to have occurred in the front yard of a home in the 600 block of Railway Street in Lytton. After he was stabbed, Clark walked several blocks to the Essentia Protein Solutions plant, where he was employed, to seek help.

Clark identified Littlefield as his attacker when questioned by authorities, who found Littlefield at his home in the 200 block of Oak Street in Lytton a short time later. Littlefield told investigators that Clark had attacked him and he couldn't remember what had happened.

Bloody clothing and a knife were recovered from Littlefield's house.

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SIOUX CITY -- A Sioux City man was sentenced Wednesday to 20 years in prison for shooting arrows at police during a standoff.

Mitchell Smith, 47, pleaded guilty Sept. 3 in Woodbury County District Court to intimidation with a dangerous weapon and two counts of assault on a peace officer. As part of a plea agreement, a charge of attempted murder was dismissed.

District Judge Jeffrey Neary ordered the sentences for each count to run consecutively, or one after another, for the 20-year term.

Officers were called to a home in the 1800 block of Rustin Street on Dec. 1 for a disturbance in which Smith reportedly had threatened a neighbor's wife.

After a brief encounter with Smith, two officers were in the street preparing to leave when Smith walked around his house with a bow and arrow and fired an arrow over the head of one of the officers. The two drove about a block away and pulled over when Smith fired a second arrow, which hit the roof of a house near them.

Other officers were dispatched to the scene and attempted to make contact with Smith, who fired a third arrow that struck the roof of a house. An hour later, he shot a fourth arrow, which fell in the street.

Police eventually took custody of Smith after subduing him with nonlethal munitions and chemical agents and transported him to MercyOne Siouxland Medical Center for medical treatment and evaluation.

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A 29-year-old Omaha man faces decades in prison for enticing children, thanks to the quick thinking of his child victims, a childs father and the resourcefulness of a fugitive unit that tracked him down in Central America.

Adam Hawhee, 29, pleaded no contest Tuesday to seven felonies, including child enticement and possession of child pornography. Douglas County District Judge J Russell Derr will sentence Hawhee in December. He faces up to 88 years in prison.

Hawhee also pleaded no contest to failure to appear for a pretrial hearing in March when he fled to Nicaragua. After posting $135,000 bail, Hawhee became the rare Douglas County defendant who not only skips town but flees the country. Police tracked down Hawhee in Nicaragua in April and returned him to Omaha in May.

Prosecutors and Hawhee reached a plea agreement after he was originally charged with two counts of child enticement and 26 counts of possession of child pornography.

In March 2020, Hawhee tried to entice two 7-year-old girls at an Omaha park near 84th Avenue and Decatur streets. He told one girl that he liked her lips and that she was cute and took photos of the girls. Police went to Hawhees home with a search warrant, seized electronic devices and found over 100 images of child pornography, including some involving children as young as toddlers.

Hawhee bonded out. Then in July 2020, Hawhee tried to coax a boy to his vehicle near Cottonwood Elementary School. The boy told police that he ran home after the man exposed his genitals.

The boys father followed the vehicle, and investigators went to Hawhees home and arrested him.

All told, his bail was set at $135,000. He posted it  and then fled to Nicaragua. Upon his return, Derr set what was believed to be the highest bail in Douglas County history: $50 million.

The victims and their parents did a really good job of alerting police, Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine said. We had a very good case. Now, the two 7-year-olds wont have to testify, and we still got a conviction on those charges.

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Gov. Pete Ricketts was among 10 Republican governors who joined Texas Gov. Greg Abbott near the border with Mexico on Wednesday to call upon President Joe Biden to take action to secure the border and end what Ricketts described as "this humanitarian and security crisis."

Mass migration into the United States is spreading "health hazards across our country," the governor said during a news conference in Mission, Texas, raising the possibility that thousands of COVID-positive people have entered the country illegally.

The Biden administration needs to "properly resource the border" with U.S. Border Patrol personnel and National Guard troops, Ricketts said.

The president "thinks he can ignore" this crisis, the governor said.

"We are here to shine a light," he said, and force action to "help us stem this mass migration crisis."

The Nebraska National Guard is scheduled to deploy units from Grand Island and Columbus this month to help provide assistance at the border.

The deployment could last up to a year, Maj. Scott Ingalsbe, spokesperson for the Guard, said previously.

A total of about 150 guardsmen from the 1-376th Aviation Battalion, based in Grand Island, and the 128th Engineer Battalion, based in Columbus, will deploy at the direction of the federal government, according to Ingalsbe. They're replacing units from other states that have been deployed there, he said.

The federal government will pay for the deployment, Ingalsbe said.

The Nebraska State Patrol deployed 25 troopers to the Texas-Mexico border earlier this summer, in response to a joint request from Texas and Arizona. Public records obtained by the Omaha World-Herald revealed the state would be on the hook for the costs of the deployment, which Gov. Pete Ricketts and State Patrol officials estimated at $500,000.

Joining Abbott and Ricketts at the border on Wednesday were Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, Idaho Gov. Brad Little, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon.

Meanwhile, in Washington, Republican Sen. Deb Fischer joined 37 of her Senate colleagues in sending a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas demanding answers on the agency's response to a surge of Haitian migrants in Del Rio, Texas.

"While we applaud the administration's original stated intent to expel the majority of migrants (or) to expeditiously remove them, we are concerned that DHS did not actually carry out this plan (and) undermined the deterrent effect of any future statements that the Biden administration will enforce our immigration laws at the border," they wrote.

Reach the writer at 402-473-7248 or dwalton@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSdon

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SIOUX CITY -- Sioux City Republican Jim Carlin hinted Tuesday he may step down from the state Senate before the new legislative session begins in January to concentrate full time on his U.S. Senate campaign.

In an interview on Simon Conway's radio talk show in Des Moines, Carlin seemed to rule out running for re-election and even raised the possibility of exiting a full year before his four-year term expires in Jan. 1, 2023.

Carlin, 58, launched a long-shot bid for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in March, pitting him against Republican incumbent Sen. Chuck Grassley, who announced last month he will seek an eighth term.

During Tuesday's interview, titled "Jim Carlin seeks to dislodge Grassley," Conway asked Carlin about how the ongoing redistricting of the state's legislative boundaries would effect his Senate district.

"Either way Im not going to be there," Carlin said, according to a transcript of the interview. "This is it for me. This is my last year.

"Im considering maybe not being there in January because, as you know the (U.S. Senate) campaign requires a lot of travel-wise and I just want to be able to make sure that Im able to do an adequate job serving in the Senate and campaigning for this U.S. Senate seat. So Id say its about a 50-50 right now for me."

"So you might resign the seat ahead of January and force a special election?" Conway responded.

"Thats a possibility," Carlin replied.

A U.S. Army veteran and Massachusetts native, Carlin has practiced law in Sioux City since 1992. He was served to his first term in the Iowa House in 2016, but served just one year in that chamber before running in a special Senate election in December 1997 to fill a vacancy created after state Sen. Bill Anderson resigned to take an economic development position in Cherokee. Carlin defeated Democrat Todd Wendt in that special election.

In 2018, Carlin won his first four-year term, beating Democrat David Dawson, 65 percent to 35 percent in Senate District 7. The district covers northern and central portions of Woodbury County, including Sioux City's Morningside neighborhoods, and the city of Sergeant Bluff, and the western two-thirds of Plymouth County, including the county seat of Le Mars.

Grassley, 88, the longest-serving Republican in the Senate, would turn 95 by the end of his next six-year term, if re-elected. Grassley, who has held elective office continuously since 1959, when he was first elected to the Iowa House, has served in the Senate since 1981.

Iowa's Republican establishment quickly backed Grassley's re-election bid. So far, Carlin is the only other announced GOP candidate for the June 2022 primary.

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DES MOINES -- Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said Wednesday she came away with a new insight into troubling immigration and security issues after touring the Texas-Mexico border and she wishes President Joe Biden would do the same in addressing what she termed a self-inflicted crisis.

It gave me a better understanding of what theyre dealing with and why it really is important that, if this president doesnt act, then were all going to have to step up and do something about it, Reynolds told Iowa reporters in a teleconference from McAllen, Texas, where she viewed the issues firsthand by boat with Texas authorities on the Rio Grande.

Reynolds was among a group of GOP governors who released a 10-point plan at a news conference in Mission, Texas, that they said the Democratic Biden administration could enact immediately to curb unauthorized immigration, protect America, restore security and put the country on a path to end the humanitarian and security crisis at the southern border.

For the past eight months of Joe Bidens presidency, weve witnessed an uncontrolled southern border due to this administrations policies, said Republican Governors Association Chair Doug Ducey, the governor of Arizona. Republican governors have answered the call in the absence of leadership and lack of resources from the federal government, but urgent federal action is needed as the impact of the surges in unaccompanied children, deadly drugs, and criminals is being felt in states throughout the country.

The plan they released sought continued public health restrictions, reinstated migrant protection protocols, an end to catch and release, resumed deportation of all criminals, more federal law enforcement officer deployments, beefed-up efforts to eradicate human trafficking and drug trafficking and restoration of Trump-era agreements to be a deterrent.

Reynolds noted that Biden has yet to respond to a September letter from 26 GOP governors requesting a meeting on border and immigration issues. But in the meantime, she said, trafficking of methamphetamines and fentanyl along interstates 35 and 80 with Iowa at the hub bring the crisis to every state.

Its real. Its impacting states. Its not staying at the border, she told reporters.

Democrats accused Reynolds of traveling over 1,200 miles from Des Moines to participate in a lame political stunt that amounted to a taxpayer-funded Republican field trip.

Lets call Gov. Reynolds trip to the border what it is: nothing more than a political stunt and a distraction from her failed leadership, said Iowa Democratic Party Chair Ross Wilburn, a state representative from Ames.

Gov. Reynolds had the opportunity to offer humanitarian help and honor Iowas proud tradition of welcoming those seeking a better life, but she chose to say it was not our problem, said Wilburn. Republicans have spent years systematically dismantling our immigration system, and President Biden is working to fix the damage they left behind. While Gov. Reynolds plays political games, Democrats at every level will continue to fight for a better life for every working family in Iowa.

Democratic National Committee spokesperson Adonna Biel said the governors are the same ones who stood idly by as Donald Trump spent four years destroying our immigration system and spreading vile, xenophobic rhetoric and said the event was just to further their own political aspirations.

Reynolds bristled when asked her reaction to her Texas visit being a political stunt, saying those critics are missing the point and not looking at the data.

If you think this is a political stunt, then people better wake up, the Iowa governor told reporters. No, its not a political stunt. This is the real thing. Biden owns this. This is a self-inflicted crisis.

Both Iowa GOP U.S. senators came to Reynolds aid Wednesday, with Joni Ernst calling the dire situation a humanitarian crisis of epic proportion with no sign of improving as U.S. Customs and Border Protection projects over 2.3 million individuals will attempt to enter the country this year.

Folks, these numbers are staggering, the Red Oak Republican told Iowa reporters, noting that border enforcement officers are overwhelmed and the Biden administration is woefully unprepared to handle it.

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, defended Reynolds Texas trip to join other GOP governors to highlight concerns, telling reporters because the federal government's not doing its job, there is cost to all 50 states. There's no way I could quantify it, but also when they're having 60 percent of their workforce, in a sense babysitting or maybe not just with babies but with adults and everything, then they don't have enough to stop drugs from coming into the country. And you know, the problems we have with drugs in Iowa and the other 49 states.

However, members of the Iowa Democratic Partys Latinx Caucus expressed concern that Wednesdays event projected an unwelcoming image of Iowa.

Were calling on the governor to honor Iowas proud history of being a state that welcomes those seeking a home, said Iowa Democratic Party Latinx Caucus leaders Araceli Goode and Patricia Ritchie in a joint statement. No matter who you are, what you look like, or how you got here, were all Iowans at the end of the day and we should embrace a road map to citizenship for our friends and neighbors.

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It is a metaphor for what is occurring at seemingly all levels of our country and culture. The United States Postal Service (USPS) has announced it will slow service for first-class mail and periodicals while temporarily increasing prices on all commercial and retail domestic packages  because of the holidays. Its probably good the announcement did not come through the mail, or it might have been delayed.

How much of a delay will depend on our ZIP codes, which sounds a little discriminatory. A map developed by The Washington Post allows you to enter your ZIP code and you are then informed how many additional days you can expect to wait for your bills, ads, catalogues and personal letters, assuming anyone but maybe grandma writes letters these days.

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy displayed a gift for the obvious when he said, The Postal Services problems are serious, but he is optimistic they can be solved. He said he has a ten-year plan, which sounds a bit like the old Soviet and Chinese centralized planning systems, which failed.

Part of the problem has been the huge amount of money USPS sets aside for pensions and other benefits for postal employees. DeJoy thinks one way to save money is for retirees to be allowed to switch to Medicare, a program that is already living on borrowed financial time and expected to run out of money in the not-too-distant future.

What a difference a few decades make. I remember receiving letters from my parents as a kid in camp with a three-cent stamp on them. They were promptly delivered. In the days leading up to Christmas, we received a morning and afternoon delivery. The Post Office, as it was then known, united the nation and opened the world (some kids had pen pals in other countries) before there were internet and Facebook friends, most of whom we dont know.

Going to the mailbox and seeing what was in it was a daily adventure. You would raise a red flag on the side of the box to let the mailman know you had something to send. If you peered into the mail car on a train, you would see many bags and know they were on the way to their intended destination in a timely fashion.

DeJoy says air carriers have become unreliable in delivering the mail and he wants to rely more on ground services. It worked for the Pony Express!

The Postal Reorganization Act of 1970 states: The Postal Service shall have as its basic function the obligation to provide postal services to bind the Nation together through the personal, educational, literary, and business correspondence of the people. It shall provide prompt, reliable, and efficient services to patrons in all areas and shall render postal services to all communities.

Then there is the unofficial, but familiar motto of the postal service: Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.

The law and the motto will have to be updated to reflect the new delays. Perhaps its time to figure out a replacement for the U.S. Postal Service and let it become a completely private business.

If only we could resurrect the original postmaster, Benjamin Franklin, who created a system that was affordable and fast for his day. Franklin would likely be appalled at what we have today. He might even recommend stamping it out and starting over.

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In Episode 5 of Impeachment: American Crime Story, the legal net of special prosecutor Ken Starrs investigation is beginning to close around Monica Lewinsky and Linda Tripp, as what was once a personal shared secret starts to become public property and the two women find themselves buffeted by powerful interests who are trying to discredit them or amplify them. They are both increasingly reduced to mere pawns in the legal game with very little agency, both facing the very real prospect of criminal prosecution. We look at whats fact and whats fiction.

Monica Went on a Date With Jake Tapper?

Lewinsky goes to a buzzy D.C. bar shortly before her departure for New York, where a fresh-faced Jake Tapper, having spotted her across the room, strikes up a conversation. They hit it off and the drinks extend into dinner. However, because shes leaving, they decide not to take it further.

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This apparently is completely true, although their meeting was not quite as random as depicted in the episode. According to an article he wrote for the Washington City Paper in 1998, the future CNN Washington correspondent was not at the bar looking for a pickup but was attending a going-away party for his friends Joe and Danielle. When he needed an extra quarter to secure the pool table, he approached a group of women. Monica not only gave him the quarter he needed but three more for good measure. Ignoring the usual coy mating rituals, Monica felt free to actually be nice, Tapper recalled.

Tappers friend Joe warned him off, saying Lewinsky was bad news, that she had left the White House because she had kept wandering into the Oval Office and inappropriately striking up conversations with the commander in chief. But Danielle gave Tapper Lewinskys number. He used it, and the pair went on one date before Starrs investigators moved in and she had bigger things to think about. But on that date, Tapper speculates, she still thought she would evade the gathering storm. She didnt strike me as a classic climberjust a woman looking for a decent, challenging job and a happy life to go with it, Tapper said. She struck me as cheerful, open, a bit too much a resident of Planet Hap-Hap-Happy in my acerbic view.

Whitewater Convictions

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Starrs team of lawyers reluctantly conclude that after four years, nothing has emerged from their investigation of the collapse of the Whitewater development (an Arkansas real estate scheme the Clintons had invested in that went south) that could provide enough evidence to justify a charge of impeachment. It looks like the investigation is over. Trying to rally his team, Starr refutes charges that it was a politically motivated fishing expedition, pointing out that he secured 12 convictions of Clinton associates, although none has flipped and incriminated the president as yet.

This is largely true. In fact, 15 people were ultimately convicted as a result of the Whitewater investigation (not all related to Whitewater itself), but none of them provided any evidence that the Clintons had engaged in financial misconduct.

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Shortly before Clinton was elected governor, he and Hillary Clinton made an investment with their friends Jim and Susan McDougal to purchase 230 acres of land in the Ozarks for development. However, purchasers for the potential vacation homes failed to materialize, and the venture, aka Whitewater, failed, costing the Clintons a reported $46,000.

Two years after Clinton lost his reelection bid in 1980, Jim McDougal bought a small savings and loan association, Madison Guaranty. After a federal fraud investigation of another failed real estate venture that involved Madison, McDougal resigned from the S & L, which subsequently collapsed. In the course of this investigation, a Republican-appointed Little Rock judge named David Hale alleged Clinton had pressured him into making a loan for Whitewater. Documents emerged that seemed to suggest Madison had paid off Clintons campaign debts.

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When documents relating to Madison were subpoenaed, the Clintons reported the records as missing. However, when the documents were eventually found, the records cleared the Clintons of any wrongdoing. Even so, Starr refused to let it go, alleging that as governor Clinton had pressured Hale to make an illegal $300,000 federally backed loan to Susan McDougal, which Hale claimed had been used in part to shore up Whitewater. But the wind was taken out of the prosecutors sails after Hale was convicted of numerous felonies.

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Those convicted of fraud included Jim Guy Tucker, Clintons successor as Arkansas governor; Webster Hubbell, a law partner of Hillarys; and the McDougals. Jim McDougal received a three-and-a-half year sentence and died in a federal prison in 1998. In August 1996, Susan McDougal was sentenced to two years in prison in connection with obtaining an illegal loan for the Whitewater venture; in September of that year, she was jailed for 18 months for contempt of court and obstruction when she refused to testify in front of Starrs grand jury, contending that the prosecutors only wanted damaging testimony against Bill and Hillary Clinton.

Linda Gets Immunity

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Linda Tripp starts to panic after her lawyer advises her that in Maryland (where shes a resident), secretly taping calls without the other partys consent is a felony. If the tapes are introduced as evidence in the Jones trial, Tripp could go to jail. He advises her to tell Clintons lawyer about the tapes so the Clinton camp will have an incentive to settle and the illegality need never come to light.

Lucianne Goldberg, however, has other plans. If Clinton doesnt testify in front of the Starr grand jury, the conservatives plan to get him committing perjury on the record is scuppered. Goldberg advises Tripp to give the tapes to Starr, who can then grant her immunity from prosecution. Having led Paula Jones lawyers to believe she would be turning the tapes of Monica Lewinskys confidences over to them, Tripp suddenly gives the tapes to the Starr team instead.

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This also is broadly true. Two weeks after the Jones team served subpoenas on Tripp, Lewinsky, and Clinton, Tripp turned over the tapes to Starr. According to the Washington Post, this deal was indeed brokered by Goldberg, who told Tripp that if she ever had to testify in the Jones case and describe what she knew about the affair between Clinton and Lewinsky  Clinton and Lewinsky would deny it and she would be caught in a perjury trap,  Tripp later said. Goldberg threw the Jones lawyers a bone in the form of enough information to ask embarrassing questions of Clinton, whose evasive answers Starr was able to use as evidence of perjurya poor substitute for hard evidence, but something.

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Goldberg was an acquaintance of a lawyer in the Chicago office of Starrs law firm, who said in an interview that he had done no legal work on the Jones case, but he was friends with several lawyers who had, including George T. Conway III. Conway, now better known as Kellyanne Conways husband, had been working behind the scenes to help the Jones case, writing a 1994 op-ed piece for the Los Angeles Times arguing against presidential immunity from a civil suit.

Goldberg also got Tripp a new lawyer, James Moody, who was in favor of turning the tapes over to Starr. After Starr subpoenaed the Tripp tapes, he got permission to expand his investigative remit from Whitewater to Clintons relationship with Lewinsky.

Parting Gifts

Lewinsky pays Bill Clinton a final visit in the Oval Office. He gives her some bon voyage presents for her new life in New York: a stuffed black dog and a bag from a Marthas Vineyard shop called the Black Dog, a carving of a bear, a rug, a decorative brooch, and chocolates.

This actually happened, but the gifts also included some joke sunglasses, which for some reason did not make it into the final script.
Ahead of a historic meeting of 230 Catholic leaders and laypeople in Germany last week, Renardo Schlegelmilch, an editor for the countrys largest Catholic radio station, tried to reassure anxious conservatives and dampen the hopes of the churchs aspiring reformers. Big ideas up for debategay marriage, female ordination, married priestshad sparked speculation that the German Catholic Church was about to go rogue.

So, will Germany actually abolish celibacy and ordain women priests? No, of course not, he wrote on Sept. 17 in the National Catholic Reporter. And nobody who follows the process thinks that.  Some say Germany must lead the way to a progressive churchand do it on its own if it comes to the worst. Nevertheless, for the most part, these are not the opinions that will garner a majority.

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To be honest, Im pessimistic here, he added. The factions have their rock-solid opinions.  Anything they will be able to agree on will be a compromise that will sound soothing to everyone involved but wont change anything in the long run.

After the meeting, Schlegelmilch admitted he may have underestimated just how eager his fellow Catholics were to disrupt the status quo. I wrote that all the fears that theres going to be a schism, that people are trying to fundamentally change the church, didnt really have roots in reality, he said in an interview on Monday. But this week, we saw that from the 200 delegates, there were only 25 to 30 who voted against these ideasideas like letting the people of the diocese elect the bishop.

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The assembly was part of something called the Synodal Path, a bottom-up, multiyear process for examining the problems in the countrys church. For three days, participants sat in nonhierarchical, alphabetical order to discuss 13 proposed documents. The forum last week was one of five dealing with hot-button topics: power structures, sexual morality, the modern priesthood, and the role of women in the church. The German bishops promised the public that the whole affair would end with a series of binding votes.

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None of those votes has happened yet. But so far, the tone of the discussionand the votes to allow certain proposals to move to the next stageindicated more openness to radical change than many observers expected. The most surprising moment came when a slim majority voted to discuss, as one critical conservative publication put it, the question of whether the priesthood is needed at all.

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To many conservative Catholics, the German situation is proof of the danger of Pope Francis liberalizing pontificate, and the logical end to his reform efforts: a takeover by the radical progressives who are so dismissive of tradition and doctrine that they would excise from the church the elements most key to its identity. For many progressives, this experimental processand the wave of similar such processes about to start in churches around the worldis their great hope for saving a deeply damaged institution.

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In 2018, the Catholic Church in Germany published an explosive report that detailed thousands of cases of abuse and cover-ups over decades. In a country where Catholicism still exerts profound influence over culture and society, the news hit particularly hard. (The report was one of the worst from Europe at that time; on Tuesday, a major investigation into the French church found clergy in that country had sexually abused some 330,000 children over the past 70 years.) Criticism soon coalesced around the handling of allegations in the diocese in Cologne, in particular.

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It was this crisis that pushed the German bishops to launch the Synodal Path, seizing upon the popes official embrace of the concept of churchwide debate. (Money also comes into play: In Germany, Catholics pay a mandatory church tax, making the church wealthy enough to put resources into structures such as these.) According to David Gibson, the director of the Center on Religion and Culture at Fordham University, the German church is acting at an unusually good time for disaffected Catholics to speak out. That fortress Catholicism that John Paul II promoted only brought scandal and defections, Gibson said. So this is a really risky strategy, but one worth taking.

Despite making this spirit of open and free discussion a signature emphasis of his pontificate, Francis has long been rumored to privately bemoan how things were unfolding in Germany. (Francis has recently curbed some of this speculation: I wouldnt get too tragic, Francis said in a Sept. 1 interview in which he acknowledged that he found the Germans style troubling. There is no ill will in many bishops with whom I spoke.) In 2019, Francis wrote a letter to German Catholics congratulating them on their courage but warning them against allowing politics to take over the process. When you allow Catholics to get together and debate things openlythats not how the Catholic Church likes to run things, said Gibson, who also said that Francis knows and accepts the risks. Its going to be a rough ride. When theres such pent-up frustration in the church for so long, theres a danger to allowing these frustrations to be vented.

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In March, in a move perceived as a warning to the boundary-pushing German church, the pope decreed that Catholic clergy could not bless same-sex marriages. Two months later, more than a hundred Catholic churches in the country responded in a coordinated protest by blessing gay couples, often in front of cameras. According to Schlegelmilch, American Catholics likely wouldnt understand how out-of-step German Catholics feel with Rome on this issue. In every town Ive been to this year, theres been rainbow flags flying above the churches, he said. An international uproar ensued; conservative commentators in the U.S. declared that the Germans were already in schism with the church. (The term schism is often thrown around as a kind of boogeyman, Gibson said, but the historical resonance of Martin Luther and the Reformation gives that warning a real edge for international observers.)

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The impatience with Francis grew worse with his handling of the abuse crisis in Cologne. In late September, just a few days before the start of the assembly, the Vatican announced that it would allow the archbishop of Cologne, accused of mishandling the abuse crisis, to return to his position after a sabbatical. To clear the air before the start of the assembly, the bishops allotted an hour for the laypeople to discussand express their anger overthe decision, even while the archbishop was in the room.

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The Catholic Church in Germany is still in a tough position. If the Synodal Path plays it too safe, gay Catholics, abuse victims, and the young people crucial to the churchs future will give up hope on finding a place there. If they act too boldly, they will risk going toe-to-toe with the Vatican and throwing the global church into further crisis.

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As Schlegelmilch sees it, there are three options, none of which will change the church enough to appease the most disillusioned faithful. One possibility is the progressives win the votes, but the Vatican and the local conservative bishops wont implement the changes, making it a lot of time, money, spent on nothing. Another option is the conservatives win the votes, shutting down all changes, with a similar outcome. But he believes the most likely outcome is that the assembled Germans find a compromise that wont change much. It waits to be seen if its possible to find, through consensus, reforms dramatic enough to deflate some of the worst anger but not dramatic enough to spook the Vatican with threats of schism.

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Many disenchanted Germans have already steeled themselves for a resurgence of the status quo. Recommendations that only deal with local matters likely wont raise any eyebrows; those that challenge the structural rules of the church (married priests) or actual doctrine (gay marriages or female priests) would need to be forwarded on as an official request to the Vatican, which could simply shut things down. So unless the Germans want to break off and form their own church (they do not), they are facing the limitations to working within a monarchical system.

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And theres an opposition within Germany as well. Some German bishops are afraid it would lead the church to heresy in Germany, said Thomas Rausch, a professor emeritus of Catholic theology at Loyola Marymount University. Conservative critics there have expressed fears that the participants were going to abuse the sex abuse crisis to push for the most radical possible proposals. And even those who support reforms balk at the more controversial measures. According to Schlegelmilch, shortly after the vote to discuss the priesthood, the conference president gave a press conference reframing it as an opportunity to positively recall the reasoning once again why and where the position of the priestly ministry is in the midst of Gods people.

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But many others remain hopeful, in part because leaders in the church took the time to listen to controversial opinions and bold ideas for reformsomething few Catholics feel accustomed to. The conference president, Bishop Georg Batzing of Limburg, wrapped the weeks proceedings with a note of optimism. Texts have been debated that are not just texts but dreams put into words of how we want to change the church in Germany: a church that is participatory, gender-just, and walking this path with the people of God, he said.

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Katharina Westerhorstmann, a professor of theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville who participated in the synodal process, seemed to recognize the conflicting thoughts many walked away with: a sense that things were spinning just a little out of control, but an appreciation for a church trying, genuinely, to do something new. She expressed trepidation about moving too far too quickly without proper deliberationbut even then, she said she was still open to being convinced. In church history there have always been times when we had to make strong decisions, she said. And if the time has come to have massive changes, I will be open to follow, of course. But I want to be convinced its actually the Lord calling us.
One day this summer, Maggie Dewane received an unexpected compliment: An intern at the Washington think tank where she works told her that she had tall person energy.

The two had never met in person. Like many white-collar workers, they were doing their jobs remotely and had only interacted in the Brady Bunchstyle grids of videoconferencing. Dewane, who is 5-foot-4, was frankly thrilled that someone thought she seemed like a tall person. I was just so taken aback, Dewane said.

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Tall person energy, also sometimes called tall Zoom energy, has been a topic of conversation in recent months as co-workers who first got to know one another through screens have gradually been meeting in person. If you havent had this experience yet, you probably will soon: Employees are continuing to trickle back into their IRL workplaces, albeit slower than initially expected this fall. And when they get there, theyre making the sometimes-awkward discovery that the disembodied heads they got used to chatting with belong to three-dimensional peoplepeople who stand at a wide variety of heights.

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Soolgi Hong, a 25-year-old communications professional in Washington, started her current job in October 2020, when her firm was operating fully remotely. So it was a huge deal when she finally met a co-worker, someone senior to her at the company, in person on a flight from Los Angeles a few months ago. The meeting was made all the more dramatic when Hong, who is 5-foot-3, realized that her colleague was shorter than her.

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Hong asked her co-worker to fill her in on everyone elses height: I was like, I cant be surprised like this again. 

Im short, so I just kind of expect everyone to be taller than me, she said. I think at some level, you expect people who are higher up than you in the company to be taller than you too.

Hong ended up asking her co-worker to fill her in on everyone elses height. I was like, I cant be surprised like this again. We had our five-hour flight back to D.C. together, so we could really run through the list of everyone.

There are a few ways these in-person meetings can go. The best-case scenario is that if you tell your co-workers that you thought they had tall Zoom energy, they will be flattered.

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Editor Joanna Nelius, for example, is 4-foot-11, and she loves when people tell her she seems taller on screen. Usually Ill follow up with an Oh my God, thank you!  she said, because to me, it means I have confidence or I come across in an authoritative way, but not being a jerk about it.

For Hong, it lands somewhere in the middle. I do think that height definitelythe halo effect helps you seem more put together and more confident and more in charge, she said. But its weirdly a compliment but also a slight dig. Its a backhanded compliment in a way, because your height shouldnt matter at all, but then youre weirdly comforted that people think youre taller.

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And then telling someone that he or she seemed tall might just emphasize that they are, in fact, not: The other side of that is Hey, youre shorter than I thought you were,  said Nicholas Rule, a psychology professor at the University of Toronto. Its two sides of the same coin. Im not sure how I would feel about that. Are you suggesting Im some kind of Napoleon? I have a bigger personality than my body? Im outsized for who I really am?

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If you go by some research Rule conducted, the concept of tall Zoom energy may be a bit of a white lie much of the time. He did a study a few years ago where he showed participants photos of peoples faces and asked them to guess the heights of the people in the photos. We found a really high correspondence between peoples ability to tell how tall the people actually were, he said. The judgments are within an inch. This is just from a black-and-white picture of someones face. It was pretty incredible.

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I decided to talk to one of my new co-workers, podcast producer Davis Land, about this, because he started at Slate during the pandemic, works remotely from Houston, and has never met anyone on his team in person. He said it had occasionally come up in meetings:  We all have no idea how tall Davis is,  a co-worker might say.

I perceive most people to be about my height, he told me. When I look at all of the Zoom boxes and I have my video on, all of us are the same height basically.

As an informal experiment, I asked some of the people Land works with most closely to guess his height. Hes 5-foot-11, for the record, and everyone I asked was pretty close. My co-workers seemed to bear out Rules findings.

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Still, Land said that the topic was a little uncomfortable: Having somebody guess your height and then hearing them say something that is totally out of the park, you confront the reality that other peoples mental models of yourself are not who you actually are, he said. Theres an uncanniness there.

Rule, the professor, said that many of peoples beliefs about height seem to be baked into human nature.

If [people] see someone whos tall, they regard them as being higher in status. And if they see someone that they regard as being higher in status, they assume that theyre tall, he said.

And indeed, it can be hard to fight evolutionary psychology. For example, when Albert Eiffes, a 6-foot-4, 38-year-old project manager in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, went into his office one day earlier this year, he found it hard to focus on anything but the height of one of his co-workers.

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This co-worker, I had never met him in person, he said. Mentally, he was my height. And then I get there and meet him for the first time in person. Hes a shorter man, which is completely irrelevant to what we do at workit has nothing to do with anything in the workplace or in a professional settingbut it just didnt click.

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There were so many lizard-brain things that didnt work with that, he continued. Im like, Wait. But hes in a higher position than me in the job. I felt really silly about it. This is a person who I really had been getting along with very well and still do and who I work with every day. I could not get the primordial parts to shut up. We were trying to talk about a multimillion-dollar project, and I cant get over But he doesnt look like he looks! 

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People can be weird about you being shorter than they thought, but they can also be weird about you being taller. Kate Lane, a 46-year-old user experience designer in Providence, Rhode Island, runs fiction writing groups in her spare time. When one of the groups got together in person recently, Lane, who is 5-foot-9, noticed that some of the men seemed unpleasantly surprised by her height. The vibe changes, she said. Theres a little bit of intimidation that creeps in. She said that some men brought it up multiple times throughout the get-together.

I find it a little tiresome to have these men who I know pretty wellfor them to get hung up on this, its a little disappointing. This makes no difference. And now you have some sort of issue, and your insecurity is showing, and I have to deal with it?

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Lane said that she preferred conducting the writing group remotely in part to avoid such distractions. Our writing group has definitely benefited from Zoom, she said. I think thats why were still going strong. Its an energy thing too. The bigger guys will just dominate the room sometimes when were all in there together.

Nelius, the under-5-foot editor, said she has also liked having her height be less of a factor in her work. Its been really nice over Zoom not to have the first thing that somebody says to me is Wow, youre so short,  she said. In journalism, I think having that tall physical presence when youre interviewing somebody or youre at a protest or something, subconsciously that lends to more credibility. Some people dont take shorter people very seriously.

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On the other end of the height spectrum, very tall people have also been able to benefit from being able to stand out less on Zoom.

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I have actually loved the freedom to just be seated and presented as my authentic self and just engaging without having to deal with preconceived notions about what I might be like just because of my height, said Kacy Karlen, the head of global communications for a large company in Boston, who is 6-foot-3. Its almost like getting to go undercover.

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Karlen got a new boss during the pandemic, and when we spoke, she said they were planning to meet in person for the first time soon, which made Karlen feel like she should prepare her boss. I found myself reflexively explaining, By the way, when we meet up, I just want to let you know, Im really, really tall,  she said.

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Of course, there are times when tall people also miss the subtle advantages their height affords them.

Laura DeWitt, a 39-year-old teacher in New York who is 5-foot-10, said she went through the whole 202021 school year without meeting her students. In terms of the height, sometimes it felt like a silly little secret, particularly in terms of connecting with the kids, she said. I think that because they didnt have the perception of me physically in the room as a tall person, I think some of them related to me differently than they might have otherwise. For me, it was kind of a little smile to myself, like, Oh, when you see me in person you wont run your mouth like that. 
From the headlines of several news agencies, youd think China was on the verge of war with Taiwan. U.S. News: Brazen China Steadily Ramps Up Warplane Flights in Taiwans Airspace. Yahoo News: China Flies 52 Military Planes Into Taiwanese Airspace in Largest Incursion Ever. NPR (during a similar spate of flights this summer): China Sends a Record 28 Military Planes Into Airspace Controlled by Taiwan.

If China really had done this, it would constitute a gross violation of international law and, possibly, the fanning of war flames.

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But in fact, all of the reports are false.

What the Chinese planes crossed was Taiwans air defense identification zone, or ADIZ, and the distinction is not a mere technicality; it is enormous, and all the partiesU.S., Chinese, and Taiwanese military officialsknow it, whatever scare tactics they might be tossing up to a frazzled public.

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Some papers were more careful with their prose. The New York Times, for instance, noted that China probed the airspace near Taiwan (italics added), but even its reporters declared the probe as increasingly unabashed signaling that [China] wants to absorb the self-ruled island and will not rule out military means to do so. Maybe so, but unabashed signaling and will not rule out (as opposed to perhaps signaling and might not rule out)?

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Airspace is a concept of international law, referring to a line 12 nautical miles (about 13.8 statutory miles) beyond a nations border. An ADIZ is an areausually much farther out from the borderswithin which a nation declares it has the authority to identify, track, and control foreign aircraft approaching its territory. Roughly 20 nations have established an ADIZ, and they define its scope differently. The U.S. zone extends 200 miles beyond its borders. Taiwans covers all of the Taiwan Strait, part of the East China Sea, and a section of mainland Chinas Fujian and Zhejiang provinces. No one would claim that the sky above those provinces is Taiwanese airspace.

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Furthermore, the Chinese airplanes crossing into Taiwans ADIZ did not approach Taiwanese territory. Rather, they crossed into the southwestern section of the zoneaway from Taiwan itself. M. Taylor Fravel, an expert on Chinas military and the director of MITs Security Studies Program, said in a phone conversation Tuesday, These planes are never on a vector to intrude into Taiwans airspace.

All this said, one point of an ADIZ is to enhance a nations defensesto give its leaders a bit more time to warn a foreign aircraft that its about to enter that airspace. And Chinas flights within the ADIZ are unprecedented in scope and nature. It flew 38 planes over the zone on Friday, 39 planes on Saturday, and 56 planes on Sundayin each case, a lot more planes than Chinas flown in that zone before. Whenever some of these planes include combat planes, the Taiwanese air force sends up its own jet fighters to warn them away. In most previous cases, the Chinese have sent mainly reconnaissance planes. This week, though, the vast majority of the planes were jet fighters, bombers, and anti-submarine aircrafts. In short, Chinas behavior seems more strenuous and aggressive.

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But whats happening is more complicated than that. John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, a private research firm, said in an email on Tuesday, It is worth mentioning that the [Chinese air force] maneuvers are not simply random bullying. He pointed to an article in Mondays issue of Stars and Stripes, the U.S. militarys independent newspaper, that reported:

Three aircraft carrierstwo American and one Britishwere among an armada of 17 warships from six countries that trained together over the weekend in the Philippine Sea.  The training, which included air defense, anti-submarine warfare, tactical maneuvers and communication drills, continued through Sunday.

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The armada was training for a possible war in the Pacific against China. So the Chinese maneuvers might have been a response to the vast concentration of American and allied military powers. And possibly to U.S. President Joe Bidens recent announcement to share nuclear submarine technology with Australia. Or possibly to Taiwans application to join a Pacific trade pact. Then again, all of those steps were galvanized by Chinas growing ambitionand sometimes aggressionin the region, which in turn was prompted by  and the thread of fears, resentments, moves, and countermoves unspools deep into History. That, of course, is the problem with these spirals of escalation: Each ratcheting up strikes the instigator as reasonable and the object as a grave threat. Wars have started that way.

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Another clue to Chinese motives may lie in the date when its flights beganFriday, Oct. 1, China National Day, which is often invoked as a rallying cry for the unification of China, meaning the incorporation of Taiwan under the mainlands Communist government.

The myriad strands of U.S.-China military tensions all wend back to the status of Taiwan, the tiny democratic republic 100 miles off Chinas eastern coast. Washington has long had an ambiguous relationship with Taiwan (which calls itself the Republic of China). The U.S. government recognizes the mainland (the Peoples Republic of China) as the one China, but it also provides arms to Taiwan and suggestsbut doesnt guarantee through any treatythat U.S. armed forces would come to the island-nations defense if Beijing attacked.

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It may be no coincidence that China stepped up its military flights over Taiwans ADIZ in early 2020, when then-President Donald Trump veered away from the one China policy, sending a high-level delegation, including an undersecretary of state, to Taiwan as well as boosting arms deliveries. Biden has stepped away from Trumps unambiguous embrace of Taiwan, but not as thoroughly as Beijing would like.

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MITs Fravel estimates that, since that trip, Chinese planes have flown over Taiwans zone around 20 days each month. They have also flown over Japans ADIZ with some regularity. In this sense, as in many others, Beijing is an equal-opportunity exploiter of rivals openings.

However, Fravel emphasizes, these planes have never flown over Taiwans actual airspace. Chinese President Xi Jinping and his generals may be haughty, but they dont appear to be reckless.

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The flights should also be viewed in the context of Chinas broader military strategy, which most analysts see as a strategy of area denial. This means keeping adversarieschiefly U.S. air and naval forcesas far away from China as possible. One way the Chinese military has done this is expanding the number and range of missiles and other devices (including cybertechnologies) that can attack U.S. warships and combat planes within firing range of its borders. Another way is building artificial islands out in the South China Sea, turning them into military bases, and claiming sovereign rights over the new lands so that they are no longer part of international waters. The United States has challenged this claim, sending warships on patrol nearby and insisting that these areas are open to international commerce and navigation. If war ever breaks out between the U.S. and China, it might begin with one of these challenges, or a Chinese counterchallenge.

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This leads back to the main question on the table: Are the Chinese flying over Taiwans ADIZ as a demonstration of their offensive military mightor as a defensive move, a warning that the United States should keep away from Chinese shores? Ultimately, though, is there a difference? As the old saw has it, the only defensive weapon is a foxhole. China might want to keep the U.S. away from its shores in order to invadeor, more likely, intimidate and pressureTaiwan. (An invasion may be unnecessary. See, for instance, Hong Kong.) Or it could merely be that China wants to be the dominant force in Asia, a goal that Xi is on his way to accomplishing through economic and diplomatic means, using his military maneuvers as a fulcrum to neutralize U.S. military power.

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To counter this tactic, the U.S. needs to maintain some military presencehence the three aircraft carriers doing exercises in the region, among many other movesbut it also needs to step up its economic and diplomatic game.

A fitting P.S.: How many Chinese planes flew over Taiwans air defense identification zone on Tuesday, the day after the highest-ever 56 flights on Monday? According to Taiwans Ministry of National Defense, one flightjust one. (There probably wont be many headlines about that.) Was the cause of all the fear and trembling merely a weekend air party? Is it all over now, or will there be another 50 flights tomorrow? The fact is, those 133 Chinese flights over the zone on Friday through Mondayand the single flight on Tuesdaycomprise but a small piece of the grand competition, and not a very important one at that.
Way back in 2018, Ed Yong wrote a piece for the Atlantic that seems prescient now. It was called Is America Ready for a Global Pandemic? The answer to that question was no. Three years and a pandemic later, Yong has published a new story titled Is America Prepared for the Pandemic After COVID-19? And you can probably guess his answer to that question: still no. Yong points to two major problems with the U.S. pandemic response: that Americans have thought about this pandemic mostly as an individual problem, not as a community one; and that the government has focused too much on drugs and vaccines and not enough on the social causes of disease. On Wednesdays episode of What Next, I spoke to Yong about whats missing from Americas pandemic preparedness plan. Our conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.

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Ed Yong: America, probably more so than other countries, really hews towards technological fixes for social problems. The idea is that we are going to find the new tool, the shiny new object that is going to save us. And in this case, it tends to be vaccines or drugs. And thats so ingrained that it almost sounds absurd to question it. Like, of course its a disease. Of course youre going to want to treat it with drugs. Of course youre going to want to vaccinate against it. What else are you going to do?

Well, I think actually the what else is very clear if you look at the history of infectious diseases. If you look at the 19th century, a lot of thinkers then were very clear that epidemics occur and are strongly influenced by social conditions like poverty, like inequality, substandard housing, bad sanitation, and these create the conditions in which epidemics spread easily, and they explain why some communities are badly hit and others arent. And if you want to address the problems of epidemics, you need to fix these underlying societal weaknesses.

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Vaccines are completely useless unless you can get vaccinations.  Ed Yong

That perspective fell away in the late 19th and early 20th century because of germ theory, because we understood for the first time that diseases were the work of microbes, and that gave scientists targets, it gave them villains to focus on. And because of that, this idea of the social consequence causes of disease completely fell by the wayside. Instead, researchers got to think of diseases solely as battles between individuals and pathogens, and that again reflects how we think about COVID today. I mean, look at everything from the last year. The Biden administration has absolutely gone in an almost entirely vaccine-only strategy. It has pitted vaccines against things like masks and testing. All of those things should be part of a unified, multilayered approach.

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They might say there are limited resources, so weve chosen to focus on vaccination because we know its the most effective of all of these possible interventions. What would you say to that?

I would say it is theoretically the most effectivefor an individual, absolutely. If you pick one thing that gives a person the best chance of resisting this new virus, then yeah, get them vaccinated. But two things in that: The delta variant is transmissible enough that you cant just rely on vaccinations alone to safeguard a society. You need to layer it with other protections. And also, vaccines are fantastic and almost miraculous in how effective they are. But vaccines are completely useless unless you can get vaccinations.

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The U.S. has plateaued very early and at a quite low level of vaccinations compared to other countries that have widespread access. Consider that deaths from COVID per capita in the U.S., after all adults became eligible, are higher than deaths per capita in a hundred-plus other countries before vaccines were ever available. That should alarm us. That should really make us think about what happens when you deploy very, very good medical interventions on a society where millions of people cant access health care, where public health has been allowed to rot away for over a century, and where there are gross inequities in who gets to make choices that protect their own health.

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You say people in public health have noticed the U.S. has cycles of panic and neglect. When theres a national health crisis, a spigot of funding and public concern opens up. But then, at the first hint that were on the other side of that crisis, the spigot shuts off, leaders move on. There was a dramatic example of this in the summer, when President Biden declared the pandemic all but over on July 4. This was just before the delta variant walloped much of the country.

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If you really just go in on one countermeasure, youre very vulnerable when either you cant get enough compliance, so vaccination rates arent high, or if you start getting variants in the future that really start eroding into the protection that vaccines afford. People have been saying since late last year that we needed layered strategies that complement each other. That didnt stop being true this year, but we kind of acted as if it was true. And to me, that reflects this very strong bias towards biomedical interventions.

There are a couple of roadblocks I see. One is that so much of our public health infrastructure is shouldered by the states. You look at a state like Florida, where when it comes to testing for COVID, theyve significantly ramped back their reporting and theyve kind of made a unilateral decision on that. It doesnt feel like theres much that the federal government can do when youre relying on an individual state like that thats going to go its own way.

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The other thing is that in some of these interventions, theres this optimism. Like with the masks, you talk about how the Biden administration basically said you can rip your mask off if youre vaccinated, and it created this sense that masks werent as important anymore. But that was also meant to be a kind of incentive for people to get vaccinated. There was an intention behind it. And so I could sort of see why they made that decision. I guess what Im trying to say is these things are pretty complicated.

I agree that its complicated, so I think actually were sort of in alignment here. Both of these things are examples of the bigger problem that Im talking about, this panic-neglect cycle. So the idea of scaling back on state-level data in Florida, for example, is a classic example of this. Things start getting better and then you pull back on the same measures that would have protected you in the first place. Same thing with the masking rollback, right? The minute things start improving, we already slalom headfirst into the neglect phase and we erode some of the measures that actually would protect us the next time round.

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Is it hard for the federal government to do very much when states are opposing them? Yes, and that is part of the problem. I will point out that Rochelle Walensky at the CDC did specifically say that their change in in guidance was not, in fact, an attempt to incentivize people to get vaccines. So lets just take that as given. Even if thats not the case, it is still trading off vaccines against masks, two of our best possible interventions in this pandemic. And its a move that is relevant to our discussions about the social causes of disease because it was a move that privileged people who had easiest and earliest access to vaccines, the least vulnerable in our society, while also creating conditions that disadvantaged people who had a harder time.

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If you look at people who are unvaccinated, they are disproportionately likely to live in rural areas. They are disproportionately likely to have food insecurity, to have eviction risk, to work in grocery stores and agricultural settings, people who are in a more vulnerable state. And those are the people who public health should be centering always. The core of public health is equity. That is what the field should be thinking of at all times. And that is the thing that is often lost. It is often seen as a sidebar to prevention rather than its central mission.

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The Biden administration recently released a plan for pandemic preparedness, asking Congress for $65 billion over the next 10 years. But even that is still well below what public health experts say they need.

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One thing that a few people mentioned to me was that that $65 billion, two-thirds of it is going into vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics, which again seems so eminently reasonable given the way we think about pandemics and what it means to be prepared for them. But I would argue, as would several of the public health folks Ive spoken to, that that is insufficient. That is the wrong skew, given everything weve learned so far.

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One of the experts you spoke to said this is a welfare scheme for university scientists and big organizations, and its not going to trickle down to the people at the individual public health level. I thought that was a really interesting way to frame it: This is bolstering people who want to make a vaccine real fast, but then the people who have to get the vaccine into arms potentially, like, where are those guys?

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Absolutely. It is almost unbelievable to me for anyone to look at what has happened over the last two years and think the solution to this is make vaccines faster. That just feels like people are stuck in this very old, deep-rooted way of thinking about the problem and not actually looking at what has happened. Do we honestly think that getting vaccines faster would have fixed things for America, especially given that so many people said that the rapid development of the vaccine was a reason for them to doubt that safety had been properly considered, that the right checks and balances were in place? Fast development was actually a reason for vaccine hesitation in a lot of people. 

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Lets give full credit to the vaccine development process. This was the one area in which Americas response completely exceeded expectations. And I dont mean to undersell the vaccine development process, but what I want to do is to reframe how important that is as part of this bigger picture of preparedness. So the interesting thing about the Biden administrations moves is that it has pandemic preparedness stuff that isnt billed as such.

What do you mean by that?

So the American Rescue Plan, in my view and in the view of several of the public health people I spoke to, is a pandemic preparedness bill. Its just that almost everyone would not talk about it in that way.

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People so badly want to return to normal without grappling with the fact that normal led to this.  Ed Yong

Why not?

Because it has some stuff that is directly relevant to pandemics or seemingly is directly relevant to pandemics. It has provisions for strengthening the public health infrastructure, which are much needed, but it also includes things like child tax credits. It includes things that have been estimated to lift millions of people out of poverty this year. And my argument is that that is crucial to pandemic preparedness, whether you think about it in that way or not, and you should do. It is the case that if you make large groups of people less socially vulnerable, they will be better able to resist a new spreading virus. And that means thinking of preparedness not just in terms of vaccines or drugs, but also in terms of things like paid sick leave, in terms of food assistance, in terms of safe, decent housing for people. It involves thinking about things like decarceration in our prison system, universal health care.

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So now youre getting into social welfare stuff, where I think some people would begin to feel uncomfortable, and its where we hit this impasse. Joe Manchin, senator of West Virginia, says he wants to prevent us from living in an entitlement state, which to me means looking at those social welfare programs and saying we dont need all of that.

A lot of America already lives in an entitlement state. A lot of America lives very privileged lives that affords them the ability to look after themselves and their health in the event of a pandemic, and frankly are blissfully oblivious about the centuries of social discrimination that allowed them to be able to do so, expanding that ability to care for yourself and to care for your community in the event of a new disease. Saying that is entitlement, when you yourself have benefited from the fruits of centuries of institutional privilege, is frankly absurd, and its looking at that problem in the wrong way.

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Its not politically expedient to do the right thing here, especially for someone like Biden, whos been in Washington such a long time. It requires saying out loud, Me and my colleagues have been fleecing the public health system for decades at this point, and we need to get it back to a healthy baseline. And its much easier to say Republicans did this wrong or Trump did it wrong or lets just go back to quote-unquote normal, the way it was a few years back. I wonder if you think that political problem gets in the way here.

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I do, and I think that is a problem for all of us beyond just policymakers. To really think about why we have been dealt such a heavy blow by COVID requires much more than pointing at, say, Trump or any one actor or any one party or any specific group of people. It requires actually grappling with a century-plus of racism, of classism, of terrible policies, of a normal state that we have all collectively internalized and agreed to accept and that we are all complicit in. People so badly want to return to normal without grappling with the fact that normal led to this. The world that we built was a world of intense inequality and therefore a world that was intensely vulnerable to a new pandemic. And if we just revert back to that world, we are going to be in the same situation. And look, I know its really hard to think about this stuff. It keeps me up at night. I dont love thinking about it because it raises some very hard questions about who we are as a society and what we have allowed ourselves to tolerate. To really think about it is like staring straight into the sun. But what choice do we have?

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In recent weeks, Mark Zuckerbergs presence on Facebook has mostly involved him talking about the metaverse and engaging in watersports. But on Tuesday night, the founder and CEO finally addressed the scandal that has engulfed his company over the last month after one of his former employees turned over tens of thousands of unsettling internal documents to the press, federal regulators, and Congress. That whistleblower, Frances Haugen, appeared before the Senate Commerce Committee on Tuesday to speak about revelations that Facebook had conducted research showing that its Instagram subsidiary makes mental health and body image issues worse for some young users, particularly teen girls, and more broadly that its algorithms promote divisive and sensationalist content.

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Haugens grand unifying theory tying together all of the insider information shes released to the public is that Facebook consistently prioritizes profits over its users. Facebooks financial incentives to increase growth and engagement, according to her, are at odds with peoples safety and well-being. Whenever the company comes to such a crossroads, it usually goes down the path that helps its bottom line. I believe Facebooks products harm children, stoke division, and weaken our democracy, Haugen said in her opening statement. The companys leadership knows how to make Facebook and Instagram safer, but wont make the necessary changes, because they have put their astronomical profits before people.

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Zuckerberg took issue with this characterization, arguing in a Facebook post after the hearing that many of Haugens claims dont make sense, and generally pointing to the projects his company has undertaken to improve safety, transparency, and research into its platforms effects on people. He also took aim at Haugens central thesisthat Facebook puts profits before peopleand wrote, The argument that we deliberately push content that makes people angry for profit is deeply illogical.  And I dont know any tech company that sets out to build products that make people angry or depressed.

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This defense is telling, because it sidesteps some of the allegations Haugen is making and speaks to how the Wall Street Journal portrayed his involvement in this scandal in its bombshell series on the leaks. Indeed, while Zuckerberg has generally been quiet on the leaks as part of a reported plan to avoid negative press, he appears to personally have made some crucial decisions over the past few years that have led to these problems bubbling up. Based on the publicly available information, its true that he didnt deliberately try to push harmful content for profit, and he didnt set out to build products that elicit negative emotions. Instead, Haugen and the Journal portray him as someone who often did have good, if self-serving, motives for decisions and initiatives that didnt quite turn out the way he intended. Where he appears to have really done wrong is in repeatedly failing to course-correct when there was evidence that his platforms were harming people, out of fear that it would depress user engagement and growth. Its a sin not of action, but rather inaction.

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Perhaps the best example of this dynamic has to do with Zuckerbergs move in 2018 to reorient Facebook around content from friends and family rather than professional publishers or political parties. His decision was mainly in response to the controversies that Facebook had weathered after the 2016 election, such as the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Zuckerbergs ostensible goal was to cut down on divisive politics and news content and promote meaningful social interactions among close ones. The Journal reports that another reason for the change seems to be that Facebook had been experiencing declines in user engagementthat is, likes and comments and shares on poststhroughout 2017.

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Whatever the case, Facebooks researchers soon realized that this shift was actually deepening divisions. The new algorithmic emphasis on reshares ended up amplifying angry and sensationalizing content. Publishers and European political parties told Facebook that they were seeing negative posts resonate more strongly with users. The companys researchers subsequently recommended some fixes that might counteract this deleterious effect, but Zuckerberg declined to pursue some proposals out of fear that they would adversely affect user engagement. One crucial potential fix was to reduce an aspect of the new algorithm known as downstream MSI, which promoted posts that were likely to receive likes and comments and proliferate on news feeds through reshares. Research indicated that dialing this back could hamper the spread of misinformation, and the change had already been made in Ethiopia and Myanmar, where Facebook was being blamed for inflaming ethnic violence. Zuckerberg opted not to roll out the change more broadly, however.

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When it comes to the Haugen leak that has received the most attention, Facebooks internal research on how Instagram exacerbates mental health issues in teen girls, it also appears that Zuckerberg was aware of the problem but wouldnt do anything meaningful about it. According to the Journal, Zuckerberg viewed a presentation in 2020 based on internal research indicating that Instagram was making body image issues worse for 1 in 3 teen girls. There was also evidence that the platform was promoting unhealthy eating habits and negative social comparisons among young users. Despite seeing this, he told Congress in 2021 that Instagram can have positive mental health benefits when asked about its impacts on young users, and defended the companys move to create an Instagram for kids under 13 (a project that the company recently paused to get more feedback from parents and experts).

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Zuckerberg did approve at least one measure to combat the toxic environment that Instagram creates for many teens, though it was likely ineffective. Facebook and Instagram rolled out a pilot program in 2021 called Project Daisy, which hid like counters on posts on both platforms. A presentation he viewed in 2020 indicated based on testing that this change wouldnt actually improve life for teens, but the Journal reports that senior executives argued to him that it would at least outwardly look good to appear to address the issue. Another fix that researchers did recommend, based on leaked slides from Haugen, was to institute personalized mindfulness breaks that would stop teens from falling down unhealthy rabbit holes of comparing themselves with others. This is the kind of change that would seem to improve well-being, but also literally stop users from engaging. It wasnt until the end of September, after the Journal released its series, that Instagram announced that it would be rolling out these mindfulness breaks. Its unclear, however, whether Zuckerberg was involved in that decision.

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The wrinkle in this story is Zuckerbergs approach to anti-vaccine content. Zuckerberg has traditionally been more aggressive on health misinformation, and he announced in March that he was using his platforms as a tool to get people vaccinated. Facebook partnered with health organizations, pushed out reliable information, and was harsher in moderating posts about the coronavirus. Zuckerberg personally appeared alongside the White Houses chief medical adviser, Anthony Fauci, in public appearances. Still, anti-vaccine activists were able to game Facebooks features. An internal study from the spring indicated that 41 percent of comments on posts related to vaccines were discouraging people from getting vaccinated. The companys measures to demote the anti-vaccine content that its algorithms were promoting were insufficient, partly because its moderation systems werent designed to monitor comments.

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Unlike in other cases, in which Zuckerberg personally chose to act or not act in a way that affected users, his battle with anti-vaccine content speaks more to how the machine he built is to some extent out of his control. Hes responsible insofar as Dr. Frankenstein is responsible for the actions of his creation. Except, as Haugen points out, Zuckerbergs monster has a master switch. As she told Congress on Tuesday, Mark has built an organization that is very metrics-driven. It is intended to be flat. There is no unilateral responsibility. The metrics make the decision. Unfortunately, that itself is a decision. And in the end, if he is the CEO and the chairman of Facebook, he is responsible for those decisions.

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society.
NEW DELHI, INDIA On late Monday evening, 23-year-old Sana Imitiyaz Hussani was, as usual, wearing a salwar suit (traditional Indian attire) with a white apron bearing a pink label that said Sweet Temptations by Sana Imitiyaz. After putting the final touches on cake orders, she pulled out her mobile phone to send a WhatsApp message to the delivery service that would take the treats to her customers. But she couldnt reach the service.

Sana started her home-based bakery business out of Srinagar, the largest city in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, in early 2017, and used Instagram to get the word out. Now, she has more than 11,800 followers and has hired three employees to keep up with orders. But when she couldnt send the message to the delivery service on Monday, she was confused.

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I thought in all probability my internet is not functioning. I connected to a Wi-Fi, it still did not work. I waited for few extra minutes and tried to follow up over again but a similar problem persisted. I tried to switch to my Instagram account but could hardly open it, she told me. (We spoke in Urdu; I have translated her quotes and others in this piece into English.)

Sana switched to Twitter only to read that Facebook and social media apps it ownsincluding WhatsApp and Instagramhad suffered a major global outage and were not working throughout the world. It could have been a crisis for her.

The addresses of my clients were in the Instagram messenger and [I] would have not been able to map out them. The customers too could barely have found me because I do not have a physical shop, She said. The good news was that she had created a way to port her customers cellphone numbers into her own phone. I called them all and went out to deliver the orders on my own.

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But there was another problem. All of her payments come through apps, too. WhatsApp and other social media accounts make transactions a hassle-free experience. It lets business owners and their customers share account details and receive screenshots to confirm that the payments have been submitted.

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Currently, we have a prime season of weddings in Kashmir, and in every function, two to three cakes are required, and a single order ranges anywhere from $24 to $187. Worse, she said, This is a delicate item that can go stale in hours and even a single order being not delivered can cost me an entire days income.

Mondays outage of Facebook services worldwide, which lasted about six hours, hit India especially hard. India is WhatsApps biggest market with 530 million WhatsApp users, according to the Indian government. The country also has 210 million Instagram users and 410 million people on Facebook. This weeks was not the countrys first experience with a WhatsApp blackout: In 2020 alone, four major WhatsApp outages occurred, but they were relatively brief, with the largest one lasting about three hours.

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The recent outage hit small businesses particularly hard. According to the government, India has the third largest startup ecosystem in the world and it expects annual growth of 12-15 percent. Nearly 14 percent of the estimated 50,000 startups are run by women, and the majority of the small businesses, from small towns to big cities, are entirely dependent social media sites to communicate.

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On Monday, people panicked throughout India, said Anil Tiwari, an internet expert based out of Lucknow. Even figuring out what was going on was difficult; he pointed out that only 2.7 percent [of the] population of India are on Twitter. People in small towns were able to turn to SMS messages instead, reducing the harm to small businesses, but in metro cities where businesses majorly run on apps, it created an impact, he told me.

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The fact that the outage began around 8 p.m. in India might seem to have lessened the effectsbut thats not the case. For businesses with a major social media presence, the viewership is high during the night said Manish Mehta, a social media analyst in India.

Neeta Jessani had an experience much like Sanas. The 28-year-old baker runs a home-based business called Monkey Temptation in Chennai. On Monday, she was repeatedly scrolling through her mobile phone in the hope that the app would load so she could dial the delivery boy to pick up an order.

Jessani runs a home-based venture and sells cakes, souffles, and other desserts under the banner Monkey Temptation.

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I was frustrated when the outage happened because once I confirm the order with any client on Instagram afterward the entire route goes through WhatsApp. We send the customer messages that the order has been placed with particular requirements and specifications to be noted and confirmed, she said.

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Jessani has studied interior designing from the prestigious Chennai National School of Design and after working as an Interior designer full time for 8 years she switched to full-time baking in 2020. She thought that the internet and technology would make it easy to follow her dream of a home-based venture.

On average Jessani receives six to seven requests every day, usually in the evening, for events that will take place the next night. But on Monday she received none. On Tuesday she had no work to do and no orders to deliver.

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I had an idea about minor issues that I might have to face when I switched careers, but after the outage, I felt I am sailing in the middle of nowhere with orders to be delivered and queries to be replied for orders to be delivered the next day, Jessani said, I am a one-man army handling this start-up alone and after this the only thing that my mind was mapping [was] food wastage and losses.

Jessani regularly delivers her orders through online delivery apps like Swiggy and Dunzo, which both depend on WhatsApp.

I make sure that I update my clients about the delivery time, who will deliver, and which service I am using to dispatch their order. With this outage, I felt as if life and services came to a  halt, she told me.

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society.
WASHINGTON

(Oct. 05, 2021)As a number of top American companies are promising to train or hire Afghan refugees resettling in the United States, questions remain about providing child-care services to the new workers.The infusion of new talent should help offset nationwide labor shortages, said Krish O'Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Baltimore-based Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services."These refugees are such vital contributors to our economy and workforce," Vignarajah said to CNS. "Just because these people have been persecuted doesn't mean they aren't coming with valuable skills."Maryland is slated to receive 1,348 refugees recently evacuated from Afghanistan, according to government statistics first reported by The Associated Press The odds of those refugees finding work are good: 61 percent of those in Maryland using employment services landed jobs in 2020, according to the Maryland Office for Refugees and Asylees . The state is ranked eleventh in employment outcomes for refugees nationwide.But child care is absolutely going to be essential, said Alan Khazei, senior advisor at Welcome.US, a national coalition to welcome and support the incoming Afghan refugees through employment opportunities.Afghan families are very large, said Freshta Taeb, a board member of the Afghan American Foundation and senior refugee interventionist for Cornerstone family and marriage intervention, a faith-based counseling organization."The biggest help any organization can have when hiring women is going to be the option of childcare," said Taeb, who has been working with Afghan refugees at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey, one of the primary entry points for Afghan refugees coming to the United States.In July, The Economist evaluated countries with the most generous child-care policies, including leave, access, quality and affordability. America ranked number 40 out of 41 countries on the list.Child care is an issue Welcome.US is trying to work on, Khazei said. However, he admitted that providing and funding child care will largely depend on volunteers stepping up and helping out, he said."We haven't had this many refugees arriving all at once since the end of the Vietnam War, so it's a huge challenge," Khazei said.In addition to companies and nonprofits, 16 governors joined Welcome.US, including Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam."Our state is proud to be the fourth state in the nation for the resettlement of SIV recipients," Governor Larry Hogan said during the livestream launch of Welcome.US on Sept. 14. 2018 Migration Policy Institute report revealed early childhood services for young refugee children are a low-priority issue and are often overlooked by both state and federal agencies, policymakers and departments responsible for refugee resettlement and integration.The majority of the $6.3 billion in emergency funds the Biden administration received from Congress to help Afghan refugees will go to the Defense and and State Departments to support processing sites and transportation to and from those sites, Shalanda Young, acting director of the White House's Office of Management and Budget wrote in a blog post.Additional funds will go to health screenings, vaccinations and resettlement resources, Young said. Taeb said she has not seen Afghan refugee families coming to the base with fewer than six, seven or eight children.Many of the women Taeb is seeing and interacting with on the base are pregnant, she said, adding that there have been over a dozen babies born so far at the New Jersey installation.Working married mothers in the United States often reduce work hours, take pay cuts or drop out of the workforce altogether so that they can take care of their children, according to a 2021 study by the U.S. Census bureau,Maryland's refugee office has served 465 newly-arrived eligible Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) applicants as of August 2021. The Special Immigrant Visa program is one of many programs authorizing Afghan refugees to resettle in the United States.As of 2020, a report from Brown University's Watson Institute said, over 18,000 Afghan applicants had received American government visas, along with over 45,000 of their immediate family members, and had immigrated to the United States.Applicants for SIVs must meet certain requirements like working for or with the U.S. government in some capacity.Between Oct. 1, 2020, and the end of last month, 330 Afghan SIV's arrived in Maryland, according to data from the Refugee Processing Center , a case management system processing refugees in the United States.Most women in Afghanistan are not eligible for the SIV program, said Devon Cone, a senior advocate for women and girls at Refugees International.Cone said women have a hard time qualifying as primary SIV applicants because they had limited access to education and, even if able to work with the U.S. military, would have faced much higher personal risks in Afghanistan simply because they were women.However, there are some Afghan women who have come to the United States through the SIV program but will face other challenges.Deterrents around child care and transportation made it difficult for Afghan and Iraqi female SIV spouses to attend classes or employment, according to a 2018 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office , the nonpartisan auditing arm of Congress.Female SIV spouses who wanted to work felt they needed to wait until their children were older or needed to learn the English language first, the GAO said.Among other programs, child care and language adaptation are vital to the integration of refugees in the work environment, according to 2019 documents released by the International Chamber of Commerce.The United States Chamber of Commerce Foundation earlier this month launched a coalition to help Afghan refugees find employment in the United States. The coalition also joined the Welcome.US campaign working with companies like UPS, Amazon and Walmart to offer assistance to Afghan refugees."We know what a job means to an individual and to a community. It means dignity, opportunity, stability and hope for a better future," Carolyn Cawley, president of the chamber's foundation, said in a statement.To ensure that their new workers stay employed, companies need to understand what skills Afghan refugees already possess and learn about Afghan culture, Taeb said.Another challenge will be helping refugees adjust to American culture, Taeb said."If employees are not culturally competent or not aware of certain dynamics, you can't expect someone from a different culture to come and assimilate overnight," Taeb said.
WASHINGTON (Oct. 05, 2021)As congressional Democrats press for federal legalization of marijuana and more states continue to legalize it, an increasing number of college-age adults across the United States are ditching liquor stores and heading to dispensaries, a new study shows.



Roughly 44% of college students consumed marijuana in 2020, a jump from 38% in 2015, according to a July survey by the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research and sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse at the National Institutes of Health.



The survey, which has been tracking alcohol and drug consumption of Americans aged 19-60 since 1980, questioned nearly 1,600 young adults aged 19-22 from March to November of 2020. This age range showed the greatest changes in cannabis and alcohol use of all the groups studied.



By contrast, among 45-60 year olds, 10-12% reported marijuana use in 2020, a decrease from 12-15% in 2015.



"There may be multiple reasons for these findings, including increased social acceptance of marijuana use and decreased criminal justice-related treatment admissions," Nora Volkow, director of NIDA, told Capital News Service. "Additional research is required to build an evidence base and untangle the multiple factors that affect cannabis use outcomes."



The increase in marijuana use among young Americans coincided with a decrease in alcohol consumption. Fifty-six percent of the study's subjects reported drinking alcohol in 2020, compared to 62% the year before.



Likewise, binge-drinking hit an all-time low in the most recent study, dipping eight points in a year to 24%.



"While binge-drinking has been gradually declining among college students for the past few decades, this is a new historic low," Dr. John Schulenberg, a University of Michigan psychology professor and one of the study's authors, said in a statement.



The trend toward higher marijuana consumption comes at a time when the legalization of the drug is accelerating among the states: voters in Arizona, Montana, South Dakota and New Jersey approved marijuana legalization measures in the 2020 elections.



In total, 33 statesincluding Marylandplus the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, have legalized marijuana for medicinal use. A total of 19 states and the District of Columbia also have legalized marijuana for recreational use.



On the federal level, three Democratic senators want to legalize cannabis nationwide. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, and Sens. Ron Wyden of Oregon and Cory Booker of New Jersey, co-sponsored a bill they introduced in July to do just that.



"Cannabis prohibition, a key pillar of the failed War on Drugs, has caused substantial harm to our communities and small businesses, and especially for communities of color," Wyden said in a statement. "It's as simple as this: Senators Booker, Schumer and I want to bring common sense to the federal government, end prohibition and restore the lives of those hurt most and set them up for opportunity."



The lawmakers' bill, called the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act, would remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act and would give states the right to regulate the drug as they now regulate alcohol.



"Not only will this legislation remove cannabis from the federal list of controlled substances," Schumer said in a statement. "But it will also help fix our criminal justice system, ensure restorative justice, protect public health, and implement responsible taxes and regulations."



The House in December passed legislation decriminalizing marijuana, but the measure died in the Senate. Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-New York, and five other House Democrats reintroduced the bill in May. Nadler is chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.



Pointing to state legalization efforts, Nadler said: "Our federal laws must keep up with this pace."



But opponents insist cannabis use shouldn't be encouraged by the government.



"Drug use is an epidemic in this country," Scott Chipman, vice president of Americans Against Legalizing Marijuana, told CNS. "We need to ask why and address the underlying causes. Certainly, normalizing drug use and commercializing marijuana exacerbates the drug use epidemic."



The University of Michigan survey found that cannabis use was highest in states in the West and Northeast. Fourteen of the 20 states in those two regions have legalized the drug for recreational use.



"Often, as humans, we want to do things that we perceive to be normativeto have our actions perceived as positive and normal within our social groups and society," Volkow said. "So, as drugs like marijuana are advertised to have potential therapeutic effects and are perceived as socially acceptable, that may lead people to be more likely to want to take them."



The nation's attitude towards marijuana the drug has become more favorable in recent years.



A November 2020 Gallup poll showed that 68% of Americans support marijuana legalization, including almost half of Republicans.



"For decades, our federal government has waged a War on Drugs that has unfairly impacted low-income communities and communities of color," Booker said in a statement. "While red and blue states across the country continue to legalize marijuana, the federal government continues to lag woefully behind. It is time for Congress to end the federal marijuana prohibition and reinvest in communities most impacted by the failed War on Drugs."
WASHINGTON (Oct. 05, 2021)Two decades after the terrorist attacks, the White House's new executive order to declassify confidential documents regarding Sept. 11, 2001, underscores the government's propensity to keep secrets long after they are useful, according to some intelligence experts.



"It is frustrating because it shouldn't have been necessary to issue this order," Steven Aftergood, director of the Project on Government Secrecy at the Federation of American Scientists, told Capital News Service.



Twelve years ago, then-President Barack Obama issued Executive Order 12536, requiring that "information shall be declassified as soon as it no longer meets the standards for classification under this order."



On Sept. 3, President Joe Biden signed an executive order directing federal agencies under the jurisdiction of the executive branch to exclusively review Sept. 11 records that can be declassified within six months.



Biden said he "made a commitment to ensuring transparency" in the wake of the terror attacks, one he's now honoring, according to a statement.



But Aftergood says otherwise, suggesting the new executive order is too limited in scope, compared to the Obama-era mandate.



"If this order was going to be issued, then it should have been bolder in its requirements," he added.



Congress has been grappling with the overclassification of documents for decades and the pandemic made that problem significantly worse. Mark Bradley, director of the Information Security Oversight Office in the National Archives and Records Administration issued a stern warning in its 2020 annual report to the president.



"The pandemic adversely affected every aspect of our Classified National Security Information and Controlled Unclassified Information systems," Bradley wrote. "It shuttered buildings, limited or prevented access to classified networks, forced many federal workers to telework or work remotely, delayed the modernization and deployment of badly needed technological updates, crippled oversight efforts, and dramatically slowed the declassification of historically important records, increasing an ever-expanding backlog."



David Priess, a former CIA intelligence officer during the administrations of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, said national intelligence agencies are "perennially underfunded and under-resourced," which delays their ability to process and produce classified records for public release.



"The whole point of these documents on 9/11 coming out is, if we're going to do it, we need to do it without redactions, because that's kind of the point," Priess added.



Jeremy Bash, a former CIA chief of staff and Defense Department in the Obama administration, told CNS there "are always delicate balances to strike" in declassifying aging documents.



"But I think we should err as much as possible on the side of transparency," Bash said. "I'm confident that if the president, after consulting with the relevant agencies, determines that we can protect sources and methods, I'm confident that declassifying information about 9/11 is in the public interest and will not compromise national security."



Even though the 9/11 Commission Reportpublished with many redacted pages in 2004was created at the direction of Congress, it's now technically in the possession of NARA, an independent executive branch agency whose origins date back to 1934.



"A large percentage" of an estimated 570 cubic feet of the commission's supporting records remain classified for national security reasons, even though some were opened in January 2009, according to the agency.



In an explanation to CNS, the National Archives said it is exempt from Biden's executive order. Only documents used in court cases and records from PENTTBOM, the codename for the FBI's probe on 9/11, are being reviewed for declassification, according to the Archives' interpretation of the new order.



Yet anyone may still be able to file mandatory declassification review requests for 9/11 Commission records through the Center for Legislative Archives, even though the agency lacks legal authority to actually release them.



Last November, the Interagency Security Classification Appeals Panel, a presidential appellate panel composed of representatives from federal intelligence agencies that oversees appeals for mandatory declassification, released 26 documents created by the 9/11 Commission.



Sens. Chris Murphy, D-Connecticut, and Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, are seeking to depoliticize classified information by creating congressional accountability and oversight of ISCAP through the reintroduction of the Transparency in Classification Act, a bill that had languished in the previous Congress.



Murphy, who sits on the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee's Near East, South Asia, Central Asia, and Counterterrorism subcommittee, believes "overclassification for political purposes undermines Congress's ability to hold the executive branch accountable and unnecessarily keeps the American public in the dark."



"Regardless of the administration, protecting the integrity of the classification system is a matter of national securitynot politics," Murphy said in a statement. "We've seen the serious harm that politicization of intelligence can cause, and our legislation restores congressional oversight and supports President Biden as he works to unravel the damage done by his predecessor."



Although the FBI already released a 16-page memo from August 2016 on Sept. 11the first of its kind since the new executive order was enactedAftergood said he wanted to "see something more ambitious."



He would like to see "drop dead" dates established for sensitive documents: classified designations on any records exceeding 40 years in age would expire and be subject to immediate declassification.



Aftergood said the Biden executive order should have explicitly stated that all 9/11 documents are to be declassifiedexcept in cases where methods or sources are susceptible to being compromised.



Implementing a definitive "drop dead" date would "free up a lot of bureaucratic resources," Aftergood insisted, allowing agencies to review more complicated documents instead.



Incredibly, federal agencies still conduct most declassification reviews by hand, according to the Public Interest Declassification Board, created by Congress to advise the executive branch on policies regarding the handling of national security information.



The board issued a report last year recommending ways the nation's classification and declassification of documents can be conducted more efficiently.



"Transformation will be difficult," board Chair Trevor W. Morrison and Acting Chair James E. Baker wrote in their transmittal letter to then-President Donald Trump. "When it comes to declassification, the government is still in the analog age."



"The current system was created before the United States entered World War II, and it remains entrenched today," Morrison and Baker said. "Despite rapid increases in the volume and variety of digital data, the government still relies upon inefficient and ineffective paper-based processes."



The federal government is woefully ill-prepared for classifying and declassifying digital information, the board warned.



The Information Security Oversight Office estimated that the government spent $18.4 billion on its security programs in fiscal 2017. Just $102 million of that was spent on declassification of information.



Priess believes all of the power still lies with the president to make the final call on what becomes public and what stays secret.



He asked: "Is there a president who is willing to say, 'You know what, the historical value of these documents and the need to be open and transparent overrides any remaining national security concerns?'"



"9/11 is the core issue here but declassification is a problem that extends across the executive branch," Aftergood said. "It needs some focused attention, if we're going to ever get it right."
ARCHIVED - British home purchases in Spain register an all time low



The British still top the foreign buyers market in Spain, but Germany and France are catching up

While many UK news outlets have claimed in recent days that Brits are leaving popular expat areas such as the Costa del Sol en masse, sources from the real estate sector in Spain have clarified that while British property sales have definitely slowed down post-Brexit, the trend represents a trickle rather than a surge.

According to official data from the College of Registrars, people from the UK, who have traditionally sat at the top of the foreign property market in Spain, continued in first position in the second quarter of 2021. However, purchases by the British still fell to an all-time low of 9.5% during this period with the Germans hot on their heels for the first time at 9%.

Looking back at 2010, the British accounted for almost 35% of home purchases in Spain by foreigners, more than 25 points ahead of both France and Germany. In 2020, however, the number of UK citizens buying homes in Spain plummeted, while the French held steady and Germany experienced a huge rebound.

According to Ferran Font, Director of Studies at piso.com, stricter immigration rules and the high cost of health care associated with Brexit has certainly contributed to a decline in the number of British buying property in Spain, but has also resulted in a large increase in retirees putting their houses up for sale, particularly in the province of Alicante

Emiliano Bermudez, deputy director general of the real estate agency donPiso, has noticed a similar trend, pointing out that since Easter this year, Andalucia and the Canary Islands have also been badly hit, while the Balearic Islands, which remain popular with German travellers, havent experienced the same effect.

Sources from the College of Registrars were quick to point out that while the British are certainly buying less in Spain overall, the data for the third quarter, due to be released in November, will paint a far clearer picture, and for the time being, people from the UK are still topping the list of foreign purchases.

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Foreign visitors of other than neighbouring countries were more of an exception.

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Over the past months, the number of people taking one-day trips to the High Tatras was slowly growing, but remains far behind last year's numbers.

The number of one-day visitors to Slovakia's highest and most popular mountains significantly lags behind 2019, historically the best year for tourism in Slovakia so far, the SITA newswire reported.

In June of this year, the region recorded a drop of 60 percent of one-day visitors, when 160,000 people visited, said Lucia Blaskova, director of the High Tatras Regional Organisation of Tourism (OOCR).

In July, the number increased to about 250,000 but the final count still represents a drop by half compared to 2020.

Fewer overnight stays

The data of local municipalities in the first seven months of this year also demonstrate a drop in overnight stays.

While they registered more than 308,000 overnight stays this year, last year it was almost 666,000 around the same time, a drop of almost 54 percent. In relation to the number of accommodated guests, it was a drop of more than 45 percent.

Blaskova noted that regions close to the border were the ones most affected by the anti-pandemic measures of the Slovak government. The visits of foreign tourists in the region were low.

This represents only 15 percent of total visits, compared to 27 percent in 2020 and up to 33 percent in 2019, she noted, as quoted by SITA.

Neighbouring countries

She added that the decrease in foreign visitors was visible in the first and second wave of the coronavirus crisis as well, but the most this year, when a harsh lockdown was imposed in almost all countries at the beginning of the year.

Slovakia also introduced somewhat strict measures for the summer of 2021 against neighbouring countries, which led to another significant drop of visitors from abroad, the director said, as quoted by SITA.

Blog: Epic hikes in the High Tatras Read more

In the ranking of visitors, Slovaks occupy first position, followed by Czechs, Poles and Hungarians. Other nationalities were more of an exception.

Foreign languages were heard more often in our mountains in the first weeks of autumn. The easing of measures for vaccinated tourists from abroad and the abolition of compulsory quarantine was already reflected in the attendance. The statistics are not yet available, but there is no presumption that they have caught up with the numbers of recent years, she summed up.
The decision is not valid yet.

Employees protest on May 19 against the company's disconnection from energy and media. (Source: Jana Otriova)

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The Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic fined a company involved in industrial park management and energy production and supply 1,181,849 for abuse of a dominant position.

"The findings of the office showed that a dominant entrepreneur has been obliging companies operating in an industrial park to purchase energy and agents from it since 2017 while preventing them from producing energy and agents themselves or from third parties," the office stated.

The decision is not valid yet.

Long-time conflict
https://sputniknews.com/20211005/fbi-raid-sba-headquarters-in-lower-manhattan-long-island-home-of-nypd-union-president-1089693599.html

FBI Raid SBA Headquarters in Lower Manhattan, Long Island Home of NYPD Union President

FBI Raid SBA Headquarters in Lower Manhattan, Long Island Home of NYPD Union President

Sgt. Ed Mullins, president of the Sergeants Benevolent Association (SBA) of the New York City Police Department (NYPD), joined the city's force in 1982, and... 05.10.2021, Sputnik International

2021-10-05T23:07+0000

2021-10-05T23:07+0000

2021-10-06T02:27+0000

new york city

sergeants benevolent association

fbi

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On Tuesday, agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) raided the SBA office headquarters in Lower Manhattan, as well as the Long Island home of the union's outspoken, pro-Trump leader Ed Mullins. Agents toting boxes and a black garbage bag were seen emerging from the SBA office. Boxes retrieved from the Lower Manhattan headquarters appeared to contain items including a hard drive and other electronic equipment. Hours after the raids, the SBA's Executive Board released a statement detailing that Mullins has resigned from his position. The SBA represents between 11,000 and 13,000 active and retired NYPD sergeants, and manages some $264 million in retirement funds.Mullins, who previously headed the SBA while remaining an active-duty police sergeant, faces internal charges related to social media posts, including a tweet that publicly released the unredacted arrest record of Chiara de Blasio, the daughter of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, amid last year's protests related to the killing of George Floyd. The file included personal information of the mayor's daughter, including her home address, date of birth and driver's license number."Chiara de Blasios personal information is not a matter of public concern," NYPD prosecutor Sam Yee told a judge last month.Andrew Quinn, Mullins' attorney, argued that the image posted by the SBA president "wasn't confidential because it was already on the internet" via a tweet by a Daily Mail reporter. Mullins is also facing two additional charges for offensive language. In one post, he referred to NYC Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot as a "b***h," and in another tweet called Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), the first openly gay, Afro-Latino member of Congress, a "first-class whore."Torres appeared to celebrate the raid on Mullins office on Tuesday. "Ive long felt theres nothing benevolent about Ed Mullins of the Sergeants Benevolent Association, Torres told The New York Daily News on Tuesday. Weve long known hes morally corrupt. But maybe hes legally corrupt too. He has no business in the NYPD ... He should have been fired a long time ago." Though the trial launched last month, it was postponed after Tony Coles, an attorney retained by Mullins, suffered a medical emergency and was transported to an area hospital. Coles was accompanied by members of the SBA when he arrived at the medical facility.

vot tak Defund. Investigate. Prosecute. Hang, imprison, as appropriate. 1

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https://sputniknews.com/20211006/as-iraq-preps-for-parliamentary-elections-expert-says-the-vote-is-unlikely-to-heal-the-country-1089697531.html

As Iraq Preps for Parliamentary Elections, Expert Says the Vote Is 'Unlikely' to Heal the Country

As Iraq Preps for Parliamentary Elections, Expert Says the Vote Is 'Unlikely' to Heal the Country

Unemployment is still high in the war-torn country; in 2020 it reached almost 14 percent. Poverty rates are soaring too, with nearly 25 percent living in dire... 06.10.2021, Sputnik International

2021-10-06T05:51+0000

2021-10-06T05:51+0000

2021-10-06T05:51+0000

iraq

election

middle east

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On Sunday, Iraqis will take to the polls for the fifth time since the American invasion in 2003 to elect parliamentarians, who will occupy 329 seats in the national legislature.Apathy on the RiseBut Feisal Amin Al Istrabadi, a former Iraqi diplomat and an expert on the Arab nation's affairs, says he doesn't expect a high turnout in the war-stricken country."The turnout will be low, just as it was the case in other rounds of elections," he says.The reason for this seeming apathy, says Al Istrabadi, is that nothing has really changed in Iraq since the mass protests of 2019 that erupted over rampant corruption, a lack of basic services and allegations that the elites had used their power to keep enriching themselves.Unemployment has continued to climb, reaching almost 14 percent in 2020. The poverty rate is still high and stands at almost 25 percent, whereas oil revenues that had shrunk significantly in the past several years have impacted the government's ability to provide services or pay salaries, something that only adds to the already fragile situation.Security is an IssueHowever, the upcoming elections will not only be about the economy. They will be about security too.Daesh* that at the peak of its strength controlled a third of Iraq, continues to pose a threat to the state. In September, at least 15 Iraqi policemen were killed in Kirkuk province in the north, and the belief is that the terrorist organisation is still active in many parts of the country.Iranian militias are a headache too. They have been blamed for attacking Iraqi security forces and staging assaults on Western targets. They have been accused of killing protesters, who took to the streets in October 2019 demanding reforms and a change to the current political system, and they have been slammed for constantly interfering in Iraq's internal affairs and for using federal funds to promote their goals.While it is still unclear who will be the winners and losers in the upcoming race, Al Istrabadi is certain that the current Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi will remain in his seat, and what this ultimately means is that the ties Iraq currently has with Iran will be maintained.Americans to the Rescue?The only question is whether the Joe Biden administration will be willing to offer that help.In July, Washington announced that it would pull out from the war-torn country by the end of the year. Experts have already warned that such a move would leave a vacuum that could easily be filled by extremists or Iran. But Al Istrabadi says that Al Kadhimi is unlikely to repeat the mistakes of Barack Obama, who withdrew forces in 2011 and subsequently paved the way for the seizure of Daesh."Of course, the US has a bigger fish to fry right now," said the expert, referring to China.This is why, believes Al Istrabadi, the current status quo is likely to stay in place. The US will recognise the Iranian influence in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. It will turn a blind eye to its deeds in the region. And if this is the case, a "change is not possible", says the expert, "unless something dramatic happens".*Daesh (ISIS/ISIL/IS) - a terrorist organisation banned in Russia and many other countries

TruePatriot Does Al Istrabadi not understand that the biggest cause of the corruption and malaise is the US presence? They would do well to boot the US and get closer to Iran. 2

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https://sputniknews.com/20211006/australian-company-withdraws-some-at-home-covid-19-tests-kits-in-us-due-to-false-results-1089708177.html

Australian Company Withdraws Some at-Home COVID-19 Tests Kits in US Due to False Results

Australian Company Withdraws Some at-Home COVID-19 Tests Kits in US Due to False Results

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - A medical technology manufacturer based in Australia's Brisbane, Ellume, withdrew some of their at-home COVID-19 test kits that are sold in... 06.10.2021, Sputnik International

2021-10-06T11:27+0000

2021-10-06T11:27+0000

2021-10-06T11:27+0000

asia & pacific

australia

covid-19

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"In recent weeks, we noted an increased chance that Ellume COVID-19 Home Tests from specific lots may provide an incorrect positive result. Following a thorough investigation, we isolated the cause and confirmed that this incidence of false positives is limited to specific lots. We worked with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to voluntarily remove affected Ellume tests from the market," the company said in a statement on its website.Around 190,000 test kits delivered from April to August have now been withdrawn, but less than 1% of those provided false results, the ABC broadcaster reported.Last year, the company's test kits were approved by the FDA for emergency use. Ellume signed a contract with the US on the supply of the home tests amounting to $300 million.

TruePatriot LOL, in addition to the flaky faulty 3% accurate PCR tests that have been so misused in a massive effort to fuel the scamdemic narrative. Especially at the current time when cases are falling faster than snow in the middle of the winter, there should be no further need for testing. It's over. Now, end the draconian rules and tyranny. 1

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asia & pacific, australia, covid-19
https://sputniknews.com/20211006/bjp-is-systematically-attacking-farmers-rights-congress-leader-rahul-gandhi-on-lakhimpur-protest-1089699775.html

'BJP is Systematically Attacking Farmers' Rights': Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi on Lakhimpur Protest

'BJP is Systematically Attacking Farmers' Rights': Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi on Lakhimpur Protest

Since Monday, India's ruling BJP party government has been facing scathing attacks from opposition parties over Lakhimpur Kheri violence, where eight people... 06.10.2021, Sputnik International

2021-10-06T10:58+0000

2021-10-06T10:58+0000

2021-10-06T10:59+0000

new delhi

delhi

farmer

narendra modi

india

uttar pradesh

narendra modi

politics

rahul gandhi

yogi adityanath

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https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/0a/06/1089706085_0:0:3071:1728_1920x0_80_0_0_98b2e538cddd9f46235f7621734e886e.jpg

Rahul Gandhi, a key parliamentarian of India's main opposition party Congress, on Wednesday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party-led federal government, accusing it of systematically attacking farmers' rights ."The rights of the farmers are systematically robbed. And this is why they are protesting. It started with the land acquisition bill, then the farm laws were passed and now this," Rahul Gandhi, the former Congress party chief, said in New Delhi during a press meet. The State is set to witness state legislative assembly elections in a few months. Soon after Gandhi's press conference the Uttar Pradesh state government allowed Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra along with three others to visit Lakhimpur Kheri district, where at least eight people, including four farmers, had been mowed down by a car belonging to a BJP cabinet minister on 3 October.As per the state government report, eight were killed in the violence. But, yesterday, a section of the Indian media had reported there have been nine death in the violence.Farmers have alleged that the federal Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Kumar Mishra's son was also present in one of the cars. However, Mishra has rejected the charge.Earlier, a prominent Congress politician and the party's General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was taken into preventive custody in Uttar Pradesh while heading to the district.The Uttar Pradesh state government denied Congress permission to pay a visit to the area, citing imposition of prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code. The state officials have not yet disclosed if other parties have sought permission to visit Lakhimpur Kheri district.The State is witnessing protests over the Lakhimpur Kheri violence, and the state government has imposed several prohibitive orders around Uttar Pradesh.

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new delhi, delhi, farmer, narendra modi, india, uttar pradesh, narendra modi, politics, rahul gandhi, yogi adityanath, priyanka gandhi, india
https://sputniknews.com/20211006/blinken-thanks-italys-di-maio-for-romes-support-for-transit-of-afghans-1089712837.html

Blinken Thanks Italy's Di Maio for Rome's Support for Transit of Afghans

Blinken Thanks Italy's Di Maio for Rome's Support for Transit of Afghans

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US State Secretary Antony Blinken has thanked Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio for Rome's support in the temporary transit of... 06.10.2021, Sputnik International

2021-10-06T13:20+0000

2021-10-06T13:20+0000

2021-10-06T13:20+0000

world

us

antony blinken

luigi di maio

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"Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken met with Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio today in Paris. Secretary Blinken thanked Foreign Minister Di Maio for close coordination on Afghanistan, including Italys support for the temporary transit of thousands of Afghans through Naval Air Station Sigonella," Price said.Blinken and Di Maio also discussed the upcoming G20 Leaders Summit in Rome and touched upon the situation in Ethiopia.Sigonella was one of the US bases in Europe which hosted Afghans that the US evacuated, along with Ramstein Air Base in Germany and Naval Station Rota in Spain.Ethiopia is currently struggling with a protracted internal conflict between government forces and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), a major local political force. Tensions once again flared up in the country's north in November 2020 after the government accused the TPLF of attacking a military base, and launched a counter-operation.

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world, us, antony blinken, luigi di maio
https://sputniknews.com/20211006/cold-case-investigators-believe-they-have-finally-identified-notorious-zodiac-killer-1089721340.html

Cold Case Investigators Believe They Have Finally Identified Notorious 'Zodiac Killer'

Cold Case Investigators Believe They Have Finally Identified Notorious 'Zodiac Killer'

In the late 1960s, northern California was terrorized by the infamous "Zodiac Killer." The serial killer left a trail of coded messages and ciphers that... 06.10.2021, Sputnik International

2021-10-06T19:55+0000

2021-10-06T19:55+0000

2021-10-06T19:53+0000

california

zodiac killer

zodiac killer

cold cases

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The Case Breakers, a group of over 40 specialists with backgrounds in law enforcement, journalism, and military intelligence, have identified the "Zodiac Killer" as Gary Francis Poste. The team of sleuths spent years collecting and analyzing new forensic evidence. One of the keys to their revelation came in the form of a picture from Postes darkroom that showed scars on his forehead that matched a sketch of the "Zodiac Killer."Another clue came from deciphering letters the "Zodiac Killer" had sent to officials at the time of his crimes. Letters from Postes entire name, Gary Francis Poste, were removed and created an alternative message. Additionally, the team believes the 1966 murder of Cheri Jo Bates was the committed by the notorious killer, and had allegedly been Postes sixth known victim.Incidentally, Poste, a US Air Force veteran, received medical check-ups at a hospital 15 minutes from where Bates body was found. A watch with paint splatter was found at the murder scene, which tied back to Poste as he had painted homes for decades. Last but not least, detectives found a shoe print from a military-style boot that matched both the style and size of Postes footwear and those found at other "Zodiac" killings. However, it's worth noting that the Riverside Police Departments Cold Case Unit refutes Bates connection to the "Zodiac" murders.While the Case Breakers believe theyve found the perpetrator, they wont be able to get any justice, as Poste died in August 2018. It has been alleged that Poste led a criminal gang that roamed around Californias High Sierra region.From 1968 to 1969 a string of five murders in the San Francisco area were attributed to the "Zodiac Killer." The first three confirmed killings were attacks on couples, with the male partner surviving the later two encounters. The final, and fifth, confirmed "Zodiac" killing was of a San Francisco cab driver. However, the "Zodiac Killer" claims to have murdered 37 victims.No one was ever charged or identified in connection with the slayings, but numerous people have been alleged to be the infamous "Zodiac Killer." Whether or not Poste is the official killer, that determination will ultimately be made by law enforcement officials.

Uninformed Goody Goody another Advert! 0

Uninformed How about Scientologists? , didn't hey get the boot the other week and now one gets adverts , they started about the same time but i have not really been looking though . 0

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https://sputniknews.com/20211006/ex-income-tax-chief-commissioner-among-top-revenue-officers-in-india-on-pandora-papers-list-1089703089.html

Ex-Income Tax Chief Commissioner Among Top Revenue Officers in India on Pandora Papers List

Ex-Income Tax Chief Commissioner Among Top Revenue Officers in India on Pandora Papers List

A global partnership of journalists examined millions of leaked documents - dubbed the Pandora Papers - which have revealed that more than 300 Indians have... 06.10.2021, Sputnik International

2021-10-06T13:11+0000

2021-10-06T13:11+0000

2021-10-06T13:11+0000

pandora papers

india

india

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A day after the Indian government said that cases pertaining to the Pandora Papers will be investigated, it has emerged after an examination of the records that two former officers of the Indian Revenue Service have Swiss bank accounts with dubious assets. Scrutiny of the Pandora Papers by The Indian Express has revealed that the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) of Switzerland initiated criminal proceedings against Homi Rajvansh, a former Indian Revenue Service officer of the 1985 batch. He was arrested in 2011 for alleged corruption and money laundering in India by the top federal agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), while serving as additional managing-director of the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED). The Enforcement Directorate alleged that he had INR29 million ($386,728). The Indian government put him under "compulsory retirement" - a customary punishment for official misconduct - in 2019. The Pandora Papers investigation revealed that the OAG of Switzerland had in 2013 seized all records of the CBI investigation while introducing sanctions against two offshore companies, Horsham Technologies Ltd and Wairoa Industries Inc, set up by Rajvansh. Records show that Rajvansh claimed to be an "independent commodity broker" while founding the companies, despite the fact he was in service at the time. Swiss authorities initiated criminal proceedings seizing all evidence, including details of offshore companies. The records show that an alert had been sounded after Clariden Leu Trust, the bank where his accounts were held, released a Suspicious Transaction Report against him.Former Top Revenue Officer in India Under SpotlightSushil Gupta, a former Income Tax Chief Commissioner, has cropped up in the investigations regarding the Pandora Papers for registering a company, Allied Trading Ltd, in January 2017, where he is shown as the "business owner" of Indian company, Hopewell Tradelink.The opening form for both companies reveals that Gupta's assets have an estimated value of $500,000 and the "owner's funds" will be held in Switzerland. Gupta, as well as other members of his family, is a director in the company that deals in the wholesale trade of commodities.

https://sputniknews.com/20211006/pandora-papers-claim-tory-co-chairs-offshore-company-indirectly-profited-from-120k-tax-credits-1089700416.html

https://sputniknews.com/20211006/pandora-papers-queens-lawyers-acted-for-politician-accused-of-looting-state-billions-from-nigeria-1089702539.html

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india, india
https://sputniknews.com/20211006/facebook-down-whistleblower-testifies-1089686657.html

Facebook Down; Whistleblower Testifies

Facebook Down; Whistleblower Testifies

On this episode of Fault Lines, hosts Jamarl Thomas and Shane Stranahan talk about the tribulations in Europe due to a massive gas shortage, German foreign... 06.10.2021, Sputnik International

2021-10-06T11:16+0000

2021-10-06T11:16+0000

2021-10-15T10:17+0000

france

joe biden

emmanuel macron

radio

us

germany

angela merkel

taxes

facebook

instagram

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https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/0a/05/1089686463_56:0:1300:700_1920x0_80_0_0_499f4cd8005946f102dc8f1890113f17.png

Facebook Down; Whistleblower Testifies On this episode of Fault Lines, hosts Jamarl Thomas and Shane Stranahan talk about the tribulations in Europe due to a massive gas shortage, German foreign relationships, Facebooks practices of putting profit above people and the scandal around this, and a breakdown of the Pandora Papers and what we can learn from it.

Guests:Peter Oliver - EU correspondent for RT International | Cost Of Energy Spike, French Aspirations, Differences In EU Leadership After MerkelPeter Coffin - YouTuber, video essayist, podcaster and author | Facebook Will Always Choose ProfitPatrick Leblond - Professor of economics and finance | Pandora Papers Tell AllIn the first hour, Peter Oliver joined the show to talk about the massive energy price spike in Europe due to the shortage of gas in the area. Peter also talked about the results of the German elections and the countrys relationship with foreign powers.In the second hour, Fault Lines was joined by Peter Coffin for a discussion on the Facebook scandal breaking that they are consistently putting their profits ahead of people. Peter says the real troubling practice by them is when they promote certain posts or threads based on what they deem most true or important.In the third hour, Patrick Leblond joined the conversation to take a deep dive into the Pandora Papers and how the wealthy in this world abuse various systems to stay wealthy. Patrick then broke down how exactly these loopholes are exploited using foreign banking systems.We'd love to get your feedback at radio@sputniknews.com

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france, joe biden, emmanuel macron, radio, us, germany, angela merkel, taxes, facebook, instagram, fault lines, nord stream 2, 
https://sputniknews.com/20211006/former-danish-pm-accuses-late-french-president-giscard-destaing-of-groping-her-in-metoo-style-book-1089700098.html

Former Danish PM Accuses Late French President Giscard d'Estaing of Groping Her in MeToo-Style Book

Former Danish PM Accuses Late French President Giscard d'Estaing of Groping Her in MeToo-Style Book

Earlier, the international MeToo movement dedicated to fighting harassment and sexual abuse has led to the ouster of prominent politicians, including party... 06.10.2021, Sputnik International

2021-10-06T07:23+0000

2021-10-06T07:23+0000

2021-10-06T07:23+0000

france

denmark

news

europe

helle thorning-schmidt

valery giscard d'estaing

scandinavia

metoo

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Former Danish prime minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt has accused former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing of groping her in her memoirs.In an interview with Danish Radio, Thorning-Schmidt admitted that the ambition behind her new book, called A Blonde's Views is to breathe new life into the MeToo debate and create a renewed focus on harassment and unsolicited sexual attention directed at women.Among others, the memoir includes a pique against the late French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing.At the time, Thorning-Schmidt was involved in the European Convention, created to draft a constitution for the EU and presided over by the former French leader, who died in December last year.Thorning-Schmidt contended that while it wasn't seen as sexual harassment at that time, she still saw it is inappropriate and became very angry.Valery Giscard d'Estaing, who served as French president from 1974 to 1981, died in 2020 aged 94. However, Giscard d'Estaing had been accused of harassment before, including by German journalist Ann-Kathrin Stracke of the public broadcaster WDR. In a complaint filed last year, she said he touched her behind several times during an interview at his Paris office.Helle Thorning-Schmidt (54) is often hailed as the first woman to lead a Danish government (2011-2015). After a decade as the Social Democrat leader, she ran the aid group Save the Children between 2016 and 2018.

https://sputniknews.com/20200923/wouldnt-want-to-be-a-man-in-2020-danish-party-chair-calls-out-metoo-for-getting-out-of-hand-1080545312.html

france

denmark

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Igor Kuznetsov

Igor Kuznetsov

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Igor Kuznetsov

france, denmark, news, europe, helle thorning-schmidt, valery giscard d'estaing, scandinavia, metoo
https://sputniknews.com/20211006/france-threatens-to-sever-uks-energy-supply-slams-it-for-aggressive-one-upmanship-in-fishing-row-1089704394.html

France Threatens to Sever UK's Energy Supply, Slams it for Aggressive One-Upmanship in Fishing Row

France Threatens to Sever UK's Energy Supply, Slams it for Aggressive One-Upmanship in Fishing Row

Earlier this year, in a post-Brexit row over claims by French fishers that they are being denied access to UK waters in the sea off Jersey's coast, Paris... 06.10.2021, Sputnik International

2021-10-06T10:46+0000

2021-10-06T10:46+0000

2021-10-06T10:46+0000

france

brexit

jersey

fishing rights

uk

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France has again resorted to threatening the UK with pressure to the point of severing energy supplies if it fails to fully adhere to the terms of the Brexit deal. The country's Secretary of State for European affairs, Clement Beaune, warned the Trade and Co-operation Agreement (TCA) had to be "implemented fully" or "we will take European or national measures to exert pressure on the UK". When asked on French radio station Europe 1 to clarify what measures he was referring to, Beaune brought up the issue of mutual energy supplies.The UK relies on two power cables that transport electricity from France's nuclear power stations across the Channel. EDF Energy, a British integrated energy company, wholly owned by the French state, produces approximately one-fifth of Britains electricity at its nuclear power stations, wind farms, and coal and gas power stations. Tuesday's comments by Clement Beaune came after it emerged that the UK had rejected a number of applications by French boats to fish in British waters. Just 12 of the 47 applications the government had received from French small boats had been approved in September. Paris was even more incensed upon discovering that the government of the British crown dependency, Jersey, had rejected 75 of 170 licence applications received from French boats. Unreasonable Accusations Former Brexit minister Lord David Frost, now responsible for relations with the EU, retorted that it was unreasonable to accuse the UK of not acting in good faith when allocating post-Brexit fishing licences to French boats. While attending a fringe event at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, he called on the Paris government to keep things in proportion.Frost added: We have granted 98 per cent of the licence applications from EU boats to fish in our waters according to the different criteria in the Trade and Co-operation Agreement, so we do not accept that we are not abiding by that agreement. He also slammed Brussels, which seemed prone to "resort to threats quite quickly", underscoring: A spokeswoman for the government of Jersey was cited as saying: Jersey has followed the process set down by the Trade and Co-operation Agreement throughout the process of allocating licences. Jerseys electricity service is underpinned by a long-term contract with EDF and we do not anticipate any interruptions in supply. Post-Brexit Fishing Row Earlier in the year, France issued similar threats of "retaliatory measures" amid a long-running dispute between Paris and London over post-Brexit fishing rights. The French government had been enraged after it was revealed that the Jersey government had rejected 75 of the 170 fishing licence applications received from France.In May, Paris indicated it could cut off electricity to the British Crown Dependency, Jersey, which receives 95% of its electricity via three undersea cables. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was forced to dispatch Royal Navy patrol boats to protect Jersey amid fears of a blockade by French fishing vessels.

Albannach001 Send in the navy for shooting practice, and submarines for torpedo practice, that'll clear way for the cheese eating surrender monkeys. 6

BUY HUAWEI uk see the french people as 3 class people so it is normal for uk to treat the french people accordingly 2

2

france

jersey

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Svetlana Ekimenko

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Svetlana Ekimenko

france, brexit, jersey, fishing rights, uk
https://sputniknews.com/20211006/gay-serial-killer-had-penchant-for-drug-rape-pornography-and-used-dating-apps-uk-inquest-told-1089705702.html

Gay Serial Killer Had 'Penchant For Drug Rape Pornography' And Used Dating Apps, UK Inquest Told

Gay Serial Killer Had 'Penchant For Drug Rape Pornography' And Used Dating Apps, UK Inquest Told

In November 2016, Stephen Port was given a whole life sentence for the murder of four gay men in east London. He was also found guilty of sexually assaulting... 06.10.2021, Sputnik International

2021-10-06T10:52+0000

2021-10-06T10:52+0000

2021-10-06T12:49+0000

london

gamma hydroxybutyric acid (ghb)

gay

serial killer

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A detective has told the inquest into the deaths of four young men, who were killed by serial killer Stephen Port how his crimes all fitted into a pattern.Detective Inspector Mark Richards said Port was obsessed with messaging men online or on apps to arrange sexual encounter hook-ups and had a penchant for drug rape pornography, which he would watch for hours.Judge Sarah Munro QC has been appointed an Assistant Coroner to conduct fresh inquests into the deaths of Anthony Walgate, 23, Gabriel Kovari, 22, Daniel Whitworth, 21, and Jack Taylor, 25, who died in east London between June 2014 and September 2015.All four victims had met up with Port, who was then 39, after he contacted them on gay dating websites or on apps like Grindr.Port drugged them with GHB, raped them and left their bodies outside his own block of flats or in a nearby churchyard in Barking. The Metropolitan Police has been accused of failing to investigate the deaths properly.Police Ruled Out 59 Other VictimsOn Wednesday 6 October Detective Inspector Richards told the inquest, sitting at Barking Town Hall, they had looked into the deaths of 58 or 59 other men to see if Port could have been responsible and said they were 100 percent sure he was not involved.Opening the inquests on Tuesday, 5 October, Judge Munro said Port would "not play any part in these inquests but you will hear a great deal about him and his lifestyle."She told the jury: "If there appear to have been shortcomings in the way in which the police investigated these deaths, we must consider those shortcomings dispassionately and resist the temptation to look for scapegoats."Ports trial heard he had written a suicide note, purporting to be from Mr Whitworth, and left it next to his body. In the note he claimed he was responsible for Mr Kovaris death and had taken his own life because of the guilt.Inquests were held into the deaths of Mr Kovari and Mr Whitworth before Port was arrested. Coroner Nadia Persaud recorded open verdicts and said: I have some concerns surrounding Whitworth's death which have not been answered by the police investigation.During the first inquest John Pape, a friend of Mr Kovaris, asked the police if they had ever considered a link with Mr Walgates death but was told no link had been established.Port was finally arrested in October 2015 when a detective saw him on CCTV footage meeting Taylor and recognised him as the man who had called 999 when Mr Walgate died.Port Also Left Behind 'Eight Living Victims'Detective Inspector Richards said eight other men - described as living victims - had been drugged and raped by Port between February 2012 and October 2015.He said he would drug his victims with GHB (Gamma-hydroxybutyrate), a so-called chemsex drug, either in a drink or by inserting an applicator into their anus claiming it was a lubricant.Detective Inspector Richards said Port would sometimes offer his victims a shot of vodka or tequila, in which he had surreptitiously inserted GHB, and would say: Lets get this party started.He said three of the victims were dumped in the churchyard of St Margarets Church, about 200 yards from his home, but it was not clear how Port had moved them.On Monday, 4 October, Commander Jon Savell, the Mets Head of Profession for Investigations, said: At the time of Ports conviction, we apologised to the victims families and Daniel Whitworths partner for how we initially responded to the deaths, and I would like to apologise again.Since Ports offences came to light we have worked hard within the Met to improve both our processes and our wider knowledge across the organisation of a range of issues associated with the murders,added Mr Savell.

pussymuncher Wow what a freaky looking horrible k-hunt.... 0

1

london

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https://sputniknews.com/20211006/icij--liberal-donors-why-pandora-papers-look-like-a-distraction-from-the-wests-acute-problems-1089710146.html

ICIJ & Liberal Donors: Why Pandora Papers Look Like a Distraction From the West's Acute Problems

ICIJ & Liberal Donors: Why Pandora Papers Look Like a Distraction From the West's Acute Problems

The Pandora Papers, a 2.94 terabyte data trove exposing the offshore secrets of wealthy elites, were leaked by the International Consortium of Investigative... 06.10.2021, Sputnik International

2021-10-06T16:00+0000

2021-10-06T16:00+0000

2021-10-06T16:00+0000

pandora papers

george soros

ford foundation

open society foundations

news

world

us

russia

opinion

vladimir putin

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The recent leak followed the 2016 Panama Papers exposure and the 2017 Paradise Papers, exceeding both in terms of the number of sources and beneficial owners identified in the documents. In general, the Pandora Papers connected offshore activity to more than 330 politicians and public officials, including 35 current and former national leaders from more than 90 countries and territories.America's Politicians and Uber-Rich Absent From ICIJ ListJudging from the ICIJ charts, American politicians were notably absent from the list. Similarly, America's wealthiest, like Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett do not appear in the Pandora Papers. The Daily Mail suggested that the aforementioned "uber-rich" "have less incentive to use offshore havens due to the low tax rates they pay". Indeed, in June 2021, ProPublica revealed that American billionaires "pay little in income tax compared to their massive wealth": the true tax rate of Buffet, Bezos and Musk amounts to 0.10%, 0.98%, and 3.27%, respectively.Donors List a Key to Understanding ICIJ BiasOne should bear in mind that the ICIJ is by no means a politically neutral organisation, explains Alex Krainer, a political analyst and author. According to him, this makes the data dumps from ICIJ "something that needs to be treated with a grain of salt".To understand the entity's political bias, one should look at its list of donors, notes Adriel Kasonta, a London-based foreign affairs analyst and former chairman of the International Affairs Committee at Bow Group, a conservative think tank in the UK.The list includes the Open Society Foundations (OSF), the Ford Foundation, the Bertha Foundation, the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), and the Swedish Postcode Foundation, to name but a few. Meanwhile, George Soros' OSF and Ford Foundation have long been known for peddling a liberal agenda, the London-based analyst points out.For his part, Alex Krainer recollects that in 2017, the ICIJ was funded by French-American billionaire technology entrepreneur Pierre Morad Omidyar, who also supports The Intercept, a left-leaning media outlet. There is more to Omidyar's activities than meets the eye, echoes Kasonta. The British scholar cites the Greyzone's 20 February 2019 research, which suggested that the French-American magnate was allegedly bankrolling a "massive network of regime-change organisations" which "work[ed] closely" with American government agencies USAID and the NED. According to the Greyzone, Omidyar "ponied up" millions of dollars to the ICIJ in 2017 in order to "address [the] trust deficit" by helping the group host the Panama and Paradise Papers.Could One Call ICIJ's Leaks a Political 'Hit Job'?One cannot rule out that the ICIJ could at least partially conduct its work in the interests of their donors, according to the observers.To illustrate his point, Kasonta refers to Inderjeet Parmar's book "Foundations of the American Century: The Ford, Carnegie, and Rockefeller Foundations in the Rise of American Power," which alleges that the Ford Foundation and other American non-profits played a substantial role in advancing the US interests at the expense of third world countries. They have also participated in "shaping liberal tendencies in China" and "forming the new Chinese globalising elites".According to the London-based analyst, it is hardly a coincidence that in 2019 and 2021, the ICIJ was involved in investigating the situation of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang. At that time, ICIJ reports subjected Beijing to harsh criticism.For his part, The Greyzone's Ben Norton recalled in his Twitter posts that even the influential Brookings Institution in the US acknowledged several years ago that the Panama Papers released by the ICIJ in 2016 were a likely tool in the Western information warfare against Moscow: "Journalists are targeting [Vladimir Putin] far out of proportion to the evidence they present," Brookings admitted at the time. "As soon as one delves below the headlines, it's a non-story."When it comes to the Pandora Papers, they appear to disproportionately concentrate on the global Southern politicians and business people, including Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, and to a lesser extent on Europe and the US, according to Kasonta.At the same time, similarly to the ICIJ's previous leaks, the latest dump has again brought focus to Russia, which prompted the Atlantic Council, an American think tank founded in the Cold War-era, to accuse Moscow of "strategically deploying corruption" to shatter global development. The Atlantic Council's article, eloquently titled "The Pandora Papers should reinvigorate Bidens anti-corruption push", calls upon the American president to go after both Moscow and Beijing.It's Up to Authorities to Decide Whether the Law Was ViolatedAlthough the Pandora Papers spotlighted tax avoidance schemes and secret deals, it does not necessarily mean that all those activities were illegal, notes David Marchant, investigative journalist and founder of OffshoreAlert.Adriel Kasonta appears to share this stance: although offshore companies can facilitate tax evasions and money laundering, they dont necessarily have to, according to him. "Therefore, the judicial authorities must decide if the law was violated, not attention-seeking journalists or the public," he underscores.Assessing the ICIJ's leak, Kasonta concludes that the Pandora Papers "looks like yet another exercise in smoke and mirrors to cover the real economic problems in the US, the UK, and the Western world."

armor Happy Birthday to Pres. Putin, may God Almighty bless you and protect you in this insane world. Forward in Faith. 13

Esther At death anything over 10 million dollars goes to the state/peole....... 0

3

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Ekaterina Blinova

Ekaterina Blinova

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Ekaterina Blinova

george soros, ford foundation, open society foundations, news, world, us, russia, opinion, vladimir putin, consortium of investigative journalists (icij), paradise papers, panama papers
https://sputniknews.com/20211006/im-speechless-congress-parliamentarian-on-killings-by-radical-islamists-in-kashmir--1089698609.html

'I'm Speechless': Congress Parliamentarian on Killings by Radical Islamists in Kashmir

'I'm Speechless': Congress Parliamentarian on Killings by Radical Islamists in Kashmir

Kashmiri Pandits are a group of Hindus who originally lived in Kashmir before the Muslim influence increased in the valley. Native to the area, the minority... 06.10.2021, Sputnik International

2021-10-06T10:16+0000

2021-10-06T10:16+0000

2021-10-06T10:16+0000

kashmir

india

indian national congress

india

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A series of killings, including the murder of a prominent pharmacist from the minority Kashmiri Pandit community in India-controlled Kashmir, has whipped up a storm of anger in the valley and stoked concerns that radical Islamists are once again targeting Hindus in the country. On Wednesday, Congress Parliamentarian Abhishek Manu Singhvi blamed "Pakistani-sponsored terrorists" for the killings in Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar city, saying "the same ideology that wreaked havoc in Afghanistan" is behind the deaths. Three civilians, all from minority communities, were killed in three separate incidents within hours of each other in Srinagar by terrorists on Tuesday. Makhan Lal Bindroo, 68, was a prominent Kashmiri Pandit pharmacist  he was shot at point-blank range by assailants who entered his clinic on a busy street in the city as he was dispensing medicine. Many rely on his clinic for cheap medicine. Police said that he and his family had remained in Srinagar throughout the 1990s despite the rise of violence against the Kashmiri Pandit community. On Wednesday, the daughter of Bindroo blasted his assailants, saying that her father was killed simply for being a Kashmiri Pandit while he was at work saving other people's lives.Two other civilians were shot, including a non-Kashmiri street vendor from Bihar state and a man called Mohammad Shafi Lone. Former Jammu and Kashmir state chief and National Conference party leader Omar Abdullah is among several politicians who have mourned those killed.

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kashmir, india, indian national congress, india
https://sputniknews.com/20211006/nato-to-expel-eight-russian-diplomats-over-alleged-malign-activities-report-claims-1089714445.html

NATO to Expel Eight Russian Diplomats Over Alleged Malign Activities

NATO to Expel Eight Russian Diplomats Over Alleged Malign Activities

The decision comes just a day after NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg urged the alliance to maintain relations with Russia to avoid another cold war or a... 06.10.2021, Sputnik International

2021-10-06T14:21+0000

2021-10-06T14:21+0000

2021-10-06T15:11+0000

world

russia

nato

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NATO has decided to expel eight Russian diplomats, halving the size of Russia's mission to the alliance in response to alleged malign activities, a spokesperson for the alliance has confirmed to Sputnik. Sky News' security and defence editor Deborah Haynes was the one to break the story.According to Haynes, the eight diplomats in question are "thought to be undeclared intelligence officers" and are expected to leave Brussels by the end of October. NATO will also abolish posts of two other diplomats, according to the reporter.Back in 2018, NATO ousted seven staffers from the Russian mission after former Russian intelligence officer, Sergei Skripal, and his daughter were alleged to have been poisoned in the UK. London claimed that the duo were poisoned by a military-grade nerve agent, called Novichok, and maintained that it was "highly likely" Moscow was responsible for the incident.At the time, Stoltenberg said that Russia would still have a diplomatic mission of 20 people at alliance headquarters in Brussels, which would allow Russia to keep essential contacts with NATO members.Russia has consistently denied "baseless" accusations and demanded access to the case's evidence, including the nerve gas purportedly used to target the Skripals. The request has been repeatedly denied by London.Despite the fact that the UK police inquiry into the incident was still underway, some 20 European states, the US and several non-EU allies, joined London in its accusations against Moscow and expelled dozens of Russian diplomats in a coordinated move. Shortly afterwards, Russia retaliated by ousting dozens of European and American diplomats from the country.Stoltenberg Urges Interaction With RussiaThe news comes just a day after NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called on allies to engage with Russia to avoid another cold war or a new arms race.At the same time, Stoltenberg emphasised that the alliance would stick to its dual track approach toward Moscow that is based on deterrence and dialogue.While stressing that NATO had made significant progress in adapting to what he described as a more "assertive Russia", he pointed out that relations with Moscow are at the lowest level since the Cold War.It was revealed earlier this week that Stoltenberg had also extended an invitation to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to revive the NATO-Russia dialogue. The suggestion was made during a meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, according to a Russian lawmaker, who attended it as part of the Russian delegation."Stoltenberg.... said that it was, after all, necessary to restore the Russia-NATO format, [and] we were already too tired of the confrontation," senior Russian lawmaker Grigory Karasin said at a meeting of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs on Monday.For his part, Lavrov suggested reaching agreements on specific issues to avoid going through years of empty talk, with the West accusing Russia of "terrible sins", the lawmaker added.

https://sputniknews.com/20211005/nato-chief-urges-interaction-with-russia-to-avoid-another-cold-war-1089687531.html

NthrnNYker59 In this case, Russia cannot because the diplomats were not attached to any one country --- they were assigned as interlocuters to NATO.... What Russia SHOULD do is withdraw ALL of those diplomatic 'interlocuters' as they relate to NATO 3

vot tak Another cowardly israeli action, through their colonials, to force a cold war. 2

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world, russia, nato
https://sputniknews.com/20211006/nord-stream-2-prepares-for-gas-transit-to-eu-china-is-dead-serious-1089694549.html

Nord Stream 2 Prepares for Gas Transit to EU; China is Dead Serious

Nord Stream 2 Prepares for Gas Transit to EU; China is Dead Serious

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline is filling with gas in preparation for sending fuel to the gas-strapped European Union. 06.10.2021, Sputnik International

2021-10-06T11:01+0000

2021-10-06T11:01+0000

2021-10-15T10:17+0000

julian assange

nigeria

lithuania

facebook

nordstream 2

jcpoa

the critical hour

radio

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Nord Stream 2 Prepares for Gas Transit to EU; China is Dead Serious The Nord Stream 2 pipeline is filling with gas in preparation for sending fuel to the gas-strapped European Union.

Chris Garaffa, web developer and technologist, joins us to discuss Facebook. Facebook has come back online after a major service disruption. There is suspicion as to the origin of the massive attack on the tech giant after "60 Minutes" ran an attack piece on the Silicon Valley powerhouse and nearly all major US media outlets followed suit just hours before the outage.Dan Lazare, investigative journalist and author of "America's Undeclared War," joins us to discuss the European Union's fuel crisis. The Nord Stream 2 pipeline has been charged with gas and is ready to send badly needed energy to the fuel-starved EU. However, despite this crisis, anti-Russian forces are working to disrupt the opening of the pipeline.Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations security analyst, joins us to discuss Lithuania. The tiny Eastern European nation of Lithuania is building a military base in hopes that more US soldiers will fill the barracks. The US has a massive number of military bases around the world, and observers suspect that they will leap at the chance to create another opportunity to launder US treasury dollars through military operations.Roger Harris, human rights activist and board member for the 32-year-old anti-imperialist human rights organization, Task Force on the Americas, joins us to discuss Venezuela. The US empire is moving to extradite Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab, and there are reports that he is already facing torture. Meanwhile, Forbes has run an article accusing the diplomat of being a criminal "money man."Jim Kavanagh, writer at thepolemicist.net & CounterPunch and the author of "Danger to Society: Against Vaccine Passports," joins us to discuss Julian Assange. In his latest consortiumnews.com article, Jonathan Cook argues that the US empire did not need to poison Julian Assange. He goes on to say that the so-called "legal" machinations that are being used are every bit as rogue and unjust as Mike Pompeo's gangster proposal for kidnapping and assassination.Professor Peter Kuznick, author and historian, and Professor Ken Hammond, professor of East Asian and global history at New Mexico State University and activist with Pivot to Peace, come together to discuss China. As the US fumbles through a ham-handed policy towards Taiwan, China is making it clear that they are deadly serious about their red lines. US neocons have shifted their war machine to Asia, but they may be playing a losing hand.Laith Marouf, broadcaster and journalist based in Beirut, joins us to discuss Iran. Iran has made it clear that they require the removal of sanctions for them to accept the US back into the JCPOA nuclear deal. Also, the Islamic Republic has been formally accepted into the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.Dr. Iyabo Obasanjo, professor, epidemiologist, veterinarian, and the daughter of former Nigerian President Mr. Olusegun Obasanjo, joins us to discuss Africa. The US empire is now working to expand its military operations in Africa and the oil-rich nation of Nigeria is ground zero for its proxy wars.We'd love to get your feedback at radio@sputniknews.com

Truth 101 If everyone enjoyed a vegetarian diet, Covid 19 and virtually all illness would disappear. For you would have a Genesis 1:29 diet, a most perfect diet created for the perfect human body, as it would be 10% protein, 10% fat and 80% complex carbohydrates. For USA has the highest death rate for Covid 19 because it has the worst diet on earth, with 45% protein, 50% fat and only 5% complex carbohydrates. And so, put nothing in your grocery cart that is more than 15% fat. In short eat nothing processed by man or animal. 0

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julian assange, nigeria, lithuania, facebook, nordstream 2, jcpoa, the critical hour, , radio
https://sputniknews.com/20211006/north-koreas-ship-with-missile-sighted-off-japan-coast-reports-say-1089706744.html

North Korea's Ship With Missile Sighted Off Japan Coast, Reports Say

North Korea's Ship With Missile Sighted Off Japan Coast, Reports Say

TOKYO (Sputnik) - The Japan Coast Guard has spotted a man-portable surface-to-air missile system on one of the North Korean patrol ships that entered Japan's... 06.10.2021, Sputnik International

2021-10-06T10:48+0000

2021-10-06T10:48+0000

2021-10-06T10:48+0000

asia & pacific

japan

democratic republic of north korea (dprk)

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One of the ships was equipped with a man-portable surface-to-air missile system, similar to the SA-16, which was developed by the former Soviet Union with a 4.5-kilometer range.A similar missile system was mounted on a North Korean reconnaissance vessel that sank in 2001 near Amami Oshima Island during a shootout with a Japanese patrol ship at sea. A North Korean ship with MANPADS was seen for the first time in the area of the Yamato Gully in the Sea of Japan.The Japan Coast Guard has stepped up measures to ensure the safety of the country's fishing vessels.In recent years, North Korean and Chinese fishing schooners have frequently appeared in the exclusive economic zone of Japan near Yamatotai in the Sea of Japan. However, in June this year, despite the squid-fishing season, North Korean schooners did not enter the area; instead, the Japanese Coast Guard began to sight North Korean patrol ships in the area, the NHK broadcaster reported.

japan

democratic republic of north korea (dprk)

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asia & pacific, japan, democratic republic of north korea (dprk)
https://sputniknews.com/20211006/pandora-papers-queens-lawyers-acted-for-politician-accused-of-looting-state-billions-from-nigeria-1089702539.html

Pandora Papers: Queen's Lawyers Acted for Politician Accused of Looting State Billions From Nigeria

Pandora Papers: Queen's Lawyers Acted for Politician Accused of Looting State Billions From Nigeria

The Pandora Papers, unveiled on 3 October, is a trove of almost 12 million leaked documents shedding light on tax avoidance via secret offshore companies by... 06.10.2021, Sputnik International

2021-10-06T10:24+0000

2021-10-06T10:24+0000

2021-10-06T10:27+0000

pandora papers

news

world

nigeria

offshore

uk

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An elite London solicitors firm serving Queen Elizabeth II throughout her reign has represented a politician accused by US prosecutors of corruption, reports The Guardian. While there's no indication of wrongdoing or breaking the law, Farrer & Co, which boasts a long history of representing members of the royal family, finds itself in the crosshairs following the bombshell revelations laid bare by the so-called Pandora Papers.After the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) published the dossier of more than 11.9 million leaked financial documents, Farrer & Cos legal representation of Abubakar Bagudu over the years has come to light.The Nigerian politician has been accused by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) of playing an instrumental role in a corruption scheme that resulted in the plundering of billions of dollars from the coffers of West Africa's most populous nation. Bagudu has consistently denied any wrongdoing. International Treasure HuntAfter General Sani Abacha  Nigerias late military leader  died in 1998, the countrys new government accused him of having overseen a conspiracy to steal billions from Nigerian state coffers. According to corruption watchdog Transparency International, the ruler was estimated to have plundered as much as $5 billion of public money. The general was never charged with corruption during his life, with Nigeria fighting for years to recover the money. As the hunt proceeded, the allegedly looted billions were traced to accounts in Paris and London via a chain of front companies. Bagudu, an associate of Abacha, in 1999 confessed to a Nigerian court that he had received funds from the general.In 2003, after a court-approved settlement Bagudu agreed to return about $300 million of his fortune, albeit without admitting any wrongdoing.Controversial ClientAccording to the Pandora Papers, Farrer & Co started acting for Bagudu in February 2010. It's claimed the company aided the Nigerian and his brother in transferring the ownership of 98 million (113 million) from a British Virgin Islands (BVI) trust to a jurisdiction in Singapore and the Cook Islands called the Blue Group.According to the leaked documents, the solicitors engaged the services of a trust company in Singapore  Asiaciti  to administer the newly-created group. Farrer & Co subsequently continued to be involved in managing the trusts. The law firm was cited by The Guardian as having conducted extensive due diligence on Bagudu and the result reportedly met the firms legal and regulatory obligations."The newly revealed documents show that in April 2010, Farrer & Co sought a response from another firm representing Bagudu regarding their mutual clients source of offshore wealth. At the time, the firm acknowledged that Bagudu had faced embezzlement charges in line with a criminal investigation and had been arrested and detained in the US for six months. However, Farrer & Co was also given assurances that Bagudu had reached a settlement with the Nigerian government. In line with it, he was granted the right to retain funds held in the BVI trust. Furthermore, in August 2010, Farrer & Co is revealed to have submitted a suspicious activity report (SAR) to the UKs Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca). It sought consent to have assets held by Bagudus trust in the BVI transferred to the new Blue Group structure. After a detailed precautionary report of the transaction including the assets and their whereabouts, the consent was granted, with 98 million of cash and securities transferred to the Blue Group, writes the outlet. It was then that some of the funds were directly channeled to Bagudu. As for trust firm Asiaciti, an internal memo written by its head acknowledged the somewhat controversial background of the Nigerian but maintained him as a client. Farrer & Co and Asiaciti found themselves in a controversial position over their client in 2014 after the DoJ alleged that the Nigerian had helped General Abacha to launder the proceeds of the conspiracy via fake companies. Soon after, UK authorities assisted US prosecutors in obtaining a court order freezing Bagudus assets in the country, estimated to be worth 107 million in investments. According to the Pandora Papers, as Farrer & Co represented Bagudu, the relationship generated revenues for Asiaciti estimated to be worth almost $80,000 (60,000) in fees between 2017 and 2018. Unwarranted CriticismFarrer & Co has been cited as dismissing any criticism for maintaining the Nigerian as a client, emphasising they never tried to conceal Bagudus assets, and had received consent from British authorities before transferring control of them to the new trusts. The UK authorities were aware of the whereabouts of their clients assets, said a spokesperson for Farrer & Co, adding: Criticism based on subsequent events and allegations is misplaced and unwarranted. Bagudu, similarly, did not violate any rules or laws by forming the trusts for assets he was allowed to retain as part of the 2003 agreement with the Nigerian government. The Nigerians lawyer was cited as saying there was no evidence of wrongdoing against her client in either criminal or civil cases. Trust company Asiaciti was cited as stating:

Emris Rex Her Majesty is playing with fire interfering with her royal gaggle of lawyers where she shouldn't be. 1

Hans Schultz Tom NoThanks, funny that nobody is talking about the fact that the whole offshore shadow finance world is under the british queen's durisdiction, while some are so busy talking about far fetched connections to Putin. 0

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https://sputniknews.com/20211006/perhaps-not-twitter-doesnt-buy-hillary-clinton-touted-first-foray-into-fiction-1089711880.html

'Perhaps Not': Twitter Doesn't Buy Hillary Clinton' Touted 'First Foray Into Fiction'

'Perhaps Not': Twitter Doesn't Buy Hillary Clinton' Touted 'First Foray Into Fiction'

In February Hillary Clinton, former presidential hopeful, Secretary of State and First Lady, revealed she had penned a new book in partnership with author... 06.10.2021, Sputnik International

2021-10-06T13:28+0000

2021-10-06T13:28+0000

2021-10-06T13:28+0000

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hillary clinton

bill clinton

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Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has touted her new book, 'State of Terror as her first foray into fiction. Clinton tweeted on Tuesday to refer to her literary effort as a labour of love. The piece is co-written with the 2016 Democratic presidential candidates longtime friend, Canadian author of mystery novels Louise Penny. The thriller, published by Simon & Schuster and set for release on 12 October, follows the exploits of a female novice Secretary of State chosen by a new president, who's a "political enemy" of hers. The political thriller then depicts a series of terrorist attacks that trigger an "international chess game", whose vortex draws in such countries as Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and "the Russian mob".Sceptical Twitter users posted comments casting doubt on the fact that this book is, indeed, Hillary Clintons first narrative invention. Washington Free Beacon reporter Chuck Ross shared a screenshot of a 2016 presidential campaign tweet by Clinton that fed into the narrative alleging a server connection between the Trump Organization and Russia-based Alfa Bank.The claim that sought to smear then-Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has since been debunked by Special Counsel John Durham's probe into the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation. In September, a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., handed up an indictment of attorney Michael Sussmann for making a false statement to the FBI and not disclosing his ties to Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign after pushing for an investigation into then-candidate Donald Trump's ties to Russia in 2016. Twitter users recalled other elements of the 2016 presidential tussle. Some on social media recalled the scandal surrounding Haiti quake relief cash flow after the January 2010 earthquake that killed an estimated 220,000 people. At the time, Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State and Bill Clinton was UN Special Envoy to Haiti.Some commented that telling tall tales probably dated back to her time as a member of the impeachment inquiry staff in Washington, D.C., when she advised the House Committee on the Judiciary during the Watergate scandal.The committee's work culminated with the resignation of President Richard Nixon in August 1974. Others made reference to how Hillary Clinton was forced to admit she exaggerated claims of coming under sniper fire during a visit to Bosnia in the 1990s when she was First Lady to her POTUS husband, Bill Clinton. The Clinton campaign for Democratic nomination which saw the politician pitted against Barack Obama had dismissed the erroneous statement as a "misstatement."Hillary Clintons new book comes after her husband, former president Bill Clinton, co-wrote two novels with James Patterson, The Presidents Daughter and The President Is Missing, delving into the political and personal struggles of a fictitious US president.

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https://sputniknews.com/20211006/rivers-of-lava-flow-as-la-palma-volcano-continues-to-erupt-1089697219.html

Rivers of Lava Flow as La Palma Volcano Continues to Erupt

Rivers of Lava Flow as La Palma Volcano Continues to Erupt

The Institute of Volcanology of the Canary Islands forecasts that the eruption could last from 24 to 84 days. 06.10.2021, Sputnik International

2021-10-06T08:35+0000

2021-10-06T08:35+0000

2021-10-06T08:35+0000

world

spain

volcano eruption

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Live from La Palma as the Cumbre Vieja volcano continues to erupt.The La Palma volcano began erupting on 19 September, demolishing 880 buildings and leading to the evacuation of some 6,000 locals.In recent developments, lava began to flow from a third vent in the volcano last Friday.According to Spain's prime minister, the nation is developing a recovery plan together with the Canary Islands government and La Palma's council. The plan has several stages, one of which includes providing over 10 million euros to the victims of the eruption. The second part of the plan will be approved by the cabinet next Tuesday.Follow Sputnik's Live Feed to Find Out More!

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world, spain, volcano eruption
https://sputniknews.com/20211006/russia-hopes-iran-will-soon-ratify-convention-on-caspian-sea---lavrov-1089722575.html

Russia Hopes Iran Will Soon Ratify Convention on Caspian Sea - Lavrov

Russia Hopes Iran Will Soon Ratify Convention on Caspian Sea - Lavrov

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia hopes that Iran will soon ratify the convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea, which bans the military presence of any... 06.10.2021, Sputnik International

2021-10-06T21:42+0000

2021-10-06T21:42+0000

2021-10-06T21:41+0000

sergei lavrov

caspian sea

hossein amir abdollahian

russia

iran

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"Now the issue is being considered by the parliament of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Hopefully, the decision on ratification will be made quickly, and then the convention will fully become an international legal document, securing a new status quo in the Caspian region," Lavrov said at a joint press conference after the meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amirabdollahian.Lavrov noted that Russia has always been against any military activity in the region, including provocative drills, citing Azerbaijan's concerns over recent Iranian military exercises.The convention will go into effect as soon as the last ratification instrument is submitted.When commenting on the drills in the region, Amirabdollahian said that Iran has held several exercises recently, and all Caspian nations were informed of them in advance via diplomatic channels. On Friday, Iran launched military drills in the northwest close to Azerbaijan, which Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev described as a surprise event.The same day, the Iranian side has demonstrated its readiness to ratify the convention.In August 2018, the convention on the Caspian Sea was signed by Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan. The document vested the five nations with exclusive rights, including for responsible usage of the sea's subsoil and other resources.

Holger H. are yo missing a Chromosome? 4

far bat these disgusting russians are the cause for the problems in the caucasus now they want to use it as a lever to get iran into a deal that is not in its interests 0

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russia

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sergei lavrov, caspian sea, hossein amir abdollahian, russia, iran
https://sputniknews.com/20211006/saudi-led-coalition-intercepts-drone-attack-against-abha-airport---report-1089721824.html

Saudi-Led Coalition Intercepts Drone Attack Against Abha Airport - Report

Saudi-Led Coalition Intercepts Drone Attack Against Abha Airport - Report

A Houthi kamikaze drone was reportedly intercepted late on Wednesday in southwestern Saudi Arabia. 06.10.2021, Sputnik International

2021-10-06T20:30+0000

2021-10-06T20:30+0000

2021-10-06T21:45+0000

saudi arabia

middle east

houthis

drone

kamikaze

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According to reports on social media, an explosives-laden drone was intercepted Wednesday evening near Khamis Mushait, a city in Saudi Arabia's southwestern Asir Province, which borders Yemen.Four airport workers were reportedly lightly injured during the incident, although reports did not say how, and several airport windows were also shattered.The airport, one of the kingdom's closest to Yemen, has repeatedly been targeted by Houthi forces that control the Yemeni side of the border. Since 2015, Saudi Arabia has led a coalition of Sunni Arab states against the Houthis, who are Zaidi Shiites and who threw Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, a Saudi ally, out of power in 2014. The war has killed at least 200,000 people directly or indirectly as of last December, according to the United Nations. The Saudis' devastating air war has been amplified by a blockade that has made food, medicine, and other supplies scarce, leading to the largest outbreak of cholera on record and widespread famine.In recent years, the Houthis have attempted to turn the tide by bringing the war into Saudi Arabia itself, launching devastating missile and drone attacks targeting petroleum facilities, military bases and civilian installations.

Tim6311 The attacks will stop when Saudi Arabia withdraw from Yemen. 0

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Morgan Artyukhina https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/04/17/1082703728_0:0:800:800_100x100_80_0_0_0b6ce8daa7411284d60c8a0b6d84186d.jpg

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saudi arabia, middle east, houthis, drone, kamikaze
https://sputniknews.com/20211006/taipei-says-us-commitment-rock-solid-after-cryptic-taiwan-agreement-remark-by-biden-1089720556.html

Taipei Says US Commitment Rock Solid After Cryptic Taiwan Agreement Remark by Biden

Taipei Says US Commitment Rock Solid After Cryptic Taiwan Agreement Remark by Biden

Taiwanese officials seeking clarification on ambiguous comments by US President Joe Biden reported on Wednesday that Washingtons commitment to the autonomous... 06.10.2021, Sputnik International

2021-10-06T18:33+0000

2021-10-06T18:33+0000

2021-10-06T18:34+0000

joe biden

us

china

asia-pacific

taiwan

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"Facing the Chinese government's military, diplomatic and economic threats, Taiwan and the United States have always maintained close and smooth communication channels," the de facto foreign ministry of Taiwan said on Wednesday.Separately, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said from Paris on Wednesday that the US commitment to Taiwan was rock solid and that the US is concerned about what he described as provocative military activity in the region by the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), likely referring to recent flights by large numbers of Chinese aircraft into Taiwans air defense identification zone. The ADIZ is an informal line without standing in international law, inside of which countries who declare them to exist begin tracking and requesting aircraft information.The Taiwanese government had sought clarification about a brief comment Biden made Tuesday evening outside the White HouseAs Sputnik reported, there is no such agreement by that name, although the US and PRC have come to several agreements throughout the 1970s and 1980s about the US relationship with the Republic of China (ROC), the formal name for the government in Taipei. However, none of those agreements bode well for the US position, since in them Washington agreed to end its support for Taiwan.In a phone call last month with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Biden reportedly agreed not to change the One-China Policy, a principle underpinning US relations with the PRC. Beijing considers Taiwan to be a province in rebellion, and will not have relations with countries that continue to recognize the ROC as the legitimate Chinese government, since it was defeated on the mainland in 1949 by communist forces after years of civil war.Under Bidens predecessor, Donald Trump, the US informal relations with Taiwan grew closer, as his rise to power coincided with a new government in Taipei under Tsai Ing-wen, who favors independence. Weapons sales, military drills, and visits by high-profile figures helped rile Chinese fury, as Beijing regards US actions as meddling in Chinas internal affairs. Beijing has said that if Taiwan declares independence, there will be war.Speaking before the Taiwanese legislature on Wednesday, defense minister Chiu Kuo-cheng referred to the situation as the most serious Taiwan has faced in more than 40 years, although Reuters suggested his description was hyperbolic when past events, such as the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis, were taken into context.Chiu claimed the PRC will be able to mount a full scale invasion of the island, which sits 80 miles off its eastern coast, by 2025.Taiwanese government and media have claimed in the past that Chinese forces were preparing to mount amphibious assaults on Taiwan or islands it controls, such as Pratas in the South China Sea, but those fears have never materialized.

us

china

asia-pacific

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Morgan Artyukhina https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/04/17/1082703728_0:0:800:800_100x100_80_0_0_0b6ce8daa7411284d60c8a0b6d84186d.jpg

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joe biden, us, china, asia-pacific, taiwan
https://sputniknews.com/20211006/taiwanese-defense-minister-china-capable-of-mounting-full-scale-invasion-against-taiwan-by-2025-1089696432.html

Taiwanese Defense Minister: China Capable of Mounting 'Full Scale' Invasion Against Taiwan by 2025

Taiwanese Defense Minister: China Capable of Mounting 'Full Scale' Invasion Against Taiwan by 2025

Tensions between China and Taiwan have undergone a severe escalation after reports emerged detailing dozens of incidences in which Chinese aircraft conducted... 06.10.2021, Sputnik International

2021-10-06T03:54+0000

2021-10-06T03:54+0000

2021-10-06T03:53+0000

china

tensions

asia-pacific

taiwan

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Taiwanese Defense Minister Chiu Kuo Cheng noted on Wednesday that tensions between the Taipei and Beijing had reached an all-time high after dozens of Chinese aircraft conducted flights through Taiwan's air defense zone, suggesting that heated exchanges were likely in just a few years' time.The defense minister's remarks came during a parliamentary appearance in which he was asked to remark on the island nation's current military tensions with China, according to Reuters, which further reported that China had carried out upwards of 100 flights across the nation's territory over the last several days.Chiu reportedly took the opportunity to acknowledge that exchanges with China had been "the most serious" in more than 40 years, since his time serving in the military, underscoring that the current situation ups the possibility of a "misfire" over the Taiwan Strait."For me as a military man, the urgency is right in front of me," he said, later offering that Taiwanese officials see the possibility of a military invasion by China in the next few years. Chiu's commentary follows similar remarks voiced by Taiwanese President Tsai Ing Wen, who recently called on the US to up its presence in the region. In a submission for the New York-based media outlet Foreign Affairs, Tsai wrote that there would be "catastrophic" consequences if Taiwan were to fall.The island nation of Taiwan, officially known as the Republic of China, is seen by Beijing as a wayward Chinese territory that must be returned to the jurisdiction of the mainland, by force, if necessary. Taiwan has long been a self-governing nation, however, and Taipei has consistently stated that it will protect its autonomy at any cost, having purchased billions' of dollars of weapons from US over the years.In late 2020, the US Department of Defense approved a hefty $1.8 billion weapons sale package that included rocket launchers, upgraded sensors and artillery.Although US President Joe Biden left many reporters somewhat confused on Tuesday when touching on the latest developments between China and Taiwan, he has previously stated that he has no intention of altering the long-standing US policy of backing the "One-China Policy," a piece of Chinese geopolitical branding that envisions the return of Taiwan to the control of Beijing.China's uptick of military activity near the island nation came shortly after the US State Department expressed "concern" over Beijing's "provocative" military actions in the region.

mandrake Israel is a geopolitical experiment that is a failure and as with experiments that do not work out, you end the experiment asap. This means that the jews must go and palestine returned to the palestinians! 5

mandrake China ought to have done something about vhiang kai checks fiefdom long ago, but didnt do so. Now they better hurry up since moronistan (aka usa) is hot on the trot to use taiwan in their beef with china. A quick attack by sea, by air and a large number of soldiers will do the trick and moreover a majority if tauwanese are much more in favour of china than moronistan. Maybe china should resort to the jewish way, and assassinate that pro-us female leader of the island! 4

8

china

asia-pacific

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Gaby Arancibia

Gaby Arancibia

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Gaby Arancibia

china, tensions, asia-pacific, taiwan
https://sputniknews.com/20211006/the-american-people-are-fed-up-with-the-two-party-system-1089693803.html

The American People are Fed Up with the Two-Party System

The American People are Fed Up with the Two-Party System

On todays episode of The Backstory, host Lee Stranahan and co-host John Kiriakou discussed current events, including President Biden blaming the debt ceiling... 06.10.2021, Sputnik International

2021-10-06T11:17+0000

2021-10-06T11:17+0000

2021-10-06T11:17+0000

haiti

radio

us

climate change

chile

congress

oil

hbo

fbi

the backstory

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The American People are Fed Up with the Two-Party System On todays episode of The Backstory, host Lee Stranahan and co-host John Kiriakou discussed current events, including President Biden blaming the debt ceiling on Republicans, and Russia banning Scientology from operating in the country.

GUESTBrian Wright - Lawyer and Former Radio Host | California Oil Spill, Gerrymandering, and The Electoral CollegeTodd Bensman - Senior National Security Fellow and Author | Immigration Fraud, Haitians Arriving at the U.S. Border, and International MigrantsIn the first hour, John spoke with Brian Wright about the recent oil spill in California, third political parties, and changing America's voting system. Brian discussed the damage the oil spill has caused in California and the possible causes of the oil line malfunction. Brain talked about the failures of America's two-party political system and possible future solutions.In the second hour, John spoke with Todd Bensman on the security threats at the border, Haitian migrants from South America, and the New York Times warning of another border surge. Todd spoke on his experience at the Del Rio border and his conversations with the Haitian migrants. Todd talked about the Yuma, Arizona border and the reports of seventy thousand migrants headed to the Yuma, Arizona border.We'd love to get your feedback at radio@sputniknews.com

haiti

chile

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haiti, radio, us, climate change, chile, congress, oil, hbo, fbi, the backstory, filibuster, 
https://sputniknews.com/20211006/trumps-ex-press-secretary-says-jared-kushner-ivanka-acted-as-shadow-president-first-lady-1089708413.html

Trump's Ex-Press Secretary Says Jared Kushner, Ivanka Acted as 'Shadow President, First Lady'

Trump's Ex-Press Secretary Says Jared Kushner, Ivanka Acted as 'Shadow President, First Lady'

Former Donald Trump press secretary Stephanie Grisham appeared on CNN's New Day as part of a media tour for her new tell-all memoir, 'I'll Take Your Questions... 06.10.2021, Sputnik International

2021-10-06T11:51+0000

2021-10-06T11:51+0000

2021-10-06T11:51+0000

donald trump

news

us

ivanka trump

jared kushner

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Former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham has claimed that Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump thought they were a shadow President and First Lady throughout Donald Trumps tenure in the Oval Office. Grisham has offered up an unflattering assessment of the allegedly blase couple that felt they could hire whomever they pleased, as she appeared on CNNs New Day. Trumps third press secretary and sixth communications director to then-First Lady Melania Trump has been on a media tour promoting her new book of memoirs, I'll Take Your Questions Now, released on Tuesday. Grisham, who was famously the first White House press secretary to hold no press conferences, preferring interviews for news outlets, described the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner as Rasputin in a slim-fitting. She claimed in the interview that he changed as we went through the White House. And he got really heady with power during his four years as Trump's senior White House adviser. Grisham, who served as Press Secretary from 2017 to 2019 and became Chief of Staff and Press Secretary to Melania Trump from 2020 to 2021, offered her take on the role that Kushner played.Nobody ever challenged Jared, she said. Grisham criticised Kushner for ostensibly venturing into policy areas he was unqualified to deal with, seeking to save the day. However, she claims that when things were getting really tough. he and Donald Trumps eldest daughter would suddenly disappeared on vacations. In Stephanie Grishams telling, unpaid White House adviser Ivanka Trump was the brains of the couple. According to her, aides to Donald Trump had referred to his daughter as the princess. Stephanie Grisham offered more revealing titbits about the power couple in her new 352-page memoir. According to her, Ivanka and Jared tried to insinuate themselves into Donald and Melania Trump's meeting with Queen Elizabeth II during the Trumps' state visit to the UK in June 2019. They purportedly undertook a similar effort during Trumps February 2020 state trip to India where he met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She also noted that nobody could stop the power-hungry couple. At the end of the day, it's his daughter and son-in-law and nobody could work around him, concluded Grisham.

Sputnik User Obviously in the Land of the Free there is no way, legal or not to silence a scumbag like this woman who is out to make a buck and denigrates everything. Defamation does not work in this case?! 1

vot tak The kushners have a direct line to netanyahoo, who passed on the orders to israel's american colony. The kushners then passed those orders on to trump and the rest of the quisling regime. 1

2

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2021

Svetlana Ekimenko

Svetlana Ekimenko

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Svetlana Ekimenko

donald trump, news, us, ivanka trump, jared kushner
https://sputniknews.com/20211006/twenty-years-of-us-presence-only-replaced-taliban-with-corrupt-warlords-in-afghanistan-1089701437.html

Twenty Years of US Presence Only Replaced Taliban With Corrupt Warlords in Afghanistan

Twenty Years of US Presence Only Replaced Taliban With Corrupt Warlords in Afghanistan

MOSCOW (Sputnik), Tommy Yang - On the eve of the 20th anniversary of US invasion of Afghanistan, a local resident in the capital city of Kabul shared with... 06.10.2021, Sputnik International

2021-10-06T08:18+0000

2021-10-06T08:18+0000

2021-10-06T08:18+0000

asia & pacific

afghanistan

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When Americans ousted the Taliban* from power in 2001, Raeis, who only wished to be identified by his first name, was a young student in the seventh grade. The biggest changes the Americans brought to his life were the subjects he needed to learn in school.Gradually, other freedoms were introduced in Afghanistan as well. Girls were allowed to attend schools and women were allowed to find new jobs. Even democratic elections started to be held in the country.However, despite the increased individual liberties Afghans could enjoy, what the US presence couldn't change was the basic social hierarchy in the country. For ordinary Afghans like Raeis, the Americans simply replaced the Taliban with a group of Islamist fighters known as the mujahideens.The mujahideen fighters Raeis referred to were a group of armed Islamist rebel groups that the United States initially supported to fight against the Afghan government during the Soviet Union's occupation of the country in the 1980s. The mujahideen fighters took power in Afghanistan in 1992 before being defeated by the Taliban in 1996.Raeis argued that the United States never intended to help Afghanistan become a modern nation and only went after their specific targets such as the terrorist groups.During a speech on the end of the war in Afghanistan on 31 August, Biden described where he saw the US mission in the country gone wrong."We saw a mission of counterterrorism in Afghanistan  getting the terrorists and stopping attacks  morph into a counterinsurgency, nation building  trying to create a democratic, cohesive, and unified Afghanistan - something that has never been done over the many centuries of Afghanistan's history, Biden said.Struggling to Support FamilyRaeis was born in a family with a long tradition of serving in the Afghan military. His grandfather was born in 1895 and served as a general in the Afghan military that fought against the British in the War of Independence in the early 20th century.Raeis' father also served in the Afghan military under the previous government backed by the Soviet Union. But when the Moscow-backed government lost to the mujahideen fighters in 1992, his father became jobless.In order to raise Raeis and his four brothers and sisters, his father relied on income from selling fruits and later brought his own vehicle to transport people between different Afghan cities.Because Raeis' father served under the previous Afghan government that fought against the mujahideen fighters, his family's fortunes did not improve when the mujahideen warlords came to power again after the US invasion in 2001.When Raeis' father drove people from Kabul to northern Afghan cities, he had to go through old tunnels that were built by the Soviet Union and were damaged during the years of intense fighting in the country. His father had two major accidents in those tunnels that almost killed him.In order to help his father and share the burden of providing for the family, Raeis started to work as young as 18 years old, when he just finished high school.As the oldest son, Raeis had to try to pay for the education of his younger siblings. Throughout the years, he covered the education expenses for his two younger brothers, who both became police officers, and his two younger sisters, until one became a doctor and another worked in a telecommunications company.In order to make more money for his family and look for a brighter future, Raeis enrolled in a private university that offered night classes, which allowed him to continue to work in the daytime. He also began to dedicate his efforts in learning English as a lot of the new jobs in Afghanistan involved working with Americans.Eventually, Raeis completed a degree in business administration and obtained a new job to work on projects initiated by US organizations.Corrupted ElitesDuring the 20 years of US presence in Afghanistan, while ordinary people like Raeis received new job opportunities thanks to foreign investments, the mujahideen warlords and the Afghan elites with dual nationalities were the ones that benefited the most.Despite elected civilian leaders such as Hamid Karzai serving as the president of Afghanistan, the mujahideen warlords such as Mohammad Qasim Fahim held significant influence in the country. Fahim not only received the honorary title of Marshal in 2004, he also served as the vice president and the defense minister of Afghanistan.That is why opportunities for the younger generation in Afghanistan were still very limited."Most of the younger generation in Afghanistan who worked hard and studied under tough situations like myself, we couldn't get any positions in the government. They can only try to escape from the country. That's why when the European Union began to accept refugees in 2015, a large number of the migrants were young people from Afghanistan. They would even risk their lives to try to reach Europe," Raeis said.He argued that the rapid collapse of the Afghan government and the swift rise of the Taliban following the US withdrawal were the results of Afghan people's disgust against the ruling elites' corruption.Raeis explained that ordinary Afghans did not strongly resist the Taliban because they just wanted peace.However, Raeis pointed out that soon ordinary Afghans would realize how radical the Taliban's policies were and they would start to resist such policies which he fears could lead to a new civil war in the country.For the Taliban, they would also face the challenges of providing jobs that could sustain the living standards Afghans got used to during the 20 years of US presence.For ordinary hardworking Afghans like himself, Raeis said they could only try to take care of their own families by trying to escape from the country.*A terrorist group outlawed in Russia and many other countries.

https://sputniknews.com/20210819/its-not-true-biden-denies-afghanistan-will-mirror-taliban-rule-prior-to-2001-us-invasion-1083664318.html

https://sputniknews.com/20210913/new-afghan-govt-to-take-every-legal-step-possible-to-lift-us-asset-freeze-taliban-says-1089032736.html

https://sputniknews.com/20200116/afghanistan-cant-be-peaceful-without-the-best-relations-with-pakistan---ex-president-karzai-1078052125.html

Hess What a Sputnik of BS and anii-Islam propaganda. The Chief Editor of Sputnik should be ashamed of this BS. Even US media will not go that low. 1

1

afghanistan

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asia & pacific, afghanistan
https://sputniknews.com/20211006/two-russians-were-on-board-vessel-with-cocaine-detained-in-france-russian-embassy-says-1089713610.html

Two Russians Were on Board Vessel With Cocaine Detained in France, Russian Embassy Says

Two Russians Were on Board Vessel With Cocaine Detained in France, Russian Embassy Says

PARIS (Sputnik) - The French authorities confirmed that there had been two Russians on board the ship with cocaine detained on 1 October in Dunkirk, Russian... 06.10.2021, Sputnik International

2021-10-06T13:46+0000

2021-10-06T13:46+0000

2021-10-06T13:46+0000

detained

europe

ship

france

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"We are monitoring the situation and taking all necessary measures. According to the information available to the embassy, the ship detained on 1 October in the port of Dunkirk was sailing under the Liberian flag. The shipowner has nothing to do with our country. The French competent authorities confirmed to us that the detained crew, which comprised nationals of several countries, included two Russian citizens," the embassy said.The diplomatic mission noted that investigative actions were now being carried out.The Russian Embassy is in close contact with the French authorities, the Russian Trade Union of Seamen and the relatives of the detainees.On Tuesday, AFP reported that authorities of the French port of Dunkirk had detained the ship's crew, including several Russian sailors, as they found more than a tonne of cocaine on board.

Bukar Inusa All thanks to Mr Anderson for helping with my profits and making my fifth withdrawal possible. I'm here to share an amazing life changing opportunity with you. its called Bitcoin / Forex trading options. it is a highly lucrative business which can earn you as much as $2,570 in a week from an initial investment of just $200. I am living proof of this great business opportunity. If anyone is interested in trading on bitcoin or any cryptocurrency and want a successful trade without losing notify Mr Anderson now.Whatsapp: (+447883246472 ) Email: tdameritrade077@gmail.com 0

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detained, europe, ship, france
https://sputniknews.com/20211006/uk-court-finds-dubai-ruler-hacked-ex-wifes-phone-using-pegasus-spyware-1089715456.html

Dubai Ruler Denies Hacking Ex-Wife's Phone Using Pegasus Spyware

Dubai Ruler Denies Hacking Ex-Wife's Phone Using Pegasus Spyware

A legal battle over the welfare of their two children saw Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum hack his ex-wife Princess Haya and five of her associates. 06.10.2021, Sputnik International

2021-10-06T15:07+0000

2021-10-06T15:07+0000

2021-10-06T15:50+0000

world

uk

sheikh mohammed bin rashid maktoum

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https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/0a/06/1089716167_0:58:2901:1689_1920x0_80_0_0_9b4c865c9a440fbbf9d5a9734128b594.jpg

Dubai's Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum has rejected the findings by a British court judge that he had hacked the phones of his ex-wife Princess Haya using NSO Groups controversial Pegasus spyware.A senior high court judge has found that the ruler of Dubai hacked the phone of his ex-wife Princess Haya and her lawyers using Pegasus spyware in an unlawful abuse of power and trust.Among those hacked were two of Hayas lawyers, one of whom was Lady Shackleton, who sits in the House of Lords. Shackleton represented Prince Charles in his divorce from his late first wife Princess Diana. Shackleton was warned about the hacking by Cherie Blair, the wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who works with the Israeli NSO Group.The NSO group is the developer of the sophisticated "Pegasus" software, created for states to counter national security risks, and used by Dubai's ruler against his ex-wife. England's High Court ruled that the hacking was ordered as part of a "sustained campaign of intimidation and threat" during the custody battle. The court also heard that people working for Sheikh Mohammed tried to buy a mansion next door to Haya's estate near London, in an intimidatory action - as ruled by the court - that made Haya feel unsafe. The allegations by the court were denied by the sheikh, whose lawyers that he hadnt authorised it or instructed, encouraged or in any way suggested any other person should use NSO or any software in this way."

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https://sputniknews.com/20211006/us-reportedly-pressing-israel-on-security-concerns-over-chinese-built-port-in-haifa-1089721985.html

US Reportedly Pressing Israel on Security Concerns Over Chinese-Built Port in Haifa

US Reportedly Pressing Israel on Security Concerns Over Chinese-Built Port in Haifa

The US has repeatedly pressed Israeli officials to inspect the Chinese-operated port construction project near Haifa. The port is adjacent to Israels largest... 06.10.2021, Sputnik International

2021-10-06T21:16+0000

2021-10-06T21:16+0000

2021-10-06T21:14+0000

united states

us navy

israel

central intelligence agency (cia)

us-china relations

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Sources told Breaking Defense that of primary concern to US officials are the heavy machinery that Chinas state-owned Shanghai International Port Group has brought in to complete the project. Israeli and US security experts are both aware of the relative ease with which a surveillance device could be hidden.The ports close proximity to a naval base, if compromised, could pose a security risk for Israel and the US. The concern is not that the Chinese government would be able to find weaknesses to attack the base, but that it would be able to gather intelligence on military equipment and technology.The US has long-held security concerns over Chinese investments in allied nations. In August, CIA Director Bill Burns told Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett that the United States was concerned over Chinese tech firms and infrastructure projects being carried out in Israel. The stance is a carryover from the Trump administration, and while Israel does share some concerns raised by the US, the reality is that US firms are unwilling to take all the projects.The US continues to voice concern over Chinas growing economic might as a security threat for itself and its allies. With Chinese state-owned firms continuing to earn lucrative contracts, China is challenging the US long-held political and economic influence abroad.

Sputnik User It is just a matter of time before the US crumbles like the Ponzi scheme it is 5

Kiwi Because US with guilty conscience knows all too well what spying tricks it does or would do if it could. 4

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https://sputniknews.com/20211006/us-trying-to-set-up-presence-near-afghanistan-under-pretext-of-fighting-terror-russia-says-1089713876.html

US Trying to Set Up Presence Near Afghanistan Under Pretext of Fighting Terror, Russia Says

US Trying to Set Up Presence Near Afghanistan Under Pretext of Fighting Terror, Russia Says

Washington began reaching out to Afghanistan's neighbours, including Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, in May after President Joe Biden announced that the US would be... 06.10.2021, Sputnik International

2021-10-06T14:04+0000

2021-10-06T14:04+0000

2021-10-06T15:54+0000

afghanistan

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https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/18963/83/189638350_0:160:3073:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_299dfd6d7a1870335aec552d8d573ddf.jpg

The United States has not given up on its geopolitical aspirations in West Asia, and is seeking to shore up its position in countries neighbouring Afghanistan under the pretext of fighting terrorism, Yuri Kokov, deputy chief of the Russian Security Council, has said."Indeed, there are threats of a geopolitical nature [to Russia], stemming from the fact that the Americans have not actually abandoned their ambitions in this region," Kokov said, speaking to the Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper in an in interview published on Wednesday.Commenting on the "dynamic" and "contradictory" processes taking place in Afghanistan, including the dramatic and unexpected collapse of the Afghan government and security forces in a matter of days in mid-August, Kokov suggested that one of the only things that could be stated "with confidence" was that "the 20-year military campaign by the United States and its allies in Afghanistan not only ended in vain, but in many respects also aggravated the crises in this country.""The most important thing when it comes to the fight against terrorism is the result. We see that as a result of the coalition's presence in Afghanistan, the country was essentially taken over by the international terrorist organisation known as the Taliban Movement," Kokov added.All Your Base are Belong to USIn testimony before lawmakers late last month, senior US military officials reportedly indicated that the Biden administration was in talks with Moscow about using Russian bases in Central Asian to conduct counterterrorism missions in Afghanistan. The officials further indicated that Washington was speaking with the governments of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and other countries on potential basing rights.Last month, the Wall Street Journal reported that US Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley brought up the subject of Russian bases in Central Asia to respond to terror threats in Afghanistan in talks with Russian Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov in Helsinki on 22 September. Officials speaking to the newspaper described Gerasimov's reaction to Milley's proposal as "noncommittal."The Biden administration first approached leaders in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to discuss the basing issue in May, and Homeland Security officials traveled to Tashkent to discuss potential "counterterrorism cooperation" in July as State Department and Pentagon officials met with the Uzbek and Tajik foreign ministers in Washington.The US briefly deployed troops in Tajikistan in 2001, and in Uzbekistan between 2001 and 2005, in the early phase of the US-led war in Afghanistan. Between 2001 and 2014, Washington also had access to a major military facility in Kyrgyzstan, which it used as a hub to shuttle troops, equipment, and supplies into and out of the war-torn country. Uzbek and Kyrgyz authorities kicked US forces out of their countries after Washington was accused of meddling in their domestic affairs.Both Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are allies of Russia within the Collective Security Treaty Organisation. Uzbekistan maintains a policy of neutrality but has engaged in security cooperation and drills with Russian forces stationed in neighbouring Tajikistan in recent months amid the deterioration of the security situation in Afghanistan.

https://sputniknews.com/20210825/house-republicans-urge-probe-into-reports-ghani-fled-afghanistan-with-169-mln-in-us-aid-1083708476.html

https://sputniknews.com/20210728/watch-mass-redeployment-of-russian-forces-in-tajikistan-amid-escalating-afghanistan-tensions-1083478264.html

https://sputniknews.com/20210928/gop-furious-over-report-pentagon-asked-to-access-russian-central-asian-bases-to-monitor-afghanistan-1089483675.html

vot tak The israeloamericans are trying to continue their destabilization strategy by alternate means. 7

BillOwens US must not be allowed to squat anywhere in central asia. They will only cause problems for the countries they are in. Those countries with Russia's help will be enough to keep things manageable. 5

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https://sputniknews.com/20211006/us-watchdog-to-examine-allegations-ashraf-ghani-took-millions-of-dollar-from-afghanistan-1089719574.html

US Watchdog to Examine Allegations Ashraf Ghani Fled Afghanistan With Millions of Dollars

US Watchdog to Examine Allegations Ashraf Ghani Fled Afghanistan With Millions of Dollars

Ex-Afghan President Ashraf Ghani vehemently rejected accusations he fled the country for the United Arab Emirates with a huge amount of cash, describing the... 06.10.2021, Sputnik International

2021-10-06T17:39+0000

2021-10-06T17:39+0000

2021-10-06T18:06+0000

afghanistan

us

ashraf ghani

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Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, John Sopko, has said his office will examine the allegations that former President Ashraf Ghani took millions of dollars with him when he escaped in mid-August.Reports of Ghani having fled Afghanistan with millions in cash emerged as a spokesperson for the Russian Embassy told Sputnik that the Afghan president had departed with four cars filled with money."As for the collapse of the regime, it is most eloquently characterised by the way Ghani fled from Afghanistan: four cars were full of money, they tried to put part of the money into a helicopter, but everything did not fit. And some of the money was left on the runway", the spokesperson said.Subsequent reports suggested that the dollar amount Ghani escaped with was in excess of $169 million, a figure which has never been confirmed.The deposed president later rebuffed the "unsubstantiated and untrue accusations" and claimed that he was in such a rush he was even forced to leave behind some confidential documents.In late August, Republicans on the US House Oversight Committee called on Attorney General (AG) Merrick Garland to investigate media reports that Ghani had taken more than $169 million in US taxpayer money when he fled Afghanistan.James Comer and Glenn Grothman wrote to the AG and Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, urging the Biden administration to "do everything in its power to seize any illicitly gained funds that were corruptly embezzled by President Ghani".The two politicians stressed that, although it remained unclear as to how he obtained such an "enormous" sum of cash, "the amount and nature of his flight from Afghanistan raises the spectre that president Ghani illegally and corruptly embezzled these funds from US assistance intended for the Afghan people's welfare and defence".On 15 August, the day the Taliban* reached the gates of Kabul and subsequently seized control of the country, Ghani fled for the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He later claimed that he had done so to prevent bloodshed, and declared that he intended to return to Afghanistan in the near future to provide "justice" for all Afghan nationals.*The Taliban is a terrorist group banned in Russia and many other countries.

https://sputniknews.com/20210816/afghan-president-ghani-fled-kabul-with-cash-filled-cars-russian-embassy-1083620203.html

TruePatriot It's obvious he fled with millions of US $s he'd skimmed and been paid as bribes. So much so that not all of it fit in 4 helicopters that day he ran like a dog. The rest was left on the ground at the airport. So, that is without question. It appears he flew to Uzbekistan and got a frosty reception. After that a mysterious "white plane" (CIA con-air??) arrived and took him and his entourage elsewhere - allegedly to the UAE. An Interpol red notice needs to be put out on this thief and he needs to be returned to Afghanistan forthwith. 3

TruePatriot For the West to investigate is worse than the foxes watching the chicken house. It's patently absurd. 3

2

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https://sputniknews.com/20211006/war-of-words-escalates-between-psg--real-madrid-as-french-club-accuses-spanish-giants-of-disrespect-1089698874.html

War of Words Escalates Between PSG & Real Madrid as French Club Accuses Spanish Giants of Disrespect

War of Words Escalates Between PSG & Real Madrid as French Club Accuses Spanish Giants of Disrespect

World Cup winner Kylian Mbappe's potential switch to Real Madrid has now transformed into an ever escalating war of words between the two iconic clubs. 06.10.2021, Sputnik International

2021-10-06T10:29+0000

2021-10-06T10:29+0000

2021-10-06T10:29+0000

football

football

sport

real madrid

cristiano ronaldo

sputnik

transfer

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Sporting director of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) Brazilian Leonardo Nascimento de Araujo has slammed 13-time Champions League winners Real Madrid as he claimed that they are making a mockery of French star Kylian Mbappe's association with the Paris-based club. Leonardo's scathing remarks came after Real president Florentino Perez hinted a deal for Mbappe has already been sealed by Cristiano Ronaldo's former side."This is another example of the lack of respect for PSG and for Mbappe," Leonardo told French outlet L'Equipe."In fact, in the same week a Real Madrid player, then the Real Madrid and now the president talk about Kylian as if he was already one of their own. I repeat: this is a lack of respect that we cannot tolerate," he added.During the summer transfer window, Mbappe was said to be about to move to Madrid. However, the deal fell through because Leonardo wouldn't let the Frenchman leave despite the way he snubbed PSG's latest contract offer.Mbappe, who receives a staggering $20 million a year from PSG besides performance-linked bonuses, turned down the new contract, despite the French side offering him a significant salary hike and an option to stay at the club for one more year.But Perez appeared quite confident about landing Mbappe at the Santiago Bernabeu by January when reporters asked him last week if Real Madrid was still in hot pursuit of the prodigious forward."In January we will have news from Mbappe. We hope that on January 1 everything can be solved," Perez told the Spanish media.Even though the Real president later went back on his remarks as he realised that it could jeopardise the Spaniards' relationship with PSG, Leonardo's accusations have confirmed that his worst fears have turned out to be true."My words were not interpreted well. What I said is that we'll have to wait until next year for any news, remaining respectful towards PSG, with whom we maintain good relations," Perez said in a conversation with French radio station RMC.Despite Perez's clarification, it is no secret that Real Madrid have been hotly pursuing Mbappe.They certainly weren't backward during the summer transfer window in trying to secure Mbappe's departure from Parc des Princes, making three massive offers, their last bid only hours before the 31 August deadline.But the Los Blancos couldn't secure the deal despite raising their offer from $188 million to $211 million and then to $262 million, as the Parisian club rejected their advances to keep the French star with them for at least one more year.

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football, football, sport, real madrid, cristiano ronaldo, sputnik, transfer, contract, deal, sport, football, sport, contract, fc real madrid, deal, transfer, psg, sputnik, paris saint-germain (psg), football, football team, football legend, football star, kylian mbappe
https://sputniknews.com/20211006/watch-biden-seems-to-invent-taiwan-agreement-with-china-in-press-comments-1089695393.html

Watch: Biden Seems to Invent Taiwan Agreement With China in Press Comments

Watch: Biden Seems to Invent Taiwan Agreement With China in Press Comments

US President Joe Biden left reporters puzzled on Tuesday after mentioning a supposed Taiwan Agreement with the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), since no... 06.10.2021, Sputnik International

2021-10-06T01:08+0000

2021-10-06T01:08+0000

2021-10-06T04:57+0000

joe biden

china

taiwan

joint communique

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China hasIve spoken with Xi about Taiwan. We agree, we will abide by the Taiwan agreement, Biden said outside the White House on Tuesday evening, when asked about the recent flight of several dozen Chinese aircraft into Taiwans air defense identification zone.Thats where we are and I made it clear that I dont think he should be doing anything other than abiding by the agreement, he added.Its unclear to which agreement Biden is referring, as there is no such pact called the Taiwan Agreement. There are a few possibilities, however, although none of them make Bidens statement make any more sense.The ROC was formed in 1912 after the last Chinese emperor abdicated the throne. However, by 1949, it had lost control of all of China except for Taiwan and a handful of islands off the coast, with the entire mainland being captured by the communist Red Army, which declared the PRCs foundation in Beijing. The PRC regards Taiwan as a province in rebellion from the central government that is destined to be reunited with the rest of China. The US continued to recognize the ROC as the Chinese government until the 1970s, when talks began on shifting that recognition.However, the US didnt really do that. The Taiwan Relations Act, passed by Congress in 1979, outlined how the US would continue to provide support to what it now termed the "governing authorities on Taiwan. That support has included pushing for Taiwan to be admitted to international organizations such as the World Health Organization, as well as regular arms sales to Taiwan, including advanced fighter jets, cruise missiles, and torpedoes.The US also performs regular transits of the Taiwan Strait, which separates the island from the mainland, in defiance of a Chinese policy regarding the waterway as internal waters.

Korz-53 US lied! 9

Korz-53 "..US would end its political and military relationship with the ROC and acknowledge there is but one China. 7

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joe biden, china, taiwan, joint communique
Odds-on choice Groovy Joe took control early and cruised as an active backfield skirmished for position, scoring a 2:04 victory going an added distance to win the $11,000 Horses & Geldings Preferred 3 Pace at The Raceway at Western Fair District on Tuesday (Oct. 5).

Driver Paul MacKenzie secured the top with the four-year-old Roll With Joe stallion past a :28.4 first quarter and continued unchallenged to a :57.2 half. J J Powerball, parked from the start, made steady progress uncovered with second-tier starter A Positive Hanover in tow coming to the second circuit.

Pocket-sitter Quick Tour began to lag behind Groovy Joe up the backside, prompting Livin Large to pull off the pegs from fourth approaching three-quarters in 1:26.4. He supplied cover to J J Powerball to the final turn, but the outer tier and the traffic-burdened inner tier had a growing deficit on Groovy Joe spinning for home. Six lengths in front, the Blake MacIntosh trainee cruised to the finish by a diminishing margin of 3-1/2 lengths over late-closing J J Powerball with Livin Large another length behind in third and A Positive Hanover giving pursuit from fourth.

Co-owned by Blake MacIntosh with Hutt Racing Stable, Ozzie Mackay and Hoofbid Racing, Groovy Joe won his fourth race from 21 starts this season and his 14th from 45 overall, pushing his earnings to $404,203. He paid $2.60 to win.

To view Tuesday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Tuesday Results - Western Fair Raceway.
Hall stood by while VMRC Commissioner Steve Bowman and Chief of Fisheries Management Patrick Geer discussed what could be done.

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Id like to move broadband in the same warp speed that were moving this. Im trying to figure out, said Bowman.

Yeah, thats whats beyond our control is getting the broadband up there, Geer replied.

Staying with paper is costing the state too much money and time, says Adam Kenyon, who oversees the mandatory harvest reporting program. He says the online system has over 1,800 users and there are very few complaints.

Our commercial watermen, the average age is over 55, he said. We get more complaints that they dont like computers or they dont understand computers. A lot of times, its just that they havent really gone through the process of trying to work [online]. When they had to do the paper ones, they had to learn the paper ones.

A majority of watermen have always relied on their wives, other relatives or friends to file paperwork with the state. As the state has switched to online reporting, those same people are there to do it.

Richard Harding, who owns Purcells Seafood in Reedville, says he helps oystermen report online at his office, which has internet.
Things pick up in the second half. Clem and his father argue when Clem announces he's quitting college to join the military in the waning days of the Vietnam War. Russ confronts Ambrose with a classic faux apology. In an Albee-scale war of words between Russ and Marion, her anger strikes like lightning, and Russ counters cruelly. Their marriage appears in tatters. With cinematic vividness, Franzen gives us two unforgettable episodes on the Navajo reservation, one involving Russ and Frances, another a perilous all-night escapade starring Perry.

These marvelous, complicated scenes are handled with tremendous energy. They are keen and alive, satisfying and dynamic, if also mortifying.

Similarly well done  though placed awkwardly late in the book  is a long flashback to Russ' odd upbringing in an isolated Mennonite community in rural Indiana. It helps answer questions about Russ that we've had for hundreds of pages.

In "Crossroads," Franzen  known as a crank and a sometimes savage social satirist  offers an ambiguous critique of the church, which he presents as both promise and charade.
The Scotts Bluff County Octoberfest will celebrate and showcase German culture as it returns to the county fairgrounds in Mitchell Saturday, Oct. 23.

Organizer Ken Meyer with the Octoberfest Revived Committee said the one-day festival would be revival after last years event had been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Highlights of the event include a traditional Dutch house band, polka dancing to the tunes of Bob Schmer and the River Boys, and plenty of German cuisine. The food will include cabbage burgers, garlic sausage, rye bread, cheese, pickles, and dina kuchen, or German coffee cake.

We just had an idea, five years ago or so, that we wanted to maintain the heritage of Germans from Russia in this area, he said.

Guests neednt be of German ancestry to enjoy the food and festivities, Meyer said. The event is geared toward appealing to everyone. The festivals meal will be served from the time doors open at 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. Local residents will be among those making the meals.

We want people to walk out and say, Jeez, that tastes just like Grandma used to make, Meyer said.
Turman said he had full confidence that the legal descriptions were correct. Folck said that even if they werent, theyd be able to take them out of the plan and fix them at a later date separately.

Reeds main issue was that his land shouldnt qualify for annexation because, though it is mixed-use parcels, it is agricultural use primarily, 80%, and the rest of its used for hunting and wildlife refuge.

Its not really a candidate to be annexed into a city, he said.

He even provided photos of the land in question to the commissioners, going over his limited time of three minutes to do so.

This is not a rock pile, my friend, he said as he approached the commissioners with his photos.

When Chairman Mary Bowman repeatedly told him his time was up, he said, Well, I should have the same time as the city engineer and the lawyer.

Turman, who mentioned it in his initial comments, said that legal counsel was confident that Reeds property qualified for annexation more than before, citing a Nebraska Supreme Court judgment handed down in late May over a similar issue in the court case Darling vs. City of Bellevue.
And it's a chance to direct some of the funding to assist "parts of our state that are losing population" by providing them with some "opportunities for growth," Wishart said.

Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha told the committee that the infusion of federal dollars, which need to be spent by 2026, provides "a great opportunity for the state to rethink its approach to economic development."

Sen. John Stinner of Gering, chairman of the Appropriations Committee, said Gov. Pete Ricketts will present his own ideas for expenditure of the federal funding to the Legislature in the form of a bill next year.

Speaker of the Legislature Mike Hilgers of Lincoln suggested the money can be used to develop tourism, recreation and water resources across the state.

Hilgers is chairman of the Legislature's adventurously named STAR WARS Committee, an amended designation of the Statewide Tourism and Recreational Water Access and Resources Sustainability Committee.

The committee is studying developmental opportunities along the Platte River, at Lake McConaughy near Ogallala, at Lewis and Clark Lake along the border with South Dakota and at Niobrara State Park in the northeast corner of the state.
COLUMBUS -- A local leader in manufacturing, Phil Raimondo, chairman and CEO of Behlen Mfg. Co., died Sunday.

Raimondo was 59.

Phil was a great guy, a good businessman, state Sen. Mike Moser of Columbus said. The Raimondo family have been great supporters of the Columbus community and believers in Nebraska and believers in manufacturing in the U.S.

Behlen Mfg. Co. was founded in 1936 by Walter D. Behlen. Wickes Corp. took over the company and Phil Raimondo's father, TR Raimondo, was its general manager.

TR Raimondo -- along with Dick Casey, Bob Theilen and Steve McGill -- bought the Columbus-based company in 1984 to return it to local ownership. They reportedly invested $30 million and lost $7 million in their first year. In June, Behlen was valued at $300 million.

Theyve been so important to the Columbus area because they rescued Behlen from the edge of extinction, Moser said. Theyve done such a great job in making it stronger than its ever been before.

Last year the company celebrated 36 years of local ownership. Behlen also has locations in Omaha; Boise, Idaho; Baker City, Oregon; McGregor, Texas; and Sarasota, Florida, according to its website.
There are forces that wish to destroy America. Some of them are visible and some are stealth.

The visible forces include terrorists and certain nation states like Iran. Radical Islamic preachers cry death to America in their sermons, encouraging martyrdom through suicide bombings. Sept. 11 was their crowning achievement, so far. There will likely be other attacks. Some of our military leaders have so predicted. China might also make the list, if not as a destroyer, then as a nation that wants to supplant America as the worlds top economic and military power.

Cal Thomas Cal Thomas, a columnist with Tribune Content Agency. Readers may email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribpub.com.

Those who would destroy by stealth include undocumented immigrants flowing across our southern border. Their intention may not be to destroy America, but that will be the effect if we dont quickly stop the influx and discourage others from coming. Its almost laughable to hear some in the liberal media claim we have a moral obligation to help immigrants when we are ignoring the plight of women in Afghanistan and so many other areas to which the word moral might rightly be attached.
Progressive Rep. Pramila Jayapal has been all over TV trying to look reasonable with her ingratiating smile and syrupy references to the left's interest in "negotiations." At issue is the Democrats' final number on its social spending bill.

FROMA HARROP Froma Harrop is a syndicated columnist with Creators Syndicate and contributor to CNN Opinion. Follow her on Twitter @FromaHarrop. She can be 

Sen. Bernie Sanders was playing the sleazy salesman, inflating his original price to offer a discount. This took the form of noting that his $3.5 trillion figure was a markdown from the $6 trillion he previously wanted.

New York Rep. Mondaire Jones, meanwhile, says he has a problem with people applying the term "moderate" to Democrats not on board with the left's social spending goals. He apparently thinks that progressives threatening to torpedo the wildly popular infrastructure bill if their demands aren't met should henceforth be called "the moderates."

What is it about the left that constantly wants to police language? It would seem part of an unconvincing charm offensive in a party whose majority increasingly resents the left's serial extortion demands  often delivered in words that hurt the very Democrats who have given them the ability to influence anything.

That ability shrunk in the 2020 election, as an electorate that preferred President Joe Biden by over 7 million votes also punished several House Democrats who held hard-won seats in purple districts.
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The Iredell-Statesville Schools Board of Education received the school systems recommendation for selecting devices for the new four-year cycle at Monday nights meeting. The new cycle will begin with the 2022-23 school year.

Chief Technology, Facilities and Maintenance Officer Tim Ivey and Director of Digital Teaching and Learning Jackie Parker presented the recommendation of the Device Refresh Committee to the board.

The committee recommended to provide all high schools except for CCTL with new PCs costing $765 dollars each.

The Collaborative College for Technology and Leadership, also known as CCTL, would receive MacBooks costing $1,028 each.

According to Superintendent Jeff James, the recommendation to purchase MacBooks for CCTL is due to curriculum and programming needs. James told the board CCTL works specifically with programs that are meant to run on the Apple operating system.

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Middle and elementary school students would both receive iPads. Middle schoolers would receive a keyboard with a case, while the elementary school students would receive just a case with no keyboard. These would cost $450 and $400 respectively for each.

Elementary school students would not be allowed to take home their devices.
Thats how these little ones learn  by talking and doing. There is a big need for good-quality child care.

Worth the wait

The day care has taken Burress four years to bring to fruition.

Its not something I came up with on a whim, she said.

In the back of her mind, the business owner remembered a day care she worked at in North Carolina when she was a teenager. I kept thinking about what a great experience it was. I can still recall some of the little kids.

Those positive memories gave her even more incentive to make her plan work.

I had to jump through several hoops to get the facility open.

To better prepare for her new venture, Burress went back to school, enrolling in childhood classes at Liberty University. The classes gave her the additional hours she needed to be her own director and administrator. Earlier, she received a degree in paralegal technology from Surry Community College in Dobson, North Carolina in 1997.

I was serious about this, and I knew I had to back myself up with my education.
I agree, there is a tremendous amount that we are dealing with, Sproles said.

Law enforcement began investigating Evelyns disappearance in February 2020, when her grandfather reported her missing, authorities said. Her body was found March 6 on property along Muddy Creek Road in Blountville. She had been the subject of a statewide AMBER Alert and was last seen by a babysitter in December 2019.

No details have been released about how Evelyn died or the circumstances surrounding her death. Evidence in the case, including the autopsy report, has been sealed.

Like other cases in the region, the Boswell court case has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Staubus said the next stage of the case is to decide what evidence will be introduced during the trial.

There may be motions to exclude or allow exhibits, Staubus said.

Boswell is expected to return to court Dec. 3 at 1:30 p.m. regarding a motion to reduce bond, which is currently set at $1 million. In the motion, Sproles says Boswell has no known criminal history, has been to every court appearance and will appear at all future court dates. It adds that she had been employed up to the point of her arrest in 2020.
STOCKHOLM (AP)  Three scientists won the Nobel Prize for physics on Tuesday for work that found order in seeming disorder, helping to explain and predict complex forces of nature, including expanding our understanding of climate change.

Syukuro Manabe, originally from Japan, and Klaus Hasselmann of Germany were cited for their work in "the physical modeling of Earth's climate, quantifying variability and reliably predicting global warming."

The second half of the prize was awarded to Giorgio Parisi of Italy for "the discovery of the interplay of disorder and fluctuations in physical systems from atomic to planetary scales."

All three work on what are known as "complex systems," of which climate is just one example.

The prize goes to two distinct types of physics that are opposite in many ways but share the goal of making sense of what seems random and chaotic in such a way that it can be predicted. Parisi's work centers around subatomic particles and is somewhat esoteric and academic, while the work by Manabe and Hasselmann is about large-scale global forces that shape our daily lives.

The judges said Manabe, 90, and Hasselmann, 89, "laid the foundation of our knowledge of the Earth's climate and how human actions influence it.
Wednesday, October 6, 2021

New York v. Yellen, No. 19-3962 (2d Cir. Oct. 5, 2021):

New York, Connecticut, Maryland, and New Jersey (the Plaintiff States) appeal from a judgment of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Oetken, J.) granting the defendants motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim and denying the States cross-motion for summary judgment. The States allege that the $10,000 cap on the federal income tax deduction for money paid in state and local taxes, enacted as part of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, violates the United States Constitution. They argue that the state and local tax deduction is constitutionally mandated, or alternatively that the cap violates the Tenth Amendment because it coerces them to abandon their preferred fiscal policies. The District Court held that the States had standing and that their claims were not barred by the Anti-Injunction Act (AIA), 26 U.S.C. 10  7421(a), but it concluded that the claims lacked merit. We agree with the District Court, and we therefore AFFIRM the judgment. ...

[T]he Plaintiff States argue that the SALT deduction is required by the text of Article I, Section 8 and the Sixteenth Amendment of the Constitution. The SALT deduction cap, they say, effectively eliminates a constitutionally mandated deduction for taxpayers. The Plaintiff States also argue that the SALT deduction coerces them to abandon their preferred fiscal policies, in violation of the Tenth Amendment. After paus[ing] to consider the implications of the arguments on both sides, as well as the history of the deduction and the precedent that binds us, we conclude that the SALT deduction cap is constitutional. Natl Fedn of Indep. Bus. v. Sebelius (NFIB), 567 U.S. 2 519, 550 (2012) (opinion of Roberts, C.J.) (quotation marks omitted).

What really propels the plaintiffs view that Congress is constitutionally foreclosed from eliminating or curtailing the SALT deduction is their position that, until 2017, Congress had never done so. We disagree that the Constitution imposes such a constraint on Congress.

The Plaintiff States alternatively assert that the SALT deduction cap coerces them to abandon their preferred fiscal policies in favor of lower taxes and reduced spending, in violation of the Tenth Amendment. We agree with the District Court that the plaintiffs fail to state a Tenth Amendment claim. We are not persuaded that the cap unconstitutionally infringes on state sovereignty.

https://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2021/10/2d-circuit-rejects-states-challenge-to-10000-cap-on-state-local-tax-deduction.html
This is the one Bond fans have been waiting for. No Time to Die, Daniel Craigs fifth and final outing as the iconic James Bond, had its world premiere Sept. 28 in London following more than a year of COVID-related release delays.

The premiere  and simultaneous press screenings in other cities, including Los Angeles and New York  marked the public debut for a franchise entry shrouded in immense secrecy.

Among the key details that were already known: Craig is joined by returning co-stars including Lea Seydoux (Bond love interest Madeleine Swann), Christoph Waltz (the villainous Blofeld), Ben Whishaw (Q), Naomie Harris (Moneypenny), Jeffrey Wright (Felix Leiter) and Ralph Fiennes (M). New additions to the cast include Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody) as a mysterious adversary, Lashana Lynch as a 00 agent and Ana de Armas as a dont call her a Bond girl spy sidekick.

Its the first time Bond has been directed by an American filmmaker  True Detective and Beasts of No Nation helmer Cary Joji Fukunaga  and one of the few times the film has been scripted, at least in part, by a woman: Fleabag creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge is a credited writer alongside Fukunaga, Robert Wade and Neal Purvis.
Two recent cases of child pornography in Cowlitz County are part of a national uptick in online child exploitation reports across the nation.

One man in Cowlitz County recently was arrested for suspicion of owning child pornography during the pandemic, and another was sentenced. According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, online reports of exchanging sexual images of children or trying to meet children to have sex or take images of them increased by 97.5% from 2019 to 2020.

Longview man pleads guilty to child rape Wednesday A 21-year-old Longview man plead guilty to two counts of child rape Wednesday.

Washington Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Detective Sgt. Brandon James in Seattle said technology reliance during the pandemics business and school closures may have contributed to the increase.

There has been an explosion of these cyber tips, through 2020 and 2021, he said. Predators are at home, kids are at home, everyone is at home, and the intersection of those two entities meet up online.

Cowlitz County crimes

Michael Swogger, 42, pleaded guilty and was sentenced in September in Cowlitz County Superior Court to about five years in prison and three years in community custody for downloading and possessing child pornography. He was also ordered to pay $2,600 in fines.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP)  Star Trek's Captain Kirk is rocketing into space this month  boldly going where no other sci-fi actors have gone.

Jeff Bezos' space travel company, Blue Origin, announced Monday that William Shatner will blast off from West Texas on Oct. 12.

At age 90, Shatner will become the oldest person in space. He'll join three others  two of them paying customers  aboard a Blue Origin capsule. It will be the company's second launch with a crew.

Bezos was on the debut flight in July, along with his brother and the youngest and oldest to fly in space. Shatner will break that upper threshold by six years.

"I've heard about space for a long time now. I'm taking the opportunity to see it for myself. What a miracle," Shatner said in a statement.

Also flying with Shatner: a former NASA engineer who founded a nanosatellite company; the co-founder of a software company specializing in clinical research; and a Blue Origin employee. The up-and-down space hop will last 10 minutes and reach no higher than about 66 miles (106 kilometers).

Shatner is also the host and executive producer of "The UnXplained" on The History Channel, which explores the inexplicable, including aliens.
Mandating vaccines to protect people from a contagious illness that has killed millions worldwide clearly is a legitimate use of state power. Mandates are aimed at protecting other rights, such as those to stay healthy, fraternize freely and conduct business and commerce without dread. In this case, the common good outweighs individual rights.

As has so often occurred during the pandemic, opponents of measures to contain the virus spread forget that rights often conflict  and that all come with responsibilities. One of those is to be a good member of the human community. Recall how President John Kennedy, in his 1961 inaugural address, challenged every American to contribute to the public good: Ask not what your country can do for you  ask what you can do for your country.

So, please, dont wrap yourself in the flag until you do your duty to help this nation get past the pandemic. Each of us, as a citizen of this great nation, has a civic obligation to help defeat the virus. Our leaders should remind the public of that  not engage in misguided resolutions that will prolong the pandemic.

Andre Stepankowsky retired in August 2020 after a 41-year career as a reporter and city editor at The Daily News. He has won or shared in many prestigious journalism awards, including the staffs 1981 Pulitzer Prize for coverage of Mount St. Helens. His column will appear on the editorial page every other Wednesday.

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I am encouraging Longview citizens to support and vote for Tom Lee's candidacy for Longview's City Council seat, Position 7. I have known Tom since he was in high school at R.A. Long. In those years, he was in many leadership roles including the Student Body President.

After high school, Tom graduated from Western Washington University in political science. He continued his goal of becoming a lawyer at Willamette Law School in Salem, Oregon, achieving his JD (Juris Doctor). To further his career, he moved to Seattle and the Tri Cities and practiced law. In 2020, Tom and his wife, Joanna, moved back to Longview prepared to work and give back to their community.

Tom has many admirable traits. He is energetic, a great personality, honest, intelligent and can relate to people of all ages and diverse backgrounds. He has extensive experience in city government as legal counsel advising on housing, zoning and water rights issues. Tom is determined to make a difference. Please support your city by voting for Tom Lee.

Ty Morris

Longview

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Update: Sony Malaysia has confirmed that the price for the SRS-NS7 is RM1249. Also, the wireless transmitter is available separately for RM269.

Looking for a surround sound experience? For more personal use, a headphone is what you'd pick. If it's a living room, you'll usually get at least a soundbar or Hi-Fi set. But what if you can get a speaker that stays on you? Say hi to the Sony SRS-NS7.

Sony unveiled the SRS-NS7 yesterday for those who want to enjoy an immersive personal cinema sound experience. This wireless neckband speaker features an X-Balanced speaker unit, which consists of up-firing speakers and passive radiators. They combine to deliver rich audio with clear bass, all on a flexible neckband that's comfortable and can easily stay on.

In terms of features, the Sony SRS-NS7 has 360 Spatial Sound and Dolby Atmos support for a personalised surround sound experience. It also comes with a wireless transmitter that can be connected to a TV, allowing you to enjoy movies and games at night without disturbing anyone. It even has IPX4 water resistance, supports mobile devices, hands-free calling, and more.

The SRS-NS7 is expected to retail for around USD 299.99 (RM1255). It was spotted on Sony Malaysia too, so we know that it'll launch here eventually. But would you be interested in getting one? Let us know in the comments, and stay tuned to TechNave for more updates about this.
Credit: University of Queensland

A new generation of cheap, sustainable and efficient solar cells is a step closer, thanks to scientists at The University of Queensland.

Researchers at UQ's Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) modified a nanomaterial to make solar cells as efficient as silicon-based cells, but without their high cost and complex manufacturing.

Professor Joe Shapter said the finding addressed an urgent need for alternative environmentally friendly energy sources capable of providing efficient and reliable energy production.

"Silicon-based solar cells remain the dominant first-generation product making up 90 percent of the market, but demand was high for cells that could be manufactured without their high prices and complexity," Professor Shapter said.

"Among the next-generation technologies, perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have attracted enormous attention because of their high efficiency and ease of fabrication.

"The technology has undergone unprecedented rapid development in recent years.

"But the new generation of solar cells still have some drawbacks such as poor long-term stability, lead toxicity and high material costs."

Professor Shapter said his team studied a nanomaterial that showed great promise in overcoming some of the new cell's drawbacks and used doping, a common method of modifying the new cell's nanomaterial to enhance its electrical properties.

The researchers found that the efficiency and thermal stability of the doped cells significantly outperformed those that were not doped.

"The PSCs that had doped cells showed a remarkable solar conversion efficiency that exceeded 21 percent," Professor Shapter said.

Solar cell efficiency is the rate at which a solar panel transfers the sunlight into electricity, with the average silicon cell efficiency presently between 15 and 22 percent.

"This gives us hope that solar energy can continue to develop and improve as one of the most effective renewable and sustainable energy technologies," Professor Shapter said.

The research involved collaboration with Professor Mohammad Nazeeruddin from Ecole polytechnique federale de Lausanne in Switzerland.

Associate Professor Yun Wang from Griffith University contributed modeling to understand the interaction between doped cell layers and materials used in light absorption.

"Our results explain how doped cells can greatly improve the energy conversion efficiency and lifetime of solar cells observed from the AIBN experiments," Dr. Wang said.

Professor Shapter said the research was part of a global push towards advanced and sustainable solar cell technology.

"Our research contributes to intensive efforts to develop various types of solar cells with the aim of realizing efficient, stable and low-cost replacements for present silicon-based technology."

The research has been published in Cell Reports Physical Science.

More information: Abdulaziz S.R. Bati et al, Cesium-doped Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene for efficient and thermally stable perovskite solar cells, Cell Reports Physical Science (2021). Journal information: Cell Reports Physical Science Abdulaziz S.R. Bati et al, Cesium-doped TiMXene for efficient and thermally stable perovskite solar cells,(2021). DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrp.2021.100598
Image summarizing the pipeline of the emotional speech synthesizer. Credit: Homma et al.

Over the past few decades, roboticists have designed a variety of robots to assist humans. These include robots that could assist the elderly and serve as companions to improve their wellbeing and quality of life.

Companion robots and other social robots should ideally have human-like qualities or be perceived as discrete, empathic and supportive by users. In recent years, many computer scientists have thus been trying to give these robots qualities that are typically observed in human care givers or health professionals.

Researchers at Hitachi R&D Group and University of Tsukuba in Japan have developed a new method to synthesize emotional speech that could allow companion robots to imitate the ways in which caregivers communicate with older adults or vulnerable patients. This method, presented in a paper pre-published on arXiv, can produce emotional speech that is also aligned with a user's circadian rhythm, the internal process that regulates sleeping and waking patterns in humans.

"When people try to influence others to do something, they subconsciously adjust their speech to include appropriate emotional information," Takeshi Homma et al explained in their paper. "For a robot to influence people in the same way, it should be able to imitate the range of human emotions when speaking. To achieve this, we propose a speech synthesis method for imitating the emotional states in human speech."

The method combines speech synthesis with emotional speech recognition methods. Initially, the researchers trained a machine-learning model on a dataset of human voice recordings gathered at different points during the day. During training, the emotion recognition component of the model learned to recognize emotions in human speech.

Subsequently, the speech synthesis component of the model synthesized speech aligned with a given emotion. In addition, their model can recognize emotions in the speech of human target speakers (i.e., caregivers) and produce speech that is aligned with these emotions. Contrarily to other emotional speech synthesis techniques developed in the past, the team's approach requires less manual work aimed at adjusting emotions expressed in the synthesized speech.

"Our synthesizer receives an emotion vector to characterize the emotion of synthesized speech," the researchers wrote in their paper. "The vector is automatically obtained from human utterances using a speech emotion recognizer."

To evaluate their model's effectiveness in producing appropriate emotional speech, the researchers carried out a series of experiments. In these experiments, a robot communicated with elderly users and tried to influence their mood and arousal levels by adapting the emotion expressed in its speech.

After the participants had listened to samples produced by the model and other emotionally neutral speech samples, they provided their feedback on how they felt. They were also asked whether the synthetic speech had influenced their arousal levels (i.e., whether they felt more awake or sleepy after listening to the recordings).

"We conducted a subjective evaluation where the elderly participants listened to the speech samples generated by our method," he researchers wrote in their paper. "The results showed that listening to the samples made the participants feel more active in the early morning and calmer in the middle of the night."

The results are highly promising, as they suggest that their emotional speech synthesizer that can effectively produce caregiver-like speech that is aligned with the circadian rhythms of most elderly users. In the future, the new model presented on arXiv could thus allow roboticists to develop more advanced companion robots that can adapt the emotion in their speech based on the time of the day at which they are interacting with users, to match their levels of wakefulness and arousal.

More information: Takeshi Homma et al, Emotional speech synthesis for companion robot to imitate professional caregiver speech. arXiv:2109.12787v1 [cs.RO], Takeshi Homma et al, Emotional speech synthesis for companion robot to imitate professional caregiver speech. arXiv:2109.12787v1 [cs.RO], arxiv.org/abs/2109.12787

 2021 Science X Network
Internet reliability is a problem in Africa where less than a third of people are connected to broadband.

Google announced Wednesday that it would invest $1 billion in boosting Africa's internet access and startup scene, as the tech giant eyes a youthful market increasingly armed with smartphones.

Spread over five years, the investment includes funding for Google's Equiano subsea cablea major private infrastructure project aimed at ramping up Africa's high-speed connections.

"When you think about our mission as a company, we talk about organising the world's information and making it universally accessible and useful," Google's Africa chief Nitin Gajria told AFP.

"We can't claim the 'universal' in our mission if we're not effectively serving the 1.3 billion people in Africa."

Gajria said Africa had "300 million people online today and another 300 million expected to come online over the next over the next five years".

"That's just incredibly exciting, in terms of an evolving tech landscape," he said.

Internet reliability is a problem in Africa where less than a third of people are connected to broadband, according to the World Bank.

But the continent, where nearly half the population is under 18, is a promising market.

Cheaper smartphones

Google's Equiano undersea internet cable, connecting Africa and Europe, is expected to be in service by the second half of 2022, Gajria said.

First announced in 2019, it is named after 18th-century writer and anti-slavery campaigner Olaudah Equiano.

African internet access is hampered by the affordability of smartphones.

The network will run through South Africa, Namibia, Nigeria and the Atlantic island of St Helena.

Google claims the project will lead to a 21 percent drop in internet prices, as well as a five-fold increase in connection speed in Nigeria and almost triple in South Africa.

Gajria declined to say how much of Google's $1 billion is being spent on the cable, although he called it "a substantial investment".

The Silicon Valley giant last month announced a breakthrough in another eye-catching scheme to boost African internet access.

The company said Project Taara, one of its so-called "moonshot" ideas, had successfully used beams of light to deliver a high-speed connection between Kinshasa and Brazzaville.

The two cities sit just across the Congo River from each other. But laying fibre-optic cables between them has proved impractical due to the depth of the river, making web access in Kinshasa much more expensive.

African internet access is also hampered by the affordability of smartphones, and Google said it was partnering with Kenya's telecoms giant Safaricom on a scheme to allow users to pay by installments on cut-price Android devices.

The project will later be rolled out across the continent with other carriers such Airtel, MTN, Orange and Vodacom.

Google's five-year investment will further include a $50 million investment in African start-ups, and an expansion of its "plus codes" system, which aids deliveries in cities that do not have numbered buildings.

"Think about the last time you ordered a taxi or needed to provide your physical address for a delivery," Google Africa's Mariam Abdullahi told a launch event on YouTube.

"For some, this is a relatively simple task and a luxury that's taken for granted. But for millions across the world who do not have street addresses, this task is incredibly difficult."

Plus codes, which display locations as a combination of letters and numbers, are already being used across the Gambia's capital Banjul and are set to be rolled out in Kenya and South Africa, Google said.

Explore further Massive cable project set to give Africa internet boost

 2021 AFP
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Nationwide is testing a pilot program that offers insurance coverage to Amazon's Business Prime members.

The project, which runs through December, will allow eligible Business Prime members to take an online assessment, get an online quote and then connect with an agent to receive a discount.

"We know that customers can use our help to make good insurance purchase decisions to better understand the protection needs of their small businesses," Angie Klett, Nationwide's senior vice president of corporate development, said in a statement.

Nationwide has developed in partnership with Bold Penguin what it calls its Coverage Assistant that helps customers assess their insurance needs.

Columbus-based Bold Penguin is an insurance technology, or insurtech, company that makes buying and selling commercial insurance faster and easier. American Family Insurance bought the company this year.

Coverage Assistant uses predictive modeling to generate individualized protection options and risk information in an easy-to-understand process meant to provide context and build trust.

Eligible Business Prime members can log into their account and start their assessment on Nationwide's page.

The Coverage Assistant then will provide the business owners with a customized assessment that helps them understand the coverage that might make sense for their business based on data from other kinds of businesses like theirs. The process takes less than 5 minutes.

From there, customers can get a quote online or talk with a Nationwide agent. Eligible Business Prime members can also receive a discount on a policy purchased through Nationwide's sales team during the pilot.

"Our customers are always looking for ways to maximize their business potential beyond procurement. We are excited that Nationwide will now offer Business Prime members help exploring insurance options," Todd Heimes, director of Business Prime for Amazon Business Worldwide, said in a statement.

Explore further Amazon Prime discount coming to all Whole Foods

2021 dispatch.com.

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If the facility were leased out, Arrington and Sylvester said a requirement of the lease would be that the client be responsible for cleaning, and setting up and tearing down after their event. Should the client fail to uphold this, they would lose their security deposit. This requirement would be intended to keep the facility clean and in good condition without burdening the group or the county.

The center could host events ranging from concerts to boat shows to fundraisers. It could be used to train emergency workers, provide educational opportunities or hold community meetings and banquets.

Some supervisors were not easily convinced.

If Bedford County were to take on such an endeavor, it should be done somewhere where we have much more traffic in a much more central location, said District 6 supervisor Bob Davis.

Davis added construction costs are at an all-time high, which would result in higher expenses, and said he would prefer to retire existing county debt before thinking about taking on such a project.

Davis also said he believed an event center located on the water would be a bigger draw. If the county invested in such a facility, he said, it should be in a more central location with heavier traffic.
With more than $1 billion in federal funding available to the state, Nebraska's colleges and universities brought forward a menu of ideas for addressing the state's biggest challenges through a one-time infusion of money.

The hearing before the Appropriation Committee on Tuesday was the first step for lawmakers to hear proposals for how to spend American Rescue Plan Act money beginning in January.

Leaders from the state's public higher education systems highlighted proposals ranging from new brick-and-mortar facilities to expanding programs in areas where Nebraska is experiencing shortages of workers.

The University of Nebraska identified nine projects totaling an estimated $195 million that President Ted Carter said the land-grant institution was uniquely positioned to deliver.

Weve spent the last six to seven months talking to our chancellors and other leaders about what type of big ideas we could bring to the legislators that would allow us to make a difference in the lives of Nebraskans, Carter said in a phone interview in advance of Tuesday's hearing.

Although the total cost to the projects was high, Carter said the amount could be scaled to fit inside the wide range of projects put before lawmakers in the coming year.
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The project will support creating new interdisciplinary emphasis areas in civic faith and medical humanities as well as expanding general education requirements to include religious studies and civics.

Students today get their information about American democracy and how its supposed to work from a variety of often inaccurate or shallow sources, Amyot said. This project will allow them to take courses that address the goals and ideals that the Founders held, implicitly or explicitly, and how those have been understood and implemented over time. Courses in history, literature, philosophy, religion and politics are crucial to rebuilding students faith in our political system and the ideals behind it.

In addition to curricular expansion in the humanities, the grant will provide salary support for three current and new humanities faculty and two one-year postdoctoral fellows, as well as a new humanities admissions counselor.

New courses and innovative programs developed through this grant will generate interest from prospective and current students, whatever their majors, and that interest will build enrollment in the humanities. Babcock said. Humanities faculty, we hope, will further benefit from professional development opportunities that will strengthen their classroom teaching and their engagement with students.
Grant funds will support the development of a proposed bachelor of philosophy degree targeted primarily to students planning to earn a graduate or professional degree after completing their bachelors degree. Hastings College currently offers bachelor of arts and bachelor of music undergraduate degrees.

The project will support creating new interdisciplinary emphasis areas in civic faith and medical humanities as well as expanding general education requirements to include religious studies and civics.

Students today get their information about American democracy and how its supposed to work from a variety of often inaccurate or shallow sources, Amyot said. This project will allow them to take courses that address the goals and ideals that the Founders held, implicitly or explicitly, and how those have been understood and implemented over time. Courses in history, literature, philosophy, religion and politics are crucial to rebuilding students faith in our political system and the ideals behind it.

In addition to curricular expansion in the humanities, the grant will provide salary support for three current and new humanities faculty and two one-year postdoctoral fellows, as well as a new humanities admissions counselor.
An estimated 20,000 Americans donate their bodies to science each year, which means cadavers can be hard to come by.

Central Community Colleges Grand Island, Kearney, Columbus and Hastings campuses wont have to worry about that, thanks to purchases of cutting-edge technology that provides a virtual cadaver.

Anatomage Tables  also referred to as a virtual dissection tool  have been purchased for the campuses, each costing tens of thousands of dollars but providing more dissection experience and lessons beyond their price tag.

While a cadaver lasts for up to six years without decay, with each class it becomes less usable; possible coursework becomes limited further by the shortage of cadavers.

The majority of cadavers come from educated white men age 65 and older, according to an article in the Social Science and Medicine journal. This limits students in learning about how the human body differs between categories such as age and gender. With CCC-Grand Islands Anatomage, there are four different bodies to dissect.

You can do things with it that you cant do with anything else, said Larry Schmitt, who teaches anatomy and physiology at CCCs Hastings campus. Everything is as anatomically perfect as it can be.
FICTION: Religious idealism confronts a fractured family in Jonathan Franzen's sprawling new novel.

"Crossroads" by Jonathan Franzen; Farrar, Straus & Giroux (592 pages, $28)



Even with God on their side, the Hildebrandt family at the center of Jonathan Franzen's intermittently powerful new novel are far from redeemed. They live in the Chicago suburb of New Prospect, which despite its name is no Eden of optimism or happiness.

Franzen's previous novels (including his breakout "The Corrections" and his St. Paul-set "Freedom") fall into the married-with-children category, and "Crossroads" is no exception. New in this weighty fiction is the centering of religion.

That Franzen, so attuned to liberal boomer culture, chooses to write about Christianity may seem curious, given today's decline in religious identification among Americans. But "Crossroads" is mainly set in 1971, when nearly three of four Americans said they belonged to a church.

Russ Hildebrandt is a handsome 47-year-old assistant pastor at the village's First Reformed Church. He and his wife, Marion, have four children.

The book, first in an announced trilogy, opens at Christmastime. Russ is on a mission to a predominantly Black church on Chicago's South Side. His act of Christian charity is countered by the fact that he has the hots for Frances Cottrell, a widowed parishioner who rides along with him that day.

The massively insecure Russ  vain, childish, preachy, spiteful  confesses he is "bad at being bad." This does not stop him from having a go at half the cardinal sins. Fascinating and frustrating by turns, Russ is among Franzen's most memorable protagonists. In his inner conflicts we see our own ridiculousness.

Cracks in the suburban facade become chasms as we learn Marion's horrific back story and are introduced to the couple's children, including college student Clem, the "amoral brainiac" Perry and pretty, popular Becky.

Russ is in the throes of a personal and professional humiliation involving a work mission to a Navajo reservation in New Mexico. He has had a falling out over it with a more popular youth minister, Rick Ambrose.

This belabored story line struck me as too minor to occupy so much of the novel's first half. Franzen's interest in larger issues  pacifism, sin, sex, betrayal, guilt, class conflict, Christian forgiveness  is often buried beneath mountains of angsty prose that seem like backwaters to his narrative's forward flow.

The church youth group, called "Crossroads," runs on 1970s-style progressive politics and pop psychology that apes the dorks-versus-cool-kids dynamic common to a high school cafeteria. Franzen revels in the scalding emotions of adolescence, those lacerating highs and lows that even his middle-aged characters haven't outgrown.

Things pick up in the second half. Clem and his father argue when Clem announces he's quitting college to join the military in the waning days of the Vietnam War. Russ confronts Ambrose with a classic faux apology. In an Albee-scale war of words between Russ and Marion, her anger strikes like lightning, and Russ counters cruelly. Their marriage appears in tatters. With cinematic vividness, Franzen gives us two unforgettable episodes on the Navajo reservation, one involving Russ and Frances, another a perilous all-night escapade starring Perry.

These marvelous, complicated scenes are handled with tremendous energy. They are keen and alive, satisfying and dynamic, if also mortifying.

Similarly well done  though placed awkwardly late in the book  is a long flashback to Russ' odd upbringing in an isolated Mennonite community in rural Indiana. It helps answer questions about Russ that we've had for hundreds of pages.

In "Crossroads," Franzen  known as a crank and a sometimes savage social satirist  offers an ambiguous critique of the church, which he presents as both promise and charade.

Idealistic Russ "has a vision of a nation transformed by vigorously Christian ethics," but his own moral compass is beyond repair. Becky, capable of "seeing the face of God" the first time she smokes pot, tries to hurt her father by seeking a different church. Marion is born again late in the story, but given her unstable mental health, that comes across as a precarious leap of faith.

For three out of six Hildebrandts, church is a place where God & Son wait patiently, ready to deliver a sort of body rush of goodness, simplicity and joy, but it surely fails as a bulwark against the path of sin and vanity.

By novel's end the family is broke and badly splintered, hanging together by the barest of threads. And setting up multiple intriguing possibilities for a (redemptive?) sequel.



Claude Peck is a former Star Tribune editor and columnist.

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Five years after a class action lawsuit found Illinois mental health care for inmates in the Department of Corrections unconstitutional, an independent court monitor found that the same problems still exist.

These include an inappropriate use of solitary confinement, failing to properly manage medication, failing to provide adequate treatment plans and extended crisis watches.

The problem

A prisoner is placed in crisis watch when they are considered a threat to themselves. They are placed in a solitary cell, naked except for something called a suicide smock that they are meant to wear and sleep under. According to a news release by the Uptown Peoples Law Center, these individuals are often not provided proper treatment and the person is held there under 24/7 watch until they are considered no longer a threat to themselves.

The Illinois Department of Corrections said in response to The Southerns request for comment on these issues:

"IDOC staff have a professional and moral obligation to protect the safety and health of individuals sentenced to our custody and treat them with dignity. The mental health of the individuals in custody is a top priority as evidenced by the Rasho Courts finding of the Departments substantial compliance with a large majority of the Settlement Agreement in this case just four months ago. The Department will respond to the federal monitors report in the regular course of this litigation."

Illinois ranks 48th in the nation in regards to health care spending in prisons according to a 2014 report by the Pew Charitable Trusts and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

IDOC says over 42% of prisoners have mental illness, though prisoners advocates say that, due to the lack of adequate screening, and the stigma around mental illness, that figure is likely incorrectly low, according to the release from the Uptown Peoples Law Center.

The lawsuit that brought light to these issues was Rasho V. Jeffreys and was first filed in 2007 and was settled in May 2016, according to Alan Mills, executive director of the Uptown Peoples Law Center. The case was brought forth against the department by the Uptown Peoples Law Center, Equip for Equality and Dentons law firm.

The five areas specified as unconstitutional within the department by the court ruling included:

Staffing requirements at the Illinois Department of Corrections

Treatment for class members who are placed on mental health crisis watch

Treatment for class members who are placed in segregation

Treatment for class members who are prescribed psychotropic medication

Treatment plans and evaluations

The report

An independent court monitor, Dr. Pablo Stewart, was appointed to monitor the department's compliance with orders to fix these areas of concern.

After visiting and observing the correctional facilities, Dr. Stewart released a 2021 report with Virginia Morrison, JD, and Miranda Gibson, MA. stating that the department is still failing to provide adequate care.

Stewart found the department in non-compliance in all five areas and said in the conclusion of his report: The Department is once again unable to meet the requirements of the Courts orders. The overwhelming cause of this lack of performance, in the opinion of the Monitor, is lack of adequate clinical and custody staff. Until this vexing problem is addressed, the Department will unfortunately fall short of its responsibilities to the Rasho class members.

Stewart said the department failed to meet staffing requirements and because of the lack of staff, it had difficulty meeting the other requirements of the court order.

The Departments reporting is baffling in that they state that they are exceeding their staffing requirements, but the Wexford staffing report does not support this claim, Stewart wrote.

While Stewart reported the number of individuals placed on crisis watch decreased, he said the length of stays in crisis were often not as short as they could be and did not protect against decompensation this combined with a lack of contact due to COVID-19 procedures had negative consequences. He also found a gender bias in care.

Stays are not for the shortest duration possible, though IDOC has made some improvement in lengthier stays. Defendants assert that they routinely consider a higher level of care in such cases, but a large, diverse study found almost no documentation describing the reasons such a placement was not warranted, Stewart wrote. Women were referred to a higher level of care at a rate of 50%, while less than 4% of men were referred.

Stewart had the following to say about segregation or solitary confinement: The amounts of counseling and out of cell structured and unstructured time are far below what is needed and sufficient to protect against decompensation. Taken together, all of the care provided is less than is clinically indicated.

One of the concerns brought forth to the court regarding medication was that prisoners would receive their medication at strange times. In the release by the Uptown Peoples Law Center, some had to wait in line outside at 4 a.m. to receive it.

Quarterly reports respond to only 1 of the 9 issues the monitoring team has raised as common impediments. Neither have Defendants demonstrated the effectiveness of their policies concerning patients nonadherence to medication regimens, Stewart said.

Stewart said treatment plans in the department were absent for many inmates/members of the suit.

What are advocates saying?

Mills said things have not gotten better since Stewarts report came out. He said the law center has had several motions pending, asking for the court to find the Department of Corrections in contempt.

They're all pending before the court and in the meantime, we have been involved in negotiations with the department to try to improve some of these and try to develop an agreed plan to improve most of these areas, Mills said.

The case has been settled for over five years and some advocates are wondering how long it will take for the state to take meaningful action in reform.

How many roads must we go down, for how many years, when, despite pious assurances of a commitment to deliver constitutional care, we always end up at the same placeunalleviated mental suffering caused by ignoring community standards of care. Will this ever end? Harold Hirshman, of Dentons law firm said in the release

Mills said he believes part of the reason the department is failing to provide adequate care is due to a lack of staff.

They just don't have enough staff, have never had enough staff, since we have [issued] this case, that can provide all the things I just talked about, Mills said. And that's part of the reason why they're not doing it, because they simply don't have the personnel to do it.

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CARBONDALE  A viral video with more than 10,000 views and hundreds of recent shares on social media shows a Carbondale officer attempting to detain a young, Black teenage girl at a Caseys General Store.

According to the video, he then wrestles her to the ground and threatens to use a stun gun on her. Other teens in the video can be seen recording from a distance, while calling the officer racist.

Carbondale Police Chief Stan Reno said police originally responded to the area for a report of trespassing.

"The business called because the suspect was banned and the suspect returned resulting in a trespassing complaint," Reno said.

Reno said the department has a policy to review all use-of-force incidents, noting that Carbondale officers are trained to only use force as a last resort in response to non-compliance.

"Officers are required to follow our Use of Force Policy that can be found on our website," he said in an email.

The video, only 56 seconds long, does not appear to show the teen harming the officer when he slams her to the ground. At the time of the altercation, she is arguing with him and says he is racist. According to the video, the officer then grabs the back of her hoodie and pushes her to the concrete, landing on top of her.

You are going to get tased if you dont stop, the officer says as he rolls her over and pins her down.

Other teens can be heard in the background screaming that he is doing too much.

According to a news release from the department, officers responded at 3:21 p.m. Sept. 23 to 100 block of North Giant City Road in reference to a trespassing complaint.

When the initial responding officer arrived, he met with an employee who identified the individual that was trespassing, police said.

The officer attempted to make contact with the individual in order to investigate the complaint further, but the suspect refused to talk to the officer and refused to give an identity, according to the release.

"The officer attempted to reason with the person, who was later identified as a juvenile. The suspect refused to comply, at which time the officer was of the opinion that the use of force was necessary to arrest the suspect. The officer, who was alone at the time, responded to the resistance of the suspect. An off-duty officer with another agency assisted with controlling a crowd of people that subsequently formed," the release stated.

The case is being reviewed by the Jackson County States Attorneys Office for consideration of charges of trespassing, resisting a peace officer and aggravated battery to a police officer, according to the department.

Jackson County States Attorney Joe Cervantez said he was unable to confirm or deny any details of case because the female suspect is a juvenile.

Nancy Maxwell, a former police officer and founder of the Southern Illinois Unity Coalition, said the video horrified her.

That's, that's most definitely not the protocol. In fact, restraining somebody, putting them down on the ground, that's supposed to be the last-ditch effort if you ... as the officer feels threatened, or you feel that the public safety is in jeopardy, Maxwell said. None of that was the case. (There) is so many other ways, different scenarios that could have came up without her ending up on the ground.

Maxwell said the community cannot let this incident slide.

I feel like if we don't speak up now, if we don't say nothing right now, we are not at the high level of police brutality that other cities are at but I can see us climbing towards this way if something doesn't happen now, Maxwell said. We can no longer be quiet in southern Illinois we got to speak loud and make sure we are heard.

The Southern Illinois Sunrise Movement is posting on social media and asking the community to call Chief Reno to file a complaint regarding the incident.

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SPRINGFIELD  A proposed river port development in Cairo is drawing much attention and interest from companies that believe it could open up greater access to international markets, officials behind the project said Tuesday.

The Alexander-Cairo Port District project has been on the drawing board for about 10 years, but it was given a major boost in 2019 when the General Assembly passed a $45 billion capital improvements plan called Rebuild Illinois, which included a $40 million investment in the port project.

If the project is given final approval  officials have said it will require more than 20 state and federal permits  that money is expected to draw an estimated $300 million in private investment, creating hundreds of construction jobs and many more permanent jobs with cargo shipping companies and other supporting industries.

The anticipation is to hopefully break ground in the third quarter of 2022 and be operational in 2024. Its been a long time coming, State Sen. Dale Fowler, R-Harrisburg, said. To see it finally gaining some ground at an even faster pace, is good to see with all the work that's being done, coming to fruition and especially with all the private investment.

John Vickerman, a design consultant working on the project, and other consultants conducted a videoconference Tuesday to provide an update.

We know that the Corps of Engineers has approved the deepening of the Lower Mississippi, allowing much bigger vessels up into the Mississippi, upwards of 50 to 75 miles from its current configuration, Vickerman said. So what's happening here is we're changing the very character of the inland waterway system.

Every port and every terminal of the more than 35 terminals on the Mississippi, and many on the Ohio, on the Illinois and the Missouri, are now and will be shortly 50 to 75 miles closer to open ocean. Their ability to move export product down the Mississippi and effectively transfer to large ocean vessels is upon us.

Vickerman said his firm performed a macroeconomic market analysis to identify the domestic industry sectors that would most likely benefit from such a port.

He said those include such products as non-GMO soybeans, and particularly identity preserved soybeans  a kind of specialty crop that enables processors to know precisely which field the beans were grown in  as well as other commodities like coal, coiled steel, scrap metal, agricultural fertilizer, biofuels and wind energy equipment.

Todd Ely, a Springfield-based economic development consultant who has been working on the project since its inception, said many firms that work in those sectors have already signed nondisclosure agreements with his company in order to have further discussions about possible future development.

And as the port develops, and the business model becomes a bit more clear, we'll be looking forward to offering them proposals and prices, and we're confident we're going to get quite a bit of their business, he said.

The port is envisioned as a public-private partnership between the Alexander-Cairo Port Authority  a governing board that includes officials from Alexander County, the city of Cairo and the Cairo Public Utility Company, which owns the land where the port would be located  and a private port operator.

It would involve building a large landing facility on the Mississippi River, about five and a half miles upstream from the confluence with the Ohio River. It would also include a large system of cranes that would lift cargo containers off of barges or other vessels that come upstream from New Orleans  many of which would originate in Asia and pass through the Panama Canal  and load them onto rail cars and semi-trucks.

Vickerman noted that traditional barges have not been very successful in North America at carrying large volumes of standard 20-foot cargo containers, although they have had more success in Europe. But he said there are new types of vessels under development that can haul as many as 1,800 such containers, fueled by liquid natural gas, which reduces their carbon footprint.

Cairo is considered an ideal location for such a port because of its access to both the Mississippi and Ohio rivers as well as its access to three interstate highways and a transcontinental Class 1 railway system operated by the Canadian National Railway.

But one of the keys to making the project viable is making sure there is enough cargo originating from Illinois and the Midwest to put back on the vessels so they dont have to return to New Orleans empty, something that project officials say theyre still working on.

We do have a strategy we'll be executing on early in 2022, Ely said. We'll be working with various state agencies and trade associations and individual companies that have already expressed interest in using the port for export of their products.

In a separate interview after the video conference, Ely said he hopes to be able to reach a deal with a private port operator during the first half of 2022 and to submit a permit application to the Corps of Engineers by November 2022.

If the project remains on schedule, he said, groundbreaking would take place near the end of 2022 and the port could become operational late in 2024.

Fowler said the port could provide a much-needed economic boost for both Cairo and all of Southern Illinois.

The professionals in the industry  the engineers, architects, designers, consultants and everyone that's been involved in this, especially those with some of the private companies from Florida, Louisiana and all over the Midwest are showcasing this project as potentially being the nation's hub for riverport transportation opportunities. Thats a tall statement; that's a broad statement, but it's a powerful statement, he said.

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Growing up, Carrie Vine, a vice chair of the Rainbow Cafe LGBTQ center, didnt see many people like her and didnt know of many queer mentors she could look up to.

She and others at the center want to make sure this isnt the case for other LGBTQ youth in Southern Illinois.

But to do that, they need volunteers.

In an ideal world to run the center and its programs, Vine said they need about 30 to 50 volunteers. She said they currently have about 10 active ones.

The center recently had to cancel a few their weekly Friday night drop ins they usually host for those ages 13-18 because of a lack of volunteers. And while they are back up and running, they still need more people who are willing to help.

Vine said those who volunteer have the opportunity to make a real difference in the lives of teens.

I always say it's a very rewarding experience to volunteer and the place where we need the most volunteers are with the youth, Vine said. There's been studies where they say, you know, especially with LGBTQ youth, if they have one person in their life that they can go to, that can make a difference. It can literally change like how that youth looks upon life, like whether or not they think about suicide whether or not they'll even complete suicide, those kinds of things.

Vine said the shelter is not only important to her as an member of the LGBTQ community, but it is important to her child who attends programs at the center and is also part of the community.

I'm 45, so like, when I was growing up, you know, it was never really even accepted at all, Vine said. You know, so it was always kind of one of those things where I was like, 'Oh, my God, this is such a nice thing for youth to have and adults to have to be within the community and be accepted and have that option.'

Michael Coleman, a 23-year-old SIU student and head chair of the human resources committee for the center, echoed the need for volunteers. He said he hopes the teens who utilize the centers resources understand that they arent alone.

He said he was drawn to the space because he had never really had the opportunity to experience anything like it  where LGBTQ people could gather safely. He said he loves learning from the kids and trying to be there for them.

I love working with the younger generation of LGBTQ youth, because they are the future honestly, Coleman said.

Volunteers can fill out an application with the center to be approved. They qualify if they are 19 or older. They also must be vaccinated against COVID-19 and pass a DCFS background check.

The centers website is rainbowcafe.org and more information can be found there.

In addition to providing services to teens, the center also provides resources for adults, young adults and the older LGBTQ community of Southern Illinois. They recently celebrated 21 years of being in operation and they are saving up for a down payment to hopefully move their center to the strip in Carbondale to be more centrally located.

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SPRINGFIELD  Many aging LGBTQ Illinoisans face barriers to health care and financial security and fear discrimination in senior communities, according to a combined report from senior and LGBTQ advocacy groups released Tuesday.

The Disrupting Disparities: Challenges and Solutions for 50+ LGBTQ Illinoisans report by the senior advocacy group AARP Illinois and the LGBTQ advocacy group SAGE said the barriers to well-being are largely attributable to historic discrimination.

When I was born August 9, 1949, homosexuality and homosexual acts were universally against the law, Don Bell, an advocate and member of the LGBTQ community, said in a video presentation at a virtual news conference Tuesday.

Mary Anderson, director of advocacy and outreach at AARP Illinois, said the report was an effort to take an up-to-date look at the issues facing the community as 24% of the states estimated 506,000 LGBTQ individuals are over age 50.

We found pervasive discrimination keeps LGBTQ individuals from securing good jobs with family-sustaining wages and benefits, which ultimately hurts our retirement security and ability to age with dignity, she said.

Nearly one-third of LGBTQ older people live at or below 200% of the poverty level, she said.

With poverty as the ultimate social determinant of health, the income insecurity so many LGBTQ older adults face affects their ability to attain health care, secure and culturally competent housing, and caregiving support, she added.

The disparities are multiplied for LGBTQ individuals of color, she said.

The study showed both past and present discrimination has taken a toll on LGBTQ individuals, with more than 60% of LGBTQ older adults fearing neglect, abuse, or verbal or physical harassment when seeking senior care.

Thats a contributing factor to why LGBTQ older adults are extremely, very or somewhat interested in LGBTQ-welcoming older adult housing developments, according to the study. As well, 48% of big-city respondents and as low as 10% of rural small-town respondents said they have access to LGBTQ-inclusive elder services in their community.

The study also said 34% of LGBTQ older adults and 54% of transgender and gender nonconforming older adults fear they will have to re-closet themselves when seeking senior living.

Oftentimes, to obtain housing or other services, LGBT people have to go back into the closet, meaning they have to deny their authentic selves and their authentic lives, Bell said.

The report said economic instability is due in large part to a lifetime of employment discrimination that LGBTQ older adults have faced, resulting in lower earning power and lower payments or income from Social Security, retirement, or pensions.

Further, LGBTQ older adults whose spouse or partner died or retired before the freedom to marry may be unable to access Social Security survivor benefits or their partners benefits or assets, according to the report. As a result, 44 % of LGBTQ older adults report being concerned about having to work well beyond retirement age (compared to 26% of non-LGBTQ people).

LGBTQ individuals may also be facing estrangement from family, and many dont have children to provide informal care. Anderson said older LGBTQ adults are twice as likely to live alone and three out of four are very concerned about who will care for them as they age.

We've made a lot of strides in the last 20 years, she said. I mean, 20 years ago, I never would have thought that my wife and I could get legally married. I never would have thought we'd actually been able to create a family.

But we still have a long ways to go. The decades of discrimination LGBTQ folks have felt is having an effect on the way we age. It affects how much money we can save. It affects the health care that we can get. And that discrimination is still continuing to this day.

The report also identifies several policy changes for lawmakers to consider, some of which Department on Aging Director Paula Basta said she has already worked to implement.

Basta, identifying herself as an out, older lesbian, said the agency is including the needs of LGBT older adults in everything that we do.

The agency has specific objectives for LGBTQ adults, provides cultural competency training for its employees and provider agencies, and has LGBTQ representation on the advisory Illinois Council on Aging. The report suggested lawmakers should write those efforts into law.

Advocates praised Gov. JB Pritzker for designating people living with HIV and LGBTQ individuals as having greatest social need for inclusion in aging programming under federal law. But, the report said, Illinois policymakers can do more to make sure that this designation is fully implemented and enforced, such as by publishing an annual report outlining progress made for the populations.

The state should also establish a statewide commission on LGBTQ aging, and should create LGBTQ-inclusive state and area plans on aging. State officials should also issue more detailed guidance on LGBTQ-specific nondiscrimination and the respectful treatment of older transgender Illinoisans, and should adopt an LGBTQ long-term care residents bill of rights, the report recommends.

The report also calls on the state to fund LGBTQ-specific programming and expand outreach targeted to LGBTQ aging populations.

But many of the disparities persist because not enough data is collected on LGBTQ populations, Anderson said. To counteract that, she added, every time demographic data is collected by the state of Illinois, LGBT individuals should be included in that data collection. We need to build that database up.

The report also recommends the state create an ombudsperson on LGBTQ aging to address discrimination when it is unearthed in other parts of the plan.

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A week ago today, The Times and Democrat marked 140 years since the first edition of the newspaper was published on Sept. 29, 1881. This week we have another observance in National Newspaper Week, a time to put emphasis on the key role newspapers play in their communities.

Our coverage a week ago focused much on the history of The T&D and its transformation over the years. The Oct. 3-9 national observance is a time to shine more light on what we are today and into the future.

For nearly 20 years, The T&D has been part of Lee Enterprises, a publicly traded media company that publishes 75 daily newspapers in 26 states, and more than 350 weekly, classified and specialty publications. Lee Enterprises was founded in 1890 by Alfred Wilson Lee and is based in Davenport, Iowa.

The two decades in Lee have brought changes in technology that revolutionized The T&Ds ability to reach audiences. We are today a complete digital agency, providing audience solutions that go far beyond the traditional newspaper. While still printing on our press in Orangeburg the print edition seven days a week, The Times and Democrat through its website TheTandD.com, but more importantly through its Amplified Digital Agency and the resources in Lee Enterprises, can now reach bigger audiences and highly specific targeted audiences. Video has expanded audience engagement, and breaking news is pushed out of The T&D newsroom all day every day.

Lee Enterprises is committed to being the primary source of local news in all its communities and operates its newspapers accordingly. In Orangeburg, the focus on local news is the mission of The T&D, of which Cathy Hughes has been publisher for 22 years. Hughes is also regional publisher of the Florence Morning News and a group publisher for Lee, overseeing 10 of the companys newspapers across nine states.

Her role, and that of the entire T&D team, is important. And so is yours.

Youve seen The Times and Democrats promotions in the print and online editions urging you to sign on as a member to get all that the newspaper has to offer. Weve offered specials and unique benefits. Weve told you how important it is in keeping the community informed that local journalism not only survive but prosper. Your support for the work that local reporters do is vital.

This National Newspaper Week is a good time to point out just how important the local newspaper is to an informed community.

The South Carolina Press Association is the statewide organization representing 89 newspapers. Writing for National Newspaper Week, SCPAs co-executive directors, Jen Madden and Randall Savely, state:

The past year has illustrated how desperately communities across our state need a source for local, credible news. No source can be trusted to deliver such news more than the Palmetto States local newspapers.

Quite frankly, many of the important stories in your community would not be covered at all if it werent for this newspaper and nearly 90 others across the state just like it. Research shows our communities are stronger when they have a healthy local newspaper.

Theres more misinformation and fake news out there than ever before, but your local newspaper  staffed by local reporters  can be trusted to report the facts. S.C. newspaper journalists are dedicated to accurately reporting on stories that matter and impact your community because they live in and care about this community, too. 

 There is no better time to show your support for the high-quality journalism provided by this local newspaper. If you are a casual reader, subscribe.

If you are a subscriber, tell your friends and family to support local news. If you own a local business, advertise. Your newspaper depends on your financial support to remain strong.

Some say newspapers wont be around eventually in the information age. They are wrong. Amid an explosion of information available from so many sources today, there will continue to be a need for local journalists devoted to gathering credible local news. The way that news is presented continues to evolve, but it is important to people no matter how they receive the news.

You can subscribe to The Times and Democrat and TheTandD.com by calling 803-533-516-6107 or by visiting our website and clicking on Become a member.

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Entangled in the congressional infrastructure debate, Wyomings biggest source of mine cleanup funding expired last week, raising questions about the future of reclamation.

The federal Abandoned Mine Land (AML) program levies a tax on coal producers, then distributes that money to restoration projects in historic mining states. Launched as part of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, its amended and reauthorized every 15 years. Intermediary legislation trimmed the fee paid by surface mines from 35 cents per ton of coal to 28 cents.

Lawmakers have known since 2006 that the program would sunset at the end of the 2021 fiscal year. As the reauthorization deadline neared, Sens. John Barrasso, R-WY, and Joe Manchin, D-W.V., negotiated a new surface mine fee of 22.4 cents.

Ranking Member Barrasso has been very active in trying to continue and improve the AML program. He believes its a serious issue and deserves a practical, bipartisan solution, Sarah Durdaller, Barrassos committee press secretary, wrote in an email to the Star-Tribune.

Under the senators plan, the 20% fee reduction would be more than offset by the addition of $11.3 billion in general treasury money  the first significant influx of federal dollars into the AML program  over the next 13 years.

The AML proposal is included in the $1 trillion infrastructure bill, but with negotiations stalled in the House, the fee timed out on Friday.

For state reclamation agencies, the lapse isnt an immediate worry. Next years AML funding has already been collected from coal companies and will be released to states in the spring. States wont know until December whether, or how significantly, future payments could be affected.

We expect reauthorization is going to happen at some point in time, said Don Newton, administrator of the Wyoming Department of Environmental Qualitys Abandoned Mine Land division.

Coal fees are paid quarterly, and if the infrastructure bill  or a standalone bill  sets a new fee by the end of the year, the program will continue uninterrupted. Otherwise, states are likely to see progressively fewer reclamation dollars with every missed quarter.

While theres still money left in the AML fund, if the fee is never reinstated, those funds will run out long before states can complete outstanding reclamation projects.

If reauthorization didnt happen, then pretty much everyone would have to tighten their belts significantly, Newton said.

In 1984, the federal government certified that Wyoming had restored all of its high-priority coal sites, enabling the state to use its allocation of AML funds toward non-coal cleanup, including abandoned gold, silver and uranium mines. But 80% of state AML money still goes toward coal reclamation projects in early mining communities like Rock Springs, Hanna and Glenrock.

The more you look for, the more you see as time goes by, Newton said. Things like subsidence features  holes in the ground  open up that are above mines. So were constantly dealing with new mining issues.

A decades-old agreement with the Department of the Interior has ensured that half of the revenue collected from Wyoming mines gets returned to the state. It received $35.8 million from the program last year. And in spite of the proposed 20% fee cut, Wyoming would get more reclamation money under the new proposal, Newton said.

But because the AML program takes money from current mining operations and redirects it to historic cleanup sites, amending that structure always gets complicated, said Shannon Anderson, staff attorney for the Powder River Basin Resource Council.

Every time reauthorization comes around, theres quite a bit of dance and negotiation between coal producing states that produce a lot currently, like Wyoming, and states that had produced a lot historically, but dont produce a lot now, like Pennsylvania, Anderson said.

The compromise between Barrasso and Manchin has been well received. As coal demand wanes, producers welcome the tax relief.

Its been a good program for Wyoming, said Travis Deti, executive director of the Wyoming Mining Association. On the coal side, though, being the ones that pay the bills, its expensive. My operators in the state of Wyoming, they paid roughly $80 million into that fund last year. And its become a burden, because the industry right now just cant afford to pay the rates that were paying right now.

Conservation groups, meanwhile, are mollified by the proposed $11.3 billion addition to the AML fund. Since 1977, coal producers fee payments have amounted to roughly $11.6 billion, with just over $6 billion redistributed to states.

Still, the bipartisan plan hasnt gained much legislative traction.

I think for most of the Congress, its just not a priority. Because if youre not a coal state, it doesnt touch you at all, Anderson said.

For coal states, however, reauthorization is a major priority. While Wyomings equivalent oil and gas reclamation effort, the Orphan Well Program, is funded through a state production tax, its mine restoration projects rely on federal financing.

Wyoming administrators may not know until January whether to start making contingency plans. Ongoing reclamation hangs in the balance for now.

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Natrona County will likely pay approximately $453,000 to maintain local flight service to Salt Lake City through April, the board of county commissioners decided Tuesday.

The airline has been eliminating service to places where its not making money, airport director Glenn Januska said. With flight traffic out of Casper down due to COVID, SkyWest stopped operating one of its two daily flights between Salt Lake City and Casper on Friday.

Without the additional money to make flying to Casper worth the airlines while, Januska said, the other flight was set to end by the start of November. That money, an estimated $755,000, will be funded 60% by the county and the rest from state transportation funds. Several commissioners noted on Tuesday that theyd also reach out to Casper to see if the city is willing to shoulder some of the local cost.

If SkyWest pulls its service from Casper altogether, Januska said, it will be difficult to get even one flight back whenever demand goes up again. There are only so many small aircraft in their fleet, and once a plane (and pilots to operate them) are allocated to another, more profitable market, its harder to make the argument for service to return to Casper.

(If) were not going to do this... we would lose service in November, Januska said. And then it would be very questionable whether wed have that service back in the future.

The Wyoming Department of Transportations Aeronautics Commission, is ready to approve the states share of roughly $302,000 for the six-month guarantee once the terms of the agreement are finalized, commissioner William DeVore said.

While Casper has long been the only airport in Wyoming operating without any state subsidies, COVID has reduced both leisure and the more profitable business travel significantly.

Several members of the community testified at Tuesday evenings meeting that losing the flights would mean fewer business opportunities coming to Casper, restricted access to out-of-state medical facilities and less competition at the airport.

Some commissioners said they were reluctant to allow government subsidies into the local airport, but agreed that losing the flight would hurt the county.

Its a lot of money for one flight a day, one in, one out, commissioner Dave North said, but I do understand its importance to the community... Hopefully the city will ... help us out a bit.

Commissioners and public commenters noted that business travel to Casper has picked up slightly in recent weeks, with more set for the near future.

Commissioner Brook Kaufman and chair Paul Bertoglio also cited the planned Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints temple breaking ground in Casper this weekend  if churchgoers are going to travel to Casper for the temple, its likely many of them would be coming through Utah.The $755,000 would constitute a minimum revenue guarantee for SkyWest, which operates the Delta flights out of Casper. Its meant to cover any potential losses for the airline between November and April, which includes the airports slowest months  even in a pre-pandemic year, Januska said, January and February are quite slow. Add the COVID-19 delta variant and business travelers (who typically pay more for their flights) trading trips for virtual meetings, and the airport is bracing for an even tougher winter.

If all goes as hoped, come April the airport will be back to pre-pandemic traffic levels and wont need any additional subsidies.

Until now, Caspers airport was able to maintain its service just based on airfare and other revenue, but COVID has left some flights operating at a loss.

The proposed agreement with SkyWest assumes the airport will be able to fill 55% of flights to Salt Lake City in that six-month period. If more seats are sold, the county and the state will end up owing less to the airline. If demand proves to be lower than 55%, Januska said, there is a slight possibility the agreement  and with it, the daily flight to Utah  would be cancelled.

But based on the states successful recent history with minimum revenue guarantees at other airports, thats unlikely. And since current flights between Casper and Salt Lake City are operating at around 70% capacity, the 55% estimate may even be a little conservative, Januska said.

With just one flight now, those headed to Salt Lake City or making a connection there have to catch the flight out of Casper around 7:30 a.m. If theyre coming back through Utah, their only option is an evening flight landing around 6:40 p.m.

United Airlines still operates an average of four flights a day to and from Denver out of Casper.

Follow city and crime reporter Ellen Gerst on Twitter at @ellengerst.

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Cody has been chosen as the site of a new Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints temple.

Sunday night, church president Russell Nelson announced plans to build 13 more temples.

As I emphasized this morning, please make time for the Lord in His holy house, Nelson said prior to announcing the temples in a news release. Nothing will strengthen your spiritual foundation like temple service and temple worship.

One in every nine residents of Wyoming, roughly 68,000 people, claim membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Area LDS Stake President Andrew Jacobsen said it was a surprise to local leadership.

Its very exciting, he said. Its a big deal for us. It gives us a lot closer access to a temple.

This will be the states third temple. Star Valley has a temple and Casper's is set to open soon.

Jacobsen said for the roughly 3,600 members of the stake, which includes most of Park County and Burlington, it will have a big impact.

Having it this close will make it easier, he said, noting some people will go to the temple weekly, many once or twice a month.

Wyoming has a significant place in the history of the church, as pioneers traveled across the state in their westward migration to Utah, primarily from the 1840s to the 1860s.

According to the official release, temples differ from the churchs chapels. All are welcome to attend Sunday worship services and other weekday activities at local chapels. The primary purpose of temples, however, is for Latter-day Saints to participate in sacred ceremonies, such as marriages and proxy baptisms on behalf of deceased ancestors who did not have the opportunity while living.

Jacobsen said after these announcements it usually takes time to plan on where the temple will be built and the timeline. He said once the temple is built, anyone in the community will be able to attend an open house to see inside, before it is dedicated and restricted to members of the church only.

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The newborn daughter of a Wyoming Marine killed during the evacuation of Afghanistan will receive a college scholarship from the Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation.

Rylee McCollum, 20, was killed in an Aug. 26 suicide bombing at the Kabul Airport. More than 180 people died in the attack, including 12 other members of the U.S. military.

Kabul fell under Taliban control Aug. 15 as U.S. troops neared the end of their withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The Kabul Airport became the point of departure for tens of thousands of civilians fleeing the country. Together, U.S. and NATO forces evacuated over 100,000 people.

McCollum and other service members were there to provide security during the evacuation. The Bondurant native was in Afghanistan on his first deployment.

McCollums daughter, Levi Rylee McCollum, was born just 19 days after his death.

Two online campaigns raised over $1 million for the family in September  one supporting the newborns schooling, and other for Jiennah Crayton, McCollums wife.

The Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation announced it would pay for her higher education in a Sept. 29 news release.

Were proud to support the thousands of American military families and children who suffered the devastating loss of a servicemember in the line of duty, David Kim, co-founder and CEO of Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation, said in the release. Its important that we support Levis college dreams because that is what her father would have wanted for her.

Kim, himself a veteran, started the foundation with his wife Cynthia after a fellow service member, William Delaney Gibbs, was killed in the line of duty. Gibbs, like McCollum, was an expectant father.

Cynthia Kim said she thought of Gibbs when she heard about McCollums daughter.

It brought back the memory of how we started Fallen Patriots in the first place, she said.

In addition to tuition, the foundation pays for things like college counseling and tutoring, application fees, student living expenses, Kim said.

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At stake in the debate over the federal debt limit between Democratic progressives and moderates is not only President Joe Bidens $1 trillion policy agenda, but also his stature as the nations political leader. The very fact that the debate is continuing is a measure of the uncertainty well into his first year in the Oval Office.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi failed Thursday to bring a promised vote removing the debt ceiling to the House floor, tarnishing not only her own credibility but the presidents as well, as they jointly strove to pass two infrastructure repair bills. Lacking any Republican support and the backing of two Senate Democrats, the speaker was obliged to settle for an extension of the debt limit until early December, promptly signed by Biden.

His history as a 36-year member of the U.S. Senate and then eight years as vice president normally could have been enough to assure Biden public confidence. Yet the current inter-party squabble has fed doubt, at a time his policy agenda appears in jeopardy in the Senate that was his home for so many years. Polls already indicate a distinct slippage in his public support.

Bidens pledge as his partys 2020 presidential nominee to pursue what he called an FDR-style administration of big ideas and aspirations has already run into a legislative buzz saw of conflict between the two main factions in the party of Roosevelt, Truman, Clinton and Obama. His call for lifting the existing federal debt limit to finance his costly string of pump-priming initiatives has already split his Democratic ranks.

Inadvertently, the fight has elevated a heretofore minor party maverick, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, as the rival face of the moderate wing. At the same time, Bidens chief 2020 rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, now nominally a Biden ally, continues to be the principal voice of the partys progressives.

The new president strives to weld the two factions into a formidable force behind his broad policy proposals on behalf of American working men and women. But Senate Republicans are solidly united in opposition to raising the debt limit, to thwart that basic Biden objective.

At the same time, Bidens claim to national leadership stature has already been undermined by wide public and partisan criticism of the withdrawal he ordered in the removal of American military and diplomatic forces from Afghanistan. While the decision ending the 20-year U.S. effort to prop up the weak and corrupt Afghan regime initially drew wide support at home, its faulty implementation has taken a personal toll on Bidens reputation and political stature.

As a result, he now undertakes pursuit of his promised FDR-style presidency in rescuing the nation from the economic shutdown following the coronavirus pandemic, in much of the same way Roosevelt combatted the Great Depression in his day. At stake this time may be Bidens own presidency, as midterm elections next year could cost him control of one or both houses of Congress, and his sweeping policy agenda.

Joe Bidens personal folksy style and everyman reputation got him off to a good start in first year in the Oval Office. But the major challenges he has set for himself have already begun to test his leadership, as he presses on to make his presidency worthy of comparison with the FDR creation of the New Deal of the 1930s and 1940s.

Speaker Pelosi sought to put the best face on her own retreat on eliminating the debt ceiling, saying of the brief extension: We hope this can be a strongly bipartisan [physical infrastructure] bill, because it keeps vital services running. But Biden has reached for a much more historic objective in achieving what has been dubbed accompanying human infrastructure through greater federal financial and medical care to the countrys working class. Therein may make or break his lasting stature in the long run.

Leonard Pitts is a columnist for The Miami Herald. Readers may contact him via e-mail at lpitts@miamiherald.com.

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My buddies Ayres and Klinger and I walked its crowded corridors for hours on Friday nights, hoping to meet girls.

Thats what we did at South Hills Village Mall in the late 1970s, when we were teens and the American Mall was in its heyday.

Built in the mid-1960s, and the very first indoor mall to be constructed in Pittsburgh, The Village was a typical, large two-level structure with anchor department stores at each end, a Sears Roebuck in the middle and a variety of retail stores in between.

No mall visit was complete without stopping into the pinball and games arcade or Spencer Gifts, a novelty and gag gift store that sold everything from lava lamps to Farrah Fawcetts famous poster.

The mall became the town square for suburban kids. Our younger siblings spent so much time there their generation would earn the name Mall Rats.

We were clueless teenagers. We had no idea why or how the suburban mall had evolved, but its birth  and its recent rapid decline  is an interesting, though complicated, American story.

According to a 2014 article in Smithsonian Magazine, the explosion of malls across America was fueled by urban flight, suburban growth and economic prosperity after World War II.

But thats not the full explanation, the magazine said. The unintended good intentions of government economic policy and federal tax codes tell the rest of the story.

Smithsonian said that in 1954 Congress was eager to stimulate investment in manufacturing. To that end, it accelerated annual depreciation rates for new construction.

Depreciation is a tax concept that assumes that a piece of machinery or a building has a finite lifespan  that upon being built, it begins to lose value until it eventually needs to be replaced.

The Smithsonians article turned to the New Yorker magazines great writer, Malcolm Gladwell, to explain how mall developers were allowed to  deduct much larger sums, which would be counted, technically, as depreciation loss  completely tax-free money. 

 Suddenly it was possible to make much more money investing in things like shopping centers than buying stocks, Gladwell writes,  so money poured into real-estate investment companies. 

Over 1,200 shopping malls shot up in the U.S. after the earliest examples were built in the 1950s, according to World Market.

A massive amount of money was made by investors in new malls, but there was an unintended social cost.

As millions of suburbanites switched their shopping to the malls, many large retailers in the downtown cores of major cities and small stores on local main streets were devastated and put out of business.

Malls had their Golden Age, but theyve been in decline for years.

Theyve been bleeding shoppers and revenues because of the growth of online shopping and now, after being crushed by a year and a half of covid lockdowns, theyre being shuttered in big numbers.

Some malls, like my old teenage stamping ground, appear to be hanging in there. Sears is long gone, but Target and Dicks appear to be doing well.

Some mall owners, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, are introducing innovative ideas to remain relevant  and viable.

Others, says NPR, are remaking their vast, rarely busy spaces into apartments, medical facilities, office spaces and other important re-uses.

I wish all of them better luck than Ayres, Klingler and I had 40-some years ago. We spent hundreds of hours walking up and down our malls crowded corridors, but never once met any girls!

Tom Purcell is a nationally syndicated Pittsburgh Tribune-Review humor columnist.

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It is a metaphor for what is occurring at seemingly all levels of our country and culture. The United States Postal Service (USPS) has announced it will slow service for first-class mail and periodicals while temporarily increasing prices on all commercial and retail domestic packages  because of the holidays. Its probably good the announcement did not come through the mail, or it might have been delayed.

How much of a delay will depend on our ZIP codes, which sounds a little discriminatory. A map developed by The Washington Post allows you to enter your ZIP code and you are then informed how many additional days you can expect to wait for your bills, ads, catalogues and personal letters, assuming anyone but maybe grandma writes letters these days.

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy displayed a gift for the obvious when he said, The Postal Services problems are serious, but he is optimistic they can be solved. He said he has a ten-year plan, which sounds a bit like the old Soviet and Chinese centralized planning systems, which failed.

Part of the problem has been the huge amount of money USPS sets aside for pensions and other benefits for postal employees. DeJoy thinks one way to save money is for retirees to be allowed to switch to Medicare, a program that is already living on borrowed financial time and expected to run out of money in the not-too-distant future.

What a difference a few decades make. I remember receiving letters from my parents as a kid in camp with a three-cent stamp on them. They were promptly delivered. In the days leading up to Christmas, we received a morning and afternoon delivery. The Post Office, as it was then known, united the nation and opened the world (some kids had pen pals in other countries) before there were internet and Facebook friends, most of whom we dont know.

Going to the mailbox and seeing what was in it was a daily adventure. You would raise a red flag on the side of the box to let the mailman know you had something to send. If you peered into the mail car on a train, you would see many bags and know they were on the way to their intended destination in a timely fashion.

DeJoy says air carriers have become unreliable in delivering the mail and he wants to rely more on ground services. It worked for the Pony Express!

The Postal Reorganization Act of 1970 states: The Postal Service shall have as its basic function the obligation to provide postal services to bind the Nation together through the personal, educational, literary, and business correspondence of the people. It shall provide prompt, reliable, and efficient services to patrons in all areas and shall render postal services to all communities.

Then there is the unofficial, but familiar motto of the postal service: Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.

The law and the motto will have to be updated to reflect the new delays. Perhaps its time to figure out a replacement for the U.S. Postal Service and let it become a completely private business.

If only we could resurrect the original postmaster, Benjamin Franklin, who created a system that was affordable and fast for his day. Franklin would likely be appalled at what we have today. He might even recommend stamping it out and starting over.

Readers may email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribpub.com. Look for his new book, Americas Expiration Date: The Fall of Empires and Superpowers and the Future of the United States.

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ASSET by asset, the liquidators of the CL Financial group are selling off the company that it took Cyril Duprey and his nephew, Lawrence, 73 years to build up.

The liquidators are plodding through the sale of thousands of acres of land, millions of dollars worth of shares in a local conglomerate, a major local insurance firm, a manufacturer of resins and a security company.
Sponsored: Ministry of Planning

In previous articles weve covered a few of the most significant issues facing the environment today and how our Government is addressing these. A large part of our, and indeed many other countries, strategy to do this involves being part of Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) and a crucial factor for the successful implementation of MEAs is our youth.

More here
The supervisors previously incentivized vaccines by offering $300 to all employees vaccinated by Oct. 1 while raising health insurance premiums for unvaccinated employees.

Nobody wants our agency to get the pay that they deserve, the pay that makes them competitive with other agencies more so than I, Nanos said. But I also want them to be safe, I want them to be responsible for what it is they do for their jobs, their communities.

The jail is short on staffing for corrections officers, Nanos added, expressing concern that a vaccine mandate would cause an exodus of employees and affect the jails operations.

The board denied the request to limit the 5% raises to vaccinated employees. Scott said he supported the boards past actions to incentivize vaccinations but questioned the effectiveness limiting raises would have on increasing vaccination rates.

To me, all of our employees deserve this 5% raise whether they are vaccinated or not, Scott said. I think when it comes to incentives and disincentives, we need to walk very, very fine line in terms of the things that are warranted, and the things that are just overly punitive.
In fact, despite the crucial position shes assumed, she hasnt talked publicly with Arizonans for a long time. She did have a fundraiser in Phoenix over the weekend though, and impolite activists shouted over the walls to make her hear them  until they were forced away by police.

Her spokeswoman, Hannah Hurley, told me in an email Tuesday evening that Sinema supports various goals, such as cheaper health care and prescription drugs, but would not reveal more specific positions.

Given the size and scope of the proposal  and the lack of detailed legislative language, or even consensus between the Senate and House around several provisions  we are not offering detailed comments on any one proposed piece of the package.

Sinema took great umbrage Friday when the House decided not to vote on a trillion-dollar infrastructure plan. Progressive Democrats refused to do so until they had reassurances about what would happen to the $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill.

Sinema called that decision inexcusable and a betrayal of trust.

But when I talked with Rep. Raul Grijalva on Tuesday, the Tucson Democrat, he said he opposed voting on the infrastructure bill because Sinema and others had made no commitment to proceed with the reconciliation bill.
OPINION: Mixed opinions about Sinema, Better Buck Program and government spending are in the topics of letters today. Join the discussion by submitting a letter at tucson.com/opinion.
A man arrested on a first-degree murder complaint is alleged to have fired the fatal round as his victim was running away from him, an arrest and booking report detailed Tuesday.

Marquelon Dakarai Johnson, 21, remains in the Tulsa County jail without bond.

Police arrived after midnight early Monday at the scene in the 3100 block of East Pine Street and found victim Austin Martin in the street with a gunshot wound that would later prove fatal. Martin, 27, died while he was being taken to a hospital, police reported.

Surveillance video from area businesses reportedly shows Martin sweeping trash in a convenience stores parking lot when the assailant, alleged to be Johnson, approaches him.

Martin runs, and the video shows the gunman following him while reaching under his shirt toward his waistband before shooting Martin and fleeing, the report states.

While at the scene, homicide detectives were told that a man had been taken to a hospital after breaking into a car nearby. They went to the hospital, where Johnson refused to talk to them but had earlier identified himself to other officers as Brian Tony.
And if a thief does get caught, the penalties allowed by state law are often merely a hiccup for most engaged in the nonviolent crime, Calhoun said. His unit has dealt with some suspects who have been arrested four or five times within a few weeks, he said.

Its just a revolving door, Calhoun said. Weve actually had instances where people are arrested, get out and are caught less than 24 hours later in another stolen car.

The familiar faces arent afraid to share their reasoning with investigators. Calhoun said he often hears: Its worth the risk because if we get caught, we probably wont get in a lot of trouble, but if we dont get caught were going to make a lot of money.

The frustrating reality is especially unfair for victims, Calhoun said.

For many in the Tulsa area, a personal vehicle is the most expensive thing they own and their only reliable ticket to employment, child care or health care. To walk out one morning and realize that is gone can be devastating, Calhoun said.
With pay that low for the rigors of that kind of job, its no wonder DOC is having a hard time with recruitment and retention. And the dangers are magnified when prisons arent adequately staffed.

Funding prisons is never at the top of anyones priority list. The prison system was allocated $531 million, or about 7% of the states total budget, for this fiscal year.

The state has a responsibility to uphold the civil rights of its prisoners, give them a chance at rehabilitation and make sure those who are watching over them are well-equipped, well-trained and highly motivated to keep Oklahomas prisons as safe and secure as possible.

Thats going to take improved and ongoing investment starting with its frontline workers. They need better pay, and we need more of them.

That doesnt mean funding should come at the expense of criminal justice reform measures approved by Oklahoma voters or from other efforts to decrease the states incarceration rates. Far from it.

Oklahoma must find ways to keep people from prison, especially for nonviolent offenses. It will improve the lives of people who need treatment, working conditions for DOC officers and rehabilitation for those incarcerated.
Ben Thanh Market, one of the oldest markets and a symbol of Vietnams southern business hub Ho Chi Minh City, has resumed operations amid COVID-19 restriction easing after months of lockdown.

The market has reopened as the city and the country in general are loosening strict COVID-19 restrictions, which had been applied for several months, to restart socio-economic activities under new normal conditions, a phrase the Vietnamese government uses to describe its new strategy of living safely with the coronavirus.

Both traders and market-goers at Ben Thanh, located in the heart of District 1, are required to comply with epidemic prevention rules.

A resident has her QR code scanned for a vaccination history check before entering Ben Thanh Market in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Ngoc Phuong / Tuoi Tre

The market has reopened with 70 stalls, which mainly provide vegetables, meat, and other essential items.

People have to undergo health declarations, vaccination history checks, body temperature measurement, and hand sanitization before entering the market.

In order to avoid congestion, the market management board has arranged separate entrances and exits for market-goers, who are required to keep a safe distance.

There are transparent partitions between the sellers and buyers and baskets are used for receipt of payment and delivery of goods.

Nguyen Phuong Anh, an office employee in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City is seen buying vegetables at a stall at Ben Thanh Market. Photo: Ngoc Phuong / Tuoi Tre

About 150 traders initially registered for reopening, but the actual number is 70 today, said Nguyen Van Tuan, deputy head of the market's guard team.

All traders are required to have two COVID-19 vaccine doses, have a coronavirus test every three days, use partitions and hand sanitizers, and follow other epidemic prevention rules.

I feel very happy when the market reopens. I am a veteran trader at this market, selling goods not only to consumers but also to wholesale purchasers, said Ong Thi Muoi, a dealer of processed foods.

Nguyen Quynh Lam, a shopper, also expressed her cheer at the markets reoperation.

Sellers here comply with epidemic prevention rules, and I feel secure when market-goers are provided with the separate entries and exits.

A scene of trading at Ben Thanh Market in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Ngoc Phuong / Tuoi Tre

When shopping at a supermarket, buyers have to spend a long time standing in line and feel insecure because of crowds, Lam elaborated.

Ho Chi Minh City is the hardest-hit locality in Vietnam since the beginning of its fourth virus wave on April 27, with more than 400,100 local infections and over 15,200 fatalities.

Infections have decelerated in recent times while the majority of the local population have been given at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose.

City authorities started relaxing coronavirus-related restrictions on October 1 after having enacted various social distancing levels since late May, in a bid to gradually reopen the economy.

The Ben Thanh Market, built by a French contractor in 1912 and completed in 1914, now has an area of over 13,000 square meters.

In January 2012, the market was selected as one of 10 destinations having the most attractive street food on the planet by Food and Wine magazine.

The market has long been a symbol of the city and a must-see attraction for both domestic and international travelers.

A trader is seen gesturing to express joy at the reopening of Ben Thanh Market in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City after months of lockdown. Photo: Ngoc Phuong / Tuoi Tre

Nguyen Quynh Lam, a market-goer, is seen putting money into a basket at Ben Thanh Market in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Ngoc Phuong / Tuoi Tre

This photo shows fish and other seafood on sale at Ben Thanh Market in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Ngoc Phuong / Tuoi Tre

This image shows one of the 70 traders resuming operations at Ben Thanh Market in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Ngoc Phuong / Tuoi Tre

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MAROS, Indonesia -- Genetic traces in the body of a young woman who died 7,000 years ago furnish the first clue that mixing between early humans in Indonesia and those from faraway Siberia took place much earlier than previously thought.

Theories about early human migration in Asia could be transformed by the research published in the scientific journal Nature in August, after analysis of the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), or the genetic fingerprint, of the woman who was given a ritual burial in an Indonesian cave.

"There is the possibility that the Wallacea region could have been a meeting point of two human species, between the Denisovans and early homo sapiens," said Basran Burhan, an archaeologist from Australia's Griffith University.

Burhan, one of the scientists who participated in the research, was referring to the region of Indonesia that includes South Sulawesi, where the body, buried with rocks in its hands and on the pelvis, was found in the Leang Pannige cave complexes.

The Denisovans were a group of ancient humans named after a cave in Siberia where their remains were first identified in 2010 and scientists understand little about them, even details of their appearance.

Archaelogists from Hasanuddin University, Griffith University and Cultural Heritage Preservation Center (BPCB) visit the Leang Panninge cave during a research for ancient stones in the Mallawa district of Maros regency, South Sulawesi province, Indonesia, September 19, 2021. Photo: Reuters

The DNA from Besse, as the researchers named the young woman in Indonesia, using the term for a new born baby girl in the regional Bugis language, is one of the few well-preserved specimens found in the tropics.

It showed she descended from the Austronesian people common to Southeast Asia and Oceania but with the inclusion of a small Denisovan portion, the scientists said.

"Genetic analyses show that this pre-Neolithic forager... represents a previously unknown divergent human lineage," they said in the paper.

Since scientists have until recently thought North Asian people such as the Denisovans only arrived in Southeast Asia about 3,500 years ago, Besse's DNA changes theories about patterns of early human migration.

Parts of Besse's ancient skeleton that was unearthed from Leang Paningge cave are pictured inside a box at the archaeological laboratory of Hasanuddin University in Makassar, South Sulawesi province, Indonesia, September 18, 2021. Photo: Reuters

The discovery may also offer insights into the origins of Papuans and Indigenous Australian people who share Denisovan DNA.

"Theories about migration will change, as theories about race will also change," said Iwan Sumantri, a lecturer at Hasanuddin University in South Sulawesi, who is also involved in the project.

Besse's remains provide the first sign of Denisovans among Austronesians, who are Indonesia's oldest ethnic grouping, he added.

"Now try to imagine how they spread and distributed their genes for it to reach Indonesia," Sumantri said.
Several temples in Thailand's historic city of Ayutthaya were underwater on Wednesday, as heavy monsoon rains flooded provinces across the country.

More than 40 temples in Ayutthaya, home to ancient Buddhist temples, ruins, and monuments, have been affected by the floods, the city administration said.

A lying Buddha statue is seen surrounded by floodwaters at a temple in Ayutthaya, Thailand, October 6, 2021. Photo: Reuters

At one of the temples, Wat Satue, monks paddled small boats through water that ranged from thigh deep to neck level.

"This is the worst flood in 10 years," its abbot Phra Kru Pariyat Yathikhun told Reuters by phone, adding that surrounding communities were also flooded.

Authorities have issued flood warnings across much of the country over the past two weeks as Tropical Storm Dianmu caused flash floods in 32 of Thailand's 76 provinces, killing nine people and affecting nearly 300,000 households.

Sixteen provinces were still flooded on Wednesday, including Ayutthaya, and authorities warned of another potential tropical storm that is forecast to reach the northeast of the country next week.

In 2011, Thailand suffered its worst floods in five decades, affecting 65 of its 76 provinces and killing hundreds.

Buddhist monks deliver aid on a boat at a flooded area, at a temple in Ayutthaya, Thailand, October 6, 2021. Photo: Reuters
STOCKHOLM -- Japanese-born American Syukuro Manabe, German Klaus Hasselmann and Italian Giorgio Parisi won the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics on Tuesday for work that helps understand complex physical systems such as Earth's changing climate.

In a decision hailed by the U.N. weather agency as a sign of a consensus forming around man-made global warming, one half of the 10-million Swedish crown ($1.15 million) prize goes in equal parts to Manabe, 90, and Hasselmann, 89, for modelling earths climate and reliably predicting global warming.

The other half goes to Parisi for discovering in the early 1980s "hidden rules" behind seemingly random movements and swirls in gases or liquids that can also be applied to aspects of neuroscience, machine learning and starling flight formations.

"Syukuro Manabe and Klaus Hasselmann laid the foundation of our knowledge of the Earths climate and how humanity influences it," the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said in a statement. "Giorgio Parisi is rewarded for his revolutionary contributions to the theory of disordered materials and random processes."

Hasselmann, who is at the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology in Hamburg, told Reuters from his home that he did not want to wake up from what he described as a beautiful dream.

"I am retired, you know, and have been a bit lazy lately. I am happy about the honour. The research continues," he said.

The Academy said Manabe, who works at Princeton University in the United States, had laid the foundation in the 1960s for today's understanding of Earth's climate after moving to the United States from Japan to continue his research.

Secretary General of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Goran K. Hansson speaks during the announcement of the winners of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, Sweden October 5, 2021. Pontus Lundahl/TT News Agency via Reuters

Interviewed by U.S. and Japanese journalists at his home, Manabe said he believed his award reflected the Academys recognition of climate change, which he said will continue to intensify with more droughts, torrential rains, warming of land masses and melting of polar ice.

"Already, as you know, there are many phenomena showing climate change is happening," he said in Japanese. "And I think that is the reason why the theme of climate change was selected for the award this time."

Asked in English how he would address climate change sceptics, he smiled and replied, That problem is about a million times more difficult than understanding climate change. It is very mysterious to me.

Hasselmann, the Academy said, had developed models about 10 years later that became instrumental in proving that mankind's carbon dioxide emissions cause rising temperatures in the atmosphere.

Parisi, who dialled into the media briefing announcing the winners, was asked for his message to world leaders due to meet for U.N. climate change talks in Glasgow, Scotland, from Oct. 31.

"I think it is very urgent that we take real and very strong decisions and we move at a very strong pace," said the 73-year-old Nobel laureate, who works at Sapienza University of Rome.

Scientists have spent decades urging climate change action on an often reluctant society, Hasselmann said in a recording published on the Nobel Prize's website.

"It is just that people are not willing to accept the fact that they have to react now for something that will happen in a few years," he said.

An outside view of the Norwegian Nobel Institute with a bust of Alfred Nobel, in central Oslo, Norway September 14, 2021. Photo: Reuters

Global warming

Work on climate change has been recognised by Nobel prizes before.

Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and the U.N. climate panel received the Peace Prize in 2007 for galvanizing international action against global warming. William Nordhaus won one half of the 2018 Economics prize for integrating climate change into the Western economic growth model.

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg is also seen as a strong contender for this year's Peace Prize, due to be announced from Oslo on Friday.

"Sceptics or deniers of scientific facts...are not so visible anymore and this climate science message has been heard," World Meteorological Organization Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said of this year's award.

Physics is the second Nobel to be awarded this week after Americans David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian won the prize for medicine on Monday for the discovery of receptors in the skin that sense temperature and touch.

The Nobel prizes were created in the will of Swedish dynamite inventor and businessman Alfred Nobel and have been awarded since 1901 with only a handful of interruptions, primarily due to the two world wars.

Like last year, there will be no banquet in Stockholm because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The laureates will receive their medals and diplomas in their home countries.

The physics prize announcement will be followed in the coming days by the awards for chemistry, literature, peace and economics.

($1 = 8.7290 Swedish crowns)
Traffic in Ho Chi Minh City has roared back to near pre-pandemic levels as many streets across the southern metropolis, especially in the central districts, have become bustling again.

Vehicles filled up Truong Chinh, Au Co, Hoang Van Thu, and Cong Hoa Streets in Tan Binh District, Nguyen Thai Son Street in Go Vap District, Hai Ba Trung Street in District 3, and Ba Thang Hai Street in District 10, as observed by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporters on Monday afternoon.

There were times when snarls of slow-moving vehicles from District 1 and District 3 inundated the intersection of Ba Thang Hai and Le Hong Phong Streets in District 10.

Rush hour traffic also returned on Cong Hoa and Hoang Van Thu Streets, mirroring a trend replicated citywide.

Busy traffic is seen on Vo Thi Sau Street in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City, October 4, 2021. Photo: Chau Tuan / Tuoi Tre

Its been a long time since I last saw such busy traffic, said Nguyen Tuong Vy, a resident of Tan Binh District.

This is a good sign that the city life rhythm has returned to normal.

However, I hope everyone will not become careless, as the pandemic is still smoldering in the community.

Ho Chi Minh City is the hardest-hit locality in Vietnam since the beginning of its fourth virus wave on April 27, with more than 400,000 local infections and over 15,100 fatalities.

Infections have slowed down in recent times while over 6.9 million of its nearly-nine-million population have been given at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, according to the national COVID-19 vaccination portal.

City authorities had applied various social distancing levels in recent months before switching to Directive No. 18 from October 1 to continue preventing and controlling the pandemic while gradually reopening the economy.

Busy traffic is seen on Nguyen Thai Son Street in Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City, October 4, 2021. Photo: Le Phan / Tuoi Tre

Busy traffic is seen on Cong Hoa Street in Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City, October 4, 2021. Photo: Chau Tuan / Tuoi Tre

Busy traffic is seen on a street in Ho Chi Minh City, October 4, 2021. Photo: Chau Tuan / Tuoi Tre

Busy traffic is seen on Hoang Van Thu Street in Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City, October 4, 2021. Photo: Le Phan / Tuoi Tre

Busy traffic is seen on Ba Thang Hai Street in District 10, Ho Chi Minh City, October 4, 2021. Photo: Le Phan / Tuoi Tre

Busy traffic is seen on Ba Thang Hai Street in District 10, Ho Chi Minh City, October 4, 2021. Photo: Le Phan / Tuoi Tre

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Four students went missing after a boat capsized along a river in the northern Vietnamese province of Ha Giang on Tuesday night.

The accident took place along a section of the Gam River in Yen Phu Town, Bac Me District at around 10:20 pm on Tuesday, the districts chairwoman Cung Thi May confirmed on Wednesday.

The boat was carrying eight students of Bac Me High School when it overturned.

Four of the students were able to swim to the riverbank, while the other four were nowhere to be found.

The missing victims were identified as Nguyen Thi T., 16, Ha Ngoc L., 16, Hoang Anh D., 16, and Tang Nhu Th., 17.

Search and rescue teams were mobilized to look for the students.

The body of one of the victims was found on Wednesday morning.

Preliminary information showed that the students traveled across the river on Tuesday morning to help a friends family harvest a rice paddy.

The accident happened on their way back, after they had finished the tasks and had dinner at the friends house.

Local authorities are exerting all efforts to search for the remaining victims.

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Four bus routes in Can Gio District resumed operations on Tuesday, the first in Ho Chi Minh City to see a relaunch after COVID-19 restrictions in late June shuttered all bus services.

As witnessed by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper correspondents on Tuesday, passengers and bus attendants returned to suburban bus route No. 90, which connects Binh Khanh Ferry Terminal in Nha Be District to Can Thanh Town in Can Gio District, for the first time in three months.

Nguyen Thi Kim Hoa, an operator of bus service provider Transport Cooperative No. 26, bus routes No. 77, No. 90, No. 127, and No. 128, started traveling to Can Gio District from Tuesday.

Passengers are sparse on the first day of service resumption, but drivers and staffers are glad to be able to return to work, Hoa said.

We all uphold epidemic safety measures, including face mask donning, disinfection, and safe distancing, while the buses only accept passengers up to 50 percent of their designed capacities."

A bus-goer in Ho Chi Minh City puts ticket money in a box, October 5, 2021. Photo: Ngoc Phuong / Tuoi Tre

Nguyen Thi Ngoc Ha, a bus attendant on route No. 90, said she had stayed at home to take care of her grandchildren while her job was on hold during the past three months.

Im delighted to see passengers once again, as I cant stand being at home any longer, Ha admitted.

One of our regular passengers was in tears when she found out about the bus shutdown, which forced her to travel on foot for weeks.

The service resumption will help people like her a lot.

Le Thi Ha, a bus-goer from Can Gio District, said she and her husband have to travel some 60 kilometers from Can Thanh Town to Nguyen Tri Phuong Hospital in District 5 for regular check-ups.

Going by bus is better than traveling on motorbikes since were old and unable to handle the traffic and weather," Ha said.

Im glad to be able to get on a bus again, despite having to wake up at 5:00 am to do so.

Posters promoting COVID-19 prevention measures on a bus in Ho Chi Minh City, October 5, 2021. Photo: Ngoc Phuong / Tuoi Tre

Ho Chi Minh City is the hardest-hit locality in Vietnam since the beginning of its fourth virus wave on April 27, with more than 400,000 local infections and over 15,300 fatalities.

Infections have slowed down in recent times while over 6.9 million of its nearly-nine-million population have been given at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, according to the national COVID-19 vaccination portal.

City authorities had applied various social distancing levels in recent months before switching to Directive No. 18 from October 1 to continue preventing and controlling the pandemic while gradually reopening the economy.

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Oxfam in Vietnam, a non-governmental organization, together with the Embassies of New Zealand and Switzerland in Vietnam, on Tuesday announced nearly VND1.3 billion (US$57,000) worth of humanitarian aid to help internal migrant workers in Ho Chi Minh City overcome the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over 700 of the most vulnerable migrant workers, especially women, in the most severely hit districts, such as District 4, District 6, District 9, District 7, District 11, District 12, and Binh Thanh District, will receive a cash grant to help purchase essentials like food and medicine in the next three months.

Oxfams partners, namely the Disability Research and Capacity Development (DRD) and the Center for Social Work  Community Development Research and Consultancy (SDRC), will closely join hands with organizations and local authorities to hand over the aid to the beneficiaries.

The relief package was built following a rapid evaluation conducted by Oxfam in Vietnam and two partners in August 2021, among domestic migrant workers affected by COVID-19 in Ho Chi Minh City.

The evaluation found many informal migrant workers are facing a downward spiral of survival hardship.

They have lost their jobs and income due to prolonged social distancing and have few other options for receiving support.

Cash provision is the first line of critical and pragmatic support which offers people a maximum degree of choice, flexibility, and dignity, said Pham Quang Tu, Oxfam in Vietnams deputy national director.

We will also do further research to identify priorities in supporting communities recovery from COVID-19 crisis.

Charge dAffaires of the New Zealand Embassy Joseph Mayhew affirmed that the aid package serves as proof of a close-knit partnership between New Zealand and Vietnam.

More than 3,000 women across Vietnam affected by COVID-19 received support via the New Zealand Head of Mission Fund over the past year, he added.

Vanessa Di Giorgi from the Swiss Embassy said Switzerland always stands side by side with Vietnam to overcome the pandemic.

Switzerland had previously presented medical supplies worth $5.5 million to support Vietnams fight against COVID-19.

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The Ministry of Health reported 4,363 more COVID-19 cases in Vietnam on Wednesday, together with 10,033 discharged patients and 119 deaths.

The latest cases, including 4,356 local and seven imported infections, were logged in 40 provinces and cities, the health ministry said, noting 2,223 patients were detected in the community.

Ho Chi Minh City documented 1,960 of the new cases, Binh Duong Province 852, Dong Nai Province 534, An Giang Province 180, Kien Giang Province 79, Long An Province 74, Can Tho City 44, Hanoi nine, and Da Nang one.

Vietnam had confirmed 4,360 locally-infected patients on Tuesday.

The country has found 818,091 community transmissions in 62 out of its 63 provinces and cities since the fourth  and worst  virus wave emerged on April 27.

Ho Chi Minh City leads the table with 403,454 patients, followed by Binh Duong Province with 218,812, Dong Nai Province with 52,551, Long An Province with 32,942, Tien Giang Province with 14,303, Dong Thap Province with 8,443, Khanh Hoa Province with 8,046, Da Nang with 4,924, Hanoi with 4.259, and Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province with 4,254.

Vietnam reported a mere 1,570 locally-transmitted infections in total in the previous three waves.

The health ministry announced 10,033 recoveries on Wednesday, bringing the total to 757,086.

The toll has increased to 20,098 deaths after the ministry recorded 119 fatalities on the same day, including 88 in Ho Chi Minh City and 16 in Binh Duong Province.

Vietnam has registered 822,687 patients since the COVID-19 pandemic first struck it early last year.

Health workers have administered over 48 million vaccine doses, including 1,148,557 shots on Tuesday, since inoculation was rolled out on March 8.

More than 12 million people have been fully vaccinated.

Health authorities aim to immunize at least two-thirds of a population of nearly 98 million people against COVID-19 by the first quarter of next year.

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The tourist city of Da Lat in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong installed its first-ever traffic lights on Tuesday to cope with increased traffic flows.

The traffic lights were installed at the junction of Hoang Van Thu, Tran Phu, and Ba Thang Hai Streets.

Unlike common traffic light posts, the frame around the red, amber, and green lights has a floral shape to match Da Lats nickname: the City of Flowers.

Da Lat authorities expect to install similar traffic light posts at six other intersections this year as part of a project worth VND142.7 billion (US$6.27 million) funded by the provincial budget to ease traffic congestion in the famous tourist city.

The installation ended one of Da Lats three unique non-existence features, namely no cyclos (three-wheeled pedal-powered rickshaws), no traffic lights, and no air conditioners.

The first traffic light post in Da Lat City, Lam Dong Province, Vietnam, October 5, 2021. Photo: M. V. / Tuoi Tre

The city has seen a surge in visitors in recent years, especially during weekends and holidays, which results in traffic congestion in downtown areas.

It was originally designed to accommodate around 90,000 people in the early 20th century, according to news site VnExpress, but its population has now ballooned to nearly 230,000.

The number of visitors to the city exceeded seven million in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Lam Dong online newspaper.

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Chris Kenny fronts a documentary Going Nuclear: The Clean Energy Debate on SKY News later this month.

The one-hour documentary examines and debates the technologies and policies being proposed by governments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and suggests it cannot be achieved without employing nuclear energy.

Chris Kenny said: Like it or lump it, we are heading to net zero. All major political parties, most nations and even big business are committing to this target, so the obvious questions is, how can it be done? We are being sold something of an untruth that you can get there with renewable energy and storage  in most countries that is impossible with current technology.

Increasingly, environmentalists who worry about global warming are turning to nuclear energy as the technology that can produce high levels of reliable, affordable, zero emissions electricity. Yet in Australia  one of the worlds largest producers and exporters of uranium  we have actually banned nuclear power under the law. If you are serious about energy and prosperity, as well as low emissions, then nuclear must be part of the debate.

Interviews include US activist, author and Time magazine Hero of the Environment Michael Shellenberger, former UK Extinction Rebellion activist Zion Lights, and Professor Barry Brook who is Chair of Environmental Sustainability at the University of Tasmania.

Also featuring are nuclear engineer and former CEO of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation Dr Adi Paterson, Australian lawyer Helen Cook, and Federal Resource Minister Keith Pitt.

Monday October 25 at 8pm on SKY News.
EXCLUSIVE: Its easy to think of Hey Hey Its Saturday as the madcap variety show with a buoyant host, feathered sidekick, international celebrities and amateur talent acts.

Who could forget an out-of-control ducksuit, a heckling head-on-stick or a barrelful of frozen chickens?

For a generation of Australians, it was a Saturday night ritual, catching the show while dressing up for a big night out at Chasers or the local Blue Light Disco.

And before that it was a kids Saturday morning show of cartoons and competitions, but with Daryl Somers and Ernie Carroll at the helm it detoured into improvised chaos, breaking the fourth wall, turning its crew into reluctant stars, making segments out of nothing and becoming appointment television.

In its primetime glory Hey Hey was also the first Australian show to be invited to broadcast from the Warner Bros lot in Hollywood. There were shows from Disney World in Florida and it opened Movie World on the Gold Coast. The Americans couldnt believe 2 hours of Live TV was done without a script, decades before Unscripted TV became a genre.

This Sunday on the retrospective Hey Hey Its 50 Years, Daryl Somers will recall the shows origins.

I do pay my dues to Ernie Carroll. I couldnt have had a better mentor for all the tea in China. He was wonderful and nurtured my career. I also give credit to Jim McKay Sr., who was the program manager at Channel Nine for many years. He was the man that started Hey Hey, he tells TV Tonight.

Ive never really before gotten into the history of how we started and I thought, After 50 years, I should cover that.

Some people might be interested in it. I dont know. But well find out.

The 50 years special, which Somers notes was first raised with Nine in 2020, will oddly screen on Seven due to Somers association with Dancing with the Stars.

Filmed during COVID conditions at NEP Studios South Melbourne, it includes guest appearances from Wilbur Wilde, John Blackman and poet laureate Raymond J. Bartholomew (aka Brian Nankervis).

There are also video messages from numerous Hey Hey regulars.

Theres Molly, theres Red, I was hoping to have Russell (Gilbert) but I dont think he was quite up to it. Ill try and catch up with him when I come back. But I put a tribute in there with Russell and some of the funny sketches that he has done.

We are only scratching the surface

We have messages from artists over the years that have been on the show. We are only scratching the surface of the shows over the 30 years, but it will provide lots of memories for people who go way back with the show, and those that were more recent.

Theres also a zoom chat with much-loved longtime co-host, Jacki MacDonald.

She couldnt fly down, naturally. But it was so lovely to talk to Jac. We still talk reasonably regularly. 15 seconds in, were laughing hysterically because she says the most wonderful things -whether she means to come out with them or not, half the time. Its just hysterical. We continue our friendship for all these years, and its really, really lovely.

So many famous people we just couldnt fit into the show

Theres large snippets, a couple of numbers, footage and flashes theres a shot of Kamahl but thats all we can do -theres so many famous people we just couldnt fit into the show.

I said to Seven, If you wanted a series we could provide it, because Ive left so much on the cutting room floor, its ridiculous!'

Ossie Ostrich, created by the great Ernie Carroll, will also be seen in retrospective clips, but Somers remains close to his mentor.

Ernie is in a retirement village now. It was difficult to see him because of the COVID stuff, but I saw him on May 26 on his 92nd birthday. He was with his partner Miffy who used to do commercials on Grahams IMT.

Hes fading gracefully

We went to lunch with them, with Ernies daughter and son at Mt. Eliza pub. It was joyous and sad at the same time. Hes still got the where-with-all, but hes fading gracefully. Im going to ring the retirement village to make sure that theyre watching on Sunday night.

Hey Hey its Saturday ran from 1971  1999 (with time off for good behaviour in 1978) and returned in 2010 following two reunion shows, one of which attracted controversy for a blackface skit for which Somers would later apologise. Like other comedy shows of its era, not all of Hey Hey has aged well, but there are 3 decades of material to cram into a 90 minute special, edited largely by Ian Carmichael.

Somers has also spent much of the past decade digitising analogue shows for a subscription-based heyhey.tv streaming site he is relaunching.

Were going to provide around 800 digitised Hey Hey episodes that people will be able to relive. They go behind a paywall to see these shows in full, and there will be free stuff there as well.

Now aged 70, Somers laments the lack of interest in television history, but is grateful to Seven for the primetime celebration.

Free to Air Ive found werent that interested in history

Free to Air Ive found werent that interested in history. When Hey Hey finished at the end of 99, Peter McGauran who was Federal Arts Minister asked me if I would go on to the Advisory Board of Screen Sound, which was our National Film and Sound Archive in Canberra, he recalls.

I said, I dont think Im a boardroom sort of person. But he said I think youd come up with different ideas, making people more aware of the archives.

It took me three and a half years to get my head around the Charter.

Hey Hey Its 50 Years airs 7pm Sunday on Seven.
CDC, along with many other professional healthcare experts, are committed to increasing awareness of AFM. Listen to members of our community of experts as they express their dedication to learn more about AFM.
Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.
Khristian Santiago, a 2016 graduate of the University of Dayton School of Business Administration and new member of the University of Dayton Board of Trustees, sat down recently to chat with SBA Interim Dean Trevor Collier for the inaugural episode of the Business Class Podcast. Listeners are invited along as Khris recalls his first year at UD, when he took Dr. Colliers Principles of Microeconomics class, and discusses a wide range of other topics.

Their conversation takes us from Puerto Rico, where Khris grew up and attended a Marianist High School, to Dayton, where the UD community welcomed  and challenged  him every step along his college path. Flyer Enterprises (FE), UDs student-run business with over $1.2 million in annual revenue, became a central vehicle for Khris personal and professional development. Listeners will understand why Khris is equally grateful for lessons that come from difficulties as for those born of success.

The podcast delves into the UD experiences that helped Khris prepare for a professional career with Google, first in Michigan and then in California, and how the UD mantra of community helped him settle into his roles. They also discuss how Khris found a new and strong community within UD alumni groups. He credits his involvement with the DAY10 Young Alumni Group with keeping his UD connections strong. For this and many other reasons, Khris knows that taking advantage of an opportunity to join a community can be life-changing.

In fact, he says, It was at a DAY10 Alumni Group event in San Francisco that Eric Spina and Jen Howe first approached me about joining the University Board of Trustees. Hear more about what led to this remarkable opportunity, as well as Khris advice to current UD students, in the Business Class Podcast.

You can find the Business Class podcast on Apple Podcast, Google Play, and/or Spotify.

Apple Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/business-class/id1586874418

Google Play link: https://podcasts.google.com/search/business%20class%20dayton

Spotify Link: https://open.spotify.com/show/1VrvAg8gdXy5tV71tZNhOg
A court in Cyprus has extended the detention of a man which the Israeli government alleges is a hitman, hired by Iran to kill Israeli businesspeople on the island.

The suspect - who was arrested on September 27 and has not been charged - has only been identified as an ethnic Azeri using a Russian passport.

Police found a pistol and silencer in the man's rental car, but have been otherwise tightlipped about the case.

Israel is calling it a "terrorist incident directed by Iran."

The Iranian Embassy in Nicosia has dismissed the accusation as baseless.

The suspect is thought to have arrived in Cyprus at least 20 days prior to his arrest and is reportedly not cooperating with police.

The suspect will remain in custody until at least Monday (October 11).
Dr. Tanya Bennett, a professor of English at the University of North Georgia (UNG), served as editor and contributed to the book "Critical Essays on the Writings of Lillian Smith," set for release in November by the University Press of Mississippi.

Three other UNG faculty members in the English department contributed essays: associate department head Dr. Wendy Kurant Rollins, associate professor David Brauer, and senior lecturer Cameron Crawford.

Bennett became interested in Smith's writings a few years ago when she wanted to research a Georgia author in 20th-century American literature. Smith, who lived in Rabun County, was nationally recognized for her novel "Strange Fruit," which is a tale about illicit interracial love, published in 1944.

"I thought students would connect well with someone who's from nearby," she said.

The book "tracks the evolution of Smith from a young girls' camp director into a courageous artist who could examine controversial topics frankly and critically while preserving a lifelong connection to the north Georgia mountains and people," according to the University Press of Mississippi website.

"She did not pull punches in her portrayals of the South and refused to obsess on an idealized past," Bennett said. "Her work is incredibly pertinent today. It's amazing when you read her work how much she's talking about our current culture."
The naval deals of Greece with France and Turkey with Germany raise some questions that must be answered in terms of Europes push for strategic autonomy. The Turkey  Germany deal was announced last July. Ankara tried to boost its naval power by procuring six new submarines from Germany, Greek Reporter writes.

Greece and France sealed their strategic partnership in late September, with an agreement for the sale of three frigates, with the option for a fourth. The first two will be delivered by 2025 and the third in 2026. In June, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias formally petitioned Berlin against the sale of the six subs. According to the German ministry, Thyssen, the company constructing the six type U-214 submarines, is bound by a contract signed in 2002.

As the episode with the Greek Nautical Geo vessel showed the other day, a minor incident in the Aegean could occur at any time. If that leads into an impasse between Greece and Turkey, the arms race with French frigates and German submarines could come into world view.

Of course these kinds of war games have been hanging over the two countries for over 50 years. Needless to say, both are still members of NATO, despite their endless conflicts. There have been instances where the two neighboring countries have been close to a war. Turkeys military invasion of Northern Cyprus in 1974 drew a general Army mobilization on the Greek side. But given the collapse of the Greek junta and the rapid deployment of the Turkish forces, all-out war was ultimately averted.

Thirteen years later another conflict brought the two countries to the brink of war. Turkey learned that Greece was starting to drill for oil in the vicinity of Greeces Thasos island, which is disputed by Turkey. In response, the Turkish survey ship Piri Reis was sent to the area with an escort of Turkish warships.

The late prime minister Andreas Papandreou gave orders to sink the ship if it was found in Greek waters. Turkish Prime Minister Turgut Ozal said that If Greece interferes with our vessel in any way, and this is what Papandreou is saying, we will act in the same way against him. As a result, it could be cause for war. The crisis was solved when Ozal announced that if the Greek government did not enter the disputed waters, the Turks would stay out as well; he participated in a phone call with Papandreou.

And then there was the 1996 crisis over Imia, an uninhabited islet in the Aegean. After the owner of a herd of sheep that remained on the islets hoisted a Greek flag on the island, Turkish journalists from Hurriyet newspaper landed on the islet with a helicopter, lowered the Greek flag and hoisted a Turkish flag.

Greek special forces landed secretly on the east islet undetected. Then Turkish armored units moved to the Green Line on Cyprus, which caused the alert of the Cypriot National Guard, and Turkish special forces commandos also landed undetected on the west of Imia, escalating tensions. The immediate military threat was defused primarily by American officials. The Greeks and Turks did not speak directly to one another, but were responsive to Washingtons assistance as an informal intermediary. Agreement was given by both sides to the United States to return to the status quo ante.

Greece has always relied on EU support. Turkey is in perpetual negotiations with the EU for membership. This might very well be a war game scenario for the ages. It also indicates the terms of allied rivalry, if not allied enmity, between Greece and Turkey.
Russia and Pakistan have urged Tajikistan and the Taliban* (the movement prohibited in the Russian Federation) to back away from the conflict brewing on the Afghan-Tajik border, The Diplomat writes.

Last week, as Tajik and Taliban* officials traded barbs, in a regular briefing Russias Foreign Ministry deputy spokesman Alexei Zaytsev said Russia was watching with concern the growing tension in Tajik-Afghan relations amid mutually harsh statements by the two countries leaders. Zaytsev noted reports of Taliban forces gathering in the border region.

A few days later, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan called Tajik President Emomali Rahmon. Pakistan has tried to rally the international community to engage with the Taliban*s government and although the official readouts were anodyne, the Pakistani daily, Dawn, cited diplomatic sources as saying that Khan was specifically trying to defuse tensions between Tajikistan and the Taliban*.

Since the Taliban*s August 15 takeover of Afghanistan and the collapse of the previous Western-backed government, Rahmon has maintained a distinctly standoffish attitude. Unlike neighboring Uzbekistan, Tajikistan had never come around to directly engaging with the Taliban movement and its ascension to power didnt change Dushanbes stance much.

Rahmon reiterated earlier comments regarding the necessity of an inclusive government in Kabul in his September 23 U.N. General Debate speech. The rise to power of the Taliban*, which is listed as a terrorist group by the United Nations Security Council, has further complicated the regions already complex geopolitical process, Rahmon said. He continued: The Talibans failure to deliver on its earlier promises to form a comprehensive government with the broad participation of Afghan political and ethnic forces is a matter of serious concern. Rahmon stressed that Afghanistan is once again on the path to becoming a breeding ground for international terrorism.

In response, both of the Taliban*s deputy prime ministers, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and Abdul Salaam Hanafi, warned of a neighboring nation attempting to meddle in Afghanistans affairs. As Eurasianet reported last week: A more junior Taliban figure, Inamullah Samangani, who has been described as a cultural envoy for the group, took an even cruder swipe at Rahmon on Twitter on September 29. Samangani seemed to question Rahmons democratic credentials by noting, Hes been president for 27 years, maybe he will be so for another six, or even more.

Rahmon's efforts to make a show of standing against the Taliban* are part of a deliberate rebranding exercise. Hes seizing a moment when the ever-fickle international spotlight is on Tajikistan to cast himself, once again and for a wider audience, as a proponent of peace and inclusivity. Of course, the irony is that Rahmons government itself is far from inclusive (no matter how you define inclusivity), especially after labeling the largest opposition party a terrorist outfit in 2015 and arresting its leaders. Its a complicated history easily set aside in the heat of the moment, when the United States and its allies are seeking avenues to both aid Afghans and oppose the Taliban*.

Heightening tensions further are rumors that the heads of the would-be Afghan resistance movement, Ahmad Massoud and Amrullah Saleh, fled to Tajikistan in late September. Taliban* perceptions that Tajikistan is aiding the resistance to its dominion in Afghanistan turn the heat up further on the border. Rahmon attended at least two military parades in Darvoz region on September 27 and in Khorog on September 30. According to media reports, on October 4, the Taliban* fighters had allegedly killed an Afghan man seeking to cross into Tajikistan amid a larger raid by Taliban forces attempting to turn would-be refugees back from the border. Tajik border guards arent allowing anyone to cross and the Taliban are reportedly looking specifically for those who fled the Panjshir Valley.

Taliban* - the movement prohibited in Russian Federation
Turkish companies got the green light to use three significant ore deposits in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan after the signing of contracts with the Economy Ministry of Azerbaijan this week, Caspian News reports. The Eti Bakr A.S. Company, the largest operator in the Turkish mining and metallurgy industry, will carry out study, research, exploration, development, and exploitation activities at the Gashgachay deposit. The same rights were given to the Artvin Maden A.S. company at the Elbaydash and Aghduzdagh fields. The lifespan of both contracts is 30 years as defined in a presidential decree signed on May 29, 2021.

We believe that this important step will play a vital role in launching the extractive industry in our liberated territories, facilitating the exploration of high-potential fields and encouraging their contribution to our economy. It will also accelerate the economic reintegration of the region, Azerbaijans Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov tweeted on Thursday.

The Aghduzdagh ore deposit is located southeast of Kalbajar, one of the districts liberated from Armenian occupation by the Azerbaijani army in the last years war. The deposit reportedly has a simple mineral composition. About 100 gold-quartz and quartz-carbonate veins are said to have disseminated in the field. Significant industrial gold mineralization has been identified in 5 of the veins.

The dominant mineral in the ore veins of Aghduzdagh is quartz, comprising 9598 percent of the total ore mass. Other minerals such as pyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, galena, magnetite, free-milling gold, altaite, aikinite, mercury, and others account for 2-3 percent. Gold ores in Aghduzdagh are found in two classifications  pure gold and gold electrum, which contain 35-40 percent of silver.

The Elbaydash copper-polymetal deposit and the Gashgachay fields are both located at the slopes of the Murovdagh mountain range on the northern edge of the Karabakh region.

Mineral reserves in Azerbaijan's Karabakh (Garabagh) region had long been illegally exploited by Armenia. According to the reports, Azerbaijan was unable to use 1,250 tons of gold, 4,550 tons of silver, 1.84 million tons of copper, 662,000 tons of lead, 775,000 tons of zinc, 152,000 tons of cobalt, 2.25 million tons of chromium, as well as 189 million cubic meters of sawn stone, 1.5 million tons of clay, 4 tons of mercury, 130 million cubic meters of soda limestone, and 147 million tons of cement raw material reserves in the Karabakh region due to three decades of illegal Armenian occupation. Johns Hopkins University in the United States estimates that the Jabrayil and Zangilan districts alone have 150 million tons of oil and 258 billion cubic meters of natural gas reserves, as well.

Tens of Armenian and other foreign companies were involved in the illicit operations at more than 60 mineral fields in previously occupied Kalbajar, Zangilan, Lachin, Khojavand and other districts of Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijans Karabakh (Garabagh) region fell under Armenias occupation in the early 1990s during a bloody war that lasted until a ceasefire deal was reached in 1994. As a result, Armenia occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijans internationally recognized territories. Over 30,000 ethnic Azerbaijanis were killed, and one million were expelled from those lands in a brutal ethnic cleansing policy carried out by Armenia.

On September 27, 2020, the decades-old conflict between the two countries spiraled after Armenias forces deployed in the occupied Azerbaijani lands shelled military positions and civilian settlements of Azerbaijan. During the counter-attack operations that lasted 44 days, Azerbaijani forces liberated over 300 settlements, including the cities of Jabrayil, Fuzuli, Zangilan, Gubadli, and Shusha, from nearly 30-year-long illegal Armenian occupation. The war ended in a tripartite statement signed on November 10 by Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia. Under the statement, Armenia also returned the occupied Aghdam, Kalbajar, and Lachin districts to Azerbaijan.

The liberation of the once occupied lands by the Azerbaijani army last year also restored the control over vast ore deposits in the Karabakh region.
Gas prices are soaring and reserves are dwindling all over the world, but is this caused by Covid-19, climate instability or supply chain problems? Investment Monitor tries to answer the question.

The price of natural gas has skyrocketed on global markets throughout September and October. Geopolitics, macroeconomic trends and climate instability have met with a brittle global supply chain to produce an unprecedented mismatch between supply and demand. The sudden halt to global economic activity due to Covid-19 in early 2020 led to the accumulation of enormous gas reserves in Europe.

Are high gas prices here to stay?

Events since then, however, have depleted these reserves much faster than anticipated. Asias unexpectedly rapid economic recovery in mid-2020 was followed by an unusually cold winter, leading to a sharp rise in gas prices on the continent and a draw-down on European reserves to feed the extra demand. In 2021, a hot summer has led to further unexpected demand from Asia. As well as increasing demand for electricity to power air conditioning, the heat has coincided with a drought in China  limiting hydropower capacity and pushing the country towards an even greater reliance on gas, a problem exacerbated by the countrys efforts to move away from coal.

A simultaneous drought in Latin America has had similar effects, further squeezing global gas supplies, while low wind speeds in Europe have reduced output from wind farms. Meanwhile, supply-side issues have slowly accumulated. Exports of natural gas are down by more than 25% in Italy and the Netherlands in 2021, according to the International Energy Agency, while a severe shortage of truck drivers in the UK has left the countrys army to take up the task of fuel distribution. Although Russia might have been expected to take advantage of the high prices by flooding the European market, it has chosen not to do so. Speculation has abounded that the countrys government is keen to up the pressure on Europe to advance the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

How will the EU resolve its gas problem?

With a cold winter expected in the months ahead, the EU, and Germany in particular, is in the troubling position of having gas reserves significantly below their usual level. There is likely to be no quick fix to the sectors current supply constraints. Construction of new facilities and expansion of existing ones takes years. Despite evidence of a recent hiring spree in the sector, global gas supplies are expected to grow by just 1.6% in 2022 and less than 0.7% annually for the three years after that, according to figures from GlobalData.

The typical response of markets in such a situation would be to fall back on coal as a substitute, but coal has been hit by a similar price surge. The price of coal has nearly doubled since January 2020, according to data from the International Monetary Fund. Analysts expect the price of coal to fall in the coming months. If it does, the result could be a damaging increase in global greenhouse gas emissions. Coal emits nearly twice as much carbon dioxide per energy unit as natural gas, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

With politicians converging on Glasgow for the COP26 international climate conference at the end of October, the global energy crisis is likely to weigh heavily on the minds of those sketching out a transition to net zero.
For thousands of years, mankind has engineered remarkable structures such as the pyramids of Egypt and the Great Wall of China. More recently, visionary engineers have undertaken massive transportation and communications projects that have pushed the boundaries of human ingenuity. History presents a roundup of 10 Western engineering marvels that changed world history.

1. Panama Canal

Linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the 51-mile Panama Canal transformed global trade routes when it opened in 1914. After a failed attempt by the French in the 1880s, the United States re-started construction in 1904. Chief engineer John Stevens altered the projects design from a sea-level canal to one requiring a series of locks and the damming of the Chagres River to create the worlds largest man-made lake at the time. Workers battled landslides and tropical diseases such as malaria and yellow fever as they carved the canal through jungles and mountainous terrain, displacing enough earth and rubble, according to the Panama Canal Museum, to bury the island of Manhattan to a depth of 12 feet. Ten percent of the 56,000 workers who toiled on the project between 1904 and 1913 died. Perhaps the most remarkable feat? The international ship channel was completed on time and on budget.

2. Golden Gate Bridge

The worlds longest suspension bridge for 27 years after its 1937 opening, the 1.7-mile Golden Gate Bridge soars above the nearly 400-foot-deep strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. Containing enough cable to circle the globe three times, the bridge can move more than two feet laterally to withstand the straits strong winds. Chief engineer Joseph Strauss prioritized safety on the treacherous project, and only 11 workers10 in a single accidentdied during construction. (By contrast, 28 laborers perished while building the nearby San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, which opened six months earlier.) An innovative safety net that was suspended under the bridge deck saved the lives of 19 workers.

3. Interstate Highway System

Having seen Nazi Germany use its high-speed autobahn network to efficiently move troops around the country in World War II, President Dwight D. Eisenhower spearheaded passage of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, which authorized the largest public works project in world history. The construction of 41,000 miles of expressways with controlled ramp-based access and no at-grade intersections, just overpasses and underpasses, was intended partly to bolster the national defense and allow for quicker evacuations of cities in the case of a Cold War atomic attack. Named for Eisenhower in 1990, the Interstate Highway System drastically transformed the American economy and way of life by spurring the growth of suburbs while also decimating certain urban neighborhoods.

4. Transatlantic Cable

In 1854, American merchant Cyrus West Field secured a charter to lay a telegraph cable across the Atlantic Oceans floor. After four failed attempts, American and British naval ships succeeded in laying a nearly 2,000-mile cable linking Ireland and Newfoundland in the summer of 1858. Queen Victorias 98-word inaugural message to President James Buchanan took 16 hours to transmit. Not quick, but speedier than packet steamships 10-day transatlantic transits. The communications link, though, ceased working after only a few weeks. Field persisted, however, and contracted the British vessel Great Eastern, the largest ship afloat at the time, to lay a permanent telegraph cable in 1866 that vastly quickened transatlantic communication.

5. Hoover Dam

Built by an army of more than 21,000 workers, the 60-story-tall Hoover Dam was the worlds largest concrete structure and highest dam at the time it was dedicated in 1935. The project, which required the Colorado Rivers diversion through four excavated tunnels, finished two years ahead of schedule. The arch-gravity dam on the Arizona-Nevada border controls the flow of the Colorado River, stores enough water to irrigate 2 million acres and powers more than 1 million homes with hydroelectricity. The Hoover Dam propelled the development of cities such as Las Vegas and Phoenix and created Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the United States in terms of water capacity.

6. Channel Tunnel

Opened in 1994 after six years of construction, the Channel Tunnel connected Great Britain to the European continent for the first time since the Ice Age. Known as the Chunnel, it includes three concrete tubes that were constructed by 1,100-ton tunnel boring machines. The 31-mile tunnel system that carries passengers, freight and vehicles includes a 23-mile underwater stretch, the worlds longest, with an average depth of 150 feet below the seabed. The tunnel has allowed passengers on high-speed Eurostar trains to travel from London to Paris in little more than two hours.

7. Transcontinental Railroad

As the Civil War raged in the East, work began in the West to build a railroad that would link the United States from coast to coast. Authorized by the 1862 Pacific Railroad Act, the Central Pacific Railroad Company laid tracks eastward from Sacramento, California, while the Union Pacific Railroad Company moved west from Omaha, Nebraska. While all laborers toiled through harsh winters and scorching summer, the Central Pacifics largely immigrant Chinese workforce had the particularly arduous task of blasting tunnels through the Sierra Nevada Mountains. When completed with the driving of a golden spike into the ground in 1869, the transcontinental railroad facilitated the countrys westward expansion by cutting cross-country travel times from months to under a week.

8. Statue of Liberty

A symbol of friendship between France and the United States, the 151-foot-tall Statue of Liberty was dedicated in 1886. In Paris, French sculptor Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi fashioned large copper sheets to create the statues skin, which was packed in more than 200 crates and shipped to New York City. Over a four-month period, workers pieced together the statue, mounted it on a pedestal and affixed it to an iron-and-steel skeleton engineered by Eugene-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc and Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel, designer of the Eiffel Tower, that allowed the skin to move independently during strong wind gusts.

9. Netherlands North Sea Protection Works

With parts of the country lying below sea level, the Netherlands constructed a system of floodgates, storm surge barriers and dams to prevent flooding and claim vast swathes of land from the Zuiderzee, a shallow North Sea inlet. Named by the American Society of Civil Engineers as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World, the project began in 1927 with the five-year construction of a 19-mile-long dike that enclosed the Zuiderzee. Decades of land reclamation projects followed. Between 1954 and 1997, another massive project was undertaken to control water flows at the mouths of the Rhine and Meuse Rivers.

10. New York and Boston Subways

With horse-drawn carriages clogging the streets of New York City and Boston and elevated trains raining soot down on pedestrians, civic leaders sought a transportation alternative that was faster and cleaner. They turned to a radical solutionunderground train travel, which many Americans viewed as impractical and dangerous. Boston opened the first American subway in 1897. New York followed seven years later. Both cities employed a cut-and-cover construction method to minimize disruption to city life. With the worlds first subway in London still using steam-powered locomotives, the American systems differed in employing electrically powered trains. The advent of rapid transit redefined Boston, New York and American cities to follow.
Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev and Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian both expressed readiness for a joint summit as the second Karabakh war between the two countries is left a year behind. Pashinian commented on the relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan during a meeting with the Armenian community in Lithuania, Daily Sabah reports.

Noting that Armenia is ready to hold high-level talks with Azerbaijan, Pashinian said: "On July 1, I announced that we were ready for a high-level summit. This meeting can be at the level of foreign ministers or prime minister-president. I believe that there are no restrictions on the place and time of a meeting with the president of Azerbaijan." Arguing that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group is experienced in organizing such summits, Pashinian said: "We are happy to state that the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group have started to intensify their activities. We are ready to start the process of delineating the borders."

Aliyev also said in a statement on Oct. 2: "I am ready and I have already stated my position. If the Armenian side is ready, I am also ready. Earlier this year, upon the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, we had a tripartite meeting. I can talk to Pashinian at any time when he is ready. I am open to negotiations and I think this could be a good sign that the war is over and that page has been turned. This is very important."

The two countries signed a Russian-brokered agreement on Nov. 10 to end fighting and work toward a comprehensive resolution. The truce is seen as a victory for Azerbaijan and a defeat for Armenia, whose armed forces have been withdrawing in line with the agreement.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov also said in a statement regarding Pashinian's plan to meet with Putin in Russia, "Pashinian is expected to visit Russia. A private meeting with Putin is being prepared."

Regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after his meeting with Putin in Sochi that Russia was ready to create a six-nation platform. Erdogan has frequently called for a six-nation platform comprising Turkey, Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia for permanent peace, stability and cooperation in the region, saying it would be a win-win initiative for all regional actors in the Caucasus. Turkey believes that permanent peace is possible through mutual security-based cooperation among the states and people of the South Caucasus region.

He noted that the Zangezur corridor would provide opportunities for the region as a whole, in terms of trade and economy. Azerbaijan is carrying out widescale work for this corridor, Erdogan said, adding that Armenia also needs to fulfill its responsibilities.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also said last week that Turkey would coordinate all steps to be taken in terms of reestablishing relations with Armenia amid positive statements in that regard, but no meeting has been scheduled with his Armenian counterpart.

Pashinian's spokesperson Mane Gevorgyan last month said her country is ready to engage in high-level dialogue with Turkey. She noted that Yerevan was ready to establish the highest-level dialogue with Ankara and eliminate obstacles on the transit corridor that would have to go through Armenia to connect Azerbaijan to its Nakhchivan enclave that borders Turkey and Iran.

Armenia and Turkey never established diplomatic relations and their shared border has been closed since the 1990s. The ties have further deteriorated due to Turkey's support for its regional ally Azerbaijan, which fought with Armenia last year for the liberation of the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region. Ankara has pledged its full support to Baku in its efforts to liberate its lands from Armenian occupation. A joint Turkish-Russian center was established to monitor the truce. Russian peacekeeping troops have also been deployed to the region.

Meanwhile, Aliyev Monday visited the city of Jabrayil and some surrounding villages and towns in the first year of its liberation from occupation. Speaking in the town of Sukovushan, Aliyev emphasized that this place is of great strategic importance and that the liberation of Sukovushan provided great morale for the army. "During the occupation, the Armenians cut off the water of the Sukovushan dam in summer and opened it in winter. While our villagers and farmers were dehydrated during the summer months, the water released during the winter months would cause flooding. This shows once again what an ugly foe we are dealing with. They used every opportunity to do us more harm," he said.

Aliyev, who also criticized former Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan in his speech, said: "The analysis of the war shows once again that the losers of this war are Serzh Sargsyan and others like him. Now they want to blame Nikol Pashinian for the defeat. It is supposed that Pashinian is guilty. Pashinian came to power in 2018. Serzh Sargsyan founded the army. He served as a defense minister, prime minister, secretary of the president, head of the security service, and became president for 10 years. We destroyed that army and destroyed Serzh Sargsyan and elements like him. Let this defeat not be blamed on Pashinian. What Pashinian did is a separate issue. But we defeated Sargsyan. The army he formed knelt before us."
Exactly a year ago, on September 27, 2020, Azerbaijan's Patriotic War began. On that day, Armenia's occupying forces subjected the positions of the armed forces of Azerbaijan along the front line and the adjacent populated areas in Azerbaijan to intensive fire with the use of large-calibre weapons, artillery and mortars. Baku decided to launch a counter-offensive operation to ensure the safety of the civilian population. Vestnik Kavkaza offers its readers to follow the events of the 44 days of Azerbaijan's Patriotic War as they were covered a year ago.

On the night of the war's tenth day, on October 6, the largest ammunition depot of the invaders was destroyed, and the elimination of long-range artillery pieces of the Armenian Armed Forces on the occupied lands continued. The UN Secretary General once again called for a ceasefire, a similar call was repeated by Iran, later Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's office called on Armenia to withdraw its troops from the territory of Azerbaijan.



In the morning, the first videos about the catastrophic situation in the liberated villages of the Jebrail region were published. By the morning of the war's tenth dayr, the number of Azerbaijani civilians killed by shelling of the Armenian Armed Forces increased to 27 people.

Against the background of constant losses of the occupying forces at the front, Yerevan changed its mobilization plan and refused to participate in the CSTO exercises. The Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense continued to publish video reports on the military equipment and ammunition depots abandoned by the Armenian troops during the retreat.



Residents of the city of Ganja, which survived two attacks by medium-range missiles, said that Armenia would not be able to intimidate them. In the afternoon, Afghanistan expressed its support for Azerbaijan. Expert assessments have appeared on the inability of the occupation forces to wage a long war against the Azerbaijani army. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan arrived in the war zone for the first time.

Shortly before 16:00, the Armenian Defense Ministry announced a large-scale offensive by the Azerbaijani liberation army in the south of the occupation zone. The state security service of Azerbaijan, in turn, intercepted the negotiations of Kurdish militants hired by Yerevan. Pashinyan's advisor admitted that Armenia is purposefully shelling the peaceful Azerbaijani population.



In the evening, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu arrived in Baku for talks with President Ilham Aliyev. Soon Nikol Pashinyan announced that Yerevan was ready to make concessions. Ilham Aliyev in a telephone conversation with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani stressed that the inviolability of the Iranian borders will be guaranteed.

After 22:00 it became known about an attempted missile attack by the Armenian Armed Forces on the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline in Azerbaijan's Yevlakh region. The nearest cluster munitions, with which the rocket was stuffed, fell just 10 meters from the pipe. Armenia's attacks on peaceful Azerbaijani settlements have intensified.

One of the first to find his home on the liberated land was a major of the Azerbaijani army, who left because of the war at the age of seven.

Thus, on the tenth day of the war, after the elimination of the fortified positions of the occupiers in the northeast and the liberation of the villages of Sugovushan and Talish, the Azerbaijani army concentrated on advancing in the south, along the border with Iran, and the siege of Fizuli and Hadrut. The Armenian Armed Forces began to shoot not only at the civilian population of Azerbaijan, but also at strategic pipelines. There are less than five weeks left until the end of the Karabakh war.
Exactly a year ago, on September 27, 2020, Azerbaijan's Patriotic War began. On that day, Armenia's occupying forces subjected the positions of the armed forces of Azerbaijan along the front line and the adjacent populated areas in Azerbaijan to intensive fire with the use of large-calibre weapons, artillery and mortars. Baku decided to launch a counter-offensive operation to ensure the safety of the civilian population. Vestnik Kavkaza offers its readers to follow the events of the 44 days of Azerbaijan's Patriotic War as they were covered a year ago.

Throughout the night of the war's 8th day, October 4, intense fighting continued. In the morning, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry summed up the preliminary results of the first week of hostilities.



Russia expressed its readiness to send peacekeepers to the line of contact between the Armenian occupation and Azerbaijani liberation troops with the consent of the parties. The northern provinces of Iran, predominantly populated by Azerbaijanis, issued a joint statement in support of the liberation of Azerbaijani territories from occupation.

Early on Sunday morning, Ganja, which is located 60 km from the front, was fired by 'Tochka U' short-range missiles. The Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense noticed that the attack on Ganja was carried out from the territory of Armenia. The Armenian Defense Ministry tried to explain the attack on Ganja by an attempt to eliminate the local airfield, although Azerbaijan did not use it for military purposes and, in general, used only drones in battles.

Turkey was the first to draw attention to Armenia's violation of the Geneva Convention, which prohibits military strikes against civilian targets. Meanwhile, the invaders continued rocket attacks from Khankendi on Terter and Horadiz. The death toll from these attacks of civilians in Azerbaijan rose to 22, and the number of wounded to 74. After the shelling of Ganja, work was intensified to destroy the military equipment of the invaders, Yerevan's puppet regime in the occupied lands hypocritically "ordered to stop strikes on Ganja", although the attacks were made from the territory of Armenia.

By 15:00, the exact number of victims and victims of the first missile strikes on Ganja was reported. One of the city's Armenian residents was among them. Vestnik Kavkaza published photographic documents of the consequences of the Ganja attack.



By this time, the city of Jebrail and nine villages around it were liberated. The puppets of Yerevan on the occupied lands began to take their families to Armenia. At the same time, residents of Tartar announced that they would not leave their homes, despite the artillery and rocket attacks from the invaders.

Shortly before 19:00, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev for the first time expressed his readiness to stop hostilities, but only in exchange for a schedule for the withdrawal of the occupation forces from Azerbaijan. Soon a video was published about the liberation of the famous combat position, where the national hero of Azerbaijan Mubariz Ibrahimov destroyed many invaders on June 18, 2010. Also there were videos about the capture of numerous war trophies.



By 20:00, nine more villages of the Jebrail region were liberated. In response, medium-range missiles "Tochka-U" were launched from Armenia at the peaceful Azerbaijani city of Mingachevir, which is 100 km away from the front. With two more missiles, Yerevan hit the regions close to Baku - Absheron and Khizi, 300 km away from the front.

Closer to midnight, a map of the Azerbaijni territories liberated in 8 days was published.



Thus, on the eighth day, the occupying forces of Armenia increased the scale of war crimes against the civilian population of Azerbaijan, starting to fire rockets at Ganja and Mingachevir, which are far from the front, as well as the Khizi and Absheron regions adjacent to Baku. On this day, the city of Jebrail and a number of villages around it were liberated from occupation, after which Yerevan received an offer to stop the war in exchange for the withdrawal of the invaders from Azerbaijani land.
Exactly a year ago, on September 27, 2020, Azerbaijan's Patriotic War began. On that day, Armenia's occupying forces subjected the positions of the armed forces of Azerbaijan along the front line and the adjacent populated areas in Azerbaijan to intensive fire with the use of large-calibre weapons, artillery and mortars. Baku decided to launch a counter-offensive operation to ensure the safety of the civilian population. Vestnik Kavkaza offers its readers to follow the events of the 44 days of Azerbaijan's Patriotic War as they were covered a year ago.

On the ninth day, October 5, at about midnight, photos of the Armenian Armed Forces' missile attack against the city of Mingachevir, located 100 km from the front, were published. In the morning, Russia again expressed its readiness to help settle the conflict. Meanwhile, the Armenian occupation forces continued artillery strikes on Azerbaijani cities, the death toll among civilians rose to 24 people.

Due to the advance of the Azerbaijani army deep into the occupation zone, foreign journalists left Khankendi. Also, local residents, occupiers and illegal settlers began to leave Khankendi. The Armenian Defense Ministry recognized a significant de-occupation of the Azerbaijani land in the south.

At about 11:00, the Armenian Armed Forces launched missile strikes on Barda, the missiles were aimed at the children's hospital. At the same time, videos from Talysh villages liberated two days earlier were published. Iran announced the preparation of its own plan to settle the conflict.

Soon after 12:00, the Armenian Armed Forces hit Ganja with medium-range missiles for the second time, now the target was the city's central market. Lacking the personnel of the occupation forces, Yerevan began distributing weapons to Armenian journalists. Residents of Terter said they would not leave the city because of the shelling.

At about 14:00, the Kremlin explained why President Vladimir Putin still had not held a single telephone conversation with President Ilham Aliyev, although he had been in regular contact with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in the past few days. An hour later, it became known about the arrival of a certain "special plane" to Yerevan from Russia. The Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan published data on rocket attacks on the regions of the republic neighboring with Baku. U.S. diplomat Matthew Bryza stressed that Armenia's attacks on the Azerbaijani cities were not legal.



In an interview with TRT Haber, Ilham Aliyev expressed hope that after the end of the war, the Armenian and Azerbaijani peoples will be able to make peace. At about 15:00, the Armenian Armed Forces fired at Beylagan and Agjabedi. The Azerbaijan Liberation Army, among other things, eliminated the invaders' multiple launch rocket systems.

Shortly after 17:00, Nikol Pashinyan declared military mobilization of all citizens demobilized during the year. The term "tactical retreat" was added to the vocabulary of the occupiers. The Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan presented photographs of captured and liquidated equipment of the invaders.



Another rocket attack by Armenian troops on Ganja was made at about 19:00, residents of two villages were killed under shelling in the Agdam region. Soon after, it became known that three more villages of the Jebrail region were liberated rom the occupation.



The OSCE Minsk Group at the level of the foreign ministers of the co-chairing countries has officially called for an end to hostilities. After that, a telephone conversation took place between the foreign ministers of Russia and Azerbaijan, and Nikol Pashinyan called Vladimir Putin once again.

Thus, on the ninth day of the war, the Azerbaijani army was consolidated in the liberated lands in the Terter region and the Jebrail region. The administrative center of the occupation zone, the city of Khankedi, became rapidly empty due to the advance of Azerbaijani troops in the south. The Armenian Armed Forces conducted rocket attacks all day at the remote settlements of Azerbaijan, now no longer trying to explain these strikes by "military targets".
A meeting of the defense ministers of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey will be held in the Georgian Kakheti region, according to the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry.

Azerbaijani Defense Minister Colonel-General Zakir Hasanov has left for Georgia to participate in this meeting.

According to the ministry, during the meeting, the parties will discuss issues of developing cooperation in the military, educational and other spheres.
"Indestructible Brotherhood-2021" regular exercises of the third army command of the Turkish Armed Forces and the Separate Combined Arms Army of Azerbaijans Nakhchivan are being held in Nakhchivan, Turkey's National Defense Ministry said on Twitter.

The exercises which started in Nakhchivan on September 20 will continue until October 8.
European Council President Charles Michel has commended all Georgian citizens who participated in local municipal elections on October 2 and called on the country to focus on in-depth structural reforms.

"Essential that the country's focus now return to in-depth structural reforms, as set out in the 19 April Agreement, notably in the rule of law and judicial spheres, Charles Michel stated.

The April 19 EU-mediated agreement proposed by Charles Michel back in April resolved the political crisis in Georgia caused by the 2020 parliamentary elections and put forward large scale electoral and judiciary reforms.

The ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party along with the majority of opposition parties signed the agreement back on April 19, although, the largest opposition United National Movement (UNM) party refused to join it due to a stipulation that offered amnesty to individuals convicted for violence during the June 2019 protests in Tbilisi sparked by the presence of Russian legislators in the Georgian parliament.

The GD in late July decided to withdraw from the agreement due to the UNMs refusal to sign the document. However, the UNM eventually signed it after four months of refusing to do so in early September.

Various foreign ambassadors and representatives of the diplomatic corps call on all political parties in Georgia to join the April 19 agreement and to cooperate in the implementation of the reforms.
The European Union has unveiled a new strategy to combat growing antisemitism and hate speech in Europe.

The bloc said on Tuesday that it plans to raise awareness about Jewish life, protect places of worship and ensure that the Holocaust cannot be forgotten.

The European Commission said the measures were introduced given the "persistence and a significant increase of anti-Semitic incidents".

According to Europes Fundamental Rights Agency, 90% of Jews consider that antisemitism has increased in their country and is a serious problem. More than one in three people have considered emigrating to escape the abuse.

Under the plan, the Commission will use EU funds to support member countries as they develop their own national strategies against antisemitism.

The aim is to set up a Europe-wide network of "trusted flaggers" along with Jewish organisations to help remove illegal online hate speech.

Brussels will also work with industry and IT companies to prevent the illegal display and online sale of Nazi-related symbols, memorabilia, and literature.

Funding will be provided to better protect public spaces and places of worship to help Jewish people feel safer, with 24 million available already next year.

Other steps will be taken to safeguard Jewish heritage and raise awareness about Jewish culture, life, and traditions.

The Commission also wants to create a network of sites "where the Holocaust happened" in cooperation with local communities, to keep the memory of the genocide alive.

Another focus of the plan is to ensure that EU aid and development funds that go abroad cannot be used for activities that might incite hatred and violence against the Jewish people.
It was the likes of one of the instigators of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict Serzhik Sarkisyan who lost the Karabakh war, he now wants to blame the defeat on Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said, making a speech in Sugovushan settlement of Tartar district on October 3.

"An analysis of the war shows again that it was the likes of Serzhik Sarkisyan who lost the war. He now wants to blame the defeat on Pashinyan, as if it is Pashinyan who is to blame. Pashinyan came to power in 2018. Could he have created an army in just two years? Or could he have destroyed a 'strong' and 'formidable' army? It is Serzhik who created this army. Serzhik was the minister of defense in Armenia. Serzhik was the prime minister of Armenia. He was the head of the Presidential Administration and head of the Ministry of Security. He was president for 10 years," the Azerbaijani leader said.

"By crushing that army, we have destroyed Serzhik and those like him. Let him not blame this defeat on Pashinyan," Ilham aliyev said, adding that Sargsyan was given the best punishment by the Armenian people themselves, who kicked him out of office in 2018.

"I did not call him Serzhik Sarkisyan because I wanted to humiliate him, but because this is his real name and surname. We have this information in our archives. His birth certificate and his Komsomol ticket state that his name is Serzhik Sarkisyan. Then he changed it to Serzh Sarkisyan," Azerbaijani president said, adding that at first Sarkisyan betrayed former first secretary of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region Boris Gevorkov, then Robert Kocharyan.

Ilham Aliyev raised the flag of Azerbaijan in Talish village of Tartar district. "There were fierce battles here a year ago. We had martyrs. May Allah rest the souls of all our martyrs in peace. The liberation of the village of Talish holds a special place among our successful operations. Because there were very strong fortifications here. The enemy had built several lines of defense and, of course, they were waiting for us here. In many operations, we counterattacked the enemy from places it did not expect. In this direction, the battlefield is quite narrow. It is fairly limited. So, of course, the enemy was waiting for us here, and we have come, without fearing anything. We have come by shedding blood and giving martyrs. We liberated the villages of Talish and Sugovushan exactly a year ago," he said.

"This gave us a great strategic advantage. This once again showed that the Armenian army is helpless and unable to stand in front of the Azerbaijani Army. And then our victory was not too far away. Today, the sovereignty of Azerbaijan in this region is fully ensured. Great infrastructure work has been done over a year. The main thing is that the people of Azerbaijan will live here in peace and tranquility. Of course, we will restore the village of Talish and life will return here," the Azerbaijanji leader stressed.

Ilham Aliyev visited the Albanian-Udi church destroyed by the Armenians in Talish village. The head of state said: "Notice what the Armenians have done to it. Then they will start claiming that it is an Armenian church. If it were Armenian, would they have brought it to this state? It will be preserved as a historical site. All religious sites in Azerbaijan are protected by the state. Sites of all religions will continue to be protected. We will also restore this ancient Albanian church. Armenians had only been ravaging this region for 30 years."



Visiting the Russian Orthodox church in the village, President Aliyev said: "It has also been destroyed by Armenians. Notice what condition it is in. They have knocked down the stones and the walls. This is the current situation. We will restore and repair this church as well. Unlike Armenians, we respect all religious sites."
Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Turkmen counterpart Rashid Meredov on a phone conversation on Sunday reviewed the latest status of bilateral ties, Afghanistan developments, and the sponsoring of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Summit Meeting.

Meredov said that the recent meeting of two countries presidents in Tajikistan was a turning point in bilateral ties, and he was pursuing the implementation of the reached agreements between the two presidents is necessary.

Amir-Abdollahian, for his part, congratulated the anniversary of Turkmenistans independence and stressed the significance of Turkmenistan in Iran's foreign policy, and the need for further development of comprehensive bilateral ties.

The two sides agreed to pursue the implementation of the bilateral agreements, expediting the holding of the two countries bilateral commission in Tehran in near future, Iran Press reported.
Spokesman for Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Saeed Khatibzadeh said in his weekly press briefing on Monday that Tehran has good relations with Baku and Yerevan.

The Islamic Republic of Iran's cooperation with no country is against any other state, Khatibzadeh told reporters.

Referring to the Monday visit of Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan to Tehran, the spokesman said that the visit had already been scheduled and took place in line with widening bilateral relations.

Mirzoyan arrived in Tehran on October 4 to hold talks with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian on bilateral issues and important regional questions.

As the spokesman stressed, Tehran and Baku have interactions at different levels, IRNA reported.
The Kremlin has refrained from commenting on letters by Georgia's former president, Mikhail Saakashvili, from prison, saying that everything that involves the former Georgian leader is "the theater of the absurd."

"We should possibly refrain from commenting on anything that involves Mr. Saakashvili, because it is the theater of the absurd," Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media on Tuesday.

Saakashvili was detained in Georgia on October 1. Currently he is in custody in the city of Rustavi. The prosecutor's office has said that criminal proceedings have been launched against him over illegal border crossing. Later, Saakashvili uploaded to his Facebook page a message to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky to thank him for the reaction to his detention.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the prospects for restoring the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) over the phone on Wednesday, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.

"The sides exchanged views on the prospects for restoring the full implementation of the JCPOA for the Iranian nuclear programs settlement, and also addressed a number of topical issues on the bilateral agenda," the statement reads.

The talks took place at the American sides initiative.
Russia is ready to promote the swift entering into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday at a meeting with Executive Secretary of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) Robert Floyd.

"Lavrov stressed that Russia considers the CTBT as a unique instrument of international law, which has no alternative. He reiterated Russias principled policy toward promoting the soonest enforcement of this treaty," the Russian foreign ministry said.

According to the ministry, the sides discussed issues of cooperation between Russia and the CTBTO Preparatory Commission. "The sides stressed the importance of further efforts toward the CTBTs universalization in the interests of international peace and security," the ministry stressed.

The CTBTO Preparatory Commission was set up under a resolution adopted at a New York meeting of the treaty signatories in 1996. The commission is tasked to promote the Treaty and build up the verification regime so that it is operational when the Treaty comes into force.

The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty bans nuclear explosions, including for peaceful purposes. The ban applies to nuclear tests everywhere: in the atmosphere, in outer space, underwater, and underground. The Treaty has been signed by 183 countries, including Russia, but has not yet come into force because it has not been ratified by the United States and some other nations.
The Eternity-2021 computer-assisted command-staff exercises have started in the Georgian capital, the city of Tbilisi, according to the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry.

The servicemen of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Georgia are participating in the exercises.

In the course of the exercises, consisting of theoretical and practical parts, the military personnel of the three countries and representatives of the relevant state structures will fulfill the tasks of organizing the protection of regional economic projects.

The exercises will run until October 8.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has urged the alliance to maintain interaction with Russia to avoid another cold war or a new arms race.

"We have to talk to Russia because we don't want a new Cold War. We don't want a new arms race and Russia is our neighbour so we need to engage with them," Stoltenberg said, speaking in Washington, DC on Tuesday at an event hosted by Brookings Institute and Georgetown University.

Stoltenberg alleged that an "assertive Russia" continues to pose the most significant single threat to the alliance, and admitted that relations between the "transatlantic family" of the Western bloc and Moscow have sunk to their lowest point since the Cold War, Sputnik reported.
European Council President Charles Michel issued unofficial conclusions, which stated that the EU is committed to working with the US and within NATO, which is the cornerstone of its security.

In his remarks published after the summit dinner, Michel did acknowledge that before the document is operational, "we will progress on the different existing tracks in the field of defence and security."

"We will work towards a new political declaration with NATO before the June 2022 NATO Summit," Michel said, reiterating previous announcements.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Sunday he is ready to meet with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. He also said that talks could be organized between the two countries top diplomats.

"I said back in July that we are ready for high-and top-level meetings, i.e. at the level of foreign ministers and in the prime-minister-president format. In my address to the United Nations General Assembly, I noted that the problem of Nagorno-Karabakh is waiting for its resolution. I can say that we have welcomed several OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs statements stressing the necessity of settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and restoring the peace process," Pashinyans press secretary Mane Gevorgyan quoted him as saying on her Facebook account.

The Armenian prime minister said he is ready to hand over to the Azerbaijani president all maps of mine fields that are now in the rare of the Azerbaijani army. He also called on Aliyev to take to the meeting all Armenian prisoners, that is, saboteurs, since Azerbaijan, in accordance with the November 9, 2020 statement has already transferred to Armenia all the prisoners of war taken during the Second Karabakh war and before that.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said on Saturday he was ready to meet with Paahinyan "when he is ready for that." He also promised an "adequate response" if Armenia hands over mine filed maps.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Tajik counterpart Emomali Rakhmon have held a telephone conversation to discuss the situation in Afghanistan, the Kremlin's press service said.

"The heads of state discussed the latest developments in Afghanistan and agreed to maintain close contact," the news release says.

The radical Taliban movement (outlawed in Russia) launched a large-scale operation for establishing control of Afghanistan after the United States last spring made a decision to pull out its forces. On August 15, the radicals entered Kabul without encountering resistance. President Ashraf Ghani stepped down and left the country. On September 6, the Taliban said they have established control of the whole of Afghanistan and announced the composition of the interim government on September 7.
Russia has no reason to think that Iran does not want to continue negotiations on reviving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and believes Tehran will return to the negotiating table in due course, Russia's permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, said on Tuesday.

In late September, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said that Tehran would soon return to the JCPOA negotiations in Vienna.

"Participation in the #ViennaTalks is voluntary. It corresponds to the interests of all participants, including #Iran. We have no reasons to believe that #Tehran is unwilling to continue the process. The return to the negotiating table is a matter of time, not in a distant future," Ulyanov said on Twitter.
Russia's Finance Minister Anton Siluanov is self-isolating, the head of the upper house of parliament said on Tuesday as COVID-19 cases in the country increased and a record daily death toll was recorded.

"We wish you to get well as soon as possible and get out the self-isolation regime," Valentina Matvienko told Siluanov who joined the budget hearings at the upper house of parliament via a video link.

Matvienko did not explicitly say that Siluanov was self-isolating due to COVID-19, days after President Vladimir Putin ended his two-week self-isolation after dozens of people in his entourage had fallen ill with the novel coronavirus.

The finance ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Siluanov's health.
Saudi Arabia reduced oil prices for its main buyers, a day after OPEC+ sent crude futures surging by sticking to a plan for slow and steady supply increases.

State firm Saudi Aramcos cuts for customers in Asia, Europe and the U.S. may take some of the sting out of that jump for refiners at a time when a global gas shortage is pushing up demand for crude among power producers.

The OPEC+ cartel, led by the Saudis and Russia, on Monday opted to raise daily output in November by 400,000 barrels, less than some traders and analysts had anticipated. The main U.S. benchmark, Wests Texas Intermediate, jumped to a seven-year high of almost $80 a barrel.

Aramco lowered its key Arab Light grade for Asian customers in November by 40 cents to $1.30 a barrel above the benchmark. The worlds largest oil company also cut prices for all other grades headed for Asia, as well as the Mediterranean and Northwest Europe regions. Prices for most U.S.-bound shipments were reduced.


Turkey provided 33 tons of food aid to conflict-ridden Afghanistan Monday. The Turkish Red Crescent (Kzlay) delivered the aid to its Afghan counterpart at a ceremony in Kabul.

The aid will cover the one-month need of 16,000 people in the country that has seen a growing wave of migration abroad and faces uncertainty after the Taliban takeover.

Turkish Ambassador in Kabul Cihad Erginay said more aid would be delivered in the coming months.

Speaking at the hand-over ceremony, Ambassador Erginay urged the international community to take part in humanitarian aid efforts in Afghanistan.

Turkish Red Crescent and other Turkish agencies will continue to help the people of Afghanistan. This is our humanitarian duty, he said.

Erginay added that Afghanistan suffered for a long period from problems such as drought to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sefatullah Quraishi, head of the Afghan Red Crescent, said they appreciated Turkeys aid. Afghanistan just emerged from war and we have a growing humanitarian crisis. We have 19 to 25 million people who are affected by drought and economic problems, he said.

The Turkish Red Crescent, which set up its first office in the country in 2018, will deliver aid in cooperation with the Afghan Red Crescent in Kabul, as well as in Jalalabad and Ghazni.

Afghanistan hopes Turkey would provide aid and support to the Afghan people, the Taliban-led interim government's Second Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam Hanafi said last week.

"Afghanistan and Turkey are two brotherly countries. In particular, the friendly relations of the two nations are so historical that one cannot be separated from the other. During the Soviet Union's occupation of Afghanistan, both the Turkish state and its nation stood by the Afghan people. It helped the people of Afghanistan. We want to have close relations in the future as well," he told Anadolu Agency (AA).

On his expectations from Turkey, Hanafi said: "Our expectation is that Turkish institutions and people who do humanitarian aid and charity work will help the Afghan people on various issues. We expect them to help the people of Afghanistan in education, health and all areas where help is needed."

Hanafi also said the 20-yearlong United States occupation has damaged every area of his country and that it is a moral responsibility of Western countries to compensate Afghanistan for this damage.
The United States and 44 other countries handed over to Russia questions about blogger Alexei Navalnys case at the headquarters of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the U.S. Department of States press service said.

The presentation of these questions was carried out in accordance with a procedure envisaged by the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), of which both the United States and Russia are members.

Navalny was rushed to a local hospital in the Siberian city of Omsk on August 20, 2020, after collapsing on a Moscow-bound flight from Tomsk. Later, he was airlifted to Berlin and admitted to the Charite hospital. On September 2, Berlin claimed that having examined Navalnys test samples, German government toxicologists had come to the conclusion that the blogger had been affected by a toxic agent belonging to the Novichok family. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov repeatedly emphasized that Russia was ready for comprehensive cooperation with Germany and pointed out that no poisonous substances had been detected in Navalnys system prior to his transfer to Berlin.

Navalny, wanted for repeatedly violating his probation over his suspended sentence in the Yves Rocher case, was detained upon his return from Germany at Moscows Sheremetyevo Airport on January 17, 2021. On February 2, a Moscow court sentenced him to an actual prison term.
The United Arab Emirates authorized Russia's single-shot Sputnik Light vaccine as a stand-alone vaccine and a booster shot, the Russian Direct Investment Fund said on Wednesday.

"UAE authorizes 1-shot Sputnik Light, 1st component of #SputnikV, as a stand-alone vaccine. UAE also approved Sputnik Light as a booster shot," the statement, released in the official Twitter account of the Sputnik V vaccine, read.

The single-dose Sputnik Light vaccine is based on the first component of the two-dose Sputnik V, on the recombinant human adenovirus serotype number 26 vector. It has proven effective against all new strains of the coronavirus, with no serious side effects registered following the inoculation.
The Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam (TRAV) have warned that Vietnamese products are at risking of falling foul of anti-dumping and trade defence investigations.

Imports of sugar into Vietnam have risen ten-fold in the past year. Much of it is thought to come from fraudulent origins.  File Photo

Early this year, TRAV noted that at least 11 domestic products were at high risk of investigation for trade defence measures or origin fraud, including Vietnamese plywood quartz products, ceramic tiles and electric bikes.

According to the Vietnam Timber and Forest Product Association (VIFOREST), by the end of last year, many newly-established Vietnamese companies had imported wood for kitchen and bathroom furniture from China. It is thought that these imported materials were from fraudulent origins, to enjoy tax incentives when exporting to the US market.

A representative of VIFOREST said it required the relevant authorities to conduct impromptu inspections to find out who had helped these businesses in importing these products.

The local steel industry had already faced lawsuits against tax evasion and dumping from 2004-2020; most were for anti-dumping violations.

The Vietnam Steel Association has warned of the risk of losing out on exports and preferential tariffs due to intellectual property violations, as some local businesses help exporters to profit from products of fraudulent origins.

Dinh Cong Khuong, director of Khuong Mai Steel Company, said authorities needed to issue heavier penalties on those who try to profit on products from fraudulent origins, as this practice has a negative impact on the whole industry.

Most lawsuits against local steel products in recent years stemmed from the fact that foreign products are imported into Vietnam for processing, and then are labelled as originating from Vietnam. This kind of trade fraud greatly affects local steel products that are to be legally exported to foreign markets.

In the past, many local steel producers had to import hot-rolled steel products into Vietnam due to a prolonged shortage of raw materials. Now though, some local steelmakers can produce hot-rolled steel products.

Khuong said the relevant ministries needed to issue specific regulations on the importation of both raw materials or finished steel products.

Vietnamese enterprises have also been advised on how to deal with products of fraudulent origin being imported. The Vietnamese sugar industry is facing unfair competition from imported and smuggled sugar from other ASEAN countries.

The Vietnam Sugarcane and Sugar Association (VSSA) reported that there had been an unusual phenomenon in sugar imports into Vietnam from ASEAN countries.

In the first half of this year, the amount of sugar imported from Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar and Indonesia into Vietnam reached 399,189 tonnes, 10 times the amount imported during the same period of 2020.

Last month the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) decided to investigate the evasion of trade laws on sugar cane products originating from Thailand, at the request of domestic sugar producers.

A petition by VSSA and domestic cane sugar refineries submitted evidence that Thai cane sugar products, subject to anti-dumping and anti-subsidy taxes, have entered the Vietnamese market through five ASEAN countries; Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Myanmar.

Source: Vietnam News

Many Vietnamese seafood exporters are not subject to US anti-dumping tariffs The US Department of Commerce (DOC) has announced the preliminary results of the 17th period of review (POR17) for the period from August 1, 2019 to July 31, 2020, regarding Vietnams tra and basa fish (pangasius) exported to the US.
The Hanoi People's Committee has replied to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnams (CAAV) dispatch on the reopening of domestic flights to and from the capital city.

Noi Bai International Airport, Hanoi.

According to the document sent to the CAAV on October 4, Hanoi did not specify whether it agreed or not with the plan to re-operate domestic air routes to and from the city proposed by the CAAV.

The city asked the CAAV to clarify the criteria for passengers traveling by air. They must come from green (epidemic free) areas. Passengers in the areas with epidemic at level 3, level 4 need to get permission from the authorities of departure and reception of the authorities of destination.

For people currently living in Ho Chi Minh City and the provinces of Binh Duong, Dong Nai and Long An (Vietnams covid-19 epicenters), they are temporarily not allowed to move to other localities in accordance with the Prime Ministers dispatch dated September 30 and HCM Citys dispatch dated October 1.

Hanoi also asked the CAAV to clarify the plan to arrange transportation for passengers to/from Hanois Noi Bai international airport with localities where guests go to and from to ensure the prevention and control of the Covid-19 epidemic in accordance with regulations of localities and to ensure that passengers depart from the Noi Bai international airport are welcomed by localities.

The city asked the CAAV to clarify the coordination mechanism with the local health authorities to ensure that air passengers are subject to quarantine and set specific quarantine measures.

The capital city proposed that CAAV only organize flights to and from Noi Bai international airport after reporting to the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Health and obtaining written agreement from the People's Committee of Hanoi and neighboring provinces and cities in order to ensure absolute safety for the capital.

At the same time, ten provinces and cities have agreed with the CAAV's draft plan on resuming domestic flights following the relaxation of social distancing measures.

The CCAV earlier sought opinions of 19 cities and provinces on this draft plan, comprising Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Hai Phong, Can Tho, Quang Ninh, Nghe An, Dien Bien, Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Binh, Quang Nam, Dak Lak, Gia Lai, Lam Dong, Phu Yen, Binh Dinh, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Khanh Hoa, Kien Giang and Ca Mau.

Of those which agree the provinces of Dien Bien, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa, Binh Dinh, and Thanh Hoa, fully supported the plan.

Nghe An will allow the operation of two-way flights between the central province and both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, with a frequency of two flights per week.

Moc Mien

There was a time when there were no flights in Vietnams sky In March 2020, there were only three flights in the skies of Vietnam. In July and August 2021, there were no flights at all.
A West High School art teacher faces multiple felony charges after his arrest by school police on accusations that he performed sex acts with two female students on multiple occasions in 2020 and 2021.

West Independent School District police on Friday arrested Andrew White, 33, on charges of indecency with a child, sexual assault of a child, sexual performance of a child and two counts of inappropriate relationship between educator and student, arrest affidavits state.

According to the affidavits, a West ISD officer met with the West High School principal Thursday about the allegations against White, and the principal told the officer that he had names of possible victims.

The officer and principal then met with a female student who told them she had been involved in several inappropriate encounters with White from November 2020 to spring 2021, the report states. According to the affidavit, White began writing letters and poems to the student, which made her uncomfortable, an affidavit states. His pursuit of her escalated to pulling her into a storage closet, where he exposed himself to her, the affidavit states.
Albert Leslie Love Jr. spent three years and five months on death row before the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned his capital murder conviction and death sentence.

Since then, Love, 38, has been in the McLennan County Jail waiting for his retrial for four years and four months, and his incarceration has cost the county at least $135,912. Loves trial, along with those of hundreds of others waiting in the county jail for their day in court, has been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, which effectively shut down the court system for 15 months.

But as officials devised protocols to safely conduct trials again, Wacos judges have placed priorities on trial dates for defendants who have been jailed the longest. McLennan County District Attorney Barry Johnson has said his office spent that COVID-19 down time preparing its cases for trial so they would be ready once more court operations resumed.

Love has had two trial settings since his conviction was reversed in December 2016. The first was postponed because one of his attorneys, Ariel Payan, had health issues. Jury selection currently is set to begin Oct. 22, with testimony starting Oct. 25.
A Waco man whose girlfriend was killed in June 2014 when he crashed his motorcycle after leaving a bar in Riesel was placed on deferred probation Tuesday.

Judge Thomas West of Wacos 19th State District Court granted Jacob Cole Wolfs request for deferred probation, fined him $1,000, ordered him to wear an ankle monitor for at least 180 days and prohibited him from having contact with the family of the victim in his case.

Wolf, 32, an apprentice plumber, initially pleaded guilty in July 2019 in the traffic death of Stephanie Bell after prosecutors agreed to reduce the charge from intoxication manslaughter, a second degree felony, to criminally negligent homicide, and recommend he be placed on deferred probation.

Former Judge Ralph Strother, who retired in January, rejected the plea bargain in September 2019 and Wolf withdrew his guilty plea. After West replaced Strother, prosecutors offered the same plea agreement to Wolf, and he pleaded guilty again in July.

Lisa Hoing, Wolfs attorney, said the case was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and changes in administrations in the court and the district attorneys office. She said the case also was hampered by a poor police investigation, which she said delayed a realization by the state that it was not the case they thought it was.
A new Tax Increment Financing zone covering large swaths of the city, locking in options for a chunk of property tax revenue, could be implemented by next year, City Manager Bradley Ford told the Waco City Council on Tuesday.

The proposed TIF zone would include parts of East Waco, a large section of South Waco extending to Loop 340, the La Salle Avenue corridor, the 25th Street corridor, Colcord Avenue near 15th Street and tracts along both sides of Interstate 35. Ford said the city will soon have an interactive map of the zone on its website, and a public hearing could be held next month.

Waco has several under-utilized blighted commercial corridors just outside of downtown, Ford said. These corridors havent made significant progress even as  Waco has experienced an economic boom. Youd think those changes would occur, but they definitely just havent.

He said residents should use Google Street View to examine areas that would be pulled into the new TIF, including the in-development Cottonwood Creek Market; the former Floyd Casey Stadium site currently owned by the city and slated for a residential, multi-use development; the Central Freight property that recently sold to developers; a former Oak Farms milk plant in East Waco; and the former Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center, which has been undergoing demolition.
Dan Hurt, chief executive officer for Sonoran Desert Pathology, said he was unaware of the billing glitch until contacted Wednesday by the Tribune-Herald. He vowed to get to the bottom of this but said no one who was tested for COVID-19 at any of the public clinics last year owes anything for the procedures.

Later Wednesday, Walker sent a letter to the Tribune-Herald that he said will be sent to everyone who received the erroneous bills. It reads, in part: It has come to our attention you have received a statement in the mail requesting payment for a covid test you obtained at a mobile site. This statement was sent to you in error. Due to a routing glitch, this test was forwarded incorrectly as a patient responsibility causing you to receive this erroneous statement. There is no patient share for this test. We have rectified the glitch on our side, so no further statements will be sent to you. Please consider this a closed matter. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. If you have any additional questions, please call 469-575-4995.
I found the class so interesting, she said.

She majored in psychology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Still, education was lingering in the back of her mind.

I always knew I planned to work in education, she said.

She heard about school psychology, and quickly knew it was a natural fit for her.

I always loved working with children and when I learned about the field of school psychology I jumped on the change to be an educator, she said.

After earning her undergraduate degree, she extended her education at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, where she went beyond a masters degree by becoming an educational specialist, which requires 36 hours more than graduate school.

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She started her career as a school psychologist at Westside Community Schools. She held that position for three years until she felt a calling to become an assistant principal, also at Westside.

During that time, she and husband Jeremy moved their family to Ashland. Poell drove back and forth to Omaha every day.

For a long time I didnt mind the commute, she said.
Through the Career Academy, students can obtain college credit, as well as various certifications.

We also offer kids in our academy take an (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) certification, she said. Theyre safety courses, so when they graduate Cedar Bluffs, they are certified in OSHA, which makes them really marketable when it comes to getting and applying for jobs.

The Career Academy will also help Cedar Bluffs students take part in other opportunities such as job shadowing and internships, Chrisman said.

So by the time they are seniors, we are setting them up with a mentor out in the business world, whatever their field might be that theyre studying, and helping them kind of create those connections so that they have networking outside of just the high school or their education that they can kind of rely on as they leave, as they work toward their career goals, she said.

While this is Cedar Bluffs first school year with the Career Academy, Chrisman said the school first started introducing its concepts at the end of last school year.
Dave wanted a bulldog for several years and finally wore Kristy down during the pandemic. Ironically, shes now Sadies biggest fan.

I think I probably fell in love with her more than (Dave) did, she said.

When trying to come up with a name for the store, she first started looking for domain names. As Sadie was lying at her feet, she typed in Sadies Treasure Chest and found it was available. It was meant to be.

Shes our treasure, Kristy added.

Sadie was on hand for a ribbon cutting last Friday to welcome the store to Wahoo. She was joined by members of the Wahoo Chamber of Commerce and some of Daves family to celebrate the event.

Kristy and Dave said the Wahoo business community has been very welcoming since they opened the store.

Weve had a lot of local business people come in and check us out, Kristy said.

Being in downtown Wahoo has given Kristy and Dave a new view on the communitys effort to preserve the atmosphere of a small town where people take their dogs for a walk or stroll through downtown after having a bite to eat at a local restaurant.
The White House voiced concern that Beijings controversial moves toward Taiwan, the self-ruled island, jeopardized regional peace and stability.

President Joe Biden is dispatching White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan for talks with senior Chinese foreign policy adviser Yang Jiechi in Switzerland. The two countries find themselves at odds on a variety of issues, including Taiwan and trade.

In a statement issued on Monday, the White House criticized Beijing for a protracted period of military harassment of the self-ruled island of Taiwan that had lasted several days. The conference in Zurich is planned for Wednesday.

Following up on Bidens phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping last month, the White House National Security Councils Emily Horne said the talks would be a responsible management of competition between the two countries as the Obama administration seeks to responsibly manage the competition between the two countries.

This week, the White House voiced concern that Beijings provocative activities were jeopardizing regional peace and stability, according to the White House. Beijing has categorically rejected the accusations.

In recent days, according to official figures, China has sent a large number of fighter jets to Taiwan, including a record-breaking 56 fighter planes on Monday alone.

It has been reported that Katherine Tai, the United States Trade Representative, wants to have frank talks with Chinese officials in the following weeks about an interim trade deal that would put an end to a tariff war between the two countries.

In a firm voice, Tai said, I dont want to exacerbate trade tensions with China.

President Donald Trump placed severe tariffs on China, and President Joe Biden said he would continue to enforce the tariffs during his speech.

The most recent invasions occurred as Taiwan attempted to become a member of a major regional trade pact, prompting the invasions.

Western efforts to provide Taiwan the appearance of independent nation status have been met with fierce opposition by Chinese officials, who have expressed their opposition to the application for independent country status.

Chinese President Xi Jinping views the democratically ruled island of Taiwan as his territory, which he wants to conquer by force if necessary.

It has refused to recognize the islands government. It has worked tirelessly to isolate President Tsai Ing-administration, which has a pro-independence bent, from the rest of Taiwan.

Taiwan receives diplomatic and military support from the United States, which, in accordance with long-standing policy, does not explicitly commit itself to protect the island country in the case of a Chinese invasion.

Suppose President Joe Biden is questioned about the recent increase of provocations by Chinese fighter planes. In that case, he responds that he has previously spoken with Chinese President Xi Jinping about Taiwan and that his administration wants to adhere to the Taiwan accord.

As part of the Obama administrations ongoing campaign against China, President Joe Biden has repeatedly criticized the country for what the administration considers to be coercive trade practices, human rights abuses against ethnic minorities, and handling of the coronavirus pandemic originated in the countrys Wuhan province.

As part of the administrations criticism of Chinas human rights violations against ethnic minorities, President Biden has also spoken out against the country.

While acknowledging that the two sides have ideological and political differences, the administration has expressed confidence that the two sides would work on issues of mutual concern, such as climate change and the prevention of a nuclear disaster on the Korean Peninsula.

According to administration officials, interactions with high-level Chinese officials have been less than fruitful. They have expressed their dissatisfaction with the situation from the governments inception.

The Chinese government claimed that the United States had ordered it to stop interfering in its internal affairs when Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Yang met in June. It accused Washington of politicizing an investigation into what caused the COVID-19 epidemic, which is still under investigation.

While visiting with top Chinese officials in Anchorage in March, Sullivan and Blinken were in a heated debate with Yang, who was also involved in the dispute.

Ahead of the meeting, Yang criticized the United States for failing to address its human rights problems. He voiced his dissatisfaction with what he saw as American hypocrisy and hypocrisy.

A South China Morning Post report was the first to report that Sullivan and Yang would be meeting in the near future.

According to his itinerary, Sullivan will also go to Brussels and Paris to speak with allies this week.
by Bryan R. Swopes of This Day in Aviation

The first official victory during aerial combat between two airplanes took place during World War I on October 5, 1914 over Jonchery-sur-Vesle near Reims, France. A French Voisin III biplane of Escadrille VB24, flown by Sergeant Joseph Frantz with observer Corporal Louis Quenault, engaged a German Aviatik B.II flown by Oberleutnant Fritz von Zangen and Sergeant Wilhelm Schlichting of FFA 18. Aircraft engineers and pilots had envisioned aerial combat for a number of years by the time World War I began in the autumn of 1914, even if nobody had yet seen what we would now call a dogfight.

As written in Air & Space Magazine, the first aerial battles of World War I were variations on that same theme. French aviation historian David Mechin ticks off a list of firsts which all happened within a few weeks of each other in 1914. On August 25, Roland Garros and Lt. de Bernis became the first flyers to damage an enemy aircraft. Flying a Morane Parasol, they shot at a German airplane, which escaped in a dive, although one of the two men on board was wounded. On September 7, Russian Pyotr Nesterov was the first pilot to destroy an enemy airplane, but he did it by ramming his Morane into an Austrian Albatros. Both aircrews died as a result.

Then, on October 5, French pilot Sgt. Joseph Frantz and his mechanic/gunner, Louis Quenault, shot down a German biplane near Reims to record what is considered the first official aerial combat victory. Mechin tells the story in detail in this months edition of the French aviation history magazine Le Fana de laviation.

The Voisin was armed with a Hotchkiss M1909 8mm machine gun. Corporal Quenault fired two 48-round magazines at the German airplane, whose crew returned fire with rifles. Quenaults machine gun jammed and he continued to fire on the Aviatik with a rifle. The German airplane crashed with both von Zangen and Schlichting losing their lives as a result. The age of aerial combat had begun

For more aviation anniversaries please visit www.thisdayinaviation.com
On Friday, October 1st, 2021, the Air Force Academy Foundation inaugurated the Air Warrior Combat Memorial (AWCM) at the approach to the north entrance of the United States Air Force Academy near Colorado Springs, Colorado. The ceremony took place in the presence of graduates from earlier classes as well as Christina Olds and Jennifer Newman, daughter and granddaughter of the legendary fighter pilot and combat leader, General Robin Olds and . The dedication ceremony lasted approximately 30 minutes.

This memorial was made possible by the Academys Class of 1971, with assistance from the Classes of 1963 and 1969 as well as other donors. The AWCM is located beside the retired Boeing B-52D Stratofortress 55-0083 Diamond Lil, which is dramatically displayed atop a set of plinths at the corner where North Gate Boulevard meets Stadium Boulevard.

As their class gift, the United States Air Force Academys Class of 1971 voted at their 40th reunion in 2011 to create a memorial at the USAFA to honor all of their brethren who have flown in harms way and those who support them. Furthermore, to memorialize the first 100 years of aerial combat, the Class selected the charismatic Brig. Gen. Robin Olds to represent all air warriors, citing his outstanding example of courage, skill, and leadership. Over the past ten years, the Class of 1971 has raised money to construct the Air Warrior Memorial right inside the North Gate entrance to the Academy. A decade of planning and obtaining the correct permissions has resulted in a stunning life-size bronze statue by renowned sculptor James Nance which depicts Robin Olds in a flight suit at the peak of his combat career during the Vietnam War  and of course he is sporting his famous, full mustache. Rather fittingly, the sculptor James Nance is also a member of the Air Force Academys graduating Class of 1971.

There were a number of reasons why the Class of 1971 selected Brigadier General Olds to represent the Academys warrior ethos. Firstly, he was a triple ace, with thirteen aerial victories in WWII and a further four over Vietnam. Secondly, he was the US Air Force equivalent to the Navys Revolutionary War hero, John Paul Jones  Olds was an exceptional, lead-from-the-front, Combat Wing commander in Vietnam. His men idolized him, and would follow him to hell and back  and often did. Finally, he was the US Air Force Academys beloved and admired Commandant of Cadets to the Class of 1971 during all four years of their attendance.
CONTRACTS

TMF awards still come with payback plans

NOTE: This article first appeared on FCW.com.

In the wake of $311 million in new Technology Modernization Fund Awards announced last week, Federal CIO Clare Martorana said that while payback flexibility is now part of the fund playbook, agencies still are projecting savings in their modernization plans.

The seven awards were the first tranche to be made after a $1 billion plus-up to the fund made under the American Rescue Plan Act. As federal CIO, Martorana chairs the board that reviews and approves TMF funding requests.

Speaking at FCW's IT Modernization Summit on Tuesday, Martorana said payment flexibility was a big part of the attraction of TMF for this round of proposers. She noted that when she served as CIO of the Office of Personnel Management, there was resistance to using the fund because "the CFO didn't really think that he would be able to commit to paying back the TMF loan."

The new flexibilities brought in new applicants  including OPM which won a $9.9 million award to focus on transitioning to zero trust. At the same time, Martorana said that agencies were including payback plans in their applications for at least some of the funding.

"You know, everybody would love to come to TMF and pay nothing back, but we do have to remain a solvent as a fund," she said. "So we do have a minimal threshold for repayment, but what we're finding is a lot of agencies in doing their project plans recognize that in out years they are going to have significant savings."

Martorana said that proposals are coming in with payback plans that include repayment at levels of up to 50% and 75%. "Not everyone is coming back at a very minimal repayment level," she said.

Martorana also said the TMF board had put in a lot of time to examine proposals under an accelerated process following the $1 billion addition to the fund.

"Board members were committing five, 10 hours a week," in addition to their full-time jobs as senior technology officials. "Reviewing over 100 proposals was really an extraordinary effort and we're still not done," she said.
Palantir captures another Army battlefield intell system award

Palantir Technologies is moving on to the next phase of developing the Armys Distributed Common Ground System, the services main battlefield intelligence system.

Palantir was in a head-to-head competition with BAE Systems Inc. under a seven-year, $823 million contract both companies shared initially. They were working through what Palantir calls a test, fix, test process.

With this win, the Army has picked Palantir to proceed through final testing and fielding. Palantir will provide its Gotham Platform to support an intelligence data fabric and analytics platform.

This capability will field modern data integration, correlation, fusion, and analytic capabilities that prepare the Army for the next fight against emerging near peer threats, Palantir said in its release.

Inside Defense reported that the Program Executive Office for Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors picked Palantir over BAE.

This award is the culmination of a years worth of intense vendor competition that included multiple tests with soldiers, the website quoted from a PEO-IEWS press release.

Palantir and BAE won the $823 million contract in February 2020 and have battled since then. It is unclear when this latest task was awarded to Palantir and whether BAE still has the opportunity to protest the award.

This new win for Palantir continues a remarkable run for the software company, which successfully sued the federal government to have a chance to compete for work on DCGS-A. The Army originally was on a path to build custom software to meet its requirements.

Palantir isnt a custom software developer. They said commercial software was available and that federal law required the Army to use said product if a viable solution was available. The court agreed.

Since that 2016 decision, Palantirs federal presence has grown. It is ranked No. 92 on the 2021 Washington Technology rankings of the largest government tech contractors with $262.7 million in prime contracts.

The company reported that its government revenue grew 77 percent to $610 million in 2020 and represents 56 percent of overall sales.
Abraham Funchess, in his letter to the editor Sept. 26, correctly identified the divisive nature of the Republican Party in the upcoming election for mayor.

Blaming Mayor Quentin Hart and the police chief for low morale of officers in the police department because of the removal of the griffin logo from the uniforms and cars of the Waterloo police is a failed attempt to tarnish the outstanding job performance of Mayor Hart and the attempts by Chief Joel Fitzgerald to make our outstanding police department even better. It was this mayor and police chief who were responsible for keeping the city safe from violence and mob action seen in other cities following the George Floyd murder in Minneapolis. We should be proud to have removed symbols of the KKK from our police department and question why some want them retained.

There is no doubt about a morale problem among the Waterloo police and elsewhere. The Republican Legislature and governor, by lifting all state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns, have increased gun violence and made the job of policing more dangerous. The Republicans, using the false narrative that the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution gives everyone the right to arm themselves, have changed the balance of power on the streets and crippled the rule of law. Stopping a car or entering a dwelling to investigate a crime have been made a sum zero game for citizen and police alike.

This is the authoritarian game plan to destroy our democracy: Make people afraid and eventually call for the elimination of protection against search and seizure; the presumption of innocence; trial by jury and the safeguards of our constitution, state and federal.

See what these same Republican authoritarians have done in Texas: awarding virtually anyone a $10,000 bounty judgment against any person who assists in any way a woman who is seeking an abortion. These people are enemies of democracy and will continue to divide us, silence us, and continue to tell the big lie until they have taken our freedom as they did in Germany, Italy and Japan.

More than 400,000 Americans gave their lives in World War II to free the world of authoritarian dictators. Who will free us?

Dave Dutton is the Republican former county attorney of Black Hawk County. Mary Dutton is former chair of the Bremer/Black Hawk League of Women Voters.

Dave Dutton is the Republican former county attorney of Black Hawk County. Mary Dutton is former chair of the Bremer/Black Hawk League of Women voters.

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WATERLOO  A Waterloo man has been arrested for allegedly beating his girlfriend with a metal pole.

The injury was so severe that her nose was almost severed, according to court records.

Sheriffs deputies arrested Christopher Morel Kelly, 37, of 118 Tiffany Place, on Tuesday on a warrant for willful injury causing serious injury and second-offense domestic assault. Bond was set at $250,000.

Authorities allege Kelly repeatedly struck the woman in the face and torso with a metal bed rail at a West Third Street apartment Sept. 22 and threatened to kill her if she went to police, according to court records.

The woman lost conscious at one point and later contacted a family member, who called 911, records state.

She was treated at MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center, and Waterloo police obtained an arrest warrant for Kelly in September.

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WATERLOO  An indictment against four more people has been unsealed in a recent federal roundup of gun charges in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls area.

On Monday, an indictment charging William Rashad Burt, 27, Qunshaundes Davion McNealy, 26, William McNealy III, 21, and Sahjit Mcyle Phillips 23, became public when Qunshaundes McNealy made an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids.

He pleaded not guilty and remains detained pending a further hearing. Phillips and William McNealy also are in custody.

All four are charged with felon in possession of a firearm, and the charges stem from a 4 a.m. July 6 police raid at local homes. The four had been charged in state court in connection with the searches, but those charges have been dropped in favor of the federal indictment.

Officers with the Tri-County Drug Enforcement Task Force and the Violent Crime Apprehension Team searched an apartment at 2007 College St. in Cedar Falls and found William McNealy on a bed next to a 9 mm Taurus 709 pistol, and a 9 mm Taurus G3 was found inside the bedframe, according to court records. The Taurus 709 had been reported stolen a week earlier, reports state.

Qunshaundes McNealy was found in a room with a .40-caliber Glock 23, court records state. Burt was found with a .22-caliber RG23 revolver, according to court records.

Phillips, who was also in the apartment, is accused of possessing a 9 mm SIG Sauer SP2022, the .40-caliber Glock 23, and a 9 mm Taurus G3 between May and July, according to court records.

Last week, Waterloo police and officials with the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms and U.S. Attorneys Office for Iowas Northern District announced 19 people were charged in batch of indictments filed in September as part of a Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative to fight gun violence in the Cedar Valley. At the time, indictments against five people had remained sealed.

Photos: Guns in Northeast Iowa crime cases

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CEDAR FALLS  Police have arrested a man in connection with a number of thefts at Cedar Falls stores, including a September incident where he allegedly shoved employees who were trying to stop him.

Police arrested 40-year-old Thomas Jacob Billington on Wednesday for warrants including second-degree theft, aggravated theft, third-degree burglary and possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver.

He was also charged with interference and trespassing when he allegedly attempted to run from officers during the arrest Wednesday.

According to court records, Billington was suspected of stealing items from a boat parked on Greenwood Avenue in Waterloo on July 22.

Then on Sept. 12, Billington allegedly took a backpack from a person working at the Walmart on Brandilynn Boulevard in Cedar Falls. He then allegedly rode his bike, which was pulling a small trailer, to Scheels sporting goods on Viking Plaza where he loaded $219 worth of items in a backpack and tried to leave without paying.

Scheels workers attempted stop him, and he handed over the backpack but then pushed them out of the way and ran off, leaving his bike behind, according to court records.

Officers found Billingtons name on papers that were left in the bike trailer, and an investigator identified him, in part, by the word OZZY tattooed on his left knuckles, which could be seen on a surveillance video, court records state.

Officers also found meth and a scale with the bike.

Billington remained at large until around 1:15 a.m. Wednesday when a Waterloo police officer noticed him inside Walgreens pharmacy on West Ridgeway Avenue. Billington allegedly denied his identity, tried to cover his face and then ran, records state. He was detained a short distance away.

Bond was set at $30,000.

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JESUP  A Jesup man with a history of sex crimes has been sentenced to life in prison for having sexual contact with a teen.

Judge Melissa Anderson-Seeber on Friday sentenced 63-year-old Clarence Elton Widner, formerly of Waterloo and Hazleton, to life without parole for a charge of third-degree sexual abuse as a repeat offender.

The life sentence was added to a 30-year sentence for failing to register as a sex offender.

Authorities allege Widner had sexual contact with a 17-year-old male numerous times in 2018 and 2019 against his will and once while the teen was asleep. The teen told relatives and school officials of the abuse in late 2019, and Widner was arrested in December 2019.

During an interview with investigators, Widner allegedly said the sex was consensual and denied having sexual contact while the teen was sleeping, according to court records.

Widner waived his right to a jury trial, allowing a judge to decide a verdict after reading through documents and evidence in the case. Anderson-Seeber found him guilty in a decision filed in September.

Widers sentence was enhanced because of two prior sex offenses when he lived in Waterloo. In July 1985, he allegedly had sexual contact with a 4-year-old girl and was convicted of lascivious acts with a child and sentenced to probation.

In September 1994, he allegedly fondled a 9-year-old girl and was convicted of two counts of lascivious acts with a child and sentenced to five years in prison.

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WATERLOO  Though the long-defunct water fountain wont be part of the entrance anymore, patrons of the Waterloo Center for the Arts will have an easier, more accessible and likely more eye-catching way to get into the facility in the future.

Ongoing construction at the moment certainly isnt pretty, but progress is exciting, Kent Shankle, executive director of the Waterloo Center for the Arts, told Waterloo City Council members during their work session Monday.

Councilor Sharon Juon noted the project underwent several contractors, while Shankle added that several attempts were necessary to reconstruct the entrance steps before they passed inspection, delaying progress this summer.

Shankle hopes the new walkway to the buildings main entrance will be done in the next couple of weeks, allowing it to reopen.

When this is all said and done, we will have a beautiful new plaza entry which was much overdue, Shankle said.

Reconstructing the west entrance will be next, along with construction on the parking lot, resulting in a significant increase in parking capacity, he noted.

Juon asked if the rock fountain at the main entrance will return. Shankle said it will not, though boulders from the old fountain will be incorporated into that new entry landscape.

Fountains in our part of the country are pretty challenging in terms of maintenance, he said. While it was beautiful, it also served as a significant barrier to patrons.

Instead, a new musical instrument park will be incorporated into the entry plaza area, connecting with the existing instrument sculptures at next-door Riverloop Amphitheatre as well as events inside the Center for the Arts.

We can kind of flow the cultural education experience  the kinds of things we do inside our doors, outside as well, Shankle said. Were really excited about that.

Shankle said he is putting together preliminary plans for a sculptural canopy element for the entrance, though that is not part of the current construction. It is inspired by the amphitheaters canopy, which has proven to be durable since its construction in 2012.

Rather than a sign that says arts, a piece of art that would really draw people in and serve as an icon for our community and its commitment to the arts, Shankle said.

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"While there has been a great deal of media attention surrounding this vote and the ongoing strike, I felt it was important to share the details of John Deere's offer directly with you," she wrote.
DES MOINES  Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds will join nine other Republican governors Wednesday visiting the Texas-Mexico border and holding a news conference to discuss what they term a border crisis and the Democratic Biden administrations response to it.

Reynolds office did not provide details of the governors itinerary other than to confirm she will be part of a tour of the U.S. southern border and will hold a conference call with Iowa reporters.

Questions about Reynolds trip surfaced after a news release from the Idaho governors office named her as one of the GOP governors who will join Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott near the Rio Grande to witness the border conditions firsthand, reveal their proposed solutions and call on President Joe Biden to act to secure the border immediately.

Last month, Reynolds joined 25 other governors in requesting a meeting with Biden to bring an end to what they view as a national security crisis at the nations southern border. No such meeting has been scheduled.

In signing the letter, Reynolds said her first responsibility is to the health and safety of Iowans, which she said is being affected by border activities.

On Tuesday, the Republican Governors Association released a video highlighting what the organization called Joe Bidens failure to enact federal policies that can help to control and mitigate the crisis he has created at our southern border.

In July, at Reynolds bidding, a total of 28 Iowa Department of Public Safety law enforcement officers spent nearly two weeks working border security duties alongside authorities in Texas on a mission aimed at disrupting criminal activity that included smuggling humans, drugs and firearms as well as aiding humanitarian needs in the Del Rio area of Texas.

Reynolds said she made the decision in June to approve the action  which cost Iowas general fund about $300,000  in response to requests from fellow Republican governors Abbott of Texas and Doug Ducey of Arizona. She defended the decision to spend state money on the mission by telling reporters border security is a federal responsibility that has not been adequately addressed by the Biden administration. She said she would evaluate whether to deploy another group of state troopers for border security after this summer was over.

The governor is still evaluating at this time, Alex Murphy, Reynolds communications director, said last month.

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Change the Lives of Others

When you volunteer your time, talents or treasure, you change lives. Studies prove the impact that science & math education has on childrens' lives.

Whether you are a high school student wondering if you could make a difference, a college student looking for service opportunities for your club, or an adult below the age of 124, we need you! Come and see for yourself how awesome it is to volunteer with us, come join our team!

Discovery Loop Clean Up

Join us for a service day to remember! Help clean up parts of the WSU trail system during the Discovery Loop Clean Up day on Saturday, October 13th from 8 am - 4 pm. All skill levels are invited. MAKE SURE TO SIGN UP HERE! All volunteers get free swag and food!

Questions? Send an email to Amanda Gentry, amandagentry@weber.edu. We hope to see you there!









Tutoring

Whether you a college student looking for service opportunities for your club, wondering what a career in teaching would be like, or wanting to share your growing expertise in math and science, we need you!



A list of specific tutoring opportunities is coming soon. In the meantime, please email us with your questions, or to learn more.





Science in the Parks

Science in the Parks is a fun interactive outreach program designed for children of all ages, especially preschool through middle school, and their families.



Each week from May through August we visit a different park, in conjunction with Ogden School Districts free summer lunch program. Please email us if you would like to help us with this fun program!

Science Fairs

Science Fairs are held each year in almost every junior high & high school in Northern Utah. Volunteers are greatly needed to serve as judges, yet most people don't realize that they don't need special training or education in order to help.



Because WSU has committed to supplying volunteers to the Ritchey Science Fair, we are unable to send volunteers to the many schools who also put out calls for help. However, we're posting them here in hopes others around the community can help. Alternatively, you could contact the school nearest you and see if they have a need. Chances are, they do!

Join the CSME Advisory Board

Help the CSME better serve our local community and meet your needs to further math and science K-16 education by volunteering to serve on the CSME Advisory Board. The board meets biannually. All are encouraged to apply.



An application form will be linked to this page soon. In the meantime, please email us for information.





Other Depts & Organizations Who Need Your Help

 Gear UP

 Youth Impact

 YMCA

 Give Me a Chance

 Center for Community Engaged Learning

 Contact your local school/district for their annual science fair




WASHINGTON, Oct 5 (Reuters)  U.S. Democratic and Republican senators urged President Joe Biden on Tuesday to expel 300 Russian diplomats from the United States if Moscow does not issue more visas for Americans to represent Washington in Russia. Source: U.S. senators suggest expelling 300 Russian diplomats amid embassy dispute | Reuters

Here is a copy of the letter:

Letter to Biden.ssci-04oct21

Hmm.I remember when Obama, threw many Russian Diplomats out of the US, at Christmas time, five years ago!

Now we whine and throw tantrums for years because we lost access to our spy network in Moscow, owing to the fact that Russia actually retaliated to our aggression. If the USA tries to expel more, then they will lose even more of their spies over in the US Embassy in Moscow

Here we go again and again and again

WtR
3. Social Security scam

 An 85-year-old Maryland woman got a call from someone pretending to be a federal agent who said her Social Security number had been stolen and used to rent a car that was involved in a violent crime. This incident had compromised both her Social Security and bank accounts, she was told, and both were to be suspended. To keep access to money she needed to pay her bills, she was told to go to a local store and convert her cash in the bank to Bitcoin, then transfer it to a secure account that was set up for her. She did  and lost $8,000 to impostors.

4. Student-loan con

A couple in Indianapolis got a call from someone who stated his government agency was handling the student-loan-forgiveness debt-cancellation program that President Biden had signed into law. The caller just needed their Social Security and banking information to complete the application. The couple complied, but then they grew suspicious and reported the encounter to the bank in time to stop any losses.

5. FBI flimflam

A 79-year-old Pembroke Pines, Florida, man was contacted by a fake FBI agent who said he had won a $1.9 million sweepstakes, but the money was being held until he could pay fees and taxes. He eventually sent $100,000 to what he believed was the FBI consumer affairs branch, and the money has not been recovered.

The bottom line: Dont let your instinct to cooperate with someone claiming to be with the federal government be your downfall. This list of government practices should help you spot impostors.
E+ / Getty Images

En espanol

For millions of American taxpayers, Oct. 15 is as important a date as April 15, the traditional deadline to file income taxes. The Internal Revenue Service routinely grants requests to file a late return, and the due date for those returns is Oct. 15. Here are five things you need to know about filing income taxes late.

1. It can be expensive

Taxpayers who missed the pandemic-delayed May 17 federal income tax filing deadline can be hit with two penalties: one for filing late and another for paying late. The penalty for late filing is 5 percent of the amount due each month, and the failure to pay is 0.5 percent a month, and maxes out at 25 percent, says IRS spokesman Eric Smith. (When both penalties are levied in the same month, the total penalty is 5 percent a month: 4.5 percent for failure to file and 0.5 percent for failure to pay.)

Interest also accrues, at a current rate of 3 percent. The late-payment penalty rises with each month that goes by, and interest is calculated based on the number of days and is indeed compounded daily, Smith says. 

2. It can be avoided

You could have dodged the late filing penalty by requesting an automatic extension by the federal tax filing deadline, which is traditionally April 15. The extension would have pushed your filing deadline to Oct. 15. The IRS requires late filers to pay the taxes they owe by the earlier filing deadline. Otherwise, youd still be liable for the late payment penalty.

In a typical year, more than 15 million taxpayers request automatic filing extensions, according to the IRS. But extensions declined during the pandemic to 12 million in 2020 and 14 million this year, likely because the regular filing deadline was pushed back to July 15 in 2020 and May 17 in 2021.

People requesting extensions often have more complicated returns, and may need to wait for a Schedule K-1 for certain investments, as one example, according to Bill McDevitt, shareholder at WilkinGuttenplan, an accounting firm with offices in New Jersey and New York.

Most folks who have relatively simple returns do their best to file by April 15, McDevitt says. Oftentimes, it could be any number of reasons why you need to ask for an extension. But when you do ask for an extension, you have to have an idea of what your liability is and make sure the tax is paid by April 15."

People who asked for an extension should file on or before Oct. 15 to avoid the penalty for filing late. If you are getting a refund and file late, the IRS wont levy a penalty. But dont wait too long  you will lose your refund if you dont claim it within three years. The safest and fastest way to get a refund, the IRS says, is to file electronically and choose direct deposit for payment. You can even choose to deposit the refund in up to three accounts. Electronic filing options, such as IRS Free File, remain available.


3,000m RC Drilling Program to Advance Ned's Creek JV

Sydney, Oct 6, 2021 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Lodestar Minerals advises that a program of RC drilling is scheduled to commence shortly on the Ned's Creek JV with Vango Mining Limited ( ASX:VAN ). Vango has authorised the RC drill rig currently operating on their Marymia Gold Project to re-deploy to Neds' Creek to carry out approximately 3,000m of drilling, with the program scheduled to commence within 10 days. Details of the drilling program are provided below.An initial program comprising up to 3,000m of RC drilling is planned for Contessa and Central Park prospects. The granite contact at Contessa represents a major structural corridor that has not been effectively tested. Drilling along strike at Central Park and Gidgee Flat prospects (see Figure 1*), has confirmed that gold mineralisation occurs within and adjacent to late intrusions preferentially localised on the granite-greenstone contact. The planned RC program is designed to specifically target the granite contact at Contessa as a potential feeder for the mineralisation discovered to date.The Contessa mineralisation comprises a series of north-dipping, stacked lenses within an intensely altered host sequence. Mineralised lenses have been defined over a strike distance of 200m in RC and diamond drilling (system remains open) that reported a number of high-grade gold intersections within an extensive, mineralised sericite-pyrite alteration halo. Significant intersections reported from the primary zone include;- 4m at 74g/t Au from 140m in LNRC026- 4m at 5.6g/t Au from 170m in LNRC043- 10m at 1.4g/t Au from 138m in LNRC020- 0.65m at 9.7g/t Au from 142.85m in LND002- 12m at 1.5g/t Au from 126m in LNRC048,including 1m at 9.2g/t Au from 135m.*To view tables and figures, please visit:About Vango Mining Limited

Vango Mining Limited (ASX:VAN) is a minerals exploration mining company with ambitions of becoming a high-grade WA gold miner by developing the 100% owned Marymia Gold Project (Marymia) in the mid-west region of Western Australia. The Project comprises 45 granted mining leases over 300km. It has an established high-grade resource of 1Moz @ 3g/t Au, underpinned by the Trident Deposit, whose resource is 410koz @ 8g/t Au, with immediate extensions open at depth/along strike.

The Marymia Project has the potential to become one of Australia's largest high-grade producers. The Greenstone Belt in the Marymia region includes six major gold corridors, which remain largely un-tested beyond 100m depth - supported with an extensive drilling and geophysical database. Previous mining between 1992-2001, produced 580,000 ounces of gold almost entirely from open-pits.

Vango is focused on growing its high-grade gold resource to support a proposed stand-alone gold mining and production operation at Marymia. The Project is located along strike, immediately to the north of Superior Gold's (CVE:SGI) Plutonic Gold Mine which has produced more than 5.5Moz of gold.
Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

When Public Service Company of New Mexico abandons the coal-fired San Juan Generating Station in June, the utility wont have enough solar replacement power to pick up the slack because of supply chain issues caused by the global pandemic.

Three of the four solar projects meant to replace the coal plant wont be fully operating until well after San Juans closure, creating potential power supply issues when consumer demand peaks in summer 2022. PNM is seeking agreements with other regional utilities for temporary backup power for when homes and businesses ramp up their cooling systems during summer. But with unprecedented heat waves stressing power grids throughout the West, the utility is struggling to secure needed San Juan replacement power.

Utility executives are very concerned about it, although the company does expect to lock in deals with power suppliers in time to meet consumer demand next summer, said Vice President for Generation Tom Fallgren.

Do I lose sleep over it? Yes, Fallgren recently told the state Public Regulation Commission. Do I think well solve it? Yes.

The problems began in May, when developers of one of four solar projects meant to replace coal generation next year told PNM it would not be able to bring its planned Rockmont solar plant online in time for San Juans closure. The 130-megawatt Rockmont project  with 100 MW of solar generation and 30 MW of backup battery storage  accounts for about 14% of the total 950 MW of solar panels and batteries that PNM has contracted to replace San Juan.

The other sources:

 A 450-MW Arroyo solar and battery system in McKinley County.

 A 300-MW San Juan solar and battery project.

 A 70-MW Jicarilla solar and battery facility in Rio Arriba County.

Rockmont developers are behind because they never fully resolved right-of-way issues with land owners before completing their contract with PNM. That interrupted agreed-on construction timelines, pushing the developers into default on the contract, Fallgren told the Journal.

PNM is now working with other companies that have needed land rights in place to take over the Rockmont project.

But over the summer, the Arroyo and San Juan project developers also told PNM that supply chain issues caused by the pandemic have affected their construction plans, delaying completion dates for those projects as well. They could go partly online between June and December of next year, but they wont be fully operational until spring 2023, at the earliest.

The central problem is importing solar panels from Asia. The pandemic significantly slowed factory production, and now maritime shipping is backed up at West Coast ports.

The shipping delays have had a huge impact, not only for solar panels, but for many other products, Fallgren said. We do expect all the solar resources to come online in 2023, but were facing significant issues for next summer.

Without temporary replacement power  either by purchasing electricity on wholesale markets or through short-term, bilateral supply agreements with other utilities  PNMs reserve margin of power from its own generating systems would fall to just 5% next summer. That compares with a 13% margin it normally maintains.

Complicating the situation, recent PNM requests for proposals to purchase wholesale resources in preparation for summer 2022 turned up almost no responses. Thats because all Western states are struggling to lock in enough electricity for their own grids, given the unprecedented heat waves in recent years brought on by climate change.

I think that just reflects how tight markets are becoming in the West, Ron Darnell, PNM senior vice president for public policy, told the PRC in a recent presentation about the problems. This is a challenging situation.

In fact, given the changing weather patterns, PNM and the PRC need to raise reserve margins, Fallgren said.

In light of extreme weather conditions seen among our neighbors, we should look at expanding (reserve margins) up to 18% to 20%, Fallgren told commissioners.

That would mean contracting for more generating resources in the near future, something the utility is now evaluating. But for now, its primarily focused on resolving the short-term supply issues for next summer.

The company is in advanced negotiations on bilateral supply contracts with other utilities, Fallgren told the Journal. It may also temporarily lease some diesel generators and battery storage systems.

Some PRC commissioners have suggested delaying the San Juan closure until the end of next summer, but that would require complex negotiations with other plant co-owners, as well as a new coal-supply contract to run the plant.

We dont see extending San Juan operations as a viable option, Fallgren said.

The PRC is closely monitoring the situation and will request regular updates from PNM, commission Chair Stephen Fischmann said.

PNM is working full blast on a wide variety of ways to fill the power gap, Fischmann told the Journal. Well check in monthly to see how its going to get this resolved with minimal impact on consumers.

Still, once the summer 2022 power issues are resolved, the PRC must continue working with PNM and other local utilities on long-term grid reliability and reserve margins, given the limited capacity now to depend on regional wholesale markets to fill in gaps as states work to transition their grids from fossil fuels to renewable resources.

That issue is getting a lot of regulatory attention now on a regional basis to address resource adequacy and having enough generation to meet demand, Fischmann said. That might entail hanging on a little longer to generating plants that are scheduled for shutdown to make sure we dont put ourselves in a bind.
Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

The Bernalillo County Sheriffs Office has struggled to get accurate and consistent crime data since it stopped using the Albuquerque Police Departments record system in 2018.

Unofficial data provided to the Journal in response to an Inspection of Public Records Act request in June showed increases  most in double digits  in almost every category of crime reported to the sheriffs office between 2019 and 2020. The only decrease was in homicide, which dropped by one.

However, last month, Gonzales provided the Journal with new statistics. These still showed an increase in five of the eight categories, although the spikes were less dramatic. The biggest increases were in rape  up 45% from 60 to 87; aggravated assault  up 4% from 714 to 743; and larceny  up 10% from 1,149 to 1,263.

Some fluctuations in data are always expected as cases are investigated.

Further complicating matters is that the data for 2019 through mid-May 2020 is labeled as incomplete because BCSO was in the midst of getting certified in a new way of collecting data called the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), which provides more detail for the FBIs annual report. BCSO was certified NIBRS-compliant in May 2020.

Chief Deputy Brian Lindley said the data provided to the Journal in June was operational, whereas the new numbers for 2019, 2020 and the first seven months of the year had been analyzed and verified, so are considered statistical. Thats what BCSO submitted to the FBI this year.

He said Motorola Solutions, Inc., the company that took over BCSOs record management in 2018, had been providing conflicting numbers and experiencing technical glitches, some of which were attributed to the switch to NIBRS. He said the issues should have been fixed as of September. A spokeswoman for Motorola said it could not comment and that all questions should be directed to the agency.

Lindley said that, before about a year ago, BCSOs crime analysts werent able to look at the operational data to see, for instance, the number of auto thefts in an area in order to determine where to focus crime-fighting efforts.

For the first 7 months of 2021, the new statistics show the department on track to plunge in nearly every crime category. For instance, it says 18% fewer cars were stolen over that time period in 2021 than in the same period in 2020, and there were 16% fewer aggravated assaults.

Lindley said the decrease could be due to the fact that the numbers reported in 2019 and 2020 were skewed.

The big issue our analyst brought up is we do not know what that data did for 2018 until May 2020, Lindley said.

He added that tactical plans and patrols could also have led to a decrease in crime.
Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  The State Ethics Commission has authorized its staff to take legal action against a former Sandoval County employee accused of illegally testifying last year in a property tax hearing.

It will be the commissions first civil enforcement action against an individual and third overall since the independent agencys authority began last year.

The case centers on provisions in the Governmental Conduct Act prohibiting ex-government employees from leaving an agency and then representing clients before the agency on a matter theyd worked on, or from being paid to represent anyone before the agency at all for one year  a ban often referred to as a revolving door law.

At issue is testimony by Gabriel Vargas, a former employee in the Sandoval County Assessors Office who went to work for Double Eagle Property Tax Consultants.

The firms owner said Vargas did not do anything wrong. He complied with the one-year ban and met other requirements of the law, its representatives said.

But the State Ethics Commission, in a resolution adopted last week, said it had reason to believe Vargas violated the Governmental Conduct Act.

Revolving-door laws help ensure that government employees work for the public interest only, Jeremy Farris, the commissions executive director, said Tuesday in a written statement to the Journal. The laws are particularly important for government employees who assess property values, because the valuation of property affects the funding for local governments, schools, and community colleges.

In a brief interview, Vargas said Tuesday that he left the Assessors Office because he needed the scheduling flexibility to care for his daughter as she underwent cancer treatment, not out of any malicious intent.

Double Eagle owner Scott Clark said he and Vargas took steps to comply with the law, honoring the one-year ban on work in Sandoval County.

Being a businessman in the Albuquerque community for forty years, Clark said in a written statement to the Journal, I strive to run my business with integrity and always do the right thing.

A key to the ethics dispute is a Sept. 1, 2020, hearing before the valuation protests board in Sandoval County.

It occurred a year and a day or two after Vargas left the Assessors Office.

In the meeting, Vargas, now working for Double Eagle, testified against his former colleagues and presented evidence to support reducing the proposed tax assessment on an office building by Rust Medical Center in Rio Rancho, according to court records.

The valuation board largely sided with Vargas and reduced the assessed value of the Presbyterian Healthcare Services property from about $14.1 million to $11.4 million. The change will reduce its annual tax bill by about $35,000, according to a subsequent lawsuit filed by Sandoval County Assessor Linda Gallegos.

Double Eagle Property Tax Consultants had been hired by Presbyterian to protest the tax assessment.

Clark said the Assessors Office had incorrect information about the composition of the building, a factor in the protest board siding with Vargas.

We did our job and achieved the fair and correct assessment for our client, Clark said.

The Sandoval County assessor, however, is challenging the reduced value in court, contending Vargas broke the law by participating in the hearing. He was a commercial appraiser assigned to the property when he served as a county employee, according to the assessors lawsuit, and had assessed the property in prior years.

The assessors lawsuit, for example, alleges Vargas had entered the value of the property for the prior tax year, in 2019, while working for the county and had access to county information about the property.

That work clearly disqualified him from presenting testimony on the exact same issues on behalf of Presbyterian, attorneys for Sandoval County say in one court filing.

Vargas disputes that characterization of his work.

At the valuation hearing, for example, Vargas testified that during his tenure at the county he didnt measure or inspect the Presbyterian property, and he didnt perform his own appraisal of it, according to court records. Any value he placed on the property for the year prior was at the direction of a supervisor, not his own appraisal, Vargas said.

Furthermore, he said, a new county appraiser was assigned to the property in 2020 and set the value that was under protest.

The revolving-door ban in the Governmental Conduct Act permanently prohibits a former public employee from representing someone on a matter in which the ex-employee participated personally and substantially during their tenure with the government.

The act also has a broader one-year ban that prohibits ex-employees from being paid to represent anyone before the agency where they worked.

The purpose, according to Sandoval Countys lawsuit, is to insulate the government from improper influence by former employees.

The county contends that even though Vargas testified a day or two after the one-year ban, he was clearly involved in working on the tax dispute before then.

Regardless, the countys appeal of the assessment decision  levying allegations against Vargas  is pending in the New Mexicos 13th Judicial District.

The State Ethics Commission, meanwhile, is initiating its own involvement.

The commission on Friday authorized its staff to demand Vargas and Double Eagle comply with the Governmental Conduct Act. The resolution also allows the staff to file a civil enforcement action in court.

The lawsuit may seek civil penalties and disgorgement, a legal term meaning Vargas and Double Eagle would have to give up illegal profits.

The Commission authorized this civil enforcement action, Farris said, to enforce New Mexicos revolving-door laws and to deter public corruption and the appearance thereof caused by unlawful post-public employment.

The commission is an independent state agency established after a voter-approved constitutional amendment in 2018. Its enforcement authority began in 2020.

The agency handles ethics complaints filed against state officials and others. Its also empowered to go to court to enforce ethics and campaign laws.

The commissions two other civil enforcement actions targeted groups accused of spending money to influence New Mexico elections without properly revealing their campaign finance activity.

Each case resulted in a settlement requiring financial disclosures.

Its possible the litigation will have a broader impact on property tax consultants.

In Tuesdays statement, Clark said there are several other tax consulting firms that have ex-assessors employees working for them. The standard practice, he said, is that they dont work in the county where they were employed for at least one year.

Clark said he hoped to settle the ethics action informally, but if not, the firm would seek legal damages for harassment to get this stopped and for us to represent the taxpayers of New Mexico with their property tax issues in Sandoval County.
Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  New Mexicos 2022 gubernatorial election is still more than a year away, but there are already legal rumblings about candidate fairness issues.

The Democratic Governors Association, a deep-pocketed national group, recently sent a letter to KRQE-TV warning that Mark Ronchettis on-air presence as a meteorologist could subject the station to equal treatment provisions under federal communications law if Ronchetti were to run for governor next year.

Ronchetti, who was the GOP nominee for an open U.S. Senate seat in 2020, returned to KRQE-TV after losing the election to Democrat Ben Ray Lujan.

He has not indicated whether he plans to run for governor, but he has been mentioned as a possible candidate.

On Tuesday, Ronchetti accused Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who is the DGAs chairwoman, of using her position to harass him and his family, and to try to get him fired from his television job.

The governors thinly veiled efforts at intimidation are completely out of line, Ronchetti told the Journal.

I have not commented on political issues or done anything of a political nature since the end of the Senate campaign.

Bill Anderson, KRQE-TVs vice president and general manager, said he understands the Federal Communications Commission rules regarding candidate advertising and said the station was fully compliant.

The letter sent by DGA attorneys to Anderson  a similar letter was sent earlier this year  says that if Ronchetti were to file candidate paperwork to run for governor, any subsequent on-air appearances by him would qualify as free use of broadcast facilities.

Under federal communications law, radio and television stations must provide equal broadcast time to opposing political candidates, with certain allowable exceptions.

If your station does not take the appropriate steps to ensure equal opportunities for Mr. Ronchettis opponents, we anticipate that his opponents will be ready to explore all remedies available to them under the law to ensure their fair treatment by your station, the letter says.

The letter does not mention Lujan Grisham by name, although the governor was elected in December 2020 as the DGAs chairwoman, a prominent post for fundraising and supporting Democratic governor candidates.

Christina Amestoy, the DGAs senior communications adviser, suggested in a statement that a Ronchetti campaign was in the works, even though he has not said whether he plans to run next year or filed any candidate paperwork.

If Ronchetti believes a request to follow the law is a form of intimidation, New Mexico voters should fear just how far hell be willing to bend the rules in his bid for governor, Amestoy said.

Seven other Republican candidates have announced gubernatorial campaigns, with whoever wins the GOP nomination likely to run against Lujan Grisham in the November 2022 general election.
Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

A review of parking lots at about two dozen New Mexico state government buildings found they often were non-compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

New Mexico State Auditor Brian Colon announced Tuesday the findings of a special compliance audit into the lots, conducted between April and June this year.

Colon said about 20% of New Mexicans have some sort of disability. During a news conference at the New Mexico Commission for the Blind, he recalled his father, who had muscular dystrophy and died at age 49.

He struggled with access to buildings, Colon said. All New Mexicans should have equal access to their government, and that means in physical buildings owned by the state of New Mexico.

Anna Silva, director of the Facilities Management Division of the General Services Department, said the state moved quickly to correct the issues. She said all 23 parking lots that were reviewed are now ADA-compliant.

Some lots required additional striping or painting, or increasing the size of certain parking spaces. Others required minor construction to address issues with the slope and curbs, she said.

Thom Cole, a spokesman for GSD, said much of the work was done with state employees, and the state spent about $109,000 on contractors for minor construction projects.

The lots for the selected buildings tested as part of the audit were spread throughout the state. They included the Lamy Building in Santa Fe, the Department of Public Safety facilities in Albuquerque and Deming, and the Lincoln Pines Camp Sierra Blanca Education Building in Fort Stanton, according to audit documents.

The review covered a small percentage of state buildings. The state owns or leases more than 700 buildings, including warehouses and other structures, Silva said.

Cole said the department plans to ask lawmakers for $275,000 to hire three building inspectors next fiscal year, who will in part look for ADA compliance, and another $5 million to make state buildings ADA-compliant.

Colon praised the speed at which the state moved to address the audit findings.

Once this audit was completed, they immediately started remediating the problems and the gaps in compliance with the ADA, he said. This is an example of good government.
LAS CRUCES  New Mexico State University experienced a 3% drop in enrollment this year, mostly among sophomores and juniors, according to Chancellor Dan Arvizu.

Its not first-time, full-time freshmen that is dropping, Arvizu said. (Freshman enrollment) is down 100  maybe not even that  students.

Graduate student enrollment went up by 0.8%.

However, there was a noticeable decrease in undergraduate sophomores, juniors and seniors.

Thats alarming to us, Arvizu said. Were so focused on retention. Its not because theyre not doing well. Its because theyve had to step out for risk reasons relative to finances and family matters.

On Sept. 3, NMSU had 21,694 students across all campuses. Heres how each campus fared in enrollment from last year to this year:

The main campus declined 2.3%; NMSU Carlsbad grew by 13.1%; NMSU Grants grew by 11.3%; NMSU Alamogordo grew by 0.5%;

NMSUs largest two-year campus, Dona Ana Community College, declined 8.2%; and NMSUs online college, NMSU O, grew by about 10%.

Last years report saw a drop in enrollment systemwide, while the main campus held steady, which was not the case this year.

Arvizu explained that NMSU is now conducting an investigation into the causes, but he has some ideas based on DACCs recent investigation.

(At DACC), theyve looked at the group by at-risk students versus not-at-risk students, Arvizu said. What weve seen this past year, from 20 to 21, is a 42% drop in that cohort group. Thats where most of the people we have lost are coming from. The not-at-risk group is up 34%.

At-risk students are considered by three factors in college: first-generation students, low-income students and students caring for dependents at home. Arvizu said that about two-thirds of NMSUs student population are considered at risk.

Although this was revealed by a DACC enrollment investigation, Arvizu expects that the main Las Cruces campus will reflect a similar result of at-risk students leaving the school in higher numbers.

Although a 3% decrease in enrollment seems small, it can have a big impact.

Enrollment makes up roughly 33% of the universitys budget, according to Arvizu.

When everythings in decline, youre not only not increasing revenues, (but also) youre decreasing revenues, Arvizu said. Thats a bad combination. It is absolutely imperative that we grow.

NMSU LEADS 2025, the universitys five-year strategic plan, aims to have about 16,500 students on the main campus by 2025. Arvizu explained that this is meant to reflect NMSUs peak enrollment in 2010, with over 18,000 students, but the goal is lower due to the mission to graduate students at a faster rate.

According to a LEADS 2025 presentation from 2019, the university had aimed to be over 15,000 students by fall 2021. As of September, there are not quite 14,000 students on the Las Cruces campus.

Arvizu said the 16,500 goal might be a stretch because it was set before the COVID-19 pandemic, but hes still optimistic.

Were looking at: How do we control our own destiny? Arvizu said. The way you do that is to be attractive and be competitive, invest in the infrastructure, and then make sure that youve got the programs that attract students.
TAIPEI, Taiwan  With record numbers of military flights near Taiwan over the last week, China has been showing a new intensity and military sophistication as it steps up its harassment of the island it claims as its own and asserts its territorial ambitions in the region.

Chinas Peoples Liberation Army flew 56 planes off the southwest coast of Taiwan on Monday, setting a new record and capping four days of sustained pressure involving 149 flights. All were in international airspace, but prompted Taiwanese defense forces to scramble in response and raised fears that any misstep could provoke an unintended escalation.

The sorties came as China, with growing diplomatic and military power, faces greater pushback from countries in the region and an increasing naval presence from the United States and other Western democracies in Asia as Taiwan pleads for more global support and recognition.

The U.S. called Chinas latest actions risky and destabilizing, while China responded that the U.S. selling weapons to Taiwan and its ships navigating the Taiwan Strait were provocative.

At the same time as the flights, the U.S. stepped up naval maneuvers in the Indo-Pacific with its allies, challenging Beijings territorial claims in critical waterways.

Taiwanese Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng told legislators Wednesday that the situation is the most severe in the 40 years since Ive enlisted.

While most agree that war is not imminent, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen warned that more is at stake if Beijing makes good on past threats to seize the island by force if necessary.

If Taiwan were to fall, the consequences would be catastrophic for regional peace and the democratic alliance system, she wrote in an impassioned op-ed in Foreign Affairs magazine published Tuesday. It would signal that in todays global contest of values, authoritarianism has the upper hand over democracy.

China regularly flies military aircraft into Taiwans air defense identification zone, international airspace that Taiwan counts as a buffer in its defense strategy, although previous flights have usually involved a handful of planes at most.

Perhaps more significant than the number of planes was the constitution of the group, with fighters, bombers and airborne early warning aircraft, said Euan Graham, a defense analyst with the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Singapore.

Thats the level of sophistication  it looks like a strike package, and thats part of the step up in pressure, he said. This is not a couple of fighters coming close and then going straight back after putting one wing across the median; this is a much more purposeful maneuver.

Controlling Taiwan and its airspace is key to Chinas military strategy, with the area where the most recent sorties took place also leading to the west Pacific and the South China Sea.

The latest maneuvers bring the total number of flights to more than 815 as of Monday since the Taiwanese government started publicly releasing the numbers a little more than a year ago.

China has been rapidly improving and strengthening its military, and the most recent flights demonstrate a greater level of technical expertise and power, said Chen-Yi Tu, a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research in Taiwan.

Its a marked contrast from 20, 30 years ago, when Chinese forces couldnt refuel in the air, or fly across the water, said Oriana Skylar Mastro, a fellow at Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University and non-resident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C.

I think China is trying to remind the U.S. and Taiwan that this is not then, that they have options, she said. They can do what they want, that they wont be deterred.

At the same time, many democracies have been increasingly vocal in their support of Taiwan and have stepped up naval operations in the area.

As China was conducting its most recent flights, 17 ships from six navies  the U.S., Britain, Japan, Netherlands, Canada and New Zealand  including three aircraft carriers and a Japanese helicopter carrier  carried out joint maneuvers off the Japanese island of Okinawa, northeast of Taiwan, meant to show their commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.

A few days earlier, the British frigate HMS Richmond transited through the Taiwan Strait, announcing its presence on Twitter and angering China, which condemned the move as a meaningless display of presence with an insidious intention.

The international actions are an attempt to counter Chinas frequent claim that its own actions are in response to American moves, and demonstrate that democracies intend to defend established maritime laws and norms, Graham said.

When the U.K. sends a ship through the Taiwan Strait for the first time since 2008 and it sailed down the median line, the point that its making is that they know China knows where that line is, he said. In order for the status quo to be meaningful, it has to be upheld and the most emphatic way to do that is to physically demonstrate with a government asset like a warship.

Australia, which also spoke out against Chinas recent flights, last month announced a deal with the U.S. and Britain to obtain nuclear-powered submarines, which was seen as a strong statement it planned to play a greater role.

And Japan, which has long been cautious with its relations with China, a key trading partner, now considers the country a security threat amid Beijings increasingly assertive activity in the regional seas and around the Taiwan Strait. New Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said dialogue with China is important but Japan should also team up with like-minded democracies and step up its security alliance with the U.S. and other partners while Tokyo also strengthens its defense capabilities.

We are seeing a slow emergence of some sort of coalition of democracies in the region that are trying to come together to build some sort of mechanism to respond to Chinese behavior in the region, said J. Michael Cole, a Taipei-based senior fellow with Global Taiwan Institute in Washington, D.C.

Under longstanding policy, the United States provides political and military support for Taiwan, but does not explicitly promise to defend it from a Chinese attack.

Still, as the U.S. increases its military activities in the Indo-Pacific region, the Chinese response has been to increase its own, said Yue Gang, a retired Chinese army colonel and Beijing-based military commentator.

The Biden administration has been increasing military deterrence against China, not only by dispatching many warships and warplanes, but also showcasing its allies, he said. One of the possibilities is that the mainland hopes to send a signal it will not be misjudged as weak.

The Chinese flights into the Taiwanese defense buffer zone have forced Taiwan to scramble its own aircraft and anti-aircraft missile batteries, wearing down their readiness and reducing their capabilities, Yue said.

Every time a warplane takes off, the engine life is reduced to some extent, he said.

In addition to keeping Taiwan on edge, the sorties also help the Chinese pilots keep their edge, and could eventually help give them an element of surprise if the scenario is to eventually use hard power to resolve their unification claim over Taiwan, Graham said.

Its hard to know if exercise 39 or exercise 57 is the one that isnt an exercise, he said.

For the moment, however, most agree that is not the immediate goal.

Its more signaling and psychological warfare and a warning to the U.S. to not be so close to Taiwan, Mastro said.

___

Rising reported from Bangkok.
MANCHESTER, England  Prime Minister Boris Johnson shrugged off Britains problems of empty gas pumps, worker shortages and gaps on store shelves as he told fellow Conservatives on Wednesday that the U.K. would emerge from Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic as a more productive and dynamic nation.

Johnson told the partys annual conference that hed end decades of drift and dither and tackle long-term structural weaknesses, especially a reliance on low-cost labor from abroad.

Were embarking now on a change of direction that has been long overdue in the U.K. economy, Johnson said, vowing not to use immigration as an excuse for the failure to invest.

Relaxed and ebullient in front of a friendly crowd, Johnson did not note that much of the alleged drift and dither came under Conservative governments. The party has been in power for two-thirds of the past four decades.

Johnson extoled the Brexit freedoms brought by Britains exit from the European Union, even as shortages of truck drivers and other workers cause economic hiccups. Brexit ended the right of EU citizens to work visa-free in Britain and has left growing gaps in the economy.

Delegates at the conference in Manchester, northwest England, gave a standing ovation to a speech that was long on optimism but short on concrete policies, and seemed well insulated from the world outside.

Britain has been through a turbulent time since the Conservatives last met in person two years ago. Then, Johnson vowed to get Brexit done after years of wrangling over Britains exit terms from the EU.

That promise won Johnson a huge parliamentary majority in December 2019. He led Britain out of the EU last year, ending the U.K.s seamless economic integration with a trading bloc of almost half a billion people. Britain also has been hammered by the coronavirus pandemic, registering more than 136,000 deaths, Europes highest toll after Russia.

The pandemic, which put much of the economy on ice, and Brexit have combined to throw Britains economy out of sync.

Britains current autumn of inconvenience is not as dire as the infamous Winter of Discontent in 1978-79, when thousands of striking workers crippled essential services, a crisis that ultimately led to the election of Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. But supply problems are causing the most widespread economic disruption in years.

A truck driver shortage, due partly to a testing backlog and partly to an exodus of European workers, has snarled British supply chains. That has left supermarkets with some empty shelves, fast-food chains without chicken and gas pumps dry.

This week the government called in the army, getting scores of soldiers to drive tanker trucks. It also says it will issue up to 5,500 short-term emergency visas for foreign truckers.

Other struggling parts of the economy say they arent getting the same quick action. Pig farmers protested outside the Conservative conference, saying a shortage of abattoir butchers means thousands of hogs may have to be slaughtered on farms, ending up in landfills.

Its a complete and utter waste, said farmer Meryl Ward, who urged the government to recruit European butchers to ease the crisis.

Johnson says businesses will have to tough it out by improving pay and conditions to get British workers to fill the empty jobs.

He said the move to a high-wage, high-skilled, high-productivity economy will take time, and sometimes it will be difficult, but that is the change that people voted for in 2016 when they opted for Brexit.

Some economists say Johnsons argument that immigration pushes down wages is misleading, and that his economic plan is incomplete.

The prime minister is right to say that the U.Ks economic model is broken, but his lack of policies to remedy this speaks volumes, said George Dibb of the Institute for Public Policy Research, a center-left think tank. Labor market shortages alone wont lift wages and working conditions across the U.K. economy.

Many Conservatives too are worried the winter could bring a hit on voters pocketbooks due to a new health care tax, rising prices, soaring energy costs from a global surge in natural gas prices and a cut to welfare benefits.

Starting Wednesday, the government is withdrawing a 20 pound ($27) a week welfare boost that helped more than 4 million families make ends meet during the pandemic.

Danny Sriskandarajah, chief executive of Oxfam GB, said many people who rely on the benefit are low-paid workers.

Removing this safety net, despite warnings from across the political spectrum, will cause immense hardship to families who are already barely keeping their heads above water, he said.

A squeeze on living standards could make it harder for Johnson to meet his key goal of leveling up the U.K. by spreading economic opportunity beyond the south of England, where most business and investment is centered. That promise helped him win working-class votes in areas that long were strongholds of the center-left Labour Party.

It is also pushing the Conservative Party out of its comfort zone as the champion of small government and low public spending. Johnsons ambitious and expensive list of promises ranges from new railways and roads to slashing Britains carbon emissions and reintroducing beavers to its landscape.

Voters will eventually judge whether the Conservatives have delivered on their promises. But for now, with most opinion polls giving the party a lead over a demoralized Labour, delegates in Manchester were as buoyant as their famously irrepressible leader.

They packed meeting halls and sipped warm white wine at sweaty receptions, as if Britains pandemic-plagued months of lockdowns, masks and social distancing were a bad dream. The delegates were visibly younger, more diverse and less dominated by affluent residents of southern England than they had been for years.

You wouldnt have seen this even 10, 15 years ago, the north turning out in such droves to support the Conservative Party, said Max Darby, a delegate who was born in the northern England town of Scunthorpe. I think Boris has to be doing something right if people like me are more than happy  in fact proud  to vote Conservative.
Al-MUFAGARA, West Bank  Dozens of Jewish settlers swept down from the dusty hills, hurling rocks at a small Palestinian village in broad daylight, smashing windows, cars and water cisterns as families hid inside their homes and Israeli soldiers looked on.

Palestinians in this rural part of the occupied West Bank say last weeks attack was especially violent but not unusual. They view it as part of a much larger effort by Israel to force them off their land, including by cutting off vital water resources in a parched region.

Days after the attack  in which a 4-year-old boy was hospitalized after being struck in the head by a stone as his family hid inside their home  residents of the village of Al-Mufagara surveyed the damage. It included the smashed water cisterns on which the Bedouin community and its livestock rely.

They attacked everything we have, our water containers, our animals, our trees, our houses, said Mohammed Rahbi, deputy head of the rural Yatta regional council. It was an attack on humanity itself.

The hardscrabble region is in whats known as Area C, the 60% of the West Bank that is under full Israeli military control, according to agreements reached in the 1990s. Palestinians say its nearly impossible to secure building permits, even for basic infrastructure like water and electricity. The military has designated an area that includes Al-Mufagara as a firing range, making it even harder for residents to remain on the land.

Israeli authorities have meanwhile tolerated the construction of two nearby settlement outposts that are illegal even under Israeli law, where those who took part in last Wednesdays attack are believed to have come from.

After ambushing a local shepherd and killing a number of his sheep, the settlers  shirtless with scarves wrapped around their faces  rampaged through the small cluster of stone homes and animal pens.

Footage released by the Israeli rights group BTselem showed Israeli soldiers standing among the settlers as they hurled the stones. At one point a soldier threw a tear gas grenade and shoved the Palestinian who was filming the attack. This is our home, the Palestinian shouted.

Israeli police said they arrested five Israeli suspects, including a teenager. All have since been released.

The military declined a request for an interview. But its top commander overseeing the West Bank, Maj. Gen. Yehuda Fuchs, last week held a rare meeting with Palestinian residents and said Israel is committed to the security of everyone in the area.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid condemned the attack as terror and blamed it on a violent and dangerous fringe that he said should be brought to justice. The U.S. State Department also condemned the violence.

But rights groups say settlers have launched several similar attacks over the past year, with the military doing little to stop them.

This is happening all the time, said Hagai El-Ad, the head of BTselem. Soldiers sometimes even participate directly in such assaults on Palestinians. And this is part of that bigger state project of forcible transfer of Palestinians from their communities in large parts of the West Bank.

Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 war and has granted the Palestinian Authority limited autonomy in cities and towns that make up less than 40% of the territory. The Palestinians want the entire West Bank to form the main part of their future state.

Around 500,000 Jewish settlers live in the West Bank amid more than 2.5 million Palestinians. Most settlers live in the more than 120 settlements authorized by the Israeli government, but more radical settlers have built dozens of outposts without state permission in rural areas.

The nationalist parties that dominate Israels political system view the West Bank as the biblical heartland of the Jewish people and support the settlers. Israels current prime minister, Naftali Bennett, is a longtime supporter of settlements who is opposed to a Palestinian state.

Israeli authorities are reluctant to evacuate outposts because doing so ignites clashes between soldiers and settlers, and successive governments have retroactively authorized 15 outposts. Israel subsidizes settlements and provides water and electricity to many outposts.

The Palestinians view all settlements as illegal and an obstacle to peace, a position with wide international support.

Even as the settlements develop largely unchecked, the 1,300 Palestinians living in Al-Mufagara and the surrounding area, known as Masafer Yatta, are unable to build or maintain basic infrastructure. According to statistics published by Peace Now, an anti-settlement Israeli monitoring group, Israeli authorities approved around 1% of Palestinian requests for Area C construction permits submitted between 2009 and 2016.

Israel is just trying to empty Masafer of the communities that have lived there for generations, said Quamar Mishirqi-Assad, director of Haqel, a rights group that works with local communities.

Rahbi said he has submitted dozens of applications for new housing and irrigation projects that have been rejected. He says Israel only approves such projects in the nearby community of Al-Tuwani, which is outside its declared firing range.

A spokesman for COGAT, the Israeli defense body that grants the permits, said the refusals in the military zone were for the safety of the residents. Speaking on condition of anonymity under military guidelines, he could not explain why settler communities, including unauthorized outposts, do not face the same barriers.

This was not the first time local sources of water have been harmed.

Over the last two years, the military has destroyed nearly all the pipelines linking Masafer to Israels national water carrier, as well as more than 20 local wells, according to Al-Haq, a Palestinian human rights group. COGAT had no immediate comment.

Rural Palestinian communities often struggle with shortages. A report released Friday by the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said 660,000 Palestinians have limited access to water and denounced Israels recent destruction of vital water sources in Masafer. Israel refused to comment on the report, saying the U.N. is biased against it.

According to Rahbi, most communities have built small pipes that connect to al-Tuwani, the only village in the area connected to Israels water supplier, Mekorot.

But Rahbi said it isnt enough. Residents collect rainwater during the winter months in plastic cisterns and purchase expensive water tankers from nearby cities. Suppliers often charge extra because of the poor roads.

During the settler attack on Wednesday, many of the plastic cisterns and pipes were damaged and will be costly to replace.

Despite the growing hardships, the Palestinians say they are determined to stay.

People here are rooted, in love with the land, Rahbi said.
PRAGUE  Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis is heading into a parliamentary election this week hit by yet another scandal that links him and hundreds of other wealthy people to offshore accounts.

Findings by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists dubbed the Pandora Papers shed light on how the elite and the corrupt used offshore accounts to shield their assets from taxes or to hide ill-gotten gains.

Heres a look at the previously hidden dealings making waves in the Czech Republic and the countrys election taking place on Friday and Saturday:

WHAT DID BABIS DO?

In 2009, Babis, a populist billionaire, put $22 million into shell companies to buy 16 properties in southern France, including a chateau, the investigation found. They were not disclosed in Babis required asset declarations, according to documents obtained by the journalism groups Czech partner, Investigace.cz.

Babis has denied any wrongdoing and alleged that the recent revelation was meant to harm him in the election.

I dont own any offshore. I dont own any property in France, he said. Its nasty, false accusations that are meant to influence the election. Thats all.

The Czech Republics organized crime police unit said it would investigate the situation. The countrys political opposition is demanding that Babis prove his actions were in line with law.

WHATS THE POLITICAL SITUATION?

Babis, 67, has had a turbulent term featuring numerous scandals, but all public polls favor his centrist ANO (YES) movement to win the election with about 25% of the vote.

Five opposition parties with policies closer to the European Unions mainstream have put aside their differences to create two coalitions aimed at ousting the euroskeptic prime minister from power.

Babis has led a minority coalition government of ANO and the leftist Social Democrats with support from the Communists, giving the far-left party an indirect share of power for the first time since 1989. The Communist Party vehemently opposes NATO and maintains friendly ties with the ruling communists in Cuba, China and North Korea.

Both the Social Democrats and the Communists might struggle to win parliamentary seats at all, this time around. The main challenge for Babis main challengers is to get united.

The center-right Together coalition consists of the conservative Civic Democratic Party and Christian Democrats and the liberal-conservative TOP 09 party. The liberal Pirate Party and STAN, a group of mayors and independent candidates, formed a center-left coalition.

Each coalition is predicted to win about 20% of the vote.

Despite their differences on many issues, including climate change, same-sex marriage and the adoption of the euro, the opposition parties all support EU and NATO membership.

BABIS POPULIST CAMPAIGN PLEDGE: NO MIGRANTS

Babis has bet on an aggressive campaign, with migration a major topic. He has promised voters that not a single illegal migrant would be allowed to enter the Czech Republic and accused the opposition  with no evidence  of inviting in refugees.

He has also pledged to protect the Czechs from the European Union, which he claims wants to destroy the countrys sovereignty. The EUs plan to tackle climate change would also harm Czech peoples way of life, Babis has claimed.

Targeting his key supporters, he increased pensions more than required and lowered income taxes amid a record deficit caused by the pandemic, a move that worries economists.

Babis is trying to divide the society, to create an atmosphere of fear for some of their safety and present himself as the only one to protect them, Palacky University political scientist Tomas Lebeda said. Its a classic strategy used by most populists, by Donald Trump, by (Hungarian Prime Minister) Viktor Orban.

Babis, who calls Hungarys nationalist leader his friend, invited Orban to join him at an election rally last week.

Its obviously a reason for concern, not just for Europe, but above all for the Czech Republic, given whats been going on in Hungary, Lebeda said.

Although Orban is popular in his country, critics accuse him of autocratic tendencies, citing his seizing control of Hungarys media to control political narratives. Several journalists from the Czech, German and French media were denied access to a news conference Orban and Babis held in the northern city of Usti nad Labem.

A POLITICIAN WHOS ACTIONS ARE OFTEN QUESTIONED

The Pandora Papers report is not the first time that Babis wealth and business activity have become a political issue since his party won the 2017 election.

A quarter of a million Czechs rallied against him twice in 2019 over his alleged fraud involving EU funds and allegations of his cooperation with the countrys communist-era secret police. The protests were by far the biggest anti-government demonstrations since the countrys 1989 Velvet Revolution.

An EU investigation found that as prime minister Babis had a conflict of interest from his former business empire. When he took office, Czech law required him to transfer his Agrofert conglomerate of around 250 companies into two trust funds, but the EU concluded that he still controls them. The companies include two national newspapers and a popular radio station.

His resolve to run the government as a company was tested by the coronavirus pandemic. Babis went through five health ministers, and the Czech Republic has reported more than 30,400 COVID-19 deaths among a population of 10.7 million.

IS AN EXTREME COALITION AHEAD?

Depending on elections results, Babis may face the option of forming a coalition with the Communists or with Freedom and Direct Democracy, the most anti-migrant, anti-Muslim party in the Czech Republic.

Freedom and Direct Democracy hopes to equal if not better its showing in the last election, when it won 10.6% of the vote. It wants to lead the country out of the EU and hold a referendum on NATO membership.

Its leader, Tomio Okamura, has condemned the government for bringing to the country 170 Afghan citizens, including local staffers at the Czech embassy in Kabul and interpreters who helped the Czech armed forces and their families.

The group has also protested alleged discrimination against Czechs who are not vaccinated against the coronavirus.
JAKARTA, Indonesia  A Chicago woman convicted of assisting her boyfriend in her mothers murder and stuffing the body in a suitcase on Indonesias resort island of Bali in 2014 is being released early from a 10-year sentence, a prison official confirmed Wednesday.

Heather Mack, who was 18 when she was arrested a day after the discovery of Sheila von Wiese-Macks body in the trunk of a taxi parked near the St. Regis Bali Resort, will be freed and deported to the United States on Oct. 29, said Lili, the Kerobokan Female Prison chief.

Lili, who goes by a single name, told The Associated Press that Mack received a total of 34 months of sentence reductions, which are often granted to prisoners on major holidays, including a six-month remission of sentence awarded to her by the Indonesian government during the countrys Independence Day in August.

She has shown to be a good person, she was entitled to the sentence reduction, Lili said. She looked happy when she learned this  and began to pack up excitedly.

Mack and her then-boyfriend, Tommy Schaefer, were detained in August 2014 and convicted in April 2015. Schafer received an 18-year sentence.

Before Mack was convicted, she gave birth to her and Schaefers daughter, Stella Schaefer. There were also reports of a troubled relationship between Mack and her mother, with officials confirming that police had been called to the familys Oak Park, Illinois, home dozens of times.

In 2016, Robert Bibbs, a cousin of Schaefer, pleaded guilty to helping to plan the killing in exchange for $50,000 that Mack was expected to inherit, and was sentenced the next year to nine years in prison.

Upon her release, Mack can under Indonesian law be reunited with her daughter, who is now 6.

But her Indonesian attorney, Yulius Benyamin Seran, has said earlier that Mack, who has not seen the little girl for about 20 months because authorities halted prison visits during the coronavirus pandemic, had asked Indonesian authorities to let the girl remain with her foster family to avoid media attention.

Under Indonesian law, a deported foreigner will be rejected entry to Indonesia up to a maximum six months.
DENVER  A leading Democratic challenger to Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert in next years election, Colorado state Sen. Kerry Donovan, has suspended fundraising for her campaign after the states independent congressional redistricting commission approved a map that places Donovans residence in another district.

Donovan tweeted this week that she wont accept donations for now because the proposed map for the 3rd Congressional District, which Boebert represents, doesnt include Donovans hometown of Vail or her ranch in neighboring Wolcott.

The map submitted to Colorados Supreme Court for approval places Donovan in the 2nd District, which is represented by Democratic U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse. It also changes 3rd District lines to more heavily favor Republicans, based on recent election results, as part of a redistricting process that creates a new eighth district for Colorado.

Federal law requires members of Congress to live in the state they represent, but they arent required to live in a district they wish to represent  meaning Donovan can still seek Boeberts seat without a residence in the 3rd District, The Grand Junction Sentinel reports.

However, congressional candidates who do so almost always face harsh criticism for being from outside the districts during their campaigns.

Donovan, who is term-limited, has raised about $1.2 million for her campaign. Boebert is seeking a second term representing a district that covers much of western and southern Colorado and has raised about $1.8 million so far.

Donovan complained that the proposed map would make the 3rd District less competitive and that the statewide redrawing could produce a delegation thats split 4-4 between Democrats and Republicans even though Colorado has trended Democratic in recent years.

Democrat Joe Biden won last years presidential election by 13 percentage points, and Democrats control the statehouse, the governorship and nearly all statewide offices. Democrats currently hold four of Colorados seven congressional seats.

The proposed redistricting creates a new, competitive eighth district north of Denver.

This new map, if finalized, ignores the will of the voters and makes the district less competitive than it was, and I cant in good conscience continue to raise money from hardworking Americans for a campaign that lacks, for the moment at least, a clear path forward, Donovan said.

She added: Regardless of what happens in the next few weeks, please know that Im not going anywhere, and I will keep fighting with everything Ive got for the people of Colorado.

In an interview Wednesday, Donovan emphasized she isnt abandoning her campaign but is suspending acceptance of donations, noting she has received more than 60,000 individual contributions in a grass-roots campaign not accepting corporate political action committee support. She said she will closely monitor what the Supreme Court decides before deciding her next steps.

The redistricting panel of four Democrats, four Republicans and four unaffiliated voters, none of them officeholders, approved the map last week. The panels criteria for making its redistricting decisions included race competitiveness and goals such as keeping communities of interest together and ensuring that minority voting rights take precedence.

Boebert defeated five-term Rep. Scott Tipton in the 2020 Republican primary and defeated Democrat Diane Mitsch Bush by a 6.2% margin.

She has closely aligned herself with former President Donald Trump and is a vocal critic of the Biden administration and congressional Democrats.
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Congratulations are in order for the 'Loose Women' star and her husband-to-be Joe Swash as the couple have welcomed a bouncing baby girl, their second child together.

Oct 6, 2021

AceShowbiz - British TV personality Stacey Solomon is a new mum after welcoming a baby girl with fiance Joe Swash on her 32nd birthday.

The "Loose Women" star, 32, took to her Instagram Story on Tuesday (05Oct21) and posted a photo of a pink blanket, adding the caption, "Yesterday I got the best birthday present"

Stacey is already mum to Rex, who she also shares with Swash, and teenager Zachary and nine-year-old Leighton - her sons from previous relationships.

Joe is also dad to Harry, his son from a former relationship.

The newborn is the pair's first daughter.

"She's Here," she introduced the bundle of joy to her followers. "Born at Pickle Cottage on mummy's birthday. Our little girl Happy birthday my darling daughter We all love you more than you could ever imagine. Your brothers, your daddy and I are so in love. Thank you for the most incredible 9 months. Now we cannot wait for the rest of our lives with you"

Before the baby was born, she did a family photoshoot with her children and penned a letter to her fetus, "I don't know much darling girl, but all I do know for sure little one is that your brothers will always be right behind you."

"To love you, and protect you and watch over you no matter what. I can not wait to watch you all grow together. I think about it every day They love you so much already that they were more excited to feel you than the fluffy fresh new carpet and that's saying something. We cannot wait to hold you little one. And your brothers are ready to big big brothers to a little sister"
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The 'Singin' in the Rain' actress loves the way director Steven Spielberg revamped the most famous number of the classic 'West Side Story' in the upcoming remake.

Oct 6, 2021

AceShowbiz - Rita Moreno has applauded filmmaker Steven Spielberg for the way he reworked "West Side Story" 's most famous musical number, "America", in his new movie.

One of the most memorable scenes in the 1961 film - which swept the Oscars and earned Moreno a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award - is the show-stopping song, in which her character, Anita, and her fellow Puerto Rican immigrants dance and sing on a rooftop - and the actress was thrilled to learn Spielberg was planning to breathe new life into the hit in his revamp.

Rita, who plays a shopkeeper in the remake, is pleased the director did not try to recreate the same choreography in the original film, created by dancer Jerome Robbins.

"I love the way they did America," Rita tells Variety in a new interview. "It's completely different from the rooftop America that we did, and believe me, that's a terrific thing. Spielberg and (choreographer) Justin (Peck) decided they weren't going to compete with something that's so iconic." The actress also serves as an an executive producer on the film and raves, "The breadth of Steven's talent is enormous."

The remake will hit cinemas on 10 December (21) - one day before Moreno turns 90.

A day before the movie release, Rita Moreno will be lauded at the Critics Choice Association's inaugural Latino cinema celebration. She will be joined by other honorees like Lin-Manuel Miranda and Demian Bichir.
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The 'Hunger Games' actor is grateful to be alive as he regains his tastebuds after undergoing 'high-dose radiation and chemotherapy' to battle oral cancer.

Oct 6, 2021

AceShowbiz - Stanley Tucci's tastebuds are only now coming back to life after a three-year battle with oral cancer.

The actor and cookbook author admits losing his sense of taste was devastating and led to him losing 30 pounds.

"I couldn't do surgery, because the tumour was too large... so high-dose radiation and chemotherapy are the only things that can help, and luckily the cure rate was very high," he told "Good Morning America" while promoting his new book, ironically titled "Taste".

"I was unable to eat solid food for six months, I lost 30 pounds and my tastebuds and saliva glands were destroyed, as was the inside of my mouth. It has taken, really, three years to get back to almost normal."

"That said, it's a small price to pay for being alive and to enjoy the company of my family."

Stanley recently revealed that many of the dishes that were cooked for him during the filming of his new cooking and travel series, "Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy", had to be thrown away - because he had no appetite.

"It was hard because at the time I could taste everything, but I couldn't necessarily swallow," he told the New York Times, revealing he struggled while eating a traditional steak florentina, "I had to chew it for 10 minutes to get it down my throat."

The 60-year-old actor is now reportedly in remission.
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During a recent interview, the 'Halloween Kills' actress additionally opens up about the real reason why she never used her middle name until she was launching her career .

Oct 6, 2021

AceShowbiz - Jamie Lee Curtis' husband calls her "Janie" when they're getting intimate.

The "Halloween Kills" actress never used to like her moniker because other children poked fun at her for having a boy's name - so she asked her parents, late Hollywood stars Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh, to modify it.

Although the name change never stuck, the 62-year-old star admits her husband, Christopher Guest, can't resist reminding her of her short-lived alternative identity when they're enjoying "moments of great intimacy."

She says, "For about a week, my family - I told them, 'I want you to call me Janie, so for like a week, my parents are like, 'Whatever.' They would say 'Janie,' which didn't last very long. My husband will - in moments of great intimacy, when you are not trying to laugh, if you know what I mean - when you are going for something else, Christopher will look at me and say, 'Oh, Janie,' " which would make her crack up.

Jamie adds she never used her middle name until she was launching her career because it would have felt "pretentious" to do so.

Asked if she ever just went by Jamie Curtis during an appearance on "The Late Late Show with James Corden", she explains, "Oh, yes - many, many, many, many times. That was who I was until I became an actor. I would never have called myself a three-name person. That felt a little pretentious."

Jamie and Christopher have been married for 36 years and share two children together. Back in 2018, the actress shared the secret to her long-lasting marriage.

"Don't leave," she told Good Housekeeping. "There's a recovery phrase that says, 'Stay on the busthe scenery will change.' You think you're having a bad week, but stay on the bus, because one of these days you'll look out the window and it'll be beautiful. I think it can apply to almost anything where you feel unhappy in that moment. I'm not a wild romantic. I'm a realist. I respect him. And I just don't leave."
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In newly-unveiled court papers, Kili Anderson seems to confirm long-running rumors that the hip-hop mogul has fathered a child with her during their extramarital affair.

Oct 6, 2021

AceShowbiz - Dr. Dre may have fathered a child out of wedlock during her marriage to Nicole Young. Rumors of the music producer's affair with Kili Anderson which allegedly resulted in a child first surfaced in 2013, but he denied the affair. However, newly-unveiled court papers seem to contradict his statement.

In court documents filed in 2019 in a lawsuit filed against Kili in the Superior Court of California by a former employee of the tanning salon for wrongful termination, Dr. Dre's name comes up. According to Page Six which has learned of the papers, the employee, named Brian Zerba, was fired for alleged offenses including his curiosity about Kili's supposed relationship with the hip-hop mogul.

The papers claim, "Additionally, the owner of the tanning salon Kili Anderson, is said to have been in a relationship with the famous rapper Dr. Dre, with whom she had a child, and therefore she required all at will employees to sign a confidentiality agreement that they would not pry into her life and would keep all things that they learned about her life private."

"Plaintiff constantly violated this term of his employment by asking other employees what they knew about Ms. Anderson, her child, and what was the nature of her relationship with Dr. Dre," part of the docs further reads. Kili's lawyers additionally claim, "Plaintiff believes that defendant has money because she is involved in a relationship with a celebrity/artist," calling the lawsuit "a shakedown."

Kili and Dr. Dre's two other alleged mistresses, Jillian Speer and Crystal Rogers, were deposed by Nicole in her divorce case. They were fined $2,500 for "resisting" an effort to subpoena them. Their lawyer Kris LeFan had filed a motion claiming none of them had "relevant" information in Dr. Dre's divorce case, but the judge disagreed.

Nicole filed for divorce from Dr. Dre in June 2020 after over two decades of marriage. The exes have been entangled in long court battle over spousal support.
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In the Tuesday, October 5 episode of 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show', the 'King of Queens' alum shows how close they are as she clearly has no problem telling each other how she really feels.

Oct 6, 2021

AceShowbiz - Ellen DeGeneres' interview with Leah Remini almost takes an awkward turn. In the Tuesday, October 5 episode of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show", the "King of Queens" alum showed how close they are as she clearly had no problem telling each other how she really felt.

In the episode, the 51-year-old shared how much she loves scaring her 17-year-old daughter Sofia. She feels that it's "normal for a parent to scare the crap out of their kids." She later showed a photo of a mask that she and her husband Angelo Pagan had picked out in an attempt to frighten Sofia, who is currently a high school senior.

Leah also recalled a time when she had her assistant hide in the star's dance instructor's car. "One of my teachers was there, and I had my assistant dress up in my pigtails...," Leah recounted before she stopped.

The actress seemingly thought that Ellen was about to prank her. "No, because you're acting really interested. So, like, I don't know if you're doing that thing where you're, like, into my story, so that...."

In response to the "Kevin Can Wait" alum, the host explained, "I'm always interested!" Leah, however, didn't buy it as she clapped back, "You're not, Ellen! Stop," before playfully slapping the host on the wrist. Ellen then acted hurt as replying, "It's my last season. Don't hurt me."

The two then stopped playing around as Leah told the host, "I love you, I miss you and I'm so happy to be here on your last season. But anyway, thank you for having me. ... Now back to me."

This is not the first time for Ellen to have a brief tensed moment with her guest. Back in November 2019, Dakota Johnson called out Ellen for lying about not being invited to the "Fifty Shades of Grey" star's 30th birthday party. "Actually, no. That's not the truth, Ellen. You were invited," Dakota clarified.
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The fourth annual event, which is presented by the Critics Choice Association, will also present 'Moonlight' director Barry Jenkins and 'Black-ish' star Anthony Anderson among its honorees.

Oct 6, 2021

AceShowbiz - Oscar winners Halle Berry and Jennifer Hudson will be recognized by the Critics Choice Association (CCA) at its Celebration of Black Cinema & Television in December.

"Moonlight" director Barry Jenkins and "Black-ish" star Anthony Anderson are also among the honourees at this year's ceremony, where television achievements will be recognized for the first time.

Berry, who is still the only black woman to win a Best Actress Oscar, will be honored for her career, as well as for her directorial debut with Netflix biopic "Bruised", in which she also stars as disgraced MMA fighter Jackie Justice.

"Berry's iconic performances throughout her career have showcased her brilliance as an actor and blazed the trail for Black performers who have come after her. She has become the personification of excellence as she transitions from being in front of the camera to sitting in the director's chair," Shawn Edwards, CCA board member and executive producer of the Celebration of Black Cinema & Television, told Deadline.

Anderson will receive the Producer Award for Television for his work as a producer of hit sitcom "Black-ish" and its spinoffs "Grown-ish" and "Mixed-ish", while Hudson will be handed the Actress Award for Film for her performance in the Aretha Franklin biopic, "Respect".

Jenkins, whose 2016 film "Moonlight" won a Best Picture Oscar, will receive the Director Award for Television for his critically acclaimed Amazon series "The Underground Railroad", about U.S. slaves' attempts to escape their plight.

"2021 was an incredible year of creativity and growth in film and television, and we're thrilled to be able to honor the changemakers who are making a difference," said CCA CEO, Joey Berlin.

"Jennifer both starred in and executive produced 'Respect', giving the performance of a lifetime. Barry transformed the small screen with his innovative and thought-provoking series, 'The Underground Railroad' which he wrote, executive produced and directed, and Anthony has become one of the most prolific and admired producers on television with 'black-ish', 'grown-ish', and 'mixed-ish'."

The event will be held in Los Angeles on December 6.
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The 'Wreck-It Ralph' actress slams the lack of representation of Jews in major roles, accusing Hollywood of picking 'Jewface,' instead of actual Jewish people, for Jewish roles on screen.

Oct 7, 2021

AceShowbiz - Sarah Silverman has hit out at Hollywood for casting non-Jewish people in Jewish roles.

The actress - who is Jewish herself - has criticised the lack of representation in major roles, particularly when the character's "Jewishness" is "front and centre."

Speaking on "The Sarah Silverman Podcast", she said, "There's this long tradition of non-Jews playing Jews. And not just playing people who happen to be Jewish, but people whose Jewishness is their whole being."

"One could argue, for instance, that a Gentile playing Joan Rivers correctly would be doing what is actually called 'Jewface.' "

"'Jewface' - doesn't feel good to say - is defined as when a non-Jew portrays a Jew with the Jewishness front and centre, often with makeup or changing of features, big fake nose, all the New York-y or Yiddish-y inflection."

"And in a time when the importance of representation is seen as so essential and so front and centre, why does ours constantly get breached even today in the thick of it?"

Sarah noted that, if there is a female Jewish character who is "courageous or deserves love, she is never played by a Jew."

Her comments come as Kathryn Hahn - who is Catholic - has been linked to play Joan Rivers in an upcoming biopic, while "On the Basis of Sex" star Felicity Jones and "The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel" actress Rachael Brosnahan played Jewish characters in their respective projects.

While Sarah noted the actresses themselves are not "doing anything wrong," she said the overall situation is "f**ked up."

She added, "Right now, representation f**king matters. It has to also finally matter for Jews as well. Especially Jewish women."
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The 'Thelma and Louise' actress has reached a settlement in her bitter divorce battle with former husband Reza Jarrahy after they ended their 17-year marriage.

Oct 7, 2021

AceShowbiz - Actress Geena Davis has finally put her fourth marriage behind her after settling her bitter divorce from plastic surgeon Reza Jarrahy.

The former couple has spent almost five years fighting over divorce details after ending their 17-year marriage in 2017.

According to a Page Six source, Jarrahy wanted to end the marriage through mediation, dividing their assets and sharing custody of their three kids, a 19-year-old daughter and 17-year-old twin boys, but the "Thelma and Louise" star claimed she and the doctor were never actually legally married and insisted on taking him to court.

The terms of the deal are confidential but the source reveals Reza agreed to settle "just to put this behind him and be free of the nightmare Geena has caused for him."

The insider adds, "The legal fees drove Reza to the brink of bankruptcy. For months on end he had to sleep on friends' couches, in their spare rooms, and even in his car at times in order to keep up with payments to his lawyer. He couldn't have his kids with him while living like that, and it broke his heart."

Davis recently sold the pair's former Pacific Palisades, California home.

Lawyers and representatives for Davis and Jarrahy's attorney have yet to respond to requests for comment.

The actress testified she did not believe she was ever legally married to Jarrahy, even though video footage of the ceremony exists.

The Oscar winner maintained she and her ex never obtained a marriage licence and were married by his father, who she insisted was not qualified under New York law to marry the couple. Jarrahy insisted his father was a legal officiant under Islamic law and reminded Geena she once talked about her "marriage" during a TV interview with Oprah Winfrey.

During a deposition, Davis confessed she had lied to Winfrey.
Gina M. Malczewski, ACS Fellow

Gina received a BS in Chemistry from the University of Dayton, a PhD in Biological Chemistry from the University of Michigan, and did cancer-related postdoctoral research at Michigan Molecular Institute in Midland. She joined Dow Corning in 1984, where she evaluated the biocompatibility of silicones for medical use, developed Si-based substrate binders using biotechnology, characterized the performance of silicones in personal care, tested materials for antimicrobial use and drug delivery, and investigated applications of nano-structured Si materials.

Gina received her secondary teaching certification from Saginaw Valley State University in 2007, which she has used to develop teacher workshops for STEM educators, and conduct hands-on science programs.

Active in the Midland Section of the American Chemical Society and at the National level, Gina became an ACS Fellow in 2019. She has made six HELPS International trips to rural Guatemala, helping to install stoves and water filters, and providing science training to teachers there. Gina and her husband volunteer for the local Red Cross. She is very proud of her family, including her three sons.
REDDING, Calif. - The Shasta County court system is looking to see if the Bay Area woman accused of starting the Fawn Fire is sane enough to stand trial.

Alexandra Souverneva appeared back in court on Tuesday morning but criminal proceedings are suspended until she undergoes a mental health exam.

Former Tehama County District Attorney Gregg Cohen represents Souverneva.

I have met with her extensively. We declared a doubt as to her competence today, Cohen said. The judge agreed and has continued the case. So, right now criminal proceedings are suspended. She does need to meet and see one or two psychiatrists.

Cohen told Action News Now Souverneva is being treated in Shasta County Jail.

Souverneva is set to appear back in court again on Nov. 16 after she's been evaluated by psychiatrists.

But one couple who lost their home to the Fawn Fire is hurt and angry.

RELATED: Suspected Fawn Fire arsonist to be examined by doctors for mental health

She probably is crazy. she has to be to do this, Charles Webb said. They'll probably end up letting her go.

Charles and Debbie Webb lived on their property for almost 15 years. Now, all thats left are burned cars, fallen trees, and debris.

I can't stand what she's done to us and there's nothing we can do to let people that we're mad, Webb said. We're upset. We have nothing.

All that remains of where the couples home once stood are piles of burned metal stacked on top of each other.

185 structures gone, 185 buildings, Debbie said. How fair is that, that she can do this?

The Webbs now staying in their mobile home on their scorched property. The couple plans to rebuild but told Action News Now it could take some time.

Souverneva is facing a felony arson charge with enhancements because the fire started during a state of emergency. If convicted, she could face up to nine years in state prison.
CHICO, Calif. - Chico Police Department is asking for help identifying a suspected prowler.

The police department said the person was in the area of Canyon Oaks.

The person was seen in a white truck.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Chico Police Departments dispatch center and ask for Officer Hernandez.
With an aim to impart sustainable culture and encourage eco-living, Beco, Indias leading eco-friendly D2C home, kitchen & personal care brand, has roped in actor, producer, UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador & United Nations Secretary-General Advocate for Sustainable Development Goals, Global Ambassador IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare) Dia Mirza as its new brand ambassador and investor. Through this strategic partnership, Ms. Dia Mirza will make her maiden investment in the Eco Friendly D2Cstart-up space. This announcement comes close on the heels of Beco's maiden fund-raise where the company raised Rs. 4 Crore in a seed round led by Climate Angels Fund and other investors with an aim to expand into Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets.

As a long-time advocate of sustainability, including in her role as an advocate for SDGs, the twofold engagement by the actor will strengthen the positioning of the brand and increase consumer awareness about the concerns of climate change, and why conscious consumption is the need of the hour.

Speaking about the association Mr Anuj Ruia, Co-founder, Beco said, Having Dia Mirza on-board reaffirms Becos conviction towards promoting and advocating sustainability through our enterprise. Her network and audience, coupled with her belief system as an environmentalist will help Beco communicate its message aptly across a wide range of consumer segments.

Mr. Aditya Ruia, Co-founder, Beco said, Dia Mirza is known for being an eco-warrior. What makes this partnership effortless is the fact that Dia has been one of our biggest and earliest supporters since the launch of the brand. Bringing her on-board as a brand ambassador and investor feels like a natural extension of our association and will enable us to increasingly assert the importance of eco-friendly alternatives at a much larger scale.

Ms. Mirza will play a critical role in Beco's upcoming marketing endeavours and advocate the brand as being category defining in the kitchen and home care space. Apart from encouraging consumers to adapt an eco-conscious lifestyle, Beco plans to highlight the durability, safety and sustainability of its products. Committed towards plastic waste reduction, the association has been strategically aligned with the vision of the brand to leverage and garner support from the vast Indian consumer base.

Commenting on this association, Dia Mirza said, For me, making sustainable choices in every aspect of my life has always been important and now more so, with a young baby at home. I also believe strongly in the concept of conscious capitalism  where we must all collectively start thinking about business in a way that better reflects where we are in the human journey, the state of our planet, and the innate potential of corporates to make a positive impact on the world-What makes me even prouder to associate with Beco is that the brand does not just curtail the harm being done to the environment, but also habituates the consumer to a greener, more mindful lifestyle. The fact that thousands of kgs of plastic ends up in landfills and oceans will have untold ramifications as far as the environment and eventually our own well-being is concerned. We urgently need to choose products that respect the earth. It is important to change patterns of heedless consumption and I hope, together through this association, Beco and I will change many minds and also mainstream a more eco-sensitive way of life."

With a 1,50,000+ strong Green Army, Beco has consistently involved the community in its environmental activities, such as beach clean-ups, and exhibitions. The company aims to continue with its efforts to safeguard the environment by reaching out to a wider audience.

Mr Akshay Varma, Co-founder, Beco said, Dia Mirzas contribution to spread awareness for the planet and impart mindful living resonates with our brand. With this association, our objective is to make the consumers more aware of pressing environmental issues such as climate change and how a small switch in their lifestyle can have a lasting and positive impact for our collective future.

Beco products are available on its website, e-commerce platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, Big Basket, and Nykaa among others. Their offline presence spans across 1500+ stores in India.
With Dussehra/ Durga Puja just a few days away, the country is in the throes of festive fervour. After no Dussehra/ Durga Puja celebrations last year due to the pandemic, consumers and brands are looking at a return to markets with a vengeance. With the vaccination drive gathering momentum and most of the COVID-19 restrictions lifted, there is a general air of optimism. Offices, market places, educational institutions, malls and cinema halls  all have now opened, giving people a sense of return to normalcy.

Like the rest of India, the East and North-East markets are in a resurgent mood. Durga Puja is the biggest festival in West Bengal and Tripura and is also celebrated extensively in Assam and other parts of the North-East. Markets are seeing the return of shoppers, and some marketers see a revenge shopping trend gaining precedence. Amid COVID-29 protocols, the shopping frenzy is just beginning and will only increase as the Pujo nears. Experts believe that this is not just revenge shopping, but also a re-assertion and reclaiming of a life that one was living before the pandemic struck.

This festive season, Adgully turns the spotlight on the East and North-East markets and will speak to a cross-section of brands, marketers and market experts to gauge the mood of the shoppers and brand sentiments.

In conversation with Adgully, Navarun Sen, President - Panel Division, CenturyPly, speaks about the demand surge seen across India, the companys online and offline strategies for the festive season and more.

What kind of sentiments do you see in the East markets during the festive season this year? Are these sentiments close to the pre-COVID levels?

We are seeing a very good surge in demand pan-India and to add on, East India is the major contributor to this surge. Entire East India is growing. Also, to add up we are finding demand from both Urban as well as Rural towns.

We are way ahead of the pre-COVID-19 levels. We had overcome pre-COVID-19 levels in October 2020 itself. And since then, we have seen a growth trajectory. Organised players have dominated the overall demand surge and in this surge CenturyPly is the leader. The reason for the same is the right product, right promotion and right price.

How are you planning your strategy for online and offline sales? What kind of footfalls are you expecting during this festival?

Online: We stated our online sales since end of FY2020 with our own set-up of e-commerce. With this, we are present pan India. Any customer can order our products online and it will be serviced. The order size can be as small as one sheet. Also, we are currently present in both Amazon and Flipkart in all major cities. We are continuously doing lead generation campaigns in our online strategy.

Offline: We are present across India with more than 7,000 direct and indirect channel partners, supported by 28 warehouses, 1 RDC and 6 factories. We have a very robust SCM process, which is ready to service any demand. Product positioning with the right features has been our strength and CenturyPly is known for its quality of product. So, innovation along with maintaining quality of the product while doing so is the core strategy of our sales.

In the case of the building material industry and very specific to the plywood industry, it is typically pre-festive season demand which is higher as everyone wants to complete their work and move into their new/ renovated space. So far, it has been a very good demand servicing in the last two quarters. And we anticipate this run going forward.

Any specific campaign strategies planned for the festival season? Most importantly, will you be offering attractive discounts to woo customers?

As we have mentioned, demand for our product is just before the beginning of festival season, and hence, our campaigns are aligned with the same. We had a product-specific campaign to tackle our customer base across the segmentation.

Our price offering has been very competitive and in line with the customers expectations. Along with this, we have products available in all price points. We have already offered two new technologies  Virokill and Firewall  at no additional cost to our customers.
In line with its commitment to normalizing conversations around mental health and creating awareness on mental health issues, Future Generali India Insurance Company Limited is launching yet another disruptive initiative. Ahead of World Mental Health Day, the company will be launching unique designs of facemasks that carry curated messages on spreading awareness and acceptance of mental health issues.

Each mask will carry a message on prevention of mental illness while also encouraging people who suffer from mental illness to speak about their condition. To amplify this message, the company has collaborated with several influencers, who will wear masks with the campaign hashtag #UnmaskYourFeelings to create a buzz on social media. The company also has roped in influencers like Robin Uthappa, Neha Dhupia, Ranvijay Singh, Soha Ali Khan and Ayaz Memon to spread the message.

These face masks will be available on Amazon at a nominal price. The proceeds from the sale of these masks will go to the non-governmental organization, Mental Health Foundation India and will be used to conduct mental health awareness and counselling sessions.

Ruchika Varma, Chief Marketing Officer, Future Generali India Insurance Company Limited, said, Mental health is a silent and widespread issue, and the pandemic has only made it worse. In todays fast paced world, there is increasing evidence to support that mental health issues are proliferating across geographies, age groups and genders. We believe that a good starting point to address these issues is to normalize conversations around mental health and to encourage those who are suffering from such issues to seek help. Considering that the facemask has now become a mainstay, we think that spreading awareness about mental health through messages on these face masks is a unique way to drive the point that mental health is as important as physical health. It is our way to urge Indians to take their mental health seriously, and to speak up and take action if they are suffering. 

World Mental Health Day, observed on October 10, has become significant today as many people are suffering from mental health issues. According to the Indian Psychiatric Society, before the Covid-19 pandemic, the prevalence of the mental health issue was 1:7, but after the pandemic, it has become 1:5. This translates to 270 million Indians. Future Generali India Insurance hopes that its campaign will be a starting point in normalizing mental health conversations in the years to come.
Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), New Delhi based autonomous policy research institute, has signed a 5 year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to advance cross-sharing of ideas, innovations, and solutions across developing countries and beyond through its specialized wing, Global Development Centre (GDC). GDC-RIS and Gates Foundation will work together towards strengthening and building new partnerships for South-South cooperation in areas such as nutrition, health systems, pandemic preparedness, agriculture, digital financial inclusion, and women empowerment among other key development issues.

This partnership will facilitate knowledge sharing of development innovations and best practices among the Global South, with a vision towards building a vibrant, constructive, and continued engagement for progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This engagement will encompass horizontally and vertically integrated partnership to identify and document innovations and best practices across development solutions, outreach to a wide range of stakeholders including national/state governments, private sector, think tanks, civil society and academia. It aims to facilitate thought partnerships to boost knowledge exchange programs, capacity building and implementation support efforts. The association will enable a platform for engaging with various stakeholders in addressing developmental challenges in India and the Global South by providing comprehensive holistic support to curate best practices locally and globally to strengthen the overarching goals of South-South Cooperation.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, Minister of State, Ministry of External Affairs, said India is perceived as a first responder in the regional in times of crisis, a climate action leader, the pharmacy of the world, a reservoir of talent and a reliable development partner. I am extremely glad to note that RIS has established a specialised wing at its premises, the Global Development Centre, GDC for taking Hon'ble Prime Ministers ideas forward to other developing countries, within the framework of South-South Cooperation. This partnership between RIS and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation would pave the way for institutionalized transfer of knowledge, promotion of policy research and outreach for knowledge exchange, capacity building and skills development among their interested partners countries and institutions as part of Indias policy to promote global goods. Id very much like to congratulate the GDC team at RIS and our friends from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for this very constructive initiative for a better world.

At the outset our idea of the Global Development Centre is to promote several major programs started by Hon'ble Prime Minister which have contributed immensely in terms of both bringing in inclusion in our economic development initiatives and also trying to bring in sustainability. These two dimensions have been the core strength of almost all programs that we have launched such as Aadhaar enabled e-payment services or UPI or BHIM or even the National Payment Systems, etc. These programs have been trying to contribute towards the idea of sustainability, inclusion and to bring efficiency in governance by stopping the leakages, identifying beneficiaries targeting benefits to the most desired communities of India, said Professor Sachin Chaturvedi, Director General, RIS.

Indias leadership on the global stage  from vaccine manufacturing and digital health to digital financial inclusion and beyond  are great examples of innovation and scale that offer enormous potential for cross-learning and collaboration. We are excited about this engagement with the Research and Information System for Developing Countries and optimistic that this platform will offer opportunities for expanded partnerships across the Global South and accelerate progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals, said Gargee Ghosh, President, Global Policy & Advocacy, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Talking about the importance of the collaboration, Hari Menon, India Country Director, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, stated Collaboration and partnerships are critical now more than ever, to accelerate research, develop new tools, and drive continued progress in health and development. Given the Government of Indias deep commitment to global partnerships, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is honoured to work with the Ministry of External Affairs and the RIS to support strong collaboration between governments, multilateral institutions, academia, and voluntary and private sectors, to enable joint commitment and shared learning that address the biggest challenges in health and development in the Global South.
Leading Bengali OTT Platform, hoichoi, partners with Asian Paints, Indias multinational paint company, for its new freemium series titled, Asian Paints Moner Thikana, that is streaming now for free for all users, on hoichoi. Both the brands are known for being the front runners in their own space and are committed to delivering the best to their consumers.

Keeping that in mind, hoichoi and Asian Paints have come together to take the audience to visit the homes of the top actors of the Bengali film fraternity like Jisshu Sengupta, Mimi Chakraborty, Parambrata Chatterjee, Priyanka Sarkar, and Srabanti Chatterjee. This distinctive format of content directed by Sudipto Roy (multiple accolade winner for hoichoi film Tasher Ghawr), is designed to offer an exclusive home tour of Bengals superstars, where they share stories of their cherished abodes, their journey to achieve it, and how different parts of that house identify with their personalities.

Mahendra Soni, Co-Founder & Director of SVF and Co-Founder of hoichoi said, At hoichoi, we are always passionate about broadening our user base and enthusiastic about presenting our existing users with differentiated content in collaboration with brands that aim alike. Asian Paints Moner Thikana in partnership with Asian Paints, is a content, that I believe has the ability to generate mutually desired engagement, as the content that we have created, not only goes into the personal space of the most popular actors in our industry but also presents their stories like never before. With this strategic brand integration, we are also presenting this content to our non-subscribing audience for free streaming, who can become potential subscribers to our extensive library of new and existing series and films in the future.

Sam Balsara, Chairman, Madison World added, Indian audiences are lapping up regional content in Digital like never before. Recognising this trend, Asian Paints and Hoichoi have come up with a series of stories which I believe Bengalis will love this Pujo season and the icing on the cake is that the viewer will get to see the esoteric homes of 5 leading celebrities of Bengal. Asian Paints which has always been inspiring consumers and creating aspirations among them to design their homes beautifully pulls off one more First to warm the hearts of Bengalis this festive season.
The Indian gaming market is poised to reach $3.9 billion in value by 2025. This was revealed in a report prepared by IAMAI in collaboration with OnePlus and RedSeer. The report also highlighted that 40% of the hardcore gamers pay for their games with an average spend of Rs 230 per month. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the organic growth of digital games as mobile app downloads grew by 50% and user engagement went up by 20%, the study said. The increased gaming time has spurred the growth of hardcore gamers in India, even as casual games remain the most popular genre in India.

The report was launched by Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary of the Industries & Commerce (I&C) and Information Technology (IT), Department of the Telangana Government; Saurabh Gaur, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, in the presence of Navnit Nakra, Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer and Head of India Sales, OnePlus India, and Rajen Vagadia, Vice President and President, Qualcomm, at a Roundtable discussion around E-Gaming hosted by IAMAI and moderated by RedSeer, Associate Partner, Kanishka Mohan.

We are at the cusp of a gaming revolution and the gaming ecosystem is working towards user-friendly smartphones and leveraging 5G technologies, said Jayesh Ranjan, speaking at the roundtable.

While launching the report, titled Building up the e-gaming ecosystem of India and the influence of smartphones, Ranjan also talked about the growth potential of the gaming sector and the significance of user-friendly devices for the same. He noted, The gaming sector has underlined the significance of affordable smartphones with capable hardware. I am happy that parallelly, work is going on to make phones more user-friendly for gaming by leveraging 5G technology, developments in AI/ML, and hardware manufacturing.

Saurabh Gaur added here, The [global] gaming industry can be matched with electronics, and consoles could be manufactured in India. He also voiced support for creating games for the Indian audience, based on Indian culture.

Indian gaming has leap-frogged into the mobile gaming era due to the rapid increase in smartphone penetration in the country, with large console and PC games now being curated for mobile platforms. The sector is also attracting huge investment interest, with nearly $1 billion being invested in the sector in the last 6 months.

India is currently home to over 430 million mobile gamers and the number of gamers is estimated to grow to 650 million by 2025. Currently, mobile gaming dominates the Indian gaming sector, contributing more than 90% to the $1.6 billion gaming market and is expected to further grow to generate $3.9 billion value by 2025, the report added.

Smartphones have become more affordable and pack strong hardware that is equipped to run games, which may require medium to high specifications. This has opened accessibility to more immersive gaming for the masses, with smartphone OEMs also increasingly focusing on incorporating dedicated gaming features on their newest devices and launching gaming-specific phones.

Speaking at the session, Navnit Nakra, Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer and Head of India Sales, OnePlus India, said, Over the past few years, the e-gaming industry in India has grown tremendously, driven by the rising avenues for digitisation promoted by the flagship initiative of the government, the Digital India program and improved accessibility centered around innovation and affordability by OEMs. At OnePlus, our community has always been at the heart of everything we do and therefore, we have been leading the charge in introducing the most advanced features and have built partnerships with industry leaders to provide a seamless gaming experience on OnePlus smartphones. We are happy to have partnered with IAMAI and Redseer as the report has served as a unique avenue for the industry to gain actionable insights and come together to drive meaningful discourse and innovative ideas.

Rajen Vagadia, Vice President and President, Qualcomm, shared, In the last 12 years, we had to update our GPUs (Graphics Processing Unit) over 700 times, thats the demand coming in from the consumers. He also underlined that certain efforts are being undertaken to nurture esports and ensure that it is seen as a field that can be taken up professionally as well.
Omnicom Media Group (OMG), India, one of the worlds leading forward-thinking media and communications agencies, has announced the launch of its first-ever OMG Digital Bootcamp, a four-week, full-time intensive learning program designed to provide a launchpad to aspiring digital marketers looking to kick start their career in digital marketing.

The program aims to nurture homegrown potential in digital capabilities, empower growth and development while attracting talent for the future. To enable a holistic and well-rounded learning curve for the Digital Ninjas in training, the program has been curated in conjunction with upskilling partners, Results & Outcomes - an e-learning platform, conceptualized by domain experts, with rich experience across Technology, Media, Content, Marketing, Communications and Monetization.

Speaking of this new initiative, Kartik Sharma, Group CEO, Omnicom Media Group, India, said, Progress and purpose are always at the heart of everything we do, and we believe that wherever learning thrives, so do people. One of the ways we have decided to support this is by nurturing budding talent in-house. In an industry where we are often faced with the challenge of onboarding entry-level aspirants in the digital ecosystem, we paused to take a hard look at how we could empower talent in-house and set them up for success within our agencies, thereby empowering business growth in the long run. This Bootcamp is one of the ways in which we have decided to support present and future talent, in-house, by enhancing their digital proficiency.

Bharat Khatri, Chief Digital Officer, Omnicom Media Group, Asia Pacific, commenting on the launch of this growth-oriented initiative, said With the maturation of data and marketing strategies and our businesses pivoting further towards technological innovations, OMGs Digital Bootcamp aims to address the challenges we face on the tech front, like setup and execution. By curating a four-week learning program that has been customized to our requirements, we look forward to creating an agile workforce of digital ninjas. Selected entrants can expect a future-ready learning program that has been designed to fast-track their careers in digital marketing.

According to the Amazon Web Services Report (2021), Indias demand for digital workers is likely to shoot up nine times by 2025. Despite many surveyed company leaders across different sectors stating that they faced challenges in filling positions requiring specific digital skills such as data analytics (with these vacancies costing billions of dollars annually), more than half of survey respondents felt that educational institutions did not reflect updated digital skill needs.

The initiative aims to address challenges faced by the talent on the tech front, especially for fresh graduates. Our industry is rapidly pivoting to digital systems and processes. But the digitally adept talent constitutes only 12% of Indias total workforce. Building a customized program like this not only builds national capacity but also highlights our people-first approach to the needs and experience of our teams within the organization. Its an exciting time for us as we work towards enhancing our learning curve and empowering our employees, both present and future, by strengthening their digital proficiency, said Anju Kurien, Talent Director, Omnicom Media Group, India.

Anand Chakravarthy, Co-Founder, Results & Outcomes, believes that With 2.5 million digital jobs set to be created over the next 5 years, the need for 'ready for business' talent is critical for organizations. With rapid digitalization, it is imperative to rethink learning and how upskilling should be delivered. Results & Outcomes is pleased to collaborate with OMG India to curate and deliver an application-oriented and hands-on, progressive digital learning program delivered by domain experts - experienced professionals who themselves have run digital campaigns for years.

The OMG Digital Bootcamp is expected to kick start in the second week of October and is accepting applications from freshers with a bachelors degree in any engineering field (B.E), BCA, or from the Statistics, Economics, Business Administration and Advertising streams. Aspirants can visit https://bit.ly/3kOpvFg or write to the Omnicom team at digital.bootcamp@omnicommediagroup.com to apply for it.
Bringing alive Jacqueline Fernandezs vision to life, Sharpener a creative design agency gave the actresss pet project She Rox a visual identity. Earlier this year, the lauded actress, Jacqueline Fernandez, decided to use her voice and build a platform to empower women through various avenues. To ensure that the project resonated with women across the spectrum while showcasing her own persona, the actress chose to work with the minds behind Sharpener - Hetal & Bianca for a design that strikes an instant chord with the audience.

Sharpener worked closely with Jacqueline and her team to design the logo, brand identity, and other thematic elements while providing an authentic feel and tap into the positivity that surrounds it.

About the association with Sharpener, Jacqueline Fernandez, said, She Rox is a project that is incredibly close to my heart and Sharpener helped me see it take a beautiful visual form. I loved how I was involved in the process every step of the way, and they truly listened to what I wanted for the brand. There was so much attention to detail, all the way from the colours to the concepts. Iridescence, the theme we chose, brings in my personality to the brand making it rather personal and unique. However the transforming colours and forms allowed every personality to relate to it making Sherox a dynamic brand at the same time. The end result was beautiful and captured the essence of the kind of a platform we aim to create. A huge thank you to the team, I loved the process and the designs!

She Rox, Bianca & Hetal, co-founders, Sharpener, said, Working with Jacqueline was nothing short of an amazing experience. We knew she had put her heart and soul into the project and we wanted the same to reflect in the design. Hence, we zeroed in on the concept of iridescence, which shows fluidity and movement. To balance these, we used the motif of a rock, both for the namesake and to show underlying strength. Witnessing the journey of She Rox, we know that Jacqueline will be able to bring alive her vision of empowering women

From brand identity design to stop motion films to space design and product design, Sharpener is a design agency that does it all. From La Folie in Mumbai to Hypercity, from Hotstar to Anushka Sharmas Nush to Lodha, Sharpener has been the creative driving force behind some of the most renowned brands in the country.

For more information, contact

Riddhi S Wallia.+919820058085

mirabilisinc@mirabilisinc.com
The One Club for Creativity has opened the call for entries for the ADC 101st Annual Awards, supported by a vibrant and insightful branding campaign by DDB Paris.

Founded in 1920, the ADC Annual Awards is the worlds longest continuously running awards program recognizing global excellence in craft and innovation in all forms of advertising and design.

Using the theme Creativity 101 - Each Cube Has a Story to Tell, the campaign from DDB Paris focuses on how creatives go through all states of mind when searching for an award-winning idea, and depicts the unique story behind a great piece of work. A playful approach is used to illustrate the creative process and deconstruct the work to reveal what went into it.

The campaign will feature a number of both well-known and up-and-coming illustrators, graphic designers and other creatives from around the world, each conveying what went into one of their great ideas, their search for inspiration, and all the secret ingredients needed to generate amazing creative work.

Behind each one of the iconic ADC Cubes hide unique stories - stories of passion, creativity, resilience, doubt and triumph, said Alexander Kalchev, Chief Creative Officer, DDB Paris. To celebrate the incredible diversity of stories behind the Cube, we decided to put the creative community at the heart of our campaign, paying tribute to their creativity through a series of visuals that are as unique as the creative process.

Entries can be submitted now, with fees increasing after each deadline period. Regular deadline is January 31, 2022, with extended deadline of February 18, 2022 and final deadline March 4, 2022. No physical entries will be accepted this year due to the ongoing pandemic, all entry media must be uploaded into the online entry system.

Tiered pricing, special awards

A special tiered pricing structure makes it easier for smaller agencies, studios and freelancers to participate. Larger agencies and brands pay the standard entry fee; smaller shops get a discount on entries (amount varies by discipline), and freelance creatives and one-person shops are eligible for an even greater reduction in their entry fee.

Other highlights of ADC 101st Annual Awards:

Continued partnership with creative community Working Not Working on content collaborations, as well as the special Freelancer of the Year award, won previously by Los Angeles-based author, artist and illustrator Kadir Nelson and Brooklyn-based Brazilian film editor Mah Ferraz . All ADC 101st Annual Awards Gold Cube-winning entries submitted through the freelance level of the shows tiered-pricing system will be judged again by a separate jury that includes the Working Not Working community.

on content collaborations, as well as the special award, won previously by Los Angeles-based author, artist and illustrator and Brooklyn-based Brazilian film editor . All ADC 101st Annual Awards Gold Cube-winning entries submitted through the freelance level of the shows tiered-pricing system will be judged again by a separate jury that includes the Working Not Working community. ADC Members Choice Award , where freelance members of both The One Club and Working Not Working are invited to cast votes for their favorite entry amongst the years top-scoring works in all ADC Design disciplines.

, where freelance members of both The One Club and Working Not Working are invited to cast votes for their favorite entry amongst the years top-scoring works in all ADC Design disciplines. For the second year, the competition includes the ADC Fusion Cube , the advertising and design industrys first global initiatives to recognize great work that best incorporates underrepresented groups in both creative content and the team that made it.

, the advertising and design industrys first global initiatives to recognize great work that best incorporates underrepresented groups in both creative content and the team that made it. Also in its second year is the ADC In-House Design discipline, recognizing creative excellence by brands.

discipline, recognizing creative excellence by brands. Reduced pricing for personal/unpublished work in Fashion Design, Illustration, Motion/Film/Gaming Craft, Photography and Typography.

ADC 101st Annual Awards juries will be announced shortly. Judging will be conducted online, starting in March 2022, with finalists announced in May. ADC 101st Annual Awards Gold, Silver and Bronze Cube winners will be announced during Creative Week in May 2022.

The One Club awards shows each have their distinct focus: ADC Annual Awards juries look to champion excellence in craft, design and innovation, while The One Show judges focus on creativity of ideas and quality of execution.

Unlike for-profit awards shows, The One Club is a non-profit organization that puts revenue generated from awards entries back into the industry in the form of programs under its four pillars: Educations, Inclusion & Diversity, Gender Equality and Professional Development.

These programs include the annual Where Are All The Black People diversity conference and career fair, ONE School free portfolio program for Black creatives, ONE Production free training program to bring greater diversity to the production side of the business, Creative Boot Camps for diverse college students, Right the Ratio Summits addressing gender equality, Creative Leaders Retreats, Mentor & Creative providing mentorships at agencies for nearly 200 young creatives, bi-annual Saturday Career Workshops for high school students and more.

Credits:

Campaign: Creativity 101 - Each Cube Has a Story to Tell

Client: The One Club for Creativity for ADC 101st Annual Awards

Agency: DDB PARIS

Chief Creative Officer: Alexander Kalchev

Art Directors: Yassine Ouadah Tsabet, Nicolas Denis

Motion Designer: Michael Brisard

Account Director: Alexandra Lair

Producer: Fabien Donnay
We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

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From left, Southwestern Illinois College Early Childhood Education Adjunct Instructor Jessica Day and ECE Program Coordinator Carolyn Beal were named the 2021 Part-time and Full-time Faculty Members of the Year respectively.
We had a very nice last week of October and first week of November, with dry and warm weather making for perfect harvest conditions. Farmers i
So, what is going on in the Ahwatukee real estate market? Is the bubble going to burst?
ADPH joins DEA in warning about lethal counterfeit pills

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Nancy Bishop

(334) 206-3014



The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has warned the American public about the alarming increase in the lethality and availability of fake prescription pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine. The Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) is seriously concerned that these pills are falsely marketed in Alabama as prescription drugs sold online or through social media and are intentionally made to look like legitimate drugs in size and color.

In a public safety alert, the DEA issued a new warning that international and domestic criminal drug networks are mass-producing fake pills which are killing unsuspecting Americans. These counterfeit pills are easy to purchase, widely available, and often contain deadly doses of fentanyl.

Pills purchased outside of a licensed pharmacy are illegal, dangerous and potentially lethal. The only safe medications are ones prescribed by a trusted medical professional and dispensed by a licensed pharmacist. Any pills that do not meet this standard are unsafe and potentially deadly, the DEA and ADPH caution.

More than 9.5 million counterfeit pills have been seized so far this year, which is more than in the last two years combined. Officials report a dramatic rise in the number of counterfeit pills containing at least two milligrams of fentanyl, which is considered a deadly dose. The number of DEA-seized counterfeit pills with fentanyl has jumped nearly 430 percent since 2019, a staggering increase. DEA laboratory testing further reveals that today, two out of every five pills with fentanyl contain a potentially lethal dose. Additionally, methamphetamine is increasingly being pressed into counterfeit pills.

Some of the most common counterfeit pills made to look like prescription opioids include:

Oxycodone (Oxycontin, Percocet)

Hydrocodone (Vicodin)

Alprazolam (Xanax)

Stimulants like amphetamines (Adderall).

Fake prescription pills are widely accessible and often sold on social media and e-commerce platforms  making them available to anyone with a smartphone, including teens and young adults. DEA reports that these counterfeit pills have been seized in every U.S. state, and in unprecedented quantities.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, last year more than 93,000 people died of drug overdoses in the United States, marking the largest number of drug-related deaths ever recorded in a year. In 2020, 1,027 Alabama residents died from drug overdoses. Fentanyl, the synthetic opioid most commonly found in counterfeit pills, and its analogs are the primary drivers of this alarming increase in overdose deaths.

ADPH supports DEAs public awareness campaign, One Pill Can Kill, to educate the public on dangers of counterfeit pills and how to keep Americans safe. For more information, visit dea.gov/onepill.

County health departments throughout Alabama provide a wide range of confidential and professional services. Contact your local county health department for additional information.

Mission: To promote, protect, and improve Alabamas health

Vision: Healthy People. Healthy Communities. Healthy Alabama.

- 30 -

10/06/2021

ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH

RSA Tower 201 Monroe Street, Suite 910, Montgomery, AL 36104

Phone: (334) 206-5300 | Fax: (334) 206-5520
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP)  Gov. Laura Kelly on Monday created an independent office to review complaints against Kansas' foster care system and recommend changes in child welfare policies, a longtime goal of advocates for abused and neglected children.

The Democratic governor's move to create the office by executive order bypasses the Republican-controlled Legislature. It deadlocked on the issue earlier this year after some lawmakers pushed to put the new office under the GOP official expected to challenge Kelly's reelection next year.

Kelly issued an order to create the Division of Child Advocate within the state Department of Administration, whose head reports to the governor. The governor would appoint the new division's director for a five-year term.

"We want this to be an office that works on behalf of our children and on behalf of our families," she said after signing the order at a children's museum in Topeka.

Kelly said that even though she would appoint the director of the child advocate's division, that person's five-year term would make the office "about as independent as you can get."

Many Republican legislators have argued that the governor shouldn't appoint the child advocate or have a hand in the appointment because the new office monitors state agencies under the governor's direct control. GOP senators pushed for putting the child advocate in the attorney general's office.

Republican Sen. Molly Baumgardner of Louisburg said the child advocate's office is likely to be handling material from whistleblowers.

"We felt that was appropriate because of all of the confidential materials that move into the attorney general's office on a daily basis," she said.

Baumgardner called Kelly's arguments about her division's independence "disingenuous" and noted that a future governor could rescind the order creating it.

The Republican-controlled Senate in March approved a proposal for a child advocate in the attorney general's office, only to see it stall in the GOP-controlled House. Many Democrats saw the measure as partisan because Attorney General Derek Schmidt is widely expected to be the GOP nominee for governor next year against Kelly.

A House committee approved its own, bipartisan plan to have the governor and Kansas Supreme Court chief justice appoint the child advocate, with the Legislature directing the work of the advocate's office. But GOP leaders never scheduled a full House debate.

___

Andy Tsubasa Field 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.

____

On Twitter, follow John Hanna at https://twitter.com/apjdhanna and Andy Tsubasa Field at https://twitter.com/AndyTsubasaF
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP)  A Kansas City, Kansas, man has been charged with murder and domestic battery in the shooting death of his older brother.

Ricky Salazar, 34, was arrested last week and charged with second-degree murder in the death of 38-year-old Ricardo Salazar, according to police in Kansas City, Kansas. He also faces separate charges of aggravated robbery, being a criminal in possession of a weapon and cocaine possession, police said.

Ricardo Salazar was shot on Aug. 15 in an area along State Avenue and died of his injuries on Sept. 23, police said.

Ricky Salazar was being held Tuesday in the Wyandotte County Jail on a $250,000 bond.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP)  An Oklahoma judge on Monday temporarily blocked two new anti-abortion laws from taking effect next month, including a measure similar to a Texas abortion ban that effectively bans the procedure after about six weeks of pregnancy.

District Judge Cindy Truong said she would allow three other anti-abortion laws to take effect Nov. 1, which one abortion rights advocate said would be "catastrophic" to the ability of women to access abortion services in the state. Those three would create new restrictions on medication-induced abortions and require all doctors who perform abortions to be board-certified in obstetrics and gynecology.

"The OB-GYN requirement will immediately disqualify more than half of the doctors providing abortions in the state," said Rabia Muqaddam, a staff attorney for the New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights, which challenged the five new Oklahoma laws. "Every day that law remains in effect, we're talking about really catastrophic fallout."

The medication-induced abortion restrictions include requirements previously struck down by the Oklahoma Supreme Court. Those include an admitting privileges requirement that has been struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court and an ultrasound requirement that is more restrictive than an ultrasound law the state Supreme Court already struck down.

Abortion clinics in Oklahoma already are being overwhelmed by patients from Texas, where the U.S. Supreme Court allowed a law to take effect on Sept. 1 that made it illegal to perform abortions once medical professionals can detect cardiac activity, which is usually around the sixth week of pregnancy.

About 11 women from Texas received abortion services at the Trust Women clinic in Oklahoma City in August. That number increased to 110 last month, said Rebecca Tong, co-executive director of Trust Women. Similar increases are being reported at abortion clinics in Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana and New Mexico.

State Sen. Julie Daniels, a Bartlesville Republican who sponsored four of the five anti-abortion bills that were challenged in Oklahoma, said the laws are designed to make abortions safer, though she acknowledged her ultimate goal is to save the lives of fetuses.

"My goal has always been to save the life of the unborn child and return these decisions to the states where they rightfully belong," Daniels said.

Women have been increasingly seeking out-of-state abortions as Republican legislatures and governors pass ever-more restrictive abortion laws, particularly in the South. At least 276,000 women terminated their pregnancies outside of their home states between 2012 and 2017, according to a 2019 Associated Press analysis of state and federal data.

The trend appears to have accelerated over the past year. Abortion clinics in neighboring states began seeing an increase in calls from Texas after Republican Gov. Greg Abbott banned abortions in March 2020 for nearly a month under a COVID-19 executive order.

Dr. Alan Braid, the owner of Tulsa Women's Reproductive Clinic, said the consequences of the judge's ruling on Monday will have reverberations throughout the entire South.

"Oklahoma clinics were already inundated with patients from both Texas and Oklahoma, and if these laws take effect, many Oklahoma abortion providers won't be able to provide care," Braid said in a statement. "Where will all these patients go? Politicians are trying to trap them, and they are succeeding. But we will not stop fighting these restrictions."

Braid, who is from San Antonio, became the first doctor to be sued under the new Texas law after he revealed that he performed an abortion in defiance of the statute.

Muqaddam said once she and attorneys for the Oklahoma attorney general's office reach agreement on a formal order for the judge to sign, the center plans to appeal the judge's ruling to the Oklahoma Supreme Court.

Neither Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt's office nor the state attorney general's office, which defended the new laws, immediately responded to messages seeking comment on the ruling.
This country was founded on the premise of freedom of speech. In fact, its so integral to the fabric of this nation that it was included in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. But over the past century, this right has been under attack. And its all come to a head since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

What is Free Speech?

The term freedom of speech gets thrown around a lot these days. And while were blessed to live in a country where we can even debate this topic, the reality is that those on the Left have perverted the idea of free speech and shrunk it down to something that it is not.

To say that free speech is merely a shadow of what it once was would be a huge understatement. So before we dig into some concrete ways everyday folks like us can protect and capitalize on our right to free speech, lets strip it back to the basics and look at what the Constitution says:

First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

While there are a lot of big words, the meaning is clear. The First Amendment basically protects five different freedoms: speech, religion, press, assembly, and the ever-important right to petition the government. And when you combine these five freedoms together, it makes the United States of America the most free country in the entire world. (In fact, you could argue it makes the U.S. the freest country in the history of the world -- and theres hardly even a debate.)

When the Founders began the process of creating a constitution that would serve as the backbone for the United States, they were essentially starting an experiment. At that point, nearly every nation was led by a king, emperor, or dictator. The average citizen had no rights, very limited freedoms, and absolutely no power or voice in the election of these rulers. In fact, they had just come on a boat from a country where the very oppression of freedoms pushed them out.

Freedom of speech wasnt just some afterthought that government officials threw into the mix for the sake of putting ink to paper. It was at the very core of the entire thing.

As founding father Benjamin Franklin once wrote in the Pennsylvania Gazette, Freedom of speech is a principal pillar of a free government: When this support is taken away, the constitution of a free society is dissolved.

Freedom of speech is designed to protect Americans from being silenced by the government. It can be used to promote social or political change. Likewise, it can be used to oppose change. The First Amendment protects citizens against government censorship and limitations of freedom of expression, though it does not prevent private companies from setting their own rules. (This is a very important point that must be taken into account anytime freedom of speech limitations come into question.)

Because we live in a world of high-tech communication thats underscored by the internet and social media, its impossible to have a discussion about free speech without bringing online platforms into the conversation. And, admittedly, this is where it gets a little sticky.

Because most social media platforms and large online media companies overwhelmingly have a liberal slant or bias, its often difficult for those on the right side of conversations to express themselves without being attacked or censored.

As NewAmerica.org puts it, In an inequitable and unjust world, neutral platforms and institutions will perpetuate and even exacerbate inequities and power imbalances unless they understand and adjust for those inequities and imbalances.

This is where the real fight is today. While you wont find many government officials overtly silencing their constituents, you will find massive organizations disguised as private companies dictating the flow of information online. And this is where more than 20 different international coalitions of civil society organizations are focusing their energy and effort. Those at the forefront of the fight to reclaim freedom of speech and cancel undue online censorship are fighting to do things like:

Protect individual rights to freedom of expression online;

Enable universal access to the internet (for full and equitable participation);

Require transparency and oversight with how different governments and companies access and use the personal data of users;

Enable (and even incentivize) greater diversity of platforms and communication services.

In other words, we cant give all of the power to companies like Facebook and Google, who are able to censor half of the countrys voice based on the fact that theyre technically private companies who have the right to set their own rules. Because once a company becomes big enough to control the discourse of a nation, the rules no longer apply to them. At that point, there are only two real options: (1) Disband the company and/or allow additional competition to rise (and thereby provide more avenues for objective discourse), or (2) Prevent the company from limiting the speech of its users. That might sound extreme, but its reality.

Ways You Can Capitalize on Your Freedom of Speech

The good news is that the First Amendment still exists. Its part of the Constitution and you have every right to protection that it offers. But heres the bad news: If we dont start standing up for our rights and using these freedoms, theyll start to fade. And while it might take 10, 20, or even 100 years, the government will take these freedoms from us. Now is the time to stand up. Here are several ways you can do it:

Publish your own content. While platforms like Facebook might silence conservative content and talking points, there are plenty of other ways to let your voice be heard online. For example, you can always start your own blog. In fact, The Blog Starter will show you how to do it in just 20 minutes. And once youre up and running, you can begin publishing content and ideas for meaningful dialogue.

Engage thoughtful discourse. When you do spend time on traditional social media platforms, make it a point to only engage in thoughtful discourse. In other words, stay away from the toxic, argumentative traps that other people lay. Instead, join groups and make friends with those who are willing to look at both sides of an issue. The more these types of conversations are pushed to the top, the more media platforms have to give room for objective discussion.

Support First Amendment groups. Finally, put your money where your mouth is. Find free speech groups that you believe in and support them with your time and dollars. Oftentimes, this is the best use of your resources. They have the ability to pool money from thousands of different places, which gives them the power to spark change.

Nows the Time to Stand Up

In the words of our first president, George Washington, If men are to be precluded from offering their sentiments on a matter, which may involve the most serious and alarming consequences that can invite the consideration of mankind, reason is of no use to us; the freedom of speech may be taken away, and dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep, to the slaughter.

Let us not be led to the slaughter, dumb, silent, and cooperative. Instead, lets stand up while its possible to do so. The best way to protect freedom of speech is to use it. Whether thats starting your own blog, changing the way you engage people online, or supporting various freedom of speech groups, there are plenty of steps you can take. Nows the time to step up!

Image: Newtown Graffiti

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
Im willing to bet that, before this week, most Americans, including parents whose kids are or were in public school, had never heard of the National School Boards Association (NSBA). When its president, though, wrote to Joe Biden suggesting that parents who complain about Critical Race Theory, masks, and transgenderism are domestic terrorists, it popped up on our radar. And when the DOJ promptly agreed with that suggestion by promising to send FBI agents to become involved with local school boards, people started wondering just who or what the NSBA really is.

Heres how the NSBA describes itself:

The National School Boards Association (NSBA) is a federation of state associations and the U.S. territory of the Virgin Islands that represent locally elected school board officials serving approximately 51 million public school students regardless of their disability, ethnicity, socio-economic status or citizenship. Working with and through our state association members, NSBA advocates for equity and excellence in public education through school board leadership.

The NSBA claims to represent more than 90,000 local school board members.... Those are big numbers.

Theres more but you get the gist: Its a do-good lobbying organization for American public-school boards. Its when you get into the details of exactly what constitutes doing good as far as the NSBA is concerned that you realize that it is a group completely dedicated to leftist policies.

The word equity crops up repeatedly. As weve learned in the last decade, while the Founders were concerned with equality, which means that all people are entitled to equal treatment under the law, along with a citizens right to a voice in representative government, equity is different. Equity is a zero-sum game of winners and losers, with the government determining who wins and who loses. It pits groups against each other, treats individuals based on external, immutable characteristics, glories in victimhood, and generally is antithetical to a free people and a free society.

The NSBA has a whole disquisition on equity. Again, you can feel the Critical Race Theory mindset oozing out through the jargon:

We affirm in our actions that each student can, will, and shall learn. We recognize that based on factors including but not limited to disability, race, ethnicity, and socio-economic status, students are often deprived of equitable educational opportunities. Educational equity is the intentional allocation of resources, instruction, and opportunities according to need, requiring that discriminatory practices, prejudices, and beliefs be identified and eradicated.

Theres even a 26-page booklet for Reimagining School Board Leadership: Actions for Equity. Using mangled punctuation, the booklet asks board members to determine whether they are teaching the truth about American history from multiple perspectives? (slavery, white supremacy, Native American genocide, etc.)? That doesnt sound like multiple perspectives to me.

As always, this equity doesnt extend to the Board or the management. While the Board president is Hispanic, and there is a sprinkling of Blacks and Hispanics, the leadership is lily-white.

The NSBAs recommendations to the Biden/Harris administration could have been drafted by AOC and her Squad, for they include

Having Mrs. Joe Biden lead a task form on Public School Transformation and Equity.

Requesting COVID money.

Reversing Trumps 1776 Advisory Committee because it would harm efforts by many school districts to offer comprehensive and unbiased subject matter concerning American history. (That would be the slavery, white supremacy, Native American genocide, etc. discussed above.)

Reinstating Obamas illegal DACA program.

Rescinding Trumps order ending Critical Race Theory training in schools.

Rescinding Trumps order enforcing federal law prohibiting immigrants who are a public charge.

Putting pressure on schools to engage in race-based punishment (that is, students of one race cannot be punished more than those of another even if they are misbehaving more).

Opposing vouchers.

Protecting Dreamers and promoting amnesty for illegal aliens.

You can wade through the NSBA website yourself. Youll find yourself hip-deep in Marxist jargon, anti-Americanism, support for illegal immigration, and Critical Race Theory. Theres a reason the Department of Justice instantly acquiesced to the NSBAs request to use FBI intimidation to silence parental opposition to school boards implementing radical policies. The Biden administration and the NSBA are reading from the same hymnal in the Church of Wokeness.

I have heard through the rumor milland have no evidence to support this claimthat public school boards face pressure to join the NSBA. If thats true, why wouldnt they? Unless they dig deep or are attuned to the meaning behind apparently anodyne phrases such as equity or anti-racism, they have no idea what theyre supporting when they sign on.

Now that the NSBA has come out into the open as a radical leftist organization, I hope that school districts all over America immediately drop their affiliation with this body.

Image: Matt Walsh on the NSBA. Twitter screen grab.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
When Abraham Lincoln spoke the prophetic words "a house divided against itself cannot stand"  in a speech before the Illinois Republican state convention in 1858  he was a relatively unknown politician. He saw the obvious: North and South were hopelessly divided over the issue of slavery  or more fundamentally, states' rights  and a breakup was all but unavoidable. This came to pass in just a few years' time in the form of the Civil War.

Is America nearing a similar point in 2021? Today it is not so much North versus South or free states versus slave states; rather, it is red states versus blue states, the heartland versus the coastal states, elites versus middle class, leftists versus conservatives. No matter how you chose to define the divide, a chasm has grown between two distinct groups living within the U.S. The room for compromise and accommodation seems to be shrinking by the day. Joe Biden's candidacy was based on the promise that he would bring us together. Look at what we got instead: more divisiveness, stoked by the Biden administration itself.

A number of political scientists no longer think the idea of a crack-up of the Union is beyond the pale. They cite a September 30 poll by the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia showing that over half of Trump voters surveyed nationwide and 41 percent of Biden voters are in favor of blue and/or red states seceding from the union. This is poll isn't the only one showing such a sentiment. An earlier YouGov poll in June revealed that 66 percent of Southern Republicans surveyed said they wanted the Southern states to go their own way.

As Steven Malanga, writing at City Journal, points out, the new secession movement predates the Trump-Biden race in 2020. That election, along with the reaction to the Wuhan virus, merely rubbed salt in the nation's wound that already was there. Malanga gives a few examples.

California  it's always California, isn't it?  recently banned any state-sponsored trips by its employees to Ohio. This is based on a 2016 California law that imposes penalties on states that California officials deem to be discriminating against lesbians, homosexuals, bisexuals, or transgender residents. At issue is Ohio's new "conscience law," which allows medical providers to refuse to perform certain procedures, such as gender mutilation surgeries, if they violate a doctor's religious or moral beliefs. The Land of Gavin Newsom now restricts state-financed travel to 18 other states which have a combined population of 116 million people. And recently California slapped its travel restriction on states that require transgender athletes to participate in high school sports based on their sex.

This trend is spreading among other states and even to cities. For ten years, Los Angeles has been restricting travel by city employees to Arizona because of its immigration policies. City departments have also been told not to do business with Arizona firms. A few years after that, L.A. added restrictions on trips to North Carolina and Mississippi over their transgender bathroom laws. During the height of the Wuhan epidemic, some 27 states imposed travel bans or strict quarantine restrictions on residents of other states.

Is abortion the next issue? Portland, Oregon is said to be considering boycotts against Texas for its recent restrictions on abortion. This would put tens of millions of dollars in business at risk. And if LGBT and abortion can get states banned, why not target those with laws to protect Second Amendment rights or states that refuse to mandate masks in their schools?

What about the Constitution's Commerce Clause, which prohibits such restrictions? As Malanga says, the power of the Commerce Clause has been fading. But the problem is more serious than that. Notice that all the bans and boycotts are essentially initiated by liberal states and cities. Judging by the past actions of the Supreme Court, one suspects that the Commerce Clause would spring to life with a vengeance if the restrictions were instead initiated by red states trying to force their values on liberal states. On matters critical to the left-wing hive, the Court leans left, no matter what the Constitution or the written law says. That is why such unconstitutional things as affirmative action and racial quotas, homosexual marriage, and abortion have been enshrined as laws of the land. It's also why the Supreme Court refused to hear any challenge to the flawed 2020 election.

Secession does not necessarily need to be hard and formal as the South tried in 1861. It can be a United States evolving back to a true republic as it was initially meant to be. In that scenario, states would have more autonomy to enact laws that suit their citizens and not be ruled from the imperial capital on the Potomac. This would begin with states refusing to obey objectionable federal laws or decrees of the Supreme Court. This is not anti-democratic. It's naive to think Washington is beholden to the people of the country. That's a facade put forth for public consumption. The politicians, with rare exception, dance to the tune of the big moneyed oligopoly. That's why America's once-mighty Midwestern industrial base was turned into the Rust Belt. And it's also why despite laws to the contrary, illegal immigration flourishes and why U.S. blood and treasure are squandered in foreign adventures.

Yes, even a soft secession could lead to conflict. But to my way of thinking, that's better than being dictated to by a distant elite, which doesn't come close to sharing my values and is bound and possessed to dictate how I live my life. And if the polls cited above are valid, more and more people shared that view. Once a critical mass is reached, secession in one form or another can take on a life of its own.

Image via Pxhere.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
A stunning admission from an administration insider that the President of The United States is clueless and out of touch on some of the most important strategic issues of the day was delivered to a French television audience by former Secretary of State and current presidential special envoy for climate John F. Kerry.

Last month, France recalled its ambassador to the United States in reaction to the secret negotiation of a military alliance called AUKUS (Australia, UK, and the US) that resulted in the cancellation of a gigantic (estimates as high as $66 billion) contract for Australia to buy French diesel submarines (to be assembled in Australia, but generating many jobs in France). Instead, Australia will use American nuclear technology and push back the entry in service of the new submarine fleet by several years. The alliance that excluded France and devastated employment in its defense industries caught the French by surprise.

One might think that a new strategic alliance with a huge negative impact on our oldest ally might be something that POTUS ought to know about. Jim Geraghty of National Review, who broke the story, writes:

In an interview with French television, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry helpfully explains that President Biden simply had no idea that the U.S.-U.K.-Australia deal on submarines would irk the French government, and had not been aware of what had transpired. Kerry: President Biden asked me about it, and I told him, and expressed Interviewer, surprised: You told Joe Biden that it was not the right- Kerry: He asked me. He said, whats the situation? and I explained exactly, uh He was he had not been aware of that, he literally, literally had not been aware of what had transpired. And I dont want to go into the details of it, but suffice it to say, that that the president My president is very committed to, um, strengthening the relationship and making sure that this is a small event of the past and moving on to the much more important future.

See for yourself:

John Kerry admits in interview with French TV that Joe Biden had no idea about the fallout with the French from the AUKUS sub deal.



"He literally had not been aware of what had transpired" pic.twitter.com/EblvE05zKg  POLARIS (@polarisnatsec) October 5, 2021

Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) reacted with an important point: Biden apparently is completely unaware of the importance of keeping allies informed of our strategic plans and moves, and this could explain the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan that left not just Americans and our Afghan allies stranded, but also citizens of many of our allies that sent people there to help our war effort.

.@ClimateEnvoy John Kerry says @POTUS isn't consulted on reactions of key US Allies. This could explain disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal & Biden Admin selling out Eastern European allies in NATO & Ukraine while waiving sanctions on Nord Stream 2 pipeline. https://t.co/RNaa2vsaJg  Senator Bill Hagerty (@SenatorHagerty) October 5, 2021

Kerrys complete interview, which began in French, can be seen below:

Photo credit: Twitter video screengrab

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller has turned out to be a disappointment to the conservatives who supported his willingness to say that the military brass should have suffered meaningful consequences after the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal. Unfortunately, hes contemptuous of Trump, which means hes contemptuous of Trump supporters. Still, its important to remember that his original point was and remains valid.

The withdrawal from Afghanistan was a disgrace. It was done in an intemperate, bass-ackwards way that saw the military abandon $85 billion in high-tech equipment to Taliban fighters in the grip of a 6th-century mentality. Worse, our generals abandoned Americans and true American allies, while shipping out from Afghanistan over a hundred thousand people of mysterious origins and bona fides.

Then, after congratulating himself for an extraordinary success, Biden made clear that no heads would roll. General Mark Milley, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, and General Kenneth McKenzie will maintain their positions and assuredly add more ribbons to the fruit salads on their chests. Four men with enormous power, no humility, poor values, and a deficit of common sense, intelligence, and decency, publicly discounted any responsibility for what happened.

The next chapter in this story was Marine Lt. Col. Stuart Schellers video expressing dissatisfaction with the fact that no high-level people were paying for the disastrous withdrawal. He made the righteous point that its very bad for military discipline if consequences only occur when the lower ranks do wrong, while the upper ranks always get a pass.

People who know their British history keep mentioning Admiral John Byng, who was court-martialed and executed in 1757 for failing to do his utmost to keep a British garrison at Minorca from falling. We dont expect executions when our generals fail but we do expect some consequences, and the troops logically do too.

Scheller tried to quit but, instead, was quickly relieved of duty, sent to a psychiatrist (a soviet thing to do) and, finally, tossed in the brig. Because he violated military rules against stepping outside of the chain of command to take criticisms public, he deserved consequences, although both the psychiatrist and the brig seemed un-American. Still, his parents went onto Fox (I saw them on Tuckers show) to plead his case. Eddie Gallaghers Pipe Hitter Foundation set up a fund for Scheller and conservatives were very generous.

And then Scheller turned out to be a snot-nosed, arrogant, NeverTrumper with nothing but disdain for Trump and his supporterswho also happened to be Schellers supporters. As part of a long, manic Facebook post, he attacked everyone, a whole bunch of people, starting with Trump, and moving on to Obama, Dubya, Clinton, Hillary, Mattis, Petraeus, Flynn, and many more.

What we saw was Scheller go full Jim Carrey in Liar Liar or Warren Beatty in Bulworthnothing was going to stop him from telling his truth. But in doing so, while he may have landed a few punches, what he mostly did was reveal himself to be an angry man with a long hate list.

What he said about Trump oozed contempt, even hatred:

President Trump. I was told by everyone to kiss the ring because of your following and power. I refuse. While I respect your foreign policy positions, I hate how you divided the country. I dont need or want your help. You do not have the ability to pull US together. You may even win the next election. But your generations time is running out. Tell your son to stop tweeting about me. Your whole family knows nothing about US or our sacrifices. I could never work with you. Id rather sit in jail and be released with a dishonorable than make compromises in my beliefs.

Talk about biting the hand that was offering you support.

A lot of people feel strongly that Scheller no longer deserves their support. Indeed, for those who made that support monetary by donating to a fund that Eddie Gallaghers Pipe Hitter organization set up for him, Gallagher did the right thing and said that people can get refunded the money they donated. (Jim Hoft, who reported on Gallaghers officer, wrote, For the record  I donated money to Lt. Col. Scheller. I likely wont do it again but I wont be asking for a refund.)

At the end of the day, remember that, while Scheller may be a disappointment, his initial point was the correct one: It destroys a military institution if rules and consequences are only for the little people, and the generals, no matter how appalling their judgment or conduct, walk away scot-free.

Images: Stuart Scheller edited in befunky. YouTube screen grab.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
Buried in Joe Biden's spending bill of $3.5 trillion is a provision requiring financial institutions to report to the IRS account transactions (deposits or withdrawals) on accounts totaling more than $600. Not only will the IRS be tasked with monitoring your bank account, but every time you swipe your debit card or write a check for more than $600, the IRS will be notified. Last week, Treasury secretary Janet Yellen not only confirmed the proposal during a Financial Services Committee hearing but adamantly supports the snooping. In truth, the proposal is an enormous government data-grab, the measure will add significant regulatory burdens for banks and credit unions, and it's a blatant attempt to control how you spend your money.

Setting aside the invasion of privacy for a minute, tracking all transactions over $600 will be problematic for the IRS, a government agency not known for competence and efficiency. One need not look any farther than the recent disbursement of billions of dollars of pandemic stimulus money, plagued by accounting and mailing errors, which ranged from stimulus checks sent to people who weren't eligible, contrasted with people who are eligible and are still waiting for their checks. In fact, the provision will fundamentally change the information financial institutions are required to report to the IRS and force banks and credit unions to provide the government with information that does not reflect taxable activity.

The goal is to capture additional taxable income, which the White House estimates to be in the neighborhood of $463 billion over the next decade. There is no evidence that confirms the estimate; it's simply a contrived war on bank, loan, and investment income that the White House claims is unreported. The claim is dubious, insofar as banks and investment firms are required by law to file the 1099-INT form on all accounts. The only people guilty of unreported income are those people not filing income tax returns expressly for the purpose of tax evasion. More importantly, the cost for financial institutions to comply is staggering, requiring banks to update software, train additional staff, and manage the burdensome regulations. All of this will come at a cost, passed down to the consumer. And there's always the threat of security breaches.

The absurdity of monitoring bank accounts and reporting transactions over $600 can't be emphasized enough. During the Financial Service Committee hearing, Wyoming congresswomen Cynthia Lummis pressed Secretary Yellen on the necessity of the reporting requirement stating, "Are you aware of how unnecessary this regulatory burden is," adding, "Do you distrust the American people so much that you need to know when they bought a couch? Or a cow?" Lummis has since co-sponsored Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho)'s amendment to prevent financial institutions from monitoring and reporting sensitive American taxpayer information to the Internal Revenue Service.

The last time Democrats attempted to pass a massive legislative behemoth, Nancy Pelosi remarked, "We need to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it." Not this time, Madame Speaker. Not this time!

Image: PublicDomainPictures via Pixabay, Pixabay License.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
Ill sometimes receive a text message containing links to a Twitter page with some sort of amusing picture or video. Yielding to the morbid curiosity that draws our eyes to a car wreck, Ill scroll down to read what people on Twitter are saying. This is always a mistake.

Its an ugly business, wading into that venomous current of rage and loathing. Sometimes the temptation to respond to a particularly clueless post is almost overwhelming but then Ill feel the eye of Mordor turn its gaze on me, and I know that no good can come of it. They are legion.

Its easy to feel a little disheartened after one of those forays into the nether regions of social media. Like catching a glimpse of the Devil himself out of the corner of your eye. You begin to understand that there is very little common ground left to form the basis for rational debate. Emotion rules the day. I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it, no longer has a place in the American dialogue. The left has little tolerance for what you say and even less for your right to say it. Americanas broad fellowship is gone. And theres the rub.

If somewhere near half the country no longer subscribes to our societys morality and foundational structure, its hard to imagine what binds us together as a nation. These are irreconcilable differences and the grounds for an expedited divorce. But divorces are often ugly and as we have already learned, they can be very costly in both blood and treasure.

Our last attempt at separation was along clearly defined geographical lines. There is no such luxury this time. The divisions run through every aspect of our lives and our enemies, foreign and domestic, constantly poke and prod them. No one can say what a divorce of this nature would look like and we probably dont want to find out.

An American renaissance is still possible, though, using our heritage for guidance. This country was built by and for the individual. It is through the individuals strength and steadfast faith in God that it can be saved.

We can start by saying no to the now commonplace and outrageous unconstitutional mandates. While much of the Bill of Rights has gone dark (people are still in solitary confinement nine months after January 6), there is still enough of it left for a campaign of civil disobedience based on our constitutional rights.

The First Amendment protects our right to peaceably assemble. If government mandates say we cant leave our homes or gather in groups, we are justified if we simply ignore them. Our God-given rights are preeminent. The Constitution has no clause suspending it during times of national emergency. If anything, it was meant for such occasions.

The government and social media, now joined at the hip (as Jen Psaki explained), have now made themselves the arbiters of appropriate speech. Constitutionally, however, there is no such thing as appropriate speech. They may delete us off Twitter and other platforms but, though they may try, they cant stop us from talking or control what were saying.

The press has renounced its obligations, so the individual must pick up the slack. The very idea that the government may oppose our beliefs and therefore want to silence us via censorship provides all the incentive we need to make sure our views are heard. The government is violating the Constitution. We are justly asserting our rights.

The Fourth Amendment guarantees our right to be secure in our persons, houses, papers, and effects. All people must follow their consciences as to whether they get vaccinatedbut it is none of the governments business either way. The browbeating and financial coercion that is happening today are as un-American as they are unconstitutional.

The Bill of Rights was enacted to restrain the government. It establishes that our rights extend far beyond the Constitutions express statements. We are a free people. Only if each of us repudiates the encroachments on our liberties can we can turn back the tide of insanity that now threatens our country. This can be a lonely and fearful business but perhaps not as bad as crossing the American frontier or fighting at the Alamo.

These are just a few examples showing how individuals can make a difference by refusing to cooperate with our governments unconstitutional conduct. They cant put us all in jail. At least not yet. But if we continue down this road it wont be long before they can do that and much worse. Just ask the Chinese.

Responding to all the madness on Twitter wont make a dollars worth of difference but refusing to cooperate with unlawful edicts and mandates is how we can start on the long journey toward taking back our country. Resistance is not futile and it can be contagious.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
Shakopee is a suburb of the twin cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. Thats a region that likes to pride itself on being Midwestern nice. However, according to a Minnesota state representative, Shakopee school board member Kristi Peterson and Superintendent Mike Redmond werent Midwestern nice at all. Instead, he alleges that they tried to get a single mom fired from her job for daring to call Peterson out for her rudeness. If this story is true, those two seem to be the living embodiment of Mark Twains statement that, In the first place God made idiots. This was for practice. Then he made school boards.

The Shakopee School District has seven board members, one of whom is a woman named Kristi Peterson. She seems to be the quintessential Minnesotan, a woman who was raised in, educated in, and now works in Minnesota. She has a nice smile and is an almost a compulsive volunteer.

And then theres Superintendent Mike Redmond, who has a Jill Biden degree; that is, an Ed.D. If Ph.D.s were bikes, Ed.D.s would be tricycles. He too is a native Minnesotan whos spent his entire life in the field of public education. For some reason, he was willing to team with Peterson as they tried to destroy a womans life and family.

So what did the woman, known only as Tara, do to put her in Petersons and Redmonds crosshairs? According to State Representative Erik Mortensen, who posted about the incident on Facebook, Tara, having attended a public board meeting, then posted a public comment on social media saying that Peterson was rude when a mother was speaking about trying to mask a child with a disability.

According to Rep. Mortensen in his own Facebook post, what happened next was nothing less than vicious:

...what Kristi and Superintendent Mike Redmond did the next day in response to this harmless post (picture below) is appalling! In retaliation of this pictured post they called the employer of the poster and strong-armed the employer to PUNISH the single mom of 2 for her criticism of Board Chair Kristi Peterson. Thats an abuse of power and straight up bullying!! Both Superintendent Mike Redmond and Board Chari, Kristi Peterson should resign effective immediately. [snip] This poster, Tara, has since been put on a 2 week unpaid suspension and she believes shes going to be fired for a simple Facebook post. So Ive started a GoFundMe account for her. Please pitch in if you can.

Mortensen is correctassuming his version is the entire story and theres no back story saying, for example, that Tara sent dead rats to Petersons homewhat Peterson and Redmond did was entirely inappropriate and, frankly, actionable.

If youre wondering why a story out of a small Midwestern town deserves this kind of attention, its because it seems perfectly representative of whats going on in school districts across America. Shakopees district, like so many in America, is desperate to assert its leftist bona fides. Its got its ritual Diversity and Opportunity statement on its website and says its been working with Equity Alliance MN. Equity Alliance, in turn, is a leftist organization that charges districts $80,000 to investigate racial inequalities under a Critical Race Theory rubric.

In a sea of White Faces, the leftist school district has a Black man whose job is equity. I dont care if hes the best, most wonderful employee in the world. He looks like tokenism.

Ironically enough, the school also has an absolute Bullying Prohibition. If Mortensens report is true, both Peterson and Redmond forgot to acquaint themselves with that aspect of their school district.

Theres a saying that academic politics are so vicious precisely because the stakes are so small. In terms of Petersons ego (assuming the story is accurate), thats certainly true. Unless Tara and her children starve to death in Victorian fashion, no one will die because of Petersons and Redmonds (alleged) choices.

However, as we look at the transformations that school board activists are forcing on American education, the stakes could not be higher. Conservatives with American values (the Constitution, the rule of law, strong borders, individual liberty, equality not equity) need to get themselves on boards and need to do it soon.

Otherwise, our schools will all be like Shakopees: Thin-skinned people who are either hard-left or weak-minded and school districts that sink into racial division and academic decay.

Image: Taras message about Peterson. Facebook screen grab.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
Americans have an inherent right to peaceful protest and thats what a group of parents in Virginia did when they heard that Democrat gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe was coming to town. Someone (possibly in McAuliffes campaign) responded by calling the police. Why? Was this to create a narrative that parents need FBI oversight, as the Department of Justice has promised to provide?

Terry McAuliffes self-inflicted wound from his final gubernatorial debate on September 28th wasto mix metaphorsthe gift that will keep on giving. In his I dont think parents should be telling schools what they should teach remark, he stirred up a hornets nest. A torrent of online criticism has come his way from varied sources. What people may not know is that some of this criticism came much closer to home and in the form of real-life flesh and blood protestors.

Tysons Corner, Virginia, is a high-tech office community that also contains one of the most successful shopping malls in America, Tysons Corner Center. The community is minutes away from the rarified community of monied McLean in which Terry resides, and it was in Tysons Corner that parents came out in force when they learned hed be there.

McAuliffe was meeting with potential donors on Jones Branch Drive in Tysons, Virginia on Friday, October 1, 2021. The protestorsabout 30 in allwere led by Elizabeth Schultz, former Fairfax County School Board Member (2012-2019). Schultz has four children who attended local schools.

One protestor carried a sign reading McAuliffeI wont Co-Parent with You!!! Another announced, The Government is NOT a Co-Parent! Less biting was one placard that read Hey Terry Parents have Rights!!! Even more basic was the sign carried by one gentleman that read We The People.

My favorite was Terry is Scary for our Schools. Other signs read Parents will not be silent and a succinct We Have Rights! Protestors seemed buoyed by positive responses received by drivers of autos passing by.

Despite the peaceable nature of the protest, someone called a Fairfax County Police Department cruiser to the scene, which arrived at about 2 p.m. Protestors took it in strideactually shouting pro-police slogans upon the cruisers arrival.

We dont know who called the police, but you really must wonder why anyone would do so against peaceful protestors staying on a public sidewalk. No one was overturning police cars or burning down buildings as protestors on the left are wont to do. Or perhaps, given that the DOJs agreed that challenges to school boards suggest domestic terrorism, someone who sided with McAuliffe was hoping to support the narrative.

No media were on the scene for it seems that only left-wing protestors or those that commit violent acts (isnt that the same thing?) are newsworthy to a large swath of the media. Regrettably and not surprisingly, this demonstration received scant coverage in the local press besides mention on WMAL radio 105.9. Fortunately, though, Elizabeth Shultz was interviewed that afternoon on Vince Coglianeses Show on WMAL.

The point of this post is to remind people that, even when the media are ignoring them, conservatives are out there letting Democrat politicians and wannabe politicians know that their policies are unpopularand theyre doing it the old-fashioned, First Amendment way, with peaceable speech in a public forum. However, unlike leftists who chase down senators, trapping them in bathrooms or elevators, these protestors had the police called on them.

Both photographs by Nicholas Kalis.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
Last week, Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat candidate for Governor of Virginia, expressed his discontent with parents who want to have a say in the education of their children. In his second debate with Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin, McAuliffe said, I dont think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.

McAuliffe at the second debate (YouTube screengrab)

His angst over parental involvement seems to have struck some as new and unusual. The historic roots of US public education and the public (i.e, government) school system in the US is well documented, so lets review.

The name John Dewey is recognizable in the list of public education crafters in the US. While his contributions spanned the late 1800s through the first few decades of the 20th century, he was a late-comer. The system for the design of our public schools preceded him by over 50 years. Horace Mann, another well-known name in public school circles, began his work in the 1830s when he adopted the Prussian model of free and compulsory education for Massachusetts, where he later became the head of the State Board of Education. This model was based on the Prussian Emperors goal of eliminating free thought so that his underlings would be obedient and unquestioning. From age 6 to mid-teens, the message to the students was compliance. Once the underlying message of equality (free school is equal for everyone) was sold and accepted, Massachusetts gobbled it up and public schools spread across the nation, replacing the free to learn community-based systems that existed since the first days of American independence.

The product of this system was, predictably, a nation of teachers, a generation or two later, whose dedication to compliance became the wooden ruler that they brandished to secure the next generations classroom conformity. This was seen as a necessity. Individuals who were educated outside of this system could not be reliably trusted to adhere to government edicts. Isnt it ironic that Karl Marxs Communist Manifesto, in 1848, called for free education for all children in public schools. (As a point of interest, public education and public school are not synonymous even though today the two are seen as one by most people. Public education means taxes pay the bills whereas public school is a government-owned system staffed by government employees.)

This public school system was such a sparkling success that Irish immigrants, coming to the US in droves because of the potato famine, were so disgusted by the compliance mentality and the void of real learning, that they abandoned the Prussian model school system. The Irish in New York City turned to the Catholic Church to initiate an alternative, and so was born the Catholic School system, a system that still exists today, and succeeds. Education at these schools wasnt free, but the Irish felt that the price was worth paying.

One product of the public schools was, and according to ardent Democrats still is, a belief in the unchallenged nobility of the system. Questioning the teaching methods employed or the academic results obtained is decried in this model as a form of intellectual heresy. Foundational to this belief is the irrefutable idea that no one, particularly us parents, locked out of the public school classroom, are as smart as those who teach. This system of public education, deeply rooted in modern classrooms coast to coast today, is the pot of gold at the end of the Marxist, and by no accident, the McAuliffe, rainbow. It has taken nearly 200 years for the goals of Mann, Marx and their loyal subjects to finally be realized as the normative baseline in public education. If the American public doesnt see through the socialist fog of deception in public schools today and act quickly, the next generation or two and the United States as a nation of God-given liberties will be lost.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
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Aryan Khan's Drug Case Updates:- Top Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan was nabbed by the officials of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB). The court sent Aryan Khan to the custody of NCB till October 7th. The officials of NCB arrested various drug peddlers after the arrest of Aryan Khan. The raids continue in various parts of Mumbai and seized a huge amounts of drugs. The mobile phone of Aryan Khan was seized and it was sent for forensic examination to a laboratory in Gandhi Nagar. The initial reports said that the WhatsApp chats of Aryan Khan showed links to international drug trafficking. The inside reports said that several code names were used to discuss about the drugs and the modes of payment.

The total number of arrests in the case reached 16 and this included the organizers of the party on the cruise. The NCB officials revealed that there were no drugs recovered from Aryan Khan. Fans gathered in huge numbers outside the home of Shah Rukh Khan as a support for the actor in this tough time. Aryan Khan and Arbaaz Merchant are grilled together by the NCB officials yesterday and the duo was offered mess food that was taken by the officials of NCB. Aryan Khan and Arbaaz Merchant were not offered any special privileges. An inside report said that Aryan Khan and Arbaaz Merchant were co-operating for the investigation. Some of the reports said that Aryan Khan and Arbaaz Merchant confessed to consuming drugs from the past four years.
(Image source from: Twitter.com/TelanganaCMO)

KCR has special plans for Dalit Bandhu in Telangana:- Telangana Chief Minister KCR introduced Dalit Bandhu which is the first scheme of the country that would provide a financial aid for the dalit families across the state. Each family will receive an aid of Rs 10 lakhs and the funds will be deposited directly into their accounts. KCR said that the Dalit Bandhu scheme will be extended to 100 families from each Assembly constituency of the state soon by March 2022. Rs 3500 crores is required to cover the 119 Assembly constituencies of the state. KCR also said that Rs 20,000 crores will be sanctioned for Dalit Bandhu in the upcoming budget for Telangana and this will benefit 2 lakh families of Dalits in the state. KCR announced that a total of 18 lakh dalit families will be benefited in total through Dalit Bandhu.

The total budget expected for Dalit Bandhu is said to be Rs 1.80 lakh crore and it will be implemented in phases. He also said that similar benefits will be given for other backward castes in Telangana and the arrangements are currently going on. KCR replied for the discussion about Dalit Bandhu in Telangana Assembly. The opposition parties questioned who will the government be able to mobilize the massive amount of Rs 1.80 lakh crore for Dalit Bandhu. KCR said that the government is ready to sell the lands for the benefit of Dalits. He also said that Rs 2700 crores was acquired during the recent sale. KCR spoke about the growing GDP of the state which is Rs 10 lakh crore and it is expected to reach Rs 23 lakh crore soon.

KCR said that the opposition parties expressed the same doubts when Rythu Bandhu was introduced in the year 2018. He said that Dalit Bandhu too will be a successful one.
Andover, MA (01810)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun. High 67F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy with periods of rain. Low 38F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch.
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(ANSA) - ROME, OCT 6 - Premier Mario Draghi and French President Emmanuel Macron had bilateral talks at the EU-Western Balkans summit in Slovenia on Wednesday.

An Elyseee sources said the meeting "was a chance for the two leaders to discuss the issues that will be discussed at the G20 in Rome at the end of the month".

Among the topics discussed, the source said, were "vaccines and solidarity with Africa", as well as the conference on Libya on November 12.

"There is a common will to go forward together on these priority issues," said the French president's office.

Sources said, on the Libya conference, that "coordination is close between France, Italy and Germany to achieve the application of the commitments made in Berlin which must be developed in Paris".

Macron, the French presidential sources added. "took the opportunity to express his support for the Italian initiative to organise a G20 on the Afghan crisis". (ANSA).


ROME - The Italian cultural institute - Abu Dhabi (IIC), an official government agency dedicated to the promotion of Italian language and culture, is opening to the public. The first and only Italian cultural center in the Gulf region situated in the area of Al Bateen - Abu Dhabi is a three-storey building with a multifunctional space that can host various events, making it an important destination for art and culture.

"The strengthening of economic and cultural ties between Italy and the United Arab Emirates - said Ambassador Nicola Lener - is our main objective. In effect, we have had exchanges in various fields since the 1960s. We are enthusiastic about the idea of sharing our heritage through a cultural platform and the creation of the Italian institute of culture shows how the country acts as a mouthpiece for the value of tolerance, embracing different cultures that compose the social texture of the United Arab Emirates". "As an appendage of the Italian embassy in the United Arab Emirates - said a note - the institute's mission is to promote knowledge, understanding and the appreciation of Italian heritage and contemporary culture. Through educational and cultural events in the field of art, music, literature and academics, the IIC aims to throw a bridge between Italian and Emirati culture to cement the connection".



Ida Zilio-Grandi, the director of the Italian cultural institute in Abu Dhabi and an expert in Islamic studies, said: "With the opening of the institute, we are also starting a culture of sharing with the hope of pushing closer the members of a multicultural, multiethnic and multilingual society. The institute is a platform to show the connection between Italians and Arabs and the way in which our rich history connects us both".



The public is welcomed by an exhibit on Fabrizio Plessi, the first Italian to experiment video art. Called 'Il muro digitale di Plessi' (Plessi's digital wall), the show displays five video installations on independent TV screens that present water as a vital element. Transmitting a message of hope and happiness, the artist described the constant flow of life through water despite conflicts and interruptions.



IIC has a calendar of events over the next few months. For opening hours and schedules it is possible to consult the official website https://iicabudhabi.esteri.it/iic_abudhabi/en and follow @IICabudhab on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.(ANSAmed).
Lebanon: energy minister in Cairo, Amman for electricity Beirut obtains confirmation of Egyptian,Jordanian,Syrian support

(ANSAmed) - BEIRUT, OCTOBER 6 -The Lebanese government has obtained confirmation by the Egyptian, Jordanian and Syrian governments that it will obtain over the coming months provisions of electricity from Jordan, and natural gas, suitable for Lebanese power plants, from Egypt. Beirut has also found the accord with the Syrian government to allow Egyptian gas and Jordanian electricity to go through Syria to reach Lebanon.



Lebanese Energy Minister Walid Fayad travelled to Cairo and Amman to complete technical agreements with Egyptian, Jordanian and Syrian counterparts, as reported Wednesday by Beirut's media. The meetings over the last 48 hours follow talks a month ago between representatives of the four countries as part of a US political initiative to be funded by the World Bank.



Lebanon is facing economic collapse and lacks electrical energy and fuel. The Lebanese government has said that only an electrical power plant - in Deir Ammar - can go with gas.



Egyptian gas (some 600 million cubic meters) will produce only 450 megawatts, just over 15% of Lebanon's electricity needs. The same quantity of electrical energy was produced for years by two Turkish ships-plants anchored south and north of Beirut. But they stopped operating because Beirut's government did not pay the money promised to the Turkish private company.



At the meeting in Amman the sides agreed that electrical energy would arrive in Lebanon from Jordan, through Syrian territory, which has been at the center of violent fighting since 2011 in the context of the civil and regional war in Syria. For this reason, Syrian infrastructures to bring gas and electricity towards Lebanon now require intervention before becoming operational. The government of Damascus, supported by Russia and Iran, has obtained in this operation managed by the US unexpected political and diplomatic benefits.(ANSAmed).




Balkans: no set date for region's countries in EU, Merkel

(ANSAmed) - BELGRADE, OCTOBER 6 - German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday said she agreed with other participants at a summit in Slovenia in considering Western Balkan countries as part of Europe but rejected calls to set a date for their accession into the European Union. "I have not backed the proposal to set a date for the accession of Western Balkan countries to the EU", Merkel was quoted as saying by Serbian media.(ANSAmed).




BRDO - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday said "the meeting today is very important for the European Union as well as the countries of the region, with which we share values", arriving at the EU-Western Balkans summit in Brdo pri Kranju, in Slovenia. "We want to launch a very clear message - the Western Balkans belong to the European Union, we want them in the EU. We are one European family. We share the same history and values and I am certain we have the same fate", said von der Leyen.



The second day of work of the informal summit of EU leaders and their western Balkan partners started on Wednesday morning at the castle of Brdo, not far from the Slovenian capital Ljubljana. The summit, held under the Union's rotating Slovenian presidency, with the heads of State and government of the 27 - for Italy, Premier Mario Draghi - is attended by the leaders of Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Kosovo. It takes place with the participation of representatives of international financial organizations: the European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the World Bank. At the end of the session, a press conference is scheduled with the President of the EU Council Charles Michel, the President of the Commission Ursula von der Leyen and Slovenian Premier Janez Jansa.
While most people will have experienced forgetting the name of someone they have just met, gifted dogs are able to remember the names of new toys two months later, researchers have found.

Scientists examined the ability of six collies, identified through the Genius Dog Challenge, to learn the names of toys.

They found that most learned 12 new toy names in one week and remembered them for two months.

Researchers suggest these dogs are a powerful model for studying mental mechanisms related to word acquisition in a non-humans.

Shany Dror, leading researcher, from the Family Dog Project, Eotvos Lorand University, Hungary, said: We know that dogs can easily learn words that are linked to actions, such as sit or down.

But very few dogs can learn names of objects.

For more than two years we searched around the world for dogs that had learnt the names of their toys, and we managed to find six.

The dogs,  Max from Hungary, Gaia from Brazil, Nalani from The Netherlands, Squall from America, Whisky from Norway, and Rico from Spain  all qualified to participate in the challenge.

To do so, the animals had to prove they knew the names of more than 28 toys, with some knowing more than 100.

Claudia Fugazza, head of the research team, said: These gifted dogs can learn new names of toys at a remarkable speed.

In our previous study we found they could learn a new toy name after hearing it only four times.

But, with such short exposure, they did not form a long-term memory of it.

In the new study, researchers challenged the dogs owners to first teach their pets the names of six toys, and then 12 new toys in only one week.

The researchers were amazed that the dogs were easily able to learn the names of between 11 and 12 toys.

One and two months after they had learned the names of the new toys, the four-legged animals were tested, and researchers found they still remembered the names.

The data was collected during the Covid-19 lockdowns and so owners were asked to set up two video cameras at home and connect to a livestream so the dogs and their owners behaviour could be fully monitored.
Boris Johnson will declare that his Government has the guts to reshape the British economy and tackle major domestic challenges that have been dodged by previous administrations.

In his keynote Conservative Party conference speech, Mr Johnson will attempt to define his levelling-up agenda, arguing that by boosting left behind parts of the country it will ease pressure on the overheating south-east of England.

Against the backdrop of a supply chain crisis and labour shortage that has seen military drivers drafted in to deliver petrol, warnings of empty shelves in shops at Christmas and pigs culled due to a lack of abattoir staff, Mr Johnson will defend his restrictions on foreign workers.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson prepares his keynote speech in his hotel room in Manchester before addressing the Conservative Party Conference on Wednesday (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

He will tell activists in Manchester that the Government is embarking now on the change of direction that has been long overdue in the UK economy.

We are not going back to the same old broken model with low wages, low growth, low skills and low productivity, all of it enabled and assisted by uncontrolled immigration.

He will say: The answer is to control immigration, to allow people of talent to come to this country but not to use immigration as an excuse for failure to invest in people, in skills and in the equipment or machinery they need to do their jobs.

Instead, he will promise the greatest project that any government can embark on by uniting and levelling up across the UK.

That means moving towards a high wage, high skill, high productivity economy that the people of this country need and deserve, in which everyone can take pride in their work and the quality of their work.

The Prime Minister, whose landslide victory in 2019 has given him a Commons majority able to take potentially unpopular decisions, promises to end the failure by successive governments to grasp big issues.

One of the problems he will highlight is adult social care, which the Tories have promised to reform using money raised from a manifesto-busting 1.25 percentage-point rise in National Insurance.

After decades of drift and dither, this reforming government, this can-do government that got Brexit done, is getting the vaccine rollout done and is going to get social care done, he will declare.

We are dealing with the biggest underlying issues of our economy and society.

The problems that no government has had the guts to tackle before.

The Prime Ministers promise to level up parts of the country that had missed out on the economic success of London and the south-east was a key part of his pitch to voters in former Labour areas  the so-called Red Wall.

The Prime Minister was pictured behind a laptop during a break at the Tory Party conference in Manchester (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

But the Chesham and Amersham by-election defeat in June has caused concern among Tories about the focus on northern areas.

Mr Johnson will attempt to bridge that gap by insisting that all parts of the UK can benefit from his plans.

There is no reason why the inhabitants of one part of the country should be geographically fated to be poorer than others, he will say.

Or why people should feel they have to move away from their loved ones or communities to reach their potential.

Levelling up helps to take the pressure off parts of the overheating south-east, while simultaneously offering hope and opportunity to those areas that have felt left behind.

Mr Johnson will say: If you want the idea in a nutshell it is that you will find talent, genius, flair, imagination, enthusiasm  all of them evenly distributed around this country  but opportunity is not, and it is our mission as Conservatives to promote opportunity with every tool we have.
Boris Johnson said he wanted to correct "imbalanced societies" in the UK. (Getty)

Boris Johnson has outlined his levelling up plan, which he claims will unleash the unique spirit of the country as he sets out on the difficult process of reshaping the economy.

The Prime Minister said he wanted to find the talent, genius, care, imagination and enthusiasm everywhere in this country, adding his levelling-up agenda was about ensuring opportunity for all.

Johnson made his speech at the Conservative Party conference amid shortages of lorry drivers and other workers hitting supply chains, leading to empty shelves and queues at petrol stations.

His plans may also be hindered by a looming National Insurance rise for millions of workers to fund a 12 billion annual investment in health and social care and the cut in Universal Credit (UC).

Johnson said: We have one of the most imbalanced societies and lopsided economies of all the richer countries.

It is not just that there is a gap between London and the south-east and the rest of the country, there are aching gaps within the regions themselves

But think-tank Resolution Foundation has forecast the 20 UC cut will disproportionately impact the people Johnson says he wants to help "level up".

The chart below shows London (28%) and the south-east (21%) are not among the top five worst-hit areas from the cut.

These were Northern Ireland (36%), Wales (35%), West Midlands (34%), Yorkshire and the Humber (34%) and North East (34%).

The percentages show the proportion of non-pensioner households that will lose over 1,000 in 2021/22 after the 20 uplift is removed.

Resolution Foundation said: At the constituency level we can also see that in several Red Wall seats that the Conservatives won with small majorities in the last election, almost half of households look set to be affected.

Overall, half a million working-age households in Red Wall seats will lose out (and indeed these contemporary figures may be underestimates of claimant numbers for 2021).

From Wednesday, no assessments will include the UC uplift, meaning that from October 13  a week later  no monthly payments will be received that include the extra money.

The proportion of non-pensioner households that will lose over 1,000 in 2021/22. (Resolution Foundation)

Charities have called on the government to reverse the cut, after Johnson referred to tackling big societal problems in his party conference speech in Manchester.

Director of policy and campaigns at Action for Children, Imran Hussain, said: Theyre being squeezed by a 20-a-week cut and squeezed by soaring food, fuel and energy prices.

Three quarters of children living in poverty in the UK are in working families and as our recent research shows this cut will compound previous benefits losses from the past decade.

Theres no road to levelling up the country that starts with making more children cold and hungry this winter.

Alison Garnham, chief executive of the Child Poverty Action Group, added: The Prime Ministers vocabulary was action-packed but the big action for struggling families has been a Universal Credit cut that leaves them without enough to live on.

The opportunity the Prime Minister speaks of will feel like a vanishing light for these families  in their millions.

Child poverty is rising in the UK and the Universal Credit cut will push it higher. Will the Government have the guts to confront and tackle it or will it go on sidestepping it as an inconvenience?
Scottish scientist David WC MacMillan and German scientist Benjamin List have jointly been awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry.

Professor MacMillan, of Princeton University in the US, and Professor List, of Germanys Max Planck Institute, were given the prize for developing a new way of building molecules, according to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which organises the awards.

Building molecules is a difficult art. Benjamin List and David MacMillan are awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2021 for their development of a precise new tool for molecular construction: organocatalysis, the academy said in a statement.

This has had a great impact on pharmaceutical research, and has made chemistry greener.

BREAKING NEWS: The 2021 #NobelPrize in Chemistry has been awarded to Benjamin List and David W.C. MacMillan for the development of asymmetric organocatalysis. pic.twitter.com/SzTJ2Chtge  The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 6, 2021

The pair are said to have developed this third type of catalyst independently of each of other, in 2000.

It is known as asymmetric organocatalysis and builds upon small organic molecules.

The prize amount is 10 million Swedish kronor (800,000).

Johan Aqvist, chairman of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry, said: This concept for catalysis is as simple as it is ingenious, and the fact is that many people have wondered why we didnt think of it earlier.

The academy said Professor MacMillan was born in Bellshill, North Lanarkshire, in 1968.

Princeton University said he gained his undergraduate degree in chemistry at the University of Glasgow in 1991, before being awarded a PhD in organic chemistry at the University of California, Irvine, in 1996.

He studied at Harvard University before beginning his independent career at the University of California, Berkeley, moving to Caltech and then Princeton in 2006.

Congratulations to UofG graduate David MacMillan for winning the 2021 Nobel Prize for Chemistry along with Benjamin List for his work on organic catalysts  We are so proud of you David! #UofGWorldChangers #TeamUofG pic.twitter.com/yCUTHlCxnZ  University of Glasgow (@UofGlasgow) October 6, 2021

Professor Justin Hargreaves, head of the University of Glasgows School of Chemistry, said: Huge congratulations to Benjamin List and David MacMillan on receiving the 2021 Nobel Prize in chemistry for their work on organic catalysts.

Were particularly thrilled for David, who undertook his undergraduate degree in chemistry here at the University of Glasgow. He has maintained links with the School of Chemistry in the years since, including offering bursaries to support students, for which were very grateful.

He is now the fifth Nobel laureate in chemistry associated with the university, after Sir William Ramsay, Frederick Soddy, Sir Alexander Robertus Todd and Sir Derek Barton. They are some of the most accomplished chemists of their time, and were delighted that the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has chosen to place David among them.
New COVID-19 cases are now falling across most of the country, and experts predict that the U.S. pandemic may finally be starting to peter out.

While the virus may never fully disappear, it is expected to become endemic  just another less dangerous and disruptive threat that humans coexist with.

Barring something unexpected, former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb told the New York Times earlier this week, Im of the opinion that this is the last major wave of infection.

The experts, of course, have been wrong about COVID before; even now, few are willing to rule out another sizable winter surge. The Times's David Leonhardt noted that the virus seems to follow a cycle: surge for two months, decline for two months. The U.S. just crossed 700,000 deaths, a testament to COVIDs continued lethality.

But the latest trends are especially encouraging, and the dynamics of immunity and infection suggest they could foreshadow the end of Americas COVID emergency.

Luis Mostacero receives a COVID-19 test from technician Jamie Kunzer at Chicago's O'Hare airport in May. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Consider the data. Exactly three weeks ago, Americas summer wave  fueled by stalling vaccination rates and the hypercontagious Delta variant  peaked at an average of nearly 176,000 cases per day. That average daily case count has since plummeted 41 percent, to roughly 104,000. The number of COVID patients in hospitals, a lagging indicator, has been shrinking for the last month; its down 25 percent since Sept. 4. And COVID deaths, which lag even further, are now decreasing as well.

Overall, fewer and fewer COVID tests nationwide have been coming back positive: less than 6.5 percent currently, compared with more than 10 percent in late August.

For weeks, the cautious response to these improvements has been to remind people of what happened last year. That summer, the virus surged and subsided as well  before it came roaring back in October. Three excruciating months later, it peaked at a horrific 250,000 cases and 3,300 deaths a day.

Why assume well be spared another surge, the skeptics say  especially now that Americans are taking fewer precautions than ever while cooling weather is again driving them indoors and another holiday season is right around the corner?

The skeptics have a point. But so do optimists like Gottlieb, who think this winter will be a lot better than last winter, and that this summers Delta surge could be the viruss last big gasp.

There are two main differences between 2020 and 2021 that give the optimists hope. The first is vaccination. On Oct. 5, 2020, no Americans had been vaccinated. Today, exactly one year later, a full 64 percent have received a vaccine dose. Among adults, that number is 77 percent.

A man passes a mural in Brooklyn, N.Y. (Michael Nagle/Xinhua via Getty Images)

To be sure, vaccinated people can still test positive for Delta and transmit it to others  but not as frequently or as easily as unvaccinated people. Meanwhile, the largest remaining bloc of unvaccinated Americans, 28 million kids ages 5 to 11, should be eligible for shots before Thanksgiving. And while data from Israel and elsewhere has shown that vaccine effectiveness against mild and moderate infection wanes over time and in the face of Delta  especially for early Pfizer recipients  the most vulnerable Americans are already getting boosters, and the rest of the country may not be far behind.

Vaccination, in other words, is giving the U.S. a massive head start over the virus this time around. That wasnt the case last year.

The second difference between then and now is Delta itself. The main reason the variant has sickened so many Americans and evaded at least some vaccine protection is that its roughly twice as transmissible as the strain that was spreading in the U.S. a year ago. Thats the bad news. The good news (if you can call it that) is that a variant as infectious as Delta effectively crowds out other worrisome variants while rapidly generating a lot of infection-induced immunity in its wake.

Vaccination is a far safer and more effective way to acquire immunity than infection, of course. But if more unvaccinated people get the virus now, fewer of them will be vulnerable over the winter.

The practical implications could be huge. One concern about Delta was how it would interact with so-called seasonality. In the summer of last year, the virus slammed Southern and Southwestern states harder than their Northern and Midwestern counterparts, perhaps because hotter temperatures drove more people inside. Then the entire country, including the North and Midwest, was clobbered during the holidays.

Shana Alesi administers a booster shot to Bill Fatz in Hines, Ill., on Sept. 24. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

After Delta ravaged the South this summer, some feared that history was about to repeat itself  especially with masking and distancing on the decline and kids crowding back into classrooms.

But this years pattern doesnt match last years. Because Delta spreads so much more quickly and efficiently than its predecessors, the variant hasnt been waiting for winter to head north. Instead, it looks like its already burning through all the unprotected hosts it can, wherever they might be.

Vermont is a good example. This time last year, the Green Mountain State was recording just 10 COVID cases per day, on average; the virus didnt start surging there until November. Yet from this July to this September  months when its curve flatlined in 2020  Vermont actually endured its largest surge yet, which just peaked at 219 cases per day (even though its Americas most vaccinated state). The same thing is happening next door in Maine.

Many other states that survived the summer of 2020 relatively unscathed have seen swelling case counts in recent weeks. Alaska, for instance, is Americas worst COVID hot spot by far; its current wave is twice as bad as its previous bout with the virus. That earlier surge started last October and peaked last December. This one started in July and appears to have peaked in late September.

Ohio is similarly now coming off a surge that was nearly as big as last winters. West Virginia, Washington state and Oregon have struggled with their biggest surges yet. New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland  all of them have seen summer virus surges this year.

None of these states had to deal with waves last summer.

Pharmacist Ashley McGee fills a syringe with the Pfizer COVID-19 booster vaccination at a clinic in San Rafael, Calif. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

One could interpret this information pessimistically and predict that an even bigger, badder winter wave is looming. But kids have already been back in school for a month; the data seems to confirm that they arent driving new surges. At a certain point, enough Americans will have acquired at least some immunity through either vaccination or infection to slow Delta down  and to make any subsequent infections significantly less dangerous. The pandemic will end; the virus will become endemic.

The question is when. Already, case counts are not falling just across the undervaccinated South, which drove the summer surge. And theyre not falling just in Alaska or West Virginia, the latest undervaccinated hot spots. Theyre also falling or plateauing in the other, more vaccinated states that recently experienced their own smaller, seemingly premature surges.

Could it be that because Delta spreads so easily, it may have already infected  or is now in the process of infecting  most of the unvaccinated Americans its going to infect, regardless of region or season?

Could it be that the bulk of whatever wave might have hit the U.S. this coming winter has basically hit already  and that by the time winter comes, Delta will have fewer and fewer unprotected Americans left to infect?

Thats the hopeful argument Gottlieb and others are making. Soon enough, Americans will know if theyre right. At the moment, Delta appears to have spread as far north as it can go; the reddest counties on the map of U.S. hot spots trace a wintry arc along the Canadian border from Maine to Montana before descending into the rural, undervaccinated Mountain West.

If cases keep rising in chilly areas, it could portend more widespread transmission once colder weather hits everywhere. But if the northernmost U.S. starts to improve as well, this holiday season is likely to be safer than last years. It could even signal the beginning of the end.

____

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YEREVAN, 6 OCTOBER, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs Armenpress that today, 6 October, USD exchange rate down by 1.66 drams to 483.01 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 4.83 drams to 557.44 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.03 drams to 6.64 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 5.59 drams to 654.53 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price down by 114.61 drams to 27225.67 drams. Silver price up by 1.52 drams to 349.17 drams. Platinum price up by 42.47 drams to 14845.85 drams.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 6, ARMENPRESS. Within the framework of the state visit of the President of the Republic of Armenia Armen Sarkissian to Italy, under the auspices of the Presidents of the Republic of Italy and Armenia, an exhibition of the works of famous Armenian painters Hovhannes Aivazovsky, Gevorg Bashinjaghyan, Martiros Saryan, Vardges Surenyants, Hakob Kojoyan was opened on October 6 at the Quirinal Palace.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the Presidents Office, President Sarkissian and his wife Nouneh Sarkissian, President of Italy Sergio Mattarella and Laura Mattarella visited the exhibition.

A similar Italian exhibition was organized in September 2020 at the residence of the President of the Republic of Armenia, where the works of great Italian painters of the 18th century were exhibited.

According to the President of the Republic Armen Sarkissian, such exhibitions are a proof of the deep and close friendly and warm relations between the peoples of Armenia and Italy, both historically and today. "Art unites peoples, which is more than obvious in the case of the Armenian-Italian peoples with ancient roots of friendship. And this is exactly what is called the dialogue of civilizations, the dialogue of cultures, the dialogue of the inner world and the talent of nations.

Sarkissian noted that the works of the Armenian painters presented at the exhibition, are an inseparable part of not only Armenias national heritage, but also of global art heritage. Some of the mentioned painters had many interactions with Italy and the Italian art during their time.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 6, ARMENPRESS. Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II met with Pope Francis in the Vatican, ARMENPRESS was infomred from the press service of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.

During the conversation Karekin II referred to the catastrophic consequences of the 44-day war, the current challenges facing Armenia and Artsakh, especially emphasizing the issue of the return of prisoners of war and those taken captive in the post-war period.

The Catholicos of All Armenians also thanked Pope Francis for the support provided to Armenia and Armenian people during the war.

Afterwards, the delegation led by His Holiness Karekin II met with Secretary of State of the Vatican Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

During the conversation, reference was made to the situation in the region after the 44-day Artsakh war. In particular, issues related to the security of the people of Artsakh, the encroachments on the sovereign territory of Armenia, as well as the preservation of the Armenian spiritual and cultural heritage in the territories under the control of Azerbaijan were discussed. The Catholicos of All Armenians greatly highlighted the role of the international community in overcoming the existing challenges and problems.
The guarantee cover was available up to March 31, 2022 or until the guarantees for Rs 7,500 crore loans were used up

Chennai: Self-regulatory organisation of micro finance institutions, Sa-Dhan has sought allocation of an additional Rs 7,500 crore under the credit guarantee scheme so that the smaller MFIs also receive the benefits of the scheme.

The finance minister in June had announced a Rs 7,500-crore credit guarantee scheme to facilitate concessional loans to 25 lakh small borrowers through micro-finance institutions. The guarantee cover was available up to March 31, 2022 or until the guarantees for Rs 7,500 crore loans were used up.

As the allocated amount has been exhausted, Sa-Dhan, which represents 229 MFIs, has asked the ministry to allocate another Rs 7,500 crore under the scheme. According to Sa-Dhan, MFIs have applied for Rs 18,500 crore from 44 banks. However, once the banks reach the exposure limits under NBFC-MFIs, they are unable to approve more funding for smaller MFIs. So the smaller MFIs are left without funds.

The additional funds will support the MFIs with lower grading, which are smaller and cater to poorer sections and remote areas. It will also help smaller MFIs and non-NBFC MFIs to reach out to the most vulnerable people of the country.

The Ministry of Finance too has been keen on ensuring that the scheme is availed of by all MFIs across the country and not a select few.

The Ministry of Finance has been eager to track the scheme and understand the overall impact. The additional Rs 7,500 crore will help smaller MFIs and non NBFC MFIs to reach out to the most vulnerable people of the country in the governments endeavour of financial inclusion, said P. Satish, executive director, Sa-Dhan.

Sa-Dhan also wants banks to be instructed to book this portfolio under a separate head of MFIs with suitable exposure norms. The current exposure norms largely favour the large NBFC-MFIs with better ratings.
Post-loosening of pandemic restrictions, the services sector continued to expand in September

The unemployment rate declined from 8.3 per cent in August to 6.9 per cent in September. (Photo: PTI/File)

Chennai: Last month, the services sector Purchasing Mana-gers Index grew at the second fastest pace since February 2020 while jobs increased by 8.5 million during the month, with a marked growth in salaried jobs, reports from IHS Markit and CMIE showed.

Post-loosening of pandemic restrictions, the services sector continued to expand in September, by registering a reading above the 50-mark on IHS Markits Services Business Activity Index. The index stood at 55.2 points in September, highlighting a marked increase in activities, though it was lower from an 18-month high of 56.7 recorded in August. The PMI however recorded the second highest growth in 18 months.

The Composite PMI Output Index, which combines manufacturing and services PMI, was at 55.3, almost similar to 55.4 in August.

The services PMI reading was supported by new business, with panelists citing favourable underlying demand and accommodative market conditions. This also was reflected in the employment situation, with firms reporting an increase in hiring, ending nine months of job shedding, said Rahul Bajoria, chief India economist, Barclays.

The CMIEs household survey found that jobs increased by 8.5 million during September, raising the employment rate from 37.2 per cent to 37.9 per cent. The unemployment rate declined from 8.3 per cent in August to 6.9 per cent in September and labour participation rate increased from 40.5 per cent to 40.7 per cent. Employment in Septem-ber 2021 has touched 406.2 million. Moreover, salar-ied jobs rose by 6.9 million to 84.1 million from 77.1 million in August. This brought salaried jobs closer to their average of 86.7 million in 2019-20.
The IAF Chief said India will start getting its first Russian-made advance air defence system S-400 within this year

Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari said while the Air Force will get 83 Light Combat aircraft MK1A, 114 MRFA and Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft, it would also have to retire the Jaguar and MiG-21, which will bring down the IAFs squadron strength. (Twitter)

New Delhi: At a time when theres a joint threat from China and Pakistan, the Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal V.R. Chaudhari, said Tuesday that India will not have its full 42 fighter squadrons even in the next 10-15 years.

He said the Indian Air Force can only get a maximum of 35 squadrons in the next 10 years, up from the current 31-32. Each squadron has around 16-18 aircraft. Earlier, the IAF had assessed it will need 42 squadrons to protect the western and northern borders with Pakistan and China.

Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari said while the Air Force will get 83 Light Combat aircraft MK1A, 114 MRFA and Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft, it would also have to retire the Jaguar and MiG-21, which will bring down the IAFs squadron strength.

The Air Chief said the Chinese PLA Air Force was developing its airbases along the Line of Actual Control and its aircraft were still present at three bases across eastern Ladakh even as disengagement talks were going on between the two countries.

However, he said that while China was developing its infrastructure, it would not impact air operations. He said that the Chinese Air Forces capability to launch multi-mission operations from such high-altitude airfields would remain a weak area. We are fully prepared, the Air Chief said at the customary annual press conference before Air Force Day on October 8.

On collusion between China and Pakistan against India, the IAF Chief said this would always remain a threat, and Indian Air Force capability building was dependent on what the threat is. Be rest assured we are capable... we are prepared in terms of training and equipment to handle a two-front scenario, said Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari. He said there was nothing to fear from this partnership. But the only worry is Western technology passing from Pakistan to China.

With regard to the airfields in Pakistan and PoK, we dont need to be very alarmed as they are small strips capable of taking on a few helicopters. The ones towards the Afghan border is probably for rescuing their own people from Afghanistan, he said.

The IAF Chief said India will start getting its first Russian-made advance air defence system S-400 within this year.

On theaterisation, Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari said that the concerns expressed by the Air Force have been taken into account and discussion on it was still going on. He said the theaterisation structure will have to cater to future warfare and the strengths and doctrine of each service has to be kept in mind while designing the structure. However, he said the IAF was fully committed towards integration and theaterisation.

We are hopeful that the ultimate structure that will emerge will cater for joint planning and joint operations in future, he said.

On the recent controversy where CDS Gen. Bipin Rawat had called the Air Force a support arm of the Army, he pointed out no one service can go alone in a war and each service needs the others support. The Army also at times has to support the IAF in its air operations, he said.

The Air Chief said the IAF will soon give contracts to start-ups to develop swarm drones that were chosen on the basis of a competition. The IAF is also interested in giving contracts to start-ups to get anti-drone systems.

On accidents involving MiG-21s, he said the fact that there have been a large number of accidents involving the MiG-21 fleet was not deniable. But the data also shows there has been a reduction in the number of accidents in this fleet. Let me assure you that every aircraft that flies goes through all checks rigorously, he said.

We have four squadrons of MiG-21s, and the drawdown will happen in the next three to four years, Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari added.
A bench comprising Justices M.R. Shah and A.S. Bopanna granted the DoT time to reconsider the levy

The case has been going on since July 2019 when the Telecom Disputes Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) ruled that the one-time spectrum charge could be levied prospectively, not retrospectively. (PTI)

New Delhi: Giving major relief to the embattled telecom companies, the Centre on Tuesday informed the Supreme Court that it was reconsidering giving a waiver of the one-time spectrum charge amounting to Rs 40,000 crores to the telecom companies.

In a brief affidavit, the department of telecommunications (DoT) said the amount involved was the subject matter of adjudication and sought three weeks time to review the decision to penalise the telecom firms for

delay in paying the spectrum charges.

A bench comprising Justices M.R. Shah and A.S. Bopanna granted the DoT time to reconsider the levy and posted the matter for hearing on November 17, while noting that it cant allow waivers as it has to keep in mind the larger public interest.

The case has been going on since July 2019 when the Telecom Disputes Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) ruled that the one-time spectrum charge could be levied prospectively, not retrospectively. The DoT then moved

the Supreme Court, which refused to stay the TDSAT order.

The DoT said the telecom sector was passing through financial stress for some time due to various circumstances and despite certain measures taken by the government in the public interest, most TSPs giving mobile phone and broadband services have been incurring losses.

The Indian Banks Association has also conveyed to the Central government in writing that those adverse developments in the telecommunications sector may lead to failures, vanishing competition, duopoly, unsustainable operations, and severe loss for the banking system which has a huge exposure to this sector," it said in the affidavit.

The affidavit also cited the decision taken by the Union Cabinet to encourage competition amongst TSPs by preventing a situation where the viability of some TSPs become unsustainable, that could lead to a monopolistic situation and other adverse effects on the economy.
Dissatisfied with himself for his association with the BJP, Mr Das performed his 'atonement' by shaving his head at a temple

Mr Das is all set to defect to the Trinamul Congress on Wednesday on the auspicious occasion of 'Mahalaya', that marks the onset of Debipaksha, a week ahead of the Bengalis biggest festival, the Durga Puja. (Twitter)

Kolkata: The BJP has received its first setback in Tripura after West Bengal as its Suma (Dhalai) MLA, Ashish Das, quit the party with religious rituals in Kolkata on Tuesday. Dissatisfied with himself for his association with the BJP, Mr Das performed his atonement by shaving his head at a temple and taking a holy dip in the Adi Ganga at a temple at Kalighat, close to Trinamul Congress supremo Mamata Banerjees residence. I removed my sins, he said.

Mr Das is all set to defect to the Trinamul Congress on Wednesday on the auspicious occasion of Mahalaya, that marks the onset of Debipaksha, a week ahead of the Bengalis biggest festival, the Durga Puja. Mr Das has already held talks with the TMC quietly while camping in the city for the past few days.

Hailing Ms Banerjees leadership, he said: She has been the choice of many people for the post of Prime Minister. We have not seen any Bengali become Prime Minister till now. I bagged around 25 per cent votes in 2015 when I won as a BJP MLA. Its effect was reflected in my re-election as a BJP MLA in 2018. But an anarchy has been underway in Tripura.

Mr Das also told the media: You may ask why I am feeling it now? I would say I reached out to the people with services by rising above the party and the administration there. Many central leaders have been visiting Tripura and other northeastern states, often in the name of solving the peoples problems. Unfortunately, no problem has yet been solved. It is not the problem of Tripura CM Biplab Deb. It is a collective issue.

He is, however, not alone on the radar of the TMC, which has pledged to expand its network in Tripura and other states of the Northeast. There are 10 more BJP MLAs, mostly Bengalis, who are in touch with the TMC for defection, according to sources.

They are Sudip Roy Barman, Krishnadhan Das, Dilip Kumar Das, Ratan Chakraborty, Surajit Dutta, Asish Kumar Saha, Mimi Majumdar, Ram Pada Jamatia, Sudhangshu Das and Binay Bhushan Das, the sources claimed.

Mr Roy Burman, who is also known for his rivalry with the Tripura CM, is believed to be the key figure behind the revolt in the BJP in the neighbouring state. He was earlier roped in to the TMC by Mukul Roy around 2015 when he was in Ms Banerjees party. Mr Roy Burman and Mr Roy later joined the BJP. While Mr Roy made a comeback in May this year, Mr Roy Burman is expected to follow in his footsteps soon.
Mr Khattar does not stop with advocating 'tit for tat' as a strategy

Democracy is about free and fair elections. But three words -- rule of law -- are equally critical. In a democracy, citizens get to choose their representatives through elections but what happens between elections is just as important because it is during this period that the rule of law, or its absence, can be gauged. And its the rule of law which determines how citizens relate to their leaders. The rule of law is not just a piece of legalese. It means everyone -- both the powerful and the powerless -- are equal before the law and that the processes that undergird the countrys criminal justice system must be followed.

Which brings me to three other critical words Sathe Shathyam Samacharet (tit for tat) recently advocated by Manohar Lal Khattar, the chief minister of Haryana, where the BJP is in power. In a video clip that has gone viral in the social media since Sunday, Mr Khattar is seen asking BJP Kisan Morcha workers to set up groups of volunteers who can pick up sticks in parts of Haryana.

We will have to encourage upcoming farmer groups... In every district, particularly the northern and northwestern districts, we will have to raise groups of 500-700 kisan volunteers... And then Sathe Shathyam Samacharet (tit for tat). Pick up sticks, Mr Khattar said, as reported in a major national newspaper and several other media outlets.

Mr Khattar does not stop with advocating tit for tat as a strategy. In the video clip, he can be heard telling the assembled farmers not to worry about bail, etc. If you spend a couple of months you will become a leader. You will learn much more than these meetings and become a tall leader. Your name will get etched in history, the chief minister says by way of reference to doing time behind bars.

Predictably, the video clip kicked up a storm. Mr Khattars supporters say the Haryana chief ministers remarks were cherry-picked, the clip was misleading and that the talk about raising volunteers was only in the context of countering propaganda about the three farm laws. But neither Mr Khattar nor his supporters have so far denied that he advocated Sathe Shathyam Samacharet (tit for tat) and the use of the stick to counter the farm laws critics.

How does Sathe Shathyam Samacharet sync with the rule of law?

Last year, the same Mr Khattar had thundered: No one will be allowed to take law and order into their own hands in Haryana. He was speaking on the sidelines of the Progressive Farmers Conference and Discussion on Agriculture Ordinance in Karnal.

A few months ago, the Haryana CM was waxing eloquent about his state being the land of hospitality and the birthplace of Gita and a heart to heart connect while inaugurating the corporate headquarters of Hyundai Motors India in Gurgaon. He talked about his state as a land of possibilities, enterprise, research and innovation, among the most developed and industrialised states of India. While hard-selling Haryana to South Korean investors, Mr Khattar introduced himself in Korean. The chief minister also ended his speech in Korean, saying: I welcome you to the Land of Haryana. Needless to say, there was no mention of Sathe Shathyam Samacharet nor sticks before the Koreans nor any business delegation.

But here is the catch.

It is no longer possible to speak in different voices to different groups of people and let it remain a secret. Everything gets out.

You cant advocate vigilantism and the language of the stick in one place and the rule of law at another and hope that no one would catch on.

The video clip of a SUV mowing down protesting farmers and the violence that followed in Uttar Pradeshs Lakhimpur Kheri is front-page news. At the time of writing, the UP police has booked the son of Indias junior home minister for murder and criminal conspiracy over the death of eight people in Lakhimpur Kheri -- four farmers and a journalist. The government has announced a judicial probe in a bid to defuse tensions.

But even before this dastardly saga, there was the use of the language of threat that raises questions about respect for the rule of law. There is the widely-reported video clip of the minister of state where he is heard warning agitating farmers that he would discipline/fix them in two minutes even before Sundays violent clashes in Lakhimpur Kheri: Face me, it will take just two minutes to discipline you fellows.

There is a simple point here: you cant have rule of law and its antithesis co-existing side by side without damage to society and the economy.

As Supreme Court advocate Vikram Hegde puts it: The statements of political leaders are often interpreted by their followers to carry more than their literal meaning. When a political leader who is also in charge of the state machinery exhorts a group to go against another, there is an implicit promise that they will have the support of law enforcement. This is a recipe for a breakdown of law and order on which our society and economy stand.

The social consequences of letting groups of people decide what justice should be has been written about at length. But it does not stop there. There are consequences for the economy as well in the long run. As Mr Hegde points out, businesses -- whether domestic or foreign -- like regulatory certainty and abhor slippage of power from the established law to reactionary elements and people who dont respect the rule of law. The reason is simple -- this spells mayhem and unpredictability. That is bad for business.

We are seeing the use of criminal charges to crush dissent, extrajudicial killings, misuse of anti-conversion laws against minority communities, and the growing legitimisation of vigilantes.

What is most disturbing is the public acceptance of violations of the rule of law in parts of the country. If individuals and groups can be allowed to mete out justice in accordance with their subjective views, what happens to the rule of law? In essence, the principle of the rule of law means that people who hold a certain authority should exercise their power within the framework of laws and norms, rather than exercise their power according to their own preferences. Once the latter is allowed to work in favour of one group, there will be copycat actions. Every group will want to have its way. And that is the beginning of the end.
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Graveside services for James "Jimmy" Gary Hope 67, of Athens, are scheduled for 11 a.m., Saturday November 20, 2021, Union Cemetery in Crossroads, TX. Pastor Jeff Jackson will be officiating. Jimmy passed away peacefully in his home on Sunday, October 24, 2021. Jimmy was born on July 3, 1954
If you ask me, the 1970s gave us a few of the sexiest (and most iconic) vintage motorcycles of all time. On one side of the globe, you had Japanese enterprises revolutionizing the industry to its very core, while manufacturers like Ducati and BMW assembled some truly handsome machines over in Europe. Now, it goes without saying, this was a wonderful decade for moto-loving petrolheads around the world!On that note, weve the pleasure of introducing you to a mesmerizing 1971 BMW R50/5 with 20k miles (32,000 km) on the odometer. The bikes gauges and powertrain components were subjected to a revitalizing makeover under current ownership for optimal performance. On the other hand, its weary battery, tires, and throttle cables have all been replaced with modern alternatives.As for the Beemers general specifications, it is powered by a numbers-matching 498cc boxer-twin mill, with dual Bing carbs and a compression ratio of 8.6:1. The air-cooled powerplant is good for up to 32 horses at 6,400 spins, along with 29 pound-feet (39 Nm) of twist lower down the rpm range.A four-speed transmission is tasked with routing the oomph to the rear wheel by means of a shaft final drive, resulting in a modest top speed of 97 mph (157 kph). Suspension duties are handled by telescopic forks and twin oil-pressure shock absorbers while stopping power comes from a duplex drum brake up front and a 200 mm (7.9 inches) simplex module down south.The 71 MY R50/5 is making its way to the auction block at no reserve, and youd need something in the neighborhood of $2,500 to surpass the top bidder. Bavarias two-wheeled gem can be found on the BaT ( Bring A Trailer ) website until Sunday (October 10), when the auctioning period will come to an end. If I were you, Id be sure to check this thing out before the aforementioned deadline is reached.
<thread> Lithium prices.



In 2019 I was asked whether lithium prices in the next price surge would ever reach the highs of 2016.



My response was this time it would be more aggressive. Instead of the late 20s, prices in China would exceed $40,000/t



There are a few reasons pic.twitter.com/SLqxRRLF4X  Simon Moores (@sdmoores) October 6, 2021

According to Bloomberg , the price increase is directly connected with the demand for electric cars. Benchmark Mineral Intelligence (BMI) monitors the prices of the two primary sources for the metal: lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide.The consulting company said that the main issue is that demand is increasing, but lithium mines are still the same. All new companies announcing their plans to present electric cars are new buyers. Any carmaker that already sells EVs and introduces new ones is also driving production needs up. Simon Moores, BMIs managing director, posted a thread on Twitter explaining the problem.The main effect is that production cost parity with combustion-engined vehicles will be more challenging to achieve. Aware of that, automakers are getting involved with mining. In July 2019, Tesla, LGES, Volkswagen, CATL, and Daimler joined forces in a consortium in Indonesia to extract cobalt and nickel in that country.It may sound like a coincidence, but BMW announced on October 6, 2021, that it is investing in a new lithium extraction process developed by Lilac Solutions. Through BMW i Ventures, the German carmaker expects to have access to lithium extracted from brine resources. Being natural saltwater deposits, they are also rich in the now crucial metal for batteries.Many legal deadlines for these companies to kill the combustion engine are by the end of the decade. With time running out, more investments in lithium mines have to happen. Either that or car companies will shrink by offering only more expensive vehicles that a much lower number of customers will be able to afford. By suing car companies to urge them to adopt EVs, environmentalists may create a worse problem than the one they are trying to prevent.
Haliade-X operates at 14 MW, producing up to 74 GWh of gross annual energy, a performance based on wind conditions on a typical German North Sea site.The 14 MW turbine is now operating in the port city of Rotterdam (Netherlands), but it is scheduled to make its commercial debut at the Dogger Bank C offshore wind farm, somewhere 70 miles (130 km) off the north-east coast of England. According to GE Renewable Energy, the company will provide 87 units of the Haliade-X 14 MW for the wind farm, which is going to become the largest one in the world, once it is completed.A single wind turbine capable of producing so much power means a reduction in costs for wind farms, as fewer of these units would have to be installed. Fewer turbines also mean less maintenance, which is another benefit offered by the Haliade-X 14 MW.GE Renewable Energy announced its Haliade-X prototype in 2019, but it was initially meant to operate at 12 MW. According to the company, the improved turbine can save up to 52,000 metric tons of CO2 per year, which is the equivalent of the emissions generated by 11,000 vehicles.Meanwhile, on another continent, a Chinese company is busy trying to launch its first prototype of what is claimed to be the world's largest hybrid drive wind turbine in the world. The MySE 16.0-242 (yes, thats the name of the thing) would have 387 ft (118 m) long blades, a 794 ft (242 m) diameter rotor, and a capacity of 16 MW.It would be able to generate 80,000 MW of electricity per year, enough to power over 20,000 homes. A prototype is scheduled for launch in 2022, while commercial production is set for 2024.
The ultra-long-haul G800 was unveiled on October 4th by Gulfstream president Mark Burns in front of a live audience at the company's Savannah headquarters, and via a global virtual broadcast on the company's social media channels.Jumping straight into the specifications of the G800, Gulfstream says that its plane offers customers the longest range in its entire fleet, being capable of traveling up to 8,000 nautical miles (9,206 miles/14,816 km). If the incredible range alone is not impressive enough, this jet is also incredibly fast.The G800 can reach a speed of Mach 0.85, and 7,000 nautical miles (8,055 miles/12,964 km) range at nine-tenths of the speed of sound. The aircraft shares some elements with the G700 private jet as it is powered by the same high-thrust Rolls-Royce Pearl 700 turbofan engines, wings, and winglet introduced on its long-range sibling. However, it comes with enhanced fuel efficiency and more city-pair capabilities than the G700.As for its interior, the jet can comfortably seat 19 passengers in the typical passenger layout and has plenty of room, offering up to four living areas with a crew compartment. Among other features, people will benefit from fresh, never recirculated air with the Gulfstream Cabin Experience, low noise levels, and up to 16 panoramic oval windows.Gulfstream equipped its plane with new tech such as the Symmetry Flight Deck, which features electronically linked active control sidesticks (a first for the company) and extensive use of touch-screen technology with 10 touch-screen displays. It also comes with the integrated Data Concentration Network that the company introduced on the G500 /G600.There are also dual head-up displays in the cockpit that feature a combined vision system (CVS). This will increase pilot situational awareness and offer access to more airports. The G800 performance capabilities will also allow it to take off from short-field airports and challenging locations. Gulfstream expects customer deliveries for the ultralong-range G800 to start in 2023.
Designed by Vignale, the Mexico started life as a 2+2 prototype built on a 5000 GT chassis. The showcar was then sold to Mexican president Adolfo Lopez Mateos and eventually became known as the Mexico, although theres an interesting story behind that. Shortly after, Maserati decided to put it into production, making 485 units over a six-year period between 1966 and 1972.One hypothesis regarding why this car was given the name of a Central American country revolves around a Mexican customer and 5000 GT Allemano owner, who became smitten by the Vignale-designed prototype, which he then went on to buy. He even insisted that the bodywork was transferred to the chassis of his 5000 GT.Another inception story involves racing driver John Surtees, who won the Mexican Grand Prix behind the wheel of a Cooper-Maserati T81. In the end, it may have been a series of coincidences that convinced Maserati to name the production-spec car, Mexico. Regardless, the name stuck and the vehicle is now the stuff of legend.From launch, the Mexico was available with either a 4.2-liter V8 engine with 260 hp or a 4.7-liter V8 with 290 hp. The former could take you all the way to 150 mph (240 kph), while the latter ushered you to a top speed of 158 mph (255 kph).Meanwhile, standard equipment included leather seats, power windows, wooden dashboard, air conditioning and servo-assisted ventilated front disc brakes, whereas the automatic gearbox, power steering and the radio were all optional extras.Back then, the Maserati Mexicos interior was described as an Italian-style lounge. We have to admit, its still rather stylish.
In an interview with the Corriere Della Sera, Luca Napolitano ensured that it would be an exciting car. When you remember that the most exciting thing the last Delta did was to drive Robert Langdon around Rome in Angels & Demons, thats a bold promise: one that Lancia fans will hold the brands CEO responsible for keeping.According to Napolitano, the new Delta will beand will also be electric. This is something that may disappoint die-hard fans of the original vehicle. These guys probably believe the only credible replacement for the Delta would be a faithful continuation series of that rally champion.However, electric cars have already proved they can be breathtaking. Insane acceleration times are one of the reasons for Tesla vehicles to be so popular. GCK even dared to create an electric restomod of the original Delta called EVO-e, which illustrates this article.Before the new Delta emerges, Lancia will present a new Ypsilon. The deadline for that to happen will undoubtedly make fans anxious: 2024. That will leave the brand very little time to introduce the new Delta and more products that may justify keeping it alive.In the interview, Napolitano gives us some hints of when the new Delta should emerge. The executive said that all the Lancia lineup will be electric by 2026. If you consider that the lineup is currently restricted to the Ypsilon, it means the new generation will still have combustion engines. In 2026, only the electric version will be offered. Despite that, a single car does not make a lineup: it needs the Delta to be called that way.Apart from the A-segment car and the C-segment hatchback, Napolitano also spoke about a flagship. That confirms part of the article we wrote in June about Lancia's three future EVs. The only difference is that, instead of a flagship, Lancia was wondering about a C-segment crossover. It would be fantastic if this flagship were the new Fulvia, but it is more likely to be a D-segment sedan.The Lancia CEO said it would be made in synergy with DS and Alfa Romeo , meaning its vehicles will probably be displayed in DS and Alfa Romeo stores in the main European cities. Sales would shift to an online model, compatible with the electric ambitions Stellantis has for Lancia. If that plan works, we may see Lancia around for another 115 years.
kW

This years editions of the Cannes and Monaco Yacht Festivals, two of the most prestigious boating events in the world, showed a strong interest in sustainable options, such as hybrid-electric ships and eco-friendly designs. It looks like the industry is gearing up to become greener, from the biggest yachts to the fastest powerboats One of the most innovative designs that made waves at the Monaco Yacht Show is Faro 5. Developed in Portugal, this outstanding model claims to be the worlds first set that integrates a fully electric boat with a solar charging dock. The ingenious system is meant to solve the infrastructure issue and allow the owner total autonomy.First of all, the Faro 5 boat is made from premium materials with a luxurious design. Cryptomeria wood is not only highly resistant and incredibly light, but its also a sustainable material sourced locally from the Azores in Portugal. In addition, the Tomas Costa Lima design combines sleek, elegant lines with functionality. The Faro 5 is also customizable, with an optional glass fiber top, plain or with an added print and logo.Powered by electric engines that range between 4.5and 25 kW, this electric boat is not only 100% sustainable , but also silent for a more enjoyable ride. With a top speed of 12 knots and a 12-hour range, Faro 5 proves that performance can be sustainable.The boat itself is great, but what makes it even more surprising is the unique charging dock. This innovative platform is not useful for pulling the boat out of the water and keeping it protected, but it also acts as a charging station. Fitted with solar panels, the dock is powered by renewable energy and able to recharge the boat in about one hour and a half.With restrictions for marine combustion engines becoming gradually harsher, this unique project is a welcome alternative. Thanks to the additional charging dock, you can enjoy a green boat with a luxurious design and maximum freedom.Faro 5 was first presented at the Monaco Yacht Show, and it benefited from an EEA (European Economic Area) and Norway Grant, funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway.
Snoop can go from expensive rides like a Cadillac Escalade to vintage cars in just a matter of days. With quite a collection, the struggle seems to be what choice of vehicle to pick. But some of them, especially a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air , are not adequate for rain, as Snoop just learned.Enjoying an expensive, vintage car as much as the next guy, he took the model out for a drive despite the rainfall. The result? We can see in a new video attached below that he crashed it. Its right front wheel is completely messed up, accompanied by a flat tire. Some scratches, dents, and bents are visible on the front wing and door. How did that actually happen?Snoop didnt give us many details on that, but his caption said: Crashed in the rain. Yall b careful on them [slippery roads].We can only hope that he's got an insurance policy that covers everything, as the replacement of the wheel and tire, plus the repair wouldn't come cheap for a car that is older than him.Its understandable for Snoop to flaunt his minty Bel Air, though. A few weeks ago, the rapper-turned-actor and producer, hopped on social media to show his vintage car, alongside a picture of his wife, Shantel Broadus.Having introduced it on social media in October last year, he described it to be in mint condition, in his latest series of pictures from Instagram. While we dont know exactly which version the rapper owns, the 1957 model came with four standard engine options.You could pick a 3.9-liter Inline 6 engine, producing 140 horsepower, a 4.3-liter V8 Turbo-Fire with 162 horsepower, a 4.6-liter V8 engine producing 185 horsepower, or a 4.6-liter V8 Super Turbo-Fire engine delivering 220 horsepower.The whole incident didnt seem to ruin Snoop's mood. The rapper posed with other General Motors models and showed off what seems to be a Chevrolet Impala and a Chevrolet Monte Carlo. His recently-crashed vehicle was among them, too, as you can see in the gallery.
EV

IHS also says the demand forbatteries will triple in size to nearly $90 billion by 2025.They add that should the global skills gap not be addressed, it will slow the pace of advances in such batteries."Talent demand in the battery industry outweighs supply, and battery makers are anxious to ensure that they have got this small group of people who can work on this technology and won't be left behind in the fast-growing market," says analyst Cho Hyun-ryul of Samsung Securities.As an example, LGES - South Korea's No.1 battery maker in production - says theyll be launching a "battery-smart factory department" at Korea University next spring and guarantee jobs for graduates. And in addition, executives from the company have been visiting the United States to conduct recruiting events at a number of schools. The CEO of LGES CEO and top management spent time in Los Angeles last month, and SK Innovations top exec and staff hosted a like event in San Francisco last weekend.Employees with doctoral degrees in battery specialties can pull in as much as $85,000 (100 million won) a year.One factor is competition for talent from established Asian firms such as Chinas CATL and Japan's Panasonic Experts say this talent shortage in South Korea is being exacerbated by the fact that a number of current employees are moving on to foreign competitors in search of better pay."Although we are seeing such a growth in the industry, it appears that we are facing a shortage of talent," one LGES spokesperson told Reuters. "Its crucial to recruit external talents as well as nurturing our own talent."As the global battery sector has doubled in size over just the last five years, South Korean firms find themselves is short of nearly 3,000 graduate degree-level positions. The firms say most of the jobs are in research and design. As of this moment, LGES, SK Innovation, and Samsung SDI are said to have a total of about 19,000 employees.
According to artist and creator Ann Harithas, Art Car Museum (or the Garage Mahal as its known to many) opened in February 1998, and it was founded as a not-for-profit arts organization.Harithas says the museums goal is to encourage the publics awareness of the cultural, political, economic and personal dimensions of art. Along with James Harithas, who is currently Director of the Station Museum of Contemporary Art in Houston, Texas, the pair have collected machines of the art car variety and what they say is a celebration of theAn art car is a motor-driven vehicle that a car artist has altered in such a way as to suit their own aesthetic. To make it happen, the artist either utilizes materials to create a piece that conveys new meaning through design, mechanical or structural changes, renovation via the addition of new images, symbols, or collage elements.These cars are meant to express political, social, personal or purely decorative objectives. All the art cars in the collection are "subversive" pieces that transform a factory-made commodity into a personal statement or expression.They say the art car isWhile what is now known as the art car phenomenon is relatively recent and has appeared roughly in the last fifteen years, the impulse to create them stretches far back in time and across every continent.A fast survey of the Philippines, Cuba, Mexico, and Pakistan reveals an inclination for artists and owners to create colorful decoration, which can invoke gods and various political messages. The art car concept in the United States is, at least in general, a secular pursuit that takes inspiration from hot-rods, race cars, classic machines, low-riders, and various examples of hippie vans.Harithas says the hippie vans of the 1960s and early 1970s demonstrated an expression of dissent with their use of peace and anti-war symbols.The Art Car Museum found its conceptual origins in the Collision Show curated by Ann Harithas at the Lawndale Art Center in 1984. There, attendees first saw Larry Fuente's "Mad Cad" art car, and since then, the car has been featured in museums and cultural institutions across the country.Some other famous art cars include Joel Brown's Anglerfish, Sonia Delaunay's Matra 530, Alexander Calder's BMW 3.0 CSL, the' VW Beetle-based Antelope by Marcel Wanders, Banksy's Triumph GT6 MkIII, and Damien Hirst's Audi A1.One notable inclusion in the genre came from artist Keith Haring. Haring applied his signature graphic style to a red BMW Z1 for the Hans Mayer Gallery in Dusseldorf back in 1987. That car is now part of a private collection.That car was not officially a part of the BMW Art Car Project . The project was envisioned by French racecar driver and auctioneer Herve Poulain. Poulain wanted to invite an artist to create a canvas on an automobile, and in 1975, he contacted the famous American artist - who also happened to be a friend - Alexander Calder to paint the first BMW Art Car. Since that first entry in the genre, other renowned artists including, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, Frank Stella, and Andy Warhol have all created their versions of BMW Art Cars.Harithas has continued to expand the definition of art cars, and she says the aesthetic of the Art Car Museum is an amalgam of the traditions of fine, folk, and public art. The Art Car Museum regularly features imaginative and elaborately constructed vehicles from low riders to various other mobile contraptions and revolving exhibitions of art.Often considered the Art Car Capital, Houston is home to the largest number of art cars found in any city, and the museums distinctive scrap metal and chrome exterior was created by car artist David Best.
CVT

What is more impressive is that they did it for the second year in a row. The team in question is Toyota Gazoo Racing Team Thailand, based in the country where this special edition of the Corolla will be available. Now, you might think that this edition is for collectors, right? Well, it is not, as its production is not limited in any way.Customers will get a set of Corolla Altis Nurburgring 24 badges on the front fenders, and the ride height is lowered due to a set of stiffer springs. According to Toyota Thailand , there is also an accelerator control box fitted, which is supposed to improve accelerator pedal response.Unfortunately, the Nurburgring edition of the Toyota Corolla does not bring a power bump, as the 1.8-liter gasoline engine still comes with 138 horsepower in non-hybrid form. That does not mean that the Corolla Altis Nurburgring Edition is not available in hybrid form, because it is. Regardless of powertrain choice, the special edition of the Toyota Corolla Altis comes with aBy now, you might be thinking that this special edition of the Corolla Sedan in Thailand might not prove to be popular. Well, you could be wrong, as this isn't even the first Nurburgring special edition of the Corolla offered in Thailand . The first one came in March 2015, when the Toyota Corolla ESport was unveiled at the Bangkok Motor Show.Just like the current Nurburgring edition of the Corolla Sedan, its predecessor also came with styling accessories instead of power upgrades. Because the special edition has returned with the Nurburgring name, it means that there is demand for a version such as this one.
The interior design study is also based on the Yaris, although there are small changes inspired by the Mazda2-based Yaris iA sedan for the U.S. market.The badge on the steering wheel is the most obvious difference over the Yaris, along with the start buttons color and infotainment system. However, since subcompact vehicles have very slim profit margins, we shouldnt criticize the Japanese brands for this lackluster collaboration.To be assembled in France for the European Union, the next-generation Mazda2 has been confirmed with hybrid assistance based on the prototype that was recently spotted by the carparazzi. The fourth-generation Yaris boasts a 1.0-liter engine with natural aspiration as standard, a 1.5-liter option that flexes 40-percent thermal efficiency, and the same 1.5-liter powerplant bumped to 41-percent thermal efficiency for gasoline-hybrid applications.The GR Yaris, however, wont receive a Mazda-badged equivalent because the investment wouldnt make too much sense for either party. The hottest subcompact hatchback of them all is rocking a 1.6-liter turbo three-cylinder mill, a six-speed manual gearbox, and GR-Four permanent all-wheel drive.Mazda has updated the Mazda2 one last time in anticipation of the brand-new model produced by Toyota in France. For the 2022 model year , the European variant is offered with the same old Skyactiv-G engine with 1.5 liters of displacement. This mill had its compression ratio bumped up from 13.1 to 15.1, and it now features a 4-to-2-to-1 exhaust manifold as opposed to the previous 4-to-1 exhaust manifold. Except for the base tune, the 1.5-liter engine now flaunts mild-hybrid assistance on manual-equipped cars.Even though CO2 emissions have dropped by up to 14 grams per kilometer to 100 grams per kilometer for the e-Skyactiv G 90 Mazda M Hybrid, thats not good enough because the EUs fleet-wide target is 95 grams this year.
And now, Apple users who turned to the official forums claim CarPlay is misbehaving one more time, this time taking over the audio in their cabins.More specifically, once the CarPlay connection is established, the audio source is switched from whatever setting to Apples application. If you want to listen to FM radio, CarPlay always overrides this choice and switches to a music app, such as Apple Music or Spotify.This happens on a regular basis, so no matter how many times you try to manually change the audio source, CarPlay just keeps taking over automatically.Users claim the whole thing started happening after the update to iOS 15, so clearly, its the new operating system update the one thats causing the problem.Unfortunately, despite not bringing any massive changes for CarPlay at first, iOS 15 is slowly but surely becoming a huge fiasco for those who want to mirror the iPhone experience on the head unit in their cars.Up to this point, however, Apple has remained completely tight-lipped on any potential fixes, and this makes the matter even worse. Without knowing whether Apple is working on a patch or not, some are even pondering a potential switch to Android and Android Auto, which as we told you not a long time ago, have both received plenty of improvements lately.Of course, switching from CarPlay to Android Auto isnt such an easy thing to do, as users would not only need a new phone, but their cars must also support Googles platform.It remains to be seen if Apple comes up with a fix, but for now, users are mostly all alone in their struggle to fix CarPlay.
Palmdale, CA (93550)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun during the morning will give way to cloudy skies this afternoon. High 72F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Partly cloudy early with increasing clouds overnight. Low 43F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.
Support for abortion rights in some Latin American countries has jumped considerably since 2014, with Argentina seeing the biggest shift, an Ipsos poll finds.

The big picture: The view that abortion should be permitted at least under certain circumstances is held by a majority of adults surveyed in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.

The more favorable view of abortion rights in the region contrasts with growing attempts at restrictions in parts of the U.S.

Context: The opinion shifts highlight the transformation over a decade in which pro-choice and feminist movements have boomed across the region, making judges and lawmakers react accordingly.

Women waving green handkerchiefs in Argentina campaigned for years so Congress would vote on whether to overturn a 1921 law criminalizing abortion. Last December, abortion was legalized across the South American country.

Chile used to forbid abortions under all circumstances, and those who underwent or carried out the procedure faced up to 15 years in prison.

In 2017, campaigns led then-President Michelle Bachelet to successfully back a measure to legalize terminating a pregnancy when it resulted from sexual violence, when the fetus was unviable or when the womans life was in danger.

in danger. After massive protests in favor of abortion in Mexico, with two cases brought before the Supreme Court, justices found state measures restricting abortion based on the view that life begins at conception were unconstitutional, as were laws criminalizing the procedure.

By the numbers: The Ipsos poll found 79% of those surveyed in Argentina think terminating a pregnancy should be permitted for any reason or under certain circumstances like rape or incest. That was a 15-point rise from 2014.

Around 64% of those surveyed in Brazil said they supported abortion on demand or under certain instances  an 11-point spike from the same time period.

Chile (73%) and Mexico (59%) both saw 8-point increases from 2014.

About 53% of those surveyed in Peru said they supported abortion at least under certain circumstances. That number has remained steady since 2016 when Ipsos began collecting data in that country.

Colombia saw 62% of those surveyed supporting some form of abortion rights, although Ipsos had no data from prior years.

Yes, but: Several Latin American countries that were not surveyed still have some of the most restrictive anti-abortion measures in the world, such as El Salvador, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic and Honduras.

In El Salvador, for example, terminating a pregnancy is punished by up to 40 years in prison. Several women have been imprisoned because of the law.

That law is so broad that even women hospitalized during miscarriages have been charged. One such case is being debated by the Interamerican Human Rights Court and could make El Salvador loosen its full abortion prohibition.

The survey, conducted between June 25 and July 9, was part of a 27-country poll across Europe, Asia, the Americas and Africa.

The sample consists of approximately 1,000 individuals in Brazil and 500 people each in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru.

The precision of Ipsos online polls is calculated using a credibility interval with a poll of 1,000 accurate to +/- 3.5 percentage points and of 500 accurate to +/- 5.0 percentage points.

Get more news that matters about Latinos in the hemisphere, delivered right to your inbox on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Sign up for the Axios Latino newsletter.
Azerbaijans national airline AZAL said it has started again using Armenian airspace for its flights from Baku to Nakhichevan, an Azerbaijani exclave separated from the rest of the country by Armenia and Iran. It said this will shorten travel time between the two cities and thereby cut the cost of those flights.

This step demonstrates Azerbaijans resolute readiness to unblock regional transport links, which corresponds to the interests of all neighboring countries, the state-run carrier said in a statement.

The statement came the day after Iran banned, according to Azerbaijani media reports, Azerbaijani military planes from flying over the Islamic Republic en route to Nakhichevan. Tensions between Tehran and Baku have risen dramatically since Azerbaijani authorities began on September 12 demanding hefty fees from Iranian vehicles using the main Armenia-Iran highway.

Armenias Civil Aviation Committee confirmed the AZAL announcement. It said that despite the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict Armenia and Azerbaijan had never formally closed their airspaces for each others civilian flights.

A statement by the government agency said the Azerbaijani side stopped using Armenias airspace for Baku-Nakhichevan flights in November 2014 at its own initiative. By contrast, airlines have since continued to carry out flights to and from Yerevan over Azerbaijan, added the statement.

An Armenian pro-government lawmaker, Hayk Sargsian, claimed, however, that Armenia had similarly refused to carry out flights through Azerbaijans airspace. By the same token, we can now start using their airspace, he said.

A Russian-brokered agreement that stopped last years war in Nagorno-Karabakh commits Armenia and Azerbaijan to opening transport links between the two South Caucasus states. The Russian, Armenian and Azerbaijani governments set up a joint task force for that purpose in January.

It emerged recently that Azerbaijans ally Turkey banned Armenian aircraft from its airspace on September 9, 2020, less than three weeks before the outbreak of the Karabakh war. The Civil Aviation Committee confirmed that Yerevan never retaliated by imposing a similar ban on Turkish carriers.
Amir-Abdollahian visited Russia amid Irans mounting tensions with Azerbaijan that followed Bakus decision last month to levy hefty fees from Iranian trucks transporting goods to and from Armenia.

He said on his arrival in the Russian capital late on Tuesday that Tehran expects Moscow to react to possible changes in regional countries borders. He also echoed Iranian allegations that Baku is harboring Middle Eastern terrorists as well as Israeli security personnel near Irans borders.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev angrily denied the accusations on Monday. He earlier criticized large-scale Iranian military exercises that began along the Azerbaijani border last week.

Earlier on Monday, a senior Iranian parliamentarian reportedly accused Aliyev of trying to cut Irans access to Armenia with the help of Turkey and Israel.

The Azerbaijani leader has repeatedly threatened in recent months to forcibly open a land corridor that would connect Azerbaijan to its Nakhichevan exclave via Armenias Syunik province bordering Iran. All Armenian roads leading to Iran also pass through Syunik.

Speaking at a joint news conference with Lavrov held after their talks, Amir-Abdollahian reiterated that any changes in the regions map are unacceptable to Iran. He indicated that the issue was on the meetings agenda.

The Russian foreign minister said they discussed the situation in the South Caucasus but did not comment on the unprecedented Azerbaijani-Iranian row. He said only that Moscow, which has deployed Russian troops in Syunik over the past year, is against any provocative war games in the region.

Azerbaijan is expressing concern over recent military exercises held by our Iranian friends near its borders, Lavrov told journalists.

Amir-Abdollahian countered that Azerbaijani and Turkish troops have held six joint drills in Azerbaijan so far this year.

Lavrov also stressed the importance of unblocking all transport and economic links in that region after last years Armenian-Azerbaijani war.

That will benefit not only Armenia and Azerbaijan but also Georgia  as well as Iran, Russia and Turkey, the nearest neighbors of the three South Caucasus republics, he said. In this context, we discussed today the [Turkish] initiative to create a three plus three format: the three South Caucasus countries and their three big neighbors: Russia, Iran and Turkey. Our Iranian friends have a positive attitude to this initiative.

Amir-Abdollahian flew to Moscow on Tuesday one day after meeting with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan in Tehran. The latter accused Baku of misrepresenting Russian-brokered agreements that call for the opening of transport links between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

In this regard, we highly appreciate Irans position on Armenias territorial integrity and the inviolability of its borders, Mirzoyan said after talks with his Iranian counterpart.

Armen Grigorian, the secretary of Armenias Security Council, likewise insisted on Wednesday that any road and/or railway connecting Nakhichevan to the rest of Azerbaijan would be under full Armenian control.

There will be no sovereign corridor in Armenia, Grigorian told RFE/RLs Armenian Service. That is, Armenia will control its entire territory.
Mirzoyan gave no dates for the meeting. He said only that he and Bayramov agreed to continue their direct contacts during talks held in New York on September 24 in the presence of the three mediators.

It was the first face-to-face meeting of Armenias and Azerbaijans top diplomats since a Russian-brokered ceasefire agreement that stopped the Armenian-Azerbaijani war in Nagorno-Karabakh last November.

In a joint statement on the New York talks, the co-chairs said they proposed specific focused measures to deescalate the situation and possible next steps. They did not disclose those proposals.

The resumption of discussions, the negotiating process in this format is definitely in the interests of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, Mirzoyan said during the Armenian governments question-and-answer session in the parliament.

He said the very fact of such negotiations disproves Azerbaijani claims that that Azerbaijan ended the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with its victory in the six-week war.

It is also expected that the three mediators will visit Armenia, Azerbaijan and Karabakh soon.

Deputy Prime Minister Suren Papikian announced, meanwhile, that Azerbaijan has set free an Armenian army officer who went missing on Armenias border with Azerbaijan in August.

The Armenian Defense Ministry suggested at the time that the 32-year-old Lieutenant Artur Davidian lost his way and strayed into Azerbaijani-controlled territory in thick fog.

Azerbaijan continues to hold dozens of other Armenian soldiers and civilians captured during or shortly after the war stopped by a Russian-brokered ceasefire last November. Yerevan regularly demands their unconditional release and repatriation.
Reporting contributed by CNN's Abel Alvarado and Sharif Paget in Atlanta, Ally Barnard in Hong Kong, and Ana Maria Canizares in Quito, Ecuador.
PHOENIX (Jaime's Local Love) -- A personal chef to celebrities, Nik Fields is as chic as they come, and she wants to help make you a "Chic Chef," too. Located on Central Avenue between Thomas and McDowell roads in Phoenix, Chic Chef Marketplace is your one-stop shop for spice blends, extra virgin olive oils, vinegars, organic hot sauces, mustards, ketchups, and tea blends, as well as restaurant-quality cooking utensils.

Chic Chef Marketplace hosts grand opening in Phoenix Dozens watched as Chef Nik Fields cut the ribbon to her new Chic Chef Marketplace on Central Avenue, just south of Thomas Road at 6 p.m.

Chef Nik is from New York but followed her sister to Arizona to attend Arizona State University. She moved around a bit between California and New York -- catering gatherings for some big-name celebrities. All the while, she was keeping up her job in finance to fund her dream -- Chic Chef Marketplace and -- coming soon -- Chic Chef Cafe. She even owns an olive orchard in Italy and makes her olive oil from her orchard. Chef Nik loves being in Arizona and sharing her love of cooking with her customers.

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FLAGSTAFF, AZ (3TV/CBS 5)  Sandbags and slugs are the reality for some people living in Sunnyside, a neighborhood in Flagstaff. Many say they are still recovering from a destructive monsoon, so the rain was the last thing they wanted to see in the forecast.

Lyndsey Kuche says flooding from the Museum Fire burn scar on Aug. 17 destroyed her home. She says they had to rip up their floors, counters, drywall and most appliances. So far, Kuche and her husband have shelled out $7,000 with no end in sight. Kuche says when she woke up to rain pools in her backyard, she was nervous and stressed.

Long-term mitigation efforts discussed after ongoing flooding in Flagstaff Flooding in the Musuem Fire burn scar is often waist deep and it overtakes the neighborhood quickly.

Sharon Tewksbury-Bloom says she knew Tuesday was considered a low-risk day for flooding, but she says it's flooded during a low-risk day before, so she was prepared. However, Tewksbury-Bloom says she was hoping she wouldn't have to prepare after the official end of the monsoon season on Sept. 30. "I was counting on actually last week I thought, 'Alright, that's officially the end of monsoon season. I'm ready. Wer'e going to have a wall opening party. I'm going to take down the sandbags,' and I just kept looking at the forecast and every seven-day forecast I looked at still had rain. And I thought, 'I'll just wait a little bit longer, I'll just wait a little bit longer,' and I'm still waiting. I don't know when I can take them down."

Monsoon 2021 helped significantly relieve Arizona's drought "Over 80 percent of the state was in the worst two drought categories before the monsoon, extreme and exceptional drought, and now that number is closer to 14 percent, so a tremendous improvement."

Wednesday, state Rep. David Cook will host a meeting at the Arizona House of Representatives to see what can be done to help the people in Flagstaff. "What can we do at the state Legislature? Are there funds that we need to appropriate? Is there legislation we need to run to change statutes, like the insurance?" says Rep. Cook.

The mayor of Flagstaff and Coconino County officials will be at the meeting where the city will learn if it will receive federal funds to help with future mitigation efforts.
The fate of more than 700 Kern County oilfield service workers hangs in the balance as a local oil producer awaits word on its roughly $27 mil
Bluefield, WV (24701)

Today

Partly cloudy skies this morning will give way to cloudy skies and rain during the afternoon. High 62F. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%..

Tonight

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 26F. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph.
As month two of the lockout of around 620 ExxonMobil employees in Beaumont winds down, another meeting closed out on Thursday without a conclusion.

The company took an opportunity on Friday to clear the air about any possible compromises on proposals from the union so far, officially informing employees that it hasnt considered any deal other than the one its had on the table since the beginning of the lockout.

While the Company cannot force the Union to bring this offer to a vote, we remain optimistic that our employees will ratify this offer if given the opportunity to vote while it is still on the table, representatives for the company wrote in an update to employees published Friday.

Related: ExxonMobil plans to work with contractors long term

According to the company, the union has offered a proposal to combine warehouse operator and package operator positions into one unit, possibly as a way to meet the companys ultimate goal of reducing what its called redundancies and increase its flexibility in staffing shifts.

The company has rejected this idea, so far.

ExxonMobils bargaining committee has said this move would increase costs and has talked with the union about the pay progressions of blending and packaging plant employees to reduce the price tag but hasnt made any offers on the subject.

Thursdays meeting was the 44th official bargaining session since the lockout began, marking a slow march to one of the longest work stoppages the Beaumont complex has experienced.

The Friday update may be another message of where the union and the company disagree, but it is also one of the few times that ExxonMobil has specifically detailed a union proposal and what it would take to consider it.

Related: USW officially alleges 'bad-faith bargaining' from ExxonMobil

Both the company and local members of the United Steelworkers Union were relatively quiet over the last two weeks  since the company on July 14 said it was preparing for a longer work stoppage, with the exception of some local union demonstrations at gas stations.

But, where public comments and actions might have stalled, there has been a flurry of legal filings from people critical of the unions handling of the lockout.

There have now been at least three complaints filed by Beaumont refinery or blending and packaging plant employees against the USW Local 13-243, alleging it has been involved in unfair labor practices by not bargaining in good faith with the company over the past six months.

The Enterprise has obtained some of the filings made to the National Labor Review Board, including that claim, which was made on July 16.

When a claim comes from a specific employee or centers around a specific employee, federal record officials redact personal information and details about the event that might identify those people, in an effort to avoid opening them up to harassment or retaliation from their company.

Related: ExxonMobil explains potential to end union representation

In the records obtained by the Enterprise, only the union and company information and a one sentence description of the claim was included.

But a public Facebook group seems to be giving much more information about the claims.

The group, called Decertify BMRF 2021, was created about a month after the lockout began in May, and it been sharing information about and encouraging support for a decertification of the local USW at the ExxonMobil facility.

Recently, it has been sharing links to the NLRB filings on the group but with screenshots of full texts of the complaints not available on the agencys database. The screenshots appear to be taken from the complaint submission form as they include instructions to submit the complaint itself.

Because of the federal redaction requirements, The Enterprise cannot confirm that these are the same claims obtained through a records request.

However, one such post details a supposed complaint from an employee accusing the union of pressuring the company into punishing employees who promoted decertification efforts while at work using company equipment.

Related: ExxonMobil reports flaring at downtown Beaumont refinery

The elected officials of USW Local No. 13-00243 have violated the NLRA Section 8(b)(1)(A) & Section 8(b)(2) by attempting to use the company to stop the decertification petition and to discipline employees promoting the decertification petition, the administrator of the Facebook group claimed an employee wrote in their filing.

The complaint mirrors a similar claim filed by the USW on behalf of Beaumont ExxonMobil workers in April that said they were experiencing a hostile work environment due to an employee aggressively promoting decertification.

In the document filed on April 23, USW lawyers alleged that the company had been providing an employee with materials about decertification, as well as emails of employees and use of its email system and allowed them to keep a lockbox on the companys property for petitions since early March.

When the Enterprise asked the company about this filing in May, it said it couldnt respond to the direct charges in the complaint, but that it has been acting appropriately and within the law throughout the contract negotiation.

The Company has at all times acted lawfully and will continue to do so, Burns said in an email. Beyond that, the Company has no further comment on the decertification effort at this time.

jacob.dick@beaumontenterprise.com

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South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham was only midway through his sentence when the crowd began shouting over him.

"If you haven't had the vaccine you ought to think about getting it because if you're my age - "

"No!" attendees at a Republican event held Saturday responded as others booed. Graham was speaking at a country club in Summerville, S.C., about 25 miles outside of Charleston.

Bowing his head and holding up a hand, the 66-year-old - who got his coronavirus vaccine in December - responded to the crowd, telling them, "I didn't tell you to get it. You ought to think about it."

"No!" they yelled again, prompting Graham to defend his choice to get immunized. After experiencing a breakthrough coronavirus infection this summer, he credited the vaccine with keeping his symptoms at bay.

"I'm glad I got it," Graham said at the event on Saturday, adding that a high percentage of the people hospitalized with covid in South Carolina are unvaccinated.

The crowd again responded quickly, yelling: "False!" and "Not true!" Video of the event was posted by the Daily Beast.

Graham is the latest Republican to face backlash from his own party's supporters when promoting coronavirus vaccines or talking about their safety and efficacy. Former president Donald Trump was booed in August when he told supporters in Alabama he recommends taking the vaccines. About three weeks earlier, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson faced pushback from a crowd when he said coronavirus vaccines do not cause infertility - a claim health officials have also debunked.

As the highly contagious delta variant started to spread over the summer, officials in South Carolina said most of the new covid-19 cases and deaths were among unvaccinated patients. In June, people who were not fully vaccinated accounted for 86 percent of covid-related hospitalizations. In August, state health officials referred to the spiking coronavirus cases as a "pandemic of the unvaccinated."

Graham is among the roughly 2.4 million people in South Carolina who are fully vaccinated, according to The Washington Post's vaccine tracker. That accounts for nearly 48 percent of the population there - a rate that falls below the national average. About 56 percent of people across the country are fully vaccinated.

Mistrust about the vaccines is especially high among some Republicans. The partisan gap in coronavirus vaccination rates has grown over time, according to the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation.

As of Sept. 13, the foundation found that more than 52 percent of people in counties that favored President Biden in the 2020 election are fully vaccinated, compared to less than 40 percent in counties that favored Trump.

While vaccination rates are slowing in both groups, the organization noted that "the gap has widened over time."

Graham told his supporters on Saturday that he was standing by what he believed about the vaccines being effective in fighting covid. His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

When Graham asked event attendees on Saturday to raise their hands if they had taken a vaccine for the measles, several responded "it's not the same," with one calling coronavirus vaccines "experimental," which is untrue.

The available coronavirus vaccines have completed clinical trials. The Pfizer vaccine has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The Moderna and Johnson & Johnson shots have been authorized for emergency use.

Graham told the Republican supporters that while he views the vaccines as safe and effective, he shares their concerns about vaccine mandates, calling into question their constitutionality. A lawsuit has already been filed to stop vaccination mandates for the federal workforce, including the military, which announced in August upcoming immunization requirements for all active-duty and reserve personnel.

A man at Saturday's event at the South Carolina country club told Graham he was 60 days away from losing his job as a Navy civilian because of the vaccine mandate.

"You have got to stop it now," the man said to the senator. Graham told him doing so will require the Republicans taking back control of Congress during the 2022 midterms.
A Port Arthur teen has been found guilty to first-degree murder and aggravated robbery.

Wearing an orange jumpsuit, handcuffs and mask, 19-year-old Demarcus Micah Williams on Tuesday pleaded guilty to the charges.

He was accused of shooting Houston resident Jose Manuel Valles-Santos, 27, on May 24, 2019. He was indicted in June on charges of capital murder, aggravated robbery and evading arrest.

I now find you guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in each of these cases, said Jefferson County Criminal District Court John Stevens Jr.

Related: Port Arthur teen indicted on capital murder charge

Williams had nothing to add as the judge sentenced him to concurrent sentences of life in prison for murder and 20 years for aggravated robbery. The case for evading arrest has been dismissed.

Valles-Santos, who was in the area for work, was in the parking lot of a Days Inn hotel in the 2100 block of N. 11th Street. He was attempting to leave for work when a man, later determined to be Williams, with a handgun attempted to rob him, according to a previous article in The Enterprise

Williams allegedly shot Valles-Santos and stole his truck, hitting another vehicle while leaving the parking lot.

Detectives arrived on scene and viewed surveillance video from the motel, a Jefferson County District Attorneys Office news release said Tuesday afternoon. The video showed Williams riding a bicycle around the parking lot. Soon thereafter, the victim exited his motel room and walked to his vehicle in the parking lot.

Williams approached the victim, who was seated in the drivers seat of the vehicle, and pointed a gun at the victim, the release continued. The victim exited the vehicle, and Williams shot the victim two times, striking him in the head and back. Williams then drove off in the victims vehicle.

Williams was taken to a Jefferson County jail and held on bonds totaling more than $6 million.

Related: Port Arthur teen arrested after Beaumont motel homicide

At the time of the murder, Williams had a warrant for his arrest for a Sept. 2018 aggravated robbery at the Tinsel Town Movie Theater. Williams also was on probation for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and evading arrest with a motor vehicle out of Ennis County.

Williams originally was indicted for capital murder. As part of his plea agreement, Williams pleaded guilty to the lesser-included offense of murder. He must serve at least 30 years of his life sentence before being eligible for parole.

meagan.ellsworth@beaumontenterprise.com

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One of Beaumonts most prominent law firms will be moving to one of the citys most visible downtown office buildings at the beginning of next year.

Provost Umphrey has been a resident of the former Stedman Fruit Company Building since the 1980s, when it moved to Beaumont from Mid-County, but it is now heading to a new home at Edison Plaza.

The firm earlier this week announced that it could be in a new renovated space taking up the office towers 11th floor by next spring, which will allow it to completely upgrade its systems and way of doing business.

Our founder, the late Walter Umphrey, was committed to investing the firms resources to benefit our clients, Provost Umphrey Managing Partner Joe Fisher said in a statement.Technology, a vital resource, will be used to best serve our clients needs, advocate their cause, and communicate with other lawyers and the courts on their behalf.

Related: Edison Plaza now a Beaumont business hub after revitalization

Once completed, the space include a new lobby, attorney and staff offices, conference rooms and a large break area for clients and employees. Provost Umphrey signage will be added to the exterior of Edison Plaza and renovations will be made to create a Provost Umphrey help desk in the main lobby of the building.

Provost Umphrey is based in Beaumont but also has an office in Nashville, Tennessee.

Space in the 17-floor office tower owned by Albanese Cormier has been a hot commodity since the firm purchased it in late 2011, currently playing home to Hancock Whitneys Texas administrative offices, corporate headquarters for Jasons Deli and the Region 5 Educational Service Center.

While the new offices on Pine Street wont be a long move for the staff at the current Stedman Building location on Park Street, it will be a monumental shift for the dynamics of downtown.

The Stedman Building was originally home to the Stedman Fruit Company and was named for the Stedman family, which owned the building for around 70 years.

The building was bought by Tom Flanagan in 1992 after a years long restoration in a collaboration led by one of the law firms founders, Walter Umphrey.

Related: Walter Umphrey, legal powerhouse and philanthropist, dies at 85

The restoration of the building allowed it to keep most of its historic brick facade, and it was named Texas Best Restoration in 1991 by the Texas Downtown Association, according to archives at the Tyrell Historic Library.

Umphrey died in September of this year.

As the Beaumont headquarters of the firm shifts to a new home and new opportunities, Fisher said it will still focus on being the same firm that people have come to expect from the Provost Umphrey name.

We are the same law firm weve always been for the last 52 years and continue to look for new ways to advance justice for our clients, Fisher said in a statement. This move is going to help us do that.

jacob.dick@beaumontenterprise.com

twitter.com/jd_journalism
A 5% increase for residential and commercial policies from the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association could go into effect for coastal residences by the beginning of next year.

TWIAs Board of Directors on Tuesday approved the rate increase for its required annual filing after receiving a recommendation from its Actuarial and Underwriting Committee. The association said that the 5% increase would amount to about $85 more a year for the average residential policyholder.

The filing has been submitted to the Texas Department of Insurance, which has until Aug. 15 to accept or reject the increase.

TDI in December rejected a similar filing after administration ruled TWIA had not provided the public enough time to review a rate analysis from an independent firm contracted by the Actuarial and Underwriting Committee.

TWIAs board tasked the committee almost two years ago with providing recommendations for rate filings, which became a concern for the association after staff analysis found that its rates could not be high enough to cover costs during a worst-case scenario.

Top hits: Get Beaumont Enterprise stories sent directly to your inbox

Since then, TWIAs policies and analysis process have been under review by the committee, but latest findings show there still is a gap between rates and adequate funding levels.

TWIAs 2021 Rate Adequacy Analysis, prepared by the Associations actuarial staff, indicates that TWIAs current rates are inadequate by 39% for residential coverage and 46% for commercial coverage.

TWIA is the windstorm policy insurer of last resort for residents in 14 coastal counties and parts of Harris County. It was created to serve as an affordable stop-gap for home and business owners living in areas that private insurance may not be willing to cover.

Along with other business at the meeting, the board filed proposed increases to the maximum liability limits policyholders can purchase from TWIA.

The filings are sent to TWIA for review but arent rate increases for policy holders. It is a requirement by state law in order to match changing cost index information for construction.

The new proposed limits are:

Dwellings and individually owned townhouses: $2,037,000 Manufactured homes: $96,600 Contents of an apartment, condominium, or townhouse: $426,000 Commercial structures and related content: $4,927,000

jacob.dick@beaumontenterprise.com

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HOUSTON (AP)  A Texas agency on Monday approved a request that George Floyd be granted a posthumous pardon for a 2004 drug arrest made by a now-indicted ex-Houston police officer whose case history is under scrutiny following a deadly drug raid.

The unanimous recommendation by the seven member Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles will now be forwarded to Gov. Greg Abbott, who will make the final decision.

It was not clear when Abbott would decide the fate of the request. A spokeswoman for Abbott did not immediately return an email seeking comment.

Allison Mathis, an attorney with the Harris County Public Defenders Office who submitted the pardon request in April, said she was pleased by the boards decision.

A man was set up by a corrupt police officer intent on securing arrests rather than pursuing justice. No matter what your political affiliation is, no matter who that man was in his life or in his death, that is not something we should stand for in the United States or in Texas, Mathis said.

The boards recommendation was first made public on Monday by a reporter with The Marshall Project.

The May 2020 killing of Floyd, who was Black, by a white Minneapolis police officer prompted worldwide protests against racial injustice. The officer, Derek Chauvin, was sentenced in June to 22 1/2 years in prison for Floyds murder.

Floyd, who grew up in Houston, was arrested in February 2004 by Officer Gerald Goines and accused of selling $10 worth of crack in a police sting. Floyd later pleaded guilty to a drug charge and was sentenced to 10 months in a state jail.

Goines casework has been under scrutiny following a deadly 2019 drug raid he led that resulted in the deaths of Dennis Tuttle, 59, and his wife, Rhogena Nicholas, 58. Goines, who is no longer on the Houston force, is facing two counts of felony murder, as well as other charges in state and federal court over the raid.

Prosecutors allege Goines, 57, lied to obtain the warrant to search the couples home.

More than 160 drug convictions tied to Goines have since been dismissed by prosecutors, and a dozen current and former officers, including Goines, tied to the narcotics unit that conducted the drug raid have been indicted.

In May, the top leaders in Harris County, where Houston is located, unanimously approved a resolution to support the pardon request for Floyd.

Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg urged Abbott to grant the posthumous pardon.

We lament the loss of former Houstonian George Floyd and hope that his family finds comfort in Mondays decision by the Texas State Board of Pardons and Paroles to recommend clemency, said Ogg, who submitted a letter to the board supporting the pardon request.

During a public visitation in Houston in June 2020 before Floyds funeral, Abbott expressed a commitment to pursuing policing reforms. But a sweeping reform bill named for Floyd failed to gain traction in the regular Texas legislative session earlier this year.

Since he took office in 2015, Abbott has granted just a handful of pardons each year.

Mathis said she was hopeful Abbott would grant this one.

I also hope that he, and the Texas Legislature, will work more stridently toward reforming the integrity of the racist, classist criminal justice system in Texas, Mathis said.

___

Follow Juan A. Lozano on Twitter: https://twitter.com/juanlozano70
Marccophoto/Getty Images/iStockphoto

A San Antonio man was sentenced to over a year in prison for an unsettling COVID-19 hoax.

Christopher Charles Perez, also known as Christopher Robbins, was sentenced to 15 months in prison for spreading a COVID hoax in April 2020, according to a news release.
Ted Cruz is blasting Facebook for its "brazen disregard" in its role in online misinformation.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported Facebook has been conducting its own research into how Instagram, which the company bought in 2012, affects users. Evidence shows Facebook knew Instagram was worsening body-image issues among girls and that it had a bigger vaccine misinformation problem than it let on.

On Tuesday, October 5, the Texas Senator joined CNBC's Squawk Box to discuss the topic, in which Cruz said Facebook's refusal to accept responsibility for their "consistent misconduct" is really stunning.

"I think that is horrific. I say this as the father of two girls. I think we are going to see very serious scrutiny to Facebook, and I'm sure litigation will follow," Cruz said. "That kind of brazen disregard...for human life. We ought to expect better from our businesses."

The interview with CNBC comes at the same time Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen is testifying before a Senate panel on Tuesday. She told lawmakers they must intervene to solve the "crisis" created by her former employer's products, according to the New York Times.

On Sunday, October 3, Haugen unmasked herself as the source behind the leaked documents at the core of the revealing of the Wall Street Journal series in a 60 Minutes interview. Haugen told the news program that the problems she saw at Facebook were worse than anywhere else she'd worked, which includes Google, Yelp, and Pinterest.

"I saw that Facebook repeatedly encountered conflicts between its own profits and our safety," Haugen said. "Facebook consistently resolved those conflicts in favor of its own profits. The result has been a system that amplifies division, extremism and polarization, and undermining societies around the world."

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton also reacted to the subject, announcing his joining of a coalition to stop Facebook from exploiting children on Tuesday.

"Facebook is exhibiting a disturbing trend of targeting young children for profit," he tweeted. "We must protect our children."

The coalition, which includes 52 attorneys general from across the U.S. and its territories, expresses strong support for the hearings being conducted by the subcommittee on Facebook's "disastrous plans to increase user engagement by targeting our nation's youth."
A Texas board on Monday recommended a full posthumous pardon for George Floyd for a 2004 drug arrest made by a former Houston police officer now charged with murder in a botched 2019 drug raid. The officer's case history has come under scrutiny amid allegations that he falsified evidence in previous arrests.

The unanimous recommendation by the seven-member Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles now goes to Gov. Greg Abbott, R, who will have final say on whether the request is granted. A spokesman for Abbott did not respond to requests for comment.

The video of Floyd's May 2020 death beneath the knee of a Minneapolis police officer sparked a national reckoning on issues of race and policing. In the first of several cases related to Floyd's killing, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who knelt on Floyd's neck and back for more than nine minutes as he begged for breath, was convicted of murder and manslaughter and sentenced in June to 22 years in prison.

But years before his death, Floyd was arrested in his hometown of Houston for selling $10 worth of crack cocaine in a police sting. Gerald Goines, an undercover narcotics officer who made the arrest, claimed Floyd had given the drugs to an unnamed informant. Floyd initially battled the charge, but facing a 25-year sentence if the case went to trial, he later pleaded guilty and served 10 months in state prison.

Floyd was later charged and convicted with other crimes - including an aggravated robbery in 2007 when he was accused of pointing a gun at a woman during a home invasion. Floyd pleaded guilty and went to prison for four years in that case. But his family has said the 2004 arrest is what began the unraveling of his life.

Goines was later charged with two counts of first-degree murder as well as other state and federal charges for a deadly 2019 drug raid that killed a Houston couple. Prosecutors allege Goines, who led that raid, lied to obtain a search warrant by claiming a confidential informant had purchased drugs at the home and later admitted there was no informant. Goines, who was relieved of his duties by the Houston Police Department and later retired, has pleaded not guilty.

More than 160 drug convictions tied to Goines have since been dismissed by prosecutors. In April, Allison Mathis, a Harris County public defender, filed an application for a posthumous pardon for Floyd, alleging Goines had "manufactured the existence of confidential informants to bolster his cases against innocent defendants."

The pardon request was backed by Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg, whose office charged Goines in the 2019 case and has been reviewing other drug cases involving the ex-officer. Her office had reportedly tried to contact Floyd in early 2019 to inform him that his 2004 arrest was being investigated, but the letter was mailed to Floyd's old address in Houston. By then, he had moved to Minnesota.

"Former officer Goines is not credible," Ogg wrote in an April letter to the parole board. "We do not support the integrity of Mr. Floyd's conviction."

On Monday, Ogg praised the parole board's decision. "We lament the loss of former Houstonian George Floyd and hope that his family findsrecomfort in Monday's decision," Ogg said in a statement. "We urge Governor Abbott to follow the Board's recommendation and grant clemency."

It was not immediately clear how Abbott might respond. In the days after Floyd's death, Abbott called Floyd's death "the most horrific tragedy I've ever personally observed" and suggested he would lead efforts to enact reforms in a state that has grappled with several high-profile police killings.

But Abbott, who is running for reelection in 2022 and fending off potential primary challenges from conservatives who have accused him of being too moderate, said little as efforts to enact police reforms died in the state legislature. Instead, Abbott has led efforts to challenge cities that have cut the budgets of their police departments.

In Texas, requests for clemency are filed through the state Board of Pardons and Parole, a panel whose members were appointed by Abbott or his predecessor, Rick Perry, R. The panel reviews and votes on requests before sending them to the governor.

Abbott has rarely granted clemency. Since 2015, his first full year in office, the parole board has approved and forwarded more than 170 requests for clemency, according to the board's annual report, but Abbott has granted just 36 of those requests - mostly for people who have been convicted of low-level offenses.

"I can almost guarantee he will not grant this George Floyd pardon . . . even if it's the right thing to do," said Gary Udashen, a Dallas criminal defense attorney who sits on the board of the Innocence Project of Texas, which works to exonerate wrongfully convicted people. "Abbott just doesn't believe in pardons . . . but he also doesn't want that symbolism of what this might say about the criminal justice system in Texas in his Republican primary."

On Tuesday, Ben Crump, a civil rights attorney who represents the Floyd family, called on Abbott to "act swiftly" to approve the pardon but also to enact reforms to prevent what happened to Floyd from happening to other people of color.

"This drug charge . . . helped to unravel his life," Crump said in a statement. "Similarly, tens of thousands of Black lives are ruined by a criminal justice system that uses the war on drugs to target Black people, force them into felony pleas, incarcerate them, take away their voting rights, and destroy their families."
Bedford, PA (15522)

Today

Partly cloudy this morning. Increasing clouds with periods of showers this afternoon. Morning high of 63F with temps falling to near 45. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies. A shower of rain or wet snow possible. Low around 30F. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph.
Unidentified relatives of a Rohingya Muslim leader react after he was gunned down on Sept. 29, 2021, in Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh.

Family members of a Rohingya refugee leader, who was gunned down in his Coxs Bazar office last week, said Wednesday they have been receiving threatening phone calls asking them to withdraw a case they filed on the killing.

The relatives of slain leader Muhib Ullah have been receiving these phone calls and messages since his brother filed a case with police two days after the Sept. 29 killing, said a relative, Md. Syed Alam.

Since filing the murder case, Muhibs wife Nasima Khatun and younger brother Habib Ullah have been receiving threats through text and voice messages from unknown phone numbers, Alam, the uncle of the slain leader, told BenarNews.

Muhibs family members and relatives are not moving freely because of fear.

Alam said the callers had also told the family members to stop talking to the media about the killing. Khatun and Ullah declined to talk BenarNews on Tuesday.

We are passing our days amid serious fear because we are receiving threats repeatedly, said Md. Rashid Ullah, Muhib Ullah's nephew.

Police have deployed officers to provide security to Muhib Ullahs family members, and said they were investigating the threats.

We have already collected some text and voice messages that were sent to Muhibs family by unknown senders, Naimul Haque, commanding officer of the Armed Police Battalion Unit-14 at Coxs Bazar, told BenarNews.

The investigators are working to find the senders of the messages.

Unidentified assailants killed Muhib Ullah, who headed the Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights (ARSPH), at the Kutupalong camp in Coxs Bazar on the night of Sept. 29.

The 50-year-old refugee had been a leading champion for Rohingya rights, and represented his community internationally, including in visits to the United Nations and the White House. He had been advocating for the repatriation of Rohingya refugees to their homes in Myanmar.

Around 740,000 Rohingya Muslims crossed into southeastern Bangladesh after fleeing a brutal anti-Rohingya offensive launched by Myanmar's military in August 2017 in their home state of Rakhine.

Meanwhile, Md. Hasanuzzaman, superintendent of Coxs Bazar district police, claimed Wednesday that the authorities had uncovered the motive behind the murder and know who orchestrated it, but they did not disclose details.

We are hopeful of arresting the main culprits shortly, the police officer told reporters.

Since the killing, police have arrested five men as suspects but not released details about them. The suspects are in police custody and being interrogated.

Mistrust has also increased

Separately, international watchdog Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday that Rohingya community leaders and volunteer workers had said they were being targeted by armed Islamist groups.

At least a dozen activists have come forward to seek protection from the [United Nations] refugee agency, UNHCR, and Bangladesh officials since Muhib Ullahs killing because of renewed threats from armed groups and other risks of violence, the New York-based rights group said.

HRW urged the Bangladesh government and U.N. officials to take urgent measures to protect Rohingya facing threats and violence in the camps.

From August 2017 until July 2021, at least 228 Rohingya refugees have been killed in the camps, according to the Bangladesh Peace Observatory, a research organization at the University of Dhakas Center for Genocide Studies.

Of those slain, 108 were killed in internal feuds, Md. Humaun Kabir, a research manager at the observatory, told BenarNews.

Imtiaz Ahmed, a professor and the centers director, said violence in the camps had increased in recent years as factionalism has grown.

Mistrust has also increased for various reasons among the forcibly displaced people, which has become a major reason for internal feuds, he told BenarNews.

ARSPHs secretary, Md. Zubayer, said the camps were even more tense since Muhib Ullahs killing.

We are not sure if we can carry out the activities of our organization, he said.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen said the government would identify the Rohingya leaders killers and bring them to justice.

We do not want any unrest in the camps he told reporters on Wednesday.

The government is very sincere in ensuring the necessary security of the Rohingya people.

Abdur Rahman in Coxs Bazar contributed to the report.
Senior General Min Aung Hlaing (right), the Myanmar armed forces chief, meets with Bruneian Second Minister of Foreign Affairs Erywan Yusof (left) in Naypyidaw, Myanmar, June 4, 2021.

Malaysia said Wednesday it would open talks with Myanmars shadow government if the junta fails to cooperate with ASEANs conflict resolution efforts  the first such declaration by a member of the regional bloc.

ASEAN members meanwhile were discussing excluding Myanmar from an upcoming summit because he had backtracked on a pact to restore peace and democracy, the blocs special envoy said, days after Malaysia advocated the move in public comments that a junta spokesman dismissed as personal remarks.

Wong Chen, a Malaysian lawmaker, asked Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah in parliament whether Kuala Lumpur would begin a dialogue with the civilian National Unity Government (NUG) in Myanmar, if the junta barred the ASEAN envoy from talking to all parties.

[T]he process to implement the five-point consensus is still being worked on with whatever that is humanly possible, by the special envoy, Saifuddin said.

If that does not happen  I believe what was raised by the MP  can be done if what was agreed in the consensus cannot be achieved.

When it ousted the elected government in a coup on Feb. 1, the Burmese military claimed that voter fraud had led to a landslide victory for civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy. The junta threw her and members of the NLD government in jail.

The junta also got security forces to turn the guns onto their own people when thousands of pro-democracy protesters took to the streets around the country after the coup. Close to 1,060 Burmese  mostly anti-coup protesters  have been killed in the eight months since.

Min Aung Hlaing, the junta chief in ASEAN member-state Myanmar, had agreed to the five-point consensus during an in-person meeting with Southeast Asian leaders in Jakarta on April 24. The points include stopping violence, a commitment to dialogue with all parties and an ASEAN emissary to facilitate this dialogue.

In Kuala Lumpur, Saifuddin told parliament that ASEANs special envoy to Myanmar, while briefing foreign ministers of the bloc on Monday, had said Naypyidaw was not cooperating on the consensus.

If that continues, some stern steps need to be taken, the Malaysian foreign minister said.

Saifuddin is doing the right thing

On Monday, Saifuddin had recommended the first of these steps, when he forcefully and clearly said that if no progress was made on the ASEAN consensus, Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing should be excluded from the blocs upcoming summit, scheduled for Oct. 26-28.

The Malaysian minister got ASEAN listening.

Erywan Yusof, the ASEAN envoy to Myanmar, told reporters on Wednesday that ASEAN was seriously considering disinviting Min Aung Hlaing to its summit.

I can say that we are now deeply in discussion on this matter, Erywan said during a press conference in Bandar Seri Begawan.

He did say other ASEAN members had raised the same idea, but analysts noted earlier this week that a strong public statement, such as Malaysias, would put pressure on ASEAN as a bloc.

Even the Myanmar junta spokesman saw the idea as Malaysias, when Radio Free Asia (RFA), a sister entity of BenarNews, asked him about it on Tuesday.

This is just his personal remark, junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun told RFA, referring to Foreign Minister Saifuddin.

Its not ASEANs stance, because it would need a consensus.  So the remarks you mentioned have to be taken as just personal remarks.

One regional political analyst, Oh Ei Sun, commended Malaysias top diplomat for speaking out on the issue of excluding the Myanmar junta chief from the summit as well as saying that he would talk to the Burmese shadow government.

Saifuddin is doing the right thing: ramping up the pressure on the recalcitrant junta, Oh, from the Institute of International Affairs in Singapore, told BenarNews.

Now the junta is likely to be not so friendly to Malaysian investments and businesses there. But that is the price to pay for diplomatic leadership. Malaysia must also persuade like-minded ASEAN countries to take a similar strong stand. Indonesia for example 

To recognize Myanmars parallel civilian government would pay ASEAN dividends, according to another Southeast Asia analyst, Azmi Hassan.

ASEAN countries threatening to recognize NUG will put pressure on the military junta to uphold the promise they made in April to ASEAN, he told BenarNews.

While it will make the junta angry, ASEAN will gain a strong dialog partner by engaging with the NUG.

Myanmar had to step aside

ASEAN envoy Erywan, in his remarks Wednesday, said that Myanmar had yet to respond to his request for meeting all parties concerned, including the imprisoned civilian government leaders, as agreed to in the five-point consensus.

the concern is that there seems to be, up until Monday, and even until today, actually, no progress on the implementation of the five-point consensus, Erywan said, referring to the ASEAN foreign ministers meeting earlier this week.

This had raised a concern, he said, because the junta chief had committed with other ASEAN leaders to the consensus back in April.

It is tantamount to basically backtracking, Erywan said.

But junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun told RFA it would be very difficult for us to hold talks with those from groups we have declared illegal or who are under trial.

I have never heard of any governments allowing foreign delegates to meet with a person under trial or a person or representatives of illegal organizations, except in very special circumstances, he said.

He was referring to jailed NLD members, including Aung San Suu Kyi.

RFA asked the junta spokesman how it would affect Myanmars military government if its chief were to be barred from the summit.

Apart from some criticisms in the international community, there wont be any [consequences], he said.

There might be, more or less, some repercussions on certain ASEAN projects or meetings or work being carried out in conjunction with other countries.
Bennington, VT (05201)

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Partly cloudy skies this morning will give way to cloudy skies and rain during the afternoon. High 62F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%..

Tonight

Cloudy with occasional rain...mainly this evening. Low 34F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch.
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GREAT BARRINGTON  Theyve been vilified this past year over their stance on the COVID-19 lockdowns. Now, one of the three scientists who drafted the Great Barrington Declaration says he worries for his safety amid a campaign to censor him on the campus where he has worked for 35 years.

Quote I happen to have spent a couple of decades doing research on infectious disease outbreaks and also in vaccine safety. I dont see how I could be silent. Dr. Martin Kulldorff, professor of medicine at Harvard University Medical School, and infectious disease epidemiologist

Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a tenured professor of medicine and an economist at Stanford University, said posters nailed around campus with his photo in a tweet by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis feel threatening. Despite the ongoing fights about health policy, he says as an epidemiologist he has no choice but to weigh in on public health measures taken in response to a global pandemic.

He and others said, in the declaration, that the best overall way to protect everyone, before the advent of vaccines, was to focus protection on the old and medically compromised, while allowing the young and healthy to continue living life normally.

They argued that this policy would more readily lead to herd immunity that would ultimately protect the old and infirm. Herd immunity occurs when a certain percentage of a population has acquired the antibodies to fight disease.

Critics said the policy would, in effect, sacrifice people, including low-income workers who needed to continue at jobs that brought them into contact with people, exposing them to infection. They also pointed out that the policy would risk exposing people in high-risk groups, including those with diabetes and obesity, who live in multigenerational families unable to avoid interaction.

Another declaration scientist said while he does not worry for his safety, he continues to face denunciation for speaking out about matters that are the focus of his work.

Sometimes I wish I were a chemist and then I could just be quiet, said Dr. Martin Kulldorff, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, as well as a biostatistician and epidemiologist at the Brigham and Womens Hospital. But I happen to have spent a couple of decades doing research on infectious disease outbreaks and also in vaccine safety. I dont see how I could be silent.

On the one-year anniversary of the declaration, some of those involved in the public health proposal spoke to The Eagle about their intentions, the fallout, pandemic data and the idea of focused protection.

They say what they proposed was a long-accepted public health concept designed to both protect the old and compromised while allowing the young and healthy to live normally. Their idea was to avoid the collateral health damage of the lockdowns, which would hit the poor the hardest.

The scientists drafted the declaration at the American Institute for Economic Research, a think tank off Division Street in Great Barrington. It has received more than 860,000 signatures from around the world, of which nearly 15,000 of those are from scientists and more than 44,000 are from medical practitioners.

The concept was denounced by other researchers worldwide as both callous and impractical. Great Barrington town officials quickly tried to distance the town  one wanted the policy renamed, while residents joined the chorus. The situation soon dropped the declaration scientists into a political cauldron, as some politicians seized on the proposal, while others rejected it as far-right heartlessness.

Nothing new

The scientists say that when they traveled to the Berkshires six months after the lockdowns and began to discuss the crisis, they were upholding a well-established public health practice of focused protection.

So theres nothing new or innovative in the declaration, said Dr. Kulldorff, who is a member of the scientific advisory committees to the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. What we saw was that, because people thought that these lockdowns and the masks and so on would protect everybody, [authorities] did not do the focused protection.

The resulting deaths bear this out, he added. Kulldorff said there are two underpinnings to the declaration that data now supports: The thousand-fold difference in mortality between old and young, and what he says is strong and lasting natural immunity after infection.

One of the stunning things through this pandemic is the questioning of natural immunity after having COVID, Kulldorff said. We didnt know this a year ago, but now we know that the immunity from having COVID is stronger than after the vaccine.

Kulldorff is, in part, referring to health officials who appear to be dancing around the immunity issue post-infection, concerned that it will undermine inoculation efforts. The results of a large Israeli study showing robust natural immunity, for instance, demonstrates this.

Our crucible

Dr. Bhattacharya, who is also a professor of health policy and specializes in the economics of health care, moved last month to the schools newly established Department of Health Policy. It was DeSantis Aug. 1 tweet with Bhattacharyas photo that was nailed to campus kiosks, in which Bhattacharya is quoted about focused protection and linked to death counts in Florida. DeSantis has sown derision for his support of declaration-style COVID policy and opposition to vaccine and mask mandates.

The poster campaign was initially a response to comments Bhattacharya had made about the lack of high quality evidence that masks stop the spread of infection, which also led to a faculty petition to silence public health pronouncements contrary to university policy  one that does not overtly target him. But the posters felt threatening, and it took him several days to return to his office.

It felt like targeted harassment, he said. The poster campaign really shook me.

In April, Bhattacharya was further linked to DeSantis when he participated in the governors April roundtable about Big Tech censorship and the COVID-19 pandemic. Kulldorff also participated, as well as Scott Atlas, a fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford who had resigned as former President Donald Trumps coronavirus advisor.

Bhattacharya says he has never registered for a political party and is obligated as a public health scientist to consult with anyone, regardless of politics. Id happily speak with any politician on any side of the issue  I dont limit my advice, he said.

The campaign to censure him marks a dangerous decline in discourse, particularly at a university, he said. Bhattacharya says he feels a responsibility to speak what he believes is the truth, given his tenure and job protection.

I think many people who signed the Great Barrington Declaration have lost their jobs or have been silenced or lost opportunities for grants and collaborations, he said.

Quote It was an earnest attempt to calmly explain basic principles of public health and cell biology, because everyone was running around confused  governments in particular, he said. It was not designed to be political. Jeffrey Tucker, founder of the Brownstone Institute for Social and Economic Research

And he has not gone unscathed. Ive had to revisit and rethink every aspect of my life, and there have been some very tough periods, he said.

This is our crucible, Bhattacharya once said to Jeffrey Tucker, a prominent libertarian and author who nurtured the declaration scientists. Tucker, who left AIER, founded the Brownstone Institute for Social and Economic Research in May as a safe harbor for scientists and others taking risks of censorship and ruin by thinking and speaking outside the mainstream COVID public health policy.

Tucker said that what people in the Berkshires and beyond need to know about the declaration is that those who crafted it did not see it as a radical statement.

It was an earnest attempt to calmly explain basic principles of public health and cell biology, because everyone was running around confused  governments in particular, he said. It was not designed to be political.

This story has been modified to correct the number of scientists and medical professionals who signed the declaration.
Reporter

Greta Jochem, a Report for America Corps member, joined the Eagle in 2021. Previously, she was a reporter at the Daily Hampshire Gazette. She is also a member of the investigations team.
State Auditor Suzanne M. Bump listens in late July to state Rep. Paul Mark, D-Peru, talk in Plainfield about funding challenges for small towns. Bumps office just released a major study about unaddressed infrastructure problems in the states four western counties.
The Senate began debate Wednesday afternoon on a wide-reaching election reform package that seeks to make mail-in voting and expanded in-person early voting permanent, allow voters to register and cast a ballot on the same day, and improve ballot access for people with disabilities.
While fans are still heartbroken that Rege-Jean Page will not return in the upcoming season of Bridgerton on Netflix, it appears that the actor is still the number one pick to be the next James Bond.

The current James Bond, Daniel Craig, has decided to step away from the role after No Time to Die, which will be released in theaters on Friday, October 8. The film has been delayed three times because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Making headlines is also the first Black woman to portray 007 in No Time To Die. British actress Lashana Lynch plays Nomi playing opposite Craig in the 25th installment of the spy thriller. Lynch told CNN.com that she thinks the next Bond "could go in any direction."

"I think that when you are recasting something that has been ultimately White for the duration, to cast any Black man, an Asian man, mixed-race man you'd be focusing on his color and that's not a conversation I particularly want to have," she told CNN.com. "If they were to cast a Black man, for example, I inside would hope he just happens to be Black, but he is James Bond."

High on the list of possibilities is Page, who wowed fans with his portrayal last year in the Netflix hit, Bridgerton.

They are talking about Rege, but Bond producers are not making any decisions until after No Time to Die is released. They are focusing on Daniel Craigs big finale, a source reportedly tells Page Six.

Other actors in the running for the role are Henry Cavill and George MacKay.

In June, Page addressed the rumors of him becoming the next James Bond in a roundtable interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

It gets clicks. Its got nothing to do with me  nothing to do with anything that has happened in any rooms or any meetings. Its literally just a thing for people to talk about. So its flattering, but its just a game.
Last week, Pope Francis called on Missouri Gov. Mike Parson to grant clemency to an inmate ahead of his execution scheduled for Tuesday (October 5).

Ernest Lee Johnson is on death row for the killing of three convenience store workers during a 1994 robbery. According to the The New York Times, the 61-year-old is scheduled to die by lethal injection at 6 p.m. local time Tuesday.

Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the Vaticans ambassador to the U.S., wrote a letter to Parson on September 27 on behalf of the Pope, which emphasized Johnsons humanity and the sacredness of all human life.

Vatican News reports Pope Francis plea comes two years after he changed the Catholic Churchs teaching on the death penalty. The Pope called capital punishment inadmissible in all circumstances because it attacks human dignity.

According to the Times, Johnsons lawyers have tried to get their client off of death row, arguing the execution of their client would be unlawful because hes intellectually disabled.

A 2002 decision by the Supreme Court ruled executing people who are intellectually disabled is a breach of the Eighths Amendments prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment.

In August, the Missouri Supreme Court denied Johnsons petition that argued he was wasnt qualified for the death penalty because of his disabilities. It found that his ability to remember information related to the crime probe and that he was able to plan, strategize, and problem solve  contrary to a finding of substantial subaverage intelligence.

The Times reports the court also rejected his request for his execution to occur by a firing squad.
Anchors on Arkansas TV station KATV who decided to celebrate cooler temperatures by wearing Afro wigs have been suspended after sparking online backlash.

Main anchor Chris May and meteorologist Barry Brandt were taken off the air at the Little Rock-based station after donning the hairpieces during an evening weather report on September 16.

Swift action was important to hold the responsible parties accountable, a spokesperson told AdWeek.

Dubbed return to the 70s, the segment featured May and Brandt sporting wigs modeled after Afros. The former anchor later tweeted a photo of their controversial cosplay, which was later deleted.

According to the Arkansas Times, activist Dr. Anika Whitfield issued a complaint to WATV, writing that the segment was a perpetuation of systemic racism to have European American men wearing Afro wigs. After receiving no response, Whitfield reached out to Sinclair Broadcast Group vice president John Seabers, who then issued an apology.

We apologize to all viewers who were rightfully offended by the segment, and we promise to enact and enforce new measures to prevent future incidents from occurring, wrote Seabers.
Spearfish, SD (57783)

Today

Mostly sunny skies this morning will give way to mostly cloudy skies during the afternoon. High 46F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph..

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Mostly cloudy skies this evening will become partly cloudy after midnight. Low near 35F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.
BIG RAPIDS  The fall season is a favorite of many Michigan residents, thanks to the beauty that the changing of the leaves brings each year. This fall, some areas could experience a later color shift.

Due to changes in the length of daylight and changes in temperature, leaves will stop their food-making process. The chlorophyll breaks down, the green color disappears, and the yellow to orange colors become visible and give the leaves the part of their fall splendor.

Some Mecosta County residents have wondered whether this summers gypsy moth population boom will have any impact on the areas fall color.

Rick Lucas, director of the Forestry Assistance Program for Mecosta and Osceola Counties, said the gypsy moth populations surge shouldnt have an impact on this years colors.

Gypsy moths will primarily feed on oaks and aspen trees, so it may have a minimal impact on the re-leafing of the aspen trees, but the oaks are going to be more of a dull color, Lucas said.

I do think were a little bit early in the development of the fall colors at this stage. There are a lot of weather-related elements that factor into the change, and I would think within the next week to 10 days it will really take off here. The way I always describe the fall season is that theyre all good, but some are just better than others.

Lucas said the dry weather Michigan experienced this summer could impact the rate at which the leaves shift color.

We did have a hot and dry summer early on and generally it will be weather-related activities that will impact how nice a fall season color change is, Lucas said. Lack of rain and humid temperatures for a prolonged time will impact the trees, more recently depending on how much moisture we get these rainy days are certainly going to have an impact on how the change develops and how vibrant it gets.

Under optimal conditions the process of chlorophyll loss is quicker and allows the plants to resorb much of the nitrogen in the structure of the pigment molecule, according to Harvard Universitys forest research. Carotenoid pigments are also lost from the plastids during aging, but some of them are retained in the plastids after the chlorophyll is removed. This produces autumn leaves with yellow colors.

In unusual cases, sometimes in winterberry holly, a fair amount of chlorophyll is left in the leaves when they fall. Such leaves are a pale green in color, or perhaps yellow-green from the mixture of chlorophyll and carotenoids.

Most intriguing are leaves that turn red, because this color is the result of the active synthesis of anthocyanin pigments just before the leaves fall from the trees. Red is the most common color of autumn leaves. Anthocyanin and chlorophyll produce brownish colors. Anthocyanins and carotenoids produce orange hues. In some plants the color production is quite uniform.

Lucas said in Michigan the maple tree is the most popular to see fall color on.

The maple is usually everyones favorite this time of year for seeing the vibrant color change, Lucas said. You certainly can get quite a variation within that species and then even within a single tree, a lot of that is dictated by how much sunlight a tree gets and where its located in a given forest or area.

Some hot spots for color in mid-Michigan are on full display along I-75, which runs north and south directly through the center of the state. Taking a drive from Caro to Frankenmuth and on to Bay City, you'll be able to see plenty of fall vibrance. You can also stop for a visit to Big Rapids' Hemlock or Mitchell Creek Park to see color flourish near the banks of the Muskegon River.

Lucas said that due to the plentiful number of maple and color-changing tree species in the state, the fall changes can be seen nearly anywhere in the state.

Watching the trees prepare for winter is a really stunning process if you really pay attention, Lucas said. That physiological change is really wild, and Michigan is blessed in that it has a vast mixed deciduous forest landscape so people can go just about anywhere off of the beaten path and find some pretty exceptional colors, theres really no exact route to take to see how stunning it is.

For more information on the Mecosta Conservation Districts Forestry Assistance program, visit the organizations website at www.mecostacd.org/forestry-assistance.
On Tuesday's No Spin News, Bill spoke with Maddison Farris, an Oklahoma State University student who was kicked out of class and forced to resign from the college paper after she refused to mask up in class.

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The technique can also be used to remove the virus-transmitting Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus

In a first for the Southern Hemisphere, researchers in Australia have shown a bacteria can successfully sterilise and eradicate the invasive, disease carrying Aedes aegypti mosquito which is responsible for spreading dengue, yellow fever and Zika.

The breakthrough could support the suppression and potential eradication of Aedes aegypti worldwide.

The landmark trial involved releasing three million male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in Northern Queensland, sterilised with bacteria called Wolbachia, across three trial sites over a 20-week period during the summer of 2018. The sterile male insects search out and mate with wild females, preventing the production of offspring.

Scientists returned the following year and found one of the trial sites, Mourilyan in Queensland, was almost devoid of mosquitoes.

Over 40 per cent of humans suffer from mosquito-spread diseases, so its an opportunity for Australia to develop environmentally-friendly mosquito control tools to tackle current and future mosquito incursions.

By working with Australian and international partners we can tackle two of Australias greatest challenges at once  health and security  with breakthrough research translated into effective global export solutions", said the researchers at Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).
REC Foundation providing financial assistance of Rs 14.4 Cr

In its efforts to get underway the upcoming School of Medical Research and Technology (SMRT), the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT-K) has signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with the REC Foundation, the CSR arm of REC (formerly Rural Electrification Corporation Limited).

REC Foundation has committed financial assistance of Rs 14.4 Crores under its CSR programme to IIT Kanpur for the construction of student housing facilities at the upcoming SMRT.

School of Medical Research and Technology (SMRT) will be Indias first medical school that aims to narrow the gap between medical sciences and technology disciplines.

As a part of the SMRT, the institute will set up a 500-bed super speciality hospital and centres of excellence (CoEs) for pursuing R&D activities in futuristic medicine. The school is likely to offer postgraduate and doctoral programmes in various super specialities.

As per this CSR Agreement, the REC will provide financial support through its CSR initiative to IIT Kanpur towards the establishment of SMRT at IIT Kanpur. The CSR contribution will be utilised for the construction of 2 Hostel Towers with furniture, fixtures, landscaping, external lighting and solar power generation facility for postgraduate students.
Mainly Jem's Birding & Ringing Exploits in the Eastern Province & Ringing Trips to Bahrain
On 1 October, during Paris Fashion Week, Luxury Connect Africa held its annual African Luxury Heritage Awards, which recognises the outstanding contribution of African luxury brands and designers to the creative and business spheres of the African luxury economy.

Source: Luxury Connect Africa

Imane Ayissi and Laduma Ngxokolo honoured

Source: Luxury Connect Africa

Repositioning Africa on the world stage

Celebrating African heritage, craftsmanship and ingenuity

The event was a dual awards ceremony for 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid pandemic and was held in collaboration with the South African Embassy in France at the residence of the Ambassador of South Africa to France and Monaco.The awards were presented during an intimate luncheon by Tebogo Seokolo, the South African Ambassador to France and Monaco, with the participation of Uche Pezard, founder chief curator of Luxury Connect Africa, and in the presence of notable media and fashion personalities, including fashion legend Suzy Menkes, star stylist Jenke Ahmed Tailly and designer Thebe Magugu.The award for African Luxury Heritage Brand of the Year 2020 was given to Cameroonian haute couture designer Imane Ayissi, whose expert crafting of African traditional textiles into haute couture creations led him to become the first designer of sub-Saharan African origin to be invited to the prestigious French haute couture body, the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture in 2019.The award for African Luxury Heritage Brand of the Year 2021 was given to the South African womens and mens ready-to-wear designer Laduma Ngxokolo who created the brand Maxhosa in 2011 to celebrate the centuries-old creative and cultural heritage of his Xhosa origin. Maxhosa has since attained global recognition, leading to seasonal presentations at New York Fashion Week.In his keynote speech, Tebogo Seokolo stated: "Fashion has always been an important part of the human cultural experience since antiquity. In Africa in particular, its a medium of artistic expression and cultural identity. It is through African fashion that Africas rich regal culture has been represented over the ages, demonstrating both African heritage and luxury."The recipients of todays award have not only demonstrated excellence in their craft but are the embodiment of luxury heritage in fashion. For that, we honour them. By producing their own African luxury brands that compete on the world stage, theyre also contributing to the wider continental agenda of repositioning Africa in the world, a priority that is central to my countrys foreign policy."In her introductory speech, Uche Pezard remarked: Africas rich creative and cultural heritage, which has excelled through skilled craftsmanship for centuries is today being propelled on the world stage by the extraordinary designers and creators who we are proud to know and recognise through this award. The excellence of their craft is transforming Africas present and will safeguard Africas future. Were very proud of them and continue to be inspired by them."Accepting his awareness, Imane Ayissi said: Ill like to thank everyone who has brought some spotlight and support to my career in fashion The road has been quite long, and we continue to strive to bring another facet of Africas know-how to the attention of the world. In the process, we celebrate African fashion and Africas beautiful stories because our continent is full of energy and talent and its our duty to elevate this for the world to appreciate."In his thank-you speech, Laduma Ngxokolo stated: Thank you to you all for recognising our work through this platform. May African luxury grow from strength to strength, not just through the glamorous side of fashion but especially through economical development within our continent. May we grow our export industry and make Africa a great continent again as it should be."The African Luxury Heritage Awards was launched in 2018 and is presented annually to the African luxury heritage brand that has shown the most consistency in projecting its African heritage, displayed the highest level of excellence in its creativity and craftsmanship, shown the most innovative output in its products and services, and exhibits the richest representation of diversity and sustainability in its brand DNA.The awards platform is supported by the Embassy of South Africa in France in its mission to promote South Africa and Africas fashion excellence in the fashion industry.
The New Gen Social & Digital Media Awards, founded in 2012 is the largest independently celebrated digital awards in South Africa and both recognises and celebrates ingenuity, with a specific focus on results and insight-based success. Campaigns are evaluated for harnessing new trends in social and digital media, new industry technology and platforms, as well as international trends making their way into South Africa.Dunlops Grandtrek Uncharted expedition and marketing campaign scooped Gold for Best Use of Technical Innovation, Most Innovative Social and Digital Media by a Small Agency, Most Innovative Use of Social and Digital Media by a Corporate and two Silver awards for Best Integrated Marketing Campaign by an Agency and Best Integrated Marketing Campaign by a Corporate.The expedition took the brand to all nine provinces in South Africa, seeking out roads far from the beaten track that could be added to Google Street View using a special 360-degree camera. Dunlop also received Silver for Best Use of Podcast/Vlog to promote a Product or Brand/Event, for its Are We There Yet? podcast. The podcast offers captivating locally inspired audio stories sourced from literacy NGO Book Dash and is available on the Dunlop MyTyres app and other podcast platforms.Both Dunlop initiatives encouraged South Africans to get back out on the roads and safely rediscover hidden travel and tourism gems, promoting the countrys tourism landscape after months of lockdown and travel restrictions.Having the confidence to go anywhere is what inspired Grandtrek Uncharted , which showcases what is possible when driving with the most comprehensive range of SUV and 4X4 tyres in South Africa, the Dunlop Grandtrek line of no-nonsense, all-terrain tyres for off-road travel, adventure and exploration. The range now includes the Grandtrek AT3G, AT25, AT5 and AT3G White Lettering tyres.We believe the journey should be just as exciting as the destination. In the old days, adventurers would map out new places they discovered. We wanted to capture some of this spirit and show customers that our Grandtrek range allows them to go places that even Google hasnt yet been, says Lubin Ozoux, CEO of Sumitomo Rubber South Africa (Pty) Ltd, manufacturers of the Dunlop tyre brand.We are thrilled that this unique expedition and marketing campaign, something no other tyre manufacturer has ever done before, has been recognised again. The prestigious New Gen Awards is an accolade that inspires our team because it reflects that Dunlops innovation isnt only limited to the production floor, but applies to all facets of this tyre brand, adds Ozoux.With Dunlops Grandtrek range, you can take the roadeven when there isnt one. Dunlop encourages consumers to take the road and to embrace their personal journey with confidence. This speaks to the companys vision of creating journeys to better peoples lives.With consistent research, development and innovation, the tyre manufacturer continues to deliver quality tyre products to the market, enabling consumers to do just that, to take on any journey they choose - whether its on- or off-road - safely and with complete ease.Commenting about the New Gen Awards, founder Stephen Paxton, said submissions have improved and increased year-on-year, with South African corporates, agencies and students producing some truly remarkable work.This years entries have shown me, that even through these difficult times South African creatives and marketers, move forward, get stuck in and nail briefs.Teams have become more technically minded, smarter strategies can be seen across multiple platforms, resulting in clever content, greater reach and engagement, and the results achieved across a number of campaigns was phenomenal. A big congratulations to all of the winners and finalists, you have outdone yourselves! he added.
Google has announced a plan to invest $1bn over five years to support Africa's digital transformation. The investment focuses on enabling fast, affordable internet access for more Africans; building helpful products; supporting entrepreneurship and small business; and helping non-profits to improve lives across Africa. The announcement was made at Google's first-ever Google for Africa event, held virtually and livestreamed.

Google for Africa

Enabling affordable internet access and building helpful products

Google is building global infrastructure to help bring faster internet to more people and lower connectivity costs. The subsea cable Equiano will run through South Africa, Namibia, Nigeria and St Helena and connect the continent with Europe.





Internet access is also hampered by the affordability of smartphones. Android has developed a device locking technology as part of the Android platform that will enable partners to offer financed devices.



Google has collaborated with Safaricom to support the launch of the first Device Financing plan in Kenya, and will expand this initiative across Africa with partners like Airtel, MKOPA, MTN, Orange, Transsion Holdings and Vodacom, and more. These partnerships will help millions of first-time smartphone users gain access to quality, affordable Android smartphones.





Google has collaborated with Safaricom to support the launch of the first Device Financing plan in Kenya, and will expand this initiative across Africa with partners like Airtel, MKOPA, MTN, Orange, Transsion Holdings and Vodacom, and more. These partnerships will help millions of first-time smartphone users gain access to quality, affordable Android smartphones. Plus Codes are a free and open-source addressing system to provide addresses for everyone. The government of The Gambia has adopted this in providing addresses for residents and businesses across the capital Banjul and are now scaling to the rest of the country. Plus codes will expand to South Africa, Kenya and other countries in partnership with governments and non-governmental organisations.

We plan to invest $1 billion over 5 years on projects to improve connectivity, support startups and developer communities, support SMBs with low-interest loans, and fund non-profits working to improve lives throughout Africa. #google4africa pic.twitter.com/4cRPje6rtF  Google in Africa (@googleafrica) October 6, 2021

Investments in entrepreneurship and technology

Startup investment will power Africa's digital economy. Through our new Africa Investment Fund, we'll invest $50 million in African startups, and help them create useful tools for their communities#google4africa pic.twitter.com/48xiwuRil2  Google in Africa (@googleafrica) October 6, 2021

Empowering businesses as they continue or embark on their digital transformation

Renewed funding for nonprofits

Providing a platform for African cultural treasures and collections

Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, shared the planned $1bn investment and will include:Through a Black Founders Fund, Google will invest in Black-led startups in Africa by providing cash awards and hands-on support. This is in addition to Googles existing support through the Google for Startups Accelerator Africa, which has helped more than 80 African startups with equity-free finance, working space and access to expert advisors over the last three years.Google also announced the launch of an Africa Investment Fund. Through this fund, the company will invest $50m in startups and provide them with access to Googles employees, network, and technologies to help them build meaningful products for their communities.In collaboration with the non-profit organisation Kiva, Google is providing $10m in low-interest loans to help small businesses and entrepreneurs in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa get through the economic hardship created by Covid-19.Google.org is expanding its commitment to support non-profits working to improve lives across Africa, with $40m to help more partners who are responding to challenges they see first hand in their communities - innovators like the Airqo team at Makerere University, who use AI and sensors to monitor poor air quality, a leading cause of premature death. Google is providing $3m in new grant funding to expand this pioneering work from Kampala across 10 cities in five countries on the continent.The announcement expands Googles ongoing support for Africas digital transformation and entrepreneurship. In 2017, Google launched its Grow with Google initiative with a commitment to training 10 million young Africans and small businesses in digital skills. To date, Google has trained over 6 million people across 25 African countries, with over 60% of participants experiencing growth in their career and/or business as a result. Google has also supported more than 50 nonprofits across Africa with over $16m of investment and enabled hundreds of millions of Africans to access internet services for the first time through Android.CEO of Google and Alphabet, Sundar Pichai said: Weve made huge strides together over the past decade - but theres more work to do to make the internet accessible, affordable and useful for every African. Today Im excited to reaffirm our commitment to the continent through an investment of $1bn over five years to support Africas digital transformation to cover a range of initiatives from improved connectivity to investment in startups.Nitin Gajria, managing director for Google in Africa added: I am so inspired by the innovative African tech startup scene. In the last year we have seen more investment rounds into tech startups than ever before. I am of the firm belief that no one is better placed to solve Africas biggest problems than Africas young developers and startup founders. We look forward to deepening our partnership with, and support for, Africa's innovators and entrepreneurs.Minister Stella Tembisa Ndabeni-Abrahams, Minister of Small Business Development, South Africa said: I am happy to note that Google has been active in supporting Small to Medium Enterprises, dedicating even more resources to this sector, since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. In the last 12 months, Google has helped close to 500,000 African businesses get online and reach new customers.Since 2012, the Google Arts & Culture team has partnered with institutions across the continent to preserve and promote their collections, providing a free online platform that anyone around the world can access. The result is hundreds of expertly curated stories about Africa by Africans.This includes a new project called Cradle of Creativity dedicated to the creative history and heritage of Africa. In collaboration with the Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art in Nigeria and the Origins Centre in South Africa, people across the globe can explore more than 500 high-resolution images, 60 expertly-curated stories with audio narrations, as well as Street View virtual tours, helping to showcase Africas creative talent and heritage.
The document is whats known as a keyword warrant  only the third that has surfaced so far publicly, though their number is feared to be higher than expected  and it shows that federal government had secretly ordered Google to identify anyone who searched a name, address, or telephone number, in a 2019 Wisconsin case of a missing minor.

In order to find the suspects in the presumed kidnapping and sexual abuse of the minor, those investigating the case decided to ask Google to turn over data on every person who happened to search the girls name, her mothers name (in two different spellings), or their address. The data requested by the authorities included access to Google users accounts, CookieIDs, and their IP addresses, and in all covered Google searches performed during 16 days of one year.

In a sea of warrants asking data from Big Tech and their social media, the keyword searches, along with the geofence ones are considered to be among the most worrying when it comes to their potential to implicate perfectly innocent people, thanks to the dragnet approach.

Namely, these two types of warrants are not asking for data from suspects investigators have already identified; instead, they are hoping to come across them, and dont care if everyone accidentally finding themselves within a physical perimeter or using a keyword in their search that has nothing to do with a crime might have their data given to government agencies.

In the Wisconsin case, Google cooperated and provided the requested information last year, but the document doesnt show how many people got their Google accounts and IPs turned over.

Examples like this demonstrate that Google continues to work with the authorities even on warrants that are based on dubious legal grounds. All the same, the tech giant continues to defend its practices and promises that it is complying with the law while protecting user privacy.

However, privacy experts are concerned about the precedent set by such warrants and the potential for any such order to be a breach of Fourth Amendment protections from unreasonable searches, writes Forbes, and adds, There are also concerns about First Amendment freedom of speech issues, given the potential to cause anxiety among Google users that their identities could be handed to the government because of what they searched for.
Sometimes silence by the mainstream press speaks volumes about where they stand on important issues of the day. A perfect example is the absence of editorials and commentaries on the upcoming October 26 deadline for releasing the CIAs long-secret records relating to the Kennedy assassination, which have been kept secret now for almost 60 years.

Take a look, for example, at all the mainstream papers. I could be mistaken, but as far as I know not one of them has addressed the upcoming deadline, one way or the other.

The mainstream press is in a pickle. On the one hand, they stand for the principle of transparency in governmental operations, especially in foreign regimes, which would argue for full release of those decades-old records. On the other hand, however, the last thing they want to do is upset the Pentagon and the CIA, which they know they would do by calling for the release of the records.

So, what do they do? They punt by just deciding to remain silent, acting as if the matter just doesnt exist and hoping that no one notices.

Well, Ive noticed! Hopefully other people have noticed as well!

There is another factor to consider. For decades the mainstream press has mocked and ridiculed the notion that the assassination was a highly sophisticated regime-change operation orchestrated and carried out by the U.S. national-security establishment on grounds of national security. Following the cue that the CIA sent out to its Operation Mockingbird assets decades ago, the mainstream press has reveled in labeling anyone who has concluded that the assassination was a regime-change operation as a conspiracy theorist.

Okay, then why not openly demand the disclosure of the CIAs long-secret assassination records? Given that the mainstream press is so convinced of the validity of the official lone-nut theory of the assassination, why not call for the release of those records to prove that the lone-nut theory is true and correct?

There is one possible reason they dont do that: Theyre nervous about what those thousands of still-secret records show.

After all, lets face it: The notion that the release of 60-year-old records could threaten national security, no matter what definition is placed on that meaningless term, is patently ludicrous. Whatever evidence the records contain, their disclosure will not cause the United States to fall into the ocean. Communist Cuba will not invade and conquer the United States. The dominoes near North Vietnam will not start falling. The North Korean communists will not come and get us. And the supposed communist conspiracy to take over America that was supposedly based in Moscow, Russia (yes, that Russia) during the Cold War terminated a long time ago.

My hunch is that if you gave lie detector tests to the editorial and op-ed writers in the mainstream press as well as to the Washington, D.C., establishment, the tests would reveal that 95 percent of them, deep down, know that the Kennedy assassination was a regime-change operation. They just dont want to know know that it was a regime-change operation. They just want what happened to be kept secret under the carpet. Their mindset is: What good will it do to know know that the U.S. national-security establishment took out a sitting U.S. president based on the need to protect national security from his policies?

After all these years, they have to be basically familiar with the fraudulent autopsy that the national-security establishment conducted on the presidents body on the very evening of the assassination. (See my two books The Kennedy Autopsy and The Kennedy Autopsy 2.) As I have repeatedly emphasized over the years, there is no innocent explanation for a fraudulent autopsy. A fraudulent autopsy equals guilt in the assassination.

Its not as though those long-secret records will contain any confessions. Nobody would be that stupid. Moreover, from its beginning the CIA had a longstanding policy to never mention its state-sponsored assassinations in writing.

But given all the evidence establishing the fraudulent autopsy that came out during the ARRB years in the 1990s, it is a virtual certainty that that those still-secret records contain more evidence that fills out the regime-change mosaic even more, very likely the Mexico City part of the operation, which clearly went awry and is still shrouded to this day in national-security secrecy.

One darkly ironic aspect of all this is that if the national-security establishment concluded that a president really did pose a threat to national security, much of the mainstream press would undoubtedly want the national-security establishment to act to save the nation. They just would hope that it would be done in a way that would not cause them to know know what had to be done in the name of protecting national security.

The CIA knows that another request for secrecy will look bad, very bad. But they themselves are in a pickle. There is a reason they kept those records secret 60 years ago and 30 years ago. It is the same reason they sought an extension of time when the deadline for release came due under the Trump administration. Undoubtedly, that reason is still motivating them today to keep those records secret.

So, the problem for the CIA is: Should it seek another extension of time for secrecy, which will look even more incriminating? Or should it release those long-secret records know that they contain incriminating evidence? The answer is obvious: Better to take the heat for continuing the cover-up than to have the regime-change mosaic filled out even further with incriminating evidence.

My prediction? The CIA will seek still another extension of time for secrecy and President Biden, citing national security, will grant it, even while most likely ordering the release of some of the remaining irrelevant records for the sake of appearance. I also predict that the mainstream press will continue to remain silent on the matter, doing its best not to upset the Pentagon and the CIA but continuing to stand for transparency, especially within foreign regimes.
The FBI raided the Manhattan offices of a New York City police union Tuesday, and hours later, the unions outspoken leader resigned.

Bearing a warrant, agents searched the headquarters of the fifth-biggest police union in the country, the Sergeants Benevolent Association, or SBA, which represents 13,000 active and retired New York City police sergeants.

Simultaneously, FBI agents searched a home in the Long Island suburb of Port Washington, an FBI spokesperson said. It belongs to Ed Mullins, who has led the union since 2002, sources said.

In a letter to SBA members, which was obtained by NBC News, the unions executive board said that it asked Mullins to resign and that he agreed.

The nature and scope of this criminal investigation has yet to be determined. However, it is clear that President Mullins is apparently the target of the federal investigation. We have no reason to believe that any other member of the SBA is involved or targeted in this matter, the board said in the message.

The union pledged its full cooperation. It said that Mullins is entitled to the presumption of innocence but that the unions work is too important for the investigation to be a distraction.
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...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 9 PM THIS EVENING TO 1 PM EST FRIDAY... * WHAT...Lake effect snow expected. Total snow accumulations of generally 2 to 3 inches, though locally between 4 and 7 inches will fall within more persistent Lake Effect snow bands, especially across the northwest half of Warren County. * WHERE...Warren and McKean Counties. * WHEN...From 9 PM this evening to 1 PM EST Friday. * IMPACTS...Plan on snow-covered and slippery road conditions, along with locally very poor visibility within the heavier snow bands. The hazardous conditions could impact the Friday morning commute to work and school. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Conditions can change very rapidly in lake effect snow bands. As you encounter these snow bands, ensure you gradually slow down and greatly increase your braking distance between you and the vehicles ahead. Use your hazard lights to increase the visibility of your vehicle to other drivers to help avoid accidents. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission remind motorists to adjust speeds based on driving conditions as winter weather impacts will include snow covered roads and limited visibility in some areas. Call 5 1 1 or visit www.511pa.com for the latest travel, roadway and traffic conditions. To report snow or ice, post to the NWS State College Facebook page, use Twitter @NWSStateCollege, or visit weather.gov/ctp. &&
A woman was warned she has to get her addiction under control after pleading guilty to a string of crimes that took place in Virden over the summer.

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A woman was warned she has to get her addiction under control after pleading guilty to a string of crimes that took place in Virden over the summer.

Katherine Tomms, 27, pleaded guilty to a swath of charges from June in the Westman town.

Crown attorney Rich Lonstrup said the incidents started on June 1, when officers attended a call for service in the Westman town involving Tomms.

Police arrested her and found one hit of methamphetamine, along with five pills believed to be Xanax and a bottle of bear spray on her, Lonstrup said. Officers also found two meth pipes and a lighter on her.

"We understand Ms. Tomms is living a very high-risk and transient lifestyle," he said.

Then, on June 10, at approximately 1:20 p.m., police received a report Tomms was breaching her release order, the Crown said. A woman reported Tomms came to her home and appeared to be high on meth.

While outside, she knocked over both a planter and a bird bath and smashed a lawn ornament, he said.

As police were trying to find her, they received another call saying she had stolen several items from a local store, Lonstrup said. She stole a packsack, pyjamas, shirts and pants.

Police patrolled the area and found her looking in the window of the Virden library, where officers arrested her.

Lonstrup said Tomms became argumentative, saying she did nothing wrong and pulling away, so police "took control of her."

Officers searched her backpack and found a second backpack inside, along with two pairs of pants and two shirts, all still with tags from the store on them.

Police transported her to the Virden RCMP detachment, where Tomms insisted she had a different name.

On June 17, police were called to another shoplifting complaint involving Tomms, this time from a Virden gas station. An employee said she tried to steal several food items after not having enough money to pay for them.

"We understand these are survival-related items, we understand this is not stealing for resale or for luxuries to be sure, but she has a bad property [criminal] record ... I understand these are because of transient and addiction issues," Lonstrup said.

Lonstrup asked the judge to sentence her to fines, along with time served in jail and probation.

Tomms has been in custody since June 18, for a total of the equivalent of 164 days in jail.

Defence lawyer Bob Harrison said its obvious what the problem is for Tomms.

"You cant live a stable life, frankly, when youre using alcohol, crystal meth and any other type of drug. That leads to her behaviour, that leads to her losing a lot of time in the last couple of years," he said.

"Shes losing some valuable time here by not dealing with the issues."

Despite this, Harrison said Tomms wants to deal with her addictions issues and has been taking programming while in custody.

Tomms also has Gladue factors, Harrison said, and spent some time in foster homes growing up.

Judge Shauna Hewitt-Michta said she was "disappointed" to see Tomms back before the court and she was in a bad situation.

She sentenced Tomms to the equivalent of four and a half months in jail and 18 months of unsupervised probation.

"Im tired of seeing you come in and out of the court system and  I would hope you would be tired of coming and going from the court system in the way that you have," Hewitt-Michta said to Tomms.

"Until you deal with the meth addiction, whatever the addictions issues you have, this is just going to keep happening, youre going to keep coming in and out of custody."

 dmay@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @DrewMay_
OTTAWA - The NDP has requested an official inquiry into what it calls numerous and systemic failures of election officials in last month's federal election.

People start to line up early for the Canadian general election before polls open in west-end Toronto for the Monday, Sept. 20, 2021 election. The NDP has requested an official inquiry into what it calls numerous and systemic failures of election officials on election day. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graeme Roy

OTTAWA - The NDP has requested an official inquiry into what it calls "numerous and systemic failures of election officials" in last month's federal election.

NDP national director Anne McGrath has written to Canada's elections commissioner, Yves Cote, calling for an investigation into whether election officials in a number of ridings failed to follow correct procedures, denying citizens the right to cast their vote on Sept. 20.

The letter of complaint, seen by The Canadian Press, alleges that some polling stations opened late "or not at all," disenfranchising voters, many of whom were in Indigenous communities.

It says that in Kenora, Ont., Indigenous voters were "significantly disenfranchised" because places where people expected to vote did not open at all, or not until mid-afternoon.

An accompanying dossier of failures, compiled by the NDPs lawyers, has also been sent to Cote, an independent officer who ensures that election law is properly implemented.

"In keeping with the confidentiality provisions of the Act, the CCE (Commissioner of Canada Elections) generally does not confirm whether it has received a complaint or has initiated an investigation into a particular issue," said spokeswoman Veronique Aupry.

Elections Canada said it was unaware of the NDP's specific complaints, because the elections commissioner acts independently.

Matthew McKenna, a spokesman for Elections Canada, says it faced "unprecedented challenges given the pandemic."

"Throughout the election, the agency communicated openly and regularly with political parties about issues that arose and measures taken to address them," he said. "As is our usual practice, Elections Canada is currently analyzing and reviewing how the election unfolded, which includes reaching out to a number of stakeholders to get their feedback."

Vancouver-based law firm Allevato, Quail and Roy, counsel to the NDP, alleges that there were "system-wide failures of election officials to follow election procedures."

Election-day polls in Indigenous communities including Cat Lake, Poplar Hill and Pikangikum "simply never materialized," the NDP says. In Grassy Narrows, the polling station opened "over four hours late."

Some polling stations, the party alleges, did not have lists of voters ready when polls were due to open and sent voters away and told them to come back later.

In some districts, election officials refused to keep polls open for voters, even though they had opened late, denying Canadians the requisite 12 hours in which to cast their vote on election day, the NDP alleges.

Moreover, the party says some voters had to wait in line for up to two hours.

"Elections Canada failed their responsibility to ensure the enfranchisement of all voters, even and especially those in low-income communities, those living in Indigenous and rural/remote communities, and those living with disabilities," McGrath said in a written statement to The Canadian Press.

"What we saw in Indigenous communities in Kenora or urban communities in Toronto where people weren't able to vote or were not given the opportunity to vote is troubling and must be fixed before the next election.

"We respect the choice of electors and the results of the election, but these systemic failures by Elections Canada to make sure every person in Canada can participate in our process contravenes the Elections Act and must be addressed," McGrath added.

In her letter to the commissioner, McGrath says the NDP "gave prior warning to Elections Canada" of potential failures, based on warning signals emanating from advance polls a week before election day.

"We were promised that action would be taken by Elections Canada to ensure such failures did not repeat themselves on Election Day. Nothing was done. Voters were turned away, were sent to the wrong polling locations, showed up at locations that opened late or never opened, or walked away from massive lineups," her letter says.

The dossier also complains that the partys elections observers were unable to scrutinize vote counts, and that, in one case, the police were allegedly called to escort an NDP lawyer from a polling station.

"All across the country, local Elections Canada officials refused to permit candidate representatives to observe the counting of the ballots, despite their legal right to do so," the NDP says.

The NDP says it wants an inquiry and action taken to ensure such failures do not happen again. It says the mistakes have "done serious damage to the confidence of Canadians in our electoral system."

The party says it "understood the pressure Elections Canada" was under to run an election "during a public health crisis." But McGrath says the agency's job was to "make it easier for people to vote, not harder."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 6, 2021
MONCTON, N.B. - Brent Clark says the New Brunswick government should have decided a little earlier to prohibit Thanksgiving Day gatherings.

A Canadian flag hangs in the doorway of a boathouse on Meech Lake among the fall colours in Chelsea, Que., on Sunday, Oct. 11, 2020. New Brunswicks recently imposed cap on gatherings ahead of the Thanksgiving weekend amid a surge of COVID-19 cases has forced some in the province to rethink their holiday plans. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

MONCTON, N.B. - Brent Clark says the New Brunswick government should have decided a little earlier to prohibit Thanksgiving Day gatherings.

Clark, a resident of Hartland, N.B., by the border with Quebec, said he had to cancel last minute a party he had planned with his three older daughters, grandchildren and his in-laws.

This year, itll be nobody, he said Wednesday, a day after Premier Blaine Higgs issued a provincewide health order capping all indoor gatherings to members of a single household for the Thanksgiving long weekend. Higgs said the order was necessary to limit a surge in COVID-19 cases in the province despite the fact more than 80 per cent of eligible New Brunswickers are fully vaccinated.

If (the government) wanted to do something, they shouldve given more notice," Clark lamented.

Aside from the Thanksgiving party ban, Higgs issued a series of tough measures for parts of the province with high COVID-19 transmission, including Moncton.

New Brunswick's per capita rate of reported cases in the past 14 days has exceeded every other province, except Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia, according to federal data. The figures show that New Brunswick's case rate was 150 infections per 100,000 people. By comparison, the rates in Alberta and Saskatchewan were more than three times higher at 470 and 538, respectively. British Columbia's rate stood at 198 per 100,000, as of Oct. 5.

"We have seen a high number of cases sparked from private gatherings and these are resulting in transmission of the virus across the province, particularly among the unvaccinated, chief medical officer Dr. Jennifer Russell said in a statement Wednesday.

"I understand this is difficult but, in an effort to reduce the spread, New Brunswickers must not have gatherings at their homes during Thanksgiving weekend."

Clark said he was dealing with disappointment after the announcement; his family hasn't been able to have a large gathering since the pandemic began and they were hoping that Thanksgiving would give them a chance to have everyone together.

The new rules have also affected holiday plans for the province's food centres.

Trish MacDonald, interim manager of the Natoaganeg Community Food Centre in Eel Ground First Nation, said the facility has had to cancel its annual Thanksgiving dinner.

"(We're) going to try and do Thanksgiving dinner, but it might be after Thanksgiving," she said Wednesday. Usually, up to 20 people would be able to dine inside the facility for the holiday, but indoor, in-person festivities have been called off.

"There's still more things we want to do, but we had to slow things down inside the building," MacDonald added.

Meanwhile, health officials Wednesday reported that a person in their 90s died of the disease, bringing the total number of deaths related to COVID-19 in the province to 70. Officials also reported 71 new cases of COVID-19 and 77 more recoveries. The province has 775 active reported cases  more than three times the number in Nova Scotia.

New Brunswick has nearly 81 per cent of its eligible population fully vaccinated against the disease and 89.9 per cent have received at least one dose.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 6, 2021.

 By Danielle Edwards in Halifax.

 With files from Michael MacDonald in Halifax.

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This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.
GJOA HAVEN, Nunavut - The RCMP officer who shot and killed an armed Inuk man says he pulled the trigger because he feared for his own safety, his partner and those living in the remote Nunavut community.

The RCMP station in the hamlet of Gjoa Haven, Nunavut, is seen on Friday, Oct. 1, 2021. One of two RCMP officers who confronted Charles Qirngnirq, 21, of Gjoa Haven the morning he was shot and killed by police says she feared for her life that day. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Emma Tranter

GJOA HAVEN, Nunavut - The RCMP officer who shot and killed an armed Inuk man says he pulled the trigger because he feared for his own safety, his partner and those living in the remote Nunavut community.

Cpl. Ian Crowe testified Tuesday at a coroner's inquest into the death of Charles Qirngnirq in Gjoa Haven on Dec. 19, 2016.

RCMP had received a call about a suicidal man with a rifle at the hamlet's airport.

Crowe said he and his partner, the only officers working that day, arrived near the airport but Qirngnirq didn't seem to acknowledge their presence.

He also said the 21-year-old, who was standing about 150 metres away, had yelled that he wanted to die.

Former corporal Tanya Kellogg testified earlier in the day that Qirngnirq had aimed his rifle at the officers.

And Crowe fired his gun.

"I knew it was very likely that if I pulled the trigger I would end the life of Charles," Crowe said.

Kellogg told the inquest that she had also heard Qirngnirq yelling before the shooting, but couldn't make out what he was saying.

It was about -33 C, but conditions were clear, she said.

Kellogg had been working relief in Gjoa Haven for about a week when the shooting happened. Crowe had been there for about 18 months.

Kellogg, who is now retired, said she and Crowe went to the airport with a carbine  a high-powered rifle equipped with a telescopic sight. When they drove down the road to the airport, they spotted Qirngnirq outside the terminal building and stopped.

Kellogg said she didn't initially see Qirngnirq holding a rifle, but then spotted it when he turned away from the airport to walk toward town. She said he was "pumping" the rifle and yelling.

Crowe got out of the police vehicle and positioned himself behind the hood on the driver's side with the carbine, Kellogg testified.

She said she sat on the passenger side on the edge of her seat and yelled over the vehicle's loud hailer for Qirngnirq to stop and put the gun down, but he did not.

She said she feared for her life as only the vehicle door was between herself and Qirngnirq.

Kellogg said Qirngnirq was not facing the officers, but then seemed to turn and aim his rifle at them.

She said she heard "a loud bang"  which was Crowe firing the carbine  seconds after Qirngnirq turned to face them.

"He pointed it to us and in seconds he was shot," Kellogg said.

Officers are trained that when a gun is pointed at them and they fear for their life, the proper police response is to shoot, both Crowe and Kellogg told the inquest.

Kellogg said when they reached Qirngnirq, he told the officers, "Why do you shoot?" while they were handcuffing him.

Qirngnirq had been hit in the right hip and was taken to the health centre. Like 24 of Nunavut's 25 communities, there is no hospital in Gjoa Haven.

Nurses tended to Qirngnirq, who was still alive. At one point, Kellogg held the gauze over the bullet wound, she said.

"He looked up at me and said, 'You shot me.'"

Qirngnirq died before a medevac plane could leave the community.

Crowe is to continue testifying Wednesday.

Witnesses have already told the inquest that Qirngnirq went to the airport after fighting with his girlfriend, who is also the mother of his son. Qirngnirq did not want his girlfriend to fly to the nearby community of Kugaaruk that day and was very upset.

Eva Qirngnirq told the inquest that she called the RCMP when her grandson left the house that morning with the gun.

I knew he was not going to use that rifle on anyone," she said. I was worried he would do something to himself.

She described her grandson as a helpful, caring young man.

"He would help me with whatever Im doing. He would get ice, hunt for me, hunt for his mom, hunt for his family in Kugaaruk. He tried to make us happy ... I really love him," Eva said through tears.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 5, 2021.

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This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship
OTTAWA - NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he is proud of the party's election campaign, but also disappointed that more MPs were not elected.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh speaks during a post-election news conference in Vancouver, on Tuesday, September 21, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

OTTAWA - NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he is proud of the party's election campaign, but also disappointed that more MPs were not elected.

At the first meeting of the NDP caucus since the Sept. 20 vote, Singh told his MPs that, though proud of the party's "tough campaign," he was disappointed that so many candidates came a narrow second.

Singh announced he is appointing Bob Dewar, a veteran NDP political strategist, to lead a review into what succeeded and what went wrong with the NDP's election campaign.

The party gained only one extra seat despite spending $25 million on the election. It was the only major party to increase its share of votes.

Addressing his caucus of 25 MPs on Wednesday, Singh welcomed four new faces, including Blake Desjarlais, the new MP for Edmonton Griesbach, a Metis leader who is the first two-spirit MP.

Singh told his MPs that he was proud of the campaign but was also "acknowledging that there are things that we need to do" and that "there were things that went well and some things that didnt.

"We ran a tough campaign and we worked hard," he said. "But we are also disappointed as well."

He said he was disappointed that "there were seats that we were so close to winning," but only came second.

Singh asked his MPs for feedback and input into how the campaign went, nationally and on the ground. He said Dewar, a veteran political strategist, would launch a "really extensive review."

NDP communications director Melanie Richer said the review of how the campaign went is expected to report by the end of the year.

Alexandre Boulerice, deputy leader of the NDP, said the party would have been happy to have more MPs today but he was pleased that it had increased its share of votes in the election.

Maybe we had some issues about getting out the votes but we will discuss that, he said, before the caucus meeting.

He said the party was well placed for next time in Quebec to win more seats.

We put some really good roots in the ground for next time, Boulerice said.

Desjarlais said he focused his campaign on those folks who didnt have their voices heard and on getting the vote out.

He said he thought the NDP campaign was "phenomenal," adding that "all parties have had a difficult time trying to get out the vote."

The NDP leader also asked MPs for input on policies for the new Parliament, where the Liberals will continue as a minority government.

Singh told his MPs that fighting for Indigenous rights, including good quality affordable housing, combating climate change and pushing for higher taxes for the super-rich will be priorities for the NDP.

Singh signaled he would not use NDP numbers to torpedo Trudeau's minority government.

"Canadians  want to see Parliament work for them. Our goal is never in a minority government to tear down government," he said.

He said that combating COVID-19 and making sure that Canadians had access to paid sick leave were priorities the NDP would continue to push for, as well as a national vaccine passport.

"Having a clear federal document that can be used to prove your vaccination is something we have long called for and seems to make a lot of sense," he said.

The party came a close second in a clutch of ridings, but failed to break through in Quebec or in the Greater Toronto Area, despite favourable popularity ratings for Singh.

During the campaign, he criss-crossed the country, visiting dozens of target ridings, and meeting voters from many different backgrounds.

The review will examine whether Singh's energetic touring campaign worked, and if the party's active social media strategy cut through to floating voters, and different age groups.

It will also look at whether the party should have focused its message more on "bread and butter issues" that appeal to suburban voters who are not aligned to any political party, according to Richer.

It will also examine how voter turnout affected results in close-run ridings.

Singh told his caucus he was "holding out" for the result of a recount in the Toronto riding of Davenport where the NDP candidate lost to the Liberals by 76 votes.

He said "a breakthrough in Toronto" would be welcome.

Karl Belanger, a former senior NDP adviser, said the party would need to improve its messaging and organization on the ground to convert close seconds into wins next time. He said making gains in Toronto and Quebec was key to electoral success.

But, despite gaining only one more MP in the election, Singh would escape a leadership challenge, Belanger predicted.

Im not hearing any revolt or anything like that. I am sure people will raise concerns about what happened in the campaign. I think there are going to be questions that Singh was not able to capitalize on his own popularity, and couldnt break through in the GTA, Belanger, president of Traxxion Strategies, said.

They say they ran a good campaign but a campaign that doesnt deliver seats is not a good campaign. They need to look at the message.

In 2011, the NDP rode a so-called orange wave, returning the largest number of seats in its history. It formed the official opposition for the first time. In the 2015 election, the NDP won 44 seats, compared to 24 in 2019, Singhs first campaign as NDP leader.

The caucus of 25 MPs  some of whom wore orange masks, and even orange socks  loudly clapped for Singh as he entered the parliamentary committee room where the caucus was held, and more loudly still when he said he would fight for compensation for Indigenous children.

This report by the Canadian Press was first published Oct. 6, 2021.
OTTAWA - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he regrets the mistake of travelling to British Columbia to join his vacationing family on a day meant to honour Indigenous survivors of Canada's residential school system.

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The Peace Tower glows orange as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau participates in a ceremony on Parliament Hill on the eve of the first National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, in Ottawa, Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021. Trudeau says he regrets the mistake of travelling to British Columbia to join his vacationing family on a day meant to honour Indigenous survivors of Canada's residential schools system. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

OTTAWA - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he regrets the mistake of travelling to British Columbia to join his vacationing family on a day meant to honour Indigenous survivors of Canada's residential school system.

Trudeau's presence in Tofino, B.C., last Thursday came as a shock after his itinerary initially said he was in Ottawa.

Global News filmed the prime minister walking along a beach and the resulting video shows him declining to offer any comment.

Reports of his activities on that day sparked widespread backlash from Indigenous leaders, who felt it was disrespectful of him not to join other politicians in attending events held to honour the children who never came home.

Trudeau acknowledged Wednesday that the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was an important moment for all people, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to reflect.

"Travelling on Sept. 30 was a mistake, and I regret it," he said during a news conference held to announce mandatory vaccination rules for federal workers and travellers.

Trudeau's office said Sunday the prime minister spoke with Tk'emlups te Secwepemc Nation Chief Rosanne Casimir on Saturday and apologized for failing to accept invitations to mark Sept. 30 in the community where more than 200 unmarked graves were located at the site of a former residential school.

"I want to thank Chief Casimir of Tk'emlups for the conversation we had over the weekend in which I apologized for not being there with her and her community for this important day," Trudeau said.

"I committed to going to visit the Tk'emlups te Secwepemc community in the coming weeks. There's a lot of work for us all to do. And I'm committed to doing it."

The prime ministers itinerary for Sept. 30 originally said he was in private meetings in Ottawa. But spokeswoman Ann-Clara Vaillancourt later confirmed that Trudeau had in fact flown to B.C. to be with his family for a few days.

She pointed out that he had participated in a ceremony on Parliament Hill on Sept. 29, the eve of Canadas inaugural Truth and Reconciliation Day.

Trudeau rejected a suggestion Wednesday his published schedule for Sept. 30 was untruthful.

"There was no lie. The itinerary said that I had private meetings. And I had calls for a number of hours that day with survivors of Indian residential schools."

Trudeau noted that during the Parliament Hill ceremony he spoke of the need for all people to focus on what happened in the schools and to understand the truths of the past, but also to be present for healing and to build better for the future.

"That's also what I heard from survivors, who I spoke to throughout the day. We all have work to do and I assume my responsibility to do better in the future."

Trudeaus government created the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to commemorate the estimated 150,000 Indigenous children forced to attend residential schools.

Many children suffered physical and sexual abuse, malnutrition and neglect and more than 4,000 are believed to have died.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Wednesday that Trudeau's actions last week were careless and "really hurt a lot of people."

Lynne Groulx, chief executive of the Native Women's Association of Canada, thanked Trudeau for the apology, but added: "Please do better in the future. Sadly, we recognize that this moment of contrition comes after much public pressure, not necessarily because you have suddenly seen the light. It will now be up to you to rebuild trust with our communities."

Trudeau could start by implementing the recommendations of the national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, Groulx added.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 6, 2021.
As soon as Australians are allowed to get back together around a barbecue again, tax practitioners might want to reconsider what job they tell people they do.

Another leak of sensitive financial information  dubbed the Pandora Papers  raises the publics ire at those of us who are the gatekeepers to the complex world of tax, leading us to think about seeking the cover of more acceptable professions.

We have comprehensive attribution provisions that tax passive income earned by offshore entities controlled by Australians. Credit:

However, caution is required when assessing the Pandora Papers. They raise two related issues which are often confused  transparency about the ownership of Australian assets by non-residents, and disclosure by Australian residents of assets held overseas.

These two issues have very different effects for the Australian tax base.
She convinced Waverley Local Court to annul her conviction for cocaine possession on Wednesday, but Sydneys celebrity eyebrow queen Kristin Fisher was also given a stern warning that a reputation can be built over years only to be destroyed in an instant.

Magistrate Ross Hudson did not hold back when reminding the Double Bay beauty therapist, who appeared in court under her former married name Kristin Barnes, that the 36-year-old had invested years in building a favourable reputation.

Eyebrow queen Kristin Fisher arrives at Waverley Local Court on Wednesday with her lawyer Michael Bowe. Credit:Rhett Wyman

Are you now aware that can be destroyed in seconds? he asked Ms Fisher, who nodded in agreement as she was given a six-month conditional release order and avoided conviction on the condition she stays away from illicit drugs for six months.

Ms Fisher had no prior criminal convictions before being arrested on July 17 after NSW Police discovered her in the passenger seat of a dial-a-drug dealers car in Bondi with two bags of cocaine at her feet.
There are 52 active COVID-19 cases within Victorias prison system, including ten cases among prison staff.

Corrections Victoria said in an update on Thursday there were 42 positive COVID-19 cases among prisoners, up from 39 cases on Tuesday. Of these cases, five in the adult prison system are Aboriginal.

The highest number of prisoner cases  22  are in the Melbourne Assessment Prison. Twelve are at the Metropolitan Remand Centre, five are at the Ravenhall Correctional Centre, two are at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre and one is at Port Phillip Prison.

Five of the ten staff infected are at Ravenhall Correctional Centre, two are at the Metropolitan Remand Centre, two are at Port Phillip Prison and one is at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre.

Prisoner movement at Port Phillip Prison, Melbourne Assessment Prison, Metropolitan Remand Centre, Fulham Correctional Centre and Barwon Prison is temporarily restricted while contact tracing is underway.

All in-person personal visits to Victorian prisons have suspended, but Zoom meetings are generally available if prisoner movement at a facility is not restricted.
It could have been a shot of the AstraZeneca, Moderna or Pfizer vaccine that tipped NSW over its 70 per cent double-dose target on Wednesday afternoon, securing the reopening of restaurants and gyms next week.

Almost 10.5 million of the three vaccines have been administered in mass vaccination hubs, GP clinics and pharmacies across the state, NSW Health reported on Wednesday.

A COVID-19 vaccination hub at a public housing estate at Waterloo last week. The state has likely passed 70 per cent full vaccination in people aged 16 and over. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

According to federal government data released on Wednesday afternoon, NSW reached 69.12 per cent double-dose coverage of its population aged 16 and over on Tuesday, creating little doubt the crucial 70 per cent would be the next figure announced.

The figures were a significant jump after numbers stalled over the long weekend: by Monday night 67.7 per cent were fully vaccinated, an increase of just 0.2 percentage points from Sunday. Last week, the double-dose figure increased by between 1.1 and 1.3 percentage points on weekdays.
A coroner has found the fatal stabbing of two men by a 19-year-old in his home probably would not have happened if the police response was not delayed because they prioritised another job.

Queensland man Corey Christensen, 37, and NSW man Thomas Davy, 27, had broken into the Topton Street home of Dean Webber in Alva Beach, about an hour-and-a-half drive from Townsville on October 1, 2018.

The Alva Beach trio: The young knife-wielding man Dean Webber (left) and the two deceased - Corey Christensen (middle) and Thomas Davy (right). Credit:Facebook

Mr Christensen and Mr Davy had followed Candice Locke, 27, who had left a grand final party with the men.

Ms Locke and Mr Davy had met on a dating app a few months earlier, while the two men did not know each other before that night.
It was one word said three times, but Kim Elzaibak had waited decades to hear it and couldnt stop her tears.

Ms Elzaibak watched on a video link on Wednesday as her former stepfather, Robert Scott, pleaded guilty in Melbourne Magistrates Court to sexually abusing her when she was a young girl in the 1970s.

Sexual assault survivor Kim Elzaibak. Credit:Joe Armao

Scott was a police officer and in a relationship with Ms Elzaibaks mother when he abused her daughter between 1972 and 1978 at their home near Wangaratta, when the girl was aged between three and nine.

Ms Elzaibak put her head down and cried when she heard Scott, 89, say guilty to each of the three representative charges of indecent assault as he sat at a table in custody, with a walking frame behind him.
A Victorian man who exploited disadvantaged girls in the Philippines by paying for sexual acts and images has been jailed for four years.

The electronic devices Phillip John Cooper kept at his home and in a storage locker at work contained online conversations, images and videos, including a 24-minute video show he paid a teenage girl for and photographs of girls aged 11 and 12 he ordered from their mother.

Cooper had regular interactions with the Filipina from December 2018 until his arrest on November 7, 2019, at Melbourne Airport on a return flight from Manila, when authorities discovered an explicit online conversation on his mobile phone. Laptops and hard drives found in searches of his home at Barnawartha on the NSW border and a storage locker in Karratha, Western Australia, revealed a catalogue of depravity.

County Court judge Justin Hannebery said in the most serious example, Cooper recorded a video made by a girl  believed to be 13 at the time  where he instructed her via Skype to undress and perform lewd acts.

You were 45 years older than her, Judge Hannebery said. She told you directly that she was hungry and her mother was unable to afford the food she wanted.
The Australian Democrats hope to keep the bastards honest again in ambitious political comeback, with plans to run two Senate candidates in each state at the next federal election.

The partys new president, former parliamentary leader and senator Lyn Allison, said members included children of parents who joined or knew of the Australian Democrats from the late 1970s to the early 2000s.

Former Democrats Cheryl Kernot and Natasha Stott Despoja in 1999 with the partys famous Keep the bastards honest motto. Credit:Peter Mathew

But another former Democrats leader, Andrew Bartlett, said while it was a great party [that] did a lot of great things, its time had passed.

The Australian Democrats unsuccessfully stood Senate candidates in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia at the 2019 federal election.
The number of fully vaccinated people allowed at household gatherings, weddings and funerals in NSW on Monday will be double what was initially promised, after Premier Dominic Perrottet announced adjustments to the states road map.

The changes mean 10 visitors will be able to enter a home, and weddings and funerals with 100 people in attendance can be held.

In addition, all children will be returned to school by October 25. Under the new plan, children in kindergarten, year 1 and year 12 will return to school on October 18 and then all remaining grades will go back to school the following week.

Thats great for kids; its a major relief for parents and their sanity, Mr Perrottet, who has six children, said, thanking teachers for coming forward for vaccination.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has thrown up another roadblock to reopening Queenslands borders when the states vaccination rate hits 80 per cent, using a fiery press conference to call for a plan to roll out COVID-19 booster shots.

The national reopening plan, agreed to by state and territory leaders in July, states that at 80 per cent, there should only be highly targeted lockdowns, and vaccinated residents should be exempt from all domestic restrictions.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has questioned what the plan is for booster shots. Credit:Getty Images

However, one day after saying Queensland would not necessarily reopen to NSW and Victoria when the vaccination target was met, Ms Palaszczuk called for a plan for booster shots, a plan for the children, and for hospital capacity issues to be fixed.

The Premier was asked on Wednesday if she thought vaccination rates would rise  Queensland has fallen to last place in the nation for second doses  and if the state government had a plan for reopening borders.
Controversial politician George Christensen has questioned why Queenslands top doctor would bother visiting Mackay to boost vaccination rates, unless she plans to go door-to-door.

Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young and Health Minister Yvette DAth flew into central Queensland on Wednesday to urge the community to get a COVID-19 jab, with plans to visit Mackay and Rockhampton.

Nationals MP George Christensen removes his mask in Parliament to share his view that masks dont work. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

With just 37.4 per cent of people fully vaccinated, the Mackay-Isaac-Whitsunday region has the nations second-worst double-dose rate, behind only Western Australias northern outback.

But Mr Christensen, whose Queensland division of Dawson covers the region including Mackay, questioned the value of the official government trip north from Brisbane.
Queenslanders have been warned not to block a government phone number urging them to get jabbed because they could miss out on vital bushfire, cyclone and flood alerts.

A government media release advised that text messages and recorded voice messages would be sent to millions of people across the state at midday on Tuesday as part of an official campaign to ramp up the states vaccination rollout.

Queenslanders have been urged to not block government messaging telling them to get vaccinated. Credit:Istock

The text message included a web link, despite warnings from Australias consumer watchdog to avoid links as they could confuse attempts to educate people about how to avoid scams.

It appeared many people were yet to receive the text message on Tuesday afternoon, with several commenting under a tweet from Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to say they had missed out.
The head of the Victorian meat workers union has asked the state government to make the industry exempt from a coronavirus vaccine mandate and allow unvaccinated staff to continue working if they take a rapid antigen test every day.

Fearing next weeks compulsory vaccination rule for all authorised workers will render 10 to 20 per cent of the industrys workforce unable to work, Paul Conway from the Australian Meat Industry Employees Union voiced his complete opposition to the policy.

The union boss said the majority of meat workers have been vaccinated but the remainder should have options. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Speaking after the Andrews government announced plans on Wednesday to buy almost 2.2 million rapid tests, Mr Conway said abattoirs were already operating at reduced capacity because of restrictions and rapid tests were the key tool to prevent future disruption.

He said while 80 per cent of the meat industry was vaccinated, we cant afford to lose up to 20 per cent of our staff. A sudden loss of workers next week was a very real risk and could have a dramatic effect on meat production and prices heading into the festive season, Mr Conway said.
Singapore: Tony Abbott will use a series of meetings with Taiwans President Tsai Ing-Wen and the head of her National Security Council to bolster Australias relationship with the threatened democratic island.

Australias former prime minister is the highest-level visitor to Taipei since Malcolm Turnbull spoke virtually at the Yushan Forum last year. Turnbull and former Labor prime minister Kevin Rudd have become increasingly vocal in their international criticism of their successor, Scott Morrison, making Abbott a valuable diplomatic asset for the Coalition government.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott. Credit:Getty Images

Abbott is officially visiting in a private capacity but his meetings with Tsai and the top brass of the foreign affairs and security establishment will allow him to act as an interlocutor with the Morrison government as it attempts to navigate an already fraught relationship with Beijing.

Sources with knowledge of his trip who were not authorised to speak publicly said, where helpful, Abbott  like Bob Hawke and Paul Keating who used their post-prime ministerial life to bolster Australias relationship with China  wants to try and do the same with like-minded countries. Abbott used other high-profile visits to the United Kingdom in 2019 to lobby for its pivot to the Indo-Pacific, and India in August to restart talks for a stalled Australia-India free trade deal.
Paris: France will send its ambassador to Australia back to Canberra following a bitter dispute over a new defence pact that sank a $90 billion submarine construction contract.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, who last month accused the Morrison government of stabbing Paris in the back over the AUKUS deal, made the announcement while being questioned by French MPs on Wednesday afternoon, Paris time.

Frances ambassador to Australia Jean-Pierre Thebault has been in Paris since the spat. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

I have now asked our ambassador to return to Canberra with two missions: to help redefine the terms of our relationship with Australia in the future [...] and to defend our interests in the concrete implementation of the Australian decision to end the program for future submarines, Le Drian said.

Ambassador Jean-Pierre Thebault was recalled in mid-September amid the fallout from a shock deal for the US and UK to help Australia build a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines.
Brussels: NATO has expelled eight members of Russias mission to the alliance who were undeclared Russian intelligence officers, a NATO official said on Wednesday (Thursday AEDT), the latest deterioration in East-West ties that are already at post-Cold War lows.

The expulsion of the Russians was reported earlier by Sky News, which said Moscows mission to the alliance headquarters in Brussels would be halved in response to suspected malign Russian activities, including killings and espionage.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at a NATO summit in Brussels in June. Credit:AP

Reuters could not immediately confirm the reasons cited by Sky News for the reduction of the Russian delegation.

There was no immediate comment from the Kremlin.
Bryan, OH (43506)

Today

Partly cloudy this morning, then becoming cloudy during the afternoon. High 42F. Winds W at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Cloudy early with some clearing expected late. Low 29F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph.
Good Glamm Group, South Asias largest Content-to-Commerce group has acquired The Moms Co, Indias leading Mom & Baby D2C brand to strengthen its growth across Sources say the deal size is about Rs 500 crore.

Based in New Delhi, The Moms Co will continue to work as an independent entity. Over the past four years, the brand has catered to over two million customers across 20,000 pin codes in India. Its founders, Malika Sadani and Mohit Sadaani will work closely with Naiyya Saggi and Priyanka Gill, Co-Founders, Good Glamm Group to accelerate The Moms Co's presence in India and across the world.

This is the first by the company after MyGlamm announced the formation of Good Glamm Group that consolidated its position as a Digital House of Brands powered by a content-to-commerce strategy and where it has earmarked a Rs 750 crore war-chest to make strategic investments in innovative beauty & personal care brands within the next 3-6 months. The Moms Co. being its largest such investment. The company did not disclose the deal size.

The Group had announced that it had raised Rs 255 crore in September led by an equity investment from the Trifecta Leaders Fund and structured financing from Trifecta Capital and Stride Ventures.

Darpan Sanghvi, Group Founder & CEO, Good Glamm Group said, As a group, we were inspired by the brand love and loyalty from Moms and Women for The Moms Co. across our BabyChakra and POPxo platforms. We are very excited about the possibilities with this partnership, and look forward to working closely with the team to take the brand to millions of women across the country through our online and offline presence.

With the acquisition, The Moms Co. brand will be able to leverage a digital audience of over 100 million users across POPxo and BabyChakra, over 220,000 Plixxo influencers and BabyChakras 10,000 doctors network. The brand will ramp up its retail presence from its 1,500 retail touch points today to over 20,000 from the group to drive adoption of its personal care and baby care ranges.

Weve always been on a mission to help Moms make Safe, Natural, Effective choices and with the capabilities of the Good Glamm Group, we will be able to have an impact on the lives of millions of Moms around the world through our products, and now through meaningful content and a strong community as well, said Malika Sadani, Founder & CEO, The Moms Co.

The personal care market is a $18 billion market, and The Moms Co. with its focus on creating the safest natural formulations that are certified toxin-free has rapidly become one of the most trusted brands in the personal space in India with over 45 SKUs in its portfolio across categories. With the commerce stack that Good Glamm Group has built out and scaled, The Moms Co. will further leapfrog its D2C capabilities and will launch products online and offline across the country, thus ensuring every mother and family have the best care for themselves.

This is the first by the company after MyGlamm announced the formation of Good Glamm Group that consolidated its position as a Digital House of Brands powered by a content-to-commerce strategy and where it has earmarked a Rs 750 crore war-chest to make strategic investments in innovative beauty & personal care brands within the next 3-6 months. The Moms Co being its largest such investment.

Established in 2017, The Moms Co. has raised three rounds of funding so far with an angel investment round in 2016, a Pre Series-A round in 2017 and a Series-B round in 2020.
India is considering a proposal for foreign investors to own as much as 20% in Life Insurance Corporation, according to a person with knowledge of the matter, which would enable them to participate in the nations biggest initial public offering.

Under discussion is a plan to amend FDI rules so that investors can pick up the stake without the governments approval under the so-called automatic route, the person said, asking not to be identified as the deliberations are private. Government officials are due to meet and discuss the proposal as early as Wednesday afternoon in New Delhi, the person said.

A finance ministry spokesman didnt immediately respond to calls seeking comment.

Prime Minister Narendra Modis government is relying on money from the state-run insurers IPO to meet its budget deficit target for the financial year through March 2022 as the pandemic hit tax collections. While FDI of as much as 74% is permitted in most Indian insurers, the rules dont apply to because it is a special entity created by an act of parliament.

The Reserve Bank of India defines FDI as purchase of a stake in a listed company thats 10% or larger by an individual or entity based abroad, or any in an unlisted firm. So the clearance for FDI in not just allows global funds to participate in the IPO but also opens doors for a significant stake purchase after the listing.

The government is seeking a valuation of between 8 trillion rupees and 10 trillion rupees ($134 billion) for LIC, and is considering a stake sale of 5%-10%, which could raise between 400 billion rupees and 1 trillion rupees, Bloomberg had reported earlier.

Banks started engaging with investors last month, with a potential listing expected between January and March in 2022.
As India reopens, the enterprise spending on business process outsourcing (BPO) services in India is set to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.8 per cent to reach $8.8 billion by 2025, driven by huge push for outsourcing knowledge-based and vertical-specific processes, a new report showed on Wednesday.

According to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, the BPO market in India is now supported by the country's efforts to liberalise regulatory guidelines for the in recent times to ward off competition from countries like the Philippines, Malaysia, Mexico, and Canada.

"The country's expertise in providing knowledge-based and vertical specific services, particularly in areas such as healthcare, life sciences, banking, insurance, legal processing, risk management, financial research, research and analytics, and digital marketing, are expected to drive growth during the forecast period," GlobalData senior technology analyst Pragyan Tarasia said.

In June this year, the government liberalised guidelines for voice-based (classified under other service providers (OSP)) by removing distinction between domestic and international service centres and allowing interconnectivity between all types of OSP centres.

Besides, providing ease of work for their employees who relocated to remote areas after the pandemic and enabling them to work from anywhere will also help to improve scale and speed of services.

In November 2020, the government had simplified BPO and ITES guidelines to ease the compliance burden on service providers and establish the 'Work-From-Home' and 'Work-From-Anywhere' framework.

"The new guidelines will go a long way in enabling ease of doing business for the industry and establishing the country as the most preferred hub for BPO services in the world," said Tarasia.

Enterprise spending on finance and accounting BPO segment, on the other hand, will grow at a fastest CAGR 9.6 per cent during the forecast period.

The large enterprise segment (1,000+ employees) will account for largest share of the total BPO spending in India through the forecast period.

"The combined spending from micro (1-50 employees), and small and medium enterprises (51-1,000 employees), on the other hand, will increase at a CAGR of 5.8 per cent over the forecast period," said Tarasia.

--IANS

na/vd

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Qapita, provider of equity management SaaS solutions, raised $15 million in a Series A round of funding. This round was co-led by East Ventures (Growth Fund) and Vulcan Capital, with participation from NYCA and other existing investors including MassMutual Ventures, Endiya Partners.

Several existing angel investors across India, Singapore and Indonesia including Alto Partners, Partners of the Northstar Group, K3 Ventures, Mission Holdings, Anjali Bansal (Founder of Avaana Capital) and Sujeet Kumar (CoFounder of Udaan) also invested in this round.

We are in some of the fastest growing private markets in the world. It is an incredible time to build an operating system and transaction rails for private company ownership in this region. This is about leveraging tech to enhance transparency, access, efficiency and liquidity in private markets, said, Ravi Ravulaparthi, CEO and co-founder of Qapita.

Qapita had raised $7.25 million in earlier rounds of funding. With the proceeds from this round, Qapita plans to add more products to its platform that will not only provide solutions for private and start-ups, but also to investors, shareholders and employees.

Qapita also plans to facilitate liquidity solutions via a digital marketplace enabling transactions for between their investors and employee stakeholders. With the latest round, Qapita will amplify its client base across Singapore, Indonesia and India.

Qapita was founded in September 2019 by Ravi Ravulaparthi (CEO), Lakshman Gupta (COO) and Vamsee Mohan (CTO) - a team of experienced professionals, each with over twenty years of experience in investment banking, corporate venture capital and technology sectors. They identified an opportunity to use technology at the confluence of three megatrends - rapid growth in the number of start-ups, expansion in the amount of venture capital and digitisation in finance across this region. The team has grown from 7 people twelve months ago to about 65 people today across Singapore and India. Qapita plans to scale up talent across India, Indonesia and Singapore in the near future.

Qapita expects the value of private securities in this region to exceed Rs 1-1.5 trillion (with 200-250 unicorns) in the next few years and that scalable digital solutions will be critical for such an ecosystem to thrive.

East Ventures is excited to double down its investment in Qapita to build an operating system for private markets in this region. This platform can become the connective tissue between private companies, their employees, shareholders and investors on all equity related matters, said Willson Cuaca, co-founder and managing partner of East Ventures.

According to Sateesh Andra, managing director at Endiya Partners, "India and the entire South-East Asia region already have a very vibrant startup ecosystem that is going to grow exponentially in the next few years with large capital inflows. Ravi, Lakshman and Vamsee are mission-focused as a team. Endiya Partners firmly believes Qapita with their comprehensive liquidity solution suite for private, high-growth will be the platform of choice.


The largest textile specialty chemical manufacturer Rossari Biotech, which had a successful amidst the first wave of the pandemic, is expecting to close FY'22 with at least 50 per cent growth in both topline and bottomline on the back of rising demand and a substantial that will help boost margins.

Apart from being the largest textile specialty chemical manufacturer, Rossari is also a leading supplier of specialty chemicals to the animal and poultry feed industry, and FMCG and is present in 17 overseas markets like including Bangladesh, Vietnam and Mauritius.

The city-headquartered firm hit the market with a Rs 496-crore initial share sale in July 2020 that was a runaway success with 79 times over-subscription and a 57 per cent listing day rally from issue price of Rs 425. Since then it has rallied massively to peak at Rs 1,592 last month and closed at Rs 1,489.60 on Wednesday.

The board has set us a target to more than double our revenue and profit from the FY'20 levels by FY'23, both through organic as well as inorganic routes.

"We closed FY'21 with Rs 709 crore in topline and Rs 80 crore in net income, which respectively stood at Rs 600 crore and Rs 65 crore in FY'20. I expect to close the current fiscal with a 50 per cent growth in both turnover and profit," Sunil Chari, the co-founder and managing director of Rossari, told PTI on Wednesday.

He said both the numbers would have been better had it not been for the massive jump in input costs, and many of which has on average doubled and the resultant pressure on margins.

For instance, acrylic acid price has more than doubled to Rs 180/kg, while the other key input of acetic acid rose is trading at Rs 120 now from Rs 50 a few months back, Chari said. Prices are moving up very fast because of logistic problems with the Chinese suppliers, he added.

"My problem is that I cannot pass on the entire input cost to my end-customers, as I have over 5,000 products and the cost pressure is not uniform across all of them. Yet I cannot but hike prices at least in low double-digits from this month which should help me recoup my lost margins in Q2," Chari said.

But for the raw material cost, the Q2 profit would have been the best-ever, he said and blamed Chinese suppliers for the crisis.

Chari, however, quickly added that from Q3 onwards, margins should be boosted by on one hand and lower input cost on the other as they are sourcing acrylic acid from BPCL's Kochi facility.

"We are the largest consumer of BPCL when its comes to acrylic acid now and have already took delivery of 160 tonne of the this key material from their Kochi facility. We may not now be importing from China at all. With BPCL supply we can also lower our dependence on LG Chemicals of Korea and the German BASF," said Chari, who along with Edward Menezes (chairman), founded Rossari in Mumbai in August 2009.

On the listing, Chari said this has immensely increased their market visibility on one hand and on the other drawing better talent from across the industry as well as also making him and Menezes entry into the rich list.

Hinting at more acquisitions, he said even after two buys in recent months, the company is debt free.

Rossari had made two strategic acquisitions in the speciality chemical space in Q1 -- Unitop Chemicals for Rs 421 crore in June and Tristar Intermediates in July for Rs 120 crore. The company is also acquiring 50 per cent stake in Romakk Chemicals Rs 7.5 crore.

On exports, Chari said currently it constitutes only around 10 per cent at Rs 70 crore but is working on to take it Rs 100 crore this fiscal and Rs 200 crore in FY'23.

Rossari has its manufacturing units at Silvassa and Dadra and Nagar Haveli with an installed capacity of 1,20,000 tonnes per annum and is setting up a unit at Dahej in Gujarat with an installed capacity of 1,32,500 tonnes per annum (tpa). That apart it has two R&D facilities in Silvassa and Mumbai.

Overall, it has three main businesses -- the biggest being home, personal care and performance chemicals, followed by textile specialty chemicals and animal health and nutrition products, and serves customers across FMCG, home-care, personal-care, industrial cleaning, textile speciality chemicals, performance chemicals, and animal health and nutrition and pet care businesses.

In Q1 of FY'22, it had a revenue of Rs 231 crore, up from Rs 109.5 crore a year ago, and earned a net income of Rs 24.55 crore as against Rs 15.49 crore.

(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.)
promoters, Adisri Commerical Private Limited, has filed a writ petition against the Reserve Bank of India in the against the regulators move to supersede the board of the two group They are seeking a stay on the prcoeedings against the two group

The matter will be heard on October 7.

The Reserve Bank of India earlier this week superseded the boards of and Srei Equipment Finance and said they will be taken for insolvency proceedings owing to governance concern and payment defaults by them.

Srei had expressed shock at the decision and has said it would pursue all legal options against the regulators decision.



There has never been any delay in loan servicing by Srei in the past before Covid-19 ravaged the country. We are surprised because the NCLT order for all creditors is still in process. There is also an order for no coercive measures by the creditors and/or regulators, the Srei spokesperson had said.

appointed Rajneesh Sharma, former chief general manager of Bank of Baroda, administrator of the The egulator also appointed a three-member advisory committee to advise the administrator. The members are R Subramaniakumar, former managing director and chief executive officer of Indian Overseas Bank; T T Srinivasaraghavan, former managing director of Sundaram Finance; and Farokh N Subedar, former chief operating officer of Tata Sons.

In an interview with Business Standard, Hemant Kanoria, promoter and former chairman of Srei Infrastructure, said From the process side, wherever suggested changes, we have immediately tried to address it. Therefore, we are surprised.

According to bankers, the company had been facing problems in business even prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. The implosion of IL&FS in 2018 led to a liquidity crisis in the financial sector for non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), including Srei. In addition, problems in the infrastructure sector  road and power  led to stress on the books for Srei on delays in payments by clients.

According to reports, UCO-Bank led consortium of lenders had reached out to the RBI, seeking a DHFL-like resolution for Srei. Apart from UCO, other banks with substantial exposures to Srei are State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Indian Bank, Punjab National Bank, Axis Bank, Canara Bank, and Union Bank of India.
and its Board have decided to institute a one-of-its-kind programme that will let holding Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) participate in two distinct liquidity events in the next two years, in July 2022 and July 2023.

The entire exercise is expected to be worth $35-40 million at the companys current valuation.

The programme will be open to all holding

in July closed a $1.25 billion financing round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Prosus, taking its post-money valuation to $5.5 billion.

will benefit from any potential value increase at the time of the liquidity in 2022 and 2023 while giving them the certainty of liquidity.

The announcement comes on the back of Swiggys food delivery business surpassing pre-Covid levels, non-food businesses witnessing robust growth, and the latest fundraise of $1.25 billion announced in July 2021.

 has built a business that has democratized food delivery and convenience. As Swiggy grows, we want our team to grow with us, and enjoy the fruits of their hard work and valuable contributions. This is an industry-first initiative whereby we are democratizing wealth creation by enabling all our ESOP holding employees to participate in our committed liquidity events in 2022 and 2023. More importantly, by giving them visibility on the ESOP liquidity, Swiggsters hold the option and flexibility to plan their cash flow and investments, said Girish Menon, head, Human Resources at Swiggy.

These will be the third (July 2022) and fourth (July 2023) such liquidity events held by Swiggy. The first one was held in June 2018 and the second one in November 2020.

On November 9, 2020, Swiggy commissioned its second ESOP liquidity programme via secondary sale. The worth of that exercise was estimated to be in the range of $7-9 million.
Mansi (she uses only her first name) has had her sights set on a Louis Vuitton Neverfull for years, but pocket constraints held her back. Now, with US e-shopping giant Poshmark entering India, shes hoping shed get lucky. Since it launched some three weeks ago, she has been religiously scanning the site in the hope of coming across a pre-owed  the preferred term is pre-loved  LV Neverfull.

Poshmark, a social commerce marketplace for buying and selling clothes and accessories, both used and new, is the latest addition to Indias booming circular

According to Unlocking the Future of Commerce in India, a report by Bain & Company in collaboration with Sequoia, social commerce, which is a $1.5 billion to $2 billion GMV (gross merchandise value) market today, will be worth $16 billion to $20 billion in just five yearsand will likely hit $60 billion to $70 billion by 2030. In short, Indias social commerce sector will be two times the size of the current e-commerce market within ten years.



Social commerce refers to selling products directly on social media. And thrift pages, where one can buy and sell pre-loved clothes, largely operate on these platforms. The number of such pages on sites such as Instagram has multiplied during the pandemic, as purses shrank but not the desire to shop.

Thrift pages regularly announce drops where clothes are put on sale. The catch is that there is mostly just one piece of each article. Hence, Mansis need to stay alert.

Pritika Rao, who runs _allthingspreloved, which has over 2,500 followers on Instagram, held her first offline thrift sale at BKC Mumbai on March 8, 2020, where the stock sold out on the first day. Barely two weeks later, as the Covid-19 lockdown came into place, Rao moved online.

She believes that in many ways the pandemic has aided the thrift market, with people looking to rotate their wardrobes. The pandemic has allowed people the time to rethink their personal styles, she says. Another reason why thrifting has gained momentum is because people have gone through physical transformations. They need different sizes, and getting good quality, affordable pieces from thrift stores is a big plus.



Rao says 95 per cent of the clothes on her page are sourced from personal wardrobes of people; the remaining are simply donated to her to be sold off further. The pricing of these clothes, she adds, depends on their condition and brand.

Social media influencer Prapti B Elizabeth, who often shops from Instagram thrift pages, says that being able to get your hands on unique pieces is an advantage.

The central governments crackdown on Chinese apps, including Shein, a platform for buying affordable trendy clothes, in June 2020 also narrowed choices for consumers, thus giving the circular fashion circuit a boost.

A growing concern for the environment has also pushed consumers to seek sustainable alternatives to fast fashion.

Sanskriti Sharma from Hyderabad, who first started browsing and buying from Instagram thrift stores in late 2019, now sees a barrage of thrift pages on the platform. Weve all used our cousins clothes, our mothers saris; so there really is no shame in buying anything pre-loved. I have recently become very conscious about my consumption and buying from fast fashion brands or online portals like Zara or H&M, she says. Just one pair of jeans consumes thousands of litres of water and other resources (see box), and I dont want to add to the burden on nature.



Having turned vegan in 2017, Mumbai-based psychotherapist Nishi Joshi, too, made the shift to thrift for similar reasons.

Dolce Vee Love, a popular thrift page on Instagram with 117,000 followers, is known for its celebrity pop-up charity closet and mass market sales. Komal Hiranandani, who earlier worked with IDFC Institute, started Dolce Vee Love to promote sustainability and the circular fashion movement. I was always looking to do something that could move the needle on things. Pre-loved is one such area where even a small behavioural change can have a huge positive social impact, she says.

Actor Amrita Puri, who collaborated with Dolce Vee Love recently, adds, When I was introduced to the concept of charity thrift sales, I thought it was a great way to support my chosen NGO, World For All, which works for animal welfare. It's wonderful to know that pieces that you may not be doing justice to in your wardrobe will find a home with someone who will use them more, while supporting a cause.



Stylist Namita Alexander, who also opened up her closet for others to thrift from, agrees. Stylists, she says, should lead the way in showing people how clothing can be a rewarding form of self-expression, while also respecting our environment. I have enjoyed vintage and thrift shopping myself, and decided to open my closet for a charity sale.



The process of resale continues to be logistically intensive with stores having to take care of everything from cleaning to photography. While profit margins remain slim at the moment, thrift stores are hoping to scale up sales soon.

According to online consignment and thrift store thredUps 2021 resale report, the global second-hand market is projected to double in the next five years, reaching $77 billion. As many as 33 million consumers bought secondhand apparel for the first time in 2020, of which 76 per cent buyers plan to increase their spend in the next five years. According to the report, resale is projected to grow 5.4 per cent in five years.
India on Wednesday reported a net reduction of 6,215 in active cases to take its count to 246,687. Indias share of global active cases now stands at 1.37 per cent (one in 73). The country is ninth among the most affected countries by active cases. On Tuesday, it added 18,833 cases to take its total caseload to 33,871,881 from 33,853,048  an increase of 0.1%. And, with 278 new fatalities, its Covid-19 reached 449,538, or 1.33 per cent of total confirmed infections.

With 5,948,360 more Covid-19 vaccine doses being administered on Tuesday, Indias total count of vaccine shots so far reached 921,765,405. The count of recovered cases across India, meanwhile, reached 33,175,656  or 97.94 per cent of total caseload  with 24,770 new cured cases being reported on Wednesday.

Now the ninth-most-affected country by active cases, third by deaths, second by total cases and recoveries, India has added 155,430 cases in the past 7 days.

India now accounts for 1.37% of all active cases globally (one in every 73 active cases), and 9.31% of all deaths (one in every 11 deaths).

India has so far administered 921,765,405 vaccine doses. That is 2721.32 per cent of its total caseload, and 65.97 per cent of its population.

Among Indian states, the top 5 in terms of number of vaccine shots administered are Uttar Pradesh (116476982), Maharashtra (89313531), Madhya Pradesh (67016187), Gujarat (66111558), and West Bengal (64504988).

Among states with more than 10 million population, the top 5 in number of vaccine shots per one million population are Kerala (1086775), Delhi (1046537), Gujarat (1035057), Uttarakhand (995534), and Jammu and Kashmir (948611).

Backwards from here, the last 1 million cases for India have come in 34 days.

The count of active cases across India on Wednesday saw a net reduction of 6,215, compared with 11,556 on Tuesday. States and UTs hat have seen the biggest daily net increase in active cases are Assam (222), Mizoram (96), Goa (18), Gujarat (8), and Haryana (3).

With 24,770 new daily recoveries, Indias recovery rate stands at 97.94%, while fatality rate remained unchanged at 1.33%.

The Indian states and UTs with the worst case fatality rates at present are Punjab (2.75%), Uttarakhand (2.15%), and Maharashtra (2.13%). The rate in as many as 16 is higher than the national average.

Indias new daily closed cases stand at 25,048  278 deaths and 24,770 recoveries. The share of deaths in total closed cases stands at 1.1%.

Indias 5-day moving average of daily rate of addition to total cases stands at 0.1%.

Indias doubling time for total cases stands at 1246.3 days, and for deaths at 1120.5 days.

Overall, five states with the biggest 24-hour jump in total cases are Kerala (9735), Maharashtra (2401), Mizoram (1471), Tamil Nadu (1449), and Andhra Pradesh (671).

Among states with more than 100,000 cases, the five with worst recovery rates at present are Kerala (96.82%).

India on Tuesday conducted 1,409,825 to take the total count of tests conducted so far in the country to 576,803,867. The test positivity rate recorded was 1.3%.

Five states with the highest test positivity rate (TPR)  percentage of tested people turning out to be positive for Covid-19 infection (by cumulative data for tests and cases  are Dadra & Nagar Haveli-Daman & Diu (14.74%), Kerala (13.27%), Goa (12.87%), Sikkim (12.36%), and Maharashtra (11.03%).

Five states with the highest TPR by daily numbers for tests and cases added  are Mizoram (15.76%), Kerala (10.45%), Manipur (5.86%), Sikkim (5.12%), and Meghalaya (2.57%).

Among states and UTs with more than 10 million population, five that have carried out the highest number of tests (per million population) are Delhi (1493216), J&K (1109266), Kerala (1000195), Karnataka (713523), and Telangana (675486).

The five most affected states by total cases are Maharashtra (6564915), Kerala (4738791), Karnataka (2978808), Tamil Nadu (2671411), and Andhra Pradesh (2053863).

Maharashtra, the most affected state overall, has reported 2401 new cases to take its tally to 6564915.

Kerala, the second-most-affected state by total tally, has added 9735 cases to take its tally to 4738791.

Karnataka, the third-most-affected state, has reported 522 cases to take its tally to 2978808.

Tamil Nadu has added 1449 cases to take its tally to 2671411.

Andhra Pradesh has seen its tally going up by 671 to 2053863.

Uttar Pradesh has added 20 cases to take its tally to 1709893.

Delhi has added 27 cases to take its tally to 1439027.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister will reach Sitapur in by road via the Ghazipur border on Wednesday, party sources said here.

He will land at the Delhi airport and head to Sitapur from there, they added.

He also has plans to go to Lakhimpur Kheri, where four farmers were killed in violence that erupted during a protest on Sunday, the sources said.

AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has been in detention in Sitapur since Monday.

"Pilot is leaving Jaipur shortly," the party sources 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.)
Congress leaders and Vadra left for Lakhimpur Kheri Wednesday evening from a PAC guest house in Sitapur where she was kept in detention since Monday morning.

Sitapur Sub-Divisional Magistrate (Sadar) Pyarelal Maurya said that has been released from detention.

On their way to the violence-hit Lakhimpur Kheri from Sitapur, Rahul and his sister are travelling in one vehicle, while Congress leaders Randeep Surjewala and Deepinder Hooda are in another.

Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and his Chhattisgarh counterpart Bhupesh Baghel are in another vehicle.

Sources said they may first stop at Nighashan in Lakhimpur district, the native place of journalist Raman Kashyap who also died in Sunday's violence. Nighashan is around 100 km from Sitapur.

Gandhi had reached the Sitapur guest house on his way to Lakhimpur Kheri from the Lucknow airport in his own vehicle. He had staged a brief dharna at the airport after initially being asked to travel in a police vehicle.

Gandhi had reached the Chaudhari Charan Singh airport here this afternoon from Delhi along with Channi, Baghel and Congress general secretaries K C Venugopal and Randeep Surjewala.

"Rahul Gandhiji along with Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel have left for Lakhimpur Kheri from the Lucknow airport," UP Congress spokesperson Ashok Singh told PTI in the afternoon.

In a tweet, Surjewala announced that the Punjab and Chhattisgarh governments will provide Rs 1 crore assistance to the families of each farmer and journalist killed in the Sunday violence.

Television footage from the airport showed officials telling Gandhi to take the police vehicle, which he did not agree to and sat on a dharna there.

We want to go in our own vehicles, but they want that we should go in their vehicle. I want to know why are you not allowing me to go? First, I was told that I can go in my own vehicle, now you are saying that you will go in a police vehicle. They are doing some mischief, Gandhi told reporters.

Talking to the press at the airport, Gandhi said he or Priyanka being sent to jail was irrelevant as the main question was people being crushed by criminals, referring to the Lakhimpur Kheri episode.

Those who should have been in jail are not being put in jail. We are being stopped from meeting the aggrieved families of the farmers," he said.

He also hit out the UP government after he was not allowed to exit the Chaudhari Charan Singh airport, where a group of CRPF personnel were seen preventing his movement out of the airport, despite permission being granted to visit Lakhimpur Kheri.

"See this, is the permission! This is the permission of the UP government, Gandhi said, gesturing towards the security personnel who had formed a human-chain to prevent his movement.

"I want to ask them, that I am a citizen of the country and have come to UP and want to go (to Lakhimpur Kheri). Now, why am I not allowed to go," he questioned of the government.

"Definitely, there is some mischief," he said, responding to a query from the press.

Asked about Ashish Mishra, the son of Union minister Ajay Mishra who is accused in the case, Gandhi told the press to ask this question to the government.

Unable to move out of the airport, Gandhi along with Channi, Baghel and Deepender Singh Hooda, staged a sit-in inside the airport and said they would not end their dharna' until they are allowed to go to Lakhimpur.

Until they allow me to go, I will sit here. Farmers are being oppressed and looted, and the farmers understand this," he said, adding everybody knows for whom these laws have been made.

After he left the airport, it took Gandhi a couple of hours to reach the Provincial Armed Constabulary guest house in Sitapur, around 88 km from Lucknow, where Priyanka Gandhi was kept in detention since Monday morning.

She was on her way to meet the families of farmers killed in Sunday's violence in Lakhimpur Kheri when she was stopped.

Earlier in the day, the state government had denied permission to for the visit, and an official spokesperson had said that no one would be allowed to visit the violence-hit district to vitiate its atmosphere.

Later, the state government allowed Gandhi, his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and three other Congress leaders to visit the violence-hit district.

"Permission has been given to five leaders of Congress, including and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, to visit Lakhimpur," Additional Chief Secretary, Information, Navneet Sehgal told PTI.

(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.)
Former Congress president left for Lakhimpur Kheri from the Lucknow airport in his own vehicle after staging a brief 'dharna' on initially being asked to travel in a police vehicle, a party spokesperson said.

"Rahul Gandhiji along with Punjab Chief Minister Charanjeet Singh Channi and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel have left for Lakhimpur Kheri from the Lucknow airport, UP Congress spokesperson Ashok Singh told PTI.

Gandhi had reached the Lucknow airport from Delhi along with Channi and Baghel.

Television footage from the airport showed officials telling Gandhi to take the police vehicle, which Gandhi did not agree to and sat on a 'dharna' there.

"We want to go in our own vehicles, but they want that we should go in their vehicle. I want to know that why are you not allowing me to go? First, I was told that I can go in my own vehicle, now you are saying that you will go in police vehicle. They are doing some mischief," Gandhi told reporters.

To a question, he said, "You can put me or Priyanka in a jail. It does not have any meaning. The question is that six people were crushed by criminals. Those who should have been in a jail, are not being put in a jail. We are being stopped from meeting the aggrieved families of the farmers.

(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 5-member delegation of the Party led by is likely to visit Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri on Wednesday to meet families of victims killed in a violent incident on Sunday, sources said.

However, the government denied permission to the delegation in the wake of Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) that has been imposed in Lucknow.

The District Magistrate of Lakhimpur Kheri has imposed section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which prohibits assembly of five or more people at a time, following the Sunday incident. Soon after the violent incident at Lakhimpur Kheri, political leaders made a beeline to visit the site and expressed their desire to meet the families of the victims.

Earlier, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, who was scheduled to go to Lakhimpur Kheri, on Tuesday claimed that he was not being allowed to leave the Lucknow airport.

Police on Tuesday registered an FIR against general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Varda and 11 others for "disturbing the peace" in the state.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had claimed that she has been detained for the last 40 hours without any order or FIR.

Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of several farmer unions, alleged that Ashish Mishra Teni, son of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Mishra Teni arrived with three vehicles around the time that farmers were dispersing from their protest at the helipad and mowed down farmers and towards the end also attacked SKM leader Tajinder Singh Virk directly, by trying to run a vehicle over him.

However, Ashish Mishra refuted SKM's allegations and said he was not present at the spot where the incident took place.

As many as eight people died in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident on Sunday, said police.

MoS Teni also said that his son was not present at the spot, adding that some miscreants mingled with protesting farmers and pelted the stones at the car which lead to the 'unfortunate incident'.

(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.)
leader on Wednesday said he will visit Lucknow and Lakhimpur Kheri along with Chief Ministers of Punjab and Chhattisgarh despite being denied permission by the administration.

Addressing a press conference on Wednesday here, said, "Section 144 is not imposed for three people and only three persons will go to meet the bereaved families."

He said Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi will accompany him to Lucknow and then they will proceed to Lakhimpur Kheri.

Rahul said, "When other political parties are being allowed to go to Lakhimpur Kheri, why the delegation will not be allowed."

On questions about Priyanka's detention, he said, "We are trained to raise peoples' issues and we are not going to deter even on being manhandled."

The leader alleged that the were being attacked by the government.

The government, late on Tuesday night, denied permission to a Congress delegation led by to visit Lakhimpur Kheri as Section 144 was enforced there after Sunday's violence.

Earlier, Congress General Secretary K.C. Venugopal had sought permission for the Rahul-led delegation.

In a letter to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the Congress said a five-member delegation led by Rahul Gandhi planned to visit the district.

Party sources said that Rahul would also meet sister Priyanka, who has been kept at the PAC guest house in Sitapur since Monday.

She was formally arrested on Tuesday evening and the guest house has been notified as a temporary jail.

--IANS

miz/dpb

(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.)
Lashing out at the government, MP questioned whether is as Indians are stopped from entering the state, adding that the administration is imposing Section 144 in the Lakhimpur Kheri but detaining opposition leaders in Lucknow.

Speaking to ANI on Lakhimpur Kheri violence where eight people died on Sunday, senior leader Raut said, "Section 144 of CrPC is imposed in Lakhimpur Kheri and you (the government) are arresting (the opposition leaders) in Lucknow. What kind of law is this? Is UP is in where the Indians are stopped from going? There is a restriction of movement from one state to another. Is this a new lockdown?"

He further said, "The administration is like a caged parrot of the ruling party and it follows whatever the instruction is given by the government. There is evidence of a vehicle running over the farmers..."

Raut added, "Priyanka Gandhi has been arrested, Rahul Gandhi is being stopped (from boarding a flight), a state CM is also stopped. What crime they have committed? Is there a new constitution in the country?"

Raut also said that all the opposition parties will discuss whether a delegation should be sent to Lakhimpur Kheri.

(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.)
and Denmark decided to pause vaccinations with Modernas Covid-19 shot for younger people because of potential side effects.

The Swedish health authority Wednesday cited new data on the increased risk of heart inflammation as a reason for the pause for those aged 30 and under. Denmark will stop giving the shot to those younger than 18.

Moderna shares fell as much as 5 per cent in early trading in New York. The company didnt immediately respond to a request for comment. We are monitoring the situation closely and are acting rapidly to ensure that Covid-19 vaccinations are constantly as safe as possible, while also providing protection, said Anders Tegnell, Swedens chief epidemiologist.

Both countries recommended Pfizers and BioNTech SEs rival vaccine as a replacement.

Swedens public health watchdog said a new preliminary analysis from the Nordic region indicates that the connection between and heart inflammation is clearest with the Moderna shot, especially after the second dose. The higher risk comes within four weeks of vaccination, and usually in the first two weeks, it said.

Those who have been vaccinated recently with a first or second dose of the Moderna vaccine shouldnt worry, Tegnell said, as the risk is very small. Denmarks National Board of Health indicated it hasnt seen any differences in side effects between the two vaccines.

Both Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech rely on messenger RNA technology to prompt an immune reaction. On Monday, the European Medicines Agency authorized the use of an extra dose of Modernas shot for those with a severely weakened immune system.

Last week, Slovenia temporarily halted another type of vaccine made by Johnson & Johnson after the death of a young woman who had received it.
The threads that connect India and the run deep and strong and the two countries continue to strive to make the lives of their citizens better and brighter, New Delhi's top envoy here told university students.

Delivering the prestigious King Gandhi Lecture at the Howard University here, India's Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu said the edifice of India-US relation is built on the values of democracy, liberty, freedom, non-violence, and rule of law.

The threads that connect India and the run deep and strong. The values of democracy, liberty, freedom, non-violence, and rule of law, that we cherish and nourish, form the strong foundation, on which the edifice of India-US relations is built, Sandhu said in his address to the students of private, federally chartered historically black research university.

Even before India gained independence, many of the leading lights of its freedom struggle, including Lala Lajpat Rai, Sarojini Naidu, Rabindranath Tagore, B R Ambedkar among others, had visited several universities in the US, including Howard, Sandhu said.

We shared and shaped each other's vision. You and I owe our allegiance to our respective Constitutions, which both start with, We the People...' he said.

Dr Martin Luther King Jr. had delivered the ''Gandhi Memorial Lecture at Howard University in 1963 and 1966. Dr. William Stuart Nelson, dean of the School of Religion and vice president for special projects at Howard University established Gandhi Memorial Lecture in 1958.

He was an exponent of the philosophy of nonviolence, who had been a friend of both Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He had walked with both in protest marches.

In his address, Sandhu noted that the story of Howard was closely tied to America's history; recalled how leaders from India and the US influenced the thoughts of each other and the impact it had in shaping the history of both countries.

The Ambassador also highlighted the concept of trusteeship, principle of non-violence, devotion to truth and journeys as key aspects of Gandhi's work. In his address Sandhu underlined how Gandhi's principles have shaped India's vision for development and prosperity.

The pandemic has once again taught us, how interconnected we are, how intertwined, our lives are. World is one' is not just a hashtag, but a reality today. Our future will depend on, how we treat each other, and work with each other today, he said.

As the largest and oldest democracies with pluralistic societies, India and the US continue to strive, to make the lives of our citizens better, and brighter, each day. While doing so, we also strive towards shaping a world which is healthier, and happier, Sandhu said.

If you ask me, what is the most significant contribution of Gandhi ji and MLK, I would say: They showed to the world, that mankind can shape its own destiny, no matter how high, the odds are, no matter how huge, the challenges are, no matter how adverse, the circumstances are. It is a very powerful message, and gives unflinching hope to humanity at large.

They also proved that ordinary men and women are capable of achieving extraordinary feat through sheer grit and determination. And the journey starts with a small step: an urge to think beyond self, Sandhu said in his address.

India and Howard University are connected through visionary leader Howard Thurman, who visited India in 1935 on pilgrimage' and met Mahatma Gandhi, and whose ideas influenced and shaped a generation of leaders including Martin Luther King Jr. Thurman was a dean of Rankin Chapel at Howard University from 1932 to 1944.

Prior to Thurman's visit to India, Gandhi's disciple Mira ben had visited Howard University.

Towards the end of 1936, Benjamin Mays a friend of Martin Luther King's father and the dean of Howard University's School of Religion also met with Gandhi.

Former President of Howard University, Mordecai Johnson, had long urged his students to follow Gandhi's example. Johnson's lectures influenced Martin Luther King.

Howard University is holding a year of celebration of India in 202122. Several initiatives, including the Art of Kolam; visit of students to Mahatma Gandhi Memorial and interaction with the Embassy of India have been undertaken and others are in the pipeline.

The Indian Embassy here has regular outreach to African American community; Congressional Black Caucus; and institutions such as Howard University in the past 18 months



As part of his outreach, Sandhu has spoken to all senior members of the Congressional Black Caucus as well as Vice Chair of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and others.

The embassy has also engaged with Freshman members of the Black Caucus.

Sandhu also visited the King Center in Atlanta in July 2021 where he also met with senior members of the Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a co-pastor.

There was strong support from Congressional Black Caucus for India during the Covid surge earlier this year. The Caucus also advocated for the TRIPS waiver proposed by India and South Africa in the WTO.

(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.)
State-owned oil companies are moderating the price of cooking gas, returning to the time when they took the subsidy burden of petroleum products.



More on this and other top headlines of the day

Superseding boards of two Srei companies not to roil markets, say bankers

Superseding the boards of two non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) in the will neither create liquidity challenges for sound entities, nor build systemic crises because the markets have factored in the problems with the Kolkata-based firms.
The Union headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved the setting up of seven mega integrated textile regions and apparel parks or PM MITRA with an aim to create more jobs, attract investment and make competitive.

The estimated expenditure will be Rs 4,445 crore over a period of five years.

The seven textile parks will be set up at greenfield or brownfield sites located in states willing to accommodate them. State governments with readily available contiguous and encumbrance-free land parcels of more than 1,000 acres, along with other textiles related facilities, will be eligible to apply.

This will create direct employment for seven lakh people and indirect employment for 14 lakh people. For this, 10 states have shown their interest, seven parks will be set up in the states where there will be more facilities, cheap electricity, cheap land etc, textile minister Piyush Goyal said in a media briefing after the meeting.

States such as Tamil Nadu, Punjab Odisha, Assam, Gujarat, among others, have shown interest, the minister said.

The government has over the last few months announced a slew of short and long term measures such as clearing rebate of state and central taxes and levies (RoSCTL) dues, rolling out production-linked incentive scheme, among others, to boost the growth of the textile sector, which is also considered the second largest employment provider, after agriculture.

Besides India is holding negotiations with the UAE and Australia to provide market access in the textile market and reduce import duties, by entering into free trade pacts.

Currently, the entire value chain of textiles is scattered and fragmented in different parts of the country. For instance, cotton grown in Gujarat and Maharashtra, spinning is done in Tamil Nadu, processing in Rajasthan and Gujarat and garmenting in the national capital region, Bangalore, Kolkata. Exports take place mostly from Mumbai and Kandla. There were logistics-related challenges and it was not possible to access the entire value chain at one place.

MITRA offers an opportunity to create an integrated textiles value chain from spinning, weaving, processing/dyeing, printing to garment manufacturing at one location. The integrated textile value chain at one location will reduce logistics cost of industry, Goyal explained.

For a greenfield park, there will be government backed development capital support at 30 per cent of the project cost, with a cap of Rs 500 crore. For brownfield sites, after assessment, development capital support at 30 per cent of project cost of balance infrastructure and other support facilities will have to be developed and restricted to a limit of Rs 200 crore. This is in the form of viability gap funding to make the project attractive for participation of the private sector, an official statement said.

The MITRA parks will have the core infrastructure such as incubation centre and plug and play facility, developed factory sites, roads, power, water, among others. Support infrastructure such as workers hostels, housing, logistics park, warehousing, medical, training and skill development facilities will also be there.

The Centre will also provide a fund of Rs 300 crore for each PM MITRA park to incentivize manufacturing units to get established. This will be known as Competitiveness Incentive Support (CIS) and will be paid upto 3 per cent of turnover of a newly established unit in PM MITRA Park. Such support is crucial for a new project under establishment which has not been able to break even and needs support till it is able to scale up production and be able to establish its viability, the statement said.
By Sudarshan Varadhan

CHENNAI (Reuters) -India's solar energy output growth slowed in September, a Reuters analysis of government data showed, at a time when coal-fired utilities are facing a shortage of a fuel that accounts for more than 70% of the country's power generation.

Growth in solar energy is critical this year as half of India's 135 coal-fired power plants have fuel stocks of less than three days. India expects the coal shortage to last for up to six months.

State-run Coal India, which accounts for over 80% of India's coal output, saw production grow at the slowest rate in six months and supplies at the slowest rate in seven months during September as rain affected output in key mining regions.

Solar energy generation growth slowed to 24.7% year-on-year in September from 41% in August, an analysis of federal grid regulator POSOCO's daily load despatch data showed.

Other key sources of electricity generation also fell in September, the data showed, with hydro declining 5% and gas-fired power falling 31.6% compared with the previous year.

A seasonal change in India's power consumption patterns could also increase stress on coal-fired utilities saddled with an acute shortage, and lead to power outages, analysts say.

" will not be available early in the day and immediately after sunset, when power demand generally peaks during winter in India," a Singapore-based power sector analyst said.

Victor Vanya, director at power analytics firm EMA Solutions, said higher humidity in the coming weeks could lead to a surge in power demand driven by higher air-conditioning requirements, and a rapid deterioration in coal stocks.

"If humidity remains high in the next 2 weeks, there is a highly probability for India to end up in a 'China-like scenario'," he told Reuters. shortages in China have led to power restrictions in parts of the country.

However, CRISIL, a unit of ratings agency S&P, forecast 15%-16% growth in solar output during the six months ending March 2022 and a slowdown in overall power demand growth would ease constraints on India's coal-fired power plants.

"This will further be supported by 5%-6% and 3%-4% growth in generation from nuclear and hydro sources," CRISIL told Reuters, adding that widespread outages were unlikely.

(Reporting by Sudarshan VaradhanEditing by Mark Potter)

(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.)
Indias ambitious plan to cut the use of fossil fuels by promoting ethanol derived from rice, corn and sugar is drawing criticism from some experts who warn the move could undermine food security in the worlds second-most populous country.

In June, Prime Minister Narendra Modis administration accelerated the nations ethanol goal by five years, seeking to double production and to have gasoline 20% blended with the spirit by 2025. To help meet the target, the government is offering financial assistance to biofuel producers and faster environmental clearances. The plan is also resulting in the diversion of food grains meant for the poor to companies at subsidized rates.

Even as many developed countries debate limiting policy support for grain-based biofuels amid reports of food-price increases and greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation, India is seeing multifold benefits. The government argues that the new target will help the worlds third-largest oil consumer save 300 billion rupees ($4 billion) annually by cutting crude imports, reduce carbon emissions and boost farmers incomes.

But critics say its a self-goal for a country thats struggled for years to feed its poor. Though the Green Revolution helped boost farm yields and turn India into a net exporter of wheat and rice, it still ranks 94th on the Global Hunger Index 2020 comprising 107 nations. The Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that about 209 million Indians, or about 15% of its population, were undernourished between 2018 and 2020. The coronavirus pandemic is also pushing more people into poverty, dealing a blow to decades of progress.





ALSO READ: India to introduce flexible fuel vehicles soon to increase ethanol use

It will always be the poor who will be affected worse as a result of diverting precious food grains to alternative energy conversion, said Shanthu Shantharam, who helped formulate the countrys biotechnology regulations in the 1990s and now teaches agricultural biotech at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. As it is, the food security situation in the country is precarious.

The report that maps out the new ethanol-blending target primarily focuses on food-based feedstocks, with the government saying the program is a strategic requirement in light of grain surpluses and wide availability of technologies. Yet the blueprint is a departure from the 2018 National Policy on Biofuels, which prioritized grasses and algae; cellulosic material such as bagasse, farm and forestry residue; and, items like straw from rice, wheat and corn.

India has a real opportunity here to become a global leader in sustainable biofuels policy if it chooses to refocus on ethanol made from wastes, said Stephanie Searle, fuels program director at the International Council on Clean Transportation. This would bring both strong climate and air quality benefits, since these wastes are currently often burned, contributing to smog.

The new ethanol policy should ensure that it doesnt drive farmers toward water-intensive crops and create a water crisis in a country where its shortage is already acute, said Ramya Natarajan, an energy researcher at the Centre for Study of Science, Technology and Policy, a think tank in Bengaluru. Rice and sugar cane, along with wheat, consume about 80% of Indias irrigation water.

With our depleting groundwater resources, arable land constraints, erratic monsoons, and dropping crop yields due to climate change, food production must be prioritized over crops for fuel, Natarajan said.



Residents wait in line to get water in Chennai, on September 22, 2021. Some experts say the new ethanol policy should ensure that it doesnt drive farmers toward water-intensive crops. (Photo: Bloomberg)

A ton of corn can typically produce about 350 liters of ethanol, while a similar quantity of rice can yield about 450 liters of the spirit.

Even in the U.S., food-versus-fuel fights have flared intermittently. Some say the domestic fossil-fuel industrys embrace of climate-friendly fuels has diverted corn and soy meal used to bulk up chickens and hogs, and made them more expensive. For instance, demand for soy oil has pushed futures up about 80% in the past 12 months, while the fast-food industry has complained of paying more for everyday items such as mayonnaise.

These days, many developed countries are focusing more on electric vehicles to cut carbon emissions. The Biden administrations infrastructure proposal has set aside $174 billion of investments in EVs, including subsidies, but relatively little for biofuels. India, which is also seeking to promote EVs, shouldnt focus on both policies at the same time as they arent complementary, said Kushankur Dey, chairman of the Centre for Food and Agribusiness Management at the Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow.

The push for ethanol poses no threat to Indias food security because the government has enough stockpiles of grains at warehouses of the state-run Food Corp. of India, said Sudhanshu Pandey, the top bureaucrat at the food ministry in New Delhi.

The long-term planning of the government involves the creation of sufficient capacities so that half of the requirement of 20% blending is catered by grains, predominantly maize and the rest by sugar cane, Pandey said.





ALSO READ: India's fuel ethanol consumption to rise to meet E20 target: Fitch

State reserves stood at 21.8 million tons of rice as of Sept. 1, against a requirement of 13.54 million tons, according to the food ministry. The blending plan would benefit corn and rice farmers, while addressing the issue of surplus, Pandey said.

Some critics are concerned that food grains meant for the impoverished are being sold to distilleries at prices cheaper than what states pay for their public distribution networks. Many ethanol producers are getting rice at 2,000 rupees per 100 kilograms (220 pounds), which compares with an estimated 4,300 rupees Food Corp. of India pays to stock up the grain.

Competition between the distilleries and the public distribution system for subsidized food grains could have adverse consequences for the rural poor and expose them to enhanced risk of hunger, said Prabhu Pingali, professor of applied economics and director of the Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition at Cornell University.
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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has mandated that from October 1, all kinds of recurring or auto-debit payments will require the customers consent before they are cleared. What does this mean, and how will it work? Lets find out.

What is the change that the RBI has proposed? Starting October 1, customers who want a standing instruction in place for recurring payments will have to register for e-mandate at the merchants site for the first transaction, with a validity period and maximum amount. Also, mandate registration, modification, and deletion will all ...
Markets shrugged off the outlook revision by rating agency Moodys as oil prices crossed $83 per barrel.

The global rating agency revised Indias outlook to stable from negative stating that the risks of negative feedback between the real economy and financial system are receding. Higher capital cushions and higher liquidity also reduced the risk to the sovereign from banks and non-banking financial companies, Moodys said. It also said that it expected the elevated general government debt to reduce in the next few years, preventing further deterioration of the sovereign credit profile.

However, the bond yields continued to rise. The 10-year bond yield was at 6.28 per cent at 11.45 AM, its highest since mid-April 2020, and rupee was at 74.62 a dollar, lowest since July this year.

The rupee and bond had closed at 74.44 and 6.26 per cent, respectively, on Tuesday.

"The revision in outlook reduces chances of India's rating being downgraded to junk and should bode well for the inclusion of Indian bonds in global bond indices," said Abhishek Goenka, managing director of IFA Global.

The government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have been engaging with global bond index providers such as Bloomberg, JP Morgan and FTSE for inclusion of Indian government bonds. It is estimated that inclusion in such indices will attract at least $30 billion of inflows to the Indian debt market.

The RBI has also allowed foreign investors access through Fully Accessible Route (FAR) to some specified securities, estimated to be over $200 billion.

However, there are issues around taxes that the government and the central bank are addressing, RBI governor Shaktikanta Das said in a recent interview.

So far in this calendar year, foreign portfolio investors have invested $13.15 billion in Indian markets, mostly in equities. They have invested $3.82 billion, including through voluntary retention routes in debt, and in hybrid securities.

Moodys outlook revision bolsters that effort and gives more confidence to foreign investors to allocate their funds towards India once the bonds are listed overseas, experts say.

However, for now, the immediate concerns are many as the six member monetary policy committee starts its three day policy meeting.

Theres not much in it (outlook revision). Market will give weightage to other factors which are against the rupee, said Imran Kazi, vice president at Mecklai Financial.
on Wednesday opened its first general store outside the in a mall in Britain, selling the online retailer's most popular products including books, toys, games and consumer electronics.

The U.S. company said the store, called 4-star because it sells products rated 4 stars or above by customers, reflects what customers are regularly buying and enjoying. The retailer says it uses data from its online business to select which products are popular with local shoppers and that the instore display will change regularly.

launched the general store model in 2018 in the US where it already has several dozen outlets.

The company said the launch at the Bluewater Shopping Center in Kent, southeast of London, had been planned for two years, prior to the pandemic.

The pandemic didn't really change our thinking. We've seen that the model has worked really well in malls in the US," said Andy Jones, director of 4-star

There are the Amazon products (customers) will expect but also local products from small suppliers, because that is a huge part of the Amazon business," he added.

He wouldn't comment on whether more 4-star stores are being planned for the

The company opened its first grocery store, Amazon Fresh, in the last year in London. It said the model has been well received since opening and has grown the bricks and mortar grocery arm to six stores across London.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
U.S. tech giants such as Apple, Google, Facebook and Amazon should be regulated by the EU country where they are based under proposed EU rules, a top lawmaker said on Tuesday, knocking back efforts by some countries to broaden the planned act's scope.

The country of origin principle is set out in EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager's draft rules known as the Digital Services Act which requires U.S. tech giants to do more to police the internet for illegal and harmful content.

The principle means Ireland is responsible for regulating Apple, Alphabet unit Google and Facebook because they have their European headquarters there while Amazon is subject to Luxembourg's supervision.

France and a few other countries are seeking to broaden the scope, worried that enforcement concentrated in just two countries may weaken the rules and also slow down decision-making.

Lawmaker Christel Schaldemose, who is steering the DSA through the European Parliament and has power to amend or add other provisions to it, supports the act's core proposal.

"It makes sense to keep the country of origin principle," she told Reuters in an interview.

Schaldemose however wants to go one step further than Vestager by including a ban on some targeted advertising in the DSA.

"Targeted advertisements that are based on your behaviour on Facebook, for instance, that should not be allowed. Advertisements based on the fact that you have visited websites for buying shoes and things like that, classic commercial advertisements should probably be allowed," she said.

Schaldemoe said she hopes to finalise her draft with other lawmakers in the next two months so she can thrash out a deal with EU countries next year before the proposed rules can be implemented.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

(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 on Wednesday urged member countries to provide relief funds to consumers and small businesses hit hardest by rising gas and electricity prices, as criticism mounts that the bloc's climate change fighting policies are fuelling the problem.

In recent days, France and Spain have led the charge for change to the rules governing EU energy markets as the price surge ramps up already-high utility bills and increases pressure on many people already hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.

Energy prices in Spain have reached all-time highs since the summer. The cost of electricity is set to climb Thursday to 288 euros (USD 332) per megawatt hour (MWh), a 26 per cent rise over Wednesday's price.

EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson said that providing targeted support to consumers, direct payments to those most at risk of energy poverty, cutting energy taxes, shifting charges to general taxation, are all measures that can be taken very swiftly under EU rules.

The immediate priority should be to mitigate social impacts and protect vulnerable households, ensuring that energy poverty is not aggravated, Simson told EU lawmakers.

She said businesses can be given relief through state aid or by facilitating longer term power purchase agreements.

The 27-country EU imports about 90 per cent of its natural gas needs, compared to the US, which produces its own and where prices are lower.

Simson said the EU's executive branch, the European Commission, plants to present next week a toolbox of short- and medium-term measures that countries could adopt. Some countries are interested in setting up a strategic gas reserve for use in emergencies.

Italy is among them. At an EU summit in Slovenia on Wednesday, Italian Premier Mario Draghi said the idea of pooling resources in the way countries bought COVID-19 vaccines together is very positive, not to find ourselves completely unprepared for spikes in energy prices.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban blamed higher energy prices on the EU Commission's Green Deal policies for fighting climate change, which aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 55 per cent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels and make the trading bloc carbon-neutral by 2050.

The reason why the prices are up is the fault of the commission. So, we have to change some regulations, otherwise everybody will suffer, Orban told reporters at the summit. He branded the Green Deal an indirect taxation on home and car owners.

But commission Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans said that the EU climate law is our guiding principle, and we will not open that law again.

He said the quicker we increase our renewable energy sources, the quicker we can protect our citizens against price hikes in the traditional energy area.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Snchez urged the commission to be brave.

We are facing an unprecedented crisis that requires extraordinary, innovative and firm measures to be taken, Snchez told reporters. He said the EU must make a collective purchase of gas and revise the price-setting system for electricity, which he argued was undermining renewable energy use.

French President Emmanuel Macron agreed that EU countries have to build our capacity to be more independent, adding that clearly renewables and nuclear are the two key elements." Around two-thirds of France's electricity needs are met by nuclear power.

Asked whether Russia might be stoking the price surge by restricting supply, top EU officials replied cautiously.

The level of production of gas in Russia is probably one of those elements, along with increased demand in China and energy maintenance issues in Norway and Russia, EU Council President Charles Michel said.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen noted that Norway was ramping up its supplies and called the action a very good example others could follow.

(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 relationship between India and the United States has seen "very steady growth" in both in substance pace and momentum in past few years, said Foreign Secretary on Wednesday.

"From past few decades, more in past few years, our relationship has seen very very steady growth in both in substance pace and momentum," Shringla said during a meeting with visiting US Deputy Secretary of State, Wendy Sherman.

The US official arrived in New Delhi on Tuesday to review India-US bilateral agenda and discuss regional and global issues.

During her visit from October 5-7, she will also hold talks with External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.

Meanwhile, Sherman said that India and US partnership is rooted in "our shared values".

"The partnership between India and United States is rooted in our shared values. We are both homes to innovators and entrepreneurs. We are both believers in the free, open, interconnected and resilient Indo-Pacific region," Sherman said during a meeting with Shringla.

"And we both know that the best way to preserve peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and around the world is by upholding and strengthing the rules-based order," she 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.)
An error during routine maintenance on Facebook's network of data centers caused Monday's collapse of its global system for more than six hours, leading to a torrent of problems that delayed the repairs, the company said on Tuesday.

The outage was the largest that Downdetector, a web monitoring firm, said it had ever seen. It blocked access to apps for billions of users of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, further intensifying weeks of scrutiny for the nearly $1 trillion company.

At a U.S. Senate hearing on Tuesday, a former employee turned whistleblower accused of putting profits before people's safety, which the company denies.

In a blog post, Vice President of engineering Santosh Janardhan explained the company's engineers issued a command that unintentionally disconnected data centers from the rest of the world.

Facebook's systems are designed to audit commands to prevent mistakes, but the audit tool had a bug and failed to stop the command that caused the outage, the company said.

The outage was not caused by malicious activity, it added.

While users lost access to one of the world's most popular messaging apps - WhatsApp has more than 2 billion users - employees were also blocked from internal tools.

The outage knocked out tools that engineers would normally use to investigate and repair such outages, making the task even more difficult, Facebook said.

The company said it sent a team of engineers to the location of its data centers to try to debug and restart the systems.

However, it took the company extra time to get engineers inside to work on the servers due to the high physical and system security in place.

Even after network connectivity was restored to the data centers, Facebook said it worried a surge in traffic would cause its websites and apps to crash.

But because the company had run drills to prepare for such situations, access to its services returned relatively quickly.

"Every failure like this is an opportunity to learn and get better," Janardhan wrote. "From here on out, our job is to ... make sure events like this happen as rarely as possible."

(Reporting by Sheila Dang in Dallas; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall, Grant McCool and Richard Pullin)

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Malaysia's Group Bhd said it has reached a deal with SE to restructure an order for 362 narrowbody planes worth tens of billions of dollars, including switching 13 A320neos to the larger A321neo model.

Deliveries of the 362 A321neos are now planned through 2035, the cash-strapped airline said on Wednesday, without providing details of the previous timetable.

Industry sources told Reuters last month that had agreed to reschedule deliveries https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/airasia-has-reached-deal-restructure-airbus-jet-order-sources-2021-09-17 and improve terms for its largest Asian customer to salvage the valuable contract.

received its first A321neo in November 2019 and currently has four in service after halting deliveries during the pandemic. sold six A321neos that had been built for last year, industry sources have said.

Airbus Chief Commercial Officer Christian Scherer said in a statement that the deal was an example of how the planemaker had worked with customers to adapt to the impact of the pandemic.

Other airlines with large plane orders, most of which are in Asia, are also in the midst of restructuring their orders or are expected to press for relief.

"It is hard to cancel unless an airline goes the bankruptcy or court-aided restructuring route," said Brendan Sobie, an independent aviation analyst. "The AirAsia order still makes sense given the delivery flexibility and assuming they have resolved the price escalation issue."

Planemakers typically put price escalation clauses into contracts that lead to price rises when airlines delay delivery but also have the discretion to waive or not fully enforce the price rises.

AirAsia's auditors have, for more than a year, raised doubts about its ability to continue as a going concern https://www.reuters.com/article/us-airasia-group-strategy-idUSKBN2490GN due to COVID-19's impact on the travel industry.

AirAsia Group President Bo Lingam said the airline had thoroughly reviewed its network and fleet strategy as it prepares for travel to resume.

"Our business model is robust, and there is a lot of pent-up demand," he said. "We are confident that our airlines will be able to rebound and recover strongly as soon as travel restrictions are lifted."

AirAsia said this week had received approval from Malaysia's only financial guarantee issuer for a loan of up to 500 million ringgit ($120 million) with an 80% government guarantee.

($1 = 4.1780 ringgit)

(Reporting by Liz Lee in Kuala Lumpur and Jamie Freed in Sydney; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Edwina Gibbs)

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In a surprise military shake-up, the Army on Wednesday announced that the powerful spy agency chief Lt Gen Faiz Hameed has been appointed as Peshawar Corps Commander  a crucial position in view of the Taliban's takeover of neighbouring Afghanistan.

Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum (pictured) was appointed as the new Director-General of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in place of Lt Gen Hameed, who was transferred as Peshawar Corps Commander, said the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR)  the media wing of the Army.



Initially, the Army said in a statement that Lt Gen Hameed was posted out but his replacement on the key post of the chief was not immediately announced.

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Co Ltd is likely to turn in its best quarterly profit in three years and a record revenue, on rising memory chip prices and brisk sales of its new foldable smartphones, analysts' estimates show.

Operating profit for the world's biggest memory chip and smartphone maker likely jumped to 16.1 trillion won ($14 billion) in the quarter ended September, according to a Refinitiv SmartEstimate from 16 analysts, weighted toward those who are more consistently accurate.

That would be up 30% from 12.35 trillion won a year earlier and the highest since the third quarter of 2018. Revenue likely rose 11% to 74.6 trillion won, a record high.

An unprecedented global shortage in semiconductor chips amid the pandemic has underpinned Samsung's results and shares, which soared 45% last year and hit a record high at the start of 2021.

But the stock has dropped since then, compounded by losses in September when U.S. peer Micron warned its memory chip shipments would slip in the near term, amid industry views that chip prices will tumble after peaking in July-September.

"Samsung shares have fallen due to Micron's guidance but unlike Micron, Samsung internalises major components ... and has other businesses like mobile and foundry to buoy performance," said Hanwha Investment & Securities analyst Lee Soon-hak.

"Memory (chip) prices are seen rebounding next year after a short period of decline," Lee added.

Samsung will announce preliminary results on Friday.

CHIP DIVISION, SMARTPHONES

Samsung's chip division is likely to report an operating profit of 9.9 trillion won, an average of six analysts' forecasts shows, up 79% from a year earlier, helped by rising memory chip prices and shipments.

Prices of DRAM chips, used in servers, mobile phones and other computing devices, jumped 7.9% versus the June quarter, while those of NAND flash chips that serve the data storage market rose 5.5%, data from research provider Trendforce shows.

Analysts also forecast a double-digit operating margin for Samsung's chip contract manufacturing business as clients rush to secure production capacity.

Its mobile division likely saw about 3.7 trillion won in operating profits, analysts said, down from 4.45 trillion won a year earlier but up from the prior quarter's 3.2 trillion won on foldable smartphones sales.

An estimated 2 million Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 models were sold in a month since launching in late August, with South Korea topping sales followed by the United States, said Jene Park, senior research analyst at Counterpoint.

Market participants will be scouring Samsung's full results later this month for an update on its planned $17 billion U.S. semiconductor factory after sources said it was drawing closer to finalising the construction.

($1 = 1,187.9300 won)

(Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Himani Sarkar)

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President said that he has confidence in Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, speaking hours after fellow Democrat Elizabeth Warren assailed the central bank and its leader on the floor of the Senate and in multiple televised interviews Tuesday.



Well, thus far yes, but Im just catching up to some of these assertions, Biden said on a visit to Michigan when asked by a reporter about confidence in the Feds integrity and in Powell.

Warren said in a Senate floor speech Tuesday morning that Powell had failed as a leader following revelations that top Fed officials have been actively trading securities during the pandemic crisis. The transactions raise legitimate questions about conflicts of interest and insider trading, the progressive Democrat from Massachusetts said.

Powells term as Fed chair expires in February and Bloomberg News has reported that White House aides are considering recommending President keep him on the job.

Warren has said she wont support Powell for a second term as head of the U.S. central bank. She said Tuesday said in an interview with Bloomberg Television that Powell had been lax in his conduct of financial oversight, with stress-tests performed on banks that were worse than open-book exams.
Shares of State Bank India (SBI) were up 1.4 per cent at Rs 471 on the BSE in Wednesdays intra-day trade, quoting close to its record high of Rs 471.85 touched on September 17, 2021. The stock of the state-owned giant was trading higher for the third straight day, having gained 4 per cent during the period.

In the past one month, has outperformed the market and is up 9 per cent, as compared to a 2.8 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex. In the past six months, it has rallied 34 per cent against a 22 per cent surge in the benchmark index.

has shown strong improvement in asset quality, with gross non-performing assets (GNPAs) declining 43 per cent in the past three years and PCR increasing to 68 per cent (this hovered around the 40s four years ago). Fresh slippages have also moderated sharply to 1.2 per cent in FY21 (2.5 per cent in 1QFY22), which is lower compared with many private peers.

 appears well-positioned to report a strong uptick in earnings, led by moderation in credit costs, as the bank has strengthened its balance sheet and increased its PCR to around 86 per cent. It has PCR of around 86 per cent on corporate NPAs, Motilal Oswal Financial Services said in the financial sector Q2 results preview.

SBI inarguably has one of the best liability franchises (CASA mix: 46 per cent); this puts it in a better position to manage yield pressure, the brokerage said. Moreover, it expects that a low cost of deposits would continue to support margins to a large extent. Subsidiaries  SBI MF, SBI Life Insurance, SBI Cards, and SBI Cap  have exhibited robust performances in the last few years, which could result in value unlocking, the brokerage firm added.

We like SBI among PSBs for its strong liability profile, high retail orientation, reasonable capital position, and sharply improving RoA/RoRWA/RoE, given renewed focus on profitability while maintaining market dominance and portfolio quality. We retain Buy/OW in EAP with a revised TP of Rs 600, valuing core bank at 1.4x September 23E ABV and subs/investments at Rs 185, analysts at Emkay Global Financial Services had said in the June quarter result update.
Bajaj Finance said that customer franchise as of 30 September 2021 stood at 52.8 million as compared to 44.1 million as of 30 September 2020. The company acquired 2.4 million new customers in Q2 FY22 as compared to 1.2 million in Q2 FY21.

Coal India's board accorded its in-principle approval to Pre Feasibility Report for setting up of Integrated Greenfield Aluminium Project in Odisha which shall include Bauxite Mining, Alumina Refinery, Aluminium Smelter and associated Captive Power Plant by its wholly owned subsidiary Mahanadi Coalfields (MCL).

Godrej Consumer Products said that during the quarter, demand trends in categories across the key countries the company operates in, remained steady.

Future Retail said that the Master Franchise agreement executed between Future7-India Convenience, 7-Eleven INC, Future Corporate Resources and the company for developing and operating 7-Eleven stores within India has been mutually terminated. The Future-7 was not able to meet the target of opening stores and payment of franchisee fees.

Phillips Carbon Black said that the company closed its qualified institutional placement issue and raised Rs 399.99 crore by issuing over 1.63 crore equity shares to 20 qualified institutional buyers at Rs 244 per equity share.

Central Bank of India has entered into a strategic Co lending Partnership with IIFL Home Finance to offer SME LAP Loan product under priority sector to MSME borrowers.

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Deepak Nitrite rose 7.72% to Rs 2876.05, extending gains for the third straight session.

The stock has surged 20.82% in three sessions from its recent closing low of Rs 2,380.35 on 1 October 2021.

On BSE, 1.91 lakh shares were traded on the counter compared to the average daily volume of 68,000 shares in the past two weeks. On NSE, 45.54 lakh shares were traded compared to the average daily volume of 11.93 lakh shares in the past one quarter.

The counter hit a record high of Rs 2,932 in intraday today. It has surged 309.78% from its 52-week low of Rs 701.85 hit on 20 October 2020. In the past one month, the stock has climbed 22.09% compared with 1.51% rise in the Sensex.

Recent media reports suggested that the power outage in China is seen impacting chemical output by as much as 25%.

China is facing severe power crunch amid a shortage of coal supplies, toughening emissions standards and strong demand from manufacturers and industry.

Widening power shortages in China have halted production at numerous factories including many chemical manufacturers, which could benefit Indian speciality chemical makers.

Deepak Nitrite is one of the leading suppliers of chemical intermediates. It has a diversified portfolio of intermediates that cater to the dyes and pigments, agrochemical, pharmaceutical, plastics, textiles, paper and home and personal care segments in India and overseas.

The chemical maker's consolidated net profit jumped 205% to Rs 302.6 crore on a 126% rise in net sales to Rs 1,526.22 crore in Q1 FY22 over Q1 FY21.

On the technical front, the stock's RSI (relative strength index) stood at 79.39. 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 200 days simple moving average placed at 2505.92 and 2423.43 respectively. These levels will act as crucial support zones in near term.

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Future Retail on Tuesday announced the termination of Master Franchise Agreement with 7-Eleven after the company failed to meet the target of opening stores and payment of franchise fees.

In a regulatory filing to the stock exchanges, Future Retail said no financial or business impact on the company is expected as the arrangement was at the subsidiary company level. The agreement fell through as the Future-7 was not able to meet the target of opening stores and payment of franchisee fees."

In February 2019, Future Group-owned Future Retail had signed a master franchise agreement with 7-Eleven Inc. to develop and operate 7-Eleven stores in India. It is set to open its first store in the financial capital by end of March next year.

The 7-Eleven stores in India failed to take off as Future group financial condition started deteriorating due to rising debt. The company posted a consolidated net loss of Rs 1,147.13 crore in Q1 FY22, higher than net loss of Rs 561.95 crore in Q1 FY21. Net sales increased 4.2% to Rs 1,415.67 crore in Q1 FY22 as against Rs 1,358.11 crore in Q1 FY21. Future Retail's interest expense increased 27.3% to Rs 354.27 crore in Q1 FY22 over Q1 FY21.

In August last year, the board of the company had approved the amalgamation of FRL along with other group companies with Future Enterprises to facilitate the Rs 24,713 crore deal to sell the retail and wholesale business to Reliance Retail. FRL said it "intends to pursue all available avenues to conclude the deal" to protect the interests of its stakeholders and workforce.

Future Retail is engaged in the business of retailing a range of household and consumer products through departmental store facilities under various formats. The company is primarily engaged in the business of multi-brand retail trade.

Shares of Future Retail were trading 0.97% lower at Rs 51.05 on BSE.

7-Eleven, Inc. is a multinational chain of convenience stores, headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

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The Vice President, M. Venkaiah Naidu today called for viewing rapid urbanization as an opportunity and emphasised the need to focus on people-centric urban planning and development.

The Vice President made these remarks at a civic reception hosted in his honour by the Government of Tripura. Emphasizing that good connectivity is a prerequisite for the overall development of any region, he said that this is even more true in the case of our landlocked North-Eastern States.

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leader on Wednesday alleged that "dictatorship" prevails in the country with farmers being "systematically attacked" and politicians not allowed to visit to meet families hit by the violence in Lakhimpur Kheri.

Addressing a press conference, Gandhi said he along with two Chief Ministers -- Bhupesh Baghel (Chhattisgarh) and Charanjit Singh Channi (Punjab) -- will try to visit Lakhimpur Kheri to meet the families hit by the violence.

After initially denying permission to to visit Lakhimpur Kheri, the government has now allowed him and Priyanka Gandhi to visit the district.

Gandhi charged, "There used to be democracy here, but there is a dictatorship in India now. Politicians cannot go to We are being told since yesterday that we cannot go to Uttar Pradesh"'.

Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gandhi said that on Tuesday the PM was in Lucknow but he could not go to Lakhimpur Kheri, where eight people have died in violence.

Asked about the detention of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and the treatment meted out to her, he said it is not about her but this is an issue about farmers. "As far as Priyanka is concerned, she has been held. But this is issue is about farmers."



"For some time now, the farmers are being attacked by the government. Farmers are being mowed down by a jeep, they are being murdered, the name of a BJP home minister and his son is coming up, but no action is being taken," Gandhi said.

"The farmers of the country are being systematically attacked. The first attack was to reverse the land acquisition bill, the second was bringing the three farm bills and today systematically what rightfully belongs to farmers is being snatched away," the former chief alleged.

Gandhi alleged that a new type of is being played in Uttar Pradesh where criminals are doing whatever they want and are roaming freely while those seeking justice for the victims are being arrested.

"What is happening in UP is that farmers are being killed. But earlier too, in Hathras a girl was raped, earlier too their MLA was involved in a rape. This is a new type of played out systemtatically in Uttar Pradesh, and criminals can do whatever they want, be it rapes, murder of farmers.

"Those who commit the crime and murders are outside the jail and those who die go inside the jail," Gandhi, flanked by chief minister Bhupesh Baghel and Charanjit Singh Channi, said.

"We want to go there and support the families. Only we are being stopped, while others parties are being allowed to visit there. What wrong have we done," he said.

The opposition's work is to exert pressure on the government for taking action against the guilty and that is what they are trying to do, he said.

He also alleged that the postmortem of victims is not being done properly and systematically whatever one is saying is being shut.

Responding to a question, Gandhi said the government doesn't realise the power of the farmers.

"It is a systematic attack on the farmers of this country. It is arrogance because the government does not realise or understand the power of the farmers and they are provoking the farmers, they are insulting the farmers, they are killing the farmers. This is a very dangerous and bad idea," he charged when asked about what he has to say about the prime minister's silence on the issue so far.

Gandhi alleged that a "dictatorship" was prevailing in the country as "massive theft" was taking place.

When the Chhattisgarh chief minister goes to meet the farmers, he is told that section 144 in place and when he says he is alone and the section is not applicable, he is not given an answer, Gandhi said.

"There is dictatorship because there is massive theft taking place. The small and medium businesses are being robbed, farmers are being robbed and the common people are also being robbed with rising petrol and diesel prices. The voice of the country is being trampled upon," he alleged.

Asked whether the opposition was getting together to take on the government after political leaders were stopped by the government from visiting Lakhimpur Kheri, he said, this is about the farmers and their issues and the alleged murder that has taken place in Uttar Pradesh. "I do not wish to distract that."



Four of the eight dead in Sunday's violence in Lakhimpur Kheri were farmers, allegedly knocked down by vehicles driven by BJP workers travelling to welcome Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya to an event in the area.

The others including BJP workers and their driver were allegedly pulled out of the vehicles and lynched by the protesters.

The Uttar Pradesh Police has registered a case against Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra's son Ashish but no arrest has been made so far.

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chief on Wednesday said that a party delegation will meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah and request him to ensure that exemplary action is taken against those involved in the killing of farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri.

Badal said the SAD has already written to Shah seeking time for the meeting and that he will lead the party delegation.

Talking to reporters here, the SAD president said that a separate party delegation will also meet Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to impress upon him the need to ensure that the perpetrators of the "ghastly" attack on farmers are brought to book.

Eight people were killed in the violence that erupted in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri on Sunday during a protest by farmers against the visit of Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya.

Four of the eight killed were farmers. They were allegedly mowed down by a vehicle carrying BJP workers. The other four victims included two BJP workers, allegedly lynched by angry protesters.

A delegation of the SAD will meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah to request him to ensure that exemplary action is taken against those involved in the killing of farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri, Badal said.

The party has written to the minister seeking time for the meeting, he added.

The Akali leader said that a separate party delegation will also meet UP CM Adityanath.

The Uttar Pradesh government should also move swiftly to ensure justice to the families of the deceased farmers, he said.

"I appeal to the chief minister to rise above party lines. It is an issue of credibility. People are affronted that the accused have not been arrested till now. People want the guilty to be arrested, however high they may be," Badal said.

He said a SAD delegation will visit Lakhimpur Kheri to assess the situation there and meet the victims' families.

"Earlier also a delegation was sent to Uttar Pradesh but it was stopped at the Ghaziabad border," he said.

Asked about the detention of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in Uttar Pradesh and the subsequent visits by the party's top brass to Lakhimpur Kheri, Badal said they went there to free Priyanka Gandhi and that they are "not concerned" about the well-being of the farmers.

He claimed this is part of the Congress' concerted efforts to launch its poll campaign in Uttar Pradesh.

Two FIRs have been registered in connection with Sunday's violence. Ashish Mishra, the son of Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra, is among those booked by police.

The Uttar Pradesh government had announced on Monday that a retired high court judge will probe the Lakhimpur Kheri violence and a compensation of Rs 45 lakh each will be given to the families of the deceased farmers. Their kin will also get a government job.

The injured will get Rs 10 lakh.

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Delhi Chief Minister demanded the arrest of the accused involved in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident where eight people lost their lives in a violent incident and questioned the Uttar government for allegedly stopping political leaders to meet families of victims.

Addressing a press conference here, he alleged that the government is trying to save the culprits in Lakhimpur Kheri violence.

"What is so suspicious in Lakhimpur Kheri? Why are political leaders being stopped? The people are watching the actions. The government should act fast to bring the culprits under law," he said.

"On one side, the government is celebrating 75 years of Independence, and on the other side, political leaders are being stopped from visiting Lakhimpur Kheri. What's the reason behind it? PM ji, the country wants the accused to be arrested and the Union minister be removed from the post," he added.

He also requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to meet the kin of farmers who died in the violence on Sunday. "The families of farmers, who died in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence, are inconsolable. If they meet their PM, it will bring in some relief."

As many as eight people died in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident on Sunday.

Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of several farmer unions, alleged that Ashish Mishra Teni, son of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Mishra Teni arrived with three vehicles around the time that farmers were dispersing from their protest at the helipad and mowed down farmers and towards the end also attacked SKM leader Tajinder Singh Virk directly, by trying to run a vehicle over him.

However, Ashish Mishra refuted SKM's allegations and said he was not present at the spot where the incident took place.

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Trinamool Congress on Wednesday said the killings at Lakhimpur Kheri in showed that democracy is being strangulated in every BJP-ruled state.

The party in a tweet in its official website said "Democracy is repeatedly being STRANGULATED and BRUTALLY ATTACKED in every single @BJP4India ruled state!"



TMC attached a purported video of a car zooming past and hitting few men in its tweet and said "The people of this country deserve better. The #KillingRaj of BJP must be stopped!"



West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had earlier condemned the death of people in violence during farmers' protest in BJP-ruled

"Strongly condemn the barbaric incident in Lakhimpur Kheri. The apathy of @BJP4India towards our farmer brethren pains me deeply," Banerjee, who is also the TMC supremo, had tweeted.

A delegation of Trinamool Congress MPs had dodged the police and visited the affected families in UP a day ago after being initially stopped by the state administration.

A five-member delegation of TMC) leaders, who had allegedly identified themselves as tourists, had met the families of the deceased farmers in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri on Tuesday. This was the only delegation of Opposition leaders that managed to travel to violence-hit place amid prohibitory orders issued by the district administration.

Four farmers had died in Lakhimpur Kheri after they were allegedly run over by the convoy of Ashish Misra, the son of Ajay Misra, the union minister of state for home affairs, ahead of the visit by UP Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya. Another four individuals, reportedly BJP workers, were killed in the violence that followed.

The farmer leaders had claimed that some cultivators were protesting against the Centre's contentious farm laws when the vehicle carrying BJP workers knocked down a few of them. But an official account said the incident took place when the farmers hurled stones at the vehicle and it overturned.

BJP MP Locket Chatterjee on Wednesday said while the UP administration is taking every step to deliver justice to the victims' families and allowed political parties to go to the spot, the TMC government in West Bengal did not allow leaders of the saffron party to meet those who were brutally attacked by miscreants supported by Mamata Banerjee's party.

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Union minister Ajay Kumar Mishra on Wednesday met Home Minister Amit Shah, for the first time since a murder case was registered against his son for allegedly mowing down four farmers at Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh, sources said.

Mishra, union minister of state for home, came to his first-floor office in the North Block and stayed for about half an hour.

After doing a few official works, Mishra left the North Block, the sources said.

The minister then visited the residence of Shah where he closeted for about half an hour.

Mishra is understood to have briefed the home minister about the Sunday's incident in his home district of Lakhimpur Kheri in

Police have registered a murder case against Ashish Mishra, the son of Ajay Kumar Mishra, and several others over the death of the farmers in the Sunday's incident.

The minister has denied the allegations by the farmers' unions that his son was in one of the cars.

#WATCH MoS Ajay Mishra Teni at Ministry of Home Affairs, North Block in Delhi pic.twitter.com/ONNQILY80P  ANI (@ANI) October 6, 2021

He said he has evidence to show that his son was at an event being held elsewhere.

According to his version, a vehicle, carrying BJP workers, turned turtle after protesters pelted stones at it. The farmers came under the vehicle and died, he had said.

Four occupants of the car were then pulled out and beaten to death allegedly by protestors.

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Punjab Congress chief on Wednesday slammed the Police for detaining party leader Vadra, and accused it of violating the spirit of the Constitution.

His remark came a day after he warned that the party's state unit would march towards Lakhimpur Kheri if Gandhi was not released and Union minister Ajay Mishra's son not held in connection with the violence.

Gandhi was detained in Sitapur on Monday while she was on her way to Lakhimpur Kheri, where eight people, including four farmers, died during a protest over Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya's visit on Sunday.

54 hours passed !! @priyankagandhi Ji has not been produced before any Court unlawful detention beyond 24 hours is a clear violation of the fundamental rights. BJP & UP Police :- You are violating the spirit of the Constitution, impinging on our basic human rights !!, Sidhu said in a tweet.

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Former Congress president has reached the PAC guest house at Sitapur where Vadra has been kept in detention on his way to Lakhimpur Kheri, which witnessed eight deaths in violence during a farmers' protest on Sunday.

Gandhi left for Lakhimpur Kheri from the Lucknow airport in his own vehicle after staging a brief dharna on initially being asked to travel in a police car.

He had reached the airport this afternoon from Delhi along with Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, his Chhattisgarh counterpart Bhupesh Baghel and Congress general secretaries K C Venugopal and Randeep Surjewala.

"Rahul Gandhiji along with Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel have left for Lakhimpur Kheri from the Lucknow airport,' UP Congress spokesperson Ashok Singh told PTI in the afternoon.

Venugopal and Surjewala are also accompanying Gandhi on his visit to Lakhimpur Kheri.

Television footage from the airport showed officials telling Gandhi to take the police vehicle, which he did not agree to and sat on a dharna there.

"We want to go in our own vehicles, but they want that we should go in their vehicle. I want to know why are you not allowing me to go? First, I was told that I can go in my own vehicle, now you are saying that you will go in a police vehicle. They are doing some mischief, Gandhi told reporters.

Responding to a question, he said, "You can put me or Priyanka in a jail. It does not have any meaning. The question is that six people were crushed by criminals. Those who should have been in a jail, are not being put in a jail. We are being stopped from meeting the aggrieved families of the farmers."



It took Gandhi a couple of hours to reach the Provincial Armed Constabulary guest house



in Sitapur, around 88 km from Lucknow, where is in detention since Monday morning. She was on her way to meet the families of farmers killed in Sunday's violence in Lakhimpur Kheri when she was stopped.

Earlier in the day, the state government had denied permission to for the visit, with an official spokesperson saying no one would be allowed to visit the violence-hit district to vitiate its atmosphere.

However, it later allowed Rahul, and three others to visit Lakhimpur.

"Permission has been given to five leaders of Congress, including and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, to visit Lakhimpur," Additional Chief Secretary, Information, Navneet Sehgal told PTI.

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Congress on Thursday, will march from Punjab's Mohali to Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri in protest against the 'brutal murder' of farmers there, said Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu.

According to a statement issued by Sidhu's office. march would be led by him.

Notably, Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel have announced ex-gratia of Rs 50 lakhs separately to the kin of four farmers who died in the Lakhimpur incident.

Meanwhile, a five-member Congress delegation led by Rahul Gandhi had left for violence-hit Lakhimpur Kheri from Lucknow airport on Wednesday.

Gandhi was accompanied by senior party leaders including Bhupesh Baghel, Charanjit Channi, KC Venugopal and Randeep Surjewala.

As many as eight people died in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident on Sunday, said police.

Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of several farmer unions, alleged that Ashish Mishra Teni, son of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Mishra Teni arrived with three vehicles around the time that farmers were dispersing from their protest at the helipad and mowed down farmers and towards the end also attacked SKM leader Tajinder Singh Virk directly, by trying to run a vehicle over him.

However, Ashish Mishra refuted SKM's allegations and said he was not present at the spot where the incident took place.

MoS Teni also said that his son was not present at the spot, adding that some miscreants mingled with protesting farmers and pelted the stones at the car which lead to the 'unfortunate incident'.

(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 arrived at airport ahead of his visit to Lakhimpur Kheri, where 8 people lost their lives in a violent incident.

He is accompanied by senior party leaders including Bhupesh Baghel, Charanjit Channi, KC Venugopal and Randeep Surjewala.

Meanwhile, the government on Wednesday gave permission to Congress leaders and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to visit Lakhimpur Kheri.

Earlier the government had denied permission to Congress leader to visit the Lakhimpur Kheri district in wake of a law and order situation.

Police on Tuesday registered an FIR against Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Varda and 11 others for "disturbing the peace" in the state.

Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of several farmer unions, alleged that Ashish Mishra Teni, son of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Mishra Teni arrived with three vehicles around the time that farmers were dispersing from their protest at the helipad and mowed down farmers and towards the end also attacked SKM leader Tajinder Singh Virk directly, by trying to run a vehicle over him.

However, Ashish Mishra refuted SKM's allegations and said he was not present at the spot where the incident took place.

As many as eight people died in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident on Sunday, said Uttar Pradesh police.

MoS Teni also said that his son was not present at the spot, adding that some miscreants mingled with protesting farmers and pelted the stones at the car which lead to the 'unfortunate incident'.

(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, late on Tuesday night, denied permission to a delegation led by to visit Lakhimpur Kheri as Section 144 has been enforced there after Sunday's violence.

Earlier, general secretary KC Venugopal had sought permission for the Rahul-led delegation.

In a letter to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the said the five-member delegation led by planned to visit the district.

Party sources said that Rahul would also meet sister Priyanka who has been kept at the PAC guest house in Sitapur since Monday.

She was formally arrested on Tuesday evening and the guest house has been notified as a temporary jail.Rahul Gandhi, according to party sources, was scheduled to reach Lucknow on Wednesday to take stock of the political developments and visit Lakhimpur Kheri.

--IANS

amita/shs

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BKU leader Rakesh Tikait on Wednesday demanded the resignation of Union minister Ajay Mishra and the arrest of all accused in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, warning that a nationwide agitation will be launched if authorities failed to implement within a week the agreement made with the here.

Tikait, who is among the prominent leaders of the agitation against the Centre's agri laws, had brokered the agreement between the authorities and the on October 4 here, after which they had ended their protest and the families of the four deceased had agreed to their post-mortem.

After reaching an understanding, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar, in the presence of Tikait, had informed of the government's decision to give Rs 45 lakh each to families of the victim farmers and set up a judicial probe under a retired High Court judge.

"Our protest has not ended. We will wait till eight days since the agreement and if the demands are not fulfilled a nationwide agitation would be launched," Tikait told reporters at a Gurdwara in Lakhimpur city on Wednesday.

The deadline coincides with the 10th-day Antim-Ardas ceremony (post-death ritual) in the Sikh community.

An FIR under section 302 of IPC (murder) has already been registered against the union minister's son Ashish Mishra and others in the incident in Tikonia police station.

Tikait said the pact with the government was reached after consulting the victims' families and farmers, and everybody had expressed "satisfaction" over it.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha leader had reached the incident site in the wee hours on Monday, after four farmers were mowed down by an SUV when they were agitating against the visit of deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya for a function in the union minister's native place on October 3.

Besides the four farmers, two BJP workers, the minister's driver and a local journalist were also killed in the violence.

On Tuesday, Tikait visited the family of Gurvinder Singh, one of the four dead farmers, in Bahraich and backed their demand for a second post mortem which the government agreed to, and his last rites were performed this morning.

The mortal remains of the other three farmers were cremated on Tuesday.

How can he (minister Mishra) remain a Union minister of Home Affairs when his own son is facing such a serious charge?



''The minister himself has been named in the FIR for his alleged role. For an unbiased probe in the matter, the Centre must sack the minister, BKU media in-charge Dharmendra Malik told PTI.

The Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), a major participant in the protests against the three central agri laws, also demanded the arrest of the minister's son Ashish alias Monu Mishra.

His son should be arrested immediately. We have asked that both these demands be met within seven days, otherwise, the BKU will stage a massive demonstration in to seek justice, Malik added.

A faction of BKU workers and supporters led by their national spokesperson Rakesh Tikait is currently staying put in Lakhimpur Kheri, which has now become the epicentre of the turf war among political parties in poll-bound

Mishra's son Ashish is the only named accused in the FIR lodged at the Tikoniya police station in the district. Besides him, 15-20 other "unidentified persons" are mentioned as accused in the FIR.

However, the minister has refuted the allegations of his son's involvement in the episode that took place near his native Banbirpur village.

Meanwhile, Mishra on Wednesday attended the office in Delhi and met with Union Home Minister Amit Shah for the first time since a murder case was registered against his son on Sunday.

Mishra is understood to have briefed Shah about the Sunday incident in his home district of Lakhimpur Kheri 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.)
Prime Minister has urged billionaire philanthropist to consider providing humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan, which is in dire need of since the Taliban seized power in August.

Khan spoke with Gates, the co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), on Tuesday, to discuss polio eradication efforts and the Foundation's support towards improving nutrition as well as financial services in Pakistan, according to a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office.

The Prime Minister highlighted that more than half of the population in was living below the poverty line and in dire need of financial assistance. He requested Mr. Gates to consider providing humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people, according to the statement.

The two expressed concern regarding the health system in Afghanistan, the only other country in the world that is polio endemic along with Pakistan, it said.

They discussed the importance of polio campaigns resuming in to stop the disease and protect Pakistan's recent gains towards ending polio.

Prime Minister Khan also updated Gates on Pakistan's continued progress against polio eradication and appreciated the invaluable assistance provided by BMGF towards that.

Khan said that the country has reported only one case of wild poliovirus (WPV) this year and positive WPV environmental samples have decreased substantially.

Khan emphasised that while the progress was positive, the work is still ongoing and that his government was committed to ending all forms of polio in the country.

Attempts to eradicate the crippling disease have been seriously hampered by deadly targeting of vaccination teams in recent years by militants, who oppose the drives, claiming that the polio drops cause infertility.

Gates pledged the Foundation's continued support to the country's polio programme for ensuring that no child in is at risk of paralysis due to poliovirus.

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Marico Ltd

Marico Limited is one of India's leading consumer products companies operating in the beauty and wellness space. Currently present in 25 countries across emerging markets of Asia and Africa Marico has nurtured multiple brands in the categories of hair care skin care edible oils health foods male grooming and fabric care. Marico's India business markets household brands such as Parachute Parachute ...> More
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], October 6 (ANI/PNN): Levi's announces the launch of its collaboration with style icon and brand ambassador Deepika Padukone.

Levi's x Deepika Padukone is a collection that truly defines the icon's fashion sensibility and authentic style.

Rooted in Levi's authentic style and updated with Padukone's signature style, this inaugural Levi's x Deepika Padukone collaboration exudes freshness and confidence. The collection re-imagines Levi's classics through its range of jeans and denims while introducing Padukone's signature favourites like athleisure pieces, edgy faux leather pants and oversized shirts.

"The endeavour with my first-ever collaboration with Levi's was for it to be an authentic representation of my personal style. And I believe we've been able to stay true to that vision." said Padukone.

The collaboration brings Padukone's ultra-casual style to life through long varsity jackets, co- ordsweatsuits, crop-tops & bralettes. You will also see edgy faux leather pants and an all-denim jumpsuit. It also features modern & updated interpretations of Levi's denims, with new on-trend 70's-inspired high waist jeans and cut & sew wide-leg silhouettes to be paired with extra-long or cropped trucker jackets. A range of oversized shirts, soft romantic tops with organza sleeves, easy graphic t-shirts and elevated sweatshirts. Overall, the collection features quintessential pieces that will stand out in any wardrobe.

"We are absolutely thrilled that Deepika Padukone's first collaboration as brand ambassador for Levi's is so iconic yet personal. Levi's has always believed in 'authentic self-expression' and collaboration is just that. We wanted to work with Deepika because of her iconic sense of style and its influence on consumers. Her understanding of colours, fabrics and silhouettes is unique and extremely individual. With this collaboration, we see the inclusion of newer fabrics finishes and fits. The introduction of athleisure pieces, faux leather pants, long varsity jackets and even the oversized shirts are a way for us to explore unknown textile territories and also relate to a newer fashion consumer." Sanjeev Mohanty, SVP & MD- South Asia, Middle East and Africa, Levi's

The Levi's x Deepika Padukone collaboration is responsibly made, in line with Levi's commitment to sustainability. 60% of the collaboration line is sustainably sourced with 100% of the line ethically produced. Featuring organic cotton, super-soft Tencel made from wood pulp, cottonized hemp and denim produced with the brand's Water & lt;Less technology, the line allows consumers to make a statement, with sustainability at the forefront.

The Levi's x Deepika Padukone Collaboration will be available at Levi's retail outlets, Levi.in and select partner e-commerce platforms on October 8th 2021.

Please visit - (https://www.levi.com/global)

The Levi's brand epitomizes classic American style and effortless cool. Since their invention by Levi Strauss & Co. in 1873, Levi's jeans have become one of the most recognizable garments of clothing in the world - capturing the imagination and loyalty of people for generations. Today, Levi's brand portfolio continues to evolve through a relentless pioneering and innovative spirit that is unparalleled in the apparel industry.

Our range of leading Jeanswear and accessories are available in more than 110 countries, allowing individuals around the world to express their personal style. For more information about Levi's brand, its products, and stores, please visit (https://www.levi.com/global).

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New Delhi [India], October 6 (ANI/NewsVoir): Aimed towards strengthening the preparedness of charitable and government hospitals and COVID care centres in effectively responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, United Way Delhi recently supported the Holy Family Hospital and a charitable COVID Care wing with medical apparatus crucial for the treatment of COVID-19 patients, in the latest leg of the intervention in the national capital.

Under the intervention, United Way Delhi supported Holy Family Hospitals, a charitable institution active in NCR, with 5 Ventilators & 10 Monitors for Neonatal and Paediatric treatment, ten fully automatic ICU beds for paediatrics, and 3 Side Stream EtCo2 Module with support from a corporate partner. This apparatus will enable the charitable hospital to attend to the community's crucial healthcare needs during a crisis.

Under the initiative, the organization also equipped a COVID Care Center with 46 Multi Para Monitors, 3 Ventilators, 19 fully automatic patient beds, and 44 Oxygen Cylinders to treat COVID-19 patients in Delhi effectively.

Through the initiative, United Way Delhi aims to support the underprivileged sections, the one who needs the most during a crisis like second wave peak, by facilitating convenient access to healthcare essentials to treat the virus. The donated machines are life support equipment which will be helpful in case of any shortage in the larger supply.

"We are thankful to United Way Delhi for supporting us adjust to the potential surge in requirements of critical care apparatus for COVID-19 treatment. The equipment will be instrumental in our comprehensive approach to prepare for a spike in positive cases and ensuring access to those in immediate need," said Fr. George PA, Director, Holy Family Hospital.

Committed to supporting the nation's fight against Coronavirus, United Way's United Against COVID-19 response aims to ease the pressure on existing medical support towards a seamless treatment of COVID-19 patients. United Way is strengthening the ongoing efforts of the government to boost the fight against the disease and prevent a potential third wave.

"With the high community transmission of COVID-19 during the second wave, the number of people requiring hospitalization for critical care spiked causing pressure on the medical infrastructure and the frontline warriors on attending the patients in immediate need. We, at United Way Delhi, believe that the infrastructural preparedness of Government & Charitable Hospitals in responding to contingent care can support the nation to fight against the pandemic. We are thankful to our partners for joining hands for the cause," said Sachin S Golwalkar, CEO of United Way Delhi.

Ever since the onset of the pandemic, United Way Delhi, under its United Against COVID-19 Response, has spearheaded a comprehensive approach towards tackling the pandemic.

Under the United Against COVID-19 initiative, the organization has so far reached out to the hospitals, police force personnel, local communities, and shelter homes in Delhi, NCR, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Pune, Baroda, Chennai, Punjab, and Tamil Nadu with various intervention support such as COVID testing equipment, Hospital Support Packages, Frontline Workers Kits, Family Essential Kits, and support for Shelter Homes impacting 25,00,000+ individuals collectively.

United Way Delhi (UWD) is an independent local not-for-profit organization affiliated to the United Way Worldwide Family - one of the World's Largest Leadership with 1800 affiliate chapters across 41 countries. United Way Delhi (UWD) since 2008, is working actively to advance the 'common good' for the local community through innovative interventions and partnerships.

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Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu) [India], October 6 (ANI/BusinessWire India): Health Basix, a pediatric healthcare delivery platform, announced today that it has closed the seed round of funding from marquee investors like Raj Mishra of Indea Capital, Nicola Blackwood - ex-deputy Minister for Health and Chair of Genomics England, Dr. Anantha Nageswaran - Co-founder of Aavishkaar Venture Capital/Economic Advisor to the PM of India and other HNI's.

Within just 3 months of launch, Health Basix has already onboarded over 100,000 families with over 10,000 active users on its platform. The company has partnered with over 90 schools to run the school health program, 150+ nationwide hospitals, and clinics that offer preferential pricing to customers of Health Basix.

Starting with the pediatric health population of 150+ million Students in India, Health Basix aims to eliminate the biggest care experience pain points for families with a unified solution. The Healthcare experience for the modern Indian Child is fragmented, inefficient, and challenging to navigate with parents waiting in long queues to meet with a doctor, maintain the health records in the physical format, and having to go to multiple service providers to meet their kid's healthcare needs.

The pediatric health platform and family health app by Toro Health Pvt Ltd., founded by (https://www.linkedin.com/in/swathyrohit/?originalSubdomain=inSwathy Rohit, Vishnu Prasath, and Ramesh Krishnan in March 2021 said it will use the capital for building its team, product development, marketing, and setting up in-school clinics to deliver connected health to 1 million families.

"Parents in India are very focused on education because they see tangible monetary rewards within a few years of investment but when it comes to health, it is largely ignored in kids since they don't see immediate tangible benefits. Our main goal is to identify and connect kids to the care they need at the right time," said Swathy, CEO of Heath Basix.

Generally, the attention on healthcare when it comes to kids is always for the ones below the age of five completely ignoring the healthcare needs of school-going kids. School-going kids remain highly exposed to several preventable and treatable illnesses. If left untreated, it affects their physical and emotional development.

"Health and education are the two fundamental pillars of every child and youth, and we look forward to partnering with Health Basix in their journey towards making a difference in delivering Connected Health," said Raj Mishra the lead investor.

As India's first and only Data-Driven pediatric health ecosystem, the company aims to provide SIMPLER and BETTER pediatric healthcare that enables kids to be healthy rather than just treating illness where the health records are stored, and data-driven recommendations are made based on the 128-point health assessment conducted in-school for every child. The app also identifies and connects parents with treatment-seeking behaviour to healthcare providers.

Health Basix (https://www.healthbasix.com) enables parents and clinicians to work in tandem to create care plans for kids that include diagnosis, instructions, and recommended resources. The detailed annual checkup covers Growth (BMI), vision, dental, emotional, hearing, and wellness.

The parent can share the care plans with the circle (School / Doctor) of care and Health Basix enables the activation of the care plan into a to-do action plan. The parents can create multiple health profiles, store health records such as vaccination charts for children, developmental milestones, prescriptions, lab reports, and scans, and allows sharing of records with healthcare providers.

Through the (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.healthbasix) health basix android app, one can access online doctor consultation, day-time concierge, health guides, expert doctor recommendations, and appointment booking at partner hospitals and clinics.

(https://www.facebook.com/healthbasixHBX) Facebook | (https://www.linkedin.com/company/health-basix) LinkedIn | (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCep9vj8yHtzPoqSOHovy4eg) YouTube

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Bangalore/New Delhi (Karnataka) [India], October 6 (ANI/BusinessWire India): Today, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) launched its own open access publishing hub with F1000, Taylor & Francis Group's open research publishing arm.

This new GATEWAY will be hosted on F1000's own open research publishing platform, F1000Research, thereby increasing the reproducibility and accessibility of their published research. All research published on the Manipal Academy of Higher Education Gateway will use the innovative F1000Research publishing model that combines the benefits of rapid publication with mechanisms to assure quality and transparency. In doing so, research impact is accelerated and the research is free for anyone to read.

Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) is a globally engaged institution with active partnerships with more than 220 leading universities around the globe. MAHE is synonymous with excellence in higher education and therefore conferred the status of Institute of Eminence (IOE) by Govt. of India.

Research has always been an area of paramount importance at MAHE. The experts at MAHE are taking meticulous and meaningful steps to build reservoirs of intellectual wealth and academic excellence. In the process, MAHE has created some of the country's best institutes and schools across several diverse streams like medicine, dentistry, nursing, engineering, pharmacy, hotel management, allied health, architecture and design, communication etc.

This Gateway provides a publishing venue for all researchers at MAHE to publish all their research outputs openly and transparently in one place, including non-peer reviewed outputs, such as conference posters and slide decks.

MAHE welcomes submissions across various fields, including Health Science, Science Technology & Management, Humanities, Liberal Arts & Social Sciences. Commenting on the new venture, Lt. Gen. (Dr) MD Venkatesh, Vice-Chancellor, MAHE said: "Manipal Academy of Higher Education and F1000 have partnered to encourage an open science culture among the stakeholders of MAHE.

This new Gateway aims to disseminate MAHE's research outcomes to researchers across the world without any access restrictions, thereby facilitating the progression of science."

Rebecca Lawrence, Managing Director, F1000 said: "We are pleased to continue to enhance our offerings in India with the launch of this new Gateway. We are proud to partner with MAHE, one of India's leading academic and research institutions, to further their commitment to open research publishing. With a shared goal of advancing knowledge, we are looking forward to the upcoming submissions to MAHE and the future impact this research will have."

Nitasha Devasar, Managing Director, Taylor & Francis India & South Asia adds, "We believe that this collaboration will strengthen our continuing efforts to offer the best international research publishing choices to the Indian scholarly community and maximize the potential for the use, reuse and impact of their research. Taylor and Francis is delighted to partner with MAHE through its unique Open Research publishing platform F1000Research."

The Gateway is now open for submissions: (https://f1000research.com/mahe). Researchers with a MAHE affiliation are eligible.

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Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], October 6 (ANI/PRNewswire): Microland, a global digital transformation company, has donated a state-of-the-art cardio-neuro ambulance to the Kotagiri Medical Fellowship Hospital (KMF).

The hospital is located in the hilly Nilgiris District of Tamil Nadu, India. The donation was made through the Microland Foundation which spearheads Microland's social development initiatives. The ambulance will serve 41 villages within a 10 km radius of Kotagiri.

This remote region, with a population of 33,570, belongs to the tribal communities like the Badaga, Kotas, Todas, etc.

The region's already-inadequate health infrastructure has been severely stretched by the COVID-19 pandemic. Microland understood the KMF Hospital's need for a compact ambulance in order to deliver timely treatment in this tough terrain. Microland's intervention will mitigate the problem, providing timely and critical care to the largely underprivileged population of the region.

Commenting on Microland Foundation and KMF Hospital's commitment to ensure quality healthcare, Kalpana Kar of the Microland Foundation said, "It is the spirit of community service, partnership and dedication that drew Microland Foundation to support this COVID-19 health infrastructure upgradation and access project. The ambulance is additionally planned to assist the outreach clinics and be used for home visits, ensuring full and effective utilization and positive community health outcomes."

The ambulance will serve the dual purpose of delivering timely care as well as transporting patients to hospitals in Coimbatore for specialized treatment not available at KMF Hospital. The goal is to maximize the usage of the ambulance.

"We have been deliberate in ensuring the last mile has a voice in designing solutions that benefit the community. The strength and expertise of our many partners, including ours in digital has been well leveraged to channel time, value and money effectively," says Pradeep Kar, Chairman and Managing Director, Microland Limited.

Microland Foundation has established a presence in the Nilgiris District with several environment and health-focused initiatives and invites partnership from academia, corporate funders, government agencies, and individuals to develop a beneficial long-term collaboration to solve the prevailing challenges with sustainability as a focus. It is committed to uplifting the state of healthcare in the Nilgiris and surrounding areas.

* In collaboration with Rotary Club, Microland Foundation worked to establish a dialysis unit with two dialysis machines at the Lawly Hospital run by the government in Coonoor. The donation has helped patients with renal diseases get regular treatment in Coonoor instead of travelling to bigger towns and cities.

* Microland Foundation augmented the waste processing capacity of the Coonoor waste resource recovery center by providing infrastructure support. Stabilizers were installed at the center to address power fluctuations and frequent outages and a high temperature-controlled burner machine was sponsored to increase the combustible waste intake capacity by an additional 50 tons.

Read more here: (https://www.microland.com)

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Pune (Maharashtra) [India], October 6 (ANI/SRV Media): (https://mitwpu.edu.in) MIT-WORLD PEACE UNIVERSITY (MIT-WPU, PUNE) has begun admissions for their LL.B. (Bachelors of Legislative Law) and has commenced the admission process for the same.

Ranked as the 3rd best university to study in India, MIT-WPU has developed programs to focus on comprehensive academics, research tie-ups with global companies to get relevant & wide industry exposure. The theory and practical interwoven program structure make the learning of the entire legal system more enthralling and fun.

(https://admissions.mitwpu.edu.in/llb) LL.B. (BACHELOR OF LAWS) OVERVIEW: It is a 9-trimester three-year Law Program that focuses on the study of in-depth analysis of the judicial system along with their practical implementation. The program is designed in such a way so that the students shall be trained for the understanding of the law, as the critical, analytical, and strategic thinking skills necessary for the field of law.

The program mainly focuses to expose the students to the need and importance of legal education in the contemporary world, to help students strengthen their foundations of legal knowledge, to offer students a wide variety of law subjects and optional papers to choose from and provide the students with the opportunity, in building a career, in any of the diversified fields that legal education offers.

INFRASTRUCTURE: The aim of the School of Law (https://mitwpu.edu.in) MIT-WPU is to foster research in contemporary issues which are persistent. The Centre gives students opportunities to discuss current issues. At the law faculty, the Moot Court Cell is developed to foster the interest of students in the activity of mooting and facilitate the students in understanding the core of legal research which will help them to gain a sufficient stronghold over contemporary legal issues and development.

ELIGIBILITY: Interested candidates should have a graduate degree with a minimum of 50 per cent from any recognized University (45% for reserved categories.) for getting admission the candidate needs to appear for the Online Proctored entrance exam MIT-WPU UGPET Law 2021. Students who have appeared for MH-CET/LSAT- India do not need to appear for the MIT-WPU UGPET entrance examination. After the examination is cleared, they can directly appear for a Personal Interview.

PLACEMENTS AND RECRUITERS: (https://mitwpu.edu.in) MIT-WPU Pune has been embarking on a legal journey for the past 4 years for the best education and internships in the legal world. The internship and placement committee ensures that the students of the Faculty of law get the best internships and practical knowledge from the best of firms/advocates all over India. Some of the A-listed firms recruiting from MIT-WPU School of Law include Nehru & Co., Reddy & Reddy, Triyama Legal, Adv. Aditya Pratap, Varun Mathur and Associates, Legal Angles Patna, AA Associates and many more.

COVID POLICIES: (https://mitwpu.edu.in) MIT-WPU prioritizes students' safety and has moved the entire admission process online. In accordance with government directives and to ensure that students do not miss out on critical academic time this year, all study programs at MIT-WPU are being conducted online and through a blended mode of learning. As a precaution, MIT-WPU will not reopen its campus to students until it is completely safe, as per Government Guidelines.

ONLINE ADMISSION PROCESS: (https://mitwpu.edu.in) MIT-WPU is currently accepting online applications for all the programs. Adhering to the strict guidelines during the Covid-19 pandemic, students can apply and appear for the required tests online from the comfort of their homes to be considered for provisional admission offers to the program followed by the induction and commencement of classwork.

To apply for the course, visit - (https://bit.ly/3kW665o)

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Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], October 6 (ANI/NewsVoir): At VMworld 2021, VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW) announced its strategy to help customers navigate the multi-cloud era with the launch of VMware Cross-Cloud services.

This group of integrated services will help deliver a faster and smarter path to cloud for digital businesses, providing customers with the ability to build, run and better secure apps across any cloud with freedom and flexibility.

Today, the average organization is running roughly 500 applications to drive their business,1 and those apps are distributed across clouds. Seventy-five percent of VMware customers are relying on two or more public clouds, and 40% are using three or more.2 This multi-cloud approach increases app velocity and innovation and allows organizations to be much more agile and resilient.

However, a multi-cloud environment is far more diverse, complex, and distributed than anything organizations have managed in the past. This complexity often forces trade-offs between moving fast and managing risk, resulting in slower execution while increasing costs. VMware's strategy is built to help customers eliminate the tough choices and challenges by giving them a powerful combination of freedom and control in their multi-cloud business.

"Multi-cloud is the digital business model for the next 20 years, as entire industries reinvent themselves," said Raghu Raghuram, chief executive officer, VMware. "It's no longer about a 'cloud-first' approach - it's about being 'cloud-smart'. Organizations should have the freedom to choose the 'right' cloud, based on their strategic business goals. With our cloud-agnostic approach, we are uniquely positioned to meet our customers where they are and take them where they want to go. We give every organization the power to accelerate their innovation and control their own destiny in the multi-cloud era."

"During the past year, organizations fully embraced digital transformation as they were forced to respond to many dramatic changes, accelerating their innovation timelines at record paces," said Richard Villars, group vice president, IDC. "Organizations rely heavily on cloud technologies to evolve and scale as they pivot to competing in a digital-first economy. VMware's multi-cloud-focused strategy puts it in a strong position to help enterprises take full advantage of multiple clouds and their resources in their own data centers to improve resiliency and the trusted use of technology for delivery of better experiences and business outcomes."

AnchorVMware Cross-Cloud Services for All Apps

To help customers navigate the multi-cloud era, VMware Cross-Cloud services will deliver three key advantages: an accelerated journey to the cloud, cost efficiency, flexibility and control across any cloud. VMware Cross-Cloud services expands the capabilities of VMware's product portfolio for a multi-cloud world and will allow customers to pick and choose the services needed on the desired cloud to meet evolving business demands. VMware Cross-Cloud services is comprised of five core building blocks:

A state-of-the-art platform for building and deploying cloud-native apps;

Cloud infrastructure for operating and running enterprise apps;

Cloud management for monitoring and managing the performance and cost of apps across different clouds;

Security and networking that spans across entire multi-cloud operations to connect and better secure all apps; and,

A digital workspace to empower the distributed workforce along with edge solutions to deploy and manage edge-native apps.

At VMworld 2021, VMware is also announcing a variety of new innovations that span VMware Cross-Cloud services, including:

(https://news.vmware.com/releases/vmworld-2021-vmware-cloud) Cloud Infrastructure and Management: Unveiling new multi-cloud innovations to help customers move to the cloud faster and more safely, accelerate app modernization, and adopt a cloud operating model.

(https://news.vmware.com/releases/vmworld-2021-modern-apps) Apps: Introducing advancements in the VMware Tanzu portfolio to provide developers with the autonomy to build and deploy apps on any cloud.

(https://news.vmware.com/releases/vmworld-2021-edge) Edge: Introducing VMware Edge, a product portfolio that will enable customers to run and manage edge-native apps across multiple clouds, anywhere.

(https://news.vmware.com/releases/vmworld-2021-security) Security and Networking: Announcing new security innovations to deliver end-to-end Zero Trust architecture inside and across cloud and app environments.

Customers Accelerate Multi-Cloud Journeys with VMware

LIXIL Group is a Japanese manufacturer of water and housing products that solve every day, real-life challenges, making better homes a reality.

"Over the past year, a digital business model has enabled us to not only meet evolving customer needs but to also remain resilient amid disruption," said Osamu Iwasaki, Senior Vice President, leader of system development & operation, LIXIL. "Our digital infrastructure is built on a multi-cloud strategy, and VMware provides the ability and support across clouds to innovate quickly and efficiently."

SGB-SMIT group is the number one medium-sized manufacturer of transformers for data centers in Europe.

"A multi-cloud environment is the basis of our virtual company. We are regularly introducing new cloud-based apps to disconnect from the old way of working," said Salvatore Cassara, Chief Information Officer, SGB-SMIT Group. "To do this, we need the flexibility to scale quickly and move workloads between cloud providers without restrictions. VMware brings together our different cloud elements and really allows us to reinvent how we collaborate, and ultimately enable innovation throughout the company."

Western Union is a world leader in cross-border business payments.

"Over the past year, we have focused on innovating to truly rally around our customers and deliver the best experience," said Sada Iyer, Head of Infrastructure, Western Union. "Like many financial organizations, part of our technology modernization journey is moving to the cloud. With VMware, we have the flexible multi-cloud model required for the digital age as we look to accelerate innovation across our global platform."

VMware Strategy and Innovations Designed to Fuel Growth for Partners in Services and Cloud

VMware (https://blogs.vmware.com/partner/2021/10/partner-announcements-vmworld21.html) announced several new partner program innovations aligned to its customer first, partner-led strategy, including VMware Cloud Universal enabled for reseller partners, and VMware Success 360, which allows partners with master services competencies (MSCs) to, for the first time, offer their own customer success services for all the stages of the customer journey with VMware solutions. In addition, new and refreshed VMware Customer Lifecycle Incentives are designed to fuel partner growth in services and cloud.

For the latest news on how VMware is delivering a smarter path to cloud for digital businesses, visit the (https://news.vmware.com/vmworld-2021-media-kit) VMworld 2021 media kit.

VMworld 2021 is the world's premier cloud computing and digital infrastructure event. VMworld features 600+ unique sessions and labs, more than 75 sponsors, and several networking events to accelerate the journey to a software-defined business - from mobile devices to the data center and the cloud. VMworld attendees will have unparalleled access to the knowledge and tools they need to master the new cloud landscape and transform their business.

To learn more about VMworld, please visit: (https://www.vmware.com/vmworld/en/index.html).

VMware is a leading provider of multi-cloud services for all apps, enabling digital innovation with enterprise control. As a trusted foundation to accelerate innovation, VMware software gives businesses the flexibility and choice they need to build the future. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, VMware is committed to building a better future through the company's 2030 Agenda.

For more information, please visit (https://www.vmware.com/company.html).

This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir)

DISCLAIMER

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Securities and Exchange Board of India approved guidelines for spot gold exchanges at its board meeting on September 28th. The benefits of such an exchange, according to a statement, would include efficient price discovery, liquidity, and assurance in the quality of gold. It is also expected to create a national pricing structure for gold. Despite being the worlds second-biggest gold consumer, India currently allows trading only in gold futures. The new will compete with Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGBs), and Digital Gold. Firstly, let us see how the would work: The instruments representing gold that will be traded on the exchange will be called Electronic Gold Receipts (EGR). Any recognised stock exchange is allowed to launch trading in EGRs in a separate segment. EGR is initially created when physical gold is deposited with Vault Managers after assuring the quality of the gold. They are credited to the demat account of the beneficiary. EGRs can be held for as long as intended since they carry perpetual validity. And finally, an EGR holder can withdraw the underlying gold from the vaults by surrendering the EGRs.

Now what should investors keep in mind about gold exchanges? We spoke to independent market analyst Ambareesh Baliga to understand (please listen to the podcast for more).

Things to keep in mind:

1. Conversion permitted only after 50 g of EGR is accumulated

2. Storage charges to be higher than bank lockers

3. Trading in EGR to attract brokerage, STT

4. GST on conversion of EGR to physical gold

We also spoke to Sudheesh Nambiath, head of India Gold Policy Centre at IIM Ahmedabad. He explained the implications of the new systems and how EGRs compare with other gold instruments. He said this about the gold exchanges:

Long-pending demand

Promotes compliance among market participants

Improves price transparency

Retailers can use platform to accumulate gold

Digital gold providers can use EGRs as backing of gold

Creates trust among investors as it is Sebi-regulated

Cannot make direct comparison with SGB

EGRs may have similar tax structure as ETFs

EGRs will have better liquidity than ETFs

Watch Video
At the end of September, UNA held their Paint the Tiles fundraising event for the second year in a row. This time, volunteer Mollie Frier said they were able to raise around $2,000 during the event.
Here is todays ranking of the 10 most-read news stories in China, in economics, finance and current affairs, to help give you a sense of whats trending in the Chinese language sphere.

Chinese social media users have been paying close attention to the latest Covid-19 outbreak in Fujian that has grown to include more than 150 people (link in Chinese). They are also following news about debt-ridden Evergrande, which denied rumors of bankruptcy.

1. Al-Qaida leader appears in a video amid rumored death

Ayman al-Zawahri appeared in a video released Saturday (external source), which marks the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, amid rumors of his death that have been circulating since late last year, the Associated Press reported.

2. Denmark removes all Covid restrictions

Denmark had lifted all restrictions (external source) to curb the spread of Covid-19 as of Friday, including a rule requiring people to present proof of vaccination to enter nightclubs. The decision was taken after more than 83% of eligible people aged above 12 in Denmark had been fully vaccinated, according to the Danish Health Authority.

3. Uniqlo boss loses crown as the richest person in Japan

Takemitsu Takizaki, founder of electronic-sensor maker Keyence Corp., has beaten out Uniqlo billionaire Tadashi Yanai (external source) to become the richest person in Japan, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Takizaki is worth $38.2 billion after his companys shares almost doubled from last year. Fast Retailings Yanai is now worth $35.6 billion.

Photo: VCG

4. Evergrande denies bankruptcy rumors

Debt-ridden China Evergrande Group on Monday denied rumors of bankruptcy (external source, in Chinese), saying the company is facing unprecedented difficulties but will firmly carry out its corporate responsibilities. The company offered retail investors in its high-yield wealth management products three repayment options Monday after hundreds of them protested over overdue payments Sunday.

5. Chinas two epidemic prevention mini programs on Alipay combined

Chinas two epidemic control functions on Ant Groups Alipay  a national health code and a travel card that traces where citizens have been within 14 days  have been combined into one (external source, in Chinese) to facilitate Covid-19 inspection at checkpoints, Chinese media reported.

6. Celebrity studios move to small cities to avoid tax

Many celebrities have registered their studios in small cities that have preferential tax policies (external source, in Chinese), domestic media reports.

7. Fujian Covid outbreak mainly concentrated in Putian and Xiamen

China reported 59 locally transmitted Covid-19 cases (external source, in Chinese) on Monday, all in the eastern province of Fujian, according to the National Health Commission. Among them, 32 were found in Xiamen, 24 in Putian and three in Quanzhou. The authorities also reported one asymptomatic case in Putian that day.

8. Chinese Embassy in the U.K. condemns ban on ambassador

The Chinese Embassy in the U.K. said in a statement Tuesday that it strongly condemns (external source) the U.K. parliaments ban on Ambassador Zheng Zeguang that prevents him from attending events upon invitation to the parliamentary estate. The decision of the U.K. Parliament reflects the narrow and parochial mindset of some individuals in the U.K. It is a shortsighted, reckless and cowardly move, the embassy said.

9. Putin self-isolates after coming in contact with Covid case

Russian President Vladimir Putin (external source, in Chinese) is self-isolating after coming into close contact with a staff member in his inner circle who had been infected with the coronavirus, according to media reports. Putin has tested negative for Covid-19, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.

10. Beijing warns Washington against recognizing name change of Taiwans U.S. office

Chinas foreign ministry has warned the U.S. against recognizing a change of the name of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Washington to the Taiwan Representative Office, a change regarded by Beijing as a violation of the One China principle, and urged the U.S. to handle the Taiwan question in a prudent manner.

Translated by reporters Wang Xintong and Cai Xuejiao.

Caixin has not independently verified the veracity or accuracy of all of the headlines or stories.

The daily ranking of most-read news stories among Chinese people, about China and global affairs, is jointly provided to you by Caixin Insight and HANA Data, an artificial intelligence technology team.

The key indicators calculated on the list are based on mass data sourced from Chinas mainstream social media platforms and online news websites. Click here for a detailed introduction of our methodology.
Heavy fog enveloped cities across China Thursday morning, causing low visibility in several regions. The fog started to appear in cities like Wuhan in Central China and Urumqi in Northwest China earlier this week, creating traffic jams. On Thursday, Beijing authorities shut down multiple highways to avoid accidents, while the northeastern city of Shenyang issued the highest-level alert as visibility reduced to less than 20 meters in some areas

Nov 18, 2021 07:35 PM
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Tonight

Cloudy with occasional rain...mainly this evening. Low 32F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%.
Mazda has unveiled the first of its five all-new SUVs slated to arrive in the next two years the first-ever CX-50. Designed to meet the req...
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Shackleford Banks horses graze with Cape Lookout lighthouse in the background in this second-place youth photographer photo from the 2020 N.C. Wildlife Resources Commissions Wildlife in North Carolina Photo Competition. (Tucker Mauser photo)
Emily Goss goes over school work at the kitchen table with her five-year-old son inside their Monroe, N.C., home on Monday, Sept. 13, 2021. The Goss' have decided to homeschool Berkeley after the Union County school district chose not to implement a mask mandate for children. (AP Photo/Sarah Blake Morgan
DIG FOR FOOTINGS: Workmen from McCorkle Construction Company, Sac City, have started the new addition to the old Ocoma building which will be taken over by Farmland Foods, Inc. The ditch will hold footings for the 180-foot wall on the north side of the addition. At work are Virgil (Red) Hutc
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Photo: Colin Dacre Valhalla Provincial Park

British Columbias network of provincial parks saw a record 3.1 million campers pitch tents in 2021, an upward trend that sees no sign of waning.

That represents a more than half-million spike in campers since 2014 when fewer than 2.6 million people stayed overnight in provincial parks. Last year, 2.9 million people camped in BC Parks, despite a six-week closure due to COVID-19. This year, as the pandemic continues to drive many visitors online, more than 260,000 booked a campsite through the provinces Discover Camping portal, another record.

This year has been another exceptionally busy season for BC Parks with more people than ever seeking the benefits to their health and well-being that nature and open spaces provide, said Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy George Heyman in a written statement.

Last spring, the B.C. government's budget boosted park funding to $83 million, spread out over three years. Thats a far cry from the $100-million annual budget recreation and environmental groups had called for.

The money  which at the time the province said will increase BC Parks capital budget by 57% and operating budget by 22%  will go toward maintaining park operations, constructing new park facilities such as campgrounds, and improving accessibility for visitors with strollers or physical disabilities. Funds will also be directed to protecting park ecology and hiring staff to manage parks.

On Monday, the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change Strategy provided some details on where the first tranche of that money was headed.

In a press release, the ministry said $21.5 million  just under 26 per cent of the total funding  would go to expand and improve campsites, trails and other facilities across 10 parks.

Glacier Media reached out to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy to understand how much money would be spent at each park. On Tuesday, ministry spokesperson David Karn said it is "not possible to provide a breakdown by park at this point."

INTERIOR, CENTRAL AND NORTHERN B.C.

Sun-Oka Provincial Park: On the southeastern shores of Okanagan Lake, this park will receive provincial dollars to re-build paved park trails to improve accessibility.

Babine Mountains Provincial Park: Lying roughly 20 kilometres northeast of Smithers, the ministry says it will invest an undisclosed amount of money to build new trails and upgrade and re-route existing ones.

Lakelse Lake Provincial Park: The province says it will improve accessibility to the Twin Spruce Trail and the Furlong Bay Campground in this park south of Terrace.

LOWER MAINLAND - SEA-TO-SKY CORRIDOR

Cypress Provincial Park: The popular North Shore park will receive an undisclosed amount of the $21.5 million in funding to fix existing trails and improve access to the backcountry.

Garibaldi Provincial Park: The sprawling alpine and forested park will receive funds to develop the loop trail linking Singing Pass to Blackcomb Mountain.

Golden Ears Provincial Park: Known for snaking lines of vehicle traffic during the pandemic, this park north of Maple Ridge will have its parking expanded.

Stawamus Chief Provincial Park: The Squamish outdoor playground will receive money to build new trails, improve existing ones and expand its parking options.

Cultus Lake: South of Chilliwack, the popular lakeside park will prioritize development of the Watt Creek parking lot and improved access to Teapot Hill Trail.

VANCOUVER ISLAND

Miracle Beach Provincial Park: Off Highway 19 between Courtney and Campbell River, this park will get an undisclosed amount of money for a new bicycle flow track and other trail upgrades to make it more accessible.

Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park: This seaside park in Parksville will see improved accessibility for day-use trails.

Karn added that more campsite infrastructure expansion is in the planning stage, and the province is currently consulting First Nations and experts in archaeology and environmental assessment on how to proceed.

Of the $83-million, three-year investment in parks, $15 million will go toward buying new parkland and $2 million has been earmarked to improve high-use trails and facilities across the province.

Karn could also not provide details on how that money would be spent.
Photo: The Canadian Press A dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is given to a recipient at a vaccination site in Vancouver Thursday, March 11, 2021. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will make good today on his election promise to require all federal employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

The core public service, air travel and rail employees and travellers as well as RCMP members must all be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of October, according to Canadas new mandatory vaccine policy.

The federal government announced Wednesday public servants must attest they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Oct. 29, or be put on unpaid administrative leave.

Meanwhile, the government is working with employers of airport businesses, airline and rail companies to develop their own mandatory vaccine policies by the end of the month.

Anyone wishing to hop aboard a plane or train must have received a second dose of a Health Canada-approved vaccine at least 14 days before their travels.

For travellers, there will be a short transition period to allow the unvaccinated to show a negative molecular COVID-19 test instead, though the grace period will last only until Nov. 30.

Senior government officials said during a technical briefing, provided on the condition they not be named, said anyone planning a trip in the coming weeks needs to book their vaccine appointment now.

If youve done the right thing and gotten vaccinated, you deserve the freedom to be safe from COVID-19, to have your kids be safe from COVID, to get back to the things you love. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at a news conference Wednesday.

Approximately 82 per cent of eligible Canadians have received a double dose of Health Canada-approved vaccines, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said at the same briefing.

The new policy will affect more than 267,000 core public-service and RCMP workers, officials said, and will apply even to those who work from home and outside of the country.

They will have to provide an attestation of their vaccine status online. The attestations will be tracked and audited by departments, and managers can ask for proof of vaccination at any time.

Employees who provide false attestations will be punished with disciplinary action, including firings.

People who have had only one dose will be given 10 weeks to get their next one before they are put on unpaid leave.

They will not be allowed back at work until they are either vaccinated or the policy is no longer in effect.

Employees put on unpaid leave will generally not qualify for employment insurance benefits, officials said.

There will be accommodations made for people who are unable to receive a vaccine on grounds protected under the Canadian Human Rights Act, which includes religious and health reasons for not having a full slate of vaccines.

Stephane Aubry, vice-president of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC), said his union is concerned about how those accommodations will play out.

While his union is not planning to challenge the new policy, they may have to file grievances on a case-by-case basis, he said.

This is a concern for us because it's pressure on the employees, and we will defend our members as much as we can, Aubry said in an interview Wednesday.
Photo: Glacier Media

Theres a reason your online order is taking longer than it should to get to your doorstep  theres a global shipping crisis, and unfortunately small businesses are taking the brunt of it.

Major retailers like Costco and the Home Depot have resorted to chartering their own cargo ships and aircraft to maintain their supply chains. IKEA has even begun to buy its own shipping containers to reduce the risk of supply shortages.

But small businesses dont have the resources to charter their own airplanes and cargo ships or to buy their own containers. To make matters worse, shipping companies are prioritizing some large retailers over small businesses because of the global container cargo capacity shortage.

The small businesses that are putting their freight in a container with the freight of 10 other small businesses, depending on the rate theyre prepared to pay, are going to see their product not prioritized necessarily, said Julia Kuzeljevich, director, policy and communications at the Canadian International Freight Forwarders Association. You see that with air freight all the time.

Rapidly escalating shipping cost increases have a greater impact on the financial stability of smaller businesses than their larger multinational counterparts.

Not only are small Canadian businesses having difficulties importing goods, small Canadian exporters are also being priced out of the market.

Robert Lewis-Manning, president of Canadas Chamber of Shipping, said it is more profitable for shippers to send empty containers back to Asia to be refilled with higher priced imports destined for Canada than it is to wait for Canadian exporters to fill those containers in Canada.

Theyre just not getting access to that export capacity like they used to, said Lewis-Manning. Because theres such a demand for imports and the price of [imports] is being driven to new levels, [Canadian exporters] just cant get access to a container.

There are many factors contributing to the shipping squeeze, including shortages of labour, ships and containers, and they are all increasing costs up and down the supply chain.

While travel restrictions were limited to passengers, the loss of passenger travel and the decline in the number of aircraft servicing passenger routes meant that shippers could no longer load the belly of those planes with goods. They consequently turned to other transportation options like rail and sea, and that has added to the supply chain congestion. Shipping costs have risen sharply across the board, especially for air transportation, which Kuzeljevich said has quadrupled.

Meanwhile, port congestion on major trade routes like the transpacific continues to slow container terminal operations. For example, up to 60 container ships per day are waiting to be unloaded at the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex in California. They are consequently waiting as long as three weeks to get a berthing spot.
I am very distressed to learn that because my second vaccine dose is from a different manufacturer than the first, I may not be considered adequately vaccinated to enter the US or other countries.

I was told at the vaccine clinic it did not matter if the doses were mixed. Apparently, that was inaccurate information.

The most ironic thing is my son got his first dose at the same time that I got my second dose and he was given the Pfizer vaccine (the same as my first dose) and I was given Moderna, even though they clearly had both available.

When I asked about it, I was told it was just as effective.

Now I may have to get a third shot in order to travel.

And what if some countries have preferences about manufacturers? Could I be required to have two doses of each just to cover my bases?

I am very fed up with the continued rule changes and surprises.

Corina Riesebos, West Kelowna
Photo: The Canadian Press Prime Minister Justin Trudeau holds a press conference in Ottawa on Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Transportation industry associations say the federal government's development of a national vaccine passport will be vital for airlines to carry out a vaccine mandate for air travellers.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Wednesday that proof of vaccination will be mandatory for people travelling by air and rail by the end of October.

The government said travellers will still be allowed to board with a negative COVID-19 test rather than proof of vaccination until the end of November.

At that point, Trudeau said a vaccination will be required to travel except in extremely limited cases where a medical exemption is granted.

If youve done the right thing and gotten vaccinated, you deserve the freedom to be safe from COVID-19, to have your kids be safe from COVID, to get back to the things you love, Trudeau said at a news conference.

Air Canada, Flair Airlines and VIA Rail were among the operators supporting Wednesday's announcement.

The National Airlines Council of Canada, which represents some of Canada's largest airlines including WestJet and Air Canada, said it has supported a vaccine mandate for travellers since the policy was first announced in August, but a standardized proof of vaccination system across the country needs to be developed quickly.

"We cannot be placing verification solely on operators, there has to be a role from government agencies in this process," said Mike McNaney, president and CEO of NACC.

"From our perspective, a clear priority is for the government to provide standardized proof of vaccination and the delivery of digitized proof of vaccination."

The federal government said it is continuing to work with provinces and territories to develop a pan-Canadian proof of vaccination system, but did not give an update on when it's expected to be complete.

The Canadian Airports Council also welcomed the policy, but said it still has more questions than answers around implementation.

"We have no insight on how the vaccine mandate for travellers will actually work," said CAC President Daniel-Robert Gooch in a statement, questioning whether use of the federal government's existing app will be required to show proof of vaccination, or whether airlines will be asked to verify papers.

"These are critical factors to understand, as it impacts the flow of travellers at airports and the kind of experience our fully vaccinated travellers will have in air travel at a time when we need to rebuild traveller confidence and rebuild our travel and tourism businesses."

Meanwhile, McNaney said it's important the government take a look at which pre-exisiting pandemic measures can be scrapped once vaccination is mandatory.

He noted the aviation sector is now becoming one of the first areas where both customers and employees will need to be vaccinated.

"In May the governments own (COVID-19 advisory panel) recommended the removal of pre-departure PCR testing for the fully vaccinated, a move that would be consistent with the approach adopted by other countries including Germany, France, UK, Denmark," said McNaney.

"The current blanket federal travel advisories also need to be reconsidered, given that the new rules will require air travellers leaving Canada to also be fully vaccinated."
Photo: The Canadian Press NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh speaks during a post-election news conference in Vancouver, on Tuesday, September 21, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he is proud of the party's election campaign, but also disappointed that more MPs were not elected.

At the first meeting of the NDP caucus in Parliament, Singh told his MPs that, though proud of the party's "tough campaign," he was disappointed that so many candidates narrowly missed out.

Singh is appointing Bob Dewar, a veteran NDP political strategist, to lead a big review into what went right and what went wrong with the NDP's campaign. The party gained only one extra seat despite spending $25 million on the election.

Addressing his caucus of 25 MPs for the first time since the election, Singh welcomed five new faces, including Blake Desjarlais, the new MP for Edmonton Griesbach who is the first two-spirit MP.

The NDP leader is also getting feedback from his MPs on the election, and policies for the next Parliament.

He says fighting for Indigenous rights, including good quality affordable housing, combatting climate change and pushing for higher taxes for the super-rich will be priorities for the NDP.
Schools across the country and in Georgia are facing food shortages in their cafeteria. Some of their staples are not coming in fast enough due to supply chain issues and worker shortages.
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 Ca veut dire que jai plus de moto ? A la fin de laudience, ce mercredi apres-midi, Philippe, 51 ans, accuse le coup. Le tribunal vient de le condamner a un stage de sensibilisation a la Securite routiere, une suspension de permis de six mois. Mais surtout, la presidente Clemence...
Chatham, VA (24531)

Today

Sunny this morning. A few showers developing during the afternoon. High around 75F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

Showers early, then clearing overnight. Low 34F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
High school students in the northwest Georgia region had a chance to speak with representatives of Georgia Northwestern Technical Colleges industrial programs about the benefits of learning a skilled trade during Industrial Career Day last Friday at the Whitfield Murray Campus in Dalton.The day was held to expose students to the many possibilities for future employment in the skilled workforce.Being able to safely host an event of this magnitude is a game changer for the students, their families and our area high schools, said Jason Gamel, director of recruitment at GNTC.It helps them learn more about our industrial programs, while they work towards decisions on their future.Approximately 400 people, including high school students from Calhoun High School, Dade County High School, Dalton Academy High School, Dalton High School, Northwest Georgia College and Career Academy, Northwest Whitfield High School, Phoenix High School and Southwest Whitfield High School attended the event.Industrial program directors were on-hand to discuss their programs and provide tours of their labs. There were demonstrations, simulators and hands-on learning activities for the industrial programs offered by GNTC.Being able to make your way through these times can be a challenge, said Mr. Gamel. At GNTC we are successfully helping these students lock in on their future, be essential and make a difference.The industrial labs are housed side by side on Industrial Row on the Whitfield Murray Campus. This provided a centralized location with access to all of the industrial labs on the Dalton campus. Additional industrial programs from other GNTC campuses set up booths outside with activities, games, demonstrations and literature relevant to their programs.Featured GNTC industrial programs included Automation Engineering Technology, Automotive Technology, Construction Management, Diesel Equipment Technology, Electrical Systems Technology, Flooring Production Technician, Industrial Systems Technology, Precision Machining and Manufacturing and Welding and Joining Technology.This is the first of two Industrial Career Days of the year. The second Industrial Career Day will be held on the Floyd County Campus in Rome on Oct. 29.
The Board of Trustees of the Charles H. Coolidge National Medal of Honor Heritage Center (Heritage Center) announced Tuesday that Executive Director Keith Hardison has resigned effective Friday, to accept a position with Andrew Jacksons Hermitage in Nashville as its new director of Interpretation. The Board also announced it has appointed David Currey as its interim executive director until a new executive director is hired.

Board Chairman RADM Noah Long, U.S. Navy (Retired) thanked Mr. Hardison for his service and dedication to the Heritage Center since joining the organization in early 2018.

Throughout his tenure, Mr. Hardison has provided the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center with incredible leadership and guidance as we moved from a bold vision for a new facility in 2016 to opening the doors of a 19,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art facility in February 2020, said Mr. Long. We wish Mr. Hardison continued success in his new position. I believe this transition will provide the Heritage Center with an incredible opportunity to recruit a new leader who can lead this organization going forward and build upon our recent successes and strengths during Mr. Hardisons tenure.

The Board of Trustees has already begun the search for a new executive director. Mr. Currey, who was the lead historian and interpretative designer for the Heritage Centers exhibit gallery and currently serves on the Heritage Centers Board of Trustees, will bring a lifetime of experience leading museums and historical institutions. Currently a principal at Encore Interpretive Design, he is also a documentary filmmaker, historian and interpretive planner who has worked around the world with numerous museums and historic site. Mr. Currey also led the design of the Fort Nashborough History Center, which opened in July 2017 along the banks of the Cumberland River in downtown Nashville. From 2006-2009, Mr. Currey was a member of the Sergeant York Expedition team that located the accurate and artifact-rich Meuse-Argonne battlefield site where Alvin York's Medal of Honor action took place.

Mr. Long said, The appointment of Mr. Currey, with his institutional knowledge of our mission and vast experience with overseeing the day-to-day operations of museums and historic sites, will ensure the ongoing stability for the Heritage Center and our staff as we begin a national search for a new executive director.
Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III is leading a bipartisan coalition of 52 attorneys general expressing strong support for hearings conducted by the U.S. Senate Committee addressing protection and safety of kids and teens using social media.

Attorneys general have been concerned about the harmful impact of social media on the physical, emotional, and mental well-being of young people. Facebooks own internal studies show social media is inflicting harmin the form of increased mental distress, bullying, contemplation of suicide, and other self-harmon a significant number of kids.

All of us- especially those in charge of the safety and security of children and teenagers- deserve to know exactly how social media platforms are attracting and retaining the attention of more young people in order to monetize their business, said General Slatery.

In May 2021, a bipartisan coalition of 44 attorneys general wrote a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg urging the company to abandon its plans to launch a version of Instagram for children under the age of 13. That request was ignored. Last week, in advance of the Congressional hearings, Facebook announced its intent to pause the project. The attorneys general believe the project should be abandoned altogether.

The attorneys general write, More engagement by the user equals more data to leverage for advertising, which equals greater profit. This prompts social media companies to design their algorithms and other features to psychologically manipulate young users into a state of addiction to their cell phone screens.

To read the letter, click here: https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/attorneygeneral/documents/pr/2021/pr21-39-letter.pdf
The Hamilton County Commission will consider a resolution that is a full throttle attack of District Attorney Neal Pinkston for marrying an employee who works in his constitutional office. The folks supporting the resolution are essentially citing inappropriate use taxpayer dollars, and fiduciary responsibly.

But, wait a minute. What about the rest of those using the color of elected office, or taxpayer resources to benefit their family members? Further, is the County Commission alleging through resolution that nepotism is only occurring only in the District Attorneys office?

The Resolution 1021-14 states verbatim, WHEREAS, as a result of said public revelation, members of this county legislative body have requested that the District Attorney General appear before this body to explain the perceived discrepancy between the verbal response he has given to this body and the reported facts as has been publicly disseminated; but said District Attorney General has failed to make himself available for this body to so inquire of him as to said discrepancy; WHEREAS, in the meantime said District Attorney Generals Office is receiving funds as allocated by this county legislative body which are being used in a manner as not fully disclosed to, and/or approved by, this body.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THIS COUNTY LEGISLATIVE BODY INSESSION ASSEMBLED: That those funds allocated in the Hamilton County 2021-2022 General Fund budget to the Hamilton County District Attorneys Office as a supplement to the salaries of various members of the District Attorney Generals staff above described as category #3) shall be suspended upon the passing of this resolution; and that said appropriation remain suspended until the Hamilton County District Attorney General (1) appears before this county legislative body to satisfactorily explain said discrepancy as to any of his immediate family members having their respective salary supplemented by said Hamilton County appropriation, or (2) said District Attorney General remove his wife and brother-in-law from among those individuals on his staff whose salaries are being supplemented by said Hamilton County appropriation.BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT THIS RESOLUTION TAKE EFFECT FROM AND AFTER ITS PASSAGE, THE PUBLIC WELFARE REQUIRING

As I read this, the long and short of the resolution is an order for Neal Pinkston to appear before the County Commission for a grilling by folks with an agenda that has no connection or is motivated by to the public welfare requiring it. The resolution also of threatens to defund or reduce funding of the district attorneys office unless the DA complies.

The resolution language would suggest that the DA is the worst of the worst in nepotism. I assure you nothing could be further from the truth.

A few meetings back, I read that Commissioner Geter asked if similar nepotism situations existed in Hamilton County government and the constitutional offices. That is a reasonable question, considering that this resolution is a direct and blatant attack against DA Neal Pinkston for nepotism.

Do other offices of Hamilton County have questionable relationships and practices? Ya darn right they do. Lets just go through some known situations where county elected have directly or indirectly helped family.

- Sheriff Jim Hammond has employed his son to be the high level manager of IT in a well-paid position. Just helping family.

- Sheriff Jim Hammond created a new legal position just for Coty Wamp. The position was not advertised or did not offer open application or did public competition occur for this position. Just a political favor for a political family.

- In July 2019, Sound Corps Inc. hired Commissioner Tim Boyds daughter as director of development, and during that same fiscal year in 2019, $25,000 of Boyds county discretionary funds, public tax dollars, was transferred to Sound Corps in two installments $20,000, followed by another $5,000. Just helping a wonderful non-profit, after they hired Boyds daughter.

I will stop here for examples, which are plentiful. So, why is DA Pinkston any more guilty than the aforementioned elected officials? There is not a nickel's worth of difference. It is all about using color of office to benefit family. What about policy applied to all. It is so simple, apply county policies uniformly, not with political target motives.

April Eidson

Soddy Daisy

* * *

I have listened and read reports and opinions about nepotism in Hamilton County with great interest. The majority of comments and opinions are disturbing, sad and enhance my overwhelming impression that our society is in a bad place.

Our District Attorney Neal Pinkston thinks nepotism in his office is okay. Some have expressed opinions it is okay in the district attorney's office because it happens in other county offices. Some are of the opinion it is okay in some county offices but not others.

What has happened to basic morals, ethics and common sense? Nepotism is wrong. Particularly, in government where positions are funded with taxpayer money. It is not okay in the district attorney's office and it is not okay in in other county office. It doesn't matter if there is a county-wide policy prohibiting it. It is wrong.

It is sad our elected county officials have not established a county-wide policy prohibiting nepotism. The people of Hamilton County should remove from office any elected official who supports nepotism in any office in the county.

Jerry Yates

* * *

It is important that the public record be accurate, so here are my responses to Mrs. Edison's letter.




During my 34-year legal career, I have had the privilege to practice and to appear before Chattanooga City Council and before Chattanooga City Court Judge Sherry Paty, who has served on the bench for 17 years.

Over the years, I have watched our City Council consistently demonstrate both strong leadership and a sincere focus on doing what is best for our city. Accordingly, I trust Councils decision to eliminate one of the two divisions of Chattanooga City Court. Judge Bean will be missed as he embarks next year on a well-deserved retirement.

In making the corresponding decision to double the workload of Chattanoogas lone, remaining City Court judge, our City Council has acknowledged extraordinary trust and confidence in Judge Paty--and with good cause.

Judge Paty possesses the experience, maturity and judicial temperament necessary to capably manage what could soon exceed twice the Courts current caseload, while still affording every citizen who appears before her the consideration and respect that each of us deserves.

I am certain that Judge Paty will successfully rise to the challenge, and that every Chattanooga citizen who appears before her will continue to receive the benefit of her experience, skill and work ethic.

I will be grateful and thankful to see Judge Paty serve for another term.

Michael C. Mallen, Esq.
According to Weather.coms hourly forecast for Chattanooga, TN, for today, on Wednesday, March 6, (this as of 7 p.m. Tuesday night), during ALL OF THE HOURS on Wednesday and until 7 p.m. on Thursday (!) there will not be ONE hour when there is less than a 50 percent chance of rain in the entire 43-hour span. Think of that  it is incredible! I am no weather man but lets watch! Yes, there is already a flood watch warning in effect. I hope the rain will not be as severe but, as they say in the meteorological trade, the big eye dont lie.

To capitalize on this depressing phenomenon, allow me to reach into our Saturday Funnies basket and toss out a couple of cuties to remind you the sun will come out by Saturday.

(Actually on the Tuesday 7 p.m. forecast the first time the rain chance will dip below 50% from now will be at 7 p.m. on Friday (46%) but as of right now Thursday is also going to be a soggy mess.

Keep the faith  Friday will start out wet but will clear and  glory! -- there is just a 15 percent chance on rain on Saturday

Until Saturday, here are some Funnies 

* * *

THE REASON MEN ARE ALMOST ALWAYS HAPPY

Your last name stays put. The garage is all yours. Wedding plans take care of themselves. Chocolate is just another snack. You can never be pregnant. You can wear a white T-shirt to a water park. You can wear NO shirt to a water park.

Car mechanics tell you the truth. The world is your urinal. You never have to drive to another gas station restroom because this one is just too icky. You don't have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt. Wrinkles add character. Wedding dress - $5,000; Tux rental - $100. People never stare at your chest when you're talking to them.

New shoes don't cut, blister, or mangle your feet. One mood all the time. Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds -- flat. You know stuff about tanks. A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase. You can open all your own jars.

You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness. If someone forgets to invite you, he or she can still be your friend. Your underwear is $8.95 for a three-pack. Two pairs of shoes are more than enough. You almost never have strap problems in public. You are unable to see wrinkles in your clothes.

Everything on your face stays its original color. The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe decades. You only have to shave your face and neck. You can play with toys all your life. One wallet and one pair of shoes - one color for all seasons. You can wear shorts no matter how ugly your legs look.

You can 'do' your nails with a pocket knife. You have freedom of choice concerning growing a mustache. You can do all your Christmas shopping for 25 relatives on December 24 in 25 minutes.

NICKNAME -- If Laura, Kate, and Sarah go out for lunch, they will call each other Laura, Kate and Sarah. If Mike, Dave and John go out, they will affectionately refer to each other as Fat Boy, Bubba, and Wild Man.

EATING OUT -- When the bill arrives, Mike, Dave and John will each throw in $20, even though it's only for $32.50. None of them will have anything smaller and none will actually admit they want change back. When the girls get their bill, out come the pocket calculators.

MONEY -- A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he needs . A woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she doesn't need just because it's on sale.

BATHROOMS -- A man has six items in his bathroom: toothbrush and toothpaste, shaving cream, razor, a bar of soap, and a towel. The average number of items in the typical woman's bathroom is 337. A man would not be able to identify more than 20 of these items.

ARGUMENTS -- A woman has the last word in any argument. Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.

FUTURE -- A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband. A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.

MARRIAGE -- A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesnt. A man marries a woman expecting that she won't change, but she does.

DRESSING UP -- A woman will dress up to go shopping, water the plants, empty the trash, answer the phone, read a book, and get the mail. A man will dress up for weddings and funerals.

NATURAL -- Men wake up as good-looking as they went to bed. Women somehow deteriorate during the night.

OFFSPRING -- Ah, children! A woman knows all about her children. She knows about dentist appointments and romances, best friends, favorite foods, secret fears, and hopes and dreams. A man is vaguely aware of some short people living in the house.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY -- A married man should forget his mistakes. There's no use in two people remembering the same thing!

Share this only to the women you know who have a sense of humor . and to the men who will enjoy reading.

* * *

THE WILL ROGERS OF OUR TIME

You often see a TV anchor ask Senator John Kennedy a question, and one would think he is just a good ole boy from Louisiana but dont be misled. The Louisiana Republican graduated Magna cum Laude from Vanderbilt, has a Law degree from the University of Virginia and a B.C.L. degree from Oxford in England where he was a First-Class Honors graduate.

Here is an insight into Senator Kennedys humor:

* -- Comment about Cuomo lecturing us: It's like a frog calling you ugly".

* -- This election in Ga will be the most important in history. You have nothing to worry about unless you are a taxpayer, parent, gun owner, cop, a person of faith, or an unborn baby!

* -- Senator John Kennedy from Louisiana describes Democrats as the well-intended arugula and tofu crowd.

* -- You can only be young once, but you can always be immature.

* -- Americans are thinking, there are some good members of Congress but we cant figure out what they are good for. Others are thinking, how did these morons make it through the birth canal.

* -- Its as dead as four oclock.

* -- Always follow your heart.....but take your brains with you.

* -- The short answer is No. The long answer is Hell No.

* -- It must suck to be that dumb.

* -- When the Portland mayor's IQ gets to 75, he oughta sell.

* -- I keep trying to see Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer's point of view, but I can't seem to get my head that far up my a**

* -- Go sell your crazy somewhere else...we are all stocked up here.

* -- She has a Billy goat brain and a mockingbird mouth!

* -- On a Wednesday that he trusted most Middle Eastern countries as much as gas station sushi.

* -- You can get a goat to climb a tree, but youd be better off hiring a squirrel.

* -- 1. This has been going on since Moby Dick was a minnow. 2. Never stand between a dog and a fire hydrant.

* -- Our country was founded by geniuses, but it's being run by idiots.

* -- It appears that he might do the right thing, but only when closely supervised and cornered like a rat.

* -- Dumb enough to be a twin of himself.

* -- This is why space aliens won't talk to us.

* -- Democrats are running around like they found a hair in their biscuit.

* -- Chuck Schumer just moo's and follows Nancy Pelosi into the cow chute.

* -- What planet did you parachute in from? 

* -- Just because you CAN sing doesnt mean you should.

* -- Senator John Kennedy on Nancy Pelosi, She can strut sitting down!

* * *

Style, style I say  the mans got style!

royexum@aol.com
Allison, William "Ed" (Cleveland)

William Ed Allison, of Cleveland, the love of my life, went to be with our Heavenly Father on October 2, 2021. Ed passed with peace and grace in the presence of his family at a local hospital, due to Covid complications. He was 86, years young, born on Sept. 12, 1935. One of the things Ed enjoyed most was gathering with family and friends each week and weekend on our houseboat at Lake Ocoee. Many meals, cups of coffee and laughs were shared for more than 30 years. Beautiful memories were made and now treasured. He had a great love for boats, Lake Ocoee, camping and Panama City Beach Florida.



He served his country proudly. At the ripe age of 17 he joined the Air Force. He served in the Korean War and years of active duty, and four years in the reserves.



Family and faith were his landmarks of his life. Jesus was definitely his friend; Ed loved the Lord. He was a member of the Hopewell Baptist Church and served as a deacon earlier in life. He graduated from C.S.C.C. with a degree in criminal justice. He served 30 years with the Tennessee Highway State Patrol. After retiring from the state, he was engaged in several different business ventures. He bought and sold houses and he owned several school bus contracts for the county schools. He drove bus 34 and was better known by kids for years as Mr. Ed.



Ed was an active and engaged husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. His deepest joy was showing love to his family. He was a remarkable example of selflessness; he always had kind words of encouragement. Ed had a deep value for family and was known as a friend to all. He was kind, honest and amiable. Ed will be deeply missed, but forever in our hearts.



He was preceded in death by his first wife, Mary Allison.

Ed is survived by his loving wife and soulmate of 25 wonderful years, Brenda Headrick Allison; children, Pam (David) Earnest, Elise (Jeff) Denniston, of Iowa, Tina(Russ) Carmichael and bonus children, Clay Headrick, of Dalton Ga. and Jon (Kim) Headrick, of Rome, Ga.; grandchildren, Edwin (Brooke) Plank, Chris (Shannon) Cassada, Courtney (Nicholas) Betancourt, Katie (Matt), of Jonesborough, Jacob (Anna) Denniston, of Iowa, Lexie, of New York, Lane Headrick, of Dalton, Hagen Headrick, of Dalton, Tristan Headrick, of Rome, Ga., Lily Headrick, of Rome, Ga. and Jamesen Headrick, of Rome, Ga. He was also blessed with nine great-grandchildren and several other special relatives; and special friends, Dewayne (Melissa) Nannery. Many thanks to his beloved care giver, Tereasa Ballew.



A Celebration of his Life service will be held at Hopewell Baptist Church on Sunday, Oct. 10. Visitation will be from 2-4 p.m., with the service at 4 p.m.



In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in honor of Ed Allison to the Benevolence Fund, Hopewell Baptist Church, 188 Old Georgetown Road NW., Cleveland, Tn. 37312.



The family requests all visitors wear a mask and respect social distancing guidelines.
Walnut Plaza has fully reopened, creating a central gathering space in one of the most popular places in Downtown Chattanooga. The project is the most recently completed component of the Ramble Master Plan, which details a set of standards for downtown spaces and the elements needed to create a new urban pedestrian promenade to connect the already treasured downtown destinations including the Tennessee Aquarium and Hunter Museum.



Designed by WMWA Landscape Architects, the re-envisioned Walnut Plaza highlights solutions that address the challenges of reconfiguring urban spaces to be more accommodating to pedestrians and bikers. At the nexus of the Walnut Street Bridge and Holmberg Bridge, a large oval plaza will allow for a wide variety of uses, including formal and informal gatherings, performances and festivals. The Holmberg Bridge also received a makeover with new lighting and replacement of the glass walkway.



The Plaza renovations incorporated the use of local materials, including Tennessee sandstone stairs, wall caps and pavers with custom wood and steel benches to match the geometry of the oval.



Recently dedicated in the Plaza, The Ed Johnson Memorial by artist Jerome Meadows, is a permanent public art installation that strives to promote racial healing and reconciliation by acknowledging the lynching of Ed Johnson, honoring the courageous work by his attorneys, and recognizing the resulting U.S. Supreme Court case that established federal oversight of state-level civil rights issues.



"For over a century, Ed Johnson's name was associated with shame and guilt. Chattanooga came together in this time of national division and chose truth and honor for Ed Johnson, Styles Hutchens and the other victims of lynching in Hamilton County," said Donivan Brown, chair of the Ed Johnson Memorial Committee.



Additional projects outlined in the Ramble Master Plan will be started in the next few months, including improving pedestrian safety at the crossing of 1st Street and Market Street.



Over 2300 community members provided input in our ONE Riverfront Plan. The new Walnut Plaza reflects those community voices in establishing a sense of place, providing opportunity to learn about our history, along with creating better connections within the Riverfront District. We are excited to continue our work to revitalize, reinvigorate and reimagine the Riverfront over the next few years, said Emily Mack, president .nd CEO of River City Company.



"The Walnut Plaza is a gorgeously reimagined space, welcoming to both visitors and locals alike, grounded in natural materials that highlight the beauty of our region and in a way that embraces the pedestrian," said Mayor Tim Kelly. "I know City of Chattanooga staff brought their creativity, dedication and ingenuity to help envision, finance and construct this civic amenity that will enhance quality of life and place for generations to come, and for that I'm grateful."



The Walnut Plaza renovations were made possible by the City of Chattanooga, Benwood Foundation and Lyndhurst Foundation, with support by River City Company, WMWA Landscape Architects, Chazen - A LaBella Company and The Lighting Practice.
The Hamilton County Health Department announced that 50% of Hamilton County residents are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19.



We are very encouraged by this milestone, said Hamilton County Health Department Interim Health Officer Dr. Fernando Urrego. I am so proud of our community for joining together to get vaccinated to protect one another. To continue this good news, we still need many more people to get vaccinated to stop transmission and protect all of our residents. We recommend that all who are eligible get vaccinated.



This is a great start in our ongoing battle with the pandemic, said County Mayor Jim Coppinger.

But we are only half way to our goal of vaccinating everyone who wants to get a vaccine. I encourage everyone who has not yet been vaccinated to do so. With the winter season approaching the time to act is now to protect not only yourself, but your loved ones, friends and co-workers from the coronavirus.Visit vaccine.hamiltontn.gov to see the Health Departments most up-to-date COVID-19 vaccination calendar. Free transportation to the Tennessee Riverpark vaccination site is available Monday-Friday. Call 423-209-8383 in advance to schedule a ride.I want to applaud the hard work our award-winning Health Department has done to reach this milestone, said Mayor Coppinger. Our health workers have put in long hours, battled the elements and sacrificed family time in the interest of public health. Due to their outstanding efforts vaccinating Hamilton County residents at the Tennessee Riverpark, Enterprise South Nature Park, the CARTA Bus Barn, and health centers and pop-up clinics, we have reached our halfway goal. Now we need everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated in the interest of public health.To slow the transmission of COVID-19, vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals should continue mitigation efforts such as wearing masks, social distancing, and regular hand washing at this time.

Additional Resources
A 24-year old man was shot Tuesday night in Chattanooga.

At approximately 10:01 p.m., Chattanooga Police were advised that an individual had arrived at a local hospital by private vehicle with a gunshot wound. Upon arrival, officers located and confirmed a man was there suffering from a non life threatening gunshot wound.

Officers were unable to determine a location of incident or establish a crime scene. Investigators with the Violent Crimes Unit responded to conduct an investigation.

The victim refused to provide investigators with any information and indicated he did not want to cooperate with an investigation.
The Womens Fund of Greater Chattanooga hosted the annual Voices luncheon during which it awarded a $10,000 grant to Family Promise of Greater Chattanooga. Family Promise plans to use the funds to support their Stabilizing Single Mothers program.

Executive Director of the Womens Fund Erika Burnett said, We are proud to continue to partner with phenomenal organizations across our community such as Family Promise. Their Stabilizing Single Mothers initiative is comprehensive and robust; not only are they meeting the immediate needs of women and their families, but they are providing wrap-around services and support to remove systemic and environmental barriers. When we consider the potential impact of addressing the root causes of these disparities, Family Promise us a shining example of a true change agent.

Eleven area organizations applied for the grant, which was narrowed to three finalists: Beloved Woman, the Chattanooga Area Food Bank and Family Promise of Chattanooga. The Womens Funds Nightingale Network, a collective philanthropy membership group that uses dues to fund annual grants, voted to select the grant recipient. In addition to the grant awarded to Family Promise of Chattanooga, Beloved Woman and the Chattanooga Area Food Bank each received $2,700 grants thanks to a private donor.

More than 250 people attended the event, themed The Power of One, which was held virtually. Sponsors included BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, EPB Fiber Optics, First Horizon and Truist.

The Womens Fund also announced the creation of the Womens Fund Advocacy Institute. I Am an Advocate, a series of five monthly sessions to educate area residents in advocacy action and engagement, is the first program of the Advocacy Institute. Beginning Nov. 2, participants will explore and demystify local and statewide advocacy efforts and opportunities.

The first session Why be an Advocate? will explore why people engage in advocacy and what the outcomes of advocacy can be. Registration is free and open for all sessions at chattanoogawomensfund.org/events.

Its no coincidence that the theme of the Voices luncheon was The Power of One, Ms. Burnett said. Each of us has the potential to improve the lives of women and girls in our region. When we combine our voices, we can impact life-changing policy in our state, which is the type of work the Advocacy Institute intends to do exponentially.

The Womens Fund has a history of influencing policy change since its founding in 2008. During the 2021 Tennessee legislative session, a record 10 bills from the Womens Fund priority list passed in the first year of Tennessees 112th General Assembly. Last session, the Womens Fund wrote a bill to protect donors and distributors of menstrual hygiene products from frivolous liability lawsuits, the reason that many manufacturers gave for not making donations to help fight period poverty. The bill (sponsored by Senator Bo Watson and Rep. Rebecca Alexander) passed unanimously through the Tennessee General Assembly and became law on July 1. The Womens Fund immediately began work by informing partners and period product manufacturers.

During Voices, it was announced that Kotex made a pledge to the National Alliance for Period Supplies, of which the Womens Fund is a member, to donate 8 million tampons across the states of Tennessee and Maine, the only two states with laws of this kind. With 1 in 5 women and girls report missing school or work because they dont have access to or cannot afford period products, this donation will change lives across Tennessee.

Overall, Tennessee ranks 49 out of 50 for issues that affect women and girls, according to the Institute for Womens Policy Research, which ranks the status of women in all 50 states. Tennessee ranks among the worst in the nation in seven areas: political participation, employment and earnings, work and family, poverty and opportunity, reproductive rights, health and well-being, and violence and safety.
SVN | SFR Capital Management, a private commercial real estate investment firm dedicated to the single-family Build-for-Rent housing sector, and RP Homes, a Southeast regional builder, have entered into a joint venture to acquire, lease and stabilize homes across the Southeast. The Guild, a 92-townhome BFR community currently under construction with occupied units in Chattanooga, is the JV portfolios inaugural asset. The partners plan to amass 250-1,000 homes annually, targeting Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia.

"Were excited to move forward and get more communities on the radar with our partnership with RP Homes, and other experienced builders throughout the country, that know local neighborhood markets where theres community demand for rental housing, said Jeff Cline, CEO of SVN | SFR Capital Management. RP Homes understands local residents and is on-point building what prospective renters desire in both attached townhomes and conventional detached single-family homes.

The partnership with RP Homes is SVN | SFRs first direct U.S. homebuilder JV relationship. The capital management firm has been strategically aggressive in recently completing a network of complementary national and regional JV partners from master planned land developers to builders to a national property management firm. These JVs will ensure long-term dedicated SFR/BFR asset production for acquisition for years to come.

About The Guild:

Currently under development with several townhomes occupied, The Guild features spacious, open concept two-, three- and four-bedroom floor plans with one- or two- car attached garages and stylish interior upgrades with an average monthly rent range of $1,800-$2,300. Located in the East Brainerd neighborhood of Chattanooga, the pet-friendly community offers top-tier community amenities including a fitness center, swimming pool, community walking trails, fishing pond, playground, community center and on-site dog parks. According to John Burns Real Estate Consulting, Western Chattanooga/East Brainerd is a desirable area within the MSA with strong rental demand which has grown rapidly over the last decade.

The joint venture plans an additional 500+ homes targeted to begin construction within 10-18 months in the Tennessee market.

Teaming up with SVN | SFR gives us the ability to scale our production faster at less cost and, importantly, deliver new, amenity-rich housing options to eager rental families, said Gabe Thomas, president of RP Homes. Interest in our first rental community, The Guild, has been exceptional. He added, There are several additional rental housing developments in the works that will contribute to fulfilling the affordable housing demand in targeted high growth markets weve identified.
The entire season 2 cast of the 90 Day: The Single Life has officially been announced! The much anticipated discovery+ show is back for season 2 with seven cast members, which have slowly been revealed on 90 Day Fiance Instagram. It appears that this season, all of the most polarizing characters from previous seasons are back. Lets meet the cast!

Jennifer Tarazona and Jesse Meester on 90 Day: The Single Life Season 2 | discovery+

Stephanie Matto

Stephanie Matto on 90 Day: The Single Life Season 2 | discovery+

After the explosive ending to her relationship with her Australian girlfriend in 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days Season4, Stephanie is back on the market and is looking for love. As a bisexual woman, Stephanie hopes to find the right man or woman to help her end her two-year celibacy streak. Will her fear of intimacy and trust issues get in the way of her finding her soulmate?

Syngin Colchester

Syngin Colchester on 90 Day: The Single Life Season 2 | discovery+

The South African native first was introduced to fans when he appeared on 90 Day Fiance Season 7 with Tania Maduro then on Happily Ever After? Season 5. After struggling with differing views regarding marriage, children, and work, he and Tania agreed to go their separate ways. The first step in his journey to gaining independence and finding his true soulmate is moving across the country to start his life in America.

Debbie Johnson

Debbie Johnson on 90 Day: The Single Life Season 2 | discovery+

Best known as Colt Johnsons opinionated mom, Debbie Johnson has been a staple on the show since 90 Day Fiance Season 6, where she went head-to-head with her sons wife, Larissa. The 64-year-old has been single since 2008, when her husband Harley Johnson died. Since then, it has just been her and Colt. However, now that Colt and his wife, Vanessa Guerra, are starting their life together, Debbie is now looking for someone to spend her twilight years with.

Natalie Mordovseva

Natalie Mordovtseva on 90 Day: The Single Life | discovery+

37-year-old Ukrainian native, Natalie Mordovtseva, wants to find love, settle down, and start a family. Natalie was first featured on 90 Day Fiance, Season 7 and 8 with Mike Youngquist. They got married on the 90th day of her K-1 visa, and the relationship only got worse from there. At the end of Happily Ever After? Season 6, Natalie had left Mike and moved on to her new life in Florida. Is she going to be able to find love again after her toxic marriage to Mike?

Big Ed Brown

Big Ed Brown on 90 Day: The Single Life | discovery+

The Single Life Season 1 cast member Big Ed Brown is back. The polarizing character first appeared on 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days Season 4 with his then-girlfriend, Rosemarie Rose Vega. He then tried for love again with his friend, Liz Woods. However, it seems hes unlucky in love. Big Eg has attended both Tell-All episodes as a single man. Will the outcome be different this time?

Jesse Meester

Jesse Meester on 90 Day: The Single Life

28-year-old Jesse Meester first appeared on Before the 90 Days Season 1 and 2 while dating Darcey Silva. The relationship crashed a burned on in the streets of New York City during the filming of the Tell-All episode. Five years later, Jesse is working and living in Russia. Hes met a fellow Before The 90 Days cast member, Jennifer Tarazona, and thinks that she could be the one.

Jeniffer Tarazona

Jennifer Tarazona on 90 Day: The Single Life | discovery+

The 26-year-old Colombia native was first introduced to audiences when she appeared on Before the 90 Days when dating Tim Malcolm. Since then, she broke off her engagement with Tim and has been in the dating game until she met Jesse. However, drama ensues when Jesse travels across the world to meet her, to find find out that the model is dating another man locally.

The trailer for 90 Day: The Single Life teases plenty of drama, arguments, and connections. Will these 90 Day Fiance alumni be able to find love finally? Season 2 of The Single Life premieres on November 12th on discovery+.

RELATED: 90 Day: The Single Life Season 2: Fans Are Not Happy About Stephanie Mattos Return to Franchise
On Oct. 5, Caelynn Miller-Keyes and Dean Unglert will return to the beach in the Bachelor in Paradise Season 7 finale. The Bachelor Nation alums are still together about two years after season 6. Then recently, Dean revealed that BIP producers actually wanted him to propose to Caelynn while filming the shows current season. So will Caelynn and Dean get engaged or married on Bachelor in Paradise 2021? Heres what we know.

Caelynn Miller-Keyes and Dean Unglert are still together but not married now after Bachelor in Paradise

Caelynn Miller-Keyes and Dean Unglert in Bachelor in Paradise 2021 | Craig Sjodin/ABC via Getty Images

RELATED: Bachelor in Paradise Finale Spoilers 2021: Reality Steve Updates Couples Who Are Still Engaged

In case you need a refresher, Caelynn and Dean met on Bachelor in Paradise Season 6. The reality stars decided to leave together without an engagement midway through their cycle. Then Dean and Caelynn continued dating outside of The Bachelor bubble.

Meanwhile, many Bachelor Nation fans have been wondering whether Caelynn and Dean are engaged or married now. The two wear rings and reportedly went through a commitment ceremony about a year ago. But it seems Dean and Caelynn are not legally married.

Dean Unglert says BIP producers wanted him to propose to Caelynn Miller-Keyes

Say it ain't so! pic.twitter.com/FR1FowUPnv  Bachelor in Paradise (@BachParadise) October 5, 2021

RELATED: Bachelor in Paradise: Serena Pitt Says Kendall Longs Return Strengthened Her Relationship With Joe Amabile

Now, Dean and Caelynn will return to the beach for the Bachelor in Paradise Season 7 finale. The couple will tell the current BIP cast that the summer spinoff has come to an end, and they need to start making big decisions. Meanwhile, Dean teased his appearance with Caelynn when speaking on the Help! I Suck at Dating podcast, and the reality star revealed the producers wanted them to get engaged on the show.

I think I can share this. I dont see why I wouldnt be able to, Dean said. When we were down there, the producers pulled me aside, and they were like, Hey Dean. You should totally propose to Caelynn on the last day of the show.

Of course, Dean teased his cameo with Caelynn even further, noting that fans will have to tune into the BIP finale. But when the reality star shared his reaction to the potential proposal, he hinted that he probably doesnt get engaged.

I was like, Are you serious? Youre telling me this, like, literally the day before were supposed to go down and film this episode? Dean said. So the producers are not bashful when it comes to trying to convince people to propose.

When will Caelynn Miller-Keyes and Dean Unglert get married?

I live for the applause, applause, applause pic.twitter.com/yuvRowDMLk  Bachelor in Paradise (@BachParadise) October 3, 2021

RELATED: Bachelor in Paradise: Becca Kufrin Explains the Ivan Hall, Alexa Caves, and Chelsea Vaughn Debacle

While Caelynn and Dean probably wont tie the knot on Bachelor in Paradise Season 7, it seems they have thought about a wedding in the future. In another episode of Help! I Suck at Dating, Dean revealed he has talked about getting married to Caelynn at Lake Como, Italy. Then in the new episode of the podcast, Dean shared they plan to move abroad when their dog, Pappy, dies.

Caelynn and I are really strongly considering when we move abroad to consider living in Italy for, like, six months, Dean said. We agreed mutually, when Pappy dies is when well finally move abroad.

Pappys 12. He was just diagnosed with dementia, he continued. Hes going to die soon, and were hoping to give him a good couple of months, years, whatever it takes. But once that happens, we want to move to Italy. We want to try living in Japan. We want to try living in South America.

Whatever Caelynn and Dean decide to do next, many Bachelor Nation fans are just hoping to see the two find their happily ever after. So stay tuned.
The Big Bang Theory alum Mayim Bialik is now a steady presence on Jeopardy!. Taking over guest hosting duties after the ousting of executive producer Mike Richards, Bialik has shown some serious chops when it comes to manning the quiz board. Jeopardy! fans want to know more about the Call Me Kat star, including details on her heritage.

Mayim Bialik | FOX via Getty Images

Mayim Bialik is proud of her Jewish heritage

According to Kveller, Bialik is a second-generation Jewish immigrant whose grandparents came from Poland, Hungary, and then-Czechoslovakia. After being named a host of Jeopardy! prime time in August, the actor spoke proudly of her grandparents immigrating to the U.S.

My grandparents fled the pogroms of Eastern Europe with barely anything to their name and started a new life here with no certainty, no support and no idea where their lives would lead, she told the Jewish Journal. My parents were born during WWII and scraped by and fought for every cause they came in contact with as they navigated a new culture and language.

Bialik shared that her upbringing was rooted in her heritage, which she values and embraces to this day.

They raised me to believe in my Jewish faith and culture, the Emmy nominee explained. They taught me to have a personal relationship with a complicated God who holds me close when Im scared or uncertain or alone. I carry these struggles, this history and my familys bravery and moxie as I embark on this new chapter of my career.

RELATED: Jeopardy! Guest Host Mayim Bialik Comments on the Game Show Drama: Its Definitely Been Stressful

Jeopardy! hosts clothing reflect her background

Kveller reports that Bialik comes from a Reform Jewish family, but now considers herself modern Orthodox. Her tailored and more conservative attire on Jeopardy! falls in line with her Orthodox practices, as well as her academic studies as a neuroscientist.

This is actually something that I felt instantly really passionate about, she remarked in a Jeopardy! video. I really just wanted to look like the academic that I was trained to be. And to me, that does mean a certain amount of formality and decorum.

Bialik includes a nod to her heritage in each ensemble when shes at the iconic Jeopardy! lectern.

Heres a fun secret: I wore a Jewish star in every episode of Jeopardy! that I guest hosted, Bialik revealed. Sometimes a pin, sometimes a ring and most often, one of two hidden Mogen Dovids. One of my outfits featured earrings from The City of David in Jerusalem, which were unearthed in a dig in recent years. I find ways to maintain my sense of Jewishness wherever I go. And its especially important to me to do that on such a public stage.

RELATED: Jeopardy!: Why Mayim Bialik Chose a Specific Wardrobe for Guest Hosting the Show

Mayim Bialik is named after her grandmother

The Jeopardy! stars full name is Mayim Chaya Bialik, after her grandmother, Maryam. Mayims name means water in Hebrew, according to Kveller. Her middle name, Chaya, means alive in Hebrew.

Bialik has two sons  Miles, 15, and Frederick, 12  from her previous marriage to Michael Stone. She has raised her kids with some treasured Jewish traditions, such as saying The Shema at bedtime.

I still try to sing the Shema to them, Bialik said in 2019. I remember that I used to watch their eyes shift from blinking, to heavy lids, to closing and fluttering, to closing completely for the night, when I used to pray for their souls to be watched over as they slept.

Watch Bialik on Jeopardy! through November 5, 2021.
Psychological horror dramas are popular at A24 Films. Audiences expect to see hauntingly gorgeous imagery and a peculiar story. Hereditary, Midsommar, The Witch, and The Lighthouse all succeeded in doing so. Valdimar Johannssons Lamb is joining the distributors list of slow-burn horror dramas. Star Noomi Rapace recently expressed her passion for the project and how she has been yearning for a role such as this.

Lamb actor Noomi Rapace stars in the slow-burn folk horror movie

Lamb follows the childless married couple Maria (Rapace) and Ingvar (Hilmir Snr Gunason). They live a simple, quiet life on a farm in Iceland. Doing chores around the farm consumes their days. They spend many hours tending to the animals. However, there are clear signs that tensions loom underneath the surface.

The sudden arrival of a lamb-human hybrid child shocks Maria and Ingvar. They decide to name her Ada and raise her as their own child. This new family life has brought the married couple much closer together. They have finally found happiness. However, unexpected roadblocks threaten their new-found paradise that could unravel everything.

This Lamb role is what Noomi Rapaces entire being has asked for

Noomi Rapace | A24 Films

Rapace recently discussed Lamb with an audience at the Beyond Fest West Coast premiere during a post-screening Q&A. An audience member asked her what inspired her to take part in the film. Rapace recalled the story about how Johannsson never pitched her on the movie, but just left with her a packet to explore the materials on her own.

I started looking at those kind of disturbing and beautiful images and they just burned a mark in me, Rapace remembered. I felt like I was kind of lost and found. I think that happens very rarely that you feel this immediate connection. Not just with the character, but with the whole story and the universe. I felt like Ive been waiting for this, this is something that my entire being has been asking for.

She continued: So, it was not a question of if I should do it. I was just already doing it. From that point, we started conversations and a lot of the conversations were just images sent back and forth because he doesnt talk much. He uses images. (Laughs)

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo movies brought Rapace into the mainstream. She also later starred in Prometheus and Tom Clancys Jack Ryan. However, Lambs Maria is the type of character that shes been truly waiting for.

Returning to Icelandic roots

Rapace was asked later in the Q&A to expand upon her answer regarding what drew her into the role. She was born in Sweden, but she moved to Iceland at 5 years old. The actor explained how Lamb felt like a return back to her roots.

It was a combination of, I moved to Iceland when I was 5 and I always felt like an outsider and a weirdo, Rapace said. I remember coming there and it was like, I belong to this country. I felt embraced in nature. It is the character. You cant hide. Whatevers going on in you will come out there, so if you want to avoid some things, you shouldnt go there. But, I always felt that its a country and theres a very strong energy there that forces me to confront myself and it kind of brought me back to my roots and felt like I peeled off lots of layers of behaviors and half-truths that I didnt need.

She concluded: Also to work with a filmmaker like Valdimar [Johannsson], who pays so much attention to details and is so interested in human nature and who we are. Like a deep study. I felt like I could just be pure somehow, so its a combination of different things. But definitely for me, to go to the most honest place in myself.

A24 Films Lamb plays exclusively in theaters Oct. 8.

RELATED: What Happened to the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo Movies?
Eminem is a rapping legend and suffers no fools in his feuds with artists in and outside his genre. The most significant and most prolonged was his beef with fellow rapper Machine Gun Kelly. The rivalry spanned a decade, and in one of the several diss songs Eminem made, he mentioned that Machine Gun Kelly is a devil worshipper. Is MGK religious? His parents were missionaries.

Machine Gun Kelly | Getty Images

Eminem called MGK a devil worshipper in a diss track

The rap industry is cutthroat, and to advance, some rappers have had to get into feuds with others to advance their careers. For MGK, getting into a feud with renowned Eminem might have seemed like a bold and risky move, but others speculated it was brilliant in the end.

MGKs career began in the late 2000s after he caught the attention of some music bigwigs with his mixtapes. His career began in 2006, but it wasnt until his supposed feud with Eminem, aka Marshall Mathers, that his career seemed to take off.

The feud between the two began when MGK seemingly commented about Eminems daughter Hailie. At the time, Hailie was only 16 years old, and although Eminem didnt say anything about it, it seemed as though he tried to blacklist MGK from some of his shows.

This didnt sit well with MGK, who ended up making a diss track talking about Eminems self-proclaimed God status. The diss track poked Eminem, who fired back with Not Alike in his 2018 album Kamikaze. The song fired shots at MGKs name and warned him to keep his daughters name out of his mouth.

The issue continued with MGK firing back with Rap Devil, a take on Eminems Rap God. MGK took shots at Eminem in the song, calling him paranoid for paying millions for security a year. Eminem then slammed MGK in an interview but refused to continue the conversation, saying he didnt want to give the MGK more fame.

However, he went after MGK hard in his song KILLSHOT, clarifying that Eminem didnt aspire to be like MGK. Later MGK claimed that he apologized to Eminem. In his 2020 song Unaccommodating, the latter said that the war between him and MGK was over, saying, Im God, and the Lord forgives even the devil worshipers.

Is he religious? His parents were missionaries

i had plans for the one year anniversary of Hotel Diablo today.



that album was everything i wanted to say and i know its close to my fans



but my father took his last breath this morning, and ive never felt a pain this deep in my life.



im setting my phone down.

love you.  blonde don (@machinegunkelly) July 6, 2020

MGKs parents were missionaries, and their involvement with the church saw them move around a lot. They lived in Egypt, Germany, and Chicago before settling in Denver when the rappers mother left. MGK began taking an interest in rapping after listening to DMX, Ludacris, and Eminem.

His father left for a while, and the rapper stopped attending school. He began making a name for himself by roasting older classmates. In 2005 MGKs father returned to take him to Kuwait, but they had to relocate back to Cleveland, where MGK began attending Shaker Heights High School. According to E! Online, MGK had a rough upbringing with his father, who was extremely religious and extremely strict.

MGKs upbringing caused him to turn to drugs but hes seeking help

MGK and his father had a tumultuous relationship, and his upbringing caused him to rebel and turn to drug use, which became a problem for him. The rapper admitted that he became addicted to Adderall and dependent on it.

However, he said that he has been attending therapy to work out his issues. In an interview with Now You See Me actor Dave Franco, MGK said his new drug of choice is happiness and commitment to the art.

RELATED: How Machine Gun Kelly Got His Name and Why His Feud with Eminem Might Be His Greatest Career Move Yet
Kevin OLeary is a successful Canadian businessman who is best known for his role on the television show Shark Tank, where investors are looking to team up with entrepreneurs to invest in their businesses. Over the years, OLeary has earned the nickname Mr. Wonderful because of his no-nonsense advice and quick negotiation tactics to make money. OLeary is always looking for new ways to invest, and when it comes to cryptocurrency, hes all inif U.S. regulators decide to step in and take control first.

Kevin OLeary | Getty Images

OLearys role in investing on Shark Tank

Shark Tank wasnt OLearys first adventure into television. Before joining other investors on Shark Tank, he was also featured as an investor on a Canadian show called Dragons Den that had a similar format. He quickly stood out as a person who didnt tiptoe around an issue, primarily when investing his own money. He was seen as a considerable asset for Shark Tank.

OLeary has been on the show since 2009 and, in that time, has made several significant business deals with entrepreneurs. Some of his most notable investments include Groovebook and Talbott Teas. Both brands were eventually sold to more prominent companies, making the entrepreneurs and OLeary significant profits for the initial investment.

The other reason that OLeary stands out from the other sharks on the show is that he prefers to make deals where he is giving the entrepreneurs loans instead of making flat investments. While this tactic is seen to some as trying to profit indefinitely, many entrepreneurs have taken deals with him anyway.

An advocate for regulation in cryptocurrency

Deal flow, investments, and my perspective on disruptive innovation.

My interview with @renatolcapelj @Benzinga https://t.co/TjpenvQM7I  Kevin O'Leary aka Mr. Wonderful (@kevinolearytv) September 1, 2021

Cryptocurrency is still in its wild west days when it comes to finding investors. As OLeary has stated, no one wants to be cowboys when investing in cryptocurrency. OLeary is calling for U.S. financial regulators to come in and set some ground rules. OLeary wants to make sure that there are regulations regarding cryptocurrency being a financial investment, and he also wants regulators to have some oversight over these types of transactions.

The reason that cryptocurrency is still not regulated is that digital assets are not currently classified as securities, which would make it subject to regulatory oversight. The SEC Chairman Gary Gensler is asking Congress to take action on this, providing the Securities and Exchange Commission the authority to step into that position.

OLeary believes in the possibilities but is waiting for better oversight

I want crypto, I want to have an allocation of around 7%, and I dont want it to be just in bitcoin, ABC's 'Shark Tank' Investor and OShares ETF Chairman @kevinolearytv says. Also talks about his partnership with crypto exchange FTX with @ftx_us President @Brett_FTXUS: pic.twitter.com/ad6jq8HOVI  Yahoo Finance (@YahooFinance) September 16, 2021

When it comes to investing in cryptocurrency, OLeary is eager to get involved, although he wont until regulations have been set with the government and financial institutionsand OLeary isnt the only one waiting in the wings. In an interview with CNBC, OLeary said: I cant afford to be offside. I cannot afford to be non-compliant, OLeary said. If the regulator finally allowed financial services companies to call it an asset, put it into an ETF in the United States  like they have in Canada and other countries  Id figure thered be another trillion dollars worth of buying into bitcoin. And we dont have that yet, but thats the opportunity.

However, some other investors dont want bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to belong to ETFs because the digital currency was created first to avoid jumping through these hoops to invest in something. OLeary and other top investors are still waiting to see what will happen next.

RELATED: What Shark Tank Star Kevin OLeary Says About Diet and Cosmetic Products: No Amount of Botox Beats Money in the Bank
Spooky season is here, as many television channels are well into their Halloween setlist of movies. Korean drama and movies fans have nothing to fear as the Asian streaming platform Viki created their list of must-watch K-dramas, movies, and foreign content to watch for Halloween. These Halloween dramas and movies range from apocalyptic horror, crime, fantasy, and the supernatural.

K-drama fans will recognize many of the titles from the list, like Sell Your Haunted House to a fan-favorite, Tale of the Nine-Tailed. Spooki Viki also includes new watch-worthy dramas from Mainland China, Taiwan, and Japan to bite into.

Tell Me What You Saw, The Living Dead, and Scholar Who Walks the Night Korean and Chinese drama and movie | via Viki

A popular zombie apocalypse movie is among the top must-watch on the Viki list

The dramas and movies in the Spooki Viki list are based on popularity and most-watched. In the number one spot is the highly acclaimed zombie movie Train to Busan. The 2016 action-horror stars South Korean actor Gong Yoo as Seo Seok-woo. The storyline entails a zombie outbreak as Seok-woo travels by train with his daughter. Train to Busan became a sensation in the horror genre and will soon get an American remake.

Part of the Viki list is Train to Busans standalone sequel movie, Peninsula. A soldier and his team are to retrieve a large sum of money from the abandoned Korean peninsula now inhabited by zombies.

The list also includes a movie by K-drama actor Park Seo-joon. The Divine Fury stars Park as an MMA fighter who finds himself plagued with bizarre nightmares and a mark on his hand. After seeking help from a priest, he faces impending doom as they must stop an evil demon from rising.

The Spooki Viki is full of non-stop Halloween K-drama content

RELATED: The Raincoat Killer: Chasing a Predator in Korea: Plus 4 Other Netflix Crime Series

K-drama fans have the ultimate setlist of dramas to watch for the Halloween season. Spooki Viki has a plethora of Halloween dramas ranging from chilling murder crime thrillers, fantasy, and the supernatural. A bonus is Korean Ghost Stories-2008, where actors recreate terrifying ghost stories from folklore and legends.

Some of the K-dramas on Vikis list are classics like Tale of the Nine-Tailed, centered around a gumiho and fated love. Fantasy-historical K-dramas, The Scholar Who Walks the Night and Tale of Arang take fans back in time with ghosts and vampires. The 2021 K-drama Sell Your Haunted House will intrigue fans of SurrealEstate as it chronicles a real-estate agent who eradicates properties with trapped spirits.

Fans of 2PMs Taecyeon can also binge-watch his most recognized drama, Bring It On Ghost. The extensive list by Viki includes some of the most talked-about crime dramas involving spine-chilling serial killers. Voice 4, Tell Me What You Saw, Kill It, and The Culprit all entail the brutal storyline of hunting down a mad killer before it is too late. According to Soompi, the Voice K-drama has multiple seasons to binge and has one of the most memorable killers.

The Living Dead is a Mainland China movie drama about evil spirits

RELATED: Hellbound: Netflix Horror K-Drama Release Date, Plot, and Everything We Know

Drama, fantasy, thrill, and the supernatural are not limited to only South Korean content. Spooki Viki includes content from mainland China, Japan, Taiwan, and more. The Living Dead is a Chinese supernatural period movie. If youre looking for a good crime drama, The Devotion of Suspect X centers around a character helping his neighbor cover up a crime.

The Taiwanese movie 76 Horror Bookstore is the definition of suspense for the Halloween season. The movie brings to life terrifying horror tales in four segments. The Japanese drama Influence is only five episodes. Yuri Totsuka (Kanna Hashimoto) has a falling out with her friend. When her friend is attacked, Yuri steps in to help. In a horrible twist, Yuri gets involved in a murder by accident.

Watch the Spooki Viki setlist here.
Researchers measured the mechanical forces applied to break a bond between carbon monoxide and iron phthalocyanine, which appears as a symmetrical cross in scanning probe microscope images taken before and after the bond rupture.

The team used a high-resolution atomic force microscope (AFM) operating in a controlled environment at Princetons Imaging and Analysis Center. The AFM probe, whose tip ends in a single copper atom, was moved gradually closer to the iron-carbon bond until it was ruptured. The researchers measured the mechanical forces applied at the moment of breakage, which was visible in an image captured by the microscope. A team from Princeton University, the University of Texas-Austin and ExxonMobil reported the results in a paper published Sept. 24 in Nature Communications.

It's an incredible image - being able to actually see a single small molecule on a surface with another one bonded to it is amazing, said coauthor Craig Arnold, the Susan Dod Brown Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and director of the Princeton Institute for the Science and Technology of Materials (PRISM).

The fact that we could characterize that particular bond, both by pulling on it and pushing on it, allows us to understand a lot more about the nature of these kinds of bonds  their strength, how they interact  and this has all sorts of implications, particularly for catalysis, where you have a molecule on a surface and then something interacts with it and causes it to break apart, said Arnold.

Nan Yao, a principal investigator of the study and the director of Princetons Imaging and Analysis Center, noted that the experiments also revealed insights into how bond breaking affects a catalysts interactions with the surface on which its adsorbed. Improving the design of chemical catalysts has relevance for biochemistry, materials science and energy technologies, added Yao, who is also a professor of the practice and senior research scholar in PRISM.

In the experiments, the carbon atom was part of a carbon monoxide molecule and the iron atom was from iron phthalocyanine, a common pigment and chemical catalyst. Iron phthalocyanine is structured like a symmetrical cross, with a single iron atom at the center of a complex of nitrogen- and carbon-based connected rings. The iron atom interacts with the carbon of carbon monoxide, and the iron and carbon share a pair of electrons in a type of covalent bond known as a dative bond.

Yao and his colleagues used the atomic-scale probe tip of the AFM instrument to break the iron-carbon bond by precisely controlling the distance between the tip and the bonded molecules, down to increments of 5 picometers (5 billionths of a millimeter). The breakage occurred when the tip was 30 picometers above the molecules  a distance that corresponds to about one-sixth the width of a carbon atom. At this height, half of the iron phthalocyanine molecule became blurrier in the AFM image, indicating the rupture point of the chemical bond.

The researchers used a type of AFM known as non-contact, in which the microscopes tip does not directly contact the molecules being studied, but instead uses changes in the frequency of fine-scale vibrations to construct an image of the molecules surface.

By measuring these frequency shifts, the researchers were also able to calculate the force needed to break the bond. A standard copper probe tip broke the iron-carbon bond with an attractive force of 150 piconewtons. With another carbon monoxide molecule attached to the tip, the bond was broken by a repulsive force of 220 piconewtons. To delve into the basis for these differences, the team used quantum simulation methods to model changes in the densities of electrons during chemical reactions.

The work takes advantage of AFM technology first advanced in 2009 to visualize single chemical bonds. The controlled breaking of a chemical bond using an AFM system has been more challenging than similar studies on bond formation.

It is a great challenge to improve our understanding of how chemical reactions can be carried out by atom manipulation, that is, with a tip of a scanning probe microscope, said Leo Gross, who leads the Atom and Molecule Manipulation research group at IBM Research in Zurich, and was the lead author of the 2009 study that first resolved the chemical structure of a molecule by AFM.

By breaking a particular bond with different tips that use two different mechanisms, the new study contributes to improving our understanding and control of bond cleavage by atom manipulation. It adds to our toolbox for chemistry by atom manipulation and represents a step forward toward fabricating designed molecules of increasing complexity, added Gross, who was not involved in the study.

The experiments are acutely sensitive to external vibrations and other confounding factors. The Imaging and Analysis Centers specialized AFM instrument is housed in a high-vacuum environment, and the materials are cooled to a temperature of 4 Kelvin, just a few degrees above absolute zero, using liquid helium. These controlled conditions yield precise measurements by ensuring that the molecules energy states and interactions are affected only by the experimental manipulations.

You need a very good, clean system because this reaction could be very complicated  with so many atoms involved, you might not know which bond you break at such a small scale, said Yao. The design of this system simplified the whole process and clarified the unknown in breaking a chemical bond, he said.
Memorial service for Kevin Hair, 65, of Chickasha, OK will be held at 2:00pm, Saturday, November 13, 2021 at the Southern Oaks Church of Christ in Chickasha. Floyd Kevin Hair was a well loved father, son and brother. He was such a good brother-in-law that he just had to be called "brother." 
Every week, in the front lobby, the secretary of the church I attended in kindergarten updated the archive of sermon recordings. This was in the early 1990s, so the archive was a spice rack of cassette tapes, with maybe two or three copies for each sermon, in case multiple homebound church members wanted to listen simultaneously.

That sort of care for those who cant make it to church on Sundaywhether occasionally or long-term, due to old age, chronic illness, or disabilityis uncontroversial. Most churches have long since moved past cassettes to a podcast format or YouTube or CDs, but the basic idea of using technology to bring at least the sermon to those who cant worship in person is here to stay, and so it should be. Though not a sufficient fulfilment of our duties on its own, its easily defensible as an outworking of the Christian responsibility to care for the sick (Matt. 25:36), preach the word (2 Tim. 4:2), and look after orphans and widows in their distress (James 1:27).

But what about conducting churchor, at least, its group worship and teachingon Facebook? Many congregations tried this or something similar for the first time during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Facebook reported that the week of Easter 2020, when pandemic shutdowns were just becoming widespread was, the biggest for group video calls on Messenger and the most popular week of Facebook Live broadcasts from spiritual Pages, ever. People seemed to take quickly to its ways of connecting when separated by COVID-19.

On Facebook, churches can form groups or pages. They can host chats and post memes that members and followers will see and respond to. With a good enough internet connection and small enough congregations, they can do Facebook Live sessions, which are like video calls. They can plan events and recommend books, videos, and media.

And Facebook, more than other major social networks, is deliberately courting religious use. The site is testing a prayer request feature, which seems only to differ from regular posts in groups in that you can respond by clicking an I prayed button instead of liking it. Facebook is also working directly with some denominations and megachurches, hoping to make faith a steady new source of traffic and ad revenue.

Reading up on Facebooks religious outreach, I was surprised by how positive pastors and other faith leaders were when interviewed about this integration of worship, congregational community, and social media. Some added caveats about misuse of technology or privacy concerns, but they largely welcomed it as a valuable tool for everyday church life. Some even seem to think, as televangelist Pat Robertson once said of television, that it would be folly for the church not to get involved with the most formative force in America, that the message is the same, [and] the delivery can change.

That thinking is misguided. For all its practical uses in extraordinary circumstances like the pandemic or as a means of including and ministering to those who physically cannot come to services, social media as a space for ordinary group worship will do us more harm than good.

Facebookand other social media sitesare not simply the next evolution of the cassette ministry or a convenient online centralization of logistics and worship. Their formative power isnt neutral.

The medium will meaningfully reframe or outright change the messagechiefly, I suspect, by trivializing it and pulling our attention away.

Culture critic Neil Postman wrote Amusing Ourselves to Death in 1985, when TV was the medium under scrutiny. Postman wasnt a Christian, nor could he know about social media. Still, his chapter on televised church (containing the above quote from Pat Robertson) offers three prescient warnings Christians need as we consider a new medium for worship.

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The first is the simplest: It is gross technological naivete, Postman wrote, to imagine the message of the church will be unchanged by television, because not all forms of discourse can be converted from one medium to another. We realize this in other contexts, recognizing, for example, that singing in your car alone is not the same as singing with a congregation.

This is also true of social media. The exact same worship service, if presented as a Facebook Live video, is substantively different than it would be if experienced in person. The words may be identical, but the message is transformed by its context. That brings me to the second warning:

Putting church services on social media is inherently disorienting, and we may forget that true worship of the triune God, maker of the universe, shouldnt have to compete for our attention with the inane memes, political screeds, and endless scroll of frivolity we encounter at the same time and place on Facebook. Wed never decorate our sanctuaries with Amazon ads and crude cartoons, but thats what worship services are surrounded with on Facebook.

If we proclaim Jesus is Lord on Facebook, rather than in person, the words wont change, but the meaning will. The medium puts that declaration of faith on a level with Vote for this candidate and Buy this shirt and Get likes for sharing this meme.

None of that changes Jesus, of course. The difference has to do with us and how we process messages. Maintaining focus on Christ is already an enormous challenge of our time, both in the big sense of having undivided, ultimate loyalty to Jesus and also in the smaller sense of keeping our hands off our phones for two seconds to do somethinganythingpertaining to God.

Its not impossible, of course, for God to call people to himself through a deeply flawed medium, but neither is it wise to deliberately surround worship with distraction when we have more than enough distraction as it is.

People will eat, talk, go to the bathroom, do push-ups or any of the things they are accustomed to doing in the presence of [a] screen, Postman wrote of TV worship services. This rings embarrassingly true from my experience of pandemic-time Zoom church, which was better than nothing. But it was no substitute for meeting face to face, so that our joy may be complete (2 John 1:12).

Social media is designed for triviality and distraction, to help advertisers and platforms profit in the attention economy, and our behavior while consuming it reflects that fact.

My third warning is closely related to the freedom from good constraints that screen-bound worship brings: The viewer is at all times aware that a flick of the switch will produce a different and secular event on the screen, Postman noted. That constant choice is a powerful incentive for church to become less about what we need than what we wantwhatever will keep us actively listening, whatever will prevent our scrolling onward.

I can slip away any time I like, unconstrained by even the mild awkwardness of walking out of the sanctuary while the preachers still speaking. The constraints we feel in person dont negate our ability to choose what we do. But others presence can be a powerful pressure for our good. We need the peer pressure, frankly, to keep us engaged in worship.

Im not saying that I think online church would be a perfect substitute for in-person church if someone were sitting quietly in a beautiful setting with the church service maximized and ad-free. Undoubtedly, weve all realized by now that a church service without face-to-face time or group singing isnt enough. But we also need to hear about the medium of Facebook or other itself as a problem.

The temptations arent only for those watching, though. An online service tempts teachers to back off from take up your cross (Luke 9:23) and lean into Please just keep Facebook open, and please dont browse Twitter or email on your phone. It makes Christianity less demanding and serious, Postman thought, and more easy and amusing  another kind of religion altogether.

[ This article is also available in espanol. ]
Hillsong Church founder Brian Houston will plead not guilty to illegally concealing alleged child abuse by his father, his lawyer told a court on Tuesday.

Houston did not appear at Sydneys Downing Center Local Court when his charge was mentioned before a registrar for the first time. His lawyer told the court Houston would be pleading not guilty to the charge of concealing a serious indictable offense of another person, his late preacher father Frank Houston.

The case will next be before the court on November 23.

Police will allege that Frank Houston indecently assaulted a young male in 1970.

Court documents allege that Brian Houston believed his father had committed the crime. Police will allege that the younger Houston failed to disclose information to police that could help secure the prosecution of his father.

Since being charged, Houston has stepped down from the board of Hillsong, the church he founded with wife Bobbie in Sydney in 1983. Now a global empire, the church says 150,000 people in 30 countries attend its services and 50 million people sing its songs each week.

Houston, 64, was in the United States in August when detectives served his Sydney lawyers with a notice for him to appear in court.

He said in a statement at the time he welcomed the opportunity to set the record straight.

Houston returned to Sydney last month and was released from 14 days hotel quarantine last week.

An Australian government inquiry into institutional responses to allegations of child sex abuse found in 2015 that Houston did not tell police that his father was a child sex abuser.

The inquiry found that Houston became aware of allegations against his father in 1999 and allowed him to retire quietly rather report him to police. His father confessed to the abuse before he died in 2004 at age 82.

Hillsong Church has said repeatedly that it has not been involved in this matter, as Frank Houston never worked for the church, and has defended Brian Houstons response.

Upon being told of his fathers actions, Brian Houston confronted his father, reported the matter to the National Executive Assemblies of God in Australia, relayed the matter to the governing board of Sydney Christian Life Centre, and subsequently made a public announcement to the church. Brian sought to honor the victims multiple requests not to inform the police, the church said in a statement in July.

As a recent development, charges have officially been filed against Brian Houston, the church said at the time. We are disappointed that Pastor Brian has been charged, and ask that he be afforded the presumption of innocence and due process as is his right. He has advised us that he will defend this and looks forward to clearing his name.

Hillsong, known for chart-topping worship music and megachurches across the globe, became its own denomination in 2018. Last year, Brian Houston announced an investigation of its New York City campus, where pastor Carl Lentz had stepped down over infidelity.

Additional reporting by CT.
Andrew Yang quits Democratic Party, warns polarization is getting worse than ever

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Former 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang, who also failed in his bid to become the next mayor of New York City this year, announced Monday that he has broken up with the Democratic Party to join Americas largest voting bloc of independents because politics has become too polarizing.

Im confident that no longer being a Democrat is the right thing, Yang said in a statement on his website Monday. Please, keep in mind that I am NOT suggesting that you also change your voter registration to Independent, as I have done. Doing so could disenfranchise you if you live in the 83% of the country that is very blue or very red. For this reason, I considered either not making this change or not talking about it.

Prior to his foray into politics, Yang founded Venture for America, an organization that helps entrepreneurs create jobs in cities across the U.S., including Baltimore, Detroit, Pittsburgh and Cleveland.

In his 2018 book, The War on Normal People, he warned that America was careening toward a dystopian future without jobs due to increased automation and technological advances. To prevent the inevitable widespread squalor, despair and violence that would result from this rapid shift, he recommended giving every adult citizen $1,000 a month in universal basic income.

It was a proposal that became increasingly popular among a majority of black and Hispanic voters, particularly as the coronavirus pandemic swept the world and disrupted lives and economies in 2020.

Yang explained that he now believes he will be better able to uplift America as an independent, as he has always been a bit more pragmatic than ideological in his approach to politics.

On a personal level, Ill admit there has always been something of an odd fit between me and the Democratic Party. Im not very ideological. Im practical. Making partisan arguments  particularly expressing what I often see as performative sentiment  is sometimes uncomfortable for me. I often think, Okay, what can we actually do to solve the problem? Im pretty sure there are others who feel the same way I do, he said.

Ive seen politicians publicly eviscerate each other and then act collegial or friendly backstage a few minutes later. A lot of it is theatre. Ive also had people publicly attack me and then text or call me privately to make sure that we were still cool. It just had to be done for appearances, he continued. Perhaps its the nature of my upbringing, but Im actually more comfortable trying to fix the system than being a part of it.

Thanks to his decision, Yang feels he can now engage issues more effectively and honestly without the burden of partisanship to worry about.

My goal is to do as much as I can to advance our society. There are phenomenal public servants doing great work every day  but our system is stuck. It is stuck in part because polarization is getting worse than ever. Many of the people I know are doing all of the good they can  but their impact is constrained. Now that Im not a member of one party or another, I feel like I can be even more honest about both the system and the people in it, Yang wrote. I believe I can reach people who are outside the system more effectively. I feel more ... independent.

A Gallup poll published earlier this year shows that 44% of Americans identify as political independents. Some 25% identify as Republicans and 30% identify as Democrats.
DOJ slammed for likening concerned parents to domestic terrorists

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The U.S. Department of Justice is facing immense pushback for suggesting that parents opposing the teaching of controversial curriculum in public schools are akin to domestic terrorists.

On Monday, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland sent a memorandum to federal law enforcement agencies directing the Federal Bureau of Investigations, working with each United States Attorney, to convene meetings with federal, state, local, Tribal, and territorial leaders within 30 days to facilitate the discussion of strategies for addressing threats against school administrators, board members, teachers, and staff.

The memo cites a disturbing spike in harassment, intimidation and threats of violence against school administrators, board members, teachers, and staff as the justification for a federal response.

However, many have noted that it's the parents who've often been harassed and intimidated.

Loudoun County school board member Beth Barts, for example, was censured for attacking parents and was subsequently recalled. An investigation found that she plotted to go after outspoken parents she disagreed with by encouraging people in a Facebook group to hack the parents, which led to her being stripped of her committee duties, The Daily Wire reported.

Christopher Rufo, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think-tank, alleged a more sinister motive behind the DOJ's memorandum. He warned that Garland has instructed the FBI to mobilize against parents who oppose critical race theory in public schools, citing threats. The memos publication comes as frustrated parents and community members have confronted their local school boards over allowing critical race theory as well as sexually explicit material to be taught to children.

Neither the Attorney Generals memo nor the full Justice Department press release cites any significant, credible threat, Rufo said in a Tweet. This is a blatant suppression tactic, designed to dissuade citizens from participating in the democratic process at school boards.

Neither the Attorney General's memo nor the full Justice Department press release cites any significant, credible threat.



This is a blatant suppression tactic, designed to dissuade citizens from participating in the democratic process at school boards.https://t.co/LItu8I1I0z  Christopher F. Rufo ?? (@realchrisrufo) October 4, 2021

On Tuesday, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt sent a letter to Garland condemning the DOJs actions that could silence parents who want to have a voice in their childrens education.

Bidens Department of Justice is weaponizing its resources against parents who dare to advocate for their children. This dangerous federal overreach imposes a chilling effect on free speech by criminalizing dissent. I will always advocate for parents and will continue to push back against unprecedented federal overreach, Schmitt said in a press release accompanying his letter to Garland.

Garlands memorandum comes five days after the National School Boards Association wrote a letter to President Joe Biden requesting federal assistance to stop threats and acts of violence against public schoolchildren, public school board members, and other public school district officials and educators.

The letter warned that threats and acts of violence have become more prevalent  during public school board meetings, via documented threats transmitted through the U.S. Postal Service, through social media and other online platforms, and around personal properties.

NSBA respectfully asks that a joint collaboration among federal law enforcement agencies, state and local law enforcement, and with public school officials be undertaken to focus on these threats. NSBA specifically solicits the expertise and resources of the U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Secret Service, and its National Threat Assessment Center regarding the level of risk to public schoolchildren, educators, board members, and facilities/campuses.

After asserting that the classification of these heinous actions could be the equivalent to a form of domestic terrorism and hate crimes, the NSBA called on federal law enforcement to use the Gun-Free School Zones Act, the PATRIOT Act in regards to domestic terrorism, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crime Prevention Act, the Violent Interference with Federally Protected Rights statute, [and] the Conspiracy Against Rights statute to take action against those who threaten school officials.

Examples of problematic actions against school officials listed in the letter included the disruption of school board meetings because of local directives for mask coverings to protect students and educators from COVID-19, the incitement of chaos at school board meetings by anti-mask proponents, the confrontation of school board members by angry mobs that have caused boards to end meetings abruptly and a resident of Alabama calling himself the vaccine police who has called school administrators while filming himself on Facebook Live.

A letter to a school board member vowing to come after you and all the members on the  BoE was labeled hate mail. Additionally, the letter stressed that school board members will pay dearly for forcing students to wear masks, called the school board member a filthy traitor and slammed the school board as Marxist.

The fact that a student in Tennessee was mocked during a board meeting for advocating masks in schools after testifying that his grandmother, who was an educator, died because of COVID-19 was also classified as an example of threats and acts of violence that are affecting our nations democracy at the very foundational levels.

The NSBA repeatedly denied the accusation that public school districts are teaching critical race theory, which it characterized as a complex law school and graduate school subject well beyond the scope of a K-12 class. It described the idea that boards are adopting critical race theory curriculum as misinformation.

Both the Department of Justice and the NSBA attempted to distinguish between peaceful protest and acts of violence. The DOJ memo emphasized that while spirited debate about policy matters is protected under our Constitution, that protection does not extend to threats of violence or attempt to intimidate individuals based on their views.

The NSBA letter maintained that it is vital that public discourses be encouraged in a safe and open environment, in which varying viewpoints can be offered in a peaceful manner while lambasting acute threats and actions that are disruptive to our students well-being, to the safety of public school officials and personnel, and to interstate commerce. The DOJ memo and the NSBA letter are not the only responses to parental concerns about public education that are drawing criticism.

Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat seeking a non-consecutive second term in the states upcoming gubernatorial election, shared his thoughts on parents confronting school boards at a debate with his Republican opponent Glenn Youngkin. Im not going to let parents come into schools and actually take books out and make their own decisions.

Terry McAuliffe: "I don't think parents should be telling schools what they should teach." pic.twitter.com/7S15pTv1gY  Greg Price (@greg_price11) September 28, 2021

I dont think parents should be telling schools what they should teach, he added.

When asked if parents should be the primary stakeholder in their childrens education, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona did not answer the question directly. He responded by saying, I believe parents are important stakeholders but I also believe educators have a role in  determining educational programming.

In recent weeks, parents have voiced their concerns about the material their children have been exposed to in school directly with their school boards. Last month, the parent of a student in Fairfax County, Virginia, read excerpts of two sexually explicit books featuring graphic imagery that are available in the districts high school libraries to the school board.

The outrage over sexually explicit material used in public schools is not limited to parents. The mayor of Hudson, Ohio, chastised the school board of the Hudson City School District at a board meeting last month, calling on them to resign or face criminal charges for allowing a college-level English class to include a book asking students to write sexually explicit writing prompts as part of its curriculum.
Jane Roes daughter refuses to disclose views on abortion, doesnt want to be used by either side

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The daughter of Jane Roe, the namesake of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court abortion case Roe v. Wade, recently stated that while she holds an opinion on abortion, she refuses to disclose it because she does not want either side to use her for their own benefit.

Shelley Thornton was the unborn child that Norma McCorvey, who used the pseudonym Jane Roe, was pregnant with when she sued Texas over its abortion laws in the 1970s. Thornton, now 51, was born before the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion nationwide.

Thornton was adopted after McCorvey gave birth to her during the Roe legal proceedings and her identity had been largely kept a secret for nearly 50 years. She conducted her first-ever television interview with ABC News, which aired Monday.

Thornton explained that she keeps her views on abortion "close to my chest," adding, "I don't want either side or both sides coming at me."

"I'm not going to let either side use me,' she declared.

Thornton mentioned that abortion was "not a thing" growing up, as she was raised with the idea that "if a family member had a baby, [and] they couldn't take care of it then somebody else in the family took it and took care of it."

Thornton became aware of her biological mother's identity in 1989. She told ABC News that she was "tricked into meeting reporters from The National Enquirer" who informed her that McCorvey was her biological mother. Thornton "broke down" after learning the news and kept the information a secret for a long time thereafter.

The National Enquirer never revealed Thornton's identity to the public. But the tabloid announced that it had found "Jane Roe's baby" and quoted McCorvey as saying she "was ready to take [Thornton] into my arms and give her my love and be her friend."

Thornton said she refused to meet her birth mother in person and felt "no regrets" for the decision. She felt McCorvey was only going to use her for publicity.

"It became apparent to me really quickly that the only reason why she wanted to reach out to me and find me was because she wanted to use me for publicity," Thornton claimed. "She never expressed genuine feeling for me or genuine remorse for doing the things that she did, saying the things that she did."

In May 2020, FX on Hulu released a documentary titled "AKA Jane Roe," which featured excerpts from a 2017 interview with McCorvey not long before she passed away.

The documentary film garnered controversy for showing McCorvey claiming that she was paid to be a pro-life spokesperson and did not actually oppose abortion.

"I was the big fish. I think it was a mutual thing. I took their money and they'd put me out in front of the cameras and tell me what to say. That's what I'd say. It was all an act. I did it well too. I am a good actress," said McCorvey, as quoted in the film.

Critics, including those who had known McCorvey for years, claimed, among other things, that the footage was deceptively edited and that she was likely not well mentally when the interview was conducted.

Troy Newman, president of the pro-life group Operation Rescue, released a statement saying he knew her well and that he could "verify she was 100 percent pro-life."

"I knew her to be a straightforward, down-to-earth woman who was witty and kind. She loved children and adored my own five children," stated Newman last year.

"There is no way her Christian faith or her pro-life beliefs were false. The makers of 'AKA Jane Roe' should be ashamed that they took advantage of Norma in the vulnerable last days of her life, then released their spurious movie after she passed away when she could not defend herself."

The broadcast of the ABC News interview with Thornton comes as the Supreme Court will weigh Mississippi's 15-week abortion ban. A ruling in favor of the state of Mississippi could significantly weaken the precedent set by Roe v. Wade that gives women wide latitude to have an abortion before the point of viability. A decision is expected by the end of June.
Texas high school shooting suspect turns himself in after wounding 4

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The suspect in a Texas high school shooting that reportedly wounded four people turned himself in to authorities.

The 18-year-old suspect in the Wednesday morning shooting at Timberview High School in Arlington wounded three students and one person believed to be a teacher.

According to CBS DFW, Arlington Assistant Police Chief Kevin Kolbye reported that the suspect turned himself in with an attorney. He faces three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Kolbye said at a press conference that the shooting appears to have started in a classroom as the result of a fight with another student. Concluding that it was not a random act of violence, Kolbye said that three people were sent to a local hospital while the fourth injured person refused medical treatment.

According to the police department, one of the victims is recovering and listed in critical condition. A second victim is listed in good condition, while a third was treated for minor abrasions.

By afternoon, the Arlington Police Department announced that they were looking for the suspect, Timothy Simpkins, whom they described as armed and dangerous.

Officers arrived on scene quickly and secured the school. They determined the shooter left the building after the incident, stated the APD in a Facebook post.

Officials have set up a reunification center at the Mansfield Independent School District Center for the Performing Arts, where Timberview students will be bussed and parents can pick up their kids.

Our thoughts are with the victims, the students, and staff at Timberview High School  and be assured that APD and all of our law enforcement partners will do everything in our power to bring the suspect to justice, concluded the police department's statement.

Ed Young, the senior pastor of Fellowship Church, which has campuses in Texas and Florida, offered support for those affected by the shooting in a Facebook post.

Pray for the families and friends of the students and teachers involved in the shooting this morning at Timberview High in Arlington, Texas, he wrote. Its so important that we pray for, care for, and guide our youth more than ever before.

Wednesdays shooting is not the only act of violence to take place at a Texas school in recent years.









In May of 2018, a shooter entered Santa Fe High School near Houston, killing 10 people and wounding several others.

A 17-year-old student who had written in a private journal about his plans to shoot up the school and then kill himself surrendered to authorities soon after.

In November 2019, the student was declared incompetent to stand trial. In February, he was ordered to remain in a mental health facility for another 12 months.
Vatican diplomat warns US leaders against exploiting God at Red Mass

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As the U.S. Supreme Court began a new term in which it will be hearing an abortion case that could overrule Roe v. Wade, Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, warned U.S. leaders against exploiting God and justice for selfish means like the Pharisees in the Bible.

Caccia made the call in his homily at the 69th Red Mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew in Washington D.C. The Red Mass, which is an annual service marking the opening of the Supreme Courts new term, is traditionally held on the Sunday before the first Monday in October to invoke Gods blessings on those responsible for the administration of justice, as well as on all public officials.

While Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. was the only member of the Supreme Court who attended the event, Caccia told the audience that justice has to do with something sacred.

It is a powerful reminder that justice has to do with something sacred and that those who practice its administration are at the service of something larger and greater than themselves, the diplomat said. This is an important perspective because today, like at the time of Jesus, there is a reason to exploit justice instead of deliver it.

He then pointed to an earlier reading from the book of Mark in the Bible highlighting how the Pharisees tried to use the law to trap Jesus.

In the Gospel (Mark 10: 2-16) today, Jesus was approached by the Pharisees with a question: Is it lawful [for a husband to divorce his wife]? Immediately afterward, St. Mark tells us, they were testing Him, Caccia said.

Justice is being used as a pretense to challenge and condemn. Or we could say, to do injustice. Jesus nevertheless enters into discussion with them. They confront Him with another question about the Law of Moses. Jesus, however, tries to lead them on an exodus from what He calls the hardness of their hearts, he added.

Caccia urged officials to take the advice of Jesus and place themselves in the presence of God with an openness to understand what is Gods plan.

If you do not place yourselves before God in this way, there is the risk to use even God for our own ends instead of serving Him. This is the very attitude that distinguishes a truly religious person from an apparently religious man like the Pharisees in the Gospel today, he said.

There are in the end only two kinds of persons  those who try to grasp God and take Him in their hands for their own goals like little children grasping for water only to have it escape through their fingers; and those who ask and welcome God with open cupped hands, allowing them to retain water and imbibe it, he continued. We can ask ourselves. What kind of person am I? Someone who tries to grasp God or someone who asks and receives Him? Those who receive God and draw near to Him, draw near to His justice which is one of His biblical attributes.

This term, the Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments in the case, Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization, to determine the legality of Mississippi's 15-week abortion ban. The National Rifle Association, is also challenging a New York law that requires law-abiding citizens who want a permit to carry a concealed firearm outside their home to demonstrate a proper cause.
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One census was ordered by God. The other was instigated by Satan.

God said that numbers do matter. He ordered a counting of all the people of Israel shortly after the people fled Egypt. You can see the specific mandate in Exodus 30:12-14. An entire book of the Bible is devoted to the progress and results of the census. The book is aptly named Numbers.

But another census of the people of Israel was clearly instigated by Satan. The Bible is straightforward on that matter in 1 Chronicles 21:1: Satan rose up against Israel and caused David to take a census of the people of Israel. Apparently, David ordered the count for his own self-aggrandizement.

The point is simple. Numbers and counting are either good or evil according to the motivation of those counting.

We are in a historical cycle in the evangelical world where the mood is to disparage counting, attendance, and other numerical metrics. Consequently, we are in danger of losing accountability that is inherent with following numbers.

How are we able to discern the growing disdain for numbers and counting? Here are ten issues that are indicative of the movement to disparage metrics.

1. An increasing number of comments that the church is the people, not the building. Of course, the church is not a building. Of course, the church is the people of God. But those people are commanded to gather somewhere. That gathering place is usually a building. This issue is often expressed as a reason not to count our worship attendance. Its a poor excuse.

2. An increasing number of comments that the church should focus on sending not attending. This argument is fallacious. It puts missionary sending to the community and beyond in opposition to gathering for worship. Its both/and, not either/or.

3. Numbers for bragging rights. Again, the issue is one of motive. David obviously wanted to brag about the size of his kingdom. The problem was his heart, not counting people.

4. Failure to count group attendance. If you want to gauge the health of your church, a good metric is weekly group attendance. If you are not counting weekly group attendance, you are missing the opportunity to determine the commitment of your core members.

5. The priority of ministry over numbers. Again, this argument is fallacious. It suggests that a church should do ministry instead of counting, for example, worship attendance. This argument was used by a number of mainline churches for around 50 years. They maintained the argument until there were no members left to do ministry.

6. Counting is legalistic. Anything can turn legalistic without the right motive: reading the Bible, sharing your faith, giving, and others. At the risk of redundancy, it is a question of motive and the heart.

7. COVID! While I do not want to minimize the tragedy of COVID, I fear we will begin to use it as an excuse for waning commitment to the church. Those church leaders (and other organizational leaders) who learn to pivot and adjust to a new reality will see the greatest fruit.

8. Its about the core. Those articulating this argument communicate that fewer is better. Those who are committed will attend regularly. We should not worry about the others, the argument goes. But we need the less committed to attend church to become more committed. We need the non-Christians to attend church to hear the Gospel.

9. Waning and unreported conversions. Most North American congregations are seeing fewer conversions. Most of them have no accountability because they fail to report the number of conversions.

10. No published worship and small group attendance. That which is reported gets noticed. That which is noticed gets attention. That which gets attention gets better.

Evangelical churches are repeating the history of mainline churches. They are devising reasons to excuse declining attendance. In doing so, they are implicitly saying the gathered church is not important.

Robert Hudnut, a mainline writer from 1975, argued that it is a good sign that people are leaving churches. In his book, Church Growth Is Not the Point, he said, the loss of growth statistics has meant increase in the growth of the Gospel.

His argument was symptomatic of dying mainline churches 50 years ago. A half-century later, evangelical churches are dying and using the same rationale.

Numbers do matter. Especially when the motive is right, and the heart is pure.

Originally published at Church Answers.
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Was there a time in living memory when America was more divided? Im 66, and I certainly cant remember any time like today. Can you?

It seems as if the right and the left are becoming more and more polarized, with less and less people in the center. From woke ideology to race issues to political divides to LGBTQ activism to religious conflicts to cancel culture to immigration, the divisions are deep and broad.

But the ultimate dividing line is abortion. On no other issue are the passions so intense. And no other issue has such massive court cases attached to it.

The clearest illustration of the intense divide took place in Washington, D.C., this past Saturday, when a pro-abortion womens march came face to face with a pro-life prayer service on the steps of the Supreme Court. Talk about seeing this conflict in real-time and in living color!

To give the background, a couple of months ago, my friend Rev. Patrick Mahoney, who has been involved in pro-life work for 44 years, felt prompted to set aside October 2 for a special prayer meeting in D.C. in front of the Court.

He picked this date because the Court would be resuming its session on Monday, October 4, and it is during this session that the justices will hear the Dobbs case from Mississippi, billed as the case that could overturn Roe v. Wade (see here and here for examples). Having worked with D.C. police for decades, Pat received the necessary permits to hold a peaceful, non-political, prayer and worship meeting from 2-4 PM on the 2nd.

Then, just weeks ago, after the Supreme Court let the Texas Heartbeat Bill stand, pro-abortion activists called for marches on this very same day in cities across America, including D.C. And, as if it was all scripted, the Rally for Abortion Justice in D.C. was scheduled to end at the Court building at the same time the prayer meeting was scheduled to begin. I kid you not.

As it turns out, the pro-life worshipers were already there by the time the marchers arrived, and the police were prepared for the moment. But it was the very presence of these worshipers that kept the marchers from advancing to the Courts steps.

Could this be symbolic of things to come? Could this be a physical sign of a spiritual victory? Let us hope and pray that it is.

But it is not only in D.C. that unusual things are happening.

Within the last week, two sitting Supreme Court justices, one on the left and one on the right, both spoke out about the Texas bill.

This past Wednesday, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said to an audience of law students, You know, I can't change Texas's law. But you can, and everyone else who may or may not like it can go out there and be lobbying forces in changing laws that you don't like.

Then, on Thursday, Justice Samuel Alito told students at the University of Notre Dame that the media was unfairly reporting on the Courts decisions and the processes involved in their decisions. He said, The catchy and sinister term shadow docket has been used to portray the court as having been captured by a dangerous cabal that resorts to sneaky and improper methods to get its ways. This portrayal feeds unprecedented efforts to intimidate the court or damage it as an independent institution.

He added, Journalists may think we can dash off an opinion the way they dash off articles.

When can you remember something like this happening, when, in the very same week, two Supreme Court justices made public comments about very live issues before the court? And is it any surprise that both of them addressed one particular case, namely, the Texas Heartbeat Bill?

Added to all this are the results of a recent poll which, according to Newsweek, indicated that Roughly 52 percent of people who voted for Republican former President Donald Trump either somewhat agree or strongly agree that it's time to split the country, favoring that either red or blue states secede from the union, the poll found.

Comparatively, 41 percent of people who voted for Democratic President Joe Biden agree with the idea.

In perhaps the understatement of the year, Daniel Villareal, writing in Newsweek, said, Splitting the country would likely cause massive conflict. And abortion will certainly be front and center when it comes to this massive conflict.

For the pro-choice side, this is really a matter of life and death. A matter of my body, my choice. A matter of health and security and freedom. (For my open letter to these women who see abortion as a fundamental, Constitutional right, see here.)

For the pro-life side, this is also a matter of life and death. A matter of stopping the shedding of innocent blood. A matter of standing with the least of these. A matter of doing what is best for the mothers as well.

My counsel, then, in the midst of this conflict, which will only intensify should the Mississippi heartbeat law be upheld in the Dobbs case and which will absolutely explode if the Court overturns Roe v. Wade, is this.

First, be much in prayer for the Court to do what is right in Gods sight and for a culture of life to arise in our land. The fate of the nation could be at stake.

Second, walk in love and patience towards those who differ. Let us smash the negative (and false) caricatures that surround the pro-life movement with our kindness and our patience. Do your best to be Jesus to the pro-choice people you meet.

Third, take time to listen, and then to share the love of God if possible. Ask those on the other side why they feel the way they do, taking a genuine interest in their own wellbeing. And if the door is open, share the Gospel with them.

Fourth, make the case for life, starting with the humanity of the baby in the womb. (Again, see my open letter for more on this.)

Fifth, make pro-life voting a priority in the years ahead. Let us elect those who will stand with the unborn.

Which way will America go? A lot of that has to do with you and with me.
Greg Laurie on SoCal Harvest, why he's optimistic about Gen Z: 'We need a spiritual solution'

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Greg Laurie, founder and lead pastor of Harvest Churches and Harvest Crusades, is excited about Generation Z.

Though theyre dubbed the first truly post-Christian generation, with moral relativism behind the majority opinion of the group, Laurie believes Gen Zers are defined by their desire for significance and meaning  making them ripe for the Gospel.

We have a generation that hasnt heard the Gospel. Most of Gen Z doesnt come from any kind of a spiritual or religious background whatsoever. I would rather have a blank slate to work with, where they know nothing, and then tell them the truth than people with all kinds of prejudices, the 68-year-old pastor told The Christian Post.

The Bible says, How will they hear unless someone tells them? Young people are looking for significance. They want their life to matter. They want to be noticed. And what I'm saying to them is, Your life does matter, you are noticed, God loves you, and God has a special plan for your life. I want to tell them how they can discover that plan for this life and the afterlife.

With the goal of reaching thousands with the hope of Christ, Lauries Southern California Harvest Crusade will return to Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, for one night only on Oct. 3.

The ministrys first stadium outreach event in over a year, SoCal Harvest is free and will feature worship by Christian music artists Phil Wickham and for King & Country, as well as a message from Laurie.

The pastor described the event as a "celebration," defined by "joy, worship and a powerful message."

It means a lot to everybody to just get together again, Laurie said. With this pandemic, all the wrong things are up. Drug use is, up alcohol use is, up self-harm is up, suicides are up, divorce is up, and it's because people feel down. And Jesus said, Look up, because your redemption is drawing near. I think it's important for us to get together in person because we're better together.

Laurie, along with Chuck Smith, pastor and founder of Calvary Chapel, founded SoCal Harvest in 1990, making the event the longest-running evangelistic outreach event in the U.S. Over the decades, SoCal Harvest has seen thousands of young people embrace Christianity  a phenomenon Laurie hopes happens again this year.

We're going to be together in one place at one time, worshiping the Lord, and then proclaiming the Gospel, he said. Its just so exciting to see thousands of people go down on the field and make a profession of faith to follow Christ. God willing, we're going to see that this Sunday night.

The pastor is encouraging young people to bring their non-Christian friends to SoCal Harvest, stressing it's a "different kind of event than just bringing someone to a church."

"It's great to take people to church, but you always have that fear  what if this is the Sunday the pastor preaches on tithing? This event is designed from beginning to end, for a non-believer. We're trying to anticipate their questions and answer them. I'm speaking in a very understandable way, not assuming they know what the logical terms mean."

Due to the pandemic, the in-person event was replaced last year by A Rush of Hope, a cinematic crusade that reached over 4 million people and yielded over 50,000 professions of faith. And though Lauries message hasnt changed since the '90s, SoCal Harvest will this year employ cutting-edge technology to further the Gospel.

We're bringing some cinematic elements into the live event, Laurie shared. We have more screens, we have more tech, we have more everything. Its not to put on a show, but to enhance the experience and make it more immersive and actually draw the audience in closer to what we're saying.

During the event, Laurie revealed he will share footage from Jesus Revolution, the forthcoming Erwin Brothers film that highlights the spiritual awakening in Southern California in the early 1970s known as the Jesus movement.

Its an amazing thing to think that the last great spiritual awakening in America happened right here in California, and I would love to see another one, Laurie said. We're just praying that this could be a spark that could set something much larger into motion. Only the Lord can bring that about, but with God, all things are possible.

God wants to send a spiritual awakening to America, he added. And we know we're really needing one right now. I think it's pretty clear at this point that this is not something that will be solved with a political solution, or a technological solution or a mere moral solution. We need a spiritual solution, and only God can bring that about.

Click here to stay up to date on the latest information about SoCal Harvest. A livestream option will be available for those who are not comfortable or able to attend in-person. For those who attend in-person, the event will follow protocols employed by Angel Stadium.
As many as 3,200 pedophiles worked in French Catholic Church since 1950, commission finds

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As many as 3,200 pedophiles have worked in the French Catholic Church since the 1950s, according to the head of an independent commission created to investigate sexual abuse in the church.

Jean-Marc Sauve, president of the commission comprised of 21 people and financed by the Bishops' Conference of France, was interviewed by CNN on Sunday about the commission's work.

Ahead of the scheduled release of the commission's final report Tuesday, Sauve estimated that between 2,900 and 3,200 pedophile clergy were working in the Catholic Church in France from the 1950s to the present.

"We had to cross historical, sociological, medical and psychiatric perspectives. We had to call upon skills in the area of child protection, social work, questions of abuse and also bring to bear skills in the area of theology and law," explained Sauve.

"We worked a lot with the victims, and we did not delegate the task of listening to all the victims to research laboratories. Of course, the research laboratories did some of the hearings, but we conducted a large number of hearings ourselves."

The commission was launched in 2018, and members of the commission aren't paid. Sauve told Agence-France Presse that the report looks at the "institutional" and "cultural" mechanisms that allowed pedophiles to continue working in the Catholic Church. The report will offer 45 proposals.

He added that the commission is made up of legal professionals, historians, theologians, doctors and sociologists.

According to CNN, the archives of the dioceses and churches were made accessible to the commission. Sauve assured that much work has gone into creating the report over the last 32 months.

Over the past several years, the Roman Catholic Church has dealt with revelations of sexually abusive clergy and high-ranking officials covering up these criminal actions.

Responses to the crisis have included enacting more transparency and accountability regarding sexual abuse allegations and overseeing investigations on the extent of the abuse.

In May of 2019, Pope Francis issued an apostolic letter requiring clergy to report abuse. The previous standard allowed church officials their own discretion on the matter.

The new guidelines, which also sought to provide better protection for whistleblowers and victims, came months after the pontiff held a summit on combating sexual abuse in the Church.

The French Catholic Church's commission was established before Pope Francis mandated new requirements for reporting sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.

During the February 2019 summit attended by approximately 200 church leaders, Francis stressed that the Church must fight "this evil afflicting the Church and humanity."

"I wanted to consult you, Patriarchs, Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops, and Religious Superiors and Leaders, so that together we might listen to the Holy Spirit and, in docility to his guidance, hear the cry of the little ones who plead for justice," stated Francis at the time.

"The holy People of God looks to us, and expects from us not simple and predictable condemnations, but concrete and effective measures to be undertaken. We need to be concrete."
Queen Elizabeth praises BBC TV series for presenting Christianity as a living faith

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Queen Elizabeth II, head of the Church of England, thanked BBCs long-running TV series Songs of Praise, which celebrated nearly 3,000 episodes on its 60th anniversary Sunday, for presenting Christianity as a living faith.

For 60 years, Songs of Praise has drawn together congregations and BBC viewers throughout the United Kingdom in collective worship, the queen said in a message for a special episode of the show Sunday, The Telegraph reported.

During that time, the program has shown Christianity as a living faith not only through hymns and worship songs, but also by featuring the many people who have put their faith at the center of their lives, the 95-year-old queen continued.

I congratulate 'Songs of Praise' and all those involved in the program on its 60th anniversary, she added.

Aled Jones, who has been a "Songs of Praise" presenter for over 20 years, called it one of the biggest joys of my life.

It is an honor to be able to share uplifting stories of faith with our dear audience and to gladden hearts with music that means the world to me. Heres to a future filled with wonderful 'Songs of Praise!' Jones was quoted as saying.

On Saturday morning, while opening the new session of the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, the queen spoke publicly about the Duke of Edinburgh for the first time since his death in April, The Sunday Times reported.

I have spoken before of my deep and abiding affection for this wonderful country, and of the many happy memories Prince Philip and I always held of our time here, she was quoted as saying. It is often said that it is the people that make a place, and there are few places where this is truer than in Scotland, as we have seen in recent times.

A church leader close to the late Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, revealed in a media interview back in April that he had persuaded the queen, his wife, to talk more about her Christian faith ahead of her Christmas broadcast in 2000.

[Prince Philip] was the person really who encouraged the queen to talk about her own faith in her Christmas broadcasts, the Rev. Ian Bradley, the author of God Save the Queen, told Premier Christian News at the time.

He recalled that in the old days, they really used to be more like travelogues, and they would just say where the royal family had been.

Bradley, who preached for the duke and the queen as a visiting preacher at the Parish of Braemar and Crathie, said that in her 2000 broadcast, the queen spoke very movingly and powerfully about her own Christian faith and the impact it had on her.

And there was a very positive response from viewers, he said. And ... it was Philip who really persuaded the queen to make more of her own Christian faith. And he said, You should be talking about this.

Bradley also shared that Prince Philip was interested in theology.

He would note down all the details of the sermon. He was extremely interested  in theology. He had a wonderful knowledge of the Bible, and then he would sort of quiz you at lunchtime, ask you about your sermon and really put you on your mettle. And I was amazed at his biblical knowledge.

In her 2016 book ahead of her 90th birthday, the queen reflected on Jesus central role in her life.

I have been  and remain  very grateful to you for your prayers and to God for His steadfast love, the British monarch wrote in the foreword to The Servant Queen and the King She Serves. I have indeed seen His faithfulness.
Chinas new restrictions on abortion are anti-abortion, not pro-life: Al Mohler

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Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Albert Mohler Jr. said he believes China's recent efforts to restrict abortion for "non-medical reasons" shows that an entity can be anti-abortion and yet not be pro-life.

On an episode of Mohlers podcast The Briefing posted online Monday, Mohler gave his opinion about the recent decision of China's communist regime to curb abortion access.

Mohler began by contrasting the totalitarian system of communist China with Western civilization, noting that with the latter, there is a distinction between the public and the private as well as an acknowledgement of the right of private citizens to engage in what are called mediating institutions.

That is to say, such as churches, they're neither private in the sense of being individual nor public in the sense of being under the control of the government, explained Mohler.

But you're not going to find any of that in China, where the totalitarian nature of the government comes down to the meaning of the word totalitarian. The government claims total power over everything, everyone, everywhere, all the time.

Mohler talked about the previous policy of China to restrict couples to having only one child per household and how this situation led to forced abortions, forced sterilization, even infanticide, and a dire future if it does not have a higher birth rate.

The Chinese Communist Party wants more babies, it wants more control, it is going to exercise its totalitarian dominion as it claims, and it is going to crack down on abortion, he continued.

But you'll notice, it's not out of concern for the sanctity and dignity of human life. That's not a part of the Marxist communist worldview. It's simply because they want more children to be little soldiers and little industrial workers.

Mohler concluded that this is not rooted in an argument for the sanctity of human life. And that just shows you that you can be anti-abortion and yet not be pro-life.

In 1979, Communist China adopted a one-child policy that resulted in millions of forced abortions, with the intention of countering overpopulation in the densely populated nation.

This fueled the practice of sex-selective abortion, in which a cultural preference for sons led parents to disproportionately abort female babies when being restricted to only having one child.

China announced in June that it would allow families to have up to three children instead of capping families at two kids as its population ages and birth rates continue to decline.

The decision to alter China's controversial birth policy came after a meeting with politburo, a top decision-making body of the Chinese Communist Party. The meeting was chaired by President Xi Jinping, according to state-sponsored media.

China ended its decadeslong one-child policy in 2015 by implementing a two-child policy, where women were forced to abort their children after they already had two kids.

Some authorities in China are offering financial incentives for couples who have more children, CNN reported.

So far, their efforts have been met with a lukewarm response at best. Many women, who now enjoy greater educational and career opportunities than in the past, are reluctant to expand their families," it added.
Indifference is killing us: SBC Pres. Ed Litton tells pastors at racial reconciliation event

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President of the Southern Baptist Convention, Ed Litton, warned an audience that gathered for a racial reconciliation event at his Redemption Church in Mobile, Alabama, that indifference is killing us and in order to overcome racial prejudice, we outta go and work at it.

Litton  who won the SBC presidency in June amid a raging debate over the denominations stance on critical race theory and other issues with the backing of the conventions first and only black President, Fred Luter  leaned into his long history of promoting racial reconciliation at the fourth annual Shrink the Divide conference to drive home his point.

Shrink the divide is a project of The Pledge Group, which is a movement of leaders from different racial, denominational, and vocational backgrounds who want to shrink the racial divide in the Mobile, AL area.

Ill tell you whats killing us today. Nobody in the Southern Baptist Church that I am a part of, nobody in my church, probably nobody in your church would ever want to be called a bigot, but indifference is killing us, Litton said, urging the diverse pool of participants at the conference to not look away from the suffering of people outside their communities.

Racial stereotypes and hard feelings, pre-judgements dont instantly go away  we outta go and work at it, he said.

Critical race theory, which is an ideological framework that some legal scholars say interrogates the relationship between race, law and power, became a lightning rod for disagreement in the denomination in 2020, leading some prominent black Southern Baptist leaders to leave the denomination.

The tipping point for many of the pastors who left came after the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the revised Baptist Faith & Message in 2020 when the SBCs Council of Seminary Presidents, comprised of the leaders of the denominations six seminaries, voted to reject CRT as incompatible with their faith while condemning racism in any form.

The situation then led several outspoken SBC pastors to call for the denomination to rescind Resolution 9 On Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality, which was adopted with much dissent in the summer of 2019.

At their annual meeting in June, Southern Baptist messengers affirmed their commitment to racial reconciliation and the sufficiency of Scripture to address issues of race by adopting a resolution that avoided the contentious debate over critical race theory.

On Sunday, Litton focused on the Gospel to explain that racial reconciliation requires more intentional action to achieve because time doesnt heal all wounds and prayer isnt enough by itself.

Ignoring doesnt heal all wounds. Just praying and saying its going to get better doesnt heal all wounds. Believing in a God who heals, yes, thats what heals wounds, Litton said. But God also requires that we make intentional treatments of those wounds that we are persistent and consistent with one another, that we are always a source in the Body of Christ, all of our churches, to experience love and prayer and care for one another.

To help him illustrate how Jesus ministry transcended racial lines, the SBC leader cited the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10 and that of the woman at the well in John 4.

Only Christ can change the heart. We have a sin problem, not a skin problem. The only solution is Jesus. And I know people in the name of Jesus have done some horrific things, which makes [the] responsibility [of those] who name Him today even greater, Litton said.
Mark Zuckerberg refutes whistleblower's claim that Facebook 'stokes division,' prioritizes profits

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Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has refuted claims by a whistleblower and former product manager who testified before Congress Tuesday about how the social media giant is prioritizing profits instead of stopping the spread of misinformation and hate.

In a post to blog post Tuesday, Zuckerberg claimed that the media coverage surrounding the allegations presented by Frances Haugen "misrepresents our work and our motives." He further stated that "many of the claims don't make any sense."

"At the heart of these accusations is this idea that we prioritize profit over safety and well-being. That's just not true," Zuckerberg exclaimed.

Haugen, the whistleblower and former Facebook manager who revealed her identity on CBS' "60 Minutes" on Sunday after leaking internal documents to the Wall Street Journal, testified before Congress Tuesday. She claims the social media giant is "lying to the public" about the harmful effects its platforms can have on people and society.

Haugen alleged before the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection that Facebook and its subsidiary Instagram are aware of how to make their apps safer, but those who can bring about changes to the platforms are ignoring calls for reform.

Furthermore, she claimed that platforms "stoke division" and "harm children."

"I joined Facebook in 2019 because someone close to me was radicalized online. I felt

compelled to take an active role in creating a better, less toxic Facebook," she wrote in written testimony.

"During my time at Facebook, first working as the lead product manager for Civic Misinformation and later on Counter-Espionage, I saw that Facebook repeatedly encountered conflicts between its own profits and our safety. Facebook consistently resolved those conflicts in favor of its own profits."

Haugen argues that in the same way there is government regulation on tobacco, automobiles and opioids as public safety concerns, there should also be governmental restrictions on social media platforms.

"I implore you to do the same here," Haugen said. "Congressional action is needed. They won't solve this crisis without your help."

Democrats and Republicans present at the hearing seemed to agree with Haugen.

During the hearing, Haugen provided various documents that she copied from Facebook when she was employed by the company.

"These documents that you have revealed provided this company with a blueprint for reform, specific recommendations that could have made Facebook and Instagram safe," Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., the subcommittee chair, chimed in at the meeting. "Facebook exploited teens using powerful algorithms that amplify their insecurities. Their profit was more important than the pain they caused."

During her appearance on "60 Minutes," she said that in 2018, Facebook made a change to its algorithms and programming that decides what users see on their Facebook news feeds in a way that optimizes engagement.

"But what its own research is showing is that content that his hateful, divisive, that is polarizing, its easier to inspire other people to anger than it is to other emotions," she said, adding that such content is "enticing" and keeps users on the platform.

She said the company had enacted a few safeguards leading up to the 2020 election but removed them following the election results to increase growth on the platform.

"Facebook has realized that if they change the algorithm to be safer, people will spend less time on the site, they'll click on less ads, they'll make less money," she added.

Haugen's lawyer confirms that the ex-whistleblower has filed at least eight complaints with the Securities and Exchange Commission related to how the platform's algorithms amplified "misinformation."

Zuckerberg defended the changes made to the Facebook news feed.

"This change showed fewer viral videos and more content from friends and family  which we did knowing it would mean people spent less time on Facebook, but that research suggested it was the right thing for people's well-being," Zuckerberg stressed. "Is that something a company focused on profits over people would do? The argument that we deliberately push content that makes people angry for profit is deeply illogical. We make money from ads, and advertisers consistently tell us they don't want their ads next to harmful or angry content."

For two years, Haugen worked alongside a team to combat political misinformation. However, she was allegedly "disillusioned" by the company's push for growth regardless of the lack of safety measures she said could have been taken.

"As long as Facebook is operating in the shadows, hiding its research from public scrutiny, it is unaccountable," Haugen reported in her testimony. "Until the incentives change, Facebook will not change. Left alone, Facebook will continue to make choices that go against the common good."

Last month, a compilation of alleged internal research and communications was leaked by The Wall Street Journal, which published an investigative series on the harms the social media platforms.

Internal studies have shown that many teenage girls have reported increased issues with mental health as a direct result of Instagram usage. Instagram and Facebook apps have also reportedly been used by human traffickers and drug cartels.

Zuckerberg directly responded to claims that Facebook ignored research on the negative impacts of its platforms.

"If we wanted to ignore research, why would we create an industry-leading research program to understand these important issues in the first place?" he asked. "If we didn't care about fighting harmful content, then why would we employ so many more people dedicated to this than any other company in our space  even ones larger than us?"

"If we wanted to hide our results, why would we have established an industry-leading standard for transparency and reporting on what we're doing?" he asked. "And if social media were as responsible for polarizing society as some people claim, then why are we seeing polarization increase in the US while it stays flat or declines in many countries with just as heavy use of social media around the world?"

A Facebook spokesperson said in a statement provided to CNN that the company seeks to "balance protecting the ability of billions of people to express themselves openly with the need to keep our platform a safe and positive place."

Neil Potts, Facebook's vice president of trust and safety policy, further denied the allegations in an interview with NPR on Monday.

"I think that accusation is just a bit unfounded," Potts said. "At Facebook, what we are designing our products to do is to increase meaningful experiences, so whether those are meaningful social interactions ... or having just positive social experience on a platform, that is what we want the product ultimately to provide. That makes an environment where people will come to Facebook, where they will come to Instagram, and have a better time, and that's really our bottom line."
Nurse punished for refusing to hide cross necklace sues London hospital: 'Attack on my faith'

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A Christian nurse claims she was discriminated against, bullied, pressured and eventually coerced into resigning from her job because she wouldn't comply with a policy to either remove or cover up her cross necklace while on duty.

London resident and nurse practitioner Mary Onuoha, 61, has filed a legal complaint against Croydon Health Services NHS Trust. She alleges that she was told that a small gold cross she wore around her neck for over 40 years as a symbol of her devout Christian faith was a safety risk and "must not be visible."

A hearing was held before the Croydon Employment Tribunal Tuesday.

Onuoha, who has worked as an NHS theatre practitioner for Croydon University Hospital in South London for the past 18 years, is alleging that she had to endure a two-year-long investigative process headed by her superiors for her continued refusals to remove the pendant.

The nurse claims that she was eventually suspended from her clinical duties and demoted to working as a receptionist because she would not stop wearing the necklace, which she said gave her no other choice but to resign from her job.

She claims she was moved from one administrative role to the next until she resigned in August 2020.

She further claims that other clinical staff members at the hospital were allowed to wear jewelry, saris, turbans, hijabs and other religious adornments and that only the cross was subject to specific rules.

She is represented by lawyers from the Christian Legal Centre.

"This has always been an attack on my faith," Onuoha said in a statement. "My cross is part of me and my faith, and it has never caused anyone any harm.  At this hospital, there are members of staff who go to a mosque four times a day and no one says anything to them. Hindus wear red bracelets on their wrists and female Muslims wear hijabs in theatre. Yet my small cross around my neck was deemed so dangerous that I was no longer allowed to do my job."

A spokesperson for the Croydon Health Services NHS Trust told media outlets that the entity could not comment on ongoing legal proceedings.

On Aug. 21, 2018, the lawsuit claims that Onuoha was interrupted by the head of the hospital department and asked to remove her cross while she was in an operating theatre caring for a patient under anesthetic.

Onuoha said the patient's life was put at risk and that she was ordered to leave the operating theatre to put on another scrub so that it would cover up the cross. She again refused. She claims that at the same time, her manager ignored a blue pendant and earrings being worn by another healthcare worker in the operating theatre.

According to the lawsuit, this was one of many similar incidents in theatre and wards where Onuoha said she was concerned about patients' safety.

"I was astonished that senior staff were prepared to potentially endanger a patient's life in order to intimidate me to remove it," Onuoha said. "Patients often say to me, 'I really like your cross.' They always respond to it in a positive way and that gives me joy and makes me feel happy. I am proud to wear it, as I know God loves me so much and went through this pain for me."

Growing up in Nigeria, Onuoha said that she always felt naturally drawn towards caring for people because it was in her blood from a young age. She said she was determined to become a nurse after one of her brothers tragically died from measles due to a lack of medical provision.

In 1988, she immigrated to the United Kingdom and fulfilled her ambition by beginning work at Croydon University Hospital, where she remained for nearly two decades. During that time, she reports wearing her religious pendant without any complaints or health and safety concerns from colleagues or patients.

But beginning in 2015, things changed when a succession of line managers allegedly asked Onuoha to either remove her cross, conceal it or face "'escalation.'"

Each time, Onuoha said she "politely" declined the requests and explained that her necklace is a symbol of her deeply held Christian faith.

But in August 2018, bosses at Croydon Health Services NHS Trust reportedly ordered her to remove the cross because it was "a breach of the Trust's Dress Code and Uniform Policy" and, therefore, a health risk to herself and patients.

Onuoha argues in the lawsuit that NHS management was violating its own dress code, which states:

"The Trust welcomes the variety of appearances brought by individual styles, choices and religious requirements regarding dress; this will be treated sensitively and will be agreed on an individual basis with the Manager and Trust and must conform to health, safety and security regulations, infection prevention and control and moving and handling guidelines. The wearing of saris, turbans, kirpan, skullcaps, hijabs, kippahs and clerical collars arising from particular cultural / religious norms are seen as part of welcoming diversity."

Contrary to the policy, the lawsuit alleges that Onuoha was required at all times to wear several lanyards that did not have anti-strangle clasps. While at the same time, the Trust claimed wearing items from the neck posed a "risk of injury or infection."

"All I have ever wanted is to be a nurse and to be true to my faith," Onuoha explained. "I am a strong woman, but I have been treated like a criminal. I love my job, but I am not prepared to compromise my faith for it and neither should other Christian NHS staff in this country."

In a letter addressed to Onuoha on Aug. 9, 2018, her line manager and clinical lead practitioner wrote: "I offered you a compromise of using a longer chain so your necklace was out of sight, but you refused."

"Please note that the necklace is not only a breach of dress code policy but also a health and safety risk to patients and yourself," the letter stated. "I understand that you wear the necklace due to religious belief.  I am prepared to offer you a compromise in that you can wear a high-necked t-shirt so that the necklace is out of sight, below the v of your scrubs and out of reach of potential angry or agitated patients. I am also writing to offer you another compromise in that you can wear a high-necked t-shirt/vest top under your scrub top to cover the necklace."

"I do hope you will see that I have tried to support your religious beliefs by allowing you to wear your necklace, but it cannot be visible when you are on clinical duties," the letter added. "This is both to adhere to Infection Control guidelines and to protect you from possible injury if confronted by angry patients or carers."

Christian Legal Centre is challenging Croydon Health Services NHS Trust on the grounds of "harassment, victimisation, direct and indirect discrimination and constructive unfair dismissal."

Onuoha's lawyers will reportedly argue that the dress code was "applied inconsistently, with other nurses and members of staff frequently wearing various types of jewelry, hijabs, saris, turbans and religious bracelets in wards and theatre without being asked to remove them."

Andrea Williams, the chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said that Onuoha's case is about "one or two members of staff being offended by the cross."

"It is upsetting that an experienced nurse, during a pandemic, has been forced to choose between her faith and the profession she loves," Williams said. "Why do some NHS employers feel that the cross is less worthy of protection or display than other religious attire?"

"How Mary was treated over a sustained period was appalling and cannot go unchallenged," she added. "Mary's whole life has been dedicated to caring for others and her love for Jesus. We are determined to fight for justice."
Trans doctor warns against puberty blockers: Medical community 'zigged' too far Left

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Two trans-identified healthcare professionals are raising concerns about the rush to affirm children suffering from gender dysphoria and the longterm consequences of puberty blockers.

In an exclusive interview with Wall Street Journal contributor Abigail Shrier published on Substack, Dr. Marci Bowers and clinical psychologist Erica Anderson cast doubt on the effectiveness of puberty blockers and lamented the demands for conformity within the medical community regarding the transgender debate. Both Bowers and Anderson are trans-identified men who go by female names and belong to the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, which sets the standards worldwide for transgender medical care.

Bowers, a surgeon who performs gender reassignment surgeries and has been tapped to lead WPATH beginning next year, told Shrier that We zig and then we zag, and I think maybe we zigged a little too far to the left in some cases.

The doctor alleged that within WPATH, there are definitely people who are trying to keep out anyone who doesnt absolutely buy the party line that everything should be affirming, and that theres no room for dissent.

Shrier noted that a similar mentality exists within corporate media: Anderson told me [he] submitted a co-authored op-ed to The New York Times warning that many healthcare providers were treating kids recklessly. The Times passed, explaining it was outside our coverage priorities right now.

While Bowers is the doctor who performed trans-affirming surgery on famous trans-identified reality star Jazz Jennings, the surgeon is speaking out about some of the consequences of the puberty blockers. Specifically, Bowers warned that if youve never had an orgasm pre-surgery, and then youre pubertys blocked, its very difficult to achieve that afterwards.

Bowers has come to believe that the risks of puberty blockers outweigh the benefits: Believe me, were doing some magnificent surgeries on these kids, and theyre so determined, and Im so proud of many of them and their parents. Theyve been great. But honestly, I cant sit here and tell you that they have better  or even as good  results.

Theyre not as functional, Bowers added. I worry about their reproductive rights later. I worry about their sexual health later and ability to find intimacy.

Shrier reported that the U.S. began to adopt affirmation of trans-identified children with puberty blockers as the standard operating procedure by embracing the Dutch Protocol. The Dutch Protocol is based on research conducted in the Netherlands portraying puberty blockers in a favorable light.

According to Shrier, the thinking behind the protocol was: Why make a child who has suffered with gender dysphoria since preschool endure puberty, with all its discomforts and embarrassments, if that child were likely to transition as a young adult?

Shrier wrote that when a U.S. hospital first began relying on the Dutch Protocol in 2007, researchers believed blockers effects were reversible. When asked if puberty blockers were reversible, Bowers responded by saying, Im not sure, adding, Im not a fan.

The doctor also explained that the common use of tissue from the stomach and bowel to construct neovaginas in trans-identified males can cause colon cancer in addition to other complications: If its used sexually, you can get this chronic colitis that has to be treated over time. And its just in the discharge and the nasty appearance and it doesnt smell like vagina.

Both Bowers and Anderson weighed in on the phenomenon of rapid onset gender dysphoria, which refers to the rise in the number of biological females seeking to change their gender.

A survey of 70,000 American college students conducted by the American College Health Association revealed that the share of biological female college students who identify as transgender rose from 1 in 2,000 in 2008 to 1 in 20 in 2021. At the same time, the number of gender clinics in the U.S. has grown from one in 2007 to hundreds today.

Shrier, who wrote a book about the phenomenon, titled Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters, and other researchers attribute the rise in rapid onset gender dysphoria to peer pressure stemming from the prevalence of trans influencers on social media.

Bowers agreed: I think there probably are people who are influenced. There is a little bit of Yeah, thats so cool. Yeah, I kind of want to do that too.

Anderson predicted that were going to have more young adults who will regret having gone through this process as a result of medical professionals rushing people through the medicalization as well as failing to evaluate the mental health of someone historically in current time, and to prepare them for making such a life-changing decision. Bowers elaborated on some of the underlying mental health factors that may cause young girls to want to transition and urged parents to think twice about doctors rushing to confirm gender dysphoria.

When you have a female-assigned person and shes feeling dysphoric, or somebody decides that shes dysphoric and says your eating disorders are not really eating disorders, this is actually gender dysphoria, and then they see you for one visit, and then they recommend testosterone  red flag!
Over 700 Afghans leave US military bases without completing resettlement process, report says

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More than 700 Afghans have left the U.S. Army bases where they were temporarily housed to receive services for their transition to the United States, even before completing their resettlement, according to a report.

The number of independent departures could be higher than 700, Reuters reported Saturday, quoting two sources familiar with the data who also said the number includes more than 300 Afghans who walked out of Fort Bliss in Texas.

While its not illegal for the Afghans who fled the Taliban on U.S. evacuation flights in August to leave the U.S. bases, their departure might cost other Afghan evacuees expedited work permits, apart from creating some other legal problems, a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services official was quoted as saying anonymously.

U.S. officials claim that the Afghans who left the military bases went through security screenings and likely have friends and relatives or resources to manage on their own.

About 2,600 Afghans have been resettled off base while 53,000 more are being housed on eight U.S. bases and another 14,000 are expected to arrive from Europe this week, according to Military News.

Reuters said it viewed a document called Departee Information, which warns Afghans they would forfeit some advantages, including cash to help pay for travel to their destination in the U.S., and might not be able to return if they leave the base where they have been brought.

Last month, two Afghan men staying at the Fort McCoy U.S. Army base in Wisconsin were indicted by a federal grand jury on separate criminal charges of forcibly engaging in a sexual act with children and assaulting a spouse by strangling and suffocating her.

U.S. officials have also found that Afghan girls have been presented to authorities as the wives of much older men. Some girls have alleged they were raped and forced to marry older men who used them as a ruse to get on evacuation flights out of Afghanistan.

The State Department recently sought urgent guidance from other government agencies after child brides were brought to Fort McCoy.

Federal authorities are also investigating a recent assault on a female service member by three to four Afghan men at a Fort Bliss shelter complex, according to Gen. Glen VanHerck, head of U.S. Northern Command.

"In a population of 53,000, there have been eight reported cases of robbery and theft," which is below-average crime rates in the U.S., VanHerck responded, downplaying the incidents of reported criminal activity, Military News said.

The investigation is currently with the FBI and have since provided acknowledgement that they received the case from Fort Bliss, Military Times quoted Lt. Col. Allie Payne, 1st Armored Division spokeswoman, as saying.

Among the thousands of Afghans whove arrived in the U.S., some 10,000 were flagged for additional security screening, and of those 100 were flagged for possible ties to the Taliban or terror groups, sources with knowledge of the evacuation process previously told NBC News.

Two of those 100 were sent out of the country to Kosovo for an additional security review.

Republican Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Kevin Cramer of North Dakota recently sent a letter to President Joe Biden, saying they were deeply concerned that your withdrawal has imported an acute human rights crisis to our country.

Following the withdrawal of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, the Taliban quickly seized control of much of the country, eventually taking the capital Kabul in August and forcing the government to flee. In response to the unexpected speed at which they retook the nation, tens of thousands of Americans, Afghan allies, and others desperately left the country. It's been reported that as many as 100 U.S. green card holders are still waiting to be evacuated.

Last week, the Department of Homeland Security banned a charter flight carrying U.S. citizens evacuated from Afghanistan from landing in the U.S., The Hill reported.

Bryan Stern, the founder of Project Dynamo, which has been evacuating people from Afghanistan, told Reuters that a flight carrying 117 people, including 28 Americans and 83 green card holders, was denied entry into the U.S. after initially obtaining permission to land at the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City and Dulles International airport near Washington, D.C.

For its part, the Biden administration said all passengers had to be vetted before entering the U.S.

All U.S.-bound flights must follow the established safety, security, and health protocols before they are cleared for departure," a DHS spokesperson said in a statement to Reuters. "This process requires flight manifests to be verified before departure to the U.S. to ensure all passengers are screened appropriately.

The U.S. withdrawal marked the end of the war in Afghanistan, which spanned nearly two decades.
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October 1 marks one month since the Texas Heartbeat Act went into effect, outlawing abortions past six weeks, which is when a fetal heartbeat can be detected. Since its implementation, about 150 unborn lives have been spared from abortion each day, meaning an estimated 4,500 babies will have the opportunity to be born because of the Act. According to estimates from the Charlotte Lozier Institute, the 6-week ban could save upwards of 33,000 lives in the next year if it continues to remain in effect.

This law has withstood many challenges since its passing and has triumphantly continued to defend human life. Even as radical proponents of abortion desperately seek any avenue to block the democratically enacted legislation, the Texas Heartbeat Act is unapologetically preserving the lives and futures of babies in the womb with each passing day.

Like the obedient servants of God who were protected by the Angel of the Lord in the furnace, Texas Heartbeat Act has persevered through fiery attacks. The uproar from pro-abortion advocates was instantaneous following its passage by the state legislature and signing by Governor Abbott in the spring. Members of the abortion lobby, led by Planned Parenthood, petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to block the law before it could go into effect. However, in a 5-4 decision, the Court upheld the law on a procedural technicality, allowing it to take effect.

In a reactionary strategy, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi forced a vote on the deceptively named Womens Health Protection Act (H.R. 3755). It should really be called the Abortion on Demand Act, since it would effectively codify Roe v. Wade and eradicate the vast majority of state-level pro-life laws, including the Texas Heartbeat Act. The legislation passed in the House last Friday and has moved to the Senate for consideration in the near future. Archbishop Cordileone of San Francisco, who has the duty to instruct Speaker Nancy Pelosi as a baptized Catholic in his diocese, declared that H.R. 3755 equates to child sacrifice.

Fortunately, the radically sweeping nature of H.R. 3755 has ruffled the feathers of even some Democrats. Legislators on both sides of the aisle are discomforted by the bills mission to overturn democratically instituted laws in the states that are created to promote womens informed consent and human rights, such as ultrasound requirements, parental notification requirements for minors, and bans on discriminatory sex-selective abortions.

Texas was well-prepared for the surge of mothers requiring assistance after the ban; Texas has about 230 pregnancy resource centers (PCRs) that have been meeting the needs of mothers  more than any other state in the nation. One report shows that 46% of Texans support the 6-week ban, only 43% oppose it, and 11% are undecided. Although these statistics are hopeful, they also demonstrate the work that remains to be done to educate all Americans about the inherent dignity of human life from the point of conception. Texas also provides a model for preparedness in resources for mothers that other states implementing pro-life laws ought to pursue.

The Texas Heartbeat Act has opened the eyes of pro-life legislators around the nation, who are now seeking to produce similar bills in their own states. Action to mimic Texas law is happening in Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Mississippi, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has demonstrated his support for a six-week ban that was introduced in the legislature last Wednesday. In Pennsylvania, legislators are anxiously seeking the election of a Republican governor in 2022 who would allow for a 6-week ban to be signed into law.

Through its month of life-saving action, the Texas Heartbeat Act has increased hopes that a greater national understanding of the humanity of the unborn will allow for a favorable ruling in the Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Center case, which the U.S. Supreme Court will hear on December 1.



As additional pro-life bills are considered around the nation, and the pro-life movement prays for Roe v. Wade to be overturned by the Dobbs case, it is clear that Americans are increasingly valuing life and will increasingly oppose those who seek to end the lives of the most vulnerable humans.

Originally published at the Family Research Council.
Nigerian pastor murdered in machete attack was known for Christian charity, working to foster peace with Muslims

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A Muslim mob in northern Nigerias Kano state hacked to death a church leader and burned down his home, church and a Christian school to avenge the murder of a woman allegedly committed by a young man falsely believed to be a Christian convert, according to reports.

The Rev. Yohanna Shuaibu of New Life Church, who was the chair of the Christian Association of Nigeria in the Sumaila Local Government Area and lived in Massu village, succumbed to multiple machete wounds last Friday, Morning Star News reported.

The Muslims felt the young man who killed the woman in a fight is a Christian, and they likely targeted the pastor for attack because it was through the ministry of Pastor Shuaibu that many Muslims were converted to the Christian faith, Hosle Tongnan Michael, a friend and colleague of Shuaibu, was quoted as saying.

Shuaibu helped raise funds for the school where local children study and also for boreholes for Christian communities that were denied access to government-provided water sources, according to the U.K.-based group Christian Solidarity Worldwide, which said the pastor also fixed a broken water source at a local mosque in an attempt to foster peace and unity.

The pastor was attacked two days after the young man who had left Islam murdered his sister-in-law by hitting her with a piston, CSW said, adding that the man subsequently turned himself in. Shuaibu, however, was advised to leave the area because area Muslims believed the suspect had converted to Christianity because he's stopped going to the mosque.

The night before he was attacked, the pastor had taken refuge in neighboring Biri village and then returned to Massu to evacuate pupils from his school, Michael said. Pastor Shuaibu believed that the tension generated by the ugly incident [had subsided] and thought he could stay with his family and other people in Massu. However, the Muslims gathered their mob and descended on him, cut him badly with machetes and burned down his house, the church and the school.

In separate attacks Tuesday night, four other Christians, including a Catholic priest, were murdered by Fulani militants, the U.S.-based persecution watchdog International Christian Concern reported.

At around 6:50 p.m. Nigerian time, three persons on a motorcycle were  on their way from Jebbu Miango to Miango community (Plateau state), when the Fulani terrorists laid ambush and attacked them, Davidson Malison, the national spokesman of Irigwe Development Association, was quoted as saying. Their motorcycle was also burnt to ashes by the terrorists. Two were killed instantly and one sustained gunshot injuries.

The survivor told ICC: The attackers came with guns shouting Allahu Akbar (Allah is greatest). I did nothing to them  the [Fulani militants] wanted to kill me because I am a Christian. My friends and our catechist were killed because they were Christians.

Malison added, In a separate attack same Tuesday evening, two persons were killed while working on their farm at Nzhwerenvi community in Jebbu Miango.

The Global Terrorism Index ranks Nigeria as the third country most affected by terrorism in the world. It reports that from 2001 to 2019, over 22,000 were killed by acts of terror.

Mark Jacob, a Nigerian barrister and former Attorney General of Kaduna state, said last month that selected killings of Christians, particularly in the Middle Belt region of Nigeria had been going on, and he has been part of several mass burials of Christians.
Entrepreneur! Today is the day that business experts will help you take your business to the next level.

This Wednesday, August 6, the VictoriaFest will be held, a completely free virtual experience of Victoria147 in which you can learn about the most relevant ideas of entrepreneurship in Spanish-speaking, create community and enjoy conferences and reflections, which invite you to transform challenges into successes.

"Entrepreneurship has its genderless complexities. But women entrepreneurs have limiting beliefs that are built from an unconscious that sometimes we build without realizing it. They are precisely the ones that create the impostor syndrome, the ones that cause us to be super at the time of pitching. realistic or conservative instead of thinking about 'why yes', "said Ana Victoria Garcia, founder of VictoriaFest, in an interview with Entrepreneur en Espanol.

From 9 in the morning to 7 at night you will have access to talks and workshops that will help you transform challenges into opportunities with business women and men in a space for learning, discussion and growth.

In the 2021 edition, Ana Victoria Garcia , founder of Victoria147; Arturo Elias Ayub , Mexican businessman and CEO of the Telmex Foundation; Marco Antonio Regil , television host, lecturer and writer; Diego Barrazas , host and creator of the Dementes podcast; among other guests.

"It is an event where you are going to have inspirational talks, business talks, workshops, conversations, the possibility for all attendees to connect with each other because what we are looking for is that those who attend have training and connections. It is going to be a very well destined day for female entrepreneurs, "said Victoria Garcia.

Victoria147 is the first business academy for women in Mexico specialized in business courses and programs for entrepreneurs and businesswomen who want to launch, grow or expand their companies. Victoria147 currently has face-to-face and online programs that have made it possible to impact more than 10,000 female entrepreneurs in Mexico, Argentina and Colombia, among other countries.

To know the agenda and register at VictoriaFest free of charge, enter the following link .

Copyright 2021 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
Kat Becker feeds hundreds of people with the vegetables she grows on her Wisconsin farm, and she wants to expand. But her ability to grow her business collides with her need for affordable health insurance and child care.

She has had to make difficult choices over the years: keep her farm income low enough so her children can qualify for the states public health insurance, or expand the farm and buy expensive private insurance. To look after her three young children, she could hire a cheap but inexperienced babysitter, or spend a significant share of her income on child care and have peace of mind that the kids are safe from dangers on the farm.

The stable choice for my children to have health insurance is an irrational choice for my farm business, she said.

Weve heard numerous stories like Kats in our work as social scientists supporting the next generation of farmers. Through thousands of interviews, surveys and conversations with farmers across the country, we have documented how household expenses like access to health care and child care undercut investments that could increase food production across the United States.

As farmers continue to age and retire, the U.S. needs young farmers to take their place. The country has 3.4 million farm operators today, roughly 2% of the American population, and their average age is 58.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has made concerted efforts to help young and beginning farmers, particularly with access to farmland, credit and marketing skills. But focusing on the technical side of farming misses a fundamental fact about farms: They are inherently social entities, and their success depends upon social infrastructure as much as biophysical or financial infrastructures. Bolstering food systems resilience means supporting individuals so they can grow food.

Our research indicates that health care and child care are two crucial ingredients for a successful food system.

Health insurance: What happens when farmers get sick?

Economists find that healthier workers are more productive, adaptable and better able to cope with stress. Farming, meanwhile, is stressful, risky and physical work.

Our research found that two-thirds of farmers have a preexisting health condition, and one in three farms has a family member whose health problems make farming difficult. Farmers prioritize having health insurance  over 90% of farmers are covered  yet this number hides details that plague the entire U.S. health care system.

In addition to farming, half of all farm families have at least one adult working an additional full-time job, often primarily to get health insurance coverage. Its an affordable option, but pulls time and energy away from farm work.

The costs of health insurance and child care can make it difficult for young farmers to start and expand their farms. Al Seib/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Farmers in states as diverse as Mississippi, California and Nebraska have shared the lengths they have gone to stay eligible for public health insurance. In extreme cases, farmers have said they kept marriages secret. Often, farmers feel trapped: Too much income can put them over the threshold for public benefits.

Nationwide, 68% of all personal bankruptcies are connected to health and medical expenses. Such personal and financial crises can have long-term consequences for farms. One in two farm families reported that they worried they would have to sell farm assets to pay health expenses.

Farmers report that covering health care needs often means working into old age or selling land to the highest bidder. This limits access to farmland, making it even harder for young farmers to get started.

Child care: Who watches the kids?

As parents across the country discovered during the pandemic, productivity can suffer when working from home with children around. Magazine and grocery store advertisements of smiling farmers posing with young children obscure the reality that farm parents are working parents who also must navigate the complex world of child care.

Growing up on a farm has many benefits for children, but farms can also be dangerous. Every day 33 children are seriously injured in agricultural-related incidents, and every three days a child dies on a farm. Child care is rarely discussed in conversations related to farm viability and farm safety, yet it underpins the very foundation of the family farm.

In a national study of farm parents before the pandemic, we found that two-thirds had struggled with the cost, availability and quality of child care. Surveying farm parents during the early months of COVID-19, we found 58% reported that taking care of children became harder during the pandemic  especially for women farmers and those with children under age 6.

Women are one of the fastest-growing groups of farmers, and their role as primary caregivers influences a farms success. In our research, women were almost twice as likely as men to report that child care was an important factor in farm decisions, 44% compared to 24% among men.

We also found that the majority of women farmers with child care problems operated small or medium farms and were significantly more likely to sell directly to consumers, such as at farmers markets. These findings have implications for the food system.

The Biden administrations new US .8 trillion proposal proposal to support families and women in the workforce includes resources for child care infrastructure. These investments could also deliver much-needed support for American farm families.

Prescription for supporting the next crop of farmers

Over the last 10 years, farm families have told us that public insurance options, making insurance easier for self-employed people to access, universal health insurance, and affordable rural child care would help them grow better food and stronger businesses.

These challenges parallel those faced by many Americans. Policymakers can leverage lessons from the social and economic crises triggered by COVID-19 to ensure that all Americans, including those who grow the nations food, have access to adequate and affordable health insurance and child care.

The Department of Agriculture announced on April 21, 2021, that it was beginning an effort to improve and reimagine the supply chains for food production  including meeting the need of agriculture workers and addressing the needs of mid- to small-size farms. This an opportunity to integrate health insurance and child care as core infrastructure that supports the future of farmers and rural communities, along with the U.S. food supply.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. It was written by: Shoshanah Inwood, The Ohio State University; Andrea Rissing, The Ohio State University, and Florence Becot, The Ohio State University.

Read more:



Shoshanah Inwood receives funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Florence Becot receives funding from the CDC National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

Andrea Rissing does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Copyright 2021 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
A local developer plans an ambitious multimillion-dollar renovation at a historic Midtown building, signaling the end of a beloved flower shop and antique store after 72 years.

Headwall Investments purchased the 21,152-square-foot property at 2101 McCullough Avenue in July, says president and CEO George J. Wommack. The space will be converted into a modern office space that still preserves the old historic features of the building.

Headwall Investments - Studio 8

Wommack is the former founder and CEO of Petro Waste Environmental LP, an oil and gas solid waste processing and disposal company in the Permian Basin. Petrol Waste was sold to Waste Management in 2019 and now Wommack leads Headwall, a San Antonio-based investment firm.

Wommack is calling the future office space "The Allen"  a nod to the flower and antique shop that's currently on its way out.

Headwall Investments purchased the property in July from Lisa Marie Allen, the owner of Allen's Flowers & Gifts and Best Wholesale.

A trove of antiques and flowers

Allen's Flowers & Gifts and Best Wholesale has been around since 1950, but the beloved shop will stop selling flowers on October 30 and be out of the space by November 13, Allen says.

The showroom is a warmly lit museum of antique wooden cabinets, delicate china sets, handmade tables, heavy crystal vases, vibrant oil paintings, and Christmas wreathes and garland. Even with the adult contemporary music playing throughout the building, the space is stoically quiet.

Steven Santana | MySA

Each piece of furniture and decorative item gives off an air of "please be careful." You have to be careful to make your way back to Allen's office, where she sat at her desk working when MySA visited the space this week. She says this is where you'll find her six days a week.

Allen's is essentially her home, and it has been since she started working with for the family business in 1976 when she was just 23. Now 68, Allen said she sold the building because it's time for her to retire.

The Allen family has a long history in the Alamo City, beginning when Allen's Flowers & Gifts and Best Wholesale was originally opened by her mother, Grace Louise Mauermann Allen, who was the original florist and decorator. After attending Jefferson High School and Hockaday Junior College in Dallas, Grace Allen then when onto the University of Texas at Austin where she earned a bachelors degree in art.

Steven Santana | MySA

Her artistic eye extended beyond florals, and Grace Allen even trained famed painter Diego Rivera's students at the McNay Art Museum. Grace Allen's eye for decorations and arrangements were beloved by the community, just as much as the store.

Allen says her mother almost went into movie business after producers came to San Antonio to take Grace Allen and San Antonio-born Carol Burnett to Hollywood by train. Allen's grandfather, San Antonio's two-term mayor Gus B. Mauermann, put a stop to that.

"She was a great beauty," Allen says. "He stopped the train and said no daughter his is going to Hollywood."

Her mother died in 2016 at the age of 92.

Steven Santana | MySA

Allen's first-ever decorating job was for the Kodak Company around Christmas 1976. Just before the project, her father, Charles Allen, had a stroke at the age of 51. The job was hard, Allen said, but she clearly had her mother's eye for decorating. Once completed, she was handed a $50,000 check.

"I came back and handed the check to my dad and he told me, 'I'll never have to worry about you and the family again,'" Allen says.

Steven Santana | MySA

Allen went on to decorate and create arrangements and fruit baskets for big local clients like the Cavender and McCombs families. Some of the antique pieces she uses to decorate costs upwards of $6,000 or higher. As a result, Allen's still brings in a wealth of different types of customers, though she is discrete about her client list.

Now, Allen's is having a blowout sale to try and liquidate its antique pieces to be out of the building in November.

Steven Santana | MySA

Preserving 'warm and welcoming'

Allen says she's going to miss the customers most of all, but she believes the building is in good hands.

"They're going to keep the building beautiful, and warm and welcoming, which is what I wanted," Allen says.

Headwall Investments - Studio 8

Most of the space will be converted into offices, but Wommack says he intends to preserve the Allen's showroom, which will be the main entry way to The Allen.

"We just think it's a beautiful structure and has some really neat architectural elements to it," Wommack says. "We're taking that building and we're going back to just the bare bones of it for the most part."

Headwall Investments - Studio 8

Wommack says not only are they honoring the flower shop's history, but also the wood and leather furniture maker WR Dallas, the furniture maker operated out of the McCullough building beginning in 1929.

Headwall Investments - Studio 8

A recent listing on Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation has a projected cost of $4.4 million, which is subject to change. Wommack says that cost will be supplemented with the help of historic tax credits.

Wommack hopes to begin construction as soon as November. Studio 8 designed the renderings for the The Allen. Jones Lang LaSalle will manage the project and handle leasing.
NEWTOWN  A third parent of a slain Sandy Hook child has won a defamation lawsuit against conspiracy extremist and Infowars host Alex Jones in Texas.

Neil Heslin will have his case heard by a jury to determine damages along with the Sandy Hook parents in two other cases  Scarlett Lewis and Lenny Pozner  who won their defamation suits against Jones last week .

Bill Ogden, one of the attorneys who represents the Sandy Hook parents in their separate cases against Jones in Texas, said the default judgment in favor of Heslin brings him and the other parents a major step closer to bringing ... closure to this horrific experience.

Alex Jones and Infowars no longer have the ability to make excuses or defend their actions, Ogden said on Tuesday. My clients can finally say What you did was wrong. You defamed me. You intentionally inflicted emotional distress on me, and for that, you will be held accountable.

Olivier Douliery / TNS

Heslin, Lewis and Pozner sued Jones for calling the 2012 fatal shooting of 26 first-graders and educators at Sandy Hook School staged, synthetic, manufactured, a giant hoax and completely fake with actors.

Jones in court documents argued that he no longer believes the worst crime in Connecticut history was a hoax, and that he has a right under the First Amendment to be wrong.

Heslin and the parents in the other two Texas defamation cases asked a Travis County District Court judge to find Jones in default for failing to turn over pretrial documents, known in the legal world as discovery.

The judge agreed, ruling last week that Jones had shown flagrant bad faith and callous disregard for the responsibilities of discovery under the rules.

In reaching this decision, this court has considered lesser remedies ... and determined they would be inadequate in light of the history of (Jones) conduct in this court, Judge Maya Guerra Gamble wrote in the latest default judgment in favor of Heslin. [A]n escalating series of judicial admonishments, monetary penalties, and non-dispositive sanctions have all been ineffective in deterring the abuse.

The defamation cases in Texas are separate from two defamation lawsuits filed against Jones and Infowars in Connecticut Superior Court by eight families who lost loved ones in the Sandy Hook massacre and an FBI agent, where the Judge Barbara Bellis has also threatened default against Jones if he doesnt comply with discovery orders.

After the default judgments against him in Texas last week, Jones and his attorney Norm Pattis said in a statement, the First Amendment was crucified today.

The next step in Texas is for a jury to award damages, Ogden said.

We look forward to completing discovery on the damages that were caused by Alex Jones and Infowars five-year campaign of spreading harassing misinformation, Ogden said.

rryser@newstimes.com 203-731-3342
Ron Chapple / Getty Image

WALLINGFORD  A Texas woman was arrested Tuesday after robbing a bank on Main Street, according to the Wallingford Police Department.

Around 2:27 p.m. Tuesday, 46-year-old Jennifer Key of Palestine, Texas, allegedly passed a note to a bank teller, demanding cash, staff at the Webster Bank told police. Key didnt use a weapon during the interaction, and left with an undetermined amount of cash on foot down South Main Street, police said.
Coal may be a thing of the past for the Tri-Cities area.

The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) held a public hearing on the 15-year Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) from Consumers Energy, the main energy provider for the Midland, Bay and Saginaw counties. The plan outlines how Consumers plans to supply power to its customers.

While many Michiganders applauded the companys decision to phase out coal power plants, they also said the plan failed to address the climate change due to the continued use of natural gas.

The state requires all regulated utilities in the state file IRPs and do so every five years, according to a presentation at the public hearing. The plan must look at five, 10 and 15 years in the future and must be able to adapt to any changes and risks in the utilities industry.

Factors utility providers must consider when making an IRP is:

Renewable energy.

Long term forecast of sales and peak demand under different scenarios.

Plans to eliminate energy waste.

Using less energy altogether.

Energy efficiency as a result of technology advancements.

Consumers filed its latest IRP on June 30. The plan will focus on eliminating all of its coal plants by 2025, to have 60% of its electrical capacity powered by renewable resources, and to update its grids for efficiency and lowering peak demands. People can learn more about Consumers plan through its website.

The coal phase-out would impact the Tri-Cities area with the closure of coal-fired units at the D.E. Karn Generating Complex near Bay City by 2023. Cathy Cole, an MPSC staffer, said coal plants supply power to the grid that covers the Tri-City area and more. This grid would be powered by natural gas and renewable resources, Cole said.

However, many residents were concerned with the plan. One caller from Grand Rapids said while it is good that Consumers plans to phase out coal power, natural gas still produces carbon and pollutes the environment around it, so it should switch to renewable resources.

Bridget Vial, a Detroit resident and member of the Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition, said action must be taken to subvert the climate emergency, so she agrees Consumers should ditch fossil fuels. She said many Detroiters spent their summers cleaning black mold from their basements due to continued flooding and are burdened by air pollution.

We cannot accept further investments in fossil gas, period, Vial said. It is too late. I am 25, and I'm of the generation that became scared of having my own kids when I was 15.

The MPSC was supposed to have an in-person meeting at Saginaw Valley State University but had to postpone due to MPSC employees being potentially exposed to COVID-19. Dan Scripps, the chair of MPSC, said the commission is working on rescheduling that meeting for another time.
The Plainview ISD School Board granted Superintendent H.T. Sanchez permission to negotiate a contract for the construction at La Mesa Elementary.

The district received competitive sealed proposals for the work at La Mesa from three different companies including Teinert Construction, Lee Lewis Construction, Inc., and Wiley Hicks, Jr., Inc.

Prior to the beginning of construction, the district put together an evaluation committee to assess the qualifications for each construction project and during a special called meeting on Tuesday, Sanchez told the board Teinert Construction seems to be the frontrunner for the La Mesa remodel and construction based on time estimations, cost estimations and several other factors.

The work is part of a $76.62 million bond package passed by voters in 2019 to take the district down to three elementary campuses, one intermediate campus (for 5th and 6th grades) and one middle school campus (for 7th and 8th grades).

Teinerts bid came out to be the lowest with an estimated base time of 625 days to complete the work.

Sanchez said he feels comfortable with all the details and plans negotiate a contract with the company with the boards approval, which was granted unanimously by a vote of 5-0. Board members JoAnn Rey and Sofia Rivera were absent.

It was emphasized that this approval does not guarantee Teinert the bid. This approval just grants Sanchez authority attempt to negotiate a contract with the company regarding construction.

The board later granted Sanchez approval to officially award the bid and move forward with the contract if both parties are able to reach a satisfactory negotiation. The board voted unanimously in favor for that motion.

Sanchez emphasized to the board that the contract would be thoroughly reviewed by the districts attorney before he gives officially approval.

That will give the chosen construction company a chance to start ordering materials and breaking ground for construction, he said.

The district is working with Parkhill on plans and will seek their guidance as well as the La Mesa project moves forward.

While cranes, gates and construction materials are a common sight at most Plainview ISD campus locations, work continues on the inside as well. The last item on Tuesdays agenda was for a large furniture purchase for Coronado Middle School.

The board approved a Phase 1 furniture purchase from Indeco Sales  Lubbock, a company based out of Belton. The purchase includes shelves, seating, tables, book boxes and multiple other items from Indeco for $245,940.28.

The motion also included approval of Balt Power Towers from GovConnection Inc. out of Merrimack, New Hampshire. The total cost is $17,867.50.

The funds will come out of the 2021-2022 Budget from the bond.
Nine Republican governors joined Gov. Greg Abbott for a press conference in Mission, Texas Wednesday to blame President Joe Biden's administration for the escalating migrant crossings at the border. There they also unveiled a plan they claim will end such entries.

The conservative group of state executives included Doug Ducey of Arizona, Kim Reynolds of Iowa, Pete Rickets of Nebraska, Brian Kemp of Georgia, Brad Little of Idaho, Greg Gianforte of Montana, Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma and Mark Gordon of Wyoming.

The Republican leaders claimed the Biden Administration has failed to address their concerns about border security and has encouraged historic rise in human trafficking, drug smuggling and other crimes. In turn, the group presented a "Joint Policy Framework on the Border Crisis" plan listing 10 policies to "protect America, restore security, and end the crisis."

"I want to make clear that while Biden continues to dither, Texas and other states are taking action to do the federal government's job," Abbott said, thanking governors who have lent resources to the state. "[These governors] understand the magnitude of the problem as well as the need for action."

As part of the new policy, Ducey called for the Biden Administration to dedicate additional federal resources to control human and drug trafficking along the southern border. The Arizona governor also called for the U.S. to reenter all agreements with its Northern Triangle partners, including Mexico, and added that officials should speak with a unified voice that the country's borders are not open.

Ducey said he and 25 other governors, some of which were present at the press conference, sent a letter to the White House in September requesting a meeting to discuss border policy, which he claimed went ignored. "We've tried to meet with the president and be a part of the solution, but he refuses," Ducey said. "Even worse, he ignores us, just like he's ignoring the border and the wellbeing of the American people."

Reynolds followed Ducey and said the Biden Administration should also notify governors when migrants and unaccompanied children are being dropped off in their states because they then become responsible for them.

"In addition to that they need to resume the deportation of all convicted criminals," Reynolds said. "When President Biden took office the first thing he did was issue an executive order that ordered ICE do limited deportations. That is unacceptable. That should have never happened."

Rickets also called for the Biden Administration to end the "catch-and-release" program, which Rickets said incentivizes people to come across the border illegally. "That is creating a crisis not only here at the border but health hazards across our country," he said, also suggesting the program has led to an increase in COVID-19 cases in the U.S.

Rickets finished by saying the Biden Administration needs to "properly resource" the border. "This is not new," he said. "Four previous administrations deployed National Guard troops to the border to be able to help out with this crisis down here. The administration needs to call more soldiers to be able to do that. They can do that under Title X so that the states don't bare the cost. That's what the proper role of the federal government is."
Texas' Senate Bill 8, which went into effect on Sept. 1, continues to overwhelm the national conversation around abortion as the most restrictive law in the country. Now other states  many of which are led by Republican governors  are looking to copy or even outdo the Lone Star State's new ban.

The controversial SB 8 outlaws abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, making no exceptions for rape or incest. But, controversially, the legislation relies on enforcement by private citizens, rather than state officials, who can sue anyone who "aids or abets" these procedures. Gov. Greg Abbott also signed Senate Bill 4 in September, which when it goes into effect on Dec. 2 will make the use of abortive medications after seven weeks of pregnancy illegal.

As several lawsuits aim to stop the enforcement of SB 8, per the Texas Tribune, lawmakers crafting anti-choice legislation in other states have taken cues from the law's passage and seek to implement similar measures in their jurisdictions.

In the aftermath of Texas' measure, the Supreme Court balked at calls to stop its implementation, voting 5-4 against an emergency appeal from abortion providers in the state. The decision encouraged Mississippi Republican state Sen. Chris McDaniel, who told the Associated Press he would consider filing similar legislation in light of the ruling. "I think most conservative states in the South will look at this inaction by the court and will see that as perhaps a chance to move on that issue," he said.

Mississippi is currently looking to uphold it ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy in the highly anticipated case of Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization, which is being argued in front of the Supreme Court on Dec. 1, and which has the potential to overturn Roe v. Wade, according to the Texas Tribune. In 2018, the Magnolia State passed the law but was blocked by a federal appellate court. In May, the court agreed to hear the case.

If the law overturns Roe v. Wade, 12 states, including Mississippi, possess pre-Roe abortion bans on the books that can be returned to active enforcement, according to the Guttmacher Institute, an organization that researches reproductive rights.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem announced via Twitter after SB 8's passage that she too wants to follow Texas' lead and "make sure we have the strongest pro-life laws on the books in (South Dakota)." Her state currently outlaws abortions after 20 or more weeks except in cases of life endangerment or severely compromised health, according to the Guttmacher Institute.

In September, Noem issued an executive order restricting access to abortion medication, requiring a physician to examine a patient in-person before administering the medications and prohibiting the mailing of the abortive treatment materials, according to the Associated Press. In North Dakota, GOP Sen. Janne Myrdal said she assumes the legislature will seek to pass a similar measure that uses Texas' law as a template when it reconvenes in 2023.

Arkansas GOP Sen. Jason Rapert also tweeted on Sept. 2 that he was working on a bill to "mirror the Texas SB 8 bill" adding he was the "original sponsor of the first Heartbeat Bill to pass in America." On Oct. 3, the Republican leader told the Southwest Times Record that the bill has already been drafted and will be introduced in a special legislative session in the coming weeks.

Rapert was a co-sponsor of Arkansas Senate Bill 6, which would ban abortions except to save the life of a mother and made no exceptions for rape or incest. The bill was blocked by a federal judge in July.

On Sept. 22, Florida Republican state Rep. Webster Barnaby introduced a Texas-style abortion bill, which similarly prohibits abortions after six weeks and would also be enforceable by private citizens. Those who file suit could win a $10,000 bounty, as Texas SB 8 has similarly decreed.

Speaking on the measure, Florida's Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis erred on the side of caution and told reporters he would "have to look more significantly" at Texas' mandate before proposing legislation in his state. "What they did in Texas was interesting, and I haven't really been able to look enough about it," he explained.

Republican legislators in Indiana have also shown interest in borrowing from Texas, but claim they will not be drafting abortion legislation this year. "We're closely watching what's happening in Texas in regards to their new pro-life law, including any legal challenges," Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston told the Associated Press. "Indiana is one of the most pro-life states in the country, and we'll continue to examine ways to further protect life at all stages."

Since most state legislatures aren't currently in session, votes on these publicly proposed Texas-style abortion bills won't likely be considered until next year unless eager Republican lawmakers see fit to capitalize on the moment and call for a special session.
NEW ORLEANS (AP)  Tropical Depression Nicholas hovered over Louisiana on Wednesday, dumping heavy rain on a region struggling to recover from Hurricane Ida and swamping coastal Mississippi, Alabama and northwest Florida.

The National Weather Service said dangerous flash floods were possible from southeast Louisiana into the Florida Panhandle. In Louisiana, the rainfall complicated an already difficult recovery at homes ripped open by Ida on Aug. 29. Thousands remain without power in Texas and Louisiana.

I'm not sure at this point what it looks like, said Edith Anthony, whose home in LaPlace, a New Orleans suburb between Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River, lost part of its roof while getting about 2 to 3 feet (0.6 to 0.9 meters) of floodwater two weeks ago.

They still don't have electricity, and couldn't arrange for a tarp to cover the roof before Nicholas blew in. Now she and her husband are staying in a Mobile, Alabama, hotel, preparing to return this weekend to what's left of their home.

The storm was forecast to dump as much as 6 inches (15 centimeters) of rain from southeast Louisiana into the Florida Panhandle through Friday, with 10 inches (25 centimeters) possible in isolated areas.

Life-threatening flash flooding impacts, especially in urban areas, remain a possibility in these areas, forecasters said. The Pensacola News Journal reported that as much as 5 inches (13 centimeters) had fallen in parts of Escambia and Baldwin counties in Florida as of Wednesday afternoon.

Nicholas as much as 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain on parts of Texas  and the weather service was checking reports of nearly 14 inches (35 centimeters) of rain in Galveston  after making landfall as a Category 1 hurricane, the 14th named storm of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season. Houston reported more than 6 inches (15 centimeters). Parts of Louisiana received more than 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain from the storm.

In Louisiana, the flash flood danger was expected to end Thursday, but the rain is forecast to linger for days.

We're going to be in a wet weather pattern well into next week," said meteorologist Christopher Brannan at the National Weather Service. He said Nicholas, now a tropical depression, would likely stall over southwest Louisiana while it dissipates into a a remnant low pressure system.

More than 112,000 electricity customers were still without power in Texas on Wednesday morning, including 75,000 in the Houston area. At its peak, more than half a million homes and businesses were without power in Texas.

In Louisiana on Wednesday, 72,000 were still without power more than two weeks after Ida.

Jerry Nappi, a spokesperson for Entergy Louisiana, said the utility company, which serves much of the state, did not expect Nicholas to lengthen restoration times.

Joe Ticheli, manager and CEO of South Louisiana Electric Cooperative Association, said the rain from Nicholas hadnt affected their operations. The cooperative serves about 21,000 customers across five parishes including parts of the hard-hit Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes.

As of late Tuesday, he said power has been restored to about 80% of its customers with the remaining 20% mostly in the hardest-hit parts of southern Terrebonne parish. However, he noted, that the destruction in those areas is so catastrophic that even when power is restored houses and businesses wont be able to receive it.

The worst of the weather largely spared the city of Lake Charles in southwest Louisiana  hit last year by hurricanes Laura and Delta  where city crews scoured the drainage system to keep it free from debris during Nicholas. Mayor Nic Hunter said he's been worried about how his people are coping.

With what people have gone through over the last 16 months here in Lake Charles, they are very, understandably, despondent, emotional. Any time we have even a hint of a weather event approaching, people get scared, he said.

___

Associated Press reporters Jay Reeves, in Pointe-aux-Chenes, Louisiana, and Juan A. Lozano in Surfside Beach, Texas, contributed to this report.
A. A sales tax would have meant visitors contributed to repaving.

B. We already are taxed too much.

C. Money for repaving should be put into the county's annual operational budget.

C. The road resurfacing program is behind schedule so the county needs to act ASAP.

Vote

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The Super Visa is a temporary option to reunite Canadians with their parents and grandparents from abroad.

Missed the PGP? Canadas Super Visa may allow you to reunite with your parents and grandparents

Missed the PGP? Canadas Super Visa may allow you to reunite with your parents and grandparents The Super Visa is a temporary option to reunite Canadians with their parents and grandparents from abroad.

Missed the PGP? Canadas Super Visa may allow you to reunite with your parents and grandparents The Super Visa is a temporary option to reunite Canadians with their parents and grandparents from abroad.

Missed the PGP? Canadas Super Visa may allow you to reunite with your parents and grandparents The Super Visa is a temporary option to reunite Canadians with their parents and grandparents from abroad. Shelby Thevenot Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif

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If your goal is to bring your parents or grandparents to Canada  even temporarily  the Super Visa may be an option for you.



The Super Visa is a document that allows your parents or grandparents to come visit you in Canada for up to two years at a time. If you were to go with the regular Visitor Visa (TRV), or electronic Travel Authorization (eTA), you would only be allowed to stay for six months at a time.

Also, the Super Visa is valid for 10 years, much longer than most other types of Canadian travel visas. The processing times vary by country, and do not include the time needed to give biometrics.

Contact the Law Firm of Campbell Cohen for help with Super Visas

Of course, there are certain eligibility and admissibility criteria for the visa. Not just any parent or grandparent of a Canadian can benefit. Before making arrangements to welcome your family to Canada, here are some of the general eligibility requirements of the Super Visa, according to the government website.

How to help your parents or grandparents get the visa

The Super Visa is meant for parents and grandparents of Canadian permanent residents and citizens. To help them get the visa, you will need to write a letter of invitation, and include your permanent residency or citizenship document.

In your letter, you will need to promise to financially support your parents for their entire stay in Canada. You will also need proof that your income meets or exceeds the Low-Income Cut-Off (LICO). For this, you will need a list of all the people in your household, as the LICO is partially determined by family size.

Some of the documents you can use as proof of funds include your Notice of Assessment, T4, or T1 for the most recent tax year, Employment Insurance stubs, an employment letter including salary and date of hiring, pay stubs, and bank statements.

Also, your parents or grandparents will need medical insurance from a Canadian insurance company that is at least $100,000 in coverage. It has to be valid for a minimum of one year from the date of entry. Quotes are not accepted, you need proof that the insurance has been paid.

Your parents or grandparents must apply for the super visa from outside Canada. They must be admissible to Canada and take an immigration medical exam, among other requirements.

When making a decision on your application, the immigration officer is supposed to determine whether or not the nature of your stay is actually temporary. In the governments words: You must be a genuine visitor to Canada who will leave by choice at the end.

They will look at your ties to your home country, the purpose of your visit, your family and finances, as well as the overall economic and political stability of your home country.

Again, this program is only for parents and grandparents. Any dependents they have cannot be included in the application for the Super Visa.

Applications can be done online or at your nearest visa application centre.

Contact the Law Firm of Campbell Cohen for help with Super Visas

 CIC News All Rights Reserved. Visit CanadaVisa.com to discover your Canadian immigration options.
Kyndryl is the new name for IBMs managed infrastructure services business, which will spin off as a separate company by the end of 2021. Initially, little will change for customers  except perhaps the logo on their invoice  but in time Kyndryls split from IBM will allow both businesses to innovate and to work with new partners.

What does Kyndryl do?

Essentially, Kyndryl does exactly what the managed infrastructure services unit of IBMs Global Technology Services segment did: outsource the management of enterprises IT infrastructure, whether it came from IBM or another vendor.

Under IBMs stewardship the activities moving to Kyndryl have been in slow decline from $21.8 billion in annual revenue in 2018, down 7% to $20.28 billion in 2019, and down 4.6% to $19.35 billion in 2020, according to IBM filings with the SEC. But Kyndryl estimates that the $415 billion market opportunity it addresses is growing at 7% a year, with some areas it is targeting (including security, intelligent automation, and public cloud managed services) growing even faster.

Kyndryl is organizing itself into six global managed services practices, and a customer advisory practice that will combine managed services, advisory services, and implantation. The six global practices will each manage a different aspect of technology:

Applications, data, and AI

Cloud

Core enterprise and zCloud, IBMs mainframe-as-a-service offering

Digital workplace

Network and edge

Security and resiliency

What does Kyndryl mean?

Kyndryl claims its name is derived from the words kinship and tendril. It is meant to evoke new growth and working together, and definitely not to hint at some kind of medication or a character in an online fantasy role-playing game.

What does Kyndryls split mean for IBM?

IBM will still be one of the biggest technology businesses in the world. Post-split, its largest operating segment will be Cloud and Cognitive Software, which brought in $23 billion in revenue in 2020, followed by Global Business Services, its consulting unit, at $16 billion. Global Technology Services, the segment from which Kyndryl is being spun out, will shrink to around $7 billion in revenue derived from the remaining Technology Support Services business unit.

How big is Kyndryl?

Kyndryl may be a little short in the vowel department, but it starts life with 4,600 customers (including 75 of the Fortune 100), over a quarter of IBMs 350,000 staff, activities generating $19 billion in annual revenue, and an order backlog (aka long-term maintenance contracts from all those customers) of around $62 billion. Where that puts Kyndryl in the rankings depends on what youre measuring. IBM says Kyndryl will be the largest managed infrastructure services provider, twice the size of any other, but IT channel publication CRN says Kyndryl will be only the fifth-largest solutions provider, a much broader category, behind Accenture, whats left of IBM, DXC Technology, and Tata Consulting Services.

Is Kyndryl hiring?

Like crazy! Although it inherited around 90,000 IBM staff, Kyndryl hired over a dozen top executives in 2021, and has 1,509 lower-level job openings posted at time of writing, more than 300 of them in the US, with other significant concentrations in Hungary, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Poland, and Costa Rica. Half the openings are for technical specialists, with more than 100 openings in each of systems architecture and sales.

Who works at Kyndryl?

Most staff at Kyndryl are simply changing email addresses, carrying on doing the same work for clients as they did at IBM before the split. Indeed, Kyndryl has gone out of its way to reassure customers that their key points of contact and support, and the other team members they work with, will not change  and that the company will even continue to work with experts in other divisions of IBM as it did before.

But the company is bringing in new blood for many of the most senior roles, either hiring in from other companies, or poaching from other divisions of IBM.

CEO Martin Schroeter is ex-IBM: He left the company in June 2020, before the spin-off was announced, and came back to lead Kyndryl, then known as NewCo, in January 2021. He was previously senior vice president of global markets at IBM, and before that its CFO. As Kyndryls CEO, Schroeter will take home a base salary of $1 million, a $2 million transaction bonus if he stays with the company through the spin-off, or if the spin-off is cancelled for reasons outside his control, and a performance-based share grant worth $10.5 million spread over three years, according to IBM filings with the SEC.

The next senior appointments, in March, were Chief Marketing Officer Maria Bartolome Winans, who came to the spin-off directly from her role as CMO for IBM Americas, and Group President Elly Keinan, another former IBMer who took time out to work in venture capital after 33 years at the company. Keinan will receive a base salary of $800,000, a sign-on bonus of $2 million if he stays for at least two years, a transaction bonus of $1.6 million and a performance-based share grant worth $5.6 million.

Global Head of Corporate Affairs Una Pulizzi was a new hire in April, previously in a similar role at GE, while General Counsel Edward Sebold was chief legal officer for IBMs Watson Health division.

Early May 2021 saw the poaching of more senior IBMers. Chief Transformation Officer Nelly Akoth was previously with IBM Global Business Services; Leigh Price moved from one leadership role in strategy and corporate development to another; and Vineet Khurana became controller at Kyndryl after five years in three different CFO roles at IBM.

It wasnt until the second half of May that Kyndryl began to name its top technical staff:

CIO Michael Bradshaw is new to IBM, having previously served as CIO at NBC/Universal and as CIO for Mission Systems and Training at Lockheed Martin.

CTO Antoine Shagoury is a former CIO of US bank State Street and of stock exchanges in London and the US. Most recently, he worked at strategic advisory partnership Ridge-Lane.

Other senior Kyndryl hires from outside IBM include:

Vic Bhagat, a former CIO for Verizon Enterprise Solutions, EMC, and several units of GE, as the head of its customer advisory practice

Chief Human Resources Officer Maryjo Charbonnier, formerly with Wolters Kluwer

CFO David Wyshner, who previously headed up finance at XPO Logistics, a supply chain management outsourcer, and before that helped Wyndham Worldwide split into separate companies

COO Harsh Chugh, most recently CFO at SaaS provider PlanSource

Who is on Kyndryls board?

To provide the new company with more stability, Kyndryls board of directors will serve overlapping three-year terms through 2027, so that it will take at least two elections for an outside group to take control of the board.

Kyndryls first 10 directors will be:

CEO Martyn Schroeter, the boards chairman

Stephen Hester, its lead independent director. He was CEO of RSA Insurance Group until June 2021, and is a director of easyJet, where he will become chairman in December 2021

Dominic Caruso, who retired as CFO of Johnson & Johnson in 2018

John Harris, a former vice president of business development for Raytheon and a board member at Cisco Systems

Shirley Ann Jackson, president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Janina Kugel, former CHRO and member of the managing board of German industrial conglomerate Siemens

Denis Machuel, CEO of French food services company Sodexo

Rahul Merchant, head of client service and technology for the retirement fund TIAA, a former head of technology at Fannie Mae and Merrill Lynch before that, and a board member at Convergint Technologies, Global Cloud Exchange, Juniper Networks, Emulex and elsewhere

Jana Schreuder, who retired as COO of Northern Trust in 2018 and is now a board member at Entrust and Blucora

Howard Ungerleider, president and CFO of commodity chemicals company Dow

Whats next for IBM?

Customer needs for application services and infrastructure services are diverging, and so spinning off Kyndryl will allow IBM to focus on growing its open hybrid cloud platform and AI capabilities, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna said in October 2020. The split turns IBM from a services-led company to one making more than half its revenue from software and solutions.

But until that growth takes hold, Kyndryl and IBM will remain close, as they will begin their separate lives as one anothers largest customers.

This article was originally published on Sept. 13, 2021.
By Erik Kaulberg, Vice President, Infinidat

Released in 2014 as an open-source system for automating the deployment and management of containerized applications, Kubernetes has come a long way in the past seven years. It was first created by Google and then turned over to a vendor-neutral body, the Cloud-Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), to manage it as an open-source project. But we are only now starting to see mature Kubernetes deployments at mainstream enterprises.

As more companies transition from monoliths to microservices, there has been an increase in the use of container technologies. As microservices proliferated, an increase in applications were comprised of hundreds or even thousands of containers, creating a challenge to manage all these applications. A need for orchestration technologies emerged.

Kubernetes is an orchestration tool that helps developers manage containerized applications and manage them in different environments, such as cloud, virtual and physical. Applications are run in isolated user spaces called containers, representing a form of virtualization.

Together, Kubernetes and containers enable application-oriented data centers. Essentially, the application environment is encapsulated by the containers. The focus is on managing applications, rather than the traditional way of managing machines.

Containerized applications are increasingly becoming mainstream services that enterprises want to run alongside other application workloads and services. Container environments are emerging as tier-one environments, alongside VMware environments  in fact, with VMwares Tanzu portfolio capabilities, containers may well be part of the VMware environment for many large enterprises.

Organizations with more of a classic open-source inclination tend to focus on Red Hat OpenShift, the dominant commercial Kubernetes distribution. In any case, petabyte scale is becoming a realistic target for leading-edge enterprise Kubernetes deployments.

This all would not be possible without the standardized approach enabled by the Container Storage Interface (CSI), which is a mechanism to manage storage directly within container environments. Released in early 2019, CSI has facilitated the construction of production-level container environments that deliver the core enterprise requirements  stability and predictability  when paired with effective backend storage solutions.

Both the availability of the CSI standard and the VMware Tanzu implementation of Kubernetes have been instrumental in turning an open-source solution that was often considered a science project into a viable, robust environment for the real world, just as virtual machines (VMs) are consumed in enterprise environments today. Overall, the realignment around Kubernetes has been critical to drive enterprise adoption of container environments beyond side projects or highly customized environments.

CSI as a Gateway

An effective Kubernetes implementation provides assurance that applications are always accessible by users. An application loads fast, and users get a high response rate. Kubernetes also has emerging backup and restore features and functionality.

But one of the most interesting things about CSI is that it acts as a gateway to expose the true potential of the underlying attached storage. A well-designed CSI driver can help make it easier to bring in advanced storage capabilities, such as scalable snapshots and Neural Cache data placement mechanisms, which are both increasingly becoming of interest to large enterprises as they scale their Kubernetes environments.

A good Kubernetes implementation delivers high availability with no downtime, as well as scalability and disaster recovery. As usage goes up, volumes will need to be scaled on an as-needed basis, so flexible consumption-based purchasing models are a good fit for Kubernetes environments. And attention must always be paid to the economics  both direct cost of infrastructure and ongoing implementation/support costs, which can far outweigh the direct cost of the infrastructure.

Most organizations are ultimately aiming to build their Kubernetes environments into private clouds. Indeed, a centralized private cloud using Kubernetes and CSI keeps control in the hands of the CIO and IT team of a large enterprise  while delivering the power to the developers and DevOps teams to move as the business evolves.

CSI Is Evolving

As Kubernetes features and functionality are continually being improved, CSI continues to rapidly evolve. However, providing a new release every six weeks yields more churn than value for typical enterprises. As an enterprise storage solutions leader, we do not want to get too far out ahead of the standards and strive for a balance between regular additions of new functionality and enterprise stability expectations.

Kubernetes will continue to evolve and improve as containers are taking a more prominent place in the enterprise platform stack. Even today though, by becoming the industry standard approach for deploying containers in production, Kubernetes has finally gone mainstream.

For more information about Kubernetes, click here.

About Erik Kaulberg

Erik Kaulberg is a Vice President at Infinidat, leading cloud strategy, key alliance partnerships including VMware, and special projects. He has broad expertise in enterprise storage and frequently engages key customers, partners, and analysts. Erik previously ran worldwide enterprise storage strategy and business development for IBM, after he sold all-flash array innovator Texas Memory Systems to the company.
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In June 2018, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a progressive, defeated Joe Crowley, then the chair of the House Democratic Caucus, in a Congressional primary in New York. While news organizations such as The Intercept and The Young Turks (and, yes, Ozy) had covered her campaign, Ocasio-Cortezs victory came as a seismic shock to the many major outletsnot least the New York Timesthat failed to see it coming, and in the aftermath, those outlets were roundly criticized for their blindspot. As I wrote at the time, their failure went significantly beyond the latest horse race, reflecting a media culture of dismissing movements on the left as unserious, and a related problem of language. Having spent years carefully parsing distinct ideological currents on the right, I wrote, much coverage of the left still leans on disputed labels like liberal, progressive, and the Resistance. Journalists have generally understood what divides mainstream Republicans and more radical groups like the Tea Party. Divisions on the left, I wrote, are just as sharpand just as consequentialbut are not as well understood.

More than three years later, Ocasio-Cortez is a fixture in Congress andwith President Biden working to push through a hugely consequential spending package and a linked bipartisan infrastructure bill that already cleared the Senatedivisions among Democratic lawmakers are a big story. Not that the language problem has been solved. The dynamic among Congressional Democrats has been characterized, in much coverage, as a civil war between moderates and progressives, even though both terms remain fuzzy: the former increasingly feels unmoored from any actual ideological position; the latter at least reflects the name of the Congressional Progressive Caucusa nearly hundred-strong group of lawmakers whose leader, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, has tirelessly toured cable studios in recent daysbut has not been used with much consistency. Late last week, after House Democratic leadership shelved a planned vote on the infrastructure bill as progressives sought assurances from recalcitrant colleagues on the other package, the New York Times characterized the delay as the result of a liberal revolt. On Saturday, another Times story reported that Biden had thrown in with his partys left rather than its center, leaving his agenda in doubt, while CNN ran an analysis piece that referred to the left in its headline, liberal Democrats in its first paragraph, and progressive Democrats in its second. On Sunday, Axios splashed: Left seizes control.

New from CJR: Climate Journalism is Coming of Age

In recent days, critics have pushed back on such framing, taking issue both with the imprecision of the labels and the insubstantial civil war emphasis. Coverage has depicted a horse race with four thoroughbredsmoderates, the Biden White House, progressives, and Republicans all jockeying for first place, Adam Johnson wrote yesterday in his newsletter. The seniors who will go without healthcare, dental coverage, and hearing aids are incidental and not worth mentioning. Democratic politicians have been among those to have weighed in. Rep. Mondaire Jones, a member of the Progressive Caucus, told The Hill that referring to the small handful of conservative Democrats working to block the presidents agenda as moderates does grave harm to the English language and unfairly maligns my colleagues who are actually moderate yet by and large understand the stakes of this historic moment. Speaking on Meet the Press Sunday, Sen. Bernie Sanders said that the media thinks this is the Red Sox playing the Yankees. It is not. Even Biden seems annoyed. These bills are not about left versus right or moderate versus progressive or anything that pits Americans against one another, he said yesterday, as he visited Michigan to promote his agenda. These bills are about competitiveness versus complacency. Theyre about opportunity versus decay.

Biden has also recently pushed back on the revolt part of the liberal revolt formulation: currently, House progressives are working to save his agenda, not imperil it. Many media watchers have echoed the point that the real rebels here are the few moderates, chiefly senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, who are still holding out on the spending bill: Greg Sargent, of the Washington Post, called the wave of coverage to the contrary backward and through the looking glass; Joan Walsh, of The Nation, pointed out that its actually the progressives who have compromised; they are the pragmatists, and asked, why cant the media get this story right? On her MSNBC show Friday, Joy Reid took aim at the narrative that the moderates are always reasonable ones and the progressives are always wild-eyed crazy ones, and invited on Eric Boehlert, a press critic, to discuss. The progressive wing of the Democratic Party is now the mainstream of the Democratic Party, Boehlert said. The press, as you point out, is playing catch-up. It is not used to covering progressivesparticularly, lets say, women of color in the Democratic Partyas our brokers, as being the center of the party.

To my mind, muchthough by no means allof the recent coverage has revealed a series of linked truths about the political press: that American political culture and institutional design have taught many reporters to see the center of legislative gravity as sitting with centrist deal-makers, that progressives are not serious legislators, and that any delay to a vote that would get something done is typically framed as obstruction and not a strategic step toward doing more. Its important to check all of these assumptions at the door when covering the current dynamics, for the sake of accuracy, if nothing else: its misleading to suggest that a left fringe is working at cross purposes to Biden when in fact the vast majority of Democrats in Congress support his proposals; the outsized veto power of Manchin and Sinema should not be mistaken for an anchor dropped at the center of their party.

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Still, an extra step is required here, since its also true that lots of politicians liking something is not in itself a measure of virtue. As I wrote last week, the best coverage of the negotiations has interrogated the substance of the bills under discussion ahead of Democratic infighting. It has also interrogated the motives of the Democratic holdoutsor tried to, at least, since it still isnt really clear to anyone what Sinema wants beyond attention. (We have to go from what we know and see, Reid said on MSNBC Monday, noting Sinemas all-white co-negotiators on the infrastructure bill and rich donors.) Shorthand labels like moderate and progressive dilute such scrutiny, grouping Democrats with diverse politics and motivations under a single banner and telling news consumers very little of what they actually want. Journalistic shorthand is hard, but we dont actually need to resort to it here. If we stop treating the ongoing negotiations like the Red Sox playing the Yankees, then we dont have to name the teams.

None of this is to say that parsing such language about the left doesnt matter; the looseness with which so many journalists still use it reflects a continuing lack of media investment in understanding the many nuances of the left as a serious political force, especially when compared to the right. A growing number of outlets and reporters are making that investment, but, when I look back on 2018, I dont see enough improvement across the board. The media missing Ocasio-Cortez was framed mostly as a failure of horse-race coverage, and it was. But it reflected a failure of governance coverage, too. Were seeing that clearly now.

Below, more on Congress and Bidens bills:



Some news from the home front: The inaugural Covering Climate Now Journalism Awards ceremony will take place later today, honoring outstanding reporting on the climate crisis. The winners will be announced at a special event hosted by Al Roker and Savannah Sellers, of NBC News; youll be able to watch it from 4pm Eastern on the websites of Covering Climate Now and its partners CJR, The Nation, The Guardian, and NowThis. The ceremony will stream again on NBC News NOW on October 8 at 11pm Eastern, and on October 10 at 7am Eastern. Mark Hertsgaard and Pope, the leaders of our Covering Climate Now initiative, have more details.



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Jon Allsop is a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Review of Books, Foreign Policy, and The Nation, among other outlets. He writes CJRs newsletter The Media Today. Find him on Twitter @Jon_Allsop.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP)  A judge has reduced the sentence of a Mississippi truck driver convicted in an alcohol-related crash on a Pennsylvania interstate three years ago that killed three people, including a toddler.

A Dauphin County judge originally sentenced 32-year-old Jack Satterfield to 281/2 to 78 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to charges including vehicular homicide while driving under the influence in the October 2018 crash on Interstate 83 in Lower Paxton Township.

PennLive.com reports that Judge Deborah Curcillo on Monday reluctantly imposed a new term of 27 to 54 years after the state Supreme Court ruled in June that Satterfield had been sentenced three times for leaving the scene of the wreck when he had in fact only done so once.

Authorities said Satterfield had consumed eight drinks earlier in the day before his rig slammed into a line of cars stopped in a construction zone. The crash killed 24-year-old Zachary Lybrand of Middletown; his 16-month-old daughter, Elliana, and 22-year-old Ethan Van Bochoven, a college student from Pompton Plains, New Jersey.

Rachel Timler, one of the sisters of Jessica Lybrand, Zacharys wife, told the court that the defendant had caused immeasurable pain in so many lives.

I never believed that I could feel so constantly empty inside, she said.

Carmen Timler, another sister, blasted Satterfield for forcing her family to relive the horrors of the most tragic day of our lives.

Public defender Jessica Bush said excusing her clients actions would be an impossible task but cited a history of substance abuse and family violence, as well as mental illness since the age of 6. The defense sought a sentence reduction that would allow Satterfield to someday speak to others about the dangers of drinking and driving.

It haunts him every day, Bush said of the crash. He is still haunted by what hes done. . He is suffering as well.

Satterfield said there was no excuse or justification for his actions.

My values and morals were all messed up, he said. When I got behind the wheel that day I was thinking very selfishly.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Since the pandemic began, most of the COVID-19-related business interruption disputes have not gone in favor of the policyholders, especially in federal court. More than 90% of motions to dismiss in federal lawsuits, in fact, have been upheld in cases heard.

Some legal experts are now wondering if that trend is about to bend in the other direction. One case in particular, in North Carolina federal court, involving a major health care network, is far from adjudicated and has not made it to the appellate level. But it could turn out to be a chink in insurers armor and, perhaps, a blueprint for other COVID-damaged policyholders to follow, some say

I agree that this case is significant, especially in light of the favorable results for policyholders in a similar, state-level lawsuit in North Carolina, said Tom Baker, an insurance law scholar and law professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

Because Novant is a major player, with 700 health care centers, including 15 hospitals, hundreds of outpatient and physician clinics, and more than 29,000 employees, and has asked for millions of dollars in insurance payments, the insurance industry is watching closely.

I think Novant and the other cases out there that have gone the same way are harbingers of a change in the insurers fortunes on motions to dismiss these cases, said attorney Andy Lundberg, managing director of Burford Capital, which finances a variety of insurance coverage lawsuits.

In Novant Health Inc. vs. American Guarantee and Liability Insurance Co., a Zurich subsidiary, U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles last month declined to dismiss the lawsuit as American Guarantee had requested. The judges order highlights a number of evolving issues in COVID lawsuits  from conflicting policy language to the definition of physical damages to the role of federal courts in state-regulated insurance matters.

The suit also shows how COVID litigation has changed over the past 18 months, Lundberg pointed out. While many plaintiff-policyholders initially claimed physical damage to the property in an attempt to get around a virus exclusion, Novant and others are now taking a more nuanced approach, noting that the SARS-Cov-2 virus damages the very air that patients and employees must breathe

I think well see further refinement of the air-is-property-that-is-damaged argument, both through factual evidence and scientific expert opinion and through further legal analysis, said Lundberg, who previously was head of insurance recovery practice at the international law firm of Latham & Watkins.

The initial success that insurers had in having suits dismissed, he added, was due in part to the fact that many of the cases may have been low-hanging fruit, with some lacking strong arguments by policyholders.

In the Novant case, though, American Guarantee may have hurt its own position because of a contradictory or even sloppily written policy. Thats something that other insurers have been guilty of and should scrutinize in policies going forward, attorneys said. The judge noted that while American Guarantee, also known as AGLIC, did not pay the claim, direct physical loss is not actually defined in the policy.

The insurer likely should have known that even before the pandemic, courts struggled with defining physical loss in insurance policies where the policy left the term undefined, in cases involving asbestos, lead, bacteria, harmful gases and more, Eagles wrote.

The Insurance Services Office, a subsidiary of Verisk Analytics, produced robust virus exclusion language as long ago as 2006.

I sure wouldnt like to be an underwriter who looked at the ISO exclusion and concluded nah, we dont need this, or I have an idea of how to do it differently,' Lundberg said. Were going to be seeing prolonged battles over the drafting history and ultimate interpretation of these various non-ISO policy forms for years to come.

Attorneys for American Guarantee declined to comment on the case. But the Insurance Information Institute isnt worried that the case signals a potential change in heart by the courts.

While we have occasionally seen an outlier where a court rules in favor of the insured, allowing a case to move forward, this has not become a trend or changed the direction of courts in other jurisdictions, said Mark Friedlander, the Institutes director of Corporate Communications. The policy language is very clear. Courts across the U.S. have rejected these lawsuits outright, ruling that the presence of COVID-19 does not constitute direct, physical loss or damage to property, which is a requirement to trigger coverage under most business interruption policies.

Novant lawyers argued in the complaint that the health care providers properties were left uninhabitable and dangerous because of the risk of spreading COVID-19. Lundberg compared that argument to the issue of carcinogenic radon gas, wondering whether courts would really hold that radon intrusion does not constitute physical damage to buildings.

But the biggest obstacle for AGLIC to overcome may be the fact that while the policy contains a virus exclusion, amendatory endorsements appeared to strike the exclusion. The insurer argued that an amendment to the policy applied only to claims connected to Louisiana, but the judge said thats not spelled out in the wording. The carrier included 74 pages of contradictory, irrelevant and immaterial words in Novants policy, for no apparent reason, Eagles noted.

And when an insurer includes contradictory provisions in a policy, the general rule in North Carolina is that the matter must be resolved in favor of the policyholder, the judge wrote in her order.

The court is not ruling that the virus exclusion does not apply, but in view of the contradictory language in the policy, AGLIC has not met its burden at this stage of the proceedings, she said.

The judge also questioned another of AGLICs tactics. The carrier argued that while the policy does allow coverage when a business is interrupted by communicable disease, that issue is not yet ripe for resolution. Why? Because AGLIC has not yet denied that part of Novants claim, the insurer said.

Novant responded that the policy itself requires the policyholder to file suit within a year of filing a claim, which it did.

AGLIC included the provision requiring that suit be filed within one year, and it cannot object when an insured follows the policy requirement, the judge wrote. The dispute is ripe.

Lundberg noted that its not unusual for insurers to hold off on denying or paying a claim, for tactical legal reasons and to continue to earn interest on premium revenue.

On a jurisdictional issue, the Novant case highlights the whole federal versus state court venue question, which has sparked debate among legal scholars. Of the more than 2,000 COVID-related business interruption lawsuits filed in state and federal courts, insurers have fared better in the federal arena, according to a litigation tracker maintained by the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School.

As of Monday, 123 motions to dismiss had been heard in state courts and almost 75% have been dismissed after a hearing on the merits. That figure is up slightly from 69% reported a month ago. But in federal courts, 483 motions to dismiss have been heard and fully 93% have been fully dismissed. That ratio has remained the same in recent weeks.

At least three well-known law professors around the country have voiced concerns about the federal courts practice of reviewing  then dismissing  suits that might best be suited for state courts, the University of Pennsylvanias Baker noted.

Three insurance law professors have criticized the federal courts for using their larger coterie of clerks and smaller caseloads to usurp the primacy of state, rather than federal, courts in deciding highly consequential and contested questions of state insurance law,' Baker wrote in a blog last month.

One professor, Daniel Schwarcz of the University of Minnesota has recommendedthat states empower their regulators or attorneys general to request that federal courts should certify coverage disputes to the states supreme courts. After all, federal law makes it clear that states, not the federal government, should regulate the business of insurance.

Lundberg said its not entirely clear why federal judges have accepted so many COVID-related disputes against insurers, instead of certifying them back to states supreme courts. One reason may be that insurers have seen the track record in federal courts and have continued to move many business interruption cases to that venue.

But federal case law is still evolving in this area.

Im very concerned that a lot of policyholders will suffer final judgments against them, and then wake up four or five years from now and find out that the federal courts made the wrong prediction about how the law would play out, Lundberg said.

Photo from Novant Healths 2020 annual report.
Chubb Names Head of North America Claims

Chubb has appointed Kevin Rampe as head of Chubb North America claims.

He succeeds Bill Hazelton, who has been appointed to a newly created role centered on a number of strategic initiatives in Chubbs North America businesses, the company said in a press release on Wednesday.

Rampe previously served as Chubbs global deputy general counsel. In his new role, he will oversee all aspects of Chubbs North America commercial and personal lines claims. In addition, he will oversee efforts to provide claims insights to Chubbs underwriters, clients, agents and brokers, as well as ensure client satisfaction in the handling of all claims, the company said.

Rampe will report to Mike Smith, senior vice president of Chubb Group and global claims officer. He will be based in Jersey City, N.J.

Hazelton will focus on executing a number of strategic initiatives in North America. He will report to John Lupica, vice chairman of the Chubb Group and president of North America insurance. He will be based in Whitehouse Station, N.J.

Rampe joined Chubb in 2005 as the companys global compliance officer. He was later appointed general counsel of North America. Earlier in his career, he served as both president and chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. He was first deputy superintendent of the New York State Insurance Department and served as the first assistant counsel to New York State Gov. George E. Pataki.

Rampe is a graduate of Union College and the Albany Law School of Union University.

Hazelton joined Chubb in 2005 and has served in several leadership capacities. Prior to his former role as head of claims, he served as Chubbs environmental, excess casualty and construction industry practice leader. He received a Master of Arts degree in History from Rutgers University, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science and History from James Madison University.

Frankenmuth Appoints Claims VP

Frankenmuth Insurance has appointed Beth Wright as vice president of claims.

The carrier, which is based in Frankenmuth, Mich., said Wright has 22 years of service with the companys claims department. She must recently was director of property and casualty claims.

Wright is a U.S. Air Force veteran who holds a bachelors degree in criminal justice from the University of Nebraska Omaha and an associate degree in communications from the Community College of the Air Force.

She earned an Associate in Claims designation in 2000, supervisor certification from Saginaw Valley State University in 2005, Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter designation in 2006, Fraud Claim Law Associate designation in 2007, Property Claim Law Associate designation in 2008, certification as a property subrogation arbitrator with Arbitration Forums in 2008, Michigan Insurance Adjuster licensure in 2011, the Senior Claim Law Associate Gold Award in 2013, and Workers Compensation Professional certification in 2020. Wright is also a member of the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association, serving on its Claims Committee.

MS Amlin Names Chief Claims Officer

MS Amin Underwriting Ltd. has appointed David Mocklow as chief finance officer and chief claims officer of its newly formed sister company, MS Amlin Distribution Holdings.

MS Amlin, an international insurer and reinsurer based in London, earlier this year announced the formation of MS ADH after acquiring a managing general agency, International Transportation and Marine Office LLC. The company has also invested in InQlusiy LLC, which is also a managing general agency.

MS ADH is exploring other opportunities and will serve as a holding company for US acquisitions, the company said in a press release.

Mocklow formerly was head of strategy and corporate development for Gramercy Risk Management. He also worked for the investment banking firm Fox-Pitt Kelton Cochran Caronia Waller and for Aon, where has was a founding member of the Aon Capital Markets team in Chicago.

Mocklow reports to Chief Executive Officer Johan Slabbert.

Sedgwick Appoints President of Casualty Operations

Sedgwick has promoted Patrick J. Walsh as as president casualty solutions. He will oversee auto, liability and workers compensation lines, the Memphis-based company said in a press release.

Walsh has held senior leadership roles at large carriers and third-party administrators, Sedgwick said. He joined Sedgwick in 2019 through the acquisition of York Risk Services Group, where he was an executive vice president and chief claims officer.

Jim Ryan, chief operating officer for the Americas, said that Walsh has led a number of Sedgwicks strategic growth initiatives. The company employees 27,000 in 65 countries.
Floy Mae Lawson, 93, of Tulsa, Oklahoma passed away on November 5, 2021. Floy was born on December 30, 1927 in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. She graduated from Foil High School as Basketball Queen in 1946. She married Elmer Reed Lawson in 1948 and had two sons, William Lawson and Ronald Lawson. Fl
Beachwood, OH (44122)

Today

Cloudy. Periods of rain this morning. High near 45F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%..

Tonight

Rain and snow this evening turning to all snow overnight. Low 31F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of precip 80%. Snow accumulating 1 to 3 inches.
Historically, aggressive shareholder activism has been relatively rare for UK financial institutions. This is in part due to the heavy UK regulatory framework which gives financial institutions a layer of protection, including requiring regulatory 'change in control' approval for one investor acquiring or increasing control of a UK bank or insurer or when acting in concert with other investors to aggregate holdings above certain thresholds. However, in recent years there has been a notable increase in the number of campaigns made by activist investors across all industries, with insurers undoubtedly a current area of focus.

The national and industry press has closely followed the recent acquisition by Cevian Capital, a large European activist investor, of a 4.95% stake in Aviva by which it became the insurer's second-largest shareholder. Amanda Blanc, Aviva's CEO, had pledged in July to return at least 4 billion to shareholders, but Cevian Capital promptly reiterated that Aviva should be returning 5 billion of excess capital by the end of 2022. Cevian has also called for at least 500 million in cost savings by 2023.

Aviva is just the most recent of a growing list of insurers that are feeling the pressure. Before Aviva, Cevian acquired a stake in the British insurance group RSA, which was ultimately split up and sold to the Canadian insurer Intact with the Scandinavian business going to Denmark's Tryg. There has also been the high-profile acquisition by US hedge fund Third Point of its stake in Prudential, which has led to the demerger of its US operations, Jackson Financial, from the group.

There are several reasons for the uptick in activist investor activity. The insurance industry is going through a period of transformation and activists no doubt see this as an opportunity for value creation by making strategic and operational changes. Moving a company away from a global conglomerate model towards a more streamlined focus on core products in key geographies helps cut costs, with proceeds of any divestments available to be returned to shareholders. Many European insurance companies have also built up large cash piles because of holding back dividends during the pandemic. As we slowly return to normality, activists now see these inflated cash reserves as over-capitalisation and another opportunity to provide returns to shareholders.

The changing face of activists

That said, shareholder activism in 2021 should not be viewed exclusively as "corporate raiders" intent on stripping assets and cutting margins. Large institutional investors, who in the past have favoured private forms of engagement with the Board, are increasingly looking to make long-term constructive changes to strategy along environmental, social and governance (ESG) lines, often with the direction and help of charitable groups and investor bodies. This transition comes as institutional investors are themselves coming under pressure to use their influential positions to take proactive steps on ESG issues on behalf of those for whom they invest money such as pensioners and savers.

Both Barclays and HSBC in the last couple of years have had climate change-related resolutions requisitioned for inclusion at their Annual General Meetings by ShareAction, a charity that promotes responsible investment. In these cases, the banks responded by tabling their own resolutions committing to taking steps to tackle climate change and to start reporting on the progress made. These resolutions were passed subsequently by shareholders.

It is inevitable that insurers will themselves become the targets of this form of purposive shareholder activism as the public's awareness grows and attitudes towards ESG issues become entrenched. Indeed, earlier this year, climate activists targeted Lloyd's of London by dumping fake coal outside the 1 Lime Street headquarters in protest against the industry's backing of fossil fuel mining projects.

Cevian's stake in Aviva and the other recent examples of financial value investor activism need to be seen in this broader context of changing corporate culture. This is a period of increasing corporate transparency in the UK as investors, employees, other stakeholders and society at large become more aware of a company's impact on the community. Insurers need to be alive to these shifting expectations as much as any other industry. It is not only active investors such as Cevian Capital who could look to force strategic change on a company. Insurers need to aware of and cater for both aggressive financial value activist investors and the more purposive form of shareholder activism.

The importance of shareholder engagement

Meaningful shareholder engagement is now critical for all Boards, as is understanding and reacting to the wider ESG trends. Existing shareholder bases will themselves become more activistic if important ESG issues are disregarded. Adverse publicity generated by activists protesting against a failure to address key ESG issues could very quickly have a wider impact on investor sentiment. Consequently, a negative effect on a company's share price could bring the problem full-circle as this is something which in turn would likely lead to heightened interest from aggressive activist investors.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 6)  Presidential aspirant Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. revealed on Wednesday he wanted to forge an alliance with President Rodrigo Duterte to be his vice president in the upcoming elections. Since plans fell through, he said he is open to a possible "Bongbong-Bong" tandem with VP hopeful Bong Go.

The son and namesake of ousted strongman Ferdinand Marcos said he wanted to "adopt" Duterte as his running mate because they come from different political parties. It didn't push through because the incumbent president surprised the public when he withdrew his plan to run as vice president to retire come 2022.

"I'll be very candid with you. The reason for that is, the original plan was for us to adopt PRRD for our vice president candidate," he said.

Marcos does not have a vice president for now, but a partnership with Go is not far-fetched.

"Paano 'yun? Bongbong-Bong? Bong to the third power? Baka pwede din, we'll see," he said.

[Translation: How will we be called? Bongbong-Bong? Bong to the third power? It's possible. We'll see.]

About earlier talks of a possible tandem with Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, he said while it's true they met to talk politics, they did not go into specifics as to who will run for president and who will take the second top post.

"There were no talks to collapse," he said.

Marcos added the possibility of their tandem has reached an endgame since Sara already filed her COC for reelection.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 6)  Former senator and now presidential aspirant Bongbong Marcos has a high chance of retaking Malacanang which was once occupied by his father, the ousted strongman Ferdinand Marcos, Bayan Muna chairman Neri Colmenares said on Wednesday.

Speaking to CNN Philippines' The Source, Colmenares explained what makes the younger Marcos a "dangerous" opponent in the 2022 polls, citing his high survey ranking and his potential line of policies if he takes the country's highest post.

"The survey showed he has a very good fighting chance in a sense because of his numbers. That's what makes him dangerous because he has a chance to win Malacanang," said Colmenares, referring to the latest Pulse Asia survey on voters' preferred presidential candidates in the elections.

Marcos placed second in Pulse Asia's Sept. 6-11 survey with 15% of Filipino adults polled saying they would vote for him in the upcoming elections, trailing Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte with 20%. He was followed by Manila Mayor Isko Moreno with 13% and Sen. Manny Pacquiao with 12%.

Vice President Leni Robredo, who has yet to announce her 2022 plans, placed sixth with an 8% voter preference rating, along with Sen. Ping Lacson with an 8% rating.

READ: Sara Duterte, Tito Sotto top Pulse Asia's latest survey for 2022 elections

"Bongbong Marcos would be a very dangerous president because he can condemn the people again to human rights violations, to corruption, to cronyism, and debt-ridden economy," Colmenares added.

Colmenares also called for a stronger opposition to prevent another Marcos or Duterte presidency.

"His policy, his line of thinking and his track record as part of the Marcos hierarchy certainly make him a dangerous opponent which should give the opposition the need to further unify to ensure that no Marcos or Duterte will ever stay in Malacanang in 2022," he said.

Marcos formalized his presidential bid by filing his candidacy on Wednesday, admitting to the media that he initially wanted to adopt President Rodrigo Duterte as his vice presidential candidate. Duterte, however, announced over the weekend that instead of running for vice president as he previously declared, he will retire from politics after his term.

Asked whether he would instead be open to adopt vice presidential aspirant Sen. Bong Go of PDP-Laban, Marcos said, "baka pwede rin (maybe that would work), we'll see."

Marcos is running in 2022 under the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas. Other key aspirants for the presidency who have filed their certificates of candidacy so far are Moreno, Pacquiao, and Lacson.

The Commission on Elections will accept CoCs until Oct. 8.

READ: Bongbong Marcos files COC for presidency bid in 2022
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 6)  Former Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr., son and namesake of the country's ousted strongman, is hoping to be elected to the post held by his late father for over 20 years.

On Wednesday, he filed his certificate of candidacy for president in the May 2022 national elections under the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas. He still has no running mate, saying he initially planned to "adopt" President Rodrigo Duterte, but plans fell through when the latter withdrew his bid for the second top post.

During the COC filing, Marcos said he does not restrict media questions, as long as they are not the same ones that have hounded his political career. He refused to answer queries about his mother Imelda Marcos, who was convicted of seven counts of graft in 2018 but enjoys freedom due to old age while on appeal, and how he and his siblings benefitted from his family's ill-gotten wealth.

"If you have something new to ask me, mahirap [it's hard] if we will be having the same conversations I've been having for 35 years," he said.

Under former President Ferdinand Marcos' military rule, over 11,000 people fell victim to summary execution, torture, enforced or involuntary disappearance and other human rights violations as recognized under the Human Rights Victims Reparation and Recognition Act. But rights groups estimate some 70,000 people were imprisoned and 34,000 were tortured.

Data from the World Bank and United Nations also show the late Philippine leader had amassed some $5 billion to $10 billion in ill-gotten wealth from 1965 to 1986.

The dictator was ousted in the People Power revolt of 1986, forcing him to flee into exile in Hawaii on Feb. 25, 1986, shortly before mobs stormed Malacanang. He died there three years later without admitting wrongdoing.

Bongbong Marcos has repeatedly downplayed reports of atrocities during martial law, saying they were part of "political propaganda."

When he announced his 2022 plans on Tuesday, rights groups slammed the move as an affront to martial law victims.

Marcos ran for vice president in the 2016 election but lost to Leni Robredo. He filed an election protest, but the Supreme Court unanimously dismissed it and ruled in favor of Robredo.

He also previously served as a congressman representing Ilocos Norte, and had also held the governor and vice governor posts in the province.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 6)  The Food and Drug Administration has granted compassionate special permit to four hospitals for the use of molnupiravir, an anti-viral drug that can potentially treat mild to moderate cases of COVID-19.

"As an investigational drug...ito ay maaari nang i-apply ng compasisonate special permit dito sa Pilipinas. And in fact, as of yesterday, may apat na hospitals na na-grant ng compassionate special permit for this drug ng FDA," FDA director general Eric Domingo said during the Laging Handa briefing on Wednesday.

[Translation: As an investigational drug...they can apply for a compassionate special permit in the country. And in fact, as of yesterday there are four hospitals already that granted a compassionate special permit for this drug.]

However, Domingo did not identify the four hospitals or their location.

Molnupiravir was developed by Merck & Co and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics.

MSD, the developer of molnupiravir, already wrapped up its clinical trials in the Philippines and other countries after the initial study showed "stunning results."

"The interim results were so stunning that they deemed it unethical to continue proceeding and giving placebo or sugar tablet," said Dr. Beaver Tamesis, president and managing director of MSD in the Philippines.

The company has yet to release the result of the local trials, along with the outcome of studies abroad.

Dr. Tamesis said the Philippines is only among two Asian countries that participated in the trial.

Locally, the drug was tested among 27 unvaccinated outpatients in two hospitals: the Lung Center of the Philippines and the Quirino Memorial Medical Center

In Wednesday's briefing, Domingo said, "Iyong nakita nila sa interim analysis nila is that it can prevent possibly 50% of people going into severe COVID and dying from COVID...At bagama't hindi pa sila nag-a-apply ng EUA dito sa atin or kahit sa ibang bansa, mag-a-apply na raw sila sa US FDA very soon."

[Translation: What they saw in the interim analysis is that it can prevent 50% of people going into severe COVID and dying from COVID...And even if they haven't applied for EUA here or in other countries, they will apply with the US FDA soon.]

Domingo added that should there be an application for molnupiravir, the FDA would quickly act on it.

CNN Philippines' Pia Garcia and Carolyn Bonquin contributed to this report.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 6)  The number of COVID-19 patients at the Philippine General Hospital in Manila is fewer now compared to two weeks ago, but the occupancy rate remains high at nearly 75%, the medical facilitys spokesman said on Wednesday.

We still have a lot of patients in PGH. We have 237 confirmed patients with COVID out of our 325 beds, Dr. Jonas del Rosario told CNN Philippines New Day.

The number of people hospitalized due to COVID-19 went as high as 355 two weeks ago, according to del Rosario.

But the PGH spokesman noted the COVID-19 beds in intensive care units are always full and walk-in patients continue to flock to the emergency room.

Del Rosario said the hospital is hoping cases will progressively decrease as having more than 200 patients meant their healthcare workers are usually really tied up in the COVID-19 operations.

Coping

After grappling with a manpower shortage, the COVID-19 referral center is able to manage better now, del Rosario said.

The hospital official related that some of the paid volunteers have resigned.

He added there was a time when 100 doctors were out of commission.

But most of them are back now, he said, with only 20 either recovering or going through quarantine.

He shared that they also started implementing task sharing, in which other departments send doctors to the COVID-19 wards.

I think this is working," he pointed out. "And some of the doctors who got sick are back to man the COVID-19 wards so we are able to manage much better.

Del Rosario expressed optimism the PGH will be able to hire more paid volunteers.

Hopefully well get some generalists or specialists who can augment our manpower, he said.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 6)  The country on Wednesday recorded 9,868 new COVID-19 infections, pushing the nationwide tally to 2,622,917, the Department of Healths latest bulletin showed.

This is the second straight day that the countrys daily case tally stood below 10,000. However, the DOH explained that the low daily case count is due to the lower laboratory output on Monday, Oct. 4.

Of the total, there are 112,807 active cases or currently ill patients. At least 76.7% of them have mild symptoms, 13.9% are asymptomatic, 1.2% are in critical condition, 2.8% are severe, and 5.49% are experiencing moderate symptoms.

Meanwhile, 133 more patients have recovered from the highly infectious disease, raising the survivor count to 2,471,282.

The death toll remained at 38,828 after no new deaths were reported due to technical issues with data repository system COVIDKaya, according to the DOH.

The DOH said that it was coordinating with the Department of Information and Communications Technology in seeking to resolve the technical issues with COVIDKaya.

The DOH also said that 21 duplicates were removed from Wednesday's total case count, of which 16 are recoveries.

All laboratories were operational last Oct. 4, but two laboratories failed to submit their data to the COVID-19 Document Repository System. These laboratories contribute, on average, 0.2% of samples tested and 0.1% positive cases, the DOH noted.

The daily positivity rate - or percentage of people who tested positive - stood at 18.2% based on 43,759 tests done on Oct. 4. The World Health Organization recommends a positivity rate of below 5%, as bigger numbers may indicate high transmission.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 6)  The country ranked last in a monthly report measuring a governments pandemic response efforts towards recovery.

Nikkei Asias latest COVID-19 Recovery Index showed the Philippines placed 121st with a score of 30.5.

The recovery index assesses the infection management, vaccine rollout, and social mobility of a country with a score between zero to 90.

The higher the ranking, the closer a place is to recovery - with low infections, higher inoculation rates and less-strict social distancing measures, the report said.

The report comes a week after the country also ranked at the bottom of Bloombergs COVID Resilience Ranking out of 53 countries.

The Nikkei report stated that only less than 30% of the countrys population are fully vaccinated, which it described as low even among ASEAN countries.

Nikkei also noted that the national government has implemented a pilot test on granular lockdowns in the National Capital Region, but people aged 18 to 65 years old are still required to stay at home.

The country is gradually easing restrictions on businesses to revive the economy, allowing gyms to reopen and increasing restaurant dining and salon capacities for vaccinated individuals, said Nikkei.

Among Southeast Asian countries, Indonesia ranked the highest at 54th. It was followed by Singapore (70th), Cambodia (76th), Malaysia (102nd), Thailand (109th), and Vietnam (118th). Meanwhile, Laos is second to the bottom at 120th.

Malta topped the list with a score of 73.0

The Philippines on Wednesday recorded 9,868 new COVID-19 infections, pushing the nationwide tally to 2,622,917.

The national government also recently expanded the vaccination program to include adolescents aged 12 to 17 years old.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 6)  Dozens of students and youth representatives Zoombombed a webinar with Sandro Marcos, grandson of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos, as speaker to underscore the crimes committed during martial law.

Marcos spoke about "redefining the role of youth in nation building" during the virtual Student Congress hosted by the Commission on Higher Education in Cordillera Administrative Region on Tuesday.

Halfway through his pre-recorded speech on Zoom, participants changed their usernames to "Never Again", "#MarcosMagnanakaw", and "Marcos diktador" in protest.

One participant also changed his username to "Archimedes Trajano", the student-activist who was tortured and killed in 1977 after publicly questioning Senator Imee Marcos, Sandros aunt.

Akbayan Youth chairperson RJ Naguit, the party-list's second nominee in the upcoming elections, shared the screenshots of the Zoombombing.

He said participants who wanted to ask questions were not entertained and the chat box was disabled.

Naguit said they protested Sandro's participation because he does not represent the youth nor have the credibility to talk about nation building. He also expressed disgust at CHED for choosing him as speaker.

"Its disappointing that the Commission on Higher Education provided a platform to this junior dictator whose only interest is to rehabilitate their familys political power," he said in a series of tweets.

"We must exert all means to prevent a Marcos comeback. Nagawa na natin ito noong 2019, wag rin natin hahayaan na makabalik sa 2022! (We did it in 2019, we should not allow them to return in 2022!) he added.

The Zoombombing happened hours before Sandros father, former Senator Bongbong Marcos, announced his presidential bid. Sandro also declared his plan to run as Ilocos Norte representative.

Human rights groups have slammed the Marcos clans plans for 2022, saying it is an affront to martial law victims who suffered during the 21-year Marcos regime.

The hashtags #NeverAgain and #BBMIsMyPresident2022 were the top trending topics as both critics and supporters exchanged views on Bongbong's presidential bid.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 6)  Senators on Wednesday again emphasized the need for a medium-term plan to address overcrowding in prisons, with the congestion rate at the national penitentiary already reaching 344%.

Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) spokesperson Gabriel Chaclag told a subcommittee of the Senate Finance Committee that the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) already houses 28,545 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) as of August. The facility's ideal capacity is at 6,435.

"Hindi po mga kabayo itong mga nakakulong para matulog nang nakatayo [These inmates aren't horses for them to sleep standing up]. It is inhumane to have a 344% congestion rate given the pandemic," Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said.

With this, Drilon and other senators urged the Justice department to come up with a "roadmap" for the decongesting jails.

Senate Finance Committee chairman Sonny Angara called for a five to ten-year plan - before department officials' terms end - to provide Congress basis for the policy they will eventually craft on the matter.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra vowed there would be "some very clear" plans on transferring the NBP elsewhere.

Meanwhile, Sen. Ronald dela Rosa expressed support for both the regionalization of prisons and the creation of a "super, mega" maximum facility to address jail congestion - noting these measures complement each other. Dela Rosa used to be BuCor chief.

Immediate release of PDLs qualified for reduced sentences sought

Drilon also lamented the relatively small number of PDLs qualified for shorter sentences because of the amended Revised Penal Code, or Republic Act No. 10951.

Drilon, who authored the measure, criticized how only 9,323 inmates were released by virtue of the law when 54,189 individuals should have benefited from it, according to data from the Public Attorney's Office.

Among the reasons for this was the delay in transmitting carpetas (files) to the Board of Pardon and Parole, Chaclag admitted.

"We cannot allow the continued deprivation of liberty because of the inefficiency of the BuCor. Kawawa naman ang mga 'yun [They're pitiful]. We aggravate the congestion of our jails by the simple inability of the BuCor to send on time the carpeta or records of persons deprived of liberty," Drilon said.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 7)  President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday warned senators he will send them to jail if they cite Cabinet members in contempt.

The President made the warning amid the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee's hearings on the government's procurement of COVID-19 supplies.

In his second pre-recorded public address this week, Duterte told his Cabinet officials: "Huwag ninyong hayaan na si Gordon o mga senador na magsigaw-sigaw sa inyo. Pareho lang tayo sa gobyeno at 'pag ikaw ay sinigawan o kayo ay pinagi-insulto, stand up."

[Translation: Don't let Gordon or any other senator shout at you. We are the same in the government and if you get berated or insulted, stand up.]

Duterte was referring to Blue Ribbon Committee chairman Richard Gordon, who's leading the inquiry.

"Kung i-cite kayo in contempt, 'pag nalaman ko, ang ikulong ko yung mga senador," the President added.

[Translation: If you are cited in contempt and it reaches me, I will imprison the senators.]

Early this week, Duterte signed a memorandum directing members of the Cabinet to ignore summons of the Blue Ribbon Committee. He said such request from the panel hampers the government's pandemic response since key officials will have to attend the hearings that usually last for a whole day.

Lawyers' group and senators criticized the President's order as unconstitutional.

However, Duterte said he will not withdraw the memo and challenged lawmakers to file a complaint at the Supreme Court.

Roque defends memo

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque also defended Duterte's memo, saying only the Supreme Court can decide if it is unconstitutional.

"Sa ating batas po, lahat po ng ginagawa ng mga iba't ibang sangay ng gobyerno [Under the law, everything that the different branches of the government does] enjoys the presumption of regularity," he added. "It is still presumed, legal, constitutional unless the Supreme Court has declared it be so."

Roque expressed confidence the memo "will pass the test of constitutionality" since its intention is to stop key pandemic response officials from attending the hearings and not the Senate investigation.

He also said the Supreme Court already established that if the investigation is in aid of oversight function, resource persons are not compelled to appear.

"It is only when an investigation is in aid of legislation na ang sabi ng Korte Suprema diyan pwede kayong mag-issue ng subpoenas and summons to compel compulsory attendance," Roque added.

[Translation: The Supreme Court said it is only when an investigation is in aid of legislation that subpoenas and summons can be issued to compel compulsory attendance.]

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra earlier said he is open to a review of the memo, but added that both sides should make adjustments.
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.
Investments will expand Forward Delaware, and fund Pathways 2.0, which will expand the Pathways program to reach more than 6,000 Delaware middle school students and 80 percent of Delaware high school students
A dead dog lies silently on the stage, with a pitch fork jammed through its rib cage. The lights go down and soon return as the cast begins to parade onto the stage.

Surrounded by the ensemble, the dog brings together every actor in the show and presents the audience with a chance to meet some of the characters they will portray, each of which are brimming with differing emotional reactions to the grisly sight before them.

While the dog may have been nothing more than a fake prop, the emotional portrayals behind each character were alive and real within the almost packed theater.

Currently running until Oct. 9 at the Playhouse Theatre, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time marks the kickoff performance to Penn State Centre Stages fall 2021 season. The play opened Oct. 1 and will see six more performances before it closes.

The play centers around the story of 15-year-old Christopher Boone and the death of his neighbors dog, Wellington. When Boone is wrongly accused of killing Wellington, he begins a detective mission to find the true culprit.

Along the way, Boone discovers the truth behind both Wellingtons death and the death of his own mother. His journey soon takes him beyond the realm of Wiltshire, the British city in which Boone resides.

By the end of the play, while the imposing questions of the first act are curiously resolved, an entire journey is laid before the audience, giving them the opportunity to imagine what Boones life will be like beyond the timeframe of the play.

Through the unique usage of lighting, set design and projections, the play presents itself through a minimalistic tone that explodes with vibrant sounds and loud colors. The world of Boone comes to life throughout the play as the audience is continuously transported into the inner mechanisms of his mind.

As a self-proclaimed theatre enthusiast, Hannah Kadrie said she was thrilled to see the way the set was designed and moved throughout the show.

Whoever designed the set was really smart about it, Kadrie (sophomore-architecture) said. To be able to do all the set changes within the performance  I love when plays do that, just incorporate it all into one and not exactly have scene changes.

Kadrie said she also believed the actors, who were tasked with donning accents, played their roles phenomenally. She said after watching the big fallout of Act 1, she was excited to see the coming resolutions and how the plays characters and set would evolve.

Impressed with the set design as well, Adrianna Kapust said she believed the way the settings within the play were presented through the use of various sized boxes and projections was well thought out.

I really liked the set design I thought it was very impressive, Kapust (sophomore-human development and family studies) said. I liked the way it was 'spacey' because thats a theme in the play.

During various points in the play, Boone assembles a miniature train set, and as part of the Act 1 finale, a toy train is set on the tracks and begins to ride across the front of the stage. Kapust said this detail was a moment she particularly enjoyed as it set the stage for the next act.

Discovering the performance through an email, Kapust said the play ended up being a welcome return for her to live theatre.

Having auditioned for the play during his freshman year, Dylan Henderson said he enjoyed seeing the play come together through an audience perspective. Henderson (sophomore-acting) said he enjoyed the play and thought it was a good production.

While she had witnessed a previous performance of the student-written play Headspace earlier this semester, Jasmine Ward said this was one of her first times witnessing live theatre since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

Ward (freshman-acting) said seeing this performance was her first time attending a Centre Stage production. She said she enjoyed the various aspects of the play and the way the company was able to bring Boones story to life.

I really enjoyed the play... I honestly didnt know anything about it going into it, Ward said. I really liked how they portrayed all the characters, even the accents, you could tell it was really worked on.

Being able to witness live theatre once again, Ward said connecting with other people during a live, in-person performance is a unique experience that cant be replicated via virtual options. Ward said its important that theaters have been able to find ways to accommodate audiences, even as the pandemic has caused various changes and mandates to most in-person events.

As a townie, Kyra Muramoto said she has seen various Centre Stage productions in the past. With the pandemic shutting down much of the live theatre Penn State and the State College community once had, Muramoto (freshman-acting) said before the performance of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, she had only been able to see virtual performances.

Having peers that performed in the show, Muramoto said she had seen pictures of the production before but was thrilled to actually see how the actions depicted in the photos came to life during the performance. She said being together to witness a play with fellow theatergoers was something she had not been able to partake in since pre-pandemic times.

I think this is my first in-person theatre Ive seen in a long time, Muramoto said. The fact that so many bodies are together in one room, and we all get to witness the same thing, but we each come away having these different experiences and taking in different meanings shared experience is a really lovely thing, especially if we are all together while doing it. There is an aspect of connection that I havent been able to feel in a long time.

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As the fall semester progresses, many Penn State students are tasked with making housing decisions for the upcoming academic year, and the cost of living is a prominent factor for many, who are torn between on- or off-campus housing options.

Ranked as the 64th best place to live in Pennsylvania, State College fairs slightly below the national average for its median rental prices, according to Niche.com.

According to Libby Jones, the assistant director for Off-Campus Student Support, the State College area is currently experiencing a surplus of housing options following the completion of several new apartment buildings.

Jones said the demand for downtown housing remains high and the market is brisk, despite the expanded capacity and increased availability for downtown units in recent years.

When searching for off-campus housing, Jones said students should consider the cost of rent, utilities, transportation and food  along with any additional expenses some apartment complexes have.

Some off-campus living options include additional fees on top of the traditional ones, like application fees, charges for amenities, redecoration fees and costly cleaning requirements, Jones said.

Take your time and do your research, Jones said. Searching for your first apartment is such an exciting time, but its important to have a clear picture of your budget and a solid understanding of the terms of your lease.

If students want help configuring a budget or finding their total cost of living, Jones said they can request a one-on-one meeting at the Sokolov-Miller Family Financial and Life Skills Center.

Vanshika Madaan said this is her first year living in downtown State College after living in Penn States South Halls in previous years.

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Due to the diverse and wide-ranging housing options, Madaan (senior-community environment and development) said prospective renters should consult with their friends and connections  along with online reviews  before settling on a property or rental.

You just have to dig through it because there are hidden gems all around, Madaan said. If you want to find an affordable and cheap place, you can find it  its just a lot of work to try to find it.

For Madaan, university Housing Fairs helped acquaint her with different venues around town and kickstarted her research into local rental agencies and property listings.

This fall, Penn State will hold two Housing Fairs  one in person and one online  for students to learn about the off-campus housing options available.

The in-person Housing Fair will be Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the HUB-Robeson Centers Alumni Hall.

Then, the virtual Housing Fair will be Oct. 14 from 2-4 p.m.

When searching through off-campus listings, Madaan said she made a list of priorities  aspects she needed in her living option  and a list of things she was willing to sacrifice.

By defining her priorities, Madaan said she refined her search better and found a living option optimal for her needs and wants.

Since location was her No. 1 priority, Madaan said she was willing to sacrifice other factors to be near campus and eliminate transportation hassles.

For instance, Madaan found a roommate to lower the monthly rent and compromised with the lack of laundry units in the building.

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When finding roommates to further distribute monthly rent between tenants, Madaan said its important to meet the prospective roommates beforehand to make sure the living situation will work optimally.

Youre stuck with the person for the entire lease period, so you just want to make sure that you know the person, that theyre good and that youll get along, Madaan said.

Compared to living on campus, Madaan said she spends less money on housing costs by living off campus this year  making it an efficient option for students.

However, she said she spends more money on food compared to when she had a meal plan because its easier and less time consuming to order takeout compared to cooking each night.

According to Jones, one of the biggest potential financial pitfalls for students in off-campus living options is failure to purchase renters insurance, which minimizes the risk of having to replace personal possessions or pay for damaged property.

Jones said some students sign their lease agreeing to be responsible for more than just their share of the lease agreement, which she said is called joint and several liability.

Before signing a lease, Jones said students should feel comfortable with all the terms and conditions.

For clarification about ones lease, Jones said students can utilize Student Legal Services, an organization that provides free lease reviews for students.

When students sign off-campus leases, Jones said the contracts tend to be less flexible than on-campus ones.

According to Jones, if students decide to study abroad, transfer colleges or move to a new housing location, they may have difficulty getting out of their lease obligations.

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At the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, many students were similarly surprised to still maintain financial responsibility for their off-campus lease despite classes shifting to remote formats, Jones said.

Some students living preferences have shifted due to the pandemic, but deciding on housing remains a very personal decision that needs careful evaluation, Jones said.

Besides leasing issues, the pandemic also impacted how students have considered prospective housing options, because rather than touring the locations in person, most had to rely on virtual tours.

As the time nears for 2022-23 housing decisions, Jones said students should be cautious and evaluate their options thoroughly.

Trust your instincts, Jones said. If it feels a little off, investigate before sending money.

Some students, like Ciaran Costello, decided to live on campus this year since the pandemic complicated his housing search last fall.

Costello (sophomore-division of undergraduate studies) said he decided to live in North Halls this year because he was looking for a suite-style living option and found virtual house hunting to be challenging.

Despite living on campus this year, Costello said he plans to find an off-campus apartment in the coming years.

He said his first experience participating in the off-campus housing search will likely be this fall, and he said the most important factors in his search will be location and price.

Student Carianne Lovas said finding off-campus housing has been a very stressful [experience]  a lot of times unnecessarily stressful since the market is highly competitive.

Lovas (senior-biomedical and mechanical engineering) said she was unable to view her apartment before signing the contract last year due to the pandemic, which was less than ideal and worsened the situation.

One of the challenges with finding off-campus housing in State College is the expected time frame to do so, Lovas said.

Things fill up quicker than youd expect, and its a stressful process if you wait until the last minute, Lovas said. A lot of times, you need to pick the location and put money down [during] the fall in order to get everything you want [in an apartment].

Lovas said the price for off-campus housing is overly expensive for the amenities received in return, and a main influence in the price is the competitiveness of the State College housing market.

Its definitely overpriced because my friends who [attend] other schools all have prime locations, their own bedrooms and pretty nice apartments, Lovas said. Yet, they pay half of what we pay here for decent housing  housing where we still share rooms and have old furniture.

Evan Bender said the experience of finding off-campus housing sucks and entails a learning curve where people improve from their previous years mess ups.

Bender (junior-corporate innovation and entrepreneurship) said students should experience both on- and off-campus housing if they have the chance.

You have to live on-campus freshman year, so that gives you a good experience, Bender said. But I think in your four years [at Penn State], you should definitely try to live off-campus at least once to see what thats like, too.

Bender said his experience with off-campus housing at University Terrace Apartments was comparable in cost to on-campus housing.

Bender said he believes theres off-campus housing options for everyone  regardless of budget limitations.

He said there are some off-campus options that are more expensive  like The Standard at State College Apartments at State College and the RISE at State College  while others are reasonable.

The Standard, which is an off-campus living option 0.2 miles off campus, costs between $780 and $2,080 per person for two- to five-bed complexes, according to Penn States Off-Campus Student Support.

James Shryock held a similar viewpoint to Bender and said theres a pretty wide range in rental prices depending on peoples preferences, desires and budgets.

According to Shryock (senior-finance), living both on and off campus has its advantages and disadvantages, so students have to self-reflect and find the option that works best for them.

He said he prefers off-campus housing due to his apartments increased living space, which allows him to have his own room.

Shryock said living off campus tends to be a little more expensive since theres additional costs  like groceries and utility bills  to consider. However, he said the experience is worth it.

Be prepared, Shyrock said. I now have a lot of [additional] costs I have to cover, compared to [when I lived on campus where it] was simpler and easier [to understand] the price of everything.

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Penn Staters share appreciation for reopening of campus libraries After a long period of Penn States classes operating almost exclusively online, they are mo
Penn State's Schreyer Gender Equity Coalition hosted eight panelists during a 'Sexual Violence on Campus' virtual discussion panel Tuesday night who addressed sexual violence at the university and discussed their thoughts on institutional transparency.

The panelists included Rosa Eberly, Jill Wood, Adam Smeltz, Justin Acheampong, Ari Fromm, Lahari Peruri, Aye Ochai, Erin Brown and Nora Van Horn.

Eberly, who facilitated the event and is an associate professor of rhetorica at Penn State and expert on institutional history, said shes followed the long-standing problem of sexual violence in our community since before beginning her career at the university.

The simultaneous virtual talk and viewing party introduced Nora Van Horn (senior-Mandarin and philosophy) and recent Penn State graduate and cofounder of the Schreyer Gender Equity Coalition Erin Brown.

Brown and Horn discussed Penn State's Sexual Misconduct Climate Surveys.

Penn State President Eric Barron announced in 2014 the creation of a Task Force on Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment intended to conduct regular surveys every three years on the climate of sexual assault at the university. The 2015 report was released, but the 2018 report had not been publicly released, and there had allegedly been no public comment about a survey in 2021 prior to Sept. 20.

The Gender Equity Coalition released a letter Sept. 6 addressed to Damon Sims, vice president of Student Affairs at Penn State, urging the university to release the results of the 2018 survey by Oct. 1 and commit to conducting future surveys.

Penn State then released the results of its 2018 Sexual Misconduct Climate Survey on Sept. 20, revealing approximately 19% of undergraduates and 7.1% of graduate/professional students at University Park have been subject to at least one instance or attempt of sexual assault  an increase of less than 1% from the 2015 survey.

The 2018 survey collected data from a representative sample of 8,620 students  undergraduate and graduate  at 23 of Penn States 24 locations, the release said, and the undergraduate and graduate response rates were 25.6% and 41.1%, respectively.

The Schreyer Gender Equity Coalition published Tuesday A Critical Analysis of the 2018

Sexual Misconduct Survey Report, which highlights the key takeaways from Penn State's survey results.

It was more reading the fine print, Brown said. The way the university conducted the survey was outdated.

Horn said she believes theres a level of institutional transparency Penn State lacks when it comes to addressing and framing sexual violence at the university.

Brown said though she graduated, she can sense a moment happening regarding sexual violence at Penn State.

Even though theres a lot of energy now, we need to keep it going, Brown said.

Acheampong and Fromm, students of the University of Pennsylvania, are directors of Pennsylvania's Every Voice Coalition, a statewide effort to create anti-sexual violence legislation and other policy shifts, with the goal of spurring action from survivors and allies to help create anti-sexual violence legislation and other policy shifts.

The Every Voice Coalition highlights this time of the year  August to November  as the red zone because campus sexual violence rates are at their highest, according to its website.

The beginning of the fall semester until Thanksgiving break is also historically known as the red zone because statistically higher instances of sexual assault are reported within that time frame.

These are issues that are affecting us right now, and we deserve to be protected, Fromm said.

Acheampong later said another goal of the Every Voice Coalition is to incite consistency across universities because he believes sexual violence issues are not handled in a uniform way.

Similarly to Acheampong and Fromm, Smeltz, a former Centre Daily Times reporter who covered the Penn State's handling of the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse case and other instances of sexual violence, elaborated on different provisions regarding sexual violence for different universities.

Smeltz said getting certain institutional information depends on the university, and theres no legal standard that requires open fallback.

Current student Peruri (senior-biobehavioral health) and recent graduate Ochai cofounded Lotus at Penn State, which supports women of color who are survivors of sexual violence.

As a teaching professor of womens, gender and sexuality studies, Wood discussed her perspective on rape culture.

Rape culture forces an explanation that connects seemingly isolated events because marginalized individuals are kept afraid," Wood said.

Wood said she believes individuals are taught to protect themselves, when in reality  people should focus on the perpetrators.

One of the major characteristics of rape culture, according to Wood, is the mindset of "victim-blaming."

While many advocates focus on prevention efforts, Wood said people emphasize the idea that individuals should be afraid.

"If we said to potential perpetrators, Dont rape, thats a very different message than telling people to protect their drinks, Wood said.

Wood also said she believes people have incorrectly connected alcohol and sexual violence.

While its reasonable that a consequence of drinking is waking up hungover, Wood said, it is not reasonable to expect to be sexually assaulted.

Sexual violence on our campus is actually a structural, institutional problem, Wood said. We need structural, institutional solutions, not individual ones.

The university is deeply committed to creating and sustaining a safe and supportive campus climate that leaves no room for sexual assault or harassment and holds accountable those who violate this fundamental expectation, Damon Sims, vice president of Student Affairs at Penn State, said in a previous statement. We are determined to establish and maintain a safe and supportive environment in concert with the students, faculty and staff of Penn State.

As for the Timely Warnings issued by Penn State, Wood said its important to know the crime of sexual violence is still underreported.

Penn State reported its 13th known forcible sex offense of the fall semester Sunday, according to a University Park-issued Timely Warning.

Wood said she hopes individuals understand there are more sexual violence cases that have occured than those reported.

Director of communications for the Schreyer Gender Equity Coalition Caroline Sliver (sophomore-marketing and journalism) and head chair for the Schreyer Gender Equity Coalition Sonika Kohli (sophomore-biomedical engineering) facilitated the in-person conversation.

A part of the issue is that we talk and then we stop, Peruri said. When will the university step forward and actually hear us talk?

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An influential nonpartisan organization on Wednesday indicated its looking at bringing a legal challenge against Colorados redistricting maps.

In a webinar held by Common Cause, a good governance organization that often aligns with Democrats in the Colorado statehouse, the groups national redistricting director said The Centennial State was one of 11 states where the group was eying litigation.

That's just because (those states) had a totally dysfunctional process because the maps that they drew disregarded the voting rights act or other legal requirements, said Common Causes Kathay Feng . Along with Colorado, she said maps drawn in Florida, North Carolina, Texas and Minnesota were on the front burner.

Jennifer Parenti, the lead redistricting organizer for Common Cause Colorado slammed the independent commission that drew the congressional maps for the way the proposed boundaries treat communities of color, particularly Latinos, as diversity booms in the rapidly growing state.

Unfortunately, this proposed congressional map does not reflect that diversity, Parenti said. It rather splits our communities of color across multiple districts while seemingly prioritizing municipal boundaries and protecting incumbents.

While she noted it's not possible to create a congressional district where a single racial, ethnic or language minority group has a 50% plus 1% voting-age majority, Parenti said Common Cause had drafted maps of its own that showed it was possible to draw a district where Latinos hold a voting-age plurality. She also said Common Cause's map-drawing showed the commission could have also opted for boundaries that gave coalitions of communities of color majorities in two districts.

Unfortunately our commission elected not to respect either approach and left our communities of color scattered across multiple districts, she said. This significantly dilutes their electoral influence.

Like the other Common Cause employees on the panel, Parenti advocated for the Freedom to Vote Act, a measure sponsored by Democrats in the U.S. Senate. According to Parenti, provisions from that bill would benefit Colorado's redistricting process, even as the state is often upheld as the gold standard for inclusive and safe election practices.

Parentis concerns mirrors complaints brought by a pair of Latino advocacy organizations, who announced plans to challenge the map less than a day after the commissions adoption last week of its final map. Both the Colorado Latino Leadership Advocacy and Research Organization and the League of United Latin American Citizens said they believe the maps run afoul of requirements not to dilute minority voting power.

The new redistricting process, which follows from ballot measures that amended the state constitution to create the independent commission system now being used, passed with overwhelming voter support in 2018, and requires the Colorado Supreme Court to review the adopted map and decide whether the new constitutional requirements have been met. If they decide the requirements have been met, then the map will be adopted for use over the next decade.

Parenti indicated Common Cause is preparing briefs to send to the state Supreme Court along with the commissions map, which is due to the high court by the end of the week.

We'll have to see how the court responds to understand exactly how we want to go forward, she said.

Quizzed further on potential litigation, Feng said the primary thing that we're focused on is filing briefs by the end of this week.
In one recent week, a New Yorker got a free COVID-19 test in a jiffy, with results the next day, while a Coloradan had to shell out $50 for a test two cities from her hometown after a frantic round of pharmacy-hopping.
This year our dine and drink business locations throughout the Gorge have suffered with closures. You can help support your favorites by purchasing take out and gift cards. Many of these business will offer curb-side delivery and some will deliver to your home. Lets keep the Gorge going strong!
Members and supporters of the Columbia chapter of Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty gather to protest the execution of Ernest Lee Johnson
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History is filled with bad explorers, adventurers who were completely misguided in their discoveries and demonstrated almost impressive levels of incompetencies. Among the dumbest are Burke and Wills, who had no business trekking the Australian Outback, but boy did they try. And die.

In 1851, Victoria experienced a gold rush, which brought a massive increase in population. Between 1851 and 1861, the population of Victoria jumped from 29,000 to 139,916.

With this large population, the Royal Victorian Society organized an expedition to go from the southern tip of Australia to the Gulf of Carpentaria in the north. They turned to two men to lead this adventure: Robert OHara Burke and William John Wills. Now, Wills was a surveyor, but Burke was not an explorer by trade. He was a soldier and police officer from Ireland. His qualifications for embarking on a major continental expedition were beyond lacking.

Along with Burke and Wills was an all-star cast of 18 other people, 23 horses, 26 camels, and (no joke) 20 metric tons of supplies, equipment, and nonsense. Nonsense includes a Chinese gong and a luxury writing desk.

Edward Jukes Greig Only the finest of quality goods for dangerous expeditions.

Burke, Wills, and their parade of idiocy took off from Melbourne on August 20, 1860. Their first destination was Menindee, an outpost more than 450 miles away. It took them two months to get this far, only a fraction to their final destination, and the expedition was already full of dysfunction. Several men quit during this first stage of the trek, and some unnecessary provisions were dropped.
In what is one small step for man and one giant leap for Star Trek's fandom  and well, avid users of Priceline  it seems that life will imitate art after all  the 90-year-old actor behind Captain James T. Kirk, William Shatner, is getting shot into space. Nearly three months after (allegedly) badly botox-ed space cowboy Jeff Bezos took a joyride throughout the lowest rung of space in July, the Amazon founder is back, spending his billions on a return trip for two paying customers  and Star Trek's Shatner.

Scheduled to take off on October 12, the trip marks the second manned mission of Blue Origin's dick-shaped research rocket, New Shepherd, and also a record-breaking trip. Shatner will be the oldest person to ever travel to space, breaking a record created by 82-year-old Wally Funk who rode on the company's first launch earlier in the summer.

"Ive heard about space for a long time now, the star said in a statement Im taking the opportunity to see it for myself. What a miracle.

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Well, amid all the trials and tribulations we've collectively faced over the past nearly two years, it's reassuring to know the billionaires of the world are hard at work solving the important issues  namely, the number of old people who have traveled to space.

For more internet nonsense, follow Carly on Instagram @HuntressThompson_ on TikTok as @HuntressThompson_, and on Twitter @TennesAnyone.

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Joyce Carol Brooks, 78, of Crossville, passed away on Friday, Nov. 12, 2021, at Cumberland Medical Center. Mrs. Brooks was born on July 12, 1943, in Charleston, WV, daughter of Owen Haynes and Margaret (Withrow) Haynes. She was self-employed in the health and body industry and of the Penteco
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Secretary of State calls latest election claims by local state Rep. Glenn Gruenhagen 'unsubstantiated garbage'

Screenshot Rep. Glenn Gruenhagen, R-Glencoe, has drawn criticism from the Minnesota Secretary of States Office for a recent video in which he makes claims of discrepancies in the 2020 election. Rep. Dean Urdahl Sen. Scott Newman

The integrity of the 2020 election continues to make national headlines and spark debate in numerous states across America, and Minnesota is no exception.

Amid the discourse, Rep. Glenn Gruenhagen, R-Glencoe, has repeated claims regarding Minnesota's 2020 election that Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon says are "unsubstantiated garbage." Those claims were recently highlighted in a Sept. 21 YouTube video in which Gruenhagen cites allegations from Midwest Swamp Watch, a limited liability company with a Brookings, South Dakota, address, with Rick Weible, Minnesota GOP operative and former St. Bonifacius mayor, listed as its agent.

According to their research, 39% of Minnesota ballots were not connected to a registered voter as of Nov. 29, 2020, five days after the Minnesota canvassing board met and certified the election on Nov. 24," Gruenhagen says in the video. "Those 39% also included 700,000 absentee ballots that were not connected to a registered voter. ... We need a forensic audit here in the state of Minnesota to find out what the actual vote was."

In response, the Secretary of State's Office highlighted a comment left on a different Midwest Swamp Watch video earlier this year. The comment appears under the name Max Hailperin, a professor emeritus in math, computer science and statistics at Gustavus Adolphus College who has been awarded the National Association of Secretaries of State's Medallion Award for service in election-related technology and legislation.

This analysis of absentee voting records was based on a misunderstanding.  Accepted absentee ballots are immediately recorded in the Statewide Voter Registration System as required by Minnesota Statutes section 203B.121, and those records are available contemporaneously under section 203B.12," he writes. "(The error is) to think that those records were the same as the voting history records available under section 201.091. ... Those voting history records can be posted up to six weeks after the election under section 201.171."

A spokesperson for the Secretary of State's Office said the two databases are not intended to match, and have different purposes. The voter history database is an "active snapshot in time" of who is registered to vote, and not a complete tally as Minnesota residents move, change names, die or are convicted of felonies.

"Trying to match an active snapshot in time to the accepted absentee ballot list will never result in a true 'match,'" the spokesperson said, "especially as the group in the video appears to have been looking at data during the six-week time period counties have to resolve any discrepancies."

McLeod County DFL Chair Lowell Ueland called Gruenhagen's allegations unrealistic.

"He has his own agenda," Ueland said. "It's not the people's agenda in McLeod County."

This past week, Gruenhagen said he still has concerns regarding Minnesota's 2020 election. In emails he cited accusations of election fraud through ballot harvesting in Minneapolis from 2018 when residents were allegedly paid to vote. He also cited complaints of changes to voting rules that came about due to a lawsuit from a left-leaning group, which Simon did not oppose, and skipped legislative approval. Both subjects were discussed in New House Republican Caucus videos featuring Minnesota State Rep. Steve Drazkowski, which Gruenhagen referenced.

He also pointed to Frances banning of mail-in voting in 1975 due to fears of voter fraud, a video highlight reel of Democrats calling into question election security prior to 2020, and referenced Minnesota GOP Election Integrity Committee recommendations on voting security. Those recommendations, which follow Republican National Convention initiatives, include:

a cleaning of voter rolls,

elimination of same-day and automatic voter registration,

voter ID requirements,

prohibition of ballot harvesting, and

reforms for voting process transparency.

"I also was chief author of the voter ID bill in the House and I had (approximately) 20 co-authors, all Republicans, and not one DFL would sign on," Gruenhagen said. "Voter ID would go a long way to solving the election controversies, but the DFL refused to hear (the) bill in committee."

IS A FORENSIC AUDIT NEEDED?

Also late last month, Gruenhagen signed an open letter calling for all 50 states to undergo a forensic audit. The letter is signed by 41 state legislators, primarily from Arizona, but including several other states. Gruenhagen is the only legislator from Minnesota who signed the letter.

"It has come to our attention from an audit of 2.1 million ballots in Arizona complemented by an in-depth canvass of votes in Arizona, as well as through multiple different data reviews of voting by independent experts; that our representative republic suffered a corrupted 2020 election," the letter reads.

The letter calls for the United States House of Representatives to decide the winner of the election if an audit shows Biden would receive fewer than 270 electoral votes, or if Trump would receive more than 270.

In response to questions about the letter, Gruenhagen shared an email from Arizona state Sen. Wendy Rogers that shares figures claiming thousands of discrepancies and reactions to the findings of a group called Cyber Ninjas, which was hired by Arizona state Senate Republicans to audit the 2020 presidential election in Maricopa County, Arizona.

Any one of these discrepancies would be enough to merit decertification, Rogers said in the email.

A forensic audit of voting machines found no malfeasance, lawsuits challenging Arizonas election outcome have been dismissed, and multiple hand recounts, including those done by Cyber Ninjas, have confirmed the Maricopa County election results.

Truth is truth, numbers are numbers, said Karen Fann, the Arizona Senate Republican who commissioned the vote review.

In Minnesota and many other states, statutes already require post-election reviews, or audits.

"I believe in our countys and state's election processes as administered, and I have witnessed McLeod County recounts where our equipment was proven to count accurately," said McLeod County Auditor-Treasurer Connie Kurtzweg, who is in charge of administering local elections.

The Minnesota Statewide Voter Registration System database is regularly updated throughout the year with information exchanged with the Department of Health and county election officials.

"Prior to election day, all equipment to be used in the election is tested by county election officials," Kurtzweg said, "then followed by additional testing by the precinct election officials during Public Accuracy Test as stated in Minnesota Administrative Rules 8220.1550."

Kurtzweg also pointed to paper ballots used in all Minnesota precincts as another check on election integrity.

"If the ballots need to be recounted they can be, she said.

Many are recounted.

Following elections, Kurtzweg said, every county in Minnesota audits its votes before certifying them to the state. Statute 206.89 also requires counties to perform post-election reviews of election results returned by the optical scan ballot counters. Each eligible election  U.S. president, U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives and governor  is reviewed with a hand count of the ballots in precincts selected randomly by the canvassing board. Results are posted to the Secretary of State's website.

Despite these checks, Republican legislators feel more is needed to protect against voter fraud.

Rep. Dean Urdahl, R-Acton Township, said that while there are audits in Minnesota, they have not had the detail a forensic audit would provide. He thinks there was probably some manner of aberration, but the extent is unknown.

"They haven't found anything yet, but I think an in-depth investigation isn't a bad thing," he said. "I'm also concerned about elections going forward."

All Minnesota votes are cast on paper ballots, but some technology is used to tabulate, assist those who need help filling out ballots, and track registration. Urdahl said he would like Minnesota to no longer use digital technology at voting locations going forward.

"Maintaining our voter integrity is essential to our democracy," he said. "We have to make sure, going forward, it's done properly. Because of the pandemic and other issues we strayed away from that."

Sen. Scott Newman, R-Hutchinson, called the issue of a forensic audit in Minnesota a very difficult question.

"After the 2020 election, there were multiple investigations, multiple court cases around the nation, he said. So far, no wrongdoing that I am aware of has been uncovered.

But he believes some form of voter fraud always has and always will exist. He doesn't know if it's to the scale some Republicans believe. There is, however, a second issue, he said: trust.

"There really are a lot (of voters) who feel fraud occurs, and occurred in the 2020 election," Newman said. "Whether or not it's true is important. But what's also important is the faith people have (in the process)."

He listed mail-in ballots with no witnesses or notaries, and Minnesota's lack of a voter ID law among his top concerns. He thinks changes would help restore some Republicans faith in elections and lessen the calls for an audit.

I would feel much better if the Democrats would agree to some voting integrity reforms, Newman said.
Hutchinson, MN (55350)

Today

Windy with snow showers this morning. Winds diminishing later. High 32F. Winds NW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of snow 50%. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low near 20F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.
Amy Coney Barrett was sworn in in the dead of night, just eight days before the 2020 election.
Ransomware has a long history, dating back to the late 1980s. Today, its generating billions of dollars in revenue for the criminal groups behind it. Victims incur recovery costs even if they pay the ransom. Sophos reports that the average cost of a ransomware attack in 2020 was nearly $1.5 million for victim organizations that paid ransoms and about $732,000 for those that didnt.

Given the financial benefit to attackers, its no surprise that ransomware gangs and malware have proliferated. The number of ransomware threat actorsthose capable of developing and delivering codeis likely in the hundreds. Thats not including so-called affiliates who buy ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) offerings from some of these threat actors.

Below is a list of key ransomware malware and groups, selected for inclusion based on their impact or innovative features. It isn't, and isn't intended to be, an exhaustive list. While some of these ransomware groups are no longer active, thats no guarantee they wont reappear bigger and badder someday, as is too often the case.

Cerber

History: Cerber is an RaaS platform that first appeared in 2016, netting attackers $200,000 in July of that year.
Zero trust has long been the logical successor to the moat/castle perimeter security model, which hasnt worked very well to protect enterprises from cyberattacks and is becoming increasingly outdated as employees become more mobile and applications migrate to the cloud.

But adoption of the zero trust model, created by former Forrester analyst John Kindervag more than a decade ago, has been slow due in part to aversion to change and concerns that replacing perimeter security with something new would be risky, complex, and costly.

That all changed when the pandemic hit, corporate offices emptied out, and millions of workers suddenly found themselves working from home. IT executives rushed to move apps to the cloud to make them more accessible to their remote workforce. Then they scrambled to secure those edge connections with methodologies that are consistent with the zero trust architecture, such as multi-factor authentication, access controls and secure access service edge (SASE), a cloud-based service that combines connectivity and security.

In effect, companies had inadvertently begun their zero trust journey, says Forrester analyst Steve Turner. Were seeing a lot of the same clients coming back and saying, Where else can I go with zero trust? They realize there are lots of solutions out there that advertise themselves as zero trust. They want to weed through the noise and understand what the next steps look like.

Following are the five steps that will ensure your zero trust journey stays on track and delivers value to the business.

Step one: Know what zero trust really means

Some of the confusion associated with the term zero trust stems from the use of the word trust. As Kindervag, currently senior vice-president of cybersecurity strategy at managed security services provider ON2IT, puts it, zero trust is simply the idea that trust is the thing that we need to eliminate. Trust is a human emotion that has been injected into digital systems for absolutely no reason. Zero trust is a strategic initiative that helps prevent successful data breaches by eliminating trust from your organization. Its rooted in the principle of never trust, always verify.

For example, everybody at the company knows John and everyone likes and trusts John. Packets are entering the network from a device that is assigned to John, but how do we know that its really John and not a hacker? The zero trust model simply says the assertion that its John needs to be checked and verified. Organizations need to create policies designed to confirm Johns identity, control what resources John can assess, prevent John from taking actions that fall outside of policy, and monitor and log all of Johns activities.

Practically, this means not only moving beyond passwords to multi-factor authentication, but also considering how to verify the device itself, its location and behavioras the next points confirm.

Step 2: Identify what you want to protect

The purpose of zero trust is to protect the business from the financial, regulatory, and reputational consequences of data breaches, so the first step is to figure out what you need to protect.

It could be customer data, employee data, financial data, intellectual property, business process data, data generated by IoT devices, application data, or a service like DNS or Active Directory. Focus on business outcomes, says Kindervag. If you dont know your business needs, you will fail.

Once you know what data needs to be protected and have identified where its located, zero trust principles take over. This means establishing policies that only allow access on a need-to-know basis and inspecting all traffic to and from protected data.

Having security policies in place that protect against exfiltration of sensitive data is critically important because it prevents hackers from setting up command and control, which effectively blocks many types of attacks, including ransomware exploits.

Kris Burkhardt, CISO at Accenture, says his company has been on a zero trust journey for 20 years, dating back to the companys decision to put many of its applications in the cloud so they could be more easily accessed by its highly mobile workforce. Rather than deploy VPNs, which were expensive back then, Accenture allowed employees to connect to the public internet via a simple browser, but deployed endpoint protection, multifactor authentication, identity and access controls, as well as microsegmentation.

The company treats critical information systems with special care, including extra monitoring, privileged access management, and even requiring two people to perform certain actions, says Burkhardt.

Step 3: Design the network from the inside out

The perimeter security model is based on the idea that theres an inside (corporate headquarters) where everyone is trusted, and an untrusted outside, which is protected by firewalls and other security tools. The zero trust model eliminates the distinction between inside and outside and replaces it with network segments that are created for specific purposes. For example, Kindervag suggests that companies might want to start with a single data stream, such as credit card data.

Burkhardt says that microsegmentation is an area where you can get yourself in trouble if you overcomplicate things, but he points out that the tooling is evolving quickly in a good way to make it easier. The important thing is to have a clear microsegmentation strategy and to execute it correctly, both on-premises and in the cloud.

He says some of the classic segmentation approaches would be creating a microsegment for disaster recovery, separating the data center from office applications, and creating a segment for the DMZ where connections to the internet are managed.

Step 4: Log all traffic

Kindervag says inspecting and logging all traffic is an important element in a zero trust architecture. Real-time analysis of traffic logs can help identify cyberattacks. Kindervag adds that the rich telemetry that is collected can help create a feedback loop that makes the network stronger over time.

Burkhardt says Accenture sends its traffic logs to Splunk for a variety of analytics, including threat hunting queries, identifying whether pre-defined conditions indicative of an attack or someone taking an incorrect action by mistake have occurred, and detecting when there is an attacker present in the environment. Analysis of endpoint logs can track any actions that the attacker may have taken and help you understand forensically what occurred.

Step 5: Commit to the long run, but take those first steps

Zero trust is a continuous journey, says Burkhardt. Pick one small system to use as a test case and make sure you have all of the controls, logging, and monitoring in place. Theres no reason to steam through. Get it right small. Then get it right big.

Kindervag adds, Focus on protecting the keys to the kingdom, the crown jewels. Do it incrementally and non-destructively.

At Accenture, even though the company has been operating on zero trust principles before the term was even invented, there is always more work to be done. Burkhardt says a focus these days is the cloud. With application development occurring in the cloud, applications moving to the cloud, and more data than ever being stored in the cloud, Burkhardt is staying on top of new offerings from cloud providers aimed at applying zero trust principles.

His recommendation to other CISOs is to understand that the security landscape has changed over the past few years. Think nation-state attacks, SolarWinds, ransomware. The status quo no longer cuts it.

Teams know the world is changing and they need to change with it. It might be scary but the best thing to do is embrace the change, understand that the perimeter model had its value for many years, but zero trust is far more flexible and its the only way youre going to have success in the public cloud.
Security researchers have uncovered cyberespionage operations by an Iran-based hacker group targeting aerospace and telecom firms with a previously undocumented stealthy Trojan program that's been in use since 2018. Security firm Cybereason has dubbed the campaign Operation GhostShell and said it targeted primarily companies in the Middle East, but also in the US, Europe and Russia. The goal of the attacks is the theft of information about the victims' infrastructure, technology and critical assets.

While the researchers believe this cyberespionage group, called MalKamak, is new and distinct from previously documented groups, there is evidence pointing to possible connections to known Iranian government-sponsored groups such as Chafer APT (APT39) and Agrius APT.

The ShellClient RAT

The group's main malware tool is a remote access Trojan (RAT) called ShellClient that has been in development and likely active use since 2018, as different versions with functionality improvements have been identified. "The authors of ShellClient invested a lot of effort into making it stealthy to evade detection by antivirus and other security tools by leveraging multiple obfuscation techniques and recently implementing a Dropbox client for command and control (C2), making it very hard to detect," the researchers said in their report.

The Trojan is created with an open-source tool called Costura that enables the creation of self-contained compressed executables with no external dependencies. This might also contribute to the program's stealthiness and to why it hasn't been discovered and documented until now after three years of operation. Another possible reason is that the group only used it against a small and carefully selected pool of targets, even if across geographies.

ShellClient has three deployment modes controlled by execution arguments. One installs it as a system service called nhdService (Network Hosts Detection Service) using the InstallUtil.exe Windows tool. Another execution argument uses the Service Control Manager (SCM) to create a reverse shell that communicates with a configured Dropbox account. A third execution argument only executes the malware as a regular process. This seems to be reserved for cases where attackers only want to gather information about the system first, including which antivirus programs are installed, and establish if it's worth deploying the malware in persistence mode.

The Trojan uses Dropbox for command-and-control to evade network-level detection. All the data sent to the Dropbox account is encrypted with a hard-coded AES encryption key to add a layer of further traffic obfuscation. The way the malware receives commands is passive. Attackers create files in a particular folder on the Dropbox account that the malware checks every few seconds. These files correspond to certain commands and where they are detected, the malware deletes the files, executes the command, and uploads the output as a file in a different folder. Each file contains a unique ID identifying the victim. A Dropbox spokesperson tells CSO that the Dropbox account used by the malware was disabled.

ShellClient implements multiple functionalities and commands including file and directory operations, opening CMD and PowerShell shells, executing shell commands, starting TCP, FTP and Telnet clients, downloading and executing files on the machine and performing various lateral movement actions through the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) toolset.

Lateral movement and Iranian APT connections

The Cybereason researchers observed the attackers use popular tools like PAExec (a version of PsExec) and net use" to execute files on remote systems. They also saw credential dumping from the lsass.exe process with a tool dubbed lsa.exe that they suspect is a version of SafetyKatz -- an open-source variant of Mimikatz that has been used by other Iranian APT groups in the past. A standalone version of WinRAR was also used to archive files before exfiltration.

The first ShellClient version that Cybereason's Nocturnus team identified was compiled in August and included a version string of 4.0. This suggested there might be older versions out there and indeed, several older versions dating back to November 2018 were later found. These had different sets of functionalities, suggesting constant development and improvement over time.

The use of the Costura packer and the use of Dropbox for command-and-control were only added in the latest version, which also saw other significant architectural changes. However, some of the code structure, routines and techniques used in previous versions are similar to those seen in malware from other Iranian APT groups.

"The Nocturnus team compared our observations with previous campaigns that were attributed to known Iranian threat actors and was able to point out some interesting similarities between ShellClient and previously reported Iranian malware and threat actors," the researchers said. "However, at this point, our estimation is that this operation was carried out by a separate activity group, dubbed MalKamak, which has its own distinct characteristics that distinguish it from the other groups."
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP)  A federal magistrate determined Friday that Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan's former chief of staff can remain free before his trial on charges that he defrauded a state agency he led by inducing it to pay him nearly $280,000 in mostly severance pay before moving to the governor's office.

The initial appearance for Roy McGrath of Naples, Florida, was held virtually and made available to the public over a teleconference line, The Baltimore Sun reported. Magistrate Judge Thomas DiGirolamo ordered that McGrath can continue on a status that does not require him to report to jail while awaiting trial. McGrath has maintained in Facebook posts and emails to The Sun that he's a victim of politically motivated bullies" and his actions weren't improper.
The number of state employees not in compliance with mandatory vaccinations or weekly testing dropped sharply Tuesday, low enough that it now appears no state workers will face suspension for at least another few days.

A total of 1,200 state employees, or 4 percent of the 30,300 in regular state executive branch agencies, had failed to either document that they had received COVID-19 vaccinations or agree to start weekly testing, as of Tuesday afternoon, Gov. Ned Lamonts office said. That was down from 2,200 as of late Monday, ahead of the midnight deadline.

Those workers could be suspended without pay immediately under Lamonts vaccination-or-testing order, and no later than Oct. 11.

State employee unions support the mandate but reiterated their call Tuesday for a 3-week delay in any suspensions because, they said, staff levels are so short and needs are so great that critical services are going unmet and workers face health crises.

Lamont rejected that call for a delay in the suspensions. But spokesman Max Reiss said the administration is going case-by-case through the dwindling list of non-compliant employees. Suspensions would most likely happen only after that step.

Were just trying to do everything we can on an individual basis to get our people compliant, Reiss said. You wouldnt expect anything until all this is done. Were still working actively across all of our agencies to get all our people in compliance. Were moving pretty well.

It isnt likely that all of the 1,200 non-compliant state workers are refusing to be vaccinated or submit to testing. Some may have simply missed the deadline to report. Some may have had trouble with the reporting system, which unions and some workers have called balky.

As of noon on Tuesday 23,600 workers, or 78 percent of the 30,300 at departments such as correction, social services, children and family services and transportation, had shown they are fully vaccinated. Another 5,500, or 18 percent, have agreed to weekly COVID testing, leaving the 4 percent who have not submitted documentation.

Neither the administration nor the unions has provided a breakdown of vaccination and compliance numbers by state agency. Other branches of government, including the court system, the public colleges and universities and the legislature, face similar mandates and have reported similarly low numbers of non-compliant employees.

The Department of Public Health on Tuesday reported a daily COVID positive test rate of 2.52 percent, and a net decrease of four hospitalized patients, bringing that total to 237. The 7-day positivity rate was at 1.9 percent.

While Lamont seems reticent to push workers into a corner on compliance, unionized state employees and union leaders stepped-up their war of words with the governor over the COVID vaccine requirements. In a video call with reporters, they charged that there are already massive staffing shortages resulting in mandatory overtime shifts, particularly in state-owned medical facilities where patient safety could be further compromised.

They underscored what the workers say are sometimes dangerous staffing levels dating as far back as the 2008 recession. Former Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, facing a series of annual budget crises, eliminated or declined to fill several thousand state employee positions.

Carl Chisem, president of the Connecticut Employees Union Independent SEIU Local 511, said that while union leaders dont know how many state employees in the executive branch might risk unpaid suspensions by refusing both vaccinations and weekly testing, the unsafe staffing levels put many people at risk.

Prior to COVID, state agencies were under-funded, under-staffed and will now be at greater risk because of the administrations implementation of its vaccination and testing mandates, said Chisem, whose bargaining unit represents about 3,600 employees, including 1,500 road maintenance workers in the Department of Transportation. Putting this on the members just burdens the safety of our staff and clients in various areas as well.

State workers across all agencies showed up every day during the global pandemic, Chisem told reporters during an hour-long online news conference. Services, education, mental health, custodial or the countless lives our nurses and aides saved during the pandemic. They continued to work and provide vital services to people of Connecticut. They did this when there was no [personal protective equipment] or vaccinations. They did this even without pandemic hazard pay.

Damien Nuzzo, a nurse-clinical instructor at the Connecticut Valley Hospital (CVH), said the staffing shortages are chronic across a variety of the states social service agencies, including the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services. He said that CVH workers are routinely ordered to work double shifts.

Rob Baril, president of SEIU 1199 New England, the largest health care workers union, said the workforce is more than 20 percent smaller than it was at the start of the Great Recession. Theres been a 32-percent reduction in the states public-sector health care work force, he said. The addiction program at CVH is running at 30 percent because of a staffing shortage, Baril said.

Union leaders and the umbrella State Employee Bargaining Agent Coalition, which is negotiating with the Lamont administration over issues related to the vaccine rules, are encouraging workers to get inoculated. But Baril and Chisem said workers are discouraged, which explains how they can support the mandate while opposing suspensions.

They are burned-out, Baril said. They are exhausted. They are frustrated. They understand that their own health has been compromised; that the outcomes for their patients and clients have been compromised. These are the folks whove made the sacrifice to stay on the front lines...So even the idea of folks who have not been vaccinated being removed from the workforce at a time when staffing is already at crisis levels, is an idea that can lead to disastrous outcomes for workers and patients.

Lamont admitted Monday that he considers suspending workers without pay a difficult step he doesnt want to take. So although the deadline to file worker status was midnight Monday, hes not pushing the issue.

Chisem said he has seen firsthand some of the problems encountered by workers trying to report their status. Brian Williams, a certified addiction counselor at CVH, said some workers say they have tried to reply via email and fax, only to be told they are out of compliance. There is also a system to upload proof of vaccination.

In response to charges about the staff shortages, Reiss, the governors communications director, said about 1,500 employees have been hired by the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services over the last three years.

The administration has taken aggressive steps to expedite hiring at agencies, especially those who work directly with patients, Reiss said. As a matter of fact, our administration has hired more people at DMHAS in a single year than any other administration on record. Additionally, fingerprinting and background checks have been accelerated for these roles, as we work to get people on the job sooner.

kdixon@ctpost.com Twitter: @KenDixonCT
DEEP RIVER  The decision by gun-maker Smith & Wesson to shutter its manufacturing center in town and relocate to a state with unwavering support of the 2nd Amendment, drew skepticism from local leaders this week, who said the move was more likely motivated by profit.

The company announced its plans last week to move headquarters from its longtime home in Springfield, Mass., to Maryville, Tenn., citing attempts by Massachusetts lawmakers to ban the manufacturing of assault weapons in the state.

But despite its stated rationale for the move, Smith & Wesson said it plans to continue manufacturing revolvers at its plant in Massachusetts, while employing more than 1,000 workers there. Along with its corporate headquarters, the company said it plans to move its smaller facilities in Deep River and in Missouri to a new facility being built with a $120 million investment in Tennessee.

Reasons for move questioned

The collateral impact of the move on Connecticut  a state whose gun laws Smith & Wesson did not address in its announcement of the move  left local officials questioning the companys motives.

I think this is purely a business decision, to move to a state with a lower minimum wage, and lower costs for them, said Deep River First Selectman Angus McDonald. To throw politics into it is good headlines, but Im not sure how real that is.

McDonald said he first learned of the plans to close the Deep River plant, which Smith & Wesson announced Thursday, when he was contacted last week by a reporter from a local TV station. The plant is the third-largest taxpayer in town, McDonald said, adding that the move would deal a big blow to municipal revenues.

Smith & Wesson did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday regarding the impact of its decision on Deep River.

In its original statement announcing its decision, the company said the move would affect more than 750 employees across all three impacted locations, beginning in 2023. The company said it will provide relocation assistance to employees who are willing to move with the company, as well as enhanced severance packages to those who do not.

McDonald said the Deep River plant employs more than 100 people, most of whom commute from towns in New London County. The plant serves as the gun-makers plastic injection molding facility, producing more than 33 million parts each year.

We are deeply saddened by the impact that this difficult decision will have on so many of our dedicated employees, but, in order to preserve future jobs, and for the viability of our business in the long term, we are left with no choice but to relocate these functions to a state that does not propose burdensome restrictions on our company, Smith & Wesson President Mark Smith said in a statement.

The statement referred to legislation proposed by lawmakers in Boston that would ban the manufacturing of assault weapons for commercial sale outside of law enforcement and military uses. Supporters of the bill point to the use of Smith & Wesson weapons during mass shootings in Parkland, Fla., Aurora, Colo., and elsewhere.

Smith & Wesson said that the sales of such weapons accounted for more than 60 percent of its revenues last year.

State Sen. Norm Needleman, D-Essex, said he, too, doubted the companys pronouncements regarding its decision to close the plant. He noted that the facility was once operated by a company with local ties, Tri-Town Plastics, before being purchased by Smith & Wesson in 2014.

If thats what theyre saying, thats what theyre saying, Needleman said. Whether thats true, Im less than convinced.

Both Needleman and another area lawmaker, state Rep. Christine Palm, D-Chester, said that the companys rationale for leaving, if true, represented an unwillingness by Smith & Wesson to work with lawmakers to enact gun control measures that are supported by most Americans, while still protecting the rights of gun owners.

A line in the sand

It seems like they drew a line in the sand, Palm said. The corporate leadership didnt want to be challenged on gun safety, and they decided to go to a place where they wouldnt be challenged.

In addition to its opposition to the proposed Massachusetts law, Smith & Wesson cited a number of other factors behind its move to Tennessee, including the low cost of living, quality of life, outdoor recreation, and a welcoming, business friendly environment.

The company did not say whether it was offered any economic incentives by state or local authorities to build its new headquarters. Tennessee is one of nine states that does not levy an income tax.

McDonald said that he would be willing to discuss incentives to keep Smith & Wesson in Deep River, though, he added, as far as I can tell, their minds are made up.

Connecticut, long known as an epicenter of gun manufacturing, has seen the industry decline over recent years with companies such as Remington and Winchester Repeating Arms abandoning the state.

Speaking to Hearst in 2019, industry experts cited both economic incentives offered by other states as well as Connecticuts strict gun laws as reasons for those departures.
Debbie Huscher / Contributed photos

DURHAM  Police are seeking the publics help identifying the individual who allegedly threw a rock at a Durham Fair volunteer while they were working an event last month.

The Durham resident state trooper began investigating a complaint on Friday that a volunteer at the Durham Fair was injured while working at an event on Sept. 26 around 2 p.m.
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Stepping Stones Community Federal Credit Union can open accounts and print ATM cards in its "Bank on Wheels," a refurbished cargo van.

When Stepping Stones Community Federal Credit Union was exploring ways to grow membership, it took to the streets in a converted van that became a branch on wheels.

We are in the city. While people cant travel because of the pandemic or because they dont have the income to do so, we go into the community and provide the service they need, says Blanche Jackson, CEO of the $4.5 million asset credit union in Wilmington, Del.

The credit union began exploring the Bank on Wheels van in 2017 as a way to spread its message. After completing a core conversion, Jackson says they realized they could also open accounts and print ATM cards because of their new core platform.

With the assistance of Discover and Barclay Banks, the vana retrofitted Dodge Ram cargo van wrapped in credit union brandingdebuted in 2018. The credit union has tripled its membership since, Jackson says, growing from 414 members and $1.7 million in assets in 2018 to 1,068 members and $4.5 million in assets today.
Cullman, AL (35055)

Today

Cloudy with occasional showers. Morning high of 63F with temps falling to near 45. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Mostly clear. Low 34F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph.
Kankakee, IL (60901)

Today

Windy with a mix of clouds and sun. A few flurries or snow showers possible. High 39F. Winds W at 20 to 30 mph..

Tonight

Mainly clear. Low 22F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph.
Elizabeth City, NC (27909)

Today

Mostly sunny. High 77F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers overnight. Low 46F. SSW winds shifting to NW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
Hertford, NC (27944)

Today

Plenty of sunshine. High 77F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers overnight. Low 46F. SSW winds shifting to NW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
Dalton, GA (30720)

Today

Cloudy with occasional showers this afternoon. High around 65F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low around 35F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.
Ashland, KY (41101)

Today

Periods of rain. Morning high of 63F with temps falling to near 45. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Mostly clear. Low near 30F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.
Sunbury, PA (17801)

Today

Cloudy skies with periods of rain this afternoon. Areas of patchy fog. High 63F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Evening clouds will give way to clearing overnight. A shower of rain or wet snow possible. Low 32F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.
Yet again our sceptred isle has been turned into a septic one. Shakespeare's 'precious stone set in the silver sea' is once more being lapped by stinking sewage.

Last weekend, Southern Water  notorious even in the disgracefully dirty water industry  pumped raw sewage out of more than half its outlets around the South East coast, soiling clear water and beautiful beaches from the Isle of Wight to Kent.

In places, the discharges continued for more than 40 hours.

This latest episode is no isolated outrage. Last year, shockingly, there were more than 400,000 such incidents involving streams, rivers and the sea around the country, lasting a staggering three million hours.

Last weekend, Southern Water pumped raw sewage out of more than half its outlets around the South East coast, soiling clear water from the Isle of Wight to Kent (stock image)

This appalling record is the result of decades of failure by the water companies to clean up their act  despite raking in vast profits  and a light-touch approach by the authorities designed to regulate them.

Some of the pollution is from sewage works, but most gushes from overflow pipes which are only supposed to release such filth in 'exceptional' circumstances.

Southern Water's action will raise a special stink since, less than three months ago, it was fined 90million after pleading guilty to 51 charges of releasing raw sewage in the 'worst case brought by the Environment Agency in its history'.

The prosecution claimed that this was done 'deliberately' because 'it was a far cheaper alternative than to properly treat it' and that, as a result, the company  ultimately owned by American, Australian and British investment funds  had reaped 'considerable financial advantage'.

The court heard that the discharges  which caused 'very considerable environmental damage'  were 'known about and permitted at a high level in the company', and yet, despite this, it had failed even to report them to the Environment Agency.

The judge, Mr Justice Johnson, noted Southern had previously been fined 'substantial amounts for similar offences' but there was 'no evidence' it 'took any notice', adding: 'Its offending simply continued.'

Less than three months ago, Southern Water was fined 90million after pleading guilty to 51 charges of releasing raw sewage (stock image)

There are few signs it has reduced its pollution greatly since. Even before last weekend's desecration of coastal bathing spots, its record showed little sign of improvement.

During the months since Mr Justice Johnson's judgment, 'black sludge' has fouled beaches at Pagham, Elmer, Aldwick and Bognor, for example, and 'soggy toilet paper' has covered the Pocket Nature Reserve near Maidstone after a spill.

Sewage has even been pumped into Hampshire's Pillhill Brook chalk stream, a habitat described as 'unique' by the World Wide Fund for Nature.

Meanwhile, Chichester Harbour, supposedly one of the country's most protected marine environments, has had so much sewage pumped into it this year that it is said to be nearing 'catastrophe' status.

Shamefully, the company has set itself a deadline of 2040 to eliminate pollution incidents  almost two decades away.

Last year it made more than 138million profit, down from more than 212million in 2019 mainly because of fines. Despite this, its chief executive picked up a 550,900 bonus on top of his 435,000 pay packet.

This summer the Sydney-based Macquarie Group bought a majority stake in Southern for 1billion. Dubbed 'the vampire kangaroo', it is notorious for having previously extracted millions of pounds of dividends from Thames Water.

And this is part of a pattern across the industry. When the water companies were privatised three decades ago, ministers promised they would not fall into foreign hands. By 2013, most had.

Privatisation was supposed to help water companies raise funds to invest in cleaning up. Instead they prioritised increasing dividends, paying out 56billion to shareholders while racking up 51billion in debt.

Now 53 per cent of British rivers are in a poor state, largely because of sewage discharges.

Only 14 per cent are in good ecological condition, and none have 'good' chemical status. We have been left, literally, in the s**t. It has to stop.
Boris claims that there's no crisis.

Tell that to the people queuing at 10pm to buy the petrol to go to work next day. Or the farmer ploughing up his cabbages because there's no one to pick them. Pigs culled because butchers are rarer than dentists.

This week, the Prime Minister talked down food and fuel shortages and blithely claimed there's 'no shortage' of eager young people who are thinking of becoming lorry drivers. No wonder the BBC's Nick Robinson finally blew his top, barking 'Prime Minister stop talking!'

If the current driver shortage (estimated at 100,000) continues, never mind saving Christmas, our supermarket shelves will be empty well before it's time for the Advent calendars.

There are hundreds of thousands of jobs available, but nobody wants them. They're poorly paid, at anti-social times, or involve working outside in the British weather.

This week, the Prime Minister (pictured with his wife Carrie Johnson) talked down food and fuel shortages and blithely claimed there's 'no shortage' of eager young people who are thinking of becoming lorry drivers

A huge section of the workforce has become choosy, they no longer want to work for peanuts in poor conditions if there's a cushy office job on offer or, better still, one they can do on a laptop from comfort of their own front room.

Covid has turned us into a nation of semi-productive home-bodies - reluctant to swap the last eighteen months of leisure wear and Zoom for a wet and windy commute. Going anywhere to work is unappealling when petrol is expensive and major roads are blocked by demonstrators. Public transport involves mixing with the unvaccinated, the non mask-wearers.

Business leaders are desperate for employees to return, They say that without face-to-face meetings creativity is stifled and output is dipping. Young people are particularly badly hit, how can their careers progress if they haven't got a chance to engage face-to-face and learn from others? Who can mentor them and teach social skills?

To be fair, Boris is concerned that our prolonged love affair with WFH is having a detrimental effect on young people. However, he has not got a plan to galvanise workers out of their slippers.

His sweet-talking to woo us back has been hesitant, some might say glacial. At the start of summer, Boris opted for a cautious, 'gradual' return, fearing a third Covid peak. In September, when it didn't materialise, the schools returned and the holiday season ended, he unveiled Plan A- not an order, but a nudge- could we PLEASE go back to work.

The result has been a conspicuous failure. Almost half of the country- and most of the civil servants - are resolutely refusing to take off their track bottoms and get back to the daily grind.

Months ago, Whitehall bosses issued new guidelines asking for a 'gradual' return - a message which has been resolutely ignored (file image)

According to Tory MP Jake Berry, civil servants who refuse to go back to the office full-time are 'woke-ing from home'.

A bad pun, but it contains a nugget of truth. We'd rather talk to the new cockapoo than have a catch up by the water-cooler.

Months ago, Whitehall bosses issued new guidelines asking for a 'gradual' return - a message which has been resolutely ignored. Now, the civil service are advertising jobs along with a London uplift in salary to cover travelling costs - even though any lucky applicant will be allowed to work from home!

Some civil servant bosses reckon workers should be able to choose exactly what hours (if any) they put in at the office. Is this really the way to cut waste and increase output?

JANET STREET-PORTER: When a fuel shortage led to panic at the pumps, Boris eventually called in the army to deliver fuel

This week, the Prime Minister admitted, that in spite of being sent a letter by the Cabinet Secretary, his own staff were digging their heels in.

Why should the rest of the country obey the Prime Ministers' back to work edict and help make Britain Great Again if he can't even succeed with his own team?

As for the jobs which nobody can be arsed to apply for (which Boris is convinced we will fill if the pay improves) - driving lorries, picking broccoli, cleaning hotel rooms, washing up dishes in cafes and restaurants and butchering pigs - I'm not convinced.

Two in five businesses say they can't recruit enough workers, up from a third in August. Pay is slowly improving, but will it be enough? Waitrose is offering up to 53,000 to recruit lorry drivers- and that cost will be passed on to consumers.

Boris harbours a dream that somehow thousands of the unemployed will wake up one day, and think 'I've always wanted to butcher a rare breed heifer' in a slaughterhouse or 'it's my dream to make 72 beds in a morning, whilst arranging the towels to make swans, and not forgetting to sanitise every surface'. I very much doubt that miracle will happen without pay dramatically rising - and that will lead to an increase in the cost of living very quickly.

When a fuel shortage led to panic at the pumps, Boris eventually called in the army to deliver fuel and was forced to offer a limited number (just 300- hardly enough to make much difference) of temporary work permits to non-British HGV drivers. The industry pay and conditions are so bad that so far just 127 (or 27, depending on who you believe) have applied.

Working from home has softened our minds and given us a new power. The boot has moved to the other foot- the majority of office workers saying they want 'hyrid' or 'flexible' hours in the future.

When your desk is the kitchen table and your canteen the fully stacked fridge, are you really putting in the same amount of work as you would in the workplace?

Those regular comfort breaks to check dating apps, stroke the cat, give the dog a chew, and reload the dishwasher according to Dishi Rishi's specifications can really eat into the working day. And why would you walk to a station or a bus stop, mix with the possibly-infected, just to show your face in the office in the vain hope of promotion?

All the polls reveal that employees are unwilling to return to the old way of working, with three quarters saying the workplace has changed for good.

But the result might be good for their work-life balance, but bad for customers and consumers. From my own experience, getting hold of anyone when they all work different days in their 'hybrid' arrangements, is a nightmare. Accountants say that key files are in the office when you call them on their mobile at home. Or when they are in the office, the files are at home.

Try getting a passport or a driving licence - as I have been doing for the past two weeks, and you enter the bermuda triangle of NO ONE AT WORK. A service that should take a week now is open-ended. They send out wet texts with message like 'you should get your passport in a few days'. What are these words 'should' and 'few'? The old notion of service has gone out of the window with flexi-working.

Is WFH good for Boris' vision of a highly productive, better paid UK PLC? I think not.
Angry French workers often burn barricades and launch savage attacks on the police during demonstrations. The republic was built by citizens who would stop at nothing  including liberal use of the guillotine  to get what they want.

The latest target is the British Christmas. Yesterday the Daily Mail revealed how French fishermen, angry at the delay in receiving licences to tap into British waters, have threatened to blockade food from France, creating more headaches for families already under pressure to stock up on frozen turkeys and chocolate.

This outrageous action comes hot on the heels of threats to cut power to Jersey  potentially affecting schools and hospitals in the coldest months of the year  and the news that France allegedly 'stole' five million Covid vaccines destined for Britain at the beginning of this year.

'Unless Boris backs down, the Brits will not have so many nice things to eat this Christmas,' Olivier Lepretre, head of the northern France fisheries committee, said earlier this week. 'I hope it doesn't come to that.'

Emmanuel Macron's high-handed attitude to the Brexit negotiations made every step more difficult. Even the French media are now comparing our head of state to Napoleon Bonaparte, suggesting that 'Napo-Macron' wants to use sea blockades to 'starve the English' into compliance

As a French woman, I can only feel ashamed. This sense of rowdy entitlement is not just about angry workers; it extends from bottom to top, as the British know all too well.

Emmanuel Macron's high-handed attitude to the Brexit negotiations made every step more difficult. Even the French media are now comparing our head of state to Napoleon Bonaparte, suggesting that 'Napo-Macron' wants to use sea blockades to 'starve the English' into compliance.

The EU Commission should pull France into line and stop this bickering before it gets out of hand. The alternative is calling on the Royal Navy, which could have serious consequences.

Responsible politicians should be outraged by such guerrilla tactics, but not in France, where there has been no attempt to condemn the fishermen's unlawful reprisals whatsoever.

On the contrary, senior Macron lieutenants have made it clear they want to add to the sabotage by preventing British fishermen delivering fish to France.

They would also like to toughen up customs and veterinary checks on all vehicles arriving from the UK, causing increased delays.

As a French woman, I can only feel ashamed. This sense of rowdy entitlement is not just about angry workers; it extends from bottom to top, as the British know all too well

Most shameful, however, is the threat to cut power to British sovereign territory as part of the fishing row. Clement Beaune, Mr Macron's Europe minister, has implied that electricity supplies to the Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey, which are provided by two undersea cables from France, could be interrupted within days.

'We defend our interests,' Mr Beaune fumed. 'We do it nicely and diplomatically, but when that doesn't work, we take measures. The Channel Islands, the UK, are dependent on us for their energy supply. They think they can live on their own and badmouth Europe as well. And because it doesn't work, they indulge in one-upmanship, and in an aggressive way.'

If all this suggests that the Macron government is still extremely bitter about Britain's historic decision to leave the EU, then it's because it still is.

Indeed, it would be fair to say the latest salvo in the so-called 'Scallop War' is simply another battle in France's never-ending hostility towards Brexit.

The influential Paris investigative weekly Le Canard Enchaine (The Chained Duck) summed up the situation in its latest edition, saying: 'France has called for a common European front against the UK.'

This means 'Admiral Macron'  as he is dubbed  using sea blockades, in the style of the Napoleonic Wars. 'So he wants to starve the English?' the magazine asks, as it compares him to Napoleon, the dictator who was constantly at war with the British. 'Napo-Macron will establish a new continental blockade, like his illustrious predecessor.'

Clement Beaune (pictured), Mr Macron's Europe minister, has implied that electricity supplies to the Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey, which are provided by two undersea cables from France, could be interrupted within days

The Napoleonic parallels were clear last May when two Royal Navy gunships steamed to Jersey after dozens of French boats blockaded the island's harbour.

Mr Macron originally described Brexit as a 'crime' and has done all he can to undermine Anglo-French relations since.

Last year, he caused outrage by suggesting the UK's Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine was 'quasi-ineffective' among the over-65s, and that the over-60s should 'not be encouraged' by its results.

Now it has emerged that Mr Macron allegedly plotted with EU bigwigs to halt exports of the jabs, in what has been described by one British Government source as 'an act of war'. President Macron has also been accused of stirring up violence by insisting that the post-Brexit UK must stick to the Northern Ireland Protocol, despite the threat this poses to peace and stability in the region.

His ministers have also taken up hardline positions in the never-ending dispute over thousands of unregistered migrants travelling from northern France to the coast of England in small boats.

Few have failed to note the irony in the French enabling desperate migrants to enter the UK with ease, while blockading goods.

Mr Macron is determined to win a second five-year term and establish himself as the de facto EU leader after the retirement of German Chancellor Angela Merkel (pictured)

Mr Macron is also angry with Britain over its alliance with Australia and the US, which has resulted in a 50billion-plus French contract to build submarines for Australia being scrapped.

Mr Beaune said dismissively that far from becoming Global Britain, the Aukus alliance was 'a return into the American lap and a form of accepted vassalisation'.

A common thread in these face-offs is the fact that Mr Macron and his cronies are preparing for a presidential election in April. Mr Macron is determined to win a second five-year term and establish himself as the de facto EU leader after the retirement of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

As France moves further to the Right, Mr Macron knows he has to attract extreme nationalist voters to defeat rivals such as Marine Le Pen of the National Rally party.

An obvious way of doing this is for 'Napo-Macron' to take on his country's historic enemy at every opportunity, so prepare for Britain to be blamed for every French ill in the coming months. He might not win every battle, but if Mr Macron finds himself back inside the Elysee Palace, his aggression will have served him well  whatever it does for Britain's relations with one of its closest neighbours.

Nabila Ramdani is a French-Algerian journalist, broadcaster and academic specialising in Anglo-French issues

Now French say they'll blockade UK in a fortnight: Fishermen threaten to 'go on the attack' and cut off Christmas supplies if they don't get more access to British waters

By James Franey in Brussels and Harriet Line for the Daily Mail

French fishing barons have given Britain two weeks to grant them more access to its waters or face being cut off from crucial Christmas supplies.

They handed down the ultimatum a day after skippers vowed to block the port of Calais and the Channel Tunnel unless their demands were met.

'The British have got two weeks to react and then we will go on the attack,' said Olivier Lepretre, the chairman of the northern France fisheries committee.

The fisherman raised the prospect of the possible revenge move after the British government refused to issue permits for 35 small trawlers to fish between six and 12 miles off the UK coast.

French fishing barons have given Britain two weeks to grant them more access to its waters or face being cut off from crucial Christmas supplies (file image)

French boats were free to fish in the six-to-12 mile zone when the UK was in the EU, but now have to prove that they previously did so. France says they should keep the same level of access, accusing Britain of breaching the Brexit trade deal.

Christophe Lomel, a Boulogne skipper, said: 'It's illogical  licences have been given to boats which hardly ever go to British waters. I've been going there for 35 years and have not been given a licence.' But Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab yesterday dismissed those claims, telling Paris that the changes were a result of Brexit.

'What the French need to adjust to is the new reality as we have left the EU,' he told TalkRadio. 'They can't expect to have the kind of quotas they had previously (with) unlimited access.'

In Brussels, Eurocrats refused to be drawn on whether Britain had failed to live up to the agreement it signed with the EU last year. A European Commission spokesman said only that it was 'a top priority for the bloc to achieve 'continuity' for EU skippers.

They handed down the ultimatum a day after skippers vowed to block the port of Calais and the Channel Tunnel unless their demands were met (file image)

But one senior EU diplomat claimed France was 'overplaying' the row ahead of next year's presidential election. The source said: 'It looks good for President Macron right now to be tough on the British.'

The Brexit trade agreement, signed by both sides last year, reduces the catch for EU trawlers in British waters by 25 per cent over five-years. After that expires, access will be negotiated on an annual basis.

The French government wants other EU members to support their push for Britain to be brought before an arbitration panel set up to thrash out post-Brexit disputes.

The country's maritime ministry said yesterday that French ministers would unveil retaliatory measures 'in the second half of October'. Annick Giradin, the French maritime minister, has raised the possibility of cutting electricity supplies to Channel Islands Jersey and Guernsey.

Senior Tory MP David Jones urged Mr Macron (pictured) to 'dial down the rhetoric' adding: 'Resorting to gangsterism, which is what this effectively is, can never be justified'

Britain and France have already clashed in recent months over an Australian submarine deal, the EU's bid to block life-saving jabs arriving in the UK, and the Northern Ireland protocol.

Former Cabinet minister Theresa Villiers said: 'This is an unacceptable attempt at bullying. Ministers should stand firm.'

Senior Tory MP David Jones urged Mr Macron to 'dial down the rhetoric' adding: 'Resorting to gangsterism, which is what this effectively is, can never be justified'.

France's foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said differences with Britain were getting bigger and it was up to London to offer ideas to improve relations. 'The ball is in their court,' he added.
There's an alternative to setting Government and business in opposition to each other - we should be working together, says Iceland managing director Richard Walker (pictured)

This was the week that Boris Johnson discovered his inner Margaret Thatcher, declaring to the Tory party conference that 'there is no alternative' other than Britain becoming a high-wage, higher productivity economy  with the tap of low-paid immigration turned off.

I find it hard to disagree with him on the destination. But he needs to have a serious discussion with the nation's businesses about how we are going to get there.

So here's my message to the Prime Minister. Maybe there's an alternative to setting Government and business in opposition to each other. Instead, we should be working together.

Brexit and Covid have combined to create labour shortages and supply chain snarl-ups that are causing gaps on shelves and queues at petrol stations.

While I accept it isn't the Prime Minister's job to, as he put it, 'fix every problem in business', the Government has a responsibility to listen to industry leaders and work with us to find solutions to the challenges we and the country are facing.

We're not all frustrated Remainers trying to undermine the benefits of Brexit. I voted Leave to take back control of the UK's immigration policy, trade deals and environmental policies in the firm belief all could be improved from outside the EU.

At no point did I imagine that the UK could cope in the long term without sensibly controlled immigration from around the world  not just the EU  to fill structural shortages of labour in key sectors.

I and other business leaders have been lobbying the Government for months to warn of looming labour shortages: I for one have never received a reply. Pictured: Boris Johnson

How can it be sensible to persist with an immigration policy that prioritises ballerinas but turns away the HGV drivers we need now  and who were needed six months ago when we first started raising the issue?

I and other business leaders have been lobbying the Government for months to warn of looming labour shortages: I for one have never received a reply. These shortages have now caught up with everyone.

If Government had engaged with business we could have headed off these problems before the country came close to grinding to a halt.

How can it be sensible to persist with an immigration policy that prioritises ballerinas but turns away the HGV drivers we need now (file photo)

Where ministers have shown a willingness to act, the solutions have all too often been short-term and expensive.

Eventually, higher energy costs and the other pressures of transitioning to the high-wage economy are going to feed through into rising prices for consumers  just as they face a 20-a-week cut to Universal Credit and increases in national insurance.

This is not going to win the Government new friends in the Red Wall  or anywhere else. The Prime Minister and I have had differences in opinion.

But this week he said he hoped that me and my colleagues at Iceland 'would do fantastic things to get food on the shelves' for Christmas.

I'm confident we will. We have freezer space aplenty for turkeys and other festive treats  which are already on sale in our stores.

But we need to find a way to keep all firms just as well-stocked  and for that, the Government must start working properly with business.
Forget ghosts and zombies, apparently the new way to cause a fright for Halloween 2021 is to dress up as a nondescript suburban white woman.

Twitter user Helen Shivers, from the US, shared a snap of an outfit labeled 'Karen' which she spotted in a local shop store captioned the post: 'and the scariest costume goes to'

'Karen' has recently become used as a slang term for a white woman who is perceived to be entitled, demanding or racist, with dozens of videos showing 'Karens' calling cops on black people and screaming at supermarket clerks over face masks have gone viral on the internet.

But it wasn't long before others took to the comments section to express outrage a the idea of poking fun at Karens.

'I don't like how they're profiting from the very real issue of racism,' wrote one.

Twitter user Helen Shivers, from the US, has expressed her outrage after spotting an outfit labelled 'Karen' on the shelves of a local shop (pictured)

Taking to the comments section, one person penned: 'I don't like how they're profiting from the very real issue of racism' (pictured)

A second agreed: 'Absolutely nothing funny about a whole species of people that put Black people in danger of losing their lives with a simple phone call.'

Elsewhere, a third added: 'I feel the same way about the whole "Karen" thing in general.'

'It originally was made to point out when white people/women are racist/prejudice to black people and call the police on them for no reason.'

Taking to the comments section, one person penned: 'They turned a diss into more money' (pictured)

INSULTING STEREOTYPES BEHIND THE KAREN SLUR The disparaging term Karen became mainstream last summer  principally in the US  in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement, to describe self-entitled white women. They are said to behave in a privileged manner  for example, demanding to speak to the manager when thwarted in a shop and thus seen as those who enjoy belittling service staff. Such women are also said to weaponise their relative privilege against people of colour  for instance, when making a complaint to the police about black people for minor or even fictitious infringements. Karens are said to tend to be Tories, pro-life, judgmental and annoying church-lady types. They also allegedly love to run parent-teacher associations so they can impose their views on both their children and school staff. During the pandemic, the term was extended to Coronavirus Karen  the kind of woman who refuses to wear a mask in shops. Last year, the pizza delivery company Dominos offered Karens in New Zealand the chance to win a free pizza as a break from negativity. However, the deal was scrapped after a backlash. Incidentally, the word Karen also refers to a group of Sino-Tibetan-speaking people in Burma. Advertisement

Another continued: 'The way people have managed to turn this into a joke is honestly so unsurprising.

'A whole costume for a label that's supposed to identify women who weaponize their whiteness to brutalize black people.'

Just like the wig that comes with the costume, a defining visual feature of a Karen is supposedly her hairstyle.

It is seen as an outdated, inverted bob or an asymmetric fringe  typical of the 1990s or early 2000s  with lots of volume, plenty of hair spray and ill-placed layers.

Critics  and many women called Karen  have condemned the outfit for attacking those who simply have a strong sense of right and wrong.

Since 2020, the term Karen has also been linked with opposition to Black Lives Matter protests.

It comes after three women called Karen were mocked by This Morning viewers for suggesting they are victims of discrimination as a result of their name.

Karen Masters, from Oxfordshire, Karen Serfass, from Pennsylvania and Karen Triggs, from Gloucestershire appeared on the show to speak about the term - and agreed when host Eamon Holmes said it was 'almost racist' to use the term.

Karen Masters said that 'as Karens' they were unable to speak about how the meme has affected their lives, because they fear being labelled 'entitled' and insisted that Karens 'just aren't that sort of person'.

One of the Karens even admitted she's changing her name, because she wants to prevent the negative connotations from 'affecting her on a deeper level' - revealing she's even sometimes forced to hide her name tag at work.

'It all started off a couple of months ago', said Masters. 'I noticed some memes on TikTok and it was quite funny to begin with. But when the Black Lives Matter protests started and there was a lot of media saying Karens were racist, it took on a life of its own.

'I feel we can't, as Karens, cant talk about how this is affecting us, because then we are entitled if we do this. So I set up a Change.org to say this is not fair, us having to put up with this.

'We are labelled as racist and entitled and we are just not that sort of person, and we want the media to stop using our name to describe racist people.'
An L.K. Bennett dress that looks strikingly similar to a high-end designer style loved by the Duchess of Cambridge has become a hit with celebrities and one of this Autumn's must-have pieces.

The British high street brand's 350 silk 'Mathilde' dress features a navy and white polka dot print, cream frilled collar, long sleeves and cream buttons, much like a 1,750 polka dot dress by A-list favourite designer Alessandra Rich.

The Alessandra Rich design was worn by Kate Middleton, Ivanka Trump and Meghan Markle's actress BFF Abigail Spencer, who wore the sophisticated frock to the Sussexes' wedding in May 2018.

Yesterday, Laura Javid, the wife of Health Secretary Sajid Javid, was seen wearing the L.K. Bennett version at the Tory Party conference in Manchester, following the likes of Amanda Holden, Holly Willoughby and Lorraine Kelly, who have all stepped out in the dress in recent months.

L.K. Bennett's 350 silk 'Mathilde' dress features a navy and white polka dot print, cream frilled collar, long sleeves and cream buttons, much like a 1,750 polka dot dress by A-list favourite designer Alessandra Rich. Pictured, Holly Willoughby in the L.K. Bennett dress in January (left), and Amanda Holden in the high street number last month

The Alessandra Rich design was worn by Kate Middleton, Ivanka Trump and Meghan Markle's actress BFF Abigail Spencer, who wore the sophisticated frock to the Sussexes' wedding in May 2018. Pictured, the Duchess of Cambridge on a visit to Bletchley Park in 2019

The L.K. Bennett style comes in a shorter, midi length, making it a more wearable option than the longer Alessandra Rich design.

Holly Willoughby wore the high street frock on This Morning in January, pairing it with classic black pumps. Lorraine and Amanda have both opted for similarly simple styling, allowing the dress to remain the focus of the outfit.

Shoppers have been going wild for the 1930s-inspired dress, with several stellar reviews insisting the 'striking' gown was 'beautifully made' from material which feels 'lovely to wear'.

'Got so many compliments wearing this dress', wrote one shopper. 'I'm a big fan of L.K.Bennett's dresses, so far the best buy.'

Another said: 'Love the material, love the style & love the fit. It feels so lovely to wear and it is very striking. It is makes me feel me feel very feminine.'

Yesterday, Laura Javid, the wife of Health Secretary Sajid Javid, was seen wearing the L.K. Bennett version at the Tory Party conference in Manchester

ITV host Lorraine Kelly was spotted wearing the dress last week. The frock is inspired by the 1930s 'with a fun Seventies' twist', comes in navy or blue with a classic polka dot print

'Beautifully made silk dress, with striking buttons and a lovely collar. Perfect for work and after work drinks. Good fit', penned a third.

The dress closely resembles the one made by London-based designer Alessandra Rich who has become one of the royal's favourite designers in recent years.

Kate has worn the 1,750 navy and white polka dot midi on a number of previous occasions, including for Prince Charles's official 70th birthday portraits in November 2018.

The style was famously worn by Meghan Markle's close friend and former Suits co-star Abigail Spencer to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's wedding in May 2018 and became an A-list favourite the following summer.

The style was famously worn by Meghan Markle's close friend and former Suits co-star Abigail Spencer, left, to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's wedding in May 2018 (pictured)

Christie Brinkley, left, was first to be seen in the dress, in April 2018. Right, Sarah Jessica Parker put her own spin on the style in May 2019, cinching the waist with a crystal-encrusted belt, layering it with a floral print navy edge-to-edge coat and white stiletto heels

Ivanka Trump used a white belt to accentuate her trim waist and paired the dress with killer blue heels as she was pictured leaving her home in July 2018

One of the first to be seen in the dress, model Christie Brinkley, 64, stepped out in it in April 2018, wearing the shirt-style collar open-necked and teaming it with a trench coat.

Sarah Jessica Parker put her own spin on the style, cinching the waist with a crystal-encrusted belt, layering it with a floral print navy edge-to-edge coat and white stiletto heels.

Ivanka Trump accompanied her father on a visit to Iowa in July 2018, choosing to woo Mid-West voters with the modest number, accessorising it with a knotted white patent belt.

Later that month, Kate's sister Pippa wore a shorter, plain duck egg blue version to Prince Louis's christening.
Princess Charlene of Monaco is often spotted in chic looks and expensive jewellery - but one piece she's often seen without is her dazzling three-carat engagement ring.

The former Olympic swimmer, 43, married Prince Albert of Monaco, 63, ten years ago after he proposed with a handcrafted pear-cut diamond flanked by smaller diamonds designed by Paris-based Italian jeweller Repossi.

Later, during the wedding service, the couple exchanged 18-carat white gold platinum rings by Cartier, with Princess Charlene laughing as she placed the ring on her husband's finger.

But since her wedding day, the royal has often gone without either ring - and on occasion even worn different rings on her wedding finger.

In the early days of marriage, the royal was often spotted showing off the dazzler, but since 2017 she's seldom been seen pictured wearing the rings - even at formal events.

The princess, who is originally from Cape Town, has been in her home country for months after contracting a 'serious sinus infection'. In August, she underwent a 'four-hour operation under general anaesthesia', although it was not made clear whether this was linked to the sinus infection.

The couple deny any rift and say that Charlene hasn't retuned home for health reasons - but rumours of unhappiness in the couple's marriage long predate Charlene's trip to Africa.

Princess Charlene of Monaco is often spotted in chic looks and expensive jewellery - but one piece she's often seen without is her dazzling three-carat engagement ring. She is pictured in 2019 at the Monte Carlo gift distribution without the ring

Charlene sported a pearl ring on her wedding finger at Fete de la Saint Jean in 2020 (Pictured)

The princess, who is originally from Cape Town, has been in her home country for months after contracting a 'serious sinus infection'. In August, she underwent a 'four-hour operation under general anaesthesia', although it was not made clear whether this was linked to the sinus infection. She is pictured without the ring this year

The mother-of-two missed her 10 year wedding anniversary but is expected to return to the principality this month, after undergoing a 'four-hour operation under general anaesthesia' in August - although it was not made clear whether this was linked to the sinus infection.

Charlene and Albert reunited shortly after for the first time in months after the monarch and their children flew to South Africa, but photographs of the pair embracing were branded 'awkward' by a body language expert.

The pair have denied rumours of rift - with Prince Albert hit back at rumours of a rift in his marriage - insisting Charlene 'didn't leave in a huff' and remains in South Africa only because of 'medical complications' following a 'severe ear, nose and throat infection'.

Known for her style, Charlene often wears gloves while out covering her jewellery, while many photos of her show her left hand hidden away.

Albert proposed with a handcrafted pear-cut diamond flanked by smaller diamonds designed by Paris-based Italian jeweller Repossi, pictured on Charlene's finger in 2012

In the early days of marriage, the royal was often spotted showing off the dazzler. One of the last images of her wearing her engagement ring was taken on Monaco's National Day in November 2017

Then a newly wed - Charlene wore the ring in 2012 to Monaco's National Day ball

Photos of her at the Monaco National day Gala concert in 2012 show her wearing the ring, while she was seen wearing it again to greet the crowd from the Palace's balcony during the Monaco National Day Celebration in 2017.

But during the same celebration in 2019 she was without the ring as she stepped out of the palace on the arm of Albert to greet crowds.

Several times throughout 2019 and 2020 she was in public without her engagement ring or wedding band.

She attended a Christmas gift distribution in 2020 in Monte Carlo - sporting a dramatic shaved haircut and no ring.

Again in September she ditched the jewel for The Crossing Calvi Monaco Water Bike Challenge.

In May 2019, she was again ringless to meet Lewis Hamilton as he won the Monaco Grand Prix and in June 2020 she sported an entirely different ring at Monaco Cathedral for Elizabeth-Ann De Massy's funeral.

The royal even wears different rings on the fourth finger of her left hand, instead of her wedding and engagement rings. Pictured: Stepping out on Monaco's National Day in November 2019

She attended a Christmas gift distribution in 2020 in Monte Carlo - sporting a dramatic shaved haircut and no ring.

Again in September she ditched the jewel for The Crossing Calvi Monaco Water Bike Challenge.

She sported an entirely different ring at Monaco Cathedral for Elizabeth-Ann De Massy's funeral

She was also without it as early as 2018 - when she ditched the diamond again to attend the Christmas gift distribution.

She was without it again at the 71th Monaco Red Cross Ball Gala in 2019 - and sported a pearl ring on her wedding finger at Fete de la Saint Jean in 2020.

Since 2021 - where she's been in South Africa - she hasn't been pictured with ring.

In his first interview since returning from visiting his wife in South Africa, Albert told People magazine of Charlene: 'She's ready to come home.'

Despite Charlene being admitted to hospital after a 'sudden collapse' rumours are rife that a rift with Prince Albert, rather than health issues, is what's keeping her away from Monaco.

How Charlene and Albert made solo outings in South Africa and Monaco during nine months apart 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 without Charlene May 10 - Albert attends Monaco Gala Awards in Monaco without Charlene 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 June 5- Charlene puts on a united front as she shares a photo with her family to mark her niece's fifth birthday with her brother's family and Albert and the twins in South Africa June 7 - Albert and the twins attend the World Rugby Sevens without Charlene June 17 - Prince Albert attends Red Cross Summer concert in Monte Carlo with his sister Princess Caroline of Hanover June 18 - Prince Albert appears alone Monte Carlo TV Festival June 24 - Charlene's foundation releases a statement saying the royal is unable to travel and is undergoing procedures for an ear, nose and throat infection July 2 - Charlene and Albert mark their 10th anniversary separately. 'This year will be the first time that I'm not with my husband on our anniversary in July, which is difficult, and it saddens me,' Her Serene Highness Princess Charlene said in a statement. July 3 - Albert appears with glamorous niece Charlotte Casiraghi at the 15th international Monte-Carlo Jumping event, which is part of the Longines Global Champions Tour of Monaco, July 27 - Prince Albert attends Olympics alone in Tokyo August 13 - Charlene undergoes a four-hour operation. The reason is not announced August 25 - Charlene shares photos of Prince Albert, Gabriella and Jacques visiting her in South Africa August 31 - Speculation mounts in the media about couple's relationship

September 1 - Charlene is admitted under an alias to the Netcare Alberlito Hospital after suddenly 'collapsing' September 2 - She is discharged, with a statement from the Palais Princier reading: 'Her Highness is closely monitored by Her medical team who said that Her condition was not worrying' September 23 - Prince Albert attends the 2021 Monte Carlo Gala for Planetary Health September 29 - Prince Albert is joined on the red carpet by actress Sharon Stone for a first look at the eagerly anticipated James Bond release September 30 - Charlene releases a stylish video promoting her anti-poaching campaign from her South African bolthole October 3 - Princess Charlene shares a photograph of herself smiling in front of a bible in her first snap since being discharged from hospital following her health scare October 5 - Prince Albert attends Sportel Awards Ceremony in Monte Carlo with nephew Louis Ducruet Advertisement

Last week, Prince Albert was joined on the red carpet by actress Sharon Stone, 63, for a first look at the eagerly anticipated James Bond release - Daniel Craig's fifth and final outing as the iconic secret agent.

It was their second joint appearance in less than a week, with both having previously attended the 2021 Monte Carlo Gala for Planetary Health on September 23. Charlene was noticeably absent from the event.

The royal told People that the speculation over the state of his relationship with the Olympic swimmer has 'affected' them both, but that he didn't address it early because he 'was concentrating on taking care of the kids'.

The mother-of-two has apparently since had several corrective procedures - including one in late June that resulted in her missing her 10th wedding anniversary on July 1 and a four-hour long operation on August 13.

On September 1, Charlene was admitted to a local hospital after suddenly 'collapsing'. She was later released but doctors are 'still establishing exactly what happened', according to a statement from Chantell Wittstock, director of the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation.

Speaking to People, Albert said: 'She didn't leave Monaco in a huff! She didn't leave because she was mad at me or at anybody else She didn't go into exile. It was absolutely just a medical problem which had to be treated.'

He added that his wife had planned to travel to South Africa to reassess her foundation's work and to spend time with her brother and friends.

But the '10-day maximum stay' has lasted several months because of the infection, which the prince said resulted in 'all these medical complications'.

Yet the last time Charlene was spotted in Monaco was in January, and the extended time apart from her husband and two children has sparked speculation about the state of the royals' marriage.

Albert admitted he 'probably should have addressed' the rumours sooner, but was 'concentrating on taking care of the kids' and believed they would just 'go away'.

'Of course it affects her, of course it affects me,' he told the magazine. 'Misreading events is always detrimental... We're an easy target, easily hit, because we're in the public eye a lot.'

In recent weeks, lifestyle magazines across Europe have speculated feverishly that the royal couple could be headed for divorce. French magazine Madame Figaro stated the images 'failed to convince the Monegasques' amid reports Charlene is looking for a house in Johannesburg.

According to The Telegraph, the magazine asked: 'How long can she remain away from her children, her duties?'

'How long will the fight against rhinoceros poaching remain the Princess of Monaco's top priority?

'How long will Albert II of Monaco go on bearing this affront, which is becoming ridiculous?'

Historian Philippe Delorme said that 'lots of people got the impression it was an arranged marriage' between Charlene and Albert, adding: 'Albert chose a wife who resembled his mother, and Charlene clearly felt very ill at ease in this Grace Kelly role they wanted her to play'

The mounting speculation about the couple's marriage comes after Charlene shared professional photographs of her reunion with Prince Albert online, saying she was 'thrilled' to have her family back.

She shared a series of photos cuddled up with her kids in South Africa with the caption: 'I am so thrilled to have my family back with me (Gabriella decided to give herself a haircut!!!) Sorry my Bella I tried my best to fix it,' referring to her daughter's choppy fringe.

However a body language expert told FEMAIL Charlene showed 'no emotional bond' towards her husband Prince Albert in the images.

Judi James said that rather than being the loved-up reunion photo one would expect of a couple surrounded by split rumours, the royals' poses suggested 'no signs of connection between awkward-looking Albert and Charlene'.

Charlene has been in South Africa since at least March, with media reports suggesting she is looking for a house there.

The prince, who already supports two illegitimate children, is alleged to have been in 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 in 2000.

However, Charlene has publicly supported her husband, and the palace have reiterated she is only in South Africa because she's unable to fly.

On August 13, the Monaco palace released a statement saying Charlene was to undergo surgery.

It read: 'Princess Charlene will undergo an operation today, Friday, August 13, for four hours under general anaesthesia.'

The princess will not return to Monaco until at least the end of October.

Princess Charlene, who has been well enough to conduct interviews from South Africa and has been seen out and about, has used the time to promote her anti-poaching initiative, Chasing Zero.

Charlene's last formal engagement was on January 27 when she joined Albert for the Sainte Devote Ceremony in Monte Carlo. She has not been seen at home since.

Instead she has been keeping followers updated through social media posts and media interviews, in which she has spoken candidly about missing her children and described her husband as 'her rock'.

Speaking to South Africa Radio 702's host Mandy Wiener, the royal said: '[It's] very frustrating, terribly frustrating. I can't wait to get back to them, I can't wait to see my children.'

Charlene revealed: 'It's the longest period I've actually been away from Europe, let alone my children, but I'm FaceTiming them most days and they've been here and will be returning to see me again after my procedure.

'It's an amazing opportunity [to be here] but I'm very sad I can't be with my children this summer in Europe.'

She added that she was initially only supposed to be in her native South Africa for ten to 12 days for a conservation trip with her Princess Charlene of Monaco foundation.

Princess Charlene (pictured), 43, has shared a photograph of herself smiling in front of what appears to be a bible in her first snap since being discharged from hospital following her health scare in South Africa one month ago

However, the royal had a problem 'equalising her ears' and was told by a doctor that she was suffering from a serious sinus infection.

'It's taken time to address the problem that I'm having,' explained Charlene. 'I cannot go into full detail, but I cannot force healing so I will be grounded in South Africa until the end of October.

'The reason being I cannot fly above 3,000 metres otherwise I'll have a problem with my ears.

Princess Charlene's trials and tribulations in the Monaco royal family 1987 - Bea Fiedler, a German topless model, claims her son Daniel was the prince's son. 1992 - An American national files a paternity lawsuit against the Prince, claiming that he was the father of her daughter, Jazmin Grace. 2000 - Princess Charlene meets Prince Albert at the Mare Nostrum swimming competition in Monte Carlo 2005 - In May, a former flight attendant claims that her youngest son, whom she named Alexandre Grimaldi-Coste, was Prince Albert's child. She states that his parentage had been proven by DNA tests requested by the Monegasque government. On 6 July, a few days before he was enthroned on 12 July, the Prince officially confirms via his lawyer Lacoste that Alexandre was his biological son. 2006 - After a DNA test confirmed the child's parentage, Albert admitted, via statement from his lawyer, that he is Jazmin Grace's father. 2010 - Princess Charlene and Prince Albert announce their engagement 2011 - Princess Charlene was said to have bolted two days before the royal wedding after hearing Prince Albert had a third love child during their relationship. It was alleged that Charlene tried to flee home to South Africa three times before her 'arranged marriage', at one point taking refuge inside her country's embassy in Paris. Monaco officials were said to have coaxed her back by brokering a deal between the Prince and his reluctant bride that she provide him with a legitimate heir. After that she would be free to leave of her own free will. During the wedding, Charlene was in floods of tears, while her husband looked on impassively. Later in the year, Princess Charlene confessed she felt 'very lonely' in Monaco 2012 - Princess Charlene was reported to be 'depressed' at her failure to provide her husband with a legitimate heir. 2014 - Pregnancy was announced in May. In December Charlene gave birth to twins Princess Gabriella and heir to the throne Prince Jacques. 2017 - Princess Charlene visits Africa, tells media: 'I am African and this is my heritage. It will always be. It's in my heart and in my veins.' 2019 - In a rare interview, Princess Charlene confessed it is 'sometimes hard to smile' and said the year had been 'very painful'In another interview, she said she found motherhood 'exhausting' 2020 - Charlene debuts a shocking half-shaved hairstyle. It is announced Prince Albert of Monaco will appear in court in the new year to fight explosive claims he fathered a third love child with a secret girlfriend before marrying his now wife Princess Charlene. 2021 - January 27 - Charlene is pictured with Albert for the Sainte Devote Ceremony in Monaco. It is the last time she has been seen in Monaco this year. Advertisement

'I feel well, I feel good, it's just obviously a waiting game for me, but I've had a great opportunity to understand a little bit more about South Africa, the environment, the needs and it's been wonderful to be back in South Africa, and I think at this time it's crucial that people are aware of certain things via my foundation.'

Charlene joined the video interview from bush country in the KwaZulu-Natal region.

She has also shared videos released by the Monaco royal palace to mark her and Albert's 10th wedding anniversary, which took place in July. The couple spent the milestone thousands of miles apart.

But royal sources have suggested the princess has 'no plans' to return soon. A palace source told Paris Match: 'The Princess has, for the time being, in reality, no intention of returning.'

The separation is also affecting Charlene's relationship with the people of Monaco.

Stephane Bearn uses an impeccably sourced piece in the latest Paris Match to discuss the torturous separation.

He describes subjects in Monaco becoming increasingly angry about their runaway Princess, as they criticise everything from Charlene's mood swings to her appearance.

'In Monaco, since the departure of Charlene, tongues have loosened,' Mr Bearn writes. 'In the whirlwind of a hard-nosed court, her fine shine is rubbing off. Her sad looks are regarded as haggard.

'Disappointed Monegasques talk about her anger, her whimsical moods, which are as changeable as her hair.'

He added: 'The Palace had to invoke a suffering Princess so often that the Monegasques today find it hard to believe. By crying wolf, the mother of Jacques and Gabriella would have discredited and isolated herself.'

During her trip, Charlene also debuted a dramatic new shaved hairstyle.

She 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 in late May.

The royal first stepped out with a dramatic half-shaved head in December 2020 but has since gone even shorter and bolder with the cut.

Charlene and Albert's marriage has been plagued with rumours from the start.

The couple met at the Mare Nostrum swimming competition in Monte Carlo in 2000, announced their engagement in 2010.

Former Olympic swimmer Charlene reportedly tried to flee Monaco for her native South Africa on three separate occasions before the royal wedding after discovering Albert had allegedly fathered a love child - his third - while they were together.

Monaco officials were said to have coaxed her back by brokering a deal between the Prince and his reluctant bride, saying she could leave once she had provided him with a legitimate heir.

One source said at the time: 'Charlene will provide an heir, then if things don't go well, she will receive a generous divorce settlement once she's served a decent amount of time.'

Charlene was seen in floods of tears on her wedding day in 2011.

Just one year after their wedding, it was reported that Charlene was 'depressed' at her failure to provide her husband with a legitimate heir.

Her pregnancy was announced in May 2014, and in December that year she gave birth to twins Princess Gabriella and heir to the throne Prince Jacques.

In the 10 years since, Charlene has rarely spoken publicly of her experience.

In 2017, the Princess made an emotional return to Africa, where she spoke about how much the continent means to her.

'I am African and this is my heritage. It will always be. It's in my heart and in my veins,' she told Eyewitness News.

Last year she admitted life was 'very painful', saying: 'I have the privilege of having this life, but I miss my family and my friends in South Africa and I'm often sad because I cannot always be there for them.'

It's been a tumultuous 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.

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 in January 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.
Celebrity vet Doctor Katrina Warren has revealed how to choose the best pet for your lifestyle and it might mean choosing a rabbit over a dog

Celebrity vet Doctor Katrina Warren has revealed how to choose the best pet for your lifestyle - and it might mean choosing a rabbit over a dog.

The popular television presenter, who is well known for her love of Border Collies, told FEMAIL there are five factors you should consider before introducing a pet into your home.

She said researching different breeds is also important especially if you live in an apartment building.

She highlighted the fact that smaller isn't always better when it comes to apartment dwelling, with dogs such as Great Danes better for built-up areas than noisy breeds like Chihuahuas or energetic Jack Russells.

Dr Katrina said space - including adequate fencing - is an important factor when considering a pet.

Considering your family members before buying a pet is also necessary.

'The young and the elderly generally don't tend to mix well with large and boisterous dogs that have the potential to frighten them and knock them over,' she said.

Most dogs need to be exercised outside regularly, with some breeds needing to be walked a few times each day.

The popular television presenter who is well known for her love for Border Collies told FEMAIL there are five factors you should consider before introducing a new pet into your home

Dr Katrina said most dogs need to be taken outside for exercise regularly and warned this could mean two or three walks a day for energetic breeds

It's also necessary to consider how much grooming and feeding each breed needs.

Dr Katrina also says people who want a pet need to be realistic about how much time they spend at home especially if they want a dog, as ones that are left in the backyard all day are likely to bark more and become a nuisance.

Despite loving Border Collies she says the breed, along with Kelpies and other working dogs, are not suitable for families with small children.

What are the five things you should consider before getting a pet? Space  You must be certain you are permitted to keep a pet where you live and you must keep a dog secure to prevent them from roaming. Family members  Consider whether you have children or elderly people in your home. The young and the elderly generally don't tend to mix well with large and boisterous dogs that have the potential to frighten them and knock them over. Exercise  Most dogs need regular exercise outdoors, some breeds need a lot more than others Think carefully about how much daily exercise you can provide a dog and choose accordingly. Grooming and Feeding  Coat length is particularly important as this will affect the impact of shedding in your home and determine how much grooming you will have to do. Cats are naturally exceptionally clean, but longer coated breeds are likely to require daily grooming, so you need to allow time for that activity. Some dog breeds and cross breeds are non-shedding, but they require regular professional clipping, which is an additional expense to consider. Keep in mind that larger dogs naturally consume more food, so are more expensive to maintain. Time alone - Dogs and cats are social animals and need company so be realistic about the amount of time you will be home. Dogs that are left outside on their own all the time are more likely to become bored and a nuisance. SOURCE - Dr Katrina Warren Advertisement

'They are extremely active and also large dogs that can easily knock a small child over,' she said.

With cats she recommends choosing an outgoing cat or kitten, not one that is timid or easily started by noises.

As for active families, childless couples, singles, retirees and avid travellers, Dr Katrina says it is important to think about what stage of life you are in before taking on a pet.

'Sometimes adopting an older pet is easier as they are usually house-trained and you can get an idea of their personality before you adopt them.'

Dr Katrina said guinea pigs and rabbits can bond well with people and should be considered by animal lovers

What's the best pet for apartment living? The biggest complaints about pets in built up areas are barking dogs or cats roaming the neighbourhood. Don't choose a breed that is prone to barking  for example, a Chihuahua is small but they often bark, so they're not ideal for apartment living. Some smaller breeds like the Jack Russell and Fox Terrier are also very energetic and not well suited to apartment living. Some of the giant breeds like Great Danes actually do really well living in an apartment space. You must research the traits of the individual breed, don't go on the size. Source: Dr Katrina Warren Advertisement

Dr Katrina says cats and dogs are the 'classic cuddly pet' but it is also possible to bond closely with rabbits and guinea pigs.

'Both rabbits and guinea pigs are social animals and should not be kept alone,' she said.

She said that pets are able to give us unconditional love and can have a huge impact on mental health.

'They make us smile with their funny antics and dogs motivate us to get outdoors and exercise every day. For children, pets are considered a friend and confidante and they teach children about the responsibility of caring for another living being,' she said.

The television presenter also touched on pet affordability and revealed people in Australia spend as much as $10,000 on a puppy, but the costs don't stop there.

Dr Katrina said some people are spending up to $10,000 for a puppy. But warns expenses don't stop there and some pets cost more to maintain than others

'Large dog breeds are expensive to keep as the cost of their food, flea treatments and vet care is higher than some of the smaller dogs,' she said.

'The 'oodles' require regular visits to a groomer to keep their coat clipped.'

Keeping rats and mice are a good budget-friendly alternative for children, she advised.

Dr Katrina has recently started doing a BYO pet chat over Zoom.

The pet chats involve dozens of pet owners who get together over the video-chat platform.

The vet said Great Danes are suited for apartment living because they don't need a lot of exercise

'This started as a favour for a friend and quickly grew by word of mouth into something special,' she said.

'Many businesses have been looking for ways to help their team beat the lockdown blues and stay engaged and our pets can do just that.

'My pet sessions bring a welcome distraction from work, isolation and can help reduce feelings of loneliness.

'There's been a huge increase in the pet population in Australia over the past 18 months and many people have questions, so there is a thirst for pet care information too.'

Not all of the sessions go smoothly, Dr Katrina revealed her cat Leo launched onto her dog mid-session once causing chaos.
A kindergarten teacher has sparked a unique Covid fashion trend with a bizarre pair of pandemic-themed earrings.

A mother was dropping her son at a kindy in Melbourne, VIC, when his teacher emerged with 'vials' of fake Pfizer vaccines dangling from her ears.

The quirky pieces, designed by Instagram jewellery brand Funk Ears, feature plastic containers labelled with a description of the 'vaccine' and the word Comirnaty - the scientific term for jabs made with messenger RNA (mRNA).

A kindergarten teacher has sparked a unique Covid fashion trend with a bizarre pair of pandemic-themed earrings (pictured)

Poll Would you wear Covid vaccine earrings? Yes No Would you wear Covid vaccine earrings? Yes 17 votes

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The mum was delighted by the unconventional accessories, calling them a 'great idea' that made her smile.

While many would cringe at the thought of rocking coronavirus-inspired jewellery, the unique design has already won fans on social media with one woman hailing them the 'earrings of her dreams'.

A second added: 'Only cool kids get vaccine earrings.'

A third begged the brand to make a pair of Moderna earrings for her friend who was involved in its approval for use in Australia.

'I'd love to get her a pair!' she wrote.

Others demanded to know how to get their hands on the accessories, which can be ordered through the direct message function on Instagram.

The brand recently announced the launch of a new line of AstraZeneca earrings, poking fun at the embattled manufacturer in an Instagram post.

'AstraZeneca may be going out of fashion but our AZ earrings definitely aren't!' it said.

Healthcare workers even joined in, with one nurse tagging her friend suggesting they start a business with discarded vaccine packaging.

'The number of vials we go through, could start our very own lady start-up business,' she wrote.

Like them or not, the Melbourne jeweller has certainly created a timely fashion statement as the city anxiously awaits the end of its sixth lockdown when it reaches its target of 70 per cent double dose vaccinations on October 26.

Victoria's state capital clocked a dubious record at 8pm on Sunday when it surpassed Buenos Aires as the city with the longest cumulative lockdown anywhere in the world.

The Argentinian capital spent 244 days under stay-at-home orders while a Victorian who has lived in Melbourne and not left since the beginning of the pandemic will now have spent 248 days in lockdown.
The founder of a natural haircare brand has revealed a simple trick that will help you choose the perfect products for your hair - and the telltale signs you've been using the wrong type.

Before you can pick a shampoo and conditioner suited to your needs, Nancy Twine, the brains behind Briogeo, says you must start by identifying your hair type: straight, wavy, coily or curly.

According to the New York City beauty guru, the easiest way to discover exactly what your hair needs is by taking a 'strand test', which involves pulling a strand of wet hair and observing how it reacts.

She says hair that stretches before snapping is most likely craving hydration and moisture, while hair that immediately breaks needs protein for strength.

Haircare guru Nancy Twine says the easiest way to discover exactly what your hair needs is by taking a 'strand test', which involves pulling a strand of wet hair and observing how it reacts (stock image)

If you suspect your hair is not receiving gold standard treatment, Nancy claims the biggest giveaways you've been following the wrong routine are a dry or oily scalp, and dull, greasy ends.

'For your unique hair to look vibrant and feel its healthiest, you need to give your strands the right combination of naturally powerful ingredients, vitamins, and minerals to thrive,' she told Mecca.

'Knowing your hair type and caring for it accordingly will keep your strands looking and feeling healthy in the long run.'

To give hair what it needs, Nancy says it all comes down to treating your locks with the right combination of ingredients.

Best haircare brands for every issue For dry, damaged hair: Aveda For bond building: Olaplex For extra moisture: Living Proof For volume: Shu Umera For rebalancing your scalp: Briogeo For brighter blonde: Bumble and Bumble Source: Mecca Advertisement

For fine, flat hair, she recommends lightweight products that contain ingredients such as biotin and witch hazel, which help to boost volume and absorb excess oil.

Women with thin hair should avoid conditioners and masks that promise extra hydration, she says, because they weigh down the roots and are typically designed for coarse, curly hair.

'If you wash and condition fine hair with hydrating formulas better suited for curls, strands will become weighed down at the root and look lifeless,' she explained.

For wavy or curly hair, Nancy says you should look for products packed with ultra-nourishing ingredients like shea butter and avocado oil, which define kinks without causing frizz.
A home stylist has shared how she made an elegant stone side table for only $58 using two products from Bunnings Warehouse.

Brisbane DIY enthusiast Geneva Vanderzeil wanted a side table for her living room but noticed stone tables retailed for a minimum of $1500, so she decided to make one herself.

To make the stunning table, she used three pieces of travertine natural stove pavers and Selleys construction adhesive glue.

In photos shared on Instagram, the end result looked fantastic and encompassed a minimalistic design.

Brisbane DIY enthusiast Geneva Vanderzeil wanted a side table for her living room but noticed stone tables retailed for a minimum of $1500, so she decided to make one herself

In photos shared on Instagram, the end result looked fantastic and encompassed a minimalistic design (pictured)

'I have to admit, this one surprised even me, and was made completely on a whim,' Geneva wrote.

'Honestly, I love this project mainly because it was sooo easy and you can use travertine like this, actual tiles or really anything at all. It makes me want to get creative and experiment.'

To make the table, she glued the three thick pieces of travertine together using the adhesive glue and left it to set in place.

The design was inspired by a luxury $2,469 alternative from Fern Living.

To make the stunning table, Geneva (pictured) used three pieces of travertine natural stove pavers and Selleys construction adhesive glue

The design was inspired by a luxury $2469 alternative from Fern Living (pictured)

According to the product description, travertine tile is 'one of the most affordable options' for natural stone tile and can be expected to last a long time.

This type of material is also easy to cut compared alternatives and offers a timeless, elegant look.

At Bunnings the product can be purchased for $18.32 and the Selleys glue is priced at $11.25 per 130g tube.

Travertine tiles are easy to cut compared alternatives and offers a timeless, elegant look (left). The Selleys glue is priced at $11.25 per 130g tube (right)

The social media post was 'liked' more than 15,000 times by others who praised the easy DIY project.

'Is there anything you can't do! This is amazing!' one woman wrote in the comments.

'Wow!! This turned out AMAZING!!!' another said, a third added: 'It looks so good.'
Unsuspecting drivers were furious to find a 'parking fine' on their windscreens upon returning to their cars at Bondi Beach on Monday.

But upon closer inspection, the 'penalty notice' under their wipers was in fact a $10 meal voucher for beachgoers to treat themselves to a free rotisserie chicken, burger or salad.

'It is alleged that you've won yourself $10 worth of free Chargrill Charlie's. We will be very upset if you do not go and treat yourself and this will turn into an offence (only joking). Have a better day from now, on us,' the ticket read.

The elaborate prank by Sydney restaurant chain Chargrill Charlie's triggered a rapid change of emotion among drivers, who initially reacted with anger and confusion at the 'fines' before relief and joy upon working it out.

Unsuspecting drivers were greeted with a 'parking fine' on their windscreens upon returning to the cars along Bondi Beach. But upon a closer look, the 'penalty notice' was in fact a $10 meal voucher for beachgoers to treat themselves to a free rotisserie chicken, burger or salad

On Monday, Sydney restaurant chain Chargrill Charlie's took a huge risk with its elaborate prank by issuing fake parking tickets to cars parked along the pavement

The drivers all reacted with confusion, shock and surprise - but their emotions quickly changed when they realised the ticket was just a meal voucher (picture of two beachgoers checking the ticket before smiling when they realised they have been pranked)

The restaurant said it decided to hit the beachside car parks in an effort to 'brighten people's day' over the long weekend during lockdown.

Photographs show drivers returning to their cars after a day of swimming and enjoying the sun to find a penalty notice on their windscreens.

But they quickly realised they have been pranked.

Photographs show drivers returning to their cars after a day of swimming and enjoying the sun to find a penalty notice on their windscreens

One man was spotted checking his parking fine before he realised it was just a $10 voucher

The drivers all reacted with confusion, shock and surprise - but their emotions quickly changed when they realised the ticket was just a meal voucher

One man was seen ripping the ticket off his windscreen in frustration before realising what it was

However, not everyone had a lucky day after one car was spotted with a real parking fine issued by the council (far right), which was next to the $10 voucher

While many smiled as they read the voucher, others were seen ripping the ticket off their windscreens in frustration before realising what it was.

'That feeling when you see a parking ticket on your car lucky it was just Charlie playing a prank, giving you $10 vouchers,' the store cheekily wrote on Instagram.

However, not everyone had a lucky day after one car was spotted with a real parking fine issued by the council, which was next to the $10 voucher.
Shoppers have stripped Kmart's website of an ultra-flattering dress that makes you look taller and thinner - but you can still get your hands on it in one major city store.

The $17 Sleeveless Knit Column Midi Dress grabbed attention online after it was featured in an Instagram outfit video by Australian stylist, Lisa Galanopolous.

The blogger, 44, said she did a 'double take' when she spotted the frock in her local Adelaide store, and knew she had to try it on.

'The verdict? I think it's a winner,' she wrote.

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Shoppers have stripped Kmart's website of an ultra-flattering dress (pictured) that makes you look taller and thinner - but you can still get your hands on it in one major city store

Ms Galanopolous praised the quality of the material, saying she loves how the vertical ribbing elongates her body, making it look longer and slimmer.

The dress, which comes in black and a trendy olive green, has sold out in every size online, but there is limited stock available for click and collect from the Pagewood outlet, eight kilometres south of Sydney CBD.

Viewers were quick to rave about the design, with some calling it 'divine' and the perfect thing to wear to the beach during summer.

'Love all the the outfits, but I'm particularly fond of the long black ribbed dress,' one woman wrote, while a second added: 'I need this.'

And it's not the first time Ms Galanopolous has sparked the sell out of an affordable Kmart style.

The dress, which comes in black and a trendy olive green, has sold out in every size online, but there is limited stock available for click and collect from the Pagewood outlet, eight kilometres south of Sydney CBD

Last month, thrifty fashionistas snapped up a $22 dress that looked significantly more expensive than its bargain price tag.

The sleeveless midi-dress sold out in every size online hours after it was featured in an Instagram post by the Adelaide influencer.

The mum-of-two sent shoppers racing to buy the frock, which is available in sizes 6 to 20 in mustard and khaki green.

As well as flying out of stock online, the dress has sold out in stores across Greater Sydney - but it's good news for Victorians and Queenslanders because there are limited sizes left in outlets across Melbourne and Brisbane.

Thrifty fashionistas have stripped Kmart's website of this trendy $22 dress that looks significantly more expensive than its bargain price tag

The affordable frock, which is available in sizes 6 to 20 in mustard and khaki green, has sold out in stores across Greater Sydney - but it's good news for Victorians and Queenslanders because there are limited sizes left in Melbourne and Brisbane

Ms Galanopolous described the dress as one of her favourite new pieces, adding that she is 'loving all the new arrivals Kmart has in store this week'.

Her styling video, which has racked up 320 'likes' since it was shared online less than 24 hours ago, sparked delighted responses.

'Love love them all, especially that mustard dress!' Melbourne blogger Sneza Jovanovic replied.

'The colour is amazing on you,' one woman wrote, while a second added: 'Okay I need this dress.'
Chocolate fans are in a meltdown after rumours of the never-before-seen McDonald's Caramilk McFlurry started swirling on social media.

A 'leaked' picture of the menu item has emerged showing two popular snacks - McFlurry ice cream and Cadbury Caramilk - combined into one epic dessert.

The Australian fast food chain is yet to confirm or deny whether the flavour combination is real.

However, a flyer has started circulating on Facebook and Instagram claiming the Caramilk McFlurry is set to go on sale between Wednesday, October 13 and Tuesday, November 16.

When asked whether the Caramilk McFlurry was coming to Australia, a McDonald's spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia: 'We know how much love and excitement there is for our iconic McFlurry.

'We are actively listening to customer feedback and encourage our loyal McFlurry fans to stay tuned for more information.'

Chocolate fans are in a meltdown after rumours of the never-before-seen McDonald's Caramilk McFlurry started swirling on social media

The news first broke after Brisbane chef Nick Vavitis shared a picture on his Instagram Story three weeks ago claiming: 'Oh my sweet sweet god we are getting Caramilk McFlurry'. Nick shared a follow up, telling everyone he can 'confirm' the rumours are true

The news first broke after Brisbane chef Nick Vavitis shared a picture on his Instagram Story three weeks ago claiming: 'Oh my sweet sweet god we are getting Caramilk McFlurry.'

Many said they refused to get their hopes up just in case the dessert was fake.

However, Nick confidently responded: 'I can confirm it is 1000000 per cent true. They are throwing a private launch party for it.'

Fans of the chocolate have expressed their excitement over the new creation, with many saying they are hoping it's not a joke.

'Oh sweet baby Jesus, I'm in trouble if this is a thing,' one wrote.

Another said: 'If this is true and they tell me the machine isn't working, there is going to be trouble.'

While one added: 'If this is true, we are having a Macca's picnic McFlurrys included.'

The McFlurry comes just weeks after Big Brother star Tilly Whitfeld ordered a chocolate-flavoured soft serve cone from a McDonald's store in Mosman, Sydney after she spotted a sign at the drive-thru promoting the new menu item

The McFlurry comes just weeks after Big Brother star Tilly Whitfeld ordered a chocolate-flavoured soft serve cone from a McDonald's store in Mosman, Sydney after she spotted a sign at the drive-thru promoting the new menu item.

'We are now trialling new chocolate soft serve for a limited time only,' the sign read.

McDonald's Australia has delighted diners with a new soft serve ice cream flavour

She shared a TikTok video urging her fans to 'go now before they are goneskies'.

'Don't walk, run,' she said as she called on the fast food chain to make the ice cream flavour a permanent menu item.

Many said they couldn't wait to get their hands on the new creation, with one saying: 'I'm running to Maccas. I've been waiting for this day.'

While another said: 'Oh my god. I need this.'

Aussies who got to try the limited edition flavour said the chocolate was no longer available at their store.

'They had this around here but now it's gone,' one woman wrote, along with a crying emoji.

McDonald's has been trialling the chocolate soft serve at selected stores across New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Queensland.

'We had this in Adelaide for months. You can get McFlurry with it too,' one wrote.

'Trialling? It's a regular at like almost every Maccas in South Australia,' another said, while one added: 'Gladesville McDonald's has had it for years. Only one in Sydney that kept it permanently.'

A few months ago, a young woman revealed a simple trick to get a chocolate soft serve ice cream at Macca's

Mikaela West (pictured) ordered a mix of chocolate and vanilla soft serve from Macca's

Her discovery comes just months after a young woman revealed a simple trick to get a chocolate soft serve ice cream at Macca's.

Mikaela West, from Perth, posted a TikTok video showing herself ordering a combination of chocolate and vanilla soft serve.

'Hey guys if you're from Perth this is a little PSA the Tuart Hill McDonald's does chocolate ice cream,' she said in the clip.

The video shows Mikaela using a self-serve screen to order the secret menu item after scrolling through the customisable toppings options.
Channel 5 viewers celebrated as the hit show Our Yorkshire Farm returned last night with an action packed episode in which the younger children took centre stage.

Clemmie, five and Annas, seven, delighted viewers by recording themselves during the episode which was filmed in January 2021, during the third national lockdown.

With their little sister Nancy, four, the girls are the youngest of Amanda and Clive Owen's nine-strong brood, who live on Ravenseat Farm, in the Yorkshire Dales.

In last night's show, Clemmie and Annas took the camera into their own hands before going for an exploration around the farm, introducing their dog Brussels Sprout, their cow Ciara and their pony Tony, before enjoying a snack and playing in the snow.

Later in the show, Annas wowed her mother by herding a flock of sheep on her own, for a mile, just like Amanda, 47.

The episodes was the ultimate pick-me-up for viewers who praised Amanda's 'adorable' family and said it was lovely to see Annas blossom and grow more confident.

Annas, seven and Clemmie Owen, five, two of Amanda and Clive Owen's youngest children stole the show during last night's episode of Our Yorksire Farm on Channel 5, pictured

Annas and Clem, pictured, took viewers on a tour of their parents farm before enjoying some Winter Sports. Amanda loves to share snaps of her girls playing in the snow, pictured

Clemmie, who always delights viewers when she is onscreen, took viewers on a tour of the farm last night with her sister Annas, whom she calls Annie.

'That's Ciara, she's very pretty and very friendly,' Annas said filming the family's most beloved cow.

'She eats everything, she eats knickers, she eats socks,' Clemmie said.

'This dog here is called Brussels sprout, because he is a Brussels sprout and we got him at Christmas,' Annas continued.

Amanda, 47, live on Ravenseat Farm in Yorkshire with her husband Clive Owen, 67. Pictured left to right: Annas, seven, Violet, 10, Edith, 12, Raven, 20, Amanda with Nancy, four, Clive with Clemmie, five, Reuben, 17, Miles, 14 and Sidney, eight

Later on, the girls sat on a stone edge overlooking the dale, which was covered in snow.

'We're just going to sit on top of here to have a little snack that mum gave us,' Annas said, filming Clemmie, who was eating next to her.

Meanwhile, the girls' older siblings, Miles, 14 and Edith, 12, filmed themselves perfecting their off-piste snowboarding skills.

Annas impressed her mother later on in the show when she attempted to herd sheep by herself.

Amanda was out on the dale with four of her children, Tony the Pony and the family's sheep dog.

She explained she needed to walk about 50 sheep back to the farm, and could count on her brood to help.

Pictured: Nancy, the youngest of the Owen children, next to Annas, who has grown in confidence in the past year

Pictured: Clemmie and Annas, who often go on adventures around the farm as a pair, and delighted viewers last night

When the family stopped for a snack and a rest, Amanda soon remarked Annas, which her third youngest child, was nowhere to be seen.

'Weve picked up our hoof of sheep, weve stopped for a bit of a rest but now basically Annas has headed off with the sheep,' she said.

'We dont know at all where shes gone but she had 50 sheep with her the last time we saw her,' she added.

'I dont know whether she knows what shes doing or where shes going. But I probably better go and catch up and see where shes at,' the dynamic mother-of-nine said.

Clemmie and one of her siblings playing in the snow and pictured by their mother during the last January cold snap in Yorkshire

When she finally found Annas, Amanda was impressed to see her seven-year-old had moved the sheep over a mile.

'Blooming heck you set off under your own steam you were doing such a good job,' Amanda said.

'Youve brought them all the way to the cow pasture all by yourself,' the proud mother said.

'Would you like an apple after all that? Are you tired? Annas has just become a full-time shepherd,' Amanda narrated as Annas tucked into her apple.

Viewers were delighted that the show was back and praised Amanda and her children, saying the show makes Tuesday the best night of their week

The seven-year-old and her siblings all grew in confidence during the January lockdown, where they had to stay on Ravenseat Farm for several months, while attending classes from home thanks to their computer.

At the end of the show, with the snow melting away and Spring setting upon Yorkshire, the children were looking forward to returning to school, even though it means leaving their beloved pet Tony the Pony behind.

Viewers were delighted with the episode, and said it was a pleasure to see Annas blossom into a confident girl.

'Your family are adorable Amanda and the scenery is stunning. So good to see your program back on the telly,' one fan said.

'The skills those children learn from being togther working on that farm will set them up for life,' one said.

'Our Yorkshire Farm as glorious as ever! Lovely to see Annas blossoming too, such a sweetie and the bond between her an d Clem is beautiful. Thank you Amanda Owens for sharing your wonderful family with us.

'Great to have Our Yorkshire Farm and the Owen family back on the TV. A real feel good watch and escapism from the crazy world,' another wrote.

'Tuesday telly... best night of the week, happy days,' one said.

'Our Yorkshire Farm It's back nice one,' a fan said.

Our Yorkshire Farm airs at 9pm on Tuesdays on Channel 5.
Appeared on Lorraine and old how 62 Group should be remembered

She started speaking out against anti-Semitism in Labour after leaving the party

Ridley Road's Tracy-Ann Oberman has spoken about the abuse she has received online after fighting back at anti-Semitism in the Labour Party.

Oberman, 55, who appeared on ITV's Lorraine today, was previously a member of the party but left over the decision not to revoke Ken Livingstone's membership following allegations of antisemitism. She has since become a fearless fighter on Twitter against anti-Semitism

'It comes from the left and the right and if you see an injustice I've always felt I needed to stand up and talk about it,' explained Tracy-Ann. 'But what's frightening is a lot of people don't go on that journey with you - but a lot of people do.

Lorraine, who branded the antisemitism as 'frankly vile,' went on to say that Tracy-Ann's role as Nancy Malinovsky in BBC drama Ridley Road - which is set in post WWII Britain - will 'educate people' whilst they're being entertained.

Ridley Road's Tracy-Ann Oberman (pictured), 55, appeared on ITV's Lorraine today and spoke about the abuse she has received online after fighting back at anti-Semitism in the Labour Party

The actress discusses her Ridley Road character Nancy (pictured) and said she 'represents all of those women who are often at the forefront of battling these injustices but they get written out of the bigger narrative and story'

'I think at a time when Britain is re-looking at its colonial history and its world of slavery, to look at the British draw towards fascism over all of these different periods is really important - in the 30s, 40s and then in 62, to have Colin Jordan on the streets of Britain holding these massive rallies in Trafalgar Square...'

Tracy-Ann, who detailed the 'massive support' fascists received back then, added: 'So soon after the Holocaust to have British people who had liberated those camps, calling for the end of the Jewish entity on the streets of London, it was terrifying.'

The ex-EastEnders actress went on to praise the work of the East Ends anti-fascist 62 Group - and called for them to be remembered because they 'fought for other communities too.'

'These were not Jewish characters as we'd often see,' she said. 'These were Jewish working-class characters. My grandparents grew up with them and knew the 62 Group and were part of the 62 group.'

During the show, Tracy-Ann, who plays Nancy in Ridley Road - which is set in post WWII Britain - also went on to discuss the BBC drama

Oberman (pictured, on Lorraine) was previously a member of the party but left over the decision not to revoke Ken Livingstone's membership following allegations of antisemitism

'The police weren't protecting them, their synagogues were being burnt down, they were being beat up in the street and no one was protecting them.

In the end, they were so angry they said: "We're going to do this for ourselves." And they formed this 62 vigilante group. And they went in and infiltrated Colin Jordan and they would find out what was going on as the drama shows.'

Tracy-Ann went on to discuss her character Nancy, adding: 'I think Nancy represents all of those women who are often at the forefront of battling these injustices but they get written out of the bigger narrative and story. So to have this very strong feisty, backbone of the 62 Group represented by Nancy, it's very important.'

And it's not the first time the ex-EastEnders star has opened up about the 'disgusting bullying' she has received online after fighting back at anti-Semitism.

In August 2019, she criticised the BBC for including left-wing commentator Ash Sarkar among talking heads features in a documentary about the Third Reich.

The ex-EastEnders actress went on to praise the work of the East Ends anti-fascist 62 Group - and called for them to be remembered because they 'fought for other communities too.' Pictured, speaking to Lorraine

Ms Sarkar sent her 'solidarity' to Ewa Jasiewicz after she sprayed 'Free Gaza and Palestine' on walls near the largest Jewish World War Two ghetto in Warsaw.

Tracy-Ann tweeted: 'Dear Patrick Holland #BBC2 as someone who lost family during The Rise of The Nazis I am deeply disturbed that of all knowledgable experts/historians.

'You use Ash Sarkar a woman who endorsed the spray painting of the remaining WarsawGhetto wall-an open grave for our families. Why?'

Ms Sarkar, senior editor at Novara media, 'wholeheartedly rejects' claims she is anti-Semitic.

In September 2018, she defended Jasiewicz and another's decision to spray the walls of the Warsaw Ghetto with anti-Israel graffiti, insisting it was not 'anti-Semitic' but 'anti-racist'.

On Twitter she replied: 'I don't see why my support for Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions against the Israeli occupation of the West Bank should disqualify me from talking about the Communist Party of Germany, but hey, I guess we live in strange times.'
The Duchess of Cambridge's show-stopping No Time To Die premiere gown has sparked a shopping frenzy after going on sale.

British label Jenny Packham, which counts Angelina Jolie and Taylor Swift among its A-list fans, dressed Kate Middleton, 39, in a dazzling gold number for the film premiere at the Royal Albert Hall last week.

Now the 4,000 gown, which was originally thought to be a custom creation, is available to buy via online retailer Farfetch - but is already selling fast.

There is only one each of the size 12 and size 14, and no smaller sizes available.

Jenny Packham, which counts Angelina Jolie and Taylor Swift among its A-list fans, dressed Kate Middleton, 39, in a dazzling gold number for the No Time To Die premiere last week

The 4,000 gown, which was originally thought to be a custom creation, is now available to buy via online retailer Farfetch. Pictured, the dress on a model

Inspired by the iconic image of Jill Masterson painted in gold and laying on James Bond's bed in the 1964 film 'Goldfinger', the gown is covered with metallic folded sequins and crystals on a base of glitter tulle.

A floor-length embellished cape is draped over the shoulders and down the back to complete a truly scene-stealing design.

It is part of a Jenny Packham capsule collection celebrating 60 years of James Bond.

The Duchess of Cambridge, 39, was at her glamorous best as she joined husband Prince William, 39, and Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall in the rare joint engagement.

The royals chatted to Daniel Craig, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Naomie Harris, who looked breathtaking in a white column dress.

Attention to detail: A floor-length embellished cape is draped over the shoulders and down the back to complete a truly scene-stealing design. It is part of a Jenny Packham capsule collection celebrating 60 years of James Bond

Hollywood moment:: Inspired by the iconic image of Jill Masterson painted in gold and laying on James Bond's bed in the 1964 film 'Goldfinger', pictured, the gown is covered with metallic folded sequins and crystals on a base of glitter tulle

Wow moment: Kate outshone even the stars in the glittering frock, created to look like liquid metal, from one of her favoured British fashion designers

But Kate outshone even the stars in the glittering frock, created to look like liquid metal, from one of her favoured British fashion designers.

Style experts and royal watchers united in their love of Kate's look and declaring it their 'favourite' the royal has ever worn.

Speaking to FEMAIL, Laura Kay, Makeup Artist and Founder of Laura Kay London, explained the Duchess eschewed her typically 'composed' make-up look in favour of all out glamour, dubbing it her 'Bond girl moment', while Tom Smith, Celebrity Hairdresser and Brand Consultant, says that Kate has chosen a hairstyle suitable for a 'future Queen'.

The Duchess of Cambridge , 39, was at her glamorous best as she joined husband Prince William , 39, and Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall in the rare joint engagement

Social media users were similarly effusive, praising the 'stunning' duchess and her 'showstopping' appearance.

She teamed her dress with bespoke 290 Onitaa earrings - which were made in Pakistan by the South Asian luxury couture label and Aquazzura 555 leather pumps.

Kate's choice of dress was reminiscent of a similar outfit worn by Princess Diana in 1985 for the premiere of the James Bond film A View to Kill.

For the event, Diana sported the silver pleated gown, which she paired with matching silver heels.
If youve visited a cinema at any point in the last couple of decades you're probably aware of the age gap often present between the male and female lead actors in Hollywood films.

But now, playwright Sir David Hare has confessed that the 20-year difference between Bill Nighy and Rachel Weisz in his 2011 BBC thriller Page Eight was 'disgusting and so wrong'.

Nighy was 61-years-old when he played Johnny Worricker, a long-serving MI5 analyst, in the first of Sir Davids Worricker trilogy - while Weisz, who portrayed his love interest, political activist Nancy Pierpan, was aged 41.

The playwright was asked by Jay Rayner, the food writer, for the Out to Lunch podcast, why, in the Worricker films, Nighy 'keeps getting to snog women 20 years his junior', referring to Weisz, according to The Telegraph.

Sir David replied: 'Yeah, its disgusting, isnt it? Its so wrong and so typically male.'

Yet to the outrage of campaigners, Hollywood age gaps have not narrowed since Page Eight was released; Daniel Craig, 53, is currently seen in No Time to Die with his love interest played by Lea Seydoux, 36.

Playwright Sir David Hare has confessed that the 20-year difference between Bill Nighy and Rachel Weisz in his 2011 BBC thriller Page Eight (pictured) was 'disgusting and so wrong'

Revealed: Age gaps between on-screen romances Here, FEMAIL reveals some of the age gaps between on-screen romances in the last couple of decades in Hollywood films... Ted - 13 years The couple (pictured) central to the 2012 film Ted boasted a 13-year age gap, with Mark Wahlberg aged 41 and Mila Kunis aged 28 at the time Silver Linings Playbook  15 years Silver Linings Playbook (2012) featured Jennifer Lawerence (pictured right), aged 22, opposite Bradley Cooper (pictured left), who was 37 at the time No Time To Die  17 years Daniel Craig, 53, is currently seen in No Time to Die with his love interest played by Lea Seydoux, 36 (pictured together) Suicide Squad - 18 years Jared Leto and Margot Robbie (pictured) played the Joker and Harley Quinn in the 2016 DC movie Suicide Squad - but theres quite an age gap between the pair. With Robbie aged 26 and Leto being 43 when the film was released Page Eight  20 years Bill Nighy was 61-years-old when he played Johnny Worricker, a long-serving MI5 analyst, in the first of Sir Davids Worricker trilogy - while Rachel Weisz (pictured together), who portrayed his love interest, political activist Nancy Pierpan, was aged 41 Focus - 20 years Margot Robbie played opposite Will Smith (pictured together) in the 2015 movie Focus. At the time, Robbie was just 26 years old, while Smith was 46 Edge of Tomorrow - 20 years Tom Cruise, 59, regularly co-stars with actresses 20 years his junior - including Emily Blunt, who was aged 31 in 2014's Edge of Tomorrow (pictured), while he was 51-years-old Mission: Impossile - Rogue Nation  22 years Tom Cruise again co-starred with an actress more than 20 years his junior when playing alongside Rebecca Ferguson in Mission: Impossible  Rogue Nation (pictured). The actress was aged 31 compared to Tom's 53 years Indecent Proposal - 26 years The 1993 movie Indecent Proposal featured a 26-year age difference between Robert Redford, then 56, and Demi Moore (pictured together), aged 30 at the time As Good As It Gets  26 years In As Good As It Gets (pictured), there was a 26-year age difference between Jack Nicholson, who was 60, and Helen Hunt, who was 34 Magic in the Moonlight  28 years There was a 28-year age gap between Colin Firth and Emma Stone in 2014's Magic in the Moonlight (pictured). Colin was 53-years-old when filming, while Emma was just 25 Entrapment  39 years When Entrapment hit cinemas in 1999, Sean Connery was 68 years old, while Catherine Zeta-Jones was 29 (pictured together) Advertisement

Next year, Jodie Comer, now 28, will be starring in historical drama The Last Duel, opposite Matt Damon, now 49.

Meanwhile, Tom Cruise, 59, regularly co-stars with actresses 20 years his junior, including Rebecca Ferguson in Mission: Impossible  Rogue Nation and Emily Blunt in Edge of Tomorrow.

In 2016's Suicide Squad, Jared Leto, who played The Joker, was aged 44, while Margot Robbie was 26 when playing his love interest former psychiatrist Harley Quinn.

Nicky Clark, who runs the Acting Your Age campaign to highlight the age difference on screen, told the publication: 'As with Bond and the forthcoming The Last Duel... were being offered again and again the trope of old man, young wife.

'What may be normalised in the film industry isnt actually the case with audiences own relationships and it speaks to something a lot darker. The perceived sexual currency of a young woman still seems to be her biggest celluloid selling point.'

She continued: 'Older women, if featured on screen at all, tend to be the adjunct to the male characters. In the main, their function is to be humourless, cautious, dangerous and difficult.'

However, Weisz previously defended the age gap in Page Eight, telling the Observer: 'I'm not sure how old Bill is. Do you know? I'm 41. You need to Google it.

'We're not making out. There's one very delicate kiss in the last frame of the film, which is incredibly tender.

'They connect with their hearts and they have a great amount of empathy. Anyway, I think people of all sorts of different ages can get it on. It doesn't bother me.'
A woman who feared she was asexual as a teenager claims to have found her lust for the opposite sex by embracing her attraction to older men - and she's now happily married to a man 22 years her senior.

Sav Kepler, 23, from Auckland, was considering intimacy counselling as a teen because she worried her lack of sexual desire would mean she would never find love.

But after turning to Tinder and searching for a more mature partner, she met Mark Kepler, now 45, the first and only man she's ever been intimate with and who is now her husband five years on.

However after the now 23-year-old showed off their 22-year difference in ages on social media in a bid to 'normalise' age-gap relationships, the couple were met with abuse and branded 'disgusting'.

But sales specialist Sav shrugs off the backlash and argues that their relationship is a 'win-win' because each learns something different from the other.

Sav Kepler, 23, from Auckland, left, revealed she's only ever wanted to have sex with her husband Mark, 45, who is 22 years her senior. Pictured together

Sav said: 'I was in high school and always dating the hottest guys you could imagine but when they would try to make a move and I would shut them down every time.

'Something about it just didn't work for me. I remember thinking, "maybe I'm asexual" because I knew I wasn't a lesbian.

'It terrified me - I was scared I would never find love and I was going to go to counselling for intimacy problems.

'But then just as I left high school at 18 years old I met Mark on Tinder and realised I just hadn't found the right person.

Sav, pictured, said she considered going through intimacy counselling as a teen because she wasn't attracted to any of the men she met

'The first time we met we just chatted and then the next time we hooked up and I didn't feel resistant at all. I thought "this guy is amazing, I really like him".

'I was so relieved to lose my virginity and thought thank god, I can go and live my life now but this guy works really well - it's cool that I fell in love with the person that took my virginity.'

Sav says her celebrity crushes were always older men so she decided to set her Tinder account to the highest age limit in an attempt to find someone who could keep her interested, unlike men her own age.

After connecting with Mark and chatting for six months the pair met up and then spent two years dating before moving in together in mid 2019.

After struggling to connect with men her age, Sav decided to look for older men on Tinder and met Mark, pictured

Despite it being Sav's first relationship and Mark's first time living with a partner, the pair quickly realised they were right for each other and married in February this year.

The newlyweds say they forget they have over two decades between them until other people mention it and they feel they are just like any other couple.

Sav said: 'It feels completely right but it has been so much of a learning curve for me as my first relationship.

'And for both of us - I'm the first girl Mark has lived with so we've both had to learn a lot together.

'Even though there's an age gap we're still learning the ropes of a serious, long term relationship together.

Sav, pictured, and Mark felt they were 'made for each other,' Sav said the couple forget there is an age gap between them

The 23-year-old, pictured, said she doesn't care what other people think, and she shares pictures of her relationship online to normalise her and Mark's bond

The couple, pictured left, have received a lot of backlash online. Some said even thought they tied the knot in February this year, right, the match won't last

'I forget we have an age gap until someone says it. It's never mattered to me - love is love.'

After sharing photos and videos online about their relationship the couple have received a lot of backlash for their 22-year age gap.

Horrified commenters insist that the marriage won't last because of their age difference and believe that Mark will eventually leave Sav for a younger woman.

But she says this is just other people's own insecurities and doesn't let the trolls get into her head, joking that she could replace him easier if she needed to.

Sav said: 'There are a lot of people on TikTok who are appalled by it and think it's disgusting.

Sav, pictured, said she doesn't understand why people are so appalled by her and Mark's relationship

The 23-year-old, pictured joked she will be the one replacing Mark with a younger man, because she is 'ten times hotter and younger' than him

'They say wait until he replaces you with someone who's 18 again but I'm ten times hotter and younger than him so I'll replace him if I need to.

'To me it's just like any other relationship and I don't understand why people are negative about it.

'He has more life experience than me which helps me get a better life and he's learning how to be young and vibrant as well, it's a win-win.'

Sav said the relationship was a win-win because Mark helped her to get successful, and she kept him 'young and vibrant'

Mark, 45, pictured, immediately fell for Sav, who is 22 years his junior. People are joking he will leave Sav for someone younger

Pictured: Sav and Mark on their wedding day in February. Sav said the criticisms the couple have received is just other people projecting their own insecurities
TV presenter Kirstie Allsop says comments she made about running out of petrol and being forced to abandon her vehicle outside of London have seen her targeted by 'genuinely scary' trolls on Twitter.

The Location, Location, Location star, 50, shared on the social media platform that she couldn't find any petrol while returning to the capital on Monday and had been forced to abandon her car and catch a lift with a stranger.

She revealed it had 'cost a fortune' to retrieve her car, a 20-year-old Mercedes Benz, from the High Wycombe area.

Allsop was branded 'tone deaf' by many after she added: 'Those without money to burn are being screwed by this situation.'

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Kirstie Allsopp revealed yesterday that she'd had to abandon her car on Monday after running out of fuel near High Wycombe, adding that it had 'cost a fortune' to retrieve it and that 'people without money to burn' were being 'screwed' by the petrol crisis

Earlier, she had told followers: 'Yesterday I ran out of fuel returning from Buford to London, none available in High Wycombe area, had to leave car as no family member had enough fuel to come and help me.

'Today I have passed 5 petrol stations in london with ZERO fuel.'

Explaining how she'd made it back into the capital, she said: 'I met a great lad who drove me to London, and someone is collecting the car today, whole thing costing a fortune.'

The television star, who is mother to sons Oscar Hercules and Bay Atlas with husband Ben Andersen, said she'd been shocked by the backlash her story had sparked, with #kirstie trending on the social media platform in the UK on Tuesday evening.

She wrote: 'This is genuinely scary & sinister. I relayed my petrol experience. I gave no view on why it was still this way I just said it was.

'Yet I have received a whole load of abuse. What the hell is wrong with people?!'

The 50-year-old expressed shock at the backlash her story caused, calling abusive remarks 'sinister' and 'scary'

Some of her detractors suggested that the petrol crisis that has hit the UK in recent weeks is a direct result of Brexit, something which many claimed that Allsop had supported.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has admitted that Brexit has 'no doubt been a factor' in the fuel crisis, but insisted the 'primary cause' of the shortages had been the cancellation of HGV driving tests last year due to the pandemic.

@slinkydoodle responded: 'Brexit, innit? Brexit was always going to screw people without money to burn. Were still wondering why those with money to burn encouraged it so much. Kirstie?'

Many claimed the presenter had supported Brexit but she later clarified that she has never revealed whether she voted to leave the European Union in 2016 or not

@DalbyTerrance penned: 'Ah well, Imagine how you'd feel if you hadn't voted for it. You'd be b****y furious then.

@Wrongly_Wired added: 'Some of the responses are giving you a hard time - but as a prominent, Tory voting Brexiter why would you expect any empathy? Your wealth will cushion you from the worst effects of the Brexit you voted for - unlike many of us who will now struggle as a result of all this.'

@TheDogsDinner2 wrote: 'Well well, the consequences of your actions. Its not like we warned you or anything.'

The star later clarified that she has never revealed whether she voted to leave the European Union in 2016 or not.

The petrol crisis follows BP (formerly The British Petroleum Company plc) announcing on September 23 that they would be 'temporarily' closing a handful of their service stations due to a shortage of HGV drivers.

It comes amid the ongoing fuel crisis, which has seen petrol stations across the country suffering from shortages for the past fortnight. Pictured: fuel pumps at a London petrol station

Mass hysteria and panic buying ensued, resulting in miles of queues, as well as confrontations and physical altercations between motorists at service stations across the UK.

As a result, the army has been drafted in to help deliver fuel to petrol stations in recent days.

The Petrol Retailers Association says the problems are 'virtually at an end' in Scotland, the North and the Midlands, but London and the South East remain the areas where shortages are at their worst.
James Johnson commented may have chose style because it's 'not too formal'

Carrie Johnson and Priti Patel have sparked speculation that they have the same hairstylist after arriving at the Tory Conference in Manchester with a similar 'do.

The 33-year-old, who is expecting her second child with the Prime Minister, wore her blonde hair in loose waves which fell delicately onto her flowing scarlet frock by independent label Cabbages & Roses.

And if it wasn't for Home Secretary Priti Patel's darker shade of locks, their very similar hairstyles could've caused anyone in the Manchester Central Convention Complex to do a doubletake.

Speaking exclusively to FEMAIL, celebrity hairstylist James Johnson noted how the duo showcased the 'same pretty, loose waves' which they may have chosen because it doesn't look 'too formal.'

Carrie Johnson and Priti Patel have sparked speculation that they have the same hairstylist after arriving at the Tory Conference with a similar 'do.

According to celebrity hairstylist Jason Collier, Priti and Carrie both opted for a 'contemporary-boho style and shape'

Meanwhile, celebrity hairstylist Jason Collier, and Jerome Russell brand ambassador, also commented on the striking resemblance.

'Both of them had a similar hairstyle, with a contemporary-boho style and shape,' he explained. 'It is quite possible that they could have been done by the same hairstylist in my opinion. Both were showcasing an easy, relaxed style, but still polished and put together, meaning business.'

Ricky Walters, Director of SALON64, also went on to note how Priti, 49, and Carrie 'certainly have looked at one another when deciding hair inspiration.'

He explained: 'The loose waves that have even dropped at the same rate with half pinned back is certainly the calling card of the same hairdresser!

Perhaps a lovely group session where they can catch up with the rollers in? Or maybe even a two-for-one deal?'

The hairstylist went on to note how both ladies clearly have super thick incredible hair that needs a blowdry that lasts.

Carrie Johnson, who is expecting her second child with the Prime Minister (pictured, together), wore her blonde hair in loose waves which fell delicately onto her flowing scarlet frock

'They have had their blow dried smooth and curled with a curling iron before being loosely brushed out,' he explained. 'Nothing beats having your hair blow dried with your bestie. Although I dont always recommend rocking the exact matching look, this pair have pulled it off.

This could just be the start of an even tighter partnership where the ladies can even start shopping together and dress the same. Who knows?'

Sarah McKenna, Founder of Vixen & Blush, praised the 'effortless style' seen on both Priti and Carrie for being one that flatters all face shapes, hair types and lengths.

'Whether you opt for a pinned up style like Priti or leave your waves loose like Carrie this is a trend that is versatile, and you can make your own,' she added. 'My top tip for achieving this look would be to finish off your styling with dry shampoo to add texture and a drop of hydrating oil on the ends to keep the hair healthy.'

Carrie Johnson, Home Secretary Priti Patel and Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak sit on the conference floor ahead of the PM's speech during the annual Conservative Party Conference in Manchester on October 6, 2021

According to Jason Cocking and Chris Baker, 4 Theatre Square Hair, in Swindon, the hairstyle on both women, who are often known for their 'direct approach,' is more of a 'softer look.'

'I love that theyve chosen a softer look for their hair, it makes them instantly more approachable and shows a softer side to them,' they explained.

However, the pair went on to say that despite the duo's look being similar, it's more likely they used a similar tool rather than the same hairdresser.

'These women are on the go and often due to their schedules, they dont have time to visit the salon,' they said. 'The finish of their hair doesnt look as sleek and as styled as it would be if a hairdresser had styled the hair. I think that both women have styled their own hair using a similar tool.'
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The supposedly 'haunted' farmhouse that inspired the 2013 paranormal horror flick The Conjuring has been listed for sale for $1.2 million.

The current owners  paranormal investigators Jenn and Cory Heinzen  are parting with the spooky property and its 8.5 acres of wooded surroundings after living there for two years.

The notorious house in Burrillville, Rhode Island was at the heart of the 2013 horror movie, with its former owners, the Perron family, who lived there in the 1970s, serving as inspiration for the flick.

Spooky! The supposedly 'haunted' farmhouse that inspired the 2013 paranormal horror flick The Conjuring has been listed for sale for $1.2 million

Ready to go: The current owners  paranormal investigators Jenn and Cory Heinzen  are parting with the spooky property and its 8.5 acres of wooded surroundings after living there for two years

Inspo: The notorious house in Burrillville, Rhode Island was at the heart of the 2013 horror movie, with its former owners, the Perron family, who lived there in the 1970s, serving as inspiration for the flick

Photos show hand-dipped candles, bundles of dried herbs, and Raggedy Ann dolls propped up in several places.

Located around 40 minutes from Providence, the house has fourteen rooms total, with three bedrooms and one-and-a-half bathrooms.

Inside, there are plenty of nods to the past with wall stencils, hand-dipped candles, bundles of dried herbs, and an unfinished wooden staircase leading to a large, stone cellar.

Photos show an old library packed with books and  in a nod to the film  Raggedy Ann dolls propped up in several places.

The house was originally built in 1763, though records date back only to 1836.

'Every so often an opportunity presents itself to possess an extraordinary piece of cultural history,' reads the house description from realty company Mott & Chace Sotheby's Intl.

'The true story of The Conjuring started in this very house,' it continues. '1677 Round Top Road is one of the most well-known haunted houses in the United States.'

On film: From January 1971 until 1980, the home was own by Carolyn and Roger Perron, who were played by Lili Taylor and Ron Livingston in the film. They moved in with their five daughters, who reportedly started seeing 'spirits' there

Rich history: The house was originally built in 1763, though records date back only to 1836

Spacious: Located around 40 minutes from Providence, the house has fourteen rooms total, with three bedrooms and one-and-a-half bathrooms

Yikes! There would be odd occurrences, like doors slamming and beds shaking, with most of the 'paranormal' activity remaining harmless

But one of the spirits was angry and violent. 'Whoever the spirit was, she perceived herself to be mistress of the house and she resented the competition my mother posed for that position,' daughter Andrea Perron said

The property also comes with a booming business, with the Heinzens allowing paranormal investigators to spend the night. The house already booked up for 2022

From January 1971 until 1980, the home was own by Carolyn and Roger Perron, who were played by Lili Taylor and Ron Livingston in the film.

They moved in with their five daughters, who reportedly started seeing 'spirits' there.

'Eight generations of one extended family had lived and died at the farm and some of them had never left,' oldest daughter Andrea Perron said.

There would be odd occurrences, like doors slamming and beds shaking, with most of the 'paranormal' activity remaining harmless.

Several of the spirits were nonviolent, like the father, son, and dog they'd see at the top of the staircase, or the two men seated in their dining room who saw Carolyn and pointed at her.

Youngest daughter April Perron even claimed to befriend a spirit named Oliver Richardson who lived in her closet.

But one of the spirits was angry and violent.

'Whoever the spirit was, she perceived herself to be mistress of the house and she resented the competition my mother posed for that position,' Andrea told USA Today in 2013.

The family's interactions with her were terrifying from the get-go.

'I was in my bedroom, about 5 o'clock in the morning when I had the first visitation,' Carolyn recalled. 'I opened my eyes and saw the most frightening thing I have ever seen in my life. It was a very tall woman. Her head was like a sack of cobwebs with little tendrils of hair hanging out.'

In the movie, the Perrons hired ghost hunters Ed and Lorraine Warren to investigate the property and rid it of the spirits who lurked there

Terrifying: They discovered that Bathsheba Sherman had owned the house in the 1800s. A satanist, she had murdered her young daughter as a sacrifice to Lucifer, then hanged herself so that she could stay and haunt the house forever

Deadly: The Warrens also claimed there had been other suicides and accidental deaths there over the years

Oh no! Though the exorcism in the film never happened in real life, the family does recall the night Carolyn was allegedly possessed by Bathsheba

Horror: Andrea said that the Warrens showed up with a priest, a medium, and others to hold a seance that night, and the children watched on in horror as their mother was 'possessed' by the spirit

'My mother began to speak a language not of this world in a voice not her own. Her chair levitated and she was thrown across the room,' Andrea said

They also recalled some dangerous moments, including a hanger flying at Carolyn's head, a scythe coming off a nail where it hung in the barn and almost severing Carolyn's neck, and one of the girls being smacked to the floor by an unseen hand.

In the movie, the Perrons hired ghost hunters Ed and Lorraine Warren to investigate the property and rid it of the spirits who lurked there.

But Andrea told The Providence Journal that it was actually a local paranormal group that enlisted them, and the Warrens showed up one day with no warning.

'Mrs. Warren came into the house knowing nothing,' Andrea said. 'She stepped into the kitchen and said, "I feel a dark presence, and her name is Bathsheba."'

Through research, they discovered that Bathsheba Sherman had owned the house in the 1800s.

A practicing satanist, according to the Warrens, she had murdered her young daughter as a sacrifice to Lucifer, then hanged herself so that she could stay and haunt the house forever.

The Warrens also claimed there had been other suicides and accidental deaths there over the years.

'She was possessed,' dad Roger confirmed. 'Her entire body was distorted... And it lasted several hours, until [the Warrens] de-demonized her. And then I threw them out'

Loving it: The Perron family didn't move out until 1980, and the current owners, Jenn and Cory Heinzen, have embraced their spooky encounters in the house

Sharing: To be on the safe side, the Heinzens have made a point of being respectful to the potential ghouls, by going to them to approve renovation plans

Who's next? The Heinzens hope to sell the home to someone respectful of the other inhabitants, who will continue to run the business

Someone's intrigued! According to the listing, the home is already under contract

Though the exorcism in the film never happened in real life, the family does recall the night Carolyn was allegedly possessed by Bathsheba.

Andrea said that the Warrens showed up with a priest, a medium, and others to hold a seance that night, and the children watched on in horror as their mother was 'possessed' by the spirit.

'My mother began to speak a language not of this world in a voice not her own. Her chair levitated and she was thrown across the room,' Andrea told USA Today.

'She was possessed,' dad Roger confirmed. 'Her entire body was distorted... And it lasted several hours, until [the Warrens] de-demonized her. And then I threw them out.'

The Perron family didn't move out until 1980, and the current owners, Jenn and Cory Heinzen, have embraced their spooky encounters in the house.

Jenn told the New York Post this year about how she was once eating dinner by herself in the kitchen and saw someone run by her.

'I caught it by the left corner of my eye, and all I saw was a veil and a skirt and it just vanished into thin air. This had all happened in a span of three seconds, and I just sat there in complete disbelief not knowing what to do afterwards,' she said.

To be on the safe side, the Heinzens have made a point of being respectful to the potential ghouls, by going to them to approve renovation plans.

Flashback: The Perron family, pictured, owned the house for about a decade and experienced strange occurrences

'Im looking for someone who will continue to run the business as weve started it,' Jenn, pictured with Cory, said. 'We bought the house hoping to share it with the world, and I feel like we have done a great job starting that'

The couple's daughter Madison Heinzen, who currently lives in the house, has also built up a following of more than one million fans on TikTok after sharing clips from the property

Fun? Madison seems to enjoy the house's history and the spooky touches

'I dont have the feeling of anything evil, [but] its very busy. You can tell theres a lot of things going on,' Cory added.

The property  which they bought for $439,000  also comes with a booming business, with the Heinzens allowing paranormal investigators to spend the night. The house already booked up for 2022.

The couple's daughter Madison Heinzen, who currently lives in the house, has also built up a following of more than one million fans on TikTok after sharing clips from the property.

Now, the Heinzens hope to sell the home to someone respectful of the other inhabitants, who will continue to run the business.

'Im looking for someone who will continue to run the business as weve started it,' Jenn told the Wall Street Journal. 'We bought the house hoping to share it with the world, and I feel like we have done a great job starting that.'

And they may have found the one: According to the listing, the home is already under contract.
If Paris Fashion Week is anything to go by, the ultra-miniskirt will fast become a statement garment in our wardrobes once again.

Shockingly short hemlines appeared to be the number one trend at the world-renowned event, with brands including Dior and Miu Miu embracing the Noughties' style.

Miuccia Prada's first Miu Miu collection to be presented to a real-life audience since the pandemic almost made Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears' famous micro miniskirts look tame.

The Italian fashion label showcased extremely daring hemlines on the final day of Paris Fashion Week, with the low-rise skirts showing off the models' toned midriffs and being so short they revealed the pockets poking out from underneath the fabric.

If Paris Fashion Week is anything to go by, the ultra-miniskirt (pictured) will fast become a statement garment in our wardrobes once again

Shockingly short hemlines appeared to be the number one trend at the world-renowned event, with brands including Dior and Miu Miu (pictured) embracing the Noughties' style

Miuccia Prada's first Miu Miu collection to be presented to a real-life audience since the pandemic almost made Christina Aguilera (pictured left) and Britney Spears' (pictured right) famous micro miniskirts look tame

Paired with dainty shirts and knitwear, the low-slung designs weren't the only offerings welcoming the mini back.

Earlier in the week, Maria Grazia Chiuri of Dior - who has created various versions of the fashion houses popular mid-calf skirts since taking the top role in 2016 - revealed neat dainty Sixties skirt suits.

The almost A-line minis were paired with square-shouldered jackets in orange and black.

I love a miniskirt, said Chiuri backstage to The Guardian. It represents revolution and the spirit of youth. And I like very much the ideas of the younger generation, right now.

When I worked with Mr Valentino, he used to say that miniskirts were only for young women. But I dont agree with him. Anyone can wear them  as long as its not cold.

The Italian fashion label showcased extremely daring hemlines on the final day of Paris Fashion Week, with the low-rise skirts showing off the models' toned midriffs and being so short they revealed the pockets poking out from underneath the fabric (pictured)

Beyonce in New York City in 2015, wearing a burgundy miniskirt with a cream jumper

Celebrity stylist Rochelle White suggested Spring/Summer 2022 is going to be the time for the ultra miniskirt following its popularity on the catwalk this season.

She said: 'Celebrities and models such as Bella Hadid and Dua Lipa have been spotted in the ultra miniskirt in New York Fashion Week and fashion houses such as Saint Laurent and Miu Miu have showcased them on their runways this year.

'With everyone coming out of lockdown and with many of us living in loungewear, there is now a need and want to show more skin.

'I feel that fashion houses have picked up on the post-lockdown fashion trends and the love for the Noughties.

'Spring/Summer 2022 is going to be the year that showing some extra skin is going to be a popular choice and just what our wardrobes need.'
Sarah Ferguson has said the royal family 'move together as a unit' during challenging times, amid reports she could be questioned in regards to Virginia Roberts' allegation surrounding Prince Andrew.

Speaking to Good Morning Britain at Hello! magazine's Inspiration Awards last night in London, Sarah, who is commonly referred to as Fergie, 61, spoke of the tight bond the members of the royal family share.

It comes as reports suggest Fergie could face a subpoena if Prince Andrew, 61, fails to get the case brought against him by his accuser Virginia Robert Giuffre thrown out of court.

Ms Giuffre, now 38, claims Prince Andrew sexually abused her on three separate occasions when she was 17  in London, New York and on billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein's Caribbean island.

During his BBC Newsnight interview with Emily Maitlis, Andrew claimed he was in a Pizza Express in Woking with his daughter on the night of the alleged abuse in London - naming the Duchess of York as an alibi.

Sarah, commonly known as Fergie, and Prince Andrew have remained close since their 1996 divorce and live together at Royal Lodge in Windsor. Pictured at Royal Ascot 2019

Dressed in a stylish black dress with a sparkling blazer, Fergie praised the Queen while speaking to GMB.

'She's such an extraordinary, legendary, iconic monarch that leads by example... at 95-years-old, still carries on,' Prince Andrew's ex-wife said.

'And, for me, we get on with it and we move together as a unit,' she added.

Royal insiders fear that a move to involve Fergie would be a 'pretty traumatic' process that Andrew's lawyers would only ever enter with 'due caution', the Sunday Telegraph reports.

Sarah Ferguson, 61, said the royal family 'moved together as a unit' amid the scandals surrounding Prince Andrew, 61, as she attended the Hello! magazine Inspiration Awards in London las night

Fergie praised the Queen as an 'iconic' monarch an said she was an inspiration to her. Pictured: The Queen in Balmoral

The Duke has until October 29 to respond to the civil suit, with a remote hearing scheduled for November 3.

Andrew Brettler, who leads Andrew's team, informed a judge at a recent hearing that they intend to argue that a 2009 agreement between Ms Giuffre and Jeffrey Epstein released the Duke from 'all potential liability'.

Newly filed court documents show that her team has got permission from Epstein's estate to pass on the agreement, which had until now been kept strictly under wraps.

Fergie, pictured with Andrew and their daughters, could face a subpoena if Prince Andrew fails to get Virginia Roberts Giuffre's case against him thrown out of court

They have asked the judge to sign off on the handover in a signal that they think it will have little bearing on the case.

Miss Roberts's attorney David Boies wrote: 'Jeffrey Epstein's Estate has now consented to Ms Giuffre providing a copy of the confidential agreement at issue to Prince Andrew.'

Mr Boies has warned that he thinks the document is 'irrelevant' to the case against the duke.

Bradley Simon, an ex-federal prosecutor based in New York, warned the Sunday Telegraph: 'Theyre going to ask for a kitchen sink.

'Theyre going to seek every correspondence, phone logs, emails, diaries. They're going to go after people who were with him. It's going to be open season.'

Mr Simon suggested that as a senior Royal figure, the Duke was stuck 'between a rock and a hard place'.

'His options are somewhat limited.

'I think the best course of action for him would be to settle quietly, but it seems like the plaintiffs want to have a big public spectacle here so it may not be that he could settle.'

The news comes after one of the most dramatic cases of royal redemption after Prince's ex-wife Sarah Ferguson accompanied him to Balmoral in August as senior members of the Royal Family met for the first time since the civil suit was filed.

The Duchess has also said she is '100 per cent' certain that Andrew is telling the truth about his part in the scandal surrounding convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

She told the Financial Times: 'I want him [Andrew] to come through this. I want him to win.'

When asked why she was sure of his probity, she replied: 'No question. I know everything about him. I think he is an extraordinary person.'

The news comes as it was revealed the Queen could be spending millions of pounds funding Prince Andrew's fight against sex abuse allegations.

Royal courtiers are said to expect the final legal bill to run into millions as the civil case against Andrew lingers for months or even years.

And a potential settlement or damages payout would cost millions more on top of the overall bill.
Princess Charlene is 'better' and will return to Monaco, 'very soon' her husband Prince Albert has claimed.

The royal, 43, who is originally from Cape Town, has been in her native South Africa for several months since after contracting a 'serious sinus infection' making her unable to travel and forcing her to miss key events including her 10-year wedding anniversary and her children's first day of school.

But the royal is likely to be back in the principality by the end of the month.

Speaking to RMC radio, Albert, 63, said his wife 'is still in South Africa, but will be back very soon, we have to talk to the doctors in a few days.'

He added: 'She is better, although it has been very complicated for her because she has suffered different problems.'

Princess Charlene will return to Monaco, 'very soon' her husband Prince Albert has claimed. The couple are pictured together in South Africa

Last night, Prince Albert made another solo appearance at the Sportel Awards Ceremony in Monte Carlo. The royal sported a blue and black patterned tie as he was joined by his nephew Louis Ducuret.

Charlene has not been seen in Monaco since January. The couple have denied rumours of a rift and said Charlene's absence from the country is due to her health.

The former Olympian underwent a 'four-hour operation under general anaesthesia' in August - although it was not made clear whether this was linked to the sinus infection.

Charlene and Albert reunited shortly after for the first time in months after the monarch and their children - six year old twins Jacques and Gabriella - flew to South Africa, but photographs of the pair embracing were branded 'awkward' by a body language expert.

The royal, 43, who is originally from Cape Town, has been in her native South Africa for several months since after contracting a 'serious sinus infection' making her unable to travel

How Charlene and Albert made solo outings in South Africa and Monaco during nine months apart 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 without Charlene May 10 - Albert attends Monaco Gala Awards in Monaco without Charlene 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 June 5- Charlene puts on a united front as she shares a photo with her family to mark her niece's fifth birthday with her brother's family and Albert and the twins in South Africa June 7 - Albert and the twins attend the World Rugby Sevens without Charlene June 17 - Prince Albert attends Red Cross Summer concert in Monte Carlo with his sister Princess Caroline of Hanover June 18 - Prince Albert appears alone Monte Carlo TV Festival June 24 - Charlene's foundation releases a statement saying the royal is unable to travel and is undergoing procedures for an ear, nose and throat infection July 2 - Charlene and Albert mark their 10th anniversary separately. 'This year will be the first time that I'm not with my husband on our anniversary in July, which is difficult, and it saddens me,' Her Serene Highness Princess Charlene said in a statement. July 3 - Albert appears with glamorous niece Charlotte Casiraghi at the 15th international Monte-Carlo Jumping event, which is part of the Longines Global Champions Tour of Monaco, July 27 - Prince Albert attends Olympics alone in Tokyo August 13 - Charlene undergoes a four-hour operation. The reason is not announced August 25 - Charlene shares photos of Prince Albert, Gabriella and Jacques visiting her in South Africa August 31 - Speculation mounts in the media about couple's relationship

September 1 - Charlene is admitted under an alias to the Netcare Alberlito Hospital after suddenly 'collapsing' September 2 - She is discharged, with a statement from the Palais Princier reading: 'Her Highness is closely monitored by Her medical team who said that Her condition was not worrying' September 23 - Prince Albert attends the 2021 Monte Carlo Gala for Planetary Health September 29 - Prince Albert is joined on the red carpet by actress Sharon Stone for a first look at the eagerly anticipated James Bond release September 30 - Charlene releases a stylish video promoting her anti-poaching campaign from her South African bolthole October 3 - Princess Charlene shares a photograph of herself smiling in front of a bible in her first snap since being discharged from hospital following her health scare October 5 - Prince Albert attends Sportel Awards Ceremony in Monte Carlo with nephew Louis Ducruet October 6 - Albert tells RMC radio Charlene is 'ready to come home' Advertisement

After returning from the trip, Albert told People magazine Charlene was 'ready to come home.'

Despite Charlene being admitted to hospital after a 'sudden collapse' rumours are rife that a rift with Prince Albert, rather than health issues, is what's keeping her away from Monaco.

Last week, Prince Albert was joined on the red carpet by actress Sharon Stone, 63, for a first look at the eagerly anticipated James Bond release - Daniel Craig's fifth and final outing as the cult classic secret agent.

It was their second joint appearance in less than a week, with both having previously attended the 2021 Monte Carlo Gala for Planetary Health on 23rd September. Charlene was noticeably absent from the event.

It comes just weeks after Prince Albert hit back at rumours marital woes insisting Charlene 'didn't leave in a huff' and remains in South Africa only because of 'medical complications' following a 'severe ear, nose and throat infection'.

The royal told People that the speculation over the state of his relationship with the Olympic swimmer has 'affected' them both, but that he didn't address it early because he 'was concentrating on taking care of the kids'

This week, she shared a photograph of herself smiling in front of a bible in her first snap since being discharged from hospital following her health scare.

In the snap, which was shared to Instagram on Sunday, the former Olympian can be seen putting on a casual display in a black jumper and rosary bead necklace as she sits at a wooden table.

The royal, who was born and raised Protestant but converted to Roman-Catholicism 'of her own free will and choice' in April 2011, simply captioned the post, 'God Bless,' followed by a heart emoji.

In recent weeks, lifestyle magazines across Europe have speculated feverishly that the royal couple could be headed for divorce. French magazine Madame Figaro stated the images 'failed to convince the Monegasques' amid reports Charlene is looking for a house in Johannesburg.

The magazine asked: 'How long can she remain away from her children, her duties?'

'How long will the fight against rhinoceros poaching remain the Princess of Monaco's top priority?

'How long will Albert II of Monaco go on bearing this affront, which is becoming ridiculous?'

Historian Philippe Delorme said that 'lots of people got the impression it was an arranged marriage' between Charlene and Albert, adding: 'Albert chose a wife who resembled his mother, and Charlene clearly felt very ill at ease in this Grace Kelly role they wanted her to play'

The mounting speculation about the couple's marriage comes after Charlene shared professional photographs of her reunion with Prince Albert online, saying she was 'thrilled' to have her family back.

She shared a series of photos cuddled up with her kids in South Africa with the caption: 'I am so thrilled to have my family back with me (Gabriella decided to give herself a haircut!!!) Sorry my Bella I tried my best to fix it,' referring to her daughter's choppy fringe.

However a body language expert told FEMAIL Charlene showed 'no emotional bond' towards her husband Prince Albert in the images.

Judi James said that rather than being the loved-up reunion photo one would expect of a couple surrounded by split rumours, the royals' poses suggested 'no signs of connection between awkward-looking Albert and Charlene'.

Charlene has been in South Africa since at least March, with media reports suggesting she is looking for a house there.

The prince, who already supports two illegitimate children, is alleged to have been in 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 in 2000.

However, Charlene has publicly supported her husband, and the palace have reiterated she is only in South Africa because she's unable to fly.
A polka-dot dress that looks strikingly similar to a high-end designer style worn by the likes of Kate Middleton and Ivanka Trump has become a huge online fashion hit, sparking a frenzy among online shoppers.

The $580 silk frock, designed by British brand L.K. Bennett, features a navy and white polka dot print, a cream frilled collar, long sleeves and cream buttons, much like the $2,400 polka dot dress by celebrity-loved label Alessandra Rich.

The Alessandra Rich design, which is no longer available, has been worn by a host of A-listers over the years, including the Duchess of Cambridge, former First Daughter Ivanka, supermodel Christie Brinkley, and Suits star Abigail Spencer, who rocked the frock at her best friend Meghan Markle's wedding to Prince Harry in May 2018.

Unsurprisingly, the A-list-approved design flew off the shelves - however now, a near-identical version has been released to fill the fashion gap left by the sold-out dress.

Inspiration: A $580 dress that looks near-identical to a celebrity-loved $2,400 Alessandra Rich design worn by stars like Kate Middleton and Ivanka Trump has become a fast fashion hit

The Alessandra Rich design, seen being worn by former First Daughter Ivanka in July 2018, sold out not long after being released - but a British brand has now released a lookalike version

The $580 Mathilde silk tea dress from British brand L.K. Bennett features a navy and white polka dot print and cream collar, just like the Alessandra Rich frock

The L.K. Bennett style comes in a shorter, midi length, making it a more wearable option than the longer Alessandra Rich design.

Its popularity in the UK, where it has been worn by a host of British A-listers, has already prompted the dress to begin flying off the shelves.

TV presenter Holly Willoughby wore the dotty design on This Morning in January, pairing it with classic black pumps, while her fellow on-air star Amanda Holden has also been snapped in the L.K. Bennett design.

Shoppers have been going wild for the 1930s-inspired dress, with several stellar reviews insisting the 'striking' gown was 'beautifully made' from material which feels 'lovely to wear'.

'Got so many compliments wearing this dress', wrote one shopper. 'I'm a big fan of L.K. Bennett's dresses, so far the best buy.'

Another said: 'Love the material, love the style & love the fit. It feels so lovely to wear and it is very striking. It is makes me feel me feel very feminine.'

'Beautifully made silk dress, with striking buttons and a lovely collar. Perfect for work and after work drinks. Good fit', penned a third.

The dress closely resembles the one made by London-based designer Alessandra Rich who has become one of the royal's favorite designers in recent years.

The L.K. Bennett version has already proven a fashion must-have among UK-based stars like Holly Willoughby (left) and Amanda Holden (right)

The Alessandra Rich style was famously worn by Meghan Markle's friend and former Suits co-star Abigail Spencer, left, to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's wedding in May 2018

Christie Brinkley, left, was first to be seen in the dress, in April 2018. Right, Sarah Jessica Parker put her own spin on the style in May 2019, cinching the waist with a crystal-encrusted belt, layering it with a floral print navy edge-to-edge coat and white stiletto heels

Kate has worn the $2,400 navy and white polka dot midi on a number of previous occasions, including for Prince Charles's official 70th birthday portraits in November 2018.

The style was famously worn by Meghan Markle's close friend and former Suits co-star Abigail Spencer to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's wedding in May 2018 and became an A-list favorite the following summer.

One of the first to be seen in the dress, model Christie Brinkley, 64, stepped out in it in April 2018, wearing the shirt-style collar open-necked and teaming it with a trench coat.

Sarah Jessica Parker put her own spin on the style, cinching the waist with a crystal-encrusted belt, layering it with a floral print navy edge-to-edge coat and white stiletto heels.

Ivanka Trump accompanied her father on a visit to Iowa in July 2018, choosing to woo Mid-West voters with the modest number, accessorizing it with a knotted white patent belt.

Later that month, Kate's sister Pippa wore a shorter, plain duck egg blue version to Prince Louis's christening.
The World's 50 Best Restaurants Awards has released its list for 2021, once again naming Copenhagen restaurant Noma to the top spot.

By and large, most eateries to make the cut come out of Europe, with 27 being picked from accross the continent in countries like Italy, France, and Spain.

But six of the best spots can be found in the US with New York City's Cosme coming in highest at 22, Benu in San Francisco ranking 28, and SingleThread in Healdsburg, California numbering 37.

Three more American restaurants also made the cut: Atomix and Le Bernadin in NYC, and Atelier Crenn in San Francisco

The World's 50 Best Restaurants Awards has released its list for 2021, with Cosme in New York City earning the rank of top American restaurant at number 22

Cosme is helmed by chef Enrique Olvera, who was born in Mexico. He previously won arwards for his restaurant Pujol in Mexico City, which is also on the list

Current menu items include striped bass with carrot and orange aguachile, and duck carnitas with onions, radishes, and cilantro

Menu prices are some of the least expensive on this list, with items ranking from $19 to $98 (for a shared plate)

The awards, considered the Oscars of the dining world, returned last night for the first time in two years with an event in Antwerp after the 2020 iteration was cancelled due to COVID.

The US's highest-ranked restaurant, Cosme, is helmed by chef Enrique Olvera, who was born in Mexico. He previously won arwards for his restaurant Pujol in Mexico City, which is also on the list.

It was launched in 2014 by Olvera and Daniela Soto-Innes, who has since left, and has a changing menu with items like striped bass with carrot and orange aguachile, corn esquites with crab and gorgonzola, brisket with chile morita and avocato, and duck carnitas with onions, radishes, and cilantro.

Menu prices are some of the least expensive on this list, with items ranking from $19 to $98 (for a shared plate).

In 2019, Cosme was given the No. 23 spot. That year, Soto-Innes was also labeled the 'Worlds Best Female Chef,' which Eater called 'absurd' and 'unnecessarily gender-specific, implying that women require a different category than men to be noticed within the culinary sphere.'

The creme de la creme! World's 50 best restaurants revealed in full 1. Noma (Copenhagen, Denmark) 2. Geranium (Copenhagen, Denmark) 3. Asador Etxebarri (Atxondo, Spain) 4. Central (Lima, Peru) 5. Disfrutar (Barcelona, Spain) 6. Frantzen (Stockholm, Sweden) 7. Maido (Lima, Peru) 8. Odette (Singapore) 9. Pujol (Mexico City, Mexico) 10. The Chairman (Hong Kong, China) 11. Den (Tokyo, Japan) 12. Steirereck (Vienna, Austria) 13. Don Julio (Buenos Aires, Argentina) 14. Mugaritz (San Sebastian, Spain) 15. Lido 84 (Gardone Riviera, Italy) 16. Elkano (Getaria, Spain) 17. A Casa do Porco (Sao Paulo, Brazil) 18. Piazza Duomo (Alba, Italy) 19. Narisawa (Tokyo, Japan) 20. Diverxo (Madrid, Spain) 21. Hisa Franko (Kobarid, Slovenia) 22. Cosme (New York City, USA) 23. Arpege (Paris, France) 24. Septime (Paris, France) 25. White Rabbit (Moscow, Russia) 26. Le Calandre (Rubano, Italy) 27. Quintonil (Mexico City, Mexico) 28. Benu (San Francisco, USA) 29. Reale (Castel di Sangro, Italy) 30. Twins Garden (Moscow, Russia) 31. Restaurant Tim Raue (Berlin, Germany) 32. The Clove Club (London, UK) 33. Lyle's (London, UK) 34. Burnt Ends (Singapore) 35. Ultraviolet by Paul Pairet (Shanghai, China) 36. Hof Van Cleve (Kruishoutem, Belgium) 37. SingleThread (Healdsburg, California, USA) 38. Borago (Santiago, Chile) 39. Florilege (Tokyo, Japan) 40. Suhring (Bangkok, Thailand) 41. Alleno Paris au Pavillion Ledoyen (Paris, France) 42. Belcanto (Lisbon, Portugal) 43. Atomix (New York City, USA) 44. Le Bernardin (New York City, USA) 45. Nobelhart & Schmutzig (Berlin, Germany) 46. Leo (Bogota, Colombia) 47. Maaemo (Oslo, Norway) 48. Atelier Crenn (San Francisco, USA) 49. Azurmendi (Larrabetzu, Spain) 50. Wolfgat (Paternoster, South Africa) Advertisement

The second highest-ranked American restaurant, San Francisco's Benu (#28), has earned three Michelin stars since it opened in 2010

It's headed up by chef Corey Lee, who previously worked at such renowned restaurants as Blue Ribbon Sushi and Daniel in New York City and The French Laundry in the Napa Valley

For $350 per person, he serves a tasting menu with items like xiao long bao with black vinegar and house-made soy sauce

At Benu, he serves up dishes like lobster xiao long bao with black vinegar and house-made soy sauce, barbecued Wolfe Ranch quail with XO sauce and steamed bao with black truffle cream, and  for desset  milk pudding with salted caramel.

The second highest-ranked American restaurant, San Francisco's Benu (#28), has earned three Michelin stars since it opened in 2010.

The hotspot is headed up by Korean-American chef Corey Lee, who previously worked at such renowned restaurants as Blue Ribbon Sushi and Daniel in New York City and The French Laundry in the Napa Valley.

At Benu, he serves up dishes like lobster xiao long bao with black vinegar and house-made soy sauce, barbecued Wolfe Ranch quail with XO sauce and steamed bao with black truffle cream, and  for desset  milk pudding with salted caramel.

Like many other restaurants on the list, Benu only offers a tasting menu  no a la carte offerings  which sets diners back $350 per person.

They reccommend planning three hours for dinner.

The third highest-ranked American restaurant, SingleThread in Healdsburg, California (#37), is located at the SingleThread Farm and Inn

The third highest-ranked American restaurant, SingleThread in Healdsburg, California (#37), is located at the SingleThread Farm and Inn.

The restaurant, which has three Michelen stars, serves an 11-course tasting menu, showcasing 'the seasonal bounty' from the farm.

Prices start at $295 per person, not including wine pairings.

Chef Kyle Connaughton, who owns the inn and restaraurnt with his wife Katina Connaughton, cooks up a changing menu of things like black cod 'fukkura-san' with leeks, brassicas, and chamomile dashi; guniea hen with sansho, matsutake, and red kuri squash; and inaniwa udon.

New York City Korean restaraurnt Atomix (#43) is also run by a husband and wife team, Chef Junghyun and manager Ellia Park

That's followed by New York City Korean restaraurnt Atomix (#43), which is also run by a husband and wife team, Chef Junghyun and manager Ellia Park.

Opened in 2018 as a followup to their restaurant Atoboy, the serve up $175 tasting menus with $155 wine pairings.

Current dishes on Atomix'es menu include sweet shrimp with eggplant, tomatoe, and salmon roe; songyi rice with mussel ganjang; green circle chicken with ehwaju, popcorn, and black currant; and mangalitsa pork rack with pearl onion and unripe blueberry.

Manhattan's Le Bernardin, by chef Eric Ripert and co-owner Maguy Le Coze, came in at #44

Manhattan's Le Bernardin came in at #44, moving down several spots from #36 in 2019  but chef Eric Ripert and co-owner Maguy Le Coze are likely unworried with their three Michelen stars.

The French seafood-focused eatery offers a $280 per person ($430 per person with wine pairing) that currently includes a sauteed langoustine with fennel-leek compote and sea urchin sauce Americaine; caviar; poached lobster with chanterelle, baby turnips, and truffled lobster jus; and a milk chocolate-hazelnut praline mousse for dessert.

For a less expensive option, Le Bernardin offers a $185 four-course prix fixe menu, currently with options like oysters, octpus, salmon, and filet mignon.

Lunch is a three-course $115 prix fixe menu, while $48 tuna, a $48 lobster roll, a $110 smoke salmon croque monsieur with caviar, and a $240 Imperials Gold Osetra Caviar can be ordered a la carte.

The last American restaurant to make the cut is Atelier Crenn in San Francisco (#48), which also has three Michelin stars

The last American restaurant to make the cut is Atelier Crenn in San Francisco (#48), which also has three Michelin stars.

French-born Chef Dominique Crenn is currently the only female chef in the United States to attain three Michelin stars. She is also engaged to actress Maria Bello.

Crenn offers a 14-course prix-fixe that starts at $345 per person which have included items like geoduck tart with oyster, trout mousse, caviar and koji rice tart, and leek vinaigrette and oyster rmulsion.

Best of the best: Award-winning Copenhagen restaurant Noma has taken home the top spot in the World's 50 Best Restaurants Awards

A new rule introduced in 2019 means restaurants can now only win the top spot once  but Noma, which has previously topped the list in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014, was eligible because it had closed and reopened in a new location in 2018.

The eatery, where a lunch with wine pairing costs $760, gained a third Michelin star last month.

Another Copenhagen restaurant, Geranium, took second place, cementing the Danish capital as the global leader in fine dining.

Rounding out the top five are Asador Etxebarri in Atxondo, Spain; Central in Lima, Peru, and Disfrutar in Barcelona, Spain.

The list includes 27 European restaurants, eight Asian restaurants, eight North American restaurants, six South American restaurants, one African restaraunt and zero Australian restaurants.
The anticipation of holding that tiny bundle of joy in your arms is what gets most women through the exhausting final stages of pregnancy. But for some mothers the bundle of joy can end up being not so tiny, arriving into the world the size of a three-month-old  or even bigger.

While the average newborn weighs 7 lb 5 oz (anything between 5 lb 5 oz and 10 lb is considered normal) spare a thought for the mums who birth babies as heavy as bowling balls.

Take Amy Smit, 27. Most new parents are rendered speechless at the first sight of their precious newborn, but Amy and husband Zac were both very vocal indeed.

Amy says: Zac glimpsed him first and bellowed: Look at the size of him! When the doctors lifted him to show me, I said: Bloody hell, hes humongous  what does he weigh?! 

The mother's of some of Britain's biggest babies share their birth stories - including Amy Smit, 27, whose son Zeik (pictured) was born weighing 12 lb 9 oz

Hardly surprising that they were a little taken aback as their baby boy, Zeik, was born on March 25 this year, by elective Caesarean, weighing 12 lb 9 oz and measuring 2 ft long.

It took two members of the surgical team to lift him out of my uterus after the first called for help saying: Hes too big, I cant lift him, recalls Amy. They usually lay a newborn across the mums chest but were worried I might not be able to take his weight in my weakened, post-surgery state, so kept a hand on him throughout.

He was even too big to fit on the weighing scales, which meant they had to balance him on a makeshift plank to get a reading.

Zeik could not squeeze into any of the nought-to-three-month-old size clothes the Smits had brought, so Zac, 28, had to dash back to their home in Cheddington, Buckinghamshire, to get the three-to-six-month outfits they had been saving for when he was older.

Despite her babys size, and his constant need for sustenance, Amy, 27, decided to breastfeed for six months before weaning her son. Of course I worried at times that I wasnt producing enough milk for him but my mum, who has six children, was a huge support and reassured me: If hes hungry he will cry; thats what babies do. 

And Zeik certainly thrived. At six and a half months old, he weighs close to 2 st, estimates Amy. Hes so big I have constant pain in my shoulders from carrying and picking him up, she says.

Bigger than average size certainly runs in the family. Both Amy and Zac, who runs a dog-walking business, are 6 ft tall, while their three-year-old Lola is already the size of an average six-year-old. Amy, who worked in sales before becoming a full-time mum, towered over her classmates at school, until the boys hit puberty.

Her large frame is, she says, the reason she could easily carry such a big baby with nothing more than the occasional bout of back ache, familiar to most pregnant women.

Amy said Zeik is so big that she has constant pain in her shoulders from carrying and picking him up. Pictured: Amy and husband Zac with Zeik

Like all women who have had a C-section, she was advised by her midwife not to carry anything heavier than her baby, until her stomach muscles had healed.

Amy says: The midwife glanced at Zeik, who was wedged into the little plastic hospital cot, as she said it and added: Really, you shouldnt even be carrying him.

There are silver linings, of course. Zeik has the perfect rugby player build so Zac, who is originally from South Africa, has high hopes for him on the pitch.

Baby girls can be just as big, if not bigger. Emilia Cumberland was born in April this year, weighing an incredible 12 lb 14 oz, which made her the second-biggest baby girl born in the UK (the heaviest is Niamh OHalloran, from Ipswich, who weighed 14 lb 4 oz in February 2012, while the record for the heaviest baby overall goes to Guy Carr, from Cumbria, who was born via a Caesarean section in 1992 weighing 15 lb 8 oz).

Mum Ambers baby bump grew so huge in the weeks before she gave birth to Emilia that, if she stood up too rapidly, her stretchmarks, which circled her body, from her bra strap to her pelvic bone, actually bled.

Emilia Cumberland (pictured), who was born in April this year, is the second-biggest baby girl born in the UK - weighing an incredible 12 lb 14 oz

A scan at 36 weeks revealed Emilia already weighed 9 lb 12 oz  2 lb heavier than the average newborn. Despite this, Ambers pleas to be induced at 38 weeks fell on deaf ears and, in the end, her baby was delivered on April 16, at Oxfords John Radcliffe Hospital, two weeks overdue.

I fretted every day about how I was going to get her out  despite her size, I was told to try for a natural birth  although I knew I was going to end up having a C-section.

When they lifted her out  it took two people  my partner Scotts face completely drained of colour and the surgical team were all looking at each other in shock.

As the doctor laid her on my chest he laughed: Congratulations, youve had a toddler.

She was also too big for the newborn nappies Amber, 21, and her partner Scott, 22, had brought, so the midwives went in search of bigger ones from the paediatric ward.

Luckily, as well as newborn clothes, the couple, from Bampton, Oxfordshire, had brought outfits for babies up to three months old.

The delivery was by emergency Caesarean, after 18 hours in labour, when the obstetrician feared the baby might get stuck in the birth canal.

Amber said many people who saw her when she was pregnant assumed that she was carrying twins. Pictured: Amber and Scott with their daughter Emilia

Emilias weight was the talk of the maternity unit, and some midwives hung around at the end of their shift to have photos taken with the whopping newborn.

Despite all the attention, it was only when Amber and Scott saw their daughter beside an 8 lb newborn that they realised just how enormous she was.

Emilia filled the see-through plastic hospital cot whereas the other baby took up hardly any room, says Amber, laughing. No wonder so many people who saw me when I was pregnant assumed I was carrying twins.

Incredibly, Amber had spent the first half of her pregnancy worried her baby might be underweight as she had hyperemesis (extreme morning sickness) until the 24th week  and was admitted to hospital at one point to be rehydrated via a drip.

Thanks to anti-sickness medication, she was able to eat normally for a few weeks. However, by the third trimester, the baby was pressing on her stomach and she suffered constant heartburn, limiting her food intake once again.

Still, she managed to gain 5 st in weight, half of which she lost immediately after Emilias birth.

To accommodate her uterus, Ambers stomach muscles separated completely  causing diastasis recti, a huge gap  and her gynaecologist has warned that it will be some time before they heal and knit back together.

Amber has been advised to wait three years before her next pregnancy due to the toll on her abdominal muscles. Pictured: Amber's pregnancy bump

This, says Amber, is the main reason she didnt attempt to breastfeed her daughter as she feared having her baby lying across her stomach would add undue strain. As Emilia screamed for a bottle every two to four hours, a midwife told Amber she may have struggled to produce enough breastmilk to sustain her.

The toll on her abdominal muscles has led doctors to advise Amber to wait three years before her next pregnancy. Wed like three children and wanted them close together, but well now have to leave bigger gaps than wed planned, says Amber.

Both relatively tall  Amber is 5 ft 9 in while Scott measures 6 ft 1 in  the couple have been told that, while this could lead to them having long babies, it does not explain why Emilia was so heavy.

When they do decide to extend their family, if the next one measures anything like as large as Emilia, Amber will insist on an elective Caesarean and ignore any medical advice to the contrary.

My stretch marks arent sore any more but they cover my whole torso and are deep purple, says Amber. I try to avoid looking at them, I prefer looking at Emilia, instead, as she reminds me that it was all worthwhile.

When Sheralyn Young, 41, first saw her baby, she too could scarcely conceal her shock.

Brodey (pictured) was delivered, four days before his due date, in December 2017, weighing a supersized 12 lb 13 oz

My first thought when I saw him was: Its a baby sumo!  recalls Sheralyn from Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire. My second was: Thank God I agreed to a Caesarean  how would I have got him out? Rather than having rolls of fat, he was just completely solid.

She hadnt wanted a C-section, having given birth to her first two children vaginally, but her obstetrician was adamant, explaining her baby was likely to be so big, he couldnt guarantee the safety of either mother or son.

That convinced me, of course, says Sheralyn. No matter how scared I was, no mother would knowingly put her child at risk.

And what a very wise decision it turned out to be as Brodey was delivered, four days before his due date, in December 2017, weighing a supersized 12 lb 13 oz.

Everyone in theatre knew he was going to be big, but, like me, no one expected him to be quite that size  when they weighed him all I could hear was people gasping.

I didnt put on much weight anywhere other than my bump which was absolutely huge  in the final months I didnt have much appetite at all as my stomach was so squished.

But I couldnt walk around the supermarket without every other person pointing and saying: Oh my god, look at that.

Most assumed there was more than one baby in there.

Sheralyn Young, 41, from Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, said at three, Brodey (pictured) is in aged five-to-six clothes and 'towers over his nursery pals'

Brodey broke the record for the heaviest baby born for a decade at Diana, Princess of Wales hospital in Grimsby, immediately filling his nought-to-three-month baby grows and guzzling down 70 ml of formula milk every three to four hours (compared with the 20 to 40 ml consumed by the average newborn).

Given that Sheralyn, at 5 ft 4 in, and her husband Rob, who measures 5 ft 10 in, are both average height, Brodeys birth weight seems especially surprising.

However, Sheralyns older son, Bailey, 21, from a previous relationship, weighed in at 10 lb 2 oz when he was born and, despite his dad being only 5 ft 7 in, is now a lofty 6 ft 4 ins.

Meanwhile their daughter, Payton, five, who weighed 9 lb at birth, is also tall for her age.

Even before the test confirmed I was pregnant with Brodey I had a bit of a bump, so I suspect he was above average size from the start.

Today, he will eat anything, from spicy curries to Sunday roasts, partly, I think, because hes always having growth spurts. At three, hes in aged five-to-six clothes and towers over his nursery pals.

Despite his skinny frame, Sheralyn, who works for Ladbrokes, and Rob, a store manager, still use the nickname they gave Brodey when he was born.

We call him Bruce, as in Bruce Bogtrotter, the character who eats all the cakes in Roald Dahls Matilda, which is a family favourite, says Sheralyn. At three, he is a bit too young to understand that he was such a big baby he attracted both local and national media coverage, but hopefully he will enjoy the notoriety one day.
The Queen was the picture of elegance today as she stepped out to meet members of the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery in her first appearance at Windsor Castle following her return to Balmoral.

Her Majesty was resplendent in blue as she chatted with members of the Canadian Armed Forces, who have been invited to serve as the Queen's Guard in honour of the regiment's 150th anniversary.

She donned the Canadian Maple Leaf Royal Brooch, which was initially gifted from her King George VI to his wife, Queen Elizabeth, for their state visit of Canada in 1939.

The monarch, who last week spoke publicly for the first time about her late husband Prince Philip's death, appeared in good spirits as she spoke with soldiers at Windsor Castle.

It's her first time being pictured at her Berkshire home, which she arrived at on Saturday following an extended stay at her Scottish estate following Prince Philip's death.

The Queen was the picture of elegance today as she stepped out to meet members of the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery

Her Majesty was resplendent in blue as she chatted with members of the Canadian Armed Forces at Windsor Castle

Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery have fought in both the First and Second World War and in 1970, the Duke of Edinburgh joined Her Majesty for a visit to their Manitoba base with Prince Charles and Princess Anne.

In celebration of their anniversary, 90 troops have travelled across the Atlantic to stand guard at Buckingham Palace, St Jamess Palace, Windsor Castle and The Tower of London.

The Canadian troops will serve between 4th October and 22nd October and will also take part in the commemorative Changing of the Guard parade.

The formal ceremony marks the handover between regiments and sees the group of soldiers currently protecting Buckingham Palace are replaced by a new group.

The monarch, who last week spoke publicly for the first time about Prince Philip since the duke's death, appeared in good spirits as she spoke with soldiers at Windsor Castle

Her Majesty paid tribute to the Canadian soldiers by opting for an Asprey & Company brooch shaped like the country's national symbol

The Queen opted for a blue cotton cardigan paired with a white shirt, grey skirt and a pair of black loafers as she met the soldiers this afternoon

Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery have fought in both the First and Second World War. Her Majesty is pictured meeting soldiers at Windsor Castle today

In celebration of their anniversary, 90 troops - some of whom are pictured meeting Her Majesty - have travelled across the Atlantic to stand guard at Buckingham Palace, St Jamess Palace, Windsor Castle and The Tower of London

The Queen opted for a blue cotton cardigan paired with a white shirt, grey skirt and a pair of black loafers as she met the soldiers this afternoon.

Her Majesty paid tribute to the Canadian soldiers by opting for an Asprey & Company brooch shaped like the country's national symbol.

The piece originally belonged to The Queen Mother, who often wore the brooch during the Second World War, pinning it to her hat as she toured bombed areas of Britain.

She kept the brooch in her personal collection until her death in 2002 when it was inherited by her daughter - who wore it on her first trip to Canada in 1951.

The Canadian troops, pictured with the Queen, will serve between October 4 and October 22 and will also take part in the commemorative Changing of the Guard parade

The Queen appeared in high spirits today as she met members of the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery at Windsor Castle

The Queen donned the Canadian Maple Leaf Royal Brooch, which was initially gifted from her King George VI to his wife, Queen Elizabeth, for their state visit of Canada in 1939 during her visit

The monarch has made 22 official visits to Canada and seven to Toronto. Her first was in 1951 as Princess Elizabeth, where she visited in place of her father who was ill, and the most recent was in 2010.

During her most recent trip, the monarch The Duke of Edinburgh participated in events across the country - from Halifax to Nova Scotia Winnipeg and Manitoba.

Her Majesty's appearance comes after she reminisced over the 'many happy memories' with the Duke of Edinburgh in 'this wonderful country' during her speech in Holyrood's debating chamber on Saturday.

The Queen smiled today as she met soldiers of the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery at Windsor Castle

Her Majesty is seen amid her meeting with members of the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery at Windsor Castle

Soldiers of the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery were pictured saluting Her Majesty at Windsor Castle

Her Majesty is pictured examining a sword as she meets members of the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery at Windsor Castle today

The Duke died in April aged 99 and his wife has given a number of written tributes on social media and through official channels, but over the weekend was the first time she addressed his passing in person.

Speaking at Holyrood, she said: 'Today is also a day when we can celebrate those who have made an extraordinary contribution to the lives of other people in Scotland, locally or nationally during the Covid-19 pandemic.

'I have spoken before of my deep and abiding affection for this wonderful country and of the many happy memories Prince Philip and I always held of our time here.

'It is often said that it is the people that make a place. And there are few places where this is truer than in Scotland. As we have seen in recent times.

'We all know of the difficult circumstances that many people have encountered during the last 18 months. However, alongside this have been countless examples of resilience and goodwill.
For anyone uninitiated into the various waves of 21st-century feminism, this will no doubt come as a shock. But in my opinion, what passes right now for modern feminism is doing women more harm than good.

Many young women today are not only pandering to men in their so-called feminism, but seem utterly unconcerned that the hard-won rights achieved by older women in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s are at risk of being catastrophically eroded.

They are helping everyone but themselves. In many ways they are betraying everything I and my brave colleagues fought for. This is the worst clash across the generations I have witnessed since coming to feminism in 1979, aged 17.

In universities around the UK and beyond, women are being fed a type of faux feminism, often by men reluctant to lose any of their privilege.

Julie Bindel, who came to feminism in 1979, says the rights achieved in the 19060s, 1970s and 1980s are at risk of being catastrophically eroded. Pictured: Julie (left) with Emma Humphreys in 1995 after a campaign to free her from jail for killing her violent partner

These women are being bullied and cajoled into accepting nonsensical concepts that are, at best, naive and, at worst, downright dangerous.

Prostitution, say these young women, is a job just like any other. They also argue that pornography is liberating. And finally, that trans-women should share female-only spaces such as hospital wards and domestic violence refuges.

This last makes me want to weep. It was women of my generation  often called second-wave feminists  who, 50 years ago, built rape crisis centres and refuges with no funding or salaries. To see them being dismantled by the very women who may one day need them is heartbreaking and infuriating.

I dont think these women  almost all of whom would call themselves feminists  realise they are complicit in eroding our rights, for the simple reason they are no longer taught feminist history in universities. Instead, they are fed a sop of incomprehensible post-modern claptrap by ivory tower academics.

Feminists of my generation are not just ignored, but actively disparaged  or worse.

Since January 2004, when I offered an early opinion on the trans issue for a national newspaper, whenever it becomes public that I am about to speak at an event, always about an aspect of male violence and always as part of my campaigning work, a mob forms with the aim of bullying the organisers into un-inviting me. This is always played out in public and it is always humiliating. Sometimes the organisers capitulate.

I have been invited then uninvited from numerous events at universities following protests from trans activists and supporters of sex work is work politics. I have also been invited to, then de-platformed from a number of events exploring free speech.

By contrast, genuine achievements of the past go unrecognised. From the very beginning of my involvement in the womens liberation movement, we were out on the streets, waving placards, carrying banners and shouting through loudhailers, protesting the laws we wanted to change.

Julie said feminism has been rebranded and repackaged as just be kind and nice to everyone. Pictured: A 1970 womens liberation protest

It was our campaigning that led to the introduction of the offence of coercive control; that barred the use of a womans previous sexual history in rape trials and ensured anonymity for the victims of sexual assault; and outlawed rape in marriage, which  young feminists are often astonished to discover  was perfectly legal in England and Wales until 1992.

Absurdly, there is no longer any expectation that being a feminist requires you to do anything feminist at all. Instead, and ironically given my experience, feminism has been rebranded and repackaged as just be kind and nice to everyone. Young women are told it is simply about the choice to be who you want to be.

But if feminism is about choice, what does this mean for the women and girls who dont have any? The girls forced into marriage, the women pimped out by violent boyfriends, the women on benefits living in temporary accommodation with young children they cant afford to feed?

For feminism to mean anything, it has to be for all women and not just the privileged few.

Do young women even know about the battles weve fought for them

You might ask, as many young women do, what is there still left to fight for? Although my generation of feminists and those that came before chalked up numerous victories, women are far from liberated. Levels of male violence towards women and girls are off the scale, as we have seen with the tragic events of recent weeks.

Convtiction rates are so low that rape has been more or less decriminalised. Sexual harassment is endemic in our secondary schools and still a problem for many women in the workplace.

Many young women claim to be feminists, but seem to spend their time dismissing those of us who do the work  as opposed to simply talk the talk  as irrelevant, bigoted, and past it. Do these women even know about the battles weve fought and won to afford them some freedom?

Julie said in the current climate of misogyny, many young women are turning on feminists like her rather than pointing the finger at abusive men. Pictured: A rally to celebrate International Women's Day in 2020

In 2018, for example, Ash Sarkar, a media commentator, tweeted about the proposed changes to the Gender Recognition Act, claiming the introduction of self-identification would not have any effect on the rights of others. I replied: Unless you are a female in prison, one of the most disenfranchised groups on the planet of course. It was a reference to the case of Karen White, the transgender sex offender placed in a female prison who went on to sexually assault two female inmates.

When, in reply, Sarkar claimed bigots like me didnt care about women in prison, it was too much. Had she known her feminist history, she would have been aware that I am the founder of Justice for Women  a campaign I began in 1990  and have helped countless abused women get out of prison.

When I came to feminism, there were no laws protecting lesbians from discrimination and abuse; violent men often won custody of children when women left a marriage; and domestic violence was treated by police as a private matter. All of this changed because of active feminists, as opposed to those who sit on social media virtue-signalling.

In fact, a woman reporting rape five years ago had a much better chance of seeing justice done than she does today. There were 1,917 fewer rapists convicted in the year to December 2020 than in 2016-17, a decline of 64 per cent.

In the current climate of misogyny, many young women are turning on feminists like me rather than pointing the finger at abusive men. Yet there are young feminists doing invaluable work to challenge male violence and bring about womens liberation.

Julie said social media activism isn't the answer, as the #MeToo movement is no substitute for action. Pictured: A women's liberation protest in 1971

The campaigning group We Cant Consent to This, which successfully abolished the rough sex defence so often used by men who kill women, continues the work I was involved in as a young feminist when we, too, abolished the insidious defence of provocation, used by a number of men whod killed their wives because of nagging or alleged infidelity.

Of the 1,000-plus women attending the 50th anniversary of the Womens Liberation Movement conference in London, in February 2020, a minority, but significant number, were in their 20s.

And when I launched my new book last month in London, well over 100 of the 250 books I signed were for women under the age of 30, with some in their teens.

Right now, we need feminism more than ever, but not the kind that puts men first. In the real world prostitution is not a liberating career choice, and increasingly violent pornography is not sex-positive.

Neither is social media activism the answer. The #MeToo movement is no substitute for action. Lets point the finger at men who rape rather than expecting yet more women to lay bare their horrific experiences.

We live in a world in which rape, femicide and everyday abuse and harassment are ever present.

To change it, we need to be united and not divided by generational conflict. Somehow, and urgently, we must find a way to bridge the gap. Fighting among ourselves wastes time  and there is no time to lose.

Feminism for Women: The Real Route to Liberation, by Julie Bindel, (16.99, Little Brown) is out now.
Hospitalised Covid patients who have low antibody counts face a higher risk of dying from the virus than those with high levels, a study has confirmed.

Spanish researchers looked at nearly 100 critically ill coronavirus sufferers in ICUs in the first wave of the pandemic last spring.

They measured the levels of antibodies  virus-fighting proteins produced in response to infection  in their blood during their hospital battle.

These levels are a good indication of how well the immune system is firing.

The study found patients who had the lowest amount of antibodies were the least likely to survive the illness.

They also had the highest viral load, showing their bodies were struggling to stop the virus from multiplying.

The graphs show the level of Covid antibodies (left and middle graphs) and the amount of the virus present in the blood samples (right graph) of patients hospitalised with the virus in Spain, in relation to survival rates. The figures show that those who formed a more robust immune response against the virus were more likely to survive, while a higher viral load was linked with dying from the virus

The graphs show level of Covid antibodies IgM and IgG (left graphs) and the amount of the virus present in the blood samples (right graphs) among patients hospitalised with the virus in Spain, in relation to whether they died from Covid or survived it 30 days after admission. Low levels of the antibodies was a risk factor for subsequently dying from the virus, while a low viral load increased the chance of survival

Antibodies are molecules that bind to Covid's spike protein (pictured)  which the virus uses to invade cells  to it from multiplying in the body.

The researchers, from Spain's National Centre for Microbiology found, said their findings could help identify the 'optimal' antibody levels needed to recover.

Antibodies are molecules that bind to Covid's spike protein  which the virus uses to invade cells  to it from multiplying in the body.

They make up one part of a broader immune response to the virus, which also includes memory cells.

These T cells are harder to measure and remember how to fight an infection long after antibody levels fade.

Antibodies can come from natural infection or vaccines and there is intense scientific debate over which response is stronger and longer-lasting.

The study, published in the Journal of Internal Medicine, examined blood samples taken from 92 critically ill patients at two hospitals in Spain who tested positive between March 16 and April 15 last year.

Professor Lockdown says ministers may need to resort to winter Covid 'Plan B' if daily admissions breach 1,200 England may have to resort to its winter Covid 'Plan B' if daily hospital admissions for the virus breach 1,200, 'Professor Lockdown ' Neil Ferguson suggested today. Boris Johnson announced last month that masks, social distancing and vaccine passports might need to be brought back if the NHS comes under unsustainable pressure. Ministers said the trigger point will be hospital rates now that the jabs have made case numbers less important  but they have not put a threshold on admissions. Professor Ferguson  a key Government adviser whose modelling prompted the first lockdown last March  suggested that England should not tolerate more than 1,200 daily hospitalisations. Speaking to a cross-party committee of MPs today, he said that the country was currently recording 600 Covid admissions per day. He added: 'If that figure were to double, we'd need to think about moving to "Plan B".' The Imperial College London epidemiologist called for 'more intense' curbs if there is a sharp rise in admissions. To get ahead of a winter wave, he said second doses for 16 and 17-year-olds could be brought forward and advised we are 'more aggressive' in administering boosters. Advertisement

They examined how much of two different Covid antibodies  called IgM and IgG  that the patients had in their blood within the first 24 hours of being admitted to hospital.

Ten patients had no detectable levels of the IgG antibody, while the IgM antibody was not detected in 13 patients.

Patients who died were more likely to have no or low levels of these two markers, the team said.

Older people struggle to mount much of an immune response, so too do immunosuppressed people or those with underlying heath conditions.

That's why they were targeted first with vaccines and why they are most vulnerable to the virus.

The Spanish researchers noted that patients in their study with the lowest antibody levels were admitted to ICU faster from the onset of symptoms, compared to those who had a stronger immune response.

As a result of the findings, medics could test patients blood for antibodies and viral load to identify earlier who is most at risk of becoming seriously unwell or dying from the virus, the researchers said.

The findings could help personalise how Covid ICU patients are treated, including whether monoclonal antibody treatment should be used, they added.

The treatment, which was approved by Britain's medical regulator in August, contains drugs casirivimab and imdevimab and is administered by injection or intravenously.

Costing 2,000 per patient, the brand new drug  made by US biotech firm Regeneron and Swiss company Roche  was found to slash the risk of death or hospitalisation by 70 per cent among patients with at least one risk factor for severe Covid.

It was the first treatment developed specifically to target Covid and be approved in the UK, after steroids and anti-inflammatories were repurposed to treat the virus.

The researchers noted that the blood samples were taken in the first wave, so their findings should be tested against patients hospitalised during subsequent waves.

And further studies are needed to confirm whether Covid antibodies block the virus from replicating, they said.

Dr Simon Clarke, a cellular microbiologist at the University of Reading, told MailOnline: 'This is not a surprising finding, we already know that people who don't mount a decent antibody response to Covid are more susceptible to the disease, it's why some younger people are due to be given vaccine boosters in the UK.

'But these findings do show us that there's a greater correlation between disease severity and antibody levels, this might well be used by doctors to predict the course of someone's disease and tailor their treatment accordingly.

'It's also a very useful reminder that merely having antibodies to the coronavirus does not automatically mean that we are protected from it, as some people assume.

'We need enough of the right types of antibodies for that to happen.'
The 'occasional' glass of wine is perfectly safe, scientists have insisted in a bid to put to bed fears that a tipple with dinner could be detrimental to health.

A landmark paper published in the Lancet in 2019 stoked fears that consuming even small amounts of alcohol is likely to cause changes in blood pressure and increase the risk of a stroke.

It overturned a mainstream theory that a regular glass of wine could actually be beneficial for heart health because of the protective antioxidants contained in the drink.

But the new report, by scientists from University College London and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine claims the Lancet analysis was flawed.

Sir Nicholas Wald, an expert in epidemiology and preventative medicine at UCL, told The Times that while it is difficult to define what a safe amount of alcohol is, it is not true to say a single glass is harmful.

He said: 'One cannot now say any amount of alcohol is harmful in the same way as one can say any amount of smoking is harmful.

'The occasional glass of wine or no more than a glass of beer, say, every other day would be acceptable given our current state of knowledge. One need not feel that the only safe alcohol intake is zero.'

The 'occasional glass of wine or glass of beer' with dinner is perfectly safe, scientists have claimed in a study

The NHS recommends that adults drink no more than 14 units each week  that's 14 single shots of spirit or six pints of beer or a bottle and a half of wine

Drinking three glasses of RED WINE a week can help to lower your blood pressure, study finds You should not feel guilty about drinking red wine in moderation during the week  in fact, it could give you health benefits, a study claimed in August. A team of experts in Germany and Northern Ireland looked at the link between consumption of flavonoids  found in red wine, among other food and drink  and blood pressure in a sample of nearly 1,000 German people. They found drinking three standard-sized glasses (125ml) of red wine a week can lower blood pressure. It's thought that flavonoids promote the relaxation of muscles in our arteries, allowing them to widen and therefore improving blood flow. However, the experts stress that if you dont drink alcohol already, you shouldnt start, and that boozers should always bare in mind official drinking guidelines. The study, published in the journal Hypertension, was conducted by scientists at Queens University Belfast and Kiel University in Germany. According to the team, flavonoids  the abundant nutrients in fruits, vegetables, tea and other plant-based foods  appear to have a positive effect on blood pressure levels. Flavonoids are broken down by the trillion-strong community of microorganisms in our gut, known as the microbiota. Advertisement

The new paper criticises the Lancet study's analytic techniques which were based on genetics.

In that study, Oxford scientists tracked half a million people in China from 2008 to 2017.

They compared one group who could not drink at all because they were allergic to alcohol and compared them to people who drank various levels of booze.

It focused on those who were genetically unable to drink as a reliable measure of abstinence to get around faulty self-reporting.

The analysis found the two-thirds of participants who were able to drink were at far higher risk of high blood pressure and strokes.

But the new study, published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, found a flaw in the analysis techniques used by the Oxford researchers.

Most major research into alcohol's effect on strokes and blood pressure show a 'J-shaped' relationship between alcohol and stroke risk.

People who abstain from drinking normally have a slightly higher risk than those who have a tipple in low quantities. But heavy drinkers are always at the highest risk.

When these risks are plotted on a graph, the curve takes the shape of a letter J.

The UCL and LSHTM researchers took a hypothetical population where they knew accurate statistical analysis should reveal this J shaped curve.

When they ran the statistical analysis used in the Lancet study, it did not produce the correct shape.

This left the researchers believing there was a flaw in the previous paper's methodology.

Professor Chris Frost, a medical statistician at LSHTM and one of the study's co-authors, said the study showed that while 'a little alcohol is acceptable... a lot is harmful'.

He said the paper should not encourage drinking but it serves to highlight there was a flaw in the analysis of the Lancet study which suggested there is no safe limit to consumption.

The UK chief medical officer guidelines say it is not safer to drink more than 14 units  6 pints or 1.6 bottles of wine  per week, spread over three days or more.
COVID-19 vaccines are effective at preventing infections and hospitalizations among U.S. veterans, a new study finds.

Researchers from the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Food and Drug Administration looked at data from the first three months of the shots' availability.

They found that the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines had an efficacy of 95 percent against infection and were 91 percent effective at preventing hospitalization.

There were also no deaths among fully vaccinated veterans.

The team says the findings shows how protective the vaccines were early on in the roll out and why it was so important to get veterans - who are a population at increased risk of severe Covid - immunized quickly.

Only 22.8 out of every 100,000 of full or partially vaccinated veterans tested positive for COVID-19, compared to 280 out of every 100,000 unvaccinated

Almost one out of every five veterans whose data was gathered were vaccinated for Covid, with older vets more likely to be vaccinated than their younger counterparts. Pictured: A soldier receives a shot of a Covid vaccine in Fort Knox, Kentucky, on September 9, 2021

Researchers gathered data from 6.6 million veterans between December 2020 to March 2021.

They found that 1.3 million - almost one out of every five - received at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine during that period.

Older veterans were more likely to have received the shots at this point than their younger counterparts, though researchers found little difference in vaccination rates across racial lines.

At the time, the Covid vaccines were not available to all Americans, but instead only to certain groups depending on what state someone live in.

Seniors were prioritized in basically every state - which is why older veterans had better vaccine coverage - but veterans with certain comorbidities or who were front line workers were eligible in some states as well.

More than 472,000 participants in the study had tested for COVID-19 at some point during the study period, with 15,000 positive cases being detected.

Of the positive cases, 41 were breakthrough cases detected in fully vaccinated people, 270 were in partially vaccinated veterans and 14,799 were among the unvaccinated.

Researchers, who published their findings in JAMA Network Open on Wednesday, found that only 22.8 out of every 100,000 participants who were at least partially vaccinated in the study contracted Covid.

The rate of infection is more than ten-fold for the unvaccinated, with 280 out of every 100,000 people contracting the virus.

When adjusting for other factors, such as age, race and geography, researchers found that the vaccine is 95 percent effective at preventing infection, and 91 percent effective at preventing hospitalization.

There were also no COVID-19 deaths among fully vaccinated participants in the study.

Partial vaccination - meaning receiving only one shot of a two-dose series - still provides protection as well with 64 percent vaccine effectiveness against infection.

One shot was also 48 percent effective at preventing hospitalization and 63 percent effective at preventing deaths, the researchers found.

While the results of the study do capture the initial effectiveness of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines, the situation in America has changed since data was captured.

The Delta variant, a highly contagious strain of the virus that caused a massive surge of cases in the U.S. over the summer, had not yet reached the nation in March.

More recent data also shows that the vaccine's effectiveness at preventing infection does wane over time, meaning the earliest adopters of the shots - who would be among those vaccinated seven months ago - will not be as protected now as they were then.

In order to combat the waning effectiveness, booster shots have been made available to people over the age of 65 or with comorbidities that put them at serious risk from the virus.

Currently in the U.S., 65 percent of people have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 56 percent of residents are fully vaccinated.

Just over six million booster doses have been administered as well, according to official data.
Scientists believe they've found the culprit behind nearly all neurological diseases, in a breakthrough that could offer hope to millions.

Dementia, Parkinson's and many other brain disorders are caused by key cells called neurons dying over time.

Researchers have now found other brain cells  known as astrocytes  play a 'critical role' in their death.

The star-shaped cells usually help clear away toxic particles that build up in the brain naturally or after head trauma, and are supposed to nourish neurons.

But laboratory tests on mice show astrocytes also release toxic fatty acids to kill off damaged neurons, confirming a suspicion many neurologists have had for years.

Lead researcher Professor Shane Liddelow, of New York University, said: 'Our findings show the toxic fatty acids produced by astrocytes play a critical role in brain cell death.'

He added that the results 'provide a promising new target for treating, and perhaps even preventing, many neurodegenerative diseases'.

Scientists say neuron killing toxic fatty acids produced by a type cell called an astrocyte could be driving force behind nearly all diseases affecting brain function, such as dementia

Dementia is the leading cause of death in UK and the developed world, with modern habits and increasing life expectancy to blame. It kills just over 66,000 Britons every year  the equivalent of one every 10 minutes.

Neurologists are racing to develop treatments but still don't fully understand some key aspects of the disease, such as what triggers the disease in some cases.

Astrocytes  which take the shape of a star  were known to keep neurons in the brain nourished and healthy and regulate bloodflow.

But the NYU scientists say they are also responsible for killing decaying neurons.

After coming up with the theory that two fatty acids were to blame, the NYU researchers tested it in mice with brain injuries.

They genetically engineered half of the rodents to shut down the production of long-chain saturated free fatty acids and phosphatidylcholines, and compared them to a control group.

In engineered mice 75 per cent of neurons survived, while in normal mice only 10 per cent of the neurons survived.

The findings back up widely-held beliefs that astrocytes produced a neuron-killing molecule to 'clear up' the damaged cells.

But the exact nature of the removal process was not understood.

It is not clear why astrocytes produce the toxins, but Professor Liddelow and colleagues said it was possible they evolved to destroy damaged neurons before they could harm their neighbours.

Writing in the journal Nature, he theorised that this normally-helpful process could be going rogue in diseases like dementia.

He said their discovery could prove groundbreaking in future research to treat brain diseases.

But Professor Liddelow cautioned that the technique used in mice is not ready to use on humans.

However, he added that researchers' next plan is to develop ways to use this treatment in people.

Professor Liddelow declared a financial interest in this study as he has a stake in AstronauTx a company targeting astrocytes as potential treatment for Alzheimer's.
Experts are urging the White House to drop its plan to roll out COVID-19 vaccine boosters to all Americans, according to a new report.

A group of vaccine experts outside the administration - some of whom even took part in President Biden's transition team - advised federal officials to narrow the scope of the booster rollout, sources familiar with the matter told POLITCO.

The intention to make additional shots of the vaccine available has been controversial among health experts since it was first unveiled in August.

Many doctors have vocally opposed third shots becoming available to all Americans, and the shots failed to receive approval from regulators by the targeted September 20 launch date.

Outside advisors reportedly told federal officials on September 27 to scrap plans to roll out COVID-19 vaccine boosters to all Americans. The booster rollout has faced many setbacks since its announcement in late August. Pictured: A woman in Miami, Florida, receives a Covid booster shot on October 5

Dr Anthony Fauci (pictured) was on the call with the outside advisors, and pushed back against their recommendations

POLITICO reports that the conversation occurred on September 27, and included Dr Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, and Cameron Webb, a White House policy advisor, among other leaders from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

It was a reportedly tense call, with Fauci and other federal officials pushing back on the advice from the outsiders.

'More than anything, it was like Fauci felt he needed to make a point,' a source with knowledge of the call told Politico.

The Biden administration first announced plans to make booster shots available to every American in late August.

Shots were to become available to all who received the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine, six months after receiving their second shots.

The plan was pending approval from regulators, however, and faced immediate backlash from health experts and some regulators.

A group of 18 senior FDA officials wrote a report opposing the booster shots, saying doses should instead be donated to other countries to prevent the emergence of variant abroad.

Among them were Dr Philip Krause and Dr Marion Gruber, two officials who plan to soon resign in protest of the White House decision to announce the booster shots before regulators had a chance to evaluate data.

Krause will leave in early November while Gruber plans to retire at the end of the month.

President Joe Biden (pictured) pushed to have boosters available to all Americans who received the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine by September 20, though the additional shots failed to get authorization from regulators

In late September, the FDA gave emergency use authorization for the Pfizer booster shot, but only to Americans over the age of 65 or those at high-risk due to underling conditions or their jobs.

Some advisors from the FDA and CDC both oppose the universal roll out of boosters due to limited evidence that the shots are needed at this time.

The Moderna vaccine booster is still pending approval, although data from the company has been submitted to regulators.

The one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine will likely receive a booster shot in the near future as well, with the firm submitting its application to the FDA just this week.

The White House wanted to roll out boosters to combat the waning efficacy of the available Covid vaccines.

Studies have found that the vaccine's effectiveness at preventing infections can drop below 50 percent months after it is administered.

While the risk for infections does go up, breakthrough cases still rarely result in hospitalization or death.

Because of the vaccine's ability to prevent serious cases of the virus, the FDA officials still find the two-shot regimen effective.

'Although the idea of further reducing the number of COVID-19 cases by enhancing immunity in vaccinated people is appealing, any decision to do so should be evidence-based and consider the benefits and risks for individuals and society,' the officials wrote in the report.

'COVID-19 vaccines continue to be effective against severe disease, including that caused by the Delta variant.

'Most of the observational studies on which this conclusion is based are, however, preliminary and difficult to interpret precisely due to potential confounding and selective reporting.'

Dr Anna Durbin, an international health professor at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, told DailyMail.com that the goals of advisors supporting booster shots for all Americans are 'unrealistic.'

'The advisors who are pro-booster expect sterilizing immunity - they want the vaccines to prevent infection. This is unrealistic given COVID is a respiratory virus and is not needed,' she wrote in an email.

'...Transmission from vaccinated people is not driving the spread of COVID, it is transmission from unvaccinated people.

'Getting everyone in the world vaccinated should be the priority.'

Currently, only around 46 percent of the global population has received at least one shot of a Covid vaccine.

The rollout is especially dire in Africa, where less than seven percent of the continent's population has been jabbed.

While a majority of Americans are fully vaccinated, variants could emerge elsewhere in the globe and eventually arrive stateside - like the Delta variant which originated in India.

Experts fear that a vaccine-resistant variant could eventually emerge as well, potentially putting the world back into the same situation from the beginning of the pandemic.
COVID-19 survivors under age 40 who lose their sense of smell are more likely to regain it than older patients are, a new study suggests.

Researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine looked at data from nearly 800 people who said they had lost the ability to smell after contracting the virus.

Younger patients were 10 percent more likely to have regained the sense after recovery than middle-aged or senior adults.

What's more, about one-quarter of those above age 40 reported having an abnormal sense of smell - either smelling things differently than they once did or a very muted sense once it returned.

A new study found that of COVID-19 survivors under age 40, 83.2% said they recovered their sense of smell in comparison with 74.5% of those above age 40 (file image)

In March 2020, the American Academy of Otolaryngology called on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to add anosmia - the inability to smell - to its list of potential signs of coronavirus.

Early studies had established a link, such as one from April 2020 jointly conducted by Italy and the UK, which found that 64 percent of patients reported an 'altered sense of smell or taste.'

At the time, the World Health Organization (WHO) said it was investigating a possible link between the two, but evidence was preliminary.

'A loss of smell or a loss of taste is something that we're looking into,' Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's technical lead for COVID-19 told reporters during media call in late March.

'We are reaching out to a number of countries and looking at the cases that have already been reported to see if this is a common feature. We don't have the answer to that yet.'

On April 27, the CDC added 'new loss of taste or smell' to its official list of symptoms.

However, it's been unclear since the start of the pandemic which factors are linked to recovery of loss of smell.

A new study, published last month in the American Journal of Otolaryngology, set out to answer that question.

Researchers gathered data on 798 adult participants between April 11, 2020 and June 25, 2021 who reported loss of smell in a web-based nationwide survey.

Participants received follow-up surveys 14 days, one month, three months, and six months after they first enrolled.

They were asked to rate their sense of smell as 'very good,' 'good,' 'poor,' 'very poor,' or 'absent' prior to the pandemic and during each survey.

On day 14, only about half of participants - about 52 percent - rated their sense of smell as 'good' or 'very good' after losing it.

By the six-month follow-up, this percentage has increased to 79.5 percent, meaning most people who lose their sense of smell recover.

Researchers found that factors such as race, sex, smoking history, and blood type were not predictors of recovery of smell - but age was.

Of those under age 40, 83.2 percent said they recovered their sense of smell in comparison with 74.5 percent of those under age 40, which is a difference of 10 percent.

What's more, 25.5 percent of patients above age 40 said their sense was 'abnormal' compare to 16.8 percent of adults under age 40.

The researchers are not sure why older patients are more likely to lose their sense of smell, but there are some theories.

People have a diminished sense of smell as they age with a loss of nerve endings and less mucus production in the nose, which may prevent smell from returning if it is lost during Covid infection.

Additionally, the lining of the nasal cavity may decline with age, leading to a higher risk of loss of smell in middle-age or as a senior citizen.

'Although little is currently known about what factors may portend a higher or lower likelihood of olfactory recovery,' the authors wrote.

'This study suggests recovery of function is positively associated with younger age patients and those with nasal congestion.'
The World Health Organization (WHO) had endorsed the world's first-ever malaria vaccine, which could save hundreds of thousands of lives every year.

On Wednesday, the agency commended widespread use of the RTS,S malaria vaccine - developed by British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) - for children in sub-Saharan Africa and in other regions with moderate to high levels of malaria transmission.

The jab has already been delivered to more than 800,000 children through an ongoing pilot program across Ghana, Kenya and Malawi.

WHO said that data show the vaccine is safe and effective, and is feasible to deliver to rural parts of the continent.

With more than 400,000 deaths globally every year - of which more than than 260,000 are African children - experts believe the vaccine could reduce the annual death toll dramatically over the next few years.

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The WHO recommended the use of the world's first-ever malaria vaccine in sub-Saharan Africa and in other regions with moderate to high levels of transmission. Pictured: WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announces the news during a press conference on Wednesday

The RTS,S vaccine (above), developed by GlaxoSmithKline, requires four doses to be given to children aged five months and older and can reduces hospitalizations and death by 70%

'This is a historic moment,' WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said during a press conference on Wednesday.

'The long-awaited malaria vaccine for children is a breakthrough for science, child health and malaria control.

'Using this vaccine on top of existing tools to prevent malaria could save tens of thousands of young lives each year.'

Malaria is a serious disease often caused by a parasite that commonly infects Anopheles mosquitoes, which in turn transmit the disease to humans.

It can also be transmitted - albeit less frequently - through blood transfusion, organ transplants, or needle-sharing.

People often develop a flu-like illness including fever, headaches, chills, muscle pain, nausea and vomiting.

About 400,000 people die from malaria globally every year with children under age five particularly susceptible. The disease claims the life of a child every two minutes.

Fifteen countries - all but one in sub-Saharan Africa - carry 80 percent of the global malaria burden.

It has been estimated that the vaccine, which has been in the making for three decades, could save 'millions' of lives.

The jab requires four doses to be given to children aged five months and older.

The jab has already been delivered to more than 800,000 children through an ongoing pilot program across Ghana, Kenya and Malawi

About 400,000 people die of malaria around the world every year, of which 260,000 are African children (file image)

HOW MANY PEOPLE DIE FROM MALARIA? Malaria continues to claim a significant number of lives. There were 229 million cases of malaria worldwide in 2019, up from 228 million in 2018. In 2017, 409,000 people died from malaria globally, down from 411,000 estimated deaths in 2018. Children under age five are particularly susceptible to malaria. The disease claims the life of a child every two minutes. Fifteen countries - all but one in sub-Saharan Africa - carry 80% of the global malaria burden. Source: World Health Organisation Advertisement

The WHO said the jab provides a 30 percent reduction in deadly severe malaria.

GSK said that when the jab is given in combination with seasonal administration of antimalarial drugs, the vaccine 'lowers clinical episodes of malaria, hospital admissions with severe malaria, and deaths by around 70 percent.'

'This long-awaited landmark decision can reinvigorate the fight against malaria in the region at a time when progress on malaria control has stalled,' said Thomas Breuer, chief global health officer at GSK, in a statement.

'Both real-world evidence and clinical trial data show that RTS,S, alongside other malaria prevention measures, has the potential to save hundreds of thousands of lives.'

Gavi, the international vaccine alliance, said the pilots showed that the vaccine can be successfully rolled into existing immunization programs.

'We have long hoped for an effective malaria vaccine and now for the first time ever, we have such a vaccine recommended for widespread use,' Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO's regional director for Africa, said during the press conference.

'Today's recommendation offers a glimmer of hope for the continent which shoulders the heaviest burden of the disease and we expect many more African children to be protected from malaria and grow into healthy adults.'

GSK said it is 'working with partners to develop solutions to ensure equitable and long-term access to the RTS,S vaccine for the people who need it'.

The company donated 10 million doses for the pilot scheme, which began in 2019 to test the feasibility of the rollout, and it has also committed to supply up to 15 million doses annually at no more than 5% above the cost of production.
Officials in Sweden and Denmark have paused use of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in younger age groups due to concerns about the shots causing rare heart inflammation.

The two Nordic nations - separated by only a dozen miles of the Kattegat sea area - announced the decision on Wednesday.

In Sweden, the Moderna jab will no longer be available to any one born after 1990, or those aged 30 and younger.

Denmark has restricted access to the vaccine to anyone under the age of 18.

Myocarditis and pericarditis, both types of inflammation of the heart, are known as side effects of the Covid vaccines, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) even warns that the condition may develop in young males after vaccination.

Heart inflammation is also a symptom of many viral infections like COVID-19, though, and the likelihood of developing the inflammation after infection is much higher than it is after vaccination.

Use of the Moderna vaccine has been paused in Sweden for people born after 1990 and in Denmark for people younger than 18 (file photo)

The Moderna vaccine has been tied to cases of heart inflammation, particularly in young people, leading to officials in the Nordic country putting a pause on its use in some populations. Pictured: A woman in Ishoej, Denmark, receives a dose of a COVID-19 vaccine on September 11

The Swedish health agency said it would pause using the shot for people born in 1991 and later as data pointed to an increase of myocarditis and pericarditis among youths and young adults who had been vaccinated.

The pause will last until December 1.

Those conditions involve an inflammation of the heart or its lining.

'The connection is especially clear when it comes to Moderna's vaccine Spikevax, especially after the second dose,' the health agency said, adding the risk of being affected was very small.

A Moderna spokesperson said in an email the company was aware of the decisions by regulators in Denmark and Sweden to pause the use of its vaccine in younger individuals because of the rare risk of myocarditis and or pericarditis.

'These are typically mild cases and individuals tend to recover within a short time following standard treatment and rest,' they wrote.

'The risk of myocarditis is substantially increased for those who contract COVID-19, and vaccination is the best way to protect against this.'

According to one U.S. study that has yet to undergo peer review young males under 20 are up to six times more likely to develop myocarditis after contracting COVID-19 than those who have been vaccinated.

Denmark said that, while it used the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine as its main option for people aged 12 to 17 years, it had decided to pause giving the Moderna vaccine to people below 18 according to a 'precautionary principle'.

In June, the CDC issued a warning that young males were at an increased risk of myocarditis after receiving the vaccine.

The label for both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were changed in the U.S. to reflect the warning, though usage was never paused.

Cases of inflammation after vaccination are rare, though they do occur often enough to concern regulators.

A recent study from Kaiser Permanente Southern California found that around seven out of every one million people that receive a two-shot COVID-19 vaccine will develop myocarditis.

People who receive the Covid vaccine are seven times as likely to develop heart inflamation after the second dose of the jab when compared to the first, finds a recent study by KPSC. Those who are unvaccinated are significantly more likely to develop myocarditis, however

The same study found that 47.5 out of every one million Covid patients experience heart inflammation.

While myocarditis will often resolve itself, it can be dangerous.

Heart inflammation can often lead to fatigue, shortness of breath and chest pain for patients.

People with inflamed hearts are at a higher risk for heart failure, heart attacks and strokes.

Attempting strenuous physical activity with an inflamed heart could also potentially lead to sudden cardiac arrest, or even death.
Merck & Co is selling its experimental COVID-19 pill that reduces the risk of hospitalizations and deaths to the U.S. government for 40 times what it cost to make.

According to a report from the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and King's College Hospital in London, a five-day course of the pill costs $17.74 to produce.

But for the same amount, the pharmaceutical company is charging the Biden administration $712, according to The Intercept.

The pill, which cut the rate of hospitalization and death in half compared to those who received a placebo, was meant to be a gamechanger because it is easier to distribute than monoclonal antibody treatments, which require an IV.

However, the exorbitant price might actually keep the drug out of reach of the patients who need it the most.

A five-day course of Merck's drug, molnupiravir (picturd), costs $17.74 to produce but the company is charging the Biden administration $712 for the same amount

Experts say the price will make the drug unaffordable for some while others will be able to afford it but won't want to take it if they are ill because of the price. Pictured: The Merck logo is seen at a gate to the Merck & Co campus in Rahway, New Jersey, July 2018

Molnupiravir is an antiviral drug that was developed at Emory University, in Atlanta, by its drug innovation company, Drug Innovation Ventures at Emory (DRIVE), which was licensed by Ridgeback Biotherapeutics in 2020.

Ridgeback later sold the worldwide rights to Merck & Co for an unknown amount.

In June, the government and Merck signed a $1.2 billion contract for 1.7 million courses of the drug once it receives FDA emergency use authorization.

That means each course of the drug would cost $1.41. But now it seems the drug will cost 600 times as much.

The federal government supplied $29 million in funding, as pointed out by The Intercept.

The Department of Defense provided $10 million in funding to Emory and the National Institutes of Health provided $19 million in grants.

Luis Gil Abinader, a senior researcher at Knowledge Ecology International, told The Intercept the U.S. government has an obligation to make sure the medication is affordable because of the money it provided.

'The public funded this drug, and therefore the public has some rights, including the rights you have it available under reasonable terms,' he said.

But, in an interview with CNBC, Wendy Holman, the co-founder of Ridgeback, said the funding went to Emory, not to Ridegback when it was manufacturing molnupiravir.

'What they want to do, apparently, is to shape the narrative about who paid for the development of this drug in order to avoid demands from the public to make it available at reasonable prices,' Abinader told The Intercept.

Experts say what the $712 cost will ultimately mean is it will be unaffordable for some and others will be able to afford but won't want to take it if they are ill because of the price.

'Offering someone a $700 treatment when they don't yet feel that ill is going to mean that a lot of people are not going to take it,' Dr Dzintars Gotham, a physician at King's College Hospital in London who co-wrote the report about how much a molnupiravir cost to produce.

In the report, he and his colleague wrote that if Merck priced molnupiravir at $19.99, Merck would still earn a 10 percent profit.

Molnupiravir was originally meant to treat influenza and prevents the virus from making copies of itself by creating errors during viral RNA replication.

Animal studies conducted last year found molnupiravir could completely suppress viral transmission and prevent and reduce severe lung damage.

The new study tracked 775 adults with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 who were considered higher risk for severe illness due to health problems such as obesity, diabetes or heart disease.

Among patients taking molnupiravir, 7.3 percent were either hospitalized or died at the end of 30 days, compared with 14.1 percent of those getting the dummy pill.

There were no deaths in the drug group after that time period compared with eight deaths in the placebo group, according to Merck.

The results were released by the company and have not been peer-reviewed, but Merck says it plans to present them at a future medical meeting.

An independent group of medical experts monitoring the trial recommended stopping it early because the interim results were so strong.

Company executives said they are in discussions with the FDA and plan submit the data for review in coming days.

'It exceeded what I thought the drug might be able to do in this clinical trial,' Dr Dean Li, vice president of Merck research, told the Associated Press.

'When you see a 50 percent reduction in hospitalization or death, that's a substantial clinical impact.'

Side effects were reported by both groups in the Merck trial, but they were slightly more common among the group that received a dummy pill. The company did not specify the problems.
Investors who want to make an impact with their money have plenty of options, but admit to being sceptical of many.

There has been no let up with the launch of ESG and responsible funds in recent years as a new generation of investors put sustainability and the forefront of their finances.

Meanwhile, a selection of green investing funds and investment trusts can help them target companies tackling the impact of climate change and seeking to improve how the world does things

But if you want to invest back better, it can be tricky to work out what good your money is actually doing.

Investors are backing sustainable funds but remain concerned about greenwashing

While demand and interest grows, the funds industry faces an uphill battle over claims of 'greenwashing' and whether companies they invest in tick those Environmental, Social and Governance boxes.

The latest Triodos Impact Investing Survey reveals investors are calling for greater transparency for sustainable investments amid concerns funds are not as green as they make out to be.

More people have turned to investing in recent years, especially in an age of low rates on offer from savings accounts.

This paired with increasing environmental awareness - often dubbed the Greta factor after young campaigner Greta Thunberg - has focused minds on the role sustainable investment can play and demand is growing.

The upcoming COP26 summit will only serve to cement the role businesses and investors are expected to take in creating a more sustainable and less wasteful way of doing things, as has the Build Back better rallying cry adopted for the UK with gusto by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Investors are certainly chasing down opportunities. Figures from the Investment Association reveal that responsible funds have taken 6.7billion of investment in the first half of 2021. That is some 2.4billion more than the previous year.

And the recent Triodos survey shows three quarters of new investors prefer to invest in funds that make a positive impact on the planet, compared to 64 per cent of all investors.

It may be for good reason. A review published this week by 3D Investing shows investing for positive impact need not be at the expense of financial returns.

Of the 13 responsible funds in the IA UK All Companies sector, 69 per cent outperformed the average over the period.

The average responsible investment fund posted a 58.7 per cent return relative to a return of 44.2 per cent for the IA UK All Companies sector as a whole.

Not-so-green funds risk denting industry reputation

For investors looking to invest in responsible funds, they have plenty to choose from.

The dramatic shift in investment attitudes has meant the industry has had to adapt quickly.

There has been a proliferation of ESG and sustainable funds in recent years, including Morgan Stanley's UK Sustainable Fixed Income Opportunities Fund.

In the first half of this year, 21 ESG funds launched in the UK and 372 worldwide, according to Morningstar data.

The launch of these funds suggest they are listening, but the over-saturation of 'good' funds could well have jeopardised investment into genuine ESG investment prospects.

The lack of interest for Liontrust's now aborted ESG Trust in July led analysts to consider whether there were too many ESG funds available on the market.

A closer look at some of the available funds suggests why some investors are fatigued and are increasingly sensitive towards the effects of 'greenwashing', where companies exaggerate their green credentials.

The Triodos survey reveals a quarter of consumers who would not currently invest in an ethical fund question whether many investments are as ethical as they make out to be.

This is mainly because of the inconsistency when it comes to the language and approaches applied.

To overcome consumer scepticism fund managers also need to draw clear lines and boundaries on what is sustainable and what is not  for example on fossil fuels, arms or food and farming. Gareth Griffiths - Triodos Bank

Where some funds use the MSCI ESG screening, others opt to stay in line with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.

For example the top holdings in industry favourite Royal London Sustainable Leaders Trust are Prudential, Experian and SSE.

While not necessarily 'bad' companies, investors may struggle to see how they are particularly proactive when it comes to the environment.

Others like BMO Responsible Global Equity, whose holdings include Apple and PayPal, seem to put a heavy weighting on tech stocks. Again, these companies have been carefully assessed as fitting the strategy for a reason, but might not quite square with investor ambitions to make a positive impact on the environment with their money.

The vast majority - 79 per cent - of investors surveyed by Triodos are calling on banks and financial providers to be more transparent about where their money is going.

Gareth Griffiths, head of retail banking at Triodos Bank UK, says: 'To overcome consumer scepticism fund managers also need to draw clear lines and boundaries on what is sustainable and what is not  for example on fossil fuels, arms or food and farming.

'In the absence of clear product labelling or guidelines they must be transparent on their approach and align investment choices to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.'

It has meant investors are approaching their investments differently: they are playing close attention to how the funds are actually structured and managed.

More than three quarters of new investors want to see a full list of companies in a fund's portfolio, while 73 per cent want to know what the end impact of their investment will be.

The current landscape has been dominated by Blackrock's multi-billion dollar passive investment products, notably its thematic iShares ETFs. It now has more than 100 index and ETFs in its sustainable range.

For those keen to keep their investments strictly in line with their principles however, an active approach may work better.

A fifth of new investors surveyed by Triodos chose active funds specifically to make sure their investments remain aligned to their values.
The board of UK tech firm Blue Prism has hit back after a major shareholder lashed out at the proposed 1.1billion takeover by US private equity business Vista Equity Partners.

Coast Capital, which owns three million shares of Blue Prism, said last week it would not be voting in favour of the takeover and insisted the cash on offer for the business was materially below consensus valuation.

Blue Prism denied there was a clear conflict of interest. It agreed to the acquisition offer last month, urging investors to vote in favour of the bid worth 1,125p per share.

Blue Prism's board has defended itself after coming under fire from a major shareholder

The offer for the multinational software corporation, which counts eBay and the NHS among its customers, was at a premium of more than 35 per cent to the stocks price at the time of the initial approach in August.

Blue Prism was also previously in talks with TPG Capital over a possible offer.

The proposed transaction leads shareholders to question the boards clear conflict of interest in unanimously supporting a transaction which values the company materially below consensus valuation, 52-week high, and its average price since IPO, Coast Capital said last week.

But, in a note to investors on Wednesday, Blue Prism said it reached out to 15 strategic parties and 12 financial sponsors during its sale process and that assertions of conflicts of interest were entirely flawed.

The firms board also claimed to be experienced and unconflicted, noting that it had undertaken significant refreshment with the addition of three independent, non-executive directors this year.

Chair and CEO of Blue Prism Jason Kingdon

It added: The board's decision to recommend the Vista offer reflects its belief that the Vista offer provides greater value and less risk than Blue Prism's current standalone prospects and potential standalone alternatives.

The acquisition is in the best interests of Blue Prism shareholders, immediately delivering certain value without the execution risks associated with the necessary strategic investments envisaged.

The Board appreciates the constructive feedback it has received from Blue Prism shareholders and looks forward to further engagement with investors in the coming weeks.

Blue Prism shares are down by 0.7 per cent this morning to 1,142p. They are down 32.4 per cent since the start of 2021.
Cryptocurrencies are again having a good run, with Bitcoin soaring above $55,000 for the first time since May today, having surpassed the $50,000 mark yesterday.

The latest gains come as the world's most famous digital currency slid to almost $40,000 in September as China issued a ban on cryptocurrency transactions.

Bitcoin briefly climbed above $55,000 this afternoon after rising 8 per cent, leaving the currency some $10,000 away from the record high of $64,888 it hit in April, according to figures by Coindesk.

Rebound: Bitcoin soared above $50,000 for the first time in a month this week

Smaller coins, which tend to move in tandem with Bitcoin, also rose this week, with Ethereum hitting a near three-week high of over $3,500 and XRP reaching $1.09 yesterday.

Ethereum has continued to climb today, but XRP lost some of the gains and was trading flat at $1.07 by 3pm today. Bitcoin was up 7.8 per cent to 54,177.

Cryptocurrencies have been getting a boost from the US, with the chairman of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, announcing last week that the US had no plans to ban them.

Then yesterday, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) followed suit, with its chair Gary Gensler saying they had no intention of banning crypto either, pointing out that it would be up to Congress to decide.

Their remarks have come after China's central bank announced last month that all transactions of crypto-currencies were illegal, effectively banning digital tokens such as Bitcoin.

China's crackdown has weighed on cryptocurrencies, with Bitcoin also suffering after El Savadors bumpy start to incorporating the digital coin as legal tender.

Trading at around $52,300 this afternoon, Bitcoin is still some $13,000 away from its record high of $64,888 in April

Interest in cryptos seems to have waned a bit among younger investors, but banks and financial institutions continue to launch new crypto services to meet an overall rising demand.

Last month, the Post Office launched an app that allows customers access to markets to trade high-risk crypto-currencies.

Yesterday, US Bancorp announced the launch of a cryptocurrency custody service for institutional investment managers who have private funds in the US and Cayman Islands.

Also this week, Bank of America published its first research coverage focused on cryptocurrencies and other digital assets.

'This acceptance of cryptos makes them more mainstream which has led to a more correlated relationship with traditional assets, evidenced over the last few weeks as Bitcoin was following stocks lower on the back of concerns about the economy and the collapse of Evergrande,' said Daniela Hathorn, an analyst at DailyFX.

'But we may be at the start of a de-correlation as Bitcoin and most alt-coins have held gains over the last week despite weaker sentiment in the overall market.'

And added: 'The gap between $50,000 and $55,000 is a challenging one, an area that halted and reversed the bullish momentum at the beginning of September, so the next few sessions are going to be crucial to the continuation of the bullish trend.'

Martha Reyes, head of research at digital asset prime brokerage and exchange Bequant, said: 'The banks are capitulating one by one.

'For those of us working in the space, the fact that it's too big to ignore is hardly news, and the regulators certainly aren't ignoring it.'
A serial sex offender has had his deportation from the UK halted by a judge - because he said the Home Office should have asked him how he felt about his offending.

South African national Phile Ngema, 28, has been convicted of four indecent exposures, failing to obey community orders and has been subject of a sex offenders notice for 15 years.

During his most recent crime in 2018 he overtook his victim as she was walking through a park before waiting for her, staring at her as he exposed himself and carried out a sex act.

She told police 'He was looking at her straight in the eye' and that she thought he 'wanted her to see what he was doing'

But the Bristol-based offender won his appeal against a tribunal ruling which decided he should not be allowed to stay in the county.

Despite the seriousness of his crimes Upper Tribunal Judge Declan O'Callaghan said the Home Office  referred to as the respondent in his judgement  had not cross-examined Ngema about the proceedings and his views on his crimes.

He told the Immigration and Asylum Chamber at Field House, London that it meant the judge at that original hearing made an error in law by concluding he was a 'persistent offender'.

Judge O'Callaghan said: 'Unusually the respondent decided not to cross examine either the appellant or his witnesses before the First-tier Tribunal

Phile Ngema, 28, has been convicted in court of four indecent exposures since 2012

He is currently on the sex offenders' register after a series of crimes in the south west

On August 9, 2018, he targeted a woman just after 8.10am in Bristol's pretty Perrett Park

'It would not be appropriate for this Tribunal when considering materiality to consider issues upon which the appellant was not given a fair opportunity to comment on matters now said to be wholly adverse to him.

'I make the following observation with respect to the decision of the respondent not to cross examine the witnesses before the First-tier Tribunal, a decision said to have been made on the purported basis that there was nothing controversial in their evidence.

'It is striking that the appellant provides very little detail as to his conviction in 2018 beyond asserting that he pleaded not guilty.

'Whilst complaining that the victim changed her witness statement, there is no confirmation in the appellant's witness statement as to his attending a trial and being found guilty.

'I am surprised that the appellant was not cross-examined on his continued denial of the offence. Nor was there any engagement with the appellant as to how such denial impacts upon his ability to address sexual preoccupation and deviant fantasies linked to voyeurism.'

Ngema's convictions stretch back as far as June 8, 2012 where he was handed a community order at South Somerset and Mendip Magistrates Court for two indecent exposures.

A judge had ruled Ngema should be deported back to birth country South Africa in March

Foreign criminals on our streets soar to a record 11,000, new figures reveal The number of foreign criminals released from prison on to the streets has reached a record high of almost 11,000. Official figures show that at the end of June there were 10,882 foreign national offenders who had been released from jail but not deported. All are subject to deportation because they were handed prison sentences of at least 12 months. The 'staggering' total was up by nearly 1,500 in a year. It means four foreign criminals a day, on average, were freed to live in the community in the past 12 months. The latest total has rocketed by 176 per cent since 2012, when the number stood at less than 4,000. More than 3,000 foreign criminals have been living in the community for more than five years after completing their jail terms, Home Office data showed, while a further 4,000 have been on the streets for between one and five years. The numbers have surged during the pandemic. Hundreds are thought to have won their freedom after applying for bail under laws which say they can only be kept in immigration detention if there is a 'realistic prospect of imminent removal'. Advertisement

He had been near a care home when he committed the crimes and later claimed he could not remember them because he had been high on drugs.

The next year he was up at Taunton Crown Court again for indecent exposure and given another community order.

Again he said he had been high on drugs at the time and had not closed his curtains when he was watching pornography.

By September 21, 2015, he was in Bristol Crown Court for failing to comply with a community order then again on January 6, 2016, for the same offence.

Over a year later he was before Avon and Somerset Magistrates' Court to be convicted of three counts of failing to comply with notification requirements.

But on August 9, 2018, he targeted a woman just after 8.10am in the morning in Bristol's Perrett Park.

The female victim was walking through the park and approaching a 'zig-zag' path when she saw Ngema run down a hill and cut across her path.

He continued in the direction of the exit from the park which leads into a neighbouring road.

A she approached the same exit, she observed the appellant standing in an alcove by garages, making a fast and rhythmic movement.

She noticed that he had exposed himself and was performing a sex act, looking straight at her.

Ngema claimed he had been simply going to the toilet.

He was jailed in October 29, 2018, and placed on the sex offenders' register for seven years, which sparked the deportation bid.

Now his appeal has succeeded his case will be heard again in front of a tribunal.

A Home Office spokesperson said: 'We make no apology for trying to protect the public from serious, violent and persistent foreign national offenders

'Any foreign national who is convicted of a crime and given a prison sentence is considered for deportation at the earliest opportunity, and since January 2019 we have removed 8,441 foreign national offenders.

'Our New Plan for Immigration will stop the abuse of the system and expedite the removal of those who have no right to be here.'
Staff at Auschwitz who discovered anti-Semitic graffiti on the barracks of the former Nazi death camp have condemned the vandalism as an 'outrageous attack'.

Nine wooden barracks were spray-painted with anti-Semitic phrases and slogans denying the Holocaust, the Auschwitz museum and memorial centre said in a Twitter statement.

The graffiti included phrases in English and German, as well as two references to Old Testament sayings frequently used by anti-Semites, according to the memorial site.

The vandalism was discovered on Tuesday by staff on the barracks of the Auschwitz-Birkenau II site, which was the largest of the 40 camps that made up the Nazi complex.

Staff at Auschwitz have condemned anti-Semitic graffiti discovered on nine of the barracks of the former Nazi death camp

In a statement, the memorial centre condemned the vandalism as an 'outrageous attack on the symbol of one of the greatest tragedies in human history' and said it was a 'extremely painful blow' to the memory of the victims of the Nazi camp.

Staff have urged anyone who was in the area on Tuesday morning and may have witnessed the incident to contact them, particularly anyone with photographs taken at the entrance to Birkenau, near the Gate of Death, and at the barracks.

Police are currently investigating the incident. The force is analysing and compiling documentation and reviewing video footage.

A statement added: 'As soon as the police have compiled all the necessary documentation, the conservators of the Auschwitz memorial will begin removing traces of vandalism from historical building.'

The memorial site said although security measures at the 170-hectare site are being 'constantly expanded', fully enclosing the site would not be possible for some time.

The security systems are funded from the Museum's budget, but the memorial centre said the funds have suffered 'greatly' amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The vandalism was discovered on Tuesday by staff on the barracks (ruins pictured) of the Auschwitz-Birkenau II site, the largest of the 40 camps that made up the Nazi complex

The Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum and Memorial preserves the Auschwitz death camp set up on Polish soil by Nazi Germany during World War Two.

More than 1.1 million people, most of them Jews, perished in gas chambers at the camp or from starvation, cold and disease.

In 2010, a Swedish man was jailed for two years and eight months for plotting the theft of the infamous 15ft Arbeit macht frei metal sign, which hangs over the camp's entrance.

The deceitful Nazi slogan, which translates to Work Sets You Free, was meant to convey to the prisoners who passed under it that they could attain 'spiritual' freedom through hard work for the Fatherland.

But for most, it was the inscription on a gateway to a living hell.

The theft occurred in the night between December 17 and December 18, 2009.

Police tracked down the sign less than three days after it was stolen, finding it cut into three pieces in a forest.

Although vandalism at the memorial site is rare, the wall of a Jewish cemetery near the camp was also defaced with swastikas earlier this year.
A young woman who allegedly plied a 14-year-old girl with ice and GHB has been accused of trying to set the teenager's hijab on fire during a horrific kidnapping ordeal.

Elham Naaman, 24, allegedly detained the girl in June after taking her to a hotel room in Parramatta in western Sydney and giving her the illegal drugs.

Naaman is accused of then taking the girl to a unit in Greenacre in the city's south-west where she was sexually assaulted by a man.

The 24-year-old woman - who was known to the girl - also tried to set the teenager's hijab on fire and steal her iPhone, police allege.

Naaman was charged with kidnap in company, supplying a prohibited drug, stealing, intimidation and damaging property by fire with intent to injure after being arrested at Berkshire Park in Sydney's north-west on Sunday morning.

Naaman is not facing any sexual offence charges.

Elham Naaman, 24, (pictured) is accused of kidnapping a 14-year-old girl and trying to set her hijab on fire in June of this year

Police allege two other women and a man were involved in the kidnapping and they expect to make further arrests, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Naaman is accused of taking the girl to a unit in Greenacre in the city's south-west and plying her with drugs

Naaman was refused bail on Tuesday at Bankstown Local Court after a magistrate heard of her 'violent' criminal history, which included motor vehicle theft, common assault and destroying property.

Naaman was allegedly on parole after serving two years and nine months in prison for robbery when she subjected the 14-year-old to the terrifying ordeal.

She has also been charged over an unrelated incident in which she allegedly set fire to her studio apartment in Newcastle on August 14.

Police allege she deliberately lit the fire in an an attempt to destroy evidence of a stabbing.

Naaman allegedly texted an unknown person after the incident: 'I lit a hotel room on fire to cover your a**e'.

She will next face court over the Newcastle hotel room fire on October 12.
Shocking surveillance footage shows the moment three men repeatedly punched and stabbed a 19-year-old male victim after chasing him through the East Village in New York City.

In the video, captured Sunday at 5:45 pm, the victim darts between two parked cars on East Third Street, trying to evade his pursuers.

One man flings a metal scooter over the hood of one of the parked cars at the victim, knocking him down, and another grabs him.

Surveillance footage shows the moment three men repeatedly punch and stab a 19-year-old male victim in broad daylight in the East Village - a 14-year-old was charged with assault for the Sunday attack, and his two accomplices remain at large

In the video, captured at 5.45 pm, the victim darts between two parked cars on 254 East 3rd Street, trying to evade his pursuers

One man flings a metal scooter over the hood of one of the cars at the victim, knocking him down, and the other grabs him

One of the men holds the 19-year-old down while another man punches him repeatedly in the face

One of the attackers punches the 19-year-old repeatedly in the face as a third man runs up from the other direction, knife in hand.

Together, the trio punch and stab their victim until he manages to struggle free. The three attackers then run off and the bludgeoned victim manages to stagger away.

The victim was treated for stab wounds in his back and shoulder at Bellevue Hospital, according to the NYPD, and has since been released.

Police said they arrested a 14-year-old for his part in the assault on Monday.

Together, two of the assailants punch and stab the 19-year-old victim

After the victim manages to struggle free, all four men take off in different directions

The two other assailants, described as black men who wore dark clothing, are still on the loose.

NYPD Crime Stoppers is offering a $3,500 reward to anyone with information that leads to their arrest.

Sunday's incident comes as overall crime in New York City dropped in August after a summer crime wave that had city officials pointing fingers at one another.

Sunday's incident comes as overall crime in New York City dropped in August after a summer crime wave that had city officials pointing fingers at one another. The trend may be reversing, as weekly numbers ending on Sunday show that felony assaults are up by 7 percent, shootings are up by 1.6 percent and rapes are up by 2.2 percent as a whole compared to the same time last year

Total crime dropped by one percent in August compared to August 2020, with the biggest drops being in burglary (-24 percent) and shooting incidents (-30.7), according to the latest official monthly figures from the NYPD.

The trend may be reversing, as weekly numbers ending on Sunday show that felony assaults are up by 7 percent, shootings are up by 1.6 percent and rapes are up by 2.2 percent as a whole compared with the same time last year.
Eyebrow queen Kristin Fisher has explained to a court she made a 'dreadful mistake' when she was caught in the backseat of a cocaine dealer's car, and promised she would never use drugs again.

The glamorous 36-year-old celebrity eyebrow artist appeared in Waverley Local Court on Wednesday asking a magistrate to wipe her criminal conviction and accept her explanation.

Fisher was convicted in her absence a fortnight ago when she failed to turn up to court on three occasions after being charged with drug possession.

The mother-of-two was found in the passenger seat of a drug dealer's Kia Rio 'frantically' trying to evade police on July 17, with two bags of cocaine at her feet.

Magistrate Ross Hudson allowed Fisher to enter a guilty plea, and read two character references tendered to the court.

'I made a dreadful mistake... I remember going home and sitting in silence for hours and I was deeply embarrassed. I have vowed I will never do it again,' Fisher said in a letter to the court.

Eyebrow queen Kristin Fisher has explained to a court she made a 'dreadful mistake' when she was caught in the backseat of a cocaine dealer's car, and promised she would never use drugs again

Fisher arrived at court on Wednesday wearing a sleek black dress and matching face mask

Fisher's solicitor Michael Bowe said: 'Her referees speak glowingly of her, she's a community person who gives back from the success she's had in her business.'

Mr Bowe noted Fisher had endured an 'extremely difficult time' after the loss of her friend and general manager to suicide and the repeated Covid lockdowns.

'She wakes up every morning worrying about what's happening,' he said. 'It's been an extremely difficult time for her, as it has been for everybody.

'[Fisher] employs 12 people and can't operate through Zoom. There is no income and while the government has been good, it hasn't gone all the way to cover her bills and outcomes.'

She was found in the passenger seat of a drug dealer's Kia Rio 'frantically' trying to evade police on July 17

Mr Bowe mentioned her fundraising efforts during the NSW bushfires, in which she and her friends raised $250,000 for firefighters, to further exemplify her good nature.

Fisher again insisted she would have been present at her first court date if she was aware she was due to attend.

Mr Bowe said she was 'genuinely mortified' when she was listed as a no-show, adding she is a businesswoman and 'did not think this would just go away'.

Magistrate Hudson said on Wednesday 'there was no explanation to the court as to her absence,' and that he twice tried to give Fisher the benefit of the doubt.

Magistrate Hudson said Fisher's failure to appear in court on two occasions before he convicted her amounted to nothing more than 'a case of mismanagement'

'By way of background, Ms Fisher did not appear in court on July 17 and the matter was adjourned until August 24th because I gave her the benefit of the doubt,' he said.

Further letters and emails were sent to Fisher when she also failed to appear on that occasion with a final date set for September 21, the court heard.

Magistrate Hudson also scolded Fisher for attempting to purchase cocaine, stating the eastern suburbs community is 'fed up with drug dealing... it is a stain on our community'.

'People think cocaine and drug use is a part of a night out. They're wrong. It's not.'

Fisher, wearing a sleek black dress and matching face mask, interrupted her lawyer early on in the proceedings to ask the magistrate which email address the court notice was sent to.

'Can I ask how the email address is spelt? Because I didn't get it,' she said.

Her lawyer immediately turned around and lifted his hand, indicating she should be silent.

Mr Hudson accepted the guilty plea and said no conviction would be recorded if Fisher was of good behaviour for six months.

She must pay $1,500 in fines, including $1,000 for breaching COVID lockdown orders.

'Your reputation is what you're riding on,' he said. 'In terms of who you are and what you do, it's about your reputation.

'Not withstanding the years and years to build your reputation it takes seconds to destroy it. Hopefully you can now reflect on that.'

The glamorous 36-year-old celebrity eyebrow artist appeared in Waverley Local Court on Wednesday hoping the magistrate would wipe her record

Brooke Moody (pictured) was arrested alongside celebrity eyebrow artist Kristin Fisher after police found them both in possession of cocaine during a traffic stop in Bondi on July 17

The driver of the car Fisher was found in, later identified as 19-year-old private school graduate Brooke Moody, couldn't provide her passenger's name or a valid excuse for being outside of her own local government area.

'The policewoman, who recognised me and said I was the 'eyebrow girl', gave me a tiny piece of paper and told me to expect something in the mail. I stuck it on the fridge, I have kids... it disappeared, and I never received anything about going to court,' Fisher said.

'I am not a bad person... for God's sake I raised $250,000 for the bushfire victims, but no one wants to write about that.'

Both women were fined with breaching Covid health orders, while Fisher was charged with drug possession offences and Moody accused of being her dealer.

In January 2021, Fisher endured a personal tragedy when one of her close friends, Michele Singh (pictured together), took her own life hours after the pair had dinner together

Fisher also acknowledged that she's endured 'the toughest' few months of her life during lockdown.

'I'm just a small businessperson and it's been bloody tough with no income in lockdown... and the bills keep coming in, rent is $30,000 a month which I still owe from last year, my general manager died this year, I'm a single mum ... it's a lot,' she said.

The mother-of-two steadily worked her way up to being the go-to brow technician for Sydney's celebrity crowd, and has notched up an impressive list of socialite friends through her years in the industry.

The mother-of-two has had a tumultuous 18-months. She lost a close friend and workmate to suicide, dealt with romance rumours all while watching her business struggle during the Covid crisis.

Just 11 months earlier, Fisher renewed her vows in Las Vegas with Chris Barnes after 10 years together and seven years married

Fisher first found herself in the headlines back in June 2020, when she was forced to address whispers about her close relationship with leading hairdresser Tom Cole.

The pair had been spotted getting cosy at the ritzy Intercontinental Hotel, a stone's throw from both their businesses.

The hotel rendezvous came only months after Fisher boasted on social media she and husband Chris Barnes had renewed their wedding vows while on holiday in Las Vegas.

Fisher shared photos of the impromptu ceremony, revealing they had a maid of honour and best man join them, and the group dined on Chinese food for the reception.

But after word spread of her close relationship with Cole, Fisher revealed she'd separated from Barnes within months of returning home from the United States.

She said at the time the split was amicable for the sake of their two children, Eddie and Lila, and both parties maintained they will forever be a 'family' despite going separate ways.

The duo were dining with friends at Sean's Panaroma in Bondi on the evening of January 17 and the catch up was no different to any other

Both her and Cole maintained they had separated from their partners at the time.

In January 2021, Fisher endured a personal tragedy when her staff member and close friend, Michele Singh, took her own life hours after the pair had dinner together.

Fisher had hosted a dinner at Sean's Panaroma in Bondi for her staff on the evening of January 17, posting several photos on Instagram of the happy occasion and thanking her employees for a 'big year'.

Tragically, Ms Singh died alone in her home later that night. Police confirmed it was a suicide.

Fisher occasionally speaks on the heartache she felt after learning of the tragedy, revealing she was a 'one in a trillion' friend who 'was so adored and cherished by all'.

'You've left a gaping hole in so many hearts and I will forever be grateful that you came into my life... I will cherish our friendship forever,' she said in a moving tribute two days after Ms Singh's death.

In a happier life update, Fisher debuted her new romance with Jack Mann in September, sharing several sweet snaps together at the beach.

In a happier life update, Fisher debuted her new romance with Jack Mann in September of this year, sharing several sweet snaps together at the beach
A NSW public servant fired for helping homicide detectives catch a killer has spoken out about his ordeal as his lawyer revealed he was not even given an opportunity to respond to the reasons for his sacking.

Thomas Wood was working as a forensic investigator with Transport for NSW (TfNSW) when he saw media reports of Dennis James Pietrobon's arrest in May 2020 over the murder of Nicole Cartwright.

Mr Wood recognised him as a former TfNSW employee who he had investigated for his behaviour at work.

He called Crime Stoppers, telling them about his own investigations before Pietrobon was dismissed by the agency in 2019.

TfNSW then sacked Mr Wood for 'serious or willful misconduct' in giving out information about an employee while he was on paternity leave for the birth of his daughter.

'It came as an absolute shock. I don't think I slept for a number of days. The mental side of things has been an absolute challenge,' Mr Wood told A Current Affair about his sacking.

Thomas Wood (pictured) was wrongfully sacked from his job for helping the police with a murder investigation

'It came as an absolute shock. The mental side of things has been an absolute challenge,' Mr Wood told A Current Affair about his sacking

Mr Wood's lawyer Amanda Harvey said her client wasn't even given the chance to respond to TfNSW's reasons for the sacking.

'What was provided to them was clear information that he believed there was a legal basis that he should be going forward to police, and that is what he had done,' Ms Harvey said.

Ms Cartwright was killed on October 1, 2018, the night of her 32nd birthday, after meeting Pietrobon for a drug-fuelled 'puff and play' encounter. Her body was found covered in a bed sheet at a park in Sydney's north.

One of Mr Wood's investigations concerned an allegation that Pietrobon stalked and sexually harassed a colleague and had used fetish dating apps at work to download pornographic pictures.

Another was about Pietrobon's failure to disclose a conviction for punching a school student.

Nicole Cartwright (pictured) was killed in October 2018 on the night of her 32nd birthday

Ms Cartwright's body was found wrapped in a bed sheet in Buffalo Creek Reserve on Sydney's lower north shore

After calling Crime Stoppers, Mr Wood then told his manager and emailed superiors about 'information critical to possible murder investigation'.

But rather than help the police by supplying the records it had on Pietrobon, the department sacked Mr Wood and told the police there were no complaints recorded in Pietrobon's personnel file.

It was another nine months before the department provided Pietrobon's complete computer data to the police.

'I never thought an employer would take action against an employee for trying to assist NSW Police in relation to a murder,' Mr Wood told ACA.

Mr Wood was also advised that what he had done raised questions of whether TfNSW could 'continue to have trust and confidence in you as an employee'.

This week the NSW Supreme Court found Mr Wood's sacking was unlawful and that he was entitled to damages.

The court heard that police had already sought information about Pietrobon from TfNSW, before he was charged and before Mr Wood contacted Crime Stoppers.

The moment Dennis James Pietrobon was arrested by NSW Police

Pietrobon (pictured) killed himself in prison before he could face a trial charged with killing Nicole Cartwright on a date

Ms Cartwright's family thanked Mr Wood for his actions, providing a statement to ACA that read: 'We are surprised that Transport for NSW wouldn't give that information. We thank Thomas that he came forward with that.'

TfNSW defended its actions, saying its acting 'chief people officer' acted within contractual rights to sack Mr Wood for failure to maintain confidentiality regarding the unauthorised release of confidential information and failing to protect personal information collected by the department.

It tried to draw a distinction between information which had come into Mr Wood's possession as an employee, rather than as 'a natural person'.

It also claimed Mr Wood's interview with police after his dismissal was a breach of the department's code of conduct.

Acting Justice Monika Schmidt said it was difficult to see that the records would ever have been provided to police without Mr Wood coming forward.

Mr Wood was obliged to tell police of the information, she said.

'(TfNSW) was not above the law and could not constrain either the police, or Mr Wood providing his further assistance, as he did,' she said.

Why TfNSW embarked on a procedurally unfair course of sacking Mr Wood was 'simply unexplained'.

But the failure to call evidence from people who could have shed light on the issue supports the conclusion that their evidence would not have assisted the department's case, Justice Schmidt found.

Pietrobon took his own life in Parklea Correctional Centre last April before he could face trial for the murder of Ms Cartwright.

Ms Cartwright's body was found wrapped in a bed sheet in Buffalo Creek Reserve on Sydney's lower north shore.

Ms Harvey, said this situation should not be allowed to happen again.

'What happened to Thomas Wood is an extreme case of defective administration and a complete failure of procedural fairness,' she said.

'This case should be a reminder to government employers and statutory regulators that the fundamentals of procedural fairness and natural justice are of paramount importance, and defective allegations and decision making will not be tolerated.'
A lawyer for Joel Greenberg, the alleged wingman of Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz who pleaded guilty in May to sex trafficking a minor, has asked a judge for a second sentencing delay - this time until next March - as Greenberg cooperates with federal investigators.

Greenberg, 37, a former tax collector for Florida's Seminole County, has been central in the federal probe into whether Gaetz trafficked a minor for sex. As part of Greenberg's plea deal, he had 27 charges dropped against him in exchange for his cooperation and testimony.

He was slated for an August 19 sentencing before a judge approved his defense lawyer's request to delay the hearing until November 18. Now, he is asking to move the date again until March 2022, according to a newly filed motion obtained by the Orlando Sentinel.

Greenbergs attorney Fritz Scheller gave a similar reason for the delay as his first request and said that his client's work with federal investigators will not be finished by his sentencing date. He added that Greenberg's sentencing may differ based on the assistance he gives.

Joel Greenberg is asking for a second sentencing delay until March 2022 while he cooperates with federal investigators

Greenberg has been central in the federal probe into whether Republican Rep. Gaetz trafficked a minor for sex

Joel Greenberg's attorney Fritz Scheller argued that his work with the investigation will not be finished in time for his sentencing. He is pictured above outside the federal court after the plea hearing in May

Gaetz (center) has repeatedly denied any allegations against him. Roger Stone, Matt Gaetz and Joel Greenberg are pictured in a selfie together in 2017

'Pursuant to his plea agreement with the Government, Mr. Greenberg has been cooperating with the Government and has participated in a series of proffers. Said cooperation, which could impact his ultimate sentence, cannot be completed prior to the time of his sentencing,' the motion reads.

The parties expect that Mr. Greenberg will participate in additional proffers, and a continuance would provide Mr. Greenberg with additional time to do so prior to his sentencing.'

In the motion, Scheller writes that federal prosecutors already said they will not block the request, which boosts Greenberg's chances of it being granted.

Greenberg, who is currently being held at the Orange County Jail, faces a minimum of 12 years in federal prison for sex trafficking of a minor and five other federal charges, including ID theft, stalking and fraud.

The plea deal marked a turning point in the sprawling federal investigation that has roiled Florida politics and ensnared Gaetz, 39, one of former President Donald Trump's staunchest defenders in Congress.

As part of his plea agreement, Greenberg admitted that he recruited women he met from 'sugar daddy' websites for commercial sex acts and paid them more than $70,000 from 2016 to 2018, including at least one 17-year old girl he paid to have sex with him and others.

The minor is believed to be the same girl who Gaetz allegedly had sex with and trafficked across state lines, for which the Republican has been under investigation since last March. Investigators are also looking into allegations he paid women for ecstasy-fueled sex at Florida hotels after being introduced to them by Greenberg.

Gaetz has adamantly denied any wrongdoing.

Greenbergs guilty plea in May marked the first time he was seen in court since the Gaetz investigation blew into the public spotlight. Outside the courthouse that day, a plane flew over during the hearing pulling a banner that read: 'TICK TOCK MATT GAETZ.'

Greenberg, who is currently being held at the Orange County Jail, faces a minimum of 12 years in federal prison

He had 27 other charges dropped against him in exchange for his cooperation and testimony in the federal probe of Gaetz. Joel Greenberg was above with his wife Abby and their two children

Greenberg agreed in his plea deal to give substantial assistance to prosecutors by testifying at trials or in federal grand juries and handing over all documents or evidence that could help the investigation.

Prosecutors say Greenberg also used his position as the Seminole County tax collector to access a state drivers information database to 'investigate' the women he was having sex with and had searched for the underage girl at least once because he 'had reason to believe the minor was under the age of 18,' the plea agreement says.

For prosecutors to agree to reduce the charges from a staggering 33 to just six indicates that Greenberg has handed over information that is of significant value, legal experts told Business Insider in May.

An August public records request by the Orlando Sentinel and the Florida Center for Government Accountability - a watchdog group - revealed that he had also used the system to make hundreds of searches on political rivals, family members, county employees and even celebrities.

The searches took place between August 2017 and mid-June 2020, when he was arrested and resigned in disgrace amid the sex trafficking scandal.

Greenberg also admitted that he embezzled $400,000 from the Seminole County tax collectors office in fraudulent COVID-19 relief loans and bribed a federal employee to approve them.

A banner reading 'Tick Tock Matt Gaetz' was seen above the federal courthouse while Joel Greenberg pleaded guilty in May

Two weeks ago, Gaetz hired three NYC lawyers to represent him amid the probe, including one who represented John Gotti, Jeffrey Epstein and El Chapo. He is above with his wife Ginger Luckey, 26

Prosecutors have also been scrutinizing Gaetzs connections to the medical marijuana sector, including whether his associates sought to influence legislation Gaetz sponsored.

Meanwhile, two weeks ago, Gaetz hired three New York City lawyers to represent him amid the probe despite denying any allegations. One of those attorneys also represented John Gotti, Jeffrey Epstein and El Chapo.

'Based on hiring these attorneys, I think he could be taking an aggressive approach, to try to shred the credibility of the prosecution, perhaps turn the tables and put them on trial,' ex-assistant AG in New York Tristan Snell told the Daily Beast on September 27.

And in August, Gaetz eloped to Southern California to marry his girlfriend Ginger Luckey. Gaetz proposed to Luckey, a 26-year-old food analyst from Southern California, at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in December 2020 after eight months of dating.

A month before their marriage, Luckey's sister Roxanne, 20, took to TikTok to describe him as 'weird and creepy' and said she was 'unfortunately not surprised' at him being investigated for sex crimes.
A Canadian woman was hit with a $60,000 fine for feeding wild black bears a veritable feast, 'creating a public safety risk' that forced officials to euthanize the animals.

Whistler resident Zuzana Stevikova is accused of violating the Wildlife Act in British Columbia after purchasing ten cases of apples, 50 pounds of carrots and 180 eggs per week to feed the wild animals during the summer of 2018.

In July 2018, the Conservation Officer Service - an agency that investigates human-wildlife conflict prevention - received a complaint that someone had been feeding black bears in the Kadenwood neighborhood, according to the agency's Facebook page.

The illegal feeding led to three black bears, pictured, being euthanized after they became so used to their weekly feedings that they no longer showed fear of humans

Pictured: one of the three black bears that officials were forced to euthanize after a Canadian woman fed them throughout the summer of 2018

Their investigation determined that Stevikova was feeding the animals on her property throughout the summer of 2018, and would purchase more food for the bears every week.

Stevikova was charged with leaving 'matter to attract dangerous wildlife,' and 'feeding or attempt to feed dangerous wildlife.'

'Bulk produce  including up to 10 cases of apples, 50 pounds of carrots and up to 15 dozen eggs  was purchased on a weekly basis to feed the bears,' the Conservation Officer Service said Friday on Facebook.

'These activities created an extraordinary public safety risk by conditioning bears to human food and presence.'

Another co-accused Canadian, Oliver Dugan, was hit with similar charges, however his charges were stayed, meaning the Crown has decided not to prosecute his case, as per Canadian law, according to the Vancouver Sun.

'The suspects allegedly purchased large quantities of apples, carrots, pears, eggs and almonds to leave out for the animals,' officials explained in the Facebook post.

The illegal feeding led to three black bears being euthanized after they became so used to their weekly feedings that they no longer showed fear of humans while causing property damage throughout the neighborhood.

'Illegally feeding or placing attractants to lure dangerous wildlife, such as bears, is an extremely dangerous activity,' Conservation Officer Service Sgt. Simon Gravel said on Facebook.

'Once bears learn to associate humans with food, it creates a public safety risk.'

$60,000 is the highest penalty ever imposed under the Wildlife Act, with authorities claiming the case as 'precedent-setting' for anyone similarly charged in the future.
Idaho Gov. Brad Little left his state to meet other GOP governors in Texas  only to have his lieutenant governor issue a sweeping executive order seeking to wipe away 'vaccine mandates.'

'Today, as Acting Governor, I fixed Gov. Little's Executive Order on 'vaccine passports' to make sure that K-12 schools and universities cannot require vaccinations OR require mandatory testing. I will continue to fight for your individual Liberty!' wrote Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin on Twitter Tuesday, announcing her move.

The order by McGeachin, who is elected separately, called vaccines a matter of 'personal choice' and said a vaccine passport 'encourages prejudice and discrimination.'

Little promised to immediately roll back the move upon his return.

Idaho Gov. Brad Little visited Texas to meet with GOP governors  only to see his state's lieutenant governor issue an executive order barring vaccine requirements for schools

He blasted in the move, making plain that McGeachin was freelancing, although the state constitution allows the LG to act in the governor's stead when he is out of state.

'I am in Texas performing my duties as the duly-elected governor of Idaho, and I haven not authorized the Lt. Governor to act on my behalf,' Little tweeted, before ripping McGeachin's move. He was an attending an event in Mission, Texas with state Gov. Greg Abbott to announce a state border security push.

'Before I even left the state, the Lt. Governor unabashedly requested information from the Adjutant General to deploy our National Guard to the border, the same place I am visiting today to work with my fellow Republican governors on solutions to the crisis,' he wrote.

LG Janice McGeachin said her order would 'fix' an executive order by the governor

She issued a statement as 'acting governor' while the governor was on a short trip

Idaho Lieutenant Governor Janice McGeachin speaks during a mask burning event at the Idaho Statehouse on March 6, 2021 in Boise, Idaho. Citizens and politicians gathered in at least 20 cities across the state to protest COVID-19 restrictions

A protester tosses a surgical mask into the fire during a mask burning event at the Idaho Statehouse on March 6, 2021 in Boise, Idaho. Citizens and politicians, including the Lieutenant Governor Janice McGeachin, gathered in at least 20 cities across the state to protest COVID-19 restrictions

Gov. Little continued the twitter war, saying he would rescind the order

Little bashed the move as 'political grandstanding'

He said McGeachin tried to activate Idaho National Guard forces in his absence

'Attempting to deploy our National Guard for political grandstanding is an affront to the Idaho constitution and insults the men and women who have dedicated their life to serving our state and the country,' he added.

McGeachin tried a similar move in May, when the governor attended a Republican Governors Association conference in Nashville.

The maneuvering of Idaho's top leaders came while Little was in Texas meeting with nine other Republican governors over concerns on how President Joe Biden is handling border issues.

McGeachin, a far-right Republican, is running for governor. In Idaho, the governor and lieutenant governor don't run on the same ticket.

She met with former President Donald Trump in June to discuss 'their efforts to push back against the radical left's attempts to indoctrinate America's schoolchildren with some of the most toxic and anti-American theories ever conceived.'

She says Trump called her after her appearance on Tucker Carlson's show on Fox News Channel.

McGeachins executive order issued Tuesday afternoon seeks, among other things, to prevent employers from requiring their employees be vaccinated against COVID-19. Most mainstream Republicans prefer to stay out of the employee-employer relationship.

'I will be rescinding and reversing any actions taken by the Lt. Governor when I return,' said Little.

Little was expected to be back in the state Wednesday evening.

FILE - In this Sept. 15, 2021 file photo Republican Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin addresses a rally on the Statehouse steps in Boise, Idaho. Idaho Gov. Brad Little said he will rescind an executive order involving COVID-19 vaccines by McGeachin, and the commanding general of the Idaho National Guard also on Tuesday, Oct. 5 told McGeachin she can't activate troops to send to the U.S.-Mexico border. Little and Major General Michael J. Garshak made the decisions as McGeachin attempted to exercise her authority as acting governor with Little out of the state. (AP Photo/Keith Ridler,File)

Also on Tuesday, McGeachin was rebuffed by Major General Michael J. Garshak in a query about activating troops and sending them to the U.S.-Mexico border.

'As of Wednesday, my constitutional authority as Governor affords me the power of activating the Idaho National Guard,' McGeachin wrote to Garshak in the letter obtained by The Associated Press. 'As the Adjutant General, I am requesting information from you on the steps needed for the Governor to activate the National Guard.'

Garshak replied with one paragraph on Tuesday afternoon.

'I am unaware of any request for Idaho National Guard assistance under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) from Texas or Arizona,' Garshak wrote, in part, to McGeachin. 'As you are aware, the Idaho National Guard is not a law enforcement agency.'

Little in June sent a team of Idaho State Police troopers to the border to help with intelligence gathering and investigative work to stop drugs from coming across the border.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas and Republican Gov. Doug Ducey of Arizona had requested the help under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact that empowers states to help other states in times of disasters or emergencies.

'On Sept 24, I spoke to my counterpart in Texas, Lt Gov. Dan Patricks office, and they affirmed the need for additional resources in helping the situation on our southern border,' McGeachin told Garshak.

McGeachin's office on Tuesday didn't respond to a request for comment.

'Attempting to deploy our National Guard for political grandstanding is an affront to the Idaho constitution and insults the men and women who have dedicated their life to serving our state and the country,' Little said in a statement.

In May when Little was out of state, she issued an executive order banning mask mandates that Little eliminated when he returned, saying mask mandate decisions were best left to local officials. Little has never issued a mask mandate.

Seeking to capitalize on the battle, the Democratic National Committee called it an Idaho 'clown show.'
Bemused Twitter users have mocked American 'freedom fighters' for declaring Australia needs to be 'saved' during protests in New York against perceived heavy-handed policing of Covid restrictions.

Hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets of the Big Apple on Monday and marched to the Australian consulate in Manhattan to rally against vaccine mandates and lockdown restrictions Down Under.

The protesters chanted 'Save Australia' and carried Australian flags and signs that read: 'What is happening in Melbourne?'

'People around the world are not allowed to go to restaurants. I watched my Australian friend live on Instagram,' said one man, during speeches outside the consulate.

Hundreds of Americans have bizarrely staged a mass protest to 'Save Australia' as Covid-19 vaccination mandates are enforced on teachers in New York (pictured)

The rally first began outside the Department of Education headquarters on Monday as New York's vaccine mandate for public school teachers and other education staff took effect

Protesters marched through the streets of New York (pictured) after a vaccine mandate was enforced for public school teachers

'What's going on in Australia is not just going to be Australia. And when it shows up on our doorsteps, we're gonna punch it right in the f***ing teeth,' another speaker said, referencing the recent vaccine mandates for authorised workers in Victoria.

But some Aussies reacted with amusement and anger to the belief their country needed 'saving', with many saying the US had its own more pressing problems to deal with before trying to rescue its Pacific ally.

'Not sure what Americans in NY are saving us from, but if it's a lack of American tourists entering Australia and clogging up our beaches, then thanks I guess,' one Aussie man tweeted, alongside a picture of a secluded beach.

'So thankful for those brave Americans protesting my rights to drink a beer at the beach,' another added sarcastically.

'Thank u Americans. #saveaustralia from our mind controlling fascist dictatorship. Love from #noosa xoxo,' one woman joked, sharing a photo of Aussies at the beach enjoying sunny weather.

Many were quick to suggest the US should stick to addressing its own social issues before worrying about Australia.

'Save Australia from what exactly?! Medicare? Free healthcare? Gun control? No school shootings? Four week annual leave? Maternity/parental leave? Sick leave? Access to the Covid-19 vaccination?' one person tweeted.

1000s of protesters against the mandates gather outside the Australians general office in NYC and chant " WE SUPPORT AUSTRALIA " #Australia #NYC #Mondayvibes #VaccineMandate pic.twitter.com/BtowDLeBor  Leeroy Johnson (@LeeroyPress) October 4, 2021

Protesters are seen walking through the streets of Brooklyn during a Freedom Rally in New York

The surprising support coming out of America wasn't exactly well received by Aussies who bluntly said they 'didn't need saving'

One Aussie took aim at Americans following the protests in New York

One Australian woman questioned just what the American protesters were saving her from

The lengthy and strict lockdown policies in Australia and creeping vaccination mandates for a broadening range of occupations had sparked much comment internationally.

Top-rating Fox News commentator Tucker Carlson had been among those who had been very critical of Australian policies, bringing the situation Down Under to the attention of an American audience.

'It looks a lot like China did at the beginning of the pandemic that's the sad truth,' Carlson said about Australia last week.

'One moment the English-speaking world is mocking China for being dystopian and autocratic the next moment they're aping China and hunting people down who are two blocks from their own home.'

However many Twitter users believed the US protesters should mind their own business.

'Hey USA, we don't need you to #SaveAustralia. Your track record for 'saving' or thinking people need saving isn't crash hot. We aren't in any trouble, we have freedom too, it's just that we just care more about our people surviving than money. Thanks for the thought I guess,' an Australian woman wrote.

'Save Australia!!! We are being held captive here by universal healthcare, no guns, abundant sunshine and low Covid rates. Help!!!' The Guardian Australia's Paul Karp sarcastically tweeted.

'Before Covid we had 30 years of uninterrupted economic growth  so obviously we're worked hard. The dictators make us put 10% of our salary into super (401K) so we don't retire in poverty. Where is the freedom?!?'

'Don't think we need #SaveAustralia. Maybe come back to us with some tips for gun control and preferential voting when you're ready,' a fifth said.

'Americans shouting 'save Australia' would mean something if they actually could find us on a map #SaveAustralia,' one fired back.

'Next thing they'll be having ads: For just $1/ day you could support an Australian,' another posted.

Some pointed out the US might want to take a leaf out of Australia's book on how to handle the Covid-19 pandemic.

'New York has a population of 8 million and has had 55,000 deaths due to Covid,' one person said.

'Victoria has a population of 6.7 million and a Covid death toll of 877.'

'The irony of a nation that 1. Lacks universal healthcare 2. Leads the world table in number of Covid deaths 3. Is marching in NY where they were literally burying bodies into mass graves due to Covid to save us? Save yourself,' another Tweeted.

However, some Twitter users were grateful for the support.

'God Bless the people of New York,' one tweeted.

'Thank you to all the awesome New Yorkers for your support! Love from Australia!' said another.

'Look people on the other side of the world care more about Australia than the people who live here,' a third Aussie wrote.

On Wednesday, the hashtag 'Save Australia' became one of the top trending phrases on Twitter, featuring in almost 10,000 tweets, as thousands weighed in on the protest.

The rally began outside the Department of Education headquarters on Monday as New York's own vaccine mandate for public school teachers and other education staff took effect.

The heated scenes come as Joe Biden's press chief was questioned over vaccine mandates, with reference to directives in Australia causing 'disturbing images' at protests in Melbourne.

A reporter asked President Joe Biden's Press Secretary Jen Psaki at a White House press conference whether he would consider similar measures enforced in Australia if case numbers rose during the US winter.

But some Aussies thanked those in the US for standing up for them despite being so far away

'We're seeing very disturbing images out of Australia,' a reporter asked her.

'Does President Biden support what the Australian government is doing in their country? And would he consider similar measures in the United States?'

Ms Psaki danced around the question and said the US would stick to their own policies.

'The President has been pursuing our own policies here in the United States, which has led to nearly 80 percent of the American public getting at least one shot and bringing the cases of Covid down dramatically over the past several months,' Ms Psaki responded.

'So, we'll continue to abide by and conduct our own policies.'

The US protests follow similar rallies seen in Victoria after vaccine mandates were enforced for all authorised workers in the state, who must be fully vaccinated by November 25.

When the mandate was given to construction workers two weeks ago, protesters filled the streets, damaging buildings and police cars and hundreds had to be taken away in handcuffs.

The New York protest isn't the first time Americans have criticised the government's handling of the pandemic in Australia, with a Texan citizens' lobbying group comparing the country to a prison.

The Texas Freedom Coalition earlier posted a meme to its Facebook page that equates Australia's strict Covid-19 lockdown laws to a penitentiary system.

Police had to intervene after one protester reportedly flipped over a Covid-19 testing table while another tried to pull a tent down

The Texas freedom coalition shared the meme to its Facebook group comparing Australian lockdowns to prison (pictured)

A map of Australia is pictured alongside the text: 'What the world's largest prison looks like from space'.

In a caption written alongside the meme the Texas Freedom Coalition wrote: 'Pray for Australia. It's almost unbelievable what is happening there'.

Fox News presenter Laura Ingraham earlier ridiculed the drastic stay-at-home orders that have been enforced across Sydney for now four months despite a '0.004 case to population ratio'.

'It's been seven weeks of lockdown in Sydney, Australia and they're still keeping the vice grip on the population,' the TV host said during a news segment in August.

The news anchor held back her laughter as she poked fun at the 'whopping' rise in cases and mocked the state government's reaction to keeping the city locked down.

'The population of New South Wales: 8.2 million,' Ingraham said.

'Meaning a case-to-population ratio of .004 per cent. They locked down for that.'

She then turned her attention to Canberra calling the city 'insane' after the Australian capital announced it would enforce a seven-day lockdown.

The decision came after the city recorded its first Covid-19 case in a year.

'The capital city has a population of 400,000. They have just entered a snap lockdown over one case. A single case,' Ms Ingraham said before breaking into laughter.
A desperate Queensland publican has offered a $1,000 cash bonus to anyone who is willing to work behind the bar or in the kitchen.

The owner of Kenilworth Hotel, Steve Conway, said he was getting too old at 53 to be working 70 to 80 hour weeks running the popular business, located about 50 kilometres inland of the Sunshine Coast.

However it has proven 'impossible' to find bar and kitchen staff to help out during the last 12 to 18 months even as most hospitality workers were out of work due to Covid restrictions, border closures and the destruction of the tourism industry.

A Queensland pub, the Kenilworth Hotel (pictured), has offered a $1,000 cash bonus to anyone willing and available to work behind the bar or in the kitchen

He said the $1,000 bonus was a last ditch effort to get interest in the position.

After advertising the position - and the bonus - on the pub's Facebook and Instagram, Mr Conway said five people expressed interest in the job but none showed up for their interviews.

'We can't give a job away,' Mr Conway said to The Courier Mail.

'I've never done it (the bonus) before in my life, but that's how tough it's been.'

Mr Conway's business is not the only one suffering, with a wider worker shortage crisis sweeping through the entire QLD hospitality and tourism sector, due to the absence of foreign students and working visa holders.

Pub owner Steve Conway (pictured), said he is getting too old to be working 70 to 80 hour weeks running the business but finding help has been 'impossible'

Unemployment figures for July 2021 from the state government said 6.1 per cent of the Sunshine Coast was unemployed.

Mr Conway said it is 'mind boggling' that while so many people are unemployed, he is unable to find staff.

He had been advertising for a chef for over 12 months, including bonuses and temporary accomodation but there wasn't a single application.

The business owner, who is also the treasurer for the Kenilworth Chamber of Commerce, said the pandemic has hit most shops in town due to the lack of backpackers and tourists looking for work.

Mr Conway said it was mind boggling that 6.2 per cent of the Sunshine Coast was unemployed in July 2021 but he was unable to find staff for his pub (pictured)

He said one cafe in town had to shut because the owners needed a break from the workload without staff.

'I don't see it ending any time soon,' he commented.

Lisa Nicholls, who owns the cafe McGinns of Kenilworth, had been working 13 hour days, seven days a week for the past 16 weeks.

She too had advertised for new staff but received no applicants, forcing husband Tim to lend a helping hand.

She said the shortage of housing in the town contributed to the difficulty in attracting staff as new workers faced the prospect of long commutes.

Daniel Gschwind, Queensland Tourism Industry Council chief executive, said figures from May revealed there were 3916 job vacancies in the tourism and hospitality industry across the state.

As a result, the state government was spending $40 million of taxpayers money in a Tourism and Hospitality Sector Hardship Program to prop up businesses at risk of going under.

Mojo Recruitment spokesman Julian Bakarich commented businesses in regional towns such as the Kenilworth Hotel (pictured) were struggling due to a lack of workers on tourist visas

Mojo Recruitment spokesman Julian Bakarich said the lack of foreign and Australian casual workers due to Queensland's strict borders was the source of the staff shortage.

'Domestic travellers have also been a large resource for younger Australians to tour, and stop and settle for a while making some money and saving for their next leg of the journey,' Mr Bakarich said.

'Queensland's strict border policy with other states has directly impacted the people allowed into the state that would traditionally use places like Kenilworth as one of their stops.

Richard Stone from recruitment firm Hays said regional towns like Kenilworth are always going to struggle for staff as it is about an hour's drive from the nearest large population centre on the Sunshine Coast.

Mr Stone agreed this was being exacerbated by the lack of backpacker labourers.
A stubborn crocodile has caused a massive roadblock in outback Australia, refusing to move for a 4WD until the driver impatiently used his horn.

Jordan Waterbury shared footage to TikTok showing his vehicle stopped in its tracks late at night by the monster croc in the Northern Territory.

The video begins by tracking how the vehicle slowly approaches a submerged part of a remote road, as Mr Waterbury honks the car horn at the crocodile gliding through the water.

The crocodile begins to approach the stopped vehicle before it suddenly makes a huge splash and quickly turns in the opposite direction.

Mr Waterbury shouts 'get off the road' as the croc leers back into the darkness.

The mammoth beast refuses to move off the road for several seconds, creating a clear blockage.

Jordan Waterbury shared the footage to TikTok after the vehicle he was travelling in was stopped in its tracks late at night by the large animal along a road in the Northern Territory

It isn't until the driver uses his car horn for a second time that the stubborn croc decides to move off the road and swiftly crawl into the darkness.

Many users of the social media site joked that the reptile was a sort of speed hump seen in the outback.

One user wrote: 'Roadblock? That's just a speed bump.'

The stubborn crocodile stopped and refused to move off the road for several seconds before the sound of the car horn suddenly caused the reptile to swiftly move to the side of the road

'Just an outback speed hump,' wrote another.

However, another individual believed the vehicle's bright headlights may have confused the croc.

'The lights disoriented him. He hasn't got a clue where to go,' they said.

The Northern Territory has the world's largest wild crocodile population, with over 100,000 in the wild.

Crocodiles can be located more than 200km from the coast in freshwater lakes.

Individuals living in croc-infested regions are asked to avoid the animals in the wild and observe any signs to stay safe.
Melbourne has endured so many lockdowns while Brisbane keeps avoiding a major Covid outbreak partly is due to contrasting weather, experts claim.

Several serious outbreaks killed 888 people in Victoria, but just seven died in Queensland as its clusters never expanded beyond a handful of cases.

Melbourne had six lockdowns, and holds the world record as the world's most locked-down city, but Brisbane only nipped in and out of short ones.

Professor Nigel McMillan, from Menzies Health on the Gold Coast, and Professor James Trauer, from Monash University, both pointed to weather, and the lifestyle that goes with it.

Melbourne (pictured) has endured so many lockdowns while Brisbane keeps avoiding a major Covid outbreak partly is due to contrasting weather

Brisbane enjoys three times as many sunny days as Melbourne, one factor in the two towns' dramatically different Covid experiences

Brisbane has an average of 126 clear sunny days a year, nearly three times as many as Melbourne's 46, while for seven months a year the Queensland capital gets between two and five hours more sunshine each day.

Sydney gets 107 clear sunny days a year.

'The sun has a role for sure,' Professor McMillan told Daily Mail Australia.

'The general principle is that micro organisms are killed by sunlight fairly efficiently. It's the UV light that sterilises the virus.'

International researchers found in several studies that ultraviolet light from direct sunlight kills SARS-CoV-2, especially on softer surfaces.

'The sun is excellent, this is one reason why the Howard Springs quarantine facility in the Northern territory works so well, it has separate huts sitting out in the sun which makes it difficult for the virus to spread between them,' Professor McMillan said.

'Compare that to hotel quarantine, where no sun gets in and you share a ventilation system.'

People exercising along the Yarra River Melbourne where lockdown is still in place

A group of women are seen celebrating a birthday in New Farm Park in Brisbane

Other factors included compliance with masks and QR codes in Brisbane, a bigger base of people with Covid in Melbourne and higher density living in the Victorian capital.

Professor McMillan said Queensland's lower population also made the virus less likely to spread.

'Even in Brisbane we have fewer big apartment blocks,' he said.

Professor McMillan also believed using QR check-in codes and wearing masks indoors was more consistent in Queensland.

'Even in the latest outbreak we don't have many unlinked cases, which speaks to people being more compliant with those things,' he said.

He said as vaccination rates increased, Queensland was less likely to have a major outbreak because Covid wouldn't be able to spread rapidly.

However, Professor McMillan said it was 'inevitable' case numbers will grow as the state reopens its borders.

'It's going to come, it has to come,' he said.

'We've got to go through the same thing Victoria and NSW went through as we open borders.

Another day in lockdown in Melbourne's deserted streets, with its colder and rainy climate helping coronavirus spread

Melburnians get outside for some exercise during lockdown on a relatively fine day in the Victorian capital

'But the longer we can keep going with low case numbers the less of a problem it will be because our vaccination rates will continue to increase.'

He believed South Australia and Western Australia would also see cases rise when the virus made its way there.

'Every state that has no cases in it will have to go through a messy opening up phase where cases will come in. The virus is every where in the world and will work it way through the community,' he said.

'The longer they can keep it out before we reach 80 per cent of people vaccinated, the smaller that wave will be.'

Professor James Trauer, head of epidemiological Modelling at Monash University acknowledged weather was one factor behind Melbourne's Covid nightmare.

Howard Springs quarantine centre near Darwin helped keep coronavirus out of Australia and buy most of the country time to vaccinate enough to control outbreaks

Australian Olympians Morgan Mitchell and Annabelle Smith keeping busy during quarantine at Howard Springs

He also believed a combination of high density living and high incomes, meaning people live in small groups but regularly visit others for company, contributed to Melbourne's high case numbers.

'I think Melbourne, of all Australian cities, has that combination of factors that has made us at greater risk,' Professor Trauer said on 3AW radio.

He said some of the same factors were present in Sydney's sustained outbreak, but the NSW capital's progress should give hope to Victoria.

He said Sydney's declining number of cases should give hope to Melbourne that a vaccination-based approach should work there too.

On Wednesday Victoria announced 1,420 new locally acquired cases and four deaths - 877 people died during the entire pandemic.

Queensland remains on high alert although it recorded zero new cases and has seen only seven people die with Covid.
Top Republican politicians and parents expressed outrage at President Joe Biden's push to 'silence parents' who oppose or show dissent to the wave of woke school boards pushing CRT and COVID restrictions on their children.

On September 29, the National Association of School Boards (NASB) sent a letter to President Joe Biden claiming that 'America's public schools and its education leaders are under an immediate threat' due to 'attacks...for approving policies for masks'.

The letter likened parents' objections to 'a form of domestic terrorism' and fueled outrage.

Asra Nomani, a mom and the vice president of investigations and strategy at Parents Defending Education (PDE) , took to Twitter to express the 'serious problem' of classifying parents as 'domestic terrorists'.

'This is what a domestic terrorist looks like? You are criminalizing parenting, and you owe the people of America a swift apology.

An impassioned mother and the vice president of investigations and strategy at Parents Defending Education Asra Nomani (pictured) took to Twitter to respond to the NASB letter. She saidL 'This is what a domestic terrorist looks like? You are criminalizing parenting, and you owe the people of America a swift apology'

House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy issued a statement on Tuesday in response to Biden 'weaponizing' the DOJ to target parents seeking to be involved in their children's education.

The statement read: 'There has been a disturbing trend in the Democrat Party that wants to silence parents, and prevent them from having a say in their own childrens education.

'Parents have a fundamental right to be lawfully involved in their childrens education. We should encourage family participation in our school systems, not baselessly attack opposing views because some liberal education officials and special interest groups see it as a threat to the power they want to have over what children learn in Americas classrooms.

McCarthy then said that 'this latest decision by President Biden is yet another example of him using his executive power to federalize every sector in our society,' adding that 'he wants to use his DOJ to target American families who dare to ask questions'.

On September 29 the National Association of School Boards (NSB) sent a letter to President Joe Biden claiming that 'America's public schools and its education leaders are under an immediate threat' due to 'attacks...for approving policies for masks'. In it the NASB likened parents' objections to woke school boards to 'a form of domestic terrorism'

Nomani told DailyMail.com on Tuesday that she considers herself a 'survivor of Fairfax County, Virginia, public schools,' where her son graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology - Americas No 1 high school, according to US News and World Report - in June 2021.

She said she became an 'accidental activist' in June 2020.

'The white principal at my sons school told our mostly Asian, mostly immigrant parents that we needed to check our privileges."

'Born in India, I grew up very poor in our familys first years in the United States and reject the illiberal ideas of critical race theorys racist affinity groups and oppression matrix.'

Nomani said CRT 's ideas are 'divisive' and 'eliminate the merit-based admissions process to the school and replace it with an essential popularity contest.'

'As a liberal progressive feminist woman of color, I would urge President Joe Biden to reflect deeply on the classic liberal ideas of democracy, equality and free speech to recognize that his administration is waging a very dangerous and ill-advised war on parents who are simply seeking to raise their children in a world in which human beings are valued not by the color of their skin but the content of their character,' she said.

Nomani added: 'Nobody gets between a mama bear or papa bear and their cub. Nobody.'

In her five-minute-long video, Nomani said: 'I am a Muslim woman. I am a single mom. I am an immigrant to this country. For you to dare to try to smear parents as domestic terrorists just reflects just how tone deaf school boards and school administrators have become about the pleas of parents on behalf of their children.'

Nomani, 56, added: 'We are not the enemy. We are parents who brought children into the world and we take serious responsibility for all that happens to our children.'

The NASB 'has declared a war on parents and our children,' she said. 'We live and breathe for them and so when you declare a war on parents you declare a war on children. Think very hard about whether that's what you want your legacy to be.'

She captioned the video 'be the loving #UnapologeticParent that you are' and called on her nearly 64,000 followers to 'politely message' the NSBA.

Nomani even sarcastically changed her profile name on Twitter to read: 'Asra Q Nomani "Domestic Terrorist."'

The NASB had asked Biden for 'federal assistance to stop threats and acts of violence against public schoolchildren, public school board members and other public school district officials and educators'.

'Many public school officials are also facing physical threats because of propaganda purporting the false inclusion of critical race theory (CRT) within classroom instruction and curricula,' the letter read.

'These heinous actions could be the equivalent to a form of domestic terrorism and hate crimes.'

On Monday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) released an announcement that said it had engaged the FBI and local law enforcement to tackle the 'disturbing trend' of teachers being threatened or harassed.

The order came from Biden's Attorney General, Merrick Garland, and some say is proof Biden's administration is trying to outlaw any opinion that doesn't match its own.

House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (pictured) issued a statement on Tuesday in response to Biden 'weaponizing' the DOJ to target parents seeking to be involved in their children's education

AG Merrick Garland issued this memo yesterday warning parents that they will face prosecution for protesting against schools and teachers in a way the government deems to be threatening

Parents protest mask mandates in schools in Las Vegas, Nevada, on August 12

Garland failed to mention mask mandates, vaccine policies or CRT - the most widely contested issues in schools - in the memo issued on October 4.

He said the uptick in 'harassment, intimidation and threats of violence' has been in 'recent months,' a time in which woke school boards across the country have seen furious parents protest their policies and teachers quit their jobs over them.

Other Twitter users also slammed the memo, telling the NASB that 'most Americans are not behind your political agenda' and demanding that the DOJ 'follow the Constitution and the First Amendment'.

'Make this viral. (The) FBI is a disgusting and shameful organization,' someone replied.

However, not everyone agreed and one user responded to Nomani saying that no apology from the NASB was needed while another said she was 'trying to create a tsunami in a teacup'.

Some Twitter users also slammed the memo, telling the NASB that 'most Americans are not behind your political agenda' and demanding that the DOJ 'follow the Constitution and the First Amendment'

However, not everyone agreed and one user responded to Nomani's saying that no apology from the NASB was needed while another said she was 'trying to create a tsunami ini a teacup'

Along with McCarthy, Florida Governor Ron de Santis fumed that Garland is weaponizing the DOJ against parents.

Many accused Biden of implementing a double standard after laughing off far-left activists accosting Arizona Democratic Senator Kyrsten Sinema in a bathroom stall because she opposed Biden's $3.5trillion 'Build Back Better' bill.

In his memo, Garland said there was a 'disturbing' trend of violence.

'In recent months there has been a disturbing spike in harassment, intimidation and threats of violence against school administrators, board members, teachers and staff who participate in vital work of running our nation's public schools,' Garland wrote in his memo.

'While spirited debate about policy matters is protected under our Constitution, that protection does not extend to threats of violence or efforts to intimidate individuals based on their views.

'The Department takes these incidents seriously and is committed to using its authority and resources to discourage these threats, identify them when they occur and prosecute them when appropriate.

Attorney General Merrick Garland (pictured) issued a memorandum on Monday ordering law enforcement agencies across America and the FBI to 'address' the issue

'In the coming days, the Department will announce a series of measures designed to address the rise in criminal conduct directed toward school personnel.'

Parents have reacted angrily, questioning the evidence behind the apparent uptick in threats and asking if the same rule applies to teachers or school boards who try to ostracize them for protesting woke rules.

Many called it an 'abuse of power' and 'sickening' example of the government going after law-abiding parents.

'It seems there are two tiers of justice under the Biden Administration: Those who align with them politically and those who don't. Democrat rioters and Antifa destroyed cities and even threatened to burn it all to the ground if President Trump won reelection last year, and Attorney General Garland and FBI Director Wray have given them a pass.

'But the moment parents speak up about their children being taught poisonous Critical Race Theory, they spring into action and label these parents 'domestic terrorists.'

'It's truly sickening,' Rep Dan Bishop said in a statement to DailyMail.com.

'Attorney General Garland's memo is a complete abuse of power and is clearly an attempt to silence parents for exercising their First Amendment rights on behalf of their children.

'What we are seeing across the country is parents finally stepping up and petitioning their local government for redress of grievances.

A blatant effort to chill the freedom of speech of passionate moms and dads Ian Prior, former Principal Deputy Director of Public Affairs at DOJ

'While legitimate threats of violence are of course unacceptable and should be handled by local law enforcement, the Department of Justice has engaged in a frightening escalation with this shot across the bow of passionate moms and dads in a blatant effort to chill their freedom of speech,' Ian Prior, former Principal Deputy Director of Public Affairs at DOJ told DailyMail.com on Tuesday morning.

Rep Ken Buck called the effort 'shameful'.

'AG Garland is more focused on using the DOJ to intimidate parents exercising their 1st amendment rights, than he is in stopping the spike in violent crime. Totally shameful,' he tweeted.

'I'm deeply concerned the already politicized Department of Justice is getting involved in our education system,' said Congresswoman Lisa McClain (R-MI).

'Threats of violence are completely unacceptable; however, this is nothing more than a scare tactic to silence parents who are pushing back against unnecessary mandates and an agenda they disagree with being forced down our children's throats. Rep Ken Buck called the effort 'shameful'.

The memorandum comes amid ongoing battles over mask mandates in public schools for kids.

In California, parent-run groups have sued the state to overturn the mandate which they say infringes on their children's rights unnecessarily.

All kids and staff in New York schools must also wear masks indoors.

Many parents say it's unnecessary when fewer than 500 kids have died from COVID since the start of the pandemic - far fewer than the number of children who die every year in car accidents, drownings, or shootings.

The NASB wrote to Biden last week asking him to enlist law enforcement to protect teachers amid ongoing debate over mask mandates, vaccinate policies and liberal lessons.

'America's public schools and its education leaders are under an immediate threat,' the letter to Biden said.

The memorandum adds fuel to the fire over COVID policies and woke curriculum in schools across the country.

This week, California became the first state to mandate vaccines in all schools for kids once they receive full FDA approval.

Some parents said it was a premature move, given the lack of evidence surrounding the effects of vaccines on kids under 12 and the increasing evidence that COVID in kids is less deadly than in adults.

'I think any mandate on this vaccine for kids is way too soon.

'We keep hearing the buzzwords 'safe' and 'effective,' but I think the question for kids should be: is this necessary?' Sarah Burwick, a lawyer in Los Angeles and parent of a soon-to-be five-year-old told the AP when it was announced.

Loudoun County in Virginia has become a microcosm for the issues that are tearing teachers and parents apart across the country.

The school board there has seen teachers quit in protest over transgender policies that include allowing kids to use whichever gender's bathroom they want to on any given day, and making staff adopt chosen pronouns.

Now, the county is considering paying reparations to black residents.
The Biden administration on Tuesday revealed it has more than 3,000 nuclear warheads as it released numbers for the first time since former President Trump stopped publishing numbers.

Releasing the information was essential for disarmament efforts, said officials, as the State Department revealed that the arsenal held 3,750 warheads.

It comes as the Biden administration pursues an arms control deal with Russia but as tensions soar in the South China Sea as Beijing adopts an increasingly aggressive posture against Taiwan.

The size of the U.S. stockpile is down from the 3,805 a year earlier and 3,785 in 2018, according to the data.

The total was more than 10,000 in 2003 but peaked at more than 31,000 in 1967.

'Increasing the transparency of states nuclear stockpiles is important to nonproliferation and disarmament efforts, including commitments under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and efforts to address all types of nuclear weapons, including deployed and nondeployed, and strategic and non-strategic,' said the National Nuclear Security Administration, part of the Department of Energy which is responsible for maintaining the safety of the stockpile.

In addition, it said, the U.S. has another 2,000 'retired' warheads awaiting dismantlement.

The Biden administration ended the Trump-era secrecy over nuclear warhead numbers, saying the U.S. had about 3,750 - a small decrease over the past two years

A chart published by the National Nuclear Security Administration shows how the number of warheads has declined since the Cold War, but is holding steady at a little under 4,000

'We commend the Biden administration for reversing the Trump administrations shortsighted and counterproductive nuclear secrecy and restore transparency to the US nuclear weapons stockpile,' said the Federation of American Scientists

The last time the U.S. government released its numbers was in March 2018.

The Trump administration subsequently kept the data secret and denied a request by the Federation of American Scientists to declassify them.

The denial triggered accusations of hypocrisy as the U.S. condemned China's secretive buildup of weapons.

'As the first nuclear weapons state, the United States should strive to set a global example for clarity and transparency in nuclear weapons policy by disclosing its current stockpile size,' said the Federation of American Scientists at the time.

'Ambiguity is not helpful to anyone in this context.'

The group welcomed the Biden administration's new transparency.

'We commend the Biden administration for reversing the Trump administrations shortsighted and counterproductive nuclear secrecy and restore transparency to the US nuclear weapons stockpile,' it said.

'This decision is a heavy lifting at a time when so-called Great Power Competition is overtaking defense and arms control analysis.'

The numbers were released at a time when President Joe Biden's administration has resumed arms controls talks with Russia that stalled under Trump.

'Increasing the transparency of states' nuclear stockpiles is important to nonproliferation and disarmament efforts,' said the State Department.

Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal and an arms control treaty with Russia.

The New Start Treaty was also left in limbo ahead of its February expiration date.

It limits the number of warheads held by Washington and Moscow, but Trump said it was meaningless without including China.

Biden, who came in to office on January 20, immediately proposed a five-year extension to New Start, which Russian President Vladimir Putin quickly agreed to.

The deal caps at 1,550 the number of nuclear warheads that can be deployed by Moscow and Washington.

Last week Russian and US diplomats held talks behind closed doors in Geneva to begin discussions on a successor to New Start and also controls on conventional weapons.

A US official called the talks "productive," but both sides said the mere fact of holding the talks was positive.

According to a January 2021 tally by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which includes retired warheads -- not counted in the State Department's numbers -- the United States had 5,550 warheads, compared to 6,255 in Russia, 350 in China, 225 in Britain, and 290 in France.

India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea have together around 460 nuclear warheads, according to the institute.
The Biden administration on Tuesday warned Arizona that it could lose millions of dollars in pandemic recovery funds if it continued to use grants to undercut school mask mandates.

The state is offering private school vouchers to anti-mask parents and it is offering funding to school districts that do not impost mask mandates.

In a letter to Arizonas Republican governor, Doug Ducey, the Treasury Department accused the state of misusing the money, which was designed to help stem the pandemic.

'We are concerned that two recently created Arizona grant programs undermine evidence-based efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19,' wrote Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo.

A $1.9 trillion COVID package passed by Congress earlier this year included $350 billion for states and cities in a State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds.

President Biden has made clear his frustration with governors who get in the way of efforts to tackle the pandemic and on Tuesday his Treasury Department wrote to Arizona warning it risked losing COVID-19 funds if it continued to use them to 'undercut' mask mandates

Gov Doug Ducey said: 'Here in Arizona, we trust families to make decisions that are best for their children. Its clear that President Biden doesnt feel the same'

Arizona was awarded $4.2 billion from the funds.

'A program or service that imposes conditions on participation or acceptance of the service that would undermine efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19 or discourage compliance with evidence-based solutions for stopping the spread of COVID-19 is not a permissible use of SLFRF funds,' wrote Adeyemo.

It is believed to be the first time the administration has warned a state it could lose funds in this way.

School mask mandates have been a political trigger point in Arizona.

The states Republican-controlled legislature banned face-covering mandates for students last month.

But several school districts simply ignored the provision, which in any event was struck down after a legal challenge.

The state supreme court is expected to hear a legal challenge.

Ducey launched two anti-mask initiatives in August.

A $163 million grant program, using federal money controlled by the state, offers to schools without mask mandates.

And a $10 million program offers $7000 in school vouchers to parents who do not want to send children to schools that enforce mask wearing.

Ducey quickly hit back at the Biden administration on Tuesday, defending the two programs for protecting parental choice.

Ducey criticized the Biden administration and said it should be up to parents whether their children wore masks

'Here in Arizona, we trust families to make decisions that are best for their children. Its clear that President Biden doesnt feel the same,' he said.

'Hes focused on taking power away from American families by issuing restrictive and dictatorial mandates for his own political gain.

'After the many challenges of last year, it should be our top priority to get our kids caught up.

'Thats exactly what this program does  it gives families in need the opportunity to access critical educational resources. Why is the president against that?'

Arizona is one of at least eight states with laws or executive orders prohibiting mask mandates in public schools.

In August the Biden administration signaled its frustration, and the Education Department opened civil rights investigations into five states, saying that such measures risked discriminating against the students with disabilities.

It said it was monitoring other states - including Arizona - in case their actions merited investigation.
It is a common cause of arguments  but next time you bicker over the heating, you can use evolution to back you up.

Scientists have discovered female members of species are naturally drawn to warmer temperatures because of an in-built 'evolutionary difference'.

Researchers in Israel studied 13 bird and 18 bat species to determine if the animals displayed geographical separation between the sexes.

The study by Tel Aviv University found the males preferred lower temperatures than females. This led to physical distance between them at certain times of year.

Research in humans has previously suggested that the sexes experience temperature differently, with women feeling the cold more because of variations in metabolism and the production of body heat.

Turning up the heat: Scientists have discovered that female members of species are naturally drawn to warmer temperatures because of an in-built 'evolutionary difference' (stock image)

WHY DO WOMEN FEEL THE COLD MORE THAN MEN? Research in humans has previously suggested that the sexes experience temperature differently, with women feeling the cold more because of variations in metabolism and the production of body heat. Men and women have roughly the same core body temperature, at over 37C; although some studies have found that it's slightly higher in women. Regardless of this, however, our perception of temperature depends more on skin temperature. This tends to be lower for women. One study estimated that the average temperature of women's hands when exposed to the cold was almost 3C (5.4F) lower than in men. The female hormone oestrogen plays a role in this because it slightly thickens the blood, reducing the flow to the capillaries that supply the tips of fingers and toes, particularly when its cold. Previous research has revealed that women often feel colder around ovulation, when oestrogen levels are high. Metabolism is also factor because it dictates how quickly heat energy is produced. Again, on average, women have a lower metabolic rate than men. Higher muscle mass tends to lead to higher resting metabolism, which is linked to burning more calories and a higher blood flow, both of which help keep a person's arms and legs warm. Advertisement

Study co-author Dr Eran Levin, from the university's School of Zoology, said: 'We have hypothesised that what we are dealing with is a difference between the females' and males' heat-sensing mechanisms, which developed over the course of evolution.'

In previous research Dr Levin found that during the breeding season males and females tend to segregate, with the males inhabiting cooler areas.

For example, entire colonies in caves on the slopes of Mount Hermon, on the Lebanon-Syria border, are composed of only males during the breeding season, while in the warmer area of the Sea of Galilee there are mainly females, who give birth and raise their pups there.

It was this phenomenon that aroused Dr Levin's curiosity.

Among many mammals, even in species that live in pairs or in mixed groups all their lives, the males prefer shade whereas the females prefer sunlight, or the males ascend to the peaks of mountains while the females remain in the valleys, the researchers said.

Their study included around 11,000 birds and bats using data collected over 40 years.

These species were chosen because they fly and are therefore highly mobile, so researchers believed spatial separation between the sexes  sometimes extending to different climatic zones  would be particularly clear in such groups.

Israel's significant climate diversity also allowed them to study individual animals of the same species that live in very different climatic conditions.

The researchers found that males prefer a lower temperature than females, and that this preference leads to a separation between the sexes at certain periods during the breeding cycles, when the males and females do not need, and may even interfere, with each other.

Dr Levin said: 'Our study has shown that the phenomenon is not unique to humans; among many species of birds and mammals, females prefer a warmer environment than males, and at certain times these preferences cause segregation between the two species.

It is a common cause of arguments  but next time you bicker over the heating, you can use evolution to back you up (stock image)

'This difference is similar in its essence to the known differences between the pain sensations experienced by the two sexes, and is impacted by differences in the neural mechanisms responsible for the sensation and also by hormonal differences between males and females.'

Co-author Dr Tali Magory Cohen said the separation may be explained by a desire for offspring to be kept away from aggressive males and to reduce competition for food.

'The bottom line is, going back to the human realm, we can say that this difference in thermal sensation did not come about so that we could argue with our partners over the air conditioning, but rather the opposite: it is meant to make the couple take some distance from each other so that each individual can enjoy some peace and quiet,' the researchers concluded.

'The phenomenon can also be linked to sociological phenomena observed in many animals and even in humans, in a mixed environment of females and males: females tend to have much more physical contact between themselves, whereas males maintain more distance and shy away from contact with each other.'

The research has been published in the journal Global Ecology and Biography journal.
Sir John Chilcot, who led the damning inquiry into Tony Blairs conduct surrounding the Iraq War, has died aged 82.

The senior civil servant was chairman of the probe into the failings in the conflict, which killed 179 British personnel and tens of thousands of Iraqis.

Sir John died of kidney disease on Sunday. He is survived by wife Rosalind.

Born in Surrey, he had attended Brighton College and then Pembroke College, Cambridge, before joining the Civil Service in 1963.

Sir Johns career included working as private secretary to three home secretaries

The senior civil servant was chairman of the probe into the failings in the Iraq War

Sir Johns career included working as private secretary to three home secretaries and important contributions to the peace process in Northern Ireland.

His 2.6million-word Iraq report was long delayed, but when it was finally published in 2016 it was excoriating.

Sir John criticised Mr Blair for his handling of flawed intelligence, for failing to plan for the aftermath of the invasion, and for secret promises given to George Bush committing Britain to the war eight months before MPs voted on it.
Matt Gaetz's friend Joel Greenberg - who pleaded guilty earlier this year to sex trafficking - asked a judge on Tuesday to postpone his sentencing until next year so he can continue cooperating with federal authorities.

Joel Greenberg, 37, on Tuesday requested more time before sentencing to allow him to continue cooperating with prosecutors

Greenberg asked the federal judge in a court filing to move his sentencing date from November 18 to next March.

The extra time will give the former local tax collector from an Orlando suburb more time to sit for interviews with federal investigators, the filing said.

'Pursuant to his plea agreement with the Government, Mr. Greenberg has been cooperating with the Government and has participated in a series of proffers,' read the motion, which was first reported by the Orlando Sentinel.

'Said cooperation, which could impact his ultimate sentence, cannot be completed prior to the time of his sentencing.'

The extension was unopposed by federal prosecutors.

Matt Gaetz, 39, a Republican congressman for Florida, was described as Greenberg's 'wingman'. Greenberg has pleaded guilty to sex trafficking, wire fraud and identity theft

Greenberg (right) is seen with Gaetz and Republican operative Roger Stone (left) in a 2017 photo

Greenberg is facing up to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty last May to six federal crimes, including sex trafficking of a child, identity theft, stalking, wire fraud and conspiracy to bribe a public official.

Greenberg's plea agreement with prosecutors requires continued cooperation with an ongoing probe into sex trafficking.

Gaetz, 39, was first publicly named in the scandal in March.

Greenberg's attorney, Fritz Scheller, suggested after a May court hearing for his client that Greenberg was cooperating with investigators, and said that Gaetz is 'not feeling very comfortable today.'

Greenberg is believed to be telling prosecutors about encounters he and Gaetz had with women who were given cash or gifts in exchange for sex, a source familiar with the case told CNN.

Greenberg is pictured with his ex-wife Abby. She left him in March 2021 and Greenberg went to look for her, breaking the rules of his bond in his federal case of stalking a political opponent and child sex trafficking. He has been in jail ever since

Gaetz, a firebrand Republican who represents much of the Florida Panhandle, was not mentioned in Greenberg's plea agreement.

But Greenberg's cooperation could play a role in an ongoing investigation into whether Gaetz paid a 17-year-old girl for sex.

Greenberg was arrested in March 2021 (pictured) and has been in jail ever since

Gaetz has denied the allegations and previously said they were part of an extortion plot.

Orlando criminal defense attorney David Hill, who has no connection to the case, said extra time is sometimes needed in federal probes so that investigators have time to chase leads and verify what a cooperating defendant is telling them.

'If this is potentially going to take down a big fish, and the government thinks there is something to it, they want time to get as much information and verify it as well,' Hill said.

Meanwhile, in Pensacola, a man accused of orchestrating the extortion plot linked to Gaetz's federal sex investigation pleaded not guilty Friday in federal court.

The trial of Stephen Alford, 62, is now scheduled for Dec. 6.

Authorities said Alford was part of a scheme to get $25 million from a person identified in court records as 'D.G.'

In exchange, Alford said he could secure a pardon from then-President Donald Trump for a family member or get the Department of Justice to drop an investigation into the family member, as well as fund the release of a someone identified as 'R.L.'

Gaetz and his wife Ginger Luckey are pictured in the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington DC on September 28

Gaetz and Luckey married in August in a small wedding, having said they would marry next year

Matt Gaetz's father is Don Gaetz, a former president of the Florida Senate.

Others who approached Don Gaetz have said in news reports that they wanted to free Robert Levinson, a former FBI agent who disappeared in Iran more than a decade ago.

According to court records, Alford has previous fraud convictions, including a 2006 judgment where he was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
France 'stole' almost five million Covid vaccine doses which had been destined for Britain, it was claimed today.

President Emmanuel Macron plotted with European Union chiefs to halt the export of jabs to Britain earlier this year.

A huge batch of the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab which had been expected to arrive in the UK was instead diverted from Holland at the last minute, Government insiders alleged.

The UK's relations with France and Brussels hit a low in March when the domestic vaccine roll-out tore ahead of the EU's.

Mr Macron incorrectly claimed the AstraZeneca jab was 'quasi-ineffective', whilst European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen threatened to stop Pfizer's jab from being sent to the UK.

On March 22, a senior AstraZeneca boss stated a batch equivalent to several million doses had been expected to arrive from its production site in Holland. However, it never arrived and was instead diverted to the EU-wide scheme, sources claimed.

A government source argued the diversion of the doses was 'outrageous' and akin to an 'act of war' which could have 'cost lives'.

The Department of Health did not deny the story when approached by MailOnline today. Meanwhile, AstraZeneca refused to comment on the allegations, which were first reported by The Sun.

France 'stole' almost five million coronavirus vaccine doses which had been destined for Britain, according to reports. President Emmanuel Macron is said to have plotted with European Union chiefs to halt the export of jabs to Britain earlier this year

The UK's relations with France and Brussels hit a low in March when the domestic vaccine roll-out tore ahead of the EU's. Pictured: Mr Macron with Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the G7 summit in June

'The French stole our vaccines at the same time as they were slagging them off in public and suggesting they weren't safe to use,' the source said.

'It was an outrageous thing to do and not the action of an ally, which was made very clear to them.

'Withholding vaccines by stopping them leaving the EU had the potential to cost lives with people waiting for both first and second jabs.'

A UK Government spokesperson said: 'The global recovery from Covid has relied on international collaboration and we continue to work closely with the EU and other countries to keep our citizens safe.

'The UKs vaccination programme continues to be a phenomenal success, with more than 80 per cent of people aged 16 and over doubled jabbed and a booster programme underway.'

In March, EU leaders threatened to impose an export ban to block shipments of second vaccine doses to the UK.

At the time, France suggested Britain did not have enough doses of the Pfizer jab to administer second doses, hinting that the continuance of the rollout was at the mercy of EU supply chains.

Brussels then accused AstraZeneca of reneging on its contract to supply the bloc with 120million doses in the first quarter of this year.

Hardline EU nations justified their support for halting shipments of the vaccine by accusing the UK of failing to export any doses to the Continent.

On March 22, Astra Zeneca's boss Rudd Dobber stated that a batch equivalent to several million doses had been expected to arrive from its production site in Holland

Throwing his weight firmly behind the ban at the time, Macron fumed: 'Europe is not a selfish continent.

'Because when I read what the press on the other side of the Channel writes, we're being accused of being selfish. Wrong! We let our supply chains untouched.

'But we saw that the United States tend to protect their own vaccine production... that the United Kingdom did not export many doses. Actually, none. So we put in place an export control mechanism.'

After the French president questioned the effectiveness of the jab and Ms von der Leyen accused the UK of cutting corners in its approval, many Europeans shunned the vaccine.

Fears that the Astra Zeneca jab caused blood clots then led to a host of European nations halting its use.

It is the latest in a string of post-Brexit rows that have rocked the Channel and soured the UK's relationship with France and Brussels.

French fishermen on Monday threatened to cut off Christmas supplies to Britain by blockading both the port of Calais and the Channel Tunnel.

They accused the UK of creating a complex and onerous application process and failing to grant them enough permits to make a living.

If negotiating fails, we will stop all French and European products reaching the UK, and we will stop all British products reaching Europe, said Olivier Lepretre, chief of the powerful northern France fisheries committee.

Unless Boris backs down, the Brits will not have so many nice things to eat this Christmas. I hope it doesnt come to that.

French fishermen have given the UK a two-week deadline to grant them licences to work in British waters before they start blockades (file photo of fishing boats moored at the port of Le Guilvinec in June last year)

The threat is part of a wider row over Channel fishing rights which erupted in May when Britain sent two Royal Navy gunships to Jersey after dozens of French fishing boats vowed to blockade the islands harbour.

Britain has granted only 12 of 47 small French vessels fishing rights in UK waters.

British officials say those denied were unable to prove that they had fished in the six-to-12 mile nautical zone in the years before the UK left the EU.

But the French fishermen say the small boats are not fitted with the right technology to prove their historical fishing links and locations.

The Government of Jersey added to French woes last week as it announced it had turned down licence applications by 75 French fishing boats.

In a statement, it said that of the 170 boats which applied, 64 were being granted licences, with a further 31 receiving temporary licences to allow them more time to show they have a track record of operating in its waters.

Jersey external relations minister Ian Gorst said the island's government had taken 'a pragmatic, reasonable and evidence-based approach' to the issue.

French fishermen last night threatened to cut off crucial Christmas supplies to Britain. Pictured: French fishermen protest earlier this year

Fisherman today gave the UK a two-week deadline to grant them licences to work in British waters before they start blockading the Channel tunnel.

Trade between the ports of Dover and Calais is estimated to be worth around 100billion every year.

The flow of goods between both accounts for nearly a quarter of the UKs major port traffic with the EU, according to a 2019 University of Hamburg study on the effects of Brexit.

The French connection: How electricity crosses the Channel Two under-sea cables of the Interconnexion France-Angleterre (IFA) supply the UK with enough electricity to power three million homes - more than the total amount generated by British wind farms. IFA 1 connects Kent and the Pas de Calais, while IFA 2 links Fareham in Hampshire and Caen in Normandy. Their electricity interconnectors use are high-voltage cables to connect the distribution systems of neighbouring countries, and allow them to share excess power. The landing point for IFA 1 is Folkestone, from where underground cables connect to the Sellindge converter station and then onto the UK's transmission station. However, it was damaged by fire last month, causing a spike in electricity prices amid fears it will not be back to 100 per cent until next March. IFA 2 went live in January and could bring in 1.2 per cent of the UK's energy. As well as the French connections there are also similar cables connecting the UK with Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and Norway. Advertisement

Meanwhile Frances Europe minister Clement Beaune has warned the dispute was putting UK power supplies at risk.

The Channel Islands, the UK, are dependent on us for their energy supply, he told the Europe 1 radio station yesterday.

They think they can live on their own and badmouth Europe as well. And because it doesnt work, they indulge in one-upmanship, and in an aggressive way.

Jersey and neighbouring Guernsey rely on French power and two undersea cables also provide electricity to more than three million homes on the British mainland.

Europe minister Clement Beaune warned other EU governments could take punitive measures against the UK, such as imposing tariffs.

'Enough already, we have an agreement negotiated by France, by Michel Barnier, and it should be applied 100 percent. It isn't being,' Mr Beaune told Europe 1 radio.

'In the next few days, and I talked to my European counterparts on this subject yesterday, we will take measures at the European level or nationally, to apply pressure on the United Kingdom.'

He added: 'We defend our interests. We do it nicely, and diplomatically, but when that doesn't work, we take measures.

'For example, we can imagine, since we're talking about energy, ... the United Kingdom depends on our energy supplies,' Beaune also said. 'It thinks that it can live all alone, and bash Europe.'

But a Cabinet minister told MailOnline yesterday that Mr Beaune was making empty threats  pointing out that relations would be shattered if France took that kind of action.

'If France was to cut off our power supplies, we would just never use them again,' they said.

'Why would you ever go back to a provider who did that? Trust would be gone. They would be damaging themselves in the long-term.'
The removal of a white student's anti-racism art project from a Maine high school sparked a student-led revolt that led to a walkout before the school put the exhibit back on display.

Claudia Corcoran, a senior at York High School, used imagery of Martin Luther King Jr. alongside the text 'Still Dreaming' for a project that tasked students with creating a topic inspired by a book.

She said her display was centered around the idea that the civil rights leader's vision for true equity has yet to be achieved, according to Portsmouth Herald.

Shortly after the school's library displayed her work, York's principal told Corcoran that some parents felt she was 'forc[ing] her opinion on others' - and the piece was stowed away in a storage closet.

Instructed to create a project titled 'This is America,' York High School senior Claudia Corcoran devised the subtitle 'where racism is taught and your social status determines the education you receive'

White fists are painted under the line 'One Nation' on one side of the two-paneled piece - white hands holding up wallets are under 'separated under God'

The school, about 50 miles south of Portland, issued a statement defending its decision to take down her creation.

'Displaying student work is foundational to providing students with an opportunity to learn from each other and to appreciate the work of others,' Principal Karl Francis wrote in an email to parents.

'At the same time, we understand not all perspectives are aligned.'

The administration said that the artwork was removed because the librarian did not get approval to display it. But in the past, librarians have been allowed to decide to hang student art without permission from school officials.

In a statement, Superintendent Lou Goscinski said that the students art isnt an issue 'but once we display it, it becomes the speech of the school.'

Corcoran then led a walkout from the school, which has about 575 students, last Wednesday, demanding the piece be returned.

Following the removal of her work, Corcoran staged a walkout last Wednesday, demanding that the school return the piece to York High School's library

Parents in the community also took up her cause.

'The art should not be hidden from sight, the student should not be shamed for creating it, and my child should not be worried that she cant submit similar work for fear of being bullied by extremist adults,' wrote Aaron Fontaine, the parent of a freshman at the school and the chair of the community's anti-bias committee.

Two days later, Francis released a statement announcing Corcorans art will be put back on display.

Instructed to create a project titled 'This is America,' Corcoran devised the subtitle 'where racism is taught and your social status determines the education you receive.'

Her display featured white fists painted under the line 'One Nation' on one side of the two-paneled piece - with white hands holding up wallets under 'separated under God.'

Also featured is a quote from civil rights activist Ruby Bridges: 'Racism is a grown-up disease and we should stop using our kids to spread it.'

Originally, Corcoran told the Herald she had just intended to create a strong portfolio piece for art school and get a good grade on her English class project - now, she said, she 'feels [her] voice has been heard and... more seen by this community than [she] ever [has].'

Other students' projects addressed Islamophobia and health concerns following 9/11, breakdancing, music therapy and Persian culture.

The school is planning to conduct an equity audit to further address internal issues.
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China has warned that World War Three could be triggered 'at any time' after it sent dozens of warplanes into Taiwan's airspace.

An article in the state-backed Global Times newspaper on Tuesday said that 'collusion' between the US and Taiwan was so 'audacious' that the situation 'has almost lost any room for manoeuvre, teetering on the edge of a face-off.'

It claimed that the people of China were ready to back all-out war with the US, warning the island nation against 'playing with fire'.

Almost 150 Chinese warplanes have breached Taiwan's airspace since Friday, including 56 jets on Monday in a dramatic escalation of Chinese aggression against the self-governing democracy.

Joe Biden said he had spoken to Chinese President Xi Jinping about Taiwan and they agreed to abide by the Taiwan agreement as tensions continue to ratchet up between Taipei and Beijing.

'I've spoken with Xi about Taiwan. We agree...we'll abide by the Taiwan agreement,' Biden said to reporters at the White House on Tuesday.

However, that call took place on September 9 and it's not clear what agreement he was referring to.

It may have been a nod to Washington's long-standing policy under which the US officially recognizes Beijing rather than Taipei, and the Taiwan Relations Act, which makes clear that the US decision to establish diplomatic ties with Beijing instead of Taiwan rests upon the expectation that the future of Taiwan will be determined by peaceful means.

Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen on Tuesday vowed to 'do whatever it takes' to guard Taiwan against invasion as she indicated that without help from the country's allies 'authoritarianism has the upper hand over democracy.'

It comes as British aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth ('Big Lizzie') was shown sailing in the Philippine Sea in a joint exercise with two US carriers - the USS Ronald Reagan and USS Carl Vinson - and Japan's helicopter destroyer JS Ise.

The armada, which also includes a number of warships from six different countries in total, trained together over the weekend in the region amid the rising tensions.

The recent voyages through the Strait of Taiwan by the British and American navies, coupled with the new Aukus defence pact have infuriated Beijing and sparked more shows of strength in the South China Sea.

Pictured: Britain's HMS Queen Elizabeth warship (second right at the head of the armada) took part in joint training with warships from six different countries over the weekend in the Philippine Sea amid rising tensions between China and Taiwan

China warned that World War Three could be triggered 'at any time' on Tuesday after it sent dozens of warplanes into Taiwan's airspace. Recent voyages through the Strait of Taiwan by the British and American navies (pictured), coupled with the new Aukus defence pact have infuriated Beijing and sparked more shows of strength in the South China Sea

Nearly 150 Chinese warplanes have breached Taiwan's airspace since Friday, including nuclear-capable bombers on Monday in a dramatic increase in aggression

What is the Taiwan Relations Act? Biden told reporters Tuesday that he had 'spoken with Xi about Taiwan. We agree ... we'll abide by the Taiwan agreement.' Biden appeared to be referring to Washington's long-standing policy under which it officially recognizes Beijing rather than Taipei, and the Taiwan Relations Act, which makes clear that the U.S. decision to establish diplomatic ties with Beijing instead of Taiwan rests upon the expectation that the future of Taiwan will be determined by peaceful means. Biden also appeared to be referencing a 90-minute call he held with Xi on Sept. 9, their first talks in seven months. While that act binds the United States to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, Washington only acknowledges China's stance that the island belongs to it and that there is 'one China', and takes no position on Taiwan's sovereignty. Taiwan's Foreign Ministry said it had sought clarification from the United States about Biden's comments, and were reassured U.S. policy towards Taiwan had not changed, the U.S. commitment to them was 'rock solid' and that the U.S. will continue to help Taiwan maintain its defenses. 'Facing the Chinese government's military, diplomatic and economic threats, Taiwan and the United States have always maintained close and smooth communication channels,' it said, noting recent U.S. comments of concern about China's activities. Advertisement

President Xi Jinping has described the seizure of the self-governed democracy as 'inevitable' and Beijing has ratcheted up pressure on Tsai since she was elected in 2016 on a mandate of an 'independent' Taiwan.

In another chilling piece of propaganda on Monday, The Global Times ran a piece which asked 'whether Australia is willing to accompany Taiwan to become cannon fodder' after its foreign minister reached out for help preparing his defences.

Australia has been on the receiving end of Chinese wrath over the last few weeks after it signed a new alliance with the UK and the US.

As part of the deal, Washington and London agreed to share nuclear submarine technology with Canberra.

Beijing is incensed by the move because it will dramatically shift the power balance in the South China Sea, where it fights for influence with the West over smaller countries like Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines.

In an article published on Tuesday, Tawain's president Tsai said: 'They should remember that if Taiwan were to fall, the consequences would be catastrophic for regional peace and the democratic alliance system.

'It would signal that in today's global contest of values, authoritarianism has the upper hand over democracy.'

Taiwan hopes for peaceful coexistence with China, she said, but 'if its democracy and way of life are threatened, Taiwan will do whatever it takes to defend itself.'

Tsai's government on Monday urged Beijing to stop 'irresponsible provocative actions' after the warplanes breached Taiwan's air defence identification zone (ADIZ).

'Amid almost daily intrusions by the People's Liberation Army, our position on cross-strait relations remains constant: Taiwan will not bend to pressure,' Tsai added.

The ADIZ is not the same as Taiwan's territorial airspace but includes a far greater area that overlaps with part of China's own air defence identification zone and even includes some of the mainland.

A Taiwan flag is carried across the sky on Tuesday during a national day rehearsal in Taipei, Taiwan,

President Tsai Ing-wen (pictured right in October 2020 in Taipei) vowed to 'do whatever it takes' to guard Taiwan against invasion as she warned that if the country's allies allowed it to fall 'it would signal that authoritarianism has the upper hand over democracy.' President Xi Jinping (pictured left in Beijing last month) has described the seizure of the self-governed democracy as 'inevitable' and Beijing has ratcheted up pressure on Tsai since she was elected in 2016 on a mandate of an 'independent' Taiwan

Chinese state media on Monday accompanied the military incursion with threats to Taiwan.

Global Times editor Hu Xijin tweeted that it is 'only a matter of time before Taiwan's separatist authorities fall' - describing the weekend's show-of-force as a 'military parade' to mark China's National Day on October 1.

An editorial in the same newspaper then added that - unlike the 'guard of honour' in traditional parades - the planes flown towards Taiwan at the weekend 'are fighting forces aimed at actual combat'.

'The increase in the number of aircraft showed the PLA Air Force's operational capabilities,' the newspaper said, adding: 'It is a clear and unmistakable declaration of China's sovereignty over the island.'

The operations are designed to familiarise pilots with 'battlefield conditions' so that 'once the order to attack is given' they will be able to fight like 'experienced veterans', the editorial concluded.

'There is no doubt about the future of the situation across the Taiwan Straits.

'The initiative of when and how to solve the Taiwan question is firmly in the hands of the Chinese mainland.'

34 J-16 fighters (file image) were among 52 Chinese planes flown into Taiwan's ADIZ

Twelve nuclear-capable H-6 bombers also flew in the sortie, along with two Su-30 fighters and several other military aircraft

China has flown near-daily missions into Taiwan's airspace since the start of the year, the island's government has said, though most comprise only one aircraft.

But that changed dramatically at the weekend, with 38 planes flown into the 'air defence identification zone' on Friday.

The planes flew in two separate sorties, the first of which comprised 25 aircraft and flew during the day followed by 19 aircraft which flew at night.

On Saturday, another 39 aircraft flew in two separate sorties - one of 20 aircraft during the day and another of 19 aircraft at night.

Sunday saw an additional 16 planes fly close to the island in a single incursion.

Flight tracking data published by Taiwan shows the latest mission involved a total of 36 fighter jets - 34 J-16s and two Russian-made Su-30s.

They were accompanying 12 H-6 nuclear capable bombers, two Y-8 anti-submarine warfare aircraft, and two KJ-500 early warning and control planes.

All flew a short distance into the ADIZ between Taiwan's mainland and the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Island.

Taiwan's ADIZ is a zone in which it requires all foreign aircraft to identify themselves and state their intentions. It is different to the island's sovereign airspace, which extends over a smaller area 12 nautical miles from its coast.

Taipei said it scrambled fighters, broadcast radio warnings and activated missile defences in response. A short time later, the Chinese aircraft turned back.

Self-governing Taiwan, which is home to the Republic of China which fought against the Communist Party when it first emerged, views itself as an independent state but Beijing views it as a breakaway province.

The Republic of China has long-standing ties with the US, which historically recognised it as the legitimate government of the whole of China.

Shortly before the Chinese jets appeared in the skies near Taiwan, the Beijing-owned Global Times newspaper threatened Taipei and its new ally Australia

The Global Times editor, Hu Xijin, also hit out at Taiwan - saying it is 'only a matter of time' until the government falls and control passes back to Beijing

Tensions around the island are long-standing but increased significantly in 2019 when President Xi Jinping committed himself to 'reunifying' the islands - reserving the right to use force if necessary.

In response, the US has forged new alliances in the region to counter-balance Beijing's growing power - including The Quad alliance between America, India, Japan and Australia.

The AUKUS pact is the sternest warning yet for Beijing, arming a nearby rival Australia with nuclear submarine capabilities.

Since AUKUS was announced, Chinese flights near Taiwan have increased significantly and taken on new significance - with the UK and Australia potentially dragged into any future fighting.

Fighting around the island could also drag in the US, which has long maintained a policy of 'strategic ambiguity' to Taiwan - refusing to say what it would do if the island was attacked.

Joe Biden suggested in a recent interview that he would be willing to go to war if China invades, though aides later insisted he had misspoke.
A grumpy Daniel Andrews has batted away reporters' questions about a Victorian corruption watchdog investigation amid calls for him to follow Gladys Berejiklian's example and stand down as a result.

The state Premier was grilled by journalists in Melbourne on Wednesday morning over a corruption probe into the relationship between the United Firefighters Union and the Victorian government.

It has been reported that Victoria's corruption watchdog IBAC will examine the Premier's conduct as part of its investigation.

Hundreds of Victorian firefighters rally on the steps of parliament in Melbourne in 2015

An investigation into Victoria's fire services has been ongoing since 2019, probing allegations of corruption and financial mismanagement.

Between 2014 and 2019 the firefighters' union leader Peter Marshall tried to influence an industrial deal and a reform package to benefit his members.

IBAC has seized mobile phones, laptops and dozens of USBs belonging to the union or Mr Marshall, according to The Age.

At a news conference on Wednesday, Mr Andrews fended off a barrage of journalists' questions by repeatedly referring them to IBAC.

'If you want to know what IBAC is doing and who they're talking to... you must go talk to them,' he said.

Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting any wrongdoing by Mr Andrews.

The Opposition has called for Mr Andrews to follow the example of former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian, who resigned on Friday after she was named as a person of interest in a corruption investigation, and not wait for a finding.

'The former premier of NSW resigned because she was under investigation by ICAC,' said Liberal MP Tim Smith.

'The premier of Victoria is under investigation by our anti-corruption commission IBAC, why hasn't the premier stood down?'
A toddler has been rushed to hospital after he drank an unknown substance from a bottle he found at a playground.

Paramedics rushed to the family home on Clearview Crescent in Clearview, about 8km north of the Adelaide CBD, just before lunchtime on Tuesday.

South Australian Police said the two-year-old boy 'drank the unknown liquid and passed out'.

He was at the park with his mother where he is believed to have found the bottle in the bushes.

A toddler has been rushed to hospital after he ingested an unknown liquid at an Adelaide playground (pictured)

The boy's father called 000 after they arrived home and the boy was unwell.

He was taken to Women's and Children's Hospital in North Adelaide where he is in a stable condition and expected to make a full recovery.

SA Police are searching the park for the bottle the boy drank from so the liquid could be forensically tested.

Anyone with information regarding the incident is urged to contact police.
The responsibility for health and social care 'begins at home', Sajid Javid warned yesterday despite another minister hinting at more tax rises.

The Health Secretary said that as the first port of call, Britons should think about taking personal responsibility for their families before turning to the state.

The social care crisis has prompted ministers to raise taxes to fund a better long-term plan to care for people in old age.

Sajid Javid said: 'Government shouldn't own all risks and responsibilities in life'

The strategy will see the introduction of a social care costs cap to reduce the number of people who have to sell their home to pay for care.

It will be funded by a new 1.25 percentage point national insurance-style levy which will also help clear the NHS backlog.

Councils have also called for more emergency funding to help get the sector through in the interim.

Yesterday care minister Gillian Keegan told a Tory conference event that council taxes may have to rise next year to fund this cash injection.

Miss Keegan said the Government's document on social reform, published last week, was a 'clue' that extra funding would have to be met from council tax.

The document says: 'We expect demographic and unit cost pressures will be met through council tax, social care precept, and long-term efficiencies.'

The Health Secretary said Britons should think about taking personal responsibility for their families before turning to the state

Mr Javid made clear that he believed families should take responsibility in the first instance for the health and care of their loved ones.

He said: 'Government shouldn't own all risks and responsibilities in life.

'We as citizens have to take some responsibility for our health too. We shouldn't always go first to the state. What kind of society would that be?

'Health and social care begins at home. Family first, then community, then the state.'

Boris Johnson unveiled his care plan last month but extra funds will not arrive until 2023, leaving town halls to fill the gap.

The Local Government Association warned last week that council tax could have to rise by a quarter in three years to meet care costs  equivalent to an extra 474 on the average Band D bill.
NSW has recorded 594 new Covid cases as newly-elected Premier Dominic Perrottet calls a crisis meeting to review the state's roadmap out of lockdown.

Ten deaths were also reported in the 24 hours to 8pm on Tuesday, which include seven men and three women from Sydney's Covid-hit west and southwestern suburbs, Wollongong, and the Riverina region.

One person was in their 40s, one person was in their 60s, four people were in their 70s, two people were in their 80s, and two people were in their 90s.

The fatalities bring the state's death toll from the latest outbreak to 395 and the total number since the start of the pandemic to 451.

On Wednesday NSW's roadmap out of lockdown will be reviewed by the state's crisis cabinet with Mr Perrottet hinting some requirements could be tweaked.

NSW has recorded 594 new locally acquired Covid-19 cases as the state's long-awaited 'freedom day' looms. Pictured: Women walk along Bondi Beach in Sydney's eastern suburbs last month

Mr Perrottet, who was sworn in on Tuesday, will meet with health officials and his crisis cabinet on Wednesday to go over the plan for the state to emerge from months of lockdown from October 11.

His government's first challenge will be navigating the path out of lockdown, which began in Greater Sydney more than 15 weeks ago.

'There's a number of areas within the roadmap that can be looked at,' Mr Perrottet told Sydney radio 2GB on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the Nationals have sworn in a new party leader after meeting on Wednesday morning.

Nationals Deputy Leader Paul Toole has been elected for the top job, replacing John Barilaro.

The Bathurst MP, who spent more than 20 years as a primary school teacher, will now become NSW's deputy premier.

Premier Dominic Perrottet (pictured) will hold a crisis meeting on Wednesday to review NSW's roadmap out of Covid lockdown

NSW is due to start throwing off the shackles of lockdown on Monday after it hits the 70 per cent double Covid vaccination milestone for those 16 years and over.

Key to the transition will be an economic recovery plan, which the premier will unveil this week, and the ability of the state's health system to cope with an expected spike in Covid-19 cases when restrictions ease.

Mr Perrottet said while the economy had taken a significant beating during the lockdown, which began in June, he expects the state to 'bounce back very quickly'.

'As we head into December and over the summer period as businesses open... we're going to have a very bright summer,' he said.

'What we'll see is a stronger economy on the other side.'

Mr Perrottet is also determined to get workers back into offices to breathe life back into major CBDs 'this year and as quickly as possible', but he acknowledged mandatory mask-wearing in offices is an impediment.

Under the roadmap, masks remain compulsory in indoor environments until December.

90,680 Covid tests were conducted overnight and 88.6 percent of eligible people have received their first dose of the vaccine

The premier was reluctant to say if he would push for that requirement to be ditched earlier.

'I don't want to pre-empt any decision yet. We've got a cabinet meeting this afternoon and we'll work through that,' he said.

'There's a number of issues that I want to raise with our health officials.'

Mr Perrottet also said that from now on lockdowns would be the last resort if there is an outbreak, as the state's vaccination rates continue to rise.

As of midnight Monday, 88.6 per cent of people aged 16 and over have had at least one dose and 67.7 per cent were fully vaccinated.

As a staunch Catholic, Mr Perrottet who opposed the decriminalisation of abortion in NSW and same-sex marriage said he was not going to make any changes.

'I have no intention of changing the laws in that space,' he said.
A former teacher will replace John Barilaro as NSW Deputy Premier and Nationals leader as yet another party room vote marks the biggest political shake-up outside an election in 13 years.

Regional Roads Minister Paul Toole defeated Water Minister Melinda Pavey, a mother-of-two who grew up on a dairy farm, in a ballot on Wednesday morning, 15 votes to three, with Mental Health Minister Bronnie Taylor to be his deputy.

Mr Barilaro resigned on Sunday, two days after Gladys Berejiklian quit as Liberal premier over a corruption investigation.

The larrikin MP joked that he was having a 'mid-life crisis' and wanted a new career outside of politics.

For the first time since 2008, NSW has a new premier and deputy premier almost on the same day without an election, with the Coalition's revolving door of leaders resembling Labor in its troubled final years.

The New South Wales Nationals, like their senior Coalition partner, are now on their fourth leader in seven years, as they struggle to hold traditional regional seats.

Regional Roads Minister Paul Toole (pictured with wife Joanne) defeated Water Minister Melinda Pavey in a party room ballot on Wednesday morning, 15 votes to three

New Liberal Premier Dominic Perrottet, a 39-year-old devout Catholic father-of-six from Sydney's north-west, congratulated Mr Toole for winning a party room ballot a day after him.

The leaders of both Coalition parties were first elected to Parliament in March 2011.

'I have worked closely together for many years with Paul, and I know he will bring a steady hand to our efforts to get NSW safely back open and on the path to recovery,' Mr Perrottet said.

'As a loyal deputy in the NSW Nationals to departing Deputy Premier John Barilaro, Paul knows what it takes to lead, and I want to again thank John for his service to the people of NSW.'

Under Mr Barilaro, the Nationals at the 2019 election lost vast seats in the state's far west to the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party as Lismore in the state's far north coast fell to Labor for the first time since 1965.

The party of the bush has now chosen a leader from west of the Great Dividing Range from the central west city of Bathurst, better known as the home Mount Panorama and V8 Supercar racing.

Mr Toole is taking over as Deputy Premier as Sydney prepares to emerge from lockdown on October 11.

'I tell you what, I'm looking forward to getting back to work,' Mr Toole said after the vote on Wednesday.

The Nationals are now on their fourth leader since 2014 after Melinda Pavey lost her bid to become the state party's first female leader

For the first time since 2008, NSW has a new premier and deputy premier almost on the same day without an election, with the Coalition's revolving door of leaders resembling Labor in its troubled final years (pictured is new Premier Dominic Perrottet in March when he was treasurer with outgoing deputy premier John Barilaro)

NSW Nationals revolving door Andrew Stoner: Deputy Premier from March 2011 to October 2014 Troy Grant: Deputy Premier from October 2014 to November 2016 John Barilaro: Deputy Premier from November 2016 to October 2021 Paul Toole: Deputy Premier from October 2021 Advertisement

The new Nationals leader began teaching at Assumption Primary School in Bathurst in 1995 before joining the Evans Shire Council and becoming mayor in 2007.

The married father-of-three won the seat of Bathurst off Labor in the 2011 landslide that brought the Coalition to power.

Three years later, he became the minister for local government.

He moved to the race and lands and forestry portfolios in 2017.

After the 2019 election, with the Coalition winning a third term, he became the Minister for Regional Transport and Roads.

Announcing his run for the top job on Tuesday, Mr Toole said: 'This is a time where we need a strong and stable leadership (as) we are coming out of a pandemic.'

He talked up his credentials as deputy party leader, and pointed to his record of working with the incoming premier in crisis cabinet and other committees.

Under the Liberal-National Coalition arrangement in NSW, the Liberal Party leader in government is the premier and the National Party provides the deputy.

For the first time since 2014, both conservative parties are changing leader in the same calendar year.

Andrew Stoner had quit as Nationals leader in October, six months after Barry O'Farrell resigned as Liberal premier for failing to declare a $3,000 bottle of Grange Hermitage bottled in 1959, the year he was born, following an Independent Commission Against Corruption inquiry.

Troy Grant, a former police officer, quit as Nationals leader in November 2016, two months before an unpopular policy to ban greyhound racing saw Mike Baird resign as Liberal premier.

But NSW hasn't had a new premier and deputy premier within days of each other since September 2008 when Nathan Rees and Carmel Tebbutt, now the former partner of federal Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese, replaced Morris Iemma and John Watkins as Labor's most senior leaders after the party was bitterly divided over electricity privatisation.

John Barilaro resigned on Sunday, two days after Gladys Berejiklian resigned as Liberal premier over a corruption investigation

When announcing his surprise decision to step down, Mr Barilaro said NSW would be best served by someone who had the passion and fight to forge on.

'I just don't have the energy anymore,' Mr Barilaro told reporters on Monday.

The Nationals leader said he had been 'thinking about this for a while', and ruled out running for federal parliament, despite last year being touted as a candidate for in the by-election for the marginal Labor seat of Eden-Monaro.

His state seat of Monaro, taking in Queanbeyan near Canberra, overlaps.

'I'm looking for a new career. I turn 50 in November, maybe a bit of a midlife crisis, but definitely thinking about what happens next. I will take some time out, but I genuinely won't be running for federal politics,' he said.

Mr Barilaro is also suing YouTube entertainer and former model Jordan Shanks, better known as Friendlyjordies.
An investigation by Which? makes clear that pledges by Facebook to remove these scammers from its site are failing.

The net result is that Facebook is providing a platform to allow firms to con consumers, skewing purchases worth billions of pounds a year.

Which? researchers set up a 'Patricia's Paintings' page on Facebook - purportedly for a business selling personalised bespoke paintings and house painting services. It then contacted fake review factories advertising their services on Facebook to buy positive feedback.

Within just a few weeks, it had successfully purchased 93 fake reviews and 500 page likes from multiple online platform review sellers.

Seven companies, which appeared to be based around the world, all agreed to artificially boost the company's online reputation. They were App Sally, Famous Follower, Fast Face Likes, Gold Star Marketing, Online Boost Up, Red Social and Woorke. (correct)

Review packages Which? bought included 10 recommendations from Gold Star Marketing for 99, a collection of 500 page likes and 10 recommendations from Fast Face Likes for a total of 16, as well as 10 glowing reviews from Famous Follower for around 6.50.

An investigation by Which? makes clear that pledges by Facebook to remove these scammers from its site are failing. Facebook is providing a platform to allow firms to con consumers

The consumer champion found that almost all the fake reviews originated in Bangladesh with 2.2per cent from the US and a fraction from Portugal and Oman.

Many of the images used with profiles of the reviewers were fake and had been grabbed from random websites. One was a woman whose picture appeared on a Russian website after she had been detained over cannabis possession while another was a Canadian model called Marooshk (correct) who has 1m followers on Instagram.

Research by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) suggests 23 billion a year of consumer spending is influenced by online reviews.

To protect people from being misled, Which? is calling on the regulator to look at whether Facebook should be included within the scope of its investigation into websites that host fake or misleading reviews.

Director of Police and Advocacy at Which?, Rocio Concha, said: 'Our investigations continue to expose how easy it is for the fake reviews industry to infiltrate online platforms like Facebook and avoid detection, despite the incredibly sophisticated technology these companies have at their disposal.

'This is increasingly worrying as people continue to rely on these sites to find local businesses and it raises big questions about whether consumers can trust the reviews they see online.

'The CMA should strongly consider whether Facebook should be brought into scope of its investigation into websites that host fake or misleading reviews. However, Which?'s #JustNotBuyingIt campaign is also demanding that strong new laws are introduced by the government to force tech giants to protect people online.'

Facebook said: 'We're investigating the accounts brought to our attention. We have dedicated extensive time and resources to tackling this issue and will continue to do so.

'Fraudulent and deceptive activity is not allowed on our platforms, including offering or trading fake reviews.'
Amazon is opening its first UK mini department store today, as the online retail giant continues its retail expansion.

The UK's first Amazon 4-star store, which only sells products rated four stars or above on its website, will open at 10am on Wednesday at the Bluewater shopping centre, near Dartford in Kent.

The conglomerate launched its first 4-star shop in 2018, but this will be the first of such stores to open outside the US.

The 3,500sq ft mini department store will sell around 2,000 must-have items including books, gadgets, kitchenware and toys - which will change depending on what is popular and trending.

The UK's first Amazon 4-star store (pictured: Home and kitchen candle area of the store) will open at 10am on Wednesday at the Bluewater shopping centre, near Dartford in Kent

The conglomerate launched its first 4-star shop in 2018, but this will be the first of such stores (pictured) to open outside the US

Amazon will use data from its online business to see which products are most popular with local shoppers and the store will sell items that customers regularly buy and enjoy.

Shoppers will pay the same price for items as on online. The items up for grabs in the store will change on as 'curators' respond to what is new, popular and trending, with product lines being updated each week.

Brands available at the store will include Barbie, Russell Hobbs, Lego and Fitbit, while there will also be large displays dedicated to Amazon products, such as the Echo speakers and Kindles.

Products will be available for next-day collection, while customers will be able to easily return any unwanted items without having to print off a label.

Andy Jones, director of Amazon 4-star UK, said it is an 'exciting' milestone for the retail giant, which started plans for the store prior to the pandemic.

The 3,500sq ft mini department store will sell a variety of must-have items including books (pictured), gadgets, kitchenware and toys

The items up for grabs in the Dartford store (pictured) will change on a regular basis as 'curators' respond to customer feedback and new releases

'I've been working on this for the past two years so we are obviously just really keen now to get customers in and see what they think,' he said.

'The pandemic didn't really change our thinking. We've seen that the model has worked really well in malls in the US, so a location like Bluewater made total sense to us.

'I think the variety in the store is really important and hopefully something customers will see.

'There are the Amazon products they will expect but also local products from small suppliers, because that is a huge part of the Amazon business.'

The store has displays with products from business partners of Amazon, including Lakeland, Currys, Argos and WHSmith, through its marketplace operation.

Amazon has not confirmed whether this is an individual trial or whether more 4-star stores will pop up around the UK.

Andy Jones, director of Amazon 4-star UK, said it is an 'exciting' milestone for the retail giant. Pictured: Interior of Amazon's first UK 4-star store

Amazon has not confirmed whether this is an individual trial or whether more 4-star stores will pop up around the UK

The US retail giant opened its first UK grocery store last year, welcoming customers to its Amazon Fresh in Ealing in March.

The shop was the first Amazon Go shop to open outside the $400billion corporation's home market in the US, where it has around 25 stores.

Shoppers at the futuristic 'contactless' store in London are able to pick up food and walk out without stopping to pay.

The automated shop uses hidden sensors and cameras to track what customers are loading into their shopping bags and they will be charged via an Amazon app.

Customers do not need any cash but must download the Amazon Go app onto their mobile phone before entering.

Amazon Go shops have been billed as providing a glimpse into the future of shopping.

The retailer said the model has been 'well received' since opening and has grown the bricks and mortar grocery arm to six stores across London.
A catastrophic house fire has left a family homeless and killed 16 of their pets.

Emergency crews were called to a residence on Catalina Street in Loganlea, 25km southeast of central Brisbane, at around 2:40pm on Tuesday.

The blaze is believed to have started on the back patio of the home where 13 guinea pigs were trapped in their cages.

Tragically, ten of the guinea pigs perished in the inferno in addition to six family cats, with the homeowner understood to be a foster carer for animals.

Emergency crews were called to a residence on Catalina Street in Loganlea (pictured), 25km southeast of central Brisbane , at around 2:40pm on Tuesday

All of the family members inside the home were able to escape the fire with one person suffering minor burns.

Concerned neighbours were told to stay inside as responders battled the flames, due to fears the smoke could contain toxic fumes.

A spokesperson from Queensland Fire and Emergency Service said five crews were dispatched to bring the blaze under control.

The two-storey residence was completely destroyed in the fire with crews bringing the flames under control by 3:25pm.

The home was finally extinguished about an hour later at 4:35pm.

The spokesperson said investigations into what sparked the fire are ongoing.

The heartbroken family are currently living in temporary accommodation provided by the Logan House Fire Support Network.

Six emergency crews (pictured) were dispatched to bring the devastating house fire under control, which killed six family cats and ten guinea pigs

Founder of the non-profit Louie Naumovski told Daily Mail Australia the family were 'doing ok under the circumstances of the events yesterday'.

'Obviously still traumatised of losing their possessions and pets,' Mr Naumovski said.

He said the family was being supported by agents from Ray White Waterford to find a new home they could hopefully move into by the end of the week.

'Sadly most of their possessions were destroyed in the blaze and the family had no contents insurance,' he said.

Mr Naumovski said the non-profit would provide furnishings for the new home and said the 'strong' Logan was rallying around the family during their time of need.
Australia's vaccine rollout has hit a huge milestone - reaching 80 per cent of the population over 16 having received their first dose.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the figure on Wednesday and praised Australians for rolling up up their sleeves in world-beating numbers.

More than 90 per cent of people aged over 50 have received their first dose, and almost three in every four people in that age group were fully vaccinated.

Scott Morrison (pictured) announced on October 5 that 80 per cent of Australians aged over 16 had received their first dose of a Covid vaccine

Earlier this month, the PM made the welcome news that from November 1, fully vaccinated Australians from states where more than 80 per cent of people are vaccinated will be allowed to travel freely, once premiers open their borders.

Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan has been vocal in his refusal to open borders once vaccination targets are reached, claiming the hard border will only be torn down once the state his 90 per cent vaccinated.

Vaccinated Australians and permanent residents returning from overseas will from sometime next month be allowed to quarantine at home for only seven days, avoiding hotel quarantine costs.

The rule changes just in time for Christmas, allowing thousands of families kept apart to reunite after caps on arrivals made getting to Australia extremely difficult.

Mr Morrison announced the figure on his social media on Wednesday and praised Australians for rolling up up their sleeves in world-beating numbers

Qantas boss Alan Joyce said travellers would need to have as many as four Covid tests and carry proof of vaccination in order to travel overseas.

Mr Joyce explained in great detail at the International Air Transport Association's annual meeting in Boston what international travel would look like when it restarted.

He said passengers would need to be tested for the virus before departing Australia and again before boarding their return flight home.

Another two Covid tests would be required during the seven days of home quarantine.

Australians overseas will also be able to return home, if they provide proof of vaccination and quarantine at home for seven days

Australia's vaccine rollout has struggled with supply issues, but the country's vaccination rates have overtaken the US, which has an abundance of vaccines available.

According to Our World in Data Australia jumped the US in the vaccination race on September 29.

About 65.93 per cent of the entire Australian population has received at least one dose, and 45.63 per cent are fully vaccinated.

Just 63.99 per cent of Americans have received their fist dose and 55.15 per cent are fully vaccinated.

Australia has surged ahead of countries such as the US in the vaccination race, overtaking the country in first dose percentage on September 29

Australia is also one of the world leaders in doses administered per 100 people daily.

Cuba and South Korea are administering more vaccines per day at 1.7 and 1.25 doses respectively as of October 4.

Australia is close behind, administering 1.02 doses, ahead of Japan, Vietnam, India, Turkey, United States, Germany, and China.

Australia is also significantly better than the world average of 0.29, pushing forward as a world leader in vaccination rates.
Queenslanders have been urged to increase their Covid vaccination rate as the premier and chief health officer warned a serious outbreak of the Delta variant in the state was inevitable and would be uncontrollable when it arrives.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk once again warned 'Delta will come here' once the nation's borders are re-opened, as she announced no new community cases of transmission were recorded on Wednesday.

'We have walk-ins so there is no excuse,' she said. 'We need to get our vaccination rates as high as possible before we have those outbreaks here.'

Her comments were backed up by Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young.

'We will see Delta variant come in and it wont be able to be controlled,' Dr Young said.

'The only control will be, the number of people who are vaccinated.'

'We have walk-ins so there is no excuse,' Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said as she urged Queenslanders to lift vaccination rates. 'We need to get our vaccination rates as high as possible before we have those outbreaks here.'

People line up at a mass vaccination hub at South Bank in Brisbane. Ms Palaszczuk said 67.76 per cent of Queenslanders had now received one dose of vaccine, while 48.89 per cent were now fully vaccinated

Ms Palaszczuk said 67.76 per cent of Queenslanders had now received one dose of vaccine, while 48.89 per cent were now fully vaccinated. By comparison, the double-vaccination rate in neighbouring NSW was expected to reach 70 per cent on Wednesday.

During a press conference at a vaccination hub at Ipswich, west of Brisbane, Ms Palaszczuk pinpointed people in Logan, Beaudesert, Ipswich and the Sunshine Coast as those who are lagging in their vaccination rates.

The state announced vaccination bookings could now be made via Queensland's check-in app.

Ms Palaszczuk defended her government's recent controversial comments in relation to Commonwealth funding of Queensland's health system to ready it for an expected Delta outbreak.

'There is a huge surge they're seeing in Victoria, that they're seeing in NSW, because, especially in NSW, they haven't had to deal with a virus outbreak like Delta before,' Ms Palaszczuk said.

'This is what's coming right across the country and that is why we are putting a lot of effort into preparing our hospitals and now is the time for greater co-operation between the Commonwealth and the states.

'This is a concern not just shared by the [states] health ministers but also by the AMA.'

Ms Palaszczuk scolded one reporter for 'mixing these messages up' in regards to her government's stance on federal funding of the state's hospital system.

'These are pressures being experienced across the nation and with Delta, you add further pressures,' she said.

'That is why we are working very proactively with all our hospitals and health services.'

She cited statistics from NSW where people were waiting an hour for an ambulance as a result of the extra pressure brought on the system by the Delta variant.

Queensland's vaccination rates are at similar levels to Western Australia and Northern Territory among Australia's states and territories. Pictured: People walking in the Brisbane CBD

Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young predicted the Delta variant will enter the state and won't be controlled. 'The only control will be, the number of people who are vaccinated,' she said

Queensland's vaccination rates are at similar levels to Western Australia and Northern Territory among Australia's states and territories, with low case numbers fuelling a complacency among the population.

Ms Palaszczuk appeared to lose her temper with reporters when questioned over whether Queensland would not re-open at 80 per cent of the eligible population, insisting the state continued to follow the national plan.

'Dont put words in my mouth  thats not exactly what I was saying,' she said.

'We've got a target of making sure we have 80 per cent double dose vaccinated but what I said yesterday, is that in the ACT they have 93 per cent [vaccination].

'To protect Queenslanders I would like to see as many Queenslanders as possible vaccinated which would reduce our risks if and when we get those outbreaks.

'Part of the national plan is booster shots, so ask the prime minister the plan for the booster shots, that's in the plan as well.

'Don't just cherrypick parts of the national plan when you're not cherrypicking other parts of the national plan.'

Health Minister Yvette D'Ath said Queenslanders would learn to live with Covid but warned against a 'pandemic of the unvaccinated'.

'We don't want communities that have lower rates [of vaccination] than the rest of the state and the country becoming infectious hotspots,' she said.

'When we talk about 80 per cent, well, if we have 90 per cent in some areas of Queensland and 60 per cent in other areas, what's going to happen to those communities at 60 per cent?

'They will get the virus running through their communities, we can't risk that.'
The former head of the Royal Marines was struggling to cope with Britain's withdrawal from Afghanistan in the weeks before his suicide, a friend has said.

Major General Matthew Holmes CBE was found dead on Saturday after he lost his job as Commandant General Royal Marines and split from his wife.

On Tuesday, one of Holmes's friends told The Times that he had raised concerns that 'all that sacrifice and all that service might have been in vain because we had to get out of Afghanistan' in the aftermath of Britain's withdrawal from the country.

'It had affected a lot of people, him in particular,' the friend told the newspaper. 'You are talking about commanders who sent people into harm's way. It is a really bad time to have all these problems accumulating.

'The poor guy was not coping with leaving the service and he had a very complicated private life. Any bloke would have crumbled under these multiple pressures,' the friend added.

Major General Matthew Holmes CBE (pictured) was found dead on Saturday after he both lost his job as Commandant General Royal Marines and split from his wife. Holmes talked to colleagues about struggling to cope with the withdrawal from Afghanistan, a friend has said

The unnamed friend said that Holmes, 54, was being supported by First Sea Lord, Admiral Tony Radakin, and Lieutenant General Rob Magowan, who replaced him as Commandant General Royal Marines - the professional head of the Royal Marines.

Britain was forced to withdraw all of its personnel from Afghanistan in August after the U.S. announced its intention to do the same, sparking a mass evacuation operation from Kabul as the Taliban swept the country to take control.

Following his death, minister for defence people and veterans Leo Docherty announced going forward all troops would undergo yearly mandatory mental health checks to ensure they are coping with service life.

Speaking at a Forces in Mind Trust fringe during the Tory part conference in Manchester, Docherty likened the checks to an 'annual MoT' that will form part of the government's efforts to emphasise the importance of the wellbeing of troops.

Holmes, who in 2007 was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his leadership on the frontline of Afghanistan, had been removed from the position of Commandant General early in April.

Docherty called Holmes's death a 'tragedy' as he revealed the government would bring in the mental health check for all service personnel from November.

'From later this autumn there will be a mandatory mental health briefing for every serving person,' he said. 'It is like an annual MoT, saying ok we should take this stuff seriously.'

He noted that the culture around mental health issues had changed in recent years, but said that it was still a constant battle.

Holmes, who carried Prince Philip's coffin at his funeral, had been in a 'bad place' before his suspected suicide, people close to him have said.

Pictured: Members of the British and US military engage in the evacuation of people out of Kabul, Afghanistan on Friday, Aug. 20, 2021. A friend has said Holmes was struggling to cope with the withdrawal from Afghanistan

Pictured: Major General Matthew Holmes welcomes Prince Harry, the former Captain General of the Royal Marines, and Meghan Markle to the Royal Albert Hall in London in March 2020

The father-of-two from Hampshire was a friend of Prince Harry and served in all the UK's recent conflicts until leaving the military. At the time of being awarded the Distinguished Service Order, he was commanding officer of 42 Commando.

On Monday, friends and neighbours told MailOnline of their shock at his death, adding that the couple had not been happy for a while and that they had lived at their home in Winchester for 17 years.

One said: 'Lea worked from home and told me last year how the pressure of the lockdown was putting a strain on her family life. I could just tell that she wasn't very happy with things'.

Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, a defence source said the decision to replace him was made due to 'restructuring' of the Royal Navy, but added that Major General Holmes 'was upset' by his removal.

In a statement, Lea Holmes paid tribute to her estranged husband, Major General Matthew Holmes, 54, who was removed from his role in April just 20 months into a what was meant to be a three-year stint.

She said her husband, who she had recently split from, was 'courageous' and 'committed his life to serving in the Royal Marines', adding that he was 'selfless to such an extent that this was more important than his own career progression.'

Holmes's sister Sarah said Monday that her family is 'devastated' by his death.

Lea Holmes - the widow of the former head of the Royal Marines who took his own said her husband was 'exceptionally proud' to have served as the commandant general of the fighting unit. Right: Major General Matthew Holmes receives the Distinguished Service Order from The Queen at Buckingham Palace in 2007

Speaking exclusively to MailOnline on Monday, Ms Holmes said: 'Matthew confided in me a lot because we were very close.

'He spoke to me in detail about the issues in his marriage and I'm not going to break his confidence now. Matthew and I were last in touch on Friday evening and I never thought he would take his own life.'

She added: 'Lea was my best friend before her and Matthew got married and I've been speaking to her every day since this tragedy. She is devastated, as we all are.

'She is the one who called the police on Saturday afternoon because she could not get into the house. And when the police broke the door down to get in, they found Matt's body.'

A tearful Sarah revealed that she was informed about her brother's death on the telephone by his wife on late Saturday afternoon.

Sarah, 55, who is a year older than Major General Holmes added: 'As a family, we are still in shock. We are taking this whole thing one day at a time. Since news of his death, the tributes have not stopped.

'Men who served under him have been contacting me and telling me what an amazing, incredible and inspirational man he was. I'm proud to have been his sister.

'He wanted to be a Royal Marine since the age of five when we were taken together to the Royal Tournament. He had a brilliant career and was committed to the Royal Marines, its men and their families.'

For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123, visit a local branch or go to www.samaritans.org
An Australian internet security company has claimed that coronavirus was 'spreading virulently in Wuhan' by mid-2019 after examining sales data for testing equipment in China.

Internet 2.0, based in Canberra, reached its damning verdict after analysing 1,716 procurement contracts for the purchase of equipment potentially used to test for Covid-19 in Hubei province.

The claims add fuel to a growing understanding that the Chinese government withheld information and even lied about many aspects of the devastating virus.

Internet 2.0's white, 'Procuring for a Pandemic', found 'abnormal' and 'dramatic increase' in the equipment by The Wuhan Institute of Virology, the Chinese army, the local disease prevention centre and a local university.

An Australian internet security company has claimed that Coronavirus was 'spreading virulently in Wuhan' by mid-2019 after examining sales data for testing equipment in China

Abnormal increases in the sales of PCR testing equipment inside China in 2019 - before Covid-19 official existed - have been detected by Australian cyber security company Internet 2.0

Internet 2.0's white paper, 'Procuring for a Pandemic', found 'abnormal' and 'dramatic increase' in the equipment by The Wuhan Institute of Virology, the Chinese army, the local disease prevention centre and a local university. Pictured is the People's Liberation Army Airborne Army Hospital in Wuhan

The coronavirus pandemic has killed more than 4.5million people over the last 22 months, it has irreparably damaged businesses, cost governments trillions and dominated government policy in almost every country on earth.

An Aussie cyber security company produced a report which claims virus testing equipment sales show Covid-19 was active six months before the Chinese government reported it

In Australia, 1,346 people have died and the Federal Budget in May allocated $311billion to tackle the pandemic for 2021-22.

'We assess with high confidence that the pandemic began much earlier than China informed the World Health Organisation about COVID-19,' the Internet 2.0 report's conclusion said.

In 2019, it found the sale of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests reached 67.4 million yuan ($14.3 million), more than twice the amount spent in 2017, which was 29.1 million.

'We assess with medium confidence the significant increase from 2018 to 2019 in Hubei province ...is due to an event like the emergence of COVID-19.'

Internet 2.0 admitted its report contained 'no insights into the origins of COVID-19 - which have been speculated to have escaped from a Wuhan lab.

In late September, Prime Minister Scott Morrison doubled down on calls for an independent review into the origins of Covid-19 in an address to the United Nations (pictured) despite China inflicting months of economic pain on Australia

Chinese students queueing to receive the China National Biotec Group (CNBG) Covid-19 coronavirus vaccine at a university in Wuhan in April 2021. According to cyber security company Internet 2.0 the virus was circulating there nearly two years before

Medical workers in protective suits attend to novel coronavirus (COVID) patients at the intensive care unit (ICU) of a designated hospital in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, February 6, 2020

A woman wears a mask while walking past a makeshift barricade built to control entry and exit to a residential compound on August 11, 2021 in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. The city is known to be the source of the virus

The official version is that Covid-19 crossed over from bats to humans at a 'wet market' in Wuhan where exotic animals were sold in late 2020.

But Internet 2.0's findings suggested the Chinese government knew about the devastating virus much earlier than it has admitted.

'We have come to the conclusion that based on the data analysed it suggests the virus was highly likely to be spreading virulently in Wuhan, China as early as the summer of 2019 and definitely by the early Autumn.'

While the research is not definitive, it supports the grounds for suspicion many nations have had towards Beijing over beginnings of the virus.

'These findings challenge existing assumptions around when the pandemic began and support further investigation,' the report said.

'The study concludes that a significant increase in spending in PCR equipment correlates to the spread of COVID-19.'

Last December China farcically claimed the pandemic may have arrived there from Australia.

Beijing claimed that coronavirus may have spawned outside China and travelled to a wet market in Wuhan via frozen food exports from countries including Australia.

In late September, Prime Minister Scott Morrison doubled down on calls for an independent review into the origins of Covid-19 despite China inflicting months of economic pain on Australia.

Medical staff members carry a patient into the Jinyintan hospital, where patients infected by a mysterious SARS-like virus are being treated, in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province on January 18, 2020

'Australia called for an independent review, and sees understanding the cause of this pandemic not as a political issue, but as being essential, simply, to prevent the next one,' Mr Morrison said, speaking at the United Nations General Assembly.

'We need to know so we can prevent this death and this calamity being visited upon the world again.

'That can be our only motivation.'

In what appeared to be a reaction to April 2020's original call for an independent review, China targeted Australia's agricultural and resources sector.

Those measures affected export products including wine, seafood, barley and coal, treasurer Josh Frydenberg said, also in September.

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

Those trade actions have seen total exports to China fall by around $5.4 billion over the year to the June quarter, Mr Frydenberg said, although most of these goods were successfully redirected elsewhere.

The Prime Minister also said Australia supported calls for a stronger and more independent World Health Organization, with enhanced surveillance and pandemic-response powers.

The World Health Organisation is set to start a new investigation into the origins of the Covid outbreak and probe whether the virus came from a Wuhan lab.

A new team of experts will be appointed, including experts on biosecurity, laboratory safety, genetics, and how viruses spread to humans, The Wall Street Journal reported.

They will look into whether coronavirus leaked from a lab in Wuhan, at the end of 2019 - a claim denied by China, which also wants the WHO to examine if the virus originated in another country.

It comes after US President Joe Biden ordered intelligence agencies to investigate the 'lab leak' theory.

A WHO spokesman said the new team's 'priority needs to be data and access in the country where the first reports were identified'.

The earlier investigation recommended China examine the earliest suspected coronavirus cases, with the team claiming in its final report that the data provided by the country was insufficient.
A close ally of departed NSW leader Gladys Berejiklian gave life-saving CPR to a man who collapsed in the street just hours after being sworn in as a senior government minister.

New NSW Treasurer Matt Kean was returning to his office after his swearing-in ceremony at Government House in Sydney's CBD when he came across the man in distress in Martin Place about 6pm on Tuesday evening.

The minister said other passers-by were already trying to resuscitate the man when he arrived, but that he took over after they tired themselves out.

'I just went and helped out like anyone would have done,' he told 2GB.

Matt Kean pictured centre with departed NSW leader Gladys Berejiklian. He was returning to his office from Government House in Sydney's CBD when he saw a man who had collapsed in the street

'I dont want to make a thing of it, but there was a gentleman that was in a bit of trouble and there was a lovely lady, and she was trying to help him, and she was doing CPR - I was just on the scene at the time.'

He said he immediately put the CPR training he learned through a St John Ambulance training session into practice when he saw the man was in trouble.

'I did a course with the Rural Fire Service - it does come in handy and this time I was able to put it to good use,' he said.

The man - who had pre-existing medical issues - was taken to St Vincent's Hospital in a serious condition.

Police said his condition improved to stable on Wednesday.

'I just went and helped out like anyone would have done,' Mr Kean said

'Police have been told a 43-year-old man was walking along Martin Place when he collapsed and was assisted by members of the public,' a NSW Police spokesman said.

'A 43-year-old woman and two men, aged 40 and 51, gave the man CPR before NSW Ambulance paramedics and officers from Sydney City Police Area Command arrived and provided treatment.'

Mr Kean was sworn in as state treasurer on Tuesday as part of a completely fresh NSW government leadership team following Ms Berejiklian's resignation as premier last week under a cloud of corruption allegations.

The influential Liberal party powerbroker will join his predecessor Dominic Perrottet as the state's new leader and Stuart Ayres as deputy premier.

While Perrotet is from the party's right faction, Mr Ayres and Mr Kean are from the more dominant moderate bloc.

Rob Stokes - who contended with Mr Perrottet for the leadership - is also a moderate.

The Pittwater MP refused to withdraw his nomination to be party leader, offering himself as a more experienced alternative to 39-year-old Mr Perrottet who would give the party its best shot at winning the 2023 election.

Hours earlier, Mr Kean had been sworn in as state treasurer by NSW Governor Margaret Beazley

'Dominic Perrottet is a good friend of mine. He has a lot of great qualities. I just believe in terms of experience that I offer more,' he said on Monday.

'In terms of being able to speak to the people of NSW  we have a couple of challenging by-elections ahead of us  and I believe I'm equipped and prepared for that challenge.

'I believe I have a lot to offer in terms of vision, in terms of integrity, in terms of energy.'
Firebrand NYPD union boss Ed Mullins resigned on Tuesday evening, hours after an FBI raid on his office and home - sparking brutal put-downs from his New York City rivals.

Mullins had led the Sergeant's Benevolent Association since 2002 and was a high profile, controversial figure who often clashed with city leadership and mayor Bill de Blasio.

But he stepped down as the union's president after a dozen FBI agents raided the organization's Manhattan offices and his Long Island home as part of an investigation that may be tied to mismanagement of union funds.

And his rivals were quick to issue scorching statements about his departure.

Former de Blasio Press Secretary Bill Neidhart told the New York Post: 'A horrible person who also has horrible politics. I dont know if hes going to rot in prison, but I do know hes going to rot in hell.'

De Blasio himself said: 'Ed Mullins dishonored his uniform, his city and his union more times than I can count. It was just a matter of time before his endless hatred would catch up with him. That day has come.'

And US Representative Ritchie Torres - who was once branded a 'first class whore' by Mullins, wrote: 'Ed Mullins has spent his career abusing power and trafficking in hate, and his misdeeds have finally sent him into retirement, which is exactly where he belongs.'

Close to a dozen federal agents were seen carrying boxes of paperwork out of the SBA headquarters in downtown Manhattan on Tuesday morning.

They descended on Mullins's Long Island home later in the day.

Mullins is seen on Tuesday afternoon after his house in Port Washington was raided by the FBI

Cops raided Mullins' Long Island home as part of an investigation that may be tied to mismanagement of union funds

FBI agents carry out boxes from the NYPD Sergeants Benevolent Association union on Tuesday

A source told the New York Times that the US Attorney's public corruption unit is involved

Footage obtained by ABC News showed Mullins on Tuesday at his home.

The FBI said they were 'carrying out a law enforcement action in connection with an ongoing investigation' and did not provide any further details on the sweeps.

Two sources told the New York Times that the union is being investigated by the FBI and the public corruption unit of the US attorney's office in Manhattan.

A source told NY1 that the raids are connected to mismanagement of union funds.

The SBA Executive Board said in a statement: 'Given the severity of this matter and the uncertainty of its outcome, the SBA Executive board has requested that President Mullins resign.

'The day to day functioning and the important business of the SBA cannot be distracted by the existence of this investigation.'

Bill de Blasio (pictured yestersday) said: 'It was just a matter of time before his endless hatred would catch up with him. That day has come'

The FBI said they were 'carrying out a law enforcement action in connection with an ongoing investigation'

The union said in a statement: 'Given the severity of this matter and the uncertainty of its outcome, the SBA Executive board has requested that President Mullins resign'

About a dozen agents searched the Sergeants Benevolent Association Tuesday

The union represents about 13,000 active and retired NYPD sergeants and controls a $264 million retirement fund.

Non-supervisory officers are represented by the larger Police Benevolent Association.

Mullins, a police officer since 1982, rose to sergeant, a rank above detective but below captain and lieutenant, in 1993 and was elected president of the sergeants union in 2002.

The controversial officer is a known critic of Mayor Bill de Blasio, who he called 'an idiot' in an interview with Fox News contributor Sara Carter last year after the mayor criticized a large funeral gathering in the Orthodox Jewish community.

Mayor Bill de Blasio, who is often criticized by union chief Ed Mullins, declined to comment on the raid but accused Mullins of 'divisive' and 'destructive' language on Tuesday

The FBI has only said that they raided the union 'in connection with an ongoing investigation'

Mullins is in the middle of department disciplinary proceedings for tweeting NYPD paperwork last year regarding the arrest of de Blasios daughter during protests over the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd.

Mullins department trial began last month but was postponed indefinitely after one of his lawyers suffered a medical emergency.

Mullins lawyer denies he violated department guidelines, arguing arrest papers with Chiara de Blasios personal identifying information, such as her date of birth and address, were already posted online.

During Tuesday's daily COVID briefing, De Blasio told reporters he knew little about the raid, but took the opportunity to criticize Mullins for his rhetoric.

'A lot of what he has done is really, really destructive,' de Blasio said.

'Especially in the middle of a crisis where we're trying to unify, we're trying to get people through together, he's been a divisive voice.'

One source told NY1 that the search is connected to mismanagement of funds. Above, the SBA union office at 35 Worth Street in Manhattan

FBI agents descended on Mullins's Long Island home later on Tuesday

Mullins is also facing charges of offensive language and abuse of authority by the Civilian Complaint Review Board for calling then-Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot a 'b****' and calling former city councilman Ritchie Torres, who is gay, a 'first-class w****.'

He made the statements on Twitter in 2020.

The tweet about Dr. Barbot came after the commissioner reportedly told NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan: 'I don't give two rats' asses about your cops' after she asked for more masks as the city was experiencing its first wave of COVID-19.

His next administrative court hearing is on October 27.

Mullins is facing facing departmental charges of offensive language and abusive of authority for calling a former health commissioner a 'b****' and a city councilman a 'first class w****'

Congressman Ritchie Torres, who is gay, was called a 'first class w****' by Mullins last year

On Friday, the Department of Justice announced charges against two NYPD officers accused of taking thousands of dollars in cash bribes from a tow truck company owned by a former officer in exchange for directing cars involved in accidents to his business.

The licensed tow and repair business is owned by Michael Perri, who retired from the NYPD in June 2020 and was also charged in the matter.

Perri and two other officers, James Davneiro and Giancarlo Osma, were each hit with one count of bribery and one count of conspiracy to violate the Travel Act.

All three worked at the 107th precinct, which serves the Queens neighborhoods of Fresh Meadows, Cunningham Heights and Hilltop Village, at the time of the bribes.

It appears unlikely that Tuesday's raid was connected to Friday's indictments.

On Friday, the DOJ announced charges against Giancarlo Osma, left, for directing cars involved in accidents to a business owned by former NYPD officer Michael Perri, right. A third officer, James Davneiro, was also charged
A newborn baby has tested positive to Covid-19 while staying in the neonatal intensive care unit at a Canberra Hospital.

The ACT recorded 28 new Covid cases in the 24 hours to 8pm on Tuesday and one death, bringing the territory's death toll for the current outbreak to six.

Authorities said one of the latest cases includes a baby who was diagnosed at the Centenary Hospital for Women and Children.

ACT Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said the baby had been in a special care nursery for some time and had been moved to a Covid ward.

'This situation is being expertly handled and Canberrans can feel safe to attend hospitals if they require care,' she said.

A newborn baby is being treated for Covid-19 after contracting the virus while staying in the NICU at Canberra Centenary Hospital (pictured)

Of the new cases, 19 are linked to known cases or outbreaks, while nine are still under investigation by health authorities.

There were 11 cases that were in quarantine the whole time, with five being infectious in the community.

The woman who died was aged in her 70s and was receiving end-of life care at an aged-care facility in Canberra's north. Her death brings the territory's death.

The number of Covid patients in Canberra hospitals now stands at 16, seven of those being in intensive care and four being on a ventilator.

Meanwhile, Australia's capital city has hit two major vaccine milestones as it residents count down the days until Covid restrictions are scheduled to be lifted on October 15.

The ACT now has 93.8 per cent of its over-16s with a first dose of the vaccine, and is leading the country for fully immunised residents, at 67.8 per cent.

However, while Canberra is on track to have restrictions lifted, the territory's Chief Health Officer Dr Kerryn Coleman urged people with Covid symptoms to keep coming forward for testing.

The alarming case is one of 28 new infections recorded in the ACT on Wednesday. Pictured: A pedestrian wearing a face shield walks through Canberra

The baby had been in a special care nursery for some time and has been moved to a Covid ward (stock)

It comes after the latest figures showed 10 per cent of coronavirus cases had waited more than five days after developing symptoms to get tested, while almost half of all cases waited two or more days to get tested.

'These statistics are going in the wrong direction,' Dr Coleman said.

'We must stay the course and be vigilant and continue to follow these public health directions until the current lockdown restrictions are raised.

'We need us to be in the strongest position possible as we change these public health measures.'

Among those changes will be a focus on high-risk COVID cases, rather than every person who tests positive.

Dr Coleman said health authorities would shift focus to those who represented the most danger to transmitting the virus to other members of the community.

ACT Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith (pictured) said experts are handling the baby's case

'Reporting will change as lockdown eases,' she said.

'We do expect to see larger daily case numbers and we need to accept a degree of transmission in the ACT.

'This is inevitable due to a number of things, but mostly due to the highly contagious nature of Delta and more people in the community as we ease restrictions.'

The territory will also move to mandate vaccines for all frontline healthcare workers, which includes workers in hospitals, hospices and ambulance staff.

The deadline for the vaccines has yet to be confirmed, but Ms Stephen-Smith said it was likely healthcare workers would need their first dose by October 29, and be fully vaccinated by December 1.

Ms Stephen-Smith said she did not expect to see large numbers of health staff stood down due to the mandate.
Joe Biden has dispatched US envoy Jake Sullivan to talk with China's foreign policy adviser amid rising tensions over Taiwan.

Almost 150 Chinese warplanes have breached Taiwan's airspace since Friday, including 56 jets on Monday in a dramatic escalation of aggression.

Sullivan will meet with senior Chinese foreign policy adviser Yang Jiechi in Zurich, Switzerland, later today after the White House criticised Beijing for the recent military harassment of self-governed Taiwan.

The talks are to be a follow-up on Biden's call with President Xi Jinping last month as the administration continues 'to seek to responsibly manage the competition' between the two countries, the White House said in a statement.

Biden on Tuesday sought to reassure Taiwan as he told reporters: 'I've spoken with Xi about Taiwan. We agree ... we'll abide by the Taiwan agreement.'

However, he was referring to a call with the Chinese president on September 9 and tensions have risen significantly in recent days.

President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that he has spoken to Chinese President Xi Jinping (pictured with Biden in 2013) about Taiwan and they agreed to abide by the Taiwan agreement, as tensions have ratcheted up between Taipei and Beijing

Biden's (pictured leaving Michigan on October 5, 2021) comments came after the president returned from a trip to Michigan to hawk his $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill and the larger budget bill at a union hall

The agreement he was referring to was Washington's long-standing 'one-China policy' where the country will officially recognize Beijing rather than Taipei, and the Taiwan Relations Act - which makes it clear that the US decision to establish diplomatic ties with Beijing instead of Taiwan depends on the expectation that the future of Taiwan - will be determined by peaceful means.

The call was the first the two presidents had in seven months and they discussed the need to ensure that competition between the world's two largest economies does not veer into conflict.

Biden's comments came after the president returned from a trip to Michigan to hawk his $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill and the larger budget bill at a union hall.

At the same time, the Taiwan-China relationship has been escalating and China warned yesterday that World War III could be triggered 'at any time' after it sent dozens of warplanes into Taiwan's airspace.

Currently, China claims Taiwan as its own territory but Taiwan says it's an independent country that will defend its freedoms and democracy, blaming China for the tensions.

Xi said Taiwan will be taken by force if necessary. A reported 148 Chinese air force planes were in the southern and southwestern part of Taiwan's air defense zone over a four-day period beginning on Friday - the same day China marked a key patriotic holiday, National Day.

An article in the state-backed Global Times newspaper said that 'collusion' between the US and Taiwan was so 'audacious' that the situation 'has almost lost any room for maneuver, teetering on the edge of a face-off'.

It claimed that the people of China were ready to back all-out war with the US, which backs Taiwan, warning the island nation against 'playing with fire'.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Tuesday vowed to 'do whatever it takes' to guard Taiwan against invasion as she indicated that without help from the country's allies 'authoritarianism has the upper hand over democracy'.

Nearly 150 Chinese warplanes have breached Taiwan's airspace since Friday, including nuclear-capable bombers on Monday in a dramatic increase in aggression

Chinese President Xi Jinping (pictured in Beijing on September 30, 2021) claims Taiwan as China's territory but Taiwan says it's an independent country that will defend its freedoms and democracy, blaming China for the tensions

President Tsai Ing-wen (pictured in October 2020 in Taipei) vowed to 'do whatever it takes' to guard Taiwan against invasion as she warned that if the country's allies allowed it to fall 'it would signal that authoritarianism has the upper hand over democracy'

'They should remember that if Taiwan were to fall, the consequences would be catastrophic for regional peace and the democratic alliance system.

'It would signal that in today's global contest of values, authoritarianism has the upper hand over democracy,' she added.

On Sunday, the US urged China to stop its military activities near Taiwan.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement on Sunday: 'The United States is very concerned by the People's Republic of China's provocative military activity near Taiwan, which is destabilizing, risks miscalculations, and undermines regional peace and stability.'

China warned that World War Three could be triggered 'at any time' on Tuesday after it sent dozens of warplanes into Taiwan's airspace. Recent voyages through the Strait of Taiwan by the British and American navies (pictured) - coupled with the new Aukus defense pact - have infuriated Beijing and sparked more shows of strength in the South China Sea

Pictured: Britain's HMS Queen Elizabeth warship (second right at the head of the armada) took part in joint training with warships from six different countries over the weekend in the Philippine Sea amid rising tensions between China and Taiwan

A Taiwan flag was carried across the sky on Tuesday during a National Day rehearsal in Taipei, Taiwan (pictured)

Meanwhile, Beijing has been infuriated by activity of US and UK navies in the region.

Britain's HMS Queen Elizabeth was spotted sailing in the Philippine Sea in a joint exercise with two US aircraft carriers - the USS Ronald Reagan and USS Carl Vinson - and Japan's helicopter destroyer JS Ise.

The armada, which also includes a number of warships from six different countries in total, trained together over the weekend in the region amid the rising tensions.

The recent voyages through the Strait of Taiwan by the British and American navies - coupled with the new Aukus defense pact - have infuriated Beijing and sparked more shows of strength in the South China Sea.
Pictures of the girlfriend of a bullet factory worker who shot dead a black man, 22, after the victim complimented her during a night out, have emerged showing her smiling and posing with her allegedly would-be killer boyfriend as social media users demand she be charged in the crime.

Ian Cranston, 27, was charged with murdering Barry Washington Jr, 22, after he reportedly issued a 'respectful compliment' to his girlfriend, Allie Butler, 27, outside a bar in Bend, Oregon.

The shooting, which followed a physical altercation, was videotaped and shared on social media.

Footage of the incident shows a woman  who some allege to be Butler  shouting profanity before shots ring out. Then a male voice, suspected to belong to Cranston, exclaims 'Hey, call the police!' and laughter is heard.

Later, the woman is heard telling a man that the 'guy on the ground' pushed and hit her in the face, and also struck her boyfriend.

Although Butler was not charged in Washington's death, activists say she egged Cranston  has been charged with crimes including second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter and first-degree assault  on and 'found pleasure' in the attack. Some even claim she spat a racial slut at Washington.

Ian Cranston, 27, is pictured with his girlfriend, Allie Butler, 27. Cranston is charged with murdering a black man who allegedly issued Butler a 'respectful' compliment

Ian Cranston is pictured with his mother Pamela Cranston, girlfriend Allie Butler, father Edward Cranston, brother Duncan Cranston and his girlfriend Jordan Samuels at the beach in a photo posted March 28, 2018

'YOU ARE NOT A VICTIM. You laughed and found pleasure in the murder of a black man that you harassed, antagonized and called a n***** as your boyfriend Ian Cranston shot and killed that young man. Now this killer is walking the streets of Bend after making a $10,000 payment on a manslaughter charge. While someones child, friend, loved one is dead,' Facebook user Casey Morris wrote.

'You walked away *laughing* as his body laid on the ground fighting to breathe. You lied to make yourself a victim of a hate crime that you played a part in. You then sent your video to a news outlet for your own benefit.'

LaRhonda Tyson, also taking to social media, blatantly called Butler a killer.

'Another innocent black man has lost his life, again. His name is BARRY WASHINGTON. He was murdered in public, in cold blood, by IAN CRANSTON and ALLIE BUTLER please help get his story our there,' Tyson exclaimed.

Her claims were echoed by another Facebooker who said: '[Washington] was murdered on video, taunted while dying, called racial slurs, majority of people in the club jus laughed at this black dude dying on the floor!'

'His killer Ian Cranston in Bend. Oh, his girlfriend n him laughing. I hope lil Allie Butler gets the karma she deserves! Didnt even care somebody is dying right in front of you.'

Activists have taken to social media, calling for Butler's arrest. They claim she egged Cranston on and 'found pleasure' in the attack. Some even claim she spat a racial slut at Washington

It is unclear from the video if Butler contributed to the encounter, as the activists allege.

Butler, who appears to have earned her bachelor's degree from Portland State University where she also was a cheerleader, appears to have had a happy relationship with Cranston.

Photographs shown on social media feature the two smiling.

Butler's mother, Patty, took to Facebook on Mother's Day to thank Cranston and her 'lovely daughter' for sending flowers to 'brighten up her day'.

The post included a photo of a bouquet and a note reading: 'To the strongest and most kind hearted woman we know. Happy Mother's Day! Love, Ian & Allie.'

At this time, the Butler family has not publicly commented on the shooting.

Butler, who appears to have earned her bachelor's degree from Portland State University where she also was a cheerleader, has not been charged in the incident. Social media users are calling for action to be taken against Butler, alleging that she laughed at Washington and egged Cranston on during the fight

Washington was shot on a street in Bend, Oregon, on September 19, after he spoke to Butler outside a bar called The Capital.

Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel said: 'It is believed that the initial interaction between Barry and Mr. Cranston began when Barry complimented Mr. Cranston's girlfriend.

'There's no evidence that what Mr. Washington did when he approached the woman was inappropriate.

'There's not an allegation that he groped her, grabbed her, was crass with her. He complimented her in a respectful manner. She was fine back. She said, 'No, thank you. I'm flattered but I'm in a relationship.' No allegation that anything Mr. Washington did was inappropriate.'

That was the extent of the interaction, but Cranston, a machinist at bullet manufacturer Nosler, was 'not happy,' it is alleged.

Hummel said the two men later had words outside, and that there was some pushing and punches thrown, but that things had calmed down before Cranston allegedly pulled a gun from his waistband and shot Washington.

Barry Washington Jr (pictured) was shot on a street in Bend, Oregon, on September 19, after he spoke to Butler outside a bar called The Capital

A grab from cellphone video appears to show Washington engaging in a dispute with some people just seconds before a gunshot rings out

The shooting took place on September 19 outside a nightclub in Bend, Oregon

The initial compliment was not caught on camera. Footage said to show the deadly fight was shared on social media, with a man believed to be Washington filmed fighting with another man moments before a gunshot rings out.

Cops were called to the scene, and found Washington, who lived in Bend, lying on the sidewalk suffering from a gunshot wound.

He was rushed to hospital and died the next day.

Cranston has now been charged with crimes including second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter and first-degree assault.

He has not been charged with any hate crime, but District Attorney Hummel said an investigation into whether the killing was bias-motivated continues, and drew parallels between the killing and historic racist murders of black men.

He said: 'If we obtain sufficient evidence to prove that this shooting was at least partially motivated by race, we will go back to that grand jury and ask them to add the charge

'It is believed that the initial interaction between Barry and Mr. Cranston began when Barry complimented Mr. Cranston's girlfriend.

'Our country has a disgraceful history of denigrating, prosecuting and lynching Black men for talking to White women. Over the last week, literally hundreds of people called and emailed me to remind me of this history.'

A GoFundMe campaign was launched by Washington's aunt to help the family. It has already drawn more than $57,000 in donations

Washington was fatally shot on the sidewalk after complimenting Cranston's girlfriend and getting into a physical altercation with the man

The district attorney said Washington was 'respectful' when he complimented Cranston's girlfriend. The suspect has not been charged with a hate crime

Cranston has since been arrested and held in Deschutes County Jail on a no-bail warrant, Hummel said.

Cranston's attorney Kevin Sali accused Washington of being the aggressor and claimed that he physically assaulted his client, leaving him with head injuries.

In a statement to CNN, Sali said 'indisputable' video evidence shows 'before Ian Cranston ever drew his weapon, Barry Washington had assaulted him without provocation, resulting in head injuries that required the police to take Mr. Cranston to the hospital where a brain scan and other procedures had to be performed.'

Cranston's defense attorney also sharply rebuked Hummel over his race comments.

'After the evidence comes out at trial, I trust someone will ask the District Attorney why he deliberately inflamed the community with statements he knew were not supported by any evidence,' Sali stated.

Cranston did not enter a plea during his arraignment on Friday. He is due back in court on December 7.

KTVZ reported that Cranston has no prior criminal history in Oregon. Over the past year, he has worked as a machinist for a company that manufactures bullets.

Washington was a native of Benicia, California, who had only recently relocated to Bend with a friend, according to the Bend Bulletin. He is survived by his mother and younger siblings.

'This is really overwhelming. The way my son was murdered it's too much,' wrote Washington's mother, Lawanda Roberson. 'I'm so hurt.. I haven't even begin to grieve. The legal case is a lotall while trying to lay my son to rest.'

Washington, a native of California, is pictured left with his mother, Lawanda Roberson

Meanwhile, Washington's family and friends are demanding justice.

At a vigil on September 26, Washington's mother, Lawanda Roberson, said she wanted to make sure she gave her son a voice.

'I am very shocked. I am in disbelief. I always hear about these stories,' told KTVZ.

'I really want to speak for my son because I know there have been a lot of misleading stories out there.'

Washington's aunt, Valencia Roberson, also shared at the vigil that the family believes his murder was racially motivated.

'Basically, he told him that they can do to him whatever they wanted to do and kept calling him the 'N' word,' Valencia alleged.

Washington allegedly asked Butler on a date, to which she declined.

Although the initial compliment was not caught camera, the aftermath - including the fatal shooting - was recorded.

In the video said to show the incident, a man believed to be Washington uses foul language and moves towards someone off camera.

Lawanda Roberson, has also been advocating for justice on her Facebook page.

In a post on Tuesday she shared that she was 'still in shock' and is 'overwhelmed with the legalities of the case.'

She also issued heartfelt words to her deceased son, saying: 'I see your big smile and your words you always say to me 'mama I'm go be good' and you know your mama .. not go rest and go make sure Justice is served!

'No time to just sit and think about the reality. Your gone! But at the end of the night The reality hit and I can't take it .. my son, my baby is gone.'

A GoFundMe campaign was launched by Washington's aunt to help the family. It has already drawn more than $57,000 in donations.
A South Australian mum has been targeted by arsonists who set her car on fire after learning she had tested positive for Covid-19.

Authorities are currently investigating a 'suspicious' blaze that destroyed a vehicle and caused surface damage to a home in Mount Gambier on Tuesday night.

Emergency services were called to a property on Sandalwood Crescent just after 10pm after reports flames from a car fire had began to spread to a nearby home.

No one was home at the time and there were no reported injuries.

SA Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said the car reportedly belonged to a woman who had recently tested positive to Covid-19, according to the ABC.

Arsonists have set fire to the car of a Mount Gambier mum who recently tested positive to Covid-19 (pictured)

'People shouldn't assume that they know what's going on,' he said.

'It's completely unnecessary, it's unwarranted. They have committed a serious crime and if we do detect them then we will be dealing with them appropriately.

'I'm just asking people to show tolerance. We don't know exactly what's gone on. Let us get to the bottom of this and we'll provide that information to the community as quickly as possible.'

The region was plunged into seven days of tough restrictions after the woman tested positive for the virus on Friday.

Following her positive result, the woman was flown to the Royal Adelaide Hospital suffering from serious respiratory symptoms.

She was later moved to Adelaide's medi-hotel at Toms Court where she is undergoing isolation with her four children.

The woman had reportedly visited relatives in Casterton, Victoria, which is located within SA's border travel bubble.

Mount Gambier and surrounding areas are now placed under strict restrictions after the mother-of-four tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday

Contact tracers are now scrambling to piece together her movements to determine if she travelled to Melbourne during her visit.

Several exposure sites linked to positive case have been identified while the SA-Victoria border travel bubble has been shrunk from 70km to a 30km radius.

Mount Gambier City, Wattle Range Council and the District Council of Grant have now been placed under tougher restrictions for at least seven days.

As part of the measures venues are now limited to the one person per four square metres rule with all beverages and food to be consumed while seated.

Visitors to homes are capped at two people per day, while private activities are limited to 10 people.

Singing and dancing is only permitted at weddings as part of a bridal party or reception, and dance studios where alcohol is not served.

Masks must be worn in all indoor public spaces including gyms, public transport and while accessing personal services such as hairdressers.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or report online via its website.
Paul Toole, the newly elected NSW Deputy Premier, comes from a family of nine children - and two of those served lengthy jail terms for for running a major drugs syndicate.

Mr Toole was elected John Barilaro's replacement as the leader of the NSW Nationals on Wednesday in the latest political upheaval since Gladys Berejiklian resigned as premier last Friday.

In September 2012, Mr Toole's brothers Joshua Toole (then aged 28) and Kurt Toole (then aged 22) admitted dealing large quantities of methylamphetamine and cannabis around the NSW city of Newcastle in 2010.

They were caught when police intercepted a drugs package bound for Joshua in September 2010. Kurt was arrested at an apartment in the Lake Macquarie suburb of Charlestown which the brothers shared and used as the base for the syndicate.

Their brother Paul, became the Nationals member for Bathurst in March 2011, was in the NSW District Court almost a decade ago as Joshua was jailed for a minimum of nine years for his 'supervisory' role in the syndicate.

New NSW National Party leader Paul Toole (pictured right) was in the District Court when his brother Joshua was jailed for a minimum of nine years for his 'supervisory' role in a drug syndicate

'The operation in my view can be seen as reasonably sophisticated,' Judge Laura Wells said at the time.

'They dealt with large quantities of cannabis and methylamphetamine and made quite a profit.'

Kurt, who Judge Wells said held a more junior role and did most of the 'leg work', was jailed for a minimum of seven years.

The court heard Joshua, who was addicted to steroids, bought and sold at least 25 kilograms of cannabis and six kilograms of methylamphetamine.

Joshua Toole (pictured), the brother of new NSW Nationals leader Paul Toole, admitted dealing large quantities of methylamphetamine and cannabis around the city of Newcastle in 2010

He was also convicted of handling the proceeds of crime after the NSW Crime Commission discovered $200,000 he kept in a Newcastle bank safety deposit box.

Kurt bought and sold 17kg of cannabis and just over one kilogram of methylamphetamine.

He was also convicted of smashing windows and doors during a 'standover' attack at the home of a rival.

He and others barged into the man's home and beat him out of fear the victim was trying to start a rival drugs operation.

Kurt Toole sent text messages to those who helped him with an attack on a rival

After the incident, Kurt Toole sent text messages to those who helped him with the attack, thanking them.

'Thats wat [sic] we are all about striking and standing our ground and showing people who we all are we are served to survive soldiers and brothers,' he wrote in a text message.

Kurt Toole also torched one of his dealer's cars at Dudley because he thought the dealer had 'dogged' on him to the police.

The Toole brothers admitted the charges at Newcastle Local Court in January, 2012, before being sentenced the following September.

At least six other people who played far more minor roles in the syndicate were also convicted.

The Toole brothers subsequently appealed their sentences.

Kurt Toole argued the judge had not properly taken into account his addiction to steroids and gambling. Both brothers appealed the length of their sentences.

The Court of Criminal Appeal dismissed the appeals in December 2014.

The ruling stated that 'Her Honour found that the drug offences were premeditated and reasonably sophisticated, that both Applicants were directly involved in transactions themselves and also in directing the activities of others.

'Her Honour concluded that Joshua had a role higher than that of Kurt relying in this connection on the fact that Joshua had handled larger and wholesale quantities, he had had the cash in the bank and his activities involved less leg-work than Kurt's.

'Her Honour concluded that Joshua seemed to be operating more in the capacity of an overall supervisor of Kurt and others. She observed that some of the text messages in evidence revealed that Joshua was directing Kurt more than the other way around.'

Daily Mail Australia contacted Paul Toole's office seeking comment on his brothers' case.

Newly elected NSW Nationals Leader Paul Toole leaves a party room meeting at Parliament House in Sydney on Wednesday

John Barilaro's replacement revealed: How ex-teacher Paul Toole defeated mum-of-two to be elected NSW Deputy Premier

By Stephen Johnson for Daily Mail Australia

A former teacher will replace John Barilaro as NSW Deputy Premier and Nationals leader as yet another party room vote marks the biggest political shake-up outside an election in 13 years.

Regional Roads Minister Paul Toole defeated Water Minister Melinda Pavey, a mother-of-two who grew up on a dairy farm, in a ballot on Wednesday morning, 15 votes to three, with Mental Health Minister Bronnie Taylor to be his deputy.

Mr Barilaro resigned on Sunday, two days after Gladys Berejiklian quit as Liberal premier over a corruption investigation. He joked that he was having a 'mid-life crisis' and wanted a new career outside of politics.

Incoming NSW Deputy Premier Paul Toole with Nationals Deputy Leader Bronnie Taylor following their election on Wednesday

For the first time since 2008, NSW has a new premier and deputy premier almost on the same day without an election, with the Coalition's revolving door of leaders resembling Labor in its troubled final years.

The New South Wales Nationals, like their senior Coalition partner, are now on their fourth leader in seven years, as they struggle to hold traditional regional seats.

The party of the bush has now chosen a leader from west of the Great Dividing Range from the central west city of Bathurst, better known as the home Mount Panorama and V8 Supercar racing.

Mr Toole is taking over as Deputy Premier as Sydney prepares to emerge from lockdown on October 11.

'I tell you what, I'm looking forward to getting back to work,' Mr Toole said after the vote on Wednesday.
A man accused of throwing acid on a 24-year-old's neck did it because the victim allegedly was present when his friend was raped just days beforehand, a court has heard.

Edward Arthur Robinson, 41, has been released on bail after appearing in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Wednesday morning charged with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

The alleged attack occurred about 7am on Tuesday in West End, central Brisbane at the intersection of Boundary and Mollison St.

Police allege the defendant threw drain cleaner containing caustic acid on the man.

The alleged attack occurred in West End in central Brisbane (pictured) when Robinson threw a cup of acid at the 24-year-old man

The 24-year-old victim suffered significant burns to his upper body, neck and hand area as well as parts of his face. He was taken in a serious but stable condition to Royal Brisbane and Women's hospital.

Robinson's Legal Aid Lawyer Elliot Boddice applied for bail saying the motive for the attack was not random, with Robinson's friend who was allegedly raped several days before identifying the victim as allegedly present during her attack.

It is alleged Robinson and his friend were walking through West End on the morning of the attack when the woman spotted a man she alleged was present when she was raped, the court heard.

Mr Boddice remarked the woman pointed the man out to Robinson.

The 18-year-old woman's allegation is that the man was present at the time of her alleged attack, not that he committed the rape.

Police allege after her identification of the man, Robinson went back to the boarding house where he lives and poured some of the drain cleaner into a mug.

He allegedly waited outside for the man to walk past his residence and ambushed him, throwing the substance onto the man, the court heard.

Police allege the drain cleaner landed on the torso and face of the alleged victim, with the acid burning through his clothing.

The 24-year-old man (pictured) suffered burns to his upper body, neck, hand area and parts of his face. He was taken to Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital in a serious but stable condition

Mr Boddice told the court he had been told the alleged rape was reported to police.

He commented his client feared returning to the boarding house where he lived due to possible retaliation.

The court heard Robinson told the woman 'I've f****d up' after the attack.

Acting Magistrate Deal Wilkinson granted bail with conditions that included reporting to police three times a week, living at a Mount Gravatt address and having no contact with the alleged victim.

'[Mr Robinson] realised immediately after he had committed the offence, the gravity of it,' Mr Wilkinson said.

Robinson appeared in front of Brisbane Magistrates Court (pictured) on Wednesday morning via video link and was released on bail with conditions

'I don't consider it was a random attack, in the fact that the person was pointed out to him by [the woman] in relation to a serious offence.'

Robinson appeared via video link to the bail hearing, breaking down when he heard his bail had been approved.

He previously had worked as a forklift driver for 20 years before he lost his job due to Covid and had been homeless until he started living in the West End boarding house.

The matter was adjourned, with Robinson next appearing in court on October 25.
When Abdul Elraoui heard a stranger rummaging around his Victorian hobby farm he immediately grabbed his unregistered semi-automatic rifle.

The 71-year-old man had been robbed several times before at his Mincha property, about three hours' northwest of Melbourne.

And rather than calling police and locking his doors, he decided to take the matter into his own hands.

Elraoui on Wednesday faced the Victorian County Court, where he pleaded guilty to intentionally causing serious injury as well as reckless conduct endangering life

Aiming for the beaming light of an iPhone, Elraoui, fired two shots at Hannah Meharry, who had broken into his property with two friends about 3am in June 2019.

Elraoui first shot Ms Meharry, then 21, in the arm from about five metres away.

He shot her again in the back after she screamed in pain and ran off.

Elraoui on Wednesday faced the Victorian County Court, where he pleaded guilty to intentionally causing serious injury as well as reckless conduct endangering life.

The court heard that the then 69-year-old man followed Ms Meharry as she ran off and jumped into a getaway car.

Elraoui fired at least two more shots at the fleeing vehicle.

The trio of would-be thieves, who had used bolt-cutters to enter Elraoui's property, then crashed at high speed after trying to escape him.

They knocked on a neighbour's home and Ms Meharry collapsed on the floor after calling triple zero.

The 21-year-old remained in hospital for three days and needed surgery to have shrapnel removed from her body.

She had a 2cm deep gunshot wound to her left arm, and three wounds, each the size of a 20-cent coin, on her back.

Elraoui's barrister Cameron Marshall said his client had found life difficult in Australia after leaving Lebanon during the civil war.

The 71-year-old had become 'estranged' from society following a divorce and had also developed anxiety problems after he was robbed several times.

'He is a deeply apprehensive and fearful man - it manifests with significant anxiety and agitation,' Mr Marshall said.

The defence barrister said Elraoui, who lived alone, bought his gun at a deceased estate auction about 10 years earlier for farming purposes and that his behaviour could not be compared to the recklessness of 'gangster-like behaviour'.

Prosecutor Phillip Raimondo said the shooting was a serious offence given the three thieves, all in their early 20s, never physically threatened Elraoui.

'He should not have done what he did - clearly,' Judge Gerard Mullaly said.

'With his impaired mental functioning, he doesn't make decisions that should be made.'

Elraoui is expected to face a sentence hearing on November 10.
A Queensland woman has been jailed for allegedly refusing to home quarantine after visiting a Covid-19 exposure site as the state strives to eradicate the virus.

The woman, from Highvale in Brisbane's northwest, was identified as a contact of a positive case on Tuesday and ordered to self-isolate as health authorities grapple with several Covid clusters in the state's south east.

But Deputy Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said the woman was placed in a prison cell after she allegedly refused to follow the public health order 'multiple times'.

'[She was] then directed to go to hotel quarantine, refused to go and was arrested and taken to the Sandgate watch house where she was bailed and placed in hotel quarantine in the city,' he told reporters on Wednesday.

Mr Gollschewski warned police 'will continually check compliance of people in home quarantine'.

A Brisbane woman has been jailed for allegedly breaching an order to home quarantine (stock)

'There are consequences for that sort of behaviour so please comply,' he said.

The tough response comes as Queensland frantically tries to hold onto its zero-Covid approach as it comes close to suppressing its third multi-case Delta outbreak.

The state recorded no new locally-acquired cases on Wednesday - just nine days after the first case emerged in a cluster involving workers at an aviation company, which swelled to nine cases.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said it was a remarkable feat the state had appeared to stem the outbreak.

'So we have zero community cases, this is unbelievable,' Ms Palaszczuk told reporters on Wednesday.

'This is great effort from everyone in Queensland doing the right thing.'

As authorities battle to keep Covid out of their state, more than 14,517 vehicles were intercepted at the Queensland border on Tuesday, with 123 turned around.

One driver was issued with an on-the-spot fine at Goondiwindi for trying to cross the state's border from NSW, Mr Golleschewski said.

Meanwhile, Ms Palaszczuk has insisted she is still following the national Covid-19 plan after revealing she may not open the state borders once vaccination coverage reaches 80 per cent.

The premier said there was ongoing risk of the Delta getting into the state so it is crucial for people to keep getting vaccinated.

Queensland recorded no new locally-acquired Covid cases on Wednesday after 12,829 people came forward for testing. Pictured: A health care worker conducts a Covid test at a pop-up clinic in August

She said vaccination coverage in parts of Brisbane is already above 70 per cent, but she is particularly concerned about lagging vaccination rates in Ipswich, Beaudesert, Logan, the Sunshine Coast and central Queensland.

Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said it won't be long until the virus finds its way into Queensland.

'We will see Delta variant come in and won't be able to be controlled, the only control will be the number of people who are vaccinated,' she said.

Queensland still has among the lowest vaccination coverage in the country, vying with Western Australia to be the last state to reach 80 per cent coverage.

Creating further uncertainty for people unable to visit, or be visited by, friends and relatives interstate, Ms Palaszczuk said the borders wouldn't necessarily open when the 80 per cent target it met.

The premier said booster shots, protecting children and dealing with hospital capacity issues were all part of the national reopening plan.

She strongly denied she was shifting the goalposts or deviating from the national plan.

'That's not correct, no, don't put words in my mouth, that's not exactly what I was saying, though, I said very clearly, we're in stage A of the national plan, we are following that national plan,' the premier said.

'Part of that national plan is booster shots, so ask the prime minister the plan for the booster shots, because that's in the plan as well.

The state's latest Delta outbreak emerged nine days ago after workers at an aviation company contracted the virus. Pictured: Brisbane Airport, which has been listed as a Covid exposure site

'So, you know, don't just cherry pick parts of the national plan, when you're not cherry picking other parts of the national plan.'

She said national cabinet was still awaiting more research and modelling from the Doherty Institute and that was due back in coming weeks.

National cabinet, she said, should publicly release all the work it is doing for the sake of transparency.

'It would be great for that to be publicly released so the public can see it all as well as the state leaders,' the premier said.

Ms Palaszczuk said her immediate priority was trying to lift vaccination coverage so that it was rates were level in different geographical areas.

She said the target was 80 per cent, but the ACT has reached 93 per cent already so 80 per cent shouldn't be the final goal.

'To protect Queenslanders I would like to see as many Queenslanders as possible vaccinated, which would reduce our risks if and when we get those outbreaks,' she added.
Eyebrow queen Kristin Fisher told a magistrate one of her children must have lost a court attendance notice as she tried to justify why she failed to appear at three separate hearings.

The glamorous 36-year-old was 'mortified' when she was convicted in absence for drug possession after she was caught in a drug dealer's car in Bondi on July 17.

Magistrate Ross Hudson said on Wednesday at Waverley Local Court he gave her the benefit on the doubt twice before finally opting to proceed with the conviction.

He overturned his own ruling and annulled the conviction, having considered her reasoning for failing to attend.

However, the magistrate expressed his frustration that he was seeing cocaine cases 'almost daily' and issued a warning that taking cocaine wasn't 'part of the social fabric' in Sydney's eastern suburbs.

'It is a criminal, illegal drug. It is a stain on our community.'

Fisher told the court she made a 'dreadful mistake' when she was caught in the backseat of a cocaine dealer's car, and promised she would never use drugs again.

The paperwork for her drug charge disappeared from it's spot on the fridge, which Fisher said was likely the handiwork of one of her two children, aged six and eight.

'She put the yellow slip on the fridge door with a magnet, she thinks one of the kids took it (and) everyday she has checked in the mailbox for the letter to come as the police officer had indicated and nothing arrived,' her solicitor Michael Bowe told the court.

After her first no-show, Mr Hudson ordered notices be sent to Fisher's address informing her that she'd missed court and that he'd rescheduled it for August 24.

Eyebrow queen Kristin Fisher has explained to a court she made a 'dreadful mistake' when she was caught in the backseat of a cocaine dealer's car, and promised she would never use drugs again

The yellow slip also disappeared from it's spot on the fridge, which Fisher said was likely the handiwork of one of her two children, aged six and eight (pictured)

When the date rolled around and both Fisher and her lawyer were nowhere to be seen, he again arranged for letters to be sent in the mail.

An email was also sent to the web address she provided to police, the court heard.

Fisher interjected during proceedings on Wednesday to insist she hadn't seen any warnings about needing to attend court.

'Can I ask how the email address is spelt? Because I didn't get it,' she said.

Mr Bowe immediately turned around and lifted his hand, indicating she should be silent.

He said Fisher received an initial yellow slip which listed key details on it and 'stuck it on her fridge' upon returning home on the night of July 17.

There, she 'sat in silence for hours... deeply embarrassed [and] vowed to never do it again'.

Fisher interjected during proceedings on Wednesday to insist she hadn't seen any warnings about needing to attend court

Magistrate Hudson said Fisher's failure to appear in court on two occasions before he convicted her amounted to nothing more than 'a case of mismanagement'

An official notice was due to come in the mail in the days to follow, but Fisher insists she never received it.

Mr Hudson said it appeared to be a 'case of mismanagement' and that the excuse provided led him to believe she was 'just waiting for the postman to turn up' without taking initiative to follow up on her court case.

But he agreed it was in the interests of justice to give her an opportunity to produce or formulate an argument before the court and present her case.

Her conviction was annulled on the spot and within 15 minutes, she had returned to the courtroom with two character references, an apology letter and a guilty plea.

'I made a dreadful mistake... I remember going home and sitting in silence for hours and I was deeply embarrassed. I have vowed I will never do it again,' Fisher said in the letter.

Fisher (pictured with famous friends Ruby Tuesday Matthews and Lily Brown) was found in the passenger seat of a drug dealer's Kia Rio 'frantically' trying to evade police on July 17

One of the character references was provided by Shelley Sullivan (pictured), the founder and CEO of ModelCo makeup. Ms Sullivan, along with another industry friend, wrote in their references they would support Fisher regardless of the conviction and spoke to her good character

One of the character references was provided by Shelley Sullivan, the founder and CEO of ModelCo makeup.

Ms Sullivan, along with another industry friend, wrote in their references they would support Fisher regardless of the conviction and spoke to her good character.

Through the letters, Magistrate Hudson got a sense of Fisher's close relationships and her background serving the community.

'Her referees speak glowingly of her, she's a community person who gives back from the success she's had in her business,' Mr Bowe said, noting her fundraising appeal to gift $250,000 to firefighters and intent to donate proceeds of her sales to charity.

Fisher and Ms Sullivan shared mutual friend Michele Singh, who tragically ended her own life after a dinner with Fisher early in 2021.

The glamorous 36-year-old celebrity eyebrow artist appeared in Waverley Local Court on Wednesday hoping the magistrate would wipe her record

The court heard Ms Singh's death had deeply affected the mother-of-two, having 'never experienced anything like that before'.

She was also struggling with the closure of her business due to Covid, which she'd spent the better part of 10 years growing.

'She wakes up every morning worrying about what's happening,' Mr Bowe said. 'It's been an extremely difficult time for her, as it has been for everybody.

'[Fisher] employs 12 people and can't operate through Zoom. There is no income and while the government has been good, it hasn't gone all the way to cover her bills and outcomes.'

Her primary concern about potentially having a conviction recorded against her name was how it would impact her moving forward.

In January 2021, Fisher endured a personal tragedy when one of her close friends, Michele Singh (pictured together), took her own life hours after the pair had dinner together

The court heard Fisher treats one of her employees to a business trip to the United States each year, where she enrolls them in cosmetic laser courses to learn from industry leaders.

She feared a conviction would hinder her chances of being granted a visa for those trips.

The 36-year-old was convicted in her absence a fortnight ago when she failed to turn up to court on three occasions after being charged with drug possession.

The mother-of-two was found in the passenger seat of a drug dealer's Kia Rio 'frantically' trying to evade police on July 17, with two bags of cocaine at her feet.

Mr Hudson accepted the guilty plea and said no conviction would be recorded if Fisher was of good behaviour for six months.

She must pay $1,500 in fines, including $1,000 for breaching COVID lockdown orders.

'Your reputation is what you're riding on,' he said. 'In terms of who you are and what you do, it's about your reputation.

'Not withstanding the years and years to build your reputation it takes seconds to destroy it. Hopefully you can now reflect on that.'

Fisher admitted she's had a tough few months after enduring a break up, losing a close friend to suicide and watching her business struggle to stay afloat during Covid
Defence Minister Peter Dutton was so 'horribly' offended by a tweet calling him a 'rape apologist' that he decided to launch defamation proceedings for the first time, he has told a court.

The Queensland MP appeared on Wednesday morning as the sole witness in his defamation trial against a refugee activist.

Mr Dutton claims Shane Bazzi's now-deleted tweet suggested he condones and excuses rape.

Defence Minister Peter Dutton was so 'horribly' offended by a tweet calling him a 'rape apologist' that he decided to launch defamation proceedings for the first time, he has told a court

'As minister for immigration or home affairs ... people make comments that are false and untrue, offensive, profane, but that's part of the rough and tumble,' he said.

'But this went beyond that. And it went against who I am, my beliefs.'

Mr Dutton told the Federal Court he had investigated sexual assault allegations as a police officer in Queensland.

Later, as minister for home affairs, he set up the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation.

He sent Australian Federal Police officers to Nauru to investigate sexual assault allegations, he said.

Despite regularly being the subject of criticism, Mr Dutton said it was the first time in a 20-year political career he'd ever sued for defamation.

The comment was made worse because Mr Bazzi is verified by Twitter, Mr Dutton said.

His account's blue tick 'in my mind didn't make it just a rant of somebody randomly on Twitter,' Mr Dutton said.

'It was somebody that held himself out as an authority or a journalist.'

Mr Bazzi denies the tweet is defamatory but if found to have defamed the minister, he pleads defences of honest opinion and fair comment.

The tweet included a link to a 2019 Guardian Australia article reporting comments by Mr Dutton that refugees on Nauru were 'trying it on' by claiming they had been raped.

Mr Bazzi's lawyer, Richard Potter SC, told the court on Wednesday that the ordinary reader of the tweet would have been aware of comments Mr Dutton had made the same day about allegations of a rape in Parliament House.

Mr Bazzi denies the tweet is defamatory but if found to have defamed the minister, he pleads defences of honest opinion and fair comment

Mr Dutton said in February that he was not provided with the 'she said, he said' details of allegations made by former Coalition staffer Brittany Higgins, explaining why he did not disclose what he knew to Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

An observer using the account name 'Brittany Higgins' watched on as Mr Dutton gave evidence in the virtual trial on Wednesday.

Mr Bazzi's lawyers, O'Brien Criminal and Civil Solicitors, have framed the legal contest as a battle over freedom of speech.

'For a politician to use the defamation law to stifle the expression of a public opinion is a cause for real concern,' the law firm wrote in a press release in April.

Mr Dutton on Wednesday said the media release 'continued the hurt against me'.

'(I) don't believe, as they assert, that it's a freedom of speech issue or anything like that. It's clearly defamatory,' he said.

Justice Richard White on Wednesday said it was 'a little surprising' to see the firm's comments.

He advised the lawyers to reflect on whether they were appearing as solicitors with obligations of objectivity and independence, or whether they were 'supporters or barrackers' of their client.
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Facebook has admitted that the 'internet needs regulating' and called on lawmakers to impose 'standard rules' but has hit back against claims by whistleblower Frances Haugen that it puts profits over the safety of its users.

The tech giant slapped down Haugen after she testified to Congress on Tuesday, saying that the data scientist never attended meetings with top executives and that she was wildly misinformed about the company.

Mark Zuckerberg wrote in an open letter to his staff: 'I think most of us just don't recognize the false picture of the company that is being painted.'

Haugen told Capitol Hill how Facebook put its 'astronomical profits' above the safeguarding of its users and that Zuckerberg had been directly involved in decisions that increased 'misinformation, hate speech and other inciting content.'

She said that executives were aware that Facebook and Instagram, which it owns, were harmful for children, with a leaked internal study revealing that teenage girls had increased suicidal thoughts from using Instagram.

The 37-year-old said that Facebook's algorithms, centered around 'likes' and 'shares', rewarded 'dangerous online talk has led to actual violence that harms and even kills people.'

Her claims were devastating for Facebook's public image and prompted senators from across the aisle to attack the firm and Zuckerberg, who has previously been summoned to the Capitol to testify on his firm's practices.

Facebook's director of policy communications, Lena Pietsch, responded to Haugen's testimony by pointing out she worked at the company for less than two years.

Pietsch added that Haugen 'had no direct reports, never attended a decision-point meeting with C-level executives - and testified more than six times to not working on the subject matter in question.'

But Facebook agreed on the need for more regulation.

'It's time to begin to create standard rules for the internet,' Pietsch said.

'It's been 25 years since the rules for the internet have been updated, and instead of expecting the industry to make societal decisions that belong to legislators, it is time for Congress to act.'

In Haugen's blistering testimony she said:

Mark Zuckerberg is only 'accountable to himself' and has been directly involved in decisions that put profit over 'decreasing misinformation, hate speech and other inciting content'

Executives are aware that Facebook is harmful for children, with it 'exposing teenagers to anorexia content' and 'pulling families apart'

A leaked internal Facebook study showed 13.5% of British teenagers said their suicidal thoughts were more frequent because of Instagram (which FB owns)

Another leaked study found 17% of teen girls said their eating disorders got worse after using Instagram

The site profits from 'dangerous online talk has led to actual violence that harms and even kills people'

Facebook covered up the extent to which it knew about the planners of the Capitol siege

The firm 'hides vital information from the public, from the U.S. government, and from governments around the world'

Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday evening defended his company, saying it was 'frustrating' to see a 'false picture' of Facebook being painted by Haugen

Frances Haugen on Tuesday appeared before Congress to discuss the workings of Facebook. She suggested a government entity be created to regulate Facebook during the scathing Senate hearing

Zuckerberg said Haugen painted 'a false picture of the company'.

In a memo he sent to all staff, which he posted on Facebook, he wrote: 'I'm sure many of you have found the recent coverage hard to read because it just doesn't reflect the company we know.

'We care deeply about issues like safety, well-being and mental health. It's difficult to see coverage that misrepresents our work and our motives.

'At the most basic level, I think most of us just don't recognize the false picture of the company that is being painted.'

Zuckerberg said it was 'just not true' that the company prioritizes profit over all other concerns, and said it was not in their interests to promote damaging content.

He said the company was doing a lot of work on moderation, and on protecting children.

But Zuckerberg's response was torn apart by lawmakers who agreed that Haugen's claims were backed up by evidence.

Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal kicked off the hearing by calling Facebook 'morally bankrupt' and criticized Zuckerberg for going sailing in Hawaii with wife Priscilla Chan instead of answering questions from lawmakers.

Senator Ed Markey also piled on the absent tech billionaire, addressing him by name during the hearing to warn him that 'Congress will be taking action' with or without his help.

'Your time of invading privacy, promoting toxic content, and preying on children and teens is over. Congress will be taking action. You can work with us, or not work with us, but we will not allow your company to harm our children and our families and out democracy any longer,' Markey said.

Haugen told senators that no similar company's CEO has as much unilateral control as Zuckerberg does.

'Mark holds a very unique role in the tech industry in that he holds over 55% of all the voting shares for Facebook. There are no similarly powerful companies that are as unilaterally controlled,' she said. 'There's no one currently holding him accountable but himself.'

She said 'the buck stops with' Facebook's tech billionaire owner, adding that 'Facebook needs to take responsibility for the consequences of its choices.'

Later in the hearing Haugen said Zuckerberg himself even made choices that put engagement over public safety.

'We have a few choice documents that contain notes from briefings with Mark Zuckerberg where he chose metrics defined by Facebook like "meaningful social interactions" over changes that would have significantly decreased misinformation, hate speech and other inciting content,' she told Senator Ben Ray Lujan.

Markey lauded Haugen as a 'Twenty-first century American hero' for speaking out against the social media giant.

He also accused Facebook of being built on 'computer codes of misconduct.'

'Time and time again Facebook says one thing and does another. Time and time again Facebook fails to abide by the commitments that they had made. Time and time again, Facebook lies about what they are doing,' he said.

'Facebook's platforms are not safe for young people, as you said Facebook is like big tobacco, enticing young kids with that first cigarette...whistleblowing shows that Facebook uses harmful features.'

During his second round of hearing Markey accused Facebook of using lobbyists to block legislators' reform efforts.

Blumenthal criticized Facebook's founder earlier on in his opening statement on Tuesday morning.

Former Facebook employee and whistleblower Frances Haugen arrives to testify during a Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing on Capitol Hill on Tuesday

Haugen suggested Facebook's self-created burden could have gotten so large that they simply didn't know what to do with it and felt 'trapped'

'Mark Zuckerberg ought to be looking at himself in the mirror today,' the Connecticut Democrat said. 'And yet rather than taking responsibility and showing leadership, Mr. Zuckerberg is going sailing.'

'Mark Zuckerberg you need to come before this committee, you need to explain to Frances Hougan, to us, to the world, and to the parents of America - what you were doing and why you did it.'

Whistleblower Francis Haugen says Facebook has put its 'astronomical profits before people'

Haugen began her testimony with a scathing opening statement accusing Facebook leadership of knowingly allow its products to 'harm children, stoke division and weaken our democracy.'

She celebrated a massive outage that affected Facebook and its related sites.

'Yesterday we saw Facebook get taken off the internet. I don't know why it went down, but I do know for more than five hours, Facebook wasn't used to deepen divides, destabilize democracies and make young girls and women feel bad about their bodies,' Haugen said.

She also said Facebook had done too little to prevent its platform from being used by people planning violence, claiming executives chose profit over safety whenever possible.

'The company's leadership knows ways to make Facebook and Instagram safer but won't make the necessary changes because they have put their astronomical profits before people,' she claimed.

The result of which, she said, 'has been more division, more harm, more lies, more threats and more combat. In some cases, this dangerous online talk has led to actual violence that harms and even kills people.'

Haugen acknowledged that problems with social media were incredibly complex - citing her experience working at four different social media platforms.

'However, the choices being made inside Facebook are disastrous - for children, for public safety, for our privacy and for our democracy - that is why I came forward. And let's be clear: it doesn't have to be this way. We are here today because of deliberate choices Facebook has made,' she said.

Haugen calls for government to step in and regulate Facebook

The whistleblower acknowledged that the site's mounting problems could be too large for it to handle on its own.

'You can declare moral bankruptcy and we can figure out how to fix these things together, because we solve problems together and we don't solve them alone,' she said.

She suggested Facebook's self-created burden could have gotten so large that they simply didn't know what to do with it.

Facebook by the numbers: $30billion in revenue and almost 2.9billion daily users Facebook's most recent public financial disclosures came in their June FY 2021 report for the second quarter From April through June, Facebook made nearly $30 billion in revenue After operating costs and taxes the company walked away with $10.3 billion More than 63,400 employees work at Facebook, a 21% year-over increase June 2021 saw 1.91 billion daily active users on the site and 2.9 billion monthly active users source: Facebook Investor Relations Advertisement

'Facebook is stuck in a feedback loop they cannot get out of. They have been hiding this information because they feel trapped. Like, they would have come forward if they had solutions to these things. They need to admit they did something wrong, and that they need help to solve these problems.'

But she also doubted that Facebook's lack of solutions came from a lack of 'private research' as an executive once said.

'If they make $40 billion per year, they have the resources to solve these problems, they're choosing not to solve them,' she told Senator Rick Scott.

Haugen told Republican Senator Mike Lee that Facebook's artificial intelligence systems designed to filter out harmful content were relatively ineffective at catching hate speech - and even sometimes allowed drug-related content to get to kids.

'The reality is that we've seen from repeated documents within my disclosures, is that Facebook's AI systems only catch a very tiny minority of offending content. And best case scenario, and the case of something like hate speech, at most they will ever get 10 to 20 percent. In the case of children, that means drug paraphernalia ads like that, it's likely if they rely on computers and not humans, they will also likely never get more than 10 to 20 percent of those ads,' she said.

She suggested a social media-specific regulatory body within the government as a possible solution at several points in the hearing.

Haugen claimed oversight could 'make Facebook a more profitable company five or 10 years from now' and would be 'kinder, friendlier and more collaborative.'

She said such an agency is 'in everyone's interest.'

Until such regulation, the whistleblower warned, Facebook won't move to change on its own.

'Until incentives change at Facebook, we should not expect Facebook to change. We need action from Congress,' she said.

And such action may be coming - Markey promised during his allotted time that 'Congress will take action.'

Facebook responds to Haugen's claims during the hearing

A Facebook executive went after Haugen during the hearing, pointing out that she did not work with the data she was testifying on at the hearing.

'Just pointing out the fact that @FrancesHaugen did not work on child safety or Instagram or research these issues and has no direct knowledge of the topic from her work at Facebook,' Policy Communications Director Andy Stone wrote on Twitter Tuesday.

Senator Marsha Blackburn responded to Stone's tweet during the hearing.

'I will simply say this to Mr. Stone: If Facebook wants to discuss their targeting of children, if they want to discuss their practices of privacy invasion or violation of the Children's Online Privacy Act, I am extending to you an invitation to step forward, be sworn in and testify before this committee. We would be pleased to hear from you and welcome your testimony,' Blackburn said.

Haugen has said multiple times during the hearing that she didn't work in child safety but claimed the documents she viewed and leaked were available to all staff.

Stone later released a statement from Facebook's Director of Policy Communications Lena Pietsch. Pietsch dismissed Haugen as an ex-employee 'who worked for the company for less than two years' but agreed with her calls for more internet regulation.

'Today, a Senate Commerce subcommittee held a hearing with a former product manager at Facebook who worked for the company for less than two years, had no direct reports, never attended a decision-point meeting with C-level executives - and testified more than six times to not working on the subject matter in question,' the statement read.

Pietsch did agree with Hauge that Congress needed to act on reforms for any meaningful change to occur.

'We don't agree with her characterization of the many issues she testified about. Despite all this, we agree on one thing; it's time to begin to create standard rules for the internet. It's been 25 years since the rules for the internet have been updated, and instead of expecting the industry to make societal decisions that belong to legislators, it is time for Congress to act,' she said.

Facebook's Global Head of Safety Antigone Davis, who testified before the same panel last week, defended her company in an MSNBC interview during the hearing.

'Of course we want to allow for freedom of expression, but one of the underlying principles behind the work that we do is ensuring people's safety and security. Most people really do feel quite safe and secure on our platform, and theyre coming back and using our platform because they do feel safe and secure, and we are doing a good job to get that content off. But I do think there are validation systems that people want in place,' she said.

Davis, faced a barrage of criticism from senators on the Commerce panel at a hearing last Thursday. They accused Facebook of concealing the negative findings about Instagram and demanded a commitment from the company to make changes.

Davis defended Instagram's efforts to protect young people using its platform. She disputed the way The Wall Street Journal story describes what the research shows.

Facebook maintains that Haugen's allegations are misleading and insists there is no evidence to support the premise that it is the primary cause of social polarization.

'Even with the most sophisticated technology, which I believe we deploy, even with the tens of thousands of people that we employ to try and maintain safety and integrity on our platform, were never going to be absolutely on top of this 100% of the time,' Nick Clegg, Facebooks vice president of policy and public affairs, said Sunday on CNNs 'Reliable Sources.'

Facebook changed misinformation safeguards put in place ahead of election just before Capitol riot because 'they wanted that growth back'

Among its controversies, Facebook was used by people planning mass killings in Myanmar and in the Jan. 6 assault by Trump supporters who were determined to toss out the 2020 election results.

After the November election, Facebook dissolved the civic integrity union where Haugen had been working. That, she said, was the moment she realized 'I dont trust that they're willing to actually invest what needs to be invested to keep Facebook from being dangerous.'

Haugen was greeted by Senator Richard Blumenthal and Senator Amy Klobuchar when she arrived for her testimony

Speaking to Senators on Tuesday, Haugen celebrated a massive outage that hit Facebook and its related sites the day before

Senator Amy Klobuchar, who is on the subcommittee, asked Haugen if the site removed safeguards against misinformation it had implemented for the election before the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Haugen said the social media giant knew the content that was being shared was 'dangerous' before they increased site security but dropped those standards for the sake of 'growth.'

'Facebook has been emphasizing a false choice. They've said the safeguards that were in place before the election implicated free speech. The choices that were happening on the platform were really about how reactive and twitchy was the platform.'

'Facebook changed those safety defaults in the run-up to the election because they knew they were dangerous. And because they wanted that growth back...they returned to their original defaults.'

She also said Zuckerberg was 'directly presented with a list of soft interventions' - or options to lessen the volume of potentially harmful content - ahead of the election but decided not to because it would impact the platform's engagement rates.

'Mark Zuckerberg was directly presented with a list of soft interventions and chose to not remove downstream MSI in April of 2020, even in isolated and at-risk countries, if it had any impact on the overall MSI,' she said.

Haugen speculated that he did so because the MSI metric is tied to bonuses - 'If you hurt MSI, a bunch of people wouldn't get their bonuses.'

Blumenthal says Facebook is 'morally bankrupt' and Haugen says it intentionally leads young users to 'anorexia content'

Blumenthal said Facebook was facing a 'big tobacco moment' in the country's reckoning over its impact on a generation of young people, slamming the company as 'morally bankrupt.'

'The damage to self interest and self worth inflicted by Facebook today will haunt a generation,' Blumenthal said. 'Feelings of inadequacy, and insecurity, rejection and self hatred will impact this generation for years to come.

Later during the hearing Haugen told Senator Jerry Moran of Kansas that Facebook and Instagram were knowingly exacerbating problems that kids face.

'They know that severe harm is happening to children,' Haugen said.

She said Facebook targets 'children as young as eight' for its Messenger Kids app, and goes after kids under age 18 for Instagram.

Haugen also addressed the mental effects Facebook's algorithms have on children, particularly young girls, similar to building a tobacco addiction.

'Facebook knows that they are leading young users to anorexia content,' she said. 'Its just like cigarettes. Teenagers dont have any self-regulation. We need to protect the kids.'

At another point in the hearing Haugen was asked by Senator Dan Sullivan about what perspective people will have on Facebook years from now.

She answered: 'When Facebook has made statements in the past about how much benefit Instagram is providing to kids' mental health, like kids are connecting who were once alone, what I'm so surprised about that is - if Instagram is such a positive force, have we seen a golden age of teenage mental health in the last 10 years? No, we've seen escalating rates of depression and suicide among teenagers.'

Haugen added that the use of social media 'amplified' the risk of that, attributing it to Facebook's own research.

Meanwhile, Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan are out sailing today. Senators criticized the tech billionaire for hitting the waves instead of attending the Senate hearing

Another image from Mark Zuckerberg's sailing trip captured by the tech billionaire

FACEBOOK WHISTLEBLOWER FRANCES HAUGEN'S SEARING ATTACKS ON ZUCKERBERG AND EXECS 'Im here today because I believe Facebook's products harm children, stoke division and weaken our democracy. The companys leadership knows how to make Facebook and Instagram safer, but wont make the necessary changes because they have put their astronomical profits before people.' 'For more than 5 hours (on Monday), Facebook wasnt used to deepen divides, destabilize democracies, and make young girls and women feel bad about their bodies.' 'I saw Facebook repeatedly encounter conflicts between its own profits and our safety. Facebook consistently resolved its conflicts in favor of its own profits. In some cases, this dangerous online talk has led to actual violence.' 'Mark holds a very unique role in the tech industry in that he holds over 55% of all the voting shares for Facebook. There are no similarly powerful companies that are as unilaterally controlled. ... There's no one currently holding him accountable but himself..' 'Almost no one outside of Facebook knows what happens inside of Facebook. The company intentionally hides vital information from the public, from the U.S. government, and from governments around the world.' 'We can afford nothing less than full transparency. As long as Facebook is operating in the shadows and hiding its research from public scrutiny, it is unaccountable. Until the incentives change, Facebook will not change. ' 'They want you to believe in false choices, they want you to believe you must choose between a Facebook full of divisive and extreme content or losing one of the most important values our country was founded on, free speech.' Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal 'Their (Facebook's) profit was more important than the pain that it caused. There is documented proof that Facebook knows its products can be addictive and toxic to children, and it is not just that they made money - its that they valued their more than the pain they caused to children and their families. 'Facebook's failure to acknowledge and to act makes it morally bankrupt. Again and again, Facebook rejected reforms recommended by its own researchers. 'The damage to self worth, inflicted by Facebook today will haunt a generation. Feelings of inadequacy and insecurity and rejection and self-hatred will impact this generation for years. Advertisement

Facebook whistleblower speaks out on CBS' 60 Minutes

After recent reports in The Wall Street Journal based on documents she leaked to the newspaper raised a public outcry, Haugen revealed her identity in a CBS '60 Minutes' interview aired Sunday night.

She claims Facebook had a role in the January 6 Capitol riots and is damaging for teenagers, particularly young girls.

The ex-employee challenging the social network giant with 2.8 billion users worldwide and nearly $1 trillion in market value is a 37-year-old data expert from Iowa with a degree in computer engineering and a master's degree in business from Harvard.

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen (pictured) will urge Congress today to regulate social media, saying the sites harm children and even lead to violence

Senator Amy Klobuchar, who is on the subcommittee, asked Haugen about the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol

THE DATA FACEBOOK WAS SHOWN ON HOW INSTAGRAM HARMED YOUNG GIRLS AND BOYS Question of the things you've felt in the last month, did any of them start on Instagram? Select all that apply Not attractive 41% (US) 43% (UK) Don't have enough money 42% (US) 42% (UK) Don't have enough friends 32% (US) 33% (UK) Down, sad or depressed 10% (US) 13% (UK) Wanted to kill themselves 6% (US) 13% (UK) Wanted to hurt themselves 9% (US) 7% (UK) Question: In general, how has Instagram affected the way you feel about yourself, your mental health? Much worse US boys and girls: 3% US boys: 2% US girls: 3% UK total: 2% UK boys: 1% UK girls: 2% Somewhat worse US total: 16% US Boys 12% US girls: 18% UK total: 19% UK boys: 13% UK girls: 23% No effect US total: 41% US boys: 37% US girls: 43% UK total: 46% UK boys: 50% UK girls: 44% Somewhat better US total: 29% US boys: 32% US girls: 29% UK total: 28% UK boys: 31% UK girls: 26% Much better US total: 12% US boys: 18% US girls 8% UK total: 5% UK boys: 5% UK girls: 4% Advertisement

She worked at companies including Google and Pinterest for 15 years prior to being recruited by Facebook in 2019.

'The company's leadership knows ways to make Facebook and Instagram safer and won't make the necessary changes because they have put their astronomical profits before people. Congressional action is needed,' she will say.

'As long as Facebook is operating in the dark, it is accountable to no one. And it will continue to make choices that go against the common good.'

Haugen, who worked as a product manager on Facebook's civic misinformation team, was the whistleblower who provided documents used in a Wall Street Journal investigation and a Senate hearing on Instagram's harm to teen girls.

The panel is examining Facebook's use of information from its own researchers on Instagram that could indicate potential harm for some of its young users, especially girls, while it publicly downplayed the negative impacts.

For some of the teens devoted to Facebooks popular photo-sharing platform, the peer pressure generated by the visually focused Instagram led to mental health and body-image problems, and in some cases, eating disorders and suicidal thoughts, the research leaked by Haugen showed.

One internal study cited 13.5 percent of teen girls saying Instagram makes thoughts of suicide worse and 17 percent of teen girls saying it makes eating disorders worse.

Facebook owns Instagram as well as WhatsApp.

The company did not respond to a request for comment.

Haugen added that 'Facebook's closed design means it has no oversight even from its own Oversight Board, which is as blind as the public.'

That makes it impossible for regulators to serve as a check, she added.

'This inability to see into the actual systems of Facebook and confirm that Facebook's systems work like they say is like the Department of Transportation regulating cars by watching them drive down the highway,' her testimony says. 'Imagine if no regulator could ride in a car, pump up its wheels, crash test a car, or even know that seat belts could exist.'

The Journal's stories, based on Facebook internal presentations and emails, showed the company contributed to increased polarization online when it made changes to its content algorithm; failed to take steps to reduce vaccine hesitancy; and was aware that Instagram harmed the mental health of teenage girls.

Haugen says she told Facebook executives when they recruited her that she had asked to work in an area of the company that fights misinformation, because she had lost a friend to online conspiracy theories.

That's because of the 'instantaneous and spontaneous form of communication' on Facebook, Clegg said, adding, 'I think we do more than any reasonable person can expect to.'

By coming forward, Haugen says she hopes it will help spur the government to put regulations in place for Facebooks activities. Like fellow tech giants Google, Amazon and Apple, Facebook has for years enjoyed minimal regulation in Washington.

Separately Monday, a massive global outage plunged Facebook, Instagram and the company's WhatsApp messaging platform into chaos, only gradually dissipating by late Monday Eastern time. For some users, WhatsApp was working for a time, then not. For others, Instagram was working but not Facebook, and so on.

Facebook didn't say what might have caused the outage, which began around 11:40 a.m. EDT and was still not fixed more than six hours later.
The Missouri home where missing Cassidy Rainwater was allegedly kept half naked in a cage by two men, has been gutted in a blaze as the homeowner sits in jail awaiting trial.

James Phelps, 58, and Timothy L. Norton, 56, are charged with kidnapping, facilitating a felony, inflicting injury, and terrorizing in connection to the July 24 disappearance of Rainwater, 33.

Phelps was arrested on September 16 after investigators say they found seven photos on his phone showing Rainwater partially nude and being held in a cage at his Moon Valley Road residence in Lebanon. Police arrested Norton, an over-the-road trucker, four days later after it was learned that he helped Phelps restrain the victim.

On Monday, as both men sit in jail awaiting trial, the house of horrors where Rainwater was allegedly held burst into flames.

Footage shows orange flames and billowing smoke illuminating the dark rural path up to Phelps' wooden home.

Emergency crews arrived to tackle the blaze and the Springfield Fire Department's bomb squad was deployed to the scene after authorities discovered a possible trip wire and detonated an explosive device as the fire continued into Tuesday morning, KOLR 10 reports.

By morning, there was little left but piles of smoldering wood and ash.

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The Missouri home (pictured) where missing Cassidy Rainwater was allegedly kept half naked in a cage by two men, has been gutted in a blaze as the homeowner sits in jail awaiting trial

Footage shows orange flames and billowing smoke illuminating the dark rural path up to Phelps' wooden home

Emergency crews clear rubble at the Lebanon, Missouri home where Phelps allegedly kept Rainwater caged and partially nude

By Tuesday morning, there was little left but piles of smoldering wood and ash

Authorities said an investigation into the house fire is still ongoing

James Phelps, 58, left, is charged with kidnapping, facilitating a felony, inflicting injury, and terrorizing in connection to the July 24 disappearance of Rainwater, 33, right

The Division of Fire Safety are investigating the cause of the fire but have not yet said if it was arson or accidental.

The sheriff's office did not immediately comment on how the fire might impact the ongoing investigation into the 33-year-old Rainwater's disappearance.

Meanwhile, Phelps and Norton appeared before a judge via a webcam on Tuesday, where prosecutors asked for 45 days until the preliminary hearing due to the number of witnesses needed.

A preliminary hearing was scheduled for November 5, according to OzarksFirst.

Rainwater was reported missing on August 25 after no one had seen or heard from her in six weeks, according to court documents obtained by WDAF.

Phelps, who was the last known person to have seen Rainwater, was first questioned by police on September 1.

At that time, he said the 33-year-old had been staying with him 'until she could get back on her feet' and relocate to Colorado.

Phelps appeared before a judge via a webcam (pictured) on Tuesday, where prosecutors asked for 45 days until the preliminary hearing due to the number of witnesses needed

Phelps' co-defendant Timothy L. Norton appears in court for charges connected to the disappearance of Cassidy Rainwater

James Phelps, 58, (left) and Timothy L. Norton, 56, (right) have each been charged with one count of first-degree kidnapping, facilitating a felony, inflicting injury, and terrorizing in connection to Rainwater's July disappearance

However, he argued that she had left his residence about a month prior after meeting a vehicle at the end of the driveway and leaving in the middle of the night. He noted that she hadn't contacted him since.

Detectives also noticed the property appeared to have been 'stripped' and none of Rainwater's belongings were there.

On September 16, local authorities were contacted by the FBI after the organization received an anonymous tip about photographs of Rainwater, partially naked, being held captive in a cage at Phelps' house.

Investigators obtained a search warrant for Phelps' phone and found seven pictures as the tipster described.

During the investigation it was revealed that Norton helped Phelps restrain the victim on July 24.

When brought in for questioning on September 19, Norton provided police with 'inaccurate information,' such as the fact that he lived in his semi-truck even when he wasn't working.

Detectives interviewed Norton again the next day, at which he reportedly confessed to knowing that Rainwater had been held captive at Phelps' home.

There has been no news of Rainwater's status whereabouts as of Wednesday morning.

PHELPS' PROPERTY PICTURED BEFORE THE FIRE: FBI office in Kansas City contacted local authorities after receiving an anonymous photo of Rainwater

The bomb squad was deployed to the scene after authorities discovered a possible trip wire, the outlet reports, with the bomb squad detonating an explosive device on Phelps' property
Gladys Berejiklian has left a heartfelt note to her constituents in her office window after emerging for the first time since her shock resignation over a corruption investigation.

After four days of hiding in a CBD hotel, the 51-year-old turned up at her electorate office in Northbridge, on Sydney's lower north shore, on Wednesday morning to go back to work as a backbench MP.

She told reporters she was 'OK' and later wrote a note to her supporters who had left bunches of flowers and cards outside her office before sticking it to the inside of the window for them to read.

Gladys Berejiklian left this heartfelt note to her constituents in her office window after emerging for the first time since her shock resignation over a corruption investigation

After four days of hiding in a CBD hotel, the 51-year-old (pictured) turned up at her electorate office in Northbridge on Wednesday morning

'Thank you for the beautiful flowers, gifts, cards, drawings, and messages of support,' she wrote.

'It has provided much comfort during this difficult time. I am so deeply grateful.

'Serving the people of NSW has been the privilege of my life and the kindness and thoughtfulness of citizens has been and will remain a constant source of inspiration.

'Love and best wishes, Gladys.'

When she arrived home Ms Berejiklian (pictured) picked up a bunch of flowers outside her gate and entered her property

Ms Berejiklian wore her mask when she left her electorate office on Wednesday afternoon

The premier was seen arriving at home Northbridge, still clutching a red bag which she carried to work

The premier was later seen arriving at home in Northbridge, still clutching a red bag which she carried to work.

She picked up a bunch of flowers outside her gate and entered her property.

The former premier said the messages of support were 'very comforting' and pledged to read every single one of them.

'I want everyone to know that I will read every single card, every single message,' Ms Berejiklian said.

The former premier briefly spoke to media outside her electorate office on Wednesday

Wearing a mask and flanked by Federal Liberal MP Trent Zimmerman (pictured), she picked up flowers and cards which were left outside the door by devastated constituents

Ms Berejiklian (pictured on Wednesday) has been holed up in a CBD hotel to avoid the media

Hundreds of supporters left flowers and cards at the door of Ms Berejiklian's office

Ms Berejikian was pictured holding a red bag and wearing a backpack over one shoulder

The former premier (pictured on Wednesday) urged residents to support her successor Dominic Perrottet who was sworn in on Tuesday

Ms Berejiklian arrived at her electorate office to find bunches of flowers left for her on the ground

Asked how she has been going since stepping down, the former premier said: 'Oh OK thank you.'

Ms Berejiklian revealed what she said in a message to her Liberal Party colleagues which was read to them by her successor Dominic Perrottet on Wednesday.

'I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone, and I want everyone to get behind Premier Perrottet, I know he will be an outstanding leader,' she said.

'Follow the Premier's words and make sure we come out of this lockdown as safely as possible.'

Supporters at the office praised Ms Berejiklian who was premier since 2017.

One named Mary told Daily Mail Australia: 'She did a good job. She was a really good role model for woman and the ethnic community.

'She's from an Armenian background. It's very empowering for other people from ethnic backgrounds.

'I'm quite upset about what happened to her. It's not right.'

Several reporters and camera crew were waiting to greet Ms Berejiklian at her office

The former premier waved to supporters as she crossed the road to her electorate office

A closer look at some of the flowers and cards left for the former premier at her office

Asked how she has been going since stepping down, the former premier said: 'Oh OK thank you'

Another supporter named Marie Cherote added: 'It's disgusting what was done to her. This is a woman who's dedicated her life to politics.

'She loves her job and she loves NSW. She's always there for people. I'm quite p***ed off about it. No one is perfect.

'It's typical of our Australian attitude to attack people at the top. It's a lack of respect.

'She deserved a hell of a lot more.'

Daily Mail Australia understands Ms Berejiklian has been holed up in an inner-city hotel to avoid the media over the past four days.

On Friday she went straight home after revealing she would step down as state leader.

Ms Berejiklian says hello to a constituent as she makes her way to her office in Northbridge

The Premier's office had flowers and messages of support left outside it after the former premier resigned

Ms Berejiklian enters her office flanked by a security guard (left) on Wednesday morning

However, her Jeep four-wheel-drive parked only briefly in her drive in Northbridge on Sydney's leafy lower north shore.

News cameras then captured the car quickly fleeing back across the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Since then, there has been a media circus outside her house - but no sign of Ms Berejiklian.

Only her former lover who got her into this mess in the first place - Daryl Maguire - has been seen.

Daily Mail Australia captured photographs of Mr Maguire, 62, smoking a cigarette and wielding a rifle on his property in Wagga Wagga.

Ms Berejiklian did not even show up for the Liberal Party meeting at the state Parliament to choose her successor.

She will stand down as an MP and leave state politics altogether as soon as a byelection can be arranged after lockdown.

There is speculation she could turn to federal politics and run for Tony Abbott's old seat of Warringah, or get a lucrative job in the private sector.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption is investigating whether Ms Berejiklian encouraged or allowed corrupt conduct by her secret ex-boyfriend and former Wagga Wagga MP Mr Maguire between 2012 and 2018.

It is also probing her role in multi-million dollar government grants to a gun club and conservatorium of music in his electorate.

Ms Berejiklian insists she has done nothing wrong and has 'always acted with integrity'.

Ms Berejiklian's former media advisor Sean Berry was pictured in her street in a classic Corvette on Tuesday

A man attempts to deliver flowers to NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian at Parliament House in Sydney. There has been an outpouring of grief since the popular premier stepped down

Mr Maguire hasn't commented on the recent developments.

The 62-year-old was the state Liberal MP for the area from 1999 until he quit under a corruption cloud in 2018.

He is still under investigation by the Independent Commission Against Corruption.

The new Premier Mr Perrottet landed the top job in a Liberal Party meeting on Tuesday morning, beating Planning Minister Rob Stokes by 39 votes to five.

'It's an honour and absolute privilege to be elected as the parliamentary leader of the Liberal Party, the Premier of New South Wales,' Mr Perrottet said after the vote.

'I really appreciate the trust my colleagues have put in me today.'

NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet walks through Parliament on Tuesday before securing the votes to become NSW Premier

In a press conference an hour later, Mr Perrottet thanked Ms Berejiklian for her service during the Covid-19 pandemic as Sydney endures the final week of a four-month lockdown.

'The first thing I want to do today is to acknowledge my predecessor and pay tribute to her, Gladys Berejiklian, who strong and steady leadership has seen us through so many difficult challenges,' he said.

'Now, while there are still more challenging days to come, there is light at the end of the tunnel, thanks to the way that everyone across our state has responded.

'We want New South Wales to bounce back stronger, safer and more successful than ever before, to get back to the life that we love and the freedoms that we hold dear.'

Mr Perrottet said he would be a 'family premier' who wants to 'make life better for working families.'

Jobs Minister Stuart Ayres - the boyfriend of Foreign Minister Marise Payne - was elected deputy Liberal leader unopposed while Environment Minister Matt Kean will become Treasurer.
A personal trainer has avoided court action for stealing a Covid sign from a playground after issuing a public apology on Instagram in a bizarre deal struck with police.

Matthew Charles Fox, a popular 34-year-old influencer and personal trainer, was arrested and charged with stealing after removing a 'playground closed' sign from a playground at Sunrise Beach in Noosa on the Queensland's Sunshine Coast on August 4.

Mr Fox allegedly recorded the incident and placed the sign in a bin as a protest against playground closures during Covid-19.

Matthew Charles Fox, 34, was arrested and charged with stealing after removing a 'playground closed' sign from Sunrise Beach in Noosa on August 4

But the personal trainer's charges were dismissed and he was alternatively issued a formal caution by police.

Sunshine Coast Police official Senior Sergeant David Bradley said police offered Mr Fox an adult caution in a deal for him to apologise and condemn his actions to his social media following online.

Police believed that Mr Fox, who has over 387,000 followers on Instagram and over 20,000 subscribers on YouTube, could raise awareness on the significance of following public health orders and doing the right thing to his followers.

'He was someone we were going to throw the book at, but when we realised, he had 400-odd thousand followers on Instagram we came up with a different approach,' Senior Sergeant Bradley told the Courier Mail.

The personal trainer's charges were dismissed and he was alternatively issued a formal caution by police after a deal was struck for him to denounce his actions to his social media following

Police ensured Mr Fox understood how severe his actions were and how they impacted public health orders.

Senior Sergeant Bradley said: 'The best message for people who are radicalising and showing this stupid behaviour is to have someone who has done it to reflect on what they have done and send a message on our behalf, which is what we are using him to do.'

He noted that a great result was achieved in this case and if police can create a positive change in people's behaviour before a person is sent to court, they would use this kind of approach in the future.

'This is one of those occasions where the charges were well-made out, he shouldn't have done what he did, but he now acknowledges that and now hopefully 400,000 people are also seeing that he acknowledges that,' Senior Sergeant Bradley said.

Police believed that Mr Fox, who has over 387,000 Instagram followers, could raise awareness on the significance of following public health orders and doing the right thing to his followers

While the prominent personal trainer avoided a formal plea, Mr Fox acknowledged his wrongdoing in his apology on Instagram.

'I acted out of frustration. I now accept that I should not have removed the sign from the playground,' Mr Fox wrote.

Mr Fox noted the incident has caused a lot of stress and has cost him a substantial amount of money.

'While I continue to be concerned about the impact of the pandemic restrictions on the mental health of our children, I now have a greater understanding of the public health concerns that resulted in the closure of playgrounds at the time that I removed the sign; and of the implications of "protesting" in the way I did,' Mr Fox added.

Mr Fox acknowledged his wrongdoing in his apology on Instagram

Mr Fox urged his followers not to act out in frustration over the current Covid measures like he did as they could end up in the same situation.

'I will continue to advocate for our children in peaceful and legal ways and I urge you to do the same.'

Queensland Police noted that Mr Fox paid to replace the signage at the playground as part of his deal.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Mr Fox for further comment.
A drone operator charged with assaulting police officers at a COVID-19 rally he was filming says he will defend the charges and was acting in self-defence.

Hugh Cameron Dickson appeared in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Wednesday after being arrested by police at a protest on September 18.

The 55-year-old man is charged with two counts of serious assault police officer, one count of assault police officer and one count of unlawful possession of restricted drugs.

Hugh Cameron Dickson appeared in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Wednesday after being arrested by police at a protest on September 18

The serious assault charges relate to Dickson obstructing two police officers in executing their duty, according to court documents.

During a brief mention a duty lawyer asked the court for an adjournment for Dickson to engage a lawyer.

The matter will be mentioned again in the same court on November 3.

Dickson is on bail with conditions including him being unable to attend any protest.

Outside court Dickson said he was packing up a drone he used to film the protest when he realised undercover officers were near him.

He said police spoke to him about flying a drone in the park, which he argued was allowed.

'I exercised my right to walk away,' he told reporters.

'They didn't like that.'

Dickson said the incident 'turned into a big crowd scene' as other people saw what was happening.

Dickson said he had not been charged with any offence relating to the drone and 'what I did was self-defence'.

Police allege they were arresting a man for allegedly obstructing police when other men became involved in violent or obstructive behaviour.

Four officers were assaulted during the altercation, Queensland police said in a statement.

Police released images of six men 10 days after the rally asking for anyone with information about their identities and whereabouts to come forward.
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Paroled gang rapist Mohammed Skaf has spent his first day of relative freedom in 21 years hidden away inside his family home on a quiet street in Sydney's south-western suburbs.

The 38-year-old, who has spent most of his life behind bars, was embraced by his mother Baria behind the front door less than 40 minutes after he walked out of Long Bay jail on Wednesday morning.

Other relatives filmed Skaf through windows as he returned to the Greenacre street where the family has lived for the past two decades, since Mohammed and his older brother Bilal were locked up for their heinous crimes.

Skaf was one of gang of Lebanese-Australian youths led by Bilal who went on a rampage of appalling pack rapes of young girls in Sydney's south-west in the weeks leading up to the 2000 Olympic Games.

Skaf, who has never publicly apologised to his victims, walked out of Long Bay's Metropolitan Special Programs Centre about 9.45am wearing a white Hugo Boss top, black track pants, sunglasses and Covid-19 mask.

He was then driven to the family's home to his waiting parents, sister and younger brother; shouts of excitement could be heard from inside the newly-renovated house.

But some neighbours didn't share the same joy, instead telling waiting media they were anxious about his return to the street.

Mohammed Skaf hides behind his parole papers after being released from Long Bay's Metropolitan Special Programs Centre on Wednesday

Skaf has been behind bars for 21 years after a series of gang rapes with his brother Bilal and about a dozen others in early 2000

As he stepped into a Toyota Corolla driven by a Corrective Services officer reporters asked 'Are you happy to be free?' and 'Are you sorry for what you've done?' He did not respond.

Three boxes of Skaf's belongings were carried inside by Corrective Services officers who then left the property as news crews set up camp on the footpath.

Two women visited about 11am and left 25 minutes later. A man and a woman, who appeared to be Community Corrections officers, arrived about 2pm. There was no other movement at the house.

Pictured: A woman arrives at the Skaf family home after Mohammed Skaf was released from jail on Wednesday morning

Mohammed Skaf was accompanied to his family home in Greenacre by Correctional Services officers (left). Someone filmed the scene through the window of the property (right)

Neighbours showed little interest in the scene unfolding on their street but many had known Skaf was coming home.

Skaf had remained unrepentant during his time in custody and chose not to address the media when attempts were made to speak to him through an intercom.

'I'm not a rapist,' he said two years ago after yet again being refused parole. 'How can I have empathy for someone that wasn't raped by me?

'I've maintained my innocence for the last 19 years and I'll maintain my innocence until the day I die.'

Skaf has supposedly accepted some responsibility for his actions since he made those comments and indicated a wish to get married, have children, find a job and study architecture.

Skaf brought two boxes of his possessions home from the Long Bay correctional centre on Wednesday (pictured)

Notorious pack rapist Mohammed Skaf walks out of Sydney's Long Bay correctional complex on Wednesday morning after spending most of his life in custody

Mohammed Skaf was released from jail on Wednesday and live with his parents, younger brother and sister (family home pictured)

Gang rapist Mohammed Skaf after his arrest at the age of 17

When he was first locked up as a teenager there was no Facebook or Instagram and no smart phones. The World Trade Centre was still standing and John Howard was not even halfway through his four terms as prime minister.

'The world has changed,' Skaf said in 2019. 'I'm still living in the early 2000s.'

The Skaf gang pack raped at least six women and girls who were were held against their will and repeatedly sexually assaulted in four attacks that shocked Australia and raised racial tensions to fever pitch in NSW.

One woman was raped 25 times by 14 attackers at three locations as she was called an 'Aussie pig' in an ordeal that lasted six hours.

Skaf, who was convicted in relation to two of the rapes, was 17 at the time of the offences. His brother Bilal was almost 19 and is now 40.

Original sentencing judge Michael Finnane, who jailed Mohammed for 32 years in October 2002, described the gang's crimes as 'worse than murder'.

Following a series of further convictions and appeals that term was reduced to a maximum of 22 years, 11 months and 30 days.

Skaf's non-parole period on 16 years, 11 months and 30 days expired on January 1, 2018, more than three and a half years ago.

After serving two decades behind bars, Skaf (centre) will go home to his parents, with hopes of starting a family of his own

Skaf wore an ankle monitor as he walked out of prison, as his strict parole conditions include 24-hour electronic tracking

As well as 24-hour electronic monitoring, Skaf will have to keep to a daily schedule and comply with ongoing psychological intervention

His maximum sentence does not expire until January 1, 2024 but due to due to Covid-19 restrictions he has been unable to complete pre-release external leave programs.

If Skaf served his full term in prison authorities would have had no control over his reintegration back into the community when he finally got out.

A decision was therefore made to grant Skaf parole so he could be closely supervised while living with his family.

Skaf's sister, who along with his mother was recently diagnosed with Covid-19, told Daily Mail Australia the family was ready to welcome her brother home.

'We're looking forward to him coming home and hopefully he'll start a life that we've never experienced before,' she said. 'We're pretty excited and happy for him to come home.'

Mohammed Skaf (right) was released on Wednesday from Long Bay jail. Bilal Skaf (left) will be eligible for parole in 2033. He is serving a minimum term of 28 years with a maximum of 31

An artist's impression of Mohammed Skaf at a hearing before the State Parole Authority in February. The SPA determined freeing Mohammed at the end of his 23-year sentence in early 2024 without any conditions would have posed an unacceptable risk to society

Skaf was considered a low to medium risk of 'general re-offending' but one Corrective Services psychologist assessed him as in the 'well above average' range of committing further sex offences.

Skaf had lately been held in the minimum-security Kirkconnell Correctional Centrex, about 180km west of Sydney, between Lithgow and Bathurst.

He was moved to Long Bay late last week ahead of his release on parole.

Skaf was considered a low to medium risk of 'general re-offending' but one Corrective Services psychologist assessed him as in the 'well above average' range of committing further sex offences.

Earlier this year he was engaged in 30 days of work on community projects at Bathurst showground and local churches and was reported to have toiled diligently.

Skaf emerges from Long Bay jail wearing a face mask, his first taste of freedom in more than 20 years

As well as 24-hour electronic monitoring, Skaf will have to keep to a daily schedule and comply with ongoing psychological intervention.

Skaf was flanked by a corrections officer and lawyers as he walked to a waiting car

Skaf tried to avoid the cameras as he got into the car to be driven to his mother's home

He had completed the High Intensity Sex Offenders Program in a 'satisfactory manner' and the Real Understanding Self Help course where he was described as a 'consistently committed participant'.

The State Parole Authority (SPA) granted Skaf's release on September 17 under strict conditions including 24-hour electronic monitoring.

'Every determinate sentence imposed by a court comes to an end,' the authority said in a statement. 'Ordinarily, release is inevitable.

'It is clearly important to provide some structure to facilitate re-integration in the interests of community safety.

'Release without the opportunity for structure or supervision makes little sense in terms of community protection.'

Skaf's behaviour in prison had significant improved over the past two years and he retained strong family support.

Skaf's mother and younger sister were recently diagnosed with Covid and were self-isolating at their Greenacre home (pictured) along with his father and younger brother

Skaf's sister said the family was excited about 38-year-old Mohammed's release on parole. 'We're looking forward to him coming home and hopefully he'll start a life that we've never experienced before,' she said. The Skaf family home is pictured

'It is also reported that there has been a considerable shift in the applicant's understanding of the aggravated sexual assault conviction, to the extent that he accepts that "perhaps" consent had not been given by the victim,' the SPA found.

'The applicant reflected that he "was then 17 years and is now 38 and he would never be in that situation again".

'The authority accepts that there has been some belated attitudinal shift, but not such as constitutes any real acknowledgement of the gross criminal conduct described by the sentencing judges.'

Skaf has been offered post-release employment and his family's recently renovated home was previously assessed as suitable by Community Corrections.

Community Corrections reviewed that arrangement after youngest sibling Hadi pleaded guilty to supplying cocaine and dealing with the proceeds of crime.

The Skaf family home is about 1.7km from Gosling Park (above) where one of the Skaf gang's pack rapes occurred on August 12, 2000. Mohammed lured a 16-year-old girl to the park where Bilal and another gang member raped her while a dozen others stood around laughing.

The gang, led by Bilal Skaf, took two teenagers aged 17 and 18 to a toilet block at Northcote Park, Greenacre, where they were raped by eight men on August 10, 2000. The park, which is 750m from the Skaf family home, is pictured

Hadi Skaf, whose older brothers are notorious pack rapists Bilal and Mohammed Skaf, has been caught supplying cocaine in Sydney

It is understood the difference between the nature of Mohammed and 22-year-old Hadi's offending would not stop the former staying in the family home.

The Skafs live on a quiet bottlebrush-lined street about 1.7km from Gosling Park where one of the gang's pack rapes was committed on August 12, 2000.

Mohammed had lured a 16-year-old girl he knew to the park where Bilal and a second gang member raped her while a dozen more young men stood around laughing.

The second gang member held a gun to the teen's head and kicked her in the stomach before she was able to escape.

Less than three weeks after the Gosling Park attack, on August 30, 2000, Mohammed was the leader of four young men who approached an 18-year-old woman at Bankstown train station.

Skaf took the woman's phone and led her to public toilets in nearby Marion Street where he told her: 'You won't get your phone back until you f*** me.'

When the young woman refused Skaf said, 'I'm going to f*** you Leb-style', turned her around and raped her against a wall.

The SPA described the following 'horrendous' assaults committed upon the victim by the rest of the gang that night as violent, degrading and disgusting.

The woman was raped 25 times by 14 attackers at three locations in an ordeal that lasted six hours. She was asked if 'Leb c*** tasted better than Aussie c***' before being sprayed with an industrial hose.

Judge Finnane had compared the Skaf gang's depravity to outrages committed by invading armies in times of war.

'These were not random attacks and, in my view, they were aimed at creating terror in the community, Judge Finnane found.

Bilal Skaf led a gang of young Lebanese-Australian males on a pack rape spree across Sydney's south west in 2000. He is pictured outside the NSW Supreme Court in July 2006

He described Skaf as a menace to civilised society, and while Bilal - who was not eligible for parole until 2033 - had been the gang's nominal commander, Mohammed had also taken a leadership role.

'As the facts show, he, although quite young, is a vicious, cowardly bully, arrogant and a liar, as well as being a rapist,' Judge Finnane said.

The SPA noted Judge Finnane found Skaf had shown no remorse and continued to blame the victims for his crimes during his trials, observing he had been an 'arrogant and nasty individual in custody'.

The SPA had no legislative power to hold Skaf in prison beyond the end of his full 23-year sentence but could keep him under supervision by granting parole.

While acknowledging the distress that decision might cause Skaf's victims and the wider community, careful consideration had to be given to reintegrating him into the community.

SPA chairman David Frearson SC said intensive supervision for the last two years and two months of Skaf's maximum sentence was the safest available option.

'This is the only opportunity to supervise a safe transition into the community in the small window of time that we have left,' Judge Frearson said.

'Release without structure or supervision makes little sense for community protection.'

Mohammed Skaf had his sperm frozen while in custody at Long Bay jail (pictured) before undergoing cancer treatment so he could still father children when he got out. He was told chemotherapy would make him infertile and was 'devastated' at the prospect of being childless

Skaf's sperm was frozen and stored - at no cost to him - shortly after he was jailed over a series of horrifying pack rapes in Sydney's south west in 2000. The now 38-year-old was treated for cancer at a secure unit of Prince of Wales Hospital at Randwick in Sydney's east (pictured)

As well as 24-hour electronic monitoring, Skaf will have to keep to a daily schedule and comply with ongoing psychological intervention.

He is banned from any form of contact with his victims or co-offenders and cannot visit the Liverpool, Fairfield, Blacktown or Parramatta council areas.

The Skaf family home is within the nearby Canterbury-Bankstown local government boundaries.

Community Corrections pre-release reports confirmed there had been a 'significant improvement' in Skaf's behaviour and attitude towards his offending.

Skaf had his sperm frozen early in his sentence before undergoing chemotherapy so he could still father children after he was let out of jail.

He was rendered infertile following the treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma but the sperm sample was kept in storage.

Original sentencing judge, Michael Finnane, compared the Skaf gang's depravity to outrages committed by invading armies in times of war and said their crimes were 'worse than murder'

Skaf gang rapes were 'worse than murder' Bilal Skaf led a gang of more than a dozen young Lebanese Australians who committed four pack rapes on six teenagers in late 2000. Among the gang members was Bilal's younger brother Mohammed. One of the victims, an 18-year-old woman, was raped 25 times by 14 gang members over six hours in an attack coordinated by mobile phone. She was then dumped at a train station after being hosed down. During her ordeal the woman was called an 'Aussie pig', told she was going to be raped 'Leb-style' and asked if 'Leb c*** tasted better than Aussie c***'. Judge Michael Finnane compared the Skaf gang's depravity to outrages committed by invading armies in times of war and said their crimes were 'worse than murder'. 'These were not random attacks and, in my view, they were aimed at creating terror in the community,' Judge Finnane said. 'It seemed clear to me that these men were sending out a message to the community in Sydney. Skaf and the members of this gang clearly wanted public recognition for what they had done.' None of the rapists expressed any remorse for their crimes at their trials. Only Bilal Skaf is still in jail for the attacks. Some of the rapists have never been identified and police fear there were more victims who did not come forward. Advertisement

Skaf's plans to have children after his brush with cancer were detailed in a NSW Court of Criminal Appeal judgment handed down in September 2005.

He was diagnosed with cancer in November 2002, a month after his original sentence was imposed, and underwent six months of chemotherapy.

Skaf claimed his health scare 'made him more compassionate and understanding of other people's pain and suffering, particularly those trying to combat cancer', according to the CCA's findings.

The same judgement revealed Skaf moaning about being separated from his family and not having fresh fruit and vegetables to eat as he battled the disease.

The CCA noted Skaf felt 'isolated' and 'dehumanised', and wept as he tried to cope with his 'day-to-day mental and physical suffering'.

The chemotherapy was successful but Skaf complained he still faced the likelihood of not being able to have sons and daughters of his own.

Skaf said doctors felt he was probably sterile for the rest of his life and the sperm sample taken before his chemotherapy could only be stored for ten years.

[There is no definitive time limit for a high-quality sperm sample to remain viable after being frozen inside liquid nitrogen. There have been successful pregnancies from sperm frozen for more than 20 years].

'The applicant has deposed that he is "devastated" by the information that he is now sterile and that he is having medication for depression and that he feels "constantly stressed",' the CCA found.

A clinical psychologist who assessed Skaf in October 2003 recorded his reaction to facing the disease and treatment.

'During his life threatening and extremely debilitating illness, Mr Skaf had to endure limited reassurance and comfort from his family, which is normally considered necessary for a successful recovery from a serious cancer,' the psychologist wrote.

'Mr Skaf told me that on several occasions he lost his composure and cried.'

At the same time, Skaf complained he did not have access to education programs 'to keep his mind occupied', the psychologist reported.

'Mr Skaf told me that during the acute phase of his treatment, he had been tempted to end his life but that the thought of the pain this would cause his parents and his siblings and this stopped him.'

'Mr Skaf is a depressed and anxious young man who is trying to recover from a life threatening lymphatic cancer.

'Since his serious life threatening illness, Mr Skaf appears to demonstrate greater insight into other people's suffering and struggles.

'He expressed the desire to understand and explore the meaning of his life and the possibilities for a future constructive life.'

It is not known if the sperm sample taken from Skaf is still viable.
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Kevin McCallister would have the time of his life alone in this home!

Actor Joe Pesci, the famously bumbling crook in Home Alone and the Oscar winner for Goodfellas, finally sold his New Jersey waterfront mansion for $6.5 million on Monday, two years after he first put it on the market for the same price.

Pescis price tag made his home the most expensive listing in the small Jersey Shore town of Lavallette. He kept asking for $6.5 million through the pandemic and, despite taking two years, it finally paid off, according to the New York Post.

The 78-year old on-screen mobster has owned the property since 1994, four years after it was built, and purchased it for $850,000.

Pesci first listed the 7,200-square-foot home, which features 8 bedrooms and 8.5 bathrooms, in November 2019 and took it off the market at least three different times before listing it again after failing to reel in a buyer.

Actor Joe Pesci finally sold his New Jersey waterfront mansion after having it on the market for two years

The home went into contract Monday for $6.5 million, making it the most expensive listing in the Lavallette neighborhood, according to its listing

The 78-year old on-screen gangster has owned the property in Lavallette since 1994, four years after it was built, and purchased it for $850,000

Joe Pesci is seen above acting alongside MaCaulay Culkin and Daniel Stern in the 1990 film "Home Alone"

The home features a large backyard deck equipped with an in-ground heated pool and spa, as well as a boat dock. The property is in the West Point Island neighborhood of the Jersey Shore and sits just a short walk to the ocean.

The Art Deco-inspired mansion has been branded as 'custom contemporary,' with a number of upgrades that feature an open floor plan, private elevator and luxury bathroom, according to the listing.

The formal dining room is complete with a round marble table that sits 12, floor-to-ceilings windows overlooking the shore and an ornate chandelier.

A primary en-suite bedroom includes its own private balcony and office.

A main focus of the home is a media room that features a Lethal Weapon pinball machine and other Pesci movie memorabilia, including walls decked with iconic photos and posters from films the Newark-born actor has starred in. They include movies such as Eureka, My Cousin Vinny, A Bronx Tale, Gone Fishin and Home Alone - where he was outwitted by a young Macaulay Culkin, playing the role of Kevin McCallister.

The home features a large backyard deck equipped with an in-ground heated pool and spa

The formal dining room is complete with a round marble table that sits 12, floor-to-ceilings windows overlooking the shore and an ornate chandelier

The Art Deco-inspired mansion has been branded as custom contemporary, with a number of upgrades that feature an open floor plan, private elevator and luxury bathroom, according to the listing

A staple of his home is a media room that features a Lethal Weapon pinball machine among other Pesci movie memorabilia,

The walls are decked with iconic photos and posters from films like Eureka, My Cousin Vinny, Home Alone, A Bronx Tale and Gone Fishin, among others

While trying to sell the home in July 2020, Pesci got in a heated debate with two neighbors who tried to extend their boating docks by 300 feet.

In a scathing letter shared on West Point Island Dock Dispute - a page created by residents who sided with Pesci - the Goodfellas star shared that he was in 'strong opposition' to the two applications in place.

The two applications ask to extend docks on Barnegat Bay to 300 feet, similar to a 2018 addition to another dock that saw its size increase by more than 180 feet.

'More than doubling the length of these docks undoubtedly would block views of the Bay currently enjoyed by other area homeowners,' Pesci said in his letter, written in October 2019.

'More importantly, these extensions would force boaters, kayakers and paddlers in this area  which include children in addition to adults  to operate in waters far from land, and accordingly in the wakes of large watercraft.'

Pesci said that when the extension for the dock in 2018 occurred, which he opposed then, northern views of the Bay became 'impaired' from his property. Pesci also shared that the dock 'negatively impacted' boat travels and made the Bay more unsafe.

He concluded in the letter: 'As a 30-year resident of West Point Island, I respectfully ask the Department to take this opportunity to stop this trend now by denying the pending applications before it is too late.'
A Labor-supporting Facebook page has accused new NSW Premier Dom Perrottet of breaching Covid rules on his second day in office - with the new leader angrily denying the claim at a press conference.

ALP Spicy Memes Stash, a satirical page inspired by the meme culture of US politics, potsed a picture from Mr Perrottet's Instagram account with the comment, 'Celebrating Day 2 of being Premier by breaching the public health orders!'

The Insta story posted by Mr Perrottet on Wednesday morning shows him in a Nike jogging shirt in front of the Sydney Harbour Bridge with the caption, 'Best city in the world.'

The Facebook post by ALP Spicy Meme Stash using an image from Dominic Perrottet's Insta story on Wednesday morning

The memes page and people commenting underneath its post claimed Mr Perrottet breached current Covid restrictions in Sydney by engaging in exercise or outdoor recreation outside of his local government area or within 5km of his home.

Mr Perrottet, the MP for Epping, lives at Beecroft in Sydney's leafy north-west, 24km from the Sydney CBD. His office is in Martin Place, in the central city.

'He's over 5kms away from his place of residence, whether you agree with the decision or not, it's a horrible look for a state official to go against public health orders,' one person commented on the post.

'If the government undermines themselves, why should we take them seriously?'

Other people questioned whether the pic was old, one person commenting: 'Please dont stoop to posting misleading, out of context pictures. There is more than enough real issues to focus on.'

Mr Perrottet addressed the issue at a press conference this afternoon, saying he had checked with the head of the Department of Premier and Cabinet's legal team.

'I enjoyed a lovely run by myself in this beautiful city on a great day.'

New NSW Premier Dom Perrottet was accused of breaching Covid rules on just his second day in office

He said the advice he received confirmed that if a person's work was outside their LGA, they could go for a walk, buy lunch or go for a run.

'I double-checked before I went,' he said.

The rules as they appear on the NSW government Covid site do not specify whether exercise or outdoor recreation can be taken 5km from a place of work.

NSW Police said in a statement provided to Daily Mail Australia: 'The NSW Police Force has independently reviewed the legal advice which was provided to the Premier and determined no breach of the Public Health Orders has taken place.'
Premier Daniel Andrews has defended the decision to push ahead with an annual Victorian assessment after four COVID-positive students sat the test.

The VCE students, from Melbourne's coronavirus-hit north and west, tested positive after completing Tuesday's rescheduled General Achievement Test.

The students are from Glenroy Secondary College, William Ruthven Secondary College, Roxburgh College and Point Cook Secondary College.

Premier Daniel Andrews has defended the decision to push ahead with an annual Victorian assessment after four COVID-positive students sat the test

The schools will be closed for deep cleaning, and contact tracing is underway, as authorities attempt to balance public health risks with isolating the fewest students possible.

A state government spokeswoman said 85,000 students sat the exam, which does not count towards their end-of-year results, and prior targeted hotspot testing uncovered more than 30 cases.

Premier Daniel Andrews said the tests were returned in good time and he was comfortable the GAT went ahead in the climate of the state's worsening coronavirus outbreak.

'We have to open the place up. We have to normalise this and there are steady and logical and safe steps to do that. The GAT was one of them,' he told reporters at state parliament.

Health Minister Martin Foley said exposed students would be given further opportunities if they missed upcoming exams while in isolation.

He was unsurprised four cases had emerged among such a large cohort of students, and said the government would not change course on its staggered plan for pupils to return to face-to-face learning.

The VCE students, from Melbourne's coronavirus-hit north and west, tested positive after completing Tuesday's rescheduled General Achievement Test

'It is a regret and I am sure it is a bigger blow for those four young people and their families,' Mr Foley said.

'But in regards to the amount of community transmission that is apparent at the moment, overlaid with the increasingly strong levels of vaccinations, we think this is a sensible path through, mitigate those risks while delivering the VCE to those year 12 and year 11 students.'

The scare came as tens of thousands of VCE students returned to Melbourne classrooms on Wednesday.

McKinnon Secondary College year 12 student Lucca Beaves said he was excited but well aware of the likelihood his school might have to deal with a close contact or a positive case.

The students are from Glenroy Secondary College, William Ruthven Secondary College, Roxburgh College and Point Cook Secondary College

'I guess it's a bit scary,' he told AAP.

Like so many senior students, he and his twin brother Padua have spent much of their VCE studying at home.

The 18-year-old twins will be fully vaccinated next week after deciding to get the AstraZeneca vaccine in August, and are among 73.76 per cent of Victorians aged 16 to 19 who have had their first dose.

Wednesday's return to classrooms for Unit 3/4 VCE students in Melbourne comes after year 12 and prep to grade two pupils in regional Victoria went back to school on Monday as part of a separate, staggered restart plan.

The opposition, meanwhile, has released its own plan to get every Victorian student back in classrooms full-time earlier than the government's roadmap.
A picture of dozens of hungry customers queuing outside a popular Taco Bell restaurant in the pouring rain has garnered attention online for an unfortunate reason.

The fast food outlet in Perth has only been open for a week but has seen booming business so far, with lines of customers often streaming out the doors.

Dozens of taco fans went to extreme lengths to get their first Mexican feast, braving pouring rain to line up outside for hours in shop-provided ponchos.

However, the viral photo drew a comparison online to the American white supremacist hate group, the Ku Klux Klan.

Images of people lining up outside Perth's newly-opened Taco Bell (pictured) have gained social media attention, being likened to a meeting of the KKK

The KKK were often identified by wearing long white robes, masks and pointed conical hats that were intended to hide their identities.

Facebook users flooded the comments section of the images saying how a first glance at the photos confused the Taco Bell line for a KKK meeting.

'At first, I thought these photos were of a Klan meeting,' said one amused user.

'Didnt know they do clan meetings at Taco Bell,' wrote another.

'Think this is a line to go see the Grand Wizard,' one commented.

'Looks like the KKK are treating themselves to a night out,' said another.

One wrote: 'Glad I'm not the only one thinking it.'

Social media users have flooded the comments of the images, with many saying at first glance they thought the images (pictured) were of the KKK

Many also admired the dedication of the Mexican food fanatics, but also questioned why they bothered to wait hours outside in the cold and rain when the restaurant is now a permanent fixture in the Western Australia city.

'They realise it's there for the long term right?' wrote one comment. 'Like, they'll be able to go next week, or the week after, or the week after that.'

'This just reaffirms the IQ level of majority of Perth,' said another. 'Laughed they were there at midnight before it opened on a cold mid-week day.'

The fast food outlet in Perth has only been open for a week but has seen booming business so far, with lines of customers often streaming out the doors (pictured)

The end of a six-decade long wait for Taco Bell to arrive in Western Australia previously caused so much excitement when the store opened last week, it sparked a traffic jam on a major highway.

Hundreds of people queued for hours to sample the menu at the US fast food giant's first WA outlet - bringing the Great Eastern Highway in the Perth suburb of Midland to a stand still.

Some even queued all night to ensure they were among the first in the door when the restaurant opened at 10am on September 29.

There was great excitement when Taco Bell's first Western Australia outlet opened on Wednesday, September 29

Some people queued overnight to make sure they were at the top of the line when Taco Bell opened its doors for the first time in Western Australia

According to a report on the Perth Now website, some people came armed with tents, sleeping bags and beanbags to make their wait for a taco more comfortable.

James Corby, who moved to Perth from America when he was a child had long implored Taco Bell to open an outlet in WA.

His long wait to experience Taco Bell in his adopted home of Western Australia finally came to an end on September 29.

'It was worth the wait, the long night (queueing),' he told Perth Now's Bryce Luff.

Western Australia's first Taco Bell restaurant caused a traffic jam in Perth on Tuesday, with people very keen to sample their Mexican-themed food

Texas native Ashley Renfro, was close to the front of the line with her three-year-old daughter Georgia Belle when Taco Bell opened.

'When I heard Taco Bell was coming to Perth I was screaming,' she said.

As well as tacos and other Mexican inspired food, Taco Bell also sells chips, drinks and desserts.

Taco Bell plans to open a second Perth outlet in 2022 in the northern suburbs of the city

Taco Bell was founded by man called Glen Bell, an entrepreneur who had previously owned a hot dog stand.

Bell sold the chain to PepsiCo in 1978.

Taco Bell's Australian operation also has outlets in NSW, Queensland and Victoria.

Their entry into the WA market will soon be doubled, with a second Perth outlet set to open in 2022 in Ellenbrook, in the city's northern suburbs.
A flight bringing home 115 stranded Australians is set to become the longest commercial service ever operated by Qantas.

The 14,683km repatriation flight from Buenos Aires in Argentina to Darwin will touch down just before 8pm on Wednesday.

The flight, which is 184km farther than Qantas' Perth to London journey, is the third longest route in the world.

The passengers have been stuck in the world's second longest lockdown in Argentina, only being surpassed by Melbourne on Sunday.

Qantas's longest ever flight is set to land in Darwin just before 8pm on Wednesday, bringing 115 Australians home fro Buenos Aires (pictured, a Qantas plane at Darwin Airport)

Buenos Aires was in lockdown for a 244-day stretch from March 20 to November 11 in 2020, plus a short circuit-breaker lockdown in May this year.

The flight from Argentina's capital city will see travellers get amazing views of the South Pole, after careful planning plotted the fastest route to travel over Antarctica.

'We're used to looking at the world map as a rectangle but of course we are a globe, so when you look at it like that it makes perfect sense to fly over Antarctica,' Northern Territory Airports' aviation development analyst Bruce Dale told The Australian.

The Boeing 787-9 being used for the flight has particularly large windows and paired with the air quality in the region, those on board will get the best possible views en route to Darwin.

Darwin Airport has become an aviation hub during the pandemic, and once landed, the passengers onboard will quarantine in the Howard Springs facility.

The stranded Australians were stuck in the world's second toughest lockdown, only behind Melbourne (pictured, the flight path of the repatriation flight)

The airport has been the only place in Australia to land flights from all six permanently inhabited continents during the pandemic.

The only three other airports to achieve the feat are Doha in Qatar, Dubai and London.

Mr Dale said it was an honour to welcome Australia's Olympic athletes home when they landed in Darwin, and the proximity of the airport to the Howard Springs facility make it an ideal choice for repatriation flights.

'Darwin has a strong aviation history as the site of Australia's first international airport in 1919, and Qantas launched its first international flights from Darwin in 1935,' Mr Dale said.

Qantas boss Alan Joyce revealed on Tuesday Australians will need to have as many as four Covid tests and carry proof of vaccination status in order to travel overseas.

Speaking from Boston at the International Air Transport Association (IATA)'s annual meeting, Mr Joyce provided explanation in great detail what international travel will look like for travel-starved Aussies in the coming months.

The Qantas chief executive officer said passengers will need to be tested for the virus before departing Australia and prior to boarding their return flight home.

Buenos Aires endured a 244-day stretch in lockdown, only passed by Melbourne on Sunday (pictured, Buenos Aires)

A further two additional Covid tests will be required during the seven day home quarantine period.

Qantas has resumed flights from November 14 with services flying between Sydney and Los Angeles and Sydney and London as Australians are set to travel overseas from next month.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the changes on Friday which will apply to all states and territories that hit 80 per cent vaccination coverage.

Fully-vaccinated travellers will be required to enter a seven day isolation period while quarantine-free travel could be set up for certain countries such as New Zealand.

Unvaccinated Australians will still have to complete the mandatory 14-day quarantine stint in hotels or designated facilities upon their return.
The US Supreme Court is today set to hear its first case involving a Guantanamo Bay detainee since 2008, the result of which could potentially force the US government to reveal information it says could harm national security.

Abu Zubaydah, a Palestinian man who was captured in Pakistan in 2002 and thought at the time to be a high-ranking member of al-Qaida, has been held at the infamous Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba since 2006 without charge.

Zubaydah has claimed that he was regularly beaten and subjected to a variety of torture techniques including sleep deprivation, waterboarding and stress positions at a CIA 'black site' in Poland between 2002 and 2006.

Zubaydah's legal team attempted to subpoena a pair of CIA contractors thought to be behind the detention and interrogation program to testify in a Polish criminal investigation into the black site.

But the US federal government blocked the subpoenas on the grounds that information revealed by Mitchell and Jessen could pose a risk to national security.

Now the case is being reviewed by the Supreme Court after Zubaydah's team successfully appealed the initial ruling.

If the Supreme Court rules in the detainee's favor, the government will be forced to disclose state secrets it says are important for national security - a development which could have global implications on the United States government's long-held right to secrecy.

Zubaydah has claimed that he was regularly beaten and subjected to a variety of torture techniques including sleep deprivation, waterboarding and stress positions at a CIA 'black site' in Poland between 2002 and 2006

Zubaydah has been held at the infamous Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba since 2006 without charge and was the first person captured and subjected to extraordinary rendition in the US detention and interrogation program set up in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks

The case has its origins rooted in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks when the CIA set up a detention and interrogation program designed to collect intelligence about terrorist plots against Americans.

As part of that program, the agency set up secret prisons known as 'black sites' in other countries and used extreme interrogation techniques against its captives that are now widely viewed as torture.

Zubaydah, the first person to be captured in the CIA program, spent four years at CIA black sites, primarily in Poland, before being transferred to Guantanamo Bay in 2006.

Zubaydah was waterboarded more than 80 times and spent over 11 days in a coffin-size confinement box, according to a 2014 Senate report on the CIA program, and is to this day being held in Guantanamo Bay, despite the CIA conceding he was never a member of Al-Qaeda and was not involved in planning the 9/11 attacks.

He is seeking information from former CIA contractors James Mitchell and John 'Bruce' Jessen, who are considered the architects of the interrogation program, and Zubaydah's lawyer want to question the contractors about the specifics of his ordeal in Poland.

A federal appeals court sided with Zubaydah, and said that despite the government insisting on a blanket ban of any information being revealed, a judge should determine whether any information he is seeking can be disclosed.

Zubaydah's legal team is seeking information from former CIA contractors James Mitchell (L) and John 'Bruce' Jessen (R), who are considered the architects of the CIA's interrogation program following the 9/11 attacks

The US government has never publicly acknowledged a CIA black site in Poland, though the former president of Poland has done so and its existence has also been widely reported in the media.

Poland is just one of many countries the US used to commit extraordinary rendition by capturing and flying suspected terror suspects into secret black sites, torturing them for information and in some cases bringing them to Guantanamo Bay to be held indefinitely.

Zubaydah and his attorney note that Mitchell and Jessen have testified twice before in other situations, including hearings at Guantanamo, and Mitchell has already declared he personally waterboarded a number of CIA detainees including including the self-proclaimed mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, at a secret location in Poland.

Zubaydah's lawyers say they want non-privileged information from the men such as the details of Zubaydah's 'torture in Poland, his medical treatment, and the conditions of his confinement.'

Poland is just one of many countries the US used to commit extraordinary rendition by capturing and flying suspected terror suspects into secret black sites, torturing them for information and in some cases bringing them to Guantanamo Bay to be held indefinitely

Zubaydah was waterboarded more than 80 times and spent over 11 days in a coffin-size confinement box, according to a 2014 Senate report on the CIA program, and is to this day being held in Guantanamo Bay (pictured), despite the CIA conceding he was never a member of Al-Qaeda and was not involved in planning the 9/11 attacks

The Biden administration, like the Trump administration before it, says the information should not be disclosed because it would do significant harm to national security.

The United States has declassified some information about the CIA program, but has declared certain information, including the locations of former CIA detention facilities, cannot be declassified without a risk to national security.

'Certain categories of information - including the identities of its foreign intelligence partners and the location of former CIA detention facilities in their countries - could not be declassified without risking undue harm to the national security,' the US government argues, according to case documents.

A federal court initially ruled that Mitchell and Jessen shouldn't be required to provide any information, but an appeals court ruled 2-1 in favor of Zubaydah, meaning the case had to be heard in America's highest court.

In its briefs before the Supreme Court the government says Zubaydah was 'an associate and longtime terrorist ally of Osama bin Laden.'

Zubaydah's lawyers say the CIA was mistaken in believing he was a high-ranking member of al-Qaida.
The U.S. government is using 'keyword warrants' to uncover the identity of anyone who searches Google and other search engines for certain search terms that may be related to a crime, according to a new report.

The controversial practice, which is already drawing civil liberties concerns about sweeping government overreach, was revealed on Tuesday in 'accidentally unsealed' court documents obtained by Forbes.

Keyword warrants  which have been secretly employed for at least several years  are drawing backlash as many argue they violate an individual's constitutional protections against unreasonable search and seizure.

'Trawling through Google's search history database enables police to identify people merely based on what they might have been thinking about, for whatever reason, at some point in the past,' said Jennifer Granick, surveillance and cybersecurity counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union.

'This never-before-possible technique threatens First Amendment interests and will inevitably sweep up innocent people, especially if the keyword terms are not unique and the time frame not precise. To make matters worse, police are currently doing this in secret, which insulates the practice from public debate and regulation.'

The U.S. government has secretly ordered Google to track and provide user data on anyone who searches specific names, addresses or telephone numbers

The most sweeping federal keyword warrant made public to date was a keyword hunt for the serial bomber who struck Austin, Texas in 2018

However, Google has defended its decision to respond to keyword warrants and claims they protect users when doing so.

'As with all law enforcement requests, we have a rigorous process that is designed to protect the privacy of our users while supporting the important work of law enforcement,' a Google spokesperson explained.

The FBI tried to use keyword searches to identify Austin bomber Mark Anthon Conditt

The federal government claims the scope of the warrants is limited, which allegedly avoids implicating innocent people who search the specific terms by happenstance.

However, officials have not publicly disclosed how often they use keyword warrants requests, or the number of users whose data has been turned over by private tech companies.

Forbes reported that only a handful of keyword warrant requests have been made public.

The most sweeping was a keyword hunt for the serial bomber who struck Austin, Texas in 2018.

The order served on Google, Yahoo and Microsoft demanded the handover of IP and account information for anyone who searched for a range of terms related to bomb making, such as 'low explosives' and 'pipe bomb.'

Two people died in the 20-day bombing spree, and bomber Mark Anthony Conditt killed himself as authorities closed in on him. Police said that he was traced by unique pink construction gloves captured on surveillance video.

Conditt was not caught by the sweeping warrants, but by reviewing Home Depot footage to identify the purchaser of distinctive gloves worn by the bomber (seen above mailing bomb)

The most recent keyword warrant surrounded a 2019 investigation involving Wisconsin men who were believed to have trafficked and sexually abused a minor after she had gone missing earlier that year.

In an attempt to catch the victim's alleged kidnappers, the FBI asked Google to provide them with information on anyone who had searched the girl's name, two spellings of her mother's name and her address over a 16 day period.

Google provided the government with the requested data  relevant Google accounts and IP addresses  in mid-2020. It is unclear how many users were included in the report.

The government also asked Google to provide data on anyone who had searched for the address of an arson victim who was a witness in R. Kelly's racketeering trial.

In the third instance, detailed in 2017, a judge signed a warrant requesting that the tech giant provide information on anyone in Edina, Minnesota  where the crime took place  who searched the name of a fraud victim.

Keyword warrants  which are relatively new  have sparked controversy as many argue they violate an individual's constitutional rights

The federal government claims the scope of the warrants is limited, which allegedly avoids implicating innocent people who search the specific terms by happenstance. Both the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security are said to utilize keyword warrants

Cybersecurity experts have raised concerns over keyword warrants because they are a type of search term order which are 'effectively fishing expeditions'.

They fear that allowing keyword warrants will set a precedent for breaching the fourth amendment protection against unreasonable searches.

Privacy experts also speculate that keyword searches could impact freedom of speech because users may fear that their information will be provided to the government based on what they search for.

The revelation of the sweeping federal warrants drew swift condemnation from privacy advocates and civil liberties groups.

'Blanket warrants, such as reverse location + reverse keyword warrants, circumvent constitutional checks on police surveillance,' the New York chapter of the ACLU tweeted.

'Law enforcement shouldn't have broad access to tracking data. Warrants must be narrowly targeted, specific, and based on probable cause.'

'Another important thing to worry about with keyword warrants: secrecy. This warrant was unsealed by mistake. But what if it weren't?' tweeted ACLU lawyer Jennifer Granick.

'Would anyone ever know that this technique had been used? Or how often? Or what data the govt got? Or where that information is now?' she added.

The FBI and Department of Homeland Security  both of whom are are said to utilize keyword warrants  did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com's request for comment.
Daniel Andrews lashed out at his opposite number during fiery Question Time debate after he was ensnared in a corruption investigation.

Opposition leader Matthew Guy has called for the Premier's resignation after it emerged Victoria's corruption watchdog, the Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission (IBAC), is probing Mr Andrews' role in a deal between the Government and the United Firefighters Union struck in 2019.

Mr Guy said Mr Andrews should follow the lead of NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and quit, after the NSW leader's shock resignation over a probe involving her former lover Daryl Maguire.

The call infuriated Mr Andrews, who blasted Mr Guy in state Parliament on Wednesday afternoon, accusing him of 'grinning and smirking' while launching political attacks.

A fuming Mr Andrews said: 'At the end of the day everyone should co-operate (with an IBAC investigation), everyone should participate, everyone should do as that commission asks,' he said.

'And the Leader of the Opposition can - whatever that's called, that grinning and smirking whatever it is, it's almost woken up.

'So when you have woken up come back to me.'

Mr Andrews said he has 'behaved appropriately at all times'.

Mr Guy has said the Premier should follow Gladys Berejiklian who resigned on Friday after it emerged she was being investigated for corruption over two grants handed out in her ex-boyfriend's electorate.

He said: 'The Premier went into Opposition [where] he made a habit of calling for people to stand down who are being investigated by IBAC.

'The Premier in NSW has just stood down for being investigated by an anti-corruption commission.

'Now (Mr Andrews) is being investigated, and he refuses to stand down. I hope that tells the whole state of Victoria about his state of integrity. Of course he should stand down.'

Gone: NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian resigned last Friday after she became the focus of a corruption probe by the state's watchdog

Earlier Mr Andrews batted away reporters' questions about the investigation.

'If you want to know what IBAC is doing and who they're talking to... you must go talk to them,' he said.

An IBAC investigation into Victoria's fire services has been ongoing since 2019, probing allegations of corruption and financial mismanagement.

Hundreds of Victorian firefighters rally on the steps of parliament in Melbourne in 2015

Between 2015 and 2019 the firefighters' union leader Peter Marshall tried to influence a new pay deal and a reform package to benefit his members. The deal was reached in 2019 and passed parliament.

IBAC has seized mobile phones, laptops and dozens of USBs belonging to the union or Mr Marshall, according to The Age.

Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting any wrongdoing by Mr Andrews.
Farmers have warned that Australia's favourite fruits and vegetables may not be in supermarkets this summer if seasonal worker shortages remain unaddressed.

Popular festive season picks like cherries and blueberries are at risk of rotting in fields across the country as produce pickers - positions typically filled by backpackers and overseas visitors- remain scarce amid the Covid pandemic.

Although Scott Morrison has announced international border will reopen once 80 per cent of the eligible population is fully vaccinated, farmers are concerned tourists will be deterred from visiting Australia due to hotel quarantine requirements.

The agricultural industry is now calling on the NSW government to allow seasonal workers to quarantine on farms to help pick harvests before millions of dollars worth produce goes to waste.

NSW Farmers and the National Farmers Federation (NFF) have written to the state and federal government seeking a pilot for on-farm quarantine for '200 agricultural workers from low-risk countries'.

Farmers are calling on the Australian government to allow international visitors to quarantine on-farms to address labour shortages which could see millions of dollars worth of produce go to waste

The farm advocacy groups want the proposal launched once 70 per cent of the eligible NSW residents are vaccinated, and rolled out across the state or nation if successful.

'The hotel quarantine system in NSW is causing unnecessary delays to the timely movement of workers to farms,' NSW Farmers President James Jackson said.

'The availability of hotel quarantine places in NSW is limited and further constrained by Sydney's disproportionately high intake of returning residents.

'We acknowledge the subsidy the NSW Government has put in place to halve the cost of hotel quarantine applicable to agricultural workers, but the cost remains prohibitive to many farm enterprises, particularly the smaller ones.'

The NSW Farmers and the NFF said the on-farm model could be cheaper than hotel quarantine while still effectively managing the risk of Covid-19.

'After years of drought, our farmers are finally facing the prospect of record-breaking harvests,' Mr Jackson said.

'Labour shortages are the main barrier standing in their way, so we need as many tools as possible to get harvests off the ground.

'For us, on-farm quarantine is a no-brainer that could improve the likelihood of workers reaching Australia in time for harvests.'

The grim warning comes as the Nationals elected a Paul Toole as the party's new leader on Wednesday.

Farmers are hoping the new NSW Nationals leader, who will replace John Barilaro as Deputy Leader, will secure a better deal for agriculture.

The worker shortage could see supermarkets bare of cherries and blueberries (pictured) during the festive season

Mr Jackson said he would seek a meeting with the new leaders as soon as possible.

'We have made some good progress under the outgoing leadership team, and we have found [Premier] Dominic Perrottet and Mr Toole to be good listeners on issues that matter to farmers,' Mr Jackson said.

'However, there are a number of issues that require urgent attention, and we will be seeking meetings with them as soon as possible.'

Mr Jackson said shortage of labourers to harvest the state's bumper crops is 'top of mind' and 'if it's not resolved it will cost everyone dearly'.

He also nominated land use and proposed property tax reforms as 'two big issues that need to be addressed sooner rather than later'.

'We also need to look to any barriers that will hold back the agricultural sector as we pursue our growth target of $30 billion in farm gate output by 2030,' he added.
Two men were stabbed to death after a drunken buggy driver convinced them to storm an innocent teenager's home to avoid him getting in trouble for drink driving, a coroner has found.

Tom Davy, 27, and Corey Christensen, 37, bled to death in a gutter in the Queensland seaside town of Alva Beach on the night of the 2018 NRL Grand Final.

The pair, with blood alcohol levels of 0.53 and 0.21, ripped a sliding door off its tracks and burst into the home of Dean Webber, then 19.

Mr Webber was sheltering a hysterical and injured Candice Locke, then 31, in the dark holiday home and blindly struck out with a kitchen knife when they threw him to the floor and started punching him.

She had come from an alcohol-fuelled beach afterparty, where she fell off Louis Bengoa's buggy and ran away to seek help.

The coroner found that in an attempt to avoid getting in trouble with police, Mr Bengoa urged the two men to track her down, likely telling them she was 'in danger' in the teen's house.

A drunken date turned deadly when Candice Locke (pictured) was injured during a beach buggy ride and then hid in a nearby home while waiting for an ambulance

Teenager Dean Webber (pictured) was asleep on the couch when he was woken by Ms Locke begging to get in away from the 'crazy' 'psychos' hunting her, the inquest heard

'It is likely that Mr Bengoa was very anxious that the police not be called due to the circumstances of her being injured when he was driving the buggy,' Coroner Jane Bentley said on Wednesday.

'Mr Bengoa did not want anyone to know that Ms Locke had hurt her shoulder while he was driving her in the buggy.

'It is likely that he was concerned that he would face consequences for driving her in the buggy whilst he was significantly intoxicated and during which she suffered an injury.'

Both Mr Davy and Mr Christensen suffered mortal stab wounds and staggered outside where they collapsed and died about 1am on October 1.

The young air force cadet, weighing just 57kg compared to the 133kg Mr Davy and 83kg Mr Christensen, was never charged with any crime.

Coroner Jane Bentley handed down her findings on Wednesday, ruling Mr Webber was genuinely in fear of his life and backing a police decision not to charge the teenager.

'His fear was caused by Ms Locke appearing injured at his house in the middle of the night and telling him males outside his property wanted to get her,' she said.

Tom Davey (pictured) had earlier been on a date with Ms Locke before they went an NRL Grand Final party and was later persuaded to join the hunt for her

Corey Christensen (pictured) and Mr Davey were stabbed to death by Mr webber after they ripped off his glass sliding door and burst into his home hunting Ms Locke

'His fear was compounded when the three men refused to leave his property and then began trying to get into the house.'

She also slammed the 'unacceptable' 51 minute delay in police arriving at the scene despite three Triple-0 calls from Mr Webber and Ms Locke.

Instead of rushing to the scene, local cops were filling out mundane paperwork and one officer swore at the pair, called them liars before hanging up on them.

Why the two men stormed into Mr Webber's home to find Ms Locke and viciously attacked the teenager has never been properly explained.

The third man, Mr Bengoa, could have finally answered the crucial question, but Ms Bentley accused him in her findings of telling 'self-serving' lies to the police to cover up his involvement.

The inquest heard Ms Locke had recently moved to the area from Sydney and hooked up with volunteer firefighter Mr Davey on a dating app.

Louis Bengoa (left) was slammed by the coroner for his 'self-serving version of events that was inconsistent with his later statements.'

Mr Webber called an ambulance for Candice Locke (pictured) at 12.26am but it was 51 minutes later before police or medics arrived at the scene

They spent the day drinking together at the beach when they met Mr Bengoa and Mr Christensen who invited them to the local NRL Grand Final party.

But during the match, Mr Davey and Ms Locke had a row over her drinking and behaviour and he left the party to sit in his car.

Other partygoers said they saw Mr Bengoa apparently then move in on Ms Locke and the coroner said the pair later left the party to go for a drive in Mr Bengoa's buggy, the inquest heard.

But during the drive along the beach, Ms Locke fell from the Polaris ATV and badly injured her shoulder.

She repeatedly told police and medics that Mr Bengoa had pushed her out the vehicle, but later said she simply fell, and blamed being drunk for her first version of events.

Mr Bengoa initially denied she had fallen at all, then later backtracked and said she had fallen but insisted she had been 'doing a Titanic' at the back of the buggy and fell off.

Candice Locke (pictured) repeatedly said she had been pushed out the buggy by Louis Bengoa but later changed her story

But when Ms Locke tried to get Mr Bengoa to get her medical attention, the night escalated out of control.

The coroner found Mr Bengoa had refused because he was probably trying to avoid police charging him for driving while drunk.

After he refused, she ran and hid from Mr Bengoa, who then got Mr Christensen to join the hunt, before Ms Locke fled to the first home she could find which was Mr Webber's.

He had earlier returned from his own Grand Final party and had fallen asleep on the couch when Ms Locke battered at his sliding glass door begging to get in.

She told him a terrifying story of being thrown out the buggy by 'crazy' Mr Bengoa and was being hunted by two men who were 'psycho'.

He immediately tried to tend to her injuries with ice on her shoulder while phoning for an ambulance for her.

Dean Webber (pictured) said he had never been so scared in his life when the three men were trying to get into his home

Dean Webber had earlier returned from his own Grand Final party and had fallen asleep on the couch when Ms Locke battered at his sliding glass door begging to get in. He recreated the incident for police, seen here

Meanwhile Mr Bengoa had found Mr Davey to get him involved, and the coroner believes he lied to Mr Davey to get him to do whatever it took to find Ms Locke.

'It is unknown what Mr Davy was told by Mr Bengoa,' the coroner said.

'It is unlikely that Mr Bengoa told Mr Davy that Ms Locke had hurt her shoulder falling from the buggy he was driving.

'Mr Bengoa did not want anyone to know that Ms Locke had hurt her shoulder while he was driving her in the buggy.

'The likelihood is that Mr Bengoa told Mr Davy something that convinced him that Ms Locke was in danger if she stayed in the house with Mr Webber.

'It is probable that, due to what he was told by Mr Bengoa, Mr Davy considered that it was necessary as a matter of urgency to remove Ms Locke from the house.'

Ms Locke and Mr Davey had spent the day drinking together at the beach when they met Mr Bengoa and Mr Christensen who invited them to the local NRL Grand Final party at Alva Beach (pictured)

Corey Christensen (pictured) suffered mortal stab wounds and staggered outside where he collapsed and died, the inquest heard

She added: 'I find that Mr Bengoa had no interest in Ms Locke's welfare or concern for her safety.

'Mr Bengoa had one concern only that night and that was the possibility that he would be in trouble.'

Moments later the three of them were battering at the door, threatening Mr Webber and trying to force their way in.

Mr Webber was on the phone to the ambulance service for more than 12 minutes when the men arrived and could be heard telling them to get off his property.

Ambulance call centre workers escalated the call to police as urgent, but the pleas for assistance were dismissed.

Paramedics sent to the scene waited at a safe distance for police assistance, but police turned up too late.

Dean Webber was found to have been in genuine fear for his life and acting in self defence when he stabbed the two men. He has not been charged over the deaths.

During a second Triple-0 call - 25 minutes after the first call, Mr Weber begged for police help as he said men were trying to get into his home.

But bizarrely the officer taking the call, Senior Constable Luke Weiks inexplicably accused Mr Webber and Ms Locke of lying, telling them: 'You've already spoken so much s*** to me.'

He told them 'bye' and the call ended after 4 minutes 40 seconds with Ms Locke screaming in the background.

At 12.56 - as the Triple-0 call ended - the three men outside pulled the sliding glass door off its rail and burst into the darkened room.

'The three just came in and pummelled me and I've never been so scared in my life,' Mr Webber told police as he sobbed during a recreation of the attack.

The coroner found Mr Christensen and Mr Davy burst in and attacked Mr Webber, punching him in the face and he lashed out at them with the knife he was holding.

He stabbed Mr Christensen twice and Mr Davy several times in the frantic fight in the dark.

The coroner found Mr Christensen and Tom Davy (pictured) burst in and attacked Mr Webber, punching him in the face and he lashed out at them with the knife he was holding.

They both staggered out to the road - with Mr Davy managing to start a call for an ambulance - before both collapsed, dying in pools of blood.

Inside the home, Mr Webber again phoned Triple-0 to say he had just stabbed 'a bloke who broke into my house'

'There's three assailants, big blokes, males' and he thinks he's 'killed him,' he said.

He added: 'I'm scared. The other guy's going to kill me. I don't want to die.'

Police finally took the call seriously, but the two officers available were now at a Justice of the Peace trying to get a bail refusal form signed for a separate matter.

But instead of going straight to the scene, the officers returned to their police station in Ayr first so one could pick up his 'accoutrements' before attending.

Police and medics finally reached the scene at 1:17am - 51 minutes after the first Triple-0 call - to find Mr Davey and Mr Christensen still alive, but close to death.

They both died at the scene. Specialists told the inquest only immediate hospital treatment could have saved them after they were stabbed.

Mr Webber was found to have been in genuine fear for his life and acting in self defence when he stabbed the two men. He has not been charged over the deaths.

Candice Locke (pictured) had recently moved to the area from Sydney and hooked up with volunteer firefighter Tom Davey on a dating app

The coroner found that although the police made the controversial decision just four days after the tragedy, it could have been reconsidered at any time.

'I accept that Detective Sergeant Gavin Neal's initial decision not to charge Mr Webber in the early days of the investigation was based on the evidence available.'

Ms Bentley found the experienced officer had determined there was insufficient evidence to charge Mr Webber.

'I find that he exercised his discretion appropriately,' she said.

But Mr Bengoa has also never been charged over his role in the night's events.

He was slammed by the coroner for his 'self-serving version of events that was inconsistent with his later statements.'.

'Mr Bengoa is the only person who might have been able to give an account of the events that occurred,' she said.

'Unfortunately Mr Bengoa was an unreliable and unhelpful witness.'

She added: 'Throughout the investigation and his evidence at the inquest he minimised his own conduct as much as possible.

Corey Christensen (pictured) was stabbed in the chest and died from blood loss

'Had Mr Bengoa genuinely been concerned for the wellbeing of Ms Locke all he had to do was knock on Mr Webber's door and calmly explain that he was worried about her shoulder injury and wished to ensure she was safe.

'Presumably Mr Webber would have told him that he had called an ambulance and he could have left.'

Ms Bentley was also scathing about the delayed police response.

One officer told the inquest that paramedics would hold off going to a location until they had police 'to hold their hand for most jobs' which the coroner said was untrue.

She said that the decision to get the bail affadavit signed by the JP over responding to the first Triple-O call had cost the lives of Mr Davy and Mr Christensen.

'The QPS response was inadequate as prioritising the objection to bail represented an unacceptable delay,' she said.

'If QPS officers had responded to [the] incident first, it is possible they could have arrived at Alva Beach by 12.55am, prior to the stabbing and it is likely that neither of the deaths would have occurred.

A lawyer representing Mr Christensen's widow Jayne (pictured) asked for time for the family to consider the findings

'The deaths of Mr Christensen and Mr Davy would have been prevented had police officers and/or QAS personnel arrived at the house prior to them entering the house.'

'Had (police) gone to Mr Webber's residence on being advised of the matter it is highly likely that the situation would have been defused immediately and two lives saved.'

Suffering severe post-traumatic stress disorder, Mr Webber was excused from giving testimony during the week-long inquest earlier this year.

A lawyer representing Mr Christensen's widow Jayne asked for time for the family to consider the findings.

'We've just been given the decision which is obviously 55 pages long,' Nick Dore said.

'There's a lot to digest and consider. Jayne just asked on her behalf to thank everyone who's supported her throughout this whole process.'
A viral video has shown the aftermath of a shooting at a high school in Texas on Friday, with students being hurried out of the building through corridors lined with heavily-armed officers, and blood and glass on the floor.

'Oh my God,' whispers the girl filming the TikTok, as she jogs out of the school in a line with other students, all of them with their hands up.

A member of law enforcement can be heard saying: 'You're alright. Keep moving'.

The clip has received more than 1.6 million 'likes', and has been shared 30,000 times.

The gunman, a 25-year-old former student described by his family as mentally unbalanced, opened fire on students and injured the principal.

None of the 1,000 students were harmed, and the gunman, Dexter Kelsey, was taken into custody.

A student at YES Prep school in Houston filmed the aftermath of a shooting at her school on Friday in a TikTok that has gone viral, showing broken glass (above) and blood splatters

The students are hurried out of the building in a line, with their hands in the air

Traces of blood can be seen on the floor as the students headed out the door. The school principal was shot in the back as he was ushering students into lockdown

Heavily-armed members of law enforcement can be seen inside the building as the students left, checking for accomplices and securing the site

Kelsey is being held in the Harris County Jail on a total bond of $5.25 million after being charged with aggravated assault of public servant and deadly conduct.

Kelsey did not appear in court as scheduled on Monday, KHOU reported.

His attorney has requested a mental health evaluation.

Police say Kelsey entered YES Prep Southwest Secondary School on Friday armed with a rifle and shot through a glass door at the entrance.

Once inside, Kelsey shot at principal Eric Espinoza, hitting him in the back, Houston Police Department Chief Troy Finner said.

The TikTok video shows glass on the floor and flecks of blood.

Dexter Kelsey, 25, has arrested after he opened fire at his former school, YES Prep Southwest Secondary, on Friday

Kesey later surrendered to police and remains in custody.

His Facebook page has since been taken down.

Espinoza was treated in hospital for a bullet grazing his spine, but was released from hospital later the same day.

Kelsey's adoptive mother, Doris Kelsey, released a statement naming him as the gunman, and revealing he had previously lived a few blocks away from the school.

She said Kelsey struggled with mental issues.

'I apologize to the school community because I didn't know Dexter was in this state of mind that he was in,' she said, according to Click 2 Houston.

'I didn't know he had the issues that he was going through and I apologize to everybody and I hope they accept my apology.'

The incident took place at 11:45 am on Friday at the school's campus in Houston, Texas.

Authorities cleared the scene after 2pm when parents arrived to pick up their children.

Principal Eric Espinoza was shot in the back while warning classrooms to lockdown after Kelsey broke into the school, having fired open the locks on the doors

Espinoza, pictured with his wife and child, has been released from the hospital and is recovering at home

Officers were guiding students and residents away from the site of the shooting

The shooting took place at the Yes Prep Southwest Secondary school at 11:45 am on Friday

Police were at the scene guiding students and parents away from the area as they searched for other possible shooters, which they did not find.

Parents were directed to a nearby grocery store parking lot for pick up.

The Houston Fire Department added that they were on the scene, 'treating and transporting' Espinoza.

Live TV footage showed students and parents crying and holding each other as ambulances and police cars drove to the school.

Yes Prep Southwest Secondary is a charter school that serves students in grades six through 12.

The school posted the news to Facebook alerting parents to the shooting.

'ATTENTION FAMILIES: Police are on campus with a suspect in custody who opened fire inside the school,' the school wrote.

'No students have been injured. Students have been transported to W. Fuqua and Hiram Clarke, where they can be picked up.

'Please do not drive to the school; roads are blocked by Houston Police Department. We are gathering information and will pass along as soon as we can.'

The school announced that it will meet with students and families before classes resume on Wednesday.

No students were injured during the shooting. Classes have been canceled until Wednesday

Police informed parents of the of the investigation as directed them to a nearby grocery store to be reunited with their children

'We cannot imagine the terror you must have felt as the events unfolded.

'[Friday's] shocking incident is one that no student, parent or educator should ever have to go through or cope with on their own. We have counselors standing by to help anyone needing support over the weekend, next week, and through the school year,' the school wrote.

Espinoza's heroic actions have been lauded by students, teachers, and parents.

'I really can say Mr. Espinoza is really brave for what he did. I really do thank him for trying to save us, because he really did save us. He actually took a shot for all of us and I really do thank that from him,' student Alondra Villafuerte told ABC 13.

Teacher Heather Sportsman posted on her Facebook to share the news and lauded Espinoza's bravery.

'An active shooter on campus is nothing I'd ever thought I'd experience as a teacher. But today I did. But I am SAFE. My students are SAFE.

'My coworkers are amazing people and my principal Eric Espinoza deserves an award for his quick action.'

Yes Prep Southwest parent LaShaela Williams wrote on Facebook that her children had just completed an active shooter drill two days before Friday's shooting.

Zoey Torres, 17, a junior, is hugged by her mother, Janette Torres, as they walk from YES Prep Academy Southwest

Miguel Granados embraces his son - also Miguel Granados, 17 - as they reunited on Friday afternoon

Homero Duque, 38, holds on to his daughter, Melissa Duque, 11, after the shooting at YES Prep Southwest Secondary

She said: 'The principle the real mvp!!! I promise I thank god for him!'

Williams said that Espinoza had gone to her daughter's classroom to tell them to lock down.

He was apparently shot near the classroom.

'He was saving kids even when he was shot in the back,' Williams posted.

Houston police said that the bullet that struck Espinoza remains in his back as it did not impact any vital organs.

Espinoza's father told ABC13: 'We're just glad that he's doing okay.'

Espinoza has served as the school's principal for five years.

Before being promoted to principal, he taught Spanish I and II and served as a Grade Level Chair.

Espinoza himself graduated from the school in 2003.
Covid passes are set to be introduced in Wales after the Welsh Government won a tight vote by one because an opposing Conservative member could not log onto Zoom.

The measure will come into force from October 11 and means all over-18s would need to present an NHS Covid pass or proof of a negative test to enter nightclubs as well as some large-scale indoor and outdoor events.

Despite opposition parties uniting against the proposals, the Labour members won the Senedd vote 28 for to 27 against.

But Conservative members cited 'technical difficulties' for why Member of the Senedd (MS) Gareth Davies did not take part in the vote.

The Senedd is currently using a hybrid model which allows some members to attend meetings in person while others take part virtually over Zoom but last night's vote has led to some calling for the model to be scrapped.

Clubbers in Wales will be required to present an NHS Covid pass or proof of a negative test from next week after the Government won a tight vote in the Senedd to approve their use

Where will you need a Covid pass in Wales? Under the new rules passed by the Welsh Government, anyone over 18 must present an NHS Covid pass to enter the following venues and events: Nightclubs

Indoor no-seating events with more than 500 people

Outdoor no-seating events with more than 4,000 people

Any event with more than 10,000 people, including sport Anyone who is over 16 and has been fully vaccinated in Wales or England, or has had a negative lateral flow test result within the past 48 hours, can get a pass. People would also be able to show they have had a negative lateral flow test result within the last 48 hours. Advertisement

Night time economy bosses have branded the vote 'a shambles' and demanded a revote following the result.

Ahead of the vote, Conservative MS Darren Millar could be heard telling Presiding Officer Elin Jones: 'I'm sorry we still have a member who is desperately trying to get into Zoom.'

Ms Jones replied that she would still hold the vote: 'We have made every opportunity possible for that named member to get in, including sharing my personal phone.'

A statement from Llywydd, Elin Jones MS says that the MS who missed the vote could not be contacted.

It reads: 'A member was not present for the vote on proposals for Covid passes.

'I gave every opportunity for the member to be present - including providing ICT support - but the member was unable to be contacted.

'For members to vote in the Senedd, they must be present, either in the chamber or on Zoom.

'It is a members responsibility to give themselves sufficient time to secure their Zoom connection in time for voting, just as it is for any member travelling to the Senedd to vote.'

The Welsh Conservatives, Plaid Cymru and the single Liberal Democrat member had raised concerns about civil liberties and the details of the plan, which would see the NHS Covid Pass be mandatory for all adults wishing to enter nightclubs or attend certain large events.

Tory member Gareth Davies (left) was unable to take part in the vote which meant the proposals were passed as health minister Eluned Morgan (right) told the Senedd during a debate the public was on the Government's side and the decision was not made lightly

During a debate in the Senedd, health and social care minister Eluned Morgan said the public was on the Government's side.

'I want to be clear that the Welsh Labour Government has not suggested the introduction of this measure lightly,' she said.

'It has been challenging for us because we wanted to think through very carefully, what were the practical, what were the legal what were the ethical implications of introducing a passport of this type.'

She said Wales was facing some of the highest infection rates since the beginning of the pandemic, particularly among young people, and the Government had to take action to prevent super-spreader events.

'Not supporting this measure today will be an act of gross irresponsibility when it comes to public health in Wales,' she said.

'This measure will allow the facilities to stay open in the face and one of the most challenging winters that we are yet to face.

From October 11, anyone aged over 18 will have to present an NHS Covid pass or proof of a negative test to attend nightclubs and some large scale indoor and outdoor events in Wales

'The public is on our side on this, and they are watching you in this chamber today and I urge you to support this measure.'

Conservative health spokesman Russell George accused of the Welsh Government of a U-turn, having previously ruled out introducing them.

'I just do not think that we should become a checkpoint society by introducing a vaccine passport,' Mr George said.

'There is a wide range of ethical, equality, privacy, legal and operational ramifications of Covid passports.

'There is a real risk here that the implementation of Covid passes could be a complete disaster.

'In Scotland, we have seen the rollout has been a disaster there and the Labour Party conference in Brighton was plagued with problems.'

Night time economy bosses in Wales have called for a revote after the controversy last night

Mr George said the introduction risked creating a two-tier society as some people were unable to be vaccinated for health reasons.

Plaid health spokesman Rhun ap Iorwerth said his party was not against the principle of Covid passes but took issue with the proposals in their current form, including the use of lateral flow tests.

'We're not being asked to vote on a principle, we're voting on a specific set of regulations, and I'm afraid that those regulations, at this point raise more questions than they provide answers,' he said.

'We've asked many questions and haven't been given assurances that we have sought, and it is for that reason that we feel unable to support these regulations.'

Members of the Senedd voted 28-27 in favour of the Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) Regulations.

The Night Time Industries Association Wales, which has opposed the introduction of the scheme, called for a fresh vote.

Pictured: Protestors march through the city centre during a protest against vaccine passports on September 18, 2021 in Cardiff, Wales, after the vaccine passport plans were first announced

'It is a democratic outrage that one MS who wanted to vote, and who would have voted against the proposals, could not, due to a mere technical error,' a spokesman said.

'This shambles will cause even more uncertainty for our businesses.

'There must be an urgent re-vote so that the will of the Senedd can be fairly expressed and businesses have some clarity about the future.'

Hundreds of protestors also gathered outside the building and chanted 'shame on you' after the result was confirmed.
A mother and daughter got themselves into hot water when they were thrown in the slammer for six months due to a botched police investigation which wrongfully determined they were smuggling drugs when in reality it was just ginger tea.

Connie Chong and her daughter Melanie Lim imported the exotic brew from China so they could sell it in Australia online, but in January two of their shipments were seized by Border Force agents at Sydney Airport.

The preliminary indicator tests on the cargo wrongfully found the presence of a rare banned stimulant was known as phenmetrazine, leading investigators to suspect the tea pushers were really major drug queens.

Connie Chong (right) and her daughter Melanie Lim (right) were wrongly jailed for six months after a botched police investigation

Investigators wrongfully determined the presence of a rare stimulant drug when in reality it was just ginger tea (pictured)

Heavily-armed police officers then raided their Greenacre home in southwest Sydney slapping cuffs on the pair and discovering more of the substance.

The terrified women were then charged with the commercial supply of drugs, refused bail and told they could be facing life behind bars.

But in August more thorough laboratory testing uncovered the shocking realisation that Chong and Lim were completely innocent and that the original presumptive colour test indicators detected a false positive.

All charges against the women have now been dropped but police prosecutors are refusing to pay for their legal bills despite their obvious blunder.

Defence barrister Steve Boland said the case was one of the most extraordinary police 'stuff-ups' in modern memory which has caused tremendous trauma for the pair.

Connie Chong and her daughter Melanie Lim import exotic brews from China to sell it in Australia online as part of their fully legitimate business

Defence barrister Steve Boland said the case was one of the most extraordinary police 'stuff-ups' in modern memory which has caused tremendous trauma for the pair. Pictured: The tea police suspected was drug

'It is a gross injustice,' defence lawyer Benjamin Goh told 7News outside court on Tuesday.

'Two innocent women that have served their time as a result of the police not doing the investigations properly.

'It is open to the Crown to say 'sorry'. We stuffed up and two women went to prison for our dodgy prosecution.'

The women are now taking legal action against the NSW Police who say the delay in receiving adequate test results was due to a lack of lab equipment.

Their case seeking damages will continue before the court next year.
An Australian man who paid an impoverished 13-year-old Filipino girl $38 to perform an indecent act on camera while he recorded the video has been jailed.

Phillip John Cooper on Wednesday faced the Victorian County Court, where he was sentenced to a total of four years and one month behind bars.

The 61-year-old had pleaded guilty to five charges, including encouraging sexual intercourse with a child under 16 outside Australia, engaging in sexual activity with a child, and the possession of child abuse material.

Cooper, then based at Barnawartha, about three hours north-east of Melbourne, directed a 13-year-old girl in the Philippines to remove her clothes and sexually touch herself during a 24-minute recorded video conversation in March 2019.

A girl who was directed to remove her clothes and sexually touch herself as Phillip John Cooper filmed said the incident has destroyed her life (stock image)

'She told you directly that she was hungry and that her mother was unable to afford the food she wanted,' Judge Justin Hannebery said.

'You used her hunger and her poverty as leverage to get a child to engage in sexual activity with you in exchange for 38 dollars.

'There existed a gross power imbalance between you because of your age and relative economic circumstances. You blatantly exploited this situation for your own sexual gratification.'

The court heard that this girl was later removed from her family home by Filipino authorities after they discovered her mother's involvement in the offence.

'Phil destroyed my life,' she said in a statement.

Phillip John Cooper has been jailed after he pleaded guilty to five charges, including encouraging sexual intercourse with a child under 16 outside Australia, engaging in sexual activity with a child, and the possession of child abuse material (stock image)

Cooper has since paid her $40,000 in compensation.

Judge Hannebery said this demonstrated an element of remorse, but would not heal her pain and suffering.

Cooper in October 2019 also sought and received child abuse images from the mother of two girls aged 11 and 12 years old.

This woman also said she needed money for food.

'You have been capable of placing your own sexual gratification above any consideration for the welfare of children,' Judge Hannebery told Cooper.

'You appear, at best, indifferent to their circumstances. You were prepared to exploit their hunger and poverty for your own purposes.

'The nature of this offending means wherever there is an internet connection available, an opportunity to offend exists.'

Border Force arrested Cooper at Melbourne Airport upon his return from Manila in November 2019.

The court heard the girl was later removed from her family home by Filipino authorities after they discovered her mother's involvement in the offence

Cooper told ABF officers he went to the Philippines every two weeks and met girls there through social media or online dating websites.

Cooper said he had never had sex with children under 18 years old and knew it was illegal.

'You don't groom children in the Philippines - they groom you,' he told police.

'They'll manipulate you, cheat you, pickpocket you ... it's prolific. It's quite amazing ... a girl in the Philippines will do anything for 30 bucks.'

Cooper, now a registered sex offender for life, must serve at least two years and six months behind bars before being eligible for parole.
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China will be ready to mount a full-scale invasion of Taiwan by 2025, the island's defence minister has said in the starkest warning yet of all-out war with Beijing.

Chiu Kuo-cheng, giving a speech to parliament today defending $8.6billion in new military spending, said Beijing 'has the capacity' to attack immediately - but is looking to reduce the costs it must bear before giving the order.

'By 2025, China will bring the cost and attrition to its lowest [point],' he said, adding that the current standoff is 'the most serious' he has seen in 40 years with the risk of a 'misfire' in the Taiwan Strait now very high.

The dire warning came as Joe Biden sought to reassure a nervous public - saying that he has spoken with Xi Jinping and the pair have 'agreed to abide by the Taiwan agreement' - though the call itself appears to be a month old and it was not immediately clear what agreement he was referring to.

Since the call, China has dramatically stepped up its military operations around the island - flying 150 aircraft close-by at the weekend in a huge show of force coinciding with its National Day holiday.

At the same time, Beijing's mouthpiece media has been warning that it is 'only a matter of time' before the island falls into their hands and that World War Three could be triggered 'at any time'.

Beijing's sabre-rattling has not gone unanswered, with Britain's HMS Queen Elizabeth leading a huge naval exercise in the Philippine Sea at the weekend alongside US and Japanese aircraft carriers.

Taiwan has warned that China will be ready for a full-scale invasion of the island by 2025, ramping up tensions further after the UK's Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier led a huge naval exercise alongside the US and Japan in the region at the weekend

HMS Queen Elizabeth (far left) led Japan's JS ISE (second left) and US aircraft carriers USS Carl Vinson and USS Ronald Reagan (third left) at the head of a joint strike group that included a dozen other warships and support vessels

It seems Biden was talking about the Taiwan Relations Act, under which America agreed to the establishment of diplomatic ties with Beijing under the condition that the future of Taiwan be decided peacefully.

The act also commits the US to provide Taiwan with weapons to defend itself, in exchange for Washington taking no position on the island's sovereignty and recognising that the island belongs to Beijing as part of 'one China'.

Biden's last on-the-record call with Xi was on September 9. The White House had not previously disclosed that Taiwan formed part of their talks.

Meanwhile a group of French senators are also visiting the self-governing island today in a further show of support for its democratic leaders, and despite pressure from Beijing to call off the visit.

The group, led by senator Alain Richard, will meet with President Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwanese economic and health officials and the Mainland Affairs Council.

Richard, a former French defense minister, previously visited Taiwan in 2015 and 2018, according to Taiwan's semi-official Central News Agency, and heads the Taiwan Friendship group in the French senate.

The visit comes despite French anger at a new alliance signed between Australia, the UK, and US to provide the former with its first nuclear submarines - which saw an earlier pact between Canberra and Paris dramatically torn up.

Leaders insist the new alliance - dubbed AUKUS - is not aimed at any country, but few observers doubt it is designed as a counter-balance to Chinese power in the South China Sea, where Taiwan is located.

Taiwan is ruled by the Republic of China, a group which previously controlled the country and fought against the Communist Party when it first emerged during China's civil war.

The Republic of China views itself as an autonomous country, while China sees it as a breakaway province.

America had backed the government in Taipei as China's legitimate rulers until 1979, when Jimmy Carter announced that he would recognise the Communist government in Beijing and establish diplomatic relations.

The Taiwan Relations Act was passed in response, granting the island near-nation status and mandating that the US continue to sell weapons to its government.

Long-standing tensions between Taiwan and the mainland have been growing since 2019, when President Xi gave a speech committing himself to the 'reunification' of the island with China - saying he will use force if he deems it necessary.

The US has a long-standing policy of 'strategic ambiguity' towards the island's defence, refusing to say what it would do if a foreign force attacks.

Biden recently suggested that he would be willing to go to war if China invaded, though aides insisted that he had misspoken.

Nearly 150 Chinese warplanes have breached Taiwan's airspace since Friday, including 52 aircraft that flew in a single sortie on Monday (pictured) in Beijing's largest show-of-force yet

A Taiwan flag is carried across the sky on Tuesday during a national day rehearsal in Taipei, Taiwan,

Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen on Tuesday vowed to 'do whatever it takes' to guard Taiwan against invasion as she indicated that without help from the country's allies 'authoritarianism has the upper hand over democracy.'

Tsai added: '[Democratic nations] should remember that if Taiwan were to fall, the consequences would be catastrophic for regional peace and the democratic system.

'It would signal that in today's global contest of values, authoritarianism has the upper hand over democracy.'

Taiwan hopes for peaceful coexistence with China, she said, but 'if its democracy and way of life are threatened, Taiwan will do whatever it takes to defend itself.'

Tsai's government on Monday urged Beijing to stop 'irresponsible provocative actions' after the warplanes breached Taiwan's air defence identification zone (ADIZ).

'Amid almost daily intrusions by the People's Liberation Army, our position on cross-strait relations remains constant: Taiwan will not bend to pressure,' Tsai added.

The ADIZ is not the same as Taiwan's territorial airspace but includes a far greater area that overlaps with part of China's own air defence identification zone and even includes some of the mainland.

Chinese state media on Monday accompanied the military incursion with threats to Taiwan.

Global Times editor Hu Xijin tweeted that it is 'only a matter of time before Taiwan's separatist authorities fall' - describing the weekend's show-of-force as a 'military parade' to mark China's National Day on October 1.

An editorial in the same newspaper then added that - unlike the 'guard of honour' in traditional parades - the planes flown towards Taiwan at the weekend 'are fighting forces aimed at actual combat'.

'The increase in the number of aircraft showed the PLA Air Force's operational capabilities,' the newspaper said, adding: 'It is a clear and unmistakable declaration of China's sovereignty over the island.'

Chiu Kuo-cheng, Taiwan's defence minister, said Beijing 'has the capacity' to attack the island now but is working to reduce the losses it will suffer as a result - with the 'low point' being reached within the next four years

The operations are designed to familiarise pilots with 'battlefield conditions' so that 'once the order to attack is given' they will be able to fight like 'experienced veterans', the editorial concluded.

'There is no doubt about the future of the situation across the Taiwan Straits.

'The initiative of when and how to solve the Taiwan question is firmly in the hands of the Chinese mainland.'

China has flown near-daily missions into Taiwan's airspace since the start of the year, the island's government has said, though most comprise only one aircraft.

But that changed dramatically at the weekend, with 38 planes flown into the 'air defence identification zone' on Friday.

The planes flew in two separate sorties, the first of which comprised 25 aircraft and flew during the day followed by 19 aircraft which flew at night.

On Saturday, another 39 aircraft flew in two separate sorties - one of 20 aircraft during the day and another of 19 aircraft at night.

Sunday saw an additional 16 planes fly close to the island in a single incursion.

Then, on Monday, 52 planes entered the zone in the single-biggest mission to date - before another six arrived later.

Flight tracking data published by Taiwan shows the largest mission involved a total of 36 fighter jets - 34 J-16s and two Russian-made Su-30s.

They were accompanying 12 H-6 nuclear capable bombers, two Y-8 anti-submarine warfare aircraft, and two KJ-500 early warning and control planes.

All flew a short distance into the ADIZ between Taiwan's mainland and the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Island.

Taiwan's ADIZ is a zone in which it requires all foreign aircraft to identify themselves and state their intentions. It is different to the island's sovereign airspace, which extends over a smaller area 12 nautical miles from its coast.

Taipei said it scrambled fighters, broadcast radio warnings and activated missile defences in response. A short time later, the Chinese aircraft turned back.
Horrific videos have exposed a 'conveyor belt' of torture and rape within Russia's prison system in which male inmates were brutally assaulted on camera and then blackmailed into abusing their fellow inmates using the footage.

Campaigners say gangs of rapists were deployed to 'break' prisoners and force them into signing 'confessions' or giving false testimony, as they exposed the sick scheme.

The videos include a man screaming in pain as he is violated with a mop handle inside a tuberculosis hospital, one male prisoner raping another who is tied to a bed, and a group of inmates urinating on another man.

At least 40 inmates were brutally assaulted on camera, activists say, though anecdotal evidence suggests the true number of victims is around 200.

Russian authorities on Wednesday said they had fired five senior prison officials, including the director of the prison where the alleged abuse took place and the head of the regional prison service, and opened a slew of criminal investigations over the footage.

A 'conveyor belt' of torture and rape has been uncovered in Russia's prison in which male inmates were abused on camera then blackmailed into carrying out more abuse, activists say

Horrifying videos reveal how inmates were raped, violated with broom handles, and urinated on in order to 'break' them

The sick scheme was exposed in a leak of 40Gb of video footage which was smuggled out of the archives of Russia's FSIN prison service by an anonymous Belarussian man who claims he was tasked with archiving the videos while in jail.

Now freed, the man handed a smuggled copy of the material to campaigners at Gulagu.net who have published parts of it online - while calling for reforms.

MailOnline has reviewed a section of the material, but has decided not to publish most of it because of the highly distressing nature of the footage.

Activists say the rapes, intimidation and violence comes from jails in six Russian regions and will now be passed to the United Nations and Council of Europe.

The material was leaked by a Belarussian programmer jailed in Saratov who was used by the authorities to collate their sickening collection of torture videos filmed on prison issue camcorders, says the group.

The programmer - now released and seeking political asylum in the West - copied the material and carried it out of Russia, it is claimed.

Referring to US National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden, now living in exile in Russia, Vladimir Osechkin, who runs Gulagu.Net, said: 'We call him our Belarusian Snowden.'

It was 'the first time that human rights defenders have obtained such a colossal amount of information proving the systemic nature of torture in Russia...

'A system of torture has been and is still operational,' said Osechkin, adding the authorities 'are afraid to admit the truth in public, because the truth is that their special services have been torturing people en masse.'

Osechkin alleges has evidence that 200 inmates have been tortured and raped by FSB and FSIN agents in Russian penitentiaries with 40 depicted on videos.

Campaigners say they were handed a 40Gb trove of video smuggled out of Russia's prison service by an inmate who was tasked with archiving the sick material

The disturbing nature of the footage and its apparently systemic nature has caught the eye of the Kremlin, which on Tuesday said there were grounds for a serious investigation if the footage was authentic.

Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: 'If the authenticity of these materials is confirmed, then, of course, this is a reason for a serious probe.

'But first it's necessary to quickly but calmly sort this out and establish (their) authenticity.'

Late on Tuesday, Colonel Alexei Fedotov, 55, head of the FSIN's Saratov service, resigned - apparently a fall guy for the gathering scandal.

'Fedotov drafted a letter of resignation. He is currently on vacation, from which he may not return to work,' a source told Interfax.

Russia's prosecutor general's office launched a probe.

But Osechkin, based in France, said: 'The Russian authorities are being hypocritical and are doing everything they can to distance themselves from this torture conveyor belt (which) was created by FSIN and FSB generals - and was used to suppress the will of convicts.'

He has vowed to release more material in the coming days.

The videos 'prove' that FSB and FSIN operatives use rape and other torture to force the cooperation and compliance of inmates, he said.

They 'themselves become part of the torture machine' by snitching on other inmates or by signing false testimonies prepared by investigators, said RFE/RL's Russian Service.

The leaker - a Belarussian man jailed at Saratov prison (pictured) - has since been freed and is now seeking asylum in the West

'This is an unprecedented leak that will send shockwaves across the country. In total we have over 40 gigabytes of files showing widespread torture,' he told The Moscow Times.

'We are planning to release batches of the videos step by step in the coming weeks now that the source is out of the reach of the Russian authorities.'

The IT programmer source of the material was 'beaten and tortured himself' before he was deployed as a 'professional' to file the collection of abusive videos from several regions, it was claimed.

He exacted his revenge by copying the collection and taking it out of Russia.

The website Gulagu.net project was blocked in Russia, apparently at the request of the FSB and prison authorities.

Abuse was recorded in the regions of Saratov, Vladimir, Irkutsk, Belgorod, TransBaikal, and Kamchatka.

Tanya Lokshina, of Human Rights Watch, said her organisation could not verify the videos but the footage 'gave grounds for strong concern.'

'The problem of torture in Russian penitentiaries is very acute and the government is not doing enough to ensure effective investigation, security of victims and whistleblowers and accountability for perpetrators,' she said.

Russian prison conditions were already in focus after jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny drew attention to them earlier this year.

Meanwhile six former inmates and a former prisons inspector told Reuters about regular beatings by guards, sexual assaults, severe psychological pressure and medical neglect.

The Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) said it had fired five senior prison officials, including the director of the prison where the alleged abuse took place and the head of the regional prison service.

Russian law says inmates must not be treated in a way that is 'harsh' or 'abases human dignity'.

If a prison official abuses his position, he can be jailed for up to a decade.
A wealthy socialite caught drink-driving following a night out said she thought she had sobered up after making a 30-minute train journey to collect her car.

Kay Holcroft, 24, had been drinking wine in a restaurant when she believed it was safe to get behind the wheel of her white 26,000 BMW 116D Sport after getting the train back from Manchester to Cheshire.

She was spotted swerving around the road as she tried to make her way back to the family's 1.2million home in the leafy village of Prestbury.

The socialite claimed any driving ban would have a 'massive impact' on her, as she would be required to take public transport to work.

Kay Holcroft, 24, had been drinking white wine in a restaurant when she believed it was safe to get behind the wheel of her white 26,000 BMW 116D Sport after getting a 30-minute train back from Manchester to Cheshire

The incident occurred on August 15, two days after Holcroft posted glamorous pictures of herself on Instagram sitting inside trendy restaurant and cocktail bar Albert's with the caption: 'Hello weekend - it's been a while.'

Grammar school educated Holcroft, an accounts assistant for a fashion chain, was disqualified from driving for 15 months at Stockport Magistrates' Court after she admitted to drink driving.

Holcroft, whose millionaire parents run company supplying equipment for fork lift trucks, was also fined 200 and ordered to pay 119 in costs and surcharges.

Prosecutor Gareth Hughes told the hearing: 'Police were on patrol in the Prestbury area and when just after midnight they saw the defendant's BMW swerving and being driven in an erratic manner.

'She said she had visited a public house in Manchester and as the officers approached, they could smell alcohol on her breath, her eyes were also bloodshot and glazed.

'She confirmed she had been drinking with a friend an hour beforehand in Manchester. She undertook a breathalyser test.'

Police stopped her outside the Ye Olde Admiral Rodney pub, where a breathalyser examination showed she was 21 points over the legal drink-drive limit.

Tests showed Holcroft had 56 microgrammes micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35mg.

In mitigation, defence solicitor Sam Fixter said: 'This defendant has no previous convictions or cautions, and she has a clean driving record.

'She had been in Manchester and had been for a meal with a friend. She had a few glasses of wine and got the train back home.

The Manchester socialite was banned from driving for 15 months and fined at Stockport Magistrates' Court

The wealthy socialite was spotted swerving around the road as she tried to make her way back to the family's 1.2million home in the leafy village of Prestbury, Cheshire

Holcroft, whose parents run a company supplying equipment for fork lift trucks, was also fined 200 and ordered to pay 119 in costs and surcharges

Holcroft believed her 30-minute train journey had been enough time for the 'levels of alcohol in her system to dissipate'

The socialite claimed any driving ban would have a 'massive impact' on her, as she would be required to take public transport to work

'She thought because of the lapse of time while travelling on the train, that there had been enough time for the alcohol to dissipate and therefore be able to drive home. Unfortunately, this was not the case, and she was over the limit.

'Her car was parked in a secluded car park just a few minutes' walk from where she lives but she did not want to leave her car overnight.

'She is extremely remorseful. She works in Cheetham Hill, Manchester as an Account Assistant and this case will have a massive impact on her as she will now have to use various public transport links to get to work.'

JP Mayor Shah told Holcroft: 'We have taken into consideration the work you do but if you have had a drink, you should get a taxi.

'You do not know what your body can take. Go out and have a drink but book a taxi next time.

'A taxi would have been much cheaper than losing your license for 15 months. I hope you have got that message.'
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A business backlash is mounting at Boris Johnson today as the PM prepares to deliver his big Tory conference speech - with claims he will hike the minimum wage within weeks.

The premier will round off his party's gathering at lunchtime with a defiant message that, unlike predecessors, he has the 'guts' to push ahead with big reforms.

Mr Johnson will insist there is 'no alternative' to shifting to a high wage, high skill economy after Brexit.

No formal announcement is expected on the national living wage, but there are reports it will be lifted by 5 per cent to 9.42 within weeks.

However, Mr Johnson is facing growing unrest over his blunt denial that supply chain chaos amounts to a 'crisis'. Amid warnings that Christmas could be ruined once again by shortages, he said yesterday that it was not his 'job' to 'fix' all the problems for industry.

Next chief and Tory peer Lord Wolfson - who backed Brexit - added his voice to criticism this morning saying there was 'despondency' about the situation and the government's approach was 'not particularly constructive'.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that failing to take the issues seriously 'leads to queues at petrol stations and pigs being unnecessarily shot'.

The Tories have been holding their first in-person conference since the 2019 general election, after the pandemic wreaked havoc on normal life.

But the proceedings have been largely dominated by events elsewhere, with petrol stations running dry and worries about labour shortages in crucial sectors causing months of misery.

Boris Johnson (pictured running today) will round off his party's gathering at lunchtime with a defiant message that, unlike predecessors, he has the 'guts' to push ahead with big reforms

Analysis of price rises in the last year shows the cost of a second-hand car has risen more than 1,600, a tank of fuel is up more than 10 and the price of a pint of beer is creeping close to 4

Tory members queue to get into the hall for Mr Johnson's conference speech in Manchester today

Placards have been left in the hall in preparation for the PM's rallying cry to the members later

Families face 1,800 squeeze this year... as PM says he is not worried about inflation The financial squeeze that Britons are facing this winter thanks to inflation driven by labour shortages, rising energy costs and gaps in global supply chains as the coronavirus pandemic subsides has been revealed by research - a day after the Prime Minister dismissed cost of living fears at the Conservative Party conference. Exclusive research for the Daily Mail by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) reveals how inflation will cost the typical family of four an extra 1,800 by the end of this year, while a retired couple can expect to see living costs rise by more than 1,100, and a lower income couple could be stung by nearly 900. Meanwhile, a Money Mail poll today reveals that one in two households have already started making cutbacks due to concerns over the rising cost of living. Families who have already endured Covid-related uncertainty over last 18 months now face a triple-blow of rising energy bills, soaring food prices and incoming tax hikes. But while many Britons are fear a financial hit, Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday insisted that he is not worried about rising prices because he believes they will be temporary, and insisted it is 'not his job' to fix every aspect of supply chains in the UK. Asked about the situation during the Conservative Party conference, he told the BBC: 'Actually I think that people have been worried about inflation for a long time and it hasn't materialised.' Advertisement

In his speech, Mr Johnson will move to reassure voters in the Tory shires that they will not lose out from his flagship plan to 'level up' the North.

And in a thinly veiled swipe at Theresa May and David Cameron, he will claim to be the first PM for decades to have the 'guts' to tackle the deep-seated issues facing the UK.

The premier will say that as Britain emerges from the Covid pandemic it is now time to 'get on with our job of uniting and levelling up across the UK'.

The levelling-up agenda has been seen as code for pouring cash into deprived parts of the North.

But Mr Johnson will also claim that by doing so it will take pressure off the 'overheated' South East.

It comes as reports suggest the Prime Minister is set to hike the minimum wage to 9.42 an hour in a bid to steer the country away from the 'broken' model of a low-wage, low-growth economy.

'After decades of drift and dither, this reforming Government, this can-do Government that got Brexit done, is getting the vaccine rollout done and is going to get social care done,' he will declare.

'We are dealing with the biggest underlying issues of our economy and society. The problems that no Government has had the guts to tackle before.'

Mr Johnson will insist there can be no return to the days of mass immigration in the wake of Brexit.

He will tell activists that the Government is 'embarking now on the change of direction that has been long overdue in the UK economy', adding: 'We are not going back to the same old broken model with low wages, low growth, low skills and low productivity, all of it enabled and assisted by uncontrolled immigration.'

The PM is expected to repeat his call of recent days for firms facing staff shortages to give workers a pay rise, saying: 'That is the direction in which this country is going  towards a high-wage, high-skill, high-productivity economy that the people of this country need and deserve.'

A Tory source said: 'This is a message to business that if they want to fill their vacancies they are going to have to pay people more.'

The PM will say: 'The answer is to control immigration, to allow people of talent to come to this country but not to use immigration as an excuse for failure to invest in people, in skills and in the equipment or machinery they need to do their jobs.'

Mr Johnson is also expected to announce a rise in the minimum wage within weeks, it emerged last night.

For people over the age of 23, it will increase by 5.7 per cent from 8.91 to 9.42 per hour, The Times reported.

To someone working 35 hours per week, the increase would be worth an extra 928 a year before tax.

The 9.42 figure would be the third biggest annual rise since the 2008 financial crash.

It will also put the Government in line with the independent advisory body the Low Pay Commission (LPC), which estimated that its 2022 minimum wage recommendation would be 9.42.

In a thinly-veiled swipe at Theresa May and David Cameron (pictured left), Mr Johnson will claim to be the first PM for decades to have the 'guts' to tackle the deep-seated issues facing the UK. Next chief and Tory peer Lord Wolfson (right) - who backed Brexit - added his voice to criticism this morning saying there was 'despondency' about the situation and the government's approach was 'not particularly constructive'

According to the Times, the Government's figure could be higher - in the region of 9.45 per hour - but it will be around this point.

The figure falls short of Labour's demand for a rise to 10 an hour, and way short of the 15 Unite figure which caused a stir at Labour's party conference last wee.

It ultimately led to the resignation of Andy McDonald, who resigned from his shadow cabinet position after saying the leadership had ordered him to argue against the rise to 15, making his position 'untenable'.

Sources, meanwhile, said much of the PM's speech will focus on his pledge to 'level up' left-behind parts of the UK.

He is expected to back plans for the construction of a new rail line linking Manchester and Leeds.

But he will also reassure Tory voters in the South that they will benefit from investment in other parts, arguing that levelling up 'helps to take the pressure off parts of the overheating South East, while simultaneously offering hope and opportunity to those areas that have felt left behind'.

Earlier, deputy PM Dominic Raab said the new economic model would mean not allowing firms to rely on the 'cheap drug' of unskilled foreign workers.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'Our vision for the economy as we bounce back from this terrible pandemic, employment rising, youth unemployment going down, is also to make sure that wages are rising.

'Now, real wages are rising on the latest quarterly figures, but we need to support that and we can't go back in the long term to being reliant on the addiction, if you like, of cheap, unskilled labour from abroad.'

He added: 'It's absolutely true that if we're, over a long period of time, overly reliant on cheap, unskilled labour from abroad, we're ducking some of the big productivity issues that we've got to address.'
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Remarkable satellite images have emerged showing how the thermal blast from La Palma's volcanic eruption has made ripples in the sky.

Overhead pictures show waves of concentric clouds covering the entire island more than two weeks after Cumbre Vieja first erupted on September 19.

The natural phenomenon happens when hot air pushed upwards meets a layer of warm air above the earth's surface, caused by thermal inversion.

Under normal conditions, hot air rises from the Earth's surface through a warm layer of air to a cool layer in the troposphere - the lowest layer of the Earth's atmosphere.

But thermal inversions cause the layers of air to switch, creating a packet of warm air sandwiched by cool air on the Earth's surface and at the top of the troposphere.

In La Palma, the volcanic eruption has thrown up smoke and ash at varying intensities into the warm air layer which has forced the plume sideways, pulling the clouds into a ripple much like the pattern created by a pebble landing in water.

The volcanic eruption on La Palma has created the rare natural phenomena of concentric rippled clouds above the Spanish island

The natural phenomena happens when hot air pushed up from the volcano meets a layer of warm air above the earth's surface, caused by thermal inversion

The Cumbre Vieja volcano first erupted on September 19 following an earthquake and has since been spewing ash and lava across the island of La Palma

Thermal inversions are common around La Palma because of the Azores High, a large subtropical semi-permanent centre of atmospheric pressure which drags tropical weather up from the coast of Africa.

The phenomenon is contributing to worsening air quality on the island, trapping noxious gases close to the Earth's surface.

On Friday the government warned sulphur dioxide levels had risen in the area and advised local residents to stay indoors, despite saying the pollution did not represent a health risk.

It also recommended that people on the island wear face masks and eye protection against heavy falls of volcanic ash.

The volcano has so far emitted some 80 million cubic meters of molten rock, scientists estimate, more than double the amount in the island's last eruption, in 1971.

It erupted on September 19 after a week-long build-up of seismic activity in which meteorologists registered nearly 1,000 earthquakes in five days.

The volcano has emitted roughly three times the material expelled during the island's last major eruption in 1971, in a quarter of the time

The main cone of the La Palma volcano suffered a partial collapse of its structure causing lava to spurt out and slide down towards the towns

The lava from the latest explosion followed a similar path to the previous eruptions and spared further destruction in the resort island

The thermal inversion phenomenon is contributing to worsening air quality on the island, trapping noxious gases close to the Earth's surface

On Friday the government warned sulphur dioxide levels had risen in the area and advised local residents to stay indoors, despite saying the pollution did not represent a health risk

The north side of the volcano caved in on Sunday, causing a faster flow of lava to surge through the Canary Island

The volcano has so far emitted some 80 million cubic meters of molten rock, scientists estimate, more than double the amount in the island's last eruption, in 1971

Meanwhile scientists from the Spanish National Research Council have been able to observe how animals react to volcanic eruptions.

They said birds immediately adjusted their behaviour, targeting small birds as prey instead of lizards which were trapped under the lava flows.

But many birds refused to sing in the first week after the initial eruption and stayed in their marked territories until lava flows arrived in apparent fear of the unknown.

Meanwhile younger lizards started to emerge from their hiding places this week, opting to sunbathe on the still-warm lava, scientific investigator Manuel Nogales said.

He added scientists expect a temporary but negative two or three year impact to the island and surrounding sea's biodiversity as the habitat recovers.

He said sea temperatures would rise as the lava seeps into the ocean and released noxious gases but that the flows will increase the volume of nutrients in the water, eventually helping the environment bounce back.

The Cumbre Vieja volcano has been erupting since September 19 and has so far destroyed or partially destroyed more than 1,000 buildings, including homes and farming infrastructure, and entombed around 709 hectares.

Authorities on Friday reported 'intense' activity and said the volcano was more aggressive than when it first erupted.

The warning came hours after the volcano blew open two more fissures on its cone.

The new fissures, about 50 feet apart, sent streaks of fiery red and orange molten rock down toward the sea, parallel to an earlier flow that reached the Atlantic Ocean last week, forcing thousands to flee.

The prompt evacuation of more than 6,000 people since the September 19 eruption helped prevent casualties.

The Cumbre Vieja volcano continues to erupt on the Canary Island of La Palma, spewing lave into the air and down the slopes, as seen from Tacande de Arriba, Spain, October 2, 2021

The volcano emitted a loud booming noise and lava exploded with force from its crater as it spurted high above the Spanish island

A man watches in awe as lava shoots out from the volcano which last erupted 50 years ago on the popular holiday island

Officials said they didn't expect to evacuate any more people from the area, because the fiery molten rock was following the same route to the sea as earlier flows

Most of La Palma, where some 83,000 people live, has been unaffected by the eruption. Swift evacuations helped avoid casualties from the eruption

Local authorities have prepared to distribute drinking water to homes after the lava flow broke public supply pipes

The Cumbre Vieja volcano continues to erupt on the Canary Island of La Palma, as seen from Tacande, Spain, October 2, 2021

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has pledged to help La Palma rebuild following the disaster, announcing that his government would approve 206 million euros (176 million) of aid funding next week.

Sanchez said: 'Next Tuesday, the cabinet will approve a package of very powerful measures [to assist in] areas such as infrastructure reconstruction, water supply, employment, agriculture, tourism and benefits.

'We are facing a test of resistance ... because we do not know when the eruption of the volcano will end.

'What residents should know is that when it does end, the government of Spain will be there to tackle the enormous task of rebuilding La Palma.'

The financial package is the second stage of a plan approved last week. The first stage saw the government announce aid of 10.5 million euros ($12.3 million) for the immediate assistance of those who had lost their homes.

Sanchez also encouraged tourists who were considering visiting La Palma not to be put off. Tourism is the Canary Islands' major industry.

'I would like to let tourists know that this is a safe place, they can come and enjoy the island,' he said.

This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies, shows a general view of lava flowing from the Cumbre Vieja volcano on Spain's La Palma island, Wednesday, September 29, 2021

Lava from a volcano reaches the sea on the Canary island of La Palma, Spain, pictured on Wednesday September 29, 2021

An aerial view shows a rocky outcrop that extends Spain's La Palma coastline, after lava from the Cumbre Vieja volcano poured into the ocean, in this screen grab taken from drone footage

The Cumbre Vieja lava delta in the sea, from the port of Tazacorte, on October 1, 2021, in La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain

Two people watch from a distance as the umbre Vieja volcano continues to erupt, from Tacande de Arriba, Spain, October 2, 2021

Meanwhile Canary Islands' regional president Angel Victor Torres said on Monday: 'We had to order a few lockdowns because of the air quality, but we are not planning to evacuate more people.'

Torres said the volcano had emitted roughly three times the material expelled during the island's last major eruption in 1971, in a quarter of the time.

He added that his administration planned to buy around 300 houses to accommodate those who lost their homes and said it was too early to tell how great the total damage would be.

'We're still in the middle of this...if the lava keeps springing up in the same quantities we saw last night, the damage is going to be greater,' Torres said.

La Palma, home to about 85,000 people who live mostly from fruit farming and tourism, is part of the volcanic Canary Islands, an archipelago off northwest Africa that is part of Spain's territory. The island is roughly 22 miles long and 12 miles wide at its broadest point.
Children's toys, jewellery, and even a brick are just some of the bizarre items found clogged in wastewater systems in Sydney this year - with most having been flushed down the toilet.

Sydney Water has released a new campaign warning residents about the 'dos and don'ts' of flushing things down toilets or tipping certain liquids down kitchen sinks.

The 'It's Best to Bin It' motto will be shown on digital advertisements around the city after it was revealed one in every two people are flushing away items that should instead be chucked into the rubbish.

The effects can lead to damages to the environment once these items make their way into wastewater plants as well as a hefty plumbing bill.

Household products like tissues, wipes, sanitary items and hair are all commonly found in sewage without residents realising the damage just one flush can have.

Children's toys, jewellery, and even a brick are just some of the bizarre items found clogged in wastewater systems in Sydney this year - with most having been flushed down the toilet

BIZARRE ITEMS FOUND IN SYDNEY WASTEWATER A brick Watches Jewellery Lighters Children's toys Money - notes and coins Earphones Advertisement

In just the past three months Sydney Water crews have been called to 7,000 faults and blockages in water systems with teams finding money, watches, earphones and lighters among other wacky items.

'The reality is wet wipes, fats, oils and grease and other items like cotton buds, tissues and sanitary products are a major threat to our wastewater network,' Sydney Water's Head of Customer, Strategy and Engagement, Maryanne Graham said.

She said 75 per cent of blockages found in water systems were due to people flushing wet wipes down the toilets.

'The cost to Sydney Water of removing the 500 tonnes of flushed wet wipes from the wastewater system is upwards of $8million every year,' Ms Graham said.

'It's all about highlighting the simple things our customers can do to save on their own clean-up bills and protect the environment, by remembering 'it's best to bin it.'

From a survey on residents in Greater Sydney, 56 per cent said they thought it was fine to flush tissues down the toilet.

Sydney Water has released a new campaign warning residents of the 'dos and don'ts' of flushing various things down toilets or tipping certain liquids down kitchen sinks

For tipping various items down the sink, 63 per cent would happily throw away milk and 14 per cent would pour down coffee grounds and tea leaves.

However it's items like these that can have detrimental impacts on the environment as milk is highly pollutive.

Meanwhile, foods like coffee and tea leaves will soon enough lead to a large clog in the kitchen sink pipes.

The Sydney Water team are hoping that by showing families the 'unflushable' and 'unsinkable' items, that the environment will be a lot better off.
A female firearms officer was told she shouldn't be on patrol without a man and was targeted by bosses after she complained about a sexist 'boys club culture' at Police Scotland.

PC Rhona Malone had to put up with 'horrific' behaviour from male colleagues in which she and other women were subjected to misogynistic, belittling and abusive behaviour, while topless images of women were posted on the work WhatsApp group.

But when she reported her concerns to bosses she was victimised herself, an employment tribunal ruled.

In particular, one female commanding officer repeatedly failed to tackle Ms Malone's complaints because she did not want her career 'overshadowed' by allegations of sexism among her staff, the panel concluded.

The tribunal heard the 'committed' and 'exemplary' officer was left outraged after her boss, Inspector Keith Warhurst, sent an email round banning female officers being paired together, rather than with a man, due to his concerns over the 'balance of testosterone'.

The panel chaired by Employment Judge Jane Porter found the shocking email was one of many sexist incidents in the firearms division of Police Scotland.

Insp Warhurst posted topless images of women on the work WhatsApp group, called a colleague's pregnant partner a 'f***ing fat bitch', and told a male co-worker 'you are going to end up f***ing that' in relation to a female colleague.

The panel heard one female officer, Sergeant Rachel Coates, was told by a Chief Firearms Instructor that women should not be armed because they get periods and 'this would affect their temperament'.

And when Sgt Coates asked the instructor for uniform which would allow her to go to the toilet without removing her gun belt, she was told to 'f*** off'.

When PC Malone made an official complaint, she was then targeted by bosses at Police Scotland who withdrew her from her role, suggested she be transferred, demanded her GP clear her before she could return to armed duties and refused to take her grievances seriously.

Rhona Malone (pictured in her uniform) had to put up with 'horrific' behaviour from male colleagues in which she and other women were subjected to misogynistic, belittling and abusive behaviour

The tribunal found the 43-year-old was repeatedly victimised by female Chief Inspector Linda Russell - then Area Commander for Armed Policing - while Insp Warhurst got a promotion despite his offensive behaviour.

Ms Malone is now in line for compensation after successfully suing the force for victimisation.

The Edinburgh tribunal's finding comes as the misogynistic behaviour of male police officers in Britain is under intense scrutiny following the case of Wayne Couzens - the Met police officer jailed for life last week for the murder of Sarah Everard.

The panel's judgement - published yesterday - found that Ms Malone, a single mother of three, 'loved' her job and was an experienced officer of seven years at the time of joining the Armed Response Vehicles (ARV) in October 2016.

Having completed a 10 week training course, she was originally based in the Scottish capital where she had just one female colleague in a team of 12 firearms officers.

The tribunal heard that at the end of 2016, of a total of 60 armed police in Edinburgh, just four were women.

In its judgement, the panel said it accepted Ms Malone's evidence - and testimony from four other officers - that the culture within ARV was 'an absolute boys club culture' and 'horrific.'

Acting Inspector Warhurst was a repeat offender, the tribunal found.

'Following his promotion to Temporary Inspector in May 2017 Keith Warhurst posted images of topless women on the WhatsApp group,' the tribunal said.

He was also overheard referring to a female investigator as 'a wee lassie'.

The hearing was told that in January 2018 Ms Malone and several colleagues including fellow female PC Freya Palmer received an email from him. It read: 'I am going to plunge in with both feet and open myself up to being accused of being sexist!

'For operational reasons I don't want to see 2 x female officers deployed together when there are sufficient male staff on duty.

'This is based upon my experience in the firearms and routine policing environment, other than the obvious differences in physical capacity, it makes more sense from a search, balance of testosterone perspective.

When the officer (pictured) reported her concerns to bosses she was targeted herself, an employment tribunal ruled

'It is not a reflection on either Rhona or Freya! If you want to discuss my door is open.

'Ladies, For the purpose of transparency I have included you in this email. Likewise if you want to discuss my door is open. Regards, K.'

Female firearms officers were left 'really annoyed, flabbergasted and gobsmacked' by the email.

Ms Malone said she was 'shocked and upset' while furious police chiefs regarded it as 'overtly sexist'.

However, when she met with Insp Warhurst and Insp Alan Findlay to complain, Insp Warhurst denied the message was sexist and Insp Warhurst warned her he might withdraw her from firearms duties because the meeting was getting 'heated'.

Insp Findlay told her: 'Rhona, I can see you are becoming frustrated and upset by what is being discussed with Keith, as a firearms officer you should be able to discuss this in a calm/restrained and controlled manner.'

Ms Malone - who was temporarily withdrawn from firearms duties - submitted a grievance in February 2018 and at mediation Insp Warhurst apologised.

However, he later referred Ms Malone to Occupational Health advisers requesting they obtain a report from her GP before her firearms licence could be returned.

The tribunal found this amounted to victimisation as there was 'no need' for a GP referral to get her licence back. It was the first time Insp Warhurst made such a request.

Following a 'Women and Firearms' forum, Ch Insp Russell - who was dealing with Ms Malone's grievance - suggested she transfer from Edinburgh in an 'attempt to resolve the grievance without having to air the issues in it'.

Now-retired Ch Insp Russell was found to have repeatedly victimised Ms Malone during the grievance process by handling it poorly, threatening to delay reinstating her licence, and failing to properly address sexism claims.

Judge Porter said Ch Insp Russell was 'hostile and dismissive' to Ms Malone, considered her sex discrimination complaints 'petty', and even 'rolled her eyes' at her.

Judge Porter said: 'The Tribunal formed the view that Linda Russell did not wish her final years of her successful career to be overshadowed by a grievance of sexism handled externally to the department which might result in criticism of sexism within armed policing, being an area in which she, as a female Area Commander, sought to effect a change of culture.'

More than 20 complaints made about Ch Insp Russell's handling of the grievance were not properly handled, it was found.

During the process, Ms Malone wrote to Chief Superintendent Andrew McDowall to complain - but he took no action.

The tribunal heard the 'committed' and 'exemplary' officer was left outraged after her boss, Inspector Keith Warhurst (pictured), sent an email round banning female officers being paired together, rather than with a man, due to his concerns over the 'balance of testosterone'

'His explanation for taking no action was simply that he receives thousands of emails; in his words, he 'dropped the ball',' the tribunal heard.

Judge Porter said the explanation from the high-ranking officer was 'implausible'.

As a result of the long delay in her return to full duties, Ms Malone lacked confidence and felt isolated which led to her requesting to leave the division.

She submitted an ill-health retirement request after becoming unwell - but the force even delayed granting that.

Senior HR worker Alasdair Muir was found to have mislead Ms Malone and her solicitors while delaying considering the application.

Ms Malone ended up experiencing severe financial hardship by October 2019 as her sick pay ran out. She finally retired from the force on grounds of ill health in April 2020.

Judge Porter ruled in favour of every single victimisation claim brought by Ms Malone.

Her claim of direct discrimination claim only failed on a technicality as Insp Warhurst's order to not pair female officers together was never carried out in practice.

Ms Malone, who now campaigns to eradicate sexism in the police, will be awarded compensation at a later date.
Families may still be forced to spend 75 on PCR tests when returning from holidays this half-term, it was claimed today.

The day two return swabs were supposed to be scrapped at the end of the month in favour of cheaper and quicker lateral flow tests for the fully vaccinated.

While the Government says it 'aims' to have it in place in time for half-term, a Cabinet source said ministers had been urged to keep the PCRs due to fears over variants.

The move would be a major blow for millions of holidaymakers and the beleaguered travel industry which would be aiming to recoup pandemic losses during half term.

'Theres a very real chance PCRs will still have to be taken after half-term holidays,' the source told The Sun. In a dig at Health Secretary Sajid Javid, they added: 'Those who claim to be great unlockers have been captured quickly by the health officials.'

But Department for Transport bosses today told MailOnline categorically it would replace day two PCR tests with lateral flows by the end of October.

Mr Javid had doubled down on his commitment to scrap as many remaining Covid curbs as possible yesterday.

On his 100th day in the job, he told the Tory conference in Manchester that his party stood for 'freeing things up' rather than locking them down.

But Mr Javid is said to be concerned that relying on lateral flow tests - which unlike PCR don't need to be verified in a lab - could encourage lying about positive results.

He has floated the idea of people taking their rapid test in a video call while supervised by a health professional, according to reports.

British holidaymakers leaving Ibiza airport. The government has said returning travellers will no longer be required to pay for a PCR tests once back in the UK, and will instead have a cheaper lateral flow test. However, a cabinet source told The Sun PCR tests 'will still have to be taken after the half-term holidays' because of fears of new variants

Health Secretary Sajid Javid, who was said to be concerned that those taking the tests could lie about the results, proposed returning travellers do their lateral flow test on video calls supervised by a health adviser from a private firm

A Department for Transport spokesman said: 'From the end of October, eligible fully vaccinated passengers from non-red countries will be able to replace their day two test with a cheaper lateral flow test, reducing the cost of tests on arrival into England.'

On Monday, new rules were introduced to make travel to the UK 'easier and cheaper', which included scrapping the travel light system, and replacing it by categorising countries as either go or no-go.

Fully vaccinated Britons also no longer have to do a test before flying back to the UK.

The Government also made a commitment to replace the day two PCR tests with lateral flows for the full-jabbed by the end of October.

Elsewhere, there was speculation among travel industry leaders that PCR tests will be scrapped for the cheaper alternative around October 25 - the start of half term for many families.

Meanwhile, Sajid Javid wants holidaymakers to film themselves taking a coronavirus test after returning to the UK, it was reported last night.

The Health Secretary is said to be concerned that when lateral flows become the default, those taking the tests could lie about the results.

He is proposing travellers do their lateral flow test on video calls supervised by a health adviser from a private firm, The Times reported.

This is similar to the way some pre-departure tests which were scrapped last weekend were conducted.

No date has been set for the change but there is speculation among travel industry leaders that it will be around October 25, the start of half term for many families.

A person holds a negative lateral flow Covid-19 test in front of a UK passport (file picture)

On Monday, new rules introduced to make travel to the UK 'easier and cheaper' came into force.

The UK's traffic light system involving green, amber and red lists was scrapped, with locations categorised as either on the red list or not.

It comes amid reports the number of countries on the red list will be slashed to nine from 54 later this week.

Destinations such as Brazil, Mexico and South Africa are expected to be opened up to quarantine-free travel.

Fully vaccinated residents - and unvaccinated under 18s - from more than 50 countries and territories can now enter the UK without needing to complete a pre-departure lateral flow test.

Just a single day-two post-arrival test will now be needed. Under 11s were already exempt from pre-departure testing.

People arriving from a red tier destination will still be required to spend 11 nights at a quarantine hotel costing 2,285 for solo travellers.

The easing of the quarantine and testing regulations - announced last month - has been welcomed by the travel sector.

Airlines and tour operators have been hit hard during the pandemic, and have accused the Government of being too slow to relax and simplify the rules for international travel.
French fishermen have given the UK a two-week deadline to grant them licences to work in British waters before they start blockades.

Skippers in the largest fishing port in France have issued the warning amid a rumbling row over post-Brexit paperwork.

Those in charge of the Boulogne-sur-Mer fleet have accused the British of not respecting post-Brexit agreements.

They said action could include blocking the Channel Tunnel and the port of Calais in moves which could threaten crucial supply chains in the run up to Christmas.

The fishing dispute has escalated in recent days, with France suggesting it could cut UK power supplies in retaliation.

Lord Frost, the UK Government's Brexit chief, has dismissed the threats from Paris, suggesting they are 'disproportionate' as he questioned if the rest of the EU would 'go along with it'.

French fishermen have given the UK a two-week deadline to grant them licences to work in British waters before they start blockades (file photo of fishing boats moored at the port of Le Guilvinec in June last year)

The fishing dispute has escalated in recent days, with France suggesting it could cut UK power supplies in retaliation. French fishermen are pictured in May this year

Lord Frost, the UK Government's Brexit chief, has dismissed the threats from Paris, suggesting they are 'disproportionate' and questioned if the rest of the EU would 'go along with it'

Britain has granted only 12 of 47 small French vessels fishing rights in UK waters.

British officials say those denied were unable to prove that they had fished in the six-to-12 mile nautical zone in the years before the UK left the EU.

But the French fishermen say the small boats are not fitted with the right technology to prove their historical fishing links and locations.

Luc Ramet said his boat, the Charles-de-Foucauld, had been refused a licence at the start of the scallop season.

'My boat is new and newly registered,' said Mr Ramet. 'It's for this reason that the British are refusing me the license.'

Mr Ramet said that 'if nothing is done in 15 days' then he and his fellow skippers were ready to 'take direct action' to block Britain.

Christophe Lomel, another Boulogne skipper, said: 'It's illogical, licences have been given to boats which hardly ever go to British waters. I've been going there for 35 years and have not been given a licence.'

It follows Olivier Lepretre, chief of the powerful northern France fisheries committee, saying: 'If negotiating fails, we will stop all French and European products reaching the UK, and we will stop all British products reaching Europe.'

Referring to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Mr Lepretre said: 'Unless Boris backs down, the Brits will not have so many nice things to eat this Christmas. I hope it doesn't come to that.'

French fishermen have accused the UK of creating a complex and onerous application process and failing to grant them enough permits to make a living.

The threat of blockades is likely to increase fears of shortages of certain goods this winter as families are already racing to buy food for Christmas, including frozen turkeys, party snacks, puddings and chocolate.

Trade between the ports of Dover and Calais is estimated to be worth around 100billion every year.

The flow of goods between both accounts for nearly a quarter of the UK's major port traffic with the EU, according to a 2019 University of Hamburg study on the effects of Brexit.

The row over Channel fishing rights erupted in May, when Britain sent two Royal Navy gunships to Jersey after dozens of French fishing boats vowed to blockade the island's harbour.

France's Europe minister Clement Beaune warned the dispute was putting UK power supplies at risk.

'The Channel Islands, the UK, are dependent on us for their energy supply,' he told the Europe 1 radio station yesterday.

'They think they can live on their own and badmouth Europe as well. And because it doesn't work, they indulge in one-upmanship, and in an aggressive way.'

Jersey and neighbouring Guernsey rely on French power and two undersea cables also provide electricity to more than three million homes on the British mainland.

Mr Beaune said other EU governments could take punitive measures against the UK, such as imposing tariffs.

Families are already racing to buy food for Christmas, including frozen turkeys, party snacks, puddings and chocolate, amid fears of shortages

Lord Frost hit back last night as he accused France of being disingenuous over the UK's position on fishing access.

He told a Conservative Party conference fringe event in Manchester: 'We have granted 98 per cent of the licence applications from EU boats to fish in our waters according to the different criteria in the Trade and Co-operation Agreement, so we do not accept that we are not abiding by that agreement.

'We have been extremely generous and the French, focusing in on a small category of boats and claiming we have behaved unreasonably, I think is not really a fair reflection of the efforts we have made.'

The Cabinet minister conceded that Britain 'would have liked a different sort of fisheries deal' in the Brexit deal but said the UK was striving to deliver on the agreed terms.

'We agreed this deal and we are implementing in good faith, so I think it is unreasonable to suggest we are not,' he continued.

'If there is a reaction from France, they will have to persuade others in the EU to go along with it, and it does need to be proportionate.'
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Dominic Raab bizarrely claimed that misogyny is applicable to both men and women in a bungled backing of Boris Johnson's refusal to make hatred against women a crime amid a brewing row over women's safety following the Sarah Everard murder.

The Justice Secretary made the remark during an interview with BBC Breakfast today while discussing a new inquiry which will look at the 'systematic failures' that allowed Miss Everard's killer Wayne Couzens to be employed as a Metropolitan Police officer.

Mr Raab told presenter Sally Nugent: 'Misogyny is absolutely wrong, whether it's a man against a woman, or a woman against a man.' Ms Nugent then interjected, correctly telling him that the dictionary definition of misogyny is hatred against and directed towards women.

What is misogyny? According to Merriam-Webster, misogyny is 'hatred of, aversion to, or prejudice against women'. The word is formed from the Greek roots 'misein' ('to hate') and 'gyne' ('woman'). It can also be distinguished from the word sexism, which means 'discrimination based on sex'. Advertisement

Later in the interview, Ms Nugent offered the Justice Secretary the opportunity to clarify what he meant, reading back his comments and asking: 'Is that what you meant to say?'

Mr Raab then continued to restate the Prime Minister's position that misogyny should not be made a hate crime and did not address his earlier remark. He did not acknowledge referring to misogyny as being applicable to men as well as women.

'What I meant is if we are talking about things below the level of public order offences of harassment, intimidation, which are rightly criminalised,' he said.

'If we are talking about effectively insults with a sexist basis I don't think that criminalising those sorts of things will deal with the problem that we have got at the heart of the Sarah Everard case, which is a question partly around the police but also the broader question and the fear women face that their cases don't get to court and don't end up with a conviction.

'And therefore just criminalising insulting language even if it's misogynistic doesn't deal with the intimidation and the violence and the much higher level of offence and damage and harm that we really ought to be laser light focused in on.'

Seizing on Mr Raab's apparent confusion over the meaning of misogyny, Labour's Shadow Justice Secretary David Lammy thundered: 'Justice Secretary Dominic Raab doesn't know the definition of misogyny. No wonder the Conservatives are hopeless at tackling violence against women and girls.'

Shadow Women and Equalities Secretary Anneliese Dodds tweeted: 'The man in charge of our justice system literally doesn't understand the meaning of the word misogyny. If you don't understand it, how can you tackle it?'

Liberal Democrat equalities spokeswoman Wera Hobhouse said: 'It's little wonder the Conservatives are failing to tackle misogyny when their Justice Secretary doesn't even seem to know what it is. These comments are an insult to the millions of women and girls impacted by misogyny and show just how out of touch the Conservatives are on this issue. '

And the Women's Party wrote on social media: 'It's no wonder our government won't initiate an independent inquiry specifically into police misogyny - they don't even know what the word means.'

Yesterday the Prime Minister brushed off calls to formally recognise misogyny as a hate crime, instead arguing the 'abundance' of existing laws should be better enforced rather than new legislation brought in.

Mr Johnson has vowed to make domestic violence and rape the 'number one issue' he tackles within policing, and said the way police and criminal justice system currently handles violent crimes against women was 'just not working'.

His comments come amid a brewing national row over women's safety in the wake of the killings of Miss Everard and primary schoolteacher Sabina Nessa, with thousands sharing their experiences of feeling unsafe on streets, parks and other public areas in Britain.

Justice Secretary Dominic Raab (left) awkwardly claimed that misogyny is applicable to both men and women as he backed Boris Johnson's refusal to make hatred against women a hate crime (right, the Prime Minister)

Responding to Mr Raab's interview, Labour's Shadow Justice Secretary David Lammy thundered: 'Justice Secretary Dominic Raab doesn't know the definition of misogyny. No wonder the Conservatives are hopeless at tackling violence against women and girls.' Shadow Women and Equalities Secretary Anneliese Dodds tweeted: 'The man in charge of our justice system literally doesn't understand the meaning of the word misogyny. If you don't understand it, how can you tackle it?'

An inquiry has been set to up to examine how Metropolitan Police firearms officer Wayne Couzens was able to abduct, rape and murder Miss Everard (left) in March. It also comes just weeks after primary school teacher Sabina Nessa (right) was killed as she walked through Cator Park in Kidbrooke, south-east London, on her way to meet a friend on September 17

Calls for ALL police officers across UK to be re-vetted: Ex Met Police chief says every officer should be reassessed in wake of Sarah Everard murder to restore trust A former senior officer with the Metropolitan Police has called for all serving officers to be re-vetted follow disclosures about Wayne Couzens. Parm Sandhu, an ex-chief superintendent, said urgent action was needed to restore public confidence in the police. She told Sky News's Trevor Phillips on Sunday: 'Everybody who works in policing now should be re-vetted. Those people who got through the vetting procedure 20 years ago, 30 years ago, all of them. 'Every single person needs to be reviewed and if anything comes up in their past - it doesn't have to be a conviction, it just needs to be come to notice, because this man did come to notice. 'It needs to be done now as an urgent measure to reassure the public and rebuild the trust and confidence that policing has lost, but it needs to be done on a regular basis so that we don't have anybody that even comes close to the actions of Wayne Couzens.' It comes after figures, obtained via the Freedom of Information Act, revealed that 26 officers from Scotland Yard have been convicted of sex crimes including rape, possessing indecent images of children, and voyeurism since 2016. Five allegedly carried out sex offences while on duty since 2010, with one officer recruited last year despite having a conviction for indecent exposure. Two were jailed for their offences in April this year - just a month after the horrifying abduction, rape and murder of Sarah Everard. Advertisement

Couzens, 48, murdered Miss Everard, 33, after using Covid powers to stage a fake arrest and kidnap the marketing executive as she walked along a street in Clapham in March. The disgraced officer was given a life sentence at the Old Bailey last week.

The inquiry into Ms Everard's case announced by Home Secretary Priti Patel will be made up of two parts - the first examining Couzens' previous behaviour and whether warning signs were missed during his time in the police.

The second will look at any specific problems raised by the first part of the inquiry, which could include wider issues across policing - such as vetting practices, professional standards and discipline, and workplace behaviour.

Couzens was a serving Metropolitan Police firearms officer at the time he kidnapped, raped and murdered Miss Everard in March. He had been linked to a flashing incident in 2015 and two others just days before the brutal attack.

Mr Raab said the review will examine why 'red flags' such as the flashing incidents were not taken more seriously and will also look at 'systemic issues, cultural issues' within the police.

He claimed witnesses will co-operate with the inquiry despite the probe's lack of powers.

The Home Office said a non-statutory inquiry will be established, given the 'need to provide assurance as swiftly as possible', but this can be converted to a statutory inquiry, where witnesses can be compelled to give evidence, if required.

'I think what people want is to get cracking on this as soon as possible and to get to the truth,' Mr Raab told Sky News. 'This needs to be looked at robustly, vigorously, without fear or favour. I do also think that the police as a whole, the vast majority of officers, are appalled by this and want to get those answers too.'

He added: 'We are not going to have a problem getting to the truth of this.'

Yesterday, Mr Johnson added the 'anger over Ms Everard's murder is a symptom' of a 'wider frustration that people feel'. Asked if he believed misogyny should be a hate crime, he told BBC Breakfast: 'I think that what we should do is prosecute people for the crimes we have on the statute book.

'That is what I am focused on. To be perfectly honest, if you widen the scope of what you ask the police to do, you will just increase the problem.

'What you need to do is get the police to focus on the very real crimes, the very real feeling of injustice and betrayal that many people feel.'

Mr Johnson also backed the recruitment of more female police officers as a potential solution to change institutional cultures within police forces.

It comes as Home Secretary Priti Patel announced an independent inquiry into the 'systematic failures' that allowed Couzens to serve as a Met police officer and murder Miss Everard.

It also comes just weeks after Miss Nessa, 28, was killed as she walked through Cator Park in Kidbrooke, south-east London, on her way to meet a friend on September 17.

Eleven police units, including Nottinghamshire, North Yorkshire, Avon and Somerset, have adopted misogyny or gender as a form of hate crime for recording purposes, but dozens of other forces are yet to do so.

Associate Professor Loretta Trickett, of Nottingham Law School, co-authored a report which analysed levels of misogyny and hate crime two years after the policy was brought in by Nottinghamshire Police.

She said: 'Boris Johnson's comments display an unwillingness to listen to women's experiences and to recognise that crimes against women are driven by misogyny. Indeed, there is a key difference between men who abuse women and men that do not and that is the misogynistic attitudes of the former. By having misogyny as a hate crime, you recognise that crimes against women are informed by hostility towards women as a social group and that they are experienced by women as hostile acts.'

She added: 'The fact that our Prime Minister does not see the relevance of misogyny to violence against women and girls is deeply troubling.'

Campaigners have long argued that prejudice against women is a 'root cause' of gender-based violence and have called for it to be officially recognised as a hate crime in English and Welsh courts.

Currently, hate crimes in England and Wales are specifically based on an individual's race, religion, disabilities, gender identity or sexual orientation.

Home Secretary Priti Patel delivering her speech at the Tory party conference

Martin Hewitt, chairman of the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC), said it was 'critical' to 'deal with' issues surrounding vetting and professional standards proceedings in policing. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said that the inquiry must 'leave no stone uncovered'.

It comes after Priti Patel announced plans for an independent inquiry to look at the 'systematic failures' at the Met Police (pictured: Commissioner Cressida Dick) that allowed her killer Wayne Couzens to be employed as a police officer

'Sex on duty was a perk of the job': Ex-chief constable reveals a colleague nicknamed 'Pervert' had sex with a vulnerable woman while at work and claims women's trust in police is 'absolutely shattered' Sex on duty was seen as 'a perk of the job' by officers, a former police chief has claimed. Sue Fish, the ex-chief of Nottinghamshire Police, said women's trust in law enforcement has been 'shattered' by recent events, including the rape and murder of Sarah Everard by serving officer Wayne Couzens. Having slammed Dame Cressida Dick for a lack of action in tackling misogyny in the capital's force last week, she has now lifted the lid on her experience of sexism during her time with police. Ms Fish told the Times' Helen Rumbelow how married women were not wanted in the force because they would soon leave to have children, and also shed light on her own experience of being sexually assaulted at work by a more senior officer. She also revealed how she would be left, as a young probationary officer, driving a marked car around in circles while an older colleague would sleep with a vulnerable woman he'd met doing the job. 'It's fair to say sex on duty was seen by some of my colleagues - not all by a long chalk - as being a perk of the job,' she said. 'It left me as a brand-new probationer feeling like I didn't know who to talk to about it, because saying to the concerned man, 'Don't do this to me. Don't do this to her, just don't do this at all', made no difference.' One Nottingham officer, who was eventually arrested and jailed for having sex with a vulnerable woman, had been nicknamed 'Pervert' by colleagues, she revealed. Ms Fish also revealed how she would be given a see-through female uniform blouse, and be subjected to constant comments on the state of her breasts. Advertisement

MPs have been lobbying to make misogyny a hate crime over the past few months. The chairman of the Commons Justice Committee, the Tory MP, Sir Bob Neill, said last week that the Government should consider making misogyny a hate crime in the same way that racism was following the Macpherson Inquiry into the killing of Stephen Lawrence.

In July, Liberal Democrat MP Wera Hobhouse told the House of Commons that the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill should 'enshrine misogyny as a hate crime' during a debate on the prospective legislation.

The Bill, which contains a wide-ranging raft of measures aimed at overhauling the criminal justice system, is currently making its way through the House of Lords.

A senior policing chief welcomed the Government's plan to launch an inquiry in the wake of Miss Everard's murder.

Martin Hewitt, chairman of the National Police Chiefs' Council, said it was 'critical' to 'deal with' issues surrounding vetting and professional standards proceedings in policing.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan also backed the review, urging that the inquiry must 'leave no stone uncovered'.

Welcoming the review, Mr Hewitt - whose NPCC group are the national co-ordination body for law enforcement - said: 'Whilst I have confidence in the processes that we have, the reality is that there are clearly issues that emerge from this specific case.

'So I think it warrants us looking again and working with those other bodies to ensure that we are learning every lesson that we can around not only the policies, but also the practice of how that vetting is taking place in individual forces.

'Both of those areas (of vetting and professional standards) are absolutely critical for us to deal with ... to restore public confidence in the service. And I think having an independent inquiry is a very good way for that to be to be dealt with to really help us provide that reassurance.'

Mr Hewitt said there there were already 'very clear' vetting policies which are continually reviewed, with checks on officers throughout their career, along with professional standards procedures.

But he added: 'The confidence of the public is absolutely paramount, that people recognise and understand that we are doing things properly because of the powers that we have as police officers, but also it's about the confidence of the service.'

It comes as Mr Khan said that the inquiry must 'leave no stone uncovered'. Mr Khan, who supported the investigation, said confidence in the police had been 'shattered' and he hoped it 'leads to the conclusions that leads to people having more confidence than they currently do'.

The London Mayor added: 'Over the last few days I have been in almost daily contact with the Home Secretary and shared with her my concerns in relation to the fact that people across the country have had their confidence shattered in the police and I welcome her announcement today.

'We've got to make sure no stone is left uncovered in relation to finding out what happened in relation to this man and in relation to allegations made against his previous conduct, in relation to how the vetting process failed, in relation to missed opportunities to make sure lessons are learnt.

'We then need to look into wider issues for policing across the country.

'There are serious concerns in relation to the vetting practices for police forces across the country, serious concerns in relation to grievances and discipline but also in relation to the workplace environment.

'A police service must have no truck in relation to misogyny, racism, sexism, or homophobia and we need to make sure we do what we can to restore the confidence that's been lost over the last few weeks.'

He stopped short of backing under fire Met Police chief Cressida Dick, who has faced a swathe of criticism in the wake of the Sarah Everard case.

When asked if he thought Dame Cressida was the right person to take the force forward, he said: 'I think when you read and hear about some of the concerns people have raised across the country, when you just reflect on the fact that between International Women's Day last year and International Women's Day this year, across the country 118 women were killed at the hands of a man, I think this is about more than one person.

'This is about looking into what went on with this particular man and Sarah's brutal murder, but also wider issues in relation to policing across the country.'
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A mountain gorilla who became a worldwide sensation after posing in a selfie with a park ranger has died in the arms of her 'lifelong friend' who rescued her as an infant.

Orphaned Ndakasi was pictured taking her last breath while being held by her caretaker Andre Bauma, 49, in a harrowing scene at the Virunga National Park in eastern Congo.

Ndakasi, who died aged 14, was saved by Virunga rangers when she was just two-months-old after they found her clinging to the lifeless body of her mother who had been gunned down by armed militia hours earlier.

She was later transferred to the park's Senkwekwe Center with a fellow orphaned gorilla Ndeze where the pair rose to internet fame when they appeared in a selfie with park ranger Mathieu Shamavu in 2019.

But after more than a decade of care at the Senkwekwe Centre, the 'beloved' gorilla died following a 'prolonged illness in which her condition rapidly deteriorated', a statement from the park said.

Orphaned Ndakasi was pictured taking her last breath while being held by her caretaker Andre Bauma, 49, in a harrowing scene at the Virunga National Park in eastern Congo

Ndakasi was later transferred to the park's Senkwekwe Center with a fellow orphaned gorilla Ndeze where the pair rose to internet fame when they appeared in a selfie with park ranger Mathieu Shamavu in 2019

Ndakasi died on 26 September in the arms of Bauma, who, 14 years earlier, had held the gorilla as an infant closely to him, keeping her tiny body tightly against his chest for warmth and comfort, after she was rescued following her mother's death.

In the photograph of Ndakasi's final breath, the gorilla is seen leaning her head on Bauma's chest while he holds her.

'It was a privilege to support and care for such a loving creature, especially knowing the trauma Ndakasi suffered at a very young age,' Bauma said. 'One could say that she took after her mother, Nyiransekuye, whose name means "someone happy to welcome others".'

He added: 'It was Ndakasi's sweet nature and intelligence that helped me to understand the connection between humans and Great Apes and why we should do everything in our power to protect them.

'I am proud to have called Ndakasi my friend. I loved her like a child and her cheerful personality brought a smile to my face every time I interacted with her.

'She will be missed by all of us at Virunga but we are forever grateful for the richness Ndakasi brought to our lives during her time at Senkwekwe.'

Ndakasi, who died aged 14, was saved by Virunga rangers when she was two-months-old after they found her clinging to the lifeless body of her mother who had been gunned down by armed militia hours earlier

Ndakasi survived the massacre of her family in 2007, but the trauma of losing them coupled with a long period of rehabilitation meant she was too vulnerable to return to the wild

Ndakasi became an internet sensation when she posed for a selfie with Ndeze and park ranger Shamavu.

Shamavu said he was checking his phone when he noticed the two female orphaned gorillas mimicking his movements, so he took a picture with them.

The gorillas look as if they're posing for the camera and when Shamavu posted the picture on social media it quickly clocked up thousands of likes and comments.

Her life was also featured in the documentary Virunga, where Ndakasi can be seen in an elated mood as she is tickled by a caretaker.

Her life was also featured in the documentary Virunga, where Ndakasi can be seen in an elated mood as she is tickled by a caretaker

The massacres of gorillas led to the Congolese authorities to adopt institutional and security reform within the National Park, which strengthened the protection of the mountain gorillas.

Four mountain gorillas are seen playing with three park rangers at the Virunga National Park in eastern Congo

Ndakasi survived the massacre of her family in 2007, but the trauma of losing them coupled with a long period of rehabilitation meant she was too vulnerable to return to the wild.

The massacres led to the Congolese authorities to adopt institutional and security reform within the National Park, which strengthened the protection of the mountain gorillas.

Ndakasi was born at a time when the global population of mountain gorillas was fragile and critically endangered, the park said. But over the course of her life, the species has grown by 47 per cent  from 720 individuals in 2007 to an estimated 1,063 in 2021.

Virunga is billed as Africa's most biodiverse national park, spanning tropical forests, snow-peaked mountains and active volcanoes.

It's also one of the last bastions of wild mountain gorilla populations. Parks in the mountains of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda have the last remaining mountain gorillas in their natural habitat.

But it's in eastern Congo, an area that has suffered from years of armed conflict.

Ndakasi was born at a time when the global population of mountain gorillas was fragile and critically endangered, the park said. But over the course of her life, the species has grown by 47 per cent

Virunga's management has had to take extraordinary measures to keep its visitors safe from the on-and-off fighting in the region

Virunga's management has had to take extraordinary measures to keep its visitors safe from the on-and-off fighting in the region - protecting them with a highly trained guard of elite rangers and sniffer dogs, and working closely with communities surrounding the park.

After a park ranger was killed by gunmen and three foreign tourists were briefly held captive, the park closed until it could secure the safety of visitors. It reopened in mid-February 2019.

But all this costs money, and the state park says it wouldn't be able to survive without private donations from visitors.
A mixed-race couple who were college sweethearts and dated each other secretly in the 1970s have recently reunited and discovered they are 'still in love'.

Jeannie Gustavson and Steve Watts met as students at Loyola University in Chicago when she was a freshman, aged 18, and he was a senior, aged 21, and they soon started dating.

However, he was black and she was white and her family disapproved of interracial dating, meaning they had to conduct their relationship in secret for seven years.

Despite ultimately breaking up forty-two years ago, Jeannie, now 68, always regretted the decision to end the relationship and has never forgotten about Steve.

In the decades apart, Jeannie believed they still loved each other and with their recent 'miracle' reunion has now discovered that Steve felt the same.

Speaking to KWG news, she said: 'I loved him very much when we were younger and I knew he loved me. But it wasn't until all of this and we've been talking, I didn't know how much he loved me. I really didn't know.'

Jeannie Gustavson, 68, and Steve Watts, 71, were college sweethearts and dated each other secretly in the 1970s have recently reunited and discovered they are 'still in love'

Jeannie recalls how her college boyfriend Steve, now 71, was 6ft 4in tall and was 'handsome, extremely intelligent, witty and quite charming with a killer smile'.

However, as a mixed-race couple in the 1970s, she explained that times were 'turbulent' and her family was 'not understanding or tolerant' of their relationship.

'I was very hurt and very baffled by what my family did and said,' Jeannie said. 'We had to keep our relationship a secret.'

Jeannie graduated in 1975 and became a nurse and Steve studied a master's degree in education and became a German teacher.

But, after nearly eight years together, Jeannie ended the relationship over the phone due to the building pressures of work, distance and conflicting schedules - and has regretted the decision for the rest of her life.

Speaking to KWG news, she said: 'I regretted what I did after I did it, it was almost immediate. I mean I knew I shouldn't have ended the relationship the way I did but at that point I didn't know what else to do.'

The couple met as students at Loyola University in Chicago when she was a freshman, aged 18, and he was a senior, aged 21, and they soon started dating. Pictured: Their graduation photo

However, he was black and she was white and her family disapproved of interracial dating, meaning they had to conduct their relationship in secret for seven years until they broke up - something Jeannie has regretted ever since

The former college sweethearts never spoke or saw each other again, and Jeannie since married someone else, then divorced, but said as the years went by she never forgot about Steve.

Late last year, Jeannie began searching for him online, hoping for a second chance or to apologize for breaking up with him.

She wrote recently: 'Forty two years later, retired, with a computer and nothing but time on my hands, could I find him? Could I apologize? Could we be friends?'

Her efforts to track him down seemed futile for seven months, until she made contact with his niece who told her Steve was in a nursing home in Chicago and gave her the address.

Late last year, Jeannie, now a retired nurse, began searching for Steve online, and after months of searching she tracked him down to a nursing home in Chicago

Jeannie wrote to him twice but didn't hear back and eventually she showed up at the care home facility this summer with their graduation photo in hand and butterflies in her stomach.

She recalled their reunion, writing: 'The minute he rolled into the visiting room and uttered the sweet nickname he gave me, forty two years melted away.

'He and I were 18 and 21 again. We cried, we laughed, we held each other. And most wonderfully we realized we were still in love.'

Steve had suffered two strokes 15 years ago, leaving him debilitated and Jeannie was his first visitor in ten years.

Steve had suffered two strokes 15 years ago, leaving him debilitated but Jeannie said when he saw her, he called her the sweet nickname he had given her 42 years ago and it was like they were '18 and 21 again'

Jeannie has managed to bring Steve out of the nursing home to her home in Portland, Oregan, where she is now his carer and they have rekindled their long-lost love

'I knew at that moment that he still loved me, and this time it was going to be forever. I just knew it,' she told KWG news.

With the help of a GoFundMe page, and using the rest of her savings, Jeannie has managed to bring Steve out of the nursing home to her home in Portland, Oregan, where she is now his carer.

Although Steve finds it difficult to speak, he can still make Jeannie laugh and they have forgiven each other for the past and rekindled their long-lost love.

She said: 'I did a very stupid thing 42 years ago and I've regretted it ever since. And all I can do now is love him as best I can and see to it that he's happy and give him the quality of life that he really deserves and he's missed all these years.'
'Suitcase killer' Heather Mack who murdered her socialite mother before stuffing her body into a travel case will be released from prison in Bali this month.

Jailed for ten years in 2015, the 25-year-old from Chicago is set to be released three years early on October 29 because 'she has shown to be a good person.'

She was 18 years old when she was arrested over the discovery of Sheila von Wiese-Mack's body in the trunk of a taxi parked near the St. Regis Bali Resort.

Mack's boyfriend Tommy Schaefer beat her 62-year-old mother to death with a fruit bowl during a heated argument at the five-star hotel, before the couple abandoned the blood-stained suitcase containing the battered body in a taxi, and fled.

Schaefer was jailed for 18 years for the killing, while Mack, who was pregnant at the time of the crime with Schaefer's daughter, was found guilty on a lesser charge of assisting in the murder.

In 2016, Robert Bibbs, a cousin of Schaefer, pleaded guilty to helping to plan the killing in exchange for $50,000 that Mack was expected to inherit, and was sentenced the next year to nine years in prison.

Mack is facing deportation back to the United States following her release, but she wants to stay in Indonesia to care for her six-year-old daughter, Stella, who was born shortly before she was sentenced.

'Suitcase killer' Heather Mack, 25, is set to be released from Bali prison on October 29 - three years early

Mack (left), was serving a 10-year sentence for the murder of her mother, socialite Sheila von Wiese Mack (right), whose corpse was found stuffed into a suitcase in Bali in 2014

Police inspect a blooded suitcase containing von Wiese Mack's broken corpse in August 2014

Upon her release, Mack can under Indonesian law be reunited with her daughter.

But her Indonesian attorney, Yulius Benyamin Seran, has said earlier that Mack, who has not seen the little girl for about 20 months because authorities halted prison visits during the coronavirus pandemic, had asked Indonesian authorities to let the girl remain with her foster family to avoid media attention.

A prison official told the Associated Press that Mack had received sentence deductions totalling 34 months.

'She has shown to be a good person, she was entitled to the sentence reduction,' the official said. 'She looked happy when she learned this ... and began to pack up excitedly.'

Mack and Schaefer were convicted in 2014 of killing Mack's millionaire mother at a five-star Bali hotel and stuffing her body into a suitcase as they tried to flee.

They claimed von Wiese-Mack became violent after Mack, then 18, revealed she was pregnant, and Schaefer, then 21, lashed out to defend himself.

The couple were caught when a taxi driver noticed blood seeping out of the suitcase which contained von Wiese-Mack's body. The driver alerted police and the couple was arrested at a nearby budget motel.

Stella has been living with a foster family since age two. Mack said she was considering leaving her with her Indonesian caretakers

Mack said Stella, now 6, does not know why both her mother and father are imprisoned, and she wants to keep it that way

Prosecutors alleged during trial that Schaefer 'blindly hit' von Wiese Mack with the fruit bowl in a fit of rage after she hurled a racial slur at him. Schaefer is black.

While her mother was being murdered, Mack hid in the bathroom and the couple then stuffed the body into the suitcase together, the trial heard.

Both were found guilty and incarcerated. Mack was sentenced to 10 years and Schaefer to 18.

In a 2019 interview with DailyMailTV (below), Mack said: 'I never want to go back home to Chicago,' noting that she was 'more Indonesian than American now'.

Heather Mack, holding newborn Stella, is escorted by police officers as he arrives in the courtroom for her sentencing hearing at a district court in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, in April 2015

Heather Mack is mobbed by reporters as he arrives in the courtroom for her sentencing hearing at a district court in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia in April 2015

She reportedly learned to speak the Indonesian language and mastered the local Bahasa Balinese dialect. She claims to have significantly changed in prison.

'I have learned things about myself that I didn't even know before. I like to make people laugh, and I know how to put other people before myself. I do this to the point of stupidity,' Mack told the Post.

'I think that I am kind, and I have become a peacemaker in the jail, which is a strange thing for a murderer to say.'

Mack also notes that Stella has grown up in Bali and has a good life in the country.

'My daughter is more Indonesian than American. She has a good life here,' Mack told DailyMailTV in 2019.

'The people are nicer and it's better and safer than back home. Back there I was getting in with a bad crowd. It's violent, there are guns, drugs. To be honest I'm glad not to be there. It's actually better and safer here in prison.'

Mack, who signed von Wiese-Mack's $1.56 million estate over to Stella in 2018, will return to her hometown of Chicago later this year with nothing more than her clothing. She is expected to stay with a friend.

She has previously said that even if she was extradited to the US, she would return to Bali with Stella.

As for her mother's murder, Mack said: 'I am  disgusted with myself just as much as anyone else is.'
He was remanded in custody and will appear before the Old Bailey on October 15

Prosecutors say he received weapons training from ISIS after travelling to Syria

habazz Suleman, 25, was arrested under the Terrorism Act at Heathrow Airport

An ex-grammar school boy has been accused of flying to Syria to train with ISIS and guard their base before being arrested at Heathrow Airport for an alleged terror plot.

Shabazz Suleman, 25, from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, was detained under the Terrorism Act last week after flying back into the country from Pakistan.

He is alleged to have manned ribats (fortifications), performed guard duty and carried out military police patrols for the so-called Islamic State group.

Prosecutors say Suleman received weapons training from ISIS after travelling to Syria from Turkey, having left the UK in 2014.

The ex-grammar school pupil appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court today, wearing a blue sweater and grey tracksuit bottoms.

Shabazz Suleman (pictured above), 25, from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, was detained under the Terrorism Act last week after flying back into the country from Pakistan

Suleman stood in the dock, speaking only to confirm his name, date of birth and address during the brief hearing.

He was not asked to enter pleas to charges of preparing for acts of terrorism, under Section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006; membership of a proscribed organisation - namely IS - under Section 11 of the Terrorism Act 2000; and receiving weapons training, under Section 54 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

Suleman attended The Royal Grammar School in High Wycombe before being offered a place at Keele University, reports The Times.

He allegedly joined ISIS after completing his A-levels and going missing while on a family holiday in Turkey in 2014.

Kathryn Selby, prosecuting, said: 'The prosecution's case is that back in 2014 Mr Selby left the UK, he went on a family trip to Turkey which we say he crossed to travel to Syria in order to join what is know as the Islamic State.'

His lawyer, Sanjeev Sharma, made no application for bail and Suleman was remanded in custody by Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring ahead of his next court appearance at the Old Bailey on October 15.
A former porn actress has been arrested on suspicion of murder after she allegedly stabbed her two-year-old son to death and dumped his corpse onto a checkout counter in a Lidl supermarket in Italy.

Katalin Erzsebet Bradacs, 44, was taken into preventive custody after being charged with murdering her son Alex Juhasz.

The former porn actress and nightclub dancer entered a Lidl supermarket in the small town of Citta della Pieve in the central Italian region of Umbria on Friday afternoon.

Bradacs, from Hungary, reportedly entered the supermarket shouting for help as she placed her son's bloodied body on top of a checkout counter.

Alex was pronounced dead at the scene after being found with nine stab wounds to his chest and neck.

Katalin Erzsebet Bradacs, 44, was arrested and taken into preventive custody after being charged with murdering her son Alex Juhasz

According to reports in the local media, his mother was treated by health workers at the scene but was subsequently arrested by the police after a knife was found in her handbag.

A number of items including the youngster's bloodied T-shirt, which was punctured with nine holes, and the woman's jumper were found later that night at a nearby disused building.

The area was sealed off by the police as part of their investigation.

CCTV footage pored over by the police did not reveal any other suspects present at the crime scene apart from the child's mother.

The alleged crime itself was not caught on camera, but the woman was filmed both arriving at and leaving the scene.

The police believe Bradacs wanted revenge against Alex's father, Norbert Juhasz, with whom she was separated and who had been granted custody by a Hungarian court last month.

The mother is said to have fled to Italy with Alex in September following the ruling.

Juhasz allegedly alerted the Hungarian authorities after a photo of his dying son was reportedly sent to his mobile phone via WhatsApp by Bradacs shortly before she went to the supermarket carrying the boy's body.

Bradacs, from Hungary, reportedly entered the supermarket shouting for help as she placed her son's bloodied body on top of a checkout counter. Alex was pronounced dead at the scene after being found with nine stab wounds to his chest and neck.

The former porn actress and nightclub dancer entered a Lidl supermarket in the small town of Citta della Pieve in the central Italian region of Umbria on Friday afternoon

Following her arrest, the woman was taken into questioning, and she denied the accusations against her, reportedly telling the police repeatedly: 'I did not kill my son.'

She reportedly proffered three contradictory versions of events before choosing to remain silent on the advice of her lawyer, Enrico Renzoni. She was taken into custody at a prison in the nearby city of Perugia.

The suspect had been living in the Tuscan town of Chiusi Scalo at the home of a man who had managed the now-closed nightclub she had worked at and with whom she had remained in contact.

She also has an 18-year-old son, who lives in Hungary and whose father is deceased.

The investigation is ongoing.
A dogsitter who charges up to 13,000-a-year to look after some of London's most pampered pets is suing an ex-worker and rival business for 20,000 over claims he 'punched and abused' animals in his care.

Oliver Sciota says lies posted online, in the form of 'terrible comments' on Instagram and 'one-star negative reviews' on Yell and Google, risked ending his company, For Dog's Sake Ltd.

He claims former employee Adam Tanner, who he says worked for the company for just two days last year, made a scathing assessment of the business on social media, alleging canine abuse, and that 'horrible staff' turned his short time there into his 'worst nightmare'.

Mr Sciota, 38, is claiming libel damages of 10,000 from Mr Tanner, and the same amount from Hampshire-based Doggieville Pet Services, over 'groundless' reviews allegedly posted by its manager Hollie Colenutt.

The businessman says in court papers: 'One star negative reviews can destroy any type of business, but in particular when dealing with a dog related business it can potentially end it completely.'

But both Mr Tanner and Doggieville deny liability, with Mr Tanner claiming he was genuinely concerned for the dogs and his comments were 'an honestly and reasonably held statement of opinion.'

Oliver Sciota, who charges up to 13,000-a-year looking after the pampered pets of well-heeled Londoners, says lies on social media - including that his staff were seen to 'punch and smack' dogs - risked ending his successful business

He is now suing former worker, Adam Tanner (pictured), who he says worked for the company for just two days last year

According to claim documents, the comments were initially posted on Instagram in October last year by Mr Tanner, a former worker who had been hired as a 'freelance dog day care assistant and dog walker'.

'Lovely dogs horrible staff...Something needs to be done about this.... I just feel so bad for these babies... This should've been my dream job but it turned into my worst nightmare,' it said.

Ms Colenutt became involved when she, along with a number of other people, posted online messages relating to the claims, allegedly writing a one-star Google review, and contacting one of his clients directly to suggest that For Dog's Sake was not properly registered.

Mr Sciota denies that his company mistreated dogs, pointing out that the local council in Merton, south west London, had never received a complaint about For Dog's Sake and had confirmed that it was properly registered.

The RSPCA had also looked into the allegations last October and found the dogs there were not in overcrowded spaces and were clean and happy.

He had been planning to expand the company from its London base to become a nationwide service, but the online 'trolling' had put 'immense strain' on the business' growth.

'All these negative reviews and comments made on social media and on different advertising platforms such as Yell and Google were made by individuals that have never even visited our grounds, have no dogs of their own in our care and don't possess the professional experience to judge business,' Mr Sciota said.

'We have a great reputation and have worked very hard to reach this level of success.

'At no point were any dogs and/or any other pet or animal intentionally harmed by any of the claimant's employees.'

For Dog's Sake Ltd's claim is for 10,000 damages each for libel and malicious falsehood from both Mr Tanner and Doggieville, plus a written apology from both stating the 'falsity and dishonesty' of allegations so that it can be shared with clients.

In his written defence to the claim, Mr Tanner's barrister Mina Heung points out that For Dog's Sake was not even mentioned in the Instagram post, which was permanently removed on the same day, and so could not have been harmed.

He also denies 'spreading rumours' about For Dog's Sake and says the suggestion there was a plan to ruin the company's reputation is 'audacious and vehemently rejected,' the barrister continues.

He is also suing Doggieville Pet Services for online messages by its manager Hollie Colenutt (pictured) relating to the claims, which he says were totally groundless

In his written defence to the claim, Mr Tanner's (pictured) barrister Mina Heung points out that For Dog's Sake was not even mentioned in the Instagram post, which was permanently removed on the same day, and so could not have been harmed

'The allegations contained in the Instagram account do not identify the claimant at all,' she says.

'In any event, the words represent the truth and an honestly and reasonably held statement of opinion.

'He believes the allegation complained of was a statement on a matter of public interest, that is, the welfare of the dogs.'

Ms Colenutt, in Doggieville's defence, denies leaving a negative review on Yell or Google, insisting that she was not the author.

'The comment I made on Instagram was my honest opinion,' she says.

'The claimant has removed my comment from his Instagram almost immediately. The claimant failed to provide any proof that the comments I made were slanderous or caused any damage.'

She denies saying that any dog abuse actually happened and says statements she made in private messages to clients were simply her 'honest opinion.'

'The claimant has not submitted any proof that he has suffered serious harm (or) that as a direct and natural result of the publication they have suffered loss that can be specified in monetary terms,' she says.

'I did not make any comments confirming Mr Tanner's allegations with regard to the claimant.

'Any and all communications both public and private made by me with regard to the claimant's business are within the scope of the defence (of) honest opinion and public interest,' she concluded.

The case is set to reach court for a pre-trial hearing next month.
Michael Gove has been spotted rocking the dance floor again - this time busting moves to Whitney Houston's I Wanna Dance With Somebody and belting out Bonnie Tyler's Total Eclipse Of The Heart at the Tory party conference.

One hilarious clip shows the Levelling Up Secretary, 54, arm in arm with Tom Tugendhat as he throws his finest shapes to a cover of the 1987 hit while wearing a suit and tie - just a month after his infamous night out in Aberdeen.

Newly-single Mr Gove, and Mr Tugendhat, MP for Tonbridge and Malling, are seen taking turns to spin each other as they go all out at the gathering - which is not usually known as a hotbed of hedonism.

In a second clip shared by The Sun, Gove can be seen passionately singing along to Bonnie Tyler's hit 1983 anthem with his mouth wide open, hands interlocked with an unidentified woman in front of him.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson later referenced Mr Gove's disco moves at his conference speech today, branding him 'Jon Bon Govi' - prompting the minister to turn bright red.

Hilarious footage that emerged today shows the Levelling Up Secretary, 54, arm in arm with Tom Tugendhat as they spin and twirl each other to Whitney Houston's I Wanna Dance With Somebody

The pair are seen laughing as they dance together on the packed dance floor at the Tory conference in Manchester

Mr Gove was wearing a suit and tie for the energetic session, where he was seen hugging other revellers

In a second clip shared by The Sun , Gove can be seen passionately singing along to Bonnie Tyler's hit 1983 anthem with his mouth wide open, hands interlocked with an unidentified woman in front of him

Mr Gove first burst onto the party scene when he was spotted dancing seemingly alone in a suit with no tie at a techno night in Aberdeen over the August Bank Holiday weekend.

During a speech at the conference in Manchester earlier this week, Mr Gove came on stage to Abba's Dancing Queen, and immediately made a reference to his earlier shenanigans - which were caught on camera.

He told the audience: 'Here we are - bright lights - great atmosphere - enthusiastic young people. It reminds me of my last night out on the town Aberdeen.

'Dance like nobody's watching they say, well I did, but they were watching!'

After referencing his dancing exploits he told the conference audience: 'I know many people have recently been asking why a middle aged man spent more than an hour, non-stop, unleashing a series of wildly un-coordinated gestures in front of a bewildered audience, who were left wondering if this was some sort of bizarre attempt to go back to the 80s.

'But enough of Keir Starmer's conference speech.'

The Prime Minister also referenced Gove's Aberdeen night out in his speech today.

'On July 19 we decided to open every single theatre and concert hall and nightclub in England and we knew that some people would still be anxious,' he said, referencing the lifting of Covid-19 rules in place.



'So we sent top government representatives to our sweatiest boites de nuit to show that anyone could dance perfectly safely and wasn't he brilliant?

'Let's hear it for Jon Bon Govey,' he quipped.

Pictured: Michael Gove was seen going bright red in today's crowd at the Tory part conference after Boris Johnson called him 'Jon Bon Govey' for his dance moves

Mr Gove is no stranger to the dance floor - he was seen partying away in Aberdeen - his home city - in videos posted on social media over the August bank holiday weekend

The Surrey Heath MP, who recently announced his split from Daily Mail columnist wife Sarah Vine after 20 years of marriage, was seen throwing shapes after visiting an O'Neill's pub in the Granite City in August.

He later went upstairs to Bohemia nightclub where he was filmed dancing to techno, after allegedly trying to swerve the 5 entry fee by telling door staff he was the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster - a claim he later denied.

Musician Emma Lament, who posted the videos to Instagram, wrote in the captions that Mr Gove was 'giving it big licks' as he bopped to techno music.

In the videos, Mr Gove can be seen jumping, two-stepping and waving his arms around to the music.

'Is this real?' one partygoer can be heard yelling over the music.

The senior Tory MP reportedly turned up to O'Neill's pub alone and was quickly adopted by local punters who urged him to join them in the club upstairs after last orders were called.

Gove happened to arrive on the Pipe club night, which is described as 'an unpredictable mix of the most high energy UK and global club music scenes'.

An Aberdeen native, Gove appeared to be enjoying a night on the tiles in his hometown following news last month that he and his wife of 20 years, columnist Sarah Vine, are to divorce.

He posed for pictures with several punters throughout the night and was still there at 2.30am, according to Lament.

The usually reserved minister was filmed throwing shapes on the dance floor at Bohemia in Aberdeen, pausing only to shake hands with fellow partygoers

She told The Daily Record that Gove had appeared at O'Neill's around 1.15am just as the pub was closing and appeared to be by himself.

'The Tories aren't too popular in Scotland but people were generally quite nice to him,' she said, adding: 'It's fair to say he'd had a good few shandies when he arrived at O'Neill's.'

Once in the club, Gove appeared to be in his element, bopping along to the music and being treated to drinks by clubbers.

'He really was enjoying himself, I don't think he left the dance floor the whole time I was there,' Lament said.

'People were buying him drinks but were also joking that he should be getting the rounds after he racked up 100,000 in expenses last year.

Lament told The Daily Record that she was happy to see an MP backing Scotland's nightlife, which has recently reopened after an extended closure due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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Nearly a fifth of people in Blackburn have tested positive for Covid since the pandemic began, official figures show.

The Lancashire authority has been the worst hit area in the UK, recording 12 times more cases per population size than the least affected parts of the UK.

Department of Health data shows around 19,000 per 100,000 people in Blackburn have had the virus since March 2020, compared to just 1,500 in the Orkney Islands in Scotland.

Burnley  also in Lancashire  was the second worst affected region in the UK, with the virus infecting just under 18 per cent of people. It was followed by Knowsley in Merseyside (17.9 per cent), Hyndburn in Lancashire (17.0 per cent) and Derry City and Strabane in Northern Ireland (16.8 per cent).

Covid was least prevalent in remote island and coastal areas of Scotland, Wales and England. After the Orkney Islands, the Shetland Islands  the northernmost part of the UK  had the next lowest case rate, with 2.9 per cent of people testing positive.

It was followed by Comhairle nan Eilean Siar in Scotland (3.1 per cent), Moray in northeast Scotland (4.2 per cent) and North Norfolk (5.2 per cent).

More broadly, the figures highlight how northern parts of England  which are typically the most deprived  have borne the brunt of the crisis.

Blackburn initially became the country's hotspot last summer and was put into a local lockdown to strangle rising cases. It was also hit hard by the rapid spread of the Delta variant.

The town's outbreak was believed to have been partly down to lower adherence to social distancing rules, which prompted pleas from local health chiefs for BAME communities to abide by the rules. Overcrowded homes were also thought to have played a role in driving infections up.

Case rates surged once again in the area when the Delta variant ripped through the population back in May. The strain was imported in high numbers into the country via travellers returning from India.

Experts told MailOnline the true proportion of people who contracted the disease will be even higher because of a lack of testing, particularly in the first wave, and asymptomatic spread. Only 8million people have officially tested positive for the virus since the pandemic began.

Nearly a fifth of people in Blackburn have tested positive for Covid since the pandemic began, official figures show. Map shows: The proportion of people who have tested positive in each local authority in the UK

10 MOST AFFECTED AREAS AREA Blackburn with Darwen Burnley Knowsley Hyndburn Derry City and Strabane Middlesbrough Hartlepool Oldham Pendle Merthyr Tydfil % of pop who had Covid 19.2 per cent 18.0 per cent 17.9 per cent 17.0 per cent 16.8 per cent 16.7 per cent 16.5 per cent 16.5 per cent 16.4 per cent 16.3 per cent Advertisement

10 LEAST AFFECTED AREAS AREA Orkney Islands Shetland Islands Comhairle nan Eilean Siar Moray North Norfolk Highland Ceredigion Torridge West Devon Pembrokeshire % of pop who had Covid 1.5 per cent 2.9 per cent 3.1 per cent 4.2 per cent 5.2 per cent 5.6 per cent 5.9 per cent 6.0 per cent 6.1 per cent 6.5 per cent Advertisement

Professor Lockdown says ministers may need to resort to winter Covid 'Plan B' if daily admissions breach just 1,200 England may have to resort to its winter Covid 'Plan B' if daily hospital admissions for coronavirus breach 1,200, 'Professor Lockdown' Neil Ferguson said today. Boris Johnson announced last month that face masks, social distancing and vaccine passports might need to be brought back if the NHS comes under unsustainable pressure. Ministers said the trigger point will be hospital rates now that the jabs have made case numbers less important  but they have not put a threshold on admissions. Professor Ferguson  a key Government adviser whose modelling prompted the first lockdown last March  suggested England should not tolerate more than 1,200 daily hospitalisations. For comparison, Covid admission levels breached 4,000 during the darkest days of the second wave in January. Speaking to a cross-party committee of MPs today, he said that the country was currently recording around 600 Covid admissions per day. He added: 'If that figure were to double, we'd need to think about moving to 'Plan B'.' The epidemiologist, based at Imperial College London, called for 'more intense' curbs if there is a sharp rise in admissions. To get ahead of a winter wave, he said second doses for 16 and 17-year-olds could be brought forward and advised we are 'more aggressive' in administering boosters. Advertisement

Professor Christina Pagel, a mathematician at University College London, said the highest case rates have been seen across the most deprived communities in Britain, which has then translated into more severe and deadly disease.

She told MailOnline: 'The true number of infections will be much higher than 20 per cent of the population, since many people who had Covid would not have been tested especially in the first wave.

'The general pattern we've seen is that more deprived communities have been exposed to Covid with far higher case rates over the pandemic than the least deprived communities.

'This is due to a combination of factors: more working outside the home, more working in crowded or public facing jobs  for example factories, hospitality, security guards, transport  more likely to live in overcrowded and multigenerational housing, less access to green spaces.

She added: 'Then, once infected, people from more deprived communities also more likely to get need hospital, more likely to die and more likely to develop Long Covid.

'With high case rates, children from deprived communities have missed more school and also been less able to study well at home.

'So the whole situation this pandemic has been to put most of the burden of Covid on more deprived communities and made existing health and other inequalities much worse.'

But Professor David Livermore, a microbiologist at the University of East Anglia, told MailOnline that while there was a clear pattern in which areas of the country had the highest case rates, this was not necessarily reflected in data on deaths.

He said: 'Six of the ten highest case rates are for local authorities in North West England, with Blackburn with Darwen highest.

'Five of these North West six  Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Hyndburn, Oldham and Pendle  are in what I think of as the 'South Lancashire Valleys', which is notable geographic clustering.

'South West England, by contrast, generally has low rates as, unsurprisingly, do remote parts of Scotland, such as the Orkneys.

'However, and critically, only one of the 'North West six'  Burnley  is in the top 10 for deaths, along with one more  Merthyr Tydfil in Wales  from the whole top 10. Blackburn with Darwen is only about the 25th highest for deaths.'

ENGLAND CASES: The number of people testing positive for Covid in England has levelled off over the past fortnight, after breaching 50,000 a day in July. Rates were highest in January, when the Alpha variant took off

ENGLAND DEATHS: The number of people dying from coronavirus every day in England now stands at about 80, and has been falling over the past few weeks. Fatalities breached 1,000 in the first wave last April, and 1,500 in the second wave in January

ENGLAND'S COVID HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS (SINCE THE PANDEMIC BEGAN): The number of Covid hospitalisations in England peaked during the second wave in January, when daily levels breached 4,000

Thousands of users slam 'chaotic and shambolic' rollout of Scotland's 600,000 vaccine passport Users have blasted the 'chaotic' and farcical rollout of Scotland's controversial vaccine passport scheme, as Nicola Sturgeon was forced into a grovelling apology over its tumultuous launch. The First Minister said she was sorry for the 'deeply regrettable' problems, which left thousands of Scots unable to access their vaccination status just hours before new restrictions came into effect on Friday, October 1. However, she pointed the blame at the NHS for the issues rather than the new 600,000 app, and claimed high demand had crippled the new system. Those attending large events and nightclubs in Scotland are now required to show proof they have had two doses of vaccine using the app before they are allowed in. Speaking at the Scottish parliament in Holyrood, Miss Sturgeon said that information 'wasn't being sent quickly enough from the NHS system to the app'. Admitting that this had caused 'extreme frustration', she said: 'I apologise for that.' Advertisement

He added: 'As ever with Covid, danger arises not from the total number of infections but from who is being infected.

'Blackburn with Darwen's 19,000 per 100,000 case rate hasn't translated into an excess of deaths.

'Perhaps a lot of the infections there, and in the North West six generally, were in children or young adults, who rarely suffer severe illness. [Government data] suggests this, particularly for the second wave.

'By the third wave most of the middle aged and elderly had some protection from vaccines and infections everywhere were concentrated in younger, lower risk, populations.'

Cases rates are counted once per person and include children, Public Health England said.

It comes as ministers were warned the UK is 'much closer to the limit of what the NHS can cope with' due to the ongoing high number of Covid cases.

Experts told All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Coronavirus other countries are in a more favourable position than the UK is heading into winter.

Professor Martin McKee warned that 'the NHS is at much greater risk of being overwhelmed than other countries because we have much less capacity'.

And Professor 'Lockdown' Neil Ferguson went on to add that 'we can't afford to have too much of a winter surge before the NHS is very heavily stressed'.

Dr Jonathan Cylus explained how countries in Europe with a similar vaccination level to the UK were taking similar more stringent approaches to control cases from rising, such as 'maintaining restrictions',

He said 'there's not so much of a strategy' in the UK, which is following a 'wait-and-see type of approach'.

Professor Kate Ardern stressed the precariousness of this method, cautioning that 'it would not take much, in terms of increases in Covid cases over the next few weeks and months, for the system to tip' adding that she thinks 'a very challenging winter' may lie ahead for the UK.

Layla Moran MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Coronavirus, said: 'The high number of cases we continue to see in the UK was not inevitable, but is a direct result of the government lifting restrictions too soon.

'While the UK vaccination programme has been brilliantly executed by the NHS, we are now starting to lag behind and it is clear that we still face a challenging winter ahead.

'It is critical that Ministers learn from past mistakes, and act proactively to ensure the NHS is not at risk of being overwhelmed again, to avoid the undoing of our hard won freedoms as we head into winter.'
A young Scottish woman has been left in a coma after falling from a balcony while on holiday in Croatia.

Jennifer Walsh, 22, a banker from Edinburgh, is in a medically-induced coma after undergoing life-saving surgery following the fall in Dubrovnik.

She suffered a bleed on the brain, two fractures to the skull, a broken collarbone, punctured lung, fractured wrist and also broke all the ribs on the left side of her body.

She was rushed to hospital where she underwent brain surgery after instantly falling into a coma as a result of the incident.

She is said to be in a stable condition but medics have put her in a medically-induced coma.

Jennifer Walsh, 22, from Edinburgh, instantly went into a coma after falling from a balcony while on holiday in Croatia. Pictured: Jennifer on her holiday in Croatia before the accident

After the fall, Jennifer was rushed to hospital to undergo life-saving surgery. She is said to be in a stable condition but medics have put her in a medically-induced coma

Jennifer's parents flew out to Croatia on Sunday morning to be by her side in hospital after being informed of the incident which is believed to have happened on Friday.

Jennifer's sister Sara Walsh last night revealed her sibling does not have travel insurance as she set up a fundraising page to help cover the medical costs.

Writing on Instagram, Sara described the last four days as 'the worst of our lives'.

Sara added: 'On Saturday the 2nd of October we received a phone call to say my beautiful sister had fallen from a balcony while on holiday in Croatia.

'Myself and my parents were left in absolute shock, all devastated with this horrifying news not knowing what was going to happen to our Jen.

'Due to the fall Jennifer instantly fell into a coma.

'When she arrived at the hospital she received brain surgery to save her life.

'My parents were able to fly out the next morning and be by her side at this awful time.'

Jennifer had been on holiday in Dubrovnik, Croatia, before suffering the fall which is believed to have happened on Friday. Pictured: Jennifer on her holiday before the accident

Sara said her family thought Jennifer had travel insurance but confirmed she does not.

Appealing for support, she added: 'Anything received is greatly appreciated, as a family we would like to thank everyone for their well wishes and prayers at this time.

'Our Jen is the strongest girl who we all love so much and will get through this.'

As of this morning, the fundraising had raised more than 25,000.
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Nick Robinson's political differences with Boris Johnson go back to Oxford University in the 1980s when the BBC broadcaster was tipped to be prime minister and was said to consider the current incumbent too left-wing to be a Tory.

It came as the BBC decided not to admonish Mr Robinson after he ordered Mr Johnson to 'stop talking' live on air yesterday. Sources at the Corporation have said the 300,000-a-year presenter has not been rebuked by bosses as Radio 4 declined to comment on the incendiary interview that has upset No 10 and Conservative MPs.

It is not the first time the men have clashed with Robinson recently comparing him to a 'dictator' and accused him avoiding the scrutiny of journalists.

Boris and Nick first met at Oxford University when Mr Robinson was president of the Oxford University Conservative Association and was nicknamed 'Blue Robbo' because of his staunch support for the Tories then led by Margaret Thatcher.

He didn't think Boris was a Conservative at all because he appeared too liberal, those who knew them both at university in the 1980s have said, assuming instead that he was a supporter of the SDP/Liberal Alliance at the time, according to The Spectator.

Neil Sherlock, who beat the young Johnson to become Oxford Union president in 1984, said recently: 'I always thought at university that Nick Robinson would be the big political star and that Boris Johnson would be a journalist. When I left Oxford, that's what I thought would happen'.

He added: 'In 1984-85, if you told me that Boris Johnson was going to be prime minister, I would have been very surprised. If you'd asked me then, I would have said Nick Robinson'.

Nick Robinson and Boris Johnson were at Oxford University together - pictured at the Oxford Union - but contemporaries said then the BBC broadcaster, then

Mr Sherlock described how after his own Oxford Union, a 'Boris two' persona emerged that was more liberal, which saw the current PM being elected president the following year.

But after a lucky escape from a car crash in France that killed two of his best friends and left him badly injured with burns all over his body, he turned his back on frontline politics and decided to cover it as a journalist instead, earning the new moniker of the 'The Rottweiler' and 'Killer Robinson' because of his of ferocious interviews.

How broadcaster Nick Robinson was nicknamed 'Blue Robbo' at Oxford because of his passion for the Tories BACKGROUND: His translator mother was the child of German Jews and she was brought up in the Far East. She came to England to get married  to Robinsons father, a sales director for a metal firm. MARITAL STATUS: Met wife-to-be Pippa at Oxford. He recalls: She was in a state of some disarray at the end of a party! Either I was gallant or lustful  I rescued her. They have two homes: one in Highbury, North London, and a bolthole on the Suffolk coast where he ruffled feathers by saying he contemplated murdering a neighbours noisy cockerel. The couple have a daughter and two sons in their teens  and a cockapoo, Sam. EDUCATION: The private Cheadle Hulme School, Stockport (having been born in Macclesfield) and then University College, Oxford, where (like so many Westminster wonks) he read philosophy, politics and economics. JOB TITLE: Today presenter. NICKNAME: Blue Robbo  because he was president of the Oxford University Conservative Association. SALARY: According to the BBCs on-air talent list: 295,000 to 299,999. CAREER: First job offer was at Procter and Gamble, where he was asked to market nappies. Instead he joined the BBC in 1986 and worked on many programmes, including as Deputy Editor of Panorama. Poached by ITV to be Political Editor  then returned to the BBC in 2005. HINTERLAND: Scant hobby-time for this self-confessed political junkie but a Manchester United superfan and enjoys classical concerts at Snape Maltings in Suffolk. APPEARANCE: All-man  with female colleagues complaining about his mansplaining habits. Has recently adopted a folksy interviewing technique with anyone from north of Stevenage, redolent of his broadcasting hero Brian Redhead. Advertisement

Although he was also branded 'f****g pillock' by Labour's John Prescott, when as a BBC political reporter he failed to put sun cream on his bald head during a trip to sunny Washington DC.

Joining the BBC in 1986 he was mentored by Brian Redhead, co-presenter of the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 for 18 years, whose son Will had been killed in the VW Beetle explosion that Robinson had survived in 1982.

Boris and Nick went to the same university but that's where many of similarities end, with Mr Robinson coming from a middle class family in Macclesfield while Mr Johnson hails from the very upper-crust of British society.

Robinson's translator mother was the child of German Jews and she was brought up in the Far East. She came to England to get married to Robinson's father, a sales director for a metal firm.

He went to the private Cheadle Hulme School in Stockport and then University College, Oxford, where like so many in Westminster, read philosophy, politics and economics - for many years the choice of course for legions of MPs and their aides.

He joined the BBC in 1986 and worked on many programmes, including as Deputy Editor of Panorama. Poached by ITV to be Political Editor  then returned to the BBC in 2005 to be Political Editor.

But it was always his ambition to present the Today Programme, like his mentor Brian Redhead, joining the show in 2015 where he is paid around 300,000-a-year.

Yesterday Robinson and Johnson faced each other on the radio for the first time in two years and it led to an extraordinary confrontation broadcast live yesterday when he ordered the Prime Minister to 'stop talking' and asking him to answer his questions.

In a tense exchange which triggered a furious backlash from Tory MPs, the presenter also told Boris Johnson 'you are going to pause' as the pair repeatedly talked over each other on BBC Radio 4's Today.

The clash, during Mr Johnson's first appearance on the programme in two years, came amid growing tensions between the BBC and the Government over impartiality and the licence fee.

MPs said the interview was 'downright rude' and 'slapstick', while co-chairman of the party, Oliver Dowden, said politicians 'have the right to finish a sentence'.

It came a day after the new culture secretary, Nadine Dorries, warned the BBC may not exist in a decade and criticised its 'elitist' and 'snobbish' approach.

Mr Robinson pointedly began his Today interview by saying it was the first time the Prime Minister had 'agreed to talk to us' in two years.

Later, as Mr Johnson spoke at length about the shortage of lorry drivers, Mr Robinson attempted to interject but the Prime Minister persisted.

He said: 'Prime Minister you are going to pause. Prime Minister stop talking.'

Mr Robinson added: 'We are going to have questions and answers, not where you merely talk, if you wouldn't mind.'

Boris Johnson and Nick Robinson (both seen at the Tory conference in Manchester) got into a heated exchange on the Today programme where Robinson told him to 'stop talking' and answer questions

At the end of the interview Mr Johnson told the presenter: 'It's very kind of you to let me talk... I thought that was the point of inviting me on your show.'

Shortly after the interview, Mr Robinson acknowledged some listeners 'may have just been slightly offended by me telling the Prime Minister to stop talking....the truth is he's a great communicator [but] he's not a man who loves the cut and thrust of a question and answer always though is he'.

It is understood that Mr Robinson has not been rebuked by bosses for his approach.

In recent days though there has been signs of tensions between the BBC and Johnson. On Sunday, Andrew Marr told Mr Johnson that he had 'said something that isn't true' about wages.

Co-chairman of the party Oliver Dowden told a fringe event at the Tory Party conference: 'It's right that politicians are scrutinised and held to account. I think sometimes politicians do have the right to finish a sentence when they're answering a question.'

He added: 'I am saying as a general point, I can understand the Prime Minister's frustration not being able to finish a sentence.'

An unnamed senior minister described Mr Robinson's intervention as 'unforgivably disrespectful' adding: 'I wouldn't talk to my three-year-old like that.'

A comparison between the treatment of Mr Johnson on the Today programme and that of Labour leader Keir Starmer would appear to suggest that Mr Starmer got an easier ride.

Mr Starmer was asked 16 questions and interrupted nine times. Mr Johnson faced 22 interruptions during 15 questions.

In 2019 Mr Robinson likened the behaviour of Boris Johnson to a 'dictator' for broadcasting directly to the public on social media while boycotting the Today programme, Good Morning Britain and Channel 4 News, saying it is anti-democratic to avoid proper scrutiny by journalists.

Mr Robinson made the comments at the Cheltenham Literature Festival  where he also warned against presenters such as himself voicing their opinions.

Journalist Nick Robinson previously likened the behaviour of Boris Johnson to a 'dictator' for broadcasting directly to the public on social media rather than via the press

He said: 'There is no doubt that all politicians know that they can broadcast directly using social media. Johnson regularly does videos on Facebook and regularly does videos on Twitter.

'And he has the great joy on Facebook of calling it the People's PMQs which largely consists of his aides picking questions that they want him to answer.

'There's no capacity for anybody to say, 'What did you mean about that?' or 'Hold on a second' and so that's democracy.'

He added: 'It ain't democracy, it is a form of propaganda used by dictators down the ages.'
Annastacia Palaszczuk exploded at a reporter when she was accused of refusing to follow the national plan despite revealing she may not open Queensland's borders once vaccination coverage hits 80 per cent.

The state is close to suppressing a third multi-case outbreak of the Delta variant, recording no new locally acquired cases on Wednesday after 12,829 tests.

The news comes nine days after the first case emerged in a cluster involving workers at an aviation company, which swelled to nine cases.

'So we have zero community cases, this is unbelievable,' Annastacia Palaszczuk told reporters on Wednesday.

When asked about following the plan set out by national cabinet, Ms Palaszczuk strongly denied she was shifting the goalposts or deviating from the plan - after saying the borders wouldn't necessarily open when the 80 per cent target was met.

The premier said booster shots, protecting children and dealing with hospital capacity issues were all part of the national reopening plan.

'That's not correct, no, don't put words in my mouth. That's not exactly what I was saying, though, I said very clearly, we're in stage A of the national plan. We are following that national plan,' the premier said.

'Part of that national plan is booster shots, so ask the prime minister the plan for the booster shots, because that's in the plan as well.

'So, you know, don't just cherry pick parts of the national plan, when you're not cherry picking other parts of the national plan.'

The premier said there was ongoing risk of the Delta getting into the state so it was crucial for people to keep getting vaccinated.

Annastacia Palaszczuk exploded at a reporter when she was accused of refusing to follow the national plan despite revealing she may not open Queensland's borders once vaccination coverage hits 80 per cent

She said vaccination coverage in parts of Brisbane was already above 70 per cent, but she was concerned about lagging vaccination rates in Ipswich, Beaudesert, Logan, the Sunshine Coast and central Queensland.

Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young says she expects the virus will find a way into Queensland.

'We will see Delta variant come in and won't be able to be controlled, the only control will be the number of people who are vaccinated,' she said.

Queensland still has among the lowest vaccination coverage in the country, vying with Western Australia to be the last state to reach 80 per cent coverage.

Ms Palaszczuk said national cabinet was still awaiting more research and modelling from the Doherty Institute and that was due back in coming weeks.

National cabinet should publicly release all the work it was doing for the sake of transparency, she said.

The Queensland premier said her immediate priority was trying to lift vaccination coverage so rates were level in different geographical areas.

She said the target was 80 per cent, but the ACT had reached 93 per cent already, so 80 per cent shouldn't be the final goal.

'To protect Queenslanders I would like to see as many Queenslanders as possible vaccinated, which would reduce our risks if and when we get those outbreaks,' she added.

The debate on reopening comes a day after the state government extended the Queensland public health emergency declaration to December 26.

The Queensland premier said the border may not necessarily open up at 80 per cent double vaxxed and her priority was ensuring vaccinations rates were lifted in certain areas

Meanwhile, Health Minister Yvette D'Ath has announced a trial that will allow Queenslanders stuck interstate to return and quarantine at home.

It follows the successful use of home quarantine for boarding school students and unaccompanied minors.

The trial will begin with 1000 returning Queenslanders, who'll start arriving on Monday.

There are strict rules on who can participate. Those coming home must be fully vaccinated, have returned a negative PCR test within 72 hours of entry, and use a home quarantine check-in app.

They must also arrive by air, agree to testing on days one, five and 12 of their 14-day quarantine period, and have a suitable home with a direct entry.
Waleed Aly has defended Gladys Berejiklian and questioned whether New South Wales' anti-corruption watchdog has gone too far.

The Project host said the mission of the Independent Commission Against Corruption may have 'backfired' with the all-powerful body running the risk of 'eroding confidence' in the state leaders without cause.

Ms Berejiklian was forced to stand down from her role as premier last week after it was revealed she is at the centre of a corruption probe linked to her disgraced ex-lover Daryl Maguire who was found to have abused his public office.

She was not the first Liber Party premier in NSW to be ousted under a cloud of corruption with Barry O'Farrell shunted in 2014 for accepting a $3,000 bottle of wine without declaring it.

Ms Berejiklian was forced to stand down from her role as premier last week after it was revealed she is at the centre of a corruption probe linked to her disgraced ex-lover Daryl Maguire (pictured together) who was found to have abused his public office.

NSW Liberal premiers ICAC has brought down NICK GREINER: The Independent Commission Against Corruption was established by the Greiner Government in 1988 only for the Terry Metherell affair to force his resignation in June 1992. Mr Metherell, a former Liberal education minister, was now an independent in a hung parliament and he was offered a job running the new Environment Protection Agency, within the department, so the government could win back his Sydney North Shore seat of Davidson. BARRY O'FARRELL: A month after winning a landslide election victory, Mr O'Farrell in April 2011 was gifted a $3,000 bottle of Grange Hermitage which he didn't declare He resigned after this was revealed at an ICAC hearing in April 2014. GLADYS BEREJIKLIAN: In August, 2021 it emerged that Ms Berejiklian showed 'interest' in a proposed $5.5million grant for a shooting association clubhouse and conference facility in her secret lover's electorate, documents show. Mr Maguire who quit in 2018, had been accused of abusing his public office by ICAC before admitting to being involved in a cash-for-visa scheme and seeking secret commissions to help broker property deals. Ms Berejiklian stood down in October but insists she did nothing wrong. Advertisement

Before that Nick Greiner in 1992 stood down for offering a public service job to former education minister Terry Metherell.

'One of the interesting elements of this is that ICAC is there to give the public confidence in politicians and in the political system,' Aly said.

'But is there a danger it could be doing the opposite and that ICAC may have done that by getting rid of premiers that are widely respected, seen as competent, and who have been of integrity?

'Seeing a Premier in NSW disappear over a bottle of wine, actually what it does is erode confidence in the political system unnecessarily.'

Federal shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus furiously disagreed and said politicians and commentators should think twice before criticising the anti-corruption commission just because 'they don't like what they've discovered'.

'I think there's been some ridiculous criticisms made in recent days of the NSW ICAC which is simply doing its job,' he told the program.

'Bear in mind the former Premier of NSW, Gladys Berejiklian, resigned of her own volition. Nothing about the ICAC scheme required her to resign.'

'So it's wrong those people are blaming ICAC... she could have simply stood aside. Or she could have decided not to stand aside at all and undergo the investigation that's now under way.'

Ms Berejiklain sensationally revealed at an ICAC hearing in March that she had a secret five year relationship with the member for Wagga Wagga.

Mr Maguire who quit in 2018, had been accused of abusing his public office by ICAC before admitting to being involved in a cash-for-visa scheme and seeking secret commissions to help broker property deals.

In August it emerged that Ms Berejiklian showed 'interest' in a proposed $5.5million grant for a shooting association clubhouse and conference facility in her secret lover's electorate, documents show.

Federal shadow attorney Mark Dreyfus (pictured on The Project) said there's been some ridiculous criticisms made in recent days of the NSW ICAC which is simply doing its job

Little more than two decades later, in 2014, Barry O'Farrell (left) resigned over an undeclared $3,000 bottle of Grange Hermitage, bottled in the year of his birth - 1959. While in 1992 Nick Greiner (right) was also forced to leave office due to ICAC inquiry

But the ex-premier continues to insist she's done nothing wrong.

The ugly political episode has renewed calls for a federal anti-corruption watchdog.

The Coalition government had committed to establishing such a body six years ago but have so far failed to follow through.

But this week with the NSW leadership fiasco emerging Scott Morrison announced the proposed the Commonwealth integrity commission to keep an eye on federal parliamentarians.

In August it emerged that Ms Berejiklian (pictured) showed 'interest' in a proposed $5.5million grant for a shooting association clubhouse and conference facility in her secret lover's electorate, documents show

Ms Berejiklain sensationally revealed at an ICAC hearing (pictured) in March that she had a secret five year relationship with the member for Wagga Wagga

However legal experts from the Centre for Public Integrity have slammed the body as a 'sham' and even said it might actually aid corruption.

'It's not good enough. It would be the weakest watchdog in the country the Centre for Public Integrity called it,' Mr Dreyfus said.

'More of a lap dog than a watchdog.'

While the Labor politician acknowledged there are examples in every state and territory where anti-corruption commissions have overstepped the mark, that's 'not a reason for not having one' at national level.

The public inquiry on Ms Berejiklian will be held for about 10 days from October 18, overseen by Assistant Commissioner Ruth McColl SC.
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The accused subway pusher who nearly killed a woman in Times Square has a lengthy arrest record, police records reveal, as the innocent woman she attacked speaks out about her ordeal and demands justice.

Anthonia Egegbara, 29, of Queens, was charged with attempted murder Tuesday, after surveillance footage showed her jump up from a bench and shove the female victim as the train hurtled into the station.

Egegbara has been arrested at least seven times previously, according to NYPD records, with the three most recent incidents involving her allegedly kicking or biting other women on public transport.

The victim Lenny Javier, 42, of New Jersey, suffered a broken nose and chin after she was pushed towards the tracks, striking the side of the moving train at the Times Square subway station around 8am on Monday.

The victim was pushed so hard that her shoe came off, but fortunately the train had just passed by and she hit the carriage rather than falling onto the tracks.

'My face is swollen, I have a broken nose, a fractured chin,' Javier told WCBS-TV shortly before Egegbara was arrested.

'I never thought it would happen to me. Someone needs to take responsibility for this, because it can't be happening.'

Egegbara was arrested as a crime wave terrorizes New Yorkers, with transit crimes rising by 121.7 per cent for the week ending September 26, compared to the same period in 2020.

Anthonia Egegbara arraigned at Manhattan Criminal Court on Wednesday. Egegbara is charged with attempted murder for pushing a woman into a moving train at the Times Square station on Monday

Police announced they have charged 29-year-old Anthonia Egegbara (pictured) with attempted murder

Police say on Monday, Egegbara (pictured) pushed a 42-year-old woman towards an oncoming train

Police arrested the 29-year-old after investigators released video of her allegedly shoving a woman into a moving train on Monday

Anthonia Egegbara is walked in Manhattan Central Booking after she was arrested for pushing a stranger into a moving subway car on Monday

Egegbara, whose listed address is a hotel in Far Rockaway used as a female shelter, was charged with attempted murder following unprovoked attack

Police have not revealed a motive for Egegbara's attack against an unnamed 42-year-old woman who was taken to a nearby hospital in stable condition after sustaining facial injuries

Felony assault, rape and shootings were all up through October 3 compared to last year

A total of 51 transit crimes were recorded for the period between September 20 and 26, compared to just 23 for the same period last year.

Transit crimes rose 59 percent in the month of September, with 184 recorded so far this year, compared to 116 recorded last year. That's despite weekday subway ridership levels that remain just half of what they were before the pandemic struck.

The statistics are sure to make grim reading for New York City officials, who are pushing for workers to return to the office, and for tourists to return to the Big Apple, in a bid to boost its COVID-ravaged finances.

Egegbara, whose listed address is a hotel in Far Rockaway Queens that is used as a female shelter, appeared for arraignment on Wednesday.

ABC 7 News reported that police might be sending Egegbara to a hospital to be mentally evaluated, with no motive yet given for the seemingly random assault.

Court records show that she has multiple pending cases in the New York court system, including a September 19 arrest for turnstile jumping in the Bronx.

On July 5, she was charged with harassment and assault in Manhattan.

And a case from June 20, 2018 shows charges of disorderly conduct/fighting still pending in Brooklyn.

Egegbara, whose listed address is a hotel in Far Rockaway Queens that is used as a female shelter, appeared in Manhattan criminal court for arraignment on Wednesday

Egegbara has been arrested at least seven times previously, according to NYPD records, with the three most recent incidents involving her allegedly kicking or biting other women on public transport

Anthonia Egegbara, 29, of Queens, was charged with attempted murder Tuesday, after surveillance footage showed her jump up from a bench and shove the female victim as the train hurtled into the station

Egegbara has a lengthy rap sheet including numerous arrests for charges related to crimes on the subway

The subway pushing came just hours before a man shot himself in the leg in the same subway station.

Monday's attack has yet to be included in the latest crime statistics, but the headline-making violence threatens to derail New York City officials' bid to lure workers and tourists back to the COVID-ravaged city.

The incident occurred at the Times Square station, where thousands of tourist commute daily to visit the world-famous commercial intersection in Midtown, Manhattan.

Times Square sees an estimated 50 million visitors annually and about 330,000 people pass through it daily.

'This unprovoked attack was senseless and absurd,' MTA acting Chief Communications Officer Tim Minton said.

'The city needs to provide additional mental health services to assist those who may endanger themselves and others. The NYPD's rapid identification and arrest in this case makes riders safer.'

One subway rider, who witnessed the shoving, said the crime at the station is not surprising.

'This is like what it used to be like in the 80s,' the individual told ABC 7.

'People are wicked to be able to push someone on a moving train, and for what? I don't know, but it's horrible,' another passenger, CJ Stewart told CBS 2.

According to witnesses, Egegbara timed her attack just as a train was approaching the station.

Anthonia Egegbara, 29, is lead away by NYPD, as transit crimes in New York City rose by 121.7 per cent for the week ending September 26, compared to the same period in 2020

Egegbara, 29, hangs her head low as she is escorted by officers to Manhattan Central Booking on Tuesday

ABC 7 News reported that police might be sending Egegbara to a hospital to be mentally evaluated, with no motive yet given for the assault

Anthonia Egegbara is walked in Manhattan Central Booking after she was charged with attempted murder

A handcuffed Anthonia Egegbara makes her way to Manhattan Central Booking following her arrest

Horrifying surveillance video shows the moment when Anthonia Egegbara allegedly pushed a fellow commuter into a train at the Times Square subway station on Monday morning

Video shows Egegbara allegedly sitting on a bench and, as the train comes into view around 8.15 am, she stands up and initiates her push. She then fled the scene

Police arrested 29-year-old Anthonia Egegbara (pictured) and charged her with attempted murder for the incident

Witnesses said the attack serves as a reminder to be aware of your surroundings.

'Definitely a good reminder to keep your eyes peeled and be on your toes in New York,' West Village resident Tyler Sparling said.

'We're all usually in our phones and stuff, or listening to music. So we're not always 100% aware,' echoed Bryana Yard, of Brooklyn.

Police taped off the portion of the platform where the incident occurred and continuing to search for the suspect.

The busy Times Square station was a hotspot for crime on Monday, just hours later officers were called to the station again for reports of shots fired.

A 39-year-old from Brooklyn was urinating in the corner of West 40th Street and Seventh Avenue, near a McDonald's and sushi restaurant Wasabi, when he was shot in his right leg, according to the New York Post.

He is believed to have accidentally shot himself in the leg.

Eyewitnesses told ABC 7 that the shots went off inside the subway station, with the man seen stumbling up to ground level afterwards, before re-entering the station to ask for help.

The bullet sent him stumbling down into a nearby train station.

A person was shot in Times Square early Monday afternoon - the third instance of gun violence in the busy tourist hub this year, police said

The man's injuries are not fatal and no one has been arrested in the case, police say. His shooting is the third to hit Times Square in 2020

Video from the scene shows officers carrying an injured person into an ambulance as passersby cross the bustling intersection.

Authorities have not named the man, who is likely to face criminal charges as a result. He is reportedly not cooperating with investigators.

Monday's incidents come as overall crime in New York City dropped in August after a summer crime wave that had city officials pointing fingers at each other.

Total crime dropped by one percent in August compared to August 2020, with the biggest drops being in burglary, -24 percent, and shooting incidents, -30.7 percent, according to the latest official monthly figures from the NYPD.

The trend may be reversing, as weekly numbers ending on Sunday show that felony assaults are up by 7 percent, shootings are up by 1.6 percent and rapes are up by 2.2 percent as a whole compared to the same time last year.

Monday's shooting is the third such incident in Times Square this year.

In May, three unrelated bystanders were hit by stray bullets in the busy tourist hub after police say a man started shooting indiscriminately during an argument with someone else.

A four-year-old girl was struck in the leg, a 24-year-old woman was hit in the thigh and a 44-year-old woman was shot in the foot, police said. All were expected to survive.

'This little girl was so strong,' Officer Alyssa Vogel told WNBC. 'She didn't even cry once except when we were putting the tourniquet on. She screamed because it's very painful.'

In July, 16-year-old Avon Darden turned himself in and was charged with attempted murder after shooting US Marine Samuel Poulin, 21, in the back.

Poulin was not seriously injured.

The young soldier had recently graduated from The Citadel military college in South Carolina with a commission in the US Marine Corps.

The New York City Police Department has also reported numerous attacks in subway stations in the last few weeks.

On September 13, a 32-year-old was attacked after she confronted a man for shoving past her on the escalator at the Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center Station.

According to the Daily News, the woman told her attacker to 'say excuse me.'

He responded 'I did' and kicked her in the chest.

The victim fell backwards to the bottom of the escalator as the suspect continued up the escalator and out of the station.

Police say the woman suffered cuts and bruises to her back, arms, legs, right knee and right thigh and trauma to her left ankle.

In July, 16-year-old Avon Darden (left) turned himself in and was charged with attempted murder after shooting US Marine Samuel Poulin, 21, (right) in the back, in Time Square

In August, a similar incident occurred at the Union Square station, where a homeless man was caught striking a victim in the back of the head with a hammer, before leaving him bleeding on the platform after the victim looked at him in the 'wrong way'

Xing Zhou, 59, (left) was on her way to church when Vladimir Pierre, 41, (right) allegedly hit her

Earlier last month, a deaf woman fell onto the subway tracks after she was hit in the head by a homeless man who had been arrested for sucker-punching another victim just four days earlier.

Xing Zhou, 59, was on her way to church on September 5 when a man hit her in the head at Manhattan's Union Square subway station. She lost her balance during the attack and fell onto the tracks.

Two bystanders helped Zhou off the tracks and waited with her until help arrived. She was taken to the hospital and given medication for her pain.

Police later arrested Vladimir Pierre, 41, in connection to the attack.

In August, a similar incident occurred at the Union Square station, where a homeless man was caught striking a victim in the back of the head with a hammer, before leaving him bleeding on the platform after the victim looked at him in the 'wrong way.'

Police arrested 41-year-old Jamar Newton from Brooklyn and charged him with assault, reckless endangerment, criminal possession of a weapon and robbery.

That incident occurred one day after another woman was randomly attacked on a subway platform and beaten with a metal pole while waiting for the G train.
Pfizer's Covid jab is only 20 per cent effective at stopping people getting infected after six months, real world data revealed today.

Two doses of the vaccine prevent 80 per cent of people from catching coronavirus after one month, according to Qatari researchers.

The findings  based on an analysis of nearly one million people  mirror efficacy estimates pumped out by British health chiefs.

But the study showed protection gradually wanes, plunging to just 22.3 per cent after six months among fully-vaccinated people.

Yet, scientists insist protection against severe illness and death remains high after half a year, sitting at around the 90 per cent mark.

Amid fears vaccine-induced immunity may wane after several months, UK ministers have began a booster drive. Some 30million over-50s and NHS workers will be eligible for a third dose, six months after their second.

British health chiefs insisted the protection against severe disease remained strong.

But they opted to push ahead with the booster rollout to keep immunity levels high among the most vulnerable in the winter.

Two weeks after receiving a first dose of Pfizer, the injection was 36.8 per cent effective at preventing infection, rising to 77.5 per cent effective a month after the second dose, they said. But protection against catching the virus then drops for four months and then falls quickly to 20 per cent effective around five to seven months after the second jab

Two doses of the vaccine prevent 80 per cent of people from catching coronavirus after one month, according to Qatari researchers

Qatar launched its vaccine rollout scheme last December using the Pfizer vaccine  administering doses three weeks apart. It then began to dish out Moderna's similar jab in March.

The jabs were administered in a similar order to the UK, starting with health workers, adults with underlying health conditions and over-70s, before working down the age groups.

As of September 7, at least 90 per cent of over-12s had received at least one Covid vaccine, while 80 per cent were double-jabbed.

Researchers estimated the country  located in the Persian Gulf  has the 'highest mRNA vaccine coverage worldwide'.

Qatar has battled two back-to-back waves of Covid between January and June this year, fuelled by the Alpha and Beta strains.

The Delta variant began spreading in March and it became dominant a few months later. But despite high vaccine coverage, infection rates increased slowly from July to August.

Researchers examined data on 947,035 people in Qatar who had received at least one Pfizer vaccine, of which 907,763 were double-jabbed by September. They also examined 564,196 people who received at least one dose of Moderna, of which 494,859 had both doses

The team gathered data on positive PCR tests to estimate the effectiveness of the vaccines. Around five per cent of the population are tested every week

However, the vaccine was much stronger at preventing severe or fatal Covid cases. Three weeks after the first dose, the jab was 66.1 per cent effective, rising to 96 per cent or higher within two months after the second dose. And this high level of protection lasted for around six months

UK's daily Covid cases RISE for first time in a week: 9% jump sees 39,851 infections Britain's downturn in Covid cases may have come to an end, official figures suggested today as daily infections rose for the first time in a week. Department of Health bosses posted 39,851 new positive tests today, up 8.5 per cent on last Wednesday's count of 36,722. It is the largest daily toll since September 6 (41,192). Hospitalisations also increased 1.1 per cent to 666 on Saturday, the latest date data is available for. It was the first time in 20 days the number of daily admissions had increased week-on-week. But the number of people dying within 28 days of a positive test has continued to fall, with 143 fatalities recorded today. Deaths were down 4.7 per cent on the 150 recorded last Wednesday, marking the twelfth day in a row the number of victims fell week-on-week. It comes after separate official figures today revealed nearly a fifth of people in Blackburn have tested positive for Covid since the pandemic began. The Lancashire authority has been the worst hit area in the UK, recording 12 times more cases per population size than the least affected parts of the UK. Department of Health data shows around 19,000 per 100,000 people in Blackburn have had the virus since March 2020, compared to just 1,500 in the Orkney Islands in Scotland. Advertisement

To understand how effective the Pfizer jab was at preventing infection, severe illness and death, Weill Cornell Medicine researchers tracked the shape of the outbreak.

Some 947,035 people received at least one Pfizer vaccine by September 5, of which 96 per cent were double-jabbed.

An additional 564,196 people had had at least one dose of Moderna, of which 88 per cent had both. But this group was not included in the study.

Some 8,203 infections were spotted among people who received one dose of Pfizer, while 10,543 infections occurred among double-jabbed people.

By the end of August, 377 people who had one dose of Pfizer were hospitalised, 32 went to ICU and 34 died from the virus.

Meanwhile, 106 people double-jabbed with Pfizer were hospitalised with the virus, 10 were admitted to ICU and 15 died from the virus.

The researchers used this data to estimate Pfizer's effectiveness.

The injection is only 36.8 per cent effective at preventing infection two weeks after getting a first dose.

This rises to 77.5 per cent a month after the second dose, the team wrote in a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

But protection against catching the virus then drops for four months and then falls quickly to 20 per cent around five to seven months after the second jab.

The researchers said Pfizer's peak effectiveness against symptomatic infection (81.5 per cent) was higher than asymptomatic infection (73.1 per cent) but both 'waned similarly'.

The experts said their findings apply to the Alpha, Beta and Delta variants because a 'similar pattern of waning' protection was spotted regardless of which strain caused the infection.

They said the findings suggest 'a large proportion of the vaccinated population could lose its protection against infection in the coming months, perhaps increasing the potential for new epidemic waves'.

However, the vaccine was much stronger at preventing severe or fatal Covid cases.

Qatar (green line) has battled two back-to-back between January and June this year, fuelled by the Alpha and Beta strains. The Delta variant began spreading in March and became dominant a few months later. Meanwhile, the UK has suffered three waves of infection so far, the worst of which peaked last winter

The proportion of infections among vaccinated people increased over time and reached 36.4 per cent on September 5. The majority of breakthrough cases (77.2 per cent) were spotted among Pfizer recipients, rather than those jabbed with Moderna

Three weeks after the first dose, the jab was 66.1 per cent effective, rising to 96 per cent or higher within two months after the second dose.

Data shows protection against severe infection and death dropped to 55.6 per cent at month seven, but due to the small number of cases there is a high margin of error around the figure.

And the researchers said there was only a 'hint of a decline'.

The researchers wrote: 'No evidence was found for an appreciable waning of protection against hospitalisation and death, which remained robust  generally at 90 per cent or higher  for six months after the second dose.

'Implications of these findings on infection transmission remain to be clarified, but vaccine breakthrough infections were found recently, in this same population, to be less infectious than primary infections in unvaccinated persons.'

However, the researchers noted that Qatar has a young population, with just nine per cent of people being aged 50 and older, so the findings may not apply to countries with older populations.

And they only dished out jabs with a three-week gap, while Britain administered vaccines with an eight to 12-week gap after studies showed this to be more effective.
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A set of harrowing images offering a snapshot of the harsh reality of slavery in 19th century USA have been colorized for the first time.

The colorized photographs were taken in various locations across the US and show the abhorrent working conditions, punishments and treatment that slaves were for centuries forced to endure before the abolition of slavery in the US in 1865.

An estimated 12.5 million Africans were kidnapped from across the continent between the 16th - 19th centuries and packed into ships headed for North America, the Caribbean and South America, according to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database.

In 1790 - fourteen years after the Declaration of Independence was signed - there were around 700,000 slaves in the US, which equated to approximately 18 percent of the total population at the time, or roughly one in every six people.

The Declaration of Independence, which declared 'that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights', did not grant that right to slaves, Africans or African Americans.

By the time the last US census before the Civil War was taken in 1860, there were almost 4 million slaves - equivalent to 13 percent of the population - registered to owners across the country just five years before slavery was outlawed in 1865 in the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution.

Among the photos colorized are images depicting the horrific injuries sustained by whipped slaves, the torture and 'anti-escape' devices used by some owners to prevent their slaves from fleeing, and the ignominious auction houses where enslaved Africans were sold to wealthy plantation owners like any other product on the high street.

The above image, dubbed 'The Scourged Back', depicts an escaped slave who has uncovered his back to reveal a mess of scar tissue - the result of severe whippings at the hands of his slave owners. It was taken on April 2 1863 during a medical examination with the Union Army

In one famous image, an escaped slave known as 'Whipped Peter' was photographed during the course of a medical examination with the Union Army in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on April 2, 1863. The photograph was so shocking that it was dubbed 'The Scourged Back' and was circulated by Union Army members to discourage slavery.

It is therefore thought to be one of the first images ever used as propaganda.

During the medical examination, 'Whipped Peter' exposed his back to reveal a horrendous mess of lacerations and scar tissue, the result of a brutal whipping at the hands of his former slave owner John Lyons on the John and Bridget Lyons' Louisiana plantation.

He escaped his master in Mississippi by rubbing himself with onions to throw off the bloodhounds, and managed to flee to Baton Rouge where he took refuge with the Union Army.

When he reached the soldiers, Peters clothing was ragged and soaked with mud and sweat, and he had been on the run for 10 days.

Three engraved portraits of him were printed in 'Harper's Weekly, A Journal of Civilization', was a magazine based in New York City which ran from 1857 until 1916.

The magazine caption displayed the portraits showing the man 'as he underwent the surgical examination previous to being mustered into the service - his back furrowed and scarred with the traces of a whipping administered on Christmas Day last.'

The images were colorized by Tom Marshall, a professional colorizer and photo restorer in the UK, as part of the UK's Black History Month.

This image, taken in 1864 just one year before the abolition of slavery in the US, depicts an auction house in Atlanta, Georgia. Rich white men could bid on slaves in this 'Auction & Negro Sales' on Whitehall Street, Atlanta, Georgia, 1864

A photograph taken on Whitehall Street in Atlanta, Georgia in 1864, displays a slave auction house adorned with a sign which reads 'Auction & Negro Sales', inviting rich slave owners to attend slave auctions and purchase humans for work on their plantations.

The image shows an auction house in one of America's most intense cotton-producing states which was nestled between a tobacconist's and a cigar makers as though it were any other store on the high street selling regular goods.

In the auction house, every inch of the enslaved Africans was poked, prodded and inspected in front of prospective buyers, before a starting price was determined.

Young, healthy and strong slaves would have received the highest bids, whereas older, sickly or extremely young slaves would typically be sold at very low prices.

Cotton plantations in Savannah, Georgia hosted the first ever demonstrations of the cotton gin in 1793. The mechanical contraption was devised by American inventor Eli Whitney and enabled slave plantations to produce much larger quantities of cotton fibers.

The cotton gin significantly contributed to growth of slavery across the South, and by 1860 slave labor was producing over two billion pounds of cotton per year, which equated to two-thirds of the world's cotton production at the time.

Georgia was one of the biggest cotton-producing states along with Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas. Florida and Louisiana also contributed significantly to the US' cotton production before the Civil War.

This photo, taken in Baton Rouge, Louisiana by McPherson & Oliver in 1861 had the words 'Contrabands just arrived' inscribed on the back of the image of two runaway slaves. From 1861, slaves who managed to escape their masters in Union territory were not returned to their former masters

Another image shows two young, unidentified slaves sporting ragged and torn clothing after having escaped their masters, taken in Baton Rouge, Louisiana by McPherson & Oliver in 1861.

The caption on the reverse of the image reads 'Contrabands just arrived'.

Contraband was a term commonly used to describe a new status for escaped slaves or those who affiliated with Union forces.

In 1861, the Union Army determined that the US would no longer return escaped slaves to their former masters.

One year later, Abraham Lincoln issued an executive order named the Emancipation Proclamation, in which he declared that 'the executive government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of [slaves], and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.'

The Emancipation Proclamation legally freed all slaves in the United States, meaning that any slave residing in territory under Union control was 'free'.

Slaves that remained in territories under Confederate control, while legally free, were still kept as slaves by their owners until the Union Army took control of the region and freed them.

If a slave was able to escape from Confederate control and flee into Union territory, he or she would immediately be granted their freedom.

This April 8, 1862 photo taken by Henry P. Moore depicts freed slaves in South Carolina planting yams. Many slaves who were freed returned to work as paid laborers, but the majority of them refused to produce cotton again and instead chose to plant vegetables

One photo from 1862 shows slaves planting yams on James Hopkinson's Plantation, Edisto Island, South Carolina.

It was taken on April 8, 1862 by Henry P. Moore, a native of New Hampshire who travelled to South Carolina to document the Civil War.

Early in the war, Union gunboats bombarded the Sea Islands off the coast of South Carolina and Confederate planters left hastily, ordering their field hands and house servants to accompany them. Most ignored their former masters and remained, as they knew that the Union Army would grant them their freedom if it was able to seize the land from the Confederates.

The Union government eventually appointed northern anti-slavery reformers to manage the lands abandoned by the planters and to oversee the labor of ex-slaves. These reformers wanted to demonstrate the superiority of free labor over slave labor in the cultivation of cotton.

Most freed people, however, did not want to grow cotton or produce for the market, preferring instead to grow corn, potatoes, and other subsistence crops.

After the American Revolution, many colonists in the northern US where slavery did not greatly contribute to the regional economy began to draw parallels between the oppression of enslaved Africans and the oppression they too had suffered at the hands of the British.

Calls for the abolition of slavery began to mount throughout the early 19th century, but it was not until the 1860s that slavery was made illegal.

This image taken by American photographer Russell Lee in the 20th century shows a museum assistant demonstrating a 'bell rack' used by slave owners to prevent slaves from escaping

20th century American photographer and photojournalist Russell Lee captured an image of Richbourg Gailliard, assistant to the director of the Federal Museum in Mobile Alabama, demonstrating a 'bell rack' in the 1900s.

This was a contraption used by an Alabama slave owner to guard a runaway slave.

The device was clamped around the neck of the slave to ensure it could not be removed and was originally topped by a bell which would ring out and draw attention if a slave attempted to run off the plantation or try to escape through foliage or trees.

A belt passed through the loop at the bottom to hold the iron rod firmly fastened to the waist of the wearer.

Other torture and 'anti-escape' devices used to prevent slaves from fleeing included wrought iron masks and spiked collars, and arm and leg shackles with razor sharp spurs.

Senegal-born Omar Ibn Said, thought to be photographed here in the 1850s, was one of the first Muslim slaves captured on film in America. He was exceptionally well educated and, after being sold to American politician James Owen, he was well-treated in comparison to other slaves and was given copies of the Bible and the Quran

Senegal-born Omar Ibn Said, believed to be photographed around the 1850s, was an Islamic scholar and one of the first Muslim slaves captured on film in America.

He had spent over a quarter of a century studying with prominent Muslim scholars and had amassed a wealth of knowledge before he was captured in West Africa and transported to South Carolina in 1807.

Also known as Uncle Moreau, Uncle Marian and Prince Omeroh, Said was quickly purchased by a young planter in South Carolina who was particularly brutal in his treatment of slaves, and Said fled.

He managed to escape the South Carolina plantation and ran away to North Carolina, where he was arrested and put into jail as a runaway slave.

Whilst in jail, Said attracted attention by writing on the walls in Arabic, and was later officially purchased from the South Carolina planter by James Owen, a prominent American politician in North Carolina.

Said described his new owner as being gracious towards him, and the Owen family provided him with an English translation of the Quran and an Arabic translation of the Bible as they were impressed by his level of education.

Willis Winn, who told photographer Russell Lee that he was 116 years old when the photograph was taken in 1939, is pictured holding a horn with which plantation owners called slaves to work. Winn said his master told him that his birthday was March 10, 1822

A photo of former slave Willis Winn was another taken by Russell Lee as part of the Federal Writers Project in April 1939, in Marshall, Texas.

Willis is pictured holding the horn used by plantation owners to call slaves to work every day, and claimed to be 116 years old when the photo was taken.

He was born in Louisiana, a slave of Bob Winn, who Willis said taught him from his youth that his birthday was March 10, 1822.

When interviewed by Lee, Willis was living alone in a one-room log house in the rear of the Howard Vestal home on the Powder Mill Road, north of Marshall, and was supported by an $11.00 per month old-age pension.

Georgia Flournoy (pictured here in 1937 at over 90 years old) worked in the 'Big House' as a nursemaid, and was not allowed to socialize with any of the other enslaved people on the plantation. House slaves were typically treated less harshly than those in the fields and occupied a variety of household roles, but could still be brutally punished

Georgia Flournoy, a former slave, who was still alive in April 1937 at over 90 years old, was also photographed as part of the Federal Writers project in 1937.

Georgia was born in Elmoreland, a plantation in Old Glenville, 17 miles north of Eufaula in Alabama, and said that she never knew her mother as she died during childbirth.

Georgia said she worked in the 'Big House' as a nursemaid, and was not allowed to socialize with any of the other enslaved people on the plantation.

The 'Big House' was the term used to describe the residence of the slave master, typically a grand home which took pride of place on the plantation.

Slaves who worked in the Big House took on the roles of cooks, servers, butlers, maids, nurses, laundresses, seamstresses, and even nannies.

They were typically treated less harshly than their counterparts who worked in the fields and had comparatively better food and living conditions.

However, they could still be subjected to brutal punishments and there were reports that house slaves were sometimes instructed to carry out punishments on their fellow field slaves on behalf of their owners.
The cabinet minister in charge of Universal Credit was slammed today for belting out Time of My Life at a boozy Conservative party Conference karaoke bash hours before cutting payments to six million people.

Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey enthusiastically belted out the 1987 power ballad from the film Dirty Dancing in a duet with fellow Will Quince - a former welfare minister.

It came as a 20-per-week Covid uplift payment was removed from UC for families across the UK.

The Government has pressed ahead with the cut despite concerns - including from Tory backbenchers - that hundreds of thousands of people will be plunged into poverty.

From today, no assessments will include the uplift, meaning that from October 13 - a week later - no payments will be received that include the extra money.

Shadow work and pensions minister Jonathan Reynolds said: 'The Secretary of State singing that she is having the ''time of her life'' while making families 1,000 a year worse off today is frankly an insult and a disgrace.

'It is not too late for the Government to reverse this disastrous decision, support struggling families and cancel this cut.'

The power ballad, originally performed by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, was the main hit from the 1987 cult classic Dirty Dancing, starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey (above)

Ms Coffey was one of a number of MPs who took to the stage at the event at the Manchester conference site.

Shadow work and pensions minister Jonathan Reynolds said: 'The Secretary of State singing that she is having the ''time of her life'' while making families 1,000 a year worse off today is frankly an insult and a disgrace'

Lib Dem health and social care spokeswoman Munira Wilson said: 'I've no problem with politicians having fun. Hey, I love hitting the dancefloor.

'But just hours before this woman plunges 1000s into poverty by slashing Universal Credit, how can Therese Coffey even live with herself, let alone belt out Time of My Life?'

Ms Coffey was one of a number of MPs who took to the stage at the event at the Manchester conference site.

Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove took to the dancefloor with Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Tom Tugendhat, while Foreign Secretary Liz Truss also dropped in.

Justice Minister Dominic Raab defending cutting the Universal Credit uplift today, saying the 400billion boost 'was always going to be temporary.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'What we've done - National Living Wage, personal allowance, the ending of the over-reliance on cheap labour from abroad which depresses wages - is so critical to our vision for the economy.'

He said the Government was 'absolutely committed' to making sure people could meet the cost of living through rising wages.

'Our rate of increasing jobs is incredible, youth unemployment is going down, we have got a million job vacancies being advertised,' he told BBC Breakfast.

'There has got to be a question for the workers of this country - particularly those on low and middle income - of 'have they got the wages that they need to deal with the cost of living?'

'We are absolutely committed to making sure they do.'

Mr Raab said the national living wage, increased income tax thresholds and an end to the 'easy reliance' on cheap labour from abroad were parts of the answer.

Baroness Philippa Stroud, chief executive of the Legatum Institute think tank, has called for a vote in the House of Lords on the cut.

She told Today: 'We've been doing some research on Universal Credit and by our calculations the decision today to remove this uplift will push 840,000 people into poverty, 290,000 of those are children and so this is ... a really bleak day for many, many families up and down the country.'
Former tank gunner Shaun Smith (pictured), 38, has been jailed for five years for causing death by dangerous driving

An ex-soldier has been jailed for five years after causing the death of a woman when he smashed into the side of a Range Rover at 150mph on the M1.

Former tank gunner Shaun Smith, 38, drank eight pints before driving his Audi RS4 at speeds up to 150mph and passing other drivers 'like a bullet'.

Just before 11.20pm Smith's car swerved from the fast lane into the slow lane and ploughed into a Range Rover carrying three friends at junction 23 of the northbound carriageway near East Midlands Airport.

Saarah Moghul, 30, was sitting in the back seat and died instantly. Meanwhile, Ayeesha Quereshi, who was driving, suffered a broken wrist and Annum Khan was left with such severe internal injuries she couldn't walk two months after the crash.

Smith, who is beginning a five-year jail sentence for killing Mrs Moghul by dangerous driving, could not remember whether he was travelling north or south before the crash, the court heard.

The two surviving women, who were returning to Bradford with Mrs Moghul from a weekend in London, read out their emotional victim impact statements during the sentencing hearing at Leicester Crown Court last week.

The car was travelling at 98mph at the time of the impact on September 26 last year, collision investigators found.

Smith, from Sutton in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, was drinking at pub in Coalville with a friend and told police he couldn't remember getting into the car or any of the events leading up to the horror smash.

Motorist Kevin Welsh told police Smith 'shot past me like a bullet going between the middle and the fast lane'.

He added: 'I remember thinking, 'Jesus they must be going at around 150mph'.'

Mr Welsh said he was feeling angry that anyone should be travelling so fast when, about 45 seconds later, he smelled smoke and saw the Audi stopped in the carriageway with flames pouring out of it. The Range Rover was nearby with screams coming from inside.

Just before 11.20pm Smith's car swerved from the fast lane into the slow lane and ploughed into a Range Rover carrying three friends at junction 23 of the northbound carriageway near East Midlands Airport. Pictured, the scene

Smith, who got out of the burning Audi with only minor injuries, admitted to people who stopped to help that it was his fault and he had drank seven or eight pints before setting off.

He was jailed for five years and banned from driving for eight years after admitting one charge of causing death by dangerous driving and one charge of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

During the hearing Ms Quereshi sobbed as she addressed Smith in the dock and told him how devastated she was losing her friend of 18 years and 'the loveliest person on this world'.

She also described reliving the accident in her mind every day in the year since the crash and being unable to pick up her two-year-old son because of her wrist injury.

Mrs Khan also read a statement about the impact of the accident, including the loss of Saarah and the anxiety and physical pain she suffered.

The court heard that on three previous occasions, Smith had been convicted for drink-driving and banned. He was banned a fourth time in 2010 for failing to provide a specimen after being suspected of the same offence.

The two surviving women, who were returning to Bradford with Mrs Moghul from a weekend in London, read out their emotional victim impact statements during the sentencing hearing at Leicester Crown Court (pictured) last week

His barrister, Kevin Waddingham, told the court Smith had seen action in Iraq in 2003 as a gunner in a tank, leaving him with PTSD, and his marriage was in trouble.

Mr Waddingham said: 'All he can do is accept responsibility and that is something he has done. He will never be free from the weight of his guilt.'

Judge Keith Raynor told Smith he had been 'driving like a maniac' and appeared to have either lost control or passed out.

He said: 'You could not even remember whether you were going north or south. You were in a relatively high-powered car and put your foot down on the accelerator having drunk to excess.'

Family members of both the victims and the defendant cried as the judge summed up the victim impact statements. He highlighted the number of ex-servicemen who left Afghanistan and Iraq traumatised and ended up in prison.

He said: 'You will join the growing number of service personnel who served in Iraq and Afghanistan who have PTSD and you will be with them in the prison population.'
Pope Francis today expressed his personal shame at the scale of child abuse carried out by clergy in France's Catholic Church that saw attacks on 330,000 children.

The pontiff told of his 'sadness' for the victims after a damning report found nuns used crucifixes to rape girls during decades of abuse which was covered up by a 'veil of silence'.

The 2,500-page landmark report was released Tuesday after more than two years of investigations by an independent commission, in France's first major reckoning with the devastating phenomenon.

The commission found that an estimated 330,000 children were victims of sex abuse within France's Catholic Church between 1950 to 2020, with an estimated 216,000 minors abused by priests and other clerics.

'There is, unfortunately, a considerable number I wish to express to the victims my sadness and pain for the trauma they have suffered,' Francis said during his weekly audience at the Vatican on Wednesday.

Pope Francis today expressed his personal shame at the scale of child abuse carried out by clergy in France's Catholic Church that saw attacks on 330,000 children

The pontiff told of his 'sadness' for the victims after a damning report found nuns used crucifixes to rape girls during decades of abuse which was covered up by a 'veil of silence'

'I was a gift for this nun': Victims describe horrifying abuse The damning report into the child abuse carried out by the French Catholic Church found that an estimated 330,000 children were victims. The report found that nuns used crucifixes to rape girls or forced boys to have sex with them, reports The Daily Beast. One girl, named only as 'Marie' described being sexually abused by a nun when she was 11-years-old. 'I was 11 and looked 9. She would choose me once every two or three times,' 'Marie' recalls. 'She would take me to her office, lock the door, and then draw the curtains. After which she would put me on her knees to make me read the gospel according to Saint Paul or another saint, while she squeezed me with one hand to her chest and pulled down my panties with the other hand. 'We were of course in pleated skirts and not in pants. It terrified me and paralyzed.' 'I was truly [a gift] for this nun... because she knew full well that she did not risk anything,' Marie said. She said that when she complained about the abuse to her parents they refused to believe a nun could do such a thing. The abuse carried on for another year. Another victim is French actor Laurent Martinez who was raped by a priest when he was eight-years-old. Martinez, 51, told Sky News the priest was moved to another location after he told his parents of the abuse, but it still haunted him. He said: 'It's been haunting me all these years. I'm really not completely freed about it.' Martinez said the abuse has impacted his relationships with women and meant he is apprehensive about sexual relationships, which he feels is 'something forbidden'. He has since written a play about the abuse called Pardon? to help him deal with the abuse. Advertisement

'And also my shame, our shame, my shame, for the inability of the Church for too long to put them at the centre of its concerns.

'I pray and we all pray together - to you Lord the glory, to us the shame. This is the time for shame.'

He called on all bishops and religious superiors to take all actions necessary 'so similar dramas are not repeated.'

The findings of the inquiry have prompted outrage as the Catholic Church in France and around the world faces a growing number of abuse claims and prosecutions.

Dealing with the avalanche of revelations about sexual abuse by clergy was one of the biggest challenges that Francis faced when he was elected pope in 2013.

He declared an end to impunity and changed Vatican law to make reporting abuse mandatory, but victims have warned it is not enough.

Francis expressed his sorrow for the victims in a statement Tuesday issued through his spokesman, but his comments on Wednesday went further.

He urged the clergy to keep working to ensure such situations 'are not repeated', offering his support to French priests to face up to 'this trial that is hard but healthy'.

And he invited French Catholics to 'assume their responsibilities to ensure that the Church is a safe home for all'.

The report found that the 'vast majority' of victims were pre-adolescent boys from a variety of social backgrounds. Their abusers were mainly priests, bishops, deacons and monks.

When claims against lay members of the Church, such as teachers at Catholic schools, are included the number of child abuse victims climbs to 330,000 since 1950, the report found.

Eighty per cent of victims were young boys between the ages of 10 and 13, however many girls also suffered abuse, not only by priests but also by nuns.

Nuns used crucifixes to rape little girls or forced boys to have sex with them, reports the Daily Beast.

A victim named 'Marie' testified that she was abused as an 11-year-old and that when she complained about the abuse to her parents they refused to believe a nun could do such a thing. The abuse continued for another year.

She recalls a nun who would choose a student from her class every day to help her with Mass.

'I was 11 and looked 9. She would choose me once every two or three times,' 'Marie' recalls.

'She would take me to her office, lock the door, and then draw the curtains. After which she would put me on her knees to make me read the gospel according to Saint Paul or another saint, while she squeezed me with one hand to her chest and pulled down my panties with the other hand.

'We were of course in pleated skirts and not in pants. It terrified me and paralyzed.'

'I was truly [a gift] for this nun... because she knew full well that she did not risk anything,' Marie said.

'Until the early 2000s, the Catholic Church showed a profound and even cruel indifference towards the victims,' commission chief Jean-Marc Sauve told a press conference that unveiled the nearly 2,500-page report.

They were 'not believed or not heard' and sometimes suspected of being 'in part responsible' for what happened, he deplored.

Sauve underlined that Catholic authorities had covered up the abuse spanning 70 years in a 'systematic manner'.

Victims welcomed the 2,500-page document as long overdue, and the head of the French Catholic bishops' conference asked for their forgiveness.

At least 330,000 children were sexually abused in France's Catholic Church over the last 70 years, a damning report has found. Pictured: The head of France's Catholic bishops conference, Eric de Moulins-Beaufort

Archbishop Eric de Moulins-Beaufort, president of the Bishops' Conference of France (CEF), which co-requested the report, expressed his 'shame and horror' at the findings.

'My wish today is to ask forgiveness from each of you,' he told the news conference.

'No one expected such a high number (of victims) to come out of the survey and that is properly frightening and out of proportion with the perception that we've had on the ground,' he told the AP.

Francois Devaux, head of the victims' group La Parole Liberee (The Liberated Word), said the report was 'a turning point in our history.' He denounced the coverups that permitted 'mass crimes for decades.'

'But even worse, there was a betrayal: betrayal of trust, betrayal of morality, betrayal of children, betrayal of innocence,' he added.

French actor Laurent Martinez was raped by a priest when he was eight-years-old.

Martinez, 51, told Sky News the priest was moved to another location after he told his parents of the abuse, but it still haunted him.

He said: 'It's been haunting me all these years. I'm really not completely freed about it.'

Martinez said the abuse has impacted his relationships with women and meant he is apprehensive about sexual relationships, which he feels is 'something forbidden'. He has since written a play about the abuse called Pardon? to help him deal with the abuse.

The 2,500-page landmark report was released Tuesday after more than two years of investigations by an independent commission. Pictured: Commission president Jean-Marc Sauve (left), hands copies of the report to Catholic Bishop Eric de Moulins-Beaufort (right)

Martine, 73, and Mireille, 71, were sexually assaulted by a priest when they were teenage girls in high school. They both declined to give their last name due to privacy reasons, in part because some family members were not aware of the abuses.

'It brings on such terrible thoughts,' Martine said. 'For me, personally, I had to wait for my parents to die' because otherwise she said it was 'not possible' to speak out.

'I think that each victim experienced it as if they were the only one (victim), and that's part of this phenomenon involving control and secrecy,' Mireille said. 'We are in a condition of submission... in a mental captivity. So, we follow this person who suddenly takes power over us... We are caught in a spider web.'

A recognition of the fault is essential, she said, and financial compensation is 'really symbolic... it won't fix things but it means it will also cost them something.'

Olivier Savignac, who was sexually abused by a priest in 1993, at the age of 13, has contributed to the report as a victims' representative.

Savignac, the head of victims association Parler et Revivre (Speak Out and Live Again), said the high ratio of victims per abuser was particularly 'terrifying for French society, for the Catholic Church.'

Savignac assailed the church for treating such cases as individual anomalies instead of as a collective horror.

He described being abused at age 13 by the director of a Catholic vacation camp in the south of France who was accused of assaulting several other boys.

'I perceived this priest as someone who was good, a caring person who would not harm me,' said Savignac. 'But it was when I found myself on that bed half-naked and he was touching me that I realised something was wrong...'

He says the abuse, which carried on for years, damaged him for life: 'It's like a growing cyst, it's like gangrene inside the victim's body and the victim's psyche.'

It is estimated that about 3,000 perpetrators have committed acts over the past 70 years and about 80 per cent of victims are male. Pictured: Olivier Savignac, head of victims association 'Parler et Revivre' (Speak out and Live again) speaks during an interview on Monday

'We can see how systemic it was... with an estimated number of 216,000 victims,' Savignac told Reuters, adding that the Church could not have ignored something of that magnitude.

'It's an earthquake, a hurricane, a tsunami... when you see these numbers, it's so damning that no one can stay in denial, whether the Catholic Church or society as a whole,' he added.

The priest eventually was found guilty of child sexual abuse and sentenced in 2018 to three years in prison, including one year suspended.

The independent commission, made up of 22 lawyers, doctors, historians, sociologists and theologians, worked for two-and-a-half years, listening to victims and witnesses and studying church, court, police and press archives starting from the 1950s.

A hotline launched at the beginning of the probe received 6,500 calls from alleged victims or people who said they knew a victim.

'The consequences are very serious,' Sauve said. 'About 60 per cent of men and women who were sexually abused encounter major problems in their sentimental or sexual life.'

'Sometimes church officials did not denounce (the sex abuses) and even exposed children to risks by putting them in contact with predators,' Sauve said.

Sauve had already said on Sunday that a 'minimum estimate' of 2,900 to 3,200 clergy members had sexually abused children in the French Church since 1950.

Yet only a handful of cases prompted disciplinary action under canonical law, let alone criminal prosecution.

Sauve said 22 alleged crimes that can still be pursued have been forwarded to prosecutors. More than 40 cases that are too old to be prosecuted but involve alleged perpetrators who are still alive have been forwarded to church officials.

The commission urged the church to take strong action, denouncing its 'faults' and 'silence.'

It issued 45 recommendations about how to prevent abuse. These included training priests and other clerics, revising Canon Law - the legal code the Vatican uses to govern the church - and fostering policies to recognize and compensate victims, Sauve said.

It also called on the Catholic Church to help compensate the victims, particularly in cases that are too old to prosecute in French courts.

'We consider the church has a debt towards victims,' Sauve said.

Luc Crepy, the bishop of Versailles who heads an office fighting pedophilia, said 'this is more than a shock. It is a deep feeling of shame.'

Crepy said a process was underway to put together funds and create an independent commission to handle church compensation for the victims.

The report comes after a scandal surrounding now-defrocked priest Bernard Preynat rocked the French Catholic Church. Last year, Preynat was convicted of sexually abusing minors and given a five-year prison sentence. He admitted abusing more than 75 boys for decades.

One of Preynat's victims, Francois Devaux, head of the victims group La Parole Liberee ('The Liberated Word'), told The Associated Press that 'with this report, the French church for the first time is going to the root of this systemic problem. The deviant institution must reform itself.'

He said the number of victims the report identifies is 'a minimum.'

The commission that compiled the report urged compensation for victims and strong action from the church, saying the abuse was covered up for decades by a 'veil of silence.' Pictured: Francois Devaux, founder of victim association 'La parole liberee'

'Some victims did not dare to speak out or trust the commission,' he said, expressing concerns that the church in France still 'hasnt understood' and has sought to minimize its responsibilities.

The church must not only acknowledge events but also compensate victims, Devaux said. 'It is indispensable that the church redresses the harm caused by all these crimes, and (financial) compensation is the first step.'

The Preynat case led to the resignation last year of the former archbishop of Lyon, Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, who has been accused of failing to report the abuses to civil authorities when he learned about them in the 2010s. Frances highest court ruled earlier this year that Barbarin did not cover up the case.

French archbishops, in a message to parishioners read during Sunday Mass across the country, said the publication of the report is 'a test of truth and a tough and serious moment.'

'We will receive and study these conclusions to adapt our actions,' the message said. 'The fight against pedophilia concerns all of us ... Our support and our prayers will keep going toward all the people who have been abused within the church.'

Pope Francis issued in May 2019 a groundbreaking new church law requiring all Catholic priests and nuns around the world to report clergy sexual abuse and cover-ups by their superiors to church authorities.

In June, Francis swiftly rejected an offer from Cardinal Reinhard Marx, one of Germany's most prominent clerics and a close papal adviser, to resign as archbishop of Munich and Freising over the churchs mishandling of abuse cases.

But he said a process of reform was necessary and every bishop must take responsibility for the 'catastrophe' of the crisis.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said Pope Francis learned about the report's findings 'with sorrow.'

'His thoughts go in first place to the victims, with a profound sadness for their wounds and gratitude for their courage to speak out,' he said.

Francis issued in May 2019 a groundbreaking new church law requiring all Catholic priests and nuns to report clergy sexual abuse and cover-ups by their superiors to church authorities. In June, Francis said a process of reform was necessary and every bishop must take responsibility for the 'catastrophe' of the sex abuse crisis.

The shocking estimate of more than a quarter million potential victims dwarfs numbers released by other countries that have also faced national reckoning with church sexual abuse. But each country has investigated the problem in different ways.

Instead of limiting itself to specific cases, France's report made an estimate of the overall scale of the problem, extrapolating the number of victims based on study of specific incidents and nationwide surveys.
Detectives today released CCTV of a man they want to find in connection with the incident

They found a woman at the scene who told officers she had been raped

Detectives are appealing for help identifying a man wanted in connection with an alleged rape in east London.

Metropolitan Police were called to Sprowston Mews in Newham on 20 September last year.

They found a woman at the scene who told officers that she had been raped.

Officers spoke to the victim who continues to be supported by specialist officers.

Detectives are appealing for help identifying a man they want to identify in connection with a incident in Newham, east London last year

The incident occurred in a small alleyway that sits behind the high street in the Forest Gate area of Newham, with only a few nearby houses.

Police have now released a CCTV image of a man seen in a doorway whom they wish to speak to in connection with the rape.

Detective Constable Murad Talat, from the local policing team in east London, said: 'We are releasing this image today in the hope that someone will recognise this man and let us know who he is.

'Please take a careful look at the photo and if you think you can help, get in touch as soon as possible.

'Any information you have could be vital for our investigation.'

The incident occurred in a small alleyway that sits behind the high street in the Forest Gate area of Newham, with only a few nearby houses

The appeal comes amid increased tension in London after PC Wayne Couzens' imprisonment for raping and murdering Sarah Everard in March this year.

As the case concluded at the Old Bailey last week, figures revealed that more than 750 Metropolitan Police Service officers and staff have faced sexual misconduct allegations in the past 11 years.

A total of 771 officers and staff  88 per cent of them serving at the time  faced allegations of sexual misconduct since 2010, but just 83 were sacked.

Over the same period 163 of the Mets officers were arrested for sexual offences, with 38 of them convicted after appearing in court.

Police have now released a CCTV image of a man seen in a doorway whom they wish to speak to in connection with the rape

Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick has vowed to do 'all I can' to improve womens safety.

Yesterday, she said a key aim was to 'root out those who display predatory behaviour towards women or express inappropriate views among our ranks.'

Figures show there were 7,892 reported rapes in the London Metropolitan policing area in the year to 2020.

This is down from 8,354 the year before - believed to be partially due to the pandemic's 'stay at home' restrictions.

However, of the latest year's reported rapes, only 298 resulted in a suspect being charged or being convicted of the crime.

Anyone with information regarding the incident in Newham is asked to call police via 101 or tweet @MetCC quoting reference CAD 7877/20OCT20.

You can also contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
A murder suspect was shot dead by cops in California on Tuesday morning after his getaway car broke down on the highway.

Jesse Medrano, 35, was wanted for allegedly shooting three of his own relatives, killing a 61-year-old man and wounding two other people in Green Meadows, Los Angeles on Sunday.

Police said the suspect was on the run after being involved in a dispute when he allegedly fatally shot Ruben Marrufo and critically injured two other family members.

Jesse Medrano, 35, was wanted for allegedly killing a 61-year-old man on Sunday and was shot dead by cops in Paramount, California on Tuesday morning after his getaway car broke down

A California Highway Patrol spokesperson said officers responded to a disabled vehicle on the 105 Freeway in Paramount, California, at about 7am on Tuesday, according to Fox News.

Officers checked the license plate of the broken-down Toyota Sienna, and discovered that it was the same vehicle that had reportedly been carjacked by Medrano after Sundays shooting.

They also identified Medrano as a wanted suspect in connection with the murder.

Los Angeles County Sheriff deputies arrived at the scene before the standoff with the suspect which was captured on video by a SkyFOX helicopter.

Footage of the standoff with cops shows Medrano pulling out a handgun (right) and opening fire on the law enforcement officers at around 8.40am

The officers returned fire, fatally shooting Medrano who was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead

Footage shows Medrano pulling out a handgun and opening fire on the law enforcement officers at around 8.40am.

The officers returned fire, fatally shooting Medrano who was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead.

An CHP officer was also reportedly injured in the shoot out, reportedly suffering a graze wound.
A factory worker who was sacked for attacking a colleague has won a disability discrimination claim after a tribunal ruled he was suffering from 'diabetic rage'.

Piotr Dytkowski became enraged when colleague Lucas Ulvenmoe made comments about his lateness and gave him a 'look' on December 4, 2018.

The Fox's Biscuits factory worker grabbed the member of staff and angrily shouted: 'Say that to me again and I will smash your f****** face'.

Mr Dytkowski later told bosses he had recently been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes and was struggling to manage the condition but his employers did not accept his theory and he was fired from the factory in Kirkham, Lancashire, for gross misconduct.

Now, Mr Dytkowski has successfully sued his former employer for disability discrimination and unfair dismissal after an employment tribunal ruled in his favour.

Piotr Dytkowski, who worked at a Fox's Biscuits factory in Kirkham, Lancashire, has won a disability discrimination and unfair dismissal claim after an employment tribunal ruled in his favour

He will be awarded compensation from Northern Foods Grocery Group - which trades as Foxs Biscuits - at a later date.

At the hearing Mr Dytkowski shared articles on the phenomena of 'diabetic rage'.

It was heard that 'uncontrolled blood sugar levels in diabetes sufferers can leave sufferers more susceptible to strong emotions, including anger'.

The hearing in Manchester was told Mr Dytkowski was diagnosed with diabetes in March 2018 and worked on the process line at the site from 2009 until he was sacked in January 2019.

A tribunal report said: 'An incident occurred on December 4, 2018, following a team meeting.

'Mr Dytkowski had arrived late and Lucas Ulvenmoe commented that everyone should be on time. Mr Dytkowski took offence at this comment, which he believed to be directed at him.

'After the meeting he approached Mr Ulvenmoe, either grabbing his clothes or pushing him, whilst shouting at him.

'Mr Ulvenmore, like Mr Dytkowski, is Polish, and the words shouted were in Polish, but the parties agreed that they were angry and offensive, approximately translating to ''say that to me again and I will smash your f****** face'' and ''now get out of my f****** face''.

'Mr Dytkowski explained that he had been feeling 'horrible' the day before the incident.

'On the morning of the incident the heater in his car had been broken which made it hard to defrost the car, which meant that he was late and in a bad mood.

The factory worker became enraged when colleague Lucas Ulvenmoe made comments about his lateness at the Fox's Biscuit factory in Kirkham, Lancashire (pictured), in 2018

He will be awarded compensation from Northern Foods Grocery Group - which trades as Foxs Biscuits - at another date

'He felt provoked by Mr Ulvenmoe's comments about lateness and by a 'look' that Mr Ulvenmoe gave him when they left the meeting.'

The factory worker admitted to bosses what he did was wrong but outlined his 'theory' that his diabetes meant he was 'unable to control his emotions' and he 'exploded in rage'.

His blood sugar levels showed they were spiking high and colleagues had even remarked before the incident 'you are more angry than you used to be' and 'your temper comes quicker'.

The report said: 'Mr Dytkowski understands, on the basis of what he has been told by his treating clinicians, that there can be a 'honeymoon' period following a diagnosis of insulin-dependent where the commencement of insulin treatment prompts the pancreas to partially resume its function.

'After some months, however, the pancreas 'dies' and the patient will become entirely dependent on injected insulin.

'Mr Dytkowski's theory is that this change was happening during [that week], and it accounted for him being unable to control his emotions, feeling horrible and, ultimately, the explosive 'rage' which led to the incident with Mr Ulvenmoe.'

Mr Dytkowski vowed to work with HR, take a diabetes course and engage with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).

He monitored his high blood sugar levels and shared them with his bosses, however production manager Nick Bourne dismissed him.

At the tribunal, Mr Dytkowski was 'very frank' that he had sought but failed to get evidence from his clinicians which supported his view, explaining doctors 'could not say for sure'.

But Employment Judge Joanne Dunlop agreed with him and ruled that he was discriminated on grounds of his disability and unfairly dismissed.

Judge Dunlop said: 'On December 4 Mr Dytkowski was dealing with a stressful situation regarding his car and his late arrival at work, which was then compounded by some provocation - in his eyes, at least - from Mr Ulvenmoe.

'He is not a medical expert but, at least to some extent, we are entitled to treat him as an expert on his own condition and how he experiences the effects of it.

'We have found that he was an entirely honest witness and this is not a case of an employee putting forward such an explanation opportunistically - whether right or wrong we are sure his view is genuinely held.

'Given those findings, his evidence that his reaction was different to what it would have been on another occasion, and that difference is due to his unmanaged diabetes, is not something which can be lightly disregarded.

'Taking account all of the factors above, we concluded that his condition had a significant influence on, or, to put it another way, played a material part in, his behaviour on the day.'

Mr Dytkowski will be awarded compensation from Northern Foods Grocery Group - which trades as Fox's Biscuits - at a later date. However it will be reduced by 30 per cent due to his conduct.

MailOnline has approached Fox's Biscuits for comment.
Serial killer Stephen Port was obsessed with watching drug-rape pornography and sent 'hundreds of thousands of messages about sex and drugs' to men on hook-up sites, an inquest heard today.

The 46-year-old, who will spend the rest of his life behind bars for murdering four men and sexually assaulting several others, began taking GHB - commonly known as a 'date rape drug' but which is also self-administered for recreational use as a party drug - in late 2013.

He went on to kill Anthony Walgate, 23, Gabriel Kovari, 22, Daniel Whitworth, 21, and Jack Taylor, 25, with overdoses of the drug between June 2014 and September 2015, dumping their bodies near his flat in Barking, east London.

Port was jailed at the Old Bailey in 2016 and the long awaited inquests are now taking place into his victims' deaths, examining whether the series of investigations into their murders were adequate and whether lives could have been saved.

Giving evidence at Barking Town Hall this morning, Detective Inspector Mark Richards gave details of his work on Operation Lilford, the investigation launched after the four deaths were linked.

He said analysis of Port's laptop, originally seized when officers were first investigating the death of fashion student Mr Walgate, showed hundreds of thousands of lines of messaging about sex, pornography and drug taking.

Serial killer Stephen Port was obsessed with watching drug-rape pornography and sent 'hundreds of thousands of messages about sex and drugs' to men on hook-up sites, an inquest heard today

Two of Port's four victims were Jack Taylor (left), 25, and Daniel Whitworth (right), 21. Inquests into their deaths are due to begin today at Barking Town Hall in East London

Anthony Walgate (left) and Gabriel Kovari (right) were also victims of Port. The victims' families have since campaigned for answers as to why the serial killer was not stopped sooner

Timeline of Stephen Port's crimes June 4, 2014: Police find Stephen Port at Barking station in East London with a young man he had drugged who has collapsed. Port admits they had taken illegal drugs but is not arrested. June 19: Anthony Walgate, 23, given drug overdose and raped by Port who dumps body outside his flat and calls 999, claiming he has found an unconscious man. June 26: Port suspected of lying to police and charged with perverting the course of justice. Released on bail. He is not accused of murdering Mr Walgate. August 28: Gabriel Kovari, 22, given an overdose and raped by Port who dumps the body against a graveyard wall. September 20: Daniel Whitworth, 21, given a drug overdose and raped. Port dumps his body against the same graveyard wall. Mr Whitworth is wearing Mr Kovari's top and is in a bed-sheet which has Port's DNA on it. October 1: Detective Chief Inspector Tony Kirk tells local paper the three deaths within a mile of each other are not being treated as suspicious. March 23, 2015: Port jailed for perverting the course of justice by lying over Mr Walgate's death. Released on licence in June with an electronic tag. June 2015: Inquests into the deaths of Mr Kovari and Mr Whitworth were held, which were later set aside at the High Court in the wake of the murder trial. September 13: Jack Taylor, 25, given a drug overdose and raped by Port. Body found next to the same graveyard. October 15: Port arrested on suspicion of four murders and charged. Later charged with attacks on eight other men. November 23, 2016: Port is convicted of 22 offences against 11 men, including four murders, four rapes, four assaults by penetration and 10 of administering a substance. He was cleared on three counts of rape. November 25: Port is handed a whole-life sentence for the four murders. Advertisement

'It was absolutely incessant', he told the jury. 'It was all day, every day. There were hundreds of thousands of lines of messages because he was obsessed.'

Port would watch 'a considerable and extensive amount' of drug rape pornography, viewing it for hours at a time on his laptop. The officer said: 'He had a real obsession with drug rape pornography.'

Patterns would emerge where Port would pause messaging or watching the footage for around half-an-hour to go and meet men at Barking station and bring them back to his flat. He would then continue viewing the material once the men were in his home.

The inquest heard that as well as the murders, Port was found guilty of the drugging and rape of seven living victims at his Old Bailey trial.

In addition there were around six other living victims identified by police who did not wish to take part in the prosecution.

Detectives sifted through details of nearly 60 other deaths to make sure that Port had not claimed any more lives, and concluded that no accomplice was involved.

Their theory was that 6ft 5in Port had wrapped his victims' bodies in bed sheets and carried them to the sites where they were found.

Opening the inquests at Barking Town Hall yesterday, Coroner Sarah Munro QC said responsibility for the murders 'ultimately rests with one man only - Stephen Port.'

But unlike Port's criminal trial, these hearings will focus on whether police 'missed opportunities' to stop him sooner and the 'competence and adequacy' of the investigations into his crimes.

The jury was previously told that tocal officers were sent to investigate the first victim of Port instead of specialist homicide detectives. Since the convictions, the victims' families have continued to campaign for answers as to why Port was not stopped sooner.

The hearings come at a time when the Met is already under intense scrutiny amid a wave of criticism over missed opportunities to expose killer cop Wayne Couzens as a sexual predator before he went on to rape and murder Sarah Everard.

In the wake of Couzens' whole-life sentence for murder, it was revealed more than half of Met officers found guilty of sexual misconduct over a four-year period to 2020 kept their jobs - a total of 43 officers out of 83 or 52 per cent.

Embattled Met Commissioner Cressida Dick, who subsequently announced an independent inquiry into her force, faced fresh calls to resign over the scandal.

A YouGov poll found 38 per cent of people believed she should resign, compared with 27 per cent who thought she should stay and 35 per cent who were unsure.

On Tuesday, Ms Munro told jurors they would consider whether 'mistakes were made' that delayed Port being brought to justice.

She said: 'If you consider things may have gone wrong, think about the extent to which, if at all, that made a difference to the outcome of the investigation. We will have to consider had the investigations into the earlier deaths been conducted differently, the lives of those who died later might have been saved.'

The 46-year-old, who will spend the rest of his life behind bars for murdering four men and sexually assaulting several others, began taking GHB - commonly known as a 'date rape drug' but which is also self-administered for recreational use as a party drug - in late 2013

Sarah Sak (second from right), the mother of Mr Walgate, arriving at Barking Town Hall, London for the long-awaited inquests into the deaths of the victims of Port

The inquests come six years after Port's 16-month killing spree was brought to an end, following the death of the final victim, Mr Taylor.

Outlining the facts on Tuesday, the coroner said Port's first victim, fashion student Mr Walgate, was found dead in Cooke Street, Barking, on June 19, 2014.

It was decided that the local police team rather than the Met's specialist homicide command should lead the investigation into his death.

Officers quickly established it was Port who had called an ambulance for Mr Walgate, but when questioned he lied to police and gave no indication that he knew him.

It was a week later before they realised that Port, using the name Joe Dean, had in fact arranged to meet Mr Walgate, who was working as an escort at the time.

She said the family would 'never stop fighting for our Jack'.

His other sister, Jenny, added: 'There is no amount of words to even begin to explain how much he is missed or describe the pain we all have to go through on a daily basis.'
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Hulking hulls of mighty warships greet divers off Turkey's western shore, testament to a World War I battle that gave birth to nations and is now an underwater museum.

The British Royal Navy's 'HMS Majestic' is just one of 14 shipwrecks at Gallipoli, a peninsula that has been the graveyard of navies stretching back to ancient times.

The last great battle for its adjoining Dardanelles Strait leading from the Mediterranean toward Russia was a fiasco for British and French forces, who beat a retreat after months of fighting that claimed tens of thousands of lives.

And while the Allies eventually won the war, their sacrifices in the 1915 battle were a touchstone moment in the formation of national consciousness in modern Turkey, Australia and New Zealand.

Now Turkey, where history and politics seem inextricably interlinked, is opening the site up to the world's divers - just in time for the country's centenary celebrations in 2023.

Turkey has opened a stretch of coastline off the Gallipoli peninsula that contains wrecks from the First World War battle to tourists, as part of an 'underwater museum'

The site contains 14 wrecks, including HMS Majestic - a British warship sunk by a German U-Boat which hit it with a torpedo off Cape Helles, sinking the vessel with a loss of 49 crew

Turkey hopes to make the wreck site, along with surrounding battlefields, into one of the world's largest open-air museums and a major international tourist draw

A diver is seen inspecting the wreck of one of the 14 ships at the site, which has played host to a number of historic battles - the last of which was the Battle of Gallipoli

The Majestic is the first wreck that divers will be able to visit, sitting largely intact 80 ft below the surface of the ocean off the coast of the village of Seddulbahir

'It's like a time machine that takes you back to 1915 and World War I,' says Savas Karakas, a diver and documentary maker who was one of the first to inspect the wrecks when they opened to the public this month.

'It's a good opportunity for us to remember our past,' says professional underwater photographer Ethem Keskin of the wrecks, some lying just a few metres under the sea and others up to 80 metres.

'I thought about the moment they sank and you feel the stress of war.'

Turkey wants Gallipoli to be the new go-to destination for divers looking to connect with events that shaped the present world.

Other hotspots include the Chuuk Lagoon in Papua New Guinea - famous for its World War II wrecks - and the Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands, which still suffers the ills of US nuclear testing in the 1940s and 50s.

'Now Gallipoli is becoming an alternative,' Karakas said. 'This is history, and each shipwreck is like a medal on our chest.'

Allied troops waded ashore on the peninsula at the start of an ill-fated land campaign to wrest the Dardanelles from the Ottoman Empire, which was already in its dying throes.

The battle began on April 25, 1915, pitting Allied troops from France, Britain, Australia and New Zealand against the Ottomans and Germany.

The Allies intended to secure a supply route to Russia and capture Constantinople, as Istanbul was known when it was the capital of the Ottoman and Byzantine empires.

The Gallipoli dive site has been open to researcher divers for years, with special permits granted by the government, but will now be open to everyone - including tourists

One of the first groups of tourist divers - which included Turks and Australians whose families had fought at Gallipoli - are pictured diving one of the shipwrecks at the site

Turkey hopes to open more battle-scarred parts of the Gallipoli Peninsula to visitors to coincide with centenary celebrations which will mark 100 years since the modern nation's founding in 2023

Visitors walk to the beach near Mehmetcik Lighthouse, where parts of battleships which were sunk in the World War I Gallipoli Campaign, can now be visited by tourists

Divers pose on a boat over the Gallipoli Historical Underwater Park off the coast of Seddulbahir, a village on the Gallipoli Peninsula which tourists can now visit

They gave up after nearly nine months of gruelling warfare in which some 130,000 died from all sides.

The heaviest hit was taken by the defending Ottomans, who lost around 86,000 troops. An estimated 25,000 Britons lost their lives, along with 10,000 Anzac troops - from Australia and New Zealand - and 10,000 French.

April 25 is still honoured as Anzac Day in Australia and New Zealand and forms a key part of the national consciousness of both nations.

The battle also helped to shape modern-day Turkey, whose founder - Mustafa Kemal Ataturk - commanded the Ottoman 19th Division which participated in the defence.

'I dived into the remains with an Australian: a shipwreck which may not mean much to us aroused his interest,' diving instructor Ercan Zeybek said. 'It was an emotional moment for him.'

Access to the wrecks required a special permit until 2017, when Ismail Kasdemir, who heads the area's Canakkale Historical Site, began pushing the idea of opening the seabed to the broader public.

'There was history and treasure lying underwater for more than 100 years,' he said. 'The diving community was curious.'

Canakkale already attracts global tourists intrigued by remnants of the legendary city of Troy, which rests on the Dardanelles' eastern bank.

'You can already smell the history above the water,' Derya Can, who has set multiple free-diving records, told AFP at the underwater park's unveiling.

'Now, divers will be able to survey the underwater history.'

For film maker Karakas, this history is also personal since his name Savas (meaning 'war' in Turkish) honours the Gallipoli campaign, where his grandfather was wounded.

'His hand was burnt and I was very scared when I was a child. Each time he was trying to touch me... I was looking at his hand and feeling a little bit weird,' he recalled.

'When I dive, I remember this hand. The rusted steel feels like the hand burnt by shells from those ships, so it's like holding my grandfather's hand.'

The Battle of Gallipoli resulted from the Allied invasion of the Ottoman Empire with the aim of capturing Constantinople - modern-day Istanbul - to open up a supply line between western Europe and their allies in Russia

Allied forces had planned a lightning assault down the Dardanelles Strait but were forced to abandon the plan in favour of an amphibious beach landing, before becoming bogged down in heavy fighting
Rivals of controversial NYPD union boss Ed Mullins have fired parting shots after he resigned following an FBI raid on his home and offices over alleged corruption.

Mullins, whose Long Island home was stormed by agents on Tuesday, was lashed by public officials including Mayor Bill de Blasio.

'Ed Mullins dishonored his uniform, his city and his union more times than I can count,' de Blasio said. 'It was just a matter of time before his endless hatred would catch up with him. That day has come.'

De Blasio's former press secretary Bill Neidhart said: 'I don't know if he's going to rot in prison, but I do know he's going to rot in hell.'

Mullins had led the Sergeant's Benevolent Association since 2002 and was a controversial figure, known as a firebrand who frequently attacked politicians on social media.

Agents were seen carrying boxes out of the union's Manhattan headquarters and loading them into a van on Tuesday. The FBI also searched Mullins' home in Port Washington.

FBI spokesperson Martin Feely said agents were 'carrying out a law enforcement action in connection with an ongoing investigation.'

Representative Ritchie Torres, whom Mullins called 'a first class whore' in a ranting social media post, said the union boss' departure was 'long overdue.'

'Mullins has spent his career abusing power and trafficking in hate, and his misdeeds have finally sent him into retirement, which is exactly where he belongs,' Torres said in a statement.

Mullins is seen on Tuesday afternoon after his house in Port Washington was raided by the FBI

'Ed Mullins dishonored his uniform, his city and his union more times than I can count,' de Blasio said. 'It was just a matter of time before his endless hatred would catch up with him. That day has come.'

One Bronx cop said Mullins had forgotten that he was representing his union members.

'Unfortunately he forgot about that and the vomit that comes out of his thumbs on Twitter got the best of him,' the officer told The New York Post.

'He could always talk the talk but not walk the walk. He put his opinions before the union and before our best interests that matters.'

The SBA Executive Board said in a statement: 'Given the severity of this matter and the uncertainty of its outcome, the SBA Executive board has requested that President Mullins resign...

'The day to day functioning and the important business of the SBA cannot be distracted by the existence of this investigation.'

Close to a dozen federal agents carried boxes of paperwork out of the SBA headquarters in downtown Manhattan Tuesday morning, according to video from the scene.

They descended on Mullins's Long Island home later in the day, according to the New York Daily News.

Footage obtained by ABC News showed Mullins on Tuesday at his home.

The FBI said they were 'carrying out a law enforcement action in connection with an ongoing investigation' and did not provide any further details on the sweeps.

Two sources told the New York Times that the union is being investigated by the FBI and the public corruption unit of the US attorney's office in Manhattan.

One source told NY1 that the raids are connected to mismanagement of funds.

FBI agents carry out boxes from the NYPD Sergeants Benevolent Association union on Tuesday

Mayor Bill de Blasio, who is often criticized by union chief Ed Mullins, declined to comment on the raid but accused Mullins of 'divisive' and 'destructive' language on Tuesday

The FBI has only said that they raided the union 'in connection with an ongoing investigation'

A source told the New York Times that the US Attorney's public corruption unit is involved

One source told NY1 that the search is connected to mismanagement of funds. Above, the SBA union office at 35 Worth Street in Manhattan

The SBA union has been headed by NYPD Sgt. Edward Mullins since July 2002. It represents about 13,000 current and former New York Police Department sergeants.

Non-supervisory officers are represented by the larger Police Benevolent Association.

The controversial officer is a known critic of Mayor Bill de Blasio, who he called 'an idiot' in an interview with Fox News contributor Sara Carter last year after the mayor criticized a large funeral gathering in the Orthodox Jewish community.

During Tuesday's daily COVID briefing, De Blasio told reporters he knew little about the raid, but took the opportunity to criticize Mullins for his rhetoric.

'A lot of what he has done is really, really destructive,' de Blasio said.

'Especially in the middle of a crisis where we're trying to unify, we're trying to get people through together, he's been a divisive voice.'

Mullins is facing charges of offensive language and abuse of authority by the Civilian Complaint Review Board for calling then-Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot a 'b****' and calling former city councilman Ritchie Torres, who is gay, a 'first-class w****.'

He made the statements on Twitter in 2020.

The tweet about Dr. Barbot came after the commissioner reportedly told NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan: 'I don't give two rats' asses about your cops' after she asked for more masks as the city was experiencing its first wave of COVID-19.

Mullins is also facing a departmental trial for posting the arrest report of de Blasio's daughter Chiara, who was arrested for blocking traffic during George Floyd protests last year.

His next administrative court hearing is on October 27.

Mullins is facing facing departmental charges of offensive language and abusive of authority for calling a former health commissioner a 'b****' and a city councilman a 'first class w****'

Congressman Ritchie Torres, who is gay, was called a 'first class w****' by Mullins last year

The report contained personal information such as her birth date and driver's license number.

Mullins's attorney argued that the case was an 'attempt to chill Ed Mullins's First Amendment rights' and that the report had already been tweeted out by a DailyMail.com reporter, according to the New York Daily News.

On Friday, the Department of Justice announced charges against two NYPD officers accused of taking thousands of dollars in cash bribes from a tow truck company owned by a former officer in exchange for directing cars involved in accidents to his business.

On Friday, the DOJ announced charges against Giancarlo Osma, left, for directing cars involved in accidents to a business owned by former NYPD officer Michael Perri, right. A third officer, James Davneiro, was also charged

The licensed tow and repair business is owned by Michael Perri, who retired from the NYPD in June 2020 and was also charged in the matter.

Perri and two other officers, James Davneiro and Giancarlo Osma, were each hit with one count of bribery and one count of conspiracy to violate the Travel Act.

All three worked at the 107th precinct, which serves the Queens neighborhoods of Fresh Meadows, Cunningham Heights and Hilltop Village, at the time of the bribes.

It appears unlikely that Tuesday's raid was connected to Friday's indictments.
Daniel Andrews has insisted he won't stand down any of his staff or ministers if they're investigated for corruption, while rejecting calls to resign himself following a Victorian watchdog probe.

The state premier was grilled by journalists in Melbourne on Wednesday and later in state Parliament over a corruption probe into the relationship between the United Firefighters Union and the Victorian government.

It has been reported that Victoria's corruption watchdog IBAC will examine the Premier's conduct as part of its investigation.

The revalation comes less than a week after his former New South Wales counterpart, Gladys Berejiklian, stood down after ICAC announced she was also subject to an investigation.

During a fiery Question Time in parliament Mr Andrews was asked whether he would stand down his staff if they were too were probed in the IBAC investigation.

'No, I will not commit to that, and it would be strange if anyone did,' he said.

Daniel Andrews (pictured on Wednesday) has said he won't stand down any of his staff if they're investigated following a Victorian corruption watchdog probe

'At the end of the day, everyone should cooperate, everyone should participate, everyone should do as that commission asks.'

Mr Andrews also said it was 'not a necessity' for any minister to stand aside if they were being investigated when asked by Victorian Opposition Leader Matthew Guy.

'No, not as a matter of necessity, no. Who IBAC investigates and the circumstances in which they investigate them, who participates in inquiries and who assists IBAC with their inquiries is, firstly, a matter for IBAC,' he said.

'Secondly, it may not be a matter that anyone in the government would even know about; and thirdly, it is not a matter that would necessitate them standing aside.'

When faced with a barrage of journalists' questions on Wednesday about the investigation, the premier fended them off and repeatedly referred them to IBAC.

'If you want to know what IBAC is doing and who they're talking to... you must go talk to them,' he said.

There are calls for Mr Andrews to follow Gladys Berejiklian who resigned on Friday (pictured) after it emerged she was being investigated for corruption over two grants handed out in her ex-boyfriend's electorate

Mr Guy has said the Premier should follow Ms Berejiklian, who resigned on Friday after it emerged she was being investigated for corruption over two grants handed out in her ex-boyfriend's electorate.

He said: 'The Premier went into Opposition [where] he made a habit of calling for people to stand down who are being investigated by IBAC.

'The Premier in NSW has just stood down for being investigated by an anti-corruption commission.

'Now (Mr Andrews) is being investigated, and he refuses to stand down. I hope that tells the whole state of Victoria about his state of integrity. Of course he should stand down.'

Hundreds of Victorian firefighters rally on the steps of parliament in Melbourne in 2015

The call infuriated Mr Andrews, who blasted Mr Guy in state Parliament on Wednesday afternoon, accusing him of 'grinning and smirking' while launching political attacks.

'The Leader of the Opposition can - whatever that's called, that grinning and smirking whatever it is, it's almost woken up.

'So when you have woken up come back to me.'

Mr Andrews said he has 'behaved appropriately at all times'.

An IBAC investigation into Victoria's fire services has been ongoing since 2019, probing allegations of corruption and financial mismanagement.

Between 2015 and 2019 the firefighters' union leader Peter Marshall tried to influence a new pay deal and a reform package to benefit his members. The deal was reached in 2019 and passed parliament.

IBAC has seized mobile phones, laptops and dozens of USBs belonging to the union or Mr Marshall, according to The Age.

Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting any wrongdoing by Mr Andrews.
Aspiring investors looking to get their foot on the property ladder have been warned which areas to avoid, including a few surprises.

RiskWise Property Research and BuyersBuyers have listed the top 10 danger zone suburbs due to an oversupply of units, bringing an increased risk of rental vacancies and capital loss.

Postcodes on the hit list are spread across Australia with three each in New South Wales and Victoria, two in Western Australia and one each in South Australia and Queensland.

While demand has seen a sharp drop in the last 18 months due to the absence of international visitors and students, some postcodes remain areas of concern due to a high volume of potential new units in the pipeline.

The growing suburb of Schofields in Sydney's north-west tops the list, where 3,397 new units are in the pipeline to be built in the next two years, accounting for 115.7 per cent of existing stock.

Investors have been urged to steer clear of the Sydney suburb of Schofields (pictured), where an oversupply of new units could result in rental income and capital loss

POSTCODES TO AVOID 1.Schofields (NSW) 2. Box Hill (Victoria) 3.Subiaco (Western Australia) 4. Gosford (New South Wales) 5. Footscray (Victoria) 6. Perth (Western Australia) 7. Rouse Hill (NSW) 8. Broadbeach (Queensland) 9. South Melbourne (Victoria 10. Adelaide (South Australia) Advertisement

The Melbourne suburb of Box Hill is second on the list, followed by the trendy Perth suburb of Subiaco and Gosford on the NSW Central Coast, one hour's drive north of Sydney.

The Melbourne suburb of Footscray rounds out the top five followed by Perth and Rouse Hill in Sydney's north-west.

The Gold Coast suburb of Broadbeach should also be avoided, along with South Melbourne and Adelaide.

The danger postcodes arent limited to one state or city and are in areas where there are clusters of new developments.

'The CBD areas of the capital cities have been a risk area for some time, but in Sydney, the risks are spread quite broadly across the city, from Liverpool to the inner south and Zetland, and up to parts of the Central Coast such as Gosford,' RiskWise chief executive Doron Peleg said.

Investors should be particularly cautious when considering new or off-the-plan purchases in the listed danger zones.

In Melbourne, Docklands, the CBD and parts of the inner-city should be avoided due to high rental vacancy rates.

Areas include Coburg, Prestons, Brunswick, Burnley, Blackburn and Collingwood .

'However, with interstate migration to Queensland also taking its toll, we have seen double-digit declines in unit rents for inner Melbourne, Mr Peleg added.

The Gold Coast suburb of Broadbeach (pictured) was the only Queensland postcode to make the hit list

Perth and the trendy suburb of Subiaco (pictured) also made the top 10 national list of areas that investors should avoid due to there being too many units

In Sydney, investors should also steer clear of suburbs such as Zetland, Liverpool, Epping and Burwood.

Sydney and Melbourne investors have increasingly turned their attention to houses over the past 18 months during the Covid-19 pandemic.

But BuyersBuyers co-founder Pete Wargent still believes established units can be a solid investment in supply-constrained areas, especially in Australia's two biggest capital cities.

'It is generally the rising land values that deliver the returns in Australian real estate, so units in boutique blocks with a high land-to-asset ratio and a point of scarcity value tend to fare best,' Mr Wargent said.

'There are many uncertainties about the return of international migration at present, and therefore the risks of buying a new unit are even higher than they normally are right now.'
Boris Johnson dangled a 3,000 carrot in front of the country's top science and maths teachers today in a bid to improve education in the worst-performing areas of Britain.

The Prime Minister used his party conference speech in Manchester to unveil plans for a 'premium' to entice the best educators to take on challenging pupils.

The three-year scheme will be open to teachers with between one and five years of experience in the profession, and run for three years at a cost of 60million.

Downing St said the funding was 'new money' and the scheme will cover four subjects: maths, physics, chemistry and computing.

However critics claimed it was a reheated version of an 'early-career payments' programme for teachers in maths, physics, chemistry and languages. It paid grants of up to 5,000 but was scrapped last year.

Mr Johnson highlighted the wildly differing life chances in areas of the country that are often close to each other, branding it 'an appalling waste of potential that is holding this country back'.

The Tory leader has made 'levelling up' deprived parts of the UK a priority for the Government, with wide-ranging and controversial economic plans that he defended in front of the party faithful this morning.

The Prime Minister explained to Tory delegates his drive to 'level up' the country, saying: 'The idea in a nutshell is you will find talent, genius, care, imagination and enthusiasm everywhere in this country, all of them evenly distributed but opportunity is not.

The Prime Minister used his party conference speech in Manchester to unveil plans for a 'premium' to entice the best educators to take on challenging pupils.

Mr Johnson highlighted the wildly differing life chances in areas of the country that are often close to each other, branding it 'an appalling waste of potential that is holding this country back'.

'To level up, on top of the extra 14 billion we're putting into education, on top of the increase that means every teacher starts with a salary of 30,000, we're announcing today a levelling-up premium of up to 3,000 to send the best maths and science teachers to the places that need them most.'

But Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said: 'Boris Johnson is right to focus on society's built-in inequality. But given this stated aim to ''level up'', he has made a very poor start.

'Introducing a 3,000 premium for maths and science teachers is welcome but ignores the fact that there are teacher shortages across the curriculum.

'Unreasonable and intensive workload, pay and lack of professional agency is driving teachers from the profession in ever increasing numbers. This must be addressed by the Government urgently.'

Asked if Mr Johnson's announcement was a return of an old policy, Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi told the BBC: 'I'm a pragmatist when it comes to these things.'
A Christian satellite TV channel was fined 25,000 by the UK's broadcast watchdog for airing conspiracy theories about coronavirus.

It marks the third time Loveworld has been found to have breached national broadcasting rules this year, with the channel being fined 125,000 in March for claiming vaccines were a 'sinister' way of administering 'nanochips' to people.

Loveworld's latest fine relates to two episodes of current affairs programme, Full Disclosure, which were broadcast on February 11 and 12.

During the shows, presenters 'made a number of unevidenced, materially misleading and potentially harmful statements about the coronavirus pandemic and vaccines', according to regulator Ofcom.

False claims made on the channel included that the coronavirus vaccine makes you feel as ill as the actual illness and that there are serious side-effects and medical complications that can result from the jabs.

It is the third time Loveworld has been found to have breached the rules of broadcasting watchdog Ofcom this year, with the channel previously being fined 125,000 in March

Trials have so far shown the vaccines to be safe and effective.

An Ofcom statement said: 'Ofcom is clear that it is legitimate for broadcasters to discuss and scrutinise the Government's public health response to the coronavirus pandemic  including the potential side-effects of vaccinations  and that it may be in the public interest to do so.

'However, Loveworld's presentation of misleading claims without sufficient challenge or context risked causing serious potential harm to viewers, at a time when people were particularly likely to be seeking reliable information relating to the UK's vaccination programme.'

Loveworld's website features a news section, but appears to be selective about the vaccine reports it publishes.

Ofcom had previously ordered Loveworld not to repeat the programme and to broadcast a summary of its decision three times in a day.

The regulator labelled the repeated rule breaches as 'serious'.

During the shows, presenters 'made a number of unevidenced, materially misleading and potentially harmful statements about the coronavirus pandemic and vaccines', according to regulator Ofcom. [File picture]

Ofcom had previously ordered Loveworld not to repeat the programme and labelled the repeated rule breaches as 'serious'

A spokeswoman for the watchdog said: 'Broadcasters have editorial freedom to debate the response to coronavirus  including the vaccination programme.

'However, unproven claims must be put into sufficient context, and our investigation found that these programmes contained harmful, unevidenced statements.

'We consider this a serious breach of our rules and have today sanctioned Loveworld by imposing a financial penalty of 25,000.'

Ofcom has previously said it is prioritising cases relating to coronavirus which could cause potential harm to viewers.

Loveworld is a religious television channel broadcast on satellite to a UK audience, from an Evangelical Christian denomination with a global network of churches.

The channel has been contacted for comment.
San Diego residents have sucessfully opposed the placement of sexually violent predator in a million-dollar home across the road from a school bus stop.

Douglas Badger, 78, a convicted child sex offender, was recommended by the California Department of State Hospitals to be placed in a home on Frondoso Drive in the Rancho Bernardo neighbourhood which backs onto the country club.

However, outraged residents rallied together to reject the placement of Badger in the home, who according to court records was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder and sexual sadism.

They argued that the neighborhood has many families and children living there, and there are three school bus stops within a short walking distance of the house.

San Diego residents sucessfully opposed sexually violent predator Douglas Badger, 78, (pictured) moving into a $1m home on Frondoso Drive, across the road from a school bus stop

Following the protests from residents, the owners of the Rancho Bernardo house withdrew their permission to the state on Friday, saying they could not 'in good conscience' consent to Badger being placed at their property.

Badger was convicted of sexual assaulting both males and females, with convictions in Riverside County, Californa dating back to 1981 and 1990 in San Diego County.

According to the San Diego County District Attorney's Office, his convicted offenses include child molestation, kidnapping and forcible oral sex and he it was reported that his victims were mostly young male hitchhikers who he assaulted at gunpoint.

After serving his prison sentences, Badger was released from prison for a second time in 1997 and since then has spent years in maximum-security state hospitals.

The convicted sex offender, was recommended by the California Department of State Hospitals to be placed in a home on Frondoso Drive in the Rancho Bernardo neighbourhood

Outraged residents rallied together to reject the placement of Badger in the neighborhood, which has many families and children, and hung signs from houses and driveways (pictured)

Channing Hughes, an resident in the area, helped to rally her neighbors and made signs that were put up outside houses on the street - including the house where Badger was supposed to move into.

Speaking to NBC San Diego, she said: 'We had no say in it. We get a letter one day or an email saying this person is going to be placed in this home, and that's all we know.'

In order to be classified as a sexually violent predator (SVP) in California, a person has to have been convicted of a violent sex crime against at least one victim and have been diagnosed with a condition that makes that person likely to re-offend.

Following protests from residents (pictured), the owners of the house withdrew their permission, saying they could not 'in good conscience' consent to Badger being placed at their property

Badger, who has been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder and sexual sadism, was convicted of sexual assaulting both males and females, in 1981 and 1990, and has since then has spent years in maximum-security state hospitals

While at the hospital, Badger participed in a sex offender treatment program before he was granted conditional release by San Diego Superior Court on September 22.

The release order will allow him to live in a community under the supervision of the state's contractor, Liberty Healthcare, as long as he continues outpatient treatment and follows court-ordered rules.

Liberty Healthcare is the government-contracted business that rents properties to use as placement sites to house SVPs.

However, the case has opened a wider debate among officials in San Diego about allowing SVPs to rejoin family communities with Supervisor Jim Desmond (pictured) saying he think the 'system is broken'

However, the case has opened a wider debate among officials in San Diego about allowing SVPs to rejoin family communities.

Supervisor Jim Desmond who sits on San Diego County Board of Supervisors plans to opposes any further placements.

Speaking to NBC San Diego said: 'I think the system is broken. I think the state should keep them in mental hospitals and keep them on prison grounds or some other place.'

He continued: 'The fact that they did their time doesnt, to me, mean they are never going to do it again, and these people [in the community] should not have to live in that fear.'
Four men charged with yelling anti-Semitic abuse from a car in a 'Convoy for Palestine' protest through London will be tried by a crown court jury.

Mohammed Iftikhar Hanif, 27, Jawaad Hussain, 24, Asif Ali, 25 and Adil Mota, 26, all from Blackburn, Lancashire, were said to be part of a convoy travelling through St John's Wood.

The four are all charged with using threatening, abusive or insulting words, or behaviour, with intent, likely to stir up racial hatred following an incident on May 16.

They appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court today and spoke only to confirm their names and addresses.

Their lawyers indicated they would all be denying the charges.

Adil Mota (pictured) is one of four accused of being part of a convoy travelling through St John's Wood on May 16

A convoy of cars bearing the Palestinian flag drove through a Jewish community in north London while the passengers screamed 'f*** their mothers, f*** their daughters

The protest followed simmering tensions due to the political situation in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

Thousands of people had been marching through Central London in support of the Palestinians, amid ongoing fighting between Israel and militants in Gaza.

Hanif, Ali, Hussain and Mota are charged with using threatening, abusive or insulting words, or behaviour, with intent, likely to stir up racial hatred.

District judge Nicholas Rimmer told them: 'You have indicated through your advocates not guilty pleas today, therefore the court moves to allocation, that is where the matter is tried.

'For the reasons I have given, what is alleged is beyond the powers of this court if any or all of you were to be convicted.'

He bailed them all unconditionally ahead of a plea and trial preparation hearing at Wood Green Crown Court on November 3.
Tucker Carlson has blasted Attorney General Merrick Garland over his plans for an FBI crackdown on parents who stand up to woke school boards, comparing the treatment of concerned moms and dads to that of 'domestic terrorists.'

The Fox News host lashed out on his show Tuesday night at the 'radical' Justice Department's decision to draft in the FBI to prosecute parents for protesting against the likes of critical race theory (CRT) and transgender ideology being taught to their children in schools across America.

'If you're one of those troglodytes who think you should have, some say in what your children are taught in the schools that you pay for, you should know the Biden administration now views you as a domestic terrorist,' said Carlson.

'And they are fully willing to used armed agents of the state to compel you to shut up.'

On Monday, Garland sent a memo saying the FBI and local law enforcement had been engaged to tackle the 'disturbing trend' of teachers being threatened or harassed.

The memo said that while 'spirited debate about policy matters is protected under our Constitution, that protection does not extend to threats or violence or efforts to intimate individuals based on their views.'

'In the coming days the department will announce a series of measures designed to address the rise in criminal conduct directed toward school personnel,' it read.

Tucker Carlson has blasted Attorney General Merrick Garland over his plans for an FBI crackdown on parents who stand up to woke school boards, comparing the treatment of concerned moms and dads to that of 'domestic terrorists'

The move was spurred by the National School Boards Association (NSBA), which wrote to the Biden administration last week asking for protection from angry parents, who the group said had threatened and committed acts of violence against school boards.

Carlson highlighted the fact that the NSBA is a lobbying group which donates heavily to the Democrat party, implying that the Biden administration had issued its latest edict to try and keep their paymasters happy.

It comes at a time when parents and school boards across the country have gone to war over the last year - predominantly over anti-racist teachings, transgender rights and COVID-19 restrictions.

Gabrielle Clark, a black mom who is suing her son's Las Vegas charter school over its anti-racist teachings, told DailyMail.com it is 'disgusting' to see taxpayer money being 'squandered' and vowed she 'won't stop speaking out' against school boards.

Carlson slammed the AG's move, accusing the Biden administration of using 'armed agents of the state' in a big to enforce leftist political ideology.

'They're happy to used armed agents of the state to enforce their ideology,' he fumed.

'And they have to, because that ideology is deeply unpopular with most Americans.'

The Fox host pointed out that, under the AG's ruling, federal resources will be used to target the so-called 'criminal conduct' and 'disturbing trend' that consists of parents 'complaining' and 'committing wrongthink'.

'Garland directed, 'federal, state, tribal, territorial and local law enforcement leaders to discuss strategies for addressing this disturbing trend.' This disturbing trend being parents complaining,' said Carlson.

'Criminal conduct. What does that consist of? Bombings, assaults? No, complaining.

He added: 'It is now criminal to disagree with your kid's school.'

Carlson argued the Biden administration is trying to stamp out freedom of speech and 'compel' parents to accept that the government is 'in charge of your children.'

'We've learned the Biden administration no longer believes in the most basic precepts of liberal democracy,' he said.

'Among them, your freedom of speech should never be abridged.

'The government must convince you, not compel you almost always, and you and not the government is in charge of your children.'

The Fox host described Garland as a 'wild-eyed, radical crazy person' who is trying to tell parents their children are now 'his.'

On Monday, Garland (pictured) sent a memo saying the FBI and local law enforcement had been engaged to tackle the 'disturbing trend' of teachers being threatened or harassed

Parents protesting a mask mandate at a school board meeting in Las Vegas in August. Parents and school boards across the country have gone to war over the last year - predominantly over anti-racist teachings, transgender rights and COVID-19 restrictions

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

'Merrick Garland did not give birth to your kids. They're yours, not his. But they don't acknowledge that anymore,' he said.

Carlson also questioned the political motive behind the clampdown on parents, saying the National School Boards Association are 'huge donors' of the Democratic party.

'Now, why did the DOJ issue this letter? Well, because they'd received a complaint from the National School Boards Association,' he said.

'Huge donors, of course, to the Democratic Party. And that complaint cited citizens who were upset over the teachings of critical race theory and masking of children, which is medically unnecessary.

'So the group wrote to the Biden administration and said that some of the actions against school boards 'could be the equivalent to a form of domestic terrorism and hate crimes.''

Carlson mocked that school administrators are now seen as a 'protected group'.

'Oh, so school administrators are now a protected group,' he said.

'If you disagree with them, you're committing a hate crime, not voicing an opinion that is constitutionally protected. No, it's an act of violence to disagree with them.'

The crackdown on 'complaining' parents comes at a time when America is in the grips of a serious crime spike in the wake of Black Lives Matter and defund the police protests, said Carlson - something he said the Biden administration has not issued a crackdown on.

FBI data released at the end of September revealed the number of murders across the US increased by a staggering 29 percent in 2020.

In total, there were around 21,500 murders last year - 5,000 more than in 2019 - with around three-quarters committed by firearms.

This marked the biggest percentage increase since the FBI started collecting data back in 1960 and smashed the previous record uplift of a 12.7 percent increase in 1968.

Carlson pointed to the disturbing data, arguing Garland has taken more radical steps to address parent complaints than the thousands more murders rocking the nation.

'Now, keep in mind at this exact moment that Garland wrote that, we learned that murders in the United States since the advent of Black Lives Matter have gone up 30 percent,' he said.

Carlson slammed the AG's move, accusing the Biden administration of using 'armed agents of the state' in a big to enforce leftist political ideology

'So that's thousands more dead people. This is the attorney general, our chief law enforcement officer. He did not issue a memo about that.'

Instead, Carlson gave examples of some of the clashes between parents and school boards that the DOJ is trying to 'shut up.'

Some parents have been pushing back against mask mandates in schools, which Carlson described as 'medically unnecessary' because COVID-19 deaths among children are not widespread.

A total of 498 children have been killed by COVID in the US between May 2020, when recoding began, and September 23 2021, which are the most recent figures available.

'Mocking someone who calls for medically unnecessary mask mandates is now domestic terrorism and a chief concern of the FBI,' he said.

'A lot of kids are dying of a lot of different things. Drowning, as always, is at the top of the list. Car crashes, too.

'But you'll notice that more students are dying from suicide, in some cases, directly traceable to these policies than are dying from COVID.

'So that is a national crisis. It's completely unaddressed by the Department of Justice or anyone else in our government.'

Instead, Carlson said 'all that's addressed are the ideological crimes: people disagreeing.'

In Loudoun County, Virginia, a father was interrupted while giving a speech complaining about sexually explicit literature on the syllabus by a board member who told him to lift his mask over his nose.

Brandon Michon told the meeting 'my five-year-old is being peddled transgender books in her library, teenagers are being served pornography under the guise of literature.'

Gabrielle Clark, a black mom who is suing her son's Las Vegas charter school over its anti-racist teachings, told DailyMail.com it is 'disgusting' to see taxpayer money being 'squandered' and vowed she 'won't stop speaking out' against school boards despite the AG's actions

When he asked for longer to speak due to the interruption, his mic was cut.

'They just didn't want to hear him. That's a parent who's paying for the school, whose five-year-old is in the care of these lunatics,' said Carlson of the incident.

'So they just cut his mic.'

Loudoun County - one of the wealthiest school districts in America - has found itself at the center of the war between parents and school board members in recent months.

Parents have been demanding the removal of several members of the school district board while school officials insist that CRT is not on the curriculum pointing to 'misconceptions and misinformation' in the media.

In June, two people were arrested during a school board meeting that descended into chaos amid debates over CRT teachings and a new transgender policy.

In August, the board voted to approve a policy requiring teachers to call transgender students by their chosen pronouns and for trans children to use the lockerroom and bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity.

Last week, the Democrat frontrunner in the Virginia governor's race was condemned by parents after saying they shouldn't tell schools what to teach.

Terry McAuliffe, who previously served as Virginia's governor from 2014 to 2018, made the remark when he went head-to-head with his Republican rival Glenn Youngkin during the final debate of the governor's race Tuesday.

'I don't think parents should be telling schools what they should teach,' he said.

Carlson hit out at McAuliffe saying his comments show he thinks the government 'makes all key decisions about your children' - and the AG's announcement now shows this has the 'full backing of the Biden administration.'

'They have a problem with you. The person who pays taxes, sends your child to public school,' said Carlson.

Carlson pointed to an incident in May as an attempt to silence people with different opinions where parent Brandon Michon (pictured) was cut off in a meeting because his mask slipped under his nose

Parents in Loudoun County, Virginia, protesting at a school district board meeting in June. The county has been at the center of the national row between parents and school boards

'They're telling you you have no right to be outraged, and the school teaches your children they can change their gender at will and that White people are evil. There's not a problem at all.

'The problem is you complaining about it, and if you do, the DOJ will target you like a domestic terrorist using the Patriot Act.'

Parents and Republican lawmakers have blasted the AG's move this week, accusing the Biden administration of trying to shut up people with differing views.

Concerned mom Clark told DailyMail.com she and other parents won't be silenced by Garland's threat of law enforcement, saying parents are 'mad as hell' and 'don't owe [school boards] niceness'.

'I think parents should continue to assert themselves in every legal and ethical way possible,' she said.

'The FBI has a duty to investigate credible threats. School board members also have a right to safety.

'But parents don't owe them niceness. We're mad as hell, and we won't stop speaking out.'

Terry McAuliffe (left) went head to head with his Republican rival Glenn Youngkin (right) during the final debate of the governor's race Tuesday. He said parents shouldn't tell schools what to teach

In March, Clark - who is black - filed a lawsuit against her biracial son William's school, Democracy Preparatory Academy at Agassi Campus in Las Vegas, after it allegedly failed him for refusing to label himself as an oppressor or oppressed.

Clark said people who feel 'harassed or intimidated by people who simply disagree with you' should 'stay out of politics'.

'If you start feeling 'harassed or intimidated' by people who simply disagree with you, stay out of politics,' she told DailyMail.com.

'I was born free, I will speak freely, and I will be free until my last breath.'

She also hit out at the use of federal resources and taxpayer money to crackdown on parents.

'There's nothing new under the sun. Squandering federal resources and misappropriating taxpayers money is completely in line with the decisions made by our ruling class,' she said, adding: 'It's disgusting.'

Nicole Solas, who has pushed back against the CRT teachings at her child's Rhode Island school, accused the Biden administration of bringing in the 'political police.'

'Arrest me,' she tweeted, along with a retweet of Garland's memo.

'Any *legitimate* violence is sufficiently addressed by your local police. The Fed wants the *political* police. FBI are the politics police.'

Solas also changed her Twitter name to: 'Nicole Solas, Domestic Terrorist per @NSBApubliced.'

Nicole Solas, who has pushed back against the CRT teachings at her child's Rhode Island school, accused the Biden administration of bringing in the 'political police'

Asra Nomani, a mom and the vice president of investigations and strategy at Parents Defending Education (PDE), also blasted the AG's move calling it a 'serious problem' to classify parents as 'domestic terrorists'

Asra Nomani, a mom and the vice president of investigations and strategy at Parents Defending Education (PDE), also blasted the AG's move calling it a 'serious problem' to classify parents as 'domestic terrorists'.

Nomani told DailyMail.com on Tuesday that she considers herself a 'survivor of Fairfax County, Virginia, public schools,' where her son graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology - America's No 1 high school, according to US News and World Report - in June 2021.

She said she became an 'accidental activist' in June 2020.

'The white principal at my son's school told our mostly-Asian, mostly-immigrant parents that we needed to check our 'privileges.'

'Born in India, I grew up very poor in our family's first years in the United States and reject the illiberal ideas of critical race theory's racist 'affinity groups' and 'oppression matrix.''

Nomani said CRT 's ideas are 'divisive' and 'eliminate the merit-based admissions process to the school and replace it with an essential popularity contest.'

'As a liberal progressive feminist woman of color, I would urge President Joe Biden to reflect deeply on the classic liberal ideas of democracy, equality and free speech to recognize that his administration is waging a very dangerous and ill-advised war on parents who are simply seeking to raise their children in a world in which human beings are valued not by the color of their skin but the content of their character,' she said.

Nomani added: 'Nobody gets between a mama bear or papa bear and their cub. Nobody.'

In a video posted online, she also argued the NASB 'has declared a war on parents and our children' and sarcastically changed her profile name on Twitter to read: 'Asra Q Nomani 'Domestic Terrorist.''

House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy sided with the concerned parents in a statement on Tuesday.

'There has been a disturbing trend in the Democrat Party that wants to silence parents, and prevent them from having a say in their own children's education,' he said.

House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (pictured) issued a statement on Tuesday in response to Biden 'weaponizing' the DOJ to target parents seeking to be involved in their children's education

'Parents have a fundamental right to be lawfully involved in their children's education.

'We should encourage family participation in our school systems, not baselessly attack opposing views because some liberal education officials and special interest groups see it as a threat to the power they want to have over what children learn in America's classrooms.

McCarthy then said that 'this latest decision by President Biden is yet another example of him using his executive power to federalize every sector in our society,' adding that 'he wants to use his DOJ to target American families who dare to ask questions'.

Debates around teachings in American schools have raged between school boards and parents in recent months - with CRT at the center of much of the uproar.

CRT highlights how historical inequities and racism continue to shape public policy and social conditions today.

It has become a key focus on the curriculum of schools over the last year amid the nationwide reckoning for racial justice following the murder of George Floyd.

But it has starkly divided opinion.

Conservatives allege that students are being taught a warped version of American history that claims the impact of slavery remains present throughout society.

Critics say the teachings reduce people to 'privileged' or 'oppressed' based on skin color.

But supporters say it is vital to understand how race impacts society in order to eliminate racism.
A Colorado woman suffering from stage-5 renal failure was denied a new kidney because both she and her prospective donor are unvaccinated.

The University of Colorado Health hospital sent a letter to Leilani Lutali, 56, who was set to receive a kidney from Jaimee Fougner, 45, informing her that the procedure could not be done until both women were vaccinated against COVID-19.

'I feel coerced. I feel like my life is being held in their hands in exchange for a shot, and the attitude is just take the shot,' Lutali told Denver7.

Fougner told CBS, 'Here I am, willing to be a direct donor to her. It does not affect any other patient on the transplant list. How can I sit here and allow them to murder my friend when I've got a perfectly good kidney and can save her life?'

Leilani Lutali, left, was set to receive a new kidney from her friend, Jaimee Fougner, when the women suddenly found out the procedure would be halted because they are unvaccinated

Lutali faces stage five kidney failure and would be removed from the organ recipient list if she fails to get the vaccine within 30 days

According to UCHealth, located in Aurora, the majority of transplant recipients and living donors are now required to be vaccinated to avoid organ rejection.

Lutali and Fougner met late last year during Bible study, and just a few months later, Fougner made the choice to donate her kidney to her ailing friend.

Fougner said she has not received the vaccine for religious reasons, and Lutali hasn't gotten the shot because she says there are 'too many unknowns.'

The women claim they were not informed about the hospital's policy until it was too late.

'At the end of August, they confirmed that there was no COVID shot needed at that time,' Lutali said. 'Fast forward to September 28. That's when I found out. Jamie learned they have this policy around the COVID shot for both for the donor and the recipient.'

In the letter sent to Lutali, the hospital informed her that she would be placed on a waiting list for 'non-compliant by not receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.' The hospital has given them 30 days to begin the vaccination process or be removed from the kidney transplant list.

The UCHealth hospital denied Leilani Lutali the chance to get a new kidney because of her unvaccinated status. She is currently listed as inactive on the organ waitlist

The Aurora-based hospital said it would be requiring a majority of transplant recipients and living donors to be vaccinated to avoid organ rejection or recipient death due to COVID

'I said I'll sign a medical waiver. I have to sign a waiver anyway for the transplant itself, releasing them from anything that could possibly go wrong,' Lutali explained. 'It's surgery, it's invasive. I sign a waiver for my life. I'm not sure why I can't sign a waiver for the COVID shot.'

U.S. Rep. Tim Geitner of Colorado called the ordeal 'incredibly frustrating, incredibly sad, incredibly disgusting' in a statement on Tuesday.

UCHealth Spokesperson Dan Weaver said the hospital would not comment on any specific case, but said it was common for transplant patients to be asked to meet specific conditions before, during and after surgery.

US Rep. Tim Geitner shared a copy of the letter Lutali received and criticized the hospital's decision, calling it 'incredibly disgusting'

'For example,' Weaver wrote in a statement, 'patients may be required to receive vaccinations including hepatitis B, MMR and others. Patients may also be required to avoid alcohol, stop smoking, or prove they will be able to continue taking their anti-rejection medications long after their transplant surgery. These requirements increase the likelihood that a transplant will be successful and the patient will avoid rejection.'

Weaver added that transplant patients who are not vaccinated against COVID face a higher mortality rate of 20 to 30 per cent.

'Should they become infected, they are at particularly high risk of severe illness, hospitalization and death,' Weaver said. 'A living donor could pass COVID-19 infection on to an organ recipient even if they initially test negative for the disease, putting the patient's life at risk.'

But Fougner and Lutali said the risk did not matter to them as Lutali nears total kidney shutdown. The life expectancy for those with stage-5 kidney failure is about five to 10 years while on dialysis treatment, according to the National Kidney Foundation.

An estimated 17 people die every day waiting for an organ.

'It's your choice on what treatment you have. In Leilani's case, the choice has been taken from her. Her life has now been held hostage because of this mandate,' Fougner told CBS.

The women said they have not been able to find a hospital in Colorado that will do the transplant while unvaccinated and said they are now looking at other states.
A suspected illegal driver, wanted by police for knocking down and killing a pedestrian 11 years ago, has been extradited from Bulgaria and brought to the UK to be charged over the death.

The 42-year-old man was believed to have fled the country after the fatal crash in Hertfordshire and evaded capture for 11 years by going on the run.

Police said that Aleksi Shyti was eventually arrested in August this year as he tried to enter Bulgaria and details of a European Arrest Warrant issued in his name, flashed up at border control.

Shyti, who has been remanded in custody, was wanted for questioning over the death of 20-year-old Ricky Burlton who was killed on a slip road on the A10 in Hoddesdon, Herts, on June 4 2010.

Aleksi Shyti, 42, was wanted by police over the death of Ricky Burlton, 20, in June 2010

A spokesman for Hertfordshire Constabulary said today: 'A man has been charged and remanded in connection with a fatal collision which occurred in Hoddesdon more than 11 years ago.

'Aleksi Shyti, aged 42 years, of no fixed address, has been charged with causing death whilst driving without a licence, possession of a false identity document and providing false information to obtain an insurance policy.

'He was brought into Hertfordshire Constabulary's custody on Monday before appearing at Hatfield Remand Court yesterday/on Tuesday where he was remanded back into custody and is next scheduled to appear at St Albans Crown Court on Monday November 8.

Ricky Burlton, from Enfield was killed in a crash on a slip road on the A10 in Hoddesdon, Herts

Hertfordshire Police, who HQ is pictured here, announced Shyti had been extradited to the UK

'The charges are in connection with a collision on a slip road of the A10 near Hoddesdon in the early hours of Friday June 4 2010.

'Ricky Burlton, from Enfield in north London, was struck by a car on his way home from Hertford. Tragically, he suffered fatal injuries and passed away at the scene. Shyti is believed to have left the country shortly after.

'A European Arrest Warrant was issued but it was not until August 2021 that Shyti was detained after attempting to enter Bulgaria and he was extradited to the UK as a result.'

Detective Inspector Iain Macpherson, from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire (BCH) Major Crime Unit, said: 'Ricky's family have had to wait 11 long years for someone to be charged in connection with his death.

'I cannot imagine how difficult it has been for them and as ever, they remain in our thoughts as we work through this latest development.

'We now wait for the justice process to progress.'
Max Miller sued Stephanie Grisham for defamation on Tuesday over her allegations that he abused her while the two were dating back when they both worked in Donald Trump's White House.

He is seeking punitive damages and asked a judge in Cleveland to order Grisham not to repeat the claims.

Grisham revealed in an op-ed for The Washington Post on Tuesday that her relationship with Miller had become 'violent' and that 'he got physical with me.' She claimed Donald and Melania Trump were 'totally unfazed' when she told them.

It was her first time speaking publicly about the allegations of abuse in her relationship, first reported by Politico.

Miller, who is running for a House seat in his home state of Ohio, has denied the allegations.

Larry Zukerman, a Cleveland-based attorney representing Miller, filed the 13-page complaint, which says Grisham made 'libelous and defamatory statements' in her Washington Post op-ed, the Cleveland Plain-Dealer reported.

Miller argued Grisham made the claims to harm him and to sell more copies of her memoir, titled 'I'll Take Your Questions Now: What I Saw at the Trump White House.' The book was published Tuesday and Grisham is on a publicity tour.

Grisham didn't call out Max Miller by name in the Washington Post piece but her descriptions - a fellow White House staff who is now running for Congress with Trump's endorsement- match him.

'I didn't put his name in there on purpose because I've moved on,' Grisham told CNN's Jake Tapper in an interview on Tuesday. 'If there's anything I can take away, I'm almost stronger than ever now, and no one is ever going to abuse me again in any way, shape or form.'

Max Miller sued Stephanie Grisham for defamation over her allegations that he abused her while the two were dating, which he has denied

Grisham and Miller at September 2019 state dinner for the Australian prime minister at the White House back when the two were dating

Miller's attorney said Grisham was retaliating against Miller for 'breaking her heart,' citing his engagement.

In June, the 32-year-old Miller got engaged to Emily Moreno, 27, the daughter of Republican Senate candidate Bernie Moreno. The pair rekindled their romance after dating briefly in 2015.

'A thorough and independent investigation will not only confirm that Ms. Grisham has 'no proof' to corroborate her allegations against Mr. Miller as she preemptively conceded in her article that was published in the Washington Post this morning, but will also establish that she has made false allegations against him in retaliation for him breaking her heart by ending their relationship and subsequently becoming engaged to Emily Moreno,' Zukerman told the Plain-Dealer.

He claimed Grisham sent emails to Miller after their break up, telling him that she was still in love with him.

Miller was challenging Republican Rep. Anthony Gonzalez, one of 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump over the Jan. 6th attack of the U.S. Capitol, in the GOP primary.

Trump endorsed Miller and campaigned for him earlier this year. Gonzalez announced last month that he will not seek re-election, clearing the path for Miller's nomination.

Grisham told CNN that watching Trump endorse Miller was a 'gut punch.'

in the Washiongton Post op-ed, Grisham describes how she told Melania Trump and Donald Trump separately about his behavior after the two had broken up. She noted the first couple was aware of her relationship and breakup with her fellow White House staffer.

The Trumps 'knew when the relationship turned abusive  and they didn't seem to care,' she wrote.

She claims she told the then-first lady that the 'end of our relationship had become violent, reaching its worst point on the day I left.'

Melania Trump asked her if she went to the police, which Grisham said she didn't because she had no proof and didn't want to cause a scandal so close to the election.

A few weeks later, Grisham revealed, she told Trump about it during the flight back on Air Force One from the first presidential debate.

Grisham writes that she told the then-president that Miller 'had anger issues and a violent streak. I was not some stranger making a wild accusation. I hoped that he would take me seriously, that he would do something.'

'After I finished, the president crossed his arms and just said, 'That surprises me. He was really broken up over things.' After we got off the helicopter, Mrs. Trump said she was glad I told him,' she continued.

'We never spoke about it again.'

She said the first couple 'seemed totally unfazed about whether there was an abuser' working in the White House and didn't follow up to check in on her or order an investigation.

Grisham notes she thinks Melania Trump believed her allegations but doesn't think Trump did.

The allegations that Miller was violent toward Grisham were first reported by Politico. Miller's lawyer told the outlet: 'Mr. Miller has never, ever assaulted Ms. Grisham in any way whatsoever.'

Politico reported that Miller pushed Grisham 'against a wall and slapped her in the face in his Washington apartment after she accused him of cheating on her.' Grisham didn't comment for the piece at that time.

The pair were believed to have been together for 18 months and even got a French bulldog named Gus, before the situation is believed to have turned sour.

Donald Trump endorsed Max Miller's congressional bid in Ohio and appeared at a rally with him this summer

In June, the 32-year-old Miller (right) got engaged to Emily Moreno, 27, (left) the daughter of Republican Senate candidate Bernie Moreno. The pair rekindled their romance after dating briefly in 2015. They are pictured at a Trump rally earlier this year

Max Miller with President Trump on Air Force One, he worked for both of Trump's presidential campaigns and in the White House

As news broke Grisham was writing a memoir about her time with the Trumps - and it would be critical of the former first couple - the Trumps attacked Grisham and specifically called her out on the relationship.

Donald Trump said Grisham was 'angry and bitter about her break-up' and Melania's office discussed her 'failed personal relationships' as they railed against their former spokesperson.

Trump endorsed Miller's congressional bid in Ohio. He appeared alongside his former aide at a rally in that state in June, where he called him a 'great guy.'

Miller worked for both his presidential campaigns and in the White House, where he earned the nickname 'Music Man' as he picked out songs to play to calm Trump down when the then-president was in a rage.

An insider close to both Miller and Grisham told DailyMail.com last month: 'Neither of them were angels - they had a pretty volatile relationship. But even if she laid her hands on him, he should have kept his hands in his pockets.'

The Politico report said that Grisham had all but moved in with Miller last year despite owning her own condo.

Miller with his new fiancee Emily Moreno earlier this year. She now is a constant fixture at his campaign events

She is said to have confronted him in his apartment and he allegedly slapped her.

'Miller pushed her. He slapped her. She fled. The temperatures that evening dipped into the 40s, and Grisham left with no coat, only her purse,' the report reads.

He denied it but the unnamed sources insisted it was true.

'It happened. It was violent and it was hard for her,' said one of the sources - described as being someone 'very close' to Grisham, but not in the White House,

Another added: 'We just talked and cried. This was not a moment of gossip. This was not a moment of slander. This was a moment of pain and fear.'

Miller is a former Marine Corps reservist, is a member of one of Cleveland's wealthiest families and is a scion to the Forest City Enterprise real estate company.

Grisham has been conducting a series of interviews as she promotes her new memoir 'I'll Take Your Questions Now,' her tale about her work for Donald and Melania Trump, which is out on Tuesday.

In her interviews, she has been critical of the former first family and talked about her how she got caught up in the drama of the Trump White House.

I'll Take Your Questions Now: What I saw at the Trump White House by Stephanie Grisham comes out on October 5

Grisham told CNN's New Day on Tuesday that there was a 'culture of abuse' in the Trump White House, admitted she lied in TV interviews and said she believes Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell would be on staff if the former president ran and won in 2024.

Grisham, who worked for Donald Trump from the early days of his 2016 campaign until she resigned in protest on January 6th, described what it was like to work for the former president. During her tenure she served as spokesperson for him and for Melania Trump.

'It took me a really long time to realize it was a culture of abuse in there, you just want to keep Donald Trump happy. You just don't want him to yell at you,' she said. 'You learn to give him the answer that he wants. We learned to work around him.'

She described Trump yelling at her to her face when she refused to kick CNN's Kaitlin Collins out of the White House briefing room.

'He was yelling at me to my face in that one. Um it's horrible when he yells at you. It's horrible. He is very New York I guess,' she said. 'He's very mean when he yells at you.'

Grisham also outlined her worries about Trump's continued false claim that he won the 2020 election. She said she was concerned if he ran again in 2024 and won, he would seek 'revenge' and be out of control.

'The fact that he is pushing this election lie is scary to me, and the fact that he's the frontrunner right now, if he were to run for office, is scary to me,' Grisham said. 'And that's because, if he gets into office, he doesn't run for re-election again. He'll be able to do whatever he wants, and we all know, there's going to be retribution, there's going revenge. I guarantee there will be very draconian policies, and they're not going to care, because they don't have to run for re-election again.'

Trump has not said whether or not he will make another presidential bid in 2024 although many see him as the frontrunner for the Republican nomination should he choose to get into the race.

During his time in the White House, the president had to defend many of his decisions - such as not releasing his tax records, keeping his ties to his family business, and for trying to intefere in Justice Department investigations.

Stephanie Grisham told CNN there was a 'culture of abuse' in the Trump White House

The fact that [Trump] is pushing this election lie is scary to me. The fact he is the front-runner right now if he were to run for office is scaring me, says Stephanie Grisham, former Trump White House press secretary, who never held a public press briefing during her tenure pic.twitter.com/zhma3ddoYE  New Day (@NewDay) October 5, 2021

Stephanie Grisham said she believes if Trump ran and won in 2024 she envisioned Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell on the White House staff - the two lawyers led Trump's failed legal attempts to overturn the 2020 election results

Stephanie Grisham also revealed she lied when she went on Fox News to talk about administration - above Grisham during her tenure as press secretary for President Trump

Grisham said if Trump won, his staff for that term would be even more extreme than many of the enablers who surrounded Trump during his first tenure.

She said she envisioned Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell on staff - the two lawyers led Trump's failed legal attempts to overturn the 2020 election results. Both Giuliani and Powell were led propogators of the 'big lie' - that Trump won and the election was stolen from him. Multiple recounts proved Joe Biden won in 2020.

'If people think that the people in (the first) Trump White House were bad perhaps, I have a feeling the 1/6 crowd might be working in the White House in 2024, or the Sidney Powells, or the Rudy Giulianis,' Grisham said. 'I think people left and right are going to get pardoned. The amount of things, knowing what I know, that could happen, it scares me.'

Grisham's book has sparked widespread criticism from the pro-Trump crowd and even the former president weighed in to accuse her of cashing out.

'Stephanie didn't have what it takes and that was obvious from the beginning,' Trump said in a statement. He said she had become 'very angry and bitter' after a breakup. 'She had big problems and we felt that she should work out those problems for herself. Now, like everyone else, she gets paid by a radical left-leaning publisher to say bad and untrue things.'

Grisham was a controversial figure during her time in the Trump White House, particularly for never holding a press briefing when she served in the role of press secretary.

But she, like many officials in the Trump administatration, often went on Fox News to spread their message.

'That's just where we went to get what we wanted out,' she said. 'They, you know, by and large didn't get tough with us, they just took what we were saying and disseminated it.'

Asked if she was always truthful during her interviews on Fox News, she admitted: 'I probably wasn't.'

Grisham, 45, then served as press secretary to Trump from July 2019 to April 2020. She then returned to the East Wing as Melania's chief of staff from April 2020 until January 2021.

Many Trump loyalists have turned on her, including Melania Trump, whose office accused her of cashing in.

And Grisham's former colleague Alyssa Farah, who served as White House Communications Director for Trump, said during an interview with The View on Monday: 'First and foremost, I don't believe in profiting off of public service. I had a chance to write my White House tell-all and declined. The American people, the taxpayers, paid my salary.

'I'm not going to go write a book and cash in.'

She went on to declare that Grisham was 'largely MIA on the job', and said that the reason she never held a live-televised press briefing was down to her own reluctance to do so, not Trump as Grisham claimed.

'When I worked for him, it was, ''Go get out on TV, Alyssa. Go give a briefing.'' He wanted people out,' Farah said.

'It seemed like she was largely MIA on the job.'
This is the moment a group of yobs hijacked a live news broadcast to shout sexist obscenities down the camera.

Journalist Fiona Irving was covering bin strikes in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, for BBC South East yesterday when her piece to camera was suddenly interrupted.

Just as she was showing viewers how locals' waste hadn't been collected, a young man jumped into shot, shouting: 'F*** her right in the p****!'

Six other men then made their way across the screen, cheering, as Ms Irving was forced to pause her broadcast.

News anchor Chrissy Reid then said: 'Oh dear, apologies for the interruptions there.'

The reporter later tweeted about the incident, writing: 'Reporting live on the refuse collectors strike in #Brighton today when around 7 men jumped in front of the camera shouting aggressive and threatening terms.

'It's not funny. It's misogynistic. Just calling it out.'

Journalist Fiona Irving was covering bin strikes in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, for BBC South East yesterday when her piece to camera was suddenly interrupted

Just as she was showing viewers how locals' waste hadn't been collected, a young man jumped into shot, shouting: 'F*** her right in the p****!'

This is the moment a group of yobs hijacked a live news broadcast to shout sexist obscenities down the camera

It comes as Dominic Raab bizarrely claimed today that misogyny is applicable to both men and women in a bungled backing of Boris Johnson's refusal to make hatred against women a crime amid a brewing row over women's safety following the Sarah Everard murder.

The Justice Secretary made the remark during an interview with BBC Breakfast today while discussing a new inquiry which will look at the 'systematic failures' that allowed Miss Everard's killer Wayne Couzens to be employed as a Metropolitan Police officer.

Mr Raab told presenter Sally Nugent: 'Misogyny is absolutely wrong, whether it's a man against a woman, or a woman against a man.' Ms Nugent then interjected, correctly telling him that the dictionary definition of misogyny is hatred against and directed towards women.

What is misogyny? According to Merriam-Webster, misogyny is 'hatred of, aversion to, or prejudice against women'. The word is formed from the Greek roots 'misein' ('to hate') and 'gyne' ('woman'). It can also be distinguished from the word sexism, which means 'discrimination based on sex'. Advertisement

Later in the interview, Ms Nugent offered the Justice Secretary the opportunity to clarify what he meant, reading back his comments and asking: 'Is that what you meant to say?'

Mr Raab then continued to restate the Prime Minister's position that misogyny should not be made a hate crime and did not address his earlier remark. He did not acknowledge referring to misogyny as being applicable to men as well as women.

'What I meant is if we are talking about things below the level of public order offences of harassment, intimidation, which are rightly criminalised,' he said.

'If we are talking about effectively insults with a sexist basis I don't think that criminalising those sorts of things will deal with the problem that we have got at the heart of the Sarah Everard case, which is a question partly around the police but also the broader question and the fear women face that their cases don't get to court and don't end up with a conviction.

'And therefore just criminalising insulting language even if it's misogynistic doesn't deal with the intimidation and the violence and the much higher level of offence and damage and harm that we really ought to be laser light focused in on.'

Seizing on Mr Raab's apparent confusion over the meaning of misogyny, Labour's Shadow Justice Secretary David Lammy thundered: 'Justice Secretary Dominic Raab doesn't know the definition of misogyny. No wonder the Conservatives are hopeless at tackling violence against women and girls.'

Justice Secretary Dominic Raab (left) awkwardly claimed that misogyny is applicable to both men and women as he backed Boris Johnson's refusal to make hatred against women a hate crime (right, the Prime Minister)

Shadow Women and Equalities Secretary Anneliese Dodds tweeted: 'The man in charge of our justice system literally doesn't understand the meaning of the word misogyny. If you don't understand it, how can you tackle it?'

Liberal Democrat equalities spokeswoman Wera Hobhouse said: 'It's little wonder the Conservatives are failing to tackle misogyny when their Justice Secretary doesn't even seem to know what it is. These comments are an insult to the millions of women and girls impacted by misogyny and show just how out of touch the Conservatives are on this issue. '

And the Women's Party wrote on social media: 'It's no wonder our government won't initiate an independent inquiry specifically into police misogyny - they don't even know what the word means.'

Yesterday the Prime Minister brushed off calls to formally recognise misogyny as a hate crime, instead arguing the 'abundance' of existing laws should be better enforced rather than new legislation brought in.

Mr Johnson has vowed to make domestic violence and rape the 'number one issue' he tackles within policing, and said the way police and criminal justice system currently handles violent crimes against women was 'just not working'.

His comments come amid a brewing national row over women's safety in the wake of the killings of Miss Everard and primary schoolteacher Sabina Nessa, with thousands sharing their experiences of feeling unsafe on streets, parks and other public areas in Britain.
A mom has settled with a school district after arriving to pick her five year-old son up for a dentist's appointment to find he'd been put in a chokehold by staff.

Pamela Ononiwu launched the lawsuit against Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) in Virginia after seeing her son - named in court papers as DO - restrained by a school resource officer at Fairview Elementary School in October 2018 while crying.

Staff members told her DO, who suffers from ADHD, had been put in the chokehold after refusing to stop singing loudly during Spanish class.

'To my shock and horror, I found my son being put in a chokehold,' Ononiwu, 37, to NBC News. 'This school resource officer was holding him at a 90 degree angle. My son kept trying to kick to get out of it, and the tighter the grip got.'

The mother of three remembered being scared for her son and herself, saying: 'I repeatedly told him to let my son go. I was scared because I was like, 'Will I also be shot dead trying to save my son?' But I said it's worth it because I'm not gonna be here and let my son die or pass out in front of me.'

In shock, the boy's mother tried to discuss the situation with the school principal, school district officials, and school board members, none of whom would talk with Ononiwu.

'Nobody thought it was heinous that a child was in a chokehold. No one had any empathy,' Ononiwu said. Her son is now eight years-old.

Pamela Ononiwu's son, named as DO in court papers, was put in a chokehold at his school aged just five for refusing to stop singing loudly during a Spanish class

Court papers make no mention of the security guard's race, and Ononiwu did not suggest that DO had been targeted because he is black.

But she has since called for greater resources for students with special needs, particularly students of color.

She added that her daughter has also been restrained and secluded in the school. 'They dragged my daughter one day. My daughter told me they dragged her into a room; her shoes were in the hallway.'

Ononiwu and two other parents then sued FCPS system claiming that they caused 'psychological trauma' and 'physical harm' on students with disabilities by using restraints and seclusion to 'silence, detain, segregate, and punish.'

Pamela Ononiwu sued the Fairfax County School Board after finding her five-year-old son, who has ADHD, held in a chokehold by a school resource officer for singing in class

'There are alternatives. There are other ways to do this. If you are claiming a child has things to work on, the solution isn't just to throw them in a room. If I did that at home, they'd call Child Protective Services, so I don't understand why it would be allowed in schools,' she said.

Ononiwu said the parties recently agreed to settle, with both monetary relief and major changes to the school's policy.

She has refused to comment on the exact amount of money Fairfax County paid out.

Fairfax County is one of America's wealthiest school districts, with a median household income of $103,000.

It has hit the headlines amid ongoing clashes between parents and school board members over the teaching of critical race theory (CRT).

Those opposed to CRT were also infuriated to learn that the board had spent $20,000 to hire leading anti-racist author Ibram X Kendi to give a one hour talk on the subject in August 2020.

The school released a statement regarding Ononiwu's lawsuit in October 2019. Superintendent Scott S. Brabrand noted that the school system completed an independent review of restraint and seclusion guidelines, added more behavior intervention teachers, included further staff training, and appointed a new ombudsman for special education whose sole job is to support parents who have special education concerns.

The FCPS also established a new Special Education Task Force, made of parents, community members, FCPS staff, and non-profit organizations, to address the parents' complaints and establish best practices.

Brabrand said, 'We acknowledge that the use of restraint and seclusion is an especially sensitive and challenging issue and is appropriate only when less restrictive alternatives fail.'

But he insisted that the independent review of the school system's procedures found that, 'its policies and practices with respect to restraint and seclusion are proper under all relevant laws.'

However, a blog post shared by Ononiwu and written by Callie Oettinger, another parent fighting the FCPS for their special education program, stated that a new 'independent, third-party review' conducted by American Institutes for Research (AIR) found 'disturbing data.'

The terrifying incident occurred at Fairview Elementary School in Fairfax Station, Virginia but is just one example of a national debate on restraint and seclusion practices in schools

The AIR report, published in July 2021, found students in FCPS special education programs 'are at a higher risk of being suspended or expelled for greater than 10 days in a school year when compared with their non-special education peers.'

Not only is disciplinary action not fairly distributed among education programs, but the report also cited a 'significant discrepancy by race or ethnicity in the rate of suspensions and expulsions.'

The AIR also noted that both parents and staff felt that their complaints and inputs were not considered when making policy decisions that impact the 27,000 FCPS students in special education programs.

Although the lawsuit has been settled, Ononiwu has not stopped fighting for students with special needs, specifically focusing on students of color.

In 2019, she ran a small campaign to join the school board. She did not make it onto the board but said that she found support from other local families of color who have children with special needs.

'I'm in my community talking to other parents, letting them know of their rights. A lot of parents will call me and ask for advice,' she said. 'With restraint and seclusion, there are instances where the child can die. Even if they don't die, it can change their life forever.'

Ononiwo joined the Alliance Against and Seclusion and Restraint to advocate for the Keeping All Students Safe Act. The Act would 'prohibit and prevent seclusion, mechanical restraint, chemical restraint, and dangerous restraints that restrict breathing, and to prevent and reduce the use of physical restraint in schools, and for other purposes.'

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report in 2019 that found that students with disabilities and boys are restrained or secluded at much higher rates than other students.

Data from the Department of Education showed that nearly 70,000 students with disabilities were restrained or secluded in a single school year and most special education students were restrained about three times.

In May, the bill was introduced in the Senate and then referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. At the same time, the bill was introduced to the House. It is still in the first stage of the legislative process.
Former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe admitted President Joe Biden was 'unpopular' in his state in a clip that surfaced Tuesday, weeks after they campaigned side-by-side in McAuliffe's bid for another term.

The off-year election is widely seen as a referendum on Democrats' majority government in Washington.

'We've got to get Democrats out to vote,' McAuliffe said in a 12-second video clip of a teleconference. 'We are facing a lot of headwinds from Washington, as you know.'

'The president is unpopular today unfortunately here in Virginia so we have got to plow through.'

DailyMail.com has reached out to McAuliffe's campaign for comment.

It's unclear if or how he'll plan to differentiate himself from Biden in the last weeks before the election.

McAuliffe, whose previous term ended in 2018, is facing off against Donald Trump-endorsed businessman Glenn Youngkin on November 2.

The close race has McAuliffe polling at 47.3 percent and Youngkin slightly behind at 44.4 percent, according to FiveThirtyEight.

The brief teleconference clip doesn't explain why McAuliffe is distancing himself from the president, but the White House has been plagued by a number of crises in Biden's term so far that have earned him historically low approval numbers for a Democrat president.

McAuliffe is running a close race against Trump-backed Glenn Youngkin, only a few points ahead of the Republican businessman

Biden's current approval rating sits at 44.8 percent nationwide according to poll aggregator FiveThirtyEight. That puts him below every Democratic president at this point in their term until Harry Truman, when tracking began.

A recent Civiqs poll shows Biden's approval is even lower among Virginians at just 40 percent.

A Delta-fueled COVID-19 surge swept the country barely weeks after Biden promised a 'summer of freedom' from the pandemic, forcing him to enact sweeping and controversial vaccine orders.

His hasty military withdrawal from Afghanistan earned bipartisan outrage after US troops left thousands of Afghan allies and numerous American citizens to Taliban rule.

A number of other progressive issues, including his stance on abortion and lengthy social agenda, have isolated moderates within his own party.

If McAuliffe loses, the White House is reportedly concerned it'll be a preview of the 2022 midterms.

Biden advisers are in close contact with McAuliffe's team, a source told The Hill on Wednesday.

They said the president is 'heavily invested' in the race's outcome.

Biden campaigned for McAuliffe in Arlington in late July, his first such event since becoming president

On a public front the White House has ramped up its engagement in the governor's race.

Biden campaigned with McAuliffe in late July, his first time doing so since setting foot into the White House.

He stressed to voters even then how important the coming race was, telling them it was 'a big deal.'

'I mean this, not just for Virginia, but for the country. The country is looking. These off-year elections, the country is looking,' Biden said.

Vice President Kamala Harris held a fundraiser for McAuliffe last month.

Virginia grew more blue during the Trump years, securing a majority-Democratic legislature in 2019 for the first time since 1996. A Republican hasn't been governor there since 2014.

To win the race Youngkin is looking to secure moderate Republican votes while also turning out Trump supporters in parts of rural Virginia.

Biden and McAuliffe have appeared together a number of times. McAuliffe swept the Democratic primary for governor and is seen as a powerhouse within the party

At a recent gubernatorial debate he was hesitant to touch on topics like election fraud, a favorite of the ex-president's, and tried to avoid weighing in on whether he'd support another Trump term - though he confessed he would.

'So far, Glenn Youngkin has danced on the edge of a razor, and he's not gotten cut,' John Fredericks, who led Trump's Virginia campaign last year, told the Associated Press last week. 'He's holding the Trump base together.'

But it seems he's wading further into MAGA territory as the race draws to a close

On Monday Youngkin called for an 'audit' to 'make sure that people trust these voting machines,' according to a video obtained by Politico, similar to Republican demands in other states where Trump supporters baselessly allege the election was stolen.

It's unclear if the McAuliffe campaign will change any of its plans to work with the Biden administration in the next few weeks before the election in light of the ex-governor's concerns.

DailyMail.com has reached out to the White House for comment.

CNN reported on Sunday that First Lady Dr. Jill Biden would be campaigning with McAuliffe this week.
A man has been charged with the murder of a Memphis college senior who was shot dead during a home invasion after refusing to hand over his iPad password to robbers.

Rainess Holmes, 36, was arrested by the Memphis Police Department and a US Marshals Task Force Team for the murder of 22-year-old Rhodes College student and musician Drew Rainer.

Holmes and two or three other people kicked in the door of Rainer's home at 5:30am on Sunday, wearing hoodies tightly tied around their faces, according to police.

Cops say the robbers demanded that Rainer give them his iPad password, and when he did not provide it, Holmes allegedly shot him in the chest.

Rainer then began fighting his attacker, and the gunman shot a second time, hitting another woman who lived in the home in the hand.

The suspects then allegedly fled with cell phones, games consoles, video games, and other electronics, according to Fox 13

When police arrived at the scene around 5.40am, Rainer was found at the bottom of the stairs and was declared dead.

The wounded woman - also a student - was transported to Regional One Health in non-critical condition.

Rainess Holmes, 36, has been arrested and charged for the murder of Rainer. He allegedly shot Rainer after he refused to give him his iPad password

Andrew (Drew) Rainer, 22, was fatally shot in the chest after three to four robbers broke into his home on North McLean in Memphis, Tennessee. Rainer was a college senior at Rhodes College and studied English and music

The iPad was tracked to an inn at 3025 Summer Avenue, according to records.

A stolen Jeep Wrangler was also identified in the parking lot of the same inn, according to Fox 13.

A man, later identified as Holmes, and woman allegedly approached the Jeep before noticing police. They then fled and hid behind a drainage pipe, cops say.

Police found Rainer's wallet and another victim's phone in the ditch.

Holmes was eventually arrested by the U.S. Marshals Two Rivers Violent Fugitive Task Force at a home three miles away from the property where Rainer was killed.

He has been charged with first-degree murder, especially aggravated robbery, three counts of aggravated robbery, especially aggravated burglary, and first-degree murder in perpetration of especially aggravated burglary by Memphis Police.

Rainer, who studied English and music at Rhodes College, was honored by the school on October 5, where students gather for a candlelight vigil.

Rhodes College honored Rainer by hosting a candlelight vigil and dinner in his honor

The school also canceled classes on Monday to offer grief counseling sessions to students who needed it

Rainer (right) created an 80s rock band called Belvedere who hosted several live performances and released a few singles

The band released a statement on their Facebook page, writing: 'We miss you, Drew'

Hundreds of students gathered on campus to honor their fallen classmate with candles and hugs. The school also canceled classes on Monday to honor Rainer and offer students grief counseling sessions for those who needed it.

'As we continue to receive official updates about a home invasion and shooting this morning near campus, Rhodes College has decided to cancel classes Monday, Oct. 4, while making counseling available to students,' a statement said.

The college also hosted a dinner for all students on Monday, regardless of meal plan, in his honor.

In addition, Rainer's 80s rock bank Belvedere released a statement on their Facebook page, writing: 'Drew Rainer was senselessly taken from us on October 3, 2021. We miss you, Drew.'

Rainer was quite passionate about music and played bass guitar for the band and had promoted several live shows for the band in the past on his Facebook page.
A 20-year-old woman has suffered horrific burns to 90 percent of her body after jumping into a hot spring at Yellowstone National Park to try to rescue her dog.

Laiha Slayton and her father, Woodraw, were visiting the park on Tuesday and had parked 20-30 yards away from Maidens Grave Spring, next to the Firehole River, her sister Kamilla told DailyMail.com.

The family's two Shih Tzus, Rusty and Chevy, were wandering around nearby while Laiha was looking for their leashes in the car.

Rusty suddenly got his foot burned by a small leak from the geyser that flows into the river. The dog then panicked and fell in to the spring while Woodrow was trying to gain control of Chevy.

Laiha jumped in to the thermal spring - which can reach temperatures of 190-degree Fahrenheit - in a bid to rescue her one-year-old puppy, and then had to be rescued herself by her father.

Laiha, from Tacoma, Washington, suffered third-degree burns to her body from her shoulders to her feet.

Her father drove her to West Yellowstone, Montana, to seek help and she was flown by helicopter to the burn unit at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls, park officials said in a statement Tuesday.

Woodrow suffered a burn to his foot and also required treatment.

The puppy, Rusty, was taken to a veterinarian but it did not survive its wounds.

Laiha Slayton, 20, is in a medically-induced coma for the next two weeks as she recovers from her third-degree burns after rescuing her dog from a hot spring in Yellowstone, Wyoming on Tuesday, her family say

Laiha suffered third-degree thermal burns on about '90 percent of her body' while she was trying to save her Shih Tzu, Rusty, who jumped into a hot spring at Yellowstone National Park

Rusty, the Shih Tzu puppy, was taken to a veterinarian but did not survive from its wounds

Maiden's Grave Hot Spring flowing into the Firehole River in Yellowstone National Park, where Laiha and her dog reportedly fell into and suffered burns

Laiha, a dental assistant and former nursing home aid, is currently in a medically-induced coma for the next two weeks, according to a GoFundMe page that was organized by her sister to pay for medical bills.

Laiha's palms are also 'completely gone,' according to Kamilla, who says that her sister will have to require further surgery, meaning that she will be in the hospital for a 'few months'.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the Slayton's GoFundMe page had raised $12,377 out of a $45,000 goal to pay for expenses including medical costs and cremation services for the puppy.

Yellowstone National Park officials posted about the incident on their Facebook page, and warned visitors to stay away from the hot springs.

Their post read: 'The ground in hydrothermal areas is fragile and thin, and there is scalding water just below the surface. Everyone must remain on boardwalks and trails and exercise extreme caution around thermal features.

'While in the park, protect your pets by physically controlling them at all times. Pets must be in a car, crate or on a leash no more than six feet long. They are not allowed on boardwalks, hiking trails, in the backcountry, or in thermal areas.'

The incident happened at Maiden's Grave Spring, north of the famous Old Faithful Geyser in Yellowstone Park, Wyoming

Laiha (pictured) was taken to hospital in Idaho by helicopter after her father drove her to West Yellowstone, Montana, to seek help

Laiha seen with her two Shih Tzus that were involved in the incident: Chevy and Rusty

Laiha is the second woman who burned herself in a Yellowstone thermal feature in recent weeks.

On September 16, a 19-year-old womana concessions employee at the parkfrom Rhode Island suffered second and third-degree burns to 5 percent of her body after falling into thermal water near the world famous Old Faithful geyser.

Due to medical privacy laws, it is unknown exactly how many visitors have been injured from ignoring the cautionary signs.

In October 2020, a three-year-old suffered second-degree thermal burns to their lower body after running from a designated trail and slipping and falling into a small thermal feature.

In May of the same year, a visitor who entered the park illegally while it was closed due to the Covid pandemic also ended up falling into a thermal feature while backing up to take a photo at Old Faithful.

Since the park's establishment in 1872, there have been around 20 reported deaths due to some sort of interaction with park thermal areas.

Slayton is the second person who has suffered severe burns in a Yellowstone (pictured) thermal feature in recent weeks

Around 20 people have died due to some sort of interaction with park thermal areas since the park's establishment in 1872, according to the USG

That number is significantly higher than the eight deaths over the same period due to encounters with grizzly bears, the United States Geological Survey reports.

The most recent fatality at the park came in August 2000, when one person died and two others suffered severe burns after falling from a hot spring in the Lower Geyser Basin.

Yellowstone has more than 10,000 thermal features, which can be as hot as 280 degrees Fahrenheit (138 Celsius).

The national park was briefly closed in May 2020 due to COVID reasons, but National Park Services reported that it has hosted 483,159 recreation visits in May 2021.

It's an 11 percent increase compared to May 2019 (434,385 recreation visits) and the parks most visited May on record.
Millionaire Brexit-backing businessman Arron Banks has lost his Court of Appeal fight over a six-figure inheritance tax bill on his donations to UKIP.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) assessed Mr Banks - one of the self-styled 'Bad Boys of Brexit' - as owing more than 160,000 on almost 1 million in donations to UKIP between October 2014 and March 2015.

Donations to political parties which had two MPs elected at the last general election, or one MP elected and a total of 150,000 votes, are exempt from inheritance tax.

Mr Banks has argued the decision is against human rights and EU law, despite being opposed to Britain's EU membership.

While UKIP received 919,471 votes across the UK in the 2010 general election, the party did not return a single MP to the House of Commons, prompting HMRC to bill Mr Banks for 162,945.34.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) assessed millionaire Arron Banks (pictured) - one of the self-styled 'Bad Boys of Brexit' - as owing more than 160,000 on almost 1 million in donations to UKIP between October 2014 and March 2015

Mr Banks challenged the decision at two tribunals, arguing that the law on political donations being exempt from inheritance tax breached his human rights and EU law.

He claimed the provisions of the Inheritance Tax Act were unlawfully discriminatory under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), as well as breaching his - and UKIP's - right to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly under the ECHR.

After both the first-tier tribunal (FTT) and the upper tribunal dismissed his claim, Mr Banks brought a Court of Appeal challenge in May.

However, in a judgment handed down on Wednesday, three judges found that he had failed to establish a breach of his human rights and dismissed the appeal.

Lord Justice Henderson, sitting with Sir Julian Flaux and Lady Justice Nicola Davies, said: 'There is nothing about UKIP or its supporters which places them in a different category from all other supporters of political parties who are denied exemption for their gifts.'

The Court of Appeal heard that, while UKIP did not win any seats in the 2010 general election, it did obtain two MPs in by-elections in 2014.

Protesters hold up placards and Union flags as they attend a pro-Brexit demonstration promoted by UKIP in central London in 2018

However, Lord Justice Henderson ruled: 'The requirement that the party should have at least one MP at Westminster cannot possibly be stigmatised as irrational.

'Similarly, the exclusion of MPs elected at by-elections or who defect from other parties reflects the different, and possibly more volatile, political circumstances in which a party may acquire such MPs.'

Lord Justice Henderson later accepted that the law did discriminate against Mr Banks directly 'on the basis that he was a supporter of a party that had secured no seats in the House of Commons at the 2010 general election'.

However, the judge concluded that he had 'no hesitation' in finding that HMRC had justified the difference in treatment, meaning it was still lawful.
A New York City call center worker has been charged with fraud for allegedly renting out taxpayer-funded hotel rooms which were supposed to be used by quarantining health workers.

Chanette Lewis, 30, worked as a contractor at a Office of Emergency Management call center and was responsible for booking rooms under the Hotel Room Isolation Program.

The program - set up in March 2020 - offers health workers free hotel stays for up to 14 days if they do not have a safe place to self-isolate after being exposed to Covid-19.

But prosecutors allege that Lewis accessed real heath worker details and used them to book five-star hotel rooms, and then offered them on Facebook at massive discounts. Some of the guests then threw massive parties in the suites.

Tatiana Benjamin, 26; Tatiana Daniel, 27; and Heaven West, 21, have also been charged with fraud.

Prosecutors say Lewis and the three accomplices cost the city $400,000 by booking more than 2,700 nights at hotels in Manhattan and the Bronx between April 2020 and June 2020.

The four women allegedly advertised the rooms on Facebook for as little as $300 for a month's stay, and pocketed the cash while the city footed the actual bill.

Lewis booked 28 nights for herself during the scam, authorities say.

'Im Doing Hotels 60 Percent 5 star hotels I do not know exactly what hotel u would be place but I know it would be 5 star hotel  be cash app ready !!' Lewis wrote, according to prosecutors.

'Book Today, $300 For the whole monthhhhhhhhhhhhhh !! !! !! !!' another post allegedly advertised.

Chanette Lewis, 30, was arrested and charged on Tuesday for allegedly starting a scheme in which she rented vacant hotel rooms at discounted prices that were meant for quarantining health care workers

The four women allegedly advertised the rooms on Facebook for as little as $300 for a month

Prosecutors say Lewis and three accomplices cost the city $400,000 by booking more than 2,700 nights at hotels in areas such as Manhattan and the Bronx

Lewis also allegedly wrote on Facebook that she had used private information from healthcare workers to book the hotel rooms.

'I stole some doctor numbers and emails  I was writing down they employed [sic] ID number lmao,' she wrote in a private message, according to prosecutors.

'I made 16K in 5 days Im proud of myselfffff,' another private message allegedly read.

Prosecutors say Lewis began recruiting the other women in June 2020 after running the scheme on her own for three months.

'I wanna teach u the ropes of it,' Lewis allegedly wrote to Benjamin.

'I work for 311 oem that how I got doctors licenses and stuff . . . I work in the part that I collect they information and I do and approval the booking . . . I take doctors and stuff certificate numbers and stuff.'

'Lets get this bread while this s--t active,' Benjamin allegedly said in response.

But the city caught onto the scheme in July last year and cancelled the reservations the pair made for the 'ineligible' guests.

'We goin to jail lmao,' Benjamin allegedly said to Lewis on Facebook.

Prosecutors say Lewis posted videos of the hotel rooms online, and advertised stays for $50 a night or $300 for a month

Prosecutors say Lewis began recruiting the other women in June 2020 after running the scheme on her own for three months.

Lewis was said to have worked with Benjamin and Daniel during the scheme while the latter worked with West.

Both Lewis and Daniel were arrested in New York on Tuesday while West was arrested in Atlanta. Benjamin has not yet been arrested.

US Attorney Special Agent Jared Eanucci said: 'In various instances, those who bought fraudulently obtained program hotel rooms threw large parties, and sometimes even engaged in violence,'

Department of Investigation Commissioner Margaret Garnett said: 'These defendants exploited the very city-run program meant to provide respite and isolation to health care workers and city residents desperately trying to find space to quarantine and stem the spread of the virus.'

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss told ABC News: 'As alleged, the defendants abused this program by falsely claiming to be healthcare workers and by selling hotel rooms to non-qualifying individuals.

'When, as alleged here, people illicitly exploit a public health crisis for private gain, they will find themselves facing criminal charges.'

Lewis worked as a call center worker at the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) where she had access to health care worker information

Lewis has been charged with wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, honest services fraud, aggravated identity theft and theft of government funds.

She also was charged with unemployment benefits fraud as she claimed more than $45,000 after allegedly stating that she had not worked since February 2020.

However, she had apparently worked at the call center during that period and stopped getting paid because she was not showing up to work.

'The Unemployment Insurance Program exists to provide needed assistance to qualified individuals who are unemployed due to no fault of their own,' DOL-OIG Special Agent-in-Charge Jonathan Mellone Fraud said.

'Fraud against the Unemployment Insurance Program distracts state workforce agencies from ensuring benefits go to individuals who are eligible to receive them.

'The Office of Inspector General will continue to work closely with our many law enforcement partners, to investigate those who exploit the Unemployment Insurance Program.'

She could be facing a 72-year sentence for beginning the scheme.

Her alleged accomplice Benjamin faces similar charges including wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy and aggravated identity theft.

Daniel and West face wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy charges.

The three women also face a possible sentence of 40 years for their involvement.
Boris Johnson's Tory conference speech today may have been light on actual policies but he packed in the banter as he poked fun at everyone from Michael Gove to Jeremy Corbyn.

The Prime Minister played his 45-minute address to the faithful for laughs with his usual scatter-gun style, use of foreign languages and references to Greek mythology.

His light barbs at Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove gently poked fun at the 54-year-old's exploits at an Aberdeen's Pipe nightclub.

The minister was again on the dancefloor last night, throwing some dad shapes at a karaoke reception with MP Tom Tugendhat.

Hours later in the conference speech, Mr Johnson opened his speech by saying: 'Let's hear it for Jon Bon Govey. Living proof that we, you all, represent the most jiving, hip, happening and funkopolitan party in the world.'

The Prime Minister played his 45-minute address to the faithful for laughs with his usual scatter-gun style, use of foreign languages and references to Greek mythology.

A blushing Mr Gove this morning, watching the speech in which his partying was referenced

His light barbs at Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove gently poked fun at the 54-year-old's exploits at an Aberdeen's Pipe nightclub (left). The minister was again on the dancefloor last night, throwing some dad shapes at a karaoke reception with MP Tom Tugendhat (right)

With more venom, he mocked ex-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn as he spoke at the first conference since 2019.

In a reference to the politician who handed him an 80-seat majority at the last election he highlighted being at the first conference since 2019

'In fact, it is the first time since the general election of 2019 when we finally sent that corduroyed cosmonaut into orbit where he belongs,' he noted dryly.

He also took aim at Corbyn's replacement Sir Keir Starmer. He used his regular attack of 'Captain Hindsight' to criticise his Covid caution, saying the Labour leader was 'like a seriously rattled bus conductor ... pushed this way and that by a Corbynista mob of sellotape-spectacled sans-culottes, or the skipper of a cruise liner that has been captured by Somali pirates desperately trying to negotiate a change of course'.

He added: 'In previous national crises Labour leaders have opted to minimise public anxiety and confusion by not trying to score cheap party political points. One thinks of Attlee or even Michael Foot in the Falklands crisis.

'Sadly that was not the approach taken by Captain Hindsight, attacking one week then rowing in behind when it seemed to be working. The human weathervane, the Starmer chameleon.

'And in his final act of absurd opportunism he decided to oppose step four of the roadmap in July. Thats right folks if we had listened to Captain Hindsight we would still be in lockdown, we wouldnt have the fastest growth in the G7.

'If (Christopher) Columbus had listened to Captain Hindsight he would have discovered Tenerife.'

With more venom, he mocked ex-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn as he spoke at the first conference since 2019.

He also took aim at Corbyn's replacement Sir Keir Starmer. He used his regular attack of 'Captain Hindsight' to criticise his Covid caution, saying the Labour leader was 'like a seriously rattled bus conductor ... pushed this way and that by a Corbynista mob of sellotape-spectacled sans-culottes'

The PM attacked the Labour left for opposing the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal with Australia and the US, saying it was 'an idea so transparently right that Labour conference voted overwhelmingly against it - and I know that there has been a certain raucus squaukus from the anti-AUKUS caucus.'

He took aim at the EU's former Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier and translated the Leave campaign's 'take back control' slogan into French as he pledged to fight people-trafficking gangs at 'home and abroad'.

'Is it not a sublime irony that even in French politics there is now a leading centre-right politician calling for a referendum on the EU,' the PM said.

'Who is now calling for France to reprendre le controle? It's good old Michel Barnier. That's what happens if you spend a year trying to argue with Lord Frost, the greatest frost since the Great Frost of 1709.'

The PM joked about being unable to repaint the door of No 10 Downing Street and shared an ambition of trying to 'rewild' parts of the country as he welcomed otters and beavers returning to rivers.

He took aim at the EU's former Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier and translated the Leave campaign's 'take back control' slogan into French as he pledged to fight people-trafficking gangs at 'home and abroad'.

'If that isn't conservative, my friends, I don't know what is - build back beaver, I say. Though the beavers may sometimes build without local authority permission, you can also see how much room there is to build the homes that young families need in this country.

'There is no happiness like taking a set of keys and knowing the place is yours, and you can paint the front door any colour you like.

'As it happens I can't paint my own front door any colour I like - it has to be black - but I certainly don't have to go far to work.'

The PM joked about being unable to repaint the door of No 10 Downing Street and shared an ambition of trying to 'rewild' parts of the country as he welcomed otters and beavers returning to rivers in Devon (pictured)

He referenced 11th century Anglo-Saxon freedom fighter Hereward the Wake as he attacked cancel culture, saying: 'They really do want to re-write our national story starting with Hereward the Woke.'

He made light of contracting Covid and being put in intensive care in hospital, saying that at one point he looked out the window 'and amid the rubble of brick they seemed to be digging a hole for something or indeed someone  possibly me.'

He said the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier was 'as long as the entire Palace of Westminster and rather more compelling as an argument than many speeches made in the House of Commons'.

He added: 'It has dozens of F35s (fighter jets) on board and 66,000 sausages aboard, not because want to threaten or be adversarial to anyone - either with the F35s or indeed the sausages - but because we want to stick up for the rule of law that is so vital for freedom of navigation and free trade'.
The Met Police has said it has 'not received complaints' over claims a woman arrested at a Sarah Everard vigil was contacted by 'about 50' officers on Tinder.

The London force said it has contacted Patsy Stevenson, 28, over her allegations in a TV interview today.

Ms Stevenson claimed she was 'liked' by 50 uniformed police officers on dating app Tinder in an 'intimidation' tactic following the vigil on Clapham Common, London.

Because she has the Tinder Gold upgraded version of the software she could see who had 'liked' her profile without her 'liking' them.

She was photographed masked and pinned to the ground as she was detained by police at the memorial on March 13.

The harrowing image went viral and helped fan the flames on the suggestion the Met did not care about women and their rights.

Patsy Stevenson, who went viral after she was pictured being held on the ground by officers,

Ms Stevenson, who is a Physics student at Royal Holloway, University of London, said she had been liked by 50 police officers in uniform on Tnder in the aftermath of the vigil

Thousands of women wanting to pay their respects to Miss Everard turned up at the park

A spokesman for the Met said they had not yet had a complaint about the allegations.

He added: 'We have contacted the individual who has spoken about these concerns to offer our support and make enquiries.

'At this time we have not received complaints in relation to this incident, but we will to continue to liaise with them about the circumstances so we can establish whether any misconduct may have occurred, and determine the appropriate next steps.

'Officers must abide by our high standards of professional behaviour both on and off duty.

'If someone believes that an officer's conduct or behaviour on any social media or internet platform falls below these standards we would urge them to please contact us so that it can be properly investigated and appropriate action taken.'

Images of the physics student (pictured) being handcuffed and held down by two male officers sparked anger at Scotland Yard's policing of the gathering on March 13

Earlier Ms Stevenson said: 'They were all in uniform on their profiles or it said ''I'm a police officer''. I do not understand why someone would do that.

'It is almost like an intimidation thing, saying 'look we can see you', and that, to me, is terrifying.

'They know what I went through and they know that I'm fearful of police and they've done that for a reason,' she added in an interview to BBC London.

She also revealed that she had become the focus of internet conspiracies since her arrest and 'can't count the amount of death threats I've had'.

'Now there's always that fear when I'm out and I see someone staring at me,' she said.

'I just want to be able to live the way you live without fear. But then again, I'm a woman.'

Images of the physics student being handcuffed and held down by two male officers sparked anger at Scotland Yard's policing of the gathering on March 13.

Hundreds attended the vigil in south-west London to pay their respects to 33-year-old Ms Everard, who was killed after disappearing while walking home.

The event had originally been organised by Reclaim These Streets, who cancelled it after the Met said it should not go ahead, and no definitive answer on the matter was provided by the High Court.

But people turned up throughout the day, and officers did not intervene for the first six hours while many came to lay flowers, with the Duchess of Cambridge also paying her respects.

Well-wishers light candles around a tree in honour of Sarah Everard on Clapham Common, south London on March 13

By the evening, hundreds of people had gathered and refused to leave when asked by police, leading to clashes that saw protesters bundled to the ground and arrested.

The Met faced a barrage of criticism, including calls for Commissioner Cressida Dick to resign.

An official report from the watchdog, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS), backed the Met's handling of the event and found no evidence of heavy-handedness.

In June, Ms Stevenson launched legal action against the Met over her arrest if it refused to withdraw the fixed penalty notice she was issued with.

She is also asking for an acknowledgement of wrongdoing and an apology.

Ms Stevenson's lawyers say the policing breached her rights to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly and association.

They argue that exercising these rights would have been a 'reasonable excuse' for her to breach coronavirus regulations restricting people from gathering.

And they note a report from the Joint Committee on Human Rights from March which stated that 'going on a protest, if conducted in a manner that minimises the risk of spreading Covid-19, could have been and could remain a lawful reason to leave the home during lockdown'.

Speaking at the time, Ms Stevenson said: 'I am angry that the police shut down our space to mourn and comfort each other and I feel violated that male officers used physical force to do so.

'I will not be silenced by such actions and I am prepared to robustly challenge the police for their conduct on that day until there has been an acknowledgement and apology for their wrongdoing.'

The vigil created a crisis in policing after images from the memorial suggested officers may have been heavy-handed.

It was held during of the UK's many coronavirus lockdowns and was illegal under the regulations at the time.

There has been condemnation of the policing of the vigil, with Home Secretary Priti Patel seeking a full report on events

But thousands of women wanting to pay their respects to Miss Everard turned up at the park.

Police were seen grabbing several women, leading them away in handcuffs and the force later said four people were arrested for public order and coronavirus regulation breaches

It sparked condemnation of the policing of the vigil, with Home Secretary Priti Patel seeking a full report on events.

She described footage from the evening as 'upsetting', while Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey called on Commissioner Cressida Dick to 'consider' her leadership of the force.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said the scenes were 'unacceptable', tweeting: 'The police have a responsibility to enforce Covid laws but from images I've seen it's clear the response was at times neither appropriate nor proportionate.'

Assistant Commissioner Helen Ball said police were put into a position 'where enforcement action was necessary'.

She said: 'Hundreds of people were packed tightly together, posing a very real risk of easily transmitting Covid-19.

'Police must act for people's safety, this is the only responsible thing to do. The pandemic is not over and gatherings of people from right across London and beyond, are still not safe.

'Those who gathered were spoken to by officers on a number of occasions and over an extended period of time. We repeatedly encouraged those who were there to comply with the law and leave. Regrettably, a small minority of people began chanting at officers, pushing and throwing items.'

Met Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick, who has rejected calls to resign, confirmed on Monday there would be an independent review into the force's standards and culture and Home Secretary Priti Patel also said an inquiry into the 'systematic failures' that allowed Wayne Couzens to continue to be a police officer would be launched.
Markell Hancox is being held on $210,000 bond on five counts of second-degree kidnapping and other charges

A North Carolina woman who was involved in a car crash leapt into the SUV of a man who had stopped to help and sped off with his five children, leaving them 'extremely shaken', police say

Markell Hancox is being held at the Currituck County Detention Center on five counts of second-degree kidnapping, leaving the scene of an accident and car theft.

Currituck County deputies say she was involved in a multi-vehicle collision at 12.40pm at the intersection of Augusta Drive and Highway 158 in Grandy, a small community on the coast of North Carolina.

Hacox is from Chesapeake, Virginia, about 48 mi north of Grandy.

An unidentified man pulled up to the scene and left his SUV to check on everyone, deputies say.

Before he knew it, Hancox had jumped into his vehicle, where his five children sat waiting for their father, and drove off north on the highway.

Hancox was involved in a pile-up at Highway 158 and Augusta Drive Sunday at 12.40pm

When a Good Samaritan stopped by to help, she jumped into his car and sped off with his five children inside, leaving them at the gas station above about a minute up the road

She made it about a minute up the road before she pulled into the Hop In CITGO gas station, where she 'jumped and ran,' deputies said in a Facebook post Sunday night.

The children were not harmed but were 'extremely shaken,' deputies say.

Hancox is being held on a $210,000 bond.

The Currituck County Sheriff's Office told DailyMail.com they are not releasing any more information at this time.
A desperate search is underway to track down a missing young girl with grave fears for her safety due to the out of character disappearance.

Queensland Police launched a late night public appeal by releasing a photo of the 12-year-old, who was reported missing earlier on Wednesday.

The girl was last seen in Newport in the Moreton Bay region around 4.30pm and could have possibly spent the night in the Brisbane CBD.

A desperate search has to launched to find a 12-year-old girl (pictured) who was reported missing on Wednesday

She has made no contact with family or friends, sparking growing concerns for her welfare and safety, with her disappearance deemed 'out of character'.

A police appeal sparked more than 350 online shares within an hour of being posted late Wednesday night.

The girl is described as 160cm tall, fair complexion, thin build, brown hair and blue eyes.

She was last seen wearing red shorts and a shirt with a black jumper tied around her waist.

Anyone with information about the girl's whereabouts is urged to call Policelink or Crime Stoppers.
A fisherman couldn't believe his luck after finding a lump of whale vomit floating off a beach in southern Thailand that could be worth nearly 1million.

Narong Phetcharaj, who usually earns around 200 a month from fishing, was returning to shore when he saw a strange object being pushed by currents at Niyom beach in Surat Thani province.

Upon closer inspection, he realised that the mass had the same waxy texture and appearance as whale vomit, so he dragged it away from the beach - believing his find could be worth some money.

Phetcharaj later took the object to experts at the Prince of Songkla University to have it tested - and the results proved that it was genuine ambergris.

With a weight of 66lb (30kg), the fisherman's find could be worth as much as 1million based on previous prices as the whale vomit has sold for more than 35,000 per kilogram before.

CATCH OF THE DAY! Narong Phetcharaj, who usually earns around 200 a month from fishing, couldn't believe his luck after finding a lump of whale vomit floating off Niyom beach in Surat Thani province, Thailand

Phetcharaj later took the object to experts at the Prince of Songkla University to have it tested - and the results proved that it was genuine ambergris

Before the ambergris was tested at the university he examined the object first at home, imitating what he had seen on the news about the whale vomit. Phetcharaj burnt the shapeless lump with half of its side has grains like sand and the other a smooth surface before it started to melt

Ambergris: From a whale's intestines to the world' Ambergris - also often referred to as Whale Vomit or grey amber - is a solid, waxy, flammable and highly valuable substance produced in the digestive system of sperm whales. It is used by perfumers as a fixative - something that equalises vapor pressures, and thus the volatilities, of the raw materials in a perfume oil, as well as to increase the tenacity of a scent. For this reason, it has historically been highly sought after by perfumers, and played a part in the prosperity of the whaling industry from the 18th to the mid-19th century, which saw some 50,000 sperm whales killed each yet. As a result, sperm whales - also hunted for their oil and bones - became an endangered species, leading to the International Whaling Commission imposing a moratorium on commercial whaling in 1982. Many countries also ban the trade of ambergris as a way to discourage the illegal hunting and exploitation of whales - including Australia and the United States, although its trade is legal in the UK, France and Switzerland. Fossilised evidence of the rare substance dates back 1.75 million years, and it is believed that humans have been using it for over 1,000 years. Advertisement

Ambergris - or whale vomit - is considered a sea treasure and floating gold because of an odourless alcohol that is extracted to make a perfume's scent last longer.

Phetcharaj said: 'None of the villagers has ever seen or touched a real whale ambergris before that's why everybody was happy.'

He kept the whale vomit wrapped in a towel for safety and hidden in a cardboard box before informing his relatives about the discovery.

Before the ambergris was tested at the university he examined the object first at home, imitating what he had seen on the news about the whale vomit.

Burning pieces of the lump seemed to confirm that the substance was indeed ambergris as it quickly melted.

Phetcharaj said: 'I'm so excited I don't know what to do. I plan to sell the ambergris as I've already received a certificate to prove that it's real.

'If I can get a good price, I'll retire from working as a fisherman and throw a party for my friends.'

Ambergris is produced by sperm whales when bile ducts in the gastrointestinal tract make secretions to ease the passage of large or sharp objects. The whale then vomits the mucilage which solidifies and floats on the surface of the ocean.

The solid chunk has a foul smell at first but after the mucilage dries out, it develops a sweet and long-lasting fragrance, which makes it a sought-after ingredient in the perfume industry.

In February this year, thirty-five fishermen in Yemen were lifted out of poverty after unexpectedly finding 1.1million worth of whale vomit in the carcass of a sperm whale.

The lucky find was uncovered after a group of fishermen were alerted to a sperm whale carcass floating in the Gulf of Aden by a fisherman from Seriah.

Phetcharaj is pictured with the certificate which proves the ambergris is real

The men, from al-Khaisah, were told the carcass might contain the sought-after substance ambergris, or 'vomit gold', which is used in perfume making and worth around 35,000 per kilogram.

The fishermen took the whale to shore and cut it open to see if there was ambergris in its stomach and, to their delight, they found lumps of the rare vomit weighing 127kg, which they fetched 1.1million for.

Speaking to the BBC, one fisherman said: 'As soon as we got close to it there was this strong smell and we had the feeling that this whale had something.

'We decided to hook the whale in, take it to shore and cut into it to see what was inside its belly - and yes, it was ambergris. The smell wasn't very nice but lots of money.'

The fishermen divided up the eye-watering 1.1million earnings between them and others who helped discover the ambergris, while they also gave money to 'homes for the needy' in their village.

Thirty-five fishermen in al-Khaisah, Yemen, were lifted out of poverty after unexpectedly finding 1.1million worth of whale vomit (pictured) in the carcass of a sperm whale

In March this year, two lucky Thai fishermen found two huge lumps of whale vomit valued at 240,000.

Asaree Pooad, 24, had abandoned his fishing trip with his father in the Satun province, south Thailand, but managed to nab lumps of the sought-after whale vomit.

One of the chunks weighed 7kg while the other weighed 600g.

Combined, both lumps had an estimated worth of 242,000 based on quality and previous prices, after scientists at the region's Prince of Songkhla University checked the ambergris and issued certificates of authenticity.

Asaree Pooad abandoned his fishing trip with his father due to monsoon rains in the Satun province in March this year. Both were downhearted when they returned to shore empty-handed but found two large chunks of whale vomit. Pictured: One sample of ambergris weighed 7kg

Earlier that same month, a woman in Thailand couldn't believe her luck after stumbling across almost 190,000-worth of whale vomit near her beach house.

Siriporn Niamrin, 49, had been walking along the beach after a rainstorm when she noticed a large mass washed up on the shore in Nakhon Si Thammarat province, Thailand on February 23.

As she got closer, she noticed the substance smelled like fish, so she dragged the mass away from the beach - believing her find could be worth some money.

At 12 inches wide and 24 inches long and weighing around 15lb, the ambergris had an estimated value of 186,500.

In order to verify the authenticity of the ambergris, Siriporn and her neighbours held a naked flame up to the mass, causing part of it to melt and then harden again after cooling.

And in April 2016, a 1.57-kg ambergris ball found in Lancashire, UK, sold for 50,000 while in November of that same year, three Omani fishermen found 80kg of the substance and sold it for 2,205,942.

Siriporn Niamrin, 49, couldn't believe her luck after stumbling across almost 190,000-worth of whale vomit near her beach house in Nakhon Si Thammarat province, Thailand
A scaffolder was crushed to death in a 'long-predicted' church collapse, a court has been told.

Jeff Plevey, 56, from Cardiff, died when the derelict Citadel Church in Splott, Cardiff, fell down as he worked on it on July 18, 2017.

The court heard Mr Plevey had been working on scaffolding surrounding the church when the rear wall collapsed, bringing down the scaffolding with it and burying the father-of-two in the wreckage.

His body was recovered from the rubble, prosecutors told a jury in Swansea during the trial of several men and companies charged with offences relating to their role in the incident.

Keith Young, 72, from Llandough, and Stewart Swain, 53, from Whitchurch in Cardiff, are accused of gross negligence manslaughter.

Swain is the director of Swain Scaffolding Limited while Young is the director of Young Contractors, the demolition firm involved in the work.

Lead prosecutor Andrew Langdon QC told the jury of nine women and three men how at around 2.45pm railway workers on the nearby Splott Bridge heard a 'loud crack' and, 'a bang, like a small explosion'.

Scaffolder and father of two Jeff Plevey (pictured) was crushed to death in when the rear wall of the derelict Citadel Church in Cardiff collapsed on top of him in 2017, a court has been told

Prosecutors say a report had warned the collapse was 'imminent' but that it was not acted on

From the church building site they heard men shouting 'run', and telling someone to 'jump' before scaffolding around the church collapsed with another 'huge bang'.

The railway workers hurried across to find those who had escaped looking 'distressed' and repeatedly saying 'Jeff is inside'.

The scaffolding Mr Plevey had been standing on had 'disintegrated', Mr Langdon said, and 'looked like liquorice, having been burned to nothing under the weight of what had crushed it'.

'Jeff Plevey was eventually discovered among the wreckage. He had been crushed to death,' Mr Langdon said.'

Both men deny the charges which were brought after a joint investigation by South Wales Police and the Health and Safety Executive.

Mark Gulley, from Penarth, director of Amos Projects Limited, who had owned the Citadel since 2006, and Richard Lyons, from Bristol, a partner of Optima Scaffold Design Solutions Ltd are also on trial for health and safety offences.

Keith Young, 72, director of the demolition company, and Stewart Swain, 53, director of the scaffolding company, are both accused of gross negligence manslaughter which they deny

Workers are pictured on scene after the rear wall of the Citadel Church collapsed in July 2017

The church on Splott Road was built in 1892 and was mainly used by the Salvation Army until it became vacant around 20 years ago and fell into disrepair.

Mr Gulley had intended to refurbish the property into flats but later decided to demolish it and sell the site to developers.

Network Rail commissioned a survey into the building's condition due to its closeness to Splott Bridge - which was undergoing works as part of the electrification of the railway between Cardiff and London.

The report found the church to be in a 'poor' state, and said the rear wall was 'in danger of imminent collapse'.

The report was sent to Mr Gulley in the summer of 2016 and he shared it with all of the contractors hired to carry out the demolition, but not with Mr Swain, who was the director of the scaffolding company.

Despite the report's warning and the 'obvious' danger posed by the rear wall, the prosecution say contractors failed to carry out sufficient works to stabilise it.

Pictured: Father-of-two Jeff Plevey was crushed to death while working on the derelict church

Scaffolding erected around the building was then tied to the wall, making any collapse liable to take the scaffolding with it.

Mr Plevey and two other workers had been told to dismantle the scaffolding in preparation for the wall demolition when the collapse happened.

Mr Langdon said: 'It was the long-predicted collapse of that unstable wall. Unsupported and dangerous as it had been throughout, it had become even more dangerous since the demolition of the church had begun.'

The prosecution claimed no one had taken responsibility of the project as a whole, describing the management of the site as 'dysfunctional'.

The court was also told that had building regulations been followed 'this fatality could not have occurred'.

Two other men, Phil Thomas, from Cardiff, who was Young's health and safety advisor from South Wales Safety Consultancy Ltd, and Richard Dean, of Abertillery, from NJP Consultant Engineers Ltd, have already pleaded guilty to health and safety offences.

Rail workers nearby heard men shouting 'run', and telling someone to 'jump' before scaffolding around the church collapsed with another 'huge bang' the court was told. Pictured: the scene

Pictured: Police officers on scene at the church in Cardiff after the rear wall collapsed in 2017

In tributes paid after his death, Mr Plevey's family said: 'We are saddened to announce the passing of Jeff - a much loved and treasured member of our family.

'A hard working man who was always life and soul of any gathering, of which there were many.

'He will be greatly missed by all his family and friends.'

The trial before Mrs Justice Jefford is expected to take up to 10 weeks at the Swansea Civic Centre, one of the Nightingale courts set up to ease the backlog of cases worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Text messages between Elizabeth Holmes and her former lover and Theranos co-founder Sunny Balwani have been submitted as evidence at her fraud trial and reveal how she called him tiger' and 'my king', thought investors were injecting cash into their 'destiny' and argued over how she would 'emotionally transition' when they broke up in 2015 as the company headed towards ruin.

The texts are among thousands of exhibits that were made public on Monday by the US District Court in the Northern District of California, where Holmes is on trial for fraud.

Prosecutors say she and Balwani knowingly lied to win millions of dollars in investment to prop up Theranos, a blood test tech company, despite knowing that the technology was flawed.

They go from optimistic declarations of love in 2014 - 'This is our year. We can never forget it tiger... for our kids never forget who we are' - to panicked discussions in 2015 about internal staff complaints, FDA clearances and the 'challenges' ahead.

An interview with a Theranos assistant was also included and detailed how both Balwani and Holmes ordered each other flowers for Valentine's Day in 2016

In July 2015, the pair discussed Balwani leaving the company. Their romance had started to fizzle but he continued working at Theranos for a year.

In the texts, he complained to her: 'I worked for 6 years day and night to help you. I'm sad at where you and I are. I thought it would be better.

'I know u r angry in ur way. And upset with me for not doing everything you wanted me to do.'

He then warned her about 'challenges' ahead and said 'U need me'.

Elizabeth Holmes, left in court last month, is on trial for fraud. Prosecutors have submitted texts she exchanged with Theranos co-founder Sunny Balwani, her former secret lover, in 2014 and 2015

Holmes and Balwani are pictured in 2015 speaking to Theranos staff. At the time, she was 31 and he was 50

In December 2014, Holmes texted Balwani calling him 'tiger' and telling him it was 'their year'

In July 2015, Balwani discussed leaving the company but not until it broke even. The romance had soured by then and the pair were focused on saving the company. He warned her about 'challenges' ahead which he said she was underestimating

July 28 2015: Balwani tells Holmes they need to 'commit' to each other and 'get out of this hell so we can live in paradise we both have'. She replid to say she was 'completely' committed

In another message from July 2015, Balwani tells Holmes to 'be strong' and that he loves her

She said she understood and was ready for them but he replied: 'Unfortunately you don't and it brakes [sic] my heart.'

'U are underestimated the challenges ahead and being childish,' he said in one of the messages.

The company was operating on a loss and Balwani didn't want to leave until they recouped some money.

'I am not leaving until we break even. We will do this together and I will be by yourself [sic] until then.

'Can't leave like this,' he went on, warning Holmes that he 'didn't like' the 'PR direction' she was heading in.

November 2013: The pair discuss winning investment of $15million which Balwani describes as 'free cash'

November 2014: The pair discuss investments from 'Greg' and Alice Walton, the daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton who is the 12th richest person in America with a net worth of $67billion

November 2014: Holmes and Balwani were in a secret romance and building Theranos despite mounting staff problems. They frantically texted throughout the day, often sending one-word messages to each other about their strategy

In January 2015, an internal negative review was left by employee in the company's Newark lab. Balwani said he was going to 'nail down this mother f****er'. In subsequent texts, he tried to narrow down a list of employees who might have left the anonymous review

April 2015: The pair continue discussing work and the media. Balwani told Holmes they still needed FDA clearance. Holmes said those on the outside 'are just jealous' of what the pair were building

April 2015: The pair worry about a Wall Street Journal reporter who planned to visit the Theranos HQ and sample the technology. They worried about whether it was going to work. Balwani said 'seems like this guy is looking to write something negative'. The Journal published a story in October which said Holmes had declined interviews for five months. The article also raised questions about the technology being used

September 2015: Holmes tells Balwani that she is 'sitting here trying to stay focused on every detail'. Cracks in the management of the company had started to show

In October 2015, the pair discussed business over text. The romance fizzled around this time but they carried on working together as problems started to arise

In other, previous exchanges, before the romance soured, Balwani complained about a negative internal review that was written anonymously by an employee.

In November 2014, Balwani told Holmes he'd secured an investment of $50,000 from Alice Walton, the daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton who is the 12th richest person in America with a net worth of $67billion

'CC'd you on terrible negative review from someone from Newark lab probably lugs lab.

'Working on getting that removed.

'I am narrowing this down on CUA. Down to 5 people. Will nail this motherf****r' .

Holmes replied: 'I saw it. We'll get them'.

In another, they worried about a Wall Street Journal reporter visiting their lab to try out Theranos blood test technology.

They discussed the result he would get and how he wanted to write 'something negative'.

They also talked about how Balwani thought they were 'lazy' and 'disorganized'.

'We are lazy and disorganized and not focused, in work but also in the context of u and me,' he said.

October 2015: One of the last texts submitted in the court records is Balwani telling Holmes that he is worried about a comment she made regarding the technology

Holmes replied: 'What makes you say lazy.'

In later texts, the pair fretted over FDA regulations and discussed making the company less about healthcare and '100 percent tech'.

Balwani left Theranos abruptly in 2016. Both he and Holmes have denied fraud.

Part of her defense is to claim that he abused and manipulated her.

Now 37, Holmes was 18 when she met Balwani on a Chinese-language immersion trip in 2002. He was 37 at the time and the pair started dating.

She dropped out of Stanford in 2003 to work on Theranos full-time.

Holmes is now married to hotel heir Billy Evans and the pair have a baby son.

Balwani's trial has been scheduled for next year, after Holmes'.
The Philadelphia nursing assistant shot dead by a co-worker wearing body armor over his scrubs, was a married father who worked two jobs to support his three children, family members have revealed.

Anrae James, a 43-year-old certified nursing assistant at Jefferson University Hospital, was killed when a nurse at the facility, identified by the authority as 55-year-old Stacey Hayes, opened fire with an assault rifle early on Monday morning.

Hayes allegedly fled the scene in a U-Haul truck and later engaged police in a gun battle near a school, leaving two officers wounded before he was taken into custody.

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Anrae James, 43, was shot dead while working as a nursing assistant at Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. He is pictured with his wife and their children

James worked two jobs - as a nursing assistant and a barber - to help support his wife and their three children. James is picture with his wife, right

A nurse wearing scrubs and body armor shot and killed a co-worker at the Thomas Jefferson University Hospital (pictured) just after midnight Monday

On Tuesday, Hayes, who was shot and injured by the police, was charged with murder, attempted criminal homicide, aggravated assault, assault on law enforcement, firearms crimes and related offenses in the rampage.

Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Frank Vanore told The Philadelphia Inquirer that it's unclear whether Hayes was supposed to have been working at the time, but detectives believe he used an employee entrance. Investigators are still trying to find out why he might have targeted his co-worker.

'We have not discovered any hostility between them, or any issues that we can point out,' Vanore said.

Court records obtained by NBC10 indicate that Hayes had recently filed a motion asking a judge to compel the Philadelphia police to return his arsenal of firearms to him, which had been previously seized for an unspecified reason.

Hayes wrote in his petition: 'because the property was purchased legally by me, I didnt commit any crime and I feel like the property should be returned to me because I am not a threat to anyone. I just want to be able to protect myself and my family if needed.'

In June, police were ordered by the judge to return a 12-gauge shotgun with 12 rounds, a Panther AR-15 rifle and a Smith & Wesson pistol with three magazines and 39 rounds to Hayes.

The Philadelphia police declined on Wednesday to say why they had taken the guns away from Hayes, referring DailyMail.com to the District Attorney's Office.

DailyMail,com reached out to DA Larry Krasner's officer seeking comment and was awaiting a reply.

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw (pictured) said officers cornered the shooter after he fled in a U Haul, and they got into a shootout. Two officers were injured with non-life threatening injuries

James was described as a family man who worked as a nurse and a part-time barber to support his wife, Barbara, their two daughters, aged 16 and one, and an 11-year-old son.

'He was an asset to society, raising up a good family,' Anrae's father, William James, told Action News. 'He was a good man. And for him to go out like that from someone like that is heartbreaking,'

Surveillance video, which has not been released to the public, reportedly showed Hayes ambush James from behind and open fire on him as the victim sat at his work station.

Hayes allegedly kept firing on James as he tried to flee for his life.

Cops cornered the shooter in the city's Parkside section after he fled the Hospital in a U-Haul box truck. Armed with multiple weapons, including an AR-15 rifle and a handgun, police said, the the suspect opened fire on the officers, and all four fired back.

Two officers received non-life-threatening injuries during the shootout. The gunman was shot in the upper body and neck and was taken to Penn Presbyterian in critical condition for treatment, and is expected to survive.

Police have not released Hayes' booking photo as of Wednesday morning because he remained in the hospital.

Police said they believe the shooting was targeted.

James' father wondered how Hayes was able to bring multiple weapons into the hospital.

'How did he get in there with a gun?' asked William James. 'I just hope [Hayes] lives so I can see him cause I just want to see what kind of individual this is.'

The shooting suspect fled in a U-Haul box truck (pictured) before being cornered by officers in the Parkside section of Philadelphia

Hayes was wearing scrubs when he shot James, of Elkins Park, on the ninth floor of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital just after midnight, authorities allege. James was pronounced dead shortly after 1am Monday.

The gunman fled in a box truck, and just before 1.30am Monday police responded to a report of gunfire in west Philadelphia's Parkside neighborhood near the School of the Future on the edge of Fairmount Park.

Police found the suspect in body armor and with weapons including a rifle and a handgun, police said. He opened fire, and four officers returned fire, critically wounding him in the upper body and neck, police said.

Police said the the suspect fired anywhere from 55 to 80 times in the shootout, Fox29 reported.

Police said one of the wounded officers had an elbow injury requiring surgery, while another was grazed on the nose.

It was unclear what sparked the shooting and investigators were looking into the histories of both men.

'We do believe that other employee was targeted,' she said. 'The reasons why, at this point we still don't know.'

Hospital employees said they were notified by text message shortly before 1am of an active shooter situation in the Gibbon building of the hospital, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Pedestrians walked past the Thomas Jefferson hospital Monday morning, hour after the shooting took place

'Enact emergency procedures,' the text read. 'Run, hide, fight.'

In a neighboring hospital building, employees said they heard an official over the loudspeaker telling them to shelter in place. Some told the outlet that they barricaded themselves in a break room for roughly an hour.

Jefferson Health issued a statement Monday afternoon saying weapons are barred from its campuses and vowing 'a thorough review' of safety protocols. Counseling will be available to employees and patients, the company said.

A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to help James' family.

'Rae was the epitome of a family man and truly loved by everyone,' the description written by Barbara James read. 'Some knew him as Rae or RZA, but everyone knew him as the genuinely good man that had the knack for making every interaction/conversation special, you just knew that he cared.'
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., took heat from Republicans at a Dorchester County GOP fundraiser over the weekend, drawing fierce outcry when he suggested they 'ought to think' about getting the Covid-19 vaccine.

'How many of you took the vaccine?' the senator asked, as various hands raised throughout the crowd.

'How many of you will take the booster?' he asked, drawing audible 'No's' from the crowd. Hardly any hands went up, other than Graham's.

'Bottom line is I took the vaccine and I had it [Covid-19], it kicks your butt,' Graham continued, 'If you haven't had the vaccine you ought to think about getting it.' 'No's' rising up from the crowd got louder.

'I didn't tell you to do it, but you ought to think about it,' the senator added, to more push back.

'Ninety-two percent of the people in hospitals in South Carolina are unvaccinated,' he said. 'Oh my god! Lies!' can be heard from the crowd.

'I'm with you on like, don't mandate it, I'm with you that's probably unconstitutional,' Graham said.

One person in the crowd angrily shouted that he was going to lose his job with the US Navy in 60 days. The deadline for members of the Navy to get their jab is Nov. 22.

'How many of you have taken measles shots? Not just in the military,' he asked the crowd, as many shouted back 'That's not the same!'

Graham posted a photo of himself getting the Covid-19 jab in December

'Ninety-two percent of the people in hospitals in South Carolina are unvaccinated,' Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said. 'Oh my god! Lies!' can be heard from the crowd

The military requires as many as 17 vaccines, including measles.

Graham then retreated: 'In the military, they can say you got to get vaccinated. I think that's a dumb idea. You know why? We shouldn't be driving people away from serving.'

'If you're a healthcare worker and you don't want to get vaccinated, why do you want to get people to quit being nurses?' he added.

The fully-vaccinated senator tested positive for Covid-19 in early August, and still he said Covid-19 had him 'flat on his back.'

'I'm convinced if I did not have the vaccine the outcome would have been a lot worse,' Graham said on Aug. 24.

'I was pretty much flat on my back, but I'm up and moving around now because I think the vaccine lessens the blow. And if you haven't been vaccinated yet, please do.'

In Graham's South Carolina, 56% of residents of all ages have had at least one Covid-19 vaccine, lower than the 65% of Americans overall.

Despite leaders in the party pushing vaccination, a subsection of Republicans remain obstinate. Former President Trump and Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson have both recently been heckled for suggesting their supporters get vaccinated.

'You know what? I believe totally in your freedom, I do. You got to do what you have to do,' Trump said at an August rally in Alabama. 'But I recommend: Take the vaccines. I did it. It's good. Take the vaccines.'

The crowd started to boo. 'That's OK. That's alright. You got your freedoms, but I happen to take the vaccine,' he said.

Hutchinson, meanwhile, was booed in July for suggesting the vaccine does not affect fertility.
A Devon and Cornwall police officer and member of staff will be investigated over their handling of Plymouth gunman Jake Davison's shotgun licence application, and decision to return his weapon to him weeks before he killed five people.

Davison, 22, went on his 12-minute murderous rampage in the Keyham area of Plymouth before turning the gun on himself in horrifying scenes earlier this summer.

It was revealed that the trainee crane operator had his weapon returned to him by Devon and Cornwall Police in July - despite an earlier incident in December 2020 that saw the weapon confiscated.

The gun was returned to him just weeks before the rampage after he attended an anger management course - with police deeming him as being fit again to possess the three-shot shotgun.

An IPOC spokesman said a gross misconduct notice has been issued to a member of police staff in relation to Davison's original application for a shotgun certificate in July 2017, as well as their decision to return his shotgun in July 2021.

Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer said Davison had the gun under a 'sporting licence' designed to be used for clay pigeon shooting, but that had been revoked after he assaulted two teenagers in a park in September 2020.

A serving police officer who was responsible for investigating the assaults admitted by Davison in 2020 was handed a misconduct notice by the IOPC on Wednesday.

The gunman who shot and killed five people in Plymouth before turning his gun on himself was named by locals as Jake Davison, 23

Police forensic officers at the scene in Biddick Drive, Plymouth where five people were murdered by a gunman who turned the weapon on himself

The images seen here are taken from a video that was filmed in the aftermath of the attack. The grabs show gunman Jake Davison's body lying at the corner of Henderson Place and Bedford street in Plymouth

The IOPC spokesman said the notices tell the two individuals that their conduct is being investigated but does not mean disciplinary proceedings will necessarily follow.

The spokesman said: 'Investigators have been assessing the conduct of Devon and Cornwall Police employees directly involved in processing and checking Jake Davison's original application for a shotgun certificate in July 2017, as well as the handling of the assault by Mr Davison on two youths in September 2020, and the decision to return the weapon to him in July this year.

'The police officer was responsible for investigating the assaults admitted by Mr Davison in 2020.

'We are investigating whether they shared information appropriately with the force Firearms and Explosives Licensing Department regarding Mr Davison's involvement in a violent offence, and whether they took appropriate steps to seize the shotgun certificate, shotgun, and ammunition from Mr Davison.

Self-described 'f***ing fat ugly virgin' and bodybuilder Jake Davison, 22, murdered his mother Maxine, 51, after bursting into her home in the Devon city with a pump-action shotgun.

Without saying a word Davison, dressed in black, then gunned down Sophie Martyn, 3, and her father Lee, 43, who were walking up the road.

After murdering the pair, Davison walked to an adjacent area of parkland and opened fire on dogwalker Stephen Washington, 59, before killing Kate Shepherd, 66, outside of Blush hair salon.

He then turned the gun on himself, concluding his 12-minute bloody rampage that was the worst mass shooting seen in Britain since 2010.

It has since been revealed that Devon and Cornwall Police took three months to seize Plymouth incel Jake Davison's gun and licence off him last year, despite him attacking two teenagers in a park.

An inquest into the deaths of his victims heard in August was told how police gave his weapon and certificate back to him just weeks before his rampage, because he completed a taxpayer-funded intervention programme - an alternative to being charged or cautioned.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said Devon and Cornwall Police had offered the apprentice crane operator a place on its Pathfinder scheme.

Police last year issued images of a man - now identified as Davison - that they wanted to speak to in connection with an alleged assault at a skate park in the city

Davison, who is recognisable in the images released by police last October, had his shotgun confiscated in the aftermath of the alleged assault

Less than a year later, however, it was returned to him after he attended an anger management course, and within mere weeks, the 22-year-old would carry out his atrocity that left five victims dead

But at the end of November last year, a scheme worker raised concerns with the force's firearms licensing department about Davison's possession of a shotgun, and the weapon and certificate were seized by police on December 7.

After completing the Pathfinder scheme in March 2021 and a subsequent review by the firearms licensing department, the shotgun and certificate were returned to Davison on July 9.

Just a month later he would go on to take the lives of his mother, Maxine Davison, 51, Stephen Washington, 59, Kate Shepherd, 66, Lee Martyn, 43, and three-year-old Sophie Martyn, before turning the gun on himself in one of the UK's worst mass shooting in recent memory.

Davison had first applied for licensing to own a shotgun in July 2017, with a five year certificate being approved for him the following January.

Meanwhile, a former top prosecutor said the shooter should have been on a police watchlist before he killed five people and himself.

Nazir Afzal, who was previously chief crown prosecutor for the North West, said Davison was 'exactly the type of person the authorities should be keeping an eye on'.

Davison, 23, had first applied for licensing to own a shotgun in July 2017, with a five year certificate being approved for him the following January

In rambling and unsettling films made in the weeks before his rampage, he described an obsession with The Terminator and repeatedly mentions to 'incel' movement linked to mass shootings in the US

Davison first murdered his own mother, Maxine, at her home nearby, before going outside and randomly killing schoolgirl Sophie Martyn, her father Lee, 43, and dog walker Stephen Washington. He then crossed a road to a hair salon where he shot and fatally injured Kate Shepherd, 66

An IOPC investigation promised background checks, internal police reports, GP and any associated medical or mental health records to determine his suitability to legally own a gun.

The watchdog also assessed Devon and Cornwall Police's decision to not prosecute Davison over the two park assaults in September 2020.

Speaking on Wednesday, IOPC regional director David Ford said: 'I again offer my heartfelt sympathies to all those affected within the Plymouth community and beyond by the traumatic events of August 12.

'We still have significant investigative work to undertake but continue to make good progress with our inquiries.

'We are reviewing a substantial amount of information gathered from Devon & Cornwall Police and elsewhere and the force has continued to co-operate fully with our independent investigation.

'Based on the evidence gathered so far, we have now served disciplinary notices on two individuals within the force to advise them their conduct is subject to investigation. The serving of such notices will be kept under review.

'We intend to complete our investigation before the end of this year. We will share any lessons that may be learned with the force and wider organisations as they emerge.

'At the conclusion of our investigation, we will decide whether any individual has a disciplinary case to answer. We expect to submit a final investigation report, which will set out our findings, to the coroner and Devon & Cornwall Police in December.

'We appreciate the significant public interest in the inquiries taking place. In view of the inquest proceedings, the timing of publication of our findings will be determined following consultation with the coroner.'
Footage released by police shows a woman making it into her Bronx apartment with seconds to spare as a man charges after her.

The NYPD said the woman, 50, was arriving home to her Claremont Village apartment at around 2am on September 23 while the suspect, wearing a white tank-top and a jeans, was stalking her.

She begins unlocking her door, nervously looking down the hall, before managing to open it.

Just as soon as she steps through the apartment entrance, the man comes into view, turning the hallway corner and bounding towards the open door, which she quickly slams shut.

Footage released by the NYPD shows a woman entering her Bronx apartment as a man was hot on her heels

Just as soon as she gets the door open, the man comes into view and rushes toward the open doorway as she slams it shut

Greeted with the closed doorway, the suspect tries to turn the doorknob and even rings the doorbell before walking off

Police are still seeking the man, and he is wanted for attempted burglary

Greeted with the closed door, the man is seen attempting to turn the doorknob, and ringing the bell.

He soon walks away in frustration.

Police are still seeking the suspect, and he is wanted for attempted burglary.

The incident came as crime rates in multiple areas have continued to top those recorded last year.

While burglaries and robberies this week are down 22.9 and .4 percent respectively from the same period last year, others such as assault, shootings, rape and grand larcenies are up.

Shootings are up 3.8 percent, and nearly double the number recorded the same week in 2019. Rapes are up 2.2 percent and assaults are up 7 percent. Instances of hate crimes, are also nearly double those recorded in 2020.

Monthly statistics show what while burglaries decreased 14.9 percent for September, robberies were up 6 percent, and assaults up 18.5 percent.

Overall crime in the city increased 2.6 percent in September.

Just a block away and a week prior, gang members were seen on surveillance video brandishing pistols, firing at an unidentified target across the street

The gunfight took place in the middle of East 169th Street just before 10pm on September 16

Several people were seen ducking for cover as the area turned into a turf war between rival gangs

Just a week prior, and roughly a block away from the attempted burglary, gang members were caught on camera brandishing pistols in a shootout on the streets.

Video shows seven of the members firing at an unidentified target at around 10pm on September 16.

Several of the men fired shots before sprinting away down the street, while two others crawled to take cover behind a parked car.

One other individual drops to the floor, covering his head with his hands and a hood, but emerges without any injuries.

The footage then cuts to another angle in which two other men wearing hoods can be seen firing pistols back at the gang as they backed away.

Police are searching for the suspects shown in the video composed from several clips from street CCTV cameras on East 169th Street.

Crime rates in several areas, including rapes, shootings and assaults continue to top those seen the prior year for the past week

Last Monday, the FBI released its round up of 2020 crime figures which revealed that the US experienced the biggest increase in homicides year-to-year since records began in 1960, with an additional 4,901 homicides in 2020 compared with the year before.

Murders in New York City specifically soared 47 percent from 2019 to 2020, with a staggering 70 percent of shootings going unsolved.

Meanwhile Mayor Bill de Blasio last Thursday announced that the NYPD would instead be focusing on customer service, with an announcement of a new initiative.

He described the new $5.7million initiative, which would involve stationing a community guide at each precinct stationhouse to greet visitors at the door, as 'revolutionary' and a 'paradigm shift' at his daily press conference.

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a new customer service initiative for the NYPD Thursday that would involve posting community guides at each precinct

'Customer service has to be what the NYPD is about,' he said, noting that, 'Its never existed previously,' in the agency.

'It is simple, it is basic, it is powerful,' he said.

He said the program was in response to years of complaints about officers who were 'gruff and dismissive.'

'So many people who just were trying to exercise their rights to get information or file a concern or complaint, find out what's happening with a case, they were treated in a way that doesn't have anything to do with customer service or respect,' he said.

The community guide would be a dedicated customer service representative - and an NYPD employee - responsible for greeting visitors and answering their questions.

NYPD Patrol Chief Juanita Holmes said Thursday that addressing violent crimes would always be the NYPD's priority, but that it also needed to build better relationships.

'If we dont have a relationship with the community,' she said, 'its never going to be a success for New York City.'
Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut on Wednesday demanded Facebook head Mark Zuckerberg appear before Congress to address accusations by a company whistleblower who accused the company of knowingly harming children with its products.

Blumenthal accused the platform of 'amplifying and weaponizing hate speech,' and blasted the exec for spending Monday sailing a day before a powerful Commerce subcommittee aired allegations about the multi-billion company.

'He ought to spend more time looking at the platform,' Blumenthal fumed. He said he has already 'invited' the tech titan to testify, and that he could appear within weeks.

'We can't count on Mark Zuckerberg to tell us the truth,' he said, saying 'he has lost all trust if he ever had it.'

.@SenBlumenthal says the Senate will invite Mark Zuckerberg to testify in response to the Facebook whistleblower's testimony.



"I can't tell you whether he will accept. But I think Mark Zuckerberg has an obligation to tell the American people himself"https://t.co/oVAvgpp2Ng pic.twitter.com/LfvI7h8NB6  New Day (@NewDay) October 6, 2021

'We can't count on Mark Zuckerberg to tell us the truth,' said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who has invited the exec to testify before his subcommittee

He faulted the platform for allowing 'online bullying' with an algorithm that feeds 'anxieties and insecurities of teenagers.'

He spoke a day after Facebook whistleblower Frances Hougan testified that the company knew its produce was damaging to children.

'Facebook faces the same moment of reckoning and a moment of truth,' he told CNN's New Day.

'He is back from sailing but he has not yet discovered he has to come clean. And we will be asking him to come testify before our subcommittee. If he has disagreements with [Hougan] he should come tell it.'

Zuckerberg posted an image of himself sailing a 26-foot sailboat on his Instagram account.

Frances Haugen testified before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing entitled 'Protecting Kids Online: Testimony from a Facebook Whistleblower'

Blumenthal blasted Zuckerberg for sailing on Monday while the whistleblower furor raged

Here Facebook co-founder, Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies before a combined Senate Judiciary and Commerce committee hearing in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on April 10, 2018. Blumenthal wants him to appear before his committee to address a whistleblower's charges

He said he hoped Zuckerberg would appear in the 'next weeks' or 'month or so.'

But he said Zuckerberg 'would rather avoid these problems. He said Zuckerberg's modus operandi was 'essentially no acknowledgement, no admissions, no apologies. No action. Nothing to see here - I'm out sailing.'

He compared what was happening with the company to the moment when 'Big Tobacco' was forced to contend with a raft of internal documents that prosecutors used to show companies knew the dangers of their products.

Zuckerberg posted a message to employees where he said the whistleblower allegations 'don't make any sense.'

'The argument that we deliberately push content that makes people angry for profit is deeply illogical, he said. 'We make money from ads, and advertisers consistently tell us they dont want their ads next to harmful or angry content. And I dont know any tech company that sets out to build products that make people angry or depressed. The moral, business and product incentives all point in the opposite direction.'

'We care deeply about issues like safety, well-being and mental health. Its difficult to see coverage that misrepresents our work and our motives. At the most basic level, I think most of us just dont recognize the false picture of the company that is being painted,' he said.

Blumenthal at Tuesday's hearing delivered a blistering statement where he called Facebook 'morally bankrupt' and criticized Zuckerberg for going sailing in Hawaii with wife Priscilla Chan instead of answering questions from lawmakers.

'Mark Zuckerberg ought to be looking at himself in the mirror today,' he said. 'And yet rather than taking responsibility and showing leadership, Mr. Zuckerberg is going sailing.'

'Mark Zuckerberg you need to come before this committee, you need to explain to Frances Hougan, to us, to the world, and to the parents of America - what you were doing and why you did it,' he scolded the exec.

Haugen told senators that no similar company's CEO has as much unilateral control as Zuckerberg does.

'Mark holds a very unique role in the tech industry in that he holds over 55% of all the voting shares for Facebook. There are no similarly powerful companies that are as unilaterally controlled,' she said. 'There's no one currently holding him accountable but himself.'

She said 'the buck stops with' Facebook's tech billionaire owner, adding that 'Facebook needs to take responsibility for the consequences of its choices.'

Later in the hearing Haugen said Zuckerberg himself even made choices that put engagement over public safety.

'We have a few choice documents that contain notes from briefings with Mark Zuckerberg where he chose metrics defined by Facebook like "meaningful social interactions" over changes that would have significantly decreased misinformation, hate speech and other inciting content,' she told Senator Ben Ray Lujan.
Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has said the January 6 riot is the result of what happens 'when people are being lied to about the elections.'

The Hollywood icon, 74, was asked about a video he released at the time in which he claimed that the siege at the Capitol was akin to Kristallnacht, 'the night of broken glass', when Nazi thugs attacked Jewish businesses in Germany in 1938.

Speaking to CNN's Dana Bash, Schwarzenegger explained that his intention was 'not to call anyone a Nazi' but to demonstrate that dishonesty about elections was a slippery slope towards chaos.

He also said that politics in the US had become too partisan and urged Republicans and Democrats to work together to avoid another episode like the one at the Capitol.

'I just felt that it was so sad of what happened on January 6,' the Austrian-born actor said.

'It's not to call anyone here a Nazi by any means but just what happens when people are lied to about elections, how eventually this whole thing can go very quickly south.'

Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has said the January 6 riot is the result of what happens 'when people are being lied to about the elections' (pictured: speaking at an even in Cologne, Germany, last month)

Shattered glass: The former California governor released a video after the riot comparing it to Kristallnacht, 'the night of broken glass', when Nazi thugs attacked Jewish businesses in Germany in 1938

Schwarzenegger said that when he was Governor he had sought to unite both the Republican and Democrat causes and said that it was important that both parties showed unison to avoid plunging America into the chaos witnessed at the Capitol.

'I'm worried about both parties. Both parties need to come together and work together because you cannot have just run the country on 50 percent of the brainpower. You need 100 percent of the brainpower,' he said.

'So therefore, you need Republican ideas when you do health care reform. You need Democratic ideas when you do health care reform. You need Republican ideas when you do the infrastructure. You need Democratic ideas when you do the infrastructure.'

The outspoken Terminator star caused outrage in January when he compared the pro-Trump mob that stormed the Capitol to the Nazis who attacked Jewish-owned stores and synagogues on Kristallnacht.

He condemned Trump as 'the worst president' saying that his elected enablers must be 'held accountable' as he issued a call for unity behind Joe Biden.

He told how his father and the other men of his childhood were shattered mentally by the guilt of 'what they saw and did.'

Gustuv Schwarzenegger was wounded in combat on the Eastern Front in 1942 having served in a Panzer group as a military policeman in Poland, France, Belgium, Ukraine, Lithuania and finally modern-day Russia.

'Now, I've never shared this so publicly because it is a painful memory but my father would come drunk once or twice a week and he would scream and hit us, and scare my mother,' Schwarzenegger said at the time.

'I didn't hold him totally responsible because our neighbor was doing the same thing to his family, and so was the next neighbor over. I heard it with my own ears and saw it with my own eyes.

'They were in physical pain from the shrapnel in their bodies and in emotional pain from what they saw or did.

'It all started with lies, and lies, and lies, and intolerance. So being from Europe I've seen first hand how things can spin out of control.'

Comparing 1930s Austria to modern America he said: 'President Trump sought to overturn the results of an election and of a fair election. He sought a coup by misleading people with lies.

'My father and our neighbors were misled also with lies. I know where such lies lead.'
'Children are the world's most valuable resource,' said President John F. Kennedy, 'and its best hope for the future.'

He was absolutely right.

A society is only as good as the children it nurtures, educates and prepares for adulthood.

A society is also only as good as the protection it affords children.

And the most important people at the heart of all this childcare are parents.

I've got no time for mothers and fathers who don't care about their kids.

For me, they're the lowest of the low.

If you don't want to care for your children, then don't have them.

But conversely, I have all the time in the world for parents who DO care about their kids  passionately, ferociously, unconditionally.

Above all, I will defend to the last drop of my blood the right of any parent to want to protect their child.

In the end, isn't that the overriding job of a parent  to keep their children from harm's way until they'd old enough to look after themselves?

That doesn't mean I will always agree with what a parent wants for their child.

In fact, many times I may vehemently disagree.

But I will always support their right to have an opinion on what is best for their child because nobody knows their own child better than a caring parent.

And the First Amendment of the US Constitution permits parents to express those opinions as vigorously as they want.

Yet in a stunning, and very sinister move, President Biden has apparently decided that they don't.

The Department of Justice has issued a directive that the FBI will now investigate parents after a 'disturbing spike in harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence' against school staff and administrators. Asra Nomani, a mom and the vice president of investigations and strategy at Parents Defending Education (PDE), tweeted: 'This is what a domestic terrorist looks like? You are criminalizing parenting, and you owe the people of America a swift apology'

On September 29 the National Association of School Boards (NSB) sent a letter to President Joe Biden claiming that 'America's public schools and its education leaders are under an immediate threat' due to 'attacks...for approving policies for masks'. In it the NASB likened parents' objections to woke school boards to 'a form of domestic terrorism'

The Department of Justice has issued a directive that the FBI will now investigate parents after a 'disturbing spike in harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence' against school staff and administrators.

This comes in response to a letter to President Biden last week from the National Association of School Boards (NASB) asserting that 'America's public schools and its education leaders are under an immediate threat' due to 'attacks...for approving policies for masks'.

The letter likened parents' objections to 'a form of domestic terrorism' and fuelled instant outrage.

Asra Nomani, a mom and the vice president of investigations and strategy at Parents Defending Education (PDE), tweeted:

'This is what a domestic terrorist looks like? You are criminalizing parenting, and you owe the people of America a swift apology.'

It was a view shared by many.

Now, let me be clear: I would never defend any violence or threat of violence against a teacher or school administrator, and there have undeniably been some ugly scenes at schools in recent weeks between angry parents and school boards over issues like covid masks, the teaching of critical race theory, and issues relating to transgenderism like access to bathrooms.

But there is a massive difference between violence and a parent expressing robust, even furious concern about a school policy.

And there are many US public school policies right now which demand parental attention and concern.

Let's take covid.

My nine-year-old daughter caught the virus a few weeks ago and had what she described as a 'bad cold' for two days before bouncing back to normal.

That, thankfully, appears to be the experience that most young kids have with covid and the death toll for children is incredibly low.

Does that justify masking them all day in their classrooms with all the possible side effects that might have on their physical and mental health?

The directive comes in response to a letter to President Biden last week from the National Association of School Boards (NASB) asserting that 'America's public schools and its education leaders are under an immediate threat' due to 'attacks...for approving policies for masks'

There seems to have been a very different approach to the civil unrest we saw last summer in the wake of George Floyd's horrific killing, which led to appalling arson, looting and destruction of property. I don't remember the DoJ issuing directives then that such behaviour was 'domestic terrorism.' So, Attorney-General Merrick Garland's announcement strikes me as massive overreach by a Biden administration determined to stamp down on dissent

AG Merrick Garland issued this memo yesterday warning parents that they will face prosecution for protesting against schools and teachers in a way the government deems to be threatening

I think the jury is very definitely out on that, and it's certainly something that all parents should be allowed to debate and have a view about, not least because so much is still unknown about covid, and even the country's top infectious disease scientist Dr Anthony Fauci has gone from saying masks are ineffective against covid to insisting they're very effective.

I am more forgiving of Fauci's change of mind than others, believing that new viruses can catch even the most brilliant medical minds by surprise.

But given Fauci's U-turn on masks, why shouldn't parents of young children be concerned about whether their kids should now use them?

Similarly, when the DoJ insists there is no critical race theory being taught at US schools, that is palpable nonsense.

Back in June, an English teacher named Dana Sangel-Plowe resigned from a top New Jersey prep school because she said CRT was being used to create a 'hostile culture of conformity and fear' and was causing white and male students to believe they are 'oppressors.'

Similar stories have been reported all over the country.

Just as there has been widespread incidence of transgender policies being forced on parents without proper debate.

Will it now be deemed domestic terrorism to express concern that trans women athletes should not be allowed to compete against women born to female biological bodies? Even when that is quite demonstrably a grotesque infringement of women's rights to equality?

Of course, there are limits to how far protest should go, and violence is never acceptable.

But there are numerous current laws available to the police if they wish to deal with any actual incidents of violence or threats of violence against school staff.

And there seems to have been a very different approach to the civil unrest we saw last summer in the wake of George Floyd's horrific killing, which led to appalling arson, looting and destruction of property.

I don't remember the DoJ issuing directives then that such behaviour was 'domestic terrorism.'

So, Attorney-General Merrick Garland's announcement strikes me as massive overreach by a Biden administration determined to stamp down on dissent.

As Ian Prior, former Principal Deputy Director of Public Affairs at DOJ, told DailyMail.com: 'While legitimate threats of violence are of course unacceptable and should be handled by local law enforcement, the Department of Justice has engaged in a frightening escalation with this shot across the bow of passionate moms and dads in a blatant effort to chill their freedom of speech.'

Where was the DoJ when a bunch of far-left woke activists followed female Democrat Senator Krysten Sinema into a bathroom at Arizona State University where she teaches and howled at her even while she was inside a private stall? Senator Sinema was illegally filmed by people who had illegally broken onto campus, and she was clearly illegally harassed, yet the perpetrators haven't been described as domestic terrorists, nor has any edict been issued to target others who may consider doing the same. The double standard is absurd

I agree.

There are many countries whose governments shut down such dissent.

I'm thinking of brutal totalitarian regimes like China and North Korea.

But America is supposed to the land of the free, the very epicentre of free speech protected by a First Amendment that is the envy of the world.

This decision to weaponize parental concern is thus both deeply un-American and deeply worrying.

It's also deeply hypocritical.

Where was the DoJ when a bunch of far-left woke activists followed female Democrat Senator Krysten Sinema into a bathroom at Arizona State University where she teaches and howled at her even while she was inside a private stall?

Senator Sinema was illegally filmed by people who had illegally broken onto campus, and she was clearly illegally harassed, yet the perpetrators haven't been described as domestic terrorists, nor has any edict been issued to target others who may consider doing the same.

The double standard is absurd.

If you pay taxes in America, you are paying for your child's education, and you're fully entitled to have your say in how your child is educated.

If parents are no longer allowed a say in how their children are educated, and indeed are to be categorised as domestic terrorists for doing so, then why should they continue paying taxes to pay for that education?

President Biden has declared war on America's parents and their right to free speech, and it's a shameful abuse of his power.
Locals from one of England's most deprived areas blasted Boris Johnson today after he put the affluent village nearby at the heart of his 'Levelling Up' drive.

The PM had urged deprived areas to follow the example of Stoke Poges, in Buckinghamshire, which was lamented in the 18th Century by poet Thomas Gray as one of the country's most deprived places and now among the richest.

Giving few new details about how his grand vision will work, Mr Johnson quoted Gray and highlighted how the village is now the eighth richest in England after it 'levelled up'.

However, less than three miles away is the Slough ward of Britwell, which has one of the worst rates of child poverty in the country. It is also one of the most deprived areas in Slough.

One furious resident said on Twitter after Mr Johnson's speech: 'What about levelling up the Britwell estate, next to Stoke Poges then'.

The PM had urged deprived areas to follow the example of Stoke Poges, in Buckinghamshire.. Pictured: A general view of Stoke Park

The village was lamented in the 18th Century by poet Thomas Gray as one of the country's most deprived places and is now among the richest. Pictured: Stoke Place

Giving few new details about how his grand vision will work, Mr Johnson quoted Gray and highlighted how the village is now the eighth richest in England after it 'levelled up'

Mr Johnson referred in his speech to Gray's famous poem, 'Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard', which is believed to reference Stoke Poges. Pictured: Magnolia Trees In Bloom At The Stoke Poges Memorial Gardens In Buckinghamshire

However, less than three miles away is the Slough ward of Britwell. Pictured: Wentworth Avenue in Britwell

It has one of the worst rates of child poverty in the country. It is also one of the most deprived areas in Slough

One furious resident said on Twitter after Mr Johnson's (pictured) speech: 'What about levelling up the Britwell estate, next to Stoke Poges then'.

Other Britwell residents told MailOnline Britwell is a 'bad area for crime' and 'needs levelling up as well'.

Mr Johnson referred in his speech to Gray's famous poem, 'Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard', which is believed to reference Stoke Poges.

A monument to Gray, who published his poem in 1751, now stands in the churchyard at St Giles' Church in the village.

The PM said: 'When Thomas Gray stood in that country churchyard in 1750 and wrote his famous elegy as the curfew tolled the knell of parting day, he lamented the wasted talents of those buried around him, the flowers born to blush unseen, the mute inglorious miltons who never wrote a poem because they never got to read.

'The simple folk who died illiterate and innumerate and he knew that it was an injustice. Let me ask you, maybe you know, where was he standing when he chewed his pensive quill? Anybody know?

'Correct, thank you, he was standing in Stoke Poges. My friends there may be underprivileged parts of this country but Stoke Poges is not now among them.'

He went on: 'Since Gray elegised, Buckinghamshire has levelled up to be among the most productive regions in the whole of Europe.

'Stoke Poges may still of course have its problems but they are the overwhelmingly caused the sheer lust of other people to live in or near Stoke Poges - overcrowded trains, endless commutes, too little time with the kids.

'The constant anxiety that your immemorial view of chalk downland is going to be desecrated by ugly new homes.

'And that is why levelling up works for the whole country and is the right and responsible policy, because it helps to take the pressure off parts of the overheating South East while simultaneously offering hope and opportunity to those areas that have felt left behind,' he added.

However, residents were quick to point out how nearby Britwell needs 'levelling up'.

Julie Taylor, 52, said : 'This area could do with an uplift. There are problems with kids, drugs . Petty crimes.

Julie Taylor (pictured left), 52, said : 'This area could do with an uplift. There are problems with kids, drugs . Petty crimes.' Another Britwell resident, Barnabas Githere (pictured right), 38, added: 'We need investment. 'I would say so. It is not too bad for crime, but it is not good. We have young people on bikes smoking weed.'

Samantha Torr, 32, said: 'It can be a bad area for crime. Housing is ridiculous. 'A friend of mine is paying 1300 a month rent for a three bed house to rent it. It is ridiculous. This area needs levelling up as well'

'Houses are difficult. I think all MPs are total a*******s. They promise this and promise that and don't do anything about it.'

Samantha Torr, 32, said: 'It can be a bad area for crime. Housing is ridiculous.

'A friend of mine is paying 1300 a month rent for a three bed house to rent it. It is ridiculous. This area needs levelling up as well.'

Another Britwell resident, Barnabas Githere, 38, added: 'We need investment.

'I would say so. It is not too bad for crime, but it is not good. We have young people on bikes smoking weed.'

By contrast, people living in Stoke Poges were full of praise for the village.

Dave Hunt, 49, from Stoke Poges said: 'The south east is very prosperous. Levelling up is a good idea, but let's see if he can do it. 'Stoke Poges is a rural idyll. It is close to London and protected by the green belt.

Dave Hunt, 49, said: 'The south east is very prosperous. Levelling up is a good idea, but let's see if he can do it.

'Stoke Poges is a rural idyll. It is close to London and protected by the green belt.

'It is an expensive place to live - a 3-bedroom semi costs half a million and big detached houses go for two to three million.'

Richard Townsend, 70, said: 'The idea of levelling up is necessary. There is no doubt in my mind. However I would like to see some action.

'Why don't they just move two or three whole government departments to Stockton on Tees and Middlesborough. Those places are far more deprived than Stoke Poges will ever be.

'There is no real crime problem in the Stoke Poges area, but house prices are a problem. We have two daughters who are thirtyish. Neither of them could afford to live around here.

'One has moved to High Wycombe and the other to Kent. In 1970 they would have been able to afford it here. There has got to be action and delivery.'

Mr Johnson told Tory members that 'wages are going up faster than when the pandemic began' as he insisted his Government is overseeing a 'change in direction' on the UK economy 'that has been long overdue'.

He blasted past 'uncontrolled immigration' and said that he wants to shift to a high wage, high skill economy.

Richard Townsend, 70, said: 'The idea of levelling up is necessary. There is no doubt in my mind. However I would like to see some action.'

Mr Johnson referred in his speech to Gray's (pictured right) famous poem, 'Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard', which is believed to reference Stoke Poges. A monument (pictured left) to Gray, who published his poem in 1751, now stands in the churchyard at St Giles' Church in the village.

The PM said: 'When Thomas Gray (pictured a National Trust map referencing Grey)stood in that country churchyard in 1750 and wrote his famous elegy as the curfew tolled the knell of parting day, he lamented the wasted talents of those buried around him, the flowers born to blush unseen, the mute inglorious miltons who never wrote a poem because they never got to read.'

He went on: 'Since Gray elegised, Buckinghamshire has levelled up to be among the most productive regions in the whole of Europe.' Pictured: St Giles Church in Stoke Poges

He attacked businesses who have called for more visas for foreign workers to ease staff shortages as he said the solution to pressures is 'not to reach for that same old lever of uncontrolled immigration' which he said keeps wages low.

Mr Johnson said it will 'take time' to shift to his vision of a 'high wage, high skilled, high productivity' economy.

He admitted 'it will be difficult' along the way 'but that is the change people voted for in 2016' at the Brexit referendum.

Mr Johnson said in some areas the UK is one of the most imbalanced developed nations as he pointed to regional discrepancies on metrics like life expectancy.

He said those differences amounted to an 'appalling waste of potential' and insisted there is no reason why people should be 'geographically fated' to be poorer or less healthy than their counterparts elsewhere in the UK.

Addressing the Tory conference, Mr Johnson gave few new details about how his grand vision will work beyond higher wages, higher skills and lower immigration

Mr Johnson said his 'levelling up' agenda was the 'right and responsible policy' to deal with those issues.

Helping 'left behind' areas would also help to reduce pressure on the 'overheating' south east of England, he said.

The Prime Minister said that his Government will 'promote opportunity with every tool we have'.

The single policy announcement contained in the speech related to 'levelling up' as the PM announced a new 'levelling up premium'.

It will see high-flying maths and science teachers offered a grant of up to 3,000 to work in areas of the country which need them the most.

Mr Johnson said his 'levelling up' agenda was the 'right and responsible policy' to deal with those issues.

Helping 'left behind' areas would also help to reduce pressure on the 'overheating' south east of England, he said.

The Prime Minister said that his Government will 'promote opportunity with every tool we have'.

The single policy announcement contained in the speech related to 'levelling up' as the PM announced a new 'levelling up premium'.

It will see high-flying maths and science teachers offered a grant of up to 3,000 to work in areas of the country which need them the most.
The teenage mother from California who was left brain dead after being shot in the back of the head by a school safety officer has been taken off life support, the family said.

Mona Rodriguez died after her body was prepared to donate her organs. She donated a heart, lungs, liver, and kidneys, which will save the lives of five people, the family released in a statement.

She had been on life support since September 27.

Rodriguez, who has a five-month-old son, was shot as she drove away from the scene where she had earlier gotten into a fight with a 15-year-old girl near Millikan High School in Long Beach on Monday.

The family of the 18-year-old addressed the media at a news conference outside the hospital on Friday afternoon.

Mona's brother, Iran Rodriguez, said his sister would have wanted her organs to go to others in need.

Mona Rodriguez, a teenage mother, has been taken off life support, the family said

The 18-year-old was left brain dead after being shot in the back of the head by a school safety officer as she tried to flee a fight

Mona's family confirmed that she would be taken off life support at a news conference on Friday

A GoFundMe page created to raise funds to cover legal fees and funeral cost says that 'anyone who knew her knew how big her heart was, how full of life she was and how much she loved her family but most especially her son who was her entire life, pride and joy'

'The transition has begun,' Jerlene Tatum, a community activist who has been helping the family through the tragedy, told The Daily Beast.

Mona was struck by a bullet while leaving the school in a car with the father of her child, Rafeul Chowdhury, 20, and his 16-year-old brother. None of the people in the car are enrolled at Millikan High School.

Iran recalled to ABC 7 that the surgeons told him the bullet that struck Rodriguez was a 'hollow-type point bullet.'

'On impact, it exploded inside her brain and shards of metal bounced inside her head,' he told ABC 7.

Chowdhury and his younger brother, Shahreaf, are currently being investigated for their alleged involvement in the fight, police told KTLA.

Harrowing video shows the moment the officer, who has not been named, fires two shots at the car, which nearly hits him as it speeds out of the parking lot.

Chowdhury was driving the vehicle.

Long Beach Police are investigating the officer's use of lethal force. The school safety officer, who has not been named, has been placed on paid administrative leave.

'This school safety officer decided he was going to be the judge, jury and the executioner," Omar Rodriguez, her brother, told ABC 7.

Superintendent Jill Baker told KTLA that safety officers are 'highly trained and held accountable to the established standards in their profession.'

Long Beach Police are investigating the officer's use of legal force and the school safety officer, who has not been named, has been placed on leave. )Pictured: Millikan High School where the shooting took place)

The moment a teenage mother was shot in the back of the head by a school safety officer, leaving her brain dead, has been captured by cell phone video

Mona's family arrived at the press conference outside Long Beach Memorial Care Hospital in California on Friday

Manuela Sahagun, mother of Mona Rodriguez, center, hugs family members during a press conference on Friday

Manuela Sahagun, left, mother of Mona Rodriguez, is hugged by Oscar Rodriguez, brother of Mona Rodriguez, after a press conference at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center

Oscar Rodriguez, Mona's brother, spoke at a candle lit vigil outside of Long Beach Memorial Medical Center as the family fought to keep her on life support

Rodriguez's relatives gathered outside Long Beach Memorial Medical Center for a candlelight vigil on Wednesday night after learning that doctors planned to take the gravely injured woman off life support, reported ABC7.

'They're trying to take my sister away,' Oscar Rodriguez, Mona's brother, said on Wednesday as the family fought with the hospital. 'At first they had told me that I would be able to make the decision, and now they're taking that from me.'

Alex Cervantes, Mona's cousin, told reporters she did not deserve to get shot.

'She might have been doing something she wasn't supposed to, but she was unarmed,' he said.

Luis Carrillo, a family attorney, called on prosecutors to bring charges against the officer who shot Rodriguez.

'This officer should be in jail right now,' he said at the vigil. 'The mother is suffering, every family member and friend is suffering.'

Carrillo sent a letter to California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Thursday insisting that the office open an investigation into the shooting. Carillo claims that the incident meets the legal standing for murder or manslaughter charges against the officer.

Speaking outside the school on Wednesday afternoon, Chowdhury told reporters that the officer had threatened his girlfriend and the 15-year-old girl she had been fighting with pepper spray.

Rafeul Chowdhury (left), the father of Rodriguez's child, told reporters that the officer had not warned before firing his weapon. (Pictured with civil rights activist Najee Ali(

He claimed that the girls stopped fighting, and that the officer did not warn them he would use his gun before firing.

'All we did is just got in the car and left,' Chowdhury said. 'He never told us to stop anytime soon, and the way he shot us, it wasn't right.'

KTLA reported that Chowdhury added that he and Rodriguez had been trying to have a child for some time.

'Now we do, and she [Mona]'s gone,' he said. 'I just got to step up now and play the mother and the father role, and keep my son strong.'

Civil rights activist Najee Ali also spoke outside the school on Wednesday.

'There's no excuse, no justification for this officer shooting in the rear passenger-side window of a car with a woman who's unarmed. Everyone in the car was unarmed,' he said.

'The fact is, he shot at someone in the passenger seat with no regard for anyone's life in the car.'

'The only way we stop these safety officers from shooting unarmed people and killing them is by having them prosecuted and held accountable for what they've done wrong to members of the community.'

The family have launched up a GoFundMe page to help cover funeral and legal expenses, and to help support Rodriguez's son.

'Mona is leaving behind her mom, 4 brothers, and her sister but most importantly she's leaving behind her 5 month old baby boy Isael', the page reads.

'She was smart, beautiful, loving and anyone who knew her knew how big her heart was, how full of life she was and how much she loved her family but most especially her son who was her entire life, pride and joy,' Yessica Loza, Rodriguez's cousin wrote on the page.

'We are all heart broken and in pain never did we imagine we would loose[sic] her like this or so soon she had her entire life ahead of her and because of a careless act done by a school safety guard a 5 month old baby boy was left without a mother and we all lost someone we loved so much.'
A Vatican tribunal absolved a priest of charges that he raped an altar boy in the Vatican's youth seminary, in the first clergy sexual abuse tribal to be heard by the Pope's criminal court.

Father Gabriele Martinelli, now 29, was accused of repeatedly raping the boy, identified only as LG, while they were altar boys and mostly when they were both minors between 2006 and 2012.

Meanwhile, Father Enrico Radice, 72, who was the former rector of the youth seminary, was accused of covering up the attacks.

But a three-judge panel acquitted Martinelli of some charges and ruled others couldn't be punished or allegedly occurred too long ago. Radice was similarly absolved.

The ruling came just hours after Pope Francis expressed his personal shame at the scale of child abuse carried out by clergy in France's Catholic Church that saw attacks on 330,000 children.

The pontiff told of his 'sadness' for the victims after a damning report found nuns used crucifixes to rape girls during decades of abuse which was covered up by a 'veil of silence'.

Vatican Court President Giuseppe Pignatone (centre) speaks as the Vatican Court cleared two priests charged in connection with alleged sexual abuse in a youth seminary in the Vatican

Pope Francis today expressed his personal shame at the scale of child abuse carried out by clergy in France's Catholic Church that saw attacks on 330,000 children

In a statement, the tribunal said it had essentially confirmed that there had been a sexual relationship between Martinelli and the alleged victim, L.G., but no proof that L.G., who was just seven months younger, had been forced into it.

The case concerned the closed world of the St. Pius X youth seminary, a palazzo inside the Vatican walls just across the street from where Pope Francis lives. The seminary is used as a residence for boys aged 12 to 18, who serve as altar boys at papal Masses in St. Peters Basilica, and are thinking of becoming priests.

Martinelli, for whom the prosecution had sought a six-year custodial sentence, later went on to become a priest and the prosecution said Radice did not block the ordination even though he knew about the abuse.

Martinelli was charged with allegedly forcing LG 'to undergo carnal acts, acts of sodomy, masturbation on himself and on the boy, at different times and in different places inside Vatican City'.

The alleged abuse began when LG was 13, and Martinelli continued the abuse of LG for about a year after he turned 18, the prosecution said.

During his testimony in March this year, LG said Martinelli first began molesting him a few months after he arrived in the seminary in 2006 as a 13-year-old from a small town in northern Italy. He testified it was his first sexual experience, and that it was a 'shock' that he didn't understand and that he felt 'paralyzed.'

'Martinelli would slip into my bed at night,' he testified. 'For me it was a very strange thing: I was young and I had never entered into the world of sexuality. At home or in my town, I had never heard of sex. I felt a sense of confusion, I didn't understand what was happening.'

A view of a hearing of the trial of two Italian priests at the Vatican court in October 2020

He said he eventually resigned himself to Martinelli, and that he experienced a sense of disassociation from his body when Martinelli, who was seven months older and a more senior seminarian, would touch him. LG said he tried to bang on the walls or slam drawers to make him go away, and that his roommates either slept through the commotion or pretended to.

He testified that he told the rector, Radice, in 2009 that Martinelli was bothering him, but admitted that he didnt provide details. He said Radice told him he was just jealous, and warned him to stop or he would tell his parents and parish priest and send him home.

But Tribunal president Giuseppe Pignatone absolved Martinelli on the charges. The court said that Martinelli could not be punished for alleged crimes while he was a minor, which cleared him of charges of abuse before August, 9, 2008.

In relation to the charges of rape from August 9, 2008, to March 19, 2009, the period in which LG was still a minor, the court said the sexual acts 'were proven in their materiality,' but said there was no proof it was coerced.

The scandal over alleged abuse in the residence erupted in 2017 when former altar boys went public with allegations of misconduct by Martinelli and cover-up by the seminary superiors. Their accusations greatly undermined Francis' pledge of 'zero tolerance' for abuse, since the acts allegedly occurred on Vatican territory.

Vatican Court President Giuseppe Pignatone speaks during a hearing of the trial of two Italian priests in October 2020

The scandal is particularly grave because the allegations of abuse were known since at least 2012 but were covered up for years by the Vatican and the diocese of Como, until they were exposed by Italian journalists Gaetano Pecoraro and Gianluigi Nuzzi in 2017.

They relied on the eyewitness testimony of the victim's roommate, Kamil Jarzembowski, who was kicked out of the seminary after first reporting the abuse privately to church authorities in 2012.

Jarzembowski has said he saw his roommate repeatedly molested by Martinelli at night when Martinelli would enter their dorm room. He has said the molestation began when both were minors and continued after Martinelli turned 18.

Martinelli had denied he molested L.G., saying the allegations were unfounded, implausible and the fruit of 'jealousy' by other seminarians because he was eventually ordained a priest.

The prosecution had sought a four-year sentence for Radice who was charged with having covered up the alleged abuse, including writing letters to Italian church officials trying to divert investigations. Radice denied knowing anything about abuse or of impeding the probe.

During the trial, some former seminarians had testified about a homophobic environment in the residence and about younger boys being bullied. Others, however, testified that the boys were happy and that the rector checked the dorms at night and never heard or saw any abuse.

Rita Claudia Baffioni, attorney for Martinelli, said the tribunal rightly saw contradictions in the prime witness testimony, a roommate of L.G. who said he saw sexual acts in the dorm room.

Agnese Camilli, representing Radice, said the verdict showed her client was an upstanding priest who always looked out for his students.

The ruling comes a day after a 2,500-page landmark report was released following more than two years of investigations by an independent commission, in France's first major reckoning with the devastating phenomenon.

The commission found that an estimated 330,000 children were victims of sex abuse within France's Catholic Church between 1950 to 2020, with an estimated 216,000 minors abused by priests and other clerics.

'There is, unfortunately, a considerable number I wish to express to the victims my sadness and pain for the trauma they have suffered,' Francis said during his weekly audience at the Vatican on Wednesday.

The pontiff told of his 'sadness' for the victims after a damning report found nuns used crucifixes to rape girls during decades of abuse which was covered up by a 'veil of silence'

'I was a gift for this nun': Victims describe horrifying abuse The damning report into the child abuse carried out by the French Catholic Church found that an estimated 330,000 children were victims. The report found that nuns used crucifixes to rape girls or forced boys to have sex with them, reports The Daily Beast. One girl, named only as 'Marie' described being sexually abused by a nun when she was 11-years-old. 'I was 11 and looked 9. She would choose me once every two or three times,' 'Marie' recalls. 'She would take me to her office, lock the door, and then draw the curtains. After which she would put me on her knees to make me read the gospel according to Saint Paul or another saint, while she squeezed me with one hand to her chest and pulled down my panties with the other hand. 'We were of course in pleated skirts and not in pants. It terrified me and paralyzed.' 'I was truly [a gift] for this nun... because she knew full well that she did not risk anything,' Marie said. She said that when she complained about the abuse to her parents they refused to believe a nun could do such a thing. The abuse carried on for another year. Another victim is French actor Laurent Martinez who was raped by a priest when he was eight-years-old. Martinez, 51, told Sky News the priest was moved to another location after he told his parents of the abuse, but it still haunted him. He said: 'It's been haunting me all these years. I'm really not completely freed about it.' Martinez said the abuse has impacted his relationships with women and meant he is apprehensive about sexual relationships, which he feels is 'something forbidden'. He has since written a play about the abuse called Pardon? to help him deal with the abuse. Advertisement

'And also my shame, our shame, my shame, for the inability of the Church for too long to put them at the centre of its concerns.

'I pray and we all pray together - to you Lord the glory, to us the shame. This is the time for shame.'

He called on all bishops and religious superiors to take all actions necessary 'so similar dramas are not repeated.'

The findings of the inquiry have prompted outrage as the Catholic Church in France and around the world faces a growing number of abuse claims and prosecutions.

Dealing with the avalanche of revelations about sexual abuse by clergy was one of the biggest challenges that Francis faced when he was elected pope in 2013.

He declared an end to impunity and changed Vatican law to make reporting abuse mandatory, but victims have warned it is not enough.

Francis expressed his sorrow for the victims in a statement Tuesday issued through his spokesman, but his comments on Wednesday went further.

He urged the clergy to keep working to ensure such situations 'are not repeated', offering his support to French priests to face up to 'this trial that is hard but healthy'.

And he invited French Catholics to 'assume their responsibilities to ensure that the Church is a safe home for all'.

The report found that the 'vast majority' of victims were pre-adolescent boys from a variety of social backgrounds. Their abusers were mainly priests, bishops, deacons and monks.

When claims against lay members of the Church, such as teachers at Catholic schools, are included the number of child abuse victims climbs to 330,000 since 1950, the report found.

Eighty per cent of victims were young boys between the ages of 10 and 13, however many girls also suffered abuse, not only by priests but also by nuns.

Nuns used crucifixes to rape little girls or forced boys to have sex with them, reports the Daily Beast.

A victim named 'Marie' testified that she was abused as an 11-year-old and that when she complained about the abuse to her parents they refused to believe a nun could do such a thing. The abuse continued for another year.

She recalls a nun who would choose a student from her class every day to help her with Mass.

'I was 11 and looked 9. She would choose me once every two or three times,' 'Marie' recalls.

'She would take me to her office, lock the door, and then draw the curtains. After which she would put me on her knees to make me read the gospel according to Saint Paul or another saint, while she squeezed me with one hand to her chest and pulled down my panties with the other hand.

'We were of course in pleated skirts and not in pants. It terrified me and paralyzed.'

'I was truly [a gift] for this nun... because she knew full well that she did not risk anything,' Marie said.

'Until the early 2000s, the Catholic Church showed a profound and even cruel indifference towards the victims,' commission chief Jean-Marc Sauve told a press conference that unveiled the nearly 2,500-page report.

They were 'not believed or not heard' and sometimes suspected of being 'in part responsible' for what happened, he deplored.

Sauve underlined that Catholic authorities had covered up the abuse spanning 70 years in a 'systematic manner'.

Victims welcomed the 2,500-page document as long overdue, and the head of the French Catholic bishops' conference asked for their forgiveness.
Precious McKesson once wrote an op-ed slamming a resolution banning Critical Race Theory

President Joe Biden has appointed a Critical Race Theory activist from Nebraska to his Department of Education, the new federal staffer announced on her Facebook page Monday.

Newly-minted Biden official Precious McKesson once criticized a resolution to block CRT from being taught on University of Nebraska campuses as a systemic racism' and claimed Republicans wanted to 'drive a wedge between white communities and communities of color.'

McKesson, chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party's Black Caucus, was sworn in to serve as a Special Assistant in the DOE's office of Communications and Outreach.

'Today I am happy to announce that I've accepted a position with the Biden Harris Administration,' McKesson wrote on Facebook. 'I am so honored to have been selected to hold this position, but I want to thank my family and friends for being a part of the process, keeping lifting up. To my fellow Nebraskans, thank you so much for the support over the last 3 1/2 years.'

'As you know, Omaha will always be home, but now I begin a new journey in Washington DC. Continue to uplift my family and me in prayer during this process.'

McKesson's appointment comes as the Biden administration cracks down on anti-CRT and anti-mask parents throughout the country over a spike in violent, politically-motivated outbursts.

McKesson announced her appointment on her Facebook page, which appears to be her only public social media page

McKesson (right) is a top Nebraska Democratic official and currently chairs the party's Black Caucus

McKesson previously worked with Biden as a campaign staffer in her state.

In 2020, she was the lone Biden-Harris vote out of Nebraska's five electoral college ballots. McKesson cast her ballot on behalf of the state's second Congressional district.

She was the first black woman to do so, and the first woman to cast her electoral vote for a Democrat.

A top Democratic operator, McKesson also served as Finance Director for her state party and even considered running for Congress.

Despite her appointment to the DOE most of McKesson's public activism has been centered on redistricting and gerrymandering in recent months.

Facebook, her only public social media platform, doesn't reveal much about her stance on students and the school system.

While her more recent activism centers on redistricting - what she referred to as Republican 'cheating' on Facebook last month - McKesson positioned herself as a strong proponent of CRT during a GOP-backed bid to have it censored on state college campuses.

Nebraska Board of Regents board member Jim Pillen, who is currently running for governor, introduced a resolution that would ban CRT from the University of Nebraska education system. The measure failed to pass a vote in August.

She was the only one of Nebraska's five electors to cast her electoral college ballot for Biden

A picture from the Nebraska Democratic Party Facebook page shows McKesson speaking with Senator Ben Sasse, a Republican

McKesson, along with Democratic Latinx and Native Caucus leaders Dulce Sherman and Colette Yellow Robe, penned an op-ed blasting the resolution as a 'red herring to erase history.'

They claimed Republicans didn't want students learning about the Trail of Tears or the Tulsa Race Massacre.

The GOP, McKesson claimed, 'made CRT a political boogeyman without actually knowing what it is.'

'Simply put, CRT examines social, cultural and legal issues as they relate to race and racism. Students would be taught about the systemic racism that still exists today and permeates our society,' the op-ed reads.

'One has to wonder why the Republican Party is now trying to frame all educational experiences that discuss diversity and equity with a negative partisan lens.

'From our collective experiences, the only answer is to create a wedge between white communities and communities of color, making us the villain rather than having Nebraskans see us as their neighbors and co-workers.'

They condemned Pillen by name, claiming his resolution was a 'direct assault upon the sovereignty of one's soul, mind and body.'

Members of the GOP have already stepped up to criticize McKesson's move to DC.

Republican Congressman Jim Banks of Indiana, who sits on the House's Education and Labor Committee, called her appointment a 'slap in the face.'

McKesson also worked on Biden's 2020 campaign

'The Biden administration claims CRT doesn't exist, then appoints a CRT activist to the Department of Education and sics the FBI on parents who oppose their poisonous ideology,' Banks told DailyMail.com.

'The backlash against CRT started because Democrats are obsessed with inserting politics in the classroom, where it doesn't belong. Appointing a political activist to an agency that's responsible for kids' education is a slap in the face to parents across the country.'

Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas said Biden's decision was 'shocking but not surprising.'

'At a time when President Bidens Justice Department is targeting school parents for simply voicing their concerns and objection to the teaching of radical curriculum in our nations schools, it is shocking, but not surprising, that theyve moved to confirm another CRT advocate to a high rank within the Department of Education,' he said.

But State Democratic Party Chairwoman Jane Kleeb lauded McKesson's appointment.

'Precious is a transformational leader,' Kleeb told the Omaha World-Herald. 'She will bring the same energy, excitement, and commitment to the people to the position at the Department of Education.'

Adding to the partisan tensions in American public schools is a recent Justice Department memo directing the FBI and local law enforcement to tackle the 'disturbing trend' of teachers being threatened or harassed.

'Threats against public servants are not only illegal, they run counter to our nation's core values,' Attorney General Merrick Garland said in the announcement.

'Those who dedicate their time and energy to ensuring that our children receive a proper education in a safe environment deserve to be able to do their work without fear for their safety.'

AG Merrick Garland issued this memo warning parents that they will face prosecution for protesting against schools and teachers in a way the government deems to be threatening

School board meetings and other normally tame parent-teacher forums have become a hotbed for ideological confrontations over CRT, vaccines and mask mandates.

The National School Board Association (NSBA) compared such activism to 'domestic terrorism.'

Yesterday anti-mask protesters disrupted a school board meeting in Lakewood, Ohio over the board's face covering mandate, video of the incident on YouTube shows.

Garland's announcement was spurred by the NSBA begging the Biden administration to intervene in the 'immediate threat' posed to education officials by anti-CRT and anti-mask protesters.

'Coupled with attacks against school board members and educators for approving policies for masks to protect the health and safety of students and school employees, many public school officials are also facing physical threats because of propaganda purporting the false inclusion of critical race theory within classroom instruction and curricula,' the letter reads.

House Republican leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy blasted Biden for 'weaponizing' the DOJ.

'There has been a disturbing trend in the Democrat Party that wants to silence parents, and prevent them from having a say in their own childrens education,' McCarthy wrote in a statement.

'Parents have a fundamental right to be lawfully involved in their childrens education. We should encourage family participation in our school systems, not baselessly attack opposing views because some liberal education officials and special interest groups see it as a threat to the power they want to have over what children learn in Americas classrooms.'
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Prince Andrew went for a ride around the Windsor estate today after finally ending his 'cat and mouse' game with Virginia Giuffre's lawyers as the legal row over whether he had sex with one of paedophile Jeffrey Epstein's young slaves continues.

The Duke of York, 61, had spent three weeks at Balmoral with his mother the Queen and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, allegedly to avoid having papers notifying him about the bombshell sex case delivered to his 30-room mansion at Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park.

He was pictured returning to Windsor at the end of last month to meet his first grandchild some twelve days after Princess Beatrice gave birth - and days after he officially recognised the sex assault lawsuit served to him by Ms Giuffre, formerly Roberts.

Ms Giuffre claims she was forced to have sex with the royal on three occasions - in London, Manhattan and the US Virgin Islands - when she was a minor under US law. Andrew has always denied any wrongdoing and his lawyer has called her allegations 'baseless'.

Prince Andrew went for a ride around the Windsor estate today after finally ending his 'cat and mouse' game with Virginia Giuffre's lawyers

The Duke of York, 61, had spent three weeks at Balmoral with his mother the Queen and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson

Prince Andrew returns to riding at Windsor Castle after spending three weeks at Balmoral

He was pictured returning to Windsor at the end of last month to meet his first grandchild some twelve days after Princess Beatrice gave birth

Pictured: The Duke of York with Virginia Roberts, then 17, and Ghislaine Maxwell in London

The acknowledgment was confirmed in a joint agreement signed by a lawyer for the duke, approved by a Manhattan federal judge and entered into the public court record.

The court papers said Andrew had been challenging acceptance of the lawsuit until lawyers spoke by phone on September 21. An agreement was signed three days later, according to the order signed by Judge Lewis A Kaplan.

MailOnline had previously reported that Andrew's legal team accepted that he had been correctly served with legal papers by his sex accuser. This has now been entered in the official public record.

Ms Giuffre's lawyer, David Boies, had previously said he expected the prince's US lawyer, Andrew B Brettler, to apply for a 'reasonable' extension to respond to the complaint - and indicated they would likely agree to it.

The prince must now file responses to the lawsuit's claims by October 29. A conference has been scheduled for November 3.

Delivering a lawsuit to a defendant is usually a routine matter but can be more complicated when a defendant resides outside the United States. A judge must be satisfied that a defendant has been properly notified of the allegations and has a reasonable period of time to respond to them.

Lawyers for Giuffre had told the judge that they'd delivered the lawsuit to Andrew in numerous ways, though never directly into his hands.

Prince Andrew walking with Jeffrey Epstein in Central Park, New York City in 2011 after the friends left Epstein's home in Manhattan

Virginia Roberts (pictured) claims she was forced to have sex with Andrew on three occasions when she was just 17 - under the age of consent in the US. He denies the allegations

The court papers said Andrew had been challenging acceptance of the lawsuit until lawyers spoke by phone on September 21. An agreement was signed three days later, according to the order signed by Judge Lewis A. Kaplan

At one point, Britain's high court accepted a request from Giuffre's lawyers to formally contact Andrew about the lawsuit.

Los Angeles attorney Andrew Brettler, who signed the papers on Andrew's behalf acknowledging the prince was aware of the lawsuit, had argued at a hearing that Ms Giuffre's claim was 'baseless, nonviable and potentially unlawful.'

In late 2019, Andrew told the BBC 'Newsnight' program that he never had sex with Giuffre, saying, 'It didn't happen.'

Brettler has said that Andrew cannot be sued because an earlier lawsuit in the United States that was settled 'absolves our client from any and all liability.' That 2009 settlement document, however, remains sealed.

Epstein was found dead in his cell at a Manhattan federal jail in August 2019 while he awaited a sex trafficking trial. The death was ruled to be suicide.

Ms Giuffre is seeking unspecified damages, but there is speculation the sum could be in the millions of dollars. Court documents show that lawyers for both sides spoke on September 21 and the time for the duke to respond was extended.
Antimicrobial resistance has been described by experts as a 'silent pandemic'

Limiting social contacts would make it harder for the superbugs to evolve

Social distancing measures brought in during the Covid pandemic could help tackle antibiotic resistance, scientists have claimed.

British researchers suggested the one-metre-plus rule and limiting a person's social contacts would make it harder for the superbugs to evolve and spread.

Antimicrobial resistance has been described as a 'silent pandemic' that should be taken as seriously as global warming.

Without intervention it is estimated around 10million people worldwide will die from infections that do not respond to antibiotics by 2050.

But experts from the University of West London (UWL) and Royal Holloway University of London have touted 'long-term social distancing' as a solution.

They admit that it is unlikely to be a feature of future public health policy because of the 'adverse physical and mental effects' and economic damage it would cause.

As an alternative, they recommend other good habits encouraged in the pandemic  like thorough handwashing and other 'infection control' measures are kept up.

There are many academics who believe masks should become a mainstay on public transport like they were in some parts of Asia before Covid.

Social distancing measure brought in during the Covid pandemic could help tackle antibiotic resistance, scientists have claimed. Graphic shows: How antibiotic resistant bacteria

Experts claim continued 'long-term social distancing' could be a solution to the growing problem

They say the measure could prevent bacteria evolving in a way that stops common and once effective medications from working

Writing in the paper, published in scientific journal Environment International, the authors said: 'Maintaining long-term social distancing in the post-Covid era may [not be] the easiest task to undertake due to its adverse physical and mental effects, along with the economic and social compliance challenges.

WHEN SHOULD YOU TAKE ANTIBIOTICS? Antibiotics may be used to treat bacterial infections that are unlikely to clear up on their own, may infect others, or pose serious risks. They are needed most when someone gets sepsis, pneumonia, a urinary tract infections (UTI), sexually transmitted infections like gonorrhoea or meningococcal meningitis. Antibiotics are frequently being used to treat illnesses such as coughs, earache and sore throats that can get better by themselves. Taking antibiotics encourages harmful bacteria that live inside you to become resistant. That means that antibiotics may not work when you really need them. Research in 2017 shows that 38 per cent of people still expect an antibiotic from a doctor when they visit with a cough, flu or a throat, ear, sinus or chest infection, according to PHE. Advertisement

'However, keeping up with good hand hygiene and cleaning/infection control practices will help prevent transmission of infectious diseases including those caused by antimicrobial resistant bacteria.'

Antibiotic resistance begins when bacteria learn to survive medications.

When overexposed to medicines, only bacteria which have a mutation allowing them to survive will reproduce.

They pass this trait on to their offspring and, over time, this can eventually lead to a fully resistant strain.

The phenomenon has been blamed on doctors overprescribing antibiotics to patients who do not always need them.

Resistant bacteria which trigger deadly conditions such as sepsis, pneumonia and kidney disease have already begun surging, according to a report last year.

The bacteria spread via direct contact or from touching surfaces, so many of the measures brought in to control Covid earlier in the pandemic will have already helped slow its spread.

Professor Hermine Mkrtchyan, a microbiologist at UWL and lead researcher on the paper, said: 'Infection control is incredibly important especially during a pandemic, and we must be able to provide appropriate hygiene measures to avoid transmission whether its virus or bacteria.

'We know, as seen with Covid, that transmission risks increase when surfaces are not sanitised regularly and are touched multiple times a day, particularly by people with poor hand hygiene.

'It is no surprise that within overcrowded public settings, AMR bacteria are being transmitted directly either via the air through shedding of skin, by direct contact, or through food.

She added: 'Long-term social distancing could go a long way in making lasting change and is incredibly easy to adopt.

'Additionally, with more robust data we can monitor the need for lasting targeted hygiene interventions such as the permanent introduction of hand sanitising on transport and in busy areas.

'We are facing a serious threat to health, and the more we can learn and adapt from activity we have adopted during the pandemic and with growth in technology, the more easily we can bring about lasting change save lives.'
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The billionaire ruler of Dubai launched an illegal phone hacking operation on British soil to snoop on his runaway wife and her team of lawyers, it can be revealed today.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, 72, a friend of the Queen and close UK ally, ignored British laws to 'hunt' Princess Haya, 47, after she fled to London, telling friends she was in fear of her life, the High Court has found.

Haya's high-profile solicitor Baroness [Fiona] Shackleton, a Tory peer who famously acted for Sir Paul McCartney in his divorce, was among those targeted in the astonishing cyber hacking mission.

She reported her fears to Black Rod, the Monarch's representative in the House of Lords, saying that her 'Parliamentary email, my own email, my WhatsApp messages, my pictures and my texts are all visible to somebody else'.

In a surprising twist, the sinister black ops operation 'more probable than not' ordered by Sheikh Mohammed was rumbled by Cherie Blair, QC. Sheikh Mohammed has denied any knowledge of the hacking.

The barrister wife of former PM Tony Blair was working for a secretive Israeli firm which makes the military-grade Pegasus spyware used by Dubai's intelligence service and several other governments - and tipped off her fellow British lawyers that their phones were being tapped.

Not content with the spying operation, the Sheikh even resorted to trying to buy a huge 30m estate next door to Haya's Berkshire bolthole to keep even closer tabs on her and the couple's two children, the High Court was told.

Among the astonishing revelations:

Haya feels 'hunted and haunted' and lives in fear of her ex-husband's henchmen 'snatching' back their children Princess Jalila, 13, and Prince Zayed, nine;

Cherie Blair was a legal adviser to Israeli tech firm NSO which makes Pegasus - a powerful surveillance spyware system bought by the UAE government;

Mrs Blair blew the whistle to Baroness Shackleton in a phone call saying she had 'some important information';

Associates of the sheikh, who is also Prime Minister of United Arab Emirates (UAE), tried to buy a 30million English manor house to spy on Haya, the High Court was told;

When she begged the court to ban him being near her house, he complained it might stop him visiting Windsor Castle.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (left) hacked phones to snoop on his runway wife Princess Haya (right) after she fled to London, the High Court has found

The Sheikh's associates secretly tried to snap up English manor house Parkwood on 'the most expensive field in Britain', the HIgh Court heard

The move made the Princess feel 'hunted and haunted' in her 12-bedroom mansion Castlewood House next door, the court heard

Cherie Blair 'played crucial role in uncovering plot' In a surprising twist, the sinister black ops operation 'more probable than not' ordered by Sheikh Mohammed was rumbled by Cherie Blair, QC, the High Court heard. The barrister wife of former PM Tony Blair was working for a secretive Israeli firm which makes the military-grade Pegasus spyware used by Dubai's intelligence service and several other governments - and tipped off her fellow British lawyers that their phones were being tapped. Haya's high-profile solicitor Baroness [Fiona] Shackleton, a Tory peer who famously acted for Sir Paul McCartney in his divorce, was among those targeted. The involvement of Mrs Blair in the case is ironic because her Prime Minister husband's Labour government allegedly shut down a serious criminal inquiry into the armed kidnapping of his runaway daughter from Cambridgeshire in 2000. He sent his henchmen to abduct teenager Princess Shamsa at gunpoint and inject her with sedatives. Advertisement

The sheikh's associates secretly tried to snap up English manor house Parkwood on 'the most expensive field in Britain', making the Princess feel 'hunted and haunted' in her 12-bedroom mansion Castlewood House next door, fearing that her children could be snatched from her by the Sheikh, the High Court heard.

When she asked the judge to impose a large 'exclusion zone' around her own home to stop him stalking her, the sheikh complained it would impede his access to Windsor Castle and Ascot racecourse.

The 77-acre Parkwood estate, just outside London, is within driving distance of both sites.

The Parkwood site was dubbed Britain's most expensive plot when it went on the market in 2014 for 30million.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were among those said to have been interested.

It includes a manor house, a picturesque lake and formal gardens - but the sheikh wanted it for his surveillance teams to spy on his former wife and their two children, Princess Jalila, 13, and Prince Zayed, nine, next-door, her lawyers told the High Court.

The Court accepted there was no evidence that the sheikh, or anyone acting on his behalf, had been in close proximity to Castlewood House.

Sheikh Maktoum, one of the world's richest men, is already an international pariah for the armed kidnapping of his daughters - Princess Shamsa from the streets of Britain, and then Princess Latifa from her yacht when she too tried to flee Dubai.

In April 2019, when the sheikh's sixth and youngest wife, Princess Haya, found out what had happened to them, she ran away to Britain in fear of her life with the couple's two children.

In the two-and-a-half years since, she and the sheikh have been waging a monumental battle at the High Court in what has become probably the most expensive child custody wrangle in UK history.

In a bizarre twist, Cherie Blair (left) helped exposes the hacking operation, which targeted - among others - Haya's lawyer Baroness Shackleton

The ruler of Dubai is a UK ally and is seen shaking hands with Queen Elizabeth on Derby Day at Epsom Racecourse in 2011

When she asked the judge to impose a large 'exclusion zone' around her own home to stop him stalking her, the sheikh complained it would impede his access to Windsor Castle and Ascot racecourse. The 77-acre Parkwood estate, just outside London, is within driving distance of both sites

Haya 'fully justified in fearing children would be snatched' Princess Haya is fully justified in fearing her children will be snatched from their English country home by their father's henchmen using a helicopter, the judge said. Sheikh Maktoum, the Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, poses a 'very significant threat' to his ex-wife and Jalila, 13, and Zayed, nine, and could abduct them as he did their half-sisters Princess Shamsa and Princess Latifa. Shamsa was kidnapped at gunpoint in Cambridgeshire in 2000 after she ran away from the family's Longcross estate in Surrey. She was sedated then whisked out of the UK by helicopter. Incredibly, a kidnap investigation by Cambridgeshire Police was allegedly shut down by Foreign Office ministers as a favour to the oil-rich nation. Then when Shamsa's sister Princess Latifa tried to flee Dubai in 2018, her 'coercive and controlling father' sent commandos to abduct her from her getaway yacht, the court has found. Sir Andrew McFarlane, the president of the High Court's family division, said Sheikh Maktoum had waged a campaign of fear and intimidation against his ex-wife, and said: 'In circumstances when it takes but a moment to snatch a child from a garden or a country lanethe need to prevent the father, or those acting on his behalf, from coming close to the mother's property is, in my view, fully made out.' He added Princess Haya firmly believed that, 'were he to spot an opportunity to do so, the father would not hesitate to attempt to abduct the two children in order to repatriate them to Dubai. She also believes that her own life and wellbeing are at extreme risk because her actions have greatly angered the father.' The judge added: 'When Sheikha Shamsa was abducted from Cambridge in August 2000, she was driven to one of his properties in Newmarket before being taken by helicopter to France, where she was put on a private plane and flown to Dubai.' Against that background, he said Haya was therefore 'justified' in regarding the sheikh's attempt to buy the property next door as 'a very significant threat to her security, both in terms of providing an opportunity for 24-hour close surveillance and as a close-to-hand transport hub for a helicopter'. One of Princess Haya's QCs, Tim Otty, told the judge: 'The children are exposed to grave risk. By grave risk, I mean that fate suffered by Sheikha Shamsa and Sheikha Latifa.' Charles Geekie QC added that the judge hardly needed reminding that hacking Princess Latifa's phone had led to her being tracked down and abducted as she tried to flee for a new life in the West. Advertisement

The hearings have been held in private but today, following an application by the Daily Mail and other media, the President of the Family Division Sir Andrew McFarlane allowed details of the case to be made public.

Sir Andrew said: 'It is more probable than not that the surveillance of the six phoneswas carried out by servants or agents of the fatherwith [his] express or implied authority.'

He added: 'The father, who is the Head of Government of the UAE, is prepared to use the arm of the State to achieve what he regards as right. He has harassed and intimidated the mother both before her departure to England and since.

'He is prepared to countenance those acting on his behalf doing so unlawfully within the UK.'

Castlewood House, where Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson briefly lived early in their marriage, was the English mansion home of King Hussein of Jordan  Princess Haya's late father  who bequeathed it to her.

It has a swimming pool, a tennis court and a private wood, but Princess Haya declared 'it feels like the walls are closing in on me' when she learnt in autumn last year that a secretive trust was negotiating to purchase neighbouring Parkwood for the benefit of Sheikh Maktoum.

Sprawling Parkwood is on a slight hill overlooking Castlewood.

Haya told the judge she was terrified, saying in a written statement: 'I am and feel hunted all the time, and I am forced to look over my shoulder at every moment of the day. It feels as if I am being stalked. It is hugely oppressive.

'It is completely overwhelming. I simply will not feel safe even out in our own garden.

'At no time has Sheikh Mohammed even stopped to consider the incredible strain such a purchase around Castlewood would put on the security we have or the effect it would have on the children.

'I feel like I am defending myself against a whole 'state'. Even in our own home they will be towering over us. I feel like I cannot breathe anymore. It feels like being suffocated.'

Her QC Charles Geekie told the court Parkwood was 'in a prime position for direct or electronic surveillance of the Castlewood home - it could not be closer', and said the surveillance on Princess Haya's mobile phone had made her 'feel both hunted and haunted', adding: 'It is the plainest evidence of fear  rational and objective fear  against a background of justified fear.'

The involvement of Mrs Blair in the case is ironic because her Prime Minister husband's Labour government allegedly shut down a serious criminal inquiry into the armed kidnapping of his runaway daughter from Cambridgeshire in 2000.

He sent his henchmen to abduct teenager Princess Shamsa at gunpoint and inject her with sedatives.

After marrying Sheikh Maktoum in 2004, to become his sixth and youngest wife, Haya initially believed her husband's explanations of what had happened to the two princesses, namely that they had been 'rescued' and were now safe with the family.



The Parkwood Estate, set deep in the heart of the Surrey countryside, includes a picturesque lake and formal gardens

Haya's QC Charles Geekie told the court Parkwood was 'in a prime position for direct or electronic surveillance of the Castlewood home - it could not be closer'

But by early 2019 she had become suspicious and voiced her concerns. She had also begun an adulterous affair with her British bodyguard, former soldier Russell Flowers.

A campaign of intimidation by Sheikh Mohammed's agents began and the court heard that a gun was twice placed on her pillow with the safety catch off. A helicopter landed outside her house with a threat to remove her to a remote desert prison.

At an earlier hearing judge ruled that 'the father has therefore acted in a manner from the end of 2018 which has been aimed at intimidating and frightening the mother, and that he has encouraged others to do so on his behalf'.

In April 2019 Princess Haya fled to Britain, taking her two children with her. The court heard how veiled threats from Sheikh Mohammed had left her terrified for her own safety, as well as fears that her children could be abducted and forcibly returned to Dubai.

In May 2019 she said he told her: 'You and the children will never be safe in England'. He published a poem entitled: 'You lived, you died'.

In a statement after the publication of the High Court and Court of Appeal judgments, Sheikh Mohammed said: 'I have always denied the allegations made against me and I continue to do so. These matters concern supposed operations of State security.

'As a Head of Government involved in private family proceedings, it was not appropriate for me to provide evidence on such sensitive matters either personally or via my advisers in a foreign court.

'Neither the Emirate of Dubai nor the UAE are party to these proceedings and they did not participate in the hearing. The findings are therefore inevitably based on an incomplete picture.

'In addition, the findings were based on evidence that was not disclosed to me or my advisers. I therefore maintain that they were made in a manner which was unfair.

'I ask that the media respect the privacy of our children and do not intrude into their lives in the UK.'

Sheikh Maktoum poses a 'very significant threat' to his ex-wife and Jalila, 13, and Zayed, nine, and could abduct them as he did their half-sisters Princess Shamsa (pictured) and Princess Latifa, the court heard

Sheikh Mohammed with Princess Haya during the World Government Summit 2017 at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai
Comedian Dave Chappelle has enthusiastically backed JK Rowling in her spat with the transgender community, saying he is 'Team TERFT' while slamming them for canceling the Harry Potter author.

During his sixth Netflix special, The Closer, Chappelle, 48, joked about Rowling's 2019 argument that transgender women were not actually women and were a threat to her identity.

Rowling, 56, received a slew of hate messages and death threats for her comments on sex and gender, with #RIPJKRowling trending on social media last year.

She was labeled a TERF, a trans-exclusionary radical feminist, and Chappelle said he embraced the label.

'I'm Team TERF. I agree. I agree, man. Gender is a fact,' Chappelle.

Dave Chappelle, left, defended JK Rowling during his latest Netflix special, The Closer, saying that 'Gender is a fact,' in support of Rowling's previous remarks against transwomen

Dave Chappelle's The Closer premiered on Netflix on October 5, where the comedian returned to the stage and made a slew of controversial jokes

In his standup routine, Chappelle said women view transwomen the way black people people view white people wearing blackface, and said that women have a right to be angry at transwomen, citing the fact that Caitlyn Jenner won Glamour magazine's 2015 Woman of the Year award.

'I'd be mad as sh*t if I was a woman,' Chappelle said.

He also joked about the anatomy of transwomen, joking that they lacked real female reproductive organs and that they did not have blood but 'beet juice.'

Chappelle faced backlash for his jokes, with trans actress and director Taylor Ashbrook tweeting, 'As a trans woman, I have usually defended Dave Chappelle's specials because I think they're hilarious and his jokes about trans women never felt intentionally malicious.

'The Closer changed my mind on that. That special felt so lazy and disingenuous and I'm really disappointed.'

Vulture Writer Kathryn VanArendonk also tweeted, 'I just have to believe by this point that even the most devoted chappelle audience would love to hear material on something other than his obsession with trans bodies.'

Another Twitter user, with the handle Thisguyhere, even accused Chappelle of being Trump-like in the new special.

'Dave chappelle spent more time and jokes on gay and Trans people than he did white people, the supposed people all his jokes are directed at. This dude has reach trump level gaslighting in The Closer.'

Rowling was not the only victim of cancel culture that Chappelle mentioned, as he brought up the case of East Coast rapper DaBaby, Jonathan Lyndale Kirk.

Chappelle criticized the public's push to cancel Kirk after he made transphobic comments at a recent Miami music festival about people with HIV and AIDS, rather than choosing to cancel him for his alleged involvement in a 2018 shooting that left a 19-year-old dead.

During his latest show, the comedian took shots at the trans community, much like he did during his 2019 special Sticks & Stones

Chappelle criticized the publics push to cancel rapper DaBaby, pictured, for his alleged transphobic comments earlier this year but not for his 2018 murder charges

'DaBaby shot and killed a [man] in Walmart in North Carolina. Nothing bad happened to his career,' Chappelle said. 'Do you see where I'm going with this? In our country, you can shoot and kill a [man], but you better not hurt a gay person's feelings.'

Charges against Kirk were dropped in 2019 after a key witnessed failed to show up to testify in court, Fox News reports. Kirk claimed he had been defending himself from being robbed by 19-year-old Jaylin Craig.

This is not the first time Chappelle has targeted drama in the trans community during his standup.

In 2019, Chappelle received backlash for the alleged transphobic remarks he made during his Sticks & Stones special.

During the latest standup special, which is set to be his last before he goes on break, Chappelle had said he would not be doing anymore LGBTQ jokes as long as the community stops trying to cancel black men for making derogatory remarks.

'Until we are both sure that we are laughing together. I'm telling you, it's done. I'm done talking about it. All I ask of your community, with all humility: Will you please stop punching down on my people.'

The Closer will be Chappelle's last standup special on Netflix before he goes on break

Chappelle is not the first to defend Rowling, as last year, a collection of over 50 actors, writers, playwrights, journalists joined together to pen a letter in response to 'hate speech' directed against Rowling.

Signatories of the letter include Booker winner Ian McEwan, actor Griff Rhys Jones, actress Frances Barber and playwright Sir Tom Stoppard.

It was was triggered in response to the hashtag #RIPJKRowling trending at number one on Twitter and said Rowling was a victim of 'an insidious, authoritarian and misogynistic trend in social media'.

The letter wrote the hashtag declaring her dead on social media was 'just the latest example of hate speech directed against her'.

Earlier this year, The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland ruled it was 'not fair' for a radio show panelist Matt Cooper, of The Last Word, to brand Rowling a 'transphobic bigot' without evidence.

Complaints were made following the broadcast last year, and Ireland's top broadcast regulator said the remark was 'not fair' as there was no 'evidence' to 'back up' the claim.

The BAI added the host failed to challenge the statement, ruling that the Code of Fairness, Objectivity and Impartiality in News and Current Affairs was breached.

It is the first time the BAI has endorsed a complaint in almost three years.
Miss World Netherlands has quit the modelling contest - saying she is not prepared to get vaccinated so she can travel to the final in Puerto Rico later this year.

Dilay Willemstein, 21, made the announcement late Tuesday via Instagram, saying she is 'not yet ready' to get the shot - and might never be.

The model and dancer will now be replaced by Lizzie Dobbe, who came second place in the Netherlands' national contest which concluded back in July.

Dilay Willemstein, 21, winner of the Miss World Netherlands contest, has said she will not attend the final later this year because contestants are required to get a Covid vaccine

Willemstein told the media at the time of her win that taking the Miss World crown was a life-long dream.

But it was not until after winning the national event that she was told all finalists would have to be vaccinated in order to travel to Puerto Rico.

Willemstein said she did not realise finalists would have to be double-jabbed to visit Puerto Rico, where the final will be held

Puerto Rico does not currently require travellers to be fully vaccinated in order to enter, and will accept a negative PCR test taken up to three days before departure.

However, new rules introduced last month mean that events operating at full capacity must require guests to be jabbed. If not, they are limited to half capacity.

It is not clear whether the Miss World pageant was complying with locals rules when it issued its vaccine edict, or whether it was applying its own rules.

Nevertheless, Willemstein has now ruled herself firmly out of the contest.

Breaking the news to her 20,000 followers, she wrote: 'This is partly due to the vaccination obligation... and personally I am not ready for this yet.'

The model said she pondered her decision for months, and kept delaying making a decision when organisers contacted her.

But breaking point came when they demanded a date for her vaccination appointment, at which point she decided she couldn't go through with it.

The model and dancer said she mulled the decision for months before finally deciding 'I'm not ready for this at all. I don't feel good about it'

Willemstein talked with friends who saw she was distressed and told her she didn't have to go through with it - which made up her mind.

Speaking to Dutch site AD, she added: 'I thought about it carefully and considered taking the jab.

'But at a certain point I thought: I'm not ready for this at all. I don't feel good about it. I don't know if I'll take that shot later.

Despite missing out on her 'dream' opportunity, Willemstein insists that she does not have any regrets.

'This door will close, but new doors will open for me,' she insisted.
Famed DJ Diplo has responded to the fact that he could face charges after a woman claims he gave her chlamydia and recorded her while they had sex without her permission - then shared clips with his pals.

Diplo's ex Shelly Auguste had made the criminal complaint to the Los Angeles Police Department in October 2020, with a spokesman for the Los Angeles City Attorney's Department telling Buzzfeed Tuesday that they're now considering criminal charges.

Meanwhile, the 42-year-old took to Instagram on Wednesday to address the allegations, claiming the woman in question was 'an obsessed fan' of his.

'I will keep this story easy to read because I know the internet has a short attention span, and it was my goal to never address a stalker. I will refer to her as SA (and you can find anything easily online) she was an obsessed fan of mine, and after I relinquished all contact with her, it appears that her only purpose in life has been to disrupt my work, my business, harass me and my close friends and attack me and threaten my family,' his post began.

'To be clear, SA was not a minor when I had conversations or sexual intercourse with her. Her own text messages admit this.'

Pictured: Diplo at the 'Dave' Season Two premiere in Los Angeles, California on June 10, 2021

The 42-year-old took to Instagram on Wednesday to address the allegations, claiming the woman in question was 'an obsessed fan' of his in a lengthy post (pictured)

Diplo said he blocked several of the woman's social media accounts

The performer added that his accuser created multiple fake social media accounts in which to harass him and his family

The performer went on to call the encounter consensual while adding that the woman sent photos and videos to him for a few months after the tryst, while adding that he was forced to block the accuser's multiple fake social media accounts in which she used to harass him and his family.

'I had a night of consensual sex with her. Basically, SA reached out to me and I declined a few times but at one time decided to meet her. After that experience, we had exchanged texts for a few months, there was small talk, sexual flirting, she would send me pics and videos.'

'Eventually it got too much to handle and, I stopped contact with her when I realized she had started to become obsessed with me, it began a nightmare of almost three years of her harassing and threatening me my family and my friends.'

Diplo went on to allege his accuser was 'engaging in criminal activity' before calling her a possible 'call girl.'

'SA would offer her friends and other people to have sexual experiences with, and thats when I began to get suspicious that she was engaging in criminal activity, and was possibly a call girl. Here are some of the texts over the course of months ..'

He stated that his ex's pregnancy with their third son 'really threw her over the edge,' and claimed the accuser used racist language in threatening texts sent to his ex, who was black

Diplo posted screenshots to corroborate his lengthy Instagram explanation as the LA city attorney's office considers moving forward with criminal charges against him

He added that he filed a civil lawsuit of his own in April of this year

Pictured: screenshots Diplo provided in his Instagram post in an effort to clear his name from sexual misconduct accusations

Diplo's ex Shelly Auguste, pictured, made a criminal complaint to the LAPD in October 2020, with a City Attorney spokesman saying Tuesday that they're considering criminal charges

The famed DJ added that she continued to 'call and text me day and night on different numbers and whatsapp. She began to come to my house when I wasnt there. one time I just hid in my neighbors house and ignored her. I dont think she could physically harm me but I was afraid she was going to harm herself,' his post read.

'We always took the high road when dealing with her. We tried to deal with her in court and help her find help. Our detective had found out she had a previous restraining ordered against her in Florida (more on this later) after we rounded up many of her fake accounts.'

'She denied having any fake accounts and said her friends were out to get her and pretending to be her?? nothing was making sense and I really was getting worried she could be this delusional.'

His accuser, who has not been named by the LAPD or prosecutors, provided the details of the allegations which matched with those made by his ex, Auguste, who has previously gone on the record with her claims.

He also stated that Auguste's pregnancy with their third son 'really threw her over the edge,' and claimed the accuser used racist language in threatening calls and texts she had sent to his ex, who was black.

He accused her of collaborating with 'tabloid journalists to place deliberately misleading and defamatory articles about me' he wrote

For his part, Diplo's Instagram response chalked the allegations up to being a celebrity, and that such 'unsubstantiated claims' come with the territory

'When I was expecting my third son, it really threw her over the edge, she became obsessed with my sons mother just as much as she was with me, calling and berating her and sending extremely racist comments to her and sharing my text messages from years ago,'

'The mother of my first two children had already deactivated her Instagram account because she couldnt take all the hate mail coming from what we believe to be SAs fake accounts (and again this is her blaming people for making these fake accounts to attack my family members).'

He went on to accuse the woman of collaborating with 'tabloid journalists to place deliberately misleading and defamatory articles about me' he wrote.

However, the allegations against him could very well turn into criminal charges despite his lengthy Instagram response, according to the Los Angeles city attorney's office.

'We are reviewing the referral and have no further comment at this time,' said Rob Wilcox, a spokesperson for the LA city attorney, said of the allegations.

Diplo, whose real name is Thomas Wesley Pentz, was sued by Auguste for sexual battery, defamation and fraud in October 2020, and has repeatedly denied the allegations that August, 25, has made against him.

She has also accused him of raping her at a Las Vegas hotel room after one of his concerts, although that allegation does not form part of the criminal complaint against him.

California law considers knowingly passing on a sexually-transmitted infection and recording a sexually explicit video without a partner's consent as misdemeanors.

That civil filing accuses Diplo of sexual battery, assault, defamation and fraud. Auguste said she came forward after Diplo hired a private investigator to contact her and 'scare' her out of sharing 'disgusting details' she knew about him.

The Los Angeles city attorneys office is considering hitting Diplo with criminal charges of invasion of privacy and knowingly giving someone a sexually transmitted disease

Shelley Auguste first filed a report against Diplo's sexual misconduct in October 2020

She shared her accusations against the celebrity DJ on Twitter and Instagram after Diplo fired a private investigator to scare her, she claims

In the suit, Auguste claims the performer first contacted her on Twitter when she was just 17 and 'solicited nude photos of her.'

They went on to exchange 'explicit' images 'before meeting in person for the first time in 2018, when she was 21.' She claims that after she moved to Los Angeles 'Diplo really began pressuring her for sex by sending unsolicited graphic photos of himself in sexual situations.'

The court documents also alleged that after Auguste confronted Diplo about the rumors he had herpes, he 'cut off all communication' with her.

But after they reconciled, a year later, in 2019, she claims 'she gave in to the pressure and lost her virginity to Diplo.'

She also alleges he 'recorded video of their sexual encounter despite her telling him she didn't want that' and tried to 'coax her into a threesome with a girl she believes was underaged at the time.'

After Auguste declined the threesome, she says he 'forced himself on her as she tried to fight him off.'

Not long after, she says she 'was diagnosed with chlamydia' and 'believes she got it from Diplo because she says he was her only sexual partner at the time.'

Auguste was 17-years-old when Diplo began messaging her and eliciting sexual photos of her

Diplo has admitted to having sexual relations with Auguste but claims that she has turned into a obsessive stalker, his claims mirror those that she made first in a filing for a temporary restraining order

In her original filing, Auguste adds: 'I was caught off guard and shocked when Respondent sent me unsolicited videos of him engaging in sex with other females in or about October of 2018.

'I sternly told Respondent that I did not want him to ever record us engaging in sexual activities.'

After claiming to have been contacted by a private investigator hired by the DJ the woman says she felt 'threatened and intimidated'.

In her Twitter thread detailing the allegations on October 26, Auguste alleged that Diplo took explicit footage of her without her consent, writing: 'I SPECIFICALLY asked him not too & his reply was 'f*** it. I'm recording this.''

She also claimed he hired a private investigator to contact her after they got in an argument - saying that he wanted to 'scare' her so she wouldn't share the 'disgusting details' she knew about him.

'The private investigator stated to me that he knew my address, he knew my parents address, he knew my place of work as well as my parents place to work,' she tweeted.

'Take that as you may but most people will take that as a threat.'

In another tweet Auguste wrote: 'I never had the will or intention to expose Diplo being that I did not want all the years I invested into speaking & hanging out with him to go in vain.or end nasty.

'But I slowly started to realize he is a huge manipulating liar / gaslighter who PREYS young women of ALL races (to be honest) but primarily young naive women of color.'

Diplo tweeted about sleeping with girls born in the 90s in 2010. At this time, those girls would be between the ages of 11-20 and he was in his early 30s

The DJ has a history of making inappropriate comments about young girls. Some critics online have dubbed him the 'White R. Kelly'

Diplo's attorney, Bryan Freedman said, 'To be clear, in no way has my client violated any law. In fact, he has repeatedly made it clear that he wants nothing whatsoever to do with this person.'

Auguste first published the accusations on Twitter in October. Shortly afterwards, a nude image of her appeared on the site that was published by a user she believes was acting on behalf of the DJ in an attempt to 'humiliate' and silence her.

Auguste successfully obtained a restraining order to stop the artist from distributing any more 'revenge porn'. A judge also instructed Diplo to identify anyone he may have sent the images to and to get 'express written permission' from his accuser to further distribute any images.

Through his attorney, Diplo denied the allegations to DailyMail.com at the time, before hitting back with his own filing.

He claims Auguste has been publishing nude images of him across social media, in addition to sending them some of his ex-lovers, including the mother of his children, Kathryn Lockhart. In December, Diplo requested a judge sign a temporary restraining order (TRO) against Auguste, citing incessant harassment of him and his family.

In his filing, Diplo claimed he and Shelly first met in 2018, when they immediately began exchanging nude photos and videos with each other, which he said he expected to remain private.

The artist also conceded in the filing that he and the woman had sex on a number of different occasions, insisting it was always consensual.

However, at some point in 2020, Diplo said his relations with Auguste soured, which is when he claims she began distributing explicit images of both him, and them both together, without his permission.

Azealia Banks (left) has said that she and Diplo (right) had sex when she was a minor trying to launch her music career

M.I.A. (right) rose to fame while she was dating Diplo (left), who she has accused of being emotionally abusive

Quenlin Blackwell, 19, was questioned by fans when she revealed that she was living with Diplo but claimed that the relationship with platonic

Blackwell released this statement the same month that Auguste filed her police report and Banks spoke publicly about sleeping with Diplo when she was a minor

The allegations made by Diplo strongly resemble those made by Auguste in her filing.

Correcting other reports, Auguste shared a screengrab on Instagram showing that both restraining orders were disposed, claiming that both parties decided to make a private agreement and told the courts they did not want to proceed.

The Twitter thread filled with the allegations of misconduct by Diplo came as he was hit with backlash over his relationship with 19-year-old TikTok star Quenlin Blackwell.

Blackwell announced that she was living with the artist 23 years her senior in a video that went viral as critics remarked that he is way too old for her.

She defended herself by saying that Diplo was more of a father figure to her than a romantic pursuit - as he insisted that they are only friends.

That same month, rapper Azealia Banks made accusations of Diplo's predatory behavior on the podcast Cheapy's Two Cents. 'I used to have sex with Diplo when I was 17. Diplo definitely found me on f**king Myspace,' she said.

'I always give him credit for f**king launching my career off, but yeah, I had to give him some teenage p***y to do it. Hes always been preying on young ethnic girls.' Diplo would have been in his early 30s at the time.

Rapper M.I.A., who dated Diplo for five years, has accused him of emotional abuse.

Auguste has many tweets and Instagram post regarding her accusations against Diplo including text messages she claims were sent by the DJ and other accusations against the DJ from other women.

The police investigation and its submission to prosecutors who are considering criminal charges reveals a new level of scrutiny for the allegations made against the celebrity DJ.

For his part, Diplo's Instagram response chalked the allegations up to being a celebrity, and that such 'unsubstantiated claims' come with the territory.

'Culture is quick to follow unsubstantiated claims. Im a public figure and this comes with the territory and I understand that. I want to add also these previous claims have been dropped or abandoned and those facts go unreported. This is so frustrating and embarrassing. I am not this person and I wont be extorted by anyone no matter how stinging the press can be.'

'Even over the past 2 years Ive never been bothered by these rumors if anything it has made me stronger and smarter, all of my friends and partners have never questioned me and that was what has been important to me. The people in my life know me for who I really am. I will continue to do everything I can to end this in the most respectful way but I will not give in to lies and harassment.'
Violent crime has continued to escalate in New York City, with assaults climbing 18.5 percent and robberies up 6 percent in September as the NYPD revealed it has made more than 3,400 gun arrests so far this year.

Stark data released by the NYPD Wednesday shows crime rose 2.6 percent overall in September 2021 compared to the same month in 2020, with an extra 243 incidents reported.

It comes as Mayor Bill de Blasio tries to lure tourists and office workers back to the COVID-ravaged Big Apple, with the data likely to deter many over personal safety concerns.

The biggest increase was for felonious assault - or assault with a dangerous weapon - which surged by a shocking 18.5 percent from 1,802 in September 2020 to 2,135 in September 2021, as New Yorkers have been plagued by random attacks in the streets of the city.

The data also reveals a concerning trend in other criminal activity, with robberies up 6 percent, car theft up 4.1 percent and grand larceny up .7 percent within the same timeframe.

Over the last year, New York has been rocked by a wave of violent crime, fueling fears it is returning to the dark days of the '70s and '80s when murders were rife and the Big Apple earned the nickname Fear City.

A map showing the New York City boroughs where crime has increased (in red) and decreased (in green) in September 2021 compared to the same month last year

This prompted former state Governor Andrew Cuomo to take the unprecedented step of launching the nation's first ever state of emergency over gun violence back in July.

But now, the situation appears to be getting even worse with a staggering 393 gun arrests made last month alone, bringing the total number of gun arrests to 3,425 between January and the end of September.

This is a dramatic increase of 20.9 percent from the same period in 2020 when 2,832 gun arrests were made.

Last year, the city and the nation was reeling from COVID-19, civil unrest following the murder of George Floyd and political turmoil in the run-up to the presidential election.

Now, COVID-19 restrictions have almost all lifted, the US's borders are poised to reopen to major tourist destinations and Mayor Bill de Blasio is trying to lure back office workers to the city.

Yet, violent and horrific subway attacks and gang-related gun battles are still a common occurrence in the streets of the city.

Some boroughs have been ravaged by the crime wave more than others, with Manhattan South recording the biggest spike in crime (20.1 percent) last month compared to the previous September.

Violent crime has continued to escalate in New York City, with total crime up 2.6% in September 2021 compared to September 2020

Manhattan North has also seen a rise in crime, up by 3.2 percent in the same timeframe.

Brooklyn South saw crime spike by 5.3 percent, Staten Island by 9 percent and the Bronx - where a terrifying gun fight broke out between gangs last month - by 4.9 percent.

The NYPD released footage this week of a September 16 gun battle between seven alleged gang members, firing at an unidentified target across the street before running off down the street in the Morrisania section of the Bronx.

Crime has, however, fallen in some boroughs of the city, down by 4.2 percent in Brooklyn North, 5.8 percent in Queens North.

In Queens South, crime fell 3.7 percent between the two months - even though there were six murders recorded there last month.

Despite the rise in some violent offenses, NYPD Police Commissioner Dermot Shea hailed the fall in murders and shootings last month.

Murders fell by 22 percent from 59 in September 2020 to 46 last month, while shootings were down 9.3 percent from 150 to 136.

Mayor Bill de Blasio touted the rise in gun arrests as an 'extraordinary success' Wednesday rather than a concerning sign of a rise in firearm use

Burglaries also fell by 14.9 percent and rapes by 12.4 percent between the two timeframes.

Shea said in a statement that this is part of a wider fall in some violent crimes from the summer as the city focuses on curtailing gun violence.

'The ongoing, downward trend in violence reflects the hard and often dangerous work of the men and women of the NYPD,' said Shea.

'And while I applaud their courage and tenacity, the police cannot do this alone. Public safety must be a collective mission.

'It requires intelligence-based policing, but it also requires a fully functioning court system and meaningful consequences that send a clear message to those who would pull a trigger: expect to be caught, and expect to be held accountable.'

De Blasio also gave an optimistic outlook of the new crime figures in his press briefing Wednesday morning.

The mayor touted the rise in gun arrests as an 'extraordinary success' Wednesday rather than a concerning sign of a rise in firearm use.

The NYPD released footage this week of a September 16 gun battle between seven alleged gang members, firing at an unidentified target across the street before running off down the street in the Morrisania section of the Bronx

'It's a typical thing out there for certain folks to doubt New York City, or to doubt our ability to make a comeback, or doubt the NYPD, but the facts speak for themselves,' he said.

'Even in the most extraordinarily difficult circumstances - total disruption of our society because of a global pandemic, unprecedented - the NYPD has fought back, neighborhood folks have fought back, the city has fought back and we're seeing it in so many ways.'

He added: 'We're seeing the city come back to life.'

The mayor said several crimes such as robbery and felony crime are currently at the lowest rate in the last three decades on a year-to-date basis.

And de Blasio said things will improve further as the city continues to come back to life - through a return of tourism and workers returning to their offices.

That is part of his 'safety in numbers' theory, where larger crowds of people gathering are likely to deter opportunistic criminals from carrying out attacks.

Yet, the tourist hotspots have been at the center of some of the violence of late.

Times Square - known for its flashing billboards and bright lights which draw in around 50 million visitors every year - has been the site of three shootings and a horrifying incident where a woman pushed a bystander in front of a subway train.

Shocking surveillance footage taken this Monday shows a woman jump up from a bench and shove the female victim as a train hurtled into the station.

Anthonia Egegbara, 29, of Queens, was charged with attempted murder Tuesday over the incident. The victim Lenny Javier, 42, suffered a broken nose and chin but luckily survived.

Historic crime data shows how crime fell from the 1990s and has inched up in recent years

This came just hours before a man shot himself in the leg in that same subway station.

Back in May, three innocent bystanders, including a four-year-old girl, were also shot by stray bullets in Times Square when a man started shooting indiscriminately in the middle of the day during an argument with someone else.

The young girl was struck in the leg, a 24-year-old woman was hit in her thigh and a 44-year-old woman was shot in the foot.

All survived the shooting, which sent shoppers and tourists fleeing for their lives.

In June, US Marine Samuel Poulin was shot in the back in the tourist hotspot.

He was walking through the area with his family when he was randomly struck by a stray bullet from an altercation involving other people. Poulin was not seriously injured.

The mayoral candidate frontrunner Eric Adams has vowed to tackle the escalating violence when de Blasio leaves office at the end of this term.

On Tuesday, he said his first focus will be to crack down on guns entering the city.

His other plans include the creation of a dedicated plain-clothed anti-gun violence unit in the NYPD.

Horrifying surveillance video shows the moment when Anthonia Egegbara allegedly pushed a fellow commuter into a train at the Times Square subway station on Monday morning

Terrifying moment elderly can collector is CHASED by mugger through A-list Brooklyn enclave before being punched as assailant tried to grab her bag, as Big Apple robberies rocket 10%

Distressing footage shows a mugger chase an elderly can collector through a Brooklyn neighborhood beloved by celebrities before punching her and trying to wrestle her bag from her.

The surveillance camera footage - shared by the NYPD - shows the 65 year-old woman being chased down St Edwards Street and Willoughby Avenue in Fort Greene at 4:40pm on September 28, with the hooded mugger in hot pursuit.

She was seen running onto the road in a bid to escape his clutches, with the mugger - whose face was partially covered with a mask - punching the woman as he tried to wrestle her handbag from her.

The would-be mugger drags and punches elderly woman in broad daylight

On Thursday, video was released depicting the victim running into the street to avoid the man  who ultimately ran after her

After the assailant catches up to the woman, a struggle immediately ensues in the middle of the street

The incident happened on the edge of Fort Greene Park, widely regarded as one of Brooklyn - and New York's - ritziest neighborhoods, with median house prices of $1.1 million.

Fort Greene's leafy avenues are lined with immaculate brownstones, with celebrity residents including of the area including movie stars Christina Ricci, Adrian Grenier, Holly Hunter and supermodel Alek Wek.

Despite the ferocious and distressing assault, the woman clings on to her bag, with the mugger eventually fleeing on realizing he was not going to be able to seize it off her.

He was filmed swinging at his victim again, only for her to duck out of the way, with the woman seen clutching her head in apparent pain from an earlier blow that did land successfully.

Several people are seen passing the street and sidewalk as the incident occurred, including two people who stood feet away as the incident unfolded.

The woman suffered swelling to her face, in addition to back pain and cuts on her body.

She was transported nearby to Brooklyn Hospital Center where she remains in stable condition.

Moments after collecting money she earned from picking up cans, the 65-year-old victim was approached by the assailant on his bike at St. Edwards and Willoughby streets in Fort Greene

Footage of the incident shows the suspect repeatedly yanking at the woman's purse, while she refuses to let go
The red travel list is expected to be slashed in a Government announcement on Thursday to open up travel between the UK and dozens of long-haul countries.

There are currently 54 countries on the red list, such as Mexico, Cuba, all of mainland South America, and southern and eastern Africa.

Anyone arriving in the UK from a location in the red tier must spend 11 nights in a quarantine hotel, which costs 2,285 for solo travellers.

A decision on which countries to remove from England's red list is expected to be made following a meeting of Government ministers on Thursday.

There are currently 54 countries on the red list, such as Mexico, Cuba, all of mainland South America, and southern and eastern Africa. Pictured, passengers queue for the arrival hall at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 5

Countries currently on the UK's red list: The UK Government's 'red list' of 54 countries is tipped to be reduced to just nine. These are the countries currently on the red list: Afghanistan Angola Argentina Bolivia Botswana Brazil Burundi Cape Verde Chile Colombia Congo (Democratic Republic) Costa Rica Cuba Dominican Republic Ecuador Eritrea Eswatini Ethiopia French Guiana Georgia Guyana Haiti Indonesia Lesotho Malawi Mayotte Mexico Mongolia Montenegro Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nepal Panama Paraguay Peru Philippines Reunion Rwanda Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia South Africa Sudan Suriname Tanzania Thailand Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Uganda Uruguay Venezuela Zambia Zimbabwe Advertisement

The devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland set their own travel rules but have recently mirrored announcements made in Westminster.

Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, predicted that only a handful of 'less visited areas' such as Afghanistan, Haiti and Somalia will remain on the red list, with the 'blanket measures on Africa and South America removed'.

He said this will be 'a major step forward' as it means the Government will 'finally move to a policy of individual risk'.

Travellers who are not fully vaccinated must self-isolate at home for 10 days when arriving from a country not on the red list, but those who have been jabbed are exempt.

The removal from the red list of Mexico, South Africa and Thailand would send 'a confidence boost across the sector and across consumers'.

Mr Charles said it is 'very hard to justify' why any countries are on the list 'when there are no new variants of concern there'.

He continued: 'That's why Ireland have removed every country from their red list because they see no threat. So the UK should be following that example.'

The London-based World Travel and Tourism Council, which represents private firms, said the sector's recovery will continue to be 'sluggish' due to policies such as the UK's red list.

The organisation predicted that travel and tourism's contribution to global gross domestic product (GDP) is set to rise by less than a third in 2021.

Meanwhile, coronavirus data analyst Tim White believes 'up to 18' countries could remain on the red list.

Writing on Twitter, he described reports that the list could be cut to just nine as 'optimistic'.

Mexico 'looks certain to be removed' but Thailand 'may well stay red', Mr White predicted.

The Government may use the travel update to confirm the date when fully vaccinated people arriving in England will be able to use a cheaper lateral flow test rather than a PCR version for their day-two test.

The Department for Transport said on Monday that this policy will be implemented 'later in October', adding that the Government 'aims to have it in place for when people return from half-term breaks'.

Anyone arriving in the UK from a location in the red tier must spend 11 nights in a quarantine hotel, which costs 2,285 for solo travellers (file image)

Families returning from October half-term holidays 'could STILL be forced to pay for 75 PCR tests once back in the UK' Families may still be forced to spend 75 on PCR tests when returning from holidays this half-term, it was claimed today. The day two return swabs were supposed to be scrapped at the end of the month in favour of cheaper and quicker lateral flow tests for the fully vaccinated. While the Government says it 'aims' to have it in place in time for half-term, a Cabinet source said ministers had been urged to keep the PCRs due to fears over variants. The move would be a major blow for millions of holidaymakers and the beleaguered travel industry which would be aiming to recoup pandemic losses during half term. 'Theres a very real chance PCRs will still have to be taken after half-term holidays,' the source told The Sun. In a dig at Health Secretary Sajid Javid, they added: 'Those who claim to be great unlockers have been captured quickly by the health officials.' Advertisement

Meanwhile, families may still be forced to spend 75 on PCR tests when returning from holidays this half-term, it was previously claimed.

The day two return swabs were supposed to be scrapped at the end of the month in favour of cheaper and quicker lateral flow tests for the fully vaccinated.

While the Government says it 'aims' to have it in place in time for half-term, a Cabinet source said ministers had been urged to keep the PCRs due to fears over variants.

The move would be a major blow for millions of holidaymakers and the beleaguered travel industry which would be aiming to recoup pandemic losses during half term.

'Theres a very real chance PCRs will still have to be taken after half-term holidays,' the source told The Sun. In a dig at Health Secretary Sajid Javid, they added: 'Those who claim to be great unlockers have been captured quickly by the health officials.'

But Department for Transport bosses told MailOnline categorically it would replace day two PCR tests with lateral flows by the end of October.

Mr Javid had doubled down on his commitment to scrap as many remaining Covid curbs as possible.

On his 100th day in the job, he told the Tory conference in Manchester that his party stood for 'freeing things up' rather than locking them down.

But Mr Javid is said to be concerned that relying on lateral flow tests - which unlike PCR don't need to be verified in a lab - could encourage lying about positive results.

He has floated the idea of people taking their rapid test in a video call while supervised by a health professional, according to reports.
Tory peer and Next boss Lord Wolfson has warned labout shortages are a 'real problem' and prices will spiral unless firms are allowed to recruit more foreign workers.

Lord Wolfson said 'something is going seriously wrong in our economy' when restaurants are not able to serve meals because they do not have the staff.

Sectors of economy are experiencing 'real panic and despondency' over the impact of labour shortages, the chief executive of Next added.

He said while the problems for Next were 'relatively mild' at the moment other companies in the restaurant, hotel industry and care industry were facing issues.

Labour shortages are a real problem,' Lord Wolfson told ITV News.

'When you have restaurants saying they can't serve meals because they haven't got the staff to open their restaurant, something is going seriously wrong in our economy.'

Lord Wolfson (pictured) said 'something is going seriously wrong in our economy' when restaurants are not able to serve meals because they do not have the staff

The Government recently announced it would approve 10,500 temporary visas over the next two months to try and ease shortages.

But Lord Wolfson said the measures were not enough. He said rather than solving the issue with 'people throwing brickbats at each other' ministers needed to sit down with businesses to 'design a system that delivers the best of both worlds'.

The Next chief also called on the Government to allow businesses to 'get visas for the skills that they desperately need'.

His comments come after Boris Johnson told businesses they cannot 'use immigration as an excuse for failure to invest' in workers as he vowed to build a 'high wage' post-Brexit Britain today.

Asked if big business did not not want any control on immigration, he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'Absolutely not.

'What I've suggested is that we have a market-led solution whereby businesses can get visas for the skills that they desperately need, but with two conditions.

'The first is that they have to pay those people who are coming from overseas the same wages as they pay UK workers and over and above that they have to pay a visa tax on top of that, let's say 7 per cent of wages.

'That way we can have a market-led solution that ensures that people aren't being brought into the UK to undercut UK workers, because they'll always be more expensive and it provides the skills that Britain desperately needs to keep its industries moving.'

In his Conservative Party conference speech, Prime Minister Boris Johnson defended his restrictions on foreign workers and told activists the Government was 'embarking now on the change of direction that has been long overdue in the UK economy'.

Lord Wolfson said: 'I think that that approach leads to queues at petrol stations and pigs being unnecessarily shot, so I don't think that's a particularly constructive approach.

In his Conservative Party conference speech, Prime Minister Boris Johnson (pictured) defended his restrictions on foreign workers and told activists the Government was 'embarking now on the change of direction that has been long overdue in the UK economy'

'Rather than try and solve this problem with people throwing brickbats at each other, we sit down together, work through and design a system that delivers the best of both worlds.'

Lord Wolfson said he has 'not yet' received a response from ministers after raising the issue.

Asked about the outlook for the next few months, he said: 'What we're experiencing is relatively mild, in terms of the business that I work for we will get through Christmas, our next day delivery may deteriorate, it may not be quite as good a service as our customers are used to and that would be a shame.

'But when I talk to people who are in the restaurant industry or the hotel industry or the care home industry, there is real panic and despondency.'

In his keynote speech to the Tory faithful today, the Prime Minister said there would be no more 'drift and dither' about 'Levelling Up' the country - arguing that was what was voted for in the 2016 referendum.

Swiping at predecessors David Cameron and Theresa May and defying business fury over supply chain disruption, he said he had the 'guts' to push ahead with big reforms.

He also insisted there is 'no alternative' to shifting away from a 'broken' immigration-reliant economy.

Lord Wolfson said the Government was risking uncontrollable price rises by chasing a policy of forcing companies to pay their staff more.
The veteran DEA agent who was killed on Monday on an Amtrak train in Tucson, Arizona, lost his life over five pounds of marijuana that he was trying to seize from suspected drug traffickers.

DEA Group Supervisor Michael Garbo was a revered leader whose career spanned almost two decades, the federal agency said in a statement on Tuesday.

Garbo was shot dead when a passenger, who also died, opened fire as officers were doing a routine inspection for illegal guns, money and drugs on the train headed to New Orleans from Los Angeles. A second federal agent and a Tucson police officer were wounded.

Suspect Devonte Mathis was arrested at the scene, while another who barricaded himself inside the bathroom of the double-decker train was shot dead while exchanging gunfire with police.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey ordered flags at state buildings remain at half-staff until sunset Wednesday in Garbo's honor.

DEA agent Michael 'Mike' Garbo (left) was shot dead on an Amtrak train in Tucson on Monday. Suspected marijuana trafficker Devonte Mathis (right) was arrested on federal charges

DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said in a statement that Garbo 'possessed expertise and a manner that 'were legendary,'

Garbo was loved and respected throughout the agency 'for his leadership and for his unrelenting passion to protect the safety of the American people,' she said. 'Above all else, he was a devoted and loving father and husband.'

Garbo joined the DEA in 2005. As a special agent and supervisor, he pursued criminal drug traffickers at the U.S.-Mexico border and in Afghanistan.

'With unparalleled talent and courage, he carried out duties ranging from tactical instruction to serving as a member of the Phoenix Field Division Special Response Team,' Milgram stated. 'Across DEA, Group Supervisor Garbo was universally loved and respected for his leadership, and for his unrelenting passion to protect the safety of the American people.'

Dozens of officers on motorcycles and in police vehicles, lights flashing, escorted the body of DEA Special Agent Michael Garbo killed Monday morning on an Amtrak train in Tucson, Arizona

Solemn members of local emergency services saluted the police convoy escorting the fallen DEA agent to the medical examiner's office

Tucson Police officers and other law enforcement officers stand at attention as the body of a Drug Enforcement Administration special agent is removed from an Amtrak train and loaded into a van from the Pima County Medical Examiner following a shooting

The shooting happened after 8am after the train, traveling from Los Angeles to New Orleans, pulled into the station in Tucson. Pictured are two officers embracing near the scene of the shooting

Steve Antle, who described himself as a former colleague of Garbo's, revealed in a Facebook post that the DEA agent previously served as a police officer with the Metro Nashville Police Department.

'Mike Garbo was a good friend, a very nice guy, and an excellent police officer,' Antle wrote. 'His career was on a fast track and he was an exceptional Agent. His loss is not only one for the MNPD and DEA family, but for our Nation...He died protecting us from the flow of illegal drugs coming into the US. In my book, he is a hero.'

According to another friend and former colleague, Melvin Brown, Garbo was a SWAT team member in 1998 when he helped neutralize an armed bank robber during a gun battle, earning him a medal.

Garbo was killed Monday after gunfire erupted while a regional task force of DEA agents and Tucson police officers were doing an inspection of passengers luggage for illegal money, weapons or drugs.

Garbo began his career in law enforcement as a police officer in Nashville before being hired by the DEA in 2005

The inspection was prompted by tips from Amtrak, according to a federal criminal complaint released Tuesday that revealed more details about the events leading to the shooting.

A second agent and a Tucson officer also were shot several times, and a suspect was killed. The agent and officer remained in stable condition Tuesday, the DEA said. Authorities have not released their identities.

The Sunset Limited, Train 2, was carrying 137 passengers and 11 crew members traveling from Los Angeles to New Orleans, and arrived at the downtown Tucson station at 7.40am, said Jason Abrams, an Amtrak spokesman.

The shooting occurred about 20 minutes later and sent panicked passengers running.

According to the complaint, an officer noticed a man in his 20s on the upper level of one of the double-decker train's cars leave a backpack and two bags a few rows away. When asked, the man, identified in the complaint as Mathis, denied they were his. The officer moved them to the train platform for further inspection.

At the same time, Garbo and another DEA agent spoke with a second man in the same row as Mathis. They all went to the platform where the agents were given permission to use a drug-sniffing dog on several other bags. The man, identified in the complaint by the initials D.T., then returned to the car.

That's when the officer questioning Mathis discovered two large bulk packages of marijuana in the backpack, the complaint said. He alerted Garbo and the other agent.

According to the complaint, Garbo and his fellow agent went back into the car to talk to D.T. again and were ambushed by gunfire.

The plainclothes officer, who wore a bulletproof vest, was seen in video footage fleeing from the train with his leashed police dog as a man in the doorway of a passenger car appeared to open fire.

Garbo was shot and was pronounced dead. The second agent was rushed to the hospital in the back of a Tucson police car. That's also when gunfire hit a Tucson police officer.

Several additional officers then responded to the scene. D.T. was shot and killed after firing on them, the complaint said. He was found dead inside a train restroom, according to Tucson police.

Mathis was arrested and faces federal charges of knowingly and intentionally possessing with the intent to distribute less than 50 kilograms of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of marijuana, according to the complaint.

A search warrant for the bags belonging to him revealed 2.4 kilograms of raw marijuana, 50 packages containing 3.5 grams each of marijuana edibles and other marijuana and cannabis products. The FBI is overseeing investigation.

Court records indicate that Mathis was previously arrested in Rockwell County, Texas, in May 2021 on state charges of marijuana possession and unlicensed weapon.

Tucson Mayor Regina Romero released a statement Monday, calling the shooting an absolutely shocking act of violence.

As of 9.30 this evening, the station was still roped off and police were still investigating, according to ABC 15

At least one person was taken into custody after a shooting at a Tucson, Arizona Amtrak station

A witness told KOLD News 13 that the shooting happened after two men approached another man aboard the train, saying they wanted to talk. Shots were fired after they got off the train

A witness told KOLD News 13 that the shooting happened after two men aboard the train approached another passenger, claiming they wanted to talk.

Bullets began flying after the trio disembarked from the train, the witness said.

A woman whose parents were on the train said all passengers except the shooter were safe.

Webcams at the Tucson Historic Station captured police activity following the shooting

Passenger Evan Courtney shared images and video of police's response to the gunfire

Passenger Evan Courtney said he was relaxing in the lounge cabin when chaos erupted.

'People came running through yelling "shots fired,"' he told DailyMail.com. 'I grabbed my backpack and ran.'

He gathered with other passengers in the hallway of a car, watching the scene unfold through the windows.

'I saw SWAT with assault rifles huddled behind barricades,' Courtney said. 'After about 15 minutes, police ran to us and told us to get out of the car and run in the opposite direction, out of harm's way.'

Another train passenger said he he heard shots fired, and an officer yelling at the gunman to surrender.

Then he heard someone screaming in pain from a nearby stairwell, he told local media.

'I was caught in the cross fire,' George Gonzales told Tucson.com. 'It's like the OK Corral gang when I woke up in the morning.'
Distressing footage shows a mugger chase an elderly can collector through a Brooklyn neighborhood beloved by celebrities before punching her and trying to wrestle her bag from her.

The surveillance camera footage - shared by the NYPD - shows the 65 year-old woman being chased down St Edwards Street and Willoughby Avenue in Fort Greene at 4:40pm on September 28, with the hooded mugger in hot pursuit.

She was seen running onto the road in a bid to escape his clutches, with the mugger - whose face was partially covered with a mask - punching the woman as he tried to wrestle her handbag from her.

The incident happened on the edge of Fort Greene Park, widely regarded as one of Brooklyn - and New York's - ritziest neighborhoods, with median house prices of $1.1 million.

Fort Greene's leafy avenues are lined with immaculate brownstones, with celebrity residents of the area including movie stars Christina Ricci, Adrian Grenier, Holly Hunter and supermodel Alek Wek.

The would-be mugger drags and punches elderly woman in broad daylight

On Thursday, video was released depicting the victim running into the street to avoid the man  who ultimately ran after her

After the assailant catches up to the woman, a struggle immediately ensues in the middle of the street

Moments after collecting money she earned from picking up cans, the 65-year-old victim was approached by the assailant on his bike at St. Edwards and Willoughby streets in Fort Greene

Despite the ferocious and distressing assault, the woman clings on to her bag, with the mugger eventually fleeing on realizing he was not going to be able to seize it off her.

He was filmed swinging at his victim again, only for her to duck out of the way, with the woman seen clutching her head in apparent pain from an earlier blow that did land successfully.

Several people are seen passing the street and sidewalk as the incident occurred, including two people who stood feet away as the incident unfolded.

Footage of the incident shows the suspect repeatedly yanking at the woman's purse, while she refuses to let go

The woman suffered swelling to her face, in addition to back pain and cuts on her body. She was transported nearby to Brooklyn Hospital Center where she remains in stable condition.

Crime rates within New York have escalated tremendously. NYPD data shows crime rose 2.6% overall in September, with assaults climbing 18.5 percent and robberies up 6 percent.

The biggest increase was for felonious assault - or assault with a dangerous weapon - which surged by a shocking 18.5 percent from 1,802 in September 2020 to 2,135 in September 2021, as New Yorkers have been plagued by random attacks in the streets of the city.

Violent crime continues to spike in NYC as Bill de Blasio tries to lure office workers and tourists back: Assaults up 19% and robberies increased 6% in September as NYPD makes more than 3,400 gun arrests in 2021

Violent crime has continued to escalate in New York City, with assaults climbing 18.5 percent and robberies up 6 percent in September as the NYPD revealed it has made more than 3,400 gun arrests so far this year.

Stark data released by the NYPD Wednesday shows crime rose 2.6 percent overall in September 2021 compared to the same month in 2020, with an extra 243 incidents reported.

It comes as Mayor Bill de Blasio tries to lure tourists and office workers back to the COVID-ravaged Big Apple, with the data likely to deter many over personal safety concerns.

The biggest increase was for felonious assault - or assault with a dangerous weapon - which surged by a shocking 18.5 percent from 1,802 in September 2020 to 2,135 in September 2021, as New Yorkers have been plagued by random attacks in the streets of the city.

The data also reveals a concerning trend in other criminal activity, with robberies up 6 percent, car theft up 4.1 percent and grand larceny up .7 percent within the same timeframe.

Over the last year, New York has been rocked by a wave of violent crime, fueling fears it is returning to the dark days of the '70s and '80s when murders were rife and the Big Apple earned the nickname Fear City.

A map showing the New York City boroughs where crime has increased (in red) and decreased (in green) in September 2021 compared to the same month last year

This prompted former state Governor Andrew Cuomo to take the unprecedented step of launching the nation's first ever state of emergency over gun violence back in July.

But now, the situation appears to be getting even worse with a staggering 393 gun arrests made last month alone, bringing the total number of gun arrests to 3,425 between January and the end of September.

This is a dramatic increase of 20.9 percent from the same period in 2020 when 2,832 gun arrests were made.

Last year, the city and the nation was reeling from COVID-19, civil unrest following the murder of George Floyd and political turmoil in the run-up to the presidential election.

Now, COVID-19 restrictions have almost all lifted, the US's borders are poised to reopen to major tourist destinations and Mayor Bill de Blasio is trying to lure back office workers to the city.

Yet, violent and horrific subway attacks and gang-related gun battles are still a common occurrence in the streets of the city.

Some boroughs have been ravaged by the crime wave more than others, with Manhattan South recording the biggest spike in crime (20.1 percent) last month compared to the previous September.

Violent crime has continued to escalate in New York City, with total crime up 2.6% in September 2021 compared to September 2020

Manhattan North has also seen a rise in crime, up by 3.2 percent in the same timeframe.

Brooklyn South saw crime spike by 5.3 percent, Staten Island by 9 percent and the Bronx - where a terrifying gun fight broke out between gangs last month - by 4.9 percent.

The NYPD released footage this week of a September 16 gun battle between seven alleged gang members, firing at an unidentified target across the street before running off down the street in the Morrisania section of the Bronx.

Crime has, however, fallen in some boroughs of the city, down by 4.2 percent in Brooklyn North, 5.8 percent in Queens North.

In Queens South, crime fell 3.7 percent between the two months - even though there were six murders recorded there last month.

Despite the rise in some violent offenses, NYPD Police Commissioner Dermot Shea hailed the fall in murders and shootings last month.

Murders fell by 22 percent from 59 in September 2020 to 46 last month, while shootings were down 9.3 percent from 150 to 136.

Mayor Bill de Blasio touted the rise in gun arrests as an 'extraordinary success' Wednesday rather than a concerning sign of a rise in firearm use

Burglaries also fell by 14.9 percent and rapes by 12.4 percent between the two timeframes.

Shea said in a statement that this is part of a wider fall in some violent crimes from the summer as the city focuses on curtailing gun violence.

'The ongoing, downward trend in violence reflects the hard and often dangerous work of the men and women of the NYPD,' said Shea.

'And while I applaud their courage and tenacity, the police cannot do this alone. Public safety must be a collective mission.

'It requires intelligence-based policing, but it also requires a fully functioning court system and meaningful consequences that send a clear message to those who would pull a trigger: expect to be caught, and expect to be held accountable.'

De Blasio also gave an optimistic outlook of the new crime figures in his press briefing Wednesday morning.

The mayor touted the rise in gun arrests as an 'extraordinary success' Wednesday rather than a concerning sign of a rise in firearm use.

The NYPD released footage this week of a September 16 gun battle between seven alleged gang members, firing at an unidentified target across the street before running off down the street in the Morrisania section of the Bronx

'It's a typical thing out there for certain folks to doubt New York City, or to doubt our ability to make a comeback, or doubt the NYPD, but the facts speak for themselves,' he said.

'Even in the most extraordinarily difficult circumstances - total disruption of our society because of a global pandemic, unprecedented - the NYPD has fought back, neighborhood folks have fought back, the city has fought back and we're seeing it in so many ways.'

He added: 'We're seeing the city come back to life.'

The mayor said several crimes such as robbery and felony crime are currently at the lowest rate in the last three decades on a year-to-date basis.

And de Blasio said things will improve further as the city continues to come back to life - through a return of tourism and workers returning to their offices.

That is part of his 'safety in numbers' theory, where larger crowds of people gathering are likely to deter opportunistic criminals from carrying out attacks.

Yet, the tourist hotspots have been at the center of some of the violence of late.

Times Square - known for its flashing billboards and bright lights which draw in around 50 million visitors every year - has been the site of three shootings and a horrifying incident where a woman pushed a bystander in front of a subway train.

Shocking surveillance footage taken this Monday shows a woman jump up from a bench and shove the female victim as a train hurtled into the station.

Anthonia Egegbara, 29, of Queens, was charged with attempted murder Tuesday over the incident. The victim Lenny Javier, 42, suffered a broken nose and chin but luckily survived.

Historic crime data shows how crime fell from the 1990s and has inched up in recent years

This came just hours before a man shot himself in the leg in that same subway station.

Back in May, three innocent bystanders, including a four-year-old girl, were also shot by stray bullets in Times Square when a man started shooting indiscriminately in the middle of the day during an argument with someone else.

The young girl was struck in the leg, a 24-year-old woman was hit in her thigh and a 44-year-old woman was shot in the foot.

All survived the shooting, which sent shoppers and tourists fleeing for their lives.

In June, US Marine Samuel Poulin was shot in the back in the tourist hotspot.

He was walking through the area with his family when he was randomly struck by a stray bullet from an altercation involving other people. Poulin was not seriously injured.

The mayoral candidate frontrunner Eric Adams has vowed to tackle the escalating violence when de Blasio leaves office at the end of this term.

On Tuesday, he said his first focus will be to crack down on guns entering the city.

His other plans include the creation of a dedicated plain-clothed anti-gun violence unit in the NYPD.
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A 25-year-old English teacher narrowly escaped with his life when he was shot in the back by an 18-year-old armed with a .45 caliber gun who has since turned himself in to police accompanied by his attorney.

Calvin Pettitt suffered broken ribs and a collapsed lung when he was shot at Timberview High School in Arlington on Wednesday morning.

The victim's sister, Grace Rinearson, said the bullet narrowly missed his aorta and described the shooting as 'one of the scariest mornings of my life.'

She added in a tweet: 'Feeling extremely blessed and thankful. Please hold you loved ones close, this is a crazy world we're living in.'

Pettitt's Facebook profile suggests he graduated from Texas State University in 2018 before becoming a teacher.

Timothy George Simpkins allegedly opened fire following a fight at the school on Wednesday. Video footage has emerged of a brawl but DailyMail.com cannot independently verify the clip.

Police launched a manhunt and said he should be considered 'armed and dangerous' and believed to be in a 2018 silver Dodge Charger.

The suspect then turned himself into police after being driven to the station by his attorney at around 1:15pm local time.

He was charged with three counts of aggravated assault with a gun and is being held at the police station in Ott Cribbs in Arlington. Bail was set at $75,000.

Local media reported that SWAT teams raided the family's home in Arlington and kept them outside while they searched the premises at around 2:30pm local time. Simpkins' mother reportedly claimed that her son was the victim of bullying.

Neighbors said that Simpkins lived at the home with his grandmother. Police said that all 1,700 students at the school were evacuated.

Calvin Pettitt (left), a 25-year-old English teacher at a Texas high school was shot and wounded on Wednesday morning, it was learned, as authorities took an 18-year-old, Timothy George Simpkins (right), into custody and charged him with several accounts of aggravated assault for firing a .45 caliber gun during a fistfight before fleeing in his Dodge Charger

Timberview High School in Arlington, Texas (above) was placed on lockdown on Wednesday morning following reports of an active shooter

Police said that the weapon. a .45 caliber, was recovered along England Parkway in Grand Prairie, which is about two miles from the high school.

The gun is being examined for ballistics testing, according to law enforcement officials.

Caliber refers to the diameter of the interior of the barrel of a gun or firearm, which is also known as a bore. It is usually expressed in hundredths of an inch or in millimeters. A .45 caliber gun means that the diameter of the bore is forty-five hundredths of an inch.

'We will investigate you': Angry police chief says officers were diverted from locked-down school after fake threats were made on social media Assistant Arlington police chief Kevin Kolbye (above) briefs reporters outside the school on Wednesday Assistant Arlington police chief Kevin Kolbye told reporters that police needed to divert resources as they responded to the shooting due to threats made on social media of possible shootings at area schools. The threats were made just after police were called to Timberview sometime after 9:15am on Wednesday. Kolbye said that state as well as federal law enforcement officials are investigating the matter and may bring charges against those who made false threats. 'I want the message to be out there that this is not something to continue. We will investigate you,' Kolbye said. 'The federal government partners will also be able to investigate you if youre not living in our city and will bring you to a successful prosecution.' Daniel Scesney, the chief of police in Grand Prairie, said his personnel were diverted from Timberview and sent to investigate potential threats in other parts of northern Texas. He urged parents to monitor their children's social media accounts. 'If they are putting out threats on their schools, they're going to get arrested and theyre going to get prosecuted,' he said. Advertisement

Texas Governor Greg Abbott said that the gun used in the incident was not legal, adding that 'it is illegal for the shooter to either possess or have purchased the gun that was used in this crime.'

Texas law requires that anyone below the age of 18 receive parental consent to carry a gun. The state also makes it illegal to carry a firearm onto school premises unless proper authorization is given by the administration.

A 15-year-old student is in critical condition after he underwent surgery; a 25-year old male employee, Pettitt, is in good condition; and a teenage girl suffered a small abrasion and is expected to be released from hospitals soon.

The other two victims will remain in Medical City Arlington for recovery.

Simpkins turned himself in after he fled the school in a 2018 Silver Dodge Charger with a license plate number PFY6260.

Authorities had warned the public that Simpkins was considered 'armed and dangerous'.

Assistant Arlington police chief Kevin Kolbye added: 'This is not a random act of violence. This is not somebody attacking our school.'

'This is a student, we believe right now, preliminary, that it was a student that got into a fight and drew a weapon,' he said.

Investigators said that a fight ensued in a classroom on the second floor of the high school, prompting the suspect to open fire at around 9:15am.

Three of the victims were students and one was an older person, possibly a teacher, according to law enforcement officials. A pregnant woman fell during the shooting and was treated at the scene, Kolbye said.

Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' (ATF's) Dallas field office and the FBI were at the scene, but the criminal investigation is being led by the Arlington Police Department.

Kolbye told reporters that police needed to divert resources as they responded to the shooting due to threats made on social media of possible shootings at area schools.

The threats were made just after police were called to Timberview sometime after 9:15am on Wednesday.

Kolbye said that state as well as federal law enforcement officials are investigating the matter and may bring charges against those who made false threats.

'I want the message to be out there that this is not something to continue. We will investigate you,' Kolbye said.

'The federal government partners will also be able to investigate you if youre not living in our city and will bring you to a successful prosecution.'

Daniel Scesney, the chief of police in Grand Prairie, said his personnel were diverted from Timberview and sent to investigate potential threats in other parts of northern Texas.

He urged parents to monitor their children's social media accounts.

'If they are putting out threats on their schools, they're going to get arrested and theyre going to get prosecuted,' he said.

Timberview serves about 1,900 students in ninth through 12th grades. The sprawling complex opened in 2004.

Students at the school immediately sprang into action when the shots rang out on Wednesday morning.

A history teacher at Timberview, Dale Topham, told the New York Post he was in the middle of a lesson on the Revolutionary War when he heard 'crashing noises' from across the hall.

'All my students instantly recognized the sound and said "gunshots," turned off the lights, and hid behind desks,' Topham said.

When students were unable to lock the door, several of them pushed a bookshelf, desks, and chairs against it to create a makeshift barricade, according to Topham.

'We hunkered down and waited for what felt like forever,' he said.

While in hiding, students comforted one another and 'instantly' took to their phones to let their parents know that they were alright.

Police in Arlington were on the scene in a nearby residential area in search of the suspect on Wednesday afternoon before he turned himself in to police

A massive police presence was seen in a residential neighborhood not far from the school after the shooting on Wednesday

People are gathered outside of the school as it was placed on lockdown on Wednesday

Local news stations broadcast images filmed by helicopter news teams that show fire trucks in the parking lot where students and faculty staff were gathering

Dale Topham, a history teacher, was in the middle of a lesson on the Revolutionary War when the gunshots rang out. When students were unable to lock the door, several of them pushed a bookshelf, desks, and chairs against it to create a makeshift barricade, according to Topham

Topham posted on Facebook just moments he and his students heard gunshots from across the hall on Wednesday

Stephanie Wade (left) comforts her daughter Keeley after she became emotional describing the environment during a school shooting to the media after the pair were reunited in Mansfield

Topham said his students spent about 30 minutes sheltering in place. As police conducted a door-to-door search for the shooter, an officer came by and instructed Topham and his students to stay put.

After police gave the 'all clear,' the students were bused to reunification center where they met their parents. Topham told the Post he did not know the suspect.

'I thought we were next - I thought my classroom was next I just thought I was never going to see my family again,' Chasity Turner, a sophomore at the school, told The Dallas Morning News.

Turner said she was in the classroom next to where the shooting took place. After hearing three gunshots, she immediately called her mother to say: 'I love you.'

Topham (pictured) said his students spent about 30 minutes sheltering in place

Kolbye told reporters that on-site officers were inside the school at the time of the shooting. It is unclear how the gun made it into the school.

The ATF said it will track down the weapon that was used.

'We'll figure out where this individual got this gun from,' Jeff Boshek, special agent in charge of the ATF's Dallas Field Division, told CNN.

'Our agents won't sleep, working with our partners here, to figure out how he got this weapon in his hand to come in this school and cause this tragedy today.'

One parent told CBS 11 TV that their child contacted them from inside the classroom.

'He said the doors are locked and the police still havent found the shooter,' the mother recalled.

'I havent been able to reach my son for 20 minutes when we last spoke I heard the other kids crying and screaming in the classroom.'

One parent who was texting her son from outside the school told WFAA-TV: 'The teachers were being taken in, and they said two people are in surgery... I don't know. I don't know.

'I just know my kid is in there and he's scared and they're in the dark. Police are going up and down.'

One woman posted a video clip on social media her daughter sent her, which purported to be taken by a student at the school. The clip shows students rushing out of their seats after hearing loud bangs.

Officers at the scene ran from the parking lot and into the school while armed with long guns, according to NBC 5.

One local television station, CBS DFW, posted an image believed to be from one of the classrooms inside the school. It shows chairs stacked against a door as a barricade.

Local news stations broadcast images filmed by helicopter news teams that show fire trucks in the parking lot where students and faculty staff were gathering.

The school district later announced that a lockdown had been lifted after the 'all clear' was given and the building was secured a short time later.

One reporter tweeted text messages between a mother and her son during the shooting

The image above shows students evacuating Timberview High School in Arlington, Texas on Wednesday

A law enforcement officer walks in the parking lot of Timberview Hight School after a shooting inside the school

In this image from WFAA-TV video, law enforcement arrives at Timberview High School on Wednesday

The Mansfield Independent School District which oversees the school released a statement saying that the school was on lockdown and that students and staff were 'locked in their classrooms/offices.'

Arlington police said the school district is setting up a staging area where parents can meet their children.

The reunification point is at the Center for Performing Arts located at 1110 W. Debbie Lane.

Large groups of people are seen above in the parking lot of Timberview High School in Arlington on Wednesday

Initial reports indicate that at least three people were wounded

Heavily armed police officers are seen above in the school parking lot on Wednesday

Students are seen above leaving the school on Wednesday after the 'all clear' was given

A large group of people as well as several police officers are seen outside the family reunification center on Wednesday

The image above shows students at the family reunification center where they met parents after the shooting

A convoy of school buses transported students to a family reunification center nearby

The reunification point is at the Center for Performing Arts located at 1110 W. Debbie Lane in Mansfield

The image above shows an aerial view of the family reunification center in Mansfield, Texas on Wednesday

'We feel confident that the shooter will be located very, very soon,' Republican Governor Greg Abbott told reporters during a visit to the Texas-Mexico border hours after the shooting.

Abbott's office later released a statement that read: 'As law enforcement continues their investigation, our hearts go out to the victims of this senseless act of violence.

'Thank you to the law enforcement officers and first responders who arrived on the scene to help the victims and prevent further violence.

'I have spoken with the Mayor of Arlington and offered any assistance the state can provide, and I have directed the Texas Department of Public Safety to make state resources available to help being the criminal to justice.

'I ask all Texans to join Cecilia and me in praying for the victims, their families, and the entire Timberview High School community.'

A Burleson, Texas, SWAT officer directs traffic to a parking area for families arriving to be reunited with their school children

A law enforcement officer directs family members arriving at the Center For The Performing Arts to be reunited with their school children

Families stand outside the Mansfield ISD Center for the Performing Arts waiting to be reunited with their children

Families are addressed by an unidentified person (center) as they wait to be reunited with their children

School busses depart past a law enforcement official after dropping off Timberview High School children at the Mansfield ISD Center For The Performing Arts

A woman and a teenage holds hands as they depart the Mansfield ISD Center For The Performing Arts Center where families were reunited with Timberview High School students on Wednesday

Police in Texas have arrested a student suspected of opening fire during a fight at his Dallas-area high school, leaving four people injured

Timberview High School students are seen above leaving the Mansfield ISD Center For The Performing Arts

Authorities gave the 'all clear' after the school was placed on lockdown for some two hours on Wednesday morning

Transportation officials said drivers should expect delays on State Highway 360 near Debbie Lane.

The southbound SH 360 exit ramp to Debbie Lane is closed at this time.

Arlington Independent School District announced that the following schools were placed on lockout - Arlington Collegiate High; School at Tarrant County College; Ashworth Elementary; Barnett Elementary; Beckham Elementary; Bebensee Elementary; Bowie High School; Bryant Elementary; Hale Elementary; Ousley Junior High; and Pearcy STEM Academy.

Lockout means that the school's exterior doors are locked from the inside. Administrators say all students are safe inside and that instruction is continuing as planned.

'Arlington ISD officials have offered their full support to the Mansfield ISD, including mutual aid from the Arlington ISD security teams, counselors, crisis communications or any other requests Mansfield ISD makes,' the Arlington ISD said in a press release.

The shooting happened just days after a shooting at a Houston charter school that injured an administrator. Texas deadliest school shooting occurred in May of 2018 when a then-17-year-old armed with a shotgun and a pistol opened fire at Santa Fe High School near Houston, killing 10 people, most of whom were students.
Kaylynn Stevenson, who was adopted, said a DNA test proved her true identity to be Brittney Renee Williams, who was last seen at her Henrico foster home August 18, 2000

A 28-year-old Indiana woman has made an extraordinary claim that she's a seven-year-old foster child who vanished in Virginia  and was presumed dead  more than two decades ago.

Kaylynn Stevenson, who was adopted, said a DNA test proved her true identity to be Brittney Renee Williams, who was last seen at her Henrico foster home August 18, 2000.

Brittney was believed to be infected with HIV from her biological mother, and was presumed dead after she disappeared because she did not have the medication necessary to keep her alive.

Stevenson told NBC 12 that she does not have HIV and she believes Brittney received a false diagnosis. The chance of a mother infecting her child in utero is between 20 and 25 percent, according to NIH research.

A DNA test with Brittney's biological sister revealed that there was a 95.83 percent chance they were siblings, NBC reported.

The DailyMail.com reached out to Stevenson for comment, but has not yet received a response.

Brittney was believed to be infected with HIV from her biological mother, and was presumed dead after she disappeared because she did not have the medication necessary to keep her alive

Stevenson, 28, said she believes she's a girl who's been missing since August 2000

Stevenson, who grew up in an adoptive home, steadfastly believes that she is living proof the girl who was once subject of a national search is alive and well.

She said she made the connection while searching for her biological family online, she told NBC.

She said she had a hunch she was a missing child, and that her legitimate surname was Williams.

She used the few clues she had to run a search.

'Literally, in the Google search, Brittney Renee Williams' photo popped up,' Stevenson told the outlet.

'I woke my wife up out of her sleep and was like, 'Yo. This is me. I know me when I see me. This is me.'

Brittney's biological mother, who is now dead, had an older daughter, Anastasia McElroy, who Stevenson connected with.

McElroy said she started bawling when she learned about Stevenson.

'The emotions were so powerful that it kind of took over my emotional spiritual being,' she told NBC.

The little girl was described in a missing person's flyer as having a medical scar on her chest

Brittney Renee Williams, 7, disappeared from her Henrico foster home and was presumed dead

'I am going by Brittney now,' Steven told the outlet. 'I don't want ties to my adopted name. That name is not me.'

Brittney also had a scar on the left side of her chest that was left by a medical tube

Stevenson said she remembers few details about her childhood, including that she stayed in a pastel pink bedroom and had a feeding tube.

During the televised interview, she lifted her top to reveal scars on her stomach, and other scars from the medical procedures she underwent during childhood.

One prominent scar was visible on the left side of her stomach.

Police previously said Brittney had a scar in her upper left chest where a medical port was once inserted.

Henrico police said they're investigating the claim alongside the FBI.

Anastasia McElroy, Brittney's biological sister, said she started bawling after learning of Stevenson. She said the news 'took over my entire spiritual being'

Stevenson and McElroy requested a DNA test, which they said indicated that there was a 95.83 percent chance that they're biological siblings

Lt. Matthew Pecka said the case went cold, but was never closed.

'This remains an active investigation and we are working with our federal partners,' he told DailyMail.com.

'As soon as we get additional details, we'll be able to provide [an] update.'

He did not say whether police would conduct their own DNA test.

A missing person's flyer said Brittney had chicken pox and was in need of medical attention

Brittney disappeared while she was living under the legal guardianship of Kim E. Parker.

Parker admitted in 2013 to continuing to cash the missing girl's disability checks after she vanished, The Associated Press reported.

She pleaded guilty to security fraud for stealing $16,000 that was intended for the child.

'While masquerading as a good Samaritan, you were using the victim to perpetrate a fraud on society,' federal Judge Richard L. Williams said during sentencing.

If Stevenson's claims are true, it's not clear how Brittney ended up in an adoptive home.

NBC, which has been closely following the case, reported that Parker claimed she gave the child away to a California couple.

Police disputed those claims, the outlet reported.
Rosaly Cindy Chavarria Rodriguez vanished from Wisconsin last July. The remains were found in October 2020 and were identified as hers this week using DNA records

Human remains that were found in a purple suitcase in a Wisconsin barn last year have been identified as those of a woman who vanished last summer.

Twenty-five-year-old Rosaly Cindy Chavarria Rodriguez vanished from the Wisconsin Dells area last July.

In October, heavily decomposed remains were found in a purple suitcase at an abandoned farmhouse in Wheaton, 150 miles from the area where she lived.

It's taken authorities a year to identify them but on Monday, police announced that the remains were those of Rosaly. They identified through her DNA.

It's unclear why it took so long to match her DNA. Her family live in Peru.

Now, police are working to determine who is responsible for her death.

Police say they have a person of interest but they have not made an arrest and have not named any suspects.

This is the abandoned farmhouse where the woman's remains were found in a suitcase last October. Police were alerted to the scene from an informant who helps with narcotics investigations

Chavarria Rodriguez was reported missing by her ex-husband. She worked at the Wilderness Resort and many co-workers thought she had returned home to Peru

'The problem with this is we still dont know where she was killed; we dont know where the homicide took place,' Chippewa County Sheriff Jim Kowalczyksaid.

Investigators said they have identified a person of interest, but were not more specific.

Kowalczyk said there is no danger to the public in western Wisconsin, saying the suspect was last seen in southern states.

A crime lab in Texas officially released DNA test results to Kowalczyk last week, saying the profiles matched Rodriguez.

Police were first alerted to the abandoned barn last October from an informant who helps with drug investigations.

Anyone with any information about the killing has been asked to contact the police.
A Portland City Commissioner who has called for defunding the police has ordered the city's Bureau of Transportation to use traffic barrels in an effort to curb gun violence.

Transportation Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty ordered the Bureau of Transportation to install the orange traffic barrels across a six-block area in the Mt. Scott-Arleta neighborhood, which has a string of shootings in recent weeks.

Some have been linked to high-speed drivers, the Portland Tribune reports.

Hardesty noted that there are no 'simple solutions' to solve the shooting epidemic, and said officials must bring an 'all-hands-on-deck' creative mindset to combat the problem.

'I'm directing PBOT to be more active and engaged in holistic solutions to community safety that can supplement police and other bureaus' role in this effort,' she said in a statement on October 1.

Transportation Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty has ordered the Bureau of Transportation to install the orange traffic barrels in an effort to reduce gun violence

The traffic barrels are expected to cost $2,000 to $3,000 total

City workers have already installed eight traffic barrels in the neighborhood, the Tribune reports, and will add another 18 next week.

After that, Hardesty said, she will evaluate the program and consider taking further action. The Bureau of Transportation estimates the cost of installing the new barrels at $2,000 to $3,000 total.

'I understand that there are neighborhoods all over Portland that would like to see this kind of close collaboration,' she said. 'At this moment, neither PBOT nor my office have the resources or capacity to pull that off, but if this pilot is successful, it will inform a budget proposal to allow more of this action moving forward.'

Local community activist Nadine Salama praised the action, saying she reached out to the commissioner in August due to the uptick in gun violence, and met with her staff the next day to discuss the issue.

'It has been a nightmare situation for many of us afflicted,' she said. 'We have been informed repeatedly that the PPB, due to staffing issues, cannot help with the matter.

'We understand that this will not solve everything,' she continued. 'It is one step of many that we, together with the commissioner and her officer are working on to achieve change.'

Derek Sims, though, did not seem as happy with the plan.

He told the Tribune he planned to sell his home and move to Florida after witnessing three drive-by shootings in two weeks.

'The barrels are spray painted and knocked down every single night,' he said of the cones that were already placed in the neighborhood as part of the Safe Streets Strategy - designed to reserve more roadway space for cyclists and pedestrians.

'It's a joke.'

Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty has called for the police department's Rapid Response Team to be formally disbanded after all its members resigned in protest

All 50 members of the team quit after Officer Corey Budworth was indicted for allegedly striking a photographer during a protest in August 2020. Cops are pictured tackling a rioter in Portland on the same night

Hardesty has previously stated that most 911 calls are unnecessary and was one of the city's main advocates in cutting $18million from the Portland Police Department's budget.

In June, she branded the Oregon city's 50-person riot squad that resigned in protest a 'rogue paramilitary organization,' and called for it to be formally disbanded.

The team had resigned in protest over the summer after Officer Corey Budworth was indicted for allegedly striking a photographer during a protest in August 2020.

She said in a statement that the resignations are a sign that 'the good old boy network is crumbling and we can either be a part of the change or part of the status quo - but the arc of justice is bending quickly, and it's imperative that the Portland City Council lands on the right side of history.'

But she had faced calls of hypocrisy last year, when, amid her efforts to defund the police, she called 911 to report that a ride share driver dropped her off at a gas station she claimed was closed for the night.

The Lyft driver refused to close the windows for her in November 2020 due to COVID concerns, and when Hardesty complained, he canceled the ride and told her to get out at a gas station on the side of the road.

She repeatedly claimed in the aftermath that the Chevron station was closed, despite dispatch records showing it was open at the time of the 911 call.

In the aftermath, she published an open letter to address the incident, and once again insisted that the gas station was closed.

'That evening I was faced with several threats: a Lyft driver threatening to call 911 on me and the potential of being stranded alone, late at night by the side of the highway at a closed gas station,' she wrote.

'The possible outcomes of both those situations were not only terrifying, but possibly deadly.'

Members of the Proud Boys clash with anti-fascist activists during a far-right rally on August 22, 2021 in Portland, Oregon

A flipped-over van lies in a parking lot after an altercation between members of the Proud Boys and anti-fascist activists following a far-right rally on August 22, 2021

A shoplifting incident at an Oregon Ralph Lauren turned into an armed robbery on Saturday when a man pulled a gun on the store's lone employee on duty

The homicide rate in the city has increased, with the city expected to see its deadliest year on record

Meanwhile, Portland is on track to see its deadliest year on record, according to KATU, with 837 shooting incidents occurring between January 1 and August 31.

The largest year over year increase was reported in the North Precinct, where there were 383 shootings by August 31 - more than double the amount from the same time period in 2020.

There were also 60 homicides reported during that time period, according to statistics from the Portland Police Department.

Then in early September, Oregon Live reports, there were nine shootings that occurred over the course of 16 hours between August 31 and September 1.

Sgt. Kevin Allen said at the time he did not know whether that was a record, 'But our concern is not the number, because even one shooting causes trauma to our community and multiple shootings like this one compound that trauma.'

A few weeks later, though, there were another seven shootings that took place over a span of 15 hours, with three people injured between 2 a.m. and 7 p.m. on September 21.

And in the Mt. Scott neighborhood where Hardesty is proposing installing traffic cones, one neighbor captured audio of gunfire from an early September shooting in the neighborhood, and two weeks later, two bullets hit a car a mother and son were in. A Portland Parks and Recreation truck was also shot in the incident on September 29.

Then on Friday, a man was killed in southeast Portland just after 6am. Police said the suspect left before police were called to the scene, and no arrests were made.

It was the 66th homicide of the year.

A man who lived within blocks of the shooting told KATU he compiled a file of photos and videos of all the nearby shootings that have occurred over the past few months.

'I've lived in Portland 35 years now, and I've never experienced this kind of gun violence that we're seeing right now,' the man, who declined to be identified said.

'In the last three months, I have called 911 at least 8 times regarding shootings within 2 blocks of my apartment,' and did not call for 50 other shootings that happened over the same time period.

Over the summer, he said, a bullet flew through his window and 'came within two inches of killing me.'

Just a few weeks later, he was walking his dog when 'three shots rang out in the middle of the night.

'I hit the ground with my dog,' he said. 'I grabbed my phone. I started filming.'

But he was only able to catch the car driving away.

'It's insane to think that we live in a town or a city or society where that's acceptable behavior.'

He said he is no longer living in Southeast Portland, but is just surviving.

'Even for myself, I've had to go on PTSD medication and antidepressants just to deal with the fallout of being shot at multiple times and from hearing gunfire nightly,' he said. 'It's not just unfair, it's not just unjust, it's unthinkable.'
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The global supply chain crunch may have caused the oil spill off the coast of California as investigators look into the possibility that a cargo ship anchor hooked onto, and ruptured an underwater pipeline after pulling it, 'like a bow string.'

For months now, the shores off the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have been hit with record levels of cargo ship congestion, with 61 container vessels waiting to berth at the two ports late last week when the leak is believed to have sprung, according to the Marine Exchange of Southern California.

On Tuesday, evidence emerged that a ship's anchor may have snagged and dragged a part of the 17-mile submarine pipeline on the ocean floor, 'causing a partial tear,' of about 13 inches, federal transportation investigators said.

'The pipeline has essentially been pulled like a bow string,' said Martyn Willsher, CEO of Amplify Energy Corp., which operates the pipeline, at a news conference Tuesday. 'At its widest point, it is 105 feet away from where it was.'

Record-setting numbers of cargo ships have been idling off the coast of California amid the global supply chain crunch. Investigators have not ruled out that an anchor for one may have damaged the offshore pipeline responsible for California's oil spill after evidence emerged Tuesday that it had been dragged across the ocean floor, causing a tear

Crews work to clean the shores of Los Angeles from an oil spill on Tuesday as container ships sit wait in the background to dock at the city's port.

Cleanup workers continued to comb the beaches of Orange County Tuesday where an oil spill from a ruptured pipeline has contaminated the area

Officials reported that up to 144,000 gallons of oil had spilled into the ocean after the leak, which is believed to have taken place late last week

Martyn Willsher, (pictured on Monday) CEO of Amplify Energy the company which maintains the pipeline said that it had 'essentially been pulled like a bow string,' after investigators reported a section of it had move about 150 feet laterally

The Department of Transportation, which is investigating the accident, told the Company Tuesday that while the cause of the leak had not yet been confirmed, 'preliminary reports indicate that the failure may have been caused by an anchor that hooked the pipeline, causing a partial tear,' CNN reported.

To date, the leak has caused up to 144,000 gallons of oil to spill into the ocean, Willsher said Monday.

On Tuesday, US Coast Guard Capt. Rebecca Ore said that while there was no confirmation of a container ship over where the pipeline tear took place, she said a team was working to determine whether a ship was in the area, CNN reported.

While huge cargo ships regularly cross above the pipeline as they head into the massive Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex, officials said that ships are only able to anchor in designated areas, and should have been able to avoid the pipeline.

But even when anchored, cargo ships continually move due to shifting winds and tides.

An aerial photo shot Sunday shows oil begin to pool on the sandy shores of the Santa Ana River, close to Newport Beach in California

Crews worked to contain the spill with boons Tuesday and prevent further damage to the ecosystem in the area

The leak stemmed from a 17.5 mile pipeline spanning from Amplify's Elly oil rig seven miles off the coast of Long Beach, to a pump station operated by Beta Offshore, a Long Beach unit of Houston-based Amplify, and has spread to a slew of beaches and coastal areas across California's Orange County

If a ship fails to properly set its anchor in the ocean floor, those forces can push the ship and drag the anchor along the bottom, potentially catching anything in its way, said Steven Browne, a professor of marine transportation at California State University Maritime Academy.

'Whatever the anchor gets fouled on will come along with the ship,' he said.

Currently, the average wait time for cargo ships to enter the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports is 10 days, and at the end of August it was around 7.6 days.

Before the pandemic, however, it was typically zero, as ships were able to enter berths at one of the two ports when they arrived.

'It's like taking 10 lanes of freeway traffic and moving them into five when the cargo gets here to the port,' Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, told CNN. 'We're having difficulty absorbing all of that cargo into the American supply chain.'

Oil build-up at the barriers put in place by clean-up crews looking to quell the spread of more than 13 square miles of slick off the coast of Southern California

An aerial photo shows floating barriers - known as booms - set up by clean-up crews after the spill to try to stop further incursion into the Wetlands Talbert Marsh on the Orange County coast

The Coast Guard was mobilized over the weekend and struggled to contain the spread of the 13-square-mile oil slick on Sunday

Beaches in Orange County could remain closed for month as a result of the spillage, after the oil spread to areas along the coast

The ports serve as the entry point for a third of imports to the US, and are the main import point for goods coming from China, according to Business Insider.

The congestion has been the result of labor shortages affecting inland transportation, such as trucking and railroads, meaning shipping containers are not being moved to distribution centers and warehouses quickly enough, Bloomberg reported.

The many environmental and safety violations of Beta Offshore - the Long Beach-based oil outfit belonging to Amplify Energy -The company that operates the pipeline responsible for one of California's largest oil spills has been cited 72 times for safety and environmental violations that were severe enough that drilling had to be curtailed or stopped to fix the problem, regulatory records show -In all, Beta Operating Co. has been cited 125 times since 1980, according to a database from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, the federal agency that regulates the offshore oil and gas industry -The company was fined a total of $85,000 for three separate incidents -Two were from 2014, when a worker who was not wearing proper protective equipment was shocked with 98,000 volts of electricity, and a separate incident when crude oil was released through a boom where a safety device had been improperly bypassed -Further details of the exact citations were not available on the bureau's website Advertisement

Meanwhile, it's been revealed that one of Amplify's offshoots, Long Beach-based Beta Offshore, has been cited 72 times for safety and environmental violations since its inception, with the infractions being so severe that drilling operations have had to be ceased in order to address them, regulatory records reveal.

In all, Beta Operating Co. has been cited 125 times since 1980, according to a database from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, the federal agency that regulates the offshore oil and gas industry.

However, the online database provides only the total number of violations, not the details for each incident.

Some of those details have emerged in Associated Press reporting.

The company was fined a total of $85,000 for three incidents. Two were from 2014, when a worker who was not wearing proper protective equipment was shocked with 98,000 volts of electricity, and a separate incident when crude oil was released through a boom where a safety device had been improperly bypassed.

Willsher announced Sunday that the leak has since been stopped, but not before his company's share price took a drastic hit.

As of Monday, Amplify shares plummeted by more than 50 per cent, from $5.75 per share to $2.85 a share as stock markets opened, amid fury over the environmental catastrophe.

Its share price had climbed to $3.09 by midday Wednesday, but that was still down 38.81 percent on Friday's close.

Willsher, who oversees the operations of Houston-based oil company Amplify Energy Corp., said Sunday that his company's underwater pipeline that sprung the leak had been 'suctioned at both ends' sometime over the weekend.

That means no more oil would spill out into the already contaminated Pacific and the shores of a 13 mile stretch of coastline encompassing Huntington Beach as well as Newport Beach.

The oil it did leak - equivalent to 3,000 barrels - represented the entire capacity of the pipeline, which is attached to an oil processing platform called Elly.

Investors are no doubt spooked by the prospect of lawsuits, with Huntington Beach Mayor Kim Carr vowing to hold the oil firm 'accountable.'

The spillage - believed to have begun on Friday - canceled the second day of the popular Pacific Air Show.

It attracted more than one million visitors on Saturday, with local businesses who had prepared for big crowds also likely to make claims for compensation.

The leak - which likely sprung late Friday night - left a slew of beaches in the Orange County area badly contaminated, with locals banned from taking to the waters.

News of the disaster sent Amplify's stock price plummeting over the past week, and it has yet to recover

The Coast Guard has recovered 3,150 gallons of oil from the water off the Orange County coast, a small dent in the overall amount of the now estimated 144,000 gallons of the contaminant

An estuary in Huntington Beach is pictured caked in oil Monday morning, with a clean-up worker seen reflected in the water

Authorities said the oil came from Platform Elly, pictured here - a pipeline operated by Beta Offshore, a Long Beach unit of Houston's Amplify Energy

Huntington Beach Mayor Kim Carr said Saturday that the beaches of the community nicknamed 'Surf City' could remain closed for months, and hinted that her office is investigating ways to hold the oil company accountable.

'In a year that has been filled with incredibly challenging issues, this oil spill constitutes one of the most devastating situations that our community has dealt with in decades,' Carr said.

'In the coming days and weeks we challenge the responsible parties to do everything possible to rectify this environmental catastrophe.'

Carr added: 'We are doing everything in our power to protect the health and safety of our residents, our visitors and our natural habitats.'
A jealous management consultant who posted naked photos of her former partner online and hijacked his Alexa to scare off his new lover was spared jail today.

Phillipa Copleston-Warren, 46, told the sobbing girlfriend to leave her ex-boyfriend's Lincolnshire home through the voice-controlled device and flashed his house lights off and on.

She also accessed his Facebook account from more than 100 miles away and posted naked photos of him online that spread as far as Pakistan, leaving him feeling 'violated', a London court was told.

The victim also told of how his reputation, which he had spent 30 years building, was destroyed in a matter of minutes following the leak.

A judge reprimanded Copleston-Warren's actions as 'nasty, mean and destructive' after she admitted to the disclosing of a private sexual photograph with intent to cause distress.

She was handed a three month jail sentence, suspended for 12 months and given a seven year restraining order against the victim at Isleworth Crown Court on Wednesday.

She also accessed his Facebook account from more than 100 miles away and posted naked photos of him online that spread as far as Pakistan , leaving him feeling 'violated'. Pictured: Ms Copleston-Warren at Isleworth Crown Court, London

Phillipa Copleston-Warren, 46, told the sobbing girlfriend to leave her ex-boyfriend's Lincolnshire home through the voice-controlled device and flashed his house lights off and on

A judge reprimanded Copleston-Warren's (left) actions as 'nasty, mean and destructive' as he handed her a suspended prison sentence

The businessman was at his Lincolnshire home at the time with a female friend after recently splitting with Copleston-Warren after a two year relationship.

Liam Gregory, prosecuting, told the court that the victim had returned home to his home with his new girlfriend in October 2019.

He said Copleston-Warren accessed Alexa whilst they were at the property and spoke through the device to tell the victim's friend to leave and take her stuff.

The bedside lamp was 'turned on and off remotely by Ms Copleston-Warren' in a bid to scare the new girlfriend.

Later that day, he received various different text messages about how the defendant was going to disclose photos, naked photos and upload them to his Facebook.

The victim had been unaware that the image had been posted until he received concerned messages from friends and family close to him.

Copleston-Warren sent the victim a message saying: 'You might also want to remove your naked picture off Facebook.'

She was also able to see the victim's new girlfriend in the house and used the app remotely to speak to the new girlfriend on Alexa and tell her to get out.

The consultant then used the app to turn the bedside table lamp on and off before posting the nude image on social media with the caption: 'Do I look fat??? My daily question'.

Copleston-Warren sat in the dock at Isleworth Crown Court with a diabetic alert dog today as she was sentenced.

Judge John Denniss told her there were 'elements of jealousy, revenge and irrational behaviour which led to fury-like behaviour in you.

'I pick up the word fury because it comes from the aphorism 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned'

'Here there are elements of that fury. What you did was nasty, mean and destructive.'

The new girlfriend burst into tears and fled the property in Lincolnshire following the alleged Alexa (file image pictured) hacking in October, Isleworth Crown Court heard

Copleston-Warren sat in the dock at Isleworth Crown Court with a diabetic alert dog (above) on Wednesday as she was sentenced

In a victim impact statement read to the court, the man said he felt 'completely violated' over the act which had 'significant impact on my physical and mental health'.

He has said he felt 'completely violated' after the nude photo went viral and reached contacts and family members as far as Pakistan.

He continued: 'I have had depression and anxiety, find it difficult to sleep and cannot leave home and socialise as before.

'I feel a great feeling sense of shame and I've had to heighten security of my home.'

The victim said he has been suffered 'recurring heart palpitations.'

Defending, Jacob Bindman had explained how the Alexa system was set up jointly between Copleston-Warren and the victim when they lived at his Lincolnshire home.

They had an 'agreement' in which she would check in on the dog using those systems, said the barrister.

'She was not hacking into the system, she was not snooping on him. It was a joint account,' he said.

He also described how Copleston-Warren suffered trauma and difficulty over the past two years which the judge said was 'ironic'.

Copleston-Warren (pictured) hacked into her ex-boyfriend's voice-activated smart device Alexa from 130 miles away to force his new girlfriend to leave, a court heard

Ms Copleston-Warren's victim said he felt 'completely violated' after the nude photo went viral and reached contacts and family members as far as Pakistan

Mr Bindman said she has 'paid a personal price with her reputation' and she will be removed from any charitable causes she was involved with before due to coverage of the case.

Sentencing her, Judge Denniss told Copleston-Warren: 'What you did was nasty, mean and destructive.

'There was considerable planning. It was not just impulse.

'For example, having downloaded the photograph, you changed the password on the Facebook system and the other social media programmes set up. You must have planned for this photo to be seen by as many people as possible.

'He (the victim) said he had spent thirty years building up respect, which he lost in a couple of minutes.

'There is a clear cultural difference between the distress you have caused to somebody who was not from Pakistan to someone who is, and I'm echoing his sentiments.'

Christian Meikle, from the CPS, said: 'Phillipa Copleston-Warren carried out a grave invasion of privacy. She left her victim feeling completely violated in his own home and online.

'Copleston-Warren did not take the image down when asked to do so and changed the password of the account to delay the victim gaining access.

'She also gloated about her actions on a WhatsApp group and threatened to send the nude image further afield to friends and business partners of the victim. The photo was eventually taken down by Facebook after it was reported as inappropriate.

'Posting naked images online in an act of revenge is illegal and offenders will be brought to justice.

'I hope this prosecution encourages others who have been affected by this type of conduct to come forward in the knowledge that they will be treated with respect, and that their reports will be taken seriously.

'The CPS is committed to tackling crimes of this nature.'
NATO has expelled eight members of Russia's mission to the military alliance, saying they were secretly working as intelligence officers.

The organisation said it had also cut the size of Moscow's team able to work at its headquarters in Brussels by half.

'We can confirm that we have withdrawn the accreditation of eight members of the Russian mission to Nato, who were undeclared Russian intelligence officers,' a Nato official said.

The eight diplomats will be forced to leave the NATO headquarters by the end of this month and their positions will be cut, reports Sky News. Two further positions which are currently empty will also be scrapped.

This will reduce the number of positions that Russia could accredit people for at the organisation down from 20 to 10, the official said.

NATO has expelled eight members of Russia's mission to the military alliance, saying they were secretly working as intelligence officers

Relations between NATO and Russia have been increasingly strained since Moscow annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014. The two are at odds over Russia's nuclear missile development, aerial intrusions into NATO airspace and the buzzing of allied ships by fighter planes.

Official talks between them have been limited in recent years.

'NATO's policy towards Russia remains consistent. We have strengthened our deterrence and defense in response to Russia's aggressive actions, while at the same time we remain open for a meaningful dialogue,' the official said.

The main forum for dialogue, the NATO-Russia Council, is stalled.

'NATO proposed to hold another meeting of the NATO-Russia Council over 18 months ago, and that proposal stands. The ball is in Russia's court,' the official said.

Leonid Slutsky, the chairman of the foreign affairs committee in the lower house of Russian parliament, dismissed the accusations against the Russian diplomats as baseless and warned that NATO's move will further strain relations.

He was quoted as saying Moscow will retaliate by the Interfax news agency on Wednesday. But Slutsky added that Russia would not necessarily retaliate in kind.

This is a breaking news story, more to follow...
Missouri and Arkansas became the latest states to say they would not comply with a Biden proposal to force banks to hand over transaction data over $600 to the IRS on Wednesday.

'I will stand up to this government overreach and protect the privacy of those account holders,' state treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick said in a statement Wednesday morning. 'Turning over their transaction data to the federal government is illegal under Missouri law and a gross violation of Missourians expectation of privacy when it comes to their personal financial records.' 'I will not turn this information over to the IRS voluntarily and will fight in court to block any attempt by the federal government to compel my office to comply with this mandate,' Fitzpatrick said.

The states follow both West Virginia and Nebraska in promising to defy the policy.

Arkansas state treasurer Dennis Milligan told DailyMail.com he would not hand over citizen's data to the IRS either.

'It would be absolutely absurd for me to turn over their private account data regarding money theyre saving for their loved ones future to the IRS, and I do not intend to do so,' he said. 'I would do all I could in my role to not comply with this proposal.'

'I will not turn this information over to the IRS voluntarily and will fight in court to block any attempt by the federal government to compel my office to comply with this mandate,' Missouri treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick said

West Virginia state treasurer Riley Moore said that no state should comply with the IRS plan, tucked into the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill, which he describes as an 'unconstitutional invasion.'

'The impact this is going to have on community banks, this is like Dodd Frank on steroids,' Moore told DailyMail.com.

Moore said big banks who supported Biden would be the beneficiaries of the proposal.

'In terms of compliance, a community bank, to be able to be in compliance, to set that type of regime up is just going to put them out of business,' he said. 'So who wins? The big banks win. The same banks that were bankrolling Biden's campaign in 2020.'

The proposal, backed by $79 billion in additional funding, would allow the IRS to peer into the aggregate inflows and outflows of a bank account with over $600.

This crackdown on unreported income is expected to generate $463 billion over the next decade, according to the Office of Tax Analysis. That money would be used to partially fund Biden's $3.5 trillion Build Back Better agenda.

'The $600 requirement is absolutely unconstitutional. It's a massive invasion of privacy, its huge government overreach. I don't think any state should comply with this, Moore continued.

Banks are already required to file a currency transaction report to the financial crimes division of the Treasury on transactions over $10,000 to prevent money laundering.

Moore praised Nebraska Treasurer John Murante, who last week said he would defy the policy if it were to take effect.

'I think it's great what Treasurer Murante said, I think we should all follow suit in our respective states by not complying with this.'

'If the feds feel like they wanna sue every state that's not complying with it, then okay. Bring it on.'

So far, 24 state treasurers, auditors and financial officers have signed onto a letter opposing the policy. 'This would be one of the largest infringements on data privacy in our nation's history and is a direct assault on the financial disclosures of all Americans.'

The letter said the proposal would increase the number of unbanked Americans and sow distrust of financial institutions.

Moore also noted that the IRS has been subject to hacks and such information could 'fall into the wrong hands.'

'The impact this is going to have on community banks, this is like Dodd Frank on steroids,' West Virginia Treasurer Riley Moore told DailyMail.com

This crackdown on unreported income is expected to generate $463 billion over the next decade, according to the Office of Tax Analysis. That money would be used to partially fund Biden's $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation plan

In June, a massive trove of taxpayer information was shared with ProPublica. The investigative news outlet did not share how it obtained the tax records and three months later in September the IRS said it did not know if it had been there had been a data breach or threat of a breach.

On Tuesday, Sens. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, sent a letter asking for an audit of IRS research activities and security protocols, as the agency 'promotes legislative mandates for massive increases in private taxpayer information flowing to the IRS from individuals accounts at financial institutions.'

And as Republican condemnation of the fundraising policy continued to pour in, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., expressed the same concern.

'The IRS is the most powerful and truly the most unresponsible, unaccountable agency of government,' Barrasso told reporters at the Capitol Tuesday. 'They have proven they are unable to keep tax records secure.'

He said he had gotten more emails and calls on the IRS proposal in the last three weeks than he'd gotten on any other topic ever.

'The Republican Party is not going to let the IRS spy on bank accounts,' the Wyoming Republican added. 'We are not going to allow Joe Biden to give the IRS more power we want to stop this in its tracks.'

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has defended the proposal, the tax gap is expected to swell to $7 trillion over the next decade, roughly 15% of taxes owed.

'It's a simple way for the IRS to get a sense where that might be  it's just a few pieces of information about people's bank accounts,' Yellen said Tuesday on CNBC's Squawk Box.

'There's an enormous tax gap in the U.S. estimated at $7 trillion over the next 10 years in terms of a shortfall of tax collections to what we believe are owed,' she said. 'And that's not coming from people failing to report wage income or dividend income where there's good information. It comes from places where the information on income is opaque and can be hidden.'

The IRS would know how much money is in an individual's bank account in a given year, whether the individual earned income on that account and exactly how much was going in an and out.

The proposal would require banks to report gross inflows and outflows to the IRS, including transactions from Venmo, PayPal, crypto exchanges and the like in an effort to fight tax evasion.

'The IRS is the most powerful and truly the most unresponsible, unaccountable agency of government,' Sen. John Barrasso told reporters at the Capitol Tuesday. 'They have proven they are unable to keep tax records secure'

The IRS estimates that compliance on taxes due on wages is 99% while compliance on 'less visible' sources of income is only 45%.

The Treasury Department claimed that the plan would have little effect on 'already compliant' taxpayers, but would help the IRS better target its audits.

'For noncompliant taxpayers, this regime would encourage voluntary compliance as evaders realize that the risk of evasion being detected has risen noticeably,' the Treasury Department said.
Hospital bosses have apologised to the family of a former government adviser after a coroner ruled medics misdiagnosed a perforated colon, which contributed to his death.

Professor Philip Lowe, 69, died in February last year from a perforated sigmoid colon following treatment for a twisted bowel at Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital (NSECH).

The rural economy expert was first treated at NSECH and was transferred to North Tyneside General to recover, before being sent back to NSECH, where he died.

Scans suggested the former government advisor had a large bowel obstruction, called a sigmoid volvulus, but he was wrongly diagnosed with the less serious 'pseudo obstruction'.

Coroner Andrew Hetherington concluded he died due to a perforated sigmoid colon, saying 'mistaken diagnosis and missed opportunity for an early procedure' contributed to his death, an inquest in Morpeth, Northumberland, heard last month.

Professor Philip Lowe (pictured) 69, died in February last year from a perforated sigmoid colon following treatment for a twisted bowel at Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital

The father-of-two's family have been critical of the NHS's hub-and-spoke model of care he received at different hospitals.

The hub-and-spoke model of care sees patients needing intensive treatments being sent to a main 'hub' which offers a full variety of services, while lower-risk patients are sent to a 'spoke' establishment, which provides a limited range of services.

Prof Lowe, who set up Newcastle University's Centre for Rural Economy and advised the Government, was admitted to NSECH with abdominal pain on February 13, 2020.

A scan suggested he had a large bowel obstruction, called a sigmoid volvulus, and he underwent a flexible sigmoidoscopy exam the next day to evaluate his colon.

But the grandfather-of-two was wrongly diagnosed as having a 'pseudo obstruction' rather than the more serious sigmoid volvulus, which has an increased likelihood of perforation.

Prof Lowe, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2010, was transferred to North Tyneside to recover but was readmitted to NSECH on February 16 for a decompression procedure, but the coroner found the urgency for the treatment was not recognised.

Scans suggested Prof Lowe (pictured with wife Veronica) had a bowel obstruction, called a sigmoid volvulus, but he was wrongly diagnosed with the less serious 'pseudo obstruction'

The rural economy expert was first treated at NSECH (pictured) and was transferred to North Tyneside General to recover, before being sent back to NSECH, where he died

The academic became unwell in the early hours of February 17 and underwent another flexible sigmoidoscopy at 4am, but died just hours later at 7.30am with his wife of 48 years Veronica at his bedside.

The coroner ruled: 'It is likely that earlier decompression of the sigmoid volvulus on 16 February 2020 would probably have prevented the perforation and death.'

Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust have since apologised to Prof Lowe's family, accepting that his death was due to 'misdiagnosis'.

It said in a statement: 'Our sincere condolences and thoughts go out to Professor Philip Lowe's family and all those who knew him and we are truly sorry for his death.

'As the inquest heard, Professor Lowe's death was not as a result of the hub-and-spoke model of care. It was due to misdiagnosis and we accept that.'

The Trust said the benefits of the hub-and-spoke model are 'well-established' and acknowledged that Prof Lowe's care 'fell below the consistently high standard of care that we normally offer our patients'.

The statement added: We have taken the learning from the serious investigation findings and have already implemented a number of measures to prevent this from happening again.'

Prof Lowe was transferred to North Tyneside (pictured) to recover but was readmitted to NSECH on February 16 for a decompression procedure

After the inquest, his daughter Sylvia Ninkovic said her family believes that if Prof Lowe had not been transferred between the two hospitals, he would have received 'better care'.

She claimed that the deterioration in his condition would have been 'clear to medical staff and the re-twisted bowel would have been spotted and treated' if he had been kept in one hospital.

She added: 'It's devastating to think that our clever, caring dad and grandpa could still be with us today if it had not been for the miscommunication and confusion caused by the hub-and-spoke model of NHS care.'

She said the Care Quality Commission had highlighted issues months previously at the trust regarding patient safety and emergency treatment.

Family solicitor Rebecca Ridgeon, of Leigh Day, said there were 'errors' in Prof Lowe's treatment which meant that the urgency of his condition was not recognised until the 'last minute'.

She added: As was clear from the Trust's own investigation, there were a number of errors in Prof Lowe's treatment which meant that the urgency of his condition was not appreciated until the very last minute - as the Coroner has recognised, the mistaken diagnosis and missed opportunity to intervene earlier played a critical role in the tragic outcome.'
The attorney representing the family of the late Miya Marcano confirmed that the 19-year-old's body had been found bound and gagged last Saturday in Florida.

Attorney Daryl Washington said Marcano, a student at the University of Central Florida, was bound with tape around her feet and wrists and that her mouth was covered.

'This guy had tape around Miya's wrists, tape around her feet, had tape on her mouth,' Washington told News 6, referring to lead suspect Armando Caballero, 27. 'When you talk about it, you really get frustrated.'

No other details involving Marcano's manner of death was released as the case is still under investigation.

The Orange County Sheriff's Office said the Medical Examiner's Office have not yet identified the manner of death in the case.

Armando Caballero, 27, was found dead on September 27 after being named the lead suspect in the disappearance of Miya Marcano, 19. Her body was last Saturday

The news come after another woman, 23, claimed Caballero broke her window with a weight after she turned him down for a date and later wrote her a creepy note.

The incident happened at the unnamed woman's apartment complex in Longwood, Florida, the same complex where Caballero was found dead of an apparent suicide shortly after he was named the lead suspect in 19-year-old Miya Marcano's disappearance.

Investigators said Caballero had expressed romantic interest in Marcano, but she had rejected him several times.

'We believe, pretty conclusively, that Armando Caballero is responsible for this crime and there's not any other person or persons that we are looking for in this case,' Orange County Sheriff John Mina said.

Washington added during a news conference on Tuesday that Marcano's family still wants answers about the events leading up to her death.

'We dont know how she left that apartment complex, we dont know whether if she was dead or alive. But we do know is there were critical hours there were lost,' he said.

A note that Caballero had written to the unnamed woman asking her out can be seen in the trunk of a police car

In the March video, Seminole County deputies can be seen responding to the incident at the Sabal Complex, the same complex where Caballero was found dead of an apparent suicide

In the March video, Seminole County deputies can be seen responding to the incident at the Sabal Complex apartments.

'We have a broken window. There's a weight that was thrown into the window. She doesn't know who,' a deputy says in the video.

A note that Caballero had written to the unnamed woman asking her out can be seen in the trunk of a police car.

Its contents are illegible, and have not been disclosed.

The Sheriff's Office confirmed the woman, 23, identified Caballero as the man she believed had thrown a five-pound barbell weight inside her bedroom window.

She told police she had initially agreed to go out with Caballero but changed her mind when he said the date would be that same night, which she believed made him feel rejected and prompted the attack.

The woman, who did not know Caballero's last name, told deputies she suspected the maintenance man, 'Armando,' was who had thrown the weight.

She reportedly declined to press charges and the incident was filed as 'suspicious.'

It is unclear if Caballero remained working at the complex, WESH2 reported.

The clip emerged just a day after a body believed to be Marcano's was found in a wooded area near one of Caballero's former residences, as evidence that he was involved in the teenager's disappearance mounts.

Although the text in the note was not released to the public, the report mentions that Caballero had asked the women out in the note

An unnamed woman, 23, said Caballero had thrown a five-pound weight inside her window after she turned him down and rejected a date with him

Caballero was a maintenance man at Sabal Apartments complex, where the 23-year-old woman was attacked and where he was found dead after being named the lead suspect in the dissapearance of Marcano

Caballero also worked maintenance at the Arden Villas apartments in Orange County, where Marcano lived, worked, and was last seen around 4pm on September 24.

Marcano had booked a flight to visit her family in Fort Lauderdale that night but never boarded and stopped answering her phone.

Thirty minutes before her shift finished, her room was entered with a master key that Caballero had access to, as he was a maintenance man in the complex.

He was then seen carrying gloves, a backpack, and a pink blanket outside the complex the next day in surveillance footage.

Police have said that the man had continuously showed romantic interest in Marcano but she had repeatedly turned him down.

When Marcano's family arrived at Arden Villas Apartments to search for her and talk to police, they said Caballero acted strangely.

'He was trying to leave. His lights were off,' Marcano's aunt, Semone Westmaas told The Sun.

'He said, 'Are you looking for Miya?' I said, 'Who are you?' He said, 'I'm the maintenance guy. I heard you're looking for me'. I didn't know who this guy was at the time,' Westmaas added.

Marcano's father, Marlon, then asked Caballero if he had been in contact with her, and her cousin, Callie Sue, said he appeared 'quite nervous.'

She told The Sun that Miya had complained of Caballero's advances toward her and believed he was obsessed with her.

Sue told the outlet that the interactions had seemed 'weird' because they had not yet announced Marcano had disappeared.

Marcano was last seen on September 24. She had booked a flight to visit her family in Fort Lauderdale that night but never boarded and stopped answering her phone

Her body was found on Saturday in a wooden area near a former residence of Caballero

Miya's body was found in a wooded area around the Tymber Skan apartment complex in Orland (pictured) where the suspect once lived

Caballero was questioned by police and said he had last seen Marcano around 3pm on September 24. He left the complex and was then found dead inside a locked garage in the Sabal Apartments complex.

A body believed to be Marcanos was found Saturday in a wooded area near an Orlando apartment complex where Caballero once lived.

Search crews made the grim discovery near the Tymber Skan apartments in Orange County around 10.45am Saturday, Orange County Sheriff John Mina said during a Saturday press conference.

Although it's not the outcome they prayed for, Miya's grandmother Violet Delville said that the discovery gives the family closure.

Miya's family was driving to New Smyrna to search there when they got the news they most dreaded to hear: 'we were just going on a big search when we were called back and gave us this devastating news,' Delville said.

A purse with Marcano's identification was also found near the body, Mina said. Police are still looking for two cell phones and her keys.

'Our hearts are broken,' Mina said at the conference. 'Hundreds of Orange County Sheriff's Office personnel were committed to this cause and working very hard. Everyone wanted this outcome to be different.

'As a community, as a father, we are grieving the loss of Miya. We can't imagine the pain of Miya's family, loved ones, friends, and really our entire community has gone through.'

'Devastated. Broken,' Marcano's cousin Sue said this evening. 'I can't even put into words how we're feeling as a family. I feel defeated, I failed my cousin and I don't know how we're going to get through this.'

Miya Marcano's family, her father Marlon Marcano, center left, hosts a candlelight vigil at Arden Villas, Friday, Oct. 1, 2021, in Orlando

'We are devastated. We are angry and we know our lives have now been changed forever,' Miya's cousin, Caili Sue, told The Sun . 'Everyone has been very somber since the announcement'

After a body believed to be 19-year-old Miya Marcano's, her family held a candlelit vigil outside her apartment, as they have for eight days since she went missing - this one, they said, will be the last

Miya Marcano's family members are pictured setting up a final candlelit vigil outside her Orlando apartment hours after a body believed to be hers was found less than 20 miles away

'Her life was cut short. She was 19 years old. She had the whole rest of her life ahead of her.'

Once her body has been returned, Sue said, Miya's family intends to hold funeral services in South Florida: 'We are not leaving without Miya - we will get justice for her once things die down and we bring her home.'

The 19-year-old was found a little less than 20 miles from her Arden Villas apartment, where she went missing last Friday.

She left behind signs of a violent struggle, including bloodstains on a pillow.

Mina said Cabalelro's cellphone records put him at the Tymber Skan apartments - where he and his family once lived - for about 20 minutes between 8pm and 9pm the same day Marcano vanished from her apartment, Sheriff Mina said.

And nothing in the phone records ever indicated he returned prior to killing himself, the sheriff said.

Search crews made the grim discovery near the Tymber Skan apartments in Orange County around 10.45am Saturday, Orange County Sheriff John Mina said during a Saturday press conference

Marcano's cause of death won't be determined until after the autopsy, Orange County Sheriff John Mina said

The 19-year-old was found a little less than 20 miles from her Arden Villas apartment, where she went missing last Friday

Mina said police used Caballero's cellphone records to track his whereabouts, which eventually led them Marcano's body.

The sheriff said he and his department have already spoken to Marcano's family.

'I've spoken to Miya's family on a constant basis throughout this entire week, and so have our detectives, and their hope and their resolve was nothing short of amazing,' Mina said. 'Our heart goes out to them. '

According to the Orange County Sheriff's Office, Marcano was last seen at around 5pm on September 24 at the Arden Villas apartments on Arden Villas Boulevard in Orlando, where she lives and works in the leasing office.

A cause of death will be determined after the autopsy, but Mina said he's confident that they'll be able to piece together what happened to Marcano.

Last night, a couple of hundred people gathered in front of Marcano's apartment in Arden Villas and prayed during a candlelight vigil, not knowing the tragic news that would hit them less than 24 hours later.
Thousands of people have signed a petition urging Transport for London (TfL) to reopen the Night Tube following the murders of Sarah Everard and Sabina Nessa.

Ella Watson, who launched the petition so far signed by more than 75,000 people, is calling for the service to resume to keep women safe this winter after it was shut in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Ms Watson said the decision to pause the 24-hour service on the London Underground means women will be forced to get taxis home at night instead, adding that the outcry following the murders of Sabina Nessa and Sarah Everard has reinforced how unsafe women and girls feel walking home at night.

The petition needs to reach 100,000 signatures before it is debated in Parliament by MPs.

Writing on the page, Ms Watson said: 'In the UK and London women and girls are unsafe on the streets, especially at night. The rightful outcry at the recent murders of Sabina Nessa and Sarah Everard on London's streets, epitomises the fear women face of walking alone or standing on the streets in the evening and at night.

Thousands of people have signed a petition urging Transport for London (TfL) to reopen the Night Tube following the murders of Sarah Everard and Sabina Nessa [Stock image]

'The decision taken by TfL to keep the night tube closed over the winter of 2021/2022 will have a disproportionate impact on women and low-income groups, with women forced to take expensive taxis home during the busy festive season as a result of being unsafe in public.

'Yet taxis themselves pose a risk to women, with 235 allegations of rape or sexual assault against London taxi / private hire drivers over a 12 month period during 2019.'

She added: 'Physical changes to the environment such as street lights and safer transport should not be seen as a solution, serving as a Band Aid to the problem of violence against women, yet arguably they can help make a significant difference, especially during the winter months.'

Transport for London did not respond immediately to a PA request for comment.

The night Tube was first launched in August 2016 under London mayor Sadiq Khan.

It saw selected lines on TfL's network run a 24-hour service on Fridays and Saturdays.

The kidnapping and murder of marketing executive Sarah Everard in South London in March made headlines around the world.

Sarah Everard was walking home from a friend's house one evening in March when a serving Metropolitan Police officer falsely arrested and later killed her

The 33-year-old was walking home from a friend's house one evening when a serving Metropolitan Police officer falsely arrested her, drove her to near Dover and killed her.

The shocking case reignited anger and fear among women regarding their safety in public, and trust in the police.

The latter was made worse by photos of female protesters being manhandled by police at a vigil for Ms Everard, the holding of which had been disputed due coronavirus restrictions.

Less than six months later, the safety of London's streets for women was in the headlines again when primary school teacher Sabina Nessa, 28, was killed in Greenwich.

Ms Nessa was heading to meet a friend at around 8:30pm - a journey that should have taken just five minutes - when she was murdered in an apparent stranger attack.
Khalil Wheeler-Weaver was 20 years old when he lured and killed three women using dating apps in 2016. He will spend 160 years in jail

A New Jersey man who used dating apps to lure and kill three women in three months was sentenced to 160 years in prison on Wednesday after an emotional trial that included testimony from a woman who managed to escape his grip.

Khalil Wheeler-Weaver, 25, sat motionless as the judge gave the sentence in state court in Newark.

Prosecutors credited one of the victim's friends with tracking him down using a fake social media profile.

In a brief statement on Wednesday, Wheeler-Weaver denied responsibility, telling Superior Court Judge Mark S. Ali that he was framed. Wheeler-Weaver's mother, aunt and brother sat in the gallery but didn't address the court.

Wheeler-Weaver, of Orange, killed 20-year-old Sarah Butler, 33-year-old Joanne Brown and 19-year-old Robin West in late summer and fall of 2016.

All three women were involved in prostitution. Prosecutors argued that he targeted them because he didn't think anyone would miss them. A jury took just two hours to convict him back in December 2019.

His sentencing came after emotional statements by relatives of West and Butler.

Wheeler-Weaver, now 25, sat motionless as the judge delivered his sentence on Wednesday

Laverne Butler, mother of Sarah Butler, wore a shirt with her daughter's picture in state court. Wheeler-Weaver strangled Sarah with a piece of clothing and dumped her body in the woods

Tiffany Taylor, left, was a pregnant sex worker when she woke up to find herself being raped and strangled in the back of Wheeler-Weaver's car. She testified on Wednesday

The sentences covered three murders, one attempted murder and other counts including kidnapping, aggravated arson and desecration of human remains.

The Essex County prosecutor's office had credited friends of Butler, a college student from Montclair, with using social media to help police find Wheeler-Weaver.

They gained access to Butler's social media accounts, found him, set up a fake profile, lured him to a meeting in Montclair and called the police, according to prosecutors.

A fourth woman who survived an attack and testified in the trial also provided crucial information that helped investigators, since the details of her attack were similar to those of the other victims.

Tiffany Taylor was a pregnant prostitute living in a car with her mother in November 2016.

She told NorthJersey.com that she and a friend met Wheeler-Weaver for drinks at his house months before the attack and that he seemed 'like a regular kid. He seemed fun.'

She agreed to meet him again seven months later, planning to rob him.

Wheeler-Weavers killing spree is believed to have begun on August 31, 2016, when Robin West (left), a 19-year-old sex worker was last seen alive. His next victim was Joanne Brown, a 33-year-old sex worker living on the streets

His final victim was Sarah Butler, 20, whom he solicited for sex and offered $500

Instead, she regained consciousness and found herself getting raped and strangled by him in the back seat of his car.

At Wednesday's sentencing, Taylor described how the attack changed her life.

'My whole life is different; I don't wear makeup anymore; I don't have friends. I'm always paranoid. But I'm happy to still be here,' she said, before addressing the judge with, "I hope you dont show him any remorse, because he's not showing any remorse.'"

'My whole life is different ... but I'm happy to still be here,' said Taylor, a survivor

Prosecutors presented evidence at trial that Wheeler-Weaver, then 20, used the dating apps to lure the women for sex and then strangled them.

Their bodies were found between September and December 2016 in northern New Jersey.

Investigators also presented evidence from Wheeler-Weaver's cellphone that placed him where the victims disappeared and where their bodies were found.

Assistant Essex County Prosecutor Adam Wells noted Wednesday that the killings were separated by weeks, giving Wheeler-Weaver a chance to contemplate his actions before killing again.

Victor Butler, Sarah's dad, told his daughter's killer: 'I hope you suffer, boy, every night.' Butler's friends are credited with tracking her killer down using a fake profile

In a brief statement, Wheeler-Weaver denied responsibility and told the judge he was framed

'The defendant believed these victims were disposable. They were killed and then he went on about his day as if nothing had happened,' he said.

'But each of these women's lives mattered.'

West, a 19-year-old from Philadelphia, was seen getting into a car with Wheeler-Weaver the night of August 31, 2016.

She was killed within the next few hours, prosecutors said.

They allege Wheeler-Weaver dumped her body in an abandoned house not far from his own house in Orange, near Newark, and set the house on fire. It took about two weeks to identify her remains.

West's mother, Anita Mason, described a sometimes headstrong young woman who often showed a softer side.

Anita Mason, mother of Robin West, described her daughter as someone who wanted to help homeless people. West was a 19-year-old sex worker when Wheeler-Weaver killed her

'I will never forget her smile, her face, her walk, her desire to help homeless people,' Mason said Wednesday.

'The world focuses on the last month of her life. She had a whole entire life before her demise. Hundreds of people were affected by her life and were saddened by her death.'

Joanne Brown, 33, of Newark, was killed about a month after West was identified and also dumped in an abandoned house in Orange, but her body wasn't discovered until six weeks later.

Butler disappeared around Thanksgiving 2016, about a month after Brown was killed, and her remains were discovered in a wooded area four days before Brown's body was discovered.

Both Brown and Butler had been strangled with clothing.

On Wednesday, Butler's father, Victor, urged the judge to give Wheeler-Weaver the maximum sentence.

Then, turning to the defendant, he said: 'I hope you suffer, boy, every night.'
The ISIS-K suicide bomber who set off an explosion outside Hamid Karzai International airport and slaughtered hundreds of people was freed from prison just days earlier by the Taliban, it was revealed Wednesday.

In the final days of the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan, a blast ripped through the crowd outside Kabul airport. It killed 13 US service members and more than 170 Afghans.

The man who carried out the bombing was imprisoned at the Parwan prison at Bagram Air Force base 11 days before the devastating attack, House Rep. Kevin Calvert (R-CA) and two other US officials told CNN.

Calvert said he was briefed on the information by national security officials.

Two US officials confirmed the man's identity as Abdul Rehman Al-Loghri, who was named by ISIS-K when they took credit for the attack.

Bagram was under US control until early July, when its abandonment spurred widespread criticism.

It was run by Afghan authorities from 2013.

At her daily news briefing on Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was asked about whether the bombing in Kabul would have happened 'had the United States retained control of Bagram.'

Psaki said she 'can't speak to the specific case.'

The attacker's identity was confirmed to be Abdul Rehman Al-Loghri

'I'd remind you that, as it relates to Bagram, there was a decision made to close Bagram because it wasn't strategically in the interest of the United States and our national security to keep it open with 5,000 troops there protecting Bagram at a distance that was far away from the capital and far away from where people from the embassy would be evacuated,' she said, adding that she knew it wasn't a direct answer.

She was asked in a follow-up, 'Would he have made the same decision had he known it was going to lead to the deaths-'

'-Again, I can't speak to this particular report, I'd point you to the intelligence community,' Psaki interjected.

Parwan and nearby Pul-e-Charkhi prison, both near Kabul, were taken under Taliban control when the militants made their lightning advance to seize the Afghan capital.

Taliban fighters freed all of the hundreds of ISIS-K prisoners and thousands of others when they emptied both jails the same day the capital fell.

ISIS-K is an Afghanistan-based affiliate of the Islamic State.

The group is a sworn enemy of the Taliban, and in the airport attack on August 26, the insurgent group condemned the violence and claimed some of its fighters were hurt as well.

The release of thousands of prisoners from facilities in Afghanistan was one of the first of numerous criticisms hurled at President Joe Biden over the crisis.

A scene from Kabul airport after the ISIS-K explosion ripped through the crowd and slaughtered more than 180 people

Blood stains and belongings of the victims of the airport bomb blast nearby a hospital in Kabul

House Republican leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy said in late August: 'President Biden handed over billions of dollars in American military weaponry to the Taliban. They now have more Blackhawk helicopters than Australia, and they have released thousands of ISIS terrorists from prison.'

It's not clear when the Biden administration became aware that the Taliban released the bomber. The White House hasn't immediately responded to a request for comment.

In the weeks since the withdrawal the Biden administration has emphasized a firm but encouraging approach to the Taliban entering the global community.

The president has vowed to keep a close eye on the new government, specifically within the realm of human rights, but his administration has already resumed giving Afghanistan millions of aid dollars.

It's not immediately clear how Monday's report would affect that.

Al-Loghri killed 13 US servicemembers just 11 days after being released from prison by the Taliban

There were approximately 5,000 prisoners at Bagram when US forces handed full control of the air base over to the Afghan military. An Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman had told CNN they were mostly terrorists.

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley spoke to the US military and intelligence communities' fears that the Taliban controlling Afghanistan could once again turn the country into a hotbed for terrorism last week.

'It's a real possibility in the not too distant future - six, 12, 18, 24, 36 months that kind of timeframe - for reconstitution of al Qaeda or ISIS,' he said at a Congressional hearing.

US intelligence reports have also flagged concerns that groups like Al Qaeda could see a resurgence less than two years after an American withdrawal.

But the recent CNN report, which notes that Al-Loghri went from prisoner to terrorist attacker in under two weeks, casts fears that the timeline for fostering more and greater attacks could be even shorter.
An Army veteran charged in relation to the fatal shooting of a man with learning difficulties does not accept he fired any shots, his trial has heard.

Dennis Hutchings, 80, a former member of the Life Guards regiment, has pleaded not guilty to the attempted murder of John Pat Cunningham in Co Tyrone in 1974. He also denies a count of attempted grievous bodily harm with intent.

Mr Cunningham, 27, was shot dead as he ran away from an Army patrol across a field near Benburb. People who knew him said he had the mental age of a child and was known to have a deep fear of soldiers.

Former British soldier Dennis Hutchings, pictured, has denied the attempted murder of John Pat Cunningham in Co Tyrone in 1974. He also denies a charge of attempted grievous bodily harm with intent following the fatal shooting

The second day of the non-jury trial in Belfast Crown Court also heard that Mr Cunningham had been involved in a similar incident with an Army patrol in the same area a year earlier, when soldiers tried to detain him after finding him hiding in bushes 'acting suspiciously'.

The court heard he was released when a passing local doctor intervened and explained Mr Cunningham was his patient and he had learning difficulties and was innocent of any wrongdoing.

In relation to the fatal shooting a year later, on June 15, 1974, a defence barrister said Hutchings accepted he was in the field where the incident happened but nothing else.

James Lewis QC also insisted there was no evidence before the court that proved an unnamed soldier referred to in witness statements given by other soldiers following the shooting was the defendant.

On the opening day of the trial, the prosecution contended the individual referred to as soldier A in the statements was Hutchings.

John Pat Cunningham, 27, who had learning difficulties, was shot dead by the British Army in Co Tyrone in 1974. Mr Cunningham ran away from the patrol which opened fire on him

Mr Lewis told judge Mr Justice O'Hara that the defence did not accept the identities of the two soldiers said to have fired five shots at Mr Cunningham - soldiers A and B - had been proved.

'Nothing in the papers before your lordship identifies who soldiers A or B are,' he said.

Prosecution barrister Charles McCreanor QC indicated the Crown would seek to introduce evidence at a later stage in the trial that proved the identity of soldier A.

The prosecution has said soldier B is deceased.

Hutchings, from Cawsand in Cornwall, wearing a jacket with military medals pinned to the left breast, sat in the dock and listened to proceedings through a headset.

Judge O'Hara later questioned Mr Lewis on the extent of Hutchings's admissions.

He referenced a defence statement submitted ahead of the trial which stated that on the issue of whether the defendant fired 'aimed shots' at Mr Cunningham, the defence would argue Hutchings only fired 'warning shots' in order to make him 'comply with a lawful order to halt'.

Responding, Mr Lewis explained that would only be the defence position if the prosecution could establish Hutchings had a case to answer. He said it was for the prosecution to prove Hutchings fired any shots.

'The fact he was in the field is not contested, anything more than that is contested,' said the barrister.

There was a sharp exchange during this legal discussion, when Justice O'Hara accused Mr Lewis of talking over him, telling the lawyer that was not how he expected proceedings to be conducted in Northern Ireland. Mr Lewis apologised.

In the Crown's opening statement on Monday, the prosecution said as no bullets had been recovered from the scene it was not possible to prove which soldier fired the fatal shot that hit Mr Cunningham in the back. For that reason, the Crown said, Hutchings was facing a charge of attempted murder.
The work at four of the Kellogg Company's cereal plants grinded to a halt on Tuesday as about 1,400 workers went on strike contract negotiations involving pay and benefits.

The popular cereal company, headquartered in Battle Creek, Michigan, was said to have been debating with union workers over these issues for over a year.

Union workers said that these problems included a loss of premium health care, holiday and vacation pay as well as reduced retirement benefits were the causes of the strike.

'The company continues to threaten to send additional jobs to Mexico if workers do not accept outrageous proposals that take away protections that workers have had for decades,' said Anthony Shelton, president of the Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union.

Plant strikes were reported in four locations including the headquarters in Battle Creek, Michigan, as well as in Omaha, Nebraska; Lancaster, Pennsylvania; and Memphis, Tennessee.

Kellogg's insists that its offer is fair and would increase wages and benefits for its employees that it said made an average of $120,000 a year last year.

'We are disappointed by the unions decision to strike. Kellogg provides compensation and benefits for our U.S. ready to eat cereal employees that are among the industrys best,' Kellogg spokesperson Kris Bahner said in a statement.

BATTLE CREEK, MICHIGAN: About 1,400 national workers from the Kellogg Company have gone on strike in response to contract negotiation over employee pay and benefits

The Kellogg Company was said to have been debating with employees over issues such as loss of premium health care, holiday and vacation pay and reduced retirement benefits as well as threatening to send jobs to Mexico if they did not comply with their plans

Workers at the Battle Creek location walked out early Tuesday morning after their former five-year contract expired.

The 325 workers in the Battle Creek strike were represented by union president Trevor Bidelman.

'I'm a fourth-generation worker here, so I fully understand what we do,' Bidelman told USA Today.

'We work seven days a week, that's what we do. In exchange for that, we live the American dream. At the end of the day, that's what they want to take from all of us.'

Workers walked out of the Battle Creek location, the site of Kellogg's headquarters, early on Tuesday morning after their previous contract with the Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union expired

OUR FUTURE IS NOT FOR SALE!



Kellogg Company employees are on strike this morning in Battle Creek. The Union's five-year contract with the company expired last night. Workers say they want livable wages and better benefits. @WOODTV pic.twitter.com/cKC6eZIdFB  Dana Whyte (@dwhytereports) October 5, 2021

Daniel Osborn, the leader of the Omaha strike, said that the union workers have been at an impasse at the bargaining table for more than a year.

The dispute involves an assortment of pay and benefit issues such as the loss premium health care, holiday and vacation pay and reduced retirement benefits

Workers were reportedly pulling 12-hour shifts on a seven-day week schedule during the pandemic last year, the union said.

'The level we were working at is unsustainable,' Osborn said, according to NBC.

The threat to move work to Mexico doesn't sit well with Osborn.

'A lot of Americans probably don't have too much issue with the Nike or Under Armor hats being made elsewhere or even our vehicles, but when they start manufacturing our food down where they are out of the FDA control and OSHA control, I have a huge problem with that,' Osborn said.

He also added that Kellogg's might bring in non-union workers to keep production going.

LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA: Workers protest under union president Kerry Williams as they fight for fair working rights

MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE: Nearly 300 union workers were rallied by union president Rob Eafen

Lancaster union president Kerry Williams has led more than 300 member in the strike with the intent of receiving fair rights for the sake of Kellogg and the country's employees.

'We're losing jobs here in the United States,' Williams told ABC 27. 'We need to keep jobs in the United States.

If you don't have jobs, people can't afford products. They can't afford their livelihoods. We want to keep this middle class working.'

In Memphis, union president Rob Eafen also led nearly 300 workers in the strike outside of the its plant location.

'Do not deprive these people, of what is rightfully theirs what they've worked for,' Eafen said, according to ABC 24.

'It's not getting any cheaper to live, so why should they accept lower wages and higher cost of benefits? We're all try to feed our families. We're all trying to do the right things for this company. It's time for this company to do the right thing for us.'

BATTLE CREEK, MICHIGAN: First shift worker Justin Hyatt joins other union members in strike against Kellogg's on Tuesday

BATTLE CREEK, MICHIGAN: Cherri Crockett and Towana Toliver hold up signs in protest of Kellogg's working conditions

Kelloggs workers arent the first food workers to strike during the pandemic.

Earlier this summer, more than 600 workers at a Frito-Lay plant in Topeka, Kansas, walked off the job to protest working conditions during the pandemic, including forced overtime. That strike ended in July when workers ratified a new contract.

Workers at Nabisco plants in five states went on strike in August to protest plans by Nabiscos parent, Mondelez International, to move some work to Mexico, among other issues, according to the Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union, which also represents the Kellogg's workers.

That strike ended last month when workers ratified a new contract.
A police officer accused of raping a woman and allegedly getting her pregnant had just split up with his girlfriend after she cheated on him, a court has heard.

Ben Lister, 35, a sergeant with West Yorkshire Police, denies charges of rape and sexual assault by penetration of the complainant on August 29, 2016.

Prosecutor Richard Woolfall said Lister and the alleged victim, 21, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, went out for drinks with two mutual friends over the August bank holiday in 2016 when all four got drunk.

Lister joined his friend, their fiancee and the 21-year-old complainant on the night out in Halifax, West Yorkshire, during a temporary split with his girlfriend of two years, who had cheated on him.

Bradford Crown Court heard the four visited a number of bars in the town centre and ended up in the Acapulco nightclub.

After returning to a property, the two other friends went upstairs to bed and Lister and the complainant slept downstairs in the living room on separate sofas, where the alleged rape took place.

Ben Lister (pictured) , 35, a sergeant with West Yorkshire Police, denies charges of rape and sexual assault by penetration of the complainant, 21, on August 29, 2016

The witness said there was an age gap of ten years between Lister and the complainant, and the court has heard she described him as 'too old for me'.

Lister's friend's fiancee told the jury of ten women and two men that she had been out a few times with Lister and his partner Kate, but was not close to either of them, but was aware that the couple had split up at the time of the alleged rape.

'Kate had cheated on him and I don't if they were working through it or had taken a break,' she said.

'He was quite upset about it. He had not taken it great.'

The witness told the jury that the day after the alleged rape, the complainant had texted 'something happened last night'.

Mr Woolfall told the jury: 'This defendant went on to take advantage of that young lady, who was very drunk.

'He dragged her off the sofa and had types of sex with her.'

Lister (pictured) joined his friend, their fiancee and the 21-year-old complainant on the night out in Halifax, West Yorkshire, during a temporary split with his girlfriend of two years

She messaged Lister asking whether they'd had sexual intercourse. He denied they had and said only a sex act had taken place, the court heard.

A month later, she discovered she was pregnant and the witness told the jury she'd asked if it 'could it be Ben's'.

The complainant maintained her ex-boyfriend was the child's father, though the friend said 'the baby looked nothing like him'. DNA tests have proved Lister to be the child's father, Mr Woolfall said.

Mr Woolfall told the jury: 'On that one occasion they had sex, she got pregnant, and for a short time she was in denial about how her baby had been conceived and, no doubt, that her baby was a product of rape - bear in mind she was only 21.

'She didn't want her child to be known as a rape baby.'

She lied to close friends that her baby was fathered by an ex-boyfriend, the jury heard.

In a police interview in January last year, Lister told detectives: 'I had split up with my partner because I had found out she had cheated on me.

'I wasn't in a good place really.'

He said that during the night out, both his friend and his fiancee had tried 'matchmaking' him with the complainant.

Lister claimed there had been 'flirting' between them, saying: 'I liked the look of her, she was attractive'.

Lister told the police the sexual intercourse was 'consensual', adding: 'She didn't slap me, she didn't say 'no'.'

He said he was 'flabbergasted' about the allegation of rape. Lister has pleaded not guilty to rape and sexual assault.

After returning to a property, the two friends went upstairs and Lister and the complainant slept downstairs in the living room on separate sofas, where the alleged rape took place

Mr Woolfall said the sex was not consensual because of her state of intoxication, adding: 'She was drifting in and out of consciousness.'

Whilst she was 'out of it' Lister raped her and when she later woke she found herself in a state of undress, the court heard.

Before the trial started at Bradford Crown Court, Recorder of Bradford Judge Richard Mansell QC told the jury of ten women and two men that they should not let the recent case of Met Police officer Wayne Couzens, who was jailed for raping and killing Sarah Everard, affect their judgement.

He said: 'The defendant was at the time a serving police officer. I'm sure you all know that there has been a very high profile case recently heard in London regarding Wayne Couzens who abused his position as a police officer by falsely arresting, raping and murdering Sarah Everard.

'Please don't let the publicity surrounding that case affect your judgment.

'The defendant did not abuse his position as a police officer. He was not on duty at the time.

'This has nothing to do with the fact that he was a police officer at the time. You must not let the case of Sarah Everard and Wayne Couzens effect your judgement at all.'

The trial continues.
A thug has been found guilty of murdering his on-off friend after he strangled him and dumped him on a river bank where he drowned.

The jury delivered their unanimous guilty verdict at Hull Crown Court this afternoon, having retired to deliberate around 11am.

Cole Jarvis, 21, was found guilty of murdering Hull teenager Connor Lyons, 17.

Connor had been found dead among the mud and reeds of the banks of the River Hull in Ennerdale on January 19 earlier this year.

Cole Jarvis, 21, (pictured) has been found guilty of murdering his on-off friend Connor Lyons, 17, after he strangled him and dumped him on a river bank where he drowned

The victim was found to have been strangled and drowned.

The prosecution alleged that Jarvis, at some point during the night of January 19, strangled Connor and then either intentionally submerged him in the River Hull or left him on the bank knowing that he would drown.

The jury had previously heard that Connor Lyons had likely died 'in a state of panic.'

On Tuesday the defence claimed the case against Cole Jarvis was based on 'speculation' and 'theory' - but Jarvis gave 'no evidence' in his defence.

Connor (pictured) had been found dead among the mud and reeds of the banks of the River Hull in Ennerdale on January 19 earlier this year

Summing up the prosecution's case on Tuesday, prosecutor Jason Pitter QC said: 'You can be sure that the defendant is responsible for the death of Connor Lyons.

'You can be sure that he is responsible and that he carried out an assault with the intention to cause very serious harm which led to his death.'

Jarvis' defence barrister Richard Wright QC said it was 'quite a step from some petty bullying from rowing about motorbikes' to a 'big leap to murder' for two people that were often friends and 'ended everyday by smoking cannabis together'.

But the jury decided beyond all reasonable doubt that Jarvis had in fact killed Connor and returned a unanimous verdict of guilty.

Jarvis will return to court to be sentenced on November 3.
Former President Donald Trump floated the name 'Trump-it, or maybe 'Trumpet,' when discussing what to call a future social media venture, as he continues to be banned from Facebook and Twitter.

Yahoo News reported Wednesday that Trump is still trying to come up with a clear plan to launch his own social media platform.

The report details how too many people are involved in discussions and how the ex-president has yet to settle on a strategy, as he seemingly gears up to run for the White House a third time.

Former President Donald Trump floated the name 'Trump-it, or maybe 'Trumpet,' when discussing what to call a future social media venture, as he continues to be banned from Facebook and Twitter

Yahoo said that a little more than a month ago, Trump voiced to advisers that 'Trump-it' might be a good name.

Since he floated it verbally it was unclear if it would be spelled 'Trump-it,' like the similarly named hair clips, or 'Trumpet,' like the musical instrument.

Trump later thought better of it.

'He said "Trump-it the Puppet" out loud and thought people would make fun of it,' one Republican source told Yahoo.

A Trump spokesperson confirmed to Yahoo that the venture would not be named 'Trump-it.'

Allies of Trump have pitched a number of ideas.

Yahoo reported that it was 'The Apprentice' alum Andy Dean Litinsky, better known as just Andy Dean, who wanted Trump to launch a multi-billion dollar media and social media company, dubbed Trump Media Group.

Apprentice alum Andy Dean Litinsky (left) pitched Trump a multi-billion dollar media and social media company, dubbed Trump Media Group, while former spokesman Jason Miller (right) launched GETTR and may still invest in the company

Litinsky wanted Trump to use a SPAC, which would quickly get a company on ths stock market, to get the venture going.

But Yahoo reported that Trump's team killed the idea.

Trump's former spokesman Jason Miller did successfully launch GETTR.

Miller said he and Trump were in talks about working out a business arrangement.

Another adviser, however, said that the Trump social media playform is 'not going to be GETTR.'

One Trump adviser told the news site he believes Trump's reluctance to launch or bet on a platform is because he's seen others on the right crash and burn.

Parler, for instance, went offline after it was used to coordinate portions of the January 6 Capitol attack.

Amazon Web Services booted it off its servers.

'I think he recognizes the complexity. He's watched these other platforms fail because they couldn't support the number of users,' said one Trump adviser. 'He wants to be sure that if he stands something up, it works and it's the right business deals.'

Others in Trump's orbit questioned whether advisers were purposely helping Trump drag his heels.

'From Trumps perspective, he thinks [Twitter] helped him win. The greater question is: Is this a deliberate slow roll to keep Trump off it? Every time hes off it, his poll numbers are as high as Ive seen in a while,' one former Trump campaign adviser told Yahoo news.

Trump is still making news by sending out emailed statements, but there are far fewer of those than there were tweets.

The ex-president is also staying in the headlines by hosting rallies and going on conservative news outlet.

But one Republican source suggested to Yahoo that the right-wing media appearances only prove Trump needs a more formidable social media presence.

'If hes doing Hannity hits, that means hes figured out how screwed he is right now,' the GOP source said. 'Its like a tree dropping alone in the forest. Youve got the loudest mouth in the world, but is anybody hearing it?'
A black firefighter has won a $11 million settlement from a Massachusetts town after he was fired for refusing to work when a supervisor left a voicemail saying the n-word on his phone.

Brookline town members voted 186 to 38 in favor of approving the multi-million-dollar settlement with Gerald Alston Tuesday, finally bringing closure to a legal battle that rumbled on for the last 11 years.

Alston first filed a complaint in 2010 when his supervisor Paul Pender called him after he was injured while on duty.

Pender, who was a passenger in his son's car at the time of the call, left a message on Alston's voicemail where he was heard calling another motorist a 'f**king n-word.'

Black firefighter Gerald Alston (pictured) has won a $11 million settlement from a Massachusetts town after he was fired for refusing to work when a supervisor left a voicemail saying the n-word on his phone

Alston is pictured second on right with his fellow firefighters back in 2007. Alston first filed a complaint in 2010 when his supervisor said the racial slur

The supervisor later apologized and received a slap on the wrist, ultimately rising up the ranks at Brookline Fire Department.

Meanwhile, Alston said he was retaliated against and fired after he refused to return to what he described as a racist and discriminatory workplace.

He claimed the stress of the ordeal drove him to drugs including cocaine and marijuana to deal with his anger and anxiety.

Alston celebrated Tuesday's settlement saying he was 'feeling great' after the town members reached their decision after three hours of debate.

'The weight of the world is off my shoulders right now,' he told CBS Boston.

'I'm happy because the truth has always been there.'

Select Board Vice Chair Raul Fernandez also welcomed the agreement as it brought closure to the long-running legal fight which had plagued the town for over a decade.

'As I've noted, this 11-year saga has brought discredit to the town of Brookline,' he said.

Brookline town members voted 186 to 38 in Tuesday's meeting (above) in favor of approving the multi-million-dollar settlement, finally bringing closure to an 11-year legal battle

'Win or lose, further litigating this matter will reinforce the narrative that Brookline is a racially hostile community.'

Fernandez told the Boston Globe ahead of the decision that Alston would not have settled for less which would have meant the case would have gone to a trial.

Alston (above) claimed the stress drove him to drugs to deal with his anger and anxiety

'We have an opportunity to put an 11-year saga to rest,' Fernandez said.

'If we don't vote favorably on this, the reputational damage to Brookline will be very dire.'

The settlement was announced by Brookline's Select Board back in September, but was dependent on approval from Tuesday's town meeting.

Alston began working as a firefighter back in 2002 and served as an emergency responder for eight years before the 2010 incident.

After that, he refused to return to work and stopped communicating with the department.

He was put on leave by the department in 2013 and sued the town for racial discrimination in 2015.

Alston was then fired the following year.

In 2019, Massachusetts Civil Service Commission ordered the town to reinstate him to the department with full back pay, effectively putting him on paid leave.

In April, the Supreme Judicial Court - the state's highest court - then ruled that Alston had been illegally fired, paving the way for the settlement.
Lt. Colonel Stuart Scheller has been charged with six violations and will face a special court martial for publicly criticizing the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal

Lt. Colonel Stuart Scheller has been charged with six violations and will face a special court martial for publicly criticizing the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal.

Scheller was released from the brig at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina on Tuesday, a week after being jailed.

He was three days from retirement when he was stripped of his post and thrown in the grim confinement quarters to await military trial for contempt.

Now, he has been charged with contempt towards officials, disrespect toward the superior commissioned officers, willfully disobeying superior commissioned officer, dereliction in the performance of duties, failure to obey order or regulation, conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman.

Scheller has tried to resign, in a written request, and relinquish his $2million pension, but the military hasn't accepted it.

After he was released yesterday, his media team released an update saying: 'An IRO hearing was scheduled to review LtCol Stuart Schellers pre-trial detention at 1:30 pm today.

'The Marine Corps refused to provide an open hearing or to record the hearing. Media outlets objected and asked that the hearing be delayed to allow for action in federal court.

'Prior to the hearing, the Marine Corps agreed to release LtCol Scheller pending trial by court martial.

'Lt Col Scheller remains subject to the unlawful gag order previously issued by his commander Col David Emmel. Lt Col Scheller has submitted a request for redress regarding the unlawful order to his command.

THE VIOLATIONS Co ntempt towards officials

Disrespect toward the superior commissioned officers

Willfully disobeying superior commissioned officer

Dereliction in the performance of duties

Failure to obey order or regulation

Conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman Advertisement

'Lt Col Scheller has submitted a request for resignation of his commission in lieu of trial to the Secretary of the Navy. Numerous members of Congress have urged the Secretary to accept this request.

LtCol Scheller appreciates the support of the American people, his legal team, family and friends who have stood by him, Members of Congress, the Pipe Hitter Foundation and the Marines.'

The update was posted on the Piper Hitter Foundation that has raised $2million for his defense

The Washington Times reports that Scheller's initial court appearance was quietly delayed after protests from the media that they would be allowed to observe it.

In a statement, they told DailyMail.com: 'Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller Jr. is being released from confinement today, Oct. 5, 2021, as a result of a mutual agreement between Lt. Col. Scheller, his Defense counsel, and the Commanding General, Training Command.'

Scheller, based in North Carolina's Camp Lejeune, was three years from retirement when he posted a scathing video criticizing superiors on August 26, the same day that the 13 US troops were killed in Kabul.

'I'm not saying we need to be in Afghanistan forever, but I am saying, did any of you throw your rank on the table and say, 'Hey, it's a bad idea to evacuate Bagram Airfield, a strategic airbase, before we evacuate everyone'?' Scheller Jr said in the widely-shared clip.

Supporters have raised over $2 million for the marine who was jailed for defying orders to stop publicly criticizing the nation's Afghanistan withdrawal

Rep. Louie Gohmert says his imprisonment 'appears to be for messaging, retribution, and convenience.' The brig is pictured

A source close to the case says Scheller is staying in an area of the brig normally for murderers

Scheller was removed from command of the advanced infantry training battalion at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, the day after he posted his first video 'due to a loss of trust and confidence in his ability to command,' according to Maj. Jim Stenger, a spokesman for the Marines.

Last week, his mother Cathy told how the family had been left 'heartbroken' by how the military had treated him.

'Hes in a cell with no books, no phone no nothing. Were heartbroken over this and so is he.

'We love America and we are so shocked at what were learning about what the new military is like in this country,' she told The New York Post.

The Pipe Hitter Foundation, founded by Navy Seal Eddie Gallagher - who was accused of murdering an ISIS prisoner of war in 2017 and then pardoned by Donald Trump - started the fundraiser, which has received more than 26,000 donations and raised a total of $2,081,913.

It says that the donations will go towards funding mounting legal expenses, helping Scheller's wife and three kids financially and to aid Scheller's transition out of the military.
Menopausal women taking HRT are not at greater risk of developing heart disease, scientists say.

Hormone replacement therapy helps to relieve symptoms of the menopause, such as hot flushes, night sweats and mood swings.

Experts have debated the pro and cons of HRT for years, with some studies having warned that it may lead to heart disease.

But now a study has dismissed the fears, ruling that women taking the drugs are not more likely to develop the killer condition.

South Korean researchers say the benefits of HRT  usually given in tablets, gels and patches  typically outweigh the risks.

HRT tablets (pictured) work by replacing sex hormones that decline during the menopause and improve menopausal symptoms that 80 per cent of women suffer from

All you need to know about the menopause Menopause is when a woman stops having periods naturally and is no longer able to get pregnant naturally. It is a normal part of ageing and usually happens between the ages of 45 and 55 when a woman's levels of the sex hormone oestrogen drop. Eight in 10 women will experience menopausal symptoms including hot flushes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, difficulty sleeping, low mood or anxiety and problems with memory. Women are advised to see their GP if their symptoms are difficult to manage. Treatments doctors can provide include hormone replacement therapy, such as tablets, skin patches and gels that replace oestrogen. Source: NHS Advertisement

Menopause occurs when a woman stops having periods, so is no longer able to get pregnant naturally.

Researchers at the Seoul National University analysed data on 58,000 menopausal women.

Their health records were then compared to a group of 50,000 women who weren't taking the drugs.

Results showed women on HRT were slightly more likely to develop heart disease, as well as type 2 diabetes.

But the team, whose findings were published in the journal Menopause, concluded there was no significant risk.

Writing in the paper, experts said: 'Hormone therapy is the most effective treatment for menopausal symptoms.

'[However] menopausal women hesitate to start MHT due to concerns about adverse events.'

They added: 'Our results may contribute to reducing the current concerns about the use of hormone therapy.'

Dr Stephanie Faubion, medical director of the North American Menopause Society, welcomed the findings.

She added: 'These results are consistent with our current understanding of the risks and benefits of hormone therapy.

'The benefits typically outweigh the risks for women who initiate HRT aged younger than 60 years and within 10 years of menopause onset.'

It comes days after a study this week also ruled that the drugs dont increase the risk of dementia, dismissing another fear.
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Suspected cartel members involved in human trafficking have shown up at the US-Mexico border armed with AK-47s and are taunting Texas Army National Guards and Border Patrol officers.

The Texas Department of Public Safety said there have been multiple instances this past week of suspected cartel gunmen spotted next to the Rio Grande in Starr County, Texas.

The gunmen were photographed wearing tactical vests and armed with assault rifles as they examined the border.

Officials believe the men to be involved in human smuggling operations, Fox News reports.

'As we work closely with the Texas Military Department, any potential threats toward law enforcement and the Texas Military Department will be fully investigated, and those responsible will be arrested and charged to the fullest extent of the law,' the Texas DPS said in a statement.

'The Texas Department of Public Safety is committed to securing our southern border,' the statement said.

The Texas Military Department has begun bolstering its efforts to monitor the border, building fencing, repel transnational criminal activity and countering smuggling and human trafficking.

Suspected cartel members were spotted armed with AK-47s near the US-Mexico border

The men have been at the site multiple times this week as officials believe they are involved in human smuggling between the US and Mexico

The Texas Military Department has ramped up its patrol efforts at the troubled border

The department is working to counter human trafficking and build up fencing at the border

The unsettling activity at the border comes a day after Border Patrol agents announced the arrests of a number of people last week who crossed the border illegally, including previously convicted sex offenders and an MS-13 gang member.

In a statement, the US Customs and Border Protection agency said Border Patrol agents in the Rio Grande Valley Sector arrested eight migrants crossing the border, including a Guatemalan man who had been convicted of sexual abuse in 2009.

Along with the Guatemalan man, agents arrested a Mexican man in Welasco, Texas, who had been convicted of sex offenses in California, Fox reports.

Then on Saturday, officials arrested a man in Sarita who had been in prison for more than 10 years for sexual abuse charges against a child in North Carolina.

Later in McAllen, agents apprehended four migrants, including a 28-year-old MS-13 gang member. It was followed by the arrest of a Gulf Cartel member near Progresso.

Gov. Greg Abbot, left, deployed the Texas National Guard in June. In September, he allocated $100 million in grants to strengthen the border patrol effort

Agents are focusing their effort along the Rio Grande, where hundreds are crossing every day

Pictured, migrants from Haiti are lined up as Texas officials detained, deported and expelled thousands who crossed illegally into the Lone Star State last week

The immigrants have been deported into Monterrey, Mexico, where they awake a resolution of their immigration status

Last month, Texas Gov. Greg Abbot launched the Operation Lone Star Grant Program, which allocated $100 million to strengthen the Texas border and deter criminal activity and smuggling through the US-Mexico border.

'The grant funding available through this program will strengthen our response to the crisis at the border and help keep our communities safe,' said Governor Abbott. 'I encourage local governments to apply for these funds to enhance our ongoing collaborative efforts to deter illegal immigration and prevent the smuggling of people, drugs, weapons, and other contraband into our state.'

The move comes as more than 15,000 immigrants, mostly from Haiti, have made their way into Texas and are camping on the outskirts of the city of Del Rio in makeshift tents.

Hundreds of Haitian immigrants make the journey into Texas every day. Migrants, pictured on September 20, cross the Rio Grande into the US

Haitian were returned to the Mexican side of the border after in Ciudad Acuna, Mexico, which borders the Del Rio camp

In recent weeks, shocking scenes of human misery emerged from the squalid migrant camp near Del Rio, as the unprepared Border Patrol scrambled to stem the flow of illegal crossings.

Migrants at the camp have suffered from lack of water, food and shelter and their only protection at times against the extreme Texan heat is the shade provided by the bridge.

Despite the warning and conditions at the camp, even more Haitian migrants are expected to make a journey into the US as Panama's foreign minister warns of another caravan of 60,000 Haitians headed to to America.
A Facebook executive has accused whistleblower Frances Haugen of stealing company documents and claimed she is 'not an expert' on the company's content algorithms.

Facebook Vice President of Content Policy Monika Bickert spoke out in an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, slamming Haugen a day after she testified to Congress.

Bickert said that Haugen 'mischaracterized' the internal studies regarding the harmful impacts of content on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, which she presented to to Congress.

'She didn't work on these issues. And her testifying about them and mischaracterizing some of the documents she stole is like if a journalist were to read another journalist's story, a colleague's story, and say oh, I'm an expert on this,' Bickert said. 'She's not an expert in these areas.'

Facebook Vice President of Content Policy Monika Bickert (left) spoke out on Wednesday, slamming Frances Haugen (right) a day after she testified to Congress

Among the documents Haugen leaked were some alleging that Facebook knew internal research showed Instagram could be harmful to some teen girls.

Bickert said that Facebook worked with subject matter experts such as teachers, counselors, and legal experts on community safety issues -- and said that Haugen had no such expertise.

'These are the sorts of experts that we bring to Facebook because they care so deeply about these issues and on the research that has been mischaracterized,' said Bickert.

During the Senate Commerce subcommittee hearing, Haugen called for transparency about how Facebook entices users to keep scrolling, creating ample opportunity for advertisers to reach them.

'As long as Facebook is operating in the shadows, hiding its research from public scrutiny, it is unaccountable,' said Haugen, a former product manager on Facebook's civic misinformation team.

The 37-year-old said that Facebook's algorithms, centered around 'likes' and 'shares', rewarded 'dangerous online talk has led to actual violence that harms and even kills people.'

She left the nearly $1 trillion company with tens of thousands of confidential documents.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg responded in a lengthy public Facebook post, saying the accusations were at odds with Facebook's goals

'The companys leadership knows how to make Facebook and Instagram safer, but wont make the necessary changes because they have put their astronomical profits before people. Congressional action is needed,' Haugen said.

Hours later, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg responded in a lengthy public Facebook post, saying the accusations were at odds with Facebook's goals.

'The argument that we deliberately push content that makes people angry for profit is deeply illogical,' he wrote.

'We make money from ads, and advertisers consistently tell us they don't want their ads next to harmful or angry content. And I don't know any tech company that sets out to build products that make people angry or depressed.'

Haugan's claims were devastating for Facebook's public image and prompted senators from both sides of the aisle to attack the firm and Zuckerberg, who has previously been summoned to the Capitol to testify on his firm's practices.

Facebook's director of policy communications, Lena Pietsch, responded to Haugen's testimony by pointing out she worked at the company for less than two years.

Pietsch added that Haugen 'had no direct reports, never attended a decision-point meeting with C-level executives - and testified more than six times to not working on the subject matter in question.'

Frances Haugen on Tuesday appeared before Congress to discuss the workings of Facebook. She suggested a government entity be created to regulate Facebook during the scathing Senate hearing

But Facebook agreed on the need for more regulation.

'It's time to begin to create standard rules for the internet,' Pietsch said.

'It's been 25 years since the rules for the internet have been updated, and instead of expecting the industry to make societal decisions that belong to legislators, it is time for Congress to act.'

Zuckerberg said Haugen painted 'a false picture of the company'.

In a memo he sent to all staff, which he posted on Facebook, he wrote: 'I'm sure many of you have found the recent coverage hard to read because it just doesn't reflect the company we know.

'We care deeply about issues like safety, well-being and mental health. It's difficult to see coverage that misrepresents our work and our motives.

'At the most basic level, I think most of us just don't recognize the false picture of the company that is being painted.'

Zuckerberg said it was 'just not true' that the company prioritizes profit over all other concerns, and said it was not in their interests to promote damaging content.

He said the company was doing a lot of work on moderation, and on protecting children.
Dog the Bounty Hunter's estranged daughter has dismissed his manhunt for Brian Laundrie as a 'publicity stunt' and mocked him for parading a Monster Energy can as a sign he could be closing in on the fugitive.

Cecily Chapman, 28, told the Sun she thinks her reality star father Duane Chapman, 68, needs to 'back off' and let law enforcement do their job as they track down the sole person of interest wanted in connection to the death of Gabby Petito.

'It's just a publicity stunt. That's really what it is. He needs to back off and let the FBI handle it,' said Chapman.

'A real (TV) network would be aware of the situation and I'm pretty sure everyone knows that this is a f**kng publicity stunt.'

Chapman voiced her suspicions about her father's true intentions as it emerged that Dog has already pitched a show about his hunt for Laundrie to at least one network.

A source told The Wrap he put the idea to A&E - the cable channel which aired his Dog The Bounty Hunter show for nine series before it ended in 2015 - which 'immediately passed'.

Dog the Bounty Hunter's estranged daughter Cecily Chapman (pictured together) has dismissed his manhunt for Brian Laundrie as a 'publicity stunt'

Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie. Dog launched his own search for Laundrie last month

Chapman, who no longer speaks to her adopted father, laughed off his repeated claims of making progress in his search for Laundrie.

'What, you found a Monster Energy can? What does that do for anyone?' she asked.

Last Wednesday, Dog brandished a Monster Energy drink can he had recovered from his search of the Fort De Soto Park in Florida where Laundrie is known to have camped with his family one week before he went on the run.

The can, which appeared to have been freshly drunk, was found at a makeshift campsite deep in the woods at Shell Island along the coastline by the park.

A spokesperson for Dog said the same day that he was 'working on very strong leads' and that it 'could very well be the last day of the hunt to apprehend Brian Laundrie'.

The 68-year-old has documented his search for Laundrie on social media - most recently releasing footage of him wading through swamp water in the park.

Chapman also described this widely-publicized footage as 'totally staged' and questioned how her father is funding the search.

'Realistically, how is he doing this, what the hell is he doing, and who is funding this nonsense!?' she asked.

'He's trying to distract everybody from everything, that's what he does. He tries to hide his problems.'

Chapman mocked him for parading a Monster Energy can (above)he found at a makeshift campsite near the Fort De Soto campsite as a sign he could be closing in on the fugitive

She dismissed the idea that he could beat the FBI in locating the fugitive, who is thought to have been on the run for around three weeks.

'To be completely honest with you, the FBI is never going to let Dog the Bounty Hunter catch Brian anyway  the FBI is way too prideful for that,' she said.

The 28-year-old's criticism comes after she and her sister Bonnie Chapman, 22, revealed they were no longer on speaking terms with their dad following their mom Beth's death in 2019.

Beth and Dog were married from 2006 to her passing in June 2019 at the age of 51 from lung cancer.

The two daughters told TMZ in August that they had been uninvited to their dad's wedding to Francie, a rancher from Colorado, the following month - whom he met months later in March 2020.

Bonnie later claimed she believed the rift was triggered by her support of Black Lives Matter and her involvement with Unleashed TV - a network that purportedly fired Dog over his use of offensive 'epithets'.

Chapman also described this widely-publicized footage of her father wading through the Fort De Soto Park looking for Laundrie as 'totally staged'

Chapman said she thinks her reality star father Duane Chapman needs to 'back off' and let law enforcement do their job

She accused her father of racism and homophobia and of cheating on her late mom.

Dog - who has 13 children - denied using racist and homophobic language and said his daughter's accusations were 'false'.

He also told TMZ his daughters are being 'groomed' by his former associates, pleading: 'Please pray for Bonnie and Cecily to be released from whatever hold these people have on them.'

'Despite the sadness, we feel at this rift in our family, Francie and I are looking forward to celebrating our wedding next week with the rest of our family and close friends.'

One of Dog's other daughters - Lyssa, 34 - has joined him in the search for Laundrie, after he announced he was launching his own manhunt for the fugitive days after Petito's body was discovered in a campsite near Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming.

Chapman with her dad. She voiced her suspicions about her father's true intentions as it emerged that Dog has already pitched a show about his hunt for Laundrie to A&E

On September 25, Dog first showed up on the doorstep of the Laundrie's family home in North Port, Florida, where Petito and Laundrie both lived for a year prior to embarking on their cross-country trip.

The reality star has focused much of his search since then at the campsite at Fort De Soto.

Laundrie's family's attorney has admitted Laundrie visited the park with his parents on September 6, claiming they left altogether the following day.

Dog has claimed the 23-year-old never left the park.

Meanwhile, the FBI has focused its search mainly at the Carlton Reserve close to the family home, where Laundrie's parents claimed he was heading the last time they saw him.

Federal agents have also seized surveillance footage from around the park.

Petito, 22, and Laundrie, 23, set off on July 2 on the adventure of a lifetime traveling across America in their white campervan and chronicling their adventures on YouTube.

On September 1, Laundrie arrived back at his family's home in North Port without his fiancee but driving their van.

Dog has focused much of his search around the campsite at Fort De Soto in Pinellas County, Florida (pictured)

Laundrie visited the park (above) with his parents on September 6. They said he returned home with his family the next day

Petito was reported missing on September 11 by her mom after not hearing from her daughter for multiple days and coming up against a wall of silence from Laundrie and his parents.

The Laundrie family lawyered up and refused to let cops speak to him about his fiancee's whereabouts.

His parents then reported him as missing on September 17, telling authorities they had not seen him since September 14 when he went on a hike in the alligator-infested Carlton Reserve.

His parents claimed Tuesday they were mistaken and now 'believe' he went on the run one day earlier - meaning he had a four-day headstart on authorities.

Petito's body was discovered in the Wiping park on September 19 and her death has been ruled a homicide. It is not clear how she died or when.

Local police and the FBI have now been searching for Laundrie for almost three weeks.
A man is to stand trial accused of murdering his two year-old son by shooting and smothering him.

Lukasz Czapla allegedly killed Julius Czapla at a flat in Muirhouse, Edinburgh last November 20 or 21.

It is claimed the 41 year-old repeatedly struck the child with a skewer.

Lukasz Czapla allegedly killed his son Julius Czapla at a flat in Muirhouse, Edinburgh last November 20 or 21

Police attended the scene in Muirhouse, Edinburgh last November before launching a murder investigation

Prosecutors then allege he repeatedly discharged an air pistol and shot his son in the head.

The murder charge further states Czapla placed a pillow over the boy's face and did 'asphyxiate' him.

It is claimed he had previously displayed 'malice and ill will' towards his son.

His QC Iain McSporran today offered to plead guilty to the reduced charge of culpable homicide.

But, this was rejected by prosecutor Alan Parfery during the hearing at the High Court in Glasgow.

Czapla will now stand trial for murder in Edinburgh on April 19 next year.

Among the other charges, he is also accused of possessing drugs - including ecstasy - with separate accusations of drink and dangerous driving as well as having an air weapon.

The trial could last up to seven days

Judge Lady Stacey set a further hearing due to occur before then in March next year.
The head of the NYPD says the department was involved in the investigation of firebrand police union boss Ed Mullins before Tuesday's raid on his home and office by the FBI.

Mullins - who is still on the NYPD payroll as a sergeant - resigned Tuesday evening after the raids, which may be part of an investigation tied to mismanagement of union funds.

NYPD chief Dermot Shea confirmed his department's Internal Affairs bureau was involved just a day after a dozen federal agents carried out boxes of paperwork from the office of the Sergeant's Benevolent Association union Tuesday.

The FBI also searched Mullins's Long Island home. Mullins was pictured by DailyMail.com arriving back at the home on Wednesday afternoon.

'The NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau and the FBI work jointly on a task force. As a result of that work, you saw some of the investigative powers being exercised yesterday, Shea said Wednesday morning during Mayor Bill de Blasio's daily COVID briefing.

Shea stressed that it was up to him to decide whether Mullins, a sergeant, will face discipline for the actions that led to the raid.

Mullins is already facing two departmental trials - one of them for tweeting out the arrest report for Mayor de Blasio's daughter.

Mullins is seen on Wednesday afternoon after his house on Long Island was raided by the FBI

Cops raided Mullins' Long Island home as part of an investigation that may be tied to mismanagement of union funds

FBI agents carry out boxes from the NYPD Sergeants Benevolent Association union on Tuesday

NYPD chief Dermot Shea said the police department was partly responsible for the raid

Mullins had led the Sergeant's Benevolent Association since 2002 and was a high profile, controversial figure who often clashed with city leadership and mayor de Blasio.

But he stepped down as the union's president after a dozen FBI agents raided the organization's Manhattan offices and his Port Washington home.

The FBI and the US Attorney's Office did not respond to questions from DailyMail.com about the specific nature of the search. Mullins' attorney Andrew Quinn has also not responded to questions.

The FBI said they were 'carrying out a law enforcement action in connection with an ongoing investigation' and did not provide any further details on the sweeps.

Two sources told the New York Times that the union is being investigated by the FBI and the public corruption unit of the US attorney's office in Manhattan.

A source told NY1 that the raids are connected to mismanagement of union funds.

Mullins' rivals were quick to issue scorching statements about his departure.

Former de Blasio Press Secretary Bill Neidhart told the New York Post: 'A horrible person who also has horrible politics. I dont know if hes going to rot in prison, but I do know hes going to rot in hell.'

De Blasio himself said: 'Ed Mullins dishonored his uniform, his city and his union more times than I can count. It was just a matter of time before his endless hatred would catch up with him. That day has come.'

And US Representative Ritchie Torres - who was once branded a 'first class w****' by Mullins, wrote: 'Ed Mullins has spent his career abusing power and trafficking in hate, and his misdeeds have finally sent him into retirement, which is exactly where he belongs.'

A source told the New York Times that the US Attorney's public corruption unit is involved

During Wednesday's press conference, de Blasio added: 'This is someone who attempted consistently to divide the city, who used language that was disrespectful that often created a divisive atmosphere that did not comport with being a representative of this city

'And now on top of it, obviously, theres something else going on.'

The SBA Executive Board said in a statement: 'Given the severity of this matter and the uncertainty of its outcome, the SBA Executive board has requested that President Mullins resign.

'The day to day functioning and the important business of the SBA cannot be distracted by the existence of this investigation.'

Bill de Blasio (pictured yestersday) said: 'It was just a matter of time before his endless hatred would catch up with him. That day has come'

The FBI said they were 'carrying out a law enforcement action in connection with an ongoing investigation'

The union said in a statement: 'Given the severity of this matter and the uncertainty of its outcome, the SBA Executive board has requested that President Mullins resign'

About a dozen agents searched the Sergeants Benevolent Association Tuesday

The union represents about 13,000 active and retired NYPD sergeants and controls a $264 million retirement fund.

Non-supervisory officers are represented by the larger Police Benevolent Association.

Mullins, a police officer since 1982, rose to sergeant, a rank above detective but below captain and lieutenant, in 1993 and was elected president of the sergeants union in 2002.

Though hes a full-time union chief, city law has allowed Mullins to retain his sergeants position and collect salaries from both the union and the police department.

Last year, Mullins made more than $220,000 between the two, according to public records: $88,757 from the union and $133,195 from the NYPD.

The controversial officer is a known critic of Mayor Bill de Blasio, who he called 'an idiot' in an interview with Fox News contributor Sara Carter last year after the mayor criticized a large funeral gathering in the Orthodox Jewish community.

Mayor Bill de Blasio, who is often criticized by union chief Ed Mullins, declined to comment on the raid but accused Mullins of 'divisive' and 'destructive' language on Tuesday

The FBI has only said that they raided the union 'in connection with an ongoing investigation'

Mullins is in the middle of department disciplinary proceedings for tweeting NYPD paperwork last year regarding the arrest of de Blasios daughter during protests over the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd.

Mullins department trial began last month but was postponed indefinitely after one of his lawyers suffered a medical emergency.

Mullins lawyer denies he violated department guidelines, arguing arrest papers with Chiara de Blasios personal identifying information, such as her date of birth and address, were already posted online.

During Tuesday's daily COVID briefing, De Blasio told reporters he knew little about the raid, but took the opportunity to criticize Mullins for his rhetoric.

'A lot of what he has done is really, really destructive,' de Blasio said.

'Especially in the middle of a crisis where we're trying to unify, we're trying to get people through together, he's been a divisive voice.'

One source told NY1 that the search is connected to mismanagement of funds. Above, the SBA union office at 35 Worth Street in Manhattan

FBI agents descended on Mullins's Long Island home later on Tuesday

Mullins is also facing charges of offensive language and abuse of authority by the Civilian Complaint Review Board for calling then-Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot a 'b****' and calling former city councilman Ritchie Torres, who is gay, a 'first-class w****.'

He made the statements on Twitter in 2020.

The tweet about Dr. Barbot came after the commissioner reportedly told NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan: 'I don't give two rats' asses about your cops' after she asked for more masks as the city was experiencing its first wave of COVID-19.

His next administrative court hearing is on October 27.

Mullins is facing facing departmental charges of offensive language and abusive of authority for calling a former health commissioner a 'b****' and a city councilman a 'first class w****'

Congressman Ritchie Torres, who is gay, was called a 'first class w****' by Mullins last year

On Friday, the Department of Justice announced charges against two NYPD officers accused of taking thousands of dollars in cash bribes from a tow truck company owned by a former officer in exchange for directing cars involved in accidents to his business.

The licensed tow and repair business is owned by Michael Perri, who retired from the NYPD in June 2020 and was also charged in the matter.

Perri and two other officers, James Davneiro and Giancarlo Osma, were each hit with one count of bribery and one count of conspiracy to violate the Travel Act.

All three worked at the 107th precinct, which serves the Queens neighborhoods of Fresh Meadows, Cunningham Heights and Hilltop Village, at the time of the bribes.

It appears unlikely that Tuesday's raid was connected to Friday's indictments.

On Friday, the DOJ announced charges against Giancarlo Osma, left, for directing cars involved in accidents to a business owned by former NYPD officer Michael Perri, right. A third officer, James Davneiro, was also charged
Police have released a CCTV image of a 93-year-old mother and her daughter, 61, who have been missing from their homes for 11 days.

Officers in Thames Valley Police believe the pair, Elizabeth Doran, 93 and her daughter, Julie, 61, are unaware they have been reported missing.

Mrs Doran, from Henley-on-Thames and her daughter Julie, who is from Caversham, Berkshire, are subject to a massive search.

Police have issued an appeal looking for mother and daughter Elizabeth Doran, 93, left, and Julie Doran, 61, right, who have been missing for the past 11 days

Police have released a CCTV image of the mother and daughter who have not been seen at home for the past 11 days

Thames Valley Police believe the pair are travelling around on buses and are probably unaware they have been reported missing.

Police have released a CCTV image which shows Julie pushing her elderly mother in a wheelchair in Oxford.

A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said: 'We are continuing to appeal for the public's help in tracing a missing mother and daughter.

'Elizabeth Doran, aged 93 years and from Henley-on-Thames and her daughter, Julie Doran, aged 61 years, from nearby Caversham, were reported missing on September 25.

'There have been a number of sightings of them in Henley. We believe that they may have travelled out of Henley and we are releasing an image, which we believe shows them in Oxford yesterday/on Tuesday.'

Investigating officer, Detective Sergeant Alex Willis, based at Reading police station, said: 'We are continuing to appeal for the public's help in tracing Elizabeth and Julie as we just want to check they are okay as they have not returned back to their respective homes.

'We believe that they are travelling around by bus and may have made journeys' between Henley, Oxford and Reading.

'We are releasing a further image which shows Elizabeth and Julie in Oxford on Tuesday.

'If anyone sees them or if you think you may have seen them and know where they are heading please call 101 immediately.'
A Metropolitan Police detective who crashed into a car on the M1 while drink-driving on duty was banned for driving for 14 months but was allowed to retire days before a misconduct hearing.

DS Stuart McKechnie was driving on the M1 when he was involved in a collision with another vehicle on February 6.

DS McKechnie, who was on duty but was in his own car, provided a positive breath test at the roadside and two further tests at Luton police station - with the lowest reading being 54mg, above the legal limit of 35mg.

He was convicted of drink-driving after he entered a guilty plea at Luton Magistrates' Court on March 15. He was disqualified from driving for 14 months and was fined 620.

But DS McKechnie was allowed to retire from the Metropolitan Police Service, where he had been part of the North West Command Unit, on September 20 - just two days before an accelerated misconduct hearing.

The hearing heard that had he not retired he would have been dismissed for gross misconduct.

DS Stuart McKechnie, who was on duty but was in his own car, was driving on the M1 when he was involved in a collision with another vehicle on February 6 (stock image)

It heard that as he drove on the M1 he 'tried to take a risky manoeuvre' while under the influence, which resulted in the crash.

He caused actual harm to the person whose car he collided with but 'in terms of damage, the harm could have been far worse', the hearing was told.

In attempt to mitigate his offences, DS McKechnie pointed out that others who had committed worse actions have had lenient outcomes.

The Chair of the hearing said: 'Former DS McKechnie has specifically asked me to consider very personal mitigation.

'He asks me to consider his dedication to public service over many years and his resignation as reasons not to dismiss him, were he still serving.

'He claims that others who have behaved in a worse way (as he puts it) have had a more lenient outcome.

He was convicted of drink-driving and was disqualified from driving for 14 months. But DS McKechnie was allowed to retire just two days before a misconduct hearing (stock image)

'I have noted former DS McKechnie's long record of service, in a range of roles, mostly detective-based, and his promotion to Detective Sergeant.

'However, I also note his high level of sickness absence and concerns about his recent performance.'

Passing the judgement, the Chair said: 'It is unacceptable for police officers, who are responsible for upholding the law, to break the law themselves and to do so brings discredit on the service.

'In addition, in respect of fitness for duty, an on-duty officer who is driving when over the prescribed limit is unfit for the range of duties that fall his way, not confined to but obviously including driving.

'In this case, DS McKechnie was in fact involved in a collision, putting members of the public and himself in danger.'

The hearing concluded that nothing less than a dismissal, had he still been a serving officer, would be sufficient.

The Met Police will submit a report to the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) asking for pension forfeiture to be considered for DS McKechnie.

A Met Police spokesperson said: 'It is then for MOPAC to review the report and make a decision. If they decide forfeiture is appropriate they will submit the file to the Home Office for progression.'

They added: 'In accordance with the Police Pensions Regulations 1987 and current Home Office Guidance, pensions can only be forfeited for very specific reasons, one being if an officer is convicted of an offence committed in connection with their service.

'It is the responsibility of the Mayor's Office for Police and Crime to make pension forfeiture applications to the Home Secretary for consideration.'
Mike Tyson is vaccinated against COVID-19, but the former heavyweight champion boxer only did so out of necessity.

'I didn't do it willingly,' Tyson told USA Today. 'I'm a little apprehensive of that. I was pretty much beaten into submission to do this because I travel internationally. And if I don't travel, we don't eat.'

Tyson spoke to USA Today from the headquarters of his cannabis company, which is one of several businesses in which he's involved. He also regularly makes public appearances.

Mike Tyson, 55, is vaccinated against COVID-19 , but the former heavyweight champion boxer only did so out of necessity

'So I decided to take the risk and take the shot,' Tyson continued. 'And people, they have their own choice. I never got sick.'

The 55-year-old may have previously had COVID-19, he said, but is not sure.

'I was coughing a lot and I was in this place with a lot of people,' he said. 'The whole day I was just coughing, throwing up water, so I was dehydrated.'

The symptoms ultimately subsided.

'I might have caught it, but I feel great now,' he said. 'I really feel well. The best I ever felt.'

Mike Tyson poses in the locker room after his exhibition against Roy Jones Jr. at the Staples Center in Los Angeles last November

Tyson has not competed since last November, when he went eight full rounds with Roy Jones Jr. in a lackluster exhibition.

The US death toll from COVID-19 eclipsed 700,000 late Friday  a number greater than the population of Boston. The last 100,000 deaths occurred during a time when vaccines  which overwhelmingly prevent deaths, hospitalizations and serious illness  were available to any American over the age of 12.

The milestone is deeply frustrating to doctors, public health officials and the American public, who watched a pandemic that had been easing earlier in the summer take a dark turn. Tens of millions of Americans have refused to get vaccinated, allowing the highly contagious delta variant to tear through the country and send the death toll from 600,000 to 700,000 in 3 1/2 months.

Florida suffered by far the most death of any state during that period, with the virus killing about 17,000 residents since the middle of June. Texas was second with 13,000 deaths. The two states account for 15 percent of the country's population, but more than 30 percent of the nation's deaths since the nation crossed the 600,000 threshold.
Conservative comedian Greg Gutfeld's late night Fox News comedy show Gutfeld! has overtaken its rivals once again in ratings, beating out every other late night show in viewership, including Stephen Colbert's Late Show on CBS.

The feat is a strong indicator that Gutfeld's brand of mocking cancel culture and the woke left appears to have found a durable audience.

On Tuesday, Gutfeld! which airs at 11pm, took in a total of 2.120million viewers with 434,000 in the 25-to-54 age demographic coveted by advertisers.

It beat out Late Show in the 11.35pm time slot for the second time on record with total viewership of 1.896million on Tuesday with 423,000 in the key demographic.

It had done so before on August 17, drawing 2.12 million viewers, with about 434,000 in the key demographic compared to Colbert's 1.9 million total, with 423,000 in the 25-to-54 group.

Speaking on his own show's panel discussion in August, liberal comedian Bill Maher argued that Gutfeld's comedy resonated after liberals had made easy targets of themselves in recent years.

'I've been asked over the years many times, "Why isn't there a conservative comedy?" And I would always give the answer, which I think was the true answer, "There's not good fodder for it,"' he told his panel.

Fox News' Gutfeld! hosted by right-wing comedian Greg Gutfeld (pictured) has once again beaten Stephen Colbert's Late Show in ratings during the late-night show time slot, including in the key 25-to-54 age demographic

'You know, the liberals aren't crazy. This was my answer for many years.  Now, I don't think it's the same situation,' he said, according to Fox News.

Maher went on to list some examples.

'You know, "Three-year-olds pick their own gender" is an Onion headline,' he said, referring to the mock news outlet.

'You know, a lot of this stuff that's going on the left now, it's, you know, "Seattle votes to decriminalize crime." Now, the problem is that they don't know how to do comedy, but if they found someone who did, they could  Because comedy goes where the funny is. And there is funny on the left now as well as the right.'

Meanwhile on Tuesday, Jimmy Kimmel's Live on ABC stood at 1.978million total viewers, with 301,000 in the 25-through-54 demographic, and Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show on NBC fell even further behind, with 1.216 total viewers, and 354,000 in the target demographic.

Gutfeld! has struggled to overtake Colbert in terms of viewership, but had done so before in August 17

Gutfeld has regularly outperformed both Kimmel and Fallon in the time slot, but has struggled to overtake the Late Show, The Wrap reported.

Colbert still managed to beat Gutfeld in the 18-to-49 demographic with 322,000 viewers to Gutfeld's 281,000.

The right-leaning comedian has not made a secret about his brand of comedy, with Fox launching his show with a billboard in Hollywood announcing that 'Cancel Culture Just Got Cancelled!' along with a photo of Gutfeld pointing towards the El Capitan Theatre, where Kimmel shoots his program, The Wrap also reported.

Fox also bought ads during his rival's shows, including NBC's Late Night with Seth Meyers and CBS' The Late Late Show with James Cordon as well as on Conan and Full Frontal with Samantha Bee.

Gutfeld! however, has routinely trounced other late-night rivals Jimmy Kimmel (left) and Jimmy Fallon

Due to prejudices about what subjects comedy can tackle, Gutfeld! has become somewhat of a sleeper success, according to media academics Nick Marx and Matt Sienkiewicz, writing for Nieman Lab.

While Gutfeld!'s comedy centers on 'owning the libs' with sketches, jokes and one-liners, they say his show has all the mainstream familiarity of a standard late night show.

His popularity, they argued, has been also made invisible by social media algorithms that bury jokes that might offend, as well as preconceptions about what comedy can be, leading other comedians to dismiss right-wing humor.
A group of Republican governors convened at the southern border on Wednesday to demand President Joe Biden more directly address the migration crisis  including by finishing the wall.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who was flanked by nine other GOP state leaders, said the president has refused to meet with them over this issue and lamented he has still not visited the border the U.S. shares with Mexico.

'This is one of, if not the most urgent matter that we're facing,' Abbott said.

A group of 25 GOP governors sent a letter to Biden 16 days ago demanding a meeting with the president, but have not yet heard back from the White House.

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey said during the press conference on Wednesday: 'The situation here is certainly outrageous It's a tragedy. And I can tell you the border situation is just as out of control in Arizona.'

Abbott, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts all spoke at the press briefing in Texas. Also present were Governors Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, Mike DeWine of Ohio, Brian Kemp of Georgia, Brad Little of Idaho, Greg Gianforte of Montana and Mark Jordan of Wyoming.

A group of 10 Republican governors, led by Texas' Greg Abbott, convened on Wednesday at the southern border to demand the Biden administration act to address the crisis there

'This is one of, if not the most urgent matter that we're facing,' Abbott said as he claimed the White House has not responded to a letter sent last month where GOP governors requested a meeting with the president to discuss the southern border crisis

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp posted a video to Twitter after the press conference claiming: 'The Biden Administration must act'

'There are three people to blame for making America a more dangerous place: President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and [Department of Homeland Security] Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas,' Ducey said. 'It's no secret anymore  they have created this crisis, and Americans know it.'

'This year President Biden took the oath of office,' he continued, 'instead of commanding our military, he's commanded drug cartels and other criminals to wreak havoc on the United States.'

Ducey demanded, 'it's time for them to do something about it,' claiming Biden is either 'unwilling to solve this crisis, or he doesn't know how.'

Following the meeting, Kemp posted a video to Twitter taken on his phone in the car where he wrote: 'Just wrapped up a briefing on the border crisis alongside my fellow governors. One thing is clear - the Biden Administration must act.'

The governors laid out things they feel will more aptly address the southern border crisis than what the administration is currently doing, including by restarting the Trump-era Migrant Protection Protocols or the so-called 'Remain in Mexico' policy.

They also demanded that Biden enforce Title 42, which is a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stipulation that allows more ready deportation during a nation-wide health emergency. The Biden administration has said it is using Title 42 to deport illegal immigrants.

Biden's former Border Security Chief Rodney Scott told Fox on Tuesday that the U.S. paid $5 million per day to not continue construction of Trump's border wall

Finishing the wall, the group maintained on Wednesday, is still a major priority to stop the mass influx of migrants through the southern border.

Biden's former Border Security Chief Rodney Scott told Fox News on Tuesday that at one point the U.S. was paying $5 million per day to not continue construction of Trump's border wall, which the administration halted building on Day 1.

'Many of those projects today are just still on hold, so we're paying contractors,' Scott told Special Report host Bret Baier. 'For a while, it was almost $5 million a day between DoD [Department of Defense] and DHS [Department of Homeland Security] to not build the border wall.'

Scott also said that he was very forward with Biden that if all Trump-era initiatives to quell migration were stopped, then it would cause a disaster at the southern border.

'We made it very clear that if we dropped all of the initiatives that have been put in place over the last several years that we would get an influx of mass migration that we would not be able to control,' he said.
A new poll reveals President Biden's lowest approval rating yet, as Congress remains at an impasse at the sweeping spend plans that will define his presidency and the threat of debt default loom.

Just 38% approve of Biden's job as president, and 53% disapprove, according to a poll from Quinnipiac University. Three weeks ago, the same poll found that 42% approved and 50% disapproved.

Thirty-two percent of Independents approve of Biden while 60% disapprove. Four percent of Republicans approve, 94% disapprove. Still, 80% of Democrats approve of the president's job overall and 10% disapprove.

Thirty-two percent of Independents approve of Biden while 60% disapprove. Four percent of Republicans approve, 94% disapprove. Still, 80% of Democrats approve of the president's job overall and 10% disapprove.

Biden received his lowest marks on immigration, where only 25% approve and 67% disapprove, and also received low marks on his 'first love,' foreign policy, where only 34% approved and 58% disapproved.

Of his job as commander-in-chief, 37% approved, 58% disapproved, according to the poll.

Roughly three in 10 Americans (28%) agreed with Biden's decision to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan, while 50% think the US should have withdrawn some troops but not all troops and 15% think the US should not have withdrawn any troops from Afghanistan.

Of the president's job as commander-in-chief, 37% of poll respondents approved, 58% disapproved

Quinnipiac poll from October 1-4

Biden scored his highest marks on his Covid-19 response, where 48% approve and 50% disapprove.

On the economy and taxes, Biden scored 39% and 37% approval respectively.

Only 5% of Americans say they are very satisfied with the way things are going today, while 23 percent say they are somewhat satisfied.

The university polled 1,326 US adults from October 1-4.

Public opinion soured for the president after his frenzied withdrawal from Afghanistan that left 13 Americans dead in the aftermath. Biden also caught heat for skyrocketing numbers of migrants at the southern border that have led to overcrowded facilities.

The Department of Homeland Security is preparing for as many as 400,000 to arrive at the southern border, nearly double the 21-year high seen in July.

Meanwhile, Democrats are scrambling for a way to raise the nation's debt limit without help from Republicans , after they've had to push aside Biden's $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation plan.

Progressives will not allow the House to pass another $1.1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill until the Senate passes the $3.5T plan, but moderate Democrats Joe Manchin, W. Va., and Kyrsten Sinema, Ariz., have said they will not support a number that high.

The president, knowing the fate of the two spending bills will come to define his presidency, is trying to negotiate a path between the two factions of his party and has conceded the overall price tag will have to come down.

The poll also reflects a notable decline in public opinion of the president's character. Only 49% now believe the president cares about average Americans, when in April that number was 58%.
A fugitive bodybuilder wanted for the murder of his influencer wife shot himself dead moments after US Marshals caught up with him.

Tom Sharkey, whose influencer wife Alexis Sharkey was found naked and strangled by the side of a road in Houston in November 2020, was himself found dead from a gunshot wound to the head.

He died at his daughter's house in Fort Myers, Florida, just before midnight Tuesday, shortly after Marshals made contact, with a relative saying he'd run up the stairs and pulled the trigger on himself.

Marshals issued a warrant for his arrest on September 29, and had tracked Sharkey down to his daughter's home the day before they went to arrest him.

Sharkey was found dead inside moments after cops knocked on the door, with his son and daughter opening it and walking out, before investigators went inside and found the grim scene.

US Marshals confirmed the 49-year-old Sharkey's death to KHOU 11 Wednesday morning. They've yet to confirm it was a suicide, but say no suspects are being sought over the shooting.

Houston police revealed that their investigation determined that Tom Sharkey was the only person with the 'means, motive and opportunity' to have committed the murder.

Tom Sharkey, who's influencer wife Alexis Sharkey was found naked and dead late last year in Houston, was himself found dead from a gunshot wound to the head

They established a history of domestic violence between the couple. They also said Tom Sharkey had lied to believe and they had developed probable cause and an arrest warrant.

Police described Sharkey as 'evasive' throughout the investigation, saying he left Texas not long after his wife's death. Detectives made efforts in late July and early August to meet with him while he was living in Georgia, but he suddenly no-showed and dropped out of contact, coming up with what officials called a 'bizarre' explanation for his disappearance.

The plan was to charge him with murder. A task force determined he was in the Fort Myers, Florida area where he was staying with a relative.

They were able to make contact with him at around 10 p.m. Tuesday night. Sharkey was not aware he was wanted for murder until police showed up at the residence.

Social media influencer Alexis Sharkey's autopsy has revealed she was strangled to death after her naked body was found dumped by the side of the road in Texas over Thanksgiving 2020.

Sharkey vanished on November 27 after allegedly having a fight with her husband Tom.

Social media influencer Alexis Sharkey's autopsy has revealed she was strangled to death after her naked body was found dumped by the side of the road in Texas over Thanksgiving 2020

Her naked body was found on a roadside in Houston the following day by a sanitation department worker who spotted her feet in some bushes.

Police said at the time that her body showed no signs of visible wounds, which led to initial speculation she may have overdosed.

Her body was found about three miles from the apartment she shared with her husband.

Alexis Sharkey had moved to West Texas from Florida, where she met and married Tom Sharkey, whom she was first photographed with in October of 2018, and became a full-time social media influencer. They were married in December of 2019 and moved to Houston in January of 2020.

Friends revealed after her death that she was trying to file for divorce from her husband and that he had allegedly abused her. Detectives confirmed that while divorce papers had not been filed, there was evidence that it was going to happen soon.

Friends revealed after her death that she was trying to file for divorce from her husband and that he had allegedly abused her. Her husband has publicly denied those allegations. They are pictured together on Halloween last year

They say Sharkey, who had more than 21,000 followers on Instagram and regularly shared updates about her life, had confided in them on a recent trip to Mexico that she feared for her life but it was not clear why

Her husband has publicly denied those allegations, saying that Sharkey was unhappy and stressed at the time

They say Sharkey, who had more than 21,000 followers on Instagram and regularly shared updates about her life, had confided in them on a recent trip to Mexico that she feared for her life but it was not clear why.

Her husband has publicly denied those allegations, saying that Sharkey was unhappy and stressed at the time.

'She wasn't happy. She was stressed. I would cuddle her to try to make her strong. She was an amazing woman,' Tom told KTRK-TV at the time.

'My wife was an amazing woman. She really was. There's always other sides to everything. I was the one holding her, cuddling her, and building her back up.

'I don't need to set the record straight. I'll let it play out the way it is. I know what my life was with my wife.'

Sharkey's mother Stacey Robinault had always been convinced that her daughter was murdered.

Robinault told ABC13 at the time that her son-in-law had called to say Sharkey was missing a day after he had last seen her.

Sharkey's mother said that her daughter 'had an argument' with her husband before leaving the house without her car.

Tom denied that he got into a fight with his wife the night she went missing.

He said that just before she disappeared, he urged his wife not to leave their home as she was 'under the influence' but he did not elaborate further.

'We didn't fight when she left,' he said. 'I just told her she couldn't drive under the influence. She left anyhow. This is where we're at.'

Robinault revealed last month that she had to fight her son-in-law to get custody of Sharkey's body in order to bury her in her home state of Pennsylvania.

'As her husband, he would have primary custody of what determined what happened with her, and he had said all along that he was willing to let her come home,' Robinault told FOX26.

She said Tom eventually stopped cooperating with the family.

'It just was a very strange - I'd almost call it - fight to get her,' Robinault said.

'I didn't think I was gonna get her, and I had actually given up hope, when all of the sudden the forensics lab called me.'

The medical examiner eventually made Robinault the next of kin after two weeks of inaction from Tom.

The couple had been married about a year and had moved to Houston a year prior to her death.

Sharkey's friends said she 'had no demons' and told friends a month ago that she feared for her life.

A photo, reported by KHOU to be one of the last known images of Alexis before her death shows her smiling with two friends at Thanksgiving.

A photo, believed to be the last known image of Alexis, right, shows her smiling with friends

Alexis' body was found just three miles from friend Tanya Ricardo's home. The last time they spoke was Friday evening; they had plans to watch movies Saturday.

Following news of her death Alexis' husband Tom paid tribute calling her 'the most amazing woman'. Tom shared pictures of his late wife in her wedding dress

Robinault said she had been discussing Christmas plans with her daughter in the days before she disappeared. Alexis, who had more than 21,000 followers on Instagram, regularly shared updates about her life, most recently a trip to Mexico

Her husband of a year Tom, 49, told KTRK-TV that she was not the outgoing, bubbly person that she appeared to be on social media, calling her 'stressed and unhappy'.

But her friends Lauren Breaux, Ally Cale, and Courtney Ehninger on Wednesday told ABC17: 'She had no demons. She didn't have demons and I know that is what people are speculating and that's not what it was.

'She was literally one of the people that I think had the most life in her.'

Police are now said to be looking into her marriage and her home life in the weeks before her death.

Breaux said: 'We don't know what happened. We obviously have had ideas. We believe she was murdered, absolutely.

'I'm going to be honest, she confided in me about how worried she was for her safety when we went to Marfa, Texas almost a month ago.

'We were sitting down at dinner and she lost it. We walked back to our hotel room and she confided in me that night in things. I looked at her [and thought], 'She's petrified. This girl is scared for her life.''

The friends declined to say who it was that Alexis was scared of in the weeks before her death.

Her friends Lauren Breaux, Ally Cale, and Courtney Ehninger on Wednesday told ABC17 : 'She had no demons. She didn't have demons and I know that is what people are speculating and that's not what it was. 'She was literally one of the people that I think had the most life in her'

One friend, Tanya Ricardo, who had spent Thanksgiving with Alexis, told Khou 'divorce was being filed'.

Two other friends also told The Daily Beast that Alexis complained that her husband hit her and was controlling and manipulative.

Alexis friends said that her behavior changed recently as she was posting less on social media. They also said she wanted to be around her friends more often so as to avoid going home.

I know they were going through some things, one of Alexis friends, Kendra Martin, told The Daily Beast.

She had mentioned being separated even though they were still living in the same apartment.

I actually pulled her aside two weeks ago to let her know Im here for her, and that I know something is going on because her demeanor had changed over the last month.

Alexis, second right, had more than 21,000 followers on Instagram and regularly shared updates about her life, most recently a trip to Mexico. Her friends say it was on this trip that she confided she feared for her life
Teen celebrity chef Fuller Goldsmith has died from cancer just days before his 18th birthday, after battling leukemia disease five times.

Goldsmith, best known for winning Chopped Junior in 2017 at age 13, was first diagnosed with leukemia at the age of three.

The teen chef had been declared cancer-free after his fourth round of the disease in August 2020, but unfortunately relapsed again in February 2021.

In a series of Instagram posts that month, Fuller announced that doctors had found a brain tumor and he would have to go through an operation and 12 weeks of radiation and chemotherapy.

Fuller Goldsmith, 17, died on Tuesday from leukemia after battling five rounds of the disease

Goldsmith is best known for winning Chopped Junior in 2017 at the age of 13

He said he had been experiencing nausea and dizziness for weeks before his doctor found the brain tumor.

On February 28, Goldsmith confirmed to his fans that the brain tumor was indeed his 'leukemia trying to come back.'

'Unfortunately the news regarding the tumor was not what I was hoping. The same Leukemia is back,' he wrote on Instagram. 'Round 5 - Im ready to fight!'

Although the Alabama teen kept his cancer battle mostly private throughout the years, he told the panel of judges in 2017: 'When I was diagnosed, Chopped was the only thing that got me up and cooking.

Goldsmith was diagnosed first with the disease at the age of three and recently relapsed for the fifth time in February after his doctors found a brain tumor

Goldsmith (pictured front left) was in remission during the time of filming Chopped Junior

His mother Melissa told This Is Alabama that Goldsmith began showing interested in cooking around three years old. Although his family didn't 'necessarily eat' all the meals he made, he would 'get in the kitchen and play.'

His passion for cooking didn't leave him and he continued to get better and better and dreamed of attending the Culinary Institute of America in New York City.

At the age of 13, Goldsmith signed himself up for Chopped Junior by pretending to be his mom on the application.

'We didn't realize how talented he was until he went and won Chopped Junior. I guess when he cooks all day at home we take it for granted,' she told This Is Alabama in a past interview.

'When he applied for it, I really didn't think anything about it. He went online, he said it was me, and he signed up for Chopped Junior.'

Two days later, Melissa would get a call from the show, which is based in New York City, inviting her son on the show.

The teen chef announced in February his leukemia had returned and he needed 12 sessions of radiation followed by chemotherapy

He stayed optimistic and told fans he was 'ready to fight!'

Goldsmith won the show after making a beer-battered catfish with okra, an ingredient guest judge Zachary Quinto from the "Star Trek" films had a bad experience with as a child.

Goldsmith was able to win the star over, landing a $10,000 prize, which he donated to the Division of Hematology and Pediatric Oncology at Birmingham Childrens Hospital.

'You know, that's a real piece of okra there that I ate, and I actually liked it,' Quinto told Goldsmith on the show in 2017.

Goldsmith had made many friends in the food industry, including celebrity chef Guy Fieri and the father of the owner of Southern Ale House in Goldsmith's hometown Tuscaloosa Cal Holt, who wrote on Facebook 'Our collective hearts are broken'

It wasn't just Quinto's hearts and taste buds he captured, but celebrity chef Guy Fieri and Cal Holt, father of Justin Holt, who runs Southern Ale House in Tuscaloosa, where Goldsmith is from.

The teen chef frequented the kitchens of Southern Ale House, helping to prepare and create food for customers and was considered a 'little brother' to Brett Garner, the restaurant's executive chef.

'Our collective hearts are broken. The SAH family lost our much loved and respected Fuller Goldsmith today,' Colt wrote on Facebook.

'He spent a lot of time in the [Southern Ale House] kitchen helping prep, serve, and create recipes. We will miss his presence, his smile, his laugh, his banter back and forth with Brett, and his grit as fought the aches and pains of a terrible disease. He will be missed but forever remembered.'
A Conservative politician has claimed newer MPs are being left in a 'desperately difficult' situation because of their 82,000-a-year pay packet.

Tory stalwart Sir Peter Bottomley says he is not sure how MPs 'manage' on the current salary - which is around 50,000-a-year higher than the UK average.

The Worthing West representative, whose wife Virginia is a Tory peer and former minister, has called on MPs to be paid more than 100,000-a-year.

The 77-year-old, who holds the title of 'Father of the House of Commons' as the current longest serving MP, says such a salary will bring politicians in line with GPs.

Speaking to the New Statesmen, he said: 'I take the view that being an MP is the greatest honour you could have, but a general practitioner in politics ought to be paid roughly the same as a general practitioner in medicine.

Tory stalwart Sir Peter Bottomley (pictured) says he is not sure how MPs 'manage' on the current salary - which is around 50,000-a-year higher than the UK average

Doctors are paid far too little nowadays. But if they would get roughly 100,000 a year, the equivalent for an MP to get the same standard of living would be 110-115,000 a year.

What are MPs entitled to? - A basic salary of 81,932-a-year (as of April 2021) - An increased salary for appointments such as ministerial roles - Expenses to cover the cost of work-related expenditure - MPs are entitled to claim 9,000-a-year for postage and stationery - They also receive allowances towards having somewhere to live in London and in their constituency. - MPs can also claim back travel costs between Parliament and their constituency - They also receive a pension which is either 1/40th or 1/50th of their final pensionable salary for each year Advertisement

'Its never the right time, but if your MP isnt worth the money, its better to change the MP than to change the money.

Although he said he currently is not struggling financially, he believes the situation is desperately difficult for his newer colleagues.

He added: I dont know how they manage. Its really grim.

Each of the UK's 650 MPs are paid a standard salary of 81,932-a-year. Those who hold roles such as in the cabinet are paid a higher salary, including the Prime Minister, who earns 157,372.

On top of this, MPs are given expenses to cover work-related costs. These include office running costs, staffing costs and reimbursing staff for travel expenses.

MPs are entitled to claim 9,000-a-year for postage and stationery and receive allowances towards having somewhere to live in London and in their constituency, and travelling between Parliament and their constituency.

They also receive a pension which is either 1/40th or 1/50th of their final pensionable salary for each year, depending on their preference.

Meanwhile, the average Briton earned 31,461 for the tax year ending 5 April 2020 - up 3.6 per cent on the previous year.

The average GP salary meanwhile is around 98,000-a-year. GPs need a 5-year degree in medicine, recognised by the General Medical Council, as well as a 2-year foundation course of general training and a 3-year specialist training course in general practice.

Each of the UK's 650 MPs are paid a standard salary of 81,932-a-year. Those who hold roles such as in the cabinet are paid a higher salary, including the Prime Minister, who earns 157,372

MPs do not require any qualifications, though many MPs have university degrees and other qualifications acquired in careers before entering politics.

Sir Peter, for example, studied economics at Cambridge University before being elected as the Conservative MP for Woolwich West in 1975.

He held the seat, later changed to Eltham, until 1997, before being elected to the West Worthing seat - which he still holds today.

Sir Peter is married to Baroness Bottomley of Nettlestone, Virginia Bottomley, who served as Secretary of State for National Heritage in John Major's Government.

His comments come as the Universal Credit uplift ended yesterday, despite calls for it to be extended.

The 20-a-week uplift was put in to help families struggling during the coronavirus pandemic and lockdowns.

It means couples over 25 who claim Universal Credit from this month will be given 509.91-a-month - the equivalent of around 6,000-a-year. Those under 25 and single people receive less still.

People can claim more money on top of the standard allowance if eligible.
President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping have agreed to hold a virtual meeting before the end of the year, according to a senior U.S. administration official.

It comes amid escalating warnings that tension over the self-ruled island of Taiwan could trigger war.

China has launched a string of aerial sorties, flying dozens of warplanes near the island, which Beijing considers part of its territory.

Arrangements for the meeting still need to be sorted out, said the senior administration official in a call with reporters.

The agreement for a more formal leaders' meeting came as White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan and senior Chinese foreign policy adviser Yang Jiechi met Wednesday in Zurich for six hours of talks.

It followed some of the starkest warnings yet by Taiwan's defense minister, who said China will be ready to mount a full-scale invasion of the island by 2025.

President Biden and Xi Jinping of China have agreed to a virtual meeting before the end of the year, according to a senior administration official

Chiu Kuo-cheng, giving a speech to parliament today defending $8.6billion in new military spending, said Beijing 'has the capacity' to attack immediately - but is looking to reduce the costs it must bear before giving the order.

'By 2025, China will bring the cost and attrition to its lowest [point],' he said, adding that the current standoff is 'the most serious' he has seen in 40 years with the risk of a 'misfire' in the Taiwan Strait now very high.

China has dramatically stepped up its military operations around the island - flying 150 aircraft close-by at the weekend in a huge show of force coinciding with its National Day holiday.

At the same time, Beijing's mouthpiece media has been warning that it is 'only a matter of time' before the island falls into their hands and that World War Three could be triggered 'at any time'.

Beijing's sabre-rattling has not gone unanswered, with Britain's HMS Queen Elizabeth leading a huge naval exercise in the Philippine Sea at the weekend alongside US and Japanese aircraft carriers.

Taiwan has warned that China will be ready for a full-scale invasion of the island by 2025, ramping up tensions further after the UK's Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier led a huge naval exercise alongside the US and Japan in the region at the weekend

HMS Queen Elizabeth (far left) led Japan's JS ISE (second left) and US aircraft carriers USS Carl Vinson and USS Ronald Reagan (third left) at the head of a joint strike group that included a dozen other warships and support vessels

And Biden on Tuesday sought to reassure a nervous public - saying that he had spoken with Xi and the pair had 'agreed to abide by the Taiwan agreement' - though the call itself appears to be a month old and it was not immediately clear what agreement he was referring to.

It seems Biden was talking about the Taiwan Relations Act, under which America agreed to the establishment of diplomatic ties with Beijing under the condition that the future of Taiwan be decided peacefully.

The act also commits the US to provide Taiwan with weapons to defend itself, in exchange for Washington taking no position on the island's sovereignty and recognising that the island belongs to Beijing as part of 'one China'.

Biden's last on-the-record call with Xi was on September 9. The White House had not previously disclosed that Taiwan formed part of their talks.

Meanwhile a group of French senators are also visiting the self-governing island today in a further show of support for its democratic leaders, and despite pressure from Beijing to call off the visit.

The group, led by senator Alain Richard, will meet with President Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwanese economic and health officials and the Mainland Affairs Council.

Richard, a former French defense minister, previously visited Taiwan in 2015 and 2018, according to Taiwan's semi-official Central News Agency, and heads the Taiwan Friendship group in the French senate.

The visit comes despite French anger at a new alliance signed between Australia, the UK, and US to provide the former with its first nuclear submarines - which saw an earlier pact between Canberra and Paris dramatically torn up.

Leaders insist the new alliance - dubbed AUKUS - is not aimed at any country, but few observers doubt it is designed as a counter-balance to Chinese power in the South China Sea, where Taiwan is located.

Taiwan is ruled by the Republic of China, a group which previously controlled the country and fought against the Communist Party when it first emerged during China's civil war.

The Republic of China views itself as an autonomous country, while China sees it as a breakaway province.

America had backed the government in Taipei as China's legitimate rulers until 1979, when Jimmy Carter announced that he would recognise the Communist government in Beijing and establish diplomatic relations.

The Taiwan Relations Act was passed in response, granting the island near-nation status and mandating that the US continue to sell weapons to its government.

Long-standing tensions between Taiwan and the mainland have been growing since 2019, when President Xi gave a speech committing himself to the 'reunification' of the island with China - saying he will use force if he deems it necessary.

The US has a long-standing policy of 'strategic ambiguity' towards the island's defence, refusing to say what it would do if a foreign force attacks.

Biden recently suggested that he would be willing to go to war if China invaded, though aides insisted that he had misspoken.

Nearly 150 Chinese warplanes have breached Taiwan's airspace since Friday, including 52 aircraft that flew in a single sortie on Monday (pictured) in Beijing's largest show-of-force yet

A Taiwan flag is carried across the sky on Tuesday during a national day rehearsal in Taipei, Taiwan,

Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen on Tuesday vowed to 'do whatever it takes' to guard Taiwan against invasion as she indicated that without help from the country's allies 'authoritarianism has the upper hand over democracy.'

Tsai added: '[Democratic nations] should remember that if Taiwan were to fall, the consequences would be catastrophic for regional peace and the democratic system.

'It would signal that in today's global contest of values, authoritarianism has the upper hand over democracy.'

Taiwan hopes for peaceful coexistence with China, she said, but 'if its democracy and way of life are threatened, Taiwan will do whatever it takes to defend itself.'

Tsai's government on Monday urged Beijing to stop 'irresponsible provocative actions' after the warplanes breached Taiwan's air defence identification zone (ADIZ).

'Amid almost daily intrusions by the People's Liberation Army, our position on cross-strait relations remains constant: Taiwan will not bend to pressure,' Tsai added.

The ADIZ is not the same as Taiwan's territorial airspace but includes a far greater area that overlaps with part of China's own air defence identification zone and even includes some of the mainland.

Chinese state media on Monday accompanied the military incursion with threats to Taiwan.

Global Times editor Hu Xijin tweeted that it is 'only a matter of time before Taiwan's separatist authorities fall' - describing the weekend's show-of-force as a 'military parade' to mark China's National Day on October 1.

An editorial in the same newspaper then added that - unlike the 'guard of honour' in traditional parades - the planes flown towards Taiwan at the weekend 'are fighting forces aimed at actual combat'.

'The increase in the number of aircraft showed the PLA Air Force's operational capabilities,' the newspaper said, adding: 'It is a clear and unmistakable declaration of China's sovereignty over the island.'

Chiu Kuo-cheng, Taiwan's defence minister, said Beijing 'has the capacity' to attack the island now but is working to reduce the losses it will suffer as a result - with the 'low point' being reached within the next four years

The operations are designed to familiarise pilots with 'battlefield conditions' so that 'once the order to attack is given' they will be able to fight like 'experienced veterans', the editorial concluded.

'There is no doubt about the future of the situation across the Taiwan Straits.

'The initiative of when and how to solve the Taiwan question is firmly in the hands of the Chinese mainland.'

China has flown near-daily missions into Taiwan's airspace since the start of the year, the island's government has said, though most comprise only one aircraft.

But that changed dramatically at the weekend, with 38 planes flown into the 'air defence identification zone' on Friday.

The planes flew in two separate sorties, the first of which comprised 25 aircraft and flew during the day followed by 19 aircraft which flew at night.

On Saturday, another 39 aircraft flew in two separate sorties - one of 20 aircraft during the day and another of 19 aircraft at night.

Sunday saw an additional 16 planes fly close to the island in a single incursion.

Then, on Monday, 52 planes entered the zone in the single-biggest mission to date - before another six arrived later.

Flight tracking data published by Taiwan shows the largest mission involved a total of 36 fighter jets - 34 J-16s and two Russian-made Su-30s.

They were accompanying 12 H-6 nuclear capable bombers, two Y-8 anti-submarine warfare aircraft, and two KJ-500 early warning and control planes.

All flew a short distance into the ADIZ between Taiwan's mainland and the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Island.

Taiwan's ADIZ is a zone in which it requires all foreign aircraft to identify themselves and state their intentions. It is different to the island's sovereign airspace, which extends over a smaller area 12 nautical miles from its coast.

Taipei said it scrambled fighters, broadcast radio warnings and activated missile defences in response. A short time later, the Chinese aircraft turned back.
A US Air Force veteran has blasted America's drone policy, saying fear and a failure to collect proper intelligence led to the botched strike that killed an Afghan aid worker, two other men and seven children in Kabul in August.

Ian Fritz, served in the Air Force from 2008 to 2013 as an airborne cryptologic linguist. While he himself has not flown a drone, he has gathered intelligence and orchestrated strikes by drones and helicopter gunships.

He says his Air Force record attributes him with 123 enemies killed in action.

Fritz criticized the culture around America's use of drones and its intelligence gathering skills, saying it can be blinded by 'fear of the enemy.'

'We wholeheartedly believe that our intelligence is so good, our weapons so accurate, and our mission so righteous that anyone who gets caught in the crossfire, or the Hellfire, is worth it. Even kids,' Fritz wrote in The Atlantic.

The Pentagon has revealed that Zemari Ahmadi, 43, had been mistaken for an ISIS-K terrorist as they both drove a white 1996 Toyota Corolla and intelligence officers mistook bottles of water in Ahmadi's car for bomb supplies.

Ahmadi was killed in the Kabul drone strike on August 29 along with three of his children, Zamir, 20, Faisal, 16, and Farzad, 10; his cousin Naser, 30; three of his brother Romal's children, Arwin, 7, Benyamin, 6, and Hayat, 2; and two 3-year-old girls, Malika and Somaya.

US Air Force Veteran Ian Fritz

PICTURED: The 10 victims mistakenly killed by a US drone strike which was targeting ISIS-K in Afghanistan

US intelligence officials ordered a drone strike at the residence of Afghan aid worker Zemari Ahmadi as they mistook his car for that belonging to an ISIS-K terrorist

Neighbors came to the scene that left Zemari and the nine other victims dead on August 29

'The strike was a tragic mistake,' Head of US Central Command Gen. Frank McKenzie said.

Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley had previously called it a 'righteous strike.'

The Pentagon is currently conducting a review of the botched strike to determine if the US needs to alter its drone use policy for future missions.

'I'd like to believe that America will conduct fewer strikes like this in the future. But the truth is, I have reasonable certainty that the review, like the ones before it, won't change a thing,' Fritz wrote.

While Fritz sympathizes with intelligence officers who made the call on that chaotic day in August, he demanded the Air Force step up it efforts to make sure no innocent civilians become victims.

'Yes, the stakes were highhigher than they've been in a long time. But is firing a Hellfirea 100-pound missile with a 20-pound warhead, a missile that melts legs to wallsinto a city ever going to be worth it when we don't truly know who's on the receiving end of it?

Drone footage showed the fireball from the courtyard, which the Pentagon believed was proof of explosives in the car. They now say that a nearby propane tank was likely ignited by the missile

Fritz said the US classified military-age male targets as any male deemed a threat, but said that such a definition was not reasonable and that drone strikes in Afghanistan did not need approval from the president.

He added that during the Obama administration that he served under, which began normalizing the use of drone strikes, 'any male who died in a strike was counted as a combatant' regardless of age or affiliation.

'When you hunt humans for the U.S. military... there is no concern about minimizing the suffering of legitimate targets, and there is no need for a clean kill,' he wrote.

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, a non-profit organization, reported that the US has conducted at least 13,072 drone strikes in Afghanistan from January 2015 to March 2020.

The bureau estimates that between 4,000 to 10,000 people have been killed in the strikes, with at least 66 children killed among the estimated 300 civilian victims.

Some of the families of the victims from the August 29 drone strike have demanded compensation from the US, while others fully condemned the nation and said they would not accept anything from America.

Ahmadi's 24-year-old stepson Samim Ahmadi told The Washington Post that 'the situation in Afghanistan is not good'. He added: 'Whether in America or another country, we want peace and comfort for our remaining years.

'Everyone makes mistakes. The Americans cannot bring back our loved ones, but they can take us out of here.'

Ahmadi's brother Emal (pictured), 32, said: 'The US government must punish those who launched the drone strike

Ahmadi's brother Emal, 32, who was just feet away from the remains of the car after the blast, said: 'We didn't have any money to bury our relatives. We had to borrow funds.'

And while he said he is 'happy' the Pentagon has acknowledged the miscalculations that led to his brother's death, 'forgiveness' is too strong a word, as reported by The Post.

The Ahmadis also said the Americans responsible for the tragic mistake - the commander who oversaw the strike, the drone operator or anyone else who had visuals on the ground - need to be taken to court.

Emal said: 'The US government must punish those who launched the drone strike. They knew and saw there were children on the ground. Can anyone bring them back?'
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday offered a deal to Democrats that would let them raise the debt ceiling to December as long as they put a price tag on it.

But he refused to lift the Republican blockade to longterm increase of the nation's borrowing limit, reiteriating his offer to help Democrats do that through a process called reconciliation, which Democrats don't want to do.

McConnell instead offered to 'allow Democrats to use normal procedures to pass an emergency debt limit extension at a fixed dollar amount to cover current spending levels into December.'

His deal would simply kick the can down the road a few months.

Senate Democrats came out of an afternoon caucus meeting sounding positive about the offer to raise the debt limit until December and tried to paint it as a victory.

McConnell caved, said Senator Elizabeth Warren.

Senator Bernie Sanders said McConnell finally saw the light on offering a solution that could pass quickly.

I think it's great that (McConnells) folded and we're gonna move our agenda and we're gonna take care of the debt ceiling and then we're going to go on and pass infrastructure, said Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth.

Were not gonna do reconciliation, she said, which other Democratic senators echoed.

The key words in McConnell's offer are 'a fixed dollar amount.' Republicans want Democrats to raise the debt ceiling by a specific number and are filibustering a House-passed bill that would suspend the debt limit through December 2022 - after the midterm election.

But the GOP, in turn, are then likely to use that number against Democrats in the midterm elections as they try to take control of Congress.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki wouldn't comment on reports Democrats were leaning toward accepting McConnell's deal. There has been no response from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Some Democrats didn't like the offer.

'It's bulls***,' Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii told reporters on Capitol Hill.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell offered a deal to Democrats that would let them raise the debt ceiling to December as long as they put a price tag on it

But with the clock ticking to October 18th - the day the Treasury Department said it will run out of money and have to default - Democrats are running out of options.

They suffered another blow Wednesday when Senator Joe Manchin made it clear Wednesday he opposes changing the Senate rules to bypass the legislative filibuster in order to raise the debt ceiling.

'I've been very very clear where I stand on the filibuster. Nothing changes,' Manchin told reporters outside of his Senate office.

Some Democratic senators wanted to go 'nuclear' - a legislative move that would allow them to bypass the filibuster, the rule that requires 60 votes to advance legislation in the Senate.

It takes a majority of 51 votes to use the 'nuclear option' and, in the 50-50 Senate Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer would need every one of his Democrats on board plus Vice President Kamala Harris to break the tie.

President Biden appears to be on board with that option.

'I think that's a real possibility,' he told reporters on Tuesday.

Manchin has been clear he opposes getting rid of the filibuster but, on Wednesday, he clarified he would oppose removing it in the case of a single piece of legislation - in this case the raising of the debt ceiling.

He also implored Schumer and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell to come together and find a way out of the legislative mess.

'I implore them to engage, start working, work this out. This should not be a crisis,' he said.

Senator Joe Manchin opposes changing the Senate rules to bypass the legislative filibuster in order to raise the debt ceiling

McConnell has been clear that none of his GOP lawmakers are on board to help raise the nation's $28.4 trillion borrowing cap through regular legislative order

He has adviced Democrats to use a process called reconciliation - which also bypasses the 60 vote threshold - to raise the debt limit.

Democrats have publicly ruled this out, saying there isn't enough time before October 18 deadline, when Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned the nation will hit the debt ceiling. Te nation has not - in modern history - defaulted on its debt.

To use reconciliation, it would take up a considerable amount of Senate time as Democrats would have to start at the beginning of the legislative process.

Additionally, if Democrats use reconcilation, they also would have to raise the borrowing limit by a certain number instead of by a date - a figure Republicans are sure to use against them in the 2022 midterm election.

Biden and Schumer argue they will have Democrats raise the debt limit with their 50 Senate votes if Republicans will just give them the 10 votes to move it to that final step in the legislative process.

'Our Senate Republican friends are planning to block the vote to raise the debt, the debt limit, by using a procedural power called the filibuster - to say that in plain English it means you have to have 60 votes,' Biden said Wednesday.

'If they don't want to do the job just get out of the way. We'll take the heat. We'll do it,' he added.

Biden is also pushing the Senate to pass his $3.5 trillion budget package, which includes a vast array of education, health and environmental programs.

He has conceded that number will have to come down to appease moderates Manchin and Sinema.

Manchin seemed to indicate he'd support a package in the range of $1.9 trillion to $2.2 trillion.

'I'm not ruling anything out, but the bottom line is I want to make sure that we're strategic and we do the right job and we don't basically add more to the concerns we have right now,' Manchin said Tuesday.

But Wednesday he made it clear he was sticking to his $1.5 trillion topline.

'My number has been 1.5' he said. 'I've been very clear.'

Some liberals, however, want the full $3.5 trillion and are threatening to hold up Biden's infrastructure deal in the House until they get it. Democrats hold a scant margin of four seats in that chamber and can only afford to lose three votes.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (left) and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (right) are warring over how to raise the debt ceiling with no end in sight

President Biden is pushing Republicans to let Democrats raise the debt limit

The president is trying to negotiate a path between the two factions of his party and has conceded the overall price tag will have to come down.

He spent the past two days in virtual calls with various members of the House - speaking to liberals on Monday and moderates on Tuesday as he tries to get those two groups on the same page as Manchin and Sinema so he can pass his agenda.

But even if he gets the House on board he could run into an additional roadblock in the Senate: Progressive Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren expressed skepticism about supporting a lower price tag.

Sanders pointed out the $3.5 trillion was already a compromise - liberals originally wanted $6 trillion - while Warren noteed the Senate already agreed to the $3.5 trillion budget blueprint in August.

'Right now I'm still operating on the assumption that what we voted on, $3.5 trillion, is what we should be negotiating for,' she said.
Derek Chauvin, the former Minnesota police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd, has been denied his request to be represented by a public defender after the state's Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that he is not 'financially eligible,'

Chauvin, who has been seeking to appeal his murder conviction on 14 grounds, argued that his only income has been 'nominal prison wages' and that his 'debts currently exceed his limited assets.'

The Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Associations legal defense fund was footing the bill for Chauvin's case until his conviction last April. He was sentenced on June 25 and had 90 days to file an intent to appeal with the Minnesota state appellate court, which he did last month.

He declared in an affidavit that he did not have the funds for his own attorney and wrote of the Minnesota police department legal fund, 'I have been informed that their obligation to pay for my representation terminated upon my conviction and sentencing.'

Derek Chauvin has been denied his request for a public defender after the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that he is not 'financially eligible.' Chauvin is pictured with former defense attorney Eric Nelson at his sentencing in April

The former Minnesota police officer is appealing his conviction and sentencing in the murder George Floyd on 14 grounds

Chauvin was sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison on state charges of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in Floyds death on Memorial Day in 2020, when he knelt on his neck for 9 and a half minutes.

The Minnesota justices reviewed his affidavit and information about his debts and assets before determining that he is not eligible for public counsel. 'We conclude that Chauvin has not established that he is entitled to appointed representation at this time,' Chief Justice Lorie Gildea wrote.

Chauvin may seek a public defender in the future if he's still unable to pay for a lawyer, the Supreme Court said.

Chauvin filed documents last month saying he intends to appeal his conviction and sentence on 14 grounds, including that his trial should have been moved from Hennepin County and the jury should have been sequestered.

All grounds that Chauvin raised in his notice of intent to appeal had been raised previously by his former defense attorney Eric Nelson as the case worked its way through the district court.

Among them, he claims Judge Peter Cahill abused his discretion when he denied Chauvins request to move the trial out of Hennepin County due to pretrial publicity.

He also claimed the judge abused his discretion when he denied a request to sequester the jury for the duration of the trial, and when he denied requests to postpone the trial or grant a new one.

Nelson had previously argued that intense publicity around Floyds death tainted the jury pool and that the trial should have been moved away from Minneapolis.

Chauvin was seen in video footage from Memorial Day 2020 kneeling on George Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes while he cried out that he couldn't breathe

There were reports in February that Chauvin had been prepared to plead guilty to third-degree murder, and an announcement during jury selection that Minneapolis reached a $27 million settlement with Floyds family.

Another pivotal event concurrent to the trial was the fatal shooting of Daunte Wright by a police officer in nearby Brooklyn Center, which sparked days of Black Lives Matter protests and chants of justice for George Floyd.

Chauvin's court filing also said the district court erred when it concluded that Morries Hall, the man who was with Floyd on the day of his arrest, would not be forced to testify on behalf of the defense. He also said the court erred when it permitted prosecutors to present cumulative evidence on use of force.

Chauvin said he also intends to argue that the judge abused his discretion when he failed to allow Chauvin to strike 'clearly biased' jurors for cause, when he limited the admissibility of evidence from a prior arrest of Floyd, and when he denied Nelsons post-verdict request for a new trial and request for a hearing to question jurors to investigate alleged misconduct.

He also noted the court's failure to make an official record of numerous sidebars throughout the trial.

Nelson had accused juror Brandon Mitchell of not being candid during jury selection because he didnt mention his participation in a march in 2020 to honor the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Prosecutors countered that Mitchell had been open about his views in a jury questionnaire and during juror questioning.

The judge ruled the defense didnt establish any evidence of juror misconduct either during trial or during jury selection that warranted an evidentiary hearing.

What appears to be Chauvin's best bet is his questioning the court's decision to allow the prosecution to add a third-degree murder charge against him.

Court sketch of the arraignment shows Derek Chauvin, J. Alexander Kueng, Tou Thao and Thomas Lane with their attorneys, the prosecutor and the court judge

Fired Minneapolis police officer J. Alexander Kueng with attorney Thomas Plunkett

A similar appeal was the center point of a Supreme court ruling this month that overturned the third-degree murder conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor, who accidentally shot an Australian yoga instructor who called 911 about a sexual assault in her neighborhood in July 2017.

Eric Nelson has also been listed as his counsel for a federal civil rights case, in which Chauvin has pleaded not guilty. The federal indictment alleges Chauvin violated Floyd's right to be free from unreasonable seizure and unreasonable force by police when he knelt on his neck while Floyd was not resisting and cried for help.

Footage shown at the trial also showed other former officers with Chauvin on the night of Floyd's death helping to restrain Floyd. J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane in addition to Tou Thao, who prevented bystanders from intervening at the scene, pleaded not guilty to additional charges on Tuesday after they were arraigned for their involvement in Floyd's death. The officers also faced federal charges for failing to provide Floyd with medical care.

If convicted, all four officers could face the federal death penalty or life in prison. The federal charges are separate from the state charges against the four cops who were all fired from Minneapolis Police Department the day after Floyd's murder.
Actor Tony Shaloub says he thinks its okay for non-Jewish actors to take on Jewish roles after Sarah Silverman's recent comments complaining about actors putting on 'Jewface.'

The actor, who grew up in a Christian Lebanese household, defended his ability to portray a Jewish character on the hit series 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel' despite comedian Sarah Silverman's complaints about that kind of casting.

'I always feel that we're actors,' Shaloub told Page Six. 'We were trained to  at least I was  to not play myself, to play characters and so it's troubling to me that they're limiting actors.'

Tony Shaloub (pictured) says actors should be free to play all kinds of different characters

Actress Sarah Silverman claims that there is a 'long tradition of non-Jews playing Jews,' citing several instances in modern film and television

He added that making rules about which actors should be allowed to play which parts could be the start of a slippery slope with worrying consequences.

'I just don't know,' he said. 'If we start to go down that road, I don't know where it ends. Are people who are members of the Mafia, are they going to be upset that people who haven't actually committed those types of crimes are playing those roles?

'When you extrapolate it all the way out the way lies complete chaos,' he added.

During a recent episode of The Sarah Silverman Podcast the Jewish comedienne slammed the supposed 'Jewface' -a reference to the racist practice of blackface- casting of Catholic actress Kathryn Hahn who is set to play the late Joan Rivers in a biographic about the proud Jewish actress and stand up.

'One could argue, for instance, that a Gentile [a non-Jew] playing Joan Rivers correctly would be doing what is actually called 'Jewface.'' she said.

Silverman slammed the 'Jewface' casting of Catholic actress Kathryn Hahn (left) who is set to play the late Joan Rivers (right) in a biographic about the proud Jewish actress

Silverman pointed out other examples of 'Jewface' casting including Shaloub's 'Marvelous Mrs. Maisel' co-star Rachael Brosnahan

Silverman argued that 'Jewface' is 'defined as when a non-Jew portrays a Jew with the Jewishness front and center, often with makeup or changing of features, big fake nose, all the New York-y or Yiddish-y inflection.'

She claims the practice is 'f****d up,' especially during a climate where identity politics and 'representation f*****g matters'.

'In a time when the importance of representation is seen as so essential and so front and center, why does ours constantly get breached even today in the thick of it?' she questioned.

Silverman pointed out other examples of the casting practice, including actress Felicity Jones portraying Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the 2018 film On the Basis of Sex and Shaloub's co-star Rachael Brosnahan, who portrays fictional Jewish comedian Miriam Maisel in the 'Mrs. Maisel' series.

The actress noted that while she doesn't believe these actresses are 'doing anything wrong,' she wishes they would understand that the practice is not acceptable.

'I wish they would realize that that is by design,' Silverman said.

But Shalhoub respectfully disagrees with Silverman and told Page Six he continued to be 'thrilled' by the positive response to 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.'

'I think when we all started we thought, well this will have a limited appeal because of the time period, the subject matter, we love the subject matter, we just didn't know it was going to be embraced,' he said.

Similar claims have been made about whether it is appropriate for actors to play characters of a different race, sexuality or gender identity.

Scarlet Johansson - Hollywood's best paid female star - withdrew from plans to play a transgender character in 2018 amid outrage.

Critics say there are many transgender actors and actresses who could have played the role more authentically.

But supporters say adding a huge name like ScarJo to such a project is likely to bring greater awareness of - and sympathy towards - a persecuted minority group.
The Texas hiker whose body was found in the same Wyoming forest where Gabby Petito's remains were also found had died by suicide, a coroner has ruled.

Robert 'Bob' Lowery, 46, of Houston disappeared on August 20 after he was last seen carrying a black duffel bag, sleeping bag and tent in Bridger-Teton National Forest.

His body was discovered on September 28 following a four-hour search that included three K-9 teams and 25 search volunteers.

The coroner announced Wednesday that Lowery had shot himself in the head.

The forest where he was found is located near the Grand Teton National Park where the body of 22-year-old Gabby Petito was found on September 19.

The cause of death for missing Houston hiker Robert 'Bob' Lowery, 46, was announced as a suicide after he shot himself in the head

Lowery's body was found in the Bridger-Teton National Forest on September 28. The forest is near where the remains of 22-year-old Gabby Petito were found on September 19 on the Spread Creek campground in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.

Police had been investigating Lowery's disappearance for over a month without success.

But after the massive publicity around the case of Petito, the spotlight was also shone on other missing persons cases in the area.

Two part-time Teton residents came forward with information regarding Lowery's case.

They told police they saw Lowery alone on August 20 around 3pm on Black Canyon Trail. They reported he didn't appear to be in distress, according to Jackson Hole News and Guide.

A search team made up of volunteers and dogs were sent onto the trail last Tuesday.

Twenty-five people were split into five search teams to comb through the steep trails for four hours.

At 1pm a dog found a body that matched the description of Lowery, including the black duffle bag he was last seen with, off a steep slope in a wooded area.

Lowery went missing on August 20 and was last seen carrying a black duffel bag, sleeping bag and tent

Lowery was the father of two children, a 15-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl, whose family created online fundraisers for them to raise money for their 'education and futures' after his death.

'The Teton County Sheriffs Office informed our family this afternoon that the Search and Rescue Team located a body that fits the description of our son, Robert Bob Lowery near Black Canyon Trail,' Lowerys family said in a statement to KRPC last week.

'At this time, we especially want to thank Teton County Sheriffs Deputy Chad Sachse and his department for all of their work during this month that Bob has been missing.

'Bob has been a wonderful father, son, brother and friend.

'Our family wants to thank the news media and others involved in the search for our privacy at this difficult time.

Teton County officials released a statement on September 28 after finding Lowery's body

Petito's body was found at the Spread Creek campground in Bridger-Teton National Forest on the eastern edge of the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming on September 19.

Petito, 22, was reported missing on September 11 after being last seen on August 24.

Her fiance Brian Laundrie returned home to Florida on September 1 without her, and refused to cooperate with authorities.

He was reported missing himself on September 17 and has not been seen since.

Petito's death was ruled a homicide by a coroner, and Laundrie has been named as a 'person of interest' in the case.

Authorities have issued an arrest warrant for Laundrie over fraudulent use of Petito's credit card after her death. He has not yet been charged over her death.

A search for Laundrie continues in the swampy 25,000-acre Carlton Reserve in Florida.
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Ministers last night dropped advice against travel to 32 countries ahead of an update to the 'no-go' red list.

The Foreign Office said it was no longer advising against leisure trips to destinations including Fiji, Malaysia and Bangladesh.

They were not on the red list  but the move means it will be easier for travellers to get insurance to visit them. More countries are expected to be given the go-ahead for non-essential travel in the coming days.

The Foreign Office said it was no longer advising against leisure trips to destinations including Fiji (pictured, stock image), Malaysia and Bangladesh

The Government is also on Wednesday expected to significantly slash the number of countries on the red list, opening up quarantine-free travel to dozens of hotspots in a boost for half-term holidays.

The traffic light system was scrapped on Monday and replaced with one red list and a safe 'rest of the world' category.

Among those expected to be taken off the red list are Cape Verde, Indonesia, Mexico, Cuba, all of mainland South America and southern and eastern Africa.

As it stands, arrivals from these countries must quarantine in a hotel for 11 nights on arrival at a cost of 2,285.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said: 'These rule tweaks will make travelling more straightforward, supporting businesses and families right across Britain  and allow more of us to see friends and loved ones with greater peace of mind.

'We're striking the right balance between keeping people safe and giving them the freedom to exercise personal responsibility, while supporting the travel sector as it continues to recover.' The move comes in time for families hoping to travel during the half-term break, which begins on October 25.

Government departments have had separate lists on countries which are safe to visit, with the Department for Transport and Foreign Office often providing contrasting advice.

Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, said: 'The often contradictory advice and rules on where you should and shouldn't travel to from different government departments have been difficult for travellers to navigate. This move, which creates a more unified set of rules, is welcome news for those hoping to book holidays.'

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss (pictured at the Tory party conference, Tuesday) said: 'These rule tweaks will make travelling more straightforward, supporting businesses and families right across Britain  and allow more of us to see friends and loved ones with greater peace of mind

The updated advice comes as the Government yesterday recorded another 39,851 Covid cases and 143 deaths.

Meanwhile, passengers queued for up to four hours at airports yesterday after an IT failure shut down self-service passport gates.

It is the second time in less than two weeks that the 'e-gates' have been hit by faults and travellers said there was 'utter chaos' at the UK's busiest airport Heathrow. Others which were hit included Gatwick and Edinburgh.

The gates  which allow passengers with biometric passports to arrive without manual checks  are operated by Border Force, which is run by the Home Office. The shut-down meant all paperwork had to be processed manually.

The Home Office was accused of stalling the recovery of the aviation industry over the failures.

Heathrow's Terminals 2 and 5 were the worst affected, with long queues at arrivals and limited social distancing. The crash lasted for much of the morning and was fixed by the afternoon.
French fishing barons have given Britain two weeks to grant them more access to its waters or face being cut off from crucial Christmas supplies.

They handed down the ultimatum a day after skippers vowed to block the port of Calais and the Channel Tunnel unless their demands were met.

'The British have got two weeks to react and then we will go on the attack,' said Olivier Lepretre, the chairman of the northern France fisheries committee.

The fisherman raised the prospect of the possible revenge move after the British government refused to issue permits for 35 small trawlers to fish between six and 12 miles off the UK coast.

French fishing barons have given Britain two weeks to grant them more access to its waters or face being cut off from crucial Christmas supplies (file image)

French boats were free to fish in the six-to-12 mile zone when the UK was in the EU, but now have to prove that they previously did so. France says they should keep the same level of access, accusing Britain of breaching the Brexit trade deal.

Christophe Lomel, a Boulogne skipper, said: 'It's illogical  licences have been given to boats which hardly ever go to British waters. I've been going there for 35 years and have not been given a licence.' But Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab yesterday dismissed those claims, telling Paris that the changes were a result of Brexit.

'What the French need to adjust to is the new reality as we have left the EU,' he told TalkRadio. 'They can't expect to have the kind of quotas they had previously (with) unlimited access.'

In Brussels, Eurocrats refused to be drawn on whether Britain had failed to live up to the agreement it signed with the EU last year. A European Commission spokesman said only that it was 'a top priority for the bloc to achieve 'continuity' for EU skippers.

They handed down the ultimatum a day after skippers vowed to block the port of Calais and the Channel Tunnel unless their demands were met (file image)

But one senior EU diplomat claimed France was 'overplaying' the row ahead of next year's presidential election. The source said: 'It looks good for President Macron right now to be tough on the British.'

The Brexit trade agreement, signed by both sides last year, reduces the catch for EU trawlers in British waters by 25 per cent over five-years. After that expires, access will be negotiated on an annual basis.

The French government wants other EU members to support their push for Britain to be brought before an arbitration panel set up to thrash out post-Brexit disputes.

The country's maritime ministry said yesterday that French ministers would unveil retaliatory measures 'in the second half of October'. Annick Giradin, the French maritime minister, has raised the possibility of cutting electricity supplies to Channel Islands Jersey and Guernsey.

Senior Tory MP David Jones urged Mr Macron (pictured) to 'dial down the rhetoric' adding: 'Resorting to gangsterism, which is what this effectively is, can never be justified'

Britain and France have already clashed in recent months over an Australian submarine deal, the EU's bid to block life-saving jabs arriving in the UK, and the Northern Ireland protocol.

Former Cabinet minister Theresa Villiers said: 'This is an unacceptable attempt at bullying. Ministers should stand firm.'

Senior Tory MP David Jones urged Mr Macron to 'dial down the rhetoric' adding: 'Resorting to gangsterism, which is what this effectively is, can never be justified'.

France's foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said differences with Britain were getting bigger and it was up to London to offer ideas to improve relations. 'The ball is in their court,' he added.

NABILA RAMDANI: These threats from 'Admiral Macron' shame my country

By Nabila Ramdani for the Daily Mail

Angry French workers often burn barricades and launch savage attacks on the police during demonstrations. The republic was built by citizens who would stop at nothing  including liberal use of the guillotine  to get what they want.

The latest target is the British Christmas. Yesterday the Daily Mail revealed how French fishermen, angry at the delay in receiving licences to tap into British waters, have threatened to blockade food from France, creating more headaches for families already under pressure to stock up on frozen turkeys and chocolate.

This outrageous action comes hot on the heels of threats to cut power to Jersey  potentially affecting schools and hospitals in the coldest months of the year  and the news that France allegedly 'stole' five million Covid vaccines destined for Britain at the beginning of this year.

'Unless Boris backs down, the Brits will not have so many nice things to eat this Christmas,' Olivier Lepretre, head of the northern France fisheries committee, said earlier this week. 'I hope it doesn't come to that.'

Emmanuel Macron's high-handed attitude to the Brexit negotiations made every step more difficult. Even the French media are now comparing our head of state to Napoleon Bonaparte, suggesting that 'Napo-Macron' wants to use sea blockades to 'starve the English' into compliance

As a French woman, I can only feel ashamed. This sense of rowdy entitlement is not just about angry workers; it extends from bottom to top, as the British know all too well.

Emmanuel Macron's high-handed attitude to the Brexit negotiations made every step more difficult. Even the French media are now comparing our head of state to Napoleon Bonaparte, suggesting that 'Napo-Macron' wants to use sea blockades to 'starve the English' into compliance.

The EU Commission should pull France into line and stop this bickering before it gets out of hand. The alternative is calling on the Royal Navy, which could have serious consequences.

Responsible politicians should be outraged by such guerrilla tactics, but not in France, where there has been no attempt to condemn the fishermen's unlawful reprisals whatsoever.

On the contrary, senior Macron lieutenants have made it clear they want to add to the sabotage by preventing British fishermen delivering fish to France.

They would also like to toughen up customs and veterinary checks on all vehicles arriving from the UK, causing increased delays.

As a French woman, I can only feel ashamed. This sense of rowdy entitlement is not just about angry workers; it extends from bottom to top, as the British know all too well

Most shameful, however, is the threat to cut power to British sovereign territory as part of the fishing row. Clement Beaune, Mr Macron's Europe minister, has implied that electricity supplies to the Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey, which are provided by two undersea cables from France, could be interrupted within days.

'We defend our interests,' Mr Beaune fumed. 'We do it nicely and diplomatically, but when that doesn't work, we take measures. The Channel Islands, the UK, are dependent on us for their energy supply. They think they can live on their own and badmouth Europe as well. And because it doesn't work, they indulge in one-upmanship, and in an aggressive way.'

If all this suggests that the Macron government is still extremely bitter about Britain's historic decision to leave the EU, then it's because it still is.

Indeed, it would be fair to say the latest salvo in the so-called 'Scallop War' is simply another battle in France's never-ending hostility towards Brexit.

The influential Paris investigative weekly Le Canard Enchaine (The Chained Duck) summed up the situation in its latest edition, saying: 'France has called for a common European front against the UK.'

This means 'Admiral Macron'  as he is dubbed  using sea blockades, in the style of the Napoleonic Wars. 'So he wants to starve the English?' the magazine asks, as it compares him to Napoleon, the dictator who was constantly at war with the British. 'Napo-Macron will establish a new continental blockade, like his illustrious predecessor.'

Clement Beaune (pictured), Mr Macron's Europe minister, has implied that electricity supplies to the Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey, which are provided by two undersea cables from France, could be interrupted within days

The Napoleonic parallels were clear last May when two Royal Navy gunships steamed to Jersey after dozens of French boats blockaded the island's harbour.

Mr Macron originally described Brexit as a 'crime' and has done all he can to undermine Anglo-French relations since.

Last year, he caused outrage by suggesting the UK's Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine was 'quasi-ineffective' among the over-65s, and that the over-60s should 'not be encouraged' by its results.

Now it has emerged that Mr Macron allegedly plotted with EU bigwigs to halt exports of the jabs, in what has been described by one British Government source as 'an act of war'. President Macron has also been accused of stirring up violence by insisting that the post-Brexit UK must stick to the Northern Ireland Protocol, despite the threat this poses to peace and stability in the region.

His ministers have also taken up hardline positions in the never-ending dispute over thousands of unregistered migrants travelling from northern France to the coast of England in small boats.

Few have failed to note the irony in the French enabling desperate migrants to enter the UK with ease, while blockading goods.

Mr Macron is determined to win a second five-year term and establish himself as the de facto EU leader after the retirement of German Chancellor Angela Merkel (pictured)

Mr Macron is also angry with Britain over its alliance with Australia and the US, which has resulted in a 50billion-plus French contract to build submarines for Australia being scrapped.

Mr Beaune said dismissively that far from becoming Global Britain, the Aukus alliance was 'a return into the American lap and a form of accepted vassalisation'.

A common thread in these face-offs is the fact that Mr Macron and his cronies are preparing for a presidential election in April. Mr Macron is determined to win a second five-year term and establish himself as the de facto EU leader after the retirement of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

As France moves further to the Right, Mr Macron knows he has to attract extreme nationalist voters to defeat rivals such as Marine Le Pen of the National Rally party.

An obvious way of doing this is for 'Napo-Macron' to take on his country's historic enemy at every opportunity, so prepare for Britain to be blamed for every French ill in the coming months. He might not win every battle, but if Mr Macron finds himself back inside the Elysee Palace, his aggression will have served him well  whatever it does for Britain's relations with one of its closest neighbours.
A late night phone call from Cherie Blair helped blow the lid off the sheikh's hack attack in Britain  and the victims included a Tory peer.

Shortly after 10pm on August 5 last year, she found a number for Baroness Shackleton and informed her fellow lawyer she had 'some important information'.

Minutes earlier, Mrs Blair had taken a call from a senior figure at a secretive Israeli tech firm, NSO Group, which makes controversial military-grade spyware known as Pegasus.

New court papers have shown that Princess Haya Bint al-Hussein of Jordan, pictured right, and her lawyer Baroness Fiona Shackleton, left, had their phones hacked

Princess Haya is married to Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, right,

Cherie Blair QC, pictured, received a tip off from her client, Israeli security firm NSO Group that their military-grade software was being used to hack phones belonging to Baroness Shackleton and Princess Haya

The QC wife of Tony Blair has been working for NSO Group as a legal adviser, it emerged in court. In the call from NSO headquarters, she was instructed to tip off British solicitor Baroness Shackleton and her client Princess Haya bint al-Hussein that its spyware may have been 'misused' to monitor their mobile phones.

Mrs Blair later told the High Court in a written statement: 'The NSO senior manager told me that NSO were very concerned about this and asked me to contact Baroness Shackleton urgently so she could notify Princess Haya.'

It was thanks to Mrs Blair's whistleblowing  along with a Californian cyber detective named Dr William Marczak and a mysterious Gulf state dissident known as 'Mr X' whose own phone was targeted by Dubai's secret service  that Sheikh Mohammed's dubious UK spying scheme was exposed.

Mail's court battle to reveal the truth BY VANESSA ALLEN and SAM GREENHILL The Daily Mail led the way in the legal fight to ensure details of the explosive custody battle between Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum and his sixth wife Princess Haya made it into the public domain. The Mail was joined in its quest by eight other media organisations in securing court agreement that disclosing aspects of the case were in the public interest. The Family Division of the High Court found Sheikh Mohammed 'ordered and orchestrated' the abduction of two of his adult daughters. One, Princess Shamsa, has not been seen publicly since she was snatched from a British street more than 20 years ago. Her sister Princess Latifa said Shamsa, now 40, was kept captive in Dubai and was drugged to 'control her mind', and that the medication 'made her like a zombie'. Latifa, 35, tried to escape Dubai onboard a yacht, only to be captured at sea by commandos and returned to the desert principality. She claimed she had been beaten and kept captive inside a fortified villa in Dubai, where police had threatened she would 'never see the sun again'. In his latest ruling, made public yesterday, the judge  Sir Andrew McFarlane  said Latifa's fate showed her father 'is prepared and able to use the Government security services for his own family needs'. Princess Haya told the High Court she had fled Dubai because she feared for her own life and the safety of her two children. The 47-year-old said she had been side-lined within the royal court in Dubai. It later emerged she'd had a two-year-relationship with her British bodyguard. Anonymous threats were left in her bedroom and living quarters, including one saying: 'We will take your son  your daughter is ours  your life is over.' A gun was left on her bed. The sheikh allegedly told their son that Haya was 'no longer needed', according to legal documents. She fled to Britain in April 2019 with her two children, and learned Sheikh Mohammed had divorced her under Sharia law, postdating it to the 20th anniversary of her father's death. She asked the High Court to make her children wards of court so that they could not be taken to Dubai. Her former husband demanded their immediate return. Haya, educated at Badminton School in Bristol and Bryanston in Dorset before studying philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford, also asked the court to protect her and her children. Advertisement

The High Court has now concluded on the balance of probabilities that he orchestrated the illegal hacking of six phones, belonging to Princess Haya, two of her lawyers, her PA and two bodyguards.

Pegasus has the ability to siphon off photos, messages, emails, contacts, passwords and other data from an iPhone  and even to turn it into a clandestine eavesdropping device. NSO Group only sells the powerful spyware to governments, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of which Dubai is a part.

The judge said Sheikh Mohammed, the ruler of Dubai, and prime minister of the UAE, 'is prepared and able to use the government security services for his own family needs'. His hacking operation took place last July and August, with Pegasus  apparently being remotely operated by Dubai spymasters  stealing some 265 megabytes of data from Princess Haya's iPhone via the wifi of her Berkshire home. This would be the equivalent to 24 hours of digital voice recordings or 500 photographs, the court heard. Exactly what was stolen is unknown.

But the supposedly untraceable Pegasus system was in fact leaving a faint trail  and this was picked up 5,000 miles away by computer scientist Dr Marczak. He was helped by a UAE political activist known as 'Mr X', who gave him his own phone that was being targeted by Pegasus. Examining it gave the digital detective vital clues as to how the spyware operates.

Dr Marczak worked out that Pegasus was targeting London law firm Payne Hicks Beach. He then discovered they were Princess Haya's lawyers and immediately understood the significance.

On August 5 last year, Dr Marczak tipped off Baroness Shackleton's firm via a human rights lawyer he already knew, Martyn Day, of London firm Leigh Day.

It was later that same day, although separately, that Mrs Blair's own tip came in.

She told the court: 'I was told by the NSO senior manager that it had come to the attention of NSO that their software may have been misused to monitor the mobile phone of Baroness Shackleton and her client, Her Royal Highness Princess Haya.' For almost two years, the High Court has been in the process of determining the living and schooling arrangements of the sheikh and princess's two children.

Sir Andrew McFarlane, the president of the Family Division, has ordered a fresh inquiry.

At an urgent hearing on October 6, last year, Princess Haya's QC Charles Geekie said the sheikh's lawyers, Harbottle & Lewis, 'may be in possession of hacked material, whether they know that or not themselves'. He said news of the hacking had made her 'feel both hunted and haunted'.

For the sheikh, Lord Pannick QC said: 'The father has denied these allegations in the clearest possible terms. The father is not prepared to enter into any debate in relation to what security system the UAE may have. He has no knowledge of any such activity taking place.'

But the judge concluded otherwise. He ruled: 'It is obvious that the father, above any other person in the world, is the probable originator of the hacking.'

He said the sheikh had compounded the abuse by fighting the allegations and showing no 'sign of concern for the mother, who is caring for their children'.
Let us imagine, for a moment, that Dubai's autocratic ruler Sheikh Mohammed al-Maktoum was not a long-standing friend of the Queen and the Royal Family and that his oil-rich kingdom did not prop up the British horse racing industry.

Would he still receive the special access he has enjoyed thanks to his vast wealth and philanthropy  and as a key ally of the United Kingdom  while shamelessly riding roughshod over our laws?

For more than two years, the royals have had to endure the excruciating spectacle of details of Sheikh Mohammed's cruel and vindictive behaviour towards his estranged wife Princess Haya being played out in the High Court.

At the same time came disturbing allegations of his scant regard for human rights, in kidnapping two of his own daughters  one from the streets of Britain  who had fled their homeland to escape their brutal father.

Let us imagine, for a moment, that Dubai's autocratic ruler Sheikh Mohammed al-Maktoum was not a long-standing friend of the Queen (both pictured)

But the revelations that the man who has been photographed in the Royal Box at Ascot and shared a carriage drive with the Queen down the famous course also sanctioned an illegal phone hacking operation on British soil to snoop on his wife and her lawyers, who include a Conservative peer, go far beyond mere embarrassment.

They have triggered a potential crisis in Britain's bilateral relationship with the United Arab Emirates, of which the sheikh is both vice president and prime minister.

Court documents released yesterday have revealed the extent of the illicit surveillance operation targeting Princess Haya  who ran away to London after a loaded pistol was menacingly left on the pillow of her bed  as well as her personal staff and her legal team, headed by the eminent solicitor Baroness (Fiona) Shackleton.

Lady Shackleton, who acted for the Prince of Wales in his divorce from Princess Diana, reported the hacking to Black Rod, the Queen's representative in the House of Lords, after learning that her 'Parliamentary email, my own email, my WhatsApp messages, my pictures and my texts are all visible to somebody else'.

The hacking is said to have broken at least five British laws but the compromising of 65-year-old Lady Shackleton's parliamentary account was being viewed as tantamount to an attack on UK sovereignty.

In a bizarre twist, Lady Shackleton was alerted to the hack by Cherie Blair on instructions from her client.

The royals have endured the details of Sheikh Mohammed's cruel behaviour towards his estranged wife Princess Haya (pictured with the Queen in 2009) being played out in court

If he was not a friend of the Queen's, would he still receive the special access he has enjoyed thanks to his vast wealth? Pictured: Sheikh Mohammed's beach palace complex in Dubai

Mrs Blair is the QC wife of former Prime Minister Tony, who represents the secretive Israeli-owned high-tech company which makes the military-grade Pegasus spyware used by Dubai's intelligence services.

Last night the irony that, in alerting her fellow lawyer, Mrs Blair was the whistleblower was not lost on all parties in this increasingly murky case.

For it was under the Blair government two decades ago that the Foreign Office shut down a police investigation into the abduction and drugging of Sheikh Mohammed's daughter Shamsa from Cambridge.

The cyber-hacking was just one element of a sophisticated spying operation that included the billionaire sheikh attempting to buy a 30million property next door to Haya's Berkshire bolthole, where she lived with the couple's two children.

This, the court was told, made the princess feel 'hunted and haunted' in her 12-bedroom mansion, Castlewood House  once the home of Prince Andrew and the Duchess of York.

When she asked the judge to impose an 'exclusion zone' around the house to prevent her husband from stalking her, the sheikh brazenly sought to exploit his royal connections by complaining such an action would impede his access to Windsor Castle and Ascot, the racecourse owned by the Queen.

The historic ties of friendship between the House of Windsor and Sheikh Mohammed, who once cultivated an image as a progressive Arab leader, underpinned Britain's relations with the UAE. They now threaten to undermine them.

Racing and a shared love of horses have long cemented the family ties between the Windsors and the Maktoums.

Twelve years ago Sheikh Mohammed gave the Queen four yearlings, one of which, Carlton House, came close to delivering her longed-for Derby winner in 2011 but ultimately finished third.

In return she gave him one of her thoroughbreds, Highland Glen, as a present. He had wanted to buy it but because of fears of embarrassment if the horse did not win again, she insisted on giving it to him. She has also used his stud services.

John Warren, her racing manager, described the sheikh in 2010 as a 'friend' of the Queen whom she had seen 'on a fairly regular basis' for about 20 years.

Horse racing has cemented ties between the Windsors and the Maktoums. Pictured: Sheikh Mohammed, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Andrew at the Royal Windsor Horse Show in 2016

But as more courtroom revelations emerged earlier this year, it was disclosed that the Queen intended to distance herself from the sheikh and avoid being photographed in his company.

The Covid pandemic has helped. Sheikh Mohammed has not been seen on a British racecourse for two years but it is understood he has paid at least one private visit to his Godolphin stables in Newmarket, the UK headquarters of his training and breeding operation.

But next year when the Queen's love of racing is expected to be at the centre of her Platinum Jubilee celebrations, this may prove extremely tricky.

The two monarchs have the third and fourth favourites for next summer's Epsom derby  the sheikh has a two-year-old, Naked Trail, and Her Majesty has Reach for the Moon.

Even for someone as well-versed as the Queen in overcoming encounters with despots, dictators and even ex-terrorists, it could make the winners' enclosure a no-go zone.

But the sheikh's influence does not just apply to the Derby: He dominates British racing. He has had 146 winners this year alone  including the Derby and the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth stakes  picking up prize money of 4.6million.

This though is a drop in the ocean compared to the tens of millions of pounds he has invested in UK racing.

Not only is he a sponsor, he runs an education programme and supports a string of racing charities.

This week his links to racing were underlined at the opening of the prestigious Tattersalls sales of young horseflesh, where the biggest prices were paid by the sheikh's representatives.

It is not his deep pockets but the multiple allegations of criminality that could cause significant diplomatic difficulties between the UK and the UAE.

If the Queen were to shun the sheikh completely, it could have serious consequences. Dubai is a key intelligence and defence partner in the Gulf and the UAE one of the biggest markets for British arms manufacturers.

Between 2008 and 2017 it bought 7.3billion of weapons and associated equipment.

Relocating his Godolphin empire would be catastrophic to Britain's racing industry. But even so I understand there is increasing nervousness not just at Buckingham Palace but also in Downing Street at the fall-out from the revelations.

Luxurious: Yacht of the Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of the Emirate of Dubai

The senior Labour MP Chris Bryant is urging Foreign Secretary Liz Truss to summon the Emirates' ambassador for a meeting. 'Some of us have worried for some time about foreign states taking an interest in MPs' phones and emails, and I hope this will act as a wake-up call,' he said.

Royal insiders are understood to be especially troubled by the hacking allegations involving Baroness Shackleton, who has not only acted for Prince Charles but is also the private solicitor to Prince William and Prince Harry.

She was awarded the LVO by the Queen in the 2006 New Year's honours.

'It is sinister and outrageous,' says a royal source.

Ever since the case began, the Queen has sought to avoid being seen to take sides in what began as a matrimonial dispute. Princess Haya's Anglophile father King Hussein of Jordan was a warm and staunch ally of the UK and a close friend of the royals. Prince Charles attended his funeral in 1999.

The princess, an accomplished horsewoman who rode for her country in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, lavished praise on the Queen when presenting her with the International Equestrian Federation's first ever lifetime achievement award.

'She is a true horsewoman who rides whenever state business allows,' the princess declared, adding that her 'knowledge of breeding and bloodlines is incredible'.

In 2019, only days after fleeing from the Gulf with her two young children for London where she was holed up in an 85million mansion opposite Kensington Palace, Princess Haya met the Queen privately for tea at Windsor Castle.

Within days the Queen was rubbing shoulders with the sheikh, where she presented him with a trophy at Royal Ascot as winner of the Diamond Jubilee Stakes.

After these latest allegations, however, can she ever be seen in his company again? And would it really hurt Britain if she wasn't?
Australians who refuse to get vaccinated and are stood down from their jobs will still be paid $750 a week by the Victorian government.

Essential workers in Victoria including politicians, journalists and professional athletes are required to have at least one dose of a Covid vaccine by October 15.

While those that refuse a jab will be banned from worksites and potentially face the sack, they will still be eligible to claim the weekly disaster payments.

Australians who refuse to get vaccinated and are stood down from their jobs will still be paid $750 a week by the government (pictured, health care workers in Melbourne)

Essential workers in Victoria are required to have at least one dose of a Covid vaccine by October 15 (pictured, a student receives a Pfizer vaccine in Melbourne)

Workers who have lost more than 20 hours of work in a week will receive $750 while those who have lost between eight and 20 will get $450, the Herald Sun reported.

The payments will only be withdrawn when 80 per cent of the eligible population in Victoria is fully vaccinated, earmarked for early-November.

The federal government plans to phase the payments out over a two-week period.

However, a spokesman for the Emergency Management Minister Bridget McKenzie said the payments could only be claimed by those who met the eligibility criteria.

The spokesman said the $750 weekly handout would only be available 'to people who live or work in a Commonwealth declared hot spot subject to a movement restriction and have reduced hours of work'.

'If a person is temporarily stood down, they may be eligible for Covid-19 disaster payment if they meet the eligibility criteria,' he said.

The spokesman encouraged Victorians to check their eligibility with Services Australia to consider other avenues of alternative support.

While those that refuse a jab will be banned from worksites and potentially face the sack, they are still eligible to claim the weekly disaster payments (pictured, health workers in Melbourne)

Melburnians are set to be freed from stay-at-home orders on October 26 when 70 per cent of the population is fully vaccinated (pictured, diners on Lygon Street in Melbourne)

Ben Davis, the state secretary of the Australian Workers Union said many of the groups' members had indicated they not be getting vaccinated.

Mr Davis told members this week they would still be eligible for the disaster payments adding the mandate had 'somewhat blindsided' the union.

He said the union was prepared to fight unfair dismissal cases for unvaccinated members who lost their jobs but said the best thing to do was to get a jab.

Last month a mandate on vaccinations for the construction sector sparked a week of chaotic protests in Melbourne's CBD that saw violent clashes between angry demonstrators and attending police officers.

Construction workers in Victoria were required to receive at least one dose of a Covid vaccine by September 24.

Police officers in Victoria (pictured) are required to receive at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine by September 15

Only workers who had received at least one dose of a Covid vaccine were allowed to return to construction sites on Tuesday (pictured, maskless workers in Melbourne)

Tradespeople were allowed to return to sites on Tuesday if they had rolled up their sleeve for at least one jab, with strict Covid-19 protocols in place.

It comes as government lawyers in NSW have insisted teachers and aged-care workers are not being forced to get a mandatory vaccine.

If workers in key industries choose not to get jabbed, it could temporarily limit their ability to work, lawyers for Health Minister Brad Hazzard told the Supreme Court.

Jeremy Kirk, barrister for Mr Hazzard, told the court essential workers could avoid some Covid-19 restrictions if they chose to get vaccinated and that lockdown rules were just a temporary restriction on movement.

It comes as government lawyers in NSW have insisted teachers and aged-care workers are not being forced to get a mandatory vaccine (pictured, a Sydney woman gets vaccinated)

Fully vaccinated Sydneysiders are due to be freed from stay-at-home orders from October 11 (pictured, punters at Coogee Bay Hotel in Sydney)

'There is no requirement for vaccination,' Mr Kirk said. 'There is a condition on the exception (to the stay-at-home orders) which people can take advantage of, or not.'

In NSW, teachers and care workers must be vaccinated by November 8 while aged care workers have by the end of October.

Health care workers must be double-jabbed by the end of November.

Fully vaccinated Sydneysiders are due to be freed from stay-at-home orders from October 11 after the state hit the 70 per cent vaccination rate on Wednesday.

Those who are not vaccinated will enjoy the freedoms afforded to the rest of the state on December 1, when the majority of restrictions will be lifted.
The FBI are investigating 11 alleged sightings of Brian Laundrie along the Appalachian Trail close to the North Carolina-Tennessee border, DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal.

The spate of leads includes a 911 call from hiker Dennis Davis who says he is '99.9 percent' certain he spotted the fugitive fiancee of slain Gabby Petito driving a truck early Saturday.

A local resident has also come forward to reveal to DailyMail.com that he saw a scruffy, bearded stranger resembling Laundrie, 23, walking along the same secluded rural road in Waterville, North Carolina.

Investigators have chased down leads in multiple states since Laundrie went to ground three weeks ago but to date there has not been a confirmed sighting of the sole person of interest in 22-year-old Gabby's homicide.

However Davis, 53, who was interviewed by the FBI on Wednesday afternoon, told DailyMail.com: 'They are definitely taking my information seriously.'

Investigators have chased down leads in multiple states since Brian Laundrie, 23, went missing from his North Port, Florida, home three weeks ago

The FBI are investigating 11 alleged sightings of Brian Laundrie along the Appalachian Trail close to the North Carolina-Tennessee border

Brian Laundrie, 23, who was reported missing on September 14, remains a person of interest in the disappearance and death of fiancee Gabby Petito

The dad-of-four from Florida was on a hiking trip when he says he was stopped by a man closely resembling Laundrie around 12.30am last Saturday morning on a deserted road close to the border with Tennessee.

The stranger explained that he had gotten into a fight with his girlfriend and needed to drive to California to be reunited with her.

Dennis Davis, 53, who was interviewed by the FBI on Wednesday afternoon, told DailyMail.com: 'They are definitely taking my information seriously'

When Davis pointed out that he could take Interstate 40 the entire way, the man bizarrely revealed he would be sticking with the small, two-lane country road he was already headed along.

Deputies from the Haywood County Sheriff's Office spent two hours at the remote spot but only came across one vehicle which didn't match the description.

However Davis was invited to their office to speak again with two deputies as well as an agent from the FBI's Asheville field office.

'The agent played his cards pretty tight to his chest when I told him my story,' Davis told DailyMail.com afterwards.

'But he did offer up that local officials had had 11 sightings now and that they're following up on all of them.

'He said they treat every piece of intelligence as credible until it's not.'

Davis said the agent asked whether the truck had any visible decals or markings and whether the driver had any visible tattoos.

DailyMail.com revealed this week that Laundrie and Gabby had matching tattoos etched on their hands last October as a symbol of their love.

'They definitely asked me whether I saw any tattoos. He also asked me about the truck which I told him I'm about 50 percent sure was a Ford F150.

'He asked whether it had any markings, like 4X4 written on the back panel, anything like that, to help identify it,' said Davis, an engineer.

'I'm satisfied that they weren't just blowing me off or playing lip service to what I saw.

'I think they will add it to all the evidence and hopefully finally catch this guy.'

The hiker said that the route Laundrie planned to take is a small two lane country road called Waterville Road, and wouldn't lead him to California

Showing DailyMail.com where he encountered Laundrie in his first video interview, Davis said he didn't realize it was him at first, until about 15 minutes later when he pulled up a photo of him, saw the matching beard and mustache and immediately dialed 911 and the FBI

Gabby's family reported her missing on September 11 after Laundrie came home from a cross-country road trip without her and refused to speak to police.

The travel vlogger's remains were eventually found at the Spread Creek Dispersed Camping Ground in Grand Teton National Park on September 19 and her death was declared a homicide.

By then, however, supermarket worker Laundrie had already slipped away from his family home in North Port, Florida under the noses of police and has been on the run ever since.

Laundrie's parents reported him missing on September 17, triggering a weeks-long FBI manhunt across swaths of Florida swampland and a headline-grabbing intervention from TV's Dog the Bounty Hunter who has been independently searching for him at a campground close to St. Petersburg.

Christopher and Roberta Laundrie initially told cops they last saw their son when he headed off to go hiking at the Carlton Nature Reserve in Sarasota County on September 14 and never returned.

The couple came under renewed scrutiny this week after they suddenly 'revised' their timeline, saying through their attorney, Steven Bertolino, that they last saw him on the evening of September 13.

The FBI in Denver revealed on September 23 that Laundrie was wanted on a federal arrest warrant over the unauthorized use of a credit card, however Bertolino insists the alleged criminality occurred after Gabby's death and is 'not related to her actual demise'.

The Appalachian Trail gained traction as a possible hideout after Gabby's best friend Rose Davis exclusively told DailyMail.com that he once spent three months there living alone in the wilderness.

Interest has since focused in on Haywood County, located in northwest North Carolina on the border with Tennessee, where authorities have probed ten supposed sightings over the past week or so.

The Appalachian Trail gained traction as a possible hideout after Gabby's best friend Rose exclusively told DailyMail.com that he once spent three months there living alone in the wilderness

The Appalachian trail runs from Georgia to Main. The Appalachian trail is familiar to Laundrie who is lived outdoors for on his own for months

'All calls were made in regards to suspicious persons or vehicles,' a spokeswoman for the Haywood County Sheriff's Office said.

'Every call has been thoroughly investigated and all areas of concern have been searched.

'We will continue to respond and fully investigate all calls for service related to the nationwide search for Mr. Laundrie within our jurisdiction.'

DailyMail.com visited the spot where Davis claimed he spotted Laundrie and at least one local said he saw something suspicious.

The resident, who would only give his first name, Forrest, said he saw a lean, tall figure with a beard walking along the same road on Friday then again on Sunday.

When he later saw pictures of Laundrie he was struck by how much the stranger resembled Laundrie.

'We saw someone with a beard and a hood on, early morning, it was still kind of darkish,' he said.

'On Sunday I passed by him again, this time without the hood. He had just a little bit of hair on the back of his head but it looked more grown out and reddish than in the pictures.

'I could see him watching me as I rounded the corner, as if he was checking to see that I wasn't coming back.

'Not many people live up there but we do get a lot of hikers. He had a book or a journal covering his hand, otherwise I would have been able to tell if it was him from the tattoo.'

Gabby Petito's family went on Dr. Phil on Tuesday and called out Brian Laundrie's family. Pictured from L-R: step-mother Tara Petito, father Joe Petito, step-father James Schmidt, mother Nicole Schimdit

Joe Petito called Chris and Roberta Laundrie, pictured, cowards for avoiding his family

Another supposed sighting took place at a Citgo gas station in Hartford, Tennessee just across the state border.

A customer there claimed a man resembling Laundrie walked in to buy firewood then hurriedly put on a mask when people began staring at him.

The bystander was so convinced that he had spotted the scrawny fugitive that he followed him in his car and called police.

However he told DailyMail.com that the sighting was debunked when officers viewed the CCTV and declared it wasn't Laundrie.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki pushed back against climate envoy John Kerry's admission that President Biden had not been aware of the French ire brought on by the AUKUS submarine deal.

'Of course he knew about the French being displeased,' Psaki said, after Monday when Kerry said Biden 'literally had not been aware' of the fallout of the AUKUS submarine deal that caused France to lose a $90billion submarine contract.

'He literally had not been aware of what had transpired,' Kerry, who serves as President Biden's climate envoy, told French broadcaster BFMTV.

'I would encourage you to ask John Kerry specifically about the context of his comments,' Psaki said Wednesday afternoon in a news briefing.

Kerry was Psaki's boss while they were both in the State Department during the Obama administration, he as secretary of state and she as spokesperson.

'The president and the former secretary are also good friends. He relies on his council as he does with many members of his national security team.'

Psaki noted that Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron are set to meet at the end of the month

Kerry made the comment in an interview conducted in both French and English that aired Monday, while US diplomats including Secretary of State Anthony Blinken tried to heal the rift with the French during meetings in Paris.

The French government said it was stabbed in the back by its close allies over the nuclear-powered submarine deal - part of the so-called AUKUS security pact between the United States, Australia and Britain announced on Sept. 15 - and the wounds would take time to heal.

'And I dont want to go into the details of it, but suffice it to say, that the president, my president is very committed to strengthening the relationship and making sure that this is a small event of the past and moving on to the much more important future,' said Kerry.

As Kerry explained, 'President Biden asked me about it, and I told him.' His interviewer pressed: 'You told Joe Biden that it was not the right ...'

Kerry interjected: 'He asked me. He said, "What's the situation?" And I explained exactly. He had not been aware of that,' said Kerry.

'He literally had not been aware of what had transpired,' US climate envoy John Kerry told French TV, while discussing the US security deal with the UK and Australia and the French reaction

Secretary of State Antony Blinken attended a meeting with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and was to meet French President Emmanuel Macron in an effort to smooth a rift in US-French relations

Kerry evidently did not intend to convey that Biden had been unaware that the decision to make a new security arrangement with Britain and Australia from the French would upset Paris.

'Secretary Kerry was clearly referring to French sentiment. He has consistently reiterated in both public and private that U.S.-French cooperation is essential to confronting the climate crisis,' a Kerry spokeswoman told DailyMail.com.

His comments came as Secretary of State Antony Blinken took another step toward seeking to heal the rupture with France by meeting with French President Emanuel Macron in Paris and discussing France's push for more NATO security cooperation.

The top U.S. diplomat is in Paris seeking to rebuild ties after a security pact between the three countries that infuriated the French president after Canberra scuttled a submarine defense contract initially valued at $40 billion for French diesel-electric subs.

Blinken told Macron that Washington was 'certainly supportive of European defense and security initiatives' that can increase capabilities but do not undermine the NATO alliance, a senior U.S. State Department official said.

'We view that as a complement to NATO and the president's (Joe Biden's) commitment to NATO, as you all know, is ironclad,' the official said.

Their meeting came after French ambassador to the US Philippe Etienne returned to Washington after being recalled from his post amid the rift. Etienne met with White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan early this month in preparation for the meeting and to 'rebuild trust.'

French officials have emphasized that AUKUS was a wake up call for EU states and that they should respond to the recent crisis between Paris and Washington by ending the bloc's naivety when it comes to defending its interests and building its own military capacity within the NATO framework.

Macron affirmed to Blinken that France agreed any new initiative should not be in competition with NATO, according to the U.S. official, who briefed reporters in Paris after Blinken met Macron, Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and Macron's diplomatic adviser Emmanuel Bonne.

Le Drian had taken Blinken on a walking tour of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs at Quai d'Orsay lasting more than an hour before the pair sat down for a meeting. Blinken then met Macron for 30-40 minutes at the presidential Elysee Palace, where he also spoke separately with Bonne.

Blinken later attended meetings of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris.

French President Emmanuel Macron last month termed the nixing of a French submarine contract with Australia 'unacceptable behavior' and recalled France's ambassador from Washington

Jean-Yves Le Drian, French Minister of Foreign Affairs and Tony Blinken, Secretary of State of the United States during their meeting French Minister of Foreign Affairs receives the Secretary of State of the United States at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs quai d'Orsay, Paris, France

President Joe Biden participates is a virtual press conference on national security with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (R) and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on September 15, 2021. The move infuriated the French government, which had been informed only hours before

White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan laid the groundwork for Tuesday's meeting with French ambassador Philippe Etienne

France briefly withdrew its ambassador to the United States over the affair, before Macron and U.S. President Joe Biden spoke by phone and agreed to hold in-depth consultations.

The official described Blinken's meetings with French officials as 'very cordial and amicable' and focused on future cooperation rather than 'relitigation' of the AUKUS spat.

Blinken also discussed French proposals for more security and counterterrorism cooperation in the Sahel region of West Africa, the U.S. official said, adding that Washington was still reviewing those proposals.

The official declined to give specifics of what might be agreed, saying that Blinken's discussions would 'tee up' a meeting later this month between Biden and Macron, the details of which are yet to be announced.

Blinken, who was not initially expected to meet Macron during the visit, found the meeting 'very positive', the official said.

'President Macron reiterated that, you know, let's turn this into an opportunity to deepen and strengthen cooperation and coordination, from the Euro-Atlantic to the Indo-Pacific to Africa,' the official said, adding that both sides agreed there was still a lot of work to do on the relationship.
The Queen faces pressure to ditch her friendship with Dubai's ruler after the High Court found he was responsible for illegal UK phone hacking.

In a constitutional outrage, the close ally of Britain was able to snoop on the parliamentary emails of Tory peer and former royal lawyer Fiona Shackleton.

Sheikh Mohammed also hacked the iPhone of her client Princess Haya, his wife who fled to Britain in fear of her life and those of her staff.

The Queen (pictured on Wednesday in Windsor) faces pressure to ditch her friendship with Dubai's ruler after the High Court found he was behind illegal UK phone hacking

The extraordinary revelations should prove a 'wake-up call', Labour MP Chris Bryant said last night.

He added: 'The Foreign Office needs to do a proper inquiry into our relationship with Dubai and I would have thought the Foreign Secretary will be summoning in the ambassador for a 'meeting without coffee'.'

A senior judge concluded that Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the horse race-loving friend of the Royal Family and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, committed a 'total abuse of trust and indeed an abuse of power'.

He previously orchestrated the armed kidnap of his runaway daughter Princess Shamsa from Cambridgeshire in 2000, persuading Tony Blair's government to hush it up, the High Court heard. He also allegedly abducted her sister Princess Latifa when she too tried to flee Dubai.

In a ruling made public today after the Mail and other media successfully argued for open justice, Sir Andrew McFarlane said: 'It is more probable than not that the surveillance of the six phones ... was carried out by servants or agents of the father ... with [his] express or implied authority.'

It means the sheikh has been found, on the balance of probabilities, to have yet again ridden roughshod over UK laws with his sinister black ops hacking plot in pursuit of his sixth and youngest wife, Princess Haya, 47.

Pictured: The Queen attends an unveiling of a design For the Shiekh Zayed National Museum accompanied By Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum during a state visit to Abu Dhabi

She fled Dubai in 2019 with their two children Princess Jalila, 13, and Prince Zayed, nine, and now lives in an English country mansion in 'justified' terror of him launching a helicopter abduction of them, according to Sir Andrew, who is president of the High Court's family division.

Last night Scotland Yard revealed it had investigated 'multiple allegations of crime' involving six alleged victims.

Sheikh Mohammed, 72, a 'coercive and controlling' husband, potentially committed 'serial breaches of domestic criminal law', the High Court was told.

In a surprising twist, the phone hacking operation, 'more probably than not' personally ordered by the sheikh, was rumbled by Cherie Blair QC through her links to a firm that makes the military-grade Pegasus spyware used by Dubai's intelligence service.

The sheikh has denied any knowledge of the hacking. But not content with the spying operation, his associates even resorted to trying to buy a huge 30million estate next door to Haya's bolthole on the Berkshire-Surrey border to keep even closer tabs on her and their children, the court heard.

The Queen is a longstanding friend of both the sheikh and Haya, the glamorous Oxford-educated daughter of the late King Hussein of Jordan, and she accepted several horses from him even after he was accused in 2019 of kidnapping Shamsa and Latifa.

Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty magazine, said: 'Despite the Queen's well-established equestrian links with the sheikh, in light of these findings it seems likely that she will distance herself from him, at least in public. The Queen has known Princess Haya since she was a child and is fond of her.'

Queen Elizabeth And The Duke Of Edinburgh are shown with Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum during a visit to Dubai

But one royal source added: 'I suspect the Queen's reaction will be determined by how the Government decides to handle this. It's a tricky one, as the UAE are a key ally of the UK.'

Haya's high-profile solicitor Baroness Shackleton, a Tory peer who acted for Prince Charles and Sir Paul McCartney in their divorces, was among those targeted in the astonishing cyber hacking mission.

She reported to Black Rod, the monarch's representative in the House of Lords, that her 'parliamentary email, my own email, my WhatsApp messages, my pictures and my texts are all visible to somebody else'.

Scotland Yard and the National Crime Agency have been informed of the hacking.

The Met said it had received 'multiple allegations of crime including unauthorised access and interception of digital devices and offences contrary to the Computer Misuse Act relating to six complainants'.

Detectives launched an investigation and 'significant inquiries were carried out' for five months  but the inquiry was shut down in February.

Last night the sheikh said: 'I have always denied the allegations made against me and I continue to do so. These matters concern supposed operations of state security.

'As a head of government involved in private family proceedings, it was not appropriate for me to provide evidence on such sensitive matters either personally or via my advisers in a foreign court.

'Neither the Emirate of Dubai nor the UAE are party to these proceedings and they did not participate in the hearing.'

The cyber-hacking mission took place during a critical phase in the sheikh and Haya's custody case at the High Court in the summer of last year. The case continues.
A Buddhist juror serving in Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes' fraud trial was dismissed Wednesday after telling the judge that if Holmes were found guilty and sent to prison for a 'long, long time' she would 'feel like it's my fault'.

Juror No 4 told Judge Edward Davila in US District Court in San Jose that as a Buddhist, she believes in love and forgiveness.

'Im thinking of all the time shell be in jail,' the juror - identified only as a dark-haired woman in a surgical mask and green floral blouse - told Davila, according to The Mercury News.

She added: 'It's very hard for me. I'm thinking what happens if she has to be in there for a long long time and Im out here. Ill feel like its my fault.'

According to The Mercury News, Davila explained to the woman that she cannot consider punishment when making decisions about a defendant.

A Buddhist juror serving in disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes' (pictured) fraud trial has been dismissed after telling the judge that if Holmes were found guilty and sent to prison for a 'long, long time' she would 'feel like its my fault'

Juror No 4 told Judge Edward Davila (pictured) in US District Court in San Jose that as a Buddhist, she believes in love and forgiveness. The juror said she felt she could only remain on the jury if she didn't have to vote on whether Holmes was guilty

He said: 'Your responsibility as a juror is to only decide the facts of the case.'

Despite Davila's reminders, the juror said she thought about the punishment 'every day'.

The judge then asked: 'Do you think youre able to separate your beliefs, your religious and personal beliefs, can you separate those from your job to decide the facts in the case?'

The juror said she felt she could only remain on the jury if she didn't have to vote on whether Holmes was guilty, according to the newspaper.

Davila thanked her for her honesty and asked whether she thought her feelings would fade throughout the trial.

'Lets say shes guilty and then I think of punishment from the government,' Davila said, to which the juror replied, again, that she spent every day thinking about Holmes being sent to prison.

The Mercury News reported that Davila asked federal prosecutors along with Holmes' defense team if they wanted Juror No 4 to be excused from serving on the jury. Both sides said they did.

Prosecutor Jeff Schenk said he found Juror No 4 to be genuine, especially because she was willing too stay on the jury if she didnt have to vote on Holmes's verdict.

Davila said of the Buddhist woman's dismissal: 'It appears that her deeply held religious convictions are causing her some difficult issues. Even though I told her punishment is something she cannot consider it did not seem to assuage her from her feelings.'

The trial of the disgraced former Theranos CEO continued throughout August and she was pictured arriving at the federal courthouse in San Jose during jury selection on August 31

Meanwhile, the alternate juror selected to replace Juror No 4 - Alternate Juror No 2 -later approached Davila and expressed her own concerns about reaching a verdict because she said that English wasn't her first language.

According to The Mercury News, she told Davila that she felt the language barrier could impact Holmes's 'future'.

Alternate Juror No 2 was identified by the news outlet as a young, brown-haired woman wearing a pink jacket. She was put on the jury as an alternate after Davila noted the importance of diversity in juries.

She told the judge she understood the proceedings so far and Davila then informed the court - and the alternate juror - that she would replace Juror No 4 for the rest of the trial.

Former Theranos lab director Adam Rosendorff told prosecutors in court Tuesday that his misgivings about the accuracy of the company's blood tests led him to speak to former Wall Street Journal reporter John Carreyrou (pictured), whose story was the first to sow doubts about their capabilities

Davila convinced Alternate Juror No 2 to stay, telling her that her job was to consider the facts of the case fairly, and not to punish Holmes.

'Hopefully that eases your conscience,' he told the woman, according to The Daily Beast.

Holmes has been on trial for charges of fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud over allegations that she misled investors, patients and doctors about the capabilities of Theranos' blood-test technology since opening arguments were presented on September 8.

The ex-CEO faces up to 20 years in prison if she's convicted.

Last week, ago a former Theranos lab director testified at Holmes' trial that he believed the company's leadership cared more about public relations than the accuracy of its much touted blood tests, and explained why he decided to speak to the press about his doubts.

In a testimony that began Friday and continued through to October 1, Adam Rosendorff told the court why he decided to go to Wall Street Journal reporter John Carreyrou in 2015 to relay his misgivings about the company's blood testing technology.

Rosendorff joined Theranos in April 2013 as a lab director and told jurors that he left in November 2014 over qualms about the company's priorities.

Rosendorff alleged in testimony that he had tried to warn Holmes and Theranos' chief operating officer and her former lover, Ramesh 'Sunny' Balwani (right) of inaccuracies in the company's tests

Holmes is accused of fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud over allegations that she misled investors, patients and doctors about the capabilities of Theranos' blood-test technology. She was sketched in court on September 8 during opening arguments

He was the first to blow the whistle regarding the company's troubles to Carreyrou, and Carreryrou's report was the first to show doubts about the accuracy of Theranos' tests when it was published in October 2015.

The report also drew further scrutiny that would lead to the company's eventual collapse.

'I felt pressured to vouch for tests that I did not have confidence in. I came to believe that the company believed more about PR and fundraising than about patient care,' Rosendorff said in court.

He also described how he had felt compelled to speak to Carreyrou because of a 'moral and ethical' obligation 'to alert the public'.

After his testimony Tuesday, Carreyrou took to Twitter to confirm the Rosendorff was his initial source.

'Without him, I wouldn't have been able to break the Theranos story,' he tweeted. 'Hats off to his courage and integrity. He's one of the real heroes of this story.'

While being questioned by prosecutor John Bostic, Rosendorff insisted that he repeatedly tried to warn Holmes and Theranos' chief operating officer and Holmes' former lover, Ramesh 'Sunny' Balwani, that the tests were so rampantly inaccurate that he was being besieged by complaints from doctors.

But Holmes and Balwani seemed more interested in cultivating Theranos' image as a potentially game-changing company than protecting people's health, according to Rosendorff.

'The number and severity of issues had reached a crescendo,' Rosendorff said.

Balwani was also charged with the same fraud and conspiracy charges and is scheduled to be tried in January.

Attorneys for Holmes have argued that that the legal responsibility for the accuracy of Theranos' tests fell on the employees running the lab and not Holmes, which would have included Rosendorff.
From next Monday the dreaded 5km travel rule will disappear in NSW unless you're one of the unvaccinated residents who will have to wait until December 1 to leave the confines of your suburb.

This means those who make up the 70 per cent of vaccinated people in Greater Sydney will now be able to travel freely within the area, including to the Central Coast, Wollongong, Shellharbour and the Blue Mountains.

But residents of Greater Sydney will still be restricted from travelling to regional zones after the NSW government delayed this freedom until the next stage of re-opening when the 80 per cent fully vaccinated target is reached.

From next Monday the dreaded 5km travel rule will disappear in NSW... unless you're one of the unvaccinated

Those who make up the 70 per cent of vaccinated people in Greater Sydney will be able to travel freely within the area, including to the Central Coast, Wollongong, Shellharbour and the Blue Mountains, from Monday, October 11

Sydneysiders have endured 15 weeks of lockdown, beginning on June 26, but from next Monday will no longer be restricted to their local government area

'For the purposes of minimising regional travel initially we don't want people in the Central Coast or Wollongong and Shellharbour, where there are significant case numbers, travelling into the regions,' former Deputy Premier John Barilaro said.

Those living in regional LGAs will be able to travel to other parts of the state but not enter the Greater Sydney region at this stage.

Caravan parks will also re-open as part of the relaxed restrictions, while carpooling will again be permitted in Sydney.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet made the long-awaited announcement that the state had reached the 70 per cent fully vaccinated milestone late yesterday, paving the way to the reopening of pubs, restaurants, cafes, hairdressers and retail stores from next Monday, October 11.

Sydneysiders have endured 15 weeks of lockdown, beginning on June 26.

Mr Perrottet and the NSW crisis cabinet are re-examining the NSW roadmap to see whether other freedoms might be restored earlier than originally planned.

Mr Perrottet and the NSW crisis cabinet are re-examining the NSW roadmap to see whether other freedoms might be restored earlier than originally planned

Greater Sydney residents are not yet able to travel to regional centres such as Byron Bay (pictured). Residents in regional LGAs may move around other areas of the state but not visit Greater Sydney as yet

This could mean nightclubs and amusement parks, originally slated to return in December, could instead open within weeks when the jab rate is set to surpass 80 per cent.

Restrictions around gatherings will also ease sooner than expected.

Up to 10 visitors will be allowed to gather inside homes across the state, and as many as 100 residents can attend weddings and funerals together from Monday.

'On Monday, swimming pools, which were previously closed until December 1, will be open,' Mr Perrottet said.

'Indoor swimming pools will be open for rehabilitation, for child swimming, children's swimming lessons, organised lap swimming and the like.'

Mr Perrottet was also gunning for the mandate which requires all indoor workers to wear face masks to be dropped ahead of the December 1 cut-off.

'As we hit the key 70 per cent and 80 per cent vaccination targets in coming days, we need to ensure that our focus remains on keeping people safe and continuing to strive for above 90 per cent vaccination rates,' Mr Perrottet said.

'Alongside this, we must have a sharp focus on how we support businesses and ensure people return to work and give the NSW economy the best chance of bouncing back.

'As we head into December and over the summer period as businesses open... we're going to have a very bright summer.'
Gabby Petito's family have revealed that the 22-year-old's body was found in a fairly isolated area, just 'a five minute walk' from where authorities found her and Brian Laundrie's van.

In an emotional interview with Dr Phil, on Wednesday, Petito's stepfather said: 'Her body was found  I guess it would be in front of a tent, if that's what was there  or just in front of the fire ring... there was definitely a fire ring there.'

'It wasn't far from the van. It was a five minute walk,' Petito's mother, Nichole Schmidt echoed.

Jim, who visited the location on the outskirts of Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming where Petito's body was found, painted a vivid picture of the isolated area.

'You would have to want to go out over into that area,' he said.

Jim (left) and Nichole Schmidt (right), appearing on Dr. Phil, revealed that Gabby Petito's remains were found in an area of dispersed campgrounds on the borderline of Bridger-Teton National Forest, about 40 feet away from where Grand Teton National Park begins

Jim left a stone cross and flowers in the exact location where she was found

Petito's mother, Nichole Schmidt shared: 'It wasn't far from the van. It was a five minute walk'

The pair had been traveling on a cross-country trip together since July 2, when they left New York. Petito was reported missing on September 11

Jim said his stepdaughter's remains were found in an area of dispersed campgrounds on the borderline of Bridger-Teton National Forest, about 40 feet away from where Grand Teton National Park begins.

He explained in order to get to that area, campers would have to cross over the creek bed that separated the campgrounds from the area where police found Petito and Laundrie's van.

'So you have to cross over this creek bed, this rock area, and go through these tributaries and once you get on the other side it's just some trees sparsely placed throughout and a lot sage brush, a lot of low brush,' he shared.

'It was in an area where there was a few trees and there was the remnants of a fire ring there...There was a clearing where I would assume - knowing I have a similar tent, where I would place my tent - and that opening would face out overlooking the mountain range.'

Jim left a stone cross and flowers in the exact location where she was found.

Petito (pictured) was reported missing on September 11, ten days after boyfriend Brian Laundrie returned to Florida in their van without Petito and refused to answer her parents about what had happened to her

Petito's family (pictured) has urged fugitive Laundrie to turn himself in

Petito and her fiance, Laundrie, 23, went on a cross-country trip in their van in August, but Petito never returned home.

The pair drew national attention after Petito was reported missing on September 11, ten days after Laundrie returned to Florida in their van without Petito and refused to answer her parents about what had happened to her.

Laundrie's whereabouts are unknown since September 14, when his parents said he left the family home in North Port, Florida. The Laundries said that their son was heading to a nearby nature reserve and only had his backpack.

Investigators have chased down leads in multiple states since Laundrie went to ground three weeks ago but to date there has not been a confirmed sighting of the sole person of interest in 22-year-old Gabby's homicide.

The FBI is currently investigating 11 alleged sightings of Laundrie along the Appalachian Trail close to the North Carolina-Tennessee border, DailyMail.com exclusively revealed Wednesday.

Gabby Petito, right, and Brian Laundrie, were on a cross-country van trip when went missing on Aug. 24. Brian was the key person on interest and went missing himself on September 17

The pair drew national attention after Petito was reported missing on September 11, ten days after Laundrie returned to Florida in their van (pictured) without Petito and refused to answer her parents about what had happened to her

Meanwhile, as the nationwide manhunt for Laundrie remained underway, Petito's parents and step-parents participated in a two-part interview with Dr. Phil.

During the first episode, which aired on Tuesday, the family urged Brian Laundrie, 23, the only person of interest in the murder of their daughter, to turn himself in and bring a close to something that's felt like 'a bad soap opera.'

Petito's father, Joe Petito, also labeled the entire Laundrie family 'cowards'.

Joe launched the scathing attack against the Laundries, saying he believed Brian was still alive because 'he is too cowardly to kill himself'.

Joe then raged against Brian's parents Chris and Roberta who are holed up in their North Port, Florida home as daily protests about what they knew and when continue outside.

'Anyone who lived in that house is a coward, said Petito, justifying that by saying 'they don't know how to stand up for their actions'.

Petito's step-father, Jim added, 'It's almost like living in a soap opera. Like, it's just a bad show. We all want to protect our children, but it's also more important to teach your children right from wrong.'

Joe and Nicole then revealed to Dr. Phil they had tried calling and texting the Laundries multiple times when they failed to hear from their daughter in early September - but they never replied.

'It's infuriating, Nicole said.

Joe added, 'We actually thought that they were both missing at that time.'

In one of the text messages, Joe said 'I'm going to call the police, just letting you know, because we have no idea.'

'A normal parent when you text someone that [you] are going to call the cops because you can't find your child, they would reply. No response. Nothing.'

Gabby Petito's family went on Dr. Phil on Tuesday and called out Brian Laundrie's family. Pictured from L-R: step-mother Tara Petito, father Joe Petito, step-father James Schmidt, mother Nicole Schimdit

Joe Petito called Chirs and Roberta Laundrie, pictured, cowards for avoiding his family

They said Laundrie's parents were completely unresponsive, and Nicole, with tears in her eyes, admitted that she 'felt it in her heart' that her daughter was dead when she learned that Brian arrived at his parents house alone in Gabby's car.

'I didn't want to admit it, but I felt it at the night I found out the van was in Florida, on [September 11]. I felt in my heart that she was gone.'

Joe described the Laundries as pitch 'black,' the opposite of transparent, as they allegedly withheld information while he and his family were desperately trying to find answers about their missing daughter.

'It's just black. There's nothing there. They've got nothing.'

Jim, also revealed that he was the one to identify Gabby's body, which was found in the Grand Teton National Park, in Wyoming, last month.

He said that when the body was found on September 19, police showed him an article of clothing that he matched as one of her favorite sweatshirts from a local New York shop.

'We knew it was hers,' Jim said.

Jim was in Wyoming to help search for his missing step-daughter and set up a memorial for her at the site when it was confirmed that her body was found there.

He said he was crying when he learned of his step-daughter's fate, but he needed to compose himself in order to relay the information to the rest of the family in a conference call with authorities.

'It was the hardest call of my entire life,' Jim said.

'It was the hardest thing I ever had to listen to,' Nicole added.

When Dr. Phil asked if the family had any words for Brian, they all said, 'Turn yourself in.'

'If you truly loved her, you should turn yourself in,' step-mother Tara Petito said.

Brian Laundrie, 23, who was reported missing on September 14, remains a person of interest in the disappearance and death of fiancee Gabby Petito

'You're only making it worse,' Schmidt added. 'For us and for yourself and your family. Let us have some closure. Let us move on and be able to remember Gabby for all the wonderful memories we had with her. Turn yourself in.'

The family's lawyer, Richard Stafford, also urged the Laundries to fully cooperate with law enforcement and share their story, and he pushed for Brian to due the right thing and turn himself in.

'He can't change what he did back in Wyoming, but he can change his actions now.'

The family's interview comes as Brian Laundrie's sister, Cassie, spoke to Good Morning America on Tuesday, urging him to 'come forward' and telling her parents to 'come clean' if they are involved in his disappearance.

She added, 'No I don't know where Brian is. ...I'd turn him in.'

This comes after she was exposed as being caught in a lie last week after first saying she had not spoken to her brother on his return from Utah and then admitting she had gone camping with him before he vanished.

Cassie told ABC's GMA she wished her brother had come to her first when he returned to North Port, Florida, without Petito on September 1.

'I really wish he had come to me first that day with the van because I don't think we'd be here,' she said.

Cassie said she is feeling a mix of emotions as her brother is still on the run after more than two weeks while Petito's death is being investigated as a homicide.

'I worry about him, I hope he's ok and I'm angry I don't know what to think,' she said.

'I would tell my brother to just come forward and get us out of this horrible mess.'

Brian Laundrie's sister Cassie has urged her fugitive brother to 'come forward' and turn himself in, saying she doesn't know 'what to think' happened on his doomed cross-country trip

Cassie told ABC's GMA she doesn't know 'what to think' about what happened on the young couple's doomed cross-country trip. Above, Brian and Petito were in an Instagram photo on their cross-country trip on June 26

Cassie told ABC's GMA she doesn't know 'what to think' about what happened on the young couple's doomed cross-country trip.

While she insisted she had nothing to do with Laundrie's disappearance, she admitted she wasn't so sure about her parents Christopher and Roberta Laundrie who she urged to cooperate with investigators.

'I don't know if my parents are involved,' said Cassie. 'I think if they are, then they should come clean.'

Cassie first broke ranks and spoke out on Monday, saying she 'didn't know' if her fugitive brother had murdered his girlfriend Gabby Petito and claimed that their parents refuse to talk to her.

Chris and Roberta Laundrie had been initially reluctant to cooperate with the investigation regarding missing Petito until Laundrie went missing on September 17.
Barnaby Joyce has slammed a 'completely and utterly fictitious' and false allegation that his daughter had an affair with John Barilaro, forcing the NSW Deputy Premier to suddenly resign.

The Deputy Prime Minister said he had been asked to comment on the false allegation by local media after it circulated online.

Mr Joyce did not specify which of his four daughters was the subject of the false allegation but his eldest daughter Bridgette - who worked for Mr Barilaro as an advisor since earlier this year - has been targeted online.

'My daughter is a strong person and she had a completely malicious rumour ... basically people saying that she had been in a relationship with John Barilaro and that's why he left,' Mr Joyce told ABC Radio National on Thursday.

'Which is just total and utter rubbish.

'When you have local media outlets actually approaching you for comment on this and you say ''what is your source'' and they say ''Facebook'' or ''the source is Twitter'' and you say ''well it's no good that these platforms just say ''sorry it's too hard to control''.

'Well it's not too hard for you to collect your billions of dollars from it,' Mr Joyce said in a swipe at big tech companies which make money from advertising on their platforms.

'My daughter's got broad shoulders, she knows how to deal with this,' he added.

A source close to Mr Barilaro said the allegation was 'completely wrong, absolutely false and awful for it to be suggested'.

Barnaby Joyce has slammed 'totally fictitious' allegations that his daughter had an affair with John Barilaro which forced him to resign. Pictured: Bridgette Joyce

Mr Barilaro is pictured with his wife Deanna and three children at home in southern NSW

Mr Barilaro resigned as NSW Nationals leader and Deputy Premier on Sunday, two days after ex-Premier Gladys Berejiklian quit over a corruption investigation, joking that he was having a 'mid-life crisis' and wanted a new career outside of politics.

The married father of three said the reason for his retirement would become clear 'in the weeks ahead and the months ahead'.

Mr Joyce slammed social media companies for allowing the false allegation and other fake news to proliferate.

ABC host Patricia Karvelas said sometimes online gossip turns out to be true, referencing rumours Mr Joyce was having an affair with his staffer Vikki Campion, with whom he now has two sons.

'I'm a public figure and I get what I get, and I cop what I cop,' Mr Joyce said.

'But I've always drawn the line for people who are not public figures and what happens to them.'

'It's not just my daughter. This is an issue if you go to any school and talk to any parent, this is one of their greatest fears, the destruction of their children by innuendo, by slur, on a macro level, and on a micro level,' he said.

Bridgette Joyce (second left) is pictured with mother Natalie and her three sisters

Later on Thursday Scott Morrison weighed in and blasted social media as a 'coward's palace'.

Mr Morrison backed up Mr Joyce and said he would be taking action to stop social media companies allowing defamatory comments by anonymous trolls who can't be held accountable.

'I will pick up and add my voice to Barnaby's,' he said in a press conference on Thursday.

'Cowards who go anonymously on social media and vilify people, and harass them, and bully them, and engage in defamatory statements, they need to be responsible for what they're saying.

'Social media has become a coward's palace where people can go on there, not say who they are, destroy people's lives, and say the most foul and offensive things to people, and do so with impunity.

'Now that's not a free country where that happens. That's not right.'

Mr Morrison threatened to change the law to brand social media companies as publishers which would make them legally responsible for all comments posted by users.

'[Users] should have to identify who they are, and you know, the companies, if they're not going to say who they are, well, they're not a platform any more, they're a publisher. They're a publisher. And you know what the implications of that means in terms of those issues,' he said.

Nationals advisor Bridgette (third left) is pictured with her parents and sisters

After announcing his resignation, Mr Barilaro said NSW would be best served by someone who had the passion and fight to forge on.

'I just don't have the energy anymore,' Mr Barilaro told reporters on Monday.

'I'm looking for a new career. I turn 50 in November, maybe a bit of a midlife crisis, but definitely thinking about what happens next. I will take some time out, but I genuinely won't be running for federal politics,' the Monaro MP said.

In his resignation speech, Mr Barilaro thanked his constituents for their support, describing his role as the leader of the National party as 'the honour and privilege of a lifetime'.

Mr Barilaro said it felt right to step down alongside Ms Berejiklian (pictured together) to give NSW a fresh start, allowing two new leaders to take the reins together as the state finally exits a grueling 15-week Covid lockdown

He said it felt right to leave parliament at the same time as Ms Berejiklian to give NSW a fresh start, allowing two new leaders to take the reins as the state finally exits a gruelling 15-week Covid lockdown.

'I'm going to be a keen watcher of politics, but I will not be a participant. I have no intention of running in federal politics... I'd been thinking about this for a while,' he said early on Monday morning.

Mr Barilaro said defamation proceedings he launched against YouTuber Jordan Shanks - aka FriendlyJordies - and Google played an enormous role in his decision to quit politics.

He accused Shanks of spouting 'vile racism' hidden as journalism, noting the 'disgusting, vile, racist commentary on social media has taken a toll'.

'As a young boy with immigrant parents, I understood what racism was from a young age,' he said during a press conference on Monday.

The father-of-three is proud of his heritage and the sacrifices his parents made for him growing up, citing his late father as his 'biggest inspiration' for getting into politics In one YouTube video, the entertainer referred to Mr Barilaro as a 'big, fat, wog c***', 'greasy Ned Kelly' and 'a conman to the core, powered by spaghetti'. In 2020 Mr Barilaro said he wears the nickname 'Pork Barrel-aro' with a badge of honour. Pork barrelling is the practice of handing out taxpayer money to win votes, usually in government-held seats. The father-of-three said he was proud of his Italian heritage and the sacrifices his parents made for him growing up, citing his late father as his 'biggest inspiration' for getting into politics.

He said Ms Berejiklian's announcement on Friday brought forward his decision to retire.

Mr Barilaro noted the immense sacrifices she gave to her state and wished the outgoing premier well in her post-politics life.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Mr Barilaro's office for comment.
Rashida Tlaib admitted on Monday that she only was wearing a mask because a Republican 'tracker' was following her, according to camera footage revealed Wednesday.

When talking outside after an event with Housing and Urban Development [HUD] Secretary Marcia Fudge, a man who was not wearing a mask thought he was being scolded for being 'the one unmasked guy'.

'Oh, no. Oh, not you!' Michigan Representative Tlaib said.

She then pulled her black N95-style mask away from her face, pointed to the camera and said: 'No, no, noI'm just wearing it because I've got a Republican tracker here.'

The video of the exchange was posted by the Washington Free Beacon on Wednesday.

Representative Rashida Tlaib admitted in a video captured Monday that she only was wearing her mask outdoors because a 'Republican tracker' was following her

The progressive Michigan congresswoman took down her mask to speak with an unmasked man after an event with HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge in Dearborn, Michigan

Tlaib is one of the original four progressive members of the so-called 'squad', which also includes Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar and Ayanna Pressley.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released guidance over the summer reversing their relaxation on mask-wearing as case rates of COVID-19 surged. The new mandates required that high-contraction areas reinstate requirements for the wearing of masks indoors  even if the individual is vaccinated.

Tlaib was speaking to an unmasked man who thought he was being scolded for being 'the one unmasked guy'. He quickly put on a mask

The CDC did not recommend anyone return to wearing masks outside.

Tlaib was captured in early August dancing at a crowded, indoor wedding without a mask in Dearborn, Michigan, which is located in Wayne County  currently rated as an orange zone by the CDC due to its 'substantial' coronavirus transmission rate.

Orange areas are one of two categories where the CDC guidelines call for indoor masking in all cases and vaccination statuses.

The situation on Monday was similar to that of Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez last month, who was captured on video not wearing a mask outdoors while protesting on the steps of the Capitol but quickly put on her mask for a photo-op. She immediately removed the mask after the image was captured of her with other progressives protesting the end of the COVID-era eviction moratorium.
France will send its ambassador back to Canberra after he was pulled out of Australia in protest when a $90billion deal to buy French submarines was scrapped.

Jean-Pierre Thebault was recalled to France in September after Australia signed a new submarine deal with the United States and United Kingdom as part of the AUKUS alliance.

But foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told French parliament on Thursday (AEDT) he has asked the ambassador to return to Canberra with two missions: 'to define our relationship with Australia in the future  and firmly defend our interests in the implementation of Australia's decision to terminate the submarine program'.

Mr Morrison flew to France in June to meet with Mr Macron (pictured) but diplomatic relations have slumped after Australia reneged on a $90billion deal to buy French submarines

President Emmanuel Macron reacted furiously to Australia's announcement on September 15 that it was scrapping its submarine contract with France in favour of a new one negotiated in secret with the US and Britain.

The French foreign minister accused Australia of back-stabbing and the United States of betrayal, calling the move reminiscent of the unilateralist attitude of Biden's predecessor Donald Trump.

Paris recalled its envoys to both Australia and the United States over the furore.

But Macron later ordered the French ambassador to Washington to return to his post after a call with US President Joe Biden, which helped soothe tensions.

France however made clear it was not in as big a rush to mend fences with Australia, and kept its envoy to Canberra in Paris.

France's anger stemmed not only from the loss of the submarine deal but also the shattering of an alliance with Australia that it saw as a cornerstone of its Indo-Pacific security strategy.
A creek with one of Australia's most racist place names could soon be renamed to honour indigenous locals.

Hepburn Shire Council and Mount Alexander Shire Council have proposed to rename Victoria's Jim Crow Creek to Larni Barramal Yaluk.

Residents of the rural councils, who live within 200m of the creek, will be asked whether it should be renamed to the indigenous place name.

Victoria's Jim Crow Creek (pictured) could be changed to Larni Barramal Yaluk to honour indigenous locals

Larni Barramal Yaluk translates to 'Home of the Emu Creek' and was proposed by Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation.

Rodney Carter, cheif executive officer of Dja Dja Warrung, said it would be a positive move to bring back Traditional Owner's language and people into the landscape.

'Naming places in our language opens up conversations so when people say that word, it is talking to country,' Mr Carter said.

'You create a degree of fondness and care of a place.'

Hepburn mayor Lesley Hewitt said the history of the name 'Jim Crow' is associated with racial segregation and racism, with calls to change the name for years.

The creek name has been rooted in racial segregation and racism - referring to US white actor Thomas Darmouth's blackface minstrel character

'The history of the term 'Jim Crow' is rooted in racial segregation and racism. We want to learn, acknowledge and move forward together,' said Cr Lesley Hewitt.

'By reinstating a name that reconnects our community with the Dja Dja Wurrung culture and language that spans many thousands of years, we are setting the standard for how we can support the Dja Dja Wurrung Peoples.'

The derogatory name arose from a slur used against African Americans in 1828 after US white actor Thomas Dartmouth developed the first blackface minstrel character.

Darmouth's 'Jump Jim Crow' song and dance routine performance where he portrayed a grossly stereotyped African American was known worldwide.

During the 1830's the name was first applied by Captain John Hepburn in the area of Mt Franklin and was used to refer to the mountain, Aboriginal Protectorate, creek and goldfields.

The term was also used to refer to Indigenous people living in the area.

Hepburn Shire Council and Mount Alexander Shire Council have proposed the new name after years of calls to change the creeks racist place name

Residents and businesses living within 200metres of the creek will be sent a survey via mail on the proposed name change.

The engagement phase of the project will run from 30 September to 12 November with the councils to announce its decision between February and March next year.

It is not the first time an Indigenous place name has been reinstated in recognition of Aboriginal heritage.

World-famous Fraser Island is set to be renamed after after a long-fought campaign by Indigenous elders.

The World Heritage Site, an island off the Queensland coast, was changed to K'gari - meaning 'paradise'.

Other national parks in Queensland have previously been re-named in consultation with traditional owners earlier this year.

They include Naree Budjong Djara National Park on Minjerribah, formerly North Stradbroke Island and Gheebulum Kunungai National Park on Mulgumpin, formerly Moreton Island.
A Melbourne principal has temporarily lost his registration after his school was caught up in a Covid-19 outbreak while operating at full capacity during a lockdown.

There were 60 Covid-19 cases linked to the outbreak last month at Fitzroy Community School which spread to students, teachers and household contacts.

More than 180 people have since become close contacts, making the school a Tier one exposure site.

Principal of alternative Melbourne school Tim Berryman (pictured) has been handed an interim suspension after operating the school during strict lockdown and 60 cases were linked to the school's outbreak

The school of 120 students had been inviting all parents to send their kids to class in breach of lockdown restrictions, a move it publicly defended.

Principal Timothy Berryman was handed an interim suspension by the Victorian Institute of Teaching, pending an investigation.

According to its register of disciplinary action, Mr Berryman's suspension came into effect on Wednesday.

He previously controversially said children 'get runny noses' all the time and are more likely to get hit my a car than get sick from coronavirus.

Mr Berryman said the threat the virus posed to children was extremely low and mild illness was 'inevitable' even when his 11-year-old son tested positive.

Mr Berryman (pictured) previously said children get ill all the time and are more likely to get hit by a car than get sick from Covid

'It's a bit like saying some children will drown and some children get run over,' he told the Today show.

'But we haven't stopped them going on scooters and riding their bikes and getting in cars. We accept that that risk is part of it.'

VIT has the power to suspend a teacher's registration if it forms the view 'the teacher poses an unacceptable risk of harm to children' or it is 'necessary to protect children'.

The principal's mother, Faye Berryman - who founded the school - appeared on Sunrise earlier in September, being cut off by host Natalie Barr after she defended keeping the school open to all students.

Faye Berryman (pictured) founded the school, appearing on Sunrise defending their decision to keep the school open to children

'The government are telling people only to send their kids to school if they are essential workers - not to do their own research and decide themselves,' Barr said.

Ms Berryman replied: 'We didn't want to be forced into doing something that was against our conscience.

Barr abruptly ended the interview telling the educator she threatened the wellbeing of the wider community, putting them all at risk.

Social media has expressed their views on the matter, with some praising Mr Berryman for keeping the school open.

'I am going to send my kids to this school if there is a spot available. As a teacher I absolutely approve of this wonderful principal,' commented one supporter.

'Bravo...Get our kids back to school. The lockdowns are so much worse for our kids than the Covid risk,' wrote another.

Others criticised the actions of the school and the views of the educators, saying they were selfish for going against lockdown restrictions.

'I think the students taking COVID home and giving it their family including grandparents would be more traumatic than homeschooling for a little longer,' wrote one viewer against their actions.

'This is totally irresponsible he has a duty of care to this students the children aint at school because there lives are a risk I hope none of these children end up on a ventilator,' commented another.

'How selfish...If you just work with the rest of Victoria to keep the spread down then all schools can get back open sooner, and kids will be flourishing everywhere,' said one viewer.

Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley said the priority was the health and safety of of children, families and staff.

'This school has some history when it comes to sailing pretty close to chief health officer orders,' he remarked.

'Our compliance people - after the priority of responding to the outbreak is dealt with - will investigate the matter and based on whatever outcomes they come up with, take appropriate action.'

Fitzroy Community School (pictured) has been labelled a Tier one exposure site after over 180 people became close contacts to the 60 positive cases

It comes as authorities race to identify vulnerable young patients who were exposed to a Covid-19 outbreak at a Melbourne children's hospital cancer ward.

A patient's parent spent at least four days at the Royal Children's Hospital in Parkville while infectious between October 1 to October 4.

Contact tracing was still underway on Wednesday night.

The hospital's Kookaburra cancer care ward has been identified as a tier one exposure site, and its main street walkway has been listed as a tier two site for September 26.

RCH CEO Bernadette McDonald said all affected patients, parents or carers have been put into single rooms at the hospital to quarantine for 14 days.

No child in the cancer ward had tested positive as of Wednesday evening, but the hospital has 12 Covid-19 positive patients under its care, with four in other wards and eight being treated at home.

Follows an outbreak of the virus in The Royal Children's Hospital (pictured) cancer ward in Melbourne. Those affected have been placed into single room quarantine

Ms McDonald said some children are turning up to the hospital with other illnesses or injuries and then testing positive for coronavirus.

Victoria recorded the deadliest day of its third wave of the pandemic on Wednesday, with 11 deaths and a further 1420 new locally acquired cases.

Schools have been closed to all but the children of essential workers since August 5.

Meanwhile, more Victorians stranded in the ACT and NSW can now come home after border restrictions eased overnight.
Australian diagnostic test maker Ellume has recalled some batches of its COVID-19 home test, saying they may show false-positive results due to a recently identified manufacturing issue.

The company said of the 427,000 tests that were affected, it had recalled about 195,000 tests as they were unused.

'Ellume has investigated the issue, identified the root cause and implemented additional controls,' the company told Reuters on Wednesday.

Australian diagnostic test maker Ellume has recalled some batches of its COVID-19 home test

Ellume, whose at-home antigen test received Emergency Use Authorisation by the US health regulator in December 2020, has so far shipped 3.5million tests to the United States.

The US Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday that it was working with the company to assess its additional manufacturing checks and take corrective steps.

The company said it had restarted manufacturing of its updated test kits and would soon resume their distribution.

Details about the recall were first reported by the New York Times.
A 54-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of people trafficking, the Metropolitan Police said on Wednesday.

The man, who has not been named, remained in custody at a north London police station.

The announcement of Tuesday's arrest came as detectives appealed for the public's help to locate two teenage girls who are missing from their homes and believed to be 'at risk of harm,' according to a press release.

Andreea, 15, was last seen on Friday, October 1 at her home in Canterbury, Kent. Her cousin Izabela, 16, was last seen on Sunday October 3 in Harrow, west London.

A high risk missing person investigation has been launched and officers are pursuing a number of lines of enquiry in an effort to locate the two girls, police said.

In addition to London and Kent, the girls are believed to have links to Leicester and Dundee.

Andreea, 15, was last seen on Friday, October 1 at her home in Canterbury, Kent

Izabela, Andreea's 16-year-old cousin, was last seen on Sunday October 3 in Harrow, west London

Officers from Police Scotland are assisting the Metropolitan Police with their investigation.

'We are becoming increasingly concerned for the safety of Andreea and Izabela,' Detective Chief Inspector Tony Bellis, of the North West Public Protection Unit, said.

'While we are keeping an open mind as to their whereabouts, we believe they may have been taken outside London by people who could do them harm.

'I would like to appeal directly to Andreea and Izabela. You are not in trouble and there are people who want to help you. Please contact the police or someone you trust when it is safe to do so.

'I would also urge members of the public, particularly in London and Dundee, to come forward if they have any information that could help us.'

Anyone who sees the girls should call 999. Anyone with other information about their whereabouts should call 101, giving the reference CAD7399/06OCT.

Information can also be provided to Crimestoppers, anonymously, by calling 0800 555 111 or by visiting www.crimestoppers-uk.org
Why are energy firms having to pay more?

Demand for wholesale gas has soared as economies recover from the pandemic, while supply has been squeezed, pushing up prices.

The UK imports much of its gas from the EU, Norway and Russia. We have become more reliant on gas after a series of disruptions.

Last month a fire in Kent knocked out a cable bringing electricity from the continent. Wind levels have also been lower than usual.

Britain is incredibly reliant upon imported gas from Norway, the EU and Russia

How will it affect my bills?

With energy suppliers paying record prices for gas, firms are passing on the extra cost.

Many have pulled cheap fixed deals and are hiking existing customers' monthly direct debits.

Those on a fixed deal should not see bills increase unless they start using more energy or their supplier goes bust.

But once their tariff ends they will be moved on to a far more expensive standard variable tariff.

Prices are capped by Ofgem at 1,277 a year for the average household, but this is likely to increase significantly in April.

What should I do if my fixed deal ends?

Experts are urging households not to panic and lock themselves into costly fixed deals.

Ordinarily, standard variable tariffs are among the priciest on the market and experts would urge customers to switch to a new fixed deal.

But today some fixed deals are 700 more expensive than the default deal offered by suppliers. So the best option may be to sit tight.

Natural gas prices in the UK have shot up dramatically since January from 50p a unit to more than 3.50

What should I do if my supplier goes bust?

Twelve energy companies have already ceased trading this year and dozens more could follow.

Smaller suppliers are most at risk as they do not buy their energy as far in advance, so have been hit harder by rising costs.

If a supplier does goes bust, customers will not lose power. Ofgem will appoint a new supplier to take over the accounts and customers will be moved on to its standard variable tariff.

Households affected should take meter readings ready for their new supplier.

Any credit balances will be refunded, but this could take months.

How will businesses be hit?

UK businesses which need gas to heat their offices or manufacture goods face hefty bill hikes.

Steel, fertiliser and chemical plants, which rely on high energy consumption, have warned they may not be able to operate as normal this winter without emergency help.

Businesses hit with higher costs could be forced to pass these on to consumers.

What is being done?

The price cap will protect families for now. But experts believe it could be raised significantly in April as it is preventing suppliers from making enough to cover costs.

Joe Malinowski, of comparison site TheEnergyShop, warned an increase of 800 cannot be ruled out.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng is in 'regular contact with Ofgem' and with suppliers 'to understand the challenges they face'.
Keon Lincoln, 15, (pictured) was blasted twice by a 14-year-old gunman and stabbed 'with large knives' during a 30-second onslaught in January this year, prosecutors said

A schoolboy was shot and hacked to death outside his home during a 'short and brutal' assault involving a gang of five masked youngsters, a court heard yesterday.

Keon Lincoln, 15, was blasted twice by a 14-year-old gunman and stabbed 'with large knives' during a 30-second onslaught in January this year, prosecutors said.

Kieron Donaldson, Tahjgeem Breakenridge, and Michael Ugochukwu, all 18 and from Birmingham, are suspected of murdering the schoolboy in the Handsworth area of the city alongside two other suspects, aged 14 and 16, who cannot be named for legal reasons. All five deny murder.

CCTV cameras captured the hooded mob unleashing the attack, which continued even after Keon tried to get up and run away, the trial heard.

Prosecutor Michael Burrows QC told Birmingham Crown Court: 'He [Keon] was shot at whilst he was on the ground. Still, the group continued to attack him, stabbing and hacking at him with large knives.

'Eventually, the group ran away and got back into a white Ford S-Max and that car was driven away from the scene.' Footage showed that one suspect shot Keon twice including once in the stomach which later killed him, the jury was told.

Prosecutors allege all of the defendants except Donaldson had got out of the S-Max along with a fifth male, while a sixth man remained in the car and turned it round in the street.

The getaway vehicle, which had been stolen and was on false plates, later crashed. Left behind was forensic evidence including a hunting knife.

Donaldson is not thought to have been present at the murder scene but is suspected to have 'helped and supplied weapons'.

The teenager bought ten hunting knives, two survival knives and two machetes between October last year and this January, and then supplied them to others, the court heard. Mr Burrows said the prosecution could not say what the precise motive for the attack was. He added that the attack was 'planned', and also said the suspects made sure that their phones did not betray their movements.

Keon Lincoln was shot and hacked to death outside his home during a 'short and brutal' assault involving a gang of five masked youngsters, a court heard yesterday. Pictured: Police and forensics at the scene of the incident on January 22, 2021

The 14-year-old defendant, from Birmingham, denies both murder and possessing a handgun with intent to endanger life.

Breakenridge, Ugochukwu and the 16-year-old, from Walsall, also deny unlawful possession of a knife during the attack on January 21.

Opening the case for the Crown, Mr Burrows said: 'The incident was captured on CCTV. It shows five people involved in the attack.

'They all wore their hoods up so their faces could not be seen.'

He added: 'The prosecution say the gunman was ... and is 14 years old.' Jurors heard the 14-year-old was arrested a week after the death and was said to know Keon though 'they had never fallen out'.
Democrats are prepared to accept Mitch McConnell's deal to kick the can down the road on the debt ceiling fight for another two months, several Senators said on Wednesday.

Multiple Democratic senators coming from a closed-door caucus meeting on Wednesday, according to Politico, will accept McConnell's deal to let them raise the debt ceiling in December without a GOP filibuster.

The move proposed by the Senate minority leader would allow for a raise in the debt ceiling for another two months' time as long as Democrats put a price tag on it.

Progressive independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont said Democrats accepted the deal because 'Mitch McConnell finally saw the light' in proposing a solution that could pass.

However, Democrats said they will not bend on McConnell's demands that the majority party use a process called budget reconciliation to pass a longer debt ceiling increase.

'I think it's great that (McConnell's) folded and we're gonna move our agenda and we're gonna take care of the debt ceiling and then we're going to go on and pass infrastructure,' said Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth of illinis.

'We're not gonna do reconciliation,' she said, which other Democratic senators echoed.

'McConnell caved,' said Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren.

Senate Democrats are prepared to accept Senate Minoirty Leader Mitch McConnell's (right) deal for raising the debt ceiling in December. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (left) walks to his office on Wednesday as they warred over the details of the legislation

Initially, McConnell refused to lift the Republican blockade to increase the nation's borrowing limit long term, reiterating his offer to help Democrats do that through reconciliation.

Senate Democrats came out of an afternoon caucus meeting sounding positive about the offer to raise the debt limit until December and tried to paint it as a victory.

The key words in McConnell's offer are 'a fixed dollar amount.' Republicans want Democrats to raise the debt ceiling by a specific number and are filibustering a House-passed bill that would suspend the debt limit through December 2022 - after the midterm election.

But the GOP, in turn, are then likely to use that number against Democrats in the midterm elections as they try to take control of Congress.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki wouldn't comment on reports Democrats were leaning toward accepting McConnell's deal. There has been no response from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Some Democrats didn't like the offer.

'It's bulls***,' Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii told reporters on Capitol Hill.

McConnell offered a deal to Democrats that would let them raise the debt ceiling to December as long as they put a price tag on it

But with the clock ticking to October 18th - the day the Treasury Department said it will run out of money and have to default - Democrats are running out of options.

They suffered another blow Wednesday when Senator Joe Manchin made it clear Wednesday he opposes changing the Senate rules to bypass the legislative filibuster in order to raise the debt ceiling.

'I've been very very clear where I stand on the filibuster. Nothing changes,' Manchin told reporters outside of his Senate office.

Some Democratic senators wanted to go 'nuclear' - a legislative move that would allow them to bypass the filibuster, the rule that requires 60 votes to advance legislation in the Senate.

It takes a majority of 51 votes to use the 'nuclear option' and, in the 50-50 Senate Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer would need every one of his Democrats on board plus Vice President Kamala Harris to break the tie.

President Biden appears to be on board with that option.

'I think that's a real possibility,' he told reporters on Tuesday.

Manchin has been clear he opposes getting rid of the filibuster but, on Wednesday, he clarified he would oppose removing it in the case of a single piece of legislation - in this case the raising of the debt ceiling.

He also implored Schumer and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell to come together and find a way out of the legislative mess.

'I implore them to engage, start working, work this out. This should not be a crisis,' he said.

Senator Joe Manchin opposes changing the Senate rules to bypass the legislative filibuster in order to raise the debt ceiling

McConnell has been clear that none of his GOP lawmakers are on board to help raise the nation's $28.4 trillion borrowing cap through regular legislative order

He has adviced Democrats to use a process called reconciliation - which also bypasses the 60 vote threshold - to raise the debt limit.

Democrats have publicly ruled this out, saying there isn't enough time before October 18 deadline, when Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned the nation will hit the debt ceiling. Te nation has not - in modern history - defaulted on its debt.

To use reconciliation, it would take up a considerable amount of Senate time as Democrats would have to start at the beginning of the legislative process.

Additionally, if Democrats use reconcilation, they also would have to raise the borrowing limit by a certain number instead of by a date - a figure Republicans are sure to use against them in the 2022 midterm election.

Biden and Schumer argue they will have Democrats raise the debt limit with their 50 Senate votes if Republicans will just give them the 10 votes to move it to that final step in the legislative process.

'Our Senate Republican friends are planning to block the vote to raise the debt, the debt limit, by using a procedural power called the filibuster - to say that in plain English it means you have to have 60 votes,' Biden said Wednesday.

'If they don't want to do the job just get out of the way. We'll take the heat. We'll do it,' he added.

Biden is also pushing the Senate to pass his $3.5 trillion budget package, which includes a vast array of education, health and environmental programs.

He has conceded that number will have to come down to appease moderates Manchin and Sinema.

Manchin seemed to indicate he'd support a package in the range of $1.9 trillion to $2.2 trillion.

'I'm not ruling anything out, but the bottom line is I want to make sure that we're strategic and we do the right job and we don't basically add more to the concerns we have right now,' Manchin said Tuesday.

But Wednesday he made it clear he was sticking to his $1.5 trillion topline.

'My number has been 1.5' he said. 'I've been very clear.'

Some liberals, however, want the full $3.5 trillion and are threatening to hold up Biden's infrastructure deal in the House until they get it. Democrats hold a scant margin of four seats in that chamber and can only afford to lose three votes.

President Biden is pushing Republicans to let Democrats raise the debt limit

The president is trying to negotiate a path between the two factions of his party and has conceded the overall price tag will have to come down.

He spent the past two days in virtual calls with various members of the House - speaking to liberals on Monday and moderates on Tuesday as he tries to get those two groups on the same page as Manchin and Sinema so he can pass his agenda.

But even if he gets the House on board he could run into an additional roadblock in the Senate: Progressive Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren expressed skepticism about supporting a lower price tag.

Sanders pointed out the $3.5 trillion was already a compromise - liberals originally wanted $6 trillion - while Warren noteed the Senate already agreed to the $3.5 trillion budget blueprint in August.

'Right now I'm still operating on the assumption that what we voted on, $3.5 trillion, is what we should be negotiating for,' she said.
May 6: Gunman shoots three in Times Square, including four-year-old girl

Three innocent bystanders, including a four-year-old girl, were hit by stray bullets in Times Square in broad daylight, in a shocking shooting that sent tourists stampeding in panic.

NYPD officers responded to the shooting at 4.55pm near the intersection of West 44th Street and Seventh Avenue in Manhattan, in the heart of Times Square.

The young girl was struck in the leg, a 24-year-old woman was hit in her thigh and a 44-year-old woman was shot in the foot, police said. All survived.

Police officers are seen arriving on the scene in Times Square on May 8, moments after three people were caught in crossfire at around 5pm and shot

US Marshals in Starke, Florida, shared this photo of Muhammad after his arrest on May 12

NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said none of the victims were related or known to each other, and that they are believed to be innocent bystanders who were struck by stray bullets after a man got into an argument with someone else and began shooting wildly.

The younger adult woman was a tourist visiting from Rhode Island, the older one a New Jersey resident, and the child lives in Brooklyn, and was shopping for toys with her parents, Shea said.

The tourist from Rhode Island had traveled to Manhattan visit the Statue of Liberty, but finding the ferry closed decided to visit Times Square instead, Shea said.

Farrakhan Muhammad, 31, was arrested charged with attempted murder and multiple counts of assault, reckless endangerment and criminal use of a firearm.

He was denied bail, and the next hearing in the case is set for November 15.

June 17: Two children escape death in shooting outside Bronx bodega

Bronx siblings Christian, five, and Mia, 13, were nearly killed as a gunman fired wildly at an alleged gang rival who tripped over the children as he fled.

Miraculously, neither of the kids were struck but they were directly in the line of fire.

It was still light out and the parents watched in horror from the window of their first floor apartment, which is 1,000 feet away, as the kids walked down the street hand-in-hand to pick up some bread from the store.

The apartment is just feet away from the 170th street subway station and is next to a park. It was a busy Thursday night with local families and residents filling the sidewalk.

Mia and her brother were walking home together from a store. Mia tried to protect her brother while also trying to get the pair back on their feet. The callous gunman had no concern for the fact they were caught in the crossfire and kept shooting. He then fled on the back of a moped

Michael Lopez is walked out of the 44th Precinct after police charge him with attempted murder in the June 17 sidewalk shooting

The parents were watching when the gunman started running towards the kids on Sheridan Avenue, pointing at his target Hassan Wright, who was also behind the children. Hassan started running and tried to escape but instead he barreled into the brother and sister, knocking them to the ground.

As the shooter stood over Wright, firing six shots at home, the kids were trapped beneath his feet.

In a horrifying disregard for the children's lives, the shooter kept firing, injuring Wright in the legs and back before fleeing. Wright survived and is in the hospital.

Michael Lopez, 27, was arrested and charged with attempted murder. He is currently being held without bail on Riker's Island, where he is currently confined in the infirmary unit, records show.

July 31: Gunmen injure 10 in wild Queens shooting before fleeing on moped

Two men approached a crowd on a Queens street and fired about 40 shots, injuring 10 people before fleeing on mopeds

The shooters, who were in the North Corona neighborhood, targeted members of the Trinitarios gang, police said, but they opened fire near pedestrians outside a barbershop and at a birthday party in a restaurant.

NYPD released new high-quality photos on Thursday showing two gunmen and their two accomplices on mopeds who are wanted by the police

The images show of a pair of gunmen and their two accomplices who helped them escape on mopeds the night of the shooting

The victims ranged from ages 19 to 72, including a 72-year-old woman and a 70-year-old man, both of whom were shot in the leg, in addition to seven other men and another woman. All were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, according to police.

Three of them were the intended targets, police said.

The most seriously injured victim suffered a gunshot wound to the stomach, NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig said.

'The two males immediately extended their arms and began firing in the direction of a group in front of the barber shop down the street,' he said. 'This was, as I can most accurately describe it, a brazen, coordinated attack.'

The NYPD and Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa are offering a combined $30,000 reward for information leading to arrests.

August 14: Hatchet-wielding assassin hacks stranger in Manhattan bank

Shocking video captured the moment a hatchet-wielding man brutally attacked a customer at a Manhattan bank

The random attack unfolded at a Chase Bank on Broadway in the Financial District just before 5.30pm.

Surveillance video obtained by DailyMail.com shows the victim standing at an ATM in the bank vestibule when the assailant walks in behind him.

Video captured the shocking moment Queens man Miguel Solorazana, 50, is slashed with a hatchet while using an ATM at a Chase Bank in downtown Manhattan at 5.30pm Sunday. It begins with the attacker walking into the ATM room with the hatchet in hand

Eventually, Solorazana, severely bloodied, flees, and his attacker does not follow. Police say they have the suspect in custody pending charges

The suspect is seen removing a hatchet from a dark bag and sneaking up behind the victim before slashing him.

The terrified and bloodied victim, who was identified as 50-year-old Queens resident Miguel Solorzana by the New York Daily News, attempts to fend off the crazed attacker.

Solorzana is seen desperately trying to grab the weapon, as he becomes increasingly bloodied, before falling to the floor several times.

Once the assailant is finished attacking Solorzana, he proceeds to smash the ATM screens before walking away, but not before leaving the hatchet behind, police said.

Aaron Garcia, 37, of Yonkers, was arrested in the attack and charged with attempted murder and assault. He has pleaded not guilty and is next due in court November 10.

September 28: Boy, 16, is fatally shot by his own friend in Brooklyn gunfight

Cahlil Pennington was fatally shot in the head as he and two other teens in white hoodies ran down Pitkin Avenue exchanging shots with a pursuing gunman.

In surveillance video, one of the teens turns around to shoot at another gunman after being shot in the stomach during a shootout around 1:30 pm, police said.

After the teen with the gun turns around and fires a shot behind him, Cahlil is seen dropping to the ground and tripping one his friends

In the commotion, the bullet missed its intended target and hit Cahlil in the head at the corner of Pitkin and Miller Avenues, according to police and video footage.

Cahlil falls to the ground and trips his friend, seen in a blood-soaked hoodie, who then drags Cahlil's limp body around the corner as another teen in a white hoodie rounds the corner and jumps over the two wounded teens, according to the video.

Cahlil, a student at Brooklyn's New Visions AIM Charter High School II, was taken to Brookdale Hospital where he was pronounced dead, police said.

Several of the teens fled the scene and no arrests have been made.
T.Rex is often described as the 'King of the Dinosaurs', thanks to its ferocious appetite and ruthless killing tactics when it roamed the Earth 80 million years ago.

But a new study suggests that one of T.Rex's ancient ancestors may not have been quite so scary, and was actually just the size of a chicken.

Researchers from the Natural History Museum and the University of Birmingham discovered the remains of the creature in a quarry in Pant-y-ffynnon in southern Wales.

The dinosaur, dubbed Pendraig milnerae, is a theropod  a group which also includes T.Rex  and lived between 200 and 215 million years ago.

Richard Butler, co-author of the study, said: 'Dinosaur discoveries are really rare in Wales, and this is only the third dinosaur species known from the country.

'It's very exciting to learn more about the dinosaurs that lived here in the UK during the Triassic, right at the dawn of dinosaur evolution.'

T.Rex is often described as the 'King of the Dinosaurs', known for its ferocious appetite and ruthless killing tactics when it roamed the Earth 80 million years ago. But a new study suggests that one of T.Rex's ancient ancestors may not have been quite so scary, and was actually just the size of a chicken (artist's impression pictured)

Meet T.Rex's Welsh ancestor The team named the species Pendraig milnerae. Pendraig means 'Chief Dragon' in Middle Welsh, while milnerae honours Dr Angela Milner, who was instrumental in locating the specimen, but sadly passed away in August 2021. An initial analysis indicates that the dinosaur likely had a body size around that of a modern-day chicken, but boasted an impressive tail that took its total length to 3.2ft (one metre). Advertisement

The team discovered several fragmented fossils while exploring the quarry, including its articulated pelvic girdle, sacrum and posterior dorsal vertebrae, and an associated left femur.

An initial analysis indicates that the dinosaur likely had a body size around that of a modern-day chicken, but boasted an impressive tail that took its total length to 3.2ft (one metre).

Dr Stephan Spiekman, first author of the study, said: 'Pendraig milnerae lived near the beginning of the evolution of the meat-eating dinosaurs.

'It's clear from the bones we have that it was a meat-eater, but early in the evolution of this group these animals were quite small, in contrast to the very famous meat-eating dinosaurs like T. rex which evolved much later.'

The team named the species Pendraig milnerae. Pendraig means 'Chief Dragon' in Middle Welsh, while milnerae honours Dr Angela Milner, who was instrumental in locating the specimen, but sadly passed away in August 2021.

'I told Angela that I couldn't find the specimen, and so she went away and about three hours later she had it,' said Dr Susannah Maidment, a Senior Researcher in paleobiology at the Natural History Museum.

The team discovered several fragmented fossils while exploring the quarry, including its articulated pelvic girdle, sacrum and posterior dorsal vertebrae, and an associated left femur

An initial analysis indicates that the dinosaur likely had a body size around that of a modern-day chicken, but boasted an impressive tail that took its total length to 3.2ft (one metre)

'She found it in a drawer with crocodile material. She must have had the specimen in her mind's eye from when she had previously looked through that drawer. This paper would not have been possible without her.'

The new dinosaur's diminutive size also hints at possible 'island dwarfism' in the area, according to the researchers.

Dr Spiekman explained: 'The area where these specimens were found was most likely an island during the time period in which it lived.

'Species which live on islands often tend to become smaller than those on the mainland in a phenomenon called island dwarfism.

Researchers from the Natural History Museum and the University of Birmingham discovered the remains of the creature in a quarry in Pant-y-ffynnon in southern Wales

The new dinosaur's diminutive size also hints at possible island dwarfism in the area, according to the researchers

The team named the species Pendraig milnerae. Pendraig means 'Chief Dragon' in Middle Welsh, while milnerae honours Dr Angela Milner, who was instrumental in locating the specimen, but sadly passed away in August 2021

'Because the fossil reptiles from this area, including Pendraig, are all quite small-sized, we used statistical analyses to investigate whether Pendraig might have been an insular dwarf.

'The results indicate that Pendraig is indeed small, even for a theropod of that time period, but not uniquely so.

'Furthermore, based on several characters on the bones, we were able to determine that, although the specimens of Pendraig were not very young, they were also likely not fully grown.

'So Pendraig might have gotten somewhat bigger than the specimens we have so far, which limits our ability to perform reliable body size analyses.

'With this in mind, we need more evidence from more species to investigate the potential for island dwarfism in this area during that time, but if we could prove it, it would be the earliest known occurrence of this evolutionary phenomenon.'

The full findings of the study were published in the journal Royal Society Open Science.
Some dogs are able to learn up to a dozen new toy names in a single week, and can remember them for at least two months, according to the authors of a new study.

This rate of discovery and memory retention is similar to that of a one year old chid, according to the team from Eotvos Lorand University (ELTE) in Budapest, Hungary.

Border Collies and German Shepherds were found to be among the more intelligent breeds taking part in the study exploring how human language is learned.

Not all dogs are able to achieve this level of intelligence, the team found, with the best coming forward as part of the 'Genius Dog Challenge' run by the researchers.

The team from Hungary spent more than two years searching around the world for dogs that had learned the names of their toys - finding just six.

This is Squall, one of six dogs found from a two year search to have the ability to remember toy names for up to two months

This is Nalani. This rate of discovery and memory retention is similar to that of a one year old chid, according to the team from Eotvos Lorand University (ELTE) in Budapest, Hungary

Max is a talented dog, who participates in experiment at Ethology Department at Eotvos Lorand University

Squall remembers toy names and can fetch them on command. Border Collies and German Shepherds were found to be among the more intelligent breeds taking part in the study exploring how human language is learned

Study author, Shany Dror, from the Family Dog Project said it was already known dogs could learn words linked to actions, such as 'sit' or 'down' but very few are able to learn the actual names of objects and then remember them for extended periods.

The clever pups were: Max, from Hungary, Gaia from Brazil, Nalani, from the Netherlands, Squall from Florida, Whisky from Norway, and Rico from Spain.

They all qualified to participate in the experiments after proving they knew the names of more than 28 toys, with some knowing more than 100.

Dr Claudia Fugazza was the head of the research team and said: 'These gifted dogs can learn new names of toys at a remarkable speed.

Max and owner Ildiko from Hungary. The study not only revealed that some gifted dogs can learn new words at an astonishing rate, but it also standardises a new way of conducting science

Nalani is seen with her toys and owner Sonja (left) and researcher Shany (right)

Gaia is here with owner Isabella. They took part in the Genius Dog Challenge to find the brightest breeds in the world

'In our previous study, we found that they could learn a new toy name after hearing it only four times, but, with such short exposure, they did not form a long-term memory of it.'

In the study, the researchers wanted to push the limits of their talent, so they challenged the owners to teach their dogs the names of six and then 12 new toys.

The researchers said they were left amazed by each performance.

Ms Dror said: 'It turned out that, for these talented dogs, this was not much of a challenge. They easily learned between 11 and 12 toys.'

The study not only revealed that some gifted dogs can learn new words at an astonishing rate, but it also standardises a new way of conducting science.

Gaia with her toys. Not all dogs are able to achieve this level of intelligence, the team found, with the best coming forward as part of the 'Genius Dog Challenge' run by the researchers

Squall at home with toys. The team from Hungary spent more than two years searching around the world for dogs that had learned the names of their toys - finding just six

Max is a talented dog, who participates in experiment at Ethology Department at Eotvos Lorand University

Rico from Spain lazing by the pool. In the study, the researchers wanted to push the limits of their talent, so they challenged the owners to teach their dogs the names of six and then 12 new toys

Because of the Covid lockdown restrictions, the team had to turn each of the owner's homes into labs by asking them to set up two video cameras and connect to a live stream, which monitored the dogs' and owners' behaviours.

'Once we realised we can remotely test the dogs, we decided to bring the experiment to the homes of people all around the world by broadcasting the tests live on YouTube,' Ms Dror explained.

The YouTube series soon became viral on social media, with one video racking up a total of 40,000 views.

In the pack of crafty canines, it came as little surprise to the scientists when the Border Collie showcased excellent memory skills.

Max running away with one of the toys he has learnt the name for. Because of the Covid lockdown restrictions, the team had to turn each of the owner's homes into labs by asking them to set up two video cameras and connect to a live stream, which monitored the dogs' and owners' behaviours

Whisky from Norway is here with its toys. The YouTube series soon became viral on social media, with one video racking up a total of 40,000 views

Nalani is seen with her toys and owner Sonja. In the pack of crafty canines, it came as little surprise to the scientists when the Border Collie showcased excellent memory skills

DOGS FIRST BECAME DOMESTICATED ABOUT 20,000 to 40,000 YEARS AGO A genetic analysis of the world's oldest known dog remains revealed that dogs were domesticated in a single event by humans living in Eurasia, around 20,000 to 40,000 years ago. Dr Krishna Veeramah, an assistant professor in evolution at Stony Brook University, told MailOnline: 'The process of dog domestication would have been a very complex process, involving a number of generations where signature dog traits evolved gradually. 'The current hypothesis is that the domestication of dogs likely arose passively, with a population of wolves somewhere in the world living on the outskirts of hunter-gatherer camps feeding off refuse created by the humans. 'Those wolves that were tamer and less aggressive would have been more successful at this, and while the humans did not initially gain any kind of benefit from this process, over time they would have developed some kind of symbiotic [mutually beneficial] relationship with these animals, eventually evolving into the dogs we see today.' Advertisement

'Originally Border Collies were bred to work as herding dogs, so most of them are very sensitive and responsive to the behaviour of their owners,' said Ms Dror.

However, although the ability to learn names of toys appears to be more common among Border Collies, they found that even among this breed, it is very rare.

'Moreover, this talent is not unique to this breed. We are constantly searching for more gifted dogs,' the authors wrote in the Royal Society Open Science journal.

They managed to find a bright German Shepherd, Pekinese, Mini Australian Shepherd and a handful of mixed breed canines.

Professor Adam Miklosi, co-author of the study, said: 'Dogs are good models for studying human behaviour as they evolve and develop in the human environment.'

'With these talented dogs, we have a unique opportunity to study how another species understands the human language and how learning words influences the way we think about the world,' he added.

'Gifted dogs are especially interesting because they show that also among other species there are individuals that are uniquely talented.

'With the help of these dogs, we hope to better understand the factors that contribute to the development of talent'.

The researchers went on to explain that the skill needed to learn object names is very rare in other species.

'By studying these dogs, we can not only better understand dogs but also better understand ourselves,' the team explained.

The Genius Dog Challenge team is encouraging dog owners who believe their dogs can recognise and remember multiple toy names to contact them.

The study was published today in the Royal Society Open Science journal.
Scientists have discovered a new species of tardigrade almost perfectly preserved in 16-million-year-old amber.

Also known as water bears, the creatures are a group of microscopic invertebrates that are best known for their ability to survive extreme conditions.

Due to their microscopic size and non-biomineralising body, the chance of them becoming fossilised is small.

In the new paper, researchers describe a modern-looking tardigrade fossil that represents a new genus and new species.

They were able to obtain higher resolution images of important anatomical characteristics that helped them to analyse the fossil.

Researchers say the new fossil, Paradoryphoribius chronocaribbeus, is only the third tardigrade amber fossil to be fully described and formally named to date.

The other two fully described modern-looking tardigrade fossils are Milnesium swolenskyi and Beorn leggi, both known from Cretaceous-age amber in North America.

Scientists have discovered a new species of tardigrade almost perfectly preserved in 16-million-year-old amber

What are tardigrades? Tardigrades, also known as water bears, are said to be the most indestructible animals in the world. These small, segmented creatures come in many forms - there are more than 900 species of them - and they're found everywhere in the world, from the highest mountains to the deepest oceans. Tardigrades, also known as water bears, are said to be the most indestructible animals in the world They have eight legs (four pairs) and each leg has four to eight claws that resemble the claws of a bear. Boil the 1mm creatures, freeze them, dry them, expose them to radiation and they're so resilient they'll still be alive 200 years later. Water bears can live through temperatures as low as -457 degrees, heat as high as 357 degrees, and 5,700 grays of radiation, when 10-20 grays would kill humans and most other animals. Tardigrades have been around for 530 million years and outlived the dinosaurs. The animals can also live for a decade without water and even survive in space. Advertisement

On a 2007 trip to space, tardigrades were exposed to the space vacuum and harmful solar radiation, but still managed to survive and reproduce after returning to Earth.

The tiny eight-legged animals are found on all the continents and in different environments including marine, freshwater, and terrestrial.

While they have survived all five Phanerozoic Great Mass Extinction events, the earliest modern-looking tardigrades are only known from the Cretaceous period  around 80 million years ago.

Despite their long evolutionary history and global distribution, there is a lot lacking in their fossil record.

Paradoryphoribius is the first fossil to be found embedded in Miocene (approximately 16 million years ago) Dominican amber and the first fossil representative of the tardigrade superfamily Isohypsibioidea.

Lead author Marc Mapalo, from the department of organismic and evolutionary biology, Harvard University, said: 'The difficulty of working with this amber specimen is that it's far too small for dissecting microscopes, we needed a special microscope to fully see the fossil.'

Researchers say the new tardigrade has a total body length of only 559 micrometres  or slightly over half a millimetre.

At such a small scale, a dissecting microscope can only reveal the external morphology of the fossil.

Fortunately, Tardigrade's cuticle is made of chitin, a fibrous glucose substance that is a primary component of cell walls in fungi and the exoskeletons of some other invertebrates.

Chitin is fluorescent and easily excited by lasers, making it possible to fully visualise the tardigrade fossil using a specific method.

The use of confocal laser microscopy instead of transmitted light to study the fossil created degrees of fluorescence allowing a more clear view of the internal morphology.

This method allowed researchers to visualise two very important characters of the fossil  the claws and the buccal apparatus, or the foregut of the animal which is also made of cuticle.

Paradoryphoribius is the first fossil to be found embedded in Miocene (approximately 16 million years ago) Dominican amber and the first fossil representative of the tardigrade superfamily Isohypsibioidea

Beorn leggi, the first fossil tardigrade, was recovered in 1964 from Campanian-age Canadian amber (78 ~Ma.). Milnesium swolenskyi (92 ~Ma.) was found in Turonian-age amber from New Jersey and described 36 years later. A putative ancestral sister of tardigrades, the so-called 'Orsten tardigrade' from the middle Cambrian period, was recovered in Siberia and evaluated in 1995

Senior author Professor Javier Ortega-Hernandez, also of the department of organismic and evolutionary biology, Harvard, said: 'Tardigrade fossils are rare.

'With our new study, the full tally includes only four specimens, from which only three are formally described and named, including Paradoryphoribius.

'This paper basically encompasses a third of the tardigrade fossil record known to date.

The use of confocal laser microscopy instead of transmitted light to study the fossil created degrees of fluorescence allowing a more clear view of the internal morphology

'Furthermore, Paradoryphoribius offers the only data on a tardigrade buccal apparatus in their entire fossil record.'

The authors note there is a strong preservation bias for tardigrade fossils in amber due to their small size and habitat preferences.

Therefore amber deposits provide the most reliable source for finding new tardigrade fossils, even though that does not mean finding them is an easy task.

The findings are published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
As the nation is gripped by Netflix hit Squid Game, Britain's diners are faced with squid shame.

Diners have been told to avoid eating UK-caught squid after it was added to a 'red list' of seafood.

The Marine Conservation Society has released an updated version of their Good Fish Guide, a directory for sourcing ocean-friendly seafood.

They are either rated green, amber or red, indicating they are 'best choice', seafood that 'needs improvement' or 'fish to avoid'.

Some new species added to the guide went straight on the red list, including UK-caught squid.

'Squid caught in the UK have been added to the red list as there is no management in place to help protect them, and scientists don't have figures on how many of them are actually living in our waters, so we don't know how many are sustainable to catch,' said Charlotte Coombes, Good Fish Guide Manager.

'The data that they do have suggests that populations might be on the decline in several areas.'

Diners have been told to avoid eating UK-caught squid after it was added to a 'red list' of seafood

Simple seafood swaps If you're try to be more sustainable, the Marine Conservation Society advises you eat: Hake instead of cod

Mackerel instead of tuna

Mussels instead of prawns

Farmed trout instead of salmon

Dover sole instead of haddock Advertisement

Ratings for other species such as coley - sometimes used as a substitute for cod and haddock - and prawns from the North Sea also worsened.

Most UK lobster and crab species are classed as amber due to lack of management and no quotas.

Meanwhile there are mixed ratings for cod - one of the most popular British fish.

All cod populations in UK seas are at low levels, and most are declining further. North Sea cod remains on the red list as the charity warns warming waters are likely to be contributing to their low numbers.

However Icelandic cod, and Arctic cod caught using certain techniques, stayed on the green list.

The charity also warned of bycatch - animals caught by accident - in a lot of fisheries. These include porpoises, sharks and seabirds in southwest UK.

Ms Coombe, said: 'The latest ratings update for the Good Fish Guide really highlights the impact of poorly managed fisheries on the state of our seas, with so many new ratings going straight onto our Fish to Avoid list.

Some new species added to the guide went straight on the red list, including UK-caught squid (pictured)

Cod and haddock face threats too Overfishing has decimated cod and haddock stocks a number of times. Most recently, haddock from three North Sea and west of Scotland fisheries were removed from sustainable seafood lists because stocks had fallen below acceptable levels in 2017. During the 1990s, Newfoundland in Canada was forced to ban cod fishing because stocks were nearly wiped out. While rising sea temperatures reduces the size of cod and haddock, it also forces the fish further north in search of cooler waters. Advertisement

'However, there are glimmers of hope, with 20 ratings improving in the latest update, showing that where good management exists, we can recover our seas.'

The charity is calling for management plans to be put in place in fisheries across the UK for all commercially caught species, with the likes of cod, herring and squid given 'urgent attention'.

They point to European Hake - which used to be red-rated - as an example of how management techniques can turn around species' fortunes.

Stocks have since recovered, and hake fisheries now deploy nets with 'pingers' to deter porpoises from the area.

As a result, the species is now classed as green on the list.

Gareth Cunningham, head of fisheries and aquaculture at the Marine Conservation Society, said: 'There are clear opportunities to improve UK fisheries.

'Through adoption of fully documented fisheries and Fisheries Management Plans, UK seafood could be made sustainable for many years to come.

'Our ratings provide yet more evidence that the UK Governments must act now, or risk tipping the balance too far.'
Pluto's atmosphere is disappearing as the dwarf planet moves further away from the sun, a new study has revealed.

Pluto takes 248 Earth years to complete a single orbit of the Sun, and its distance varies from its closest point of 30 AU (2.7 billion miles), to 50 AU (4.6 billion miles).

Researchers from Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio deployed telescopes at various sites in the US and Mexico to observe the distant world as it passed in front of a star, briefly backlighting the dwarf planet and revealing its small, nitrogen rich atmosphere.

Their observations suggest that as Pluto moves further from the Sun in its long orbit, it is getting colder and its nitrogen is refreezing to the surface.

The atmosphere of minor planet Pluto is disappearing, according to a new study that found its surrounding nitrogen is refreezing back onto its surface

This is happening as the dwarf planet moves farther from the Sun in its orbit, according to a study led by the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas

The largest known nitrogen reservoir is Sputnik Planitia, a bright glacier that makes up the western lobe of the heart-shaped Tombaugh Region

WHY IS PLUTO NOT A PLANET? In 2006, the International Astronomical Union, a global group of astronomy experts, established a definition of a planet that required it to 'clear' its orbit, or in other words, be the largest gravitational force in its orbit. Since Neptune's gravity influences its neighbouring planet Pluto, and Pluto shares its orbit with frozen gases and objects in the Kuiper belt, that meant Pluto was out of planet status. Pluto was relegated from its definition as a planet to a dwarf planet, which, despite its name, is not a 'planet' as defined by the IAU. The main difference between 'dwarf planet' and 'planet' is that the latter does not dominate its region of space. Before 2006, there was never a formal definition for what constituted a planet. Scientists argue that this means Pluto's demotion is unjust and unreasonable. 'Just so you know, in my view, Pluto is a planet,' said NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine.

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Pluto was discovered in 1930 and is just over a third of the way around the Sun.

The small world is currently moving further from the star, meaning it is getting colder over time.

It is currently 3.7 billion miles from the Sun, and will not complete its first full orbit of our star since its discovery until March 23, 2178.

The astronomers used a technique known as occultation to determine the impact the distance was having on its thin and tenuous atmosphere.

This technique relies on a dark object being backlit by a distant light to reveal previously hidden details.

This includes showing atmosphere density for a distant world like Pluto.

The occultation took about two minutes, during which time the star faded from view as Pluto passed in front of it.

The rate at which the star disappeared and reappeared determined the density profile of Pluto's atmosphere, the researchers explained.

'Scientists have used occultations to monitor changes in Pluto's atmosphere since 1988,' said Dr Eliot Young, a senior author on this new research.

'The New Horizons mission obtained an excellent density profile from its 2015 flyby,' he added.

These findings were consistent with Pluto's bulk atmosphere doubling every decade.

However, the 2018 observations by the team behind the new study 'do not show that trend continuing from 2015.'

Several telescopes deployed near the middle of the shadow's path observed a phenomenon called a 'central flash,' caused by Pluto's atmosphere refracting light into a region at the very centre of the shadow.

When measuring an occultation around an object with an atmosphere, the light dims as it passes through the atmosphere and then gradually returns.

This produces a moderate slope on either end of the U-shaped light curve.

In 2018, refraction by Pluto's atmosphere created a central flash near the centre of its shadow, turning it into a W-shaped curve.

In 2018, refraction by Pluto's atmosphere created a central flash near the centre of its shadow, turning it into a W-shaped curve

Pluto was discovered in 1930 and with a 248 year orbit, is just over a third of the way around the Sun

USING DISTANT STARS TO STUDY PLUTO'S ATMOSPHERE When Pluto passed in front of a star on the night of August 15, 2018, astronomers measured the abundance of Pluto's atmosphere. This was possible as it was briefly backlit by the well-placed star. The occultation took about two minutes, during which time the star faded from view as Pluto's atmosphere and solid body passed in front of it. The rate at which the star disappeared and reappeared determined the density profile of Pluto's atmosphere. The data indicated that the surface pressure on Pluto is decreasing and that its nitrogen atmosphere is condensing. It is forming ice on its surface as the object moves away from the Sun, with nitrogen from the atmosphere. Advertisement

'The central flash seen in 2018 was by far the strongest that anyone has ever seen in a Pluto occultation,' Dr Young said.

He added that 'the central flash gives us very accurate knowledge of Pluto's shadow path on the Earth.'

Like Earth, Pluto's atmosphere is predominantly nitrogen.

However, unlike our planet, Pluto's atmosphere is supported by the vapour pressure of its surface ices.

This means that small changes in surface ice temperatures result in large changes in the bulk density of its atmosphere.

For the past quarter century, Pluto has been receiving less and less sunlight as it moves further away from the Sun.

But, until 2018, its surface pressure and atmospheric density continued to increase.

Scientists attributed this to a phenomenon known as thermal inertia.

'An analogy to this is the way the Sun heats up sand on a beach,' explained Dr Young.

'Sunlight is most intense at high noon, but the sand then continues soaking up the heat over course of the afternoon, so it is hottest in late afternoon.

'The continued persistence of Pluto's atmosphere suggests that nitrogen ice reservoirs on Pluto's surface were kept warm by stored heat under the surface.

'The new data suggests they are starting to cool.'

Like Earth, Pluto's atmosphere is predominantly nitrogen, however, unlike Earth, Pluto's atmosphere is supported by the vapour pressure of its surface ices

For the past quarter century, Pluto has been receiving less and less sunlight as it moves farther away from the Sun. Pluto is here in the foreground, with moon Charon in the background

The largest known nitrogen reservoir is Sputnik Planitia, a bright glacier that makes up the western lobe of the heart-shaped Tombaugh Region.

The data will help atmospheric modellers improve their understanding of Pluto's subsurface layers, particularly regarding compositions that are compatible with the observed limits on heat transfer.

The findings were presented at the American Astronomical Society Division for Planetary Sciences Annual Meeting on October 4.
Google has launched several new eco-friendly updates to its Maps, Shopping and Search features the company says will help users make more sustainable choices.

Travelers looking to book on Google Flights can get carbon emission estimates for nearly every flight, right next to the price and duration.

For ground transport, Google Maps can now be optimized to show routes offering the best fuel efficiency and least greenhouse-gas emissions.

Shoppers searching for major appliances will now get details on which models are more energy efficient.

The updates were announced by Google CEO Sundar Pichai on Tuesday at a special Sustainable with Google presentation held virtually, and come after North America set records for the hottest June and July in recorded history.

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Google Travel now provides carbon emission estimates for nearly every flight, right next to the price and duration. The rates factor in things like the age of the aircraft and which seat the passenger has chosen, as first class takes up more room

Estimates for carbon emissions on Google Flights are pulled from data from the European Environmental Agency, as well as flight-specific information from airlines and other providers, according to Richard Holden, Google's vice-president of travel product.

'It's critical that people can find consistent and accurate carbon emissions estimates no matter where they want to research or book their trip,' Holden said in a blog post on Tuesday.

The results are fairly granular, drilling down into the age of the aircraft and which class seat the user has selected, since newer aircraft are generally less polluting and first-class and premium seats take up more space 'and account for a larger share of total emissions,' Holden said.

Flights with significantly lower emissions are labeled with a green badge and users can filter their results by 'greenest' flights, much as they would cheapest or fastest trip..

In addition to filtering for the shortest path, Google Map users can select routes that are more energy efficient

In September, Google joined Prince Harry's Travalyst coalition to help develop a universal open-source model across the travel industry for calculating carbon emissions.

That same month, Google Travel started slapping green 'eco-certified' leaves on hotels that employed sustainable practices like banning plastic straws and allowing guests to reuse towels.

Hotels that receive the green badge have been verified independently from organizations such as Green Key or EarthCheck, Google said in a statement.

Relying on insights from the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Google Map's eco-friendly routing is rolling out now on Android and iOS in the U.S., with plans to expand to Europe and elsewhere next year.

Last month, Google started slapping green 'eco-certified' leaves on hotels that employed sustainable practices like banning plastic straws and allowing guests to reuse towels

Google boasts the feature has the potential to prevent over one million tons of carbon emissions per year, the equivalent of removing more than 200,000 cars from the road.

'Not only does Google Maps' eco-friendly routing bring NREL's fuel-efficient technology from the lab to the road, but it has huge potential to significantly lower emissions and save drivers money on gas,' Jeff Gonder, a researcher with NREL's Center for Integrated Mobility Sciences, said in the release.

'Something that's good for both people and the planet.'

If there's a significant difference between the fastest route and the most fuel-efficient, users can choose whichever they prefer.

To encourage even more environmentally friendly travel, Google Maps has also expanded bike and scooter share information for some 300 cities worldwide and will add a 'Lite navigation' feature for Android and iOS in the coming months that will allow bicyclists to quickly get updates on their progress and real-time ETA without having to constantly pull their phone out of their pocket.

Google has also established a dedicated results page that will pop up when users search for information on climate change, with reliable information from sources like the United Nations hopefully helping to dispel misinformation.

Richard Holden, Google's vice-president of travel product, said, 'It's critical that people can find consistent and accurate carbon emissions estimates no matter where they want to research or book their trip'

In August, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released a report indicating the combined land and ocean-surface temperature in July was 1.67F (0.93C) above the 20th-century average of 60.4 (15.8C), the hottest since record keeping started 142 years ago.

The temperature was beat the previous record, set in 2016, by 0.02F.

'Climate change is no longer a distant threat  it's increasingly local and personal,' Pichai said in Tuesday's announcement.

'Around the world, wildfires, flooding, and other extreme weather continue to affect our health, our economies, and our future together on our planet. We need urgent and meaningful solutions to address this pressing challenge.'

Google has vowed to run its data centers and campuses on 24/7 carbon-free energy by 2030, a 'moonshot' that Pichai described as 'a physical manifestation of our commitment to sustainability, one that goes back to our founding 23 years ago.'

Right now, its data centers are running 67 percent carbon-free, up slightly from 61 percent two years ago.

While Pichai admitted Google had a big responsibility in developing a more sustainable future, he said users had to do their part, as well.

When visitors go to Google shop for major home appliances, they'll receive additional information on more cost-effective and sustainable models.

Next year, Shopping results will also compare hybrid and electric vehicles against gas-powered models, factoring in long-term costs and environmental impact.

Google also launched a new service, Nest Renew, which allows Nest thermostats to automatically shift electricity usage for heating and cooling to times when energy is cleaner or less expensive.

The Nest Renew will allow users to automatically shift electricity usage for things like heating and cooling to times when energy is cleaner or less expensive. They'll also receive monthly reports on their energy impact

With a $10 Renew Premium subscription, you can also match your fossil-fuel-based electricity at home with high-quality renewable energy credits generated from projects in Google's portfolio.

The eco-friendly additions are just the latest updates the Mountain View, California-based company has made to address pressing environmental and public health issues.

Last summer, Google Maps added a wildfire-boundary layer providing outlines of current conflagrations along a route, with directions to current news from local authorities.

The near-real-time info is taken from satellite data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's GOES satellites and Google Earth Engine's data analysis capabilities.

The information is also available on Google Search, when a user looks up a term like 'California wildfires' or searches for details on a specific fire.

In September 2020, Maps added a layer giving users updated information on the rate of new coronavirus infections in their region.

In April of this year, COVID vaccination sites were added.

Back in 2017, Google Maps 'Street View' mode added an air pollution index to city streets to help drivers find a healthier commute.
An obsidian 'spirit mirror' once used in the 16th Century by John Dee, a confidant of Elizabeth I, to contact otherworldly entities, has Aztec origins, a new study revealed.

The mirror, now held in the British Museum in London, has long been suspected of being made by the ancient South American empire, but the truth was lost to history.

Now, thanks to a system that involved repeatedly firing X-rays at the object until it fired back, a team from the University of Manchester confirmed its Aztec origin.

They compared the findings of the geochemical analysis from Dee's mirror to other obsidian objects held by the British Museum, but with a confirmed origin, and found they all shared similar signatures - coming from Pachuca in Mexico.

An obsidian 'spirit mirror' once used in the 16th Century by John Dee, a confidant of Elizabeth I, to contact otherworldly entities, has Aztec origins, a new study revealed

Among items John Dee (c. 1594, anonymous) used to 'speak to angels' was this mirror, crafted out of obsidian

WHO WAS JOHN DEE? John Dee (1527  1608 or 1609) was an English mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, occultist, and alchemist. During his life he was court astronomer for Elizabeth 1 and spend time speaking to otherworldly spirits. He advocated for the founding of English colonies in the New World to form a "British Empire", a term he is said to have first coined. Dee eventually left Elizabeth's service and went on a quest for additional knowledge in the deeper realms of the occult and supernatural. Among the items he owned was a mirror made of obsidian that he is said to have used to speak to angels. Advertisement

Dee was a remarkable figure, a Renaissance polymath with an interest in astronomy, alchemy and mathematics, he later developed an obsession with the occult.

Among items he used to 'speak to angels' was this mirror, crafted out of obsidian.

Professor Stuart Campbell, and an international team, had the opportunity to study the mirror in more detail, in the hope of confirming the long-held theory that it was among items pillaged from the Aztec empire in the 16th Century.

Their work involved a process known as geochemical analysis, which uses a bombardment of X-rays against an object until it starts emitting X-rays back.

The results allow them to measure the chemical composition and search for 'fingerprints' in the returned data that can be compared to other objects.

The team studied four objects in the British Museum  John Dee's mirror, two other Aztec mirrors, and a polished rectangular obsidian slab.

This method revealed that all four of the obsidian artefacts studied were made from Mexican obsidian exploited by the Aztecs in an area near Pachuca.

This obsidian source was heavily exploited by the Aztecs, according to researchers, who have previously traced other stolen artefacts to this region.

They compared the findings of the geochemical analysis from Dee's mirror to other obsidian objects held by the British Museum, but with a confirmed origin, and found they all shared similar signatures - coming from Pachuca in Mexico

The mirror, now held in the British Museum in London, has long been suspected of being made by the ancient South American empire, but the truth was lost to history

To the Aztecs, obsidian also had spiritual significance, as it was used in medicinal practices to shield against bad spirits and capture souls on its reflective surface.

One deity, Tezcatlipoca, is even named 'smoking mirror' and often depicted wearing circular obsidian mirrors, as symbols of premonition and power.

This symbolic value is what likely made them appealing to European collectors, such as John Deer, bringing them home after the Aztecs were conquered.

The fact that mirrors were also often viewed as magical artefacts in Europe may have served as additional motivation for the collectors.

Pictured left is an example of mirrors depicted in Aztec literature, and on the right are other obsidian objects studied by the researchers

Tezcatlipoca, lord of the smoking mirror, with circular obsidian mirrors on his temple, his chest and his foot highlighted

'The 16th century was a period in which new exotic objects were being brought to Europe from the New World, and opening up exciting new possibilities in the intellectual world of the period,' said Professor Campbell.

These Aztec mirrors were novel and exotic items that found a place in many early collections, the researcher explained.

Stories about the meaning of the mirrors may have travelled with them, and may have been what motivated John Dee to acquire his mirror.

The findings have been published in the journal Antiquity.
A female Sumatran tiger at a Washington state zoo died as a result of injuries she suffered from a male she was paired with in a breeding program intended to boost the endangered feline's numbers.

Zookeepers at Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma confirmed that six-year-old Kirana died on Monday morning 'after experiencing severe injuries during a breeding introduction.'

The zoo was attempting to arrange a mating between Raja, a two-year-old male, and Kirana, which led to her 'life-threatening injuries.'

'When tigers breed, it's natural for them to spar with each other and there is typically some level of aggression,' curator Karen Goodrowe said in the statement.

'This level of aggression [from Raja] was far beyond what we would expect with tiger introductions.'

Head veterinarian Karen Wolf said a necropsy confirmed substantial trauma from Kirana's injuries, as well as a bacterial infection.

Sumatran tigers are considered critically endangerfed, with only 400 estimated in the wild and another 250 in captivity around the world.

Point Defiance has introduced four Sumatran tiger pairs since 2010 with no deaths or serious injury, according to Goodrowe.

'We're devastated by the loss of a very special tiger and by the loss to the tiger population as a whole,' she added.

Kirana, a six-year-old female, died on Monday morning 'after experiencing severe injuries' during a breeding introduction at Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma, Washington

Zookeepers slowly set the pair up over months with 'the utmost care,' according to the statement.

Kirana and Raja were first moved near each other 'so they had visual and smell access while still being physically separated by a mesh door.'

The team looked for fence-rubbing and other positive signs that they were attracted to and comfortable with each other.

When they saw Kirana in distress, handlers quickly distracted Raja and separated the pair.

The veterinary and animal care teams immediately addressed Kirana's life-threatening injuries, 'providing supportive care and closely monitoring her around-the-clock over the weekend,' the zoo said.

Even though Kirana's health improved on Sunday, she passed away Monday morning.

'She was improving bit by bit and we were cautiously optimistic that she would pull through,' said Wolf.

Kirana suffered 'life-threatening injuries' after being introduced to potential mate Raja by zookeepers in an attempt to boost the endangered tiger's numbers

Kirana (left) and her sibling Dari and Indah were born at the zoo to 11-year-old mom Jaya in December 2014

Point Defiance Zoo director Alan Varsik called Kirana's death 'a tragedy for our zoo family, our community and our world.'

'With just a few Sumatran tigers left on this earth, we need to do everything we possibly can to help them survive.'

In addition to Raja, there are three other Sumatran tigers still living in Point Defiance's Asian Forest Sanctuary: Bandar and Kali, both age 8, and Kirana's littermate Indah.

Along with their sibling Dari, Indah and Kirana were part of a pair of triplets born to 11-year-old mom Jaya in December 2014.

Dari was eventually moved to the Phoenix Zoo in 2018.

Even though Kirana's health improved on Sunday, she passed away. A necropsy report announced today confirmed substantial trauma from her injuries as well as a bacterial infection

The cub's mother, Jaya, was euthanized in 2016 after her liver and gastrointestinal tract began to fail as a result of an aggressive bacterial infection

Jaya, who came to Point Defiance as a cub herself, ultimately gave birth to four litters.

She was euthanized in 2016 after her liver and gastrointestinal tract began to fail as a result of an aggressive bacterial infection.

'Jaya was one of the most beautiful cats I have ever known,' Goodrowe said in a statement at the time.

'She embodied all of the best characteristics of her species and inspired me and all who cared for her to work tirelessly for the conservation of tigers in the wild.'

In August, two Sumatran tigers at Ragunan Zoo in Jakarta contracted COVD-19, but eventually recovered.

It's estimated there are fewer than 400 Sumatran tigers in in the wild, according to the World Wildlife Fund. This rare but beautiful subspecies is recognizable for its distinctive heavy black stripes on their orange coats.

It's estimated there are fewer than 400 Sumatran tigers in in the wild and another 250 in zoos around the world

Making its home on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, it is the last tiger native to the Sunda Islands  comprised of Brunei, East Timor, Indonesia, and Malaysia with both the Bali and Javan tigers both hunted to extinction

Due to deforestation, poaching, and human-wildlife conflict, Sumatran tigers are listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Anyone caught hunting them can face jail time and steep fines, according to the WWF.
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Did aliens visit Saudi Arabia thousands of years ago?

It's a question that's been thrown up by a mysterious gigantic rock there - that looks like it's been cut in half by a laser beam.

One geologist says that the split could have been caused by freeze thaw weathering, but others say the split is too precise and smooth to have natural causes.

The Al Naslaa rock formation, pictured, has become a popular tourist attraction thanks to its unusual split

The baffling sandstone boulder - the Al Naslaa rock formation - sits in Saudi Arabia's arid Tayma oasis and has, not surprisingly, become a popular photo opportunity, along with being a hot topic of debate on the internet.

It is approximately 30ft (9m) tall and 25ft (7.6m) wide, and it has been embellished with a petroglyph - a rock carving made using a chisel and a hammerstone - of what appears to be a man and a horse.

However, it was the rock formation's defining feature - its split - that has sparked fierce debate.

On Reddit, one user, 'El_Hombre_Siniestro', said: 'I'm not saying it was aliens, but it was aliens.'

'Definitely aliens', agreed another, named Mrkim420.

One user speculated that the divide was created when an alien messed 'with a super laser pointer on some random planet their species found and accidentally cut a rock in half'.

A second theory suggests ancient civilisations were more advanced than previously thought. One YouTube video speculates that the formation is evidence of early 'high technology'.

In the same vein, user Ricopantalones wrote in the online forum: 'Why do we attribute aliens? There are mountains of evidence that state ancient technology was at a level significantly advanced from where we think it was. We are not on the first upward curve of technology in society. We are more likely on the second.'

Another compared the formation to the pyramids of ancient Egypt, which were constructed some 4,500 years ago. User NicholasPileggi claimed the split was carved in 'the same way they cut the blocks for the pyramids - a rope and sand'.

User Borg2 theorised that the slit was crafted by someone with 'a saw and lots of patience'. A few Star Wars references were also thrown into the mix, with one Reddit user wondering whether the rock was chopped in two by 'someone testing a lightsaber'.

Bringing these theories back down to earth, geologist Cherry Lewis tells MailOnline Travel the split may simply be the work of Mother Nature.

Geologist Cherry Lewis says the smooth front surface of the rock formation may have been created by a 'sandblasting effect'

Lewis, who is an honorary research fellow at the University of Bristol, describes the unusual formation as a 'remarkable sight'. She says: 'It [the split] could have formed due to a process called "freeze-thaw" weathering, which occurs when water gets into a small crack in the rock. As temperatures drop, the water freezes and expands which causes the crack to widen and lengthen.

'As the ice melts, water makes its way deeper and deeper into the crack. The process repeats itself over thousands, or even millions, of years until the rock eventually splits. This process, coupled with wind erosion - which, in a desert environment, is like sandblasting - could also explain why the boulder is standing on its own like that.'

Lewis says the 'sandblasting effect could also have created the smooth front surface if that faces the prevailing wind'.

Given that past civilisations created Stone Henge and the sculptures on Easter Island with the most basic of tools, it doesn't seem out of the question that it could be man-made Geologist Cherry Lewis

While weathering and erosion could be to blame, Lewis agrees there may be truth to the theory the rock was painstakingly sliced by humans. She says: 'Given that past civilisations created Stone Henge and the sculptures on Easter Island with the most basic of tools, it doesn't seem out of the question that it could be man-made.'

Her verdict? 'On first appearance, the crack looks man-made, as does the very smooth front surface, but I see a photo that shows a parallel crack on the back, so it is possibly natural.'

Geologist and geophysicist Professor Tim Reston of the University of Birmingham also shared his thoughts on the strange formation.

He tells MailOnline Travel the split is 'probably a joint, which is a natural fracture in the rock typically caused by pressure release and expansion, formed when the rock layer was more continuous, and now left exposed by erosion of the surroundings'.

Reston adds: 'If [it is] a joint it might have beautiful "plumose" structures on both sides of the crack - they look like feathers - unless these have been widened by wind erosion.'

The rock formation is an eight-hour drive from Riyadh, and it can be accessed by car. Archaeological digs in the area have uncovered flint that dates back to the 4th millennium BCE. Rich in history, Tayma was the residence of the Babylonian king Nabonidus in the mid-6th century BCE. The oasis, which featured on the trade route from modern-day Medina to al-Jawf, subsequently became a popular spot for traders.

The stretch of desert was mapped by Charles M Doughty in 1877 - he described his visit to the Tayma oasis in his 1888 book Travels In Arabia Deserta. The area later attracted French explorer Charles Huber, who visited the site in 1883.

Cherry Lewis is the author of The Enlightened Mr Parkinson and The Dating Game: One Mans Search for the Age of the Earth.
A glamorous lawyer who once appeared on The Bachelor has shared a sarcastic post on Instagram criticising Aussies who promote the fact they've had the Covid-19 vaccine.

Laura-Ann Rullo, who starred on Matty J's season of the popular dating show in 2017, posted an update about getting a 'pap smear' on her private account on Sunday.

She compared advertising her cervical screening to people posting on social media about getting the jab.

Laura-Ann Rullo, a lawyer who once appeared on The Bachelor, has shared a sarcastic post on Instagram criticising Aussies who promote the fact they've had the Covid-19 vaccine

Laura-Ann captioned a selfie: 'IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: Hi everyone, on 15 November 2021 at 10am I have my pap smear appointment.

'Given that a lot of people are prancing around releasing their private medical information and announcing their V status like having purchased a new Chanel handbag, "I got Chanel", "I got Gucci", I thought it's important that you know this.'

She added the hashtag #HoldTheLine, which appears to have several meanings including opposition to vaccination.

Advocate: She also took a swipe at Abbie Chatfield (pictured), a fellow Bachelor alum who has been encouraging Aussies to protect themselves and the community by getting vaccinated

Comments: Laura-Ann shared a sarcastic update about getting a pap smear, which she compared to people posting about getting the Covid jab

Hashtag: She added the hashtag #HoldTheLine, which appears to have several meanings including opposition to vaccination. Pictured: results for #HoldTheLine on Instagram

Laura-Ann's followers thought her post was hilarious and one dared her to 'tag Abbie Chatfield'.

Abbie, who was the runner-up on the 2019 season of The Bachelor, is an outspoken advocate for the vaccine and has been encouraging Aussies to protect themselves and the community by getting the jab.

'She's a peasant. I feel violently ill hearing her name,' Laura-Ann replied.

She added in subsequent comments: 'I used to like her. I had to stop following her. She doesn't know the power of her voice and I am not okay with that.'

Scathing: Laura-Ann's followers thought her post was hilarious and one dared her to 'tag Abbie Chatfield'. 'She's a peasant. I feel violently ill hearing her name,' she replied

Doubling down: She added in subsequent comments: 'I used to like her. I had to stop following her... She doesn't know the power of her voice and I am not okay with that'

Abbie, 26, is known for her confrontational approach to dealing with anti-vaxxers on social media.

Her messaging includes providing commentary on the abusive messages and/or comments she receives from anti-vax trolls.

However, her advocacy also includes in-depth interviews with health experts about coronavirus and the vaccine, which she hopes will counter online misinformation.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Abbie and Laura-Ann for comment.

'Let's do more': Abbie, 26, is known for her confrontational approach to dealing with anti-vaxxers on social media. Her messaging includes providing commentary on the abusive messages and/or comments she receives from anti-vax trolls
Denise Van Outen and her boyfriend Eddie Boxshall took part in a campaign this week that saw them cuddle up in bed together on a virtual billboard.

Taking place in the middle of Manchester's city centre, Denise and Eddie were seen tucked up in a bed suspended on a 6m x 4m one-of-a-kind billboard created by the UK's most trusted sleep brand Silentnight, which celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, to highlight its range of sleep solutions for Brits  including those who struggle to nod off.

Speaking to MailOnline after the PR stunt, Denise compared the experience to the last time she featured on a billboard - in New York's Times Square, in fishnet tights for Chicago: The Musical.

Wake up call! Denise Van Outen and her boyfriend Eddie Boxshall took part in a campaign this week that saw them cuddle up in bed together on a virtual billboard

'This one's a bit different to that!' she said. 'Last time I was on a billboard was when I did Chicago! It's quite different to go from fishnets to pyjamas!'

She added: 'It was mad when I arrived in New York. I wasn't expecting it!'

Ex-Big Breakfast star Denise became the Broadway poster girl with her starring role in the musical as Roxie Hart.

She went on to explain why she's fronting the campaign: 'You underestimate how important it is to sleep on the right mattress. I travel a lot, and so I notice the difference. I stay in hotels, I've stayed in digs... and I love my sleep!'

Standing tall: Speaking to MailOnline after the PR stunt, Denise compared the experience to the last time she featured on a billboard - in New York's Times Square, in fishnet tights for Chicago: The Musical

She went on to explain why she's fronting the campaign: 'You underestimate how important it is to sleep on the right mattress. I travel a lot, and so I notice the difference. I stay in hotels, I've stayed in digs... and I love my sleep!'

Denise also revealed that she and Eddie have a mattress by Silentnight that is half soft and half firm.

'I like a firm mattress because of my injuries. Eddie likes it softer, he likes to sink into bed.

'I used to wake up with real pain in my shoulder - so I made a change and it makes a huge difference. And Eddie suffers from a bad back, as he's a keen runner. So it's an investment in comfort and health!'

She also said of the campaign: 'I must admit, this is one of the more bizarre ways to wake up! But despite being suspended above the ground - and being vertical rather than horizontal - I'm surprisingly comfortable.'

Cosy: 'This one's a bit different to that!' she said. 'Last time I was on a billboard was when I did Chicago! It's quite different to go from fishnets to pyjamas!'

Silentnight also conducted research with 2,000 adults which found the average Brit gets just three 'good' night's sleep a week. One in 10 even say they never sleep well throughout a whole night.

Silentnight is launching its #WakeUpToASilentnight competition, which sees the brand give away hundreds of mattresses tailored to sleepers preferences across the country.

The unique giveaway totals to an estimated RRP of 160,000  a first of a kind competition by the bed and mattress brand.

To enter the giveaway visit: silentnight.co.uk/wake-up-competition.
Bondi Vet star and emergency veterinarian Dr Gerardo Poli was hospitalised last week with a suspected neurological illness.

The 39-year-old's partner and co-star Dr Alex Hynes confirmed the news on Monday, after noticing he'd been 'acting strangely' a week earlier.

'About a week ago, he started behaving strangely. His speech was slow and he would jumble up words,' Dr Hynes, 44, who works with Dr Poli at Brisbane's Animal Emergency Service (AES) as a senior veterinarian, wrote on Instagram.

Hospitalised: Dr Gerardo Poli, from Brisbane's Animal Emergency Service, was hospitalised last week with a suspected neurological illness

'He repeatedly dropped his phone on the ground, tripped over his own feet and bumped into the edge of doorways. The scariest part of all was that he had no awareness that anything was wrong,' she continued.

'On Thursday, he sat down at his computer and realised he couldn't type on the keyboard. For some reason that was the thing that broke through his consciousness and allowed me to get him the help he needed.'

Dr Hynes said her partner was admitted to the neurology ward of the Mater Hospital on September 30, and praised the 'incredible medical team' working on a diagnosis.

The hospital trip came just six months after the pair welcomed a daughter, Lorelai.

Partner: The 39-year-old's partner and co-star Dr Alex Hynes (right), who works with Dr Poli (left) at Brisbane's Animal Emergency Service (AES) as a senior veterinarian, confirmed the news on Monday, after noticing he'd been 'acting strangely' a week earlier

'At this stage all we know is he has a form of encephalitis-inflammation of the brain. [It's] probably autoimmune in nature but likely triggered by a recent respiratory virus he had been battling,' she added.

On the same day, Dr Poli thanked his friends, family and fans for their well-wishes on social media, and also posted a photo of himself cuddling Lorelai.

'It does not take much to forget what is important to you,' he wrote.

'I am by no means on death's door but being there for Lorelai (a.k.a. Potato) when she needs me, teaching her all the bad things and making her laugh are the things that I cherish the most.

'I have a great team here at @materprivate... and I am sure we will get to the bottom of what is going on. As always there is my biggest supporter and advocate @dralexhynes - if it was not for her I would not be where I am.

Thank you: On the same day, Dr Poli thanked his friends, family and fans for their well-wishes on social media, and also posted a photo of himself cuddling his six-month-old daughter

'Thanks for all the messages of love and concern. Don't worry I have a lot left to do in this world. So before long I will be back on my feet. Love you all. G x.'

In 2017, Dr Hynes was one of the veterinarians chosen to be featured on Bondi Vet: Coast to Coast, after former 'Bondi Vet' Dr Chris Brown quit the show.

Dr Poli, who is a director at AES alongside his partner, joined the series later on.

The couple recently launched a YouTube show called Bondi Vet: ER.

Dr Hynes has a 12-year-old daughter from a previous relationship. She and Dr Poli welcomed their daughter, Lorelai, in April this year.
Kelly Clarkson's ex-husband Brandon Blackstock was spotted at LAX airport in Los Angeles on Tuesday amid his ongoing divorce with the entertainer.

Blackstock, 44, donned a brown leather vest over a brown and blue flannel top with jeans and brown boots as he made his way out of the travel hub.

The Fort Worth, Texas native rounded out his ensemble with a black ball cap, white face mask and held a black carryon luggage as he chat with TMZ about the terms in the ongoing divorce.

Out and about: Kelly Clarkson's ex-husband Brandon Blackstock, 44, was spotted at LAX airport in Los Angeles on Tuesday amid his ongoing divorce with the entertainer

'The judge hasn't ruled on anything yet,' Blackstock told the outlet in a clip, before refusing to comment on the rest of the situation.

The outlet noted that the presiding judge in the case has made a decision in terms of upholding the prenuptial agreement, negating Blackstock's claims to the ranch.

'The Court therefore rejects [Blackstock's] position that the Montana Ranch and other Montana properties are marital property owned 50/50 by the Parties,' the judge's September 30 order in the case read, according to TMZ.

Clarkson has been making efforts to dissuade Blackstock from remaining on the ranch, an insider told the outlet.

Blackstock donned a brown leather vest over a brown and blue flannel top with jeans and brown boots as he made his way out of the travel hub

Details: Clarkson has been making efforts to dissuade Blackstock from remaining on a Montana ranch purchased during the marriage, an insider told the outlet

Better times: Clarkson and Blackstock were seen in January of 2020 in Santa Monica, California

The divorce last month was finalized, while the former couple continues to work out their custody and property claims through the legal system.

According to legal docs reviewed by People, Blackstock had told the court the Montana property was 'marital property,' but the judge ruled it was Clarkson's since her money was used to purchase it.

Blackstock in court docs sought the court to divide assets both earned amid the span of the seven-year marriage.

Clarkson was previously ordered to pay Blackstock $200,000 monthly to cover child and spousal support expenses, according to the outlet, as a source said that he had asked for $436,000 monthly.

Clarkson initially filed for divorce from Blackstock in June of 2020; the former pair share kids River Rose, seven, and Remington Alexander, five.

An insider told the outlet this past August that Clarkson has been 'more than fine' in the wake of the split, as 'she is doing great and facing forward.

'She's enjoying the fact that she has the kids for the vast majority of the time and is enjoying time spent with them.'
The BBC has reportedly invited Arlene Phillips back on Strictly Come Dancing more than ten years after she was axed.

The broadcaster is said to be eager to capitalise on the news that Arlene, 78, is thought to be taking part in this year's I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!

A source told The Mirror: 'They want her back as a one-off stunt after she's been with Ant and Dec,' one TV insider said.

Comeback: The BBC has reportedly invited Arlene Phillips back on Strictly Come Dancing more than ten years after she was axed

'To have Dame Arlene make a special appearance on Strictly would suggest there's no bad blood any more. It would look good after they got rid of her all those years ago.'

Arlene was previously let go from her judging role on Strictly Come Dancing in 2009 when she was replaced by Alesha Dixon, who was 35 years her junior.

In the wake of the panel switch-up, the BBC received more than 1,350 complaints, mostly accusations of ageism

The world-renowned choreographer later admitted she regretted not fighting the BBC for an apology after they axed her.

Limelight: The broadcaster is said to be eager to capitalise on the news that Arlene, 78, is thought to be taking part in this year's I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! (pictured on Strictly)

Speaking to actress Natalie Anderson's podcast, The Capsule, she said: 'I should have asked them to analyse it.

'I should have had the strength to at least ask for reasons and if not getting the reasons, a damn well apology. But I didn't have the strength, I didn't have the will. I was pathetic.'

Last year, Arlene told the Sod's Law podcast she attempted to find out more about why she was let go.

She said: 'I've got the Freedom of Information and looking at the chaotic way that led up to it was shocking. Most is redacted.

Axe:Arlene was previously let go from her judging role on Strictly Come Dancing in 2009 when she was replaced by Alesha Dixon (pictured), who was 35 years her junior

'They could have given me the chance to resign or build a story around it.'

MailOnline has contacted representatives for Arlene Phillips and the BBC for comment.

It comes after reports that Arlene is the first I'm A Celebrity contestant to be confirmed for this year's show.

At 78, TV star Arlene will be the oldest celebrity contestant to have taken part in the competition, with the title previously going to Prime Minister Boris Johnson's father Stanley, who was 77 at the time of his 2017 stint.

News of Arlene's signing was reported by The Mirror, with sources telling the paper the former dancer will have no trouble handling the chilly interior of North Wales' Gwrych Castle - where the show is to be held for the second year running - as she is 'strong and tough'.

A source said: 'To have Dame Arlene make a special appearance on Strictly would suggest there's no bad blood any more. It would look good after they got rid of her all those years ago'

They told the paper in full: 'Arlene is strong and tough and her energy is boundless.

'No doubt she'll have the group dancing around the campfire in a bid to beat the cold and keep morale high. Should be fun.'

Arlene - who was born in 1943 in Prestwich, Lancashire, before moving to London where she rose quickly through the dance industry's ranks - will also be the first contestant in the show's history to hold the title of Dame.

Arlene's representatives declined to comment when approached by MailOnline. ITV has also been approached for comment.

In 2018 Harry Redknapp was crowned King of the Jungle at the age of 71, while Caitlyn Jenner entered the jungle in 2019 aged 70.

Arlene is also reportedly set to replace John Barrowman as a judge on Dancing On Ice after he was recently axed.

The former dancer is said to be in advanced talks with ITV to make her return to primetime TV since she was axed from Strictly Come Dancing in 2009.

An insider told The Sun: 'The fact that Arlene is a mature woman with decades of experience in the dance world is seen as a huge asset for Dancing on Ice.

'In contrast to what people see as her harsh treatment by Strictly, ITV bosses see her seniority as a brilliant way to create a diverse panel of experts on the show.

'It means the DOI judges are now made of two men and two women spanning an extensive age range.'

The source added that Arlene's experience as a choreographer would be a 'huge asset' to the programme.

Candid: The world-renowned choreographer later admitted she regretted not fighting the BBC for an apology after they axed her
Linda Evangelista posted a tearful tribute on Instagram to her dog who passed away this week.

The star, 56, said goodbye to her French bulldog Mini Moon. She posted a photo of the dog wearing a unicorn horn on its head.

She captioned the photo, 'Because of you, I believe in unicorns. Sleep with the angels my Mini Moon. You were there for me when I needed you most. So very difficult to imagine moving forward without my shadow following.'

Gone too soon: Linda Evangelista posted this tribute to her French bulldog Mini Moon who passed away this week

Numerous other celebrities passed along their condolences to the model in the comments section of the post including models Helena Christensen, Naomi Campbell and Mad Men actress January Jones.

This latest tragedy comes just two weeks after the model revealed that a cosmetic procedure had left her 'brutally disfigured.'

According to Linda, she had undergone a CoolSculpting procedure to 'decrease' her fat cells, but instead the procedure 'increased' her fat cells, a peril she insists she was not warned of, so is now seeking legal action.

She has developed paradoxical adipose hyperplasia - a rare, previously unreported adverse effect of cryolipolysis, which has been reported in of 0.0051% of the 1.5 million CoolSculpting procedures performed worldwide.

'Sleep with the angels': Linda Evangelista wrote a kind caption for her pup which included her saying, 'You were there for me when I needed you most'

From bad to worse: The actress, seen here in 2015, also recently revealed that a cosmetic treatment left her 'brutally disfigured'

With this condition, the treated area becomes larger, rather than smaller, in the weeks after the procedure. It can leave a 'painless, visibly enlarged, firm, well-demarcated mass' underneath the skin.

Linda's statement read: 'Today I took a big step towards righting a wrong that I have suffered and have kept to myself for over five years. To my followers who have wondered why I have not been working while my peers' careers have been thriving, the reason is that I was brutally disfigured by Zeltiq's CoolSculpting procedure...

'[It] did the opposite of what it promised. It increased, not decreased, my fat cells and left me permanently deformed even after undergoing two painful, unsuccessful corrective surgeries. I have been left, as the media described, 'unrecognizable.''

The model claimed she wasn't properly warned of the potential side effects associated with the CoolSculpting procedure. She went on: 'I have developed Paradoxical Adipose Hyperplasia or PAH, a risk of which I was not made aware before I had the procedures...

Going the wrong way: Evangelista got a treatment meant to decrease her fat cell count, but it actually increased instead

Affected both physically and mentally: The model alleged that both her body and her mental health were compromised by the adverse weight gain

'Rid myself of shame': The star said her lawsuit was meant to rid her of any shame since she was 'going public with my story.'

'PAH has not only destroyed my livelihood, it has sent me into a cycle of deep depression, profound sadness, and the lowest depths of self-loathing. In the process, I have become a recluse...

'With this lawsuit, I am moving forward to rid myself of my shame, and going public with my story. I'm so tired of living this way. I would like to walk out my door with my held held high, despite not looking like myself any longer.'

During a cryolipolysis procedure, also known as body sculpting, a device that's usually set below freezing temperature is applied to fat deposits, which causes cell death in the fat tissue.

The body can then pass the dead fat cells.

According to Healthline, the increased fat deposits aren't harmful, but they also don't appear to go away on their own over time. The 'very rare' condition is most common in men who have undergone cryolipolysis, though it can still affect women.

Other people are fans: Sarah Michelle Gellar, seen here at California Adventure, supports CoolSculpting and even became an ambassador for it last year

Linda singled out the Allergan subsidiary Zeltiq for allegedly performing the botched procedure without informing her of the potential negative side effects.

Sarah Michelle Gellar was unveiled as a CoolSculpting ambassador last year.

Speaking at the time, Sarah detailed that while she is incredibly fit and healthy she struggles with difficult to shift areas of fat. She said: 'I had had such a positive experience with the procedure [Coolsculpting] (and the results)

'I was able to target those specific areas with an incredible result and with only an hour of my time (I even managed to get through a few chapters in the book I was reading) so you know that's a win for me.'
Camille Grammer claimed Kyle Richards spread rumors about Tom Girardi and his estranged wife Erika Jayne's financial woes all the way back in 2019.

While the mother-of-four, 52, denied her frenemy's allegations during an episode of Watch What Happens Live last month, Grammer stuck to her guns in a new eyebrow-raising tweet.

'To set the record straight it was Kyle who told me Tom was in trouble during @Andy [Cohen]'s baby shower,' the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum, 53, tweeted on Tuesday.

Scathing accusations: Camille Grammer claimed Kyle Richards spread rumors about Tom Girardi and his estranged wife Erika Jayne's financial woes two years ago; seen in 2019

She continued: 'I was surprised that Kyle was acting chummy chummy with Erika,' she added. 'Erika even when [sic] on to call Kyle the Queen of #RHOBH Crazy rt [sic]?!?'

In September, when asked by a fan over Twitter whether she'd known of Erika's personal drama prior to her joining the cast to which she replied: 'Yes. One of the housewives mentioned it at Andy's baby shower.'

The tweet came after Lisa Vanderpump told DailyMailTV that she'd been made aware of the same stories via Camille. Grammer, however, was not the original source of the information.

At odds: While the mother-of-four, 52, denied her frenemy's allegations during an episode of Watch What Happens Live last month, Grammer stuck to her guns in a new eyebrow-raising tweet; Richards pictured

'To set the record straight it was Kyle who told me Tom was in trouble during @Andy [Cohen]'s baby shower,' the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum, 53, tweeted on Tuesday

When pushed to give up the name of the rumor monger, Lisa refused: 'You know, I can't say.'

DailyMailTV ventured an educated guess: 'Could it be someone that you used to be friends with, you aren't friends with now, the swans don't like and maybe you kicked out of your kitchen?'

'Yes, it could be the person that Ken kicked out of my house,' she laughed in response, clearly referring to Kyle Richards.

Disgraced lawyer: Jayne's estranged husband Giardi, 82, is currently facing claims of allegedly embezzling settlement funds; seen in 2018

In the midst of an explosive argument during Lisa's last season on the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, her husband Ken Todd infamously gave Kyle Richards the boot from Villa Rosa.

It's unclear if the 'troubles' were bout Erika and Tom's marriage breakdown or their embezzlement scandal, however, Kyle had been talking about them behind Erika's back at Andy Cohen's baby shower in 2019.

'It didn't surprise me when Camille told me that it was Kyle that had told her the gossip about her supposed friend Erika Jayne,' Lisa admitted. 'That's how Kyle works.'

Jayne's estranged husband Giardi, 82, is currently facing claims of allegedly embezzling settlement funds.

Trying to move on: Erika filed for divorce from her husband of more than two decades and they have both moved out of their $13million Pasadena mansion following the scandal (Erika Jayne pictured in May)

He is under investigation amid accusations he 'misappropriated at least $2 million' meant for the families of those killed in the Lion Air Flight 610 crash in Indonesia.

Erika filed for divorce from her husband of more than two decades and they have both moved out of their $13million Pasadena mansion following the scandal.

'Erika Jayne was never nice to me, you know, even prior to this whole thing,' Lisa revealed. 'I thought it was kind of obnoxious the way she behaved with money, even when I thought it was her own. You know what? I had doubts.'
Jake Gyllenhaal revealed that he had such a crush on Jennifer Aniston that it was 'torture' doing love scenes with the actress.

The pair starred together in 2002 film 'The Good Girl' and the 40-year-old actor said it wasn't easy because of his real life crush on the 52-year-old 'Friends' actress.

Speaking in an interview on Monday with 'The Howard Stern Show', Gyllenhaal was asked by the host if it was 'torture' to film love scenes with somebody he fancied in real life.

Real crush: Jake Gyllenhaal revealed that he had such a crush on Jennifer Aniston that it was 'torture' doing love scenes with the actress

'Oh yeah, it was torture, yes it was,'' Gyllenhaal replied. ''But it was also not torture. I mean, come on, it was like a mix of both.'

But he said that such is the 'mechanical nature' of love scenes he thankfully managed to keep his true feelings towards Jennifer well-hidden.

He added: 'Weirdly, love scenes are awkward, because there are maybe 30, 50 people watching it? That doesn't turn me on. It's oddly mechanical. And also it's a dance, you're choreographing for a camera. You can get in it but it's like a fight scene, you have to choreograph those scenes.''

A well-placed pillow, which was actually Aniston's suggestion, also helped a lot.

Comedy drama: Jennifer Aniston and Jake are shown in a still from the 2002 film The Good Girl

Like torture: 'Oh yeah, it was torture, yes it was,' Gyllenhaal replied. 'But it was also not torture. I mean, come on, it was like a mix of both'

The pillow technique was used.

'That was just preemptive and used generally always when actually in a horizontal place in that movie. I think that was actually a Jennifer suggestion, she was very kind to suggest it before we began.

'She was like, 'I'm putting a pillow here'',' Gyllenhaal recalled.

Awkward scenes: He added: 'Weirdly, love scenes are awkward, because there are maybe 30, 50 people watching it? That doesn't turn me on. It's oddly mechanical. And also it's a dance, you're choreographing for a camera. You can get in it but it's like a fight scene, you have to choreograph those scenes'

The Los Angeles native also was asked if he thinks he could be a successful husband and father amid managing his thriving career.

Gyllenhaal responded, 'That's all I want - is to be a good husband and a father  that really is what I want.'

The actor, who's been linked to model Jeanne Cadieu, 25, the last three years, added, 'Now that I have fulfilled a lot of things in my career that I feel comfortable with, I can safely say that. I don't know if I could have said that before.'

Gyllenhaal noted how he's observed how his sister Maggie's life, family and marriage - she and husband Peter Sarsgaard are parents to daughters Ramona, 15, and Gloria Ray, nine - has 'deepened' her work.

Family talk: The Los Angeles native also was asked if he thinks he could be a successful husband and father amid managing his thriving career

The actor appeared to promote his new film The Guilty, which is streaming on Netflix

Stern predicted that Gyllenhaal and the French beauty Jeanne Cadieu would be getting married

'I think there comes a point where you either start getting more shallow or getting more deep in your work,' the Jarhead actor told the radio icon.

Stern predicted that Gyllenhaal and the French beauty would be getting married, to which the Brokeback Mountain actor said, 'I love her so much - she's such a good person.'

Gyllenhaal continued, 'There's only so far I'll go as, you know, in talking about it,' adding, 'it's a choice for both of us.'

The Oscar-nominated actor told Stern he doesn't think that Cadieu 'really enjoys, you know, all the other stuff,' in terms of the limelight of the high-profile relationship, 'and so that's part of the reason why I just adore her.'

Gyllenhaal explained the family dynamic at play when Cadieu joined him, his sister and Sarsgaard at the 2021 New York Film Festival for the premiere of Maggie's new movie, The Lost Daughter.

'My sister grabbed her, pulled her on that red carpet, which I think neither of us are really inclined to, you know, go on - even me,' said the actor. 'And to be there to support my sister was what we're there to do and I was like, 'Oh yeah, this is family.''

Gyllenhaal and Cadieu, who also attended the Tony Awards together last month, were first seen with one another in New York City in December of 2018.

The actor appeared to promote his new film The Guilty, which is streaming on Netflix.
Footy superstar Bailey Smith raised a few eyebrows on Tuesday after being pictured with influencer Cartia Mallan.

The Western Bulldogs player, 20, was recording Cartia's podcast, which she co-hosts with fellow influencer Ashton Wood.

They were also seen looking cosy while hanging out with a group of friends, leading to rumours they could be dating.

Interesting: Footy superstar Bailey Smith (left) raised a few eyebrows on Tuesday after being pictured with influencer Cartia Mallan (right)

Sharing a photo of Bailey in her podcast studio to Instagram, Cartia wrote: 'Could not have had a better first guest.

'You guys are going to love this episode. Incredible human inside and out.'

Cartia and her bestie Ashton recently launched their own podcast, Common Chaos.

It's already been a huge hit, peaking at No. 1 on Australia's Apple podcast chart.

Bailey's podcast appearance comes after he appeared worse for wear in a now-viral party video, which was originally shared on TikTok.

Recording: The Western Bulldogs player, 20, was recording Cartia's podcast, which she co-hosts with fellow influencer Ashton Wood

Friends? They were also seen looking cosy while hanging out with a group of friends, leading to rumours they could be dating

The footage showed him at a nightclub after the Bulldogs' Grand Final loss against the Melbourne Demons in Perth on September 25.

Bailey was seen huddled with three other men and ranted about his partying.

'At the end of the day it's about the f**king ticka. We're here right, we're here. We ain't slept in 48 hours. Sleep is for the f**king weak,' he said.

'First guest!' Cartia and her BFF Ashton recently launched their own podcast, Common Chaos

'Sleep when you're dead. When you're dead we'll do that. It's a big night. We'll relax. We're having a bit of fun.'

One of the other men said, 'F**k a couple of chicks,' to which Smith replied: 'We'll have a crack.'

The party had kicked off Saturday night, and on Sunday the entire team headed to the Ocean Beach Hotel at Cottesloe Beach to have a few more drinks.

On the day, TikTok user @brodeeezy posted a video from the bar in which Bailey Smith could be seen surrounded by female fans.
'Grocery Store' Joe Amabile and Serena Pitt were among three couples who got engaged on Tuesday's season seven finale of Bachelor In Paradise on ABC.

The three-hour finale picked back up again at the Paradise prom where Joe, 35, said in a confessional that it wouldn't be a prom without someone crying 'but I don't know who it is going to be.'

What he and the others didn't know was that Abigail Heringer, 26, and Noah Erb, 26, had broken up. Noah told her that he just didn't think she was his person. She cried in the bathroom, while Noah waited for her outside.

Season finale: 'Grocery Store' Joe Amabile and Serena Pitt were among three couples who got engaged on Tuesday's season seven finale of Bachelor In Paradise on ABC

'I wasn't trying to blindside you,' said Noah when she emerged. 'I wanted it to work out.'

Abigail said she had planned to tell him that she was falling in love with him and that his comments really hurt. Noah said at the end of the day she just wasn't his person, but that she shouldn't hold it against herself. She told him that she just wanted to forget about it and move on. She sobbed into her hands.

'There is nothing else to say,' she said.

Noah asked her if she just wanted to say goodbye and she said yes. He hugged her and said he was sorry. He said in a confessional that he didn't regret anything. He then walked and got into a waiting car to leave. He said he never lied to her. He said they were great but that they weren't soul mates.

Said yes: Serena, who wore a white VICI dress for the occasion, said yes after Joe dropped to a knee and proposed to her

Prom dates: Abigail Heringer, 26, and Noah Erb, 26, broke up during the Prom in paradise

Abigail returned to the prom crying. She told Chelsea Vaughn, 28, that both Noah and her were going home. Some of the women gathered around her and tried to comfort her. Abigail told them that Noah went home and he told that she wasn't his person.

Mari and Serena, 23, hugged her. Mari told her she did nothing wrong. She told them that she couldn't believe that Noah waited until the last week to tell her. Abigail told everyone goodbye.

Abigail got into a car and left. She said it will take her a while to process this and that she felt blindsided. She said she thought he was scared but that was something he needed to figure out on his own.

Getting emotional: The split blindsided Abigail who returned to the prom crying

'I really thought we were going to leave together,' Abigail said.

Mari returned to the prom and told the others what happened. Everyone seemed shaken by Abigail and Noah's break up. Serena said in a confessional that it would kill her to be in Abigail's position.

The next morning everyone appeared to be questioning whether their relationships would work in the real world. Joe said in a confessional that after the night's cocktail party there were only three options - break up, get engaged or see if they could make it in the real world.

Going home: Noah went home after breaking up with Abigail

At the rose ceremony, the men had the roses and two of the women would be going home.

Show bartender and guest host Wells Adams showed up at the party and asked how everyone was doing . Mari told him it was a shock to watch Abigail and Noah break up.

Wells told them he hoped they had all taken time to reflect about their relationships. He told them he had some news that they thought they didn't want to hear. He cancelled the cocktail party and had them move straight to the fifth rose ceremony.

Double duty: Show bartender and guest host Wells Adams showed up at the party and asked how everyone was doing

Joe gave his rose to Serena. Riley Christian, 30, gave his rose to Maurissa Gunn, 25, and said in a confessional that she was the one he wanted to leave paradise with. Kenny Braasch, 40, gave his rose to Mari Pepin, 25.

Thomas Jacobs, 29, gave his rose to Becca Kurfin, 31, and told her it was a big week for them and that he didn't want to leave any 'what ifs on the table.'

James Bonsall , 31, gave his rose to Anna. Aaron Clancy, 26, gave his rose to Tia Booth, 30. Ed Waisbrot, 37, gave his rose to Mykenna Dorn, 24,

Rose ceremony: At the rose ceremony, the men had the roses and two of the women would be going home

Chelsea and Natasha Parker, 33, did not get a rose and went home. Natasha said she was really sad in a confessional when she left. 'I'm always the one with the short end of the stick,' Natasha said in the car crying.

The next morning Wells gathered everyone and said he had a big announcement. He told them that today they were going to have to make some decisions that will change their lives forever.

Dean Unglert, 30, and Caelynn Miller-Keyes, 26, arrived to tell them that they fell in love on the show. Dean told them that Paradise was over and that there would be overnights with fantasy suites and that it was time to make those big decisions.

In love: Dean Unglert, 30, and Caelynn Miller-Keyes, 26, arrived to tell them that they fell in love on the show

The men sat down with each other to discuss. James told him he didn't know where his relationship with Anna Redman, 24, stood. He said he was caught off guard. Kenny told them he wondered if Mari and him were on the same page. He went and got her to go and talk.

He asked her how she was feeling. He said that for him 'maybe it was love at first sight.' He said his only concern was that she was 25 and wanted her to be 1,000 percent on the same page.

Mari told him she always wanted to get married young. She said in a confessional that she hoped she would be an engaged woman the next day. She said if Kenny proposed she was definitely saying yes.

Going strong: Mari and Kenny made sure they were on the same page together

Thomas then grabbed Becca to talk. He said in a confessional that he didn't want their relationship to end. He told her that his cards were on the table and that he wanted to know how she felt.

She told him that he was an unexpected, but pleasant surprise. Becca said she thought it was too good. She said she didn't want to leave with someone that she didn't 100 percent know. She told him what was best for them was to not continue and to not go to the fantasy suite.

Thomas told him that everything for him screamed that he was falling in love with her. He said she was calling off a potential life because it was too good. She told him that there was just something lacking. Thomas started crying and walked off. Becca ran after him and told him she didn't want him to leave here without him knowing that she cared.

Separate ways: Thomas Jacobs and Becca Kufrin went their separate ways instead of spending the nigh together in the Fantasy Suite

'Just let me go,' he told her. 'I just wish you could see the faith that I have in us.'

Becca told her she had to trust her decision. Thomas then got in a car and left. Becca also got in a car and left.

She said it sucked to see Thomas sharing so much emotion at the last minute. She said she was now torn and started crying.

Too late: Becca started crying after she broke things off with Thomas

Ed went to go talk to McKenna and said in a confessional that the fantasy suite with her sounds amazing. He told her if she wanted to try that he would be up for it.

McKenna said she was struggling because she didn't know if they had built a strong enough bond. She told them there was something missing for her. She told him it was better for them to end it here. Ed tried to convince her but she told him it was just better if they just go their separate ways.

'Boys I got dumped,' Ed yelled as McKenna left the beach.

Good effort: Ed Waisbrot tried to talk Mykenna Dorn into the Fantasy Suite

Too soon: Mykenna said she thought it would be best if they went their separate ways

Anna and James went to talk. She said in a confessional that she wanted it to go well. She told James that she liked him and that it was kind of scary. 'I would like to see where this can go,' she told him. James turned around and told her he didn't think he was in a place where he could see them falling in love. Anna said she felt slightly led on. He told her it wasn't an easy decision. James and Anna left the beach.

'I should have known better,' Anna said in a confessional. 'I wanted it so bad.'

Candid conversation: James Bonsall told Anna Redman that he wasn't into her

Feelings hurt: Anna said she felt slightly led on by James

James went over and found Aaron and said he didn't know where he was with Tia but that they came in together and that they should roll out together. Aaron told him okay but that he needed to have a quick talk with Tia first.

'I'm not leaving with any romance, but I've got the bromance with me,' said James

Aaron grabbed Tia and said he had to 'bounce' that James was leaving.

Taking off: Aaron grabbed Tia and said he had to 'bounce' that James was leaving

'I came to here looking for a big love story and I just found a best friend,' said James. Maybe I did find love in Paradise with an expected person in Aaron.'

Tia dragged her bag on the beach.

She said in a confessional that she was never coming here again.

Never again: Tia said in a confessional that she was never coming here again

Riley Christian, 30, grabbed Maurissa to talk to her. Maurissa said in a confessional that she was confident about their relationship.

Maurissa told him she would love to go to the fantasy suite with him. He told her he would love to go to the fantasy suite with her.

He carried her down the beach and she yelled 'we are going to the fantasy suite.'

Strong couple: Riley Christian, 30, grabbed Maurissa to talk to her

Joe got Serena to talk to him about their future. He told her that it was really worth it this time around because of her. He said he was really happy that he let his guard down and allowed this to happen.

Serena told him she was in love with him and Joe told her that he loved her too. Serena said in a confessional that she was surprised this all happened, but that it feels really good.

The three remaining couples Kenny and Mari, Joe and Serena and Riley and Maurissa returned to the beach to pack up for their overnight dates.

Deep talk: Joe got Serena to talk to him about their future together

On their date, Joe and Serena talked about their feelings. He said after their first conversation he told himself that he could fall in love with her. He said in a confessional that he just looks at her and really thinks that she could be the one. Serena said in a confessional that if Joe asked her to marry him that it would be very hard for her to say no.

Kenny told Mari that coming to Paradise and meeting her had changed the course of her life. She told him yes that she was 25, but that she was ready to get serious. She said she had such a good feeling about them. Kenny told her that he loved her and she said he loved her too.

Maurissa told Riley that an engagement would be a reassurance but that she knew he was her person 1,000 percent. Riley told him engagement was scary because his mother hasn't met her yet. He told her knew for certain that he loved her.

Engagement talk: Maurissa told Riley that an engagement would be a reassurance but that she knew he was her person 1,000 percent

All the couples enjoyed an evening in the fantasy suites. Kenny took off all his clothes and served Mari dinner. Riley and Maurissa made out in a jacuzzi. Joe said it was time to kick the cameras out.

Serena asked Joe in the morning if he wanted to marry her, but he said he couldn't spoil it. He said in a confessional that they took their relationship to the next level and that he was ready to leave with her.

Kenny and Mari also woke up telling each other that they loved each other. She said in a confessional that she felt so good with where they were at.

Spoiler alert: Serena asked Joe in the morning if he wanted to marry her, but he said he couldn't spoil it

Maurissa told Riley that she wanted an engagement. She said in a confessional that she was head over heels in love with him. She said when Riley was saying goodbye he whispered in her ear that he didn't know if he could go through with a proposal. She said she was crushed and started crying.

Mari showed up at the final rose ceremony and hoped that Kenny would propose to her. She walked to the beach where Kenny was waiting. She told him she couldn't be more excited for what was to come for them.

Kenny told her that they were tested like no other couple in Paradise. He was shaking and told her he couldn't see his life without her. He got down on one knee and proposed to her with a Neil Lane ring. She said yes.

Battle tested: Kenny told her that they were tested like no other couple in Paradise

Maurissa showed up to her final rose ceremony with Riley. He waited for her on the beach. She told him that she knew she loved him the first night she met him.

He told her that he had loved her since their very first date.

Riley then got down on one knee and proposed to her with a Neil Lane ring. She said yes.

The moment: Riley then got down on one knee and proposed to Maurissa with a Neil Lane ring

Joe waited on the beach to see Serena, but instead Kendall showed up. She told him that when she first came here she thought they would have a closure talk, but that she was surprised with how she ended up feeling.

She said she came here to fully let him go and that she was really excited for him and Serena. She said she couldn't leave without telling him that.

Kendall said there was always a part of her that would love him. He told her she was a catch and always would be.

Surprise visit: Joe waited on the beach to see Serena, but instead his ex-girlfriend Kendall Long showed up

Serena walked down to the beach after Kendall left and she told him that she really wanted him and a future with him. Joe told her he had to be honest and that Kendall just showed up on the beach. He said if anything it just made him more confident. He told them we have definitely had their speed bumps along the way. He told her forever with her felt right. He got down on one knee and proposed to her with the Neil Lane ring. She said yes..

All three engaged couples gathered on the beach and shared a toast.

The show ended with bloopers and catch ups with a few of the cast. It was revealed that Abigail and Noah realized they missed each other and have started hanging out as have Becca and Thomas.

Just engaged: All three engaged couples gathered on the beach and shared a toast

Happily engaged: A catch up clip revealed that Joe and Serena remain happily engaged

Together again: Becca and Thomas started dating after Paradise
Sky News Australia presenter Paul Murray was absent from his program Paul Murray Live on Tuesday night, possibly due to a health emergency.

The broadcaster, 43, was preparing to go live after Alan Jones but was nowhere to be seen when the show was supposed to begin at 9pm.

At about this time an ambulance was called for him, according to TV Blackbox.

Trouble: Sky News Australia presenter Paul Murray (pictured) was absent from his program Paul Murray Live on Tuesday night, possibly due to a health emergency

A news update was screened for the first 15 minutes of Murray's time slot, which is a usual cover for Sky News in the event of a personal or technical interruption to the broadcast.

Political commentator Rita Panahi then went on air and announced she would be hosting the program for the night, replacing Murray.

Panahi explained that her colleague was feeling under the weather and that he would be back 'very, very shortly'.

She was originally scheduled as a guest commentator on Murray's show that night.

Abrupt interruption: The broadcaster, 43, was preparing to go live after Alan Jones but was nowhere to be seen when the show was supposed to begin at 9pm. At about this time an ambulance was called for him, according to TV Blackbox

Fans of the right-wing pundit flocked to his Facebook page to ask about his condition and send their well-wishes.

It is unclear when Murray will return to his program, which usually airs Sunday to Thursday at 9pm on Sky News Australia.

A network spokesperson said he would be recovering for the next 'couple of days'.

Support: Fans of the right-wing pundit flocked to his Facebook page to ask about his condition and send their well-wishes

There's also no word yet on whether Panahi will continue to be his replacement on Wednesday and Thursday night, or if the pay TV channel will use a different host.

Sky News Australia has not confirmed or denied TV Blackbox's claim that an ambulance was called to the station.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted the network for comment.
Jodie Foster resembled Audrey Hepburn's stylish character Holly Golightly from Breakfast At Tiffany's when in a black cocktail dress and matching heels on Tuesday.

The Silence Of The Lambs actress, 58, was on the red carpet at the 2021 PEN America Literary Gala in New York City.

It was one of New York's first major indoor literary gatherings since the pandemic began last year, as hundreds met for the organization's annual gala to honor writers, community servants, political dissidents and such prominent public figures as Walt Disney executive chair Robert A. Iger.

She dazzled: Jodie Foster was on the red carpet at the 2021 PEN America Literary Gala in New York City on Tuesday

Her inspiration? Foster looked like Audrey Hepburn from the 1954 classic film Sabrina - which also starred Humphrey Bogart and William Holden - when in a black cocktail dress and matching heels

She loved a basic black dress: The star was also seen in this sleeveless gown in Breakfast At Tiffany's, which turned 60-years-old on Tuesday

After a virtual ceremony in 2020, attendees met at the gala's longtime venue - the American Museum of Natural History, under the giant model blue whale.

PEN, the literary and human rights organization, required everyone to present proof of vaccination and proof of a negative test within 72 hours of the event.

Once inside, they were asked to wear masks when not 'actively eating or drinking' for a night which included a cocktail reception and a sit-down dinner.

Infection rates remain high in New York City compared to early summer, although well below the pre-vaccine peaks of last winter and March-April 2020.

A November literary tradition, the National Book Awards ceremony, will be held online for a second straight year because of the virus.

Splashy party: After a virtual ceremony in 2020, attendees met at the gala's longtime venue - the American Museum of Natural History, under the giant model blue whale. PEN, the literary and human rights organization, required everyone to present proof of vaccination and proof of a negative test within 72 hours of the event

Also her inspiration? Foster also looked like Audrey Hepburn from the 1954 classic film Sabrina - which also starred Humphrey Bogart and William Holden

But PEN President Ayad Akhtar, the author and playwright, called the gala a kind of civic duty. He told the audience that after 18 months of Zoom screens, a live meeting of writers and other artists, and the gradual re-opening of the PEN offices, might inspire others to 'move forward.'

'This is part of what we feel we can and must do,' he said.

According to PEN, around 500 people came to the gala, hundreds less than in recent years. But the organization still raised more than $3 million, PEN Chief Executive Officer Suzanne Nossel announced, a record for the event. Attendees included Min Jin Lee, Claudia Rankine and Walter Isaacson among others, a PEN spokesperson said, and a few special presenters.

The VIPs: Corporate honoree Robert Iger, left, playwright Wole Soyinka, Foster and PEN/Audible Literary Service Award recipient Dr. Henry Louis Gates

More pals: Foster, left, Gates, Iger and playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda

A new face: On the far left was Jodi Picoult, who wore a silver and black dress

Lin-Manuel Miranda introduced Iger by praising Disney's handling of the film version of 'Hamilton' and his 'willingness to bring artists to the table' and honor their voices. The author and scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr., recipient of the PEN/Audible Literary Service Award, was introduced by two old friends.

There was Foster, who studied under him when she was attending Yale University, and Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, the Nigerian author-playwright who praised him for his efforts to illuminate the past for Black people worldwide.

Hosted by the actor-rapper Awkafina, the PEN gala was a defense of freedom of expression and a warning against the spread of lies.

She was suited up: US actress Awkwafina, best known for her role in Ocean's 8, had on a black suit with peep-toe heels

They held up a sign: Author Min Jin Lee, right, and husband Christopher Duffy

Playwright, political activist, and Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, left, and PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel pose together

Iger, the night's 'corporate honoree,' worried about 'polarization' and a 'general disregard for the truth,' amplified and accelerated by modern technology.

Honorees also included the California public health officials Mimi Khin Hall and Dr. Gail Newel, who were presented the PEN/Benenson Courage Award for what in ordinary times would have seemed self-evident: Serving their communities.

Both have faced threats and rage from those who denied the severity and even the existence of the coronavirus. Public health has always been a challenge, Hall said, but during the pandemic she and her peers have faced 'unprecedented hostility, fueled by misinformation and political divisiveness.'

Michael C. Hall, left, Matt Katz-Bohen and Peter Yanowitz of the band Princess Goes to the Butterfly Museum

But, she, added, 'when disaster presents itself, our commitment to humanity becomes more clear.'

Three imprisoned Iranian writer-activists, Baktash Abtin, Keyvan Bajan, and Reza Khandan Mahabadi, received the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award, their prize accepted for them by playwright Lynn Nottage. She read a letter from the three dissidents thanking PEN and saying their thoughts were with the many others persecuted in Iran and beyond.

'Your award, in fact, belongs to all of them,' the letter reads.

Also in black: Santa Cruz County public health officials and PEN Benenson Courage Award honorees Mimi Hall, left, and Gail Newel
Samuel Johnson spent weeks in hospital after being hit by a car and suffering head injuries in June.

And on Tuesday, the actor, 43, looked to be on the mend as he stepped out with his sister Hilde Hinton in Melbourne.

The Gold Logie winner grinned while giving a thumbs up as he roamed the streets alongside his older sibling.

On the mend! Samuel Johnson (pictured) gave a thumbs up as he stepped out with his sister Hilde Hinton after being hit by a car and spending a month in hospital on Tuesday

Samuel dressed casually in black jeans, a matching coloured jumper and a jacket for the outing.

He teamed his ensemble with sneakers and a navy cap.

In June, Samuel was struck by a car while riding on his bicycle.

Hilde first revealed news of the accident, writing on Facebook: 'I wish I didn't have to tell you this. Early Saturday night Sam was on his way to visit family when he was accidentally hit by a car.

Out and about: The Gold Logie winner grinned as he roamed the street with his sister

'Our Ambos got him picked up and tucked away safely in hospital in record time. I followed them in.

'The fantastical medical staff are in overdrive taking care of his sore head,' she added.

'He's awake and not too happy that he doesn't have his pants - nobody loves a hospital gown. Hearing his voice is lovely, but can't wait for hugs when it's safe.

Casual: Samuel dressed casually in black jeans, a matching coloured jumper and a jacket for the outing

'I'll keep you updated,' she concluded the post, which was shared alongside a photo of Hilde hugging a stuffed toy.

On August 1st, Sam revealed that after around six weeks in hospital, he was back home.

Despite being released from hospital, Samuel revealed he was still recovering from the accident, and would have to wear his neck brace for another four weeks.
Jason Momoa has once again proven just how impressive his six foot three physique is.

The Aquaman star flexes his bulging biceps on the cover of his month's Australian Men's Health Magazine.

In the photoshoot, Jason, 42, is seen frolicking in the the sand dunes of California.

Cover star: Jason Momoa has once again proven just how impressive his physique is, flexing his bulging biceps on the cover of his month's Australian Men's Health Magazine

The tall, dark and handsome actor shows off his ruggedly handsome looks while motorbike riding and driving a sand dune buggy.

In an accompanying interview with the magazine, Jason who is best known for his roles as Khal Drago in Game of Thrones, Conan the Barbarian and Aquaman, says he's nothing like his now-famous characters.

'I may look big and tough, but Im not,' he tells the publication.

'Im nothing like Khal Drogo. Im not even the king of my own house! Im absolutely terrified of my wife.'

Hot: The tall, dark and handsome actor shows off his ruggedly handsome looks while motorbike riding and driving a sand-dune buggy

'I may look big and tough, but Im not': In an accompanying interview with the magazine, Jason who is best known for his roles as Khal Drago in Game of Thrones, Conan the Barbarian and Aquaman, says he's nothing like his now-famous characters

A big softie: 'Im nothing like Khal Drogo. Im not even the king of my own house! Im absolutely terrified of my wife,' he tells the magazine

His wife, of course, is Lisa Bonet, 53.

While his career has gone from strength-to-strength, Jason, who hails from Honolulu, Hawaii, also enjoys his most important role yet - dad to daughter Lola and son Nakoa-Wolf with wife Lisa. He is also stepfather to Zoe Kravitz, 32.

Zoe is the daughter of Lisa and Lenny Kravitz, who were married from 1987 until 1993.

Jason and Lisa began dating in 2005, welcoming Lola in 2007 and Nakoa-Wolf in 2008.

'My wife is very sophisticated and smart and [our kids and I are] kind of like animals that need to be trained a little better,' he tells the magazine.

'Im constantly a work in progress, and Ive just been trying to get better as a father and a husband.

Family man: While his career has gone from strength-to-strength, Jason, who hails from Honolulu, Hawaii, also enjoys his most important role yet - as a dad to daughter Lola and son Nakoa-Wolf with wife Lisa. He is also stepfather to Zoe Kravitz, 32

A work in progress: 'Im constantly a work in progress, and Ive just been trying to get better as a father and a husband,' he tells the magazine

His magazine cover appearance comes just weeks after his new suit for his starring role as Aquaman in the sequel was unveiled.

Jason, who plays Arthur Curry/Aquaman in the franchise, first showed off his suit he wore in the blockbuster 2018 film - an orange and green look - that is a throwback to the original comic book.

A second photo showed Jason in an impressive pose while sporting a new dark blue suit with accents in silver.

In September, Jason made the announcement by writing: Second round. New suit. More action. #aquaman Aloha j.'

Director James Wan also posted the two new photos on his Instagram page, along with some details on the origins of the so-called stealth suit.

Wow: His magazine cover appearance comes just weeks after his new suit for his starring role as Aquaman in the sequel was unveiled

'Here's @prideofgypsies in the classic #Aquaman suit AND a sneak peek at his other outfit  the stealth suit. Atlantean tech based on cephalopod's camouflaging ability. David Leslie Johnson and I were inspired by the 80's "blue suit",' he shared in the caption.

From the sounds of Wan's comment, it appears as though Arthur Curry will wear both the original orange and green outfit and new dark blue outfit for the Aquaman sequel.

Along with the new suit, Aquaman will feature Jason with dyed blonde locks for his next adventure.

'This is the last day of the brown. I'm gonna be a blonde,' he announced in an Instagram video.

Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom is scheduled to hit theaters in the United States on December 16, 2022.

In addition to Jason, Amber Heard, Patrick Wilson, Dolph Lundgren, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Temuera Morrison are also returning.

Coming soon: Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom is scheduled to hit theaters in the US on December 16, 2022. In addition to Jason, Amber Heard, Patrick Wilson, Dolph Lundgren, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Temuera Morrison are also returning. Amber and Jason featured on the poster for the first film in the franchise - Aquaman
The hosts of Seven's Sunrise got into a debate about fairy bread on Wednesday.

David 'Kochie' Koch and Natalie Barr, along with newsreader Edwina Bartholomew, discussed whether or not people should cut the crust off fairy bread.

According to Yahoo, Edwina said that removing the crust is a 'culinary crime to make every Australian parent wince'.

'Does anyone have crusts on fairy bread?' Edwina Bartholomew started a friendly debate about fairy bread on Wednesday's Sunrise

'Does anyone have crusts on fairy bread?' she asked Nat and Kochie.

Kochie said that he always cuts the crust off, while Natalie said that she only does it 'sometimes'.

'I don't think they're compulsory,' Edwina added.

The discussion was sparked over some recent viral TikTok videos of Americans making fairy bread.

The Australian treat is made by spreading butter onto fresh bread and adding hundreds and thousands, which Alexandria from The Foreign Fork did.

Opinions: Sunrise host David Koch said that he always cuts the crust off, while Natalie Barr said that she only does it 'sometimes'

But according to some, the TikTok star made one crucial 'mistake' by cutting the crusts off the bread.

'I am Australian and love fairy bread, the only thing that would make this better is leaving the crust on like we usually do,' one woman said kindly.

'Crusts on. Otherwise how can you hold onto it while you eat and wait for your turn on the jumping castle?' another person laughed.

Others were more blunt with their criticism. 'Yeah, nah. We don't cut the crusts off,' one man said.

Another tried to explain that the crust is actually the 'handle' and is important because it helps to avoid getting sprinkles everywhere.
A Sydney magistrate issued a stern warning about the growing use of cocaine in Bondi.

Magistrate Ross Hudson reprimanded celebrity eyebrow queen Kristin Fisher on Wednesday at Waverley Local Court, after she had her conviction for cocaine possession annulled.

'People who justify their cocaine usage as socially acceptable or as part the social fabric... it is not,' Magistrate Hudson said.

Warning: Celebrity eyebrow queen Kristin Fisher (pictured) was reprimanded by Magistrate Ross Hudson on Wednesday at Waverley Local Court in Sydney

'It is a criminal, illegal drug. It is a stain on our community.'

He also stated that he was seeing similar cocaine crimes 'almost daily' and that they had become part of the 'social fabric' in Sydney's eastern suburbs.

Fisher explained to the court she made a 'dreadful mistake' when she was caught in the backseat of a cocaine dealer's car, and promised she would never use drugs again.

The glamorous 36-year-old beauty therapist appeared in court on Wednesday asking the magistrate to wipe her criminal conviction and accept her explanation.

Fisher was convicted in her absence a fortnight ago when she failed to turn up to court on three occasions after being charged with drug possession.

But the conviction was annulled on Wednesday so that Fisher would have a chance to plead her case.

Hudson told Fisher: 'People who justify their cocaine usage as socially acceptable or as part the social fabric... it is not. It is a criminal, illegal drug'

The mother-of-two was found in the passenger seat of a drug dealer's Kia Rio 'frantically' trying to evade police on July 17, with two bags of cocaine at her feet.

The paperwork for her drug charge disappeared from it's spot on the fridge, which Fisher said was likely the handiwork of one of her two children, aged six and eight.

'She put the yellow slip on the fridge door with a magnet, she thinks one of the kids took it (and) everyday she has checked in the mailbox for the letter to come as the police officer had indicated and nothing arrived,' her solicitor Michael Bowe told the court.

After her first no-show, Mr Hudson ordered notices be sent to Fisher's address informing her that she'd missed court and that he'd rescheduled it for August 24.

When the date rolled around and both Fisher and her lawyer were nowhere to be seen, he again arranged for letters to be sent in the mail.

An email was also sent to the web address she provided to police, the court heard.

Magistrate Ross Hudson allowed Fisher to enter a guilty plea, and read two character references tendered to the court.

Beauty: Fisher is one of Sydney's most in demand beauticians and runs a salon in the affluent eastern suburb of Double Bay

'I made a dreadful mistake... I remember going home and sitting in silence for hours and I was deeply embarrassed. I have vowed I will never do it again,' Fisher said in a letter to the court.

Fisher's solicitor Michael Bowe said: 'Her referees speak glowingly of her, she's a community person who gives back from the success she's had in her business.'

Mr Bowe noted Fisher had endured an 'extremely difficult time' after the loss of her friend and general manager to suicide and the repeated Covid lockdowns.

Magistrate Hudson accepted the guilty plea and said no conviction would be recorded if Fisher was of good behaviour for six months.

She must pay $1,500 in fines, including $1,000 for breaching COVID lockdown orders.

'Your reputation is what you're riding on,' he said. 'In terms of who you are and what you do, it's about your reputation.

'Not withstanding the years and years to build your reputation it takes seconds to destroy it. Hopefully you can now reflect on that.'

Fisher is one of Sydney's most in demand beauticians and runs a salon in the affluent eastern suburb of Double Bay.
Ronnie and Georgia Caceres accused Tanya and Vito Guccione of cheating once again during Wednesday's episode of The Block.

Georgia, 37, was left furious after snooping around Tanya and Vito's house and discovering they had cabinet makers Kinsman installing their laundry.

Just a week earlier, Ronnie, 45, and Georgia had been told that after the show's cheating scandal, the schedule for the rooms had been changed, meaning all the teams had to get their laundries installed the previous week at their own expense.

Making accusations: Ronnie and Georgia Caceres (both pictured) accused Tanya and Vito Guccione of cheating once again during Wednesday's episode of The Block

Tanya, 39, and Vito were at the centre of the cheating scandal, after obtaining a photo of the show's top secret production schedule, giving them an unfair advantage over their rivals.

'It was kind of like this moment where I was, like, looking at them and then it clicked,' Georgia said of discovering the Kinsman crew were working at Tanya and Vito's house.

'I was like, "What's going on? I didn't know you guys were meant to be here this week, because we were told you weren't going to be here, and that's why we had to hustle to get our laundries done last week."'

Busted: Georgia, 37, was left furious after snooping around Tanya and Vito's house and discovering they had cabinet makers Kinsman installing their laundry

Behind schedule: Just a week earlier, Ronnie, 45, and Georgia had been told that after the show's cheating scandal, the schedule for the rooms had been changed, meaning all the teams had to get their laundries installed the previous week. Pictured, Vito Guccione

She added: 'We all pushed, we worked hard. We paid extra labour to get it done.'

A livid Georgia then confronted foreman Keith Schleiger to find out what was going on, but he had no idea Tanya and Vito, 45, had called in the team from Kinsman.

'I'm just trying to establish whether the right thing is being done here, because we try and do the right thing and it irritates me when people don't respect that process,' Georgia told Keith, 50.

Asking questions: A livid Georgia then confronted foreman Keith Schleiger (right) to find out what was going on, but he had no idea Tanya and Vito, 45, had called in the team from Kinsman

Scandal: Ronnie and Georgia later questioned if it qualified as 'cheating', given that they'd failed to complete their laundry the previous week. Pictured, Tanya and Vito

Ronnie and Georgia later questioned if it qualified as 'cheating', given that they'd failed to complete their laundry the previous week.

'It's just not fair. What's the point in having rules on The Block? Do whatever you want. Spend what you want,' fumed Ronnie.

'Surely they wouldn't be so silly to try and cheat again,' added Georgia, before Ronnie finished, 'And here they are again, cheating.'

The Block continues at 7.30pm on Thursday on Channel Nine
Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion were the big winners at the 2021 BET Hip-Hop Awards... despite not being in attendance at the Cobb Energy Center in Atlanta.

The rappers won Song of the Year, Best Hip-Hop Video, and Best Collaboration for their hit single WAP, though they weren't in attendance to accept the awards.

The night's other big winner was Tyler, the Creator, who was in attendance and took home three more awards, Hip-Hop Album of the Year, Best Live Performer and the Rock the Bells Cultural Influence Award.

Big winners: Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion were the big winners at the 2021 BET Hip-Hop Awards... despite not being in attendance at the Cobb Energy Center in Atlanta

Not there: The rappers won Song of the Year, Best Hip-Hop Video, and Best Collaboration for their hit single WAP, though they weren't in attendance to accept the awards

In person: The night's other big winner was Tyler, the Creator, who was in attendance and took home three more awards, Hip-Hop Album of the Year, Best Live Performer and the Rock the Bells Cultural Influence Award

Cardi and Megan beat out Back in Blood (Pooh Shiesty feat. Lil Durk), Late at Night (Roddy Rich), Laugh Now Cry Later (Drake feat. Lil Durk), Up (Cardi B) and Whole Lotta Money (Remix) (Bia feat. Nicki Minaj) for the Song of the Year honors.

WAP beat out Cardi B's own Up for Best Hip-Hop Video, along with Chris Brown & Young Thug (Go Crazy), Drake feat. Lil Durk (Laugh Now Cry Later), Lil Nas X (Montero (Call Me By Your Name)) and Saweetie feat. Doja Cat (Best Friend).

For their final award, Best Collaboration, Cardi and Megan beat out 21 Savage & Metro Boomin Feat. Drake (Mr. Right Now) Bia feat. Nicki Minaj (Whole Lotta Money (Remix), DJ Khaled feat. Lil Baby & Lil Durk (Every Chance I Get), Drake feat. Lil Durk (Laugh Now Cry Later) and Pooh Shiesty feat. Lil Durk (Back in Blood).

Winners: Cardi and Megan beat out Back in Blood (Pooh Shiesty feat. Lil Durk), Late at Night (Roddy Rich), Laugh Now Cry Later (Drake feat. Lil Durk), Up (Cardi B) and Whole Lotta Money (Remix) (Bia feat. Nicki Minaj) for the Song of the Year honors

Their awards were accepted on their behalf by presenters such as Remy Ma, who accepted the Best Hip-Hop Video award.

Tyler, the Creator's Call Me If You Get Lost beat out Moneybagg Yo's A Gangsta's Pain, Migos' Culture III, Megan Thee Stallion's Good News, DJ Khaled's Khaled Khaled, 21 Savage & Metro Boomin's Savage Mode II and J. Cole's The Off-Season for Hip-Hop Album of the Year.

'Oh that's sick. Awesome. Hey man, f**k yeah, rap music, thank you to Lupe, thank you to Wayne, thank you to Jay, thank you to... I love rap music I'm so hyped I love everybody here thank you very much,' Tyler said in his brief speech.



Remy accepts: Their awards were accepted on their behalf by presenters such as Remy Ma, who accepted the Best Hip-Hop Video award

Tyler wins: 'Oh that's sick. Awesome. Hey man, f**k yeah, rap music, thank you to Lupe, thank you to Wayne, thank you to Jay, thank you to... I love rap music I'm so hyped I love everybody here thank you very much,' Tyler said in his brief speech

He also beat out Busta Rhymes, Cardi B, DaBaby, Doja Cat and Megan Thee Stallion for the Best Live Performer Award.

He was also awarded the first ever Rock the Bells Cultural Influence Award, presented by LL Cool J, who called Tyler, 'original' and 'fearless.'

He added that he didn't have anything planned, but he recalled a line by Playboy Cardi where he said, 'bought my mom a house off this mumbling s**t,' adding he always gets 'teared up when he says that.'

Live: He also beat out Busta Rhymes, Cardi B, DaBaby, Doja Cat and Megan Thee Stallion for the Best Live Performer Award

LL: He was also awarded the first ever Rock the Bells Cultural Influence Award, presented by LL Cool J, who called Tyler, 'original' and 'fearless'

'This thing that is a hobby or a pastime or a passion for us, a lot of people, that kept us out of trouble. And it allowed us to change our family lives, our friends lives, our lives, even earlier, when, like, it was like Jay to Yung Bleu to wu-tang, we all singing the lyrics, that community is just crazy,' Tyler said.

'The things that we were able to see and experience because of this thing called rap and hip hop. And with rap, it is like a pathway for a lot of us to really just go, to leave, to experience, to just new stuff that we are really not allowed to see or shown from where we grow up,' he added in his off-the-cuff speech.

He added he wouldn't be on stage, 'or have this silly hat' without artists before him like Q-Tip, Andre 3000, Chad Hugo, Kanye West, Missy Elliott, Busta Rhymes and Hype Williams, 'who just took it to this different world.

He concluded, 'I appreciate you guys so much for just opening the doors and throwing the key, not just opening the door, but talking to young guys like me and giving me jams and things like that.'

Hobby: 'This thing that is a hobby or a pastime or a passion for us, a lot of people, that kept us out of trouble. And it allowed us to change our family lives, our friends lives, our lives, even earlier, when, like, it was like Jay to Yung Bleu to wu-tang, we all singing the lyrics, that community is just crazy,' Tyler said

Other winners included Yung Bleu, who won Best New Hip-Hop Artist, beating out Blxst, Coi Leray, Don Toliver, Morray and Pooh Shiesty.

'I ain't even got no speech, I didn't even know I was going to win. So you know what I'm saying? I just want to shout out to my whole team, you know what I'm saying?' he began.

'We did this from the start, independent. You know what I'm saying? That is why it means the most to me right now. We did this independent, we did it our way, shout out to my whole team,' he added.

Winner: Other winners included Yung Bleu, who won Best New Hip-Hop Artist, beating out Blxst, Coi Leray, Don Toliver, Morray and Pooh Shiesty

No speech :'I ain't even got no speech, I didn't even know I was going to win. So you know what I'm saying? I just want to shout out to my whole team, you know what I'm saying?' he began.

Independent: 'We did this from the start, independent. You know what I'm saying? That is why it means the most to me right now. We did this independent, we did it our way, shout out to my whole team,' he added

Nelly was presented the I Am Hip-Hop Award by Jermaine Dupri, who dedicated for his hometown of St. Louis and everyone in the Midwest.

He added that nobody featured him on their record, 'nobody put a chain around my neck,' adding, 'I got thrown in the deep end and was told to swim.'

He also thanked L.L. Cool J, 'because all up until L, I thought you had to be one way to be a rapper. I never looked at rap a certain way until that man, until that man did his thing.'

Presented: Nelly was presented the I Am Hip-Hop Award by Jermaine Dupri, who dedicated for his hometown of St. Louis and everyone in the Midwest

Nobody: He added that nobody featured him on their record, 'nobody put a chain around my neck,' adding, 'I got thrown in the deep end and was told to swim'

Thanked L: He also thanked L.L. Cool J, 'because all up until L, I thought you had to be one way to be a rapper. I never looked at rap a certain way until that man, until that man did his thing'

He also joked he 'started jacking a lot of stuff' from him, but he has 'talked about that' and he 'has forgiven me.'

He also thanked his team for 'riding with your boy for over 23 years ang counting,' including his little brother, who got 'locked down' after recording Country Grammer and tonight was the first time 'getting a chance to come to an award show and rock out with me.'

He concluded by thanking his fans, the Lunatics, adding, 'We had a dream. We definitely had a dream, and we built that dream from the ground up, man.'

'I love each and every one of them, man. You know, shout out to Murphy Lee, shout out to my homie, I love you all to death,' he concluded.

Jacking: He also joked he 'started jacking a lot of stuff' from him, but he has 'talked about that' and he 'has forgiven me'

Team: He also thanked his team for 'riding with your boy for over 23 years ang counting,' including his little brother, who got 'locked down' after recording Country Grammer and tonight was the first time 'getting a chance to come to an award show and rock out with me'

Fans: He concluded by thanking his fans, the Lunatics, adding, 'We had a dream. We definitely had a dream, and we built that dream from the ground up, man'

Love: 'I love each and every one of them, man. You know, shout out to Murphy Lee, shout out to my homie, I love you all to death,' he concluded
Abbie Chatfield has taken exception to a political DM from one of her followers.

The influencer, 25, slammed the fan for claiming that new NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet's 'views shouldn't be anyone's business' in a fiery Instagram Stories rant.

'He's not the new franchisee of a local car dealership, he's the f**king Premier!' shot back the Bachelor star on Tuesday.

Not having it: Abbie Chatfield (pictured) slammed a fan for claiming that new NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet's 'views shouldn't be anyone's business' in a fiery Instagram Stories rant

'The thing that matters is his political views,' continued Abbie, who has previously voiced her concerns about Perrottet's strong Catholic beliefs and his conservative stance on abortion.

'That is literally the only thing that matters. What do you mean?' she added.

The fan's message began with the claim that Perrottet shouldn't be dismissed as a leader simply because he celebrated Donald Trump's 2016 Presidential election victory.

'Has it ever [occurred] that some people actually like trump.. just because you don't agree doesn't mean he's going to be a bad premier'.

New guy: 'He's not the new franchisee of a local car dealership, he's the f**king Premier!' shot back the Bachelor star on Tuesday. Pictured: NSW's new Premier, Dom Perrottet

Speaking truth: 'The thing that matters is his political views,' continued Abbie, who has previously voiced her concerns about Perrottet's strong Catholic beliefs

However Abbie shot back that 'no one normal wanted Trump to win'.

It's not the first time Chatfield has voiced her concerns about the latest leader of New South Wales.

On Monday, before Perrottet was officially sworn in as the new Premier, Abbie shared a number of Instagram Stories pointing out policies she was unhappy with.

'Our new premier? F**king pass. I'm so mad. Please vote the liberal party out next election. This man is f**ked,' she wrote.

Not impressed: It's not the first time Chatfield has voiced her concerns about the latest leader of New South Wales

In particular, Abbie pointed out Perrottet's stance against abortion and his strong Catholic beliefs.

She also noted that he'd praised Donald Trump's election, questioned climate change and voted against same sex marriage.

The reality star likewise underlined sections in which Perrottet is calling for stronger borders.

Anger: On Monday, the former Bachelor star shared a number of Instagram Stories pointing out policies she was unhappy with. Mr Perrottet is pictured

Mr Perrottet looks set to be NSW Premier after a key ally switched sides when an endorsement by ex-PM John Howard gave the Treasurer an unbeatable edge.

The party's centre-right have also swung behind the 39-year-old dad-of-six after Mr Howard's kingmaker seal of approval.

The endorsement came just 24 hours after Gladys Berejiklian, 51, announced she was quitting over the ICAC probe into her relationship and dealings with dodgy MP Daryl Maguire, 62.

Mr Perrottet, who became Treasurer in January 2017 when Ms Berejiklian replaced Mike Baird as Premier, is also a devout Catholic and hails from the Liberal Party's Right faction.

Ideas: In particular, Abbie pointed out Perrottet's stance against abortion and his strong Catholic beliefs

Questions: She also noted that he'd praised Donald Trump's election, questioned climate change and voted against same sex marriage

He was first elected to Parliament in March 2011, when Barry O'Farrell's Coalition swept to power in a landslide ending Labor's 16 years in office.

During that decade, he has held three different electorates, Castle Hill, Hawkesbury and now Epping in Sydney's north-west, switching seats at each election in 2015 and 2019 to the dismay of his Liberal colleagues.

Ms Berejiklian's decision to stand down sparked speculation NSW's Covid map's roadmap may be in jeopardy once a new premier takes over.
Tanya and Vito Guccione were accused of getting special treatment by some of their rivals on Wednesday's episode of The Block.

The Melbourne couple left Faves Ronnie and Georgia Caceres and Mitch Edwards and Mark McKie furious after calling in cabinet makers Kinsman to install their laundry, a week later than the other teams.

Further inflaming the situation, Tanya, 39, claimed Kinsman were installing the laundry cabinets free of charge.

Favourites? Tanya and Vito Guccione (both pictured) were accused of getting special treatment by some of their rivals on Wednesday's episode of The Block

'Such a big help, especially because now we haven't had to pay for that. Like, they're coming to install it,' Tanya told the show's producers.

An understandably irate Georgia, 37, explained that foremen Keith Schleiger and Dan Reilly had told them that they'd had to install the cabinets the previous week to avoid paying an installation fee.

'That irritates me, because it has to be what's good for the goose is good for the gander, right?' Georgia told Keith, 50.

Getting fired up: The Melbourne couple left Faves Ronnie and Georgia Caceres (both pictured) and Mitch Edwards and Mark McKie furious after calling in cabinet makers Kinsman to install their laundry, a week later than the other teams

No fee: Further inflaming the situation, Tanya, 39, claimed Kinsman were installing the laundry cabinets free of charge

Georgia then went and spoke to Mitch, 58, and Mark, and informed them of the situation with Tanya and Vito, leaving them equally angry.

Mark, 59, then took it upon himself to call someone from Kinsman to find out if Tanya and Vito were being charged for the installation of their laundry cabinets, given they were a week late.

'They're not charging them? You're kidding! They're not getting charged? I can't believe it,' said an incredulous Mark after finding out they were getting the cabinets installed free of charge.

Word on the street: Georgia then went and spoke to Mitch Edwards (right) and Mark, and informed them of the situation with Tanya and Vito, leaving them equally angry

Making calls: Mark McKie (left) then took it upon himself to call someone from Kinsman to find out if Tanya and Vito were being charged for the installation of their laundry cabinets, given they were a week late

Making sense of the situation, he later said: 'So it seems like Tanya and Vito have approached Kinsman themselves, even though they knew that you're not supposed to do that, that Kinsman wouldn't be installing, and they got them to install the laundry at no cost, which was a cost we all carried.'

Georgia then enlisted Keith to further investigate the situation, and he was left shocked after Tanya and Vito's building crew confirmed they were working on the laundry.

The professional renovator insisted that if she'd never been snooping outside of Tanya and Vito's house, the fact they were working on their laundry after everyone else would 'never have come to light'.

Surprise: Georgia then enlisted Keith Schleiger (right) to further investigate the situation, and he was left shocked after Tanya and Vito's building crew confirmed they were working on the laundry

'On instruction from you, you said get your laundries done, otherwise you'll be paying for Kinsman to install your laundries next week,' Georgia fumed to Keith

'On instruction from you, you said get your laundries done, otherwise you'll be paying for Kinsman to install your laundries next week,' Georgia fumed to Keith.

'So all I'm trying to establish is was that bulls**t, because now people are getting their laundries done and they have to pay for it.'

Storming off, she added: 'They have to be charged for it, and I think that's on you to follow that up, Keithie.'

The Block continues at 7.30pm on Thursday on Channel Nine
Tiger King star Joe Exotic has reportedly threatened to sue BBC bosses after they used his song Here Kitty Kitty without his permission.

According to his lawyer, the TV star is furious the channel used the song, which mocked his longtime nemesis Carole Baskin, in the BBC Two documentary Louis Theroux: Shooting Joe Exotic.

Joe is currently serving a 22-year prison sentence after hiring two men to kill his rival Carole, but is currently trying to have his conviction reversed.

Raging: Tiger King star Joe Exotic has reportedly threatened to sue BBC bosses after they used his song Here Kitty Kitty without his permission

Joe's lawyer, Brad Small, from the top US firm Fox Rothschild, explained to The Mirror that Exotic owns the copyright for the song, and the BBC did not acquire a 'master and synchronized licence' for its use.

The track featured in Shooting Joe Exotic, which saw the broadcaster meet members of the star's family campaigning for his release from prison.

Small said: 'They are looking into it. Joe is unhappy about this because he is not getting the money.

'I am confident we will get a resolution by the end of the year.'

Raging: According to his lawyer, the TV star (pictured in his 2018 mugshot) is furious the channel used the song in the BBC Two documentary Louis Theroux: Shooting Joe Exotic

When contacted by MailOnline a BBC Studios spokesperson said: 'BBC Studios respects all intellectual property rights and we've already been in touch with Mr Small. to explain that our use of the short snippet of the song Here Kitty Kitty in the UK version of Louis Theroux: Shooting Joe Exotic is permitted under UK law.'

The original series of Tiger King documented the feud between big cat enthusiasts Joe and Carole.

Their quarrel took a dark turn when the gun-toting, polygamist zoo owner was arrested for plotting out a murder-for-hire involving Baskin.

Claims: Exotic's song mocked his longtime rival Carole Baskin, who he later plotted to kill by hiring two hitmen, leading to his 22-year prison sentence

Exotic is currently imprisoned as he was eventually convicted on 17 federal charges of animal abuse and two counts of attempted murder for hire in his plot to kill nemesis and Big Cat Rescue owner Baskin in 2019.

He has since appealed his sentence, with the federal appeals court ruling his time in prison be reduced. His updated sentence is yet to be announced.

The Netflix documentary series is set to return for a second season on November 17, with a trailer hinting that fans will get 'more madness and mayhem.'
He recently buried the hatchet with the rapper Machine Gun Kelly after their scuffle at the MTV Video Music Awards.

And Conor McGregor once again cut a casual figure as he puffed on a hand-rolled cigarette in Miami on Sunday.

The UFC star, 33, sported a T-shirt emblazoned with The Simpsons character Krusty The Clown, and floral shorts as he stepped outside for a smoke.

Casual: Conor McGregor, 33, cut a casual figure as he puffed on a hand-rolled cigarette in Miami on Sunday

Conor sported the blue T-shirt emblazoned with the famous clown, alongside the colourful shorts as he headed outside.

The sportsman was seen chatting to his fiancee Dee Devlin as he puffed away on his hand-rolled cigarette.

It comes after Conor insisted had no hard feelings regarding the incident with Machine Gun Kelly.

Relaxed: The UFC star sported a T-shirt emblazoned with The Simpsons character Krusty The Clown, and floral shorts as he stepped outside for a smoke

The star was spotted in New York City by comedian and journalist Adam Glyn, who asked the athlete numerous questions about his time in the metropolis.

McGregor began the conversation by noting that he was in a positive mood both at the time and during the impromptu interview.

He said, 'Ill tell you what it is. Im free here in New York City, you know what I mean? Im back in New York. I got to go to the Barclays Center. I got to present an award. I was just going to have a good time, you know what I mean?'

When Glyn pressed him about the incident with Kelly, Conor dismissed the idea that there was any bad blood and that it was 'all love' between them.

Standing out: Conor sported the blue T-shirt emblazoned with the famous clown, alongside the colourful shorts as he headed outside

McGregor went on to express that the Bloody Valentine rapper and his fans should attend his forthcoming matches as a sign of good faith.

'Its all good. Come to the next fight. Come watch me perform any time. Ill perform, no problem. Everyone is more than welcome to come to my fights, to the shows,' he said.

Glyn went on to ask if the pair had any residual hard feelings, although the fighter pointed out that he was personally unfamiliar with the performer.

'[Theres] no beef. I dont even know the guy. I dont know him. Who is he? Youre telling me hes been at the fights. Megan has been at the fights [for] years,' he stated.
Daisy Lowe and Emma Weymouth cut very glamorous figures on Tuesday night as they attended the second night of the Coravin Club dinner party in London.

Model Daisy, 32, looked chic in a simple black maxi dress which perfectly hugged her curves.

While Emma, the Marchioness of Bath, 35, turned up the heat in a red lace basque teamed with a floral midi skirt.

Fun times: Daisy Lowe and Emma Weymouth cut very glamorous figures on Tuesday night as they attended the second night of the Coravin Club dinner party in London

Daisy teamed her long black dress with a pair of black shoes and added a plethora of gold rings to her hand, while her raven locks were left to fall about her shoulders.

Emma meanwhile added a pop of colour with her racy ensemble, with her form-fitting black skirt featuring a floral pattern in hues of red and green.

Socialite Emma, who was hosting the evening's party, also matched her flesh-flashing basque with a pair of pointed red heels.

Her brunette locks were styled into a sleek style, while she added a further touch of glam with a sleek make-up palette including a bold red lip.

Sophistication: Model Daisy, 32, looked chic in a simple black maxi dress which perfectly hugged her curves

Daisy and Emma appeared in great spirits as they happily sipped wine together amid the dinner party series to launch launch Coravin Sparkling, the new sparkling wine preservation system.

The ladies, who've both appeared on Strictly Come Dancing, were getting along swimmingly as they clinked glasses and cosied up for snaps.

Daisy also cuddled up to boyfriend Jordan Saul during the evening, with her beau echoing her all black look wit a black top, cargo trousers and boots.

Daisy was spotted for the first time with her estate agent man in June 2020 - despite being under a government-ordered lockdown for 10 weeks.

Sizzling: While Emma, the Marchioness of Bath, 35, turned up the heat in a red lace basque teamed with a floral midi skirt

Looking good: Daisy teamed her long black dress with a pair of black shoes and added a plethora of gold rings to her hand, while her raven locks were left to fall about her shoulders

All dressed up: Emma meanwhile added a pop of colour with her racy ensemble, with her form-fitting black skirt featuring a floral pattern in hues of red and green

It's been a busy summer for the couple as they made an appearance at Bvlgari's summer party in London as well as the Dazn x Matchroom VIP launch recently.

Daisy took to Instagram in June to mark their first anniversary and reveal to her followers how she met her beau with a sweet post where she called Jordan her 'hero'.

She captioned the upload: 'A year ago today I went to meet @misstilda for a walk on the Heath. But I was running a little late- Mercury was in retrograde [crying laughing emoji].

'When I arrived, Monty ran straight towards a very handsome Belgium shepherd, attached to this handsome dog was a rather handsome man.

'I dawdled around having some dog chat we ended up walking together for a couple of hours, what a dog walk!'

BFFs: The ladies, who've both appeared on Strictly Come Dancing, were getting along swimmingly as they clinked glasses and cosied up for snaps

She continued: 'Here we are a year later, through countless lockdowns, adventures, disasters and triumphs. You @jordanjaysaul have been my hero.

'Through and through. Thanks for feeling like home & always making me giggle even when I really dont want to! Its my absolute favourite making you laugh so much your legs give way.

'I am very happy I was 5 mins late to meet Tilds that day & I am so very grateful you are mine. Happy anniversary my pain in the ass. I love you .' [sic]
They often step out in sizzling outfits that leave little to the imagination.

And Tuesday was no different for Love Island twins Eve and Jess Gale, who made sure to put their ample assets on display when heading for drinks in Mayfair.

Both social media stars, 22, showed off their toned midriffs and gym-honed legs, with Jess donning a thigh-skimming cut-out mini dress while Eve opted for a short lemon yellow skirt and matching crop top.

Wow: Love Island twins Eve and Jess Gale, 22, made sure to put their ample assets on display when heading for drinks in Mayfair on Tuesday

The siblings wore their glossy blonde tresses loose and added height to their frames in open-toe heels.

On her left shoulder, Jess toted her belongings in a luxury chain detail handbag while Eve kept hers safe in a chic clutch.

Both women were sporting immaculate white pedicures.

The stunning sisters rose to fame on the 2020 winter series of the ITV2 show.

Enviable physiques: Both social media stars, 22, showed off their toned midriffs and gym-honed legs

All yellow: Eve opted for a short lemon yellow skirt and matching crop top and added height to her frame in wraparound heels

Thigh-skimming: Jess donned a thigh-skimming cut-out mini dress and made sure to work her best angles for photographers

However, they failed to find love with Jess splitting from Ched Uzor after the series finished.

The pair faced backlash when they jetted to Dubai in December, due to the Covid pandemic.

They joined many other Love Islanders including Joanna Chimonides, Hayley Hughes and Francesca Allen.

After Dubai joined UK's travel ban list, celebrities then began flocking to Mexico's bars and beaches as it established itself as the next COVID getaway destination.

Many stars insisted their trips were for 'work purposes' after criticism from the Home Secretary Priti Patel.
Tom Daley hit Louis Vuitton's Paris Fashion Week show on Tuesday, after revealing he secretly battled Covid in January.

The Olympian diver, 27, spoke at the weekend about how he was hospitalised with the virus which left him fearing he 'might die'.

But keen knitter Tom was back to his best as he showed off his flair for fashion at the designer's Womenswear Spring/Summer 2022 show.

Style statement: Tom Daley hit Louis Vuitton's Paris Fashion Week show on Tuesday, after revealing he secretly battled Covid in January

Tom gave his best model pose as he sported a black studded leather jacket and a white T-shirt with the brand's signature motif.

He teamed the look with baggy black trousers, a box crossbody bag and heeled brogues.

After the show, Tom posed for a photo with designer Nicolas Ghesquiere.

Covid scare: The Olympian diver, 27, spoke at the weekend about how he was hospitalised with the virus which left him fearing he 'might die'

Fashion forward: Keen knitter Tom was back to his best as he showed off his flair for fashion at the designer's Womenswear Spring/Summer 2022 show

Tom spoke about his health ordeal for the first time in his new book Coming Up for Air: What I Learned from Sport, which is being serialised in The Times, describing how he felt as though he'd been 'run over by a steamroller'.

Tom, married to Hollywood screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, 47, recalled how he quizzed his husband on whether he'd know what to do if he 'stopped breathing' during the night, after earlier having felt like he 'couldn't get enough' oxygen into his body.

Detailing the petrifying episode, Tom explained: 'My lungs felt pressurised, as if they had sacks of rice around them. I needed to get to that test centre and find out. I walked there very, very slowly, diligently avoiding everyone I could.'

Working it: Tom gave his best model pose as he sported a black studded leather jacket and a white T-shirt with the brand's signature motif

Daring to be different: He teamed the look with baggy black trousers, a box crossbody bag and heeled brogues

Say cheese: After the show, Tom posed for a photo with designer Nicolas Ghesquiere

After returning home, the Team GB diver told how he felt as though he'd been hit 'by a steamroller' and felt he 'might die', with the star receiving his positive test result eight hours later.

But when his husband began showing symptoms too, Tom grew concerned about what would happen to their son three-year-old son Robbie should they both fall ill.

He said: 'Lance then started feeling sick. He was terrified of Covid, due to suffering with his lungs in the past. We were really worried about what would happen if we were both ill and couldn't look after Robbie. I started to feel better for a few days, but then my cough got worse again.'

Fears: Tom recalled how he quizzed his screenwriter husband Dustin Lance Black, 47, on whether he'd know what to do if he 'stopped breathing' during the night (pictured together)

Things got worse for the Olympic legend as he detailed later feeling as though his head had a 'vice tightening' around it and that his 'oxygen levels were dropping'.

After calling 111, he was taken to hospital by ambulance where he spent 10 hours getting blood tests and x-rays and oxygen to boost his levels before finally being sent home.

Discussing what was going through his mind while in hospital, Tom said: 'I understood how quickly things could potentially go downhill. I had flashes of fear about whether I would be put on a ventilator, and my time being up. I was really terrified.'

He told how three days after his hospital dash, which came seven months before his Olympic success, he began to 'make progress' and eventually feel better.

Tom noted afterwards he felt an 'overwhelming' sense of 'relief' his Covid ordeal was 'finally over'.

It is not clear whether Tom has had a Covid-19 vaccine. MailOnline has contacted his representatives for comment.
Beverley Callard has announced that she has welcomed a granddaughter named Luna Louise.

Taking to Instagram on Tuesday, the soap star - best known for playing Liz McDonald on Coronation Street - shared the joyous news.

The doting grandmother, 64, shared sweet snaps to social media of herself cradling the tiny newborn with husband Jon McEwan.

Grandma Bev! on Tuesday, Beverley Callard, 64, announced that she has welcomed a granddaughter named Luna Louise

Beverley shared alongside four photographs: 'Welcome to the world our Baby Granddaughter Luna Louise.'

Her celebrity pals were quick to send their best wishes, with Jordan North commenting: 'So so happy for you guys. Beautiful pic.'

Victoria Derbyshire added: 'Luna is beautiful, Bev - loads of love to you and your lovely family x.'

Family: The doting grandmother shared sweet snaps to social media of herself cradling the tiny newborn with husband Jon McEwan

Big brother: The soap star is already grandmother to Noah (pictured left), who was born in September 2018, and regularly shares photographs and videos of him to her Instagram

The soap star is already grandmother to Noah, who was born in September 2018, and regularly shares photographs and videos of him to her Instagram.

Little Luna and her big brother Noah, three, are the children of Jon's daughter and Beverley's step-daughter Danielle.

Beverley is mum to son Joshua, 32, with ex Steve Callard, and actress daughter Rebecca, 46, with ex husband Paul Atkinson.

The Corrie star is also grandmother to daughter Rebecca's two sons Sonny, 15, and George, 13, with ex husband Gideon Turner - from whom she split in 2016.

Grandad Jon! Little Luna and her big brother Noah, three, are the children of Jon's daughter and Beverley's step-daughter Danielle

During her appearance on I'm A Celebrity, Beverley gushed over her passionate relationship with her husband Jon M and even branded him a 'megas**g'.

And in June, the Corrie star told Ok! magazine she was planning a 'laid-back' ceremony with casual clothing when she remarries her partner.

She said: 'We both want to renew our wedding vows. When I came out of the castle, I looked a disaster and Jon was waiting for me at the hotel. He just said: Let's do it, let's get married all over again. It was like he proposed again.'

When asked if they were planning a 'big celebration', Jon said: We don't know. Our wedding was like a military operation. It was beautiful, but regimented.

While Beverley added: 'When we renew our vows, I'd like it to be laid-back with casual clothes.'

Before tying the knot with Jon, Beverley was married to Steve Callard from 1989 until 2001, David Sowden from 1980 until 1988 and Paul Atkinson for three years from 1974 until 1977.
Great British Bake Off fans were left 'disappointed' when watching Tuesday night's episode, after Channel 4's ongoing technical problems interrupted their viewing.

The network had faced issues with its output following a fire at its playout centre over a week ago.

Viewers took to Twitter to share their upset at discovering the episode had no subtitles, sound issues - with the show even falling off air for some.

Great British Bake Off fans were left 'disappointed' when watching Tuesday night's episode, after Channel 4's ongoing technical problems interrupted their viewing

One viewer shared a photo of the screen which said: 'Programmes continue shortly' and wrote: 'Most upsetting thing that's happened today... I'd like to watch GBBO'.

'Time for #GBBO and I am not ok, @Channel4, very not ok,' typed another as they experienced the same problem.

'Anyone round Nottingham having problems with @Channel4 trying to watch bake off and having to watching it online as terrestrial is down,' said a third viewer.

Frustration: Viewers took to Twitter to share their upset at discovering the episode had no subtitles, sound issues - with the show even falling off air for some

Others said they had difficulty with the sound. One fan of the show wrote: 'What's going on with the sound on #BakeOff? I can't hear the voice over. It's too muffled to hear anything Noel and Matt are saying.'

'Glad to see other people think the sound is all over the place tonight. I wasn't sure if it was me or Noel was doing the voiceover from the bottom of a biscuit barrel,' added another.

A third complained: 'Your sound mixing is completely out. Can barely hear Noel or Matt's narration.'

Problems: Others said they had difficulty with the sound. One fan of the show wrote: 'What's going on with the sound on #BakeOff? I can't hear the voice over'

A number of viewers were left 'disappointed' by the lack of subtitles, with the deaf community hitting out because they were unable to watch the show.

One wrote: 'Looks like Im going to miss #bakeoff probably this year because #channel4 @Channel4 ongoing problems with #subtitles #disappointed.'

A different Bake Off fan typed: 'no subtitles on Bake Off.again. And before you point to a problem at the weekend, they werent there last week either. Do we just give up watching the programme and any other groups of people you wish to exclude?'

'No subtitles on Bake Offwhy oh why what the problem??', chimed a third.

Channel 4 announced that it was still having problems two hours before Bake Off aired last week.

A spokesperson said on Twitter: 'Sadly, we're still experiencing some tech issues which means some viewers may have problems watching our channels or access services.

'Sorry for the ongoing disruption  we'll let you know here as and when we have updates.'

Channel 4 was contacted by MailOnline for further comment at the time.

Last Saturday Channel 4 and More4 went off air, with Channel 5 also hit with technical issues.

Upset: Rochica was the third baker to be eliminated from The Great British Bake Off during Tuesday's episode of the popular cooking show

Happy: Elsewhere Giuseppe impressed judges Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood and was crowned star baker

Red Bee Media, which handles playout services for Channel 4 and Channel 5, said the disruption was due to an 'activation of the fire suppression systems' on Saturday evening.

A spokesperson said: 'We confirm that all staff at our Broadcast Centre in west London were safely evacuated following activation of the fire suppression systems.

'As a result of this incident and the automatic safety measures set in motion at the time, several services originating from the Broadcast Centre have been disrupted.

Creation: Rochica disappointed with her milk bread Showstopper which consisted of a bird cage, nest and eggs, while also coming last in the technical

'London Fire Brigade attended the scene, and once they had determined that the building is safe, people were allowed to return to the building.

'We are continuing to work to restore all services and remedy any issues caused by this incident.'

Rochica was the third baker to be eliminated from The Great British Bake Off during Tuesday's episode of the popular cooking show.

The contestant, 27, broke down in tears during the programme after failing to impress with her bird-inspired milk bread Showstopper and ciabatta breadsticks in the Technical.

She follows unlucky bakers Tom and Jairzinho who were booted off in week one and two.
She weathered a brutal backlash after an inappropriately worded sex joke on Instagram last month.

And Skye Wheatley appeared to be playing it safe when she shared a racy bikini photo on social media on Wednesday.

The former Big Brother housemate showcased her flat stomach and ample assets in the skimpy green bikini.

Playing it safe: Skye Wheatley (pictured) stripped down to a green bikini to showcase her sensational figure on Wednesday, after being forced to apologise for an 'inappropriate' sex joke

Skye tugged at her bikini bottoms as she posed in the mirror, highlighting her toned curves.

The Gold Coast star then showed herself turning around to highlight her pert derriere in the swimsuit.

'The gluteus maximus is one of the largest muscles in the body and it's main action is to extend and laterally rotate the hip joint,' she captioned the post.

Booty-ful: 'The gluteus maximus is one of the largest muscles in the body and it's main action is to extend and laterally rotate the hip joint,' Skye captioned the post

The raunchy post comes after Skye battled backlash following a joke about demanding sex off her boyfriend, Lachlan.

The blonde stunner joked during an Instagram Q&A with fans on September 15 that she demands sex from Lachlan even when he isn't in the mood.

When asked who was more dominant in bed, she responded: 'Hahahahaha me... but only when he's mad and says he doesn't want to have sex.'

'I am truly, deeply sorry': Skye was forced to apologise last month after posting an 'insensitive' joke on Instagram about her sex life with boyfriend Lachlan

'Hahahahaha ain't nobody telling me no... I won't take no for an answer if I want sexy time,' she added.

Skye's comments clearly upset some of her fans, as she returned to the platform less than 24 hours later to issue a grovelling apology.

The mother of two apologised for her 'insensitive, triggering' words and promised to think twice before making similar jokes in the future.

Ruffling feathers: Skye's comments clearly upset some of her fans, as she returned to the platform less than 24 hours later to issue an apology

'Hi guys, just wanted to jump on and address one of my comments made on my Q&As last night and my poor choice of phrasing. Lachlan and I have a healthy, balanced sexual life,' she wrote on Instagram Stories on September 16.

'I have never been in a situation with Lachlan where he [has] done anything he hasn't wanted to do sexually or vice versa. At no point would I ever do anything to another human being that they don't consent to.'

Skye expressed regret for her 'poor choice of wording' and clarified that neither she nor Lachlan had ever forced or manipulated each other into having sex.

No laughing matter: The mother of two apologised for her 'insensitive, triggering' words and promised to think twice before making similar jokes in the future

'I understand my words were completely insensitive and triggering and I am truly, deeply sorry for that. I am ashamed to have posted that without even considering the effect it could have on my followers,' she said.

The Gold Coast influencer concluded her post by promising not to be so 'impulsive' when communicating with her large audience.

'I take full responsibility and am 100 per cent committed to making sure I take steps forward to make better decisions of what I say in the future,' she wrote.

'Please stop harassing us': Lachlan also responded to the backlash by posting a blunt message on Instagram Stories

Lachlan also responded to the backlash on the same day by posting a blunt message on Instagram Stories.

'I can't believe I have to come on here and address this on my behalf. Don't f**king message me asking if 'I'm okay',' the tradie raged.

'Come on guys honestly our sex is always consensual. What Skye posted was worded incorrectly. Please stop harassing us.'
Angelina Jolie has sold her 50% share of Chateau Miraval winery amid her bitter court battle with ex-husband and co-owner Brad Pitt, it was revealed of Tuesday.

The Maleficent star, 46, sold the shares to wine group Tenute del Mondo - part of the Stoli Group, which counts Masseto and Ornellaia in its portfolio - in a move that was foreseen last month in her latest legal battle with the actor, 57.

The estate - now valued at $164 million - is where the couple tied the knot in 2008.

In September, Angelina's plans to sell the shares in the alcohol and property giant were branded 'vindictive' and guilty of 'systematic obstruction' in a lawsuit brought against her by Brad, DailyMail.com exclusively revealed.

She was accused of trying to cut the actor out of a deal to offload her 50% stake in the vineyard, which is held through her company Nouvel.

Shock move: Angelina Jolie has sold her 50% share of Chateau Miraval winery amid her bitter court battle with ex-husband and co-owner Brad Pitt, it was revealed of Tuesday (the couple pictured in 2009)

It was announced the group bought the share through its premium wine division, Tenute del Mondo, which also owns brands such as Masseto, Ornellaia, Luce, CastelGiocondo, Achaval Ferrer and Arinzano.

Jon Pepper MW, managing director of Tenute del Mondo gushed over the acquisition, saying: 'With the addition of a Rose of this calibre we are well positioned to meet the exquisite demands of both customers and partners alike'.

Global CEO of Stoli Group Damian McKinney spoke of Stoli's admiration of Miraval's 'exceptional' wines and brand and was thrilled to have a position alongside Brad Pitt as curators of its extraordinary vintages.

'We are honoured to do our part to uphold the integrity and commitment, as well as invest the time and passion, evidenced in both the Chateau and the Miraval brand'.

Drink up! Jon Pepper MW, managing director of Tenute del Mondo gushed over the acquisition, saying: 'With the addition of a Rose of this calibre we are well positioned to meet the exquisite demands of both customers and partners alike'

Angelina's move comes after the lawsuit obtained by DailyMail.com showed Miraval is owned by Quimicum, a company in which Pitt originally held a 60 per cent share through his company Mondo Bongo while Jolie held 40 per cent through Nouvel.

Three years before he and Jolie split, Pitt transferred ten per cent of Mondo Bongo's shares to her company, Nouvel rendering them 50/50 stakeholders in Quimicum.

The suit went on to allege that she was trying to sell her 50 per cent, circumvent Pitt's right of first refusal and profit from the 'incredible amount of work, time and money,' invested by Pitt and his business partners in growing the brand.

Oh! It was announced the group bought the share through its premium wine division, Tenute del Mondo, which also owns brands such as Masseto, Ornellaia, Luce, CastelGiocondo, Achaval Ferrer and Arinzano

But according to the lawsuit, the ten per cent transfer is void as the shares were 'sold' for only 1 Euro and not a 'serious' amount as required by Luxembourg law.

The Chateau and the 1,000-acre estate near Aix-en-Provence in which it sits was once the couple's getaway.

It was there that the couple, who met on the set of Mr. & Mrs. Smith in 2004 when Pitt was still married to Jennifer Anniston, decided to marry in an intimate ceremony in 2008.

Brad and Angelina split in 2016, with Jolie requesting primary custody of their six children (pictured). The actor was awarded joint custody earlier this year

Now, it's simply another asset over which to wrangle in a divorce that has burned through the courts for years. According to the lawsuit it is valued at over 140million Euros (approximately $164m).

'It is worth mentioning that, for the last four years, Nouvel [Jolie's company] did not act in the best interest of Quimicum by systematically delaying the approval of the annual accounts and the renewal of the manager,' the suit states.

It continues: 'We understand that behind this systematic obstruction, the real purpose of Nouvel and its shareholder [Jolie] is to sell its stake in Chateau Miraval SA in a way that would circumvent Mondo Bongo's right of first refusal (as provided in Quimicum's articles of approval), taking, as a result, a capital gain raised thanks to Mondo Bongo's investment and to which Nouvel did not contribute.'

The filing claims Jolie is now trying to circumvent Pitt's right of first refusal and profit from the 'incredible amount of work, time and money,' he spent on the property (pictured)

Commenting on the latest proceedings one source familiar with the couple's ongoing legal battles told DailyMail.com: 'Angelina's actions towards Brad are consistently vindictive.'

'It's another example of this person trying to circumvent the rules and avoid their obligations.

Jolie filed for divorce in August 2016 citing 'irreconcilable differences' and requesting primary custody of their six children, Maddox, 19, Pax, 17, Zahara, 16, Shiloh, 15 and twins Vivienne and Nox, 12.
Danny Cipriani is a step-granddad, at age 33.

The rugby star shared a sweet snap of himself cradling a newborn on Tuesday, posted originally by his wife Victoria.

Victoria - who has a daughter called Jade, 25, and a 14-year-old son, Kameron, with a different partner - already has a granddaughter, now four. Jade welcomed the tot in 2017, and has now given birth to a second little girl.

Step-granddad at 33! Danny Cipriani shared a sweet snap of himself cradling a newborn on Tuesday, posted originally by his wife Victoria

Victoria, 39, wrote alongside the snap of Danny, 'Meeting her pops...' and added: 'Granddaughter!'

The sportsman doted on the baby, wrapped in pink, holding her to his chest.

Another snap saw him cradling her with a red towel over his shoulder.

This photo was captioned: 'My heart! She's so tiny in his hands!'

Family man: Victoria - who has a daughter called Jade, 24, and a 14-year-old son with a different partner - already has a granddaughter, now four

Cute: The sportsman doted on the baby, wrapped in pink, holding her to his chest

Victoria posted a series of other snaps with the baby, captioning these: 'My beautiful strong daughter has blessed our family with another girl to love and cherish'

Victoria posted a series of other snaps with the baby, captioning these: 'My beautiful strong daughter has blessed our family with another girl to love and cherish.

'I am beyond delighted to share with you Granddaughter number 2 she came into the world weighing 6lb 11oz  '

Danny and Victoria are trying for a baby themselves, and took to Instagram to reveal their second IVF treatment came back negative in July.

Victoria revealed the couple would no longer share their pregnancy journey with fans but thanked them for their support so far.

Newborn: Jade has now given birth to a second little girl

Tough: Danny and Victoria are trying for a baby themselves, and took to Instagram to reveal their second IVF treatment came back negative in July

Keeping an upbeat outlook, she told her followers of their input: 'We appreciate all the knowledge it gave us. Were happy, willing and ready for round 3'

Alongside the announcement, Victoria shared a sweet snap of her and Danny nestled together in front of a scenic sunset.

In a lengthy caption, Victoria told her fans in full: 'After what feels like an eternity on hormones weve got our results back and its a negative which is disappointing however absolutely fine.

'Theres only ever two outcomes with IVF youll get pregnant or you wont and ours is the latter.

'After sharing this experience on Instagram I found lots of comfort as I read so many amazing stories about other peoples IVF journeys.

'We appreciate all the knowledge it gave us': Taking to Instagram, Victoria revealed the couple would no longer share their journey to pregnancy with fans but thanked them for their support

She continued: 'I had lots of support and kindness from so many wonderful people and I truly appreciated it.

'I have come to the conclusion that sharing the whole experience is not something Im going to continue to do going forward.

'This isnt a negative post its a positive one as I will happily keep going 'til we hold our little bundle of joy.

'Weve learnt so much and we appreciate all the knowledge it gave us. Were happy, willing and ready for round 3,' Victoria signed off.

Victoria said: 'This isnt a negative post its a positive one as I will happily keep going til we hold our little bundle of joy'

The couple are trying to have a baby through IVF and began their second round of treatment at the beginning of July.

They were excited about trying again and had told fans they were happy to share the results of their tests and progress in a bid to help others.

'Round 2 complete.. Grade 1 - embryos. Positively holding our breath for the next two weeks,' Victoria shared with her followers on Instagram last week.

Now it seems the couple have had a change of heart as theyve decided they want to keep any baby news out of the public eye until they become new parents.

Hopeful: The couple are trying desperately to have a baby through IVF and began their second round of treatment at the beginning of July

Happy to share: 'Round 2 complete.. Grade 1 - embryos. Positively holding our breath for the next two weeks,' Victoria told her followers on Instagram last week

The IVF treatment comes after the lovebirds tragically lost their first child together while Victoria was 24 weeks pregnant in October last year.

The rugby star said he was excited to become a father and that he and mental health campaigner Victoria had named their baby boy River in an emotional Instagram post.

The sportsman wrote: 'At 24 weeks we lost River, our son. Was and is always going to be difficult, but we supported each other through it and found our love grew and got strong.'

For help and support with related issues, visit The International Stillbirth Alliance at www.stillbirthalliance.org or stillbirth, premature birth and miscarriage charity Tommy's at www.tommys.org
She's been holidaying in Majorca.

And, Joan Collins, 88, wowed fans as she showed off her pins while relaxing in Majorca with husband Percy Gibson, 56, on Wednesday.

Taking to Instagram, the actress looked sensational in a tiny blue-and-white summer dress as she sat with her legs on display whilst in the shade next to her beau.

Wow! Joan Collins, 88, wowed fans as she showed off her pins while relaxing in Majorca with husband Percy Gibson, 56, on Wednesday

The Hollywood icon shared a photograph of the pair sitting together on an outdoor sofa while she prepared for an upcoming Q&A hosted by Graham Norton.

Joan shielded her eyes with glamorous oversized shades and finished off her summer look with a white vizor.

The Dynasty star's husband kept things casual in a salmon pink T-shirt and a pair of white chinos.

Joan wrote alongside her snap: 'Hiding away and preparing to perform with @grahnort October 11 at the #drurylanetheatre #linkinbio @drurylaneproductions.'

Fan reaction: Fans were enamoured with the snap, with one follower commenting: 'The legs!!!!!!' while another added: 'Those pins!'

Getting ready: The Hollywood icon is preparing for an upcoming Q&A hosted by Graham Norton

Fans were enamoured with the snap, with one follower commenting: 'The legs!!!!!!' while another added: 'Those pins!'

At the end of September, Joan looked radiant as ever as she enjoyed a sun-kissed holiday to Majorca with her husband Percy Gibson.

The actress, 88, took to Instagram on Wednesday to share some snaps from the trip as she enjoyed a lunch date with her partner and revealed they were also joined by her brother Bill Collins and his wife Hazel.

The former Dynasty star donned a white sleeveless mini dress on the trip which featured a navy patterned print.

Fun in the sun: At the end of September, Joan looked radiant as ever as she enjoyed a sun-kissed holiday to Majorca with her husband Percy Gibson

Holiday: Her husband cut a casual figure in a white T-shirt and plaid shorts as the pair made the most of the Mediterranean weather.

Joan also sported a pair of large sunglasses and a cream sun hat as she spent some quality time with Percy.

Her husband cut a casual figure in a white T-shirt and plaid shorts as the pair made the most of the Mediterranean weather.

Alongside the post, she wrote: 'The last rays of summer in beautiful Majorca with my family'.

Last month Joan paid tribute to her on-screen Dynasty husband Michael Nader.

The actor died aged 76 on August 23, 10 days after he was diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Joan wrote for the Mail On Sunday: 'The last time I saw Michael, my husband Percy and I were on a New York rooftop celebrating New Year's Eve with friends. He looked frail and had lost his hair, but he still had that spark and charm that I remembered only too well from our first meeting.

'Sizing him up as my future co-star all those years ago, I decided he was tall but not too tall.

'He had black hair, but not too much of it, and he had a 'machismo' that I thought would blend well with Alexis's feisty temperament.

'Summer': Alongside the post, she wrote: 'The last rays of summer in beautiful Majorca with my family' while sitting next to former model Hazel

Family: Joan also shared this idyllic picture of herself, her husband, Hazel and her brother Bill

'Of all my Dynasty husbands, he was far and away the best looking, the best actor and the most charming, and I was extremely happy to have married him. (Sorry, Percy!)'

Michael starred as Dynasty's Dex from 1983 to 1989, and he later appeared in All My Children from 1991 to 2001, and again in 2013.

The actor - the nephew of Hollywood star George Nader - first admitted in 1984 that he had battled drug addiction.

But the star also admitted at the time he had committed to a life of sobriety in 1980

However, he was arrested for drink-driving in 1997,and he was arrested again in 2001 when he attempted to sell cocaine to an undercover police officer in a New York nightclub.

Tribute: Last month Joan paid tribute to her on-screen Dynasty husband Michael Nader (pictured in 1985)

But the incident inspired him to re-commit to his sobriety.

His wife Jodi said in a statement following his passing: 'With a heavy heart, I'm sharing the news of the passing of my beloved, Michael.

'We had 18 wonderful years together with the many dogs we fostered and adopted.

'Recently, Michael was so thrilled to reconnect with his friends from the cast of Dynasty during Emma Samms' virtual event to help raise funds for long-COVID research.

'He was a beautiful and fascinating man with many talents and skills. I will miss him forever.'
Production took an over a year hiatus from shooting last spring due to COVID-19 concerns.

And Emmy Rossum certainly looked happy to be in the huge wig and pink outfits again.

The 35-year-old actress looked unrecognizable as she channeled legendary Los Angeles billboard queen Angelyne while filming her biographical TV miniseries in the City of Angels on Wednesday.

Quite the transformation: Emmy Rossum looked unrecognizable as she channeled legendary Los Angeles billboard queen Angelyne while filming her biographical TV miniseries in the City of Angels on Wednesday

It not only took an outfit and wig to transform into the famed media personality, who became a Hollywood fixture after billboards of her began popping up around the city in the 80s, but also plenty of make-up and prosthetics for the face and chest.

Emmy channeled the LA icon in a massive platinum blonde wig which featured fringe which hung down to just over the eyes and had two big pink bows tied at the side around the ears.

In true Angelyne fashion, her costume featured plenty of pink including clinging velvet mini dress, open toed heels. and a feathery jacket.

In the details: It not only took an outfit and wig to transform into the famed media personality, who became a Hollywood fixture after billboards of her began popping up around the city in the 80s, but also plenty of make-up and prosthetics for the face and chest

Think pink: The 35-year-old actress channeled the LA icon in a massive platinum blonde wig which featured fringe which hung down to just over the eyes and had two big pink bows tied at the side around the ears

Icon: The original Angelyne seen at the premiere of I Shot Andy Warhol in Hollywood back in May 1996

The face of the former star of Shameless looked virtually unrecognizable with prosthetics as her dramatic make-up consisted of various pink hues for the eyebrows and lip.

Development on the Angelyne miniseries was initially reported on in early 2020 when it was announced that the elusive media personality herself would serve as one of the project's executive producers.

The 70-year-old pop culture icon initially rose to fame in the 1980s, when she was featured on various billboards that appeared all over Los Angeles.

The advertisements generally only featured her image and name, as well as a phone number, which only added to the mystique of the performer.

She later began a career as an actress, having previously worked as a musician, and she has released three albums to date.

Known for it: Angelyne made a name for herself after being featured on billboards that became locally famous in Los Angeles throughout the 1980s; she is pictured in 1995

Angelyne went on to boost her public profile further by launching a campaign for the governorship of California in 2003, although she ultimately lost to Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The media personality ran for a second time earlier this year, and the governor's chair ultimately went to Gavin Newsom.

In 2017, an article that was ran by The Hollywood Reporter revealed that the actress' real name was Ronia Tamar Goldberg and that she was born to Holocaust survivors in Poland in 1950.

The performer later moved to Los Angeles and changed her first and middle names to Renee Tami before attending high school in the San Fernando Valley and subsequently building her new identity as a media figure.

Further information: An article that was ran by The Hollywood Reporter in 2017 revealed many details about the performer's life that had previously been the subject of speculation for decades; Angelyne is seen in 1987

Last year, it was reported that a miniseries based on Angelyne's life would be made available on the Peacock streaming service in the near future.

That February, Martin Freeman and Alex Karpovsky joined the cast of the project, which also includes the likes of Michael Angarano, Molly Ephraim and Lukas Gage.

After it was announced that the media personality herself would also be working on the project, Rossum shared a shot with the actress to her Instagram and described her as 'the embodiment of LA itself, the original Queen of the Universe.'

A trailer for the miniseries was previously released to the public last April, and an official release date has not been announced as of yet.
Dani Dyer looked sombre as she was spotted shopping on Wednesday, after ex Jack Fincham revealed that he took an overdose at Christmas time.

The Love Island star, 25, repeatedly checked her phone before loading a trolley with shopping during a midweek supermarket dash in Essex.

Dani - who dated 30-year-old Jack for nine months after meeting him on 2018's Love Island - cut a low-key figure in leggings, trainers and sunglasses.

Shopping: Dani Dyer, 25, repeatedly checked her phone during a supermarket dash on Wednesday, stepping out in Essex wearing a large padded jacket

Low-key: The Love Island star, 25, repeatedly checked her phone before loading a trolley with shopping during a midweek supermarket dash in Essex

Dani and Jack went their separate ways in April 2019, nine months after striking up a romance on Love Island.

Dani went on to rekindle a romance with ex-boyfriend Sammy Kimmence who she split from in July after he was sentenced to three-and-a-half years behind bars for posing as an investor.

She shares her eight-month-old son Santiago with him.

Meanwhile Jack shares daughter Blossom, 21 months, with his ex Casey Ranger - with whom he has an acrimonious relationship.

Awful: It comes after Dani's ex Jack Fincham revealed on Wednesday that he took an overdose at Christmas time after 'spiraling out of control' (pictured in 2019)

Pensive: Looking pensive, mother-of-one Dani repeatedly checked her phone

Low-key: Dani - who dated 30-year-old Jack for nine months after meeting him on 2018's Love Island - cut a low-key figure in leggings, trainers and sunglasses

Jack revealed on Wednesday that he took an overdose at Christmas and didn't want to be here after he hit rock bottom.

The former Love Islander said he is now pulling himself back together. He claimed his worst moment came when he realised he was no longer earning the money he used to in a tell-all podcast The Steven Sulley Study.

Jack said that money and work had run out in the past year leaving him at his worst, when he began 'doing bad things'.

Chocolate: Dani was seen running her daily errands with her trolley stacked high

All in the details: Dani kept her face partially concealed with a pair of oversized sunglasses

Stylish: Dani tucked a stylish blue clutch under her left arm as she put money into the trolley release

The star, who blamed not having a routine or structure as the catalyst for his lows, said: 'Christmas time I took an overdose mate. I was ready to go. I didn't want to be here. It's upsetting to think.'

Jack shot to fame on Love Island's fourth season in 2018, when he won the show alongside Dani leading to a blaze of glory on the outside world however he admitted things took a tragic turn when 'the phone stopped ringing'.

The former stationary salesman also hit out at TV bosses saying: 'I think there should be more guidance from them.

Errands: Dani took some time away from her son Santiago to run errands

Unpacking: Once Dani got to her car she started to unpack the trolley and place items in the boot

'They should say 'listen you are going to earn this amount of money - invest it, do something with it.'

He explained: 'I've got really bad ADHD. I can't concentrate on anything. I was earning good money doing sales. I was happy. I had a structure...

'I knew if I went out on Wednesday and didn't turn up Thursday you'd get a b****king or whatever but the structure was still there. You'd be back on it.'

Texting: Dani appeared to text someone as she strolled back towards her car with her phone in her hand

Talking about his fame following his win in the show he added: 'When I was huge there was no backlash. If I wanted to go out and do something and didn't want to turn up the next day I wouldn't and that was the wrong attitude...

'There was no structure. I had all this time and all this money on my hands. I wouldn't say I f***ed it but without that structure I fell to bits.'

He continued: 'I was depressed. This is only over the last year when the money was running out and work was drying out because of the bad headlines. I'm not a bad person but sometimes good people do bad things...

'I lost a lot of work through doing silly things. All of a sudden the phone stopped ringing. Over the last six months I went into panic mode.'

Staying hydrated: Clearly keen to stay hydrated, Dani had bought a large pack of water bottles

Jack said he had hit rock bottom after a downward spiral over the last year and a half.

He said: 'For me, and I have hit rock bottom. Rock bottom for me was not earning the money I was earning and just feeling like, at points, I didn't want to be here. I've never said this before.

'Christmas time I took an overdose mate. I was ready to go. I didn't want to be here. It's upsetting to think...

'Then March my Nan passed away. That really affected me and that year and a half has just been a downward spiral watching the money go down and work go down and down and down. I thought 'what was my purpose'.

Split: Dani shares son Santiago with ex-boyfriend Sammy Kimmence who she split from in July after he was sentenced to three-and-a-half years behind bars for posing as an investor

Exes: Dani and Jack went their separate ways in April 2019, nine months after striking up a romance on Love Island

Reading people's comments on Instagram now I was starting to care what they think.

'I felt like I had to hit that point because there is no other way than upwards.'

He said he's now determined to become a professional boxer in Sky and added: 'I've got to build up trust in myself and prove to these brands they want to work with me.

'I've gone back to my roots and set up stationary company to do office furniture and print so that way I know I've got to get up Monday to Friday and I've got a structure in place.'
Megan Barton Hanson is reportedly set to spice up this series of TOWIE.

The Love Island star, 24, was pictured passionately kissing James Lock, 34, last week- and insiders say she's heading on the ITVBe show, where she will have an 'awkward' encounter with ex-girlfriend Demi Sims.

And Megan could bring the fireworks as James' secret fling with Chloe Brockett has only recently been revealed, while Demi has 'friend-zoned' James 'Diags' Bennewith.

Reality TV stint? Megan Barton Hanson is reportedly set to spice up this series of TOWIE after she was pictured passionately kissing James Lock last week

A source told OK! Magazine: 'James and Megan are having a bit of fun. It's nothing serious, they both like each other and are enjoying spending time together. He's definitely got his hands full with her, but he's said he's into her.

'There's already rumours about her going on TOWIE and obviously that would be very awkward for her ex, Demi. She was also linked to Pete Wicks at one point so it could all make very tense viewing.'

MailOnline has contacted Megan's representatives and TOWIE for comment.

Shout Out To My Ex: And Megan could bring the fireworks as James' secret fling with Chloe Brockett has recently been revealed, while Demi has 'friend-zoned' James 'Diags' Bennewith

Drama: It comes after James enjoyed a brief fling with TOWIE's Chloe 20, which has caused quite the stir on the latest series of the drama-filled show

Awkward: Chloe came face-to-face with James at a swanky bar as she confronted him over rumours of having regrets about a recent hook-up

On Thursday, James and Megan were pictured packing on the PDA during a boozy night out in London.

An onlooker told The Sun: 'Megan and James looked inseparable. You couldn't have squeezed a cigarette paper between the two of them. They were clearly having a great time and seemed very taken with each other.'

It is understood the pair, who are both single, met while filming Ex on The Beach.

It comes after James enjoyed a brief fling with TOWIE's Chloe 20, which has caused quite the stir on the latest series of the drama-filled show.

Chloe came face-to-face with James at a swanky bar as she confronted him over rumours of having regrets about a recent hook-up.

Exes: James' last relationship was with co-star Yazmin Oukhellou (pictured together last year)

It came after the lothario enjoyed a secret fling with the influencer, despite her close friendship with his ex-girlfriend Yazmin, 27, who also made a spectacular surprise return in the episode.

The brunette beauty said: 'I've had people going to me, 'I've heard James regrets it,' and I'm like, ''What is there really to regret, we just slept together.''

'I've not said anything bad about you in any way, I've just said, ''You know what, it happened, we still get along really well and that's it.'''

Meanwhile bisexual Megan has previously dated James's co-star Demi and Chelcee Grimes.

Megan and Demi had a bitter split but patched things up and became friends months later.

The television personality revealed in December that she is open to dating men again after swearing off them.
Succession star Kieran Culkin has opened up about the overwhelming grief he still feels over the death of his sister - 13 years after she was killed in a car crash in LA.

Kieran, 39, will return to screens in his scene-stealing role of Roman Roy in HBO's mega-hit Succession later this month, confessed that he still 'weeps about' his sister Dakota's passing, while voicing his devastation at knowing she will never have the chance to meet his two children.

In a rare interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the very private actor, who is the younger brother of former child star Macaulay Culkin, described his sister's death as 'the worst thing that's ever happened', recalling how her passing left all of the Culkin siblings 'torn up inside'.

'That's the worst thing that's ever happened, and there's no sugar coating that one,' Kieran said when asked about the death of 29-year-old Dakota, who was struck by a car when she stepped off the curb outside of a bar and in front of a moving vehicle.

'Each one of us handled it very differently,' the father-of-two - who has another sister, Quinn, and four brothers, Macaulay, Rory, Quinn, and Shane - added of his siblings' reactions to Dakota's death. 'I think everyone was just torn up inside.'

Candid: Succession star Kieran Culkin has opened up to The Hollywood Reporter about his ongoing grief over the death of sister Dakota, who was killed after being hit by a car in 2008

Emotional: The 39-year-old actor admitted that he 'still weeps about' the loss of his sibling, who was just 29 years old when she died

Kieran, who is pictured center with Dakota (far right), their parents Pat and Kit, and siblings Macaulay, Christian, Shane, and Quinn, said his family was 'torn up' by his sister's death

In the 13 years that have passed since his sister's passing, Kieran admitted that he has never truly been able to come to terms with the loss, confessing that he doesn't think 'it's ever going to be fine'.

Kieran's sister Dakota was killed at the age of 29 when she stepped in front of a moving vehicle in 2008

'What has it been, 13 years now? Holy s**t. That's crazy. Jesus f***ing Christ,' he said. 'I accepted at the time that this is going to be forever and it's never going to be fine.'

The actor, who welcomed a son, his second child with wife Jazz Charton, in August, said he still breaks down in tears when he thinks about his sister, particularly when he recalls a tender moment that they shared and realizes that his own kids will never get the chance to know their aunt.

'It's always going to be devastating,' Kieran continued.

'I still weep about it out of nowhere. Something funny she did will pop in the head and make me laugh and then Im weeping.

'Sometimes it's knowing that she's not going to meet my kids and they don't get to have her and it's hard to describe what she was like.'

Kieran has rarely opened up about his private life, and he has refrained from going into detail about the impact of his sister's loss in the past - save for a Vanity Fair interview in 2018, when it was revealed that he had initially given up his supporting role in the movie Scott Pilgrim vs. the World when he received the news about Dakota's death.

Child stars: Kieran spent years living in the shadow of his mega-famous older brother Macaulay but is now one of the the breakout stars of Succession

Although the actor ended up taking the part, he recalled telling director Edgar Wright that he had 'dyed his hair green and put on quite a lot of weight 'cause he'd been drinking a lot' in the wake of Dakota's passing.

At the time of Dakota's death, Macaulay's then-spokesperson called her passing 'a terrible accident', adding that the family did not wish to make any other comment.

The accident came just eight years after the Culkins' half-sister Jennifer Adamson died from a drug overdose.

In his interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Kieran also opened up about his childhood - and what it was like growing up in a family of child actors, all of whom were overshadowed by the sensational success of Macaulay, who became a global superstar following his starring role in Home Alone.

The profile notes how the reluctant actor has always 'played tag' with Hollywood over the years, running away from success, particularly when he quit the business in 2002 after his Golden Globe-nominated turn in Igby Goes Down.

'I was definitely not ready. I would not have been able to handle it, and I think I knew that,' he explained about his decision at the time.

Breakout: The actor is hitting is stride as the scene-stealing Roman Roy in HBO's huge hit Succession

Long time coming: The actor says after 30 years in the business he is finally ready to embrace his craft

Hollywood child star: The actor has spent much of his life in front of the camera

'I would not have been able to handle whatever kind of success or attention came from that. So I quite literally ran away from it.'

However, it was after working on the first season of Succession - which has received unanimous praise for its quality writing - that made Kieran feel ready to commit again.

'I'm trying to remember the exact moment it hit me I think it was at the end of the first season. I remember coming home and thinking, "This is what I want to do with my life. I think I want to be an actor." I was like 36. Id already been doing it for 30 years.' he said.

Kieran is one of seven children born to Patricia Brentrup and Kit Culkin, who became parents-turned-acting managers, and took 15 per cent of son Macaulay's pay when he was earning up to $8million per film.

Talking about his chaotic upbringing with his parents, who seemed eager to make all their children actors, Kieran said: 'It got to a place of like, "Sure, you want kids? What gender? What age? Yeah, we got a bunch. Here, take this one."'

Wild child: Kieran returns this month in Succession, as the scene-stealing Roman Roy

Signs of family struggle emerged early on in their careers, after it was claimed that Macaulay had 'divorced' his parents.

But, years later, Macaulay clarified that he 'emancipated' himself from them and taken their names of his trust in order to protect his fortune.

Although the Home Alone star has previously accused his father Kit of being physically and mentally abusive, Kieran insists that he did not face the same treatment at the hands of his dad - although he conceded to The Hollywood Reporter that 'he wasn't a good person and... probably not a good parent'.

Speaking about his first reunion with his father in 2014 - which came not long after Kit suffered a stroke - Kieran described what it was like to see his parent for the first time in 17 years, before revealing that they have not seen or spoken to each other since.

'He carried cards around with him that said, "I'm not stupid. I understand you. I just had a stroke,"' Kieran revealed. 'He was telling me that his girlfriend had dementia and it was pretty bad.

'And so, I said, "So, when you guys go places, she doesn't know where you're going and you can't communicate how you're get- ting there.' And he goes, "Yeah  were quite a pair."'

Succession Season 3 returns to Sky Atlantic and NOW from 2am on October 18, 2021. Seasons 1-2 are available to catch up now on Sky On-Demand and NOW.
Squid Game has been hit with plagiarism claims after fans pointed out the show's similarities to 2014 Japanese film As The Gods Will.

The South Korean series has soared in popularity worldwide since its release on Netflix last month and has been pegged to become the service's most successful show to date sparking global conversation across social media.

One common theme dividing fans was likenesses between the show and As The Gods Will, although Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk, 50, was quick to quash any allegations of plagiarism as he insisted: 'I did it first'.

'They are similar but I did it first': Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk has hit back at plagiarism claims after viewers alleged the Netflix hit COPIES 2014 Japanese film As The Gods Will (Hwang pictured in 2013)

Squid Game follows a group of down and out citizens who are selected by a masked organisation to compete for money by playing children's games - with deadly consequences to those who lose out in the playground.

The first game in the series of deathly contraptions is called Red Light Green Light, where a vast doll oversees a 'playground' filled with adults who are mown down if they move when the doll's head is turned.

One Twitter user shared side by side screenshots of two pieces of work, showing similarities, yet Hwang pointed out the timelines of creation.

In a press conference last month, he said: 'It is true that [the first game is] similar, but after that, there aren't any similarities. I worked on [Squid Game in] 2008 and 2009, and at the time, the first game [had already been] fixed as Red Light Green Light.'

Same? One Twitter user shared side by side shots of the two pieces of media

He went on to state that As Gods Will would have been created in the 2010s, meaning the formation of Squid Game was already in place.

The creator said: 'Its not really something that I wanna do, to claim ownership of this story. But if I had to say it, I would say I did it first'.

Twitter users pointing out the similarities wrote: 'Squid Game is basically "As Gods Will" + "Kanji"... I'm sure squids game is just as gods will. It's a shot to shot copy tho. Except that in squid game, they get shot while in As gods will, they blow up...

Nope: One Twitter user shared side by side screenshots of two pieces of work, showing similarities, yet Hwang pointed out the timelines of creation (Hwang pictured in 2011)

Plot: Squid Game follows a group of down and out citizens who are selected by a masked organisation to compete for money by playing children's games - with deadly consequences to those who lose out in the playground

'Started watching squid game now & I do get the controversy, there was definitely inspiration taken from As Gods Will (great movie I can only recommended it), Alice in Borderland & Battle Royale also comes to mind'.

Others however were more defensive of the work, insisting the similarities are a stretch, with users writing: 'Comparing #SquidGame to "as gods will"...

'Just cause they both share a single popular asian game. Is like saying every movie that has a gun is "die hard". I said what I said...

Really? Similarities came to light by some viewers

'Squid game is NOT a rip off version of hunger games, or battle royale, or as gods will, or kanji. they are their own projects, one may influence the other just like everything does in hollywood. so stop taking a dig at squid game pls thank u...

'People saying Squid Game is a copy of As Gods Will I have a question, do you know how to consume media? Did you watch Iron Man and think he was a copy of Batman because they both rich people in suits? I feel that's how you consume media'.

'Squid game is pretty nice, Sure there is a similarity of the first game with the movie As Gods Will but other than that one game, they are pretty different. Still the concept is your standard death trap/mind trick game.'
An upcoming docuseries is seeking to clear up the cloud of mystery surrounding the sudden death of star Brittany Murphy a just 32-years-old back in 2009.

New details have emerged ahead of the release of What Happened, Brittany Murphy? that show a shady side to her husband Simon Monjack who died at 40 - under the same peculiar circumstances - just five months after the actress.

A People Magazine cover story describes Monjack 'as a disturbed individual who was used to conning people', according to the director of the two-part series.

Mystery: New details have emerged ahead of the release of What Happened, Brittany Murphy? that show a shady side to her husband Simon Monjack who died at 40 - under the same peculiar circumstances - just five months after the actress

Multiple people close to Murphy and Monjack were profiled in the documentary including his mother, brother and former fiancee Elizabeth Ragsdale.

The HBO Max docuseries will look back at the short courtship between Ragsdale and Monjack which led to a quick engagement and pregnancy.

Ragsdale's fairytale love story quickly crashed and burned when she says Simon abandoned her while pregnant.

'When I got to my little studio in New York, I called him and he answered. I said, "Simon, I've made it to ..." and before I could get that sentence out, he hung up on me. He left me pregnant and abandoned,' Elizabeth says.

The true story: A People Magazine cover story describes Monjack 'as a disturbed individual who was used to conning people', according to the director of the two-part series

The docuseries will be helmed by director Cynthia Hill, whose 2014 film Private Violence was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award.

Hill's project will also feature new interviews from individuals who were close to the Clueless actress, as well as never-before-seen footage from the performer's personal life.

'He was a disturbed individual who was used to conning people and Brittany was one of his last victims,' said Hill. 'There was a pattern of behavior that became very obvious the more research that we did.'

According to People, makeup artist Trista Jordan described Murphy's worsening appearance on her final film in 2009 prior to her death, Something Wicked.

Talking: Multiple people close to Murphy and Monjack were profiled in the documentary including his mother, brother and former fiancee Elizabeth Ragsdale who claims he abandoned her while pregnant

'Her eyes were so sunken, and she just seemed so sad,' Jordan recalled. 'She wasn't herself. She was in so much pain. She had Bambi legs and couldn't stand up.'

'Her death was was so bizarre and there are so many twists and turns,' added What Happened, Brittany Murphy? executive producer Buddy Day.

Murphy began her career in 1991, and was notably featured in the Fox sitcom Drexell's Class, which premiered that year.

She later moved on to film roles and starred in numerous successful movies including Drop Dead Gorgeous, Girl, Interrupted and Cherry Falls.

Tragic: Murphy unexpectedly passed away in December of 2009 after collapsing at her Hollywood home; the coroner's report stated that the primary cause of her death was pneumonia - months later Monjack was found dead in the couple's home, and his death was also attributed to pneumonia and anemia as well

The actress also made several ventures into voice acting and notably voiced Luanne Platter on the longrunning animated comedy show King Of The Hill.

However, Murphy unexpectedly passed away in December of 2009 after collapsing at her Hollywood home; the coroner's report stated that the primary cause of her death was pneumonia.

It was also revealed that the actress had been suffering from the effects of iron deficiency anemia and that she was using various over-the-counter drugs and prescribed medications; both factors contributed to her passing.

Months later, Murphy's husband Simon Monjack was found dead in the couple's home, and his death was also attributed to pneumonia and anemia as well, which fueled tabloid rumors for a lengthy period.

What Happened, Brittany Murphy? steams on HBO Max October 14.
Millie Bobby Brown was pictured on set for the first time while filming scenes for Enola Holmes 2 in Hull on Monday.

The actress, 17, donned a traditional period costume consisting of a brown waistcoat, which had been layered above a pink shirt for the Netflix sequel.

She kept a matching brown maxi skirt clean with a blue apron and remained warm beneath a navy coat while glued to her phone in-between takes.

Spotted: Millie Bobby Brown was pictured on set for the first time while filming scenes for Enola Holmes 2 in Hull on Monday

She wore her walnut locks in a neat middle parting and clutched an oversized red mug, while being flanked by a burly security guard.

A striking white horse was tended to a by a team-member wearing an orange high-visibility jacket, while stacks of hay acted as props.

Reprising her role as the titular character, the Stranger Things star will grace the small screen alongside the likes of Helena Bonham-Carter, 55, Sam Claflin, 35, and Henry Cavill, 38

The actress, 17, wore a traditional period costume layered beneath a warm navy coat while glued to her phone in-between takes of the Netflix sequel

Only the previous day, Henry was spotted looking dapper in a black wool coat while wearing his chocolate tresses in their natural curls.

The Sherlock Holmes actor shot a serious expression while chatting to members of the movie's production crew, who appeared to be busy at work on the famous Land of Green Ginger street.

A newcomer to the franchise donned a charcoal tailcoat and wore his blonde tresses in a sleek side parting.

Meanwhile, the costume department had gone to town on one brunette actress who had been styled into a red-and-black 19th century dress featuring orange prints.

Protected: She wore her chocolate tresses in a neat middle parting and clutched an oversized red mug, while being flanked by a burly security guard

The long-sleeved number featured a black ruffled collar, which coordinated with the feather on her grey hat.

An imposing horse-drawn carriage featuring advertisements for Sunlight Soap and Jones & Jackson Sole Prop'rs rolled along the narrow street.

Confirming the scene was set in the capital, its frame featured signage for London hotspots Charing Cross, Tottenham Court Road, Baker Street, Edgware Road and Kilburn.

It's thought that Harry Bradbeer will be back to direct the second installment, with Jack Thorne also returning to pen the script.

Team: The Stranger Things star (centre) will grace the small screen alongside the likes of Sam Claflin, 35, (right) and Henry Cavill, 38 (left) [pictured in-character]

Speaking about the sequel in a statement for Deadline, leading lady Millie said: 'I can't wait to collaborate again with my Enola Holmes family!

'Enola holds a special place in my heart  she's strong, fearless, intelligent and brave. I look forward to fans seeing how her journey continues!'

In the movie, the youngest member of the Holmes family goes off in search of her missing mother, even as her more famous brothers try to thwart her investigation.

The film was originally planned for a theatrical release by Warner Bros., but it was picked up by Netflix in April amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Millie previously revealed that she 'found it really challenging being British' in the role after five years in the American Netflix series Stranger Things.

Millie, who grew up in Dorset, England, and settled in Florida with her family to pursue her acting career aged eight, said she 'had to learn how to speak again'.

Speaking to Radio Times, she said: 'For the last five years Ive been playing an American character in Stranger Things and I found it really challenging being British in this, even though I am a Brit.

'I had to learn how to speak again because Im so used to speaking in an American accent.'
In classic 1987 play by Edmond Rostand, titled Cyrano de Bergerac, the protagonist has an obnoxiously large nose which prevents him from expressing his love to his distant cousin.

But in the modern adaptation of the same work, the nose goes.

Peter Dinklage stars in the debut trailer for period piece musical Cyrano where he becomes involved in a bizarre love triangle.

Uh oh: Peter Dinklage stars in the debut trailer for period piece musical Cyrano where he becomes involved in a bizarre love triangle

The 52-year-old actor stars as the titular character, a cadet in the French army, who falls in love with Roxanne (played by Haley Bennett) who then ends up having love at first sight with Christian (Kelvin Harrison, Jr.).

As in the original work, Cyrano's large nose makes him doubt himself in the latest film adaptation it is actually his height. The other difference is Roxanne is a close friend instead of distant cousin.

After declaring that his sole purpose in life is to love Roxanne, the 4feet5 actor could be heard in the trailer saying: 'The world will never accept someone like me and a tall beautiful woman.'

Tough times: The 52-year-old actor stars as the titular character, a cadet in the French army, who falls in love with Roxanne (played by Haley Bennett)

After declaring that his sole purpose in life is to love Roxanne, the 4feet5 actor could be heard in the trailer saying: 'The world will never accept someone like me and a tall beautiful woman'

Roxanne is told by her family to marry someone for money and not love but she ends up falling for a handsome new cadet named Christian de Neuvillette in Cyrano's regiment.

Cyrano is visibly crushed when Roxanne tells him about her new love interest but being the good friend that he is, he aids in trying to make a love connection between the two.

Christian doubts he has the 'with, romance, and poetry' to woo Roxanne but Cyrano - who is a poet - says he will help by writing letters to the beauty using his words but his fellow regiment member's looks.

Ouch: Roxanne is told by her family to marry someone for money and not love

Stud: Roxanne ends up falling for a handsome new cadet named Christian de Neuvillette (Kelvin Harrison, Jr.) in Cyrano's regiment

Heartbroken: Cyrano is visibly crushed when Roxanne tells him about her new love interest but being the good friend that he is, he aids in trying to make a love connection between the two

Reasonable: Christian doubts he has the 'with, romance, and poetry' to woo Roxanne

'I am a poet. My words, your lips. I will make you romantic, will you make me handsome?': Cyrano - who is a poet - says he will help by writing letters to the beauty using his words but his fellow regiment member's looks

Cyrano says: 'I am a poet. My words, your lips. I will make you romantic, will you make me handsome?'

This sets the table for quite the love triangle as one scene shows Roxanne doubting that Christian is the man behind those words.

Christian later asks if Cyrano is in love with Roxanne to which he replies: 'My fate is to love her from afar.'

On to him: This sets the table for quite the love triangle as one scene shows Roxanne doubting that Christian is the man behind those words

Christian later asks if Cyrano is in love with Roxanne to which he replies: 'My fate is to love her from afar'

Bond: Despite having feelings for the same woman, there is definitely respect and rapport between the two as they are shown hugging

At the end of the trailer Christian declares: 'We must let her decide our fate, she must have the choice'

Despite having feelings for the same woman, there is definitely respect and rapport between the two as at the end of the trailer Christian declares: 'We must let her decide our fate, she must have the choice.'

Joe Wright - who is best known for his work on other period pieces including Pride & Prejudice, Atonement, and Darkest Hour - directed the flick as Erica Schmidt penned the screenplay.

Cyrano is set for limited release on December 31 with a UK release following on 14 January 2022.
Love Island Australia season three is set to kick off on Monday, October 11.

And ahead of the show's highly anticipated return, more details have been revealed about unlucky-in-love contestant Chris Graudins, 25.

In an interview with Channel Nine this week, the Gold Coast hunk claims his last big relationship ended after he was airlifted to hospital on a cruise in Vanuatu - and while he was there, he believes his ex cheated on him.

Looking for love: Chris Graudins, 25, revealed last big relationship ended after he was airlifted to hospital on a cruise in Vanuatu due to an appendicitis - and while he was in hospital, he believes his ex cheated on him

The hunky riot squad officer says he's now on the hunt to find 'someone who values loyalty, is a romantic, and has a sense of humour'.

Although many contestants appear on reality shows just for Instagram fame and followers, Chris insists that he's heading on the series for one reason - 'to find true love'.

Prior to his career as a riot squad officer, Chris spent four years based in Townsville in the Army and also worked as a stripper.

Man of many talents: Prior to his career as a riot squad officer, Chris spend four years based in Townsville in the Army and also worked as a stripper

He is also a former Australian national champion swimmer in the 100m and 200m butterfly, and wants to find a woman who is as into fitness as he is.

Chris said it's been difficult finding someone in the Gold Coast because they judge him based on his good looks.

'You go out and talk to people these days, especially on the Gold Coast, it's immediately based on looks,' he said.

Skills: He is also a former Australian national champion swimmer in the 100m and 200m butterfly, and wants to find a woman who is as into fitness as he is

'When I speak to girls, they automatically put their guard up because they think I'm arrogant.

'I am already on the back foot and defend myself and tell them, I just want to have a conversation.'

Love Island Australia series three premieres on Monday, October 11 at 8.45pm on Channel 9 and 9 Now
Rylan Clark-Neal showed off his unique sense of style as he stepped out to the Attitude Awards in London on Wednesday night.

The television presenter, 32, wore a white shirt with a diagonal black stripe across the front and black trousers to the glitzy bash.

He had on a pair of silver studded black boots as he arrived hand-in-hand with his series nine X Factor pal Lucy Spraggan, 30, amid his divorce from estranged husband Dan Neal after six years of marriage.

Old friends: Rylan Clark-Neal, 32, showed off his unique sense of style as he stepped out with Lucy Spraggan, 30, to the Attitude Awards on Wednesday amid his divorce from Dan Neal

Lucy looked stylish in a fitted pinstripe suit with a sleeveless top which left her body art on show.

Referencing their 2021 appearance on The X Factor, Rylan took to Instagram to share a picture of the pair as they travelled to the venue, captioning the image: 'Its been nearly a decade. Be rude not to #attitudeawards #SpRylan.'

Rylan is set to divorce his husband after losing a battle to save their six-year marriage.

In style: The television presenter wore a white shirt with a diagonal black stripe across the front and black trousers to the glitzy bash

Stepping out: He had on a pair of silver studded black boots as he arrived hand-in-hand with his series nine X Factor pal Lucy

The television personality stepped down from his BBC Radio 2 show for four months after splitting from former policeman Dan Neal this year.

Friends insist the couple spent weeks trying to work through their problems, but the marriage is now said to be unsalvageable.

Mr Clark-Neals absence from Radio 2, social media and hosting the Eurovision Song Contest in May led to speculation.

Double trouble: Lucy looked stylish in a fitted pinstripe suit with a sleeveless top which left her body art on show

Out on the town: Rylan ventured out after it recently emerged he is set to divorce his husband after losing a battle to save their six-year marriage

In June, he broke his silence to say: Following reports about Dan and I spending time apart, I feel I have to speak out as the way it is being reported is unfair.

I have made a number of mistakes which I deeply regret and have inevitably led to the breakdown of our marriage.

Sources close to Mr Clark-Neal told The Mail on Sunday the couple tried to reconcile at their marital home after he spent much of the summer with his mother, Linda, who appears on his Saturday afternoon Radio 2 show.

Posing up: Rylan and Lucy appeared in good spirits as they posed at the event in the UK capital city

Things were looking so good, like they were back together, said one. They hoped they could avoid divorce, but its now looking like the only way forward.

Many around them were desperately hoping they can win the battle to save their relationship. Its very sad.

The couple married in 2015 at Braxted Park in Essex with guests including his This Morning co-stars Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes.

Break: The television personality stepped down from his BBC Radio 2 show for four months after splitting from former policeman Dan Neal this year

They met in 2013 and got engaged in Paris. In July 2016, they stepped in for Mr Holmes and Ms Langsford, becoming the first gay couple to present the ITV programme.

The Attitude Awards are in their tenth year with comedian Tom Allen returning as host following last year's virtual ceremony.

650 guests attended this year's festivities which featured four musical performances, including from headline act Steps.

End of the road:: TV and radio presenter Rylan is set to divorce his Dan after losing a battle to save their marriage (pictured together in 2017)

Darren Styles OBE, Publisher and Managing Director of Attitude magazine, said: 'We created the Attitude Awards to showcase the very best of the global LGBTQ community  to give a platform to those role models who demonstrate so clearly that who you are, or how you identify, is no barrier to what you might become.

'Consequently, we pride ourselves on attracting the very best talent both for the benefit of the show on the night and those with whom we share in print, digital, online or social formats.

'Our headliners and host for 2021 are no exception  everyone's favourite pop supergroup and a man who's on telly every time you turn it on! We are delighted to have Steps headline our show, and to have Tom Allen steer our winners into safe harbour, and can't wait to share another incredible evening.'

Previous Attitude Awards headlines including MIKA, Boy George and Erasure while prior hosts include Alan Cumming, Matt Lucas, US chat show host Andy Cohen and RuPaul's Drag Race judge Ross Matthews.

Winners at the 2020 ceremony included Taylor Swift for the Icon Award, Russell Tovey for the Culture Award, Paloma Faith for the Honorary Gay Award and Luke Evans for the Man of the Year Award.

A special edition of Attitude magazine featuring interviews with this year's crop of winners is published on Wednesday October 7.

Famous friends: Rylan and Lucy rose to fame on the ninth series of The X Factor almost a decade ago
Seattle, WA (98195)

Today

Showers this morning, becoming a steady rain during the afternoon hours. High around 45F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Periods of rain. Low 41F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a half an inch.
Dancehall star Popcaan is stirring quite the chaos among fans in Ghana since his arrival last week, and in one instance, this has caused security to fire a shot to curb their enthusiasm.

As the Unruly Boss made his way through several locales in a G Wagon SUV recently, a few overzealous fans simply couldnt contain their excitement and decided to hop onto the vehicles extremities while it was still on the move.

The Jamaican deejay shared the crazed moment on Instagram in two video clips yesterday, which he captioned, Before and after ghana CHUBBLE.

The first showed the men standing on the trucks rear bumper and wheelhouse while cheering loudly. Ah weh di bombol@@t this! The man dem take ova Sledge [his drivers] van, Poppy was heard saying while laughing at their audacity.

In another video clip, security personnel who were traveling directly behind the celebritys vehicle, honked their horn repeatedly and were heard yelling at the men to get down but when they didnt take heed, proceeded to fire off a shot. This caused the men to immediately jump off the truck and flee.

The Family deejay has been touring Africa with his SLG Squad for the last few days, making stops along the way to visit with locals, and check out the sites  and today headed to Goldridge IGR (Istanbul Gold Refinery).

Together with his entourage, Popcaan is making heads turn by driving around in a fleet of expensive whips. From his bright yellow Lamborghini, a Mercedes SL to a G-Wagon, they are a hard bunch to miss and its clearly sending his African fan base crazy.

Its been over a year since the Dancehall deejay visited the motherland.

In January 2020, his ground-kissing arrival in Ghana caused pandemonium among fans who came out to greet him at the airport. The St. Thomas native was swarmed by a score of fans and even airport workers chanting Unruly Popcaan as they bombarded his team trying to snap photos and record videos of the star.

According to the deejay, hes been planning this trip for some time now and revealed he would be launching his fifth studio album when he arrived in Ghana. With the release of the first single Superior, off his upcoming LP last week, the time is definitely drawing close.

Poppy is due back in court in Jamaica on November 4 to answer several traffic charges.
With a high vaccination rate, Gov. Ned Lamont on Wednesday expressed confidence that Connecticut will see a smaller wave of infections than the one it weathered last fall and winter.

I was really worried about October, but our numbers are still some of the lowest in the country, Lamont said, speaking with reporters Wednesday after an event in Bethel. Maybe, just maybe, the fact that were 88 percent vaccinated  of adults  is making a difference and we can be able to hold off the worst of another wave.

Infections and hospitalizations have fallen since the late summer, according to state data. The seven-day average of new cases has fallen by almost half since mid-September, while the states hospital census for the disease now hovers below 250 after peaking at more than 390 in late August.

On Wednesday, the state reported a positivity rate of 1.9 percent for new COVID-19 tests. Hospitalizations dropped by a net of seven patients for a total of 230  the lowest in recent weeks.

We were hit hardest on the first wave, Lamont said. By the time it came around last fall, we were much better prepared, we were not hit as hard. I think this time around it will be less again.

Nationally, COVID numbers have also shown a decline, suggesting the wave brought on by the delta variant over the summer may be subsiding.

But experts have warned colder weather, along with people gathering indoors, could see cases rising again. Earlier this week, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nations leading voice on infectious disease, said it was too soon to tell whether people should hold large holiday gatherings.

The governor also urged residents who are eligible to get their booster shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Those who are eligible include anyone 65 and older, people with certain conditions that put them at risk of severe COVID-19 and adults whose job put them at greater risk of contracting the disease. Boosters are given six months after someone completes their initial round of shots.

Weve got a lot of vaccine, we can do the boosters right now its Pfizer only, of course. But you can go to any of our pharmacies, virtually no questions asked you can get that booster if its been more than six months, Lamont said.

Statewide, 79 percent of all eligible residents are fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Though Connecticut has one of the highest vaccination rates in the country, Lamont has instituted several vaccination mandates, including a requirement for state executive branch workers.

More than 1,000 those state employees as of Tuesday had not submitted documentation showing they were vaccinated or would submit to weekly COVID-19 testing, according to the governors office. The state has said employees who fail to do either by next Monday will be placed on unpaid administrative leave.

I think its pretty good news, were north of 96 percent now are vaccinated or testing, Lamont said Wednesday. I think were going to reach a formal agreement with labor very soon so the rules are clear about what happens if you dont (vaccinate) or test.

That agreement would include unpaid leave for a period of time and testing at no cost, the governor said. Yazbak, Lamonts spokesman, said state employees would be able to use medical time off to get tested, similar to going to a doctors appointment.

I think were all rowing in the same direction, which is how you beat a pandemic, Lamont said.
The Tokeneke School Pumpkin Carnival is returning from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Oct. 16, in the parking lot of the school at 7 Old Farm Road.

The fundraiser has been going on for more than 50 years, and did not take place in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

There will be rides, a variety of lawn games, food, art activities, face painting, performances, an obstacle course and prizes.

Tokeneke is partnering with the Darien Human Services department again, so that area families can participate in the event free of charge. Families that would not have otherwise been able to attend the event in previous years, were provided with a free ride, and game tickets, along with complimentary food, and drink. Organizers are looking to the Tokeneke school community to expand the multi-year program in 2021, and include more eligible Darien families in the initiative.

The Tokeneke Parent Teacher Organization organizes the Pumpkin Carnival and local businesses are key supporters of the event. Funds raised at the Pumpkin Carnival provide funding for the Enrichment Program at the Tokeneke Elementary School.

Tokeneke is one of five elementary schools in Darien, and serves 500 students from pre-school through the fifth grade.

Visit tokenekepto.com/pumpkin-carnival/ to learn more about the carnival. Also Like https://www.facebook.com/pumpkincarnival, and follow @tokeneke_pto on Instagram.

High school students honored in Merit Scholarship Program

Twenty-five Darien High School senior students have been named Commended Students in the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program.

The students are: Emma de Graaff, Luke Dehmel, Andres Devens, Brooke Dolan, Alexander Domittner, Kiran Ebrahimi, Patrick Finnegan, Piper Fitzgerald, Julia Fullington, John Gorman, Elizabeth Haidinger, Ryan Jones, James Leone, Reed Levinson, Lachlan McLaren, Stella Meier, Sebastian Mengwall, Ellis Murphy, Clara O'Connor, Shruthi Palaniappan, Andrew Siever, Ella Whitticom, Katherine Wolters, Charlotte Zaino and Saskia Zimmerman.

Darien High School Assistant Principal Katherine Dimoulas, and Darien High School Director of Guidance, Meghan Emanuelson presented the students with A Letter of Commendation in recognition of their academic promise for the future.

Barrett Bookstore, community association event with author

The Barrett Bookstore and the Darien Community Association are having a live, in-person event at the associations building with author Elizabeth Strout about her latest novel, Oh William! at 7 p.m. on Oct. 26.

The evening will include a conversation with Strout and time for questions from the audience.

Tickets are $35 for association members and $45 for the public.

Register for the event online by noon, Oct. 25, at https://dariendca.org/book-talks-and-signings/, or call the association at (203) 655-9050, ext. 10.

Signed copies of the book are included in the ticket price. The association is monitoring the coronavirus pandemic. Changes to the event format may be made at the discretion of the publisher, author, or event hosts. Refunds are not available. The association is following COVID-19 safety protocols. The bookstore is located at 6 Corbin Drive, in Darien.

Darien residents band holding annual Music for Hope fundraiser

Nashville recording artists, and the local country western band, Gunsmoke, is holding its annual Music for Hope fundraiser benefit event in partnership with, and at the St. Ann Club in Norwalk, at 3 p.m., Oct. 17. The event includes a concert, and dinner that will benefit the St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital. Admission is $20. Reservations are required in advance at 203-554-1507. The Club is located at 16 Hendricks Ave., in Norwalk. Visit gunsmokeband.com to find out more about the band. The band Gunsmoke established Music for Hope in 2010, and has raised thousands of dollars to fight cancer on the local and national level through concerts, dinner dances and recordings.

The band was formed by brothers Jeff and Nick DeMaio Jr., of Darien, and has been performing classic country, western, swing and rockabilly music for more than 25 years. In addition to Jeff and Nick, Gunsmoke includes band members: Christina Mae, Van Manakas, Guy Fooch Fischetti and Nick DeMaio III.

Darien Depot volunteer club co-presidents delivering goodie bags

Volunteers from the Depot, Dariens youth center, recently helped the Rosebud Reservation, one of the groups the Depots Volunteer Club supports.

Volunteer club members Tori Caruso, Ava deCastro, Sophie Schawarz, Grace Quinn, Katie Bloomer and Sadie Leopold recently put together goodie travel bags for a team of students, who previously went with a local dentist, Dr. Maryann Lehmann, to a dental clinic in South Dakota.

The Rosebud Reservation is home to the Lakota people. Sicangu Sioux, and is one of the seven tribes of the Lakota Nation, according to nativepartnership,org. The St. Francis Mission, and the Indian Health Service Clinic are the two places in the area that provide dental services. The clinic has one dentist for more than 30,000 people.
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Vijayawada: State government adviser for public affairs Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy on Tuesday slammed the Opposition Telugu Desam party for linking the drug seizure at Mundra port to Andhra Pradesh.

Speaking to the media here, the government adviser made it clear that despite state governments denial of its involvement in the drug scandal, the Opposition TD continued making baseless allegations against the state government.

This, he said, raised suspicion on the involvement of TD, as its chief Chandrababu Naidu was having a dubious history of hoarding money abroad. Naidus son Lokesh visited Dubai on a secret tip recently. This raised doubts on Naidus family entering into the questionable business deals.

Reacting sharply to TD raising the Pandora papers issue vis-a-vis the YSRC, he said a person by name Alisha was an acquaintance of Naidu and former minister Ganta Srinivas. Naidus criticism of chief minister Jagan, implicating him in Wikileaks, Paradise Papers, Panama Papers and Pandora Papers, was just part of the TDs attempts to defame the CM. The name of an independent director of Heritage company of the Naidu family was mentioned in the Panama Papers, he said.

The government adviser said the central agencies were taking up an investigation and would identify the culprits behind these acts, and added that the YSRC government was firm on curbing the supply of ganja in the state. He said that a special enforcement bureau was set up to control all such illegal acts and added that so far nearly 2.50lakh kg of ganja was seized since the inception of SEB in the state.
Bengaluru: After Janata Dal-Secular (JDS) leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar also slammed Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for training bureaucrats in the state.

Speaking to ANI, the Karnataka Congress chief also accused the BJP-led government in the state of recruiting "ABVP followers and people with similar ideologies" for government posts.

"The RSS is launching the educational institutes and Vidyalaya to accommodate its employees in top positions in the government. ABVP followers and people with similar ideologies are being recruited by the government as professors and principals in schools and colleges," he said.

He further claimed that there is no law and order in Karnataka. "Situation like this is developing not only in Karnataka but also in all the BJP-ruled states,' added Shivakumar.

Commenting on violence in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri, the Congress leader urged the state police to file a suo moto case and arrest the accused of "murdering the farmers".

Earlier on Tuesday, speaking to media persons on the sidelines of a workshop organised for JD(S) workers at Bidadi, Kumaraswamy alleged that the RSS had, over time, had trained 4,000 civil servants in this country- IAS, IPS officers who are now part of the Indian bureaucracy.

However, today Kumaraswamy issued a clarification and said he never took any organization's name and said "I have not spoken about any association, organisation or party. I read significant books written by several authors during the COVID-19 lockdown. I also studied some aspects of history. Those are just some of the things written in the books which I spoke," said JDS leader.
Farmers say they used to get crop loss compensation in the former Andhra Pradesh state but not in Telangana. (Photo: PTI/Representational)

WARANGAL: Several TS ministers including K.T. Rama Rao and Errabelli Dayakar Rao have asked officials to conduct surveys on the extent of crop loss the farmers in the state incurred due to the heavy rains.

Farmers say they used to get crop loss compensation in the former Andhra Pradesh state but not in Telangana. The state government is providing them Rs 10,000 per acre for two crops a year but no compensation to those who lost their crops due to unseasonal rains.

I own two crops under the Laknavaram Lake and raised paddy this time. It would have been ready in another two months but my entire crop got inundated due to the recent rains and I am faced with a huge loss. This keeps happening every year, the officials visit us and take the details. But no compensation came to us till date, said Radhakrishna of Kothur of Pasra mandal of Mulugu district.

In the past seven years, farmers incurred losses to crops over an estimated 10 lakh acres in the erstwhile Warangal district. Cotton and maize farmers were the worst affected.

Another farmer Ashok of Khanapur in Warangal district said the state government is not responding to the woes of the farmers. We last received compensation for our lost crop before the state bifurcation. Our plea is that the Telangana government must come up with an action plan to rescue farmers who lost their crops due to hail storms, heavy rains and floods, he said.
The increase of tourist arrival in the high range Wayanad could be seen as its reflection. (Photo: PTI/File)

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Tourism Minister P A Mohammed Riyas on Wednesday said the bio-bubble system and the complete-vaccinated-destination project have helped the state tourism sector, which had been crippled due to the pandemic outbreak, reclaim its tourist inflow.

During the time of crisis the entire focus of the state government was to instill confidence in the sector so that it would be able to overcome the challenges, he told the state Assembly.

Noting that tourism was the worst affected industry due to the spread of the pandemic, the minister said several programmes were implemented with the objective of ''safe Kerala and safe tourism' and to bring back holidayers.

"As part of this, the complete-vaccinated-destination project was launched in Vythiri in Wayanad district. It has been expanded to other places and the majority of tourism destinations have achieved the target now," Riyas said while replying to a calling attention motion moved by Ambalapuzha legislator, H Salam (CPI-M).

The increase of tourist arrival in the high range Wayanad could be seen as its reflection, he said adding that their inflow is steadily increasing in other destinations also.

"The bio-bubble system has been implemented to make the tourism sector safe and secure. The latest figures indicate an increase in the domestic tourist arrival in the state and these all factors seemed to have helped for the same," the minister added.

The implementation of innovative projects like 'caravan tourism'', recently launched by the department, and the farm tourism network, a proposed programme to tap the potential of agriculture tourism, are expected to revive the sector and facilitate its strong come back, he added.
AIMIM floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi also sought statutory status to the Dalit Bandhu but asked whether government would extend Dalit Bandhu to minorities since it is a non-statutory scheme at present. (AB Image)

Hyderabad: The Congress and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) on Tuesday urged the state government to accord statutory status to the Dalit Bandhu scheme. They opined that a statutory backing would create confidence among Dalits and also ensure implementation of scheme irrespective of whichever party comes to power in the future.

However, Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao said there was no need to extend statutory status for implementation of schemes like the Dalit Bandhu but assured that the government would seek the opinion of legal and constitutional experts on this issue.

Speaking in the Legislative Assembly, Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka said it would be better to accord statutory status to a massive scheme like Dalit Bandhu, which the state government was planning to implement at a cost of Rs 1.80 lakh crore to cover all 18 lakh Dalit families in Telangana in phases.

"Since it takes a few years to implement this scheme in phases, it would be better to accord statutory status to the Dalit Bandhu to ensure that it does not pose any problems in future for any unforeseen reasons," Bhatti said.

AIMIM floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi also sought statutory status to the Dalit Bandhu but asked whether government would extend Dalit Bandhu to minorities since it is a non-statutory scheme at present.

"The Telangana government released a GO in 2018 extending all non-statutory benefits to minorities which are being extended to SCs and STs. If that is so, I want to ask whether the Dalit Bandhu will be extended to Minorities as well along with SCs now," Owaisi said.

Owaisi said minorities deserve Dalit Bandhu-type scheme as several reports of the Centre and state government on the socio, economic, educational status of Minorities clearly indicated that the condition of minorities was worse than SCs and STs, he added.

However, the Chief Minister replied that minorities would be covered later.

Owaisi expressed unhappiness over the injustice meted out to minorities welfare after the Chief Minister left the department.

"The minorities welfare department functioned properly and got funds regularly when theh Chief Minister was handling the department during his first term. But after he left the department during his second term since 2019, the condition of minorities welfare has become pathetic," Owaisi said.
Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy chaired a high-level meet on Covid19 under the theme, Prevent, Control and Vaccinate and for setting up of health hubs, here on Wednesday. (Photo:Twitter)

Vijayawada: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has directed the authorities to develop health facilities with requisite specializations so as to provide the best medical treatment in the state and avoid situations of patients reaching out to Hyderabad, Chennai and Bengaluru.

Chairing a high-level meet on Covid19 under the theme, Prevent, Control and Vaccinate and for setting up of health hubs, here on Wednesday, the CM advised the health authorities to list the present inadequacies in the health sector in AP and introduce the required facilities one by one to attain a level of self-sufficiency in the health care sector.

Health minister Alla Srinivas and other top officials attended the meeting. As for the upcoming 16 new medical colleges, the CM reviewed their progress and asked the officials to sort out all related issues by October end and expedite infrastructure build-up.

The CM laid stress on implementing the family doctor concept in a full-fledged manner by January 26 and told the officials to be prepared for it by constructing new PHCs and taking up Nadu-Nadu works in the existing PHCs. They must also set up village clinics.

He stressed on giving priority to female doctors during the recruitment process for PHCs and said more attention needed to be paid on the health of women and girls under the Swechha programme.

Jagan Mohan Reddy called for more publicity for the Arogyasri scheme to enable people avail the benefits in a big way, by setting up hoardings at village/ward secretariats and also on Arogyasri referral hospitals in addition to the displaying phone numbers of Arogyamitras on those hoardings.

He also asked officials to keep the list of Arogyasri-empaneled hospitals available to the people and to enable the 108 ambulance staff to avail health care from such hospitals.

On the AP digital health programme, the CM asked officials to provide a faculty in such a way that if the QR code in the health card was scanned it would help doctors have instant access to the medical history of a patient and get to know the treatment he or she took earlier. This, he noted, would help the doctors provide better medical treatment in a faster mode.

Jagan Mohan also asked them to keep details of the blood group of the people on their health cards. The officials informed him that as part such programme, they were generating health IDs for all people in the state.

The officials briefed the CM about the present status of spread of Covid19 and the number of infected patients taking treatment in the hospitals and also about the preparedness to face a third wave of the pandemic. They said the Covid19 positivity rate was 1.62 per cent in the state at present, while the recovery rate was 98.86 per cent.
A leading private healthcare group on Wednesday said it has launched a centre of excellence to provide world-class critical care facility to patients through its chain of hospitals and partner institutions using digital technology.

Apollo Hospitals said the Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the challenges faced by the country with regard to infrastructure to provide critical care to patients.

Critical care deals with critically ill patients who require intensive care for various medical conditions that are immediately life-threatening but reversible. And, with the intent to cater to such patients, the Apollo Centre of Excellence in Critical Care (ACECC) was launched on Wednesday in Hyderabad on a pilot basis, it said.

The centre will harness digital technology to create an integrated network of e-ICUs, providing world-class critical care not just across the Apollo Hospitals network, but also to others in partnership with non-Apollo units in India and abroad, the group said in a statement.

The Hyderabad-based centre has been started on a pilot basis and two more such units are expected to be started soon, the group said.

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The centre will essentially provide expertise and guidance at other places through a remote ICU setup in which a central team will monitor a patient over a video link in real-time, it said.

This is to ensure faster turnaround on clinical management of critical cases, as remotely they can connect with experts from various organisations and discuss or supervise a case. Patients will not have to travel from one hospital to another in search of a doctor as experts will be available virtually, the group said.

The ACECC will enable wider and timely access to critical care and help in implementing a standardised scope of management and treatment in emergencies and critical medical situations, the statement said.

Dr. Prathap C Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group, said, "Critical illness leads to millions of deaths each year. However, critical care faces challenges due to factors, such as lack of prioritisation, coordination, timely identification and availability of basic life-saving treatments."

"The Apollo Centre of Excellence in Critical Care goes beyond Apollo Hospitals through partnerships with non-Apollo units, both public and private to add value and make it a win-win (situation) for patients, doctors, nursing homes and hospitals across India," he was quoted as saying in the statement.

The ACECC will comprise digital technology-enabled critical care units (CCUs) having standard protocols and operating procedures supported by smart solutions.

This will enable expansion of the critical care network through e-ICUs using tele-health and Apollo Connect. The ACECC will also focus on evidence-based protocols, training, and capacity building of critical care specialists, the group said.

Preetha Reddy, Executive Vice Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals Group, said, "The Covid pandemic highlighted the challenges faced by the country with regard to its critical care infrastructure. Studies have indicated that India has just 2.3 critical care beds per 1,00,000 population as against 10 to 11 beds per 1,00,000 population in developed countries like South Korea and Singapore."

The pandemic brought to the fore the need for augmenting India's critical treatment facilities and creating capability for high-end critical care. "The ACECC will be based on a network of hub-and-spokes units between Apollo and non-Apollo providers, both public and private, to ensure that every citizen has access to the best of critical care when needed," she said.

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The domestic air passenger traffic grew by 2-3 per cent at around 68-69 lakh in September this year compared to August while last month's plane deployment was 54 per cent higher than what was one year ago, an analysis by ICRA has said.

Though the recovery continued in September, it said, the demand continues to be subdued from the corporate traveller segment as reflected by passenger traffic being lower by 38 per cent last month compared to pre-Covid-19 levels.

The domestic air passenger traffic grew by 2-3 per cent at around 68-69 lakh in September compared to 67 lakh in August. If one takes year-on-year growth, it would be 74 per cent.

The airlines' capacity deployment for September was around 54 per cent higher than September 2020 -- 61,100 departures in September this year as against 39,628 departures in September last year. On a sequential basis, the ICRA said, the number of departures in September 2021 were higher by 6 per cent, as Covid-19 infections demonstrated a downward trajectory.

The average daily departures were at 2,100 last month, significantly higher than the average daily departures of 1,321 in September last year and higher than 1,900 in August 2021, though they remained lower than 2,200 in Jan 2021.

The average number of passengers per flight during September was 113, against an average of 117 passengers per flight in August.

On the aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices, it said there has been a sharp increase of 78.6 per cent on a year-on-year basis till October this year, attributed to increase in crude oil prices. "This coupled with low capacity utilisation of aircraft fleet will continue to weigh on the financial performance of Indian carriers in FY2022. Furthermore, the credit profile of most Indian carriers continues to be characterised by a weak liquidity position," it said.

Referring to the increase in permitted capacity, it said the increase in permitted capacity to 85 per cent levels is a step in the right direction, given the onset of the festive season.

"Also, reduction in fare cap rollover period from 30 days to 15 days is a move towards market-driven pricing as applicable during the pre-Covid-19 period, wherein the pricing was determined by the actual demand-supply dynamics and real passenger load factors," it said.

Under the Vande Bharat Mission for evacuation of Indian citizens from foreign countries, which started from 7 May, 2020, international passenger traffic (inbound and outbound) for Indian carriers stood at 46 lakh till September 30 this year.

International passenger traffic for Indian carriers under the VBM was estimated at four lakh, a sequential growth of 30 per cent, for September this year.

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Nvidia has offered concessions in a bid to secure EU antitrust approval for its $54 billion acquisition of British chip designer Arm, a European Commission filing showed on Wednesday.

The deal announced by world's biggest maker of graphics and AI chips last year has sparked concerns in the semiconductor industry over whether Arm could remain a neutral player licensing intellectual property to customers and rivals.

The EU competition enforcer, which did not provide details of the concessions in line with its policy, set an Oct. 27 deadline for its decision.

It will now seek feedback from rivals and customers before deciding whether to accept the concessions, demand more or open a four-month long investigation.

Nvidia has said it would maintain Arm as a neutral technology supplier as it aims to allay concerns from customers such as Qualcomm Inc, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Apple Inc.

Arm customers Broadcom, MediaTek and Marvell are supporters of the deal.

Arm, owned by Japan's SoftBank Group Corp, is a major player in global semiconductors. Its designs power nearly every smartphone and millions of other devices.

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Petrol and diesel prices hit all-time highs on Tuesday as international oil prices rallied.

After 30 paise hike, petrol now costs Rs 102.94 per litre in Delhi, while diesel price stands at Rs 91.42 per litre, after an upward revision of 35 paise.

Petrol price was hiked by 29 paise in Mumbai, as it touched Rs 108.96 for a litre and diesel spiked by 27 paise to cost Rs 99.17 for a litre in the financial capital.

In Kolkata, petrol costs Rs 103.65 per litre, up 29 paise, and diesel Rs 94.53 per litre. Petrol price now stands at Rs 100.49 per litre in Chennai, up 26 paise, and diesel Rs 95.93, up 34 paise.

The recent hikes have sent petrol prices above Rs 100 in most major cities of the country.

The relentless increase in fuel prices has been criticised by opposition parties who have demanded that the government cut record excise duty on the two fuels to give relief to consumers.

The government has so far not agreed to the demand.

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Pet registration will soon be mandatory for all pet owners in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) limits. They will be given six months to register after the rules are rolled out, BBMP animal husbandry wing officials said.

Pet registration, which has so far been optional, will recognise pet parents with a licence. The process is expected to bring more responsibility and accountability, and prevent illegal breeding and abandonment of animals.

"Pet parenting has become more fashionable than responsible. Licensing will help correct that," said Manjunath Shinde, Joint Director (Animal Husbandry). He was speaking at an interaction with animal activists and veterinarians.

Also Read | The ugly cost of a cute puppy

While microchip installation and neutering of pets are compulsory before licensing, abandonment of animals will attract a penalty of Rs 1,000 and more. There will also be a licence fee remission for Indie dogs to promote adoption of local breeds.

"Pet registration should be something as natural as obtaining a birth certificate or paying taxes. We are not doing this to create fear or penalise pet owners. Registration will make it easier for the BBMP to help them, said D Randeep, Special Commissioner, Health and Animal Husbandry.

Animal activists said that while Bengaluru is considered the most pet-friendly cosmopolitan city, there are still many problems that require attention. They also said apartment associations should be more open-minded about pet accommodation.

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While the economy teeters on the brink of collapse, vendors at an opium market in southern Afghanistan say prices for their goods have skyrocketed since the Taliban takeover.

Plunging his knife into a large plastic bag filled with four kilograms (nine pounds) of what looks like brown mud, Amanullah, who asked to use a fake name, extracts a lump and places it in a small cup suspended over a primus flame.

The poppy resin quickly begins to boil and liquify, and he and his partner Mohammad Masoom can display to buyers that their opium is pure.

Read more: Taliban unlawfully killed 13 ethnic Hazaras: Rights group

"It is haram (forbidden) in Islam, but we don't have any other choice," Masoom says, at the market on the arid plains of Howz-e-Madad, in Kandahar province.

Since the Taliban overran Kabul on August 15, the price for opium -- which is transformed into heroin either in Afghanistan, Pakistan or Iran before flooding the European market -- has more than tripled.

Masoom said smugglers are now paying him 17,500 Pakistani rupees ($100, 90 euros) per kilogram. In Europe, it has a street value of over $50 a gram.

As he sat beneath a canvas suspended from four stakes to protect the precious wares from the burning sun, he said the price prior to the Taliban takeover stood at just a third of what he can make today.

Speaking to AFP on his field a few kilometres away, poppy farmer Zekria confirms that prices have skyrocketed.

He says his opium is more concentrated -- and therefore of better quality -- than Masoom and Amanullah's because the flowers were picked at the start of the harvesting season.

He says he now gets over 25,000 PKR per kilo, up from 7,500 before the Taliban's takeover.

Back at the market, hundreds of producers, vendors and buyers chat over green tea around sacks of opium and hashish, discussing the soaring prices.

The weather, insecurity, political unrest and border closures can all affect the ever-fluctuating opium price, but everyone seems to agree that it was a single statement by Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid last month that made the prices take off.

At the time, he told the world the Taliban did not want to see "any narcotics produced" -- but added that international backing was needed to allow farmers to shift away from the trade.

The rumour that a ban on poppy-growing was imminent spread through the province, a historical Taliban stronghold and the centre of the country's opium production and drug trafficking.

Buyers are bracing for a looming shortage, "so the opium price is soaring," said Zekria, who also used a pseudonym to avoid retribution.

But the 40-year-old, who like his father and grandfather has spent much of his life growing poppies, said he did not believe the Taliban "can eradicate all poppy (farming) in Afghanistan".

In 2000, during the hardliners' last stint in power, the Taliban banned poppy growing, declaring it forbidden under Islam, and virtually eradicated the crop.

Read more: Over 100 musicians flee Afghanistan, fearing Taliban crackdown

After the US-led ouster of the Taliban in 2001, poppy farming again proliferated, even as the West poured millions of dollars into pushing alternatives, such as saffron.

Then, with the Taliban switching from ruling Afghanistan to insurgency against US-led forces, they relied on opium production to finance their rebellion.

In 2016, half of their revenue came from the trade, according to the United Nations.

Afghanistan's opium production has since remained high year after year, producing about 6,300 tonnes last year alone, the UN says.

Farmers in the south say it's impossible to eradicate the trade, which the UN estimates is worth $2 billion in annual revenues in Afghanistan.

"We know it's not good but we don't have enough water (or) seeds," he said.

"We cannot grow anything else right now," Masoom said, adding that any other trade would be far less lucrative.

Zekria, the sole breadwinner in a family of 25, agreed.

"Without opium, I cannot even cover my expenses," he said, adding there is "no other solution unless the international community helps us".

With the UN warning that a third of the country's population is facing the threat of famine, the Islamists have been tiptoeing around the issue of banning the lucrative practice.

In his office in Kandahar, head of the province's culture department Maulvi Noor Mohammad Saeed told AFP that "opium production is haram and bad for people".

But said outlawing production would depend on the aid received.

"If the international community is ready to help the farmers not to grow poppy, then we'll ban opium."
The United Arab Emirates has authorised the Russia-developed one-shot Sputnik Light as both a standalone Covid-19 vaccine and a booster shot, Russia's sovereign fund RDIF said on Wednesday.

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A California verdict ordering Tesla to pay a Black former employee $137 million in damages for turning a blind eye to racism the man encountered at the firm's Silicon Valley auto plant is a resounding message to corporate America in the eyes of his attorney.

"They awarded an amount that could be a wake-up call for American corporations," civil rights attorney Larry Organ told AFP on Tuesday.

"Don't engage in racist conduct and don't allow racist conduct to continue."

Owen Diaz was hired through a staffing agency as an elevator operator at the electric vehicle-maker's Fremont factory between June 2015 and July 2016, where he was subjected to racist abuse and a hostile work environment, according to the court filing.

In his lawsuit filed in 2017, Diaz said African-American employees at the factory, where his son also worked, were regularly subjected to racist epithets and derogatory imagery.

Instead of a modern workplace, the plaintiffs "encountered a scene straight from the Jim Crow era," said the suit, originally filed by Diaz, his son Demetric and a third former employee.

"Tesla's progressive image was a facade papering over its regressive, demeaning treatment of African-American employees," the court filing said.

Diaz alleged that, despite complaints to supervisors, Tesla took no action over the regular racist abuse.

The jury at the federal court in San Francisco on Monday awarded Diaz $130 million in punitive damages and $6.9 million for emotional distress, Organ confirmed.

"I knew all along Owen was telling the truth, I just had to prove it to eight strangers," he said, referring to the panel of jurors.

"Normal, everyday folks see through the BS that corporate America spins."

The lengthy legal battle pitted Organ's small civil rights law firm of six attorneys against a well-resourced adversary.

Following the verdict, Tesla released a blog post by human resources vice president Valerie Capers Workman, which it said had been distributed to employees.

In her post, Workman downplayed the allegations of racist abuse in the lawsuit but acknowledged that at the time Diaz worked there, Tesla "was not perfect."

"In addition to Mr. Diaz, three other witnesses (all non-Tesla contract employees) testified at trial that they regularly heard racial slurs (including the n-word) on the Fremont factory floor," she wrote.

"While they all agreed that the use of the n-word was not appropriate in the workplace, they also agreed that most of the time they thought the language was used in a 'friendly' manner and usually by African-American colleagues."

Workman said Tesla had responded to Diaz's complaints, firing two contractors and suspending a third.

"Our whole theme was that Tesla was taking zero responsibility," Organ said.

"I think they are doing the same thing now: making excuses."

Workman stressed that Tesla had made changes since Diaz worked at the company, adding a diversity team and an employee relations team dedicated to investigating employee complaints.

"While we strongly believe that these facts don't justify the verdict reached by the jury in San Francisco, we do recognize that in 2015 and 2016 we were not perfect," Workman said.

"We're still not perfect. But we have come a long way from 5 years ago. We continue to grow and improve in how we address employee concerns. Occasionally, we'll get it wrong, and when that happens we should be held accountable."

Tesla, a global leader in electric cars, has a market capitalization of around $780 billion. Its chief executive, tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, is the world's richest person, currently worth $211 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

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The World Health Organization on Wednesday endorsed the RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine, the first against the mosquito-borne disease that kills more than 400,000 people a year, mostly African children.

The decision followed a review of a pilot programme deployed since 2019 in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi in which more than two million doses were given of the vaccine, first made by the pharmaceutical company GSK in 1987.

After reviewing evidence from those countries, the WHO said it was "recommending the broad use of the world's first malaria vaccine", the agency's director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

The WHO said it was recommending children in sub-Saharan Africa and in other regions with moderate to high malaria transmission get four doses up to the age of two.

Every two minutes, a child dies of malaria, the agency said.

More than half of malaria deaths worldwide are in six sub-Saharan African countries and almost a quarter are in Nigeria alone, according to 2019 WHO figures.

Symptoms include fever, headaches and muscle pain, then cycles of chills, fever and sweating.

Findings from the vaccine pilot showed it "significantly reduces severe malaria which is the deadly form by 30 percent," said Kate O'Brien, Director of WHO's Department of Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals.

The vaccine is "feasible to deliver", she added and "it's also reaching the unreached... Two thirds of children who don't sleep under a bed net in those countries are now benefiting from the vaccine."

Many vaccines exist against viruses and bacteria but this was the first time that the WHO recommended for broad use a vaccine against a human parasite.

The vaccine acts against plasmodium falciparum -- one of five malaria parasite species and the most deadly.

"From a scientific perspective this is a massive breakthrough," said Pedro Alonso, Director of the WHO Global Malaria Programme.

Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO regional director for Africa said Wednesday's recommendation "offers a glimmer of hope for the continent which shoulders the heaviest burden of the disease."

The estimated cost of malaria in sub-Saharan Africa is over 12 billion dollars a year, Alonso said at a news conference following the announcement.

Before the newly recommended vaccine can reach children in need, the next step will be funding.

"That will be the next major step... Then we will be set up for scaling of doses and decisions about where the vaccine will be most useful and how it will be deployed," said O'Brien.

Gavi vaccine alliance said in a statement after the WHO announcement that "global stakeholders, including Gavi, will consider whether and how to finance a new malaria vaccination programme for countries in sub-Saharan Africa."

The fight against malaria received a boost in April when researchers from Britain's Oxford University announced that their Matrix-M vaccine candidate had become the first to surpass the WHO's threshold of 75-percent efficacy.

Germany's BioNTech, which developed a coronavirus vaccine with US giant Pfizer, also said it aimed to start trials for a malaria vaccine next year using the same breakthrough mRNA technology.

The WHO also hopes this latest recommendation will encourage scientists to develop more malaria vaccines.

The RTS,S/AS01 is "a first generation, really important one," said Alonso, "but we hope... it stimulates the field to look for other types of vaccines to completement or go beyond this one."

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Apple will be hit with an EU antitrust charge over its NFC chip technology, people familiar with the matter said, a move that puts it at risk of a possible hefty fine and could force it to open its mobile payment system to rivals.

The iPhone maker has been in European Union antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager's crosshairs since June last year when she launched an investigation into Apple Pay.

Preliminary concerns were Apple's NFC chip which enables tap-and-go payments on iPhones, its terms and conditions on how mobile payment service Apple Pay should be used in merchants' apps and websites, and the company's refusal to allow rivals access to the payment system.

Also read: Apple makes more money in gaming than Nintendo, Sony combined: Report

The European Commission has since narrowed its focus to just the NFC chip, which can only be accessed by Apple Pay, one of the sources said.

The EU competition enforcer is now preparing a charge sheet known as a statement of objections, which could be sent to Apple next year, one of the sources said. Such documents typically set out practices considered anti-competitive by the regulator.

The Commission declined to comment. Apple, which has cited privacy and safety issues for its policy on Apple Pay, was not immediately available for comment.

NFC-enabled payments have grown in popularity due in part to the Covid-19 pandemic. Apple Pay's wide reach and superior consumer experience on a mobile website or in-store give it a competitive edge over rivals, according to some analysts.

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The BJP on Wednesday accused Rahul Gandhi of trying to fan unrest over the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, alleging that the Gandhi family is using the tragedy as an opportunity to derive political mileage as it has been facing questions from Congress leaders.

Hitting back at Rahul Gandhi after the Congress leader alleged that dictatorship prevails in the country, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said "irresponsibility" has become his second name.

The Congress has been trying everything to "provoke" people to cause violence, he said, asking Gandhi to desist from attempts aimed at getting votes from the crisis.

Also Read | Rahul Gandhi en route Lakhimpur after brief row at Lucknow airport

With the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh earlier not allowing most opposition leaders to visit Lakhimpur Kheri, Patra said maintaining peace has been the top priority.

The Uttar Pradesh Police had detained Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who wanted to go to the site of Sunday's violence and meet families that lost their members. Now the state government has allowed them to travel to the place.

Patra also took a swipe at Rahul Gandhi over his allegation that there is no democracy in the country and dictatorship prevails, noting that he had never faced protests from BJP workers for his press conferences, while Congress members threw tomatoes and agitated outside their leader Kapil Sibal's residence for his critical comments about the party's functioning.

"There is democracy in the country and that is why you are holding the press conference," he said.

Gandhi always tries to spread misinformation, and it has been our endeavour to highlight this, the BJP spokesperson said, adding that whatever happened in Lakhimpur Kheri was painful.

Noting that farmer leaders and the local administration had coordinated to deal with the crisis after eight persons. including four farmers, died, he said an "impartial probe" is on into the violence and people should not give irresponsible statements that may obstruct justice.

Also Read | BJP govt committing more atrocities than British: Akhilesh Yadav

He alleged that the Gandhi family had nothing to do with either farmers or any other section of society.

"They are not even concerned about the Congress. All they want is that their fortunes should not be scuttled," Patra said.

Hitting back at the Rahul Gandhi over his allegation of corruption at the government, the BJP spokesperson took a dig at him, saying he and his mother and Congress president Sonia Gandhi are on bail in the alleged National Herald corruption case.

With Gandhi claiming that farmers have been "systematically attacked" by the government, he said they have been "systematically uplifted", citing a number of pro-farmers schemes.

The BJP leader referred to the recent baton charge on farmers by police in Rajasthan, where the Congress is in power, and asked if Gandhi ever spoke to the state chief minister regarding this.

Earlier in the day, Gandhi alleged that "dictatorship" prevails in the country with farmers being "systematically attacked" and politicians not allowed to visit Uttar Pradesh to meet families hit by the violence in Lakhimpur Kheri.

After initially denying permission to Rahul Gandhi to visit Lakhimpur Kheri, the Uttar Pradesh government has now allowed him and Priyanka Gandhi to visit the district.

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As India marches ahead in the fight against Covid-19 with steady decline in new cases and speeding up the vaccination drive, the nation witnessed success in first-of-its-kind delivery of jabs using drones. India added 18,833 new coronavirus infections taking the country's tally of Covid-19 cases to 3,38,71,881, while the active cases declined to 2,46,687, the lowest in 203 days.

The Health Ministry successfully delivered Covid vaccines to some parts of the North East using drones on Monday. An indigenous unmanned aerial vehicle transported the vaccines from Bishnupur district hospital to Karang island, Loktak lake in Manipur, covering an aerial distance of 15 km in about 12-15 minutes. The actual road distance between these locations is 26 km.

In a bid to avoid any further spread of the virus, the West Bengal government, for the second year in a row, has decided to cancel the annual Durga Puja festival. The state has made wearing of masks and carrying of hand sanitisers mandatory for all revellers, while also underlining that cultural programmes will not be allowed anywhere near the marquees.

Considering the possibility of a rise in footfalls in tourist spots during the festival season, the ICMR has asked States to check complete vaccination certificates or a recent Covid negative certificate of people to allow stay at hotels at tourist destinations. The caution is being taken to avoid the arrival of a third wave of Covid-19.

India is inching close to administering first vaccine dose to entire adult population as it has already crossed the 92 crore mark. The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 with healthcare workers getting inoculated in the first phase. Vaccination of frontline workers started on February 2.

Although many countries are witnessing a drop in new cases, the WHO has warned that "we're not out of the woods" in the fight against Covid-19. "The situation is still incredibly dynamic. And it's dynamic because we don't have control over this virus," the global health organisation said.

As the Covid situation is easing in the country, some experts suggest that hospitals must be for only those who are really sick or need surgical intervention and the rest should be managed at home in the post-Covid era.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday said a decision on the Emergency Use Listing (EUL) of Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech's Covaxin will be finalised next week after an assessment of the risks and benefits of the vaccine. Bharat Biotech is yet to publish the results of phase 3 trials of the indigenously developed Covaxin, which is being administered as part of the country's immunisation drive against Covid-19.

Meanwhile, Johnson & Johnson said that it had sought emergency use authorisation from the US Food and Drug Administration for a booster shot of its Covid-19 vaccine in people aged 18 years and older.

Also, AstraZeneca has asked the US Food and Drug Administration to authorise the emergency use of an antibody treatment to prevent the disease.

As India nears the rollout of ZyCoV-D, the world's first DNA-based needle-free Covid vaccine for individuals aged 12 years and above, one Bengaluru trial site gave the low-down on how the much talked about jab works. Apollo Hospital, Jayanagar, NRR Hospital, Hesarghatta, and KIMS Medical College Hospital, Banashankari, were part of the ZyCoV-D clinical trials.
Rujira Banerjee, wife of TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, has approached the Delhi High Court challenging the Enforcement Directorate's complaint against her before a trial court here in a money laundering case linked to an alleged coal scam in West Bengal.

Rujira has also challenged the trial court order taking cognizance of the complaint and the subsequent issuance of summons for physical appearance in the case.

The matter, which was listed before Justice Yogesh Khanna on Wednesday but could not be taken up for hearing on account of the non-availability of the judge, will be heard on October 8.

Rujira has contended in her petition that the ED's complaint against her is arbitrary, false, vexatious and an abuse of the process of law.

The complaint has been filed to harass and cause prejudice to Rujira and her family, the petition claims.

A bare perusal of the Impugned Complaint confirms that the Respondent Agency (ED) falsely averred that Petitioner had not complied with its illegal summonses (issued by ED)...

"Owing to the fact that she is a mother of two young children and a resident of Kolkata, the Petitioner has repeatedly requested that she be examined at her residence in Kolkata. The fact that the Petitioner was in constant dialogue with the Respondent in relation to the aforementioned summons clearly shows that there was no intention on the part of the Petitioner to disobey the same, says the petition.

It further argues that the trial court took cognizance and issued summons on the complaint in a mechanical manner and without application of mind.

The CMM "failed to appreciate that not only were the notices in question illegal and in excess of jurisdiction, but furthermore the mode of service i.e., email to a third party, of summons dated 18.08.2021 at the first instance is contrary to law and cannot be held against the Petitioner, states the plea.

On September 30, after Rujira appeared virtually in relation to the complaint filed by the ED, Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Pankaj Sharma directed her physical presence on October 12, while granting her exemption from the personal appearance for the day.

The couple has already approached the high court for quashing of summons issued to them by the ED for questioning in the case.

On September 21, the court had refused to grant any interim relief in relation to the summons.

The 33-year-old MP, who is the nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee, represents the Diamond Harbour seat in Lok Sabha and is the national general secretary of the Trinamool Congress (TMC).

The ED lodged a case under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act on the basis of a November 2020 FIR registered by the CBI that alleged a multi-crore coal pilferage scam related to Eastern Coalfields Ltd mines in the state's Kunustoria and Kajora areas in and around Asansol.

Local coal operative Anup Majhi alias Lala is alleged to be the prime suspect in the case.

The ED had earlier claimed that Abhishek Banerjee was a beneficiary of funds obtained from this illegal trade. He has denied all charges.

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Marathi film and television actor, theatre artist and entrepreneur Kranti Redkar Wankhede said that drug menace is so deep-rooted in the society that huge effort is needed to uproot it.

It is not possible with the NCB alone. Citizens have to report it when they see it happening in the society, Kranti told DH. She is the wife of NCB's zonal director Sameer Wankhede, who headed the probe into the drug bust on the Mumbai cruise ship.

The main target customers of drugs in the society are young boys -- in the age group of 16 to 18  who are drug peddlers and consumers, she added.

Its very scary. Rich people have the money to splurge on. Among the poor, some are peddling only because they are addicts. We have to work hard to keep it away from the society and people, said Kranti.

She added that her husband has completely dedicated his life to the service of society and she stands solidly behind him.

Kranti pointed out that when the NCB nabs gangsters or others, which is so commendable, people dont take much interest in such news. When its someone from Bollywood, the news gets highlighted".

Mother to three-year-old twins, Kranti has her hands full. Its like a one-man show at my house since Sameer is very busy. I have to take care of my kids, my job, so it gets too much at some point in my life.

But I am left with a great set of parents and parents-in-law. They are so supportive, she said.

Talking about the dangerous operations and the multiple raids her husband carried out, she says Sameer has one strong motto in life -- that your life has to be for others. His mother was a social worker and his father was in the police. He is fearless. I have known him for the last 20 years and he has always been like this.

When Kranti is not running behind her toddlers, she is posting humourous content on Instagram, which has quite a big fan following. I want to bring some lightness in the relationship, she said, adding Sameer and I are poles apart. Somewhere, we complement each other because I bring the light when day in and day out he sees the dark side of the society.

Moreover, she loves observing people and those little things that she sees in everyday life comes as relatable content on Instagram.

It was with the Marathi film Soon Asavi Ashi that Kranti made her film debut.

She also directed the film Kaakan. In Prakash Jha's 'Gangaajal', she played the role of a kidnapped girl.

Speaking about the Marathi film industry, she said, "We are like a tiny family here. Covid has affected the industry badly. But now cinemas are opening. And there are OTT channels exclusively for Marathi now.

She is proud and enjoys being part of the Marathi film industry. Brilliant content is being made here, although they are made on a low budget. We have some international-level filmmakers in Marathi."

As far as her twin daughters, all of three, are concerned and the couples dreams for them, she said, "They can be whatever they want to be. Let them find their own space. I am very neutral about it. But Sameer has already decided they are going to wear the uniform. He wants them to be the first twin police officers of India, she laughs.

Kranti finds hope in the new generation and strongly believes that they are righteous. They dont support corruption, they feel you have to punish the guilty whoever they are, she said.

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India has completed and handed over Nepal a 22KV power transmission line, a cross-border economic initiative under India's Neighbourhood First policy, an official statement said on Wednesday.

The 106-km Koshi Corridor transmission line, costing a total of NRs 10.40 billion (USD 86.8 million) is being built under the Government of Indias Line of Credit of USD 550 million, extended by the EXIM Bank of India, the Indian Embassy here said in a statement.

Package 1 of this project, worth NRs 4.5 billion (USD 37.3 million), was executed by Indias Kalpataru Power Transmission Ltd (KPTL) and handed over to Nepal Electricity Authority after successful completion and charging of the line.

A function was held on Wednesday in the Hile area of, Dhankuta Municipality of Nepal to mark the completion of construction of the 220 kV Double Circuit Koshi Corridor power transmission line (Inarwa-Basantpur-Baneshwar-Tumlingtar) and its handover to Nepal Electricity Authority, the statement said.

Once the remaining two packages are completed, the project will ensure smooth power evacuation from the generation projects coming up in the Arun and Tamor river basins, with power output totalling about 2,000 MW.

The project was handed over by KPTL and EXIM Bank of India to the Managing Director, Nepal Electricity Authority in presence of senior officials of the Indian embassy and administration representatives from Dhankuta.

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Rahul Gandhi was given approval by the UP government to visit Lakhimpur along with Priyanka Gandhi and three other leaders. In a press briefing with CM Charanjit Singh Channi and CM Bhupesh Baghel, Rahul attacked PM Modi for the violence and demanded action. Eight individuals including four farmers lost their lives in the incident that occurred on Sunday. Stay tuned to DH for more updates.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday alleged that the BJP government is committing more atrocities than the British, and its minister is threatening to suppress farmers' voices.

He was addressing a program at Sunaseer Nath Gurudwara here.

"The BJP government has surpassed the atrocities committed by the British. Its minister of the state of home is threatening farmers to suppress their voice. Such tone and tenor should not be there in democracy," Yadav said.

Also Read | Rahul Gandhi en route Lakhimpur after brief row at Lucknow airport

"There were cruel rulers in the world but in the BJP regime, the voice of democracy is being crushed. In the nearby Lakhimpur district, Sikhs and farmers were crushed and killed. Never has such an incident taken place in the world," he said.

Yadav demanded Rs 2 crore for the families of the four farmers who died in Lakhimpur Kheri violence and the arrest of the accused.

Highlighting the poor law and order situation in the state, Yadav said an IPS and six officers are absconding, while those involved in the Lakhimpur case are not being arrested.

He said that if the Centre's three farm laws were implemented, then the farmers will have no benefit.

Also Read | Why so much hatred against farmers? Kejriwal asks Modi on Lakhimpur Kheri incident

Attacking Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Yadav said that the person who is ruling is not a 'yogi', because a "'yogi' remains at a distance from desires, and understand grief and problems of others."

"Those who have read Guru Granth Sahib and Gita know who and how yogis are," he said.

Yadav said that he appreciated the farmers for continuing their agitation and criticised the BJP for labelling them terrorists and defaming them.

"If farmers are terrorists, they (BJP) should not eat what they cultivate in their fields," he said.
The BJP on Wednesday accused Rahul Gandhi of trying to fan unrest over the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, alleging that the Gandhi family is using the tragedy as an opportunity to derive political mileage as it has been facing questions from Congress leaders.

Hitting back at Rahul Gandhi after the Congress leader launched a sharp attack on the government, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said "irresponsibility" has become his second name.

The Congress has been trying everything to "provoke" people to cause violence, he added.

With the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh not allowing many opposition leaders to visit Lakhimpur Kheri, Patra said maintaining peace is the top priority.

The UP Police has detained Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who wanted to go to the site of Sunday's violence and meet families that lost loved ones.

Patra also took a swipe at Rahul Gandhi over his allegation that there is no democracy in the country and dictatorship prevailed, noting that he had never faced protests from BJP workers for his press conferences, while Congress members threw tomatoes and agitated outside their leader Kapil Sibal's residence for his critical comments about the party's functioning.

"There is democracy in the country and that is why you are holding the press conference," he said.

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Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Wednesday urged the Supreme Court to suo motu act on the Lakhimpur Kheri violence in which eight people, including four farmers, were killed.

"Supreme Court, There was a time when there was no YouTube, no social media, the Supreme Court acted suo motu on the basis of news in the print media. It heard the voice of the voiceless," Sibal said in a tweet.

Supreme Court There was a time when there was no YouTube , no social media , the Supreme Court acted suo motu on the basis of news in the print media It heard the voice of the voiceless Today when our citizens are run over and killed The Supreme Court is requested to act  Kapil Sibal (@KapilSibal) October 6, 2021

Today when our citizens are run over and killed, the Supreme Court is requested to act, the senior advocate said, in an obvious reference to the Lakhimpur Kheri incident.

Four of the eight dead in Sunday's violence in Lakhimpur Kheri were farmers, allegedly knocked down by vehicles driven by BJP workers travelling to welcome Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya to an event in the area.

The others including BJP workers and their driver were allegedly pulled out of the vehicles and lynched by the protesters.

The Uttar Pradesh Police has lodged a case against Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra's son Ashish Mishra but no arrest has been made so far.
The killing of four farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri has given a new lifeline for the Opposition, especially the Congress, ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections early next year with top leaders making a beeline to the families of victims, as the ruling BJP scrambled for a fire-fight to tackle any possible electoral rumblings.

Sensing that the optics were not going in its favour after remaining adamant for two days on not allowing the Opposition leaders to visit Lakhimpur Kheri, the Yogi Adityanath government on Wednesday changed the strategy, releasing Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi from detention and allowing her, Rahul Gandhi and other party leaders to visit the victims' families.

Also Read | Congress sees Lakhimpur Kheri tragedy as opportunity to derive political mileage, says BJP

At the same time, the BJP made it clear that it was not in a mood to sack Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra, who is in the eye of a storm over allegations that his son drove the vehicle that rammed into farmers killing four of them, despite vociferous demands. Mishra met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and attended office on Wednesday.

The Opposition parties had immediately hit the ground after the news broke out on Sunday about the incident in which eight people, including four farmers and a journalist, were killed.

Also Read | Rahul Gandhi en route Lakhimpur after brief row at Lucknow airport

The episode has specifically given a push to Congress, which has been saddled with troubles in various states including where it is in power, as warring leaders got together to rally behind the Gandhis. Opposition parties were quick to draw a parallel with the British rule and leaders like Sharad Pawar and Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi equated the Lakhimpur Kheri episode as Jallianwala Bagh.

While Congress, Samajwadi Party, AAP and BSP leaders among others were prevented initially, leaders of Trinamool Congress and RLD dodged the authorities to reach Lakhimpur Kheri on Tuesday itself.

Also Read | BJP govt committing more atrocities than British: Akhilesh Yadav

The UP government's move to allow leaders to visit Lakhimpur Kheri came, soon after Rahul took off for Lucknow en-route Lakhimpur Kheri after holding a press conference in Delhi accusing the Narendra Modi government of "systematically attacking" the farmers and claiming that India was now under "dictatorship" with leaders not being allowed to visit Uttar Pradesh.

Delhi Chief Minister and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal also held a press conference attacking the BJP government. "Why have the murderers not been arrested? Why is the state protecting the culprits? Is there no value in life? Criminals mercilessly ran their cars over innocent people only to have the entire system bow down before them and shield them from the law," he said.

Also Read | Lakhimpur Kheri violence: Rakesh Tikait demands sacking of Ajay Mishra, arrest of all accused; warns of nationwide agitation

The BJP has been on a backfoot after videos surfaced that showed that a vehicle belonging to the Minister of State had rammed into protesters, and party MP Varun Gandhi, who is a cousin of Rahul and Priyanka, demanded action against culprits.

As Rahul touched down in Lucknow, Congress Chief Ministers Bhupesh Baghel (Chhattisgarh) and Channi accompanying him separately announced Rs 50 lakh each to families of four farmers and the journalist who lost their lives. In between, the UP government announced that it would be allowing leaders to visit Lakhimpur Kheri.

Also Read | Chhattisgarh, Punjab govts to give Rs 50 lakh to kin of Lakhimpur violence victims

At the airport, there was drama as Rahul and the Congress Chief Ministers were not allowed to leave the facility after they refused to drive to Lakhimpur Kheri in government vehicles. Rahul insisted that he would travel in a private vehicle and a video released by Congress showed security personnel not allowing him to leave the premises.

However, soon after, the UP authorities allowed Rahul and others to leave in their own vehicles following which he met Priyanka, who was by then released from custody, in Sitapur, before heading to Lakhimpur Kheri late in the evening.

Also Read | Priyanka Gandhi has same fire as her grandmother Indira Gandhi: Shiv Sena

While the episode once again led to questions on the possibility of Opposition unity, Rahul told a press conference in Delhi that the idea was good but at this moment, one does not need "a distraction" from farmers' issues. Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut had met Rahul on Tuesday to press for united action.

"Sooner than later, there will be an explosion the size of which people do not understand. We are telling the government that let the democratic process work and do not interfere in it. It is a safety valve and if you shut the safety valve, other problems will arise," he said.

He said that leaders are visiting Lakhimpur Kheri to give confidence to people. "You cannot be run over by a criminal who calls himself the son of a (Minister of State) Home Minister and then nothing happens. We are not going to allow that. That is the message we are going to give them. A message of hope. Today, those families of farmers do not have hope," he said.

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The Supreme Court has taken a suo motu cognisance of Lakhimpur Kheri violence which claimed lives of eight people, including four farmers on Sunday. A bench of Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli would take up the matter on Thursday.

According to the Supreme Court website, the case 'In Re Violence in Lakhimpur Kheri (UP) leading to loss of lives' would come up for hearing before the bench led by the Chief Justice of India.

The incident has come under attack from the Opposition leaders as farmers' outfits have claimed that a car ferrying Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra's son Ashish ran over a group of protesters gathered to oppose a programme attended by Uttar Pradesh's deputy Chief Minister. Farmers in Punjab, Haryana and Western UP have been protesting for the last one year demanding repeal of three farm laws.

Also Read | Lakhimpur Kheri killings give new lifeline to Opposition ahead of UP election

Several videos of the Sunday incident had emerged, creating furore across the country.

Reacting to the development, former Union minister and Congress MP Kapil Sibal tweeted, "This is the need of the hour. The courts in India are the temples of justice that can restore the faith of the voiceless who most often feel orphaned."

Earlier, two lawyers had written to the Chief Justice of India for CBI probe into the matter.

The letter, written by advocates Shiv Kumar Tripathi and C S Panda, said: Having regard to the seriousness of the killing of the farmers at District Lakhimpur-Khiri in Uttar Pradesh, it is incumbent upon this court to intervene in the matter.

The lawyers claimed of late, violence has become the political culture in the country. They said there is need to protect the rule of law in the "violence- ravaged" Uttar Pradesh.

The incident called for direction against the state government and the concerned bureaucrats along with the "law-breaking" police machinery under the administrative control of the ministry of home, so that the "cult of violence" comes to a grinding halt, they said.

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(More to follow)
Accusing the Narendra Modi government of "systematically attacking" the farmers, top Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said India is under "dictatorship" now with leaders not being allowed to visit Uttar Pradesh and alleged that a "big loot" of common man is happening.

Rahul addressed a press conference at Congress headquarters in the morning just before he along with two Congress Chief Ministers Bhupesh Baghel and Charanjit Singh Channi headed to Lakhimpur Kheri to visit the families of victims who were killed there after a car allegedly belonging to Minister of State Ajay Mishra rammed into a group of protesters on Sunday.

Track live updates of row over Lakhimpur violence here

"There was democracy in this country. But today, India is under dictatorship. Politicians cannot go to Uttar Pradesh. Since yesterday, we have been told that we cannot go to UP. The Chhattisgarh Chief Minister went to UP yesterday but he was not allowed (to go to Lakhimpur Kheri) saying there is Section 144. He told them he is going alone but there was no answer," Rahul said before taking off for Lucknow enroute Lakhimpur Kheri.

Emphasising that there is dictatorship to give cover to a "big loot" happening in the country, he claimed the small and medium industries, small businessmen, farmers and common man are the victims. "The voices (of dissent) are trampled upon," he said.

The UP government arrested Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi and several others for attempting to reach Lakhimpur Kheri to visit families of farmers who were killed on Sunday. Initially, the UP government had denied permission for Rahul and others to visit Lakhimpur Kheri but was later allowed, though only after some high drama at Lucknow airport.

Asked about the narrative that Leftists and naxalites are behind the farmers' protest, Rahul said such a narrative is being built using institutions but one will soon find out that there is a limit to such narratives. "Sooner than later, there will be an explosion the size of which people do not understand. We are telling the government that let the democratic process work and do not interfere in it. It is a safety valve and if you shut the safety valve, other problems will arise," he said.

He said leaders are visiting Lakhimpur Kheri to give confidence to people. "You cannot be run over by a criminal who calls himself son of a (Minister of State) Home Minister and then nothing happens. We are not going to allow that. That is the message we are going to give them. A message of hope. Today, those families of farmers do not have hope," he said.

He said an "arrogant" government is "systematically attacking" the farmers, "provoking, insulting and killing" them. "This is a very dangerous idea," he said.

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Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday lashed out at the Centre over the death of farmers during violence in Lakhimpur Kheri, and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure justice for the families of the victims.

The AAP leader also demanded that the accused in the case be arrested and that Union Minister of State for Home, Ajay Kumar Mishra, whose son has been named as accused in the incident, be sacked.

Addressing a virtual press conference, he alleged that the entire system is trying to protect the killers of the farmers and asked the prime minister as to why nobody has so far been arrested in connection with the case.

Read more: Uttar Pradesh government permits political parties to visit Lakhimpur Kheri

For last one year, farmers have been sitting on a dharna. More than 600 farmers have died so far. And then farmers are crushed and killed by mowing them down under wheels. Why is there so much hatred against the farmers? he asked the prime minister.

Kejriwal also asked the prime minister why Mishra has not yet been dismissed as Union Minister of State for Home Affairs.

Every citizen of this country is today demanding justice for the farmers. The decision is in your hands, he said appealing to the prime minister to intervene in the matter and also visit family members of the accused.

The entire nation wants that those accused of killing farmers be immediately arrested and Mishra be sacked from his ministerial post, he said.

Kejriwal attacked the Uttar Pradesh government for allegedly not allowing opposition party leaders to meet the family members of the victims.

Pradhan Mantri (prime minister) Ji, on the one hand, the government is celebrating 'Azadi Ka Mahotsav (festival of freedom)' and on the other hand, opposition leaders are being arrested on their way to Lakhimpur. What type of freedom is this? Britishers used to take such actions, he said.

After initially denying permission to political parties to visit Lakhimpur Kheri, the Uttar Pradesh government has now allowed them to visit the district.

Four of the eight dead in Sunday's violence in Lakhimpur Kheri were farmers, allegedly knocked down by vehicles driven by BJP workers travelling to welcome Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya to an event in the area.

The others including BJP workers and their driver were allegedly pulled out of the vehicles and lynched by the protesters.

The Uttar Pradesh Police has lodged a case against Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra's son Ashish but no arrest has been made so far.

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Pushed onto the defensive, the Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday allowed the opposition leaders to visit the violence-torn Lakhimpur Kheri district and meet the families of those killed in Sunday's violence, which claimed the lives of eight people including four farmers and a local scribe.

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his sister and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, along with the chief ministers of Punjab and Chattisgarh, reached the spot to meet the families of the victims.

Priyanka, who was arrested late on Sunday night while on her way to Lakhimpur Kheri, joined her brother at Sitapur, after being released from police custody.

Rahul, earlier, had a tough time getting out of the Lucknow Airport, where he had arrived with Chattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel and Punjab CM Charanjeet Singh Channi.

''What kind of permission is this?" an angry Rahul said after he was prevented from moving out of the Airport by the police.

Also read: Lakhimpur Kheri killings give new lifeline to Opposition ahead of UP election

Rahul, Baghel and Channi sat on a dharna inside the Airport premises in protest against the police action.

The Congress leader was later offered to travel in a police vehicle to Lakhimpur but he refused saying that the cops might have some other plans.

A large number of people stood on the side of the road in Lakhimpur Kheri, when the cavalcade of Rahul and Priyanka arrived there on their way to Tikonia, where eight people, including four farmers and a local scribe, were killed in violence on Sunday.

Also Read | Congress sees Lakhimpur Kheri tragedy as opportunity to derive political mileage, says BJP

Rahul will be visiting the homes of Luvpreet Singh, who was among those killed after being run over by a vehicle allegedly driven by union minister Ajay Mishra's son Ashish Mishra.

He was also likely to visit the family of Raman Kashyap, a local scribe, who too was killed in the violence.

Aam Admi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh has also reached Lakhimpur Kheri to meet the families of the victims.

Congress leader and former Rajasthan deputy CM Sachin Pilot was, however, detained in Moradabad while on way to Lakhimpur Kheri.

Punjab Congress president Navjyot Singh Sidhu is likely to reach the district on Thursday.

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With Delhi University colleges witnessing a large number of admissions of students from the Kerala state board, the university has issued guidelines on inclusion of subjects from other state boards equivalent to ones taught under the Central Board of Secondary Education in the calculation of cut-off marks.

There is an equivalence committee that decides which subjects from state boards would be similar to CBSE subjects and their inclusion while calculating the cut-off score -- the average of best-of-four marks.

"If they (committee) say that a subject is not equivalent, it cannot be included in Best of Four," said Rajeev Gupta, Chairman, Admissions at the university.

A meeting was held on Tuesday with colleges and a list was shared with them.

Citing an example, Gupta said that CBSE has started Applied Mathematics as a subject to help students who are not well-versed with Mathematics, which means it is easier than Mathematics.

"CBSE has also written that students of Applied Mathematics will not be eligible for Physics (Honours), Chemistry (Honours) and Mathematics (Honours). The Equivalence Committee considered it and found that the Applied Mathematics cannot be considered for Economics (Honours) since the course requires a difficult level of Mathematics but it can be considered for B.Com(Honours)," he said.

The committee considers factors like theory and practical component, syllabus, etc. while deciding on the equivalence, Gupta said.

For instance, Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education has a subject titled Mathematics and Statistics, which according to the guidelines will be considered equivalent to CBSE Mathematics, while Nagaland Board of School Education's Fundamentals of Business Mathematics will also be considered as the equivalent of Mathematics in CBSE.

However, the Bihar School Education Board has 50-mark Hindi and English papers, in addition to 100-mark papers of both the subjects. The committee has stated that the 50-mark papers will not be considered for calculation of best-of-four average for applying to DU colleges.

Similarly, the guidelines state that the subject titled Accountancy with Computer Accounting taught by the Kerala Board of Higher Secondary Education will not be considered equivalent to Business Studies of CBSE. The Business Economics paper of Madhya Pradesh will not be considered equivalent to CBSE Economics.

Likewise, Secretarial Practice of the Maharashtra board won't be considered equivalent to Business Studies taught to CBSE students. Many of the colleges that have pegged 100 per cent cut-offs for some courses have seen applications from perfect scorers from the Kerala state board.

It has come to light that certain colleges are rejecting applications without stating any substantial reason or withholding applications arbitrarily stating "clarifications to be sought from the university".

In a related development, the Students' Federation of India demanded that CBSE and its evaluation should not be the deciding factor in admissions.

"It has also been identified that CBSE and their methods are being the deciding factor regarding concerns of other state boards. These tendencies have to stop and the university must be comprehensive," the Left student outfit said in a statement. It also alleged discrimination against a "particular state board".

"DU is bound to admit students satisfying all the eligibility criteria, it is a matter of shame that applicants are being discriminated against based on their board, while the hard work put in by the applicants from these varying boards are the same," the student outfit said.

It also alleged that a faculty member of the university had "antagonised the Kerala board for the commendable work of its students and had using terms such as "MarksJihad".

"The university must put in place a mechanism through which it can clarify its doubts regarding different boards, their syllabus, mark distribution and calculation rather than putting the applicants at stake... We hope the university will issue necessary orders to smoothen the admission process for the students of Kerala Board of Secondary Education as for anybody from any other state board," it said.

Over 2.87 lakh students have applied for Delhi University's undergraduate courses, down from 3.53 lakh applications last year, with the maximum number of aspirants being from CBSE.

Over 2.29 lakh applicants were from CBSE-affiliated schools, followed by Board of School Education Haryana (9,918), Council for the Indian School Certification Examination (9,659) and UP Board of High School and Intermediate Education (8,007). There were 4,824 applicants from Kerala Board of Higher Secondary Education.

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Senior Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Wednesday said he was detained along with Acharya Pramod Krishnam by the police in Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh when they were on their way to meet the families of the four farmers killed in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence.

Speaking with PTI, Pilot said all through their road journey from Delhi they were stopped at multiple checkpoints, posed several questions by the police and were eventually detained and taken to a guest house in Moradabad.

"We have broken no law, we were merely going to meet the families of the farmer victims and the intention was to bring peace and calm in the area. People who are named in the FIR are not being questioned or detained but people who are going to share the sorrow and wipe the tears of people are being detained," the former Rajasthan deputy chief minister said.

"This evening @AcharyaPramodk ji & I were detained in Moradabad while on route to Lakhimpur Kheri. We didn't break any provisions of the law. These undemocratic steps of UP Govt will not deter us," he said in a tweet.

"We'll raise our voice for justice for the deceased farmers & their families," Pilot said.

This evening @AcharyaPramodk ji & I were detained in Moradabad while on route to Lakhimpur Kheri.

We didnt break any provisions of the law. These undemocratic steps of UP Govt will not deter us.

Well raise our voice for justice for the deceased farmers & their families pic.twitter.com/0u6RpxWAnY  Sachin Pilot (@SachinPilot) October 6, 2021

Pilot landed in Delhi on Wednesday morning and set out for Sitapur and Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh by road straight from the airport.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was in detention in Sitapur since Monday morning. She was on her way to meet the families of the farmers killed in Sunday's violence in Lakhimpur Kheri when she was stopped.

She and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi were allowed to go Lakhimpur Kheri on Wednesday.

Read more: TMC MPs pose as tourists to meet kin of farmers killed in Lakhimpur violence

Pilot was stopped by the police briefly near Gaur City in Ghaziabad on the national highway-24 but then permitted to proceed towards Hapur.

Senior Superintendent of Police Pawan Kumar said Ghaziabad Police has no plans to intercept Pilot's motorcade.

Earlier, vehicles were being checked at the Ghazipur border, and City Superintendent of Police (second) Gyanendra Singh, who was on duty there, had said that Pilot will not be allowed to go to Lakhimpur as his presence might cause law and order problems there.

Eight people were killed Sunday as violence erupted during a farmers' protest.

Four of the dead were farmers, allegedly knocked down by vehicles driven by BJP workers travelling to welcome Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya to an event in the area.

The other four were two BJP workers, a driver of Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Kumar Mishra, and Raman Kashyap, a journalist working for a private TV channel.

While the first three were allegedly lynched by agitating farmers, the scribe, according to his father, died after being hit by a vehicle when he was covering news of farmers' protest against Maurya's visit to Ajay Mishra's native place.

The UP Police has lodged a case against Union minister Ajay Mishra's son but no arrest has been made.

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Union minister Ajay Kumar Mishra on Wednesday met Home Minister Amit Shah, for the first time since a murder case was registered against his son for allegedly mowing down four farmers at Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh, sources said.

Mishra, Union Minister of State for Home, came to his first-floor office in the North Block and stayed for about half an hour. After doing a few official works, Mishra left the North Block, the sources said.

Also Read  Rahul, Priyanka Gandhi, 3 others allowed to visit Lakhimpur

The minister then visited the residence of Shah where he closeted for about half an hour. Mishra is understood to have briefed the home minister about the Sunday's incident in his home district of Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh.

Police have registered a murder case against Ashish Mishra, the son of Ajay Kumar Mishra, and several others over the death of the farmers in the Sunday's incident.

The minister has denied the allegations by the farmers' unions that his son was in one of the cars. He said he has evidence to show that his son was at an event being held elsewhere.

According to his version, a vehicle, carrying BJP workers, turned turtle after protesters pelted stones at it. The farmers came under the vehicle and died, he had said.

Four occupants of the car were then pulled out and beaten to death allegedly by protestors.

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Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi left for Lakhimpur Kheri from the Lucknow airport in his own vehicle after staging a brief 'dharna' on initially being asked to travel in a police vehicle, a party spokesperson said.

"Rahul Gandhiji along with Punjab Chief Minister Charanjeet Singh Channi and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel have left for Lakhimpur Kheri from the Lucknow airport, UP Congress spokesperson Ashok Singh told PTI.

Gandhi had reached the Lucknow airport from Delhi along with Channi and Baghel.

Television footage from the airport showed officials telling Gandhi to take the police vehicle, which Gandhi did not agree to and sat on a 'dharna' there.

"We want to go in our own vehicles, but they want that we should go in their vehicle. I want to know that why are you not allowing me to go? First, I was told that I can go in my own vehicle, now you are saying that you will go in police vehicle. They are doing some mischief," Gandhi told reporters.

To a question, he said, "You can put me or Priyanka in a jail. It does not have any meaning. The question is that six people were crushed by criminals. Those who should have been in a jail, are not being put in a jail. We are being stopped from meeting the aggrieved families of the farmers."

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Onus of proof of deficiency in service is on the complainant under the Consumer Protection Act, the Supreme Court Wednesday said while setting aside an order of the apex consumer body --NCDRC -- directing a company to pay Rs 65.74 lakh with interest.

A bench of Justices Hemant Gupta and V Ramasubramanian said if a complainant approaches the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) without any proof of deficiency, the opposite party cannot be held responsible for deficiency in service.

The onus of proof of deficiency in service is on the complainant in the complaints under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, the bench said.

The top court was hearing an appeal filed by SGS India Ltd challenging an order passed by NCDRC which directed the company to pay Rs.65.74 lakh with interest.

The appellant company is a testing, inspection, and certification company that tests the quality and quantity of several products.

The complainant company Dolphin International Ltd engaged SGS India Ltd for inspection of groundnut procured for the purpose of exporting the same to Greece and the Netherlands.

The appellant was responsible for carrying out the inspection of samples and further certified in respect of different parameters of the groundnut.

As per the complainant, SGS India Ltd carried out the inspection and analysis of hand-picked and selected peanuts which were to be exported to Greece. The peanuts were of two qualities  Bold and Java and the Inspection Certificate of quantity, quality, weight, and packing certificates were issued.

When the consignment reached Greece, the complainant sent a communication to SGS India Ltd in respect of 20 full container loads stating that peanut count size in 11 full container loads was disputed.

A similar inspection was carried out in respect of other containers for shipment to the Netherlands which reflected a higher level of Aflatoxin, a naturally occurring byproduct of mold that affects many crops

The NCDRC found that the appellant has not led any evidence in respect of the contention that the quantity of Aflatoxin in peanuts is affected by various extraneous factors i.e., weather, moisture, humidity, temperature, and storage conditions.

On the basis of the said fact, the Commission returned a finding that the appellant was grossly negligent and deficient in service as the count of Java-type peanuts and content of Aflatoxin was more than what was specified.

The apex court said that the onus of proof that there was a deficiency in service is on the complainant but in the case before it, the complainant has not produced the best evidence in support of its contention.

"If the complainant is able to discharge its initial onus, the burden would then shift to the respondent in the complaint. The rule of evidence before the civil proceedings is that the onus would lie on the person who would fail if no evidence is led by the other side.

"Therefore, the initial burden of proof of deficiency in service was on the complainant, but having failed to prove that the result of the sample retained by the appellant at the time of consignment was materially different than what was certified by the appellant, the burden of proof would not shift on the appellant. Thus, the Commission has erred in law to draw an adverse inference against the appellant," the bench said.

The apex court said SGS India Ltd cannot be held responsible for the excess content of Aflatoxin.

"The complainant has not produced the best evidence which they were expected to produce in respect of the test results of the samples sent by the appellant to the port of destination.

"There could be a deficiency of service only if the complainant was able to prove that the certificate issued by the appellant at the time of dispatch and the samples sent to the complainant or his agents are materially different," the bench said.

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A Welfare Board for Non-Resident Tamils would be set up and a total allocation of Rs 20 crore shall be made, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin announced on Wednesday.

Tamil Nadu Non-Resident Tamils' Welfare Act was enacted during the previous DMK regime on March 1, 2011 and setting up of a Welfare Board was also announced, Stalin said.

With the AIADMK assuming power later that year, the new regime did not set up the Board, the Chief Minister said adding, a welfare board for Non-Resident Tamils would now be founded. The state government would constitute a Rs 5 crore benevolent fund for Non-Resident Tamils, an official release here said.

Tamils living in several parts of the world would be brought together and every year, January 12 would be celebrated as the "World Tamils Day," he said.

In total, Rs 20 crore would be set apart and it includes Rs 8.10 crore for welfare schemes.

The official release referred to the proposed Welfare Board as "Pulampeyar Tamizhar Nala Variyam." While 'Pulampeyar' is a Tamil word used in reference to emigration and emigrated people, it may also mean and include the diaspora in general.

Tamizhar Nala Variyam stands for a welfare board for Tamils.

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The Narcotics Control Bureau has arrested one more drug peddler in connection with the seizure of banned drugs from a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast, an NCB official said on Wednesday.

The NCB's Mumbai zonal unit apprehended the drug peddler from suburban Powai late Tuesday night after his name cropped up during questioning of those arrested earlier in the cruise drug party case, the official said.

With this, the anti-drugs agency has so far arrested 17 people in the case, including Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan, and some "high-profile organisers" belonging to a Delhi-based event management company.

Read more: NCB summons Cordelia Cruises CEO in drugs seizure case

Besides Aryan Khan, those arrested by the NCB include Arbaaz Merchant, Munmun Dhamecha, Nupur Satija, Ishmeet Chadha, Mohak Jaiswal, Gomit Chopra, Vikrant Chhokar and a drug supplier from suburban Juhu.

In an operation conducted on Monday and Tuesday, the NCB arrested four organisers belonging to an event management firm, identified as Gopal Jee Anand, Samir Sehgal, Manav Singhal and Bhaskar Arora,

It has also arrested Shreyas Nair, Manish Rajgaria and Avin Sahu, the agency earlier said.

The crackdown against drug peddlers and those related to the cruise drug party case is on at various locations in Mumbai and other places.

Earlier, Aryan Khan's lawyer had claimed no drugs were recovered from his client's possession.

The NCB on Sunday said they had seized 13 grams of cocaine, five grams of MD, 21 grams of charas and 22 pills of Ecstasy and Rs 1.33 lakh following its raid on the Goa-bound ship.

On Tuesday, family members of some of the arrested accused gathered outside the NCB office in south Mumbai. Aslam Merchant, the father of Arbaaz Merchant, told media persons that his son and Aryan Khan are innocent. The NCB on Tuesday told a court here that the matter has become like the novels of Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes with "new twists and turns every moment".

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Gujarat's Surat city has inoculated 100 per cent of its eligible population with the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, a senior civic official said on Wednesday.

The Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) achieved the target of vaccinating 34.33 lakh eligible beneficiaries with the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine on Tuesday, the official said.

"Surat has administered the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine to 100 per cent of eligible beneficiaries. To the best of our knowledge, Surat has become the first among the country's big cities, with a population of over 50 lakh, to achieve this target," deputy municipal commissioner, (Health), SMC, Ashish Naik told PTI.

Also Read | India records 18,833 new Covid-19 cases, 278 deaths

The second dose of the vaccine has been administered to around 48.4 per cent, or 16.61 lakh beneficiaries so far, it was stated. The SMC had achieved the goal by setting up vaccination camps, targeting workplaces, housing societies, and seeking active support from the medical fraternity to encourage people to get their jabs, the official said.

"We coordinated with people from the medical fraternity who responded positively. The other approach was to reach out to residential societies and hold vaccination camps there," Naik said.

The civic body also worked in coordination with textile and diamond industries to vaccinate the large workforce employed thereby setting up camps, he said. Recently, the SMC has been sending teams door to door to inform people about the nearby vaccination camps and urging them to get vaccinated, he said.

Also Read | Over 92 crore vaccine doses administered in India so far, says Health Ministry

As per the figure shared by SMC commissioner BN Pani, the Rajkot civic body has administered the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine to 96.20 per cent (10.98 lakh) of the eligible population, followed by Ahmedabad with 93 per cent (44.89 lakh), Vadodara with 89.53 per cent (13.51 lakh) and Bhavnagar with 89.48 per cent (3.96 lakh), till Tuesday.

According to the state health department, Gujarat has so far administered over 6.25 crore Covid-19 vaccine doses.

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In an unprecedented development, the Maharashtra government - in its weekly Cabinet meeting - condoled the death of farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri even as the three ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi partners called for a state-wide bandh on October 11.

The Cabinet meeting on Wednesday - presided over by Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray - condoled the death of farmers and stood in two minutes silence.

The state cabinet passed a resolution expressing regret over the death of farmers in the incident, the CMO tweeted.

Also Read | Lakhimpur Kheri killings give new lifeline to Opposition ahead of UP election

In a related development, the MVA partners - Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress - have called for a bandh on October 11 to protest against the incident.

The MVA has called for a statewide bandh on 11 October against the Lakhimpur Kheri violence, water resources and command area development minister and state NCP president Jayant Patil said.

The development comes a day after NCP president Sharad Pawar likened the Lakhimpur Kheri incident with the Jallianwala Bagh massacre during Indias freedom struggle - and also accused the BJP-led Centre and the Uttar Pradesh government of misuse of power.

Also Read | Congress sees Lakhimpur Kheri tragedy as opportunity to derive political mileage, says BJP

In a related development, Shiv Sena chief spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut met Congress leader and Lok Sabha member Rahul Gandhi. I met Rahul Gandhi. I have also held discussions with him on the Lakhimpur incident. A united opposition is very important for the country and to save democracy, Raut said.

Meanwhile, when asked about the Cabinet resolution against the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, former chief minister and now leader of opposition Devendra Fadnavis said: "You (MVA) should speak of farmers here (in Maharashtra)...farmers are dying, they are reeling under problems...if they are not given relief, we would protest."
In a shocking disclosure, the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), on Wednesday, alleged that the men escorting Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khans son Aryan Khan and his friend Arbaaz Merchant were not part of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) but linked to the BJP.

NCP chief spokesperson and Maharashtras minority affairs minister Nawab Malik identified the two persons as Kiran Gosavi and Manish Bhanushali, who were escorting the two accused out of the Mumbai International Cruise Terminal at Green Gate to the NCB office in Ballard Pier.

Also Read | Raids on Cordelia Cruises to divert attention? asks Sachin Sawant

While Gosavi was seen escorting Khan out of the terminal and posing for a selfie with him in the NCB office, Bhanushali was seen taking Merchant out.

According to Malik, Gosavi claims to be a private detective based in Kuala Lumpur, Bhanushali is linked to the BJP.

Malik also flashed several photos that showed Bhanushali alongside prime minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP President JP Nadda, leader of opposition in Assembly Devendra Fadnavis among others.

The entire operation is a total fraud, Malik said.

Also read: NCB summons Cordelia Cruises CEO in drugs seizure case

When asked about his son-in-law Sameer Khan's arrest by the NCB in January 2021, Malik said, I will not go into the case nowbut you must know that my son-in-law has got bail in the case.

The BJP and NCB must come clear Who are these two persons and why were they seen in the so-called ship raid Both these persons are fakes and the NCB raid was a fraud intended only for grabbing publicity. What are the BJPs connections with both of them? Malik demanded.

If these two men are not officials of the NCB, then why were they escorting two high-profile people (Khan and Merchant)," he asked.

The man seen with Merchant was in Gujarat on 21-22 September and could be connected to the seizure of about 3,000 kilograms of heroin at Mundra Port, Malik said.

Also Read | Cruise ship drug case: NCB arrests one more drug peddler

"The entire NCB is being used by the BJP to malign people, the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra and Bollywood," Malik said, alleging that the anti-drug agency was targeting those who are against the BJP.

BJP targets Malik

However, the leader of opposition in Assembly Devendra Fadnavis and his counterpart in Council Pravin Darekar questioned Malik on the issue. Why is Nawab Malik so rattledwe know that, you know that, said Fadnavis. Let us not give much credence to what he is saying, he said.

Darekar said that he would not like to go into the details of the two persons as it is for the NCB to answer that. But the way Nawab Malik spoke is not proper, added Darekar, pointing out that Malik was speaking out of vengeance as his son-in-law was arrested by the NCB.

Two men were independent witnesses: NCB

Shaken by the charges, the NCB admitted to the presence of Kiran Gosavi and Manish Bhanushali during the raids and described them as 'independent witnesses'.

They were independent witnesses and were there legallyno law has been violated, said NCBs deputy director-general Gnyaneshwar Singh, who was accompanied by Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede.

The NCB's procedure has been and will continue to be legally transparent and unbiased, he said. Without naming Malik, he said, The allegations are baseless, with malice and with prejudiceit seems to be retaliation for earlier legal action". However, Singh and Wankhede did not take any questions

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Stepping up pressure on the BJP government, the Congress on Wednesday questioned if the raids on the Cordelia Cruises was a move to divert attention from the Mundra drugs seizure and demanded a high-level probe into the role of private persons in the Mumbai raid.

Last month, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence seized 3,000 kgs of Afghan heroin in two containers at the Mundra port in Gujarat.

Was the real goal to divert attention from Mundra drug seizure? We have seen BJP's drug connection in Goa, sandalwood drug racket and even in the Sushant Singh Rajput case. It's a serious conspiracy against our country, state Congress spokesperson and general secretary Sachin Sawant said.

Also read: NCB summons Cordelia Cruises CEO in drugs seizure case

He demanded that the allegations made by NCP leader Nawab Malik must be probed by the Maha Vikas Aghadi government.

We demand a high-level inquiry by the MVA government into collusion between NCB and BJP. How are private people part of the NCB raid on a cruise? With what authority? How do we see the vice president of BJP and a duper taking custody of the accused? How does their vehicle have "police" written on it? Has NCB outsourced their job? he asked.

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In recent weeks, China has witnessed distressing woes ranging from severe power breakdowns, the meltdown of real estate developer Evergrande, and a sharp fall in the market value of technology, education, and real estate companies due to regulatory actions. These sudden shocks have caused considerable distress to people and the industry in several provinces of China, hitting global supply chains ahead of the forthcoming Christmas season and would lower the Chinese and global economic growth. Most of these woes stem from the administrative and regulatory initiatives of the Chinese authorities as part of the policy dictates of its top leadership.

There were reports of residents stuck in elevators in high-rise buildings, mobile phones and computers going blank, and candles sold out as electricity supply was cut off for long intervals in many localities. Last month, 16 of 31 provinces rolled out measures to ration electricity for industrial (from 8 am to 11 pm) and other users, plunging the industrial sector into chaos.

Read more: Biden says he and Xi agree to abide by Taiwan agreement

Four reasons are ascribed for the power shortages. One, China's decision to reduce its coal imports from Australia for political reasons disrupted its coal supply. Second, increase in the price of thermal (for power plants) as also high-grade metallurgical coal (for steel making) as the global supply was unable to meet the sudden high demand, added to it the unwillingness of the Chinese government to pass on the increased price to customers. Third, reduced power generation from hydro and wind sources because of drought and bad weather. Fourth, certain provinces have pushed annual emission reduction targets to the end of the year and are now forcing power rationing on energy-intensive industries like metals.

In charge of its energy policies, China's Vice Premier Han Zheng recently ordered top state-owned companies "to increase coal supplies by all means." The electricity price has increased in certain areas, and efforts are to import more coal and augment domestic gas production.

The second set of problems spring from regulatory actions Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered to clip wings of technology, real estate, ed-tech, and gaming companies and force them to donate larger sums of monies to state regulators to "serve the country." It would reportedly use this money to improve the underprivileged classes' earnings for "common prosperity." Xi was aghast at the power wielded by the tech companies when Facebook and Twitter took down US President Donald Trump's accounts; he thought that the American style of capitalism was flawed and must not happen in China.

In November 2020, Xi personally intervened to stop the world's biggest IPO of Jack Ma's Ant Group. Subsequently, regulatory authorities were asked to launch anti-competitive and other actions to reduce the influence of these companies to ensure they could not threaten the power of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). According to Xi, the party controls everything: military, foreign policy, education, or economy.

Xi's regime has cracked down heavily on the real estate sector. He has limited the amount of money, which real estate developers could borrow from the banks. An immediate casualty of his decision was the Evergrande group, which has 1300 projects in 280 cities with $300 billion in liabilities; it owes investors 1.6 million unfinished apartments and $88.5 billion to banks and bondholders (it has already defaulted on payment of $130 million in September 2021).

The repercussions of the failure of the Evergrande and other prominent real estate developers would be too massive as most middle and upper-class families have invested their life savings in them. The government can't let the real estate sector fail for China's socio-political stability; the expectation is that their debt would be purchased by banks or other public sector companies, postponing the pain to a later period.

Xi has acclaimed "common prosperity" as the "original quintessence" of socialism and necessary for the pursuit of a more robust manufacturing sector, reduce debt, cross-border data flows, the rise of foreign influence and income inequalities. Since the Chinese system lacks the necessary checks and balances, questions have been raised whether the above strategy would achieve the desired outcomes. Such policies may discourage risk-taking, innovation and constrain China's shift to higher-skilled manufacturing besides loss of international confidence and access to global capital.

Recurrent outbreaks of Covid-19 and China's policy of "zero tolerance" have hurt retail sales, earnings of the services, tourism and hospitality sectors and domestic consumption. Automobile and smartphones sales have contracted due to Covid-19 and chip shortages. Many economists believe that all these factors together will lower China's economic growth by few points. The resulting supply shock will hit global markets, pushing up the prices of Chinese textiles, toys, machine parts, and other exports. The global economy will feel its ripple effects since China accounts for a 15 per cent share of the world economy.

(Yogesh Gupta is a former Ambassador)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the authors' own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommais statement in the recently concluded legislature session that a whopping Rs 20,000 crore had been spent on maintenance of roads in Bengaluru over five years is shocking as virtually no thoroughfare is free from potholes even after spending such a huge amount of taxpayers money. This once again exposes how deep-rooted corruption is in the BBMP and other civic agencies. A pointed question by MLC P R Ramesh if there was across the city any stretch of even 1 km without a pothole, went unanswered for obvious reasons: there, perhaps, is none. While the new roads being laid under the smart city project are a saving grace, though not of world-class standards by any yardstick, most others are ridden with large cracks and potholes, causing accidents frequently. Bengaluru has a road network of 13,000 km, and by the Chief Ministers admission, Rs 1.5-2 crore has been spent in maintaining each kilometre. The Indian Road Congress (IRC) guidelines state that roads, once laid, should be free from any defect for at least five years, but the manner in which they are washed away after a single rain shows up the sub-standard work.

Bommai has promised that he will order an audit and fix responsibility on the officers concerned, but nobody takes such promises seriously as the nexus between contractors, politicians and bureaucrats is so strong that no government has dared to act against them in the past. Such hollow promises have been handed down by politicians for decades, but the maximum punishment imposed on officers has not gone beyond a petty fine; not a single engineer has been arrested or prosecuted to date though corruption stares one in the face. Early this year, the Karnataka High Court summoned the BBMP engineers to be present in the court and called for an action plan on filling potholes. The roads are none the better even now. With the BBMP and its engineers mastering the art of frustrating even the courts, Bengaluru roads continue to remain veritable death traps.

In the face of all this, the audit promised by Bommai will in all likelihood only help sweep the issue under the carpet, instead of bringing the guilty to book. It will take a tremendous amount of courage and conviction to clean up the BBMP stables. Corruption of the magnitude witnessed in the BBMP calls for a high-level independent probe, and prompt action thereafter. Does Bommai have it in him to undertake this arduous task or will he ultimately succumb to pressure, as did his predecessors?
Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge demanded the immediate arrest of Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Mishra's son Ashish Mishra for the Lakhimpur incident that left eight people dead.

He also sought a probe into the illegal detention of Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi.

"Hindering the freedom of movement of those who wanted to express sympathy with the families of farmers who perished in Lakhimpur is not right. I condemn it," he said in a news conference.

Also Read | Rahul, Priyanka Gandhi, 3 others allowed to visit Lakhimpur

Kharge lashed out at the MoS Ajay Mishra and Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar for instigating the attack on farmers and said that sections on sedition should be invoked against the two.

"When the UP police have arrested Priyanka Gandhi for trying to visit Lakhimpur, why is MoS Ajay Mishra's son Ashish Mishra - accused of running over the farmers in his SUV - still free? If representatives from some parties were allowed to meet the families of victims, why are Congress leaders not allowed?" he asked, accusing the Central government of plotting a 'systematic conspiracy' against the party.

Also Read | 'Systematic attack on farmers': Rahul Gandhi slams PM Modi over Lakhimpur violence

He demanded that Ajay Mishra be sacked for "misrepresentation of facts and abetment to the crime (at Lakhimpur)." Action should also be initiated against those who are trying to shield the culprits involved in the case, Kharge said.

The Congress leader also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi for failing to console the families of victims of Lakhimpur. "Modi was in Lucknow yesterday. He should've visited Lakhimpur and consoled the farmers. But, he did not even try," he said.

Taking a dig at UP CM Yogi Adityanath, he said that the CM was among those with 'mukh mein Ram, bagal mein choori' policy.

Track live updates of row over Lakhimpur violence here

RSS

Responding to a query on RSS, he said that the organisation was not pro-poor and was against social justice. "They stand for Manusmriti," he said.

RSS, he said, was infiltrating everywhere 'even education'. Many (from RSS backgrounds) are directly appointed which affects those benefiting from the reservation, Kharge added.
The stage is all set for the Nada Habba Mysuru Dasara 2021.

Former chief minister S M Krishna will inaugurate the festival atop the Chamundi Hill, between 8.15 am and 8.45, on Thursday.

Krishna and other dignitaries, including Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, will perform Pushparchane to the panchaloha idol of Goddess Chamundeshwari to mark the beginning of Navaratri. The idol, which is brought from the Palace Museum, will be placed on a silver chariot and puja will be performed, before the inauguration of Dasara.

Cooperation Minister S T Somashekar, Revenue Minister R Ashoka, Kannada and Culture Minister V Sunil Kumar, Religious Endowments, Wakf and Haj Minister Shashikala Jolle and Tourism, Ecology and Environment Minister Anand Singh will be present.

Besides, Union Ministers Pralhad Joshi, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Shobha Karandlaje, A Narayanaswamy, and Bhagwanth Khuba will be part of the inaugural ceremony.

Due to the Covid-19 crisis, cultural programme and Jamboo Savaari are confined to the Mysuru Palace. The district administration has restricted the entry of devotees atop Chamundi Hill until October 15. However, all rituals will be performed at the Chamundeshwari temple.

In the evening, the chief minister will inaugurate Dasara cultural programme and present Rajya Sangeeta Vidwan award at Mysuru Palace. Chairman of Legislative Council Basavaraj Horatti and Speaker of Legislative Assembly Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri will be chief guests for the programme.

Minister Somashekar, who inspected the preparation works atop Chamundi Hill, said, the government has decided to allow 400 people for the inaugural ceremony, while it was limited for 100 earlier. All guidelines issued due to Covid will be followed and safety measures will be in place, he said.

Despite the Dasara being simple, a large number of tourists are visiting the city. The Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation has decorated the city with lights on a stretch of 100 km.

There will be a few cultural events for a couple of days at Kalamanidra in Mysuru and at Srikanteshwara temple in Nanjangud.

Besides, the erstwhile royal family will hold private durbar and conduct rituals as per traditions. The rituals will be conducted by Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, under the guidance of his mother Pramoda Devi Wadiyar. His wife Trishika Devi will take part in the rituals.

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A Canadian woman whose ancestors were born in County Derry is hoping to trace her family roots and connect with relatives who still live in the area.

Donna McLenaghan, who lives in Smiths Falls, Ontario, is hoping to find out more about the family of her great great grandparents who left County Derry for Perth, Canada in the 1800s.

Charles McLenaghan and his wife Ann (nee Osbourne) both lived in the Dungiven area prior to emigrating.

My ancestors were originally from Derry, Ireland. They lived around Dungiven before emigrating to Canada, explained Donna.

The family name is McLenaghan and my great great grandmother who married into the family was an Osbourne and the Osbournes owned an estate called Altmover.

Donna says, according to parish records, the 'McLenaghans lived in a tract known as Boveva on lands they leased from a family named Carey.

They lived there for many generations, which is proved by a lease from Captain Arthur Carey, dated 1726, to Robert McLenaghan of Ballycargan, of the whole townland of Ballycargan Manor of Pellipan for 21 years'.

Records also show that many of the McLenaghan clan were schoolmasters and 'generally were people of superior education'.

The Osbourne family, whom were also prominent in the district, were originally English, coming from Leeds.

Their estate in County Derry was called Altmover and they were squires and landlords of the neighbourhood.

Altmover remained in their possession until the twentieth century, the estate being broken up in 1904.

Ann Osbourne, who was a daughter of the family and heiress to the estate, married Charles McLenaghan.

They went on to have a son, named Nathaniel, who married a woman called Jane Morris from County Wexford.

The family then emigrated to Canada.

Donna says another of her ancestors, Mary McLenaghan (who married Robert Meighan) also emigrated to Canada with their five sons.

One of her sons was called Robert Meighan, who married the sister of George Stephen, the first president of Canadian Pacific Railway.

She says Robert worked with his brother-in-law to negotiate rail lines between Perth, Ontario and Toronto.

He was also involved in other business and went on to buy a renaissance mansion from his brother-in-law which was called George Stephen House, also referred to as Mount Stephen Club. It has been used by various Hollywood stars for shooting period films.

Donna is now keen to piece together her family tree and hopes to reconnect with others in the area who may have connections to her ancestors.

I decided to trace my family roots out of a very keen desire to find out more about my family roots and possibly connect with relatives that may still be living in the area.

I'm also very interested in my great great grandmother Ann Osbourne's family as there's mention of it being the same name as the Dukes of Leeds and I wonder if she was related to them.

Donna says she hopes to travel to Ireland soon and intends to make a visit to County Derry to visit the area where her ancestors were born.

I haven't visited the area although I was hoping to while on a trip to England in 2019 and have had the desire to for many years and hope to do so in the very near future.

I feel such a closeness to Ireland as well as the UK since this is the region that my ancestors are from.

Anyone with information that could help Donna is asked to contact her directly on donnamclenaghan@gmail.com.
A Stormont MLA has suggested a former County Derry rural college that has lain unused for a over a decade could provide interim accommodation for asylum seekers.

Draperstown Rural College was opened almost 26 years ago by then Minister for Agriculture and the Economy in Northern Ireland, Baroness Denton of Wakefield.

The 18th century manor house at Derrynoid Lodge had been repurposed as a centre for corporate events including conferences, seminars, presentations, training, team building and conventions.

A gym, library and IT suite were also available on site, as well as accommodation, as the facility was launched with Department of Agriculture and International Fund for Ireland (IFF) funding in 1995.

The building has been dormant since its sudden closure in March 2011, with this year marking the 26th year of a 99-year lease taken by current tenants Workspace Ltd.

Strangford MLA Kellie Armstrong tabled a question on September 9 to Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots, asking why the site was not being used, and how much money was being spent on its upkeep.

Alliance MLA for Strangford, Kellie Armstrong.

A Department response on September 28 indicated they took no responsibility for costs relating to the former Rural College.

The buildings you refer to at Derrynoid forest near Draperstown are the subject of a 99 year lease with Workspace Ltd which commenced in 1995, they said.

Under this lease the buildings were in use as a Rural College until its closure in 2011.

The buildings have been vacant since 2011, and from then Workspace has explored numerous options to secure a future use for the buildings.

Despite their best efforts, to date this has proved to be unsuccessful.

While the current lease with Workspace Ltd remains in place, they continue to have full responsibility, in line with the lease obligations, for all ongoing costs associated with the buildings.

The building's interior is currently fenced off since its closure in 2011.

When contacted by the County Derry Post, Ms Armstrong said she was 'astounded' that the building was not in use.

My question to the Department sought to clarify the situation. The Department has confirmed the buildings are indeed sitting empty. she said.

I am aware of many rural businesses, community organisations and interim asylum accommodation needs that this space could provide.

I am very disappointed such a great venue is sitting not being used and there appears to be no plans by DAERA or the current leaseholder to utilise the resource.

The premises were opened in 1995 by Baroness Denton of Wakefield.

A number of attempts have been made by Workspace Ltd to find a licensee or operator for the premises since its closure a decade ago.

An open day event was held in February 2018, which the social enterprise's website says was attended by 'hundreds', but no serious interest was forthcoming.

Further attempts to find an occupant for the building were also made. In September 2020, a 'Business Opportunity' document again sought a licensee or operator.

It outlined facilities available in Derrynoid, including 40 en-suite bedrooms in accommodation blocks, a multimedia centre, eight fully equipped training rooms and a small leisure suite.

A restaurant and five offices were also detailed in the document, which suggests accommodation, conference facilities, healthcare, outdoor activity and commercial uses would be available.

An aerial shot of the site in Derrynoid Forest.

Mid Ulster MLA Emma Sheerin said any plans to repurpose the centre needed to be sustainable.

The rural college site is maintained by Workspace and all costs are managed by them, she said.

I know that work is ongoing around plans for a purpose for the centre, and of course these have to be sustainable so that this resource is used in a way that maximises its' potential.

We support Workspace in their efforts and hope to see the Rural College being used again in the near future.

The County Derry Post contacted Workspace Ltd for comment on the future of the premises and the associated costs, but no response was available at the time of going to press.

Got an opinion on this story? Let us know. Email your views to news@derrynow.com.
A charity run and walk will be held this weekend in memory of a popular County Derry man who passed away earlier this year.

Ballymoney-based Dowds Group are organising a 5K run and walk in memory of their late colleague, Gary McSorley.

The dad-of-two, who lived in Gortnaghey, passed away on April 15 following a battle with lung cancer.

The 5K run and walk will take place on Saturday, October 9 in Garvagh Forest and is open to people of all ages.

Aideen McMichael, of Dowds Group, said the company wanted to pay tribute to Gary, an experienced electrician, who she described as 'a real character who is sorely missed by all'.

In his memory we have started a fundraising campaign and his wife and two daughters have nominated the Cancer Fund for Children as their chosen charity. Cancer Fund for Children offer support to children and young people diagnosed with cancer, or living with a parent diagnosed with cancer, whether in their home, community, on the hospital ward or at their residential centre, so that no family has to face cancer alone, said Aideen.

Family was very important to Gary and we would like to raise as much money as possible to ensure that other families going through cancer can avail of the support and care they need.

Gerry McCrystal was one of Gary's close colleagues and friends at Dowds Group and he has encouraged everyone to support the event.

Gary was a dedicated worker and a very close work mate to many of us working on sites. He never failed to complete any task he was asked to do and he always treated everyone on the site in the same way, said Gerry.

I first got to know Gary when he was working on an electrical job in Monaghan and a few years later Dowds Group were starting to put in place the electrical installation at the new Omagh hospital complex.

"Material was arriving to site on fully-laden forty foot long lorries and I asked Paul Molloy for someone to help put all the material into containers for storage.

"Paul said 'leave it with me, I know the man for the job'. The next morning, help arrived in the form of Gary himself and he did not stop until he had the containers packed tight.

"Gary also helped out in stores at busy times as well as keeping material cleared up on site.

Following a stint working in Scotland and London for Dowds, Gary returned to the North to work at the beginning of 2020.

Gerry said he travelled to Belfast by bus every morning to work on the new Ulster University building.

Gerry fondly recalls their walks back to the Europa bus depot every evening.

In the evening time we had to walk 15 minutes to the bus station to get home again. Sometimes we would be walking up through the city and I'd look around and there was Gary stopped to chat to or have banter with someone he knew.

One evening we were walking up Royal Avenue and Gary says 'how's Jimmy' to a guy standing looking up at the front of a building.

"He then said to me 'do you know that boy?' I looked behind us and said I didn't know the chap only to be told by Gary 'that's Jimmy Nesbitt', laughed Gerry.

On Saturday, partipants are asked to assemble at Garvagh Forest at 11am for 11.30am start. Registration costs 10 per adult, 5 per child (under 12) while under fives go free. Goodie bags will be available for the children afterwards.

Limited parking will be available at the entry to the forest but free parking is available at the nearby Bridge Street car park.

All proceeds from the event will go to Northern Ireland Cancer Fund for Children and a donation will be made to Gary's family.
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The Police Service of Northern Ireland will now commence an investigation into allegations of physical and sexual abuse involving Mother and Baby Homes and Magdalene Laundries.

A report has been published this week detailing research and recommendations made around allegations of abuse in the Homes. The Police Service of Northern Ireland has welcomed the publication of these findings and has said that dedicated officers are ready and waiting to investigate reports of these crimes.

Detective Chief Superintendent Anthony McNally, Head of Public Protection Branch said: The Police Service of Northern Ireland welcomes the publication of this report.

"We also recognise the profound impact on the lives of those who were in Mother and Baby Homes and Magdalene Laundries, and the concerns of the wider public on how they were operated.

Specially trained officers within our Historical Child Abuse Team will be investigating all allegations of non-recent physical and sexual abuse against residents of these homes. We have, from today, launched dedicated reporting mechanisms to make it easier for people to come forward to us with information.

All reports we receive will be examined thoroughly and any criminality detected will be robustly investigated.

I would encourage anyone who has been the victim of non-recent abuse or any criminal act arising out of these homes, or who has information likely to assist an investigation into a criminal act committed, to please come forward and report this. We care about what you have to say, will listen and support you, and will act to keep you and others safe.

Anyone wishing to contact the dedicated Mother and Baby Homes and Magdalene Laundries Investigative Team can do so via the following options:

Email: MotherBabyHomes. Magdalenelaundries@psni.police.uk

Direct line (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm): 02890 901728

Outside of office hours you can call 101 to speak to a call handler from the Police Service of Northern Ireland who will pass on your details to the dedicated investigation team to make direct contact.

Officers will deal with any matters reported in a sensitive manner and will, where possible, progress matters through investigation.
Radical new design of computational memory delivers up to 100x improvement in processing time

Tel Aviv, Israel -- October 6, 2021  NeuroBlade, the next generation of data acceleration solutions, announced today that it has secured $83 million in Series B funding, bringing total invested capital to $110 million. The investment was led by Corner Ventures with contribution from Intel Capital, and supported by current investors StageOne Ventures, Grove Ventures and Marius Nacht. Additionally, technology companies including MediaTek, Pegatron, PSMC, UMC and Marubeni also provided funding during this round. The financing will be put to work as the company expands its engineering teams in Tel Aviv and builds out its sales and marketing teams globally.

NeuroBlade has developed a new data analytics architecture that eliminates major data movement bottlenecks by integrating the data processing function inside memory, better known as processing-in-memory (PIM). PIM has been a pipe dream for decades, and NeuroBlade is the first company to successfully bring this innovation to production. NeuroBlade accelerates data analytics and unclogs traditional bottlenecks by integrating its technology into a full system-level easy-to-deploy appliance.

With more than 100 employees and growing, NeuroBlade has begun shipping its data accelerator to leading-edge customers and partners worldwide. This has seen these partners starting to integrate and deploy NeuroBlade into the worlds biggest data centers.

We invented a new building block in computer architecture so organizations can quickly answer critical problems facing society and vastly improve business opportunities, said Elad Sity, CEO and co-founder of NeuroBlade. Our team is at the core of this success. Together, we built a data analytics accelerator that speeds up processing and analyzing data over 100 times faster than existing systems. Based on our patented XRAM technology, we provide a radically improved end-to-end system for the data center.

Existing system architectures show that the constant shuffling of data between storage, memory, and central processing is the primary cause of poor application performance and slow response times. NeuroBlade recognized that current architectures cannot scale to meet future data analytics needs, which led them to build a computational architecture that eliminates the data movement requirements and massively speeds data analytics performance.

Despite being tested like never before this past year, the data center kept the world operating at a critical time. We think that this market is poised for explosive growth and NeuroBlade looks to have a promising journey ahead, said Lance Weaver, vice president and general manager of Data Center & Cloud Strategy at Intel. Intel is proud to power NeuroBlade's platform with our portfolio of products. We look forward to our continued collaboration with NeuroBlade to optimize end-to-end performance.

SAP looks forward to continuing to work with NeuroBlade on their new PIM-based data analytics acceleration solution, said Dr. Patrick Jahnke, head of the innovation office at SAP. The performance projections and breadth of use cases prove great potential for significantly increased performance improvements for DBMS at higher energy efficiency and reduced total-cost of ownership on-premises and in the cloud. Through this exciting collaboration with NeuroBlade, SAP will unlock new possibilities to build the data center of the future.

Organizations run at the speed of their data. NeuroBlade is here to alter the pace of the race. Such is the impact that this technology will have on the global data center market. We fully expect NeuroBlade to be a major player in a very short time and why we are excited to join them at this critical moment in their growth, said Corner Ventures partner Jonathan Pulitzer.

In an increasingly digitized world, data empowers businesses to make more informed and precise decisions than ever before," said Roi Bar-Kat, Head of Intel Capital Israel. "With NeuroBlade's scalable solution, organizations are better equipped to quickly extract insights needed to make key decisions. Intel Capital is looking forward to supporting the NeuroBlade team as they work to bring increased efficiency and scale to data processing."

To learn more about NeuroBlade visit: https://www.neuroblade.com/

NeuroBlade was established in 2018 with the stated goal of enabling faster time to data insights by freeing analytics from memory constraints. Led by a team seasoned in system and silicon design from companies like Intel, Marvell, SolarEdge and TI, NeuroBlade has set a new standard in query processing speed and has received investments from a number of top-tier VCs and strategic investors, including, Intel Capital and MediaTek.






After son Aryan Khan is held in NCB's custody, Shah Rukh Khan puts Pathan's Spain schedule on hold?

Shah Rukh Khan has been embroiled in controversy after his son Aryan Khan was taken into custody by the NCB. He was supposed to be kept in a custody for a night, but that was extended for 3 more days when the court ordered a probe and gave NCB time for further investigation. It was being said that SRK, being the professional that he is, would leave for Spain to shoot the overseas schedule of Pathan. However, now reports suggest that it has been kept on hold for now.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk)

According to a report in MidDay, everyone has decided to give Shah Rukh Khan the time. A trade source quoted by the daily said, While Siddharth and his unit were to head to Spain on October 7, Shah Rukh and Deepika were to fly out the next day. But with the latest events, it has been a tense situation for the superstar. Right now, the shoot of Pathan is the last thing on anyones mind. There is no question of going ahead with the foreign schedule without Shah Rukh. The dates will likely be reworked after things settle down in Mumbai.

Aryan's next hearing is scheduled for 7th October. The starlet also reportedly broke down he met Shah Rukh. Seven more people have been nabbed in the case.
Kriti Sanon spotted with Anurag Kashyap outside Nikhil Dwivedi's office; is Kill Bill remake on cards?

Kriti Sanon blew any iota of doubt about her talent with her solo outing Mimi. The actress carried the film on her shoulders and smashed the charts with a superb outing. The actress has a handful of movies lined up that she is all set to be a part of as the leading lady. Kriti is however once again in the spotlight as the Kill Bill remake rumours see the light of day yet again.

Kriti was speculated to be a part of a remake of Quentin Tarantino's famous female combat-driven movie, Kill Bill. The speculation is back as Kriti was spotted with Anurag Kashyap outside the office of Nikhil Dwivedi. The actress has some experience of action and has a lot of action films lined up so it may not come as a surprise if the actor actually went ahead and revealed the anticipated news.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Manoj Mehara (@manojstillwala)

Kill Bill's rights to be remade had been brought by Nikhil and Anurag was said to take up the director's role for the film. The work on the adaptation of script has been happening all through the lockdown and in Kriti they may have found their female lead as the actress also managed to deliver a solo hit recently. The role of Kriti is said to be of 'World's Deadliest Female Assassin'.

The Mimi actress has been a part of back-to-back successful films and has pushed herself into the top league of actresses. She has made sure to establish herself as a bankable name in the industry and is currently busy with the promotions and prepping of her upcoming films.

The actress has multiple films lined up for release, she is going to be seen in her first mythological film with 'Adipurush'. She will become part of yet another franchise with her film 'Ganapath'. Other than that she has 'Bhediya', 'Bachchan Pandey' and 'Hum Do Hamare Do' lined up.
Vicky Kaushal says he doesn't go into a 'maze of calculations' while selecting a film: "I never knew Uri would become Uri..."

Actor Vicky Kaushal, who has an enviable line-up of releases coming out in the next few months, says his mantra is to stay "hungry" for good roles but he does not always have a grand plan for his Bollywood career.

The 33-year-old actor has Shoojit Sircar-directed Sardar Udham releasing on October 16 on Amazon Prime Video.

He is also working on Sam, the biopic on 1971 War hero Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, the comedy-thriller with Shashank Khaitan Mr Lele, a romantic-comedy with Laxman Utekar and a situational comedy with Vijay Krishna Acharya, among other films.

Vicky Kaushal said not much has changed in the way he selects his projects as he still follows his instincts as an audience rather than as an actor.

As an actor, you try to do different things so that you can grow. You don't want to do the same thing consecutively. I also don't want to feel saturated as I want to go into a film feeling hungry for that. This is important for me. I don't have a grand plan of things, he told PTI in an interview.

If I feel excited about a character or story as an audience, then I am kicked about it. I don't go into a maze of calculations or looking at career graphs because you don't know the destiny of a film today," he added.

Son of veteran action director Sham Kaushal, the actor joined the industry as an assistant director (AD) to Anurag Kashyap on "Gangs of Wasseypur" series before making his lead role debut with the 2015 Masaan , directed by Neeraj Ghaywan, who was also an AD on Gangs of Wasseypur.

Vicky Kaushal was praised for his role, which led to critically acclaimed parts in Raman Raghav 2.0, Raazi, Sanju, Love Per Square Foot and Lust Stories.

But it was his performance as the leading man in 2019's Uri: The Surgical Strike that made him a household name.

"I never knew Uri 'would become Uri...' (this huge) or any other film... I follow what my first impulsive reaction from my heart was to that story and character, and then I just enjoy the process," he said.

Vicky Kaushal is currently busy promoting his next Sardar Udham, in which he plays the titular role of the revolutionary freedom fighter Sardar Udham Singh, who assassinated Michael O'Dwyer in London to avenge the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Vicky Kaushal (@vickykaushal09)

The actor said while he grew up listening to stories about Udham Singh, playing the character on screen made the revolutionary appear more human to him.

Through and post the project, he became more human to me, more of a friend. With each passing day, he became more real and was one of us eventually. We hope and pray that through the film this aspect reaches out (to the audience) that there is a revolutionary in all of us... They are one of us," he added.

Vicky Kaushal said he was fascinated by the fact that Udham Singh was a determined person right from his childhood.

This story is of Sardar Udham, who witnessed something as a kid and it made him a different person and he grew by years in that one day. And that is what I wanted to tap into as an actor: 'How can somebody mature so much, stay with that pain, angst for so many years and get so driven about the freedom of the country?'

The Mumbai-born actor said his portrayal was entirely dictated by the script and the vision of the film.

"Here I had Shoojit da who was so very clear about how he wanted me to portray Sardar Udham and his story. That was evident in the script, which is that we wanted to keep it as real and humane as we could.

As it is not a character that is widely depicted in our documents or books, it became a very fascinating process. But (I was) also very driven to realise that responsibility and to play that part with as much earnestness as I could, he added.

Sardar Udham is a Rising Sun Films Production in collaboration with Kino Works, backed by Ronnie Lahiri and Sheel Kumar. The film also stars Amol Parashar as Bhagat Singh and Banita Sandhu.
Bharti Singh reacts to her husband Haarsh Limbachiyaa being trolled banking on her fame: 'We really dont care ... '

Bharti Singh and her husband Haarsh Limbachiyaa reacted when during a recent interview they were asked about the consistent trolling they have to face. When asked about Haarsh, who is a writer, being trolled for banking on her popularity to forward his career Bharti backed her husband saying that they actually depend on each other professionally and are incomplete without each other.

While trolls may not understand our equation, people who we work with know that Bharti will speak the lines only when Haarsh pens them. We are incomplete without each other and create a dhamaal when we work together. I honestly love mouthing Haarshs scripts as he understands me best. We really dont care what others feel as we are strong together, the comedian said during an interview with The Indian Express.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Bharti Singh (@bharti.laughterqueen)

Haarsh also reacted to the trolls targeting him and said, Its honestly not a big deal for us. As individuals and a couple, we are really very secure. I also feel that when I know I am right, whatever the world says, it really doesnt matter.

Bharti and Haarsh have been one of the most sought after duo as hosts on various reality shows. They have hosted shows like Indias Best Dancer, 'Funhit Mein Jaari', 'Khatra Khatra Khatra' and are currently hosting Dance Deewane 3 on Colors.
Ireland Unveils Riverdance at Expo

News

The Irish Pavilion, in partnership with Expo Dubai 2020, is excited to announce that Riverdance, the Grammy Award-winning music and dance performance, will take to the stage at Expo 2020 Dubai with a specially curated rendition of the Riverdance 25th Anniversary Show, Riverdance at Expo.

The cultural phenomenon of Riverdance, inspired by Irish traditions and heritage, will grace the stage of Jubilee Park and Al Wasl Plaza from the 4  27 November. For the first time, the show will comprise of Arabic influences to guarantee a memorable Middle Eastern effect for audiences. UAE residents will also have the once in a lifetime opportunity to audition for a coveted place in the lively cast, and put their dancing skills to the test with regular masterclasses led by the professional Irish dancers.

Riverdance at Expo 2020 Dubai

This year, Riverdance celebrates 25 years of success with a unique 25th Anniversary Show; a stunning reinterpretation of the classic composition which has graced stages across the world from the USA to China. The exclusive show for Expo 2020 Dubai, Riverdance at Expo, will build on this new version further with unique musical and theatrical cues to Arabic culture, specially curated for the Middle Eastern audience.

Pat Hennessy, Commissioner General of the Ireland Pavilion at Expo noted:

Irelands theme for Expo 2020 Dubai is Putting Creativity at the Centre of Human Experience with music, art and design at the heart of this theme. Riverdance is a fitting expression of this innate cultural creativity which has garnered Ireland a global reputation for excellence in the arts. We look forward to welcoming thousands of visitors to Expo 2020 to experience this unique and memorable cultural phenomenon.

Padraic Moyles, Executive Director of Riverdance noted that:

Riverdance at Expo is something truly spectacular, and we cannot wait for visitors at Expo 2020 Dubai to witness the vibrant performance weve worked on over the last few months. Were so proud to be able to bring Irelands most iconic production to the Middle East at Expo 2020 Dubai. We encourage everyone in Dubai to get involved in our exciting competition and masterclasses for a chance to experience traditional Irish culture.

Competition

Committed to bringing the passion and palpable energy of Riverdance to residents of the UAE, and building on important themes of diversity and inclusivity, Riverdance will hold auditions for a coveted place in the cast. Residents with a passion for dance are invited to audition for the chance to train with the professionals in Dubai. The lucky winner will immerse themselves in the Riverdance culture and perfect their skills daily for 25 days straight before joining the cast on stage during the Grand Finale Show on the 27 of November. Auditions are open to anyone aged 16 and above for the chance at becoming the first UAE cast member to join the Riverdance family.

Masterclasses

Over the duration of their Dubai residency, the Riverdance team will host 52 free masterclasses and pop-ups performances at Expo 2020 Dubai at its various stages, as well as Kite Beach Dubai. The professional dancers will lend their skills to guests who wish to get involved and brush up on their Irish dancing. Those who take part in the masterclasses will showcase their skills on 27 November at a must-see flash mob performance in Jubilee Park. Riverdance is aiming to break the current world record of flash mob participants at Expo 2020 Dubai currently standing at 1,667, therefore everyone is encouraged to part with friends and family.

Catch Riverdance at Expo from 4th  27 November at Expo 2020 Dubai, guaranteeing a memorable performance for all visitors who attend the Worlds Greatest Show. Dont miss the chance to see the exclusively orchestrated production, with a Middle Eastern twist.

For more information on the performance schedules and auditions, please visit: www.ireland.ie/expo or www.expo2020dubai.com

Follow up on social media on:

Twitter @Irelandatexpo @riverdance

Instagram @Irelandatexpo- @riverdance

Facebook www.facebook.com/IrelandatExpo

ENDS

Notes to Editors About Riverdance: Originally a 7-minute Eurovision interval act performance that dazzled TV audiences in 1995, Riverdance has become a full-length musical, dance and theatrical performance achieving worldwide acclaim. To date, Riverdance has been performed over 12,160 times and has been seen live by over 27.5 million people in 546 venues worldwide. Twenty-five years on from the first time Riverdance the Show premiered at The Point Theatre Dublin, composer Bill Whelan has rerecorded his mesmerising soundtrack while producer Moya Doherty and director John McColgan have completely reimagined the ground-breaking show with innovative and spectacular lighting, projection and stage designs with new costume designs by Joan Bergin, to create Riverdance 25th Anniversary Show. About Ireland at Expo Irelands Theme Irelands programme has been developed around a theme - human creativity - that speaks of our history and culture, but also addresses important issues for mankind in the impending age of artificial intelligence and robotics. In the Fourth Industrial Age the key skill will be the ability to apply knowledge and expertise in previously unimagined ways: to be creative and inventive, to work collaboratively and experimentally, to think conceptually and imaginatively. Irelands Expo theme addresses the crucial issue of future competitiveness and also the ethical issue of ensuring fulfilled, purposeful lives in an age when many of todays skills may be redundant. Ireland is expressing this theme through participation in debates and forums at Expo and through a cultural programme built around music, design, literature and creative writing and film. Music and Creativity The music programme has been developed in partnership with Irelands National Concert Hall. The Irish Songbook will focus on iconic Irish songs. During the 6 months of Expo, these songs will be explored and reinterpreted live at the Ireland Pavilion and other venues, leading to a new album. The Irish Songbook Reimagined, which will be recorded during Expo and released internationally for Saint Patricks Day 2022.

will focus on iconic Irish songs. During the 6 months of Expo, these songs will be explored and reinterpreted live at the Ireland Pavilion and other venues, leading to a new album. The Irish Songbook Reimagined, which will be recorded during Expo and released internationally for Saint Patricks Day 2022. The Expo Players are drawn from a deep well of young Irish musical talent. They will introduce audiences to Irish music, its history, instruments and stories. They will also create their own interpretations of songs from the Irish songbook.

are drawn from a deep well of young Irish musical talent. They will introduce audiences to Irish music, its history, instruments and stories. They will also create their own interpretations of songs from the Irish songbook. Expo World Choir, Irelands Gift of Song to the World, willbring all of the participating nations at Expo together in a special Christmas concert curated by conductor David Brophy.

willbring all of the participating nations at Expo together in a special Christmas concert curated by conductor David Brophy. St Patricks Day event: Martin Hayes, one of Irelands most revered traditional musicians, will lead a specially created new concert exploring Irish music from its roots right through to a highly charged, contemporary rendition. Design and Creativity From the We are the Makers exhibition to the clothes Irelands Expo staff will wear to interior design of the pavilion, the Design and Craft Council of Ireland is the principal design partner, showcasing outstanding Irish design. Literature and Creative Writing Literature Ireland has undertaken a translation of Seamus Heaneys 100 Poems into Arabic to mark Irelands participation in Expo Dubai. Architecture and Creative Learning The emergence of Irish Architecture onto the world stage will be highlighted in a pavilion exhibition - The Architecture of Creative Learning - showing the globally acclaimed work of leading Irish architects on education projects in Ireland and around the world, from primary to third level. Film and Creativity Screen Ireland has provided a portfolio of Irish film, including animation, for screening at Expo. Expo - the Business opportunity for Ireland There will be a strong focus across the six months of Expo on business and enterprise, including: Enterprise Ireland will resume (post-Covid) trade missions to the region, including to WETEX (Water, Energy, Environment Technology Exhibition, Dubai Airshow, and Arab Health - aligning with Expo - bringing Irish companies to the fore creating continual business opportunities throughout Expo.

IDA Ireland will present Irelands FDI story and proposition in the Ireland pavilion and will have focused communications campaign in the region to coincide with Expo.

Ireland as a great place to study, undertake research, and innovate will be highlighted through seminars, networking events and keynote addresses, led by the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (DFHERIS).

Bord Bia will showcase the very best of Irish food and drink, including events that will gather top chefs, hotel & restaurant owners, and sectoral influencers.

Tourism focused events and communications initiatives will feature throughout Expo, with a comprehensive programme with Tourism Ireland & Failte Ireland.

Irish business will feature in all of the 10 thematic business forums of Expo, and opportunities to engage with international companies during relevant business events within and aligned with Expo, including Arab Health, will be maximised.

Irelands We are the Makers exhibition will show world leading examples of Irish science, innovation and creativity.

The Dubai Irish Business Network (IBN), working with Irelands Embassy in UAE, and State Agencies will hold a series of business events throughout Expo, with a focus on opportunities in the region.

Irelands presence will amplify the importance of technology in the Irish economic success story, and the value proposition of Ireland and Irish companies.

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The Full Frame camera segment has dominated the Indian professional camera market for decades now. But on October 6th, 2021, Fujifilm launched the GFX50S II in India which might pull some of the Full Frame fanatics to it, thanks to a larger than Full Frame (Medium Format) sensor and a price that rivals some of the cameras in the Full-Frame mirrorless segment (like the Canon EOS R3, Sony Alpha 1, etc). Fujifilm also launched the Fujinon GF35-70mm f/4.5 -5.6 WR lens along with the Fujifilm GFX50S II Body. The price of the GFX50S II is Rs 3,79,999 for the body only and with the Fujinon GF35-70, the total price is Rs 4,49,999.

Fujifilm GFX50S II specifications

The Fujifilm GFX50S II features a whopping 51.4 Megapixel Medium Format sensor. And as most professionals would already know, having a larger sensor has a ton of benefits. The larger sensor size results in a larger area that receives light per pixel. The end result of which is better low light performance, excellent ISO sensitivity and improved dynamic range. An added benefit is the ability to produce a shallower depth of field when compared to the popular Full Frame cameras. Meaning more creamy bokeh.

Fujifilm is also known for its superb Film Simulations and the GFX50S II features 19 of them. Including one called Nostalgic Neg which has been developed specifically for the GFX50S II.

Like most other mirrorless cameras, the GFX50S II comes with a 5-axis in-body image stabilisation mechanism (IBIS) that provides 6.5 stops of stabilisation. Promising better image quality with handheld photography or video. Considering the large sensor in a compact body, this feature is one of the highlights of the camera. Basically, for those who don't know, the GFX 50S II is the smaller, more compact version of the massive professional bodied Fujifilm GFX100.

Handling the processing duties is the X-Processor 4 processing engine that enables improved Auto Focus refresh rate which results in more accurate Face and Eye detection when compared to other Fujifilm Cameras.

Other features include six customisable positions on the Mode dial, a 3.2-inch tilting main LCD monitor with 100% coverage, a 1.8-inch sub LCD monitor on the top panel, a weather-sealed body and the capability to click 200 Megapixel images free of any false colour representation thanks to the Pixel Shift Multi-Shot function.

The Fujifilm GFX50S II will available in two variants. As a Body only version and one with the Fujinon GF35-70 f/4.5-5.6 WR Lens included. It will be available for purchase at all Fujifilm authorised dealers across India.
Just over a day after Facebook, Instagram, and Whatsapps six hour long outage, #JioDown is trending on Twitter as Jios services are reportedly not working. Many Reliance Jio Customers have been reporting the same on DownTracker, which is a platform that specifically tracks internet outages so that customers know whats going on. Currently, there are more than 4,000 reports of issues with Jios network reported on DownTracker, and if the issue isnt resolved quickly, there reports are likely to increase in number. Based on the data shared on DownTracker, the issues with Reliance Jios network started around 9:30 am this morning, and spiked within an hour.

More about #JioDown

As per the reports on DownTracker, users in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Raipur and Indore are facing connectivity problems with Jio. While some users are reporting minor signal issues, others are saying that the network is not working at all. The company has not issued an official statement regarding the outage and why it has happened. However, it has confirmed that there are connectivity issues today via its official Twitter account.

The JioCares handle on Twitter, which has been created solely to respond to customer queries, has been active during the outage, letting people know that it's not the internet, its their network.

As this is a working day, Reliance Jio is likely to face many complaints from irate customers. We can expect public sentiment to reflect in the companys stock prices tomorrow (or by closing day today). The Facebook outage caused the tech giant to lose 6 Billion USD over the course of 6 hours - well only know the impact of this outage on Jios revenue by tomorrow.

Also Read: New Jio plans now come bundled with a Disney+Hotstar subscription and more
In a move to help small dairy farmers digitise, Airtel Payments Bank announced on Tuesday that it will partner with Stellapps to facilitate cashless payments. Stellapps offers financial management programs across the dairy value chain and strives to improve financial inclusion for dairy farmers through its mooPay Fintech platform. The brand has been working with dairies to help with direct payments to the bank accounts of dairy farmers. Apart from enabling a cashless economy, this will also bring more farmers into the fold of the financial system.

How did Stellapps come into being?

Stellapps identified a major challenge in the lives of dairy farmers - the long walk to the ATM to get cash out. The inability to withdraw cash as and when needed contributed to financial challenges in their lives, something that Stellapps wants to eradicate. By partnering with Airtel Payments Bank, Stellapps will ensure that its milk collection centers double up as banking centers. These banking centers will be instrumental in helping farmers open bank accounts, accessing Aadhar-enabled payments, withdrawing cash, pay their bills and more.

The ecosystem has already been piloted in Kanpur and Varanasi (UP) and Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh).

How will Stellapps help dairy farmers in India?

We are very excited to partner with Airtel Payments Bank as it will strengthen our own service offering, help over one million dairy farmers with their banking needs and drive financial inclusion in the rural economy, said Rahul Mallick, CEO - Stellapps FinTech and Value Added Services.

We are delighted to partner with Stellapps to enable cashless payment transfers for the small dairy farmers. Direct payments help farmers to be financially independent. Our unique and extensive distribution network allows us to offer the benefits of formal banking to these farmers. The initial success of this initiative has encouraged us to expand it nationally, added Ganesh Ananthanarayanan, Chief Operating Officer, Airtel Payments Bank.

Also Read: India Moves closer to healing with the new CoWIN KYC-VS API
The Bookmonger is Barbara Lloyd McMichael, who writes this weekly column focusing on the books, authors and publishers of the Pacific Northwest. Contact her at barbaraLMcM@gmail.com
Singers at Cannon Beach Community Church will be led by Dr. John Buehler and accompanied by Dr. Susan Buehler on a Steinway grand piano or organ.
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By MARCY GORDON and BARBARA ORTUTAY

AP Business Writers

WASHINGTON  While accusing the giant social network of pursuing profits over safety, a former Facebook data scientist told Congress Tuesday she believes stricter government oversight could alleviate the dangers the company poses, from harming children to inciting political violence to fueling misinformation.

Frances Haugen, testifying to the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, presented a wide-ranging condemnation of Facebook. She accused the company of failing to make changes to Instagram after internal research showed apparent harm to some teens and being dishonest in its public fight against hate and misinformation. Haugen's accusations were buttressed by tens of thousands of pages of internal research documents she secretly copied before leaving her job in the company's civic integrity unit.





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SEATTLE  A former motorcycle dealership building at 8100 Lake City Way N.E. sold for $2.6 million, according to King County records.

The buyer was 8100 Investments LLC, which is associated with Lee Johnson, the auto dealer and investor that's recently buying up property and filing new plans in Kirkland and Seattle.





. . .
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FIFE, Pierce County  An industrial building at 3701 20th St. E. in Fife sold for about $28.5 million, according to King County records.

The seller was Drake Motor Partners Four LLC, which acquired the property in February for $14 million. New owner Drake Real Estate Services of Denver then filed plans to upgrade what been home to Larson Power Boats.





. . .
Four companies in Louth were among just fifty Origin Green companies awarded Gold Membership status for industry leading sustainability achievements in areas such as packaging, energy, biodiversity, and community engagement.

ABP Group, Belview Eggs, East Coast Bakehouse and Great Northern Distillery were awarded Origin Green Gold Membership following extensive auditing across a range of sustainability initiatives, at a ceremony held by Bord Bia and Origin Green.

Origin Green introduced Gold Membership in 2020, recognising members who are performing at a high level or excelling in their sustainability performance. The new scheme has driven Irish businesses to further increase their focus on sustainability issues.

To attain Origin Green Gold Membership a company must demonstrate exceptional annual performance in areas such as raw material sourcing; water and energy efficiency; waste reduction; packaging; and social sustainability.

This years Origin Green Gold Members excelled most in the areas of energy, packaging and community engagement.

Deirdre Ryan, Director of Origin Green and Sustainable Assurance with Bord Bia, commented: It gives me great pleasure to announce that four businesses from county Louth have achieved Gold Member status this year.

"This achievement reflects that hard work of all of their teams. As we look to address the urgency of climate change and the need for sustainable development, it is excellent to see companies like these, showing leadership."
Fianna Fail Senator Erin McGreehan is urging the Department of Health to rollout an increased awareness campaign around Breast Health.

Senator McGreehan raised the issue in the Seanad on Tuesday.

Senator Erin McGreehan said: Breast cancer is a common cancer in Ireland. More than 3,600 women are diagnosed with it each year.

The Department of Health can act now and empower women and men to check themselves to be breast aware.

"We know that early detection saves lives and a full population wide awareness programme will change outcomes.

"I ask that the Department funds an increased awareness campaign by running national adverts on TV, social media and in print, reminding people to check for changes in their breasts and to show people how to check for changes.

"I would like to thank Cllr Teresa Costello who I am working with on this campaign and as a breast cancer survivor herself she is an incredible wealth of knowledge and an example of sheer determination."

Senator McGreehan added: I am an advocate for increased screening however this is a decision for the National Screening Advisory Committee (NSAC).

"As part of the campaign we will be submitting a proposal to the NSAC to recommend that the Department of Health lower the age of screening to 40.

In response to Senator McGreehans Seanad contribution, the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnellys, statement outlined that as October is Breast Cancer Awareness month the National Screening Service and the HSE have planned an extensive media campaign to highlight key details about screening during COVID-19, breast cancer prevention and symptom awareness.

The Ministers statement noted also that 10m additional funding was provided to the HSE for Cancer Screening in 2021.

These important new developments will help increase capacity and enable screening of individuals who had to defer their appointments because of COVID-19. This includes two new mobile screening units for BreastCheck planned for Donegal and Dublin.
Workers in protective suits clean the contaminated beach after an oil spill in Huntington Beach, Calif., on Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021. The Coast Guard received the first report of a possible oil spill off the Southern California coast more than 12 hours before a company reported a major leak in its pipeline and a cleanup effort was launched, records show.
For more than 90 years, The Eagle-Tribune Santa Fund has assisted those in need in the Merrimack Valley through generous contributions from businesses, organizations and individuals. This year the need is as great as ever.

Contribute
By the Staff of The News

WASHINGTON  New Mexico was one of three states lauded by the Department of Health and Human Services for transitioning from healthcare.gov to their own state-based models for the 2022 plan year.

Plan viewing began Friday at bewellnm.com, with signups available Nov. 1.

Kentucky and Maine also launched their own state-based enrollment sites.

The Affordable Care Act saves lives, and todays actions help ensure that their residents get local, state-driven outreach and care, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in an HHS release. Hundreds of thousands of people in Kentucky, Maine and New Mexico now have coverage options that can be localized through the State-based Marketplace. The Biden-Harris Administration continues to support states across the country working to ensure people have quality, affordable coverage.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said in the release that the state also created a Health Care Affordability Fund that will provide further subsidies to lower the out-of-pocket costs for uninsured New Mexicans.

BeWellnm can be reached via phone at 833-ToBeWell.
SANTA FE  A shared services agreement created by five New Mexico community colleges, including Clovis Community College, may see two more schools join its fold.

Mesalands Community College in Las Vegas and Mesalands Community College in Tucumcari have expressed interest in the Collaborative for Higher Education Shared Services, an effort for administrative efficiency and expanded student experiences.

The colleges currently in CHESS  CCC, Central New Mexico Community College, Northern New Mexico College, San Juan College and Santa Fe Community College  have largely the same software needs for human resources, financial aid, student registration, etc., and sought to save money by collectively purchasing an all-in-one software system. Each institution operates the system independently, but can cooperate if needs arise.

In an August CCC Board of Trustees meeting, Executive Vice President of Student Affairs Robin Jones said students would benefit from simplified registration and expanded degree plan options because they could sign up for classes offered virtually at other CHESS colleges.

Thats an aspect Mesalands President Gregory Busch finds intriguing.

Our students are sometimes hindered in completing their degrees on time due to our rural location, Busch said in a CHESS release. Im hoping that as we look at auditing our capabilities, we discover we are indeed ready to join CHESS and expand opportunities for our students and our communities.

Kathy Ulibarri, the chief executive officer for CHESS, said the collaborative seeks to strengthen collaboration among higher education institutions and welcomes more partners.

Expanding our membership to partner with Luna and Mesalands is a natural and positive result of the vision we have to better serve students and improve our operations, Ulibarri said. We look forward to welcoming them when theyre ready.
 

Kharkiv joins EBRD Green Cities programme

Seventh city in Ukraine to join flagship urban sustainability programme

Bank ready to finance public transport infrastructure system upgrades

Ukraines second-largest city, Kharkiv, is accelerating its investment in green solutions by joining EBRD Green Cities, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)s flagship urban sustainability programme.

In a memorandum of understanding signed today, Kharkiv committed to developing a tailor-made Green City Action Plan that will shape the response to its environmental needs and allow the city to build a better and more sustainable future for its residents.

The memorandum was signed by the Secretary of the Kharkiv City Council, Ihor Terekhov, and EBRD Deputy Head of Ukraine, Sustainable Infrastructure, Mark Magaletsky.

Kharkiv, located in the north east of the country, has a population of 1.5 million. It is the seventh Ukrainian city to join the 3 billion Green Cities programme, following Lviv, Kyiv, Mariupol, Khmelnitskiy, Kryvyi Rih and Dnipro. Ukraine has more participating cities than any other economy where the EBRD invests. Kharkiv will become the 51st EBRD green city.

As part of the Green Cities programme, the EBRD and other finance providers will be available to finance upgrades of solid waste management, water and wastewater, urban roads and lighting, urban transport, public building energy efficiency, renewable energy and power infrastructure energy efficiency. As a first step, the Bank will now support the city in designing an action plan which identifies priorities and develops a roadmap for implementation.

The EBRD Green Cities programme was created to offer cities tangible support to improve the quality of life of their residents. All participating cities embark on a trigger project to improve their local environment. Then, with the EBRDs help, they develop an action plan to identify further investment and policy changes that are best suited to their needs.

To date, the EBRD has invested more than 15 billion in 505 projects in Ukraine, with a focus on assisting its stabilisation, anchoring its reforms, strengthening energy efficiency and energy security, and supporting agricultural and industrial projects, as well as smaller businesses. Greening the economies where it invests is among the Banks top priorities.

Globally, cities account for three-quarters of greenhouse gas emissions and represent an opportunity to tackle climate change. EBRD Green Cities, set up in 2016, helps each member city to tailor solutions to its environmental needs with a unique combination of measures designed to move towards a lower-carbon and more liveable future.
EBRD launching online hands on guide to help micro, small and medium-sized enterprises

Platform provides expert advice on various topics including legal and financial matters

Additional tailored guidance developed for Georgia

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is launching an online resource with legal and business guidance to support micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in their response to new challenges following the Covid-19 pandemic.

The website also contains a separate section for Georgia that offers country-specific legal and financial guidance in the local language and was developed with financial support from the United Kingdom government through the Good Governance Fund (GGF).

Join us on 8 October at the launch event, which the EBRD is organising jointly with the GGF, the Secretariat of Georgias Investors Council, Enterprise Georgia, Caissa Law and Lightspeed Digital to explore the tools that the website offers and discuss the business environment in Georgia and opportunities for business development. Youi can register here.

The new website offers expert guidance to help owners and managers of Georgian SMEs to deal with financial challenges, manage relationships with suppliers, customers and employees, and steer through operational and strategic challenges. It also contains useful tools to digitalise businesses as well as to navigate a restructuring process. The platform provides businesses with legal guidance on corporate, employment and insolvency law, areas in which small firms have a strong demand for know-how and information. The website is structured around six modules or entry points:

Developing your business strategy Managing your people successfully Running your business successfully Taking your business online Keeping your business finances healthy Restructuring your business finances.

Templates and cases studies support the guidance and help users to apply concepts in their day-to-day operations. No registration is required to use the site.

To produce the guidance for Georgian businesses, the EBRD team worked closely with the Secretariat of the Investors Council, representatives of Enterprise Georgia, and the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, together with the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture and the Ministry of Justice.

Catarina Bjorlin Hansen, EBRD Regional Director for the Caucasus, said: The SME sector in Georgia plays a key role in creating employment and contributing to economic growth. This new initiative demonstrates our commitment to helping SMEs succeed in challenging times.

Mark Clayton, UK Ambassador to Georgia, added: The majority of Georgias businesses are micro, small or medium-sized enterprises, providing employment and income in critically important sectors such as tourism and hospitality. This work, therefore, has the potential to be of wide-reaching benefit and comes at a time when Georgia is suffering the effects of another wave of Covid-19 cases. I am proud that the UK could fund this support for the Georgian SME business community.

Mikheil Khidureli, CEO of Enterprise Georgia, commented: We are grateful to the EBRD and the GGF for once again supporting Georgian SMEs. This platform will provide additional resources to small and medium-sized enterprises so they can quickly and easily access information about financial, legal and other issues of interest to them. It is particularly important to mention that the platform has a section with tailored guidelines adopted to Georgian SMEs, which makes the information considerably more relevant and user-friendly.
WITH more and more people now deciding to get away to the sun or other destinations insurance experts at International Citizens Insurance have offered travellers some tips if they end up in the nightmare situation of having all their money lost or stolen while abroad.

International Citizens Insurance president Joe Cronin said: Its more common than you may think to find yourself with no money when you are travelling or even residing in a different country. Such scenarios could be when you have your wallet stolen or lose your bags.

This can be very stressful, especially in a country you dont know well. But it doesnt need to be. There are numerous ways to help you recover from this situation.

If you become the unfortunate victim of theft, or misplace your wallet or purse, its important to stay calm and remember there is assistance available from a range of sources.

International Citizens Insurance advises tourists when travelling abroad not keep cash stored all in one place and to keep a separate fund in a safe place in case of emergencies. The company even offers insurance plans which may provide you with a cash advance or other assistance if you are robbed while overseas.

Tips for sourcing money in a financial emergency:

Seek help from family: Not only can a friend or family member send you money via a safe online transfer but they could also buy you a ticket home if you need it.

Locate your foreign embassy or consulate: Seeking assistance from the country you are a citizen of is usually the best port of call to start with initially if obtaining money from a family member isnt an option.

Make an insurance claim: Depending on your circumstances and your policy details, you may be entitled to anything from medical cover to funeral care and translation providers if you are strapped for cash.

Charities: There are several charities for civil servants, medical professionals, and armed forces that provide financial relief on a case-by-case basis.

Bank or building society: Some banks or building societies will offer an emergency cash service if you lose your bank card or it is stolen when abroad. This involves receiving an emergency code and inputting it into an ATM machine which will allow you to withdraw cash.

Travel provider: Some travel providers may be able to arrange travel back to your home country under certain circumstances, for example waiving additional fees to return home.
Tell us about yourself:

I was born in Manchester in England. My father was Irish and my mother German/Jewish. Both my parents were doctors.

The family eventually moved back to Ireland and I grew up in Dublin. It was a very academic household - we all played the piano, went to concerts etc.

I always loved art and even as a teenager I had many art books and I copied the paintings in watercolour. When I left school I went to University College Dublin to study Architecture. It is a wonderful subject to study and I had a very interesting time.

My husband also studied Architecture and when we qualified we worked firstly in Germany and then New Zealand - very different experiences but both rewarding in their own way.

When we came back to Ireland we came to Cork and I worked for Cork County Council. When my children were bigger I went to the Crawford College of Art as a mature student to study painting.

My immediate family is most important to me and I have children and grandchildren. We spend time together every summer on Heir Island in West Cork where we have a tiny cottage.

Where do you live?

I love the area where I live - Glanmire - it is a beautiful wooded valley, but it needs better walks away from the traffic and safer for pedestrians. I love walking and probably go for a walk most days, hail rain or shine.

Earliest childhood memory

My earliest childhood memory is being at the seaside with my mother and siblings in a howling gale. I remember always loving the sea.

Favourite book

I love reading and not so long ago I read Hare With Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal which I loved and often think about. The most recent book I read is A Month in Sienna by Hisham Mater, which is another wonderful book. Most of my reading is about art - art history, theory and artist`s lives.

Favourite artist

Leonard Cohen`s If it be your Will is my favourite song, but I love all his music.

Proudest moment

This year I had a painting accepted for the RHA Annual Open Submission and I must say it was a proud moment.

What makes you happy?

What makes me happy is really that my family are well and healthy and that life is good for them.

How would I like to be remembered?

I suppose as a person who accepts and respects others.

Current exhibition

Angela Fewers solo exhibition The Constructed Sublime runs at the Lavit Gallery Wandesford Quay, until October 16.

Angela only paints subjects she knows very well. Over the past thirty years Angela has spent every summer on Heir Island in Roaring Water Bay in West Cork. She has a small studio there. The island is of special interest with its inlets, cliffs and shorelines.

However during Lockdown restricted to 5 kms from home, the situation changed. Angela lives in Glanmire, a wooded valley on the outskirts of Cork City. Daily she watched the light and shadow filter through the trees that surround the house. This reflected the mixed emotions generated by the strangeness of lockdown.

So the exhibition consists of two bodies of work  sea and shore, shadows and trees

Having qualified as an architect Angela worked for many years as an architect both in Ireland and abroad. She later returned to college as a mature student and obtained an Honours Degree in Fine Art from the Crawford College of Art Cork.

She uses her experience as an architect to explore issues such as Space, Structure and Pattern in her work. Colour provides the emotional aspect of the work.

Angela has exhibited widely both in Ireland and abroad, has attended residencies and obtained awards from the Arts Council of Ireland and International Agencies.

For more see https://lavitgallery.com/
A fifteen-year driving ban was imposed on a man who crashed a car as he drove dangerously and then continued the escapade on only three wheels.

Sergeant Gearoid Davis said Kenneth Hornibrook drove at speed, veering from one side of the road to the other and at times he was driving after losing his front passenger wheel.

The dangerous escapade on February 28 came to an end when Hornibrook tried to drive the car up on a footpath at Hollyhill, Cork, in order to get on to a pedestrian path. However, the car would not make this manoeuvre because of the missing front wheel.

Arrested at the scene

Kenneth Hornibrook of 3 Kilmore Road, Knocknaheeny, Cork was arrested at the scene, Sergeant Gearoid Davis said at Cork District Court.

He had a large kitchen knife in his pants pocket and there was another kitchen knife in the pocket of the drivers door.

When the driver was blood-tested later it proved positive for morphine, methadone and cannabis.

Guilty plea

The accused man pleaded guilty today to four dangerous driving charges and one for having no insurance.

In his 201 previous convictions he had 24 for having no insurance, 18 for dangerous driving and two for endangerment.

Joseph Cuddigan, defence solicitor, said that as soon Hornibrook came before the court on these charges he indicated he would be pleading guilty and wrote a letter of apology to gardai.

He has taken part in every opportunity in the prison to overcome addiction difficulties which he has.

Judge Olann Kelleher imposed a ten-month jail term and a 15-year disqualification from driving.

It was not possible to deal with these charges until now as a related charge of endangerment  arising out of the same circumstances  had to be dealt with at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.

That was for putting a garda at risk of death or serious injury when he took off suddenly from the side of the road.

The dangerous escapade saw him drive around the north side of Cork city, out to Blarney and back into the city.

At the height of the dangerous driving by Kenneth Hornibrook he crashed the car and a member of An Garda Siochana got into the passenger seat and was about to lean across and grab the keys. However, Hornibrook took off at speed causing the guard to fall from the car, Sergeant Eamon Fehan said at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.

Judge Sean O Donnabhain imposed a four-year sentence with the last six months suspended.

The ten months now imposed will run concurrently with that.
The State is likely to see a "slow, steady decline" in Covid-19 cases over the coming weeks, according to the chair of the National Public Health Emergency Team's (Nphet) Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group.

Speaking to RTE's News at One, Prof Philip Nolan said people should not be fearful of the virus, but added: "They should be careful."

Prof Nolan's comments come as the Department of Health confirmed 1,124 new cases of the virus on Tuesday.

There were 349 people with Covid in hospital at 8am, 65 of whom were in ICU.

The @hpscireland has today been notified of 1,124 confirmed cases of #COVID19.



As of 8am today, 349 COVID-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 65 are in ICU.



The five day moving average is 1,143.  Department of Health (@roinnslainte) October 5, 2021

"The risks [from Covid] are very reduced because of vaccination," Prof Nolan said.

"I see this as a long, slow final phase. Right now were in a good place," he added.

"The vaccine is highly effective and highly protective...We're fortunate with our very high level of vaccination and the sensible manner that everyone has taken with precautions, which seems to have helped in suppressing the transmission of the virus.

"If we keep this up we can go about things that are important to us, but do it carefully. We are going to be seeing cases for many months to come."

Prof Nolan added: "Delta is prevailing and preventing other variants from getting in and this is good news," echoing remarks made earlier by immunologist, Prof Luke O'Neill, who said the variant may be "the last throw of the dice for the virus".

Speaking to RTE radio's Today with Claire Byrne show, Prof O'Neill said Delta "may be as bad as it's going to get", adding that vaccines are "holding firmly".
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G. Kovacevic/EIB

The EIB reaffirmed its role as a leading financier of sustainable projects

It will contribute to the rollout of the Economic and Investment Plan with financial and technical support and reinforce its local presence

The EIB as the EU bank fully supports the EU enlargement policy in the Western Balkans with a tailor made approach including promoting convergence with EU norms and standards

At the EU Western Balkans Summit held in Brdo pri Kranju, Slovenia, the President of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Werner Hoyer, accompanied by EIB Vice-President Lilyana Pavlova, reiterated the EU banks support for EU integration in the region, sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and digitalisation of the regional market. These goals are part of the European Unions Economic and Investment Plan (EIP) for the Western Balkans, which outlines an investment package worth close to 30 billion for boosting more sustainable, green, digital and people-focused growth in the region.

Under the Team Europe initiative, the EIB intends to contribute to the rollout of this important plan with extensive financial and advisory support. This aims to accelerate the preparation and implementation of key projects for sustainable connectivity, digitalisation and a green transition that will help mitigate and adapt to the impact of climate change. These initiatives are essential for spurring long-term economic recovery, regional cooperation and convergence with EU standards.

EIB President Werner Hoyer said: The European Investment Banks support will be reinforced by an increased local presence and a tailor-made approach to this region of Europe. This Plan reconfirms the EUs role as the principal partner. It allows for EU norms and standards to be embedded in the region - before EU accession. This will expedite the socio-economic integration of countries within the region and their integration with the EU. It will ensure quality investment and transparency, through rigorous procurement requirements.

The EU Bank will intensify collaboration with all key partners in the public and private sector for rolling out the key projects and financial products essential for the economic transformation of the region, extending its support beyond financing to policy dialogue, capacity building and advancing on the EU Acquis. A recent and important example of this approach is the first Western Balkans Rail Summit organised by the EIB, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Commission and the Transport Community and held in Belgrade. Construction works have also begun on Railway Corridor X in Nis, a key sustainable transport project in the Western Balkans.

We have successfully delivered on our commitment to contribute  1.7 billion as an immediate response to COVID-19, includingamong many other projectsguarantee schemes for youth employment, digitalisation of schools and support for SMEs to increase their social impact, in particular on gender and inter-generational equality. As the EU Climate Bank, we are fully committed to supporting investment in cleaner energy, climate adaptation and green technological development., President Hoyer concluded.

Since the onset of the pandemic, the EIB has allocated 715 million to the private sector under the Team Europe initiative to help save jobs and businesses, accelerate recovery and the transformation to a green and digital model. In 2021, the EU bank has already signed projects worth close to 600 million, which is expected to unlock 1.2 billion of investments. These funds are dedicated to ensuring a faster recovery of small and medium enterprises across the region, the introduction of more diverse, reliable and efficient energy network in Serbia and the improvement of the urban transport network in Sarajevo. At the same time, the EIB continued to help in the preparation of a number of projects through extensive technical advisory support both from its own resources and through EU grants. The most recent is a 1.2 million grant allocated to Republika Srpska to support an upgrade to the quality of water and wastewater services for over 216, 000 people.

EIB Vice-President Lilyana Pavlova, who is responsible for the Western Balkans region, reaffirmed this commitment in the context of future projects: The EIB has already signed a number of sustainable investments for the region. The aim was to improve digital infrastructure and skills, modernise key railway, waterway and urban transport networks, and to enable inclusive employment with the first impact incentive loan signed in 2020. With these and upcoming investments, we intend to cement the EIBs role as the leading financier of green, sustainable, digital and inclusive projects in the region.

Background information:

About the EIB in the Western Balkans

The EIB is one the leading international financiers in the Western Balkans. Since 2009, the Bank has financed projects totalling close to 10 billion in the region. Besides continuing its support for the reconstruction and upgrading of public infrastructure, since 2010 the EIB has expanded into many new areas, such as healthcare, research and development, education and SMEs.
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Sandra Ellen Dunn Locke of Elkmont, Alabama, passed away at Cape Canaveral Hospital on October 31, 2021. She was a loving and caring wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend. Sandra is survived by her husband, Anthony Locke and their daughter, Ashley Norman; her son, Andrew Tybergh
Amazon has opened a 4-star store in Bluewater, a mall located just southeast of central London. And it's not just the first 4-star store outside the US, it's also the company's first shop in the UK that sells non-food and non-perishable items. Similar to Amazon's 4-star stores in New York and other parts of the US, the shop in Bluewater will sell products rated 4 stars and above, are top sellers or are trending on the e-commerce giant's UK website.

Since the shop can't carry all the highly rated products Amazon sells online, the selection in-store will be curated, though they will include goods across top categories like consumer electronics, toys, games, books, kitchen and home. It will sell products from small businesses across the UK, as well as the company's own devices, including Kindle e-Readers, Fire tablets and Echo speakers.

The shop will have sections that correspond to specific sections of the website, as well, such as Most Wished For, which will feature products from Wish Lists. "Trending in Bluewater" will showcase items local customers have been buying, while "Most Gifted" will feature the top items ordered as gifts. Amazon says it will switch out products regularly based on customer feedback and to keep up with the latest trends.

Products in the store will be marked with digital tags containing the item's price, average star rating and the number of customer reviews. In addition, customers don't have to be Prime members to be able to shop there. That said, the store won't feature Amazon's Just Walk Out technology like the company's Fresh grocery store in London. Just Walk Out allows shoppers to grab what they need from the shelves and, well, walk out without having to pay at a manned or a self-checkout counter. They can make their purchase from Amazon's UK website, however, and simply pick up their order from the store the next day.
Poorly timed traffic lights don't just waste precious minutes. Like Google's chief sustainability officer Kate Brandt pointed out at a media event yesterday, they're also bad for the environment and public health. The company unveiled a slew of sustainability-centric products and updates today that aim to help users make more informed, environmentally friendly decisions. But it's also been working on a project that could use AI to make traffic lights more efficient and, as a result, decrease pollution in general.

When your vehicle stops at an intersection, that idling time leads to wasted fuel and "more street-level air pollution," Brandt said. Google's new project would use AI to measure and calculate traffic conditions and timing at a city's intersections, then time them more efficiently. Brandt said one of the company's AI research groups has been able to accurately calculate and gather this data and train a model to optimize inefficient intersections.

Google has run pilots at four locations in Israel to date, in partnership with the municipalities of Haifa, Beer-Sheva and the Israel National Roads Company. The company says it's observed a "10 to 20 percent reduction in fuel and intersection delay time" so far. Google didn't share any details on the average daily traffic in those intersections, though a video clip from the event showed a fairly busy junction. The company also didn't explain how the AI would work with current systems and the lights around specific intersections.

"It's early days," Brandt said, "but on the back of these promising results, we are now beginning new pilots in Rio de Janeiro and speaking with other cities around the globe." Though we're likely still at least years away from having AI manage our traffic intersections, this is one of the steps towards the vision of completely smart cities that the industry has collectively been working on for years.

The idea of letting AI decide when to let vehicles stop or go can seem unsettling at best and potentially risky, but the goal of improving traffic light efficiency is a worthwhile one. Hopefully, with rigorous testing and safety measures in place, we may actually be able to reduce a significant amount of wasted fuel and exhaust-based pollution.
Nokia has a rich history of, well, interesting tablets like the iPad knockoff N1, but has only released smartphones since the brand was purchased by HMD Global. Now, HMD/Nokia have launched their first tablet together, the 10.4-inch T20, with the key features being a large battery, cheap price and US availability.

The T20 isn't what you'd call a beautiful tablet, given the plain-Jane design and chunky bezels, though it does have a solid metal body structure and relatively thin (7.8mm) and light (470g) profile. The screen also looks pretty nice on paper, with 2K (2,000 x 1,200) resolution and 400 nits of brightness.

Nokia

The key feature is the battery, though. With an 8,200mAh (non-removable) cell, it will let you surf the web for 15 hours between charges, play video for 10 hours or do Zoom-type calls for seven hours. It also comes with relatively fast charging (15 watts), though the charger in the box outputs just 10 watts.

Other specs are about what you'd expect for a tablet in this price category, including a Tiger T610 8-core CPU, up to 4GB of RAM/64GB of storage (expandable), and an 8-megapixel rear camera/5-megapixel front camera. There's optional LTE as well, though Nokia didn't say how much extra that would cost.

Giacomo Mantovani

For what it is, $250 price looks pretty decent. However, the world of Android tablets is an unremarkable one  will Nokia's brand recognition matter? The Nokia T20 arrives to the US and elsewhere around the world tomorrow (October 7th).
Drivers in the UK are taking legal action against Uber over its real-time biometric identification checks, TechCrunch has reported. A union representing the drivers claims that some members were wrongly suspended when they were misidentified, and lost their licenses as a result. "[The] facial recognition systems... are inherently faulty and generate particularly poor accuracy results when used with people of color," the App Drivers & Couriers Union (ADCU) wrote in a blog post.

Backed by two worker's rights groups, the union is crowdfunding the legal action, taken on behalf of former UberEats courier Pa Edrissa Manjang and former Uber driver Imran Javaid Raja. It said they were "unfairly dismissed after the company's facial recognition system failed to identify them."

"Workers are prompted to provide a real-time selfie and face dismissal if the system fails to match the selfie with a stored reference photo," the ADCU wrote. "In turn, private hire drivers who have been dismissed also faced automatic revocation of their private hire driver and vehicle licenses by Transport for London."

BREAKING: in global first, the ADCU launches legal action against Uber's racist facial recognition software.https://t.co/cTIT96AXjV  ADCU (@ADCUnion) October 5, 2021

Earlier in 2021, Uber was forced to reclassify UK drivers as workers, offering benefits like pension pay and holiday time. That came about because of a lawsuit filed on behalf of two Uber drivers, James Farrer and Yaseen Aslam, who eventually helped form the ADCU in February 2020.

Transport for London (TfL) pulled Uber's license in 2019 over "a pattern of failures." One particular sore point was that it allowed uninsured and suspended drivers to operate in the city, due to a loophole allowing them to upload their photos to another driver's account. To meet the regulator's requirements, Uber introduced random driver checks via a facial recognition system that uses Microsoft's FACE API technology, according to the ADCU. (Uber won back its license in September of 2020.)

The union noted that Microsoft withdrew sales of its facial recognition software to US police departments, and that the use of similar software has been discontinued or banned by Amazon, IBM, Axon and other companies. It also cited stats showing that facial recognition programs are far less accurate for people of color.

However, Uber pushed back, saying that it doesn't depend solely on AI. "Our Real-Time ID Check is designed to protect the safety and security of everyone who uses the Uber app by helping ensure the correct driver is behind the wheel," Uber responded in a statement to TechCrunch. "The system includes robust human review to make sure that this algorithm is not making decisions about someones livelihood in a vacuum, without oversight." It added that no Uber or Uber Eats accounts is suspended solely as a result of AI.

However, Farrer said that the union has won at least 10 appeals in court against drivers dismissed by TfL that cite Uber's ID checks. "With Imran [Javaid Raja], Uber and TfL have already admitted they got it wrong. But he was out of work for three months. No apology. No compensation,
The whistleblower behind bombshell disclosures that have rocked Facebook in recent weeks spent much of Tuesday's three-hour hearing explaining to Congress how Facebook could fix itself.

While the hearing was far from the first time a Facebook critic has briefed lawmakers, Frances Haugen's insider knowledge and expertise in algorithm design made her particularly effective. Her background as part of the companys civic integrity team meant she was intimately familiar with some of the biggest problems on Facebook.

During the hearing, Haugen spoke in detail about Facebooks algorithms and other internal systems that have hampered its efforts to slow misinformation and other problematic content. She also praised the companys researchers, calling them heroes, and said Facebook should be required to make their work public.

Remove algorithmic ranking and go back to chronological feeds

One of the most notable aspects of Haugens testimony was her expertise, which gives her a nuanced understanding of how algorithms work and the often unintended consequences of using them.

I hope we will discuss as to whether there is such a thing as a safe algorithm, Sen. Richard Blumenthal said at the start of the hearing. While Haugen never addressed that question directly, she did weigh on the ranking algorithms that power the feeds in Facebook and Instagram. She noted that Facebooks own research has found that engagement-based ranking on Instagram can lead children from very innocuous topics like healthy recipes to anorexia-promoting content over a very short period of time.

She also said that Facebooks AI-based moderation tools were much less effective than what the company has publicly portrayed. We've seen from repeated documents within my disclosures that Facebook's AI systems only catch a very tiny minority of offending content, Haugen said. Best case scenario, in the case of something like hate speech, at most they will ever get to 10 to 20%.

To address this, Haugen said that Facebook could move to a chronological feed where posts are ordered by recency, rather than what is most likely to get engagement. I'm a strong proponent of chronological ranking, or ordering by time with a little bit of spam demotion, because I think we don't want computers deciding what we focus on, Haugen said.

She noted that Facebook would likely resist such a plan because content that gets more engagement is better for their platform because it causes people to post and comment more. I've spent most of my career working on systems like engagement-based ranking, Haugen said. When I come to you and say these things, Im basically damning 10 years of my own work.

TOM BRENNER via Getty Images

Reform Section 230

In a similar vein, Haugen said that Section 230  the 1996 law that protects companies from being liable for what their users say and do on their platforms  should be reformed to make Facebook responsible for the consequences of their intentional ranking decisions. She said that such a law would likely get rid of engagement-based ranking because it would become too big of a liability for the company.

At the same time, she cautioned lawmakers to not let Facebook trick them into believing that changing Section 230 alone would be enough to address the scope of its problems. She also noted that using the law to police Facebooks algorithms could be easier than trying to address specific types of content. User generated content is something that companies have less control over, they have 100% control over their algorithms, Haugen said.

The focus on Section 230 is significant because lawmakers from both parties have proposed various changes to the law. During the hearing, Blumenthal indicated that he too supported narrowing this sweeping immunity when platforms algorithms amplify illegal conduct. Senator Amy Klobuchar has also proposed ending 230 protections for vaccine and health misinformation. Meanwhile, Republicans have tried to eliminate Section 230 for very different reasons.

Slow down virality

Likewise, Haugen suggested that Facebook should slow down its platform with soft interventions that would add small bits of friction to the platform. She pointed to Twitters read before sharing prompts as the kind of measure that can reduce the spread of misinformation.

Small actions like that friction don't require picking good ideas and bad ideas, she said. They just make the platform less twitchy, less reactive. And Facebook's internal research says that each one of those small actions dramatically reduces misinformation, hate speech and violence-inciting content on the platform.

Facebook has taken these steps in the past. Notably, it applied these break glass measures in the days after the presidential election, though the company rolled some of them back the following month. The company implemented similar changes again, less than a month later, in the aftermath of the insurrection January 6th.

Huagen said that Facebook has mischaracterized these changes as being harmful to free speech, when in fact the company is concerned because it wanted that growth back. During the hearing, she said that Mark Zuckerberg had been personally briefed on just how impactful changes like this could be. But, she said, he prioritized the platforms growth over changes that would have significantly decreased misinformation and other inciting content.

Access to Facebooks data has become a hot button issue in recent weeks as researchers outside the company have complained that the company is stifling independent research. Haugen said the social network should work toward making its own internal research available to the public.

She proposed that there should be a set period of time  she suggested as long as 18 months  when Facebook is able to keep its research under wraps. But then the company should make it accessible to those outside the company.

I believe in collaboration with academics and other researchers that we can develop privacy-conscious ways of exposing radically more data that is available today, Haugen said. It is important for our ability to understand how algorithms work, how Facebook shapes the information, we get to see that we have these data sets to be publicly available for scrutiny.

She went on to say that Facebook's researchers are among its biggest heroes because they are boldly asking real questions and willing to say awkward truths. She said it was unacceptable that the company has been throwing them under the bus in its effort to downplay her disclosures.

Facebook

A dedicated oversight body

Besides internal changes, Haugen also said that there should be a dedicated oversight body with the power to oversee social media platforms. She said that such a group within an agency like the Federal Trade Commission could provide a regulatory home where someone like me could do a tour of duty after working at a place like this.

Right now, the only people in the world who are trained to analyze these experiments, to understand what's happening inside of Facebook, are people who grew up inside of Facebook or Pinterest or another social media company, she said.

Importantly, this oversight body would be separate from the Facebook-created Oversight Board, which advises Facebook on specific content decisions. While Facebook has said the creation of the Oversight Board is proof its trying to self-regulate, Haugen wrote in prepared remarks that the Oversight Board is as blind as the public when it comes to truly knowing what happens inside of the company.

Its also worth noting that Haugen said she was opposed to efforts to break up Facebook. She said that separating Facebook and Instagram would likely result in more advertisers flocking to Instagram, which could deplete Facebooks resources for making changes to improve its platform.

Whats next

While its unclear which, if any, of Haugens recommendations Congress will act on, her disclosures have already caught the attention of regulators. In addition to providing documents to Congress, she has also given documents to the Securities and Exchange Committee. She has alleged that Zuckerberg and other executives have misled investors and the public about its role perpetuating misinformation and violent extremism relating to the 2020 election and January 6th insurrection," according to SEC filings published by 60 Minutes.

Meanwhile, Facebook has continued to push back on Haugens claims. A week after an executive told lawmakers that this is not bombshell research, the company tried to discredit Haugen more directly. In a statement, Facebooks Director of Policy Communications Lena Pietsch, said Haugen worked for the company for less than two years, had no direct reports, never attended a decision-point meeting with C-level executives. We dont agree with her characterization of the many issues she testified about. Pietsch added that its time to begin to create standard rules for the internet.

In an appearance on CNN following the hearing, Facebook VP Monika Bickert referred to Haugens disclosures as stolen documents and said the companys research had been mischaracterized. Later that night, Zuckerberg publicly weighed in for the first time since The Wall Street Journal began publishing stories based on Haugen's disclosures (Zuckerberg did once refer to earlier coverage of the scandals, complaining that a news article has mistakenly described his hydrofoil as an "electric surfboard.") In his first substantive statement, he said "many of the claims don't make any sense," and that "the argument that we deliberately push content that makes people angry for profit is deeply illogical."

It could still get more difficult for Facebook to counter Haugen, though, particularly if new documents become public. Her letter to the SEC suggests that Facebook knew much more about QAnon and violent extremism on its platform than it let on, as Vice reported earlier. Haugen may also make appearances in front of lawmakers in other countries, too. European lawmakers, many of whom have expressed similar concerns as their US counterparts, have also indicated they want to talk to Haugen and conduct new investigations of their own.
Funeral services for Janet, 72, will be 2:00 p.m. Friday, November 19, 2021, in the Stittsworth Memory Chapel with Thomas Fletcher officiating, under the kind guidance of Amy Stittsworth Funeral Service. Remembrances may be shared at www.stittsworthfuneralservices.com.
Finn Wolfhard recently shocked fans when he created a new Instagram account, but he gave context as to why he abandoned his previous profile despite having 21 million followers.

In a video posted on his new page, the "Stranger Things" star warned his fans to unfollow his first account, saying it is run by his father, who only cares about "gambling and money."

"If you follow my other account @finnwolfhardofficial, don't follow it! It's run by my dad, he doesn't even give a s*** about you guys, all he cares about is gambling and money." (watch the video below)

In addition, his latest account will feature most of his adventures in Hollywood, Los Angeles, with his friends.

"@finnjee.la, it's a real account made by real people, it's gonna be me in LA, going to the Hollywood sign, hiking in the canyon with my bestfriends," he added.

To conclude his video, he told his fans to check out his Patreon account for more exclusive content.

At the time of this writing, his father, Eric Wolfhard, has not publicly commented on the matter.

READ NOW: BREAKING: Gabby Petito's Lawyer Drops ONE Massive Clue Brian Laundrie 'Murdered' Gabby Petito

Finn Wolfhard To Appear On 'Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'

More recently, NBC confirmed that the "Ghost Busters" actor would appear on the "Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" this October 11.

Per Headline Planet, Wolfhard will be a guest along with Chelsea Handler and James Blake featuring Slowthai.

Other appearances for this month include Khloe Kardashian, Queen Latifah, Jason Momoa, the cast of "Squid Game," Madonna, Ana de Armas, and many more.

Finn Wolfhard In 'Stranger Things'

The fourth season of "Stranger Things" has been long-awaited by fans, and a confirmed release is not yet disclosed to the public.

Last week, the series released another teaser showing a new place that the kids (Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Noah Schnapp, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, and Joe Keery and Sadie Sink) will explore. (watch the latest trailer below)

In the trailer, the cast can be seen wandering around Pennhurst Mental Hospital, the place where Robert Englund (a new cast member) was imprisoned in the 1950s.

The upcoming season will star new faces, including Jamie Campbell, Eduardo Franco, Tom Wlaschiha, Sherman Augustus, Mason Dye, and Niko Djuricko.

READ ALSO: Kaley Cuoco Insulted: Ex Husband Asked For Family Heirloom Back After Pete Davidson Cheating Rumors?
Silicon has ten times higher capacity than the anode materials used in todays lithium-ion batteries, but it cannot cycle many times. A team from the University of Oslo is trying to understand why on ID15A.

Arriving at the ESRF has been an epic journey, explains David Wragg, scientist at the University of Oslo. He and his colleague, Anders Brennhagen, have travelled more than 2000 kilometers by sea and land to get their precious samples to the ESRF: lithium-ion batteries that use silicon to increase capacity.

Lithium-ion batteries are the power source of choice for portable devices and electric vehicles because of their high energy densities, long cycle life and affordable cost.

Battery producers are striving to increase the driving range of electric vehicles. Alloying anodes are one of the most promising new technologies, and may enable major improvements to lithium-ion batteries. By alloying multiple Lithium ions with each atom in the anode, very high capacities are reached.

Silicon anodes have up to 10 times more capacity than graphite- giving two to three times greater capacity in the battery overall. Unfortunately, the material doesnt cycle very well. So youd be able to drive your electric car much further than with graphite, but youd only be able to do that two or three times until the battery would stop working, says Wragg. Silicon lithium-ion batteries anodes are being commercialised, but their fundamental mechanism of activity is not fully understood despite several studies.

Now the team from the University of Oslo are on ID15A to explore the structural and electrochemical behaviour of silicon anodes for next-generation lithium-ion batteries. On the beamline, we use operando X-ray diffraction and PDF computed tomography techniques to compare the structural changes while charging and discharging the battery, with the aim of fully revealing the mechanism of activity, explains Wragg.

EBS has been a game changer for the team: With EBS we can get much more detailed information about the fast processes of charging and discharging a battery. We can also get better information about what is going on in different parts of the battery, because we can focus the beam to smaller sizes.

The samples studied come from the Norwegian Research Center on Zero Emission Energy Systems for Transport (MoZEES), a collaboration between Norwegian academia and industry.

Text by Montserrat Capellas Espuny.

Video by Montserrat Capellas Espuny and Mark McGee
JOHANNESBURG, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Boegoebaai "green hydrogen" development has been designated a Strategic Integrated Project (SIP) in the South African National Development Plan and is located in the Namakwa Special Economic Zone (SEZ). The project's location and classification as a SIP are key enablers to exploring Boegoebaai's potential as a global green hydrogen hub.

Sasol has been engaging with the Infrastructure and Investment Office (IIO) of the Presidency to develop a hydrogen economy in South Africa. The company has signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Northern Cape Development Agency (NCEDA) to lead the feasibility study to explore the potential of Boegoebaai as an export hub for green hydrogen and ammonia. This study is expected to take approximately 24 months. The outcomes of this feasibility study will determine the next step of development.

Sasol has signed a MOA with the Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) to leverage Special Economic Zones (SEZs) that have been earmarked as enablers to unlocking South Africa's green hydrogen market potential for domestic use, such as mobility and aviation.

In parallel, Sasol has partnered with the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) who will provide joint funding for the feasibility study.

"We are very excited to be leading this feasibility study as part of unlocking South Africa's potential to be a global green hydrogen and green ammonia export player with the potential for sustainable aviation fuels in the future. This will also be anchored by local demand for green hydrogen. It is a tangible step forward for Sasol, as we seek to play a leading role in establishing the Southern Africa green hydrogen economy," said Priscillah Mabelane, Executive Vice President for Energy at Sasol.

Sasol continues to advance several catalytic projects to develop both local and export opportunities in the region. This Boegoebaai project is one of a number of green hydrogen, ammonia and power-to-X (P2X) opportunities, which Sasol is assessing as part of the new strategy announced at its recent capital markets day. Sasol's strategy is aligned with South Africa's ambitions to establish the country as a significant green hydrogen production and global export hub.

"We believe that Southern Africa is well positioned to play in the global green hydrogen economy due to key structural advantages. In particular, our proprietary Fischer-Tropsch technologies and renewable endowments, are some of the best in the world," said Mabelane.

"There is potential to create an ecosystem anchored on localisation to enable long-term, sustainable benefits for communities and the country. The project has the potential to provide a significant number of long-term sustainable jobs, infrastructure investment and skills development in the country, enabling a Just Transition," added Mabelane.

"As the lead project integrator, Sasol will bring together strategic partners along the value chain and other enabling role players that will drive industrialisation of the Northern Cape. These include potential customers, funders, investors, technology suppliers and South African green energy providers.

"Sasol has committed to be net zero by 2050 and we see green hydrogen as core to enabling this goal. We have the capabilities and skill set, technology and solutions to co-create the South African hydrogen economy," concluded Mabelane.

Issued by:

Matebello Motloung, Manager: Group Media Relations Direct telephone: +27 (0) 10 344 9256; Mobile: +27 (0) 82 773 9457 matebello.motloung@sasol.com

About Sasol:

Sasol is a global chemicals and energy company. We harness our knowledge and expertise to integrate sophisticated technologies and processes into world-scale operating facilities.

We safely and sustainably source, produce and market a range of high-quality products in 27 countries, creating value for stakeholders. Our Purpose 'Innovating for a better world' compels us to deliver on the triple bottom line outcomes of People, Planet and Profit, responsibly and always with the intent to be a force for good.

We have prioritised four Sustainable Development Goals to ensure our business is environmentally, socially and economically sustainable.

About Sasol's Information Privacy Policy:

We wish to inform you about the processing of your Personal Information by Sasol South Africa Limited and your rights under applicable data protection law, as interpreted and included in Sasol Information Privacy Policy.

Within our company, only Sasol Group Media Relations will receive your Personal Information to fulfil the purpose of maintaining the relationship with the receiver in his/her capacity as a member of the media. You have the right to request for the correction or deletion of your Personal Information stored by us at address: Sasol Place, 50 Katherine Street, Sandton in Johannesburg. You also have a right to restrict the processing of your Information. To exercise your privacy rights or find out more about Information Privacy Policy, kindly contact our Privacy Office on: privacy@sasol.com
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From: TreatNOW Coalition -- Concussion Protocol Experts For Immediate Release: Dateline: Arlington , VA Wednesday, October 6, 2021

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING: Praise Mounts for Tubervilles HBOT Access Act WASHINGTON  U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) introduced the HBOT Access Act to make Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) an available resource for veterans suffering from Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), who have tried no fewer than two evidence-based treatment options, and whom the Secretary of Defense or Secretary of Veterans Affairs has determined are at a high-risk of suicide or self-harm.  U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) introduced theto make Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) an available resource for veterans suffering from Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), who have tried no fewer than two evidence-based treatment options, and whom the Secretary of Defense or Secretary of Veterans Affairs has determined are at a high-risk of suicide or self-harm. HBOT Access Act, Senator Tuberville said, We all want to do everything we can to help our veterans; it is a part of our American values and sense of patriotism. For veterans that have exhausted other options, access to HBOT treatment could be a lifeline to seeing another day. We have nothing to lose, but we do have lives to save. When speaking about the, Senator Tuberville said,  HBOT Access Act continues to grow, including from the American Legion; Patriot Angels; and Joey Jones, Combat Wounded Marine Corps Veteran and Fox News Contributor and Host. Support for thecontinues to grow, including from the American Legion; Patriot Angels; and Joey Jones, Combat Wounded Marine Corps Veteran and Fox News Contributor and Host. Heres What They Are Saying: The American Legion is pleased to support S.2189  the HBOT Access Act. Addressing veteran mental health means ensuring veterans have access to as many evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatments as possible. Throughout the years, The American Legion has heard from veterans suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) about the effectiveness of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) in treating their mental health disorders. Which is why we have supported the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the private sector in their efforts to expand access to treatment. The HBOT Access Act will achieve this by requiring VA to refer veterans with TBI or PTSD, who are at a high risk for suicide, and have already tried two CAM treatments to a participating HBOT clinic. We thank Senator Tuberville for his efforts to decrease barriers to mental health treatment for veterans, said Bill Oxford, National Commander of The American Legion. The selfless men and women who give everything to preserve our countrys freedom and the lives of our citizens deserve to have every available health care option to save their own lives. Wartime veterans return home with physical, mental, and emotional scars that are debilitating and difficult, if not impossible, to live with. Veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) after war are more likely to be at high risk of suicide and self-harm. Even one veteran suicide is too many. Veterans need to have the option for additional medical resources if they have exhausted other treatment options. Myself and Victoria Collier, Co-Owner of Patriot Angels and a veteran of the United States Air Force (1989  1995) and United States Army Reserve (2001-2004) support veterans having access to HBOT to combat the veteran suicide epidemic. As advocates for wartime veterans, Patriot Angels is in full support of the Bill introduced by Senator Tuberville whereby the VA would furnish veterans access to HBOT to save their own lives after they have ensured the safety of ours, said Suzette Graham, CEO and Founder of Patriot Angels. For more than a decade my brothers and sisters have returned from war with injuries they couldnt see and barely understood. For many years I have worked to help heal them and find peace. Throughout this time I have seen two things to be true, traditional treatment offered by the VA has failed them, and every veteran I know who has received HBOT has reported a measurable positive outcome and believes the treatment to be instrumental in their recovery. At some point, members of Congress have to have the courage to do a small thing for our veterans that could provide a big result in their lives, said Joey Jones, Combat Wounded Marine Corps Veteran and Fox News Contributor and Host. Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans Affairs, and HELP Committees. Kasey Lovett Press Secretary U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) Key Words: Special Operators, veterans, suicide, athletes, brain health, blast injury, brain injury, brain wound, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, concussion, concussion protocol, Concussion Symptoms, CTE, HBOT, Hyperbaric Oxygen therapy, TBI, TBItreatment, traumatic brain injury, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD


What to Do When Elderly Parents Want Attention

CONTACT: Pamela D. Wilson +1 303-810-1816

Email: Inquiry_For_Pamela@pameladwilson.com

Golden, Colorado  October 6, 2021

The Caring Generation What to Do When Elderly Parents Want Constant Attention

Golden CO- Caregiver subject matter expert Pamela D. Wilson hosts The Caring Generation podcast show for caregivers and aging adults. Today, October 6, 2021, Wilson shares reasons why elderly parents want constant attention. Adult children caregivers and other family members can create situations where parents become needier and demanding by setting unrealistic expectations or being too helpful.

When Elderly Parents Want All Your Time

Many adult children are in situations where aging parents want and expect their time. Some of these situations arise because of family culture and parental expectations. Other problems occur because children begin helping parents and repeatedly fulfill their expectations and requests without expressing concern.

Being helpful leads parents to believe that the time and effort offered by their children is acceptable. Unfortunately, in many of these situations, the caregivers feel burdened and hesitate to speak up about ongoing time demands, conflicts with work schedules, or concerns about money. As a result, children become resentful, angry, stressed, and burned out.

When Caregiving Responsibilities Become Emotionally Burdensome

Caregiving relationships become stressful when a lack of honest communication exists between parents and adult children. Poor lifelong communication patterns between parents and children negatively impact caring relationships.

During this episode, Wilson shares solutions for caregivers and parents to think differently about adapting to changes that occur with aging. Identifying changing health or care needs can support family communication and realism about health prevention and daily participation by the caregiver and their parents

Wilson supports family caregivers, groups, and corporations worldwide by offering education for caregivers about managing, planning, and navigating health and aging issues. More about Wilson's online courses for elderly care, individual elder care consultations, caregiver support, webinars, speaking engagements, and brand collaborations are on her website www.pameladwilson.com. Pamela may also be contacted at +1 303-810-1816 or through the contact Me page on her website.

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When it surfaced two months ago, the notion of Teslas whizzing through underground tunnels between San Antonio International Airport and downtown seemed fanciful.

Now, theres a sign the idea may have gained some traction.

The Boring Co., a tunneling firm backed by billionaire Elon Musk, has been talking to local leaders about building an underground transportation loop in San Antonio. Musk is the CEO of electric-vehicle maker Tesla, as well as the founder and CEO of SpaceX.

Under The Boring Co. proposal, a fleet of company-driven Teslas would use the subterranean circuit to shuttle visitors between the airport and downtown, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions.

On Oct. 1, in what sources described as the first concrete step to explore the idea seriously, the Alamo Regional Mobility Authority formally invited contractors to submit plans for a transportation project that can efficiently and economically transport people between the general vicinity of the San Antonio International Airport and the downtown area of San Antonio.

Alamo RMA Chairman Michael Lynd Jr., a residential estate developer, said the authority issued the request for airport-to-downtown plans in response to a proposal submitted to us by a company. He declined to identify the firm. Sources told the Express-News it was The Boring Co.

Lynd said the authority now has opened the process to competing firms with ideas for a better, economically viable way to move travelers from the airport to the center city.

First, give us an idea, he said. Next, give us the facts and the tangible data behind it.

The deadline for proposals is Dec. 1.

The Alamo RMA is an independent political authority created in 2003 to finance or acquire, design and operate transportation projects, including major highway construction and toll roads. Bexar County commissioners appoint six members of its board of directors, and Gov. Greg Abbott names the chair.

On its website, the RMA says its mission is to address our congestion and mobility concerns through local means with local leadership.

Its motto: Moving people faster.

How the tunnel loop would advance that objective remains to be seen.

The trip from the airport to the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center downtown is 9.6 miles, about a 15-minute drive, mostly on U.S. 281. In other words, its an easy commute.

But the Boring Co. proposal doesnt seek to solve a transit problem, said Bexar County Engineer Renee Green, who serves as the Alamo RMAs director of engineering and operations.

The company is targeting business travelers landing at San Antonio International who have business and/or hotel accommodations downtown  visitors who want to avoid the hassle of renting a car.

These are people who are doing ride-share, she said.

Green, too, declined to identify the company behind the initial airport-to-downtown proposal. That company, she added, estimated that about 10 percent of all travelers arriving at the airport are headed for the center city.

There are many unknowns. How much would the privately held Boring Co. charge riders? How much revenue would the company expect to bring in annually? And how much would the underground tunnel set back taxpayers?

The Alamo RMAs request for qualifications and proposals asks companies to describe the anticipated maximum capacity of vehicles, passengers or facility users per direction per hour and to spell out their anticipated approach to right-of-way acquisition and utility relocations.

Such a project likely would cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

The city of San Antonio owns and operates San Antonio International. But city officials havent taken a liking to The Boring Co.s plan, which was first reported by the Express-News in August.

City Manager Erik Walsh, Assistant City Manager Rod Sanchez and Transportation Director Tomika Monterville all had conversations at various times with The Boring Co. over the summer, city spokeswoman Laura Mayes said. In looking at pricing and some unanswered questions, its just not a viable option for the city at this time.

The Boring Co. currently operates an underground transportation loop in Las Vegas. It built two tunnels that link the four exhibition halls that make up the Las Vegas Convention Centers 3.2 million-square-foot, 200-acre campus. End to end, the ride takes less than two minutes.

The loop opened to the public in June.

The Las Vegas loop, which includes three stations and 1.7 miles of tunnels, cost taxpayers $52.5 million  which works out to nearly $31 million per mile. It has the capacity to move more than 4,000 people an hour.

The vetting

After the Dec. 1 deadline for proposals, the Alamo RMA will interview up to four short-listed companies to further define their concepts and proposals, according to its official call for plans. The RMA will then pick a finalist and start negotiating a development agreement.

Or it could pull the plug on the endeavor.

The authority said it anticipates selling revenue bonds to pay for project costs, but may need additional financing to cover any gap between bond proceeds and funds needed.

More than half the RMAs revenue comes from vehicle registration fees. In its 2020 fiscal year, those fees accounted for $15.7 million of the agencys $29 million in revenue.

Grants and contributions  most, if not all, from government agencies such as the Texas Department of Transportation  brought in an additional $11.6 million.

Toll roads would be a moneymaker for the agency, but there are none in San Antonio  and there arent likely to be anytime soon.

We have no toll-viable projects, Lynd said. Not having that has limited what the RMA has been able to accomplish.

To drum up new revenue, the authority in 2019 invited contractors to pitch transportation projects on which the RMA could partner. The aim, according to the formal request, was to a) develop new delivery methods for transportation projects and/or b) develop new revenue sources or identify revenue sharing arrangements that would provide the Alamo RMA increased capacity to complete additional transportation projects.

The solicitation remains open and posted on the RMAs website.

Thats what The Boring Co. was responding to when it submitted its plan for a transportation loop.

Roads are very expensive, and they chew through funding pretty quickly  and San Antonio is one of the fastest-growing cities in the country, Lynd said. My goal, and the (RMA) boards goal, is to address that any way we can.

The Boring Co. did not respond to a request for comment.

greg.jefferson@express-news.net
In the latest skirmish over whether COVID-19 vaccines should be required, an attorney asked a Bexar County court to remove a 5-year-old boy from his unvaccinated foster parents San Antonio area home.

Senior Judge Susan Reed initially ruled the child should be removed from the home, but she reversed her decision this week after learning the foster parents have a medical condition that prompted their reluctance to get the shots. She decided to leave the child in their custody.

Local attorney William Bill Keiler, who represents the little boy, is considering whether to appeal Reeds ruling issued late Monday.

The decision in Bexar County Childrens Court followed a 90-minute court hearing Friday afternoon, during which Keiler urged moving the boy elsewhere to protect his health and safety.

If this child gets sick or, heaven help us, something worse happens, were all going to have to pay for this, Keiler said at the hearing.

But a Texas Child Protective Services official opposed that idea, noting the boy is happy and thriving in his current foster home and argued that removing him from that environment would be detrimental. The San Antonio Express-News is not publishing the childs name to protect his privacy.

Reed, a former Bexar County district attorney, wasnt required to explain her ruling. She declined to comment this week.

Richard and Barbara Bernhardt, the boys foster parents, said they havent been vaccinated because they each have celiac disease, an autoimmune condition that makes them sensitive to some medications.

Richard Bernhardt, 53, later said he plans to get his first dose of the COVID vaccine today.

His 51-year-old wife hasnt changed her mind on refusing the shot, he said.

On ExpressNews.com: Blistered by federal judge, Texas foster care chief says I do feel like I am failing children

Children under 12 years old cant yet receive COVID-19 vaccines, making them vulnerable to the virus. A vaccine for younger children is expected to become available later this year.

COVID vaccines are widely available for adults, but the Bernhardts expressed concern about how those shots could potentially affect them because of their medical condition.

The Bernhardts have been caring for the 5-year-old boy at their San Antonio area home intermittently for more than two years.

Keiler, who is also a former foster parent, serves as the childs attorney and guardian ad litem. Every child taken into CPS custody is automatically assigned a guardian ad litem to represent the youths best interest.

The attorney initially approved of the Bernhardts as suitable care providers for his 5-year-old client. But Keiler said he became troubled when he learned in recent weeks that the couple hadnt received any COVID vaccines.

COVID vaccine requirements have fueled political polarization in Texas and around the country in recent months. President Joe Biden is pushing vaccine mandates as the number of people voluntarily seeking to be inoculated has dwindled. However, Gov. Greg Abbott vowed to fight those federal efforts and has barred Texas cities, counties and school districts from making the vaccines a requirement.

Keiler told Reed during the court hearing that the Bernhardts refused to get vaccinated when he pressed them to do so. The attorney filed a court motion on Sept. 17 that sought to place the child with other caregivers vaccinated for COVID-19 or require the Bernhardts to get the shots.

Its upsetting to me to have to bring this motion, Keiler told Reed during Fridays hearing. But ... Im in charge of this kid. And this kid is living in a home now where the parents refuse to get vaccinated.

Richard Bernhardt denied ever refusing the vaccine and said he only wanted more time to research how the shot might affect him.

The childs biological mother watched the hearing online but did not testify. Her attorney, Claire Hargrove, supported removing the boy from the foster home if the caregivers didnt get vaccinated.

I dont think that it is unreasonable to ask foster parents who are supposed to keep these kids safe to take a federally approved vaccination to aid in that effort, Hargrove argued.

On ExpressNews.com: Texas handling of foster care pandemic funds draws questions

During Fridays hearing, CPS conservatorship specialist Gaby Moreno, who handles the 5-year-old boys case, said she hasnt received any training from the state child welfare agency about COVID-19 protocols or policies for Texas foster parents.

Theres no regulations or new policy that Ive heard of that we need to follow when it comes to foster homes or the children aside from the regular precautions that were all taking  (such as) masks and sanitizers, Moreno testified.

Moreno said she wouldnt be concerned if foster parents declined COVID-19 vaccines.

That is a personal choice, sir, Moreno told Keiler during the hearing. Its not law to be vaccinated. Even our own governor has not put any mandate for anybody to be vaccinated.

Moreno said the child is happy in his foster home and refers to the Bernhardts as his parents. She visits their home once a month and talks to the Bernhardts and the boy during those check-ins.

Moving the little boy would destroy him, Moreno testified.

The child was in a previous placement when we removed him in January, Moreno told the court. All he did from January to July was have major tantrums and aggression and begging the foster parents he was with to take him back home to the foster family where he is placed now.

Moreno noted it would be difficult to find another home for the 5-year-old because so many foster children are waiting for places to live.

Attorney Raul Perales  who represented Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, including CPS  asked Reed to reject the idea of taking the child from his foster home.

On ExpressNews.com: Family Tapestry ending state contract to provide foster care services in San Antonio

In her initial ruling before learning the foster parents have celiac disease, Reed said she was very concerned and ordered the boy moved elsewhere if the adults didnt get vaccinated.

I think we all have an ultimate duty to not only protect ourselves but to protect those around us, Reed said during the hearing.

When you remove children from their parents ... youve got to do what is in the best interest of that child.

After Reeds initial ruling, a foster care agency official interjected and asked if the boys foster parents could be heard.

Perales asked the judge to reopen the hearing so he could call the foster parents to testify. Reed agreed, noting she allowed it only because it was in the childs best interest.

Richard Bernhardt told the court he is retired and his wife works from home. Their 12-year-old son also lives with them.

Bernhardt said the family always wears face masks when they go out somewhere, such as a grocery store, and they use hand sanitizer to disinfect their hands and any shopping baskets they use.

The foster father said celiac disease affects him severely, which forces him to be much more cautious about what he does. Bernhardt said he takes the COVID-19 pandemic seriously, but he also must consider his own health and being present for his family.

Bernhardt said he would never place the 5-year-old boys health at risk.

I maintain proper distance. I make sure that Im not in a group or gathering that could cause me harm ... And I take as many precautions as I can because I am unvaccinated, Bernhardt said.

On ExpressNews.com: Judge blasts San Antonio-based nonprofits as dangerous, unsafe for foster children

Bernhardt said he was nervous about the COVID vaccines because his own father had an adverse reaction to the shot. Im a little more concerned about some of the consequences and some of the reactions that he had, he testified.

Keiler sought to establish during questioning that Bernhardt didnt report having a medical condition when Keiler asked him by phone in August if he planned to get vaccinated.

I believe I said it was a personal choice ... That I was going to make that choice on my own, Bernhardt responded.

Under questioning, Bernhardt acknowledged asking Keiler during their phone conversation in August why he should get vaccinated when half the people in the White House hadnt gotten the shots.

Barbara Bernhardt also testified she isnt vaccinated for COVID-19 and fears she will suffer adverse reactions from the shot since she also has celiac disease.

She confirmed her doctor recommended that she get the COVID vaccine but said she has no intentions of doing so. However, Barbara Bernhardt denied that her religious or political beliefs played any role in her refusal to get the shot.

I feel its a personal choice as well, she testified, noting that shes had adverse reactions to different medications over the past year. If I get the vaccine and have an adverse reaction to that, Im concerned about how thats going to impact me as a mother, as a wife.

Both of the Bernhardts acknowledged under questioning that they dont get flu vaccines every year.

I have never had the flu, Barbara Bernhardt testified. Im not against it. I just dont do it.

She told the court that she took the 5-year-old to get vaccinated at his most recent doctors appointment and said the boy is up to date on his shots.

If the child isnt returned to his biological parents, the Bernhardts plan to adopt him.

Richard Bernhardt expressed elation that the little boy will remain in his familys home for now.

It was a blessing, he said this week of the judges ruling. And we were incredibly excited.

pohare@express-news.net | Twitter: Peggy_OHare
Very few pieces of cookware evoke a spirit of homey comfort like an enameled cast-iron Dutch oven. And all across San Antonio, cooks are breaking those pots out to prepare hearty, soulful meals this fall.

An enameled Dutch oven is a pot of wonder with all the possibilities it can be used for, said Leslie Oakeson, founder of Texas Hill Country Hot Sauce and a graduate of the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts.

Enameled Dutch ovens are beloved by cooks for several reasons. Because of their heavy cast-iron weight, theyre ideal for long-simmered dishes where a steady and gentle transfer of heat is desired. They can be used on the stove top or in the oven or even over a campfire. Bread bakes beautifully inside them. And theyre downright attractive, making a showy centerpiece as a serving dish on the table or simply resting on a shelf in the kitchen.

Oakeson acquired her first enameled Dutch oven 20 years ago after purchasing an antique one on eBay. Shes since added several more to her collection, which she uses for numerous stews, soups, chili and other fall-friendly dishes.

One of the staples in her kitchen is taco soup, which simmers ground beef, two types of beans, corn and hominy into a rib-sticking concoction she dresses with green onions, cheese, corn chips and other toppings that feel right at home in San Antonio. Its an easy, crowd-pleasing dish thats perfect for cooking in an enameled Dutch oven and a recipe she was happy to share with the Express-News.

On ExpressNews.com: No-knead bread still the king of viral recipes

Enameled Dutch oven fanatics tend to fall into two camps: those who are loyal to the iconic French brands Le Creuset or Staub. Both companies make classic Dutch ovens that have a near-infinite lifespan and are often handed down through generations.

Their products do have a few key differences, though. Le Creuset Dutch ovens have a light, cream-colored enamel on the inside, which makes it easy to tell how well ingredients are browning. Staubs offerings have a dark gray enamel on the inside. Staub pots are typically heavier and hold heat longer. They also have tighter fitting lids, which helps retain moisture.

Todd Slack, who has held several positions in the Jason Dady Restaurant Group over the past decade, falls very firmly into the Le Creuset camp. He owns 10 pieces of Le Creuset cookware, including four Dutch ovens  a collection he estimates hes spent as much as $3,000 on.

If youre a normal person you can probably have one basic Dutch oven and be fine, Slack said. But Im an obsessive. Its like food porn for me.

Le Creuset

Slack says he most frequently uses a 3.5-quart version for cooking rice or other smaller recipes or a massive 9-quart pot he recently added to his collection for large batches of food. His favorite recipes come from celebrated Food Network star Ina Garten. Slack has cooked through all of her dozen cookbooks, which feature many recipes prepared in enameled Dutch ovens. Among his favorites are her risotto, cioppino and an earthy dish of farrow, butternut squash and bacon that bakes in the oven.

On ExpressNews.com: Ina Garten inspired coronavirus cookbook challenge for one San Antonio man

That versatility, Slack said, is why he swears by his battery of pots.

They make your cooking easier, he said. Its about consistency, reliability and general overall effectiveness.

Graham Watson-Ringo, a strategist at News Revenue Hub and enthusiastic home cook, found those qualities crucial in preparing a dish she came to crave after living in Colorado. That states iconic green chili is a favorite for both her and her husband, although she struggled to find the right recipe after testing several versions of the dish.

It wasnt until she acquired a 5.5-quart Le Creuset that she cracked the code.

I set out to try and replicate all the recipes we had tried in Colorado. And its impossible with the internet because people guard them closely, Watson-Ringo said. The Dutch oven was the key because the way the heat is evenly distributed.

Watson-Ringo now counts herself among those who hold their secret Colorado-style green chili recipes close, and she wasnt willing to share her version of the dish with the Express-News. (Dont worry, weve provided a different recipe for you to try at home.)

I think its a journey everyone needs to go on themselves, she said. Its wildly simple. I thought it was more complex than it was.

arinahabich, Contributor / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Among San Antonios most prolific Dutch oven obsessives is chef James Canter, owner of the Guerrilla Gourmet catering outfit.

I have 16 of them puppies. I love them, he said.

In addition to cooking in his enameled Dutch ovens, where he does everything from frying chicken and simmering fricassee to preparing rustic Korean stews and beyond, Canter values his pots for their display qualities. He often serves food at his catering events in enameled Dutch ovens that he has rigged into chafing dishes by placing them over cans of Sterno.

On ExpressNews.com: Guerrilla Gourmet founder James Canter weathers San Antonio coronavirus crisis with his family of 5, a pan full of tuna melts and a big heart

Canter is a Le Creuset fan today, but he argues home cooks shouldnt pass up cooking with enameled Dutch ovens if the price tag is prohibitive. Le Creuset and Staub Dutch ovens can easily cost $200 or far more depending on the size.

Theyre so expensive. I couldnt afford a Le Creuset as a young, budding chef on our salaries, he said. I literally bought about 20 H-E-B brand Dutch ovens and used them for everything.

Whether your enameled Dutch oven is pricey or humble, now is the time to dust it off and get simmering.

Recipe: Ina Gartens Baked Farro and Butternut Squash

Recipe: Old Fashioned Colorado Green Chili

Recipe: Leslie Minor Oakesons Taco Soup

pstephen@express-news.net | Twitter: @pjbites | Instagram: @pjstephen
Pide, or Turkish-style flatbreads, are an irresistible addition at a new Northwest Side restaurant along Babcock Road near Interstate 10.

Chefs Table Mediterranean Grill has been open for less than two months, but its already got some of the best scratch-baked bread in town. And those carbs get no better showcase than in the menus selection of pide.
Visitors enjoy their time in San Antonio, according to a popular travel magazine survey that named the Alamo City one of the best in the country.

Travel + Leisure asked its readers to vote in its annual World's Best Awards survey in which they get to choose their favorite cities, islands, resorts, hotels, parks and other destinations from around the world.

San Antonio, with its rich history, theme parks and popular River Walk, finished sixth in the voting for best U.S. city. Last year, it finished seventh.

On ExpressNews.com: 'Extremely rare' albino Western Diamondback rattlesnake found on Hill Country ranch

According to the magazine, "readers rated cities on their sights, landmarks, culture, cuisine, friendliness, shopping and overall value."

The Alamo City finished ahead of No. 7 Chicago but behind No. 5 New York City in the list of 15 cities. Charleston, South Carolina took the top spot for the ninth year in a row. It was followed by Santa Fe, New Mexico, Savannah, Georgia, and New Orleans, respectively.

The magazine said southern cities are popular with its readers, "thanks to the wonderful mix of warm hospitality, approachable size, excellent food and striking architecture."

On ExpressNews.com: Here are the hottest tickets this fall in San Antonio

Fort Worth and Austin were the only two other cities to make the list at No. 12 and No. 13, respectively.

Among the best hotels in the country, Hotel Emma was voted as the seventh-best city hotel in the U.S. It was the only Texas hotel to make the list. Viceroy Chicago earned the top spot.

Although Austin's Commodore Perry Estate, Auberge Resorts Collection was voted best resort in Texas, three San Antonio destinations made the list of top 10 resorts in the state.

La Cantera Resort & Spa was fifth followed by JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa at No. 7 and the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort & Spa at No. 10.

Malak.Silmi@express-news.net
Donald Trump is getting his way in the Texas Senate, as the former president inserts himself into state-level politics to push for more audits of the 2020 election he lost but that also strengthened Republicans grip on power in the capitol.

Nudged by the former president, the chamber advanced legislation late Tuesday that would create more opportunities for future audits, as well.

The Senate body also passed a bill that would stiffen the criminal penalty for illegal voting, an about-face from legislation passed by Republicans and signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott last month.

Both passed on party line votes with the exception of Rep. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, who voted against the audit bill. About an hour later, Trump announced his endorsement of Seligers primary challenger, Kevin Sparks.

Seliger said that was no coincidence, but it doesnt come as a surprise.

The bills now move on to the Texas House, where their chances of survival are less certain.

Stephen M. Dowell / TNS

Abbott, a Republican endorsed by Trump as he seeks his third term, has so far resisted Trumps call to put the election audit legislation on the agenda for the special session, which has been dominated by redistricting, the redrawing of political maps with new census data. for the next decade.

Abbott has said that an ongoing audit by the Secretary of States office of four of the states largest counties  including Harris but not Bexar  will adequately address Trumps concerns, along with several other election-related reviews.

MORE ON THAT: Abbott's four-county 2020 election audit wasn't big enough for Trump

But that has not placated Trump, who called it weak.

Last week, however, Abbott added raising the illegal voting offense as a priority item for the special session, characterizing it as an oversight from last session. Fellow Republicans Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Attorney General Ken Paxton support the measure.

Legislative flip-flop

Senate Bill 10, sponsored by Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, would raise the criminal offense for illegal voting to a second-degree felony from a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail.

The move would reverse language proposed by Republican Rep. Steve Allison, R-San Antonio, as part of the controversial GOP election bill approved by both chambers and signed by Abbott this summer. It is set to take effect in December.

Were just keeping the status quo; were just keeping it what it has been and not making the change, Hughes said. I think were doing the right thing by keeping that high level because  its a serious crime.

But Speaker Dade Phelan, also a Republican, put out a statement last week opposing the reversal.

Now is not the time to re-litigate, he said. Instead, the House will remain focused on its constitutional obligation to pass redistricting maps, and members look forward to fulfilling this critical task.

BACKGROUND: Gov. Abbott flip-flops on illegal voting charge, calls for harsher penalties

Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, and other Democrats expressed concerns about the increased penalty harming Texans who make honest mistakes being prosecuted for voter fraud and possibly being sentenced to jail time under the bill.

Its my hope that people in the African American community and the Hispanic community, people that have communities where people want to vote, really of all colors and creeds, people that really just want to vote and sometimes make an error, I hope they do not fall prey to their mistakes, Gutierrez said. Because they will know now that Greg Abbott is the one that made this to a second-degree felony, yet again.

A March ACLU analysis found that people of color, primarily women, were disproportionately targeted by the attorney generals office when it came to voter fraud prosecutions, making up at least 72 percent since 2015.

Trump demand gets crickets

Phelans office has not responded to multiple requests for comment on his stance on the election audit bill.

That bill, Senate Bill 47, authored by Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, comes as Trump exerts pressure by the day on Abbott to pass the legislation.

Since his 2020 re-election loss, Trump has repeatedly falsely claimed that voter fraud was to blame, despite a lack of evidence beyond isolated incidents affecting a handful of votes in an election in which more than 11 million Texans cast ballots. He won Texas by fewer than 6 percentage points, a slimmer margin than any Republican presidential candidate since 1996.

The bill would require county clerks to convene an election review advisory committee to examine 2020 election results from randomly selected precincts if a state or county party chair requests it. Other provisions would make it easier for candidates and others to request audits from their county clerk or the secretary of state.

Democrats grilled Bettencourt on why the legislation was necessary given a lack of evidence of widespread voter fraud.

Sen. Carol Alvarado, D-Houston, was to-the-point about who she believed was the source of Republicans motivation for passing the bill.

But for former President Trump making this an issue, do you think we would be taking this on? she asked.

Bettencourt said it was an excellent question and reminded her that the Senate had already passed a similar version of the bill even before Trump touted it. The bill, SB 97, was rushed through in a single day on the last day of the previous special session.

Asked Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas: Why are we doing this? I mean, seriously, why are we looking at the 2020 election?

Sen. West, I've said many times on the floor there have been major election irregularities in the state, Bettencourt said, though none have been proven in court.

Local governments would bear the brunt of the costs; the Legislative Budget Board earlier this month estimated that the fiscal hit could be significant but did not provide dollar figures due to not knowing the volume of potential future requests. Bettencourt estimated an audit would cost under $100,000 per county and called it a worthwhile expenditure to find answers that the public can believe in.

Is that not an unfunded mandate? West asked Bettencourt, noting that Bettencourt has in the past said he opposes new state laws that run up costs for local government.

If you want to argue that, we can have that discussion, but again, this is to restore confidence and trust in our election results, Bettencourt said.

Seliger, the lone Republican no-vote, said he did so because he does not believe an audit of 2020 election results would yield new information and because he, too, thought it unfairly put the financial burden on taxpayers.

The bill does not have an audit of the machines; it is an audit of the ballots, which is what a recall does now, Seliger said.

He added that he supports recounts and other reviews permitted under current law to sort out discrepancies, rather than allowing just about anybody to ask for an audit.

taylor.goldenstein@chron.com
A controversial proposed 26-mile loop that would encircle the city of Boerne has gained new life three years after it was soundly shot down by county residents and elected officials.

Boerne's mayor and several city council members are rekindling the idea of a loop, drawing the ire of some residents. The potential for the project has reemerged now that a regional transportation advisory group is poised to deliver recommendations for the city's future growth needs in the coming months.

The city officials say that the loop, or new roads like it, would relieve traffic congestion and accommodate future growth in one of the fastest-growing areas of Texas.

Members of the city council have also accused residents of being confused and misinformed about the project that would seize land from more than 500 private properties and pave over environmentally sensitive areas in Kendall County.

On ExpressNews.com: Here's where cops pulled over the most people in Hill Country

Last week, City Councilwoman Nina Woolard spoke of the need to make tough and unpopular decisions to make the way for the citys future. The only solution, she said, is to build more roads.

Unfortunately, peoples land is going to have to be taken, Woolard said.

This has angered county residents who say that city officials are attempting to rewrite history by playing down some of the more controversial aspects of the 2018 Kendall County Gateway study, a regional plan that hoped to address the growing traffic concerns.

That was an ugly city council meeting, said Denise Dever, one of hundreds of residents who successfully convinced the Kendall County Commissioners Court to shoot down the regional planning effort in 2018.

Mayor Tim Handren has spoken repeatedly about the regions rapid growth and its failure to invest in infrastructure to accommodate an estimated 88 percent population increase over the next three decades.

Loops encircling Boerne dating back at least 50 years have been shot down.

On ExpressNews.com: Residents cover Boerne's Main Street in yellow ribbons as a reminder of those left in Afghanistan

Handren said the goal of planning for the region's future growth is not to create something similar to Loop 1604 in Bexar County but to divert commercial traffic off Main Street and River Road, two major thoroughfares that cut through Boerne.

Last week, Handren said it was incorrect to portray the project as an expansive 26-mile, 300-foot right-of-way loop and lambasted county residents, who he said have misrepresented the size and scope of the project.

He also said that Boerne has allowed the narrative to get out of control.

Texas Department of Transportation

The folks who want to create that false narrative, I dont have any time for it, Handren said during a public meeting last week.

Dever called the comments made by city officials last week disingenuous.

At multiple public meetings, residents drilled Texas Department of Transportation officials about project details. State officials were rigid about the size of the roadway, Dever said.

Many of the residents who spoke at prior meetings described the project as an excessive land grab that would take away from the small town feel of Boerne. Others expressed environmental concerns, especially the potential impact to the Trinity Aquifer, the Hill Countrys major water source.

We dont want to make the same decisions that other cities like New Braunfels have made, said Lance Kyle, a county resident who has been involved in the pushback against the proposed loop since 2017, told the Express-News.

On ExpressNews.com: Growth and traffic are biggest concerns for Boerne, residents say

Kyle pointed to Texas 337, the partial loop around New Braunfels that has led to expansive development along the corridor.

We dont want Boerne to grow this way, Kyle said during the meeting. We want meaningful growth, not a house of cards. Thats why we are so against this. Its a fraud the way the city keeps selling this program.

In October 2018, Kendall County Commissioners voted to reject the gateway study. Kendall County Commissioner Christina Bergmann was the sole commissioner to vote in favor.

In September, Bergmann and Jeff Carroll, Boernes development services director, spoke of the need for a bypass around Boerne at a recent Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization meeting.

Members of the agency that oversees state and federally funded transportation projects said there is a need for a northeast connection from Texas 46 to Interstate 10.

Texas 46 is the only east-to-west corridor in the area and state transportation officials believe it cannot accommodate the high volumes of both passenger and large truck traffic that is projected to increase through 2040.

In the coming months, a regional transportation advisory group made up of officials from Kendall County, Fair Oaks and Boerne is expected to deliver a myriad of ideas to prepare for the regions future.

On ExpressNews.com: Elon Musk's San Antonio tunnel idea gains traction; transportation agency seeks proposals

Among the expected proposals from the advisory group will be the addition of roundabouts and improved intersections, Mayor pro-tem Ty Wolosin said last week. Wolosin noted that a loop, or relief road, might still be needed. However, he said the city would do everything it could to minimize the impact construction would have on the environment.

District 5 Councilman Joseph Macaluso said it was imperative that the citys communications department be very aggressive about the true narrative and discount naysayers who are constantly going off.

For Macaluso, its a battle to do anything. The public is going to have to grow up a little bit and be more informed about whats going on. Im kind of tired of all the negativity.

Timothy.Fanning@express-news.net
A loan officer from San Antonio was sentenced Monday to 45 days in jail and 60 hours of community service for illegally entering the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 with other supporters of former President Donald Trump.

During the invasion of the Capitol, Matthew Carl Mazzocco, 37, took smartphone photos of people scaling walls and breaking down doors as if he were on vacation, federal prosecutors said in a sentencing memorandum filed last week. They recommended he get house arrest and probation for pleading guilty to illegally parading, demonstrating or picketing in the Capitol  a federal misdemeanor punishable by up to a year behind bars.

The judge scoffed at the prosecutions suggestion, saying itd be inappropriate to confine him to his home, where he can be with his family.

There have to be consequences for participating in an attempted violent overthrow of the government, beyond sitting at home, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan said, according to transcripts. If Mr. Mazzocco walks away with probation and a slap on the wrist, thats not going to deter anyone from trying to do what he did.

/Photo courtesy of his attorney, Robbie Ward

Mazzocco, wearing a body-worn video camera, entered the building through one of the breached doors, fist-bumped police officers and spent 12 minutes inside taking selfies, which he posted to his Facebook page.

After his posts were shared widely on social media, he denied that the attack on the Capitol was a riot, repeatedly claimed that antifa and antifa plants were responsible for the violence, prosecutors wrote. Further, they said, he denied that Trump supporters had caused any damage  despite the evidence in his own photos.

Later, fearing the FBI was closing in, he scrubbed his social media accounts. Mazzocco claimed he did not know where his body camera was, and the FBI never found it, despite searching his home in Stone Oak.

In the memorandum, prosecutors said he should be sentenced to three months of home confinement, three years of probation, and 60 hours of community service.

Following the insurrection, the Justice Department has been seeking house arrest for those who trespassed, but engaged in less serious aggravating factors, the prosecution memo said. Mazzocco was one of the first charged to plead guilty.

The judge allowed him to self-surrender, records show.

Mazzocco was employed as a loan officer with Synergy One Lending Inc., but the company said it fired him.

More than 650 people have been arrested in connection with the Jan. 6 riot. Several dozen have pleaded guilty.

guillermo.contreras@express-news.net | Twitter: @gmaninfedland
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed placing six Texas freshwater mussels on the endangered species list and designating nearly 2,000 miles of Texas rivers as critical habitat for them.

The Guadalupe River Basin  one of four river basins highlighted by the proposal  is home to three of the mussels: the Guadalupe fatmucket, the false spike and the Guadalupe orb.

As bottom feeders, freshwater mussels are vital to the Texas Hill Countrys ecology and food chain. Deep within the Guadalupe River, enveloped in mud and shielded from passing predators, they soak in muck and eat whatever bacteria, algae or other tiny organic particles come their way.

But now, these little mollusks are under threat.

In its proposed rule, the Fish and Wildlife Service said it determined that habitat loss through changes in water quality and quantity, as well as an increase in fine sediments, are the primary threats to the six mussel species. And because of drought, stagnant water and low river flow, the mussels could face extinction in coming years without adequate protection in Texas. As a result, water and river authorities must work with the Fish and Wildlife Service to consider how much water is being pumped from rivers and how much is going back in.

One of the key impacts on these mussel species is river flow, said Myron Hess, an environmental lawyer in Austin. If the river stops flowing or dries up, the mussels are not going to survive. Theyll be more vulnerable to predators without the protection of water, and without a strong flow, pollution in the river could build up and adversely affect them.

The public comment period for the proposed endangered species listing ends Oct. 25, and the listing is expected to be finalized next year.

Protecting the flow

In Texas, state permits that authorize the withdrawal of water from publicly owned sources never expire. Until the early 2000s, such permits were issued based solely on peoples need for consumption, without regard for maintaining sufficient flow for a healthy ecosystem.

But in 2007, the Legislature passed a bill to protect ecological and economic resources that require healthy flow in rivers and streams. Since then, new water permits cannot be issued without ensuring that some water was reserved for downstream flow.

Nevertheless, Hess said not much has been accomplished since the bill was passed. No state-owned water has been set aside for flow protection, and initial flow standards were not as stringent as researchers and scientists believed necessary to protect Texas river ecosystems.

Meanwhile, without proper sediment controls, the development boom in South and Central Texas  including along the Guadalupe River Basin  can exacerbate erosion and sediment runoff into rivers, endangering the mussel habitat. Increases in the amount of impervious cover and water runoff can cause instability in river ecosystems.

On ExpressNews.com: After 100-year absence, mussels returning to San Antonio River - and theyve been missed

The first water flow standards were adopted in 2011, and Hess said its time to reconsider the law, revise the standards and work with river and water authorities on conservation plans.

The proposal to put the mussels on the endangered species list might serve as a catalyst for such action, he said.

Designating a critical habitat, as the Fish and Wildlife Service proposes, would not necessarily restrict further development, the agency said. But it will require any federal agencies to consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service when they take actions that could adversely affect a mussel species or its habitat. This means that if a federal permit for new development construction could impact the Guadalupe fatmuckets habitat in any way, the agency would have to speak with the Fish and Wildlife Service to make sure the development does not negatively influence the endangered mussels before going ahead with construction.

We anticipate were going to have a good working relationship with these river authorities going forward, said Matthew Johnson, the freshwater mussel conservation and recovery coordinator for the Fish and Wildlife Service.

Protecting the Guadalupe

By considering the mussel population today, river authorities can help municipalities avoid uncertainty about water later.

For the Guadalupe River Basin, the staff at the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority has been thinking about it. The river is home to 18 federally listed endangered animals and eight federally listed threatened animals.

To address this, the GBRA is working with the Fish and Wildlife Service to develop a habitat conservation plan for the river. Nathan Pence, executive manager for environmental science at the GBRA, said the plan will take a few years to put in place, but he believes the authority will be prepared if the mussels are placed on the endangered list.

The GBRA recognizes that freshwater mussels need quality of water and a quantity of water to survive and thrive, Pence said. But we also recognize that the people of Texas need that, too. Were hoping this plan can provide the tools to accomplish both of these goals.

The Fish and Wildlife Service is working with the Lower Colorado River Authority, the Brazos River Authority and the Blanco River Authority on water flow conservation agreements.

The agreements can include additional research on freshwater mussels to better understand the threats to the species and develop a plan to mitigate them, Johnson said. Agreements can involve population monitoring, habitat monitoring and water modeling.

Were hoping to develop plans that will allow these authorities to maintain their operations and conduct their maintenance activities and make sure theyre meeting their needs going forward, Johnson said, but doing so in a way that can benefit freshwater mussels as well.

Elena Bruess writes for the Express-News through Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms. ReportforAmerica.org. elena.bruess@express-news.net
Planned Parenthood South Texas is giving away emergency contraception at its health centers in San Antonio, Harlingen and Brownsville.

The offer for free morning-after pills, which lasts through Nov. 30, is in direct response to Senate Bill 8, said Mara Posada, director of public affairs for Planned Parenthood South Texas. The new state law prohibits abortion after as little as six weeks of gestation  before most women realize theyre pregnant. The law provides no exception for rape or incest. The law does not permit government enforcement but instead allows private citizens to enforce it by filing lawsuits.

About 85 percent to 90 percent of Texas abortions happen after six weeks of pregnancy, according to lawyers for several clinics.

Out-of-state agencies have reported surges in the number of Texans seeking abortions since the law went into effect at the start of September.

The Biden administration is challenging the Texas law. U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman recently heard arguments on a request from the Justice Department for an injunction that temporarily would put a stop to the near-prohibition of abortion.

Appointments are not needed to receive a free morning-after pill.

Given Texas abortion ban, preventing unintended pregnancies is crucial right now, Posada said.

On ExpressNews.com: Thousands oppose abortion restrictions at San Antonio rally

Over-the-counter emergency contraception works best when taken within three days after unprotected sex, Posada said. The Planned Parenthood South Texas website explains that the pill can reduce a persons chance of unintended pregnancy by 75 percent to 89 percent if taken within that timeframe. The morning-after pill is less effective in people who weigh more than 155 pounds.

The pill can cost up to $45, but Planned Parenthood usually offers it for $15, Posada said.

An outpouring of philanthropic support following SB 8 made it possible for Planned Parenthood South Texas to offer it for free, Posada said.

But emergency contraception should not be the only route to prevent pregnancy, Posada said. She urged those who go in for the morning-after pill to learn about other forms of birth control, many of which Planned Parenthood always offers at a reduced cost.

On ExpressNews.com: Poll: Most Americans disapprove of states abortion law

Because of SB 8, there is no Planned Parenthood South Texas site that offers abortions. If a patient needs one, though, Posada said that staffers can try to find a provider outside Texas.

Planned Parenthood offers gestational dating to show how far along a patient is in a pregnancy to help plan for whats next.

Planned Parenthood Greater Texas is giving away morning-after pills, too, but only to income-eligible patients as part of free kits that also include condoms and pregnancy tests. People who are not at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level can purchase the kits for $25, said Sarah Wheat, Planned Parenthood Greater Texas spokeswoman.

The kits are available at all Planned Parenthood Greater Texas health centers in Austin, Dallas, Denton, El Paso, Fort Worth, Lubbock, Paris, Plano, Tyler, Waco and surrounding communities. Wheat said appointments are not needed.

megan.rodriguez@express-news.net
Kin Man Hui /San Antonio Express-News

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has declared Wednesday as an ozone action day for the San Antonio area. It will be 11th day this year with possibly harmful levels of ozone pollution.

Young children, the elderly and others who have respiratory issues  such as asthma, bronchitis or emphysema  are more vulnerable to ozones effects. People with such conditions are advised to stay indoors or limit outside activity.
The First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs decided Sunday to demolish the old church where, almost four years ago, a gunman killed 26 congregants and injured 20 others.

Since a week after the Nov. 5, 2017, massacre, the old church has served as a memorial. A team of local artists and contractors jumped into action within days of the shooting to transform the bullet-ridden building into a sanctuary honoring the lives lost. Inside stand 26 chairs, each bearing the name of a victim.

But there have been concerns that the building might have structural problems. In a closed-door meeting Sunday, a majority of church members voted to tear it down, according to a report by News 4 San Antonio.

The churchs pastor could not be reached for comment.

In the wake of the tragedy, the worshipers held services in a makeshift structure, until the congregation in 2019 moved into a new home adjacent to the church-turned-memorial. The new sanctuary, a donated $3 million building with 250 seats, towers above the quaint old church.

For some survivors and family members of victims, the former place of worship has served as a painful reminder of the catastrophe that shattered the small town 30 miles southeast of San Antonio. To this day, the mass shooting ranks among the deadliest in U.S. history.

Lisa Krantz /San Antonio Express-News

The gunman, Devin Kelley, opened fire with an assault-style rifle during a Sunday service, slaying close friends and family members. After fleeing the church, he shot and killed himself.

This summer, a federal judge ruled that the U.S. Air Force was partially responsible for the massacre because it failed to process paperwork that couldve stopped Kelley from buying the weapon he used. Hed previously been convicted of assault and discharged from the military for bad conduct but slipped through background checks.

marina.riker@express-news.net
Two San Antonio hotels are among Conde Nast Traveler's list of "Top 20 hotels in Texas."

The magazine's readers voted for the top hotels, airports, cities and other categories for this year's Reader's Choice Awards. The results were released Tuesday and included Hotel Valencia Riverwalk and Hotel Emma among the best in the state.

The hotels were ranked No. 15 and No. 16, respectively, and have made the list for the fifth consecutive year. Fairmont Austin took the No. 1 spot.

On Expressnews.com: Fly to San Diego or Orlando for $39 from San Antonio

The historic Hotel Emma, located at the Pearl, impressed guests with its ambience, luxurious amenities and food, according to Conde Nast. What surprised readers the most was that the hotel was once a brewery.

Hotel Valencia Riverwalk was commended by the magazine for its location on the San Antonio River, city views and cuisine. Another highlight was the chocolate mint facial offered by the hotel spa.

Malak.Silmi@express-news.net
Hailey McNulty recalled arguing with her mom, Tara McNulty, over little things in the days, even minutes, before everything changed.

She was 15, and upset that her mom hadnt taken her to breakfast on Nov. 5, 2017, so when they arrived for a Sunday service at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Hailey didnt sit next to her, like she usually did.

When a gunman stormed in and opened fire moments later, she was in the pew in front of Tara McNulty, who sat with Haileys younger brother, James, and an aunt visiting from New York state, Margaret McKenzie.

Hailey, now 19, testified Tuesday at a trial to determine how much the Air Force should pay survivors of the horrific mass shooting for failing to make sure that the gunmans criminal convictions made it onto a federal database that could have prevented him from buying firearms.

Years earlier, as an airman stationed in New Mexico, Devin Kelley of New Braunfels had assaulted his wife and infant stepson, served time and was kicked out of the service. Air Forcce police and prosecutors were required to notify the FBI about the domestic violence charges and 2012 conviction. They did not.

On the second day of testimony before a federal judge, Hailey tearfully recounted the horror that unfolded at the church in the tiny community east of San Antonio.

Tara McNulty had told everyone to get down. As they cowered under the pews, she reassured her kids that everything would be OK.

But Kelley emptied his rifle, reloaded, and kept firing. He even made a snarky remark, like, Man, is it smoky in here, Hailey said.

Before the shooter left the church, Hailey was shot in the leg and back, James in the arm and legs, McKenzie in the backside.

Tara McNulty had yelled at the shooter to stop, Hailey said.

When I rolled back to look at her, I was trying to talk to her. and then I didnt get any kind of response, so I tried to touch her. And I did touch her, and nothing happened, Hailey cried. The realization kind of hit me that she wasnt with us anymore. So I grabbed her phone and I tried to dial 911, but I couldnt see anything. I didnt know what to do.

Her mother was among the 26 killed. Twenty-two people were wounded.

On ExpressNews.com: IG says Air Force missed opportunities to stop 'suicidal' Kelley

Hailey testified that her grandmother, Lisa McNulty, rushed to the scene, helped triage her family, and persuaded paramedics to get Hailey and James to the same hospital.

Months of treatment and rehabilitation ensued, Hailey said. But normalcy evades her to this day.

Loud noises frighten her. She no longer opens the door to her home when shes alone.

Hailey said she regrets her last moments with her mom. She recounted how she and her mother never got to finish a bucket list they created of things to see or do in Texas. Tara McNulty did not live to see her first grandchild, she said.

She was so forgiving and kind, Hailey said. Even though she got on my nerves, and Id say, Leave me alone, I now know all she wanted to do was check and make sure I was OK.

Hailey broke down crying even more when she testified about her mothers funeral service. She said she didnt want to leave.

It just hit me right then and there that she was gone and that I was never going to see her again, Hailey said. I cried on her casket. I was holding on to it. I knew in my mind that she was gone. I knew there was no turning back, ever  that she was not going to come back.

Kelley killed himself after being shot and chased out of town by two local residents. He had legally acquired his weapons after he left the Air Force, including the assault rifle used in the church massacre.

Following a trial earlier this year, U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez found the Air Force 60 percent liable and Kelley 40 percent liable in lawsuits the victims families filed over the shooting.

The current trial, expected to last two weeks, will determine what damages the Air Force should pay the families. Other survivors and relatives who were not at the church during the shooting are expected to testify. Much of the testimony is expected to focus on the lasting psychological wounds they suffered.

Lawyers for the Air Force have said the government agrees to compensate victims for reasonable medical and related expenses, but it plans to challenge costs related to non-economic damages.

guillermo.contreras@express-news.net | Twitter: @gmaninfedland
The great unifying sin of Gov. Greg Abbotts tenure is that, of course, he knows better.

This is a man who served as a state Supreme Court justice and Texas longtime attorney general before ascending to the governors office. He knows it is blatantly unconstitutional to arrest people and not provide representation or due process for weeks on end. One doesnt have to be an attorney to know and understand this, but for a public official with Abbotts legal pedigree, the failure to honor due process is galling.

In launching Operation Lone Star and creating a new legal system to detain immigrants on state trespassing charges, Abbott has blatantly disregarded constitutional rights at the altar of political expedience found in anti-immigrant posturing.

Regardless of ones feelings about immigration and border security  whether the federal government is doing its job (comprehensive reform is long overdue), or a border wall is necessary (it is not), whether Dreamers should have a pathway to citizenship (they should), or the application of Title 42 under the Trump and Biden administrations is a moral failure (it is)  all Texans should be concerned about Abbotts jailing of immigrants because it is an assault on due process and civil liberties.

Hundreds of immigrants have been detained for weeks on trespassing charges without representation, violating state law and overwhelming county justice systems, all while undercutting federal due process. Immigration is a federal issue.

As the Texas Tribune has reported, those facing criminal charges in Texas must be assigned counsel within three days of asking for an attorney. Prosecutors must also file charges within 15 to 30 days in typical trespassing cases. But these basic standards are not being met.

In rural Kinney County, where the vast majority of immigrants have been detained, the Texas Tribune reported, there arent enough local defense attorneys to take cases. Meanwhile, prosecutors have been slow to file charges, and the Washington Post has reported that non-English speaking detainees were asked to sign documents to decline representation. These documents were not in their native language.

In an example of how flawed this system is, about 250 migrants who were detained for more than a month without charges were recently released, thanks to the efforts of Texas RioGrande Legal Aid.

Since its launch in March, Operation Lone Star has resulted in 6,000 arrests on charges ranging from trespassing to smuggling and human trafficking, state officials have said. To make room for these defendants, the state has converted prison space at the Briscoe Unit in Dilley and Segovia Unit in Edinburg, the Washington Post has reported.

But, clearly, the system isnt prepared for this type of influx and capacity. If it were, detainees would be represented, not languishing in jail waiting for charges.

For example, the Lubbock Private Defenders Office, a fabulous model for indigent defense, has been asked to help appoint attorneys. But Lubbock is nowhere near the border, and the outfit is too small to take on so many cases. To provide legal representation would cost millions in addition to housing costs  and after disposition of these trespassing cases, the migrants are sent to federal authorities for processing.

At best, Abbotts system is duplicative and costly. At worst, it is a violation of due process that plays to fears of migrants.

Like so many other politicians, Abbott, through his efforts to build a wall, rhetoric and willingness to cast aside due process, is invested (through taxpayer dollars) in the fight over immigration, not in solutions that balance security and economic concerns with human dignity.
BRIDGEPORT  A man was in critical condition at the hospital on Tuesday after suffering third-degree burns when he came into contact with overhead lines of Metro-North Railroad on Monday, according to officials.

First responders rushed to the 1900 block of Fairfield Avenue around 12:30 p.m. Monday after Metropolitan Transportation Authority personnel reported to Bridgeport authorities a possible electrocution, said Scott Appleby, the citys director of emergency communications and emergency management.

Appleby said the person was burned by a catenary wire. Catenary wires are overhead lines on a trains electrification system. The individual was taken to Bridgeport Hospital to be treated, but the extent of his injuries was not available Tuesday morning.

Appleby said Metro-North took over jurisdiction of the incident.

MTA officials on Tuesday confirmed the individual was transported from the scene. Officials said the 47-year-old man was in critical condition at the hospital with third-degree burns over 90 percent of his body. His name has not yet been released.

Officials said investigators found bolt cutters at the scene. Its still an ongoing investigation.

Shortly after 1 p.m., Metro-North reported its New Haven Line was delayed because of police activity. The New Haven Line was temporarily suspended between Greens Farms in Westport and the Milford station as crews investigated the Bridgeport incident. Diesel equipment was brought in to move the riders out of the area about an hour after the reported incident.

At about 5 p.m., Metro-North said its New Haven Line was operating on or close to schedule again following the Bridgeport incident.

Its unclear how common it is for someone to be shocked by overhead lines, but this isnt the first time it has happened in Connecticut  or on a train headed to Connecticut.

In June 2020, a 16-year-old was burned head to toe after he stood on top of a Metro-North train car in Bridgeport and came in contact with an overhead line and was burned, Appleby said at the time. An MTA official said the teen was trespassing on a stationary work train when he came in contact with the line, which was charged with 13,000 volts of electricity.

In September 2018, 24-year-old Michael Vigeant, of Hudson, N.H., was killed when he tried to get on top of a New Haven-bound Metro-North train that was stopped in New York, and came in contact with catenary wires and was electrocuted.

In November 2014, 21-year-old Brian McClellen was killed after being on top of a Metro-North train, stopped in Greenwich after losing power. McClellen was electrocuted and set on fire after a pantograph fell on him. A pantograph collects power through an overhead line.
BILLINGS, Mont., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Mountain America Credit Union is pleased to announce that its Employee Match Program, in partnership with Operation Warm, has gifted 240 brand-new coats to children at Terry Park Explorers Academy Head Start in Billings, Montana.

Through this program, Mountain America will donate more than 1,200 coats and shoes to kids in need in Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah.

"Providing brand-new winter coats ensures that kids can get to school on cold days and also boosts their confidence and helps them succeed academically," says Sterling Nielsen, president and chief executive officer at Mountain America Credit Union. "Mountain America is pleased to partner with our employees and Operation Warm to provide coats and shoes to kids in need throughout the Intermountain West."

Roughly 75% of the students Operation Warm serves walk or ride the bus to school, and 14.5% of Montana children are living in poverty. Without access to basic necessities, including a proper coat, a child's learning and social opportunities can be hindered. Over the past two decades, Operation Warm has provided hope, warmth and confidence to over four million kids in the U.S. through the gift of a brand-new winter coat.

"Thanks to the generous support of Mountain America Credit Union and Operation Warm, 240 Head Start children in Billings and the surrounding communities will receive the gift of a new winter coat," says Janice King, executive director at Explorers Academy Head Start. "True to Operation Warm's mission, a new coat ensures a child will thrive socially in school and will feel safe during the frigid winter months. Helping a low-income family meet this basic need for their child during the COVID-19 pandemic is paramount, as it guarantees household funds can be directed towards healthcare costs and other necessary family expenses. Explorers Academy is extremely grateful for the outpouring of support from Mountain America Credit Union and Operation Warm."

Since 2020, Mountain America's Employee Match Program has raised over $50,000 for local charities. Last year, this program provided over 104,000 meals to local food banks. Over the past two years, Mountain America has gifted more than 4,000 coats and shoes through its partnership with Operation Warm.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mountain-america-credit-unions-employee-match-program-gifts-240-coats-to-kids-at-head-start-in-billings-montana-301394606.html

SOURCE Mountain America Credit Union
An alliance of farming groups will next week showcase and inspire actions to address climate change within the agri-food supply chains.

The Countryside COP programme takes place from 11-15 October, just a few weeks ahead of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.

The Agriculture & Land Use Alliance (ALA), which includes the likes of the NFU, the Ulster Farmers' Union (UFU) and the AHDB, will host the programme.

A significant amount of planning and effort has gone into creating a line up across the five days to show what the agri-food industry has accomplished to date.

Opportunities to help farmers reach the industry's net-zero by 2040 goal will be showcased, along with the contribution already being made to reach it.

UFU president Victor Chestnutt said: Various rural and agri-food organisations are taking part in Countryside COP which is taking place from 11-15 October.

"Theyll be hosting their own seminars to tell their individual stories covering the opportunities, challenges and successes that they experienced to achieve climate mitigation and net zero action.

"Every one of us has a role to play to reach net zero and climate action across the board is vital.

NFU Deputy President Stuart Roberts added that collaboration was essential to make sure farmers could facilitate widespread action on the ground.

The Alliance is a key part of the collaborative drive and this first Countryside COP is a fantastic opportunity to put the rural community on the climate map and show farming as a genuine part of the solution to climate change," he said.

The Countryside COP will also host events that focus on resilience and explore the synergies between adaptation and mitigation.

The UFU, alongside the Northern Ireland's Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA), is also co-hosting an agriculture and climate change event on 27 October.

A few of the guest speakers include Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots, Lord Deben chair of the UK Climate Change Committee and Professor Alice Stanton from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

Mr Chestnutt said: Our farmers are part of the climate change solution and are committed to tackling the global issue head on which is why its so important to show the many ways in which they can do this.

This event is another great opportunity to highlight the positive work of our agri-food sector and will provide an important platform for our farmers."
The RSPCA is urging the government to take 'immediate action' to solve the pig industry's crisis and stop the emergency culling of healthy animals.

The animal welfare charity, which has a farm assurance scheme with 4,000 members, said the crisis was bigger than an 'on farm problem' for the industry to solve.

Tens of thousands of pigs may have to be culled due to slaughterhouse and butchery worker shortages linked to Brexit and the pandemic.

Producers have been warning for several weeks that the labour crisis has led to a backlog of as many as 120,000 pigs on farm.

About 600 pigs have been killed at farms across the country already, according to a report by The Guardian.

Zoe Davies, the chief executive of the National Pigs Association (NPA), told the paper that culling had begun at a 'handful' of farms.

She said: We have moved to stage two. Stage one was contingency planning and putting pigs in temporary accommodation.

"Stage two, we have not got any more space and pigs are growing, there are more on farm that we can manage."

The RSPCA urged the government on Wednesday (6 October) to "step in now and fix it, as they did for the fuel crisis".

The charity said urgent action was needed now as farms across the country would be quickly running out of space for the pigs.

Emma Slawinski, director of policy said: Ive heard people say, what does it matter where they are killed? They are going to die anyway. But on-farm culls will be traumatic for many animals and people alike.

Slaughterhouses are specifically designed to kill animals. Shooting thousands of healthy pigs on a farm will be extremely difficult, even for a skilled expert.

"Pigs are intelligent animals, they are big and strong animals, weighing as much as an adult man, and getting a clean shot will be difficult, even for a skilled expert.

"Farmers will do their best but it will be incredibly distressing for the pigs being separated at slaughter.

None of this meat will be able to enter the food chain, which is incredibly wasteful and disrespectful.

Alongside the immediate welfare risks, there is also the risk that retailers will start looking to import cheaper pork to meet demand.

These products may have been produced to lower welfare standards than the UKs, compounding the welfare impact.

The NPA had sent a letter to retailers highlighting the issue that these imports were having on the labour shortage in processing plants.

It comes as pig producers staged a protest outside the Conservative Party Conference on Monday (4 October) to raise awareness of the sector's struggles.

NFU President Minette Batters told BBC Radio 4 Today programme that the protesting farmers were 'angry, distraught and extremely upset'.

"They have been calling for this, we have been calling for an emergency scheme, a Covid recovery scheme, to be put in place to avoid this very scenario," she added.

"I am desperate to get the facts of this story to the Prime Minister and that is what the pig farmers outside want to get across, the story of this disaster."
Results to a Scottish government survey on the rent review process suggest there is a positive platform around which improvements can be built after more than a thousand tenant farmers responded.

One element of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act in 2016 brought forward legal changes to introduce a new rent review process.

Following further discussions with stakeholders such as NFU Scotland, Scottish government commissioned research to seek the views of tenants directly.

In its most recent research into rent reviews, the survey was sent to all tenant farmers and resulted in a response from more than a thousand tenants.

The results showed that 53% of tenants were satisfied or very satisfied with the rent review process, with a further 34% reporting a neither/nor response to the question.

The results also showed that 15 percent of tenant farmers felt fairly or very dissatisfied with rent reviews.

Almost two-thirds of respondents were not very familiar with or not aware of the current rent review legislation, giving concern and indicating a need for stronger communications on the process.

NFU Scotland head of policy Gemma Cooper said that rent reviews had long been a bone of contention for agricultural tenants.

The results paint a generally positive picture around agricultural tenancies," she said.

"Most respondents have reported that they felt satisfied with the process around rent reviews, including how it is carried out, who carries it out and how frequently it occurs.

It was also interesting to see that 79% of tenants responding reported that they had not had a significant disagreement with their landlord during the process around rent reviews."

But of concern for NFU Scotland was the report that 64% of tenants were not very familiar with or aware of the current requirements around rent reviews, and that 82% represented themselves during the process.

It is crucial that all parties in any rent review process have the right level of knowledge to allow them to make informed decisions," Ms Cooper said.

"The results noted a direct link between familiarity with the process and satisfaction with the process, which underlines the need for industry to work jointly together to raise awareness.

There is a real opportunity to build on this survey and the previous work that has been carried out since the Tenant Farming Commission was formed in 2017.

"It is in everyones interests to ensure a healthy and vibrant tenanted sector in Scotland.
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Shah Rukh Khan who was last seen in Zero in 2018, finally decided to come back to the movies with Siddharth Anands Pathan. The actor even shot for the film in India and was soon going to start its first international schedule. However, it looks like the makers will have to wait for some more time.



Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone were all set to fly off to Spain this October 10 According to reports they were going to shoot for a romantic number in the beautiful locales of Spain and even have some high-octane action sequences. However, according to reports in E Times, we hear that the makers have postponed this schedule. The reason is obvious. Shah Rukh Khans son Aryan Khan is allegedly involved in a drug case and is in NCB custody until October 7. Its safe to assume that SRK the conwould be under a great deal of stress right now.





The makers thought it would make no sense to start the international schedule without SRK. The Spain schedule is pushed as of now and the makers will make sure that SRK is in the right frame of mind to resume shooting for it.

Pathan will see Deepika and SRK being paired for the fourth time and the film will also star John Abraham as the villain. The film is said to have Salman Khan in a cameo, where hell reprise his role of a RAW agent from his Tiger franchise.
DGAP-Ad-hoc: Beaconsmind AG / Key word(s): Development of Sales

Beaconsmind AG (ISIN: CH0451123589, EURONEXT: MLBMD, VIENNA: BMD) announces its first UAE client, fashion retailer group Maison-B-More, validating its international expansion blueprint



05-Oct-2021 / 19:23 CET/CEST

Disclosure of an inside information acc. to Article 17 MAR of the Regulation (EU) No 596/2014, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG.

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.



beaconsmind AG (ISIN: CH0451123589, EURONEXT: MLBMD, VIENNA: BMD) announces its first UAE client, fashion retailer group Maison-B-More, validating its international expansion blueprint



Zurich, Switzerland - October 5, 2021 - beaconsmind (ISIN: CH0451123589 - Ticker: MLBMD), a SaaS provider in Location-Based Marketing (LBM) for retail chains announced it will implement its location-based marketing solution for its very first UAE client, the fashion retail group Maison-B-More. The group will use beaconsmind's software Suite and Bluetooth Beacon hardware in stores. This client success, acquired in a record timeframe, highlights the legitimacy of beaconsmind's international expansion blueprint, and points to more successes to come from its strong pre-opening program which will be replicated before the next openings in APAC and Americas.



Only 5 months after opening its Middle East outpost in Dubai, UAE, beaconsmind announces its first local client acquisition. The speed from approach to closing illustrates the local appetite for solutions that extract more profit out of retail stores, and the broader industry's move towards transforming their physical stores into digital destinations. Established in Dubai in 1985, Maison-B-More's boutiques and online store are home to over 160 fashion labels from across the world and the group is the prime distributor and retailer of some of the largest global luxury fashion brands in the UAE. Physical stores are located in malls (including the Dubai Mall and the WAFI Mall) as well as in the Atlantis Dubai. The retailer is part of the Fanar Group, a broader conglomerate including hotels in the UAE and Switzerland, holiday homes, hotel apartments and restaurants, with whom beaconsmind is actively discussing implementing its hospitality solutions. With a strong online platform, the group was looking to infuse its digital know-how into its physical stores and develop further loyalty initiatives based on purchases across platforms. Thanks to the beaconsmind solution, the group will be able to interact in real time with personalised offers with its clients, based on their purchase history and location within their stores. Mr. Anis Al Jallaf, Chairman and CEO of Maison-B-More, said "Thanks to beaconsmind, we will be able to offer an experience in our physical stores that incorporates the best marketing techniques we have developed online. Given our exclusive access to brands, we have a high share of loyal, repeat customers. However, we have not been able to fully tap into this potential across our network of stores and offer our clients with a differentiated experience in stores. This is now made possible and easy with beaconsmind. Our marketing teams are excited access such a powerful tool and interact with our customers in a way they have never experienced before." For beaconsmind, this new client comes only 2 months after announcing the Roberto Cavalli acquisition and confirms a shortening of the sales cycles for the company. It also further validates the international expansion strategy of beaconsmind that was announced this year. The company's local sales force has built a significant pipeline of potential clients with a high appetite for the company's location-based marketing solution in the sectors of mall operations, gyms, supermarkets/hypermarkets, logistics, culture, and Hotels/Restaurants/Cafes. Max Weiland, CEO of beaconsmind AG, said "We are delighted to start our journey in the Gulf region with an innovative fashion group such as Maison-B-More. We are now developing an expertise in fashion retail, and we look forward to co-creating the future of physical shopping with our clients. This win illustrates that the local appetite for innovative technology solutions is high. The sales process goes faster in the Gulf thanks to centralised decision-making powers, which leads to faster sales cycles for us. Our strong pipeline demonstrates that the Middle East embraces new technologies, and our marketing solution will have a significant impact on our clients' shopping experience." About Maison-B-More

Maison-B-More is a Dubai-based fashion retail group. Established in 1985, Maison-B-More's boutiques and online store are home to over 160 fashion labels from across the world and the group is the prime distributor and retailer of some of the largest global luxury fashion brands in the UAE. Physical stores are located in malls (including the Dubai Mall and the WAFI Mall) as well as in the Atlantis Dubai. The retailer is part of the Fanar Group, a broader conglomerate including hotels in the UAE and Switzerland, holiday homes, hotel apartments and restaurants, with whom beaconsmind is actively discussing implementing its hospitality solutions. For more information, please visit www.maison-b-more.com



About beaconsmind

Founded in 2015 in Switzerland, beaconsmind is a pioneer in the field of location-based marketing (LBM) software for retail chains. beaconsmind helps retailers run successful location-based marketing campaigns. By fitting stores with bluetooth beacons that precisely locate and identify customers, and by integrating its Software Suite, beaconsmind opens a brand-new channel for retailers to interact with their customers, fundamentally transforming the shopping experience. Thanks to its solution, retailers can converge digital and physical shopping and address the convenience gaps of each. For more information, please visit www.beaconsmind.com beaconsmind

Max Weiland, Founder & CEO

maxweiland@beaconsmind.com

Tel.: +41 44 380 73-73 Media Relations

Nicolas Merigeau

NewCap

nmerigeau@newcap.fr Investor Relations / Strategic Communication

Louis-Victor Delouvrier

NewCap

lvdelouvrier@newcap.fr 05-Oct-2021 CET/CEST The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.

Archive at www.dgap.de


Regulatory News:

NOXXON Pharma N.V. (Euronext Growth Paris: ALNOX), a biotechnology company focused on improving cancer treatments by targeting the tumor microenvironment (TME), announces that new data from the ongoing Phase I/II GLORIA trial in brain cancer will be presented by Dr. Frank Giordano, the principal investigator of the study, in an oral presentation at the Society for Neuro-Oncology Annual Meeting. The meeting will take place in Boston, Massachusetts, US from November 18 21, 2021.

Details of the oral presentation are as follows:

Title: CXCL12 inhibition in MGMT unmethylated glioblastoma results of an early proof-of-concept assessment in the multicentric phase I/II GLORIA trial (NCT04121455)

Session Title: Abstract Session: Clinical Trials I

Session Date: Friday, November 19, 2021

Presentation Time: 05:00 05:05 p.m. EST 11:00 11:05 p.m. CET

Presenter: Dr. Frank Giordano, Director and Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University Hospital Bonn, Germany

The embargo for abstracts published in the 2021 abstract supplement to the SNO official journal Neuro-Oncology will lift at 07:00 a.m.EST on Thursday, November 11, 2021 and the abstract will be made available at: https://academic.oup.com/neuro-oncology.

To register to the event, please click here.

A copy of the presentation will be available on NOXXON's website shortly after the event.

About NOXXON

NOXXON's oncology-focused pipeline acts on the tumor microenvironment (TME) and the cancer immunity cycle by breaking the tumor protection barrier and blocking tumor repair. By neutralizing chemokines in the TME, NOXXON's approach works in combination with other forms of treatment to weaken tumor defenses against the immune system and enable greater therapeutic impact. NOXXON's lead program NOX-A12 has delivered final top-line data from a Keytruda combination trial in metastatic colorectal and pancreatic cancer patients published at the ESMO conference in September 2020 and in July 2021 the company announced its Phase 2 study, OPTIMUS, to further evaluate safety and efficacy of NOX-A12 in combination with Merck's Keytruda and two different chemotherapy regimens as second-line therapy in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer. NOXXON is also studying NOX-A12 in brain cancer in combination with radiotherapy which has been granted orphan drug status in the US and EU for the treatment of certain brain cancers. GLORIA, a trial of NOX-A12 in combination with radiotherapy in newly diagnosed brain cancer patients who will not benefit clinically from standard chemotherapy has delivered interim data from the first two cohorts showing consistent tumor reductions and objective tumor responses. The company's second clinical-stage asset NOX-E36 is a Phase 2 TME asset targeting the innate immune system. NOXXON plans to test NOX-E36 in patients with solid tumors. Further information can be found at: www.noxxon.com.

Keytruda is a registered trademark of Merck Sharp Dohme Corp

Visit NOXXON on LinkedIn and Twitter

About the GLORIA Study

GLORIA (NCT04121455) is NOXXON's dose-escalation, phase 1/2 study of NOX-A12 in combination with irradiation in first-line glioblastoma (brain cancer) patients with unmethylated MGMT promoter (resistant to standard chemotherapy).

About the OPTIMUS Study

OPTIMUS (NCT04901741) is NOXXON's open-label two-arm phase 2 study of NOX-A12 combined with pembrolizumab and nanoliposomal irinotecan/5-FU/leucovorin or gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel in microsatellite-stable metastatic pancreatic cancer patients.

Disclaimer

Certain statements in this communication contain formulations or terms referring to the future or future developments, as well as negations of such formulations or terms, or similar terminology. These are described as forward-looking statements. In addition, all information in this communication regarding planned or future results of business segments, financial indicators, developments of the financial situation or other financial or statistical data contains such forward-looking statements. The company cautions prospective investors not to rely on such forward-looking statements as certain prognoses of actual future events and developments. The company is neither responsible nor liable for updating such information, which only represents the state of affairs on the day of publication.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211005006149/en/

Contacts:

NOXXON Pharma N.V.

Aram Mangasarian, Ph.D.

Chief Executive Officer

Tel. +49 (0) 30 726247 0

amangasarian@noxxon.com

Investor and Media Relations:

LifeSci Advisors

Guillaume van Renterghem

Tel. +41 (0) 76 735 01 31

gvanrenterghem@lifesciadvisors.com

NewCap

Arthur Rouille

Tel. +33 (0) 1 44 71 00 15

arouille@newcap.fr
CARGOTEC CORPORATION, PRESS RELEASE, 6 OCTOBER 2021 9 AM (EEST)

Kalmar, part of Cargotec, has received a large repeat order of six Kalmar Automatic Stacking Cranes (ASCs) from Victoria International Container Terminal (VICT). The new Kalmar ASCs will enable VICT to expand its current capacity at the Port of Melbourne located at Webb Dock East. The order was booked in Cargotec's 2021 Q3 order intake, with delivery expected to be completed in Q2 2023.

VICT, owned by International Container Terminal Services, Inc (ICTSI) is Australia's first fully automated container terminal which welcomed its first vessel in March 2017 and since then has handled the largest in capacity, longest in length and highest exchange within Australia in a single call.

The 35-hectare terminal has a design throughput capacity of over a million TEU and is the only terminal in Melbourne capable of handling the largest container vessels. The six new Kalmar ASCs are part of VICT's capacity expansion program, and the cranes will join the current fleet of 20 Kalmar ASCs operating at VICT that have been delivering truck turn times of sub-35 minutes.

The cranes will be delivered fully erected and tested to ensure rapid, smooth integration into the terminal's automated operations. VICT's automated operations are powered by Kalmar One Automation System - a complete end-to-end system that combines Kalmar automated equipment and a pre-integrated and tested software solution. The OneTerminal deployment at VICT currently includes the recently upgraded Navis N4 Terminal Operating System (TOS), a Kalmar Automatic Stacking Crane system with 20 Kalmar ASCs, 11 Kalmar AutoShuttles, and the Kalmar Automated Truck Handling system. Earlier this year, VICT ordered an additional six Kalmar AutoShuttles to be delivered by the end of this year, increasing their total fleet to 17 units.

Kalmar is also responsible for the maintenance and support of the automated container handling software solution operating at VICT as well as related technical support. In 2020, VICT signed a three-year Kalmar Parts Care agreement covering the availability of Kalmar genuine spare parts for their fleet of Kalmar equipment.

Jon Wheeler, Chief Operating Officer, VICT: "Kalmar solutions form the backbone of our operations at Webb Dock East. The yard capacity expansion and the new Automatic Stacking Cranes will allow us to increase the productivity of our operations to meet the growing customer demand on both quay and landside. The additional storage blocks will also add resiliency, allowing for improved planned maintenance, minimising disruption to our stakeholders."

Daniel Ho, Vice President, Sales, Asia-Pacific, Kalmar: "We are excited to continue our long-term collaboration with VICT and help them gain the maximum benefit from their automated solutions. Our ability to deliver fully erected and tested machines will ensure that the customer can start to leverage their new solutions faster without disrupting ongoing operations."



Further information for the press:



Daniel Ho, Vice President, Sales, Asia-Pacific, Kalmar, daniel.ho@kalmarglobal.com

Maija Eklof, Vice President, Marketing and Communications, Kalmar, tel. +358 20 777 4096, maija.eklof@kalmarglobal.com

Kalmar offers the widest range of cargo handling solutions and services to ports, terminals, distribution centres and to heavy industry. Kalmar is the industry forerunner in terminal automation and in energy efficient container handling, with one in four container movements around the globe being handled by a Kalmar solution. Through its extensive product portfolio, global service network and ability to enable a seamless integration of different terminal processes, Kalmar improves the efficiency of every move.www.kalmarglobal.com

Kalmar is part of Cargotec. Cargotec's

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Nokia launches first off-the-shelf, mission-critical Industrial Edge to accelerate the enterprise journey to Industry 4.0

Addresses new category of Industry 4.0 applications that require increased capabilities and performance at the network edge, and tight integration with industrial systems and networking solutions

Combines on-premise mission-critical?edge,?workload lifecycle management?and simplified IIoT integration?in?a?'one-stop'?industrial edge?digitalization?platform,?delivering high-compute?capacity,?performance, resilience and security required by mission-critical connected OT use cases

Scalable Edge as-a-service based on consumption gives enterprises a low-cost entry point, scalability and?full control over data

Nokia ecosystem-neutral approach?and integration capabilities?give enterprises unparalleled flexibility to?swiftly adopt edge innovations from public cloud, industrial partner cloud and industrial ISV applications.

6 October 2021

Espoo, Finland - Nokia today announced?it has launched the industry's first?cloud-native, mission-critical industrial edge solution to allow?enterprises to accelerate their *operational technology (OT) digitalization initiatives and advance their journey to Industry 4.0. The new?Nokia?MX Industrial Edge?is a scalable application and compute solution designed to meet the?mission-critical digital transformation needs of asset-intensive industries such as manufacturing, energy, and transportation. It uniquely combines compute, storage, wired/wireless networking, one-click industrial applications and automated management onto a unified, on-premise?OT digital transformation?platform.

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Industry 4.0 requires?widespread digitalization and connectivity of equipment, machines and other assets in industrial environments. Due to the volume and velocity of data generated, and the need for real-time automation, increasingly data needs to be processed at the edge - close to where it is generated. By 2025, Gartner predicts that 75% of industrial data will be processed at the edge.??

?

By adopting the Nokia MX Industrial Edge, enterprises will?benefit from?an?on-premise cloud architecture that unifies edge requirements in an easy-to-use, deploy everywhere, as-a-service package. It removes?the?complexity, knowledge, and economic hurdles typically associated with deployment, integration and life cycle?management?of high-performance compute applications and mission-critical networking.??

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The platform's extreme scalability enables multi-facility enterprises, such as logistics companies, to deploy the same technology in all their locations, whether large or small,?making the benefits of 'develop-once, deploy-everywhere' a reality. The Nokia MX Industrial Edge is powered by the Nokia Digital Automation Cloud (Nokia DAC), providing the enterprise a single pane of glass user experience to manage everything from applications to private wireless networking.?

Stephan?Litjens, Head of Enterprise Solutions at?Nokia,?said:?"Industry 4.0 is transforming asset-intensive industries by integrating and digitalizing all processes and systems across the?industrial?value chain.?This will result in an explosion of data -?and?taking the right actions based on that data in near real-time will be critical to the success of digital transformation initiatives.?Ensuring?performance, along with aspects like keeping data local and secure?while?being resilient against internet connectivity failures, are?not possible with a?centralized cloud, making the?on-prem edge?the architecture of choice for this new breed of?OT?applications.?The Nokia MX Industrial Edge?is built from the ground up to deliver the guaranteed performance, security and reliability that OT digitalization?use cases require."?

Caroline Chappell, Research Director, Analysys Mason, said: "Enterprises are increasingly focusing their digital transformation efforts on the application of software and cloud capabilities to operational technologies (OT) to reap the benefits of agility and cost-efficiency in asset-intensive industrial environments. Enterprises need on-premise edge clouds, like the Nokia MX Industrial Edge, to provide secure, resilient, and high-performance execution environments for mission-critical OT applications. Enterprises will be looking for an edge cloud solution partner that can tap into a broad ecosystem of cloud stack and industrial application vendors, understand their stringent operational needs, data sovereignty requirements, and which can bring a deep knowledge of the network to an increasingly complex, connected industrial landscape."??

The?Nokia edge solution?is also available?for enterprises?in combination with Nokia Digital Automation Cloud applications, such as High Accuracy Indoor Positioning, Plug and Play private wireless, or with?Nokia's alternative private wireless solution, Nokia?Modular Private Wireless (MPW).?Flexible consumption-based pricing models provide 'pay as you grow' subscription flexibility while minimizing upfront investments.??

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Nokia MX Industrial Edge?comes?in a variety of configurations to support small, medium, and large-scale industrial deployments. Based on the Nokia AirFrame Open Edge server, leveraging Intel's latest innovations and CPU for high - capacity processing, the Nokia edge solution is designed for compute-intensive tasks and advanced AI/Machine Learning (ML) workloads optionally supported through graphic processing unit (GPU) support. In addition, high-performance network interface cards (NICs) and packet processing systems scale to support very large 5G standalone (SA) private wireless traffic flows. It offers extreme resilience and reliability through an end-to-end, high availability (HA) architecture, supports geographical redundancy (GR) for business continuity, and the guaranteed performance is assured via integrated orchestration features for service performance management.?

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Caroline Chan, vice president, Network Platforms Group and GM, Network Business Incubation Division, Intel "Nokia and Intel have a long-standing partnership to provide innovative solutions from the core to the edge of the intelligent network, which Nokia is expanding to accelerate Industry 4.0 adoption. The combination of Intel's innovations and CPUs alongside Nokia's?MX?Industrial Edge Platform and 5G technology will offer enterprise customers the ability to connect, deploy and manage their environments. Across different verticals, enterprises will benefit from the scalable performance and high-speed, low-latency reliable communications."?

?

Enterprise customers can?accelerate their OT digitalization initiatives with the one-click deployment of industrial applications?on the MX Industrial Edge.?The?catalog?contains Nokia applications for a variety of?common?digitalization?use cases?and?is?complemented by applications from independent software vendors (ISV) which undergo an onboarding process testing?reliability, performance, and security. In addition,?Nokia's ecosystem-neutral approach?also?enables?industrial?customers to take advantage of?edge cloud compatible applications?present in?hyperscale?clouds,?as well as?industrial partner clouds.?

Finally, the MX Industrial Edge also simplifies southbound IIoT system integration complexity with its Industrial connectors providing industrial data protocols translation, and with the Nokia Integrated Operations Center that provides a single pane of glass view from all systems as well as helping create industrial automation workflows.

Litjens added:?"All industrial?and enterprise?campuses, such as factories,?logistics hubs,?ports, etc.?are multi-solution and multi-partner environments. By adopting an ecosystem-neutral approach?and integration plug-ins,?our customers?get unparalleled flexibility?and?benefit from the widest array of applications and use cases to?adopt innovations to?advance their digital transformation."???

?

*Operational Technology?

Nokia Industrial Private Wireless?

Nokia Digital Automation Cloud | Nokia?

MXIE Infographic and industrial images

Blog: Sharpening the Edge for Industry 4.0

About Nokia

At Nokia, we create technology that helps the world act together.

As a trusted partner for critical networks, we are committed to innovation and technology leadership across mobile, fixed and cloud networks. We create value with intellectual property and long-term research, led by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs.

Adhering to the highest standards of integrity and security, we help build the capabilities needed for a more productive, sustainable and inclusive world.
Covicept Therapeutics initiates a Phase 2 clinical study with PJS-539, an oral small molecule for the treatment of patients with COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2)

Covicept has initiated a Phase 2 multi-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled 150 patient clinical trial in Brazil

The study will evaluate safety and efficacy of PJS-539 in reducing viral load in patients with COVID-19

PJS-539 is a potent, once daily, oral pill that inhibits attachment, infection and replication of SARS-CoV-2 and other RNA viruses

Covicept is a California-based biotech company funded and operationally supported by Forbion, a leading European life sciences venture capital firm

San Diego, USA, October 6th, 2021 - Covicept Therapeutics, an antiviral drug development company, announced today that a double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2 trial of PSJ-539 has been initiated and has begun enrolling patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19. PSJ-539 has the potential to become a best-in-class small molecule for the treatment of COVID-19 patients and also has potential as a broad-spectrum antiviral drug targeting RNA viruses.

This multi-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2 clinical trial is designed to evaluate safety and efficacy of PJS-539 in patients recently diagnosed with COVID-19. The trial in up to 150 patients is being conducted in Brazil, led by Bruno M Tomazini, MD of the Hospital do Coracao Sao Paulo. PSJ-539 is administered once a day over ten days and the primary endpoint of the study will be the effect of two different doses of PSJ-539 on viral load compared to placebo. Secondary endpoints include the frequency of hospitalization and need for mechanical ventilation. Results are anticipated by the end of the year (1). The unique mechanism of action of PSJ-539 may prevent or minimize the development of resistance to vaccines and anti-viral medications.

Covicept has discovered several new host-dependent mechanisms by which PSJ-539 inhibits viral infections underscoring its potential as a broad-spectrum antiviral drug targeting RNA viruses (2). In addition, PSJ-539 has strong anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic effects in preclinical models of SARS-CoV-2-induced pneumonia. PSJ-539 has previously been tested in human clinical trials, however its anti-viral potential is novel and Covicept holds an exclusive world-wide license to the new patents.

Large scale GMP manufacturing of PSJ-539 has been established.

Professor Tsimikas, Co-Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Covicept, commented: "It is a significant milestone for this program to move into clinical development in less than a year since Covicept was founded. Our team, together with Forbion's operational and financial support, provides the necessary synergy to bring this medicine to patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 as quickly as possible."

Sander van Deventer, Covicept Board member and Operating Partner at Forbion, added: "Covicept is a great example of how academic researchers, entrepreneurs, and investors can join forces and in a very agile way bring new therapeutic options to patients. PSJ-539 has potential as a prophylactic and to treat early, moderate and severe disease to reduce viral load, to minimize transmission and infection, as well as to reduce the long-term effects. We are very excited by the progress the team has made in the past nine months and continue to support the company on its way to develop potential blockbuster anti-viral drugs."

RNA viruses such as SARS-CoV-1 ("COVID"), SARS-CoV-2 ("SARS"), MERS-CoV ("MERS"), Dengue, Chikungunya, Zika and Ebola, are considered to be the most likely causes of devastating global pandemics. Vaccination strategies can prevent the spread of these viruses and protect individuals, but they require a significant lead time before implementation and demonstration of efficacy. Hence, a small molecule that can be stockpiled and used to inhibit viral replication would be an integral component of the response to pandemics caused by RNA viruses.

Details of the Covicept PSJ-539 program and results to date will be presented later today by Dr van Deventer at the Sachs 8th Annual Healthtech Investment Forum in Basel, Switzerland in the Spotlight Showcase at 12.20pm local time.

References

Clinicaltrials.gov: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05008393?term=covicept&draw=2&rank=1 (https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05008393?term=covicept&draw=2&rank=1) Cell paper: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7489987/ (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7489987/)

About Covicept Therapeutics, Inc.

Covicept Therapeutics, Inc. was founded in 2020 in San Diego, California USA, based on discoveries by Professor Sam Tsimikas, Professor Philip Gordts and Professor Jeffrey Eskowith. It is focused on the development of drugs to treat diseases caused by a variety of RNA viruses, including SARS-CoV-2. It is backed by $2.3 million in seed funding and operational support from leading European VC firm Forbion.

Covicept is developing PSJ-539, a small molecule that inhibits attachment, infection and replication of SARS-CoV-2 and other RNA viruses. PSJ-539 has shown good tolerability and high potency with excellent and high biodistribution to tissues, including the lungs, in humans allowing for relatively low daily doses. PSJ-539 also inhibits fibrosis, a property that may be valuable for patients infected with SARS-CoV-2, both short term and long-term. The unique mechanism of action of PSJ-539 may prevent or minimize the development of resistance to vaccines and anti-viral medications.

About Forbion

Forbion is a dedicated life sciences venture capital firm with offices in The Netherlands, Germany and Singapore. Forbion invests in life sciences companies that are active in the



Contacts

Covicept Therapeutics, Inc.

Professor Tsimikas, Co-Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Tel: +1 (0) 858 699 3528

Sander van Deventer, Covicept Board director and Forbion Operating Partner

Tel: +31 (0) 6 5498 2592

Forbion

Laura Asbjornsen, Head of Communications

Email: laura.asbjornsen@forbion.com

Tel: +31 (0) 35 699 30 00
Step Pharma, a biotech company developing novel drugs for oncology and autoimmune diseases, announced today the appointment of Dr. Adrian Senderowicz to its Board of Directors. Dr. Senderowicz is a board-certified medical oncologist with 30 years of experience in drug development and commercialization.

"Adrian has phenomenal expertise in cancer drug development having led numerous oncology clinical trials and also brings regulatory agency experience," said Andrew Parker, CEO of Step Pharma. "We'd like to welcome him to the Board and look forward to working closely with him as we move forward into clinical studies. Our lead program, STP938, will enter clinical studies for the treatment of heamatological malignancies in 2022."

Dr. Senderowicz was previously Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Constellation Pharmaceuticals, where he was responsible for the development of a portfolio of compounds leveraging epigenetics. Before Constellation, Dr. Senderowicz was chief medical officer at Cerulean Pharma, where he helped secure fast-track designation for the company's lead clinical program in two indications. Previously, Dr. Senderowicz held roles of increasing responsibility at Ignyta, Inc, Sanofi Oncology, Tokai Pharmaceuticals and AstraZeneca plc. He began his career as an investigator at the National Cancer Institute before joining the FDA's CDER. Adrian conducted his Internal Medicine residency training at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and a Clinical Oncology Fellowship at the NCI. He holds an MD from the School of Medicine at the Universidad de Buenos Aires (Argentina). Dr. Senderowicz also sits on the board of Puma Biotechnology.

"Step Pharma's CTPS1 (cytidine triphosphate synthase 1) platform is extremely promising for cancer indications. I'm looking forward to help guide the company as it moves its first program, STP938, into clinical development for the treatment of haematological malignancies," Dr. Senderowicz said.

Targeting CTPS1

Cytidine nucleotide triphosphate (CTP) is a precursor required for DNA synthesis and cell division. Patients deficient in the enzyme CTPS1 have an altered immune cell proliferation response to immune challenge but no other deleterious effects. This same pathway supports the uncontrolled growth of cancerous T and B cells, thus inhibiting CTPS1 represents a novel precision oncology approach to specifically block proliferation and induce killing of cancerous cells in lymphoma and leukaemia.

About Step Pharma

Step Pharma is focused on the development of a novel class of oral nucleotide synthesis inhibitors targeting CTPS1 for the improved treatment of a range of oncology and autoimmune diseases. The company has identified several inhibitors of CTPS1, with the most advanced, STP938, being prepared for clinical studies in haematological malignancies.

Step Pharma was founded in June 2014 by Kurma Partners, the Imagine Institute, and Sygnature Discovery based on the scientific discoveries of Dr Sylvain Latour's laboratory and Prof. Alain Fischer (UMR1163 Inserm unit). Step Pharma is based in Paris, France and supported by a strong investor base led by Kurma Partners and including BPI France (Fonds Biotherapies Innovantes et Maladies Rares), Inserm Transfert Initiative, Idinvest, Pontifax, Sygnature Discovery and the Imagine Institute. More information on the company can be found at www.step-ph.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005052/en/

Contacts:

Step Pharma

Andrew Parker

info@step-ph.com

Tel: +33 (0) 7 81 54 80 61

Halsin Partners

Mike Sinclair

msinclair@halsin.com

Tel: +44 (0) 207 318 2955
ASTONISHING JOURNEYSTO CELEBRATE TIME WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY

Fully bespoke multi-generational adventures to reunite loved ones

London, October6, 2021:Reunion noun. /?ri?'ju?ni?n/ - The act of people coming together after they have been apart for some time.

VistaJet, the first and only global business aviation company, today announced the launch of The Surprise Reunion, its latest creation in the Adventures in the Sky program for families. Designed in collaboration with world-renowned event planners Sharky & George, the thrilling adventures bring friends and families together from every corner of the globe. Whether on a little known sandy island in the Pacific Ocean or a stunning mountain with untouched snow as far as the eye can see, gatherings will be completely unique and original.

Prior to each journey, exciting and mysterious packages, including trip itineraries and challenge instructions, are delivered at each guest's door. Perhaps an ancient map parchment, a set of engraved coins, or a cryptic message, each will be different from the next - and in some cases, delivered by unexpected characters. From there, VistaJet will ensure seamless travel by private jet from anywhere in the world, to the final destination.

With unparalleled experience flying into and out of the hardest to reach destinations and onboard service unlike any other, The Surprise Reunion flights are remarkable. As friends and family may be flying simultaneously on separate VistaJet aircraft, all in-flight activities and challenges will share a common theme to create an atmosphere of togetherness leading up to the reunion.

Matteo Atti, EVP of Marketing and Innovation at VistaJet said: "This past year has shown us that spending time with family and friends is what really matters. We assessed how to better serve our Members and imagined a reunion with loved ones of all ages, commencing at 45,000ft in the sky. In collaboration with our longstanding partner Sharky & George, we did just that by creating The Surprise Reunion.

After more than a year of missed milestones and holiday gatherings, our hope is that this will give families and friends something exciting to look forward to, encouraging them to spend time together, exploring new places, creating new traditions, and celebrating every moment big and small."

VistaJet's Surprise Reunion can be completely tailored to meet passenger preferences and create the most imaginative experience. Inspiration itineraries include:

The Ultimate Quest: Imagine the world's most elaborate treasure hunt that starts at home and culminates in all the family's favorite people congregating on a private island surrounded by turquoise sea. Hidden maps and cryptic clues will be found along the way, interacting with characters who are not what they initially seem. Expect boat chases, drone delivery of intel, femmes fatales, buried chests, high-tech spy equipment, and a nail-biting narrative to inspire and excite all ages.





Imagine the world's most elaborate treasure hunt that starts at home and culminates in all the family's favorite people congregating on a private island surrounded by turquoise sea. Hidden maps and cryptic clues will be found along the way, interacting with characters who are not what they initially seem. Expect boat chases, drone delivery of intel, femmes fatales, buried chests, high-tech spy equipment, and a nail-biting narrative to inspire and excite all ages. Adventure Race Across the Globe: Perfect for family and friends with a competitive streak. Teams are allocated one month before the VistaJet flights and are evenly split between ages, ability and geography. As soon as race packs are delivered, players will have time to collaborate on tactics and game plans. Upon arrival at the top of a mountain, in a beautiful chalet surrounded by pristine powder, the group receives a set of photos, video and physical challenges to kick off a week-long adventure, paramotoring over the peaks, tracking chamois, marmot or elk with a local biologist, and dog sledding to dinner.





Perfect for family and friends with a competitive streak. Teams are allocated one month before the VistaJet flights and are evenly split between ages, ability and geography. As soon as race packs are delivered, players will have time to collaborate on tactics and game plans. Upon arrival at the top of a mountain, in a beautiful chalet surrounded by pristine powder, the group receives a set of photos, video and physical challenges to kick off a week-long adventure, paramotoring over the peaks, tracking chamois, marmot or elk with a local biologist, and dog sledding to dinner. Immersive Historical Experience: Travel back in time to Ancient Greece, where everyone will convene aboard a spectacular superyacht for two weeks in the Peloponnese to embark on a modern take on the 12 Labors of Hercules. Clues and challenges will be woven into the most unusual activities imaginable, from cave diving to capture Hydra from the bed of the sea, to recovering Golden Apples from the top of Mount Olympus in a climb to Greece's highest peak.





For more information on VistaJet and its Adventures in the Sky offerings, please visit vistajet.com/children

- Ends -

Information?

VistaJet |?press@vistajet.com

About VistaJet

VistaJet is the first and only global business aviation company. On its fleet of over 70 silver and red business jets, VistaJet has flown corporations, governments and private clients to 187 countries, covering 96% of the world. Founded in 2004, the company pioneered an innovative business model where customers have access to an entire fleet whilst paying only for the hours they fly, free of the responsibilities and asset risks linked to aircraft ownership. VistaJet's signature Program membership offers customers a bespoke subscription of flight hours on its fleet of mid and long-range jets, to fly them anytime, anywhere.

VistaJet is part of Vista Global Holding - the world's first private aviation ecosystem, integrating a unique portfolio of companies offering asset-light solutions to cover all key aspects of business aviation.

More VistaJet information and news at vistajet.com

VistaJet Limited is a European air carrier that operates 9H registered aircraft under its Maltese Air Operator Certificate No. MT-17 and is incorporated in Malta under Company Number C 55231. VistaJet US Inc. is an Air Charter Broker that does not operate aircraft. VistaJet and its subsidiaries are not U.S. direct carriers. VistaJet-owned and U.S. registered aircraft are operated by properly licensed U.S. air carriers, including XOJET Aviation LLC.

Attachments
6 October 2021

ANANDA DEVELOPMENTS PLC

("Ananda" or the "Company")

Shareholder Update

Ananda's ambition is to be a UK grower and provider of carbon neutral, consistent, high quality medical cannabis for the UK and international markets.

Since the Company's update on 17 September 2021, works have continued on schedule at the medical cannabis research growing facility being developed in the UK by DJT Plants Limited ("DJT Plants"), the Company's 50% owned subsidiary.

Research facility construction

Progress on the construction of the research facility continues. The pouring of concrete to create the facility pod floors is now complete. All drainage is in place. Ground has now been cleared and levelled for construction of the multi chapelle growing tunnels. Steel for this phase of construction has been delivered to site and holes are being bored in the ground for the multi chapelle 'legs'.

UK medical cannabis market

According to UK based medical cannabis advisory group, Maple Tree Consultants, there are now approximately 9,500 medical cannabis patients in the UK.Maple Tree predicts that this number will reach around 25,000 by the end of 2022. This growth is in line with the development of international medical cannabis markets which experienced slow growth immediately after legalisation, followed by increased and then rapid growth around year 3. Medical cannabis was legalised in the UK in late 2018. The directors of Ananda are encouraged by the potential of the industry in the UK and the opportunity for Ananda. They are also greatly heartened to see medical cannabis becoming more widely acceptable and understood as an efficacious treatment for many health indications.

Ananda's CEO Melissa Sturgess commented "Our ambition is clear. We want to provide high quality UK grown medical cannabis to UK based patients, and later to the international market. Our approach is considered and deliberate: to build a profitable business by growing and supplying medical cannabis that meets patient and prescriber needs."

-Ends-

The Directors of the Company accept responsibility for the contents of this announcement.

ANANDA DEVELOPMENTS PLC

Chief Executive Officer

Melissa Sturgess



Investor Relations

Jeremy Sturgess-Smith +44 (0)7463 686 497

ir@anandadevelopments.com PETERHOUSE CAPITAL LIMITED

Corporate Finance

Mark Anwyl



Corporate Broking

Lucy Williams

Duncan Vasey +44 (0)20 7469 0930

Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information. Upon the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

About Ananda Developments

Ananda is an AQSE-listed medical cannabis company creating UK-based operations to grow and provide carbon neutral, consistent, medical cannabis for the UK and international markets.

The UK medical cannabis market is predicted to be worth 450m by 2025 and the European market is predicted to be worth USD4.2bn by 2027.

Ananda, through its 50% owned subsidiary, DJT Plants Limited, was granted a Home Office licence in May 2021 to grow >0.2% THC cannabis in a new research facility to breed and stabilise 65 strains.

For more information, please visit: https://anandadevelopments.com/


CHESHUNT (dpa-AFX) - Tesco plc. (TSCO.L, TSCDY.PK) reported that its profit attributable to owners of the parent for the first-half of fiscal year 2021/2022 climbed to 781 million pounds or 10.07 pence per share from 460 million pounds or 4.71 pence per share in the prior year.



The British retailer said it has raised its adjusted retail operating profit expectations for this financial year to between 2.5 billion pounds and 2.6 billion pounds, as a result of strong first half performance.



The company said it now expects Tesco Bank to deliver adjusted operating profit of at least 120 million pounds for this financial year. The expectation remains highly dependent on the economic outlook.



The interim dividend has been set at 3.20 pence per ordinary share. The interim dividend will be paid on 26 November 2021 to shareholders who are on the register of members at close of business on 15 October 2021.



Tesco confirmed that it will aim to grow the dividend per share each year, broadly targeting a pay-out of around 50% of earnings.



The company announced the start of an ongoing share buyback program, with the first tranche of 500 million pounds in shares to be repurchased by no later than October 2022.



Tesco's profit before tax for the first-half of fiscal year 2021/2022 was 1.14 billion pounds up from 551 million pounds in the prior year.



Adjusted earnings per share were 11.22 pence, an increase of 54.0% reflecting higher retail profits and return to profitability for Tesco Bank.



Revenue for the period grew to 30.42 billion pounds from 28.72 billion pounds last year.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

TESCO-Aktie komplett kostenlos handeln - auf Smartbroker.de
Acquisition is set to enhance both firms' tech-consulting capacity and allow them to serve as a bridge between MENA region and Switzerland

Brakket Invest, a growth equity fund based in Stockholm and Dubai, signed an agreement this week to acquire BEON-IT, a SAP Gold-Partner firm with offices throughout the Middle East. The move will give Brakket Invest a foothold in the global tech industry as it gears up to launch its operations in Switzerland.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005013/en/

Stockholm's Brakket Invest Picks Up MENA-Based Tech Firm (Photo: Business Wire)

"This acquisition confirms our commitment to fueling the growth of tech pioneers, especially in the GCC and DACH regions, where demand for SAP solutions continues to grow exponentially," Brakket Group Managing Partner M. Hussein El Hakim says.

SAP is widely recognized as the global leader in enterprise software for the management of business operations.

BEON-IT: Digitalizing the Region's SMEs

On October 6, 2020 a Big Four firm announced its acquisition of Tyconz Enterprise Business to expand its Technology and Digital Consulting Business. Tyconz' SME business was excluded from the acquisition, and was later rebranded as Beon-IT.

With six offices across the region and a qualified team of over 50 Arabic-speaking experts, BEON-IT has served more than 200 blue-chip companies across the region, in a variety of industries like EC&O, manufacturing, retail, professional services and consumer goods.

Beon-IT CEO Shadi Abdelkhalek voiced his pleasure with the acquisition, which, he explained, would allow BEON-IT to achieve its full market potential. "We're thrilled that the organization will be joining Brakket Invest, and are confident that the move will help it expand into new markets and offer its clients more innovative services," he says.

Leveraging Booming Potential

With BEON-IT having been advised by Awad Capital Ltd., a DFSA regulated firm, and Brakket Invest's expansive presence across the EMEA region, the new partnership abounds with growth potential. BEON-IT will now enjoy access to Brakket's extensive SAP consulting expertise, diverse network of partners, and consolidated advisory resources.

"We're particularly well-positioned to help BEON-IT realize its latent potential," Brakket Invest's el Hakim says. "This acquisition will enable us to solidify our tech capabilities as we join forces in the digital transformation of the region's SMEs."

Brakket Invest is a Dubai Stockholm-based growth equity fund that invests in high-growth, high-potential ventures in deep-tech, Internet and consumer platforms, shaping transforming them into tomorrow's regional market leaders.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005013/en/

Contacts:

M. Hussein el Hakim

+971 4313 2599
Bulk Infrastructure, the Nordics' leading provider of ultra-scalable, highly connected, sustainable data centers, today announces that two of their solutions have been shortlisted by the DCS Awards 2021 review panel. The winners will be determined by an open voting process and will be announced at the in-person Awards Ceremony to be held on October 28 in London.

Supported by the Data Centre Alliance, the DCS Awards are designed to reward the product designers, manufacturers, suppliers, and providers operating in the data center arena. After a virtual ceremony in 2020, the awards return to their London location for 2021 for a physical, COVID-compliant event.

"It is rewarding to see our work in project design and implementation recognized as we bring high-performing sustainable digital infrastructure solutions to market," observes Rob Elder, Vice President, Data Centers for Bulk. "Service and sustainability are powerful factors in the ICT value chain and the benefits of the Nordics are gaining prominence in enterprise and hyperscale growth and planning."

Bulk entered nominations in two categories for 2021. In the DCS Project Awards, Bulk's nomination Unlocking Renewable Energy During Lockdown reached the finals in the Pandemic Project of the Year subcategory. The project featured a scalable, cost-effective HPC research expansion project for a UK Quant Hedge Fund that hinged on creative remote collaboration approaches amid COVID restrictions to meet the fund's sustainability and value criteria.

In the DCS Company Awards, the company's nomination Racing to Bring Sustainable Infrastructure to a Global Audience reached the finals in the Outstanding Contribution to Sustainability and Efficiency subcategory. The nomination highlights key elements in Bulk's success including the clean energy benefits of Norway's vast renewable energy supplies, and the company's work toward "unlocking the world's renewable energy giants" through the Leif Erikson subsea cable project that will connect sustainable infrastructure in the Nordics with comparable resources in Atlantic Canada.

Voting is open across all categories through October 15 through the DCA Awards 2021 website.

To learn more about Bulk Data Centers, please visit www.bulkinfrastructure.com.

About Bulk Data Centers

Bulk Data Centers (Bulk) delivers ultra-flexible, highly connected, and massively scalable data center and colocation solutions backed by personalized service excellence. As a trusted advisor offering strategically located data centers in Norway and Denmark, Bulk enables customers to reduce costs and environmental impact. Bulk leads the industry in resilience, cost efficiency, scalability and sustainability with solutions that deliver long-term growth potential with the lowest total cost of ownership. From colocation to powered land, Bulk supports business-critical solutions with unsurpassed standards, power, and connectivity. To learn how Bulk Data Centers can solve your complex data and communications logistics challenges, visit bulkinfrastructure.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.

Bulk Data Centers is a division of Bulk Infrastructure, a leading provider of sustainable digital infrastructure in the Nordics. Bulk Infrastructure is an industrial investor, developer and operator of industrial real estate, data centers and dark fiber networks.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005081/en/

Contacts:

Mia Hinterwaldner

iMiller Public Relations

bulk@imillerpr.com

+1 866-307-2510
6 October 2021

TWENTYFOUR SELECT MONTHLY INCOME FUND LIMITED

(the "Company")

(a non-cellular company limited by shares incorporated in the Island of Guernsey under the Companies (Guernsey) Law 2008, as amended, with registered number 57985 and registered as a Registered Closed-ended Collective Investment Scheme with the Guernsey Financial Services Commission. Legal entity identifier: 549300P9Q5O2B3RDNF78)

Non-Executive Director Appointment

6 October 2021

TwentyFour Select Monthly Income Fund is pleased to announce the appointment of Ashley Paxton as an independent Non-Executive Director of the Company with effect from 1 November 2021. The appointment is being made as a result of active succession planning by the Board of the Company. This announcement is issued in accordance with Listing Rule LR 9.6.11.

Ashley was formerly an audit partner and C.I. Head of Advisory for KPMG in the Channel Islands, and joins the Company with more than 25 years of funds and financial services industry experience, with a demonstrable track record in advising closed-ended London listed boards and their audit committees on IPOs, capital market transactions, audit and other corporate governance matters.



Ashley is currently a non-executive director of two London listed entities, Downing Renewables & Infrastructure Trust plc (chair of the audit committee) and JZ Capital Partners Limited. He is also non-executive chairman of Invicta Wealth Solutions Limited, a Guernsey regulated trust group. He also plays an important role in the local third sector as chairman of the Youth Commission for Guernsey & Alderney.

Ashley is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and a full-time resident of Guernsey. He holds an Economics degree from the University of Warwick.

There are no disclosures to be made in respect of LR 9.6.13 (2-6). All of Mr Paxton's current directorships in publicly quoted companies and in the past five years are noted below as required by LR 9.6.13 (1).

Directorships

Downing Renewables & Infrastructure Trust plc

JZ Capital Partners Limited

For further information, please contact:

Numis Securities Limited:

Hugh Jonathan+44 (0)20 7260 1000

Nathan Brown
DUBLIN, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading international project delivery specialists, PM Group have opened a new office in Frankfurt, Germany. Making the announcement, the company highlighted its commitment to the market and to meeting the needs of its growing client base.

PM Group is an employee owned company recognised for its culture of commitment, inclusivity and innovation. It has a 48-year track record delivering complex projects for the world's leading multinationals. With over 3,300 people, PM Group provides project management, process design, facility design and construction management. Turnover in 2020 was 398 million and clients include Bayer, J&J, MSD, Roche, Johnson Matthey and Facebook.

According to Andrea Brunetti, DACH Region MD, PM Group, 'The opening of our Frankfurt office is another significant milestone in our growth strategy. It will support our fast growing international business as well as our flexible ways of working. As with our fully established office in Basel, we are looking to quickly build to a 50 person team in Frankfurt and to double that in the next few years.'

The new Frankfurt office will provide engineering design and construction management services to life sciences, data centres and EV clients. Frankfurt is part of the company's network of 16 offices worldwide and is ideally located to service key clients in the region.

Richard Horvath, Operations Manager - Germany, PM Group said, 'Frankfurt is located in one of the fastest growing markets in our key sectors and I am very excited about the potential to build a substantial German operation with a local German team. Expertise and support will also be provided by PM Group's substantial operations in Europe.'

Peter Feldmann, Lord Mayor of the City of Frankfurt and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of FrankfurtRheinMain GmbH International Marketingof the Region said: "We are very pleased to welcome PM Group as a new member of the Frankfurt business community. This investment clearly shows that the city of Frankfurt, in cooperation with the entire region, remains highly attractive as a business location even in difficult times. Internationally positioned companies appreciate the proximity to all the European markets that Frankfurt RheinMain offers them."

PM Group is currently recruiting for a range of positions across key specialities, including project and construction management, engineering, commissioning and qualification - see www.pmgroup-global.com/careers for further information.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1653308/PM_Group_Team.jpg

For further information, please contact:

Paul Clifford, Drury PR, +353 87 327 2161
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The global magnetoencephalography market size is expected to reach USD 353.9 million by 2028, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. The market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 4.6% from 2021 to 2028. The growing frequency of new product launches and the rise in the incidence of neurological disorders such as epilepsy and stroke are key factors driving the market. In addition, the growing geriatric population is also expected to drive the growth of the market, since they are more prone to neurodegenerative diseases. According to the World Health Organization, neurological disorders are a leading cause of death, accounting for 12.0% of all deaths worldwide.

Key Insights & Findings:

By application, the clinical segment dominated the MEG market and accounted for the largest revenue share of over 56.0% in 2020, and is further expected to continue its dominance throughout the forecast period

The clinical segment is further sub-segmented into dementia, autism, schizophrenia, multiple sclerosis, stroke, epilepsy, and others, in which the epilepsy sub-segment held the largest market share owing to its increasing prevalence worldwide

Based on end-use, the hospital segment held the largest revenue share in 2020, owing to the increasing number of hospitals in developing countries and growing competition in healthcare service providers

The imaging center segment is expected to experience the fastest growth rate during the forecast period due to its convenience, proximity, lower costs to patients, and presence of insurers

In Asia Pacific , the market is anticipated to witness the fastest CAGR of 5.6% over the forecast period due to the presence of untapped opportunities in the emerging economies of China and India

Read 100 page market research report, "Magnetoencephalography Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Application (Clinical, Research), By End-use (Hospitals, Imaging Centers, Academic & Research Institutes), By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2021 - 2028", by Grand View Research

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) technologies detect the weak magnetic fields created in the brain and use them to quantify brain functionality and map brain activity. In a clinical setting, MEG provides several inherent applications. Scans can be performed in a safe and silent atmosphere due to the passive nature of the recordings, which even allows a patient's companion to be present within the shielded area. According to a systematic review of the Global Burden of Disease study published in JAMA Neurology in 2017, non-communicable neurological disorders caused a considerable and growing burden in the United States, thus, expected to boost the market growth.

The market's prominent competitors are acquiring medium and small-sized businesses to expand their product portfolio and enhance their manufacturing capacity. For instance, in December 2020, the Magnetic Shields Limited (MSL) of Kent in partnership with the University of Nottingham has developed Cerca Magnetics Limited, a new spin-out company that will deliver the world's most advanced functional wearable brain scanner to market. It is designed to let people move around freely while being scanned.

Grand View Research has segmented the global magnetoencephalography market based on application, end-use, and region:

Magnetoencephalography Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028)

Clinical



Dementia





Autism





Schizophrenia





Multiple Sclerosis





Stroke





Epilepsy





Others



Research

Magnetoencephalography End-use Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028)

Hospitals



Imaging centres



Academic and research institutes

Magnetoencephalography Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028)

North America



U.S.





Canada



Europe



U.K.





Germany





France





Italy





Spain



Asia Pacific



China





Japan





India





Thailand





South Korea



Latin America



Brazil





Mexico





Argentina





Colombia



Middle East and Africa

and

Saudi Arabia





South Africa





UAE

List of Key Players of Magnetoencephalography Market

Compumedics Limited

Croton Healthcare

Ricoh USA , Inc.

, Inc. CTF MEG International Services LP

FieldLine Inc.

Check out more studies related to devices for diagnosis & treatment of neurological disorders, conducted by Grand View Research:

Neurological Biomarkers Market - The global neurological biomarkers market size was valued at USD 6.1 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.9% from 2020 to 2028. The market growth can be attributed to a rise in the prevalence of neurological diseases.

- The global neurological biomarkers market size was valued at in 2020 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.9% from 2020 to 2028. The market growth can be attributed to a rise in the prevalence of neurological diseases. Cerebrospinal Fluid Drainage Catheter Market - The global cerebrospinal fluid drainage catheter market size was valued at USD 257.34 million in 2020 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.5% from 2021 to 2028. The demand for Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) drainage catheters is anticipated to upsurge owing to the rising incidence of neurological disorders and increasing road accidents, which result in traumatic brain and spinal injuries.

- The global cerebrospinal fluid drainage catheter market size was valued at in 2020 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.5% from 2021 to 2028. The demand for Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) drainage catheters is anticipated to upsurge owing to the rising incidence of neurological disorders and increasing road accidents, which result in traumatic brain and spinal injuries. Neurodiagnostics Market - Increasing prevalence of neurological disorders, such as stroke, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, and epilepsy across the globe is a primary factor driving the growth of specific and precise diagnostic procedures.

Browse through Grand View Research's coverage of the Global Medical Devices Industry

Gain access to Grand View Compass, our BI enabled intuitive market research database of 10,000+ reports

About Grand View Research

Grand View Research, U.S.-based market research and consulting company, provides syndicated as well as customized research reports and consulting services. Registered in California and headquartered in San Francisco, the company comprises over 425 analysts and consultants, adding more than 1200 market research reports to its vast database each year. These reports offer in-depth analysis on 46 industries across 25 major countries worldwide. With the help of an interactive market intelligence platform, Grand View Research helps Fortune 500 companies and renowned academic institutes understand the global and regional business environment and gauge the opportunities that lie ahead.

Contact:

Sherry James

Corporate Sales Specialist, USA

Grand View Research, Inc.

Phone: 1-415-349-0058

Toll Free: 1-888-202-9519

Email: sales@grandviewresearch.com

Web: https://www.grandviewresearch.com

Follow Us: LinkedIn | Twitter

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/661327/Grand_View_Research_Logo.jpg
DUBLIN, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- To keep up with rising customer expectations, contact center service providers strive to offer a broader range of services and expand their area of coverage. The Czech technology company Daktela , that specializes in providing complete solutions for contact centers and customer communications, has announced a strategic partnership with DIDWW , a global telecoms operator that offers premium quality VoIP communication and SIP trunking services for businesses and telecom carriers all over the world.

As part of this cooperation, Daktela will benefit from DIDWW's extensive virtual phone number coverage, allowing its contact center business to grow and operate efficiently across multiple countries and territories. While maintaining one of the largest VoIP cloud infrastructures in Europe, Daktela continues to expand its market presence globally. For this purpose, the company will use the DIDWW API and online portal for immediate service provisioning.

In addition, Daktela will also utilize DIDWW's fully compliant global two-way voice and SMS services and their powerful outbound SIP trunking solution. This will enable Daktela to enhance the quality of its contact center services and offer extended reach for its enterprise customers.

"DIDWW is a great partner for us because they offer telecommunication services in 80 countries and have a powerful online portal for configuring and ordering services. Their voice services are of high quality and, in addition, their customer support is professional and reliable. We also appreciate their customer-oriented approach," specified David Hajek, Founder & Head of Global Expansion at Daktela.

Laura Pakamaniene, the Business Development Manager at DIDWW, added, "We are looking forward to a long-term partnership with Daktela, a leading cloud communications software vendor. We are excited that our solutions can improve the service quality and generate value for the ever-evolving contact center industry."

About DIDWW

DIDWW is a platform for telecommunication professionals with full self-service access and real-time provisioning, APIs and all the necessary building blocks for achieving the ultimate control over voice and SMS services.

The company offers the largest fully compliant international coverage of local, national, mobile, toll-free voice and SMS-enabled virtual phone numbers, two-way local and global SIP trunks, access to local emergency services, flexible capacity options, free global number portability, a number selection tool, and more.

DIDWW delivers premium quality services to thousands of operators worldwide through a private and fully geo-redundant network with mission-critical reliability and guaranteed SLAs. Their customers enjoy advanced solutions coupled with a unique service experience and superior value, all driven by a highly motivated team of professionals.

To learn more about DIDWW, please visit https://www.didww.com/ .

About Daktela

Daktela offers a comprehensive solution for customer support management. Through one web interface, you can process basic communication channels (voice, email, SMS, webchat, facebook messenger), including Daktela CRM and Helpdesk modules. You have online and historical statistics, call records, including recordings, chat reports, etc. The helpdesk module works on the ticketing principle and allows you to pair all purchased communication channels. The entire solution is built on the API and offers unlimited integration options, such as synchronization of CRM contacts, automatic opening of the client card, display of defined data (e.g. last orders), including pairing to your system. Daktela Contact Center is a supplementary module for Daktela virtual exchanges. Daktela can be used anywhere you have the Internet.

To learn more about Daktela, please visit https://www.daktela.com/en/ .

Press Contact:

Vilija Simkiene

Marketing Department

vilija.s@didww.com

+1 (212) 461 1854

www.didww.com

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1653907/Daktela_and_DIDWW.jpg
SHREVEPORT, LA / ACCESSWIRE / October 6, 2021 / The past few decades society and economy have seen a lot of progress and prosperity. However, despite all this, countries around the world are still facing certain issues. One of the most important of them is the illegal use of drugs. This problem strains the budgets for healthcare, affects the workplace productivity and even endangers the public's safety. Medical and technological advances enabled government agencies, healthcare professionals, employers, and individuals to make progress in fighting substance abuse and its consequences. As American Screening LLC can attest, rapid drug tests have become one of the most useful diagnostic tools in modern society, providing fast and accurate results that often save lives or enhance business results by improving the decision-making process. American Screening LLC, a leading ISO13485 contract manufacturer and distributor of diagnostic products and essential medical supplies, maintains a robust inventory of rapid drug testing kits to help public organizations, corporate entities, and regular citizens act quickly and minimize the risk of any substance abuse-related problems escalating.

From its inception, the company has been committed to offering products of the highest quality at affordable prices along with supporting efforts to combat drug addiction. American Screening LLC says that even though they grew into a major organization with operations across the globe, their core mission has remained the same. An important part of it is providing cost-effective and efficient solutions for addressing this serious problem. They say that their inventory grows constantly, but they made it a priority to always have in stock an array of rapid tests for drugs due to their realization of the importance of these products. ASC adds that whether in the workplace, at home, or in a law enforcement setting, these kits become crucial as illicit substance use increases. Their extensive range features tests that can detect from one to as many as 12 drugs of abuse with accuracy of up to 99%. These kits make it easy to check for the presence of the most commonly used drugs, including marijuana, cocaine, fentanyl, oxycodone, opiates, methamphetamine, amphetamines, K2, ETG, phencyclidine (PCP), benzodiazepine, barbiturates, methadone, and ecstasy (MDMA).

The importance of rapid drug tests is underscored by the fact that this segment of the drug abuse testing market is expected to register the strongest growth in the years ahead, American Screening LLC notes. According to Allied Market Research, total industry revenues will rise by 8.2% annually from 2017 to 2025, increasing from $6.24 billion to $11.83 billion over the specified period. Notably, the report projects a compound annual growth rate of 14.2% for the rapid testing products segment due to its advantages such as accuracy in results and in less time and advent of technologically advanced devices. For American Screening LLC, providing a rich choice of rapid drug tests is a way to ensure optimal outcomes for all parties concerned, be it in emergency medical settings, corporate environments, or public places. Its products empower healthcare professionals, law enforcement officers, employers, and family members to make the right decisions and act quickly, thus preventing or rectifying situations with potentially fatal consequences.

American Screening LLC started in a small room in Shreveport, Louisiana as a family business on a mission to provide quality drug and alcohol testing products. Since its launch in 2004, the company has expanded steadily to become a top vendor of diagnostic tests and essential medical supplies to the United States, South America, Asia, Africa, Europe, and Australia. Much of its success is attributable to the founder, Ron Kilgarlin, who drew on his extensive expertise in business management, medical devices, product development, distribution, and marketing. Among the many things American Screening LLC takes pride in are its multiple certifications, including the highly coveted one issued under MDSAP (Medical Device Single Audit Program), which designates the company as compliant with the requirements for quality management systems in multiple jurisdictions.

American Screening, LLC - Leading Provider of Diagnostic Tests & Medical Supplies: http://americanscreeningcorporationnews.com

American Screening LLC Founder, Ron Kilgarlin, on Improved Efficiency in Decision-Making with Rapid Drug Tests: https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-business-technology-health-4984166f0d2a716baa5137741175445b

Contact Information:

Ron Kilgarlin

American Screening, LLC

9742 St Vincent Ave, Ste 100

Shreveport, LA 71106

1-866-526-2873

sales@americansreeningcorp.com

https://www.americanscreeningcorp.com

SOURCE: American Screening LLC

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/666989/American-Screening-LLC-CEO-Ron-Kilgarlin-Facilitates-Faster-Decisions-with-Wide-Selection-of-Testing-Kits


CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Ellume, an Australian Digital diagnostics company, has recalled specific lots of the Ellume COVID-19 Home Test, which has been granted Emergency Use Authorization or EUA from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, citing false positive concerns.



The New York Times reported that the company has called back nearly 200,000 test kits, which represents about 5.6 percent of the around 3.5 million test kits shipped to the United States.



Ellume COVID-19 Home Test is the company's rapid, at-home COVID-19 antigen test. The affected Ellume COVID-19 Home Tests were distributed to retailers and distributors from April 2021 through August 2021.



Ellume CEO and Founder Sean Parsons said the company in recent weeks noticed an increased chance that its home tests from specific product lots may provide a false positive result.



The company initiated the recall after specific product lots reported false-positive test result rates higher than was observed in clinical testing. Ellume said it has investigated the issue, identified the root cause, implemented additional controls and decided to remove affected Ellume tests from the market.



The impacted Ellume COVID-19 Home Tests will be replaced.



Ellume said it will directly notify consumers who used an affected product before 09/17/2021 and tested positive. Consumers who did not obtain a confirmatory test at the time of the Ellume positive test result are advised that their test result could have been incorrect, and they may not have had COVID-19. These consumers are urged to take precautions to avoid COVID-19 infection including vaccination as per CDC guidelines.



The Ellume COVID-19 Home Test has not been FDA cleared or approved. It has been authorized by the FDA under an EUA for non-prescription home use, only for the detection of proteins from SARS-CoV-2, not for any other viruses or pathogens.



The FDA earlier this week issued an EUA for the ACON Laboratories' Flowflex COVID-19 Home Test, an over-the-counter COVID-19 antigen test that can be used at home without a prescription. The approval is expected to double rapid at-home testing capacity in the U.S. over the next several weeks.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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92% of survey respondents indicate insurers could do a better job of communicating

Guidewire Software Inc. (NYSE: GWRE), has released new insights from its Love, Hate or Indifferent insurance customer attitudes study. The new findings focus on the number of insurance customers uncertain as to whether they are insured when working from home. Further, many have mixed feelings about insurance staff working remotely themselves.

While one in three home workers surveyed by Guidewire had installed company hardware in their homes, two thirds (66%) of employees did not know if their home insurance policy covered them for damages which may be experienced while working remotely. When it came to considering the insurance risks, although most did not have a comprehensive understanding of what insurance services were provided to them, 66% of survey respondents believed that employers should be the ones to provide them with insurance protection while working from home. The vast majority (92%) of customers felt that their insurance company should be doing more to explain what is and is not covered in their policies when working remotely.

Clearly, the COVID-19 restrictions meant that more insurance workers were working remotely. More than two thirds (68%) of customers were comfortable with insurance companies allowing their staff to work from home. However, one in five (19%) said they would be unwilling to buy an insurance policy from a company who will let their staff work remotely once people are allowed back in the office on a more permanent basis. There seems to be a need for insurers to do more to reassure some customers that remote working is secure. For example, one in three (36%) said they were concerned about insurance staff accessing their personal data in their home.

Laurent Fontaine, group vice president, Sales, EMEA, Guidewire Software, said: "Insurance companies should understand how COVID-19 has impacted their customers, and should adapt their policies for these changed needs. Working from home will continue as part of a hybrid work pattern for both their customers and employees for the foreseeable future. There is room here for innovative products in accordance with the new working model, supported by clear and transparent communication by insurers."

About Guidewire

Guidewire is the platform general insurers trust to engage, innovate, and grow efficiently. ?We combine digital, core, analytics, and AI to deliver our platform as a cloud service. More than 450 insurers, from new ventures to the largest and most complex in the world, run on Guidewire.

As a partner to our customers, we continually evolve to enable their success. We are proud of our unparalleled implementation track record, with 1,000+ successful projects, supported by the largest R&D team and partner ecosystem in the industry. Our marketplace provides hundreds of applications that accelerate integration, localisation, and innovation.

For more information, please visit www.guidewire.com and follow us on twitter: @Guidewire_PandC.

NOTE: For information about Guidewire's trademarks, visit https://www.guidewire.com/legal-notices.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005463/en/

Contacts:

Daniel Couzens

Allison Partners

+44(0)203 971 4308

guidewire@allisonpr.com

Louise Bradley

PR Communications EMEA, Guidewire

+44(0)7474 837 860

lbradley@guidewire.com
STOCKHOLM, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- GSB Gold Standard Pay KB (Sweden): Josip Heit, entrepreneur from the technology, real estate as well as the luxury services sector, with companies operating worldwide, recently published his own website: https://www.josipheit.com, from which one can learn more about the entrepreneur.

In reference to a recent study by Hamburg Commercial Bank (HCOB) and the Frankfurt School Blockchain Center (FSBC) at the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, Josip Heit notes that the number of German companies offering "tokenised real estate" is second internationally behind the US.

There are currently 41 companies in 17 countries worldwide that have already tokenised real estate. These are primarily active in the USA (13), followed by Germany (6) and Switzerland (4). In general, Europe is far ahead of the rest of the world in this area, also with regard to the regulatory framework.

What is certain, however, is that some things, such as the implementation of digital land registers, will still take some time in technical terms. In principle, however, tokenisation makes it possible to denominate real estate as small as desired. According to Josip Heit, it is known that the promised annual savings can be in a wide range of up to more than 20 percent, among other things through the elimination of costs for bureaucracy and business trips.

Smart contracts also eliminate costs in the possible range of twenty per cent, and in some countries these may even be higher. If one considers that blockchain technologies can be used through the comfort zone of one's home, undreamt-of possibilities are inherited for the real estate sector, Josip Heit states in this context.I am sure that the topics of blockchain and tokenisation are more than hot for the future, especially due to the great simplifications that speak for themselves for all parties involved and the high savings potential! Therefore, there are good future prospects for tokenised real estate.

As an investment instrument, the real estate token is comparable to a share in a closed-end real estate fund that invests in one or two properties.

Josip Heit explains: "Although the market for tokenised real estate is still in its infancy, the high dynamics can become a serious challenge, especially for providers of real estate funds, because for investors, tokenised real estate can be associated with above-average returns and lower costs, which should be particularly interesting for those investors who are open to corresponding innovations. Coupled with the divisibility of real estate and the thus significantly larger potential investor group, tokenised real estate can noticeably change this investment class in the long term."

The advantages of blockchain technology for the real estate sector in this context are almost gigantic; in particular, the divisibility of real estate into small, tradable units now offers real estate a larger investor group - which is why a revolution could currently be in the offing that will open up completely different and, above all, new opportunities for the entire real estate market worldwide!

Josip Heit concludes: "The use of blockchain in the real estate industry has many advantages, especially in the real estate sector! From property transfers to price negotiations, blockchain technology offers an easy way to securely conduct complex transactions."

Website: https://www.JosipHeit.com

META KEYS: Josip Heit, josipheit.com, josipheit, real estate, tokenised real estate, real estate industry, website josipheit.com, Josip Heit entrepreneur, real estate funds, blockchain technology, real estate sector, real estate, tokenisation, capital market

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1653919/Josip_Heit.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1653918/GSB_Gold_Standard_Pay_KB_Sweden_Logo.jpg

Josip Heit,

Phone: +447470869360,

Media@GSB.Gold

https://www.JosipHeit.com
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / October 6, 2021 / Kingfisher Metals Corp. (TSXV:KFR)(FSE:970)(OTCQB:KGFMF) ("Kingfisher" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on diamond drilling at the Goldrange Project as the Company awaits analytical results. Goldrange is located approximately 25 km south of the town of Tatla Lake in Southwest British Columbia.

The initial diamond drill program has been completed and consisted of 4,925.3 m over 14 drill holes. Diamond drilling tested the Cloud Drifter Trend, which is defined by a 3 km long gold-in-soil anomaly including 50 samples over 1 g/t Au and rock samples with grades up to 128.9 g/t Au. Outside of the Cloud Drifter Trend, regional exploration consisted of rock, stream, and soil sampling across the 367 km2 Goldrange Project.

Highlights

The initial drill program at the Goldrange Project has been completed with 4,925.2 m over 14 drill holes.

Drilling revealed a broad hydrothermal system cored by sulfide-rich veins and breccias closely linked to plutonic contact zones.

Approximately 500 m of the ~3,000 m Cloud Drifter Trend was tested in this initial drill program.

Dustin Perry, CEO of Kingfisher states "I am happy to report that we have successfully concluded the first ever diamond drill program at the Goldrange Project. Our exploration crew has demobilized from the project after completing 14 drill holes over 4,925.3 m. Drilling consistently encountered broad zones of hydrothermal alteration accompanied by sulfide-bearing veins and breccias. Once assays are received, we will begin 3D modelling of auriferous structural corridors. This work will guide us in our 2022 drill program and help us further unlock the potential of the highly prospective Cloud Drifter Trend."

The Goldrange Project covers a significant deformation zone with numerous precious metal veins across the project. Mineralization at Goldrange occurs within the orogenic Yalakom Gold Belt, which is host to the Bridge River District that includes the past producing Bralorne Mine. Several areas of historical hand mining are located within the project and date back to the 1930s.

Diamond Drilling Update

Diamond drilling at the Cloud Drifter Trend has been completed over 14 drill holes totalling 4,925.3 m (table 1). Figure 1 outlines all diamond drilling completed in 2021.

Mineralization encountered includes broad intercepts of quartz-carbonate-sulfide veins and halo alteration of quartz-sulfide-carbonate-sericite-clay. Bedrock mapping completed in 2020 was based on limited outcrop data but was corroborated through diamond drilling and remains relatively unchanged. Figure 1 contains updated bedrock geology adjusted based on 3D models of lithological units and faults identified in drill core logging. Drill core logging included oriented core measurements which will aid future 3D modelling of the Cloud Drifter Trend that will take place prior to drilling in 2022.

A variety of vein, breccia and alteration styles were encountered in the initial drill program. Vein textures include laminated, shear banded, cataclastic, and open space fill. Sulfide minerals range from multi-cm size crystals to very fine sooty laminations. The largest quartz vein intercepted in the program was 11.2 m in drill core from hole GR21-014. Quartz-sulfide stockwork is associated with broad, coalesced halo alteration and disseminated sulfide in the halo. Breccia textures range from diffuse to brittle clast boundaries, clast types include both diorite and sulfide in a cement of quartz-carbonate-sulfide. Disseminated mineralization is widespread with variable abundance throughout silica-rich alteration zones.

The final drill hole summaries from the 2021 drill program are included below. Previously announced drill hole summaries were included within the August 9, 2021 and September 2, 2021 releases. The Company is awaiting analytical results for the 2021 drill program and they will be released to the market as they become available.

Planned Drillhole ID Easting (UTM NAD83) Northing (UTM NAD83) Elevation (masl) Depth (m) Azi Dip GR21-001 388364 5705316 1863 218 341 -45 GR21-002 388364 5705316 1863 482 341 -64 GR21-003 388544 5705532 1717 272 342 -50 GR21-004 388544 5705532 1717 292 320 -64 GR21-005 388590 5705573 1699 330 341 -54 GR21-006 388590 5705573 1699 317 350 -74 GR21-007 388590 5705573 1699 533 330 -57 GR21-008 388493 5705531 1717 514.4 280 -57 GR21-009 388493 5705531 1717 331 300 -55 GR21-010 388666 5705543 1706 577 310 -55 GR21-011 388664 5705546 1705 319 281 -45 GR21-012 388582 5705826 1505 233.1 308 -55 GR21-013 388582 5705826 1505 256 328 -54 GR21-014 388582 5705826 1505 250.8 310 -67

Table 1: 2021 Cloud Drifter Drill Collars

Hole Descriptions

GR21-009

GR21-009 (300/-55) collars from the same pad as GR21-008. The drill hole intersected siltstone and volcaniclastic sandstone and conglomerate to a depth of 74.2 m. Veins within this upper interval are associated with quartz-carbonate alteration and variably oxidized pyrite, pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite. A mixed unit of diorite, siltstone, and volcaniclastic sandstone to conglomerate was intersected from 64.7 m to a final depth of 331.0 m. This lower interval is overprinted by broad zones of quartz-carbonate-sericite-clay-sulfide vein and halo alteration. Sulfide minerals within the veins and halos include arsenopyrite, pyrite, chalcopyrite, and pyrrhotite. Semi-massive to vein hosted pyrite, pyrrhotite, arsenopyrite was intersected between 175.0 to 178.0 m in brecciated diorite.

GR21-010

GR21-010 (310/-55) collars 170 m grid southeast of GR21-008 and 009. The drill hole intersected blocky siltstone and volcaniclastic sandstone and conglomerate to a depth of 23.5 m. Veins within this upper interval are associated with quartz-carbonate alteration and pyrite, pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite. Vein and breccia-hosted sulfide comprised of pyrite, arsenopyrite and chalcopyrite was intersected in brecciated sediments between 13.0 m and 16.0 m. A mixed unit of diorite, siltstone, and volcaniclastic sandstone to conglomerate was intersected from 23.5 to a final depth of 577.0 m. The lower interval is overprinted by broad zones of quartz-carbonate-sericite-clay-sulfide vein and halo alteration. Sulfide minerals within the veins and halos include arsenopyrite, pyrite, chalcopyrite, and pyrrhotite.

GR21-011

GR21-011 (281/-45) collars from the same pad as GR21-010. The drill hole intersected siltstone and volcaniclastic sandstone and conglomerate to a depth of 31.0 m. Sulfide within this upper interval are oxidized and associated with quartz-carbonate alteration and pyrite, pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite mineralization. A mixed unit of diorite, siltstone, and volcaniclastic sandstone to conglomerate was intersected from 31.0 m to a final depth of 319.0 m. The lower diorite interval is overprinted by broad zones of quartz-carbonate-sericite-clay-sulfide vein and halo alteration. Sulfide minerals within the veins and halos include arsenopyrite, pyrite, chalcopyrite, boulangerite, sphalerite and pyrrhotite.

GR21-012

GR21-012 (308/-55) collars 350 m grid north of GR21-010 and GR21-011. The drill hole intersected blocky and broken siltstone and volcaniclastic sandstone and conglomerate to a depth of 60.1 m. Veins within this upper interval are associated with quartz-carbonate alteration and sulfides are oxidized to red-orange limonite. A mixed unit of quartz diorite and siltstone was intersected from 60.1 m to a final depth of 233.1 m. The quartz diorite interval is overprinted by broad zones of quartz-carbonate-sericite-clay-sulfide vein and halo alteration. Sulfide minerals within the veins and halos include arsenopyrite, pyrite, chalcopyrite, and pyrrhotite.

GR21-013

GR21-013 (328/-54) collars from the same pad as GR21-011. The drill hole intersected blocky and broken siltstone and volcaniclastic sandstone and conglomerate to a depth of 66.4 m. Veins within this upper interval are associated with quartz-carbonate alteration and sulfides are oxidized to red-orange limonite. A mixed unit of quartz diorite and siltstone was intersected from 66.4 m to a final depth of 256.0 m. The quartz diorite interval is overprinted by thin zones of quartz-carbonate-sericite-clay-sulfide vein and halo alteration. Sulfide minerals within the veins and halos include arsenopyrite, pyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite and pyrrhotite.

GR21-014

GR21-014 (310/-67) collars from the same pad as GR21-011 and GR21-012. The drill hole intersected highly fractured siltstone and volcaniclastic sandstone and conglomerate to a depth of 65.1 m. Veins within this upper interval are associated with quartz-carbonate alteration and sulfides are oxidized to red-orange limonite. A mixed unit of quartz diorite and siltstone was intersected from 65.1 m to a final depth of 250.8 m. The lower quartz diorite interval is overprinted by thin zones of quartz-carbonate-sericite-clay-sulfide vein and halo alteration. Sulfide minerals within the veins and halos include arsenopyrite, pyrite, chalcopyrite, and pyrrhotite. One vein intercepted measured 11.2 m in drill core contained quartz, pyrite and coarse molybdenite between 172.0 m and 183.2. The footwall selvage to this vein contained disseminated arsenopyrite replacements after mafic minerals.

Figure 1: Cloud Drifter Zone - Drill Update

Qualified Person

Dustin Perry, P.Geo., Kingfisher's CEO, is the Company's Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, and has prepared the technical information presented in this release.

About Kingfisher Metals Corp.

Kingfisher Metals Corp. (https://kingfishermetals.com/) is a Canadian based exploration company focused on underexplored district-scale projects in British Columbia. Kingfisher has three 100% owned district-scale projects that offer potential exposure to high-grade gold, copper, silver, and zinc. The Company currently has 81,893,300 shares outstanding.

For further information, please contact:

Dustin Perry, P.Geo.

CEO and Director

Phone: +1 236 358 0054

E-Mail: info@kingfishermetals.com

Neither the TSX-V nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX-V) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Mineralization hosted on adjacent and/or nearby properties is not necessarily indicative of mineralization hosted on the Company's property. This news release contains forward-looking statements, which relate to future events or future performance and reflect management's current expectations and assumptions. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's current beliefs and are based on assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements or information. Forward-looking statements or information in this news release relate to, among other things: formulation of plans for drill testing; and the success related to any future exploration or development programs.

These forward-looking statements and information reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant operational, business, economic and regulatory uncertainties and contingencies. These assumptions include; success of the Company's projects; prices for gold remaining as estimated; currency exchange rates remaining as estimated; availability of funds for the Company's projects; capital, decommissioning and reclamation estimates; prices for energy inputs, labour, materials, supplies and services (including transportation); no labour- related disruptions; no unplanned delays or interruptions in scheduled construction and production; all necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals are received in a timely manner; and the ability to comply with environmental, health and safety laws. The foregoing list of assumptions is not exhaustive.

The Company cautions the reader that forward-looking statements and information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information contained in this news release and the Company has made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation: risks related to the COVID-19 pandemic; fluctuations in gold prices; fluctuations in prices for energy inputs, labour, materials, supplies and services (including transportation); fluctuations in currency markets (such as the Canadian dollar versus the U.S. dollar); operational risks and hazards inherent with the business of mineral exploration; inadequate insurance, or inability to obtain insurance, to cover these risks and hazards; our ability to obtain all necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals in a timely manner; changes in laws, regulations and government practices, including environmental, export and import laws and regulations; legal restrictions relating to mineral exploration; increased competition in the mining industry for equipment and qualified personnel; the availability of additional capital; title matters and the additional risks identified in our filings with Canadian securities regulators on SEDAR in Canada (available at www.sedar.com). 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. Investors are cautioned against undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and, except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances.

SOURCE: Kingfisher Metals Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/666923/Kingfisher-Successfully-Concludes-Diamond-Drilling-Program-at-the-Goldrange-Project
SODANKYLA, FINLAND / ACCESSWIRE / October 6, 2021 / FireFox Gold Corp. (TSXV:FFOX)(OTCQB:FFOXF) ("FireFox" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has commenced a new fully funded campaign of diamond drilling that will test up to four of the Company's gold properties in Finland's Central Lapland Greenstone Belt over the next four months.

Carl Lofberg, President and CEO of FireFox, commented, "We have focused on executing a systematic exploration plan and it has paid off with four exciting drill-ready gold targets this year, including the Sarvi Project which we plan to drill for the first time. The potential for significant gold mineralization is high at all of these targets and we look forward to discovering the next depositor two, in Lapland."

The drill program has commenced at the 100%-owned Mustajarvi Project, where the recently completed Phase 4 program hit a high-grade gold zone including 1.35 metres at 93.88 g/t gold in hole 21MJ001 and 7.69 g/t gold over 16.45 metres in hole 21MJ010 (see news releases dated June 17th, 2021 and September 9th, 2021). The new work will include up to 2,000 metres targeted primarily at the high-grade zone in the Northeast Target.

The second priority property likely to be drill tested before the end of January 2022 is FireFox's 100%-held Sarvi Project, which adjoins Rupert Resources' Area 1 discovery zone. FireFox is currently engaged in a detailed trenching and BOT sampling program at Sarvi. To date, the team has collected 168 chip channel and over 500 BOT samples. These new data will be integrated with earlier geophysics and gold, arsenic, and copper anomalies from till and rock sampling to generate priority drill targets (see news release dated August 24th, 2021). Drilling at Sarvi will likely advance in phases as targets become better defined based on data still pending from the 2021 trenching and BOT campaigns.

By early November, FireFox plans to move the drill rig to the Utsamo target area of the Jeesio Project. This area was subjected to a detailed base-of-till (BOT) sampling program in the spring and summer with over 1,000 samples collected. Results are now being processed and interpreted to refine final drill targets for the fall campaign, which is expected to include up to 1,000 metres of drilling at Utsamo. If permits, schedule and conditions permit, FireFox plans additional exploration holes at the Saittavaara Prospect in the southern Kataja Belt of the Jeesio Project. This area was drilled for the first time earlier this year, and yielded gold mineralization of more than 0.9 g/t gold in two of three holes, including a near-surface zone of 4.0m averaging 2.03 g/t gold in 21JE002 (see news release dated August 3rd, 2021).

Quality Assurance

Patrick Highsmith, Certified Professional Geologist (AIPG CPG # 11702) and director of the Company, is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Highsmith has helped prepare, reviewed, and approves, the technical information in this news release.

About FireFox Gold Corp.

FireFox Gold Corp is listed on the TSX Venture stock exchange under the ticker symbol FFOX. FireFox also trades on the OTCQB Venture Market Exchange in the US under the ticker symbol FFOXF. The Company has been exploring for gold in Finland since 2017 where it holds a project portfolio that includes over 80,000 hectares of prospective ground.

Finland is one of the top mining investment jurisdictions in the world as indicated by its multiple top-10 rankings in recent Fraser Institute Surveys of Mining Companies. Having a strong mining law and long mining tradition, Finland remains underexplored for gold. Recent exploration results in the country have highlighted its prospectivity, and FireFox is proud to have a Finland based CEO and technical team.

For more information, please refer to the Company's website and profile on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

"Carl Lofberg"

Chief Executive Officer

CONTACT:

FireFox Gold Corp.

Email: info@firefoxgold.com

Telephone: +1-778-938-1994

Forward Looking Statements

The information herein contains forward looking statements that are subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in our forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause such differences include: changes in world commodity markets, equity markets, the extent of work stoppage and economic impacts that may result from the COVID 19 virus, costs and supply of materials relevant to the mining industry, change in government and changes to regulations affecting the mining industry.

Forward-looking statements in this release may include statements regarding: the intent to conduct additional drilling; the belief as to the location of the most prospective gold targets; the location of targets for future drill programs; and the current and future work program, including the extent and nature of exploration to be conducted in 2021 - 2022. Although we believe the expectations reflected in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, results may vary.

The forward-looking statements contained herein represent the expectations of FireFox as of the date of dissemination and, accordingly, are subject to change after such date. Readers should not place undue importance on forward-looking statements and should not rely upon this information as of any other date. FireFox does not undertake to update this information at any particular time except as required in accordance with applicable laws.

SOURCE: FireFox Gold Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/666968/FireFox-Gold-Aims-Drill-Bit-at-Four-Distinct-Gold-Targets
BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - German stocks fell sharply on Wednesday as disappointing data on the country's factory orders, a normally reliable leading indicator of trends in Europe's largest economy, added to worries about slowing growth. German factory orders fell 7.7 percent on a monthly basis in August, reversing a revised 4.9 percent rise in July as supply bottlenecks affected makers of cars and carparts in particular, data from Destatis revealed. Orders were forecast to drop moderately by 2.1 percent. Year-on-year, manufacturing orders advanced 11.7 percent after rising 26.1 percent in the previous month. The benchmark DAX slumped 298 points, or nearly 2 percent, to 14,896 after gaining 1.1 percent the previous day. Bayer AG shares were down 0.7 percent. The agricultural and pharmaceuticals firm won its first trial over claims its Roundup weedkiller causes cancer. Telecommunications firm Deutsche Telekom lost 4.5 percent after Goldman Sachs reportedly sold shares worth 1.58 billion euros ($1.83 billion) in a SoftBank structured finance deal. Tour operator TUI AG dropped 0.6 percent. The company said that it would launch a fully underwritten capital increase with subscription rights to raise gross proceeds of about 1.1 billion euros. The Nordex Group, a wind turbines manufacturer, gave up 3.5 percent. The company said it has received orders from the Danish project developer, European Energy A/S for its two wind energy projects totaling 70.9 MW in Poland. 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.
- Psoriasis affects the overall emotional wellbeing of 88% of patients[1],and at least 20% of psoriasis patients have considered suicide[2]

- Currently used endpoints in psoriasis do not capture the full impact of this skin condition on patients' lives, and almost 50% of them feel that their healthcare professionals do not understand the mental health impact of the disease[3]

- In addition to clinical manifestations, experts believe that an overall assessment of the wellbeing of the patient is crucial and that such evaluation should be implemented in clinical practice

- Almirall is initiating the innovative POSITIVE study, which, for the first time, assesses the improvement in the overall wellbeing of psoriasis patients treated with tildrakizumab[4] in a real-world setting

BARCELONA, Spain, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Almirall S.A. (BME: ALM), a global biopharmaceutical company focused on skin health, has hosted a scientific session during the 30th EADV (European Association of Dermatology and Venereology) Congress which addressed the need and importance to focus on patient wellbeing in real-life clinical practice. The symposium was part of Almirall's participation in the congress, which consisted of 21 posters and four scientific sessions.

Psoriasis is one of the most prevalent skin conditions in the world and it affects the overall emotional wellbeing of 88% of patients1,and at least 20% of them have considered suicide2. In this regard, according to the World Psoriasis Happiness Report 2018, only 27% report that their doctor talked to them about mental health. Additionally, almost 50% of psoriasis patients feel that their healthcare professionals don't understand the impact that the disease has on their mental health.3

In the symposium titled "Are you wasting your time getting to PASI100?", Prof. Piaserico (Italy) together with Prof. Mrowietz (Germany) and the happiness scientist Prof. Quoidbach (Spain), addressed questions on psoriasis patients' true needs and wellbeing. The experts pointed out that, in addition to manage the disease's clinical manifestations, the clinical practice should implement an overall and holistic assessment of the wellbeing of each patient. "The endpoints that are currently being used, such as PASI and DLQI, do not capture correctly the full impact of psoriasis on patients' life", stated Prof. Stefano Piaserico, Associate Professor at the University of Padua, Italy and Head of the Regional Centre for Psoriasis.

As a first step to measure the value of a treatment on the overall wellbeing of the patient, Prof. Quoidbach brought up some practical tips that dermatologists could implement in their clinical practice, for instance asking questions like "How do you feel? Do you feel okay? Do you feel happy?". The speakers also outlined that it is crucial to take into account the long-term control of psoriasis given the chronicity of the disease. In this context, Prof. Ulrich Mrowietz, Head of the Psoriasis-Center at the University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, presented the design of the innovative POSITIVE study, which assesses the improvement in the overall wellbeing of psoriasis patients treated with tildrakizumab3.

The overall wellbeing of a patient and the holistic approach of people-centred healthcare has never been measured in a robust prospective psoriasis study. To assess patient wellbeing, this study will apply the 5-item WHO Well-being Index (WHO-5), a widely used questionnaire assessing the subjective psychological health-related wellbeing in a variety of chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and depression. For the first time, WHO-5 will be tested as a primary endpoint in patients with psoriasis to capture the effect that tildrakizumab can have on patients' wellbeing in a real-world setting. Moreover, the long-term response on physicians' satisfaction and psoriasis patients' partners' lives will also be evaluated.

Tildrakizumab was chosen for this study as a representative of the anti-IL-23 class biologics, that block the key master cytokine in the pathogenesis of plaque psoriasis.

"Providing patients with real solutions that improve their health and wellbeing is at the core of everything we do at Almirall. The symposium has explored outcomes that truly matter to patients and their wellbeing in the context of commonly used regulatory endpoints. With advanced modern therapies now widely available to HCPs, Almirall believes that it is important to also advance our understanding of truly meaningful and ambitious outcomes for our patients," states Volker Koscielny, Chief Medical Officer at Almirall.

About tildrakizumab[5]

Tildrakizumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody that targets the p19 subunit of interleukin-23 (IL-23) and inhibits the release of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines with limited impact on the rest of the immune system. Indicated for the treatment of adults with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis who are candidates for systemic therapy.

[1] Armstrong AW, Schupp C, Wu J, et al. PLoS One. 2012;7(12):e52935; 2. National Psoriasis Foundation 2008 Survey Snapshot. Available from: http://www.psoriasis.org/document.doc?id=193.; 3. Krueger G, Koo J, Lebwohl M, et al. Arch Dermatol. 2001;137(3):280-284.

[2] Krueger G, Koo J, Lebwohi M, et al. Arch Dermatol. 2001;137(3):280-284

[3] The Health & Happiness Research Foundation (2018) World Psoriasis Happiness Report 2018. Available at: https://psoriasishappiness.report/

[4] Augustin M, Sommer R, Massana E, et al. on behalf of the POSITIVE investigators. Patient-reported wellbeing in value-based care using tildrakizumab in a real world setting: The POSITIVE Study. Poster number P1493. Presented at 30th EADV Congress; 29 Sept - 2 Oct: 2021.

[5] IlumetriI (tildrakizumab) Summary of Product Characteristics.

Date of prep: October 2021 UK-IL-2100111
LONDON, Oct. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The winner of the inaugural Real Leather. Stay Different. International Student Design Competition, in association with ArtsThread and Rollacoaster magazine - and funded by the Leather & Hide Council of America - has been announced.

Emily Omesi, a BFA undergraduate of Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City (FIT NYC), has won with her thought-provoking leather jacket design entitled 'Bacterial Genetics', inspired by scans of infectious diseases.

The judging panel included Katie Greenyer of the Pentland Group, Mike Adler, Fashion Stylist, and Milan Miladinov, Art Director at Rollacoaster magazine. Commenting on her win, Emily, said:

"I love working with leather - there is truly no other material like it. It's durable and can last the wearer a lifetime but is also very delicate to sew. Handling leather takes patience and practice - similar to creating a sculpture. Every leather hide is unique, which makes the process that much more special."

The competition attracted nearly 400 entries from 117 colleges, representing 58 nationalities from 36 countries. It encourages the use of leather to deliver a more sustainable future - and the next generation of designers to think 'slow fashion'.

With clients including Glenn Close, Josh O'Connor, Maisie Williams, Elizabeth Hurley, Emma Corrin and Monica Bellucci, judge Mike Adler commented:

"This jacket is not only super editorial but its modern and futuristic design easily translates into music and celebrity styling as well as the retail space. We need new designers who will challenge the norm; and can combine sustainability with high fashion effortlessly. Emily has delivered on all these points."

The other four finalists were Alice Morgan (University of Derby, UK), Meghan Beattie (Birmingham City University, UK), Teresita Marrero Escalona (Universidad del Azuay, Ecuador) and Nathalie Hauser (Kolding School of Design, Denmark). Their entries ranged from delicate silver and leather jewellery to intricate patchwork, shape-defining handbags, and extravagant costume designs.

The competitionencourages future talent to work with natural, sustainable, responsibly produced leather in categories of apparel, footwear or accessories, using at least 50% leather. The judges wanted to see pieces that will not only last but will be loved, for a lifetime.

Emily's design has been professionally made and features on the AW21 cover of international fashion magazine, Rollacoaster, modelled by Sano Turdiev.

Visit: https://chooserealleather.com/.

Jasmine Khaliq

jasmine@gtandi.co.uk

+44 7940283599

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1653508/Real_Leather_Stay_Different.jpg
KNOT Offshore Partners LP (the "Partnership") (NYSE: KNOP) will host its 2021 Virtual Investor Day today at 10:00 am ET, where the Partnership and its sponsor, Knutsen NYK Offshore Tankers AS, will provide an overview of the shuttle tanker business, give an update on the shuttle tanker market, and outline the supportive fundamentals that continue to underpin the Partnership's leading market position and future growth expectations.

In addition, third-party experts from Fearnleys and Rystad Energy will present on Shuttle Tanker Fundamentals and Shuttle Tanker Market Outlook respectively.

A Q&A session will follow the prepared remarks.

The event will begin at 10:00 am ET today with a live video webcast that is accessible by visiting the Investor Relations section of the Partnership's website at www.knotoffshorepartners.com. Please allow extra time prior to the call to visit the site and download any necessary software that may be needed to access the Internet broadcast. Presentation materials will be available on the website and an archived replay will also be available on the website shortly after the event concludes.

About KNOT Offshore Partners LP

KNOT Offshore Partners LP owns, operates and acquires shuttle tankers under long-term charters in the offshore oil production regions of the North Sea and Brazil. KNOT Offshore Partners LP is structured as a publicly traded master limited partnership. KNOT Offshore Partners LP's common units trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "KNOP".

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005499/en/

Contacts:

KNOT Offshore Partners LP

Gary Chapman

Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer

Email: ir@knotoffshorepartners.com

Tel: +44 1224 618 420
Vietnamese manufacturer Irex has announced a new glass-glass solar panel with a power output of 265 W and a power conversion efficiency of 18.1%.Irex, the PV module production unit of Vietnamese tech group SolarBK, has developed a special solar panel for applications in agrivoltaic projects. "Irex uses specialized glass with calculated transparency for the module to ensure that the sunlight shines through, while balancing the temperature and humidity for the plants below," the company's director, Son Truong Giang, told pv magazine. The Irex Agri-PV glass-glass panel has a power output of 265 ...

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.
DGAP-News: Linde plc / Key word(s): Quarter Results

Linde Announces Third Quarter 2021 Earnings and Conference Call Schedule



06.10.2021 / 12:03

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.





Linde Announces Third Quarter 2021 Earnings and Conference Call Schedule

Guildford, UK, October 6, 2021 - Linde (NYSE: LIN; FWB: LIN) will release its third quarter 2021 financial results on Thursday, October 28, 2021, at 06:00 EDT/midday CEST. The Company will host and webcast its conference call at 10:00 EDT/16:00 CEST, which will be available to the public and the media in listen-only mode.

Live conference call US Toll-Free Dial-In Number: 800 377 9510

Germany Toll-Free Dial-In Number: 0800 724 5685

UK Toll-Free Dial-In Number: 0800 031 4838

Access code: 6836588 Live webcast (listen-only) https://investors.linde.com/events-presentations

Short URL: https://t1p.de/i2ho Web replay Available on demand beginning at 11:30 EDT/17:30 CEST on

Thursday, October 28, 2021 at:

https://investors.linde.com/events-presentations

Short URL: https://t1p.de/i2ho

The earnings release and presentation materials can be accessed on Thursday, October 28, 2021 at https://investors.linde.com/events-presentations (short URL: https://t1p.de/i2ho).



About Linde

Linde is a leading global industrial gases and engineering company with 2020 sales of $27 billion (24 billion). We live our mission of making our world more productive every day by providing high-quality solutions, technologies and services which are making our customers more successful and helping to sustain and protect our planet.

The company serves a variety of end markets including chemicals & refining, food & beverage, electronics, healthcare, manufacturing and primary metals. Linde's industrial gases are used in countless applications, from life-saving oxygen for hospitals to high-purity & specialty gases for electronics manufacturing, hydrogen for clean fuels and much more. Linde also delivers state-of-the-art gas processing solutions to support customer expansion, efficiency improvements and emissions reductions.

For more information about the company and its products and services, please visit www.linde.com.

Contacts: Investor Relations

Juan Pelaez

Phone: +1 203 837 2213

Email: juan.pelaez@linde.com Media Relations

Anna Davies

Phone: +44 1483 244705

Email: anna.davies@linde.com

06.10.2021 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG.

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.



The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.

Archive at www.dgap.de


SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The global enterprise architecture tools market size is estimated to reach USD 1.41 billion by 2028, expanding at a CAGR of 4.9% from 2021 to 2028, according to a new study by Grand View Research, Inc. Increasing importance of affiliate enterprise IT solutions and business-driven architecture methods are expected to boost the market growth. The business is being supported by the enterprise architecture tools, which add large data capabilities and save time meanwhile reducing the process time. These factors are anticipated to increase the use of enterprise architecture tools by businesses, subsequently driving the market growth globally.

Key Insights & Findings:

The security architecture segment is expected to witness significant growth over the forecast period. The increasing number of data threats is expected to lead to the deployment of a greater number of security architectures as they include tools, technologies, and processes that are used to protect a business from external threats

The cloud segment is anticipated to expand at the highest CAGR from 2021 to 2028. The popularity of cloud technology among cost-sensitive customers and small and medium enterprises is anticipated to boost the adoption of cloud enterprise architecture tools

The small and medium enterprise segment is expected to register the highest CAGR from 2021 to 2028. Factors such as the growing number of providers and the demand for business-driven tools and solutions have boosted the adoption across SMEs

The healthcare segment is anticipated to emerge as the fastest-growing end-use segment over the forecast period. Maximization of ICT advantages, integration of resources, integration of data, and reduction of unnecessary cost are the key factors driving the healthcare segment growth

Asia Pacific is anticipated to emerge as the fastest-growing regional market over the forecast period. China , Japan , and India are the key countries characterized by the maximum deployment of architecture tools in organizations. The growing adoption of enterprise architecture tools among businesses to implement effective corporate strategies in various enterprise tasks and practices is expected to boost market growth in the Asia Pacific region

Read 120 page market research report, "Enterprise Architecture Tools Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Solution (Security Architecture, Application Architecture, Data Architecture), By Deployment, By Enterprise Size, By End Use, By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2021 - 2028", by Grand View Research

Enterprise architecture tools offer an added advantage of aiding strategic decision-making and integrating data across industries. The growing demand for all-in-one platforms, implementation of effective business strategies, understanding of strategic architecture, and assessment of possibilities and business risks are expected to boost the demand for enterprise architecture tools. Moreover, enterprise architecture tools also help and support data integration and facilitate better IT and strategic decisions, thereby, driving the market growth globally.

Some challenges in the market growth include data theft, security of data, low availability of skilled labor, and higher costs of tools, which are projected to hamper the market growth. In recent years, data thefts have increased, and the average cost of a data breach was estimated to be around USD 3.92 million in 2019. Thus, companies are expected to deploy a variety of software to reduce data thefts and increase security. Furthermore, with technological advancements and vendors investing in enterprise tools, companies are anticipated to mitigate flaws in architecture tools integration. This is expected to increase the market growth despite the challenges.

To be competitive, market participants use differentiation techniques and focus on introducing new products. For instance, in September 2020, Mega International introduced HOPEX V4, which included HOPEX 360 (a new enterprise portal), Risk Management, IT Business Management, and Information Architecture. Moreover, collaborations, partnerships, mergers, and acquisitions are also expected to help companies in gaining market shares and increasing investments in the market for enterprise architecture tools. For instance, in August 2020, both Software AG and du from Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC) collaborated to provide a subscription-based licensing model for IoT services to their corporate clients. The companies were able to address difficult IoT incorporation for enterprises in the UAE through this partnership.

Grand View Research has segmented the global enterprise architecture tools market based on solution, deployment, enterprise size, end use, and region:

Enterprise Architecture Tools Solution Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2028)

Application Architecture



Data Architecture



Security Architecture



Infrastructure Architecture



Others

Enterprise Architecture Tools Deployment Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2028)

On-premise



Cloud

Enterprise Architecture Tools Enterprise Size Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2028)

Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs)



Large Enterprises

Enterprise Architecture Tools End-use Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2028)

BFSI



Consumer Goods & Retail



IT & Telecom



Manufacturing



Healthcare



Others

Enterprise Architecture Tools Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2028)

North America



U.S.





Canada



Europe



Germany





U.K.



Asia Pacific



China





India





Japan



Latin America



Brazil





MEA

List of Key Players in the Enterprise Architecture Tools Market

Software AG

Avolution

BiZZdesign

MEGA International

BOC Group

Orbus Software

QualiWare

LeanIX

erwin

ValueBlue

Check out more studies related to digital architecture, conducted by Grand View Research:

Serverless Architecture Market - The global serverless architecture market size was valued at USD 3.14 billion in 2017. It is anticipated to register a CAGR of 26.0% over the forecast period. Rising awareness regarding benefits of serverless architecture such as increased process agility and reduced operational cost is one of the primary growth stimulants for the market.

- The global serverless architecture market size was valued at in 2017. It is anticipated to register a CAGR of 26.0% over the forecast period. Rising awareness regarding benefits of serverless architecture such as increased process agility and reduced operational cost is one of the primary growth stimulants for the market. Enterprise Service Bus Suite Market - The global enterprise service bus suite market is anticipated to grow significantly over the forecast period. Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) is used to route documents and data between different applications and services, both within and outside the enterprise. It helps in managing as well as monitoring business data effectively and forms the foundation of service-oriented architecture (SOA).

Browse through Grand View Research's coverage of the Global IT Services & Applications Industry

Gain access to Grand View Compass, our BI enabled intuitive market research database of 10,000+ reports

About Grand View Research

Grand View Research, U.S.-based market research and consulting company, provides syndicated as well as customized research reports and consulting services. Registered in California and headquartered in San Francisco, the company comprises over 425 analysts and consultants, adding more than 1200 market research reports to its vast database each year. These reports offer in-depth analysis on 46 industries across 25 major countries worldwide. With the help of an interactive market intelligence platform, Grand View Research helps Fortune 500 companies and renowned academic institutes understand the global and regional business environment and gauge the opportunities that lie ahead.

Contact:

Sherry James

Corporate Sales Specialist, USA

Grand View Research, Inc.

Phone: 1-415-349-0058

Toll Free: 1-888-202-9519

Email: sales@grandviewresearch.com

Web: https://www.grandviewresearch.com

Follow Us: LinkedIn | Twitter

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/661327/Grand_View_Research_Logo.jpg
New CEO as next logical step in the expansion strategy - Focus on further growth and internationalization

WIETMARSCHEN-LOHNE, Germany, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The zvoove Group, Europe's leading software provider for the temporary staffing, facility management and event industries, is expanding its management team with Oliver Muhr as CEO. The 43-year-old has extensive experience in the software industry. He worked in the USA for around twelve years, including at SunGard, one of the world's largest software companies. Most recently, Oliver Muhr has earned an excellent reputation in the European B2B start-up scene by implementing growth strategies for high-growth Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) companies and developing them into global category leaders in their respective markets.

"zvoove is a true European software champion," says Oliver Muhr, "and that is why I'm really looking forward to capitalizing on the growth opportunities at hand with the team. The internal and external conditions are excellent, especially as all entrepreneurs are still on board after the previous acquisitions and are contributing their expertise and entrepreneurial spirit to our joint mission. My focus will be on further internationalization and our customer-oriented growth strategy." Oliver Muhr will shape the future of zvoove together with the existing management team Denny Holscher (CRO PDL, CMO, CCO), Marc Linkert (CRO GDL), Christian Mieth (CFOO) and Sascha Alber (CPO, CTO).

Marc Linkert and Denny Holscher, who are responsible for the facility management and temporary staffing business units, respectively, are convinced that this is "the next important and logical step": "With Oliver, we now have an absolute expert on board who will be in charge of developing further internationalization and opening up new markets."

About zvoove

The zvoove Group develops and sells innovative software solutions for the temporary staffing, facility management and the event industries. With more than 3,000 customers and over 300 employees, zvoove was formed as the result of the merger of LANDWEHR, rhb, prosoft, BackOffice, and Leviy. It has locations in Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

Contact zvoove

zvoove Group GmbH

von-Humboldt-Str. 2

49835 Wietmarschen-Lohne, Germany

+49 (0) 5908 938-0

press@zvoove.com

Related Links

https://zvoove.com/presse/ceo-oliver-muhr
BRUSSELS, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of its focus on integrated European services, world leader in immigration Fragomen has today launched an expanded European mobility solution. The centralised European Mobility Solutions Group will help clients realise the benefits of taking a regional approach to European mobility and immigration.

The group will deliver a combination of transaction, advisory and knowledge services that assist clients with their strategic workforce planning across all EU Member States. This expanded and integrated approach to mobility in Europe is unique in the market. It will boost clients' compliance and maximise time and cost efficiencies for their programmes in Europe as it collectively takes into account immigration, posted workers, social security and other regional factors.

Pre-COVID, business travel in Europe was increasing-and becoming costlier, increasingly complex and more burdensome than ever. While the pandemic stalled most business travel in the region, the landscape has continued to evolve and governments have implemented more enforcement rules for business travel. This, coupled with the increased digitisation of migration processes in many European countries and at the border, means that governments can now track the movement of people more closely-making compliance more important for both businesses and individual travellers.

EU-wide travel compliance is centred on following a collection of rules that have been applied differently across the 27 EU Member States and that makes them tricky to navigate. They also impact travellers irrespective of nationality, including EU nationals and business travellers. As travel resumes post-pandemic, having oversight of business visitors and cross-border moves throughout Europe will be mission critical for companies to stay compliant and avoid penalties.

Fragomen's European Mobility Solutions Group delivers multijurisdictional and multidimensional support that encompasses all aspects of European legislation impacting clients' European mobility programmes.

"Digital passports and the planned roll out of ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorisation system) in 2022, means governments can monitor cross border movements, and corresponding social security and posted worker liability much more closely" said George Koureas, Managing Partner of Fragomen's Europe Practice. "As economies remobilise and business travel resumes in the post-pandemic climate, it's more important than ever for employers to leverage a holistic solution to stay compliant. By centralising Fragomen's knowledge, experience and technology, we'll be able to deliver time and cost efficient solutions for our clients."

Key benefits of Fragomen's European integrated solution for clients include:

Compliance and work-readiness for employees from day one of an assignment, taking into account immigration, posted worker rules and social security requirements

Streamlined user experience for businesses and travellers

Automated compliance assessments and processing for posted worker notifications and social security A1 certificates using our innovative technology tool Nomadic

Big picture trends on clients' European mobility programmes

Advanced data analytics and reporting

A seat at the table with governments in the EU

About Fragomen

Fragomen is a leading firm dedicated exclusively to immigration services worldwide. The firm has more than 4,500 immigration professionals and support staff in more than 50 offices across the Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific. Fragomen offers immigration support in more than 170 countries.

Fragomen's professionals are respected leaders in the immigration field, and the firm is regularly recognised as a leading firm for its percentage of minority and female lawyers.

The firm also supports all aspects of global immigration for both corporate and private clients, including strategic planning, quality management, reporting, and case management and processing, compliance programme support, representation in government investigations, government relations, complex matter solutions, and litigation.

These capabilities allow Fragomen to work in partnership with individuals and corporate clients across all industries to facilitate the transfer of employees worldwide. For detailed information about Fragomen, visit www.fragomen.com.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/953077/Fragomen_Logo.jpg
DENVER, CO / ACCESSWIRE / October 6, 2021 / Gold Resource Corporation ( " GRC " or the " Company ") (NYSE American:GORO) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a definitive arrangement agreement (the " Arrangement Agreement ") with Aquila Resources Inc. (" Aquila ") (TSX:AQA)(OTCQB:AQARF) providing for the acquisition by GRC of all the issued and outstanding common shares of Aquila by way of a plan of arrangement under the Business Corporations Act (Ontario) (the " Transaction ").

As announced by GRC on September 7, 2021, pursuant to the Transaction GRC will, through a wholly-owned subsidiary, acquire all the issued and outstanding Aquila shares for 0.0399 of a GRC share per Aquila share (the " Exchange Ratio "). Based upon the 20-day volume-weighted average price (" VWAP ") of GRC's shares on the NYSE American stock exchange on September 3, 2021, being the last trading day prior to the date of the announcement of the Transaction, the Exchange Ratio represents a 29% premium to the 20-day VWAP of Aquila's shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange as of such date. The Exchange Ratio represents consideration of C$0.09 per Aquila share (the " Per Share Price "), reflecting a premium of 12.5%, based upon the closing prices of the Aquila shares and the GRC shares on September 3, 2021. The Per Share Price implies an aggregate acquisition price for 100% of the outstanding Aquila shares of approximately C$30.9 million.

Upon closing of the Transaction, the existing GRC and Aquila shareholders will own approximately 85.1% and 14.9%, respectively, of the combined company on a fully diluted basis.

Allen Palmiere, President and Chief Executive Officer of GRC, said: "This Transaction offers an attractive opportunity to the shareholders of Aquila and GRC to develop the Back Forty Project using GRC's strong balance sheet and cash flows. In addition, the combination of our complementary gold-rich assets will enhance both our mineral inventory and jurisdiction diversification. The announcement by Aquila yesterday, that it had closed the sale of its Bend and Reef exploration properties, was an important step in the process for signing the Arrangement Agreement. With this Transaction, we look forward to becoming a new intermediate gold producer with a peer leading growth profile."

Strategic Rationale for the Transaction

As previously announced on September 7, 2021, the benefits of the Transaction to GRC and Aquila shareholders include the following:

Accretive Transaction for GRC Shareholders. The Transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to GRC shareholders on a net asset value basis.

The Transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to GRC shareholders on a net asset value basis. Significantly Improved Gold Resource Profile. Based upon the parties' respective public disclosure and GRC's technical due diligence to date on the Back Forty Project, GRC anticipates that its gold resources have the potential to increase by in excess of 500% upon completion of the Transaction.

Based upon the parties' respective public disclosure and GRC's technical due diligence to date on the Back Forty Project, GRC anticipates that its gold resources have the potential to increase by in excess of 500% upon completion of the Transaction. Growth Profile and Financial Strength of Combined Company. The combined company is expected to benefit from a peer leading growth profile, a robust balance sheet with no debt and cash of US$30.2 million at June 30, 2021, free cash flow generation from its Don David Gold Mine and the synergies that generally accrue from scale in the areas of general and administrative expenses, from less duplication of salaries, wages and other public company expenses, improved concentrate sales and marketing and supply chain efficiencies. Its position of financial strength is expected to result in an improved ability to access required additional financing to fund the Back Forty Project's capital expenditures.

The combined company is expected to benefit from a peer leading growth profile, a robust balance sheet with no debt and cash of US$30.2 million at June 30, 2021, free cash flow generation from its Don David Gold Mine and the synergies that generally accrue from scale in the areas of general and administrative expenses, from less duplication of salaries, wages and other public company expenses, improved concentrate sales and marketing and supply chain efficiencies. Its position of financial strength is expected to result in an improved ability to access required additional financing to fund the Back Forty Project's capital expenditures. Enhanced Project and Jurisdictional Diversification. Each of GRC and Aquila is currently a single-asset, single-jurisdiction company. Through the Transaction, GRC and Aquila shareholders will have the opportunity to participate in the ongoing growth of a multi-jurisdictional, diversified precious and base metal producer with exposure to gold, silver, zinc, copper and lead through GRC's producing Don David Gold Mine in Oaxaca, Mexico and Aquila's Back Forty Project in Menominee County, Michigan.

Each of GRC and Aquila is currently a single-asset, single-jurisdiction company. Through the Transaction, GRC and Aquila shareholders will have the opportunity to participate in the ongoing growth of a multi-jurisdictional, diversified precious and base metal producer with exposure to gold, silver, zinc, copper and lead through GRC's producing Don David Gold Mine in Oaxaca, Mexico and Aquila's Back Forty Project in Menominee County, Michigan. Enhanced Market Presence and Re-Rating Potential. GRC currently benefits from inclusion in the VanEck Junior Gold Miners ETF (the " GDXJ ") and from an average daily trading volume of approximately 1 million shares, trailing three months. The Transaction is intended to result in the Back Forty Project being placed into production on a more accelerated basis, funded by cash flow generation, thus elevating the combined company to intermediate producer status. Following the completion of the Transaction, GRC is expected to continue to be included in the GDXJ and to benefit from an enhanced capital markets profile in the United States and Canada, as well as increased trading liquidity and broadened appeal to global index, resource, and generalist investors. This offers the potential for a re-rating to a multiple more in line with other intermediate gold producers.

GRC currently benefits from inclusion in the VanEck Junior Gold Miners ETF (the " ") and from an average daily trading volume of approximately 1 million shares, trailing three months. The Transaction is intended to result in the Back Forty Project being placed into production on a more accelerated basis, funded by cash flow generation, thus elevating the combined company to intermediate producer status. Following the completion of the Transaction, GRC is expected to continue to be included in the GDXJ and to benefit from an enhanced capital markets profile in the United States and Canada, as well as increased trading liquidity and broadened appeal to global index, resource, and generalist investors. This offers the potential for a re-rating to a multiple more in line with other intermediate gold producers. Experienced Management Team. The combined company will benefit from GRC's and Aquila's technical and operational teams' expertise in polymetallic open pit and underground mines. The GRC executive team has a demonstrated record of success in developing and operating mining projects in the Americas.

The combined company will benefit from GRC's and Aquila's technical and operational teams' expertise in polymetallic open pit and underground mines. The GRC executive team has a demonstrated record of success in developing and operating mining projects in the Americas. Immediate and Significant Premium to Aquila Shareholders. Based on the 20-day VWAPs of the GRC shares and the Aquila shares, the Transaction offers an immediate and significant premium to Aquila's shareholders of 29%. Given the current market environment and lack of liquidity for the shares of Aquila, GRC continues to believe that this a compelling value proposition.

Demonstrated Consistent Dividend History. Post-Transaction, GRC intends to continue to pay dividends in accordance with its past practice. The recent dividend of US$0.01 per GRC share, paid to shareholders on September 30, 2021, continues the more than ten years of consistent dividend payments by GRC.

Support for the Transaction from Key Aquila Stakeholders

Each of Orion Mine Finance and Hudbay Minerals Inc., which hold 28.3% and 10.4%, respectively, of the issued and outstanding Aquila shares, has entered into a voting support agreement with GRC pursuant to which they have agreed to vote their Aquila shares in favour of the Transaction. In addition, all of the directors and officers of Aquila holding approximately 1.9% Aquila shares in aggregate have also executed a voting support agreement.

Osisko Bermuda Limited which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd and a party to gold and silver stream agreements with Aquila relating to the Back Forty Project, has also reiterated that it considers GRC to be an approved purchaser under those agreements, and that it is supportive of the Transaction.

Board Approvals

The Arrangement Agreement has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both GRC and Aquila. The Aquila board's approval of the Arrangement Agreement was based in part on the unanimous recommendation of a special committee of independent directors of Aquila which was appointed to consider the Transaction. The board of Aquila has received an opinion from one of its financial advisors, PI Financial Corp., that based upon and subject to the assumptions, limitations, and qualifications set forth therein, the consideration to be received by Aquila shareholders pursuant to the Transaction is fair, from a financial point of view, to Aquila shareholders.

Transaction Summary

The Transaction will require the approval of 66? percent of the votes cast by Aquila shareholders at a special meeting of shareholders (the " Aquila Shareholder Meeting "). The Aquila Shareholder Meeting is scheduled to be held on November 17, 2021. The Transaction is also subject to approval by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Commercial List) and applicable stock exchange approvals. The Transaction does not require the approval of GRC's shareholders.

In addition to shareholder, court and regulatory approvals, the Transaction is also subject to the satisfaction of certain other closing conditions that are customary for a transaction of this nature, and each of GRC and Aquila has provided appropriate interim period covenants regarding the operation of its business in the ordinary course. The Arrangement Agreement includes customary deal protection provisions pursuant to which Aquila has agreed not to solicit any other acquisition proposal (subject to customary fiduciary out rights), has agreed to grant GRC the right to match any superior proposal, and will pay a termination fee of US$1,000,000 to GRC if the Arrangement Agreement is terminated in certain circumstances.

Details of the Transaction and the Arrangement Agreement will be set out in the management information circular to be prepared and mailed to Aquila shareholders in connection with the Aquila Shareholder Meeting. A copy of the Arrangement Agreement will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Form 8K and will be available on GRC's website under the Reports and Filings tab located in the Investors section located here: https://goldresourcecorp.com/investors/reports-and-filings/ .

Subject to all conditions precedent to completion of the Transaction being met, the Transaction is expected to close in late November 2021. In connection with the closing of the Transaction, Aquila will apply to have its shares delisted from the TSX.

Advisors

Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP and Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP are GRC's Canadian and U.S. legal advisors, respectively, and Beacon Securities Limited is GRC's financial advisor.

About Gold Resource Corporation

Gold Resource Corporation is a gold and silver producer, developer, and explorer with its operations centered on the Don David Gold Mine in Oaxaca, Mexico. Under the direction of a new board and senior leadership, the Company focus is to unlock the significant upside potential of its existing infrastructure and large land position surrounding the mine, to close our acquisition of Aquila Resources Inc., and to develop the Back Forty Project in Michigan, USA. For more information, please visit GRC's website, located at www.goldresourcecorp.com and read the Company's 10-K for an understanding of the risk factors involved.

About Aquila Resources Inc.

Aquila Resources Inc. is a development-stage company focused on the development its 100%-owned gold-rich Back Forty Project in Michigan.

Forward-Looking Information and other Cautionary Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. The statements contained in this press release that are not purely historical are "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. When used in this press release, the words "plan", "target", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "intend", "propose", "potential" and "expect" and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation: statements regarding the Transaction, including statements with respect to the benefits of the Transaction and expectations regarding the combined company (including its growth profile and resource profile, the development of the Back Forty Project, cash flow generation from the Don David Gold Mine, its market presence and re-rating potential and expectations regarding the payment of dividends); the timing of key Transaction milestones and closing; the ability of GRC and Aquila to satisfy the conditions to and to complete the Transaction; and expectations regarding the impact of the Transaction on GRC and Aquila including in respect of anticipated financial and operating results, strategy and business, and on stakeholders in general.

All forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon information available to GRC on the date of this press release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, and there can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate. Such risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results and future to differ from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: the satisfaction of the conditions precedent to the closing of the Transaction (including the obtaining of all shareholder, court and regulatory approvals); risks associated with the Transaction and acquisitions generally; the Arrangement Agreement may be terminated in certain circumstances; GRC will incur costs even if the Transaction is not completed; all necessary approvals and consents may not be obtained; uncertainty regarding the ability of the parties to complete all Transaction milestones on the intended timing; inherent risks of mining exploration, development and production operations; economic factors affecting the Company and/or Aquila; the integration of the businesses of the Company and Aquila; political conditions and the regulatory environment in the United States and Mexico; and the scope, duration, and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mining operations, Company employees, and supply chains as well as the scope, duration and impact of government action aimed at mitigating the pandemic. Additional factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed in the periodic and current reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020.

For further information please contact:

Gold Resource Corporation

Ann Wilkinson, VP, IR and Corporate Affairs

Phone: 720-459-3851

E-mail: Ann.Wilkinson@GRC-USA.com

SOURCE: Gold Resource Corporation

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/666971/Gold-Resource-Corporation-Enters-Into-Arrangement-Agreement-With-Aquila-Resources-Inc
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - October 6, 2021) - Cabral Gold Inc. (TSXV: CBR) (OTC: CBGZF) ("Cabral" or the "Company") is pleased to provide assay results from six follow-up RC holes recently drilled at the Machichie SW target located 300m north of the MG gold deposit and recent gold-in-oxide blanket discovery, and 180m south of the main Machichie zone within the Cuiu Cuiu gold district in northern Brazil.

Highlights are as follows:

Results have been received from six follow-up RC drill holes recently completed at the Machichie SW target where six high-grade veins were previously identified. Recent drilling has identified three new high-grade veins bringing the total number of mineralized structures at Machichie SW to nine

Significant results include 1m @ 18.5 g/t gold, 2m @ 3.5 g/t gold, 3m @ 2.8 g/t gold, and 1m @ 18.3 g/t gold. Recent drill results indicate down-dip continuity of grade in several of the high-grade veins at Machichie SW

This new drilling was designed to follow-up limited previous drilling targeting several veins at Machichie SW that had returned high-grade gold values including; 3.4m @ 36.9 g/t gold, 3m @ 13.2 g/t gold, and 3.3m @ 7.4 g/t gold

Alan Carter, Cabral's President and CEO commented, "The recent drilling at the Machichie SW vein array has increased the number of known NE trending high-grade veins from six to nine and more importantly is demonstrating down-dip continuity of high gold grades. The Machichie SW target area is critically important because it is located midway between the MG gold deposit (300m to the south) and the recently identified E-W trending mineralized zone at Machichie 180m to the north. We look forward to the results of additional drilling on this target as we continue to outline the dimensions of the various veins at Machichie SW"

Machichie SW RC Drilling

The Machichie SW target is located midway between the MG gold deposit (300m to the south) and the main E-W trending mineralized zone at Machichie 180m to the north (Figure 1).





Figure 1: Map showing the location of the Machichie SW vein array relative to the MG and Central gold deposits and the MG and Pau de Merenda (PDM) gold-in-oxide blanket targets together with the distribution of historic placer gold workings

To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3900/98737_e3ecd935540ac95d_002full.jpg

In 2020 Cabral identified a NE-trending high grade vein array comprised of at least six individual vein structures at Machichie SW target. Six follow-up RC holes were recently drilled to test for the presence of additional parallel veins, and to determine the down-dip continuity of high-grade gold mineralization encountered in surface trenches and several earlier drillholes.

A total of six holes were previously drilled at this target testing several veins. Previous drill results include 3.4m @ 36.9 g/t gold including 0.7m @ 162.7 g/t gold, 3m @ 13.2 g/t gold including 1.0m @ 36.7 g/t gold, and 3.3m @ 7.4 g/t gold (Figure 2).

Prior to the most recent drilling, only six NE trending veins had been identified in this area, which from west to east are Filao de Amor, Machichie SW, Zezinho, Hamilton Novo, Maranahao W and Maranahao E.

In this initial follow-up program, an additional six holes were drilled within the Machichie SW target area (RC197 to RC202). Multiple mineralized zones were intersected in five of the six holes, notably 2m @ 3.5 g/t gold from 32.0 to 34.0m 1m @ 18.5 g/t gold from 51.0 to 52.0m and 3m @ 2.8 g/t gold from 95.0 to 98.0m in RC199, 1m @ 18.3 g/t gold from 51.0 to 52.0m depth in RC201, and 1m @ 3.3g/t gold from 38.0 to 39.0m in RC202 (Table 1).

These results indicate the presence of three new high-grade vein structures within the Machiche SW target area, bringing the total number of mineralized structures at Machichie SW to nine. A second vein was intercepted in the Filao de Amor structure, and two more veins 50m to the SE of Filao do Amor and 70m NW of the Machichie SW mineralized vein. The drill intercept in hole RC201 of 1m @ 18.3 g/t gold appears to be the up-dip continuation of the previous drill intercept of 3.3m @ 7.4 g/t gold indicating the continuity of grade up and down-dip.





Figure 2: Detailed map showing the location of the known NE trending veins at Machichie SW target together with previous and new drill intercepts

To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3900/98737_e3ecd935540ac95d_003full.jpg

Drill Hole Weathering Mineralized Zone From to Width Grade # m m m g/t gold RC197 Fresh Rock 33.0 36.0 3.0 0.3 83.0 86.0 3.0 0.2 104.0 106.0 2.0 0.3 EOH 109.0 RC198 104.0 106.0 2.0 0.9 EOH 110.0 RC199 Oxide/Saprolite 13.0 16.0 3.0 0.5 Fresh Rock 32.0 34.0 2.0 3.5 51.0 52.0 1.0 18.5 95.0 98.0 3.0 2.8 110.0 113.0 3.0 0.9 incl. 110.0 111.0 1.0 2.7 EOH 121.0 RC200 0.0 N.S.V EOH 116.0 RC201 Oxide/Saprolite 0.0 2.0 2.0 0.7 51.0 52.0 1.0 18.3 EOH 119.0 RC202 Oxide/Saprolite 36.0 44.0 8.0 0.8 incl. 38.0 39.0 1.0 3.3 Fresh Rock 78.0 81.0 3.0 1.0 EOH 120.0

Table 1: Table of drill assay results for follow-up RC drill holes at the Machichie SW gold target, RC197 to RC202

Drilling Update

MG Diamond Drilling

Diamond drilling designed to define the high-grade zones within the primary basement MG gold deposit continues. Assay results are pending on five holes.

MG Gold-in-Oxide Blanket Drilling

RC drilling designed to define the extent of the recently identified gold-in-oxide blanket at MG is continuing. The original 74-hole drill program has been expanded to 86 holes, and thus far 77 holes have been completed with assay results pending on 37 holes.

Pau de Merenda RC and Diamond Drilling

Results are pending on ten RC holes drilled to define the limits of the gold-in-oxide blanket at Pau de Merenda (PDM) where recent drilling returned 40m @ 2.2 g/t gold (see press releases dated August 10 and August 26, 2021). Results to date indicate the presence of a near surface blanket at least 300 x 800m in lateral size.

Results are also pending on one diamond-drill hole from a planned six holes at Pau de Merenda which are designed to test for the presence of a primary gold deposit in the basement intrusive rock underlying the gold-in-oxide blanket. Several historic drill holes suggest the presence of an underlying mineralized zone in the intrusive rocks with historic holes returning values of 30m @ 1.1 g/t gold, 47m @ 1.8 g/t gold and 9m @ 5.1 g/t gold.

Alonso Reconnaissance Diamond Drilling

Results are currently pending on three diamond drill holes and drilling is also in progress at the Alonso target which is located 3km SE of the MG gold deposit. Twenty-three samples of this boulder float material previously returned gold values of 11.6 to 200.3 g/t gold (see press release dated February 11, 2020). Shallow follow-up RC drilling conducted during late 2020 however failed to determine the source of the boulders due to high water in-flows at the time of drilling.

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 area of placer workings 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, MAusIMM and FAIG., 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/98737
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VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / October 6, 2021 / BeMetals Corp. (TSXV:BMET)(OTCQB:BMTLF)(FRA:1OI.F) (the "Company" or "BeMetals") is pleased to announce the results from a phase of some 4,350 metres of shallow aircore drilling recently completed at the Pangeni Copper Project ("Project" or the "Property") in Zambia. This aircore program was designed to explore for extensions of copper mineralization discovered by the Company under thin Kalahari sand cover at several prospects, including the D Prospect, and to test several newly generated copper targets. The Pangeni Project is located in an area representing westerly extensions to the prolific Zambian Copperbelt.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2021 PANGENI PROJECT AIRCORE PROGRAM

D-Prospect returns highest tenor aircore copper target in hole D7-04 on the Property to date of 3,183 parts per million (ppm) over 2 metres with 1 metre at 4,363ppm

Potential D-Prospect extension zone identified in aircore hole D3-15 of 1,217ppm copper over 3 metres with 1 metre at 1,344ppm some 1.4 kilometres southeast of previously drilled mineralization

Newly identified F - Target

Newly identified Q - Target some 3km southeast of the SW-Prospect

John Wilton, President and CEO of BeMetals stated, "We are encouraged with the results from the 2021 phase of shallow aircore drilling below the thin sand cover that has delivered a number of robust bedrock copper targets. These targets are potential extensions and/or potential vectors to higher-grade zones of copper mineralization we discovered in previous phases of drilling. In addition, a number of new standalone targets well situated geologically within the Property have been identified. To follow-up on these recent aircore results, we have commenced a program of approximately 1,400 metres of core drilling to test these compelling copper targets. We look forward to the results of the core drilling program that has the potential to both expand the footprint of the D-Prospect mineralization and test the exciting newly identified copper targets.

This exploration program continues to be jointly funded by BeMetals and Japan, Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation ("JOGMEC") that has allowed for acceleration of our exploration program. The Pangeni Project, together with our recently acquired Kazan Gold Project in Japan and ongoing exploration at the high-grade zinc-silver-gold-copper, South Mountain Project in Idaho, U.S.A., provides an excellent and building portfolio of projects with exciting growth potential for the Company."

2021 PANGENI PROJECT EXPLORATION AND AIRCORE PROGRAM

Early in June the Company commissioned New Resolution Geophysics (NRG) to fly an Xcite helicopter-borne electromagnetic survey over the Property and the interpretation of this data was used to define targets through improved stratigraphic and structural mapping for subsequent aircore testing. The Company has successfully completed a program of 4,353 metres of shallow aircore drilling and returned a number of significant bedrock copper geochemical targets beneath the Kalahari sand cover. These new bedrock copper targets represent both potential extensions to prospects where the Company discovered copper mineralization in previous phases of exploration and newly identified standalone targets in interpreted favourable geological settings for the development of sediment hosted copper deposits.

Figure 1 illustrates the location of the D7-C1, D3-C2, F4-C1, and Q3-C1 targets within the Project area. It also indicates the range of maximum copper values for each aircore hole from the recently completed 2021 program in blue circles with results from the previous phases of aircore drilling in the red circles.

Figure 1: 2021 Aircore Drilling Results (Blue Circles) and Previous Aircore Results (Red Circles)

D-PROSPECT

Figure 2 shows details of the 2021 aircore results plotted on a simplified cover regolith map of the D-Prospect area. The circles and labels indicate the range of maximum bedrock copper results for each shallow aircore hole in relation to the Company's previous core drilled copper intersections at this prospect (aircore holes: D2-C1, D2-C2 and D3-C1). The highly anomalous D7-04 aircore target is indicated as 3,183ppm copper over 2 metres with the supporting adjacent D7-4A aircore hole returning 1,802ppm copper over 2 metres. The wide spacing of the D2, D7 and D3 aircore lines should be noted at some 400 metres along the interpreted strike of the units indicating the significant footprint of the mineralization.

Also indicated is the D-Prospect's southeastern extension target some 1.4km from previous intersected mineralization as defined by aircore target D3-15 of 1,217ppm copper over 3 metres and supported by the adjacent D3-15B hole with 434ppm copper over 2 metres. Over much of these two D-Prospect targets the cover of the Kalahari sand is less than approximately 25 metres in thickness (See Tables 1 and 2 for details of these aircore holes).

Figure 2: D-Prospect Regolith Cover Map, 2021 Aircore Drilling Results as ppm Copper (Blue Circles with hole number, ppm Cu), Previous Aircore Results (Red Circles with ppm Cu) and Previous Drilled Core Hole Copper Intersections.

NEWLY IDENTIFIED AND DEFINED COPPER TARGETS

The 2021 aircore program has also identified and defined several new standalone copper targets for core drill testing. The F-Target represents a geological well-positioned bedrock copper geochemical anomaly with potentially several kilometres in strike. This anomaly is best indicated at the F4-C1 target where aircore holes F4-2A, F4-02 and F4-2B returned bedrock samples of 717 over 3 metres with 1,113 over 1 metre, 782 over 4 metres with 1,052 over 1 metre and 893 ppm copper over 1 metre respectively as adjacent holes over some 200 metres of lateral extent. The Q3-C1 Target, situated some 4km to the southeast of the SW-Prospect, has been defined by aircore holes Q3-09 and Q3-12 with 884 over 1 metre and 502ppm over 1 metre copper respectively. The centre of this target is mapped by aircore holes Q3-02 and Q3-03 with 1,260 over 3 metres with 2,146 over 1 metre and 982 over 5 metres with 1,545ppm over 1 metre copper respectively that were completed in the 2020 exploration program.

Table 1: 2021 Aircore Program Selected Hole Results

Aircore Hole ID From

(m) To

(m) Sample Interval

(m) Copper

(ppm) Kalahari Sand Thickness D7-04 27 28 1 4,363 - D7-04 28 29 1 2,004 26 D7-4A 25 26 1 1,672 - D7-4A 26 27 1 1,932 24 D3-15 36 37 1 1,266 - D3-15 37 38 1 1,344 - D3-15 38 39 1 1,041 34 D3-15B 27 28 1 447 - D3-15B 28 29 1 422 25 F4-2A 27 28 1 508 - F4-2A 28 29 1 531 - F4-2A 29 30 1 1,113 26 F4-02 20 21 1 586 - F4-02 21 22 1 580 - F4-02 22 23 1 913 - F4-02 23 24 1 1,051 20 F4-2B 26 27 1 893 23 Q3-09 70 71 1 884 69 Q3-12 62 63 1 502 60 Q3-02* 59 60 1 2,146 - Q3-02 60 61 1 558 - Q3-02 61 62 1 1,077 56 Q3-03* 56 57 1 753 - Q3-03 57 58 1 824 - Q3-03 58 59 1 977 - Q3-03 59 60 1 1,545 - Q3-03 60 61 1 814 56 *Results from 2020 Aircore Program Previously Reported

Note: Sample widths are drilled lengths as true widths are unknown at this time. The aircore drilling is intended to sample the bedrock and saprolite material at the base of the Kalahari sand cover only and holes are stopped generally between 3-5m of this contact.

QUALITY ASSURANCE AND QUALITY CONTROL

On September 15, 2021, an independent laboratory, Intertek Genalysis of Australia, provided results from a set of samples from the 2021 aircore program. These results were determined using multi-acid, near total digest, and analysed by Inductively Coupled Plasma ("ICP") Optical (Atomic) Emission Spectrometry ("OES"). The sampling was conducted with a robust sampling protocol based upon sequential 1 metre samples that included the appropriate insertion of standard reference material, duplicates, and blanks into the sample stream in the field.

Field operations and management have been provided by Remote Exploration Services ("RES") an independent geological consulting and contracting company. The aircore drilling was conducted by Blurock Mining Services, of Kitwe, Zambia. Details of the sampling protocol were provided in BeMetals news release "BeMetals Returns Positive Results From Phase 1 Aircore Drilling Program At Pangeni Copper Project," dated November 15, 2018, available on www.bemetalscorp.com and SEDAR.



Table 2: 2021 Aircore Program Selected Hole Results, Hole ID, Azimuth, Dip, End of Hole Depth, Collar co-ordinates

Aircore Hole ID Azimuth Degree Dip Degree End of hole Depth (m) UTM_X UTM_Y Elevation D7-04 Vertical -90 29 177549 8601553 1314 D7-4A Vertical -90 27 177646 8601502 1304 D3-15 Vertical -90 39 179148 8601021 1249 D3-15B Vertical -90 30 179260 8600964 1242 F4-2A Vertical -90 30 174964 8601003 1314 F4-02 Vertical -90 24 174883 8601077 1290 F4-2B Vertical -90 27 174823 8601142 1309 Q3-09 Vertical -90 71 172890 8584552 1164 Q3-12 Vertical -90 64 173108 8583998 1155 Q3-02 Vertical -90 64 173036 8584357 1159 Q3-03 Vertical -90 61 173077 8584280 1162

ABOUT THE PANGENI COPPER PROJECT

The Pangeni Project is located on the western extension of the Zambian Copperbelt, within the Lufilian Arc, underlain by Katangan Supergroup metasediments situated unconformably on basement schists and gneisses, which are covered by a thin veneer of Kalahari sands. The open pit Sentinel Copper Mine is operated by First Quantum Minerals Ltd. some 130 kilometres to the northeast of the Pangeni Project (See Figure 3). A number of major international mining companies have identified this region of the Zambian Copperbelt to be prospective for the discovery of tier one copper mines and are also conducting extensive exploration work in this area. The Pangeni Project property is geologically prospective for the following deposit types; Basement-hosted Cu (analogues: the Lumwana Deposit, Nyungu Prospect), Sediment-hosted stratiform Cu-Co (analogues: Nchanga, Konkola, Nkana, and Mufulira Deposits), other Domes Region Deposits e.g. Sentinel, and Kansanshi and DRC Copperbelt Deposits e.g. Lonshi, Frontier, Kamoa-Kakula).

Figure 3: Regional Location of the Pangeni Copper Exploration Project

ABOUT BEMETALS CORP.

BeMetals is a precious and base metals exploration and development company focused on becoming a leading metal producer through the acquisition of quality exploration, development and potentially production stage projects. The Company has recently established itself in the gold sector with the acquisition of certain wholly owned exploration projects in Japan. BeMetals is also progressing both its advanced high-grade, zinc-silver-gold-copper polymetallic underground exploration at the South Mountain Project in Idaho through a preliminary economic assessment, and its tier-one targeted, Pangeni Copper Exploration Project in Zambia. Guiding and leading BeMetals' growth strategy is a strong board and management team, founders and significant shareholders of the Company, who have an extensive proven record of delivering considerable value in the mining sector through the discovery, construction and operation of mines around the world.

The technical information in this news release for BeMetals has been reviewed and approved by John Wilton, CGeol FGS, CEO and President of BeMetals, and a "Qualified Person" as defined under National Instrument 43-101.1

ON BEHALF OF BEMETALS CORP.

"John Wilton"

John Wilton

President, CEO and Director

For further information about BeMetals please visit our website at bemetalscorp.com and sign-up to our email list to receive timely updates, or contact:

Derek Iwanaka

Vice President, Investor Relations & Corporate Development

Telephone: 604-609-6141

Email: diwanaka@bemetalscorp.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 news release

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" and "forward looking information" (as defined under applicable securities laws), based on management's best estimates, assumptions and current expectations. Such statements include but are not limited to, statements with respect to future exploration, development and advancement of the South Mountain Project, the Pangeni project and the Japan properties, and the acquisition of additional base and/or precious metal projects. Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "expects", "expected", "budgeted", "forecasts", "anticipates", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "aims", "potential", "goal", "objective", "prospective", and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "can", "could" or "should" occur. These statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such statements, including but not limited to: the actual results of exploration activities, the availability of financing and/or cash flow to fund the current and future plans and expenditures, the ability of the Company to satisfy the conditions of the option agreements for the South Mountain Project and/or the Pangeni Project, and changes in the world commodity markets or equity markets. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The forward-looking statements and forward looking information are made as of the date hereof and are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The Company disclaims any obligation to revise or update any such factors or to publicly announce the result of any revisions to any forward-looking statements or forward looking information contained herein to reflect future results, events or developments, except as require by law. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and information. Please refer to the Company's most recent filings under its profile at www.sedar.com for further information respecting the risks affecting the Company and its business.

SOURCE: BeMetals Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/666972/BeMetals-Identifies-Compelling-Copper-Exploration-Targets-from-Shallow-Aircore-Drilling-Results-at-Pangeni-Project-in-Zambia
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Medical technology company Becton, Dickinson and Co. or BD (BDX) announced Wednesday that it has received 510(k) clearance for expanded indications from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the Rotarex Atherectomy System. The Rotarex Atherectomy System is a rotational excisional device that is built to remove and aspirate varying lesion morphologies including plaque and thrombus in the peripheral arteries. The Rotarex System, already cleared for use in native arterial vessels, now has the expanded indications to treat within peripheral arteries fitted with stents, stent grafts, and native or artificial bypasses. The FDA clearance of the Rotarex Atherectomy System's new expanded indications follows more than 10 years of real-world clinical experience involving the treatment of thousands of patients globally. Now, physicians can use a proven tool to address some of their most challenging peripheral arterial disease (PAD) lesions, including the treatment of in-stent restenosis. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
The study also shows declining interest in startup careers and international careers among young talent

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2021 World's Most Attractive Employers rankings show students still prioritize high future earnings above all other employer attributes, but finding secure employment rose sharply in importance for young talent, jumping by as much as four ranking points for engineering students.

"A flight to security is typical during an economic downturn, as is the pivot away from higher risk, entrepreneurial companies," explains Richard Mosely, Global Client Director at Universum. "This is probably why more established innovators with a proven record of success like Amazon and IBM were the biggest winners in the rankings."

Universum, the global leader in employer branding, surveyed over 221,800 students in business, engineering and IT from the 10 largest economies between September 2020 and May 2021. The far-reaching survey asks students which employer characteristics are most influential as they consider future employment, and which employer brands they most admire.

Young people are pivoting their personal and career priorities: The pandemic prompted students to reevaluate what they want from an employer and a career; will industries with long, grueling schedules face a reckoning?

For young talent, a jetset career slips in favor: With borders shut and international mobility significantly more difficult and uncertain, students show a waning interest in foreign companies and multinational careers.

Virtual work formats may disadvantage younger employees: Virtual and hybrid workforces are here to stay, but talent leaders must take care not to adopt a one-size-fits-all approach - particularly with young talent, who see many potential downsides in virtual work formats.

Universum CEO Mats Rojdmark believes the new findings will help steer talent leaders who may be stuck in a reactionary mode. "There's tremendous pressure on talent leaders right now to separate what are short-term reactions to COVID-19, versus long-term changes to workplace fundamentals," says Rojdmark. "Getting insights from students in business, engineering and IT is critical for talent leaders as they negotiate a way forward in 2022."

For full report and rankings: https://bit.ly/3zWPPRJ

About Universum

Universum?is a data-driven, insight-led employer branding agency. Founded in Stockholm, we are now active in over 60 countries, with key hubs in Paris, Berlin, London, New York, Singapore and Shanghai.

Media Contacts:

Jonas Barck

Universum

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Baylis Medical Technologies to increase investment in radiology and neurosurgery business in Canada

MISSISSAUGA, ON, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Baylis Medical Company Inc. is pleased to announce it has reached an agreement to sell its cardiology business to Boston Scientific Corporation.

The acquisition, for an upfront payment of $1.75 billion USD, subject to closing adjustments, will see Baylis Medical Company and its cardiology products transition to Boston Scientific. This includes the NRG Transseptal Platform, the VersaCross Transseptal Platform, as well as its full suite of transseptal sheaths and dilators, and ventricular tachycardia solutions.

Baylis Medical's affiliate - Mississauga-based Baylis Medical Technologies - is not part of the transaction and will remain a separate entity. Baylis Medical Technologies will continue to expand the development and production of its medical devices focused in the areas of radiology and neurosurgery. Baylis Medical Technologies will also continue to provide contract manufacturing services to other medical device companies.

The acquisition of Baylis Medical Company by Boston Scientific is anticipated to drive growth and adoption of the cardiology technologies worldwide, and will build on a longstanding history of designing, developing and delivering high-quality medical products to patients globally.

"Baylis Medical Company is proud of its Canadian roots and commitment to investing in the Canadian biomedical sector. We are thrilled that Boston Scientific has committed to continue the Baylis Medical Company legacy and will further enhance our efforts to bring these technologies to a greater number of physicians and patients with their significant global reach," said Kris Shah, President, Baylis Medical. "As well, we look forward to increasing our investments in our Baylis Medical Technologies business and in Canada's rich medical technology industry."

The transaction is anticipated to close in the first quarter of 2022, subject to customary closing conditions. Until then, both Baylis Medical Company and Boston Scientific will operate separately and prepare for successful integration. There is no anticipated impact or disruptions to existing customers with this announcement.

Piper Sandler served as exclusive financial advisor to Baylis Medical Company, with legal advice provided by BCF Business Law and Cooley LLP.

About Baylis Medical Company

Baylis Medical Company is a leader in the development and commercialization of innovative medical devices in the field of cardiology. Headquartered in Canada, and with offices world-wide, our clinical solutions have been Improving the Lives of People Around the World for over 30 years. For more information, visit www.baylismedical.com and connect with us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.



About Baylis Medical Technologies

Baylis Medical Technologies is a leader in the development and manufacturing of innovative medical devices in the fields of radiology and neurosurgery. Headquartered in Canada, the company also provides contract manufacturing services to some of the world's leading medical device companies. For more information, visit www.baylismedtech.com.

PRM-00479 EN J-1,2,3 V-1  Baylis Medical Company Inc., 2021. VersaCross, NRG and the Baylis Medical logo are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Baylis Medical Company Inc. in the USA and/or other countries. Other trademarks are property of their respective owners. CAUTION: Federal Law (USA) restricts the use of these devices to or by the order of a physician. Before use, consult product labels and Instructions for Use for Indications for Use, Contraindications, Warnings, Precautions, Adverse Events and Directions

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WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Medical technology Company Boston Scientific Corp. (BSX) announced Wednesday that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Baylis Medical Company Inc. for an upfront payment of $1.75 billion, subject to closing adjustments. The acquisition will expand the Boston Scientific electrophysiology and structural heart product portfolios to include the radiofrequency (RF) NRG and VersaCross Transseptal Platforms as well as a family of guidewires, sheaths and dilators used to support left heart access. These platforms have advanced transseptal puncture and are clinically proven to enhance safety, efficacy and efficiency when crossing the atrial septum to deliver therapies in the left side of the heart, such as atrial fibrillation ablation, left atrial appendage closure (LAAC) and mitral valve interventions. Baylis Medical Company is expected to generate net sales approaching $200 million in 2022, having achieved double-digit year-over-year sales growth during each of the past five years. The transaction is anticipated to close in the first quarter of 2022, subject to customary closing conditions, and is expected to be approximately one cent accretive to adjusted earnings per share in 2022 and increasingly accretive thereafter. On a GAAP basis, the transaction is expected to be less accretive, or dilutive as the case may be, in 2022 and less dilutive or increasingly accretive thereafter, as the case may be, due to amortization expense and acquisition-related net charges. 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.
CHICAGO, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a research report "Electric Aircraft Market by Platform (Regional Transport Aircraft, Business Jets, Light & Ultralight Aircraft), Type, System (Batteries, Electric Motors, Aerostructures, Avionics, Software), Technology, Application, and Region - Forecast to 2030", published by MarketsandMarkets, the market is estimated to be USD 7.9 billion in 2021 and is projected to reach USD 27.7 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 14.8% during the forecast period. The growth of this market is mainly driven by the deployment of urban air mobility aircraft and the increasing use of electric aircraft for cargo applications and different aerial mission-specific activities.

Ask for PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=52646445

The major players in the electric aircraft market include Airbus SE (Netherlands), Elbit Systems Ltd. (Israel), and AeroVironment, Inc (US), These players have spread their business across various countries includes North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. COVID-19 has impacted their businesses as well.

The sudden outbreak of the COVID-19 has taken a toll on various industrial sectors, with aviation being one of the worst affected. However, the electric aircraft market did not seem to have been impacted by the pandemic as much as the aviation industry as a whole. Electric UAVs were widely used by militaries for a variety of missions like border security, while governments and law enforcement agencies used them on an experimental basis.

Civil & commercial applications of electric aircraft include transportation of medical supplies by companies like Zipline and mostly for aerial photography. Retail and other logistics companies are increasingly looking towards the usage of electric UAVs to distribute essential items due to intermittent lockdowns and the imposition of social distancing protocols worldwide. In the US, companies like Amazon and USP have already scaled up their usage of electric drones for their deliveries. Electric drones are also witnessing an increased application in Africa, as they are being used as the art of EMS services to supply medicines and amenities as well as transport organs and blood across cities. These factors have helped the electric aircraft market to sustain the overall impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy.

Increasing adaptability of the latest technologies by civil and commercial end users is expected to fuel the growth of the light & ultralight aircraft market during the forecast period.

The light & ultralight aircraft segment is expected to grow the largest, based on platform of electric aircraft. Various technological advancements and aircraft modernization programs are expected to boost the market for electric aircraft. Low noise electric UAVs are increasingly adopted in civil and military applications. An increase in corporate activities and the need for aircraft with low carbon footprints are to drive demand for electric aircraft.

The Hybrid wing segment is projected to witness the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

Based on type, the rotary wing segment is projected to be the highest CAGR rate for the electric aircraft market during the forecast period. The evolution in the missions' complexity of both military aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and the increase in civilian air traffic, with limited runways, will lead to increasing adoption of these wing type.

The battery segment is projected to witness the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

Based on the system, the battery segment is projected to grow at the highest CAGR rate for the electric aircraft market during the forecast period. Batteries are the most common onboard energy storage components of electric aircraft due to their relatively high storage capacity. Modern batteries are mostly rechargeable and are lithium-based. Advancements in battery power density would be the driving factor for this segment

Browse in-depth TOC on "Electric Aircraft Market"

157 - Tables

37 - Figures

197 - Pages



Inquiry Before Buying: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_BuyingNew.asp?id=52646445

The VTOL segment is projected to witness the highest CAGR during the forecast period

Based on the technology, the VTOL segment is projected to grow at the highest CAGR rate for the aircraft landing gear market during the forecast period. Large deployment in civil applications, including air taxi and ems services, will drive this segment. Most of the civil eVTOL aircraft are designed for urban air mobility, air taxis, medical assistance, and personnel passenger transportation.

The Civil segment is projected to witness the highest CAGR during the forecast period

Based on application, the Civil segment is projected to grow at the highest CAGR rate for the aircraft landing gear market during the forecast period. As urban planners, public transit agencies, and walking and biking advocates work to steer cities away from a future congested with cars and as others discuss ethics, realities, and regulations of autonomous vehicles, increasing developments in urban mobility applications will drive this segment.

The North American market is projected to contribute the largest share from 2021 to 2026

Electric Aircraft market in North America is projected to hold the highest market share during the forecast period. North America accounted for the largest share of 34.3% of the electric aircraft market and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 16.1% during the forecast period. The US has the largest UAV fleet used in military and civil applications. Early adoption of electric aircraft for urban air mobility is also being witnessed in the US. These factors are expected to drive the market in North America.

Related Reports:

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Market by Point of Sale, Systems, Platform (Civil & Commercial, and Defense & Governement), Function, End Use, Application, Type, Mode of Operation, MTOW, Range, and Region - Global Forecast to 2026

Urban Air Mobility Market by Component (Infrastructure, Platform), Platform Operation (Piloted, Autonomous), Range (Intercity, Intracity), Platform Architecture, Unmanned Platform Systems, End User and Region - Global Forecast to 2030

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.

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MarketsandMarkets INC.

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AUCKLAND, New Zealand, Oct. 06, 2021and Android .



Official Launch

The launch is due to go live on Oct 12th, with a maximum supply of 975 million tokens. Initially, the token will be available on Altbase and PancakeSwap, with additional exchange listings to be announced.



The new address for Altbase Token ($ALTB):

0x9b3a01f8b4abd2e2a74597b21b7c269abf4e9f41

Tokens Reserved for Buybacks

Due to the tokenomics of the previous contract that include a much larger maximum supply, the maximum number of tokens has been reduced at a ratio of 1,000,000/1.

The objective behind the reduction in the maximum supply is to make the token more suitable for an exchange-based product and remove unnecessary barriers for future pairing.

Additionally, there is an allocation of tokens remaining that the development team at Altbase can use to initiate buybacks on the new Altbase token after launch.

Now A Native Token

The intention behind the migration to the $ALTB token is to allow more options for pairing within the Altbase application and increase synergy between the two product offerings.

With new project listings coming to Altbase, and with some currently unavailable on other exchanges, pairing is important. Having a native token that pairs efficiently with these projects and the volume that they will ultimately bring from their large communities, a sufficient pairing option will also deliver a higher volume to the Altbase token itself.

A Major Buying Event?

Until the Oct 12 launch day, buying has been locked. The purpose behind the buy-lock is to protect investors and prevent illegitimate trading until liquidity has been added to the contract. As such, this will be reinstated on Oct 12th.

Due to the lock, buyers will be forced to wait until this date and could lead to increased buying pressure for the 12th.

How To Buy $ALTB

The liquidity is due to be added on launch day, Oct 12th, through PancakeSwap V2, as well as the Altbase app at the same time.

The Altbase application allows buying the new tokens using BNB that can be purchased in-house using a debit or credit card.

Altbase has a range of altcoins to buy , and all tokens within the application are able to be purchased using the same method.

The Next Stage For Altbase?

Altbase is to undergo a marketing drive to coincide with the launch.

Altbase has seen significant achievements with previous token listings, and one notable mention would be the crypto passive income project, Nano Dogecoin.

Many projects are due to be listed during this rebrand phase, with 10 upcoming projects being listed in the very short term. The Octaplex Network and its ecosystem devoted to new crypto coins is the next launch, set to list on Oct 4th.

Altbase.com, the new website for the Altbase brand, will also be going live on Oct 6th. This website update includes a refreshed UI and new product pages dedicated to the projects being listed within the application.

Media Contact:

Curtis Ramsay



Curtis@coinpresso.io

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f67d3548-15f3-4d34-afcf-2b6b6315b49b. The photo is also available at Newscom, www.newscom.com, and via AP PhotoExpress.
BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - Germany's factory orders declined notably in August largely due to the weak demand in the auto sector, data from Destatis revealed on Wednesday. Factory orders fell 7.7 percent on a monthly basis, reversing a revised 4.9 percent rise in July. This was the biggest fall since April 2020. Orders were forecast to drop moderately by 2.1 percent. Excluding major orders, manufacturing orders decreased 5.1 percent from July. Although the trend in orders sectors other than automobile continues to point upward, manufacturing is likely to remain a drag on the recovery of the German economy, Ralph Solveen, a Commerzbank economist said. Domestic orders fell 5.2 percent and foreign orders plunged 9.5 percent on month in August. Within foreign demand, orders from the euro area grew 1.6 percent, while orders from other countries decreased 15.2 percent. Producers of intermediate goods reported a fall of 2.8 percent in new orders. Demand for capital goods was down 11.1 and that for consumer goods by 2.7 percent. Year-on-year, manufacturing orders advanced 11.7 percent after rising 26.1 percent in the previous month. Data showed that manufacturing turnover decreased 5.9 percent month-on-month, in contrast to the 1.9 percent increase in July. Elsewhere, survey data from IHS Markit showed that the construction sector contracted in September as supply bottlenecks, capacity constraints and strong price pressures each continuing to act as headwinds to activity and new orders. 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.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - October 6, 2021) - LaSalle Exploration Corp. (TSXV: LSX) ("LaSalle" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that exploration permits have been received and that a comprehensive exploration program is set to begin on the Egan Gold Property ("Egan" or the "Property"). The Company also reports the discovery of additional high-grade gold at the E3 Zone with individual grab samples returning 44.70 g/t and 19.00 g/t gold from ongoing prospecting. Egan is strategically located in the heart of Ontario's Abitibi gold camp, central to operations in Timmins, Kirkland Lake and Matachewan, which collectively have produced greater than 115M oz gold1,2.

Highlights

E3 Zone returns additional high-grade gold , grab samples including 44.70 g/t and 19.00 g/t gold

, grab samples including and gold High resolution Airborne Magnetic survey outlines high priority target areas

LiDAR survey detects possible extension of E1 high grade gold zone

Exploration Work Permits in place

Commented Ian Campbell, President and CEO of LaSalle, "We are pleased to have received our exploration permits as everything is set to begin the first ever, comprehensive exploration program at Egan. We are particularly excited about the discovery of additional high-grade gold at the E3 target which continues to underscore the exploration potential of the Property. We are also looking forward to examining the new targets identified by the LiDAR and airborne magnetic surveys."

Egan Update

LaSalle has recently received its exploration permits from the Ontario Ministry of Energy, Northern Development and Mines paving the way to initiate the first ever comprehensive exploration program on its Egan gold property. The program will consist of 75 kilometres of Induced polarization geophysics over priority target areas, geological mapping, prospecting, soil and till sampling, followed by trenching. Diamond drilling on priority targets is planned for early 2022.

Target definition has been enhanced by work recently completed including 117 square kilometres of Aerial LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) and 828 line-kilometres of high-resolution helicopter-borne magnetic surveys completed during May. Full datasets have now been received and incorporated into the technical database for planning purposes.

These surveys have highlighted several geological structures that the Company deems favourable for gold mineralization. In particular, a set of NE-trending features on the newly acquired north-eastern portion of the Property within the Bradley Lake syenite body may represent extensions of the high-grade gold bearing E1 structure five kilometres to the southwest. LiDAR also provides the ability to partially "see through" the vegetation cover, detecting outcrop exposure and enabling accurate elevation maps to be generated. The airborne magnetic survey flown at 100 metre line spacing provides further definition of geological features and identified areas of structural complexity on the Property that correlate with the E3 gold zone.

Mapping and prospecting targeted priority geological features including the collection of 141 rock samples. Of these samples, five (5) returned assays of greater than 1 g/t gold, and ten (10) samples returned assays between 0.1 and 1 g/t gold. The highest-grade grab samples returned 44.7 g/t and 19.00 g/t Au were collected from the E3 showing area. This showing is 8 to 10 metres wide and has been outlined over 25 metres of strike. These high-grade samples consisted of chlorite schist with cross-cutting 0.5-1.0cm quartz veins, 1-2% fine -grained pyrite and minor chalcopyrite. Reconnaissance mapping and sampling outlined anomalous gold in bedrock, 0.1 to 0.2 g/t, over 750 metres of strike along the E3 trend to the northwest. These anomalous samples correlate with mapped chlorite schist and quartz veins within mafic volcanics and at the contact between the mafic volcanics and gabbroic intrusives. Trenching is planned for the E3 target area in the upcoming work program.

About the Egan Property

LaSalle optioned the Egan property in August 2020 based on the 2017 discovery of the E1 Zone when logging activities exposed a northeast trending shear zone with a well developed stockwork of quartz veins hosted in syenite. Sampling by the vendors of seventy-eight grab samples returned gold assay values ranging from 0.1 to 105.0 g/t gold with 15% of the samples returning over 10 g/t, including 105.0 g/t, 67.2 g/t and 47.6 g/t gold. Assays of nine grab samples by LaSalle ranged from 0.09 g/t to 63.70 g/t gold, including individual select grab samples yielding 63.70 g/t, 22.70 g/t and 4.70 g/t gold, while two composite chip samples returned 7.67 g/t gold over 3.0 metres and 2.80 g/t gold over 4.0 metres.

The E2 Zone, exposed in trenches dating from the 1920's, is located 3 km southeast of the E1 Zone and consists of a series of easterly trending, laminated quartz veins hosted by mafic metavolcanics near the contact with the Bradley Lake Syenite. Historic sampling (2018-2019) returned high grade gold assay values of 15.3 g/t, 16.6 g/t and 19.30 g/t gold.

Cautionary statement: Grab samples described above are selective by nature and reported grades might not be representative of more extensive mineralized zones.

Chadwick, et.al., 2021. Report of Activities, 2020, Resident Geologist Program, Kirkland Lake Regional Resident Geologist Report: Kirkland Lake and Sudbury Districts; Ontario Geological Survey, Open File Report 6375, 157 p. Azadbakht, Z., et.al., 2021. Report of Activities, 2020, Resident Geologist Program, Timmins Regional Resident Geologist Report: Timmins and Sault Ste. Marie Districts; Ontario Geological Survey, Open File Report 6374, 114 p.

Qualified Person

The technical information in this news release was reviewed and approved by Alan Sexton, P.Geo., Vice-President, Exploration of LaSalle Exploration Corp., who is a non-independent qualified person for the technical disclosure as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101").

The rock samples reported above were delivered to ALS of Timmins, Ontario, a certified and accredited laboratory service provider, for sample preparation, with analyses being carried out by ALS in Vancouver. All rock samples were prepared by procedures CRU-31 (crush entire sample to 70% <2mm), SPL-21 (split 1000 grams from the entire sample using a riffle splitter) and PUL-32 (pulverize 1000 grams to 85% <75 microns). A 30-gram sub-sample of all rock samples was analysed for gold by FA/AA (method Au-AA23), with any samples returning values of 10 g/t or higher being re-assayed by FA with a gravimetric finish (method AA-GRA21). All rock samples were also analysed for 33 elements by 4-acid ICP-AES (method ME-ICP61) and any base metals that returned values of 10,000 ppm or greater were assayed by a 4-acid ore grade (method OG62). No standards or blanks were inserted by LaSalle. ALS routinely inserts certified gold and base metal standards, blanks and pulp duplicates, and results of all ALS QA/QC samples are reported. The standard, blank and duplicate samples used by ALS were considered sufficient QA/QC for LaSalle's sample analysis.

About LaSalle Exploration Corp

LaSalle is a Canadian exploration company focused on less explored districts of the Abitibi in Ontario and Quebec, recognized for mining investment based on mineral potential, policy and success., LaSalle is actively exploring Radisson in the developing Eeyou Itschee-James Bay region in Quebec as well as the Blakelock and Egan high-grade gold properties located in northeastern Ontario. LaSalle trades on the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSX-V") under the symbol "LSX". Additional information about LaSalle can be found on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on the Company's website at www.lasallecorp.com.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

LASALLE EXPLORATION CORP.

"Ian Campbell"

President and Chief Executive Officer

Telephone: (604) 647-3966

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Information

The information in this news release includes certain information and statements about management's view of future events, expectations, plans and prospects that constitute forward-looking statements. These statements are based upon assumptions that are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Because of these risks and uncertainties and as a result of a variety of factors, the actual results, expectations, achievements or performance may differ materially from those anticipated and indicated by these forward-looking statements. Any number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements as well as future results. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in forward looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurances that the expectations of any forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions, changes in factors affecting such forward-looking statements or otherwise.

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.





Figure 1

To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6809/98726_75141b46b46ea9e7_001full.jpg

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/98726
The innovation hub for new energy solutions opens its doors from October 6-8

MUNICH and PFORZHEIM, Germany, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In the last few weeks, Germany has seen extreme rainfall, parts of New York were flooded, and fires have been raging in Southern Europe and California; most climate experts agree that these events send out a strong alarm signal. Suitable measures need to be taken as quickly as possible in order to curb the devastating effects of the climate crisis. Across the globe, CO2 must be reduced on a large scale, and renewable energy sources must be used to a greater extend to cover energy supply. The solutions and technologies to achieve this have been available for some time. In Munich, the innovation hub The smarter E Europe Restart 2021 and the four parallel energy exhibitions Intersolar Europe, ees Europe, Power2Drive Europe and EM-Power Europe will present solutions and innovations that address the entire value chain. The exhibitions will take place at Messe Munchen from October 6-8.

The climate protection measures needed now cannot be taken without a considerable, expedited expansion of renewable energies. To be successful, the energy transition requires a mix of different renewable energy sources, a widespread storage infrastructure and the intelligent coupling of the electricity, heat and traffic sectors. For Germany and Europe, this mainly means boosting photovoltaics significantly to prevent the electrical energy gap that could potentially occur if the expansion is not fast enough. According to a EuPD Research analysis, this gap is on the horizon for 2022 and could continue to worsen in subsequent years - to over 100 terawatthours (TWh) by 2025. With the electrification of the transportation sector and parts of the heating sector driving electricity demand, nuclear and coal-fired power plants being phased out, and the development corridor for the main renewables - photovoltaics and wind - not being ambitious enough, this electrical energy gap is in the making. Carsten Kornig, CEO of the German Solar Association (BSW-Solar) comments: "To be ready to replace fossil power plant capacities, we need to supercharge the expansion of solar energy and storage systems now. This means speeding up the switch to solar by a factor of three to four. As the main innovation hub in Europe, The smarter E Europe is an essential catalyst for this boost."

In addition to a faster expansion of traditional roof and ground-mounted photovoltaic systems, building-integrated photovoltaics (BIVP) and agrivoltaics as well as installations on water can also make a contribution. Floating PV has the advantage of providing new surfaces to drive the energy transition and minimize land use conflicts. In its 30th year, Intersolar Europe - the world's leading exhibition for the solar industry - and the accompanying Intersolar Europe Conference will provide more information on these topics. Attendees will hear all about the latest trends and innovations, learn about new markets and business models as well as how digital technologies can optimize PV system design, use and maintenance.

Green hydrogen - an important factor for expanding photovoltaics and wind power

The expansion of solar and wind energy must be complemented by efficient electrical energy storage to ensure that the energy transition and the new energy world run smoothly. The current expansion of production capacities and resulting cost reduction will make battery storage systems an essential element, particularly for short-term electricity storage. According to the German Solar Association (BSW-Solar), around 88,000 additional new residential storage systems were installed in Germany in the residential sector alone, meaning that almost one in two PV installations now run with a battery storage system. The projected expansion of the production capacity of green hydrogen has recently been added as another key element of the energy transition that is gaining momentum. This makes green hydrogen an important option when it comes to using renewable energies for the cross-sector coupling of electricity, heat and transportation. Also, green hydrogen can help the decarbonization of those industry, shipping, freight and aviation applications that cannot be electrified.

"The combination of renewable sources of energy and hydrogen could soon become the new dream team of the energy transition," says Werner Diwald, Chairman of the Board for the German Hydrogen and Fuel-Cell Association, DWV. The EU has also picked up on this: The EU's hydrogen strategy aims at investing at least 470 billion euros in the generation of hydrogen over the next three decades, preferably from renewable sources, with 340 billion euros being allotted to photovoltaics and wind energy development. Hydrogen produced with renewable energy will also be an important topic of the innovation hub The smarter E Europe Restart 2021, taking place from October 6-9, 2021, at Messe Munchen. The smarter E - Green Hydrogen Forum, which will be held during the exhibition, will this year introduce a dedicated platform for industry representatives along the entire value chain. Businesses looking to bring hydrogen, fuel cells, electrolysis and Power-to-Gas into the market will be meeting at the Green Hydrogen Forum & Expo in hall B6.

Intelligent control of a complex energy system thanks to digitalization

Machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI) and big data have been creating new possibilities for the design of energy systems, plant configuration, predictive maintenance and monitoring, as well as yield and weather forecasting. This all contributes to reducing electricity generation costs and in turn renders systems more profitable. In future, digital applications will enable intelligent control and distribution in an ever more complex energy system and balance out supply and demand - regardless of whether we're looking at energy-intensive industries, at regional supply, or power for districts and single-family homes.

Businesses are also finally in step with reality: More and more companies are switching to cost-effective and environmentally friendly electricity and embrace climate-neutral production. In future, a low carbon footprint will be crucial for economic success. More and more investors have been introducing sustainability ratings as part of their investment decision-making, as have many large groups when awarding contracts to suppliers. Steps towards becoming a climate-neutral business are a special focus of EM-Power Europe, the international exhibition for energy management and integrated energy solutions. The topic will also be discussed in more detail during the EM-Power Forum in hall B5. In addition, sector coupling for buildings and districts as well as smart grids and grid infrastructure of the future are on the agenda.

The end of the internal combustion engine

The public charging infrastructure in Europe grew by 35 percent in Europe in 2020, and there is enormous interest in wall boxes from consumers in Germany. As a result, the number of providers and products has been growing. The German National Centre for Charging Infrastructure estimates that in the next ten years, residential charging will continue to outweigh public charging significantly at around 80 percent. Demand for charging points at home, at work or in shopping centers will continue to grow. The German government subsidizes privately funded charging points based on forward-thinking criteria such as the controllability of charging solutions and the use of electricity from renewable energies. Since the program's launch in November 2020, 385,000 funding applications for 470,000 residential charging stations have been submitted.

Soon, the operators of charging infrastructure and their service providers will be playing a key role for mobility, similar to the way in which gas stations are today. This will make them systematically relevant. Ideally, electrical energy is generated on site using renewable sources of energy. Green charging current will see the energy and mobility sectors grow together. This makes a sensible and efficient distribution of available power all the more important, i.e. taking into consideration grids, buildings and vehicles as well as parking and charging times. Intelligent charging systems with suitable energy and load management as well as easy payment methods for charging bills are needed.

Technical innovation and digitalization are also important factors when it comes to vehicle production - in particular since the internal combustion engine is set to disappear with the EU's "Fit for 55" legislation package. Even today, electric vehicles popularize new concepts of mobility and offer added societal value through the flexible, temporary storage of green energy (vehicle-to-grid). All of these topics will be showcased at the Power2Drive Restart 2021 exhibition, which will present charging solutions and technologies for electric vehicles as part of The smarter E Europe 2021, and focus on the interaction between electric vehicles and a sustainable and environmentally friendly energy supply.

The smarter E Europe Restart 2021

The smarter E Europe, the innovation hub for new energy solutions, was initially planned for July 2021. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a compact version of the event will be now be held off schedule as The smarter E Europe Restart. With four exhibitions, 45,000 sqm of exhibition space, around 450 exhibitors as well as 2 conferences (Intersolar Europe Conference and ees Europe Conference) and 3 exhibition forums, the current event will bridge the gap until the next regular The smarter E Europe on May 11-13, 2022. This is an important event marking the return of exhibitions and trade shows in Germany and Europe, and an important and welcome signal for the industry. Visitors and exhibitors who are unable attend in person have the option of following the event via Expo TV, which will be providing information and live coverage on all three exhibition days. The program and streams are available at https://www.thesmartere.de/de/expo-tv.

The smarter E Europe, which encompasses the four individual exhibitions Intersolar Europe, ees Europe, Power2Drive Europe and EM-Power Europe, will take place as The smarter E Europe Restart from October 6-8, 2021, at Messe Munchen.

For more information, please visit:

www.TheSmarterE.de

Image source:  Solar Promotion GmbH

The smarter E Europe

The smarter E is the innovation hub for events and topics that drive the new energy world. Renewable energy, decentralization and digitalization are bringing lasting changes to the energy world. This development demands cross-sector, intelligently integrated concepts and solutions for the efficient generation, storage, distribution and use of energy, so that we can ensure a secure and sustainable energy supply around the clock in the future. Under the motto "Creating the new energy world", The smarter E Europe unites four exhibitions and conferences that take an in-depth look at these topics. In doing so, it is now Europe's largest platform for the energy industry.

Intersolar Europe, the world's leading exhibition for the solar industry, has been dedicated to solar energy for 30 years and has established itself as the industry's most important meeting point. The exhibition focuses on the areas of photovoltaics, solar thermal technologies and solar power plants.

ees Europe, the continent's largest and most international exhibition for batteries and energy storage systems, will take place for the seventh time in 2021, presenting the entire value-added chain of innovative battery and energy storage technologies.

Power2Drive Europe, the international exhibition for charging infrastructure and e-mobility, focuses on solutions and technologies for clean transportation.

EM-Power Europe is the international exhibition for energy management and integrated energy solutions. It focuses on the efficient distribution and use of electricity and heat generated from renewable sources of energy, smart energy management, and sector coupling in buildings and districts. Other key topics are smart grids and microgrids, grid infrastructure, energy services, and operator models.

For more information on The smarter E Europe, please visit: www.TheSmarterE.de

The smarter E Europe is organized by Solar Promotion GmbH, Pforzheim, and Freiburg Wirtschaft Touristik und Messe GmbH & Co. KG (FWTM).

Contact:

Solar Promotion GmbH | P.O. Box 100 170 | 75101 Pforzheim, Germany

Horst Dufner | Tel.: +49 7231 58598-0 | Fax: +49 7231 58598-28

dufner@solarpromotion.de

Press contact:

fischerAppelt, relations | Otl-Aicher-Str. 64 | 80807 Munich, Germany

Robert Schwarzenbock | Tel.: +49 89 747466-23 | Fax: +49 89 747466-66 | robert.schwarzenboeck@fischerappelt.de
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / October 6, 2021 / Wedgemount Resources Corp. (CSE:WDGY) (" Wedgemount " or the " Company "), is pleased to update shareholders on assay results from the Company's Phase 1 Cookie exploration program. The 29,000 hectare Cookie copper-gold property is located in the prolific southern Toodoggone copper belt of north-central British Columbia.

Highlights

Up to 14.8% copper and 88 g/t silver was sampled in mineralized veins in the Overstall zone located in the northwest portion of the project.

was sampled in mineralized veins in the located in the northwest portion of the project. Multiple new zones of porphyry-related alteration and mineralization were discovered including the Menard Pass area which returned samples up to 2% copper and 119 g/t silver.

were discovered including the Menard Pass area which returned samples The next phase of exploration will include induced polarization (IP) geophysics to aid in drill targeting.

Mark Vanry, President and CEO of Wedgemount commented, "As per our August 11, 2021 press release , our technical team did an outstanding job finding previously un-sampled zones of copper, gold and silver mineralization outcropping in multiple areas of the project. With a multitude of samples in various areas of the project returning greater than 1% copper, the Company is optimistic that not only will there be robust copper drill targets, but there is also the opportunity for significant grade. Wedgemount is optimistic that the next phase of exploration, including an IP survey, will further help delineate high-potential drill targets for the 2022 exploration season."

Exploration Program Results

The focus of the 2021 Phase 1 exploration program was to confirm the grade and style of copper and gold mineralization documented in historic assessment reports as well as to evaluate new areas considered prospective for porphyry-related mineralization. Priority target areas included the five kilometer long, Red-Amber northwest trending corridor on the eastern side of the property and the six kilometer east-west trend of under-explored copper occurrences (e.g., Garry, Nightfly, ARD, Kim, Verna, Menard Pass) on the western side of the property. Other priority targets on the western side included the Overstall and Jensen Creek areas. The field program was based out of a fly camp on the east end of Amber Lake. Sampling was conducted by a 5-person crew from Tripoint Geological Services Ltd. between July 15 and August 11, 2021. Over the course of 15 field days, 86 rock samples, 689 soil samples, and 122 alteration chips were collected for analysis.

Assay results have now been received for 86 grab rock samples from a variety of mineralized settings on the Cookie property. A total of 52 rock samples returned copper concentrations in excess of 1,000 ppm (0.1% copper) of which 20 samples exceeded 10,000 ppm (1.0% copper). These 20 samples returned results ranging from 1.05% copper to the highest at 14.8% copper (Table 1).

Four samples returned gold grades in excess of 4 g/t including the best result of 32.6 g/t gold from sample D704123 which also returned 85.8 g/t silver and 5.17% copper. The sample was taken from iron- oxidized quartz vein float with malachite/azurite staining and chalcopyrite. Nineteen samples returned greater than 10 g/t silver, including two samples that returned greater than 100 g/t silver.

Anomalous copper results tended to have correspondingly anomalous gold and silver results with a wide range of returned values. See Table 1.

Sample D704025 was taken at the Overstall Zone from a highly brecciated outcrop with carbonate-chalcopyrite-bornite veinlets hosted in propylitic altered diorite and returned 14.8% copper, 87.8 g/t silver, 0.14 g/t gold and 1.28% molybdenum. The Overstall Zone is characterized by a zone of intense potassic alteration associated with mineralized veining (quartz, chalcopyrite, bornite, pyrite) that occurs in diorite immediately west of the contact with Takla volcanics on the north-facing slope of Overstall ridge.

Sample D704061 was taken from the Menard Pass area and returned 1.37% copper, 115.0 g/t silver and 4.46 g/t gold in a shear zone containing lenses of quartz-calcite veining which cuts amygdaloidal andesite with abundant malachite-azurite staining. The Menard Pass area forms the western terminus of the six kilometres of roughly E-W trending ridges from the Menard Pass east to the Garry/Nightfly showings. The geology is characterized as Takla volcanics in contact with potassic-altered diorite intrusive which exhibit stockwork carbonate veining and strong propylitic alteration. Mineralization along the trend range from discrete shear structures to metre-wide stockwork quartz-carbonate-chalcopyrite veining to propylitic altered basalt with a carbonate stockwork that hosts pods of massive bornite and molybdenite.

The 2021 sampling has revealed alteration and associated mineralization in the Overstall and Menard Pass areas that present obvious targets for future work. The intensity and close proximity of intrusions, alteration, and mineralization indicates that volcanics are in contact with a potassic altered intrusive along a regionally mineralizing trend which suggests an intense porphyry-related event. Future work will involve more detailed geological mapping of lithology, mineralization style, and alteration and detailed soil sampling. Many more prospective areas on the Property require follow-up based on initial 2021 sampling, including West Hat, Midas, and Jensen Creek.

Other significant rock results from Cookie are tabulated in Table 1.

Table 1. Significant Results - 2021 Cookie Rock Samples

Zone SampleID Sample_Type Outcrop_Type Au (g/t) Ag (g/t) Cu (%) Mo (%) Sample Comments Overstall D704025 GRAB OC 0.141 87.800 14.800 1.280 Brecciated carbonate-cpy-bo veinlet cuts prop altered diorite Jensen Creek D704110 GRAB OC 0.035 16.550 5.340 Epidote-qtz-hem vein with diss cpy and lesser py cuts prop altered basalt West Hat D704123 GRAB Float 32.600 85.800 5.170 Fe oxidized quartz vein float with malachite/azurite staining and chalcopyrite Menard D704045 GRAB Float 0.539 119.000 2.180 Float sample of qtz-cal-py with mal staining Menard D704060 GRAB OC 0.125 27.900 1.970 Shear zone hosts disseminated cpy and py with pervasive mal-az staining Menard D704043 GRAB OC -0.005 6.010 1.715 Qtz-calc-cpy-bo veinlet Other D704041 GRAB OC 0.585 39.500 1.680 Shear in maroon volcanic hosts abundant mal-az fill and vuggy qtz-carb-cpy-bo vein Menard D704061 GRAB OC 4.460 115.000 1.370 Shear containing lenses of qtz-cal veining cuts amygdaloidal andesite; abundant mal-az staining North Menard D704118 GRAB OC 0.024 2.850 1.195 Chlorite basalt with malachite and chalcopyrite hosted in small structure West Hat D704051 GRAB Float 29.800 28.400 1.050 Float sample of heavily oxidized quartz vein with malachite staining West Hat D704052 GRAB Float 9.120 26.800 0.737 Float sample of iron sulfide hosted in quartz vein

Figure 1. Map showing location of 2021 rock sample locations and results on the Cookie project with the best results highlighted in text.

Cookie Property

The center of the 29,000 hectare Cookie property is approximately 40 kilometers south of Centerra Gold's past producing Kemess copper-gold mine and approximately 200 kilometers north of Smithers B.C. Historical work from the late-1960s to the early 2000's, including geological mapping, geophysical and geochemical surveys and limited drilling have outlined numerous porphyry-related copper-gold targets defined by widespread hydrothermal alteration zones, copper and gold mineralization and strong, yet un-drill-tested copper-in-soil geochemical anomalies.

The property straddles a terrane boundary (e.g., Ingenika Fault) between the Quesnel and Stikine terranes where Triassic to Jurassic sequences of volcaniclastic and sedimentary rocks are intruded by Early Jurassic to mid-Cretaceous plutons and stocks. Most of the historical work on the Cookie property has been confined to large gossans on the east side that represent more altered and porphyritic varieties of the intrusive units. Here, Cu-AuMo mineralization observed in historic drill core and outcrop is associated with porphyry-related hydrothermal alteration (e.g., Red-Amber corridor). Similarly on the west side of the property, widespread alteration, and local copper-bearing mineralization (e.g., ARD, Kim, Overstall, Verna) is located within rocks that host intrusions associated with the regionally prospective Black Lake intrusive suite.

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 Ken MacDonald, P.Geo., a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101.

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/666958/Wedgemount-Samples-up-to-148-Cu-and-Discovers-Multiple-New-Mineralized-Zones-at-Cookie-Copper-Gold-Property-North-central-BC
- Nanoparticle-based technology complements the company's intratumoral technology platform -

NOVATO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / October 6, 2021 / Mosaic ImmunoEngineering, Inc. ("Mosaic" or the "Company"), (OTCQB:CPMV), a development-stage biotechnology company focused on bridging immunology and engineering to develop novel immunotherapies to treat and prevent cancer and infectious diseases, today announced that it has licensed rights to develop and commercialize new treatment candidates that broaden the scope and capabilities of the Company's protein nanoparticle platform to treat cancer. The technology involves the loading of immuno-stimulatory molecules into plant virus protein nanoparticles. The technology was licensed from the University of California San Diego (UC San Diego) and broadens the Company's existing nanoparticle cargo-loading technology.

"Preclinical studies performed at UC San Diego have shown that nanoparticles derived from plant viruses that do not replicate in mammals are recognized as foreign by immune cells and induce immuno-stimulatory effects when injected into tumors. Furthermore, the nanoparticles can be loaded with Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists to further tailor specific immune response parameters," said Nicole F. Steinmetz, Ph.D., acting chief scientific officer of Mosaic and the director of the UC San Diego Center for Nano-ImmunoEngineering. "The intratumoral administration of protein nanoparticles, based on their size and structure, has shown increased tumor retention time, uptake by host immune cells and greater antitumor effects as compared to small molecule treatment candidates. Packing of small-molecule immune stimulants into our nanoparticles thus hold the potential for more efficient utilization and therapeutic effects of these new treatment candidates."

"This newly licensed technology complements and expands our intratumoral immunotherapy platform, allowing us to explore and create value through additional avenues of immune stimulation in order to treat both human and veterinary applications." said Steven King, president and chief executive officer of Mosaic. "This technology utilizes a different protein nanotechnology base and compliments our lead immuno-oncology candidate, MIE-101, which is a naturally occurring immune stimulant. Our goal is to facilitate strategic partnering and commercialization opportunities across multiple areas of therapeutic and preventive vaccine product candidates."

About Toll-Like Receptors

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are proteins found on the surface and interior of host immune cells that play a fundamental role in initiating immune responses by recognizing molecular patterns common to viruses, bacteria and other foreign microbes. Originally discovered in the 1980s, TLRs have proven to be an important and highly conserved first line of immune defense across mammalian species. In recent years, molecules that stimulate TLRs have demonstrated efficacy in multiple tumor models by activating immune cells to better recognize and fight cancer. The intratumoral administration of TLR agonists, a strategy called "in situ vaccination", has become an active area of research and product development in oncology with several treatment candidates showing promise in clinical trials.

About MIE-101

Mosaic's lead therapeutic candidate, MIE-101, is derived from the cowpea mosaic virus (CPMV), a plant virus that does not infect humans or animals, but can stimulate both innate and adaptive immune responses, as shown in multiple preclinical models of cancer, including melanoma, breast, ovarian, brain and colon. Unlike experimental intratumoral treatments intended to utilize viruses to directly invade and destroy cancer cells, known as oncolytic viruses, MIE-101 represents a different approach to cancer treatment. MIE-101 has been shown to engage multiple Toll-like receptors on host immune cells in the tumor that have evolved to detect foreign invaders. Preclinical studies have demonstrated that these immune cells then attack the tumor, while also producing molecules that attract, activate and train additional immune cells to recognize and fight the tumor that was directly treated as well as attacking tumors in other areas of the body. MIE-101 has demonstrated single agent activity in preclinical tumor models and enhanced antitumor effects when combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors and other standard cancer therapies.

About Mosaic ImmunoEngineering Inc.

Mosaic ImmunoEngineering Inc. is a development-stage biotechnology company focused on bridging immunology and engineering to develop novel immunotherapies to treat and prevent cancer and infectious diseases. Mosaic's core technology platform is based on cowpea mosaic virus ("CPMV"), which is non-infectious to humans or other animals but upon intratumoral administration, elicits a strong innate immune response resulting in potent anti-tumor activity against the primary and distant tumor sites. The broad potential of our lead candidate, MIE-101, for the treatment of many different types of cancer and potential combination therapies continues to be supported by numerous publications and grant funding through our university collaborators and co-founders at the UC San Diego Center for Nano-ImmunoEngineering. In addition, the core technology has a potential application as part of a Modular Vaccine Platform (MVP) that has already generated promising data in both cancer and infectious disease preclinical models, including COVID-19. The COVID-19 vaccine research is currently being performed by our co-founders and was funded by the National Science Foundation. For additional information about Mosaic, please visit MosaicIE.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other Federal securities laws. For example, we are using forward-looking statements when we discuss Mosaic's future operations and its ability to successfully advance the product candidates; the nature, strategy and focus of Mosaic's business; and the development and commercial potential and potential benefits of any of Mosaic's product candidates. Mosaic may not actually achieve the plans, carry out the intentions or meet the expectations or projections disclosed in the forward-looking statements and you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Because such statements deal with future events and are based on Mosaic's current expectations, they are subject to various risks and uncertainties and actual results, performance or achievements of these forward-looking statements could differ materially from those described in or implied by the statements in this press release, including the uncertainties of: raising sufficient capital or grant funding to advance these product candidates, which may not be available on favorable terms or at all; advancing Mosaic's multiple products into clinical trials, the clinical development and regulatory approval of Mosaic's product candidates, including potential delays in the commencement; enrollment and completion of clinical trials; the potential that earlier preclinical studies of Mosaic's product candidates may not be predictive of future results; risks related to business interruptions, including but not limited to, the outbreak of COVID-19 coronavirus, which could harm Mosaic's financial condition and increase its costs and expenses. The foregoing review of important factors that could cause actual events to differ from expectations should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with statements that are included herein and elsewhere, including the risks discussed in Mosaic's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as otherwise required by law, Mosaic disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof, whether, as a result of new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise.

CONTACT:

Jay Carlson

Sr. Manager, Investor Relations

Mosaic ImmunoEngineering Inc.

info@mosaicie.com

Strategic corporate inquires can be sent to partnering@mosaicie.com.

SOURCE: Mosaic ImmunoEngineering Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/666892/Mosaic-ImmunoEngineering-Expands-Immuno-Oncology-Platform-Through-New-Technology-Licensing-Agreement-with-the-University-of-California-San-Diego
Longtime Marketing, Development, and Sales Executive to Head Day-to-Day Operations for Emerging Sexual Health, Wellness, and Psychedelics Brand

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / October 6, 2021 / LOVE Pharma Co. (CSE:LUV), the international sexual health, wellness, and psychedelics company, is pleased to announce the appointment of Joshua Maurice as its Chief Operating Officer.

According to LOVE Pharma CEO and Director, Zachary Stadnyk, "Joshua's expertise is exactly what we need to properly execute the rollout of new products as well as to oversee the distribution and marketing of our strong portfolio of therapeutic and pharmaceutical products. We welcome Joshua-a talented senior executive with years of experience-to the LOVE Pharma team, where his guidance and history will make him an invaluable asset; and we look forward to the future growth and expansion that he will lead."

Following four years at Callitas Therapeutics-during which time he quickly rose through the ranks from Director of Sales & Marketing to VP of Sales & Business Development and then to President-Mr. Maurice comes to LOVE Pharma with 20 years of experience in consumer goods with a focus on the development of over-the-counter drug and nutraceuticals, including efficacy, clinical research, branding, marketing, advertising, and global retail distribution.

In his new role at LOVE Pharma, Mr. Maurice will be responsible for the following:

Overseeing day-to-day operations, including logistics and supply chain systems

Directing the acquisition of new technologies as well as product development

Steering the launch of new products-including key branded products such as BLOOM and AURALIEF- and their respective marketing and advertising campaigns

Leading contract negotiations and vendor acquisitions

"While I am truly impressed by the breadth of the LOVE Pharma portfolio-ranging from CBD and psychedelics to sexual wellness and conception-it's being ideally positioned to bring novel health and wellness products to market that really excites me about joining the LOVE Pharma team; and I look forward to focusing on how our innovative technologies can legitimately improve the lives of our customers." -LOVE Pharma COO, Joshua Maurice

Having successfully launched a number retail brands from concept to distribution-both direct-to-consumer and with brick-and-mortar retailers including Walmart, CVS, Target, and Walgreens-Mr. Maurice's demonstrated skill in streamlining manufacturing and supply chain while maximizing profitability and product performance should prove invaluable to Love PHARMA; while his wide breadth of knowledge and experience in integrating operations with marketing and sales will put him in very good stead with customers and shareholders, alike.

About Love Pharma Inc.

With a focus on the Global Sexual Health, Wellness, and Psychedelics markets LOVE PHARMA (CSE:LUV) was founded in 2020, with a mission to bring to market innovative products that enhance sexual health and wellness while providing an improved quality of life. Love Pharma holds exclusive licenses to produce market, package, sell, and distribute patent-protected therapeutic and pharmaceutical products throughout Europe, the United Kingdom, and North America. Love anticipates increasing value for shareholders through further mergers and acquisitions that complement its strong portfolio of intellectual property.

For further information, please contact:

Investor Relations

Telephone: 1 (604) 343-2977

E-mail: investors@love-pharma.com

www.love-pharma.com

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Certain statements contained in this release may constitute "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" (collectively "forward-looking information") as those terms are used in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and similar Canadian laws. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of any of the words "could", "intend", "expect", "believe", "will", "projected", "estimated", "anticipates" and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on the Company's current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. Actual future results may differ materially. In particular, this release contains forward-looking information relating to the business of the Company, financing and certain corporate changes. The forward-looking information contained in this release is made as of the date hereof and the Company is not obligated to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. Because of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions contained herein, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The foregoing statements expressly qualify any forward-looking information contained herein.

SOURCE: Love Pharma Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/666794/LOVE-Pharma-Names-Joshua-Maurice-Chief-Operating-Officer
MIAMI, FL / ACCESSWIRE / October 6, 2021 / Star8 Corp. (OTC PINK:STRH) is pleased to announce that its common shares are now eligible for electronic clearing and settlement through the Depository Trust Company ("DTC") in the United States. Star8 Corp.'s shares trade under the symbol STRH.

DTC is one of the country's leading securities depositories that manages the electronic clearing and settlement of publicly traded companies. Securities that are eligible to be electronically cleared and settled through DTC are considered to be "DTC eligible." The benefits of obtaining DTC eligibility include creating a seamless process for trading, and the convenience of electronically clearing and settling transactions directly in the United States - reducing costs incurred with trading shares.

"Achieving DTC eligibility for Star8 Corp. is a game-changing milestone that provides investors in the OTC capital markets space with quick and direct access to our shares," said Mario Diez, Chief Executive Officer of Star8 Corp. "This is the next step in the growth of our company, as we streamline the way investors can acquire our stock."

To learn more about Star8 Corp., please visit its LinkedIn page.

About Star8 Corporation

Star8 Corp. is a multifaceted brand with components ranging from ecommerce driven solutions focusing on Amazon, direct to market, Technology Strategies and Solutions, and Marketing Platforms (digital and others) that generate results.

At its core, Star8 is driven by sustainable marketing, technology, sales, and distribution to help Organizations focus on business results for the products they are actively interested in. Throughout the entire product lifecycle (ideation, design, development, sales, and fulfillment), Star8 is a constant companion to enable growth across multiple dimensions, creating brand adoption and loyalty along the journey.

For inquiries, please contact: info@tempucheck.com | 1-866-316-0808

Investor Inquiries:

Star8 Corp.

1-866-316-0808

Safe Harbor

Statements about the Company's future expectations and all other statements in this press release other than historical facts, are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company intends that such forward-looking statements be subject to the safe harbors created thereby. The above information contains information relating to the Company that is based on the beliefs of the Company and/or its management as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company or its management. When used in this document, the words "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "plans," "projects," and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company or its management, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the current view of the Company regarding future events and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including the risks and uncertainties noted. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove to be incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as anticipated, believed, estimated, expected, intended or projected. In each instance, forward-looking information should be considered in light of the accompanying meaningful cautionary statements herein. Factors that could cause results to differ include, but are not limited to, successful performance of internal plans, the impact of competitive services and pricing and general economic risks and uncertainties. The Company disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements.

SOURCE: Star8 Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/666925/Star8-Corp-Announces-DTC-Eligibility-of-Its-Shares
Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - October 6, 2021) - Psygen Industries Ltd. ("Psygen" or the "Company") provided an update today on use of psilocybin in humans and on its intellectual property portfolio. Psygen is excited to announce that psilocybin recently used in a clinical trial was manufactured by Psygen personnel working with a third-party licensed dealer. The Company is also announcing that Psygen has developed patent-pending technology that is expected to improve yields and margins on revenue, and that the technology is key to scale-up and automation. Psygen's chemistry team garnered valuable experience from manufacturing the GMP batches that were used in clinical trials. This experience informed and accelerated the development of Psygen's patent-pending technology.

Psygen has developed key intellectual property rights focused on optimized manufacturing processes for psilocybin and other tryptamines. In 2021, Psygen filed two provisional patent applications at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (the "USPTO"), establishing priority dates. Current data on one of the two technologies shows evidence of improved efficiency and economics in the manufacture of psilocybin and other tryptamines. A second patent-pending technology developed by Psygen may provide additional formulation options for psilocybin.

Psygen has also developed key manufacturing and analytical processes that will be applied to manufacture and release of the pharmaceutical quality Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients ("APIs"), both for controlled substances and unscheduled substances that will be offered by Psygen. These processes are expected to be applied at Psygen's facility once construction is completed, and in the case of controlled substances, once Psygen's application for a dealer's licence has been issued.

Danny Motyka, CEO of Psygen, said, "Psygen was founded to improve access to psychedelic medicines for therapeutic applications and for research. Our work is focused on scaling production processes for synthetic psychedelic drugs. Any time a process is optimized, that optimization might be patentable. Psygen will create unique, comprehensive methods that render the ultimate process more efficacious."

In addition to establishing priority dates for the protection of Psygen's recent innovations by filing provisional patent applications, Psygen has protected its brand through filing applications for registration of trademarks.

This press release is a correction of a press release that was issued earlier today and retracted. The previous press release indicated that Psygen's patent-pending technology had been used to manufacture the psilocybin that was used in the clinical trial.

About Psygen

Psygen intends to be a leading provider of psychedelics for healing and wellness. Psygen will be a manufacturer of pharmaceutical-grade psychedelic drug substances for clinical research and therapeutic applications. Psygen consists of a team of industry and business experts with over 25 years of direct experience in manufacturing psychedelics. Psygen is building Canada's first dedicated psychedelics manufacturing facility for the synthesis of psychedelic drugs for clinical research and approved therapeutic applications. Psygen has worked in partnership with an existing Licensed Dealer to develop manufacturing protocols for psychedelic drug products.

Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. The use of any of the words "expect", "anticipate", "continue", "estimate", "objective", "ongoing", "may", "will", "project", "should", "believe", "plans", "intends" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements or information. Forward-looking statements and information in this press release includes, but is not limited to, the anticipated development of the subject matter of the provisional patent applications, the build-out of Psygen's facility, the Company receiving a dealer licence from Health Canada and the application of the Company's key manufacturing and analytical processes to its manufacturing. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which the forward-looking statements and information are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements and information because the Company cannot give any assurance that they will prove to be correct. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by these statements depending on, among other things, the timely development of the subject matter of the provisional patent applications, the timing of construction of Psygen's facility, the Company receiving a dealer licence from Health Canada. These statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those implied by such statements. The Company cautions that the foregoing list of risks and uncertainties is not exhaustive. The forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof and the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statement or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise unless so required by applicable securities laws.

For more information, please contact:

Psygen Industries Ltd.

Andreas Curkovic, Investor Relations

Telephone: 416-577-9927

Email: invest@psygen.ca

THIS NEWS RELEASE IS INTENDED FOR DISTRIBUTION IN CANADA ONLY AND IS NOT INTENDED FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/98839
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - October 6, 2021) - Golden Independence Mining Corp. (CSE: IGLD) (OTCQB: GIDMF) (FSE: 6NN) ("Golden Independence" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on the Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") for the Independence project ("Independence Project") and to provide a general corporate update.

"Golden Independence has made great strides over the past year at the Independence Project," stated Christos Doulis, CEO. "The retirement of the US$4 million cash bullet payment in January followed by the delivery of the project's maiden NI 43-101 resource in May were the Company's first two major milestones," he continued. "Our next two major milestones are the delivery of the PEA and completion of our initial earn-in at the Independence Project which are both expected before the year end," he concluded.

PEA Update

Golden Independence is on track to deliver a PEA on the near surface component of the Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE") before year-end 2021. Dyer Engineering based in Reno, Nevada is leading the design work for 9,000 tonne per day heap leach operation with engineering and design work approximately twenty-five percent complete. The resource model and mineralized envelopes have been updated to include the twelve new drill holes drilled in April and May of this year. A preliminary pit design has been completed and is being optimized to account for safety benches and haulage access.

Kappes, Cassiday & Associates of Reno, Nevada have been engaged to undertake metallurgical testing which is well underway with thirty-four bottle roll tests having been completed on composite samples covering a majority of the near surface component of the MRE prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 and with all check assays having now been reported. A total of 1,058 new cyanide soluble results from drilling completed in 2020 and early 2021 have been added to the database and will be used in refining the gold and silver recovery models which suggest that oxidation extends to depth in various areas and a hard oxide/sulfide boundary is not evident. Operating costs and parameters are being refined based on the new metallurgical testing results. Seasonal biological, as well as cultural, baseline work will commence in Q1 2022. A groundwater Sampling and Analysis Plan is being developed and will be prepared for agency review.

Corporate Update

Golden Independence is on track to complete its initial earn-in at the Independence project before year-end 2021. As at October 1st, the Company had spent approximately US$2.7 million of the required US$3 million work commitment to earn an initial 51% in the Independence Project and is fully funded to deliver the PEA and complete the initial earn-in. Once the Company has delivered the PEA and completed the initial earn-in at the Independence Project, it will pursue options to begin unlocking the potential of the high-grade skarn which currently consists of a mineral resource prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 of 796,200 ozs grading 6.5 g/t gold in the Inferred category.

In addition, the Company announces that it has engaged the services of Clear Stock Consultants based in New York City for a period of nine weeks to engage in online marketing and advertising services. Clear Stock Consultants is being paid a fee of US$4,999 for their services.

Qualified Person

The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by James Ashton, P.E., Independent Consultant, a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101.

About Golden Independence Mining Corp.

Golden Independence Mining Corp. is an exploration company currently focused on exploring the advanced-stage Independence Project located adjacent to Nevada Gold Mine's Phoenix-Fortitude mine in the Battle Mountain-Cortez Trend of Nevada. The Independence property hosts an M&I resource of 537,300 ounces of gold and Inferred resource of 943,500 ounces of gold with a substantial silver credit. The Company is actively advancing the near-surface resource towards a production decision with a PEA anticipated in late 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Christos Doulis, Chief Executive Officer

Telephone: 1.647.924.1083

Email: christos@goldenindependence.co

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 timing of the completion of the PEA and the development potential of the Independence Project. 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, risks related to uncertainties inherent in the preparation of PEAs, drill results and the estimation of mineral resources, including changes in the economic parameters, risks relating to not securing agreements with third parties or not receiving required permits, risks associated with executing the Company's objectives and strategies, including costs and expenses, as well as those risk factors discussed in the Company's most recently filed management's discussion & analysis. 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.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/98725
Today, MPM Capital ("MPM"), one of the world's leading biotech investment firms, announced that it has raised $850 million for its second Oncology Impact Fund ("OIF 2" or "the Fund"), making it the world's largest biotech impact investment fund. OIF 2's investment efforts are managed through BioImpact Capital, an affiliate of MPM that has been formed to broaden MPM's investment offerings beyond venture capital into dedicated impact and public equities funds.

OIF 2 will create and invest in companies that develop innovative treatments for cancer and other areas of highest unmet medical need. The Fund's goals are to generate a compelling financial return and a long-term impact on patients' lives. OIF 2 will invest in private and public companies to identify the most compelling drug development programs.

OIF 2 exceeded its fundraising target of $650 million, and far outpaced the $471 million raised in 2016 for MPM's first Oncology Impact Fund ("OIF 1"), which at the time was also the largest biotech impact investment fund ever.

MPM and its BioImpact Capital team raised $650 million for OIF 2 through their unique partnership with UBS, the world's leading global wealth manager. UBS clients invested from around the world including the US, the UK, Switzerland, Hong Kong, and Singapore. The remaining $200 million was raised by MPM and the BioImpact Capital team directly.

"Beyond oncology, OIF 2 will also expand its focus to additional cutting-edge technologies including cell, gene, and RNA therapies," said Ansbert Gadicke, M.D., Managing Partner of BioImpact Capital and MPM Managing Director. "Companies created by MPM remain at the vanguard of innovation, having received FDA approvals for over 50 drugs. Their continued success now stands to benefit an even greater range of investors and patients."

MPM and its BioImpact Capital team are equally committed to generating significant social and human impact through OIF 2 and doing so without affecting investor returns. A portion of its success fees from OIF 2, as well as a royalty from treatments created by its start-up companies, will be donated to the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), to help fund grants for next-generation cancer research, and to the UBS Optimus Foundation, to improve access to cancer care in the developing world.

"Through OIF 2, our mission is twofold: providing strong financial returns for our investors, while creating broader impact for patients even beyond the life-saving drugs we create," said Christiana Bardon, M.D., M.B.A., Co-Managing Partner of BioImpact Capital. "The companies that we invest in are all motivated to transform the lives of patients. Our novel investment model in partnership with philanthropic organizations can amplify the benefit to patients by supporting expanded patient access and the next generation of scientific insights."

"We are proud to connect our clients with brilliant scientists around the world who are working hard to alleviate the pain and suffering caused by cancer," said Mark Haefele, Chief Investment Officer at UBS Global Wealth Management. "With more than $1 billion raised so far, this is what reimagining the power of investing and connecting people for a better world can look like."

MPM's BioImpact Capital team leverages its extensive company creation and clinical development experience along with its deep research and intellectual property expertise to successfully create and invest in companies through clinical proof of concept. In total, MPM has shepherded more than 100 companies through IPOs and mergers and acquisitions, and these companies in total have received FDA approval for 53 drugs.

About MPM

MPM Capital is a world-leading biotechnology investment firm with nearly three decades of experience creating and investing in companies that seek to translate scientific innovations into cures for major diseases. With its world-class team and deep experience in scientific research, clinical development, and company-building, MPM strives to power novel medical breakthroughs that transform patients' lives. MPM invests across the biotech landscape with venture capital offerings, and with impact and public equities products through its affiliate BioImpact Capital.

About UBS

UBS provides financial advice and solutions to wealthy, institutional and corporate clients worldwide, as well as private clients in Switzerland. UBS is the largest truly global wealth manager, and a leading personal and corporate bank in Switzerland, with a large-scale and diversified global asset manager and a focused investment bank. The bank focuses on businesses that have a strong competitive position in their targeted markets, are capital efficient, and have an attractive long-term structural growth or profitability outlook.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005562/en/

Contacts:

Investors:

Kellie Neville, +1 617-425-9207

kneville@mpmcapital.com



Media:

Nick Rice, +1 347-720-2943

nrice@brunswickgroup.com
Momentum milestones accelerate the pace of vehicle electrification across Europe

ChargePoint Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CHPT), a leading electric vehicle (EV) charging network operating in North America and Europe, today announced significant milestones, including the closing of its previously announced acquisition of leading European electric mobility platform hastobe.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005563/en/

Initiating a charge with the ChargePoint app on a CP4300 (Photo: Business Wire)

"Today we announce our accelerating leadership position in the European EV charging market with the closing of our acquisition of hastobe, which combined with our acquisition of ViriCiti and our existing broad portfolio of charging infrastructure solutions position ChargePoint well in commercial and fleet segments. With these acquisitions, we grew our talent pool across and have state-of-the-art research and development centers across Europe," said Pasquale Romano, CEO of ChargePoint. "These key milestones further strengthen our commitment to the European EV charging market, to complement our position as a leader in EV charging in North America."

Strategic Acquisitions

ChargePoint completed the acquisition of hastobe, the provider of be.ENERGISED, a leading cloud- based e-mobility EV charging and enterprise software platform. hastobe's expansive software platform addresses the complexity and fragmentation of today's European charging landscape and is compatible with widely deployed European charging stations and e-mobility services. ChargePoint's acquisition of hastobe will further accelerate its position in Europe's charging ecosystem.

In August 2021, ChargePoint announced its acquisition of ViriCiti, a leading provider of electrification solutions for eBus and commercial fleets with a customer base in Europe and North America. With the combined acquisitions of hastobe and ViriCiti, ChargePoint now has the most complete set of solutions for electrified fleets in Europe and North America. From concept to scale, ChargePoint's fleet solution portfolio includes everything fleets need to electrify and optimize fueling as they grow. The fleet management solution, AC and DC fast charging solutions, along with the telematics capabilities brought by ViriCiti, balance charging costs with operational readiness for fleets of all sizes, making ChargePoint a key partner in the efficient and rapid electrification of any fleet.

Driving a Sustainable Future

ChargePoint is now one of the largest charging networks in North America and Europe with more than 150,000 charging ports accessible on its own network. ChargePoint works with the industry to enable drivers to roam across networks in North America and Europe with more than 200,000 roaming ports accessible to EV drivers. ChargePoint is also proud to highlight three billion electric miles have been driven on the network and drivers have avoided more than 120 million gallons of gas, avoiding over 450,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Visionary Talent and Leading R&D Facilities

ChargePoint continues to create job opportunities and has more than doubled its talent over the past year in Europe. ChargePoint also has state-of-the-art research and development facilities in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Radstadt, Austria and Reading, England for testing and evaluation of ChargePoint's EV charging products.

With the hastobe and ViriCiti acquisitions now complete, ChargePoint is home to the one of the largest collections of EV charging talent in Europe, including roles in engineering, operations, marketing, sales, finance, legal and human resources.

Today, ChargePoint is commercially active in 16 European countries. Demonstrating the company's commitment to a superior charging experience and the expansion of electric mobility across the continent, ChargePoint also now provides around-the-clock support to drivers and station owners in multiple languages.

Improved Driver Experience

ChargePoint has long been dedicated to accelerating electric mobility across Europe by enabling a seamless charging experience for drivers, fleets, businesses and municipalities. ChargePoint has advanced and employed fee-free roaming agreements and integrations with many popular in-dash infotainment systems, as well as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. These industry innovations empower drivers to easily find stations, initiate fueling and pay for charging effortlessly right from the ChargePoint app or the vehicle display.

As a founding member and leader of the trade association ChargeUp Europe, ChargePoint has helped further the rights of EV drivers across the continent. The organization has made great strides in helping lead the industry as one voice on the future of easy roaming and payment solutions, as well as helping to guide the European Commission in the negotiations around the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Directive and "Fit for 55" legislation package, supporting its commitment to reduce net GHG emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030.

About ChargePoint

ChargePoint is creating a new fueling network to move people and goods on electricity. Since 2007, ChargePoint has been committed to making it easy for businesses and drivers to go electric with one of the largest EV charging networks and a comprehensive portfolio of charging solutions. ChargePoint's cloud subscription platform and software-defined charging hardware are designed to include options for every charging scenario from home and multifamily to workplace, parking, hospitality, retail and transport fleets of all types. Today, one ChargePoint account provides access to hundreds-of-thousands of places to charge in North America and Europe. To date, more than 98 million charging sessions have been delivered, with drivers plugging into the ChargePoint network every two seconds or less. For more information, visit the ChargePoint pressroom, the ChargePoint Investor Relations site, or contact ChargePoint's North American or European press offices or Investor Relations.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions including statements regarding the expected benefits of our acquisitions of hastobe and ViriCiti to us, our leadership and market position, our customers, the expected impact of the acquisitions on our product offerings, our successful product and workforce integration efforts, our continued investment in, expectations for growth, and expanded charging networks in Europe and North America, our commitment to the fleet and commercial segments, our expected benefits from and continued involvement in trade associations and industry forums for the purpose of EV charging and the strength of our European operations and expanded research and development capabilities, including our Reading, England facility. There are a significant number of factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made in this press release, including: developments and changes in the general market; the continuing impact of COVID-19, including in our business and those of our customers and suppliers; adverse political, economic, and business conditions; our limited operating history as a public company; our ability to successfully integrate hastobe and ViriCiti, including their respective product offerings, technology and workforces, and to acquire and integrate other companies, products or technologies in a successful manner; our dependence on widespread acceptance and adoption of EVs and increased installation of charging stations; our current dependence on sales of charging stations for most of our revenues; overall demand for EV charging and the potential for reduced demand for EVs if governmental rebates, tax credits and other financial incentives are reduced, modified or eliminated or governmental mandates to increase the use of EVs or decrease the use of vehicles powered by fossil fuels, either directly or indirectly through mandated limits on carbon emissions, are reduced, modified or eliminated; supply chain interruptions; our ability to continue our expansion in North America and Europe, including our research and development facility in Reading, England; the need to attract additional fleet operators as customers; potential adverse effects on our revenue and gross margins if customers increasingly claim clean energy credits and, as a result, they are no longer available to be claimed by us; the effects of competition; risks related to our dependence on our intellectual property; and the risk that our technology could have undetected defects or errors. Additional risks and uncertainties that could affect our financial results are included under the captions "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in our quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on September 10, 2021, which is available on our website at investors.chargepoint.com and on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Additional information will also be set forth in other filings that we make with the SEC from time to time. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to us as of the date hereof, and we do not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements provided to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made, except as required by applicable law.

CHPT-IR

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005563/en/

Contacts:

European Press

Matthew Enevoldson

matthew.enevoldson@chargepoint.com

europepressoffice@chargepoint.com

North American Press

Jennifer Bowcock

Jennifer.bowcock@chargepoint.com

media@chargepoint.com

Investor Relations

Patrick Hamer

patrick.hamer@chargepoint.com

investors@chargepoint.com
BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - U.S. ADP private payrolls data for September is scheduled for release at 8:15 am ET Wednesday. Ahead of the data, the greenback traded mixed against its major counterparts. While it held steady against the euro and the pound, it fell against the yen and the franc. The greenback was worth 111.36 against the yen, 1.1538 against the euro, 1.3678 against the pound and 0.9293 against the franc at 8:10 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.
Castle Placement As Its Exclusive Placement Agent To Raise $5 Million To Fund Business Development/Growth For The Pivotal Product Launch Of Company's iHelp MAX Medical Alert/Medical Monitoring Device

NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / October 6, 2021 / Wearable Health Solutions Inc. (OTC PINK:WHSI), a manufacturer of multiple lines of proprietary personal medical devices, tracking devices, and wearable health technology monitored and managed through its fully-developed tracking and automation platform, announced today that it has engaged Castle Placement as its exclusive placement agent to raise $5 million to fund business development/growth for the pivotal product launch of the Company's iHelp MAX device.

Wearable Health Solutions Inc. is a personal monitoring technology developer focused on mobile alert and tracking devices for emergency medical and occupational safety markets worldwide. WHSI generates revenues from the sale of its medical alarm devices and recurring service fees based on monitoring subscription plans. In addition to the U.S. and Canada, which contribute a vast majority of the Company's business volume, WHSI has also sold its solutions across several continents, including in countries such as New Zealand, Denmark, Ireland, Brazil, Barbados, Bermuda and the People's Republic of China.

Peter Pizzino, the President of Wearable Health Solutions Inc. said: "The iHelp MAX product is the latest in mobile Personal Emergency Response Systems (mPERS), and the partnership between WHSI and Castle is designed to capitalize on the growing need for real-time location tracking, emergency alert services, and real-time wearable health remote monitoring technologies."

About Castle Placement:

Founded in 2009, Castle Placement raises equity and debt capital for private middle market companies across a broad spectrum of industries. Highly experienced investment bankers and a robust, data-driven, innovative technology platform - including artificial intelligence/machine learning - match great companies with global institutional investors. Castle Placement's proprietary app, CPGO, connects companies with investors in real time. It has over 64,500 private equity, venture capital and strategic investors, family offices, pension funds, foundations, endowments, sovereign wealth funds, hedge funds, and lenders.

For more information go to https://castleplacement.com

About Wearable Health Solutions:

As a leader in the growing eHealth sector, we provide innovative wearable healthcare products, tracking services, and turn-key solutions that enable consumers to be proactive with their health, as well as safe and protected at all times. Our products and services are always state-of-the-art, innovative, and cost effective.

Our latest product, currently in development, is the iHelp MAX. The MAX device showcases improved features and functions including fall detection and geo-fencing (the ability to pre-set an area and alert loved ones if the device user enters or leaves a pre-determined area), and will be Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled, supporting our entrance into the remote medical monitoring and wearable health technology sector.

The advancement of wearable technology and growing demand from consumers to take control of their own health has generated a booming market, and demand for wearables is projected to jump over the next few years as more consumers exhibit interest in sharing their wearable data with providers and insurers. WHSI is uniquely positioned to fulfill this demand.

Forward-Looking Statements

Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Any statements contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed forward-looking statements. Words such as "continue," "will," "may," "could," "should," "expect," "expected," "plans," "intend," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential," and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements, many of which are generally outside the control of Wearable Health Solutions and are difficult to predict. Examples of such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to (i) Wearable Health Solutions ability (or inability) to obtain additional financing in sufficient amounts or on acceptable terms when needed; (ii) Wearable Health Solutions ability to maintain existing, and secure additional, contracts with users of its solutions; (iii) Wearable Health Solutions ability to successfully expand in existing markets and enter new markets; (iv) Wearable Health Solutions ability to successfully manage and integrate any acquisitions of businesses, solutions or technologies; (v) unanticipated operating costs, transaction costs and actual or contingent liabilities; (vi) the ability to attract and retain qualified employees and key personnel; (vii) adverse effects of increased competition on Wearable Health Solutions business; (viii) changes in government licensing and regulation that may adversely affect Wearable Health Solutions business; (ix) the risk that changes in consumer behavior could adversely affect Wearable Health Solutions business; (x) Wearable Health Solutions ability to protect its intellectual property; (xi) local, industry and general business and economic conditions. Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements can be found in the most recent quarterly report on filed by Wearable Health Solutions with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Wearable Health Solutions anticipates that subsequent events and developments may cause its plans, intentions and expectations to change. Wearable Health Solutions assumes no obligation, and it specifically disclaims any intention or obligation, to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by law.

Wearable Health Solutions Inc.

2300 Yonge St. Suite 1600

Toronto, ONT M4P1E4

Canada

www.WearableHealthSolutions.com

855-226-4827

info@wearablehealthsolutions.com

SOURCE: Wearable Health Solutions Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/666941/Castle-Placement-Named-Exclusive-Placement-Agent-for-Wearable-Health-Solutions-Inc
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - October 6, 2021) - Next Green Wave Holdings Inc. (CSE: NGW) (OTCQX: NXGWF) ("Next Green Wave", "NGW" or the "Company"), a premium seed-to-shelf craft cannabis producer, is pleased to announce the following financial updates:

Loan Fully Repaid

As of September 30, 2021, the Company has used its cash-on-hand to fully repay the last of its outstanding debt, and as a result, the Company's only remaining liabilities on its Balance Sheet are trade payables, outstanding tax payments and accrued liabilities (the "Liabilities").

As of September 30, 2021, The Liabilities total less than US$1 Million dollars* and the Company's current cash balance, plus accounts receivable, exceed US$6 Million dollars*.

Financial Updates

With Q3 2021 now concluded, the Company has now been operating with positive cash flow for 19 consecutive months and NGW will be pre-releasing its Q3 2021 results (Revenue and Adjusted EBITDA*) on October 13, 2021.

"Our Company's profitability and strong cash position has allowed us to achieve our short-term goal of eliminating all significant debt and possessing one of the cleanest balance sheets in the cannabis industry. Our current asset base and minimal liabilities position NGW to pursue broader and longer-term goals in the future in this competitive and rapidly changing cannabis market. This is just the beginning!"

Michael Jennings

Chief Executive Officer, Director

Next Green Wave Holdings Inc.



About Next Green Wave



Next Green Wave is an integrated premium seed-to-shelf craft cannabis producer offering products through its in-house brand portfolio and wholesale flower for other large cannabis manufacturers. The Company owns and operates a 35,000 sq. ft. indoor facility in Coalinga, CA, which is home to our nursery, cultivation, distribution, and future packaging business. Marketing, product design, and formulation are produced in-house; please follow along at www.nextgreenwave.com or on Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn.

For more information regarding Next Green Wave, please contact:

Matthew Jewell

CFO

Tel: +1 (604) 684-6844 or email IR@nextgreenwave.com

Neither Canadian Securities Exchange (the "CSE") nor its Regulation Services Providers (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

*All financial information is provided in U.S. dollars and is unaudited and is subject to change. Any preliminary unaudited long-term financial projections provided herein have not been prepared in accordance with IFRS. Management uses non-IFRS financial measures, in addition to IFRS financial measures, to understand and compare operating results across accounting periods, for financial and operational decision making, for planning and forecasting purposes and to evaluate the Company's financial performance. One example of a non-IFRS financial measure is Adjusted EBITDA, which has limitations as an analytical tool as it excludes from net income as reported, interest, tax, depreciation, other income and expenses, non-cash grow costs expensed for biological assets and unsold inventory, and the non-cash fair value effects of accounting for biological assets and inventories. Management believes that these non-IFRS financial measures reflect the Company's ongoing business in a manner that allows for meaningful comparisons and analysis of trends in the business, as they facilitate comparing financial results across accounting periods and to those of peer companies. Management also believes that these non-IFRS financial measures enable investors to evaluate the Company's operating results and future prospects in the same manner as management. These non-IFRS financial measures may also exclude expenses and gains that may be unusual in nature, non-cash, infrequent or not reflective of the Company's ongoing operating results. As there are no standardized methods of calculating these non-IFRS measures, the Company's methods may differ from those used by others, and accordingly, the use of these measures may not be directly comparable to similarly titled measures used by others. Accordingly, Non-IFRS financial measures should not be considered superior to, as a substitute for or as an alternative to, and should only be considered in conjunction with IFRS financial Measures.

Next Green Wave Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements that are not historical facts, including without limitation, statements regarding future estimates, plans, programs, forecasts, projections, objectives, assumptions, expectations or beliefs of future performance, are "forward-looking statements" and such forward-looking statements and forward-looking information represent only NGW's beliefs regarding future events, plans or objectives, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of NGW's control. Generally, such forward-looking information or forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts" "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or may contain statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "will continue", "will occur" or "will be achieved". The forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained herein may include, but are not limited to, the Company's expectations for long-term (YE 2021, YE 2022 and YE 2023) revenue and adjusted EBITDA profitability, the ability of the Company to successfully achieve business objectives (including completion of construction and increasing production capacity), and expectations for other economic, business, and/or competitive factors. There can be no assurance that such forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information. This forward-looking information reflects NGW's current beliefs and is based on information currently available to NGW and on assumptions NGW believes are reasonable.

Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, events or developments to be materially different from any future results, events or developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors include, among others: dependence on obtaining and maintaining regulatory approvals, including acquiring and renewing state, local or other licenses and any inability to obtain all necessary governmental approvals licenses and permits to complete construction of its proposed facilities in a timely manner; engaging in activities which currently are illegal under US federal law and the uncertainty of existing protection from U.S. federal or other prosecution; regulatory or political change such as changes in applicable laws and regulations, including U.S. state-law legalization, particularly in California, due to inconsistent public opinion, perception of the medical-use and adult-use marijuana industry, bureaucratic delays or inefficiencies or any other reasons; any other factors or developments which may hinder market growth; NGW's limited operating history and lack of historical profits; reliance on management; NGW's requirements for additional financing, and the effect of capital market conditions and other factors on capital availability, competition, including from more established or better financed competitors; the need to secure and maintain corporate alliances and partnerships, including with customers and suppliers; and risks and delays resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. These factors should be considered carefully, and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Although NGW has attempted to identify important risk factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other risk factors that cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements. NGW has no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, even if new information becomes available as a result of future events, new information or for any other reason except as required by law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/98694
Through its network of global businesses and capabilities, AmerisourceBergen has supported the delivery of more than 75 million COVID-19 vaccines across 30-plus countries

As part of efforts to securely deliver COVID-19 vaccines to countries worldwide, AmerisourceBergen's network of global businesses has supported the collective distribution of more than 75 million vaccines across 30-plus countries.

Since December 2020, Innomar Strategies and World Courier, both a part of AmerisourceBergen, have worked with various government agencies and supply chain partners to deliver COVID-19 vaccines across the world. During the same timeframe, Alliance Healthcare-which AmerisourceBergen acquired in June from Walgreens Boots Alliance-has supported vaccine distribution efforts across Europe. The collective distribution support spans four continents and includes a wide range of services, from third-party logistics (3PL) and importation to temperature-controlled packaging, storage, and transport.

"We are incredibly proud of the support our teams continue to provide to enable reliable access to COVID-19 vaccines around the world-from islands off Norway to remote regions in northern Canada. However, we know the global vaccination rollout is still in its early stages and a tremendous amount of work is still needed to ensure people worldwide have access to these vaccines," said Doug Cook, EVP and President, Business Group-Global, at AmerisourceBergen. "As supply increases, we remain prepared and ready to leverage our logistical expertise and distribution capabilities to support urgent efforts to broaden access globally."

To date, AmerisourceBergen's distribution efforts include:

Alliance Healthcare, a leading wholesaler of healthcare products, and Alloga, its healthcare logistics provider, have distributed more than 40 million COVID-19 vaccines across Europe, including deliveries in England, Spain, France, Czech Republic and Lithuania. In collaboration with the National Health Service (NHS), Alliance Healthcare UK and Alloga UK have delivered about 25 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to nearly 1,500 sites across England. Alloga Spain, which has participated in regional and national distribution efforts, has delivered 14 million COVID-19 vaccines, while Alliance Healthcare businesses in France and Czech Republic along with Armila UAB, Alliance Healthcare's wholesale business in Lithuania, have distributed millions of vaccines across the three countries. Team members across Europe, including Boots pharmacies in Norway, have also supported vaccine administration efforts.

Innomar Strategies,in collaboration with the Government of Canada and FedEx Express Canada, has distributed more than 22 million COVID-19 vaccines to provinces and territories across Canada. In its role, Innomar stores new shipments of COVID-19 vaccines in temperature-controlled units inside its GMP-compliant distribution center in Ontario, where teams perform the required quality assurance services, including physical inspection and identity confirmation. Teams then place the vaccines into validated cold-chain packaging solutions that protect the product integrity throughout the shipment, enabling reliable and secure distribution.

World Courier, a global logistics provider, has supported the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines to more than 30 countries worldwide-from South Africa and South Korea to Germany, Norway, Finland, Denmark and Sweden. The business has deployed a wide range of services to support deliveries, including cold chain packaging, like Cocoon, and smart-monitoring tools that deliver real-time data and provide proof of shipment stability. Leveraging its global network and innovative packaging solutions, World Courier has supported last-mile deliveries to points across the globe-from areas with limited cold chain infrastructure to remote islands only accessible by boat. The business is also providing transport and storage services to support clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccines and therapies.

"As a leading pharmaceutical wholesaler and logistics provider in Europe, Alliance Healthcare has been working throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to safeguard the supply chain and ensure access to critical pharmaceutical products," said Juan Guerra, SVP and Managing Director at Alliance Healthcare. "Since the first COVID-19 vaccines became available, we've been able to leverage our best-in-class distribution capabilities to support reliable, secure and efficient deliveries throughout Europe."

The ongoing distribution support is part of urgent efforts to deliver COVID-19 vaccines across the world. As of early October, about 45 percent of the world's population had received at least one dose of a vaccine. However, only two percent of people in low-income countries have received a dose.

In addition to supporting global vaccine distribution efforts, AmerisourceBergen has worked closely with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to distribute COVID-19 therapies that have been approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). In collaboration with the U.S. government and a manufacturer partner, AmerisourceBergen also facilitated the urgent transportation of COVID-19 therapies to India in May. For more information about how AmerisourceBergen is responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, please visit: https://www.amerisourcebergen.com/pharmaceutical-distribution/coronavirus-covid-19-information.

About AmerisourceBergen

AmerisourceBergen fosters a positive impact on the health of people and communities around the world by advancing the development and delivery of pharmaceuticals and healthcare products. As a leading global healthcare company, with a foundation in pharmaceutical distribution and solutions for manufacturers, pharmacies and providers, we create unparalleled access, efficiency and reliability for human and animal health. Our 41,000 global team members power our purpose: We are united in our responsibility to create healthier futures. AmerisourceBergen is ranked #8 on the Fortune 500 with more than $200 billion in annual revenue. Learn more at www.amerisourcebergen.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005175/en/

Contacts:

Mike Iorfino

Manager, External Communications, AmerisourceBergen

Mobile: 610.545.9189

mike.iorfino@amerisourcebergen.com
- The global pharmaceutical intermediates market is projected to rise in the near future, as pharmaceutical companies implement standardized pharmaceutical operations and good manufacturing standards (GMP)

- Technological advancements in combinatorial chemistry, bioinformatics, and high throughput for enhanced drug candidate identification are driving the demand for pharmaceutical intermediates in research

ALBANY, N.Y., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Transparency Market Research: Pharmaceutical intermediates are medicines that are utilized as raw ingredients to make bulk pharmaceuticals. The majority of pharmaceutical intermediates are made from high-quality basic materials. In the pharmaceutical and cosmetic sectors, these intermediates are frequently utilized. The global pharmaceutical intermediates market is increasing due to the rising demand from these sectors. Pharmaceutical intermediates are widely utilized in the pharmaceutical industry for research and development activities.

Plasticizers, additives, resins, medicines, pesticides, and other pharmaceutical intermediates are increasingly being made from basic materials such as medicines, coal tar or petroleum. Several intermediates, on the other hand, can be made through organic synthesis, and utilized to make a variety of medicines and other goods. The global pharmaceutical intermediates market is projected to be driven by increased focus on research &development and rise in healthcare spending during the forecast period from 2021 to 2031. The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.6% during the forecast period. North America is estimated to be a significant market for pharmaceutical intermediates during the forecast period. Increase in access to medical care and rise in prevalence of chronic illnesses are both contributing to the growth of the global pharmaceutical intermediates market in the North America region.

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Key Findings of Market Report

Increased R&D Activities and Development of Innovative Medicines to Drive Global Market

Every year, the number of patients and diseases across the globe rises. Furthermore, the number of physician consultations for parasitic and infectious disorders has increased significantly, resulting in a surge in the demand for a variety of pharmaceuticals. High investmentsin R&D activities and development of novel medicines are further expected to boost the growth of the pharmaceutical intermediates market in the upcoming years. However, the rate of expansion is likely to slowdown by strict regulations for producers regarding product quality. Nonetheless, as healthcare costs grow and manufacturers place a greater emphasis on research and development, this trend is likely to continue.

North America to Remain Significant Region in Pharmaceutical Intermediates Market

North America is expected to account for a large share of the pharmaceutical intermediates market, due to growing incidences of numerous infectious and chronic diseases, which have led to a rise in the demand for medicines. Moreover, there has been an increase in the number of pharmaceutical producers in Canada and the U.S., thus driving the pharmaceutical intermediates market.

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Pharmaceutical Intermediates Market: Growth Drivers

Growth in the demand for critical medications to treat chronic illnesses is likely to fuel the growth of the global pharmaceutical intermediates market in the near future. The rising incidence of infectious illnesses, particularly in the Southeast Asia , is expected to boost the API demand in the upcoming years, thereby driving the pharmaceutical intermediates market.

, is expected to boost the API demand in the upcoming years, thereby driving the pharmaceutical intermediates market. Industry and government investments in R&D activities capabilities and infrastructure are expected to generate profitable opportunities in the global pharmaceutical intermediates market. India's growing R&D pipeline provides considerable in-licensing potential for global firms.

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Pharmaceutical Intermediates Market: Key Competitors

Some of the key market players are

A. R. Life Sciences Private Limited

Chemcon Speciality Chemicals Ltd.

Evonik Industries AG

Albemarle Corporation

Chiracon GmbH

Koninklijke DSM N.V.

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Pharmaceutical Intermediates Market: Segmentation

Product

Bulk Drug Intermediate

Custom Intermediate

Application

Cardiology

Oncology

Endocrinology

Infectious Diseases

Orthopaedics

Neurology

Gastroenterology

Dermatology

Inflammatory & Pain Management

Ophthalmology

End User

Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology Companies

CROs & CMOs

Modernization of healthcare in terms of both infrastructure and services have pushed the healthcare industry to new heights, Stay Updated with Latest Healthcare Industry Research Reports by Transparency Market Research:

Drug Discovery Outsourcing Market: Major developments that are likely to gain considerable traction over the next few years across the drug discovery outsourcing market include a decline in time utilized for drug development, improving the conversion rate of hits to leads, and expanding the number of high-quality compounds. At the back of these factors and evolving economic landscape, the global drug discovery outsourcing market is expected to reach ~US$ 12.7 Bn by the end of 2030.

Pharmaceutical Excipients Market: Companies in the pharmaceutical excipients market are developing excipients that improve the dissolution of APIs and enhance API permeability across the biological membrane in order to innovate in drug delivery.

Drug Intermediate Market: The global drug intermediate market is expected to grow at a high rate owing to rising research and development activity globally. There has been an ever increasing demand for drug intermediates in the global market due to the fast growing biotechnology and life sciences sectors, along with rising adoption and increasing application of drug intermediates in research fields.

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As part of the agreement in principle on the future cooperation between Volvo Cars and Bilia on 1 October 2021 Bilia has signed a binding letter of intent to sell four facilities in Bergslagen to Bilkompaniet i Dalarna AB.

The sale refers to the facilities in Avesta, Hedemora, Fagersta and Sala. These facilities conduct sales of new cars, used cars and service for Volvo and Renault. The sale is expected to take place on 1 January 2022.

The parties will now begin final contract negotiations, which are expected to be completed in the autumn. The transfer is subject to approval by the Swedish competition authority.

Gothenburg, October 6, 2021

Bilia AB (publ)

For information please contact:

Per Avander, Managing Director and CEO, +46

Kristina Franzen, CFO, +46

Facts about the Bilia Group

Bilia is one of Europe's largest car dealers with a leading position within service and sales of cars, transport vehicles and trucks. Bilia has about 160 facilities in Sweden, Norway, Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium. Bilia sells cars of the brand Volvo, BMW, Toyota, Mercedes, Renault, Lexus, MINI, Porsche, Nissan, Dacia, Smart and Alpine and transport vehicles of the brand Renault, Toyota, Mercedes, Nissan and Dacia and trucks of the brand Mercedes.

Bilia has today a fully expanded business with sales of new cars, e-commerce, spare parts and store sales, service and repair workshops, tyres and car glass and financing, insurance, car washes, fuel stations and auto salvage under the same roof, which gives a unique offer.

Bilia reported a turnover of about SEK 30 bn in 2020 and had about 4,700 employees.

Attachment
GCA's Automated IoT Defence Ecosystem provides early warnings on IoT cyberattacks

SINGAPORE and NEW YORK, Oct. 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) has announced that it will partner with the Global Cyber Alliance (GCA) to leverage the capabilities of GCA's Automated IoT Defence Ecosystem (AIDE) platform to monitor and address IoT threats and safeguard the cybersecurity of the IoT space. The project will be the first large-scale application of the AIDE platform.



The global number of IoT devices is expected to rise to more than 50 billion by 2030. This presents a huge attack surface for malicious actors, which may lead to consequences like the theft of personal data and the disruption of services using IoT devices as botnet nodes to conduct distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. There is a need to proactively watch for global IoT threats and attack data, so that nations can be better prepared before the next wave of botnet attacks hit their shores.

The IoT threat analytics platform can provide CSA visibility on the types of IoT-related cyber threats that may affect the country's cyberspace. The insights from the platform allow partners to put in place policies and technical measures to safeguard against threat vectors through the conduit of IoT devices. The result is a better prepared and safer IoT cyberspace.

"The use of IoT devices is growing exponentially. CSA has introduced several initiatives to improve IoT security, including the world's first multi-level labelling scheme for consumer IoT devices- the Cybersecurity Labelling Scheme. This latest initiative -our partnership with GCA on AIDE- will help us be better prepared against potential IoT attacks. Cybersecurity is a team sport where everyone has a part to play. CSA will continue to work with stakeholders to look for ways in building a more resilient and secure IoT space," said Mr. David Koh, Commissioner of Cybersecurity and Chief Executive of CSA.

GCA's AIDE ecosystem is a central component of the project. This large repository of IoT threat intelligence relies on a globally distributed honeyfarm and on data feeds from partners.

According to Mr. Philip Reitinger, President and CEO of GCA, "This is a unique opportunity to increase GCA's international collaboration and expand our network of partners, from cybersecurity agencies and large internet players to academia and research institutions. This project -and CSA's support as a whole- is a crucial milestone in our roadmap for the AIDE ecosystem and in our long-term vision on IoT cybersecurity. The fact that this effort is happening in Singapore, a global flagship for technology, will pave the way to expand the initial scope of the project to other international smart cities."

To learn more about AIDE visit: https://www.globalcyberalliance.org/aide/ (https://www.globalcyberalliance.org/aide/).

About the Global Cyber Alliance

The Global Cyber Alliance (GCA) is an international, cross-sector effort dedicated to reducing cyber risk and improving our connected world. We achieve our mission by uniting global communities, implementing concrete solutions, and measuring the effect. GCA, a 501(c)(3) in the US and a non-profit in the UK and Belgium, was founded in September 2015 by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, the City of London Police, and the Center for Internet Security. Learn more at www.globalcyberalliance.org (http://www.globalcyberalliance.org).

Contact at GCA:

Alejandro Fernandez-Cernuda Diaz

Director of Engagement, Internet Integrity Program

afcernuda@globalcyberalliance.org
PUNE, India, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A New Era in Innovation: Warehouse automation market size is set to witness tremendous growth with a 14.6% CAGR during 2020-2027 periods, as per a new report by Brandessence Market Research. The market is set to grow from a valuation of USD 14.73 billion in 2020 to USD 38.23 billion in 2027. The key drivers behind the major growth of the warehouse automation market size are growing efficacy of robotics, automation, and other supporting technology like inventory management systems. Furthermore, the warehouse automation trends have also led to strong cost-effective and productivity majors with technological advancements.

The warehouse automation market is a fragmented competitive landscape. The market remains open to entry of new players despite high initial investments. Growing interest in technologies like robotics, automation, and AI offer robust opportunities for cross-industry collaborations, and mergers. Some key players in the warehouse automation market are Lucus Robotics, Toyota Industries, KUKA AG, Geekplus, Omron Corporation, and ABB Ltd.

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Impact of E-commerce on the Warehouse Automation Market

According to the United Nation Conference on Trade and Development, the total e-commerce sales reached USD25.6 trillion in 2018. This was a significant 8% rise from 2017. Furthermore, the UNCTAD also reported that B2B, and B2C sales in the same year amounted to 30% of the global GDP in the same year. This is a major boost for players in the warehouse automation market. E-commerce has necessitated speediest operations, and global delivery system. Such efficiency, and connectivity mandates the use of digitalization, automation, and a global connectivity. Furthermore, B2C commerce, a key driver of global e-commerce witnessed a further increase of 7.05 to rise to $404 billion by 2018. The growing demand for e-commerce, decreasing costs of cross-border shipments, and technological advancements in automation will drive robust growth for players in the warehouse automation market.

Key Trends in the Warehouse Automation Market

According to a World Bank report, Food services displayed a 73% potential for automation in 2020, while manufacturing shows 59%, Agriculture 57%, Information technology 35%, and professional services show 34% potential. Most industries including food services, manufacturing are currently operating below par capacity in comparison to their potential. This is likely to change soon. World Bank report also highlighted the acceleration of automation due to the covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic accelerated the growth of the warehouse automation as norms like social distancing, infectious nature of the disease, and large risk of potential fatalities necessitated an instant change for companies. Furthermore, advanced robots today are capable of serving various business functions including packing, picking, transporting, inspection, sorting, and security. The increasing demand for automation and growing potential due to advancements in AI, and Robotics remain key drivers of acceleration in the warehouse automation market.

3D Printing to Open New Opportunities in the Warehouse Automation Market

3D printing is quickly becoming the new battlefield of innovation in key sectors like healthcare. The 3D printing technology promises to replace human organs with artificial ones for patient care, storage, and research. In the case of organs like kidneys, wait times can be as long as a year. Furthermore, despite the long wait times, these organs remain out of reach for most due to heavy costs associated. 3D printing can not only make the organ transfer a reality but also allow pharmacies, hospitals, research facilities and warehouses to store the organs safely. This transformation is already taking place in the case of caskets for fractures, dental models, tissues, surgical tools, and more. 3D printing will also increase in-house warehousing demand for many facilities. Furthermore, due to delicate and technical nature of its medical application, high-end automation, and storage will be essential component of 3D printing at most large healthcare facilities. Small hospitals or clinics will also require distribution services including automated warehouse to cut down times for medical products like caskets, dental modes, and surgical instruments.

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Warehouse automation statistics: An Overview

Annual shipments for robots, and automatic guided vehicles or AGVs are expected to reach 620,000 in 2021. This stood at a modest figure of 40,000 in 2016. The numbers of shipments will likely grow at robust speed, as 40% companies worldwide are expected to invest in shuttle systems in warehouse processes. The likes of Amazon have offered major incentives, and a live case study for millions of warehouse-reliant businesses to automate. Amazon, known for its large workforce, and terrific speeds of delivery has achieved tremendous success with warehousing in recent years. This has resulted in some unforeseen challenges like collision of robots with its workers in an unfortunate incident. However, the e-commerce giant has also opened self-checkout stores in major cities, with complete automation driving inventory refills, warehousing, payment systems, and other automated advancements.

On September 21st, 2021; Locus Robotics Acquired Fellow Warehouse Automation Company Waypoint Robotics

Key Developments in the Warehouse Automation Market

The warehouse automation companies continue to innovate to make supply chains, and logistics an integral instrument for global e-commerce. As the cost of transport continue to fall, the origin of manufacturing remains largely relevant for most products. Hence, we will witness continued focus on increasing transparency, automation in supply chains.

OMRON Corporation, announced on August 5 the launch of a new PCB inspection system. The series named, 'VT-S10 series' delivers an imaging technology with AI to automate high-precision inspection process. This inspection is key for electronic substrates, eliminating the need for highly skilled inspectors. The system can be integrated with communication system like 5G, and be connected to Electric Vehicles, and can be ideal for electronic substrate identification among new AI EVs.

the launch of a new PCB inspection system. The series named, 'VT-S10 series' delivers an imaging technology with AI to automate high-precision inspection process. This inspection is key for electronic substrates, eliminating the need for highly skilled inspectors. The system can be integrated with communication system like 5G, and be connected to Electric Vehicles, and can be ideal for electronic substrate identification among new AI EVs. Geek+, a leading player in the warehouse automation market has launched a new solution for smart mixed case palletizing. The new solution launched in 2021, promises to help warehouse operators systematically handle outbound orders in combination with autonomous mobile robots. The new process promises to streamline outbound deliveries with a higher efficiency, safety, and flexibility.

Lucas Robotics announced in 2021 that the company raised another $150 million funding in series E, to take the valuation of the company near USD1 billion . Its new investors include Tiger Global Management, BOND, and its previous investors include Prologis Ventures, and Scale Venture Partners.

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HONG KONG, Oct 6, 2021 - (ACN Newswire) - The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) welcomed the Chief Executive's 2021 Policy Address which can create new opportunities for Hong Kong and add fresh impetus to the city's development.HKTDC Chairman Dr Peter K N Lam said, "The Chief Executive's Policy Address outlines innovative ideas that can help Hong Kong ride on opportunities arising from the Chinese 14th Five-Year Plan and play a role in the development of Mainland China."Dr Lam said the policies of extending the validity period of the "Convention and Exhibition Industry Subsidy Scheme", expanding convention and exhibition (C&E) facilities and the commitment to stage international C&E activities in Hong Kong will provide strong support to the industry. The Commercial Data Interchange platform, which enables small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to make use of their own data to gain access to more convenient financing services, can also help SMEs financing needs.Dr Lam also welcomed initiatives to enhance Hong Kong's status as an international financial, aviation, trading and dispute resolution centre, as well as policies to enhance Hong Kong's innovation and technology (I&T) ecosystem. He believed that developing the city as an international I&T hub can support Hong Kong's re-industrialisation and complement I&T development in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area."The HKTDC has long been promoting digitalisation, utilising technology to help SMEs upgrade and transform their businesses, and we incorporate I&T elements across all our activities to help SMEs capture opportunities in the digital sphere," said Dr Lam."Looking ahead, developing Hong Kong into a hub for Chinese and international cultural exchange and a regional centre for intellectual property trading can also inject new impetus into the city's economy," he added."I and my HKTDC colleagues in Hong Kong and our 50 offices around the world will continue to provide platforms and services to help Hong Kong's business community capture these fresh opportunities."About HKTDCThe Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body established in 1966 to promote, assist and develop Hong Kong's trade. With 50 offices globally, including 13 in Mainland China, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a two-way global investment and business hub. The HKTDC organises international exhibitions, conferences and business missions to create business opportunities for companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in the mainland and international markets. The HKTDC also provides up-to-date market insights and product information via research reports and digital news channels. For more information, please visit: www.hktdc.com/aboutus. Follow us on Twitter @hktdc and LinkedInMedia enquiries:HKTDC's Communication & Public Affairs DepartmentSusanna Sin, Tel: +852 2584 4294, Email: susanna.kc.sin@hktdc.orgSource: HKTDCCopyright 2021 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - October 6, 2021) - Angold Resources Ltd. (TSXV: AAU) (FSE: 13L) (OTCQB: AAUGF) ("Angold" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has commenced a program of geophysics, soil sampling, prospecting and mapping on areas surrounding the heavily oxidised historic gold resource of 606,186 ounces at 0.62 g/t. Prospecting and soil sampling is primarily targeting the location of gold bearing structures and supplements previous work completed by the Company, including the identification of structural intersection zones, to be tested by core drilling. This augments targets identified at depth and along strike where the historic resource remains open.

Key Highlights

Historic Resource: Iron Butte boasts an historic resource of 606,186 oz Au at 0.62 g/t (not 43-101 compliant) with multiple opportunities for expansion.

Multiple Targets: have been identified and mapped. This first phase of testing includes field work, surface sampling and geophysics.

A structured exploration program has commenced, with completion of an MT survey, and commencement of IP and soil sampling prior to drilling.

Permitted: for up to 10,000 metres of drilling.

Size: Iron Butte claims total a large 1,540 ha (3,805 ac.) in size over 190 unpatented BLM claims, giving Angold ample room to grow.

Focused Team: Angold welcomes Ken Coleman as full-time Exploration Manager - North America to expedite the program on Iron Butte.

Adrian Rothwell, President & Chief Executive Officer, said, "Ken has been consulting behind the scenes on the Iron Butte project since the company had acquired it in early 2020. We are delighted to have an in-depth understanding of the project in-house and on a full-time basis as we build our footprint in Nevada."

Ken Coleman is a geologist with 17 years of experience working on a variety of mineral deposit styles, mostly in Nevada. He holds a BSc in Geology from the University of Nevada-Reno. Formerly, he was a mine geologist for Barrick Gold at Goldstrike and South Arturo; was consulting geologist for Battle Mountain Gold on the Lewis project before being acquired by Gold Standard Ventures in 2017; and was a project and mine geologist for Comstock Mining, Inc. on the Lucerne mine and Dayton project. Ken was part of the team on Victoria Gold using structural systematic techniques that made the Helen Zone discovery at Cove-McCoy, Nevada. These techniques have been used on Iron Butte to develop drill targets in 2021. Most recently, he worked with US Gold Corp., where he was their Chief Geologist and was responsible for advancing their Wyoming, Idaho and Nevada assets.

Ken Coleman, Exploration Manager-North America, stated, "I am excited to have started the fall 2021 pre-drilling exploration program at Iron Butte. Work will be focused on two areas, with detailed geophysics around the historic resource and initial sampling and mapping in the areas to the east, where additional large alteration zones are present that have seen very little historical evaluation. These areas may provide additional targets for expanding known resources, which also remain open for expansion, and where rock chip sampling to date has provided several anomalous gold samples. We are ensuring we complete as much pre-drilling work as needed before commencing drilling at Iron Butte."

Angold has received permits to drill up to 10,000 metres. It is anticipated that current sampling will create additional targets for this phase of drilling, which is expected to commence in spring 2022. Historic drilling averaged less than 250 m in depth and provides excellent expansion potential at depth and along strike between the Red Ridge and North Zones of the historic resource. Mineralization is open to the south of the Red Ridge Zone where there has been limited drilling.

An MT survey (Figure 3) was completed in September by Zonge Geophysical with results and interpretation pending. The Company has also commenced an IP survey, to be completed in October.

Soil sampling will be completed in 61 metre (200 foot) grid sample locations, while ridge-spur soil samples will be collected on 31 metre (100 foot) spacing along proposed sample lines. Areas to be prospected and soil sampled are detailed in Figures 1 and 2 below.

Figure 1. Ridge-spur soil sampling lines, sampling on 31 metre (100 foot) spacing.

Figure 2. Areas of grid soil sampling, 61 metre (200 foot) grid.

In addition to the prospecting and geophysical work, a pulp re-assay program of historic RC drilling was recommended by Greg Mosher to allow utilizing historic data in a 43-101 compliant resource estimate in the future. This is being completed to substitute a QA/QC drill program on Iron Butte in the fall of 2021, saving time and money. Angold will re-assay about 10% of historic holes for gold and silver. The Company designed a re-assay program that covers the entire resource area and includes mineralization of all grade ranges. Samples have been pulled and delivered to ALS Global for assay.

Geophysics and IP Survey

Figure 3. Geophysics coverage with MT and IP survey lines

A comprehensive geophysics program is proposed mostly over the option claims and western extension areas. Work proposed includes gravity, drone magnetics, IP-resistivity, and MT surveys (completed).

An MT survey covered the resource area, consisting of six two (2) kilometre long lines with 100 metre spaced stations. This will provide deep exploration in the pediment to the west of the resource, potentially identifying alteration and sulfide zones. This method looks deeper than CSAMT and is less expensive. Results of the MT survey will be used to determine the need for CSAMT or more MT. Zonge Geophysical has been contracted to complete the survey in early September 2021.

An IP (chargeability-resistivity) survey will cover the area of existing resource-drilling to augment targeting developed from Marcus Johnston's surface mapping completed earlier in the year. Chargeability will help locate areas of potential sulfide concentration, while resistivity will help define silicification zones at depth or under cover. 18 two (2) km long lines are proposed, with a spacing of 200 m over the resource area, and 500 m to the northeast and southwest. Rock Bottom Geophysics has been contracted to commence the IP survey in late September 2021.

A gravity survey will consist of 721 stations spaced 150 metres apart in a grid fashion. Additional regional gravity stations will be acquired to put the higher density data in context regionally. Gravity is very useful in delineating large structures or alteration zones with differing densities from host rocks. A drone magnetics survey will be flown over the same area, in 50 metre line spacing perpendicular to the range front faults. Magee Geophysical has been contracted to complete these surveys in October-November 2021.

Survey supervision and data interpretation will be completed by Thomas Weis.

Thomas Weis is a minerals exploration geophysicist with over 35 years of exploration experience working for both major and junior mining companies worldwide. These have included Exxon Minerals, Newmont and Normandy Poseidon. He has a broad background in precious, base metals and industrial mineral exploration including VMS, Porphyry Copper, Epithermal and Carlin style systems. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Geology and a Masters of Science Degree in Geophysics at Michigan Technological University as well as advanced studies and research at the University of Utah and University of Kansas. He is currently the President of Thomas V Weis and Associates Inc. a geophysical contracting and consulting company.

Historic Exploration Highlights

Iron Butte has seen several fairly extensive exploration campaigns since the early 1980's. Surface and sub-surface exploration programs, including drilling of 31,614 metres in 211 reverse circulation (RC) holes, has been carried out by Chevron, Homestake, Horseshoe Gold, Cyprus, Cameco, Newmont, Newcrest and Aurelio Resources.

Previous drilling has identified a historical resource estimate of 606,186 ounces of gold at 0.62 g/t (0.018 opt), with about half of that being oxide mineralization, as disclosed in a news release previously issued by Desert Star Resources Ltd. on March 6, 2017. This estimate does not use the categories set out in sections 1.2 and 1.3 of the National Instrument 43-101 as defined by the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM). The Company is treating this a historical estimate and a qualified person has not completed sufficient work to classify this historical estimate as a current mineral resource. Drilling to date has not delineated the full extents of the mineralized zones nor has it tested the potential for sediment-hosted mineralization at depth. The surface footprint of alteration in the project area covers approximately 4km and is covered to the west. Additional alteration of visually similar character is present on the other side of the Shoshone Range to the east, giving the potential footprint of the system 8km in area. Current work at Iron Butte is focused on expanding the known mineralization and discovering new zones, ultimately with the goal to define a multi-million-ounce gold deposit.

Highlighted historic intercepts include:

Hole ID Length m g/t Au From m To m CC09-02 33.5 1.72 61.0 94.5 H31-82 97.5 0.70 0.0 97.5 including 21.3 1.54 29.0 50.3 NC52 54.9 0.97 16.8 71.6 NC56 48.8 0.83 103.6 152.4 NC22 71.6 0.68 56.4 128.0 H32-82 70.1 0.68 0.0 70.1 CC09-08 170.7 0.37 12.2 182 .9

Qualified Person

Galen McNamara, P. Geo., Director and Chairman of the Company and a Qualified Person in accordance with National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release.

About Angold

Angold is an exploration and development company targeting large-scale mineral systems in the proven districts of the Maricunga, Nevada and Ontario. Angold owns a 100% interest in the Dorado, Cordillera and South Bay-Uchi projects, and certain claims that append the optioned Iron Butte project.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF ANGOLD RESOURCES LTD.

"Adrian Rothwell"

Chief Executive Officer

Further information on Angold can be found on the Company's website at www.angoldresources.com and at www.sedar.com, or by contacting the Company by email at investors@angoldresources.com or by telephone at (855) 917 4091.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Statements: This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. These statements relate to future events or future performance and includes expectations of the resumption of trading of the Company's common shares on the Exchange. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking statements or information. Forward-looking statements and information are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "appear", "seek", "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "estimate", "approximate", "expect", "may", "will", "project", "predict", "potential", "targeting", "intend", "could", "might", "should", "believe", "would" and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements and information are provided for the purpose of providing information about the current expectations and plans of management of the Company relating to the future. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such statements and information may not be appropriate for other purposes, such as making investment decisions. Since forward-looking statements and information address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements, timelines and information contained in this news release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/98670
Regulatory News:

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Office Kennedy asset (Photo: Vitura)

This press release cannot be published, transmitted or distributed, directly or indirectly, in the United States, Canada, Australia or Japan.

Vitura (the "Company") (Paris:VTR) announces the success of its 34,526,296.80 share capital increase with shareholders' preferential subscription rights (the "Rights Issue"). The Rights Issue will result in the issuance of 935,672 new ordinary shares (the "New Shares") at a subscription price of 36.90 per New Share.

The proceeds of the Rights Issue will be used to finance part of the acquisition of Office Kennedy building for an amount of 97 million, announced in a press release on 5 August 2021. The entire balance will be financed by a bank loan of an amount of approximately 65 million.

Following the subscription period, which ended on 30th September 2021, total subscription orders amounted to 36,454,912.20, representing a total subscription rate of 105.59%:

801,663 New Shares were subscribed on an irreducible basis (a titre irreductible) i.e., 85.68% of the New Shares to be issued; and

186,275 New Shares were requested on a reducible basis (a titre reductible), i.e., 19.91% of the New Shares to be issued, and were only be satisfied with respect to 134,009 New Shares.

In accordance with their commitments and after the scale for allotment has been applied, NW CGR 1 LLC, NW CGR 2 LLC, NW CGR 3 LLC, entities of Northwood Investors (the "Northwood Investors Entities") and Euro Bernini Private Limited, an entity of the GIC group (the "GIC Entity") have fully exercised their preferential subscription rights and have subscribed on an irreducible basis (a titre irreductible) and on a reducible basis (a titre reductible) for 609,162 New Shares and 275,000 New Shares, respectively, representing an amount of 22,478,077.80 (i.e., 65.1% of the New Shares to be issued) and 10,147,500.00 (i.e., 29.39% of the New Shares to be issued), respectively.

After completion of the Rights Issue, Northwood Investors and GIC will hold 57.60% and 25.18% of the share capital of the Company, respectively.

Settlement and delivery and admission to trading of the New Shares on the regulated market of Euronext in Paris (Segment B) on the same line as the existing shares (FR 0010309096) should take place on 8 October 2021 in accordance with the timetable of the Rights Issue. As from that date, the share capital of Vitura will be composed of 16,842,112 shares with a nominal value of 3.8 each, for a total nominal share capital of 64,000,025.60, split as follows:

Ownership structure Shares Theoretical voting

rights Voting rights exercisable at

the General Shareholders'

Meeting (3) Number Number Number Northwood (1) 9,701,031 57.60 9,701,031 57.60 9,701,031 57.69 GIC (2) 4,241,646 25.18 4,241,646 25.18 4,241,646 25.22 Free Float 2,873,195 17.06 2,873,195 17.06 2,873,195 17.09 Treasury Shares 26 240 0.16 26,240 0.16 Total 16,842,112 100 16,842,112 100 16,815,872 100 (1) means the companies NW CGR 1 S.a.r.l, NW CGR 2 S.a.r.l and NW CGR 3 S.a.r.l, holding each 3,131,947 shares, and the

company NW CGR Holdings LP, holding 305,190 shares, members of the Northwood Parties Concerted Action (2) means the company Euro Bernini Private Limited (3) Percentage calculated excluding the treasury shares without voting rights held by the company

The New Shares will carry full rights (jouissance courante) as from their issue date and will be immediately fully fungible with the existing shares already traded on the regulated market of Euronext in Paris.

Societe Generale acted as Sole Global Coordinator and Bookrunner of the transaction, and BNP Paribas as Co-Bookrunner.

Company's lock-up

The Company has agreed to a lock-up expiring 90 calendar days following the settlement and delivery date of the New Shares, subject to certain customary exceptions.

Information available to the public

The Company has published a French language prospectus (the "Prospectus"), which has been approved by the Autorite des marches financiers ("AMF") on 13 September 2021 under number 21-394, comprising (i) the Universal Registration Document (document d'enregistrement universel) of the Company filed with the AMF on 6 April 2021 under number D.21-0262, (ii) the interim financial report as of 30 June 2021 (rapport financier semestriel) (iii) an amendment to the Universal Registration Document filed with the AMF on 13 September 2021 under number D.21-0262-A01 and (iv) a securities note (note d'operation) (including a summary of the prospectus).

Vitura draws the public's attention to the risk factors included in pages 87 to 93 of the Universal Registration Document, in pages 23 et 24 of the interim financial report, in Chapter 3 of the amendment to the Universal Registration Document and in chapter 2 of the securities note (note d'operation

The French language Prospectus, approved by the AMF, is available on the Company's website (www.vitura.fr) and on the AMF's (www.amf-france.org). Hard copies of the Prospectus are also available free of charge at the Company's headquarters, located at 42 rue de Bassano, 75008 Paris.

About Vitura

Created in 2006, Vitura (formerly Cegereal) is a listed real estate company that invests in prime office properties in Paris and Greater Paris. The total value of the portfolio was estimated at 1,455 million at June 30, 2021 (excluding transfer duties). Thanks to its strong commitment to sustainable development, Vitura was named a Global Sector Leader in the 2020 Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark's (GRESB) listed office property companies category and received two Gold Awards from the European Public Real Estate Association (EPRA) for the quality and transparency of its financial and non-financial reporting. Its entire portfolio has achieved NF HQETM Exploitation and BREEAM In-Use International certification. Vitura is a REIT listed on Euronext Paris since 2006, in compartment B (ISIN: FR0010309096). The Company had a market capitalization of 589 millions at 5 October 2021.

Visit our website to find out more: www.vitura.fr

Disclaimer

This press release and the information contained herein do not constitute either an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to purchase the Company's securities, there shall not be any sale of ordinary shares in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or approval under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

The release, publication or distribution of this press release in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by laws or regulations. Therefore, persons in such jurisdictions into which this press release is released, published or distributed must inform themselves about and comply with such laws or regulations. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

The information contained in this announcement is for background purposes only and does not purport to be full or complete and no reliance may be placed by any person for any purpose on the information contained in this announcement or its accuracy, fairness or completeness. Any purchase of securities should be made solely on the basis of the information contained in the prospectus issued by the Company.

This press release is not a prospectus within the meaning of Regulation (UE) 2017/1129 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2017 as amended (the "Prospectus Regulation"). Potential investors are advised to read the prospectus before making an investment decision in order to fully understand the potential risks and benefits associated with the decision to invest in the securities. The approval of the prospectus by the AMF should not be construed as a favorable opinion on the securities offered or admitted to trading on a regulated market.

European Economic Area

The offer is open to the public in France.

With respect to each Member State of the European Economic Area (other than France) and the United Kingdom (the "Relevant States"), no action has been or will be taken to permit an offer of securities to the public that would require the publication of a prospectus in any of the Relevant States. Accordingly, the securities may only be offered and will only be offered in the Relevant States (i) to qualified investors within the meaning of the Prospectus Regulation, for any investor in a Member State, or within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 as made part of national law under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (the "UK Prospectus Regulation"), for any investor in the United Kingdom, (ii) to fewer than 150 natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined in the Prospectus Regulation or the UK Prospectus Regulation, as the case may be), or (iii) in accordance with the exemptions provided for in Article 1(4) of the Prospectus Regulation or in other cases not requiring the publication by Vitura of a prospectus under Article 3 of the Prospectus Regulation, the UK Prospectus Regulation and/or the regulations applicable in such Relevant States.

These selling restrictions with respect to Relevant States apply in addition to any other selling restrictions which may be applicable in the Relevant States who have implemented the Prospectus Regulation.

United Kingdom

This press release is distributed only to, and directed only at, "qualified investors" (as defined in section 86(7) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000) who are (i) investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (as amended) (the "Order") or (ii) persons falling within Article 49(2) (a) to (d) of the Order (high net worth entities, non-registered associations, etc.) or (iii) to any other person to whom this press release may be sent in compliance with applicable laws (all such persons being referred to as "Qualified Persons"). This press release is directed only at Qualified Persons and must not be used or relied upon by unqualified persons. Any investment or investment activity applies to, and may only be made by, Qualified Persons. Any person who is not a Qualified Person shall not act or rely on this press release or on any information contained herein.

United States

This press release may not be published, distributed or disclosed in the United States (including its territories and possessions).

This document does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of offers to purchase or subscribe for securities in the United States. The securities referred to herein have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "US. Securities Act") or under any applicable securities regulations of any state or other jurisdiction in the United States, and may not be offered, subscribed or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration under the Securities Act except pursuant to an exemption or in a transaction exempt from registration under the US. Securities Act.

The shares of the Company have not been and will not be registered under the US. Securities Act and the Company does not intend to register any portion of the proposed offering in the United States or to conduct a public offering in the United States.

Canada, Australia and Japan

The new shares and the preferential subscription rights may not be offered, sold or purchased in Canada (subject to certain exceptions and pursuant to procedures set out by the Company), Australia or Japan.

The distribution of this press release in certain countries may constitute a violation of applicable legal provisions. Neither Societe Generale nor BNP Paribas undertake any responsibility in relation thereof.

In connection with any offering of the securities referred thereto (the "Financial Securities"), Societe Generale, BNP Paribas and any of their affiliates, may take up as a principal position any securities and in that capacity may retain, purchase, sell or offer to sell for their own accounts such securities and other related securities. In addition, they may enter into financing arrangements (including swaps or contracts for differences) with investors in connection with which they may from time to time acquire, hold or dispose of Securities. They do not intend to disclose the extent of any such investment or transactions otherwise than in accordance with any legal or regulatory obligation to do so.

Societe Generale and BNP Paribas are acting for the Company and no one else in connection with the offering of Financial Securities and will not regard any other person as their clients nor be responsible to any other person for providing the protections afforded to any of their clients or for providing advice in relation to any offering of the Financial Securities nor for providing advice in relation to the offering of securities, the contents of this announcement or any transaction, arrangement or other matter referred to herein.

None of Societe Generale, BNP Paribas nor any of their affiliates, directors, officers, employees, advisers or agents accepts any responsibility or liability whatsoever for or makes any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the truth, accuracy or completeness of the information in this announcement (or whether any information has been omitted from the announcement) or any other information relating to the Company, its subsidiaries or associated companies, whether written, oral or in a visual or electronic form, and howsoever transmitted or made available or for any loss howsoever arising from any use of this announcement or its contents or otherwise arising in connection therewith.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005629/en/

Contacts:

Investor relations

Charlotte de Laroche

+33 1 42 25 76 42

info@vitura.fr

Media relations

Alienor Miens Marion Bouchut

+33 6 34 45 34 09

marion.bouchut@havas.com
Orange Belgium will publish its results for the third quarter of 2021 on Thursday, October 21 at 07:00 CET.



Orange Belgium Investor Relations is pleased to invite investors and analysts to participate in a conference call hosted by:

Xavier Pichon, CEO

Antoine Chouc, CFO

Koen Van Mol, Investor Relations





The conference will start at 10:00 am CET (9:00 am UK / 4:00 am EST). To access the call, please dial one of the following numbers 5-10 minutes prior to the start of the conference call in order to avoid waiting time. Subsequently, register with following pin code: 11164399# and provide your name and the company you work for.

Belgium +32 24035816 Canada +1 4162164194 France +33 172727403 Germany +49 69222225429 Ireland +353 15060451 Italy +39 0236013817 Luxembourg +352 27300163 Netherlands +31 207095119 Spain +34 911140101 Switzerland +41 445831805 United Kingdom +44 2071943759 United States +1 6467224916

The recorded session will be available after the conference call and can be downloaded from our website. You will find the link to access the recorded session on the website below.

The press release for the third quarter of 2021, the roadshow presentation and the results toolkit will be available on Thursday, October 21 on the financial section of the corporate website at Financial results.

About Orange Belgium

Orange Belgium is a leading telecommunications operator on the Belgian market with over 3 million customers; Orange is also active in Luxembourg through its subsidiary Orange Communications Luxembourg.

As a convergent actor, we provide mobile telecommunications services, internet and TV to private clients as well as innovative mobile and fixed-line services to businesses. Our high-performance mobile network supports 2G, 3G, 4G and 4G+ technology and is the subject of ongoing investment.

Orange Belgium is a subsidiary of the Orange Group, one of the leading European and African operators for mobile telephony and internet access, as well as one of the world leaders in telecommunications services for enterprises.

Orange Belgium is listed on the Brussels Stock Exchange (OBEL).

For more information: corporate.orange.be, www.orange.beor follow us on Twitter: @pressOrangeBe.

Investors contact

Koen Van Mol - koen.vanmol@orange.com- +32

Presscontacts

Annelore Marynissen - annelore.marynissen@orange.com - +32 (0)479 016 058

Younes Al Bouchouari - younes.albouchouari@orange.be - +32 (0)477 69 87 73

press@orange.be

Attachment
CLEVELAND, OH / ACCESSWIRE / October 6, 2021 / NovAccess Global, Inc. (OTC PINK:XSNX) announced the expansion of its Advisory Board by adding Dr. Kim Seroogy.

Dr. Kim Seroogy is currently Professor of Neurology and Director of The Selma Schottenstein Harris Laboratory for Research in Parkinson's in the University of Cincinnati Gardner Neuroscience Institute. Dr. Seroogy has over 30 years of research experience deciphering the neurochemical and neurotrophic events underlying Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia and depression, focusing on the neuroprotective and neurorestorative roles of select growth factors.

Dr. Seroogy's training included a Ph.D. in Neurobiology from the University of California-Irvine and a NATO Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. His research, published in more than 115 scientific papers, review articles, and book chapters, has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Department of Defense, and several national foundations. Dr. Seroogy served formerly as President of the Ohio-Miami Valley Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience, Vice Chair of Basic Research, and Director of the University of Cincinnati Neuroscience Graduate Program. The Department of Defense funds his present work on chronic stress and Parkinson's disease, and he currently serves on the scientific advisory board of the Tourette Association of America.

About NovAccess Global

NovAccess Global is a biomedical company accelerating novel cancer diagnostics and therapeutics. Our goal is to discover, develop and bring to market novel and innovative medicine and medical devices to improve the quality of care for cancer and neurological patients.

NovAccess Global is currently developing a cancer vaccine therapy that enhances the patient's immune response against brain tumors. Our company has a novel immunotherapeutic approach to treat brain tumor patients with glioblastoma multiforme, the most common adult brain tumor with a 15-month median survival after diagnosis. Our patented technology is designed to combine a dendritic cell-based immunotherapeutic approach with a unique combination of Toll-like receptor (TLR) adjuvants, TLR-AD1, to help promote an enhanced immune response against the patient's tumor. Our platform technology focuses on enhancing the patient's immune cells to fight their unique cancer by utilizing the antigens specific to the patient's tumor. The company owns a cancer vaccine, which is a medication that stimulates or restores the immune system's ability to fight existing cancer by strengthening the body's natural defenses against the cancer cells. It is a meaningful technology which could significantly improve the quality of life and prognosis for the many people who suffer from brain tumors. For more information, please visit novaccessglobal.com.

Forward-Looking Statement

This press release and its attachments contain "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, and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. "Forward looking statements" describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as "may," "future," "plan" or "planned," "will" or "should," "expected," "anticipates," "draft," "eventually" or "projected." You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude or risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, and other risks identified in the company's disclosures or filings with the Securities Exchange Commission and/or OTC Markets, Inc. You are further cautioned that penny stocks and stocks of smaller companies like NovAccess, Inc. are inherently volatile and risky and that no investor should buy this stock unless they can afford the loss of their entire investment. The company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date thereof.

Investor Relations Contact:

Satya Chillara

Darrow Associates

(510) 396 -2776

schillara@darrowassociates.com

SOURCE: NovAccess Global Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/666877/NovAccess-Global-Inc-Expands-Advisory-Board
New solutions will enable companies to accelerate digital innovation to help improve customer satisfaction, drive revenue growth, and improve cash flow and operating margins

ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW) and Celonis today announced a strategic partnership to help companies maximize the impact and return on their digital transformation investments, a requirement to thrive in the new world of work. The partnership will combine ServiceNow's leading low-code workflow platform with the real-time process execution capabilities of the Celonis Execution Management System (EMS). ServiceNow also intends to make a financial investment in Celonis.

The companies will jointly deliver solutions to help customers identify and prioritize processes that are suitable for automation, then create digital workflows to optimize those processes for more seamless digital operations. Together, ServiceNow and Celonis will help customers more deeply understand how work moves across the enterprise and apply those insights to accelerate digital innovation and predict how to make work better.

"There is an innovation explosion underway as business leaders face do-or-die moments to profoundly evolve business models and accelerate digital transformation," said ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott. "ServiceNow and Celonis are joining forces to help companies liberate business from decades-long process bottlenecks, integration challenges, and workforce frustration. The workflow revolution has arrived, and we are leading this once-in-a-generation opportunity to make work better for everyone."

"We believe that the winners in digital innovation will be the companies that put data to work in every facet of business execution," said Alex Rinke, co-CEO and co-founder of Celonis. "This partnership with ServiceNow, the gold standard for digital workflow globally, underscores just how significantly data is revolutionizing enterprise software. We are building Celonis to be the most innovative and trusted partner to every leader, team, and organization utilizing data execution to transform and strengthen their business."

"Celonis and ServiceNow are the leaders in their respective fields, and we are very excited about the business process opportunities they'll unlock together," said Dr. Matthias Egelhaaf, Head of Digital Solutions at Siemens GBS. "At Siemens GBS we were a first mover applying Celonis and we've seen positive results to our processes, and we are looking forward to experiencing the benefits of ServiceNow and Celonis together."

According to Gartner the market for software that enables hyperautomation will reach nearly $860 billion by 20251. But many businesses don't maximize the value of their digital investments because they lack insight into how outdated processes hold back business operations. To apply automation that truly moves the needle, organizations need to understand how work flows across people, processes, and systems. ServiceNow and Celonis will help customers map those elements in real-time, then build digital workflows to more efficiently automate work.

Customers will be able to quickly identify process bottlenecks and automate solutions to help improve customer satisfaction, drive revenue growth, and improve cash flow and operating margins. By bringing together data execution, automation, machine learning, process mining, robotic process automation, and low code app development on the Now Platform and Celonis EMS, customers will gain the real-time insights they need to quickly and continuously improve the flow of work.

The companies plan to deliver joint solutions in the first half of 2022.

ServiceNow and Celonis have agreed in principle to form a strategic go-to-market relationship including mutual investments, co-development, marketing, and sales. Furthermore, Celonis plans to adopt ServiceNow for IT and employee engagement. ServiceNow already uses Celonis' process mining capabilities to identify process constraints in internal finance and sales functions.

Additional information on the partnership can be found on the ServiceNow and Celonis blogs. The companies will share more about the partnership during the 2021 Celonis World Tour North America on Wednesday, October 6, 2021 at 10:00am PT.

Use of Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" about the expectations, beliefs, plans, and intentions relating to the formation of a new strategic partnership between ServiceNow and Celonis. Such forward-looking statements include statements regarding expected investments and performance and benefits of forming this new partnership. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on potentially inaccurate assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expected or implied by the forward-looking statements. If any such risks or uncertainties materialize or if any of the assumptions prove incorrect, ServiceNow's results could differ materially from the results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements made. ServiceNow undertakes no obligation, and does not intend, to update the forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those in any forward-looking statements include: (i) delays and unexpected difficulties and expenses in executing this partnership or delivering solutions and (ii) uncertainty as to whether sales will justify this partnership or these investments. Further information on factors that could affect ServiceNow's financial and other results is included in the filings ServiceNow makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time.

About Celonis

Celonis helps organizations to execute on their data. Powered by its market-leading process mining core, the Celonis Execution Management System provides a set of applications, a developer studio and platform capabilities for business executives and users to eliminate billions in corporate inefficiencies, provide better customer experience and reduce carbon emissions. Celonis has thousands of global customers and is headquartered in Munich, Germany and New York City, USA with 15 offices worldwide.

About ServiceNow

ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW) is making the world of work, work better for people. Our cloud-based platform and solutions deliver digital workflows that create great experiences and unlock productivity for employees and the enterprise. For more information, visit: www.servicenow.com.

2021 ServiceNow, Inc. All rights reserved. ServiceNow, the ServiceNow logo, Now, and other ServiceNow marks are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of ServiceNow, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Other company names, product names, and logos may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.

1 Gartner, Forecast Analysis: Hyperautomation of Enablement Software, Worldwide, Cathy Tornbohm, Fabrizio Biscotti, Rachel Chippendale, March 22, 2021.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005253/en/

Contacts:

Media Contacts

Sara Day, ServiceNow PR

650-336-3123

press@servicenow.com

Faiz Mandviwalla, Celonis PR

856-904-4868

press@celonis.com

Investor Contacts:

Darren Yip, ServiceNow IR

925-388-7205

ir@servicenow.com

Related Links

http://www.celonis.com
Montreal, Quebec--(Newsfile Corp. - October 6, 2021) - Quantum eMotion Inc. (TSXV: QNC) (OTCQB: QNCCF) (FSE: 34Q0) ("QeM" or the "Company") today announced a significant expansion of its global patent portfolio. The company has recently filed for a patent application covering a minimalistic chip which utilizes the computer's hardware to both power an on-chip quantum entropy source and turn the resulting entropy signal into random numbers of quantum origin on the go. The product will eventually be a plug-and-play ultraportable QRNG module that provides easy-to-use hardware protection for consumer electronics.

Francis Bellido, CEO of Quantum eMotion, commented "Quantum eMotion is proud to announce that it has developed a new technology bridging the gap between quantum-level cryptography and consumer electronics. This is an important step toward fulfilling our vision of deploying our patent-protected technology based on quantum electron tunneling in a multitude of applications."

Quantum eMotion takes intellectual property seriously and has now three generations of patent applications while working on several additional technologies. The two first patent application generations, which have evolved respectively around international applications PCT/CA2015/050408 and PCT/CA2018/051660, respectively, have matured in more than 20 granted patents in various countries and remains pending in several additional jurisdictions. The third-generation patent application has been filed only recently and is patent pending worldwide.

"We are continuously expanding and strengthening our patent portfolio to secure it as a significant vector of value creation for our shareholders" added Francis Bellido.

About QeM

The Company's mission is to address the growing demand for affordable hardware security for connected devices. The patented solution for a Quantum Random Number Generator exploits the built-in unpredictability of quantum mechanics and promises to provide enhanced security for protecting high value assets and critical systems.

The Company intends to target the highly valued Financial Services, Blockchain Applications, Cloud-Based IT Security Infrastructure, Classified Government Networks and Communication Systems, Secure Device Keying (IOT, Automotive, Consumer Electronics) and Quantum Cryptography.

For further information, please contact:

Francis Bellido, Chief Executive Officer

Tel: 514.887.5469

Email: info@quantumemotion.com

Website: www.quantumemotion.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.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to vary materially from targeted results. Such risks and uncertainties include those described in the Corporation's periodic reports including the annual report or in the filings made by Quantum from time to time with securities regulatory authorities.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/98745
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Health care company Kaiser Permanente has suspended 2,200 employees for failing to get vaccinated against Covid-19, reports said. These employees have been put on unpaid administrative leave across the country, and they have until December 1 to get vaccinated and return to work or risk losing their jobs permanently. The suspended employees represents less than 1 percent of Kaiser's entire U.S. Workforce of 240,000 employees. On August 2, when the company announced its vaccination requirement, overall employee and physician vaccination rate was 78 percent. The organization then had set a target of September 30 to have all employees fully vaccinated. Since then, the number has reached to 92 percent, with exemptions for medical or religious reasons. The company noted that as of October 4, just over 2,200 have not responded to the vaccine requirement. The company said the number is declining daily, and as employees respond, they may return to work. The company said, 'We hope none of our employees will choose to leave their jobs rather than be vaccinated, but we won't know with certainty until then. We will continue to work with this group of employees to allay concerns and educate them about the vaccines, their benefits, and risks.' At the end of last month, Kaiser Permanente had put nearly 5,000 employees on leave who refused to get 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.
CHICAGO, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In the recent years, data centers are highly demanded by every organisation to maintain security and to keep the records. The COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant lockdown led to many businesses adopting cloud, and increasingly shifting to colocation and managed facilities. The implementation of 5G network 2022 will boost the digital economy and will lead to higher demand for high-bandwidth networking infrastructure in the global data center market. The rising deployment of data centers are creating lucrative opportunities for the new players to enter the market.

Observing these rapid and drastic changes in demand and supply patterns encouraged the industry analysts at Arizton to publish exhaustive and data-driven insights on these current trends in the industry. Arizton employs a comprehensive and iterative research methodology focused on minimizing deviance to provide the most accurate estimates and forecast possible. Check out wide range of insights on data center market now!

Here's a sneak peek at these reports!

Brazil Data Center Market - Investment Analysis and Growth Opportunities 2021-2026

Brazil data center market size will witness investments of USD 3.09 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 9.63% during 2021-2026. Arizton has identified about 43 unique data center facilities and 10 upcoming facilities in Brazil.

Brazil is the leading data center market in Latin America, driving in over 40% of the overall investment in the region. The Brazil data center market will witness a cumulative investment of over USD 14 billion between 2021 and 2026. Sao Paulo is the major market for data center development in Brazil. It is the most connected city in the country, with high availability of digital business centers, and established infrastructure, which is creating the city a favorable location for data center development.

Key Highlights:

The Brazil government has signed an MoU with the UK government to accelerate the digitalization and public services delivery innovation in the Brazil data center market.

government has signed an MoU with the UK government to accelerate the digitalization and public services delivery innovation in the data center market. Most of the data centers in Brazil are investing in the implementation of DCIM solutions to monitor the facility with high power consumption, carbon emissions, and reduce the OPEX of the facility.

are investing in the implementation of DCIM solutions to monitor the facility with high power consumption, carbon emissions, and reduce the OPEX of the facility. In Brazil , data center facilities are commonly adopting air and water-based cooling systems. Most of the data center facilities are utilizing water-based cooling systems that will partially supports free cooling.

, data center facilities are commonly adopting air and water-based cooling systems. Most of the data center facilities are utilizing water-based cooling systems that will partially supports free cooling. In Brazil designing of the facility is carried out by data center operators, design contractors, and infrastructure vendors with strong expertise in the data center designing and development.

Vendors Insights:

Microsoft planned to open a cloud region in Rio De Janeiro that is expected to be operational in H2 2021.

that is expected to be operational in H2 2021. Litmus, an intelligent edge computing company, has partnered with a Baumier Automation, to increase edge computing offerings in Brazil .

. In March 2021 , IBM launched its first IBM Cloud Multizone Region (MZR) in Latin America in Brazil to accelerate hybrid cloud adoption in the region.

Get more insights now!https://www.arizton.com/market-reports/brazil-data-center-market-investment-analysis-report-2025

Mexico Data Center Market - Investment Analysis and Growth Opportunities 2021-2026

Mexico data center market size will witness investments of USD 905 million by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 8.33% during 2021-2026. Arizton has identified about 17 unique data center facilities and 3 upcoming facilities in Mexico.

Over USD 1 billion will be invested in data center development across Mexico during 2021-2026. Around 215 MW of power capacity will be added in data centers across Mexico during the forecast period. Mexico is adopting AI for the detection of natural calamities such as earthquakes and storms to secure the data centers in the country. Mexico has several cities getting developed as smart cities, including Mexico City, Guadalajara, Queretaro, Monterrey, Tequila and Puebla, thereby fueling the growth of the data center market in Mexico.

Key Highlights:

DRUPS systems are major revenue contributors in the Mexico market. Several data centers have adopted DRUPS systems, and these solutions will continue to witness high demand among data centers with multiple modules.

market. Several data centers have adopted DRUPS systems, and these solutions will continue to witness high demand among data centers with multiple modules. Mexico has received investments from local and global data center operators. In 2020, Mexico received investment from companies such as Ascenty (Digital Realty), ODATA, and CloudHQ.

has received investments from local and global data center operators. In 2020, received investment from companies such as Ascenty (Digital Realty), ODATA, and CloudHQ. Investments in submarine cables will increase the connectivity between Mexico and other parts of the world, which in turn, will drive further investments in the Mexico data center market.

Vendors Insights:

IPXON Networks, Nabiax, Serveris Data Center Services, Digital Realty (Ascenty), KIO Networks, and Equinix (Axtel) are some of the major data center colocation providers in Mexico .

. Equinix entered the Mexico data center market in January 2020 , investing over USD 185 million in the acquisition of three data centers of Axtel.

data center market in , investing over in the acquisition of three data centers of Axtel. Huawei Technologies has a cloud region in Mexico , with data centers that serve Central America , the Caribbean , Colombia , and Ecuador , along with Mexico .

Get more insights now! https://www.arizton.com/market-reports/mexico-data-center-market-investment-analysis

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Spain Data Center Market - Investment Analysis and Growth Opportunities 2021-2026

Sweden Data Center Market - Investment Analysis and Growth Opportunities 2021-2026

Ireland Data Center Market - Investment Analysis and Growth Opportunities 2021-2026

Germany Data Center Market - Investment Analysis and Growth Opportunities 2021-2026

About Arizton:

Arizton Advisory and Intelligence is an innovation and quality-driven firm, which offers cutting-edge research solutions to clients across the world. We excel in providing comprehensive market intelligence reports and advisory and consulting services.

We offer comprehensive market research reports on industries such as consumer goods & retail technology, automotive and mobility, smart tech, healthcare, and life sciences, industrial machinery, chemicals, and materials, IT and media, logistics and packaging. These reports contain detailed industry analysis, market size, share, growth drivers, and trend forecasts.

Arizton comprises a team of exuberant and well-experienced analysts who have mastered generating incisive reports. Our specialist analysts possess exemplary skills in market research. We train our team in advanced research practices, techniques, and ethics to outperform in fabricating impregnable research reports.

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Japanese media launched food aid crowdfunding on LaunchGood for Muslims in Japan suffering in the pandemic.

OSAKA, Japan, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Salam Groovy Japan, a media outlet of information on Japan's engagement in the Islamic market, launched a crowdfunding campaign via LaunchGood to support financially struggling Muslims in Japan, especially international students-Help Support Struggling Students & Other Muslims in Japan. The Japanese media aims to raise $10 thousand to donate food and daily necessities in cooperation with universities and organizations in Japan.

In Japan, students dropping out of universities unable to afford tuition fees or people unable to afford daily necessities, such as food and feminine hygiene products are increasing as the COVID-19 pandemic progresses. Muslims, especially international students residing in Japan, who live on part-time jobs to make ends meet have had those options reduced to none.

The media talked with a few Muslim international students at the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (TUFS) regarding their current living situation. "When we finally found a part-time job, our workdays got cut by nearly half. There are times we had to survive on the money sent by our family back home or social security.", said the students.

Most Muslim international students come from Southeast Asia, such as Malaysia and Indonesia, with recurring new waves of infections and in an unstable economy. These further resulted in difficulty to receive their family's financial aids.

To support Muslims in need in Japan, Salam Groovy Japan initiated a crowdfunding project on LaunchGood, a platform focused on the global Muslim community. The raised funds will provide halal food by Japanese companies and daily necessities, including feminine hygiene products, which will distribute in cooperation with several universities and organizations in Japan.

About Salam Groovy Japan

Salam Groovy Japan is a media platform run by J-Line Corporation, a Japanese company founded in 1993. The media strives to bridge Japanese business with the global Islamic market from a business perspective. It provides information about Japanese firms engaged in business development for the Islamic market, such as halal products and Muslim-friendly information in Japan.

For more information, please refer to the official website.

The media contents can also be found on Instagram @salamgroovyjapan, Facebook @SalamGroovyJapan and Twitter @Salam_GJ.

Media Contact: team@groovyjapan.com

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1652728/Image1.jpg
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / October 6, 2021 / Zimtu Capital Corp. (TSXV:ZC)(FSE:ZCT1) (the "Company" or "Zimtu") announces it has signed an agreement with Core Assets Corp. to provide its ZimtuADVANTAGE program (https://www.zimtu.com/zimtu-advantage/). Zimtu shall receive $12,500 per month for a period of 12 months.

ZimtuADVANTAGE is a program designed to provide opportunities, guidance, cost savings and assistance to clients covering multiple aspects of being a public company. The services may include building financial networks, building business networks, shared costs with other public companies, building a social media presence, conference opportunities, media outlets and guidance and special group pricing provided by Zimtu's network of public company professionals. The program, which has been revised to enhance its digital communications and marketing opportunities, provides the flexibility to allow companies to customize the products and services to best support their needs.

About Core Assets Corp.

Core Assets Corp. is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition and development of mineral projects in British Columbia., Canada. The company currently holds 100% title ownership in the Blue Property, that covers a land area of ~108,337 Ha (~1,083 km). The project lies within the Atlin Mining District, a well-known gold mining camp. The Property hosts a major structural feature known as The Llewellyn Fault Zone ("LFZ"). This structure is approximately 140 km in length and runs from the Yukon border down through the property to the Alaskan Panhandle Juneau Ice Sheet in the United States. Core Assets believes that the south Atlin Lake area and the LFZ has been neglected since the last major exploration campaigns in the 1980's. The LFZ plays an important role in mineralization of near surface metal occurrences across the property. The past 50 years have seen substantial advancements in the understanding of porphyry, skarn, and carbonate replacement type deposits both globally and in BC's Golden Triangle. The company has leveraged this information at the Blue Property to tailor an already proven exploration model and believes this could facilitate a major discovery. Core Assets is excited to become one of Atlin Mining District's premier explorers where its team believes there are substantial opportunities for new discoveries and development in the area.

About Zimtu Capital Corp.

Zimtu Capital Corp. is a public investment issuer that aspires to achieve long-term capital appreciation for its shareholders. Zimtu Capital companies may operate in the fields of mineral exploration, mining, technology, life sciences or investment. The Company trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "ZC" and Frankfurt under symbol "ZCT1". For more information, please visit https://www.zimtu.com.

Announcement of Presentation

Zimtu Capital is pleased to announce that Nick Rodway, President & CEO of Core Assets Corp. will be participating in an exclusive Zoom with Zimtu investor presentation today Wednesday October 6th, 2021 starting at 10:00 am PDT (Vancouver) / 1:00 PM EDT (Toronto) / 7:00 PM CEST (Frankfurt). To RSVP and secure your place visit https://event.zimtu.com

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

ZIMTU CAPITAL CORP.

"David Hodge"

David Hodge

President & Director

Tel: 604.681.1568

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: Zimtu Capital Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/666924/Zimtu-Capital-Announces-Contract-With-Core-Assets
CHICAGO, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The data center market in the Middle East and African region is growing YoY due to the increasing number of internet users, big data, and IoT. The production of renewable energy in the Middle East is picking up and is expected to grow in the coming years. COVID-19 has been a strong market enabler for several digitization initiatives in the region. The government has given opportunities to vendors to digitally transform their countries and have thereby developed long-term goals. The government in various regions are using cloud-based platforms to establish new public-private partnerships. For instance, the UAE Ministry of Infrastructure upgraded its IT infrastructure to support smart government initiatives.

Observing these rapid and drastic changes in demand and supply patterns encouraged the industry analysts at Arizton to publish exhaustive and data-driven insights on these current trends in the industry. Arizton has a dedicated vertical that focuses on data center knowledge base across geographies. These market research reports cover a detailed analysis of the COVID-19-induced supply chain disruptions, innovations in technology, equipment financing, economic impact, and a detailed study of the competitive landscape.

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Saudi Arabia Data Center Market - Investment Analysis & Growth Opportunities 2021-2026

The Saudi Arabia data center market is expected to reach USD 1180 million in 2026, growing at a CAGR of 7.85% during the period 2020-2026.

The kingdom of Saudi Arabia is becoming one of the important locations across Middle East for data center investments. Riyadh hosts major ICT companies and has a leading startup ecosystem and is a major city for data center investments. Riyadh witnessed investments of over USD 55 million through data center facilities opened and underdeveloped from Jan 2020 to June 2021. In 2021, ACWA Power, a Saudi Arabia based energy company announced the opening of the 300 MW Sakaka IPP PV project, a utility-scale solar renewable energy project in the country.

The increased production and consumption of renewable energy can be utilized for data center purposes. ACWA Power signed a 25-year long power purchase agreement for the 1.5GW Sudair photovoltaic (PV) solar project in Saudi Arabia. Also, the National Renewable Energy Program (NREP) was initiated under King Salman Renewable Energy Initiative to maximize renewable energy and is expected to receive an investment of USD 20 billion for renewable energy generation for the next 10 years and will fuel data center demand in the country.

Read more now: https://www.arizton.com/market-reports/saudi-arabia-data-center-market-investment-analysis

United Arab Emirates (UAE) Data Center Market - Investment Analysis and Growth Opportunities 2021-2026

The UAE data center market is expected to reach USD 1,015 million in 2026 growing with a CAGR of 7.99% during the period 2020-2026. The UAE is one of the largest data center markets in Middle East and Africa region. Over the past 5-6 years there has been a significant growth in the market with an increase in the investment on data centers. In 2020, the total investment in the UAE market was around USD 640 million. Dubai is one of the most preferred locations for data centers in the UAE, followed by Abu Dhabi. In 2020, in Dubai, data center facilities that opened and the ones under development witnessed investments of around USD 43 million. Equinix is investing over USD 60 million for a new data center facility in Dubai (DX3 phase 1), with a rack capacity of 900 units and an IT load power capacity of 7 MW, which is expected to be operational by Q1 2022.

The adoption of cloud by companies because of COVID-19 is also driving data center demand. For instance, Dubai Airports currently uses Microsoft's Azure cloud service for Wi-Fi services. Also in 2018, SAP launched its first data center in the UAE from which it provides cloud-based services to local companies.

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Japan Data Center Market - Investment Analysis and Growth Opportunities 2021-2026

About Arizton:

Arizton Advisory and Intelligence is an innovation and quality-driven firm, which offers innovative research solutions to clients across the world. We excel in providing comprehensive market intelligence reports and advisory and consulting services.

We offer comprehensive market research reports on industries such as consumer goods & retail technology, automotive and mobility, smart tech, healthcare, and life sciences, industrial machinery, chemicals, and materials, IT and media, logistics and packaging. These reports contain detailed industry analysis, market size, share, growth drivers, and trend forecasts.

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- Half of World's Total Chlor-alkali has been reported in Asian Countries

- Fact.MR's latest report uncovers prevailing trends and opportunities in the chlor-alkali market. The comprehensive study is interspersed with the most recent research data to offer refined demand outlook from 2021 to 2031. It analyzes change in consumer behavior and the consequent impact on the market. Special attention has been given while highlighting the growth opportunities prevailing in key segments including product and application.

NEW YORK, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- As per latest Fact.MR analysis, the global chlor-alkali market is estimated to value US$ 84 Bn in 2021. With growing demand for chlor-alkali products in chemical industry, the market is set to register a CAGR of 5.4% between 2021 and 2031, surpassing a valuation of US$ 143 Bn by 2031.

The swift expansion of chlor-alkali market can be attributed to the rising demand for chlorine and sodium hydroxide (Caustic soda) across for application across diverse industries. These chemicals are extensively used in a wide range of applications, ranging from production of plastics to paper and pulp manufacturing.

Chlorine, one of the primary products of chlor-alkali process, has a multitude of uses. It is increasingly utilized in the product of vinyl, antiseptics, and insecticides. Besides this, the study forecast chlorine application to soar in wastewater treatment and manufacturing of medicines in the coming years.

Similarly, application of caustic soda across in metallurgy, alumina production, various household products and food processing is driving the market globally.

Request a report sample to gain compressive insights at https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=4672

According to the Eurochlor, European chlorine production reached 850,820 tons in July 2021 while caustic soda production was estimated to be around 207,739 tons in December 2020. This is indicative of a conducive environment for growth of the market in Europe.

As per the report, the chlor-alkali for vinyl production segment is likely to exhibit maximum growth during the forecast period. This can be attributed to the rising demand for polyvinyl chloride (PVC) across the construction industry. As per Fact.MR, trade value of vinyl chloride polymers and other olefins is expected to be worth US$ 20.48 Bn in 2021.

Owing to the large-scale production and consumption of chlor-alkali products, Asia will lead the chlor-alkali market during the forecast period.

"As application of chlor-alkali rises steadily across various sectors, manufacturers are expected to focus on capacity expansion. Besides setting up new facilities, they are likely to explore opportunities for growth in untapped market. This also will help them gain competitive edge," says a Fact.MR analyst.

Key Takeaways from Chlor-alkali Market Survey

With expanding wastewater treatment facilities and increasing production of aluminum & paper, Asia is expected to lead the chlor-alkali market, accounting around 40% of the revenue.

is expected to lead the chlor-alkali market, accounting around 40% of the revenue. Within Asia , China will emerge as the most lucrative market for chlor-alkali.

, will emerge as the most lucrative market for chlor-alkali. North America is anticipated to account for around 35% of the global market share through 2031.

is anticipated to account for around 35% of the global market share through 2031. Owing to strong presence of the chemical industry, the U.S. will continue to dominate the North America market during the forecast period.

market during the forecast period. Based on product type, chlorine-based chlor-alkali will account for more than 50% market share by the end of 2031.

By application, chlor-alkali for vinyl production segment is slated to surge at 4% CAGR between 2021 and 2031.

Key Drivers

Rising demand for chlorine and caustic soda in various industries such as automotive, pharmaceuticals, paper, and chemicals is driving the chlor-alkali market

Rapid shift from diaphragm and mercury cell systems to membrane cell process in order to tackle the mercury pollution levels is expected to bode well for the market.

To gain in-depth insights on Chlor-alkali Market, request methodology at https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=RM&rep_id=4672

Competitive Landscape

Companies operating in the chlor-alkali market are focusing on increasing their production capacity by establishing new facilities. They have adopted various organic and inorganic growth strategies such as mergers, acquisitions, partnerships, new product launches, collaborations to gain a competitive advantage in the market.

In June 2021 , Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Reliance Industries Ltd. Signed an agreement to join a new world-scale Chlor-alkali, ethylene dichloride and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) production facility at TAZIZ in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi . Under the agreement, TAZIZ and Reliance will construct an integrated plant with a capacity to produce 940000 metric tons per year (m.t./yr) of chlor-alkali, 1.1 million m.t/yr of ethylene dichloride and 360,00 m .t./yr of PVC annually.

, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Reliance Industries Ltd. Signed an agreement to join a new world-scale Chlor-alkali, ethylene dichloride and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) production facility at TAZIZ in Ruwais, . Under the agreement, TAZIZ and Reliance will construct an integrated plant with a capacity to produce 940000 metric tons per year (m.t./yr) of chlor-alkali, 1.1 million m.t/yr of ethylene dichloride and .t./yr of PVC annually. In January 2021 , INOVYN, one of the world's leading chlor-alakali technology solution providers was selected by Koyuncu Group to supply chlor-alkali technology as part of a 16 million investment at a new production facility in Konya province, Turkey . INOVYN will provide state of the art BICHLOR bipolar electrolysers for a new 33,000 square meter facility that will produce chlorine, caustic, sodium hypochlorite and hydrochloric acid

Some of the prominent players operating in the chlor-alkali market profiled by Fact.MR are:

Formosa Plastics Corporation

Solvay SA

AGC Inc.

Dow Inc.

Tronox Limited

Tata Chemicals Limited

Xinjiang Zhongtai Chemical Co. Ltd.

Axiall Chemicals

BorsodChem

Olin Corporation

Westlake Chemical Corporation

Tosoh Corporation

Hanwha Solutions Corporation

INOVYN

Nirma Limited

Ciner

Occidental Petroleum Corporation

Solvay SA

Akzo Nobel SA

More Insights on the Global Chlor-Alkali Sales Outlook

Fact MR provides an unbiased analysis of chlor-alkali market, presenting historical demand data (2016-2020) and forecast statistics for the period from 2021-2031. The study divulges compelling insights on the global demand for chlor-alkali with a detailed segmentation on the basis of:

Product

Chlorine-based Chlor-Alkali

Caustic Soda-based Chlor-Alkali

Soda Ash-based Chlor-Alkali

Application

Chlor-Alkali for Glass Manufacturing

Chlor-Alkali for Vinyl Production

Chlor-Alkali for Organic Chemical Production

Chlor-Alkali for Inorganic Chemicals Production

Chlor-Alkali for Pulp & Paper Production

Chlor-Alkali for Chlorinated Intermediates

Chlor-Alkali for Water Treatment

Chlor-Alkali for Other Applications

Key Questions Covered in the Chlor-Alkali Sales Outlook Report

The report offers insight into chlor-alkali demand outlook for 2021-2031

The market study also highlights projected sales growth for chlor-alkali market between 2021 and 2031

Chlor-alkali market survey identifies key growth drivers, restraints, and other forces impacting prevailing trends and evaluation of current market size and forecast and technological advancements within the industry

Chlor-alkali market share analysis of the key companies within the industry and coverage of strategies such as mergers & acquisitions, joint ventures, collaborations or partnerships, and others

Explore Fact.MR's Coverage on the Chemical & Materials Domain -

Sodium Chlorate Market- The rise of the chemical and paper & pulp industries is largely to blame for the increase in sodium chlorate demand. In the paper and pulp sector, sodium chlorate is widely used as a bleaching agent. Furthermore, it is commonly used as a low-cost oxidizing agent in the chemical sector. Due to reduced activity across businesses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, price changes have been noted in recent times in the 2nd quarter of FY2020. Overall, the market is expected to show indications of improvement. The paper and pulp sector accounts for the majority of the market.

Mercuric Chloride Market- Mercuric chloride (HgCl2), also known as mercury bichloride or corrosive sublimate, is a white crystalline solid with the ability to kill microorganisms and germs in the body, water, blood cells, and other surfaces. Mercuric chloride is used in a variety of applications such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, water treatment, wood preservatives, photography, fungicides, disinfectants, and others to improve performance and create chances for the mercuric chloride market to grow. Mercuric chloride is expected to develop significantly because to its ability to prevent inanimate infections and fungicides.

Water Treatment Membrane Market- Growing industrial operations has resulted in increase in the amount of harmful and toxic effluents emitted into the environment. In addition, the use of agrochemicals on agricultural land has increased dramatically. As a result, water contamination and degradation have reached new heights. This necessitates major technological breakthroughs as well as the installation of efficient water treatment systems. One of the most efficient solutions for such issues has been the development of water treatment membranes. As a result, the increase in industrial operations is the driving force behind the product's demand.

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The "Ukraine: Data Centre Landscape 2021 to 2025" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

This new report considers the growth of Data Centre space, power, pricing for Ukraine.

The report shows the revenues for Cloud and Data Centre Market forecast over the period from the beginning of 2021 to the beginning of 2025 and provides profiles of the key Public Cloud and Data Centre providers for Ukraine.

About Ukraine

The Ukraine Government in February 2021 revealed plans to build large Data Centres with 250 MW up to 500 MW of power alongside nuclear power stations. The facilities are to be used for crypto-currency mining and according to the state-owned energy utility Energoatom could consume up to 2 to 3 GW of power.

In 2020 a contract was signed between Energoatom and H2 LLC to build a USD $700 million Data Centre facility at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. There is also a plan to build a Data Centre next to the Rivne nuclear power plant with power of from 250 MW up to 500 MW, with construction to start during 2022.

Table of Contents

Methodology DCP Ukraine Data Centre Landscape Data Centre Summary Ukraine Data Centre Landscape A simplified map showing the key towns cities in Ukraine The key 3rd party Data Centre Providers Facilities in Ukraine The key Ukraine Data Centre Provider Profiles A pie chart showing the key Ukraine Data Centre Provider raised floor space market share as of the end of June 2021 in percent Ukraine Data Centre raised floor space forecast from the end of June 2021 to the end of June 2025 in m2 Ukraine Data Centre Customer Power forecast from the end of June 2021 to the end of June 2025 in MW Data Centre power in Euro per kWH The key Ukraine Data Centre Clusters A Ukraine Data Centre Pricing Forecast from the end of June 2021 to the end of June 2025 in Euro per month A chart forecasting Data Centre Pricing in rack space, m2 kW rentals from the end of June 2021 to the end of June 2025 in Euro per month A Ukraine Data Centre revenue forecast in millions of Euro from the end of June 2021 to the end of June 2025 per annum A Ukraine Public Cloud revenue forecast in millions of Euro from the end of June 2021 to the end of June 2025 per annum The key trends for the Ukraine Data Centre market Data Centre Outlook

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/7yvqtu

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Leading building industry groups commit to 1.5oC Paris Agreement target, challenge governments to do the same

SANTA FE, N.M., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 60 of the largest and most influential international architecture, landscape architecture, engineering, planning, and construction firms, collectively responsible for over $300 billion in annual construction, along with two dozen organizations representing over one million building industry professionals worldwide, issued a Communique to government leaders headed to the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP 26) challenging them to step up their emissions reduction targets for the built environment. The firms and organizations are signatories of the 1.5oC COP26 Communique - an open letter to sovereign governments demonstrating the firms' and organizations' commitment to meet the Paris Agreement's 1.5o C carbon budget and demanding governments do the same.

According to a recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) , unless there are immediate, rapid, and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, limiting warming to 1.5oC - the threshold needed to avoid the worst impacts of climate change - will be beyond reach. Many nations are still operating under insufficient emissions-reduction targets that put the planet in more serious danger. Recent analyses from the United Nations and Climate Action Tracker found that none of the world's major economies - including the G20 - have a climate plan that would meet their obligations under the Paris Agreement.

Buildings are the largest source of the world's carbon emissions globally and account for approximately 40% of total emissions. When accounting for the embodied carbon of building interiors, systems, and associated infrastructure, that percentage is substantially higher. Decarbonizing the built environment is therefore essential to not exceeding the 1.5oC target.

"Those responsible for planning, designing, and constructing the global built environment are leading and transforming our sector so that it is a major part of the solution to the climate crisis," said Edward Mazria, founder and CEO of Architecture 2030. "It's long past time for governments to accelerate the pace of emissions reductions so that we don't exceed the 1.5oC target."

For example, in the United States, the building sector has not increased its energy consumption since 2005 , even though the U.S. has added more than 50 billion square feet of buildings during that time. Today, carbon emissions in the entire U.S. building sector continue to decline each year and are currently down 30% from 2005 levels.

Government leaders from around the world will be convening for climate negotiations at COP 26 October 31 through November 12 in Glasgow, Scotland. Leading up to the convening, Communique signatories aim to demonstrate their support and actions to eliminate carbon emissions from the built environment and embolden governments to do the same.

"The AIA is committed to advocating for energy-efficient, resilient, and zero carbon buildings in our cities, suburbs, and rural communities. It is imperative that world leaders meeting in Glasgow fully commit to adopting aggressive building policies, incentives, and codes that meet the 1.5oC carbon budget. As our nation's leaders set ambitious targets, architects are making them a reality," said Peter Exley, President of the American Institute of Architects (AIA).

"The 60 member firms of the AIA Large Firm Roundtable have signed the Communique because we want to let governments know that our profession is committed to the mitigation of the adverse effects of climate change. Accordingly, our member firms have committed to design practices that embrace the principles of 1.5oC now," said Griff Davenport, Chair of the AIA Large Firm Roundtable and CEO of DLR Group.

"IFLA enthusiastically supports the 1.5oC COP26 Communique," said Pamela Conrad, Vice Chair of the Climate Change Working Group of the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA). "This is aligned with the recently launched IFLA Climate Action Commitment that represents 77 nations around the world and shows the steps landscape architects are taking as global citizens to limit planetary warming to 1.5oC."

The independent, non-profit organization Architecture 2030 spearheaded this unprecedented joint initiative from the world's leading architectural, landscape architecture, engineering, planning, and construction leaders by inviting select firms and professional organizations to reach a collective commitment to decarbonize the built world by 2040, in line with the 1.5C climate target. Signatories include (see full list below):

60+ of the largest international design firms collectively responsible for over $300 billion in annual global construction

collectively responsible for over in annual global construction Union Internationale des Architectes comprised of professional architecture organizations from 124 countries and territories, representing over one million architects worldwide

comprised of professional architecture organizations from 124 countries and territories, representing over one million architects worldwide American Institute of Architects representing over 95,000 licensed architects in more than 200 chapters across the world

representing over 95,000 licensed architects in more than 200 chapters across the world International Federation of Landscape Architects representing over 70,000 landscape architects from 77 nations

representing over 70,000 landscape architects from 77 nations AIA Large Firm Roundtable representing the 60 largest architecture firms in North America

representing the 60 largest architecture firms in American Planning Association , the world's largest planning organization representing over 40,000 members.

, the world's largest planning organization representing over 40,000 members. American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers representing 57,000 members in 132 countries

representing 57,000 members in 132 countries Royal Institute of British Architects representing 44,000 members worldwide

representing 44,000 members worldwide China Engineering and Construction Association, Architecture Branch , representing more than 30 of China's largest Local Design Institutes, design institutions responsible for the majority of construction in China

, representing more than 30 of largest Local Design Institutes, design institutions responsible for the majority of construction in U.S. Green Building Council with 200,000 professional members in the US, Canada , Europe , Latin America , the Middle East , and Asia

with 200,000 professional members in the US, , , , the , and DGNB German Sustainable Building Council , Europe's largest sustainable building network with more than 1,300 members

, largest sustainable building network with more than 1,300 members Royal Architectural Institute of Canada representing over 5,000 professional members

representing over 5,000 professional members Australian Institute of Architects representing over 11,500 professional members

representing over 11,500 professional members Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) representing 2,600 members worldwide

For more statements from signatories about their commitments to meet the 1.5oC climate target and the actions they are taking, visit: cop26communique.org/media .

COMMUNIQUE LANGUAGE

We are organizations, firms, and sub-national governments responsible for planning, designing, constructing, and developing the built environment globally.

We are taking specific actions that fully harness our capacity to affect significant carbon emissions reductions in order to retain a 67% or better probability of meeting the Paris Agreement's 1.5C budget of 340-400 GTCO2; a 50-65% emissions reduction by 2030, and zero CO2 emissions by 2040.

The built environment is the largest source of the world's carbon emissions with buildings responsible for approximately 40% , and when accounting for the embodied carbon of building interiors, systems, and associated infrastructure, that percentage is substantially higher. Our professions and industries are transforming and taking significant action to mitigate and adapt to climate change. By showing what is possible, we are emboldening others to do the same.

We call on all sovereign governments to ramp up their Nationally Determined Contributions, and 2030 emissions reduction targets, to limit planetary warming in line with the remaining global 1.5C carbon budget.

1.5oC COP26 Communique Signatories:

FIRMS

? AECOM ? RS&H, Inc. ? NBBJ ? HDR ? SOM ? LEO A DALY ? Stantec ? DLR Group ? HGA ? Gensler ? Thornton Tomasetti ? Walter P Moore ? Mott MacDonald ? CallisonRTKL ? EwingCole ? Perkins&Will ? CannonDesign ? Flad ? HOK ? SmithGroup ? LPA ? Arup ? Perkins Eastman ? HMC Architects ? HKS ? ZGF Architects ? Cuningham ? HED ? The Miller Hull Partnership ? Gould Evans ? Clark Nexsen ? BWBR ? Grimshaw ? Hord Coplan Macht ? FXCollaborative ? KieranTimberlake ? LS3P ? Ennead Architects ? Lake|Flato Architects ? KTGY ? Shepley Bulfinch ? Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects ? Cooper Carry ? BIG ? Mario Cucinella Architects ? CO Architects ? Payette ? MASS Design Group ? Sasaki ? Atelier Ten ? Reimagine Architects ? Little ? Autodesk ? Studio Gang ? Magnusson Klemencic Associates ? BNIM ? Turenscape ? Quinn Evans ? Brooks + Scarpa Architects, Inc. ? Waugh Thistleton Architects ? Ayers Saint Gross ? Buro Happold ? WRNS Studio ? Moody Nolan, Inc. ? DIALOG

? Mithun





ORGANIZATIONS

? American Institute of Architects (AIA) ? Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance ? International Federation of Landscape Architects ? AIA Continental Europe ? China Engineering & Consulting Association, Architecture Branch ? National Institute of Building Sciences ? AIA International Region ? Climate Heritage Network ? Royal Architectural Institute of Canada ? AIA Large Firm Roundtable ? DGNB German Sustainable Building Council ? Royal Institute of British Architects ? AIA United Kingdom ? Global Forum on Human Settlements ? The Congress for the New Urbanism ? ALA Assoarchitetti ? Green Building Council of Australia ? U.S. Green Building Council ? American Planning Association ? International Code Council ? UIA International Union of Architects ? American Society of Landscape Architects

? 2030 Districts Network ? ASHRAE



? Australian Institute of Architects





ABOUT Architecture 2030: Architecture 2030 is a non-profit, non-partisan and independent organization established in 2002 in response to the ongoing climate emergency. Our mission is to rapidly transform the built world from the major emitter of greenhouse gases to a central solution to the climate emergency. For nearly two decades, we've provided the leadership and designed the actions needed to achieve the CO2 emissions reductions for a high probability of limiting planetary warming to 1.5C.

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TEWKSBURY, Mass., Oct. 06, 2021(CIL) is pleased to announce the release of our new stable isotope-labeled and unlabeled TCA cycle mixes to aid in the analysis of TCA-associated compounds in metabolic studies. The TCA (tricarboxylic acid) cycle, also known as the Krebs or citric acid cycle, plays an essential role in central carbon and energy metabolism. The study of its intermediates, and its ancillary compounds, has proven pivotal in not only understanding their impact on metabolism but also in profiling their function in oncogenesis, inflammation, and other pathologies.

Krista Backiel, CIL's Director of Business Development and Strategic Marketing, Life Sciences, states: "These new mixes enable researchers to easily identify and quantify multiple TCA cycle analytes in Mass Spectrometry (MS)-based methods. They were carefully designed to reduce researcher development time, enhance data quality, and streamline MS applications."

The target audience for these mixes includes researchers performing qualitative and quantitative metabolomic analyses, those studying central carbon metabolic profiling, and those performing metabolic flux analysis.

Ashley Sidebottom, Ph.D., Metabolomics Platform Director, University of Chicago (USA) Host-Microbe Metabolomics Facility, Duchossois Family Institute stated: "The metabolomic compound mixes by Cambridge Isotope Laboratories have expedited several processes in our GC-MS analysis pipeline. We have used these products, including their novel TCA mixes, to verify metabolite retention times, test derivatization reaction conditions, and to confirm fragmentation patterns detected in biological samples. CIL's metabolite mixes are ready to go, easy to use, and consistently of high quality!"

The TCA mixes are dried down and comprise a total of 13 metabolites, with 6 being direct TCA cycle intermediates (e.g., a-ketoglutarate, succinate) and 7 being important offshoot metabolites (e.g., itaconate and 2-hydroxyglutarate). The isotope-labeled and unlabeled TCA mixes can be purchased individually or as a set, depending on the need of the researcher. They are currently all in stock and available for global distribution.

To learn more about CIL's new TCA Cycle mixes, visit isotope.com.

About Cambridge Isotope Laboratories, Inc.??

CIL is the world's largest manufacturer and?global?supplier of stable isotopes and stable?isotope-labeled compounds used in research, environmental, neonatal, pharmaceutical, medical diagnostic, OLED,?and industrial markets.?CIL?is an operating business owned by Otsuka Pharmaceuticals. The CIL business consists of two facilities in the Boston, MA,?area;?a large isotope-enrichment production plant in Xenia, OH;?CIL China;?CIL Canada;?ABX in Dresden,?Germany;?and?Eurisotop?in?Saclay, France.

For more information on CIL, visit isotope.com .

Contact Information:

Crissy Krisko

Phone: 1.978.749.8000?

Fax: 1.978.749.2768?

www.isotope.com

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Attachment
TiE and Start-Up Nation Central sign historic Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to launch a joint mentorship program for innovation and technology collaboration of

Israeli and Indian startups to address challenges in the AgriFood-Tech sector

TEL AVIV, Israel, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Israeli not-for-profit Start-Up Nation Central signed a historic MOU with TiE (The IndUS Entrepreneurs), one of the world's largest networks of entrepreneurs. The MOU aims to achieve full implementation of sustainable Israeli and Indian technologies in the Food-Tech sector, particularly in the fields of novel foods, post-harvest solutions, alternative protein, food safety, and packaging.

The MOU entails a special mentorship program consisting of three eight-month cohorts that seek to connect industry leaders to Israeli and Indian startups, in an effort to support their market entry process into India through matching, mentoring, connections, and onboarding strategic stakeholders. The end goal of the program is to reach commercial agreements, which is what differentiates this initiative from previous comparable programs.

TiE President Manohar Reddy and Start-Up Nation Central CEO Avi Hasson signed the MOU during the TiE Sustainability Summit (TSS 2021) held in Hyderabad, India. After the signing, the following four applicants pitched their solutions in order to be selected for the Mentorship Program. The selection process concludes on October 15th; in total, six companies will be participating in the program.

Commercial grasshopper farming company Hargol

Automated cooking manufacturer Kitchen Robotics

Vision-based robotic controller Deep Learning Robotics

Humidity control solution Umigo

Awareness of Israel as a key innovation partner is growing all across Asia, and in India in particular. This MOU between Start-Up Nation Central and TiE is yet another concrete achievement further deepening the relationships that have already been formed with multiple entities in India.

Start-Up Nation Central's MOU with TiE targets technologies addressing sustainability challenges, positioning Israel and India as global leaders in the field of impact tech.

Manohar Reddy, President of TiE Hyderabad and Chairman of the TiE Sustainability Summit 2021: "We are very excited about our partnership with Start-Up Nation Central and the Impact the collaborative cohorts program will create for startups from both India and Israel. It gives me immense pleasure to see this program getting launched at the world's largest sustainability summit for entrepreneurs on October 4th."

Adv. Anat Bernstein-Reich, the founding president of the Israeli branch of TiE: "The program will allow Israeli companies to learn of first-hand how to work in the Indian market. The Indian market is deceptive. People may speak English, but the business codes are different, the market structure is different, and working assumptions made by Israeli companies do not stand the test of India's reality. The joint program will make the market accessible to Israelis and make it easier for them to enter this important market."

Start-Up Nation Central CEO Avi Hasson: "We are proud and excited to partner with TiE on this significant program. Technological innovation and entrepreneurship have the opportunity to change the face and trajectory of nations. Farmers are facing increasingly harsher weather conditions, environmental pollutants, and soil depletion which, coupled with global population growth and increased product demand, compounds global concerns over food scarcity. Technologies that have the potential to either improve crop yields or transform, preserve, and tailor foods with improved functional and nutritional values will ensure a stable supply of food in the future. Given the size of the market and population, as well as the exciting tech scene in India, this partnership has the potential to offer incredible opportunities, in particular when it comes to the AgriFood-Tech sector."

About Start-Up Nation Central

Established in 2013, Start-Up Nation Central is a non-profit organization that helps tackle global challenges by connecting Israeli technological solutions with multinational corporations, governments, investors, and NGOs from around the world. The Global Finder Network, modelled on Start-Up Nation Finder, is a connectivity tool that enables partners to continuously develop their respective innovation ecosystems, by identifying and mapping regional innovative companies, facilitating local connectivity, and fostering international collaboration.

About TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs)

TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) is a go-to network of 51000+ global entrepreneurs across 61+ cities in 14+ countries, and Hyderabad is a vibrant and most awarded chapter worldwide, each year TiE Hyderabad impacts over 1100 start-ups and 6400+ students, conducts numerous activities under 20+ themes viz. TiE Grad, TiE Young Entrepreneurs, Open Mic, Mentor Advisor, Investor Connect, Thursday Night Talks, Leadership Series etc. to encourage, nurture next-generation entrepreneurs.

During 2020 we hosted TiE Global Summit which is applauded as the world's largest entrepreneurship summit held in a difficult year such as 2020. The Conference received an overwhelming response of over 51000 registrations and enjoyed a cumulative attendees of around 30000+ entrepreneurs & investors. TGS2020 created a new history, had remarkable 250+ marquee speakers, 150+ mentors, 180+ companies, 500+ innovation leaders, 234 Incubators, producing 60Hrs of digital content of leaders/innovators/startup founders & Investors. OpenMic event has drawn 250+ founders from 18 different countries pitching to global investors and top corporate, non-stop for 20 hours. For more details, please visit hyderabad.tie.org

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The growing demand for IoT in the aviation industry for numerous functions including aircraft connectivity, airlines, air traffic control, and MRO management is expected to foster the market growth of Satellite Communication Market during the forecast period.

JERSEY CITY, N.J., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Verified Market Research recently published a report, "Satellite Communication Market" By Product (SATCOM Transponder, SATCOM Transceiver, SATCOM Antenna), By Vertical (Government and Military Applications, Civil Satellite Communications, Commercial Application), By End User (Portable SATCOM Equipment, Land Mobile SATCOM Equipment, Maritime SATCOM Equipment), and By Geography. According to Verified Market Research, the Global Satellite Communication Market size was valued at USD 65.68 Billion in 2020 and is projected to reach USD 131.68 Billion by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 9.10% from 2021 to 2028.

Download PDF Brochure: https://www.verifiedmarketresearch.com/download-sample/?rid=80810

Browse in-depth TOC on "Satellite Communication Market"

202 - Pages

126 - Tables

37 - Figures

Global Satellite Communication Market Overview

The use of Satellite Communication is extensively in television, telephone, radio, internet, and military applications. A large range of radio and microwave frequencies are used for Satellite Communication. The purpose of communications satellites is to relay the signal across the curve of the Earth allowing communication among broadly separated geographical points. It covers a wide area of the earth subsequently whole country or location may be covered with simply one satellite.

Growing applications and adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) have paved the way for Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS). These systems permit customers to track cars or motors and permit freight operators to share and receive information promptly. Using satellite communication for transportation will permit seamless and non-stop transmission of data among the vehicle and the transport hub, filling the gaps of the terrestrial networks. Therefore, the usage of satellites for communication in transport networks, which includes logistics, will provide adequate growth opportunities for the market.

Key Developments in Satellite Communication Market

In March 2021 , SKY Perfect JSAT signs contract with Airbus to build Superbird-9 telecommunications satellite.

, SKY Perfect JSAT signs contract with Airbus to build Superbird-9 telecommunications satellite. In August 2020 , Intelsat successfully launched of Galaxy 30, a satellite that will provide Intelsat Media customers in North America with high-performance broadcast distribution capabilities.

The major players in the market are EchoStar Corporation, SKY Perfect JSAT Group, L3 Technologies, Inc., SES S.A, Telesat, Intelsat, Viasat, Inc., Gilat Satellite Networks, and Thuraya Telecommunications Company.

Verified Market Research has segmented the Global Satellite Communication Market On the basis of Product, Vertical, End-User, and Geography.

Satellite Communication Market, By Product

SATCOM Transponder





SATCOM Transceiver





SATCOM Antenna





SATCOM Modern



SATCOM Receiver



Satellite Communication Market, By Vertical

Government and Military Applications



Civil Satellite Communications



Commercial Application



Others



Satellite Communication Market, By End-User

Portable SATCOM Equipment



Land Mobile SATCOM Equipment



Maritime SATCOM Equipment



Airborne SATCOM Equipment



Land Fixed SATCOM Equipment



Satellite Communication Market by Geography

North America



U.S





Canada





Mexico



Europe



Germany





France





U.K





Rest of Europe



Asia Pacific



China





Japan





India





Rest of Asia Pacific



ROW



Middle East & Africa

&



Latin America

Browse Related Reports:

Maritime Satellite Communication Market By End User (Government, Merchant, Leisure Vessels), By Type (Mobile Satellite Service, Very Small Aperture Terminal), By Service (Tracking & Monitoring, Voice, Data, Video), By Application (Perioperative Care, Acute/Critical Care, Intensive Care Units), By Geography, Forecast, 2020-2027

Satellite Modem Market By End-User (Transportation & Logistics, Oil & Gas, Energy & Utilities), By Data Range (Entry-Level Data Rate Modems, Mid-Range Data Rate Modems), By Channel Type (Single Channel Per Carrier Modems, Multiple Channel Per Carrier Modems), By Application (Offshore Communication, Tracking & Monitoring, Mobile & Backhaul), By Geography, Forecast, 2020-2027

Satellite Transponder Market By Service (Leasing, Maintenance & Support), By Applications (Commercial Communications, Government Communications, Navigation), By Geography, Forecast, 2020-2027

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Top 7 satellite internet service providers providing high-speed network globally

Visualize Satellite Communication Market using Verified Market Intelligence:-:

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The teleradiology services market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 10.6% during 2021-2031. The development of virtual workplaces is helping players to group all radiologists

Growing adoption of technological advancements in teleradiology as a modern technique for diseases diagnosis is fueling market expansion

ALBANY, N.Y., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Teleradiology refers to electronic transmission of radiographic images from one location to another with an aim to achieve rapid diagnosis and/or consultation, required for patients dealing with critical health conditions.

Consultation, general reporting, and auditing are some of the services included in the global teleradiology services market.

The analysts at Transparency Market Research (TMR) project that the global teleradiology services market will cross the valuation of 19.7 Bn by 2031.

Teleradiology Services Market: Key Findings

Growth in Utilization of Specialized Modalities Creates Lucrative Avenues in Market

The healthcare professionals across the world are increasing the use of varied modalities including CT scan, MRI, and ultrasound owing to several advantages of these technologies such as advanced detection and visibility of cancers, tumors, and soft tissues. The growing demand for specialized modalities is boosting the need for specialist radiologists who can interpret complex imaging assessments.

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Surge in Demand for Out-of-Hours Reporting Boosts Market Sales

Patients dealing with emergency conditions such as trauma or possible serious injuries (related to neurology) need rapid and precise diagnosis. Players in the teleradiology services market are concentrating on providing access to a team of dual-qualified radiologists that are capable to deliver acute out-of-hours reporting services.

Teleradiology Services Market: Growth Boosters

With notable growth in demand for diagnostic imaging services in comparison to the supply, there is increased need for outsourcing the diagnostic reporting workload. This factor is creating prodigious avenues for the expansion of the global teleradiology services market.

With emergence of COVID-19 pandemic, people around the world are increasing inclination toward online counseling. The increased adoption of telemedicine is projected to boost the expansion opportunities in the global teleradiology services market in the years to come.

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Healthcare organizations from several developed countries are growing focus on taking help from external domestic teleradiology service providers. This factor is creating demand for teleradiology service providers across the globe.

Surge in demand for precise diagnosis of radiology procedures including MRI and CT scan is expected to drive expansion of the global teleradiology services market in the years to come.

Many developed countries in the world are witnessing the issue of radiologists' shortage, which has impacted on service delivery and hospital care in some areas of these countries. Due to limitations related to staffing onsite, the healthcare organizations in these nations are sending several scans offsite for analysis purposes. This scenario is working as one of the key drivers of the teleradiology services market.

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Teleradiology Services Market: Competition Landscape

Presence of many players in the global teleradiology services market is indication of intense level of competition in it.

Leading market players are increasing participation in varied strategic moves such as new services development, acquisitions, collaborative agreements, and regulatory approvals. Moreover, many players are strategizing their business moves for regional expansions. These strategies are expected to assist them in strengthening their businesses, and thereby expansion of the global teleradiology services market in the years to come.

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Teleradiology Services Market: Key Players

The report profiles some of key players operating in the teleradiology services market. Thus, the research document delivers all crucial information such as company overview, financial overview, product portfolio, recent developments, and business strategies of all players profiled in the market.

Some of the key players in the teleradiology services market include:

Africa Telerad Limited

4ways Healthcare Limited

Medica Group plc

Euro American Teleradiology

ONRAD, Inc.

Mednax Services, Inc.

Specialty Teleradiology, Inc.

Real Radiology, LLC

TeleConsult Europe (TCE)

StatRad (NucleusHealth)

Teleradiology Solutions

Telemedicine Clinic (UNILABS)

USARAD Holdings, Inc.

Global Teleradiology Services Market: Segmentation

Teleradiology Services Market, by Type of Service

General Reporting



Consultation



Auditing



Others

Teleradiology Services Market, by Modality

X-Ray



Ultrasound



Computer Tomography (CT)



Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)



Nuclear Imaging



Others

Teleradiology Services Market, by Coverage

Day Time Coverage



After Hours/Night Time Coverage

Teleradiology Services Market, by Specialty

Cardiology



Neurology



Oncology



Musculoskeletal



Gastroenterology



Others

Teleradiology Services Market, by End User

Hospitals



Diagnostic Imaging Centers



Ambulatory Surgical Centers



Clinics



Others

Teleradiology Services Market, by Region

North America



U.S.





Canada



Europe



Germany





U.K.





France





Italy





Spain





Rest of Europe



Asia Pacific



China





India





Japan





Australia & New Zealand

&



Rest of Asia Pacific



Latin America



Brazil





Mexico





Rest of Latin America



Middle East & Africa

&

GCC Countries





South Africa





Rest of Middle East & Africa

Modernization of healthcare in terms of both infrastructure and services have pushed the healthcare industry to new heights, Stay Updated with Latest Healthcare Industry Research Reports by Transparency Market Research:

mHealth Market: The prevalence and penetration of mobile healthcare applications such as medical and fitness apps with the well-being segment accounting for a considerable share, the growth of the mHealth market is expected to witness promising growth as new and innovative devices continue to help fuel the overall development.

Digital Health Market: A rise in the demand for remote monitoring services is driven by the augmented prevalence of chronic diseases and recent outbreak of global pandemic, COVID-19. At present, the future course of the global digital health market is influenced by the COVID-19 considerably, which is spreading at an exponential rate.

Electronic Health Records Market: According to Transparency Market Research's latest report on the global electronic health records market for the historical period 2017-2018 and forecast period 2019-2027, technological advancements, diseases prevalence and incidence rate at regional level, and reimbursement scenario of the market at regional level are projected to drive the global electronic health records market during the forecast period.

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Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.

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Sungrow Shines at Intersolar Europe 2021 with New PV and Energy Storage Product Debut

MUNICH, Germany, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Sungrow, the global leading inverter solution supplier for renewables, debuted its latest PV and energy storage portfolio including an ultra powerful string inverter SG350HX, a liquid cooled energy storage system, and residential PV and storage flagship products at Intersolar Europe 2021, fueling the energy transition and supporting the carbon neutrality ambition of Europe.

SG350HX: An Ultra Powerful String inverter

The new market-leading SG350HX system optimized for utility-scale projects features a maximum output power of 352 kW, redefining high powered string inverters. It is highly compatible with 182 mm and 210 mm large-format high-efficiency bifacial modules. In addition, it supports a single block design as large as 8.96 MW for the European market and supports a high DC/AC ratio of up to 1.8, an ideal solution for higher yields. With feature richness and innovation unparalleled, it guarantees an incomparable return of investment for stakeholders while ensuring compatibility and safety. The latest utility-scale inverter will be available for Europe in mid-2022.

ST2752UX: Liquid Cooled Energy Storage System

As more large-scale renewable energy projects come online and intermittent resources are added to the energy mix, it is becoming increasingly important to keep the electrical grid stable. As a result, Sungrow rolled out its new energy storage system with liquid cooled technology which significantly reduces capital and operating expenses. These expenses are reduced as a result of pre-assembly, easy on-site installation, and a more effective cell working environment which slows capacity loss substantially. The liquid cooled system is optimized in safety performance because of its standout anti-leakage design and an integrated water fire fighting system.

Residential Heroes: 1-Phase and 3-Phase Solutions

Tailored to various residential scenarios, Sungrow offers a wide range of 1-phase and 3-phase residential solar and storage solutions. These solutions include its PV inverters ranging from 2 kW to 20 kW, its hybrid inverters among 3-10 kW, and its high-voltage battery with a wide range of 9.6-25.6 kWh. Thanks to the extendable capacity, the solutions enable flexible configurations for different rooftops. These turnkey solutions not only guarantee maximum yields but also optimum charging and discharging capabilities.

Robust market performance

"We're delighted to showcase our flagship product solutions at Intersolar Europe this year despite the impact of the pandemic. Since we embrace sustainability as one of our core values, we are accelerating the transition from ambition to implementation in the race to a cleaner, healthier, more resilient world with continued innovations," James Wu, Vice President of Sungrow.

Sungrow has generated a very positive reputation in the European market, covering over 26% of the market share in the European utility-scale sector this year. The Company also makes huge strides forward in the distributed generation market with partnerships forged with an increasing number of local distributors. When it comes to storage markets, the Company's experienced energy storage team stands out in the European ESS market; it has supplied a multitude of landmark projects, including Europe's largest standalone ESS project (100MW/100MWh).

Spreading across main European markets, Sungrow's eight local branches help align customers with their unique needs. As one of the pivotal PV and energy storage players in the industry, Sungrow aims to enable customers to benefit from its global reach and distinct advantages of local expertise covering sales, technical support, and after-sale service.

About Sungrow

Sungrow Power Supply Co., Ltd. ("Sungrow") is the world's most bankable inverter brand with over 182 GW installed worldwide as of June 2021. Founded in 1997 by University Professor Cao Renxian, Sungrow is a leader in the research and development of solar inverters with the largest dedicated R&D team in the industry and a broad product portfolio offering PV inverter solutions and energy storage systems for utility-scale, commercial & industrial, and residential applications, as well as internationally recognized floating PV plant solutions. With a strong 24-year track record in the PV space, Sungrow products power installations in over 150 countries. Learn more about Sungrow by visiting: www.sungrowpower.com.

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Regulatory News:

Press release, Paris, 6 October 2021

Pernod Ricard (Paris:RI) launches Art Wall, its new artistic sponsorship program carried out in collaboration with the Pernod Ricard Foundation. The program gives artists a chance to showcase their work on an enormous, freestanding wall facing The Island, the Group's new global headquarters.

Each year, Pernod Ricard will give its Paris-based employees the opportunity to choose the artwork that would transform the landscape of the building located in the heart of the capital, a stone's throw from Saint-Lazare station.

Out of the six projects built on a recommendation of the Pernod Ricard Foundation, French artist Emmanuelle Laine has been selected for the first edition of Art wall 2021. Laine's work Si vous vous attendez un spectacle, vous serez decu will be showcasedon partition of 17 meters high and 13 meters wide along the Cours Paul Ricard, for a year. Contemporary creation thus pervades the city, spurring poetic reflection on the role of art within the collective space, inviting us to reconsider the Cours Paul Ricard as a meeting place for discussions and exchanges, accessible to all visitors and employees.

Laine uses space as a resource for her creation, interfacing between the place itself, the work created and the viewing public. She deems the overall result "microarchitecture."

The work featured here, the first of the artist for a public space, spotlights objects from the MUCEM's collection in Marseille. These archival objects were layered into larger scenes, to disorienting effect. This optical trickery is a comment on visual engagement: the way organized chaos infiltrates our lives, and the way the digital image's precision shifts as it is superposed and mixed with immersive sculptural installation.

About Pernod Ricard

Pernod Ricard is the world's No 2 in wines and spirits with consolidated sales of 8,824 million in FY21. Created in 1975 by the merger of Ricard and Pernod, the Group has undergone sustained development, based on both organic growth and acquisitions: Seagram (2001), Allied Domecq (2005) and Vin&Sprit (2008). Pernod Ricard, which owns 16 of the Top 100 Spirits Brands, holds one of the most prestigious and comprehensive brand portfolios in the industry, including: Absolut Vodka, Ricard pastis, Ballantine's, Chivas Regal, Royal Salute, and The Glenlivet Scotch whiskies, Jameson Irish whiskey, Martell cognac, Havana Club rum, Beefeater gin, Malibu liqueur, Mumm and Perrier-Jouet champagnes, as well Jacob's Creek, Brancott Estate, Campo Viejo, and Kenwood wines. Pernod Ricard's brands are distributed across 160+ markets and by its own salesforce in 73 markets. The Group's decentralised organisation empowers its 18,500 employees to be true on-the-ground ambassadors of its vision of "Createurs de Convivialite." As reaffirmed by the Group's strategic plan, "Transform and Accelerate," deployed in 2018, Pernod Ricard's strategy focuses on investing in long-term, profitable growth for all stakeholders. The Group remains true to its three founding values: entrepreneurial spirit, mutual trust, and a strong sense of ethics, as illustrated by the 2030 Sustainability and Responsibility roadmap supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), "Good times from a good place." In recognition of Pernod Ricard's strong commitment to sustainable development and responsible consumption, it has received a Gold rating from Ecovadis. Pernod Ricard is also a United Nations' Global Compact LEAD company. Pernod Ricard is listed on Euronext (Ticker: RI; ISIN Code: FR0000120693) and is part of the CAC 40 and Eurostoxx 50 indices.

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Contacts:

Pernod Ricard contact

Antonia Scintilla

Antonia.Scintilla@pernod-ricard.com

+33 (0) 1 70 93 16 32

Claudine Colin Communication

Chiara Di Leva

chiara@claudinecolin.com

Cyril Bruckler

cyril@claudinecolin.com
TISSIUM, a privately-owned medtech company developing biomorphic programmable polymers for tissue reconstruction, will present an e-poster on its research on a novel, atraumatic, and consistent hernia mesh fixation device at the Hernia 2021 European Hernia Society American Hernia Society Joint Congress. The event is scheduled to be held virtually and in-person from October 13 October 16, 2021 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

TISSIUM is developing a portfolio of products that leverage its unique biopolymer platform based on a novel biocompatible, biomorphic and biodegradable material, which is a highly viscous, light-activated surgical adhesive.

The unique properties of this material make it ideal for use in minimally invasive scenarios such as hernia repair. In this scenario, the TISSIUM product facilitates mesh affixation and accurate positioning over the hernia defect, while avoiding the trauma caused by traditional penetrating fixation methods.

Dr. Frederik Berrevoet, University Hospital of Gent, said: "Regarding this new polymer, surgeons don't have the possibility to make mistakes during application, whereas for tacks you need to do things right

The results that will be presented at the Hernia 2021 European Hernia Society American Hernia Society Joint Congress demonstrate the high potential of TISSIUM technology in minimally invasive surgery and, more specifically, in ventral hernia repair.

About the results:

The presented research consists of a study that evaluated the safety and performance of the TISSIUM system as an alternative to tacks in laparoscopic IPOM. Ventral hernias were created in a porcine animal model and treated using composite meshes that were fixed either with commercially available penetrating fixation devices or TISSIUM's novel adhesive technology. Specifically, TISSIUM's hernia mesh fixation device prevented re-herniation, promoted good mesh integration into, and long-term mesh fixation to, the underlying tissue. Due to its atraumatic nature and biocompatibility properties, the device demonstrated good local tissue tolerance. TISSIUM's technology is designed to be atraumatic and offers multiple key usability differentiating points compared to standard penetrating fixation methods and other adhesives.

About TISSIUM:

TISSIUM, a privately-owned medtech company based in Paris, France and Boston, USA is dedicated to the development and commercialization of products derived from its unique biopolymer platform. The company's products will address multiple unmet clinical needs, including atraumatic tissue repair and reconstruction.

TISSIUM is developing a portfolio of products that leverage its proprietary family of fully biosynthetic, biomorphic and programmable polymers, which are the foundation of the company's technology platform. Currently, the Company has a pipeline of seven products across three verticals, including sutureless nerve repair, hernia repair and cardiovascular sealants. Each product is designed to enhance the tissue reconstruction process in a unique way. In addition, the company develops complementary delivery and activation devices for enhanced performance and usability of its products.

TISSIUM's technology is based on world-class research and intellectual property from the laboratories of Professor Robert Langer (MIT) and Professor Jeffrey M. Karp (Brigham and Women's Hospital), who co-founded the company in 2013. For more information, please visit: www.TISSIUM.com and @TISSIUMtech.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005530/en/

Contacts:

Investor relations

Romain Attard Chief Financial Officer

rattard@tissium.com

Tel: +33 1 76 21 72 28

Twitter: @TISSIUMtech

Press

Jeanene Timberlake

jtimberlake@rooneypartners.com

Tel: +1 646-770-8858

Yoann Besse

yoann.besse@citigatedewerogerson.com

Tel: +33 6 63 03 84 91
Invesco Select Trust plc

LEI: 549300JZQ39WJPD7U596

Result of AGM

Result of the Annual General Meeting of Invesco Select Trust plc held on

5 October 2021:

All of the Annual General Meeting resolutions were decided by poll and were passed.

The poll results were as follows:

Resolutions applicable to all share classes, with voting rights based on the net asset values of the respective share classes at close of business on 4 October 2021:

Resolution Votes For

(including votes at

the discretion of

the Chairman) % Votes Against % Votes Withheld

Ordinary resolutions:

1. 25,390,885 99.9 17,836 0.01 1903 2. 25,320,144 99.7 69,412 0.03 21,068 3. 25,321,806 99.8 50,761 0.02 38,057 4. 24,943,250 99.9 27,207 0.01 18,624 5. 25,314,045 99.9 28,920 0.01 67,659 6. 25,365,858 99.9 29,304 0.01 15,462 7. 25,341,851 99.8 53,311 0.02 15,462 8. 25,368,453 99.9 26,709 0.01 15,462 9. 25,356,952 99.9 32,495 0.01 21,177

Special resolutions:

12. 23,499,748 93.9 1,878,674 7.1 32,202 13. 25,307,780 99.7 66,459 0.3 36,385 14. 25,338,305 99.9 37,045 0.1 35,364 15. 25,226,311 99.4 150,750 0.6 33,653 16. 25,358,441 99.9 22,897 0.1 29,376

Total Voting Rights applicable to the above resolutions were 221,151,932.

Resolution 10 was applicable only to the UK Equity Share class, with voting rights being one vote per share:

Resolution Votes For

(including votes at

the discretion of

the Chairman) % Votes Against % Votes Withheld

Ordinary resolution:

10. 19,179,264 99.97 6,015 0.03 2,467

Total Voting Rights applicable for this resolution were 154,006,385.

Resolution 11 was applicable only to the Global Equity Income Share class, with voting rights being one vote per share:

Resolution Votes For

(including votes at

the discretion of

the Chairman) % Votes Against % Votes Withheld

Ordinary resolution:

11. 5,789,695 99.89 6,516 0.11 0

Total Voting Rights applicable for this resolution were 58,476,179.

The full text of the resolutions passed is as follows:

Ordinary Resolutions applicable to all share classes:

The following Ordinary Resolutions were passed at the Annual General Meeting held on 5 October 2021:

1. To receive the Annual Financial Report for the year ended 31 May 2021.

2. To approve the Directors' Remuneration Policy.

3. To approve the Annual Statement and Report on Remuneration.

4. To re-elect Craig Cleland as a Director of the Company.

5. To re-elect Victoria Muir as a Director of the Company.

6. To re-elect Davina Curling as a Director of the Company.

7. To re-elect Mark Dampier as a Director of the Company.

8. To re-elect Tim Woodhead as a Director of the Company.

9. To re-appoint Grant Thornton UK LLP as Auditor to the Company and authorise the Audit Committee to determine the Auditor's remuneration.

Ordinary Resolution applicable only to the UK Equity Share Class:

10. To approve the UK Equity Share Class Portfolio dividend payment policy as set out on page 41 of the 2021 annual financial report.

Ordinary Resolution applicable only to the Global Equity Income Share Class:

11. To approve the Global Equity Income Share Class Portfolio dividend payment policy as set out on page 42 of the 2021 annual financial report.

Special Resolutions:

The following Special Resolutions were passed at the Annual General Meeting held on

5 October 2021:

12. THAT:

the Directors be and they are hereby generally and unconditionally authorised, for the purpose of section 551 of the Companies Act 2006 as amended from time to time prior to the date of passing this resolution ('2006 Act') to exercise all the powers of the Company to allot relevant securities (as defined in sections 551(3) and (6) of the 2006 Act) up to an aggregate nominal amount equal to 1,000,000 of UK Equity Shares, 1,000,000 of Global Equity Income Shares, 1,000,000 of Balanced Risk Allocation Shares and 1,000,000 of Managed Liquidity Shares, provided that this authority shall expire at the conclusion of the next AGM of the Company or the date falling fifteen months after the passing of this resolution, whichever is the earlier, but so that such authority shall allow the Company to make offers or agreements before the expiry of this authority which would or might require relevant securities to be allotted after such expiry and the Directors may allot relevant securities in pursuance of such offers or agreements as if the power conferred hereby had not expired.

13. THAT:

the Directors be and they are hereby empowered, in accordance with sections 570 and 573 of the Companies Act 2006 as amended from time to time prior to the date of the passing of this resolution ('2006 Act') to allot Shares in each class (UK Equity, Global Equity Income, Balanced Risk Allocation and Managed Liquidity) for cash, either pursuant to the authority given by resolution 9 set out above or (if such allotment constitutes the sale of relevant Shares which, immediately before the sale, were held by the Company as treasury shares) otherwise, as if section 561 of the 2006 Act did not apply to any such allotment, provided that this power shall be limited:

(a) to the allotment of Shares in connection with a rights issue in favour of all holders of a class of Share where the Shares attributable respectively to the interests of all holders of Shares of such class are either proportionate (as nearly as may be) to the respective numbers of relevant Shares held by them or are otherwise allotted in accordance with the rights attaching to such Shares (subject in either case to such exclusions or other arrangements as the Directors may deem necessary or expedient in relation to fractional entitlements or legal or practical problems under the laws of, or the requirements of, any regulatory body or any stock exchange in any territory or otherwise);

(b) to the allotment (otherwise than pursuant to a rights issue) of equity securities up to an aggregate nominal amount of 82,285 of UK Equity Shares, 24,661 of Global Equity Income Shares, 4,180 of Balanced Risk Allocation Shares and 1,434 of Managed Liquidity Shares; and

(c) to the allotment of equity securities at a price of not less than the net asset value per Share as close as practicable to the allotment or sale

and this power shall expire at the conclusion of the next AGM of the Company or the date fifteen months after the passing of this resolution, whichever is the earlier, but so that this power shall allow the Company to make offers or agreements before the expiry of this power which would or might require equity securities to be allotted after such expiry as if the power conferred by this resolution had not expired; and so that words and expressions defined in or for the purposes of Part 17 of the 2006 Act shall bear the same meanings in this resolution.

14. THAT:

the Company be generally and subject as hereinafter appears unconditionally authorised in accordance with section 701 of the Companies Act 2006 as amended from time to time prior to the date of passing this resolution ('2006 Act') to make market purchases (within the meaning of section 693(4) of the 2006 Act) of its issued Shares in each Share class (UK Equity, Global Equity Income, Balanced Risk Allocation and Managed Liquidity).

PROVIDED ALWAYS THAT

(i) the maximum number of Shares hereby authorised to be purchased shall be 14.99% of each class of the Company's share capital at 5 October 2021, the date of the Annual General Meeting, being 11,941,679 UK Equity Shares, 3,680,233 Global Equity Income Shares, 626,584 Balanced Risk Allocation Shares and 215,062 Managed Liquidity Shares;

(ii) the minimum price which may be paid for a Share shall be 1p;

(iii) the maximum price which may be paid for a Share in each Share class must not be more than the higher of: (a) 5% above the average of the mid-market values of the Shares for the five business days before the purchase is made; and (b) the higher of the price of the last independent trade in the Shares and the highest then current independent bid for the Shares on the London Stock Exchange;

(iv) any purchase of Shares will be made in the market for cash at prices below the prevailing net asset value per Share (as determined by the Directors);

(v) the authority hereby conferred shall expire at the conclusion of the next AGM of the Company or, if earlier, on the expiry of 15 months from the passing of this resolution unless the authority is renewed at any other general meeting prior to such time; and

(vi) the Company may make a contract to purchase Shares under the authority hereby conferred prior to the expiry of such authority which will be executed wholly or partly after the expiration of such authority and may make a purchase of Shares pursuant to any such contract.

15. THAT:

the period of notice required for general meetings of the Company (other than Annual General Meetings) shall be not less than 14 days.

16. THAT:

The Articles of Association as produced to the meeting and initialled by the Chairman for the purpose of identification (the 'Articles') be adopted as the Articles of Association of the Company in substitution for, and to the exclusion of, the existing Articles of Association.

Invesco Asset Management Limited

Corporate Company Secretary

6 October 2021
Quantum Genomics Publishes 2021 Half-year Results and Reviews its Clinical Activity

Firibastat expected to launch in late 2023 for difficult-to-treat/resistant hypertension.

Gross cash of 24.9 million at June 30, 2021.

Quantum Genomics (Euronext Growth - FR0011648971 - ALQGC), a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of a new drug class that directly targets the brain to treat difficult-to-treat/resistant hypertension and heart failure, today reported its 2021 half-year results.

Jean-Philippe Milon, Chief Executive Officer at Quantum Genomics, said in a statement:

"In the first half of 2021, we enrolled the first patient in our phase III REFRESH trial, continued the phase III FRESH trial and completed the Phase IIb QUORUM trial, the results of which were presented at the end of the August and pave the way for a new treatment for heart failure following myocardial infarction in severe patients. Despite a severely disrupted healthcare environment, Quantum Genomics is forging ahead with determination and discipline. Our stated objective is to start marketing firibastat for difficult-to-treat or resistant hypertension by the end of 2023. In the meantime, we remain fully committed to finding new partners to help us move into phase III in heart failure, and are continuing to explore new therapeutic areas, building on our teams' expertise and on the potential of our technology platform developed around brain aminopeptidase inhibitors"

Continuation of research programs: launch of firibastat expected by end 2023

Quantum Genomics is continuing its research programs despite the pandemic's impact on hospital services.

In difficult-to-treat/resistant hypertension, Quantum Genomics confirmed that it plans to launch firibastat in late 2023 as a once-daily dose, a regimen that improves treatment compliance. In line with discussions with the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration), the marketing application, which is expected to be submitted in Q3 2023, will be based on interim data from the Phase III REFRESH trial, and after six months of follow-up.

The REFRESH trial is a pivotal phase III trial of firibastat in patients with difficult-to-treat and resistant hypertension anad aims to demonstrate the long-term safety and three-month efficacy of the product after a once-daily dose of 1000mg. The first patient was enrolled last July. This study is being conducted jointly with DongWha and Orient EuroPharma, in accordance with the partnership agreements entered into for South Korea, South-East Asia, Australia and New Zealand respectively. The interim data from this trial, which will support the marketing application filed with the FDA, should be available by mid-2023.

The FRESH trial is a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial initiated shortly before REFRESH and conducted in partnership with Biolab Pharma. Patient enrolment in Brazil fell behind due to the considerable impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Brazilian healthcare system. The situation is now stable and the outcomes of FRESH will be presented in Q2 2022.

The timelines of these two trials align with the the Company's plan to launch firibastat in late 2023.

In heart failure, Quantum Genomics presented the results of the phase IIb QUORUM trial at the end of August. These results demonstrated the efficacy and good tolerance of firibastat, particularly in severe patients with an ejection fraction lower than 50%. These results pave the way for a phase III clinical trial in severe patients. The protocol for this trial is currently being developed with the Quantum Genomics committee of experts. It will then be discussed and approved with the pharmaceutical laboratory that will be partnering Quantum Genomics in phase III and in launching firibastat for this indication.

2021 half-year results: controlled cash flow of 24.9 million

In the first half of 2021, Quantum Genomics continued to receive payments under partnership agreements announced in 2020. Over the six-month period from January 2021 through June 2021, Quantum Genomics billed and collected 2.3 million in royalties, corresponding to upfront payments under partnership contracts signed in South Korea, Greece and Canada. Total payments received in 2020 and 2021 amounted to 4.3 million.

For the first six months of 2021, operating income amounted to 2.7 million compared with 0.4 million a year earlier. The operating result amounted to -7.2 million, compared with -5.9 million at the end of June 2020. Personnel costs remained under control, while the progress of clinical studies logically led to an increase in operating costs.

After recognition of the research tax credit of 1.2 million, net income was -6.2 million at June 30, 2021. Free cash flow was -5.7 million over the period.

At the end of the first half of 2021, the company's equity amounted to 21.8 million, plus 0.3 million in other equity capital, which include conditional advances from Bpifrance. At the beginning of the year, Orient EuroPharma Co. Ltd (OEP) acquired a stake in Quantum Genomics in a reserved capital increase of 0.9 million, strengthening the ties between the two companies in South-East Asia and Oceania.

Available cash stood at 24.9 million at June 30, 2021, compared with 27.2 million at 31 December 2020, while financial debt stood at 3 million. The latter consisted of a 1.5 million government-guaranteed loan from BNP and a 1.5 million R&D innovation loan from BPIFrance.

In the second half of 2021, Quantum Genomics should receive its first milestone payments following the expected inclusion of the first patients in South Korea and Taiwan in REFRESH.

Summary of financial information at June 30, 2021:

Data in k (French standards) 30/06/2021 30/06/2020 Products 2,711.7 377.3 Personnel costs (1,109.7) (1,134.0) Other operating costs (8,824.8) (5,198.5) Operating result (7,222.9) (5,955.2) Financial result 4.9 (2.2) Profit before tax (7,218.0) (5,957.4) Extraordinary income (130.6) 16.5 Research tax credit 1,168.3 860.0 Net income (6,180.2) (5,081.0)

Release of the half-year financial report

The half-year financial report, including the financial statements at June 30, 2021, the management report and the statutory auditor's report, will be published on the Company's website on October 6, 2021.The half-year financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors on October 4, 2021. They were subject to a limited review by the statutory auditor.

About Quantum Genomics

Quantum Genomics is a biopharmaceutical company specialising in the development of a new class of cardiovascular drugs based on the Brain Aminopeptidase A Inhibition (BAPAI) mechanism. It is the only company in the world to explore this innovative approach that directly targets the brain, drawing on more than twenty years of research by Paris-Descartes University and the INSERM/CNRS laboratory headed by Dr. Catherine Llorens-Cortes at the College de France. Quantum Genomics aims to develop innovative treatments for complicated or even resistant hypertension (approximately 30% of patients are inadequately controlled or failing treatment), and heart failure (half of the patients diagnosed die within five years).

Based in Paris, the company is listed on Euronext Growth Paris (FR0011648971 - ALQGC) and on the OTCQX market in the United States (symbol: QNNTF).

For more information, please go to www.quantum-genomics.com, or follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn

Contacts

Quantum Genomics contact@quantum-genomics.fr Edifice Communication (EUROPE) Financial communication and media

quantum-genomics@edifice-communication.com LifeSci (USA) Mike Tattory

Media communication

+1 (646) 751-4362 - mtattory@lifescipublicrelations.com

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Full and original release in PDF format:https://www.actusnews.com/documents_communiques/ACTUS-0-71353-1st-semester-2021-financial-results_lsc-edits.pdf
Article L. 238-8-II of the French commercial Code and article 223-16 of the AMF (French Financial Markets Authority) general regulation

Regulatory News:

Corporate name of the issuer:

Veolia Environnement (Paris:VIE)

21 rue La Boetie

75008 PARIS

FRANCE

(ISIN code: FR0000124141-VIE)

Information

closing date Total number of

shares forming

the share capital Total number of voting rights September 30, 2021 579,583,189 Total number of theoretical voting rights (1): 618,420,587 Total number of voting rights that may be exercised (2): 606,057,715

Inclusion in the Veolia Environnement Articles of Association of a clause requiring a reporting obligation of the declaration of crossing a shareholding threshold, complementary to the one relating to the thresholds provided by the French law and the regulations in force (article 8).

(1) Number of theoretical voting rights after taking into account the number of shares with double voting rights as of September 30, 2021 (38,837,398 shares) and the number of treasury shares held as of September 30, 2021 (12,362,872 shares).

(2) Number of voting rights that may be exercised number of theoretical voting rights (or total number of voting rights attached to shares) shares without voting rights (number of treasury shares held as of September 30, 2021).

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005867/en/

Contacts:

Veolia Environnement
Edmonton, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - October 6, 2021) - Grizzly Discoveries Inc. (TSXV: GZD) (OTCQB: GZDIF) (FSE: G6H) ("Grizzly" or the "Company") is pleased to announce a private placement (the "Private Placement") of up to 10,000,000 Units (as defined below) at a price of $0.05 per Unit, and up to 20,000,000 FT Units (as defined below) at a price of $0.05 per FT Unit, for aggregate gross proceeds of up to $1,500,000. Each Unit consists of one common share of the Company ("Common Share") and one non-transferable warrant, and 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 $0.075 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 (the "Acceleration"); and (b) 24 months from the date of issuance ("Warrant").

The Private Placement is being offered to qualified subscribers in the Provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, and in other such jurisdictions in reliance upon exemptions from the registration and prospectus requirements of applicable securities legislation.

In connection with the Private Placement, where permitted by applicable securities legislation, any Units sold to purchasers referred to the Company by registered broker dealers, limited market dealers, or other eligible arm's length persons (individually, a "Finder") may result in a cash commission in an amount equal to 7% of the gross proceeds of the Units and FT Units sold to such referred purchasers ("Finder fees"), to be paid out of the gross proceeds of Units to the Finder at closing. As additional consideration, the Company may issue to the Finder Common Share purchase warrants (the "Finder Warrants") entitling the Finder to purchase an additional number of Common Shares equal to 7% of the aggregate number of Units and FT Units sold by the Finder in the Private Placement, on the same terms as the Warrants. Subject to regulatory approval, each Finder Warrant will be exercisable to acquire one common share at $0.075 for a period of 24 months after the Closing Date, subject to the Acceleration.

The net proceeds from the sale of the Units will be used for general corporate and working capital purposes, and the proceeds from the sale of FT Units will be used to incur Canadian exploration expenses as defined in the Income Tax Act (Canada). All Common Shares issued under the Private Placement and any Common Shares issuable upon exercise of Warrants will be subject to a four month hold period from the date of closing of the Private Placement in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

Exploration expenses will primarily be spent at Grizzly's Robocop and Greenwood Projects. Highlights for the Robocop Project include:

The Robocop Project is comprised of 9,838 acres (3,981 ha) in nine mineral claims that are all road accessible, just off Provincial Highway 93 in southeast B.C. 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.

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 numerous untested anomalous soil +/- rock geochemical targets.

The Robocop Project is currently awaiting drilling permits.

The Company also has drill-ready and permitted Cu-Au-Ag targets in the Greenwood area including the Motherlode and Dayton Prospects.

The Private Placement, Finder fees, and Finder Warrants are subject to acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange. The Private Placement securities have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "1933 Act"), or under any state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, or delivered within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons (as defined in Regulation S under the 1933 Act) absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy such securities in the United States.

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

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.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/98768.
The merger of Baker Hughes' (NYSE: BKR) Subsea Drilling Systems business (SDS) and Akastor ASA's (Oslo: AKAST) wholly-owned subsidiary, MHWirth AS (MHWirth), has been completed to form a global offshore drilling equipment company. The new company will be known as HMH ("the Company"), and as previously announced, Baker Hughes and Akastor own equal equity in the Company.

HMH combines integrated delivery capabilities, capital, renowned industry expertise and delivers the full range of offshore drilling equipment products and packages at scale. HMH aims to support the industry's transition toward more energy-efficient solutions, as well as deploying technologies and service solutions to make the sector more competitive through increased drilling efficiency. Moreover, the Company's service and technology portfolio will be utilized as a springboard for future growth, both within drilling services and when pursuing opportunities towards adjacent industries such as renewables and mining.

"This is a very exciting transaction for the industry, our customers, shareholders and employees. We are combining two of the best-known equipment manufactures in our industry to create HMH, building on a best-in-class portfolio and unparalleled full-service approach," commented Merrill A. "Pete" Miller, the Chairman and CEO of HMH. Mr. Miller went on to say that "at a time of worldwide energy transition, HMH has the expertise to help the entire industry move towards more energy-efficient drilling and other sustainable energy solutions."

The Company is headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands with its two major operational centers in Houston, USA and Kristiansand, Norway. HMH is currently a privately owned company and is effective from October 1, 2021.

For more information on HMH, visit our website at hmhw.com.

About Baker Hughes

Baker Hughes (NYSE: BKR) is an energy technology company that provides solutions for energy and industrial customers worldwide. Built on a century of experience and with operations in over 120 countries, our innovative technologies and services are taking energy forward making it safer, cleaner and more efficient for people and the planet. Visit us at bakerhughes.com.

About Akastor

Akastor is a Norway-based oil-services investment company with a portfolio of industrial holdings and other investments. The company has a flexible mandate for active ownership and long-term value creation. Visit us at akastor.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005908/en/

Contacts:

HMH Media Relations

John Stout and Anita Karlsen

Marketing@hmhw.com

Baker Hughes Investor Relations

Jud Bailey

+1 281-809-9088

investor.relations@bakerhughes.com

Akastor Investor Relations

yvind Paaske

Chief Financial Officer

+47 917 59 705

Oyvind.paaske@akastor.com
NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / October 6, 2021 / Galore Resources Inc. (TSXV:GRI) is pleased to announce that that it has arranged a non-brokered private placement to raise gross proceeds of up to CDN $800,000.00 (the "Financing"). The private placement will consist of up to 22,857,142 common shares ("Shares") at a price of $0.035 per Share.

Funds raised from this Financing will be used for further exploration, permitting, and commencement of a drill program at the San Jose claim, just east and adjoining the El Alamo claim drilled back in 2019. Funds will also be used for further exploration on other claims at Galore's Dos Santos project, as well as for general operating purposes. All securities issued will be subject to hold periods required under applicable securities laws, which will expire four months plus one day from the date of closing of the Financing ("Closing"). Closing is subject to receipt of all necessary corporate and regulatory approvals, including approval of the TSX-V.

Investors who wish to participate in the Financing are asked to please contact Mike McMillan, CEO by telephone (210) 860-9212 (USA) or by email to: mike@galoreresources.com in order to receive subscription documents and instructions. The Financing will remain open until October 15, 2021.

Bonus Shares

The Company has entered into an agreement with an arm's length third party for the payment of a bonus ("Bonus Agreement") in consideration for assisting the Company in establishing new business contacts and aiding in various negotiations in Mexico relating to ongoing administration of the Company's projects. Under the Bonus Agreement, the Company has agreed to issue 500,000 common shares, subject to TSX Venture Exchange acceptance.

Debt Settlement

Further to the Company's news release of September 9, 2021, the Company has now received TSX Venture Exchange acceptance to the conversion of debt to shares, pursuant to TSX-V Exchange Policy 4.3. The debt settlement was conducted as a means of continuing to reduce the Company's debt by diminishing a portion of outstanding historical management fees. The Company has issued an aggregate 2,200,000 common shares at a price of CAD$0.025 per share to settle CAD $55,000.00 of debt and confirms such debt is now extinguished. The shares issued in settlement of this debt are subject to a 4-month hold period which expires January 30, 2022.

About Galore Resources

Galore Resources is a mineral exploration and development company whose focus is to make and develop significant mineral discoveries, which are supported by a sustainable business model. Our goal is to discover a world-class gold and silver deposit in Mexico. Our flagship project is in the heart of the Concepcion del Oro Mining District, the Dos Santos Project. This project covers two historic gold zones and has the potential to host bulk tonnage gold-silver deposits based on past drilling, trenching and a recent airborne geophysical survey.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

"Michael McMillan"

President and CEO

To find out more about Galore Resources (TSX.V:GRI) please contact: Mike McMillan at (210) 860-9212 (USA)

Please visit our website at www.galoreresources.com or contact us at mike@galoreresources.com.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release includes "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. All statements included in this news release, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include predictions, projections and forecasts and are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "potential", "target", "budget" and "intend" and statements that an event or result "may", "will", "should", "could" or "might" occur or be achieved and other similar expressions and includes the negatives thereof.

Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the expectations of management regarding the proposed Financing, the expectations of management regarding the use of proceeds of the Financing, closing conditions for the Financing, the expiry of hold periods for securities distributed pursuant to the Financing, use of proceeds of the Financing and TSX-V approval of the proposed Financing. Forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by management based on the business and markets in which Galore Resources operates, are inherently subject to significant operational, economic, and competitive uncertainties, risks and contingencies. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results, and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations include: that the Company may not complete the Financing on terms favourable to the Company or at all; that the TSX-V may not approve the Financing; that the proceeds of the Financing may not be used as stated in this news release; actual exploration results, interpretation of metallurgical characteristics of the mineralization, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, future metal prices, availability of capital and financing on acceptable terms, general economic, market or business conditions, uninsured risks, regulatory changes, delays or inability to receive required approvals, and other exploration or other risks detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulators, including those described in the Company's most recently filed MD&A. The Company does not undertake to update or revise any forward-looking statements, except in accordance with applicable law.

SOURCE: Galore Resources Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/667073/Galore-Announces-a-Non-Brokered-Private-Placement-Bonus-Agreement-and-Approval-of-Debt-Settlement
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - October 6, 2021) - Dynasty Gold Corp. (TSXV: DYG) (FSE: D5G) (OTC Pink: DGDCF) ("Dynasty" or the "Company") is pleased to report that pursuant to the Amending Agreement ("Agreement"), the Company has made the $100,000 payment to Teck Resources Limited ("Teck"). Following the payment, Teck has transferred its 100% interest of the Thundercloud property to Dynasty. Teck has also waived its back-in right per the Amending Agreement. For details of the terms in the Amending Agreement, please refer to the news release dated September 27, 2021.

About the Thundercloud Property

The Thundercloud property is in the Archean Manitou-Stormy Lakes Greenstone belt in Ontario, 47 kilometres southwest of Dryden. The geological setting is comparable to the Abitibi belt in Eastern Ontario but is much less explored. The belt contains numerous gold showings, several high grade mines discovered in the area including the Big Master Mine (1902-1943) and the Laurentian Mine (1906-1909). In recent years, close to 30 M oz of gold have been mined and discovered, such as New Gold's Rainy River Mine (6.4 million oz gold and 18.7 million oz silver), and Agnico Eagle's Hammond Reef deposit (5.8 million oz gold).

To date, more than $10M has been spent on drilling and other surface exploration work. The majority of the 12,000 meters drilling were focused on a very small area of the property. The excellent database built by Teck will provide a guide for future targeting. Potential discoveries for Thundercloud include bulk-tonnage orogenic gold mineralization or high grade deposits.

About Dynasty Gold Corp.

Dynasty Gold Corp. is a Canadian exploration company currently focused on gold exploration in North America with projects located in a greenstone belt in Ontario and the Midas gold camp in Nevada. In addition currently, the 70% owned Hatu Qi2 gold mine in the Tien Shan Gold belt, Xinjiang, China, is in legal dispute with Xinjiang Non-Ferrous Industrial Metals Group and its subsidiary Western Region Gold Co. Ltd.. For more information, please visit the Company's website www.dynastygoldcorp.com.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DYNASTY GOLD CORP.

"Ivy Chong"

_________________________________

Ivy Chong, President & CEO

For additional information please contact:

Vancouver Office:

Ivy Chong

Phone: 604.633.2100. Email: ichong@dynastygoldcorp.com

This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and 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/98784
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - October 6, 2021) - World Copper Ltd. (TSXV: WCU) (OTCQB: WCUFF) ("World Copper" or the "Company") reports that, pursuant to their news releases dated September 7, 2021 and September 30, 2021, the Company has closed a second tranche of the Placement. On October 6, 2021 the Company issued 4,157,500 Units for gross proceeds of $1,663,000.00. Each unit consists of one common share (a "Share") and one-half of one common share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each whole Warrant entitles the holder to acquire one additional share of the Company for a period of two years from the date of issuance at a price of $0.60 per share. The expiry of the Warrants may be accelerated if the closing price of the Company's common shares on the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV") is equal to or greater than $1.00 for a minimum of twenty consecutive trading days and a notice of acceleration is provided in accordance with the terms of the Warrants.

Finder's fees were paid to Canaccord Genuity Corp. ($12,880.00 and 32,200 warrants), PI Financial Corp. ($2,800.00 and 7,000 warrants), Richardson Wealth ($74,480.00 and 186,200 warrants), Red Cloud Securities Inc. ($1,050.00 and 2,625 warrants), Cormark Securities Inc. ($14,000.00 and 35,000 warrants) and, MJP Justus Inc. ($11,200.00 and 28,000 warrants). Warrants issued pursuant to finder's fees are non-transferable.

All securities issued in the Offering have a four-month hold period, during which time the securities may not be traded. Closing of the Offering is subject to the approval of the TSXV.

The net proceeds from the Offering are intended for exploration of the Escalones and Cristal properties in Chile and, general working capital.

This press release does not constitute an offer of sale of any of the foregoing securities in the United States. None of the foregoing securities have been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "1933 Act") or any applicable state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons (as defined in Regulation S under the 1933 Act) or persons in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor will there be any sale of the foregoing securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

ABOUT WORLD COPPER LTD.

World Copper Ltd., headquartered in Vancouver, BC, is a Canadian resource company focused the exploration and development of its copper porphyry projects: Escalones and Cristal in Chile, and Zonia in Arizona. Two of these projects have estimated resources with significant soluble copper mineralization, and there are at least two other copper porphyry targets with exciting potential to expand the resource base. The Zonia project is being acquired as part of the previously announced merger transaction with Cardero Resource Corp. Please refer to news releases dated June 9th, 2021 and April 20th, 2021 for more details and for the current status of the transaction.

About Escalones

The Escalones porphyry-skarn copper-gold project has estimated inferred resources of 426 million tonnes of 0.367% total copper within the oxidized zone, based on nearly 25,000m of drill core from 53 holes. The 3.45 billion pounds of copper should be amenable to heap leaching with an average recovery of 71%. The Company is focused on exploring the Mancha Amarilla target immediately to the south of the existing resource. In addition, three significant hydrothermal alteration zones, each measuring between 2,000m and 3,000m in diameter, lie 8-10km to the north of the main discovery.

Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability as there is no certainty that all or any part of the resources will be converted into reserves. Inferred resources are that part of a mineral resource for which quantity and grade or quality are estimated on the basis of limited geological evidence and sampling. It is reasonably expected that the inferred resources could be upgraded to indicated resources with continued exploration.

About Zonia

The Zonia project is in Yavapai County, Arizona, and consists of 261 mineral claims and additional surface rights, all totaling 4,279.55 acres. It is a near-surface, copper-oxide resource and a brownfields site having already been mined in the late 1960s and '70s. The Project is at the PEA level and has been significantly de-risked with over 50,000 metres of drilling completed to date and with substantial amounts of detailed engineering completed. Further details can be found here.

The World Copper team has a unique skill in navigating the mining sector within Chile, with some members having worked in the country for more than 40 years and with discovery success.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors of

WORLD COPPER LTD.

"Nolan Peterson"

NolanPeterson

Chief Executive Officer

For further information, please contact:

Henk van Alphen or Michael Pound

Phone: 604-638-3665

E-mail: info@worldcopperltd.com

Media inquiries:

Nancy Thompson, Vorticom, Inc.

Phone: 212-532-2208 or 917-371-4053

Investor relations inquiries:

John Liviakis,

Liviakis Financial Communications Inc.

415-389-4670

Follow Us:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/WorldCopperLtd

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WorldCopperLtd

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/worldcopperltd

Neither TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. securities legislation, including the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, the Company's expectation that it and Cardero will be able to complete the Proposed Transaction, including entering into a Definitive Agreement, the closing and amount of the Private Placement, that Zonia can be advanced utilizing low-cost open pit mining and heap leach, the results of the PEA, including, without limitation the NPV6%, IRR, estimated costs, average rate of production, the anticipated exploration program results from exploration activities and the anticipated business plans and timing of future activities of the Company, including the timing for the closing of the Proposed Transaction, are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "estimates", "plans", "may", "should", "would", "will", "potential", "scheduled" or variations of such words and phrases and similar expressions, which, by their nature, refer to future events or results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken or achieved. In making the forward-looking statements in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, that it will be able to negotiate and enter into a Definitive Agreement, and that it will obtain TSXV acceptance and the required corporate approvals of the Proposed Transaction and the Consolidation, that there will be investor interest in the Private Placement, market fundamentals will result in sustained copper and precious metals demand and prices, the receipt of any necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals in connection with the future development of the Company's projects in a timely manner, the availability of financing on suitable terms for the development, construction and continued operation of such projects and the ability to comply with environmental, health and safety laws.

Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such risks and other factors include, among others, requirements for additional capital, actual results of exploration activities, including on the Escalones Project and the Cristal Project, the reasonability of the economic assumptions at the basis of the results of the PEA for the Zonia Project, the estimation or realization of mineral reserves and mineral resources, future prices of copper, changes in general economic conditions, changes in the financial markets and in the demand and market price for commodities, lack of investor interest in the Private Placement, accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry, delays in obtaining governmental approvals (including acceptance of the Proposed Transaction, the Private Placement and the Consolidation by the TSXV), permits or financing or in the completion of development or construction activities, risks relating to epidemics or pandemics such as COVID-19, including the impact of COVID-19 on the Company's business, financial condition and results of operations, changes in laws, regulations and policies affecting mining operations, title disputes, the timing and possible outcome of any pending litigation, environmental issues and liabilities, as well as the risk factors described in the Company's annual and quarterly management's discussion and analysis and in other filings made by the Company with Canadian securities regulatory authorities under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements in this news release or incorporated by reference herein, except as otherwise required by law.

**NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OR FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWS WIRE SERVICES.**

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/98785.


CHICAGO (dpa-AFX) - In an unprecedented decision, NASA has moved two astronauts from Boeing's(BA) first manned space mission to a SpaceX project as the airplane makers are yet to finalize a date of completion for their space capsule.



Through a report on Wednesday, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration announced that Nichole Mann and John Cassada will be reassigned to SpaceX Crew-5 mission. Mann will be the commander while Cassada will be the pilot as the agency will announce rest of the crew later.



NASA had assigned Mann and Cassada to Boeing's Starliner project in 2018 but the first Starliner project did not reach the international space station in 2019 and Boeing is yet to confirm another date for its uncrewed Orbital Flight Test-2 mission. Mann was assigned to the Starliner Crew Flight test and Cassada was on the maiden operational Starliner flight. NASA still has three more astronauts on Boeing's books. Butch Wilmore, Mike Fincke, and Suni Williams might also be reassigned later on.



A Boeing spokesperson told CNBC, 'We understand the agency's need to make adjustments to get members of the current astronaut class flying experience on an operational vehicle while the development of the Starliner spacecraft continues. We fully support NASA's decisions and remain committed to putting the safety of the astronauts who will fly on our vehicle first.'



SpaceX's Crew-5 will take off in late 2022 on a Falcon 9 rocket. NASA said that both Mann and Cassada will be onboard on that ship to the International Space Station. Crew-5 is scheduled to take off from Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center in Florida.



Both Boeing's Starliner and SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule were built as a part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. NASA awarded both the spacecraft makers sizeable amounts under the contract as Boeing received $5 billion and Elon Musk's company got $3.1 billion.



SpaceX is also a part of NASA's Artemis program where the company will build two spacecraft and record the first human landing on the moon since Apollo 17 in 1972.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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PRINCETON, N.J., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- On Thursday, October 7, 2021, the Gennadius Library of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens will host the inaugural Thalia Potamianos Annual Lecture Series on the Impact of Greek Culture.

Dr. Peter Frankopan, best-selling and award-winning author of The Silk Roads and Professor of Global History at Oxford University, will present the first of his three-part series of lectures, "Global Greece: A History," at 7 p.m. EEST (Greece)/noon EDT (U.S.) in Cotsen Hall on the American School's Athens campus. The lecture will also be broadcast live at ascsa.edu.gr/livestream and simulcast in Greek. Guests attending Cotsen Hall must wear masks and present valid COVID-19 vaccination certificates or certificates of illness along with their ID. Please visit ascsa.edu.gr for more information.

About the "Global Greece: A History" Lectures

In his three talks for the Thalia Potamianos Annual Lectures Series ("Greece: Beginnings," "Greece: Legacies," and "Greece: Futures"), Dr. Frankopan will examine the role that Greece and Greek culture, literature, and language have played for more than two and a half millennia. However, rather than exploring the familiar and limited Mediterranean context, he will discuss it from a global perspective, allowing for a better understanding of both world history and Greece itself. The second and third lectures will be presented in Washington, D.C., on March 16, 2022, and New York City on May 10, 2022.

About the Thalia Potamianos Annual Lecture Series

Established in June 2020, the Thalia Potamianos Annual Lectures Series seeks to create a stimulating environment to draw both the academic community and the general public to the Gennadius Library of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. Every year, a highly distinguished, internationally renowned scholar is selected to conduct research and develop programs on a topic relevant to the Gennadius Library. The research will culminate in a minimum of three annual public lectures, which will be delivered in Athens and the United States.

This program is being made possible by a generous grant from Phokion Potamianos, a Gennadius Library Overseer. Mr. Potamianos named the series in memory of his grandmother, a distinguished Greek doctor, academic, and philanthropist.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1654330/Dr_Peter_Frankopan.jpg
CIBC Atlas Select MLP Index is used as the underlying index in the iPath Select MLP ETNs (ticker: ATMP)

Barclays Bank PLC announced today that during the next quarterly CIBC Atlas Select MLP Index (the "Index") rebalancing period, which will commence following the close of business on Friday, October 8, 2021 (the "Rebalancing Date"), there will be no changes to the constituents in the Index.

The iPath Select MLP ETNs (the "ETNs") are linked to the performance of the Volume-Weighted Average Price ("VWAP") level of the Index. The ETNs are listed on the CBOE BZX Exchange under the ticker symbol "ATMP."

An investment in the ETNs involves significant risks, including possible loss of principal, and may not be suitable for all investors. The ETNs are riskier than ordinary unsecured debt securities and have no principal protection. The ETNs are speculative and may exhibit high volatility. The ETNs are also subject to certain investor fees, which will have a negative effect on the value of the ETNs. You are not guaranteed to receive coupon payments on the ETNs. You will receive a coupon payment on a coupon payment date only to the extent that the accrued dividend exceeds the accrued investor fee on the relevant coupon valuation date.

In accordance with the Index's methodology (as described in the prospectus relating to the ETNs), the Index is rebalanced quarterly. The Index is designed to provide exposure to a basket of midstream US and Canadian master limited partnerships, limited liability companies and corporations that trade on major US exchanges (the "Index Constituents"). The Index Constituents are classified in the GICS Energy Sector or GICS Gas Utilities Industry according to the Global Industry Classification Standard ("GICS") and meet certain eligibility criteria.

The Index currently includes 20 constituents and cash. The Index Constituents will be rebalanced on a capped, float-adjusted, capitalization-weighted basis across four Index business days starting on the Rebalancing Date. Constituent additions to and deletions from the Index do not reflect an opinion by Barclays Bank PLC on the investment merits of the respective securities.

The target weights for the highest weighted Limited Partnership ("LP") Index Constituents and highest weighted General Partnership ("GP") Index Constituents, effective after the rebalance on the Rebalancing Date, are reported in the table below. For more information regarding how an Index Constituent is classified as a LP or a GP, please see the prospectus relating to the ETNs.

LIMITED PARTNERSHIPS GENERAL PARTNERSHIPS Ticker Company Target

Weight Ticker Company Target

Weight EPD Enterprise Products Partners 8.00% ENB Enbridge Inc. 4.00% ET Energy Transfer LP 8.00% KMI Kinder Morgan Inc. 4.00% MMP Magellan Midstream Partners 8.00% LNG Cheniere Energy Inc. 4.00% PAA Plains All American Pipeline LP 8.00% OKE Oneok Inc. 4.00% MPLX MPLX LP 8.00% TRGP Targa Resources Corp 4.00% WES Western Midstream Partners, LP 8.00% TRP TC Energy Corp. 4.00% WMB Williams Cos Inc. 4.00% PAGP Plains GP Holding LP 4.00% Source: Barclays

The Index Constituents are selected for inclusion in the Index using the CIBC Select MLP Strategy (the Strategy") developed by CIBC Private Wealth Advisors, Inc. (the "Index Selection Agent"). The Strategy dynamically selects a basket of up to 100 Index Constituents based on their long-term credit rating, the portion of their cash flow driven by mid-stream operations and their size as measured by free-float market capitalization and average daily trading volume. The Index Selection Agent provides the Index Constituents that are selected by the Strategy to Barclays Bank PLC, as index sponsor.

For further information, please contact the Barclays ETN desk at 1-212-528-7990.

The prospectus for the ETNs to which this communication relates can be found at:

www.ipathetn.com/ATMPprospectus

About CIBC

CIBC (NYSE: CM) (TSX: CM) is a leading North American financial institution with 10 million personal banking, business, public sector and institutional clients. CIBC offers a full range of advice, solutions and services in the United States, across Canada and around the world. In the U.S., CIBC Bank USA provides commercial banking, private and personal banking and small business banking solutions and CIBC Private Wealth offers investment management, wealth strategies and legacy planning. Visit us at cibc.com/US.

Private banking is offered by CIBC Bank USA, Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender. CIBC Bank USA and CIBC Private Wealth Group, LLC are both indirect, wholly owned subsidiaries of CIBC. The CIBC logo is a registered trademark of CIBC, used under license. Investment Products Offered are Not FDIC-Insured, May Lose Value and are Not Bank Guaranteed.

About Barclays

Barclays is a British universal bank. We are diversified by business, by different types of customers and clients, and by geography. Our businesses include consumer banking and payments operations around the world, as well as a full-service corporate and investment bank.

For further information about Barclays, please visit our website home.barclays

Selected Risk Considerations

An investment in any ETNs linked to the CIBC Atlas Select MLP Index (the "ETNs") involves risks. Selected risks are summarized here, but we urge you to read the more detailed explanation of risks described under "Risk Factors" in the applicable prospectus supplement and pricing supplement.

You May Lose Some or All of Your Principal: The ETNs are exposed to any decrease in the Volume Weighted Average Price ("VWAP") level between the inception date and the applicable valuation date. Additionally, if the VWAP level is insufficient to offset the negative effect of the investor fee and other applicable costs, you will lose some or all of your investment at maturity or upon redemption, even if the VWAP value has increased. Because the ETNs are subject to an investor fee and any other applicable costs, the return on the ETNs will always be lower than the total return on a direct investment in the index components. The ETNs are riskier than ordinary unsecured debt securities and have no principal protection.

Credit of Barclays Bank PLC: The ETNs are unsecured debt obligations of the issuer, Barclays Bank PLC, and are not, either directly or indirectly, an obligation of or guaranteed by any third party. Any payment to be made on the ETNs, including any payment at maturity or upon redemption, depends on the ability of Barclays Bank PLC to satisfy its obligations as they come due. As a result, the actual and perceived creditworthiness of Barclays Bank PLC will affect the market value, if any, of the ETNs prior to maturity or redemption. In addition, in the event Barclays Bank PLC were to default on its obligations, you may not receive any amounts owed to you under the terms of the ETNs.

Issuer Redemption: Barclays Bank PLC will have the right to redeem or "call" the ETNs (in whole but not in part) at its sole discretion and without your consent on any trading day on or after the inception date until and including maturity.

The Payment on the ETNs is Linked to the VWAP Level, Not to the Closing Level of the Index and Not to the Published Intraday Indicative Value of the ETNs: Your payment at maturity or upon early redemption is linked to the performance of the VWAP level, as compared to the initial VWAP level. Although the VWAP level is intended to track the performance of the Index, the calculation of the VWAP level is different from the calculation of the official closing level of the Index. Therefore, the payment at maturity or early redemption of your ETNs, may be different from the payment you would receive if such payment were determined by reference to the official closing level of the Index.

No Guaranteed Coupon Payments: You are not guaranteed to receive coupon payments on the ETNs. You will receive a coupon payment on a coupon payment date only to the extent that the accrued dividend exceeds the accrued investor fee on the relevant coupon valuation date. The amount of the accrued dividend on any coupon valuation date depends in part on the aggregate cash value of distributions that a reference holder would have been entitled to receive in respect of the index constituents prior to the relevant coupon valuation date.

Market and Volatility Risk: The return on the ETNs is linked to the performance of the VWAP level of the Index which, in turn, is linked to the performance of the master limited partnerships and other securities that are included as index constituents at any time. The prices of the index constituents may change unpredictably and, as a result, affect the level of the Index and the value of your ETNs in unforeseeable ways.

Concentration Risk: The index constituents are companies in the Energy Sector or Gas Utilities Sector, as determined by the GICS classification system. In addition, many of the index constituents are smaller, non-diversified businesses that are exposed to the risks associated with such businesses, including the lack of capital funding to sustain or grow businesses and potential competition from larger, better financed and more diversified businesses. The ETNs are susceptible to general market fluctuations in the energy and gas MLP market and to volatile increases and decreases in value, as market confidence in, and perceptions regarding the index constituents change. Your investment may therefore carry risks similar to a concentrated securities investment in one industry or sector.

A Trading Market for the ETNs May Not Develop: Although the ETNs are listed on CBOE BZX Exchange, a trading market for the ETNs may not develop and the liquidity of the ETNs may be limited, as we are not required to maintain any listing of the ETNs.

Restrictions on the Minimum Number of ETNs and Date Restrictions for Redemptions: You must redeem at least 50,000 ETNs at one time in order to exercise your right to redeem your ETNs on any redemption date. You may only redeem your ETNs on a redemption date if we receive a notice of redemption from you by certain dates and times as set forth in the pricing supplement.

Uncertain Tax Treatment: Significant aspects of the tax treatment of the ETNs may be less favorable than a direct investment in MLPs and are uncertain. You should consult your own tax advisor about your own tax situation.

The ETNs may be sold throughout the day on the exchange through any brokerage account. Commissions may apply and there are tax consequences in the event of sale, redemption or maturity of ETNs.

CIBC Atlas Select MLP Index is a trademark of Barclays Bank PLC.

2021 Barclays Bank PLC. All rights reserved. All other trademarks, servicemarks or registered trademarks are the property, and used with the permission, of their respective owners.

NOT FDIC INSURED NO BANK GUARANTEE MAY LOSE VALUE

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006006023/en/

Contacts:

Danielle Popper

+1 212 526 5963

danielle.popper@barclays.com
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - October 6, 2021) - World Copper Ltd. (TSXV: WCU) (OTCQB: WCUFF) ("World Copper" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that further to its news release dated August 23, 2021, World Copper has filed on SEDAR a National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report ("NI 43-101") for an updated mineral resource estimate for its Escalones copper project in Chile.

The NI 43-101 technical report is entitled "Mineral Resource Estimate for the Escalones Copper Project Santiago Metropolitan Region, Chile" (the "Technical Report") and is dated October 6, 2021 and dated effective August 15, 2021. The Technical Report was prepared pursuant to NI 43-101 by Hard Rock Consulting, LLC. The Technical Report is available on World Copper's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com and is available on World Copper's website at www.worldcopperltd.com.

ABOUT WORLD COPPER LTD.

World Copper Ltd., headquartered in Vancouver, BC, is a Canadian resource company focused on the exploration and development of its two primary copper porphyry projects, Escalones and Cristal, both located in Chile. World Copper has laid claim to four copper porphyry targets, one with estimated resources, significant soluble copper mineralization, and exciting potential to expand the resource base.

The World Copper team has a unique skill in navigating the mining sector within Chile, with some members having worked in the country for more than 40 years and with discovery success.

Detailed information is available at World Copper's website at www.worldcopperltd.com, and for general Company updates you may follow us on our social media pages via Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn.

For further details on World Copper readers are referred to World Copper's website. To view World Copper's Canadian regulatory filings, please visit SEDAR.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors of

WORLD COPPER LTD.

"Nolan Peterson"

Nolan Peterson

Chief Executive Officer

For further information, please contact:

Henk van Alphen or Michael Pound

Phone: 604-638-3665

E-mail: info@worldcopperltd.com

Media inquiries:

Nancy Thompson, Vorticom, Inc.

Phone: 212-532-2208 or 917-371-4053

Investor relations inquiries:

John Liviakis,

Liviakis Financial Communications Inc.

415-389-4670

Follow Us:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/WorldCopperLtd

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WorldCopperLtd

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/worldcopperltd

Neither TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. securities legislation, including the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein are forward-looking statements. Although World Copper believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "estimates", "plans", "may", "should", "would", "will", "potential", "scheduled" or variations of such words and phrases and similar expressions, which, by their nature, refer to future events or results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken or achieved. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of World Copper to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such risks and other factors include, among others, statements as to the anticipated business plans and timing of future activities of World Copper, the ability of World Copper to obtain sufficient financing to fund its business activities and plans, delays in obtaining governmental and regulatory approvals (including of the TSX Venture Exchange), permits or financing, changes in laws, regulations and policies affecting mining operations, currency fluctuations, title disputes or claims, environmental issues and liabilities, risks relating to epidemics or pandemics such as COVID-19, including the impact of COVID-19 on World Copper's business, financial condition and results of operations, changes in laws, regulations and policies affecting mining operations, title disputes, the inability of World Copper to obtain any necessary permits, consents, approvals or authorizations, the timing and possible outcome of any pending litigation, environmental issues and liabilities, and risks related to joint venture operations, and other risks and uncertainties disclosed in World Copper's continuous disclosure documents. All of World Copper's Canadian public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedar.com and readers are urged to review these materials.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. World Copper does not undertake any obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements in this news release or incorporated by reference herein, except as otherwise required by law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/98833
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - October 6, 2021) - VIVO Cannabis Inc. (TSX: VIVO) (OTCQX: VVCIF) ("VIVO" or the "Company"), a leading provider of premium cannabis products and services, and holder of licenses under the Cannabis Act through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Canna Farms Limited ("Canna Farms") and ABcann Medicinals Inc. ("ABcann"), today announced a partnership with Delta 9 Cannabis Inc ("Delta 9") to offer Delta 9 products on VIVO's Canna Farms e-commerce marketplace.

VIVO and Delta 9 are two of Canada's longest running cannabis companies, both receiving Health Canada licenses late 2013 to early 2014. Through the Delta 9 and VIVO supply partnership, VIVO will purchase and list a selection of Delta 9 cannabis dried flower products for sale directly to Canna Farms' medical patients, expanding its portfolio offering of brand options for nearly 20,000 active medical patients.

"We're pleased to add Delta 9 as a new LP supply partner," commented Ray Laflamme, Canna Farms' Co-Founder and VIVO Chief Executive Officer. "As the leader in the health & wellness cannabis industry, we are committed to providing our patients with access to quality craft cannabis."

"We're excited for our craft products to be available nationally through one of the leading medical cannabis marketplaces," commented John Arbuthnot, Delta 9's Founder and Chief Executive Officer. "Delta 9's small batch, hand trimmed strains, are complementary to Canna Farms' craft product offerings."

In addition to the Company's Canna Farms, Beacon Medical, Fireside brands and products, Delta 9 joins existing third-party partners to provide a broad selection of medical cannabis products and accessories in one convenient medical marketplace for patients.

Patients requiring support with registration or placing orders may contact VIVO's Customer Care Team at 1 (855) 882-0988 or care@vivocannabis.com.

About Delta 9 Cannabis Inc.



Delta 9 Cannabis Inc. is a vertically integrated cannabis company focused on bringing the highest quality cannabis products to market. The Company sells cannabis products through its wholesale and retail sales channels and sells its cannabis grow pods to other businesses. Delta 9's wholly-owned subsidiary, Delta 9 Bio-Tech Inc., is a licensed producer of medical and recreational cannabis and operates an 80,000 square foot production facility in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Delta 9 owns and operates a chain of retail stores under the Delta 9 Cannabis Store brand. Delta 9's shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "DN" and on the OTCQX under the symbol "DLTNF". For more information, please visit www.delta9.ca.

About VIVO Cannabis

VIVO Cannabis is recognized for trusted, premium cannabis products and services. It holds production and sales licences from Health Canada and operates world-class indoor and seasonal airhouse cultivation facilities. VIVO has a collection of premium brands, each targeting different customer segments, including Canna Farms, Beacon Medical, Fireside, and Lumina. Harvest Medicine, VIVO's patient-centric, scalable network of medical cannabis clinics, has serviced over 150,000 patient visits. VIVO is pursuing several partnership and product development opportunities and is focusing its international efforts on Germany and Australia. For more information visit: www.vivocannabis.com.

For further information:

VIVO Investor Relations

+1 416-848-9839

ir@vivocannabis.com



Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vivo_cannabis/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vivocanna/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/vivo_cannabis

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vivo-cannabis-inc/

Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information



Certain statements in this news release are forward-looking statements, which are statements that are not purely historical, including statements regarding the beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions of VIVO and its management regarding the future. Forward-looking statements in this news release include statements regarding: the launch of Delta 9 flower on the Company's e-commerce marketplace. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, including: that the launch of Delta 9 flower on the Company's e-commerce marketplace. No assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will occur or, if they do occur, what benefits the Company will obtain from them. Readers are urged to consider these factors carefully, and the more extensive risk factors included in the Company's management's discussion and analysis for the three months ended June 30, 2021, available on SEDAR, in evaluating the forward-looking statements contained in this news release and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which are qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. The forward-looking statements in this news release are made as of the date hereof and the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly any such forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/98774
BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - Japan will on Thursday see preliminary August results for its leading and coincident indexes, headlining a light day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. In July, the leading index had a score of 104.1 and the coincident was at 94.4. South Korea will release August numbers for its current account; in July, the current account surplus was $8.21 billion. Thailand will see September results for its consumer confidence index; in August, the index score was 39.6. Finally, the markets in China remain closed for the National Day holiday; they return to action on Friday. 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.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - October 6, 2021) - PARKIT ENTERPRISE INC. (TSXV: PKT) ("Parkit") is pleased to announce that, further to its August 25, 2021 press release, it has completed the acquisition of a class A industrial property in Ottawa.

Acquisition of Ottawa Property

Parkit acquired 1151 Parisien St, Ottawa (the "Property") for an aggregate purchase price of $13,250,000 (the "Acquisition"). The Property is approximately 75,000 square feet of multi-tenanted light industrial space on approximately 4 acres of land.

Steven Scott, the Chair of Parkit, stated, "The Acquisition adds another urban industrial property with strong cash flows in the growing Ottawa market."

Purchase Price and Payment

The purchase of the Property for $13,250,000, subject to standard adjustments, and was satisfied through funds on hand.

About Parkit Enterprise Inc.

Parkit is an industrial real estate platform focused on the acquisition, growth and management of strategically located industrial properties across key markets in Canada, with a focus on the Greater Toronto Area+ ("GTA+"), Ottawa and Montreal, to complement its parking assets across the United States. Parkit's Common Shares are listed on TSX Venture Exchange (Symbol: PKT).

For more information, please contact Mr. Carey Chow, Mr. Iqbal Khan or Mr. Steven Scott:

Investor Relations

Contact Number: 1-888-627-9881

Email: ir@parkitenterprise.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.

Forward-Looking Information: This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein is forward-looking information. In particular, this news release contains forward-looking information in relation to: Parkit's strategy and focus regarding acquiring high-quality and strategically located industrial properties with a focus on the GTA+, Ottawa and Montreal. This forward-looking information reflects Parkit's current beliefs and is based on information currently available to Parkit and on assumptions Parkit believes are reasonable. These assumptions include, but are not limited to: the level of activity in the industrial real estate business and the economy generally; consumer interest in Parkit's services and products; and Parkit's continued response and ability to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic being consistent with, or better than, its ability and response to date . Forward-looking information is subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in such forward-looking information. These risks, uncertainties, and factors may include, but are not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; general capital market conditions and market prices for securities; delay or failure to receive third party or regulatory approvals; the actual results of Parkit's future operations; competition; changes in legislation, including environmental legislation, affecting Parkit; the timing and availability of external financing on acceptable terms; conclusions of economic evaluations and appraisals; lack of qualified, skilled labour or loss of key individuals; risks related to the COVID-19 pandemic including various recommendations, orders and measures of governmental authorities to try to limit the pandemic, including travel restrictions, border closures, non- essential business closures, service disruptions, quarantines, self-isolations, shelters-in-place and social distancing, disruptions to markets, economic activity, financing, supply chains and sales channels, and a deterioration of general economic conditions including a possible national or global recession; and the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic may have on Parkit which may include: a short-term delay in payments from customers, an increase in accounts receivable and an increase of losses on accounts receivable; decreased demand for the services that Parkit offers; and a deterioration of financial markets that could limit Parkit's ability to obtain external financing. A description of additional risk factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking information can be found in Parkit's disclosure documents on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. Although Parkit 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. Readers are further cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are placed will occur. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking information contained in this news release represents the expectations of Parkit as of the date of this news release and, accordingly, are subject to change after such date. However, Parkit expressly 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 expressly required by applicable securities law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/98836
WHITE ROCK, BC / ACCESSWIRE / October 6, 2021 / TDG Gold Corp (TSXV:TDG) (the "Company" or "TDG") announces that at approximately 6:00 pm PDT, October 5th, 2021, TDG was informed by one of its drilling contractors, NewAge Drilling Solutions, of an accident involving a contractor's employee at a TDG project site that tragically resulted in the fatality of the individual. The accident involved a side-by-side, also known as a utility task vehicle, and occurred at the Shasta mine site, located north of Prince George.

The RCMP and all appropriate provincial safety authorities including WorkSafeBC and the Chief Inspector of Mines, were immediately notified. All exploration activities have been suspended temporarily at Shasta while TDG and authorities investigate the incident.

"The thoughts of the board of directors and management are with the family, friends and colleagues of the individual that has been lost and any others that have been impacted by this tragic accident," said Fletcher Morgan, CEO and Director. "The health and safety of all personnel, including contractors, at any TDG site is our number one priority. We are devastated our team at site has suffered such a tragic loss. We have also launched an internal investigation to determine what occurred and have immediately activated a safety retraining program for all site staff."

In addition to an onsite Mine Manager and Occupational First Aid Level 3, TDG also has a dedicated Health and Safety Coordinator for Shasta and all projects in the Toodoggone region. TDG is arranging support and counselling to assist employees and contractors at the Shasta project's Baker Camp. Senior staff are enroute to the site to provide support to the team and begin the investigation.

TDG acquired this site in late 2020 with the goal of re-activating the gold-silver project and had brought the site back into full compliance with safety rules and regulations.

About TDG Gold Corp.

TDG is a major mineral claim holder in the historical Toodoggone Production Corridor of north-central British Columbia, Canada, with over 23,000 hectares of brownfield and greenfield exploration opportunities under direct ownership or earn-in agreement. TDG's flagship projects are the former producing, high-grade gold-silver Shasta, Baker and Mets mines, which are all road accessible, produced intermittently between 1981-2012, and have over 65,000m of historical drilling. In 2021, TDG proposes to advance the projects through compilation of historical data, new geological mapping, geochemical and geophysical surveys, and drill testing of the known mineralization occurrences and their extensions. On June 29, 2021, TDG announced that it had entered into a non-binding letter of intent to acquire the Nueva Esperanza silver-gold advanced exploration and development project located in the Maricunga Belt of northern Chile. TDG currently has 70,867,903 common shares issued and outstanding.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Media Contact:

Tamara Little

Coast Communications and Public Affairs

Telephone: +1.604.767.0207

Email: tamara@coastcomms.ca

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release 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.

SOURCE: TDG Gold Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/667124/Tragic-Contractor-Fatality-at-TDG-Gold-Corps-Shasta-Site
Burlington, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - October 6, 2021) - Evertz Technologies Limited (TSX: ET) ("Evertz" or the "Company"), the leader in Software Defined Video Network ("SDVN") technology, is pleased to announce the voting results of its 2021 Annual General and Special Meeting of Shareholders held today, in Burlington, Ontario.

Election of Directors

The seven nominees listed in the management information circular for the meeting were elected as directors of the Company. The election of directors was conducted by the way of show of hands. In accordance with the requirements of the Toronto Stock Exchange, the following table reflects the results for the election of directors if a ballot vote had been taken, both by total and as a percentage of votes represented at the meeting:

Nominee Votes For

by Proxy % For

by Proxy Votes

Withheld

by Proxy % Withheld

by Proxy Douglas A. DeBruin 55,152,689 94% 3,555,454 6% Romolo Magarelli 55,648,003 95% 3,060,140 5% Rakesh Patel 55,165,529 94% 3,542,614 6% Christopher M. Colclough 56,120,995 96% 2,587,148 4% Dr. Ian L. McWalter 57,323,637 98% 1,384,506 2% Dr. Thomas V. Pistor 57,325,637 98% 1,382,506 2% Brian Piccioni 57,513,161 98% 1,194,982 2%

Re-appointment of Auditor

The resolution re-appointing BDO Canada LLP as the Company's auditors and authorizing the directors of the Company to determine the auditors' remuneration was unanimously carried pursuant to a vote by way show of hands.

Re-approval of Stock Option Plan

By a way of vote by ballot, the re-approval of the Company's stock option plan and the approval of all unallocated options thereunder were supported by the Company's shareholders. Detailed results of the vote on this matter are set out below.

Motion Votes For

by Proxy % for

by Proxy Votes

Withheld

by Proxy % Withheld

by Proxy Re-Approval of the Company's Stock Option Plan 55,395,486 94% 3,312,657 6%

About Evertz

Evertz Technologies Limited (TSX: ET) designs, manufactures and markets video and audio infrastructure solutions for the television, telecommunications and new-media industries. The Company's solutions are purchased by content creators, broadcasters, specialty channels and television service providers to support their increasingly complex multi-channel digital, and high and ultra-high definition television ("HDTV" and "UHD") and next generation high bandwidth low latency IP network environments and by telecommunications and new-media companies. The Company's products allow its customers to generate additional revenue while reducing costs through efficient signal routing, distribution, monitoring and management of content as well as the automation and orchestration of more streamlined and agile workflow processes on premise and in the "Cloud".

Contact Information

Evertz Technologies Limited

Doug Moore

Chief Financial Officer

(905) 335 7580

ir@evertz.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/98838
Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - October 6, 2021) - Diamond Estates Wines & Spirits Inc. (TSXV: DWS) ("Diamond" or the "Company"), further to its press releases of August 5, 2021 and September 24, 2021, is pleased to announce the closing of (i) its acquisition of all of the issued and outstanding securities of Equity Wine Group Inc. ("Equity Wine", and such acquisition, the "Equity Wine Acquisition"), (ii) its acquisition of the Shiny Apple craft cider brand (the "Shiny Apple Brand") from Stonechurch Vineyard and Winery Holdings Inc. ("Stonechurch", such acquisition being the "Stonechurch Acquisition", and together with the Equity Wine Acquisition, the ("Acquisitions"), (iii) the issuance of $1,889,162 in equity upon the conversion of currently outstanding convertible debentures and accrued interest, and (iv) the issuance of $6,786,715 in equity through its previously announced private placement (the "Financing").

In connection with closing the Equity Wine Acquisition, the Company paid and issued to the shareholders of Equity Wine: (i) $1.5 million in cash (the "Equity Cash Payment"); (ii) $5.5 million in common shares of Diamond ("Common Shares"), being 30,555,557 Common Shares at a deemed issuance price of $0.18 per share (the "Equity Consideration Shares"); (iii) 22,916,670 common share purchase warrants (the "Equity Consideration Warrants") each entitling the holder to acquire one Common Share at an exercise price of $0.22 for a period of 36 months, and (iv) the assumption of the Equity Wine's term and operating debt of approximately $4.1 million with the Bank of Montreal. The Equity Consideration Shares and Equity Consideration Warrants will be subject to certain contractual restrictions on trading for a period of 12 months from the date of issuance with equal portions being released from escrow every quarter.

In connection with the closing the Stonechurch Acquisition, the Company acquired all of the rights and title to the Shiny Apple Brand from Stonechurch for aggregate consideration of $2.5 million, which was satisfied by a (i) closing cash payment of $1.1 million; (ii) $1.1 million earn-out payment (deposited into escrow by the Company on closing) payable quarterly over the course of 12 months following closing depending on sales targets being met, and (iii) $300,000 inventory holdback. Diamond and Stonechurch also entered into a production and co-packing agreement whereby Stonechurch will continue to produce the Shiny Apple Brand under Diamond's monitoring and oversight for a minimum period of 24 months.

The Financing

The Company closed its previously announced brokered private placement, conducted by Paradigm Capital Inc. (the "Agent"). The Financing consisted of the issuance of 37,703,975 units (the "Units") at a price of $0.18 per Unit for gross proceeds of $6,786,715 with each Unit consisting of one Common Share and three-quarters () of one common share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant is exercisable to acquire one Common Share at an exercise price of $0.22 per Common Share for 36 months. The Units were sold to accredited investors in Canada in compliance with applicable securities laws. Pursuant to the terms of an agency agreement entered into between the Agent and the Company, the Agent received a cash fee equal to 6.0% of the aggregate gross proceeds of the Financing (the "Cash Commission"), subject to a reduced fee of 3.0% for Units sold to certain purchasers designated by the Company on a president's list (the "President's List"), and issued to the Agent broker warrants equal to 6.0% of the number of Units issued pursuant to the Financing (the "Broker Warrants"), subject to a reduced number of Broker Warrants equal to 3.0% of the aggregate number of Units sold to purchasers on the President's List. Each Broker Warrant entitles the holder to acquire one Unit (each, a "Broker Unit") at $0.18 per Broker Unit for a period for 24 months. Each Broker Unit consists of one Common Share and three-quarters () of one common share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a "Broker Unit Warrant"). Each Broker Unit Warrant is exercisable to acquire one Common Share at an exercise price of $0.22 per Common Share for 36 months. The Company paid an aggregate of $294,805 in Cash Commission and issued 1,636,807 Broker Units to the Agent.

Holders of the Company's 10% unsecured convertible debentures issued on June 10, 2021 in the aggregate principal amount of $1.83 million (the "Debentures") have each elected to have the Financing constitute an early maturity date pursuant to the terms of the Debentures, which Diamond has elected to satisfy pursuant to a shares for debt transaction. Therefore, the obligations of the Debentures will be extinguished, and Diamond has issued today, in satisfaction of $1,889,162 representing the principal and interest owing under the Debentures, 10,495,342 Units at a price of $0.18 per Unit to the debentureholder (the "Debt Conversion", and together with the Acquisitions and the Financing, the "Transactions".)

Certain directors and other insiders subscribed for a total of 10,953,433 Units for total gross proceeds of $1,971,617.94 under the Financing. Insiders also held all of the debentures which are the subject of the Debt Conversion. Participation by insiders is considered to be a "related party transaction" as defined in Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). The Financing and the Debt Conversion are exempt from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101, as neither the fair market value of the securities being issued to insiders, nor the consideration being paid by such insiders, exceeds 25% of the Company's market capitalization. The Company did not file a material change report 21 days prior to the closing as the details of the participation of insiders of the Company had not been confirmed at that time.

None of the Units, Common Shares or warrants have been, nor will be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any U.S. state security laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States without registration under the U.S. Securities Act and all applicable state securities laws or compliance with requirements of an applicable exemption therefrom. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in the United States, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

All securities issued in connection with the Financing, the Equity Wine Acquisition, and the Debt Conversion are subject to a four-month hold period from the closing of the Transactions. The Company has used proceeds from the Financing to pay for the Acquisitions, and intends to use the balance of the net proceeds for general working capital purposes.

About Diamond Estates Wines and Spirits Inc.

Diamond Estates Wines and Spirits Inc. is a producer of high-quality wines and a sales agent for over 120 beverage alcohol brands across Canada. The Company operates two wineries, one in Ontario and one in British Columbia, that produce predominantly VQA wines under such well-known brand names as 20 Bees, EastDell, Lakeview Cellars, Dan Aykroyd, Fresh, McMichael Collection, Seasons, Serenity, and Backyard Vineyards. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, Trajectory Beverage Partners, the Company is the sales agent for many leading international brands in all regions of the country as well as being a distributor in the western provinces. These recognizable brands include Josh wines from California, Fat Bastard and Andre Lurton wines from France, Kaiken wines from Argentina, Blue Nun wines from Germany, Francois Lurton wines from France and Argentina, Felix Solis wines from Spain, Waterloo Brewing from Ontario, Landshark Lager from the USA, Marston's beers from England, Edinburgh Gin, Tamdhu, Glengoyne and Smokehead single-malt Scotch whiskies from Scotland, Barcelo Rum from the Dominican Republic, Becherovka Liqueur from the Czech Republic, C.K. Mondavi & Family wines (including Charles Krug) from Napa, Bols Vodka from Amsterdam, Koyle Family Wines from Chile, Pearse Lyons whiskies and gins from Ireland, Niagara Craft Distillers' beverages from Ontario, Fontana di Papa wines and Cielo e Terra wines from Italy.

For more information, please contact:

J. Murray Souter, President & CEO

jmurraysouter@diamondwines.com

905.641.1042 Ext 234

Ryan Conte, Chief Financial Officer

rconte@diamondwines.com

Phone: (905) 933-8244

Diamond Estates Wines & Spirits Inc.

1067 Niagara Stone Rd., Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, L0S 1J0

Early Warning Disclosure

Lassonde Industries Inc. ("Lassonde") was issued today an aggregate of 14,986,118 Units, having an aggregate value of $2,697,500.94. Of these 14,986,118 Units, 8,333,333 Units were acquired pursuant to the Financing, and 6,652,785 Units were acquired pursuant to the Debt Conversion.

Prior to the Transactions, Lassonde owned 38,478,947 common shares, representing approximately 19.239% of the common shares. Following the Transactions, Lassonde now holds 53,465,065 common shares, representing approximately 19.18% of the issued and outstanding common shares, and 11,239,589 Warrants. If Lassonde was to exercise all of the Warrants it holds, it would own 64,704,654 common shares, representing approximately 22.31% of the issued and outstanding common shares (based on Diamond's then current number of issued and outstanding common shares and assuming that no other outstanding convertible securities convert).

Immediately following the Debt Conversion, Lassonde became a Control Person of Diamond, as such term is defined in Policy 1.1 - Interpretation of the TSX Venture Exchange. On September 28, 2021, in accordance with the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange, the disinterested shareholders of Diamond have approved by ordinary resolution that Lassonde becomes a Control Person.

The subscription of Lassonde is being undertaken for investment purposes and it may, from time to time, increase or decrease its beneficial ownership or control depending on market or other conditions. A copy of the Early Warning Report with additional information in respect of the foregoing matters may be found on www.SEDAR.com.

For further information on Lassonde and to obtain a copy of the Early Warning Report, please contact:



Investor contact:

Eric Gemme, Chief Financial Officer

Lassonde Industries Inc.

755 rue Principale, Rougemont, Quebec, J0L 1M0

450-469-4926, ext 10456

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements 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 involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Diamond Estates Wines and Spirits Inc. to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Actual results and developments are likely to differ, and may differ materially, from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Such forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions which may prove to be incorrect, including, but not limited to the economy generally; consumer interest in the services and products of the Company; financing; competition; and anticipated and unanticipated costs. While the Company acknowledges that subsequent events and developments may cause its views to change, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the views of the Company as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

Not for dissemination in the United States

Not for dissemination in the United States or for distribution to U.S. newswire services. The securities offered have not been registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the " U.S. Securities Act "), or any applicable state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States, or to, or for the account or benefit of, a person in the United States or a U.S. person (as defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act) absent registration under the U.S. Securities Act and any applicable state securities laws, or compliance with an exemption therefrom. 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 the securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

Not for dissemination in the United States or for distribution to U.S. newswire services.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/98840
Accenture (NYSE: ACN) acquired Advoco, a Greenville, SC-based systems integrator for Infor EAM, a software-as-a-service suite for enterprise asset management (EAM).

The amount of the deal was not disclosed.

The acquisition expands Accentures capabilities to help clients in the consumer goods & services, industrial, life sciences, transit and other industries make their operations and supply chains safer, more sustainable, productive and cost-efficient.



Founded in 2002, Advoco forms advisor partnerships with clients across industries, specializing in configuring and integrating Infor EAM software with companies existing enterprise and operational systems, and EAM training programs.

Most of its over 100 asset management professionals are based in Greenville, SC, close to the Infor EAM product development team. Accenture plans to establish Advocos Greenville office as a center of excellence for Infor EAM delivery, industry use cases and intelligent asset management.



The entire Advoco team joins Accentures Industry X group in the United States, strengthening its suite of services for digitizing clients engineering and maintenance functions, factory floors and plant operations.

FinSMEs

06/10/2021
Olea Edge Analytics, an Austin, Texas-based intelligent edge computing platform for the water utility industry, closed a $35m Series C funding round.

The round was led by Insight Partners. In conjunction with the funding, Nicole Shimer, Vice President at Insight Partners, will join Olea Edge Analytics board of directors, while Alexandra Lundin, Associate at Insight Partners, has been appointed as a board observer.

The company intends to use the funds to accelerate hiring across all departments and further develop their AI and edge computing-based solutions to help utilities manage water.

Through a combination of AI, machine learning and edge computing, Olea Edge Analytics pinpoints trouble spots in a municipal water system. A full suite of sensors combined with advanced analytics monitor and manage each component throughout the network, giving utility departments insights and recommendations on how to return their resources to optimal performance. Led by CEO Dave Mackie, the company has now raised a total of $50.6m.

FinSMEs

06/10/2021
Orca Security, a Los Angeles, CA-based cloud security innovation company, raised $550m in its extended Series C funding.

The round was led by Temasek, an investment company headquartered in Singapore and boosted its valuation to $1.8 Billion, with participation from CapitalG (Alphabets independent growth fund), Redpoint Ventures, GGV, ICONIQ Capital, Lone Pine Capital, Stripes, Adams Street Partners, Willoughby Capital, and Harmony Partners.

Led by Avi Shua, CEO and co-founder, Orca Security Orca Security is a cloud security innovation leader that provides instant-on security and compliance for Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure. Its patent-pending SideScanning technology collects data directly from cloud provider APIs and the workloads runtime block storage out-of-band. The company surfaces critical attack vectors, composed of the most serious risks such as vulnerabilities, malware, misconfigurations, weak and leaked passwords, lateral movement risk, misplaced PII, and more. It accomplishes this while guaranteeing security coverage for all cloud assets including virtual machines, containers, serverless functions, cloud storage buckets, VPCs, cryptographic keys, security groups, and much more.

Orca Security, which already serves key customers in this sector, including BeyondTrust, Hunters, Very Good Security, BigID, and many more, will leverage Temaseks investment portfolio and global network to deepen its penetration into the APAC region and beyond, and into key industries such as telecom, financial services, transportation, consumer goods, and more. Orca Security plans to have over a dozen employees in the APAC region by the end of 2021 while continuing to expand its footprint and customer base in the UK, and across the EMEA region. The company is opening a physical office in London, where it will have an expanded sales presence, and a new R&D center, its first outside of Tel Aviv. Orca Security plans to have over two dozen employees working in London by the end of the year. The company is also expanding its global partner program and is continuing to build rapid customer traction with partners in the U.S., Europe, India, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, and Japan. The company recently launched versions of its website in German, French, Chinese, and Japanese in order to support its partners, prospects, and customers.

In support of Orca Securitys global growth, the company announced today that it has hired Meghan Marks as chief marketing officer. Before joining Orca Security, Marks was CMO for Palo Alto Networks Prisma Cloud business unit. Marks has a proven track record in driving impactful marketing at scale, including marketing leadership positions at Twistlock, Puppet, and Siemens. This appointment follows the one of Andy Ellis, a cybersecurity leader, who is also joining Orca Security as advisory CISO.

FinSMEs

06/10/2021
UK and US-based techspertians meeting for the first time to celebrate 2021 and all its achievements.

techspert.io, Cambridge, England, UK-based AI technology company connecting businesses with experts for domain-specific industry insights, closed a $12m funding round.

The round was led by BGF, and existing investor Nauta Capital, with participation from Mike Adam, techspert.io Chairperson.

The company intends to use the funds to expand into new expertise verticals including consumer goods, technology, media, and telecommunications, as well as to enable customers to get instant expert recommendations, and provide experts with a way to manage their expert engagements. The business will also be growing their international project management team and business development teams to scale their operations.

Led by David Holden-White, CEO & Co-Founder, techspert.io maps and predicts expertise across over 200 million experts worldwide, using a knowledge graph covering millions of expertise areas. Over the past 12 months, the company has served many customers from across the healthcare, investment, private equity, advertising, consultancy, and corporate sectors, and expanded into the energy and industrials sector. During the year, the team grew to over 50 people, and the company increased its global footprint with the opening of a new office in Houston, Texas as the business continues its international expansion.

FinSMEs

05/10/2021
Tekion, a Pleasanton, CA-based provider of a cloud-native automotive SaaS platform, raised $250m in Series D financing, bringing the valuation to $3.5 billion.

The round was led by Alkeon Capital and co-led by Durable Capital. Other investors include Hyundai Motor Company and several reputable dealer groups across the United States. Advent International, Index Ventures, and FM Capital.

The company plans to invest its capital in the following areas:

Accelerate ARC platform rollout to dealers across the U.S. and globally

Set up a Customer Experience Center and expand Product Innovation Hubs in Pleasanton, CA, and Austin, TX, focusing on continuous product innovation

Expand 24/7 support capabilities with an Automotive Support Center of Excellence in West Chester, Ohio, in progress

Extend OEM partnerships, open API platform capabilities and create an enhanced partner ecosystem

Led by Jay Vijayan, Founder and CEO, Tekion provides a dealership software platform that uses technology, big data, machine learning, and AI to bring together OEMs, retailers/dealers and consumers. With its configurable integration and customer engagement capabilities, ARC is simplifying the dealer/consumer relationship and journey. The company employs over 1,000 innovators globally.

FinSMEs

06/10/2021
Floyd County School District leaders said last week that report card data released by the state was impacted in the last year by the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Still reeling from the pandemic, the Floyd County Board of Education opted to close school for this week, to allow for thorough cleaning of the districts 12 schools.

According to the report card, Floyd County has 5,478 students currently enrolled in preschool through 12th grade.

According to the assessment, 96.8 percent of students are white (non-Hispanic with 5,304 students. 1.5 percent of Floyd Countys students are Hispanic or Latino which equals out to 80 students. 1 percent of students are two or more races, while 0.7 are listed as other.

Floyd County has an Advanced Coursework Completion rate of 93 percent.

The school district ranks right along with the state average in ACT scores in English with 16.8 percent. The state average sits at 17.1 percent.

In reading, the district is also right along with the rest of the Commonwealth at an average of 18.1 percent. The state average in reading is 18.5 percent.

Floyd County Schools superintendent Anna Shepherd did acknowledge math scores were lower than in previous years. However, she said, that was due in part to most of the country being locked down since March. Shepherd doesnt want the lower scores to be viewed as a negative.

I dont want the parents to be discouraged by these numbers. We know we have challenges and its up to us to work together, Shepherd said.

For years, math scores for elementary and middle school students have topped the districts high school numbers. That is not the case this time around.

Usually, its our elementary and middle school kids who score higher in math. This year it was the other way around. They kind of flip-flopped, said Shepherd.

Floyd County has 78.2 percent of its students fall under the Economically Disadvantaged category, compared to just 21.8 percent are listed as Non-Economically Disadvantaged.

Shepherd believes that should serve as proof of the needs of the district.

That huge gap between the Economically Disadvantaged and the Non-Disadvantaged, should speak not only to the school district, but it should speak to everyone in our county, said Shepherd.

Its no secret that Eastern Kentucky has been one of the poorest regions in the country, and the numbers show a sharp contrast to school districts West of the Mountain Parkway.

In comparison, Fayette County has an Economically Disadvantaged rate of 54.3 percent, compared to 45.7 percent that are Non-Economically Disadvantaged. The gap seems much closer in metro areas such as Fayette and Jefferson Counties.

It doesnt matter whether youre Democrat or Republican, what side youre on, that should speak to everyone. If weve got those kind of percentages, those are our children and our families in our county. We all love here and share this county.

Shepherd pointed out that the FCBOE is working diligently to move the district forward.

We are truly doing what weve been hired to do. Regardless of where you stand, what position youre in, that should wake everybody up. If they havent already had their eyes opened to that, which we all should have, if you were born and raised here, but I feel like that should speak to all of us, about the sense of urgency of where we are, what our families need, what our children need, and what we need to be doing and focus on, Shepherd said.
At last weeks Floyd County Board of Education meeting, the board requested Floyd County Sheriff John Hunt and his office to present an expense report on what the FCSO spends during tax collection.

Currently, the FCSO is paid a 3 percent commission by the school district to collect the counties taxes. While the Sheriffs office was not seeking an increase, they were summoned before the board to present their figures, Hunt said after the meeting.

Kentucky state law requires that commission not be below 1.5 percent, while not exceeding 4 percent. At the meeting, the board voted to table discussion of the commission, until the expense report could be looked through by members.

Sheriff Hunt stated at the meeting, he did not mean to rush the boards decision, however, it could delay mailing tax bills, not knowing the rate.

As of Monday, the FCSO had not received a response from the board in regards to the commission, but have since commenced collecting taxes. Hunt did receive an email of a special meeting scheduled for Monday, Oct. 4, but that meeting has since been rescheduled.

Sheriff Hunt explained the preparations that go into getting ready for tax season.

For the last two months, this office has done nothing but gather tax information. First we finish up last years taxes. Everybody that did not pay last years taxes, are put on a bill of notice. The notices are ran in the paper for two weeks that are unpaid, then the county has a tax sale. All of those unpaid bills get sold, and somebody buys them, Hunt said.

The sheriffs office must then work with the county clerk and county attorneys office to settle the difference.

Hunt said that once the last years taxes are complete, they then work with the Property Valuation Administrator (PVA) to start on the current years taxes.

Like the FCSO, others like the Floyd County Health Department, Floyd County Library, Soil Conservation District, UK College of Agriculture, all of Floyd Countys fire departments, the school district, and lastly Floyd County itself, must set their tax rates to be printed on the bill.

Hunt said the sheriffs office was informed the board planned to review the rate for a decrease.

We are just another vendor to the school system. We provide a service and we just want paid for that service. Hunt continued. Just like any other vendor, we just want to be paid for the service and not go in the hole.

Surrounding counties such as Pike, Lawrence and Letcher, pay a 3 percent rate. Magoffin, Johnson, Perry and Knott counties pay a 4 percent rate. Martin County pays a 3.5 percent rate.
After rumours, Google has officially announced that the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro smartphones will be announced on October 19th, as rumoured earlier. We already know that the phones will use own Tensor SoC, and the company has posted press shots of the phones officially. The Pixel 6 will feature an aluminium frame with matte finish, and the Pixel 6 Pro will come with a polished aluminium frame.

Complete specifications of the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro already surfaced, so we will just have to wait for the price in several countries.

Google Pixel 6 rumoured specifications

6.4-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with 90Hz refresh rate

Google Tensor processor (2x 2.80GHz Cortex-X1 + 2 x 2.25GHz Cortex-A76 + 4 x 1.80GHz Cortex-A55) with 848MHz Mali-G78 GPU

8GB RAM, 128GB / 256GB storage

Android 12

Dual SIM (nano + eSIM)

50MP rear camera with Samsung GN1 sensor, f/1.85 aperture, 12MP Ultra-wide camera with Sony IMX386 sensor, f/2.2 aperture, 4K video recording at up to 60fps

8MP front camera

In-display fingerprint scanner

Dimensions: 158.6mm x 74.8mm x 8.9mm

USB Type-C audio, Stereo speakers

5G SA/NA, 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 6E 802.11ax (2.4/5 GHz), Bluetooth 5.2 LE, GPS, USB Type C 3.1 (1st Gen), NFC

4614mAh battery with 33W fast charging, wireless charging

Google Pixel 6 Pro rumoured specifications

6.71-inch (3120 x 1440 pixels) curved pOLED display with 120Hz adaptive refresh rate

Google Tensor processor (2x 2.80GHz Cortex-X1 + 2 x 2.25GHz Cortex-A76 + 4 x 1.80GHz Cortex-A55) with 848MHz Mali-G78 GPU

12GB LPDDR5 RAM, 128GB / 256GB / 512GB storage

Android 12

Dual SIM (nano + eSIM)

50MP rear camera with Samsung GN1 sensor, f/1.85 aperture, 12MP Ultra-wide camera with Sony IMX386 sensor, f/2.2 aperture, 48MP telephoto camera with Sony IMX586 sensor, 4X optical zoom, 4K video recording at up to 60fps

12MP front camera with Sony IMX663 sensor

In-display fingerprint scanner

Dimensions: 163.9 x 75.8 x 8.9mm

USB Type-C audio, Cirrus Logic CS35L41 amp, Stereo speakers

5G SA/NA, 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 6E 802.11ax (2.4/5 GHz), Bluetooth 5.2 LE, ultra-wideband (UWB), GPS, USB Type C 3.1 (1st Gen), NFC

5000mAh battery with 33W fast charging

The Pixel 6 is said to come in Carbon and Fog colours, and is rumoured to start at 649 (US$ 752 / Rs. 56,104) and the Pixel 6 Pro is rumoured to cost 899 (US$ 1042 / Rs. 77,715) in Europe. The online event on October 19 starts at 10AM PDT (10:30PM IST), and the phones are rumoured to go on sale starting October 28.

Google already said that the phone will be launched in the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, France, Germany, Taiwan and United Kingdom. It is not clear if the phone will launch in India in the future.
These were some of the participants in a previous Lets Move on the Trail event in Fontana. (Contributed photo by City of Fontana)
(CNN) -- A King County, Washington, woman has died from a rare blood clotting syndrome after receiving the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, according to a statement posted online by Public Health -- Seattle & King County.

The woman, who was in her late 30s, was vaccinated on August 26 and died on September 7 from thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome, known as TTS. It's a rare and potentially deadly clotting event that has been linked with the J&J vaccine.

Public Health -- Seattle & King County said the diagnosis was confirmed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Clinical Immunization Safety Assessment Project. CDC has reported three other confirmed TTS deaths nationally, the release said.

"The safety and well-being of every individual who receives a Johnson & Johnson product remains our top priority," a spokesperson at J&J told CNN.

"Any adverse event report about individuals receiving Johnson & Johnson's single-shot COVID-19 vaccine, as well as our own assessment of the report, is shared with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), European Medicines Agency, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other appropriate health authorities where our vaccine is authorized," the spomesperson added.

"We strongly support raising awareness of the signs and symptoms of the rare events described in the FDA Factsheet for the vaccine, to ensure they can be quickly identified and effectively treated."

The local health agency did not identify the woman who died. But early this month, the website of The Oregonian newspaper published an obituary for 37-year-old Seattle resident Jessica Berg Wilson that said she died September 7 from a rare vaccine-induced blood clotting syndrome.

The King County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed to CNN that Wilson died September 7.

In a statement, the CDC said it was aware of the case and the report "indicates a plausible causal relationship between the J&J/Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine and TTS." The agency said it will release updated information on TTS cases later this year.

Earlier this year, the CDC and US Food and Drug Administration recommended a pause in the use of the J&J COVID-19 vaccine after a small number of reports of blood clots among people who had received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, most of them women younger than 50. Use of the vaccine resumed shortly after with a new warning about the risk of blood clots, and clear instructions for health care providers about the particular treatment required.

Health officials said the Johnson & Johnson was safe and effective, and the benefits of the single-shot vaccine far outweighed the risks.

Indeed, severe blood clots are just one of many serious risks from COVID-19; the virus has caused more than 700,000 deaths in the United States. More than 186 million people in the United States have been fully vaccinated -- nearly 15 million received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine -- with few serious side effects.

TTS "is rare, occurring at a rate of about 7 per 1 million vaccinated women between 18 and 49 years old. For women 50 years and older and men of all ages, this adverse event is even more rare," the CDC says.

CDC says people who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine should look out for symptoms of a blood clot with low platelets for several weeks after vaccination, and should seek medical care immediately if they identify any. Symptoms include: "severe or persistent headaches or blurred vision, shortness of breath, chest pain, leg swelling, persistent abdominal pain" and "easy bruising or tiny blood spots under the skin beyond the injection site." It can be treated with anticoagulants other than heparin.

There is no increased risk of TTS after vaccination with the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, CDC says. "Women younger than 50 years old, especially, should be aware of the rare but increased risk of this adverse event, and they should know about other available COVID-19 vaccine options for which this risk has not been seen," the agency says.

TTS has also been linked to AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine, which is not authorized for use in the United States, but is widely used in other countries. Both the AstraZeneca and J&J vaccines use a common cold virus called an adenovirus to carry the vaccine's active ingredients into the body.

The-CNN-Wire &  2021 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.
SPARTANBURG, SC (FOX CAROLINA) - One person is dead and two others are injured after a crash on I-26 in Spartanburg County, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
From Thorns to Flavors: Discover Soursop

Raw Materials

Among the countless colorful, fragrant and delicious fruits that exist in the world, those born in Brazil are by far some of the most exotic in their shapes, textures and flavors.The vastness of our flora is so great that even for a Brazilian, it is difficult to list which are his favorites, especially because some are very specific and regional.





Given the continental dimensions of Brazil, many of these fruits exist only in some states and regions, while in others they simply do not exist and are not known. Today, we are going to discover a strange fruit with a green spiny rind that hides within itself a white pulp with large and black seeds, known by many names such as heart, jackfruit from Para, poor jackfruit, or soft jackfruit.







Native to the Peruvian and Brazilian Amazon, Annona muricata, or soursop, is a medium-sized tree reaching 4 to 6 meters in height, which adapts to the low-altitude tropical climate with green leaves and yellow flowers that grow on the trunk and branches. The fruits have an oval shape with thorns and are large, weighing up to 8kg, with perennial fruiting.





Its white pulp has a bittersweet and slightly acidic flavor, very delicate and considered by many to be similar to pumpkin fruit. In indigenous cultures, soursop leaves are used in the form of tea as an expectorant and anti-inflammatory. According to popular knowledge, its pulp and seeds have anticancer properties and there are studies in some Brazilian universities being developed in this direction, but there is still no proof that soursop can cure cancer

.



In addition to the uses of the pulp in the form of juice, vitamins, drinks, ice cream and sweets, the oil extracted from soursop offers many properties which include bactericide, astringents, hypotensives and sedatives, to name a few.





Its traditional uses are to treat asthma, chills, fever, flu, high blood pressure, insomnia, nervousness, rheumatism, and skin diseases. Use it in creams, lotions and balms to relieve dry itchy skin and for eczema and psoriasis symptoms. The seed has a high value of magnesium and potassium in relation to the fruit pulp.





The flavor and aroma of soursop are pleasant, delicate and intense with astringent and refreshing nuances. It can be said that the aroma of soursop is a fruity and herbal mix, which has both delicate, sweet and juicy-fruity nuances as well as green and herbal.





In perfumery, the soursop note is rarely used, but it harmonizes very well in fruity floral scent pyramids when looking for a touch that mixes herbs and fruits at the same time. One of the fragrances that best represents the soursop note is LOccitane Au Bresil Flor de Graviola.




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Tell us about your research project.

Fibrolamellar carcinoma is characterized by a chimeric protein called DNAJ-PKA that exists on all the cancer cells. A chimeric protein is a fusion between two proteins on chromosome 19. This chimeric protein has been found to be the main driver of FLC. However, the mechanism by which the FLC chimeric protein drives tumor growth remains unknown. So the goal of my research is to determine the signaling pathways that drive tumor growth and proliferation in FLC, and to develop an effective treatment.

What makes me excited about this project is the possibility to transform a chemo-resistant disease into one that has multiple treatment options, thus bringing the hope of a cure to people who suffer from this disease.

What challenges did you overcome to pursue a career in science?

I have been passionate about science since I was young, and I knew exactly that I wanted to be a scientific researcher. So after I finished my masters degree in Tunisia, my dream then was to travel abroad, to learn new skills and to work in a well-known laboratory. But the first obstacle was to find the perfect lab and a scholarship, because my family didnt have the money to offer me the study and travel expenses.

I spent a whole year just looking for labs, sending my application and looking for a scholarship. And unfortunately my initial attempts werent successful. So, I kept looking until I found a Ph.D. program, a collaborative project between Tunisia and France. I traveled to France with a scholarship offered by the Tunisian state. However, this scholarship is offered only for six months out of an academic year. So I had a limited amount of time to do this work. When I arrived in France I made a very detailed plan for six months, and I worked very hard to finish what I planned to do. And after the six months, I delivered several results that other students might deliver in a year or even a year and a half. So my French mentor was very pleased and offered me a scholarship for the next year.

My dream was to be part of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. So I applied for a postdoctoral position here and Im so happy that it worked out. Everything is possible because when you really believe in yourself and work on that, there are no limits. You will achieve what youve dreamed for.

What next steps in your science does your new Brave Fellowship make possible?

In our preliminary study, we've identified a promising drug treatment that decreases fibrolamellar carcinoma cells growing in lab dishes. For the next step, we will test the effect of this drug on human samples, to evaluate its efficacy on reducing cell growth and proliferation of FLC in a more complex living system.

I am so excited and thankful for this opportunity, and its an honor for me to represent the Brave Like Gabe Foundation.
Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN! Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2021.
Gettysburg, PA (17325)

Today

Mostly sunny skies this morning will give way to cloudy skies and rain during the afternoon. High 69F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%..

Tonight

Rain ending early. Clearing overnight. Low 34F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
Gillette, WY (82718)

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A mix of clouds and sun with gusty winds. High 47F. Winds S at 20 to 30 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..

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Cyber Security Awareness Month: 40% Increase in Weekly Cyber Attacks on Organizations Worldwide in 2021

October 2021 by Check Point

As October Cyber Security Awareness month embarks, Check Point Research shares new data on current cyber security threats by volume, industry and region. Cyber attacks on organizations worldwide surged 40% in 2021, compared to last year. September 2021 breaks records for number of weekly cyber attacks, compared to all other months since January 2020.

 1 out of every 61 organizations worldwide is impacted by ransomware every week

 Education/Research is the #1 most targeted industry globally, marking a 60% increase in cyber attacks from 2020

 In the UK, 84% increase in weekly cyber attacks in 2021, compared to 2020 (368 cyber attacks a week on average)

 Ransomware attacks on UK organizations increased by 16% in 2021, compared to 2020

Check Point Research (CPR) shares new data on current cyber security threats around the world, as October Cyber Security Awareness month commences. Based* on organizations it tracks, CPR reports:

Global Statistics by Volume

 1 out of every 61 organizations worldwide every week is impacted by ransomware

 40% increase in average weekly cyber attacks on organizations in 2021 compared to 2020

 September 2021 saw the most amount of cyber attacks per week ( avg. 870 attacks), compared to all other months since January 2020, more than double the number of attacks weekly when compared to the lowest point in March 2020

Global Statistics by Industry

Ranking of Industry Cyber Attacks:

1) Education/Research, with an average of 1,468 attacks per organization each week, a 60% increase from 2020

2) Government/Military, with an average of 1,082 attacks per organization each week, a 40% increase from 2020

3) Healthcare, with an average of 752 cyber attacks per organization each week, a 55% increase from 2020

Ranking of Industry Ransomware Attacks:

1) ISP/MSP sector, with an average weekly number of impacted organizations in this sector in 2021 is 1 out of 36, a 32% increase from 2020

2) Healthcare, with 1 out of 44 organizations having been impacted, a 39% increase

3) Software vendors, with 1 out of 52 organizations, a 21% increase

Cyber Attacks by Region

The most attacked regions, in order were:

1) Africa: average of 1,615 weekly attacks per organization, a 15% increase from 2020

2) APAC: average of 1,299 weekly attacks per organization, a 20% increase from 2020

3) Latin America: average of 1,117 attacks weekly a 37% increase from 2020

4) Europe: average of 665 attacks weekly, a 65% increase from 2020

5) North America: average of 497 attacks weekly, a 57% increase

Additional data by region:

 Europe and North America experienced the most dramatic rises in cyber attacks compared to 2020, marking 65% and 57% increases respectively

 APAC is sees the highest volume of attack attempts by ransomware, with 1 out of 34 organizations being impacted every week in 2021

Omer Dembinsky, Data Research Group Manager, Threat Intelligence and Research Organization at Check Point Software Technologies: October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and a time for everyone to be reminded about the role they play in ensuring cybersecurity, both locally and across the world. Since the outbreak of the pandemic globally, cyber criminals have sprung into action to take advantage of the opportunities presented to them. With the continued rise in cyberattacks, Check Point Software recommends that organizations adopt a preventive approach to cybersecurity, rather than work on remediation after the fact when damage has been inflicted.

Security Tips for Organizations Everywhere

 Educate. Educate. Educate. User education is one of the most important defenses an organization can deploy.

 Reduce attack surface. Take full control of peripherals, applications, network traffic, and data.

 Think prevention, first. Legacy solutions that rely upon incident detection and response miss novel attacks and respond too late to be able to minimize the damage of a cyberattack campaign.

 Be phishing-aware. Be wary of clicking on links that look in any way suspicious and only download content from reliable sources that can be verified.

 Stay up-to-date. Keeping computers up-to-date and applying security patches, especially those labeled as critical, can help limit an organizations vulnerability to sophisticated cyber-attacks.

*The data used in this report was detected by Check Point Softwares Threat Prevention technologies, stored and analyzed in Check Point ThreatCloud. ThreatCloud provides real-time threat intelligence derived from hundreds of millions of sensors worldwide, over networks, endpoints and mobiles. The intelligence is enriched with AI-based engines and exclusive research data from Check Point Research  The intelligence & research arm of Check Point Software Technologies.
New York, NY, Oct. 05, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global Tech Industries Group, Inc. (OTCQB: GTII) (GTII or the Company), www.gtii-us.com, a Nevada corporation that seeks to acquire new and innovative technologies in diverse industries, announced today that it has signed a non-binding Letter of Intent (LOI) with Classroom Salon, (CS), www.classroomsalon.com a limited liability company organized under the laws of the state of Pennsylvania. The intent of the LOI is to work to define the terms of an acquisition of the outstanding equity of CS by GTII, which would include all of CS assets and liabilities as set out in the agreement.



CS uses interfaces, workflows, and proprietary algorithms, providing a tool to author, deploy, teach, and assess school courses, seminars and other study groups and then integrates them with other learning platforms at many educational levels. It has created a new environment for managing the complexities of online discussions, as its platform has comprehensive dashboards and can provide visualizations of community-driven annotation around semantic similarities. Further, the technology can also facilitate capturing and indexing video and text from any source to make for easy retrieval and collaboration between multiple partners and platforms.

CS is also looking to build out a roadmap for incorporating various blockchain technologies, like student digital IDs and NFTs as proof of certifications, into the software.

David Reichman, Chairman and CEO of GTII stated, Classroom Salon is one of those rare opportunities that a company like ours will always endeavor to engage with, even if the learning curve is initially a steep one. Our technical team has already put together a plan to study the synergies between CS learning platforms and the blockchain technologies we have been working with for some time now. I am confident that our team can find a way to create something new and brilliant from this potential union.

Dr. Andy Gunawardena, Founder, Chief Scientist and Chief Technology Officer, former Computer Science Professor at CMU and Princeton added, Classroom Salon combines the power of human annotation and technology to provide amazing insights into our group thinking and enable context-rich deep online conversations

Please follow our Company at: www.otcmarkets.com/stock/GTII

Please visit the Company website at: www.gtii-us.com

Please visit Classroom Salon at: www.classroomsalon.com

Safe Harbor Forward-Looking Statements:

This press release may contain forward looking statements that are based on current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions that involve risks as well as uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from those anticipated or expected, including statements related to the amount and timing of expected revenues related to our financial performance, expected income, distributions, and future growth for upcoming quarterly and annual periods. These risks and uncertainties are further defined in filings and reports by the Company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Actual results and the timing of certain events could differ materially from those projected in or contemplated by the forward-looking statements due to a number of factors detailed from time to time in our filings with the SEC. Among other matters, the Company may not be able to sustain growth or achieve profitability based upon many factors including but not limited to the risk that we will not be able to find and acquire businesses and assets that will enable us to become profitable. Reference is hereby made to cautionary statements set forth in the Companys most recent SEC filings. We have incurred and will continue to incur significant expenses in our development stage, noting that there is no assurance that we will generate enough revenues to offset those costs in both the near and long term. New lines of business may expose us to additional legal and regulatory costs and unknown exposure(s), the impact of which cannot be predicted at this time.

Words such as estimate, project, predict, will, would, should, could, may, might, anticipate, plan, intend, believe, expect, aim, goal, target, objective, likely or similar expressions that convey the prospective nature of events or outcomes generally indicate forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of this press release. Unless legally required, we undertake no obligation to update, modify or withdraw any forward-looking statements, because of new information, future events or otherwise.

Mike King

Princeton Research, Inc.

3887 Pacific Street, Las Vegas, NV

702.338.2700
DENVER, Oct. 05, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bonanza Creek Energy, Inc. (Bonanza Creek) (NYSE: BCEI) announced today that it has priced a private placement (the Offering) to eligible purchasers under Rule 144A and Regulation S of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act) of $400.0 million in aggregate principal amount of new 5.000% senior notes due 2026 (the Notes) at par. The Offering is expected to close on or around October 13, 2021, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.



Bonanza Creek expects to use the net proceeds from the Offering, together with cash on hand, to repay all borrowings outstanding under the CPPIB Crestone Peak Resources America Inc. (Crestone Peak) credit facility, to repay borrowings under Bonanza Creeks credit facility and for general corporate purposes. The Notes will be subject to a special mandatory redemption in the event that the transactions contemplated by the Extraction Oil & Gas Inc. (Extraction) merger agreement and the Crestone Peak merger agreement are not consummated.

The Notes to be offered will not be registered under the Securities Act or under any state or other securities laws, and the Notes will be issued pursuant to an exemption therefrom, and may not be offered or sold within the United States, or to or for the account or benefit of any U.S. Person, absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements.

The Notes are being offered only to persons who are either reasonably believed to be qualified institutional buyers under Rule 144A or who are non-U.S. persons under Regulation S as defined under applicable securities laws.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell, a solicitation to buy or an offer to purchase or sell any securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

About Bonanza Creek Energy

Bonanza Creek Energy, Inc. is an independent oil and natural gas company engaged in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of oil and associated liquids-rich natural gas in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States. The Companys assets and operations are concentrated in rural, unincorporated Weld County, Colorado, within the Denver-Julesburg Basin, focused on the Niobrara and Codell formations. The Companys common shares are listed for trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol: BCEI.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements in the foregoing, including those that express belief, expectation or intention, are forward-looking statements based on assumptions currently believed to be valid. Forward-looking statements are all statements other than statements of historical facts. The words anticipate, believe, ensure, expect, if, intend, estimate, probable, project, forecasts, predict, outlook, aim, will, could, should, would, potential, may, might, anticipate, likely plan, positioned, strategy, and similar expressions or other words of similar meaning, and the negatives thereof, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Specific forward-looking statements include statements regarding Bonanza Creeks plans and expectations with respect to the Offering and the anticipated use of the proceeds from the Offering. The forward-looking statements are intended to be subject to the safe harbor provided by Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

Bonanza Creek cautions investors that any forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside Bonanza Creeks control, and which may cause actual results and future trends to differ materially from those matters expressed in, or implied or projected by, such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those described in forward-looking statements include the following:

the Extraction merger agreement may be terminated in accordance with its terms and the Extraction merger may not be completed;

the Crestone Peak merger agreement may be terminated in accordance with its terms and the Crestone Peak merger may not be completed;

Bonanza Creek stockholders may not approve the Extraction share issuance proposal or the Crestone Peak share issuance proposal;

Extraction stockholders may not approve the Extraction merger proposal;

the parties may not be able to satisfy the conditions to the completion of the mergers in a timely manner or at all;

the mergers may not be accretive, and may be dilutive, to Bonanza Creeks earnings per share, which may negatively affect the market price of Bonanza Creek common stock;

Bonanza Creek, Extraction and Crestone Peak may incur significant transaction and other costs in connection with the mergers in excess of those anticipated by Bonanza Creek, Extraction or Crestone Peak;

the combined company may fail to realize anticipated synergies or other benefits expected from the mergers in the timeframe expected or at all;

the ultimate timing, outcome, and results of integrating the operations of Extraction, Crestone Peak and Bonanza Creek;

the mergers and their announcement and/or completion could have an adverse effect on business or employee relationships;

the risk related to disruption of management time from ongoing business operations due to the mergers;

the mergers may disrupt current plans and operations that may harm Bonanza Creeks, Extractions or Crestone Peaks respective businesses;

the effects of the business combination of Extraction, Crestone Peak and Bonanza Creek, including the combined companys future financial condition, results of operations, strategy, and plans;

changes in capital markets and the ability of the combined company to finance operations in the manner expected;

regulatory approval of the transactions;

any litigation relating to the mergers;

risks to Bonanza Creeks, Extractions and Crestone Peaks operating results and businesses generally, including the volatility of oil and natural gas prices and the uncertainty of estimates of oil and natural gas reserves and the impact of a widespread outbreak of an illness, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and the other risks, contingencies and uncertainties applicable to Bonanza Creek and Extraction disclosed in Bonanza Creeks and Extractions other filings with the SEC; and

the uncertainty of the value of the Extraction merger consideration due to the fixed exchange ratio and potential fluctuation in the market price of Bonanza Creek common stock.

Additional factors that could cause results to differ materially from those described above can be found under Item 1A. Risk Factors and Managements Discussion and Analysis sections elsewhere in Bonanza Creeks Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, and subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, each of which is on file with the SEC.

All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made and are based on information available at the time they were made. Bonanza Creek assumes no obligation to any update forward-looking statements to reflect circumstances or events that occur after the date the forward-looking statements were made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events except as required by federal securities laws. As forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, caution should be exercised against placing undue reliance on such statements.

Additional Information and Where to Find It

In connection with the proposed Crestone Peak and Extraction mergers, Bonanza Creek has filed documents with the SEC, including preliminary and definitive proxy statements relating to the proposed mergers. The definitive proxy statement has been mailed to Bonanza Creek shareholders in connection with the proposed mergers. BEFORE PURCHASING ANY NOTES, INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THE PRELIMINARY AND DEFINITIVE PROXY STATEMENTS AND ANY OTHER DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC IN CONNECTION WITH THE PROPOSED MERGERS OR INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE IN THE PROXY STATEMENT BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED MERGERS AND THEIR POTENTIAL IMPACT. Investors and security holders may obtain free copies of these documents and other related documents filed with the SEC at the SECs website at www.sec.gov, and on Bonanza Creeks website at www.bonanzacrk.com under the Investor Relations tab.

For further information, please contact:



Scott Landreth

Senior Director, Finance & Investor Relations and Treasurer

720-225-6679

slandreth@bonanzacrk.com
San Diego, CA, Oct. 05, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MadCap Software, Inc., the leader in multi-channel content authoring, today announced that it has published a new case study about a leading provider of solutions for preventing cyberattacks. The case study examines how the customer replaced its original content authoring system with MadCap Flare after evaluating options, such as the Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA). Using MadCap Flare, the cyber security company now delivers modern web and print product guides in less than a quarter of the time previously required.

Modernizing Product Guides for State-of-the-Art Software

To ensure that customers can fully leverage all the capabilities of its product portfolio, the cyber security company delivers the product guides both as web and print content. For years, the business had relied on its original content authoring system to develop guides and then export the content into HTML and PDF formats that were posted on the companys internal support site. However, the long scrolling pages had almost no formatting, making it difficult for customers and employees to find the information they needed. Moreover, every guide was separate and siloed, adding complexity and redundancy any time a new or updated guide needed to be produced.

Today, the cyber security company uses MadCap Flare to deliver its product guides as a modern, responsive documentation website with two HTML5-based product guide portals and a range of downloadable PDFs.

Key benefits realized by the cyber security provider include:

Topic-based authoring, Analytics, and Global Project Linking in MadCap Flare have helped to cut the time to deliver a new product guide from 40 hours down to 6 hours, enabling the technical documentation team to keep pace with new product releases.

Top navigation and advanced search functionality in MadCap Flare plus a selector option on the homepage help users easily navigate to the portal, product guide, and topic or chapter they needdriving company demand to use the website for additional information.

Modern website templates for MadCap Flare along with skins have enabled the company to create a documentation site that aligns with the companys branding.

MadCap Flare for single-source authoring and multichannel publishing facilitate the delivery of product guides as both interactive web content and downloadable PDFs, so customers, partners and employees can get information in the format they need.

All MadCap Software case studies can be found at https://www.madcapsoftware.com/case-studies.

About MadCap Software

MadCap Software, Inc. is a trusted resource for thousands of companies around the globe for single-source, multi-channel authoring and publishing solutions designed to streamline the process of developing and delivering training content, learning and development programs, technical documentation, online Help, knowledge bases, and more. MadCap Softwares services include product training, consulting services, translation and localization, and an advanced developer certification program. Headquartered in San Diego, California, with offices in Austin, Texas, MadCap Software is home to some of the most experienced software architects and product experts in the content development industry. Learn more about MadCap Software at www.madcapsoftware.com.

MadCap Software, MadCap Flare, MadCap Central, and the MadCap Software logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of MadCap Software, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Other marks are the properties of their respective owners.
Seeks to Invalidate 6,000,000 Restricted Shares Improperly Granted to David Dorr and Brian Dorr and Other Insiders



Requests to Compel a Special Meeting of Stockholders to Vote for the Removal of the Dorr Brothers from the Board and the Election of Independent Director Nominees

MIAMI, Oct. 05, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lou Naser, a 0.2% stockholder of Coro Global Inc. (OTC Pink: CGLO) (Coro Global or the Company) who previously served as an independent director and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Company, today announced that he has filed a complaint in the Circuit Court of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit in and for Miami-Dade County, Florida, asserting direct and derivative claims against David Dorr and Brian Dorr, two brothers who serve as the Companys only current directors and its CEO and CFO/COO, respectively. The complaint seeks to invalidate six million restricted shares that the Dorr brothers improperly granted to themselves and their management allies for no cash consideration, in blatant violation of their fiduciary duties and the Companys bylaws. The lawsuit also seeks to compel the Company Board (consisting of the two Dorr brothers) to call a special meeting of stockholders in accordance with the Companys bylaws.

Commenting on the lawsuit, Mr. Naser stated: We believe that this massive grant of free equity, which amounts to approximately 25% of the Companys outstanding common stock, was approved by David Dorr and Brian Dorr in violation of the Companys bylaws, without any independent director review and without engaging an outside compensation consultant, which are standard procedures for approving compensation decisions for public companies. This egregious grant is a brazen act of self-dealing by the Dorr brothers intended to entrench them at Coro Globals helm, dilute the voting power of the Companys existing stockholders and frustrate a stockholder vote. We believe that the Dorr brothers should be held accountable for this unlawful and dishonest action.

The lawsuit filed by Mr. Naser seeks to invalidate the shares issued to the Dorr brothers and their associates as well as to compel the Coro Global Board to call a special meeting of stockholders. As previously announced, on September 17, 2021, a group of stockholders holding a majority of the Companys outstanding common stock delivered to the Board a request to call a special meeting of stockholders in accordance with the Companys bylaws. At the special meeting, the stockholder group, which includes Mr. Naser and Messrs. Carlos Naupari and Rudolph Huppi, each of whom previously served as independent directors of Coro Global, intends to present, among other things, proposals to remove the Dorr brothers as the Companys directors and elect five independent, highly qualified candidates nominated by the stockholder group.

Continued Mr. Naser, In their September 30, 2021 press release, the Dorr brothers claim that the new restricted shares were granted to them as compensation and not for entrenchment purposes. However, in that same press release, they also claim that our request to call a special meeting is invalid because, as a result of the issuance of these new free shares, which have not even vested as yet, we no longer have the requisite majority of the outstanding common stock to call a meeting under the Companys bylaws. Apart from the obvious duplicity of the Dorr brothers public statements, they also beg the question of why would the Companys only current directors oppose the calling of a stockholder meeting to elect a Board, especially in light of the fact that they were never elected by the stockholders and that the Company has not held a stockholders meeting in over twenty years?

Mr. Naser added: In their press release, the Dorr brothers announce that they plan to take a number of actions to preserve resources, including suspending services to Coro App customers and withdrawing the Companys money transmission licenses. Apparently, rather than focusing on raising capital, growing the Companys customer base and generating revenue, the Dorr brothers plan to use whatever cash still remains in the Company to hire advisors to investigate the Companys former directors and officers. We believe that these measures are nothing else but scorched earth tactics by the Dorr brothers that will destroy the Companys business for the sole purpose of entrenching themselves. In these circumstances, we have no choice but to request the court to order the Board to call the special meeting as soon as possible, so that the Dorr brothers can be removed from office before they cause further irreparable damage to the Company and continue to destroy stockholder value.

Greenberg Traurig, LLP is serving as legal counsel to Mr. Naser.

Contact:

Lou Naser

(408) 236-7630
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 05, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Legendary photojournalist Robert Altman, born Oct. 10, 1944, passed away on or around Sept. 24, 2021, one month short of his 77th birthday, at his San Francisco home due to complications of his long battle with esophageal cancer, announced Altman's press agent Lee Houskeeper of the News Services/San Francisco Stories agency. Robert Altman captured an extraordinary and iconic photographic collection of the counterculture era and the world of rock 'n roll between the 1960s and '70s. His later works focused on the world of fashion.

Born and raised in the Bronx, New York, Altman attended Hunter College at the City University of New York. After graduation, Altman was taught photography by Ansel Adams, then moved to San Francisco, where he became entrenched as a fixture within the art community through continuously developing his work, befriending many as if they were family.

Cementing his roots in San Francisco, Altman shot the front page, full back cover, and inside spread for the then-underground rag Good Times. Altman later worked as Chief Staff Photographer for Rolling Stone Magazine, capturing iconic covers, notably Tina Turner, Dave Crosby, and Keith Richards. His former boss and founder, Editor, and Publisher of Rolling Stone Jan Wenner has said: "Robert Altman was instrumental in portraying the look and feeling and vitality of the Sixties." When interviewed about his entrance to Rolling Stone, Robert replied, "So I took this photo of Peter Fonda and Rolling Stone saw it in a Magazine ..." Later he recalled, "Baron Wolman is now like my older brother and dearest friend  I moved into that slot and became that Chief Staff photographer" Serving between two other legendary photographers, Altman held this position at Rolling Stone from 1970 to 1973.

Music critic and author Joel Selvin has said, "Robert Altman has left us with some indelible images from a time and place that will ring through the ages as an enduring American archetype, The San Francisco Hippie."

A later milestone in Robert's lifetime included the 2009 Macy's (Herald Square, NYC) display of his photographs in tribute to the Summer of Love, including more than 175 photos from his book The Sixties. With more than 4,000 viewers passing per hour, this was considered one of the largest indoor/outdoor exhibits. This event served as a backdrop for his book signing and the beginning of principal photography for his only authorized documentary, currently titled "Robert Altman: Through the Lens." Altman's The Sixties book cover image was incorporated into fashion designer Paco Rabanne's Paris Fashion Week Spring 2011 garments.

Frankie Anne, friend and director, who Robert honored to produce and direct the documentary, recalls her years working with Robert. "Robert was a wonderful and loveable mensch and friend. As one of the lead Rolling Stone photographers, Altman's exquisitely candid shots capture the historic moments that have come to define the '60s."

UC Berkeley acquired Altman's work to form the Robert Altman Photograph Archive, now living in the Bancroft Library, serving as primary research on the American West.

Robert is survived by his body of work.

CONTACT:

Lee Houskeeper

Cell/Text: (415) 654-9141

NewsService@aol.com

PHOTOGRAPHY CONTACT:

Executor Felicia McRee

Cell/Text (713) 253-6364

Studio@momentsinafrica.com

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1aV01X4aJf4eQdHfu205gUUvrRyan0SM7?usp=sharing

Robert Altman photograph archive, BANC PIC 2018.014,  University of California Regents, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.

VIDEO INTERVIEWS CONTACT:

Frankie Anne

Cell/Text (818) 795 7775

samatwin@yahoo.com

Link to the documentary sizzle of film currently titled "Robert Altman: Through the Lens":

https://vimeo.com/141574054

Password: 60sWIP

Interviews are cleared and available for use. Music clips are pending clearance and not available.

Credit: Use with permission of director/producer Frankie Anne.

Link to Obit in San Francisco Chronicle by Sam Whiting:

https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Robert-Altman-counterculture-photographer-during-16503409.php

Related Images











Image 1: Robert Altman: Legendary '60s Photographer





Former Rolling Stone Chief Photographer holds his 'The Sixties' book cover portrait. Photograph Provided By Robert Altman









This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com.

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Mobile, Ala., Oct. 05, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The U.S. Navy awarded Austal USA a $144 million two-ship Towing, Salvage, and Rescue Ship (T-ATS) detailed design and construction contract Oct. 5. This contract award marks the first steel new ship construction program for the company. Austal USA will utilize its proven ship manufacturing processes and innovative methods that incorporate lean manufacturing principles, modular construction, and moving assembly lines, all housed under the companys new state-of-the-art enclosed steel production facility set to open in April.

The Austal USA team is excited to get to work on this program and leverage our new steel manufacturing line to support the U.S. Navys and U.S. Coast Guards requirements for steel ships, Austal USA President Rusty Murdaugh said. Our consistent on-budget and on-schedule delivery of quality ships continues to lead the industry. Our highly skilled workforce prides itself on maintaining the excellence our customers have come to know and expect from Austal.

This award follows the Navys $3.6 million T-ATS functional design contract awarded to Austal USA in June.

T-ATS will provide ocean-going tug, salvage, and rescue capabilities to support U.S. fleet operations and will be a multi mission common hull platform capable of towing heavy ships. These ships will be able to support current missions, including oil spill response, humanitarian assistance, and wide area search and surveillance. The platform also enables future capability initiatives like modular payloads with hotel services and appropriate interfaces.

Austal USA broke ground on its $100M steel manufacturing facility in March 2020. The line will be ready to cut steel in April.

The T-ATS award is one of several steel shipbuilding programs the company is pursuing as it diversifies its capabilities. Austal USA previously announced it submitted a bid to build the U.S. Coast Guards Offshore Patrol Cutter and continues to execute a Light Amphibious Warship concept studies and preliminary design contract for the Navy and Marine Corps. Austals new steel line and facility expansion also positions it well to be the follow-on Frigate yard for the U.S. Navy.

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English Danish

The company continued to execute on the turnaround strategy and maintained the strong momentum from last year. For the first time since the financial year 2007/08, Bang & Olufsen delivered a Q1 with both positive EBIT before special items and positive free cash flow.

Revenue grew 44% in local currencies year-on-year. The company delivered growth across all regions and product categories, improved the gross margin and benefitted from the full run-rate effect of the cost reduction programme implemented last year.

CEO Kristian Tear comments:

We are pleased with the progress we made in the first quarter. Despite the pandemic and continuous challenges with global supply chain issues, the hard work of our employees and partners helped us to deliver 44% growth and a profitable Q1 for the first time since 2007/08. The results were driven by solid growth across all regions and product categories and the full effect of our cost reduction programme.

We have entered the second phase of our turnaround where we focus on building more robustness into our business, while delivering double-digit growth and improving our profitability. In the first quarter, we made strong progress on our strategic focus areas. We grew our customer base, strengthened our organisation, launched new product innovations, continued our digital transformation, and enhanced the customer experience. All in all, we are pleased to see that our strategy is working, and we remain on track to deliver on our full-year expectations.

Financial highlights, Q1 2021/22

Revenue grew 44% in local currencies, across all regions and product categories.

Flexible Living maintained the high momentum from last year, growing by 87%. The Staged and On-the-go categories delivered 35% and 48% growth respectively. Within all product categories, growth was driven by both existing and new products.

Component shortages remained a challenge and had a negative impact on both growth and margins. The companys sourcing team has continued to successfully secure components, but there are still longer delivery times on specific products  especially within the Staged category.

Gross profit was DKK 299m (Q1 20/21: DKK 198m). This was equivalent to a gross margin of 44.8% (Q1 20/21: 42.8%). The improved gross margin was driven by a 4.4pp increase in product gross margin as a result of a favourable product mix, price increases and a better revenue to fixed costs ratio. The improvement was partly offset by higher component and logistics costs.

EBIT was DKK 7m (Q1 20/21: DKK -49m). This corresponded to an EBIT margin of 1.1% (Q1 20/21: 9.0%).

EBIT before special items was DKK 9m, equivalent to a margin of 1.4% (Q1 20/21: -8.4%).

Earnings for the period were a profit of DKK 1m (Q1 20/21: loss of DKK 49m).

Free cash flow was DKK 21m (Q1 20/21: DKK -62m), driven by EBITDA.

Available liquidity was stable at DKK 608m (Q4 20/21: DKK 593m).

Progress on strategic priorities

The company continued to execute on its strategy which delivered profitable growth while building robustness in the business operations.

The company hired 85 new employees, particularly in the software and engineering areas, with the aim of building the right teams, capabilities and structures.

Q1 saw the launch of three product innovations, Beovision Contour in a 55 version, Beoplay EQ, and stereo pairing as a software update for products on the new product platform.

To support the product and platform launches, several marketing activations were executed, including the launch campaign for Beoplay EQ with Chinese musician Lay Zhang.

The six core European and two core Asian markets achieved 37% and 17% year-on-year growth respectively. Last year, revenue in China was positively affected by orders delayed from Q4 of the previous year. Adjusting for phasing of orders last year, growth was just over 30%.

The brand partnership and licencing agreement with HP was renewed and the company announced a brand and licencing partnership with Sagemcom.

The customer base grew by 7.5% in Q1 and the company expects to continue the positive trajectory throughout the year.

Outlook

The company maintains the outlook for the financial year 2021/22, which is as follows:

Revenue: DKK 2.9bn to DKK 3.1bn EBIT margin before special items: 2-4% Free cash flow: DKK 0m to DKK 100m





The outlook is based on certain assumptions and continues to be subject to high uncertainty due to COVID-19 and general pressure on supply chains.

Conference call for analysts and investors

The company will host a webcast on 6 October 2021 at 10:00 CEST, where the financial development for Q1 2021/22 will be presented.

The webcast can be accessed at https://streams.eventcdn.net/bo/q1202122

Dial-in details for participants in the Q&A:

DK: +45 7872 3251

UK: +44 333 300 9030

US: +1 646 722 4956

For further information, please contact:

Martin Raasch Egenhardt

Investor Relations

Phone: +45 5370 7439

Jens Gamborg

Group Communications

Phone: +45 2496 9371

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CALGARY, Alberta, Oct. 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Decklar Resources Inc. (TSX-V: DKL) (OTCQX: DKLRF) (FSE: A1U1) (the Company or Decklar) announces the entering into of a non-binding Letter of Intent to purchase all of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares of Westfield Exploration and Production Limited (Westfield), a Nigerian entity that has entered into a Risk Finance and Technical Services Agreement (RFTSA) with Erebiina Energy Resources Limited (Erebiina) to participate in the Emohua Field in Nigeria, located in OML 22, which is 6 km west of Port Harcourt.



The Emohua Field

The Emohua Field, which was recently awarded to Erebiina (60%) and the balance (40%) to other local Nigerian entities in the 2020/2021 Marginal Field Bid Round, is situated onshore on dry land terrain in the southeastern section of OML 22 in the Eastern Niger Delta area. The Emohua Field is situated approximately 6 km west of the city of Port Harcourt in Rivers State and approximately 30 km west of the Oza Field, which Decklar is currently developing. The Bonny Oil Export Terminal and Bonny LNG plant are located approximately 50 km south of the Emohua Field.

The Emohua Field was formerly operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC). It was awarded to Erebiina by the Federal Government of Nigeria in 2021 as part of the Marginal Field Program.

One well (Emohua-1) was drilled by Shell Production Development Company (SPDC) in 1979 to a depth of 11,050 ft and encountered oil and gas in several stacked reservoirs. The well was suspended by SPDC as an oil and gas discovery. Data available includes 3-D seismic acquired in 2000/2001 and wireline log data. Petrophysical analysis showed the presence of nine hydrocarbon bearing zones ranging from 20 ft to 70 ft thick. Seismic interpretation also shows upside potential in the deeper undrilled/untested zones where potential closures exist.

The next planned stages for development of the Emohua Field include re-entering the existing Emohua-1 well, drilling and completion of up to nine additional wells, installation of production and export facilities, and construction of flowlines. The Emohua Field can potentially be placed on production in an expedited manner immediately after the re-entry of the Emohua-1 well due to existing oil and gas export pipelines being located within 5 km of the well.

The full field development plan will include the expansion of the processing facilities to enable handling and processing of up to 30,000 barrels of crude per day for the expected peak production levels.

Letter of Intent between Westfield and Decklar

Decklar and Westfield have signed a non-binding letter of intent with respect to the proposed acquisition by Decklar (the Transaction) of all of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares of Westfield (the Westfield Shares). Westfield has separately entered into an RFTSA with Erebiina in respect of the 60% equity interest that was awarded to Erebiina for the Emohua Field. Further, Decklar is aware that Westfield is seeking to enter separate RFTSAs with one or more parties in relation to the remaining 40% interest in the Emohua Field.

The Transaction terms include a cash payment of US$7 million, which has already been paid as a deposit to be credited against the final purchase price, and the issuance of up to 6,000,000 common shares of Decklar (Decklar Shares) as consideration for the acquisition of all the issued and outstanding Westfield Shares. In the event Westfield enters into additional RFTSAs in respect of the remaining 40% interest, up to an additional 2,500,000 Decklar Shares will be issued to the shareholders of Westfield. The specific terms of the Transaction remain under negotiation, and the Transaction will be structured, and definitive agreements entered into following the review and consideration of applicable tax, securities, corporate law, and other relevant considerations and shall be subject to the mutual agreement of Decklar and Westfield, acting reasonably. The Letter of Intent shall terminate with Decklar and Westfield having no further obligations to each other under the agreement upon mutual written agreement to terminate or by either party if definitive agreements have not been entered into by November 30, 2021. The Transaction will be subject to customary conditions precedents to completion, including, if applicable, approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

Duncan Blount, CEO of Decklar Resources, remarked the Emohua Field has the potential to be a significant addition to the Decklar portfolio. This field is located close to the Nigerian oil industry service city of Port Harcourt. Additionally, similar to our other fields, Emohua has a considerable infrastructure advantage with existing oil and gas export pipelines in close proximity. This will allow Decklar to use an Early Production Facility (EPF) after the Emohua-1 re-entry well as part of a fast-track development plan to realize near-term cash flow. This field also has significant upside in terms of reserves and production from the previously discovered nine hydrocarbon-bearing zones. In addition to the Oza and Asaramatoru Fields, the Emohua Field marks the third field that Decklar has acquired an interest in  and by following a similar strategy, we look forward to advancing all of these high quality proven undeveloped fields.

For further information:

Duncan T. Blount

Chief Executive Officer Telephone: +1 305 890 6516

Email: dblount@decklarresources.com

David Halpin

Chief Financial Officer Telephone: +1 403 816 3029

Email: davidhalpin@decklarpetroleum.com

Investor Relations: info@decklarresources.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Language

Certain statements made and information contained herein constitute "forward-looking information" (within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation), including entering into definitive agreements in respect of the Transaction and satisfaction of conditions precedent to completion of the Transaction. All statements in this news release, other than statements of historical facts, are forward-looking statements. Such statements and information (together, "forward looking statements") relate to future events or the Company's future performance, business prospects or opportunities. There is no certainty that definitive agreements in respect of the Transaction will be entered into, or that any conditions precedent contained therein will be satisfied on terms satisfactory to the parties or at all.

All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking statements. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as "seek", "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "estimate", "expect, "may", "will", "project", "predict", "potential", "targeting", "intend", "could", "might", "should", "believe" and similar expressions) are not statements of historical fact and may be "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking 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. The Company believes that the expectations reflected in those forward-looking statements are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking statements should not be unduly relied upon. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable laws. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties relating to, among other things, changes in oil prices, results of exploration and development activities, uninsured risks, regulatory changes, defects in title, availability of materials and equipment, timeliness of government or other regulatory approvals, actual performance of facilities, availability of financing on reasonable terms, availability of third party service providers, equipment and processes relative to specifications and expectations and unanticipated environmental impacts on operations. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

The Company provides 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. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company does not assume the obligation to revise or update these forward-looking statements after the date of this document or to revise them to reflect the occurrence of future unanticipated events, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.
DALLAS, Oct. 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In the business of haunted attractions, the most critical attribute for a haunt is to be scary. The successful haunts cannot operate being amusement park-spooky that work for young children. Mega haunts have to bring heart-pounding, scare-out-of-your wits terror. While some tweens and teens can handle the attractions, it can leave some so shook they have nightmares.



If we can get nightmares, we really did our job. Although the true measure of success is screams and laughter, said Amber Arnett-Bequeaith, also known as the Queen of Haunts. When I rank haunts, they have to be terrifying, and they have to be terrific  hence terrorific. Theyre terrific in the sense of entertaining the right way  a safe and professional track record. Ive visited and have done my homework. While I have a bias for the KC haunts Ive had a hand in, they hold their own against these other titans of terror.

The Queen of Haunts was born into the commercial haunt business given her mother and grandmother created Edge of Hell Haunted House 47 years ago. She plunged into haunt industry best practices and has held leadership positions in haunt associations as she honed her craft. Arnett-Bequeaiths haunt research and knack for spotting trends, while operating three commercial haunts, and a ghost tour  well-positions her to share data she has mined about the industry and to rank the best of the mega haunts.

Haunt Data

There are 258 well-established, commercial haunted attractions in the top 50 US Metro areas.

The average metro area has approximately five commercial haunts, with a high of 15 (New York City) or as few as 1 (San Jose, CA  not counting the Winchester Mansion that is quite haunted but not counted as a haunted attraction).

65% of the US population is driving distance to a commercial haunted attraction within the top 50 metros.

On top of the commercial haunts, many people make their home, or farm, a haunted attraction as a fun hobby. They may let the public in or limit inside viewing to friends and family. Those offering this varies from season to season, and often you only learn about them through word-of-mouth.

Top 13 Terrorific Haunts for 2021

Edge of Hell, Kansas City: Bias aside, this haunted attraction is the oldest, continuously operated commercial haunted attraction in the nation in its 47th season. The attraction evolves every year, preying on peoples phobias and even adding 3D glasses. This haunt broke the worlds record for the longest snake in captivity. NETHERWORLD, Atlanta: While Im a seasoned veteran of haunts, visiting this made my heart race. Their creations are so good you wont know whether it is human or not. Plus, they have lots to take in while waiting in line for this must-see haunted attraction. 13th Gate, Baton Rouge: They have an advantage given Louisiana is known for actual ghost sightings, but they take it up a thousand notches from there with thirteen realms of experiences that will leave the best of us shook! Bates Motel, Philadelphia: In an area with lots of haunt choices, they have found a way to rise above the pack with acres of relentless scares from the hayride trail of terror to the Bates Motel. They even have axe throwing and a zombie laser hunt. Nightmare on 13th, Salt Lake City: You must visit this every season and plan to go multiple times because they change out so much, and there is so much to see. There are stories behind their fright from thoughtful preparation that make it all the more terrifying. Cutting Edge, Fort Worth: This area is my stomping ground for much of the year, so I'm thrilled I get to visit frequently - and scares this big never get old. This haunt is an actual meatpacking plant but what they are grinding out now is total fear. Beast Haunted House, Kansas City: While six haunts rank above the Beast on this 2021 ranking, the Beast is hard to beat. This medieval time warp uncovers the beast of man  from torture to Jack-the-Ripper that leaves many to escape by jumping out the second-story window of this historic building. Headless Horseman Hayrides & Haunted Houses, New York: There is a reason so many people travel to see this haunt almost two hours from NYC. It draws experienced actors, stage makeup and costumes that create such a deep feeling of terror. It's exhilarating walking by foot on a dark trail with scaring everywhere. Spookywoods, High Point: This North Carolina area is the opposite of Mayberry. There is no peace at Spookywoods except youre out in the fresh air of the woods as you pant and gasp for air from the screaming and running from what looks like freaks of nature. Of course it is the artistry of professional haunting. Dent, Cincinnati: A haunted school due to a sinister janitor - I beg for mercy going through this haunt with its horrific past. You feel the intense terror, and your imagination runs wild. Sleeping was difficult after this one, but the adrenaline rush makes it a must-see! Erebus, Pontiac, MI: You're a test subject here  how much terror can a person take? These haunt experts push to the limits and are a top-rank haunt on any night. Their realistic terror and creepy theme make you question whether this is reality  did I sign my life away? When I get out, I'm laughing because I made it! Spooky World, Litchfield, New Hampshire (near Boston): I always plan on multiple nights here at least. It's that big and frightening and well worth the trip. Only the scariest haunts make my list, and this one has four attractions wrapped into one place that each make my heart race and I scream uncontrollably. Macabre Cinema, Kansas City: You may think this is my step-child of haunts I have a hand in, but in truth, this one gets me every time, and I know it inside and out. It's a haunted theater, but you become part of the horror film. While it is a relatively "young" haunt in terms of its years in business, it can hang with the best of them.



About Queen of Haunts

Amber Arnett-Bequeaith, aka Queen of Haunts, is a mastermind behind many esteemed haunt attractions and events. When she was just a pre-school princess, she slept in coffins of her familys haunts and grew up in the business of fright. She has held leadership positions in haunt industry associations with a talent for spotting trends and keeping a pulse on the market of haunting. Her influence extends beyond her reign of the mega houses and a ghost tour in Kansas Citys West Bottoms. Bequeaith is a media contributor for the haunt industry, an advocate for professionally scaring, a culinary advocate for non-scary gluten-free treats, and wickedly talented with haunted and exotic-themed decors. Shes also a mom of four and follows her three sons band, Odyssey Thirty-Nine.

CONTACT: Amber Arnett-Bequeaith 913.406.7833

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/db1afefa-3396-4dc6-8c77-2863f8852200
TORONTO, Oct. 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wallbridge Mining Company Limited (TSX:WM) (Wallbridge or the Company) is pleased to announce that its maiden mineral resource estimate (MMRE) for the Fenelon Gold Property (Fenelon or the Property) is progressing well and is scheduled for release by the end of October along with an updated mineral resource estimate (MRE) for the Martiniere Gold Property (Martiniere). The assay results announced today include the final assays to be included in the MMRE. Drilling is continuing with up to 11 drill rigs; approximately 45-50,000 additional metres are planned for the remainder of the year. Future assay results will be included in upcoming resource updates.



Maiden Mineral Resource Estimate (MMRE)

The MMRE will include assays from over 300,000 metres of drilling from within an approximately 1.0 by 1.5-kilometre area in the central part of the known mineralized footprint at Fenelon, from surface to a maximum depth of approximately 1,000 metres.

The MMRE will encompass:

near surface potentially open pittable mineralization in Area 51;

near surface high-grade mineralization adjacent to the existing mine workings from the Gabbro Zones;

wide zones of potentially bulk mineable underground mineralization from the Tabasco, Cayenne, Contact and Area 51 Zones;



Our resource estimation at Fenelon is progressing well, and the majority of the results announced today are still part of the maiden resource database, stated Marz Kord, President & CEO of Wallbridge. The MMRE is an important milestone for the Company, less than 3 years after the initial discovery of the Area 51 and Tabasco zones, and represents the first major steppingstone in developing one of Quebecs new large gold deposits. The deposit remains open in multiple directions laterally and at depth and we see a lot of potential to grow this deposit to ultimately become a significant gold producer. Over the remainder of the year, we will ramp- up our exploration drilling efforts to expand the known mineralized footprint at Fenelon in order to better understand the ultimate size potential of this deposit and the surrounding property.

Tabasco-Cayenne-Contact Zones, Definition Drill Results

Nominal 75 metre-spaced definition drilling of the Tabasco-Cayenne-Contact Zones over a strike length of approximately 800 metres and vertical depths between 300 and 1,000 metres in support of the MMRE was the primary focus of the Companys drilling campaign between January and August of this year.

Highlight intersections (> 30 metal factor; metal factor = Au grade multiplied by thickness) since our last news release from this program, include:

FA-21-283B 5.97 g/t Au over 8.70 metres in the Tabasco Zone (see Figs. 1, 2 and 7); FA-19-096-W1 2.67 g/t Au over 21.85 metres, including 4.63 g/t Au over 8.75 metres in the Tabasco Zone (see Figs. 1, 2 and 6); FA-19-096-W2 6.97 g/t Au over 4.60 metres, including 48.54 g/t Au over 0.50 metres in the Cayenne Zone (see Figs. 1, 2 and 6); FA-20-159-W2 4.38 g/t Au over 7.75 metres, including 9.01 g/t Au over 3.05 metres in the Cayenne Zone (see Figs. 1, 2 and 7); FA-20-205-W1 3.12 g/t Au over 12.45 metres, and 1.99 g/t Au over 16.30 metres in the Tabasco Zone (see Figs. 1, 2 and 8); FA-21-261 3.56 g/t Au over 9.45 metres in the Tabasco Zone (see Figs. 1, 2 and 7); FA-21-261-W2 3.03 g/t Au over 11.50 metres, including 45.61 g/t Au over 0.50 metres in the Cayenne Zone (see Figs. 1, 2 and 6); FA-21-266-W1 2.21 g/t Au over 25.10 metres, including 3.59 g/t Au over 11.75 metres in the Contact Zone (see Figs. 1 and 2); FA-21-293A 3.72 g/t Au over 9.00 metres, including 5.56 g/t Au over 5.60 metres in the Tabasco Zone (see Figs. 1, 2 and 6)

Area 51, Definition Drill Results

As the definition drill holes approach the Tabasco-Cayenne-Contact Zones, they also transect the Area 51 gold vein network, providing important information from all of these zones.

Highlight intersections (> 30 metal factor; metal factor = Au grade multiplied by thickness) of Area 51 zones reported today include:

FA-21-282 3.80 g/t Au over 10.70 metres, including 11.67 g/t Au over 2.55 metres (see Figs. 1 and 3); FA-21-258-W1 0.83 g/t Au over 36.10 metres, including 14.50 g/t Au over 0.50 metres, and 3.71 g/t Au over 2.95 metres, and 6.91 g/t Au over 5.50 metres (see Fig. 1); FA-21-250-W4 2.10 g/t Au over 84.70 metres, including 5.15 g/t Au over 14.30 metres, which further includes 18.87 g/t Au over 3.20 metres, 2.97 g/t Au over 5.10 metres, and 17.85 g/t Au over 3.70 metres (see Figs. 1 and 4); FA-21-289 2.29 g/t Au over 32.00 metres, including 4.09 g/t Au over 9.00 metres, and 3.54 g/t Au over 9.20 metres (see Fig. 1); FA-21-264A-W1 8.49 g/t Au over 4.45 metres, including 50.06 g/t Au over 0.65 metres, and 64.81 g/t Au over 0.50 metres (see Figs. 1 and 5); FA-21-264A-W2 31.40 g/t Au over 1.50 metres, and 7.90 g/t Au over 3.70 metres, including 16.05 g/t Au over 1.30 metres (see Figs. 1 and 5); FA-21-282 24.79 g/t Au over 1.70 metres, including 73.70 g/t Au over 0.50 metres (see Figs. 1 and 3); FA-21-282-W2 19.93 g/t Au over 2.20 metres (see Figs. 1 and 3); FA-21-295 3.98 g/t Au over 7.50 metres, including 43.50 g/t Au over 0.50 metres (see Figs. 1 and 3); FA-21-298 2.47 g/t Au over 18.65 metres, including 42.80 g/t Au over 0.50 metres (see Figs. 1 and 8);

In-fill Sampling Program Results

A systematic campaign of continuous in-fill sampling of historic drill holes to a vertical depth of 250 metres, as well as within modelled mineralized corridors at greater depth was completed in order to collect further information for the open pit constrained portion of the MMRE.

Assay results from the historic drilling in-fill sampling program are highlighted by:

FA-19-103 3.88 g/t Au over 9.00 metres, and 3.28 g/t Au over 6.00 metres, including 7.02 g/t Au over 2.00 metres in Area 51 (see Figs. 1 and 7); 19-1110-012 5.48 g/t Au over 3.00 metres in the Gabbro Zones (see Fig. 1 and 2);

2021 Drilling Program Update

Approximately 150,000 to 170,000 metres of drilling, including 20,000 to 25,000 metres devoted to regional exploration on the Companys district-scale, underexplored land package on the Detour-Fenelon Gold Trend, is planned for 2021.

Assay results of 48 drill holes of the 2021 exploration drill program and 3 historic drill holes are reported in the Table and Figures below. All figures and a table with drill hole information of recently completed holes are posted on the Companys website under Current Program at https://www.wallbridgemining.com/s/fenelon.asp.

Figure 1. Fenelon Gold, Plan View

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e2453546-1639-42b0-9386-63f54661cacb

Figure 2. Fenelon Gold, Tabasco-Cayenne-Gabbro Zones Long Section

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/301c911e-aa34-49dc-ad52-0845afe11130

Figure 3. Fenelon Gold, Cross Section 9825_E

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/7497db78-ccdd-48aa-b725-499d90ade844

Figure 4. Fenelon Gold, Cross Section 9900_E

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/216a055e-4ff4-4a3c-aaa3-40db75b4de96

Figure 5. Fenelon Gold, Cross Section 9975_E

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/22e9e0b6-e48a-49b2-b884-8dc855fcd309

Figure 6. Fenelon Gold, Cross Section 10125_E

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/47f9e13b-fb3c-4458-8141-031617356f57

Figure 7. Fenelon Gold, Cross Section 10200_E

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6992f0f9-ada9-43ef-8772-bc1031f0ef62

Figure 8. Fenelon Gold, Cross Section 10350_E

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f1e9beca-642c-4ebf-b928-710e4e5dcdf3

Table 1. Wallbridge Fenelon Gold Property, Recent Drill Assay Highlights (1) Drill Hole From To Length Au Au Cut(2) VG(3) Zone/Corridor Section (m) (m) (m) (g/t) (g/t) 19-1110-012 62.80 65.80 3.00 5.48 5.48 Main Gabbro 10575 FA-19-085 50.50 54.50 4.00 1.35 1.35 Tabasco 9825 FA-19-096-W1 772.30 794.15 21.85 2.67 2.67 VG Tabasco 10125 Including 785.40 794.15 8.75 4.63 4.63 VG Tabasco 10125 FA-19-096-W1 861.60 862.60 1.00 5.10 5.10 Cayenne 10050 FA-19-096-W2 679.00 682.55 3.55 2.01 2.01 Area 51 10125 FA-19-096-W2 763.10 773.75 10.65 1.95 1.95 VG Tabasco 10125 Including 766.85 769.05 2.20 3.44 3.44 VG Tabasco 10125 FA-19-096-W2 811.70 815.65 3.95 2.08 2.08 Tabasco 10125 FA-19-096-W2 893.40 898.00 4.60 6.97 6.97 VG Cayenne 10125 Including 893.40 893.90 0.50 48.54 48.54 VG Cayenne 10125 FA-19-103 435.00 444.00 9.00 3.88 3.88 Area 51 10200 FA-19-103 582.00 588.00 6.00 3.28 3.28 VG Area 51 10200 Including 584.00 586.00 2.00 7.02 7.02 VG Area 51 10200 FA-20-148 655.00 656.50 1.50 4.63 4.63 Area 51 10250 FA-20-159-W2 526.20 528.65 2.45 2.14 2.14 Area 51 10200 FA-20-159-W2 532.70 540.00 7.30 2.46 2.46 Area 51 10200 Including 536.00 537.50 1.50 8.83 8.83 Area 51 10200 FA-20-159-W2 551.00 554.00 3.00 2.01 2.01 Area 51 10200 FA-20-159-W2 573.80 580.75 6.95 1.96 1.96 VG Area 51 10200 FA-20-159-W2 632.50 637.20 4.70 2.79 2.79 VG Area 51 10200 FA-20-159-W2 654.00 657.00 3.00 1.97 1.97 Area 51 10200 FA-20-159-W2 723.10 733.10 10.00 2.13 2.13 Area 51 10200 FA-20-159-W2 749.65 751.90 2.25 2.59 2.59 Area 51 10200 FA-20-159-W2 757.50 762.70 5.20 2.62 2.62 VG Area 51 10200 FA-20-159-W2 825.10 830.30 5.20 3.73 3.73 Contact Zone 10200 FA-20-159-W2 923.70 931.45 7.75 4.38 4.38 VG Cayenne 10200 Including 923.70 926.75 3.05 9.01 9.01 VG Cayenne 10200 FA-20-205-W1 669.00 671.60 2.60 2.50 2.50 Area 51 10350 FA-20-205-W1 695.50 698.85 3.35 2.18 2.18 VG Area 51 10350 Including 697.30 698.85 1.55 3.70 3.70 VG Area 51 10350 FA-20-205-W1 711.50 713.00 1.50 7.08 7.08 Area 51 10350 FA-20-205-W1 749.70 755.20 5.50 5.18 5.18 VG Area 51 10350 Including 749.70 750.20 0.50 28.24 28.24 VG Area 51 10350 FA-20-205-W1 815.50 817.00 1.50 3.73 3.73 Area 51 10350 FA-20-205-W1 883.00 884.00 1.00 6.14 6.14 Area 51 10350 FA-20-205-W1 942.00 954.45 12.45 3.12 3.12 Tabasco 10350 FA-20-205-W1 973.00 989.30 16.30 1.99 1.99 VG Tabasco 10350 FA-21-246A 326.00 326.50 0.50 12.80 12.80 Area 51 9750 FA-21-250-W1 737.00 738.80 1.80 4.11 4.11 Area 51 9900 FA-21-250-W1 1037.00 1041.50 4.50 5.89 5.89 VG Tabasco 9900 Including 1041.00 1041.50 0.50 33.26 33.26 VG Tabasco 9900 FA-21-250-W2 736.55 739.00 2.45 2.79 2.79 Area 51 9900 Including 738.00 739.00 1.00 6.11 6.11 Area 51 9900 FA-21-250-W2 962.00 968.00 6.00 1.99 1.99 Area 51 9900 Including 965.25 966.00 0.75 8.32 8.32 Area 51 9900 FA-21-250-W2 977.00 980.00 3.00 3.42 3.42 VG Area 51 9900 Including 977.85 978.35 0.50 17.14 17.14 VG Area 51 9900 FA-21-250-W2 1007.50 1011.00 3.50 3.87 3.87 VG Area 51 9900 FA-21-250-W3 499.50 501.00 1.50 3.56 3.56 Area 51 9900 FA-21-250-W4 721.50 723.00 1.50 4.27 4.27 Area 51 9900 FA-21-250-W4 871.00 955.70 84.70 2.10 1.91 VG Area 51 9900 Including 888.00 902.30 14.30 5.15 5.15 VG Area 51 9900 Which Includes 893.40 896.60 3.20 18.87 18.87 VG Area 51 9900 And 927.40 932.50 5.10 2.97 2.97 VG Area 51 9900 And 952.00 955.70 3.70 17.85 13.55 VG Area 51 9900 FA-21-251 No Significant Mineralization(4) 9825 & 9750 FA-21-253 254.00 257.95 3.95 3.66 3.66 Tabasco 10200 FA-21-253 295.15 305.00 9.85 0.80 0.80 VG Tabasco 10200 FA-21-253 327.00 337.20 10.20 0.83 0.83 VG Tabasco 10200 Including 333.75 337.20 3.45 1.69 1.69 VG Tabasco 10200 FA-21-253 635.50 642.00 6.50 2.95 2.95 Cayenne 10200 Including 639.00 640.50 1.50 8.35 8.35 Cayenne 10200 FA-21-254 No Significant Mineralization(4) 10350 & 10275 FA-21-255 329.50 331.00 1.50 4.01 4.01 VG Area 51 10050 FA-21-255 561.00 562.70 1.70 3.46 3.46 VG Tabasco 10050 FA-21-256 No Significant Mineralization(4) 10200 & 10275 FA-21-258 214.00 235.70 21.70 0.90 0.90 VG Area 51 10050 Including 225.55 230.20 4.65 2.69 2.69 VG Area 51 10050 FA-21-258-W1 225.90 262.00 36.10 0.83 0.83 VG Area 51 10050 Including 244.50 245.00 0.50 14.50 14.50 VG Area 51 10050 And 259.05 262.00 2.95 3.71 3.71 VG Area 51 10050 FA-21-258-W1 310.10 315.00 4.90 1.21 1.21 Area 51 10050 FA-21-258-W1 333.00 334.50 1.50 4.37 4.37 Area 51 10050 FA-21-258-W1 396.00 401.50 5.50 6.91 6.91 Area 51 10050 FA-21-258-W1 415.00 416.50 1.50 5.86 5.86 Area 51 10050 FA-21-258-W1 582.00 585.50 3.50 2.74 2.74 Tabasco 10050 FA-21-259 No Significant Mineralization(4) 10350 & 10425 FA-21-261 67.00 78.50 11.50 0.89 0.89 VG Area 51 10200 Including 67.00 72.50 5.50 1.19 1.19 Area 51 10200 FA-21-261 688.60 702.60 14.00 1.73 1.73 Area 51 10200 Including 688.60 694.60 6.00 3.16 3.16 Area 51 10200 FA-21-261 846.85 848.50 1.65 4.28 4.28 Area 51 10200 FA-21-261 939.50 946.20 6.70 2.24 2.24 VG Area 51 10200 Including 939.50 940.00 0.50 24.69 24.69 VG Area 51 10200 FA-21-261 1098.40 1107.85 9.45 3.56 3.56 VG Tabasco 10200 FA-21-261-W1 694.90 700.60 5.70 2.33 2.33 Area 51 10200 Including 694.90 696.10 1.20 7.98 7.98 Area 51 10200 FA-21-261-W1 843.50 845.95 2.45 2.85 2.85 Area 51 10200 FA-21-261-W1 983.10 988.45 5.35 4.00 4.00 VG Area 51 10200 Including 983.10 984.60 1.50 13.29 13.29 VG Area 51 10200 FA-21-261-W1 1010.60 1012.70 2.10 3.07 3.07 Contact Zone 10200 FA-21-261-W1 1084.00 1084.70 0.70 12.30 12.30 Cayenne 10200 FA-21-261-W2 696.90 699.40 2.50 2.09 2.09 Area 51 10200 FA-21-261-W2 776.35 776.85 0.50 13.57 13.57 VG Area 51 10200 FA-21-261-W2 839.85 841.45 1.60 4.61 4.61 VG Area 51 10200 FA-21-261-W2 871.00 873.80 2.80 2.18 2.18 VG Area 51 10200 FA-21-261-W2 976.10 978.25 2.15 6.40 6.40 VG Area 51 10200 FA-21-261-W2 1023.75 1025.55 1.80 2.92 2.92 Area 51 10125 FA-21-261-W2 1106.50 1118.00 11.50 3.03 3.03 VG Cayenne 10125 Including 1117.50 1118.00 0.50 45.61 45.61 VG Cayenne 10125 FA-21-261-W3 701.45 706.50 5.05 2.42 2.42 Area 51 10200 FA-21-261-W3 814.50 817.60 3.10 2.26 2.26 VG Area 51 10200 FA-21-261-W3 1046.10 1047.60 1.50 3.90 3.90 VG Area 51 10200 FA-21-261-W3 1080.05 1084.00 3.95 3.42 3.42 Area 51 10200 Including 1083.35 1084.00 0.65 14.90 14.90 Area 51 10200 FA-21-261-W3 1132.60 1135.00 2.40 2.39 2.39 VG Tabasco 10200 FA-21-261-W4 689.00 690.00 1.00 5.68 5.68 Area 51 10200 FA-21-261-W4 709.65 710.40 0.75 15.20 15.20 Area 51 10200 FA-21-261-W4 873.50 875.50 2.00 3.57 3.57 Area 51 10200 FA-21-261-W4 995.00 999.50 4.50 2.70 2.70 Area 51 10125 FA-21-262 142.00 154.00 12.00 0.68 0.68 VG Area 51 9525 FA-21-263 650.40 651.00 0.60 30.93 30.93 VG Cayenne 10350 FA-21-263-W1 No Significant Mineralization(4) 10425 & 10500 FA-21-264A-W1 314.70 319.15 4.45 8.49 8.48 VG Area 51 9975 Including 318.50 319.15 0.65 50.06 50.00 VG Area 51 9975 FA-21-264A-W1 352.70 353.20 0.50 64.81 50.00 VG Area 51 9975 FA-21-264A-W1 402.30 408.00 5.70 1.71 1.71 VG Area 51 9975 FA-21-264A-W2 300.00 302.20 2.20 2.50 2.50 Area 51 9975 FA-21-264A-W2 355.80 356.45 0.65 22.80 22.80 Area 51 9975 FA-21-264A-W2 400.00 402.30 2.30 3.52 3.52 VG Area 51 9975 Including 401.75 402.30 0.55 12.19 12.19 VG Area 51 9975 FA-21-264A-W2 432.00 433.50 1.50 31.40 31.40 Area 51 9975 FA-21-264A-W2 457.50 461.20 3.70 7.90 7.90 VG Area 51 9975 Including 459.90 461.20 1.30 16.05 16.05 VG Area 51 9975 FA-21-264A-W2 500.50 503.50 3.00 3.66 3.66 Tabasco 9975 FA-21-264A-W2 546.20 547.40 1.20 4.35 4.35 Tabasco 9975 FA-21-264A-W3 No Significant Mineralization(4) 9975 FA-21-264A-W4 319.75 320.40 0.65 16.60 16.60 Area 51 9975 FA-21-264A-W4 371.40 371.90 0.50 17.67 17.67 VG Area 51 9975 FA-21-264A-W4 383.90 387.00 3.10 1.88 1.88 VG Area 51 9975 FA-21-264A-W4 416.60 421.40 4.80 3.82 3.82 Area 51 9975 FA-21-266-W1 823.30 826.60 3.30 2.79 2.79 VG Area 51 10250 FA-21-266-W1 1113.30 1114.50 1.20 6.46 6.46 Contact Zone 10250 FA-21-266-W1 1125.00 1150.10 25.10 2.21 2.21 Contact Zone 10250 Including 1125.00 1136.75 11.75 3.59 3.59 Contact Zone 10250 FA-21-266-W1 1196.50 1199.50 3.00 1.98 1.98 Cayenne 10250 FA-21-266-W2 841.00 842.00 1.00 14.03 14.03 VG Area 51 10250 FA-21-266-W2 1083.00 1092.30 9.30 2.29 2.29 VG Area 51 10350 Including 1091.75 1092.30 0.55 21.11 21.11 VG Area 51 10350 FA-21-266-W2 1113.00 1114.00 1.00 6.92 6.92 Contact Zone 10350 FA-21-266-W2 1183.00 1184.50 1.50 7.50 7.50 Cayenne 10350 FA-21-274 116.50 128.00 11.50 0.89 0.89 Contact zone 9750 FA-21-277A 317.50 320.50 3.00 3.49 3.49 Tabasco 10250 FA-21-277A 366.00 369.00 3.00 1.87 1.87 Tabasco 10250 FA-21-277A 490.00 493.00 3.00 3.81 3.81 Tabasco 10250 FA-21-277A 502.65 505.70 3.05 2.39 2.39 Tabasco 10250 FA-21-278 458.20 458.75 0.55 10.10 10.10 Tabasco 10250 FA-21-281 No Significant Mineralization(4) 9975 FA-21-282 182.30 200.00 17.70 0.68 0.68 Area 51 9825 Including 182.30 183.55 1.25 6.53 6.53 Area 51 9825 FA-21-282 266.40 277.10 10.70 3.80 3.80 Area 51 9825 Including 266.40 268.95 2.55 11.67 11.67 Area 51 9825 FA-21-282 302.50 304.00 1.50 5.53 5.53 Area 51 9825 FA-21-282 379.70 390.00 10.30 1.50 1.50 VG Area 51 9825 Including 387.75 390.00 2.25 5.13 5.13 VG Area 51 9825 FA-21-282 478.30 478.80 0.50 11.00 11.00 Area 51 9825 FA-21-282 496.30 498.00 1.70 24.79 17.82 Area 51 9825 Including 496.30 496.80 0.50 73.70 50.00 Area 51 9825 FA-21-282 544.25 545.00 0.75 7.58 7.58 Area 51 9825 FA-21-282 659.80 662.70 2.90 2.64 2.64 VG Area 51 9825 Including 659.80 660.35 0.55 11.40 11.40 VG Area 51 9825 FA-21-282 684.80 686.20 1.40 7.64 7.64 Tabasco 9825 FA-21-282 739.80 744.75 4.95 3.00 3.00 Cayenne 9825 FA-21-282-W2 593.50 595.70 2.20 19.93 19.93 Area 51 9825 FA-21-282-W2 687.55 690.00 2.45 8.24 8.24 Tabasco 9825 FA-21-283B 564.50 573.20 8.70 5.97 5.97 VG Tabasco 10200 FA-21-288 144.80 167.00 22.20 0.71 0.71 Area 51 9825 Including 151.50 156.00 4.50 2.93 2.93 Area 51 9825 FA-21-288 183.50 188.00 4.50 3.06 3.06 Area 51 9825 FA-21-288 233.70 248.40 14.70 0.72 0.72 VG Area 51 9825 FA-21-288 329.00 330.10 1.10 8.34 8.34 VG Area 51 9750 FA-21-289 165.95 169.00 3.05 1.99 1.99 Area 51 10250 FA-21-289 409.50 413.00 3.50 2.02 2.02 Area 51 10250 FA-21-289 493.00 525.00 32.00 2.29 2.29 VG Area 51 10250 Including 495.00 504.00 9.00 4.09 4.09 Area 51 10250 And 513.30 522.50 9.20 3.54 3.54 VG Area 51 10250 FA-21-289 624.10 628.10 4.00 2.07 2.07 Area 51 10250 FA-21-289 852.00 854.30 2.30 5.29 5.29 Cayenne 10250 FA-21-291 74.50 89.00 14.50 0.96 0.96 Area 51 9675 Including 74.50 76.00 1.50 3.58 3.58 Area 51 9675 And 86.00 87.10 1.10 5.90 5.90 Area 51 9675 FA-21-292 89.50 113.15 23.65 0.80 0.80 VG Area 51 9900 Including 109.25 109.75 0.50 24.53 24.53 VG Area 51 9900 FA-21-292 246.00 250.00 4.00 1.89 1.89 Contact zone 9900 FA-21-292 269.35 276.70 7.35 2.01 2.01 Tabasco 9900 Including 275.70 276.70 1.00 7.47 7.47 Tabasco 9900 FA-21-292 315.05 316.00 0.95 19.80 19.80 Tabasco 9900 FA-21-293A 353.00 358.00 5.00 2.05 2.05 VG Area 51 10125 FA-21-293A 376.00 379.40 3.40 1.48 1.48 Contact Zone 10125 FA-21-293A 387.00 392.00 5.00 1.12 1.12 Contact Zone 10125 FA-21-293A 407.40 408.00 0.60 9.76 9.76 Tabasco 10125 FA-21-293A 501.25 510.25 9.00 3.72 3.72 VG Tabasco 10125 Including 504.65 510.25 5.60 5.56 5.56 VG Tabasco 10125 FA-21-293A 555.00 561.10 6.10 2.23 2.23 Tabasco 10125 FA-21-293A 585.60 586.90 1.30 5.98 5.98 Tabasco 10125 FA-21-295 70.50 71.00 0.50 29.99 29.99 VG Area 51 9825 FA-21-295 355.00 356.60 1.60 5.52 5.52 VG Area 51 9825 FA-21-295 383.50 391.00 7.50 3.98 3.98 VG Area 51 9825 Including 390.50 391.00 0.50 43.50 43.50 VG Area 51 9825 FA-21-295 401.00 405.00 4.00 3.78 3.78 VG Area 51 9825 FA-21-298 212.00 222.10 10.10 0.73 0.73 Area 51 10350 FA-21-298 316.00 316.50 0.50 11.13 11.13 VG Area 51 10350 FA-21-298 593.35 612.00 18.65 2.47 2.47 VG Area 51 10350 Including 593.35 593.85 0.50 42.80 42.80 VG Area 51 10350 FA-21-298 665.00 667.70 2.70 7.01 7.01 VG Area 51 10350 FA-21-298 805.30 808.85 3.55 3.80 3.80 Contact Zone 10350 FA-21-298 844.50 846.00 1.50 4.11 4.11 Contact Zone 10350 FA-21-299 54.65 57.10 2.45 8.54 8.54 VG Contact zone 10350 Including 56.50 57.10 0.60 32.78 32.78 VG Contact zone 10350 FA-21-299 282.75 305.05 22.30 0.97 0.97 Area 51 10350 Including 282.75 284.10 1.35 10.95 10.95 Area 51 10350 FA-21-300 26.10 37.90 11.80 0.93 0.93 VG Contact zone 10425 Including 26.10 26.70 0.60 8.69 8.69 VG Contact zone 10425 FA-21-300 178.00 180.50 2.50 2.27 2.27 Contact zone 10425 FA-21-300 280.85 289.75 8.90 0.77 0.77 Contact zone 10425

(1) Table includes only assay results received since the latest press release dated Sept 15, 2021.

(2) Au cut at: 100 g/t Au for the Tabasco/Contact zones; 60 g/t Au for the Cayenne zones; 50 g/t Au for the Area 51 zones.

(3) Intervals containing visible gold ("VG").

(4) Metal factor of at least 5 g/t*m and minimum weighted average composite grade of 1 g/t Au.

* Results reported here contain previously announced intervals that were extended with new assay results.

Note: True widths are estimated to be 5080% of the reported core length intervals.

Assay QA/QC and Qualified Persons

Drill core samples from the ongoing 2021 drill program at Fenelon are cut and bagged either on site or by contractors and transported to SGS Canada Inc., AGAT Laboratories Ltd. or Bureau Veritas Commodities Canada Ltd. for analysis. In 2020 samples were submitted to either SGS Canada Inc. or ALS Canada Ltd. for analysis. Samples, along with standards and blanks that are included for quality assurance and quality control, were prepared and analyzed at the laboratories. Samples are crushed to 90% less than 2mm. A 1kg riffle split is pulverized to 85% passing 75 microns. 50g samples are analyzed by fire assay and AAS. At SGS, AGAT and Bureau Veritas samples >10g/t Au are automatically analyzed by fire assay with gravimetric finish or screen metallic analysis. To test for coarse free gold and for additional quality assurance and quality control, Wallbridge requests screen metallic analysis for samples containing visible gold. These and future assay results may vary from time to time due to reanalysis for quality assurance and quality control.

The Qualified Person responsible for the technical content of this press release is Peter Lauder, P.Geo, Exploration Manager of Wallbridge.

About Wallbridge Mining

Wallbridge is currently advancing the exploration and development of its 100%owned Fenelon Gold property located along the DetourFenelon Gold Trend, an emerging gold belt in northwestern Quebec. The Company completed approximately 102,000 metres of drilling in 2020 and is currently conducting a fullyfunded 2021 program of approximately 150,000-170,000 metres of drilling and 2,500 metres of underground exploration development (Phase 1 of a 10,000metre program). The Company intends to complete a maiden mineral resource estimate on the Fenelon Gold System in October 2021.

Wallbridge now holds several kilometres surrounding its rapidly expanding Fenelon discovery providing room for growth, as well as future mine development flexibility. Wallbridge's land holdings in Quebec along the DetourFenelon Gold Trend total more than 900.0 km2, improving Wallbridge's potential for further discoveries along a 90kilometre strike length in this underexplored belt.

Wallbridge is also the operator of, and a 17.8% shareholder in, Lonmin Canada Inc., a privatelyheld company with a portfolio of nickel, copper, and platinumgroup metals (PGM) projects in Ontario's Sudbury Basin.

This news release has been authorized by the undersigned on behalf of Wallbridge Mining Company Limited.

For further information please visit the Company's website at www.wallbridgemining.com or contact:

Wallbridge Mining Company Limited

Marz Kord, P. Eng., M. Sc., MBA

President & CEO

Tel: (705) 6829297 ext. 251

Email: mkord@wallbridgemining.com

Victoria Vargas, B.Sc. (Hon.) Economics, MBA

Investor Relations Advisor

Email: vvargas@wallbridgemining.com

This press release may contain certain forwardlooking statements within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation relating to, among other things, the operations of Wallbridge Mining Company Limited (Wallbridge or Company) and the environment within which it operates. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, including, without limitation, statements regarding future plans and objectives of Wallbridge, future opportunities and anticipated goals, the Companys portfolio, treasury, management team, timetable to mineral resource estimation, permitting and the prospective mineralization of the properties, are forwardlooking statements that involve various risks, assumptions, estimates and uncertainties. Generally, forwardlooking information can be identified by the use of forwardlooking terminology such as seeks, believes, anticipates, plans, continues, budget, scheduled, estimates, expects, forecasts, intends, projects, predicts, proposes, "potential", targets and variations of such words and phrases, or by statements that certain actions, events or results may, will, could, would, should or might, be taken, occur or be achieved. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.

By their nature, forwardlooking statements involve numerous assumptions, inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, that contribute to the possibility that the predicted outcomes could differ materially from those contained in such statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, delays in obtaining or failures to obtain required governmental, regulatory, environmental or other required approval, the actual results of current exploration activities, fluctuations in prices of commodities, fluctuations in currency markets, actual results of additional exploration and development activities at the Companys projects, capital expenditures, the availability of any additional capital required to advance projects, accidents, or pandemic interruptions.

Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forwardlooking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. These statements reflect the current internal projections, expectations or beliefs of the Company and are based on information currently available to the Company.

The Company does not undertake to update any forwardlooking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. The Company believes that the expectations reflected in those forwardlooking statements are reasonable but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forwardlooking statements included in this press release should not be unduly relied upon by investors as actual results may vary.

Risks and uncertainties about Wallbridges business are more fully discussed in the disclosure material filed with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada and available on SEDAR under the Companys profile at www.sedar.com. Readers are urged to read these materials and should not place undue reliance on the forwardlooking statements contained in this press release.

Covid19  Given the rapidly evolving nature of the Coronavirus (COVID19) pandemic, Wallbridge is actively monitoring the situation in order to continue to maintain as best as possible the activities while striving to protect the health of its personnel. Wallbridge' activities will continue to align with the guidance provided by local, provincial and federal authorities in Canada. The Company has established measures to continue normal activities while protecting the health of its employees and stakeholders. Depending on the evolution of the virus, measures may affect the regular operations of Wallbridge and the participation of staff members in events inside or outside Canada.
New York, NY, Oct. 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Facts and Factors have published a new research report titled  Start-Stop Battery Market By Technology (Lead-acid Battery, Lithium Battery, and Others): Global Industry Perspective, Market Size, Statistical Research, Trends, and Forecasts, 20202026  in its research database

According to the latest research study, the demand of global Start-Stop Battery Market size & share expected to reach to USD 14,000 Million by 2026 from USD 3,700 Million in 2019, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22% during the forecast period 2020 to 2026

Global Start-Stop Battery Market: Overview

Start-stop batteries are rechargeable car batteries that operate on a start-stop mechanism and turn off the engine automatically when the vehicle is halted, for example when the vehicle has stopped in traffic. When the car comes to a halt it automatically stops the engine and the battery just regulates all electrical systems and appliances including radio and air conditioning until the engine starts again. When the brakes are released, the engine gets started automatically by the auto start-stop battery within a split second. Automotive Start-Stop Battery thus helps to reduce fuel consumption and improve vehicle efficiency.

Request Your Free Sample Report of Global Start-Stop Battery Market @ https://www.fnfresearch.com/sample/start-stop-battery-market-by-technology-lead-acid-584

(The free sample of this report is readily available on request).

Our Free Sample Report Includes:

2020 Updated Report Introduction, Overview, and In-depth industry analysis

COVID-19 Pandemic Outbreak Impact Analysis Included

205+ Pages Research Report (Inclusion of Updated Research)

Provide Chapter-wise guidance on Request

2020 Updated Regional Analysis with Graphical Representation of Size, Share & Trends

Includes Updated List of tables & figures

Updated Report Includes Top Market Players with their Business Strategy, Sales Volume, and Revenue Analysis

Facts and Factors research methodology

(Note: The sample of this report is updated with COVID-19 impact analysis before delivery)

Industry Major Market Players

A123 Systems LLC

Hankook AtlasBX Co. Ltd

East Penn Manufacturing Company

Exide Technologies

GS Yuasa International Ltd

To know an additional revised list of 2020-2021 top market players, request a sample report: https://www.fnfresearch.com/sample/start-stop-battery-market-by-technology-lead-acid-584

Key questions answered in this report:

What is the projected market size & growth rate of the Start-Stop Battery Market?

What are the key driving factors for the growth of the Start-Stop Battery Market?

What are the top companies operative in Start-Stop Battery Market?

What segments are covered in Start-Stop Battery Market?

How can I get free sample report/company profiles of the Start-Stop Battery Market?

Directly Purchase a copy of the report with TOC @ https://www.fnfresearch.com/buynow/su/start-stop-battery-market-by-technology-lead-acid-584

Market Dynamics

The growing number of strict discharge regulations is anticipated to push the development opportunities for the worldwide start-stop battery industry in the upcoming years. With the objective of avoiding the release of toxic gases, such as nitrogen oxide (NOx), hydrocarbons, particulate matter (PM), sulfur oxide (SOx), and carbon monoxide, auto controllers around the globe have established emissions standards. In addition, the application of start-stop technologies in several automotive vehicles is serving as a key driver of the start-stop battery industry. For instance, General Motors in 2016 announced that most of its vehicle models will be compatible with start-stop technologies by the end of 2020. But, safety issues related to battery usage, knowledge regarding installation and usage of the start-stop battery, along with improper infrastructure in developing and underdeveloped regions for electronic vehicles, may restrain the market growth in the coming years. Increased adoption and production of start-stop technology by automotive OEMs is anticipated to provide lucrative opportunities for the start-stop battery industry in the coming years. The rising demand for electric and hybrid vehicles, with the constituent battery being their power source, is also recognized as a substantial growth generator of start-stop batteries for automobiles. Moreover, due to the combination of the increasing price of crude oil prices and the demand for more energy-efficient vehicles, the global market for start-stop batteries is expected to grow with a steady CAGR during the forecast period.

Request Customized Copy of Report @ https://www.fnfresearch.com/customization/start-stop-battery-market-by-technology-lead-acid-584

(We customize your report according to your research need. Ask our sales team for report customization.)

Global Start-Stop Battery Market: Report Scope

Report Attribute Details Market Size 2019 Value USD 3,700 Million Market Forecast for 2026 USD 14,000 Million Expected CAGR Growth CAGR 22% from 2020-2026 Base Year 2020 Forecast Year 2020-2026 Top Market Players HankookAtlasBX Co. Ltd, Exide Technologies, A123 Systems LLC, GS Yuasa International Ltd, East Penn Manufacturing Company, and Others Segments Covered Types, & Regions Geographies Covered North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa Pricing Options Request customized purchase options to meet your research needs. Explore purchase options

The technology type segment consists of a lead-acid battery, lithium battery, and others. The lead-acid battery segment acquires the largest market share in terms of revenue in 2019. This technology segment is anticipated to dominate the global market throughout the forecast period. Low raw material costs, easy availability of lead, and strong engineering expertise are some of the strategic factors favoring the growth of this segment.

The report study further includes an in-depth analysis of industry players' market shares and provides an overview of leading players' market position in the start-stop battery sector. Key strategic developments in the start-stop battery market competitive landscape such as acquisitions & mergers, inaugurations of different products and services, partnerships & joint ventures, MoU agreements, VC & funding activities, R&D activities, and geographic expansion among other noteworthy activities by key players of the start-stop battery market are appropriately highlighted in the report.

Inquire more about this report before purchase @ https://www.fnfresearch.com/inquiry/start-stop-battery-market-by-technology-lead-acid-584

(You may enquire a report quote OR available discount offers to our sales team before purchase.)

The start-stop battery market research report delivers an acute valuation and taxonomy of the start-stop battery industry by practically splitting the market on the basis of different types, applications, and regions. Through the analysis of the historical and projected trends, all the segments and sub-segments were evaluated through the bottom-up approach, and different market sizes have been projected for FY 2020 to FY 2026.

Due to early adoption, North America and the European region have acquired major shares in the automotive start-stop battery industry. The Asia Pacific start-stop battery is anticipated to witness steady growth during the forecast period. The Asia Pacific has held its dominance in the global start-stop battery industry and is expected to maintain its dominance throughout the forecast period. China, India, Japan are the leading countries that are contributing to the development of the start-stop battery market in this region.

Browse the full Start-Stop Battery Market By Technology (Lead-acid Battery, Lithium Battery, and Others): Global Industry Perspective, Market Size, Statistical Research, Market Intelligence, Comprehensive Analysis, Historical Trends, and Forecasts, 20202026" report at https://www.fnfresearch.com/start-stop-battery-market-by-technology-lead-acid-584

This report segments the start-stop battery market as follows:

Global Start-Stop Battery Market: By Type Segmentation Analysis

Lead-acid Battery

Lithium Battery

Others

For media inquiry, mail to: sales@fnfresearch.com

Key Recommendations from Analysts

As per our analyst, the North America market accounted for 23.42% of the total value of the global Start-Stop Battery market in 2019, and the industries in these regions are expected to focus more on R&D.

Based on the analysis done by our team, the global Start-Stop Battery market is expected to reach USD 14,579.8 Million by 2025.

Based on the exhaustive secondary research done by our team, the lead-acid battery is anticipated to become the most demanding deployment mode in the upcoming years, majorly due to its cheaper raw material.

On the basis of technology types, Lead-Acid Battery dominated the global Start-Stop Battery market in 2018. It accounted for a 67.52% share of the total market in 2019.

The Asia Pacific is expected to be the fastest-growing market for Start-Stop Battery during the years to come. Due to the presence of big automotive companies present in this region, especially in China, Japan and India. Moreover, the inclination of this region towards electronic vehicles is also playing a key role in the growth of this region.

The significant CAGR of nearly 22% observed by the global start-stop battery market is set to bring lucrative opportunities for the new players planning to enter the market. Some of the key opportunities include decreasing product costs, rising profit margins, and availability of cheaper raw materials.

About Facts & Factors (FnF Research):

Facts & Factors is a leading market research organization offering industry expertise and scrupulous consulting services to clients for their business development. The reports and services offered by Facts and Factors are used by prestigious academic institutions, start-ups, and companies globally to measure and understand the changing international and regional business backgrounds.

Our clients/customers conviction on our solutions and services has pushed us in delivering always the best. Our advanced research solutions have helped them in appropriate decision-making and guidance for strategies to expand their business.

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CALGARY, Alberta, Oct. 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CEMATRIX Corporation (TSXV: CVX) (OTCQB: CTXXF) ("CEMATRIX" or the "Company") a North American leading manufacturer and supplier of technologically advanced cellular concrete products announced that its wholly owned operating subsidiaries, which include CEMATRIX (Canada) Inc. (CCI), MixOnSite USA Inc. (MOS) and Pacific International Grout Company (PIGCO) have executed $5.5 million in contracts, of which $4.8 million was previously characterized as contracts in process.



Factoring in these $5.5M in new contracts, the converted contracts and the sales completed to date, the Corporations backlog now totals $91.2 million. $26.8 million of the Corporations backlog is Contracted and $64.4 million is Contracts in Process.

We are pleased to announce that these new contracts include a number of infrastructure projects located across North America, stated Jeff Kendrick, CEMATRIX President and CEO. The largest project is a $3.4 million USD tunnel project, which was originally scheduled to be completed this year, but is now scheduled to commence in November and carry through to the spring of 2022. CEMATRIXs backlog has increased 26% since year end as our Canadian and U.S. bid activity remains strong. Even so, COVID-19 continues to impact the timing of certain projects which are currently reflected in our backlog with delays beyond our control. We expect these types of delays to diminish as we exit this year and enter 2022 with more certainty and visibility, we also expect that COVID-19 related delays will have far less impact on 2022 and future years.

As of January 1, 2021, the Corporations Backlog is defined as Contracted plus Contracts in Process net of sales completed to date. Contracts in Process are defined as projects where the related contract is in office for review or signature; or signed and returned to the client for their signature; or is in the post award project submission process; or is awarded by letter of intent; or is awarded by some other form of written communication.

ABOUT CEMATRIX

CEMATRIX is a rapidly growing, cash flow positive company that manufactures and supplies technologically advanced cellular concrete products developed from proprietary formulations across North America. This unique cement-based material with superior thermal protection delivers cost-effective, innovative solutions to a broad range of problems facing the infrastructure, industrial (including oil and gas) and commercial markets. Through recent acquisitions of Chicago based MixOnSite and Bellingham based Pacific International Grout, CEMATRIX is now North Americas largest Cellular Concrete company. For more information, please visit our website at www.cematrix.com.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (together, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, are forward-looking statements. Generally, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of terminology such as "plans", "expects", "estimates", "intends", "anticipates", "believes" or variations of such words, or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by the Company, including satisfaction of regulatory requirements in various jurisdictions and the Companys anticipated use of the net proceeds of the Offering. Forward looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in the Company's filings with Canadian securities regulators, which could cause actual results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing these forward-looking statements are reasonable based upon the information currently available to management as of the date hereof, actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by these statements. Readers are therefore cautioned not to place undue reliance on these statements, which only apply as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed times frames or at all. Except where required by applicable law, the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events 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.

For further information, please contact:

Jeff Kendrick - President and Chief Executive Officer

Phone: (403) 219-0484

Glen Akselrod  President, Bristol Capital

Phone: (905) 326 1888 ext 1

glen@bristolir.com

Jeff Walker, The Howard Group  Investor Relations

Phone: (888) 221-0915 or (403) 221-0915

jeff@howardgroupinc.com
English Dutch French

Orange Belgium will publish its results for the third quarter of 2021 on Thursday, October 21 at 07:00 CET.



Orange Belgium Investor Relations is pleased to invite investors and analysts to participate in a conference call hosted by:

Xavier Pichon, CEO

Antoine Chouc, CFO

Koen Van Mol, Investor Relations





The conference will start at 10:00 am CET (9:00 am UK / 4:00 am EST). To access the call, please dial one of the following numbers 5-10 minutes prior to the start of the conference call in order to avoid waiting time. Subsequently, register with following pin code: 11164399# and provide your name and the company you work for.

Belgium +32 24035816 Canada +1 4162164194 France +33 172727403 Germany +49 69222225429 Ireland +353 15060451 Italy +39 0236013817 Luxembourg +352 27300163 Netherlands +31 207095119 Spain +34 911140101 Switzerland +41 445831805 United Kingdom +44 2071943759 United States +1 6467224916

The recorded session will be available after the conference call and can be downloaded from our website. You will find the link to access the recorded session on the website below.

The press release for the third quarter of 2021, the roadshow presentation and the results toolkit will be available on Thursday, October 21 on the financial section of the corporate website at Financial results.

About Orange Belgium

Orange Belgium is a leading telecommunications operator on the Belgian market with over 3 million customers; Orange is also active in Luxembourg through its subsidiary Orange Communications Luxembourg.

As a convergent actor, we provide mobile telecommunications services, internet and TV to private clients as well as innovative mobile and fixed-line services to businesses. Our high-performance mobile network supports 2G, 3G, 4G and 4G+ technology and is the subject of ongoing investment.

Orange Belgium is a subsidiary of the Orange Group, one of the leading European and African operators for mobile telephony and internet access, as well as one of the world leaders in telecommunications services for enterprises.

Orange Belgium is listed on the Brussels Stock Exchange (OBEL).

For more information: corporate.orange.be, www.orange.beor follow us on Twitter: @pressOrangeBe.

Investors contact

Koen Van Mol - koen.vanmol@orange.com - +32 (0) 495 55 14 99

Ana Castano  ana.castanolopez@orange.com - +32 (0) 468 46 95 31

ir@orange.be

Press contacts

Annelore Marynissen - annelore.marynissen@orange.com - +32 (0)479 016 058

Younes Al Bouchouari - younes.albouchouari@orange.be - +32 (0)477 69 87 73

press@orange.be

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SARASOTA, Fla., Oct. 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dealers United, the advertising solution helping automotive dealerships solve business challenges through social media, was selected as one of the top 50 Honorees for the 11th Annual GrowFL Florida Companies to Watch Award.

The GrowFL Companies to Watch is a statewide competition that recognizes Florida companies who have between six and 150 employees and revenue between $750,000 and $100 million in 2020. Despite the pandemic, these companies projected continued growth in 2021, with a 62% revenue increase and 49% growth in employees compared to 2020.

Dealers United uses the power of social media advertising to increase sales for auto dealers across the country. The company provides innovative advertising solutions across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and Pinterest, and is scaling to verticals outside of automotive through its ad tech platform, BuyerBridge.

Originally headquartered in Sarasota, FL, Dealers United implemented a 100% remote work environment in April 2020 and has since been able to recruit additional talent without being limited geographically: as of mid-2021, Dealers United had 54 employees working remotely in 20 states across the U.S.

"Our company and employees showed great resilience in the face of the pandemic uncertainty, and we are proud that we not only retained all employees, but grew our team substantially," said Dealers United CEO, Pete Petersen. "Through Dealers United and our ad tech platform, BuyerBridge, we have helped our dealership and agency partners grow their businesses through social media advertising. We continue to offer our team a vibrant culture that emphasizes the importance of positive work-life balance, staying connected despite being remote, and having fun while staying focused. This recognition from GrowFL is an honor and you will continue seeing us grow in more ways than one!"

While operating remotely, Dealers United and CEO Pete Petersen continue to support the Sarasota community through involvement and sponsorship of local endeavors such as the University of South Florida's Brunch on the Bay, #SRQHacks Hackathon, FUNducation, and the Sarasota County Economic Development Corporation.

Companies to Watch was developed by the Edward Lowe Foundation as a unique way to honor high-performing companies that demonstrate innovative strategies and processes, as well as represent an important segment of Florida's economy. In addition to evaluating past growth and projected success, applicant companies are judged according to their special strengths and impact in their markets, communities, and within the state - thus deeming them worth watching.

"Year after year, these outstanding companies continue to impress me. These are the CEOs, managers, and team members who are making the biggest impact on our state's economy," said Russell Slappey, CEO of Nperspective CFO & Strategic Services event title sponsor. "They deserve to be celebrated now and into the future as they continue to grow, continue to innovate and continue to be a company we all should watch."

Companies named to the list will be officially recognized at the 11th Annual GrowFL Florida Companies to Watch Celebration on February 17, 2022, at the Hard Rock Live in Universal CityWalk, Orlando, FL. For more information, visit https://growfl.com/flctw21/about-flctw .

About Dealers United:

Dealers United is the advertising solution for the automotive industry, providing award-winning social advertising solutions to auto dealers, OEMs, and auto agencies across multiple platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and more. For additional information, visit www.dealersunited.com.

About GrowFL:

GrowFL is dedicated to support and accelerate the growth of second-stage companies throughout Florida, by providing their leaders focused, efficient, and timely access to resources they deem important, such as connections with other second-stage company leaders, and to professional organizations whose expertise, experience, and products lead to the second-stage company's continued growth and prosperity resulting in diversification and growth of Florida's economy. Visit https://growfl.com to learn more.

Contact Information

Brooke Jensen

Chief Marketing Officer

Dealers United

Phone: 941-366-6760

Email: brooke@dealersunited.com

Related Images











Image 1: Dealers United GrowFL Honoree









This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com.

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Palm Coast, Florida, USA, Oct. 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Coastal Cloud announced that it has demonstrated excellence in Customer Success showcasing leadership within the Salesforce ecosystem.

For this innovative work, Coastal Cloud has been named a recipient of the Salesforce Partner Innovation Award in Customer Success.

Coastal Clouds adherence to the partner program and adoption of the navigator process with a focus on customer satisfaction has led to the companys recognition with a Partner Innovation Award two years in a row. With a large team of over 350 experts holding more than 1,000 Salesforce certifications, Coastal Cloud credits its vast expertise to consistently high client satisfaction.

Customer satisfaction is the foundation we were built on, said Tim Hale, co-founder and managing partner of Coastal Cloud. With a culture that promotes flexibility and appreciation, a cycle of success is established between employees and customers.

Its inspiring to see Partner Innovation Award winners such as Coastal Cloud drive success for customers through a relentless focus on delivering high quality service and forging long-term relationships, said Tyler Prince, Executive Vice President, Alliances & Channels, Salesforce. Coastal Clouds initiative and ability to deliver results illustrates how Salesforce partners are integral to creating value and enabling digital transformation in our new work-from-anywhere world.

Salesforce partners such as Coastal Cloud are part of the growing Salesforce economy, which according to a new study by IDC*, is projected to produce more than 9 million new jobs and $1.6 trillion in new business revenue by 2026. The study finds that Salesforce is driving massive gains for its partner ecosystem, which will see $6.19 in gains for every $1 Salesforce makes by 2026.

*IDC White Paper, sponsored by Salesforce, The Salesforce Economic Impact, doc #US48214821, September 20, 2021

About Coastal Cloud

Coastal Cloud is a Salesforce Multi-Cloud Expert Partner that provides consulting, implementation and managed services to businesses, nonprofits, and the public sector. Founded in 2012, the company offers insight and expertise into a wide variety of industries, including communications and media, healthcare, high-tech, manufacturing, private equity and more. Coastal Cloud has earned a 5/5 customer satisfaction rating on the Salesforce AppExchange and is the #1 rated consulting partner on G2Crowd.com. Coastal Cloud attributes its success to a unique company culture, nimble expertise, and onshore-only teams. For more information, please visit www.CoastalCloud.US.

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OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, Oct. 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

Serco Canada Marine (Serco), a Canadian leader in integrated, complex ship design, is proud to announce its Atlas 120 Frigate design has been granted Approval in Principle (AIP) by Lloyds Register (LR).

The Atlas 120 Light Frigate is a modern general purpose surface combatant that measures 120 metres in length. The ship can accommodate almost all standard NATO missile munitions and the Hangar and Flight Deck have been sized to accommodate all NATO medium lift naval helicopters. The ship has a broad range of passive and active self-defence systems to protect the ship from all directions. Additionally, the design can be easily modified to the owners preference in combat capability, including the addition of a passive phased array radar and a towed array sonar to augment ASW.

The vessel was evaluated in accordance with the requirements of LRs Rules and Regulations for the Classification of Naval Ships and with the International Naval Safety Association (INSA) Naval Ship Code.

Our extensive design experience and rigorous design process enables us to bring real value to our customers, said Russell Peters, General Manager of Serco Canada Marine. Our experience as designers also allows us to identify and address gaps in the market. The Atlas 120 Light Frigate design was born in response to the need for a mid-sized, general purpose surface combatant that could be tailored to suit use-case requirements that range from maritime security to warfighting.

We are delighted to have been selected by Serco to provide AIP for their new Atlas 120 Frigate, said Kevin Humphreys, LR Americas Marine and Offshore President. He went on to say, The application of LRs Naval Ship Rules and INSAs Naval Ship Code are industry benchmarks; receiving AIP to these standards provides all stakeholders with solid assurance that the ship design is fundamentally fit for purpose and safe. We look forward to the success of the Atlas 120 Frigate in filling niche operational roles that are becoming of increasing importance to navies around the world.

About Serco Canada Marine: Serco Canada Marine is a leader in naval architecture, specifically engineering for the design, construction and maintenance of marine vessels and structures, notably surface ships and submarines. The company has decades of experience in managing large-scale procurement and production programs for military and civilian vessels, advanced logistics, and sustainment support projects. Serco's team has supported the development of the Royal Canadian Navy's Joint Support Ship (JSS), the Halifax Class Patrol Frigates, the first fully electric green ferries in Ontario, and the Canadian Coast Guard's Offshore Fisheries Science Vessels, among other high-profile vessels. Serco Canada employs more than 1,200 people across the country. Its global parent company, Serco Group PLC has more than 50,000 employees, and operates internationally across four geographies: UK & Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and the Middle East.

About Lloyds Register: Lloyd's Register (LR) is a maritime classification society and independent risk management organization providing risk assessment and mitigation services and management systems certification for ships, offshore structures and shore-based installations. We are a leading provider of marine classification services around the world, helping ensure that internationally recognized safety and environmental standards are maintained at every stage of an assets life. LR Canadas primary business is the classification of merchant and naval ships and providing related maritime safety advisory and technical investigation services.

For further information, please contact: Alan Hill, alan.hill@serco-na.com, 703-263-6500
BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Oct. 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Harbert United States Real Estate Fund VII, L.P., along with its parallel fund (HUSREF VII or the Fund), together with Harbert Parkside Co-Investor, L.P., a Fund-sponsored co-investment vehicle, has closed on the acquisition of Parkside at Craig Ranch (Parkside or the Property), a unique, 1,824 unit, class A multifamily property located in the acclaimed 121 Corridor of Dallas-Fort Worth. The Property presents a compelling risk-adjusted opportunity to create value in a rapidly growing and high-quality submarket. Developed in five phases between 2013 and 2021, the Property features market-leading amenities in a one-of-a-kind lifestyle environment that is difficult to replicate.



Parkside is part of a 2,200-acre master-planned, mixed-use development that provides great livability between the booming suburbs of McKinney and Allen. The Propertys location in Craig Ranch and the heart of the 121 Corridor is proximate to numerous large employment centers and adjacent to significant new mixed-use developments including HUB 121, District 121, and McKinney Corporate Center.

HUSREF VIIs renovation strategy will be light in nature, focusing on modernizing the interiors of Phase I and upgrading the technology throughout the Property. Most importantly, management plans to prioritize building a sense of community at Parkside through an extensive combination of on-site amenities, social events and tenant services. The property management effort will be led by BH Management Services.

HUSREF VII focuses on primary markets with strong job growth, diversified economies and a depth of institutional ownership. The Fund has already invested and committed equity totaling approximately $344 million across 16 investments creating a diverse portfolio of industrial, multifamily, office and retail assets. The HUSREF VII Investment Team has a robust pipeline and the opportunity to be highly selective in making investments that exhibit strong cash returns and value appreciation potential.

We are thrilled to complete the acquisition of Parkside at Craig Ranch. The Propertys scale and quality differentiate it in the submarket and reflect the thoughtful vision and execution of its developer, Columbus Realty Partners, said Adam Krug, Managing Director for HUSREF VII. The Property is enjoying robust demand from residents who appreciate its unique attributes, and we expect that to continue as McKinney and Allen add significant commercial density along 121 Corridor.

About Harbert Management Corporation (HMC)

The Fund is sponsored by HMC, an investment management firm focusing on alternative assets, with approximately $7.8 billion in Regulatory Assets Under Management as of August 31, 2021. A privately owned firm founded in 1993, HMC serves foundations, endowments, fund of funds, pension funds, financial institutions, insurance companies, family offices, and high net worth individuals across multiple asset classes. Investment strategies include U.S. and European real estate, seniors housing, U.S. growth capital, credit solutions, infrastructure and absolute return funds. For additional information about HMC, visit www.harbert.net.
Parsippany, NJ, Oct. 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As an industry, we are very good at examining aviation accidents after they result in injury or tragedy. Regrettably, we fail to take advantage of the proactive learning opportunitiesthose found when emergencies are averted. Enter the emerging data that our 24/7 active flight monitoring1 is bringing to the surface.

With over 10 years of collective data at our disposal, learning opportunities are vast in business aviation flight activity. With an annual rate of well over 100,000 flights2, we often see how acts of airmanship are preventing accidents and saving lives. None of these are investigated and there are no analyses performed, conclusions drawn, or recommendations made to the industry. Take heart, as change is in the air, quite literally.

In this discussion, we will only scratch the surface of what we are uncovering. To start, we are finding at least one binding ingredient between the aircraft, the data ecosystem surrounding it3 and the avoidance of emergencies: a population of effective decision-makers.

Powerful Predictability Flows From Emergency Preparedness

A profound elegance exists in the science of emergency preparedness. When discernable elements interact in repeatable patterns, those interactions become predictable. When this happens, speculation falls away and truth takes its place. Predictable truth brings forth the confidence required for some of our uniquely human traits:the capacity to apply reason and the freedom to make a choice (versus to act on instinct alone).

Consider a scenario in which a flight crew encounters an uncommanded change in aerodynamic forces, and the longer it continues, the more forceable and urgent the situation becomes. Nothing is making sense; a left control column input is causing a roll to the right. No training memory, simulator scenario or procedure is available in this situation.

A flight crew is on takeoff roll in a different scenario, just having passed V14, when loud noises and severe vibrations ensue. Concurrently, the aircraft begins pulling to the right with no tiller input by the crew. Every training component tells them to continue the takeoff. Every real-world cue tells them something is dangerously amiss and to stop.

We are illuminating scenarios where the cues are so innocuous and misleading that both machines and humans aren't even sure what they are contending with. In these moments, what defines an effective decision? We are finding some very impactful realities.

Effective Decision-Making Saves Lives

Effective decision-making in high-consequence, low-clarity situations is an ability to be admired. More importantly, it is a competency that continually saves lives, and not just in aviation, of course. Internal questions quickly arise. How will I perform when it is my turn? How do I avoid a colossal flop? What traits can I identify from those who consistently perform?

First, "trait" is not the best word, as it implies some internal component that most of us may not have. "Trust" is a better reference, suggesting an inner faith in something we believe with conviction. Trust is something any of us could attain.

Trust #1: Never evaluate a decision based on the outcome. High performers look to the process they used in decision-making as the crucial determinant, and they govern their decision-making accordingly. Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority believe the outcome is the only relevant criteria to evaluate a decision.

To demonstrate, let's say you and I were at a bar and you watched me have several strong drinks. At the end of the evening, I am slurring my speech and having trouble walking. Nonetheless, I grab my car keys and decide to drive several miles to my home. I manage not to cause an accident, nor do I inflict harm to myself or anyone else. I arrive safely at home, therefore, the outcome is quite positive. Good decision?

We are wise to celebrate the process of things like intelligence gathering and a disciplined manner of execution, for this leads to the best chance for a positive outcome. Neophytes celebrate luck and congratulate themselves on their intelligence. Worse yet, they try to assign predictability for the future, and they will often "lean on" the memory of that first lucky outcome.

Trust #2: Understand the difference between a clear and present situation and what should happen. High performers can effectively parse what is happening from what is supposed to be happening.

Social scientists examine the effects of societal constructs. Coined "motivated reasoning," the general population is rife with it. Peter Ditto, Ph.D., a social psychologist at the University of California, Irvine, studies how motivation, emotion and intuition influence judgment. "Motivated reasoning is a pervasive tendency of human cognition," he observes. "People are capable of being thoughtful and rational, but our wishes, hopes, fears, and motivations often tip the scales to make us more likely to accept something as true if it supports what we want to believe."

In the concrete sense, a flight crew experiencing a right-hand roll following a left-hand input is more likely to increase the left-hand input. The same is true if you were driving on the freeway and turned your steering wheel slightly left, but your car started drifting to the right. Everything in you would want to turn the wheel more forcibly to the left. Only a few among us would assess and overcome what is happening versus what we wish and expect.

Learning from Catastrophes Avoided

We now return to the flight data5 surrounding events that could have been catastrophic, and by all rights probably should have been, but were avoided by some effective high-consequence decision-makers. The future presents several promising areas from a safety perspective.

We are beginning to peel back the data on these high-consequence decisions and incorporate insights from safety experts who are active pilots. Ultimately, we will present our collective findings to the appropriate federal bodies.

Credit: The content in this article comes from "Outliers in Emergency Response and Risk Management,"; a workshop for Risk Managers and Emergency Management professionals facilitated by Fireside Partners Inc.

References

1 Fireside Partners 24/7 Active Flight Monitoring service.

2 2020 flight monitoring numbers were lower than the average, at slightly over 91,000 actively monitored flights.

3 Reference to FOQA and FDM data, the physical dtata related to the flight sequence.

4 A reference to the final decision point to safely reject the takeoff sequence, given runway distance and condition, weather, and aircraft performance.

5 To learn more about Fireside Partners active Flight Monitoring Services, e-mail Enable javascript.

About Global Aerospace SM4 Aviation Safety Program

The Global Aerospace SM4 Safety Program has revolutionized the way insurance specialists help their clients achieve higher levels of operational safety. SM4 was built on the concept of integrating four

critical safety components: planning, prevention, response and recovery. Its mission is to help organizations manage risk, enrich training efforts, strengthen safety culture and improve safety management systems. https://sm4.global-aero.com/

Global Aerospace SM4 Aviation Safety Program Media Contact

Suzanne Keneally

Vice President, Group Head of Communications

+1 973-490-8588
BOSTON, Oct. 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Verndale, an end-to-end customer experience agency, announced that it received the 2021 Optimizely Partner of the Year Award during the annual Optimizely customer event known globally as Opticon. For Verndale, this recognition comes on the heels of being elevated to one of only four partners to achieve Premier Platinum status globally within the Optimizely (formerly Episerver) ecosystem.

"We greatly value our long-standing strategic partnership with Optimizely," says Chris Pisapia, CEO of Verndale. "Being recognized as Partner of the Year for North America is a tremendous source of pride for our organization. We have engineered our company to keep pace with Optimizely's exciting evolution, and we are excited to continue to grow with them in the years ahead."

With a network of over 900 partner companies in 30 countries, Optimizely seeks to recognize top partners whose firms possess a wealth of experience, team members with a creative outlook, global reach, and a collective eye toward future opportunities to ensure mutual customers are successful in the short and long term. The Optimizely Partner of the Year award honors top-performing partners that have demonstrated outstanding business performance and excellence in the sales and delivery of Optimizely solutions. These partners have made the most significant contribution to the success and growth of Optimizely over the past year.

The Optimizely Digital Experience Platform provides content, commerce, analytics, and personalization on one screen with an independently proven 299% return on investment in three years and a payback period of less than six months. Along with low total cost of ownership, Optimizely gives teams greater agility to respond to trends and market conditions and smarter customer intelligence to reach the "right" potential customers and provide more relevant content that engages and converts.

Founded in 1998 and headquartered in Boston, Verndale has a successful track record designing, building and evolving customer experiences using the Optimizely platform for global brands like Johnson Financial Group, Blackhawk Industrial, Reyes Beverage Group, Quinnipiac University, Unisys, and Truist.

"With over 900 partners to choose from globally, this is quite an honor." said Jim King, Vice President of Partners & Alliances at Verndale. "We are excited about our future together and remain committed to the Optimizely partnership. We are looking forward to delivering even better results for Optimizely and our customers for years to come."

About Verndale

Verndale is an end-to-end customer experience agency, with two decades of experience across verticals, solutions, and technologies. From their offices in Boston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and Quito, Ecuador, Verndale designs and builds web, mobile, and commerce experiences that connect the dots of the customer journey  because a better experience leads to better business. For more information, contact Verndale.

About Optimizely

At Optimizely, we're on a mission to help people unlock their digital potential. With our leading digital experience platform (DXP), we equip teams with the tools and insights they need to create and optimize in new and novel ways. Now, companies can operate with data-driven confidence to create hyper-personalized experiences. Building sophisticated solutions has never been simpler. Optimizely's 900+ partners and 1100+ employees in offices around the globe are proud to help more than 9,000 brands, including Toyota, Santander, eBay, KLM and Mazda, enrich their customer lifetime value, increase revenue and grow their brands. Learn more at optimizely.com.

Contact:

Verndale

Jim King

jim.king@verndale.com

verndale.com

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Verndale was recognized as the 2021 Optimizely Partner of the Year for their commitment to quality, customer success, and expertise in the Optimizely family of products.









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VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Oct. 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Teck Resources Limited (TSX: TECK.A and TECK.B, NYSE: TECK) (Teck) will release its third quarter 2021 earnings results on Wednesday, October 27, 2021 before market open.



The company will hold an investor conference call to discuss the third quarter 2021 earnings results at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time / 8:00 a.m. Pacific time on Wednesday, October 27, 2021. The conference call dial-in is 416.340.2217 or toll free 800.806.5484, quote 1852700 if requested. Media are invited to attend on a listen-only basis.

A live audio webcast of the conference call, together with supporting presentation slides, will be available on Teck's website at www.teck.com.

The recording of the live audio webcast will be available from 3:00 p.m. Pacific time October 27, 2021 on Tecks website at www.teck.com.

About Teck

As one of Canadas leading mining companies, Teck is committed to responsible mining and mineral development with major business units focused on copper, zinc, and steelmaking coal, as well as investments in energy assets. Copper, zinc and high-quality steelmaking coal are required for the transition to a low-carbon world. Headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, Tecks shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbols TECK.A and TECK.B and the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TECK. Learn more about Teck at www.teck.com or follow @TeckResources .

Investor Contact:

Ellen Lai

Coordinator, Investor Relations

604.699.4257

ellen.lai@teck.com

Media Contact:

Chris Stannell

Public Relations Manager

604.699.4368

chris.stannell@teck.com
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Portnoy Law Firm advises Owlet, Inc. ("Owlet" or the "Company") (NYSE: OWLT) investors that the firm has initiated an investigation into possible securities fraud, and may file a class action on behalf of investors.



Investors are encouraged to contact attorney Lesley F. Portnoy , by phone 310-692-8883 or email : lesley@portnoylaw.com, to discuss their legal rights, or click here to join the case via www.portnoylaw.com . The Portnoy Law Firm can provide a complimentary case evaluation and discuss investors options for pursuing claims to recover their losses.

Owlet revealed on October 4, 2021 that it had received a warning letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), stating that the Companys marketing of its Owlet Smart Sock product . . . renders [it] a medical device requiring premarket clearance or approval from FDA. Owlet has not obtained such clearance or approval. Moreover, the FDA requests the Company cease commercial distribution of the Smart Sock for uses in measuring blood oxygen saturation and pulse rate where such metrics are intended to identify or diagnose desaturation and bradycardia using an alarm functionality to notify users that measurements are outside of preset values.

On October 4, 2021, Owlet stock price fell as much as 23% during intraday trading on this news, thereby injuring investors.

Please visit our website to review more information and submit your transaction information.

The Portnoy Law Firm represents investors in pursuing claims arising from corporate wrongdoing. The Firms founding partner has recovered over $5.5 billion for aggrieved investors. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

Lesley F. Portnoy, Esq.

Admitted CA and NY Bar

lesley@portnoylaw.com

310-692-8883

www.portnoylaw.com

Attorney Advertising
Annapolis, MD, Oct. 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --



The Maryland Bankers Association (MBA) and its members are voicing concerns over a new initiative which is included in the Biden Administrations Families Plan. The proposal would require banks and financial institutions to report to the IRS money deposited, transferred, in cash or other means, to foreign accounts and accounts with the same owner. The proposal would include business and personal accounts with balances of $600 or higher, including loans and investment accounts.

President and CEO, Ramon Looby noted, This proposal would create a dragnet, collecting the financial information of most Americans and requiring significant resources to build, police, and maintain. This would greatly impact the Maryland banking industry.

The MBA is joining forces with The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) and American Bankers Association (ABA) to advocate against this initiative. In addition, the MBA is encouraging customers and employees to act and join grassroot campaign efforts against this new proposal.

Ramon Looby is also a member of the ICBAs Minority Bank Advisory Council, a coalition of minority depository institutions (MDIS) which plays a critical role in creating inclusive prosperity. The ICBAs Minority Bank Advisory Council strongly opposes this new requirement. They fear this detailed new information, sent to the IRS, on financial account transactions would profile customers, created distrust, and further distance people from the banking industry. According to recent polling by Morning Consult, more than 64 percent of adults do not trust the IRS monitoring their deposit and withdrawal information.

Founded in 1896, the Maryland Bankers Association (MBA) is the only Maryland-based trade group representing banks in the state. MBA's member banks employ about 28,000 banking professionals in nearly 1,400 branch offices across the state.

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MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pace Analytical Services, LLC, preferred provider of in-lab, mobile, and emergency onsite specialty-contaminant and regulatory testing and analysis services, today announced that it has acquired BC Laboratories, Inc., a provider of environmental analytical services in the western region of the United States.

"Expanding our lab and service center network means greater convenience and faster turnaround times for Pace customers," notes Pace Analytical CEO, Eric Roman. "With over 70 years in the business, BC Laboratories is a highly regarded, full-service environmental lab that complements both the capabilities of the Pace network and our commitment to serving customers." BC Laboratories serves consultants, businesses, and government agencies on the West Coast through a centralized, California-based laboratory supported by five courier service centers.

The environmental testing and analysis services provided by BC Laboratories complement those offered by other Pace Analytical labs. The acquisition also supports the growing demand for regulatory testing of air, drinking water, wastewater, groundwater, underground storage tanks, and more for harmful contaminants and hazardous materials. "California has been a leader in the charge for mandated testing for contaminants and hazardous materials - and in providing greater transparency for consumers," adds Greg Whitman, President of Pace Analytical Services. "By expanding our existing footprint in California, we have both the capacity and capabilities to meet this growing demand."

BC Laboratories was founded in 1949 by Joe Elgin, a chemical engineer. Joe, with wife Bea, started the business from their garage and never stopped innovating and expanding. Eventually, the company was turned over to the second generation, led by daughter Carolyn Jackson and son, Richard Elgin. "Our father would be proud that we have grown BC Laboratories to the point that it would be attractive to a national brand like Pace," notes Richard Elgin, Vice President of BC Laboratories. "Pace not only provides more services to offer BC Labs customers, but it's a great cultural fit for our employees. Both companies work hard to protect our environment and improve the health and safety of our communities."

Over the upcoming months, BC Laboratories will transition to operating under the Pace brand. BC Laboratories is located in Bakersfield, CA, and supports customers through California service centers in Sacramento, San Jose, Ventura, Los Angeles, and Orange County.

Pace Analytical Services, LLC is a portfolio company of Los Angeles-based Aurora Capital Partners.

About BC Laboratories

BC Laboratories is a full-service, environmental laboratory certified by the States of California and Nevada for analysis of waters, soils, and air/vapor. For more than 70 years, BC Laboratories has been providing quality, full-service analytical testing services to the environmental industry, including consultants, industries, and government agencies. We are proud of our legacy and continued leadership in furnishing defensible data through superior service. Learn more at BCLABS.com.

About Pace Analytical

Pace Analytical Services, LLC makes the world a safer, healthier place. For decades, we have been the trusted source for quality environmental and life sciences lab testing and analysis and the resource for scientific lab staffing, regulatory, and equipment services. Our work is done in partnership with our clients by providing the science and the data they need to make critical decisions that benefit us all. Pace advances science for businesses, industries, consulting firms, government agencies, and more through the largest, American-owned and nationally certified laboratory network. Science matters at PACELABS.com.

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MEDIA CONTACT: Pam Bednar | pam.bednar@pacelabs.com

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New York, Oct. 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Flat Steel Market Overview: According to a comprehensive research report by Market Research Future (MRFR), Flat Steel Market Research Report, Product Type, End-Use Industry and Region - Forecast till 2027 the market is projected to be worth USD 768.16 billion by 2028, registering a CAGR of 6.1% during the forecast period (2021 - 2028)., The market was valued at USD 455.27 billion in 2021.

Market Competitive Analysis

List of major companies in the flat steel market profiled are:

Jiangsu Shagang Group (China),

ArcelorMittal (Luxembourg),

ChinaSteel (China),

POSCO (South Korea),

Maanshan Iron & Steel Company Limited (China),

Jianlong Group (China),

JFE Steel Corporation (Japan),

ThyssenKrupp AG (India),

NIPPON STEEL CORPORATION (Japan),

Albawardi Steel Industries (Saudi Arabia),

Nucor Corporation (US),

Tata Steel (India),

Hyundai Steel (South Korea),

SABIC (Saudi Arabia),

Severstal Russian Steel (Russia),

AGIS (UAE)

Voestalpine AG (Austria)

Among others.



Get Free Sample PDF Brochure https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/1885





Market Research Futures Review on Flat Steel Market.

Market Scope:

Flat steel refers to a semi-furnished material like ingots, billets, and slabs. Flat steel is used in numerous consumer durable, automotive, white goods, and construction sectors. Flat steel is used by several manufacturers like grating manufacturers, the automotive industry, railways, truck trailers, light bar Industries, cable trays, and other Industries.

Market USP Covered

Market Drivers

The growth of the flat steel market is being driven by the factors like the advancement of technology in defense, packaging Industries, construction, and automobile, rapid industrialization, the speedy growth of buildings and construction sectors, and rapid urbanization. Additionally, because of the numerous benefits of flat steel, it is used in several construction applications, increasing the per capita income of people and economic growth. Furthermore, the growth of the automotive industry is another major aspect causing an upsurge in the market growth for flat steel.



Browse In-depth Market Research Report (185 pages) on Flat Steel

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/flat-steel-market-1885





Market Restraints

Factors like the volatility in the price of iron ore, the high cost of blast furnace production, and high investment costs are some of the major market restraints.

COVID-19 Impact

The prevalence of the COVID-19 pandemic has had a severe impact on the global flat steel market. The coronavirus has spread widely across all the regions globally, causing numerous industries and businesses. Because of the lockdown guidelines, several industry sectors suffered, including the construction sector. Because of the downfall in the economy and financial crisis, numerous construction projects were halted. Additionally, labor shortage resulted in major problems in the construction sector, and the imposition of lockdown has severely impacted the flat steel market. The global market for flat steel is anticipated to witness growth after the post-covid-19 situation.



Share your Queries https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/enquiry/1885





Segment Analysis

The flat steel market is divided into numerous segments based on end-user, product type, and region.

The market segmentation is done as cold-rolled coils sheets hit rolled coils coated steel, slabs, and others by product type. The best and strips accounted for the largest market share in 2018 due to rising home appliances, electronics, and packaging adoption.

The market is classified into oil & gas, energy, consumer goods, electronics, automotive and transportation, machinery, construction and building, and others based on end-user.

Regional Analysis

The global flat steel market is divided into Asia-Pacific, Europe, North America, South America, and the Rest of the World.

The Asia-Pacific region tops the market with the largest market share as per the MRFR report on the flat steel market. An increasing industrial base and economics are mainly driving the region's growth in the countries such as South Korea, India, Thailand, and others. Also, the increased construction activities and Increasing per capita income of the people in the region have boosted the demand for the flat steel market.

North American holds the second position in the global flat steel market given the rising automotive sector in the region. The growing demand for commercial vehicles and passenger cars in the US is propelling the market's growth for the region.

The European flat steel market is projected to witness significant growth in the projected timeframe owing to the growing consumer base.

Segmentation of Market covered in the research:

Flat Steel Market: Information by Product Type (Slabs, Hot-Rolled Coil, Cold-Rolled Coil, Sheets & Strips, Tinplate, Coated Steel, and Others), End-Use Industry (Building & Construction, Automotive & Transportation, Machinery, Electronics, Consumer Goods & Appliances, Oil & Gas, Energy, and Others), and Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa)  Global Forecast till 2028



To Buy: https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/checkout?currency=one_user-USD&report_id=1885





About Market Research Future:

Market Research Future (MRFR) is a global market research company that takes pride in its services, offering a complete and accurate analysis with regard to diverse markets and consumers worldwide. Market Research Future has the distinguished objective of providing the optimal quality research and granular research to clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help answer your most important questions.

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New York, NY, Oct. 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Trademark Factory  the one-stop shop for trademarking services is offering an all-inclusive flat-fee trademark registration service to its clients, as well as a bevy of unparalleled services to business owners pursuing trademarks.

Speaking about his companys unrivaled flat-fee and money-back guarantee policy, founder & CEO Andrei Mincov stated that First, we run a comprehensive trademark search to ensure your brand is trademarkable. If we spot any problems, well keep doing additional trademark searches until you come up with a brand thats registrable  or you can simply get a full refund.

Trademark Factorys money-back policy is rare, if not unprecedented. Not only does Honest Registrability Opinion'' allow Trademark Factory clients to get a full refund if they choose not to move forward with their problematic brands, but even more remarkable, they can also get all of their money back if trademarks that get filed are then rejected by the government Trademarks Office.

All trademarks are filed and handled by licensed attorneys and trademark agents from start to finish for an upfront flat fee, custom-tailored to fit each clients situation. That means that for a fixed fee, Trademark Factorys clients get access to unlimited attorney hours to deal with any and all legal correspondence with the Trademarks Officeuntil their trademark registers.

Lucas Mattiello, founder of Level Up Living described his experience with Trademark Factory and their all-inclusive package as follows: I used Trademark Factory for two reasons. One, Andrei had a good reputation, and two, the all-inclusive price. The last thing I wanted to do was get hit with the legal bill for thousands of dollars because there is some problem, and this gave me certainty in the fixed price. I am happy with Trademark Factory and I recommend that you get your logo trademarked with them.

Clients also have the option of utilizing a flexible payment plan. Installments can be paid over the course of three or six months, for maximum convenience. Further, clients can check the status of their trademarks with the Client Cabinet, a feature unique to Trademark Factory which allows applicants to log in and confirm the up-to-date status of their applications at any time.

To begin the process of applying for a trademark with a 100% money-back guarantee, brand owners can visit trademarkfactory.com or call +1 844 TM.FACTORY [863.2286]. From there, customers can book a free call with a specialist or order a paid consultation with registered trademark agent, former intellectual property lawyer, and founder of Trademark Factory, Andrei Mincov.

About Trademark Factory

Launched by a former intellectual property lawyer in 2011, Trademark Factorys origins lay at the beginning of founder Andrei Mincovs legal career in Russia in 1996. His father, the famed Russian composer Mark Minkov, had heard a piece of his being played in the background of an advertisement by a local radio station without his knowledge or consent. Andrei, who was still a law student at the time, sued the radio station for copyright infringement, and ultimately won a precedent-setting victory in Russias second-highest court. After a successful career working for the worlds largest international law firm, Andrei immigrated to Canada in 2007. After undertaking additional schooling in the law, Andrei set out to found a firm that would provide business owners trademarking services for a single flat fee, and thus Trademark Factory was born. To date, Trademark Factory has filed for over 2,000 trademarks for over 800 clients around the world with an astonishing 99.3% rate of success. For more information, visit trademarkfactory.com and follow Trademark Factory on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram and subscribe to their YouTube channel.

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New York , Oct. 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Proactive, provider of real-time news and video interviews on growth companies listed in the US and Canada, has covered the following companies:

About Proactive 

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Patent Title: MEDICATED CANNABINOID COMPOSITIONS, METHODS OF MANUFACTURING, AND METHODS OF TREATMENT

NEW YORK, NY, Oct. 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NewMediaWire -- Tauriga Sciences, Inc. (OTCQB: TAUG) (Tauriga or the Company), a New York based diversified Life Sciences Company, today announced that it has received notification from the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) that its International Patent Application (App No. PCT/US21/22668) was Published (Publication No. WO2021/188612) on September 23, 2021.

This International Patent Application was filed by the Company on March 17, 2021 as is Titled: MEDICATED CANNABINOID COMPOSITIONS, METHODS OF MANUFACTURING, AND METHODS OF TREATMENT

This International Patent Application relates to the Companys proposed Pharmaceutical, Cannabinoid based, Chewing Gum product (Sublingual Absorption - Delivery System) under development for the treatment of: Nausea Derived from Active Chemotherapy Treatment.

The law firm of Lowenstein Sandler LLP represents the Company, with respect to its ongoing Pharmaceutical development initiatives.

ABOUT TAURIGA SCIENCES INC.

Tauriga Sciences, Inc. (TAUG) is a revenue generating, diversified life sciences company, engaged in several major business activities and initiatives. The company manufactures and distributes several proprietary retail products and product lines, mainly focused on the Cannabidiol (CBD) and Cannabigerol (CBG) Edibles market segment. The main product line, branded as Tauri-Gum, consists of a proprietary supplement chewing gum that is Kosher certified, Halal certified, and Vegan Formulated (CBD Infused Tauri-Gum Flavors: Mint, Blood Orange, Pomegranate), (CBG Infused Tauri-Gum Flavors: Peach-Lemon, Black Currant), (DELTA 8 THC Infused Tauri-Gum Flavor: Evergreen Mint), (Vitamin C + Zinc Infused Tauri-Gum Flavor: Pear Bellini), (Caffeine Infused Tauri-Gum Flavor: Cherry Lime Rickey), & (Vitamin D3 Infused Tauri-Gum Flavor: Golden Raspberry). The Companys commercialization strategy consists of a broad array of retail customers, distributors, and a fast-growing E-Commerce business segment (E-Commerce website: www.taurigum.com). Please visit our corporate website, for additional information, as well as inquiries, at http://www.tauriga.com

Complementary to the Companys retail business, is its ongoing Pharmaceutical Development initiative. This relates to the development of a proposed Pharmaceutical grade version of Tauri-Gum, for nausea regulation (specifically designed for the following indication: Patients Subjected to Ongoing Chemotherapy Treatment). On March 22, 2021, the Company announced that it had Converted its U.S. Provisional Patent Application (filed on March 17, 2020) into a U.S. Non-Provisional Patent Application. The Patent, filed with the U.S.P.T.O. is Titled MEDICATED CBD COMPOSITIONS, METHODS OF MANUFACTURING, AND METHODS OF TREATMENT. On December 18, 2020 the Company disclosed that it had entered into a Master Services Agreement with CSTI to lead the Company's clinical development efforts.

The Company is headquartered in Wappingers Falls, New York. In addition, the Company operates two full time E-Commerce fulfillment centers: one located in Montgomery, Texas and the other in Brooklyn, New York.

DISCLAIMER -- Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 which represent managements beliefs and assumptions concerning future events. These forward-looking statements are often indicated by using words such as may, will, expects, anticipates, believes, hopes, believes, or plans, and may include statements regarding corporate objectives as well as the attainment of certain corporate goals and milestones. Forward-looking statements are based on present circumstances and on managements present beliefs with respect to events that have not occurred, that may not occur, or that may occur with different consequences or timing than those now assumed or anticipated. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed in forward looking statements due to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, such as are not guarantees of general economic and business conditions, the ability to successfully develop and market products, consumer and business consumption habits, the ability to consummate successful acquisition and licensing transactions, fluctuations in exchange rates, and other factors over which Tauriga has little or no control. Many of these risks and uncertainties are discussed in greater detail in the Risk Factors section of Taurigas Form 10-K and other periodic filings made from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Such forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this release, and Tauriga assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.

Contact:

Tauriga Sciences, Inc.

4 Nancy Court, Suite 4

Wappingers Falls, NY 12590

Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Seth M. Shaw

Email: sshaw@tauriga.com

cell # (917) 796 9926

Company Instagram: @taurigum

Personal Instagram: @sethsms47

Twitter: @SethMShaw

Corp. Website: www.tauriga.com
MIAMISBURG, Ohio, Oct. 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- UNITED GRINDING has partnered with TITANS of CNC, the well-known global manufacturing education provider, to support specialized education for precision grinding in the manufacturing industry.

The partnership includes the development of a grinding academy, designed to teach individuals new to the industry the basics of grinding in an easily digestible, digital format. UNITED GRINDING will launch a new website to support this partnership -

titansofgrinding.com - and it will house a variety of information about the partnership. The site will also include a list of machines that TITANS of CNC has utilized for training and production and serve as a source for all of the video content TITANS of CNC has produced involving UNITED GRINDING machine technology.

According to Titan Gilroy, CEO and founder of TITANS of CNC, his focus is on the development and delivery of high-level manufacturing education through the TITANS of CNC Academy. With its free, online, video-based, step-by-step training system, TITANS of CNC continues to provide answers to real manufacturing problems.

"My team and I are excited to officially partner with UNITED GRINDING to bring awareness and advanced grinding education to a worldwide audience," said Gilroy. "UNITED GRINDING has a great reputation in the industry due to the quality, performance, and versatility of their entire machine line-up. This is why we have chosen to develop the most advanced grinding curriculum in the world on the platform that is UNITED GRINDING."

Gilroy started TITANS of CNC as a machine shop in Northern California that produced some of the most challenging components for the aerospace industry. From there, the shop progressed to a reality TV series recognized as a leading CNC educational platform among a global network of engineers, machinists, hobbyists, students and educators.

"Our motivation is the success of our customers. Our ambition is, therefore, to accompany our customers along their way and to provide our expertise as a strong and reliable partner to make them even better," stated Stephan Nell, CEO of the UNITED GRINDING Group. "The need for trained machinists is greater now than ever, and in our new partnership with TITANS of CNC, we are proud to recommit our efforts to building the next generation of young machinists."

About UNITED GRINDING Group

UNITED GRINDING Group is one of the world's leading manufacturers of precision machines for grinding, eroding, laser, measuring and combination machining. With around 2,500 employees at more than 20 production, service and sales sites, the Group is organized in a customer-oriented and efficient way.

With its brands MAGERLE, BLOHM, JUNG, STUDER, SCHAUDT, MIKROSA, WALTER, and EWAG as well as competence centers in America and Asia, UNITED GRINDING offers an ample range of application expertise, an extensive product portfolio and an array of services for surface and profile grinding, cylindrical grinding and tool machining. In addition, a competence center for additive manufacturing is operated under the IRPD brand.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Jacob Baldwin, Director of Corporate Marketing for UNITED GRINDING NORTH AMERICA, 937.388.7609, jacob.baldwin@grinding.com

Chuck Bates, Vice President of Public Relations for dgs Marketing Engineers, 317-813-2230, bates@dgsmarketing.com

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Related Files

UNITED GRINDING Announces TITANS of CNC Partnership FNL.pdf

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Image 2: WALTER HELITRONIC VISION 4 + TITANS OF CNC









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Washington, Oct. 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman , head of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), visited Nashville, Tennessee, this Monday, October 4, as part of a national tour highlighting small business recovery and resources available to assist entrepreneurs.

Administrator Guzman met with small business owners who have benefited from the American Rescue Plan, community organizations, and economic development advocates to directly hear their experiences, and layout the Biden-Harris Administration's path forward for the small business community. She also encouraged vaccinations to help business owners continue to fully re-open their businesses and help Americans safely get back to work.

"I was thrilled to visit Nashville, a city with a strong entrepreneurial spirit and an outsized cultural impact. I heard firsthand from small business owners about how federal relief had been pivotal in their survival, and I learned about the many ways they used their extraordinary perseverance and resilience to stay afloat over the past year and a half. They also shared how SBA can continue to meet them where they are with the capital, market opportunities and networks they need to build back better, Administrator Guzman said.

Administrator Guzman kicked off her day in Music City at the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) Annual Conference. She participated in a conversation highlighting ways economic developers can partner with the SBA to help small businesses recover and rebuild from the ongoing pandemic.

Later, Administrator Guzman visited the Nashville Entrepreneur Center, where she met local Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) recipients who have used the workspace to expand and showcase their small businesses.

Representative Jim Cooper joined Administrator Guzman to tour Rudy's Jazz Room, a small business and local cultural treasure that is now back up and operating after receiving relief through the SBA's Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program.

The trip also included a walking tour of historic Jefferson Street, where Administrator Guzman visited small business owners who directly benefited from SBA's disaster relief efforts. To close out her visit to Nashville, Administrator Guzman stopped by Imagen, a women-owned small business manufacturer that designs and builds visual exhibits.

This marks the Administrator's first visit to Tennessee. Since June, Administrator Guzman has visited 13 states and U.S. territories, including Puerto Rico.

###

About the U.S. Small Business Administration

The U.S. Small Business Administration makes the American dream of business ownership a reality. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow or expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.

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Palm City - Margaret Jan Crandall passed away at home on November 14. Her daughter Martha and her husband Robert were at her side. Jan Crandall, nee Schmults, was born on June 2, 1935, in Barrington, Rhode Island. During WWII, the family lived in Newport where her father, Ernest, worked at t
Goshen, IN (46526)

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Governor Northam Announces Virginias Infrastructure Upgrades in Wythe County Attract Commitments for New Manufacturing Jobs and Investment

Blue Star NBR and American Glove Innovations commit to invest $714 million, expecting to create 2,500 new jobs, returning manufacturing of personal protective equipment onshore to United States from Asia

WYTHEVILLEGovernor Ralph Northam today announced that because the Commonwealth has committed $8.5 million to upgrade infrastructure at Progress Park in Wythe County, a major joint venture has committed to build a manufacturing operation that projects to employ 2,500 people and produce up to 60 billion medical gloves a year.

The actions would return manufacturing of key personal protective equipment (PPE) onshore to the United States from Asia, after global supply chains were disrupted early in the COVID-19 pandemic. The investment would represent the largest job creation in Southwest Virginia in a generation.

These investments are leading to the largest job creation commitment Southwest Virginia has seen in a generation, and its a game-changer for the Commonwealth, said Governor Northam. This is about investing to bring jobs back to the United States from overseas, and doing it right here in rural America. We can all be proud the Commonwealths investment is bringing these jobs back to America at this unique manufacturing campus. This can be transformational for all of Southwest Virginia.

The Commonwealths investments will include $3 million to expand the Fort Chiswell Wastewater Plant, $1.5 million to extend public sewer infrastructure, and $4 million to build a water tank serving all of Progress Park. The water tank and plant upgrades will also serve the surrounding community in Wythe County. The infrastructure upgrades will make Progress Park more competitive for attracting a variety of significant manufacturing projects in the future.

As a direct result of the Commonwealths investments, Blue Star NBR, LLC and Blue Star-AGI, Inc., a joint venture between Blue Star Manufacturing and American Glove Innovations (AGI), have committed to invest $714.1 million to establish an advanced, one-of-a-kind nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) manufacturing facility and nitrile glove production operation in Wythe Countys Progress Park. These facilities are expected to occupy more than 200 acres, and they have the potential to triple in size in future phases and incorporate multiple and contiguous large-scale vertically integrated production plants.

This investment would increase the raw material production and manufacturing of exclusively Made in USA personal protection nitrile gloves. These gloves are currently manufactured primarily in Asia. Virginia successfully competed with Tennessee and Texas for the project, which is expected to result in nearly 2,500 new jobs within three to five years.

Blue Star-AGI is breaking ground on the worlds most innovative, advanced, eco-conscious, efficient, automated, AI-driven, and vertically integrated nitrile glove manufacturing facilities. The facilities would all be located on the same campus, which would optimize cost of goods, reduce freight, improve logistics, and accelerate overall speed to market.

Blue Star NBR produces nitrile butadiene rubber, an oil-resistant synthetic rubber made from a copolymer of acrylonitrile and butadiene. The first NBR facility in Wythe County is expected to have an annual capacity of approximately 90,000 metric tons, which can support the production of up to 11 billion gloves annually.

This project demonstrates how important infrastructure is to attracting and retaining companies, said Secretary of Commerce and Trade Brian Ball. I want to thank Blue Star NBR and Blue Star-AGI for this significant job creating commitment and the many partners from the state, regional, and local levels who worked tirelessly to bring this project to fruition.

The first of Blue Star-AGIs facilities aims to have a launch quantity between 5 and 8 billion gloves per year. The company expects to quickly and efficiently bring to market its additional glove production facilities with a full-scale plan to reach 60 billion gloves per year. The focus will be predominantly on the North American market. The company will produce for distributors and large end users in the healthcare, government, retail, and hospitality sectors. This production will meet ongoing demand and help mitigate hospital and front-line worker exposures and supply chain shortages and breakdowns.

Blue Star-AGI takes pride in its Made in America approach and has full confidence that it is significantly more equipped than any other factory, both domestically and internationally, to tackle the ongoing market and scalability challenges facing the global glove market.

It comes with great pleasure and an even greater sense of responsibility to bring critical medical supply manufacturing back to the U.S., said Blue Star NBR Founder Ken Mosher. I am proud to have been an integral part of the pioneering American team that invented the nitrile exam glove back in 1990, as well as helping to establish the disposable glove market. The domestic glove industry moved to Asia and we are now perfectly positioned in a fully vertical partnership with American Glove Innovations to have things come full-circle and provide a boost to domestic manufacturing employment. We would like to thank the U.S. Department of Defense, Department of Health and Human Services, and the Commonwealth of Virginia for their incredible support of this project.

American Glove Innovations is thrilled to be partnering with Blue Star to create the worlds most innovative, fully integrated facility to provide Americans with what they rightfully deserve and what is much needed throughout the pandemic and far into the future, said Blue Star-AGI Co-Chief Executive Officer Marc Jason. We felt that there was a very timely opportunity to not be dependent on the whims of Asia when we have right here, in America, all the skills, capabilities, and intelligence to be market leading, self-sufficient, and highly competitive. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Governor Ralph Northam, the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, Wythe County, the Joint Industrial Development Authority of Wythe County, Virginia's Industrial Advancement Alliance, and the General Assemblys Major Employment and Investment Project Approval Commission, whose unrelenting support helped bring this incredible, game-changing, and very exciting operation to fruition.

Nitrile glove manufacturing is primarily consolidated to Malaysia, Thailand, and China. Demand for nitrile gloves is currently at an all-time high due to disruptions in the supply chain from COVID-19 outbreaks, long delivery times, ocean transportation risks, tariffs, and other challenges.

The nitrile glove market is expected to grow 9 percent annually through 2027, creating further need for increased production. Company officials say that the combination of Blue Star NBRs supply of raw material, Blue Star Manufacturings glove manufacturing and sales experience, and AGIs glove equipment manufacturing experience will create a partnership capable of competing domestically and globally in the nitrile glove market. Blue Star NBR and Blue Star-AGIs vertical integration in Progress Park is expected to help the two companies avoid supply chain disruptions and market fluctuations in the price of NBR latex.

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Wythe County, the Joint Industrial Development Authority of Wythe County, Virginia's Industrial Advancement Alliance, and the General Assemblys Major Employment and Investment (MEI) Project Approval Commission to secure the project for Virginia. The project will leverage regional water and sewer upgrades to be funded by the Commonwealth through an MEI-approved investment of $8.5 million. The Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission approved $1.02 million from the Tobacco Region Opportunity Fund to support additional public infrastructure for the project. The company is eligible to apply for benefits from the Railroad Industrial Access Program, administered by the Department of Rail and Public Transportation.

Support for job creation will be provided through the Virginia Talent Accelerator Program, a workforce initiative created by the Virginia Economic Development Partnership in collaboration with the Virginia Community College System and other higher education partners. Funding support comes from the Northam administration and the Virginia General Assembly. The program accelerates new facility start-ups through the direct delivery of recruitment and training services that are fully customized to a companys unique products, processes, equipment, standards, and culture. All program services are provided at no cost to qualified new and expanding companies as an incentive for job creation.

Blue Star NBR and Blue Star-AGI will partner with Wytheville Community College for workforce training. The companies will also collaborate with Virginia Tech and other local educational institutions to recruit engineering school graduates to help keep employment and careers within Virginia.

It is critical to invest in infrastructure and sites to ensure Virginia can successfully compete for a project of this caliber today and in the future, said Major Employment and Investment Project Approval Commission Chair Senator Janet Howell. I commend the team that worked tirelessly to ensure Blue Star NBR and Blue Star AGI selected Progress Park, and I am proud the MEI Commission could play a role in securing this transformational project.

We thank Blue Star NBR and Blue Star AGI for this historic investment in the Commonwealth, said Major Employment and Investment Project Approval Commission Vice Chair Delegate Luke Torian. Virginias commitment to enhance the infrastructure at Progress Park will benefit current and future corporate partners. I am pleased the MEI Commission could collaborate with our state, regional, and local partners to ensure Blue Star selected Wythe County for these new operations that will create nearly 2,500 new jobs for the citizens of Southwest Virginia.

On behalf of the Wythe County Board of Supervisors, I welcome Blue Star NBR and Blue Star AGI to Progress Park, said Wythe County Board of Supervisors Chairman Brian W. Vaught. A project of this scope is why we invested so heavily in the development of Lot 24 in this park. Today, that investment begins to pay off. Wythe County and its partners have worked extensively to make sure the project needs are met as companies establish operations here at the crossroads of I-81 and I-77. We wish Blue Star NBR and Blue Star AGI a long and prosperous future.

In addition to thanking Blue Star NBR and Blue Star AGI for choosing Wythe Countys Progress Park, I would like to express appreciation to current and former members and staff of the Board of Supervisors, Joint Industrial Development Authority, and Wytheville Town Council, whose vision and millions of dollars of investments over 20 years have led to this momentous occasion, said Wythe County Administrator Stephen Bear.

Progress Park and Lot 24 were tailor-made for this project from Blue Star NBR and Blue Star AGI, said Joint Industrial Development Authority of Wythe County Chairman David Kause. We are excited to be able to support such a pivotal, high-impact operation coming to Wythe County. The Joint Industrial Development Authority staff and board have worked tirelessly for more than seven years to bring an appropriate project to Lot 24, and this exceeds expectations. The economic impact of this project is tremendous, and we welcome the companies to Wythe County and Progress Park.

It has been a privilege to work with my colleagues at the Virginia Economic Development Partnership as we have sought this project for Wythe County, said Joint Industrial Development Authority of Wythe County Executive Director David Manley. I commend the diligence and collaboration demonstrated by our interdisciplinary working groups efforts. The Blue Star team has also been driven to make this project work in Southwest Virginia, and we are thrilled to welcome them to our community.

The Virginia Industrial Advancement Alliance would like to thank all local officials, the Tobacco Commission, American Electric Power, and countless others for the vision and unwavering commitment in establishing one of the premier industrial sites in Virginia, said Virginia Industrial Advancement Alliance Executive Director Josh Lewis. After years of extraordinary effort and steadfast determination by many, it is a very joyous occasion to announce this opportunity for the citizens of Wythe County and the region. We are honored to be a part of the team to work on this project and look forward to supporting the establishment and future success of Blue Star in Progress Park.

The Commission is thrilled to have played a role in bringing a project of this magnitude to Southwest Virginia, said Tobacco Commission member Delegate Chris Hurst. I am also pleased that the Commission's investment over the years in Progress Park, where this new facility will be located, is paying off in a big way. This goes to show that with the right kind of strategic investment in areas like infrastructure, workforce training, and more, Southwest Virginia can compete with anyone when it comes to attracting top employers to the region. This is a great day for the region and the Commonwealth.

Wytheville Community Colleges administration and workforce team are excited to be working with our local economic development partners and our partners at the Virginia Talent Accelerator Program to support Blue Star NBR and Blue Star AGI as they locate here in Wythe County, said Wytheville Community College President Dr. Dean Sprinkle. Helping develop the workforce our regions employers need is a longstanding effort for Wytheville Community College, and we look forward to aiding this exciting new enterprise as they assemble their skilled workforce.

This major project will bring nearly 2,500 jobs to Wythe County and will be a major boost for the local economy, said U.S. Senator Mark R. Warner. Im proud that investing in the Commonwealths infrastructure has allowed us to bring jobs back to America and compete at a global level in the manufacturing industry.

I am incredibly proud of the steps the Commonwealth has taken in recent years to make this project a reality, said U.S. Senator Tim Kaine. Not only will this investment promote economic development in Wythe County, but it will also support our pandemic response with the production of critically needed American-made medical supplies. As a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee, I will continue working to create jobs and improve economic opportunities for people across the Commonwealth.

The arrival of Blue Star NBR, LLC and Blue Star AGI in Progress Park is tremendous news for the region, said Congressman H. Morgan Griffith. By creating nearly 2,500 manufacturing jobs and investing over $714 million, it will provide opportunity for our citizens, economic growth for local communities, and tax revenues to support public services. This is a significant achievement for the people of Wythe County.

I am so very pleased to see the massive investment this project will bring to Wythe County and the opportunity it presents for our people, said Delegate Jeffrey Campbell. The prospect of nearly 2,500 good-paying jobs over five years is a game changer for our local economy.

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On Wednesday, in the afternoon, at Government House His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersey AC CVO hosted an afternoon tea in recognition of the finalists in the 2021 Premier of Queenslands Export Awards, and addressed guests.



Following, at Government House, His Excellency and Mrs Kaye de Jersey hosted an afternoon reception to celebrate the 90th Anniversary of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects, and His Excellency addressed guests.
Grand Haven, MI (49417)

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Greensburg, IN (47240)

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Mostly cloudy skies this morning will become partly cloudy this afternoon. High around 45F. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph..

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When Rhode Island residents spotted several red flares being launched into the sky late at night last year, witnesses fearing the worst contacted authorities.

A flare of that color and type flying over coastal skies typically signals one thing: A vessel or crew is in distress and needs help.

For hours, local authorities and the U.S. Coast Guard searched the water and shoreline near the area where the flares were first seen off of mainland Rhode Island, court records state. The reports prompted the Coast Guard to deploy a surface vessel, two helicopters, personnel and equipment. Altogether, it cost the Coast Guard over $100,000, according to a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court of Rhode Island.

But the flares were no sign of nautical distress, authorities later found.

Perry C. Phillips and Benjamin C. Foster discharged the flares aboard a skiff when they got close to their friend's wedding reception in the Breezy Point area of Block Island, court records state. All the pair wanted to do was to catch the attention of the wedding guests, according to the court documents.

The federal government later sued the Block Island duo, arguing they knowingly and willfully discharged marine distress flares without an emergency. As a result, federal prosecutors argued, the Coast Guard conducted and carried out an unnecessary operation.

On Monday, Phillips, 31, and Foster, 33, reached an agreement with the government, the U.S. attorney's office in Rhode Island announced. Each will pay a fine of $5,000 for causing a "needless and expensive" maritime search-and-rescue mission.

Neither Phillips nor Foster responded to messages from The Washington Post late Tuesday. Attorneys representing the pair and Coast Guard officials also did not respond to requests for comment.

This is not the first time the Coast Guard has responded to distress calls connected to celebrations. In June, a Coast Guard helicopter rescued three people celebrating a 30th birthday in Alaska when their pink flamingo raft was swept out to sea. In 2017, Coast Guard personnel rescued eight bachelor partygoers when they were stranded after their boat ran aground on a sandbar near Capers Island, S.C.

On June 6, 2020, Phillips and Foster borrowed a flare gun and flares from a friend, court records state, before boarding a skiff and heading toward a beach near Block Island's Breezy Point. As they neared the wedding location at about 9:30 p.m., the duo launched three red flares into the sky, court records state. One of the men recorded the incident and posted it to his social media, the complaint states, before the pair returned to shore.

Following reports from witnesses, the New Shoreham harbor master and a police officer searched the shoreline and water for 90 minutes. The Coast Guard also sent out personnel and equipment, investing nearly nine hours of work.
GREENWICH  First there was a phoned-in bomb threat to a local country club. Then there was a call to police about a man with a weapon seen in a storefront. And then another call came in about a person in a home looking to do harm to himself or others.

But all three calls were hoaxes, and part of an apparently rising trend of fake calls around the region, according to Greenwich police.

The incidents, including the bomb threat, fall under the category of swatting, police said. The term refers to falsely reported major emergencies such as active shooters, hidden bombs or hostage situations, and they have been a major concern for law-enforcement authorities across the country in recent years.

Three hoax calls in the past 30 days was a definite uptick in the town, said police Capt. Mark Zuccerella.

The police department relays reports of swatting incidents to the Connecticut Intelligence Center Unit, which collects and analyzes the cases to help locate and arrest the perpetrators involved. Zuccerella said discussions with CTIC and other law-enforcement agencies in the region suggest that there has been a rising number of swatting incidents in recent weeks.

The agencies have seen an influx, the captain said.

Calling in fake emergencies, typically the work of spiteful or malicious perpetrators, is a misuse of emergency services and a form of harassment that can be terrifying and distressing to people who encounter an armed police response. And its a danger to the public, Zuccerella said.

New advances in communications technology has made it easier to hide the identity of a caller  spoofing  and therefore easier to make a threat, police said.

All the person has to do is spoof the phone number. Theres even a way to make a 911 call from Oklahoma and make it appear its coming from Connecticut, Zuccerella said.

A wave of bomb threats targeting synagogues in 2017 in the United States, Canada and other countries around the world was made from a caller in Israel. The teenager behind the dozens of threats was later apprehended.

In the latest twist on swatting, the FBI is reporting that perpetrators hijack home surveillance devices, such as Ring, to call police with fake emergencies. According to an adviosry from the FBI, Recently, offenders have been using victims smart devices, including video and audio capable home surveillance devices, to carry out swatting attacks.

The advisory from the FBI highlights the dangers of swatting episode: Swatting may be motivated by revenge, used as a form of harassment, or used as a prank, but it is a serious crime that may have potentially deadly consequences.

In 2017, a 28-year-old man who was inadvertently killed by police in his home in Wichita, Kan., was the victim of a swatting case. A Texas-based expert on swatting believes the number of hoax calls with malicious intent has risen every year over the past decade, to about 1,000 cases a year across the country.

The name swat refers to Special Weapons And Tactics, the name of the police unit in Los Angeles that became the prototype for specially trained and equipped tactical units tasked with hostage situations, sniper attacks and other extreme emergencies.

At Greenwich police headquarters, the latest hoax calls are taken seriously and investigated, Zuccerella said. Regional cooperation is a valuable resource, he said, and the data base collected by the Connecticut Intelligence Center Unit can detect patterns and help investigators uncover the hoaxers.

There are intelligence-sharing sites, and they will go after people, he said.

Based on previous incidents and experience, perpetrators who initiate swatting incidents are malicious young people who enjoy spiteful pranks, Zuccerella said, or someone trying to ruin someones day.

Whatever the rationale, police and emergency dispatchers regularly train and work to avoid miscommunications or missteps when responding to calls with the potential for violent encounters. We train and plan to respond to calls, to do a quick assessment, communicate properly, so we respond appropriately, he said.

Greenwich police have devoted extensive resources to go after the perpetrators responsible for swatting cases, and they have assisted other agencies in making arrests. Felony-level charges, such as first-degree breach of peace, as well as harassment and reckless endangerment charges, can be filed against offenders.

Its takes a lot of detective work. Its difficult, but not impossible, Zuccerella said. And if you are caught, you will be prosecuted.

rmarchant@greenwichtime.com
The European Commission has put Apples business practices under a microscope recently. Earlier this year it found Apple App Store tax policy to be in breach with EUs competition laws. Now Apple Pay is also facing regulatory action.

According to a report by Reuters, the Commission is preparing to charge Cupertino with anti-competitive practices over how the NFC chip on Apple Devices works, specifically that only Apple Pay is allowed to use it.

The statement of objection is expected to be sent to Apple next year. Depending on how things shake out, third-party mobile payment systems may enjoy better integration in future iOS versions. Right now Google Pay and others cant use the NFC chip to launch when near a point-of-sale terminal.

The investigation into Apple Pay was opened in June of last year. Here is what Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager had to say about it:

It appears that Apple sets the conditions on how Apple Pay should be used in merchants' apps and websites. It also reserves the tap and go functionality of iPhones to Apple Pay. It is important that Apple's measures do not deny consumers the benefits of new payment technologies, including better choice, quality, innovation and competitive prices. I have therefore decided to take a close look at Apple's practices regarding Apple Pay and their impact on competition.

Source
The new One UI 4.0 beta for the Galaxy S21 series reaches the UK

The new One UI 4.0 beta for the Galaxy S21, S21+ and S21 Ultra is expanding. The first users to receive it were in South Korea with reports coming out of Germany too. Less than a day later the update went live in India and now it has reached UK shores.

This update adds RAM Plus, Material You themes and other new features. It is based on Android 12, you can read our Android 12 review for a brand-agnostic view of the new OS.



The new One UI 4.0 beta has reached the UK

Brits who want to test the new software early can sign up using the Samsung Members app (it should be in the notification section). This is a beta, of course, so you may encounter some issues  proceed at your own risk. Samsung recommends that you make a backup of important data.

Note that the beta is available only for unlocked phones and even then some users are reporting that they dont see the notification that allows them to sign up.

Source 1 | Source 2
According to people familiar with the matter, some US-based banks are rather unhappy with the transaction fees imposed by Apple on its Apple Card. The list of banks include JPMorgan Chase, Capital One and Bank of America. Reportedly, they've already contacted Visa and asked them to change the way they handle some Apple Card transactions.

As of now, Apple is charging the banks a small fee on each transaction that uses Apple Card via Apple Pay. The fee varies from country to country and for instance, in the US, Apple asks 0.15% of each credit card transaction and 0.5 cents for debit card transactions.

Allegedly, Visa has agreed to change that next year and is currently in talks with Apple, although some suggest that Apple's execs aren't happy with the offered changes.

If, however, Apple and Visa reach an agreement, the tech company would stop receiving fees from recurring transactions such as subscriptions - think Netflix, Spotify, gym membership fees.

The report also mentions the current relationship between Apple and Visa/Mastercard. It is believed that Apple agreed not to develop a payment network of its own and seek mass adoption through Mastercard. The latter is the official Apple Card issuer right now. Perhaps that's the reason why banks and card networks were on board with the Apple fee in the first place.

Source
PDN assistant editor Vanessa Malumay talks about the official casts of the Obi-Wan series
Johnny Cepeda Gogo felt he was destined for a military career just like his father and his uncles.

That was my plan. I (wanted) to follow in the footsteps of my fathers career and because my father was career military, I absolutely knew that I was going into the military, Gogo said. When I graduated from high school I thought I wanted to go to college first to get my college degree before I went to the military so thats what I did.

Gogo would not only follow in his fathers footsteps but also scores of CHamoru brothers and sisters who enlisted to see the world, provide opportunities for their family, and strive for excellence in the armed services.

But fulfilling his military predestination wasnt meant to be, as fate, destiny and the law bestowed a new destination.

I graduated from UC San Diego and I applied to officer candidate school but I didnt score high enough, and so I did not get accepted, Gogo said. As a result I went to plan B, and for me, plan B was law school.

His plan B was as good as it gets, and 25 years after graduating from Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, the 53-year-old Guam native is a judge for the Santa Clara County Superior Court in California.

Recently Guam Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero, in a letter to President Joe Biden, recommended him for an appointment as the U.S. attorney overseeing Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.

The influences and benefits of traveling and growing up around the world in a CHamoru military household is evident in his life and his law career.

Gogo was born in an Army hospital in Germany as the middle child of five to Jesus Crisostomo Gogo of Sinajana and Remedious Dydasco Cepeda of Barrigada.

His father was an Army Green Beret and the family moved every three years from base to base, in Europe, Asia, Alaska and across the continental United States.

Returning home

The family even had a short stint on Guam when the Army still had a base. Gogo had fond memories of being around extended family, playing with his cousins, going to C.L. Taitano Elementary and being an altar boy at St. Jude Thaddeus Catholic Parish in Sinajana. But after three years, the family had to move again.

Growing up, Johnny Gogo said his father would try to have CHamoru language lesson plans for him and his siblings.

The CHamoru lessons never really stuck, though. (But) we were always staying in touch with family, writing letters, or making phone calls,  he said. For me growing up, I always had the sense of Guam in the household and this longing, which is why I went back after graduating from law school to work for GovGuam.

He began his law career as a prosecutor with the Guam Attorney Generals Office in 1997 and later moved to work as an associate attorney with the law firm of Calvo & Clark.

Returning home after being away for 17 years from elementary school (C.L. Taitano) to finishing law school, people still remembered me and recognized me and welcomed me back with open arms, he said.

Global experience

He returned stateside in 2001 and worked as deputy district attorney at the Santa Clara County District Attorneys Office for nearly two decades before being appointed in 2019 as a Superior Court judge by California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

His father passed away while in law school, and wasnt there to see his professional achievements. My father actually implanted in my mind that I had to go to college and become a doctor, engineer or lawyer.

But his mother and family were there when he was sworn in as judge. My mom just wanted to make sure that I was happy doing whatever I chose to do.

I am very grateful because if it werent for the military, then we wouldnt have traveled the world and we wouldnt have had the experiences. Myself and my brothers and sisters benefited from that opportunity to grow up around the world and be more open-minded, Gogo said.

That has made me a better person in the sense that I think I am able to understand and appreciate different cultures, different races, different ethnicities, different customs. Those lessons still are with me as I take the bench every day or when I went to the office as a prosecutor.

Dream job

Gogo is still waiting to hear from the Biden administration about his nomination for the U.S. Attorney position, which he views as a dream job plus it will quench his desire and longing to return back home to Guam. But he also loves being a Superior Court judge.

I view it as a win-win situation because if I am blessed and the president offers me the U.S. Attorney position, that is absolutely a win for me, but if it doesnt happen I am also in a winning position because of the dream job as a Superior Court judge, he said.

He smiled, paused for a while and added, I always got my eye on returning back home to Guam.
Two people were pronounced dead on arrival from COVID-19-related causes Wednesday, according to the Joint Information Center, and the administrator of Guam Memorial Hospital said she was concerned that three patients currently hospitalized with the disease are children.

Right now, we have about a 1-month old, and an 8-year-old, and another one that is 22 months, Lillian Perez-Posadas told the Rotary Club of Northern Guam. Were seeing more and more of the pediatric population coming into the hospital with the COVID infection. And a lot of these pediatric patients  the parents are not vaccinated.

The 209th COVID-19-related fatality was pronounced dead on arrival at Guam Memorial Hospital. The patient was a 72-year-old woman, who was unvaccinated, with underlying health conditions. She tested positive on the same day.

The 210th COVID-19-related fatality was pronounced dead on arrival at U.S. Naval Hospital. The patient was a 63-year-old woman, who was fully vaccinated, with underlying health conditions. She also tested positive on the same day.

Youth hospitalizations

We really need to try and encourage our community members, especially parents, to get vaccinated to protect their children, their family members, Perez-Posadas said.

Our clinical data show that the vaccine still remains the strongest tool in the fight against COVID, she said. Even though were seeing breakthrough cases for those who are vaccinated, the mortality rate and the acuity of which they become ill is still significantly different.

In order to free up hospital beds and assist recovering COVID-19 patients, she said GMH recently launched an oxygen home-loaner program, using federal relief funds.

GMH bought 18 oxygen concentrators and 18 portable oxygen tanks for the loan program, she said  medical equipment that costs thousands of dollars and is too expensive for many patients to afford.

The program is designed to support those COVID patients who are admitted to GMH and require oxygen, but are stable enough to recover at home they just need the extra oxygen to continue their progress, she said.

Guam has been conducting an average of 1,100 COVID-19 tests per day during the past month, with an average positivity rate of 13%, according to pandemic data released Wednesday by the Department of Public Health and Social Services.

About 45% of the new positive cases during the past month are breakthrough cases, or people who were vaccinated, according to Public Health. Of the 81 deaths in connection with COVID-19 this year, 10 involved vaccinated patients, according to Public Health.

Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero on Wednesday said 150 people who tested positive for COVID-19 have received monoclonal antibody treatment. Were doing about 30 cases a day ... these are 30 cases that could have been hospitalized, the governor said.

She said none of those patients were hospitalized, although two received oxygen treatment in the emergency room without needing to be admitted.

Hospitalization

There were 58 people hospitalized with COVID-19, including 33 who werent vaccinated, according to the Joint Information Center. Four were ineligible for vaccines.

Guam Memorial Hospital: 35 hospitalized, 12 in ICU, seven on ventilators.

Guam Regional Medical City: 20 hospitalized, four in ICU, three on ventilators.

Naval Hospital Guam: Three hospitalized, one in the ICU.

The CAR Score is 27.4.

Cases

The Department of Public Health and Social Services recorded 159 new cases of COVID-19 out of 1,405 tests performed Oct. 5. Of those, 33 were identified through contact tracing.

Officially, there have been 15,789 reported cases of COVID-19 on Guam; 2,452 cases are in active isolation.

The governor also offered her condolences on the recent reported deaths.

Too many families and loved ones have experienced the greatest loss and sadness over the course of this pandemic and to them, Jeff, Josh, and I offer our most heartfelt sympathies, Leon Guerrero said. May their passing not be in vain--that we each take the extra precautions to protect ourselves and those around us with all the tools available to us.
A Guam Police Department officer secures a stretch of Chalan Bada in Yigo as an investigation of an aggravated assault incident is conducted on Aug. 21, 2021.




Haiti - Migration crisis : Mexico asks for UN help to stop Haitian migration





The Government of Mexico has asked the United Nations (UN) and the international community to support Haiti to stop migration and improve living conditions in this country.



Mexican Ambassador Juan Ramon de la Fuente has argued before the UN Security Council that strong institutions are needed in Haiti to make progress. He stressed that the country's prosperity and political and social stability are a central issue for Latin America and the Caribbean.



He explained that of the approximately 20,000 Haitians who have arrived in Chiapas more than 12,000 are refugees claiming "This is the time to reaffirm support for a population that has shown enormous resilience despite being affected by multiple plagues."



Likewise, Ambassador de la Fuente explained that after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise on August 7, https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34162-haiti-flash-president-jovenel-moise-assassinated-by-mercenaries-official-updated-7am-+-video.html , free and transparent presidential and legislative elections must be guaranteed.



Note that faced with the wave of migrants of Haitian origin who pass through Mexican territory, the Haitian National Institute of Migration (INM) inform that 16,919 have received temporary documentation, regularizing their stay in the country until 2021.



The INM said 16,919 migrants from Haiti have received temporary immigration documents, mostly citizens aged 25 to 34. The largest number was in Chiapas, with 10,194; followed by Baja California with 4.629; Mexico City, 977; Jalisco, 165; the State of Mexico, 134; New Leon, 102; Quintana Roo, 75; Hidalgo, 71; Chihuahua, 60; Puebla, 48 and in the rest of the entities of the country 464.



Read also on the Haitian migration crisis :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34830-haiti-flash-biden-denounces-the-treatment-of-haitians-at-the-border-and-takes-responsibility-for-it.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34828-haiti-flash-no-more-migrants-under-the-del-rio-bridge.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34820-haiti-flash-us-special-envoy-to-haiti-daniel-foote-resigns.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34812-haiti-migration-crisis-congresswoman-maxine-waters-revolted-and-angry.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34811-haiti-flash-haitian-migrants-from-del-rio-escape-during-their-bus-transport.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34807-haiti-politic-dhs-does-not-tolerate-abuses-against-migrants.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34805-haiti-justice-two-un-agencies-concerned-about-the-american-deportation-of-migrants-to-haiti.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34804-haiti-flash-haitians-attack-american-pilots-and-injure-three-ice-agents.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34799-haiti-usa-democrat-nancy-pelosi-in-defense-of-haitians-stranded-at-the-mexican-border.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34797-haiti-migration-crisis-the-government-calls-for-solidarity-with-our-compatriots-in-difficulty.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34786-haiti-flash-joe-biden-orders-the-deportation-of-thousands-of-illegal-haitian-migrants.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34770-haiti-flash-thousands-of-haitian-migrants-detained-in-the-usa-in-a-makeshift-camp.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34734-haiti-politic-200-illegal-haitian-migrants-intercepted-in-mexico-returned-to-guatemala.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-34669-icihaiti-chiapas-a-caravan-of-haitians-marches-towards-the-usa.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34658-haiti-mexico-muscular-interception-of-migrants-dozens-of-haitians-arrested-video.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34626-haiti-politic-more-expulsions-of-haitians-under-joe-biden.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34268-haiti-mexico-more-than-2-000-illegal-haitian-migrants-arrive-in-tapachula.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-33352-haiti-flash-joe-biden-expels-more-haitians-than-donald-trump.html



SL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Education : Inauguration of the Jovenel Moise National School in Fonds-des-Negres





Tuesday, in the presence of several personalities, including Marie Lucie Joseph, the Minister of National Education, the mayor of the commune of Fonds-des-Negres and the senator of Nippes, Prime Minister ai Ariel Henry, proceeded to the inauguration of the Jovenel Moise National School building in Fonds-des-Negres, in the Nippes department.



This brand new school, built to earthquake and para-cyclonic standards on a plot of 3,200 m2, has nine classrooms (3 buildings of 3 rooms), an administrative block, two sanitary blocks (boys and girls) a warehouse and a water tower. This school, funded by the National Education Fund (FNE) funded by the diaspora 0.05 US dollars on each incoming phone minutes https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-2993-haiti-education-it-s-not-a-tax-but-a-surcharge-on-the-tariff.html and 1.50 US dollars, on money transfers entering or leaving the country, is at the heart of the commune of Fonds-des-Negres. Three of the 25 school infrastructures nearing completion https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34031-haiti-north-east-towards-the-construction-of-16-new-schools.html are already ready to welcome students.







Prime Minister Henry wished to salute the will and the manifest determination of the late President Jovenel Moise, from whom emanated this initiative to build these school infrastructures and praised the sense of duty of the teachers to whom he promises to rationalize the public resources intended for the education in order to improve their working conditions.



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34729-haiti-news-zapping.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-34510-icihaiti-fne-construction-of-3-new-high-schools-in-the-north-west.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-34037-icihaiti-fne-monitoring-of-the-construction-work-of-the-lycee-de-freres-new-secondary.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34031-haiti-north-east-towards-the-construction-of-16-new-schools.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-33890-haiti-education-site-tour-of-the-minister-cadet-in-nippes.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-33363-haiti-works-progress-of-vocational-training-centers.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-33291-haiti-diaspora-the-fne-supports-the-schooling-of-young-people-with-disabilities.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-32655-haiti-flash-what-did-the-fne-do-with-tax-money-from-the-diaspora-in-2020.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-2993-haiti-education-it-s-not-a-tax-but-a-surcharge-on-the-tariff.html



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Politic : Elections no later than the second half of 2022





Monday, October 4 Helen La Lime, the Special Representative in Haiti of the Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres addressed the members of the Security Council on the situation in Haiti.



Statement by Helen La Lime :



"Mr. President, distinguished members of the Council,



It is an honor to once more provide you with an update on the situation in Haiti, which is currently undergoing one of the most fraught periods of its recent history. Already reeling from the ghastly assassination of President Jovenel Moise on 7 Jul https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34162-haiti-flash-president-jovenel-moise-assassinated-by-mercenaries-official-updated-7am-+-video.html , the country was struck on 14 August by a devastating earthquake which affected over 800,000 people in its southwestern peninsula https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34479-haiti-flash-magnitude-72-earthquake-in-the-nippes.html. These two events have led long awaited national and local elections to be further postponed. Meanwhile, insecurity has become rampant in Port-au-Prince, as kidnappings are once again on the rise and gangs have extended their control over large swaths of the city. In addition, thousands of migrants who had sought better living conditions in neighboring countries are being repatriated. For most observers, it is difficult to envision an end to the countrys seemingly never-ending crises which have pushed the resilience of the Haitian people to the brink.



Distinguished members,



Since assuming office on 20 July https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34274-haiti-flash-ariel-henry-prime-minister-of-haiti-official.html , Prime Minister Ariel Henry has spared no effort to reach a political agreement with the various factions of the Haitian polity. Adopting an inclusive and consensual approach, he has sought to create minimal conditions for the holding of legislative, local and presidential elections, and thus steer a country in the midst of a profound governance crisis towards the regular functioning of its democratic institutions. In a positive step, actors from across the political spectrum and civil society organizations, including former opposition and ruling coalition groups, adhered to such an agreement on 11 September. The pact captures key demands expressed by national stakeholders, such as the formation of a new Provisional Electoral Council and the inclusion of the diaspora. It also foresees the holding of elections no later than the second half of 2022.



One can only hope that Haitian political and civil society leaders will continue to work together to find common ground around a common project that will contribute to fostering a more appeased climate in which decisive action can be taken and essential reforms enacted



To be sure, many points of convergence exist. For instance, there is a large national consensus on the need to reform the 1987 Haitian constitution, a charter widely viewed as contributing to the recurrent political and institutional instability. The draft Constitution submitted by the Independent Consultative Committee to the Prime Minister on 8 September should provide a basis for further constructive and inclusive debate on ways to reshape the Haitian political system.



Likewise, the reestablishment of security, especially in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, must be prioritized by Haitian authorities. Since June, a significant and sudden increase in gang violence has caused the displacement of some 19,000 people from the communes of Cite-Soleil, Croix-des-Bouquets, Delmas and the Port-au-Prince neighbourhood of Martissant. The control that gangs exercise around strategic entry and exit points of the capital has had a detrimental impact on Haitis economy and the movement of people and goods. Applying the recommendations of a team of UN police experts deployed from May to July following a request from the late President, the Haitian National Police has sought to improve the effectiveness of its anti-gang operations by adopting a more balanced approach to prevention and repression, relying on increased police presence in problematic areas, and improving its intelligence-gathering mechanisms.



Yet, an over-stretched and under resourced force alone cannot stem this worrisome rise in crime. Haitis main security institution will not be able to achieve sustainable results unless its capacities are strengthened, and government services are brought back to the impoverished neighborhoods that serve as fertile ground for armed gangs. Therefore, in addition to sustaining its efforts to reform the police with the support of the United Nations and bilateral partners, the Government must implement a more holistic approach to addressing gang violence, within the framework of the national strategy for community violence reduction which was developed with UN support and endorsed on 5 July.



Mr. President,



Haitian citizens have unanimously condemned President Moises gruesome death and called for a thorough investigation into his assassination  one which follows due process and the rule of law. For the shroud of impunity which has long enveloped Haiti to begin lifting, and for justice to prevail in this as well as several emblematic cases, judicial actors must be allowed to work independently, in an appeased environment, with reassurance that they will be protected while undertaking the delicate task of identifying and prosecuting the perpetrators.



The Haitian judicial system also continues to contend with the protracted challenge of pre-trial detention which affects 82 percent of the countrys prison inmates, among the highest such rates in the world. National authorities must redouble their efforts to urgently address this issue, in close consultation with all judicial stakeholders. Furthermore, it is imperative that the process to review the new penal and criminal procedural codes continue as, once promulgated, they will be critical to combatting pre-trial detention as well as harmonizing Haitian law with regional and international human right standards.



Distinguished members of the Council,



The 14 August earthquake has added a new layer of complexity to an already dire humanitarian situation. In the face of the most recent catastrophe to befall the country, the United Nations reiterates its support to the Government and people of Haiti, and salutes the active national leadership and coordination of the post-disaster response and recovery.



Even as relief operations are still ongoing, early recovery and the restoration of livelihoods must be strongly supported in the areas affected by the earthquake. It is a race against time to ensure that children can return to school, that farmers do not miss the next planting season, and that people currently living in spontaneous displacement camps return to their homes as quickly as possible. We must ensure that Haiti does not become a forgotten crisis. I urge all Member States to contribute to the $187.3 million Flash Appeal launched on 25 August to respond to the needs of those affected by the earthquake as well as the $235.6 million 2021-2022 Humanitarian Response Plan, both of which are currently only about one third funded. Moreover, in the long term, the reconstruction process will need the full engagement of the Government of Haiti as well as the international community, to ensure a greener, resilient, and more inclusive recovery.



Similarly, while the United Nations and partners have worked closely with the Government of Haiti to ensure it responds effectively to the COVID-19 pandemic, greater cooperation will be required to sustain and scale up testing capabilities as well as to promote public health and social measures. With only some 60,000 vaccines administered to date and less than one per cent of the countrys eligible population inoculated, increasing vaccine uptake in the coming weeks and months will prove vital to protecting Haiti and its most vulnerable populations from COVID-19 and the threat of more transmissible variants.



Mr. President,



The situation in which Haiti currently finds itself can only be characterized as bleak. Nevertheless, there exist encouraging signs that only reinforce my conviction that, through urgent, determined and concerted action, Haitis citizens can address the deep structural challenges, as well as the governance and development deficits, which feed their countrys instability, insecurity, and ever-growing humanitarian needs. Along with the United Nations, the entire international community must continue to steadfastly stand alongside the Haitian people and their government as they endeavor to forge a path towards stability, security and sustainable development.



Thank you."



Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield representative of the United States to the United Nations also intervened in this session where she said :



Extract from the statement by Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield :



"[...] the United States supports an inclusive, Haitian-led process charting a path to democracy through free and fair elections as soon as conditions permit. It is crucial that Haitis government, political parties, civil society, religious leaders, private sector, and diaspora work together in the interest of the Haitian people to return to democratic governance. Government authorities should move quickly to restore the countrys democratic institutions, including an effective, independent judiciary. We urge Prime Minister Henry to make every effort to secure a political accord with the broadest possible consensus and engagement with civil society and political actors. Accountability for the perpetrators of the assassination of President Moise would be an important step toward bringing the country together. [...]



[...] And we urge everyone to do their part to help the Haitian people, who have suffered so much. Together, let us ensure the needs and aspirations of the Haitian people are met, and that we do everything we can to help the country become more democratic, more prosperous, and more secure for the Haitian people."



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34917-haiti-diaspora-covid-19-daily-bulletin-564.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34681-haiti-earthquake-latest-assessment-of-civil-protection.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34567-haiti-flash-new-investigating-judge-in-the-assassination-of-president-moise.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34479-haiti-flash-magnitude-72-earthquake-in-the-nippes.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34274-haiti-flash-ariel-henry-prime-minister-of-haiti-official.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34162-haiti-flash-president-jovenel-moise-assassinated-by-mercenaries-official-updated-7am-+-video.html



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Education : A gradual and in olidarity back to school in the Great South





On Monday October 4, as planned, Marie Lucie Joseph the Minister of National Education relaunched school activities in the Great South in the presence of partners from the educational community and international cooperation.



The ceremony was held in the southern metropolis (Les Cayes) at the Sainte Anne school in the presence of Sofia Loreus, the Minister for Women's Affairs, responsible for coordinating government action in the southern department; of Bruno Maes, Resident Representative of UNICEF in Haiti; Jean Millord Dorval, Departmental Director of Education of the South and his assistants; of Marie Michele Sylvie Rameau, Mayor of Les Cayes; UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Jeanjean Roosevelt and several hundred students.



The Minister of National Education said she was aware that this re-entry is not taking place under the desired conditions, as the damage caused by the earthquake is considerable, as the interventions to be made are colossal.



As part of her speech, the Minister recalled that the start of the school year in the departments severely affected by the earthquake will be gradual, the time to rehabilitate many schools. Stating "[...] in the meantime, schools whose premises have not been damaged are encouraged to welcome those no longer have buildings [...] a way of entering into this educational solidarity".



In addition, Minister Joseph announced that a program of educational reinforcement to help recover the hours of school lost in relation to their classmates in the rest of the country, will be launched for the students of the Great South with the support technical and departmental directorates concerned.



Despite the tragic post-earthquake situation, Mayor Marie Michele Sylvie Rameau is convinced that "[...] the Great South will eventually recover if the central government provides the necessary resources, defines a strategic framework for actions and ends up creating, in support of municipal authorities and local civil society, an environment that allows populations to get back on their feet [...]"



Bruno Maes, Resident Representative of UNICEF, considers it good to carry out this return to school in the Great South, stressing "[...] every day outside the classroom puts children more at risk of violence, abuse, the worst forms of labor and forced migration" he remains convinced that "[...] the longer the children wait, the more difficult it will be to bring them back to school [...]". From his point of view, beyond learning, returning to school, especially after such a natural disaster, will also mean a friendly reunion and a return to normalcy in social life.



Samytha Therassant, Secondary 4 student, speaking on behalf of her classmates, in a spirit of solidarity, had a special thought for the students who will have to wait weeks before being able to return to school, hoping that thanks to the diligence of the authorities concerned, the patience of these schoolchildren will be rewarded.



After this ceremony, the Minister of Education visited two ongoing work sites for the establishment of semi-permanent structures to accommodate other students in a few days.



In Nippes, the back-to-school ceremony took place at the Lycee des Jeunes Filles of Miragoane. Unanimously, the authorities have put forward the efforts of the Government to facilitate the return of children to school. Believing that the course will be maintained, the momentum reinforced in the idea of ensuring that this gradual return to school leaves no one behind. At the end of the ceremony, school kits were distributed to the students.



In Grande-Anse, the official re-entry ceremony took place at the Foyer Culturel Mgr Willy Romulus (Jeremie). Ecclesiastes Thelemaque, the Chief of Staff to the Minister of National Education, who presided over the ceremony, expressed his wishes for a successful school year.



According to Thelemaque, this is a gradual return to school which begins with psycho-social support for children and teachers . Simulation exercises are also planned in the classroom, in order to instill in the children responsible behavior in the event of another earthquake. While emphasizing educational solidarity, taking into account the extent of the damage noted in many schools in the department, Thelemaque indicated that the Ministry has two major concerns for this return to school, namely : to return the children to the school benches, but also to secure them against any possible disaster. Around 120 educational kits and 7,000 school kits were distributed to school administrators and students in the department, a distribution made possible thanks to support from UNICEF.



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - News : Zapping...





UN : China urges Haitians

Geng Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations at a Security Council meeting on Haiti, urged Haitians on Monday (October 4) to rapidly advance the political transition. He stressed that the last four months have witnessed continued political volatility in Haiti "The security and humanitarian crisis has not improved in any way [...] In fact, things are going from bad to worse [...] The Government Haitian and political leaders must, in the interest of their people and their country, renounce the struggle for power, fulfill their responsibilities in good faith and take action to put the country on the path to development."



Goncourt : Haitian author Dalembert takes the second step

Haitian author Louis-Philippe Dalembert and his book "Milwaukee Blues" is approching to Goncourt and is in the second selection of 9 authors. The 4 finalists will be announced on October 26. On November 3, 2021, the name of the winner of the Prix Goncourt 2021 will be unveiled.



Cap-Haitien : A ransom man killed

On Sunday, an unidentified armed individual who ransomed passers-by was fatally injured in an exchange of fire with agents of the Narcotics Trafficking Brigade (BLTS) in Mombin Lataille in the Nord department.



African Swine Plague

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to eradicate African swine fever, the "one island" approach must be promoted. FAO in Haiti and the Dominican Republic has provided technical support to the Governments of the two countries in the preparation of a binational agreement to combat transboundary diseases and plagues and is advocating for its rapid signature.



Artibonite : A ransom man wounded and arrested

Armed individuals who were ransoming citizens in Frecynau opened fire on a patrol of the Departmental Unit of Maintenance of Order (UDMO) of Saint-Marc. In response, the police hit one of them, who had time to flee. The injured ransom known as "Zo pipe" was spotted at Saint Nicolas Hospital and arrested.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















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Published on 2021/10/06 | Source

New stills added for the upcoming Korean documentary "Shadow Flowers" (2019)

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Directed by Yi Seung-Jun

Synopsis

Kim Ryun-hee, a North Korean housewife, was forced to come to South Korea and became its citizen against her will. She tried to smuggle herself out and even sought political asylum at the Vietnamese Embassy but all in vain. As her seven years of struggle to go back to her family in North Korea continues, the political absurdity hinders her journey back to her loved ones. The life of her family in the North goes on in emptiness, and she fears that she might become someone, like a shadow, who exists only in the fading memory of her family.

Release date in Korea : 2021/10/27
Published on 2021/10/05

"Police University" broadcasted its final episode.

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This is an increase from 5.5% (Ep.15). "Police University" failed to top its highest rating of 8.5% (Ep.4) recorded in its second week of broadcast.

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Editor: In response to Mondays letter from L.G.: First, Drive down to Mexico and 
Our View: Together, Arizona communities can tackle cybersecurity

State is taking cyber crime seriously, but it should also strengthen security efforts at the local level
HELENA - The Montana Medical Association announced that Northern Montana Health Care Chief of Medical Staff Dr. Kevin Harada, hospitalist and internal medicine, Northern Montana Hospital, was one of 11 health care professionals who graduated from the 2021 Healthcare Excellence in Leadership Program Saturday, Sept. 18.

"These graduates join the ranks of other top-tier alumni who are leaders in Montana's health care industry," said MMA CEO Jean Branscum. "They will make waves in the health care arena and are prepared to embrace the new and emerging expectations of medical professionals and drive change that can lead to better patient care."

The 2021 graduating class also marks the first time a pharmacist and a psychologist have participated in the program. By expanding to include the full health care team, the HELP program is providing opportunities for more Montana health care professionals to move into leadership roles to spearhead the development of effective patient care.

Along with Harada, the other graduates of the 2021 program are:

 Adrienne Coopey, D.O., psychiatry, Billings Clinic, Billings

 Dirk Gottman, M.D., pediatrics, Western Montana Clinic, Missoula

 J. Erin Hixson, M.D., family medicine, RiverStone Health Residency Program, Billings

 Leslee Kane, M.D., family medicine, Bozeman Health Belgrade Clinic, Bozeman

 Tony King, pharmacy director, Pharmacy, Mountain-Pacific Quality Health, Helena

 Sara Potts, Ph.D., psychology, Partnership Health Center, Missoula

 Dierdre Strigenz, M.D., anesthesiology, Gallatin Valley Anesthesia, Bozeman

 Kristine Thayer, M.D., pediatric surgery, Community Medical Center, Missoula

 Mark VanTighem, M.D. emergency medicine, Benefis Health, Great Falls

 Stephanie Wolfe, M.D., family medicine, Bozeman Health Family Medicine, Bozeman

The Healthcare Excellence in Leadership Program was created in 2013 by Montana physicians to help industry health care professionals step into new and emerging leadership roles and engage in vital health care policy discussions across the state. Participants in this top-shelf leadership program attend five monthly sessions across Montana to learn about the state's critical health care issues and gain the leadership skills needed to create positive change in their practice, hospital, and surrounding communities.
Farm City Day honors Volunteers, Farmer of the Year

Karen Saine and Wendy Henderson share a laugh as extension agent Steve Pettis describes their volunteer work for Farm City Day.

A third generation nurseryman and two sisters who have spent many years as volunteers behind the scenes were honored at Farm City Day Saturday.



Tree grower Ken Allison was honored as Farmer of the Year and Karen Saine and Wendy Henderson were named Volunteers of the Year as N.C. Agriculture Extension Service leaders opened the celebration of farming.

Ken AllisonHes been a great mentor to me, especially in the nursery business, extension agent Steve Pettis said of Allison. Western North Carolina is one of the best places in the world to grow crops of any kind, trees especially. Trees grow really well here.

Kens grandfather started the business back in the 20s. Ken was just telling me the story of his grandfather selling trees to the Biltmore nursery back in the old days. Kens family has a long history of being in the nursery business.

A member of the extension services advisory board, the farm-promoting AgHC and the Soil and Water Conservation Service board, Allison has been dedicated to trying to protect farmland threatened by urbanization.

Saine helped organize the festival for many years in her full-time job with the county Parks and Recreation Department, while Henderson joked that her sister drafted her to do just one little thing. Daughters of summer camp owners  the old Camp Windywood in Tuxedo  the Waggoner sisters have devoted their lives to working with young people.

I do want to recognize all the volunteers, how much they help with Farm City Day, Saine said.

It is a labor of love, added Henderson, a retired middle school teacher. We are very appreciative of the volunteers as well as the (extension service) staff and Henderson County Parks and Rec.
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St. Joseph, MI (49085)

Today

Windy and becoming cloudy during the afternoon. A few flurries or snow showers possible. Temps nearly steady in the mid to upper 30s. Winds W at 20 to 30 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy. A few flurries or snow showers possible. Low 32F. Winds NW at 15 to 25 mph.
Uniontown, PA (15401)

Today

Rain likely. Morning high of 61F with temps falling to near 45. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

A few clouds. Low 29F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph.


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Julie was a mustang wrangler. She was the youngest of four children born over five years and
Now Open

6 October 2021

There's a new cookie in town. DoubleTree by Hilton and Linchris Hotel Corporation announced the opening of the DoubleTree by Hilton Silver Spring DC North. Formerly, Sheraton Silver Spring, this hotel will continue to offer guests the exceptional level of service they have enjoyed as part of the Hilton Worldwide portfolio with the added DoubleTree brand benefits of a signature warm chocolate chip cookie upon arrival, and the industry-recognized culture of CARE (Create A Rewarding Experience for our guests) Program.

DoubleTree by Hilton Silver Spring DC North Highlights:

From panoramic city view rooms to suites, mini-fridges, and 50-inch HDTVs, all 229 guest rooms are outfitted with the latest amenities for the most discerning traveller, and all equipped with CleanStay with Lysol Protection.

14,235 square feet of meeting, wedding and event space with CleanStay EventReady protection

Located in the heart of downtown Silver Spring, Maryland, the hotel is just four blocks from the Silver Spring Metrorail station, giving guests the option to explore all there is to do in Silver Spring and the option of venturing into the nation's capital and the region's surrounding area

Complimentary standard WiFi

Pet-friendly rooms

Business center, and 24/7 state-of-the-art fitness center

Onsite dining; Breakfast, lunch, and dinner await you at Mica's Restaurant. Room service is also available.

In addition to the above highlights and as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, DoubleTree by Hilton Silver Spring DC North is part of the Hilton CleanStay with Lysol Protection Program to keep guests and team members safe and to better ensure hotel cleanliness. This partnership with Lysol and the Mayo Clinic will provide all hotel guests with assurance and peace of mind during their stay. In addition to digital keys and no contact check-in, the initiative will create a focus on cleanliness that will be visible - in their guest rooms, restaurants, fitness rooms and in other public spaces.

Event planners and attendees will enjoy a higher standard of cleanliness than ever before at DoubleTree by Hilton Silver Spring DC North. Their sales, catering and event teams are committed to working with customers to achieve their business objectives through delivering event experiences that provide peace of mind from start to finish. EventReady with CleanStay, a global meetings and events program designed to create event experiences that are clean, flexible, safe and socially responsible was recently rolled out at this hotel. EventReady will provide curated solutions with creative food and beverage, thoughtful technology resources, elevated standards and practices with redesigned spaces for physical distancing, and reimagined ways to meet and gather.

DoubleTree by Hilton Silver Spring DC North is also part of Hilton Honors, the award-winning guest-loyalty program for Hilton's 14 distinct hotel brands. Members who book directly have access to instant benefits, including a flexible payment slider that allows members to choose nearly any combination of Points and money to book a stay, an exclusive member discount, free standard Wi-Fi and the Hilton Honors mobile app.
Rebranding

6 October 2021

The Benson Portland, Curio Collection by Hilton and Coast Hospitality Management, announced today the official conversion of the 287-room historic hotel in downtown Portland, Oregon. Built by philanthropist and innovator Simon Benson, this fabled, European-style hotel is the last of its kind. No other hotel in the region comes close to the quintessential elegance, amenities and charm of The Benson. The property features two restaurants, historic meeting and event spaces, and is walkable to the city's bustling downtown. In addition to its spacious guestrooms and suites, the property honors its rich history through the Historic Stairwell, a mini-museum, featuring over 160 photos and stories of Portland and its many historic landmark buildings, including the venerable Benson Hotel and its transformation over 100 years. In addition to building Portland's finest hotel, Simon Benson, successful lumber baron, businessman and philanthropist, spent a decade of public service directed to the State of Oregon and the City of Portland, and his many contributions are highlighted in the stairwell.

The Benson Portland, Curio Collection by Hilton is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Historic Stairwell features over 50 other famous landmarks in Portland, with photos dating back to 1847. It showcases the story about how Portland got its name (and other recognizable nicknames), and many fun facts about Portland, from its cultural offerings in museums, music, film and the arts, to its food scene that has become part of the city's fabric. Deeply rooted in its community, guests are immersed in the timeless elegance and historic charm the moment they step through the door. The hotel's lobby features Italian marble floors, Austrian crystal chandeliers, and Circassian walnut wood from the imperial forests of Russia.

The Benson Portland, Curio Collection by Hilton has been host to the most discerning of tastes. In the hotel's sprawling Presidential Suites, guests can enjoy their own private upscale experience high above the city. With high-end Italian furniture, custom wet bar and Swarovski crystal chandeliers, The Benson's Presidential Suites offer comfort and elegance with city views that are sure to impress. Their large bathroom suites feature marble bathroom vanities, a television mirror and a large walk-in shower with a multisensory water experience. A floor-to-ceiling gas fireplace creates an inviting ambiance in the large living room space.

The Benson Portland's 287 guest rooms and suites are elegantly appointed to provide all the comforts and amenities for a relaxing getaway. Each guest room features Tempur-Pedic beds, down pillows, luxurious linens and down duvet covers. In-room amenities include high-definition televisions, spa-inspired bathrooms with Gilchrist & Soames amenities, marble vanities and glass-enclosed walk-in showers, coffee makers, lush bathrobes and a mini-fridge. Additionally, the property offers a 24-hour fitness center and a 24-hour business center.

The Benson Portland, Curio Collection by Hilton is ideal for weddings, corporate events and social gatherings. It features over 14,000 square feet of flexible event space, including the historic Crystal Ballroom, replete with gold leafing, Austrian crystal chandeliers, cathedral windows and ornate coffered ceiling. With the same attention to detail and purposeful design found throughout the property, much of its event spaces feature crystal chandeliers, elegant fixtures and accessories that reflect the historic elements of the hotel.

The Benson Portland, Curio Collection by Hilton is also part of Hilton Honors, the award-winning guest-loyalty program for Hilton's 18 world-class brands. Members who book directly through the preferred Hilton channels have access to instant benefits, including a flexible payment slider that allows members to choose nearly any combination of Hilton Honors Points and money to book a stay, free standard Wi-Fi and an exclusive member discount that can't be found anywhere else. Members also enjoy popular digital tools available exclusively through the industry-leading Hilton Honors mobile app where Hilton Honors members can check-in, choose their room and access their room using a Digital Key.

The Benson Portland, Curio Collection by Hilton is located at 309 Southwest Broadway, Portland, Oregon, just 10 miles away from Portland International airport, a short walk to Portland's MAX light rail, historic Pioneer Courthouse Square, the trendy Pearl District, Powell's Books, and several restaurants and breweries.
Now Open

6 October 2021

Hillsboro Beach Resort, a luxe, coastal-inspired oasis on Millionaire's Mile, welcomed its first guests on October 1 in sunny South Florida. Featuring breathtaking views of both the Atlantic Ocean and Intracoastal Waterway, this all-new luxury upscale beachfront resort offers in-demand amenities including an oceanfront pool, a ballroom with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the sea, and a globally inspired restaurant, Roi - the latter of which opens in just a few weeks.

Accommodations

Hillsboro Beach Resort boasts 99 beautifully appointed guestrooms, studios and suites. Some suites include partial or full ocean views, private balconies, separate bedroom, and private bathrooms, and some resort rooms include ocean views. All guestrooms offer luxury linens, rain shower heads, French terry cloth robes and slippers, signature bath amenities, LaVazza coffee and tea maker, 55" 4k smart TVs, WIFI, a mini-fridge, and more.

Amenities

With open concepts and modern artwork created by award-winning artist David Paul Kay, along with beachfront views and a spacious feel, the oasis boasts casual comfort and modern luxury. An oceanfront swimming pool is tucked between the resort and the soft South Florida sand. A gym is complete with a Troy Dumbbell rack, Star Trac Treadmills, Total Body Cross Trainer, medicine balls, resistance bands, Mats, Commercial TRX Straps, Muay Thai Bag and a Torque Wall. The resort offers a ballroom with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the waves of the Atlantic Ocean. Complimentary paddleboards, kayaks and beach cruisers are available for all to enjoy along the Intracoastal Waterway. Valet parking with in and out privileges is available for $25 per night.

Location

Positioned 40 minutes from both Palm Beach International Airport and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, as well as just 20 minutes from Boca Raton Executive Airport, the resort is a convenient stay between major South Florida cities. With proximity to highly sought-after neighborhoods, guests can travel to some of the city's finest dining and shopping in Fort Lauderdale's Las Olas or Boca Raton's Mizner Park. In addition, the resort has a convenient intracoastal dock space for boats up to 40 feet located across from the property on the Intracoastal Waterways.

Dining

Guests will be able to enjoy the internationally inspired restaurant, Roi, slated to open in November. Chef Jason Antolak will offer a dynamic culinary experience with handcrafted cocktails, upscale cuisine and beachfront outdoor patio seating. The menu will consist of local favorites like white water clams with Florida orange slices soaked in a creme fraiche and Funky Buddha beer broth; beef tenderloin served over a bed of duck fat potatoes and roasted cipollini onions; and scallops served over vodka-beet and corn puree, sandwiched between crisp glass chips and topped with gremolata.
Pipeline

6 October 2021

Following the successful opening of Hotel Xcaret Arte in July, Grupo Xcaret presents its most recent project, La Casa de la Playa - an exclusive luxury boutique hotel offering guests the comforts of home with the contemporary luxuries of a hotel - opening December 13. Nestled deep in the Mayan jungle in one of the most iconic beaches in the world, the new hotel promises to offer a luxury experience like no other in Mexico.

With an investment of $85 million, La Casa de la Playa will be home to 63 unique ocean-view suites with personalities of their own. Each accommodation offers guests more than 100 square meters to live and lounge, dip in the private pool, absorb the ocean views, and enjoy refined barefoot luxury service throughout the property. With amenities around every corner of the hotel, like an award-winning spa, chef-driven dining offerings, an ocean-view library and chocolate shop, guests can celebrate the beauty of true Mexican luxury hospitality.

La Casa de la Playa, designed with sustainability in mind, was birthed by the eco-integrated vision of Architect David Quintana, using nature as an essential developmental element to conserve and protect it. The hotel was conceived to be a living sculpture and is designed based on sophisticated stylings to personify Mexico's pinnacle. The hotel comes alive through its modern design elements, its elegant decor and its dramatic common spaces surrounded by lush greenery.

"We are thankful for the overwhelming acceptance of our new hotel project which joins our Hotel Xcaret Mexico and Hotel Xcaret Arte family and will continue endorsing our commitment to excellence and sustainable tourism recreation," said Architect David Quintana, Vice President of Strategy and Development. "La Casa de la Playa is a tribute to the best of Mexico, the common thread that will continue to be the great love for our country."

Xcaret Hotels continues to position itself as the new culinary epicenter of Mexico adding some of the most distinguished chefs in Mexico and the world to its Culinary Collective. The renowned celebrity chef Martha Ortiz will open Tuch de Luna, a display of art, science, and feminine cuisine that is poem-like and sure to leave diners breathless; Estero will be led by celebrity chef Virgilio Martinez, who during the past few years has headlined the list of the 50 Best Chefs in Latin American, acclaimed for his cooking style which he defines as "market cuisine" or "author cuisine". Chef duo, the Rodrigo brother Daniel and Patricio Rivera-Rio, proud representatives of the state of Nuevo Leon, will celebrate gastronomy through contemporary flavors from the northern and southern regions of Mexico in two restaurants, Lumbre and Centli.

Xcaret's All-Fun Inclusive experience reaches a new level offering curated and exclusive moments to revitalize the body, mind, and spirit, from a night swim in an underground river full of mysticism to an intimate dinner on a Xenote with a special menu designed for each guest by one of the hotel's celebrity chef.

Muluk Spa will be a space where Mayan mysticism and contemporary Mexico merge in natural harmony to create ancestral treatments personalized with care, to generate healing and peace during a sensory experience. It offers 13 spa treatment cabins, 2 salt rooms, 2 mudrooms, hydrotherapy rituals with ocean views including: sauna, steam and cold rooms, relaxation areas, a beauty salon, an Alchemist's Studio where guests can create their scents, and a full bridal suite. Some of the suites will have their own spa cabin for guests to enjoy a relaxing experience, without leaving the room.

To guarantee a unique experience and evoke the charm and authenticity of Mexico, the uniforms of the staff of La Casa de la Playa will be created by Mexican designer Carla Fernandez, whose fashion house offers designs inspired by the geometric shapes and richness of Mexican textiles. Her brand has gained international recognition for its dedication to preserving and conserving the textile traditions of Mexico's indigenous communities by transforming them into beautiful pieces of clothing and household items. Carla brings a new meaning to fashion through sustainability and respect for local artisans, aligning with the values and objectives of Grupo Xcaret and being an authentic promoter of Mexican art.

La Casa de la Playa will be full of special nooks including a chocolate shop with sweet delights created by famous chocolatier Mao Montiel. A library with stories that can be read in front of a relaxing ocean view; the Room of Wonders, a Concept Store with Mexican art and textiles chosen by Carla Fernandez; and the traditional Cafeteca, a sanctuary for those who value the aroma of a warm cup of coffee.

For more information, visit https://www.lacasadelaplaya.com/en/.
Pipeline

6 October 2021

City ID, the fast-growing Dutch apartment hotel group, with shareholders APG and Australia's Aware Super, has acquired a prime development site in Central London's Victoria district to build a new location for their brand in the heart of London. The move forms are part of a wider acquisition strategy which will see City ID invest more than  1 billion over the next five years to increase its apartment hotel portfolio in London and across other major European cities.

Vibrant Victoria

The new property will be centrally located, only a 5-minute walk from Victoria Station. The location is an ideal base for locals and travellers - whether they are staying for business or pleasure. The project will collaborate with local design teams, suppliers and construction companies to create incredible spaces inspired by the surrounding environment, contributing to Victoria's transformation. The hotel will create hybrid spaces for guests, foodies, local residents and neighbouring business workers. The entire project shares City ID's values for sustainability and well-being.

The property will feature 116 generous apartments (studios, 1 bedroom and 2 bedrooms), a flexible workspace, a seasonal restaurant and bar with low volume consious supplies, as well as a gym and wellness areas. The property is expected to open its doors in 2024.

About City ID

City ID is a fast growing, award-winning and customer centric apartment hotel group, aiming to optimize the many touchpoints that result in an optimal stay. Our apartment hotels offer fully equipped design apartmentswith the benefits of hotel services and amenities such asbeautifully designed gym & wellness areas, restaurants serving seasonal food and in room service. The hotels are suited for business and leisure travellers looking for longer or shorter stays. A key focus for all hotel buildings is the incorporation of innovative sustainability solutions at every guest touchpoint.

Together with shareholders APG (known as the largest pensionprovider in the Netherlands) and Aware Super (one of Australia's largest pension funds), we are implementing our strategy of international growth. We share the same long-term vision and passion to create a distinctive hotel platform where the guest experience is central. The goal is to invest over the next five years more than  1 billion to grow its apartment hotel portfolio. City ID is a fully integrated owner-operator and can acquire development sites and turnkey deliveries. Target developments include new builds, (office) conversions, mixed-use schemesand existing hotel conversions of 4.000 to 20.000 square metres in prime European capital city locations.

City ID secured a financing package from HSBC UK.
Appointment

6 October 2021

Wayan Sutariawan (Suta) has been promoted to Executive Sous Chef of Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan. As head chef of the resort, he oversees Ayung Terrace restaurant, Riverside restaurant, Sokasi cooking school, Jati Bar, In-Room Dining, and culinary experiences such as the Megibung dinner on the River Terrace and Chef-Guided Picnic in the surrounding wilderness.

Suta, who was Senior Sous Chef before his promotion, joined Four Seasons in 2006. But his technical training - and his passion for authentic food - began at the age of 12 when he was adopted by his auntie and exposed to regional dishes from across Indonesia. He has just released a cookbook, Cherished Recipes From My Childhood to share his favourite recipes, many of which are available for guests to enjoy at Ayung Terrace. It also contains "forgotten" Balinese recipes that Suta is on a mission to keep alive with the Chef's Table dinner at Sokasi cooking school. Along with his local expertise, Suta also brings strong international experience to the Resort's menus, having spent five years at Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Landaa Giraavaru.
Industry Update

Appointment

6 October 2021

Karim Malak

Named CEO

At easyHotel Plc in London, United Kingdom

Karim Malak has been named CEO of EasyHotel and is expected to join the budget hotel group in December. His appointment follows the death of former general manager Francois Bacchetta, who died earlier this year at the age of 56. Mr. Malak will leave the Adagio aparthotel group, where he had been general manager for five years, to join EasyHotel. In addition to working at Accenture and Boston Consulting Group during his consulting career, he also founded Mereo, a revenue management and pricing consulting firm.

easyHotel Plc Brought to you by Stelios the serial entrepreneur, easyHotel is his first entry into the budget hotel sector. Offering exceptional value, youll already find easyHotel in great city centre locations around the world and were growing all the time. more information

Recent Appointments at easyHotel Scott Christie - Interim CEO 22 November 2019  The Board of easyHotel plc, the owner, developer and operator of "super budget" hotels, announces that Guy Parsons has decided to step down from his role as Chief Executive and will leave the Company on 21 November 2019. read more

Guy Parsons - Chief Executive Officer (CEO) 18 August 2015  Budget hotels operator easyHotel PLC recently announced it has appointed Guy Parsons as its new chief executive officer, with effect from August 10. Parsons is the former chief executive of Travelodge, the hotel chain, and has spent time in the past working for Whitbread PLC, the owner of Premier Inn, and French hotel group Accor SA. read more
Supplier News

6 October 2021

stayntouch, a global leader in guest-centric technology and cloud hotel property management systems (PMS), partners with OKKO Hotels, a collection of sustainable urban four-star hotels located in France, to deliver its guest-centric cloud PMS to all 12 of Okkos properties, totaling over 1,400 rooms.

Founded in 2010 in France, OKKO Hotels seeks to deliver authentic French four-star hospitality in a manner thats modern, sustainable, personalized and fairly priced. The OKKO HOTELS brand is based around the concept of make yourself at home, where contemporary properties offer personalized service and comprehensive amenities at a fair price. OKKO HOTELS chose stayntouch PMS for its flexibility and easy-to-use interface, as well as its open-API architecture and comprehensive group management capabilities.

Ingrid Boutabba, COO explained: There are many elements that convinced us to choose stayntouch for our full portfolio. First, was the ease of configuration for its cloud-based interface, which allows our staff to intuitively manage our properties, easily apply rates and restrictions, and creatively sell amenities. We were also very impressed with the value of having access to over 1100 integrations into the base price (including integrations for channel managers, salesforce, and CEGID). In addition, the ability to merge guest profiles and manage group bookings, easily access their library of open-APIs, and efficiently scale our technology stack is why we are completely satisfied with choosing stayntouch.

Michael Heflin, Chief Revenue Officer at stayntouch, replied, We are proud to partner with OKKO Hotels and deepen our presence in continental Europe. Our mission is to help facilitate a more enhanced and unburdened hospitality experience for hotels and their guests, and enable operators to more freely and easily manage their properties. To know that our cloud PMS is helping OKKO deliver the authentic French urban experience thats so unique to their brand, just reaffirms that mission.

About Okko Hotels

Created in 2010 by Olivier Devys, with the support of Paul Dubrule (co-founder of the Accor group), OKKO HOTELS is an independent French family group with 12 open hotels and 170 employees. OKKO HOTELS is a 4* urban hotel concept that has redefined the codes of the traditional hotel industry to offer lifestyle hotels with a contemporary decor, clubs where life is good, a high-quality welcome, all at fair prices. Since the opening of its first establishment in 2014, OKKO HOTELS has been the 4* concept approved by leisure and business travelers, who would recommend it to their friends and family at over 80%.

About stayntouch

stayntouch provides a full cloud and mobile hotel property management system (PMS) and over 1100+ integrations, enabling hotels to raise service levels, drive revenues, reduce costs, and ultimately captivate their guests. Backed by a team of professionals with deep roots in the hospitality industry, stayntouch is a trusted partner to many forward-thinking hotels and resorts, including the TWA Hotel, First Hotels, Conscious Hotels, Margaritaville, Valencia Hotel Group, and Modus Hotels. S is also a preferred PMS partner to some of the leading independent hotel collections around the world including; Design Hotels, an Independent Marriott Brand, and Curator Hotel & Resort Collection.
Press Release

6 October 2021

Sydney, Australia - After months of endless zoom meetings that have kept people fixed to their screens, the yearning for social reconnection, face to face interactions and shared experiences has never been stronger.

Advertisements

Australias leading business and meetings brand, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts have been busy getting creative looking to reinvent the way businesses come together to reconnect in a meaningful way.

In partnership with Business Events Australia through the Boost Program, the hotel group have released a new video to excite and inspire the industry to think about the way they meet in the future.

The reasons that businesses meet face to face in a post pandemic environment are being realigned and an opportunity exists to deliver reimagined meetings and events that facilitate meaningful connections and spark the creativity and ideas that allow businesses to thrive.

With creative event programming that offers fun and energizing breakouts, exclusive offsite gatherings and fresh and healthy food options, Crowne Plazas stylish and tech savvy hotels in locations across Australia are well positioned to do this.

Dean Jones, IHG Hotels & Resorts Head of Commercial, Japan, Australasia and Pacific said Prior to these latest lockdowns we saw increased lead generation and bookings from businesses wanting a return to face to face events. Theres no doubt, we have been thrown a major curve ball with the current border restrictions and lockdowns, however feedback suggests there is an even stronger desire for people to come together, have fun, and reconnect.

In fact, rather than cancelling, many business events that were booked prior to lockdowns have chosen to reschedule to either later this year or to 2022, as the reasons to meet remain just as relevant and compelling. In a post-pandemic world, we are resetting the stage for creative collaboration in Australia. said Jones

Crowne Plaza have long been the experts in producing memorable events, whether it be team building on the beach followed up by a sunset cocktail and seafood feast, or networking with a glass of local red wine overlooking a Hunter Valley vineyard, these are the bonding experiences people have all been missing.

Crowne Plaza have also become experts at delivering hybrid options, having introduced Crowne Plaza Connections early this year. This hybrid meeting solution incorporates a range of different meeting platforms and audio-visual solutions, designed to help people stay connected across cities and borders to achieve greater results through dispersed meetings.

Connecting 12 different Crowne Plaza hotels, hybrid meetings offer a great back up plan for those who might get hit with obstacles that affect their plans to gather in one location.

With four recently opened properties in Hobart, Adelaide, Sydney, Darling Harbour and Sydney Burwood, plus four newly renovated Crowne Plaza hotels in Sydney Coogee Beach, Melbourne, Hawkesbury Valley and Terrigal Beach in NSW, the stage is well and truly ready for creative collaboration across Australia.
Press Release

6 October 2021

The summer travel season, helped by growing vaccination rates around the world, allowed Caribbean hotels to pick up steam in their road to recovery.

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Regardless of world region, the markets that truly stand out are those with favorable comparisons to 2019the last normal year prior to the pandemic. In the Caribbean, we have been comparing 2021 vs. 2019 data for year-to-date periods to remove the effects of seasonality, which are usually substantial in the region. As of August, we saw two of 14 markets with hotel occupancy near or above the 2019 comparable.

The only Caribbean market to achieve an August year-to-date occupancy level higher than its 2019 comparable was the U.S Virgin Islands. The market reported an occupancy of 73.4% through the first eight months of the year, which was 8.4% higher than the same period in 2019.

Puerto Rico reported a 64.9% occupancy level, which came in relatively close to the 2019 comparable (68.1%). Prior to August, the market had seen eight consecutive months of occupancy improvement, with July occupancy even surpassing the same month in 2020, 2019 and 2018. Despite a month-over-month decline in August, Puerto Ricos occupancy remained similar to levels seen earlier in the summer.

The U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico have benefitted from the U.S. corridor and the fact that U.S. travelers do not need a passport or a different currency. Additionally, domestic tourism in Puerto Rico is quite popular and has carried this market through the COVID-19 storm.

Another market that performed closer to its 2019 comparable was Turks and Caicos. Occupancy came in at 59.7%, which was 12.7% below the 2019 comparable (68.4%).

While other Caribbean markets hang on the tail of their 2019 comparables, some markets, such as the Cayman Islands, remain far off from achieving similar 2019 levels. The market reported a 42.6% August year-to-date occupancy level, which was down 72.3% from its 2019 comparable.

Overall, the Caribbean registered a 39.5% year-to-date occupancy level, down 41.4% from 2019. As shown in STRs School Break Report, a majority of U.S. K-9 and college students returned to school by mid-to-late August, with some students set for a fall break weekend in mid-October. While travel to the Caribbean is possible, we have seen that travelers often spend those longer weekend trips at drive-to destinations. Add in hurricane season to the mix, and September and October tend to be the slower months for the Caribbean. However, since pent-up demand is still existent, we could see higher performance figures before winter season kicks in.

To participate in benchmarking in the region, please reach out to our Industry Partners team at [email protected]
Press Release

6 October 2021

Riyadh - Sommet Education, the worlds leading network of hospitality education institutes, has signed an agreement with the Tourism Development Fund (TDF) in Saudi Arabia to support the development of the Kingdoms tourism sector.

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Through the partnership, Sommet Education will work with TDF to develop the Funds employees and clients knowledge, skills, and competencies in tourism, hospitality and entrepreneurship through dedicated programs and training courses, as well as workshops, training sessions, conferences, and consulting.

In line with the objectives of the Human Capability Development Program of Saudi Vision 2030, the new partnership opens a world of opportunities for TDFs employees and clients to study hospitality with globally accredited institutes.

The positioning of Sommet Education and its institutions combining prestige, excellence and an international outlook, paired with the vision of the Kingdom for quality education, offers strong potential to build and grow the overall performance of the tourism sector in Saudi Arabia, said Benoit-Etienne Domenget, Chief Executive Officer of Sommet Education.

Qusai Al-Fakhri, Chief Executive Officer of TDF said: The tourism sector is a key driver of Vision 2030. In order to facilitate its rapid growth, it is essential to have the right talent leading the way. Through our partnership with Sommet Education, one of the leading educational centers worldwide, we look forward to enabling TDFs valued clients and employees by providing them with the best-in-class training they need to realize their tourism ambitions during this exciting phase in the Kingdoms history.

Sommet Education is a unique education group specialized in hospitality management and culinary arts encompassing Glion Institute of Higher Education, one of the worlds finest Swiss hospitality management schools, Les Roches Global Hospitality Education, ranked n3 worldwide in employer reputation, and Ecole Ducasse, culinary and pastry arts school founded by world-renowned chef.

Under this partnership, Sommet Education is committed to developing future talent for the service industry. Sommet Education will provide TDFs employees and clients with the opportunity to enroll in training courses for various professions, including investment, hospitality, and tourism. Programs will be available at a variety of educational levels, making this inclusive for one and all. The services will be available for individuals, entities, and companies working across the Saudi services sector under the supervision of TDF.

With capital of USD 4 billion, TDF aims to be the key enabler of tourism development in Saudi Arabia. By providing financing solutions for investors, TDF will drive the development of distinguished tourism projects in various regions of the Kingdom, thereby accelerating the National Tourism Strategys goal of raising the tourism sectors contribution to GDP from 3% to 10% and creating one million new jobs by 2030.

About Sommet Education

Sommet Education is the worlds leader in hospitality management education. Its global network of prestigious institutions comprises Swiss originated hospitality business schools Glion Institute of Higher Education and Les Roches, together with culinary and pastry arts school Ecole Ducasse. In April 2021, Sommet Education acquired South African Education leader Invictus Education, adding four new schools to its portfolio: International Hotel School, IHS Gaming dedicated to the gaming industry; SAE Institute specialized in creative media education and Summit focused on B2B training and development. In 2021, Sommet Education also expanded in India through a majority stake in the Indian School of Hospitality (ISH) with a campus in Gurugram (Delhi NCR).

These institutions offer 400 undergraduate, graduate and technical training programs to 9,000 students from 100 nations and 10 000 learners. Teaching is offered across four continents on 18 campuses, as well as through state-of-the-art remote learning platforms. Between them, the schools have a network of 60,000 influential alumni in hospitality and beyond.

Sommet Education is the only education group with two in the Top 4 globally-ranked institutions for hospitality education and by employer reputation (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2021).

www.sommet-education.com.

About the Tourism Development Fund

The Tourism Development Fund (TDF) was established in 2019 with a capital of USD 4 billion to drive tourism growth in Saudi Arabia. TDF enables local and international investors looking to benefit from the sectors high potential by providing viable funding solutions, and leveraging its wide network of partners including government entities, public and private lenders as well as operators and service providers all deployed to bring investments to life.

Positioned firmly at the heart of Saudis tourism ecosystem, TDF is well placed to offer guidance and funding options to SMEs, and tailored investment solutions to qualified investors. The Funds vision is to contribute towards achieving the National Tourism Strategys objectives by unlocking opportunities in the tourism value chain for private sector investors, while focusing on long-term sustainability.
Opinion Article

6 October 2021

Hotel History: Shelton Hotel, New York, N.Y. (1,200 rooms)

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Few skyscrapers were as admired as the 1924 Shelton Hotel, at Lexington Avenue and 49th Street, now the New York Marriott East Side. Critics agreed that its picturesque 35-story facade and unusual setback design pointed the way of the future for the skyscraper.

The Shelton was built by the architecturally ambitious developer James T. Lee, who was also responsible for two luxurious apartment houses: 998 Fifth Avenue of 1912 and 740 Park Avenue of 1930. He was the grandfather of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, born Jacqueline Lee Bouvier.

Mr. Lees vision was a 1,200-room bachelor hotel with club-type characteristics: a swimming pool, squash courts, billiard rooms, a solarium and an infirmary. The New York World in 1923 claimed that the Shelton would be the tallest residential building in the world.

The architect, Arthur Loomis Harmon, covered the mass with irregular yellow-tan brick, roughened as if centuries old, and drew from Romanesque, Byzantine, early Christian, Lombard and other styles. But critics were more impressed that it recalled no definite architectural style of the past, as the artist Hugh Ferriss put it in The Christian Science Monitor in 1923.

The Shelton was one of the first buildings to take its form from a 1916 zoning law that required setbacks at certain heights to ensure light and air to the street. That made it quite different from the tall boxy hotels designed before the zoning change, like the 1919 Hotel Pennsylvania, opposite Pennsylvania Station.

A stately, breath-taking building, said Helen Bullitt Lowry and William Carter Halbert in The New York Times in 1924. The critic Lewis Mumford, traditionally stingy with praise, called it buoyant, mobile, serene, like a Zeppelin under a clear sky in Commonweal magazine in 1926.

Visionary design has its limits, however, and Mr. Harmons interiors appear to have been little different from other giant hotels of the period: great paneled lounges, a dining room with a beamed ceiling and long groin-vaulted hallways. A third of the rooms had shared baths, which must have posed complications in late 1924, when the Shelton reversed its men-only policy. A high gallery ran around the basement pool, which was decorated with polychromed tile.

From 1925 to 1929, Georgia OKeeffe lived on the 30th floor of the Shelton Hotel with her husband, the photographer Alfred Stieglitz. With the possible exception of the Hotel Chelsea, its hard to think of another New York City hotel thats had such a profound effect on an artist, especially a hotel youve probably never heard of.

Towering over Lexington Avenue between 48th and 49th Streets, the 31-story, 1,200-room Shelton Hotel was hailed as the tallest skyscraper in the world when it opened in 1923. Not only was it tall, it was a rarityan elegant residential hotel for men with a bowling alley, billiard tables, squash courts, a barber shop and a swimming pool.

What was never in doubt was the buildings architectural significance. With a tasteful two-story limestone base and three brick setbacks stepping up to a central tower, the Shelton was groundbreaking. Critics deemed it the first building to successfully embody 1916 zoning requirements that prescribed setbacks to keep skyscrapers from becoming hulking eyesores. The Empire State Building is just one of the buildings the Shelton influenced. As late as 1977, New York Times architecture critic Ada Louse Huxtable declared the hotel a landmark New York skyscraper.

OKeeffe couldnt have asked for a more agreeably situated studio. From her airy lair, she enjoyed unimpeded, birds eye views of the river and the citys growing crop of skyscrapers. Like Charles Demuth, Charles Sheeler and other artists of her era, OKeeffe was fascinated by skyscrapers as a symbol of urban modernity, a core principle of Precisionism, the Post-World War I modern art style that celebrated Americas dynamic new landscape of bridges, factories and skyscrapers.

Ensconced in her Shelton perch, OKeeffe created at least 25 paintings and drawings of skyscrapers and cityscapes. Among her best known is Radiator BuildingNight, New York, a masterful celebration of the skyscraper mystiqueand the iconic black and gold American Radiator Building now named Bryant Park Hotel.

Arthur Loomis Harmon, the architect of the Shelton, went on to help design the Empire State Building. (He also created Allerton House, a towering 1916 New York residential hotel).

But the Sheltons renown shot sky high after a visit to the basement swimming pool in 1926 by the escape artist Harry Houdini. Sealed in an airtight, coffin-like box (albeit one equipped with a telephone in case an emergency), Houdini was lowered into the pool where he lay submerged for an hour and half. He emerged on schedule, fatigued but alive. Anyone can do it, he told The New York Times.

Despite its colorful history and architectural uniqueness, The Shelton, as is the case with almost all aging hotels fell from favor. There were only 11 full time residents in the mid- 1970s. In 1978 it became the Halloran of the foreclosed property. He hired Stephen B. Jacobs to redesign the interiors, reducing the number of rooms to 650.

By 2007 it was owned by Morgan Stanley who handed operation over to the Marriott Company.

The architecture and engineering firm Superstructures has a major campaign of exterior repairs under way. Richard Moses, the architect in charge of the project, says that Mr. Harmons high-up details, including heads, masks, griffins and gargoyles, are generally intact, although several that have been particularly beaten up by the elements have been replaced. Mr. Moses said that Mr. Harmon made the walls lean in slightly, to give the Shelton a greater solidity. The effect, barely perceptible high up, is evident at ground level.

The original interior of the 1924 hotel is down to fragments, like the stair hall to the right of the main lobby. The squash courts are gone; in their place is an exercise room on the 35th floor with spectacular views all the way round. The hotel has named rooms after Arthur Loomis Harmon, Alfred Stieglitz and Georgia OKeeffe.

My Newest Book Great American Hotel Architects Volume 2  was published in 2020.

All of my following books can be ordered from AuthorHouse by visiting www.stanleyturkel.com and clicking on the books title.

Great American Hoteliers: Pioneers of the Hotel Industry (2009)

Built To Last: 100+ Year-Old Hotels in New York (2011)

Built To Last: 100+ Year-Old Hotels East of the Mississippi (2013)

Hotel Mavens: Lucius M. Boomer, George C. Boldt, Oscar of the Waldorf (2014)

Great American Hoteliers Volume 2: Pioneers of the Hotel Industry (2016)

Built To Last: 100+ Year-Old Hotels West of the Mississippi (2017)

Hotel Mavens Volume 2: Henry Morrison Flagler, Henry Bradley Plant, Carl Graham Fisher (2018)

Great American Hotel Architects Volume I (2019)

Hotel Mavens: Volume 3: Bob and Larry Tisch, Ralph Hitz, Cesar Ritz, Curt Strand (2020)

If You Need an Expert Witness :

For the past twenty-seven years, I have served as an expert witness in more than 42 hotel-related cases. My extensive hotel operating experience is beneficial in cases involving:

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wrongful deaths

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Feel free to call me at no charge on 917-628-8549 to discuss any hotel-related expert witness assignment.
Opinion Article

6 October 2021

Commonly, the capacity and style of hotel All Day Dining restaurants is driven by a need to accommodate breakfast demand; however as dining becomes a more compelling differentiator in key markets, this would appear to be an out-of-date metric for F&B design and programming decisions. This article explores the true need for accommodating breakfast demand and proposes an alternate approach for owners to maximize their F&B opportunities in markets where independent competition is strong.

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How strong is breakfast demand among in-house guests?

What are the opportunity costs of building a space that is designed to prioritize in-house breakfast service?

How can hotel owners maximize their return on investment in F&B spaces without ignoring the needs of the hotel or the local market?

Hotel Groupings

In each market, the data was segmented into three groups based on a combined evaluation of hotel facilities, positioning, chain scale, and average rate performance. Each group has a minimum of three properties of differing parent brands. The dynamics of each group are detailed later in this article.

Group One: Economy and Select Service

Economy and Select Service Group Two: Midscale to Upscale Full Service

Midscale to Upscale Full Service Group Three: Upper-Upscale and Luxury

Group Composition

The following tables show key metrics of the selected hotels in each grouping. In markets with insufficient data to make an anonymous set, results were excluded.

Photo: Horwath

Assumptions & Key Metrics

Data Source

Data was extracted from the Horwath HTL Annual Surveys of Operations and represents full year 2018 performance. Although market performance varies from year to year, the metrics in this article are ratios of capture and utilization which are minimally affected by market-wide room performance.

Breakfast Capture Rate

Due to availability of data, capture rate is measured as total ADD covers per guest night. Therefore, the default assumption is that breakfast capture is less than the total ADD capture shown. Horwath HTL and EDGs combined experience in the industry and with these markets suggests that breakfast represents the single largest source of covers for these restaurants.

Utilization

Utilization is a measure of covers per available seat. The figures in this report represent an annual average utilization ratio per day. Based on interviews with restaurateurs throughout the region and the combined industry experience of Horwath HTL and EDG, average utilization ratio of 1.2  1.5 per service is considered a reasonable benchmark for a successful restaurant.

Source Market & Market Mix

Source market and business segment mix are assumed to influence capture and average check for any individual hotel. For example, large group or MICE hotels are likely to have higher ADD capture rates; however, the hotel groupings in this study are sufficiently large or diverse as to represent a reasonable average for each market and segment.

ADD Capture

Photo: Horwath

Breakfast Capture

Most ADD venues struggle to capture a majority of guests

In the majority of markets, total ADD capture rate struggles to break 70%. With a conservative estimate of 10% of total covers represented by lunch demand and 10% represented by dinner, this indicates properties are only capturing about half of their in-house guests for breakfast. Even in properties with high ADD capture, rates rarely break 100%. This suggests that breakfast is not necessarily a critical part of a guests stay.

Independent competition



A standard ADD struggles against stand-alone venues

In these key markets, the independent restaurant scene is mature and highly competitive. Guests have plenty of reasons to eat outside the hotel for any of their meals. In many cases, independent venues offer a stronger value proposition, better quality and more variety overall than ADD restaurants. Independent competition is prolific and often easily accessible to guests in the hotels studied.

Breakfast should not drive design



Design should prioritize a market-driven concept

With a relatively low proportion of guests buying breakfast and many of those doing so as part of their room rate, there is little justification for designing a venue that actively targets breakfast demand. Brand standard programming criteria often mandates a ratio of ADD seats per room, to ensure ample breakfast capacity; however, there are opportunities to revise these expectations based on this data.

Opportunity Cost  Utilization Analysis

Photo: Horwath

Missing Lunch and Dinner

Capacity comes at the cost of an engaging, stand-alone experience, so Guests go elsewhere

Utilization rates across the data set are low, by independent restaurant standards. Healthy, average utilization for an independent venue is between 1.2 and 1.5 per meal period, with peaks reaching as high as 2.0. Hotel averages fall well below those benchmarks. Assuming that a majority of ADD utilization is breakfast, the lunch and dinner utilization is even lower than the average shown.

Traditional ADD concepts and designs are clearly unable to compete in markets with a developed independent dining scene. If the strategy and drive behind three-meal restaurants focused more on maximizing other meal periods, hotel venues could increase capture and utilization, compared to a traditional model.

Independent Restaurant Utilization Benchmark

In most cases, a restaurant should be turning its seats at a weekly average rate of 1.2 - 1.5 times per meal period to be considered successful. This average will be comprised of peaks as high as 1.8 - 2.0, but it relies predominately on keeping a consistent base of demand throughout the week. A successful, independent restaurant has very few 0.4 - 0.7 turn meal periods.

1.2 Weekly average turns per meal period, independent restaurants

Weekly average turns per meal period, independent restaurants 1.8 - 2.0 Peak turns per meal period, independent restaurants

Opportunity Cost  Average Spend Analysis

Photo: Horwath

Low spend, low value

Add venues do not effectively capture premium average check and beverage spend

Average check at specialty Asian and western restaurants in these same hotels is commonly between 1.5 and 3.0 times higher than in ADD venues. This difference is exaggerated by the fact that ADD averages must include breakfast; however, such a significant difference reinforces the conclusion that ADD venues cater predominantly to breakfast demand. If these venues shifted their focus to higher value meal periods, average spend would increase along with capture.

Beverage revenue also represents a significantly higher proportion of total, for specialty venues. This drives profitability for the specialty venues and represents a clearly missed opportunity to leverage value on the space and investment of a traditional ADD restaurant.

Food vs. Beverage Split, 2018 All Markets



ADD Restaurants

Photo: Horwath

Flexibility is the Future



Dont build for breakfast

A competitive, stand-alone venue can still serve breakfast

Considering the low capture, utilization, and spend, there is little commercial justification to develop restaurants that prioritize breakfast service. The strategy of building ADD restaurants based on a fixed and dated ratio to rooms consistently yields under-performing restaurants. This is costs owners in development expenses and lost opportunities to create more compelling F&B.

Overbuilt, buffet-focused restaurants will always struggle to compete with compelling, independent concepts in the market. This results in wasted investment and operating cost. Instead of focusing on peak breakfast demand, create restaurants that cater to average demand levels but can be flexible and dynamic.

Focused concepts working together



A Design and concept strategy that allows for peak demand

Many hotels have large spaces dedicated to ADD restaurants, but this doesnt mean the whole venue must be a single dining room or concept. With the right design and strategy, multiple concepts can be joined into a single dining room to serve high volume breakfast then separate to act as unique, independent venues for lunch and dinner. This way, the complete space is not crippled by the sole needs of the least valuable meal period.

A compelling, independent concept can always serve breakfast, but a breakfast restaurant will struggle to attract lunch and dinner demand.

COVID as the Catalyst



A Lot Has Changed, Why Go Back?

Although the classic buffet may well return, especially to certain hotels and certain markets, Covid has caused the industry to ask whats next for buffets? From guest preferences to health and safety concerns, there are many arguments for exploring modern, dynamic ways to address breakfast service.

The data here shows quite clearly that in key markets the traditional model is not successful for lunch and dinner. It also suggests that investing in a large restaurant just for catering to breakfast demand is not necessary or commercially appealing in these cases. This is an opportunity to shift the paradigm and start approaching hotel F&B with a stronger, independent mindset.

Design Case Study



Chinese National

Swissotel Jakarta PIK Avenue

Background

The Chinese National functions as the propertys three-meal restaurant; however, it can be functionally separated into four separate venues, each with a unique, but related, concept.

Paperduck: A BBQ venue specializing in Peking duck

A BBQ venue specializing in Peking duck Black Powder Red: A Sichuan specialty concept

A Sichuan specialty concept Iron Needle: A noodle and dimsum concept

A noodle and dimsum concept Letterpress: A tea house that transitions to a cocktail bar

The concept and design was of each room was created with a unique identity but allows them to function as a single, cohesive venue, when necessary. Each room can flex from strong independent venue to functional ADD space.

Necessary buffet components for breakfast become specialty kitchens, allowing both functions to effectively serve throughout the space. Guests can move from one room to the next when the spaces are opened, but each concept has a dedicated entry for lunch and dinner service.

Photo: Horwath

Articulated components conceal or reveal elements of the space that allow it to transition from a luxurious tea lounge to a intimate cocktail bar. The success of each concept depends on the operators ability to create two intimate, unique, and purposeful experiences. To simply serve new different beverages in the same space would not achieve the same effect.

Letterpress Tea Lounge setting (AM)

Photo: Horwath

Letterpress Cocktail bar setting (PM)

Photo: Horwath

Concept Case Study

Pastore



Hotel Chadstone Melbourne, Mgallery by Sofitel

Celebrity Chef Concept



Priority on lunch and dinner does not eliminate breakfast capability

Pastore was created in partnership with well-known Melbourne chef Scott Pickett. The venue was designed and developed with the priority of creating a beautiful and compelling space that brings the wood-fire Italian concept to life for lunch and dinner.

This approach does not preclude the hotel from effectively using the restaurant for breakfast. However, if the concept and design focused on a high-volume hotel breakfast service, the venue would not have secured a celebrity partnership or the critical acclaim it enjoys today.

During peak demand periods, the property is able to extend the breakfast seating and ambient buffet into the adjoining lobby lounge area. This keeps the size of the permanent restaurant more manageable, intimate, and focused.
Opinion Article

6 October 2021

The best demonstration of brand loyalty in hospitality and travel, in general, is the share of repeat business. Travel consumers are buried under an avalanche of options and offers, and if they repeatedly choose your brand over the competing alternatives, obviously your brand has an appeal above and beyond the competition. This appeal is a result of the perceived value proposition of your brand and the travel consumers emotional attachment to your brand.

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Of course, not all consumers are brand loyal. Direct Marketing Association (DMA) defines four types of loyal customers: Active Loyals (43%) who stay loyal to brands for both routine and special purchases, Habitual Loyals (23%) who are loyal for routine purchases but shop around for special services, Situational Loyals (9%) and Active Disloyals (27%).

Obviously, the most valuable are the first two categories, especially the Active Loyals. Amazon, Apple, Google and Microsoft, the most valuable brands in the world in 2021, enjoy wide brand loyalty from the Active Loyals. In hospitality, marquee brands like Mandarin Oriental, Ritz-Carlton and Four Seasons are the ones that enjoy brand loyalty almost exclusively from the Active Loyals category.

For the rest of the "mass market" hospitality, it is impossible to nurture and maintain brand loyalty exclusively from the ranks of Active Loyals. This is why all major hotel chains use points-based loyalty programs with different membership levels in order to make their loyalty programs attractive to all four categories of loyal customers.

The major hotel chains also realized that awarding points was not enough of an appeal, especially to unmanaged business travelers and leisure travelers who typically belong to the Habitual and Situational Loyals categories. This was the reason why five years ago all major hotel chains began offering 5%-10% membership discounts to loyalty members when booking directly, in addition to the usual member perks and benefits. As a result, the loyalty programs ballooned. Marriotts Bonvoy loyalty program now exceeds 125 million members, and Hiltons Honors program exceeds 118 million members.

Loyalty programs with appealing membership pricing, perks and benefits are instrumental in increasing repeat direct business, lowering OTA (online travel agent) dependency and attracting a wide range of core and noncore customer segments, as well as new-to-the-brand customers.

In 2019, the last "normal" year in hospitality, the loyalty programs helped the major hotel chains:

Increase repeat business: Over 59.2% of room nights at the major hotel chains were booked by loyalty members, 62% at Marriott and Hilton (Kalibri Labs).

Decrease OTA exposure: The ratio of Brand.com versus OTA booked room nights improved to 2.5-1 and reached 3-1 at Marriott and Hilton.

The major hotel chains are taking their loyalty programs to the next level by introducing member-only mobile check-in, preselection of the hotel room from digital floor plans, "smart rooms" that automatically adapt their configurations as per the loyalty member preferences, etc.

What is the situation with independent hotels? Unfortunately, less than 10% of independents have any form of a loyalty program or guest appreciation program. This is the reason why at independents:

Repeat business is only in the range of 10%-15%.

OTA dependency is growing and the ratio of Brand.com versus OTA booked room nights is negative 1-3 in the U.S. and 1-4 in Europe.

So, do loyalty programs work in hospitality? I believe the question of whether loyalty programs in hospitality still work is categorically answered by the differences in the share of repeat business and OTA dependency between the major hotel chains and independent hotels.

*Article originally published in Value Penguin https://www.valuepenguin.com/travel/best-hotel-credit-cards.
Yi-Chin Lee, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

Houston auto retailer Group 1 Automotive acquired two dealerships in Dallas-Fort Worth for an undisclosed price, the company said.

Classic Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram of Denton and Classic Mazda of Denton bring Group 1s dealership count to 119 in the U.S., it said. The company expects the two new dealerships to bring $150 million in annual revenue.
WASHINGTON  Charif Souki is feeling pretty pleased with himself these days.

Eighteen months ago, the ex-CEO of Cheniere Energy, now executive chairman of Houston-based Tellurian LNG, had to lay off half his staff amid grim projections for global gas demand.

But with supply shortages now causing price spikes in Europe and Asia, Souki says he has Wall Street investors banging at his door and plans to begin construction on the Driftwood LNG project outside Lake Charles, La., by March  though no final decision has been made.

A year ago, everyone is saying hes never going to build anything, Souki said of critics on Wall Street, in a recent interview. You bring it to them now and theyre salivating.

For more than a decade, the price of natural gas was so cheap that in some parts of the world it made more financial sense to burn the gas at the wellhead than build pipelines to bring it to customers. But now the world is facing an extended period of supply shortages that stand to drive up natural gas prices for years to come, experts say.

Demand is outpacing supply, said Michael Stoppard, chief strategist for global gas at the consulting firm IHS Markit. The current high price cannot be sustained for a long time, but there are underlying fundamentals that have turned around the market for the next few years.

With the global economy rebounding from the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for energy in all forms is strong. But unlike crude oil, the natural gas supply chain cannot easily be adjusted to where its most needed. Transporting gas requires pipelines and specialized cooling plants to transform it into a liquid, projects that cost billions of dollars and take years to permit and build.

Not so long ago, the world was awash in natural gas from fields in Qatar, Australia and the United States. But, with a push toward renewable energy, oil and gas companies steadily pulled back from developing new fields, even as gas demand increased with a growing global population requiring greater amounts of energy.

On HoustonChronicle.com: LNG producers make case for energy transition role

Between 2014 and 2019, capital spending by the global oil and gas industry declined more than 40 percent to less than $500 billion from nearly $800 billion, according to the International Energy Agency, which advises industrialized nations on energy supply. At a conference this summer, one of JP Morgans top analysts warned of a $600 billion shortfall in oil and gas development through the end of the decade.

At the same time natural gas demand is expected to increase 3.6 percent this year, with the forecast for 2024 showing gas consumption 7 percent above pre-COVID levels. Earlier this month,OPEC Secretary-General Mohammed Barkindo said the world should brace for more energy shortages unless investment in oil and gas projects is increased.

The energy crisis in Europe and many parts of the world is a wake-up call, he said, according to the Wall Street Journal We need to buckle up more investment in capital to revive the production cycle.

But doing so would mean more greenhouse gas emissions when scientists are warning that , humanity is on track to increase earths temperature to the point that coastlines are inundated byflooding and weather becomes more dangerous and extreme.

Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, has pushed back against OPECs warnings, blaming the supply shortage on unusually cold winters and hot summers this past year, along with unexpected outages in processing plants caused in part by delayed maintenance due to the pandemic.

Recent increases in global natural gas prices are the result of multiple factors, and it is inaccurate and misleading to lay the responsibility at the door of the clean-energy transition, he said last month.

As policymakers debate the cause of the supply crunch, the question facing gas producers is how long it will last. Two LNG projects are under construction on the Gulf Coast, and the national oil company Qatar Petroleum said it will build one of the worlds largest LNG projects to expand the nations LNG exports by more than 40 percent. But production from that project is not scheduled to begin until the end of 2025.

And while Tellurian prepares to move ahead on its Driftwood LNG project, many U.S. LNG developers are waiting to see if buyers in Asia, Europe and South America will commit to buying gas that wont be available for at least another five years, said Charlie Riedl, executive director for the Washington-based trade group Center for Liquefied Natural Gas.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Souki on going green, LNG and the nuclear option

Before there was no incentive for a long-term agreement because there was plenty of cargo out there to buy on the spot market for next to nothing, he said. Now all of a sudden you see the market tighten and theres a desire. The question is, are those long-term contracts likely to start reappearing?

For now, energy consumers abroad must make do as best they can. Coal consumption is increasing as power plants that cannot get gas at a reasonable price switch to coal. And without a decline in gas prices in Asia and Europe, analysts say, customers will soon switch to fuel oil, too.

That shift to more carbon intensive fuels is going to be front and center next month when world leaders gather in Glasgow, Scotland, for the COP26 climate conference to negotiate emissions reductions.

Managing increasing energy demand against the need for lower emissions is a problem world leaders will grapple with for many years to come. The challenge facing clean energy advocates will be convincing political leaders not to back off commitments to reach net-zero carbon emissions by dramatically reducing the use of fossil fuels  including natural gas  in favor of renewables such as wind and solar energy.

Wait until people in Europe start getting their electricity bills, said Souki, the Tellurian executive chairman. When youre talking about not having gas for lighting or cooking, all of a sudden your priorities change.

james.osborne@chron.com

twitter.com/osborneja
Eleven Houston billionaires made the Forbes 400 list of the wealthiest people in America, and most of them substantially boosted their fortunes over the last year as energy prices recovered and people returned to restaurants and sporting events.

While much of the world is recovering from the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Forbes 400 richest Americans are collectively richer than ever before. The 400 richest saw their collective fortunes rise by 40 percent over the year to a record-breaking $4.5 trillion, according to Forbes.

Rich Kinder, philanthropist and chairman of pipeline giant Kinder Morgan, again led the local list with a net worth of $7.1 billion. That placed him at No. 128 on the Forbes 400 ranking released Tuesday. Kinder's net worth grew by $2.9 billion, or 47 percent, since the publication's 2020 ranking.

New to the list is Robert Brockman, who made headlines last year on tax fraud charges, ranked No. 229 with a net worth of $4.7 billion. Brockman, 80, is the former chairman of Reynolds and Reynolds, which sells software and services to automotive dealerships. He has denied the charges.

The top 10 richest people in America 1. Jeff Bezos, $201 billion

2. Elon Musk, $190.5 billion

3. Mark Zuckerberg, $134.5 billion

4. Bill Gates, $134 billion

5. Larry Page, $123 billion

6. Sergey Brin, $118.5 billion

7. Larry Ellison, $117.3 billion

8. Warren Buffett, $102 billion

9. Steve Ballmer, $96.5 billion

10. Michael Bloomberg, $70 billion See More Collapse

Tilman Fertitta, owner of the Houston Rockets and the Landry's restaurant, hotel and gaming empire, moved up in the ranking to No. 158 after boosting his net worth more than 50 percent to $6.3 billion. Last year, Fertitta ranked No. 181 with $4.1 billion.

RELATED: 90 Houston companies make the Inc. 5000 list

Siblings Dannine Avara, Scott Duncan, Milane Frantz and Randa Williams saw their net worth grow by 29 percent to $6.2 billion, placing them at No. 161 on the list. They inherited their wealth from their father, Dan Duncan of Enterprise Pipeline Partners.

Jeffery Hildebrand, founder of privately owned energy company Hilcorp, ranked No. 240 with $4.6 billion in net worth, up from $3.6 billion in 2020.

RELATED: Tilman Fertitta emerges from the pandemic as one of Forbes' richest Americans, makes magazine cover

Dan Friedkin, owner of Gulf States Toyota, ranked No. 253 with $4.4 billion in wealth. His net worth is up from $4.1 billion in 2020.

Janice McNair, the widow of Bob McNair and majority owner of the Houston Texans with a net worth of $4.2 billion, ranked No. 269 with $4.2 billion. McNair saw her fortune grow by $300 million over the year.

Philanthropist John Arnold, who gained his wealth from hedge funds, ranked No. 358 with a net worth of $3.3 billion, which held steady from 2020.

A newly minted Texan made the top 10. Elon Musk, who has substantial operations for Tesla and SpaceX in Texas and now calls Austin home, is No. 2 on the list with a net worth of $190.5 billion.

The cut to make the Forbes 400 list rose to a record high of $2.9 billion, up from $2.1 billion last year.
Saudi Arabia reduced oil prices for its main buyers, a day after OPEC+ sent crude futures surging by sticking to a plan for slow and steady supply increases.

State firm Saudi Aramcos cuts for customers in Asia, Europe and the U.S. may take some of the sting out of that jump for refiners at a time when a global gas shortage is pushing up demand for crude among power producers.

The OPEC+ cartel, led by the Saudis and Russia, on Monday opted to raise daily output in November by 400,000 barrels, less than some traders and analysts had anticipated. The main U.S. benchmark, Wests Texas Intermediate, jumped to a seven-year high of almost $80 a barrel.

Aramco lowered its key Arab Light grade for Asian customers in November by 40 cents to $1.30 a barrel above the benchmark. The worlds largest oil company also cut prices for all other grades headed for Asia, as well as the Mediterranean and Northwest Europe regions. Prices for most U.S.-bound shipments were reduced.

Rising oil prices can crimp margins for refiners still suffering from last years decline in fuel demand as the coronavirus pandemic ravaged economies.

The cut in the official selling price for Arab Light to the smallest premium since March was in line with market expectations. Saudi Arabia sends more than 60% of its crude exports to Asia, with China, South Korea, Japan and India the biggest buyers.

Since the start of this year, Brent crude has jumped 60% as major economies recover and as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners maintain supply restrictions. The 23-nation grouping, known as OPEC+, cut output by around 10 million barrels a day at the start of the pandemic and is still withholding roughly half that amount from global markets.

Aramcos chief executive officer, Amin Nasser, said on Monday that demand for crude had climbed by 500,000 barrels a day as some businesses and power producers are forced to switch from gas to oil.
Lewis Dickson and Herve Garnier have never met, and thats a shame. The wry Frenchman Garnier, a longtime vigneron in a remote corner of central France called the Ardeche, and the gregarious Texan Dickson, who made his name and fortune as a high-powered defense attorney in Houston, are brothers from a different mother.

Separated by about a year in age  at 70, Dickson is the more senior  they share a passionate, all-abiding affinity for one of the planets most intriguing, and misunderstood, grape varietals, a New World/Old World hybrid called black Spanish.

Black Spanish seems to have come into existence when the vitis vinifera cabernet franc made its way to North America in the 17th century in the company of French Huguenots who were fleeing persecution from their Catholic countrymen, then got genetically intertwined with a native vitis aestivalis strain somewhere along the East Coast. Its also called lenoir  the black  for its intensely dark, brooding color. Garnier prefers to call it jacquet, which, in French, is pronounced jock-kay. Youll see it spelled Jacquez, too, the name acquired when it made its way to the island of Madeira.

To Garnier, however, black Spanish is also known as le fruit interdit, the forbidden fruit, because, yes, its illegal in France to sell wines made from jacquet to the general public. Why? Thats a question he has asked for a long time.

Prohibited for what reason? he asks. There is no good reason.

Nobody in Texas cares if Dickson cultivates black Spanish on his ranch near San Marcos. But he spends more time than he would like trying to defend his choice of fruit for his red wine, never mind how good it may taste or how comfortable the vines have shown themselves to be in Texas difficult climate.

People come into the tasting room and say theyve never heard of the black Spanish grape, Dickson said. I tell them, Well, there are a lot of things weve never heard of.

Dickson never set out to prove a point when he put his first black Spanish vines in the ground in the Hill Country soon after the turn of the century, having returned from a two-year sabbatical in France.

I planted 11 different varietals, he said.

I didnt give them any help. Its kind of like those (reality) shows on television. I just dropped them out in the wilderness, then found out who would survive.  After six or seven years, it was very clear to me which were the bucking horses and which ones didnt mind giving me a pleasant ride.

The latter were the hybrids, the black Spanish and the blanc du Bois. The former were all of the other more renowned varietals. Today Dicksons 3-acre vineyard is split half and half between black Spanish and blanc du Bois.

In the end, he said, I was tickled with how it worked out. Black spanish loves the Texas heat and can achieve really nice sugar levels without a corresponding loss of acidity. The bottom line? Those grapes are reasonably reliable, and thats why I have them. But most people dont know what black Spanish should taste like because they screw with it so much.  I make completely natural wine.

Garnier, for his part, landed in the Ardeche in the 1970s, fleeing the cold, gray winters in the Voges where hed grown up. After fortuitously getting lost hitchhiking, he wound up working as a handyman for two brothers who owned a tiny but productive jacquet vineyard. After they passed away, he was able to purchase the plot. Thats when his battle with the French authorities and the EU began in earnest, and he has garnered high-profile attention for it, too. The International Herald Tribune first profiled him in 2004. Then, just several weeks ago, the New York Times weighed in.

The planting of black Spanish had been banned in 1934 largely because France had too much wine to sell relative to its population, and the big producers didnt want competition from the little guys, the French peasants, who were growing the grape because, as in Texas, it thrived on nutrient-poor granite soils while needing minimal human interference.

The French grape police called the jacquet and other hybrids from across the Atlantic American blood wine  blood meaning origin, not the red stuff  and falsely declared them to be dangerous to ones health, causing blindness or even death. By 1955, all hybrids from the New World would be banned in Europe. The great irony is that root stock from U.S. and particularly Texas-grown hybrids had, in the late 19th century, saved French vintners from the catastrophe caused by phylloxera, the nasty root louse that would have killed every vine in the country had it not been for assistance from Americans such as T.V. Munson, the legendary Texas horticulturist.

Undeterred, Garnier helped found an association called Memoire de la Vigne that began what has become a very long fight for the right to get jacquet and its North American cousins into the European market. Though victory has proven elusive, Garnier and his equally passionate friends are allowed to sell a few bottles of their wines each year to individuals who pay to join the association.

I recently tasted a bottle of 2019 Cuvee des Vignes dAntan (Vines from Yesteryear) made by the group. Pairing with Dicksons The Troubadour from 2013 proved instructive. The wines were sisters from a different mother. Three of us representing the Houston Chronicles tasting panel sampled them side by side and could tell immediately they were from the same grape and made in the same noninterventionist style. Everybody agreed the wines were eminently quaffable.

Dicksons wine sells for $72 through the winery and is also on the wine list at Georgia James for $115. Go to lacruzdecomalwines.com to further explore his portfolio or arrange a private tasting. The best way to check out whats available from the Cuvee des Vignes dAntan wines, in turn, is to book a flight and make the pilgrimage to Garniers doorstep about an hour-and-a-half drive south of Lyon.

sportywineguy@outlook.com
Beverly Smith turns 81 soon  she cant believe where the time has gone.

The mother of five and grandmother to two has been dealing with serious back pain since she was 19. In 1959, a driver in another vehicle rammed into the rear bumper of the Corvair she was driving.

At the time, her lower back pain was easy to dismiss. She was young, working at a Houston electric company before settling down as a homemaker and mother.

Over time, she began to experience arthritis in her neck and back. In recent years, she has has trouble standing for longer than a few minutes at a time.

I got to where I wouldnt think about it and forget for a while, but then I would always end up asking my kids to rub my neck, said Smith, who lives in Houston. Recently, the pain level was so bad that I couldnt even stand up to fry an egg  an egg.

On RenewHouston.com: For wheelchair users, what happens when the Heimlich doesnt work or isnt an option?

In June, Smith underwent a procedure called a spinal ablation that uses high-frequency electrical current passed through an electrode to thermally deactivate the nerves responsible for sending pain signals to the brain.

The physical problem remains, but the ablation temporarily blocks the patient from feeling the pain, said Dr. Nadya Dhanani, an interventional pain management specialist and Smiths doctor at UTHealth Neurosciences.

Before she was referred to the pain management group, Smith was finally ready to address her decades-old back pain and occasional leg pain. She was in her late 70s, had recently downsized to a smaller home, and she needed a solution.

I couldnt lift a 2-pound bag of sugar, Smith lamented.

Dhanani wanted to try noninvasive procedures to address the pain in the hopes of avoiding a potentially strenuous back surgery and extended recovery time for the grandmother.

Diagnosing pain correctly is complicated, Dhanani said, which is why research among pain interventionists into why the experience of pain varies from person to person is ongoing and evolving.

Part of the challenge is figuring out why the person is hurting, Dhanani said. Pain is rarely simple, because if I pinch you and ask how painful it is, it would be different if I pinched your friend. Its a subjective, emotional experience.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Woodlands woman went to doctor for a stomachache. A few days later, she had open heart surgery.

The patients at UTHealths Neurosciences group skew older and suffer from back pain, herniated discs and different spinal injuries. Dr. Ashley Amsbaugh, another interventional pain management specialist in the group, said most patients deal with chronic pain for decades, which makes it harder to diagnose the root cause.

They become so down about it, so its really hard for them to think they will feel better, Amsbaugh said. We really focus on interventions to try to manage pain with few medications. We try to help people get off chronic opioids, which is another struggle because they have it in their mind that its the only thing that really helps them.

Due to a delicate stomach, Smith has sparingly taken ibuprofen for her back and leg pain over the years. She found the greatest relief in the neck and back rubs from her children when they were younger.

When Dhanani reviewed Smiths scans, she found multiple bulging discs that involved large nerves around her spine. Since her main symptom was leg pain and numbness, the doctor gave her an epidural steroid injection.

The injection alleviated some of her leg pain but worsened her back pain. Smith could not stand or walk for long periods of time. Dhanani ordered more scans and conducted a physical exam where she extended her back and made her twist.

Smith yelped in pain  a classic symptom of facet arthritis, or facet joint syndrome, in which the cartilage in the joints between spine bones breaks down and becomes inflamed, sending extreme pain signals to the nerve endings.

The next option was the spinal ablation. Smith remembers being scared when the doctor explained how she would insert small needles to deliver radio waves to the targeted nerve endings.

My daughter told me it was OK; she had ablation on her back because she was also in a wreck, Smith said. She said it doesnt start working right away and it may not work forever, but it opened a new door for her.

On RenewHouston.com: How a Houston bodybuilder overcame a traumatic brain injury to compete in the sport he loves.

The nerves do grow back  sometimes six months or a full year after the ablation  but they do so slowly, Dhanani explained. Though considered temporary, the procedure can relieve significant pain for a long period of time.

Smith had her first ablation in June 2021, about 17 months after being referred to pain specialists. Unfortunately, the early parts of the pandemic delayed her treatment.

But the results have been great so far, Smith said.

A couple weeks ago, we went to Fredericksburg with the Shriners group out of Galveston, she said. I walked 10 blocks  I havent walked that far in years. I have always had to be wary of how long Im on my feet and if Im straining myself too much.

The main goal for pain management specialists is for their patients to become more active and functional in their daily lives, Amsbaugh said.

Its to get you out to go to the grocery store, play with your grandkids a bit and clean your house, Amsbaugh said. These are really basic things that people have lost their ability to do.

julie.garcia@chron.com

twitter.com/reporterjulie

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Weve handed our school libraries over to would-be censors, it would seem.

Or Katy ISD has, at least.

The district this week canceled a planned virtual event with acclaimed author Jerry Craft, in addition to pulling his graphic novels New Kid and Class Act from its libraries, after he was accused of fomenting critical race theory.

More than 400 parents  in a district with some 90,000 students  signed a petition on change.org, which has since been removed, calling for the event with the syndicated African-American cartoonist and childrens book author to be canceled.

I wasnt triggered, and I wasnt harmed by what was in these books, said Bonnie Anderson, a mother of three children in Katy ISD, who organized the petition. But its not a gentle delivery, as much as the author does a good job with the pictures and trying to inject humor.

One or more of the parents, she continued, also filed a formal complaint with the suburban school district.

That was all it took.

Never mind that both books, which center on the experiences of a Black pre-teenage boy named Jordan and his friends at a prestigious prep school in New York City, are delightfully funny and sharply observed as well as timely and moving.

NEWSLETTERS Join the conversation with HouWeAre We want to foster conversation and highlight the intersection of race, identity and culture in one of America's most diverse cities. Sign up for the HouWeAre newsletter here.

Never mind that both are critically acclaimed as well as popular. New Kid, which follows Jordan & Co. during their seventh grade year, won the Newbery Medal in 2020 for childrens literature  the first graphic novel to claim the honor in the contests history.

Nope, someone merely filed a formal objection to Crafts books. Thats all it takes to get a book banned, at least temporarily, under a district policy that needs to be changed.

An individual can make a formal objection using the form provided by the District, explained Laura Davis, a district spokeswoman.

If such a challenge is made, she continued, the book will be pulled while the review process proceeds. And anyone can file such a challenge, for any reason  based on their interpretation of appropriateness, Davis said.

Its a local policy. And Crafts case illustrates why its also a bad one.

Adults who have read New Kid or Class Act might be surprised to find them added to the pyre. Neither contains any obscenities or references to drug use  which were the reasons given by the district when it pulled The Hate U Give, a celebrated work by another Black author, Angie Thomas, from district libraries in 2017. (That book, dealing with police brutality and racial profiling, has since been restored to Katy ISD shelves, although students need permission to check it out).

Nor do Crafts novels include any sexual content or violence of note.

In other words, these books shouldnt be banned. Thats a precedent from the Supreme Courts ruling in 1982s Board of Education v Pico, which held that public school administrators cant remove books from libraries solely because they disagree with the content. And Crafts content was clearly the issue, for whichever parent filed the formal complaint.

Should we be surprised its come to this? No. In recent months many conservatives have abruptly taken an interest in critical race theory, a once-obscure academic discipline that has now lent its name  or had its name purloined  to refer to any text dealing with an array of topics related to race.

Texas Republican legislators this year passed a law targeting the issue this year, putting parameters on how public school teachers can teach about race and racism  and then tacked on more restrictions during the second special session.

Thats the context in which Craft, who based the books on the experiences of his two sons, got canceled, so to speak.

In the books, Jordan and his friend Drew are among the few Black students at their school, as well as among the few recipients of financial aid. They experience nearly continuous microaggressions throughout the books, which cover their seventh- and eighth-grade years.

These books might well be discomfiting for some readers. Craft, who is also the author of the Mamas Boyz comic strip, is generous in his observations of children, but appropriately pointed when it comes to skewering adults.

I see this book as a polemic against everything this school stands for. And me!, says Jordans homeroom teacher, Ms. Rawle, after discovering Jordans sketchbook, where he processes his experiences. (Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones But at LEAST Get My Name Right!)

I dont see this as an attack at all, says the 12-year-old Jordan, after quickly Googling polemic. Its just a point of view.

As the Chronicles Claire Goodman reported, the parents alleged in the petition that the book promoted reverse racism against white children.

Interestingly, Anderson  an unsuccessful school board candidate who made headlines last spring when she sued the district for $100,000 for having a mask mandate then  concurred with the suggestion that its strange Katy ISD would pull the books as the first step in its review process.

I completely agree with you on that, Anderson said. I would think that they would keep the book until the decision is made.

Thats more or less the policy in Houston Independent School District, and it would be a much better approach for Katy ISDs reputation, as well as its students.

erica.grieder@chron.com
Perhaps this sounded like a good idea on the drawing board.

A new parking rule that went into effect one October night in 1929 left Houston motorists beyond confused.

At 7 p.m. on Oct. 5, parking on Main Street shifted from angled parking to parallel parking. Thing is, if you parallel-parked your car before 7 p.m., you were essentially boxed in by motorists who pulled in at an angle.

"Before police and motorists realized what was happening, cars along the curbs had become hopelessly confused," the Chronicle wrote.

I.P. Walker, chairman of the citizens traffic committee, blamed police and drivers during the day who were parking long term on Main. Others attributed the confusion to the fact that most of the stores downtown were closed until 6 p.m. for the Jewish New Year.

Merchants felt parking restrictions on Main hurt their businesses and wondered if Houston was big enough to merit such changes. Also up for debate was how long should people park on Main.

Weeks later, Houston City Council passed an ordinance establishing angled parking on Main, from Commerce to Polk, except for three hours in the morning when no parking was allowed.

Click on the image below to enlarge.
Update: The Texas Department of Public Safety on Thursday morning reported that Leilana Graham was located. Houston FBI reported she was taken to an area hospital to be evaluated. No further information was provided.

------

An Amber Alert was issued for the Houston area Tuesday night for a 13-year-old girl who has been missing since last month and who authorities believe is in immediate danger, according to a tweet sent out by the FBI's Houston office.

Leilana Graham was last seen at 10510 Rockaway Drive in northeast Houston on September 20. Officials stated that she was wearing a white and yellow striped shirt, pants of an unknown color, black shoes and a clear backpack.

Officials added they are looking for Sha Kendrick Edward Smith, 22, who is believed to be connected to Graham's disappearance. Smith was last seen driving a blue, 2008 GMC truck with the Texas license plate 28809T1.

Anyone with information on Graham's or Smith's whereabouts is encouraged to call the the FBI Houston at 713-693-5000.

No additional information is available at this time.

Joel.Umanzor@chron.com
A 32-year-old Houston man convicted of repeatedly molesting a young female relative was sentenced on Tuesday to 50 years in prison, according to the Harris County District Attorney's Office.

Following a trial that lasted more than a week, a jury convicted Aaron Philip Fernandez of continuous sexual abuse of a child from July 2017 to October 2017, according to the district attorney's office. He will not be released on parole.
Houston homicide investigators spent almost a year trudging through an array of suspects and internet conspiracy theories before they finally concluded that the husband of social media influencer Alexis Sharkey killed her after he realized she intended to end their marriage.

When authorities attempted to arrest Thomas Sharkey Tuesday night in the fatal 2020 strangulation of his wife, it was too late. The officers found him dead by a self inflicted gunshot wound in a Florida home, Houston police said.

Deputies from the U.S Marshal's Office arrived at 10 p.m. at the home of one of the husband's relatives in Ft. Myers in search of the suspect, according to the Lee County Sheriffs Office. Someone in the household let them in. The deputies heard a gunshot. They discovered Sharkey dead inside one of the rooms.

Sgt. Michael Burrow, a Houston homicide investigator, said that authorities believe that Sharkey acted alone in slaying his wife.

The investigation determined that Thomas Sharkey is the only person who had the means, motive and opportunity to have committed the murder, Burrow said. He said investigators were able to eliminate all other suspects some of whom Sharkey had identified as culpable.

Burrow added that Sharkey had relocated to Georgia two weeks after his wife's death. When authorities arranged in early August to meet him and gather a DNA sample from him in Georgia, he was a no-show.

Burrow said the case came with a unique set of challenges, according to Burrow.

Because of the high profile nature of the case, there are various tips that come in, he said. There were a lot of ,,, conspiracy theories that came up that we had to look into and disprove.

The couple moved to Houston in January 2020 and Alexis Sharkey garnered a sizeable Instagram following by showing off beauty products from a multi-level marketing company.

A City of Houston employee found Alexis Sharkey's body in late November of that year along a road about three miles from her apartment. Several hours later a missing persons report was with police. In January 2021, the medical examiner's office deemed her death a homicide by strangulation.

Sometime during the investigation, the medical examiners office switched the womans next-of-kin from her husband to her parents. No explanation was provided at the time.

Her final post on Nov. 22, 2020 paid tribute to a recent trip to the tourist town of Tulum on Mexicos Yucatan Peninsula. In some posts, she identified herself as a "mentor" for the Monat company, which sells hair and skin care products.

After her death, the number of people following her on Instagram ballooned.

samantha.ketterer@chron.com

nicole.hensley@chron.com

joel.umanzor@chron.com
A Houston family is mourning and seeking community support after a mother living in Georgia was shot and killed, allegedly by a neighbor. The funeral is planned for Friday in Houston.

Carlether Foley, a 36-year old aspiring actress, was already unresponsive when her 17-year old son, Keyandre Benjamin found her in their Duluth, Ga. apartment. She was sleeping before she died from a gunshot wound to the head on Sept. 25.

Her neighbor, 22-year-old Maxwell Williamson, was arrested and is facing multiple charges, including involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. He claims he was cleaning his gun when a bullet was fired through their shared apartment wall, according to the AJC.

IN HOUSTON: Man in critical condition after vehicle goes off ramp, catches fire

Williamson reportedly left Foley a note offering to pay for the damage the bullet caused and then left for work because he did not know that Foley was shot and killed, according to WSB-TV Atlanta.

"It (doesn't) feel real. I found my mama by myself," Benjamin told ABC 13. "I just don't get it. I don't understand. She don't bother nobody. My mama didn't do nothing."

Meanwhile, Foley's family in Houston is seeking help with paying for her funeral and supporting her teenage son. More than 460 donors have banded together to help the family, raising more than $21,000 to support Foley and Benjamin. Benjamin is currently staying with his grandmother in southeast Texas, according to ABC 13.

"Carlether was an extraordinary mother, daughter, sister, cousin and friend to so many and touched the lives of everyone around her. She leaves behind her 17-year-old son, Keyandre Benjamin, who feels as though his best friend is now gone," the family wrote in the Go Fund Me campaign. "Carlether dedicated her life to making those around her smile and feel loved. She enjoyed her career in acting and enjoyed displaying her talents through film and stage productions."

chris.shelton@chron.com
Days after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its 2021 holiday guidelines, the website has removed the webpage.

On Friday, the federal agency released this years recommendations on how to safely celebrate the winter holidays. For those who havent received the COVID-19 vaccine, the top recommendation was to stay home or delay travel until they are fully vaccinated.

Echoing last years recommendations, many of the tips suggested opting for virtual events and avoiding in-person gatherings even though 56.5 percent of Americans are fully vaccinated.

On HoustonChronicle.com: How to celebrate holidays at home

In Texas, nearly 15 million people are fully vaccinated, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.

Early Tuesday, the CDC redirected the Safer Ways to Celebrate the Holidays to a generic coronavirus information page, prompting an inquiry by ABC News.

Kristen Nordlund, a CDC spokesperson, said the webpages content is being updated by the agency to reflect current guidance ahead of this holiday season.

The page had a technical update on Friday, but doesnt reflect the CDCs guidance ahead of this upcoming holiday season, Nordlund wrote in an email. CDC will share additional guidance soon.

Dr. Wesley Long, medical director of diagnostic microbiology at Houston Methodist, said the delta variant is still spreading though the rate of positive cases is slowing and hospitalizations are lowering. Unchecked COVID spread is something to consider when deciding what to do during the holidays, he said.

According to the Texas Medical Center, the positivity rate for those tested at TMC institutions has decreased from 13.8 percent last month to 7 percent this week. Last week, Houston hospitals admitted an average of 174 new COVID patients per day compared to Septembers daily average of 388.

In the Houston area, 1,762 people were hospitalized Tuesday with COVID-19, according to DSHS. Thats about half the number seen on Aug. 24, when the area peaked at 3,500 hospitalizations.

Being vaccinated is the better way to help your friends and family get things under control and get back to normal, Long said. Vaccinations will get us out of the pandemic phase of COVID and get back into a more routine day-to-day life.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Houstons Mrs. Black Santa finally joins her husband this holiday after 400 years of marriage

On a Tuesday CNN segment, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said he will spend Christmas with his family in-person because he is vaccinated.

I encourage people, particularly the vaccinated people who are protected, to have a good, normal Christmas with your family, Fauci said. The best way to assure that well be in good shape as we get into the winter would be to get more and more people vaccinated.

julie.garcia@chron.com

Twitter.com/reporterjulie
Protests, lawsuits and national media coverage surrounded Houston Methodist Hospital in June when it became the countrys first major health system to require a COVID-19 vaccine as a condition of employment.

Now, as other Houston healthcare providers begin to enforce similar mandates, the drama has faded into the background. Hospitals are not facing the same pushback, officials say, and only a small portion of employees are holding out on the vaccine.

There is a lot of noise around (mandates), and the anti-vaxx movement has been vociferous, but this is more of an outcry from the community rather than when it comes down to the brass tacks in facilities, said Carrie Kroll, vice president of advocacy, quality and public health at the Texas Hospital Association.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Texas schools are reporting fewer COVID cases, state and local data show

Texas Childrens Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine were the first to reach their vaccine mandate deadlines following Methodist.

Baylor, Texas Childrens

Baylor required its roughly 9,000 faculty and staff members to be fully vaccinated by Sept. 15. Those who did not attest to receiving their vaccine were subject to progressive discipline, which includes a series of warnings that ends in firing, according to a statement. The vast majority of employees complied, while about 3 percent were granted an exemption, according to numbers provided by the school.

One employee resigned, while another five will be fired this week.

We didnt want to have a mass termination event, said Dr. James McDeavitt, executive vice president and dean of clinical affairs at the school.

The exempt employees face restrictions on corporate funded travel and must abide by strict masking and social distancing guidelines. For the roughly 10 percent of the exempt employees working with patients, surgical masks are required, in addition to full protective equipment in high-risk settings. Exemptions are re-evaluated every six to 12 months, according to spokesperson Lori Williams.

McDeavitt said Baylor wanted to take a more moderate approach than Methodist, which fired or accepted the resignations of 153 employees who did not provide proof of vaccination by its deadline.

He said managers met with employees to better understand the reason for their vaccine hesitancy and address misinformation. That process nudged several reluctant workers to seek out the shot, he said. Baylor employees also did not have to provide direct proof of vaccination. Instead, they were asked to list the type of vaccine they received and the dates of vaccination. They were warned that Baylor could audit the information and ask them to provide proof later.

I think we had enough trust in our employees that we didnt expect there to be wide-scale fraud or people lying in any large group, said McDeavitt.

Texas Childrens Hospital also passed its first-dose deadline on Sept. 21. Its doctors are employed by Baylor and already covered by the schools mandate. In a statement, the hospital said a very small number of employees did not receive the vaccine and therefore chose to leave the organization.

Texas Childrens spokesperson Natasha Barrett said the hospital could not disclose a specific number of people who left or whether any exemptions were granted.

Liberty Counsel, an organization labeled by the Southern Poverty Law Center as an anti-LGBTQ hate group, in a press release said three employees and numerous others were denied a religious exemption at Texas Childrens and threatened legal action in a 12-page letter to the hospital.

Texas Childrens has since granted many of those requests, said Horatio Mihet, the groups legal counsel. Those who were denied are determining what their next steps are going to be, he said, adding that he did not know how many people left the hospital. Texas Childrens is requiring all employees to receive their second dose by Oct. 19.

Exemptions

The hundreds of unvaccinated employees who continue to work in hospitals with a religious exemption represent less than 3 percent of the workforce. Baylor granted 261 such exemptions, while Methodist granted 118.

Employers by law must explore accommodations for workers who will not take the vaccine because of a sincere religious belief, said Rufino Gaytan, a Houston-based labor and employment attorney for Husch Blackwell. In general, organizations can deny such requests when the accommodation creates a major disruption.

It all depends on the level of risk to the patients and co-workers, he said.

It is possible to have scenarios where the employer has the ability to move the employee to another area of the facility or remove them from direct patient care, he said. The issue then becomes, is that going to be an accommodation or a change of circumstance that the employer and the employee can live with.

Dr. Tom Reed, a Conroe podiatrist, lost surgery privileges at Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital after his religious exemption request was denied, according to a lawsuit filed last month against the hospital.

His attorney, Jared Woodfill, has filed other wrongful termination lawsuits on behalf of dozens of former Methodist employees who were denied exemptions. While his original lawsuit against the hospital was dismissed by U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes, he has since appealed. Another lawsuit, filed in Montgomery County, is slated for trial next year.

Woodfill argues that vaccine mandates remain a pressing issue nationwide. But Gaytan says the number of people who do not want the vaccine is a lot less than initially anticipated.

New rules

Other Houston-area hospitals are approaching their mandate deadlines but could not provide specifics on the number of exemption requests so far.

On HoustonChronicle.com: After just 3 days, CDC redirects COVID page on how to safely celebrate the holiday season

The Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center is covered by the national mandate for all Veterans Health Administration personnel, requiring full vaccination by Friday. About 80 percent of the Houston hospital employees were fully vaccinated as of Monday, said Houston VA spokesperson Maureen Dyman.

Memorial Hermann Health System will reach its deadline Saturday. All 29,000 employees must be fully vaccinated by then or will be deemed to have voluntarily resigned their position, hospital officials said. St. Lukes Health is requiring its roughly 16,000 employees to be fully vaccinated by Nov. 1.

Many other Houston-area providers have yet to implement vaccine mandates. They are waiting to better understand new federal rules after President Joe Biden extended the vaccine requirement to millions of healthcare workers at facilities that receive funds from Medicare and Medicaid.

The final rules have not yet been published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Public institutions  such as MD Anderson Cancer Center, UT Health Science Center and Harris Health System  are still covered by Gov. Greg Abbotts executive order prohibiting governmental entities from issuing mask mandates.

Until the CMS rules go into effect, I think theyre just nervous about stepping out in front of that, said Kroll of the Texas Hospital Association.

Small healthcare providers in rural areas are more likely to feel the effects of a vaccine mandate, she said. A short-staffed facility with 25 healthcare workers cant afford to lose two or three workers who refuse the jab, she said.

In the long-term, officials say COVID vaccine mandates will likely fall in line with existing mandates for the flu vaccine, which many hospitals have required for years. Those vaccines also led to some hesitancy among a small portion of healthcare workers. Houston Methodist Hospital has granted religious exemptions for its flu vaccine mandate for more than 12 years.

This isnt unlike any of the other times hospitals have required vaccination, Kroll said. The difference is, its a new vaccine so I think people are focusing on this. But in general, hospitals have long been able to require vaccination and this is not anything different than that.

julian.gill@chron.com
Southern Baptist Convention leaders on Tuesday voted to waive attorney-client privilege in an investigation of their alleged mishandling and concealment of sex abuses over the last two decades.

The vote by the SBCs Executive Committee caps weeks of tumult that nearly pushed the nations second-largest faith group into crisis over its handling of sexual abuse cases and, in the days leading up to the Tuesday vote, prompted a wave of resignations by top denominational leaders.

Had the committee refused to waive on Tuesday, numerous Baptist historians said the denomination would have been pushed into an unprecedented standoff over who holds ultimate power in the denomination  47,000 churches, or the small group of executive committee members they elect to represent them?

"It's time to know for sure where we have fallen short on the question of sexual abuse within the Southern Baptist Convention so that we can correct any errors and move into the future as a convention, Executive Committee Chairman Rolland Slade, said after the 44-31 vote was tallied.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Why other Christians are watching closely the Southern Baptist abuse scandal

Sex abuse has dominated the agenda of the SBC since a 2019 Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News investigation, Abuse of Faith, that found hundreds of SBC church leaders and volunteers had been convicted of sex crimes. They left behind more than 700 victims, nearly all of them children.

The newspapers also detailed years of failed attempts by survivors to convince SBC leaders  namely executive committee members  that their churches were being targeted by predators.

Those and other allegations dominated the SBCs annual meeting in June, at which more than 10,000 church delegates overwhelmingly approved a third-party investigation into whether executive committee members had mishandled abuse reports, sought to stifle reforms and intimidate other denominational leaders whove been outspoken on the issue. Delegates explicitly requested a waiver of attorney-client privilege by the executive committee to ensure transparency.

Executive Committee President Ronnie Floyd said at the time he heard the delegates and vowed to honor their requests. But in the following months, Floyd and other executive committee members said they should not fulfill the request because it could threaten the SBCs insurance and pave the way for lawsuits.

Floyd was accused of mishandling an abuse report after he took the committees helm in 2019  an allegation he has denied.

They repeated those concerns about liability at two meetings held last month. Both meetings ended in an impasse over the waiver issue, prompting outcry from more than 1,000 pastors who said the executive committee had effectively overturned the will of thousands of church delegates and abandoned its responsibilities.

On HoustonChronicle.com: 'The women are hurting': Unearthed tapes, letters show Southern Baptist leaders support for pastor who faced sex scandal

In the days ahead of Tuesdays meeting at least five executive committee members resigned. Others said they changed their minds because of the pushback from pastors and church members.

Abuse survivors and their supporters said the vote was a victory.

Not without major opposition and an abundance of fear tactics, weve seen so many rise to the occasion and say enough, calling for cooperation for survivors to finally show the truth, said Tiffany Thigpen, who was assaulted by the protege of two former SBC presidents.

Thigpen said that more must be done to regain the trust of survivors, many of whom were vilified or disbelieved when they came forward.

Now the real questions can be answered, she said. Why have we allowed this? How did we get here? Survivors have endured and now we seek the repentance and justice we deserve and God calls for.

robert.downen@chron.com
In the early morning hours of Aug. 9, 2015, David Conley sat in a white interrogation room and calmly told two homicide detectives that hours before he had killed eight people, including his son, in a shooting rampage at his ex-girlfriends home in northwest Harris County.

Prosecutors played a video recording of the interview for a jury as the capital murder trial unfolded Wednesday on the top floor of the Harris County Criminal Justice Center before District Judge Chuck Silverman.

Attorneys will present closing arguments Thursday morning and the jury will then deliberate. The district attorneys office is not seeking the death penalty. If convicted, Conley would face life without parole.

The accused killer, 54, faces multiple charges of capital murder in the deaths of Valerie Jackson, 40; Dwayne Jackson, 50; Jonah Jackson, 6; Trinity Jackson, 7; Caleb Jackson, 9; Dwayne Jackson Jr., 10; Honesty Jackson, 11; and Nathaniel Conley, 13.

The night of the shooting, Conley parked his truck down the street and climbed through a window of the home because Jackson had changed the locks, he told investigators. Inside, he first shot and killed Dwayne Jackson, the partner of his ex-girlfriend, later telling investigators he believed the man was a bully and a monster. Then Conley shot his teen son.

I shot him because he was disrespectful and he was growing up to be just like (Dwayne Jackson), Conley said in the interview with detectives.

A crime scene investigator who responded to the scene took the stand on Wednesday to verify photos and evidence collected from the gruesome scene.

Deputies dispatched to the home on Falling Oaks Drive found Valerie Jacksons body contorted on a bed. The bottom of her foot was bloody and her wrists were handcuffed to the footboard, according to photos of the crime scene presented in court. She was shot six times.

Dwayne Jackson was dead on the floor of the master bedroom, his body covered in a blanket and shot 14 times, according to testimony in court. His ankles were handcuffed.

Deputies discovered the some of the childrens bodies in a bedroom beside half-eaten sandwiches. Their wrists were cuffed to the bedframe. Two more kids were found dead in the bathroom, according to testimony from a crime scene unit investigator, with blood splattered above the bathtub.

Investigators found bullets and shell casings littering the home. In court, prosecutors pulled out bags containing evidence recovered at the scene: handcuffs, duct tape, a handgun, magazines, a backpack and a pair of gloves.

In his interview with detectives, Conley said he shot his ex-girlfriend and the little girls when authorities busted down the door. He had planned to kill himself, he said, but law enforcement arrested him at the home.

Conley said he was dating Valerie Jackson on-and-off since he met her in 1999.

On Wednesday, Conley sat quietly hunched forward with his arms resting on a table in the courtroom beside his lawyers. He wore a blue face mask and a gray suit jacket with a yellow shirt. During testimony from forensic experts and law enforcement officials, jurors turned their heads to look at photos and diagrams of evidence.

In 2016, Philip Scardino  an attorney for Conley  indicated his client was undergoing psychological testing. Although he didnt provide the results, he said there was some indication that our client may have an intellectual disability, the Chronicle reported .

Leah Brennan contributed to this report.

anna.bauman@chron.com
Decorated tables and booths at Tom Wussow park are not common sights for north Houston resident Boisz Aladeen to see on a weekday evening in his neighborhood.

This was a big surprise, Aladeen said about the festivities while taking his children from table to table at a National Night Out event. This is where I grew up so for me we didnt get much of this here.

A year after the pandemic forced cities to re-imagine community engagement, Tuesdays gathering at the Greenspoint area park aimed to help residents familiarize themselves with their neighbors and police, according to Greg Simpson of the North Houston District. The organization was established in 1991 by the Texas Legislature to serve the Greenspoint neighborhood by supplementing government services.

Its a big deal for us, Simpson said about this years event. For us, in the district as a whole, there are 68 apartment communities and in this stretch, there are about 20 to 25 fairly high density living spaces so we want to make sure that residents that live in these communities have a chance to interact with law enforcement that serve the area.

National Night Out annually has been held in Texas during the month of October, according to a press release by the North Houston District. The event, which began in 1984, is an attempt to bring together local communities and law enforcement agencies in a positive setting to address crime in their neighborhoods.

More than 125 adults and kids participated in Tuesdays festivities.

Capt. Chris Heaven of the Houston Police Department said National Night Out gives law enforcement agencies an opportunity to show a different side of their job to the north Houston community .

Its great because its a whole different chance for us to get to show the difference in us and get to know the community while having a positive interaction, Heaven said, The captain added the event helps bring positive relations between city and county law enforcement and the mostly residential area.

The years event featured a tug-of-war competition between the Houston Police Department and the Harris County Sheriffs Office as well as a separate battle between recruits of the U.S. Air Force and Marine Corps. A petting zoo, inflatable jump room and face painting were offered to local families to enjoy.

Deginald Freeman, a 10-year resident of the Greenspoint neighborhood, said that events like National Night Out are crucial to help establish relationships in the community for both residents and police alike.

Its a lot nicer seeing them here, Freeman said, adding that he saw a sheriffs deputy who had pulled him over earlier this year during the freeze.They dont know what is in the neighborhood and treat everyone the same thinking that youre part of the bad. We need more police officers out here meeting families. It would change they way people look at them.

joel.umanzor@chron.com

Joel.Umanzor@chron.com
A new report argues that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security could create a more efficient, humane and reliable immigration system through better agency collaboration and integration.

The Migration Policy Institute researched the agencys structure and conducted interviews with more than 50 people, including former immigration officials. The think tank found that a lack of coordination among immigration agencies is weakening the governments ability to deal with humanitarian crises such as the Haitian migrant camp that cropped up at the Texas border, migrant children arriving at the border and evacuated Afghans.

All of these agencies, and the system overall, need to be working more smoothly generally, so that when an immigration situation occurs, (DHS) can respond in an effective way, said Ruth Wasem, who co-authored the report, which focused on changes the government could make without congressional approval.

An immigrant moving through the system will often interact with multiple agencies at DHS and other federal departments, making collaboration critical.

DHS was established by the Bush administration in 2002, in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, to better protect the U.S. homeland. It pulled together a wide range of functions including counterterrorism, cybersecurity, aviation security and the protection of vital infrastructure.

On immigration, DHS now oversees the detention and deportation of immigrants through Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the protection of the border through Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the issuance of visas and citizenship through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The departments of Justice, State, Labor, and Health and Human Services also are involved in carrying out aspects of immigration policy.

The reports main critique is that DHS has failed to create an effective immigration system among its relevant agencies, which are often working in isolation from one another.

For example, the report said that all three immigration agencies perform anti-fraud investigations with little coordination and that there is no departmentwide database of electronic immigration records.

The failure to integrate agencies has come as their budgets have increased by billions over the last decade. ICE, CBP and USCIS made up a third of the departments budget  and nearly half of personnel  in fiscal year 2020, according to the report.

The report argues that the federal government could make better use of funding immediately with these changes, which dont require congressional approval  though it says theres also an urgent need for comprehensive immigration reform by Congress.

The report advises DHS to foster cooperation and develop intra-agency policies to create a more cohesive immigration system. This would also make it easier to work with other Cabinet agencies, such as DOJ and the State Department, when addressing issues like asylum seekers or refugees. Moreover, leaders of the agencies and departments should be expected to coordinate more on policy so theyre operating in tandem.

The Migration Policy Institute also recommends that each immigration agency change its expressed goals, starting with new mission statements. These agencies should have a new vision that incorporates humanitarian and economic goals  not just security and border enforcement, the institute said.

The statements should include concepts such as adapting to rapidly changing migration dynamics; exercising discretion; treating immigration as an asset to the country; providing protection to those in need; facilitating the ability of those eligible for immigration benefits to obtain them; fair and timely decision-making; protecting civil rights and privacy; cooperation and collaboration with other federal, state, local, and international partner agencies; professionalism; and respect for the dignity of all persons, the report said.

Since different departments outside of DHS are also involved in immigration work, the report said that a committee should be created to create cross-departmental policies.

DHS should develop budgets in a clear way that accounts for immigration needs, according to recommendations, and spending plans should be discussed across the different departments outside DHS through a working group. The agency had a $49.8 billion annual budget for fiscal year 2021.

Experts also painted a picture of low morale at DHS, which they say has only exacerbated staffing issues. DHS ranked among the lowest in terms of employment satisfaction. ICE was the only federal agency that people viewed more negatively than positively, according to a Pew Research survey. The public has also voiced concern about how asylum seekers are treated at the border and in detention centers by immigration officials.

Customs and Border Protection also struggles with high turnover.

It takes the Border Patrol on average 133 applicants and nine to 12 months to put one agent in uniform, the report said.

As for those who do stick around, theyre often limited by only having worked at one of the three immigration agencies.

Wasem said that what immigration officials are charged with doing is more nuanced than what other law enforcement agents face because most migrants are looking for economic opportunities or fleeing their home countries.

To create more flexible, knowledgeable staff and retain workers, the report recommends reviving a rotational training program and more professional development.

It's an important job, said Wasem, That's where training and working on the morale issues, cross training, clearer mission statements  these are all important.

elizabeth.trovall@chron.com
A U.S. Post Office in west Houston has been renamed the Sandeep Singh Dhaliwal, in honor of the Harris County sheriffs deputy murdered during a traffic stop in September 2019.

Houstons Sikh community and local elected officials and members of law enforcement gathered Tuesday at a ceremony at the post office at 315 Addicks-Howell Road to dedicate the post office Deputy Sandeep Singh Dhaliwal Post Office.

Dhaliwal, 42, was a beloved sheriffs deputy who gained national prominence after lobbying his bosses to allow him to wear his articles of faith  including the traditional facial hair and turban common to practicing Sikhs  while on duty.

Dhaliwals faith, Sikhism, is a monotheistic religion that originated in India. Practicing Sikhs wear a turban and five articles of faith: uncut hair, a wooden comb, an iron bracelet, an iron dagger and a Kachera, or type of undergarment.

That can conflict with many law enforcement departments strict dress codes and uniform policies that frequently bar officers from displaying tattoos, growing beards and wearing certain jewelry or other accoutrements.

Dhaliwal joined the sheriffs department after a scandal in which a deputy detained a local Sikh family for refuing to surrender their ceremonial knives, recalled Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia, who hired Dhaliwal when he was sheriff. After the scandal, Dhaliwal sold his trucking company and joined the department, working first as a jailer and then as a patrol deputy.

He became a familiar face at events throughout the community where he worked and his death was attended by thousands of mourners from across Houston.

After Dhaliwal was killed, several other law enforcement agencies, including the Houston Police Department and the Harris County Precinct 1 Constables Office, also changed policies to allow Sikhs to wear clothes and other items important to their faith typically prohibited by strict uniform policies.

In a news release, U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, D-Houston, said Dhaliwal represented the very best of Houston, and that she was honored to help commemorate his life. Fletcher sponsored legislation to change the post offices name in honor of the slain deputy. The bill was signed into law last year.

The renaming follows other honors for Dhaliwal: his name has been inscribed on the Texas Peace Officers Memorial, the Harris County Toll Road Authority renamed part of Beltway 8 after him, and members of the Copperbrook HOA in northwest Houston created a memorial dedicated to the deputy.

Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said the post office would serve as a permanent reminder of Dhaliwals lasting contributions of a committed public servant who touched countless lives.

He was a true hero who inspired everyone to love their neighbors, Gonzalez said.

Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia  who hired Dhaliwal when he was sheriff  said he hoped the post offices new name would inspire other Harris County residents to learn about Dhaliwal.

Anyone who came across Dep. Sandeep Dhaliwal was a better person for having known him, he said. Im thankful visitors to the newly renamed post office will see his name and be encouraged to learn how special he was.

Dhaliwals relatives and Houston-area Sikhs said Tuesdays dedication was a deeply meaningful gesture in honor of the slain deputy.

Since my son was taken from our family in a senseless act of violence, we have received an outpouring of support and love from the greater Houston community, said Pyara Singh Dhaliwal, Sandeeps father. We are so grateful and so honored that Sandeep is being memorialized in this wayforever becoming a part of the city that he served faithfully both in and out of uniform.

Other representatives of the Sikh community said Dhaliwals work at the sheriffs office reflected a deeper legacy, one of acceptance and kindness.

Deputy Dhaliwals legacy is not just his service to the city of Houston, but also the example of his life, said Sim J. Singh Attariwala, with the Sikh Coalition. Today, we remember that diversity and inclusion make all of our communities, and our country, stronger.

Bobby Singh, the regional director of the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, said Dhaliwal did not set out to be a trailblazer, but simply approached life with a caring heart, a generous spirit, and a warmth that brought people together.

Our community has been forever changed by his death but this building will forever serve as a recognition of his life, he continued. He lived the true Americanand Houstonianlife.
The woman who launched a successful petition to cancel a speaking event with an acclaimed Black author this week in Katy ISD, says she did it because she believes his work promotes critical race theory and Marxism.

Its not that I dont like the books, Bonnie Anderson said Tuesday. I checked all the books out and watched all of (author Jerry Crafts) interviews and he discusses microaggressions, which is a racial term coined by the conceptual founders of critical race theory. That let me know the ideology of these books.

Crafts award-winning books since have been pulled from all of the districts libraries and curriculum as the district reviews whether they will be continued to be allowed. Anderson, a former Katy ISD Board of Trustees candidate who sued the district last spring for its mask mandate, said she is not necessarily opposed to Crafts graphic novels being available in the districts middle and high school libraries.

Im still on the fence about that, she said. I dont think it would be helpful for elementary school children to read this.

Attempts to reach Craft Tuesday were unsuccessful. The author has not yet made a public statement about the canceled event, however he shared statements from others on Twitter expressing disdain for the decision.

Anderson said she believes critical race theory is about Marxism and not about race because it creates the idea of an oppressor and the oppressed.

The districts swift response to Andersons now-deleted Change.org petition has sparked criticism from students and racial justice advocates who argue the concerns came from a relatively small number of people in the 88,000-student district. Andersons petition garnered around 400 signatures.

A statement from the district Monday said that any parent can challenge a library book and doing so will result in the book being pulled for review.

It sounds like (the district) never wanted him in (to speak) in the first place and that they don't want change, said Habikia Eney, a 12th grader at Katy ISDs Cinco Ranch High School. If youre going to say things like were inclusive and then not let someone whos trying to add racial awareness into schools speak, it looks very contradictory.

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Eney said she talks with many of her Black peers about feeling isolated and misunderstood in the school district. She said she wishes books like the Year 6 graphic novels by Craft were available to her when she was younger, so that she could be exposed to more experiences that reflect her own and to gain better insight into how to navigate the pressures of often being the only Black person in her classroom.

About 11 percent of Katy ISDs students are Black, according to data from the Texas Education Agency. Around 33 percent are white, 35 percent are Latino and an estimated 16 percent are Asian.

Brandon Mack, lead organizer for Black Lives Matter Houston, said Crafts books do not include so-called critical race theory.

Critical race theory is not inherently automatically taught when trying to discuss racism or the Black experience, he said.

The term critical race theory first was coined 40 years ago as an academic concept taught in law schools that racism is systematically entrenched in society. It has blown up nationwide in the last two years with some on the right claiming it is being taught in schools to demonize whites.

In June, Gov. Greg Abbott signed a controversial bill banning critical race theory being taught in Texas public schools. Supporters of House Bill 3979 argued it keeps politics out of schools, while those against it said it whitewashes what students are taught about slavery and discrimination.

Katy ISD is not giving our students the ability to see themselves in literature and to know inherently that their lives matter, Mack said. This sends the message that learning about the Black experience is somehow dangerous.

Andersons petition also cited concerns over the books promoting reverse racism.

First and foremost, racism requires that there is power and privilege, so there cannot be reverse racism, Mack said. If anything, the individual who put together this petition used their white privilege to use the school system structure to prevent the Black experience from being presented.

This is not the first time the withdrawal of a book in Katy ISD for review has sparked concerns about its libraries including representations of the Black experience in America.

In November 2017, the district came under fire for temporarily pulling "The Hate U Give" from its libraries. School officials at the time said the book, which is about racism and police brutality, was temporarily removed after a parent complained about its language at a board meeting. The book was allowed back into the districts high school libraries, but parental approval was made a requirement for students to read it.

According to Katy ISDs official policy on challenging educational materials, the district has significant discretion to decide what books are in its school libraries, but notes that the district must make those decisions consistent with the First Amendment.

Students First Amendment rights are implicated by the removal of books from the shelves of a school library, the policy reads. A district shall not remove materials from a library for the purpose of denying students access to ideas with which the district disagrees.

The policy goes on to say that books may be removed because they are pervasively vulgar or based solely upon the educational suitability of the books in question.

Crafts 2019 graphic novel New Kid is about a 7th-grader who loves drawing cartoons and enrolls in a private school, where he is one of few kids of color, according to the authors description of the book. The main character struggles to feel like he can fit in and navigate a new school culture.

The second in the series, Class Act, published in October 2020, follows the main character into 8th grade, where he is not afforded the same opportunities as his privileged classmates. The story follows the middle schooler as he tries to find a way to bridge the divide between himself and his friends.

New Kid won a 2020 John Newbery Medal for most outstanding contribution to childrens literature, the Coretta Scott King award for outstanding work by an African American writer and the Kirkus Prize for Young Readers' Literature.

Brown Bookshelf, an online resource that promotes awareness of Black childrens book creators, last week made a statement on social media in support of Craft and his work, noting the petitions popped up during Banned Books Week, which took place Sept. 26 through Oct. 2 and is organized by an international alliance to increase awareness of book censorship.

Mack said the cancellation of the event and review of the books should not be taken lightly.

People need to understand that this is not a small issue, he said. It sends a message to Black students that their lives dont matter and it sends a message to white students that its OK to devalue people who are not like them.

Claire Goodman contributed to this report.

hannah.dellinger@chron.com
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune, a nonpartisan, nonprofit media organization that informs Texans  and engages with them  about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.

Charges have been dropped against 11 migrants arrested under Gov. Greg Abbotts border security initiative after the men told attorneys they were marched for about 20 minutes to a fenced ranch by law enforcement, then arrested for trespassing.

Without video evidence or a written report of the August incident from U.S. Border Patrol, Val Verde County Attorney David Martinez dismissed the trespassing charges Monday after the men had spent nearly two months in state prison.

The men had fled on foot after a highway traffic stop by Border Patrol agents, according to an arrest affidavit. The migrants later told attorneys that when found near the highway, officers made the migrants walk for about 20 minutes and climb, hands zip-tied, over a nearly 10-foot fence onto a ranch before they were arrested for trespassing by state troopers.

The migrants also said officers cut the Val Verde County landowners fence so a police dog could get onto the ranch property, a defense attorney and prosecutor told The Texas Tribune.

A Texas Department of Public Safety spokesperson said the migrants claims were inaccurate, stating that the fleeing men jumped a fence onto private property. A Border Patrol spokesperson said any suggestion that officers led migrants to private property so they could be arrested for trespassing is absolutely false.

But the muddled situation is just one instance in which Martinez, a Democrat elected to prosecute misdemeanor cases, said he felt compelled to drop charges because of uncertainty over whether DPS arrests pass legal muster. In September, a Venezuelan man crossed the Rio Grande near Del Rio with a married couple and walked up to an open gate attended by state troopers, Martinez said after his office reviewed body camera footage of the encounter. The officers moved aside to let the migrants walk through and then arrested the single man for trespassing. The couple was referred to Border Patrol.

The troopers could have easily said, Hey, this is private property, you cant come on. But they moved out of the way seemingly as an invitation, Martinez said.

Martinez rejected the case Monday. DPS declined to comment on the arrest.

The cases are examples of the more than 100 trespassing arrests under Abbotts catch and jail border security directive that Martinez has dismissed or rejected. The prosecutor has tossed 123 of 231 trespassing cases brought before him by DPS since July, Martinez said at a legislative hearing Monday. So far under his prosecution, 58 men have pleaded guilty to trespassing and been sentenced to 15 days in lockup.

Typically, men whose cases are dropped are released to U.S. Customs and Border Protection for immigration processing in Del Rio. Others who are convicted of trespassing are taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, having already served their 15-day state sentences. In both situations, federal authorities can deport the men or release them into the United States pending asylum hearings.

Since Abbott ordered state police to begin arresting migrants suspected of having crossed the border illegally for the state crime of trespassing on private property, DPS has arrested about 1,300 migrants on the charge, the agency director reported. The men, picked up almost exclusively in Val Verde and Kinney counties, are jailed in state prisons retooled as immigration jails.

The quickly assembled system of arrests, detentions and releases of migrants has been plagued by missteps since its onset, including families being improperly separated, violations of due process, and a lack of coordination among federal, state and local officials.

In a legislative hearing called out of concern over legal blunders in Abbotts arrest initiative, DPS Director Steve McCraw told lawmakers Monday that the people his officers arrest for criminal trespassing are trying to avoid law enforcement, not seek asylum.

When we talk about criminal trespass, its that theyre paying coyotes, theyre paying cartel operatives, smugglers to move around and through to avoid being detected, McCraw said.

In Kinney County, a rural, conservative region next door to Val Verde, many of the hundreds of migrants jailed for allegedly trespassing are arrested at a remote depot as they arrive on train cars from the border.

In Val Verde County, home to Del Rio, however, Martinez said the vast majority of the cases he tosses out are those in which he learns that the arrested migrants had credible asylum claims and were looking for law enforcement to turn themselves in. He has said he began dropping such cases after he heard McCraw tell lawmakers in August that police arent looking to arrest asylum-seekers, but are instead targeting dangerous criminals.

Other times, Martinez has thrown out trespassing charges for insufficient evidence or questionable circumstances surrounding the arrests, like the cases he tossed Monday. A defense attorney told lawmakers Monday that the incidents are not unique.

We have heard reports and several of our clients have recounted that they are actually called over onto the river onto private property, said Kristin Etter, whose organization, Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, represents hundreds of the arrested migrants.

In the case of the 11 men who said they were escorted to another property and made to climb the fence onto a ranch, Martinez said he didnt have a report from Border Patrol officers, who reportedly initiated the stop and apprehended the men after they fled. Without it, he wasnt sure if the property where the men were first apprehended was the one listed in the report provided by DPS. If the cases moved forward in court, he said, DPS would be unable to testify where the men were first detained.

I did not have any way to prove where these people were apprehended because we did not have a supplemental report from Border Patrol, so there was a lack of evidence, Martinez said.

According to a DPS arrest affidavit, the men fled Border Patrol officers during an August traffic stop and jumped a fence onto a local ranch whose owner previously agreed state police could arrest people for trespassing on the property. At least one of the men was found by a Border Patrol dog handler, the affidavit said, and DPS responded to the chase and arrested the men.

Border Patrol reported Tuesday that after more than a dozen men fled on foot from a highway traffic stop into private property, federal agents took custody of the driver and two other people, while DPS arrested the other 11 men.

Martinez and Etter, who represents the men, said the migrants told them the fleeing men had hopped over a small fence bordering the highway, but, when found, were zip-tied and escorted by law enforcement to another property and made to climb a fence. Martinez said he was told that Border Patrol led the men onto the other property, and DPS requested that the men be brought back over the fence again where they were arrested.

Etter said it was unclear if the land the men were originally found on was public land.

With their cases dismissed, the men were expected to be sent back to Val Verde County and handed over to CBP officials for processing, Etter said Tuesday. The Venezuelan man whose case was rejected by Martinez on Monday is also expected to be transferred to CBP.
NASA is not relying on Boeings uncertain timeline to give two astronauts their first spaceflight.

The agency announced Wednesday that Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada will be moved from Boeings first and second crewed flights, respectively, to Boeings competitor  SpaceX. Mann and Cassada will be on the SpaceX Crew-5 mission that could launch in the fall of 2022.

These astronauts need spaceflight experience to prepare for future NASA missions (Mann, for instance, is among the astronauts eligible for early moon missions), and its not clear when Boeings beleaguered CST-100 Starliner spacecraft will be ready to launch people.

In a statement, Boeing said it supports NASAs decision and understands the need to give astronauts experience on an operational vehicle while the development of the Starliner spacecraft continues.

PROBLEM: Stuck valves leave Boeing's Starliner stuck on the ground

Boeing has not yet docked an uncrewed spacecraft with the International Space Station. SpaceX, on the other hand, is preparing to send its fourth batch of astronauts to the space station on Oct. 30.

It was just really time for them to get assigned to a different flight and get experience, Steve Stich, manager of NASAs Commercial Crew program, said Wednesday during a news conference about the upcoming SpaceX mission, so that some day they can fly other flights potentially beyond low-Earth orbit.

Boeing and SpaceX are part of NASAs Commercial Crew program, where the companies (not NASA) own and operate capsules trusted to carry astronauts to the space station. NASA provided funding and expertise, and it buys seats as a customer, but the companies ultimately designed the spacecraft.

SpaceX launched its crewed test flight last year. Its Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule then received NASA certification, and the company has launched two non-test flights (Crew-1 and Crew-2) that carried astronauts to the space station for six-month missions. The Crew-3 mission is scheduled to launch Oct. 30 from NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Boeing was supposed to launch an uncrewed Starliner from Florida to the space station in August, but the launch was called off after Boeing found spacecraft valves that were stuck closed. The company could not open them, so Starliner was returned to Boeings factory for troubleshooting. The spacecraft is not expected to launch this year, partly due to scheduling issues.

Stich said NASA and Boeing have been conducting tests to understand the root cause of this valve issue. They will release additional details this week.

We have not lost confidence in the Boeing team, he said. The team is doing an incredible job of working through the root cause on the valve issue.

But the valves werent Boeings first setback. The planned August mission, OFT-2, would have been Boeings second uncrewed test flight. A software error during the first test flight in December 2019 prevented Starliner from docking with the International Space Station.

If youre Boeing, you know it hurts. Im sure it hurts, said Phil Smith, a space industry analyst at BryceTech. But theyll come out of it OK. Boeings brand is very strong and it has a legacy. I certainly have confidence in their ability to get the job done.

NASA wants to have more than one U.S. spacecraft capable of carrying its astronauts to the International Space Station. When the space shuttle was retired in 2011, NASA relied on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft to get its astronauts to the space station. The U.S. wants to ensure it has a continuous presence to keep the orbiting platform running and to conduct science experiments.

REORGANIZING: NASA restructures as more humans get ready to go to space

Greg Autry, a clinical professor of space leadership, policy and business for Arizona State University, said NASA reassigned Mann and Cassada for practical reasons involving schedule. Still, it does emphasize Boeings slow progress and, by comparison, SpaceXs agility and speed when recovering from failures.

Anytime you have two vendors with two systems, one of them is going to be priced higher than the other and one of them is going to be ready sooner, Autry said in an email. They will both likely suffer problems. For example, SpaceX had a valve problem with Dragon in 2019 that destroyed a capsule in a test (without crew onboard). They identified the issue quickly, changed the design  and moved forward.

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore, Mike Fincke and Suni Williams  who have all flown to space before  will continue to work with Boeing as the agency prepares for its first crewed flight. Additional Boeing flight assignments will be made in the future. Jeanette Epps is assigned to fly on Boeings second crewed mission (the first flight after Starliner receives NASA certification), but her seat is being evaluated to see if she will fly on that mission or be moved to another mission. Like Mann and Cassada, Epps has not been into space.

andrea.leinfelder@chron.com

twitter.com/a_leinfelder
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP)  An 18-year-old student opened fire during a fight at his Dallas-area high school on Wednesday, injuring four people and then fleeing before being taken into custody hours later, authorities said.

Timothy George Simpkins was taken into custody without incident, the Arlington Police Department tweeted. He was booked in the Arlington jail on three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and was being held on $75,000 bail.

One person was in critical condition, another was in good condition and a third person was treated for minor abrasions and was scheduled to be released from the hospital Wednesday afternoon, police said. A fourth person was hurt but did not require treatment at a hospital. Police said earlier that three of the four injured were students.

VIOLENT CREWS: Houston police announce arrests in string of robberies in affluent shopping districts

The shooting at Timberview High School, which is in Arlington but belongs to the school district in neighboring Mansfield, stemmed from a fight that broke out in a classroom, Arlington Assistant Police Chief Kevin Kolbye said at news conference before Simpkins' arrest.

This is not a random act of violence, he said. This is not somebody attacking our school.

Timberview serves about 1,900 students in the ninth through 12th grades. The sprawling complex opened in 2004.

After news of the shooting spread, parents gathered at the Mansfield Independent School District Center for the Performing Arts about 5 miles (8 kilometers) from the high school to be reunified with their kids, who were bused over. Among them was Justin Rockhold, whose ninth-grade son had texted him to let him know he was OK.

Rockhold said he has served in the military and he drew on that experience to instruct his son, telling him to keep his head down and be still to stay safe. When asked whether he had thought a shooting could happen at the school, he said his military training is also a reminder of lifes dangerous realities.

Obviously in America  in the world we live in today  its always something. ... Its in the back of your mind, Rockhold said, adding that he was praying for the injured. Im just blessed today that my kids safe.

The shooting happened just days after a shooting at a Houston charter school that injured an administrator. Texas deadliest school shooting occurred in May of 2018 when a then-17-year-old armed with a shotgun and a pistol opened fire at Santa Fe High School near Houston, killing 10 people, most of whom were students.

___
A collection of Republican governors, many of whom have been in the doghouse of President Donald Trump or his supporters, made a run for the Texas border Wednesday for a chance to attach themselves to one of the most important issues for GOP primary voters.

Nine governors, including frequent Trump targets Doug Ducey of Arizona and Brian Kemp of Georgia, stood alongside Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday in Hidalgo County to decry President Joe Bidens handling of the border amid a record-breaking surge of migrant crossings that started in March.

President Joe Biden has caused a humanitarian crisis and chaos on our border, Abbott said.

A commonality among many of the governors with Abbott on Wednesday is that almost all are up for re-election next year, and many have been criticized by Trump and his supporters over the 2020 election results or how they have handled COVID-19. Kemp and Ducey are tops on that list after Trump accused both of not doing enough to reverse the November election results in their states to favor him.

LAST WEEK: Judge orders release of 240 migrants jailed under Abbotts plan

Abbott and other GOP governors say Biden has ignored their requests for a meeting about the border. That has them turning to the media to put more public pressure on the Biden administration to re-instate Trump policies like constructing the border wall and re-imposing the remain in Mexico policy that prevented asylum seekers from entering the United States.

Biden has said he inherited a broken immigration from Trump and is working to make it more humane by bolstering the asylum system, among other things.

The surge of migrants on the Texas border has added to Bidens slipping approval ratings in a series of public polls that have come out recently. A Gallup poll showed just 43 percent of people approved of the job Biden is doing  down 16 percentage points from a month earlier.

In a poll of Texans released last month, Quinnipiac University found 71 percent disapproved of Bidens handling of the border. Among just Republican voters that jumps to 95 percent  making it a clear GOP primary issue for the governors.

Even Republicans who couldnt make it to the border Wednesday were piling on.

A race to the mic

Before Abbott and the governors in Mission could get a word out, a group of Republican U.S. senators staged their own news conference in Washington, D.C., making almost the exact same points that Abbott and the governors made minutes later.

Both groups alleged that rising crime rates, drug overdoses and surges in COVID-19 infections have ties back to the border crisis.

They were largely repeating dubious claims that other Republican lawmakers have made.

LATEST POLL: Bidens approval plummets as Texas border woes fuel GOP

Coronavirus hotspots have tended to be either far from the border (Missouri) or on the water (Southeastern Louisiana), researchers told Politifact in August, while border communities such as McAllen have seen a small portion of migrants testing positive for the virus.

An October 2020 working paper based on Texas arrest data from a libertarian think tank, the Cato Institute, found that native-born Americans in Texas have the highest criminal conviction rates of any group, and that crime, at least in the state of Texas, is a domestically produced problem.

Nevertheless, the motivation for all the border talk was spelled out clearly by U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz who was in the Washington, D.C., group.

This is a crisis that on the merits should dominate the news each and every day because it continues to get worse, Cruz said.

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts similarly said its about putting more public pressure on Biden over an issue his administration continues to struggle with.

We are here today to shine a light on what is going on here on the southern border and how it is impacting all of our states  not just the state of Texas, Ricketts said in Hidalgo County.

Scoring points with Trump?

Abbott himself hasnt necessarily been in the doghouse with Trump, who has endorsed him for re-election. But Trump has been putting pressure on Abbott to push for a full audit of the 2020 elections in Texas, even though Trump won the state.

Trump wants Abbott to make a full audit of the 2020 election a part of the Texas Legislatures ongoing special session.

Abbott has yet to do that, but announced the state would audit four counties, including Harris County, where Trump lost by the worst margin for a Republican since the 1960s.

Of the 10 governors in Mission on Wednesday, seven including Abbott are up for re-election next year. And while most are from safe Republican states, Abbott and several others face primary opponents.

Just last month, Trump emphasized that he is still is not over Kemp allowing the Georgia election results to be certified with Biden as the winner.

This guy is a disaster, Trump said last week at a rally where he drew jeers from the crowd as he suggested Democrat Stacey Abrams would make a better governor.

Ducey of Arizona cannot run for re-election, but Trump in June declared there was no way he would endorse Ducey for any other office, including a potential run for the U.S. Senate. As with Kemp, Trump is convinced Ducey could have prevented Biden from being declared the winner of his state.

Others with Abbott on Wednesday included Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Idaho Gov. Brad Little, both of whom have fought criticism from within the Trump wing of the GOP for their handling of COVID-19. In both cases, theyve been criticized for having stay-at-home orders and other COVID-related protections during the pandemic. Both are up for re-election next year and have serious primary opposition.

Republicans both at the border and in D.C. argued Biden needs to continue constructing the border wall in South Texas  something the White House halted immediately when he took office.

Trump wanted to build 738 miles of barriers, including refurbishing or rebuilding existing walls and fences along the length of the entire 2,000-mile U.S. border with Mexico. Only about 17 miles of new walls or fences were constructed in Texas under Trump. And much of that was done in sections, leaving miles of openings between segments of completed walls in Hidalgo County.

Texas Democrats call it a stunt calculated to draw attention away from Abbotts problems: namely the states response to the February storms and his response to COVID-19, which has killed more than 65,000 Texans.

Gov. Abbotts taxpayer-funded campaign stop at the Texas border today with 10 additional Republican governors, some from as far away as Montana, Wyoming and Georgia, is nothing more than a political stunt and a distraction from his own massive failures, Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa said.

jeremy.wallace@chron.com
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RIAA beats YouTube rippers in court but seeks just $82M in damages

The RIAA has scored a major victory in its piracy lawsuit against Russian-based YouTube rippers FLVTO.biz and 2conv.com.

A Virginia federal court has issued a default judgment in favor of the RIAA and major labels.

The RIAA has requested $82 million in damages, which seems low given the nature and duration of the illegal activity which major label bosses and the RIAA have repeatedly called the biggest piracy threat on the Internet.

The defendants recently failed to meet court deadlines which cleared the way for the ruling.

There is a clear need to deter Defendants behavior in this case. Despite being ordered to fully produce documents and web server data, Defendant failed to comply with this Courts orders, Judge Buchanan on papers explaining the judgment.

A less drastic sanction is unlikely to salvage this case, he continued. Plaintiffs are unable to fairly move forward with this case without discovery. It is unclear what other sanction could make Defendant comply with this Courts orders..

Bruce Houghton is Founder and Editor of Hypebot and MusicThinkTank and serves as a Senior Advisor to Bandsintown which acquired both publications in 2019. He is the Founder and President of the Skyline Artists Agency and a professor for the Berklee College Of Music.

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Behind Closed Doors, Williamstown Officials Pushed for Leadership Change at WPD

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.  Eleven months ago, the then-chief of the Williamstown Police Department appeared at a virtual meeting of the Select Board.

Kyle Johnson apologized for "tolerating and participating in" workplace behavior at the police station that came to light in a federal whistle blower lawsuit three months earlier.

In his first public remarks since the lawsuit came to light, Johnson said he was the person to help rebuild trust in the department.

"I believe I am capable of doing the job," Johnson said in response to a question from a resident. "I've been a Williamstown police officer since 1992. I have a lot of background and knowledge of the town."

At the time, it appeared that Johnson was trying to persuade the community at large that he deserved to stay on the job.

Now, it looks like he had an audience of five.

Even as Johnson talked about his disappointment in past conduct at the police station, the five-person Select Board was pushing hard to see him leave the service of the town, recently released documents show.

Eventually, on Dec. 14, the town manager announced Johnson's resignation under a separation agreement that leaves the town on the hook for his salary through June 30, 2023.

But at least as early as Sept 8, 2020, the Select Board was encouraging Johnson to move on, according to the minutes of an executive session of the board held on that date.

According to the minutes released to iBerkshires.com in response to a request for public records, the board in early September held a "lengthy discussion" about potential "next steps" for Johnson.

Much of that discussion is redacted to privacy concerns for town employees, but the conclusion, just before Johnson left a little more than an hour into the meeting, was, "The Chief was encouraged to continue to think about his future with the Police Department in light of the current conflicts."

That Sept. 8 meeting appears to be something of a turning point in the board's management of a crisis that began on Aug. 12 with the release of a lawsuit by Police Sgt. Scott McGowan against the town, Johnson and Town Manager Jason Hoch.

Just after Johnson left the virtual session, the minutes show the board began a discussion with Hoch about "concerns of a lack of communication between the Town Manager and the Board about the litigation."

Again, the heart of that discussion is redacted, but it appears to have lasted for more than an hour and ended with the following note:

"Town Counsel described the options available to the Board and Town Manager, in terms of moving forward in the decision making process regarding the Town Manager's continued service," the minutes read.

By mid-February, five months after that Sept. 8 meeting and two months after Johnson left the town's service, Hoch was announcing his resignation

The Sept. 8 meeting, which lasted nearly three hours on a Tuesday afternoon, was not the longest or the second longest or even the third longest of 14 executive sessions held by the Select Board between Aug. 17, five days after the lawsuit was announced, and Dec. 4, a week before Johnson's departure was announced.

In total, the five-person volunteer board met behind closed doors for about 37 hours over a four-month period. Most of the executive sessions were held under two exceptions to the commonwealth's Open Meeting Law: to discuss the "reputation, character, physical condition or mental health, rather than professional competence, of an individual, or to discuss the discipline" and "to discuss strategy with respect to litigation."

McGowan ended up dropping his lawsuit in December, the same day Johnson's departure was announced.

In March, three months after the lawsuit was dropped, iBerkshires.com requested the minutes of meetings to discuss strategy about the lawsuit; that request was denied because the town claimed the minutes still were protected. On Aug. 20, iBerkshires.com resubmitted the request, and after two Select Board executive sessions this fall to review the redactions of minutes that were adopted in the spring, the town released the minutes on Friday.

Though frequently and sometimes heavily redacted, the minutes paint a picture of a board much more interested in removing the police chief than was evident in the panel's public meetings.

A number of times in the months following the lawsuit's release, residents in the board's public comment period called for the chief to either resign or be fired. Until late October, the board members repeatedly declined to be dragged into that line of discussion even while publicly expressing their own disappointment over the allegations raised in the suit. It was not until the Select Board's Oct. 26 meeting that two members, Jane Patton and Andy Hogeland, said they would have preferred to see Johnson gone.

Behind closed doors, that sentiment had been growing:

 Sept. 14, the board discussed hiring a consultant to find an interim police chief.

 Sept. 18, it discussed the "political impact of resignation of Chief" and "impact of cost and payout and community reaction."  "The consensus was that [Hoch] ought to continue to engage in negotiations with the Police Chief regarding a mutual separation of employment."

"The sense of the Board is that the sooner an announcement can be made regarding the Chief status [i.e. at the next  9/28/2020  meeting] the better, if negotiations are complete," the minutes read.

 Sept. 25, the minutes say, "The Board is extremely frustrated regarding the lack of urgency on the resolution of this matter."

 Oct. 8, after the Sept. 28 public meeting came and went without the announcement the board was looking for, Hoch told the board he, "has had lengthy conversations with the Chief about the impacts of staying, how things must change, and how hard the job will be." The town's counsel told the Select Board members, "Board does not have just cause for [Johnson's] termination." The board told Hoch to continue negotiations with Johnson over a separation agreement.

 Oct. 13, the board talked with Johnson for more than an hour; the notes of that conversation are completely redacted. After Johnson left the virtual meeting, the board discussed his Civil Service status with town counsel and had, "a lengthy discussion of options around Chief's continued employment and impacts of same, as it relates to the litigation."

 Oct. 15, the board discussed with Johnson a plan to increase "engagement and communication with the community." After Johnson left the meeting, board members, "had several questions for Town Counsel about [the board's] ability to effectuate employment or disciplinary decisions in response to the lawsuit.

 Oct. 21, the board discussed issuing a statement, "regarding Chief Johnson's continued employment." Five nights later, the minutes of the board's public meeting reflect a statement from then-Chair Patton that, "The town manager and the chief are committed to restoring trust and look forward to a shared process for an improved future."

 Nov. 30, in a meeting not attended by Johnson, Hoch tells the board, "he is considering removing the Police Chief, which may impact defense of current litigation and incur future litigation costs." Again, the board discussed a process for hiring an interim chief.

Two weeks later, Johnson's voluntary departure was announced.
MCLA Arts and Culture Welcomes 2021-22 Artists in Residence

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  MCLA Arts and Culture, formerly the MCLA Berkshire Cultural Resource Center, will offer events and exhibitions from three visiting artists in 2021 and 2022: Conrad Egyir, Nathaniel Donnett, and Joshua Ross.

Upcoming Events

Ross will deliver his opening lecture as an artist in residence at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 5, in Murdock Hall Room 218 on the MCLA campus.

Egyir will give an opening lecture as the inaugural Benedetti Teaching Artist in Residence at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 19, in Murdock Hall Room 218 on the MCLA campus.

Both events are free and open to the public; email Gallery51@mcla.edu to register.

MCLA Artist Laboratory Residency

The MCLA Artist Laboratory Residency, now in its second year, will host Ross for the Fall 2021 semester and Donnett for the Spring 2022 semester. Each of these artists were selected based on their practice, their contribution to the art world, and the way in which their career reflects the diversity of thought, talent and triumph that exists among artists striving to contribute to, and consequently expand, what is considered the art history canon.

Joshua Ross holds an MFA in Art at the University of California, Irvine, and a BFA in Photography from Herron School of Art in Indianapolis. Ross' research-based practice is an entrenched phenomenological approach that investigates institutional, bodily, and spatial structures that organize and influence perception. Ross' multi-disciplinary practice employs and appropriates a variety of material and media developed through relationships to methodologies inherently related to his research and archival experiences of photography. Some recent notable exhibits Ross has featured artwork include Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Queens LA, and Human Resources Los Angeles.

Nathaniel Donnett lives and works in Houston, Texas. Donnett received his BA in Fine Arts from Texas Southern University and his MFA from Yale University School of Art. Donnett is a recipient of a 2020 Dean's Critical Practice Research Grant, 2020 Art and Social Justice Initiative Grant, and the 2020-2021 Helen Frankenthaler Scholarship. Donnett is the founder of the website blog "Not That But This." Donnett has been awarded a 2017/2011 Houston Arts Alliance Individual Artist Grant, a 2014 Harpo Foundation Grant, 2015/2011 Idea Fund/Andy Warhol Foundation Grant, and a 2010 Artadia Award. His work has been shown at The Virginia Museum of Fine Art, Richmond, VA, The Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, Virgina Beach, Va, The Mennello Museum, Orlando Fla, The American Museum, Washington, D.C., and many other museums across the U.S.

Benedetti Artist and Teaching Residency

New this year, the MCLA Arts and Culture Benedetti Artist and Teaching Residency welcomes a teaching artist to campus to spend the school year creating work, teaching, and engaging with the students, staff and faculty as well as the North Adams community and beyond. The inaugural Benedetti Artist and Teaching Resident is Conrad Egyir.

Conrad Egyir's work borrows from Afrocentric folklore that is rooted in political and religious erudition. He creates narrative paintings that focus on subjects from the Afro-diaspora who interact with identical versions of themselves. Concurrently they take on multiple staged roles as both an antagonist and a protagonist, a friend and foe, or a noble and a commoner as a tool that behooves the viewer to step into the multiple incarnations of each subject, in reverence of a collective human spirit. Conrad Egyir has exhibited work at Jessica Silverman Gallery, San Francisco; Library Street Collective, Detroit; and Mindy Solomon Gallery, Miami, among others.

The Benedetti Teaching Artist Residency seeks out dynamic exhibiting artists with an understanding of technical and conceptual issues in the medium of painting, sculpture, graphic design, illustration, or mixed media, with knowledge of historical and contemporary practices and a commitment to artistic imagination and education. The Resident is selected on the basis of outstanding professional attainments, creative accomplishments, and recognition in their specific field, and renders specified service to the College, including lectures, performances, demonstrations, master classes, and consultations.

This residency is funded by a bequest from the estate of Alma Benedetti '37. A North Adams art teacher and life-long advocate and friend of the College, Alma Benedetti inspired generations of children with her keen sense of color, composition, and design.
Clarksburg, Town Administrator Agree to Separation

CLARKSBURG, Mass.  The town administrator has come to an agreement with the town to leave with another year still on her contract.

Rebecca Stone of Halifax, Vt., hired in 2019 , has not been in the office since a fiery Select Board meeting on Aug. 25 about problems in the treasurer's office. Stone walked out, saying she was going home sick when then Chairman Ronald Boucher told she was getting a verbal warning.

Since then, officials have described her absence as an "extended medical leave," and "extended medical" reasons were given for her permanent departure.

The separation agreement approved by the Select Board on Wednesday morning covers six months of the year left on Stone's three-year contract plus her sick time and covers her health insurance into November.

The board also accepted the resignation effective Thursday of Administrative Assistant Darcy Feder, who was initially hired as the treasurer back in January. Feder said she was leaving for another job.

The departures cap months of turmoil in the town's financial department and now a complete turnover in Town Hall positions. Employees have said there was a lack of support and leadership from Stone. Feder on Wednesday said she'd been dropped into an office that had not had a town accountant or treasurer for a few months and told to make do.

During discussions on hiring her replacement, interim Town Clerk Marilyn Gomeau suggested the position include several hours to help in the town treasurer's office and that teamwork be paramount.

"I mean from from my observation being in the building, it's very tough some of the work that they have to do and the treasurer is under a lot of pressure," said Gomeau. "There's a lot of work and she's working extremely hard."

Select Board member Allen Arnold echoed that, saying if it was a matter of looking for someone who could also assist the treasurer, that should been done. "We need people that are gong to be team players, I think that was part of our problem in the past," he said.

Feder, taking minutes, said, "for the record, I would just like to add if any of these suggestions were made six months ago, I wouldn't be handing in my resignation."

Select Board Chair Danielle Luchi, participating via phone, said she appreciated the comments but reminded the meeting that the treasurer's position had been increased to 40 hours in recognition of the amount of time required.

"We're just going to take things one step at a time and get a job description and go from there," she said.

Over the past year or so, the former administrative assistant retired, two town clerks quit, two town accountants quit, and the town treasurer left. Plus the chairman of the board resigned a week after the Aug. 25 meeting, leaving two Select Board members.

The latest lineup at Town Hall is Gomeau, the former North Adams city clerk, as interim town clerk; Amy Cariddi, originally the administrative assistant and now the town treasurer; and Donna Estes, the former town accountant who quit last year but who is back as an interim.

Select Board Chair Danielle Luchi, participating via phone, said the town will be posting for a part-time interim town administrator, a permanent administrator and an administrative assistant. The board has also set a date of Tuesday, Dec. 7, for a special town election to bring the board back up to three.

Luchi said Estes will be staying on for the time being.

"Donna has signed on to see us through finding a town administrator and closing out '21," she said. "She's staying with us for a while, which is great."

The town treasurer's office is nearing the goal of closing out fiscal 2021, she added.

The board hired former treasurer Ericka Oleson, who is now the treasurer for the town of Stockbridge, to come in part-time to focus on closing out the fiscal year. Hilltown Municipal Accounting Services, hired in July, is continuing to work on straightening out the treasurer's office.

In other business, Luchi said she misunderstood a communication from the Massachusetts Office on Disability about a $350,000 grant. The town is not getting the grant but has been determined eligible to apply for the grant. A presentation on the grant will be held on Wednesday evening, Oct. 27, at the Community Center. The Green Communities grant is correct (LED lights, school heat pump and weatherization in town buildings) as is the agreement with National Grid for switching out streetlights.
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Workers stand near train tracks, Monday, Sept. 27, 2021, next to overturned cars from an Amtrak train that derailed Saturday, near Joplin, Mont., killing three people and injuring others. Federal investigators are seeking the cause of the derailment. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
WDFW partners with local communities to restore river habitat to benefit salmon and other aquatic species in the Chehalis Basin
After disappearing while covering a farmer protest in Lakhimpur Kheri, a reporter for Sadhna Prime News was found dead on October 4. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its Indian affiliates, the Indian Journalists Union (IJU) and National Union of Journalists- India (NUJ-I) condemn the tragic incident and urge for a judicial inquiry into the case.

Local journalist Raman Kashyaps body was found in a mortuary a day after his reported disappearance while covering the violent demonstrations in Lakhimpur Kheri, where local farmers and political supporters collided. Kashyap was among eight others allegedly killed in the demonstration involving hundreds of farmers.

The farmers gathered to protest the visit of Uttar Pradeshs deputy chief minister, Keshav M to the village of the union minister of state for home affairs, Ajay Kumar Mishra, in Tikunia. The incident marks a lethal intensification of the unrest in India since the introduction of controversial agricultural laws.

There are conflicting accounts of the circumstances in which Kashyap died. The editor of the Sadhna Prime news channel, Brij Mohan Singh, alleged that while covering the protest Kashyap was wounded by miscreants. A complaint filed by Kashyaps father, Ram Dulare Kashyap, claims that Kashyap was shot at for filming a VIP convoy that killed farmers.

Another journalist said that in addition to being shot in the hand, Kashyap was hit by a car that was allegedly carrying Mishras son, Ashsih Misra. Samyukta Kisan Morcha, a coalition of Indian farmers' unions protesting against the agricultural laws, also claimed that a vehicle carrying Ashish Misra ran over the protesting farmers, killing at least eight people. An FIR has been lodged against Ashish Mishra and 15 others for murder and inciting violence with Lakhimpur Kheri police.

The Indian journalist fraternity has strongly condemned the killing of the journalist. The Editors Guild of India called for a court-led special investigation team to investigate the case. The Lucknow Journalists Association wrote a letter to the Additional Chief Secretary seeking justice. Local journalists are demanding compensation and the immediate arrest of the accused in the case.

IJU president, Geetartha Pathak, said The IJU expresses serious concern at the death of local journalist Raman Kashyap from Lakhimpur Kheri of Uttar Pradesh while he was covering the farmers agitation. The IJU demands a judicial inquiry of the incident and compensation to his family.

The NUJ-I president, Ras Bihari, said: The National Union of Journalists- India (NUJ-I) strongly condemns the brutal killing of a journalist Raman Kashyap in the violence at Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh. NUJ-I demands judicial inquiry in the incident, a compensation of Rs. 50 lakh and a government job to his family members".

IFJ General Secretary, Anthony Bellanger, said: The IFJ is extremely concerned by the disturbing killing of the Raman Kashyap while reporting, and the uncertainties surrounding his death. We urge for a judicial inquiry into the case and punishment of the guilty.
The World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), the International Publishers Association (IPA), and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) call on Pakistani authorities to retract plans to establish the Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA) that risks placing strict state control over all media.

Under the pretence of simplifying procedures and fighting disinformation, the proposed changes to current frameworks aim to centralise under a single authority all regulations pertaining to any media. The PMDA would replace existing media regulatory bodies and would oversee "films, electronic, print and digital media" across every domain, from registrations to wages, licensing to the allocation of government advertising, as well as both civil and criminal complaints procedures.

Serious concerns have also been raised regarding the proposed governance of the new PMDA  notably a perceived lack of independence from government. Half of the PMDA board's eight members  as well as the chairman - will be appointed by the state.

WAN-IFRA, IPA and IFJ are particularly alarmed by a provision that allows the new authority the power to shortlist members of Media Tribunals, vested with the power to hand down punishments of up to three years in jail and fines of up to 25 million Pakistani rupees (approximately $150,000 US). Decisions made by the Media Tribunals can only be appealed before the Supreme Court.

In addition, the three organisations express strong reservations about the secrecy behind the drafting of the new PDMA law, with the bill having only recently been shared by the government and receiving no input from media or civil society stakeholders.

While welcoming the establishment in mid-September of a committee that will allow media organisations to consult with the Federal Information Minister on the proposals for the PDMA, a first meeting has yet to be held or even called.

"We urge the Pakistan government to actively collaborate with representatives of the media on any such proposed law, particularly given its wide-ranging authority and the high potential for the infringement of press freedom," said WAN-IFRA CEO, Vincent Peyregne.

"Declarations from the government that explain the new law simply as a strategy to curb disinformation only confirm suspicions that it is instead a set of broad regulations designed to undermine critical speech and unduly control the media."

Jose Borghino, Secretary General of the International Publishers Association said: The International Publishers Association stands alongside news publishers and journalists in calling for the Pakistani authorities to withdraw their plans for the Pakistan Media Development Authority. The potential impact on freedom of expression and the freedom to publish are clear and it is alarming to see the current health crisis being used as cover to stifle independent media.

IFJ General Secretary, Anthony Bellanger said: The PMDA threatens to further curtail media freedom in Pakistan. The IFJ strongly urges Pakistans government to listen to the industry and take a step back, consult and engage with the media on much-needed reforms that will support and enable a sustainable, strong and independent media into the future.
The so-called Foreign Interference Countermeasures Act (FICA) has been passed by Singapores parliament on October 4, with the new legislation allowing authorities to compel media platforms and internet providers to block content, release user information and restrict access to applications. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemns the bill, which has dire implications for Singapores already deteriorating press freedom.

The FICA passed after ten hours of parliamentary debate led by His Peoples Action Party (PAP), who have governed Singapore for over 60 years. The bill was first raised three years ago but was only tabled in the last three weeks, attracting 75 yes votes, 11 no votes and two abstentions at the conclusion of the parliamentary session. It will be enacted after confirmation from President Halimah Yacob.

The vaguely defined legislation targets content that has the potential to cause immediate and significant harm to Singapore, such as hostility or incitement of violence. It also allows Singapore's government to deem certain individuals or organisations as 'politically significant persons' and requires internet service providers to block local access to content deemed harmful.

The Ministry for Law and Home Affairs stated the law only applies to foreign entities and would not be imposed on Singaporeans expressing their personal political views. This Bill is intended to address a serious threat that concerns our national security and sovereignty" said K. Shanmuam, Minister for Law and Home Affairs.

However, Singapores main opposition, The Workers Party, called for legislative reform, believing increased transparency was needed. While the Workers Party believes in the legitimate need to counter malign acts of foreign interference, we disagree with the current form of the Bill in achieving the said objective, said the party.

Many press freedom organisations have denounced the FICA, condemning its ambiguity, arbitrary approach and lack of judicial oversight. It is believed the legislation could be easily turned against domestic critics in future.

Singapore has suffered from deteriorating press freedom and lack of independent media. Last month, prominent news website The Online Citizen, was suspended by the government for failing to declare its sources of funding. In its Freedom of the World 2021 report, Freedom House afforded Singapore a score of 48 out of 100, with a status of partly free.

The IFJ said: The passing of the proposed foreign interference bill is a grave blow against press freedom in Singapore, with independent journalists and media workers in the firing line. Critical voices and independent reporting must not be stifled. The IFJ condemns the new legislation and calls on Singapores government to provide greater clarity over the scope and implementation of the FICA.
In the 1980s, Indra Nooyi was already living a life different from many of her childhood friends. After moving to the United States from India, she attended Yale School of Management, and then joined the ranks of PepsiCo in 1994.

For her parents, two things made this possible: a fervent belief in education and a push to follow her dreams.

But as a nonnative woman from India, Nooyi was not entirely at home in the corporate world. In a recent interview with NBC, she painted the picture of uncomfortable, male-dominated board meetings -- and how she responded to sideways glances:

"I'd walk in and feel like people were looking at me, thinking, 'She must not belong here,'" she said. But instead of it feeding self-doubt, this pushed her onward: "It actually made me work harder and better," she said. "I was always overprepared. I quickly established that I was a force to be reckoned with, that I deserved a seat at the table."

While inspiring, Nooyi's "secret" to success as a leader is not entirely a surprise. Tenacity, persistence, preparation, commitment. They're the catchwords we've heard a thousand times.

But while she was navigating the world of corporate leadership, she was also a mom -- a mom who was increasingly busy at work. How did she manage it? By knowing her priorities -- and breaking some rules, both corporate and social.

In fact, Nooyi was once quoted as saying, "I'm a mother first, then a CEO, then a wife."

Case in point: "The school was 10 minutes from the office," she told NBC of her days leading PepsiCo. "And if there was a problem, I ran over there. It didn't matter if I was in a meeting."

Over time, Nooyi realized that the key to managing both corporate life and family life depended on quality child care -- not just for herself but also for the millions of women who would follow her at every level of working society.

And this revealed another truth that contradicts popular narrative:

"When we talk about the future of work, we have to stop talking about technology and talk about families -- about women," said Nooyi. "We need them in the workplace, and we're going to build a system to support them."

Part of this is owning identity -- without shame. "Never hide what makes you, you," she said. And, to the many women who, in her words, "are increasingly producing the talent to keep the engines of the economy growing," she had this to say: "At the end of the day, don't forget you're a person, don't forget you're a mother, don't forget you're a wife, don't forget you're a daughter."

The other part? Whenever you engage someone -- a leader, a co-worker, a family member -- assume their best intentions are at play. "Whatever anybody says or does," she advocated, "assume positive intent." This raises your emotional quotient and builds incredible bonds. As a leader, she said, this is what gets people -- not employees -- to follow you.
Never has there been a better time for self-driving rideshares than now. With a widespread sense of weariness amongst the public towards public spaces, eliminating contact between people with self-driving robotaxis, using services like Uber, seems like a no brainer. And yet, with more demand than ever before, industry leaders Uber and Lyft both walked away from autonomous driving tech in 2020.

In what might appear to prove a counterintuitive lesson, Uber offloaded its self-driving technology to Aurora for $4 billion, and Lyft sold its self-driving car division to Toyota for $550 million. But the two didn't sell off their autonomous technology to simply make a quick buck in light of a new opportunity, or as means to quickly gain capital to combat slowed growth or declining revenues.

And in light of the surmounting problems surrounding driverless rideshares, when faced with the nightmare of deadly safety and security issues, the two rideshare companies also didn't actually ditch their dreams of driverless cars. They dumped them on the competition. And very strategically so.

On the face, it may appear as though Uber and Lyft changed their minds on driverless cars, giving up completely. But their standpoint didn't change. Where they stand to enter the market did. What they saw was an opportunity to make an immediate short-term return on their investment of the technology that powers autonomous vehicles, which fuels their long-term game plan. In other words, Uber and Lyft won't be the first to market, but that doesn't mean they don't have plans to go to market.

One company on the forefront of the autonomous ridesharing game is Cruise, which recently received permit approval from the state of California. In response, its senior vice president of government affairs and social impact, Rob Grant, stated that this "brings [Cruise] one step closer to achieving our mission to make transportation safer, better, and more affordable in cities with our fleet of all-electric, self-driving, and shared vehicles."

The mission sounds nearly identical to the purpose of a city's transportation department. Making transportation safer, better, and more affordable is precisely what bus systems, railways, and subway networks do. In other words, it's mission is incredibly simple--a sign of its incredible challenges.

The concept of applying autonomous driving technology to rideshares is met with much disdain. Even if the technology becomes safe, there are a number of other major risks involved with autonomous ridesharing. For example, the safety risk riders could pose to one another, or how a driverless vehicle could be used as a tool for the black market. And never mind the congestion from an influx of autonomous ridesharing vehicles and the traffic jams that would cause.

But a difficult feat isn't synonymous with an impossible feat.

Companies like Cruise may very well work out the kinks and create a terrific product and service. In fact, companies like Uber and Lyft are betting that they will. In the meantime, Uber and Lyft made millions by passing the torch to others, and letting others spend a fortune to solve the problems for them.
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Rain. Morning high of 60F with temps falling to near 45. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch..

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Amid the ongoing tensions in Uttar Pradesh following the death of farmers protesting against the agri laws Internet services were shut down in Lakhimpur Kheri and Sitapur on Wednesday, following reports that some Congress leaders were on their way to meet party General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and also the families of the victims.

Though there was no official communication of the shutdown of services, a senior official said that this had been done as a precautionary measure.

"We will thwart all attempts to create tension in the area. The shutdown may be lifted by evening if no untoward incident takes place," he said.

iStock

But according to Internet Freedom Foundation, the internet shutdown is in violation of the guidelines the apex court had issued in the Anuradha Bhasin case.

Anuradha Bhasin v. Union of India

In Anuradha Bhasin v. Union of India, the Supreme Court was called upon to determine the constitutionality of the communication shutdown imposed in Jammu & Kashmir on 05 August 2019.

In its judgement, the Court noted that there were several gaps in the Telecom Suspension Rules 2017 and it read certain procedural safeguards into the Rules to fill this lacuna.

We have written to the IT Standing Committee regarding its visit to J&K and the repeated instances of internet suspensions without complying with the Hon'ble Supreme Court's guidelines under issued in Anuradha Bhasin v. Union of India. #KeepItOn 1/n https://t.co/j9IJhW6n8n pic.twitter.com/ENy3GsJA2X  Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) (@internetfreedom) September 2, 2021

The Supreme Court of India had ruled that an undefined restriction of internet services would be illegal and that orders for internet shutdown must satisfy the tests of necessity and proportionality.

The Court recapitulates that freedom of speech and expression included right to the internet and therefore was protected under the constitution. However, it could only be restricted when there is a risk against citizens and in the name of national security.

BCCL/FILE

The court ruled that this order which imposes a complete restriction on the internet should be published for the public and was also subject to judicial review.

It must be noted that although the Suspension Rules does not provide for publication or notification of the orders, a settled principle of law, and of natural justice, is that an order, particularly one that affects lives, liberty and property of people, must be made available . We are therefore required to read in the requirement of ensuring that all the orders passed under the Suspension Rules are made freely available, through some suitable mechanism.

The case

The petitioners had argued that such restrictions not only impact the right to free speech of individuals but also impinge on their right to trade. Therefore, a less restrictive measure, such as restricting only social media websites like Facebook and Whatsapp, should and could have been passed, as has been done in India while prohibiting human trafficking and child pornography websites.

BCCL

Arguing for the government, Solicitor General had submitted that the internet was never restricted in the Jammu and Ladakh regions. Further, he submitted that social media, which allowed people to send messages and communicate with a number of people at the same time, could be used as a means to incite violence. The purpose of the limited and restricted use of the internet is to ensure that the situation on the ground would not be aggravated by targeted messages from outside the country. Further, the internet allows for the transmission of false news or fake images, which are then used to spread violence. The dark web allows individuals to purchase weapons and illegal substances easily.

Representational Image

Telegraph Act

Prior to 2017, any measure restricting the internet generally or even shutting down the internet was passed under Section 144, Cr.P.C., a general provision granting wide powers to the Magistrates specified therein to pass orders in cases of apprehended danger.

The position has changed since 2017, with the passage of the Suspension Rules under Section 7 of the Telegraph Act. With the promulgation of the Suspension Rules, the States are using the aforesaid Rules to restrict telecom services including access to the internet.

For more on news and current affairs from around the world please visit Indiatimes News.


The Madras High Court has asked the state Forest Department not to kill MDT-23 an alleged man-eater tiger blamed for the death of four humans and at least 20 cattle in Gudalur.

The High Court on Tuesday said that the tiger officially named Mudumalai Division Tiger 23 (MDT-23) should not be killed immediately as it may not be a man-eater.

BCCL

"Do not go for a kill immediately, it may not be a man-eater tiger," the Madras HC told the Tamil Nadu Forest Department which is making efforts to capture Mudumalai's tiger MDT23.

Tamil Nadu forest officials have issued hunting order for a tiger named T-23 in Gudalur as it has reportedly killed 4 persons so far and also resorting to continuous preying on livestock.



Efforts to capture the tiger was unsuccessful. pic.twitter.com/YU3yT8Gf5S  Shilpa (@Shilpa1308) October 1, 2021

The court further said that there are only a few tigers left in our country.

PIL against hunt down order

The court's direction came in a PIL seeking direction to the Forest department to ensure that the tiger, which is perceived to be dangerous to humans, is captured alive and no steps were taken to put it to sleep or otherwise kill it.

Google Maps

"All that can be said at the moment is that the other animals in the area should not be disturbed to the extent avoidable for the purpose of tracking down this animal, though some discreet measures may be used for such purpose with the object of ultimately treating the animal and respecting its right to remain wild and free to roam in the forest," the bench said.

Responding to the plea, the government said it has no plans to kill the elusive 'maneater' tiger, on the prowl in hilly Udhagamandalam in The Nilgiris district in the state.

Last week, Tamil Nadu Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden Dr Shekhar Kumar Niraj had issued orders to hunt down the tiger.

The order to hunt the tiger was issued under Section 11 (1) (a) of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. The section gives the Chief Warden authority to issue orders to kill or hunt any animal falling under Schedule 1 of the Act (including tigers) if it poses danger to human life.

BCCL/ Representational Image

The Forest Department had however made it clear that they did not plan to shoot at sight the 13-year-old tiger, but the aim was to capture it alive, failing which they may have to kill the big cat.

Search on

Over the past few days, several teams of the Forest Department including two Kumkis and several hunting dogs have been patrolling the forest and adjoining areas where the tiger was spotted last.

Wildtrails

But they have not been able to locate the elusive big cat. There were reports that the tiger was spotted briefly, and before the tranquilizer shot could be fired, it vanished into the jungle.
Air pollution concerns have resurfaced in northern India, which typically is smothered by a blanket of smog that throws life out of gear in the winter, as farmers resume burning crop residue after harvesting the crop in Punjab and Haryana.

Satellite images from the US space agency NASA show that farmers have already begun burning crop stubble in parts of the two northern states thats blamed for the winter-time phenomenon that holds up flights and trains and reduces road traffic to a crawl.



NASA

Jump in number of fires, satellite images show

Data from the agency's Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), a key instrument on board the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP) satellite, shows a gradual jump in detection of fires in farmlands in recent weeks.

Most of the fires are in and around Amritsar in Punjab as of now. This year due to consistent cloud/rain the overall fire season is delayed, Pawan Gupta, senior scientist, Earth Sciences at the USRA Science and Technology Institute (STI) told Moneycontrol by email. STI/USRA works closely with the Nasa Marshall Space Flight Center and the University of Alabama in Huntsville, USA.

Wikimedia Commons

Over 250 fires in a month in Punjab

From 1 September 1 to October 3, Punjab recorded about 268 fire events and Haryana about 47. As many as 65 fires were spotted in Punjab on 29 September while 12 fire incidents were recorded in Haryana on the same day. This is the highest number for a day in September in both states.

The consistent cloud cover also limits satellite capabilities to detect small fires and thus, we may not be detecting all the fires in the region, Gupta said.

In October-November every year, farmers in Punjab and Haryana, together the breadbasket of India, clear the stubble from their fields by burning the stubble because it is the cheapest method for them to make the soil fit for replanting.

BCCL

North India chokes again

It is a major contributor to air pollution in northern India, many cities in which are ranked among the worlds most polluted. On an average peak day, the number of fires touches 4,000.



The stubble burning in northern India has long been a major cause of air pollution in the region. The Union government has spent over Rs 2,245 crore to address this issue in the last four years.

PTI

Many experts link the pollution in Delhi-NCR to the paddy-wheat cropping system which they suggest should change for a long time change. And till that happens, North India is likely to continue the struggle to breathe in winters.



For more on news and current affairs from around the world please visit Indiatimes News.


Thousands of American-made weapons and tons of military equipment were seized by the militants as government military bases surrendered or were overrun during US military withdrawal and the Taliban takeover in August.

Now, those guns and accessories are being openly sold in shops by Afghan gun dealers who paid government soldiers and Taliban fighters in southern Afghanistan.

Originally provided to the Afghan security forces

During interview with The New York Times, three weapons dealers in Kandahar said that dozens of Afghans have set up weapons shops in Afghanistans south, selling American-made pistols, rifles, grenades, binoculars and night-vision goggles.

AP

The equipment was originally provided to the Afghan security forces under a US training and assistance program that cost American taxpayers more than $83 billion through two decades of war.

During the insurgency, the Taliban eagerly sought out American-supplied weapons and gear. But now much of that weaponry is being sold to Afghan entrepreneurs because Taliban demand has eased with the end of combat, the gun merchants said. They say that many gun dealers have smuggled the weapons to Pakistan, where demand for American-made weapons is strong.

Costly consequence of the failed US mission

The loss of tens of millions of dollars in American-made weapons and gear is yet another costly consequence of the failed, 20-year mission to Afghanistan. It ended in chaos and upheaval when the Taliban seized Kabul on Aug 15 after crushing an Afghan military built, trained and funded by the United States.

The Indian Express

Over the years, the United States provided the Afghan military with a huge array of arms and vehicles, including M4 carbines, rockets, A-29 light attack aircraft, Humvees, and copious ammunition for assault rifles and machine guns, according to a recent report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction.

Taliban denied weapons being sold in market

For the two previous fiscal years ending in June, the amount spent on the Afghan military totaled $2.6 billion. The Pentagon on Monday acknowledged that a large number of American-supplied arms remained in Afghanistan. But the Taliban denied that any of those weapons were hitting the market.

In an interview with The Times, a Taliban spokesman, Bilal Karimi, said that weapons were not for sale. I totally deny this; our fighters cannot be that careless, he said. Even a single person cannot sell a bullet in the market or smuggle it.

Other Taliban figures confirm gun trade

Other Taliban figures, however, have confirmed that a big wave of American weapons has hit the market.

NYT

This summer, troves of US-supplied weapons were either stolen and sold by Afghan security forces, or seized by the Taliban as they negotiated wholesale surrenders in which soldiers and police handed over such weapons and equipment in exchange for Taliban promises to spare their lives. Other times, uniforms, weapons and gear were simply abandoned by Afghan soldiers and police as they deserted.



Some soldiers sold weapons, negotiated surrenders

Some soldiers and police sold their weapons and ammunition before they negotiated their surrenders. Weapons dealers would pay about $1,200 for a single US-service Beretta M9 handgun, the gun merchants said  far more than a soldiers monthly salary, at a time when many police and soldiers were not being paid or resupplied with ammunition, food or water.

NYT

American M4 carbines sell for about $4,000, the dealers said, especially if equipped with a laser sight or under-barrel grenade launcher. In contrast, a Kalashnikov rifle sells for about $900, the dealers said, and a Russian-made rocket-propelled grenade launcher for about $1,100. Pistols that NATO forces supplied to Afghan police officers sell for about $350. Almost all their transactions are in Pakistani rupees, and in cash, the dealers said.



For more on news and current affairs from around the world please visit Indiatimes News.


Youth Congress activists demonstrating and burning an effigy of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath during a protest against the killing of farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri, at Kargil Chowk, on Oct. 4, 2021 in Patna, India. (Photo by Santosh Kumar/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
Forney, TX (75126)

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Some clouds this morning will give way to generally sunny skies for the afternoon. High 62F. Winds NNE at 15 to 25 mph..

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Clear skies. Low 32F. Winds light and variable.
WebAssembly is an extremely promising new technology thats getting a lot of interest from Microsofts cloud-native computing teams, both in its Deis Labs subsidiary and in Azure. With new WebAssembly tools arriving rapidly, whats needed is an environment where you can try them out.

Thats why Deis Labs release of its new Hippo WebAssembly platform is so important. Built like many of Deis tools to scratch its own itch, its a way of quickly installing, managing, and running WebAssembly (WASM) code, whether its browser hosted or stand-alone WebAssembly System Interface (WASI). Using its built-in channels in conjunction with a Git server, you can make and deploy different releases in one environment, keeping production, staging, and development builds separate while still only needing one Hippo server.

You can host multiple applications in Hippo. WebAssembly means theyre sandboxed by default, requiring explicit permissions to access the host system or external devices. Your code is also portable. Once compiled for WebAssembly, itll run on any WebAssembly system, whether Windows, Linux, or macOS, or whether Intel, RISC-V, or ARM. Hippo gives you a way to build once, test once, and run your code anywhere.

Setting up Hippo on a development PC

Although tools like Hippo would be ideal for cloud-native operations, the current developer release has only been tested on desktop systems. I decided to try it out on a Windows PC running a recent build of WSL2, hosting Ubuntu. Deis provides instructions for running Hippo locally, with details for macOS and Linux systems.

There were some issues getting the prerequisites in place to run Hippo on a WSL2 Ubuntu 20.04 LTS system. First, I needed to install WAGI, the WebAssembly Application Gateway Interface. This installs easily enough, with a single binary in the downloadable tarfile hosted in its GitHub repo. Once download, unpacked, and moved to a user binary directory, it ran easily. I took the opportunity to install Rust, as I might need it if I had to recompile any of the Deis tools.

This step was perhaps the most difficult on WSL2, as it required a copy of the build-essential toolkit. Ubuntu 20.04 doesnt have the right set of dependencies for this, so I needed an alternative package installer that would allow me to downgrade certain key libraries to the appropriate versions. A Stack Overflow answer pointed me to aptitude, an alternative to apt that allows you to choose appropriate dependencies for an install and allow it to replace two low-level C libraries. I finally got build-essential installed, ready for Rust, using its setup scripts.

What is Bindle?

The main reason for installing Rust as part of a Hippo installation is for Bindle, Deis WebAssembly packaging tool. Bindle is described as an aggregate object storage system. The metaphor its documentation uses is that Bindle is the digital silverware drawer. We may all have some different objects in our silverware drawer, but we all use the drawer to sort and store silverware. Bindle does much the same for the artifacts that make up a modern application while providing a level of understanding of how applications are composed, based on how and where theyre used.

You can have a Bindle description of an application that contains elements needed for a sparse installation on a resource-constrained edge host (like a Raspberry Pi) and for a high-powered server at the heart of a public cloud. A Bindle client in an application host can take the elements and dependencies and deploy them appropriately. The result is an application-centric deployment model that avoids multiple builds using repositories and smart descriptions to deliver the right code to the right environment.

Once Bindle is installed, you can run it, using the defaults to set up a local Bindle server ready for Hippo to use. Next, I installed node.js, using the WSL instructions provided by Microsoft. This entailed using curl to download nvm, then running it to install both the most recent and long-term support versions of node. Dont use the Ubuntu instructions for installing node; they use a snap to install it, and snaps are not well supported in WSL2.

Youll need to install Rusts wasm32-wasi support for any Hippo-hosted Rust WebAssembly applications, as well as the yo-wasm Yeoman application scaffolding tools. This will allow you to compile Rust code to a WASI target, ready to run inside Hippo.

With those in place, I could now install .NET 5, first setting up support for Microsofts Debian package repositories before installing both the .NET 5 SDK and runtime. You have two options for .NET runtimes: one with ASP.NET Core support and one without. As Hippo is a model-view-controller web application, you should use the ASP.NET version of the runtime.

Building and running Hippo

Once all the prerequisites have been installed, you can build Hippo. Start by cloning the Hippo GitHub repository into a local directory in your WSL system. Once its installed, you can build and run the app, pointing it your local Bindle server by adding a BINDLE_URL environment variable. Its a good idea to install Hippos CLI at this point, as its necessary for application development and deployment.

You can now connect to your Hippo server to test that its working. You should find it on localhost on port 5001. If youre running a recent build of WSL 2, you should be able to connect to it from a Windows desktop browser using localhost, as Microsoft has finally fixed one of WSL 2s long-standing networking problems, proxying its virtual machine networking through Windows while still preserving its own IP address and virtual network switch. Theres no longer any need for scripts to extract and share network addresses.

Before you can connect to the server, you will need to register an account. As its running locally, you can choose any account details you like; just be sure theyre something you can remember since youll need the details to build your first app. Once youve created an account, log in. Youre taken to a Your Apps page with a Create New Application button.

Creating your first Hippo WebAssembly app

Although you can build apps for Hippo from the web UI, its easier for now to use the command line. Make sure you have the Hippo CLI installed, as Yeoman will use it to build application scaffolding for you. Before you start, set environment variables for your Hippo account and password as well as for its endpoints. Yes, this isnt good security practice, but here were just building and running test code on an isolated PC using software thats not yet ready for production.

To build a basic hello world application, use the yo-wasm tools to build a WebAssembly Rust application. If you follow the script and enter the appropriate values, this will build and load source code into your Hippo server. Next use the Rust cargo tool to compile and test your WASI application. Once youve got it running on the command line, you can use Hippos CLI tool to push it to Bindle where it will be visible inside Hippo. Open the project, select your builds development environment, and click on the link to run your code.

Theres a lot to like in Hippo. If theres one thing thats been missing from WebAssembly, its an effective Heroku-like playground to help you get started. Hippo may not be that playground yet, but its certainly one you can use as part of your own development workflow now, even in its early stage. Being able to run it on a development PC is an added advantage, as theres no need to rely on third-party systems. Its low enough impact that it can be run as part of a WSL 2 environment, so you can take advantage of tools like Visual Studio Code, working with its remote development features to edit Rust code in WSL from Windows.

If youre interested in WebAssembly, Hippo may well be the tool you need to get started. It makes working with WebAssembly code simpler, bringing many of the different pieces needed to run a development into one place. Although its still clearly an early release, theres enough here to let you get started, making it an essential tool for anyone working with WebAssembly.
Woodbridge, VA (22192)

Today

Sunny early then increasing clouds with showers this afternoon. High 72F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%..

Tonight

Clearing skies after some evening rain. Low around 35F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch.
Three members of Prince William County's Racial and Social Justice Commission appear to have violated the panels bylaws and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.

Commissioners Charles Haddow (Coles District), London Steverson (Brentsville) and Erica Tredinnick (Gainesville) held a town hall meeting Tuesday at Patriot High School about critical race theory and culturally-responsive teaching -- but it was not sanctioned by the full panel.

InsideNoVa did not attend the town hall. A Prince William Times reporter posted updates from the town hall on Twitter, showing the commissioners gave a presentation during the meeting.

According to pictures of part of Haddows presentation that were posted by the Prince William Times reporter on Twitter, the first slide read PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY SCHOOLS DO NOT TEACH CRITICAL RACE THEORY IS THAT TRUE? The next slide features a quote about the government lying to Utah residents about the effects of nuclear fallout from testing during the Cold War.

The Prince William Times reporter posted that Haddow said he felt culturally-responsive teaching was being used as a Trojan horse to bring critical race theory into classrooms.

Critical race theory is an overarching term applying to graduate-level law studies focusing on how issues of race are interwoven into U.S. history through government and private policies. One example is redlining, in which banks refused to give mortgages to Black people or imposed harsh terms.

The theory has become a battle cry among conservative groups, who say it is being taught in all levels of schooling and assigns the blame of past racist actions to current children.

Local and state school officials in Virginia have said the theory is not being taught and that people are conflating equity initiatives and culturally-responsive teaching with critical race theory.

At the commissions Sept. 23 meeting, School Board member Loree Williams again said critical race theory is not being taught in schools.

We keep having this discussion on critical race theory which is a false narrative, Williams said. Culturally-responsive teaching is not simply about race. It deals with disability. It deals with ethnicity. It deals with a multitude of issues.

Haddow responded at the meeting with: The last person Im going to go ask if youre teaching critical race theory is a School Board member.

The Prince William Times reporter indicated at least three additional commissioners attended the meeting and sat in the audience, meaning all but two commissioners were present.

Anytime more than three members of a public body are present and discussing public business, the meeting must be advertised in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act. Although the meeting was promoted on Facebook and by individual members and county supervisors, neither the meeting, nor the presentation, was posted on the countys website prior to it occurring.

Late Tuesday night, county staff added a page under events saying that the meeting was happening, but a recording of it was not available.

In a response to InsideNoVa over Twitter, Megan Rhyne, executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, said when three or more members of a public body get together to talk about public [business], theyre supposed to follow FOIAs procedure for meetings.

There are allowances for public fora, but thats usually in the context of members at a forum held by someone else, not one held  themselves, she wrote.

Violations of FOIA are only enforced through the courts by actions of commonwealth's attorneys or through lawsuits filed by residents. A county resident filed a lawsuit against the five Democrats on the Board of Supervisors last year alleging they violated the law by attending a community meeting. The lawsuit was dismissed.

In a Wednesday email to Chair Shantell Rock, Haddow said he notified staff and the commission of his intent to hold a listening session in April. He said that his announcement of the meeting during commissioners time at the panels Sept. 23 meeting adequately served as public notice under FOIA.

The attendance at the meeting -- when I did a head count midway through the meeting -- was approximately 80 attendees, which is a larger audience than any RSJC meeting that I am aware of and shows the public was obviously very aware of the meeting, he wrote.

Haddow said if any public notice requirements were not met, it was county staffs responsibility to post notice of the meetings. He said the meeting was recorded and submitted to the county to be posted on the website.

During the commissions Sept. 23 meeting, Haddow did not say the town hall would focus on critical race theory nor did he indicate it would include a presentation of his views.

We invite the community to come - any voiceless person who feels like they havent been heard yet - we invite them to participate. It will be a sincere listening session to talk and have a clear opportunity - Im not really too interested in hearing some of the narrative I heard at the last meeting, he said. I think this will hopefully be a reasonable discussion about areas in our community that we can improve on the quality of life here.

Based on social media reports and comments to InsideNoVa by Rock, the meeting appears to have been led by Haddow who provided a presentation of his opinions before taking public comment. Rock said she was told commissioners answered questions on behalf of the commission, violating the bylaws.

This was the Mac Haddow show. This was not a listening session, Rock said. I feel like theyre trying to make a mockery of our commission and theyre not going to do that.

The bylaws say The Chair shall be the primary spokesperson for the Commission and may, from time to time, designate other officers or members to speak for the Commission on specific matters. As of Tuesday night, Rock had not designated others to speak on behalf of the commission.

Im the only person allowed to speak on behalf of the commission, Rock said.

Haddow, one of the most outspoken commissioners, has become a lightning rod on the panel as its full meetings have been marked with his objections, hangups and prolonged debates on numerous procedural matters. He has sparred with other members who say he cuts them off or speaks over them, and he engages in frequent heated debates on procedure with Raul Torres, executive director of the Office of Human Rights, including once slamming down a copy of Roberts Rules of Order on the dais.

Haddow has said at multiple meetings that he believes its important to follow proper procedure in conducting public business. He has said the three panelists appointed by Republican members of the Board of Supervisors are treated differently than other commissioners.

Rock said no other commissioners have held joint listening sessions. She said the commissioners did not coordinate with staff to facilitate the town hall or ensure it followed the panels bylaws and state law. Rock provided emails Tuesday night showing county staff advised that a gathering of three commissioners would be considered a meeting under FOIA.

Rock admonished Haddow for frequently focusing on procedural matters and then violating the bylaws.

All this is just crazy, she said. You mean to tell me you couldnt send an email to staff to make sure it was on the landing page?

Prior to Tuesdays town hall, Rock issued a press release saying The Commission is not responsible for promoting, reviewing, or discussing Critical Race Theory.

This conversation is separate from the mission of the Racial and Social Justice Commission, and therefore, this is not a conversation sanctioned by the Commission, the release says. However, the Commission encourages all Commissioners to conduct town hall meetings to discuss with constituents their experience in education as it relates to the school systems policies impacting children of color.

In the news release, Rock said county school officials have said critical race theory is not being taught locally and that the Racial and Social Justice Commission respectfully accept[s] their position.

I was well within my rights, according to the bylaws, that I can release a press release on behalf of the commission, Rock said.

The bylaws do not provide any specific remedy to sanction members who are in violation. Rock said she will speak with county staff on Wednesday to explore potential responses.

Haddow said that the commission has not taken formal action to determine if critical race theory is in its purview.

I do not think your opinions or personal beliefs on specific issues is determinative on what the scope of issues to be considered by the Commission, and your attempts to do so is a clear abuse of your role as Chairman of the Commission, Haddow wrote to Rock. I believe you should correct your prior public statements.
The commission charged with renaming military bases that honor the Confederacy said it is uncertain whether Fort Belvoir will fall within its jurisdiction, its chair told InsideNoVa.

The commission has asked for additional historical study regarding the naming of the U.S. Army installation in southern Fairfax County, said Navy Admiral Michelle Howard, the chair.

After briefing House and Senate Armed Services Committee staffers this week, Howard told InsideNoVa that the commission has to determine which installations commemorate the Confederacy. At first glance, Howard said Belvoir was just named after a slave plantation of Lord Fairfax, but theres more to it than that, because it was renamed from its original designation.

It was originally Camp Humphreys, named after a Union general, and then it's not until 1935 that there's this name change, Howard said. So, the commission has hired an historian, and we've made a trip to Fort Belvoir, and we're looking into why was the name changed? Is this new name, Fort Belvoir, actually a reflection of a decision to honor the Confederacy? And so our historian has made contact with local historians, and so we're looking into that.

If the commission determines theres not hard evidence that indicates that was part of the thought process, then we'll say, Hey, it's outside the remit of the commission, Howard said. She added that if historical evidence indicates it was an attempt to commemorate the Confederacy, then the commission will probably determine that renaming the base is within its purview.

The congressional commission is charged with providing recommendations for the removal or renaming of bases, ships and other Department of Defense assets that commemorate the Confederacy, or those who voluntarily served with the Confederacy.

Less in doubt are the other Virginia bases that are solidly in line for renaming: Fort A.P. Hill south of Fredericksburg, Fort Lee in Petersburg, and Fort Pickett in southside Virginia, all of which were named after soldiers who served in the Confederacy.

Howard said the commission has already conducted site visits, meeting with military, civilian and community stakeholders at Belvoir, Fort Lee and Fort A.P. Hill. She added that the most critical part of the effort has been listening to those with strong ties to the installations.

We have heard directly from local chambers of commerce, historical genealogy societies, Rotary clubs, school board officials, local/national special interest groups, church leaders, business and many other organizations, Howard said. And on top of that weve met with individual active duty, reserve, retired, and other former service members with their families and neighbors and local communities.

Howard said she hopes the commission will finish its site visits by the end of November.

Citizens are already making suggestions to the commission through its website. Howard said in just the first two weeks, the commission received more than 25,000 suggested names. The commission will continue to accept names through Dec. 1.

She said she is pleased with the diversity of suggested names.

From what weve received from the communities and the website, the naming suggestions represent America, Howard said. Theres women, theres people of color, some of the suggestions highlight people of lesser-known religious faiths. I think the hard part for the commission is going to be picking from the list.
Flood insurance premiums figure to increase for thousands of Connecticut residents when the federal government implements a new rate system, some by as much as $100 per month  but most by up to $10 monthly.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency estimates that more than 22,000 state residents will see their premiums rise, though preliminary data show that rise will be small, the New Haven Register reported.

The new system began Friday and will affect new policyholders initially. Existing policyholders should see the new rates by April. About 80 will see increases of more than $100 per month, according to the newspaper.

Connecticut has seen increased flooding in recent years from smaller creeks and rivers, in addition to flooding from overwhelmed street drainage systems. FEMAs algorithm used to calculate flood risk hasnt been updated in 50 years, Diane Ifkovic, Connecticuts state National Flood Insurance Program coordinator, told the newspaper.

Some members of Congress have asked FEMA to pause the implementation of the new system over concerns about affordability, though no members of Connecticuts delegation signed a letter requesting the delay.

Topics Flood Connecticut FEMA
Singapore plans to review its strategy to further safeguard the country against cyber attacks, and may also revise its laws in this area.

An updated strategy would give businesses and people better tools to deal with cybersecurity, Josephine Teo, the minister for communications and information, said in an interview with Bloomberg on Friday. The city-states stance has been to assume that cyber breaches have already happened, meaning the focus is on ensuring systems are robust and there are recovery plans.

Its time for us to review this strategy, Teo said, referencing a plan that was set out in 2016. She said there is a heightened need for businesses to safeguard their information systems and look after cybersecurity to a higher degree, because the risks have gone up and there is also the worry that it will spill over to the physical world.

The importance of cybersecurity has come into sharp relief over the past two years, as much of the world went into lockdown during the Covid-19 pandemic. Working from unprotected home internet networks, businesses globally were suddenly exposed to cyberattacks, as criminals and state actors took advantage of fewer safeguards to infiltrate, phish and scam individuals and companies. Ransomware attacks have escalated and threatened critical supply chains, including pipelines, meat producers and defense contractors.

In Singapore, the government has invested in promoting digital adoption among its people as well as on future communications technology, and there are already legal obligations for critical infrastructure networks to invest in cyber protection.

Strengthening Laws

As part of the strategy update, Teo said the government will also look at reviewing cybersecurity laws to see what can be strengthened, though this is still at an early stage. She said that beyond regulations, it is important for companies to ensure they are protected in the cyber world.

What they need to be reminded about is that what is now worthy of being stolen is not just physical objects, and not just data anymore, Teo said. What is worthy of being stolen is your operational readiness.

Singapore chairs a working group within the United Nations focused on advancing cybersecurity issues and establishing the norms of responsible state behavior, she said.

We may be a small country, but our interests in the digital domain, like everyone else are significant, we do see it as important to every single countrys future prosperity, Teo said. We do have a very strong interest in ensuring that the cyberspace has a high degree of rules-based multilateralism built into it, and it has to be an orderly space.

Photo: People at Merlion Park in the central business district of Singapore, on Wednesday, May 19, 2021. In the financial mecca of Singapore, technology companies have been steadily growing their footprint in recent years, chipping away at the dominance of banks in the island-states central business district. Photographer: Lauryn Ishak/Bloomberg

Copyright 2021 Bloomberg.

Topics Cyber
A federal judge has ordered the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to review its decision that a dairy farm built in northwest Indiana to house more than 4,000 cows is not subject to the Clean Water Act.

Environmental groups and several residents sued Texas-based Natural Prairie Dairy and the Army Corps of Engineers in 2019, accusing Natural Prairie Dairy of violating the Clean Water Act when it installed drainage tiles and filled ditches during the Newton County farms construction.

The Hoosier Environmental Council and the Indiana Audubon Society said Natural Prairie Dairy did not contact the Army Corps to determine if the land and ditches were subject to federal regulation until nearly two years after the work was completed.

Kim Ferraro, senior staff attorney for the Hoosier Environmental Council, said the Army Corps summarily concluded that the land is not a wetland, and the ditches were not jurisdictional waters  effectively legitimizing Natural Prairies activities after-the-fact and eliminating the need for Natural Prairie to obtain a federal permit to build the concentrated animal-feeding operation.

In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Damon Leichty in South Bend found that the Army Corps administrative jurisdictional determination was arbitrary and capricious, because it was not supported by facts in the administrative record.

He sent back the decision to the Army Corps for further consideration, The (Northwest Indiana) Times reported.

The dairy farm, which includes 4,350 cows and a 9-acre waste lagoon, was built in the Kankakee River basin in one of the most ecologically sensitive and historically significant areas in the state, the environmental groups said.

That area was part of the Grand Kankakee Marsh, which once stretched nearly a million acres across parts of northern Indiana and Illinois before it was drained for agriculture. The vanished wetland is often referred to as the Everglades of the North.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Legislation Agribusiness Indiana
Coalition, a San Francisco-based cyber insurance and security company, has acquired Attune, a digital agency with a platform focused on commercial insurance.

With the acquisition, Coalition maintains it will be the worlds largest commercial insurtech provider, with more than 130,000 policyholders in play.

Attune was a wholly owned subsidiary of Attune Holdings, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, which is a joint venture among AIG Property Casualty U.S., Inc., Two Sigma Insurance Quantified, LP and Hamilton U.S. Holdings II, Inc. Those firms jointly launched Attune as a startup in late 2016, and CEO James Hobson has been in charge since early 2017. Attune has 150 people, who will become part of a company with 270 employees.

Neither Coalition nor Attune are disclosing financial terms, though a Coalition spokesperson disclosed the M&A move is an all-cash transaction.

In acquiring Attune, Coalition is getting an insurance producer licensed in 50 states through which brokers and customers have the ability to quote and bind businessowners, workers compensation, commercial liability excess, professional liability, and general liability policies in minutes for hundreds of small-commercial classes, the announcement noted.

Coalition said will it also offer its cyber insurance and its risk management tool Coalition Control through Attune and launch an expanded set of Attunes insurance offerings over time.

Together, our companies will define the future of insurance by applying data and technology expertise to mitigate current and emerging risk, expand our insurance offerings to keep more businesses safe, and build a better experience for insurance brokers and their clients, Joshua Motta, CEO and co-founder of Coalition, said in prepared remarks.

News of the deal comes about a week after Coalition, a managing general agency, disclosed it had raised $205 million in venture financing, with a push into public markets among its future plans.

Source: Coalition/Attune

Topics Mergers Commercial Lines
Omaha-based Insurate, a data science-based provider of workers compensation, announced a $4.5 million seed round led by HSCM Ventures, the venture capital arm of Hudson Structured Capital Management Ltd.

Joining the round are Foundation Capital, Revolutions Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, Clocktower Technology Ventures, Sure Ventures, and several angel investors, including independent agents and buyers of workers compensation.

Insurate says its Safe-Tier Index uses proprietary data including a predictive score to identify safe businesses and help in pricing insurance. The wholesaler and managing general agency said its average policy savings to date have been 24%. It requires that insureds have more than 20 employees and have operated for at least three years. Industrial-sector companies are most likely to see the bigger savings, according to the firm, because its data analysis is centered on those businesses. It currently offers policies in 35 states.

Insurates coverages are offered in partnership with Key Risk (a Berkley Company), Encova, Liberty Mutual, AmTrust and other workers compensation insurers.

Many small industrial businesses take safety seriously, but they are penalized up to 95% in the pricing of work comp based on perceptions that their work is dangerous, said Joe McIlhon, CEO of Insurate, which launched in 2019. We are bringing data intelligence to discern safe from unsafe, which we combine with human intelligence, to bring fair pricing to safety-conscious industrial companies in the $22B high risk segment of the statutory work comp market.

McIlhon, a former independent agent with 17 years in workers compensation insurance, emphasized the importance of the independent agency channel. We are aligning fairness, transparency, and value to create the ultimate customer acquisition and retention platform for the trusted partners of high hazard companies, the independent agents, he said.

In August, Insurate announced a partnership with YellowBird, an industry-specific workplace safety and compliance consulting platform that is now available to its policyholders.

HSCM Ventures is the venture capital arm of Hudson Structured Capital Management Ltd., doing its re/insurance business as HSCM Bermuda.

Topics Workers' Compensation InsurTech Tech Talent
A judges order to give the deworming drug ivermectin to a critically ill COVID-19 patient invites more lawsuits demanding unapproved drugs for life-threatening illnesses, a Louisiana hospital says.

St. Tammany Health System responded to the order handed down in August by Judge John Keller of the 22nd Judicial District that includes St. Tammany Parish, The Times-Picayune / The New Orleans Advocate reported.

The patient, 64-year-old Charlotte Ratley of Abita Springs, never got ivermectin. She died less than 24 hours after Keller said the hospital either had to administer the drug or let Ratleys daughter, a licensed physicians assistant, do so.

Federal agencies, medical groups and health experts say there is little evidence that drug is effective against COVID-19. Doctors say its frustrating when patients ill from the coronavirus demand ivermectin.

You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, yall. Stop it.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved ivermectin pills to treat parasitic worms, a lotion against head lice and a cream to treat rosacea, which causes redness and pimples. But it has not approved it for treating COVID-19. Large studies are underway to find out whether the drug can prevent or reduce the disease.

Ratleys family said she had been prescribed the drug after being diagnosed but before being admitted to the hospital, where doctors refused to give her the drug.

In their petition, Ratleys relatives said she was failing fast. The potentially great benefits of ivermectin certainly outweigh the slight potential harm of prescribing ivermectin and administering it to Charlotte, their lawsuit said.

In its petition, the hospital said it could still be subject to a contempt of court claim for damages.

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first ivermectin case in Louisiana, the hospital said. However, Louisiana hospitals and hospitals all over this country face the threat of an escalation of litigation forcing hospitals and physicians to administer ivermectin, and other unsafe and unapproved medications, to patients unless courts stop this threat by ruling against these well-intentioned litigants.

Similar suits have been filed in other states, including New York and Ohio. A Delaware judge refused to order doctors to administer it.

St. Tammany Hospital said the suits challenge the authority of medical staffs and hospitals to provide safe, quality care and dangerously substitute patients judgment for professional judgment.

Its filing includes a list of agencies that have raised red flags about ivermectins use for COVID-19, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Infectious Disease Society of America, the World Health Organization and Merck & Co., which makes ivermectin.

The filing also cited an Aug. 21 FDA tweet: You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, yall. Stop it.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits Legislation Louisiana
Like a growing number of communities across the country, the west Tennessee town of Waverly faces a difficult dilemma: Whether to rebuild hundreds of homes that were recently flooded  or move to higher ground.

I fully realize that were talking about peoples lives, their homes  and some of them may be multigenerational, said Janey Smith Camp, an engineering professor at Vanderbilt University in nearby Nashville. Its a tough thing to swallow. But theres a point that we need to start saying, `Its not safe to live here anymore.

Waverly was flooded Aug. 21, after more than 17 inches of rain fell upstream, turning normally placid Trace Creek into a raging river. More than 500 homes and 50 businesses were damaged and 20 people were killed, according to a report by the Associated Press.

Sitting here in the car and just watching it, how fast it was coming this way  itd blow your mind, 79-year-old resident Jim Traylor said. Its unreal. You cant imagine.

Traylor and others said the creek had not flooded that badly in more than 100 years. Most homeowners were not in a recognized flood plain and did not have flood insurance.

But with climate change thats bringing more rain to some parts of the country, stronger and more frequent storms in the East, and drought and wildfires in the West, more towns, cities and homeowners are facing excruciating choices.

Building back in the same spots may only invite disaster again, officials said. But moving homes or rebuilding outside the city would be expensive and would deprive Waverly of much of its tax base  at a time the town needs funds to clear debris and mitigate future flooding.

A Florida county this month faced similar issues after heavy rains, not a hurricane, flooded homes. Without flood insurance for many homes, county officials in Citrus County, near Tampa, were left with few options other than declaring a local state of emergency. That will help qualify some residents for low-interest loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration, to be used for basic repairs.

For longtime homeowners in newly vulnerable areas, the choices are painful.

Im nearly 70 years old, and Im looking at starting over like a 20-year-old, Waverly resident Jack Buchanan said.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Flood
While some insurance firms are pulling out of the troubled Florida property insurance market, Orchid Underwriters Agency is expanding its role in coastal states by partnering with R&Q Accredited, the companies announced this week.

The frequency of severe coastal events is challenging for everyone, from insureds and their agents all the way through to carriers and their reinsurance backers, said Steven Carlsen, CEO of Vero Beach-based Orchid. The creativity of our two companies has led to a program that will bring flexible solutions to the market in a sustainable way.

Orchid has specialized in catastrophe-exposed property insurance. Accredited, part of Randall & Quilter Investment Holdings, entered the U.S. market two years ago and has focused on program management and legacy insurance, according to a news release.

The Accredited program will become part of Orchids algorithm, which adjusts for risk aggregation and other factors, the company said.

We have spent a lot of time updating our pricing view to adapt to the changing environment on both the attritional and CAT sides, said Harshali Dhabalia, program leader at Orchid Insurance. We think the traditional models missed significantly in recent events, so we have had to make proprietary adjustments to better account for the risk we are underwriting today. There are going to be risks where we are not competitive, and we are ok walking away from those.
A federal jury in Los Angeles awarded $6.3 million to actor Shannen Doherty on Monday in a lawsuit alleging that State Farm failed to pay sufficiently for damage to her house in a 2018 California wildfire.

The jury found that the insurance giants failure to pay policy benefits for Dohertys Malibu home were unreasonable and without proper cause.

The verdict covers damages to Dohertys house and property, emotional distress and attorneys fees.

We thank the members of the jury for their thoughtful consideration of Shannens case, Dohertys attorney Devin McRae said in a statement. We are happy they saw the case the way we do. This should send a message to State Farm and other institutions that they should not forget they are dealing with human beings.

Doherty, the 50-year-old former star of Beverly Hills, 90210, Charmed and Heathers revealed in February 2020 that the breast cancer she had been diagnosed with in 2015 had recurred and progressed to stage 4.

Her attorneys said in court documents that instead of living out her remaining years peacefully in her home, Ms. Doherty remains displaced and battling with her insurance company.

In its own statement Monday, State Farm said, We empathize with Ms. Dohertys health and wish her the best. We are disappointed by the jurys decision and respectfully disagree with it. We will explore all available legal options, including appealing the verdict.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits California
The U.S. Coast Guard received the first report of a possible oil spill off the Southern California coast more than 12 hours before a company reported the major leak in its pipeline and a cleanup effort was launched, records show.

Oil spill reports reviewed Monday by The Associated Press raise questions about the Coast Guards response to one of the states largest recent oil spills as well as how quickly Amplify Energy, the company operating three offshore platforms and the pipeline, recognized it had a problem and notified authorities.

Two early calls about the spill came into the National Response Center, which is staffed by the Coast Guard and notifies other agencies of disasters for quick response. The first was from an anchored ship that noticed a sheen on the water and the second, six hours later, from a federal agency that said a possible oil slick was spotted on satellite imagery, according to reports by the California Office of Emergency Services.

The spill sent up to 126,000 gallons of heavy crude into the ocean off Huntington Beach and it then washed onto miles of beaches and a protected marshland. The beaches could remain closed for weeks or longer, a major hit to the local economy. Coastal fisheries in the area are closed to commercial and recreational fishing.

Gov. Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency in Orange County, directing state agencies to undertake immediate and aggressive action to clean up and mitigate the effects of the spill.

Experts say its too early to determine the full impact on the environment but that so far the number of animals found harmed is minimal.

Investigators are looking into whether a ships anchor may have struck a pipeline on the ocean floor, Coast Guard officials said Monday.

Amplify Energy CEO Martyn Willsher said company divers were inspecting the area of the suspected leak reported Saturday, and he expected that by Tuesday there would be a clearer picture of what caused the damage. Willsher said an anchor from a cargo ship striking the pipeline is one of the distinct possibilities behind the leak.

Cargo ships entering the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach routinely pass through the area. Backlogs have plagued the ports in recent months and several dozen or more of the giant vessels have regularly been anchored as they wait to enter the ports and unload.

Were looking into if it could have been an anchor from a ship, but thats in the assessment phase right now, Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Jeannie Shaye said.

Shaye said the Coast Guard was not notified of the disaster until Saturday morning, though records show its hazardous spill response hotline received the first report of a possible oil slick Friday evening.

A foreign ship anchored off the coast witnessed an unknown sheen in the water near their vessel at 6:13 p.m. and the report was called into the response center just after 8:22 p.m., according to the state report.

Lonnie Harrison Jr., vice president of Colonial Compliance Systems Inc., which works with foreign ships in U.S. waters to report spills, said one its clients reported the sighting.

Harrison, a retired Coast Guard captain, said the ship was not involved in the spill and was later given clearance over the weekend to enter the port to refuel after determining it wasnt contaminated by the slick.

About six hours after the first report was received, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported that satellite imagery spotted a possible oil slick more than 3 miles long. The report by the National Response Center said the image of a possible oil anomaly was probably associated with the first report.

Although there were numerous vessels within immediate proximity to the anomaly, none were clearly associated with the anomaly, the report said. These factors prevented the possible identification of a point source. Still, the NRC report allows for high confidence that this was oil.

The company that operates the pipeline first reported the spill to the Coast Guards response center at 8:55 a.m. Saturday. However, the report said the incident occurred at 2:30 a.m.

Federal and state authorities require rapid reporting of a spill. Failure to do so led to criminal prosecutions against Plains All American Pipeline, which caused a coastal spill near Santa Barbara in 2015, and Southern California Gas Co. for a massive well blowout later that year.

A 2016 spill response plan for the Amplify platforms submitted to federal regulators called for immediate notification of federal officials when more than one barrel of oil is released into the water. Releases greater than five barrels, or that threaten state waters or the shoreline, require immediate notification of the state fire marshal and California wildlife officials.

The pipeline was supposed to be monitored under an automated leak detection system that would report problems to a control room staffed around the clock on the oil platform known as Elly.

The system was designed to trigger an alarm whenever a change in the flow of oil is detected. But how fast it can pick up on those changes was expected to vary according to the size of the leak. For a large leak, 10% or more of the amount of oil flowing through the pipeline, the detection time was estimated at 5 minutes. Smaller leaks were expected to take up to 50 minutes to detect, according to the response plan.

The spill plan warned that a break in the pipeline could cause substantial harm to the environment and that in a worst-case scenario 3,111 barrels of oil could be released from the pipeline.

Willsher said required agencies were notified instantly when the company recognized the leak was from its pipe. Records show the spill was not reported by Amplify Energy, but by Witt OBriens, a crisis and emergency management firm listed on the spill response plan as the point of contact to notify the NRC.

The report said the leaking pipe had been shut off but containment was not confirmed. The cause of the rupture was unknown.

Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said he has investigators looking into whether he can bring state charges for the spill even though the leak occurred in waters overseen by the U.S. government. Other potential criminal investigations were being pursued by the U.S. Department of Justice, the Coast Guard and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, officials said.

Safety advocates have pushed for years for federal rules that would strengthen oil spill detection requirements and force companies to install valves that can automatically shut down the flow of crude in case of a leak. The oil and pipeline industries have resisted such requirements because of the high cost.

If the operator had more valves installed on this line, theyd have a much better chance at having the point of failure isolated by now, said Bill Caram with the Pipeline Safety Trust, an organization based in Bellingham, Washington.

The pipeline was built using a process known as electric resistance weld, according to a regulatory filing from the company. That welding process has been linked to past oil pipeline failures because corrosion can occur along seams, according to government safety advisories and Caram.

Annual reports filed with federal regulators in 2019 and 2020 showed inspections for the inside and outside of the pipe revealed nothing requiring repairs.

Associated Press writers Michael Biesecker in Washington, Bernard Condon in New York, and Amy Taxin in Huntington Beach, California, contributed to this report.

Related:

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics California Energy Oil Gas
(The Center Square)  It didnt take long for Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to fire back at the Canadian governments invocation of a 1977 pipeline treaty to inaugurate formal negotiations with the U.S. government over Whitmers attempt to shutter a portion of the Line 5 pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac.

I am profoundly disappointed that today the Government of Canada chose to invoke Article IX of the 1977 Transit Pipelines Treaty in a bid to help Enbridge, a private oil company, keep crude oil running indefinitely through Michigans Straits of Mackinac, Whitmer said in a statement. So long as oil is flowing through the pipelines, there is a very real threat of a catastrophic oil spill in the Great Lakes.

"I have made clear to Enbridge that it cannot use our state-owned lakebed for these pipelines, but Enbridge has refused to stop," she added. "Moreover, rather than taking steps to diversify energy supply and ensure resilience, Canada has channeled its efforts into defending an oil company with an abysmal environmental track record.

The letter from the Canadian government was sent in response to Whitmers attempts to shut down the Enbridge Line 5 dual pipelines, which have been operable for the past 68 years and transport up to 540,000 gallons of hydrocarbon fuels each day. In the letter, sent to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, the Canadian government invoked Article IX of the treaty to open international negotiations, effectively putting on hold efforts by the Whitmer administration to close the five-mile portion of underwater pipeline and bringing the U.S. federal government to the negotiating table.

Mondays move by the Canadian government brings several new variables to the ongoing brinkmanship between Enbridge and the Whitmer administration. For one, Jennifer Granholm, the secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, is herself a former Michigan governor and was once a Canadian resident, and she has expressed repeatedly her support of pipelines as a safe, effective means to transport hydrocarbon-based fuels.

The letter from the Canadian Government, revisiting the rights and responsibilities outlined in the 1977 treaty, appears to be the next logical step in the legal battle over who has jurisdiction over Line 5, given the broad impacts closure would have on Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec, Jason Hayes, director of environmental policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, told The Center Square. This is especially true when we consider that, 1) the Canadian Minister of Natural Resources, Seamus OReagan had stated the pipelines closure is non-negotiable; 2) The Biden Administration has essentially abdicated any role in addressing the legal conflict and the potential harms the closure will inflict on its most trusted trading partner; and 3) The Whitmer administration has steadfastly refused to consider any other options but immediate closure, he said.

As with any legal gambit, however, the next steps remain in the hands of the courts, Hayes continued. We are once again waiting to see if Federal Judge Janet Neff believes the 1977 treaty plays a role in her decision. She could still rule on this if she doesnt believe the treaty constrains her.

Hayes continued, noting closure of the underwater segment of Line 5 would have significant economic impacts on Canada but, as well, much of the Midwest. He cited a study released by the Consumer Energy Alliance this past summer, which concluded total economic losses of closing Line 5 could reach $20.8 billion in lost economic activity in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Pennsylvania.

Additionally, Hayes said, the four states could be on the hook for a combined $8.3 billion reduction in combined Gross State Product; $2.36 billion in lost labor earnings in salaries, wages and benefits; 33,755 lost jobs; and a $265.7 million reduction in annual state tax revenues.

In an email to The Center Square, Michigan Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Richard Studley took issue with the Whitmer administrations actions to close Line 5.

The Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution clearly provides that Congress (not individual state actors) shall have the power to regulate interstate and foreign commerce, Studley wrote. Line 5 is an interstate & international pipeline that safely delivers essential energy every day to millions of homeowners & businesses in Michigan, other Great Lakes states and our friends & neighbors in Canada, he said.

Studley continued, calling reckless campaign promises to close Line 5 without proposing any reasonable alternatives made three years ago by both Whitmer and subsequent Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. He added Nessel and Whitmer refused to participate in a good-faith effort to resolve differences with Enbridge through court ordered mediation.

This endless legal maneuvering and political pandering to environmental extremists is so dilatory and unreasonable, Studley said. Gov. Whitmer now finds herself at odds with President [Joe] Biden and current U.S. Energy Secretary (former Michigan Governor) Jennifer Granholm. Both Pres Biden & Secretary Granholm recently reaffirmed the importance of maintaining critical energy pipelines for American homeowners & businesses by reacting promptly to assist in reopening a major energy pipeline serving multiple states in the southeast after it was suddenly shutdown by foreign hackers.

Studley noted Enbridge has reaffirmed its commitment during months of mediation with the state of Michigan to invest $500 million of the companys own money to build an underground tunnel across the Straits, which would replace the pipelines currently traversing the lakebed.

Sadly, Dana Nessel and Gretchen Whitmer responded by issuing more threats & ultimatums to shutdown Line 5 immediately, Studley wrote. Inexplicably, Gov. Whitmer also seems to have gone out of her way to trigger an unnecessary conflict with our friends and neighbors in Canada on the same day Pres. Biden is in Michigan. Michigan deserves better from our Governor.
High fertiliser prices may yet prove to be the least of farmers troubles caused by the price increase of more than 400% for natural gas in Europe.

Fertiliser manufacturers use natural gas to make ammonia by adding nitrogen (from the air). Several big manufacturers have been forced by higher gas prices to cut back fertiliser production.

Some experts fear that the gas price rise could trigger a repeat of the 1970s oil crisis and the accompanying recessions.

Gas prices have risen higher and faster than oil prices did in the 1970s.

The latest official EU figures showed the price of natural gas in Europe rose 441.3% in the past year. Natural gas in the US increased 76% in price.

According to analysts at Rabobank, a cold winter followed by low wind generation on the European continent contributed to rising demand for gas, thus slowing down the build-up of inventories.

Meanwhile, hot weather increased demand for gas to generate electricity for air conditioning, and the supply of Russian gas has slowed down.

Global natural gas supply and demand balances are extremely tight and storage levels are critically low heading into the high-demand winter months, according to a Rabobank report.

Our fundamental modelling is indicating that global storage facilities would be practically empty, in a cold winter scenario. This would be a catastrophic scenario that the market is trying to solve for now by increasing prices so much that demand is forced to ration.

Households will experience a rise in gas prices unlikely to be offset by higher wages in the near term, thus reducing their spending power. Rabobank experts warn the gas crisis might shave 0.7 points off a predicted 3.9% recovery of the Eurozone in 2022.

They say higher natural gas prices are likely here to stay because of a slowdown in natural gas production in the US, the global growth engine for such supplies over the past decade, via fracking. The US is no longer increasing supplies, and production remains well off pre-pandemic highs.

At the same time, global demand for gas continued to rise as part of the shift towards a zero-carbon future. Natural gas provides an important bridge away from the dirtiest of fuels such as coal and fuel oil.

It could be mid-winter before certification of the new Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline between Russia and Germany is completed.

Fertiliser is only one of many industries affected by higher gas prices. Also in the agri-food industry, production of ethanol and food packaging are affected.

A key by-product in fertiliser factories is food-grade carbon dioxide, used to stun animals for slaughter in the meat industry and for injection in packaging to extend shelf-life.

Production of aluminium and specialised chemicals is also very sensitive to gas prices.

Even if gas shortages are overcome, the price impact will continue in the markets that depend on gas.

Already, in the UK, ammonium nitrate fertiliser prices are at or near record price levels.

Prices jumped when CF Industries closed their two UK fertiliser production sites due to high natural gas prices, without any estimate for when production would resume. The two sites are estimated to produce about 40% of the UKs ammonium nitrate fertiliser supply.

With the UK government fearing that a halt to carbon dioxide production by CF Industries would cause massive disruption in supply chains, from fizzy drinks to meat, it introduced a three-week support package for one of the companys sites.

Yara, the world's largest trader of ammonia, said it has responded to wholesale gas prices surging by bringing ammonia to Europe from production facilities in Trinidad, the US, and Australia.

The threat to fertiliser prices poses a dilemma for the EU.

Reducing fertiliser use by 20% is a Green Deal 2030 target, but it may now have to act to keep this key input for European farmers affordable.

It has options. For example, it could lift the anti-dumping charges it implemented in 2019 on fertilisers coming from the US, Russia, and Trinidad and Tobago.

An investigation by the Commission had found hard evidence for dumping of cheap fertiliser in the EU, which disadvantaged the EU fertiliser industry (which already has to pay very high carbon allowance prices while competing with international competitors in countries where such carbon policies are not in place).

According to EU farmers, prices for liquid ammonium nitrate have doubled since anti-dumping charges were imposed.

The latest official EU figures showed the price of urea rose 79.1% in the past year (the average price of all fertilisers rose 72%).

The EU could also lift its ban on imports and transit of potash from Belarus, the world's top producer of this crop nutrient.

Here in Ireland, IFA said anti-dumping duties removed competition from the market and left farmers facing some of the highest fertiliser prices globally.

They have joined with COPA and the other European farming associations in asking the European Commission to suspend the anti-dumping measure on UAN.

With current gas prices and the knock-on impact this inevitably will have on fertiliser prices, the imposition of EU anti-dumping taxes on any fertiliser is completely unacceptable at present, said IFA President Tim Cullinan.
Gardai are searching for a prisoner who escaped from an open jail in Co Cavan.

The Dublin inmate has been locked up for over 10 years on drug and firearm offences.
A food bank that was set up by University College Cork Students' Union (UCCSU) has run out of food after just 50 minutes, the union's president has said.

Asha Woodhouse said that some students had to be turned away from the food bank as they struggle to meet high rents and bills amid the accommodation crisis.

Ms Woodhouse said that it was heartbreaking to not have enough and to see so many students experiencing food insecurity.

50 minutes in weve run out of food and have had to turn students away. Heartbreaking to not have enough and to see so many students experiencing food insecurity. Is this the @UCC and country we are supposed to be proud of? @SimonHarrisTD https://t.co/dpGdOrZCnm  Asha Woodhouse (@UCCSUPresident) October 6, 2021

The foodbank was in operation at UCC after the students' union contacted Caitriona Twomey from Cork Penny Dinners for assistance.

Students can access non-perishable items like pasta, rice, and other basic food items in UCC's Common Room between 5pm and 7pm on Wednesday every week.

In a tweet that tagging Micheal Martin, Leo Varadkar and Simon Harris, UCCSU's welfare officer Caoimhe Walsh asked "when are things going to change?" adding that action was needed now.

She added that more than 100 students attended the food bank.

Such was the demand for the service, Ms Walsh said students had been arriving earlier throughout the day to access the foodbank.

Ms Walsh said students from all years in the university, both international and Irish, are approaching the union about using the service.

"We're really upset and all that we have had to do it but it's great that we can as well," she said.

She said the union has not operated a food bank since 2019 and plan to keep it open for the rest of the year such are the challenges cash-strapped UCC students face.

In less that an hour the @UCCSU food bank has had over 100 students come and we have ran out of food TWICE. It is a very sad day for the country. @LeoVaradkar @MichealMartinTD @SimonHarrisTD when are things going to change? We need action NOW pic.twitter.com/4pfMXXS1gf  Caoimhe Walsh (@UCCSUWelfare) October 6, 2021

"I don't see it getting any better to be honest," she said and highlighted the expected rise in energy bills this forthcoming winter.

"It's serious, I can't believe the amount of people who have come to me," she said.

The food bank is also making hygiene products available to students in need.

Cork Penny Dinners made the first donation to begin the food bank and donations have followed from students, businesses as well as UCC staff.

Accommodation costs including rent and utility bills are the main contributing factors causing student hardship, said Ms Walsh.

Students throughout the country struggled to secure suitable accommodation at the start of this term as universities welcomed people back to campus.

Many resorted to couch surfing and prolonged stays in hostels and hotels in their accommodation hunt in Cork.

Similar student housing crises have developed in Waterford and Limerick where anti-social behaviour is being blamed on a lack of student accommodation supply.
If you tolerate this, then your children will be next, sang the Manic Street Preachers. It's apt when we consider the way weve tolerated the criminal neglect of vacant and derelict properties blighting our country for decades  a subject to which this newspaper recently dedicated a series with important, in-depth analysis.

Our children are growing up to become adults watching derelict and vacant homes and buildings crumble and decay around them, even as they cant get a home of their own. Dereliction and vacancy is unacceptable when we face a climate crisis that requires us to embrace sustainable living.

That is why it is frustrating to see the figures revealed in this paper today that just three local authorities have full-time vacant homes officers. It's another indication of the lack of coherent response to the housing crisis.

The most authoritative figures on vacancy are provided by the Central Statistics Office in the Census. In 2016 it showed there were 180,000 vacant homes - that's liveable homes, not derelict or falling apart.

Theres an increasing problem of vulture investor funds leaving new units vacant because they are not getting the rents they want. Its all the same underlying problem: the vacant or derelict house, the decaying building, the dilapidated shop, the luxury and build-to-rent apartments left vacant  property is being treated as a commodity rather than a home.

Cian O'Callaghan of Trinity College, who has been researching the area of vacancy, says that without having an accurate picture of the levels of types of vacant housing, it can be a challenge to implement policies to bring the stock back into use. He points out that the government approach that was initiated under Rebuilding Ireland has essentially tried to use market mechanisms to incentivise owners to either sell or lease the property to local authorities for social housing.

However, we need to think about ways to make it less attractive to sit on vacant properties as speculative assets.

A new vacant property tax is being mooted. But how will it be different from the current, ineffective vacant sites tax? Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has also said that the vacant property tax would not have a significant impact, based on a report by Indecon in 2018.

However, that report used a methodology that suggests a much lower level of vacancy than the one reported by the CSO. The Indecon report states that if a vacant property tax is to be introduced it must be very high in order to be effective.

The coming budget will not see such a tax, which would be another opportunity missed by the Government to tackle the crisis. The "use it or lose it" tax on zoned development land trumpeted in the Government's latest housing plan, Housing for All, is also not due to come in for six years.

4 and 5 Father Mathew Quay, Cork city, are on the Derelict Sites Register. Dereliction and vacancy is unacceptable when we face a climate crisis that requires us to embrace sustainable living. Photo: Larry Cummins

Some local authorities are making an effort to tackle vacancy and dereliction. A buy and renew scheme has been in place since 2017 under which local authorities can use compulsory purchase orders to buy vacant housing, refurbish it, and let it out as social housing. However, since its introduction just 700 homes have been bought and used for social housing.

That is well below the original target of 3,500 homes set by then housing minister Simon Coveney. Louth County Council delivered 83 units, while Dublin City delivered just 58, and Galway City and Sligo delivered just one. It would be unfair to just blame local authorities.

Since the 1980s central government policy has underfunded them, as it shifted to the private market to deliver housing. Local authorities were essentially told by the Government that they no longer had a role in housing. This reached its high point in the austerity decade of 2008 to 2018 when councils were gutted of their housing and planning budgets and staff.

Now local authorities are being told to tackle issues like vacancy without the capacity to do so. The Housing for All plan continues the inadequate level of ambition and funding for local authorities with a target of just purchasing 2,500 vacant units by 2026. Furthermore, these are to be sold onto the market.

Why are they not being retained as social housing or cost rental affordable homes? Are we going to see local authorities CPOing vacant property, refurbishing it and then selling it on to an investor fund to then rent out at unaffordable rents?

Another example of the existing powers of local authorities that are not being used or funded sufficiently is the Derelict Sites Act 1990 where they can levy owners of derelict sites and property and CPO them rapidly. The current lack of enforcement of the Dereliction Act is a clear problem.

Housing expert Rory Hearne. There remains an absence of real political will to tackle dereliction. Photo: Niall Carson/PA

Local authorities require the funding to engage in a huge programme of CPOs of vacant homes and derelict properties and buildings. The upcoming Budget is a real opportunity to provide this.

Councils also highlight Article 43 of the Constitution, which sets out the right to private property, as a major barrier and the elephant in the room when it comes to them CPOing vacant properties. Article 43 enables challenges from property owners to CPOs, while An Bord Plenala has also ruled against local authorities attempting to buy up derelict property and sites.

While Article 43 states that property rights can be regulated by the principles of social justice and delimited in the interests of the common good.

However, this is clearly ineffective to enable stronger legislation and powers for local authorities to tackle vacant and derelict buildings. This shows the urgency to hold the referendum to insert the Right to Housing into Article 43.

The clearly defined rights to private property of developers and investors has continued to trump the rights of those who need a home.

In 2017 in a presentation to the Oireachtas housing committee, architect Mel Reynolds and others identified seven obstacles to tackling vacancy yet how many of these have been addressed? They highlighted that there was enough capacity above commercial ground floors for 4,000 apartments in Dublin.

The real estate investment funds and large developers want to keep the focus on subsidising the development of new build homes.

The bringing into use of a huge stock of vacant and derelict buildings is of no interest to them, and therefore is not given a real priority in policy.

For example, in Housing for All, there was no overall annual targets for the delivery of homes from vacant and derelict property. There remains an absence of real political will to tackle dereliction. But citizen action is growing, and within that lies a hope to create a different approach.

Rory Hearne is assistant professor in social policy at the Department of Applied Social Studies, Maynooth University
Burma Five Police Hurt as Another Explosion Strikes Regime Target in Myanmars Capital

Naypyitaw on the day after the coup in February. / The Irrawaddy

Naypyitaw, Myanmars capital and the seat of office of the military regime, has seen three explosions within a week, with the latest ones occurring on Tuesday, including a bloody blast at the Myanmar Police Forces Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

In the most serious incident so far, five policemen including a senior officer were seriously wounded at the department on Tuesday afternoon when an explosive went off in the office.

Police sources confirmed the blast.

Myanmar has seen guerrilla-style attacks against its military rulers across the country following the coup in February, in which the military seized power from the countrys democratically elected government. While regime targets in many parts of the country have been hit by attackssometimes deadlyover the last eight months, the capital had been relatively safe until last month.

The first attack on Naypyitawonce thought of as a safe haven for generalscame on Thursday last week when an explosion rocked the office of the Directorate of Procurement of the Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services (Army) in Pobbathiri Township. No one was injured.

The Naypyitaw Peoples Defense Force (PDF), a civilian resistance force opposing the junta which operates under the Central Command of the parallel National Unity Government (NUG)s Defense Ministry, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that it worked together with another revolutionary group that did not want to be named.

On the same day, a shuttle bus from the regimes Immigration Department in the capital was attacked with a remotely detonated bomb, causing some minor damage to the vehicle.

No one has yet claimed responsibility for that blast.

Following the first explosion last week, the Naypyitaw PDF said the attack was intended merely as an initial warning to a handful of regime stooges it said had ignored the people by failing to join the Civil Disobedience Movement, adding that harsher punitive actions would be taken against them in the near future.



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Burma Malaysia to Talk to Myanmars Parallel Govt if Junta Fails to Cooperate With ASEAN

Myanmar regime leader Min Aung Hlaing seen at the Armed Forces Day parade in Naypyitaw in March, 2021.

Malaysias Foreign Minister issued a warning to Myanmars ruling generals that his country is ready to hold talks with Myanmars shadow government, if the junta continues to fail to cooperate with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) special envoy to Myanmar to solve the crisis sparked by the Myanmar militarys February 1 coup.

Saifuddin Abdullah told the lower house of the Malaysian Parliament on Wednesday that Malaysia is considering holding dialogue with the National Unity Government (NUG) if the military regime does not cooperate with the five-point consensus agreed upon by ASEAN to resolve the crisis, according to a local news agency Bernama.

ASEAN member Myanmar has been in social and political turmoil since the coup, which was followed by lethal and brutal crackdowns on anti-regime protesters. The international community had pushed for a diplomatic solution to the crisis and ASEAN has appointed a special envoy who the junta has agreed to cooperate with, the one point of the five-point consensus that the junta has agreed to follow.

If Malaysia does meet with the NUG, it would be the first ASEAN country to hold official talks with Myanmars parallel government, which was formed by elected lawmakers from the ousted NLD.

That would be a huge blow to the junta, which has desperately been seeking official recognition from other countries, especially those in ASEAN, as Myanmars rightful government.

On Monday, the Malaysian Foreign Minister said that coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing could be excluded from a regional summit scheduled for later this month over the juntas failure to cooperate with ASEANs efforts.

He voiced his frustrations after the ASEAN Foreign Ministers meeting on Monday, when he was informed that Naypyitaw was still not cooperating with the terms of the consensus.

In particular, the regime is blocking the proposed visit to Myanmar by ASEAN special envoy Erywan Yusof, who is seeking to meet all stakeholders in the crisis, including detained State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other members of the ousted National League for Democracy (NLD) government.

Erywan Yusof, Bruneis Second Minister for Foreign Affairs, was appointed as the ASEAN envoy in August.

However, so far Yusof has only been offered a meeting with former Vice President Henry Van Thio and the former Lower House speaker T Khun Myat, sources in Myanmar said.

Following the tussle, the special envoy said on Wednesday that the bloc was deep in discussions about not inviting junta leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing to the summit on October 26-28, after the issue was raised by the Malaysian Foreign Minister and others.

Up until today there has been no progress on the implementation of the five-point consensus, and this has raised a concern, he said, according to Reuters.

Myanmar coup leader Min Aung Hlaing is very keen to attend the upcoming ASEAN summit, according to diplomats in Yangon, seeing it as a way of demonstrating the juntas legitimacy and as a sign of ASEANs acceptance of his dictatorship.

On Tuesday in Europe, the French senate voted unanimously to recognize the NUG. If the French parliaments lower house approves the vote, France will become the first country to officially recognize Myanmars shadow government.

On the same day, the United States introduced the Burma Act, which aims to put more pressure on the junta by imposing sanctions on individuals and entities who helped stage the coup and who are responsible for the subsequent repression.

The new authorization calls for Washington to pressure the United Nations to take more decisive action on Myanmar, as well as to make a genocide determination over the persecution of the Rohingya ethnic minority, while supporting civil society organizations and allowing for humanitarian assistance in Myanmar, Bangladesh, Thailand and the surrounding region.

In the meantime, Myanmar is rapidly sliding towards becoming a failed state, with the country in chaos and the military regime unable to control many regions as armed civilian resistance to the junta intensifies.



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Burma Myanmar Junta Chief Continues Military Leaders Tradition of Spouting Rubbish

Clockwise from left: Former President U Thein Sein, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, U Ohn Myint, U Myint Hlaing and U Ko Ko Hlaing

Are all the military dictators around the world starry-eyed, or is it only the case with Myanmars coup leader and military chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing?

Myanmar has opportunities to be at the top of ASEAN in the next 10 years, Min Aung Hlaing said with confidence at a recent meeting with his subordinates. To many in Myanmar, such an ambitious claimlike the generals previously announced plan to develop a subway and electric bus system in Myanmar, where blackouts and brownouts are frequentis little more than a bad joke.

He was at it again recently, urging Myanmar people to reduce their oil consumption from the national average of more than 36 pounds (16.3 kg) per year, ostensibly for health reasons. Edible oil imports total about 800,000 tonnes a year, most of it palm oil, according to figures from 2018.

The coup leaders suggestion was picked up by the junta-controlled newspapers Myawady, Kyemon and Myanma Alin, which published articles and slogans about the disadvantages of edible oil. On Oct. 1, Kyemon (The Mirror) went further, arguing in a victim-blaming editorial that Myanmars imports of edible oil have only increased year by year because Myanmar people choose cheap products over their health.

Myanmar people know that Min Aung Hlaing asked them to reduce oil consumption not because he is concerned about their well-being, but because his regime is short of hard currency and does not want to spend US dollars on oil imports. From previous experience, Myanmar people know that generals and ex-generalsaside from being supremely arrogantlove to spout absurdities and have no sympathy for the people.

Union ministers in ex-general U Thein Seins quasi-civilian government were known for their controversial remarks.

Former Lieutenant General U Myint Hlaing, who became the Union minister for agriculture and irrigation in U Thein Seins administration formed by the militarys proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party, once told farmers to skip a meal in order to pay back the agricultural loans provided by the government. He was henceforth dubbed one-meal Myint Hlaing.

In 2012, U Ko Ko Hlaing, an adviser to U Thein Sein, drew criticism and became the subject of satirical cartoons after telling Myanmar people who protested blackouts to use candles for light. His remark earned him the name candle Ko Ko Hlaing. He is currently the international cooperation minister in the so-called interim government formed by the military regime.

Former Lieutenant General Ohn Myint, who became the Union minister for livestock, fisheries and rural development in U Thein Seins administration representing the USDP, was also notorious for his rude remarks to rural residents in Magwes Taungdwingyi Township. When villagers asked him if he could ensure the village would have access to potable water, he flew into a rage.

If you want clean water, you have to live in a place that has clean water. Dont live here. I have been around this country and I have said in my speeches that I dare to slap anyone in the face. Is it clear? he told the villagers, adding that he was ready to throw the governments critics in jail. People staged demonstrations against his remarks and U Ohn Myint was even mimicked in movies. No wonder he earned the nickname Slapping Ohn Myint.

Like his ministers, President U Thein Sein himself was prone to saying strange things. In 2014, he urged Myanmar people to consume milk instead of alcohol. Some netizens jokingly responded by saying that his remarks had seriously affected the liquor market in Myanmar. The logic behind the presidents suggestion was simple: he thought large numbers of crimes in Myanmar were committed under the influence, and that alcohol-related crimes could be reduced if people switched from booze to milk.

Over the past eight months, the coup leader has issued several unrealistic instructions, such as to grow bananas for nutrition, produce herbal remedies for COVID-19 and establish a metro system and run electric buses.

He is walking testimony to the fact that in Myanmar, generalswhether active or retiredtend to utter absurdities and nonsense.



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Burma Over 40 Myanmar Junta Soldiers Killed in Ambush

Myanmar military vehicles damaged in an ambush by civilian resistance fighters in Mindat, Chin State in May. / CJ

Over 40 junta troops were reportedly killed and another 30 injured on Tuesday evening in an ambush by civilian resistance fighters in Gangaw Township, Magwe Region, according to the Yaw Defense Force (YDF).

YDF said that its members ambushed a military convoy of 50 vehicles, including armored cars, with 14 landmines while it was travelling on the Gangaw-Pale Highway. Over 40 soldiers were killed, 30 injured and five vehicles and an armored car were damaged in the attack.

However, The Irrawaddy was unable to confirm the regime casualties independently.

A statement by the YDF said that its civilian resistance fighters were able to escape the scene, despite junta forces randomly opening fire with automatic weapons and grenades.

YDF has urged people to avoid using the Gangaw-Kale and Gangaw-Htilin highways due to the potential of being caught in the crossfire between junta troops and local peoples defense forces (PDFs).

Another military convoy of around 18 vehicles was also ambushed on Tuesday evening on the Gangaw-Kale Highway. The convoy was travelling from Kale Township in Sagaing Region to Gangaw.

A civilian resistance fighter told The Irrawaddy that two vehicles were damaged in the landmine attack and that the military suffered some casualties.

One of the military regimes most notorious commanders, Lieutenant General Than Hlaing, the chief of the Myanmar Police and the juntas Deputy Home Affairs Minister, has now been assigned to take charge of operations against PDFs in Sagaing and Magwe regions and Chin State, according to a former army captain who defected from the military after the February 1 coup.

Almost 1,100 junta troops have been killed in those areas in the last three months alone. The Myanmar military has also sent 3,000 reinforcements to Sagaing, Magwe and Chin.

Since the second week of September, internet and mobile phone services have been blocked by the regime in most townships in the regions and states where PDFs are most active. Junta forces have used heavy explosives, jet fighters and helicopters in the clashes with civilian resistance fighters, as well as burning down villages and bombarding the residential areas of towns.

As of Tuesday, 1,158 people have been slain since the coup by regime forces during their raids, crackdowns, arrests, interrogations and random shootings, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.

Another 8,756 people, including elected government leaders, have been detained by the junta or face arrest warrants.



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Huntsville, TX (77320)

Today

Cloudy skies this morning will become partly cloudy this afternoon. Areas of patchy fog. High around 65F. Winds NNE at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 41F. Winds light and variable.
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Ithaca, NY (14850)

Today

Showers this morning, becoming a steady rain during the afternoon hours. Morning high of 58F with temps falling to near 45. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Rain showers early changing to snow showers overnight. Low 32F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precip 60%.
When the company witnessed the Black Summer of 2019-2020, it wanted to use its resources and knowledge to help in the fight against bushfires, thus, developing Firetrail.

Kablamo says Firetrail turns the near limitless data that informs bushfire responses into a single source of actionable intelligence. This data is supported by a mapping system that stores information in layers, allowing users to toggle between different views to customise what they see.

From roads and critical infrastructure details to weather prediction systems, Firetrail provides information to enable users to make decisions fast.

Ive been a firefighter for more than four decades and we need systems to address bushfires. We have the technology to do amazing things, save lives, property and wildlife, and we need overarching technology that can deliver clear, actionable information for decision-making in critical moments, explains Graeme Thom AFSM.

Kablamo recently developed a cloud-native, bushfire risk assessment platform with the Victorian Governments Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning. Amazon Web Services recognised it as a world-leading implementation of cloud technology for bushfires, and the platform also bagged the 2021 AWS Global Public Sector Partners Award for Most Innovative AI and ML solution.

The project was also recently awarded Best Tech Innovation at the 2021 Finder Innovation Awards and a Gold award from the DrivenxDesign Awards Program. It is also a finalist in the 2021 CRN Impact Awards.

Kablamo co-CEO Angus Dorney and his team spent almost two years learning about bushfire fighting. They studied fire-fighting units, researchers, fire analysts, and even immersed themselves in the culture and needs of the firefighting community.

Technology wont work if it isnt user-friendly, stresses Dorney.

Firetrail provides a single source of intelligence and insights for the prediction, management and prevention of bushfires. The cloud-based platform turns almost limitless amounts of bushfire data into decision-making intelligence, explains Dorney.

Dorney says Firetrail is designed for bushfire analysts, fire scientists, incident controllers, and operations managers. In the future, its real time information can be used to identify where front-line fighters are so that they can be supported in their work.

As a cloud-based system, Firetrail allows the many separate but connected authorities to access the same comprehensive data-set to make crucial decisions. Users can take a macro view of current fire situations, examine historical fires, or make data-informed sandbox predictions.

Firetrail is adaptable and ready to use for the bushfire season ahead, with plug-and-play functionality for existing fire prediction models, like Spark.

For more information about Firetrail, watch the video below:
GUEST INTERVIEW: Hyperscalers is the Australian next-gen open-OEM solving IT's complexity, eliminating proprietary hardware and software vendor lock-ins, delivering better technologies at competitive pricing. Doing it all from Canberra to Australian and global customers since 2014, in what is an inspiring and true success story its customers love.

Hyperscalers. The company explains it as "the world's first open supply chain Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), solving Information Technology challenges through standardisation of best practices and hyperscale inspired practices and efficiencies."

Offering choice across two open hardware architectures: "Hyperscale" high efficiency open compute equipment used by macro service providers; and, "Tier 1 Original", conventional equipment as per established Tier 1 OEM suppliers, the company says "each architecture is complete with network, compute, storage and converged GP GPU infrastructure elements, and is open and free from vendor lock-in."

The company notes it is offering the worlds first OEM, offering the full IT spectrum under a new open x86 supply alternative to the traditional locked vendors, presenting a direct procurement alternative to the identical, but expense-multiplied, locked and re-branded hardware service that lock-in oriented vendors supply.

The practical impact of this is the freedom from hardware lock-ins, meaning that when the time comes to upgrade RAM, HDD or SSD, or replace faulty parts like CPU or NIC (for example), you don't want to find yourself locked into any vendor. It also means being free from software and firmware lock-ins. This is especially handy, as situations can change all the time, which the global pandemic has certainly taught us.

Being able to repurpose an appliance with alternate software and firmware eliminates the risk of sunk costs.

All of this is in stark contrast to the use of traditional OEM vendors hardware architectures that are locked down and non-interoperable by design. Hyperscalers says its customers choose the company because those customers can realise significant efficiencies and cost savings that are both immediate and ongoing.

In the past, the IBM/Intel PC architecture was synonymous with open hardware standards, and provided an escape route from the deeply proprietary system architectures that previously existed. The PC freed users from mainframes, dumb terminals and more, and brought personal computing power to every desktop.

However, with household name OEM vendors having implemented a widespread and systematic lockdown of every possible facet in their server, storage and network system ranges and even devices before being re-branded and on-sold to unsuspecting customers, things have changed for the worse. As Hyperscalers explains, the world has now come full circle in the proprietary cycle of evolution, and it is the customer who bears the cost to support this supposed value-added work, which is really just a new evolution of the same old proprietary lock-in.

With these practices clearly a regressive step for customers, who now find themselves exactly where they were twenty or thirty years ago, locked into a yellow brick road designed for them by their vendors, it is no wonder that Hyperscalers has found customers, success, better technologies, better prices, top quality support, and growing market share.

Hyperscalers isn't just a box seller, either, but a true solutions powerhouse. Offering over thirty software IP appliances to choose from, Hyperscalers explains its appliance solutions are "packaged complete with hardware, software and pre-built (customisable) configurations."

We're told these were "all pre-engineered using an in-house IP Appliance Design Process and validated in partnership with associated major software manufacturers", and that many can be test-driven using Hyperscalers Lab as a Service (LaaS), with these appliance solutions "ideally suited to IaaS, PaaS and SaaS providers looking to implement their services from anywhere."

So, with this impressive background behind the creation of Hyperscalers, it was a real pleasure to meet the CEO and founder of Hyperscalers, George Cvetanovski, and talk to him in our video interview embedded below, after which is a summary of the topics we spoke about, and a summary of the answers George gave to many of the questions, so please watch, and read on!

Heres the summary of the questions I asked George and some of his answers, youll find the rest in the video above!

1. I started by introducing George and asked him to start at the beginning - what does Hyperscalers offer, and why Hyperscalers is needed in the marketplace.

George explained: Hyperscalers builds and supplies two types of hardware infrastructure. The first is Hyperscale, which is the infrastructure used by the macro service providers: Google, AWS, Microsoft and Facebook. Thats where the name Hyperscalers comes from.

The second type of infrastructure more relevant by way of adoption is Tier 1 Original. By definition Tier 1 Original means hardware that is currently in use or planned to be in use by Tier 1 OEM.

Hyperscalers procures key server subsystems from the same places as Tier 1 OEM go to buy including the same Original Design Manufacturer ODM  Quanta Computer. We just dont lock down the servers we build and we dont rebrand either.

Simply put, we offer Networks Storage Compute Converged and GPU- infrastructure systems across both Hyperscale and Tier 1 Original hardware-infrastructure under a NEW and OPEN supply chain alternative to the HPEs, Dells and CISCOs of the world.

Recently, we won a publicly listed cloud provider away from CISCO. This cloud provider, historically using CISCO, had been trying to win over enterprise workloads over to their cloud from potential customers that we are also using CISCO themselves. As you can tell there was something fundamentally wrong with this model  it wasnt working! Where could the promised economics of cloud possibly come from!?! Naturally, they came to Hyperscalers for help.

2. My second question was to note the very wide range of products and services, including end-user devices such as laptops and PCs, and even Labs as a Service at the Hyperscalers site, and asking George to tell us more about it all.

Here, George explained: To date, we have created over 30+ appliances with all major software makers which we have made available under one roof.

This makes Lab as a Service or LaaS very interesting. Its the worlds first. It enables service providers to test-drive our appliances before committing. How does a service provider know whether Red Hat Open Stack may be better suited than VM Ware or Microsoft Azure Stack?

They all work great on our hardware and they all do Infrastructure as a Service IaaS. So we give them access to test-drive through LaaS. Service providers run a set of qualitative and quantitative test scenarios  they run up their workloads to determine which is right for their business. Its a means to de-risk their project too.

Our product set is vast encompassing end-user devices. Everything from Google Chromebooks to Notebooks or Laptops to All in One PC. We help customers build their own branded devices  it helps build their brand value, but we also have our own HS for Hyperscalers branded devices that sell really well online. Our 24 All in One PC with i5 processor sells for half the price of what JB HiFi or Harvey Norman sells alternate brands for, with George explaining his 24-inch All-in-One model at around $750 is half the price of what youll find at the retailers.

3. My third question was to ask George about the types of customers he serves, and how Hyperscalers has resonated with the market.

George explained: Hyperscalers has a dedicated channel to market. Anyone between us and the end customer  defined a SMB or SME or larger fits into one of our partner categories. These include Telcos, Original Equipment Manufacturers System Integrators, Cloud providers have to be our biggest list everything from IaaS PaaS and SaaS providers, Digital IP Owners  really software makers that want to create an appliance and also Managed Service Providers or MSP.

4. I wanted to know if there were customers in Australia and internationally George wanted to highlight.

George said: Lets start with our repeat Telco customers. Domestically we have both NBN Co and Telstra. Some of Telstras production deployments are in the 5th year of operation humming along without problems.

We also have OEM customers  these are customers that want their own branded appliance, most of which are located out of these US, and include JetStor, NewWaveDV and Path Networks. Path Networks - look them up  Path.net, they are securing the internet and we have deployed a lot of compute with fast speed networks across almost every continent.

System Integrators include Accenture, Viadex and Storage Data. Some of these are multibillion-dollar SIs (system integrators).

Our cloud provider customers are too many to list. We have SYS, Spectrum Prophesy, Skymesh and Amaze, just to name a few  these guys are turning around IaaS and PaaS services cheaper than AWS. Check them out.

For all our overseas exports, we collaborate with DFAT, Canberra Business Chamber and Chamber for Commerce and Industry for the issue of Certificate of Origin = Australia. Its Australian made!

5. My next question was to ask George what the spark was that brought the idea of Hyperscalers to life.

George said: Its common knowledge that Facebook, Microsoft, AWS and Google were the first to dump locked OEM vendors  HPE, Dell and CISCO in preference for more efficient Hyperscale architectures and this is going back 10 years ago. We saw change coming and wanted to be at the forefront of driving this change  maybe not to the benefit of our competitors but certainly to the benefit of the wider community.

"So we started Hyperscalers. Since starting Hyperscalers we have facilitated a lot of the change down to very large to smaller size service providers. They too need to realise newfound efficiencies because they are competing against the big boys.

6. For the next question, I asked George what kind of savings his customers typically see over the lifespan of the servers and solutions they buy from Hyperscalers, compared with buying those locked-in systems.

George explained: In a digital service-driven world, the capability to deploy the latest technology and a lot more of it - and Im talking about 2x more sometimes 3x more for any given budget - is vital to our customers.

Whether Service providers are turning around Infrastructure as a Service IaaS, Platform as a Service (PaaS) or Software as a Service (SaaS), the difference between buying HPE or Hyperscalers has a profound impact to their businesses. Such as how fast their customers workloads can go. The volume of customers they can carry. All the way to the profit margin they can make or the level of discounts they can offer. This is important because they need to attract more customers.

7. After this, I asked George how his competitors have responded, and how Hyperscalers has continued evolving, being different, and better, since starting in 2014.

George: We started from humble beginnings - our first office was just me working from my Kingston apartment. I joined two dining tables and filled them with the latest technology. I must admit, some people that came through appreciated the start-up culture, but many others didnt  they couldnt wait to get out!

But we sold enough to scale up, later sold enough to scale up again.

Now we come up against HPE, Dell and CISCO on almost every opportunity. Most of the time we win on merit. Other times we get feedback like we went with CSICO because of some digital revolution label everyone is using.

Overall were forcing the Tier 1 OEM to come down to never-before-seen discount levels. But its not enough. They cant compete on technology nor price.

8. My next question was to find out what Hyperscalers most popular products and services are now, in Q3 2021.

George: Weve been doing a lot of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning clusters using NVDIA GPU.

Whats really hot at the moment? NVIDIAs Omniverse suite runs the best on our GPU servers. A lot of cloud providers are taking this up.

Run rate business is always building clouds on behalf of service providers turning around IaaS, PaaS and SaaS. Were doing a lot in the security space too.

9. This was a great segue into my next question, which is that cyber security is also a hugely important topic today, so how does Hyperscalers help its customers in this regard?

George: Were doing two types of cyber security projects.

The first is for large to very-large service providers who do in-house cyber security operations. That involves a software stack - maybe Kafka with Elastic search or Tenable or Splunk sitting on top of our hardware. Everything they need to turn around these services.

The other type of projects were also involved in is with cyber security providers that offer a public cloud or community cloud model. Some of these customers include Aegis 9 and Hypersec. Check them out - Hypersec.io

Were also doing R&D using blockchain for use in identity management and access control. Theres some great content on the education section of our website. Check it out. Hyperscalers.com

10. We then moved on to my questions about Georges memories of his first computer, a bit about his history in the world of tech, how he sees the industry evolving over the next couple of years through to 2030, great advice George has received in life to help him get where he is today, and his final message to viewers and readers, and his current and future customers and partners.

So, please watch the video interview above to learn more about George Cvetanovski and Hyperscalers!
ANALYSIS A Facebook engineer issued a command to assess the availability of global backbone capacity and this, unintentionally, took down all the connections in the company's backbone, effectively cutting off all its data centres, the company says.

In a much longer statement  issued God knows when as Facebook appears to have a marked aversion to timestamps  engineering and Infrastructure vice-president Santosh Janardhan said this occurred during what he called a routine maintenance job. He could also have mentioned that this was in keeping with Facebook's motto: move fast and break things  but he missed the opportunity to do so! Janardhan had issued a shorter statement on Tuesday evening AEDT.

"This outage was triggered by the system that manages our global backbone network capacity," he said. "The backbone is the network Facebook has built to connect all our computing facilities together, which consists of tens of thousands of miles of fibre-optic cables crossing the globe and linking all our data centres."

British security expert Kevin Beaumont summed up Janardhan's longer post in a few words: "Facebook have issued an RCA for this. It backs up my thread.

"One engineer issued a command, which took down the company due to a cascading set of issues which took down DNS and internal systems."

And he added: "Dont punish the engineer, improve the processes."

Facebook have issued an RCA for this. It backs up my thread.



One engineer issued a command, which took down the company due to a cascading set of issues which took down DNS and internal systems.



Dont punish the engineer, improve the processes. https://t.co/LQbf6pDlP9 pic.twitter.com/ohKneIwFOL  Kevin Beaumont (@GossiTheDog) October 5, 2021

But unfortunately Facebook doesn't have the likes of Beaumont on its staff. And so we are back to Janardhan, who said commands of the sort that had disconnected all data centres were meant to be stopped by an audit tool.

In his words, "Our systems are designed to audit commands like these to prevent mistakes like this, but a bug in that audit tool didnt properly stop the command."

This calamitous occurrence meant that the smaller data centres which respond to DNS queries for Facebook's facilities also could not do their jobs.

To quote Janardhan: "Those [DNS] translation queries are answered by our authoritative name servers that occupy well known IP addresses themselves, which in turn are advertised to the rest of the Internet via another protocol called the border gateway protocol (BGP).

"To ensure reliable operation, our DNS servers disable those BGP advertisements if they themselves cannot speak to our data centres, since this is an indication of an unhealthy network connection.

During yesterdays outage of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, Twitter recorded their highest ever number of people on the platform at one time. pic.twitter.com/LVQPP1jAe0  Pop Base (@PopBase) October 5, 2021

"...the entire backbone was removed from operation, making these locations declare themselves unhealthy and withdraw those BGP advertisements. The end result was that our DNS servers became unreachable even though they were still operational. This made it impossible for the rest of the Internet to find our servers."

Jean St-Laurent, one of the many network professionals on the mailing list of NANOG, the North American Network Operators Group, which provides a lot of insightful information during incidents like this, said: "Maybe withdrawing those routes to their NS [name server] could have been mitigated by having NS in separate entities.

He posted the results of some queries to see how five big companies spread their nameservers:

$ dig +short facebook.com NS

d.ns.facebook.com.

b.ns.facebook.com.

c.ns.facebook.com.

a.ns.facebook.com.

$ dig +short google.com NS

ns1.google.com.

ns4.google.com.

ns2.google.com.

ns3.google.com.

$ dig +short apple.com NS

a.ns.apple.com.

b.ns.apple.com.

c.ns.apple.com.

d.ns.apple.com.

$ dig +short amazon.com NS

ns4.p31.dynect.net.

ns3.p31.dynect.net.

ns1.p31.dynect.net.

ns2.p31.dynect.net.

pdns6.ultradns.co.uk.

pdns1.ultradns.net.

$ dig +short netflix.com NS

ns-1372.awsdns-43.org.

ns-1984.awsdns-56.co.uk.

ns-659.awsdns-18.net.

ns-81.awsdns-10.com.

"Amazon and Netflix seem to not keep their eggs in the same basket," he noted. "From a first look, they seem more resilient than facebook.com, google.com and apple.com."

Another network engineer, Mark Tinka, disagreed. "Well, doesn't really matter if you can resolve the A/AAAA/MX records, but you can't connect to the network that is hosting the services," he wrote.

Mark Zuckerberg Vows Employees Responsible For Facebook Outage Will Be Bullied To Suicide https://t.co/VjiPcL9uZG pic.twitter.com/CuJBrZEjL4  The Onion (@TheOnion) October 5, 2021

"At any rate, having 3rd party DNS hosting for your domain is always a good thing to have. But in reality, it only hits the spot if the service is also available on a 3rd party network, otherwise, you keep DNS up, but get no service."

Another insight came from Joe Greco who pointed out that this [Tinka's take] was not completely correct. "It still gives [a] much better clue as to what is going on; if a host resolves to an IP but isn't pingable/traceroutable, that is something that many more techy people will understand than if the domain is simply unresolvable," he wrote.

"Not everyone has the skill set and knowledge of DNS to understand how to track down what nameservers Facebook is supposed to have, and how to debug names not resolving. There are lots of helpdesk people who are not expert in every topic.

"Having DNS doesn't magically get you service back, of course, but it leaves a better story behind than simply vanishing from the network."

Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp are all down due to a BGP configuration error, which means it's only a matter of time before someone tweets a pew pew map screenshot and claims it's a global cyber attack.  MalwareTech (@MalwareTechBlog) October 4, 2021

Warren Kumari raised an interesting point, asking why information about the routes advertised by autonomous systems was treated as some kind of secret.

"Can someone explain to me, preferably in baby words, why so many providers view information like https://as37100.net/?bgp as secret/proprietary? I've interacted with numerous providers who require an NDA or pinky-swear to get a list of their communities  is this really just 1: security through obscurity, 2: an artifact of the culture of not sharing, 3: an attempt to seem cool by making you jump through hoops to prove your worthiness, 4: some weird 'mah competitors won't be able to figure out my secret sauce without knowing that 17 means Asia, or 5: something else?," he asked.

"Yes, some providers do publish these (usually on the website equivalent of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying Beware of the Leopard'.), and PeeringDB has definitely helped, but I still don't understand many providers stance on this..."

To which Randy Bush, another network operator on the list, responded with a pithy one-liner: "It shows we're important."

But let's get back to Janardhan who said the stuff-up had taken place "very fast".

Dad dealing with Facebook outage. pic.twitter.com/sEX4T0amrU  Fergus Craig (@FergusCraig) October 5, 2021

"And as our engineers worked to figure out what was happening and why, they faced two large obstacles: first, it was not possible to access our data centres through our normal means because their networks were down, and second, the total loss of DNS broke many of the internal tools wed normally use to investigate and resolve outages like this," he explained.

Engineers had to be sent to the data centres to debug and restart systems. One only hopes they had something better than a horse and buggy to make the journey. Janardhan was not specific about the mode of travel they used or whether all the centres are next to each other in Menlo Park, California.

Getting in to the centres was tough for the engineers, with Janardhan saying: "...this took time, because these facilities are designed with high levels of physical and system security in mind. Theyre hard to get into, and once youre inside, the hardware and routers are designed to be difficult to modify even when you have physical access to them.

"So it took extra time to activate the secure access protocols needed to get people onsite and able to work on the servers. Only then could we confirm the issue and bring our backbone back online."

How WhatsApp , Facebook and Instagram were shut down by Mark Zuckerberg yesterday ???#facebookdown #facebookoutage pic.twitter.com/dmfjQ0lMqu  Kofi Lamborghini (@KofiLamborghini) October 5, 2021

Janardhan said once the backbone network connectivity was restored across the data centre regions, everything came back up. But the problems did not end there.

"...we knew that flipping our services back on all at once could potentially cause a new round of crashes due to a surge in traffic," he said. "Individual data centres were reporting dips in power usage in the range of tens of megawatts, and suddenly reversing such a dip in power consumption could put everything from electrical systems to caches at risk."

Will the masses get a detailed technical explanation of how this glorious mess evolved? One doubts it, unless those curious souls at Cloudflare decide to provide one. Matthew Prince, are you listening?
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.
I am planning to host family and friends at my home.

I am planning to travel to the home of a friend or family member.

I am working on Thanksgiving Day.

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Virginia Beth Bounds Gray passed away Saturday, November 6, 2021 in Flint. She was born April 14, 1938 in Sacul, Texas to James and Callie Bounds. Funeral Services are scheduled for Friday, November 12, 2021 to begin at 1:00pm at Boren-Conner Funeral Home in Jacksonville. A visitation will b




Donate Now As a public service during this pandemic, the Jewish News is providing free, unlimited access to all articles. Jewish News is a nonprofit publication that is owned by the community and relies on community support.
Washington County commissioners raised the mandated COVID vaccination issue at their monthly meeting on Sept. 27. County Mayor Joe Grandy said he and other county mayors from across Tennessee have drafted a letter to Gov. Bill Lee and state Attorney General Herbert Slatery expressing their objections to the presidents COVID vaccination directive.
Stephanie Garland is director of the Better Business Bureau in Springfield. Among those counties served by BBB Springfield are Jasper, Newton, McDonald, Lawrence and Barton counties. Emails may be sent to sgarland@springfieldbbb.org.
A 12-person jury deliberated for just over four hours over two days and returned all guilty verdicts in the murder trial of Andy McCauley.
When Enfield police first made contact with Shyhiem Trey Adams after the fatal stabbing of

A young man who was hanging out with Enfield High School sophomore Justin Brady the night Br

Shyhiem T. Adams, who is accused of first-degree manslaughter and evidence tampering in the 

Before Michael Joseph Cerrato was sentenced Wednesday to three years in prison for efforts t

The teenager who is accused of fatally stabbing an Enfield High School sophomore during a st

CROSS-EXAMINATION

TESTIFYING: Shyhiem Trey Adams, 21, who is charged with first-degree manslaughter in the stabbing death of Enfield High School sophomore Justin Brady in September 2018.

MAJOR POINTS: Adams, who is claiming self-defense, acknowledged failing to retreat from the fatal confrontation, as Connecticut law requires in most cases. Adams acknowledged that he had an open folding knife when he went outside to meet Brady and that Brady didnt show or use a weapon during their fight.
Opinion Columnist

Chris Powell has worked for the Journal Inquirer since 1967, first as a reporter, then as an editor, and now as a columnist. He was managing editor from 1974 until retiring from that position in 2018.
Today

Sunny to partly cloudy. Slight chance of an afternoon shower. High 73F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph.

Tonight

Cloudy early, becoming mostly clear after midnight. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 34F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.

Tomorrow

Mainly sunny. High 56F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.
Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra has told France to decolonise its history, in the latest verbal broadside between Paris and a former colony in Africa.

On a trip to Mali, whose ruling junta has been fiercely criticised by France, Lamamra said French President Emmanuel Macron suffered from forgetfulness of history, Malian TV reported late Tuesday.

Our foreign partners need to decolonise their own history, said Lamamra.

They need to free themselves of certain attitudes, certain behaviours, certain visions which are intrinsically linked to the incoherent logic driven by the Wests claimed mission to bring civilisation, he said.

This mission, he claimed, was the ideological cover used to try to gain acceptance for the crime against humanity which was (Frances) colonisation of Algeria, colonisation of Mali and the colonisation of so many African peoples.

Lamamras barb appeared to be aimed at comments by Macron last week in which he said Algerias post-independence political-military system had totally re-written the countrys history.

Macron told descendants of Algerias war of independence that the version of history transmitted to Algerians was not based on truths but on a discourse of hatred towards France, according to remarks reported by Le Monde.

Algeria over the weekend recalled its ambassador from Paris and banned French military planes from its airspace, which France regularly uses to reach its forces battling jihadists in the Sahel region to the south.

On Tuesday, Macron said he hoped for a calming down of tensions with Algeria and that his relations with President Abdelmadjid Tebboune were truly cordial.

Macron is also at loggerheads with Malis junta, which ousted the countrys elected president, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, in August 2020.

France intervened after jihadists seized control of Malis north in 2012, and Paris has since deployed thousands of troops across the Sahel to combat the insurgency.

In June, France announced a major scaleback of its Sahel deployment  a move that caused Mali last month to publicly declare its ally had decided to abandon it.

On Tuesday Macron urged the junta to restore state authority over territory that had been relinquished to the jihadists and then recovered.

Its not the role of the French army to fill in for the non-work, if I may describe it, of the Malian state, he told French media.

Malis foreign ministry summoned the French ambassador in Bamako to register its indignation at the remarks.
Lafayette - The Lafayette parish and city councils held a joint meeting tonight at city hall to discuss a line-item veto exercised by Mayor-President Josh Guillory regarding 250,000 dollars in budget money that has been in limbo since the veto.

In a unanimous decision which did come as a surprise to some from the public both councils voted to override Guillory's line-item veto meaning that money will now go towards traffic calming where the funds were originally allocated to.

North Lafayette resident Pastor Kerry Williams said "its sad. Its a sad day in Lafayette. Its a sad day for the city council. Once again, youll find that its ridiculous that you voted no."

The veto showdown at last night's joint meeting hit a flatline when Guillory's administration determined that regardless of the outcome the money would not be given to the NLRA. Wallace Senegal, who has spent his entire life on the northside of Lafayette, says that 250,000 dollars wouldnt be enough anyway.

"250,000 dollars that shouldnt be given out because its not enough money to do anything on the north side," Senegal said.

According to NLRA chairwoman Sam Fluegence, the money would have served as seed money or money to get the ball rolling when it comes to the NLRA which had their first meeting since 2016 last week.

"The quarter of a million was seed money," Fluegence said. "The mayor-president made that perfectly clear that the 250,000 dollars is a drop in the bucket."

However, the 250,000 dollars was never in the proposed budget for the NLRA when Guillory exercised the veto -- meaning money that was never allocated cannot be restored. Community advocate Keith Faulk says the money should have gone back into the general fund and then allocated towards redeveloping north Lafayette.

"Most of the projects that need to be funded on the north side of Lafayette qualify for those federal dollars," Faulk said. "But yet we hear nothing from the government about what theyre going to do with that 86 million."

Faulk says theres been a lot of talk, but he wants to see action.

"Lets get down to business and support the north side. Redevelop the north side, thats all were asking," said Faulk.

Despite the outcome of the vote, Guillory did stress that he is committed to the NLRA and getting the north side community the resources, it needs.
In this March 3, 2021, file photo speaks with students as she tours Fort LeBoeuf Middle School in Waterford, Pa. Jill Biden is going back to her whiteboard. After months of teaching writing and English to community college students in boxes on a computer screen, the first lady resumes teaching in person on Tuesday, Sept. 7, from a classroom at Northern Virginia Community College, where she has worked since 2009.
The Overland Park Police Department offense report just came to light, but was filed by Principal David Ewers on Nov. 8 at 1 p.m., a couple of hours after hundreds of students walked out while holding signs saying things like, "Protect the victims, not the assailants," "It's not a joke," and
KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) -- Police are asking for the public's help in identifying a car believed to be connected to a hit-and-run accident that left one woman dead in September.

Friends of woman killed in deadly hit-and-run hold a Celebration of Life, hope for answers Friends of a woman who was killed near Truman Road and Stark Avenue are hoping someone with information about the driver involved in the deadly hit-and-run crash will come forward.

Ocalla Snyder, who went by Callie, was killed last month near Truman Road and Stark Avenue. She was a 37-year-old mother and motorcyclist.

Police have now identified a vehicle of interest and are asking for the public's help to find it.

The car is described as a white 2008 Ford Focus. It has the Missouri tag XG1F7V. Police say it has the VIN 1FAHP35N98W178914.

Anyone with information is urged to call the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers hotline at 816-474-TIPS.
After his TWICE's "Cheer Up" video resurfaced, "Squid Game" star Wi Ha Joon flaunts his dancing skills on social media.

On the actor's official TikTok and Instagram account, the 30-year-old heartthrob stunned fans with his powerful choreography.

Wi Ha Joon's Instagram Showcase his Moves to the 'Hey Mama Challenge'

The South Korean actor proves that he is more than just a pretty face but also a multi-talented celebrity.

Wi Ha Joon did not shy away from flaunting his skills as he danced to David Guetta featuring Nicki Minaj, Bebe Rexha, and Afrojack's "Hey Mama."

He joined the bandwagon and grooved to the dance challenge popularized by the survival show "Street Woman Fighter."

As of this writing, Wi Ha Joon's Instagram post gained 5.5 million likes and almost 57,000 comments, mostly praising the actor for his talent.

At the same time, he also took this as an opportunity to express his gratitude to fans for their undying support for Netflix's "Squid Game."

"On my way home after eating... I danced to it at the request of @netflixkr and the fans. Thank you so much for loving the Squid Game," the caption reads.

From 'Squid Game' Actor to Social Media Star

Wi Ha Joon reached overnight success after starring in the mega-hit physiological thriller series starring Lee Jung Jae, Park Hae Soo, Jung Ho Yeon, and more.

He played the role of Hwang Joon, who infiltrated the organization to find his older brother.

Amid the massive achievement of the K-series worldwide, "Squid Game" cast members also turned into social media stars with increasing followers every day.

Before the premiere of the nine-episode drama, Wi Ha Joon's Instagram had approximately 300,000 followers.

Interestingly, his social media jumped into a drastic change after "Squid Game" was released.

With more than two weeks since the Netflix series aired, his Instagram now rakes 6 million followers and counting.

Wi Ha Joon's TWICE Dance Performance Goes Viral

Apart from the actor's growing Instagram fame, the "Squid Game" actor sparks a frenzy on social media after his dance cover goes viral.

It came after his performance dancing to TWICE's "Cheer Up" caught the netizen's attention, saying that his dancing skills are "beyond spectacular."

Wi Ha Joon was seen wearing a white shirt paired with dark pants as he grooved and ground to the girl group's dance craze.

According to some media outlets, the clip is from 2006's event called Star, where the actor was promoting.

Wi Ha Joon Fun Facts

"Squid Game" might be Wi Ha Joon's biggest break, but he also appeared in several notable Kdramas.

Fans might recognize this South Korean cutie since he also appeared in "18 Again," "Something In the Rain," "Romance is a Bonus Book," and more.

Interestingly, he is also set to appear in the upcoming series "Bad and Crazy" with Hallyu star Lee Dong Wook and the new melodrama "Que Sera, Sera."

KDramastars owns this article

Written by Geca Wills
f(x) member and actress Krystal shared her thoughts on the ending of her recently concluded romance comedy drama "Police University" with B1A4 Jinyoung and Cha Tae Hyun.

f(x) Krystal Shares Her Thoughts on 'Police University' Finale

One of the most important factors that "Police University" displayed on the small screen is the amazing performances of its actors.

Among the cast is Krystal, who has shown impressive performance as the strong and firm freshman student Oh Kang Hee. Like Krystal, her character is also well-driven and who lives her life without regrets.

Krystal's synchronization with Oh Kang Hee is all because of the actress' mature and improved acting skills. From her hot youthful aspect of giving her all to achieve her goals to her daring appearance and softer inner side for her loved ones, Krystal captured all the various aspects of Oh Kang Hee's character.

Krystal, who received a lot of love from the viewers, said, "I prepared for my role for two months before filming, filmed the drama for five months, and lived as Oh Kang Hee for over half a year. I can't believe "Police University" is over."

Before the drama premiered, it was revealed that Krystal exerted a lot of time, effort, and patience as she devoted herself to practicing Judo's basic posture and other methods to realistically portray her character as a Judo athlete.

f(x) Krystal on Her Role as Oh Kang Hee

When asked about who Oh Kang Hee is to Krystal, the actress answered, "Oh Kang Hee is strong and confident, and very charming, too. She is Krystal Jung's 20-year-old self."

In addition, Krystal was reminded about the goal she set for herself before the drama started, saying, "I think I achieved it. Like what Oh Kang Hee always says, I have no regrets because I did my best to portray Oh Kang Hee perfectly."

In addition, about the goal set before the drama started, "I think I have achieved it. I have no regrets or regrets because I did my best in every moment of acting Oh Kang Hee."

f(x) Krystal Reveals What She Will Miss After the Drama's Conclusion

Krystal also shared the things she will miss the most after the drama's conclusion, "Jinyoung, Youngjae, Lee Dal, and I are of the same age so we go to the filming site like we are going to an actual university. Filming with them and our beloved director is always fun, talking and laughing on the set."

"It's a pity that the drama already ended. The filming atmosphere is always so fun. Now that I won't be surrounded by such a big crowd anymore, I feel sad," she continued.

She concluded with a message to "Police University" viewers and to her fans, "Everyone, thank you so much for watching "Police University" this whole time. Please keep on supporting me and also all actors who starred in the drama. I will show you a better actress Krystal in the future."

On the other hand, Krystal is set to start filming her new drama "Crazy Love" with seasoned actor Kim Jae Wook in the last week of October.

Follow KDramastars for more Kdrama, KMovie, and celebrity news updates!





KDramastars owns this article.



Written by Elijah Mully.
The popular post-apocalyptic K-series "Sweet Home 2" is said to begin its production with the OG cast members Lee Si Young and Park Gyu Young.

To recall, the 39-year old actress and former amateur boxer played the role of firefighter Seo Yi Kyung while Park Gyu Young took on the part of the badass bassist Yoon Ji Su.

'Sweet Home 2' to Start Filming in Winter

As cited by the JTBC News report, only the two actors were confirmed to appear in the much-awaited sequel, which means that Song Kang, Lee Do Hyun, and even Go Min Si will not be starring in season 2.

Moreover, the media outlet shared that the Netflix series plans on shooting "Sweet Home" season 2 in the coming winter.

Following the update regarding the sequel, the production team is still finalizing the cast lineup and is rumored to add new characters.

As for the release date, there is still no confirmation or reports about the target premiere.

#SongKang Trends After the Rumored 'Sweet Home 2' Cast was Released

Amid the news regarding the "Sweet Home 2" cast lineup, netizens expressed their disappointment in the upcoming season.

#SongKang became a trending topic on Twitter as fans pointed out that the Netflix series will never be the same without the actor.

we want song kang in sweet home s2 pls  pic.twitter.com/jpCuYMZbgH  e | Deathnote | Netflix 10/15 | (@Yaniezaki28) October 6, 2021

Only song kang can be hyunsoo what is this what other actor is gonna embody the haven't showered in months but im still hot energy of hyunsoo now   (@hsuhyuns) October 6, 2021

To recall, the 27-year-old heartthrob took on the role of a suicidal high school student Cha Hyun Soo who just moved to apartment 1410 after his parents got killed in a car accident.

At the height of the chaos in Green Home, Hyun Soo found himself infected by the virus, transforming him into a superpowered being.

Months after the Kdrama was released, several media outlets cited that "Sweet Home" will return for season 2.

In July, rumor sparked that the cast from season 1, such as Song Kang, Lee Jin Wook, and Lee Si Young, will return for another season.

Netflix Reacts to Rumored Sweet Home Season 2

Shortly after the reports circulated on various outlets, Netflix set the record straight and addressed the rumors.

At the time, a representative of the streaming giant revealed that "nothing has been decided yet regarding the production of "Sweet Home" Season 2."

The mega-hit K-series is based on the thriller webtoon of the same name written by Kim Carnby.

It follows the story of a high school introvert who experienced horrible incidents after moving into a new apartment.

Song Kang's Upcoming Kdrama with Park Min Young

Just in case Netflix announced the complete cast lineup without Song Kang, fans would still get to see the actor in his upcoming projects.

After the success of his melodrama "Nevertheless" with Han So Hee, the South Korean heartthrob is confirmed to star alongside Park Min Young in the new series "Meteorological Agency People: The Cruelty of Office Romance."

KDramastars owns this article

Written by Geca Wills
Cha Tae Hyun and B1A4 Jinyoung, the main actors of the coming-of-age romantic comedy "Police University" along with f(x) Krystal, gave their last messages to the loyal viewers after the drama's conclusion.

Cha Tae Hyun and Jinyoung Express Gratitude to Viewers of 'Police University'

KBS2's top-rating drama "Police University" closed its curtains with its final episode, which aired on October 5.

Cha Tae Hyun and Jinyoung, who played detective Yoo Dong Man and hacker Kang Seon Ho, respectively, showed an exciting collaboration that transcends generations.

On October 6, the two actors gave their heartfelt messages to those who supported the drama and showed love for all the actors.

Cha Tae Hyun said, "Police University" finished successfully. Thank you to all the viewers who supported us throughout our journey as police officers."

He also left a long-lasting impression when he gave special thanks to the men behind the cameras who made the drama possible. "To the director and production staff who worked hard, the senior and junior actors who worked with me, thank you so much."

On the other hand, Jinyoung shared his thoughts about the drama's finale. "I was really happy to be able to film with the people whom I looked up to for a very long time. I admit, I was very nervous because it was my comeback project after my military discharge."

He added, "The drama was a success. I want to say thank you to the people who loved Kang Seon Ho and Jinyoung."

Cha Tae Hyun and B1A4 Jinyoung Reveal Their Favorite Scenes in the Drama

When asked about their favorite scenes from the drama, Cha Tae Hyun answered in a heartbeat, "The scene where Dong Man left the university to catch Go Deok Bae (Shin Seung Hwan), an illegal gambling operator."

He added, "I was impressed by Dong Man's crude sincerity towards students and his torn heart and emotions at the boundary between detective and professor."

In addition to that, he cited Dong Man's famous line, "If our police do not give up, justice will surely come. It's a good line and I think we should apply it to our lives."

On the other hand, Jinyoung's favorite scene is when Kang Seon Ho confessed to Oh Kang Hee during his Judo practice and confirmed each other's sincerity.

He reasoned, "Seon Ho embraced Kang Hee and promised he wouldn't run away from her anymore. It's a line that showed the change in the character of Seon Ho who was timid at first."

Follow KDramastars for more Kdrama, KMovie, and celebrity news updates!

KDramastars owns this article.

Written by Elijah Mully.
MEDFORD, Ore.  The Medford Police Department says that eleven people have been formally charged in connection with a September 7 shooting at Fichtner-Mainwaring Park that involved two rival groups.

The shooting happened in the Fichtner-Mainwaring parking lot along Holmes Avenue on the night of September 7. Medford Police released few details at the time, but said that two young men had been hospitalized with serious gunshot injuries and a third was injured but insisted on leaving the hospital.

One of the young men, a 19-year-old, was airlifted to Portland with a gunshot wound to the head.

MPD's investigation found that the shooting involved two rival groups who were involved in an ongoing feud, "part of which is gang-related."

That night, two people were sitting in a vehicle outside of the park when they were spotted by several members of the other group. The other group called for more support, eventually growing to 11 people. MPD said that they planned to attack the two as they were sitting in their car in the Fichtner-Mainwaring parking lot. At least two of the alleged assailants were armed with guns.

When the larger group approached, the two sides fired at each other, although Medford Police did not specify which side fired first. A total of four people fired handguns in the exchange. In the space of a few seconds, 20 rounds were fired between the two groups.

Ultimately, four people were hit in the shootout  three in the large group, and one in the vehicle. One man was taken to the hospital via ambulance and the other three "sought medical attention on their own."

Medford Police said that evidence in the case was presented to a grand jury on September 29, with 11 indictments filed. By October 1, arrest warrants were issued for each of the suspects.

"So far, five suspects have turn themselves in, with one additional remaining hospitalized. Five others remain outstanding and are encouraged to turn themselves in," MPD said.

According to the agency, these are the suspects [pictured left to right, above] and their current charges:

Dixon, Marlon Vaugh , 21 years old. Charged with Riot. Turned self in.

, 21 years old. Charged with Riot. Turned self in. Wagner, Christian Warren , 20 years old. Charged with Riot. Outstanding.

, 20 years old. Charged with Riot. Outstanding. Swift, Bradley Allen , 19 years old. Charged with Riot and Unlawful Use of a Weapon. Hospitalized.

, 19 years old. Charged with Riot and Unlawful Use of a Weapon. Hospitalized. Lynch Castro, Joshuah Kadence , 18 years old. Charged with Riot and Unlawful Use of a Weapon. Outstanding.

, 18 years old. Charged with Riot and Unlawful Use of a Weapon. Outstanding. Cady, Austin Wesley , 21 years old. Charged with Riot. Turned self in.

, 21 years old. Charged with Riot. Turned self in. Perezchica, Lyannah Agustina , 18 years old. Charged with Riot. Outstanding.

, 18 years old. Charged with Riot. Outstanding. Clemons, Sahara Jade , 18 years old. Charged with Riot. Turned self in.

, 18 years old. Charged with Riot. Turned self in. Lapizco, Jose Maria , 19 years old. Charged with Riot. Turned self in.

, 19 years old. Charged with Riot. Turned self in. Pasmant, Unique Shy Love , 19 years old. Charged with Riot. Turned self in.

, 19 years old. Charged with Riot. Turned self in. Lamas, Moses Emanuel , 19 years old. Charged with Riot. Outstanding.

, 19 years old. Charged with Riot. Outstanding. Houston, Marcus Darryl, 19 years old. Charged with Riot. Outstanding.

Medford Police said that more serious charges could not be brought because of the victims' reluctance to cooperate with investigators.
GRANTS PASS, Ore.  The student-led Josephine County Foundation announced Wednesday that it has awarded nineteen grants this year to local teachers, totaling $23,390.

JCF's Student Enrichment Program gives teachers the opportunity to apply for funds that they think would benefit their students, allowing them to expand beyond traditional learning in their classrooms.

A panel of 53 local students drawn from four different area schools chose the grants, deciding from among a pool of 23 grant requests submitted by teachers. The student group was led by two sophomores, Avery Duewel of Grants Pass High School and Elle Jones from North Valley High School. Students were able to vote virtually this year.

The grant funds came from multiple sources  $4,220 from the Reed and Carole Walker Fund of the Oregon Community Foundation, $5,000 from the Ford Family Foundation, $10,000 from the Josephine Jackson Fund of the San Diego Foundation, with the remaining funds were raised by JCF students locally.

Grants went to teachers at Hidden Valley, Brighton Academy, Fort Vannoy, Rogue River, Jerome Prairie, New Bridge, Madrona, Manzanita, Lincoln Savage, Woodland, Evergreen and Riverside. The full list can be read below:
By Gregory Lemos, CNN

(CNN) -- The Orange County, Florida, medical examiner confirmed Tuesday that the body found in a wooded area near the Tymber Skan on the Lake apartment complex in Orlando on Saturday is 19-year-old Miya Marcano.

"A positive identification of a female whose body was recovered in a wooded area on October 2, 2021 has been identified as Miya Marcano," Orange and Osceola Counties Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Joshua Stephany said in a statement.

"This case is currently under active law enforcement investigation and any further requests for information, including cause and manner of death, will be deferred to the Orange County Sheriff's Office."

The Orange County Sheriff's Office said Saturday it believed the body was Marcano but deferred official identification to the medical examiner's office. Marcano went missing on September 24.

Marcano had been missing since September 24, when she was last seen at the Arden Villas Luxury Apartments in Orlando where she lived and worked, according to the sheriff's office.

Members of the Orange County sheriff's emergency response team found the body around 10:45 a.m. Saturday, Sheriff John Mina said, while searching a wooded area near the Tymber Skan on the Lake apartments, approximately 18 miles west of her home. A purse with her identification was located near the body, he said.

Cell phone records indicated Armando Manuel Caballero, a person of interest in the case who was found dead of an apparent suicide September 27, was "in or near" the apartments for about 20 minutes between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. the evening Marcano was reported missing, according to the sheriff.

Mina said authorities were not "looking for any other people," adding that investigators believe Caballero was "responsible for this crime."

Caballero used to live at the Tymber Skan apartments, Mina said Saturday.

Marcano was last seen around 5 p.m. Friday, September 24, according to the sheriff's office. She was scheduled for a flight that evening, but never made it on the plane.

Authorities believe Caballero -- a maintenance worker at the Arden Villas apartments -- had accessed Marcano's apartment without her permission, Mina previously said. An arrest warrant had been issued for Caballero for burglary.

During the initial investigation, Caballero told detectives he had last seen Marcano at about 3 p.m. that day while working, according to Mina.

Caballero had shown a romantic interest in Marcano, Mina said, but was repeatedly rebuffed.

The operator of the Arden Villas Luxury Apartments, The Preiss Company, said a background check was carried out on Caballero before he was hired, and "no records of either burglary or sexual assault were found during his background check, and reports to the contrary are not based on facts or any reports we have seen."

An attorney for the Marcano family questioned that statement.

"If they conducted an extensive background check, it definitely was not extensive enough," attorney Daryl Washington said at a news conference Tuesday.

Reached for comment, an executive with The Preiss Company referred CNN to a public relations firm, which did not immediately respond.
IDLEYLD PARK, Ore.  The body of a Roseburg woman who went missing more than a week ago within the Umpqua National Forest has been found, according to the Douglas County Sheriff's Office.

43-year-old Branda Hoyle was on an outing with family members near Toketee on September 25 when she walked away from the group, DCSO said. The family became concerned when she didn't return, and they were unable to find her after searching the area. They later called 911 to report her missing.

Search and rescue teams from Douglas, Jackson, and Lane counties commenced a search for Hoyle with the aid of Oregon State Police and PacifiCorp. The Sheriff's Office said that efforts included ground searchers, mountain rescue searchers, K9 teams, 4x4 teams, aircraft and drones.

"A large scale search operation had been underway since her disappearance, but revealed no clues as to her whereabouts," DCSO said.

On Monday, a 911 caller reported finding a body along the North Umpqua River, about 2.5 miles east of the Umpqua Hot Springs along the North Umpqua Trail. Deputies and search teams responded, soon determining that the body was Hoyle.

DCSO said that it is investigating her death, but there are no indications of foul play. Prolonged exposure to the elements is considered to be the most likely cause.
SALEM, Ore.  The Oregon Employment Department said Wednesday that the state's hospitality sector is still about 35,000 jobs short of pre-pandemic levels, and there are several reasons why  while many have moved on to other types of work, a near-equal number have dropped out of the workforce entirely.

According to an OED report, about 81,000 Oregonians saw their unemployment benefits end when the federal government's pandemic-related programs were allowed to expire on September 4. Roughly 49,000 of those workers were on Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) claims, and another 32,000 on Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits  the latter covering those who were self-employed, contract workers, or gig workers.

As pandemic unemployment benefits ended, only about 8,400 of the workers receiving benefits had been employed with Oregon's hotels, restaurants, and bars before they lost their jobs. And yet, OED says, the accommodation and food services sector is still about 35,000 jobs below pre-pandemic levels.

"Even if each of the 8,400 claimants who lost their PEUC benefits went back to payroll jobs in hotels, restaurants, and bars, it would only fill 24% of the industrys gap to a full jobs recovery," OED said.

According to the agency's data, almost 37,000 of Oregon's restaurant and hospitality workers between January and March of 2020 had moved on to jobs in a different industry by the end of winter, 2021.

"Thats a concern for an industry rapidly trying to recover jobs lost to the pandemic," OED continued.

Though many hospitality workers moved to other sectors, nearly as many simply disappeared. OED said that roughly 36,000 of those workers could no longer be found working for any payroll employer in Oregon, nor were they claiming unemployment. Officials surmised that these workers could either have moved out of the state or stopped participating in the labor force.

"There are many reasons someone may be out of the labor force, including retirement, going back to school, health concerns amid an ongoing pandemic, child care or self-employment constraints," OED said.

Of course, hospitality is not the only sector still experiencing low staffing in Oregon and across the country. OED pointed to academic and private sector findings that suggest a web of continued COVID-19 concerns, low wages in certain sectors, retirements, a collapse of migrant labor during the pandemic, and increased self-employment have all contributed to the labor shortage.
Seven percent of staff at long-term care homes in the Interior Health Region, such as David Lloyd Jones home in Kelowna, have not taken even one of the two necessary COVID-19 vaccination shots. If they don't get a jab by next Tuesday, they'll be off work without pay.
A 155 unit all-rental housing project will be built at this location in Lake Country, just east of the Winfield town centre. Town council has agreed to provide nearly $700,000 in support to the project, which will include 59 suites offered at 30% below going-market rents.
A statue of Col. Hans Christian Heg, a man who lived in Racine County before serving in the Civil War, was returned to its rightful place on the state Capitol grounds on Sept. 21.

It was only violence, paired with astonishing ignorance, that caused his statue to be torn down 15 months before.

The anger over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody in May 2020 was understandable, the peaceful protests entirely justified. But the moment any person turns from peaceful protest  a right guaranteed by the First Amendment  to violence, those violent acts are subject to prosecution. That prosecution is justified as well.

The toppling of the Col. Heg statue on June 23, 2020, by those protesting the treatment of African Americans in American society was stunningly misguided.

An Associated Press report on the restoration said that the tearing down of the Heg statue  and that of a nearby statue of a woman symbolizing the states Forward motto  noted that Neither statue has any racist history associated with them, but protesters claimed they represented a false narrative that Wisconsin supports black people and racial equity.

Thats a rather ridiculous claim in the case of Heg.

Heg, who lived in the Town of Norway and in Waterford in Racine County before the war, was a Norwegian immigrant who became an outspoken abolitionist. To make things crystal-clear, Heg was someone who was arguing for the abolition of slavery at a time when some Americans were keeping other human beings as property.

Heg served in the 15th Wisconsin Regiment during the Civil War. He was killed at the Battle of Chickamauga in 1863, the highest-ranked Wisconsin officer to die in combat during the war.

The State has sent no braver soldier, and no truer patriot to aid in this mighty struggle for national unity, than Hans Christian Heg, the Wisconsin State Journal wrote Sept. 29, 1863, reporting the word of his death.

Heg was a man who went to war to defeat those who explicitly sought to preserve slavery in America. To those who would argue the Civil War was about states rights, we direct your attention to Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution of the Confederate States: No bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law denying or impairing the right of property in negro slaves shall be passed.

Theres a phrase often used when framing debates about the great issues of an era: A person is on the right side of history or on the wrong side of history.

Hans Christian Heg was on the right side of history. Tearing down a statue of him in the name of supporting African Americans is about as ignorant as it gets.

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Ketchikan, AK (99901)

Today

Snow showers early will give way to a mixture of rain and snow showers for the afternoon. High 39F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precip 60%..

Tonight

Variably cloudy with snow showers. Low 33F. Winds light and variable. Chance of snow 50%.
During much-anticipated testimony Tuesday before the Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen repeatedly pointed outside of the country for examples of how the social network could be used to dangerous ends -- so much so that lawmakers wondered during the hearing if they should meet to specifically discuss national security concerns.

The former product manager referenced a series of links between activity on Facebook and deadly violence in Myanmar and Ethiopia, and spying by China and Iran.

"My fear is that without action, divisive and extremist behaviors we see today are only the beginning. What we saw in Myanmar and now in Ethiopia are the opening chapters of a story so terrifying no one wants to read the end of it," Haugen said, referring to recent bloodshed in both countries.

Facebook admitted in 2018 that it failed to do enough to prevent the spread of posts whipping up hatred against the persecuted Rohingya minority in Myanmar. It has since vowed to limit the spread of "misinformation" in the country after a military coup earlier this year.

Asked by one senator whether Facebook is used by "authoritarian or terrorist-based leaders" around the world, Haugen responded that such use of the platform is "definitely" happening, and that Facebook is "very aware" of it.

Her last role at Facebook was with the company's counterespionage team, which she says "directly worked on tracking Chinese participation on the platform, surveilling, say, Uyghur populations around the world."

"You could actually find the Chinese, based on them doing these kinds of things," she said.

In March, Facebook's security staff revealed that Chinese hackers had targeted Uyghur activists and journalists living outside the country with fake Facebook accounts and malware.

Haugen's team also observed "the active participation of, say, the Iran government doing espionage on other state actors. This is definitely a thing that is happening," she said.

This summer, Mike Dvilyanski, Facebook's head of cyber espionage investigations, told CNN the company had disabled "fewer than 200 operational accounts" on its platform associated with the Iranian spying campaign, and notified a similar number of Facebook users they may have been targeted by the group.

Haugen blamed "a consistent understaffing of (Facebook's) counterespionage information operation and terrorism team" for the ongoing proliferation of such threats however, and said she was also speaking with other parts of Congress about them.

The revelation prompted Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, to suggest that national security concerns be explored more deeply in the future.

Engagement-based ranking

According to Haugen, engagement-based ranking -- which amplifies content that stirs users to react with likes, shares or comments -- is "literally fanning ethnic violence" in countries like Ethiopia, which is riven with deep regional and ethnic divides.

"I encourage reform of these platforms, not picking and choosing individual ideas, but instead making the ideas safer, less twitchy, less viral, because that is how we scalably solve these problems," she said.

While Facebook has developed measures to mitigate danger, they are unevenly applied across the world's languages, Haugen said.

"Facebook also knows, they have admitted in public, that engagement-based ranking is dangerous without integrity and security systems, but then not rolled out those integrity and security systems to most of the languages in the world. And that's what is causing things like ethnic violence in Ethiopia."

Following the hearing, Facebook issued a statement attempting to discredit Haugen and disputing "her characterization" of many issues.

"Today, a Senate Commerce subcommittee held a hearing with a former product manager at Facebook who worked for the company for less than two years, had no direct reports, never attended a decision-point meeting with C-level executives  and testified more than six times to not working on the subject matter in question," read the statement, tweeted by spokesperson Andy Stone.

"We don't agree with her characterization of the many issues she testified about. Despite all this, we agree on one thing; it's time to begin to create standard rules for the internet."

The-CNN-Wire

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Promoting eating disorders. Reportedly facilitating drug and human trafficking. Fueling conspiracy theories and misinformation so dangerous that people have lost not just their minds, but their lives. Allowing extremist groups to coordinate. Those are just a few of the ills Facebook has long stood accused of by whistleblowers, politicians, and critics.

Facebook denies many of these accusations or says that the issues are more complex than they appear. But on Tuesday, Frances Haugen, a former Facebook employee who earlier this week gave an explosive interview to 60 Minutes, testified before Congress that Facebook is indeed damaging girls' body image, dividing the nation, and allowing extremism to thrive -- and worse, that the company knows it, and chooses to largely ignore the problem to protect its profits.

Her words were damning. The question now is whether American politicians will stand up to one of the most powerful companies in the world, or whether they'll continue to allow Facebook to rake in profits at the expense of the public -- because many of them benefit from the misinformation campaigns Facebook allows.

Haugen, a former Facebook product manager who worked on civic integrity issues, testified that "Facebook's products harm children, stoke division, weaken our democracy and much more."

Facebook's own internal research, she said, demonstrated just how dangerous the company's products are, and yet the company did little to change -- fearful, Haugen said, of compromising its own profits. That research showed, for example, that Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, is devastating to girls' self-esteem:

"We make body image issues worse for one in three teenage girls," said one company slide, as reported by the Wall Street Journal. In public, though, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg claimed that "The research that we've seen is that using social apps to connect with other people can have positive mental-health benefits" -- words he uttered under oath at a congressional hearing in March.

The same Journal investigation showed that Facebook users in developing countries -- potential growth areas for the company -- were using the platform for all sorts of illegal activity, including the trafficking of drugs and human beings. Facebook, according to the Journal's reporting, was slow to respond even when it knew what was happening.

Haugen told similar tales. She also told Congress that Facebook has the ability to better regulate its product -- to more effectively prevent the platform from being used to illegal activities, to identify underage users and present their content accordingly, and to prevent the spread of dangerous misinformation.

Facebook's algorithm, Haugen said, organizes content based on engagement, which can lead to the most inflammatory and shocking posts getting preferential treatment and moving their way to the top of any given person's feed. Essentially, the company makes decisions about what it wants you to see, and it keeps those decisions secret from the public, according to Haugen; changing the algorithm, she said, might impact the company's earnings.

That's dangerous -- especially since violence can follow the kind of outrage that Facebook's algorithm seems intended to favor. The world has already seen this in several countries. In Myanmar, the company admitted to failing to prevent its platform from inciting "offline violence" in 2018. In Ethiopia, critics blamed the social media company for allowing misinformation to spread during protests in the country in 2019. And in the United States, many of the insurrectionists who launched an attack at the Capitol on January 6 organized via Facebook.

The company denies wrongdoing in the Capitol riots: "The responsibility for the violence of Jan. 6 lies squarely with the people who inflicted the violence and those who encouraged them, including President Trump," Facebook vice president of global affairs Nick Clegg told CNN's Brian Stelter on Sunday.

Consistently, Haugen said, Facebook put "profits before people."

Facebook, for its part, attempted to undermine Haugen's credibility, saying in a statement that "Today, a Senate Commerce subcommittee held a hearing with a former product manager at Facebook who worked for the company for less than two years, had no direct reports, never attended a decision-point meeting with C-level executives -- and testified more than six times to not working on the subject matter in question. We don't agree with her characterization of the many issues she testified about. Despite all this, we agree on one thing; it's time to begin to create standard rules for the internet. It's been 25 years since the rules for the internet have been updated, and instead of expecting the industry to make societal decisions that belong to legislators, it is time for Congress to act."

Facebook is far from the only source of misinformation in the world -- conservative media, and even members of the Republican Party in the US, certainly hold some of the blame. At Haugen's own hearing, Tennessee Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn asserted, without evidence, that 1.5 billion Facebook users had their data hacked and sold online.

Georgia GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene still holds a seat in Congress, despite being a font of conspiracy-mongering, from believing that 9/11 was an inside job to spreading outrageous conspiracy theories about the Sandy Hook massacre of elementary schoolchildren and California's wildfires. And Trump is perhaps the nation's Chief Misinformation Officer -- much of what worried critics are asking Facebook to regulate are conspiracy theories and lies that come from the former president's fans, as well as the man himself.

That makes this moment a challenging one. Haugen's testimony about Facebook's dangers, and its refusal to adequately regulate itself, should be a call for Congress to act. But what will Congress do given that the Republican Party and its base have gone so off the rails that truth and reality, to borrow the words of comedian Stephen Colbert, now have a well-known liberal bias?

The good news is that Republicans and Democrats alike at least seem aligned on the narrow issue of children's wellbeing, and say they are willing to take steps to protect minors who use social media -- even if it's not yet clear what those steps will be. But that's just one piece of a vast problem. And while misinformation campaigns happen on the left and the right alike, the problem isn't equal on both sides -- a shocking number of Republican politicians are regular purveyors of dangerous lies, and many of them benefit from and enable their voters' growing extremism and divorce from reality.

There needs to be much more oversight into how unaccountable and secretive companies like Facebook operate and invisibly shape all of our lives. But as American politicians are rightly figuring out how to rein in powerful tech giants, they should also look around the halls of power they occupy and realize that the lies and misinformation that are destroying the country aren't just coming from Silicon Valley -- they're also coming from inside the House.

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MARCOLA, Ore.  A man was shot during a domestic violence dispute north of Marcola on Tuesday afternoon, the Lane County Sheriffs Office said.

Jesse Yoakum, 42, was shot in the shoulder by a woman he had allegedly attacked at a residence in the 40000 block of Log Creek Road, authorities said.

Yoakum had strangled the woman and attempted to hit her with a bat, according to Lane County Sheriffs Office. The woman, 35, armed herself with a handgun and shot Yoakum once, striking him in the shoulder.

Yoakum was transported to an area hospital for treatment and is in custody on charges including strangulation, menacing and fourth-degree assault.

The incident happened at about 4:20 p.m. on Tuesday, and LCSO deputies and Oregon State Police responded.
EUGENE, Ore. -- East Ridge Village will see another set of houses go up soon.

On Tuesday, the East Ridge Village Neighborhood and AKS Engineering and Forestry will meet over Zoom to discuss modification of a nine-lot subdivision.

Tom Bruno, co-chair of the Laurel Hill Valley Citizens, said neighbors are excited to get started, and developers are ready to present their plans to the neighborhood.

"Tonight they're going to brief the neighborhood that this is going to be nine homes versus the original plan that was going to be an apartment complex. So from the neighbors standpoint, we're excited," said Bruno

"Lot 46" is a part of phase six and seven. It's located off of Deerfern Road and Brakenfern Boulevard. Its a part of a phased plan thats been in place since 2002.

According to officials in the neighborhood, the purpose of the meeting is to provide people living in the area a chance to discuss the project before an application is submitted to the City of Eugene.

One neighbor, Robert, said he is excited for the single-family homes, instead of an apartment complex that was a part of the original proposed plan.

"I appreciate the single family homes because the people in those homes generally tend to be more invested in a neighborhood," said Robert.

But before construction can start on this project, phase five must be completed. Bruno said construction was halted for about 12 years in the neighborhood due to bankruptcies with the original owners of the neighborhood. The neighborhood is now owned by The Holt Group.

"Nothing happened from about 2008 to about 2020. So all those homes are new, the ones on the backside of Brackenfern and those townhomes are all new," said Bruno.

Bruno said roughly 30 homes have gone into phase five of the complex.

Robert said he remembers greener times when he and his wife first moved into the neighborhood.

"When we moved into our home, it was one of the first homes in the area in 2005, and the whole area was wooded and we thought that was beautiful and we loved it. Shortly after that they came in and tore out, and what they call improved, the land by putting roads, sewer, water and power and all that kind of stuff," said Robert.

But even with the constant construction over the years, he said he still loves where he lives.

"We're happy with it. It's a good neighborhood. It's close to town, and the people are going to do what they can to improve the space," said Robert.

The City of Eugene still has to approve plans made by developers and the neighborhood. Bruno told KEZI 9 News he looks forward to moving forward with these proposed plans.

"We were expecting an apartment complex. That's completely different than nine single-family homes. So I think the neighbors are going to be pretty ecstatic," said Bruno.
SPRINGFIELD, Ore. -- A student at Thurston High School has reportedly made several violent threats toward other students and a teacher, according to a parent who has a student at the school.

Catherian Brown said her daughter witnessed the student bringing up Kip Kinkel at their lunch table. She said the boy wondered if the mass shooter had ever sat in the same spot as them. In 1998, Kinkel murdered his parents before opening fire at Thurston, killing two of his classmates and wounding 25 others.

According to Brown and her daughter, the student threatened to kill another student and the art teacher. The boy allegedly talked about killing a girl out of jealousy and hanging her body on the school sign. He then said he wanted to kill his art teacher by "smashing the teacher's head with a hammer."

Brown said that was the last straw. She told the school and temporarily took her daughter out of classes. According to Brown, the boy is no longer attending classes, but if or when he'll be allowed to come back is unknown.

"There should be a zero-tolerance policy," Brown said. "These things being said are what cause horrific things to happen. People don't just say these things. These are no joke."

Brown said she hopes every parent will be aware of this situation and that the student will not be allowed to come back.

School officials told KEZI there was no weapon on campus or even a threat of a weapon. They did send out a note to parents warning them about the investigation.

School official Jenna McCulley said she hopes parents will trust in them as this investigation continues. She said they have a well established process in place given what happened in the past.

"Every single incident is evaluated in its totality individually and responded to appropriately for that circumstance. That's what I hope the Thurston community will hear," McCulley said.
Weather Alert

...FIRST SNOW OF THE SEASON EXPECTED FOR MANY TOWNS LATE THIS AFTERNOON INTO FRIDAY MORNING... ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 4 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 10 AM PST FRIDAY... * WHAT...Wet snow expected. Total snow accumulations 1 to 3 inches with highest amounts above 2000 feet. Local accumulation up to 4 inches possible on the West Plains between Airway Heights and Davenport. Snow may mix with rain at times below 2000 feet. * WHERE...Rockford, Spokane Valley, Worley, Coeur d'Alene, Cheney, Fairfield, Hayden, Post Falls, Airway Heights, Downtown Spokane, and Davenport. * WHEN...From 4 PM this afternoon to 10 AM PST Friday. * IMPACTS...Plan on slippery road conditions. The hazardous conditions could impact the Friday morning commute. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Slow down and use caution while traveling. The latest road conditions for the state you are calling from can be obtained by calling 5 1 1. &&
The Irish Wood Producers (IWP) group, which represents private forest growers, through producer groups in South East Ireland, is calling on Minister McConalogue to clarify his comments in relation to the States ownership of forestry carbon credits.



Carbon is sequestered by the land user through their use of the land. For forestry or any other crop, whether grant-aided or not, the State cannot be allowed to grab the carbon credits. These premiums have always been viewed as compensation for income forgone by the landowner during the early period of forest growth

The EU New Forest Strategy 2030, the Carbon Farming Initiative was mentioned by IWP Chairman Anthony Browne. As stated in this document, the remuneration of mitigation efforts through incentive payments or the generation of tradable carbon certificates will create a new business model that intends to provide a new source of income to farmers, foresters and land managers who implement sustainable activities leading to carbon removals and storage.



Wexford Director Liam OByrne recounted how the Forest sector in Ireland has been in disarray in recent years, arising from the ongoing licencing fiasco, the devastation caused by ash dieback and the lack of adequate support to affected forest owners, and the ongoing failure to reach our annual planting targets.

To add to these difficulties by suggesting that farmers carbon credits can be taken (Proprietary Estoppel) by the State adds insult to injury.



As farmers, Kilkenny Director Ger Woodcock says, we are accused of being a major emitter of polluting gasses from our farming practises and are asked to accept unviable prices for our produce for the cheap food policy in Europe, take a major cut in our Basic Payment Scheme, take up a new environment scheme, meanwhile the soil, crops, hedgerows and forestry are sequestering carbon and land owners need to have their sustainable land management choices acknowledged.



Its time to call a stop to the negative propaganda and treat the farming community, including farm forestry owners, with respect, to encourage all varieties of sustainable farming practices and to engage with all stakeholders professionally - no other public or private sector would stand for the ongoing mismanagement of an industry.
A Castlecomer native is behind an ebook publishing house which is dedicated to finding and supporting unique and diverse Irish authors.

Clare Appezzato, from Castlecomer founded Castles in the Air Press, along with Orla Carr from Donegal.

The Kilkenny woman explained how the business came into being.

"We set up Castles in the Air Press in August 2020. We had both recently moved from Ireland to Vancouver, Canada when the pandemic hit. We originally moved here as we both wanted to work within the publishing industry at home but found little opportunity. Hoping to find more in Canada, we moved here, however, the wave of CoronaVirus meant that job opportunities were few. After an online internship fell through due to the pandemic, we both decided we were sick of waiting for an opportunity to present itself and that we would create one ourselves.

"We sent out an announcement that we were launching our own independent press. After the amazing support of some kind individuals in the publishing industry, we began to receive many, many submissions. We are so grateful to everyone who has submitted writing to Castles. We are constantly in awe of the talent in Ireland, and one of our main goals with this business is to showcase it. From those submissions, we found Radhika Iyer, whos writing immediately struck a chord with us," she said.

On August 1 the publishers launched their first book, Why are you here?, written by Radhika Iyer, who is currently living in Dundalk. This is a powerful collection of short stories that focus on themes of womanhood, identity and domestic violence.

Iyers unique style is quirky yet powerful, as she illustrates a sense of otherness, as an immigrant and as a woman of colour

Iyer explores the struggle of being a woman in different cultures, as the stories take us from the harrowing results of a family scandal in Malaysia, to an internal cultural identity struggle in Dubai, to an abusive marriage amplified by the lockdown in Ireland.

This collection is ultimately about the female experience, and being different culturally, and in terms of shape and size.

The women of these stories face their internal and external battles, and as we follow their journeys, we come face to face with the struggle and the strength of women. Radhika Iyer was born in Malaysia to migrant Indian parents and is now living in Dundalk.

Why are you here? is currently available at any ebook retailer, such as Apple Books, Kindle, and Kobo and 10% of the purchase price will be donated to The Immigrant Council of Ireland.
Poster Boys - the Irish comedy released in cinemas during the summer is now available to watch on Sky Movies.

The debut film by Kilkenny director, Dave Minogue, tells the story of Al Clancy, who goes on a cross-country road trip with his nephew Karl in an attempt to save his job as a Poster Boy.

The film came about after a bet was made at the 2018 Film Fleadh that Minogue couldnt get Poster Boys shot before the end of the summer. Minogue had six weeks to prepare, write and shoot the film or hed lose his star - his 10-year-old nephew Ryan. With help from businessman Bobby Kerr, Minogue had a budget of 25,000 to cover the crews rent, food, accommodation, travel and expenses.

The debut film from director Minogue stars Trevor O'Connell, Ryan Minogue-Lee and Aoife Spratt. The cast also includes Joe Rooney and Amy Hughes.

Dave Minogue said the team were thrilled that the film is now available for people to watch from the comfort of their own homes

"We're delighted to be working with Sky to bring Poster Boys to homes all across the UK and Ireland. It's a huge honour to have my first feature film picked up by Sky. It's a real testament to the level of work the cast and crew put into making it happen." he said.



Poster Boys will be broadcast on Sky Cinema from Friday the 1st of October
Hundreds of people gathered outside the Dail at lunchtime today to protest ongoing restrictions at maternity hospitals.

Parents all over Ireland have been affected by the issue since lockdown began, with protesters calling on Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly to take immediate action.

During the protest, Deputy Peadar Toibin brought forward a Maternity Care (Covid-19) Bill in the Dail.

He introduced the Bill during Private Members' Business to ensure that mothers can be accompanied with the partner of their choice during childbirth, regardless of restriction rules at individual hospitals.

Speaking on the subject, he said, "Right now today mothers are giving birth and their partners are not with them. As you leave this chamber today ministers, you will hear the voices of thousands of women protesting outside this House on the cruel restriction policies in some hospitals in this country."

The deputy spoke about documents of emails released to him under the Freedom of Information Act (FOI), which he called "excrutiating".

He claims correspondence was sent to the Minister for Health from a woman who had a miscarriage and quoted her as saying: "The monitor turned dark and the midwife told me there was no heartbeat. It was an unexpected, earth shattering experience that no woman should have to go through, especially alone. [It's] a scandal of our time that women have to endure this ourselves."

He also spoke of another message allegedly sent to the Taoiseach from the partner of a pregnant women, who said, "My wife has experienced nine miscarriages in the last six years, she has an early pregnancy at the moment and while this is great news we are really anxious due to our history."

Deputy Toibin said, "When you listen to those excruciating difficult personal stories, how can you reconcile that with nightclubs being opened without restrictions on October 23rd? You say you're concerned that there's only so much to do on a particular issue and that hospitals are responsible for their own restrictions, this is a cop out. You are in government. You create the laws that exist in this country."

He concluded by saying, "You can't say you're a passenger on the ship when you're driving this ship."

The Bill went through to the second stage unopposed.
The sister of Brian Laundrie has doubled down on her assertion she has no idea where he is, as authorities search for him after the death of his fiancee, Gabby Petito.

"No, I do not know where Brian is. ... I'd turn him in," Cassie Laundrie said in an exclusive interview with ABC's "Good Morning America" that aired Tuesday.

Cassie Laundrie said if she could talk to her brother, she would tell him to come forward.

"I worry about him. I hope he's OK, and then I am angry and don't know what to think. ... I would tell my brother to just come forward and get us out of this horrible mess," she said.

Petito was found dead September 19 in a national forest in Wyoming, 18 days after authorities say Brian Laundrie returned to his parents' Florida home without her following a cross-country trip the pair took this summer.

After Petito's family reported her missing September 11, Laundrie left the Florida home September 14 and hasn't been seen since, his parents told authorities.

Though authorities have not explicitly connected Laundrie to Petito's death, they are looking for him, in part over a federal arrest warrant accusing him of illegally using another person's debit card.

A coroner made an initial ruling last month that Petito's death was a homicide.

Petito's family says they repeatedly tried contacting the Laundries

Joe Petito, the young woman's father, said they called and texted Laundrie's mother multiple times in the days before they ultimately reported their daughter missing.

In an exclusive interview on the "Dr. Phil" show that aired Tuesday, Joe Petito said he called "any phone number I could get for that family," and they left voicemails and sent texts, but they never heard back from the Laundries.

Nichole Schmidt, Petito's mother, said they initially believed both Laundrie and Petito were missing, until they filed the missing persons report and learned Petito's van was at Laundrie's house in Florida.

Schmidt said she had a feeling from that night, when detectives informed her of where the van was, that Petito had died.

Asked by host Phil McGraw whether they think the Laundries know where their son is, Schmidt said she thinks they know "a lot more information than they are putting out there."

"Somebody needs to start talking," she said.

CNN has reached out to the Laundrie family attorney, Steven Bertolino, for comment.

In late September, Laundrie's parents released a statement through their attorney, saying, "Chris and Roberta Laundrie do not know where Brian is. They are concerned about Brian and hope the FBI can locate him. The speculation by the public and some in the press that the parents assisted Brian in leaving the family home or in avoiding arrest on a warrant that was issued after Brian had already been missing for several days is just wrong."

Sister says she last saw her brother September 6 on camping trip

Cassie Laundrie said the last time she saw her brother was during a family camping trip at Florida's Fort De Soto Park in early September. The trip happened September 6 to 8, and the site is about 75 miles from where Brian Laundrie's parents live, county officials have said.

Cassie Laundrie told ABC she last saw and spoke to him September 6.

"We just went for a couple of hours and we ate dinner and had s'mores around the campfire and left. There was nothing peculiar about it. There was no feeling of grand goodbye. There was no nothing," Cassie said of her last encounter with her brother, later adding she was "frustrated" she didn't pick up on anything.

She shared photos of her brother with her 5-year-old son that she says were taken that day.

"It was just a regular visit," she told ABC.

Brian Laundrie's parents told investigators they last saw him leaving their North Port, Florida, home on September 14 with a backpack, and told them he said he was going to the nearby 25,000-acre Carlton Reserve, according to police.

Police reported they were given that information September 17, three days after he allegedly left. Investigators have since spent days searching for Laundrie at the Carlton Reserve outside Venice, Florida.

The day Cassie Laundrie learned of her brother's disappearance, she informed authorities of the September 6 camping trip, she told ABC.

"It was not hidden from law enforcement. ... I've been cooperating with the police since day one. I have been in touch with law enforcement," she said.

She said she has also tried to get in touch with her brother, but the "phone went to voicemail."

Amid the public speculation, Cassie Laundrie told ABC she doesn't know what role, if any, her parents may have played in her brother's disappearance.

"I don't know if my parents are involved," she said during a series of short clips in the ABC interview.

When asked for a response to the ABC interview on Tuesday, Bertolino, who represents the Laundries, told CNN, "I believe Cassie."

Bertolino declined to comment on Cassie Laundrie's statement that she doesn't know whether her parents are involved. Bertolino also said "no comment" when asked whether Cassie has been in contact with or spoken to her parents.

Laundrie's sister says she didn't see signs of domestic violence between him and Petito

Petito, 22, and Laundrie, 23, spent their summer traveling in her white van through the American West while she posted about their adventures across social media.

The posts abruptly stopped in late August, and Laundrie returned to his parents' Florida home alone on September 1, according to police.

One of Petito's last reported sightings alive was August 27, when she and Laundrie were seen leaving a restaurant in Jackson, Wyoming.

Before that, on August 12, a witness called police to say the pair were in an altercation in Utah. A caller told a 911 dispatcher "the gentleman was slapping the girl" and he "hit her" before the pair drove off.

Police in Moab, Utah, pulled the pair over. Several body camera videos from officers who responded show exchanges between police and Petito, including Petito telling officers while Laundrie had hit her, she hit him first.

In the interview that aired Tuesday, Cassie Laundrie told ABC she never saw any signs of domestic violence between her brother and Petito.

She said the body camera videos of officers' encounter with the pair were painful to watch.

"It's definitely painful to see everybody just be upset," Cassie Laundrie said. "It was pretty typical of them to argue and try and take space from each other, but people saying they saw public domestic violence, I've never seen anything like that from either of them."

No charges were filed in the August 12 incident, and at officers' suggestion, the couple separated for the night, with Brian Laundrie staying at a hotel and Petito taking the van.

After that incident, Brian Laundrie flew from Utah to Tampa, Florida, on August 17 to "obtain some items" and empty a storage unit to save money "as they contemplated extending the road trip," Bertolino, the attorney for Laundrie's parents, said.

Laundrie flew back to Utah on August 23 to rejoin Petito, Bertolino said.

Cassie Laundrie says she wishes her brother had come to her first upon his return to Florida

In the interview that aired Tuesday, Cassie Laundrie said she wishes her brother had come to her first when he returned to Florida on September 1.

"I really wish he'd come to me first that day with the van, because I don't think we would be here," she told ABC.

She told ABC her brother had previously taken trips for up to five days on the Appalachian Trail.

"I'd say Brian is a mediocre survivalist. It wouldn't surprise me if he could last out there a very long time. But also, I don't think anything would surprise me at this point," she told ABC. "If the FBI finds him in Timbuktu, I'd be like, 'Alright, well, that's where he was.' I've got nothing."

"I hope my brother is alive, because I want answers just as much as everybody else," she told ABC.

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MASON CITY, Iowa - The Mason City Police Department asked for the public's help locating a 9-year-old boy who was last seen Tuesday afternoon before he was located a couple of hours later.

Ean Cunningham was seen near the 800 block of N. Federal Ave. between 3-4 p.m. Police said he was found a couple hours later.

"UPDATE: Ean has been found safe and sound and we are taking him back to his family. Thanks to everyone for keeping an eye out for him," police said.
ROCHESTER, Minn. - After evaluating nearly 500,000 excess deaths from the first nine months of the pandemic, researchers from the annals of internal medicine found double the number of deaths among Blacks, Latinos and Native Americans when compared to white and Asian Americans.

Dee Sabol with the Rochester Diversity Council said these statistics also reflect the state of Minnesota. "Caucasian and white make up 80% of the population, but only accounts for 69% of COVID cases and only 64% of ICU hospitalizations," she explained. "So I mean, twice the percentage of the population is reflected in some of those faces, especially ICU utilizations during COVID."

Sabol said the federal government has acknowledged that these disparities are important to focus on. Just recently, $217 million went towards increasing vaccination rates among minority population groups. One million of it went directly to Minnesota and straight into grassroots communities.

Sabol explained how we target minority groups and neighborhoods is different everywhere. "That's why those federal dollars are going into the hands of people that are already trusted who come from within the populations they identify with," she said. "Who then, connect to resources and co-define how does it work here? What do we actually need? What kind of messaging do we need? And in what languages and who would be trusted to come and deliver vaccine?"

Sabol said it's general mistrust within the medical field. People ask where they can go to find general information about what's going on. She explained they're finding out people are going to their home country for updates when it shouldn't be that way. These actions will also help us make better connections to lay the groundwork for tackling future disparities.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP)  Some Minnesota government employees say that a month into the COVID-19 vaccine policy for state workers, their agencies are ramping up discipline for employees who either wont get the vaccine or submit to weekly testing.

State officials say more than 500 employees have declined both options. Employees who decline to be vaccinated or tested can be sent home, put on unpaid leave or otherwise disciplined up to termination.

The news comes as 40 COVID-19 deaths were reported in Minnesota on Wednesday, raising the states overall death toll to 8,243 since the pandemic began.

The majority of deaths reported Wednesday occurred in September and October, including two people between the ages of 25 and 29.
One of Minnesota's largest school districts is so short on educators, it's asking families to fill in.

The Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan District is in desperate need of substitute teachers.

Bree Axelrod's fifth-grade son doesn't yet know what she plans to do at his school, Woodland Elementary in Eagan.

Axelrod, a Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan parent, said, "I guess the only internal debate would be do my children want me substituting at their school?"

Other than that, Bree says she barely hesitated to sign up when she found out Woodland needed substitute teachers.

It was a voicemail from the principal to hundreds of students' parents.

"A plea for substitute teachers noting there was a shortage in the district, Woodland specifically, and if anyone was willing to go out and get their licensure, she would appreciate it."

Principal Lisa Carson says at Woodland, she was short on substitutes for 12 out of the first 20 days of the school year. The district overall is down 300 subs from normal staffing levels.

Since the clarion call went out last week, Carlson says nine parents have begun the application process.

The only prerequisite is a four-year college degree - then the licensing class, a background check and in about 30 days, they'll be ready to be trained by the school district.

Part of Carlson's recruiting pitch is $165 a day and the opportunity to work every day.

"I have the time to be able to help and give back, and I thought it would be a great way to support the staff and teachers that have given so much to me."

Saint Paul Public Schools told us it's also dealing with a substitute shortage.

But the staffing issues aren't unique to subs.

Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan says it's short several other support roles like custodians and food service workers.
FLOYD COUNTY, Iowa - Three people were taken to the hospital after a crash Tuesday morning on the Avenue of the Saints.

According to Iowa State Patrol, the crash happened around 9 a.m. in the westbound lanes of the Avenue between Nora Springs and Rudd. 72 year-old Steven Hatcher of Charles City was driving a semi that rear-ended a 2007 minivan driven by 67 year-old Joseph Martin, also of Charles City. Martin, 23 year-old Jessica Montgomery and 70 year-old Paula Sisseck, both from Charles City, were transported to MercyOne North Iowa following the crash.

Iowa DOT records show that a stretch of the highway between Cameo and Glass Roads, including where the crash scene was, had 34 accidents reported in the last five years, below the state average. With the Avenue of the Saints being a busy highway, and especially with harvest ongoing, Pete Hjelmstad with Iowa DOT encourages drivers to be cognizant of their surroundings.

"The bottom line is when you're on the highway, you need to focus all your attention to your driving, wear your seat belt and stay away from distractions. You need to do that to stay safe on the highways."
Kenneth Johnson was arrested for first-degree murder and armed criminal action for the shooting death of a 19-year-old on October 5.
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Kokomo, IN (46901)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun. High 41F. Winds W at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 23F. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph.
BONNE TERRE - Ernest Lee Johnson, 61, was executed by lethal injection at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, according to the Associated Press.

Johnson died from an injection of pentobarbital at the state prison in Bonne Terre.

A press briefing was held after the execution. Officials said Johnson was pronounced dead at 6:11 p.m.

Jim Salter of the Associated Press, who served as a media witness, said Johnson's breathing became labored but there were no visible signs of distress.

An official said Johnson was offered a sedative but refused it.

His last meal was two double bacon cheeseburgers, onion rings, two large strawberry milkshakes and a large pizza.

Johnson left a written statement for his family and friends.

AFTER THE EXECUTION: This was Ernest Johnsons last statement before his execution on Tuesday. @KOMUnews pic.twitter.com/WNQ6lAbw3M  Kathryn Merck TV (@KathrynMerckTV) October 6, 2021

Final appeal

The U.S. Supreme Court denied a request from Johnson's lawyers for a stay of execution just before 5 p.m. on Tuesday.

NEW: The Supreme Court declines to stop the execution of Ernest Johnson, who is set to be executed this evening in Missouri. Johnson argued that he is intellectually disabled and thus ineligible for the death penalty. No justices indicate dissent. pic.twitter.com/FETUcDmBfv  SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) October 5, 2021

Johnson's lawyer, Jeremy Weis, appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court to issue a stay of execution on Monday. Weis stated that Missouri is set to execute a person who has met the criteria for intellectual disability by multiple experts.

The appeal also argued that the courts who rejected Johnson's previous appeals have "failed to understand and apply current medical standards in assessing intellectual disability."

The state said Monday the SCOTUS' intervention is "not warranted Tuesday, just like it wasn't warranted when the Court rejected the same claim from Johnson in 2015, or when the lower courts rejected the claim the previous four times Johnson has raised it."

In another brief filed Tuesday, Weis replied "This is not a close case."

"Ernest Johnson is intellectually disabled. To permit the State of Missouri to execute Mr. Johnson undermines this Courts authority, and precedent and would represent a fundamental miscarriage of justice," Weis wrote.

History of the case

Johnson was convicted of killing three convenience store workers in Columbia during a robbery on Feb. 12, 1994.

Johnson attacked and killed three workers at Casey's General Store, Mary Bratcher, 46, Mabel Scruggs, 57, and Fred Jones, 58, with a claw hammer. He then hid their bodies in the bathroom and in a cooler.

Police later found bloody shoes that matched shoeprints in the convenience store and a bag with a couple hundred dollars and store receipts in Johnson's house.

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Appeals to the death penalty

A Boone County grand jury convicted Johnson on three counts of first degree murder in 1995. He was sentenced to death.

Weis said Johnson has taken multiple IQ tests and other exams that have shown Johnson has the intellectual capacity of a child.

Weis said executing Johnson would violate the Eighth Amendment, which prohibits the execution of intellectually disabled people, which the U.S. Supreme Court issued in 2002.

Weis also says Johnson was born with fetal alcohol syndrome. In 2008, he lost about 20% of his brain tissue to the removal of a benign tumor, according to the Associated Press.

The Missouri Supreme Court overturned his sentencing in 1998 because his attorneys "did not offer testimony about his drug addiction and unstable childhood." It was then reversed in 1999 by a Clay County jury.

The Clay County sentencing then was overturned after the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling that intellectually disabled people cannot be executed in 2002.

Then again in 2007, a Pettis County jury sentenced Johnson to death by lethal injection on Nov. 3, 2015.

Just hours before his set execution, Johnson appealed to SCOTUS to spare his life because he said the execution drug could trigger severe pain due to his remnants of a brain tumor and damage caused by surgery to remove it.

SCOTUS granted a stay of execution and said the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals needed to reconsider part of the case.

In March 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals dismissed Johnson's appeal, saying that Johnson had "ample time to prepare an amended complaint."

Alternative methods

Johnson's lawyers have suggested the state use nitrogen gas or firing squad as an alternative method of execution. Both alternatives were denied.

A 2019 ruling by the Supreme Court said Missouri could decline the use of nitrogen gas because of a lack of proven effectiveness.

That ruling does, however, allow plaintiffs to seek out alternative death penalty methods used in other states, "even if they are not authorized in the state seeking to carry out the relevant execution." For that reason, Johnson tried to amend his original appeal to include a request for execution by firing squad.

Denied clemency

Governor Mike Parson declined to grant clemency to Johnson on Monday, Oct. 4, despite requests from Pope Francis and two members of the Missouri congress, Representatives Cori Bush and Emanuel Cleaver II.

The state is prepared to deliver justice and carry out the lawful sentence Mr. Johnson received in accordance with the Missouri Supreme Court's order, Parson said.

Last week, former Missouri governor Bob Holden also urged Gov. Parson to grant clemency. He noted that he supports capital punishment in principle, but that he concurs with advocates who say Johnson is intellectually and developmentally disabled.

Multiple protests are scheduled for Tuesday throughout the state.

Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty is holding demonstrations in Jefferson City, Columbia, St. Louis, Kansas City and Bonne Terre.

The Mid-Missouri Fellowship of Reconciliation is holding two "Vigils for Life" Tuesday. One was held outside the Governor's office at noon and the other will be held in front of the Boone County Courthouse at 5 p.m.

The execution would be the seventh to occur in the U.S. this year.
This photo, released by the Korean Central News Agency, Oct. 1, shows a new type of anti-aircraft missile, developed by North Korea's Academy of Defence Science. Yonhap



South Korea will further strengthen "tailored" deterrence, along with the United States, against North Korea's nuclear and missiles threats while enhancing its attack and missile defense capabilities, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Wednesday.



"We've seen various factors that challenge the security and peace on the Korean Peninsula. North Korea has continued to work on its nuclear and missiles programs," the JCS said in a report for the annual parliamentary audit on its affairs.



Last week, the North test-fired a newly developed anti-aircraft missile, the latest in a series of missiles launches by the communist country in recent weeks. Days earlier, the North launched a new type of hypersonic missile, which came on the heels of firing two short-range ballistic missiles and a new long-range cruise missile.



"In response, we will further develop the Korea-U.S. tailored deterrence strategies, and will beef up our strategic striking and missile defense capabilities by maximizing cutting-edge science technologies," the JCS said, citing such assets as the F-35 fighter jets, the Cheongung II surface-to-air guided missile, and the submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM).



During the Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD) held last week in Seoul, Seoul and Washington conducted a tabletop exercise (TTX) that was designed to strengthen their tailored deterrence against the threats by North Korea, according to the defense ministry.



The JCS also vowed to introduce additional surveillance and reconnaissance assets, including unmanned vehicles, and to enhance ballistic missile detection and interception capabilities by upgrading Patriot missiles and early warning radar systems.



In order to discuss security and alliance issues, JCS Chairman Gen. Won In-choul plans to meet with his U.S. counterpart. Gen. Mark Milley for this year's Military Committee Meeting (MCM) next month in Seoul, the JCS said.



The MCM is held every year, usually a day before the defense ministers of the two countries hold the Security Consultative Meeting (SCM). This year's SCM is slated to be held in Seoul.



Meanwhile, Wednesday's audit took place as scheduled, though lawmakers affiliated with the parliamentary national defense committee failed to hold the planned session for the defense ministry due to a partisan strife over a snowballing land development corruption scandal potentially involving Lee Jae-myung, the ruling party's presumptive nominee to run in next year's presidential election. (Yonhap)


Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, left, talks with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at a pull-aside meeting in Paris, France, Oct. 5. Yonhap



South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong has held a series of bilateral talks with his counterparts from the United States, Italy and Croatia to discuss bilateral cooperation on the margins of a gathering of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), his office said Wednesday.



Chung is in Paris to attend the Meeting of the OECD Council at Ministerial Level, which opened Tuesday under the main theme of "Shared Values: Building a Green and Inclusive Future." South Korea and Luxembourg are vice chairs of the meeting this year, with the U.S. being the chair.



On Tuesday, Chung held a "pull-aside" meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.



They agreed to closely communicate regarding President Moon Jae-in's recent proposal for the declaration of a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War, which Chung said would be a "meaningful" confidence-building measure.



Chung and Blinken also shared their assessments of the security situation on the Korean Peninsula, and exchanged views on ways to resume dialogue with the North, the ministry said.



The talks came after the two Koreas restored cross-border communication lines Monday, less than two months after the North suspended them in protest over regular South Korea-U.S. military drills. The reactivation followed a series of the North's missile launches, including the test of a hypersonic missile.



Chung also held talks with his Italian counterpart, Luigi Di Maio. The two sides agreed to expand areas of bilateral cooperation into "future-oriented" sectors, such as green industries, the ministry said.



The ministers also agreed to cooperate to ensure that the Group of 20 summit, slated to take place in Rome later this month, can yield meaningful outcomes on key agenda items, such as responses to climate change and digital innovation.



Also in Paris, Chung held talks with his Croatian counterpart, Gordan Grlic Radman.



The ministers agreed to explore ways to expand cooperation in future industries, such as electric vehicles, and cooperate to further deepen relations between the countries through high-level exchanges, as next year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral ties.



On the same day, Chung held talks with OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann. Chung reiterated South Korea's commitment to the efforts toward establishing international standards in climate responses, the digital economy and other such sectors requiring global cooperation.



During the OECD ministerial session, Chung highlighted South Korea's will to expand its contributions to help tackle pending issues of the world by sharing the country's policy efforts to build an "inclusive" future in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Yonhap)


Samsung Electronics Vice President Lee Jae-yong enters the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul, Sept. 2. Korea Times photo by Lee Han-ho



Top conglomerate yet to join RE100 initiative



By Kim Bo-eun



Samsung is facing growing calls from global institutional investors to make a greater environmental commitment through its businesses. Samsung is the only one out of the country's four major groups that has not joined Renewable Energy 100 (RE100), a global initiative seeking to source 100 percent of electricity consumption from renewable sources. Samsung stated at the National Assembly audit last year that it intends on making this commitment, but still has yet to.



Samsung's affiliates have individually been taking steps to phase out environmentally harmful businesses and investments, but their efforts are falling largely short of what is expected of Korea's largest conglomerate.



The group had been saying up until recently that coming up with a long-term environmental vision had been impossible given that its chief had been in prison.



But with the release of Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong on parole in August, and Samsung unveiling major investment plans, global institutional investors are urging the tech giant that now is the time to make a group-wide environmental commitment.





A Samsung flag is seen at the tech giant's headquarters in southern Seoul / Yonhap
Albion, IN (46701)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun during the morning will give way to cloudy skies this afternoon. A few flurries or snow showers possible. High 39F. Winds W at 15 to 25 mph..

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Cloudy. A few flurries or snow showers possible. Low 28F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph.
Kendallville, IN (46755)

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A mix of clouds and sun during the morning will give way to cloudy skies this afternoon. A few flurries or snow showers possible. High 39F. Winds W at 15 to 25 mph..

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Angola, IN (46703)

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A mix of clouds and sun during the morning will give way to cloudy skies this afternoon. A few flurries or snow showers possible. High 39F. Winds W at 15 to 25 mph..

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Auburn, IN (46706)

Today

Partly cloudy skies this morning will become overcast during the afternoon. A few flurries or snow showers possible. High around 40F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy early with some clearing expected late. A few flurries or snow showers possible. Low 27F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph.
SEATTLE - A Seattle woman originally from Portland has died from a rare blood clotting syndrome after receiving the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, according to a statement posted online by Public Health -- Seattle & King County.

Jessica Berg Wilson, 37, was vaccinated on August 26 and died on September 7 from thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome, known as TTS. It's a rare and potentially deadly clotting event that has been linked with the J&J vaccine.

Johnson & Johnson asks FDA to authorize COVID-19 vaccine booster shots Johnson & Johnson said Tuesday it has asked the US Food and Drug Administration to authorize booster shots for its coronavirus vaccine.

According to her obituary, she was an Oregon State graduate who was "vehemently opposed" to taking the vaccine, but eventually took it so she could continue volunteering at her children's school.

Her family released the following statement this week after news of her death spread:

The family is grateful for your interest in the tragic death of our dear Jessica.

As you recognize, this is a difficult and emotional time for us. When we gathered to celebrate her remarkable life that was filled with love for so many, we sought to acknowledge the tragic truth of the events that took her life while placing our emphasis on the caring love she brought to family and community.

Likewise, when we spoke of her legacy in an obituary, we addressed the tragic events that took her life while also focusing on all the blessings she brought to this world. Never did we expect the stunning and overwhelming public outpouring of support, compassion, and love that has materialized. The response of the public has left us humbled. At this point, we wish to convey to everyone who joined in honoring the memory of Jessica that we are forever grateful for their kind words and their prayers. Many of those who responded expressed heartfelt gratitude that we were able to bear witness to a tragic truth that they also have experienced. We hold those souls in our prayers along with Jessica. In most cases these victims who have also suffered harm are not being heard.

With this in mind, we must tell you we have little to add to Jessicas story, but we pray you will tell the many, many stories of those similarly afflicted. We pray you will turn to them and bring your resources to the task of giving voice to their pain.

Thank you, in advance, for your efforts to bring light where there has been darkness.

May God bless you.

Public Health -- Seattle & King County said the diagnosis was confirmed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Clinical Immunization Safety Assessment Project. CDC has reported three other confirmed TTS deaths nationally, the release said.

"The safety and well-being of every individual who receives a Johnson & Johnson product remains our top priority," a spokesperson at J&J told CNN.

"Any adverse event report about individuals receiving Johnson & Johnson's single-shot COVID-19 vaccine, as well as our own assessment of the report, is shared with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), European Medicines Agency, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other appropriate health authorities where our vaccine is authorized," the spokesperson added.

"We strongly support raising awareness of the signs and symptoms of the rare events described in the FDA Factsheet for the vaccine, to ensure they can be quickly identified and effectively treated."

In a statement, the CDC said it was aware of the case and the report "indicates a plausible causal relationship between the J&J/Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine and TTS." The agency said it will release updated information on TTS cases later this year.

Earlier this year, the CDC and US Food and Drug Administration recommended a pause in the use of the J&J COVID-19 vaccine after a small number of reports of blood clots among people who had received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, most of them women younger than 50. Use of the vaccine resumed shortly after with a new warning about the risk of blood clots, and clear instructions for health care providers about the particular treatment required.

Health officials said the Johnson & Johnson was safe and effective, and the benefits of the single-shot vaccine far outweighed the risks.

Severe blood clots are just one of many serious risks from COVID-19; the virus has caused more than 700,000 deaths in the United States. More than 186 million people in the United States have been fully vaccinated -- nearly 15 million received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine -- with few serious side effects.

OHSU releases updated forecast model for COVID-19 PORTLAND, Ore. (KPTV) - OHSU has released an updated forecast model of what the states hospitals can expect when it comes to COVID-19.

TTS "is rare, occurring at a rate of about 7 per 1 million vaccinated women between 18 and 49 years old. For women 50 years and older and men of all ages, this adverse event is even more rare," the CDC says.

CDC says people who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine should look out for symptoms of a blood clot with low platelets for several weeks after vaccination, and should seek medical care immediately if they identify any. Symptoms include: "severe or persistent headaches or blurred vision, shortness of breath, chest pain, leg swelling, persistent abdominal pain" and "easy bruising or tiny blood spots under the skin beyond the injection site." It can be treated with anticoagulants other than heparin.

There is no increased risk of TTS after vaccination with the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, CDC says. "Women younger than 50 years old, especially, should be aware of the rare but increased risk of this adverse event, and they should know about other available COVID-19 vaccine options for which this risk has not been seen," the agency says.

TTS has also been linked to AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine, which is not authorized for use in the United States, but is widely used in other countries. Both the AstraZeneca and J&J vaccines use a common cold virus called an adenovirus to carry the vaccine's active ingredients into the body.

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PORTLAND, Ore. (KPTV) - Right now, Oregon is seeing nearly 15,000 job vacancies in the health care industry, according to the Oregon Employment Department.

Nicole Alvarado graduated from the Institute of Technology in Salem in June and said she's already tried a few different nursing jobs after signing on with a nursing agency.

"That's what a lot of us are doing right now, is we're getting into these contracts to see if it's a good fit or not. That's another good thing about this is we're able to see and taste all the different aspects of nursing," Alvarado said about the abundance of jobs.

Kaiser Permanente workers to begin strike vote Monday night PORTLAND, Ore. (KPTV) - The union that represents more than 3,000 Kaiser Permanente nurses and other health care workers in Oregon will take a

She just started a new job as a night nurse with the Oregon Department of Corrections. She said there are so many openings right now, she gets offers daily.

"I get calls every day just about jobs, just about openings, just about coming in, sign on bonuses, which all sounds really good," Alvarado said. "But there's also, you have to think why are they offering you a $10,000 bonus fresh out of school? I get there's a need, but I've realized I need to do what's best for me."

Recruiter for Interim HealthCare of Oregon, Neely Perisich, can speak to just how difficult the hiring process has been lately.

"I think the biggest challenge is getting people to move forward with the hiring process. So, you'll get a lot of candidates that will apply and then they might find a job somewhere else so you really have to connect with the applicant as soon as they apply," Perisich said.

She said it's been so tough to fill home health care jobs, the company hired her on to focus solely on hiring and they plan to participate in Wednesday's virtual job fair.

"We have seniors that need that type of assistance, so we need people in there because we're getting more phone calls than we have employees," Perisich said.

While it's no secret health care workers have been stretched thin during this pandemic, Alvarado said she's ready to play her part.

"We're needed obviously right now more than anything," she said. "I love what I do. I love to help people; I love my nursing career. I've wanted to do it my whole life. I didn't think it would be during a pandemic, but you know everything happens for a reason."

Wednesday's virtual job fair is a partnership between OED and WorkSource Oregon. It's being held via Zoom from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
TILLAMOOK COUNTY, Ore. (KPTV)  Two people died after a 42-foot sailboat capsized north of Rockaway near Nedonna Beach early Sunday morning.

The U.S. Coast Guard said the sailboat with two people aboard left at about 4 a.m. and was traveling to California. Later that evening, the Tillamook County Sheriffs Office said witnesses reported a vessel being tossed around in the surf south of the Nehalem Jetty.

Coast Guard rescues three people and dog after boat sinks off Lincoln City LINCOLN CITY, Ore. (KPTV)  The Coast Guard rescued three people and a dog found in a life raft off the Oregon coast on Monday afternoon after

Firefighters found the body of a woman near the dingy. The USCG continued searching the area for other survivors on lifeboats. The capsized sailboat was registered out of Astoria had become beached. They found a man dead underneath the sailboat.

Authorities have yet to release the victims' names but said they were married and were believed to be the only ones on board the boat.

Rockaway Fire-Rescue, Garibaldi Fire-Rescue, Nehalem Bay Fire-Rescue, Tillamook Ambulance and the US Coast Guard also responded.

The investigation is ongoing.
(ST. JOSEPH, Mo.) The Facebook whistleblower called on Congress to take action Tuesday saying a safer internet is still possible, and demanding accountability for Facebook's founder.

Former employee Frances Haugen released tens of thousands of pages of internal research from the social media giant that showed the company knew its apps were harmful to users.

Local social media experts said they were impressed by the Facebook employee turned whistleblower Tuesday and that it was hard to disagree with what she was saying.

"She's saying they are not doing enough to protect the society's greater good with what they've done and not done, Missouri Western State University professor Jennifer Jackson said.

John Dailey, Northwest Professor: We are trying to get engagement and it seems that we've discovered that the best way to get engagement is to make people angry, Northwest Missouri State University professor John Dailey said.

Frances Haugen testified before congress that the media giant knows more about the damage Facebook and Instagram are causing than it lets on and put profits before people.

"The choices being made inside Facebook are disastrous for our children, for public safety, for privacy and democracy and that is why we must demand Facebook make changes, Frances Haugen said.

Haugen alleged Facebook and its sister apps including Instagram, know in detail how harmful the platforms are to teens' mental health and body image.

"One of the documents we sent in on problematic use examined the rates by age and that piqued with 14-year-olds. It's just like cigarettes. Teens don't have good self-regulation. They say I feel bad when I use Instagram, but yet I can't stop, Haugen said.

Something Missouri Western professor Jennifer Jackson says social media analysts have been trying to alert the public for a while.

Media research, I've talked about it with my students for years that social media can create a lot of harm to especially young girls but we can't forget that young men are involved in this as well. These teenagers are seeing unrealistic body images as being portrayed as the ideal that they can't uphold and it's causing an increase in low self-esteem, eating disorders, body dysmorphia, and several other concerning situations, Jackson said.



Children are not the only ones exposed to harmful content on social media.

"It is causing more teenagers to be exposed to anorexia content. It is tearing families apart and in places like Ethiopia it is literally fanning ethnic violence. I encourage the reform of these platforms. Not picking and choosing individual ideas but instead making the platforms safer, less twitchy, less reactive, less viral because that's how we solve these problems, Haugen said.

Haugen testified that Facebook's algorithms created an environment where polarization, misinformation, and shocking content thrive.

They wanted the acceleration of the platform back after the election, they returned to their original defaults. And the fact that they had to break the glass on January 6th and turn them back on, I think that's deeply problematic, Haugen said.

Northwest professor John Dailey says the algorithms may have been designed to bring family and friends to the forefront of your feed, but such a small closed-circuit world can be dangerous.

We are trying to get engagement and it seems that we've discovered that the best way to get engagement is to make people angry. The problem is that I'm not even hearing anything from the other side because the algorithm in the system is not showing me any communication other than from the people I already know. The things I already agree with so the echo chamber becomes self-reinforcing. There's no place for new air to get in, Dailey said.

In a surprising turn of events, a Facebook spokesperson tweeted that he agreed with the whistleblower on one thing. It was time for congress to begin regulating the platforms, now the question is how do they do it.

I think we have the tech to fix it and maybe that's just what happened. Finally, the people who ruined Facebook are going, 'We need help because you're right, it went too far, Dailey said.

I was surprised when they asked Congress to step in. You do not usually see these companies asking the government to interfere. I don't think the public is going to react well because there is this idea of free expression on social media and the regulators will be regulating that too, Jackson said.
DEER LODGE, Mont. - Montana Department of Corrections Director Brian Gootkin reported Wednesday that two inmates at the Montana State Prison died by suicide in separate incidents.

The incidents took place over a two-week period in September according to Gootkin.

Correctional officers found inmate Edward A. Bailey, 40, unresponsive in his cell on Sept. 20.

On Sept. 28, Jeremy B. Cramer, 47, was found unresponsive in his cell.

Both inmates were pronounced deceased by the prison physician.

Suicides are always difficult for everyone involved, and the department extends its condolences to the families of these individuals, Gootkin said.

Behavioral health support is provided by the Department of Corrections to inmates, with a full-time, dedicated behavioral health team on-site at the Montana State Prison a release from the Montana State Prison says.
BILLINGS  Mayor Bill Cole and the Billings Industrial Revitalization District (BIRD) will receive a $25,000 grant to support the North Park Art Connection Project.

Mayor Cole worked with the community on the award-winning proposal to the Bloomberg Philanthropies Asphalt Art Initiative, including members of the BIRD.

Cities receive grants up to $25,000 and technical support for projects that use art and design to improve street safety, revitalize public spaces and engage community members from the Bloomberg Philanthropies Asphalt Art Initiative.

According to a release, the BIRD board of directors will use the grant to connect the North Park neighborhood with the up-and-coming industrial/commercial area under redevelopment in the east part of Downtown.

Creating a safer and more vibrant bike/pedestrian access point between these two neighborhoods is key to the success of redevelopment in the BIRD, Says Zack Terakedis, the director of the BIRD, said. Sixth Avenue is a major vehicular traffic thoroughfare and we must create connectivity between the people living there and the jobs and new developments that are literally across the street from one another in these historic neighborhoods of Billings.

The Asphalt Art Initiative responds to the growing number of cities around the world embracing art as an effective and relatively low-cost strategy to improve safety in their streets through interventions on crosswalks, plazas, and other transportation infrastructure.

The North Park Art Connection Project will create a colorful asphalt streetscape on North 19th immediately north of 6th Avenue, linking historic North Park to the Explorers Academy Headstart Campus.

In addition, the HAWK beacon (High-Intensity Activated crossWalK beacon) on 6th Avenue between North 20th and 21st and the crosswalks at North 18th are great connectors to link the two neighborhoods.

The BIRD will work with community partners at the North Park Task Force, the Explorers Academy, Public Works, MSU-Billings Art Department, Billings Community Foundation, Healthy by Design and the local art community to bring this project to life in the summer of 2022.

The BIRD also says they hope to recruit artists who can manage a project of this capacity and create work that can be enjoyed by the community.

You can learn more about The BIRD by visiting their website at http://www.billingsbird.org/.
(The Center Square)  The governors of 11 Republican-led states met in the Texas border community of Mission Wednesday to demand President Joe Biden take immediate steps to resolve the border crisis.

"President Joe Biden has caused a humanitarian crisis and chaos on our border," Abbott said, with 10 other U.S. governors standing behind him.

Along with a significant increase in illegal immigration since Biden took office, Abbott and other governors said border communities are seeing an increase in drug and human trafficking as well as other crimes as a result of Biden's open border policies.

"This is a humanitarian crisis," Abbott said.

The Texas governor said 26 U.S. governors have agreed to a 10-point plan being delivered to the president to help alleviate the crisis. The plan includes the reinstatement of the "Remain in Mexico" policy that requires immigrants to return to their home countries until amnesty hearings are concluded in the U.S.; and finishing securing the southern border with Mexico, including completion of the border wall that was a priority of former President Donald Trump. A third demand is the reinstatement of Title 42 health restrictions at the border, which require immigrants to be deported if they pose a health risk, including testing positive for COVID-19.

More than 20% of migrants who have been tested at the border have been positive for COVID-19, one governor said.

"While Joe Biden has done absolutely nothing," Abbott said, other states have stepped up to do what should be the federal government's job.

Abbott said the 26 Republican governors asked for a meeting with the president to discuss their concerns, but "he completely ignored us."

Abbott was joined by Govs. Goug Ducey of Arizona, Brian Kemp of Georgia, Brad Little of Idaho, Kim Reynolds of Iowa, Greg Gianforte of Montana, Pete Ricketts of Nebraska, Mike DeWine of Ohio, Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, Kristi Noem of South Dakota and Mark Gordon of Wyoming.

"The situation here is certainly outrageous," Ducey said, noting the more than 15,000 mostly Haitian refugees who congregated under a bridge in Del Rio, Texas, last month. "It's a tragedy and I can tell you the border situation is just as out of control in the state of Arizona," noting that the Yuma region in his state has seen a more than 1,00% increase illegal border crossings in recent months.

"American lives are at risk," Ducey said.

Many of the governors said they've seen large increases in the distribution of the highly addictive narcotic fentanyl in their states as a result of the increases in illegal immigration.

Overall, more than 1.3 million migrants have been apprehended at the U.S. border with Mexico this year, a number greater than the populations of nine states. Another several hundred thousand have evaded capture in addition to those who surrendered to Border Patrol.

Even as illegal border crossings continue to rise, new guidelines issued by Department of Homeland Security state that entering the U.S. illegally  violating immigration laws established by Congress  is no longer an arrestable offense.

The fact an individual is a removable noncitizen therefore should not alone be the basis of an enforcement action against them," DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a memorandum to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials last week. "We will use our discretion and focus our enforcement resources in a more targeted way. Justice and our countrys well-being require it.

Only those who pose a threat to national security, public safety or a threat to border security should be targeted for removal, the new guidelines state.

The governors at Wednesday's news conference also called for Mayorkas' resignation or firing.

Wednesday's news conference was held shortly after an armed student opened fire Timberview High School in Arlington, Texas. Abbott acknowledged the shooting before discussing the border crisis.

This story will be updated.
BILLINGS - A non-profit which works with organizations all over the U.S. to make sure no kid goes without a warm jacket this winter was in the Magic City Tuesday.

They're called 'Operation Warm' and they partnered with Mountain America Credit Union to raise funds and deliver 240 coats to children at the Explorers Academy Head Start preschool.

With over 14% of kids in Montana living in poverty, it is so critical that we help support wherever we can, Brittani Forbush, AVP of Strategic Partnerships at Mountain America Credit Union, said.

Executive Director for the school Janice King says the new jackets will help their kids get to school safely and ready to learn when they arrive.

According to King, 90% of the children they see live at or are below the poverty line. With many families struggling right now, King says having a new coat can allow for families to focus on meeting monthly household expenses.

"Having something like a warm coat definitely brings safety and security to a child. It really shows a child we really care about them, and the community cares about them, and those are things that really help a child flourish in an environment. Children are confident, they have better attendance and like I said, they get those skills they need to be ready for kindergarten," King said.
HELENA, Mont. - A group of senators, including Senator Steve Daines, is urging the U.S. Department of Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, to establish an Office of Tribal Affairs.

The group wrote a letter to Secretary Yellen, saying the recent tribal consultations and interactions between Treasury and tribal nations underscore the need for in-house expertise at Treasure on tribal policy matters.

The recent work of Treasury during the COVID-19 pandemic has shown that the Department requires a more formalized body to interact with tribal nations,

The letter reads. Treasury needs a sufficient number of permanent personnel who can help improve the Departments tribal consultation process, strengthen the Departments relationship with tribes, and provide more in-house expertise on matters affecting tribal nations.

Establishing an Office of Indian Affairs has support from Indian Country, and would improve the Treasurys ability to fulfill its trust responsibilities to respect the nation-to-nation relationship between the federal government and tribal nations the letter states.

Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Senator Alex Padilla of California, Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, Senator Jeffrey A. Merkley of Oregon and Senator Steve Daines of Montana signed the letter.

You can read the letter here.
Have you seen the proposed redistricting maps for New Hampshire? What do you think of the plans?
During cross-examination that lasted more than an hour Tuesday afternoon, an expert the defense hopes to use in the case against Kyle Rittenhouse continued to insist the teenager had reason to believe his life was in danger during three shootings last August.

Whether that experts testimony will ever be heard by a jury remains to be seen.

Kenosha County Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger continued to pose the question of whether Rittenhouses life was in danger to John R. Black in testimony that ended late Tuesday afternoon.

Rittenhouse, now 18, of Antioch, Ill., was 17 at the time he shot and killed Joseph Rosenbaum of Kenosha and Anthony Huber of Silver Lake and wounded Gaige Grosskreutz of West Allis last Aug. 25 during civil unrest in the wake of the shooting of Jacob Blake by a Kenosha Police officer.

Rittenhouse, who appeared in court Tuesday, is charged with first-degree reckless homicide for the death of Rosenbaum, first-degree intentional homicide for the death of Huber and attempted first-degree intentional homicide for shooting and injuring Grosskreutz.

Jury selection in the case is set for Nov. 1. Circuit Court Judge Bruce E. Schroeder, who will preside over the trial, did not make a ruling about whether Black will be allowed to testify after Tuesdays proceedings.

The state is expected to have its own witness testify during an Oct. 18 hearing.

Black: Rittenhouse in

danger

Black, a 30-year military veteran and former longtime police officer, said Rittenhouse, who was armed with an AR-style semiautomatic rifle with a 16-inch barrel, had reason to believe his life was in danger in all three interactions that night.

The gun is what raises it in my argument that a reasonable response is to use lethal force to protect oneself, Black said. In that vain, the reasonableness cannot be removed from the context of a person who is pursuing him, a person who has thrown something at him, a person who is cornering him in between things and a person who continues to approach, even though that other person, Mr. Rittenhouse, has a weapon.

In the killing of Rosenbaum, the first person Rittenhouse shot, Black agreed with Binger that, minus a gun, the teenager wouldnt have been justified to use force.

If Mr. Rittenhouse did not have the weapon, and given all the other facts as seen, I would argue, no, it wouldnt be a reasonable response, Black said.

Binger asked Black about a prior interaction between Rosenbaum and Rittenhouse earlier that night, which the expert described as the two being at odds or engaged in a strong level of disagreement.

Rosenbaum wasnt armed with a weapon when he was shot, but that doesnt mean he didnt pose a threat, Black testified.

In the video that I saw, other than the bag being thrown, which could be perceived as some sort of irritant or chemical or that type of stuff, other than his physical ability to inflict harm through fist, feet or bodily weapons, he (Rosenbaum) was not that I saw armed with anything else that would be considered a weapon, a knife or otherwise, Black said.

It does not mean he didnt have them. I did not see them within the evidence I have received.

Other

shootings

The questions and answers followed a similar line with regard to the two other shootings.

Huber, who is seen on the video striking Rittenhouse with a skateboard, could have posed a great threat to him even without a gun, Black testified.

I dont know what Anthony Hubers intent was, whether it was to kill Mr. Rittenhouse or not, he said. ... It would be reasonable to believe that a person in that situation (Huber) is trying to remove my weapon and take it from me. Then they would have control over the weapon, whether that control was to take it away or kill me right then and there.

In his redirect, defense attorney Mark Richards asked Black if a skateboard could be considered a dangerous weapon.

The ones Ive seen (could be), Black said. Theyre laminated, very, very strong. ... They have metal wheels. Could they actually rip out an eye or break a neck? I could tell you that in my training, I could do it with a skateboard.

In the shooting of Grosskreutz, Black said the video showed he entered the frame as Huber was involved with Rittenhouse, and added that in his opinion, Grosskreutz continued to move toward the shooter.

(Grosskreutz) sped up initially to get closer during the time when Mr. Huber was in an altercation with Mr. Rittenhouse, Black said. The round goes off, and more importantly, the muzzle flash from the shot against Mr. Huber is plainly visible within the frame and frames that Mr. Grosskreutz is seen approaching, moving, running toward Mr. Rittenhouse.

Arguably, Mr. Grosskreutz knew, heard and saw indicators that Kyle Rittenhouse had fired his weapon. Mr. Huber disengages, and yet, Mr. Grosskreutz continues to go forward. ... To me, what is significant is this idea of coming in. Mr. Grosskreutz makes a choice to move backward and then re-engage again. I think that is significant.

Mix of

cases

Black, who listed 57 previous cases hes worked on, estimated that 20% of those are as a plaintiff against a police agency.

In testimony earlier Tuesday, Richards said he had hired Black to give insight to what a common citizen would have perceived that night, and not that of a police officer.

To Black, what comes down to reasonable perceptions cant be divided between the two.

The overarching thing that is the same regardless is youre a human first, he said. After that, I take a look at the statutes, those that apply to a peace officer as compared to those that apply to a citizen, and I apply the appropriate standards based on their locale (and) their precedence against cases, as well.
RACINE  A suspect killed himself during a raid on a home in Racine's Georgetown neighborhood on Wednesday morning, law enforcement has confirmed.

A federal agent was shot during the operation but the agent's injuries are "non-life threatening," the U.S. Marshals Service said in a news release. The agent is now in "stable condition," the Racine Police Department reported.

The U.S. Marshals coordinated a multijurisdictional operation, which involved federal and local law enforcement. According to the RPD, they intended "to serve an arrest warrant on an individual wanted for charges including aggravated assault and weapons violations."

As officers approached the home, they were fired upon, the agent was shot, and officers fell back, the RPD said in a release. "There was no return fire from law enforcement personnel," according to an RPD statement.

Next, according to the RPD: "Negotiations take place after which, several children and adults exited the residence. Following negotiations, law enforcement personnel did make entry to 3722 Clairmont Street and discovered the male suspect deceased from a self-inflicted gunshot wound."

Leonard Peace, a Milwaukee-based FBI spokesman, said his agency was in Racine on Wednesday investigating a shooting incident involving a federal officer.

Vehicles and officers from the FBI; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Racine Police Department and Racine County Sheriff's Office were on the scene, as was a SWAT team. An armored vehicle with a battering ram and officers in camouflage were in the area, and a law enforcement drone was flown overhead.

Tense morning

An alert from the Racine Police Department (which listed an address next door to 3722 Clairmont St.) referred to the situation as a "critical incident." A later alert listed the situation as being "in the area of Sovereign Drive and Biscayne Avenue," one block east of Clairmont. 3722 Clairmont St. is the address of the home that was actually targeted in the raid, Racine Police confirmed.

An alert sent to smartphones within a radius of more than three miles from the home at about 9:15 a.m. told residents to "remain in your homes until the situation has been resolved." At 3:05 p.m., another alert went out saying that the "shelter in place recommendation" for the area had been lifted.

Rihannah Morales, who lives on Biscayne Avenue, said she was awakened at 7:30 a.m. "to the sound of police sirens." She saw law enforcement officers in unmarked vehicles swarming the home. Later, she said she saw a woman being taken out of a home in handcuffs.

At about 9:20 a.m. a witness, Erna Sabic, said she heard the sounds of breaking glass and tear gas being deployed by law enforcement.

As of 9:40 a.m., the scene remained active but calm, with dozens of law enforcement personnel in the area and the street blocked off with police tape.

At about 11:15 a.m., a woman and a young boy were escorted from the area.

At 11:25 a.m., loud booms  possibly flashbangs  were heard coming from the area.

Police officers were seen escorting children on foot to school: EverGreen Academy, Concordia Lutheran School and Renaissance School-Taylor are all less than a mile from the scene; the nearest public school is Dr. Jones Elementary, about 1.3 miles away.

Rachel Kubik contributed reporting from the scene. Adam Rogan contributed reporting remotely. Reporting from the Associated Press is included in this article.
STOCKHOLM (AP)  Two U.S.-based scientists were awarded the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine on Monday for their discovery of the receptors that allow humans to feel temperature and touch.

David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian focused their work on the field of somatosensation, that is the ability of specialized organs such as eyes, ears and skin to see, hear and feel.

"This really unlocks one of the secrets of nature," said Thomas Perlmann, secretary-general of the Nobel Committee, in announcing the winners. "It's actually something that is crucial for our survival, so it's a very important and profound discovery."

The committee said Julius, 65, used capsaicin, the active component in chili peppers, to identify the nerve sensors that allow the skin to respond to heat.

Patapoutian found separate pressure-sensitive sensors in cells that respond to mechanical stimulation, it said.

The pair shared the prestigious Kavli Award for Neuroscience last year.

"Imagine that you're walking barefoot across a field on this summer's morning," said Patrik Ernfors of the Nobel Committee. "You can feel the warmth of the sun, the coolness of the morning dew, a caressing summer breeze and the fine texture of blades of grass underneath your feet. These impressions of temperature, touch and movement are feelings relying on somatosensation."

"Such information continuously flows from the skin and other deep tissues and connects us with the external and internal world. It is also essential for tasks that we perform effortlessly and without much thought," said Ernfors.

Perlmann said he managed to get hold of both of the winners before the announcement.

"I (...) only had a few minutes to talk to them, but they were incredibly happy," he said. "And as far as I could tell they were very surprised and a little bit shocked, maybe."

Last year's prize went to three scientists who discovered the liver-ravaging hepatitis C virus, a breakthrough that led to cures for the deadly disease and tests to keep the scourge from spreading though blood banks.

The prestigious award comes with a gold medal and 10 million Swedish kronor (over $1.14 million). The prize money comes from a bequest left by the prize's creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel, who died in 1895.

The prize is the first to be awarded this year. The other prizes are for outstanding work in the fields of physics, chemistry, literature, peace and economics.
An apparent gas leak in an Airbnb in Mexico led to the death of a California couple and their 3-year-old son.

Airbnb's Possible Gas Leak Incident

Based on the report, the California family's trip to the neighboring country was turned into a tragic incident when the couple and their son were found dead in an Airbnb apartment.

According to the New York Post, The California family, headed by Jose Nunez Jr.; his wife, Maria; and their son Jayden, were visiting relatives in Mexico when the tragic incident happened. The American tourists were all found dead in the same room at the Airbnb.

READ MORE: Police Kill Armed Latino Man in Front of U.S. Open of Surfing Fans in Southern California Beach

California Family's Tragic Mexico Trip

The aunt of Jose, Trini Jacobo, stated that other members of their family who were also staying at the same Airbnb but were staying in different rooms were unharmed during their trip.

Jacobo shared with the news agency KBAK that the bodies of the victims of an apparent gas leak incident were still in Mexico.

The patriarch's aunt said that Mexican authorities are going to conduct an autopsy to get to the root of what caused the deaths of the California family. Jacobo clarified that together with the authorities, they are still not sure about any specifics at the cause of the deaths of their relatives.

Also, the Tijuana prosecutor's office said an investigation is still being conducted to determine the type of gas that killed the three residents of Delano, California.

'We already know that the cause of death for the woman and the three-year-old baby is anoxemia due to aspiration and secondary acute pulmonary edema due to chemical poisoning that we are yet to determine,' Baja California Central State Attorney General Hiram Sanchez Zamora said, Daily Mail reported.

The death of Joseph Nunez was caused by acute pulmonary edema as a result of the gas that he inhaled in the Airbnb. The Baja California Central State Attorney General added that forensic workers would be reviewing blood samples collected to determine the type of gas that killed the family.

Moreover, Jacobo said that they are currently not worried about anything else aside from bringing their loved ones back to the U.S.

"We want to know what happened to them, of course, but ... right now, we're focused on getting Jose, Maria, and Jayden home," Jacobo said.

Based on the reports, the California couple left behind four other children in the U.S.

Meanwhile, Jose's aunt, Jacobo, remembered the couple as heads of a good family. She stated that both of them were very focused and family-oriented.

Jacobo added that Jose was one of the best dads that he knew, not because he was his nephew but because of his traits. Jacobo emphasized that Jose was in love with his family, and he showed it by always hugging his family and holding them.

In a statement, Airbnb called the incident a "horrific tragedy." and they extended their condolences and thoughts to the family of the American tourists.

READ NEXT: 'Los Bomberos': Mexicans Unite With Fire Crew Working on California's Dixie Fire

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Written by: Jess Smith

WATCH: California couple and son, 3, die after 'gas leak' at Airbnb in Mexico -


Anti-vaccine residents have attacked nurses who went to a rural village in Guatemala, trying to administer COVID vaccine doses to its residents.

The residents had also abducted the nurses for seven days, with about 50 COVID vaccine doses destroyed, according to a BBC News report.

Around 500 residents had blocked a road and vandalized the team's car in the northern Alta Verapaz province, with 11 workers released after being held by the villagers.

Officials noted that online disinformation is causing resistance to the vaccines. Nurses had stated that they were "verbally and physically attacked" by the villagers.

The residents had also let out the tires of the vehicle the health workers were using and destroyed the cool boxes storing the COVID vaccines.

One nurse had recounted the incident and said they were very scared as they had never experienced something like that, adding that they were just doing their duty.

The nurse also said in a statement that they had explained numerous times that the vaccination is voluntary and they will not force anyone to get it.

Gabriel Sandoval, the director of the provincial health department, said that it was the first time that they had faced physical opposition from the villagers, according to a Fox 5 Vegas report.

Sandoval added that other communities have refused, but they usually draw up papers saying they went to vaccinate them and take responsibility for refusing it.

The director of the provincial health department said it was bound to happen with the false information spreading about the COVID vaccines.

He also noted that many people do not believe in illness, adding that there is a clash of cultures.

READ NEXT: Moderna Scientists Warn Against New COVID Variants That Could Drive a New Wave of Transmission

Guatemala COVID Vaccine Rollout

COVID vaccinations had started slow in the Latin American country, causing discontent over vaccines, pandemic management, and alleged corruption issues in the government, according to an Aljazeera report in May.

The problem at first was getting vaccines into the country. However, it changes to be a problem of getting the doses administered before they expire.

Guatemala had first lagged behind as some of its neighboring countries, such as Honduras and Nicaragua, made their way to deploying health workers for the vaccine.

In late February, Guatemala has received 658,000 total vaccine doses in five shipments, with the vaccines being 90 percent AstraZeneca's Covishield vaccine.

In September, at least three shipments of COVID vaccine donated by Spain had arrived in the country.

Guatemalan Health Minister Francisco Coma and Spanish diplomat Ricardo Gonzales were working together with the arrival of the 307,200 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

The first delivered shipment was in August with 201,600 doses, according to a La Prensa Latina report.

Gonzales said that an additional 151,200 will reach the Latin American country in the coming weeks.

The Spanish diplomat said that the donation of the vaccines is part of Spain's commitment to providing 7.5 million vaccines through the World Health Organization's COVAX program.

The program targets to distribute vaccine doses to countries that need it most.

READ MORE: Guatemala Struggles With COVID Vaccine Rollout, Corruption Issues

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Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Millions of Moderna vaccine doses leave Chicago for Guatemala - from WGN News






Brian Laundrie's parents changed the date of his believed disappearance, as the search for the Florida fugitive continues in the wake of Gabby Petito's case.

Laundrie's attorney, Steve Bertolino, said on Tuesday that Gabby Petito's fiance disappeared on September 13, even though he previously said that Laundrie went the day after the changed date.

Bertolino did not further on other details, such as the time Laundrie left his Florida home on the day he disappeared.

READ NEXT: Brian Laundrie Search: Sightings of Gabby Petito's Fiance Reported in Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina

On September 17, Chris and Roberta Laundrie, the parents of Gabby Petito's fiance, claimed that their son had been missing since Tuesday, September 14.

Bertolino argued that the change of date on Laundrie's disappearance to September 13 was based on their communication with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) "and confirmation that the mustang was in the Laundrie residence."

It can be recalled that Laundrie's silver Ford Mustang convertible was issued a police ticket on one of the entrances of Florida's Carlton Reserve when he left the area on Tuesday night, The Daily Mail reported.

Brian Laundrie Went to Florida After His Altercation With Gabby Petito

Aside from announcing the changes on the date of Laundrie's disappearance, Bertolino also disclosed earlier on Tuesday that Gabby Petito's fiance took a round trip to Florida days after their altercation in Utah.

Bertolino noted that Laundrie flew home to Tampa, Florida, from Salt Lake City, Utah, for six days on August 17. The lawyer highlighted that Laundrie went to an "empty storage unit" before he flew back to reunite with his fiancee to continue their cross-country trip.

Bertolino pointed out that Laundrie's purpose of flying to Tampa from Salt Lake City was to get some items and close the said unit, as the couple planned to extend their trip that was supposed to end in Oregon in October.

The revelation of Laundrie flying back to Tampa, Florida, after a physical fight with Gabby Petito came a day after his sister, Cassie Laundrie, urged him to "come forward" and get their family out of the "horrible mess."

.@ABC NEWS EXCLUSIVE: Brian Laundrie's sister urges him to 'come forward' amid nationwide search.



More ahead on @GMA. pic.twitter.com/ph7D8lo5rn  Good Morning America (@GMA) October 5, 2021

Cassie had also claimed that she had nothing to do with her brother's disappearance.

Gabby Petito's Attorney Says Brian Laundire Used YouTuber's Credit Card

As Bertolino defended why Laundrie flew back to Florida, another accusation was slammed by Petito's side against the YouTuber's fiance.

On September 23, the FBI issued an arrest warrant for Brian Laundrie, accusing him of bank card fraud.

Gabby Petito's family attorney, Richard Stafford, claimed that Laundrie used Petito's credit card and then ran from the authorities, on Tuesday, during a televised interview.

"He [Brian Laundrie] used his credit card to get home and then ran from the police," Stafford said, adding that what Laundrie did depicts what he was thinking back then.

Meanwhile, Laundrie's side has not yet provided an official statement regarding Stafford's accusations.

Gabby Petito disappeared on a cross-country trip with Brian Laundrie to Oregon. Petito suddenly lost communication with her family in late August. The YouTuber's remains were found in a Wyoming campground on September 19.

Laundrie, who was named a person of interest in Gabby Petito's case, had been missing while the search for him continues.

READ NEXT: Brian Laundrie Manhunt: Florida Sheriff Says Police in Utah, North Port Missed Chances to Take Gabby Petito's Fiance Into Custody

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Written By: Joshua Summers

WATCH: New Timeline of Brian Laundrie's Movements Emerges - From WFLA News Channel 8
U.S. Climate Envoy John Kerry scored the headlines on Tuesday after he claimed that President Joe Biden was not aware of the consequences of the U.S. submarine deal with Australia in France.

Kerry made his comments with a French TV news organization as he attempted to smooth the rift between U.S. and France, following the trilateral agreement between the United States, Australia, and United Kingdom. The said alliance would provide an exchange of submarine technology.

READ NEXT: France Cancels Gala Celebrating French-U.S. Relations Over Pres. Joe Biden's Submarine Deal With Australia

The said deal caused France to lose at least $90 billion submarine contract, The Daily Mail reported.

In the interview, Kerry said that he was asked by Biden about the situation, claiming that he explained exactly, and the president was not aware of the effects of the submarine deal.

John Kerry admits in interview with French TV that Joe Biden had no idea about the fallout with the French from the AUKUS sub deal.



"He literally had not been aware of what had transpired" pic.twitter.com/EblvE05zKg  POLARIS (@polarisnatsec) October 5, 2021

"He [Joe Biden] literally had not been aware of what had transpired," Kerry said in the interview.

Furthermore, Kerry said that President Joe Biden became aware of the situation when he asked the former secretary of state what had happened, The Hill reported.

"I don't want to go into the details of it but suffice to say... the president is very committed to strengthening the relationship and making sure that this is a small event of the past," Kerry underscored.

John Kerry Says U.S. and France "Have so Much to Work on"

Aside from speaking with the French reporters, Kerry also spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday, saying that the U.S. and France have more significant issues to work on, such as nuclear weapons, cyber warfare, and climate.

Kerry went on to say that the U.S. and France have a lot of work to do, pointing out that both countries cannot get out of track over a "momentary event." Kerry furthered that he believes the U.S. and France would get over the issues surrounding them quickly.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken Talks with France President

Aside from John Kerry, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday spoke with French President Macron in an attempt to heal the rift between the U.S. and France.

According to a senior U.S. State Department official, Blinked told Macron that Washington is supportive of the European defense and the security initiatives that would increase capabilities but would not weaken the NATO alliance.

The official furthered that President Macron affirmed that any new initiative from France should not compete with NATO.

Blinked spoke with the French president for at least 30-40 minutes, then he was toured around the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs by Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian for more than an hour.

Blinken's meeting with President Macron came after French Ambassador to the U.S. Philippe Etienne returned to Washington after he was recalled amid the rift between the two countries, which also prompted the cancellation of the planned gala in Washington D.C.

READ NEXT: Former Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham Says Donald Trump Administration's COVID Response, Misinformation Cost Lives

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Written By: Joshua Summers

WATCH: France accuses Australia, US of 'Lying' Over Submarine Deal - From Al Jazeera English
The Treasury Department has sent a letter to Arizona Governor Doug Ducey saying that using the state's federal COVID funds on educations grants directed to schools with mask mandates are "not a permissible use."

The recent move notes the attempt by the Biden administration to push back against Republican governors who have opposed mask mandates and had sought the COVID funds to push their agendas, according to an Associated Press News report.

The Republican governor had created the grant programs in August to pressure school districts that went against the state's ban on mask mandates.

Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said in a letter that conditions "undermine evidence-based efforts" to curb the spread of the pandemic.

Adeyemo then asked the state to explain how it will solve the problem within 30 days.

A spokesperson for Ducey, C.J. Karamargin, said that it is "baffling" why anyone would oppose the education grant programs.

Karamargin said that the program would focus on equipping families with the resources to get their children prepared in their studies, such as tutoring, child care, and transportation, among others.

READ NEXT: Dr. Anthony Fauci Supports COVID Vaccine Mandates for School Children, Says It's a 'Good Idea'

Arizona Education Grants

Ducey had allotted $163 million into one grant program that was available only to schools following the state's ban on mask requirements.

In addition, a $10 million budget was funneled to provide vouchers to families at state public schools that require masks or mandate students to quarantine when exposed to the virus, according to a Newsweek report.

Arizona is one of at least eight states that have laws or released executive orders banning mask mandates in public schools.

In August, the Education Department had opened civil rights probe into five Republican-led states that prohibit any mask mandates in schools.

The department noted that such actions may violate the rights of students with disabilities.

The Education Department had later added Florida to the list of states under investigation, noting that it was watching several other states, which includes Arizona, in case it needed to take action.

States Banning Mask Mandates

The Justice Department had backed up the families of children with disabilities in Texas.

The families were suing to overturn Gov. Greg Abbott's order on the ban of mask mandates in the state's schools, according to The New York Times report.

Texas state courts had also received lawsuits against Abbott's ban and have found initial success.

Ken Paxton, the state attorney general, has defended the ban in state court. He said that the Texas law gives the governor broad powers to guide the state through emergencies like the pandemic.

However, the Justice Department argued in its statement that civil rights protections under anti-discrimination laws are still applicable even during emergencies.

Dustin Rynders, a lawyer representing those with disabilities in Texas, said that it would be discrimination for a state to prohibit ramps to enter the school.

Rynders added that many of the clients, people wearing masks to protect their clients' health is what is required for his clients to be able to safely enter school.

READ MORE: More Than 5,000 Students in a Single Florida School District Quarantined or Isolated Due to COVID

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Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Arizona Could Lose Relief Funds for Undermining School Mask Mandates - from News Leader






Afghanistan's ambassador the U.S. Adela Raz said that she has lost trust in the U.S. government while claiming that U.S. President Joe Biden does not care about the women and children who were left behind.

It was Raz's first time to talk since Afghanistan fell to the insurgent group, according to a Daily Mail report.

Raz also noted that she did not trust the U.S. government after its withdrawal from the country. She said that she had lost some trust in U.S. policies, including her own leadership and government policies.

She also criticized the Biden administration for withdrawing without negotiations on behalf of the vulnerable Afghans, such as the women and children.

She also noted that she could not say for sure whether the Afghan people would be able to trust another U.S. president.

Raz was appointed by former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in her position in July and has refused to step down since the Taliban took over the country.

She had also refused to recognize their new government and became a refugee in her own embassy.

READ NEXT: Taliban Executes Public Hanging With a Dead Body Suspended From Crane; Note Says the Hanging Was "Punishment for Kidnapping"

Raz on Biden's Leadership

Raz said that she and her colleagues had been "super excited" when Biden took office in January last year, according to a Business Insider report.

She said she believed that he would not withdraw U.S. troops from the country or would at least renegotiate the deal that former U.S. President Donald Trump had sealed with the Taliban in February 2020.

However, it became clear that Biden did not plan to install more conditions on the Taliban, according to Raz.

Raz said that it was well accepted to them that U.S. troops would withdraw but there would be more conditions on the Taliban.

The Afghanistan ambassador said that the Biden administration has declined to meet with her.

Afghanistan Under Taliban Rule

Meanwhile, millions of teenage girls in Afghanistan are waiting to return to their class as high schools remain closed, which had raised fears about the future of female education under Taliban rule.

The Taliban had allowed boys in the ages seven to 12 to attend classes last month. However, they noted a "safe learning environment" was needed before girls could return to school, according to an Aljazeera report.

The Taliban's Deputy Minister of Information and Culture Zabihullah Mujahid said that they are working on a procedure to allow teenage girls back into the classroom.

Mujahid had vowed to allow women to work and study when it took over Afghanistan on August 15.

However, the militant group has told female government workers to stay at home and had announced an all-male cabinet.

They had also closed the Ministry of Women's Affairs, which had put them under accusation of harassment and abuse of female protesters across the nation.

Toorpekai Momand, an education advocate, said that the delay on girls' education had led many to ask questions such as "why do the Taliban have a problem with us" and why their rights are being taken away.

READ MORE: 2 Afghan Refugees Staying in Wisconsin Arrested for Trying to Rape Child, Strangle Woman

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WATCH: Afghan ambassador says country's dependency on U.S. botched transition - from Axios on HBO






The recent interceptions of the United States Customs and Border Protection officers led to the seizure of cocaine and fentanyl with an estimated street value of over $1.2 million at the Pharr International Bridge Cargo Facility.

According to Boston25 News, the two illegal drugs seizures happened several hours apart on Friday. The first interception happened during an inspection of a commercial tractor-trailer that arrived at the Texas cargo facility from Mexico. Hours later, the second tractor-trailer arrived from Mexico, carrying additional drugs.

READ MORE: Police Reveal Colombia-Turkey Drug Pipeline; Unveil Cocaine Traffic Route of Turkish Cartel, Cali Cartel

The Interceptions at Texas Cargo Facility

During the first interception, CBP officers discovered 35 packages of suspected cocaine weighing almost 88 pounds, and one package of suspected fentanyl, which weighed nearly three pounds, concealed within the tractor.

On Friday, CBP officers at the cargo facility in Pharr International Bridge encountered the commercial tractor-trailers that carried the narcotics.

While lining up in the cargo facility, a CBP officer referred to the conveyance for further inspection, which included the utilization of the non-intrusive imaging equipment and screening conducted by the canine team.

Meanwhile, the second tractor-trailer was investigated by authorities at Pharr International after it arrived from Mexico. According to the officers the vehicle carried dozens of packages of suspected cocaine, which weighed around 67 pounds, inside the tractor.

CBP officers assigned to the Pharr International Bridge cargo facility encountered a tractor-trailer arriving from Mexico and referred to the conveyance for further inspection, which included utilizing NII equipment and screening by the canine team.

The director of the Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas Ports of Entry, Carlos Rodriguez, thanked the CBP officers who intercepted the loads of cocaine and fentanyl. Rodriguez praised the team for their displayed teamwork and the utilization of all available tools and resources in the Texas cargo facility.

Moreover, Rodriguez emphasized the importance of people knowing and remembering how lethal fentanyl is. He also added that officers needed to do extreme care and utilize personal protective equipment when they encounter any load of narcotics for the same reasons.

The agency said that CBP officers seized both vehicles including the narcotics found inside. The two cases have been turned over to agents working with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations.

Last Month's Drug Seizure at Texas Cargo Facility

Around $16,836,500 worth of alleged methamphetamine was intercepted at the Pharr International Bridge cargo facility by the U.S. CBP OFO.

Port Director Carlos Rodriguez, Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas Port of Entry, said that the seizure of the massive load of methamphetamine underscores not only the gravity of the narcotics threat that the country is facing on a daily basis but also the resolve of their frontline CBP officers to utilize inspections experience and technology to keep the trade corridors of U.S. secured.

READ NEXT: Ecuadorian Police Seize 2.5 Tons Cocaine in Separate Operations; Arrest Five Suspects Behind Drug Shipments Bound to Europe, U.S.

This article is owned by Latin Post

Written by: Jess Smith

WATCH: 1 In Custody Following Drug Bust at Pharr International Bridge-KRGV


Around 1,400 Kellogg's workers went on strike to demand a fair contract from the cereal company.

The company did not immediately say how much of the supply would be disrupted as work at all of the Kellogg Company's cereal plants came to a halt Tuesday due to the strike, NPR reported.

Plants in Battle Creek, Michigan; Omaha, Nebraska; Memphis, Tennessee; and Lancaster, Pennsylvania had joined the strike.

Why Kellogg's Workers Go on Strike

Daniel Osborn, president of the local union in Omaha, said the union and the U.S. cereal company have been at an impasse in the bargaining table for over a year.

The dispute between the workers and Kellogg's involves pay and benefits issues such as losing the premium health care, reducing retirement benefits, as well as holiday and vacation pay.

Anthony Shelton, president of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union, said the Froot Loops cereal maker continues to threaten to send additional jobs to Mexico if workers do not accept the proposals.

Shelton noted that the proposals are taking away protections that workers have had for decades. According to Reuters, Kellogg's argued its compensation and benefits for its employees were among the best in the industry.

Kellogg's spokesperson Kris Bahner said they are disappointed by the union's move on their proposal, saying that the offer has increased pay and benefits. The company also insisted that its employees made an average of $120,000 a year last year.

Osborn said that he expects the company to bring non-union workers into the plants this week in trying to resume operations and maintain the products' supply.

Meanwhile, the company noted that it is imposing some of its contingency plans, including internal and third-party resources, to limit supply disruptions.

READ NEXT: Tate's Bake Shop Workers Threatened With Deportation Ahead of Their Union Vote

Food Companies Amid The Pandemic

Kellogg's is among food manufacturing plants that continued to operate amid the pandemic. For most of that time, Osborn noted that workers were put in 12-hour shifts for the whole week to keep up with the production.

Osborn said the level they were working at was unsustainable. Reuters reported that the union had used what appeared to be an angry version of Kellogg's Frosted Flakes mascot in their posters. It was called Tony the Tiger.

The union asked people to join the picket, with images on social media showing some workers holding banners outside the plants.

Osborn said the company had an idea on how long they would conduct the strike, adding that they would stand fast for as long as they had to. He noted that the strike had gone more than 18 hours already.

In a statement, Shelton said his union stands in solidarity with those who are on strike, The New York Times reported. The same union has also gone on strike against Mondelez International over proposed changes to shift lengths and overtime rules.

The weekslong strike, which recently ended, has affected three bakeries and three small sales distribution facilities, with around a thousand workers joining the strike, according to Mondelez.

READ MORE: Organizations Supporting Undocumented Immigrants Puts Pressure on California for a Weekly COVID-19 Relief Aid

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Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Kellogg's Workers on Strike - From 13 On Your Side






Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has refuted whistleblower Frances Haugen's claims, saying many of these allegations "don't make any sense."

New York Post reported that Zuckerberg wrote a note to employees that he then posted on his Facebook account on Tuesday, saying that he "wanted to share" his thoughts to the public.

READ NEXT: Senator Elizabeth Warren Lauds Facebook Whistleblower Saying "She's Trying to Save Our Democracy"

Facebook CEO Reacts on Accusations of Whistleblower

Mark Zuckerberg's statement came hours after Frances Haugen, a former Facebook product manager, testified before Congress about a trove of internal documents she gave to The Wall Street Journal.

The hearing's focus was on the social media giant's internal research that showed Instagram could have a negative effect on young individuals.

Haugen's main argument was that Facebook prioritizes profits over the safety of its users, particularly its most vulnerable and youngest, The Verge reported.

Zuckerberg said this claim was "deeply illogical" as they care deeply about safety, well-being, and mental health issues.

"If we didn't care about fighting harmful content, then why would we employ so many more people dedicated to this than any other company in our space - even ones larger than us?" the Facebook CEO wrote.

Zuckerberg further noted that if they wanted to hide the results of their research, "why would we have established an industry-leading standard for transparency and reporting on what we're doing?"

Zuckerberg then mentioned that the company introduced the "Meaningful Social Interactions change" to News Feed. The said change enabled more contents from family and friends to appear than the viral videos online.

"We did [it] knowing it would mean people spent less time on Facebook, but that research suggested it was the right thing for people's well-being. Is that something a company focused on profits over people would do?" the Facebook CEO said.

Congress Demands Answers From Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg

Congress is demanding answers from Mark Zuckerberg after the Facebook whistleblower testified. Senator Richard Blumenthal, the subcommittee chair that held the hearing, called on the Facebook CEO to appear before them.

"Mark Zuckerberg, you need to come before this committee... you need to explain to Frances Haugen, to us, to the world, and to the parents of America what you were doing," Blumenthal noted.

Facebook's internal research about Instagram's negative effects on teens has fueled anger towards the firm and prompted calls to publish more studies for independent experts to evaluate.

In his lengthy post, Zuckerberg said he "found it difficult to read the mischaracterization of the research" into how Instagram affects young people.

According to the Facebook CEO, the study "actually demonstrated that many teens they heard from feel that using Instagram helps them when struggling with the "kinds of hard moments and issues teenagers have always faced."

Mark Zuckerberg went on to say that more teenage girls who said they struggled with anxiety, sadness and eating issues, among others, also said Instagram made those "difficult times better rather than worse."

"We have worked for years on industry-leading efforts to help people in these moments and I'm proud of the work we've done. We constantly use our research to improve this work further," the Facebook CEO added.

READ MORE: Facebook Whistleblower Says Social Media Giant Gained Profit Before Shutting Down Hate Speech

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Written by: Joshua Summers

WATCH: Facebook Whistleblower: Mark Zuckerburg is Responsible for the Company's Decisions - From CNBC Television
Charlie Sheen will no longer have to pay his ex-wife Denise Richards child support, a Los Angeles judge ruled on Monday.

A source close to the former "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star told People that the court ruling caught the actress off guard. The source said that Richards was "blindsided" by the court date and decision.

The actress was not present in the court proceedings in which the judge adjusted Sheen's child support payments to "zero dollars a month" since daughter Sami, 17, is now living with the actor.

On Friday, Richards wrote on Instagram that she's traveling for work. According to the source, the actress was surprised that the court ruling happened while she was out of town.

An insider told Page Six that Richards was never served "this court date," and the actor did this on purpose. The "Two and a Half Men" reportedly filed the petition to change the child support arrangement two years ago and kept pushing the court date.

The source said the actor "pushed it off because he didn't want records of the child support he was paying Brooke [Mueller] to impact the case after he agreed to pay them both the same amount of child support."

But another insider claimed that Richards knew "about the court date for six months."

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Denise Richards Says Her Youngest Daughter With Charlie Sheen Still Stays With Her

Denise Richards insisted that Charlie Sheen should still pay for child support since their other daughter, Lola, 16, still lives with her, The Daily Mail reported.

"Lola does not live with Charlie. She lives with both of her parents and stays with Charlie when Denise is out of town. When Denise is back, Lola will be with her," the source noted.

The source said the court ruling "is very disappointing for Denise, but also not surprising," adding that Sheen is "pitting" his daughters against their mother, "which is horrible."

Reports said that since Sheen filed the petition in December 2019, Richards has never filed any documents contesting the actor's request to reduce his child support payments.

The insider close to Richards said that Charlie Sheen has not paid any child support to the actress "in at least four years."

But Sheen's attorney claimed that Richards owes his ex-husband money as the actor overpaid on his child support for so long. The attorney then said that the actor has no plan to recoup those funds.

Denise Richards Elder Daughter Stays With Charlie Sheen

The ruling comes almost a month after Sami moved out of Richards' home she labeled as "hell house." In a now private TikTok video, Sami claimed that she was now full of self-love as she moved out of the residence, Page Six reported.

Sami did not clarify where she was staying, but The Daily Mail noted that the 17-year-old now lives with her father. According to court documents, Sami has been living with Sheen since July.

"Denise loves Sami very much and Sami loves her," the source close to Richards said, adding that Sami did not want to follow the rules imposed by her mother.

The source added that Denise Richards loves her daughter "very much" and that the actress was "saddened" by what happened.

READ MORE: Alyssa Milano Hits Out at Jason Aldean's Political Openness After Wife Gets Criticized for Anti-Biden Shirts

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Written by: Joshua Summers

WATCH: Charlie Sheen Will No Longer Pay Denise Richards Child Support - From US Weekly
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People First Credit Union is urging locals to get involved with this years Credit Union annual art competition the deadline for which is looming.

This years theme, Imagine, is influenced by the creative role art plays in Irish society and encourages participants to unlock their imagination and look at how art inspires us and our communities.

The organisers say that despite the current challenges, art has kept people from all walks of life connected and this years theme encourages participants to express this connectivity on paper or canvass.

People First says art has always been a huge part of Irish life and the Credit Union art competition, now in its 38th year, is dedicated to supporting and developing the arts in Irish society.

The competition is open to children aged seven years and under right through to 18 years and over. There is also a category for those with physical or intellectual challenges. Winners at the local level will go on to a regional level, and regional winners will progress to the national awards ceremony in February 2022.

Belinda Gyves from People First Credit Union encouraged people to enter.

We believe that this years theme will really inspire entrants and challenge them to unlock their imagination. The art competition is hugely important as it raises our community spirit and brings great excitement to us here at People First Credit Union when we see these amazing entries coming in. Whether its your first time to enter or you have entered before, we want to encourage everyone to participate and, as always, there are some fantastic prizes up for grabs, she said.

The annual competition is part of the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) commitment to supporting the artistic development of people of all ages and abilities in communities throughout Ireland.

Winners, runners-up, and merit award-winners at the local level will go on to represent the credit union at the regional level, and from there, winning artworks will go forward to the national level. National winners will receive cash prizes at an award ceremony to be held in February 2022.

Entry forms are available at the People First CU website here or directly here.

For further information please contact Belinda Gyves 057 862 2594
The rise in fake phone calls with a recording alleging financial problems or crimes, has even hit a Garda station according to Laois Offaly Kildare Garda Chief Superintendent John Scanlan.

He gave advice on what to do, at the recent Laois Joint Policing committee meeting.

We're all getting these calls, it sounds like a machine voice. They might say your account is compromised. Disengage. Make bona fide contact with the department. They are chancing their arms, to the extent that they rang a Garda station recently, he said.

Don't ring them back. No Garda will ring you up accusing you of a crime or social welfare crime.

If you purchase online, there's a tracking system, go back and look at it. We will get a community project going to get the message out, he said.

Clr Caroline Dwane Stanley had asked him for advice on fraudulent phone calls.

"Normally when you get a call it's a foreign mumber and most people wouldn't answer. Calls are coming now from an 01 number and when you pick up there's a delay and it goes to a number outside the country. Some people are being done out of money because of this. It's Irish numbers coming up, pretending to be from revenue or the HSE," she had said.

Chief Supt Scanlan advised people to give no personal data.

"Don't be sharing your personal data over the phone. These are internationally based, just hang up, don't engage," he said.

He said online banking is safe, answering concern expressed by Bobby Delaney from Mountmellick Community Alert at the meeting.

I don't want to undermine a whole industry. I give my numbers and key in my codes almost daily. If you do it properly you should be raasonably safe, he said.

Cllr John King asked if any headway has been made to identify who is behind the fake calls.

It is more international. It's all over the world. In certain jurisdictions there is somebody just looking at machines making these calls, the Chief said.
An man has been jailed for a total of six months for a number of offences including the possession of a hurley that had a knife bolted to the boss.

Adam Maxwell, 25, with an address given in court as 12 Yewston, Nenagh, Co Tipperary, pleaded not guilty to a charge of threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour at Nenagh Garda station on August 8, 2019.

The court heard Mr Maxwell came into the station looking for a particular garda.

There were other people in the public office and he was asked to wait outside.

He went out but came back in and said the garda he was looking for was a kiddie fiddler.

He was asked to leave and he did.

Mr Maxwells barrister, Eleanor Power, said that Mr Maxwell would not be giving evidence but he would admit he was agitated at the time.

However, he denied calling the garda a kiddie fiddler.

Judge Mary Cashin convicted Mr Maxwell, saying it was the lowest of the lowest accusations.

"For you to go into a public space when there were people present and utter the words you did was not acceptable and reprehensible," she said. "It can have a great effect on the victim."

She jailed Mr Maxwell for three months, consecutive to a five-year sentence he was given earlier in Nenagh Circuit Court.

Mr Maxwell also pleaded not guilty to having possession of a jacket valued at 229.95 that had been taken from DV8 on Pearse Street, Nenagh, on November 1, 2019.

The court heard a shop assistant observed Mr Maxwell wearing the jacket later that day and called the gardai.

Garda Garrett Ryan said Mr Maxwell told him he had bought the jacket in good faith. However, he would not say who he had bought it from.

Shauna Tooher, manager, DV8, Nenagh, told the court that Mr Maxwell had been in the store earlier that day with another individual and had tried the jacket on.

He had left the store without the jacket, but was observed wearing it later.

Ms Tooher said that they had only six of the jackets in stock and one was missing and had not been sold.

She told Ms Power she had identified the jacket as theirs because of the security tags and the scanning code.

However, Ms Power said the tags had not been produced in court and Mr Maxwell had bought the jacket for 100 in good faith.

Judge Cashin said she was satisfied Mr Maxwell knew the jacket to be stolen and sentenced Mr Maxwell to three months in jail, consecutive to the three months already imposed. She suspended the sentence for two years in his own bond of 100 on condition he comply with the probation services, attend all appointments and follow all recommendations.

Mr Maxwell pleaded guilty to possession of an offensive weapon at Silver Street, Nenagh, on December 12, 2019.

The court heard Mr Maxwell was found with a hurley that had a knife and a blade screwed to the end of it.

He told the gardai it was for his protection.

The court heard Mr Maxwell was stressed and appeared to be under the influence.

Judge Cashin described the weapon, which was produced in court, as a very serious instrument.

She jailed Mr Maxwell for six months for possession of an offensive weapon, with three months suspended, making it a total of six months for all offences.

The court heard that Mr Maxwell had 46 previous convictions, including theft, firearms, sale and supply and possession of drugs and dangerous driving.

Ms Power told the court that her client had two children aged four and two years, and that he had limited contacted with them since he entered prison.

She said Mr Maxwell suffered from mental health issues and had attended Ennis hospital.

He was on a variety of medications which had since changed and was seeing a psychologist and a psychiatrist before he went to jail.

Mr Maxwell suffered from ADHD and was bipolar, she said.

Ms Power told the court her client had left school at 15 years but had completed a FETAC course since. He was attending school in prison and was doing a Gaisce award programme which involved volunteering.

He was also attending an anger management course and a drug awareness course.

Mr Maxwell brought an action under the Police Property Act to have 835 seized from him by the gardai returned.

The gardai had seized the cash, which was in a plastic bag, along with 272 tablets, which were also in a plastic bag, and two mobile phones from Mr Maxwell on November 24, 2018.

The court heard the gardai believed the money was from the proceeds of the sale of drugs as they had found evidence of drug dealing on one of the phones.

Ms Power told the court that Mr Maxwell maintained the money came from three different sources - he had won some of it in a casino in Limerick, his mother had given him 1,100 in cash and some of it was his social welfare.

Mr Maxwell had the tablets as he suffered from ADHD and anxiety, she said.

Judge Cashin said she could not understand the application as Mr Maxwell had previously pleaded to possession and sale of supply of drugs.

Rejecting the application, Judge Cashin directed that the money be given to local charity CARMHA.
The leftovers of Hurricane Sam which the is meandering up the Atlantic looks set to bring tropical conditions to Ireland featuring rain and higher temperatures according to a Met Eireann forecaster.

The most startling aspect of the storm's impact will be temperatures from mid-week onwards. They'll be around 15 to 19 Celsius which is well above the average maximum temperature in October is around 10C.

Met Eireann meteorologist, Elizabeth Coleman, has commented on the impact of the weakingin ex-hurricane as it drifts by Ireland.

The path of ex-Hurricane Sam will allow a very mild, tropical maritime airmass to move across Ireland, bringing temperatures well above average for the time of year from Wednesday onwards, she said.

The remnants of ex-Hurricane Sam will remain to the far west of Ireland, however the tropical airmass will bring a good deal of dull, cloudy and drizzly weather with mist and fog affecting hills and coasts. Some brighter spells may develop in the east at times. However, a weather front with waves will become slow-moving over western parts of Ireland on Thursday and Friday bringing some persistent falls of rain and the likelihood of local flooding  we have issued a Weather Advisory for some western areas where rain is expected to be heaviest," said the forecaster.

Ms Coleman looked beyond the storm to more seasonal conditions.

The front is expected to move eastwards over the country on Friday night and Saturday before clearing into the Irish Sea. It will be followed by an area of high pressure building across Ireland for the rest of the weekend bringing more settled conditions and it will gradually turn a bit cooler again. Next week looks fairly settled with seasonal temperature values and high pressure generally dominating, though a little rain may affect some northernmost parts at first, she said.
September 2021 was provisionally the warmest September month on record for Ireland with 75 year old record broken in Dublin, according to Met Eireann.

The forecaster says mean temperatures were 2.1C above their long-term averages.

Munster and Leinster had their warmest September on record, with mean temperatures of 15.6C and 15.1C respectively. Connacht had its joint highest, matching 2006, with 14.7C. While Ulster had its second highest 14.3C, its highest was in 2006 with 14.4C.

A new station temperature record of 27.9C was recorded at Shannon Airport (in a record going back 75 years), whilst Phoenix Park in Dublin had its warmest September in 122 years, with a mean temperature of 15.8C (2.4C above its LTA).

Dr Sandra Spillane works with Met Eireanns Climate Services.

September 2021 has been a notably warm and dry month across the island of Ireland, with mean temperatures well above average and below average rainfall. Much of September was characterised by periods of high pressure which often brings dry and settled weather, before conditions turned more Autumnal towards the end of the month as low pressure moved across Ireland.

The latest climate projections for Ireland signal a warming trend across all seasons into the future.
A school in Kildare has been specifically chosen by the National Gallery of Ireland (NGI) as a candidate for a brand new educational initiative.

Youthreach Leixlip is one of three post-primary schools that will participate in the new education initiative, Your Gallery at School, which is being held in association with the Dublin-based aircraft operating lease company SMBC Aviation Capital.

The other two post-primary schools that will take part will be Colaiste Mhichil in Limerick, and Ennistymon Vocational School in Clare.

The first phase of Your Gallery at School  for which the Gallery worked with three primary schools in Donegal, Dublin and Sligo  took place in Spring and Summer of this year.

The NGI describes it as follows: "Bringing art directly to schools across the country, this holistic outreach programme marks the extension of the Gallerys partnership with global aircraft leasing company SMBC Aviation Capital."

It added: "The Gallery is committed to breaking down barriers that prevent engagement with art in Ireland, and so Your Gallery at School will engage with young people who may not usually be able to visit the Gallery or who may face barriers in accessing culture."

The NGI also confirmed that it will run two exclusive webinar workshops for all schools that applied to take part in Your Gallery at School - a Creative Careers workshop for students, and a Continuing Professional Development workshop for teachers.

Then, in Autumn 2021, the NGI will work with these three post-primary schools to create a tailored programme of activities, appropriate for the students ages and school levels.

Commenting on their new position in the initiative, Youthreach Leixlip said that it "aims to empower our Learners to realise their full potential by providing an educational programme in a kind, nurturing and supportive environment."

Peter Barrett, Chief Executive Officer of SMBC Aviation Capital, also said about Your Gallery at School: "SMBC Aviation Capital is proud to support the National Gallery of Ireland in this innovative and important programme, bringing Your Gallery at School to children who may not usually be able to engage with the Gallery."

"We look forward to seeing the positive impact that this programme will bring to those taking part."

Further details can be found at nationalgallery.ie.
The death has occurred of Jeremiah (Jerry) Donnelly

Stickens, Caragh, Kildare



Donnelly, Jeremiah (Jerry), Stickens, Caragh, Co. Kildare, October 4th 2021, peacefully in the loving care of the staff of Maynooth Community Care Unit, deeply regretted by his loving sister Betty (Lynch), brother Dermot, nieces, nephews, relatives, neighbours and friends.

Rest In Peace

Due to current government guidelines regarding religious ceremonies, Jerry's Funeral Mass will take place in the Church of Our Lady & St. Joseph, Caragh on Monday (October 11th) at 11am. Family and friends are welcome to attend the funeral, but are reminded to be mindful of hand and cough etiquette and social distancing. Those who would have liked to attend the funeral, but due to the current restrictions cannot, please leave a personal message for the family in the condolences section below.

The church will be limited in capacity to 50%, but people are welcome to view Jerry's Funeral Mass on Monday at 11am by clicking on the following link : https://caraghparish.net/webcam

Oliver Reilly Funeral Directors accept no responsibility for any live webcam interruptions or issues.

Jerry will be reposing at Reilly's Funeral Home, Prosperous on Sunday from 4pm to 8pm. Jerry's funeral cortege will be leaving Reilly's Funeral Home, Prosperous on Monday morning at approx. 10:30am to arrive at the Church of Our Lady & St. Joseph, Caragh for 11am Funeral Mass followed by burial in Caragh Cemetery. Those who would like to line the route, may do so in a safe and socially distanced manner.

For all enquiries, please contact Oliver Reilly Ltd. Funeral Directors on (045) 868230.

The death has occurred of Patrick (Pat) Dowling

Ballycarroll, Portlaoise, Laois / Athy, Kildare



Formerly of Levitstown, Maganey and Athy. Retired farmer, has been living in the loving care of St. Vincent's Hospital, Athy, Co. Kildare, where he died peacefully. Predeceased by all his known blood relatives including his father (John Dowling 1889 to 1962, Hallohoise, Castledermot) and his mother (Mary Ann Byrne, born 1893 in Mountbrook, Barrowhouse, died 1973 in Ballycarroll). Mourned and sadly missed by the members of the extended Dunne and Doyle families and all his friends and caring neighbours.

Reposing at Rigney's funeral home, Athy from 6pm to 8pm on Wednesday, 6th October, with Rosary at 7pm. Please wear face coverings and adhere to social distancing. Removal at 11am on Thursday morning to arrive at The Church of the Assumption, The Heath, Portlaoise for Requiem Mass at 12 noon (church is limited to 50% capacity).The mass will be livestreamed, see link, https://www.portlaoiseparish. ie/the-heath-webcam/

Burial afterwards in Barrowhouse Cemetery, Athy. Family wreaths only, please.

The family would like to thank you for your kindness and support at this difficult time and if you would like to leave a message of sympathy for them please do so in the 'Condolences' section below.

The death has occurred of Patrick (Paddy) HEFFERNAN

Christianstown, Newbridge, Kildare



HEFFERNAN Patrick (Paddy) Christianstown, Newbridge, Co. Kildare - 4th October 2021 (peacefully) at Craddock House Nursing Home surrounded by his loving family. Sadly missed by his wife Kathleen, sons Patrick, Kevin, Paul and Robert, daughters Carol and Lisa, daughters-in-law Mary, Deirdre, Eileen and Ger, grandchildren Nicola, Laurence, Natasha, Edel, Grace, Frank, Kate, Harry and Stan, great grandchildren, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, extended family, relatives and friends.

May Paddy Rest in Peace

Reposing at Anderson & Leahy's Funeral Home, Newbridge on Wednesday from 4pm with prayers at 7pm. Removal on Thursday morning at 10.30am to arrive at St. Brigid's Church, Milltown for Mass at 11am (due to current guidelines, church capacity is limited to 50%). Burial afterwards in the adjoining cemetery.

Family flowers only please. Donations, if desired, to the Alzheimer Society of Ireland.

The death has occurred of Eithne Kane (nee Sheridan)

Lodge Park, Straffan, Kildare / Cavan



Kane (nee Sheridan), Eithne, Lodge Park, Straffan, Co. Kildare and late of Drumullen, Co. Cavan, October 5th 2021, peacefully in the loving care of the staff of Mount Pleasant Lodge Nursing Home, Kilcock, beloved wife of the late Ned, deeply regretted by her loving children Paddy, Ann, Pauline, Claire, Eamonn, Mary, Michael, Colette, Tony, Karl, Paul and Bernadette, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, grandchildren, great grandchildren, brother Billy, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, nieces, nephews, relatives, neighbours and friends.

Rest In Peace

Due to current government guidelines regarding religious ceremonies, Eithne's Funeral Mass will take place in St. Brigid's Church, Straffan, on Friday at 11am. Family and friends are welcome to attend the funeral, but are reminded to be mindful of hand and cough etiquette and social distancing. Those who would have liked to attend the funeral, but due to the current restrictions cannot, please leave a personal message for the family in the condolences section below.

The church will be limited in capacity to 50%, but people are welcome to view Eithne's Funeral Mass on Friday at 11am by clicking on the following link : https://www.celstra.ie/live-feed/

Oliver Reilly Funeral Directors accept no responsibility for any live webcam interruptions or issues

Eithne will be reposing at her residence on Thursday from 4-8pm, with rosary at 8pm. Her funeral cortege will be leaving her residence on Friday morning at approx. 10:45am to arrive at St. Brigid's Church, Straffan for 11am Funeral Mass followed by burial in Straffan Cemetery. Those who would like to line the route, may do so in a safe and socially distanced manner.

For all enquiries, please contact Oliver Reilly Ltd. Funeral Directors on (045) 868230

The death has occurred of Helen Keane

Sheshoon, The Curragh, Kildare



Peacefully, at OgHill Nursing Home. Wife of the late Jim. Sadly missed by Michael and Patricia Collins, extended family, neighbours and friends.

May Helen Rest In Peace

Numbers at Mass are limited in line with current government and HSE guidelines. Those who would have liked to attend the funeral, but due to current restrictions cannot, please feel free to leave a message in the condolence page below.

Reposing at McWey's Funeral Home, Abbeyview, Kildare Town, on Thursday from 5pm with rosary at 7pm. Removal on Friday morning to arrive at St. Brigid's Church, Suncroft, for requiem Mass at 11am. Burial afterwards in Carna, Suncroft. Helen's funeral Mass will be broadcast on 108FM.

The death has occurred of Nicola MacMahon

Greenmount Park, Newbridge, Kildare



Formerly of Belgard Heights, Tallaght, Dublin 24, passed away, suddenly and unexpectedly, in her home, on Saturday morning, 2nd October 2021. Predeceased by her father Tom (Thomas). Devoted and adoring carer to her mother Colette and beloved auntie to Hayley, Ava and Amelia. Nicola will be forever loved and dearly missed by her mother Colette, her brother Mark, sister-in-law Jennifer, Niece Hayley, Godchildren Ava and Amelia, aunties, uncles and cousins, extended family, relatives and a wide circle of very dear friends.

May Nicola Rest in Peace

Reposing at Glennon's Funeral Home, 32 Main Street, Newbridge, on Thursday from 12 noon, followed by removal at 2.45pm to arrive at Mount Jerome Crematorium, Harold's Cross, for cremation service at 4pm. The service can be viewed at www.vimeo.com/event/153499

Those who would have liked to attend the funeral, but due to current restrictions cannot, please feel free to leave a message in the condolence page below.

The death has occurred of Keith MAGUIRE

Johnstown Manor, Johnstown, Kildare / Kingswood, Dublin



Formerly of Kingswood, Naas Road, Co. Dublin. Sadly missed by his loving partner Mary, son Jack, daughter Mia, parents Maisie and Michael, sister Suzanne, brothers Thomas, Denis and Mick, Mary's parents Liam and Eithne, sister-in-law Aveline, Suzanne's partner Meagan, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, extended family and a wide circle of friends.

"May Keith Rest In Peace"

Reposing at The George Mullins Funeral Home, Kilcullen Road, Naas on Thursday afternoon from 3pm to 5pm. Numbers will be restricted in line with current guidelines. A Funeral Service to celebrate Keith's life will take place on Friday morning at 10.40am in Newland's Cross Crematorium. There is a limit of 60 mourners permitted in the crematorium. The service will be live streamed on https://www.dctrust.ie/location/newlands-cross/chapel-webstream.html. No flowers please. Donations, if desired, to Our Lady's Hospice, Harold's Cross, https://olh.ie/fundraising/. You are invited to leave a message of support or condolence for Keith's family by clicking on the Condolences button below.
County Kildare is currently the fifth-highest in the county for Pandemic Unemployment Payments (PUPs).

There are 4,587 people receiving the 300 payment every week, which has fallen by about 200 in the past week.

Other four counties - Dublin, Galway, Cork and Meath - are higher.

PUP payments will continue until October 26 when a transition to the Jobseekers payment of 203 per week will begin.

This week, the Department of Social Protection issued weekly payments valued at 26.3 million to 101,470 people in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP). This represents a fall of 4,775 compared to last week.

The greatest reduction this week is in the Accommodation and Food Services sector.

The PUP figures published this week are in addition to the 179,761 people who were on the Live Register at the end of August.

All Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payments have been paid into recipients bank accounts or at their Post Office this week.

Commenting today, Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys said:

Since the outset of the Pandemic, there has been considerable concern about the impact the loss of employment would have our young people.

In May, one in four people out of work as a result of Covid-19 were aged under 25.

Today, that number has now fallen to one in ten  demonstrating the huge progress we have made in terms of re-opening our economy and getting people back to work.

It is also an indication of the importance of our Pathways to Work strategy, which is all about giving people the tools, skills and experience they need to enter, or re-enter the workforce.

The Minister added:

The overall number of people on the PUP has now fallen to just over 101,000 this week - its lowest level to date. And next week, I expect the number of people claiming the PUP to fall to below 100,000 for the first time.

For anyone who needs support, training or advice in securing employment, the staff in our Intreo Offices are there to help.

Likewise, I would remind employers about the various supports available to them, particularly when they hire someone who has been unemployed for some time.

My Department is at hand to advise employers on the various supports available. We can also assist employers in sourcing staff for any vacancies they may have, be they full-time or temporary.

The payment week for the Pandemic Unemployment Payment runs from Friday to Thursday and payments are paid on the following Tuesday. Individuals who have closed their PUP by Monday 4th October, as they have returned to work, will receive their final PUP payment on Tuesday 12th October.

People returning to work

The Department continues to remind workers who are returning to work that they must close their claim for the Pandemic Unemployment Payment on the actual date that they start back at work, in order to ensure that their claim is processed correctly and to avoid incurring an overpayment that the Department will take steps to recover.

As PUP is paid weekly in arrears people who have closed their claim last week are receiving a final payment this week and are still counted in the numbers in payment for this week. The easiest way to close a claim for the Pandemic Unemployment Payment is online via www.MyWelfare.ie.

Any worker returning to work with an enquiry about closing their claim can contact the Departments dedicated Income Support Helpline at 1890 800 024 between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday.

Transition of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP)

In line with the Governments Economic Recovery Plan, the PUP is gradually changing over a 6 month period from September 2021 until February 2022 to align it with the standard jobseekers payments.

The process of moving from the lower 203 rate of PUP to a jobseekers payment was due to begin in early September. This has been deferred until after all sectors have started to re-open in line with the Roadmap announced on 31st August and all affected customers will continue to receive their PUP payment until 26th October when the process of their transition to a jobseekers payment will begin.

The Department has written to all affected customers to outline the details of the transition from PUP and the options that will be available to them. It is important that these customers identify the option most suitable to them and apply for a Jobseekers payment by Friday, 15th October to ensure that a decision is made before their PUP ceases on 26th October. They can apply online via www.MyWelfare.ie.

Two further phases of rate changes are scheduled to take place from 16th November 2021 and 8th February 2022. As PUP recipients go on to the 203 rate in each phase, they will be transitioned to standard jobseeker terms.
Punchestown racecourse will host the Welcome Back two day racing fixture on Tuesday 12th and Wednesday 13th October and would like to invite the public to pre-register for complimentary tickets.

Next week's race meetings will be the first national hunt card attended by the public at Punchestown since February 2020 and following on from the successful free ticket initiative at last months flat meeting the management have decided to repeat the gesture.

Conor ONeill, Punchestown CEO said Punchestown is all about people gathering together to enjoy great racing, meet friends old and new and share the atmosphere of a social sporting event.

"We feel that it is very important to encourage people to remind themselves just how enjoyable an afternoon at the races can be.

"We have ample space and facilities for everyone to attend in a safe and comfortable manner and so if you wish to join us for our Welcome Back fixtures we would be delighted to see you at the home of Irish jump racing.

Racing gets underway at 1.15pm each day and to claim your free Welcome Back race day tickets simply visit the Book Now section of punchestown.com or click on this link: https://punchestown.com/book- tickets/winter-racing-tickets/
A councillor from Kildare took to Twitter to publicly blame both Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, as well as vulture funds, for the current rent rates in Ireland.

Last night, Social Democrats (SD) politician Nuala Killeen commented on Virgin Media TV's Tonight programme, which featured Fine Gael TD for Dublin Mid-West Emer Higgins.

She said: "Incredible that a FG rep on #TonightVMTV is claiming vulture funds are needed to increase supply of housing and are part of the solution for the homelessness crisis."

Incredible that a FG rep on #TonightVMTV is claiming vulture funds are needed to increase supply of housing and are part of the solution for the homelessness crisis  Councillor NualaKilleen (@Fionnuala____) October 5, 2021

Cllr Killeen followed this up by claiming: "In 2016 a family could find a reasonable rental.

"In 2021 it is impossible: that's because of political policy decisions from both FF and FG (Fianna Fail and Fine Gael)."

In 2016 a family could find a reasonable rental

In 2021 it is impossible

That's because of political policy decisions

From both FF and FG#TonightVMTV  Councillor NualaKilleen (@Fionnuala____) October 5, 2021

Cllr Killeen then proceeded to retweet a number of tweets relating to the VMTV programme's segment on rent rates in Ireland, including one by a Mr Alfonso Bonilla, who previously quote-tweeted her own follow-up tweet: "#VultureFunds are a real problem for Irish society."

"They lobbied for inhumane, expensive, shoebox #BuildToRent scams locking an entire generation out of homeownership & then clutch their pearls when theyre labeled vultures for feeding on the carcass of a demoralized generation."

#VultureFunds are a real problem for Irish society. They lobbied for inhumane, expensive, shoebox #BuildToRent scams locking an entire generation out of homeownership & then clutch their pearls when theyre labeled vultures for feeding on the carcass of a demoralized generation. https://t.co/zYQS2CVDHi  alfonso bonilla (@otrosnosotros) October 5, 2021

Mr Bonilla's post was also retweeted by Newbridge SD Cllr Chris Pender.

Earlier today, Cllr Killeen joined other SD party members in attending the Better Maternity Care protest in Dublin.

Cllr Killeen has previously been vocal online about her disagreements with Fianna Fail: last week, she hit out at An Taoiseach Micheal Martin over comments he made regarding a review of Ireland's planning laws.

In related news, a petition created by an assistant professor in social policy at Maynooth University recently launched a petition calling on the Irish govt to get rid of vulture funds, which has so far amassed nearly 39,000 signatures.
A Senator from Kildare has called for the fast tracking of visas for hospitality and food production workers.

Fianna Fail Senator Fiona OLoughlin questioned the Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail Damien English on the governments plans to solve the skills gap being experienced, especially in the hospitality and food production industries.

Senator O' Loughlin also called on the Tanaiste to fulfil his brief, and to intervene to ensure that an appropriate workforce is available to businesses in Kildare.

The Newbridge politician said: "Many businesses have faced such adversity over the last 18 months and many of them are fighting for their businesses very survival. "

Government subsidies have been forthcoming and have stopped the financial bleeding for many businesses, and the business owners owners that I speak to are very appreciative of the suite of financial supports that have been made available to them."

She continued: "But the government now need to reposition their focus and support businesses back to financial independence."

We have businesses in South Kildare that are turning down work due to staff shortages, and after the 18 months they have faced, especially in the hospitality sector, that is just unacceptable.

Many of our local businesses were lucky to be employing highly skilled professionals prior to the pandemic, many of whom happened not to be Irish citizens.

As a result of Covid, many returned home to their native countries at the height of the pandemic to be closer to loved ones. But now due to visa issues they are unable to come back."

Senator OLoughlin concluded: "The Tanaiste and his department must act, and they must intervene here; without access to an adequate workforce, many businesses will never reach financial independence, and supporting businesses to stand on their own two feet must be governments priority."

"One aspect of that is ensuring that access is to prioritise visas for workers of identified skill gaps."

Senator O' Loughlin's concerns echo those of over 65 hospitality leaders in the UK, who last week told the British govt that the sector is "close to imploding," and as such called on the govt to ease visa rules for staff.

More recently, it was reported by Bloomberg that the UK has only seen 127 applications for fuel driver visas, which Prime Minister Boris Johnson attributed to the global shortage of drivers.

Last month, Minister for Justice Heather Humphries announced that visitors to Ireland requiring short stay visas could apply for them from September 13.

This now allows visitors from countries such as China, India, Pakistan and the Philippines to visit here again, so long as they comply with public health regulations.
A Kildare based Senator took to the floor of the Senate yesterday to honour the memory of two young women, Sarah Everard and Nadine Lott.

Both women had lost their lives in brutal circumstances at the hands of violent men.

Fianna Fail Senator Fiona OLoughlin said: "No matter where any of us were over the weekend, our thoughts were consumed with two fine women Sarah Everard and Nadine Lott and their beautiful smiles, and thinking about the grief and the horror that they went through in their last hours of life and of course the grief and sorrow of their families."

She said that as Chair of the Oireachtas Parliamentary Womens caucus, she would work with her colleagues to raise awareness of these issues, and to ensure that they do absolutely everything they can to protect women; and "to ensure that our female citizens can walk our streets safely and without fear."

"It is important that we acknowledge the really good work done by many organisations out there such as Women's Aid, Rape Crisis Ireland and Safe Ireland," she said.

"We need to ensure that every county has a refuge centre, that gives victims of domestic violence supports, and helps them to leave dangerous situations.

She added: "We are lucky to have Teach Tearmainn in Kildare who do such wonderful work, but we need to ensure that when someone needs support, and needs refuge that the supports are there."

Senator OLoughlin concluded: "It is vital that in the wake of these tragic deaths that we send a strong message to men, to call out abnormal behaviour among their peers."

"I think we need to do more to ensure that men do not carry out these acts of violence."

It was previously announced on Monday that the then-boyfriend of young mother Nadine Lott, Daniel Murtagh, was given the mandatory life sentence for her murder in December 2019.

In addition, disgraced London Met officer Wayne Couzens was last week charged with raping and murdering 33-year-old Sarah Everard.

Couzens used his position to falsely arrest Everard in order to kidnap, rape and murder her.

A protest for the late Ms Everard, made up of around 200 women, took place in March 2016 and took place in Dublin, coinciding with the controversial original protest in the UK.

Similar protests erupted in the wake of Ms Everard's murder, with the Met being criticised for their response to the situation and for failing to fully investigate Couzens.

Debates about the place of women's safety in society continue to take place in the wake of Ms Everard's and Ms Lott's horrific deaths.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call Samaritans Ireland at 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.ie, or you can contact the Rape Crisis Centre by clicking here.

Help is always at hand and there is always someone available to listen.
Hotel and guesthouse across the country have experienced an estimated 5.3 billion collapse in revenues across 2020 and 2021, according to figures from the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF).

With occupancy figures nationally expected to reach just 32% for the year, compared to 73% for 2019, hoteliers in Sligo and Leitrim are calling on the Government to retain existing business and employment supports, saying they are vital for the recovery of the sector and the wider tourism industry.

Michael Yates, Chair of the IHFs Sligo-Leitrim Branch states: As Irelands largest indigenous employer, tourism supported almost 270,000 livelihoods including 4,900 in Sligo and Leitrim prior to the pandemic. Our industry has been hardest hit by the restrictions, and the ensuing economic and financial impact of Covid has been devastating.

"The Government supports so far have been critical, and a lifeline for many businesses, helping to restore employment and support the viability of businesses until we get back to a more stable footing. However, we need a firm commitment that they will be retained until the impact of the pandemic has passed. Tourism will recover, but it will take time.

Specifically, hotel and guesthouse owners are seeking the extension of the EWSS employment supports at current levels, to help businesses retain and develop their teams over the coming months along with the extension of the local authority rates waiver until June 2022, when the summer season begins.

A failure to act decisively now would have major economic implications given the reliance of many parts of the country on tourism for prosperity and employment, including in Sligo and Leitrim, says Mr Yates.

The IHF is also calling for the 9% tourism VAT rate to be retained until after 2025, to provide certainty and allow Irish tourism to compete internationally. As an island nation, international tourism is critically important, accounting for almost 70% of tourism revenue pre-Covid. It is also a highly competitive industry, and we can expect competition to increase significantly as we vie with other markets for international visitors. Most travel agents are already contracting for 2023, yet they have no certainty around tourism VAT, and this is undermining advance bookings and ultimately tourisms recovery, says Mr Yates.

While tourism performed well during the summer months in some regions, hotels and guesthouses now face an uncertain nine months until the 2022 summer season. Bookings have fallen sharply in the absence of overseas visitors, along with meetings and events which would normally sustain the sector during the off-peak season. Expectations are that overseas tourism into Ireland will remain severely constrained next year and is unlikely to recover to pre-Covid levels until 2024/2025.

Mr Yates concluded: Our industry has a proven track record as a major contributor to the economy. Tourisms recovery is just beginning. The pro-tourism Government measures introduced have been vital and with their continued support we can fully recover the ground we lost during the pandemic.
GLOBAL popstar Ed Sheeran is to perform a further two concerts in Limerick next May it has been revealed.

A public notice, published in this week's Limerick Leader newspaper, outlines plans to hold the additional concerts at Thomond Park on Saturday, May 7, 2022 and Sunday, May 8, 2022.

Last month, Aiken Promotions announced details of a concert on Thursday, May 5, 2022 as part of the '+ - =  x' TOUR. A second date was added for the following night due to the demand for tickets.

All of the concerts are subject to licence and the promotor has now formally indicated its intention to seek such a licence from Limerick City and County Council, as required under the Planning and Development Act 2000.

"The event will be held in Thomond Park, Cratloe Road, Limerick. The event will compromise of four concerts," states the public notice which includes the four dates in May.

The notice adds that up to 38,000 people will attend each of the concerts at Thomond Park which means that more than 150,000 people are set to see Ed Sheeran perform in Limerick over the four days.

The English superstar will also perform major concerts in Cork, Dublin and Belfast during the Irish leg of his tour.

Members of the public will have five weeks to lodge submissions and observations with the local authority once the application for an events licence is formally lodged.
SEVERAL car dealerships in Limerick have been inspected recently after multiple complaints, about their activities, were received from customers.

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has issued a warning to car dealers in Limerick reminding them of their legal obligation to give complete and correct information to consumers when they are selling a car.

It is an offence for traders to give false, misleading or deceptive information about the history of a car, such as the wrong mileage, if a vehicle was previously involved in a crash or if a car was recorded as an insurance write off.

The CCPCs warning follows a series of inspections of garages and second-hand car dealerships in Limerick over the last month.

Authorised officers from the CCPC, assisted by officers from the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau, inspected vehicles for evidence that traders may have misled consumers about their history.

"All of the traders inspected had been subject to multiple complaints to the CCPC in 2021," said a spokesperson.

If a car dealer is prosecuted and convicted of such an offence, they may be liable for a fine of up to 3,000 and up to six months in prison.

Misleading a consumer about the history of a car is a very serious offence. Not only can it be costly but critically, it can be dangerous," said Patrick Kenny, a member of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.

"Consumers need to be able to rely on accurate information from car dealers about a vehicles roadworthiness and its history, particularly its mileage and any damage history. Last months inspections should act as a reminder to all car dealers that if you mislead consumers then you are liable to face criminal prosecution," he added.

The CCPC says it will continue to conduct unannounced inspections in Limerick and around Ireland and that it will its powers to take enforcement action against traders who are breaking the law.

In addition to complaints about potentially clocked or crashed cars, other issues reported by consumers this year includes traders withholding important information about a cars history and disguised sellers. This is where car dealers act as private sellers to avoid having to fulfil their legal obligations.

Click here to download a car-buyers checklist.
MORE than a hundred Limerick students were in awe as they were treated to a special webinar with a bestselling British childrens author.

David Walliams spoke online to pupils from several schools, including first year English students at Hazelwood college in Dromcollogher.

The event was organised by Dr Fidelma Healy Eames, who conducted the interview as part of the Inspiring Ireland, Inspiring Students webinar series run by the Education Support Centres of Ireland.

First year English teacher at Hazelwood College, Yvonne Devine, who has been teaching at the West Limerick school for over 20 years stated that many of the 115 students in attendance were up to speed on the Wimbledon-born authors repertoire despite his absence from the school curriculum.

Mesmerised by one of the most noted names to decorate local shelves, Hazelwood College student Emma Hartnett (12) said: I really enjoyed the interview. David told us he got inspiration for his writing from his childhood.

Her classmate, Donal Bennis (13) who had previously read Bad Dad, Midnight Gang and Gangsta Granny, admitted that he really enjoyed all of the actor, writer and television personalitys books. Theyre all very good.

Yvonne told the Limerick Leader that the words of wisdom from the OBE award winner would inspire the Dromcollogher based students as they look to fine tune their English throughout their time there.

Dr Healy added that David had generously agreed to read aloud one of his books for everyone in attendance.

Ella O Callaghan (12), who had read Worlds Worst Children going in, reflected on her thoughts about the webinar: He was very funny. The book I had read was hilarious.
STAFF working at University Hospital Limerick have told a Limerick TD they have never seen the trolley crisis "so bad".

Commenting on the situation, Deputy Maurice Quinlivan said: "It is not acceptable for suffering patients to be treated like this and it is not acceptable for our health professionals to be working under such strained conditions. The trolley crisis is out of control."

This Wednesday, there 79 patients on trolleys in UHL - 40 in the Emergency Department (ED) and 39 in other wards, according to the INMO. The next highest in the country is Cork University Hospital with 50.

A relative of one elderly person in ED contacted the Leader this week to say it is an "absolute disgrace".

"The trolleys are all lined up. You can barely move. There is no social distancing. There is no privacy when youre talking to a doctor or nurse. There are elderly people with catheters. There is no dignity. It is like a cattle mart. On Sunday, there were ambulances waiting to drop patients off. They were backed up like the people on trolleys inside," said the person who didnt wish to be named.

After contacting UHL for comment, a spokesperson said the hospital is currently managing the highest number of Covid-19 positive patients in the country (42 as of Tuesday evening, October 5), as well as a Covid-19 outbreak that has impacted four inpatient wards and necessitated the imposition of hospital-wide visiting restrictions, in addition to a sustained surge in emergency presentation and admissions.

"Our immediate focus is on managing the outbreak to ensure that patient pathways are safe for patients who need emergency care, and for those scheduled to attend UHL for surgery, diagnostic investigations and outpatient appointments, many of whose access to care has already been delayed due to the pandemic," said the spokesperson.

"Management of the outbreak has involved ongoing contact tracing and testing of staff and patients, and implementation of all appropriate infection prevention and control measures in line with national guidance, including cohorting of positive patients and contacts. The impact of the outbreak on patient flow has so far been minimised due to the additional single-room capacity created at UHL during the pandemic," they added.

However, the high number of patients waiting for inpatient beds in UHL include many people with complex medical conditions who require admission and isolation in the single-room accommodations.

During September 2021, daily attendances at the ED averaged 240, compared with 195 in 2019, the last full year of the pandemic. Average daily attendances have also increased by 22% on the daily average of 197 recorded in September 2020.

"Over the past four weeks, daily presentations reached a high of 290, and exceeded 250 on 14 days of the month. On only two days of the month were attendances fewer than 200  187 on September 19-20, and 186 on September 24-25. The pattern has continued into October, which to date has experienced a daily average of 231 attendances, ranging from 198 on Sunday to 261 on Monday," said the spokesperson.

UL Hospitals says while there is a context to what is happened at UHL, it "does not minimise" the anxiety and inconvenience for patients who are experiencing long waits.

"That is not the level of care we wish to provide in our hospitals, and we regret that any patient has to wait for an inpatient bed. All efforts are being made to limit wait times and maximise patient flow. However, demand for our services is multi-faceted, and high numbers of admitted patients require a level of care that, for the Mid-West, can only be provided at UHL. In general, patients currently admitted to UHL are sicker and with more complicated conditions, and require longer inpatient stays to recover," said the spokesperson.

UL Hospitals is asking people to consider all appropriate care options before attending the ED such as the Injury Unit at St John's Hospital or their GO.

"However, please be assured that if you are seriously injured or ill or are worried your life is at risk the ED will assess and treat you as a priority. We apologise to any patient who has experienced a long wait for admission to UHL during this period of exceptionally high demand for our services," concluded the spokesperson.

Deputy Quinlivan condemned the governments "lack of response to the trolley crisis in Limerick". He described these numbers "as out of control".

The situation is our local hospital is out of control - 75 people Friday, 85 Monday & 81 people today lingering on trolleys at UHL



It is appalling & unacceptable. It doesnt have to be like this. It can be fixed. Ive spoken to staff who told me they have never seen it so bad.  Maurice Quinlivan TD (@QuinlivanTD) October 5, 2021

"The defeatist attitude of some would give the impression that this is just the way it is when it comes to our Health Service. But it doesnt have to be. With targeted investment and capacity control strategies, we can have an improved health service and we can have all our patients treated with dignity.

"Despite recent nominal increases in bed capacity at the hospital, overcrowding remains a critical issue that needs to be resolved. It is not an insurmountable problem. It is high time for Minister Donnelly to step up to the plate and deliver for UHL. The staff and patients deserve better than what they are getting from the current Health Minister," said Deputy Quinlivan.

Speaking about the overcrowding situation across the country, INMO general secretary Phil Ni Sheaghdha said it is a "very dangerous situation".

"Not only is it putting our members and their patients at significant risk of Covid infection, but it is placing an extraordinary burden on a workforce that is completely exhausted.

"Letting overcrowding escalate over the coming months, as we have seen happen year after year, is going to lead to very poor outcomes for patients at a critical time in the pandemic, said Ms Ni Sheaghdha.

"We need to see government coming forward in the coming days with concrete plans for keeping hospitals safe for patients and staff for the coming winter. That means a detailed Winter Plan from the HSE that includes increased capacity in the community. Next weeks Budget must include plans for substantial investment in homecare packages."
THE Limerick Chamber has accused government of a "missed opportunity" in not including a major orbital route in its National Development Plan.

The Northern Distributor Road, which many hoped would take pressure off the roads in Corbally, Rhebogue and Castletroy, is not included in the multi-billion euro blueprint for development, with Green TD Brian Leddin ruling it out as a result.

This has been criticised by both Mayor Daniel Butler, and the University of Limerick president Kersten Mey.

Now, the largest business representative group in the region has joined the criticism, with its chief executive Dee Ryan saying it would have been a "game-changing orbital route" which would "relieve congestion in the city".

She added: A strong case has been made in relation to the need for this road. The very fact that pone of the project, from Coonagh to Knockalisheen, is already underway renders this decision extremely disappointing. We urgently need to relieve serious congestion issues in areas of Corbally and Castletroy and Monaleen and ensure opportunities are not lost for inward investment and job creation. It is a regrettable decision and the Chamber remains committed to ensuring the calls of stakeholders across Limerick in relation to this are heard."

Ms Ryan said there's much to welcome in the plan, citing the continued commitment to the Limerick to Cork road, plus the Adare to Foynes link.

"However, the omission of the Northern Distributor Road is a disappointment for Limerick business community, particularly members located in the National Technological Park who are rapidly seeing a return to pre-pandemic congestion and traffic levels," added the chamber boss.
FOUR Kilmallock men were brought before Limerick District Court this Tuesday after they were charged in connection with a night of violence in the town last month that shocked locals.

At first light on Tuesday, a cavalcade of around 20 garda vehicles descended on Kilmallock using back roads. Upwards of 40 members of the force were involved in the major search and arrest operation.

The four males were arrested and transferred to a number of garda stations for questioning. They were later brought to Limerick District Court to appear before Judge Patricia Harney.

Garda David Higgins, Garda Robert Young, Garda Shane Hogan and Garda Shane ONeill gave evidence of arresting and charging the accused.

William OReilly, aged 18, of Orr Street, Kilmallock was charged with violent disorder and production of an article in the course of a dispute on Sunday, September 12.

Arthur Conway, aged 45, Deebert View, Kilmallock was also charged with violent disorder and production of an article on the same date.

Jamie OReilly, aged 21, of Portauns, Kilmallock was charged with violent disorder. There was no objection to bail by Sergeant Sean Murray, representing the State.

All three were represented by Darach McCarthy, solicitor.

As part of their bail conditions they were ordered to not have any contact with the McDonagh family, including through social media.

The fourth man to appear was Michael McDonagh, aged 32, of Coshma, Charleville Road, Kilmallock. He is also charged with violent disorder. He was represented by John Herbert, solicitor.

One of Mr McDonaghs bail conditions is that he have no contact with members of the OReilly family, including through social media.

Judge Harney told all four men that no contact meant no contact and warned them they would be in breach of bail if they broke the conditions.

Sgt Murray said files are being prepared for the DPP. They are all to appear before Kilmallock Court at future dates for DPPs directions.

Prior to the court appearances, Inspector Pat Brennan, of Bruff garda station, confirmed to the Leader the operation was in response to serious violent disorder incidents on Sunday, September 12. The investigation is ongoing.

Gardai attached to Kilmallock and Bruff were assisted by the regional armed support unit, detective units from Henry Street and Roxboro, divisional drug units with canine assistance, divisional roads policing units and gardai from Croom and Charleville.

Insp Brennan led the major operation under the command of new Bruff Superintendent Paul Reidy.

Videos, widely shared on social media, captured a number of violent incidents in Kilmallock on Sunday, September 12.
A shortage of workers at abattoirs and lorry drivers has left an estimated 120,000 pigs stranded on farms, with hundreds being killed and dumped.

In the UK, pig farmers have been warning about pigs left on farms long after they should have gone to slaughter.

The meat industry is one of several sectors of the UK economy facing labour shortages linked to Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic.

A lack of delivery workers and drivers has also affected supply chains in the country.

About 600 pigs have been killed at farms across the country, according to Zoe Davies, the chief executive of the National Pigs Association (NPA).

The NPA says this is the biggest crisis the pig sector has experienced since the dark days of the late-1990s and early 2000s, as pigs continue to back up on farms in large numbers, leaving producers fearing for the welfare of their animals.

I have never known it as bad as it is, said one northern producer representative. Generally, people are struggling to get pigs away  and they cant see where its going and how its going to improve. This is as bad a place as I can remember.

It has led to farmers having to kill their own animals, in some circumstances, as they are unable to feed and look after them.

As pigs continue to grow, they reach a stage where they are too large for abattoirs to handle.

"These are animals that they have reared, fed, looked after, cared for. To actually then kill something that's perfectly healthy to then go in the bin - it's just criminal," Ms Davies told Sky News recently.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday held a virtual meeting with Australian counterpart Alan Tudge and discussed the issue of 17,000 Indian students who want to return to Australia for education.

According to ANI sources, Pradhan raised the issue of more than 17,000 Indian students who want to return to Australia for education during the meeting.

It is expected that the return of all these students will start soon.

During the meet, the two Ministers laid emphasis on both countries' commitment to supporting Australia-bound students at every stage.

The Australian minister briefed him on the steps being taken by the Australian government to ease the return of Indian students to Australia.

The two ministers "laid emphasis on both countries' commitment to supporting Australia-bound students at every stage".

Last week, Australia announced the reopening of international travel and the easing of border restrictions. The country has approved the India-made Covishield vaccine for travelling into the country.

There was confusion on the return after coming to India during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Now there is positive news for the Indian students who studying there because the Australian government had given recognition to the Covishield vaccine.

Pradhan took to Twitter on Tuesday and said he has a productive discussion with Tudge.

During the virtual discussion, they agreed to strengthen the growing Australia-India partnership in higher education, especially in two-way student mobility, teacher exchanges, applied research and other areas of mutual priority.

"@AlanTudgeMP also elaborated on Australia's preparation, including a students arrival pilot for the return of International and Indian students to Australia. Both India and Australia are committed to support Australia-bound Indian students at every stage," he tweeted.

Productive discussions with HE @AlanTudgeMP, Australian Min. for Education & Youth. We agreed to strengthen the growing Australia-India partnership in higher education, especially in two-way student mobility, teacher exchanges, applied research and other areas of mutual priority. pic.twitter.com/JqpscQ1hMh  Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) October 5, 2021

Pradhan said that the education and skill spectrum has significant potential for further cooperation between New Delhi and Canberra.

Pradhan also reaffirmed that the National Education Policy, 2020 will be instrumental in realising the aspirations and future needs of our youth and in making India a global knowledge hub. The education and skills spectrum has a significant potential for further co-operation between India and Australia, he further added.

Minister Pradhan and his Australian counterpart agreed to strengthen the growing Australia-India partnership in higher education with an emphasis on two-way student mobility, teacher exchanges, applied research, and other areas of mutual priority.

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Coldplay has extended its deal with Warner Music Group via a new long-term agreement with Parlophone and Atlantic Records, Variety has learned. The news arrives ahead of the UK bands ninth studio album, the Max Martin-produced Music Of The Spheres, which is due out on Oct. 15. Coldplay currently claims the top song in the U.S.  on the Rolling Stone songs chart and the Billboard Hot 100  with My Universe, its collaboration with BTS. Its also No. 1 on Billboards Global 200.

The group, comprised of Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland, Guy Berryman and Will Champion, has sold over 100 million albums worldwide and won 7 Grammy Awards since its debut, Parachutes, was released in 2000.

Coldplay was originally signed to Parlophone U.K. in 1999 when the label was housed under EMI (Capitol was Coldplays former U.S. home). Universal Music Group acquired EMI in 2012 and divested itself of Parlophone as part of a condition imposed by the European Commission requiring that UMG sell off a number of imprints. WMG stepped in to purchase the label and, with that acquisition, Coldplay joined the Atlantic roster, starting with 2014s Ghost Stories.

A key architect of the extension was Max Lousada, CEO, recorded music, for WMG (pictured with the band). The fellow Brit has been busy closing all manner of deals lately, including a global partnership with the estate of David Bowie that brings the late artists vast recorded-music catalog from 1968 through 2016 under the Warner umbrella; and a similar alliance with Madonna which covers her 40-year arsenal of songs; as well as with David Guetta, whose catalog over two decades, along with future recordings, calls WMG home.

Said Lousada in a statement to Variety: Coldplay became the biggest band on the planet by constantly challenging themselves and reinventing their sound. Theyve always been great champions of their fellow artists, and their new collaboration with BTS is just the latest example of their boundary-crossing influence and inspiration. Were honored that Chris, Guy, Will, and Jonny have chosen to renew their partnership with Warner as they continue to make music of amazing creativity and originality, while delighting their millions of fans across the globe.

Atlantic Records is co-headed by Craig Kallman and Julie Greenwald. Nick Burgess and Mark Mitchell serve as co-presidents of Parlophone U.K.

We are super happy to sign with Max, Tony, Mitch, Nick, Julie and everyone at Parlophone, Atlantic and Warner Music, and their worldwide teams, added the members of Coldplay. Its a privilege to work with such passionate, dedicated people and we are really grateful to have that be our bands home.

Coldplay is managed by Dave Holmes and booked by Wasserman Music in North America and X-Ray Touring worldwide.

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The family of Mona Rodriguez is demanding criminal charges be levied against a school safety officer who fired into a moving car outside a high school in Long Beach, California, shooting the 18-year-old and leaving her brain dead. On Tuesday morning, the family held a press conference in front of LA County District Attorney George Gascons office at the Hall of Justice.

One of the victims brothers, Omar Rodriguez, told reporters, My sisters rights were violated. Her life was taken. You tell me that was just? I say no. I say my sister was murdered. Another brother, Oscar Rodriguez, led a crowd of supporters in a bilingual chant demanding accountability for his sister: Que Queremos? Justicia! What do we want? Justice!

Manuela Mona Rodriguez was mortally wounded on Monday, September 27th, in a parking lot near Millikan High School  a 3,500-student campus not far from the citys airport. A school safety officer, identified by the Long Beach school district as 51-year-old Eddie F. Gonzalez, was on traffic duty near the school. Shortly after 3 p.m. Gonzalez saw a scuffle on the street between Rodriguez and an unidentified 15-year-old girl, according to an account provided by the Long Beach Police Department.

After the fight broke up, Rodriguez, who was not a student at the school, jumped in the front passenger seat of a gray car driven by her boyfriend. Cellphone video captures the violence that ensued: As the safety officer approached, the car peeled out to leave the scene. Making a sharp right turn, the car came close to his body. The safety officer stepped back, drew his gun, and fired, twice, at the moving vehicle. After the gunshots, the audio captures screams from other passengers in the car.

Long Beach police described Rodriguez as being struck in her upper body. Rodriguez family says she was shot in the head. Gonzalez, the school safety officer, has been placed on administrative leave, pending investigations by both the Long Beach Police Department and the District Attorneys office.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Luis Castillo, a lawyer representing the family, says that the shooting was totally unjustified. This was beyond atrocious. This was a crime. Castillo adds of the school officer: He fucked up royally, totally. And he destroyed not only her brain, he destroyed an entire family. Rodriguez, the mother of a six-month-old baby, had been kept on life support for a week to enable the donation of her organs.

The Rodriguez family released a statement late Tuesday night that the donation was complete:

Today Manuela Mona Rodriguez gave a heart, a liver, lungs, and two kidneys, to save the lives of five people. All the doctors and nurses of Long Beach Memorial Hospital on Monas floor gave a Heros Celebration to Mona by standing in the hallway as Mona was taken to the operation while her favorite song was played  Letter to my son by Skeezy  and the song was replayed over and over during the operation Monas heart stopped beating at 5:14 p.m. today. Rest In Peace Mona  Your Family will Always fight for Justice for You!!

Carrillo says, speaking of Rodriguez, this cop should be prosecuted for second degree murder or involuntary manslaughter and assault with a deadly weapon. The lawyer adds: He had no imminent threat from Mona or from the car. But worse, Mona was the passenger. She was not even driving. She had no gun. Nobody in the car had any guns. Carrillo insists the shooting was the result of a major failure to follow proper police procedures. Separately, Carrillo has written a letter to Californias attorney general, calling on state authorities to pursue criminal accountability for the unjustified use of deadly force.

According to a recent job posting, Long Beach Unified School District hires school safety officers to model and promote a positive, productive and safe campus climate, adding that officers are expected to intervene in conflicts and de-escalate situations. The district employs 10 full-time security officers, at an annual cost of nearly $1 million. Responding to questions from Rolling Stone, Chris Eftychiou, public information director for the district, says that school safety officers dont investigate crimes or arrest people. Police do that. But he adds that safety officers can detain a person pending investigation by law enforcement.

At all times, Eftychiou insists, safety officers are bound by the districts use-of-force policy (embedded below). This policy raises serious questions about Gonzalezs decision to open fire. It cautions that officers are to only use firearms in self defense or defense of others to prevent death or great bodily injury. (School safety officers are trained to respond to potential active shooter incidents, says the information director.)

The document also offers a striking list of cases where guns should not be used:

Firearms SHALL NOT be discharged under the following circumstances:

Officers shall not fire at a fleeing person.

Officers shall not fire at a moving vehicle.

Officers shall not fire through a vehicle window unless circumstances clearly warrant the use of a firearm as a final means of defense.

The shooting has been roundly criticized by law enforcement experts. Efforts to reach Gonzalez were unsuccessful. The district would not provide contact information. A message left seeking comment from the California School Employees Association union, which often represents school officers, was not returned.

Eftychiou says that Gonzalez was hired by the district in January. He said that school safety officers must have completed a 664-hour Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) academy that includes firearms training. The information director adds that Gonzalez was also up-to-date on required firearms training courses at the Long Beach Police Department.

On Wednesday evening, October 6th, the Long Beach school board voted unanimously to fire Rodriguez. Announcing the decision, Superintendent Jill Baker said that Gonzalez violated District policy, and did not meet our expectations, adding: We believe the decision to terminate this officers employment is warranted, justified, and quite frankly, the right thing to do. Emphasizing that formal investigations are ongoing, the board found that Gonzalez had violated the districts Use of Force Policy.

The presence of armed personnel at public schools has long been controversial. In fact, the Long Beach Unified School District has literally been a case study in the hazards of over-reliance on law-enforcement to address school safety and culture. A 2016 report by Childrens Defense Fund-California and Public Counsel chided the district for having spent 200 times more on law enforcement than on its prevention-focused school climate strategies, while underscoring that Black and Latino students are disproportionately impacted by police involvement at school. The districts communications on the Rodriguez shooting even sounded like PR from a police department. In a letter to parents, Superintendent Baker described how an LBUSD school safety officer discharged his duty weapon, and in a press release to the media, the district relied on the cop euphemism officer involved shooting.

For the Rodriguez family, the focus is on individual accountability. At an earlier press conference, Oscar Rodriguez demanded justice for his sister. She didnt deserve this. No one deserves this, he said, adding of the shooter: All I want is for him to see what justice feels like.
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In March 2020, just after New York City shut down due to COVID-19, Matthew Heineman picked up his camera and embedded with a group of healthcare workers at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in Queens. For the next three months, the director and a skeleton crew captured doctors, nurses, and medical technicians as they battled to keep COVID patients alive and the virus at bay at one of the countrys hardest-hit hospitals.

The result of Heinemans efforts is The First Wave  a documentary that will have its world premiere and serve as the opening night film at the 29th Hamptons Intl. Film Festival on Oct. 7.

Besides documenting the devastating physical and emotional impact the pandemic had on hospital staff, the verite film executive produced by Alex Gibney and produced by Leslie Norville and Jenna Millman follows COVID patients who recovered at the hospital for months as well as their family members back home.

Heineman is no stranger to inserting himself into dangerous, life-threatening situations. While making his Oscar nominated docu Cartel Land (2016), the helmer filmed shootouts on the streets Mexico; inside meth labs; and drug cartel members torturing people. For The First Wave, he knew he would again have to risk his life.

I didnt want to tell the story through Zoom or through other means, he says. I wanted to be on the ground. But unlike other films that Ive made in the past, this was not an issue where you could come home and separate yourself from it. We were living the same thing that we were documenting and thats what made it particularly exhausting and terrifying. You could never turn off.

While Donald Trump, who was president during The First Wave shoot, does not play a part in the film, former governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, does.

This film started out as a homage to health care workers, says Heineman. But it evolved into many, many other things. Its more than a COVID film. Its really a portrait of New York during those four months, and whether we like it or not, Andrew Cuomo was an integral part of those months.

While Cuomos daily COVID briefings are a thing of the past, the pandemic remains part of the worldwide landscape. Watching a docu about a virus that is still very much alive and well could arguably be challenging for audiences looking at movies for an escape.

Its not the film that everyone is necessarily ready to see, but some people will be, says Hamptons film fest artistic director David Nugent. Is it like watching a big crowd pleaser? A movie, like The Artist or something that is just undeniably fun? No. But thats okay. Sometimes we need challenging films that are challenging in a host of different ways but that also really highlight the resilience of the human spirit, which I think this film does.

Heineman adds that The First Wave is a movie that touches on many themes including the human condition. This is a film about family, love, trauma, overcoming trauma and about how human beings come together in the face of trauma. Its my hope and my dream that the film can be a part of the healing process for all of us.

The First Wave is among five films that National Geographic is qualifying for Oscar consideration. The other four docs  Becoming Cousteau, Fauci, The Rescue and Torn  all had their world premieres in September at the Telluride Film Festival.

But Neon co-founder Tom Quinn, who will release The First Wave later this year, isnt concerned that that the docu didnt play at one of the four major fall film festivals, which are all Oscar bellwethers.

Most people thought it was unusual that (Oscar winning doc) CitizenFour didnt premiere anywhere except the New York Film Festival, observes Quinn. Theres a release strategy that I think in the elongated Academy year makes sense to premiere later. Theres no real focus about where you premiere later, so I think you can have your cake and eat it, too. New York is very key and central to building this sort of ripple effect around the film, but its nice to have an Off Broadway run before you got there.

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Jussie Smollett, who faces felony disorderly conduct charges over what prosecutors allege was staging an attack in 2019 while in Chicago, is headed to trial, as Chicagos WTTW reports. On Tuesday, Cook County Judge James Linn said jury selection for the case will begin on November 29th. Smollett has pleaded not guilty.

The charges stem from January 2019, when the former Empire star who had an apartment in Chicago filed a police report after he alleged he suffered a racist and homophobic attack near his Chicago dwelling, which sparked a hate crime investigation. Following the detailed investigation, authorities claimed Smollett staged the attack, alleging the actor paid two acquaintances  brothers Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo  to help in the scheme. Smollett was indicted and he pleaded not guilty. In an abrupt turn, prosecutors dropped all charges against the actor in March 2019, with the actor agreeing to forfeit his $10,000 bail to the city.

That August, a judge appointed special prosecutor Dan K. Webb to the case. Following his investigation, Webb indicted Smollett on six counts, charging the actor with making four separate false reports to Chicago Police Department officers related to his false claims that he was the victim of a hate crime.

Due to the pandemic, Smolletts case had not been set for trial until now, though Smollett and his lawyers along with the prosecutors have been arguing in recent months over Smolletts defense attorney Nenye Uche. Prosecutors allege there is a conflict of interest because Uche had interviewed the Osundairo brothers shortly after the January 2019 incident, and they may be witnesses for the prosecution. However, Linn has ruled that Uche can remain on Smolletts legal team.

While jury selection is on the docket for November 29th, there will be a hearing on a motion to dismiss the case on October 15th.

A lawyer for Smollett did not immediately respond to Rolling Stones request for comment.

Separately, the city of Chicago is suing Smollett to recoup costs incurred from the police investigation into his attack claims.
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Meredith, home to publications including People, EW, Better Homes & Gardens and InStyle, will become part of Dotdash, the digital publishing division of Barry Dillers IAC holding company, under a proposed takeover deal. The terms give the deal an enterprise value of about $2.7 billion.

Under the deal, Dotdash will acquire Meredith in an all-cash transaction at a purchase price of $42.18 per share. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2021. The proposed deal does not include Merediths local TV business, which the company agreed to sell to Gray Television for $2.7 billion earlier this year.

The combined company is to be called Dotdash Meredith and led by Dotdash CEO Neil Vogel. Asked whether layoffs are expected as a result of the merger, an IAC spokeswoman said, Thats not our focus right now. This is a growth story and were excited about the opportunity ahead for Dotdash Meredith.

On its own, Dotdash currently reaches approximately 100 million online consumers monthly. The combined company would reach 175 million online consumers monthly, including 95% of U.S. women, according to the companies.

The Meredith family is extremely proud of everything the company has achieved over the past 120 years, which is a direct reflection of our dedicated employees, Mell Meredith Frazier, vice chairman of Merediths board of directors, said in a statement. Our creative and devoted employees have guided our beloved brands through a fast-changing media landscape  enriching the lives of generations of Americans.

Dotdash, formerly known as About.com, was acquired by IAC from the New York Times in 2012 for $300 million in cash. Dotdash houses 14 brands across health, finance, lifestyle, food and beauty  which it claims are among the fastest growing in their categories  including Verywell, Investopedia, The Balance, The Spruce, Simply Recipes, Serious Eats, Byrdie, Liquor.com, Treehugger and Brides. In 2020, Dotdash posted $214 million in revenue and $66 million in adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization.

Weve often found opportunities in the digital transformations of businesses and industries: travel, ticketing, dating, home services, and now publishing. Meredith is already seeing record digital growth and we think Dotdash can help accelerate that growth, said Joey Levin, CEO of IAC, in a statement.

In addition to greater audience scale, Dotdash and Meredith will result in an overall more diversified business, according to the companies. The deal combines Merediths advertising capabilities and first-party data with Dotdashs ecommerce and performance marketing expertise. Over the last 12-month period, the companies together generated more than $1 billion in advertising revenue while their ecommerce capabilities drove more than $1 billion in sales to retail partners.

Our digital business is growing rapidly, having surpassed our magazine sales for the first time in the companys history, said Tom Harty, Chairman and CEO of Meredith. The combination of Merediths celebrated cross platform brands, creative content and first-party data with Dotdashs digital first brands is a game-changer for the industry. Nowhere else will you find such a premium portfolio of media assets under one roof. We are thrilled to join forces to accelerate Merediths digital future.

Meredith, founded in 1902, closed its acquisition of Time Inc. for $1.85 billion (excluding debt) in 2018, financed in part by politically conservative brothers Charles and David Koch. Meredith has since sold off Time magazine (to Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff), as well as Sports Illustrated, Fortune and Money.

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On Tuesday morning, Laredo and LISD welcomed its first-ever female Police Chief in Doreen Hale.

Hale, who has over 12 years of law enforcement experience, was met with a full boardroom of friends, families and colleagues from around the city. And she said that she is proud to be the chief of LISD police, especially as she is also a product of LISD as she attended Tarver Elementary School, Lamar Middle and graduated from Nixon High School.

To the children in general, working hard and getting educated will get you what you want, she said. And thats why Im here, to be a role model for you all. Im always going to be here for the kids, and I always will be. I am very happy and blessed to be here.

Hale later graduated from the Laredo College South Texas Regional Police Academy before earning her Bachelor of Criminal Justice from TAMIU.

Hales years of dedication to the Webb County Sheriffs Office, the 341st District Court and LISD include working as an investigator, a bailiff and a deputy sheriff. Hale said she hopes to bring in higher ranking officers, including more lieutenants to bolster her department.

The LISD police department currently employs 41 licensed police officers, 74 security guards and two investigators. LISD states that the department also has a canine unit, bike patrol, telecommunications officers and hostage negotiators.

In regard to terroristic threats like the recent cases at three UISD campuses, she said she will be taking her districts future cases one at a time, adding that while her officers do not have mental health training yet, a program between LISD police and district counselors will be looked into for the benefit of the district.

Around the boardroom, members of law enforcement, the district and key members of the city gathered to witness Laredos first female police chief take her oath. Representing all the school children she and her officers will be safeguarding were three students from high school, middle school and elementary school campuses.

Starting off the ceremony was an Invocation by Sister Rosemary Welsh, where she invited the guests to come together and bless Hale after praising her honor, courage and commitment.

You do come from a long line of community law enforcement leaders in this community, but this position is yours, Welsh said. You have earned this position and all of us stand behind you.

Before taking her Oath of Office, her mother presented her with the family bible. She swore her oath in front of 406th District Court Judge Oscar Hale Jr., her brother, before being showered in applause.

Chief Hale said the position comes with new responsibilities, and that Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021 was and will be a very special day in her life.

She shared the day with her husband, son, mother and father, who also helped in the ceremony. Her mother held the family bible, her father pinned her badge, her husband pinned her stars, and her son stood by her side during her first remarks as LISDs new chief of police.

Hale spoke about the present circumstances revolving around the law enforcement field, saying it is different from any other point in history.

We ask more of our officers today than we ever have in history, Hale said. Policing is much more than simply investigating crime and arresting the bad guy. Its providing counseling to families in distress, its getting someone suffering from mental illness the medical health they may need, its working out civil disputes and working with our youth in various programs.

In spite of the difficulties of the law enforcement career and the unpleasant nature of the work, officers put on their uniforms daily as they chose to help people. She added that under her command, the LISD officers will continue to treat people fairly and treat them with the respect they deserve. Improvements will be made wherever possible and what helps her move forward is the continued support of the community, she said.

It takes a village to raise a child, and I am here to let the LISD family know that Im ready to be a part of that village, Hale said. Our mission at the LISD is to protect and serve our students and our faculty by providing a safe and secure environment suitable for excellent student learning, and I know that I can rely on our officers to live that message.

LISDs President of the Board Hector J. Garcia and Superintendent Dr. Sylvia Rios praised Hales career history and believe she will move the position forward as she stands atop of former leaders, including former chief Roberto Villarreal.

Another product of LISD, Villarreal has decades of experience in law enforcement and will continue working with the district helping at-risk youth, Garcia said, adding that she will receive the support and tools to excel in that position. Hale said her transition will be a lot simpler after the work done by Villarreal, who left the role and district in good shape.

Furthermore, Garcia said the decision to choose the first female police chief did not come from the desire for the headline, but due to Hale being the most qualified for the position. He said during his time as the board president, he and his constituents will do what they can to support the new chief.

Despite choosing Hale due to her qualifications, the new milestone is still an inspiration to women across the city. Rios said the new chief is a prime example for young children in the community, including the three children who recited the pledge of allegiance at the start of the ceremony.

Mrs. Hale possesses the leadership skills necessary to serve our LISD community and provide a safe learning environment for our students and staff, Rios said. Chief Hale is one of our own. I am confident she will continue the tradition of excellence we have established with the police department.

Amid the support, Hale asked for the help of the community and her officers to give her valuable feedback and have a say in the decisions affecting the department. The community was asked to pray for her in her new position so she can continue to provide a safe environment for the students and staff at LISD.

cocampo@lmtonline.com
A migrant who had crossed the border illegally has been sentenced to prison for assaulting and threatening to kill a U.S. Border Patrol agent.

U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo sentenced Juan Carlos Almanza-Silva to 13 months in federal prison on Sept. 29. He pleaded guilty to assault on a federal officer by physical contact on June 2.

The case dates back to March 9. At about 7 a.m., Supervisory Border Patrol Agent Jose G. Esquinca responded to suspicious activity in the gravel pit area near South Wilhelm Avenue and Ventura Street.

Esquinca encountered seven migrants attempting to hide in the tall grass area near the gravel pit area by the El Tonto neighborhood, according to an arrest affidavit filed on March 11. He identified himself as an agent and gave verbal commands to the group to lie on the ground.

Almanza-Silva was with the group. When Esquinca was handcuffing the migrants, Almanza-Silva began to insult and taunt Esquinca by stating, You dont know who I am. Your life is over, not your family but yours, states the affidavit.

A struggle ensued when Esquinca approached Almanza-Silva to handcuff him. Almanza-Silva slipped away from Esquincas grasp and punched Esquinca in the arm. Then, the agent counter-punched Almanza-Silva in the head and placed the handcuffs on him, states the affidavit.

A Border Patrol EMT treated Almanza-Silva for a laceration to his forehead before being taken into custody, the affidavit states.
Stewart F. House/Getty Images

Texas witnessed its second school shooting in as many weeks Wednesday morning when reports came in of an active shooter situation taking place at an Arlington high school.

Images from the scene showed armed law enforcement officials streaming into Timberview High School outside of Dallas as students gathered in the parking lot. The shooting injured four individuals, and initials reports stated the gunman had fled the scene. Text messages posted to Twitter by CBS Channel 11 reporter Jason Allen depict the terrifying moments for one student inside the building after gunshots rang out at the Mansfield Independent School District institution.
Lockport, NY (14094)

Today

Mostly cloudy. Periods of rain this morning. High 48F. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%..

Tonight

A few clouds. A few flurries or snow showers possible. Low 32F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph.
As talks of climate change, the protection of the environment and the importance of living a greener lifestyle dominate our society, you would be forgiven for believing that the ban on peat harvesting is a good thing in Ireland.

But when a country that has its own supply of peat is now importing almost 4,000 tonnes of the stuff from Latvia just to supplement the product it can no longer legally harvest, is it really a greener option?

A total of 3,600 tonnes of horticultural peat arrived on Irish shores last week - the first time in history that Ireland has had to import the product.

That massive shipment of peat was delivered to Klasmann- Deilmann Ireland Ltd., a factory which is located between Legan and Rathowen, and is now stockpiled on the edge of a bog that straddles the Longford/Westmeath border and on which the company has been working for 40 years. That bog has lain idle since 2019 when the ban on peat harvesting came into effect.

If the sheer size of the delivery hasnt quite hit home yet, consider this: it took 200 truckloads on a 200km round trip to carry that peat from the bog in Latvia to the port in Riga. Thats 40,000km of diesel. Add to that the journey from Riga to Drogheda and youve got 3,000km of heavy fuel oil for the ship.

The final leg of the journey took 200 truckloads on a second 200km round trip to carry that peat from the port in Drogheda to its destination, where it sits in mountainous piles, just metres away from a bog that could have provided the same quantity without the giant-sized carbon footprint.

Meanwhile our bogs in Ireland are emitting carbon whether we are harvesting peat on them or not, said Kevin Mahon of Klasmann- Deilmann Ireland Ltd.

Peat is being harvested in Northern Ireland, Scotland, England, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Canada, and Russia So this is not an EU problem; it is a uniquely Irish problem and if there was a willingness to allow a Just Transition away from the use of peat in horticulture, the system could be fixed, he added.

Instead, there is a suggestion being presented that there is a system for companies to get regulated, if only companies in the sector would follow the system.

Currently, companies have to go through a four- stage process for a licence to harvest peat, begining with what Mr Mahon has dubbed permission to apply for permission for Retrospective Planning Permission.

This application for Leave for Substitute Consent from An Bord Pleanala should, in theory, take no more than a few months but Klasmann-Deilmanns application has been with An Bord Pleanala for 15 months now and is still no further on.

If granted Leave, the company can apply for Substitute Consent to An Bord Pleanala, which could take up to two years and, if granted, they can apply to the County Council for planning permission, a process which could take another two years.

In our case, this bog actually straddles Longford and Westmeath so its two separate planning applications in two different counties, said Mr Mahon.

If granted planning permission by the County Council, the company can then apply to the EPA for a licence. This process could, again, take up to two years, with objections and appeeals - and with no guarantee of a licence at the end of it all.

So what the Just Transition commissioner had recommended in his report was that there be a one-stop-shop set up - which makes absolute sense - that you put in one application, which would cover licencing and planning in one, Mr Mahon explained.

We dont care which agency does it, whether its An Board Pleanala, or EPA, but just one point of contact, rather than this big long process.

For a start-up, a six year wait to achieve regulatory approval to commence activities would be an untenable situation, according to Mr Mahon, but for a business that has already been operating successfully for forty years this is effectively a death sentence.

We have only survived to date because, as a matter of policy, we hold several years of stock to protect us against the possibility of encountering successive seasons of bad weather. In addition, we have supplemented our own stocks by purchasing large quantities of peat from Bord na Mona but, now that they have ceased operations, stock is no longer available from that source.

Hence the massive importation from Latvia. In fact, most Irish substrate manufacturers will exhaust existing stockpiles of peat in the coming months, if not sooner, which will lead to a shutdown of the entire horticultural sector.

The imported peat is to supplement the reserve supplies of Irish peat that have now been almost exhausted, forcing the sector to import peat into Ireland at a higher cost both financially and environmentally, placing 17,000 jobs across Irelands horticultural sector at risk.

A streamlining of the sequential permitting process is necessary to avoid the imminent shutdown of the industry and Growing Media Ireland (GMI) is now calling on the Government to secure the resumption of peat production in Ireland immediately to avoid a sector-wide financial and environmental crisis.

It is seeking a fair and workable licensing system that will provide for the phasing out of horticultural peat harvesting over a transition period to 2030, allowing alternatives to be developed but ensuring that there is a secure supply of Irish sourced growing media during that period, so the sustainable horticultural sector is not jeopardised.

Local Fianna Fail TD Joe Flaherty last week addressed the Dail, stating that peat producers were aghast at the news of such a large shipment of peat landing on Irish shores.

We were warned time and again that we would end up importing peat. We were warned time and again that Just Transition was going to fail the midlands, he said.

Some 3,600 tonnes of peat travelled 3,000 km from Latvia. Similar, if not better quality peat could have been extracted from bogland no more than ten to 15 miles away and could have been brought on 10 km journeys.

We are now being told by Growing Media Ireland, which represents the peat producers, that we are going to need at least two shipments the size of what arrived into the country last Saturday to meet Irelands peat demands for the foreseeable future.

Peat producers are aghast, disillusioned and disappointed. They looked for a fair, equitable and workable licensing system that would have enabled them to extract peat, he continued.

Bord na Mona withdrew its seven applications from An Bord Pleanala at the start of the year, leaving two live applications, both of which are from a local producer, Klasmann-Deilmann, which is just up the road from me in Rathowen.

There is surely an opportunity there for some of the Department officials to liaise with An Bord Pleanala and to prioritise and, it is hoped, get those two applications over the line to allow the producer to start extracting that peat to try to head off the absolute folly whereby we imported more than 200 truckloads into our country last Saturday - something we are going to repeat twice every month.

The issue will also be discussed at the next meeting of Longford County Council where Legans Cllr Paul Ross has submitted a notice of motion requesting that Longford County Council call on the Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications and Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide a fast-track one-stop-shop framework for planning and licencing for the harvesting of horticultural peat, as was recommended by the Just Transition Commissioner in his progress report dated April 2020.

Such a streamlined approach between statutory bodies would help prevent the absurdity of 200 truckloads of peat being imported from Latvia to be stockpiled on a bog just outside Legan and would instead allow the resumption of the responsible harvesting of peat moss here in Ireland, as it occurs elsewhere in Europe, he said.

All sectors of Irish horticulture including mushroom and small fruit and vegetable growers throughout Ireland are severely affected by the halting of peat harvesting in Ireland. But this affects all of us as food prices are expected to increase as a result of peat importation.

It is probably fair to say that the current dysfunctional system favours the agenda of certain members of this government, so it is perhaps unsurprising that the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications is reluctant to make any changes that would lead to the resumption of harvesting in Ireland, said Mr Mahon.

It is hard to see how the current situation will benefit Irelands Greenhouse Gas Emissions and it certainly will not benefit the horticulture sector in Ireland. Its gross hypocrisy and Green Wash.
A woman who admitted to being in the possession of two bottles of nail varnish at Longford garda station earlier this year has been hit with a 300 fine.

Mother of one Winnie Joyce, 16 St Patrick's Place, Athboy Road, Navan, Co Meath was hit with the fine after pleading guilty to an incident on February 11, 2021.

The 21-year-old also admitted to stealing 25 worth of clothing from Dunnes Stores, Dublin Road, Longford on the same date contrary to Section 4 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001.

The court was told how sitting District Court Judge Seamus Hughes had previously made an order for Ms Joyce to settle an outstanding 250 fine from Athlone District Court before considering the two Longford charges.

At the outset of last Tuesday's hearing, solicitor Brid Mimnagh handed in the required 250 as details of the two Longford theft charges were read into the court.

Sgt Mark Mahon said gardai had been called to Dunnes Stores in Longford at around 7:30pm on February 11 last.

He said Ms Joyce had been seen placing a number of cosmetic items in a bag, adding how she had paid for some but not all of what was taken from the supermarket's shelves.

All of the stolen items which amounted to just over 25 were recovered, he added.

The court was further informed Ms Joyce had seven previous convictions for theft.

The latest of those was recorded in Athlone in June 2020, which culminated in a 250 fine.

Ms Mimnagh said her client was someone who was beginning to understand the futility of committing crime, saying Ms Joyce had to borrow the 250 which was handed into court from her own parents.

She (Ms Joyce) realises the stupidity of her ways, she said.

It (stealing) is costing her a lot more than nail varnish.

Ms Mimnagh said Ms Joyce was more than willing to undertake a spell of community service should the court deem her suitable.

Ms Mimnagh also added Ms Joyce had paid back the 25 in goods she stole from Dunnes Stores.

Presiding Judge Bernadette Owens turned down Ms Mimnagh's overtures concerning Ms Joyce's desire to undertake community service, insisting the court must be satisfied of a person's eligibility before rubberstamping any such order.

As such, Judge Owens said while she would be taking into consideration the Section 4 theft offence, the accompanying handling stolen property charge required a 300 fine.

Ms Joyce was given six months to pay.
The Minister for Justice, Heather Humphreys TD, and Assistant Garda Commissioner John ODriscoll have announced that An Garda Siochana will from this month organise events nationwide to inform the public of the dangers of cybercrime. This follows a dramatic rise in the number of scams both online and over the phone.

The events will be run nationwide by the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau in conjunction with Community Gardai and Crime Prevention Officers and will initially focus on our older and business communities.

The move is one of a number of initiatives being taken by the Department and An Garda Siochana as part of European Cybersecurity Month.

Speaking at the launch of the campaign at the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureaus offices at Harcourt Square, Minister Humphreys said: We have all received some of these strange phonecalls and text messages over the last few months. Some of them can be very sophisticated and unfortunately it is easy to be scammed out of significant amounts of money. The campaign we are launching today is aimed at providing information to the public on what to look out for and how to avoid falling victims to these criminals.

In particular, we want to make sure our older citizens and our business community can recognise scams and know what to do if they are targeted. The key message is to not respond, do not engage and do not give any personal or financial details.

The CSO recorded crime stats for Q2 2021, published on 29 September, showed a 40% increase in fraud offences in the year to June 2021 when compared to the previous year. This increase mostly occurred in Q1 and Q2 of this year and primarily relates to fraudulent attempts to obtain personal or banking information online or by phone as well as fraudulent use of credit and debit card information.

The campaign will see Community Gardai and Crime Prevention Officers around the country providing information to local communities on how to avoid falling victim to such scams. This will be done through local information events, as well as through the normal engagement Gardai will have with their communities.

It will also see a substantial advertising campaign on national radio and print media to build public awareness of the risks and how to avoid them.

Assistant Commissioner ODriscoll said: Technology has transformed all our lives and provided us with new ways to conduct business and to stay in touch with each other. However, criminals have also identified the opportunities that computers provide. Consequently, cybercrime poses a growing threat to every computer user.

"Crimes such as computer hacking, ransomware and online frauds have no borders and can occur at the click of a button or the swipe of a screen.

"To date in 2021, incidents of computer interference have increased by over 150% with similar levels of growth experienced in cyber-enabled crimes such as online frauds and exploitation.

"Ensuring cyber safety is everyones responsibility. The message of Being Safe when Home is more important than ever as many people and companies are now working from home. In cooperation with other interested parties, the Garda Siochana has identified some simple but effective steps which can make cyberspace safer to operate within and more difficult for criminals to abuse.

"Our advice is dont respond to unsolicited emails or links; Dont share personal information online and always have a secure and separate backup of your computer systems.

Speaking at the launch, Sean Moynihan, Chief Executive of ALONE said: Issues such as cybersecurity are a growing concern for older people who are making great strides towards bridging the digital divide. These online cyber-attacks are detrimental to peoples confidence online and have been exacerbated in the past year. We understand that safety and security is integral to older people and we want to reduce the amount of fear that older people have navigating the digital world.

We always advise older people to be cautious and careful with sharing any personal and financial information over the phone or online. The age sector is working with the government and t private companies to give older people the training and support to be confident online and reduce any fears people have.

From our work we also know that technology can also be an empowering tool for older people that allows them to manager their wellbeing , security and social connection.

"If you feel like you may be the victim of an online scam, there is nothing to be embarrassed about. It is important to always report these incidents to prevent these crimes being committed.

Windows and door of Longford house smashed in as gardai launch criminal damage probe Gardai have launched an investigation into the circumstances behind an incident in Longford town last night that saw the windows and front door of a house smashed in.

In addition to the general public, criminals are also targeting businesses. In order to make businesses aware of the threats facing them, the campaign will also be targeting small and medium business owners to advise them of the steps to take to ensure the security of their businesses.

The Minister added: We are all aware of large scale attacks such as that on the HSE earlier this year. However criminals also often target small and medium businesses and those who fall victim to these attacks can face serious financial and reputational consequences. It is vital that those who fall victim to such attacks report what has happened to Gardai and that all businesses take the vital steps needed to protect themselves online. Sharing this information will help protect other businesses from similar attacks.
The discrimination faced by gay Traveller men and people of colour is being raised in a new anti-racism campaign.

Posters have been placed across the country in digital screens, as well as through videos and social media as part of the #ProudAF initiative, with gay Travellers and gay men of colour encouraged to share their experiences online.

Darren Collins, who is a Gay Traveller man and mental health advocate, is starring in the campaign and is quoted as saying, "I couldn't be any prouder to show my community that we can be all different, no matter if you're a Traveller - gay or straight."

Another member of the community, law student and asylum rights advocate Bulelani Mfaco, also appeared in the posters and said, "Recently did a talk for a charity on racism. Point I drove home was that we experience life differently in Ireland. My everyday experiences are different to those of a Traveller Gay man or settled White gay man. For some of us, safety is something we negotiate regularly."

Amazing to see myself in bathrooms in Restaurants, Pubs etc.. in Dublin as part of #proudAF campaign. @GayProjectIRL @Minceirbeoir pic.twitter.com/2H2Hs3dQFv  Darren Collins (@collinsdarren29) October 6, 2021

According to Gay Project, the group behind the campaign, gay Traveller men and men of colour experience both homophobia and racism in Ireland, which lead to isolation and feelings of invisibility.

In a statement on their website, they said, "We are proud that Ireland is seen as one of the most progressive countries in the world for GBTQI+ but POC and Travellers are often not accepted and included. Through storytelling and lived experience, this campaign will explore the racism, bias and exclusion that is hurting our POC and Traveller siblings."
Local News, Business & Finance, Politics

By Chris Boyle Published: October 06 2021

"Once Ive signed the bill, checks will begin to be automatically mailed out to households," Curran said.

Nassau County Executive Laura Curran has confirmed that the Nassau County Legislature has voted to approve $375 direct payments to county residents, using federal funds from the American Rescue Plan:

After months of delay, tonight the Nassau County Legislature has finally passed my plan to use federal relief funding for $375 direct payments to up to 400,000 middle and working class households. I will sign this legislation as soon as it reaches my desk. Nassau Countys finances are in the best shape they have been in decades thanks to fiscal discipline by my Administration.

This allows us to push funding from the American Rescue Plan back to our residents and businesses.These direct payments will not only help those who continue to struggle, but also provide a meaningful boost to our local economy. I encourage residents to spend this money in our main streets and support local businesses.
Business & Finance, Health & Wellness

By Chris Boyle Published: October 06 2021

Flu vaccine may be administered alongside first-time and booster COVID-19 vaccines.

With the CDC urging everyone 6 months and older to get a flu vaccination by the end of October, Stop & Shop today announced that flu shots are now available at its Long Island pharmacy locations. Per the State of New York, Stop & Shops trained and trusted pharmacists are authorized to administer FluMist via nasal spray to those two and older, and flu shots via injection to those three and older, with parental or custodial consent.

Customers in need of a COVID-19 vaccine or Pfizer COVID-19 boosters can receive both the flu and COVID-19 vaccine at once as the CDC has indicated that these vaccines may be administered alongside one another with no need for a waiting period. Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines are available to patients 12 and older, and boosters to eligible individuals, all depending on individual store supply.

Stop & Shop is taking extensive health and safety precautions at its pharmacies and has secured additional stock of the flu vaccine, anticipating higher demand because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Stop & Shop has enhanced its health and safety protocols for vaccinations at all its pharmacies. To receive a flu, COVID-19, or other vaccine, customers will be required to wear face coverings, and pharmacists will be equipped with face coverings and gloves. The immunization area will have strict disinfecting and sanitization measures in place between each patient.

Stop & Shop is ready to take care of its communities across New York this flu season, shares Farrah Acerno, Manager of Stop & Shop Pharmacies on Long Island. We are well-stocked and offer same-day immunizations without appointments. While prices associated with vaccinations are dependent upon customers insurance plans, most flu shots end up being low or no-cost. Stop & Shop aims to make it easy for everyone to get the care they need this fall.

Stop & Shop offers several types of flu vaccines, and its licensed, trained, and trusted pharmacists can help each patient select the type that is best for them to address any concerns about allergies, preservatives, or potential adverse effects. Stop & Shop pharmacies also have an ample supply of COVID-19 vaccines, Pfizer COVID-19 boosters, shingles, pneumonia, and tetanus vaccines available, and customers should consult their local Stop & Shop pharmacist on all other immunizations that may be available and valuable to them and their families.
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(Alliance News) - Ferrexpo PLC on Wednesday said that iron ore pellet production grew annually in the third quarter of the year, following the pelletiser upgrade work completed in previous quarters, but fell 9% from the previous quarter.

The Ukraine-focused iron ore pellet producer's production in the three months to September 30 was 2.6 million tonnes, up 2% on the same period last year.

It reported a 9% drop in production compared to the second quarter, but attributed this to completed upgrade work and planned maintenance on its fourth pelletiser line in September.

Notably, the proportion of higher grade direct reduction pellets increased to 8% of total pellet production during the third quarter, compared to 3% in the second.

In the nine months to September 30, Ferrexpo's pellet production came in at 8.2 million tonnes, which was 0.3% higher year-on-year.

"I am pleased to report our continued progress in terms of product quality and product volumes, with upgrade work completed on the pelletiser during the quarter," said interim Chief Executive Jim North.

"Through continued investment in the group's concentrator and pelletiser facilities, we are creating a platform for future growth in product volumes, whilst simultaneously increasing the overall grade of our production."

Back in August, Ferrexpo tipped that its market balance for pellet sales was "returning to historic levels" after a temporary shift in sales to China in the last year.

Shares were down 3.6% at 299.60 pence in London on Wednesday.

By Josie O'Brien; josieobrien@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
DeepVerge PLC - York, England-based environmental & life science AI company - DeepVerge's Skin Trust Club partners with Media.Monks to accelerate global expansion of hyper personalised skincare brand launch. Media.Monks is owned by London-based S4 Capital PLC and has partnered with Skin Trust Club to roll out its brand and communications strategy.

Niamh O'Kennedy, marketing officer at Skin Trust Club says: "For the first time ever, Skin Trust Club members take full control of their skin's health. We provide personalised skincare suggestions for recommended daily routines based on their unique skin microbiome. All recommended products are cruelty-free and have been scientifically tested on laboratory grown human skin by Labskin scientists.

"Genetic test results from Skin Trust Club members own skin microbiome have clearly demonstrated both physical and scientifically proven improvements, which help our customers get to know their skin better so they can look and feel their very best. We look forward to working with Media.Monks to define and encapsulate this ethical skin revolution through an end-to-end strategy with their creative, highly personalised and targeted campaign."

Current stock price: 22.90 pence

Year-to-date change: down 30%

By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Savills PLC - London-based estate agent - Says Head of Global Capital Markets Simon Hope has stepped down from the executive board, which he has been a member of since 2008. Hope continues as chair of Savills Global Capital Advisory, it adds.

Current stock price: 1,287.55 pence

Year-to-date change: up 32%

By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
(Alliance News) - Lookers PLC on Wednesday said it now expects full-year underlying pretax profit to be "materially ahead" of its previous forecasts given a strong third quarter showing.

The guidance bump comes despite the global shortage of semi-conductors which has continued to place increasing pressure throughout the third quarter on the supply and availability of new vehicles, Lookers said, leading to robust used vehicle demand as a result.

Shares in the Altrincham, Cheshire-based car dealer were up 5.8% to 64.20 pence each in London.

"Trading in the third quarter remained strong and above the board's expectations driven by new vehicle market outperformance, excellent new and used vehicle margins and continued tight cost and working capital control," the motor retail and aftersales service company said.

While like-for-like used vehicle sales were down 17% in the quarter against strong year-ago comparatives, this was more than offset by "unprecedented margin retention". Aftersales revenue in the quarter remained "robust", and on a like-for-like basis was 3.5% below last year.

Looking ahead, Lookers pointed to a strong new car order bank, above normalised levels. However, there remained "material and increasing uncertainty" as to the availability of these vehicles due to supply problems.

"The group has built on its record first half result and performed strongly in a challenging market, underpinned by further enhancements to its omni-channel experience," said Chief Executive Mark Raban.

By Will Paige; willpaige@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
(Alliance News) - Anglo American PLC boss Mark Cutifani said on Wednesday it is up to the board to decide when his term will come to an end amid speculation that his exit is imminent.

The board has been thinking through how it would like to handle succession planning at the sprawling mining company that owns platinum, gold, diamond and iron ore assets, Cutifani told delegates at the Mining Indaba on Wednesday.

"It's in the board's hands," he said. "They will let us know when they will make a decision and how they want to go forward."

Cutifani, who has been chief executive at Anglo since 2013, said he had made a commitment to the board to see the Quellaveco copper project in Peru through to its completion.

The development has an expected capital cost of USD5.0 billion to USD5.3 billion. It is 60% owned by Anglo American and Mitsubishi Corp hold the rest.

The Quellaveco project is on plan and on budget despite wasting six months to Covid-19, Cutifani said, projecting it will be completed in the first half next year.

At the two-day Mining Indaba, held virtually, Cutifani also predicted that South African commodities will be in high demand as the world abandons carbon emissions and embraces greener future.

The local mining industry, he said, was stepping up to the plate in response to climate change. He highlighted platinum group metals, copper and iron ore as some of the minerals that stood to benefit from transition to greener economy.

Countries, accounting to 70% of the global gross domestic product, have pledged net zero emissions by 2050.

"Sustainability comes with [high] business performance," said Cutifani.

By Artwell Dlamini; artwelldlamini@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 Wednesday and not separately reported by Alliance News:







Provident Financial PLC - Bradford-based subprime lender - Accepts GBP71.5 million in tender offer of 7% 2023 notes. Says now GBP103.5 million outstanding. Previously says proceeds from the notes offering will go towards the repayment of debt and strengthening the capital base of the company.







Alpha Financial Markets Consulting PLC London-based consultancy for asset and wealth management industry - Is "very pleased" with strong interim performance and backs full-year expectations. Reports positive trading conditions in six months to September 30 and strong margins. "The group has also successfully delivered strong sales wins and grown its opportunity pipeline through the first half," it says. Adds: " Increased client demand has delivered strong double-digit organic net fee income growth compared to the first half of the prior year, with particularly strong like for like progress in Alpha's North American and Europe & Asia regions."







Symphony International Holdings Ltd - strategic investment company - Makes investment in pan-India online furniture and lifestyle brand House of Kieraya. "The funding round, led by Symphony, included investments from Signet family office and The Parekh family office of Nilkamal. The investment by Symphony amounted to less than 5% of its NAV," company says. Adds: "The umbrella brand, HoK, includes Furlenco, one of India's largest furniture and lifestyle subscription businesses, and Furbicle, a brand focused on sustainability-led remanufactured furniture."







Foresight Group Holdings Ltd - infrastructure and private equity investment manager - Says assets under management estimated at GBP8.1 billion and funds under management at GBP6.0 billion at end of September, equating to annualised growth rate of 25% and 34% respectively in the half-year period. "We have experienced substantial growth in FUM as a result of strong retail net inflows plus further institutional fund closes and together with the near-term pipeline of new fund launches and deployment, this gives the board confidence in achieving the group's full year FY2022 targets," says Executive Chair Bernard Fairman.







Ground Rents Income Fund PLC - invests in portfolio of long-dated ground rents from freeholds and head leases in the UK - James Agar, fund manager for company since its IPO in 2012, has stepped down from his role at Schroder Real Estate. Schroders was appointed as alternative investment fund manager to the company in May 2019. Following Agar's departure, Chris Leek, current deputy fund manager, assumes day to day responsibility for the portfolio, reporting to Nick Montgomery, Head of UK Real Estate.







KKV Secured Loan Fund Ltd - equipment leasing and asset finance investment company - Sells two loans from its C share class portfolio for USD4.0 million. At the end of 2020, the loans had a carrying value of zero and were marked as Borrower 42 and 58 within the C portfolio. Also notes a loan within the ordinary share class portfolio that financed domestic heating systems and associated maintenance contracts has been settled. The loan was purchased for consideration of GBP3.8 million.







Quantum Exponential Group PLC - seeks investment opportunities in the quantum technology sector - Applies for shares to be listed on AQSE. Yet to determines how many shares to be offered in initial public offering, or price. "The company will source potential investment opportunities directly and in conjunction with Notion Capital, one of Europe's leading tech VC investors who will refer early-stage quantum technology investment opportunities to the company. Notion use a proprietary digital sourcing technology which applies heuristics to signals from multiple public data sources and will augment these with the company's internal data sets to identify those companies most suited to the company's investment strategy," company says.







Henderson Eurotrust PLC - focused on high quality European, excluding the UK, investments - Plans share split of splitting each share into 10 shares. Shareholders will vote on proposal at November 17 AGM. Currently has 21.2 million shares in issue, potentially expanding to 212.1 million after share-split.







Galliford Try Holdings PLC - construction firm based in Uxbridge - Says Building unit appointed to GBP1.6 billion LHC Public Buildings, Construction & Infrastructure PB3 framework. "The four-year framework replaces LHC's previous School & Community Building framework, and covers projects across all public sector buildings. Galliford Try has places in four value bands across the UK ranging up GBP14 million," company says. Galliford Chief Executive Bill Hocking adds: "Maintaining a position on major public sector frameworks is a key part of our Sustainable Growth Strategy, so we are delighted to be selected by LHC for this new vehicle. We have already delivered a number of high-quality projects through LHC's previous frameworks and we look forward to continuing our relationship with them as they seek to grow throughout the public sector."







nmcn PLC - Sutton-in-Ashfield, England-based construction engineering company - Appoints Grant Thornton as administrators, taking over control of day-to-day running of company. Applies for shares to be cancelled from Main Market. Previously notes t has collapsed into administration after failing to finalise its annual report for 2020, approve audited financial statements and secure re-financing with investor Svella. nmcn had been trying to finalise a GBP24 million recapitalisation of the business, backed by Svella. It had secured extensions of loan agreements until early November provided it could complete an equity raise by November 18. nmcn needed to publish a prospectus by November 1, which required its results for 2020, which had been due to published at the end of June, to be signed off.







Polarean Imaging PLC - North Carolina-based MRI equipment developer and manufacturer - US Food & Drug Administration turns down new drug application for company's investigational drugadevice combination product using hyperpolarised xenon-129 gas to enhance magnetic resonance imaging. "These issues are mostly technical or manufacturing-related in nature and centre around the Xenon hyperpolariser system. Polarean will work to address the issues identified by the FDA with a view to resubmitting the NDA and securing FDA approval as quickly as possible. Following resubmission of the NDA, it is expected that the FDA review period will take 2 to 6 months," company adds. Net cash ends June at USD38.2 million.







MGC Pharmaceuticals Ltd - Perth, Australia-based medicinal cannabis company - Confirms USD3 million order received from AMC Holdings Inc for MGC's Covid-19 treatment, CimetrA, as part of its three-year, USD24 million US supply & distribution agreement. Order represents over 110,000 units of CimetrA, the largest single order that the Company has received for any product to date.







Blue Prism Group PLC - makes software to automate back-office tasks - Reacts to shareholder Coast Capital letter, by saying Vista Equity Partners offer was "worthy of recommendation to shareholders." Says sale process was "extensive and thorough," and adds "there is no obstacle to a superior offer being proposed." Continues: "Board has determined that the Acquisition is in the best interests of Blue Prism shareholders, immediately delivering certain value without the execution risks associated with the necessary strategic investments envisaged." At the end of August, Blue Prism said it was in talks with TPG Capital and Vista Equity Partners over possible takeover offers. Agreed to a GBP1.10 billion takeover offer from Vista Equity Partners. The offer by Austin, Texas-based private equity firm Vista amounts to 1,125 pence per share, a premium of around 35% to the closing price of 832p on Aug 27, the last day prior to the offer period.







Glantus Holdings PLC - Irish data platform for accounts payable and shared services - Partners with VAT IT UK Ltd to offer tax and working capital reclaim services. "VAT IT customers will now have access to the Glantus Data Platform and expertise to realize additional savings through targeted accounts payable analysis, credit recovery, and automation of the accounts payable process," company explains.







Falanx Group Ltd - AIM-listed provider of cyber security and strategic intelligence services - Sells Assynt Strategic Intelligence unit for GBP4.6 million in cash to Cross Atlantic Solutions LLC. "Company believes that its best prospects for future growth are by focusing as a pure play business focused on the fast-developing cyber security market, particularly given the sector's strong macro-economic drivers which have accelerated since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Cyber security has now become a business essential and not just an optional extra. Falanx Cyber has invested significantly in aligning its services with this market and is now experiencing much greater demand for its penetration testing and cyber security monitoring services, particularly following the launch of its Triarii cyber protection platform," company explains.







Mirriad Advertising PLC - London-based in-content advertising technology - Signs collaboration with Electric Glue and 4Sales to incorporate in-content product placement for UK property website Rightmove PLC, within Channel 4's peak time property show Location, Location, Location. "Viewers will be able to see in real-time current property information relevant to the residential area that each episode is filmed in, in the form of a digital overlay that includes topical statistics such as specific location pricing," company explains.







STV Group PLC - Glasgow-based television broadcaster - Reaches agreement with trustees of its defined benefit pension schemes for triennial funding valuations and recovery plans. The combined funding deficit has reduced to GBP116 million versus GBP127 million at the previous settlement date. The 2021 deficit recovery payments will total GBP9.3 million, with annual payments then increasing at the rate of 2% per annum over the term of the recovery plans, in line with the previous agreement, company notes. Chief Executive Lindsay Dixon says: "Agreement on the pension scheme valuations has been reached in an efficient and timely manner, providing certainty to STV, the schemes' trustees and to our broader stakeholders, and demonstrating STV's continued commitment to supporting our former colleagues."







Atalaya Mining PLC - Cyprus-based copper ores company - Sees positive progress from ongoing resource definition drilling at Proyecto Masa Valverde in Huelva, Spain. Says recent drilling campaign has intersected broad intervals of "massive and stockwork type" polymetallic sulphide mineralization including significant high grade intercepts at both Masa Valverde and Majadales. Chief Executive Alberto Lavandeira says: "These excellent drilling results from both Masa Valverde and Majadales confirm our belief that the historical resource at Masa Valverde, which excluded Majadales, can be improved and also expanded. The definition of higher grade copper and zinc zones inside the larger mineralized intervals will be one of the keys for moving this project to production. Based on these encouraging results we have decided to extend the 8,000 meter drilling program initially planned for this campaign to include the first systematic drilling program at the promising Campanario-Descamisada target zone."







Ariana Resources PLC - gold miner in Turkey and Australia - Says recent drilling results show gold from all Kokkinoyia Sector drill holes at the Magellan project, which is 100% owned by Venus Minerals Ltd. Company is continuing its earn-in to 50% of Venus and is currently entitled to 37.5%, with 50% expected to be achieved in early Q4 2021. Notes three new mineralisation zones confirmed, with results including 18.9 metres at 0.86% copper and 1.54 grammes per tonne gold plus 0.55% zinc, which includes 3 metres at 4.40% coppers and 6.24 grammes per tonne gold and 0.82% zinc. Managing Director Kerim Sener says: "These final drilling results from the Kokkinoyia deposit reinforce our understanding that an updated mineral resource will include gold, in addition to copper. Of particular note is the extension of moderate to high-grade mineralisation outside of the envelope which defines the current mineral resource."







Pure Gold Mining Inc - Vancouver, Canada-based gold miner - Agrees to issue 3.3 million units at CAD1.05 each, about USD0.83, to raise CAD3.5 million on a non-brokered basis to Johannesburg-listed Anglogold Ashanti Ltd. Each unit holds one share and a half-share warrant, allowing Anglogold to buy one more share, per warrant, at CAD1.36 each at any point in the next 18 months. Company intends to use the net proceeds raised from the Transaction to fund the continued ramp up of operations at its 100%-owned project in Red Lake, Ontario.







Oriole Resources PLC - mineral explorer in Senegal and Cameroon - Notes multiple gold targets at 90%-owned Central Licence Package in central Cameroon. Says gold assay results received for 503 stream sediment samples related to the Ndom, Pokor and Mbe licences. Chief Executive Tim Livesey says: "We are excited to see widespread gold-in-stream anomalism across all five licences sampled to date at our extensive and contiguous Central Licence Package. These early indications will now enable us to rank and prioritise areas for rapid follow up exploration work."







Alien Metals Ltd - London-based exploration and development company - Says ongoing drilling at Elizabeth Hill Silver Project in the Pilbara Region of Western Australia continues to produce "visible sulphides". Notes, currently, around 753 metres has been drilled as part of the drill programme, including 211 metres of diamond core drilling and 542 metres of reverse circulation drilling. Chief Executive Bill Brodie Good says: "We are very much looking forward to receiving the initial assay results from the diamond drilling. So far, the drilling program has given us some excellent geological information and some very encouraging visual results including pure silver and copper and nickel sulphides. Importantly, the core has been logged, cut and samples despatched over the past week."







By Paul McGowan; paulmcgowan@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Jefferson, GA (30549)

Today

Sunshine and a few clouds. High near 75F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

A few clouds. Low 37F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.
Spain has hit the jackpot! The economy will be given a major lift as the Spanish government goes on a massive spending spree helped in no small part by a major injection of European Union cash. Everyone appears to be getting cash apart from those who have had a real nightmare during the pandemic, the self employed.

Civil servants are in line for a two percent pay rise (good for them, but private sector workers have seen their wages frozen for years), you will get a grant from the government to leave home to help pay the rent and also pensions will rise. This is all fantastic news but it might be an idea if the government had also helped small businesses which have been badly hit by the pandemic. This additional cash which is going into the economy should provide a big lift and in some ways the additional cash for civil servants will help small businesses.

The socialist-led government in Madrid and Palma are also appealing to business owners to increase the wages of their employees. Balearic President Francina Armengol said as much in a speech last month. However, it pays to be positive and after two years of bad news it looks as if Spain is on track again and moving forward. I was told recently that house prices would be rising again as a direct result of the additional cash that the government is placing in the pockets of some people. It could be argued that the government is spending to get the economy moving again but I cant see too many people complaining.
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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.
Mankato, MN (56001)

Today

Windy. Snow showers this morning. The becoming mostly sunny later. High 33F. Winds WNW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of snow 50%. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Clear skies this evening will become overcast overnight. Low 21F. W winds shifting to SSE at 10 to 15 mph.
Kylian Mbappe certainly hasn't closed any doors to remaining with Paris Saint-Germain beyond the 2021/22 campaign, and his mother, Fayza Lamari, has admitted that discussions are ongoing with the French club over an extension.

Mbappe was left bitterly disappointed that a move to Real Madrid didn't materialise in the summer, yet whilst he could still sign a pre-contract agreement with Los Blancos in January, there are concerns that PSG and his family are pushing him into a corner.

"We're talking with PSG at the moment and everything is going well," Lamari declared to Le Parisien.

"I spoke with Leonardo last night, one thing is clear and that Kylian will give his all until the end to win the Champions League.

"Kylian has to be happy. If he's sad then he's capable of telling you, and he often tells us.

"With Kylian everything can change from one day to the next."

Mbappe dreams of Real Madrid

Yet, despite the comments made by Fayza Lamari about Mbappe potentially renewing at PSG, she admits that it is her son's dream to one day play for Real Madrid.

"I understand that PSG fans are not happy. But Mbappe dreams of playing for both PSG and Real Madrid," she revealed.

"Four years ago, Real Madrid was more attractive than PSG and [yet] we chose to go to Paris. This summer Kylian had decided on Real Madrid because he wanted to realise his dream. He wanted to be at the beginning of that story.

"If you add Kylian to Real Madrid, plus three or four players in the next four years, the team is not the same. Mbappe wants to be at the centre of a sporting project. He needs constant challenges."

Mbappe wanted a new challenge

Fayza Lamari recognised that last summer Mbappe wanted to try a new challenge and felt like his time at PSG had come to an end, but the club were unwilling to let him go, even if it means potentially losing him on a free next summer.

"This is his fifth season at PSG, he has had time to reflect because there was the option to renew and in fact it is still possible, because no one can pretend to know the future," said Mbappe's mother.

"If he asked to leave, it is because he understood that his time was over. We didn't want to leave for free but in advance so that there would be a transfer and we wouldn't be criticised for leaving on a free.

"But I understand that PSG want to keep Kylian. I don't forget that it was Nasser [Al-Khelaifi, PSG's president] who unlocked the transfer with Monaco by raising the offer from 145 million euros to 180 million euros."

Negotiations with PSG

Mbappe's mother revealed above that talks with PSG over a new deal are going well, and she admits that it didn't take long to get the key issues sorted.

"I was present with his father and the lawyer. We rejected a first proposal from PSG and then a second one at the end of the transfer window," Lamari commented.

"When we negotiated, first we reached a sporting agreement, and then in terms of the finances we settled it in an hour."
A team of numerous investigators and journalists, known as the Case Breakers, claim to have finally discovered the identity of the infamous Zodiac killer after years of investigation.

The serial killer once claimed to have murdered 37 people back in the late 1960s in California but just seven victims have been officially confirmed.

His name according to the Case Breakers is Gary Francis Poste, a man who died in 2018. In any case, it is not the first time that different investigators claim to have brought the name of the serial killer to light.

One of the individuals singled out in the past was Arthur Leigh Allen, a paedophile who was expelled from the military and from school, but police ultimately found no link in his case.

Whether it was Gary Francis Poste or not, one thing that is clear according to the authorities is that the Zodiac killer would now be around 90 years old.
Julia A. Johnston, 68, of Wilburton, OK passed away at her home in Wilburton on Sunday, November 14, 2021. Services will be on Wednesday, November 17, 2021 at 2 p.m. at the Waldrop Funeral Home Chapel in Wilburton, OK with the burial to follow in the Peachland Cemetery in Bengal, Oklahoma. O
Meadville, PA (16335)

Today

A steady rain this morning. Showers continuing this afternoon. High near 45F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%..

Tonight

Occasional snow showers. Low around 30F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 70%. About one inch of snow expected.
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Texas Anti-Abortion Law

The HeartBeat Act Enforcement

Internet Glitz - The Technical Aspect

Hazards of Unsafe Abortion

Abortion and Contraception - Not to be Confused!

The Disputes of Abortion

Pro-Life - Abortion is considered equal to murder - an immoral act against the "unborn baby", "unborn child", or "pre-born child".

- Abortion is considered equal to murder - an immoral act against the "unborn baby", "unborn child", or "pre-born child". Pro-Choice - Abortion is considered as a right to a woman to protect her body against unwanted pregnancies and their risks.

Right to Abortion/Pro-Choice movements

Anti-abortion/Pro-life movements

Europe: The abortion law varies by different countries in Europe, and parliamentary acts have either legalized them in certain places or heavily restricted (constitutionally banned) in others. The pro-life groups are: France Republic of Ireland - Pro-Life Campaign, Youth Defence and the Iona Institute. Liechtenstein

Russia: abortion is legal up to the 12th week of pregnancy, and at later stages in special circumstances.

Middle East

Israel - major anti-abortion organization is Efrat.

America - United States

Abortion in the United States - The Timeline

What is Roe v. Wade?

Religious Predisposition

Revolutionary Movements - U.S. & Texas

Divided Believes

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Abortion

Is Abortion Really Illegal?

Efforts to Block Texas Heartbeat Act

Abortion in Texas - (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion_in_Texas) What is abortion? - (https://www.bpas.org/abortion-care/considering-abortion/what-is-abortion/) Roe v. Wade - (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roe_v._Wade) Anti-abortion movements - (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-abortion_movements) Abortion in the United States - (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion_in_the_United_States) United States anti-abortion movement - (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_anti-abortion_movement) Principles  Respect, Justice, Nonmaleficence, Beneficence - (https://www.nwabr.org/sites/default/files/Principles.pdf) Preventing unsafe abortion - (https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/preventing-unsafe-abortion)

This scenario might reflect the situation of a women who are deprived of getting a safe abortion and struggle to fight with unplanned pregnancies when faced with strict laws on abortion.In the case of abortion, getting the job done clandestinely in some back street is known to be unsafe and even have costed women their lives.To protest against the law, the young TikTokers took the matter into their hands by temporarily bringing down the Texas anti-abortion site.The Law prohibits abortion after the heartbeat of the fetus is detected. This happens around 6 weeks of pregnancy.The Republican-controlled 87th Texas Legislature enacted theduring its regular session, that considersThe Act was hosted asand Texas Governorsigned the law on May 15, 2021.There were no exceptions given even for pregnancies that may occur as a result of rape or incest. Only private lawsuits can obligate the law.As the anti-abortion law went into effect in Texas, a website called www.prolifewhistleblower.com.was established to collect the information about possible offenders who don't follow the law and thereby help enact the Heartbeat Act of Texas.As the law offended the young women, TikTokers clogged the website down by encouraging to pass on the fake tips to crash the website. Soon this became viral, and this was partly responsible for taking down the website.says Mark Lemley, Professor of Internet Law.says Lemley.Moreover, the hosting companies claimed that the website also violated their terms of services regarding the collection of private medical data. Kimberlyn Schwartz from the Texas Right to Life affirms that they are planning to put the site back up & improve security.As the anti-abortion law narrows, some women may resort to dangerous, illegal, "back-alley" abortions or even self-induced abortions. The number of illegal abortions ranged from 200,000 to 1.2 million per year in the 1950s and 1960s in the United States, as per the Guttmacher Institute - the timeline when illegal abortion rooted its history.WHO estimates thatEvery year, unsafe abortion attributes to 4.7% - 13.2% of maternal deaths. Moreover, theOn the contrary, legalizing abortion may also allow for explicit usage of the procedure to limit the birth of all congenital anomalies. This may make the world a tougher place for both women and the children with special needs (and similar ones) by encouraging a ratherconcept.The death and disabilities emerging from abortion can be thereby effectively prevented through use of effective contraception, sexuality education, provisions of safe, legal induced abortion with timely care for complications as per Contraception is aIt is considered as one of the effective and safest methods against unplanned pregnancies.The abortion rates have witnessed a downfall from 30 per 1,000 women (age group: 15-44 years) in 1980 to 11.3 per 1,000 women in 2018. It was found that 77.7% of abortions were executed at 9 weeks (or less) of gestation, and 92.2% at 13 weeks (or less) gestation in 2018.Reports suggest thatUnlike Republican Party, the Democratic Party defends abortion access and has also made it easier to acquire contraception.With the emergence of medical awareness, counseling, and equal rights to health care, one may also seek a safer way to prevent pregnancies through contraception and limit abortions to justifiable grounds.Hence, it is important to consider the option for safer access to abortions (up to a logical gestation period), contraceptive methods, and awareness strategies to foster a better society for everyone, including special children.Abortion in itself has been a long debate that attracts controversies all around the world. Certain countries allow for legal and safe abortion as a right of a woman, while others don't.Two opposite views are arising based on the conflicting debates - The "pro-choice" and "pro-life" movements.Hence, the abortion debate put forth manyonPro-Choice view believes that women hold complete freedom over their bodies and as the fetus is part of a woman's body (not a separate entity), it is the choice of the woman to terminate the unwanted fetus -The view believes that only the(ability to live outside the womb at least by 50% - after 24 weeks of pregnancy)Hence, ultimately the abortion-rights movement argues that pregnant women should be given the right to choose on having or not having an abortion.Theview believes thatand some consider first heartbeat detection (6 weeks of pregnancy ). The fetus is thereby considered a living human being, a separate entity from the mother with its moral protection. In addition, the mother holds no right to abort the unborn child except in medical emergencies.The pro-life movements (or right-to-life movement) may hold their logical reasons as it is considered thatof every event related to living human beings and hence, beginning of life can be considered at conception.The promoters argue that the human zygote (at the time of conception) is a human with its right to life.In part, these anti-abortion movements began as countermovements response to elective abortions and their legalization. Usage of medical terms like, andmight be, thus considered as dehumanizing by these activists.Many countries hold pro-life groups, some of which are:The movements are taken place with thetechnique where there is a public demonstration of anti-abortion messages likeorby standing in a row on sidewalks and holding the signs.The first country in the world that legalized all abortions wasunder Lenin in 1920. Several countries legalize abortions for a safer life for a woman. Many other countries are also equally involved in the abortion debate supporting the abortion practice and its legal aspects.The significant role for the formation of The United States anti-abortion movement was due to the response to a landmark decision of the Supreme Court in 1973 - Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton.Since then, many anti-abortion organizations have emerged to abolish all sorts of killing on ethical, philosophical, and moral grounds that involve abortion, euthanasia, war, and capital punishment.This is based on the right to privacy confined in the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.Initially, abortion was considered illegal in Texas in the 1900s and throughout much of the country since the late 19th century. It was permitted only in cases of rape, incest, or health threat to the mother.When Dallas resident(single, pregnant woman in her early 20s) had her third pregnancy, she made aHowever, the efforts were failed that insisted her to further seek the assistance of Linda Coffee and Sarah Weddington.The claim was then filed by the(Henry Wade, was the District Attorney for Dallas County at the time). The case was first argued on December 13, 1971, reargued on October 11, 1972, andHowever, McCorvey had already given birth to her child before the case was decided. The court implicated that abortion was a woman's right to privacy, protected by the 14th Amendment to the Constitution - as majority opinion written by Justice Harry Blackmun.Since then, Roe v. Wade became a landmark legal decision issued in the U.S. Supreme Court, which struck down a Texas statute that bans abortion and established a "trimester" (i.e., 12 weeks) threshold for fetus life. This proved controversial in dividing the Americans in their support for choosing abortion as a woman's right.Several pro-life movements are also associated with many Christian religious groups (predominantly the Catholic Church, Evangelists) and the Republican Party.Thethrough the& organizations likeThe core issue of the group revolved around the existence of human life or personhood at either conception, birth, or at in between. However, the court declined the resolution of the issue noting that:. Under English and American common law,Hence, the court merely declared their compelling interest in guarding the "potential life" at the point of viability.Texas (a state in the South Central region of the United States) gains its name from a Caddo wordmeaning, during the Spanish rule.However, the revolutionary actions in Texas throughout the years, helped the state declare its independence from Mexico on March 2, 1836, and finallySince then, Texas is a free and independent State.Before the 19th century, abortion was legal beforein the United States. Quickening refers to the time point when a woman could feel the first fetal movements in her womb (around the 4th month/16 weeks of pregnancy).However, in the 1820s and 1830s, there was an endorsement of certain early regulations concerning abortion as the state witnessed the sale & advertised use of dangerous drugs for inducing abortions in women.With these, rising rates of unsafe abortions,(newly established) in the lateReports suggest that this was also in part associated with the struggle to remove competitors of doctors (midwives & homeopaths).Supported with these,(contributed by the immigrants). They developed anti-abortion views as they anticipated the fear of declined birth rates among American-born white Protestant women.(at any stage of pregnancy) in 1869. Following this, Congress passed the Comstock law (that illegalizes distribution of contraceptives and abortion-inducing drugs through the U.S. mail) in 1873.Finally, the groundwork for Roe v. Wade allowed the U.S. Supreme Court to struck down the law banning the distribution of birth control to married couples and contraceptives to unmarried adults in 1965 and 1972 respectively as they violated a constitutional right to privacy.Since then, many states have legalized abortions.Texas is home to manythrough established organizations like Jane's Due Process (Rosie Jimenez Day every October 3).However, the state is alsothrough organizations like Human Coalition. As a part of pro-life determinations,national director (from an anti-abortion group) befriended Norma McCorvey and converted into Catholicism.This resulted in her -- a vocal opponent of the abortion procedure. Several anti-abortion rights activists have also been involved in violent attacks in the state like arson attacks, butyric acid attacks, and an attempted bombing.A Gallup Poll in 2009, states that most of the U.S. adults (51%) consider themselves "pro-life" while 42% recognized themselves as "pro-choice". However, subsequent surveys reveal that the state entails equal dividends.With the surge of the COVID-19 pandemic , the endorsements of the anti-abortion acts were taken place by the government officials in several American states. These states implemented the restrictions on abortion during the period, considering it as aThe act was challenged with several legal criticisms by national medical organizations like theand the human rights groups. Moreover, abortion providers like Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union successfully also managed to stop most of the orders on a momentary basis.Another challenge was also made against the FDA's rule on the distribution of mifepristone (RU-486), one of the abortion-inducing drugs. However, partly concerns raised by theand other groups, the Supreme Court maintained the FDA's rule by ordering in a 6-3 decision in January 2021.Abortions, as speculated by pro-life activists - themay hold their moral and biological aspects.to a woman's body and exploitation.As per the ethics rooting from early medicine, the fetus is acknowledged with a person's right (Respect for Persons/Autonomy), the fundamental equality of life (Justice), the obligation for no intentional harm (Nonmaleficence/do no harm), and benefit their welfare (Beneficence/do good).However, banning abortions may itself implicate its own perils to women's health (both physical and mental). This allows acknowledging the woman with her right to make choices for abortion (Respect for Persons/Autonomy), get her equal right to privacy and weigh benefits/burdens of abortion (Justice), suffer no obligatory harm from abortion (Nonmaleficence/do no harm), and be rendered with her welfare benefits (Beneficence/do good).Both thebringing the concept again into the grounds of divisive controversies. However, with the development of technologies and other medical safety procedures, it is equally important to consider safer abortion (under justifiable grounds) as a right to the good health of women.The enforcement of the Texas Heartbeat Act has attractedSeveral pro-abortion groups have put forth their complaints against the Texas Heartbeat Act and asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider., says Texas Right to Life Vice President Elizabeth Graham.The act has been enforced toGenerally, when a law intimidates to penalize someone for exercising a constitutional right, judges disregard the peril by blocking law enforcement by the government.However, the Texas statute empowers private bounty hunters and not the state enforcement to sue and penalize (at least $10,000) anyone who involves or aids in abortion after the 6th week of pregnancy.This remains as one reason for five members of the Supreme Court for authorization of the blatantly unconstitutional statute to come into effect. Many also affirm that the new Texas anti-abortion law is implemented toThis would rather rebound by stirring the opponents (from varied grounds) to fight back against the law even harder. However, theSource: Medindia
Vicky Kaushal will be seen playing the role of revolutionary leader Sardar Udham Singh in his upcoming film Sardar Udham, which will release later this month.

Ahead of its release, Vicky recently talked about his fear of becoming a typecast actor, in an interview with News18.

For me, either there are good films or bad films. They either get connected to the audience or they dont. I dont think that I have so many patriotic films or romantic films. It is not my process. When I hear a story and it connects to me, even if I have attempted that genre a hundred times before, I will still jump at it as it is a story that I have got connected to. When I am doing a film, I am thinking from the perspective of the audience. I dont fear being typecast as I am also aware all the characters that I have done or I am doing are different."

Sardar Udham is a film about the life of Indian revolutionary Udham Singh, the man who shot Michael ODwyer in London to avenge the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

Vicky said, It is not a biopic of a man. It is a biopic of his ideologies and of a freedom struggle. So, it is a much bigger and deeper biopic. There are certain archival photographs which we have used as a reference in terms of the looks and styling but beyond that, the film primarily was about what his state of mind was at that time."

Vicky also expressed how playing the character wasnt easy.

Many freedom fighters get lost in our history books as they are mentioned in just one line or a paragraph or maximum a page. Sardar Uddham Singh was one of them. It is not a character that is widely documented in our history books. If you check the books you will find different stories, identities, and sayings of one man. How do you then tap on to the core of that person? Very early on when I started discussing the film with Shoojitda, I understood that there was only one way to do this was to completely surrender to his vision and how we wanted to guide it.

He further elaborated, I had heard stories of Sardar Uddham Singh from my grandparents and parents, it was almost a part of folklore. So, there was always this connection to the core that I could relate to. I could also connect to his angst because the Jallianwala Baugh massacre to everyone across the globe had hit very brutally. A person who had taken an oath to avenge that bloodshed, not in India but to actually cross borders and go all the way into the heart of the British empire and do what he did, for me, its a story of resilience, bravery, patience, and of a very passionate person. Through this film, I wanted to explore that passion."

Earlier, Irrfan Khan was supposed to play the role but he opted out due to his deteriorating health. Vicky Kaushal expressed that he never took the pressure to replace the late actor.

He said, Nobody can fill his shoes. For me, Irrfan Saab is one of the finest actors in the world. It has been an honour that I have been considered for the same film."
Just days after the Facebook services outage, Indias biggest telecom provider Reliance Jio was facing outages in the country. The Jio cellular network was down for many of the service's users and impacted several regions.

DownDectector showed high spikes for Reliance Jio throughout the day, however there are reports that some users are getting network services back on their mobile phones. The most notable area where Reliance Jio faced outage was in Madhya Pradesh and the surrounding areas. However, users from many parts of the country had been reporting since morning that they were unable to receive any signal on their Jio sim cards.

 ScreenShot

Several users took to Twitter to complain about their angst and #JioDown is still on top of the trending list on Twitter in India. As of today, a peak of 4,000 users reported network issuers earlier in the day with thousands of reports still coming in at the time of writing this story. Reports from other cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Indore and Raipur are also coming in according to DownDetector.



 Reuters

Due to the nature of the issue, many users also took to Twitter to share some hilarious memes. Some poked fun at the company while others mocked its competitors. Heres how people reacted to the Reliance Jio outage today:



Meanwhile jio users try to find the network#jiodown pic.twitter.com/5cfmY8ktNG  Praveen Deshmukh (Social Activist) (@CovidCareIndore) October 6, 2021

Currently, it is not clear as to why Jio is malfunctioning in certain parts of the country. An explanation for the outage is expected soon and we will update the story once we know more. It is worth pointing out that JioFiber and Jio networks are functional in our part of the city, however it may not be the same for you. We suggest reaching out to Reliance Jios customer care on phone or on Twitter to get a real-time update on the situation.
Meridian, MS (39302)

Today

Rain showers this morning with overcast skies during the afternoon hours. Morning high of 70F with temps falling to near 50. WSW winds shifting to N at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 36F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph.
Miami, FL (33127)

Today

Cloudy this morning with thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High around 80F. Winds E at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 80%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms likely this evening. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms overnight. Low 73F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.
Oct. 6, 2021

This October, support Firewood Month by choosing to buy firewood where you burn it to prevent the spread of tree pests and diseases. As natural resource managers across the state work to limit tree loss from oak wilt, hemlock woolly adelgid and other destructive invaders, you can do your part by making safe firewood choices.

Invasive species, those that are not native and cause harm to the environment, economy or human health, are often transported to new locations through human means. Most tree pests and diseases get to new destinations in contaminated plant material or infested wood products, including firewood.

According to the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, there are 140 pests and diseases that can be moved with firewood. Some are already present in Michigan, while others, including Asian longhorned beetle, beech leaf disease and spotted lanternfly, are infesting nearby states. Recreational lands in Michigan are showing the effects of invasive tree pests and diseases. For example, P.J. Hoffmaster State Park has lost over 1,000 trees from oak wilt, transforming once-shady campsites and healthy wildlife areas into barren, open space. "Michigan's beautiful fall foliage, recreational spaces, timber and landscape trees are at risk from invasive tree pests and diseases," said Susannah Iott, MDARD invasive species program specialist. "Infestations can destroy forests, lower property values and cost huge sums of money to control."

Harmful invasive species may be invisible to the naked eye and can hide in or on firewood. While most cannot move too far on their own, these pests and diseases can be transported undetected on firewood, starting new infestations in locations hundreds of miles away.

"The best way to protect forests and landscape trees is to use locally sourced firewood or wood certified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as heat-treated to kill pests and diseases," said Iott. "This takes the guesswork out of determining if wood is infested with insects or infected with disease.

Hunters, anglers, recreational vehicle owners and everyone who enjoys fall recreation can protect their favorite destinations for wildlife, themselves and future generations by preventing the spread of forest pests on firewood.

Make the simple choice to leave firewood at home and use one of these alternatives:

Buy firewood where you'll burn it.

Buy certified heat-treated firewood.

Gather firewood on site when permitted.

Hundreds of firewood vendors in Michigan are listed on FirewoodScout.org, making it easy to locate firewood distributors near your destination. The site also provides information on quarantines, rules and regulations to help with your firewood choices.

Heading out of state? It's important to know that transporting firewood may violate state and federal laws depending on the region. More information including a map of firewood rules, regulations and recommendations for U.S. states and Canada, is available at Don'tMoveFirewood.org.

Michigan's Invasive Species Program is cooperatively implemented by the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, the Department of Natural Resources; and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

/Note to editors: Accompanying photos are available below for download. Suggested caption information follows.

Firewood isn't dead: Infographic provided by The Nature Conservancy.

Transporting firewood: Infographic provided by The Nature Conservancy.

Certified: A certification stamp and the name and address of the firewood supplier should be visible on any certified firewood label. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Buy-burn: To prevent spreading invasive pests and diseases, buy firewood near or at your destination.

Hoffmaster: Over 1,000 trees have been removed from the campground at P.J. Hoffmaster State Park in Muskegon due to an infestation of oak wilt./
Michigan chosen to participate in National Governors Association Policy Academy on Stimulants and Polysubstance Use

Michigan chosen to participate in National Governors Association Policy Academy on Stimulants and Polysubstance Use

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Oct. 5, 2021

Contact: Lynn Sutfin, 517-241-2112

LANSING, Mich. - Michigan is one of four states and territories chosen to participate in the National Governors Association (NGA) Policy Academy on State Strategies to Improve Care for Stimulant and Polysubstance Use. The program is sponsored by the NGA Center for Best Practices and aims to assist states and territories with identifying and integrating best practices to improve care and reduce overdoses among people who use opioids and stimulants, or combine substances, which is known as polysubstance use.

"This epidemic touches every area of our state and the opportunity to participate in the National Governors Association academy will help Michigan expand our strategy for fighting the ongoing drug overdose crisis affecting our communities," said Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. "It has been shown that people who use drugs are not just using opioids and, through participation in this academy, Michigan will be able to develop plans and implement actions to address overdose issues on all fronts."

Nationally, 2020 had the highest number of drug overdose deaths recorded in the United States. Provisional data shows Michigan experienced a 14% increase in overdose fatalities in 2020. Over the last five years, preliminary data shows a six-fold increase in the number of overdose deaths involving a psychostimulant, such as methamphetamine, highlighting the evolution of the overdose crisis in Michigan.

Overdose crisis response efforts have primarily focused on opioids, but with increasing rates of stimulant use there is a renewed focus on combating the larger overdose crisis. Michigan hopes to create a system equipped to respond to all emerging drug trends and the spectrum of needs that exist for individuals, families and communities impacted by substance use disorder (SUD).

"We have made important progress in addressing opioid use and reducing deaths, but we can and must do more," said Elizabeth Hertel, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services director. "We must do everything possible to save lives, increase opportunities for Michiganders to have successful recoveries and prevent additional tragedies among our families and communities."

The NGA Policy Academy will allow Michigan to learn about new approaches addressing stimulant and polysubstance use in other states and from experts in the SUD field. Other participants include American Samoa, Connecticut, and West Virginia. The policy academy will also facilitate building infrastructure to meet the needs of those with SUD more fully across the state.

Michigan's Policy Academy team includes representatives from Governor Whitmer's Office, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and Michigan State Police. Michigan has chosen to prioritize specific policy areas including effective governance and partnership, prevention, harm reduction, treatment, recovery and support services, as well as law enforcement.

# # #
If you work in an industry that gives back to the community, your student loans could have significant forgiveness with a new overhaul that's been done with the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF).

The US Department of Education announced Wednesday that teachers, nurses, government workers and service members, including police and fire and military who have consolidated their loans and made 120 payments qualify. Some working in the nonprofit community could also qualify.

Student loan debt in the country is at $1.7 trillion and rising, but the overhaul by the Education Department comes after CBS' "60 Minutes" reported military service members and veterans were having issues getting their loans forgiven, according to USA Today.

Approximately 22,000 student loan borrowers who will be eligible for federal student loan discharges, which comes out to $1.74 billion in forgiveness. About $2.82 billion will come in forgiveness for another 27,000 borrowers if they certify additional periods of employment. A little more than 16,000 people with student loan debt have received forgiveness under PSLF prior to this action.

"Borrowers who devote a decade of their lives to public service should be able to rely on the promise of Public Service Loan Forgiveness," Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement published by CNN Wednesday. "The system has not delivered on that promise to date, but that is about to change for many borrowers who have served their communities and their country."

Student loan forgiveness for all borrowers currently in debt has been a topic of conversation amongst political leaders leading into and just after President Joe Biden took office. No overall forgiveness from Biden has yet to come, and earlier this summer it was announced that borrowers will have to start paying back their loans after Jan. 31, 2022.

Payments were frozen by President Donald Trump at the start of the 2020 pandemic. That freeze has been extended several times.

U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois, made a proposal for the president to take action earlier this year in February.

"Senator Duckworth helped introduce a resolution asking President Biden to cancel up to $50,000 in federal student loan debt. She also called for the pause on student loan payments to be extended through at least March 31, 2022," Duckworth's spokeswoman Courtney Jaquin wrote in an email.

That resolution, S.Res. 46, continues to collect dust as it has not been brought to the floor for discussion. The only action it has seen has been its introduction, and only fellow Democrats have co-sponsored the resolution.

Duckworth's fellow Illinois politician, U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, said student loan forgiveness doesn't help in the long run.

"It puts false hope in the hands of many college students who then feel as though they can borrow more dept because somehow, someway, the great Democrats in Washington are going to have that forgiven," Davis said. "What they're going to get is a bill for a higher student loans once they graduate."

U.S. Rep. Ayanna Presley, D-Massachusetts, has introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives, H.Res. 100, similar to Duckworth's resolution, calling on Biden to take executive action and broadly cancel student loan debt.
This Thursday Creative 360 is offering a chance to learn the untold story behind the nuclear power plant that was planned for Midland in the late 1960s.

At 7 p.m., LeRoy "Lee" Smith will give a talk on his recently published book Nearly Nuclear: A Mismanaged Energy Transition. This event is part of Creative 360s Yes We Can! program that honors the accomplishments of Midland community members who are 80 years old and older.
Carmel-by-the-Sea, on the south side of the Monterey Peninsula in California, is a bucket-list bullet point. A stroll along Ocean Avenue with its destination shopping, art galleries, fine dining and legendary cuteness are a must-see if you're visiting the coast south of San Francisco.

But just ten miles east is the seldom-visited wine destination of Carmel Valley Village. Up the narrow Carmel River Valley theres a clutch of laid-back winery tasting rooms, a few posh resorts and plenty of good restaurants mixed in with family farms and a holdover 60s hippie vibe.

Some vineyards line the road while others cling to the steep sides of the Coastal Range, dotting the dusty landscape with patches of green. The geography creates diverse growing options for vintners, but not much space. There are just 300 acres of vines in the appellation (Napa has 43,000).

Frank Whitman

Fortunately, just inland are some of the best cool-climate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vineyards in America  the Santa Lucia Highlands and Arroyo Seco. The diversity makes for an exciting mix of wines in the local tasting rooms.

Russell Joyce, owner/winemaker at the Joyce Wine Company, is adept at sourcing fruit from those vineyards. He still makes Cabernet from his family's five-acre Carmel Valley hillside parcel. But the majority of his production comes from acreage on the other side of the mountains.

Frank Whitman

Known for his expressive single-vineyard Pinot Noirs, he also makes white wines including Riesling, Albarino, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc along with a Grenache-Syrah blend, Syrah and Merlot  a total of roughly 8,000 cases annually.

The Joyce tasting room, in a mixed retail cluster including stores and restaurants, is typical of Carmel Valley Village. A vintage Chevrolet farm truck with a load of wine barrels points toward the entrance.

Ari Jimenez, Operations Manager at Joyce, guided us through a flight of wines that included four whites, a refreshing rose and five reds.

Under the Joyce label, Russell makes terroir-driven wines with a minimum of intervention under the motto, Old vines, honest farming, transparent winemaking. The result is French-style wines with lower alcohol, balanced acidity, and little or no oak influence  delicious, food-friendly wines.

Our tasting started with a lean, bright, pear-inflected Alberino from Arroyo Seco ($24) and then moved on to a show-stopping Burgundian-style Escolle Vineyard Chardonnay ($35) from the Santa Lucia Highlands. An appealing Grenache-Mourvedre rose ($24) was my favorite for everyday imbibing. Were just about out of it, Ari told us.

Frank Whitman

Submarine Canyon, the name of Joyces flagship Pinot Noir ($24), refers to the underwater trench in Monterey Bay that brings up cold Pacific water to cool the air over the vineyards. It's a well-reviewed, three-vineyard blend that is a tasting room staff favorite.

Two single-vineyard Pinot Noirs followed. From the Gabilan vineyard ($45), the pale wine was bright and juicy  Aris favorite. The Escolle Vineyard wine ($45), on the other hand, displayed elegance, soft tannins and finesse.

There is also the Russell Joyce Collection label  wines made with a little more (but not too much) winemaker intervention and blending that creates the desired flavor profile. A dry, mineral Alsatian-style Riesling ($24) was a favorite in our group. Chenin Blanc ($35), a rising variety in California, had a honey aroma and crisp finish, ideal for seafood. Grenache and Syrah ($38) were blended for a hearty, tannic red-meat wine.

As we settled up, Ari encouraged us to try one more  a limited edition Eden Rift Valley Pinot Noir available to Wine Club members only. Joining the club is a good idea. Joyce wines are not distributed in Connecticut, but they do ship and the member discount is significant.

Traveling beyond the international destination of Carmel-by-the-Sea led us to the Carmel Valley for an off-the-beaten path experience. Its a little out of the way, but worth it.

Frank Whitman writes a weekly "Not Bread Alone" column and can be reached at NotBreadAloneFW@gmail.com.
Ron Chapple / Getty Image

NEW BRITAIN  A city man was sentenced to 14 years in prison for charges stemming from an attempted robbery at a KFC in 2018, according to States Attorney for the Judicial District of New Britain Brian Preleski.

On Nov. 2, 2018, Larry Lopez, now 45, attempted to rob a New Britain KFC and seriously injured two employees, Preleskis office said.
FARMINGTON  As a tribute to a Wethersfield couple who spent their lives committed to community, friends and family members gathered last week to announce the establishment of the Biagio Billy and Jeanne Ciotto Memorial Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.

It was created to honor the life and legacy of these longtime civic leaders, according to a press release.

Former 9th District state senator Billy Ciotto, who died at 91 on March 20, dedicated seven decades of his life to public service, the news release said. He represented Wethersfield, Newington, Rocky Hill, Cromwell and Middletown for six terms, and was chairman of the Transportation Committee.

We are so proud that our parents legacy will be carried on through this fund, Joe Ciotto said at the event. They both cared deeply about the communities and people who had helped them along the way, and always taught us to think of others and give back to those that helped you along the way. This fund is a great way to carry out their legacy.

The couple was married for 66 years, and, during the early years of their marriage, Billy Ciotto often worked three jobs so his wife could stay home with their five children. He held various roles over his 42-year career in the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles, including as a deputy commissioner, the statement said.

During his time at the State Capitol, Billy Ciotto was renowned and respected for his unique ability to reach across the aisle and bring about common sense, bipartisan legislative solutions. Following the Senate, he joined U.S. Congressman John Larsons office to serve as his ambassador-at-large, a role he performed until shortly before his death.

Dad loved being a public servant, Maria Ciotto-Larose said at the event. While he was a proud Democrat, my father didnt care what party you were in and was willing to work with anyone to achieve progress for the residents of Connecticut. He was also grateful to continue his service to Connecticut through his work in Congressman Larsons office.

Jeanne Ciotto, who died April 22 at 91, was raised in Hartford, graduated from Weaver High School and worked in Hartford before raising a family. She was a longtime volunteer at Hartford Hospital.

The fund has been established as a donor-advised fund with the Ciottos children and grandchildren serving as advisors on the funds annual grants that will focus on needs in the Hartford region, including mental health issues, Italian heritage, and other programs that would have been of interest to the couple, the release said.

To donate to the fund, go to bit.ly/3izFXYw. For information, visit hfpg.org or call 860-548-1888.
Not all Rear Adm. Derek Trinque's sailors know where he was 20 years ago, but the event and its aftermath had a profound effect on his leadership style in the decades since.

Trinque was the operations officer on the guided-missile destroyer Cole when two suicide bombers in a small boat laden with explosives targeted the ship during a refueling stop in Yemen's Aden Harbor. Seventeen crew members were killed and dozens more hurt in the late-morning blast on Oct. 12, 2000, when the explosives ripped a 40-by-40-foot hole through the destroyer's port side.

Retired Cmdr. Kirk Lippold, the Cole's commanding officer, recalled how his crew sprang into action, despite the ship's 1MC announcing system -- along with its back-up battery -- failing.

Retired Cmdr. Kirk Lippold. Navy photo

"They literally fell back on the training," Lippold told Military.com of his crew. "No one panicked. They set about dividing into three groups: damage control to save the ship, triage to say their shipmates, and security to prevent what could be another attack."

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The response was extraordinary. In an age when sailors weren't expecting an act of war to hit their vessel nearly a year before the 2001 terror strikes in the U.S. launched the military into years of sustained conflict, they reacted.

The Cole, because of their actions, was saved. The destroyer remains operational today.

Much has been written about what the crew did in the hours and days following the attack, resulting in numerous awards and commendations. For two now-senior Navy officers who were aboard the Cole when that blast hit, Lippold's candor about the emotional effects it would have on the crew left a mark.

Before post-traumatic stress and resiliency training were part of every service member's lexicon, Lippold gathered his crew to tell them, "It's normal for you to feel this way."

"For him to come out and tell us explicitly that we should expect to need help and need to talk to people, and that none of us were immune to the stresses that we were going through and were going to be going through, was incredibly powerful," said Trinque, now the assistant commander for career management with Navy Personnel Command.

Capt. Joseph Gagliano, Destroyer Squadron 60's commodore, agrees. After two decades of war overseas, he said the Navy is much more educated on post-traumatic stress than it was in October 2000.

"It was something of a foreign concept to us at the time, so I was grateful that he introduced it," Gagliano said.

Capt. Joseph Gagliano is piped ashore during a change of command ceremony at Naval Station Rota, Spain, on Aug. 9, 2019. (Navy Photo by MC2 Eduardo Otero)

Lippold, the son of a psychologist who at one point specialized in stress management, recognized the likely struggle ahead. It was imperative, he said, that his crew understood that the anger, anxiety, agitation, lethargy and sleeplessness they were dealing with were normal responses.

"'It's OK,'" he recalled telling the crew. "'It's your mind processing through this attack and the aftermath of what's happened in the fact that we're prying our shipmates out of the wreckage and giving them honors departures, ceremonies, or carrying them off in body bags.'"

They would get through it, the former CO added, but had to do it together.

Cole's Legacy

Navy personnel across the fleet will pause at 11:18 a.m. local time Monday to remember those killed or injured in the blast two decades ago.

"Twenty years later, it is important to recognize how these acts of bravery and heroism were nothing short of extraordinary," Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday said in a message to the fleet. "... The example set by the Cole Sailors is clear: A well-trained crew, even after a devastating blow, can rise to the occasion and save their ship."

While the 20-year anniversary might make more headlines, Lippold said it's no more important than any of the previous years. Each year, he reflects on the 17 fallen, the injured, and what his crew did to save their ship.

Lippold recalled facing pressure from Washington and top Navy leaders to allow some of his crew to leave the ship in the aftermath of the attack. He pushed back, saying it was important to keep the crew intact.

They pulled out of port together, he said, and they would go home together. While not everyone was thrilled with the decision, the former commanding officer said he remains grateful he made it.

"In the long view of history, that decision had a bigger impact than any I made, because that bonded us together as a crew," he said.

The crew not only leaned on each other right after the attack, but also in the years since. Trinque calls the bonds forged that day in Yemen "family-like."

Rear Adm. Derek Trinque. Navy photo

The admiral recalled telling Lippold when psychologists visited the crew after the attack that he didn't need to talk to them.

"I think I made the mistake of saying 'touchy-feely' to Kirk Lippold at one point and he said, 'You're not going to say that. One, you probably need the help as well as anybody else, but two, as the department head in the ship, if anybody hears you saying that, then you're pushing them away.'"

For an officer early in his career, that was an important lesson, Trinque said.

"Leaders ... need to make sure that we are just pounding home to our sailors that [help] is there, it is right to do this," he said. "It is a way for us to ensure that people can keep serving and not just deal with things, but overcome them."

Gagliano said the Cole attack affected his leadership style, too.

"It informs my understanding of warfighting," he said. "... The lessons I learned on October 12th allow me to convey in personal terms how warfighters react under stress and how we can prepare them ahead of time."

Making sure sailors are battle-ready is a point Gagliano said he emphasizes when speaking with officers and chiefs on Destroyer Squadron 60 ships.

"We were attacked by terrorists, but the coming great power war will come from China or Russia," he added. "Everything our sailors do must center on preparedness for the coming war."

Having leaders in the fleet who were on the Cole strengthens the Navy and helps make the nation safer, Lippold said. Trinque commanded a destroyer in the same class as the Cole, and Gagliano is leading crews in Europe.

Trinque said if there's one positive out of the attack, it's that he can explain to his sailors why their training matters.

"Gone are the days of 'because I said so' leadership," he said. "... I have an experience that I can use to help answer some of those questions. I can tell you, my shipmate, why we are doing this kind of training, and how it has served me."

In the aftermath of the Cole attack and years of combat in the Middle East, Navy leaders have stressed that training and good physical, mental and spiritual health build resiliency. The final battle problem at Great Lakes in Illinois, where sailors go to boot camp, is also modeled after the challenges the Cole crew faced.

As the entire Navy pauses to reflect on the Cole crew Monday, Gagliano said he hopes it reminds sailors of the seriousness of their business.

"There are many reasons sailors join today's Navy -- service to country, quality employment, education benefits -- but in the end, we are a warfighting organization.

"Every sailor needs to be ready every day," he said.

-- Follow Gina Harkins on Twitter @ginaaharkins.

Related: Navy Declassifies 300 Pages of Probe into 1963 USS Thresher Disaster
A Fort Bragg, North Carolina, soldier was killed and four others injured in a Humvee incident on the base Monday, the second deadly crash there since June as Congress weighs overhauling military vehicle safety measures.

The deadly incident occurred just after noon on a main base thoroughfare and is under investigation. The Army declined Tuesday to immediately provide further details, such as the names of the victims, and it was unclear whether other vehicles were involved.

A military vehicle wreck that happened on the way to training in June killed Cpl. Mojave Littlejohn, 21, at Fort Bragg.

"Anytime you lose a soldier on-post in a situation outside of combat, it hurts. It's a tragic loss," Col. Joe Buccino, a base spokesperson, said in a statement about the latest deadly incident.

The Government Accountability Office published a report in July that found 123 troops across the Army and Marine Corps died in 3,753 non-combat tactical vehicle incidents between 2010 and 2019.

The figures, especially deadly incidents tied to training, have spurred action in Congress. The House passed an annual defense authorization bill with a number of provisions aimed at vehicle safety, training and investigations.

"Right now, a cascading series of failures within the military is causing the U.S. to lose more service members in preventable training accidents than in combat," Rep. John Garamendi, D-Calif., who chairs the House Armed Services Committee's readiness subcommittee, said in a statement when the GAO report was released.

Fort Bragg did not immediately say whether the deadly Humvee incident was directly related to a training exercise.

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GAO investigators described overconfidence, complacency and driver error as being to blame for many military tactical vehicle mishaps over the last decade. Most occurred in relatively safe conditions during the day, in parking lots or on roads.

The report noted that 342 of the accidents caused serious injuries or more than $500,000 in damages. In many cases, drivers of vehicles had received rushed or minimal training.

The House version of the annual defense bill includes an amendment sponsored by Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., that seeks to make the Pentagon follow the GAO report's recommendations.

The watchdog agency recommended more clearly defined roles for vehicle commanders, procedures to help supervisors enhance tactical vehicle safety, and performance criteria and measurable standards for driver training programs.

"These proposals to improve tactical vehicle safety should significantly reduce the risk of future training accidents," Buchanan, whose constituent Nicholas Panipinto was killed in a training accident in South Korea in 2019, said in a statement after the House passed its bill.

The legislation, which still must be negotiated with the Senate, also has a provision creating a pilot program to determine the feasibility of using data recording devices on combat vehicles, similar to black boxes on airplanes.

The bill would establish a joint council to update safety regulations, create uniform data collection standards, and review each military service's safety management system.

A new review board would provide independent assessments of vehicle mishap investigations under the legislation.

-- Steve Beynon can be reached at Steve.Beynon@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevenBeynon.

-- Rebecca Kheel can be reached at rebecca.kheel@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @reporterkheel.

Related: Army and Marines Aren't Doing Enough to Prevent Deadly Vehicle Accidents, Watchdog Says'
The Army said two soldiers stationed at Fort Bragg died Monday in unrelated deaths that shook the community at the North Carolina base.

Sgt. 1st Class Michael Hamilton, 35, of Plano, Texas, was found unresponsive in his on-post apartment and pronounced dead by emergency medical personnel.

Along a main base thoroughfare, Pfc. Patrick Hernandez, 30, died that same afternoon in a vehicle incident involving a Humvee. Four additional soldiers were injured in the mishap, two of whom were still hospitalized Wednesday.

Both deaths are under investigation.

Hamilton had just returned from deployment to Kabul in Afghanistan, where he helped with the chaotic U.S. evacuation. He served as a fire support noncommissioned officer with the 82nd Airborne Division's headquarters battalion.

"Michael was a dedicated paratrooper, passionate leader, and a loyal friend," Lt. Col. Todd Sunday, Hamilton's battalion commander, said in a statement. "He dedicated his life to serving his country and did so with great distinction."

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Hamilton, a veteran of both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, graduated from basic training in 2006 and had previously been stationed in Germany, Texas, Alaska and Oklahoma.

Hernandez was a husband and father of four from Texas. He enlisted in the Army in August 2020 and served as a military policeman. He had recently graduated from airborne school.

"Pfc. Hernandez taught me so much in such a short time, and he was always willing to provide advice on fatherhood when he discovered I was soon to become a father," Pfc. Michael Sanders of 3rd Platoon, 108th Military Police Company, said in a statement. "He was always available to mentor me and give guidance from his past experiences."

Hernandez' death comes as Congress considers an array of changes to tactical vehicle safety, including new oversight and review panels, as well as pilot programs to determine whether black boxes similar to those installed in commercial airplanes could be used to record military vehicle mishaps.

The Government Accountability Office published a report in July that found 123 troops across the Army and Marine Corps died in 3,753 non-combat tactical vehicle incidents between 2010 and 2019.

-- Steve Beynon can be reached at Steve.Beynon@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevenBeynon.

Related: Fort Bragg Soldier Killed in Humvee Wreck as Congress Weighs Safety Overhaul
All but one Marine injured in the attack by an Islamic State suicide bomber at Kabuls airport in August that killed 13 U.S. service members have been released from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, a Marine Corps spokesman said Tuesday.

The remaining Marine is in serious but stable condition, Capt. Johnny Henderson said. The update shows steady improvement. On Sept. 22, the service reported four Marines were still at Walter Reed  one in very serious condition and three in serious condition. On Sept. 7, 15 wounded Marines were being treated at Walter Reed, one of whom was in critical condition, three were in serious condition and 11 were in stable condition, Henderson said at the time. The service did not provide further details on their injuries or the names of those injured, which is Marine Corps policy to protect their privacy.

The injured Marines were among the survivors of an ISIS-K attack at Hamid Karzai International Airport during the final days of the U.S. militarys withdrawal from Afghanistan. Along with the 13 troops killed, more than 20 others were injured when an ISIS-K terrorist detonated an explosive vest and gunmen fired into the crowds near the airports Abbey gate.

ISIS-K, an abbreviation for ISIS-Khorasan, is the Afghanistan branch of the Islamic State terrorist group.

Seventeen Marines were wounded in the attack, and all the troops killed were awarded Purple Hearts and approved this month for combat action ribbons, according to the Marine Corps. Of the 13 troops killed in the attack, 11 were Marines, one was a soldier and another was a sailor.

While no longer receiving in-patient treatment, the other 16 Marines are now on the West Coast in the vicinity of their parent units receiving follow-on care, Henderson said.

Their recoveries are being monitored and assisted by the Marine Corps wounded warrior regiment, he said.

The service members were screening hopeful evacuees at the airports entrance when the attack happened after nearly two weeks of an evacuation mission to remove Americans and allies, including Afghans, from the country after it fell to the Taliban on Aug. 15.

More than 124,000 people were evacuated from Afghanistan before the last U.S. troops left Kabul on Aug. 30.
A former Coast Guard Academy cadet has filed a lawsuit over his dismissal from the school, contending his removal just eight days before commissioning was retaliation for reporting an alleged sexual assault.

Joshua Roh, now a 3rd class boatswain's mate serving in New Hampshire, filed a motion Oct. 1 in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., saying that his rights were violated by his Coast Guard chain of command when they failed to support him after the alleged assault and later sought to discredit him.

Moreover, leadership kicked him out of the academy and violated his due process by summarily dismissing his requests for appeal, according to the complaint.

"Josh is a fine young man on whom the Coast Guard turned its back, and it's a disgrace," Roh's Maryland-based attorney, Jeff McFadden, told Military.com on Tuesday.

Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Brittany Panetta, deputy for media relations at Coast Guard Headquarters, declined to comment on the proceedings Tuesday, saying the service does not discuss pending legal matters.

The defendants have 60 days after they receive their formal notifications of the suit to file a response.

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On the night of the alleged incident in April 2019, Roh and a fellow member of the school's swim team went out to dinner and later purchased a bottle of vodka to drink when they returned to the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut, according to court documents.

They were joined by a third classmate in Roh's dorm room in Chase Hall and drank the bottle. After all three were intoxicated, the alleged perpetrator left the room but came back later and reportedly sexually assaulted Roh.

Roh immediately told several classmates and was taken to a local hospital for treatment.

The cadet, then in his third year at the school, filed an unrestricted report of the assault -- the type of filing that launches a formal investigation. The alleged perpetrator remained in the classes he shared with Roh and later was assigned with Roh to summer cadre, the group of upperclassmen who help instruct the newest students, the incoming 4th class, known at the school as swabs.

Eventually, the perpetrator was dismissed from the school for workplace violence after leaving a note outside another cadet's door that was "written in his blood," according to documents.

Roh, a previously stellar student and cadet, remained at the school but began receiving numerous demerits and punishments for anger issues and perceived rules infractions -- misbehavior that McFadden said was related to post-traumatic stress disorder from the sexual assault, as well as a "classic display of gaslighting" by his seniors.

Among his infractions were instances of yelling, drinking at a social event within a 12-hour window of standing watch -- a duty he said he had not been told he had -- and forgetting to remove an earring while in uniform.

"Rather than recognizing that any such behavioral issues were directly attributable

to the command's abject failure to follow its own sexual assault prevention and response regulations and to treat Cadet Roh's post-traumatic stress, the command turned that failure on its head, blaming Cadet Roh for failing to 'suck it up' and 'get over' his assault," McFadden wrote in court documents.

The Coast Guard and the Coast Guard Academy have struggled in the past year with reports of harassment and bullying in the ranks, including sexual harassment.

In December 2019, the House Committees on Homeland Security and Oversight and Reform released a report following an 18-month investigation into sexual harassment and bullying in the service and at the Coast Guard Academy, finding that leadership failed to conduct thorough and impartial investigations into allegations involving harassment and bullying, and did not take corrective action to address retaliation or hold commanders accountable for deficient and incomplete investigations.

"Anti-harassment and anti-bullying efforts can be effective only if complainants have faith in investigative processes and trust that their complaints will be handled properly," the report noted.

And in April, the command master chief of the Coast Guard Academy, Master Chief Brett VerHulst, was relieved while subsequently resigning from his position -- a move that may have been related to his reputation for getting too close and "huggy" with female cadets, according to an investigation obtained by Navy Times.

The Defense Department has struggled for years to reverse rising reports of sexual assault in the services, with much of the attention given to sexual assault on female service members. In 2018, nearly one in 16 female troops reported having been sexually assaulted within the DoD services during the previous year.

The DoD reported in 2018 -- the most recent year available for comprehensive survey results -- that roughly 13,000 women and 7,500 male service members said they had been sexually assaulted in the military.

The same survey indicated that some who filed reports on their assaults were retaliated against. In 2018, 24 men and 108 women said they had experienced some sort of reprisal after reporting an incident.

The Coast Guard and the academy are not included in the Pentagon's annual report on sexual assault because the service falls under the Department of Homeland Security. But according to the Coast Guard's fiscal 2019 report on sexual assault, the number of incidents reported the year of Roh's alleged assault was 225, down from 248 in fiscal 2018.

Of those, 146 reports were filed by women and 40 were filed by men.

During the same time frame, sexual harassment allegations rose from 57 in fiscal 2018 to 89 in fiscal 2019.

Service members generally can't sue the federal government for monetary damages or injury -- a prohibition set by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling known as the Feres Doctrine -- but service members can file complaints and request relief from disciplinary actions.

In a highly publicized suit last year, McFadden successfully argued that a U.S. Naval Academy midshipman should not be expelled from the school for tweets that Navy leaders said were inappropriate for a future officer.

After a long legal battle, that student, Chase Standage, graduated from the school this year.

Roh's complaint argues that his treatment violated the federal Administrative Procedure Act because the disciplinary actions taken against him were "arbitrary and capricious."

It also says the treatment violated his right to due process since his appeals were not seriously considered; his right to equal protection because he didn't receive adequate support or treatment as a male victim of sexual assault; and the Whistleblower Protection Act because his private information was shared with persons who then engaged in retaliation, according to the court documents.

The defendants in Roh's case include Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz; Rear Adm. Joanna Nunan, deputy for personnel readiness; Academy Superintendent Rear Adm. William Kelly; Academy Commandant of Cadets Capt. Arthur Ray; and Roh's company officer, Lt. Akaninyene Inyang.

The Coast Guard Academy declined to comment on the case while Inyang did not respond to a request for comment left on his voicemail.

-- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Monster.com. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime.

Related: Sexual Assault Prosecutions Should Change in 2023, Commission Recommends
The U.S. Navy sold two aircraft carriers to a ship-breaking company for one cent each after decades of service.

The cut-price fee reflects the fact the company will profit from selling the ship metal for scrap, officials said.

Naval Sea Systems Command, a U.S. Navy suborganization, said it had agreed to sell the USS Kitty Hawk and the USS John F. Kennedy to International Shipbreaking Limited, which is based in Brownsville, Texas, USA Today reported.

Towing and ship-breaking is a costly process, and the Navy has previously paid ISL large sums of money to recycle its ships, the Brownsville Herald reported.

"The contract values reflect that the contracted company will benefit from the subsequent sale of scrap steel, iron, and non-ferrous metal ores," said Alan Baribeau, a spokesman for the Naval Sea Systems Command in a statement cited by USA Today.

Both ships were launched in the 1960s and were capable of carrying dozens of aircraft. The Kitty Hawk was deployed in the Vietnam War, and the John F. Kennedy featured in the Gulf War.

The Kitty Hawk was decommissioned in 2017 and the John F. Kennedy in 2009. Both have spent their time since being maintained in naval yards.

The ships are due to be towed to Brownsville for scrapping in the coming months, an ISL spokesperson told the Brownsville Herald.

Read the original article on Business Insider.
With the rise and reemergence of the coronavirus, medical personnel are in high demand and short supply. So it might come as a surprise that veteran Army and Air Force combat medics and Navy corpsmen are being turned away when they try to help.

The reason for this is that many states dont accept military training or credentials in civilian hospitals. There are 28 problem states in all, and only six states really handle the issue well. This comes from Dan Goldenberg, executive director of the Call of Duty Endowment, the largest private funder of veteran employment initiatives.

Goldenberg is a retired naval officer of 27 years who has led the organization since 2013. He says the problem is that theres no federal standard for veterans moving to jobs like civilian EMTs, and the states each have their own requirements. In some cases, requirements can vary by county.

They make [veterans] basically either start over or do a whole bunch of extra surplus stuff, Goldenberg told Military.com. In most cases, especially with army medics, they have a national civilian EMT certification. So the problem is going from that EMT certification to getting licenses in the various states.

It all started early on in the pandemic as the need for medical workers grew (according the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in the field is still down by over 500,000 jobs since February 2020). Goldenberg wondered how veterans with medical experience were faring. He reached out to Hire Heroes USA, a major partner of the Call of Duty Endowment that collects and parses data on veteran employment.

We asked them how medics and corpsmen are faring, Goldenberg said. They looked into it and said, Actually not well. Half of former medics and corpsmen who want to work in the health-care industry cannot get jobs in that industry, which was pretty shocking to us.

The endowment then went out to collect its own data, grading the licensure process in each state and U.S. territory. What they found was that a majority of those places have their own rules for transferring military training, some of which are just bizarre at best and nearly impossible at worst.

The really difficult ones will ask them to show a license from another state, said Goldenberg. Well, they never had a license from another state because they didn't need it. Or before the state will count military training, they have to go back and find the original military instructor who gave the initial training and have them sign off that they completed [it]. They won't accept a transcript from the school in San Antonio. In Wyoming, they have to start over completely.

Call of Duty Endowment will publish a paper on its findings at the end of October 2021. The findings not only will include state-by-state barriers to entry for military medical veterans; it also will grade the states on their barriers and correlate the information to the states individual demand for medical personnel. The idea is to inform state governments, some of which arent even aware their rules are a hindrance to veteran hiring, and pressure them to make the right changes.

And those changes are something the whole country can feel good about. The Army used these personnel to augment their active-duty medics and corpsmen while those troops went out to build field hospitals and vaccination centers.

Early on in the pandemic response, the Army put out a call asking for former military medical personnel to volunteer to help in local hospitals, Goldenberg said. And they got like 20,000 volunteers in a week. So the military was confident in them, but the civilian sector wasn't. It was just nuts.

For the Call of Duty Endowment, an overall problem about veteran employment is that the civilian sector is just not correctly recognizing the skills veterans bring and putting the right premium on them, Goldenberg said. There are 30,000 to 50,000 veteran medical personnel unemployed or underemployed who want to help.

You were patching together Marines in the Khyber Pass [in Pakistan], vaccinating tribal elders in Afghanistan, prescribing medicine to your troops and taking care of local malnourished children, Goldenberg said. But all those efforts mean nothing to a lot of the states.

-- Blake Stilwell can be reached at blake.stilwell@military.com. He can also be found on Twitter @blakestilwell or on Facebook.

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The Marlins have had discussions with the Cubs about catcher Willson Contreras, according to SportsGrids Craig Mish (Twitter link). There isnt any sense that a trade might be close, as Mish describes the situation as very fluid considering how the Cubs have big decisions to make across the board (namely, trade talks involving several of their veteran players).

As you might expect, Contreras has been a key figure in these talks, as the Angels and multiple other teams have inquired about the backstops services. It stands to reason that pretty much any team with a need behind the plate has at least checked in on Contreras, and Miamis interest hints that even teams who seemed to have a catching option in place are interested in Contreras as an upgrade.

2020 was a tough season for Jorge Alfaro, acquired as part of the J.T. Realmuto trade package in February 2019 and immediately tabbed as Miamis next catcher of the future. After hitting decently well in 2019, Alfaros numbers took a significant step backwards in the shortened 2020 season, to the point that the Marlins turned to Chad Wallach as their regular catcher in the playoffs so the club could at least get some defensive stability out of the position.

The Marlins also recently signed Sandy Leon to a minor league deal and re-signed Brian Navarreto for further depth, indicating some desire on Miamis part to address its catching mix. Acquiring Contreras would obviously be a much more seismic move, and it seems possible that Alfaro could be part of a hypothetical trade package heading to Chicago. Catcher Miguel Amaya is one of the Cubs top prospects but has yet to play above high-A ball, so Alfaro wouldnt necessarily be blocking Amayas progress. Alfaro is arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter and is controlled through the 2023 season.

Contreras, meanwhile, has two arbitration seasons left and is projected to earn between $5MM-$7.4MM for the 2021 season. Its a very reasonable price for one of the sports better overall catchers, a two-time All-Star who continued to post solid (.243/.356/.407 in 225 PA) hitting and framing numbers last season. Landing such a productive player on short-term control would be a fit for any team, but particularly a Marlins organization that is starting to stretch its payroll a bit as the Fish have become competitive. After acquiring Starling Marte at the trade deadline and exercising his $12.5MM option for 2021, Miami has yet to swing any major moves this winter, mostly focusing on lower-level bullpen additions.
[October 06, 2021] Xplornet Announces the Appointment of Dennis Steiger as Chief Technology Officer WOODSTOCK, NB, Oct. 6, 2021 /CNW/ -Today, Xplornet Communications Inc., Canada's largest rural-focused broadband provider, is pleased to announce Dennis Steiger is joining Xplornet as its Chief Technology Officer. Mr. Steiger will lead all aspects of architecture, planning, design, implementation, and operations of the Xplornet national broadband network for rural Canadians. "We are thrilled to welcome Dennis to Xplornet during this pivotal time as we accelerate the deployment of our fibre-to-the-home and 5G wireless network to provide rural Canadians with fast and reliable Internet service," said Allison Lenehan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Xplornet Communications Inc. "As a member of our executive leadership team, Dennis will be at the helm of Xplornet's technology evolution, from vision, strategy and execution, to supporting the company's drive to connect rural Canadians to what matters with next-generation broadband technologies." Mr. Steiger has more than 30 years of experience in the telecommunications and media industries with extensive experience working across different world-class technology platforms. As former Chief Technology Officer for Shaw Communications Inc. and for NBN Co., Australia's National Broadband Network, Mr. Steiger brings deep experience with ambitious broadband rollouts in Canada and Australia, with a mixture of best-fit technologies, including fibre-to-the-home, hybrid fibre cable, fibre-to-the-node/curb, fixed wireless and satellite broadband. "I am excited to join Xplornet, a company known for innovation in the telecommunication industry as the leading rural broadband provider in Canada for nearly 20 years. Xplornet has an extensive and impressive broadband network across Canada that we can take to the next level with the deployment of fibre-to-the home, 5G wireless broadband and next-generation satellite technologies," said Mr. Steiger. "More importantly, I am looking forward to working with the Xplornet team to put these technologies to work for rural Canadians." Mr. Steiger holds both a Master's and Bachelor's degree in Engineering from the University of Alberta, Canada. About Xplornet Communications Inc. Headquartered in Woodstock, New Brunswick, Xplornet Communications Inc. is one of Canada's leading broadband service providers. For over a decade, Xplornet has been providing innovative fixed and mobile broadband solutions to rural customers at work, home and play across Canada. Today, Xplornet offers voice and data communication services through its unique fibre wireless and satellite network that connects Canadians to what matters. SOURCE Xplornet Communications Inc.

[ Back To www.mobilitytechzone.com\broadband-stimulus's Homepage ]
Expressing shock over the death of Raman Kashyap, a TV journalist reporting on Lakhimpur Kheri's farmers protest on 3rd October, the Editors Guild of India (EGI) has demanded a probe by the court-led special investigation team (SIT). Mumbai Press Club has strongly condemned the killing of journalist Raman Kashyap.

Raman Kashyap was killed along with nine others in the violence that erupted after some vehicles were driven through the protesting farmers, allegedly under the instructions of Ashish Mishra, son of union minister of state, Ajay Kumar Mishra.

In a statement, EGI says, "There are competing versions about Kashyap's death, including a version that claims he died of bullet wounds. What is clear is that Kashyap was reporting on the events of the day when the horrific incident of the convoy running through protesting farmers happened, killing some of them. An independent inquiry is therefore needed to establish the cause of Kashyap's death."

The Editors Guild of India is shocked by the death of Raman Kashyap, a TV journalist who was reporting on Lakhimpur Kheris farmers protest on October 3. pic.twitter.com/UU5SvvoHbE  Editors Guild of India (@IndEditorsGuild) October 5, 2021

The body of Raman Kashyap, who had been missing after Sunday's violence, was found in the mortuary on Monday.

"In what is clearly a terror attack meant to spread fear amongst the farmers, the killing of Kashyap raises many questions. The Editors Guild demands that the death of Kashyap be separately probed by a Court led special investigation team to ascertain the circumstances of his death and also attempt to recover and use the footage of his camera to build the sequence of events leading to his death," the EGI says.

In a statement, Mumbai Press Club says, "We demand that the state govt bring to book those responsible for killing Raman. We also demand suitable compensation for his family. The agreement of compensating the next of kin of those who died - Rs 45 lakh and government job - should also be given to Raman Kashyap's family."

The agreement of compensating the next of kin of those who died - Rs 45 lakh and government job - should also be given to Raman Kashyap's family. #RamanKashyap  Mumbai Press Club (@mumbaipressclub) October 6, 2021

Two days ago, Tikunia police in Lakhimpur Kheri lodged a first information report (FIR) against Union minister of state for home Ajay Misra's son Ashish Mishra and 15 others for murder and inciting violence in Lakhimpur Kheri.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha claimed that Ashish Misra's vehicle ran over farmers protesting against Uttar Pardesh (UP) deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya's visit to a village in Lakhimpur Kheri.

Nine people, including four farmers, have died in the violence in Tikunia village of UP's Lakhimpur Kheri district. After an agreement between the farmers and the administration, the three families agreed to the funeral after the post-mortem. In contrast, the family of one deceased farmer has refused to perform the last rites.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Mr Misra, the minister of state, met Union home minister Amit Shah in Delhi. The meeting lasted over half an hour, and it is understood that Mr Mishra might have made his position clear in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case.

Ashish Mishra has been named in the FIR lodged by the UP police in the violence at Tikunia on Sunday for allegedly mowing down farmers, who were going to protest against the state deputy chief minister's visit to the Union minister's ancestral village for a function. A total of nine persons, including local journalist Raman Kashyap and four farmers, were killed.

The FIR against Ashish Mishra charges him with murder and causing death by negligence, but the subsequent police inaction is fuelling the anger of the farmers as well as opposition leaders.

Editors Guild says it is concerned about the varying versions of the incident in different media sections. The media must report the facts and not interpretations, it added.
"Greed is the main reason for people becoming victims of financial frauds or cheating. In fact, I was aghast to see people from all parts of the society falling prey to such schemes just because someone has promised them huge returns," says S Jayakumar, the Deputy Commissioner of Police in the Economic Offences Wing in Mumbai. He was speaking at the eighth session under the "Police & You" series.

Moneylife Foundation with Police Reforms Watch and support from Saraswat Bank have launched the 12-week program (every Wednesday) that aims to spread knowledge about protecting yourself, your rights, the Indian Penal Code (IPC), cybercrime and economic offences. This was the eighth such session.

Mr Jayakumar, who has a commendable track record with postings at Malegaon as Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) after the bomb blast and Naxal-infested Gadchiroli as Superintendent of Police (SP) during the elections, says, "Irrespective of their reputation and achievements, people put their money into fraudulent schemes. I agree we are lagging behind in alerting people. However, since we have to deal with people from across the strata, it becomes difficult to reach out to everyone. But we are doing our best and would do more to create awareness about these financial scams".

The event was held in the well-appointed auditorium of Saraswat Bank headquarters, Eknath Thakur Bhavan.

The eighth session of the 12-week series on "The Police & You- Economic Offences: When to approach the EOW" was conducted by Mr Jayakumar and Mahesh Aathavale, a former officer from Mumbai Police.

The former police officer shared details of action taken or being taken on MLM companies, like QNet across the globe. He told the audience, how in 2002 the Australian government named QNet, GoldQuest and QuestNet as pyramid schemes. Similar action was taken by the governments of Nepal, Sri Lanka, Iran, Rwanda, Sudan, Syria, and Turkey.

"In 2010 the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Commerce and Industry banned QNet, accusing the company of theft, falsification, and failure to register, and warned citizens to avoid involvement in fraudulent schemes, mentioning QNet specifically. In 2012, the Dar Al-Iftaa issued a Fatwa against QNet stating the MLM Companys business in Egypt is haram (forbidden under Islamic law) and could harm the country's economy," Mr Aathavale informed the audience.

He also informed about several action taken by enforcement agencies, like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Enforcement Directorate (ED), Mumbai Police and Delhi EOW against QNet. (Read: Noose Tightens around QNet after 12 Long Years

Mr Aathavale then highlighted selling techniques used by such MLM and Ponzi schemes under the pretext of product sale. He said, "Many of the products sold by MLMs are virtual products. Even if the products are physical, there is no quality control by states on its production, there are no regulations followed and all the company or its agents or distributors sell is golden dream under the pretext of product."

He explained roles played by promoters, financiers, web designers, chartered accounts, leaders or agents and subscribers in establishing and promoting such schemes. He explained roles played by promoters, financiers, web designers, chartered accounts, leaders or agents and subscribers in establishing and promoting such schemes.

Mr Aathavale, who was instrumental in probing Speak Asia, the online survey company that duped lakhs of people using the money circulation scheme, shared the modus operandi of the company and its promoters.

"Speak Asia successfully enrolled 23 lakh panellists across the country in just 18 months and collected over Rs2,300 crore. There were doctors, engineers, bankers, police officers, lawyers vis-a-vis handcart puller, domestic help, and small shop owners were among the gullible investors or victims of this scheme. Panellists were portrayed as role model via aggressive marketing and advertising by the Company through their advertisements for earning extra income or for generating jobs for lakhs of people. When the scheme was subsequently closed, it had an assured payout of over Rs30,000 crore," he said.

Moneylife was the first publication to expose Speak Asia way back in 2010. On 8 October 2010, Moneylife exposed Speak Asia and its modus operandi. (Read: Moneylife was the first publication to expose Speak Asia way back in 2010. On 8 October 2010, Moneylife exposed Speak Asia and its modus operandi. (Read: Another MLM scam in the happening, this time under the pretext of an online survey

Mr Aathavale then touched upon various provisions under the law to act against MLM, Ponzi or money circulation scheme and its promoters and agents. He said Section 2 of the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act, 1978 (PCMCS Act) defines money circulation scheme in clear wordings.

Sec 2 (c) "money circulation scheme" means any scheme, by whatever name called, for the making of quick or easy money, or for the receipt of any money or valuable thing as the consideration for a promise to pay money, on any event or contingency relative or applicable to the enrolment of members into the scheme, whether or not such money or thing is derived from the entrance money of the members of such scheme or periodical subscriptions

He also explained section 3 and section 4 of the PCMCS Act that deals with banning of prize chit and money circulation schemes and penalty for contravening the provisions of the section. Mr Aathavale also highlighted Section 8 of the Act that allows forfeiture of newspaper and publication for helping in promoting such schemes. He also explained section 3 and section 4 of the PCMCS Act that deals with banning of prize chit and money circulation schemes and penalty for contravening the provisions of the section. Mr Aathavale also highlighted Section 8 of the Act that allows forfeiture of newspaper and publication for helping in promoting such schemes.

Section 8 of the PCMCS Act says, "Where any newspaper or other publication contains any material connected with any prize chit or money circulation scheme promoted or conducted in contravention of the provisions of this Act or any advertisement in relation thereto, the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare every copy of the newspaper and every copy of the publication containing such material or the advertisement to be forfeited to the State Government."

Mr Aathavale also explained in details, the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID) Act, which takes care of the criminal aspect of MLM, Ponzi and money circulation schemes. Among important features of the MPID Act, there is a provision to convict every person responsible for the management of the establishment including the promoter, partner, director, manager or an employee of a company for fraudulent default by a financial establishment. Also, the government on a complaint or otherwise, can order the attachment of money or property of a financial establishment and appointment of a competent authority to control the same, he added. Mr Aathavale also explained in details, the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID) Act, which takes care of the criminal aspect of MLM, Ponzi and money circulation schemes. Among important features of the MPID Act, there is a provision to convict every person responsible for the management of the establishment including the promoter, partner, director, manager or an employee of a company for fraudulent default by a financial establishment. Also, the government on a complaint or otherwise, can order the attachment of money or property of a financial establishment and appointment of a competent authority to control the same, he added.

"There are some frauds so well conducted that it would be stupidity not to be deceived by them," Mr Aathavale concluded.
I was tagged in a Twitter interaction last week, which had elements of tragedy, comedy, stupidity and ignoranceall rolled in one. The persons involved are not important; it is the responses that are worrying. The queries and comments need explaining, even if you want to see only humour in a live example of the blind leading the blind, or the clueless leading the helpless! So here goes

Ms Ms Story

Ms M is our damsel in a dilemma. She lost her father to COVID during the pandemic and, while going through his papers, discovered a fixed deposit (FD) with a tech company that had not been redeemed. She hunted for details about the company and found its owner on Linked-in. She then did what most young people do these daystweeted for help on recovering the money.

Ms Ms story is unusual only because her distress aroused more than the usual chivalry leading to a large number of responses; the fact that she is a good-looking model may have helped. What is of interest here are the reactions to her tweet.

Most replies were absurd, ignorant or hilarious; but lets start with the good advice first. After a quick search, one tweep helpfully discovered that the company was under liquidation and had not filed its financials since 2013. Filing a claim was the only way to get her money back. Ms Ms father had done that already. Another advised her to seek a written reply, since it would be a helpful weapon in court. It is probably nine years too late for either these actions to help now.

The late Dr KC Chakrabarty, former deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and a trustee of Moneylife Foundation, used to tell us that once an Indian company is declared a defaulter, it is almost impossible to get money back. Why? Because banks don't act fast enough and, in large companies, they help to hide the problem by evergreening the loans. Only when all options are exhausted will some creditor will start liquidation proceedings. The promoter immediately works at gaming the judicial process, while also siphoning out (usually in collusion with the liquidator), until there is only an empty shell left.

The bankruptcy process was to fix this; but investors in DHFL, Yes Bank (AT-1 bonds) have realised that bankers, who form part of the committee of creditors (CoC, comprising secured lenders) take care of only their own interest. In the DHFL case, National Housing Bank (NHB), having failing as a regulator, got back 100% of the funds it lent to DHFL as refinancing . The few retail savers holding FDs and debentures, who put up a fight, were steamrollered and could do nothing about ensuring a better price or equitable distribution of the bidders money.

Coming back to Ms Ms issue, many tagged journalists or lawyers for help; some asked her to approach politicians, while others asked her to consult a lawyer and file litigation. Consumer courts are a viable option for retail savers, when applicable, but advice to file litigation usually comes from those are clueless about time, cost, expense, delay and futility of litigation, unless you have deep pockets and a large sum is involved. Class action would have worked, if our policy-makers had not made it so difficult.

Now, for some hilarious tips. A journalist, who was tagged, wanted to see the terms and conditions of the investment. Well, all FDs are unsecured, putting the depositor right at the end of the money distribution chain; in a liquidation or bankruptcy process, only equity investors are behind them. While FD-holders of DHFL are furious at receiving just 23% of their investment, they are lucky to have got anything at all. A class action for compensation from dubious rating agencies or the failure of NHB would have stood a chance in other countries.

One confident tweep passed along the phone number of a SEBI director, quite certain that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), could get her money back. Firstly, SEBI does not regulate FDs; secondly, for all its investigation and punitive powers, SEBI has rarely helped investors recover their money. Penalties imposed by SEBI remain with it or go to the government. Even when it is mandated to refund money (as in PACL and Sahara ) under the supervision of a retired Supreme Court judge, the process is extremely slow.

Another bit of misguided advice was to file a first information report (FIR) and write a complaint to the Enforcement Directorate, no need to chase the company. Ms M took this crazy suggestion seriously and asked if she would need to come to Mumbai to do that. The wise guy said, dont think so, I am sure they will have offices in your town.

For those who don't get the silliness of this, the directorate of enforcement is an elite Central financial investigation agency under the finance ministry that primarily investigates foreign exchange and money laundering-related issues. It not your police station in every town or even the economic offences wing of the police (which also investigates crimes involving Rs10 crore or more in Mumbai).

Another smart-aleck had offered this reassurance. If it (amount invested) is under Rs5 lakh, chances are you will get your money back. This one confuses a corporate FD with bank deposits which carry a deposit insurance cover. Deposit insurance was enhanced to Rs5 lakh only a couple of months ago. Since 1992, it had remained at Rs1 lakh and is only available because banks pay for a deposit insurance cover.

Someone said, file a consumer complaint and another suggested the Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System. Neither would realistically work in this case, if the company is being liquidated. The ministry of corporate affairs and its Serious Frauds Investigation Office does launch many investigations but has a poor record of successfully closing them.

Like Ms M, many notice the dud investments of their parents, while examining their inheritance, or when they get involved in managing their finances. This usually means that they Google details but it is a long time before realisation dawns that redress, or getting your money back from dud companies is almost impossible in India and, sometimes, giving up on it is the only thing to do.

Losing ones hard-earned savings is no laughing matter. Too many investors are lured by investment advisers and distributors to promote risky investments, especially to senior citizens, because they offer higher returns. Worse still, investors do not track business news and miss all the red flags and media reports that allow smarter savers to exit before it is too late.

SREI , This was true of Helios & Matheson, DHFL IL&FS and scores of others. If you follow the news, there is invariably some warning of dodgy business practices even if corporate ratings remain high. Investors are reluctant to act quickly and encouraged to ignore bad news.

This is evident from the anguish poured out by retail investors to the DHFL resolution
The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday ordered a full-fledged probe against Tihar Jail officials in connection with allegations that they helped Unitech ex-promoters Sanjay Chandra and Ajay Chandra ran a 'secret underground office' inside and thus violated prison rules. It also ordered their suspension until the probe was completed.

The bench of justice DY Chandrachud and justice MR Shah also directed a copy of the report by Delhi's commissioner of police (CP) Rakesh Asthana on prison management be given to the Union ministry of home for compliance with directions. The court saw a lot of drama with the bench warning senior counsel Vikas Singh, who was appearing from Unitech, about allegations against the court.

A visibly miffed justice Chandrachud asked senior counsel Vikas Singh not to make 'allegations' against the court, says a report from Bar & Bench

Senior counsel Singh appearing for the Chandra brothers, urged the bench to provide access to the forensic auditor Grant Thornton report so that they could put together a defence. He also requested the court not to proceed in an ex-parte manner.

Justice DY Chandrachud: This is not an ex parte hearing. You are not entitled to peruse the case diary..



Sr Adv Vikas Singh: I don't want your lordships to repent later on that you did not take timely action. I am sure the court has nothing personal against the Chandras.  Bar & Bench (@barandbench) October 6, 2021

According to the report, Mr Singh also took exception to what he viewed as the court 'running companies'. Quoting him, the report says, "How many companies will this court run? Amrapali you are running, Unitech you are running, Supertech you are running. You have arrested my father, my wife, arrest my children also. Put us all behind bars. At least let me defend Grant Thornton report."

However, the bench did not take the arguments lightly and warned the senior counsel not to make 'allegations' against the apex court.

Justice Chandrachud: Before you make allegations on this court, what is this language? What is this repent later on.



Justice Chandrachud takes his mask off: LISTEN TO ME LISTEN TO ME. Is this the way of addressing the court?  Bar & Bench (@barandbench) October 6, 2021

The bench then declined to provide a copy of the Grant Thornton report to Unitech promoters saying, "Vikas Singh appearing on behalf of accused submits that report of forensic auditors Grant Thornton be made available to him to enable proper defence. From the status report filed, it emerges that report by forensic auditors is a subject matter of probe by ED. It will not be in accordance with the law to provide underlying material which forms the subject matter of investigation to accused at this stage."

In August this year, while expressing displeasure over the way Sanjay Chandra and Ajay Chandra, erstwhile promoters of Unitech, were allegedly operating from Tihar Jail in New Delhi, the Supreme Court had asked to shift them to jails in Maharashtra immediately.

During that hearing, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) claimed it found a 'secret underground office', which Unitech founder Ramesh Chandra was operating. Both his sons Sanjay and Ajay visited the office while they were on parole or bail. The agency has alleged that it was done in collusion with the Tihar Jail authorities.

Additional solicitor general (ASG) Madhavi Divan, representing the ED, submitted before the bench that during search and seizure operations, the agency unearthed a secret underground office, which Ramesh Chandra was using.

Earlier this week, the ED arrested Unitech founder Ramesh Chandra, his daughter-in-law Preeti Chandra and real estate promoter Rajesh Malik for a money laundering case.

A lookout circular was issued against Preeti Chandra, wife of Sanjay Chandra, Unitech promoter and son of Ramesh Chandra. Sanjay Chandra himself is behind bars on charges of money laundering.

Preeti Chandra has got the citizenship of Dominica and it is alleged that she was stashing money outside India.

Last week, the ED had provisionally attached 29 land parcels measuring 13,600sq mt (square metres) having a book value of Rs30.29 crore in Sector 96-98, Noida.

The case pertains to the investigation against the Unitech group under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

These land parcels were illegally allotted to Carnoustie Management (India) Pvt Ltd (CMPL) by the Chandras.

The source of funds for the said purchase was the home-buyers' funds earlier transferred to CMPL by the Unitech promoters.

ED initiated a money-laundering investigation based on various first information reports (FIRs) registered by the Delhi Police and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), based on complaints by home-buyers against the Unitech group its promoters and others.

"Investigation by ED revealed that Unitech group had diverted the proceeds of crime to the tune of Rs347.95 crore to Carnoustie group and, in turn, the entities of Carnoustie group purchased several immovable properties in India and abroad from these proceeds of crime. The total proceeds of crime detected by the ED, in this case, is Rs7,638.43 crore," the agency stated.

Earlier, ED had carried out search operations at 41 locations in NCR and Mumbai, including the premises of Shivalik group, Trikar group, Unitech group and Carnoustie group.

After analysis of seized records followed by the disclosures of various persons, the above diversion and layering of proceeds of crime was unearthed. With this attachment, the total attachment, in this case, has reached Rs672.52 crore.
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October 06, 2021

Open Thread 2021-77

News & views ...

Posted by b on October 6, 2021 at 17:44 UTC | Permalink

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A local artist is opening his own printmaking studio that artists can rent out. The business -- Cheese Factory Press -- will be hosting a grand opening Friday for potential customers to check out the space. Midlander Andrew Lawson saw the opportunity to create a mutually beneficial space for the community and himself.

This started for my own purposes because my own professional practice needed a place to work out of, he said. Midland doesnt have a place that offers facilities for artists to do printmaking practices.
The U.S. Attorneys Office has recommended one month of home confinement for Midlander Eliel Rosa, who pleaded guilty in July for his participation in riots at the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6.

Rosa agreed to plea guilty on July 29 to a misdemeanor charge of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building in exchange for the government dropping the other charges against him. He was originally indicted on four misdemeanor charges and a felony obstruction charge punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

In addition to a month of home confinement, prosecutors are recommending three years of probation, 60 days of community service and a $500 fine, according to court documents filed on Monday.

The recommendation is based in part on Rosas cooperation with the justice departments investigation, the court documents state. Three days after the Capitol riots, Rosa voluntarily contacted the FBI and admitted to entering the Capitol building.

The attorneys office filing indicates that on Jan. 9, Rosa went into a local FBI office to turn himself in before an arrest warrant had been issued. He agreed to a voluntary interview and expressed remorse for his conduct.

Rosa had traveled to Washington, D.C., with fellow Midlander Jenny Cudd, who was also charged for participating in the riots. He told investigators the two became friends after meeting at an event in November 2020, and that they shared similar beliefs.

Rosa spent about 20 minutes walking around the Capitol building before he was escorted out with a crowd of other rioters by Capitol police, according to the court documents. Surveillance footage shows that he did not join in any violence or vandalism.

The defense also filed documents on Oct. 4 to ask the court to sentence Rosa only to probation and a fine. Rosas lawyer cited his early cooperation and lack of a criminal record as reasons against confinement.

In a letter submitted to prosecutors, Rosa wrote that he felt profound shame for his actions on Jan. 6 and, I only have good intentions toward this nation in my heart and future plans.

After three months I had, this past week, the courage to watch the videos of that day. The voices of desperation coming from the Capitol Police officers will forever be engraved in my memory, he wrote. I look forward to the day when I will be able to go to D.C. again and personally ask for their forgiveness for sadly being apportioned with those who brought so much chaos and pain to them, emotionally and physically.

Rosas sentencing hearing is scheduled for Oct. 12.
The Midland Humane Coalition (MHC) has announced the acquisition of its new facility, The Joe and Van Mabee Animal Rescue Center (Mabee ARC).

The new Mabee ARC will be operated by Midland Humane Coalition as an auxiliary facility to its PetSmart Enhanced Adoption Center. It will provide the much-needed space to prepare rescues for adoption.

The expansion happened out of a need for sufficient space to quarantine, foster, rehabilitate and allow rescues to recover from stress, surgery or illness prior to placing them for adoption at the Enhanced Adoption Center. The 5,700-square-foot facility standing on 2 acres will be able to house up to 60 dogs and 20 cats temporarily as they undergo the vetting process.

The Mabee ARC has been an ongoing project since the launch of a capital campaign in 2016, which yielded generous donations from Joe and Van Mabee, Javaid and Vicki Anwar, several foundations, private donors and a grant from Midland County. As a primary MHC donor and board member, the facility is named in honor of Joe and Van Mabee.

MHC was initially slated to construct a larger-scale building located on undeveloped acreage in northeast Midland. However, with the opening of the city of Midlands new animal shelter and after considering the infrastructure and construction costs plus time required to build a brand new facility, the board determined a more viable option was to purchase a turn-key facility -- the former Wag N Tail Pet Resort.

That facility is nearly move-in ready and will enable MHC to get operations up and running in the least amount of time while affording room to build and expand in the future.

With minor renovations underway, MHC can utilize the facility to foster several rescues and projects. The official opening the Joe and Van Mabee Animal Rescue Center will take place Nov. 11. This date also marks MHCs 10-year anniversary opening of its first facility, the PetSmart Enhanced Adoption Center.

The Midland Humane Coalition is also hosting a masquerade fundraising ball Oct. 30 at the Petroleum Club. The 10th annual Fur Ball will be a night to remember with wine, dinner and music by West Texas Funk. Tickets are $150.
Sun Valley, ID (83353)

Today

Partly cloudy this morning, then becoming cloudy during the afternoon. High around 40F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Occasional snow showers. Low 29F. Winds light and variable. Chance of snow 50%. Snow accumulations less than one inch.
age 95, a long time resident of Beggs, OK, transitioned in her grandsons home in Tulsa, OK with family at bedside. Arrangements are pending with House of Winn Funeral Home-Okmulgee.
Horry County saw a decrease of nearly 60% in COVID-19 cases last week, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control reported Wednesday.

From Sept. 27 to Oct. 3, DHEC reports 570 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Horry County  a 58.3% decrease from the previous week. Last week, the county had 977 confirmed cases, making it the first time since the last full week of July that Horry County had less than 1,000 confirmed cases in a single week.

As of Monday, Horry County had 52 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19, DHEC reports. The county had three additional confirmed COVID-19 deaths as of Monday, the state health department reports on Wednesday. Between Sept. 26 and Oct. 2, DHEC reported 26 confirmed and probable COVID-19 deaths in the county.

SCHOOL UPDATE

The number of Horry County Schools students in quarantine continues to drop, according the HCS online COVID-19 dashboard. As of Wednesday morning, 2,000 students are in quarantine, along with 83 staff members. St. James Intermediate has the most students in quarantine at 172. St. James Intermediate also has the most active cases among students with 14.

The dashboard shows there are a total of 181 total active cases across the county's schools and facilities, with 150 of those being students. Three different schools have 10 or more active cases among students, according to the dashboard.

The district office has six active cases among staff members and eight people in quarantine.

For the third consecutive week, no school within the district moved to virtual learning or is conducting virtual learning.

Last Tuesday, a U.S. District Court Judge granted a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction Tuesday on Proviso 1.108, which bans school districts from instating mask mandates. State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman said school districts now have the authority to mandate masks. The HCS Board of Education is set to discuss the topic at its meeting Monday.
German-American Day is observed every Oct. 6 and, in Illinois, there is plenty of reason to celebrate.

German ancestry remains prevalent in Illinois, as it has for a century and a half. The strength of German-Americans helped shape Illinois history through a Civil War, as well as two world wars against the old country.

Of the nearly 1.8 million residents of Illinois in 1860, nearly 325,000 were of foreign birth. Germans were the largest ethnic group with 130,000, nearly 8% of the states total population. Some 20% of Chicagos population was German. Many had arrived following the failed German revolution of 1848.

A heavy concentration of Germans also was found in St. Clair County, near Belleville. Others settled in cities like Quincy, Alton, Peoria, Springfield and Galena. In the northern Illinois community of Peru, Germans made up 1,000 of the total population of 3,500 in 1854. The names of a number of towns and villages across the state honor German heritage, including New Baden, New Minden, Germantown, Darmstadt and Meppen.

Many Germans were farmers, while others were laborers, merchants, and skilled tradesmen. Some followed the popular crafts of their homeland and worked as butchers, bakers, shoemakers, furniture and wagon builders, and cigar makers. Architecture of traditionally German-American buildings, often in brick, still is visible across the state.

German-language newspapers were found across the state, even in the smallest cities. In 1859, future presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln bought the press and type to establish a German-language Republican paper. In Peoria, future Illinois Secretary of State Edward Rummel, a native of Baden, Germany, ran a German paper and print shop that produced goods in both German and English.

John Wood, who founded the city of Quincy and served as governor for 10 months in 1860-61, was born to a German mother. In 1892, John Altgeld, a Prussian native, won election for one term as Illinois governor and is best known for his pardon of three of the accused in the infamous Haymarket Riot.

Politically, German support was crucial, and their weight was felt at the first Illinois Republican state convention in 1856. The German influence also was a key factor in the 1860 presidential race, and at the Republican National Convention in Chicago, German resolutions were even incorporated into the national platform. Germans were perceived to be staunch abolitionists, though some scholars dispute that claim.

Nearly 6,000 Illinois Germans enlisted in the first six months of the Civil War, comprising practically three whole regiments. One top German commander was Friedrich Hecker, a renowned 1848 revolutionary who was a gentleman farmer near Belleville, in the heart of heavily German settlements.

Another German regimental commander from St. Clair County was Gustave Koerner, who served as lieutenant governor of Illinois from 1852 to 1856 and was a pallbearer at Abraham Lincolns Springfield funeral.

By 1910, more than 319,000 German immigrants were in Illinois, and more than 1 million people of German descent  a 10th of the national total  called the state home. With nearly 400,000 first- and second-generation German immigrants, Chicago was the sixth-largest German city on the globe in 1914.

The high concentration of Germans caused some protest at the outbreak of World War I, as many of German descent decried their adopted countrys stance against their homeland. Music by German composers such as Mozart and Beethoven was banned in some public places, and some German-Americans were under surveillance by state and federal officials.

Other German-Americans were forced to recite loyalty oaths in public spectacles. Within a few years, use of the German language, once prominent, faded from schools and churches.

As a result, many Germans in Illinois distanced themselves from their heritage. From 1914 to 1920, the number of Illinois residents who identified themselves as German on the U.S. Census dropped more than 41%, to 112,000. But many Germans remained loyal to the American cause and took active roles in the war effort both at home and abroad.

A quarter-century later, dislike of German residents was a minor issue in World War II, as many chose to focus their disgust on Adolph Hitler, rather than their German neighbors.

Today, German heritage in Illinois is celebrated in festivals and carnivals statewide, while some communities in Chicagoland, as well as Moline, Peoria, Gibson City, Mascoutah, Waterloo and Millstadt, feature popular German restaurants. Museums and research centers on German-American history and heritage are found in several large metro areas, including Chicago, Frankfort and the Quad Cities.
PITTSFIELD  Four former Pittsfield High School band students are establishing an endowment to honor their band directors while benefiting future Pittsfield High School band students.

The Dr. Paul and Doris Rosene Band Fund will provide, in perpetuity, annual funds to assist Pittsfield High School band students with financial need.

The idea originated around a scholarship, said John Borrowman, PHS Class of 1967 and one of the four establishing the fund. Our little bit of investigation showed that a scholarship would be nice, but it sent the money out of the community and helped only one student.  This is like an activity fund that will keep the money in Pike County and will benefit many students for years to come.

Cherryll Gaffney-Allen (63), John Geisendorfer (65) and Dr. Larry Mays (66) also are on the funds steering committee. Funds disbursement will be coordinated with PHS band director Justin Bangert.

The Rosenes lived in Pittsfield from 1957 through 1967. Paul Rosene led the high school band program during that decade, while Doris Rosene became the band director at Higbee Junior High School around 1959, Borrowman said.

While the idea of the activity fund to benefit future band students has appeal, the idea is rooted in the desire the four had to honor the Rosenes, Borrowman said, trying to explain what made the Rosenes stand out.

In fall 1965  he created a yearlong course, an elective  I dont know how he ever got away with it  that he called music theory, Borrowman said of Paul Rosene. There were seven of us enrolled in it, and through the year we did interesting stuff. His mantra was, any musical experience is worth having once.

Which explains why, when a relative newcomer out of New York named Bob Dylan was performing in St. Louis, Paul Rosene agreed with Borrowmans suggestion that the class attend the concert.

He rounded up another set of parents and they took all seven of us to see Bob Dylan, Borrowman said. He was just shifting from acoustic to electric. The people who were backing him were the same people we came to know as The Band.

Being Rosene, he would expect you to go listen to Beethoven next, and we did, orchestral scores in our laps, following along. It was that kind of genuineness, that kind of authenticity in the man.

Paul Rosene later accepted a job at Illinois State University and did significant work in music therapy, Borrowman said. He also was nationally known for his work with bell choirs. The Rosenes retired to Orlando, Florida, in 1990. Doris Rosene died in August 2020. Paul Rosene, now 91, still walks from 3 to 4 miles most mornings and plays trumpet in his church band, Borrowman said.

The Rosenes effect on their students lingers more than five decades later, Borrowman said.

Cherryll (Gaffney-Allen) has grandchildren in band, Borrowman said. One of them is playing her clarinet. Larry (Mays) was in the U.S. Army Band. The whole experience, it continues to resonate. It has to, to motivate people to do what theyre doing.

The Dr. Paul and Doris Rosene Band Fund will be held at Quincy-based Community Foundation Serving West Central Illinois & Northeast Missouri, which manages similar funds in Pittsfield and Pike County. The goal for a minimally funded endowment is $15,000. Donors can contribute at bit.ly/3uHLRLM.
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Imag

On Tuesday, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, as part of a bipartisan coalition of 52 attorneys general, expressed strong support for the hearings being conducted by the U.S. Senate Committee addressing the protection and safety of children and teens using social media.

The attorneys general, including Raoul, issued a letter to the leaders of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security expressing serious concerns over the impacts of social media on children and teens. Those concerns have grown with the recent research from Facebooks own internal studies showing that social media is inflicting harm  in the form of increased mental distress, bullying, suicide and other self-harm  on a significant number of children.



"Facebook is well aware that using its platforms have significantly harmed children and teens, leading them to develop eating disorders, exposing them to increased bullying, or resulting in them harming themselves  or even taking their own lives," Raoul said in a statement. "Facebook should put the health and safety of children before profits. As a state attorney general, I have been committed to protecting children online and teaching them about healthy online interactions. I am calling on Congress to take federal action by demanding more transparency from Facebook and holding the company accountable for damage that has been knowingly inflicted on young people."
HULL  Hull-Kinderhook Fire Department will receive $7,600 as its share of $316,000 in COVID-19 relief grants going to 36 fire departments across the state.

The one-time grants through the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal are meant to help make up for donation revenues lost because the departments were unable to have fundraisers during pandemic restrictions.
Stacy McQueen

Monarch butterflies gather in a tree at the home of Bob and Karen Sibert in Jacksonville. Every year at this time, the yard has hundreds of butterflies roosting as they rest along their migratory route to Mexico.
We began our COVID-19 nightmare back in March 2020 with politicians and experts telling us we needed to lockdown the economy for three weeks to flatten the curve.

Weeks turned into months as the goal post moved from flattening the curve to no new cases. Then, a couple of months turned into half a year as the goal post moved again from no new cases to once we have a vaccine.

Now, six months has become more than a year as the goal post has moved once more to vaccinate everyone.

Although 10 million people remain unemployed, small business owners have taken the brunt of this nightmare. Lockdown policies were so bad for them that its hard to believe they werent specifically targeted. States made all manner of exceptions for essential businesses, but the lions share of the non-essential businesses were small businesses. As a result, nationwide, more than one-quarter of them have closed permanently. This is no small matter as, collectively, small businesses employ roughly half of all American workers.

And for those small businesses that have actually managed to stay afloat, they might soon have to deal with the IRS. In a display of remarkable tone-deafness, the IRS announced in November that it intended to increase small business audits by 50% next year. Let that sink in for a moment: In a year in which 25% of small businesses have gone bankrupt, the IRS has determined it needs to make a greater effort to ensure that small businesses are paying enough taxes. Regardless of whether its warranted, this comes off as more bullying in a year full of bullying.

Not to be left out, President Joe Biden announced he intended to push for an increase in the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. While Biden claims that will raise 1.3 million workers out of poverty, the Congressional Budget Office estimated it will actually destroy 1.3 million jobs. Given that small businesses have far fewer resources than large corporations, and that large corporations are more likely to be paying workers more anyway, the lions share of those 1.3 million jobs are likely to come from  you guessed it  small businesses scaling back or closing.

And what of the small business owners who manage to survive the lockdown, the IRS audits, and the minimum wage hike? Biden will see to it that their children think twice about becoming small business owners themselves when he takes one last pound of flesh through a ramped-up estate tax. Politicians trot out the estate tax every time they want people to think they are taxing the rich. The truth, though, is the estate tax is particularly hard on family businesses. The idle rich can afford legions of lawyers and accounts to find legal ways around the estate tax. Many family businesses avoid the estate tax by deliberately not growing large enough to trigger it.

And those that do typically have buildings, equipment, and machinery that are, on paper, worth enough to trigger the tax but dont have much cash. When children inherit those businesses, the IRS requires them to come up with the cash to pay the tax. That means selling off the business, in whole or in part, to raise the money. And so the estate tax has the effect of whittling away the number of family businesses, year after year.

The big winner? Large corporations that pick up the pieces left behind.

None of this is deliberate, but thats cold comfort to the people who have to pay the price of a perfect storm of bad luck and misguided policies. In times of crisis, people assume the government is working to alleviate peoples suffering. But from the perspective of small businesses, it looks more like the governments goal in 2020 was to shoot the country in its collective metaphorical foot.

So far, it looks like its plan for 2021 is to shoot the other one.

Antony Davies is associate professor of economics at Duquesne University. James R. Harrigan is managing director of the Center for the Philosophy of Freedom at the University of Arizona. They host the weekly podcast Words & Numbers. They wrote this for InsideSources.com.
TuCare Natural Resource Summit View Photo

This Friday, October 8th, 2021, Tuolumne County Alliance for Resources and Environment (TuCARE) will hold their Annual Natural Resources Summit in the Sierra Building at the Mother Lode Fairgrounds in Sonora.

Melinda Fleming, TuCARE Executive Director, was Wednesdays KVML Newsmaker of the Day.

The Summit is open to the public and admission is free. Natural Resource agencies, organizations and businesses will provide information tables prior to and after the summit for attendees to peruse. The doors open at 8:00 a.m.

Speakers for the summit include: Congressman Tom McClintock, District 4; Randy Moore, Chief of the Forest Service (remote feed-confirmed); Jennifer Eberlien. Region 5 Forester USFS (remote feed); Ken Pimlott, (ret.) CALFIRE Chief; Patrick Wright, Director with California Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan; Adam Frese,CAL-FIRE; Susie Kocher, Forestry Advisor UCNR; Dore Bietz, Tuolumne County Office of Emergency Services; Glenn Gottschall, Hwy 108 Fire Safe Council; and Sherri Brennan, Lodestone Consulting.

For over twenty years, TuCARE has held a Natural Resources Summit. Approximately 200 people have attended the summit each year. Topics covered in past years include political and environmental hot topics such as global warming, environmental extremism, and the importance of logging to reduce fuel load on public lands. The focus of this summit will be to raise awareness for the need to prevent future fire catastrophes such as was experienced in Paradise, and more recently the Dixie and the Caldor fires. Speakers will discuss plans that have been developed to reduce fuels on public and private land, create safe passage if fire should occur, and to guard our communities from devastation.

Doors open at 8:00 a.m. The speaking portion of the summit kicks-off at 9:00 a.m. and runs till 1:00 p.m.

From 8:00 to 9:00 a.m., and 1:00 to 1:30 p.m. attendees can visit information tables from local, state and federal agencies/organizations that will provide information on ways the public can participate in the ongoing need for the reduction of forest fuels.

There is no cost for this event due to the generous donations by a variety of sponsors including PG&E, Clarke Broadcasting Corp., and local community members.

TuCARE is a community based non-profit 501(c)3 organization founded in 1988. Our membership is a cross-section of the community and includes businesspersons, educators, retirees, and those actively engaged in working daily with natural resources. TuCARE supports the multiple use of natural resources on public lands. Multiple-use policies allow for everyone to benefit. TuCARE seeks stability for resource industries to ensure the economic soundness and stability of local communities.

For more information contact Melinda Fleming at (209) 586-7816, or log on to tucare.com

The Newsmaker of the Day is heard every weekday morning at 6:45, 7:45 and 8:45 on AM 1450 and FM 102.7 KVML.
Sonora, CA  A tip from the public led to the arrest of a Sonora doctor for a deadly hit-and-run on Highway 99 earlier this year that took the life of a good samaritan.

At a Fresno CHP press conference today, with a picture of the victim displayed, 26-year-old Juliana Ramos, CHP Lt. Austin Matulonis announced the arrest of 68-year-old Dr. James Leonard Comazzi after an eight-month investigation.

Thankfully a tip from Valley Crimestoppers assisted our investigation in identifying the driver at their residence and the vehicle A search warrant was issued for Mr. James Camozzi.

Camozzi, a Cardiologist at Adventist Health Sonora, is accused of crashing into Ramos, a nurse from Reedly, at around 12:20 a.m. on February 10th after a big rig and a Hyundai Elantra had collided on the highway near Manning Avenue in the Fresno area. Ramos had pulled her vehicle into the center median to help the driver of the car, who was suffering from major injuries. She was standing near the open driver-side door when she was struck.

A red Ford Explorer traveled through the scene striking and killing Miss Ramos. The driver of the Explorer who struck Miss Ramos fled the scene without rendering aid to Miss Ramos and failed to call for or provide medical assistance, detailed LT. Matulonis

In an earlier CHP posting on social media offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the culprit, it noted that the driver of that SUV momentarily stopped his vehicle, exited, and walked around his SUV for several seconds, then got back into it and fled the scene.

The warrant was issued for Comazzi on the evening of Monday (Oct. 4). The CHP relayed that he surrendered himself at the Fresno office at 6 p.m. and was taken into custody without incident. Comazzi is charged with felony hit-and-run and vehicular manslaughter. His bail was set at $15,000. Today he was able to make bail and was released.

Of note, this is the second doctor from Sonora that has been arrested for leaving the scene of an accident. Doctor Danny Anderson was arrested and later convicted of causing a triple fatal crash on J-59/La Grange Road in October 2016, as reported here.
An Ohio prison inmate was indicted Tuesday in the strangulation of three Dallas area girls more than 15 years ago.

A Collin County grand jury returned three capital murder indictments against David Elliott Penton, who is already serving a life sentence for the killing of a child.

In Texas, Penton, 45, is accused in the slayings of Christi Lynn Meeks, 5, of Mesquite; Christie Diane Proctor, 9, of Dallas; and Roxann Hope Reyes, 4, of Garland.

Penton is serving a life sentence in the 1988 murder of Nydra Ross, who disappeared from the Ohio home of her aunt. He was questioned by area authorities in 1988 because the three Texas girls had died in a similar manner.

Authorities have declined to say what new evidence links Penton to the crimes. Prosecutors said they have extradition papers to return him to Texas.

The former Fort Hood soldier pleaded guilty in 1985 to manslaughter in the death of his 1-month-old son. He appealed his sentence and fled after posting bond.

Christi Meeks disappeared while playing outside her mother's apartment in January 1985. The abduction came while Penton was awaiting trial in the death of his son. Meeks' body was found less than three months later in Lake Texoma.

Christie Proctor disappeared while walking to a friend's house. Her body was found more than two years later in 1988 in a field in Plano.

Roxann Reyes was kidnapped while playing outside her apartment in November 1987. Her body was found six months later in Murphy, east of Plano.

Investigators at the time said the three girls were sexually assaulted and strangled.

The slaying of Christi Meeks brought national attention to the plight of missing and abducted children. Relatives established the Christi Meeks Foundation for Missing Children, which helped get the girl's picture on billboards, milk cartons and fliers.
KENS 5 will have new faces joining the station later this month.



A new but familiar face returns to the CBS affiliate. Alicia Neaves will co-anchor weekends with Phil Anaya. Viewers also will find her reporting during the week for Eyewitness News.





Neaves was born and raised in San Antonio and later worked for KENS 5 as a reporter from 2015 to 2017.



We are thrilled to welcome Alicia back to San Antonio and the KENS 5 newsroom, said KENS 5 news director Jack Acosta. Her local ties and passion for people-focused stories made her a perfect fit for us. We cant wait to have her on the anchor desk and out in the community she loves.

Neaves left San Antonio in 2017 to work as an anchor at KENS 5s sister station WLTX in Columbia, South Carolina. She previously worked at KWES in Odessa/Midland as a bilingual reporter covering the border.

Courtesy KENS 5

"I've watched KENS 5 for as long as I can remember. In fact, watching the station is a family tradition. From the days of Gary Delaune, Dan Cook, and Chris Marrou, we always chose KENS 5 as our trusted news source, Neaves said. To be back working with the very professionals I've always admired is simply a gift. I look forward to continuing to learn from the best of the best.

She goes on to say, "KENS 5 brought me home in 2015 as a reporter. That was always a dream of mine: reporting in my hometown. Now they are bringing me back as a member of their anchor team. I couldn't be more excited and thankful!"

She said she is excited to return to Texas and live closer to her family. Her first day back is October 18.



"This Clark Cougar is ready to get to work!" Neaves said.

Courtesy KENS 5



There's another new member on the KENS 5 team.



Marina Neuman will be joining the weather team on weekend mornings.



She will also be working on digital weather during the week, according to the station.



She joins KENS from FOX57 in Columbia, South Carolina, where shes been doing weather and traffic for their four-hour morning show.



In a goodbye post on social media to her FOX57 family, Neuman said she is grateful for her time at the station. "I will never be able to express how grateful I am that God used this chapter of my life to bring me the some of the most incredible people I have ever met," she wrote.

Neuman says she looks forward to her arrival in the Alamo City.



"I couldn't be more excited to begin my next chapter in San Antonio with KENS 5. Texas I'll see you soon," she wrote.

She also starts October 18.



Meanwhile, veteran reporter Marvin Hurst shared exciting personal news on social media - he's an engaged man.



"For everything, there is a season. The assigned time is here for us," he posted.



The two minute video shares engagement details including why they chose to wait on sharing the news almost a month later.

"We chose to announce it now because there were no rings and we needed a moment to get our heads together," he said. "In reflection, we learned all you need is the blessing of God and two people HE wants together. Everything else is desire and manufactured pressure."



The couple got engaged September 7 and met during a blind date.



Hurst says a wedding date has yet to be set.






Update: Y100 revealed the 8 Man Jam lineup on Monday. The acoustic music even will bring in Parker McCollum, Chris Janson, Dylan Scott, Travis Denning, Chris Lane, Hardy, and Priscilla Block. The final performer has not been announced.

Original story continues below.

After being unplugged due to COVID-19 last fall, 8 Man Jam is returning to San Antonio next month.

The annual tradition hosted by country music radio station Y100 and presented by Bud Light brings in eight genre stars to perform acoustic sessions for an intimate crowd. The tickets are free, but fans have to win them from the station. Y100 typically hosts pop-up opportunities for residents to win their way in or gives away tickets on-air.

Previous installments of the show have brought in country crooners like Brad Paisley, Morgan Wallen, and Chris Young. Y100 will reveal the full lineup for the Wednesday, November 17, show on Monday, October 11, at 7:10 a.m.

Y100 morning host Beth Boehm gave MySA a teaser of who fans can expect to see on stage when the concert rolls through.

"Some of your favorites are coming back this year, plus some amazing new Nashville talent will be mixed in," Boehm says. "It's going to be amazing having everyone back together for live music!"

Prior to this year, the jam session was hosted at the Majestic Theatre. This year, twangy tunes and the clacking of shined up boots will take over the Tobin Center.
Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff will not seek another term in office.

Wolff made the announcement during his 2021 State of the County address to the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, October 6. He was appointed to the Bexar County Judge position in 2001 and has successfully won re-election five times, according to bexar.org.

"I am going to serve out my term," Wolff said. "I have one year, three months to go but I will not run for re-election. I want to give time for good candidates to step forward for the primary election."

He is only the second person in more than a century to serve as both Mayor of San Antonio and Bexar County Judge. He served as the Mayor of San Antonio from 1991 to 1995. He has represented Bexar County in various political offices since 1971 when he was elected to the Texas House of Representatives.

Wolff said he will continue to write books and serve the community while also spending more time with family.
The Dallas Morning News is facing backlash after rejecting an advertisement targeting AT&T over the Texas abortion law.

American Bridge, a Democratic super PAC, told CNBC its ad was supposed to run on the paper's website Tuesday. The decision from the newspaper came after the PAC made revisions to not include the AT&T logo, but did add the company by name.

"AT&T helped fund the anti-abortion politicians who wrote the dangerous law," the ad said with a picture of Gov. Greg Abbott beside the lettering.

It also encouraged voters to "[t]ell @ATT to get #Offthebanwagon" and "stop funding anti-abortion extremists in Texas," according to CNBC. AT&T is headquartered in Dallas. The Dallas Morning News is owned by DallasNews Corporation.

The Dallas Morning News defended its action, writing in a statement it has "the right to edit or reject any advertising for any reason."

"We have been particularly cautious when advertising content assumes the intentions of another business," the publication stated. "Our decision was based solely on our policy, not on any outside influences."

AT&T also released a statement to CNBC that noted the company has never taken a position on abortion and has no plans to change that policy. The statement also said that AT&T also contributed to the campaigns of lawmakers who opposed the bill.

American Bridge, which paid for the newspaper ad, blamed AT&T for the ads not being run, telling CNBC it's "deeply disappointing" to see the company taking "aggressive actions to silence its critics."

American Bridge, which is co-chaired by former Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards, plans to unleash TV advertisement in Texas in the coming days.
A proposal to extend a beloved natural trail at McAllister Park turned into a tense battle of environmental use versus accessibility during a public evening meeting on Monday, October 4.

More than 70 passionate San Antonians packed the forum, with about 30 voicing their concern or support over the greenway addition to the city (picture a heated public meeting held by Leslie Knope on Parks and Recreation).

The proposed project would extend the currently all-natural Mud Creek Trail using a 10-foot-wide concrete trail. Eventually, it would connect to a planned expansion of the Howard W. Peak Greenway Trails System  a citywide network that has 84 miles of hike-and-bike trails across San Antonio.

Priscilla Aguirre, MySA.com

What is the project?

Priscilla Aguirre, MySA.com

In the meeting, Brandon Ross, manager for the Howard W. Peak Greenway Trails System, discussed how the Mud Creek Greenway would offer 1.6 miles of ADA-accessible trails while also providing connections northward along Mud Creek towards Thousands Oaks. Eventually, it will link to another proposed trail expansion northward from Bulverde Road to past Loop 1604, Ross said.

Ross added the project would also likely become a part of the highly anticipated 100-mile Great Springs Project that aims to connect San Antonio to Austin through New Braunfels, San Marcos, and Buda.

The Mud Creek Greenway is in the design phase; funds from Bexar County won't become available until 2026.

The rejected alternative route

Concerned citizen Laura Matthews expressed how she loves the greenway system in the meeting but doesn't approve of the Mud Creek extension as it's one of the only natural trails left that allow you to escape from the city. She brought up how the city should reconsider using its initial CPS easement route instead.

Ross said the CPS easement is one of the three routes the city looked at as an option. However, he said the CPS route created safety concerns that would require three residential street crossings to protect trail users from potential vehicular danger.

The CPS easement would also require trail improvements related to gated neighborhood entrances, Ross said. Additionally, the Mud Creek Greenway doesn't involve land acquisitions.

Priscilla Aguirre, MySA.com

Accessibility use on the proposed project

Resident Trent Tunks voiced how he's for the Mud Creek project because it would become accessible for all, which he loves as a wheelchair user.

"For me, the Howard Peak Greenway System is one of our city's greatest assets," Tunks said. "All of you who love the Mud Creek Trail, tell me all about it because I can't get there. I believe adding the Mud Creek Greenway trail system would open up more of our park to a wider variety of users. I believe if we take a stance of having no more paved trails in our park, then we are just shutting people out of those parks."

Environmental and proximity cons

Sharron Niesen said one of her biggest concerns is the animals being displaced. She expressed the construction and the concrete would hurt the wildlife in the area.

"Just because we are connected by concrete doesn't mean we are connected to nature," she said. "We need to maintain our trails. They are absolutely gorgeous trails, but we need to stop thinking humans can take away from Mother Nature and [that] we have to have concrete in order to have a great time."

May Ashton, who lives along the proposed project, said she believes the greenway connection would cause a safety concern for her gated community. She said it could result in her and her neighborhood chasing who she called "gang members" out of the subdivision.

Local Marjesca Zoellner, the president of Friends of McAllister Park, said she's proud about the project as a whole, but not when it comes to Mud Creek. She said the park has become a refuge from the sights and sounds of city life. She believes the money being used for the trail should be used to improve other areas at the park.

"We can't just define ourselves by what we build, but by what we refuse to destroy," Zoellner said.
Charges have been dropped against 11 migrants arrested under Gov. Greg Abbott's border security initiative after the men told attorneys they were marched for about 20 minutes to a fenced ranch by law enforcement, then arrested for trespassing.

Without video evidence or a written report of the August incident from U.S. Border Patrol, Val Verde County Attorney David Martinez Monday dismissed the trespassing charges after the men had spent nearly two months in state prison.

The men had fled on foot after a highway traffic stop by Border Patrol agents, according to an arrest affidavit. The migrants later told attorneys that when found near the highway, officers made the migrants walk for about 20 minutes and climb, hands zip-tied, over a nearly 10-foot fence onto a ranch before they were arrested for trespassing by state troopers.

The migrants also said officers cut the Val Verde County landowners fence so a police dog could get onto the ranch property, a defense attorney and prosecutor told The Texas Tribune.

A Texas Department of Public Safety spokesperson said the migrants claims were inaccurate, stating the fleeing men jumped a fence onto private property. A Border Patrol spokesperson said any suggestion that officers led migrants to private property so they could be arrested for trespassing is absolutely false.

But the muddled situation is just one instance in which Martinez, a Democrat elected to prosecute misdemeanor cases, said he felt compelled to drop charges because of uncertainty whether DPS arrests pass legal muster. In September, a Venezuelan man crossed the Rio Grande near Del Rio with a married couple and walked up to an open gate attended by state troopers, Martinez said after his office reviewed body camera footage of the encounter. The officers moved aside to let the migrants walk through and then arrested the single man for trespassing. The couple was referred to Border Patrol.

The troopers could have easily said, Hey, this is private property, you cant come on. But they moved out of the way seemingly as an invitation, Martinez said.

Martinez rejected the case Monday. DPS declined to comment on the arrest.

The cases are examples of the more than 100 trespassing arrests under Abbotts "catch and jail" border security directive that have been dismissed or rejected by Martinez. The prosecutor has tossed 123 of 231 trespassing cases brought before him by DPS since July, Martinez said at a legislative hearing Monday. So far under his prosecution, 58 men have pleaded guilty to trespassing and been sentenced to 15 days in lockup.

Typically, men whose cases are dropped are released to U.S. Customs and Border Protection for immigration processing in Del Rio. Others who are convicted of trespassing are taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, having already served their 15-day state sentence. In both situations, federal authorities can deport the men or release them into the United States pending asylum hearings.

Since Abbott ordered state police to begin arresting migrants suspected of having crossed the border illegally for the state crime of trespassing on private property, DPS has arrested about 1,300 migrants on the charge, the agency director reported. The men, almost exclusively picked up in Val Verde and Kinney counties, are jailed in state prisons retooled as immigration jails.

The quickly assembled system of arrests, detentions and releases of migrants has been plagued by missteps since its onset, including families being improperly separated, violations of due process and a lack of coordination between federal, state and local officials.

In a legislative hearing called out of concern over legal blunders in Abbotts arrest initiative, DPS Director Steve McCraw told lawmakers Monday that the people his officers arrest for criminal trespassing are trying to avoid law enforcement, not seek asylum.

When we talk about criminal trespass, its that theyre paying coyotes, theyre paying cartel operatives, smugglers to move around and through to avoid being detected, McCraw said.

In Kinney County, a rural conservative region next door to Val Verde, many of the hundreds of migrants jailed for allegedly trespassing are arrested at a remote depot as they arrive on train cars from the border.

In Val Verde County, home to Del Rio, however, Martinez said the vast majority of the cases he tosses out are those in which he learns that the arrested migrant had credible asylum claims and was looking for law enforcement to turn themselves in. He has said he began dropping such cases after he heard McCraw tell lawmakers in August that police arent looking to arrest asylum seekers, but instead targeting dangerous criminals.

Other times, Martinez has thrown out trespassing charges for insufficient evidence or questionable circumstances surrounding the arrests, like the cases he tossed Monday. A defense attorney told lawmakers on Monday that the incidents are not unique.

We have heard reports and several of our clients have recounted that they are actually called over onto the river onto private property, said Kristin Etter, whose organization, Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, represents hundreds of the arrested migrants.

In the case of the 11 men who said they were escorted to another property and made to climb the fence onto a ranch, Martinez said he didnt have a report from Border Patrol officers, who reportedly initiated the stop and apprehended the men after they fled. Without it, he wasnt sure if the property where the men were first apprehended was the one listed in the report provided by DPS. If the cases moved forward in court, he said, DPS would be unable to testify where the men were first detained.

I did not have any way to prove where these people were apprehended because we did not have a supplemental report from Border Patrol, so there was a lack of evidence, Martinez said.

According to a DPS arrest affidavit, the men fled Border Patrol officers during an August traffic stop and jumped a fence onto a local ranch whose owner previously agreed for state police to arrest people for trespassing on the property. At least one of the men was found by a Border Patrol dog handler, the affidavit said, and DPS responded to the chase and arrested the men.

Border Patrol reported on Tuesday that after more than a dozen men fled on foot from a highway traffic stop into private property, federal agents took custody of the driver and two other people, while DPS arrested the other 11 men.

Martinez and Etter, who represents the men, said the migrants told them the fleeing men had hopped over a small fence bordering the highway, but, when found, were zip-tied and escorted by law enforcement to another property and made to climb a fence. Martinez said he was told that Border Patrol led the men onto the other property, and DPS requested the men be brought back over the fence again where they were arrested.

Etter said it was unclear if the land the men were originally found on was public land or not.

With their cases dismissed, the men were expected to be sent back to Val Verde County and handed over to CBP officials for processing, Etter said Tuesday. The Venezuelan man whose case was rejected by Martinez Monday is also expected to be transferred to CBP.

The Texas Tribune is a nonpartisan, nonprofit media organization that informs Texans  and engages with them  about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
Gov. Greg Abbott hasn't been shy about issuing disaster declarations for the state of Texas this year, but the Republican leader's use of emergency powers is now being called into question.

In September, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) denied a request from the governor for a federal emergency declaration addressing migrant crossings at Texas' southern border. Abbott has since appealed the judgement, but as noted by University of Texas at San Antonio political scientist Jon Taylor, the governor isn't likely to receive the redress he's looking for due to the intended use of federal disaster funding.

"This isn't a natural disaster," Taylor wrote in an email interview. "It's a political and humanitarian disaster. These factors will play a key role in Texas' appeal with FEMA."

Approval of the declaration would have provided Texas $5 million in federal assistance, according to FEMA's website. But the usage of such measures likely stands in opposition to the letter of the law regarding disaster proclamations in Texas.

"Conservatives and liberals alike have claimed that the governor has abused both the spirit and intent of the Texas Disaster Act and have filed lawsuits and legislation to reign in the governor's emergency powers with relatively little success," Taylor writes.

In June, Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Laredo Democrat, told KXAN he disagreed with Abbott labeling the border crisis a disaster. "I do not think that this is a disaster," Cuellar said. "This is a state version of [former President Donald Trump] declaring a border emergency. I disagree with that."

In an effort to check Abbott's power during the pandemic, GOP House Speaker and Beaumont Republican Dade Phelan sought to create a legislative oversight committee that would have the authority to terminate a pandemic disaster declaration by Abbott, according to the Texas Tribune.

Under the Texas Disaster Act of 1975, temporary emergency powers are granted to the governor and local officials to respond to crises, if they meet disaster requirements.The act defines a disaster as the "occurrence or imminent threat of widespread or severe damage, injury, or loss of life or property resulting from any natural or man-made cause."

In his appeal to FEMA, Abbott argued migrant border crossings are a man-made disaster caused by President Joe Biden and his administration.

"Biden has turned his back on Texans living along the border, and FEMA's refusal to declare a federal emergency at the border puts their health, safety, and property at risk," Abbott wrote in a statement. "The State of Texas is appealing this detrimental decision by FEMA because the Biden Administration's refusal to solve the crisis at our border has led to a strain on local, state and federal resources."

As it stands, Abbott estimates his "catch and jail" program has placed "thousands" of undocumented immigrants in Texas prisons. Hundreds of these prisoners have since been released after being unconstitutionally held without charges or legal representation, as noted by the Texas Tribune. The Republican leader also recently signed security funding bills to increase state border security funding by nearly $3 million, a portion of which will be used to expand the border wall started by Trump, the Texas Tribune reports.

Taylor notes that the governor's strategic use of disaster declarations may ultimately serve as a high profile advertisement for his 2022 reelection campaign.

"A humanitarian crisis that turns into a security crisis could improve Abbott's chances of winning an appeal with FEMA as well as his prospects for re-election," Taylor writes. "Winning by losing an appeal with FEMA is also something to consider here."
National

Kashmiri Pandits hold anti-Pakistan protests in Jammu

Jammu, Oct 6 (PTI) | Publish Date: 10/6/2021 1:40:09 PM IST

Several organisations representing the Kashmiri Pandit community and some Jammu-based outfits staged anti-Pakistan protests here on Wednesday over the killing of businessman Makhan Lal Bindroo and two other civilians by terrorists.

They demanded enhanced security for the Kashmiri Pandit community. Activists of the Youth All India Kashmiri Samaj (YAIKS) led by its president R K Bhat staged a protest in Jammu over the killings and raised slogans against Pakistan.

We demand justice. We demand punishment for culprits. This is a move to scuttle the plan of return and rehabilitation of Kashmiri Hindus back in the valley, Bhat told reporters here.

He said that Pakistan is the epicentre of terrorism in Kashmir and it needs to be dealt with sternly. Hundreds of Kashmiri Pandits living in Jagti town also held a protest and demanded justice for the Bindroo family.

They alleged that several members of the community were killed by terrorists in Kashmir in the past few months, but the government has failed to protect them.

Bindroo, a Kashmiri Pandit, was gunned down by terrorists at his pharmacy in Srinagar on Tuesday.

Bindroo was one of the few in his community who did not migrate out of Kashmir at the onset of militancy in 1990. He stayed back along with his wife to continue operating his business, which was a trusted name for quality medicines.

Barely a few minutes after the killing of Bindroo, militants gunned down a roadside vendor identified as Virendra Paswan, a resident of Bhagalpur in Bihar, near Hawal Chowk in Srinagar.

Militants also shot dead Mohammad Shafi Lone at Naidkhai in Bandipora district of north Kashmir.

Activists of the Shiv Sena and the Dogra Front took out rallies in Jammu in protest against the killings.

They raised anti-Pakistan slogans and burnt a flag of Pakistan. The government must deal with terrorists, their supporters within Kashmir with an iron hand before dealing with Pakistan. Justice should be delivered, Shiv Sena leader Ashok Gupta said.

These terror attacks are aimed at derailing the plan of the government to resettle Kashmiri Pandits back in the Kashmir Valley, he said.

Activists of the Rashtriya Bajrang Dal and the KP Sabha also held protests.
Yves here. Admittedly I have a warped sample from here in Alabama, but our aides, who tell stories of the messes in their lives and those of family members (like how catastrophic a car breakdown or emergency root canal can be for finances) are giving me a far more graphic picture of the life of the just-above-poverty class is like. For instance, the mother of one aides boyfriend is dying slowly of gangrene. They keep cutting more pieces off her but the end point seems inevitable.

The point for this sort of intro is Wolf Richter keeps banging on about overstimulated consumers. This overstimulation has not helped the near poor down here, as far as I can tell. By contrast, I have no idea why it was deemed necessary for me to get a $1400 check. That money should have been used for a business mandate for all workers, including contractors, to take 2 days off for Covid shots and reactions, no questions asked. The businesses have to comply; theyd get reimbursed for missed days for hourly workers and salaried workers working <2 days a week remotely. The rule could also provide for big bounties for whistleblowers who reported violations and firings. Carrots like that would have helped a great deal in increasing Covid vaccinations, which like it or not, is a fixation of current policy.

But aside from the fact that our current leaders seem allergic to doing anything practical, another might be admitting that many people have serious enough reactions to make sick days an important policy measure.

By Wolf Richter. Originally published at Wolf Street

Back when offshoring production by Corporate America to cheap countries was hailed as good for the overall economy, rather than just good for Corporate America, any fears about potentially exploding trade deficits were papered over with visions of the new American Dream: America was great at producing and selling high-value services  the financialization of everything, movies, software, business services, IT services, etc. Exports of these high-value services would make up for the imports of cheap goods. And trade would balance out.

Today, we got another dose of just how spectacularly this strategy has failed. The overall trade deficit in goods and services hit a new all-time worst in August of $73 billion (seasonally adjusted), according to the Commerce Department today.

The trade balance in services deteriorated to a surplus of only $16.1 billion, the lowest since 2011, while imports of goods reached the worst ever $239 billion, and exports of goods edged up to a record of $150 billion, thanks to $33 billion in exports of crude oil, petroleum products, natural gas, natural gas liquids, products from the petrochemical industry, and coal.

Following the Financial Crisis, the overall trade deficit improved substantially, as imports plunged as consumers cut back on buying imported goods. That was the one major strength in the GDP formula for those months, as nearly everything else cratered. But it didnt last long.

During the Pandemic, the opposite happened: Consumer demand exploded, fueled by $4.5 trillion in monetary stimulus and $5 trillion in borrowed fiscal stimulus, for the most grotesquely overstimulated economy ever.

It fired up imports of goods and boosted foreign manufacturers and caused the worst supply-chain problems and transportation chaos ever, but did little for what would really move the needle: US exports.

Trade deficits are not a sign of a growing economy, and theyre not a sign of economic strength, but a sign of continued large-scale offshoring of production by Corporate America of consumer and industrial goods to cheap countries.

Imports are a negative in the GDP calculation; exports are a positive. And GDP in Q2 was hit hard by the record trade deficit and disappointed expectations.

Services: the American Dream-Not-Come-True

The trade surplus in services (exports of services minus imports of services) in August fell to $16.1 billion, the lowest since December 2011, and was down 33% from the average month in 2019. And it was dwarfed by the immense trade deficit in goods (exports of goods minus imports of goods) of $89.4 billion.

Exports of services, the product of American genius, ticked down to $64 billion in August, and imports of services rose to $47.9 billion. The difference between these exports and imports is the fizzling and small trade surplus in services:

Turns out that in this American Dream-Not-Come-True, it wasnt the American genius of exporting the financialization of everything, IT services, business services such as consulting and auditing, that would dominate, though theyre clearly very good. For example, Chinese property developer Evergrande, whose shares are traded, I mean were traded, in Hong Kong, was audited by an all-American institution of genius, PwC and got a clean bill of health. So these are truly high-value services exports.

But no, thats not what is dominating US services exports. So what is dominating  or rather was dominating?

Foreign travelers coming to the US for business, personal, educational, or healthcare reasons; their spending on lodging and other travel expenses in the US, and spending by foreign students on tuition, room, and board in the US are part of services exports.

In 2019, travel spending by foreigners in the US was the #1 category of exports and blew away the American genius categories of #2, business services, and the distant #3, financial services.

Then in 2020, foreign tourism in the US collapsed as borders closed. Over the first eight months in 2021, foreign travel spending in the US was still down by 70% from the same period in 2019. And in August, it was down 68%.

Business services, financial services, and fees from the use of intellectual property  the #2, #3, and #4 services exports in 2019  grew this year, but not enough to make up for the loss in the travel category.

The table shows the major categories of exports of services in August 2021 and year-to-date 2021, compared to 2019. This is the American genius that is supposed to balance out the massive trade deficit in goods (if the 7-column table gets clipped on the right, hold your smartphone in landscape position):

Exports of services Billion $ % Diff Billion $ Diff % Aug 2019 Aug 2021 YDY 2019 YTD 2021 Travel 16.2 5.3 -68% 132.8 40.2 -70% Other Business Services 15.7 17.3 10% 123.5 134.4 9% Financial Services 11.2 13.6 22% 90.6 107.1 18% Fees, Intellectual Property 9.5 10.8 13% 76.5 82.7 8% Transport 7.6 5.2 -31% 60.8 40.2 -34% IT services 4.7 4.7 1% 36.0 38.2 6% Maintenance, Repair 2.3 1.0 -59% 18.2 7.9 -57% Gov. Goods and Services 2.0 1.9 -9% 15.0 15.4 2% Personal, Cultural, Recr. Services 1.8 2.3 22% 14.9 16.3 9% Insurance 1.6 1.9 17% 12.2 14.5 19% Construction services 0.3 0.2 -16% 2.1 1.8 -15%

Services surplus v. goods deficit.

The declining and small surplus in services (green in the chart below) and the huge and worsening deficit in goods (red in the chart below) paint the picture of US trade: Out-of-control imports of goods by Corporate America lead to out-of-control trade deficits in goods despite the surge in exports of products based on petroleum and natural gas. The exports of American genius  services  have never come anywhere near even papering over the massive trade deficit in goods. And its not even going in the right direction:
The California public employees unions that have bizarrely made clear that they are firmly on the side of having CalPERS continue to be poorly run have gotten their way. Pro accountability, pro-transparency board member Margaret Brown, and Tiffany Emon-Moran, who was challenging incumbent and staunch staff David Miller, were both defeated in this years board election. The unions backing Miller and Browns opponent used the same playbook they deployed to defeat JJ Jelincic last year when he tried to return to the board: raw spending power and dirty tricks. Both times, the anti good governance forces deployed repeated hit piece mailings chock full of distortions and outright fabrications. It didnt hurt that the unions also had better mailing lists than the outsider board candidates. Knowledgeable parties are confident that CalPERS employees threw some lists over the fence to the unions, which would be violation of California election laws.

To paraphrase Clinton strategist Jim Carville: Drag $500,000 across California, you never know what you will find.

Chief Investment Officer ran an even-handed piece on the result, with the title, Vocal Critic Margaret Brown Is Knocked Off CalPERS Board, and more important, the subhead,

Things should be more peaceful once the watchdog leaves, this coming January, but whether CalPERS will be better or worse remains to be seen.

The article also makes clear that union backing drove the results:

Both Pacheco and Miller received the support of a powerful coalition of unions representing state and local employees including the statewide Service Employees International Union (SEIU) in California. Brown did receive some smaller union support, but too little to fight the SEIU group.

It also gives a fair-minded recap of her tenure at CalPERS, in particular her criticism of CalPERS intending to increase its commitments to private equity funds when they havent delivered the needed risk adjusted and even gross returns, and her crossing swords with Frost, particularly the board rubber-stamping never-ending pay raises for Frosts non-performance.

Brown was sorely hampered by her inability to force discussion of important governance and investment issues due to her rarely being able to get a second when she made a motion. She would often field calls from the press about pressing issues at CalPERS and gave good soundbites, which drove the staff and captured board members nuts.

CalPERS has continued to lurch from scandal to scandal under Frost,. The staff and board have reacted in a paranoid manner, blaming presumed internal and external saboteurs, as opposed to their own visible incompetence and chicanery. A prime example was the shape-shifting private equity new business model. It was initially a plan to hand the program over to BlackRock and pay an additional layer of fees, then morphed into setting up new vehicles entirely outside CalPERS, with no reporting to the board, which was almost certainly illegal. CalPERS abandoned the scheme because even modest press prodding exposed that CalPERS was unable to give a coherent explanation of how it would work and why it would be an improvement. No joke, only rationale seemed to be Because innovative when it wasnt that either.

Blaming Brown for the poor press was part of the knee-jerk refusal to take responsibility for CalPERS mistakes and (gasp!) try to learn from them. Admittedly, Brown did unabashedly plant a few stories, such as on how board members were pre-signing blank expense forms. She gave that to use after her efforts to get the practice stopped went nowhere.

But the most embarrassing stories about CalPERS, such as Chief Financial Officer Charles Asubonten and Marcie Frosts resume fabrications, the long-term-care insurance fiasco, its consistent peer-lagging returns, former Chief Investment Officer Ben Mengs sacrificing $1 billion by canceling tail hedges right before their big payday, and then caught out for violating California conflict of interest rules, which led to his abrupt resignation, all came out through public information.

CalPERS seems unable to believe that outsiders can actually do research; they seem to believe that the press lives solely on planted stories. You can see that long-form in the partially-redacted transcript of the special board meeting held shortly after Mengs exodus in EXPOSED: CalPERS Brainwashed Board in Denial that CIO Meng Caused His Own Downfall with Information He Himself Provided. Board members keep referring to leaks as if they drove our reporting. Earth to CalPERS board: you need to free yourselves from the staff reality-distortion machine. Everything we did came from your own documents. No Deep Throat, no insider wink and nod.

And that means, as much as the staff and board might be high-fiving each other that theyve expelled a barbarian from their ranks, their life is not going to get any better. Brown had at most a marginal impact on CalPERS press. The bad stories were generated by CalPERS bad acts. Its going to be interested to see how CalPERS behaves now that it has finally freed itself of dissident board members that served as convenient scapegoats. Expect increasingly convoluted efforts to avoid admitting that it has only itself to blame for being held in disrepute.

And those of you who followed CalPERS, please thank Brown for her valiant efforts. She took a lot of punching yet was not deterred.
Yves here. I had briefly considered whether Krysten Sinema or Joe Manchin might change parties last Thursday, when it was clear the Nancy Pelosi could not round up the votes to pass the infrastructure bill sent over from the Senate, and then deemed as Manchin as more likely to defect since he is a lone Democrat in a state dominated by Republicans. I have seen Sinemas silence as her trying to have Manchin be the high profile bad guy, and riding on his slipstream. Politico contends that Sinema is running a dated playbook, that Arizona is becoming more blue and her sort of centrism is a bad place to be.

But Barkley Rossers reading is plausible. And Sinema being repeatedly accosted over her wanting to cut back the big Biden bill even further lays the groundwork for Sinema depicting herself as run out of the party (recall Biden basically said she should toughen up when asked about her being hounded in a bathroom).

By Barkley Rosser, Professor of Economics at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Originally published at EconoSpeak

I have resisted posting something like this, but while I have yet to see anybody else suggest it, this possibility has been on my mind now for several days.

We have never seen to my knowledge a senator refuse to offer their views on possible resolution of a major disagreement involving money. The contrast to Sen. Sinema is her associate in the Senate in blocking various Dem initiatives (including undoing the filibuster, which would really open things up), Joe Manchin of WV. For how annoying he may be, at least we understand that he comes from one of the most pro-Trump states in the country, as well as the state being the heart of coal in the nation, so no surprise he resists limits on fossil fuels. So, no surprise he is resisting. But he art least actually provides numbers he wants and seems to be open to negotiation to come to a conclusion.

But Sinema is playing a game never seen before, ever. She says nothing. Apparently last week she had four private meetings at the White House with President Biden, yes, four. Apparently he tried really hard to get her to the Manchin stage, actually saying a number, much less details of what she would like to see removed from the current $3.5 trillion (over ten years) reconciliation bill. She may have hoped the House would pass the hard infrastructure bill, which she supports, so she and Manchin would have been in a position to either cherry pick details or outright block the soft reconciliation bill. I am unclear how much of her unprecedented behavior is a matter of ignorance and stupidity or something else.

So, here I am worrying about the something else. She was originally a Green, supporting Ralph Nader in 2000 when his campaign probably put Bush in instead of Gore. So, she has been drifting to the right, with this buzz about her personal life that got mocked on SNL last Saturday. So now we have this spectacle of her refusal to even meet with AZ voter groups has led to her being harassed as Fox News is now huffing and puffing about. Poor thing, people filming her in a restroom and confronting her in various public places. Poor thing.

Well, I am now getting suspicious of what she is up to here with all this, whether it comes before or after whatever resolution of all these big policy debates comes about, not to mention the matter of the debt ceiling issue, which would easily be handled if the filibuster would be shut down, which she could decisively support. But, hey, McConnell is looking at polls that suggest that if a failure to raise the debt ceiling leads to a major economic crash, a majority of voters will blame Biden and the Dems.

So we get reports that rather than meeting with AZ voters who supported her, much less saying a single word about a number or details on the reconciliation bill that might lead her to support it, she has been meeting repeatedly with various corporate funders giving her money and urging her to at least modify if not just outright oppose the reconciliaton bill. What does this mean?

I fear this is a prelude to a cataclysmic move: Sinema changing parties to the GOP. This would put the GOP in charge of the US Senate, with Mitch McConnell in charge there. This would be the end of basically anything Biden or other Dems would like to do at all in the Congress. Sinema already is more popular in the GOP than she is with Dems. With piles of corporate money, the GOP in the Senate would welcome her munificently and reward her greatly. But while this might make her a short-term star, AZ is changing, and Dems will make sure this is the last term she serves in the Senate if she follows through on this, and may well do so anyway through the primary process if she stays with the Dems while continuing to behave as she has been recently.
My position with Nashville Post has evolved since 2000 when I began work with the now-defunct The City Paper. TCP became a Post sister pub in 2008 (when I began some Post work) and folded in 2013. I have worked mainly with the Post since late 2011.

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There was some kind of grand cosmic alignment in the stars that made 2021 the year that Sparks  after 50 years as a band and 25 albums of deft, mordantly smart music that spanned genres and moods with an ease that most artists, in any medium, struggle with  into media sensations.

Two major films (the documentary The Sparks Brothers from Edgar Wright and the avant-musical Annette with Leos Carax) kept bringing fuel to the fire. All of a sudden the Mael brothers, Ron and Russell, werent just a cult band venerated by a select few hardcore fans. And the world has thankfully taken notice. I spoke with the Maels via Zoom about The Sparks Brothers (now on Blu-ray) and Annette (now streaming on Amazon Prime in the U.S.), because occasionally everything in the world isnt terrible.

2021 has been quite a whirlwind of a year for you  starting in January with the documentary premiering at Sundance, then Annette taking over Cannes in May, and now gearing up for a major international tour. It feels like there was an unspoken global decision to recognize Sparks, not just as musicians and writers, but as icons. How does one react to that?

Russell: What took them so long? And why now?

Ron: It was pretty amazing. So much of the time, we dont really obsess over that sort of thing, about how to get into the spotlight just a bit more. And when that happens without an effort being made on your part, its very refreshing. Weve tried so many times over the years to have a Sparks-related film, so to have two of them coming out at the same time was very surreal.

The Sparks Brothers just came out on Blu-ray, and one of the extras is an entire concert from the O2. Is there any chance that someday we might see the legendary 21 Albums in 21 Nights shows from 2008?

Russell: Im not sure about the quality of the filming. There was some, very restricted filming done of the shows, but it wasnt done in a multi-camera sort of way. It would look more like a bootleg, but maybe thats OK? Well see at some point in the future if thats a possibility. We like to put out things on our own that are of a certain quality, and were not sure that what was filmed would be up to that. Also, 21 shows would require a lot of sifting and editing  a mammoth task. But well see.

Ron: Weve never had a live performance shot in the way that Edgar did [for The Sparks Brothers]. There were 44 people as part of his crew for that one show. Were not really sticklers for slickness, but its nice to have a more professional approach to the show where it looks like a real film, and with as much care put into the sound, we really feel comfortable with that entire concert on the Blu-ray.

During the development and editing of the documentary, were there moments or interviews that you hated to lose? And have any of them been recovered for that hour-and-change of extra scenes?

Russell: Edgar had to make some decisions. The film as it stands now is two hours and twenty minutes, which for a documentary is very long, and he worked long and hard to convince the powers that be that thats how long it needed to be. But he had a 10-hour assembly at one time. Its just that you want the film to be somewhat accessible, length-wise. Thankfully, on the Blu-ray, Edgar has included several scenes that couldnt fit into the actual film.

We did a karaoke performance in Tokyo  the whole band was in this karaoke parlor, and Ron and I did This Town Aint Big Enough for the Both Of Us to the karaoke machine, and that scene is there. And theres a lot of extended interviews with people who are already in the documentary  they just speak a bit longer. Flea has a very eloquent little speech about Sparks, Steve Jones is there, and Neil Gaiman doing his recitation of Amateur Hour and Tits.

Since were talking about formats and variants and such, what exactly is the difference between the Cannes Edition of the Annette soundtrack thats out now versus the edition thats coming in November?

Russell: The Cannes Edition was something that the record label associated with the film wanted to have ready for the films premiere at Cannes and its release in France. Its 15 pieces of music, a sampler of sorts, and then, in November  were just finishing putting it together, and itll be the entire soundtrack. Theres 42 pieces of music from the film, and then some of our demos with my voice and with Rons voice, and then a few demos for scenes that ultimately werent used in the film. We like to think of them as interesting bonus pieces.

How far along did your unmade collaboration with Jacques Tati make it? Was there some aspect of it that was completed, that the public can dig into?

Ron: It was back in the mid-70s, and our meeting with Tati was organized by one of the guys at Island Records, our label at the time, thinking that our sensibilities were similar. The only musical aspect that came to fruition was a song that became Confusion, and it made it onto Big Beat. As disappointed as we were that that didnt happen, having made a film with Jacques Tati is the kind of event where you just quit after that. But it wasnt really a musical  it was more in line with the traditions of the Tati films.

We were living in London at the time, and he was in Paris and we would meet on weekends. He was developing a story about two American TV technicians whod come to France to help salvage a struggling provincial television studio. He would play the Monsieur Hulot character, and we would play the Americans. And it was a major disappointment that that couldnt happen; I idolized his work. And he was really very much like the character of M. Hulot when you were there with him  it was almost like over time they had meshed into one.

Well, if multiverse theory hasnt led us astray, somewhere and somewhen it got made, and perhaps technology will allow us to experience it someday.

Sparks plays the Ryman on March 22, 2022, and at Big Ears Festival in Knoxville on March 24. Well hear more from them when it gets a little closer to showtime.
(Natural News) The Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) plandemic has made it a breeze for educational institutions to install massive surveillance systems that can never be questioned because they are for peoples safety, and they are never going away because this is the new normal.

Part of academias return to normalcy involves tracking students every move, subjecting them to routine testing, and forcing them to get injected with booster shots for as long as they remain enrolled. This is the price that young people now have to pay in order to get an indoctrination (education).

As long as cases are still considered to be a valid metric by which policy is created and imposed, there will never be an end to all the Chinese Virus hysteria, nor will society or your local college campus ever return to being free.

Columbia University in New York City, for instance, has forbidden its students from hosting any guests or visiting residence halls other than their own. At any given time, students are not allowed to be around more than nine other people.

Administrations at the school claim that data they collected from contact tracing shows that viral transmission of Chinese Germs is being caused by students socializing unmasked at gatherings in residence halls and at off-campus apartments, bars, and restaurants.

Connecticut College has similar policies in place, not to mention mandatory vaccination for all students and faculty. In fact, most colleges and universities across the country no longer allow students on campus unless they can show proof of being jabbed.

Fetish? Academic tyrants get a perverse thrill out of micromanaging their students lives

Forced vaccination and mandatory social distancing are not enough, though. Many schools have imposed Permanent Emergency policies that will never be revoked, even if case counts were to drop to theoretical zero. There will always be some excuse to keep the tyranny in place.

The perverse incentives are easy to grasp, writes Michael Tracey on his Substack.

These administrators have so much invested in the infrastructure of case detection theyve constructed over the past year and a half  not to mention the wider ideological project of stopping the spread at all costs  that its impossible to imagine conditions under which theyd voluntarily move to dismantle the surveillance systems over which they preside.

Not a single one of these campus fascists actually cares about saving lives. All they care about is power and control, and holding on to some perverse feeling of undue authority over their subjects, aka students.

 the ability to micromanage the private lives of young adults, track and adjudicate the propriety of their movements, etc.  is probably creepily intoxicating on a level these administrators may not be overtly conscious of, and in any event would almost certainly never publicly admit, Tracey says.

In order for anything to change for the better, every last tyrant would have to be removed from a position of power. Then, everyones collective understanding of how covid works would need to change, requiring a massive paradigm shift that more than likely will never happen.

Benign instances of transmission  i.e. transmission that results in no severe disease, which is almost invariably the case with vaccinated young adults at astronomically low risk from COVID  would have to stop being portrayed as alarming outbreaks, necessitating a never-ending stream of frenzied Zoom strategy meetings and swift, all-hands-on-decks interventionist tactics, Tracey says.

The very word outbreak would also probably have to be ditched, given its alarmist connotations. I would suggest instead that outbreak be applied to these frantic upswells of bureaucratic overreaction. Perhaps the epidemiological origins of this diseased mentality could be contact traced.'

The latest news about Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) tyranny can be found at Fascism.news.

Sources for this article include:

MTracey.Substack.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) A prominent Black History Month website in the UK that was caught espousing the notion that white people are genetically defective mutants has deleted the offensive article.

Although the site is not run officially by the British government, it is considered one of the most prominent websites to promote the event in the country and features content by British politicians who have pledged to support the event and fight for racial justice.

However, the website has a long history of publishing content that is racist against white people. The latest drama surrounds an article on the site about the work of American psychiatrist Frances Cress Welsing. She theorized that white people were actually what she termed genetically defective mutants who had been driven out of Africa by black natives there.

According to Welsing, once whites were expelled from the African continent, they turned to white supremacy and racism to protect their mutation. Moreover, she said their lack of melanin, a skin pigment, was responsible for their deviation from morality.

She added that being black was an established basis for moral, or more specially, normal human behaviour.

After The Telegraph contacted the site for a comment for its investigation of the racist piece, they pulled the article in question. It can still be viewed on the Internet Archive, however, where the introduction boasts that Welsing is the woman who redefined the discussion around Racism.

However, the site continues to host other racially questionable articles, such as a 2020 piece by the Reach Society stating that Europeans have been encouraged to be morally monstrous to non-Europeans for so long, this behaviour has become second nature. Its scary to think that this is the viewpoint of a group through which black professionals mentor young black boys; they have also received the Queens Award for Voluntary Service.

Articles posted on the site often appear alongside recruitment ads funded by taxpayers for the British Armed Forces, police services and government agencies, along with ads for several universities in the UK.

Black History Month site is run by white ad exec

Surprisingly, the site is actually owned and run by a white advertising executive named Ian Thomas, who set it up as a private business. It is the top search result for the terms Black History Month in the UK and is linked to a magazine of the same name.

The month-long celebration is celebrating its 34th year in the UK. A former London councilor who was one of the people behind the launch of Black History Month back in the 80s, Linda Bellos, told The Telegraph that she found this ownership appalling and compared it to enslavement.

The whole purpose of Black History Month is to empower us  I dont want some white man, or even white woman, playing that role, she said. The taking of ideas, and, indeed, the taking of people, was done very successfully by the British. It is called enslavement. I am not talking about his motives, but I am talking about the outcome.

When contacted by The Telegraph, Thomas admitted that some of the racist content they highlighted was dreadful and took down articles promising to broadcast Welsings theories, but he left the article up saying that it was second nature for Europeans to be morally monstruous to non-Europeans. He said that the website and magazine have an editor who decides what gets posted but conceded that he proofreads them as the managing editor.

Its not really all that hard to believe that a white person could run a propaganda site like this. After all, anti-white racism seems to be growing more popular every day as critical race theory continues to reach its hateful hands across American schools, government bodies and businesses.

Sources for this article include:

NewsPunch.com

Web.Archive.org

RT.com

BlackHistoryMonth.org.uk
(Natural News) Back in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, the origins of the virus were hotly debated. The narrative being pushed at the time was that the virus started at a Wuhan wet market and jumped to humans, and anyone who dared to suggest it may have been due to a leak from a prominent coronavirus research lab that just so happened to be located in the same city was treated with disdain  even though there was never any evidence ruling the possibility out.

Now, however, we know a lot more about what did and did not happen back then, and it has recently come to light that Dr. Anthony Fauci played a role in downplaying the lab leak theory through a series of newly released correspondences between the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) head and Dr. Peter Daszak.

Daszak was a lead member of the group of scientists who penned a statement to the medical journal The Lancet in March 2020 saying they strongly condemn conspiracy theories suggesting that COVID-19 does not have a natural origin.

They did this without any evidence ruling the theory out, and their letter influenced much of the media coverage of the lab leak theory throughout the bulk of the pandemic so far.

Daszak funded research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology that involved modifying the spike proteins on SARS viruses in a way that made them more infectious, so its pretty clear why he wouldnt want anyone pointing fingers at the lab.

However, it now appears that officials within the U.S. government colluded with Daszak and other backers of the lab to keep the possibility that this is exactly what happened under wraps. Daszaks EcoHealth Alliance was given funding for its research by the Fauci-led NIAID, but Fauci has denied under oath having any knowledge of gain of function research being funded by his agency at the lab.

Fauci told Congress in May that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has not ever and does not now fund gain of function research in the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Documents obtained by The Intercept in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit showed unequivocally that grants from the NIH were indeed used for funding controversial gain of function research at the Wuhan lab, despite Faucis denials.

Moreover, in emails released by a different FOIA request, Daszak wrote to Fauci: 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. Your comments are brave, and coming from your trusted voice, will help dispel the myths being spun around the virus origin.

Interestingly, significant portions of the email were redacted.

Many have criticized Fauci for this exchange and his other rhetoric against the lab leak theory. At the very least, as a scientist, he should have known that there is and never was enough evidence to rule out that it originated in the lab. This has raised serious questions about the governments transparency when it comes to investigations into the nature of the pandemic.

Researcher calls for formal FBI investigation

Former State Department COVID-19 investigator Dr. David Asher recently spoke to Fox News about documents released by private research group DRASTIC contradicting claims made by Fauci and the Chinese Communist Party about the research being done at the Wuhan lab.

The documents revealed a plan to develop a coronavirus, SARS-CoV2, that is more infectious and transmissible among humans to be released in bat caves to infect bats, who could then be used to test vaccines.

The fact is that the Wuhan Institute  with EcoHealth Alliance as their US partner  were applying for funding to do gain of function research, explicitly to endow a bat-borne Coronavirus related to SARS with a furin cleavage site so it could essentially kill humans.

The Pentagons research and development arm ultimately declined to directly fund the research due to weapons of mass destruction concerns, but the documents nevertheless expose the type of research that was being done inside the Wuhan lab and how this contradicts with what Fauci has said about their work.

Asher has called for a formal investigation by the FBI into what he believes is a criminal cover-up, saying: The fact that the U.S. Government has any relationship still to the Wuhan Institute is criminal in my mind.

Sources for this article include:

NaturalHealth365.com

FoxNews.com

WashingtonExaminer.com
(Natural News) The legs of Ms. Jane Stroud.

(Article republished from TheCOVIDBlog.com)

A British woman originally from Nigeria is struggling to live a normal life with her new, horrifying reality that is unlikely to resolve itself anytime soon.

Ms. Jane (Sandra) Stroud received her second AstraZeneca viral vector DNA injection on or around July 19, according to her Facebook page. Her life became a living hell one week later. Ms. Stroud developed an itchy, watery, dripping rash as she described it. It swelled her legs and arms to the point that she could barely move them. It got so bad at the beginning of September that she went to her doctor at Stirchley Medical Practice in Telford.

Medical personnel diagnosed Ms. Stroud with bullous pemphigoid, a rare, and sometimes fatal, autoimmune skin disease. It causes your immune system to attack healthy skin tissue. Doctors also confirmed that, in Ms. Strouds case, the disease was triggered by the AstraZeneca injections.

A friend of Ms. Stroud shared the news on September 27 via Twitter. The friend referred to Ms. Stroud as Sandra in her private message screenshots.

Ms. Stroud reported negligible improvement on September 30.

But unfortunately this disorder lingers, sometimes for years, even when its not triggered by experimental viral vector DNA injections. Ms. Stroud appears to be accepting this reality and that her life wont be normal for the foreseeable future, if ever again.

More post-injection bullous pemphigoid

Apparently post-injection bullous pemphigoid is happening more than were hearing about. Spanish doctors published a case study in the journal Medicina Clinica this past May. A 78-year-old woman came to them at Hospital Universitario de Salamanca. She received the FDA-approved Pfizer Comirnary mRNA injection, which was specifically named by the researchers.

The woman developed bullous pemphigoid three days after her first injection. High-potency topical corticosteroids stabilized the condition. But the woman, for whatever reason, received the second Pfizer Comirnaty injection 21 days after her first visit to the dermatologists. She suffered significant reactivation after the second dose. The researchers concluded that there was a direct link between the bullous pemphigoid and the Pfizer Comirnaty injections.

The temporal relationship with the first administration, as well as reactivation after the second, supports the hypothesis of a possible relationship between the COMIRNATY vaccine administered and the appearance of AP in our patient, presenting a score of 8 in the Naranjo causality algorithm (causal reaction possible ).

You can read the full case study here.

Modern day leprosy?

The word leprosy or leprous appears in the Holy Bible at least 60 times. It is perhaps the scariest, most dreaded skin disease in human history. God used leprosy as a punishment for those who defied and denied his divinity. The story of Miriam and Aaron comes to mind immediately via Numbers 12. They spoke against Gods servant, Moses. God summoned Miriam and Aaron to let them know of his anger.

When the cloud lifted from above the tent, Miriams skin was leprous  it became as white as snow. Aaron turned toward her and saw that she had a defiling skin disease.

Theres ongoing debate as to why God only punished Miriam and not Aaron. But thats not a conversation for this article. What is a conversation for this article is all these post-injection skin diseases we keep covering on this blog.

This is not a Christian blog. But anyone who has read the Bible cannot deny the uncanny, eerie connections thereof. All these people becoming leprous after the mRNA and viral vector DNA injections that, some argue is the mark of the beast, is yet another surreal topic of conversation in these unprecedented times. The foregoing link concludes that the injections are not the mark of the beast because:

God loves his people, and hes not going to let his people receive the mark of the beast without their knowing what theyre doing. Whatever the mark of the beast may be in the futureif there is a future fulfillment of itits gonna be something that his people will be able to look at and say Based on established Catholic teachings, we need to avoid this, and that is not the case with this vaccine.

But this explanation doesnt hold water because everyone should know exactly what they are doing if they do just a little research beyond mainstream media and big tech. Genuine ignorance is one thing, and a real thing. Willful ignorance is a choice. There is simply no rational reason for anyone other than masochists to receive these injections. The psy-ops are powerful. The false prophets are doing their jobs. Do not succumb to evil.

Stay vigilant and protect your friends and loved ones.

Read more at: TheCOVIDBlog.com and Vaccines.news.
(Natural News) A majority of restaurant operators in the country believe business conditions today have significantly declined compared to three months ago. This is according to a survey released on Wednesday by the National Restaurant Association (NRA).

The NRA is the leading business association lobbying for the interests of restaurant owners, representing 400,000 restaurant locations across the country. The association is currently focusing its efforts on making sure the restaurant industry recovers after it was hit hard by the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The associations latest survey was taken between Sept. 7 and 15. It involved asking more than 4,000 restaurant operators questions regarding the state of their business.

According to the survey, 58 percent said business conditions for their restaurants are worse now than they were three months ago. Only nine percent said conditions for their business improved during this time.

Forty-four percent of the restaurant owners believe it will take more than a year before conditions in their businesses return to normal. Twenty-three percent believe it will take seven to 12 months for the situation to normalize. Nineteen percent believe their restaurants are never going to recover.

Nearly 80 percent of restaurant operators have seen a significant decline in customer demand, especially for indoor and on-premises dining. Even with the declining demand, 71 percent of the operators said they still do not have enough staff members to handle the number of customers they still receive despite efforts to bring back many of the jobs that were lost.

The increase in food prices has also made the situation for restaurant owners more difficult. Ninety-one percent of operators said food costs as a percentage of sales have risen compared to pre-pandemic food prices. Eighty-four percent have reported higher labor costs. Over 60 percent said they are also paying higher occupancy costs. (Related: Restaurants look to ROBOTS to fill openings amid labor shortage.)

All these added costs have put a dent into their profits, with 85 percent of operators reporting smaller margins compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Lastly, only five percent of operators said they have not experienced any supply delays and shortages for food or beverage items in the past three months.

Bidens proposed tax hike would worsen the situation for restaurant operators

The NRA released the results of this survey on the same day it sent a letter to leaders of Congress raising concerns regarding the $3.5 trillion reconciliation package, better known as the Build Back Better Act (BBBA). In this package, President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party are planning to raise the corporate tax rate.

Biden is also proposing changes to the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which would allow workers to sue their employers for between $50,000 to $100,000 for supposed labor violations.

The restaurant industry would be one of many small businesses that would see their tax liabilities increase as a result of the BBBA, reads the organizations letter to congressional leaders. Congress has done admirable work to provide a lifeboat for restaurants during the pandemic, and should not reverse these efforts with a multitude of higher taxes.

Sean Kennedy, executive vice president for public affairs for the NRA, said the recovery is officially moving in reverse.

He added that while the association supports many of the goals in the reconciliation package, the legislation is too large and too expensive a check for small businesses to take on and will in turn only prevent progress in turning the tide of recovery.

Instead of taxing restaurant operators even further and making what the NRA calls unprecedented changes to the NLRA that could bankrupt many businesses, the group is calling on Congress to replenish the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF).

The RRF was created during the height of the coronavirus pandemic to help keep the restaurant industry afloat.

Restaurants still need help today and overwhelming them with costly new obligations will only prevent progress in turning the tide of recovery, said Kennedy.

Learn more about the obstacles preventing many of Americas industries from fully recovering at MarketCrash.news.

Sources include:

CNBC.com

TheHill.com

FoxBusiness.com
(Natural News) A registered nurse posted to her Twitter account an image of a string of attached blood clots that were retrieved from a patients lungs and asked, Still think those jabs are harmless?

(Article by Tim Brown republished from SonsOfLibertyMedia.com)

Coolzero17 (aDonna58556659) posted to her Twitter account the image on October 3.

She wrote, Just pulled this from the lung of a fully vaccinated, Covid +, intubated patient. Still think those jabs are harmless?

Just pulled this from the lung of a fully vaccinated, Covid +, intubated patient. Still think those jabs are harmless? pic.twitter.com/VmQMYXVyam

 coolzero17 (@Donna58556659) October 3, 2021

There were several responses in the thread as to the cause of the clots.

Can you prove that the Covid vaccine had anything to do with the blood clot at all or are you just making assumptions?  Twink Namielle (Arch Tempered) (@Usurper_of_Fire) October 4, 2021

What we need to be doing is figuring out a way to fix any vax related illnesses. That should be our only focus. 5 out of our 6 Covid pts have all been fully vaxxed and all are on vents.  coolzero17 (@Donna58556659) October 4, 2021

Prove that these two are linked and then we can worry about fixing it.  Twink Namielle (Arch Tempered) (@Usurper_of_Fire) October 4, 2021

She had received the booster 4 days prior to being place on a ventilator Covid positive had not had any clotting issues before this. Look up VITT and ADE. Youll get the picture.  coolzero17 (@Donna58556659) October 4, 2021

Correlation doesn't mean causation. Didn't they teach you that in school?  Twink Namielle (Arch Tempered) (@Usurper_of_Fire) October 4, 2021

I wonder if Twink thinks like that when it comes to the CONvids being airborne. I digress. For some of us, its clear. A healthy person gets a shot and literally within days they get clots in their lungs just like thousands of other people have had in the past 10 months.

At least one person got it.

It's not up to him to prove it was the jab..its up to phfizer to prove it wasnt..that's how studies used to work  cheryl Mcniel (@smyl2day) October 4, 2021

The nurse was contacted by SonsOfLibertyMedia.com and informed us that she is a registered nurse.

She also went on to point out that the patient was on a ventilator and was not ventilating well. So the team began suctioning.

What you see in the image above is what came out of the patients lungs, a string of attached clots, the nurse informed us.

She also added that the patient was fully vaxxed and admitted with COVID+.

The RN is also battling hospital bureaucrats attempting to do our fascist governments bidding.

She is definitely one that is not interested in taking the experimental shots and is willing to take that stand against the tyranny, which we salute her for doing!

The nurse also informed us that she is spending her days off researching possible ways to counteract the side effects of the shots.

The Sons of Libertys health and wellness expert Kate Shemirani has given some supplements that people can take that should help those who have taken the shots.

However, Dr. Sherri Tenpenny warns that once this is in the body, there is no known way to detox from it completely, at least not at this time.

Last week on The Sons of Liberty radio show, I interviewed a lab assistant at a North Carolina major medical facility and she was unlawfully forced into the experimental shot, even though she had a religious and medical exemption due to the fact she has cystic fibrosis. She suffered an anaphylaxious reaction within five minutes of getting the shot.

This is serious business people and if you are listening to lying politicians, the Mockingbird media and incompetent health professionals about this shot, then do yourself a favor and simply wait.

If you are threatened with termination for not taking this experimental shot, understand that your employer is in violation of the Nuremberg Code, federal and state laws and you can sue them. Heres some help in that area.

Read more at: SonsOfLibertyMedia.com and VaccineInjuryNews.com.
(Natural News) A group of international transport organizations issued a chilling warning of the potential collapse of supply chains in the coming months, and theyre asking world leaders to do something to avert what could be a catastrophe.

(Article by Kipp Jones republished from WesternJournal.com)

Global experts in trade logistics, who know more about getting things from point A to point B than President Joe Biden does about ice cream, are asking authorities to simply let them do their jobs unrestrained after almost two years of coronavirus red tape.

In an open letter released this week, they spelled out the stakes of continued delays caused by pandemic protocols. They asked the UN, the World Health Organization and anyone else listening to intervene to prevent a global transport systems collapse.

Since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the maritime, road and aviation industries have called loudly and clearly on governments to ensure the free movement of transport workers and to end travel bans and other restrictions that have had an enormously detrimental impact on their wellbeing and safety, the letter said.

Transport workers keep the world running and are vital for the free movement of products, including vaccines and PPE, but have been continually failed by governments and taken for granted by their officials, the experts added, noting that they are responsible for a combined $20 trillion in annual world trade.

We ask heads of government to urgently take the leadership that is required to bring an end to the fragmented travel rules and restrictions that have severely impacted the global supply chain and put at risk the health and wellbeing of our international transport workforce.

According to the leaders of the shipping industry, nobody is listening, and a global disaster could be the result.

We are witnessing unprecedented disruptions and global delays and shortages on essential goods including electronics, food, fuel and medical supplies. Consumer demand is rising and the delays look set to worsen ahead of Christmas and continue into 2022.

The letter also referred to ships stuck out at sea waiting to be unloaded. Weve seen some of this in the U.S., as dozens of container ships remain anchored near the Port of Long Beach in the Los Angeles area:

More than 70 container ships are stacked up outside of Californias Long Beach port waiting to unload. Talk about a supply chain problem! Take a look.pic.twitter.com/VMfmYEAU4B  Steve Hanke (@steve_hanke) September 28, 2021

Port of Long Beach executive director: "The situation is in a crisis mode I would advise the consumers to start your Christmas shopping early." The Port of Long Beach is moving to extend operations to 24/7 to help alleviate a backlog of ships.@MariaBartiromo @FoxBusiness pic.twitter.com/frLMldPVPT  Mornings with Maria (@MorningsMaria) September 27, 2021

Cargo ships are gathered outside of Los Angeles and Long Beach ports, due to shortages of truck drivers and full warehouses. The backlog could spark shipping delays and shortages around the holidays in toys, gifts, and more. pic.twitter.com/iRSeUUEF5P  ABC 10News San Diego (@10News) September 23, 2021

Dozens of ships are forced to anchor off coast of New York as they wait to dock in the country's second-largest port https://t.co/mFDx69ndz4  Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) September 26, 2021

"Around 24 cargo ships and oil tankers are stuck waiting to dock off the coast of Long Island, New York, due to a surge in demand for consumer goods and short-staffed ports."https://t.co/spm2YSwPRT  Charles Kenny (@charlesjkenny) September 27, 2021

According to international shipping workers, these backlogs should be taken as a sign that something needs to change  and quickly.

The experts warned that things could soon get worse, as many workers are expected to simply quit.

It is of great concern that we are also seeing shortages of workers and expect more to leave our industries as a result of the poor treatment they have faced during the pandemic, putting the supply chain under greater threat, their letter warned.

The workers concluded by calling on world leaders to take meaningful and swift action to resolve this crisis now.

While ships stack up in California and New York, Biden and Democrats have spent this week squabbling over their agenda, which includes spending trillions of dollars on infrastructure  meaning roads and bridges, presumably.

If the trade situation is as dire as the experts are saying it is, there might not be anyone to navigate those roads and bridges with the goods we rely on if something isnt done fast.

Surely, those in command know what is happening. The only question: Why is nothing being done about it?

Read more at: WesternJournal.com and Collapse.news.
(Natural News) The latest data out of Vermont shows that a whopping 76 percent of all new Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) deaths are occurring in the fully vaccinated.

So-called breakthrough cases, which we were told are rare, actually account for the vast majority of Chinese Virus deaths in the highly progressive state, which is one of the most vaccinated in the nation.

Of the 33 Vermonters who died after testing positive for the Fauci Flu in the month of September, only eight of them were unvaccinated. The other 25 all took the jabs in obedience to the government, which told them they would be safe if they did.

According to Health Department spokesman Ben Truman, all of these fully vaccinated fatalities occurred because the jab recipients took their injections early, meaning any immunity they may have received is long gone.

These mostly elderly cases have had more time to potentially become a vaccine breakthrough case, Truman announced.

The Chinese Virus vaccination rate in Vermont is currently 88 percent among people aged 12 and older. This means that the state should be fully protected against the disease with no more deaths.

Instead, new breakthrough cases of Chinese Germs are spreading like wildfire, completely debunking the myth that getting injected provides protection against infection.

So much for a pandemic of the unvaccinated

According to Truman, all of these breakthrough deaths serve as proof that vaccines are working to protect Vermonters against the worst outcomes. We are unsure what could be worse than death, however.

Meanwhile, Health Department Commissioner Mark Levine continues to claim that there is a pandemic of the unvaccinated occurring that requires more people to take the injections if there is ever to be an end to death with covid.

Age is an important predictor of disease severity, and we have been seeing that the Delta variant is taking a tragic and disproportionate toll on our older population, blabbed Truman, adding his own take to the situation.

In addition to being more likely to have severe illness and consequences like hospitalizations and deaths, older Vermonters were among the very first to be vaccinated, and therefore, have had more time to potentially become a vaccine breakthrough case, with these more severe outcomes.

This explanation makes no sense, of course, but nothing really does in Covidland. People are expected to just roll up their sleeves and not ask any questions  and the vast majority of Vermonters have proven themselves to be obedient little slaves that require little-to-no prodding.

Every excuse in the book is now being rolled out to try to explain away the massive surge in hospitalizations and deaths among the fully vaccinated. One wonders if any fully vaccinated people are finally waking up and regretting their decision to become a human guinea pig experiment for the Branch Covidian psychopaths that continue to terrorize the world with their chemical poisons.

The experts keep spouting mortality statistics based on the 500K+ people who died before vaccines were available, wrote one commenter at Citizen Free Press.

Yet they still parrot the line like robots: Need to get vaccinated, the unvaccinated are a threat,' wrote another about the blind allegiance that many fully vaccinated people and their preferred politicians are giving to the narrative.

If you die within 14 days of being jabbed, you are designated as unvaccinated, so how do they even know that the eight unvaccinated were really unvaccinated? asked another.

Many others pointed out the total lunacy of continuing to push these jabs when it is abundantly clear that they do not work, at least not to keep anyone healthy and safe.

The latest news about the failure of Wuhan Flu shots to provide any real protection against infection can be found at ChemicalViolence.com.

Sources for this article include:

VermontDailyChronicle.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) Hundreds of healthcare workers in Virginia have either been suspended or have outright lost their jobs over their refusal to comply with the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine mandates.

This development comes after Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam issued a directive forcing state employees to take the experimental and deadly COVID-19 vaccines under threat of unemployment. Northams vaccine mandate applies to more than 120,000 state employees and is just one of similar mandates passed by other Democratic governors.

The state-enforced vaccine requirement has made most of Virginias largest health systems believe that they have the legal backing to pass their own vaccine mandates.

The University of Virginia Health System (UVA Health), which employs more than 7,000 workers, has ordered everybody to be fully vaccinated by Nov. 1.

Anyone who is unvaccinated on Nov. 1 will face disciplinary action, including the possibility of termination, read UVA Healths statement. (Related: 175 Employees fired from multi-state healthcare system for not getting vaccinated.)

While UVA Healths employees still have time to look for work in a health system without a vaccine mandate, many other healthcare workers are not so lucky.

The Inova Health System in the Washington metropolitan area has recently fired or suspended 89 healthcare workers for noncompliance with the systems vaccine requirement. Inova Health System has around 19,000 employees. It is unclear whether more employees will be fired.

Inova Health System President and CEO J. Stephen Jones says that his companys mandate is based on very strong, extremely clear guidance on the safety and efficacy of the vaccine.

He also claims that the policy has helped his company with recruitment. Jones has not provided any employment records proving that his companys labor shortage due to the vaccine mandate has been dealt with.

Valley Health, which operates hospitals in Virginia and West Virginia, fired 72 employees on Sept. 21 over noncompliance with the vaccine mandate. The health systems deadline for being fully vaccinated was on Sept. 7. The health system has about 6,000 employees.

Many healthcare systems in Virginia, especially within the states more rural regions, have not implemented COVID-19 vaccine mandates for fear of worsening labor shortages.

In a rural hospital, it doesnt take a whole lot of people to walk away for it to have a serious effect on your hospital, said Ballad Health CEO Alan Levine. Ballad Health has over 15,000 employees and operates hospitals and other health centers in Virginia and three other states.

Levine believes he would lose five to 10 percent of his healthcare workforce if he suddenly announced a vaccine mandate. Such a massive loss in healthcare workers would negatively affect the quality of care the health system provides to its patients. Its a lot easier to recruit nurses to Northern Virginia than it is to Southwest Virginia, he says.

Vaccine mandates worsen labor shortage nationwide

The entire country is experiencing a staffing shortage crisis in hospitals and other healthcare settings due to the COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

In the TaraVista Behavioral Health Center in central Massachusetts, nearly one in four beds remain empty because the hospital does not have enough staff to keep an eye on patients.

Demand for in-hospital psychiatric and detox aid has skyrocketed due to the emotional stress of the pandemic lockdowns. Parents call me crying: Please take my child,' said admissions director Sheila Crowley. It hurts to turn them down.

Hospitals all over the country are taking similar drastic measures to make sure members of their staff are not overstretched and the quality of care they provide to their patients does not significantly diminish.

In Virginia, around five psychiatric hospitals have stopped accepting new patients. One hospital in Rhode Island has shut down part of its emergency department. A major health system in Michigan is keeping around five percent of its beds vacant due to staff shortage.

TaraVista is trying to incentivize its current workers to stay. CEO Michael Krupa is investing an extra $1 million a year in pay, improved benefits, bonuses and other sweeteners for some 300 staffers. The health center has also doubled overtime pay from three percent of pay to six percent.

Krupa says this is an unprecedented increase in raises and retention bonuses. However, Krupas hospital system still has a vaccine mandate, which goes into effect on Nov.1.

I am hopeful we will not lose many staff, says Krupa. But I know we will lose some.

Learn more about how vaccine mandates exacerbate the labor shortage by reading the latest articles at Pandemic.news.

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com

BeckersHospitalReview.com

Bloomberg.com
(Natural News) A certain type of heart attack is on the rise around the world. Healthcare professionals in Scotland have seen a sharp uptick in a potentially fatal type of heart attack called an N-STEMI attack. This condition is the result of partially blocked arteries that cut off the blood supply to the heart. It presents less tissue damage than a regular STEMI attack but can be equally fatal. Stents are put into the persons arteries to save their life. While cases of STEMI attacks have remained stable for years, at about 750 cases per year, cases of N-STEMI have spiked recently. Doctors from Golden Jubilee National Hospital in Clydebank recorded a consistent 25 percent rise in N-STEMI heart attacks over the summer. This hospital typically receives 240 N-STEMI patients a month, but during the months of May, June and July, the number of N-STEMI heart attack patients climbed to over 300 people per month.

Locking populations down and stripping their livelihoods causes severe side effects

Cardiac patients have been pouring into the Golden Jubilee National Hospital from all over the National Health Services grid, from NHS Greater Glasgow, to Clyde, Dumfries and Galloway, to Ayrshire and Arran, Forth Valley and the Highlands. Over the summer, the hospital had to increase its number of cardiology beds by 44 percent, as front line healthcare workers dealt with an increased demand of heart attack patients.

Doctors are trying to determine why there is such a sharp uptick for N-STEMI attacks. During the lockdowns, people had less access to health checks and were more likely to stay away from hospitals if they didnt have respiratory symptoms. Mitchell Lindsay, a lead consultant cardiologist at Golden Jubilee National, said they cant find any evidence that the rise in N-STEMI attacks is a consequence of any delayed care or missed opportunity.

There was not a similar rise in heart attacks during the first two waves of lock down. The doctors believe that people became more sedentary during the past two years of lock down and were unable to cope with all the new stressors imposed by the lockdowns. They also believe many patients ignored heart attack symptoms during the lockdowns because they did not want to show up at a hospital and risk being infected and separated from their family. There are probably five to ten causes, all linked, said Lindsay.

The inflammatory, blood clotting covid vaccines are contributing to the influx of cardiac emergencies

The doctors did not mention the role of covid-19 vaccines in this medical fallout. These vaccines are causing verifiable blood clots and imposing inflammatory conditions on the cardiovascular system of inoculated patients. According to research, the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein disrupts human cardiac pericytes function and contributes to micro-vascular disease through CD147-receptor-mediated signaling. (Related: Cardiologist warns about covid vaccine fraud and hyper-inflammatory immune responses caused by the shots.)

There has been a surge in seriously ill patients in the summer of 2021, as cardiovascular health plummets across the country, and the globe. This pandemic of heart attack patients has caused a shortage of hospital beds and led to long delays at emergency rooms. Due to all these new, vaccine-induced public health problems, ambulances have reportedly been stuck in Que at the hospitals front doors. Locking populations down for blood-clotting, spike protein injections comes with serious (intended) consequences.

Due to the psychological stress, physiological stress, and inflammation being imposed on peoples lives, the hospital has had to perform a record number of angioplasty procedures in 2021. Patients are coming in with partially-blocked arteries that require stents. The stents are needed to prop open blood vessels to maintain blood flow to the heart. In the past, many of these patients could recover at a hospital closer to home; however, many patients are now kept at Jubilee because smaller hospitals are already full of cardiac patients who are still trying to recover.

For more on this critical issue, visit VaccineDamage.News.

Sources include:

Archive.fo

NaturalNews.com

BioRXIV.org

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) The Health Ranger Mike Adams and Ann Vandersteel discuss the Maricopa County election audit during the Health Ranger Report with Mike Adams program on Brighteon.TV.

Vandersteel, host of Steel Truth on Brighteon.TV, has interviewed a number of personalities who testified during the Arizona State Senates Sept. 24 hearing. She links the countrys current situation to the 2020 presidential election.

The country is now a COVID police state, and you cant get out of the police state unless we get election integrity. Those two are inextricably linked. You cant have one without the other, and they have to have election with no integrity in order to perpetuate the myth of [the coronavirus]  and then of course, force these vaccines.

Vandersteel says the Maricopa County audit serves as the first domino of election fraud to fall. We need Arizona to be fully understood not only by the people here in Maricopa County but worldwide  the world is watching.

She adds that Americans will get the intestinal fortitude to stand up for freedom once the Arizona Senate and Attorney General Mark Brnovich either decertify the fraudulent election results or declare an election rerun.

However, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey seems cold on that idea. The Republican governor tweeted on Sept. 24: There will be no decertification of the 2020 election. [The] audit does not call for one  and even if it had, there is no lawful way to decertify. Adams describes Duceys statement as a huge letdown.

Mainstream media did a big disservice by insisting on Bidens victory

Vandersteel says that the mainstream media did a big disservice by insisting on Bidens victory. What they really all did was count $100 in $20 increments, but it turns out those $20 bills were counterfeit. So you dont really have $100 if I give you five fake $20 bills, she says.

She mentions the testimony of Dr. Shiva Ayyadurai, who proved during the Sept. 24 hearing that Maricopa County election officials counted duplicate ballots. Vandersteel also mentions the more than 255,000 ghost voters  with some peoples addresses pointing to a vacant lot.

Were talking hundreds of thousands of votes that never even existed, Vandersteel says. (Related: Arizona Secretary of State candidate Mark Finchem calls for arrests, decertification after forensic audit results.)

The Steel Truth host also points out the use of Sharpies on paper ballots. The Sharpiegate involves marker ink bleeding through and populating a vote on the other side of the paper. When a ballot marked with a Sharpie is scanned, the computer misreads the ballot and classifies it for adjudication. According to Vandersteel, adjudicated ballots are not counted and are simply suspended.

It wasnt about canceling the vote, it was about suspending it. [When] they recognized how far Biden was behind, they had a pile of votes in addition to the ghost voters to now back-fill [it] in. Thats what they did in Arizona, Vandersteel says.

Entrepreneur Jovan Hutton Pulitzer touched on the matter during his Sept. 28 appearance on Steel Truth. According to Pulitzer, Sharpies have been prohibited from being used on ballots due to their ink bleeding through paper.

Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs announced long before the election that the state would print its ballots on a special paper optimized for Sharpies and with columns modified to prevent the ink bleeding through. But these changes did not push through when Nov. 3, 2020 came.

The ballots had not been printed on the special paper and had their column modifications removed. Sharpies were also passed to voters on Election Day itself, which led to the fiasco in Maricopa County. (Related: Steel Truth: Ann Vandersteel talks about what really went down in Maricopa County  Brighteon.TV.)

Vandersteel also cites Hobbss refusal to provide election server access credentials to election auditors.

Hobbs is doing a real disservice by withholding the server usernames and passwords [needed] to actually complete the electronic portion of the audit, she says.

At the best case, we can say that we dont know who won because they dont even have the valid data to substantiate who won. Worst case is, we can actually prove that Joe Biden lost and by how many votes he lost, decertify election results and declare [former President Donald] Trump the winner. At the very least, they should decertify the results.

Watch the Oct. 1 episode of the Health Ranger Report with Mike Adams here:

You can catch new episodes of the Health Ranger Report with Mike Adams from Monday to Friday at 3-3:30 p.m. on Brighteon.TV. Meanwhile, Steel Truth with Ann Vandersteel airs from Monday to Friday at 8-10 p.m. also on Brighteon.TV.

VoteFraud.news has more stories about the election fraud in Maricopa County and the subsequent election audit.

Sources include:

Brighteon.com 1

Twitter.com

Brighteon.com 2
(Natural News) Decrepit California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat who has been in politics since 1969, has introduced a bill that would make it a requirement to be fully vaccinated for the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) in order to fly domestically.

The 88-year-old political dinosaur says that she believes Americans need to either get jabbed or show a negative Chinese Virus test result in order to board an airplane, especially with Thanksgiving, Hannukah and Christmas soon on the way.

We know that air travel during the 2020 holiday season contributed to last winters devastating Covid-19 surge, Feinstein declared without evidence in a canned statement on Twitter. We simply cannot allow that to happen again.

If Feinstein gets her way, the American airline industry will take a massive hit since Americans have made it overwhelmingly clear that they do not want to have to get medically raped in order to travel.

It only makes sense that we also ensure the millions of airline passengers that crisscross our country arent contributing to further transmission, especially as young children remain ineligible to be vaccinated, Feinstein went on to state, pretending to care about children.

While highly unpopular among constituents, Feinsteins proposed bill has received the full support of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the American Public Health Association, the senator bragged publicly.

Vaccination is a critical strategy to end the COVID-19 pandemic, and vaccination requirements in multiple settings are an important mechanism to boost vaccination rates, prevent infections and hospitalizations and save lives, announced Dr. Barbara D. Alexander, president of IDSA.

The Infectious Diseases Society of America supports Senator Feinsteins legislation to require vaccination for domestic air travel as part of our nations broader COVID-19 vaccination strategy.

United Airlines, the worst Fauci Flu shot offender, fires nearly 600 employees for refusing lethal injections

None of the major airlines appear to be on board with Feinsteins agenda, it is important to note  the only exception, as of now, being United.

According to reports, United, which has gone full-fledged Branch Covidian, is in the process of firing some 600 employees who have refused to take one of the Trump Vaccines offered under Operation Warp Speed.

United is the worlds third-largest carrier, which makes the move significant. However, none of its competitors, as far we can tell, are taking similar measures. They have instead chosen to respect medical choice.

United, as you may recall, announced back in the spring that it will now be hiring new pilots based on skin color and genitalia rather than on their ability to fly an airplane.

In order to be more diverse, United has decided that at least 50 percent of the 5,000 new pilots it plans to bring on board over the next decade must either have female private parts or be a person of color.

The company really wants to go out of business, in other words, or at least risk having more accidents due to all these new unqualified pilots. Apparently they think virtual signaling is a viable form of public relations.

An 88-year-old senator should not be making decisions for anyone, wrote one commenter at Breitbart News about Feinsteins proposal. We shouldnt even have an 88-year-old senator.

We sure as hell shouldnt have a senile 78-year-old president, either, responded another, referring to Joe Biden.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' wrote another, referencing the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. And make no mistake: All of the BS generated by covid and the jab is a religion.

The latest news about Chinese Virus vaccine fascism can be found at ChemicalViolence.com.

Sources for this article include:

Breitbart.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) Frances Haugen, the Facebook whistleblower who came forward with complaints that the Big Tech giant allowed the Jan. 6 riot to occur, has been exposed as a radical Democrat operative.

(Article by Sean Adl-Tabatabai republished from NewsPunch.com)

The National Pulse investigated Haugens Democrat activist past and published the results of their findings on Monday. According to investigators, Haugen had donated a whopping 36 times to Democratic candidates and causes:

The National Pulse has thus far identified 36 donations from Haugen during her time as an employee of Facebook, Pinterest, and Gigster. All of the donations, which total nearly $2,000 since December 2016, have gone to Democrats including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. On January 13th, 2020, Haugen sent money to Ocasio-Cortezs congressional campaign and a further contribution to her Courage to Change Political Action Committee (PAC).

Beckernews.com reports: Most curious of all is her backing of an activist group called It Starts Today that seeks to purge the Republican Party of actual conservatives:

But, in the words of the Haugen-backed It Starts Today campaign, the modern partisan primaryparticularly within the GOPhas turned out to have an unintended consequence: extremism in our elected officials and dysfunction in our legislatures. There is, of course, far more extremism on the political left in the U.S. Congress than on the political right. But as of June 2021, the group founded by ActBlues Jonathan Zucker decided that the way to beat Republicans was not to win the battle of ideas, but rather to stop real conservatives winning primaries. Haugen donated twice to It Starts Today, and curiously claims that it holds donations for Democratic primary nominees until the end of the selection process.

One of the most suspicious tells from Haugens 60 Minutes story that aired Sunday night  less than 24 hours before a massive outage took down Facebook servers for hours  is a too-good-to-be-true story about a supposedly once-liberal friend who fell down the right-wing rabbit hole of white supremacist conspiracy theories:

https://twitter.com/Rothbard1776/status/1445035451040022528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1445035451040022528%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fnewspunch.com%2Ffacebook-whistleblower-exposed-as-democrat-operative-who-wants-to-destroy-independent-media%2F

The story was retold in Haugens Wall Street Journal account:

It was a really important friendship, and then I lost him, she said. The friend, who had once held liberal political views, was spending increasing amounts of time reading online forums about how dark forces were manipulating politics. In an interview, the man recalled Ms. Haugen as having unsuccessfully tried to intervene as he gravitated toward a mix of the occult and white nationalism. He severed their friendship and left San Francisco before later abandoning such beliefs, he said. Ms. Haugens health improved, and she went back to work. But the loss of her friendship changed the way she thought about social media, she said. Its one thing to study misinformation, its another to lose someone to it, she said. A lot of people who work on these products only see the positive side of things.

Naturally, Haugen was a member of Facebooks team for censoring inconvenient election information, WSJ notes:

Frances Haugen, a former product manager hired to help protect against election interference on Facebook, said she had grown frustrated by what she saw as the companys lack of openness about its platforms potential for harm and unwillingness to address its flaws. She is scheduled to testify before Congress on Tuesday. She has also sought federal whistleblower protection with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In a series of interviews, Ms. Haugen, who left the company in May after nearly two years, said that she had come into the job with high hopes of helping Facebook fix its weaknesses. She soon grew skeptical that her team could make an impact, she said. Her team had few resources, she said, and she felt the company put growth and user engagement ahead of what it knew through its own research about its platforms ill effects. [] She started in June 2019, part of the roughly 200-person Civic Integrity team, which focused on issues around elections world-wide. While it was a small piece of Facebooks overall policing efforts, the team became a central player in investigating how the platform could spread political falsehoods, stoke violence and be abused by malicious governments.

Despite Haugens radical background, her whistleblower report has been echoed wholeheartedly by Americas corporate media. Such uncritical parroting of a radical activist should give the American left pause  but of course, it wont.

Haugen will be testifying before Congress on Tuesday, October 5, 2021, Heavy notes. She will be speaking before the Senate Commerce subcommittee on consumer protection, which has been looking into Facebook and grilled its executives during a hearing on September 30.

The American people should not be surprised by the recommendation that will come out of the Senate committee on Tuesday: More big tech censorship, especially when it comes to disputes about the legitimacy of elections.

Read more at: NewsPunch.com and Conspiracy.news.
(Natural News) Career criminal Tony Fauci is blabbing his annoying mouth again, this time in promotion of communism.

According to the government troll, who has been on the taxpayer dole for the past nearly 40 years, all Americans must give up their constitutional rights by getting vaccinated for the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) and wearing a mask  because doing this, he says, is necessary for the greater good.

But you are a member of society, Fauci whined during a mainstream media appearance. And as a member of society, reaping all the benefits of being a member of society, you have a responsibility to society.

Fauci went on to say that he personally feels as though the Constitution should be scrapped because of a pandemic thats killing millions of people. This, he says, is reason enough to suspend all individual rights and force everyone into slavery under his rule.

You have got to look at it and say, there comes a time when you do have to give up what you consider your individual right of making your own decision for the great good of society, Fauci added.

Fauci is a threat to freedom

Much like Chairman Mao, Fauci believes that he should be able to decide who gets to do what and when, based on their mask and vaccination status. Only those Americans who obey his commands should be allowed to live.

Even after openly admitting that Chinese Virus injections are causing more disease to spread, Fauci still feels like everyone should be forced to get them in order to stay safe against possible infection with Chinese Germs.

Back in August, Fauci appeared, as he often does, on some mainstream media program in which he threatened that things are going to get worse if Americans do not fully comply with his demands.

The pain and suffering will intensify, Fauci promised, if unvaccinated people continue to rely on their God-given natural immunity as opposed to the fake immunity being dispensed by him and his ilk.

If you look at the acceleration of the number of cases, the seven-day average has gone up substantially, Fauci stated, rattling off made-up numbers he came up with on the fly.

You know, what we really need to do, John, and we say it over and over again, its the truth, we have a hundred million people in this country who are eligible to be vaccinated who are not getting vaccinated.

No, Fauci, what we really need to do is get rid of you and stop your reign of terror over the American people. You have no right to tell other people what to do with their own bodies, no matter how much you feel as though you do have that right.

What Fauci is effectively telling Americans is that their rights must decrease while his rights must increase. Fauci thinks he has the right to force you to wear a mask and get injected against your will, meaning he is unwilling to sacrifice his own self-perceived right to tell other people what to do.

The guy is a nutcase, but a dangerous one with clear psychopathic tendencies. Fauci is a threat to a free and open society, and nobody need pay him any mind  though many Branch Covidians have decided to make him their patron saint.

In the religion of Covidism, Fauci is a type of priest or pope that tells his followers what to do. The problem is that this religion has become mandatory, meaning if you refuse to convert, its members are threatening to punish you with violence and the total deprivation of your rights.

The latest news about psychopath Fauci and his murderous ilk can be found at Fascism.news.

Sources for this article include:

NationalFile.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) There is no question that Germany is a European economic powerhouse and that Germans generally are innovators, but because they are increasingly being governed by leftists who are members in good standing in the Church of Climate Change, the country has staked its power future on all the wrong things.

For one, Germany  against the advice of former President Donald Trump  signed a deal with Russia, the country the NATO ally is supposed to be defending the European continent against, to have Moscow supply nearly all of its natural gas. The Nord Stream 2 pipeline is being built as we speak, and once its online, Moscow will literally control nearly all Germans thermostats during the countrys icy winter months.

Meanwhile, Germans are getting less and less energy from reliable fossil fuel-burning plants and more of it from wind and solar power, both of which are far more expensive and entirely reliant on the weather  all because their leaders believe cattle methane and SUVs are destroying the planet.

And now as winter approaches, the price of energy is skyrocketing, in part because what remains of fossil-fuel-generating power plants are running out of fossil fuels to burn for power generation, according to Bloomberg News:

The global energy crunch forced a German electricity producer to halt a power plant after it ran out of coal.

Steag GmbH closed its Bergkamen-A plant in the western part of the country this week due to shortages of hard coal, it said by email. The closure is the first sign that Europe may need to count on mild and windy weather to keep the lights on as the continent faces shortages of natural gas and coal is unlikely to come to rescue.

Energy prices are soaring from the U.S. to Europe and Asia as economies rebound from a pandemic-induced lull and people return to the office. The shortage is so acute that China ordered its state-owned companies to secure supplies at all costs and Europe is burning more of its already depleted stocks of the dirtiest of fossil fuel, a move that may complicate climate talks next month.

We are short of hard coal, said Daniel Muhlenfeld, a spokesman for Steag. There is a strong demand for coal per se and secondly, there is a strong demand for transport by barge. And since Bergkamen has no rail connection, there are no logistical alternatives available here.

We are dealing with a double bottleneck. Muhlenfeld said. This is not a specific problem for Steag but a common problem for nearly all owners of hard coal-based power plants these days.

The plant was halted four times in September for as long as six days due to shortages; other plants are experiencing similar shortages as well. And when there are shortages for a product in high demand, the result is much higher prices. In fact, prices for German energy have not been this high since the collapse days following the end of the countrys World War I loss.

Whats more, Germany isnt the only European country suffering shortages  as winter approaches. And of course, all of this is playing into the hands of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has turned his countrys oil-and-gas sector loose to produce as Trump did, which ended up making America energy independent for the first time in decades, now reversed thanks to the economy-killing policies of the Marxists running Joe Bidens regime.

Still, Germany and other European nations continue down the renewable energy path because their leaders are true believers in the Church of Climate Change, though it will be decades  and many cold winters  before the transition away from cheaper and far more plentiful fossil fuels is even remotely possible.

Sources include:

Bloomberg.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) A former Google employee reveals that the company is building an artificial intelligence (AI) machine that looks like something straight out of a sci-fi thriller.

Mo Gawdat, a former chief business officer who joined the company in 2007, says that the mysterious Google X department is developing a machine that can quickly learn. In particular, he has seen a robotic arm pick up a ball and show it to developers. Within days, the robotic arm has mastered picking up anything.

Gawdat recalls that they had those robots for a week, and that they were able to do many things that will take children months or even years to learn. It hit me that they are children. But very, very fast children, he says.

He notes that machines, even at their very basic level of intelligence, have the potential to learn quickly. The reality is, were creating God.

Google may be creating its own version of Terminator

The Terminator movie series has envisioned a dark, post-apocalyptic future where smart machines rule the Earth. Rogue artificial intelligence has overthrown humans and waged a deadly war to wipe the latter off the face of the planet.

Gawdat says that Googles AI has the potential to reach the so-called technological singularity, to a point where it becomes uncontrollable and irreversible. Meaning, Googles AI could escape control and rule the planet.

In 2020, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said that AI is one of the most profound things that the company has been working on, saying that it is deeper than fire or electricity. Alphabet is the parent company of Google.

Google also has a set of artificial intelligence principles that prohibit weapons projects, but this does not rule out sales to the military.

Teslas Elon Musk is one of the most active to criticize the risks of artificial intelligence to humanity, especially if it has no strong regulation of initiatives. However, his speculative outlook still seems to gloss over the real hazards of AI that have already been built.

Facial recognition and predictive policing algorithms have already caused real harm in underserved communities. Countless algorithms have already propagated and codified institutional racism across the board.

Not only that, some of the most visible problems are already apparent, including privacy violations, discrimination, accidents, manipulation of political systems and other scenarios that are more than enough to prompt caution.

There are also more consequences that are not yet known or experienced. Disastrous repercussions like compromising national security and losing human life are also highly possible. (Related: Stockton restaurant hires robots instead of humans as employee shortage takes its toll.)

Monitoring AI analytics

There is still a lot to learn about the potential risks of AI, including the appropriate balance between innovation and risk. Putting in place controls for managing the unimaginable is one of the first things that need to be done.

As the costs of risks associated with AI rise, the ability to assess the said risks and the engagement of workers at all levels in defining and implementing controls will become a source of competitive advantage.

There is also the debate on ethics when it comes to applying AI. Lines must be drawn to limit its use. Collective action, which could involve industry-level debates about self-policing and engagement with regulators, is expected to grow in importance as well.

Read more about concerns regarding AI and what this could mean for the future at Robots.news.

Sources include:

DailyStar.co.uk

PrimeTimeZone.com

Futurism.com

McKinsey.com
(Natural News) Three Pfizer scientists have admitted that their companys Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine is not as effective as natural immunity acquired through a prior infection. Project Veritas journalists obtained the admission of the three Pfizer scientists as part of the organizations #CovidVaxExposed series.

Through a series of hidden-camera recordings, the investigative journalists obtained footage of the three scientists admitting that natural immunity works better against COVID-19 than the immunity supposedly acquired through vaccination. (Related: DOCUMENTS: People vaccinated with Pfizers covid vax are 300% more likely to get COVID-19.)

One of the three scientists Project Veritas spoke with was Nick Karl, a biochemist who has been working for Pfizer since August. Before joining Pfizer, he worked as a biochemist for a medical technology company for nearly three years.

Since he started working with Pfizer, Karl has been directly involved in the production of Pfizers COVID-19 vaccine. During his conversation with the Project Veritas journalist, Karl said that if a person recovers from COVID-19, your antibodies are probably better at that point than the vaccination.

When somebody is naturally immune  like, they got COVID  they probably have better not better, but more antibodies against the virus, Karl explains. The protein [in the vaccine], thats just on the outside, so its one antibody against one specific part of the virus.

He added that when a person actually gets the virus, youre going to start producing antibodies against multiple pieces of [the] virus, and not only just like that outside portion, like, the inside portion, the actual virus.

Despite not believing in the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines, Karl believes vaccine mandates are good for the public.

The city [of New York] needs like vax cards and everything, he says. Its just about making it so inconvenient for unvaccinated people to the point where theyre just like F it. Ill get it. You know?

Watch Project Veritas founder James OKeefe as he confronts Karl regarding his admission that COVID-19 antibodies acquired through natural immunity are better than vaccine-acquired antibodies at Brighteon.com.

Pfizer employees told to stay mum about natural immunity

Chris Croce, a senior associate scientist for Pfizer, has corroborated Karls claims regarding natural immunity and vaccine-acquired antibodies.

A Project Veritas journalist asks Croce if natural immunity protects people as much as the vaccine.

Probably more, answers Croce. Youre protected most likely for longer since there was a natural response.

The Pfizer scientist has also expressed dismay with the fact that Pfizer is ignoring alternative COVID-19 treatments in favor of pushing out more vaccines. The Project Veritas journalist then asks Croce what happened to Pfizers research regarding monoclonal antibody treatments.

[It got] pushed to the side, says Croce.

Why? the Project Veritas journalist prods.

Money. Its disgusting. I still feel like I work for an evil corporation because it comes down to profits in the end. I mean, Im there to help people, not to make millions and millions of dollars. So, I mean, thats the moral dilemma, replies Croce. Basically, our organization is run on COVID money now.

BREAKING VERITAS: @Pfizer Scientists: Your Antibodies are Probably Better than the Vaccinationpic.twitter.com/cAfEHekQDB  Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) October 5, 2021

The third Pfizer scientist who has spoken with Project Veritas is Rahul Khandke. His statements supported the claims espoused by Karl and Croce.

If you have [COVID] antibodies built up, you should be able to prove that you have those, he says. Khandke believes being able to prove that a person has antibodies for COVID-19 should be just as useful as proof of vaccination. Maybe potentially. That doesnt seem that crazy.

But Khandke points out that this is not the message Pfizer wants to bring across. He says the pharmaceutical company is demanding that its employees keep valuable information regarding naturally acquired antibodies and natural immunity from the public. This is because it might hurt the companys profits if people who have been infected with COVID-19 and recovered refuse to get vaccinated.

Were bred and taught to be like, vaccine is safer than actually getting COVID,' says Khandke. Honestly, we had to do so many seminars on this. You have no idea. Like, we have to sit there for hours and hours and listen to like, be like, you cannot talk about this in public.'

This Project Veritas expose comes as the mainstream media, the Democratic Party-led administration of President Joe Biden and the medical establishment continue to ignore the scientific evidence proving that natural immunity to COVID-19 provides much more protection against the virus.

Learn the truth about the supposed effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines by reading the latest articles at Vaccines.news.

Sources include:

InfoWars.com

WashingtonTimes.com

CitizenFreePress.com

TheNationalPulse.com

RealClearPolitics.com
(Natural News) The Childrens Health Protection Organization has received a report from Poland that Pfizer is testing its Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine on six-month-old orphans. This has prompted the Polish Parliament and Senate to organize a meeting discussing the medical, legal and ethical aspects of medical testing on infants and children.

According to Pfizers website, there have been three separate cycles of Pfizer COVID vaccine trials where they enrolled up to 4,500 children ages 6 months to 11 years in more than 90 clinical trials in the United States, Finland, Poland and Spain.

The company has been conducting COVID vaccine trials in Polish children aged 3 to 11 years. Intelligence reports also indicate that at least eight private clinics or research centers are part of those conducting these trials. The information has been kept from the public because of Pfizers secrecy clauses.

However, unofficial reports have indicated that children between 6 and 11 were given the vaccine, and those between the ages of 3 and 5 received at least one dose. Overall, about 1,000 Polish children have received the Pfizer vaccine.

Ethics of clinical trials involving children raise concerns

The science and ethics of clinical trials on children have also raised human rights concerns. Yaffa Shir-Raz, a risk communicator researcher at the University of Haifa in Israel writes an article regarding the questionable methods used by Pfizer.

In the article, Shir-Raz points out troublesome facts that show Pfizers lack of concern for the safety of the children. For instance, those who developed severe depression after vaccination have been found to have pre-existing psychiatric conditions that should have warranted their exclusion from the study.

The reporting criteria seem to have been designed to exclude signals of adverse events. (Related: SACRIFICE THE CHILDREN: Oxford Vaccine Group recruits children for coronavirus vaccine trials.)

Vaccine developers also have a long history of experimenting on the most vulnerable populations, such as orphans, mentally and physically disabled, political refugees and other impoverished populations.

How clinical trials are conducted on children

Clinical trials usually say different things depending on their design. Understanding how the trials for the vaccines are designed is important in understanding the results. One current example is how the differences can affect the use of vaccines.

Clinical trials on children are important to determine three things: dose, safety and immune response.

Vaccine doses vary from medications because the latter are often prescribed based on the relative size of a person, while the former is administered after researchers determine the sweet spot between generating immunity and the lowest rate of side effects.

Safety is typically determined by evaluating both the kinds of side effects experienced by participants as well as the frequency with which they are experienced. Scientists also identify immune responses to determine whether or not someone is protected against future infections.

Pfizers clinical trials involving children in orphanages and care homes are suspected to have gone through backdoor channels, considering that there has not been a single court case in which the vaccine is said to be tested in children.

The conference noted that without action from Polish authorities, it will not be possible to confirm how many of these children may have developed serious complications or have faced death.

While getting rid of the weakest in the population has always been practiced in the name of the greater good, many groups believe that now is the time to put an end to such practice.

Get more news and updates about the COVID-19 vaccines and ongoing trials at Vaccines.news.

Sources include:

GNews.org

TheExpose.uk

Chop.edu
(Natural News) Former intelligence officer Jeffrey Prather elaborates on the Deep States role in the Jan. 6 false flag attack on the U.S. Capitol during his program Prather Point on Brighteon.TV. Prather cites the Deep States recruitment of active agents to take the blame as proof of their involvement in the incident.

He first mentions the case of former U.S. Army Special Forces member Jeremy Brown, who filmed Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents visiting his home before the Jan. 6 event. According to Prather, the agents have tried to recruit Brown as a leader of the Capitol protesters. Brown understood what they were doing. He was polite and he declined. He filmed it, and he put that up, Prather says.

However, the FBI arrested Brown on Sept. 30 at his Florida home for trespassing. The Gateway Pundit has reported that more than 20 vehicles were deployed in his home, with agents searching his residence for evidence during an almost six-hour period. The report adds that the bureau did not read Brown his rights, and he was also denied bail.

The article also noted that Brown never entered the Capitol on Jan. 6, and that his arrest stemmed from his refusal to become an informant for the FBI. Back in June 2021, Brown revealed to The Gateway Pundit that scores of guys wrote to him about being approached by the FBI to spy on patriot groups. (Related: ROGUE FBI was spying on far-right extremists months before false-flag Capitol demonstration.)

Aside from Brown, Prather also mentions the case of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent Mark Ibrahim. According to the Prather Point host, the FBI recruited Ibrahim alongside other individuals to join the protests before arresting and charging him in July 2021.

Theyve arrested [Ibrahim] as well, so I guess theres a few legitimate [DEA] agents left. They tried to make him an undercover [agent], and this is showing how desperate they are to all of this, Prather says.

Prather shares tips on how to deal with Deep State intimidation

Prather has also touched on the deaths of Roseanne Boyland and Ashli Babbitt, two female protesters who joined the false flag attack. Boyland died after being trampled by protesters during the Jan. 6 riot, while Babbitt was shot on the same day by Michael Byrd of the U.S. Capitol Police.

The Department of Justice exonerated Byrd for his role in Babbitts death months after the Capitol riot. An April 14 press release by the department said no charges would be filed against the police officer due to insufficient evidence to support a criminal prosecution.

Byrd later defended his actions during an Aug. 26 interview, saying that he was only doing his job. According to the officer, he shot Babbitt because she was posing a threat to the House of Representatives. Byrd added: Youre ultimately hoping that your commands [to get back] will be complied with, and unfortunately, they were not.

The Prather Point host says: I graduated from the FBI in 1990, and I know heroes. There used to be good, moral, brave [and] heroic FBI agents  but that has long since passed. This is now the covert cover-up agency.

Prather still sees a sliver of hope in the current situation. [Even] in this dark time, this is actually good news because the Deep State is panicking. They are very nervous and that is shown by what they are doing, so this fight is not lost.

He also denounces the lawsuit against Brown, saying that it is an attempt to intimidate everyone fighting for freedom. The Deep State wants to intimidate everyone. These are ridiculous charges, and this is just a message that if you speak out and try to defy this tyrannical government, the FBI will come after you. (Related: WARNING: FBI planning fake false flag armed protests that will be blamed on conservatives and used to go after gun rights.)

Prather shares some tips on what to do when FBI agents pay a visit with the intent of bringing people on board a false flag operation. He says: Certainly, dont talk to the FBI. Dont let them in your house at all, and record the conversation. Its a good idea to get their license plates and see where theyre going to, because this is no longer anything legitimate at all.

Catch new episodes of the Prather Point with Jeffrey Prather every Friday at 10-11 a.m. on Brighteon.TV.

FBICorruption.news has more articles about the FBIs involvement the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

Sources include:

Brighteon.com

TheGatewayPundit.com

Insider.com

Justice.gov

NYPost.com
(Natural News) Singapore is hitting a record daily number of new Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) infections despite being one of the most fully vaccinated nations in the world.

On Friday, Oct. 1, the Southeast Asian city-state recorded a new high of 2,909 new COVID-19 cases, according to its Ministry of Health. On Tuesday, Oct. 5, Singapore broke the record again with 3,486 new COVID-19 cases.

Tuesdays record-breaking new case count was the first time the small nation of nearly 5.7 million people recorded more than 3,000 COVID-19 cases in a single day since the start of the pandemic. This puts Singapores total reported COVID-19 cases at nearly 110,000.

Singapore has 1,512 patients in hospitals. Of those, 247 require oxygen and 34 are in critical condition in intensive care units. Of those who require oxygen and are in critical care, nearly all are above the age of 60.

The Health Ministry also recorded nine new deaths related to COVID-19. Three of the dead were unvaccinated, two were partially vaccinated and the remaining four were fully vaccinated. The Health Ministry says that all of the new COVID-19 fatalities had various underlying medical conditions that led to their deaths.

This is the 16th straight day that the city-state has recorded deaths from COVID-19, taking the countrys coronavirus death toll to 130.

Of the 3,486 new COVID-19 infections reported on Tuesday, 2,767 came from local Singaporean communities and 713 came from the dormitories housing migrant workers. The remaining six cases were imported from abroad.

Singapore has the highest vaccination rate in Southeast Asia and one of the highest vaccination rates in the world.

As of Monday, Oct. 4, the city-state has administered about 9.31 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines. Around 4.6 million people have received at least one dose, and 4.53 million are fully vaccinated. The Health Ministry also reported administering an additional 203,051 doses on Monday.

This would mean that around 84 percent of the population is fully vaccinated and 85 percent of the population has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The Health Ministrys latest report states that around 600,000 people  mostly senior citizens and people with compromised immune systems  are eligible to receive booster COVID-19 vaccine doses.

Of those eligible people, 321,228 have already received boosters and another 107,000 have already booked appointments. Singapore also has plans to expand the pool of citizens eligible to receive booster doses soon. (Related: Vaccinated people account for 75% of coronavirus infections in Singapore.)

Singapore preparing to deal with over 5,000 new cases a day

Minister of Health Ong Ye Kung informed the Parliament on Monday that the government is ramping up healthcare capacity to be able to handle up to 5,000 new COVID-19 cases a day. There are also contingency plans on how to handle up to 10,000 infections a day.

The Health Ministry claims that a vast majority of those new cases  around 98 percent according to its recent estimates  will be asymptomatic or have mild symptoms at worst.

This claim does not fit well with the fact that the Health Ministry is working to expand the availability of beds in COVID-19 treatment facilities all over the country. Nearly 600 beds have been set up across four COVID-19 treatment facilities over the past week. The Health Ministry has further plans to expand nine other facilities by providing them with 3,700 new beds in total.

Ong has acknowledged that all of Singapores COVID-19 healthcare protocols have become very confusing for the countrys citizens. The multi-ministry task force to combat COVID-19 will be reviewing these regulations to figure out how to simplify them.

Because if people dont understand, they cant do their part to exercise personal responsibility, much less help others, says Ong.

Learn more about the COVID-19 regulations in Singapore and other countries around the world by reading the latest articles at Pandemic.news.

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com

SG.News.Yahoo.com

ChannelNewsAsia.com

StraitsTimes.com 1

StraitsTimes.com 2
(Natural News) It is becoming more and more apparent that China no longer fears America and its might in the era of Joe Biden, the most mentally incapable president the country has ever had.

During Donald Trumps tenure, China appeared to scale back its ambitious expansion into the South China Sea after building islands and fortifying them during the Obama years. Trump also kept the Chinese in check with his insistence on better trade agreements and barring the Chinese from accessing some of the United States most advanced technology. In addition, Trump helped Taiwan bolster its defenses, which may come in handy, and very soon as Beijing tests the limits of the Biden White House.

Just two days after its last record-breaking set of military flights around the island of Taiwan, China sent its largest-ever single wave of warplanes into Taiwans air defense identification zone (ADIZ) last week, American Military News reported, adding that in total, 52 Chinese Peoples Liberation Army aircraft breached Taiwans ADIZ.

In response to the pattern of increased military pressure from China, Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said in an interview with Australias ABC News that his country is prepared to fight back if China attacks, the report continued.

In total, the Chinese military flights on Monday included 36 J-16 and Su-30 fighter jets, 12 nuclear-capable H-6 bombers, 2 Y-8 anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft and two KJ-500 airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft.

52 PLA aircraft (J-16*34, SU-30*2 Y-8 ASW*2, KJ-500 AEW&C*2 and H-6*12) entered #Taiwans southwest ADIZ on October 4, 2021. Please check our official website for more information, the Ministry of National Defense for the Republic of China, the countrys official name, tweeted.

52 PLA aircraft (J-16*34, SU-30*2 Y-8 ASW*2, KJ-500 AEW&C*2 and H-6*12) entered #Taiwans southwest ADIZ on October 4, 2021. Please check our official website for more information: https://t.co/2mC6UszTMB pic.twitter.com/WOtdFvJx8o   Ministry of National Defense, R.O.C.  (@MoNDefense) October 4, 2021

The Taiwanese military announced that it had sent radio messages warning off the Chinese aircraft while also activating missile defense systems and dispatching its own planes to intercept the incursion.

If China is going to launch a war against Taiwan we will fight to the end, and that is our commitment, Wu told Australias ABC News.

The defense of Taiwan is in our own hands, and we are absolutely committed to that, he added. Im sure that if China is going to launch an attack against Taiwan, I think they are going to suffer tremendously as well.

Oct. 1 wasn't a good day. The #PLAAF flew 38 warplanes into #Taiwan's ADIZ, making it the largest number of daily sorties on record. Threatening? Of course. It's strange the #PRC doesn't bother faking excuses anymore. JW ( via @MoNDefense) pic.twitter.com/U2fHUwV5uK   Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ROC (Taiwan)  (@MOFA_Taiwan) October 2, 2021

Wu added that he would like Australia and other allied countries to share more intelligence on Chinas capabilities with the island nation.

We would like to engage in security or intelligence exchanges with other like-minded partners, Australia included, so Taiwan is better prepared to deal with the war situation. And so far, our relations with Australia [are] very good and that is what we appreciate, he said.

Wu also praised a recent agreement to form a regional defense pact between Australia, the Unnited States and the United Kingdom with the objective of building a half-dozen nuclear-powered submarines for the country Down Under to counter Chinas growing capabilities in that area.

We are pleased to see that the like-minded partners of Taiwan  the United States and the UK and Australia  are working closer with each other to acquire more advanced defence articles so that we can defend Indo-Pacific. Australia is a great country, and Im very glad to see that Australia is going to shoulder more responsibility to maintain peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific, Wu said.

Some experts say it would be difficult to prevent China from invading Taiwan.

The military centre of gravity is Chinas air defence system in the south, it has the ability to deny the United States control of the air  if the United States cannot control the air, it cannot win either at land or at sea, said defense analyst Professor Clinton Fernandes from the University of New South Wales in an interview with Australia ABC News.

For the Taiwanese, however, its obvious that surrender is not an option.

Sources include:

ABC.new.au

AmericanMilitaryNews.com

NewsTarget.com
(Natural News) Between February 1 and September 12 of this year, far more people who got vaccinated for the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) died from the delta variant than people who skipped the shots, a new Public Health England technical briefing admits.

Entitled SARS-CoV2 variants of concern and variants under investigation in England, the report found that of the 2,542 recorded deaths that were blamed on delta, only 722 of these occurred in unvaccinated patients. The other 1,820 deaths were all people who took the jabs in obedience to the government.

During the time period in question, unvaccinated people reportedly accounted for 257,357 Delta cases out of 593,572 total Delta cases (approximately 43 percent), and 722 out of 2,542 Delta deaths (approximately 28 percent) within 28 days of positive specimen date,' reported National File about the data.

What does that mean? It means that the vast majority of Delta deaths in England during this period occurred among vaccinated people, NOT unvaccinated people.

This is unsurprising in light of the fact that people who get covid vaccinated have been found to carry in their nostrils about 251 times more viral disease load than people who leave their immune systems and DNA alone by not getting injected.

Getting jabbed for Chinese Germs is a great way to make yourself sick and possibly die, in other words. And yet the government wants everyone to believe that these shots are helping to keep people safe.

Is the delta variant just vaccine-induced disease?

As we reported, around 50,000 Medicare patients have died so far from Chinese Virus injections, though none of these deaths were even recorded.

There is definitely a concerted effort among the plandemic ringleaders to keep a lid on the true death count. One big way they are doing this is by not recording any vaccine deaths that occur within 14 days post-injection.

What this means is that anyone who dies between day one and day 13 after getting jabbed is recorded as an unvaccinated death. This, in effect, makes it appear as though not getting vaccinated is a serious health risk when the opposite is actually true.

Health freedom attorney Thomas Renz is trying to fix this by working with plaintiffs to file lawsuits against corrupt agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that have rigged the system to lie about all this.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one is not considered as being vaccinated until 14 days after their completed injection regimen, raising the question of whether government authorities have been classifying these fatalities as something other than vaccination-related deaths, wrote Patrick Delaney for LifeSiteNews about the issue.

There is also growing evidence to suggest that the so-called delta variant does not even exist, at least not in the way authorities claim. What appears to be the case is that the delta variant is just vaccine-induced disease that in many cases results in serious injury or death.

Well, they would also have to admit that the breakthrough variant deaths are actually caused DIRECTLY by the vaccine itself, wrote one commenter at National File. Which is why they need to eliminate any control groups to compare against, aka unvaxxed.

Makes sense since the delta variant is a vaccine failure. There is no test for a variant anyway, wrote another.

Several of our commenters here at Natural News noted that there is obviously nothing safe or effective about Fauci Flu shots. They are clearly designed for genocide, and too many people are still painfully unaware of the truth.

More of the latest news about the millions of injuries and deaths being caused by Fauci Flu shots can be found at ChemicalViolence.com.

Sources for this article include:

NationalFile.com

NaturalNews.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) Kristi Dobbs, a 40-year-old dental hygienist from Missouri, said she can no longer work after being injured by Pfizers COVID vaccine. She has spent the past nine months pleading with U.S. health agencies to research the neurological injuries she and others are experiencing in hopes of finding a treatment.

(Article by Megan Redshaw republished from ChildrenHealthDefense.org)

Since getting the vaccine, Dobbs has seen 16 different medical providers. Shes been on 22 different medications to address more than 20 different symptoms  none of which she had prior to getting the vaccine.

Dobbs said she and others who developed neurological injuries after getting a COVID vaccine shared their experiences with a reporter, in hope of raising awareness about their experiences.

But the story never ran because, according to the reporter, a higher up at Pfizer pressured the news agency to drop it.

Dobbs got her first and only dose of Pfizers vaccine on Jan. 18. She immediately experienced an adverse reaction on-site at the hospital clinic where her vaccine was administered.

I had barely sat down in the monitoring area after the inoculation and felt an odd tingling sensation running down my left arm, where I had just received the jab, Dobbs wrote. I immediately had a pre-syncope episode, where I thought I was going to pass out, heart palpitations, increased pulse, increased respirations and a blood pressure spike that was within a stroke-worthy reading.

Dobbs was monitored for an additional 45 minutes. When her blood pressure dropped to a manageable range, she was released.

Dobbs said the people monitoring her brushed off her symptoms as a panic attack or hot flash. But she had never been afraid of vaccines, blood draws or needles. I gave injections in the mouth as a hygienist, so it was no big deal to me, Dobbs said.

Three days later, Dobbs woke up in the middle of the night and thought her whole bed was shaking, but her husband said he didnt feel it. She also noticed shaking and trembling in her left hand, but thought maybe it was due to having coffee.

The next day, Dobbs felt a stabbing pain in her left scapula, and shaking and trembling sensations in both hands. As each day progressed, her symptoms worsened. By day 10, I was in excruciating pain, Dobbs said.

On Jan. 28, Dobbs went to a chiropractor in St. Louis to see what was causing the stabbing pain in her scapula and the radiating pain and tremors in both arms. The chiropractor thought she had a rib out, so he adjusted her.

The next morning Dobbs woke up with extreme pain and tremors throughout her entire body.

Dobbs wrote:

On January 30, Im in urgent care with stabbing pain in my left scapula regions, full body tremors, paresthesias from head to toe, swollen lymph nodes, tinnitus, dizziness, headache and an odd internal vibrating sensation.

Urgent care doctor thinks I am having muscle spasms, and thinks I am stressed because of my mother in law [who was battling cancer] and traveling so much, so he [prescribed] Flexeril and Medrol dose pack.

On Feb. 1, Dobbs visited a local chiropractor to see if she could help with the symptoms. As they were catching up, the chiropractor noticed Dobbs tremors, body shakes and super high blood pressure.

Dobbs wrote:

At this point I am having problems regulating my BP, and she knows that this is out of character for me. She asks me what I have done differently since I saw her last and I cant think of anything, except the Pfizer vaccine. BINGO  Thats it, she says! She immediately stops and tells me that I need to get in to see my primary care provider. On Feb. 2, when Dobbs saw her primary care provider, she had visible tremors and whole body paresthesia. [My care provider] had no clue if this could be vaccine-related, but didnt dismiss the fact, Dobbs said. It was too new to tell, and she had no knowledge of any reactions.

The doctor recommended anti-anxiety medication, ran labs, did a physical exam and sent her on her way. Shortly after, Dobbs experienced issues with heavy legs, and trouble walking and getting up stairs to the point she couldnt feel pin pricks on her legs.

On Feb. 5, Dobbs went to the ER because she said she felt like she was dying.

She said:

I had full-body paresthesia, internal tremors/vibrations, essential tremors in my hands, tremors in my arms and legs, fatigue, brain fog, muscle pain and weakness, pelvic pain, irregular menstrual cycles that included heavy bleeding and thick clotting, skin rashes, tinnitus, temperature regulation issues, swollen lymph nodes, loss of appetite, weight loss, dizziness/balance issues, blood pressure regulation issues, neck pain, headaches, heart palpitations, convulsions or pseudo seizure at night and insomnia.

Like many others who have experienced neurological reactions to COVID vaccines, Dobbs had a CT scan and the results were normal. No other tests were performed.

Doctors did not dismiss that this was vaccine-related, but they had no clue what to do or how to treat it if it was, Dobbs said. I was given another anti-anxiety medication, which did nothing for me, and was referred to a neurologist. In the meantime my vibrations, brain fog and other symptoms intensified.

Dobbs saw a neurologist on Feb. 12, when the nurse practitioner ordered tests, an MRI and blood work. The MRI was normal, and Dobbs was prescribed another medication. Dobbs began searching for answers on her own.

She said:

I was searching for answers on my own, and I came across an article in Neurology Today with a comment at the bottom of the article from a retired gastroenterologist who had been injured by the vaccine, and she left her email address. That was the day I knew I was not alone in this vaccine injury journey. I had found Dr. Danice Hertz. She was in contact with a few others injured as well.

Dr. Hertz said people like her who have been seriously injured by COVID vaccines are being ignored + because health officials wont research their injuries + potential treatments, they have nowhere to turn.#TheDefender: https://t.co/zL66EdwTnDhttps://t.co/ahmaX2UiPF  Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) September 23, 2021

Dobbs said she and others started a private social media group to collaborate because their local doctors did not know what to do and elite doctors either dont know what to do or were unwilling to help us.

Dobbs said the vaccine injury group grew by 400% in two days and, in under a year, thousands of injured people had found each other. Soon we all knew we were not alone, yet no one had answers yet, she said.

Danice [Hertz] emailed doctors every day for help, Dobbs said, and it wasnt until March 9 she got through to Dr. Avindra Nath at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and I was able to call them and get a telehealth appointment with Dr. Farinaz Safavi.

Dobbs said Safavi was aware of these neurological vaccine reactions  as the NIH was already seeing patients for injuries like these  and recommended a whole host of new tests run by my hometown doctor, as well as certain procedures she thought could potentially cure me.

On April 19, Safavi wrote in an email to Dobbs that information regarding these adverse events would be published soon  and hopefully, by that time, healthcare providers would have a better idea what to do with these side-effects, she said.

The NIH requested blood samples, a complete medical release for history and test results that had already been completed. I sent all of it, Dobbs said. We had very good conversations for the next several weeks, and then by early May  nothing. Still to date I have heard nothing from them.

Dobbs said, Supposedly she [Dr. Safavi] called the neurologist, but the neurologist said she never called her for recommendations. The immunology allergist never received a call either.

When Dobbs reached out to Safavi again in May, her tune changed. Its like they went from we know its the vaccine to were trying to figure it out.'

Dobbs explained:

Its like as soon as they got what they needed, we were just cut off. Even some of the ladies that went to the NIH for treatment  once they were done with treatment with these same doctors  they were essentially cut off when they werent getting better.

Their exact verbiage to us was you need early and swift intervention after a vaccine reaction. But here we are months after an adverse reaction and our hometown doctors have no clue what to do.

Safavi, in an email to Dobbs on May 24, said she believed Dobbs was experiencing an immune-mediated inflammatory response or some other immune-mediated small fiber neuropathy.

According to Alexander Chamessian, MD PhD, small-fiber neuropathy is a neurological disorder involving widespread damage to the small-diameter somatic and autonomic unmyelinated C-fibers and/or thinly myelinated A-delta fibers.

Patients often experience pins-and-needles or burning pain sensations. Damage to the autonomic small fibers can cause dysfunction in key systems controlling blood pressure, heart rate and gastrointestinal motility.

Dobbs has seen more than 16 different medical providers, including an allergy immunologist, who took blood samples and discovered Dobbs had antiphospholipid antibodies  a group of immune proteins (antibodies) the body mistakenly produces against itself in an autoimmune response to phospholipids.

A dermatologist diagnosed Dobbs with granuloma annulare, an inflammatory skin condition caused by the immune response her body had, which left her with skin lesions.

Dobbs also tested positive for blood-clotting factors, had high inflammatory markers and lab values that indicated her immune system was poorly functioning.

One neurologist believed Dobbs was having an immune inflammatory response to Pfizers vaccine, caused by inflamed nerves.

Dobbs had an ultrasound of her kidneys, which showed they were not working properly. My kidneys were holding onto water, but by the time I saw the urologist a month later the hydronephrosis was clear, she said.

Dobbs said:

No one knows what to do for me, or how to treat this vaccine reaction. I have really great doctors here at home, and as they have all said. We dont really know what to do, but we can try to treat the symptoms.

There is no medication or supplement strong enough to ease the pain, or control the constant symptoms that plague me 24/7. There is still no acknowledgement from NIH, CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention], FDA [U.S. Food and Drug Administration], pharmaceutical companies, or any other governmental entity or institute that follows vaccine safety and side effects to date.

Group conducts survey that shows signal concerns

Dobbs said once they established their Facebook group, the members knew they needed a better way to convey their ailments so others could easily read and identify them.

From there, we started our own patient-lead surveys, which gave statistical data that was entered into a spreadsheet, Dobbs said. We then had a top epidemiologist review the information and compared the numbers to previous vaccinations and injuries. We were all astonished by the numbers.

The survey assessed reports of paresthesia following COVID vaccination from the CDCs Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), and compared it to reports of paresthesia following 2009 swine flu monovalent AS03-adjuvanted pandemic vaccine  a vaccine that was associated with disturbances similar to those experienced after COVID vaccines.

According to the NIH, paresthesia refers to a burning, numbness, skin-crawling or prickling sensation usually felt in the hands, arms, legs or feet, but can also occur in other parts of the body.

Chronic paresthesia is often a symptom of an underlying neurological disease or traumatic nerve damage. Paresthesia can be caused by disorders affecting the central nervous system.

For the survey, VAERS reports of paresthesia following all COVID vaccines were collected, and the rate of reporting per 100,000 vaccinated people was calculated. The total VAERS reports of paresthesia following COVID vaccines as of June 18 were 13,559, with 5,818 attributed to Pfizer, 4514 to Moderna and 1,317 to Johnson & Johnson.

The total number of vaccines administered as of June 25, per CDCs COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker, was 178,491,147. The VAERS rate of paresthesia as an adverse event was 7.6 per every 100,000 people.

The rate of paresthesia following the 2009 swine flu monovalent AS03-adjuvanted pandemic vaccine was 7.7 per every 100,000 people  and was found to be the third most frequent adverse event following allergic and local reactions associated with the vaccine.

VAERS reports of paresthesia following all vaccines administered between 2006-2016 were also collected and the rate of reporting per 100,000 vaccinated people was calculated. The number of vaccines administered was obtained from Health Resources and Services Administration data and statistics on vaccine rates.

According to the survey, there were 7,157 VAERS reports of paresthesia between 2006 and 2016, out of a total of 3,153,876,236 vaccinations administered during the same time period.

The rate of paresthesia following all vaccines between 2006 and 2016 was 0.2 for every 100,000 people.

These data suggest the rate of paresthesia following COVID-19 vaccines is the same as the rate calculated in the De Serres paper on paresthesia following the 2009 swine flu pandemic vaccine and is 38 times the rate seen in all vaccines during a 10-year period of time, wrote Dr. Eileen Natuzzi, surgeon and public health epidemiologist.

Paresthesia is an unrecognized adverse event following vaccination with the current COVID vaccines, Natuzzi wrote. The data is observational, but suggests a signal of concern that should be studied in more depth.

Survey data from 100 participants also showed the following results:

79% of those surveyed experienced tingling, vibrations and shaking

57% had numbness

53% reported heart issues

45% experienced muscle weakness and pain

44% experienced headaches

43% had fatigue

42% had stomach issues

39% reported brain fog

36% experienced involuntary twitching

29% had tremors

27% reported blood pressure issues

20% reported tinnitus

Pfizer pressures media outlet to pull vaccine injury story

Dobbs said she and others knew they needed to tell their stories, without causing vaccine hesitancy, to protect others from the same fate  so members of the group started writing and calling anyone who would listen, including reporters, news agencies and members of Congress.

This is a hard thing to do without being labeled anti-vax, fear-mongering or a misinformation spreader, Dobbs said. But there was nowhere else to turn for help. A lot of us are so injured at this time, that the very thought of getting out of bed was exhausting. We had to persevere, so that we could be seen, heard, believed and most of all helped.

Dobbs said they tried the best they could as simple Americans to reach out to those who would hear their stories. Finally, a reporter from a small media company was willing to do a story. Dobbs and others from the group participated in a 2-hour and 40-minute interview.

The story never went anywhere, Dobbs said. She said the reporter told them a higher up at Pfizer made a call to the station and pressured staff there into not covering any other stories about vaccine adverse reactions.

Dobbs said she emailed Dr. Peter Marks, director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) at the FDA, but never heard anything from him. She never received a response from Nath at the NIH either.

She explained:

Ive been working my butt off to try and get my story out because I dont want this to affect other people, but I dont see how perfect strangers that were living normal lives found each other through social media, and there are thousands and thousands that have been affected, but you hear nothing about these stories. If its so safe then how have we found so many people on our own who have been affected by the vaccine?

Dobbs did receive an email response from Dr. Janet Woodcock, director of the FDA, who said she was sorry to hear about her symptoms and that the FDA would look into the situation. That was April 18, Dobbs said. I havent heard anything since.

Dobbs also reported her adverse event to Pfizer, which did not follow-up, and filed a report with VAERS.

In June, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) gave a few of the group members a platform at a press conference for the media to hear us, see us and believe us, Dobbs said. But they wanted nothing to do with us.

Dobbs said:

Their only questions were about who paid for us to get to Wisconsin, and are we going to sue for compensation of injuries. No further questions about lack of medical care, what they could do to help bring awareness, nothing. We did get some other interviews with Newsmax and Fox, but again we were given a small platform for a moment and then hushed again. We move one step forward and get two steps back.

Dobbs said the group has tried to do their due diligence by reporting to the big pharma regulatory agencies, although the NIH has been fully aware vaccine injuries were occurring since February.

Dobbs said she is working with other researchers  not affiliated with the NIH  who are running totally different blood markers.

They were initially doing studies on COVID long-haul patients to discover why they were becoming long-haulers when they realized people were getting injured by vaccines and experiencing the same symptoms, Dobbs said.

The one thing theyre finding that we all have in common is the spike protein in non-classical monocytes, Dobbs said.

Dobbs wants government acknowledgment and accountability for vaccine injuries

Dobbs still has many of her symptoms, is not well enough to return to work and has a difficult time caring for her family.

I was never a conspiracy theorist or anti-medicine, but it should not be this hard to get the truth out in 2021, Dobbs said. I am not saying the vaccine needs to be stopped, but its not as safe or effective as theyre portraying it is.

Dobbs said she would do anything to make sure others are protected from the same personal hell shes gone through the past nine months, or to save children like Maddie de Garay  a 12-year-old who was paralyzed by Pfizers vaccine during the clinical trial.

Dobbs was told specifically not to vaccinate any of her children, which puts her in a tough spot with vaccine mandates. I believe it would kill me if I got another COVID vaccination and I would never put my children through this  ever, she said.

However, this also means theyre in the category of people who are discriminated against because they cannot get vaccinated.

Dobbs said:

The moral of the story is that weve been injured by the vaccine, weve been searching for months for answers and we are unable to get help. We have reached out to the best doctors in the world and they cannot help us.

So if you cant get help from the top doctors in the U.S., how can our hometown doctors help us? We never wanted to start this, we only wanted help, and after not getting help you start to get a little angry. When your body fails, you want to know why.

We have some researchers willing to help us but they are hindered by a lack of information they need to conduct their research, and there are no adverse reaction clinics where we can go to get treated.

Dobbs said these reactions need to be investigated and observed. Then they need to be researched and education needs to be presented. Action needs to be taken for the correct measures to be issued to protect and compensate those of us who have been affected by the COVID vaccines under clinical trials, and under Emergency Use Authorization. Treatment protocols must be implemented in our medical community to give early and proper treatment to those affected, she added.

Dobbs said she doesnt want to create vaccine hesitancy, she wants accountability from governing agencies, big pharma and institutes that regulate and roll out vaccines. The fear-mongering, cancel-culture and misinformation days of those truly injured must stop, she said.

I have nothing to gain by giving my testimony of truth to my vaccine injury from the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, Dobbs wrote in an email to The Defender. I was just a small-town country girl raising my family, and enjoying my life as a family caretaker, mother and wife. But I was completely uprooted from my beautiful, normal, happy life. But, my voice matters! My story matters!

Read more at: ChildrenHealthDefense.org and VaccineInjuryNews.com.
According to officials at Wupatki National Monument, hundreds of strange, prehistoric-looking dinosaur shrimps hatched from small eggs and began swimming around a makeshift lake on the desert terrain during a severe summer rainstorm in northern Arizona.

Triops, which are the size of tadpoles, "look like little mini-horseshoe crabs with three eyes," according to Lauren Carter, lead interpretive ranger at Wupatki National Monument.

According to Central Michigan University, their eggs can remain dormant in the desert for decades until enough rain falls to form lakes that offer real estate and time for the hatchlings to grow and produce eggs for the next generation.

Tourists reported sighting triops at a temporary, rain-filled pool within the monument's ceremonial ball court - a circular walled structure 105 feet (32 meters) wide - and the monument's officials had no idea what to make of the creatures.

"We knew there was water in the ball court after the rain in late July," Carter recalled, "but we weren't anticipating anything live in it." "Then a guest came up to me and said, 'Hey, you have tadpoles in your ballcourt,'" she added.

Carter initially assumed that toads, which dwell in underground burrows during the dry season, had surfaced to lay eggs during the rainy spell. To find out more, she traveled to Wupatki's ballcourt, created by the Indigenous people.

Related Article: Studying the Coelacanths: Ancient Human-Sized Fish Can Live Up to a Hundred Years!



"Dinosaur Shrimp"

Triops - Greek for "three eyes" - is sometimes referred to as "dinosaur shrimp" due to their long evolutionary history. According to Central Michigan University, the ancestors of these crustaceans evolved during the Devonian period (419 million to 359 million years ago), and their appearance has changed very little since then. (It's worth noting that dinosaurs didn't appear until much later, around 252 million years ago, during the Triassic period.)

Triops, on the other hand, aren't exactly like their forefathers. Therefore they wouldn't be termed "living fossils."

"I dislike the phrase 'living fossil' because it implies to the public that they haven't changed at all," Carter explained. "They have, nevertheless, altered and evolved. It's only that their look is very comparable to that of millions of years ago."

According to Central Michigan University, Triops and Lepidurus are two genuses in the Triopsidae family, each with up to 12 species. Triops longicaudatus, a species found in short-lived freshwater ponds known as vernal pools in North, Central, and South America, might be the creatures discovered at the Wupatki ball court, but a scientific investigation is needed to prove them, Carter added.

Size

According to Central Michigan University, Triops may grow up to 1.5 inches (4 cm) long after hatching, having a shield-like carapace that resembles a tiny helmet. In addition, they have two big, black-rimmed compound eyes (like those of a dragonfly or bee) and a tiny ocellus, or simple eye, between them, giving them a furious and smart appearance. According to the Amateur Entomologists' Society, arthropods (a category that includes insects, crustaceans, and arachnids) have ocellus eyes packed with basic photoreceptors that enable these organisms to sense light.

In this example, the Triops at Wupatki National Monument were fortunate enough to experience a brief but strong rainstorm. According to Carter, Flagstaff, Arizona (roughly 30 miles or 50 kilometers south of the monument) typically receives approximately 9 inches (22.9 cm) of rain each year. Unfortunately, according to Carter, Flagstaff had its driest lowest monsoon summer on record in 2020, with only 4 inches (10.2 cm) of rain. However, the region received a deluge of rain in the final week and a half of July 2021: nearly 5 inches (12.7 cm).

Triops Life Cycle

According to a life cycle description from Central Michigan University, the Triops' eggs hatched at that period, and the tiny animals presumably began filter feeding within hours. After that, they went through numerous molts, exactly like other crustaceans, until completely developing in just over a week.

Triops males and females typically pair up to mate by sexual reproduction, but in times of scarcity, they have other options; these crustaceans are also hermaphrodites, meaning they have both male and female sex organs, and parthenogenetic, meaning females can produce offspring from unfertilized eggs, according to BioKids, a collaboration between the University of Michigan School of Education, the University of Michigan School of Medicine, and the University of Michigan School of Public Health

Triops may survive for up to 90 days, but Carter claimed the pond beside the ball court only lasted three to four weeks. After that, local birds took notice very quickly, with ravens and common nighthawks flying down into the lake to eat the animals, she saw.

It's impossible to say how many Triops laid eggs before the lake dried up. To find out, Rangers would have to wait till the next monsoon.

Also Read: Clever Cuttlefish: Unlike Humans, Cuttlefish Memory Becomes Sharper the Older They Get!



For more news from the animal kingdom, don't forget to follow Nature World News!
The greatest worldwide threat to coral reef ecosystems is climate change. Scientific data now clearly shows that the Earth's atmosphere and oceans are warming, and that this warming is caused by greenhouse gases emitted by human activities.

Mass coral bleaching events and infectious disease outbreaks are becoming more common as global temperatures increase.

Furthermore, carbon dioxide absorbed from the atmosphere has already begun to limit calcification rates in reef-building and reef-associated species through changing seawater chemistry through pH reductions. Ocean acidification is the term for this phenomenon.

Sea level rise, changes in the frequency and severity of tropical storms, and changed ocean circulation patterns will all have an impact on coral reef ecosystems because of climate change. When taken together, these factors have a significant influence on ecosystem function as well as the products and services that coral reef ecosystems give to people all over the world.

Despite the damaging consequences of ocean acidification and high carbon dioxide levels in the waters of Verde Island, Philippines, corals have been observed to thrive. Several researchers have been assigned to figure out what is going on behind the scenes of the issue.

Scientific Approach on Extreme Environment Coral Reef Sanctuary





In 2019, a University of Texas at Austin hydrology professor worked on a study project to see whether he could discover hazardous nutrients moving through groundwater into a fragile coral reef sanctuary in the Philippines. Group of foreign researchers were able to link the source of CO2 and nutrients in seawater, finding and highlights how the undersea reef environment can be harmed by how communities discharge wastewater, agricultural runoff, and other byproducts into the sea.

According to the American Meteorological Society, coral reefs have long been harmed by climate change, most notably during a worldwide coral bleaching event from 2014 to 2017 that caused heat stress to 75 percent of the world's reefs. Despite the massive volumes of CO2 pumped in from groundwater, the coral-filled area Cardenas examined in the Philippines' Verde Island Passage, a place so colorful and diversified that he refers to it as the "Amazon of the seas," is prospering.

Groundwater is pouring around 989 grams of CO2 per square meter per year into the region they investigated, which is known as "Twin Rocks" and borders a series of volcanoes, according to lead author Rogger E. Correa of Southern Cross University in Australia. On every hectare of reef, that is the equivalent of putting two automobiles on the seabed and letting them release carbon dioxide for a year.

Also read: Microscopic Worm Rewired with Brain Parts from a Hydra

Radioactive Isotope Measures Carbon and Radon Contents on Super Corals





The scientists buried sensors for detecting CO2 and radon 222, a naturally occurring radioactive isotope prevalent in local groundwater but not in open ocean water, to differentiate groundwater from saltwater. Isaac Santos, a professor at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, devised the measuring technique.

Despite this, individuals must remember what should be avoided and obeyed to assist coral reefs thrive. Human-made stresses, including as sedimentation, overfishing, and pollution, are still plausible causes that might kill corals.

Also read: Footage of Monstrous Alligator Swallowing Another Gator in Whole Goes Viral
Footage showed how the heroic rescue of the dog happened and the reunion of 'Dewey' - the rescued dog - that got stuck at the base of a cave about 30 feet deep for more than two weeks.

Two-Week Dilemma for Rescuers

Elizabeth Acosta recorded what happened as Dewey's rescuers climbed into the enormous cave to rescue the skinny pup.

Led by a professional caver, Tray Heinke, the team were actually making efforts to find the ideal spot for one of their group member to propose to his partner when they discovered the animal.

Josiah Meert, who has a sharp eye, noticed some movement at the base of the pit that is 30 feet deep at Dewey Hickman Nature Reserve, Indiana, and discovered it was a dog. The group left what they planned and hurried to get helmets, ropes, and harnesses, with their joint effort and determination, they succeeded in freeing 'Dewey' in only 30 minutes.

Tray said they sighted his collar about 15 feet below with claw marks all over. He was able to withstand another 15 ft drop to the pit base. He would lose about 86lbs.

Also Read: WATCH: Adorable Dog Swimming in the Atlantic Ocean Gets Rescued!

Rescued Dog Reunites with Its Owner

Tray said: "We firmly believe that had he been in the pit only a few more days, he'd be gone. Everything depended on the outcome of the rescue so once he was safe and given a bite to eat, Sean popped the question... and she said yes! You could hear the cheers a mile away."

The reunion video of Tray Heinke reveals the remarkable moment the animal met with his relieved owners.

'Dewey', which was the nickname given to the dog after where it was discovered, with joy, runs over to his family who are happy to have their loving pet back, the dog's actual name is Hawkeye.

The owners of the rescued dog confirmed that it was nowhere to be found just over two weeks prior to his rescue. Removing Hawkeye from the cave was a huge thing but locating his owner and reuniting them in no time was the extra joy, Tray added.

The Unexpected

Tray also said that is the power of social media that they didn't expect the reunion to happen so quickly. However, within two days of discovering the dog, they had gotten in touch with his owners and agreed on where to meet.

Had it been Hawkeye was neutered this incident could have been prevented. The animal blindly went with a female scent into the wild, animal instincts are always not the best.

"The quick rescue and reunion were also very lucky, so it's best to leave situations like this to experienced professionals. If one of us had fallen in too, we'd have really been screwed. "We're all very proud to be a part of this story, the world could use some good news right now."

Related Article: Homeless Man Risks Life to Rescue Animals at a Burning Shelter

For more news, updates about dogs and similar topics don't forget to follow Nature World News!
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Dr. Karen Stubenbort, right, speaks to three members of Butler County Community Colleges social awareness club and to fellow club adviser Juli Louttit during a Project Pink meeting on BC3s main campus. From left, club members Andrea Watson, of East Butler; Alyssa Sell, of Saxonburg; and Ramona Parsons, of Butler; and Louttit.
Anthony J. Griffith, 63, of New Castle, passed away on Nov. 15, 2021. No visitation or services will be held. Arrangements have been entrusted to the R. Cunningham Funeral Home, New Castle.
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Americas wealth gap is wide and getting wider, with the number of billionaires multiplying during the coronavirus pandemic. Stacker takes a look at how we got where we are. Click for more.
One of Editor & Publishers 10 That Do It Right 2021
Village Trustee Joe Brown stands near where he wants to put a second siren in Fisher, near the pond close to the intersection of Ashlyn and Robert drives west of downtown.
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Mary Schenk is a reporter covering police, courts and breaking news at The News-Gazette. Her email is mschenk@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@schenk).
SUPERINTENDENT JENNIFER IVORY-TATUM'S LETTER TO URBANA FAMILIES

Greetings Urbana Families,

I am writing today to ask for your assistance in preventing our students from participating in inappropriate behavior at school and filming it for social media.

The District is aware of monthly challenges circulating on the social media app TikTok. The challenge for October involves slapping teachers.

I encourage all families to discuss the seriousness of these actions with their student(s) as soon as possible. USD #116 has a zero-tolerance policy for this type of destructive and disruptive behavior, and students will face disciplinary action if they participate in this challenge. Striking a teacher is considered a criminal offense and could result in a felony assault charge.

Please take time to discuss the importance of not participating in dangerous, destructive, or illegal social media challenges with your children. Our students think of TikTok as social entertainment, but are not always thinking ahead to the repercussions of their actions. Avoiding these challenges will help students avoid the serious consequences that go along with them. We also encourage parents and guardians to monitor your student(s) social media use.

As always, our community is Stronger and Better when we work Together! We appreciate your help in keeping our schools safe for everyone.

Respectfully,

Dr. Ivory-Tatum
Longview, TX (75601)

Today

Cloudy skies this morning will become partly cloudy this afternoon. High 61F. Winds NNE at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Clear skies. Low near 35F. Winds light and variable.
He sent His word and healed them, and saved them from their destruction.

Psalm 107:20
An international team of scientists has recently investigated how African countries report and share data related to the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. They have found that African countries use distinct reporting systems that include social media posts, website updates, situation reports, press releases, and online dashboards. A detailed report of the findings is currently available on the medRxiv* preprint server.

Background

For better pandemic management, accurate reporting and public access to COVID-19 data is crucial. An optimal reporting system should include the actual number of COVID-19 cases, patient demographics, comorbidities, epidemiological risk factors, testing practices, and healthcare capacities. However, a significant variation in COVID-19 reporting systems has been observed between countries across the globe. This could severely impact the pandemic-related risk management and national/international decision-making and policymaking at the global level.

A lower-than-expected infection and mortality rate was observed in African countries at the beginning of the pandemic. However, the continent has faced major outbreaks of more infectious variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) during the later phase of the pandemic. To control the pandemic trajectory, African public health authorities have modified and improved COVID-19 reporting systems both at the national- and continental levels.

In the current study, the scientists have examined digital reporting of COVID-19 cases, risk factors, and healthcare capacity in 54 African countries to gain more insight into future pandemic response and preparedness.

National COVID-19 data reporting systems in Africa African countries are depicted with identified type of national COVID-19 data reporting system. If a country used multiple reporting systems, the system with higher data quality is shown.

Important observations

The scientists identified digital reporting systems in 53 out of 54 African countries examined. Tanzania was the only country with no reporting system.

The reporting systems of 68% of countries included routine situation reports and online dashboards. Of these countries, 83% showed subnational data, 55% showed the total number of tests performed, and 53%, 39%, and 14% included information about patients gender, age, and comorbidities, respectively.

For COVID-19 reporting, extra-budgetary funds were used by 50% of countries. Moreover, about 69% of countries used social media for presenting COVID-19 related statistics.

Country-specific reporting systems

For further comparison, the scientists separately analyzed the digital reporting systems of five particular countries.

Cameroon

The reporting system of Cameroon included routine situation reports containing regular updates on healthcare capacity (availability of hospital beds and oxygen concentrators), testing capacity, patient comorbidities, and cases among healthcare workers. However, the COVID-19 reports of the country were less accessible by the general population. In Central Africa, other five countries, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, and Sao Tome and Principe, also provided situation reports and online dashboards.

Egypt

Underreporting of COVID-19 cases occurred initially in Egypt. Afterward, the government started providing total cases, deaths, and recoveries on a website in Arabic. However, the reports did not include information about patients demographics and comorbidities. Only Tunisia, Morocco, and Sudan provided situation reports and online dashboards among other six North African countries.

Kenya

The countrys government provided high-quality reports that included testing details, healthcare capacity, patient demographics and comorbidities, the geographical distribution of cases, and the total number of hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and home isolations.

Senegal

The countrys government provided real-time COVID-19 case data through situation reports and online dashboards. In general, the majority of West African countries had high-quality reporting systems.

South Africa

The situation reports and online dashboard primarily included detailed hospital surveillance data and routine updates on COVID-19 statistics in this country. Moreover, detailed information on hospitalizations, demographics, and comorbidities of COVID-19 patients were included in the reporting system. Other South African countries with situation reports and online dashboards included Botswana, Eswatini, and Namibia.

Study significance

Overall, the study identifies a significant variation in data reporting systems across African countries, with some providing enriched, high-quality reports and some providing inadequate, infrequent, and underestimated reports.

Based on the observations, the scientists suggest that COVID-19 reporting systems should include information about demographics, comorbidities, testing, and healthcare capacity in addition to reporting cases, deaths, and recoveries. These additional details could benefit healthcare professionals, researchers, decision-makers, and the general public to better understand the pandemic.

*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.
An automated system that uses artificial intelligence (AI) can quickly and accurately sift through breast MRIs in women with dense breasts to eliminate those without cancer, freeing up radiologists to focus on more complex cases, according to a study published in Radiology.

Mammography has helped reduce deaths from breast cancer by providing early detection when the cancer is most treatable. However, it is less sensitive in women with extremely dense breasts than in women with fatty breasts. In addition, women with extremely dense breasts have a three- to six-times higher risk of developing breast cancer than women with almost entirely fatty breasts and a twofold higher risk than the average woman.

Supplemental screening in women with extremely dense breasts increases the sensitivity of cancer detection. Research from the Dense Tissue and Early Breast Neoplasm Screening (DENSE) Trial, a large study based in the Netherlands, supported the use of supplemental screening with MRI.

The DENSE trial showed that additional MRI screening for women with extremely dense breasts was beneficial. On the other hand, the DENSE trial confirmed that the vast majority of screened women do not have any suspicious findings on MRI." Erik Verburg, M.Sc., Study Lead Author, Image Sciences Institute, University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands

Since most MRIs show normal anatomical and physiological variation that may not require radiological review, ways to triage these normal MRIs to reduce radiologist workload are needed.

In the first study of its kind, Verburg and colleagues set out to determine the feasibility of an automated triaging method based on deep learning, a sophisticated type of AI. They used breast MRI data from the DENSE trial to develop and train the deep learning model to distinguish between breasts with and without lesions. The model was trained on data from seven hospitals and tested on data from an eighth hospital.

More than 4,500 MRI datasets of extremely dense breasts were included. Of the 9,162 breasts, 838 had at least one lesion, of which 77 were malignant, and 8,324 had no lesions.

The deep learning model considered 90.7% of the MRIs with lesions to be non-normal and triaged them to radiological review. It dismissed about 40% of the lesion-free MRIs without missing any cancers.

"We showed that it is possible to safely use artificial intelligence to dismiss breast screening MRIs without missing any malignant disease," Verburg said. "The results were better than expected. Forty percent is a good start. However, we have still 60% to improve."

The AI-based triaging system has the potential to significantly reduce radiologist workload, Verburg said. In the Netherlands alone, nearly 82,000 women may be eligible for biennial MRI breast screening based on breast density.

"The approach can first be used to assist radiologists to reduce overall reading time," Verburg said. "Consequently, more time could become available to focus on the really complex breast MRI examinations."

The researchers plan to validate the model in other datasets and deploy it in subsequent screening rounds of the DENSE trial.
A wireless kit, comprising headphones, a microphone, and an app might be a cheap alternative to the usual treatment of the common temporary hearing loss in kids, popularly known as 'glue ear,' finds a small study, published in the online journal BMJ Innovations.

It may avoid the need for surgery in many cases, and could cut down on clinic visits, by enabling parents to monitor their child's hearing remotely at home, say the researchers.

Glue ear (otitis media with effusion), occurs when the middle part of the ear fills up with sticky fluid, usually after a cough, cold, or ear infection, causing temporary hearing loss in one or both ears.

One in 10 children starting school in the UK or Europe will have some hearing loss caused by glue ear.

Deafness in young children can interfere with speech development, language, communication, auditory processing, self-esteem, socialisation, listening and learning, say the researchers.

Current solutions are far from ideal. A grommet, or T-tube, is a small tube designed to drain fluid away and keep the eardrum open, but it requires insertion under general anaesthetic.

Around a third of children fitted with them will develop an infection as a result; and in a small percentage of cases, grommet insertion risks perforating the eardrum or permanent scarring.

Hearing aids require several audiology appointments to adjust sound levels correctly, because the condition fluctuates.

And hearing aids that enable sound to vibrate through the skull bone directly to the cochlea (inner ear bone), so bypassing the eardrum and middle ear, are very effective. But they are expensive.

Bone conduction headphones, however, which are marketed to cyclists, allow sound from mobile phones to be directed straight to the cochlea while not blocking out vital sound from traffic, and are much cheaper.

The researchers wanted to find out if the commercially available Bone Conduction Kit, comprising a wireless headset plus microphone, paired with the freely available Hear Glue Ear app, would enable children and their parents to manage glue ear effectively at home.

The parents of 26 children diagnosed with glue ear and/or scheduled for grommet insertion in the local area during the first wave of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic in the UK, were sent the kits and details of the app.

They filled in an Otitis Media Quality of life questionnaire within 3 weeks of kit receipt to assess the impact of ear problems on their children with and without the kit. Progress was monitored via remote virtual or phone consultations over the subsequent 3 months.

The children, who were all aged between 3 and 11, made up 82% of those on the local surgical list for grommet insertion. Their average level of hearing loss had been measured as mild.

Twenty families set up the kit successfully straight away; four others waited for a call. After the initial set-up, four families required additional help to use the kit later on.

In the 3 months before the kit was supplied, 19 sets of parents said their child's hearing had been poor or very poor. None of the parents reported this while using the kit, with 24 reporting it as 'normal' or only 'slightly below normal'.

Twenty three parents reported that their child 'often' or 'always' had difficulty hearing in a group before the kit's arrival, compared with 22 out of 26 saying their child rarely or never had problems hearing in a group when using the kit.

Two thirds (17) used the app at home, 8% (2) on car journeys, and 26% (7) didn't use it at all. Fifteen (58%) of the children took the kit to school or nursery.

One family commented that the school took their child's hearing more seriously as a result; one parent said the headset was a visual cue to others that their child needed support. But three mentioned schools needed more support, or more resources, to use the kit at school.

By the end of 2020, none of the children had had a grommet inserted. Three families said they would continue to use the kit rather than have a grommet inserted.

All families chose to keep the kit at the end of the study, even if the child's hearing had improved. Most found remote management acceptable and thought their child had benefited.

The researchers acknowledge that the study was short term, didn't include a comparator group, and only involved a small number of children.

But remote management of glue ear in this way has many advantages, they point out, including improving children's hearing at an important stage of their development; reducing travel to clinics with small children; and enabling children to hear online learning more clearly.

"Innovative use of bone conduction headphones, a microphone and the Hear Glue Ear app, sent through the post to patients, is a novel, new and effective approach to the management of glue ear and its resulting hearing loss, especially when families have reduced access to audiology or Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) services, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic," write the researchers.

Further larger scale studies are needed to look at the cost effectiveness and clinical effectiveness at scale, they say. But they add that this option might avoid the need for grommets in many cases of glue ear, while enabling mild, fluctuating cases to be offered early hearing support.
A drug commonly used to treat cancer can restore memory and cognitive function in mice that display symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, new UBC research has found.

The drug, Axitinib, inhibits the growth of new blood vessels in the brain-;a feature shared by both cancer tumours and Alzheimer's disease, but this hallmark represents a new target for Alzheimer's therapies.

Mice with Alzheimer's disease that underwent the therapy not only exhibited a reduction in blood vessels and other Alzheimer's markers in their brains, they also performed remarkably well in tests designed to measure learning and memory.

We are really very excited, because these findings suggest we can repurpose approved anti-cancer drugs for use as treatments for Alzheimer's disease. It could shorten the clinical development by years." Professor Wilf Jefferies, study's senior author and principal investigator, Centre for Blood Research, Vancouver Prostate Centre and Michael Smith Laboratories

Alzheimer's disease is estimated to affect 50 million people worldwide. The condition is characterized by cognitive decline, memory loss and dysfunctional changes in the brain.

Potential Alzheimer's treatments have shown promise in animal models before, but failed in clinical trials. Typically, these strategies target a protein called tau or a protein fragment known as beta-amyloid, but the UBC researchers chose a different approach. They left the traditional targets alone and instead focused on curbing angiogenesis: the growth of new blood vessels.

"The vast majority of clinical trials have either directly or indirectly targeted beta-amyloid or tau," said Prof. Jefferies. "Other than some controversial recent results, there's been a paucity of success in these clinical trials. So, a great deal of effort appears to have been directed toward the wrong targets for reversing Alzheimer's disease."

Setting the stage for the present study, Prof. Jefferies' earlier pioneering work had shown that the proliferation of blood vessels compromises the blood-brain barrier in patients with Alzheimer's disease. This barrier, made largely of blood vessels, is believed to protect the brain from infection because foreign molecules cannot easily cross it.

Since cancerous tumours also rely on new blood vessel growth to survive and thrive, the researchers reasoned that a proven anti-cancer drug might halt the process in Alzheimer's.

"Axitinib, the anti-cancer drug we used, blocks a receptor in the brain called a tyrosine kinase receptor, which is partly responsible for spurring blood vessel formation," explained Dr. Chaahat Singh, the paper's first author and a postdoctoral fellow working with Prof. Jefferies. "It stops abnormal blood vessels from growing, which then prevents many downstream effects."

By using Axitinib for just one month, the researchers dramatically reduced blood vessel growth, restored the blood-brain barrier, and most significantly, helped mice perform better on cognitive tests.

In a typical test, a mouse is trained how to reach a reward through a maze. A healthy mouse can find its way back to the reward, while an animal with Alzheimer's disease symptoms cannot.

The treatment has only been applied to mice thus far. Clinical trials will be needed to assess the effectiveness of this treatment in patients with Alzheimer's disease, as well as consideration for the long-term use of anti-cancer drugs in people living with Alzheimer's, who are mostly elders.

Still, the researchers are optimistic. If Axitinib does work well in humans, repurposing an already-approved drug could more rapidly advance its use for Alzheimer's.

"Researchers including myself have been disappointed in observing numerous clinical trials for Alzheimer's disease fail to reach their clinical endpoints," said Prof. Jefferies. "The therapeutic approach we discovered has an opportunity to revise the clinical treatment of Alzheimer's patients, which I think is absolutely needed at this point for the field to advance."

Prof. Jefferies and his collaborators have shared their findings in EBioMedicine, published by The Lancet.

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the W. Garfield Weston Foundation and the UBC Centre for Blood Research provided funding to Prof. Jefferies for this research.
The School of Public Health at Georgia State University has received a $624,000 federal grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to implement a mental health awareness training program for adults who regularly interact with youth. The program aims to increase community capacity to identify mental health concerns in children ages 12 to 18 and improve their access to needed supports and services.

Adults who regularly interact with youth, such as community center leaders and school personnel, will be trained on the Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) curriculum. The evidence-based curriculum will train non-clinicians to identify the signs and symptoms of mental health concerns in youth and respond to those who are experiencing a mental health challenge or crisis.

Dr. Natasha De Veauuse Brown, research assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy & Behavioral Sciences and in the Center for Leadership in Disability, is the principal investigator of the five-year project.

This funding comes at a critical time when young people are increasingly facing more life challenges that can negatively impact their psychological, emotional and social well-being in the short- and long-term. Equipping the adults in their life with the knowledge and practical skills to identify potential mental health issues early on is essential for addressing and/or thwarting the development of serious emotional disturbances and mental disorders now and later in life." Dr. De Veauuse Brown, Projects's Principal Investigator

The trainees of the YMHFA program will also learn de-escalation strategies to use with youth having a mental health crisis or emotional disturbance and how to make the "warm handoff" to a licensed mental health professional as needed.

"Ideally, the project will yield a significant decrease in the damaging stigma surrounding mental illness that exists in so many communities," said Dr. De Veauuse Brown. "Additionally, the planned activities will ultimately result in heightened awareness about the importance of mental health given its ability to directly impact multiple areas of a person's life, such as physical health, relationships and educational success. The hope is that a person with a mental health challenge will not be embarrassed to seek the help they need and that they will receive the same support and encouragement from the people in their life that they would if they had a medical concern such as diabetes or a broken leg."

The project will initiate a community awareness campaign with the annual goal of training 400 participants to help build capacity, increase knowledge about mental illness services and increase the number of referrals made to mental health services for youth in crisis. The campaign aims to bring attention to the need for culturally competent and developmentally appropriate services for youth experiencing a mental health challenge, including assessing the effectiveness and cultural appropriateness of a YMHFA curriculum made for people who speak Spanish.
Both maternal and infant wellbeing has been substantially impacted due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) during pregnancy has been linked to an increased risk of preterm birth. In contrast, a reduction in preterm births has been reported during community lockdowns in non-infected mothers. However, studies assessing the impact this has on neonatal outcomes are lacking, and the previous studies that consider this issue are from countries with relatively high COVID-19 community transmission rates.

Melbourne, Australia, was subjected to one of the worlds strictest community transmission mitigation measures for a lockdown period of two weeks in 2020. The strict lockdown measures relative to low rates of community transmission provide a unique setting to examine the effects of the lockdown.

It has been suggested that a lack of exposure to infectious pathogens is directly correlated to a reduction in preterm births during lockdown. A team of researchers from Australian institutes examined the consequences of community-wide lockdowns on neonatal outcomes of preterm infants, with a secondary focus on the underlying rates of systemic inflammation in infants and mothers around the time of birth.

A preprint version of this study, which is yet to undergo peer review, is available on the medRxiv* preprint server.

What was the research methodology?

The authors conducted a retrospective cohort study at Monash Health, Melbournes largest public health service, facilitating >1000 births per year. Preterm infants (>20 weeks and <37 weeks gestation) born from mothers with conception dates between 1 November 2019 and 29 February 2020, who would have been between 3 and 19 weeks pregnant when lockdown commenced (exposed group), were compared to preterm infants conceived within the same time period a year before (control group).

The authors focus on a composite of death or significant morbidity for this study, which included chronic lung disease (CLD), necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), severe intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH), retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), or culture-positive sepsis. The secondary outcomes studied by the authors were the rates of individual preterm complications and differences in inflammatory markers between cohorts.

What did the authors find?

In the exposed group, there was 295/3187 (9.3%) live neonates born <37 weeks, compared to the control group, which had 347/3229 (10.7%) live neonates. The median gestational age for the exposed group was 35+4 weeks versus 35+0 weeks in the control group. In the exposed group, the primary outcome occurred in 36 (12.2%) of infants <37 weeks, compared to 46 (13.3%) infants <37 weeks in the control group.

When the unit of analysis was considered as the mother, the primary outcome due to prematurity occurred in 36/3187 (1.1%) in the exposed group and 46/3229 (1.4%) in the control group of live neonates born before 37 weeks. The secondary outcomes displayed a significant reduction in jaundice, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) requirement, hypoglycemia, admission to neonatal intensive care unit >48 hours, and median neonatal intensive care unit length of stay in the exposed group (Table 1).

Comparison of neonatal outcomes (live neonates < 37 weeks gestation)

Implications

Although the authors reported a 15% reduction in preterm births <37 weeks gestation within the lockdown group, their findings displayed no significant difference in the composite primary neonatal outcome among preterm infants. Among the preterm infants in the exposed group, there was a 34% reduction in neonatal jaundice, a 41% reduction in CPAP requirement, a 33% reduction in the need for neonatal intensive care unit, and a 45% reduction in hypoglycemia. These reductions in common complications observed in infants could reflect the significantly higher birth weight seen in the exposed group when compared to the unexposed group.

When compared to infants born to mothers who were acutely affected by COVID-19, the results from this study are almost the exact opposite. Infants from mothers affected by COVID-19 displayed increased neonatal intensive care unit visits, jaundice, and respiratory distress. This highlights that the results from this study could be due to the impact of community lockdown alone without high COVID-19 infection rates.

*Important Notice

medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.
A new low-cost ventilator design invented during COVID-19 could address the global shortage of ventilators for other respiratory diseases.

The ventilators, which are required by patients in intensive care units (ICU) who are seriously ill with respiratory diseases like COVID-19, flu, and tuberculosis, are both simpler and cheaper to make than currently available ventilators.

Now, the creators of the designs hope that their promising technology, initially developed for emergency short-term ventilators in response to the coronavirus pandemic, will help to address the shortage of mechanical ventilators in developing countries in the long term.

In a new paper published in Frontiers in Medical Technology, the researchers behind the 'RELAVENT' ventilator (previously known as JAMVENT), have demonstrated that the design achieves all of the performance requirements set out in ISO 80601, the international standard for critical care ventilators. The team also showed that the system performs equally well with a home-use oxygen concentrator as with pressurized gas supplies like those found in hospitals.

The paper also sets out the designs of the prototype and details the rigorous testing required for regulatory approval. They hope that following funding and approval as a medical device, the ventilators can be used in low-and-middle income countries (LMICs) and newly emerging economies (NEEs), which suffer from an historical long-term shortage of ventilators.

ICU ventilators made by big manufacturers have always been too expensive and complex for developing countries to buy and maintain, so many of the less affluent parts of the world simply have minimal access to ventilators. In addition, most of the new ventilator designs created for COVID-19 were based on emergency short-term manufacturing and are not appropriate for long-term intensive care support, which is desperately needed in LMICs and NEEs." Dr Joseph van Batenburg-Sherwood, Lead Researcher, Imperial College London's Department of Bioengineering

The next step towards approval as a medical device will be development from the advanced prototype stage to a mass-manufacturable medical device, which must be carried out under special regulatory conditions. To do this, they have launched a start-up, known as Phaedrus World Medical Limited alongside two experienced med-tech entrepreneurs. They are currently seeking investment to turn their designs into useable ventilators.

Liz Hughes, CEO of Phaedrus World Medical Limited, said: "RELAVENT delivers simple yet high performance mechanical ventilation. Its versatility enables access to respiratory support across many different treatment areas, and has the potential to save many lives. This has only been made possible by the efforts of the amazing Imperial College engineering team alongside clinical input from our medical advisor who has firsthand experience in our target markets."

The beauty of simplicity

Co-author Dr Jakob Mathiszig-Lee, of Imperial's Department of Surgery & Cancer, said: "In the UK we suffered a shortage of mechanical ventilators to treat our sickest COVID-19 patients, but such a shortage of reliable mechanical ventilation is the norm in much of the world. In LMICs and NEEs other respiratory diseases such as tuberculosis, pneumonia and influenza result in more deaths every year than COVID-19."

Dr van Batenburg-Sherwood added: "Our ventilators are inspired by the beauty of simplicity. Rather than using the complex control valves used in most ventilators, we conceived a way to use simple on-off valves to provide the high-level performance required of ICU ventilators. This way, we have made the technology much cheaper and less expensive to make and maintain."

Co-author Professor James Moore, Director of Translation for Imperial's Department of Bioengineering, said: "We are keen to bring our ventilator to as many hospitals as possible to combat serious respiratory diseases worldwide. We have the right technology to help address this unmet medical need and hope to attract investment to help take it further."
A public/private collaboration led by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin has resulted in a new mathematical modeling technique that can accurately predict the response of tumors in breast cancer patients to treatments such as chemotherapy soon after treatment initiation. This is a major improvement on current methods that can determine the efficacy of first-line therapies only after the patient has already received several treatment cycles.

Neoadjuvant therapies (NAT) are designed to shrink tumors and are often the first step in locally advanced cancer treatment before surgery is deemed necessary. Examples include chemotherapy, hormone therapy and, more recently, immunotherapy. As we know, such treatments can be very effective. However, they can also take a toll on a patient's overall health without any guarantee of success. Developing a method to predict a patient's response to NAT, therefore, is a crucial step forward.

When you assess something after it has happened, you cannot intervene if it is going poorly. But if you can predict how something will go before it happens, you can intervene and try to improve the outcome.

"The goal is to address this unmet need by developing methods that integrate advanced MRI data with biology-based mathematical modeling to predict and optimize the response of breast cancer to NAT," said computational oncologist Tom Yankeelov, director of the Center for Computational Oncology at UT Austin's Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences and Livestrong Cancer Institutes member, with appointments at Dell Medical School and the Cockrell School's Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME).

Yankeelov, who led the study, described the research as the "culmination of several years of work in a public-private partnership" that included UT Austin's Oden Institute, BME and the Livestrong Cancer Institutes at Dell Med, as well as Texas Oncology, Dell Seton Medical Center at The University of Texas and the Austin Radiological Association.

The new method stands in stark contrast to other, more popular trends in contemporary oncology research that favor a "big data" approach.

The big data approach relies exclusively on statistical inference from properties of large populations. In other words, access to large and relevant patient data sets is crucial. But it still does not guarantee better outcomes for patients because an individual patient can be quite different from the large population used to infer information about the individual.

There is growing evidence that a 'big data-only' approach inevitably obscures conditions specific to the individual patient over time, especially for a disease as heterogeneous as cancer. We require one set of MRI data before a patient goes on treatment, and then a second set very early after treatment starts. From those two data sets, we calibrate a mathematical model of the tumor to make a patient-specific prediction of whether the tumor will respond to the prescribed therapies." Tom Yankeelov, Computational Oncologist

The research is featured in the latest edition of Nature Protocols. But publishing a paper has not signified the end of this partnership.

Performing this research in community health clinics demonstrates that it can have real-world impact beyond academic settings. Successfully doing so, however, introduces a unique set of challenges.

"This technology won't help anyone until we can move it beyond the lab," said Jack Virostko, an assistant professor at Dell Med and co-author of the study. "We are actively working to introduce it into the community setting where most patients get their care. This paper shows that it can be done."

The success of any partnership composed of distinct groups rests upon more than the discovery of novel research findings. It also depends on a good collaborative relationship among all parties.

"I am incredibly excited about the collaborations between the Oden Institute, Dell Medical School, BME and our community-based clinics," said study co-principal investigator Debra Patt, vice president for policy and strategic initiatives at Texas Oncology, clinical professor at Dell Med, and Livestrong Cancer Institutes member. "This work we embark upon together allows us to realize optimal bench-to-bedside research and change cancer care for the better."
Fenchol, a natural compound abundant in some plants including basil, can help protect the brain against Alzheimer's disease pathology, a preclinical study led by University of South Florida Health (USF Health) researchers suggests.

The new study published Oct. 5 in the Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience (@FrontiersIn), discovered a sensing mechanism associated with the gut microbiome that explains how fenchol reduces neurotoxicity in the Alzheimer's brain.

Emerging evidence indicates that short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) metabolites produced by beneficial gut bacteria and the primary source of nutrition for cells in your colon -- contribute to brain health. The abundance of SCFAs is often reduced in older patients with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia. However, how this decline in SCFAs contributes to Alzheimer's disease progression remains largely unknown.

Gut-derived SCFAs that travel through the blood to the brain can bind to and activate free fatty acid receptor 2 (FFAR2), a cell signaling molecule expressed on brain cells called neurons.

Our study is the first to discover that stimulation of the FFAR2 sensing mechanism by these microbial metabolites (SCFAs) can be beneficial in protecting brain cells against toxic accumulation of the amyloid-beta (A) protein associated with Alzheimer's disease." Hariom Yadav, PhD, principal investigator, professor of neurosurgery and brain repair at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, where he directs the USF Center for Microbiome Research

One of the two hallmark pathologies of Alzheimer's disease is hardened deposits of A that clump together between nerve cells to form amyloid protein plaques in the brain. The other is neurofibrillary tangles of tau protein inside brain cells. These pathologies contribute to the neuron loss and death that ultimately cause the onset of Alzheimer's, a neurodegenerative disease characterized by loss of memory, thinking skills and other cognitive abilities.

Dr. Yadav and his collaborators delve into molecular mechanisms to explain how interactions between the gut microbiome and the brain might influence brain health and age-related cognitive decline. In this study, Dr. Yadav said, the research team set out to uncover the "previously unknown" function of FFAR2 in the brain.

The researchers first showed that inhibiting the FFAR2 receptor (thus blocking its ability to "sense" SCFAs in the environment outside the neuronal cell and transmit signaling inside the cell) contributes to the abnormal buildup of the A protein causing neurotoxicity linked to Alzheimer's disease.

Then, they performed large-scale virtual screening of more than 144,000 natural compounds to find potential candidates that could mimic the same beneficial effect of microbiota produced SCFAs in activating FFAR2 signaling. Identifying a natural compound alternative to SCFAs to optimally target the FFAR2 receptor on neurons is important, because cells in the gut and other organs consume most of these microbial metabolites before they reach the brain through blood circulation, Dr. Yadav noted.

Dr. Yadav's team narrowed 15 leading compound candidates to the most potent one. Fenchol, a plant-derived compound that gives basil its aromatic scent, was best at binding to the FFAR's active site to stimulate its signaling.

Further experiments in human neuronal cell cultures, as well as Caenorhabditis (C.) elegans (worm) and mouse models of Alzheimer's disease demonstrated that fenchol significantly reduced excess A accumulation and death of neurons by stimulating FFAR2 signaling, the microbiome sensing mechanism. When the researchers more closely examined how fenchol modulates A-induced neurotoxicity, they found that the compound decreased senescent neuronal cells, also known as "zombie" cells, commonly found in brains with Alzheimer's disease pathology.

Zombie cells stop replicating and die a slow death. Meanwhile, Dr. Yadav said, they build up in diseased and aging organs, create a damaging inflammatory environment, and send stress or death signals to neighboring healthy cells, which eventually also change into harmful zombie cells or die.

"Fenchol actually affects the two related mechanisms of senescence and proteolysis," Dr. Yadav said of the intriguing preclinical study finding. "It reduces the formation of half-dead zombie neuronal cells and also increases the degradation of (nonfunctioning) A, so that amyloid protein is cleared from the brain much faster."

Before you start throwing lots of extra basil in your spaghetti sauce or anything else you eat to help stave off dementia, more research is needed -- including in humans.

In exploring fenchol as a possible approach for treating or preventing Alzheimer's pathology, the USF Health team will seek answers to several questions. A key one is whether fenchol consumed in basil itself would be more or less bioactive (effective) than isolating and administering the compound in a pill, Dr. Yadav said. "We also want to know whether a potent dose of either basil or fenchol would be a quicker way to get the compound into the brain."

The USF Health-led research was supported in part by grants from the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the NIH-funded Wake Forest Clinical and Translational Science Institute.
Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, in close collaboration with New York University, has received $11.6 million in funding from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities to develop the Rutgers-NYU Center for Asian Health Promotion and Equity (CAHPE). The center will serve as a regional hub for researchers to conduct studies on cardiometabolic disease and mental health issues in Asians throughout the New Jersey-New York area.

The Rutgers-NYU Center for Asian Health Promotion and Equity will have the following aims:

Create infrastructure to support high quality research on "Heart-Mind" connection through cardiometabolic (including cardiovascular disease, stroke, and diabetes) and mental health.

Provide annual funding for six pilot research projects.

Conduct interdisciplinary projects focusing on nutritional, emotional, and dementia caregiving interventions to target diverse Asian population at high risk.

Disseminate study findings to the local, regional, and national levels to inform future prevention and intervention research strategies.

XinQi Dong, director of the Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research and the inaugural Henry Rutgers Distinguished Professor of Population Health Sciences, and Bei Wu, inaugural co-director of the Aging Incubator at New York University, Dean's Professor in Global Health, and Director of Global Health and Aging Research at NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing, will serve as principal investigators for the new center.

"Building on two decades of health equity research in minority populations, we have leveraged strong partnerships across multiple academic and community institutions to build a center designed to foster the next generation of diverse researchers focused on cardiometabolic and mental health outcomes in US Asians," said Dong.

Asians are the fastest growing yet most understudied US minority group at 23 million people, having grown 26 percent from 2010-2019. Yet less than one percent of research funding from the National Institutes for Health in the last 10 years was focused on US Asian populations. Currently, there are significant disparities in the Asian community's relationship to heart health and mental health. The Rutgers-NYU Center for Asian Health Promotion and Equity intends to focus on cardiometabolic disease and mental health research to inform both practice and policy at community, regional, and national levels.

Health disparities in the Asian community are perpetuated by the "Asian Paradox." US Asians are, on average, the highest income earners and the most highly educated, but more older Asian adults live below the poverty line, are less likely to participate in biomedical research, and suffer disproportional health disparities compared to white Americans.

"These health inequities are further complicated by the heterogeneity of these immigrant populations, especially with respect to culture, religion, language, sexual identity, and trauma exposure, many of which challenge our assumptions about the 'model minority' stereotype around Asian-Americans," explains Wu.

The $11.6 million in funding from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, part of National Institutes of Health (NIH), is a five-year clinical research center grant (P50MD017356-01). This is the first P50 grant awarded to Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences and to the NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing. The purpose of the NIH funding opportunity is to support regional comprehensive centers on the prevention, treatment, and management of chronic diseases associated with health disparities.

Thanks to this NIH funding, the center will generate knowledge to address troubling gaps in research on Asian health and reduce health disparities in this population. We are pleased to be working with Rutgers and leveraging NYU Meyers' deep expertise in health equity and chronic diseases in this endeavor." Eileen Sullivan-Marx, Dean and Erline Perkins McGriff professor at NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing

"The Rutgers-NYU Center for Asian Health Promotion and Equity will bring much needed focus, coordination, and resources to research focusing on Asian health issues," said Brian L. Strom, chancellor of Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences. "As a leading academic health center in one of the country's most diverse and populous regions, Rutgers boasts clinicians and scientists who have exceptional experience in improving health outcomes among underserved populations. We are excited to apply our expertise, in collaboration with NYU, in advancing this important work."
A large study from Ontario confirms that SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs), especially the Delta variant, are more virulent than the native strain of the virus, increasing people's risk of hospitalization, admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) and death due to COVID-19. The research is published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.211248.

The study included 212 326 cases of COVID-19 reported between February 7 and June 26, 2021, in Ontario, Canada's largest province with a population of almost 14.8 million. Variants of concern include those with the N501Y mutation such as Alpha, Beta and Gamma as well as Delta, which have replaced the original SARS-CoV-2 strain. Of the total cases, 22.4% were non-VOC, 76.7% were infections with N501Y mutations, and 2.8% were probable Delta.

By April 2021, the Delta variant was present in Ontario and was the dominant strain by July 2021.

The emergence of novel SARS-CoV-2 VOCs has slowed progress against the pandemic in 3 distinct ways, namely by increasing transmissibility and the virus' reproduction number, by increasing immune escape and diminishing vaccine effectiveness, and by increasing the virulence of SARS-CoV-2 infection." Drs. David Fisman and Ashley Tuite, Coauthors, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario

Some findings:

People infected with VOCs were significantly younger and less likely to have comorbidities than those with non-VOC infections

Infections with VOCs were more common in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, Ontario's largest metropolitan area

Delta variants were significantly less common in Ottawa, Ontario's second largest metropolitan area

With Alpha, Beta and Gamma VOC infections, risks of hospitalization were 52% higher, admission to ICU was 89% higher and death was 51% higher; with Delta infections, risks were 108%, 235% and 133% higher, respectively

Even after adjusting for age, sex, comorbidities and other factors, the increased risk of adverse outcomes persisted.

The researchers also looked at the effect of vaccination, which blunted the severity of VOCs by reducing the risk of severe disease and death in partially and fully vaccinated people.

"The effects reported here represent a substantial degree of protection against death conferred by vaccines (about 80%90%), even when they fail to prevent infection. Such direct protective effects may help reduce the health impacts of ongoing SARS-CoV-2 transmission in Ontario, even if herd immunity proves elusive, given the high reproduction numbers of VOCs," write the authors.

The research findings add to studies from England, Scotland and Singapore indicating the Delta variant increases risk of emergency department use, hospitalization and severe outcomes.

"The increasing virulence of SARS-CoV-2 VOCs will lead to a considerably larger, and more deadly, pandemic than would have occurred in the absence of the emergence of VOCs," write the authors.

In a related editorial, Dr. Kirsten Patrick, Interim Editor-in-Chief, CMAJ, urges Canada's leaders to use all available tools to control the spread of SARS-CoV-2 as a second COVID-19 pandemic winter approaches https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.211656.

"Canada is battling a different pandemic from the one it faced in early 2020. The virus has become smarter and more dangerous, which means that we need to be smarter too. Canada's governments can keep people safe by enacting policies that wisely combine all the measures that have been shown to be effective," writes Dr. Patrick.

Effective measures include boosting SARS-CoV-2 vaccination rates in Canada by extending vaccine mandates and passports and prohibiting anti-vaccination rallies near health care and educational facilities; prioritizing the approval of safe vaccines for children; working with other countries to ensure vaccine delivery globally; and continuing to use established public health tools to identify, track and control outbreaks.

"We must collectively learn from past mistakes and make sure to use all the tools at our disposal to avoid future lockdowns and prevent further devastation to our health care infrastructure," she concludes.
Six key humanities programs at the University of Oklahoma will benefit from a $500,000 award from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the largest ever total grant from the NEH for OU. The funding originated through the American Rescue Plan, intended to help humanities organizations across the country that have been negatively impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Kimberly J. Marshall, director of the OU Arts and Humanities Forum and an associate professor of anthropology, spearheaded the "New Stories of the West, for the West" grant team. She said the humanities funding provided through the American Rescue Plan is evidence of the value of the arts and humanities and a recognition of the ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted humanistic work.

Among all the other things that the American Rescue Plan did, it recognized that the humanities sector is an essential component of economic and civic life in the United States, and that this sector had been negatively impacted by the pandemic." Kimberly J. Marshall, Director, OU Arts and Humanities Forum

Noting that the ARP: Humanities Organization grant program specified that they would only accept one application from each humanities entity, Marshall said their first challenge at OU was to coordinate all the varying needs of different humanities entities and projects across campus into one compelling narrative.

Janet Ward, senior associate vice president for research and partnerships, knew that the Arts and Humanities Forum was ideally positioned for such coordination and asked Marshall to lead the grant team. Marshall organized the application coordination, writing and submission as the lead principal investigator.

"Since the forum is a Provost-Direct center and serves units across the entire campus, Dr. Marshall was ideally positioned to lead this application's initiative," Ward said. "We are immensely proud of her team's success."

The humanities entities at OU funded by the grant are the OU Press, the OU Native Nations Center, the OU Arts and Humanities Forum, World Literature Today, the Oklahoma Weather Community Oral History Project and the Oklahoma Native American Youth Language Fair.

According to Marshall, each of the six public-facing projects receiving the NEH funding "reinforce the core mission of the OU Press to document and study the story of the West, but also carry the energy of the Native Nations Center to expand the authorship and dissemination of this story beyond those who have traditionally controlled and accessed it."

She added, "A land of vast space, new possibilities, self-reliance and extremes both natural and social, the West occupies a unique place in the story of America. Understanding the diverse voices that have shaped this region, most especially those from Native North America, and engaging a broader swath of participants in a dialogue about the expanding meanings of this region will help to establish a story of America better reflective of both this nation's complex past and its idealism for the future."

Specifically, the grant provides needed general funding for the OU Press, one of the world's pre-eminent publishers of the story of the American West, which was negatively impacted by the pandemic at all stages of book production from author recruitment to reviewing and editing, marketing and book sales. The funding will also allow the press to expand the authorship and dissemination of the story of the West by supporting some of the most impactful public-facing humanities entities at OU. Most prominent among these is the OU Native Nations Center, which will use this funding to work with the OU Press to establish a community-based "Native Nations Center Imprint" of the OU Press.

Dale Bennie, director of the OU Press, said of the award, "The University of Oklahoma Press is pleased and honored to receive NEH ARP funding to sustain our nearly century-long commitment to scholarly publishing in the humanities with much-needed operations support and with funding for the launch of a new publishing imprint in collaboration with the Native Nations Center at the University of Oklahoma."

The OU Arts and Humanities Forum will use the grant funding to establish OUAH.FM  a podcast to promote, celebrate and communicate the excellence of humanities faculty and programming at OU to broader audiences across the state. World Literature Today, an international literature and culture magazine published at OU will use the funding to update its digital interface to ensure that its substantial collection of literary publications continue to be accessible for the magazine's nearly 1 million readers each year.

The Oklahoma Weather Community Oral History Project will use the funding to launch a digital portal that makes the histories of the weather community in Oklahoma, from storm chasers to world-renowned meteorologists, accessible to researchers, K-12 educators and the public. The Oklahoma Native American Youth Language Fair will use the funding to support additional staffing needs in hosting the annual event, which impacts thousands of Oklahomans each year, from the pre-K to 12th graders who participate, to their families, schools and tribal nations, to members of the OU community and the general public.

Marshall observed that grants of this magnitude, while relatively common in the hard sciences, are rare in the humanities. "The most prestigious awards in the humanities  the NEH Fellowship, the ACLS Fellowship  are in the range of $60,000. Larger grants are open to humanists only when we think collaboratively and work through organizational structures like the ORS," she said.

"Winning an award of this scale proves that the humanities work we do here at OU is of the same caliber as our peers and aspirational peers nationally. And it also demonstrates that the OU Arts and Humanities Forum is well-positioned to assist our excellent OU humanities faculty in realizing big-picture visions for humanities scholarship in Oklahoma."

In addition to Marshall, the "New Stories of the West, for the West" grant team members are Dale Bennie, director of the OU Press; Brian Burkhart, interim director of the OU Native Nations Center and associate professor of philosophy; Robert Con Davis-Undiano, director of World Literature Today and the Neustadt Professor of English; Hunter Heyck, director of the Oklahoma Weather Community Oral History Project and a professor of the history of science; and Raina Heaton, curator of the Native American Languages collection at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History and an associate professor in Native American Studies Department, Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences.
Six out of ten patients who show common "alarm" symptoms for cancer are not referred for urgent investigation, a largescale new study has revealed.

The research, led by the University of Exeter working with University College London, and funded by Cancer Research UK, found that a significant number of the patients who were not referred went on to develop cancer within a year of their GP consultation.

One in two people are affected by cancer in their lifetimes, and cancer accounts for nearly 10 million deaths each year worldwide. Early diagnosis is known to be a major factor in saving lives.

Dr Gary Abel, of the University of Exeter, who led the research, said: "Over the past decade we've made huge progress in improving life-saving cancer diagnosis in the UK, in part thanks to GPs. Our study showed that patients who are referred are much more likely to be diagnosed with cancer in the next year than those that are not referred, so GPs are clearly referring the highest risk patients appropriately. However, many patients did not receive an urgent referral within two weeks, contrary to guidelines. The number of patients who go on to be diagnosed with cancer when they are not urgently referred indicates that following the guidelines more strictly would have significant benefits"

Our research found that a number of patients go on to develop cancer after they were not referred for red flag symptoms. This could mean an opportunity to diagnose the cancer earlier was missed. We think this could be improved by stricter adherence to the guidelines and increased awareness of the groups of patients in whom symptoms are frequently missed, including younger patients. It's important to note that this issue does not just lie with GPs - we also need to ensure the services to provide the tests needed on referral are well resourced, which we know is currently not always the case" Dr Bianca Wiering, Lead Author, University of Exeter

Published today in BMJ Quality & Safety, the research team analyzed records from nearly 49,000 patients who consulted their GP with one of the warning signs for cancer that should warrant referral under clinical guidelines. They found that six out of ten patients were not referred for cancer investigation within two weeks of the first visit. Of the 29,045 patients not referred 1,047 developed cancer within a year (3.6 per cent).

The researchers processed records from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink, as well as statistics on visits to hospital and cancer registration data between 2014 and 2015. They looked at patients who had reported cancer warning signs to their GP for the first time. The "alarm" symptoms included blood in urine, a breast lump, problems swallowing, iron-deficiency anaemia, and postmenopausal or rectal bleeding.

The likelihood of a patient being referred within two weeks varied, depending on which symptom they showed. The lowest referral rate was for problems swallowing, at just 17 per cent, and the highest was for breast lump, at 68 per cent. However, more deprived patients were less likely to be referred for breast lump.

Young patients, aged 18-24, were less likely to be referred than those aged 55-64, and people with more than one health condition were also less likely to receive a referral.

Dr Jodie Moffat, head of early diagnosis at Cancer Research UK, said: "Working out who could have cancer from the hundreds or thousands of people a GP sees each year is a hugely difficult task. Referral guidelines, which give GPs advice on who might benefit from urgent cancer referrals or testing, are intended to help diagnose cancer earlier. So it's worrying if people with red flag symptoms aren't being referred.

"These data are from a little while ago so we don't know what the situation is now, but with all the additional challenges of COVID-19, it's vital that GPs and practice teams are supported to deliver the best care possible. This includes making sure GPs have easy and timely access to diagnostic tests needed to identify cancer. This requires resources and without long-term investment in staff and equipment we won't meet Government ambitions to diagnose cancer early."
Long-term pain is perhaps the single most important factor that reduces quality of life for older people. New technology based on therapeutic smart textiles can make it easier to manage pain. The idea behind the technology is to reduce the effects of impaired muscle strength, mobility, balance, memory or sensitivity from natural causes or illness.

In a new Smart Textiles project at Science Park Boras, the University of Boras, and Karolinska University Hospital, in Sweden, prototypes based on therapeutic electrostimulating smart textiles will be developed and tested in the field of geriatric technology.

Associate Professor Nils-Krister Persson, who is responsible for research within the Smart Textiles Technology Lab, explained, "Pain is a cause of many fall accidents among older people. The focus of the project is therefore on fall prevention by counteracting pain in older people. The intention is to make its usage easy for the patients themselves, relatives, and caregivers through the advantage of textile's being naturally present in everyday life, and as textiles are intimately associated with well-being."

The goal is for the older people to want to use the technology, because as with any instructions from a doctor or other prescribing healthcare staff, compliance is central. But there are many reasons why a patient will not follow doctor's orders; for example, something is too cumbersome, there are side effects, or the costs are too high. In this project, a type of geriatric technology based on textiles will be investigated and proposed. Textiles are familiar to everyone, are easy to use, and have a low cost, which thus increases compliance.

Pain is a very complex area, and therefore the researchers in the project will develop three different prototypes to define which type of pain can best be counteracted. This is done through clinical studies on patients with the developed smart textiles. The goal during the project is to produce sufficient knowledge that there is a firm foundation for further commercialization.

Read more

The project "Lisa - Everyday Geriatric Technology " is carried out in collaboration between Smart Textiles, where the prototypes will be developed, and Karolinska University Hospital, where clinical studies will be carried out. The project is funded through the Kamprad Family Foundation and runs for two years through August 2023.

Smart Textiles and the Swedish School of Textiles at the University of Boras are northern Europe's largest environment for research and development of advanced textiles, materials, products, and processes with a strong focus on the field of Health and Medicine.

Smart Textiles gathers projects and platforms connected to the textile area. With the vision of "A better world through textile innovations," textile innovations are developed, made available, and actualized, and they can be used in innovative commercial products in unexpected ways. The mission of Smart Textiles is to continue developing towards becoming the internationally leading innovation partner in textile renewal in order to strengthen Sweden's competitiveness.

The Smart Textiles Technology Lab and the Smart Textiles Design Lab are responsible for the experimental research within Smart Textiles and enable close collaboration between research and companies. The purpose of the lab is to create a bridge between research and companies through which projects and ideas from research will inspire and create the necessary conditions for moving closer to both prototype and product development.
To prevent the spread of COVID-19 indoors, the two meters physical distancing guideline is not enough without masks, according to researchers from Quebec, Illinois, and Texas. However, wearing a mask indoors can reduce the contamination range of airborne particles by about 67 percent.

"Mask mandates and good ventilation are critically important to curb the spread of more contagious strains of COVID-19, especially during the flu season and winter months as more people socialize indoors," says Saad Akhtar, a former doctoral student under the supervision of Professor Agus Sasmito at McGill University.

While most public health guidelines recommend physical distancing of two meters for people from different households, the researchers say distancing alone is not enough to prevent the spread of COVID-19. In a study published in Building and Environment, the researchers found that when people are unmasked, more than 70 percent of airborne particles pass the two meters threshold within the 30 seconds. By contrast, less than 1 percent of particles cross the two-meter mark if masks are worn.

Simulating coughing dynamics

Building on models used by scientists to study the flow of liquids and gasses, the team from McGill University, Universite de Sherbrooke, Texas A&M University, and Northern Illinois University, developed a computer program to accurately simulate coughing dynamics in indoor spaces.

While ventilation, a person's posture, and mask-wearing impacted the spread of the bio-contaminants significantly, the impact of age and gender was marginal, the researchers found.

Coughing is one of the main sources of spread of airborne viruses from symptomatic individuals.

This study advances the understanding of how infectious particles can spread from a source to its surroundings and can help policymakers and governments make informed decisions about guidelines for masks and distancing in indoor settings." Saad Akhtar, McGill University
A recent study conducted at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles, California examines the characteristics of university staff and faculty who remained unvaccinated against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) before the university campus reopened for in-person learning in spring-summer 2021. This study, led by Dr. Jennifer B. Unger, is published on the medRxiv* preprint server.

Study: Characteristics associated with COVID-19 vaccination status among staff and faculty of a large, diverse University in Los Angeles. Image Credit: vlada_maestro / Shutterstock.com

Vaccine hesitancy

COVID-19 vaccination is the best method for reducing morbidity and mortality associated with infection by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Even after the global effects of the pandemic, around 30-50% of vaccine-eligible individuals in the U.S. remain unvaccinated.

The reasons for not accepting vaccination may include health disparities, mistrust of government and medical institutions, misinformation, political beliefs, and fear of the long-term side effects. Delaying or not accepting vaccination is termed as vaccine hesitancy.

Due to unvaccinated individuals, the resumption of university campus activities will be a cause of concern because of the possibility of COVID-19 outbreaks. By understanding vaccine hesitancy, it will be easier to encourage vaccination by targeted campaigns.

The current study has examined the characteristics of individuals associated with a COVID-19 unvaccinated status within the university staff and faculty during the spring and summer of 2021.

Online survey

The university staff and faculty were invited by email to complete an online survey. The eligible participants included current USC employees above 18 years of age. All participants provided informed consent.

The online survey included questions related to the following demographic data:

Self-identified race - White; Asian/Asian American; Black/African American; Hispanic/Latinx; multicultural; or other Sex Age Political affiliation - Democrat, Independent, Republican, any other Division of employment - staff, faculty, student employee Subdivision of employment - healthcare-related versus non-healthcare division Change in income during the pandemic Work from home status Self-reported COVID-19 history. Housing situations Recent travel data COVID-19 knowledge and attitudes Compliance with prevention behaviors including masking and social distancing

The outcome variable was self-reported vaccination status at the time of the survey.

The study involved a statistical analysis to determine significant characteristics associated with the likelihood of being unvaccinated.

Results

A total of 2,125 individuals (75.4%) out of 2,817 completed the online survey. Among the participants, the mean age was 42.2 years. Furthermore, 40.2% of study participants identified themselves as white and 23.8% identified as Asian/Asian American.

68.3% of participants were female, whereas 65.6% identified their political affiliation as Democrat.

Regarding employment characteristics, 70.5% were employed as staff, 55.7% worked in a non-healthcare-related division. Taken together, 72.9% of survey respondents had no change in income during the pandemic, with 79% who reported working from home. Regarding COVID-19 related data, 82.2% reported no history of COVID-19, and 78.4% self-reported a COVID-19 vaccination positive status.

The participants who had greater odds of being unvaccinated included Asian and Asian American and Hispanic/Latinx or Multicultural/Other participants. Furthermore, individuals who worked as university staff members, as compared to faculty, were more likely to be unvaccinated. Similarly, those who worked in healthcare-related divisions as compared to non-healthcare divisions were also less likely to be vaccinated.

Individuals who were older than 32 years in age, had a decrease in income, were unable to work remotely, did not travel outside of the Los Angeles area, and were politically affiliated as Independent or as something else versus Democrat all also had greater chances of being unvaccinated.

Limitations of the study

This study was based on a non-random sample of university staff and faculty who responded to an online survey. Therefore, the results may not generalize to the larger population. The data collected through the survey was self-reported, including COVID-19 vaccination status; thus, all data collected here was not validated.

Conclusions

The results of this study suggest that several factors associated with racial and social disparities support COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. For example, participants who experienced racial discrimination were more likely to be vaccine-hesitant.

The current study identifies potential barriers to attaining vaccination. It has identified certain groups that may benefit from targeted education and vaccination campaigns. The study findings may also help in formulating university policies and programs to address future pandemics.

*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.
It's remarkable that the reputation of the National Institutes of Health has remained mostly intact through the covid-19 pandemic, even as other federal science agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have come under partisan fire.

That is in no small part due to NIH's soft-spoken but politically astute director, Dr. Francis Collins. The motorcycle-riding, guitar-playing Collins announced Tuesday he will step down by the end of the year from his job as chief of the research agency, having served more than a dozen years under three presidents.

"No single person should serve in the position too long," said Collins in a statement, and "it's time to bring in a new scientist to lead the NIH into the future." Collins, 71, said he plans to return to his lab at the National Human Genome Research Institute, which he led for 15 years, from 1993 to 2008. Under his leadership, the institute successfully mapped the human genome, and Collins helped shepherd through Congress legislation to protect the privacy of individuals' genetic information.

The big question now is not just who will fill Collins' big shoes at NIH, but whether the agency can maintain its status as a political favorite among members of both parties. Under Collins' stewardship, NIH's budget has increased by more than a third during a time of mostly flat federal health budgets, and political interference with biomedical research has been, if not nonexistent, at least mostly off the front pages. That's in sharp contrast to the CDC, whose handling of the pandemic has drawn plenty of criticism under both Presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden, and the FDA, which tallied its own covid missteps and remains without a nominated commissioner nearly 10 months into the new administration.

While Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has maintained a much higher profile than Collins and also courted controversy, most of that flak did not redound to NIH as a whole.

President Joe Biden praised Collins, calling him "one of the most important scientists of our time." Noting Collins' work on the human genome and his help launching the Obama administration's work on precision medicine, the Brain Initiative and the National Cancer Moonshot effort, Biden said, "Millions of people will never know Dr. Collins saved their lives."

Accolades for Collins flowed in from the scientific community as soon as news of his impending departure was announced. "For more than a decade Dr. Collins has provided exemplary leadership and stewardship as head of the NIH," said the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.

And the praise from politicians was distinctly bipartisan. Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) said in a statement that Collins "led the NIH capably and admirably, leaving it better prepared to meet the challenges of the 21st century." House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer was no less effusive, calling Collins "one of our country's greatest public servants, having spent his career working to improve the health of all Americans and promoting cutting-edge research that extends our understanding of the human body and how to heal it."

It is notable that the relative lack of controversy during Collins' tenure has been the exception, not the rule, for NIH over the past half-century. Starting in the 1970s, every biomedical advance, from in vitro fertilization to fetal tissue and stem cell research to the cloning of Dolly the sheep resulted in intense political fights and blaring headlines.

In the late 1990s, Republicans led by then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich decided to make science funding a priority and spearheaded a doubling of NIH's budget, an effort Democrats happily joined. But after that doubling, a stagnant NIH budget caused cutbacks in university research, creating controversy of its own, which Collins had to manage.

Controversy comes with the territory. "Anytime there's controversy in science, NIH is going to be involved," said Mary Woolley, president and CEO of Research!America, a science funding advocacy group.

What has set Collins apart, said Woolley, is his ability to communicate to transcend that controversy, "both in ways unexpected, like singing and riding motorcycles, and more traditional ways," like dealing with lawmakers.

Dr. Ross McKinney, chief scientific officer for the Association of American Medical Colleges, agreed. "He's just done a dynamite job at being effective at communicating with both sides," he said. "He's good with scientists, he's personally Christian and religious, so he can speak to that side, as well."

Both Woolley and McKinney said they are confident there are plenty of good candidates to lead NIH, although neither would name any. But McKinney said he hopes the NIH doesn't end up with a void at the top like the FDA. "I think the FDA precedent is concerning," he said.

Still, Woolley said, Collins is leaving the NIH in good shape. "The next leader will benefit from what he has done," she said.

HealthBent, a regular feature of Kaiser Health News, offers insight and analysis of policies and politics from KHN's chief Washington correspondent, Julie Rovner, who has covered health care for more than 30 years.
Thought Leaders Dr. Yana Vinogradova Senior Research Fellow University of Nottingham

In this interview, News-Medical speaks to Dr. Yana Vinogradova about her latest research into menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) and its unassociated risk to dementia.

What provoked your latest research into menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) and dementia?

We have been involved in very large observational studies into drug risks for some time. This is our third study investigating serious side effects associated with MHT. Early studies had reported problems, such as venous thromboembolism (VTE) and breast cancer, and this had caused a decline in the use of the therapy, which had persisted.

In 2015, the UKs National Institute for Clinical Excellence issued new guidelines recommending the wider use of MHT, at the same time calling for more detailed research into the risks of serious side effects. Because they were the side effects most commonly known and discussed, our first studies into MHT addressed the additional risks of VTE and breast cancer. This third study on dementia was triggered by existing inconsistent research findings on additional risks of developing dementia associated with MHT.

Please can you give an overview into what MHT is and how it works?

Menopause is the stage in a womans life when her hormone levels decrease and periods stop. At this time, many women also experience a range of symptoms, such as hot flushes, sleep disturbances, depression, mood swings, or memory losses  sometimes so severely that they need treatment to counteract the effects.

Menopausal hormone therapy usually consists of two types of hormones an estrogen being the key component and a progestogen added for womb protection (combined therapy). Oestrogen-only therapy is prescribed to women who have undergone procedures involving the removal of the uterus.

Some menopausal symptoms are similar to early warnings of future dementia and biological studies have suggested both that exposure to estrogen may have a protective effect on the aging brain and that the addition of a progestogen may counteract this effect.

Menopausal hormone therapy is effective in easing menopausal symptoms, but whether women who use it were at higher or lower risk of developing dementia was unclear.

Image Credit: Image Point Fr/Shutterstock.com

Why have a lot of studies surrounding MHT and dementia provided inconsistent findings?

Dementia is relatively rare and the number of MHT specific hormones used in different treatments is wide. Assessing risks for different combinations of hormones, dosages, and duration of treatment requires that a very large number of women be followed up over a long time.

Previous investigations on this topic have either been too small to deliver clear results or have investigated only a few available treatment formulations. The large Womens Health Initiative study, for example, investigated only one combination of hormones. A recent Finnish study on MHT and Alzheimers disease reported rather high risks, but the study design had some methodological weaknesses.

Our study aimed to investigate all menopausal hormone treatments available from the National Health Service in the UK and included  as do all our studies a very large number of women, representative of the general population.

Can you describe how you carried out your latest research into MHT and dementia?

We used patient records from two of the largest primary care databases in the UK, which also have links to secondary care and other data sources, creating a rich data set with extensive information about patients, and patient histories and characteristics. From these, we extracted information on all women aged 55 or older, who had been diagnosed with dementia in the last 20 years.

We then matched each of these cases to up to 5 women without dementia, who were from the same practice and were of the same age. Finally, we analyzed prescription information and compared it between cases and controls taking into account all other available factors which are known to affect their risk of developing dementia.

What did you discover?

When we investigated diagnoses for generic dementia (regardless of a specific type), we found no additional risks of developing dementia associated with the use of MHT. This was consistent across different treatment formulations, dosages, ways of administering the therapy, and duration of use.

The only elevated risk was found in an analysis of the subgroup of cases diagnosed specifically with Alzheimers disease (AD) and their controls. Here we found a very small association for users of combined MHT therapy, increasing with duration of use and reaching a measurable level only among long-term users (11% uplift for use of 5 to 9 years and 19% for use of 10 years or more). In absolute terms, the risk was equivalent to extra respectively 5 and 7 women per 10,000 per year.

It should be stressed that our estimates for the AD cohort were lower than those from the Finnish study mentioned earlier and that these risk associations are not causal. AD is a slowly developing form of dementia and shares some symptoms with menopause.

Our findings are more like identifying a group of women with histories or characteristics that make it more likely both to require HRT for longer and to be slightly more likely to go on to develop dementia.

Image Credit: Robert Kneschke/Shutterstock.com

What were some of the limitations of your study?

The main limitation of the study is that the records for menopause were not complete and we could not know which symptoms triggered women to take MHT. With respect to the finding for Alzheimers disease mentioned above, it is possible that some women had menopausal symptoms similar to signs of Alzheimers disease, and persistence of those made them stay on MHT for longer.

To minimize this anticipated possible indication bias, our analyses discounted all prescriptions within the three years before the diagnosis date, but there still might have been some residual confounding.

How will your findings help the wider medical community including doctors and policymakers?

The study should further reassure women about the safety of MHT treatments, particularly when not used for an extended period. For women who do still have concerns, this information will be useful to doctors, facilitating discussions with their patients. For policymakers, it also clarifies the situation and will help underpin their recommendations concerning HRT.

How will your research also help to reassure women who require MHT?

MHT is a medication and like any medication has some side effects. For women suffering from severe menopausal symptoms, MHT brings relief and improves their quality of life. Our research in this area has shown in general that risks of serious side effects are minimal (as with dementia) or very low.

The more detailed findings in our studies also help women of different ages to identify the relative risks for them of specific treatments and regimens (formulation, dosage, and/or duration). We would always advocate that women discuss their concerns with their doctor to identify the most appropriate treatment for their needs.

Womens health is an often neglected area of research. Why is it important to continue to research womens health? What more can be done here?

I am not so certain of the opening premise  as a researcher into aspects of womens health as well as more general health studies, I am aware that there are many aspects of health that need investigation or where existing findings could be improved.

My main concern is that patients needs should be at the center of every health study  with respect to MHT, for example, the real need for relief from severe symptoms means that effective treatments are needed, but what is also needed are studies to identify the safest treatments and so help reassure patients concerned about serious side effects.

Image Credit: Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock.com

What are the next steps for you in your research?

We intend to continue research on risks and benefits from MHT treatments  primarily very large observational studies using real patient data collected in real world treatment centers.

Our aim is to deliver outcomes observed in the general population so that our estimates reflect what ordinary patients might expect.

About Dr. Yana Vinogradova

I studied Applied Mathematics at Moscow State University (MGU) and became a Research Fellow at the Cardiology Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences in Moscow. After moving to the UK, I worked in the Division of Cardiology at the University of Leicester, and in the Centre for Health Service Studies (CHESS), and in the Division of Health in the Community at the University of Warwick.

In 2005, I joined the University of Nottingham as an expert in medical statistics in 2005. I have since worked in the Division of Primary Care of the School of Medicine, where I was awarded a Ph.D. in Medicine by published works in 2017. I am now a Senior Research Fellow.

Current Research

My research involves the use of mathematical models and statistical methods to improve understanding of the dynamics and incidence of diseases, and of treatment outcomes. My work at Nottingham has largely been in the area of drug safety, focusing on two aspects  adherence to prescribed medications and drug safety, in particular looking at rare and/or slowly developing outcomes. These require very large observational studies, and I use anonymised real patient data gathered over long periods in NHS primary care environments, which are linked to secondary care and other relevant data sources.

This allows the studies to deliver accurate and robust estimates of risk, reflective of outcomes in the general populations, and down to the level of detail of specific drug formulations, dosages, delivery measures, and exposures. As well as my drug safety work (currently focusing on MHT,) I am involved in a wide range of collaborative research projects.

Past Research

I have been involved in a wide range of research  observational and trial studies in Moscow Cardiological Research Centre and Leicester and Warwick University. Since joining Nottingham University, I have also worked on risk prediction modelling (QRisk) and observational studies to do with injury prevention.

Future Research

I have highly developed skills in the use of very large data sets and pioneered the use of multiple large databases (specifically QResearch and CPRD) to facilitate more detailed research into drug types and formulations and improve the accuracy of risk estimates.

My aim is to build on what I have achieved at Nottingham to continue to deliver independently-researched drug safety information of use to patients, doctors and regulators. I enjoy extending my areas of expertise and envisage researching using new machine learning and other novel techniques, though always from the perspective of utility rather than fashion.
To understand the biological underpinnings of skin and hair pigmentation and related diseases such as albinism or melanoma, scientists and doctors need quantitative, three-dimensional information about the architecture, content and location of pigment cells. Penn State College of Medicine researchers have developed a new technique that allows scientists to visualize every cell containing melanin pigment in 3D, in whole zebrafish.

Studying melanin is challenging because it blocks the light used in traditional microscopy. So the researchers turned to X-ray imaging, which can pass through optically opaque matter like melanin.

In 2019, a team led by Dr. Keith Cheng, distinguished professor of pathology, pharmacology and biochemistry and molecular biology, developed "X-ray histotomography" -; a cellular form of CT imaging, as a method for investigating the 3D architecture of cells and tissues in biological samples at unprecedented resolution and clarity. Spencer Katz, an MD/PhD medical scientist training program student on Cheng's team, has modified this micro-CT technique to specifically investigate melanin, a pigment scientists are studying in human skin color and melanoma research, in whole zebrafish.

Melanin is a brown to black pigment that gives the zebrafish its characteristic stripes and humans dark skin, hair and eyes. More than 15 years ago, Cheng and his lab discovered a key gene in the evolution of light skin color in humans by studying a particular mutant zebrafish line, golden, that has lighter stripes. This discovery demonstrated the relevance of zebrafish models for studying critical questions about human biology and disease, including albinism and melanoma.

Micro-CT, like human CT, uses a series of X-rays taken at slightly different angles to compute, or reconstruct, 3D representations of the original object. For micro-CT, the samples are smaller and the resolution developed by Cheng's team is 2000-fold higher. Katz used silver to stain the melanin, which allowed the researchers to determine the 3D location and density of melanin from scans of whole zebrafish.

To perform the imaging, the Cheng Lab partnered with Dilworth Parkinson at the Advanced Light Source at the Lawrence Berkeley National Labs in Berkeley, California -; home of one of America's most powerful synchrotron X-ray sources, where he directs a micro-CT resource suitable for Cheng's X-ray histotomography. The lab's new X-ray detector system was designed to achieve resolutions unprecedented for samples the size of whole zebrafish or human biopsies. The team scanned zebrafish with both normal and altered pigmentation, including golden.

The researchers were able to visualize every cell containing melanin, called melanocytes, in the fish, and map each of their positions in 3D. Moreover, they could get quantitative measurements of their melanin content, allowing direct comparison of melanin content across normal and mutant fish for the first time. They published the results of their study in eLife.

This work laid a foundation for further research on melanin-containing cancers, or melanomas, which are typically graded by the depth of tumor cell invasion. According to Cheng, a researcher at Penn State Cancer Institute, a number of zebrafish models of melanoma exist and can be studied using the new technique. Katz and Cheng said that human melanomas can be stained with silver and imaged in the same way to more completely characterize the tumor cells and their arrangements in tumors. They predict that scientists will be able to, for example, count the number of tumor cells of different characteristics and more definitively study invasion, a central characteristic of cancer, helping doctors with prognostic and treatment decisions.

In the future, the Cheng Lab will continue to develop new staining and optical methods for expanding the applications of histotomography. This study represents a proof-of-principle for how whole-body, 3D computational analysis of organisms and tissues can be achieved using micro-CT that may allow a far more complete understanding of gene function.

Maksim Yakovlev, Daniel Vanselow, Yifu Ding, Alex Lin, Victor Canfield and Khai Chung Ang of Penn State College of Medicine also contributed to this research. The new lens system used in the study was designed and built by Yuxin Wang of Mobile Imaging Innovations Inc. The authors declared no competing interests.

This research was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Pennsylvania Department of Health Tobacco CURE Funds, the Jake Gittlen Laboratories for Cancer Research at Penn State College of Medicine, Penn State Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences and Penn State Institute for Computational and Data Sciences.

This study utilized the College of Medicine's zebrafish functional genomics core and represents activities of the Penn State Center for Artificial Intelligence Foundations and Scientific Applications and computational phenomics initiatives.
A recent scoping review, published online in the Journal of Aging and Environment, found that older adults with dementia or cognitive impairment who live in subsidized housing face complex challenges that, left unaddressed, threaten to exacerbate their health and ability to age in place.

An examination of 69 articles on the topic revealed the scope of major problems that can lead to premature institutionalization and underscored the need for the development of an aging-in-place framework and increased support for future research.

This group of tenants encounters unique physical, mental, social, psychological and behavioral struggles that necessitate targeted services. Health care practitioners, policymakers, and key stakeholders should engage collaboratively to improve the quality of life and reduce the risk of health deterioration for these vulnerable tenants." Helen Lam, Study Lead Author, and Graduate, Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto

The study's authors -; comprised of a team of five Master of Social Work students in the gerontology field of study, now recent graduates from the University of Toronto -; found that prevalence of cognitive impairment among residents in subsidized housing was between 10% and 27%, while between 4% and 10% had dementia.

Research has shown that residents with cognitive decline are at risk of premature placement in nursing homes. Older adult residents of subsidized housing with dementia are more likely to be admitted to hospitals than all other low-income older adults and are seven times more likely than other community-based older adults to be placed into long-term care.

"Some symptoms of dementia, such as a decline in personal hygiene and paranoia, may be labeled as disruptive behaviors," says co-author Theodora Li. "Furthermore, those with cognitive decline may face challenges with managing the regular payment of rent, utilities and other bills. These problems dramatically increase their risk of being evicted from subsidized housing."

Eviction may eventually lead to homelessness. Unfortunately, as the scoping review revealed, subsidized housing staff are not adequately trained to screen tenants for dementia or refer them to appropriate service.

"Most subsidized housing facilities have not been designed with population aging in mind," says co-author Jeff Lee. "There is a need for more comprehensive services and onsite outreach programs to increase assessment and identification of these tenants."

Many subsidized housing residents with cognitive impairment also were coping with serious physical limitations. More than two in every five cognitively impaired subsidized housing residents reported limitations in activities of daily living such as dressing, bathing, and toileting. Cognitive impairment is exacerbated by physical impairments, such as vision and hearing loss, and seriously hinders verbal communication and accessing appropriate medical care. It may also jeopardize medical compliance.

"Dementia worsens social isolation and loneliness," says co-author Nisha Mendonca. "Loss of social networks, poverty, poor health and stigma about dementia all contributed to the lack of medical care and service utilization among this group of older tenants."

Co-author Kelly Fleming pointed out the necessity to coordinate multidisciplinary services and fund assessments and programs to enhance the wellbeing of the tenants. "Financial investment in home-based services and retrofits is fundamental. Our study also suggested attention to the value of purpose-built dementia housing."

The authors argue that future research needs to focus on evaluating the unique needs of this undervalued population. The study's findings have important implications for health care practitioners, policymakers, and key stakeholders as well.

"The adoption of a framework of aging in place, as well as collaboration and coordination among housing providers and government in the provision of supportive services, will help to achieve greater equity in the lives of subsidized housing tenants living with cognitive decline," says Helen Lam.
Research from pharmacologists at the University of Sydney provides new insights into how cannabis extracts may work to treat epilepsy.

The study for the first time reports that three acidic cannabinoids found in cannabis reduced seizures in a mouse model of Dravet syndrome, an intractable form of childhood epilepsy.

The study has been published in the British Journal of Pharmacology.

"From the early nineteenth century cannabis extracts were used in Western medicine to treat seizures but cannabis prohibition got in the way of advancing the science," said Associate Professor Jonathon Arnold from the Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics and the Sydney Pharmacy School.

"Now we are able to explore how the compounds in this plant can be adapted for modern therapeutic treatments."

In 2015, Barry and Joy Lambert made an historic donation to the University of Sydney to advance scientific research on medicinal cannabis and cannabinoid therapeutics. Barry and Joy's granddaughter Katelyn suffers from Dravet syndrome, which features frequent seizures and causes delays in cognitive and motor development. Conventional therapies often do not provide adequate seizure control and patients have a reduced quality of life.

The Lambert family say they witnessed a dramatic improvement in Katelyn's health using a cannabis extract and became ardent supporters of cannabis for therapeutic treatment. They also wished to better understand how cannabis works to treat epilepsy and other health conditions.

"After using hemp oil for treatment, we got our daughter back. Instead of fearing constant seizures we had some hope that our daughter could have a life worth living. It was like the noise cleared from her mind and she was able to wake up. Today Katelyn really enjoys her life," said Michael Lambert, Katelyn's father.

In 2015 the Lambert Initiative established a preclinical epilepsy research program to help understand how cannabis extracts, a mixture of hundreds of bioactive molecules, have anticonvulsant effects.

Associate Professor Arnold said: "Our research program is systematically testing whether the various constituents of cannabis reduce seizures in a mouse model of Dravet syndrome. We started by testing the compounds individually and found several cannabis constituents with anticonvulsant effects."

"In this latest paper we describe the anticonvulsant effects of three rarer cannabinoids, all of which are cannabinoid acids."

Acidic cannabinoids are the cannabinoids that are biosynthesised in the plant and are found in artisanal cannabis extracts used to treat children with epilepsy. One of these cannabinoids, cannabigerolic acid (CBGA), is the "mother of all cannabinoids", Associate Professor Arnold said, as it is the precursor molecule to the creation of better-known cannabinoids, like cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

"The cannabinoid acids are abundant in cannabis but have received much less scientific attention. We are just beginning to understand their therapeutic potential," Associate Professor Arnold said.

We found that CBGA was more potent than CBD in reducing seizures triggered by a febrile event in a mouse model of Dravet syndrome. Although higher doses of CBGA also had proconvulsant effects on other seizure types highlighting a limitation of this cannabis constituent. We also found CBGA to affect many epilepsy-relevant drug targets." Dr Lyndsey Anderson, Study Lead Author, University of Sydney

The study involved University of Sydney researchers in the School of Psychology and the Sydney Pharmacy School in collaboration with the laboratory of Dr Jennifer Kearney at Northwestern University (US). Dr Kearney developed the genetic mouse model used in the study and mentored Dr Anderson before she moved to Australia.

The team is working to develop a better cannabis-based treatment for Dravet syndrome. Many in the community strongly believe there is something uniquely therapeutic about the full spectrum of cannabis components working together.

"We have assessed the cannabinoids one by one and now we are exploring what happens when you put them all back together. There remains a real possibility that all these individual anticonvulsant cannabinoids might work better when combined," Dr Anderson said.

Barry Lambert said: "We are very proud of the work done by the many researchers at the Lambert Initiative, which is a world-leader in cannabinoid research, and in particular welcome these recent results on 'the mother of all cannabinoids'."
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) primarily infects the lungs, later spreading through the bloodstream. The worst prognoses are mostly seen in at-risk groups, such as the immunocompromised, elderly, or those suffering from respiratory conditions.

At first glance, one might expect smokers to be more likely to contract the disease than non-smokers, as smokers have higher levels of respiratory disease, are more likely to be taking immune-suppressing drugs for cancer treatment, and have already damaged lungs.

Early data seemed to support this, showing smokers in China as overrepresented among severe cases of COVID-19. However, little data was gathered on mild and asymptomatic cases, and more recent studies have shown conflicting results, even suggesting that smoking can offer a certain level of protection against contracting the disease.

Researchers from Indiana University have been investigating transmission to those who consume nicotine in different manners as well as self-reported health status. Their work is published in the journal BMC Public Health.

The researchers pooled data from two state-wide testing initiatives that were part of seroprevalence studies conducted in April and June 2020. Participants were tested for active infection and antibodies against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In each study, participants were randomly selected from tax records, and then a non-random group of racial and ethnic minorities were included to reduce under-representation in testing efforts.

All individuals were asked to report their demographic, health status, and primary nicotine and tobacco habits. Tobacco habits were split into multiple categories: cigarettes, chewing tobacco, and vaping, and individuals were asked to categorize their consumption as every day, some days, or not at all.

Testing for active SARS-CoV-2 presence was completed by taking nasopharyngeal swabs and using RT-PCR testing, while 2-3mL of blood was tested for antibody presence using a chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay. Data gathered was analyzed using combined samples from both waves, with a bivariate logistic regression model controlling for age, sex, ethnicity, random/non-random status, and nicotine use.

A total sample size of 8,214 individuals was collected, with over 1,300 active tobacco users. 11% of these smoked cigarettes every day, ~3% smoked cigarettes on some days. Chewing tobacco was less common, showing at 1.4% and 0.9%, respectively. Vaping showed similar results at 1.3% daily and 1.5% some days. For self-reporting of health, 16% qualified themselves as excellent, 38% as very good and 35% as good.

The researchers found that individuals who smoked cigarettes regularly were more likely to be protected from COVID-19, showing lower current infection as well as previous infection than non-smokers. Vaping/e-cigarettes showed no association, and chewing tobacco was positively associated with infection.

These results are backed up by previous studies showing decreased transmission rates to smokers. Those that reported their health as excellent showed reduced positivity rates compared to good and. fair

The authors suggest that the reduced risk of transmission that smoking daily seems to provide is likely due to the tendency of nicotine to bind with the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor. This receptor is a key target for SARS-CoV-2; the S1 subunit of the spike protein contains a receptor-binding domain that binds to ACE2 in order to allow viral cell entry.

Thus, nicotine may bind to these, reducing the number of sites available to SARS-CoV-2 and preventing infection. However, smokers who have already contracted more severe respiratory diseases are at much greater risk if they do contract the disease, which is why the initial research from China showed inflated figures of smokers suffering from COVID-19 that required hospitalization.

The authors highlight that their study did not include institutionalized individuals, removing the bias in many other studies that showed smokers at increased risk. However, the authors note that the decreased transmission risk they identified in their research is only valid for asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic coronavirus infections.

In recent years, electronic/vaping equipment has dramatically increased in popularity in Indiana, whose smoke rates are higher than in the US as a whole. These results could be vital for shaping public health policy. In order to effectively target restrictions and prevent the spread of COVID-19 to those at greatest risk, lawmakers and public health officials must understand the factors that affect transmission, as well as the likelihood that COVID-19 will escalate to more severe prognoses that may require hospitalization.

With the rising threat of variants of concern such as the Delta strain, this information is more valuable than ever.
Indiana State Police reported a crash just after 11:40 a.m. Tuesday near the 34-mile marker on Interstate 65 in Scott County.
(Newser)  While businesses across the US are dealing with a labor shortage, the CIA apparently has an informant shortage. Sources tell the New York Times that a top secret cable sent to CIA stations around the world last week warned that dozens of foreign informants have been killed, captured, or compromised over the last few years. The sources say the cable, unusually, gave the specific number of informants that had been executed by rival spy agencies. The cable urged case officers to focus not just on recruiting informants, but on vetting them properly and protecting their agents from other countries' intelligence services.

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"Sometimes there are things beyond our control but there are also occasions of sloppiness and neglect and people in senior positions are never held responsible," former CIA operative Douglas London tells the Times. He says traditional espionage skills have suffered over the last 20 years as the agency has devoted much of its attention to covert operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syriabut those skills are now badly needed as lawmakers turn their attention to threats from China and Russia.

Sources tell the Washington Post that one of the main reasons for the reminder to "tighten up on tradecraft" was Pakistan's success in identifying CIA informants. Russia, China, and Iran have also been hunting down CIA sources and, in some cases, have successfully turned them into double agents, the Times notes. Sources say that while the cable listed the numbers of informants that had been arrested or killed, it said the number that had been turned is unknown. (China killed or imprisoned more than a dozen CIA informants between 2010 and 2012.)
(Newser)  Ernest Lee Johnson was executed by lethal injection at the state prison in Bonne Terre, Missouri Tuesday evening, some 27 years after he killed three convenience store workers in a robbery. A representative for Pope Francis was among those who had called for the state to spare the 61-year-old inmate, whose lawyers said his execution would be unconstitutional because he is intellectually disabled. Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said Monday that he would not intervene, the AP reports. Around 90 minutes before the lethal injection, the US Supreme Court said it would not grant a stay of execution.

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In a written statement released Monday, Johnson expressed remorse. "I love the Lord with all my heart and soul. If I am executed I no were I am going to heaven. Because I ask him to forgive me," he wrote, per the Kansas City Star. The execution was the seventh in the US so far this year and Missouri's first since May 2020. Johnson, who killed the three workers with a gun and a claw hammer in Feb. 1994, was sentenced to death for a third time in 2006. His previous two death sentences were thrown out by the US Supreme Court and the Missouri Supreme Court.

The execution was protested by racial justice advocates, among others, but relatives of the three victimsMary Bratcher, 46; Mabel Scruggs, 57; and Fred Jones, 58 said they wanted the execution to go ahead, the Star reports. Prosecutors said Johnson killed the three as he robbed the store for money to buy drugs. "This was a hideous crime, said Boone County prosecutor Kevin Crane. "It was traumatic, and it was intense." (Earlier this year, the US Supreme Court rejected Johnson's request to be executed by firing squad instead of lethal injection.)
(Newser)  To get around Republican obstruction, President Biden said Tuesday that Democrats are considering a change to the Senate's filibuster rules in order to quickly approve lifting the nation's debt limit and avoid what would be a devastating credit default. "Its a real possibility," Biden told reporters. The president's surprise remarks come as the Senate is tangled in a fiscally dangerous standoff over a vote that's needed to suspend the nation's debt limit and allow the federal government to continue borrowing to pay down its balances, the AP reports. Congress has just days to act before the Oct. 18 deadline when the Treasury Department has warned it will run short of funds to pay the nations already accrued debt load.

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Biden has held off on any filibuster rule changes before over other issues, but his off-the-cuff comments Tuesday night interjected a new urgency to an increasingly uncertain situation. Getting rid of the filibuster rule would lower the typical 60-vote threshold for passage to 50. In the split 50-50 Senate, Vice President Kamala Harris can break a tie, allowing Democrats to push past Republicans. The topic was broached during a private Democratic Senate lunch session Tuesday as senators were growing exasperated with Republican Leader Mitch McConnell's refusal to allow a simple vote on the debt limit.

With Republicans putting up hurdles to the vote, Democratic senators have been discussing a range of optionsincluding a carve-out to the chambers filibuster rules. But all Democratic senators would need to be on board to make the change, and at least one, West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, sounded resistant. He and Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema have raised objections to ending the filibuster on other topics this year.

(Read more filibuster stories.)
(Newser)  Investigators are looking for Brian Laundrie in North Carolina after a dozen sightings of the 23-year-old have been reported since Thursday. Tipsters reported seeing Laundrie, a person of interest in the disappearance of his fiancee, Gabby Petito, who was later found murdered, in the western part of the state near its border with Tennessee, NBC News reports. However, the FBI has not yet publicly confirmed any reports of a Laundrie sighting, which have also come in from Alabama, Montana, and Canada.

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One tipster called 911 in the wee hours of Saturday from a parking lot near the Appalachian Trail to report, "He was talking wild. He said that his girlfriend left him and he had to go out to California to see her. He was acting funny. And I wasnt sure what [Laundrie] looked like. And then  I went and parked and pulled up the photographs of him. And Im 99.99% sure that was him."

On Tuesday, an attorney for the Laundrie family told Fox News Laundrie's parents originally reported they'd last seen their son in Florida on Sept. 14, but "upon further communication with the FBI" and considering other details, they now believe their initial recollection was wrong and that they last saw Laundrie Sept. 13. And Laundrie's sister, Cassie, spoke to ABC News calling for her brother to come forward: "Get us out of this horrible mess," she said. If she knew where he was, "I'd turn him in," she said, per USA Today.

She also confirmed on Monday, per NewsNation, that her brother flew home Aug. 17, five days after his and Petito's encounter with police in Moab, Utah. Following that, the Laundrie family lawyer released this statement to Fox 5: "Brian flew home to Tampa from SLC on 08/17 and returned to SLC on 08/23 to rejoin Gabby. To my knowledge, Brian and Gabby paid for the flights as they were sharing expenses. Brian flew home to obtain some items and empty and close the storage unit to save money as they contemplated extending the road trip." (Read more Brian Laundrie stories.)
(Newser)  A German program to compensate Holocaust survivors for their suffering in World War II has been expanded to cover around 6,500 more survivors, including thousands of Jews who survived the siege of Leningrad. They will receive the equivalent of $435 a month for the rest of their lives under an agreement between the German government and the Claims Conference, which handles claims on behalf of survivors, the New York Times reports. The $767 million agreement also covers around 1,200 survivors from Romania and 800 from France. The pension payments will be made retroactively from July.

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Stuart Eizenstat, the group's top negotiator, said German authorities argued that non-Jews also suffered during the 872-day siege. "We were able to show them Nazi fliers that were dropped that said that Jews were the cause of the siege," he said. "So their level of persecution was greater." Eizenstat, a former US ambassador to the European Union, praised the German negotiators, who were born long after the end of the war, for recognizing their "moral responsibility" to survivors. The Claims Conference says around 50% of Holocaust survivors live in povertyand many suffer more health issues than other elderly people because they were deprived of nutrition as children.

An estimated 1 million Leningrad residents died during the siege. Jewish survivor Nonna Revzina was 5 years old when Nazi forces encircled the city in what was then the Soviet Union. She tells the AP that she recalls her mother taking her father's body away on a sled after he died of hunger and illness in 1942. Revzina, 85, now lives in a Berlin home for Jewish senior citizens. She says the extra 375 euros a month will make a big difference. "The pension is very helpful for me," she said. "I like going to cafes. I can do that more often now. Eizenstat says the group will keep trying to secure benefits until "the last survivor breathes their last breath." (Read more Holocaust stories.)
(Newser)  Update: The Chicago woman who, along with her then-boyfriend, murdered her mother on Bali in 2014 and stuffed her body in a suitcase walked free Friday after serving seven years of a 10-year sentence, the AP reports. Heather Mack, now 26, was escorted through a crush of reporters outside the Kerobokan Female Prison in Denpasar, the Bali provincial capital, into a waiting car that took her to an immigration office near Balis international airport on Friday morning. She will wait in a detention room there until her flight back to the US. Our original story from Oct. 6 follows:

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A Chicago woman convicted of assisting her boyfriend in her mother's murder and stuffing the body in a suitcase on Indonesia's resort island of Bali in 2014 is being released early from a 10-year sentence, a prison official confirmed Wednesday. Heather Mack, who was 18 when she was arrested a day after the discovery of Sheila von Wiese-Mack's body in the trunk of a taxi parked near the St. Regis Bali Resort, will be freed and deported to the US on Oct. 29, said Lili, the Kerobokan Female Prison chief. Lili, who goes by a single name, told the AP that Mack received a total of 34 months of sentence reductions, which are often granted to prisoners on major holidays, including a six-month sentence remission awarded to her by the Indonesian government during the countrys Independence Day in August.

"She has shown to be a good person, she was entitled to the sentence reduction," Lili said. "She looked happy when she learned this ... and began to pack up excitedly." Mack and her then-boyfriend, Tommy Schaefer, were detained in August 2014 and convicted in April 2015. Schafer received an 18-year sentence. In 2016, Robert Bibbs, a cousin of Schaefer, pleaded guilty to helping plan the killing in exchange for $50,000 that Mack was expected to inherit, and was sentenced the next year to nine years in prison.

Before Mack was convicted, she gave birth to her and Schaefer's daughter, Stella Schaefer. Upon her release, Mack can under Indonesian law be reunited with her daughter, who's now 6. But her Indonesian attorney, Yulius Benyamin Seran, has said that Mackwho hasn't seen the little girl for about 20 months because authorities halted prison visits during the coronavirus pandemichad asked Indonesian authorities to let the girl remain with her foster family to avoid media attention. (In 2017 Mack changed her story, claiming she, not Schaefer, was responsible for the murder.)
(Newser)  Two Rhode Island men have been fined $5,000 each for setting off flares near a friend's wedding reception last yearwhich isn't enough to cover the cost of the Coast Guard search operation that ensued. A Department of Justice release states that a search carried out after residents reported seeing red distress flares cost nearly $104,000. Local authorities and the Coast Guard participated in an hours-long search of waters off Block Island and the shoreline, the Washington Post reports. According to court documents, Perry Phillips and Benjamin Foster discharged the flares from a skiff as they approached the wedding reception at around 9:30pm on June 6 last year. According to court records, they fired three flares from a flare gun they had borrowed from a friend.

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The distress signal was reported to the New Shoreham harbormaster, who contacted police and the Coast Guard. Authorities, who initially sought to recover the full cost of the search, say Phillips, 31, and Foster, 33, should have known better. At least one of the defendants, "by virtue of prior training and experience, knew that the flares were a sign or signal of maritime distress and should not be used absent such distress," and "both understood that it was improper to use them as they did," the DOJ says. The "needless and expensive" search involved a Coast Guard boat and two Coast Guard helicopters, authorities say.

Court documents state that Phillips and Foster, unaware that their actions had led to a search operation, posted video of themselves firing the flares on social media, reports the Providence Journal. A settlement agreement released Tuesday states that a civil complaint against the men will be dismissed when they have paid $5,000 each. The agreement states they have provided "sworn statements and documentation" that they lack the financial means to pay the costs of the search operation. (Read more Coast Guard stories.)
(Newser)  TikTok users have been compelled to set themselves on fire and choke themselves until they pass out or die. Now, the trend of dangerous social media challenges continues with a new call to abuse teachers. "Educators beware!" the California Teachers Association warned Tuesday, noting a challenge spreading on TikTok and Twitter asks students to record themselves slapping a teacher, per the Los Angeles Times. A day earlier, Connecticut attorney general William Tong described the new "Slap a Teacher" challenge in a letter to TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, requesting that officials come to Connecticut to "meet with educators and parents and commit to reforms that stop this reckless content."

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Florida's Broward Teachers Union has also warned its members about the challenge. "It's so serious that everybody that I spoke to  has just been extremely flabbergasted that its gotten to this level," President Anna Fusco tells USA Today. "Our teachers do not sign up to go into work and have to look over their shoulder or be worried that they might get hit," she adds. A teacher with Missouri's Springfield Public Schools has been slapped, per KYTV, while another teacher with South Carolina's Lancaster County School District was reportedly struck in the back of the head. This follows another TikTok challenge that urged students to record themselves stealing or trashing school property.

As the "devious licks" challenge gained popularity last month, students stole toilets, destroyed hygiene-product dispensers, and "smeared soap and red dye on toilets, walls and floors," causing thousands of dollars worth of damages, per the Times. Tong's letter noted one high school in New Britain had to close "due to unprecedented vandalism and behavior challenges" linked to the viral challenge. Some students have been arrested. School officials across the country say students who abuse a teacher for this latest challenge could also face criminal prosecution or expulsion. TikTok says it will remove any videos associated with the challenges, though Tong argues that's not enough. (Read more TikTok stories.)
(Newser)  The right-wing, fiercely pro-Donald Trump One America News Network is often seen as a fringe player in American mediabut its inspiration, and most of its revenue, came from the country's largest communication company, a Reuters investigation finds. Court records reveal that OAN founder Robert Herring has testified that AT&T execs inspired him to create the network in 2013. "They told us they wanted a conservative network" because they only had Fox to balance seven on the "other side," Herring said in a 2019 deposition. "When they said that, I jumped to it and built one."

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The network, often praised by Trump, is known for supporting COVID and election conspiracy theories. YouTube suspended OAN for a week last fall for posting a fake COVID cure, and Dominion Voting Systems is suing the network for airing false claims about its machines being rigged. In 2020, a network accountant testified that around 90% of its income came from deals with AT&T-owned platforms, including DirecTV. The accountant said that without the DirecTV deal, the network's value would be "zero," according to court transcripts seen by Reuters. The accountant was testifying in a labor lawsuit unrelated to AT&T.

AT&T, which originally picked up the network for its U-verse platform, attempted to distance itself from OAN after the Reuters report. Company spokesman Jim Greer told the Hill that "AT&T has never had a financial interest in OANs success and does not 'fund' OAN." He said AT&T initially refused to air OAN when it acquired DirecTV, but reached an agreement after the network sued. Greer said DirecTV, which was spun off into its own company in August, "offers a wide variety of programming, including many news channels that offer a variety of viewpoints, but it does not dictate or control programming on the channel." (Read more One America News Network stories.)
(Newser)  Update: Timothy George Simpkins, the 18-year-old suspect accused of opening fire at a Texas high school Wednesday morning, is now in custody. "The suspect has been taken into custody without incident and charged with multiple counts of Aggravated Assault with a gun," the Arlington Police Department tweeted. ABC reports that the three people hospitalized after the Arlington shooting are a 15-year-old boy in critical condition, a teenage girl in good condition, and a 25-year-old man in good condition. Our story from earlier today follows:

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Police in Arlington, Texas, say four people were wounded in a high school shooting spun out of a fight Wednesday morning. NBC-DFW reports that police say 18-year-old Timothy George Simpkins pulled out a gun and started shooting during the fight at Timberview High School. He is still at large and police say he should be considered armed and dangerous. Arlington Assistant Police Chief Kevin Kolby says two people were shot and two others had unspecified injuries, reports the AP. Kolbe says three people were hospitalized and a fourth refused treatment.

After the shooting, parents of students at Timberview High School were told that students and staff had been locked in classrooms and offices while police investigated an active shooter situation. The Arlington Police Department tweeted that officers were carrying out a "methodical search," working closely with the ATF and other law enforcement agencies. Students were escorted from the building after an all-clear was given, ABC reports. (Read more school shooting stories.)
(Newser)  COVID-19 deaths in the US are coming down again, hospitalizations are dropping, and new cases per day are about to dip below 100,000 for the first time in two monthsall signs that the summer surge is waning. Not wanting to lose momentum, government leaders and employers are looking at strengthening and expanding vaccine requirements, the AP reports. Los Angeles was poised to enact on Wednesday one of the nation's strictest vaccine mandatesa sweeping measure that would require the shots for everyone entering a bar, restaurant, nail salon, gym, or Lakers game.

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Minnesota's governor this week called for vaccine and testing requirements for teachers and long-term care workers. In New York, a statewide vaccination mandate for all hospital and nursing home workers will be expanded Thursday to home care and hospice employees. Nationally, the encouraging signs involve:

Fatalities . Deaths per day have dropped almost 15% since mid-September, to an average of about 1,750.

. Deaths per day have dropped almost 15% since mid-September, to an average of about 1,750. Infections . New cases have fallen to just over 103,000 per day on average, a 40% decline over the past three weeks.

. New cases have fallen to just over 103,000 per day on average, a 40% decline over the past three weeks. Hospitalizations. The number of Americans now admitted with COVID-19 has declined by about one-quarter since the most recent peak of almost 94,000 a month ago.

The decreases have been especially sharp in several Deep South states, where cases have gone down more than twice as fast as they have nationwide. Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Arkansas all saw their case numbers cut in half over the past two weeks. What's behind the decline isnt entirely clear, though health experts point out that the numbers are falling as more people are getting vaccinated and new requirements for the shot are being put in place by government and private employers. The decrease in case numbers could also be due to the virus running out of susceptible people in some places. Worldwide, newly reported cases fell in the last week, as well.

Despite the encouraging direction in the US, health experts say it is no time for anyone to drop their guard, because there are far too many unvaccinated people. "This is still primarily a problem of people who are unvaccinated," said Jennifer Nuzzo, a Johns Hopkins University public health researcher. "Some of them are taking precautions, but many of them feel like they dont need to worry." There is concern that a new wave could come during the winter when more people are indoors. Intensive care units and staff in surging areas from Alaska to New England remain stretched thin. Despite having some of the highest vaccination rates in the country, parts of New England have record caseloads, largely among the unvaccinated.

(Read more COVID-19 stories.)
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4 men detained in 100 block of East Dewart Street

Mark Gilger / MARK GILGER/STAFF PHOTO Law enforcement officers walk behind shields with guns drawn as they begin their one-block trek from the corner of Orange and Dewart streets in Shamokin to 124 E. Dewart St. Tuesday afternoon. Four men were detained after exiting the home.

SHAMOKIN  Police from four municipalities, state and county parole agents and deputy sheriffs converged on a home in the 100 block of East Dewart Street on Tuesday for more than four hours after receiving a report that two of the occupants were wanted for a murder in Philadelphia, and a third occupant was wanted for a sexual assault in South Carolina.

Shamokin Chief of Police Raymond Siko II, who directed approximately 20 law enforcement officers at the scene, said police were initially called for a criminal mischief complaint at 130 E. Dewart St. at 2:30 p.m. before being informed that at least three wanted men were inside 124 E. Dewart St. along with four young children.

At about 5 p.m, police ordered all the occupants to exit the building. A few minutes later, four men came out of the house and surrendered to police without incident before being handcuffed.

Siko said one of the men had been sleeping in a second-floor bedroom before hearing the police commands to exit the property.

The police chief said a small fire on the stove inside the dwelling had to be extinguished.

A few women who were friends of the occupants of the home removed the children from the scene for their safety.

Prior to detaining the four male occupants outside, police from Shamokin, Coal Township, Ralpho Township and Kulpmont, along with state and county parole agents and deputy sheriffs surrounded the perimeter of 124 E. Dewart St. They began converging on the home from the corner of Orange and Dewart streets behind shields with weapons drawn, while wearing bulletproof vests.

Siko said Ibin Islam, 44, of 124 E. Dewart St., who is the owner of the home, was taken into custody by state parole agents for a parole violation. The other three men were later identified and released after it was determined there were no warrants against them.

The two men wanted for a murder in Philadelphia and the other male wanted for a sexual assault in South Carolina were not found inside the home.

AREA Ambulance personnel also assisted at the scene.

Fire police cordoned off the intersections of Orange and Dewart streets, and Liberty and Dewart streets, until the scene was cleared at about 7 p.m.
Shamokin, PA (17872)

Today

Cloudy with occasional rain during the afternoon. High 64F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%..

Tonight

Rain showers early with clear skies overnight. Low 31F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

Joint action between the executive and legislative branches is key to sustain Bahrains economic recovery and growth amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Finance and National Economy Minister Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa made the statement as he praised the governments constructive cooperation with the legislature to serve the nation and citizens.

He said joint meetings are an assertion of keenness of both branches to continue joint action to support plans aimed at helping the national economy cushion the negative impact of the pandemic.

Shaikh Salman underlined the importance of synergised efforts to maintain economic growth and ensure success of initiatives aimed at promoting financial stability.

He stressed that the best option is always the one with limited effect on citizens, particularly those with low income.

The minister affirmed the governments keenness on maintaining exclusion of 94 basic food commodities from the value-added tax (VAT) along with 1,400 government services.

Shaikh Salman highlighted the measures taken by the government, including reducing administrative expenditure, boosting the competence of government expenditure and promoting recovery and economic growth through commitment to implementing the fiscal balance programme to achieve balance between expenditure and revenues.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

The Prosecution of Terrorist Crimes is conducting investigations following revelations by the Financial Investigation Department at the Ministry of Interior regarding noticing and seizing fund transfers related to financing terrorism.

Attorney General Dr Ali bin Fadl Al Buainain said the investigations have revealed that one individual, with links to the Lebanese terrorist Hezbollah and one of its financing arms currently in Qatar, carried out transfers of huge sums to finance the terrorist organisation.

The funds were received in Bahrain by three defendants who purchased and managed real estate in the Kingdom to take advantage of the proceeds to finance Hezbollah.

The Prosecution of Terrorist Crimes questioned the defendants in Bahrain and charged them with financing terrorism and money laundering by receiving funds, making purchases with the intention of disguising their origin and concealing their source even though they were aware of their purpose.

It ordered the seizure of the real estate, bank accounts and all property of the accused, including those of the accused currently in Qatar.

The Public Prosecution also sent a rogatory commission to the competent judicial authority in Qatar to complete the investigation regarding the accused currently under its power, with the aim of prosecuting and gathering evidence.

Dr Al Buainain stressed the availability of the legislative framework and institutional structure in the Kingdom to detect and confront terrorism financing and money laundering and to cooperate with counterpart authorities across the world to combat crime, which denotes Bahrains keenness to fight terrorism and money laundering within the efforts of the international community
Home-bound Filipinos in Bahrain urged to register with One Health Pass travel portal

Home-bound Filipinos in Bahrain urged to register with One Health Pass travel portal

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

Filipinos in the Kingdom of Bahrain who are going to the Philippines are urged to register with One Health Pass online portal to ease the process of mandatory COVID-19 testing and quarantine requirements.

Through its official Facebook account, the Philippine Embassy in the Kingdom provides the guides to be followed by Filipinos.

Last month, the Philippine government started implementing the One Health Pass registration system for travellers and returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs).

Those arriving via international flights should log in at https://www.onehealthpass.com.ph/ and fill out the corresponding form three days before travelling to the Philippines to generate a transaction number.

The One Health Pass portal is user-friendly requesting only for personal details and other information like flight details.

Aiming for a paperless set of procedures, incoming travellers to the Philippines would need to register from their point of origin on the electronic health declaration checklist only once.

All information would be passed on to concerned government agencies such as Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), Department of Tourism, Maritime Industry Authority, Philippine Coast Guard, and Overseas Shipping Service.

A day prior to boarding the flight to the Philippines, the passenger will be required to fill out an electronic health declaration checklist and will be given a QR code.

When they arrive in the country, the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) will check the QR code.

The system in getting clearance from the bureau will be paperless.

Under existing protocol, returning Filipinos from overseas are subjected to 10- day facility quarantine, with the RT-PCR COVID-19 testing to be done on the seventh day
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

The High Criminal Court set October 30 as the date to announce its verdict in the case of a Bahraini bank employee who took advantage of the authorities given to him to embezzle money from his wifes account.

The couple reportedly had disagreements, and the husband stole money from her account.

The wife discovered the misconduct of her husband and filed a complaint against him. The defendant has been already fired by the bank for other reasons.

She revealed that the defendant would bring to their home some papers to make her sign them when she had some transactions to make.

She found out that several transactions were made without her approval, including the withdrawal of BD1,800.

The bank investigated the matter and discovered that the man was behind that.

The husband denied any wrongdoing, stating that everyone was done with her consent.

I was working in the bank for 10 years before I was dismissed.

My wife was the one who would request me to do these transactions.

She would ask me to bring the paperwork and sign them.

On some occasions, she would come to the bank and do everything on her own, the defendant told the Public Prosecution.
Six Asian men jailed for gambling in Bahrain

Six Asian men jailed for gambling in Bahrain

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

The Lower Criminal Court sentenced six Asian men to six months behind bars after being found guilty of gambling.

They were, however, able to dodge a more serious charge of running a gambling den after they were acquitted from such an accusation.

The defendants were arrested after police officers received a tip-off from undercover agents that the Asian men were meeting regularly in a place to gamble.

Police also received complaints from residents in the area about it.

As a result, police officers raided the place to verify the tip-off.

It was found that the defendants kept the place open for everyone to come and play.

The six defendants were sent for trial over accusations of gambling and running the place.

However, the Lower Criminal Court cleared the defendants from this, stating that welcoming many people doesnt mean they were operating a gambling den.

The six defendants will be deported after serving their jail terms.


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A 40-strong team of "independent investigators" has claimed to have identified the Zodiac Killer, according to Fox News.

The Zodiac took at least five lives while terrorizing the Bay Area in the late 1960s and became one of the most infamous serial killers in America after sending a series of taunting cryptograms to journalists. While countless theories and suspects have been named over the years  ranging from Vallejo man Arthur Leigh Allen, to the Manson Family and the Unabomber  the case is still unsolved. The San Francisco Police Department classified the case as "inactive" in 2004, but reopened it in 2007.

A team who call themselves the the "Case Breakers" now claim that a man named Gary Francis Poste is the notorious killer. Poste, an Air Force veteran and house painter from Southern California, died in 2018.

Their claim is largely linked to evidence found in Poste's darkroom. The team claim that an image found there showed a scar on Poste's forehead that matched scars seen on a sketch of the killer. They also say that one of the letters sent by the Zodiac can be cracked by removing the letters of Poste's name, though no evidence of this has yet been provided.

They also allege that a 1966 murder in Riverside, hundreds of miles from the area where he was known to have killed, was the work of Zodiac.

The Case Breakers' website says they are a team of "crack investigators  from working millennials to retired octogenarians  with law enforcement, military, forensic, academic, legal and investigative skill sets."

The claim is speculative and should be taken with extreme doubt. One outlandish aspect of the claim that is difficult to verify involves the Case Breakers' source, who was allegedly "an outlaw-turned-whistleblower" who "tipped these developments to the team, led by retired FBI agents. The turncoat claims to have escaped from the Zodiacs criminal 'posse,' roaming in the mountains for decades," the Case Breakers' website states.

With regards to the Riverside killing, the Riverside Police Department told Fox News that our Homicide Cold Case Unit has determined the murder of Cheri Jo Bates in 1966 is not related to the Zodiac Killer.

The Case Breakers are asking police to compare a DNA sample from Poste with those gathered from the 1966 crime scene.

The Zodiac killer case remains open. We have no new information to share at the moment, the FBI San Francisco office told the Chronicle on Wednesday. The paper said the statement was "echoed" by the SFPD.

SFGATE reached out for comment from the Case Breakers but had not heard back at time of publication.
DANBURY  Starting high school a few minutes early is one idea officials are floating to alleviate school bus delays.

Like districts across the state, Danbury schools have suffered from a bus driver shortage, which has caused students to arrive to school or home late.

Certainly our times have gotten better considerably over the last two, three weeks, but were still challenged a little bit, Superintendent Kevin Walston said at a school board committee meeting this week. Wed still like to be a little bit better now, given that its October.

The high school has already moved up arrival time by five minutes  from 7 a.m. to 6:55 a.m., Walston said. But the school is considering starting instructional time five to 10 minutes early, either at 7:15 a.m. or 7:10 a.m.

This would mean the high school would end earlier, so the buses would get to the middle schools, and then the elementary schools, earlier, he said. The middle school schedule would be adjusted, too.

With darker, colder months approaching, its especially important that elementary children get home on time, Walston said.

Under todays schedule, high school staff are required to arrive by 7:05 a.m., with instruction starting at 7:20 p.m. Administrators would need to negotiate with the unions to allow this, Walston said.

Obviously, any changes that we would make, we would not want it to impact on our staff negatively, he said. Our staff, like our families, also have family commitments and child care challenges, as well.

Administrators have been tracking each buss arrival and departure times to identify why some buses are consistently late.

Danburys bus company, Student Transportation of America, has enough vehicles, but not enough drivers to cover routes. The state is working to speed up the process for driver certification. In the meantime, the company has used substitute drivers and combined routes, Walston said in a letter to families last week.

The bus company has told administrators to be prepared in case the COVID-19 vaccine mandate affects the number of drivers available, Walston said.

As of last week, around 30 out of 175 Danbury drivers had not confirmed their vaccination status to the bus company, school officials had said. Drivers who fail to get COVID tested weekly must stay home.

The rules are the same for unvaccinated school staff  a problem for which administrators are preparing, Walston said.

We have to expect and plan for the same with our buses, and were already dealing with the shortage, he said.

Students used to arrive at high school at 6:45 a.m. but that was pushed to 7 a.m. due to supervision challenges during COVID. This wasnt a problem last academic year when less than half of students were physically in school, Walston, said.

That really hit us hard when we first came back to open up school year this year, he said.

He would like to develop a long-term plan in case bus driver shortages become the norm.

We may have to consider something a bit different for next year, Walston said. We certainly have a little bit of time to plan for that. Hopefully the driver shortage will be a non-issue next year, but I dont know that to be true and Id like to prepare for it one way or the other.
BETHEL  Gov. Ned Lamont on Wednesday pledged jobs in the state are returning following a tour of a local educational facility. The visit was meant to mark Manufacturing Month, an industry local leaders said makes up more than a 10th of the workforce in the region.

As a governor of a state that didnt really have any new jobs for a long time  we were kind of flat as a pancake  were coming back and were coming back on the strength of our workforce, Lamont said, speaking from a podium in front of WorkspaceCT. The recently-opened site contains a professional kitchen, 3D printers, a recording studio and other workshops for local schools to use.

Weve gotta have the best trained most productive workforce in the world, thats how you compete, and thats what were doing right here, Lamont added.

Manufacturing, he noted has always been our greatest skill set.

Were the Silicon Valley of manufacturing... thats why we make the most complicated things in the world, the governor said.

WorkspaceCT was opened in June as a collaboration between EdAdvance and Cooperative Educational Services, two of the states six regional education service centers. The quasi-government organizations were established by the state legislature decades ago to provide education supports and services to public schools throughout the state.

Encountering a group of Bethel High School students rehearsing for a Battle of the Bands during a tour of the facility, Lamont said hed return to hear them play.

The red building that houses the facility is tucked down a bucolic drive in an industrial park, where tractor trailer trucks deliver welding gas to some of the neighboring sites. Before its educational use, the building was at one time a Cannondale bicycle factory, according to a spokesman for CES.

Matt Knickerbocker, Bethels first selectman, made a point of wearing a tie festooned with bicycles to the event for that very reason. This industrial facility dates back about 30, 35 years, he said. You wouldnt know it, its very quiet, very peaceful.

Despite that, the park ships all over the world, Knickerbocker said. Very quiet and very mighty, he added.

He thanked Lamont for working to bring manufacturing back to the state because we can still be the powerhouse that we once were, he said.

James Amos, a manager of workforce programs at the Northwest Regional Workforce Investment Board, noted manufacturing accounts for 12 percent of the economy of the greater Danbury, Waterbury and Torrington region, and more than 11 percent of employment in the region. The organizations work includes recruitment and job training resources.

We have an incredible number of small manufacturers that play such an important role as far as the economy and employment, said Amos. He said 33 suppliers to Electric Boat, the Groton-based submarine manufacturer are located in the region, seven of them in Danbury and Bethel alone.

The governor recalled how during his graduation in the 1970s, a speaker told the class there would be no jobs available for them, and that, in Lamonts words, they should go back and unpack, there are no jobs for you, just stay on the family dole a little bit longer.

Thats not where we are today, not in this state, not in this country, Lamont said. Its an amazing time to be graduating. And its also an amazing time I think to be giving people opportunity.
H John Voorhees III / Hearst Connecticut Media file photo

DANBURY  A busload of resources is coming to the city for those in need of housing.

The UniteCT Bus will visit C-Town Supermarket at 45 North St. from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday to educate the community about a program that could bring them thousands of dollars in housing assistance. The bus will return from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 14 at Kennedy Park.
DANBURY  Police are asking for the publics help identifying a man suspected of stealing an estimated $275,000 worth of medical equipment in broad daylight from Danbury Hospital.

Police said around 12:55 p.m. on Sept. 12 a man in blue scrubs and a surgical mask went into the hospital through a public entry, surveillance footage shows. The man made his way to the endoscopy unit and entered the scope storage room, according to police.
Ive never been without something to love
First started in 2019, Canadian Beer Day is dedicated to celebrating beer and the thousands of Canadians involved in the brewing, selling, delivering, serving  and enjoying  Canada's favourite beverage loved by millions across the country. The celebration, which occurs every year on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, recognizes and celebrates beer and breweries in Canada and the workers directly involved in beer's supply chain  agriculture, manufacturing, transportation, and hospitality.

A time to celebrate Canadian beer from coast to coast. Celebrate with us on October 6!

"Beer brings Canadians together, and it's been a part of our country's culture and communities for generations. The last 18 months have been a challenging time for Canadians and businesses, specifically those in hospitality and tourism, making beer's role in bringing friends and family together more important than ever," said Dana Miller, Interim Director, Communications and Engagement for Beer Canada.

"Whether in a small or larger group this year, we hope that Canadians will join us in safely supporting our brewers, restauranteurs, barley farmers and all those connected to beer by raising a glass of your favourite Canadian-made beer today," Miller added.

This year, Canadian Beer Day launched an initiative to fundraise for Food Banks Canada to help fellow Canadians struggling with food insecurity, especially during COVID-19. Apparel has been sold online to beer fans across the country, and Beer Canada will match all proceeds with a donation being made shortly after October 6.

Canadian brewers directly employ over 19,000 Canadians, and approximately 149,000 jobs across Canada's hospitality, tourism, agriculture and manufacturing sector are supported by the production and sale of beer.

Canadian Beer Day is all about celebrating the beverage Canadians love, and the positive contributions brewers make to local communities across the country throughout the year. To find out more, visit www.canadianbeerday.ca.

QUICK FACTS

85% of the beer consumed in Canada is made here.

is made here. Approximately 149,000 Canadian jobs are supported by the production and sale of beer.

Over 19,000 Canadians work in breweries across the country.

Canada is home to over 1,200 breweries.

is home to over 1,200 breweries. Beer contributes $13.6 billion to Canada's GDP annually.

ASSOCIATED LINKS

Canadian Beer Day  Official Website

Canadian Beer Day  Official 2021 Video

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

YouTube

ABOUT BEER CANADA

Beer Canada is the voice of the people who make our nation's beers. Our members account for 90% of the beer produced in Canada. The sale of beer supports 149,000 Canadian jobs, generates $14 billion in Gross Domestic Product and $5.7 billion in government tax revenues.

SOURCE Beer Canada

For further information: Dana Miller, Interim Director, Communications and Engagement, Beer Canada, 604-679-4970, [email protected]; Brittany Burden, Director, Communications and Engagement, Beer Canada, 613-286-8974, [email protected]

Related Links

https://beercanada.com/homepage


Shruti Haasan, Actor and Dr Sejal Worah, Programme Director, WWF India recently joined NewsX for an insightful chat as part of NewsX India A-List. In the exclusive conversation, the duo spoke about the role of brand ambassadors in WWF, how they help the work they do, the biggest challenges facing the environment today and much more. Read excerpts:

Speaking about what drew her to become a brand ambassador for WWF india, Shruti said, Ever since I have been a child, they have been synonyms with bringing about change and conservation. When I was approached by them, it was really a huge honour. I love the work they have done, especially in the field on conservation. I think, for a lot of people, when we were growing up, we would talk about WWF, Tigers and Pandas. There is so much more that goes into the concept of conservation and understanding the impact man has with climate change or encroachment and so many of these things. To be a part of it, in any way, to spread knowledge and compassion for the world around us is just amazing. Its a no brainer.

Explaining the role of brand ambassadors and how do they help in the work WWF does, Dr Sejal further added, Shruti, it is great to know that WWF was there from your childhood because it was there from my childhood too. The difference is that I spent my entire working life with WWF, so I am lucky in a way. I think, brand ambassadors, somehow, I am not comfortable with that term because it almost sounds like you are marketing something. In a way, we are. We are marketing the environment but it is more than marketing. It is about behavioural change. I, as an individual, spent almost half my time giving lectures, seminars, webinars, you name it, but in a way, Im talking to the converted. What people like Shruti bring as ambassadors of WWF, they help us to reach out to a completely different audience. It is an audience that I would not know how to reach at all. What she is doing that shes sort of expanding the reach of the organisation and bringing the message to a lot more people than we would be able to do otherwise. I should also say that for brand ambassadors, it has to be a perfect match. It is not just that you pick up somebody who is popular and say become a brand ambassador. There have to be values and a cultural match between the person and the organisation. We are really lucky to have people like Shruti, who embody for the younger generation this whole combination of passion, commitment, smartness and intelligence. Thats what is exciting for us.

When asked about the biggest challenge today facing the environment, Shruti responded, I think the biggest thing is a lack of understanding of how dire the problem is because of a lack of knowledge. Like Sejal maam said, it is in pockets. When she said that she is reaching to the converted, it is people who have already understood this and then it is like they are all going to mass together. They understand why they are there but the important people that I think need to be spoken with or have dialogue with are people that do not understand that we are leaving behind this environment for a future generation. Not only that, in our current lifetime, gaping holes and threats staring us in the face and we act like it is very far away. Just like we acted about the tigers and the elephants. I live in a city, they are in a forest somewhere. Therefore, thats not my life. But, everything in nature is so beautifully interlinked. We have to have humility and understanding that we belong in that ecosystem. We need to value the space given to us and I think that understanding and understanding how small things everyday can help contribute to this growth is the biggest challenge we are facing. People arent listening and understanding enough and that should change with dialogue. People wanting to understand the world around them.

Check out the entire interview on NewsX YouTube:
Following the killing of three civilians by terrorists in separate incidents in Jammu and Kashmir, top leaders of the union territory on Tuesday condemned the killings. Condemning the attacks, Lt Governor Manoj Sinha said terrorists will never succeed in their nefarious designs.

I strongly condemn the killing of civilians Virender Paswan and Mohd Shafi Lone by terrorists. The barbaric act of killing innocent people is against humanity. Terrorists will never succeed in their nefarious designs, and those responsible for such heinous acts shall be brought to justice. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families in this hour of grief, reads the statement of the office of Lt Governor.

Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah condemned the attack on civilians in Jammu and Kashmir. What terrible news! He was a very kind man. I have been told he never left during the height of militancy and remained with his shop open. I condemn this killing in the strongest possible terms and convey my heartfelt condolences to his family. God bless his soul, tweeted Abdullah.

Mohd Shafi Lone of Naidkhai becomes the third casualty this evening. He was shot dead a short while ago in Bandipore district of North Kashmir. Even the words of condemnation and condolence after these militant attacks start to sound hollow. May Allah grant the deceased Jannat. Another targeted attack in Srinagar. A poor non-local handcart stall owner selling golguppas has been shot & has reportedly succumbed to his injuries. No words of condemnation are enough. May his soul rest in peace, added Abdullah.

No words are strong enough to condemn the cowardly and barbaric attack on owner of Bindroo Medicate in which he lost his life. May his soul rest in peace. We express our sympathies with the bereaved family, Jammu Kashmir National Conference said in a tweet.

Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti also condemned the killing of the businessman in Srinagar. Condemn the killing of Shri M L Bindroo who chose to stay back in Kashmir even during peak of insurgency. Such acts of violence have no place in our society. May his family find the strength to deal with this loss, tweeted Mehbooba Mufti.

Three civilians were killed by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday evening in separate incidents. Terrorists fired at a man identified as Mohd Shafi Lone in the Shahgund area of Bandipora. Lone was a resident of Naidkhai, police said.

Following this, Lone was brought to a hospital where doctors declared him dead. Police have cordoned off the area and a search operation is underway to catch the terrorists.

Another terror incident reported in Shahgund area of Bandipora where coward terrorists shot dead a civilian. He has been identified as Mohd Shafi Lone resident of Naidkhai. Area cordoned off and search to nab the terrorists is in progress, tweeted Kashmir Zone Police.

Earlier this evening, a street hawker was shot dead by terrorists in Srinagar. The incident took place near Madina Chowk, Lalbazar in Srinagar where terrorists fired upon the victim Virender Paswan. Paswan is a resident of Bihars Bhagalpur district and worked as a street vendor. He was residing at Alamgari Bazar, Zadibal.Police said a search operation was underway by police to nab the terrorists. Also, a businessman has been killed by terrorists in Srinagar on Tuesday evening.

The incident took place near Iqbal Park in Srinagar where terrorists fired upon the owner of Bindroo Medicate namely, Makhan Lal Bindroo. Following this, Bindroo was shifted to hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
As per the Ministry of External Affairs release, she will meet Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on October 6 to review the India-US bilateral agenda and outcomes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to the US.

US Deputy Secretary of State, Wendy Sherman on Tuesday arrived in New Delhi to review India-US bilateral agenda and discuss regional and global issues. During her visit from October 5-7, She will hold talks with External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval. US Deputy Secretary of State @DeputySecState Wendy Sherman arrives in Delhi for engagements covering bilateral, regional and global issues, tweeted Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.

As per the Ministry of External Affairs release, she will meet Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on October 6 to review the India-US bilateral agenda and outcomes of Prime Minister Narendra Modis recent visit to the US. They will exchange views on regional issues pertaining to South Asia and the Indo-Pacific region and contemporary global issues.

Both diplomats will also participate in a special session of the India-Ideas Summit organised by the US India Business Council (USIBC), reported MEA. During her visit, Sherman will call on External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval.

Shermans visit will be a useful opportunity to continue the regular dialogue and further strengthen the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership, added the release.
NEW HAVEN  The Dominican friars who have served St. Mary Roman Catholic Church, the home church of the Knights of Columbus, will be turning over parish oversight to the Archdiocese of Hartford after 135 years.

The friars, who are members of the Province of St. Joseph, based in New York, said they are relinquishing pastoral care of St. Mary Church and priority in January 2022 with profound sadness but with the deepest gratitude for the privilege of serving the people of New Haven since 1886.

The Rev. John Paul Walker has been pastor of St. Mary for six years. St. Joseph Church on Edwards Street was merged with St. Mary in June 2017.

In a release, the Dominican friars said they are leaving at the requests of Archbishop Leonard Blair, who they said is undertaking a reconfiguration of the Catholic churches in New Haven.

After more than a century of service to the people of St. Marys Church, surrendering the parish to the Archdiocese is disappointing, said the Very Rev. Kenneth Letoile, prior provincial of the Dominican Province of St. Joseph, in the release.

Though we would have liked to continue serving in the Archdiocese of Hartford, the pastoral ministries we accept must not only be of benefit to the local church, but must also allow us to live fully our form of religious life and to serve in ways which allow our charism to flourish.

The friars will continue their work at Quinnipiac University, Albertus Magnus College and with the Knights of Columbus. Another Dominican will be assigned as chaplain for the Dominican nuns at the Monastery of Our Lady of Grace in Guilford.

In a letter to St. Mary parishioners, posted on the parish website, Walker wrote that, after the first phase of parish mergers in 2017, The archdiocese is presently engaging in phase two of the pastoral planning process, which will merge multiple parishes in New Haven into a single municipal parish, centered on St. Mary Church.

Erika Ahern of Hamden, whose family has been members of St. Mary for almost 11 years, said she will feel a great loss without the Dominican priests. One of the reasons we came to Connecticut was to be near the Dominican parish, so this is a devastating decision on the part of the archdiocese to remove the Dominicans, she said. Its hard to understand the motives behind it.

Ahern and her husband, Todd, have six children, ages 2 to 16. We see in our own culture this need for a charism of preaching the faith, of study, so we have the courage to live our faith in a culture that is increasingly secularized and anti-Catholic and anti-Christian, she said.

Ahern, who is a member of the parish mothers group and founded the Siena Girls Club, said she didnt understand why the Dominicans were being removed when the archdiocese has a shortage of priests. We definitely have concerns about what the care of the souls of the parishioners will look like, Ahern said. We just dont have enough priests.

She said while the archdiocese is not graduating any priests this year, the Dominicans, known as the Order of Preachers, are growing year after year. They ordain multiple priests every year.

The Rev. Jordan Lenaghan, one of the Dominican friars who lives at St. Marys priory, confirmed the Dominican order is increasing. We are growing very rapidly in fact, he said. Our median age for a friar in the province is in the 40s, we have a lot of vocations. The Province of St. Joseph extends from New England to Virginia and Indiana.

The history with St. Dominic is he founded the Dominicans to go into areas where the Catholic faith seems to be dying, Ahern said. She said St. Mary just celebrated the 800th anniversary of St. Dominics death, so its a difficult year to have this news come.

Lenaghan is executive director of religious life at Quinnipiac and part-time chaplain at Albertus, ministries he will continue once he moves from Hillhouse Avenue.

Its disappointing, as our provincial has said, because weve been here 135 years and weve been living in the same building since I think 1915, he said. Theres a sadness to that.

He and Walker said they understood the archbishops responsibility to make decisions for the best interests of the archdiocese, which is composed of New Haven, Hartford and Litchfield counties. Were supportive of that and were praying for its success, Lenaghan said.

Obviously Im very sad about it, Walker said. Being here at St. Marys has been a great blessing to me personally for the last six years. He said the friars support Blair and understanding that at this point he feels this change is for the better and we will continue to serve faithfully here until the very last day that the change takes place.

St. Mary, which was built in 1874, holds the tomb of Blessed Michael J. McGivney, founder of the Knights of Columbus, whom Pope Francis beatified in October 2020. Beatification is one step short of sainthood.

In a statement, the archdiocese said it asked the Dominicans to leave because St. Mary is uniquely suited as the center of a municipal model of pastoral care with several priests living together and serving the ten city churches. The archdiocese has consolidated churches and is considering further plans, it said.

The number of Catholics in New Haven has declined from 70,000 in the 1930s to 10,000 today.

The statement said the Dominicans were willing to relinquish being pastors of St. Mary, but were not willing to leave the priory next door on Hillhouse Avenue because it has traditional and emotional significance to them. The priory is owned by the archdiocese.

The statement said the archdiocese offered other options, such as overseeing St. Joseph Church and taking up residence in another rectory. None of these possibilities were accepted by the Dominicans, and regrettably, they will be taking their leave of their residence in the archdiocese, the statement said.

It added that the archdiocese will welcome individual friars ministry and would offer help in finding a residence for them.

In his letter, Walker said, The Archdiocese has asked the Dominican Province to consider three new ministries in the Archdiocese as an alternative to St. Marys. As each of these would entail a radically new configuration of the Dominican life and mission in the Archdiocese, the Dominican Province has decided to evaluate these new offers at our next provincial chapter, which will take place in June of 2022.

St. Mary, the oldest Catholic parish in New Haven and second oldest in Connecticut, was established in 1832. After a fire destroyed the original church on York Street in 1848, the current church was built and dedicated in 1874.

McGivney was assigned as assistant pastor and founded the Knights of Columbus in 1882. The Knights undertook a major renovation of the church 100 years later, including a steeple, which had never been erected.

In March 1998, a three-alarm fire badly damaged St. Marys, and in January 2010 a 5-foot-by-20-foot section of the steeple broke off.

edward.stannard@hearstmediact.com; 203-680-9382
Three of the longest-serving workers for a McDonalds restaurant on Interstate-95 in Darien are suing the company after they were laid off in the coronavirus pandemic, then not rehired despite a new state law that requires the recalling of employees on the basis of seniority.

Its believed to be the first lawsuit under a state statute that went into effect July 13, which applies to layoffs in certain industries during the pandemic emergency.

The workers, with a combined 53 years of service, say they were laid off last year and have not been offered their jobs back by the Windsor Locks-based Michell Enterprises, LLC, which owns McDonalds restaurants in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Jersey.

In a complaint filed in state Superior Court, aided by a union thats trying to organize fast-food workers at service plazas on Connecticut highways, the three are asking for back wages and benefits, as well as punitive damages and legal costs.

We didnt get a phone call, we didnt get anything, said Mario Franco of Stamford, a 26-year employee of the I-95 McDonalds, through an interpreter outside Superior Court in Hartford during a morning news conference and rally on Wednesday, led by the SEIU 32BJ union.

It could happen to me and I dont want it to happen to anyone else, said Franco, who had been making $15.15 an hour following a settlement between the restaurant owners and the state Department of Labor when he, Pilas Mestanza and Rosa Franco, also of Stamford, were laid-off. Mario and Rosa Franco are not related.

In all, eight experienced workers were not recalled, Franco and union officials said. The lawsuit alleges that the workers were laid off in October, 2020, and that Michell hired other people in September of 2021.

Michell Enterprises did not return calls for comment, and its legal representatives on Wednesday had not responded to the filing of the lawsuit. The president of the company is George R. Michell of New Canaan, according to state business registration filings. Its chief financial officer, Linda Cukurs of Chicago, also did not return a request for comment.

Rochelle Palache, SEIU 32BJ vice-president and head of the Connecticut district, said the three plaintiffs were most likely not rehired because of their support for the union. Mario Franco and Rosa Franco were both in a 2019 Hearst CTInsider column about the union drive. Retaliation for union activity is barred under state and federal laws.

The recall law, which took effect on July 13 when it was signed by Gov. Ned Lamont, was the idea of two of the General Assemblys most liberal lawmakers on labor issues: state Rep. Robyn Porter of New Haven and Sen. Julie Kushner of Danbury, the Democratic co-chairwomen of the Labor and Public Employees Committee.

The law nearly failed this past spring. After Kushner led its passage through the Senate, business groups including state restaurateurs and business lobbyists complained it would raise costs as the pandemic still battered the state economy. So, for its passage in the House, Porter agreed to set a time limit on the bills effectiveness. Porter won House approval after the addition of a date to terminate  sunset  the law in May of 2022.

The amendment meant the Senate had to again act on the legislation. It passed on June 9, the last day of the legislative session. Porter said it came really close to failing in the waning days of the 2021 General Assembly. It covers workers in the lodging, food services and building service industries.

Kushner, in an interview along with Porter after the Hartford rally, recalled that the idea for the law started at a union event for workers laid off during the pandemic at the northbound Darien Service Plaza.

We walked them back inside and asked the employers if they would hire them back and they had no response for us, Kushner said. Then, she and Porter found out there was legislation elsewhere in the country that could force companies to recall veteran employees.

California and Nevada have similar laws to protect workers. An identical ordinance was passed locally in New Haven last year. Thats what really made it personal for me, Porter said. There was no reason why we shouldnt be able to do this at the state level and take care of all workers. Set a precedent.

Nicole Rothgeb, the attorney handling the case for the workers, said under the law, employers with at least 15 employees who let go workers during the pandemic, must give them the opportunity to be rehired based on their number of years of service.

Theres no requirement of any ill motive or untoward, draconian undermining motivation that an employee has to prove, Rothgeb said. Its simply, this is what the law requires the employer to do and if they dont, then theres liability. Its not about showing a hidden motivation.

Rothgeb believes its the first case involving the new law.

Some of the McDonalds workers also have pending cases before the National Labor Relations Board and the state Department of Labor, including disputes over attempts to unionize; and a dispute over whether the workers are entitled to a higher standard wage because the service plazas are on state property.

Former state Labor Commissioner Kurt Westby ordered Michell to pay nearly about $870,000 in back wages to 264 McDonalds employees at Michell locations in Fairfield County, in September, 2020. Westby, who retired in June, was previously head of SEIU 32BJ in Connecticut.

Kushner, a retired regional labor leader who was elected to the Senate in 2018, and Porter, a seven-year member of the House, said they would like to revisit the law next year and possibly lengthen the period of its activity beyond May, 2022.

Porter, during remarks to the crowd, said Michell Enterprises has been engaging in union-busting activities at a time when the states Unemployment Trust Fund helped companies as well as workers stay afloat in the pandemics dire business climate.

We gave them relief, Porter said. So where is the relief for the workers who have committed and dedicated their lives like Mario, to a company that is making millions? Wheres the trickle-down? There is no trickle down, and thats why this legislation and the work that we do at the state House on behalf of this labor movement is so critically important. Essential workers matter. Theres no profit without the people.

kdixon@ctpost.com Twitter: @KenDixonCT
WOODBRIDGE  Police Wednesday said they had arrested a second suspect in connection with the June 7 death of a West Haven man who was found on the property of the Pease Road Playground.

The victim, Rondell Atkinson, 33, of West Haven, died of multiple gunshot wounds; he was found at the site, also called the Alegi Athletic Fields, at 160 Pease Road, according to police.

Rickey Traynham, 26, of New Haven, was arrested Wednesday and charged with felony murder, murder, first-degree robbery, conspiracy to commit first-degree robbery, two count of criminal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a large-capacity magazine, police said.

Previously, on July 1, detectives from the Woodbridge Police Department and the Connecticut State Police arrested Jorden Rudel, 24, of Derby for his alleged role in this homicide. Rudel is charged with felony murder, murder, first-degree robbery and second-degree larceny.

Traynham has been in custody since July 11, following his arrest by detectives from the Woodbridge Police Department and Connecticut State Police Central District Crime on a charge of second-degree larceny for allegedly being in possession of the deceased victims motor vehicle after the incident, police said.

Traynham was arraigned Wednesday and is being held in lieu of $2 million bail, police said.

Police said the victim went to the park with Traynham and Rudel, who then allegedly robbed him of his personal belongings and fled in his car.

Police Chief Frank Cappiello said in the release that he praises the tenacious efforts of not only the detectives from his agency, but also those of the Connecticut State Police Central District Major Crime and Emergency Services Units, the New Haven Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the state Forensic Science Laboratory and the New Haven States Attorneys Office, who collectively worked to identify all those allegedly responsible for committing this heinous crime.

Those who knew Atkinson described him as a kind and loving man with a powerful singing voice and deep roots in the church.

Atkinson spent weekends traveling to several churches around the state  and even across state lines as recently as June 5  singing gospel music before congregations and worshiping with others, those who knew him said.
NEW HAVEN  Unidentified individuals allegedly spray-painted racist and antisemitic graffiti at the Kline Biology Tower twice in recent weeks, prompting a police investigation, according to the Yale Police Department.

In a message to the university community, Yale Police Chief Ronnell Higgins said the first incident at the building, which is under construction, occurred on Sept. 20, when workers noticed that anti-Semitic and racist graffiti was spray-painted inside the building, and project materials belonging to one construction company employee had been vandalized.

Police began investigating the following day, he said, and the universitys facilities team in collaboration with the construction company increased security measures, installing additional security cameras, and fortifying the perimeter fencing and access gates to the construction site.

Then, around 11:30 p.m. Saturday, several young adults were captured on surveillance footage allegedly breaking into the site, Higgins said. The youths vandalized indoor areas of the building and spray-painted anti-Semitic and racist language on interior surfaces, he said in the message.

Yale Police are actively investigating both incidents, which may be related. We ask for your help in identifying the people captured on the security cameras, said Higgins.

The university has published photos from the surveillance footage in question on its website. Those with any information are asked to call the Yale police at 203-432-4400.

University President Peter Salovey issued a statement on the matter, saying he was outraged by these despicable and cowardly acts of hate, and deeply saddened that the crew working on the site, members of our police department, and others within our community who have responded to these incidents had to see such vile messages.

The Yale Police Department is actively trying to identify and apprehend those responsible. I also have asked Yale Police and Yale Security to increase patrols on campus. I am grateful to Chief Higgins and our colleagues in public safety for responding to these incidents and for working around the clock to protect all those who work and live on our campus, said Salovey, the statement. Yale has stood and will continue to stand united against acts of hate.

Racist and anti-Semitic graffiti was found inside a building on the Yale campus and police are investigating. The graffiti was found at Kline Biology Tower and is under investigation by Yale PD.

In response to this, Mayor Justin Elicker said, in a statement, Anti-Semitism stands in sharp contrast with the values of our community.

Haven, meaning a place of safety or refuge, isnt just in our citys name - its a central part of our citys DNA, Elicker said. We, as a community, will always welcome individuals of every race, religion, and creed - and reject threats aimed at our friends and neighbors.

U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro said, also in a statement, that she is heartbroken by the anti-Semitic, racist symbols found on the Yale University campus. We must condemn anti-Semitism and bigotry in all its forms and whenever it occurs. This act of hate has no place in New Haven, or in any of our communities, and will not be tolerated.

Further DeLauro said, Anti-Semitism in every form must be confronted, condemned, and combatted by public servants, community leaders, and people of good faith. Acts like this are carried out to instill fear and spread hatred. We all have a moral obligation to speak up and take action when acts like this occur in the community.

Leaders with the Joseph R. Slifka Center for Jewish Life issued a statement condemning the graffiti Wednesday, according to the Yale Daily News, which first reported on the cases.

In this moment of rising violence against Jews and other minorities in America, even symbolic incidents like this one take on larger and darker meanings, particularly for our communitys many Jews of Color, who are affected in multiple, intersecting ways, students and officials said in the statement. Our first instinct and most powerful response is to come together; there is no substitute for the warmth and strength of community during moments of fear like this one.

william.lambert@hearstmediact.com
The anti-Semitic social justice of Ben & Jerrys, led by Board Chairman Anuradha Mittal, has its effect. For every corporation the first responsibility of the board of directors is to increase the companys value for its shareholders. The shareholders of Unilever must be so pleased by Arizonas dumping $143 million of its stock in response to Ben & Jerrys boycotting the 800,000 Jews of Judea, Samaria and East Jerusalem.

Richard Sherman
Niagara Falls, NY (14301)

Today

Mostly cloudy. Periods of rain this morning. High 48F. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies. A few flurries or snow showers possible. Low 32F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph.
Yahaya Muhammad, one of the nominees to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) board, is said to have started primary school ...

Yahaya Muhammad, one of the nominees to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) board, is said to have started primary school before he was born.





President Muhammadu Buhari asked the upper legislative chamber to confirm Muhammad and four other nominees for the board of the anti-graft agency in September.

The other nominees confirmed by the senate are George Abang (secretary), Lukman Mohammed, Anumba Adaeze and Bola Adesina.

While presenting his report for the consideration of the senate on Tuesday, Kwari Sulieman, chairman of the senate on anti-corruption and financial crimes committee, said all the nominees met the necessary requirements to hold public office.





But Hassan Hadejia, senator representing Jigawa north-east, drew the attention of the senate to what he described as discrepancies in Muhammads credentials.

Hadejia said according to the nominees credentials, he started school a year before he was born.

One of the nominees, Alhaji Yahaya Muhammad  according to the record before us, started his primary school before he was born, the senator said.

There is also an overlap in the sequence of his educational experience because here, he was born on 29th of September, 1969 and he started his primary school in 1968.

He was in Borno Teachers College from 1975 and 1988 while simultaneously he was in the college of administration studies from 1980 to 1981.

However, Muhammad was confirmed after his nomination was put to a voice vote by Ovie Omo-Agege, deputy senate president.
Fayza Lamari, mother to Paris Saint-Germains Kylian Mbappe, has said contract extension talks are going well, despite Real Madrids interes...





Fayza Lamari, mother to Paris Saint-Germains Kylian Mbappe, has said contract extension talks are going well, despite Real Madrids interest.

Madrid saw two offers for Mbappe snubbed by the Ligue 1 giants this summer.

With the 22-year-old into the final months of his current deal, there has been talk he could join Los Blancos as a free agent.

But Fayza has now said Mbappe could end up staying in France.

We are currently in talks with PSG and things are going well.

I was even with Leonardo last night (Monday). After that, will we come to an agreement? One thing is certain: he will give his all until the end to win the Champions League.

Kylian needs to be fulfilled. If hes unhappy, hes able to tell you: Im quitting my career.

And he often tells us that by the way. With Kylian, everything can change overnight, Fayza Lamari, who handles her sons business interests, told Le Parisien.
The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, on Wednesday, reacted to the decision of the Southeast governors on its sit-at-home order. IPOB spo...

The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, on Wednesday, reacted to the decision of the Southeast governors on its sit-at-home order.





IPOB spokesman, Emma Powerful, said Southeast governors cannot stop the sit-at-home order in the region.





Speaking with Dailypost, Powerful said the sit-at-home order was the only way people of the region can express their displeasure over the brutality by the Nigerian security agents in the Southeast.





He re-emphasised that the Mondays sit-at-home has been cancelled, adding that those enforcing it are not IPOB members.





According to Powerful: South-East governors cannot stop the wishes of the people because they have failed the masses and sit-at-home is the only way our people show their displeasure and that they are tired of Nigeria and its security brutality in our territory. South-East governors have no stand to stop it.





IPOB can only stop sit-at-home because they initiated it. We stopped Monday sit-at-home because we found out the implications on our people, but the Nigerian Government and their politicians hijacked it and killed people to implicate IPOB worldwide. Very soon, they will understand how we will handle it because we have discovered all their antics and gimmicks. IPOB will not allow that to continue.





So South-East governors cannot do anything unless IPOB and the public do. We still stand on no more Monday sit-at-home and anybody enforcing it is not IPOB. They will get their reward soon; our people should stop Monday sit-at-home because IPOB has stopped it openly, and we are not going back on that. Last Monday, Hope Uzodinma recruited some hoodlums who were attacking people in the name of IPOB in order to implicate us as a violent group which is not and that attack was not from IPOB security.





Following Nnamdi Kanus arrest, the group had ordered people of the Southeast to sit-at-home every Monday.





IPOB had claimed that the order was to force the Nigerian Government into releasing its embattled.

However, the separatist group had reviewed its order only when Kanu was to appear in court.
Watertown, NY (13601)

Today

Rain likely. Morning high of 58F with temps falling to near 45. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy skies. Low 33F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph.
Watertown, NY (13601)

Today

Rain likely. Morning high of 60F with temps falling to near 45. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a half an inch..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy. Low 34F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph.
The National Federation of Republican Women appears to be putting some distance between itself and controversial local leader Martha Huckabay in response to her claims on social media that slavery resulted in hard working ethics and love and respect between some enslaved people and slave owners.

Huckabay has also vigorously defended State Rep. Ray Garofalo, who was ousted as chairman of the state House Education Committee this Spring after suggesting schools teach "the good, the bad, and the ugly" of slavery during a House committee meeting.

According to an open letter Huckabay posted on Facebook, the NFRW has not only stripped her of her leadership position at the Womens Republican Club of New Orleans but has also cut ties with the group altogether, as has the Louisiana Federation of Republican Women.

"They identify themselves as trustworthy Republicans," Huckabay wrote. "However, just at the time you need their support, they knife you in the back. They cancel you. They cancel your righteous agenda. They neutralize your momentum."

NFRW and its state affiliate did not respond to requests for comment. Neither did the Women's Republican Club of New Orleans.

In her lengthy letter, Huckabay railed against cancel culture and suggested the Republican party has been infiltrated by the enemy (Democrats). She also suggested that her removal as president was an insidious and cancerous process long hidden under the surface of the GOP, of which she is an otherwise proud member.

Huckabay, who hosts a podcast during which she frequently discusses the alleged dangers of the COVID vaccine and the tyranny of public health guidelines, also claims that being ousted as leader of the group is unlawful and unprecedented.

This isnt the first time Republicans have sought to distance themselves from Huckabay. Although some in the party have embraced similar views on topics ranging from COVID-19 to the results of the November election, leaders have chafed at her presence.

In another Facebook post earlier this year, Huckabay, whose views often reflect the QAnon movement, claimed Republican state Rep. Stephanie Hilferty and other conservative legislators were becoming indoctrinated by Communist beliefs.

This past spring, conservative media personality Jeff Crouere uninvited Huckabay to a panel discussion with local politicians after her remarks on slavery went viral.

Adrian Bruneau, a political consultant and chair of the Orleans Parish Republican Executive Committee, also attempted to distance local GOP members from Huckabay and said her comments defending slavery do not represent the party.

Huckabay, meanwhile, has called upon her supporters to expose the liberal practices of the Republicans. Determine to expose and oppose their liberal practices while falsely claiming to support true conservatism in the Republican party, she wrote to her followers on Facebook, shortly before the social media site experienced an international shutdown.
Generally speaking, one thing you dont expect from a movie with the word last in its title is a sequel. Thats just the way words work.

An exception, however, might be Ridley Scotts Oscar-friendly period epic The Last Duel, set for release Oct. 15.

Scotts film, which takes place in the 14th century, chronicles what is said to be Frances last legally sanctioned duel. But as any armchair history buff can tell you, there were later duels involving Frenchmen. They just didnt take place in France.

Rather, they were held in New Orleans, where duels were technically outlawed with statehood in 1812  but which were conducted, and at times commonplace, until about 1890.

In fact, dueling was such an accepted way for men to settle their disputes that sons of any good New Orleans family attended dueling school, many of which were clustered along what is today Exchange Alley.

Its there, at Exchange Alley and Conti Street, that a building known as the House of the Fencing Master still stands as a ghost of that bygone custom.

Designed by noted New Orleans architect J.N.B. dePouilly, the rectangular, four-story building  featuring a narrow, granite facade and small central balcony on its shorter Conti Street side  was built for property owner Pierre Soule in late 1837, according to Historic New Orleans Collection records.

A clumsily executed fourth story was added in the 20th century, bringing the buildings total interior space to 5,408 square feet.

That meant it would have been standing for the so-called golden age of dueling in New Orleans, which lasted from the 1830s up until the Civil War, according to Herbert Asbury in 1936s The French Quarter. Over that period, as many as 50 dueling instructors, or maitre darmes, would have offered their services along Exchange Alley, Asbury writes.

When they werent teaching, many primped and pranced about in the latest fashions, developing rock-starlike followings.

The fencing master, though, would have been Monsieur LAlouette, although its one of his students  and his eventual successor  who would become the citys most legendary duelist, the colorful and capable Jose Pepe Llulla.

Llulla (pronounced YOU-ya) was born in Spain in 1815 and, after a time as a cabin boy, landed in New Orleans as a young man. Already an expert with a knife, he became an assistant at Monsieur LAllouettes school, where he honed his skills with the saber, broadsword and pistol.

Considered by some to have been the finest swordsman in all New Orleans, he is said to have participated in dozens of duels, and served as a second for more than 100 others, over the course of his storied career.

He was so skilled that it is said his friends would let him shoot silver dollars from their hands as they held them up. He was also reportedly known for shooting an egg off the head of his young son.

As an investment around 1857, he purchased the Louisa Street Cemetery, today known as St. Vincent de Paul Cemetery. Lore suggests he gave generous discounts to the families of those he killed, although the truth of the matter is that dueling would have been on a decline at that point.

The list of colorful duelists in New Orleans, and the even more colorful stories that have sprung up around them, go on.

But according to Asbury, the fencing master after which the building at Conti and Exchange Place is named was a man named Croquere, who is believed to have been born in New Orleans around 1800 to a White father and a mother of mixed ancestry, and then educated in Paris.

+3 This New Orleans building, on Gravier Street, that gave the world writer O. Henry If the writer O. Henry is known for one thing, its for the masterfully constructed twist endings he conjured for his iconic short stories.

It should be pointed out that verifiable information on Croquere is elusive. Even the spelling of his first name is open to debate, with Basille, Bastille, Bazil and Basil all being used by various writers. In a 1921 essay on Llulla, Lafcadio Hearn spelled it Basile Croquere and then added parenthetically, I am not sure that I spell the name correctly.

Probably the best description of Croquere comes from Asbury, who paints a picture of a man who cut a memorable figure:

(He) was a mulatto and is said to have been the handsomest man in New Orleans. He habitually wore a suit of the finest green broadcloth, snow-white shirts, and a wide black stock about his throat. He possessed a notable collection of cameos and was considered an authority upon the subject; when in gala attire his raiment was embellished by cameo rings, breast-pins, and bracelets.

Downed by Ida, the Karnofsky building on S. Rampart Street held a spot in New Orleans jazz history Even before Hurricane Ida turned much of south Louisiana into something resembling a set for The Walking Dead, the stretch of South Rampart 

His day job is said to have been as a staircase builder, but he was a miraculous swordsman and a wonderful teacher, and men of the best Creole families went to him for instruction and crossed with him in private bouts, Asbury continued.

Its unclear when or how Croquere died  but it was certainly after the 14th century.

You listening, Ridley Scott?

Sources: The Times-Picayune archives; The French Quarter: An Informal History of the New Orleans Underworld, by Herbert Asbury; Orleans Parish Assessors Office; The Greatest African American and Afro American Martial Artists in History, by Ben Miller; Fabulous New Orleans, by Lyle Saxon

Know of a New Orleans building worth profiling in this column, or just curious about one? Contact Mike Scott at moviegoermike@gmail.com.
Will Carnival parades rumble down St. Charles Avenue and elsewhere in 2022? That question is still unanswered. But at a meeting on Thursday afternoon, where Mayor Latoya Cantrell and New Orleans Department of Health Director Dr. Jennifer Avegno will address krewe captains, we should learn more.

During Thursdays 5 p.m. meeting at the Basin Street Station visitors center, the Mayors Mardi Gras Advisory Committee, which is made up of parade krewe leaders, is prepared to offer the administration formal counsel about Carnival 2022. The final decision rests with Cantrell, who has shared her hope that the big party is possible next year, but has also vowed that it only take place under COVID-conscious conditions.

Nothing is more important to me than the health and safety of all of our citizens and the visitors whom we welcome each year with open arms, she wrote in an August missive to krewe captains.

The stakes are high. Carnival 2020, which took place soon after the arrival of the COVID-19 virus in the United States, unwittingly became a so-called super-spreader event. The explosion of the illness across the city and country that year forced Cantrell to cancel parading during the 2021 Mardi Gras season. Since then, Carnival devotees have nibbled their fingernails as they await City Halls decision to give the thumbs up or thumbs down to parades in 2022.

In August, Cantrell provided the parade-starved city reason for hope when she called on krewe captains to encourage their membership to get vaccinated against the deadly illness as a step toward safe parading in the future. In late September, Cantrell seemingly set the city on the path to normalcy when she announced that the Halloween-themed Krewe of BOO!, a Carnival-style float parade, would be permitted to ply the city streets on Oct. 23. The mayors announcement suggested that the safe conduct of the Krewe of BOO! might be a harbinger of a return to Carnival in February.

Since parades require elaborate advance planning, time is of the essence. We are getting close to the time of year when planning and spending for the upcoming parading season hits a critical point, wrote the Mayors Mardi Gras Advisory Committee co-chairmen Zulu president Elroy James and Rex spokesperson James Reiss III in a September letter to krewes.

Kern Studios owner Barry Kern produces floats for a dozen of New Orleans 34 float parades, including behemoths such as Iris, Endymion, Bacchus and Muses. Kern said that the sooner krewes know if parades will be permitted in 2020 the better. But, he said, he's confident most of the floats are already decorated and ready to roll at short notice whenever theyre given the green light.

The Muses parade may be an exception, Kern said, since the krewes topical themes are best finished at the last minute, but thats normal.

Kern said that the krewes he deals with are planning to parade in 2022 until told otherwise. Were having it, until were not having it, he said of the next Carnival. If the mayor were to wait until after the Krewe of BOO! Halloween parade on Oct. 23, that would be plenty of time to prepare for the Carnival parade season 2022 that begins in mid-February, Kern said. In his opinion, time could slip by even further.

You could wait until a month out, he said.

Note: This story was updated on Tuesday with quotes from Barry Kern.

+19 Swampus Returns, a Halloween stationary parade, will pop up in Gentilly Oct. 30 Last Decembers weird stationary Krampus parade in Gentilly was such a success that the krewe has decided to conduct something similar this ye
Yusuf Hasan leaned against his truck and wrung the sweat out of a red handkerchief on Monday during a break from nailing shingles into a damaged 7th Ward house.

Other men his age might take a day off after a week of working under the sun. Not Hasan.

I come from Tunica, Mississippi. And in Tunica, Mississippi, you pick cotton all day, no matter what, said Hasan, 78. I dont get tired.

Labor Day was no holiday at all for thousands of roofers and contractors who have swung into action in the week after Hurricane Ida to patch roofs, gut flooded houses and make other emergency repairs.

Demand is through the roof  thanks to a storm that left thousands of them damaged. Skilled tradesmen like Hasan said theyre getting non-stop phone calls, and seemingly anyone whos ever swung a hammer is being pressed into work. Hard-hit parishes like St. John the Baptist Parish are being overrun by trucks with out-of-state license plates.

Theres no official count of how many structures were damaged by Ida, which barreled ashore at Port Fourchon with sustained winds of 150 miles per hour. But already, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has approved 13 parishes for its Operation Blue Roof program, which aims to make homes habitable as soon as possible.

Many homeowners arent waiting on the government. The rainstorm that pummeled a broad area between Baton Rouge and New Orleans on Monday underscored the daily danger of further rain and mold damage.

Hasan said his small company, Pyramid Roofing, has received so many calls that he doesnt bother answering the phone. Instead, hes prioritizing longtime customers.

Im just taking care of people whove taken care of me, he said.

Contractor Isaac Kozell said the requests for help have been non-stop. Normally, he would take Labor Day off, he said, but I feel like I dont have a choice right now. Its sunup to sundown.

Need help after Hurricane Ida? Here are details on FEMA aid, shelters, blue roofs, more If you need financial or physical assistance following Hurricane Ida, here's a list of resources designed to offer help for people and busines

With established professionals in scarce supply, an impromptu army of tradespeople have swung into action.

Celestino Bustos specializes in making furniture and cabinets from salvaged wood, but during the past few days hes been helping others in his fathers Milneburg neighborhood patch fences and roofs.

Thats normally our main thing, furniture, but nobody needs that, Bustos said as he picked up supplies at the Lowes in St. Roch. Im doing the best I can for my neighbors.

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Meanwhile, many property owners have begun gutting their own houses, having learned that skill in prior disasters like Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Isaac and the 2016 floods in the Baton Rouge area.

St. John the Baptist Parish announced Monday that volunteers with the Helping Hands organization will be providing free clean-up, home gutting and yard-cleaning this weekend. Residents may call (844) 965-1386 for help.

That parish has seen an influx of contractors and roofers from other states. State officials are warning residents against the danger of contractor fraud.

I anticipate that we're going to get clobbered, said Brad Hassert, compliance director for the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors. But as of right now, I think everyones still in shock and recovery mode.

+11 Stricken by Hurricane Ida, New Orleans restaurants spring into action to feed others Local baker Kelly Mayhew drove back to New Orleans the night after riding out Hurricane Ida with family in Texas, but he didnt come back to b

Hassert recommended that property owners verify contractors licenses at his agencys website, lacontractor.org, and call insurance companies to ensure the contractors insurance is up to date.

Louisiana generally requires a license for any residential project valued at over $7,500, including materials and labor, which would not include most residential tarping work.

Hassert said that, as a general rule, property owners should ask for a contract, avoid paying up front or in cash, get a receipt, and take a photograph of a contractors license plate in case anything does go wrong.

Many contractors, roofers and laborers are doing hard work under harsh conditions, as the busy parking lot at Lowes on Labor Day attested.

Kozell was loading two-by-fours into the back of his 1985 GMC Sierra for an emergency repair in Gretna. The truck doesnt have working AC  and neither did his home in Treme for the first few days after the storm. That meant there was no respite following his days spent exposed to the sun.

The hardest part was being out all day, and then not having access to ice, no AC, Kozell said.

Kozell spent the first day after the storm patching holes in his own roof, and he's been helping clients ever since. A day off is a distant mirage for workers like him and Hasan, who predict theyll be patching roofs for weeks to come. Hasan said the rainstorm hitting New Orleans on Monday would only give him a brief pause.

Well, good, Hasan said. That means its going to be cool.
Rather than be vaccinated against COVID-19, Meggan Gray gave up the job she loves as a morning news co-anchor at WLOX-TV.

The popular morning news anchor parted ways with the Biloxi-based TV station on Sept. 30, the day WLOXs parent company, Gray Television, required employees to be vaccinated.

In a Facebook post, Gray said she faced termination if she did not comply with the corporate policy, which says all employees, guests, outside contractors and tenants must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The Good Morning Mississippi co-host has been with WLOX for 18 years.

I am not vaccinated, and therefore I am no longer eligible for employment with Gray Television or any of their stations, she wrote.

WHY SHE DECLINED COVID VACCINE

Gray said she decided against getting vaccinated before her employer required it because she had already survived COVID, adding that other powerful reasons also came into play. She didnt elaborate on those reasons in the Facebook post.

I know there will be people who disagree with me or do not understand my reasons, Gray wrote. That is fully understood because that is a protected right they enjoy. Moreover, it is a personal decision for each American; but in my opinion, a forced decision to decide between a vaccination and the livelihood of an individual is a dangerous precedent.

Gray said she tried to keep her job, but her employers rejected her offer to get tested weekly for COVID.

It hurts saying goodbye; it hurts parting on these terms, she wrote. However, I know in my heart it is the right decision for me and my family.

Gray said she felt compelled to tell viewers why theyd no longer see her on WLOX based on a lesson about doing the right thing from her father.

CO-ANCHOR TELLS WLOX VIEWERS GOODBYE

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Grays Facebook post received more than 300 comments, most of them supportive, and was shared 125 times. Many viewers told her how much they will miss her on the morning news show.

Some of the comments were from former co-workers, including retired Sportscaster A.J. Giardiana, who wrote, Every American has the right to make their own choice and you stood up to voice your personal feelings, even if it meant losing your job!

WLOX General Manager Rick Williams told the Sun Herald in an email that he could not comment on a personnel matter. He included a statement from Gray about its vaccination policy, adopted to ensure a safe work environment, the statement said.

Vaccines likely prevented 600 COVID deaths among Louisiana seniors, study estimates During the first nine months of the pandemic, before vaccines became widely available, COVID-19 exacted a brutal toll on Louisiana's seniors.

The statement said exceptions to the requirement were limited to certain medical conditions and or religious objections that can be accommodated.

A majority of employees are fully vaccinated, the statement said.

Consistent with our commitment to a safe working environment, we unfortunately have had to terminate the employment of a very small portion of our workforce who declined to get vaccinated and/or who requested an exemption that could not be accommodated without imposing an undue hardship on the business or their coworkers, the statement said.

It also said employees could reapply for jobs if they later decide to get fully vaccinated.

A television reporter in Springfield, Missouri, also spoke out about her termination after Gray would not accept a religious exemption for vaccine refusal, McClatchy news reported.

This story originally appeared on SunHerald.com. The Sun Herald, NOLA.com and The Times-Picayune are news partners.
An attorney for the popular New Orleans college bar T.J. Quills said Wednesday that the establishment is cooperating with the police investigation into reports from Loyola and Tulane university students who suspect their drinks were drugged while socializing at Uptown bars.

But after reviewing T.J. Quills security videos, investigators found no evidence of staffers or guests at the watering hole spiking drinks with drugs, said the bars attorney, Tom Barbera.

T.J. Quills has strict enforcement policies and strict enforcement measures in place to ensure all of its patrons are treated in a safe manner, Barbera said in a prepared statement. There is no one more interested in getting to the bottom of these allegations than the management and ownership of T.J. Quills.

+4 Several Loyola, Tulane students report being drugged at Uptown bars; drinks may have been spiked Police are investigating reports from several students at Loyola and Tulane who suspect their drinks were spiked while they were socializing a

Barberas statement came three days after Loyola University Police Department Chief Todd Warren wrote in an email that T.J. Quills on Maple Street had been subjected to a raid following complaints from an unspecified number of students, including minors, who believed their drinks may have been drugged while out socializing.

While Warren made clear that this danger is not limited to any single bar, T.J. Quills was the only establishment identified by name in either the Loyola chiefs email or a similar public message released by the police department at Tulane.

Barbera acknowledged Wednesday that officers had recently gone to T.J. Quills but disputed that the bar had been raided. Managers simply handed over the bars surveillance camera footage and went over their general safety protocols, Barbera said.

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My understanding is the videos dont show any bartender  or anyone at the bar, really  mixing anything improper in any drinks, Barbera said during a brief telephone interview. Everyone was satisfied it didnt show anything untoward happening.

Officials at Loyola, Tulane and the New Orleans Police Department have said little about the investigation into the students worries about their drinks potentially being laced with drugs. Drugs such as rohypnol sleeping pills, or roofies, are known to used in cases of date rape, though other substances are used as well.

Authorities havent said whether they have pinpointed any possible suspects or whether any of the students who feared their drinks were drugged had been sexually assaulted.

Nonetheless, both schools issued messages warning students to go out in big groups, watch their drinks get prepared and to keep their beverages with them. And at a public meeting Tuesday, the quality of life officer for the police district which includes Loyola and Tulane said authorities were gearing up to check that all barrooms in the area were complying with local laws.

T.J. Quills was one of a handful of bars that the city temporarily shut down earlier this year for purported violations of coronavirus health restrictions. But the bar got its liquor license reinstated in August and reopened, city records show.
After Hurricane Ida, Bridget McDowell tarped the damaged roof of her raised brick house in the University City neighborhood of Kenner, emptied her fridge and dried her wet clothes.

But as Tropical Storm Nicholas lashed south Louisiana with rain on Tuesday, water dripped into the house again. She raced home to supervise her brother-in-law as he nailed down tarps. There wasnt enough time to wait for the rain to pass.

Everything was cleaned and washed, and then this happens, said McDowell. Whats the next storm?

Much of south Louisiana wondered the same as Nicholas drenched a state devastated by Hurricane Ida. While nowhere near the strength of Ida, Tropical Storm Nicholas complicated south Louisianas fragile recovery on Tuesday by delaying repair work, grounding linemen and dumping water on leaky roofs.

+2 Corps' Blue Roof program off to a slow start, but officials promise pace will pick up Temporary tarps fluttered on roofs across southeast Louisiana on Sunday, makeshift patches for the holes left by Hurricane Ida two weeks ago.

Nicholas made landfall as a hurricane in Texas early Tuesday before weakening. It is expected to produce additional rainfall amounts of 5 to 10 inches across portions of southern and central Louisiana, and along the Mississippi and Alabama coast and western Florida panhandle through early Friday. Storm totals of 20 inches are also possible from southern Louisiana to the far western Florida panhandle, said Stacy Stewart, a senior hurricane specialist with the National Hurricane Center.

By Wednesday morning, Nicholas is forecast to weaken further to a tropical depression, with winds of only 30 mph, and continue to weaken with sustained winds of only 25 mph by mid-day Thursday, when it will still be half way between Lake Charles and Lafayette. It will then turn north and dissipate early Friday before reaching Alexandria.

FEMA deadline for applications and critical needs after Hurricane Ida extended The deadline for residents who suffered damage or need emergency assistance after Hurricane Ida to apply for FEMA aid has been extended, accor

For many people in south Louisiana, the storm was another headache on top of two weeks of power and gas outages, heat advisories and rotting garbage. On Aug. 29-30, Ida bowled over the state, damaging up to 80,000 roofs and knocking the power out for 902,000 Entergy customers.

Now Nicholas could complicate restoring power to the 84,000 customers who remain without electricity.

Entergy typically asks customers to pay for hurricane damage. Could that change after Ida? After New Orleans was left in the dark for days following Hurricane Ida, City Council members are now searching for ways to force Entergy, rat

Were currently working to maintain any communicated restoration times, but the weather could play a part in that, said Brandon Scardigli, a spokesman for the utility.

Some linemen returned to their homes in Texas to help with repair work there, but Scardigli said the utility minimized the impact of their loss by holding onto other out-of-state linemen longer than originally planned.

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And so far, Nicholas itself has caused relatively little damage to the grid. About 12,000 Entergy customers in Louisiana lost power on Tuesday, but the number of outages dropped to 5,000 over the course of the day.

With the storm expected to continue drenching the state with rain, many homeowners were far more concerned about their roofs.

The governments program for emergency tarps, Operation Blue Roof, is off to a slow start. As of Saturday, only a little over 100 of the heavy-duty roof covers were in place, out of requests from 50,000 homes.

+7 Demand for roofers, repair work soars after Hurricane Ida strikes Louisiana: 'Its sunup to sundown' Yusuf Hasan leaned against his truck and wrung the sweat out of a red handkerchief on Monday during a break from nailing shingles into a damag

Instead, many residents have sought help from roofers -- to varying degrees of success -- or have done the job themselves. In the first days after Ida, tarps were hard to find, although they have since become more available. One Kenner man said he simply unwrapped the same blue tarp he used after Hurricane Katrina.

In the Covington Country Club neighborhood in St. Tammany, Sarah Cottrell said she felt desperate in the days after a water oak sliced off the front of her home during Ida.

After dodging shady, out-of-state contractors, she found a reputable roofer who installed the tarp on Labor Day.

Until we got the tarp on, we were so stressed with the whole thing. Were one of the lucky ones," she said.

But not everyones luck held during the first major day of rain from Nicholas. As her brother-in-law clambered over her roof, McDowell rattled off the estimates she's received for a permanent repair, ranging from $5,400 to $19,000. She was frustrated that she has yet to hear back from Operation Blue Roof.

A few blocks down West Louisiana State Drive, homeowner Demetris Robinson felt the same way. She caught the rainwater dripping into her kitchen with a big silver gumbo pot as family friend Robert Tuckson affixed a tarp for the second time since Hurricane Ida. The first one didnt hold, so Tuckson, 61, did the latest job in the rain. Inside, Robinson's flip-flops slapped against the water collecting on her tile floors.

Robinson, a 55-year-old bus driver for St. Charles Parish schools, said she was upset with the government and her insurance company alike. She is staying at a friends house because she worries the mold on her walls will make her sick. But her 36-year-old son and 17-year-old grandson are sleeping in the house because no hotel will allow their dog.

When it rained Sunday, the water didnt come in here. But today, Nicholas must be blowing it in from Texas, she said. Ive gotta get it fixed up. Cant nobody live like this here.

Staff writers Mark Schleifstein, Sara Pagones and Faimon Roberts contributed to this story.
When Kirt Schellhaas returned to his home in Kenner two weeks after evacuating to Texas for Hurricane Ida, he had to use his full body weight to force open the front door. It was blocked by sheetrock hanging from the collapsed ceiling.

Half of his roof had blown away, allowing water to pour into his Cannes Place home. Ceilings in the foyer, dining room and a bedroom had collapsed. Mold covered the walls.

But what took Ida only hours to wreck Aug. 29 will take much longer to repair.

Six weeks after the storm, Schellhaas is among many in Louisiana still waiting for a new roof or other major repairs. The demand has far exceeded the availability of contractors, despite an influx of companies from out of town.

And some residents are bracing for a long wait. Months, perhaps.

Theres no telling if well be in the house by Christmas, even, Schellhaas said.

After the storm, shingles littered lawns and trees lay lodged in houses across Idas path. Blue tarps cover thousand of roofs. FEMA said its Blue Roof program alone had put the temporary coverings on 14,580 homes as of Monday. Whole neighborhoods in harder hit areas like Lafourche, St. Charles and St. John the Baptist parishes have homes with severe damage.

Roofing companies are experiencing such high demand that some are turning down customers. American Men Roofing, based in Metairie, asked callers not to leave voicemail messages and to try touching base in about a month.

At this time we are so inundated with requests that we are not taking any new calls, the companys voicemail message said.

Jay Brigham, owner of All Around Roofing, based in Covington, said his staff is working 18 hour days to keep up with the deluge of new roof requests. They've completed about 25 so far, he said.

"It hasn't slowed down since the storm, but right after it was absolutely mental," Brigham said.

Brigham worked in Lake Charles after Hurricane Laura left a trail of destruction there in 2020. He said that so many different areas were impacted by Ida that there are even more jobs this time around.

"It's not as bad as (Laura) per se, but at the same time it's more widespread so there's more work," Brigham said.

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Brigham added that the cost of labor and materials have gone up about 20%. Some materials are harder to come by than usual, so "you can't be brand specific  pick your color that's about it," he said.

Brad Hassert, compliance director for the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors, said that the state has received at least double the amount of normal applications for licenses, which are required for residential building projects over $7,500.

With the rush on for roofers, Hassert implored homeowners to be patient and make sure they find a contractor they can trust. Fraud can run amok in times of crisis, and Hassert said consumers need to ensure their contractors are licensed and insured.

A list of approved contractors can be found at http://lacontractor.org/.

You didnt just buy your home in a month and youre probably not going to be able to fix it in a day, Hassert said. I realize its emotional but its a business decision.

His advice: Wait for a licensed contractor, get estimates on the project, and make sure to verify the contractor's insurance coverage.

Meanwhile, it's likely demand will continue to be high as more customers settle their insurance claims.

Frank Montablano, a project manager and estimator for Progressive Roofing, a company located in Metairie that does commercial roofs, said calls have rapidly increased over the past few weeks as commercial business have sorted out insurance.

Its getting busier daily, he said.

The work has been further delayed because of product shortages, including commercial roofing insulation, fasteners, certain adhesives and certain membranes, due to a shortage of chemicals used to produce them, he said, noting that hes never witnessed a shortage of this magnitude.

Schellhaas said he is talking with a contractor who has worked on the house before. But the contractor wont give an estimate until he has seen a check from Schellhaass insurance company, which has yet to materialize.

In the meantime, Schellhaas has spent weekends gutting the home, which belonged to his parents when they were alive. It was a family gathering place for Christmas and Thanksgiving.

Were tearing out memories as were gutting it, he said. Its not going to look the same when were done.
I have no idea how state Education Superintendent Cade Brumley votes, but hes always come across as smart and responsible. Whether he leans right or left, I never pegged him as a hero to Louisianas "give me liberty or give me death" cult.

Death is what were talking about, tragically, due to the fatal effects of COVID-19, which has now killed more than 14,000 people in Louisiana and more than 700,000 nationwide. The good news is that things are starting to turn around here after a fourth surge propelled by the delta variant. Thats at least partly due to strict but wise mitigation measures such as Gov. John Bel Edwards re-imposed mask requirement and vaccination mandates in numerous settings, from public universities to Saints games, although the overall vaccination rate here remains way too low.

And yet, there are those in positions of authority whove fought smart public health measures every step of the way  and who, thanks to Brumleys recent decision to make quarantining requirements optional, are feeling their oats.

Keeping COVID-19 from spreading is a unique challenge in schools, where younger students are not yet eligible for vaccines that have proven remarkably effective in reducing severe illness and death. Thats why quarantine for those whove had a close exposure remains an important tool.

If only it werent also yet another front in the culture wars that have turned the public health debate into a political circus, and likely kept some combatants from making prudent, safe choices.

Brumley threw himself into the debate last week when he announced that hed no longer recommend that public school systems quarantine asymptomatic students whove been in close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19. Instead, each school system can now determine its own policy, with some sticking to the earlier rules and some eagerly abandoning them.

Brumley didnt go off on some irrational rant about government control. Instead, he pointed to the unintended consequences of students missing long stretches of school, after a year and a half of deep disruption thats clearly having an effect on learning.

Its hard not to sympathize with that argument, until you put it in the larger context. Quarantines, of course, are aimed at stemming the virus spread, which is the best way not only to lessen illness and death, but also to get everything, including classrooms, back to normal.

Look at it that way, and Brumleys common sense move, which runs counter to guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, amounts to putting his head in the sand. Thats pretty much what Edwards, who has often been a Brumley ally, had to say.

Quarantine is an important tool to slow the spread, especially in classrooms where children are too young to be vaccinated," the governor said.

The states point-person on public health was more blunt.

"I think this is a bad call," said Dr. Joseph Kanter. "I think it is dangerous. I think it is going to put kids at risk."

Sandy Holloway, president of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, noted that Brumley hadnt given BESE a heads-up and also blasted the move.

Under the previous guidance issued, our districts have done a great job in providing safe learning environments for students, and have done their part in mitigating the spread of this deadly virus. Given the pandemic, impacts of Hurricane Ida, and the many disturbances faced already this school year, this is yet another disturbance to teaching and learning that could have the opposite impact in ensuring kids are safely able to engage in in-person instruction, she said.

If Brumleys break with these folks is telling, the praise coming from other corners is more so.

One endorsement came from state Rep. Valarie Hodges, R-Denham Springs. Hodges has actively spread misinformation about vaccines, and recently wrote to Edwards and the Department of Health demanding the state pay for ivermectin to treat COVID-19. Thats the controversial anti-parasite drug thats been at the center of a right-wing campaign but is not shown to be an effective treatment.

Brumleys move also earned praise from the state Republican Party, which effectively weaponizes the decision in the partys ongoing crusade against the Democratic governor.

I dont doubt that Brumleys concerned about how kids are faring during this trying time. Everyone should be.

But if he thought his new quarantine policy would rise above the political din, he should have learned his lesson by now. Hopefully, hell think twice the next time, before he does something else that gives ammunition to the cranks.
Kay Hoover Collins, age 80 of Lancaster, passed away on November 2, 2021 at Bickford of Lancaster. She was born on August 8, 1941 in Norman, Oklahoma to Lloyd and Myrtle (Blair) Hoover. Kay retired from Fisher Catholic High School after 27 years of teaching. She was a member of St. Mark Cath
Williamsport -- Andrea L. McEntire, 57, of Williamsport passed away peacefully on Monday, Oct. 4, 2021, at UPMC Susquehanna Williamsport.

She was preceded in death by her husband Lloyd McEntire, II.

Born Oct. 10, 1963 in Williamsport, she was a daughter of the late Kenneth R. and Gerda Bower and Virginia L. Rabert.

Andrea was a 1981 graduate of Williamsport Area High School and attended the former Williamsport Area Community College. She was employed as an event coordinator for Bailey Enterprises Inc. and an Administrative Assistant at the Williamsport Area High School. She served on the board for Newberry Little League and was the Union secretary.

Andrea was a free-spirited social butterfly, who was fiercely independent, fun loving, strong willed, and a loyal woman who lived life to the fullest. She was a die hard Steelers Fan and enjoyed supporting Schweikart 305 sprint racing cars. She also enjoyed the annual girls Christmas shopping trip and spending time around the campfire while enjoying a drink of fireball. Most of all Andrea loved and cherished spending time with her family and friends especially her grandchildren who were the light of her life.

Surviving are a daughter, Nicole L. McEntire (Larry Knight) of Williamsport; three grandchildren Vincent E. aVinnya McEntire, Arabella N. and Brantley J. Knight; two sisters Tanja Eubanks of Indiana and Kelly C. Schweikart (Dale) of Linden; three nephews Jacob and Andrew Eubanks, and Dakota (Jozelyn) Schweikart; special friend Kevin E. Bennardi, and many cousins.

A memorial service to honor the life of Andrea will be held 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 8 at Sanders Mortuary 821 Diamond Street, Williamsport. A visitation will be held from 5 p.m. until time of service at Sanders Mortuary. Interment will be held privately at the convenience of the family.

Memorial contributions may be made in Andreas name to the Central Pa. Food Bank 3301 Wahoo Drive. Williamsport, Pa. 17701 or to the Lycoming County SPCA 2805 Reach Rd, Williamsport, Pa., 17701.

Online condolences may be made on Andreas memorial page at www.SandersMortuary.com.

To plant a tree in memory of Andrea McEntire as a living tribute, please visit Tribute Store.




Hughesville -- Charles M. Aderhold of Hughesville and Riverview, Florida, died on Sept 27,2021, at home.

Born on September 7, 1932, In Hughesville, he was the son of C. Issac Aderhold and Cora (Barber). He was married to Gloria Aderhold (Bender), celebrating 63 years of marriage on August 4,2021.

Charles retired from American Legion Post 35 after serving 36 years as manager of Post 35 and the Bright/Clean Laundromat. He was previously employed 19 years by Sprout Waldron. He was a life member at Post #35.

Charles enjoyed his home in Florida, Yankees, and especially his Shih Tzu pups.

He was preceded in death by father, mother, infant sister, and stepmother Margaret Neufer Aderhold.

In keeping Charles wishes, graveside services will be private held at the convenience of the family at Picture Rocks cemetery.

The family will provide the flowers and suggest memorial contributions be mailed to the Lycoming County SPCA, 2805 Reach Road, Williamsport, PA 17701.

Expressions of sympathy may be sent to the family at www.mccartythomas.com.

To plant a tree in memory of Charles Aderhold as a living tribute, please visit Tribute Store.




Local

Planning commission waffles on Silver Creek development, recommends residential plan on Martha Berry Boulevard

Steven Eckhoff Speaking against a proposed development with 1,000 plus homes near Silver Creek, Tressa Baggett tells Rome-Floyd Planning Commission members Tuesday that it would essentially urbanize a rural portion of the county. Steven Eckhoff Planning Commission Chair Tom Bennett listens to Floyd County residents opposed to a massive development near Silver Creek. Steven Eckhoff, File In this Oct. 5 file photo, more than 50 people who live near the proposed Pleasant Valley Preserve attend a Rome-Floyd County Planning Commission meeting at the City Auditorium to oppose the project.

Residents of several neighborhoods bordering a proposed massive residential development in Silver Creek voiced firm opposition to the plan during a Rome Floyd County Planning Commission meeting Tuesday.

The annexation of this land should not be taken lightly, Tressa Baggett said. She said the area is a rural one that many would like to remain that way and the development would result in six times the current population density.

Primary objections raised by the 50-plus attendees at the meeting were traffic and safety concerns on roads like Chulio and Pleasant Valley, as well as the introduction of an urban level of population density.

JTG Holdings is seeking to put 1,018 single-family homes on 264 undeveloped acres north of the Silver Creek community. Its roughly bounded by Hampton Boulevard to the north, Tom Bing Road to the west and Boyd Valley Road to the east.

A JTG representative at the meeting said they planned to have the first homes built and ready within two years, with the entire development completed in a 5- to 7-year timeframe.

Andrew Bishop, the acquisition manager for JTG Holdings, said they have a traffic study in progress which should be completed within weeks. While the proposed development would only be serviced by smaller roads, its near the corridor for the continuing bypass project linking Ga. 101 to U.S. 411.

Its disingenuous to say traffic is going to be aided by this bypass, resident Charles Baggett said. The bypass will be going from 411 to 101, not the roads in between.

Even if the city does not annex and rezone the 70 acres, Bishop said, they may decide to continue the development plans on the other 190 acres already zoned and within the city.

During two votes, planning commission members split 4-4 on the request to annex a 70-acre portion of the 260 acre property into the city but approved in a 5-3 vote the rezoning of the property to suburban residential. The tie vote moves forward to the Rome City Commission as no recommendation.

The Point

Contributed A development by Atlanta-based 33 Holdings , dubbed The Point, would cover nine parcels from the point of Martha Berry Boulevard and North Fifth Avenue down to West 11th Street.

The panel unanimously recommended approval of a proposed residential mixed used development on Martha Berry Boulevard and North Fifth Avenue.

The development by Atlanta-based 33 Holdings, dubbed The Point, would cover nine parcels from the point of Martha Berry Boulevard and North Fifth Avenue down to West 11th Street.

Contributed The Point, a proposed development on Martha Berry Boulevard and North Fifth Avenue, would have retail space as well as over 200 apartments.

Architect Bill Jones said it would have four levels of apartments with parking below, alongside a row of storefronts on North Fifth Avenue. The idea is to take the blighted corridor and add housing for a growing population of healthcare workers who serve nearby Floyd Medical Center, Harbin Clinic and AdventHealth Redmond.

Its going to be a catalyst for growth in the area, Jones said.

The recommendations will be taken up before the full Rome City Commission during its Oct. 25 meeting.
Roseburg, OR (97470)

Today

Cloudy. Periods of rain this morning. High around 60F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%..

Tonight

Cloudy with light rain developing after midnight. Low 47F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
Gary Simmons, 62, looks through one of his freezers Monday at the meat from his cows that he sells on Saturday mornings at his Rockingham County farm.
"Our pension funds remain very well funded," Russo said. "We have been on the right path, and we continue to be on the right path, across all of our plans."

Records show the main Public Employees Retirement Fund (PERF) was 82.7% actuarially funded on June 30, even after adjusting for the lower expected return on investment, while the pre-paid Teachers Retirement Fund (TRF) was 94.9% funded.

Generally, pension funds aim for at least 80% funded status to ensure a sufficient amount of money will be available to pay all promised benefits. Funding typically comes from employer and employee contributions, along with investment returns.

The state's pay-as-you-go Teacher Retirement Fund for teachers who began working prior to 1996 (Pre-96 TRF) was 31.6% funded on June 30, records show.

Approximately $1 billion in state appropriations covered the costs of last year's benefits for retired teachers in that program.

Russo expects state appropriations for Pre-96 TRF no longer will be needed starting in 2034, instead of 2037, after lawmakers this spring agreed to funnel a large portion of Indiana's excess revenue into the pension account and the number of plan participants continues declining with member deaths.
Patients of Professional Dental Alliance of Indianas Valparaiso office may have had their data compromised after its administration and technology support services provider was hacked.

Pittsburgh-based North American Dental Management suffered an email phishing and credential harvesting attack on March 31 and April 1. The contractor discovered a breach of personal information during a forensic investigation following the hacking of its system.

It's notified federal and local law enforcement about the cyber intrusion, as well as affected medical offices like the group dental practice all 503 Silhavy Road in Valparaiso.

Patient data that may have been exposed includes "name, mailing address, email address, phone number, dental information, insurance information, Social Security number, and financial account numbers." No evidence of malicious use of the personal data that was exposed has yet turned up.
LANSING  Launching a nonprofit during a pandemic while finishing high school via remote learning isn't an easy task.

Cam Sanchez did it, even if he's not quite sure how he pulled it off.

"It's still a shock to me that it was able to get done," said Sanchez, who started We Are Lansing on Aug. 29, 2020, while he was a senior at TF South High School.

We Are Lansing organized food and toy drives, among other events, in an attempt to help residents in Lansing and beyond who were affected financially and otherwise by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now Sanchez is in college, studying business administration at National Louis University in Chicago. And perhaps surprisingly, he now has more time to devote to We Are Lansing. Instead of being in school  or doing remote learning  five days a week from morning till mid-afternoon, his classes are limited to two days a week.

That has given him more time to work on We Are Lansing's next big project: a sit-down Thanksgiving dinner. It's a step up from last year, when the organization distributed the meal essentials for families to prepare themselves.
"I asked her why she left (the child) at home and she said he was sleeping and did not want to wake him up," according to the incident report. "Ms. Scott then began to give excuses for her actions and continued to say that this was the first time she has done this."
MICHIGAN CITY  Police are seeking the public's help in identifying a man suspected of attempting to rob a Michigan City bank last week.

On Tuesday the Michigan City Police Department released a surveillance image of the suspect. Police said at 1:50 p.m. Sept. 29 officers responded to a bank alarm at Members Advantage Credit Union at 3064 Ohio Street.

They were told by witnesses that the suspect requested money and then fled before receiving any cash, Michigan City police said. It was determined the man fled north on foot in the direction of St. John Road.

Multiple robbery investigations

This investigation comes on the heels of a rash of local robberies that included banks and fast-food restaurants.

One man has been arrested for the restaurant robberies. Vincer Mitchell, 59, of Michigan City, faces charges of two counts of armed robbery.

Mitchell was accused of carrying out the Sept. 25 armed robbery of Wendy's at 3715 Franklin St. and the Sept. 27 armed robbery of Burger King at 3956 Franklin St., police said.

In both robberies, the suspect entered the restaurant with a firearm and demanded money from the staff before fleeing the scene, MCPD Sgt. Steve Forker said.
HAMMOND  Portage Superintendent of Streets and Sanitation Randy Reeder, who testified on behalf of federal prosecutors during the March bribery trial of former Mayor James Snyder, will again take the stand, but for the defense when Snyder is sentenced next week.

The defense made the announcement during a status call Wednesday morning with U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly of the Northern District of Illinois, who was brought in to oversee the local case.

Kennelly rejected a request by the defense to also call two IRS agents during Wednesday's sentencing, saying the testimony is not needed.

Government prosecutors said they do not intend to call any witnesses.

Kennelly changed the hour of the sentencing hearing from 1 p.m. to 10 a.m. Wednesday, saying he wanted to assure adequate time was available if needed.

Snyder was on Wednesday's call, but remained silent other than letting the judge know he was present.

The status hearing came two days after Snyder filed a document again asking the judge to spare him from prison when he is sentenced on bribery and tax violation charges.
MERRILLVILLE  A suspect said he intended on "shooting it out" with officers during a brief stand-off before he was arrested, police said.

On Monday evening Merrillville police arrested a man wanted for his alleged involvement in the murder of Anthony Gibbs, 36, said Merrillville Police Department Assistant Chief of Police Kosta Nuses.

Gibbs was killed in shooting Saturday night at a motel in the 8200 block of Louisiana Street in Merrillville.

Once detectives on the case quickly gathered information on the suspect's location, they began surveying the area for him. The police department's recently-formed Merrillville Tactical Apprehension Squad was activated and waited near the suspect's location on standby, Nuses said.

After police saw the suspect left the location as a passenger in a vehicle, officers initiated a traffic stop.

The man originally refused to get out of the vehicle and told the other person in the vehicle that he intended to "shoot it out" with police, Nuses said.

"Fortunately for everybody, the presence of force brought on by MTAS, patrol officers, detectives and K-9 'Goose,' caused the suspect to change his mind and surrender peacefully," Nuses said.
During Mr. Trumps presidency, Mr. Stryk, who is well connected in Trump administration circles, has developed a lucrative business representing foreign clients in precarious geopolitical situations.

He has worked for a jailed Saudi prince who had fallen out of favor with his countrys powerful de facto leader, as well as the administration of President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela, which the Trump administration considers illegitimate. Mr. Stryk also worked for Isabel dos Santos, the daughter of Angolas former president, who is accused of embezzling millions of dollars from a state oil company she once headed, as well as the government of the former Congolese president Joseph Kabila, which had faced American sanctions for human rights abuses and corruption.

Mr. Stryk said that he was representing Blueprint for Free Speech to seek a pardon for Mr. Assange without pay because of his belief in free speech, and that he would continue pushing for the pardon in the Biden administration if Mr. Trump did not grant it.

This is not a partisan issue, Mr. Stryk said.

The contract, which he said he had disclosed to the Justice Department under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, calls for his company, Stryk Global Diplomacy, to facilitate meetings and interactions with the president and the president-elects administrations to obtain a full pardon for Mr. Assange.

Mr. Davis said Mr. Stryk had been chosen partly because of his entree into Mr. Trumps administration, which the group sees as its best chance to secure a pardon.

Mr. Davis noted that Mr. Assange, 49, was indicted during Mr. Trumps presidency. We are unabashedly reaching out to the Republican Party on this issue in the final weeks to correct something before its too late, and before it become part of Trumps legacy, Mr. Davis said.

He said, If Joe Biden is sympathetic, thats well and good, and we certainly hope he is. But, he added, its a far simpler process for an outgoing president than an incoming president.
On Feb. 2, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the Biden administration would suspend bilateral Asylum Cooperative Agreements with Guatemala and others in the region. In implementing the approach laid out by President Biden, the United States could be a reliable regional partner, working with governments, international organizations, civil society and the private sector to establish a comprehensive strategy to address the root causes of migration in the region, fight against corruption and impunity, and address climate drivers of migration.

The announcement comes on the heels of months of unrest in Guatemala. In November, Guatemalas Congress approved an emergency budget that axed pandemic assistance programs and slashed hunger relief, while earmarking additional resources for congressional perks like meal allowances for its members. The budget, which was negotiated and passed in secret, ignited a wave of unrest that in turn led the government to suspend the final ratification process. An emerging multiethnic and multigenerational coalition that coalesced around the budget protests is reimagining the countrys future.

This isnt the first time Guatemalan citizens have mobilized to demand accountability. For over a decade, human rights and justice activists, together with Attorneys General Claudia Paz y Paz and Thelma Aldana, worked alongside the United Nations-backed International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala, known by its Spanish acronym CICIG, and the United States government to dismantle the criminal networks that have long operated with impunity. Their efforts led to the resignation and arrest of former President Otto Perez Molina in 2015, and to formal accusations against more than 1,500 people, including powerful politicians and members of the business community.

In the last four years, those hard-fought gains have been dismantled piece by piece. President Jimmy Morales shut down the CICIG in 2018, and installed a more pliant attorney general, Consuelo Porras. Alejandro Giammatteis election in 2019 breathed new energy into the countrys Pact of the Corrupt, as the group of dirty political and business leaders are known. As they have moved to solidify their control over Congress and the courts, they have become more brazen about their ties to drug traffickers, and have openly vaunted their intentions to crack down on their political opponents.
As dean of students at the University of Chicago Law School from 1961 to 1967, he established the James C. Hormel Public Service Program to encourage law students to go into public service. In the early 1990s, he was an alternate representative of the U.S. delegation to the 51st United Nations General Assembly, the founding director of the City Club of San Francisco and a director of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce.

In 1997, Mr. Hormel was also the chairman of Equidex, a San Francisco-based company that manages the Hormel familys philanthropical endeavors and investments, a position he would continue to hold for years. He was long active in the Democratic Party as a donor and served on the board of the foundation of the Human Rights Campaign, the nations largest gay and lesbian organization.

But his nomination was an issue for the Republican senators James Inhofe of Oklahoma, Tim Hutchinson of Arkansas and Robert Smith of New Hampshire, who raised 11th-hour objections as the Senate was pushing to confirm nominees in the sessions final days that year. The Senate majority leader, Trent Lott of Mississippi, ultimately blocked the Senate from voting on the nomination.

The senators cited Mr. Hormels political views and his gay rights activism as reasons to oppose his nomination. Our concern is about this nominees political views, Gary Hoitsma, a spokesman for Mr. Inhofe, said. Hes been an outspoken promoter of things like same-sex marriages, things we dont agree with.

Mr. Hormel, undeterred, met with each of his skeptics one on one, challenging their opposition. It is unclear whether these conversations had any effect, but Mr. Hormel was finally appointed to the ambassadorship in 1999, when Mr. Clinton bypassed the normal confirmation process and named him while Congress was in recess. Mr. Hormel served as ambassador until December 2000.
A statue of the explorer Christopher Columbus that was removed last year in Mexico City will be replaced by a statue of an Indigenous woman to honor the countrys Native people, the mayor of Mexico City said on Sunday.

Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico City announced that the Columbus statue, which had stood in a roundabout at the Paseo de la Reforma, would be replaced by a statue honoring Indigenous women.

Well place a statue dedicated to the Indigenous woman, she said in a news conference on Sunday, which was the Day of the Indigenous Woman. We owe it to them. We exist because of them, she added. It is the history of our country and our homeland.

She said the statue would go up as soon as Oct. 12, Dia de la Raza, a day to recognize the legacies of Columbus and Indigenous cultures.
A man who returned to his home in southern Vietnam after traveling to Ho Chi Minh City for work received a five-year prison sentence on Tuesday for spreading the coronavirus, state news media reported.

The man, Le Van Tri, 28, was convicted of spreading dangerous infectious diseases to eight people, one of whom died from virus complications, the state-controlled newspaper Thanh Nien said. His sentence for failing to comply with Covid-19 quarantine restrictions also included a fine of 20 million dong, around $880.

Mr. Tri returned to his home in Ca Mau Province by motorcycle in July after a surge in virus cases in Vietnam, which had prompted a tightening of restrictions in Ho Chi Minh City, the countrys largest.

He failed to comply with instructions from health care personnel at travel checkpoints to self-quarantine for 21 days and report his travel history on forms, the Thanh Nien report said. Among the people he spread the virus to were members of his family, it said.
The National Museum of Beirut has only one ancient timepiece: part of a second-century-B.C. sundial. It was broken at some point in the past, but the fragment in the museum has survived even the enormous explosion that leveled the nearby Port of Beirut on Aug. 4, 2020, blowing some of the museums doors off their hinges and shattering windows.

The museum reopened on July 1 after a $175,000 restoration, donated by the Aliph Foundation through the Louvre Museum in Paris, and the sundial is once again on view, protected in a glass vitrine.

At a glance, it looks like a lump of stone, said Ruth Young, an archaeology professor at the University of Leicester in England, whose specialties include the Middle East. Yet on closer inspection, she noted, you can see the precision with which the lines are carved, marking out the passage of time.
Australia was, until recently, heralded for its effective suppression of Covid-19; through strict border closures, prolonged lockdowns and its fortune as a remote island continent, the country was able to avoid a large-scale outbreak. The Delta variant has, however, turned that success upside down.

Despite more than half of Australias 25 million inhabitants living under very harsh restrictions  including overnight curfews, travel limits of only about three miles from home and limits on outdoor daily exercise to a couple of hours  cases have soared to more than 1,400 a day, the most since the pandemic began. As authorities tighten restrictions, hospitals are reaching capacity with Covid-19 patients, and Australias delayed vaccination program is only beginning to gain momentum.

Pre-Delta, Australias aggressive lockdowns quashed Covid-19 cases and allowed for the return to near-normal life from around December 2020 to May 2021. But this lulled the country into a false sense of security, and only 8 percent of eligible Australians were fully vaccinated by July 2021. Vaccination has progressed in recent weeks, most likely thanks to a growing supply of the Pfizer vaccine and increased motivation to get out from under restrictions. Now 39 percent of eligible Australians are fully vaccinated, and 64 percent have had at least one dose.

The countrys slow vaccination start stemmed from its inability to produce mRNA vaccines locally and its struggle to procure other vaccine options, leaving it dependent on the AstraZeneca vaccine as its vaccination programs backbone. When rare cases of blood clots were tied to the AstraZeneca vaccine, the country was unable to pivot. Though well intentioned, Australias scientific advisory group for immunizations urged people under 60 to wait for the Pfizer vaccine. Politicians bickered, the local media attacked the AstraZeneca vaccine relentlessly, and vaccine hesitancy spread. With its vaccination rate the lowest among high-income countries, Australia was a sitting duck for Deltas arrival.
Ms. Pech is among the thousands of women who have been investigated for illegally obtaining abortion in recent years. In the first seven months of this year alone, 432 investigations were opened across Mexico into cases of illegal abortion, according to the Mexican government.

The ruling on Tuesday set a legal precedent for the nation  and stands in stark contrast to the trend in the United States, where Texas and other states have recently moved to restrict abortion. The courts decision also raised the prospect of Mexico eventually becoming a destination for American women seeking to end their pregnancies, advocates said, though that would require removing the many obstacles that make abortion difficult to obtain in much of the country.

Tuesdays decision applies only to the border state of Coahuila, and putting it into practice nationwide requires either legal challenges in each of the 28 states in Mexico that still criminalize the procedure, or a change in law by state legislatures. The justices did not specify how far into a pregnancy a woman can legally obtain an abortion, meaning those terms will likely be determined at the state level.

A leading abortion rights group in Mexico, GIRE, said that it would push for abortion to be legal in Coahuila for 12 weeks after conception at a minimum  a time limit established in the law that made abortion legal in Mexico City and which was previously validated by the Supreme Court.

If that were the case, Coahuila would have more permissive abortions rules than neighboring Texas, where the state legislature recently implemented a law that prohibits most abortions after about six weeks. In time, women from Texas could potentially cross the border to have an abortion  but for now, there wouldnt be enough infrastructure in place to meet the need, activists said.
WASHINGTON  In their first conversation in seven months, President Biden spoke on Thursday with President Xi Jinping of China, expressing concern over Chinas cyberactivities while arguing that the leaders of the worlds two largest economies could set aside their differences to work together on climate change.

The call amounted to a break in what experts have called one of the lowest points in the relationship between the two countries in decades. It was only the second time that the leaders have spoken since Mr. Bidens inauguration; the lack of communication is a measure of the rising tensions between their nations as they seek to maneuver to limit the global influence of the other.

The call, which a senior administration official said lasted 90 minutes, came at a particularly delicate time. Tensions are growing over Taiwan and the South China Sea, and Mr. Biden is trying to rally the West in what he calls a battle between autocracy versus democracy. It also came less than two weeks after the United States completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan, where China has been interested in mining for commodities.

Even as Mr. Bidens senior officials stressed the importance of engaging directly with Mr. Xi after months of stalled discussions, administration officials on Thursday evening gave remarkably few details from the call. Mr. Biden did push China to agree to a set of guardrails for policymaking while also emphasizing the need to mitigate climate change, officials said.
Cuba will begin vaccinating children as young as 2 against the coronavirus this week, making it the only country so far to immunize children that young.

The United States and many European countries currently allow Covid-19 vaccinations for children 12 and older. U.S. regulators could authorize a vaccine for children 5 to 12 later this year.

Chile has begun vaccinating children 6 and older. China and the United Arab Emirates are now vaccinating children as young as 3.

Cubas health regulator, the Center for State Control of Medicines and Medical Devices, approved pediatric vaccination at the beginning of September. Last week, the country started immunizing 13- to 17-year-olds.
The Brazil Senate and Supreme Court have nullified rules that President Jair Bolsonaro issued last week banning social networks from removing what they judge to be disinformation about the coming presidential election.

The dual moves by the court and by Congress late Tuesday quickly killed one of the most restrictive and intrusive internet laws imposed in a democratic country. It was a sharp rebuke to a president already struggling with a series of political crises.

When Mr. Bolsonaro issued the policy, it was the first time a national government had moved to stop social media companies from taking down content that violates their rules.

The move alarmed technology companies and Mr. Bolsonaros political opponents because it appeared intended to enable the president and his allies to undermine confidence in next years presidential election.
Mr. Raabs American counterpart, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, has also come under political pressure over his handling of Afghanistan. Several Republicans have demanded his resignation, and he faced tough questioning from Republicans in testimony before Congress this week.

But Mr. Blinken has something that Mr. Raab does not  a close relationship with his boss. Mr. Blinken has been a longtime foreign policy adviser to President Biden, while Mr. Raab challenged Mr. Johnson for the leadership of the Conservative Party in 2019. His elevation to the Cabinet was mostly a reward for his Brexit credentials, which made him popular with that wing of the party.

He was a natural fall guy when the prime minister decided someone had to carry the can for the governments muddled and ineffectual response to the Afghan crisis, said Peter Westmacott, a former British ambassador to the United States.

While it was Mr. Raab who took the fall on Wednesday, his travails were a setback for Mr. Johnson as well. For a prime minister eager to showcase a new Global Britain, Afghanistan was a humbling episode. Mr. Biden, officials said, did not consult Mr. Johnson in advance about the timing or logistics of the evacuation, even though Britain was the second-largest contributor of troops to the war among NATO members, after the United States.

Britain found itself scrambling to organize flights for its diplomats, aid workers and Afghan allies. Critics of Mr. Johnson, including in his own party, questioned why Britain did not work with other NATO members to mitigate the chaos that erupted after Mr. Biden announced the Aug. 31 withdrawal.

We boast about Global Britain, but where is Global Britain on the streets of Kabul? Mr. Johnsons predecessor, Theresa May, said in a biting address in Parliament last month. What does it say about NATO if we are entirely dependent on a unilateral decision taken by the United States?

American officials countered that all NATO members were consulted and had signed up to the withdrawal, a position echoed by the alliances secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg. But feelings toward Mr. Biden remain raw among some in the Johnson government and in the Conservative-leaning press.
PARIS  At least nine people have been swept out to sea and drowned off the southern coast of France after high seas stirred up by strong winds created dangerous swells that caught the swimmers by surprise.

This toll is tragic, Eric Brocardi, a spokesman for the French National Federation of Firefighters, told the radio station Franceinfo on Thursday. Mr. Brocardi said that the local authorities had expected rough seas, prompting advisories against or even banning swimming at certain beaches.

Unfortunately, some people defied the ban, he said.

Officials said that the deaths, all on Wednesday, reflected the dangers of the Mediterranean Sea, considered to be generally calm but whose underwater currents can be treacherous.

Every year, hundreds of migrants drown trying to make the journey across the sea from Africa to Europe. In 2019, nearly 1,300 people died trying to make the crossing, according to the International Organization for Migration.
MOSCOW  Russia stages local and national elections like clockwork in accordance with its post-Soviet Constitution, but the results are nearly always the same: sweeping victories for President Vladimir V. Putin and the politicians and parties loyal to him.

In the parliamentary elections that begin on Friday and run through Sunday, there is little question that his governing United Russia party will win. For the Kremlin, which hopes to mobilize support for government policies and reinforce its legitimacy, the trick is to win handily while maintaining the plausibility of a contested outcome.

Here are several ways that the Kremlin tries to create the illusion of democratic choice while making sure it comes out on top.

Duplicate Candidates

Among the candidates voters will choose from in one St. Petersburg district are three men named Boris Vishnevsky, only one of whom is the real opposition politician.
No subject is off limits.

El Enjambre provided detailed coverage of the remarkable July 11 anti-government protests in Cuba and searing criticism of the ruthless crackdown that followed.

The hosts also dissected the dismal state of the health care system as Covid-19 cases surged on the island, mocked the sputtering initiatives by the government to allow some private sector activities, such as garage sales, and attempted to read the tea leaves on the future of Washingtons relationship with Havana.

Each episode includes a short, humorous, scripted drama, a segment called History without Hysteria and a lengthy conversation that tends to focus on the issues Cubans have been arguing about on social media over the past few days.

The objective was to create a conversation like youd have on any street corner in Cuba, Mr. Condis said. But we provide only verified facts, because it matters greatly to us to never provide false information.

Mr. Condis said he steered clear of using what he views as needlessly polarizing language, refraining, for instance, from referring to the Cuban government as a dictatorship. The hosts dont take for granted the relative freedom they have enjoyed so far in criticizing the government. After all, Cuba does not have press freedom laws and critical journalists are often subject to harassment and home detention.

At any moment they might go to war with us and take us off the air, Mr. Condis said.

If anyone has been pushing the boundaries its Ms. Sanchez, an ardent critic of the government who first gained prominence as an early adopter of technology in 2007, when she began writing a raw and lyrical blog about life on the island.

In December 2018, when Cubas telecommunications company Etecsa began offering data plans for smartphones, Ms. Sanchez saw an opportunity to expand the reach of her journalism, which had previously been distributed as an emailed newsletter and a PDF file.
The effort will start by extracting passages like Section 256, which still says that separate schools shall be provided for white and colored children, and no child of either race shall be permitted to attend a school of the other race.

The State Constitution included a ban on interracial marriage until a statewide vote in 2000, even though the U.S. Supreme Court ruled such marriages to be fully legal in all states in 1967. The Legislature shall never pass any law to authorize or legalize any marriage between any white person and a Negro, or descendant of a negro, the State Constitution once said.

It still includes descriptions of former voting requirements that were generally used to disenfranchise Black residents, including literacy tests and poll taxes. (The Constitution, written before women won the right to vote nationally, also includes language restricting voting to men.)

Two previous failed efforts to remove the section on school segregation  which was outlawed nationally by the Supreme Court in its 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision  were complicated by a related debate over a 1956 state amendment that said Alabama did not recognize any right to a publicly funded education whatsoever, language that was aimed at thwarting the ruling on desegregation.

When advocates tried to get rid of both passages at once in 2004, opponents argued that the result would be higher taxes to increase school funding. Then in 2012, an effort to get rid of the segregation language without touching the public funding language drew opposition from school advocates  ultimately leaving the Constitution as it was.
A call to regulate Facebook from an insider

Frances Haugen, a former Facebook product manager turned whistle-blower, yesterday told a Senate subcommittee how the company deliberately kept people  including children  hooked on its services. She had previously leaked thousands of pages of internal documents to The Wall Street Journal.

Facebook had purposely hidden disturbing research about how teenagers felt worse about themselves after using its products and how it was willing to use hateful content to retain users, she said during her testimony. The companys leadership knows how to make Facebook and Instagram safer but wont make the necessary changes, she added.

Facebook employees responded with anger  and sometimes relief. Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive, rebutted claims that Facebook prioritized engagement to pad its bottom line, including engagement with harmful content, calling the accusations deeply illogical.

Response: After years of congressional hearings on Facebook and other large tech companies, Haugens appearance stood out in part for the way she united lawmakers around tackling the issue of the platforms harm to teenagers. Some senators called her testimony a Big Tobacco moment for the technology industry.
One of Maddy Parks earliest memories of street food was when vendors set up a portable stove outside her elementary school in Seoul, South Korea, to sell a candy for about a dime. It was part sweet treat, part game.

Candy makers melted sugar and frothed it up with a pinch of baking soda to make this dalgona candy, Ms. Park recalled. They then pressed the mixture flat and pushed shapes like a circle, triangle, square, star or umbrella into the center. Ms. Parks classmates determinedly tried to pick out the stamped shape using a needle without breaking it  a game called ppopgi. If the children successfully removed the shape from the brittle candy, they won another treat for free.

Dalgona was one of the cheapest, unhealthiest, yet the most addictive gamble for 7-year-old me, said Ms. Park, now 28 and living in Downtown Brooklyn, N.Y.

Ms. Park is one of many Koreans whose memories of dalgona candy, also called ppopgi, have surfaced thanks to the release last month of Squid Game on Netflix. The fictional series follows a group of cash-strapped people willing to die playing childhood games for a chance to win a jackpot. Episode 3 is all about ppopgi.
The book, American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the Covid-19 Pandemic  which earned Mr. Cuomo $5.1 million  and the commissions approval are now at the center of a fresh controversy surrounding the ex-governor.

Mr. Cuomos resignation in August has changed the political environment  including on the ethics commission, which had just last month voted not to look back into the book deal and its approval.

Since then, the commissions chair has stepped aside, and Gov. Kathy Hochul has appointed two new members. On Tuesday, both joined a majority in voting to open an investigation into Mr. Cuomo and the approval of his book deal.

The vote marks the second time in a month that the board has voted to investigate itself; the first came when it asked the state attorney generals office to look into the circumstances surrounding the leak of confidential deliberations to Mr. Cuomo in 2019.

One likely aspect of the inquiry will be Mr. Cuomos promise not to use state resources, including personnel, in executing the book project. The New York Times has reported that aides were involved in many aspects of the books compilation: Melissa DeRosa, Mr. Cuomos top aide, edited drafts and sat in on meetings with his publisher, while lower-level staffers helped out with fact-checking and assisted with administrative tasks like dictation and copies. Mr. Cuomo has said that any help that was given was done so outside of working hours, on a volunteer basis.
The Justice Department is reviewing its decision not to prosecute the F.B.I. agents who failed to pursue allegations of sexual abuse made in 2015 against Lawrence G. Nassar, the former physician for U.S.A. Gymnastics who was convicted two years later on state sex abuse and federal child pornography charges, a top department official said on Tuesday.

The unusual review comes months after the Justice Departments watchdog issued a scathing report that sharply criticized how the F.B.I. handled the case, which first came to its attention when U.S.A. Gymnastics reported sexual abuse allegations to the bureaus Indianapolis field office in July 2015.

Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz found that senior F.B.I. officials failed to notify state or local authorities or take steps to mitigate the threat that Mr. Nassar posed. Mr. Horowitzs report found that the special agent in charge of the field office, W. Jay Abbott, lied to the inspector generals investigators to hide his personal conflicts in the case and downplay errors that the F.B.I. had made.

But the Justice Department ultimately chose not to prosecute Mr. Abbott, who retired in January 2018. Another agent from the same office, Michael Langeman, was fired over his handling of the matter.
WASHINGTON  An independent report commissioned by the Indian Health Service found that officials at the federal agency silenced and punished whistle-blowers in an effort to protect a doctor who sexually abused boys on several Native American reservations for decades.

At the same time, the report, written early last year but kept private until now, found that members of I.H.S. management willfully ignored or actively suppressed any efforts to address the dangers themselves.

The 161-page report by Integritas Creative Solutions, a consulting company, was obtained through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit brought against the I.H.S. by The New York Times and later joined by The Wall Street Journal. It concludes that I.H.S. leaders went out of their way to ignore the allegations against Stanley Patrick Weber, the former physician, because addressing them would be awkward, arduous, inconvenient, messy and embarrassing.

The reports release comes after a federal appeals court ruled last week that the I.H.S. had to release the independent assessment on how Mr. Weber, who worked as a pediatrician for the agency, sexually preyed on Native American boys for decades. The decision affirmed a lower-court ruling in The Timess lawsuit seeking to have the report released to the public.
Tracking community transmission is at the heart of efforts to stop the spread of the coronavirus, scientists say, and in most states the daily dashboards showing new cases have been a critical tool for public health officials trying to track the trajectory of the virus, which has killed 700,000 Americans.

Yet for three crucial months this summer, Nebraska did not report any county-level information to the public. State officials stopped sharing counts of new coronavirus cases by county with the public on June 30, just as the Delta variant began surging in the United States.

That was by design. Gov. Pete Ricketts, a Republican who opposes both mask and vaccine mandates, allowed his emergency order to expire in June, and the states unusually strict privacy laws were reinstated, which he said prohibited the continued release of the data.

At the time, the number of new cases in Nebraska had reached a low in the state, and Test Nebraska, which gave free virus tests to hundreds of thousands of residents, ended its operations shortly after the emergency ended.
In Germany, where one in four jobs depends on exports, the crisis gumming up the worlds supply chains is weighing heavily on the economy, which is Europes largest and a linchpin for global commerce.

Recent surveys and data point to a sharp slowdown of the German manufacturing powerhouse, and economists have begun to predict a bottleneck recession.

Almost everything that German factories need to operate is in short supply: not just computer chips, but also plywood, copper, aluminum, plastics and raw materials like cobalt, lithium, nickel and graphite, which are crucial ingredients of electric car batteries.
The Korean TV series Squid Game has been a sensation since it debuted on Netflix in September. The twisty thriller  about an assortment of desperate debtors who risk their lives in a series of supercharged childrens games, in hopes of winning a big cash prize  has hooked audiences with its fantastical sets and costumes, its cliffhanger-heavy plotting and its pointed commentaries on human nature and class struggle.

There are only nine Squid Game episodes (for now, anyway); so its easy to binge the whole series in just a few days. But then what? Where can viewers turn for more exciting, imaginative scenes of people degrading themselves for money and survival?

There are some hit movies with obvious parallels to this show, including Saw, The Hunger Games and (from Japan) Battle Royale. But the six films and TV series below  all available to stream  are somewhat deeper cuts, and in most cases are a few shades more extreme than Squid Game. They all share some of the thornier themes that have made the series such a hot topic of conversation.
Along with Forrester, Mattsons cast includes Kendra Brown, a Black teenager who moves to Nebraska with her mother in the wake of her fathers death; Bryan Douglas, her cousin, who already lives in Nebraska and becomes her lifeline when she arrives; Jaidee Charoensuk, a Thai exchange student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln; and Leonard Grandton, a white hotel manager who does business with Forrester.

Ive noted the races of each character because questions of race are paramount to Mattsons novel. On the surface, Reprieve is a story about an attack at a haunted house, but Mattson is also investigating questions of identity and power, namely who in this story controls fears and who is subject to them. Thankfully, the answer isnt as simple as having the Black and Thai characters suffer as victims of the powerful while the white characters serve as the abusers. Instead, nearly everyone here takes turns in these roles, being harmed by the greed and prejudices of others and then displaying their own not long afterward. And yet, the novel doesnt pretend each character is equally at fault; there are, after all, degrees of power and powerlessness. The haunted house at the center of the narrative is an excellent touch because the ideas of danger and harm become material, frightening and imminent. At times, the reader is trapped in Quigley House with the contestants, in scenes that are genuinely unnerving.

Early on, Mattson name-checks a number of horror greats: Clive Barker and Stephen King, for instance. Like those writers, Mattson takes time acquainting the reader with the people who will eventually endure great pain and hardship. So we get a great deal of background on Kendra, Jaidee and Leonard in particular. Much of it is interesting and meaningful, but I would say, as one might find with Barker and King, there is such a thing as too much back story.

Another way to say this is that I kept wanting to return to the terrors of Quigley House. I wanted to see who survived and who didnt. Of course, I cared about who did or didnt make it out only because Mattson did such a fine job of making these people feel real and their pasts so satisfyingly complex. Still, their histories could have been trimmed down here and there, and nothing would have been lost.
I tried to buy a rapid at-home Covid test yesterday, and the search did not go well.

My local CVS did not have any. On CVSs website, I found a store several miles away that claimed to have the tests in stock  but I discovered otherwise after driving there. On Amazon, I did find one available option: a box of 90 rapid tests. It cost $1,122.75.

When I told this tale of woe to my colleagues during our daily news meeting, one of them  Claire Moses, an editor based in London  offered to ship me some tests through trans-Atlantic mail. At-home tests are so widely available in Britain, Claire explained, that she could send a few to every member of The Mornings editorial team.

I said no thanks, because I did not have an immediate need for a test. I was searching for one partly to see what the experience was like. I also assume that my family will want to have rapid tests on hand at some point.

If you wake up with a runny nose or scratchy throat, you should be able to grab a Covid-19 test from your bathroom shelf and find out the result within minutes. The tests exist. They are known as antigen tests and are widely available not only in Britain but also France, Germany and some other places. Rapid tests can identify roughly 98 percent of infectious Covid cases and have helped reduce the viruss spread in Europe.
At more than 25 years old, Otis is one of the older bears at the park, which is home to about 2,200 brown bears. According to his bio, While Otis occasionally appears to be napping or not paying attention, most of the time hes focused on the water, and he experiences a relatively high salmon catch rate as a result.

Have a hefty evening.

Bryan Denton compiled photos for this briefing.

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W.H.O. approves the first malaria vaccine

The World Health Organization endorsed the first ever vaccine to prevent malaria, a disease that kills about 500,000 people each year, including hundreds of thousands of African children under the age of 5.

The vaccine, made by GlaxoSmithKline, encourages a childs immune system to thwart the deadliest and most prevalent of the five malaria pathogens. Clinical trials showed an efficacy of about 50 percent against severe malaria in the first year, but that figure dropped to close to zero by the fourth year.

Some experts have questioned whether the vaccine, with its moderate efficacy, is a worthwhile investment in countries with many other problems. But the director of the W.H.O.s global malaria program described the new vaccine as a historic event. The vaccine is not just a first for malaria  it is the first developed for any parasitic disease.

Impact: A study last year estimated that if the vaccine were rolled out to countries with the highest incidence of malaria, it could prevent 5.4 million cases and 23,000 deaths in children younger than 5 each year.
This year has been unsettling for Chinese business. The ruling Communist Party has gone after the private sector industry by industry. The stock markets have taken a huge hit. The countrys biggest property developer is on the verge of collapse.

But for some of the biggest names on Wall Street, Chinas economic prospects look rosier than ever.

BlackRock, the worlds biggest asset manager, urged investors to increase their exposure to China by as much as three times.

Is China investable? asked J.P. Morgan, before answering, We think so. Goldman Sachs says yes, too.

Their bullishness in the face of growing uncertainty has puzzled China experts and drawn criticism from a wide political spectrum, from George Soros, the progressive investor, to congressional Republicans. Mr. Soros has called BlackRocks stance a tragic mistake thats likely to lose money for its clients and would damage the national security interests of the U.S. and other democracies.
Here comes Kanter

Jonathan Kanter, President Bidens choice to be the Justice Departments antitrust chief, will have his nomination hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee today. It comes during a push by progressives to remake antitrust law, which coincides with record deal volumes.

If approved for the post, some say that Kanter could be the toughest antitrust enforcer since Joel Klein  who famously took on Microsoft. That would make Kanter an unlikely economic populist, since in private practice he once represented  Microsoft.

Kanter is a Big Law partner with a progressive bent. In his years of private practice, Kanter took on Big Tech on behalf of clients like Microsoft and News Corp. He has said that the work led him to see the dangers of corporate concentration. While tech companies may push for Kanters recusal given his past work, legal experts said that it shouldnt be a problem unless he was put in a position to oversee a case against a company he defended, like Microsoft.

His nomination has bipartisan support. Senator Elizabeth Warren, whom Kanter advised on her run for the Democratic presidential nomination last year, has offered her endorsement. Two of nine former heads of the Justice Department who wrote in support of Kanters nomination worked in Republican administrations: Charles Rule from the Reagan administration and Makan Delrahim from the Trump administration. I dont agree with him, Rule told The Times, But he has the ideology they want, and he is in the top echelon of antitrust lawyers of his generation.

There are some $1.9 trillion in pending deals, according to Bloomberg. Stricter scrutiny could scuttle some of those mergers, such as the aborted combination of Aon and Willis Towers Watson, which gave up on their $30 billion tie-up in July rather than endure a lengthy court battle with the Justice Department. Last month, the department filed an antitrust suit against American Airlines and JetBlue for a partnership it argued amounted to a de facto merger.

Business groups are concerned about the direction of antitrust enforcement. The government already has the power it needs to review and challenge the comparatively few mergers and acquisitions that raise competitive concerns, a coalition of industry groups wrote in a letter to the Senate subcommittee in advance of Kanters hearing.
Ms. Cosme, 36, and Mr. Topolsky, 43, said they had hit upon the new editorial identity after long discussions about what worked for the old Mic and what didnt. Both concluded it was time to make a clean break with the publication's past.

The millennial political news website is a very outmoded concept for lots of different reasons, Mr. Topolsky said. He added that the intended audience for the new Mic was young, diverse, extremely online, very savvy.

Mics lead story on Wednesday, by Jamal Jordan, a former New York Times journalist, was a profile of the actor and producer Issa Rae. The accompanying photo shoot, by the Brooklyn photographer Kajal, was produced by Ms. Cosme.

In addition, there was a first-person essay by Kiana Fitzgerald, a music journalist and D.J., on how the Solange album A Seat at the Table had helped her through a mental health crisis; an essay on rising home sales in Florida as the state is racked by the effects of climate change; a skeptical review of Jon Stewarts new show for AppleTV+; and an exploration of classism among Black users of Twitter.

Ms. Cosme, who is half Puerto Rican, said it was important to her that Mic weave its coverage of race and identity seamlessly into the publication.
WASHINGTON  The Biden administration on Wednesday announced that it would restore climate change protections to the nations bedrock environmental law, the National Environmental Policy Act, which former President Donald J. Trump had weakened in an effort to speed the approval of projects like mines, pipelines, dams and highways.

The proposed changes would require the federal government to evaluate the climate change impacts of major new projects as part of the permitting process. They come as Congress is weighing a plan to spend trillions of dollars on infrastructure improvements across the United States.

The Trump administration had freed agencies from considering the ways in which proposed new power plants or pipelines, for example, might lead to an increase of greenhouse gas emissions, which are warming the planet to dangerous levels. It required agencies to analyze only reasonably foreseeable impacts. Mr. Trump said the change would eliminate mountains and mountains of red tape that he said had delayed projects across the country.

But those changes sowed confusion and were difficult to implement, according to Brenda Mallory, chairwoman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.
It wasnt Extinction Rebellions first turn on the catwalk. During the Dior spring 2020 show, one of its supporters had popped up with a yellow banner that read: We Are All Fashion Victims. For several moments showgoers, including Diors chief executive, werent sure whether she was part of the finale.

And its likely not to be the last. For the next fashion weeks, said Franck Deyris, who is in charge of public relations for Extinction Rebellion France, we would like the big groups to think that we can disrupt something that they organize a long time in advance and in which they spend a lot of money.

Ms. Cohuet said she and four other protesters had taken advantage of Catherine Deneuves arrival to sneak into the show, pretending to be part of the staff, but she was the only one who managed to get onto the catwalk.

We chose LVMH symbolically because it is one of the most influential houses, she said, referring to Louis Vuittons parent organization, the worlds largest luxury goods company by revenue. LVMH makes frantic declarations about being the most advanced in the sector in terms of limiting their impacts, but we see that in reality it is not true.

A spokesman for Louis Vuitton said the brand had no comment.

Ms. Cohuet said the guards took her banner and ejected her through a door opening onto the Rue de Rivoli. Two of the activists accompanying her, she said, were arrested and spent the night in police custody before they were released this morning, their cases dismissed.
Shortly after the pandemic erupted last year, doctors were baffled by a surge of patients, mostly teenagers and young adults, who came in complaining of chilblains  painful lesions on their toes, and sometimes also on their fingers.

The condition came to be called Covid toes. They were seen, like the loss of smell and taste, as yet another strange telltale sign of the disease, even though most of the patients tested negative for coronavirus. Physicians were hard-pressed to explain the association.

The lesions are red or purple in white people, and often purplish or brownish in people of color. They cause painful burning or itching sensations, and sometimes make it difficult for people to wear shoes or walk.
Advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reviewed data on myocarditis in June, and unanimously voted to recommend the vaccine for children ages 12 and older, saying the benefits far outweighed the risk.

Agency research has estimated that for every million vaccinated boys ages 12 to 17 in the United States, the shots might cause a maximum of 70 myocarditis cases, but they would prevent 5,700 infections, 215 hospitalizations and two deaths. Studies have also shown that the risk of heart problems after Covid-19 is much higher than after vaccination.

Myocarditis was among the concerns that led the Food and Drug Administration to ask vaccine makers this summer to increase the number of children in clinical trials. The issue is likely to be the focus of intense discussion when agency advisers meet later this month to review the evidence for vaccinations of children ages 5 to 11.

The latest analysis, which was published on Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine, found that the incidence of myocarditis after vaccination in Israel was highest among males aged 16 to 29. About 11 of every 100,000 males in that age group developed the condition a few days after being vaccinated, a rate higher than most earlier estimates. (The risk was negligible in females of any age.)

Of the 54 cases identified in the study, one was severe enough to require ventilation. Another patient with a history of heart disease died of an unknown cause soon after discharge from the hospital.
Each Wednesday we shine a spotlight on five student activities that support a broad range of learners. In this weeks roundup of accessible activities, we invite students to think about their relationship with technology, appreciate underappreciated jobs, reflect on their Sunday routines, look closely at a photograph and take a short quiz about Jamaica.

Note: To learn more about this new weekly feature, read our introductory post. Please share your thoughts in the comments section or by emailing us at LNFeedback@nytimes.com.
His approval ratings in New York City have been low, according to the sparse polling that is publicly available, and he faces deep skepticism elsewhere in the state  an environment similar to the one he confronted, unsuccessfully, in his 2020 presidential bid. A run for governor would be contrary to the better judgment of even some people he considers allies, as well as that of many party leaders across the state.

Osama bin Laden is probably more popular in Suffolk County than Bill de Blasio, said Rich Schaffer, the chairman of the countys Democratic committee, who endorsed Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday. De Blasio, I would say, would have zero support if not negative out here.

At a debate during New York Citys Democratic mayoral primary this year, the candidates were asked to raise their hands if they would accept Mr. de Blasios endorsement. Only one contender did so  a sign of the mayors standing in his own party.

He could also face significant competition in the city, let alone the rest of the state. New Yorks attorney general, Letitia James, who, like Mr. de Blasio, is from Brooklyn, is thought to be nearing a final decision concerning a possible campaign. Jumaane D. Williams, another Brooklyn Democrat and the citys public advocate, has already begun exploring a potential run, and others in the party are also weighing whether to get into the race.

Asked whether New York should have another white male governor  Ms. Hochul is the first woman to lead the state; Ms. James and Mr. Williams are Black, and Ms. James could be the first Black woman to govern any state in the country  Mr. de Blasio appeared to brush aside the question last week.
Ms. Edwards became one of a dozen residents  about half the buildings tenants  who are withholding rent until the landlord forgives the debt owed by residents affected by the pandemic and makes repairs to a building they say has been neglected for too long.

The protest at 1616 President Street is in some ways a microcosm of the way the pandemic has pushed many tenants in the nations largest city and most expensive housing market to the brink.

Across New York, many tenants who lost their jobs after the city went into lockdown are facing millions of dollars in unpaid rent and have been kept in their homes by government aid programs and a state eviction moratorium that expires in January.

But the pandemic has also mobilized some tenants to take on landlords who have done little to improve their living conditions and pushed them into a new kind of activism.

What has unfolded at the President Street building is perhaps an extreme example. The buildings landlord has been described by officials as one of the most negligent in New York and the city has filed suit against the owner for repeatedly failing to address longstanding problems.
While the video shows the women talking to our managers and other employees, at no point did the women mention that any of the hosts ever made a racial slur, he said. This is because none of our hosts  all of whom are people of color  ever uttered such a slur.

The hostess, who is 24 and has not been named publicly, said in a statement that being accused of using a racial slur was even worse than being physically assaulted.

The accusation stating that I said a racial slur is unbelievable, the hostess said in a statement through her lawyer, Aaron Mysliwiec. I am a Korean immigrant, I was born in Seoul, Korea, she said, adding that she had the utmost respect for all people of color. I would never call anyone a racial slur, she said.

Security footage reviewed by The New York Times shows the women being let into the restaurant after showing proof of vaccination. Several minutes later, three men arrive to join their party and the women are seen meeting them outside. The women are then escorted back into the restaurant after two of the men fail to show vaccine cards and are denied entry. As they walk back in, they pass the hostess in the hallway. They turn back toward her, though because the footage has no sound, it is unclear why.

The footage then shows the hostess standing at a booth outside the restaurant with co-workers. The women come outside and one walks up to the hostess from behind and speaks in her ear before shoving her. The fight breaks out, and employees and other members of the party can be seen pulling the women apart.

Mr. Solano said his clients lives had been turned upside down since that day in September, and that they had received death threats via email. He said Dr. Rankin was afraid to go to her home because people have been camped out in front of her house.

The next court date is set for Nov. 18, Mr. Solano said. He added that while the maximum penalty for the charges was up to a year in jail, he was hopeful that the case would be dismissed.

I have a lot of confidence in them to look past all the emotion, and look past the sort of press angle to this, and really look at this objectively, he said.
Alonzo de Castro wanted to be the first person in a new pool in the northeast Bronx, and he was. Well, one of the first two. Shirley Fearon, who had also campaigned for the pool for years, was the other.

I felt exhilarated, just the fact that I could be in the pool, he said.

The pool is one of two in the new Northeast Bronx Y.M.CA., run by the Y.M.C.A. of Greater New York, which spent $25 million on construction  about 40 percent of the total cost for the building and the pool. The rest came from the city and the state, said Sharon Greenberger, the president and chief executive of the Y.M.C.A.

De Castro said he had the brainstorm at a breakfast for leaders in the 47th Precinct in 2009. Ruben Diaz was about to become borough president, he said.

Carl Heastie was there, he continued, referring to a state assemblyman who would be elected speaker in 2015. I looked around and said, For years, weve wanted a community center. I went over to Shirley Fearon, who at that time was the president of the N.A.A.C.P., and said, I think weve got the political power to get things done. They soon formed the Northeast Bronx Community Coalition, with 16 neighborhood organizations as members.

De Castro said they turned to the Y.M.C.A. to operate the center after at least one other organization turned them down. Greenberger said the Y.M.C.A. had a commitment to expand in the Bronx. It had only one branch in the borough, she said, and in some ways, it was the borough that most needed the services and programs we could provide.

It is the Ys second location in the Bronx. The first was in the Castle Hill section; another is being built in the South Bronx.
In his email, Womick expanded on his work: The idea is that perceptions of insignificance can drive a process of seeking out groups, endorsing their ideologies and engaging in behaviors consistent with these.

These ideologies, Womick continued,

should eventually promote a sense of significance (as insignificance is what drove the person to endorse the ideology in the first place). Endorsing right-wing authoritarianism relates to higher meaning in life, and exposing people to authoritarian values causally enhances meaning.

In Race and Authoritarianism in American Politics, Christopher Sebastian Parker and Christopher C. Towler, political scientists at the University of Washington and Sacramento State, make a parallel argument:

Confining the definition of authoritarianism to regime rule, however, leaves little room for a discussion of more contemporary authoritarianism at the micro level. This review shifts focus to an assessment of political psychologys concept of authoritarianism and how it ultimately drives racism. Ultimately, we believe a tangible connection exists between racism and authoritarianism.

Taking a distinct but complementary approach, David C. Barker, Morgan Marietta and Ryan DeTamble, all political scientists, argue in Intellectualism, Anti-Intellectualism, and Epistemic Hubris in Red and Blue America that epistemic hubris  the expression of unwarranted factual certitude  is

prevalent, bipartisan and associated with both intellectualism (an identity marked by ruminative habits and learning for its own sake) and anti-intellectualism (negative affect toward intellectuals and the intellectual establishment).

The division between intellectualism and anti-intellectualism, they write, is

distinctly partisan: intellectuals are disproportionately Democratic, whereas anti-intellectuals are disproportionately Republican. By implication, we suggest that both the intellectualism of blue America and the anti-intellectualism of red America contribute to the intemperance and intransigence that characterize civil society in the United States.

In addition, according to Barker, Marietta and DeTamble, The growing intellectualism of blue America and anti-intellectualism of red America, respectively, may partially explain the tendency by both to view the other as some blend of dense, duped and dishonest.

In an email, Marietta wrote:

The evidence is clear that the hubris driven by intellectual identity and the hubris driven by anti-intellectual affect lower our willingness to compromise with those who seem to lack character and honesty. I suspect the divide in perceptions, but unanimity in hubris, feeds the growing belief that democracy is failing and hence anti-democratic or illiberal policies are justified.

Marietta reports that he and his colleagues

conducted a series of experiments to see what happens when ordinary citizens are faced with others who hold contrary perceptions of reality about things like climate change or racism or the effects of immigration. The results are not pretty.

Once they realize that the perceptions of other people are different from their own, Marietta continued,

Americans are far less likely to want to be around them in the workplace and are far more likely to conclude that they are stupid or dishonest. These inclinations are symmetrical, with liberals rejecting conservatives as much (or sometimes more) than conservatives reject liberals. The disdain born of intellectual identity seems to mirror the disdain arising from anti-intellectual affect.

I asked Barker about the role of hubris in contemporary polarization, and he wrote back:

The populist right hates the intellectual left because they hate being condescended to, they hate what they perceive as their hypersensitivity and they hate what they view as an anti-American level of femininity (which is for whatever reason associated with intellectualism).

At the same time, Barker continued,

the intellectual left really does see the G.O.P. as a bunch of deplorable rubes. They absolutely feel superior to them, and they reveal it constantly on Twitter and elsewhere  further riling up the deplorables.

Put another way, Barker wrote,

The populist/anti-intellectual right absolutely believe that the intellectuals are not only out of touch but are also ungodly and sneaky and therefore think they must be stopped before they ruin America. Meanwhile, the intellectual left really do believe the Trumpers are racist, sexist, homophobic (and so on) authoritarians who cant spell and are going to destroy the country if they are not stopped.

What is a critical factor in the development of hubris? Moral conviction, the authors reply: The most morally committed citizens are also the most epistemically hubristic citizens; that is, they are most inclined to express absolute certainty regarding the truth or falsehood of claims for which the hard evidence is unclear or contradictory.

Moral conviction plays a key role in the work of Clifford Workman, a postdoctoral fellow at the Penn Center for Neuroaesthetics at the University of Pennsylvania. Workman, Keith J. Yoder and Jean Decety write in The Dark Side of Morality  Neural Mechanisms Underpinning Moral Convictions and Support for Violence that people are motivated by shared social values that, when held with moral conviction, can serve as compelling mandates capable of facilitating support for ideological violence.
Katy Stenta, the pastor of a small church in Albany, N.Y., and the mother of three boys, has experienced pandemic-related child-care shortages from all sides. She helps run a nursery school out of her Presbyterian church, and the newest aide they hired keeps missing work because her child has asthma. Ms. Stenta, 38, has been filling in for her.

The pastors three sons have a range of caretaking needs. Her oldest child, 13, has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Her middle child, 11, has autism, A.D.H.D. and stomach issues that require extra support. Her youngest, 9, has a reading disability. A respite caregiver, who is paid by the state, helps with her son with autism for 12 hours a week, but that worker cannot legally help with the other two children.

Ms. Stentas family has not been able to find a babysitter who can take all three children to the two different schools they attend. Both because its difficult to find someone who can handle her 11-year-olds complex needs and also, since the pandemic began, the supply of babysitters has completely dried up, she said. So Ms. Stenta and her husband, who is a childrens librarian, spend about three hours each day shuttling their children back and forth to school.

The last thing we want to do is quit our jobs, but we have to take care of our kids, she said  not that quitting is a serious option for either of them. Were not bringing home big bucks serving the community.
When it comes to records of human history, dont overlook Earths only uninhabited continent.

Researchers recently found soot preserved in Antarctic ice that theyve linked to fires set in New Zealand by Maori settlers, the islands first human inhabitants. Finding evidence of conflagrations thousands of miles away is a dramatic example of early humanitys environmental impact, the team suggests.

These results were published Wednesday in Nature.

Since the 1960s, researchers have been extracting long cores of ice from Antarctica, Greenland and other snowy locales. Ice cores, which are made up of layers of snow that accumulated annually and were compressed over time, consist of more than just ice, however. They can also contain particulate matter like soot and volcanic ash that was once airborne.

Ice cores are actually telling you what fell out of the sky, said Joseph McConnell, an environmental scientist at the Desert Research Institute in Reno, Nev.

By studying particulate matter in ice cores, scientists can pinpoint past events such as major fires, volcanic eruptions, and even industrial smelting.
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded on Wednesday to Benjamin List and David W.C. MacMillan for their development of a new tool to build molecules, work that has spurred advances in pharmaceutical research and allowed scientists to construct catalysts with considerably less impact on the environment.

The process developed by Dr. List and Dr. MacMillan, while unseen by consumers, has led to a gold rush in the field, the Nobel Committee wrote. Known as organocatalysis, it has helped those who apply chemistry to real world problems to build more precise catalysts that reduce waste and streamline the production of existing pharmaceuticals.

Peter Somfai, a member of the Nobel Committee, compared the tool to a new player on a chessboard. You can think about the game in a different way, and you can execute the game in a different way, he said after the Nobel conference on Wednesday.

H. N. Cheng, the president of the American Chemical Society, said Dr. List and Dr. MacMillans tool goes beyond a new player. Its more than just a chess piece. They have opened up the board, Dr. Cheng said. Now it is up to you to play the game.
SAN JOSE, Calif.  The fifth week of the trial of Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of the blood testing start-up Theranos, offered only brief moments of drama amid long stretches of technical tedium.

Ms. Holmes is fighting 12 counts of fraud for her role in building Theranos into a $9 billion company that collapsed when it was revealed that its blood tests did not work. She has pleaded not guilty; if convicted, she faces up to 20 years in jail.

Ms. Holmess reputation as a tech and business prodigy  and the intense interest in her downfall  has turned the trial into a media spectacle. But a month in, the minutiae of the case, which hinges on whether Ms. Holmes intended to mislead investors, has begun to drag.

While the trial usually takes place three days a week, Fridays session was canceled for Columbus Day. Here are takeaways from the week.
LONDON  The congressional testimony from the Facebook whistle-blower, Frances Haugen, has intensified calls in Europe for new regulations aimed at the social media company and other Silicon Valley giants, proposals considered by many to be among the most stringent and far-reaching in the world.

Ms. Haugen, a former Facebook product manager who testified Tuesday about the companys internal workings and what she says are its harms to society, has spoken with top policymakers in Brussels, Britain and France about the need for tougher oversight. She followed her testimony in Washington with a call on Wednesday with Thierry Breton, the European commissioner in Brussels who is playing a leading role in drafting European Union legislation meant to curtail the power of the tech companies.

She confirmed the importance and urgency of why we are pushing to rein in the big platforms, Mr. Breton said in an interview after the call with Ms. Haugen. There is now a strong will to finalize this as soon as possible.

The reaction in Europe adds to Facebooks mounting challenges. Ms. Haugens internal documents, first reported on by The Wall Street Journal last month, set off new bipartisan calls in Congress for laws aimed at social media platforms. On Monday, Facebook suffered a global outage, wiping out access to Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp for several hours, a breakdown that demonstrated how essential the companys products have become to daily life.
We as a society, with public funding, spend so much less on children before kindergarten than once they reach kindergarten, said Elizabeth Davis, an economist studying child care at the University of Minnesota. And yet the science of child development shows how very important investment in the youngest ages are, and we get societal benefits from those investments.

Congress is negotiating the details of the spending bill, and many elements are likely to be cut to decrease the cost. The current draft of the child care plan would make attendance at licensed child care centers free for the lowest-earning families, and it would cost no more than 7 percent of family income for those earning up to double the states median income. It would provide universal public preschool for children ages 3 and 4. And it would increase the pay of child care workers and preschool teachers to be equivalent to elementary teachers (currently, the median hourly wage for a preschool teacher of 4-year-olds is $14.67, and for a kindergarten teacher of 5-year-olds $32.80).

Among the 38 nations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the United States is second only to Luxembourg on education spending for elementary school through college. But Americans have long had mixed feelings about whether young children should stay home with family or go to child care. Some Republicans say direct payments to parents would give them the choice to enroll in child care or stay home. Though many conservative-leaning states have public preschool, some Republicans have said they do not want the federal government involved. Some business groups oppose how the Biden spending bill would be paid for: increased taxes on businesses and wealthy Americans.

The pandemic, though, has forced the issue.

Ive been writing these reports saying this is a crisis for more than 30 years  its not new, said Gina Adams, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute. But the pandemic reminded people that child care is a linchpin of our economy. Parents cant work without it. Its gotten to a point where the costs of not investing are much, much more clear.
A shooting at a high school in Arlington, Texas, on Wednesday left four people injured, including three taken to a hospital, the authorities said.

Assistant Chief Kevin Kolbye of the Arlington Police Department said that the police were called to Timberview High School at about 9:15 a.m. after reports of a shooting on the second floor of the building after a fight.

Three of the people who were injured were taken to the hospital, he said. The fourth had light injuries and declined treatment. Three of the victims were students and one was an older person, he said, adding that he believed two of the victims had gunshot wounds.

All three people taken to the hospital are OK at this point in time, Chief Kolbye said at a Wednesday afternoon news conference. One student had undergone surgery and was in intensive care, he said. A second victim was in good condition and a third who might have been grazed by a bullet was expected to be released from the hospital on Wednesday, he said.
Already, Newsom has approved more than 350 bills and vetoed about 25, according to data from his office. (A few notable vetoes: proposals to boost family leave payments, require businesses to prove theyre not contributing to deforestation and allow farmworkers to vote to unionize by mail.)

Newsom still has many more decisions to make by the end of the week, including about some measures that were hotly-debated in the Legislature. Heres a snapshot:

AB 101 : Making ethnic studies a graduation requirement

Under this proposal, public school students would be required to complete an ethnic studies course to graduate from high school starting in the fall of 2024. This is the third attempt by Assemblyman Jose Medina, Democrat of Riverside, to pass such a mandate, CalMatters reports.

Newsom vetoed this idea last year amid pushback from some parents as well as members of the states Jewish community, which said the curriculum had bias toward Palestine.

This bill would remove fines for crossing the street outside of a crosswalk  unless theres imminent danger. There would be no more tickets for running across the road when cars are nowhere to be seen.

Supporters of the law say the police enforce jaywalking laws in unequal ways or use them as pretext to detain people for no good reason. Police officers in California are five times as likely to stop a Black person for a walking infraction as a white person, Bloomberg CityLab reports.
On April 5, 2020, Christopher Charles Perez posted a message on Facebook about an H-E-B grocery store in San Antonio, federal prosecutors said.

My homeboys cousin has covid19 and has licked everything for past two days cause we paid him too, Mr. Perez wrote. YOUVE BEEN WARNED.

The claim was not true, and the post came down after 16 minutes, according to court documents.

But someone anonymously submitted a screenshot of the post to the Southwest Texas Fusion Center, a group of law enforcement agencies that investigates possible criminal and terrorist activity. When the F.B.I. confronted Mr. Perez, he said he had been trying to scare people from going to public places to stop them from spreading the virus, according to a federal affidavit.

This past June, Mr. Perez, 40, of San Antonio, was found guilty of disseminating false information and hoaxes related to biological weapons. On Monday, a federal judge sentenced him to 15 months in federal prison.
Top Republicans said part of his motivation for the move was concern about the threat of a federal default, along with a fear that Democratic holdouts against changing the filibuster might reverse course under pressure from within their party.

Any weakening of the filibuster would significantly reduce Mr. McConnells power to block the Democratic agenda. He suggested on the Senate floor on Wednesday that Democrats might be orchestrating the battle over the debt limit to undo the Senates signature procedural tactic.

Its not clear whether the Democratic leaders have wasted two and a half months because they simply cannot govern, or whether they are intentionally playing Russian roulette with the economy to try to bully their own members into going back on their word and wrecking the Senate, he said.

Democrats say it is Mr. McConnell who has been wrecking the Senate with his reliance on the filibuster to thwart their plans.

Under longstanding Senate rules, any single member may object to ending debate on legislation, a practice known as a filibuster, which effectively stops a bill in its tracks unless proponents can muster a three-fifths majority  or 60 votes  to move it forward. In the 50-50 Senate, that means Democrats need at least 10 Republicans to join them in breaking a filibuster, on the debt ceiling measure or anything else.
For many years, Marie Wilcox was the guardian of the Wukchumni language, one of several Indigenous languages that were once common in Central California but have either disappeared or nearly disappeared. She was the only person for a time who could speak it fluently.

She started writing down words in Wukchumni as she remembered them in the late 1990s, scrawling on the backs of envelopes and slips of paper. Then she started typing them into an old boxy computer. Soon she was getting up early to devote her day to gathering words and working into the night.

After 20 years of labor, of hunting and pecking on her keyboard, Ms. Wilcox, who died at 87 on Sept. 25, produced a dictionary, the first known complete compendium of Wukchumni.

The dictionary was her whole life, Jennifer Malone, one of her daughters, said in a phone interview. The language was dying, and she brought it back.
First, came a tip. Then, not so discreetly, investigators say, an Amtrak passenger stowed three bags in another row and returned to his seat just as drug enforcement agents boarded a crowded train on Monday morning during a stop in Tucson, Ariz.

A search of those bags on the train platform yielded more than five pounds of bulk marijuana, 50 packages of marijuana edibles (3.5-gram servings of Gooberz) and other cannabis products, according to a federal criminal complaint.

That was when a routine sweep by a drug enforcement task force turned deadly: One federal agent was killed, another was critically wounded and a Tucson police officer was hospitalized in stable condition after a second suspect who had gone back onto the train opened fire on them.

The complaint, which was filed on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Arizona, revealed new details about the sequence of events that led to the shooting, including the name of one of the men, Devonte Okeith Mathis, who was charged with intent to distribute marijuana.
The question of who wins their seats in 2022  Mr. Evers and Ms. Whitmer are running for re-election, while Mr. Wolf is term-limited  has become newly urgent in recent weeks as Republicans in all three states, spurred on by former President Donald J. Trump, make clearer than ever their intent to reshape elections should they take unified control.

Republicans have aggressively pursued partisan reviews of the 2020 election in each state. In Pennsylvania, G.O.P. lawmakers sought the personal information of every voter in the state last month. In Wisconsin, a conservative former State Supreme Court justice, who is investigating the 2020 election results on behalf of the State Assembly, issued subpoenas on Friday for voting-related documents from election officials. And in Michigan on Sunday night, Ms. Whitmer vetoed four election bills that she said would have perpetuated the big lie or made it harder for Michiganders to vote.

Republican candidates for governor in the three states have proposed additional cutbacks to voting access and measures that would give G.O.P. officials more power over how elections are run. And the party is pushing such efforts wherever it has the power to do so. This year, 19 Republican-controlled states have passed 33 laws restricting voting, one of the greatest contractions of access to the ballot since the Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965. Democrats in Congress have tried without success to pass federal voting laws to counteract the Republican push.

The prospect that Mr. Trump may run again in 2024 only compounds what Democrats fear: that Republicans could gain full control over the three key Northern states in 2022 and, two years later, interfere with or overturn the outcome of a narrow Democratic presidential victory in 2024.

I wouldve never guessed that my job as governor when I ran a couple years ago was going to be mainly about making sure that our democracy is still intact in this state, said Mr. Evers, a former Wisconsin schools superintendent. He was elected governor in the Democratic wave of 2018 on a platform of increasing education spending and expanding Medicaid.
The Education Department had long resisted giving borrowers credit for those payments, insisting it lacked the authority to do so. But now, it is offering a limited waiver that will retroactively count those payments, which will benefit around 550,000 borrowers, the department said. It said that the coronavirus pandemic gave it the authority  under a 2003 law known as the Heroes Act  to bend the usual student loan rules in times of national emergency.

Some 22,000 borrowers will automatically have debts totaling $1.7 billion wiped out because of the program changes, the agency said. That exceeds the 16,000 borrowers who have managed to get their debts forgiven through the program to date.

The wrong loan problem is what tripped up Rabbi Gubitz. After a decade of steady payments, she still had $112,000 left on the loans she had taken out to complete her master's degree at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. She recently discovered that $35,000 of those loans were through the Federal Family Education Loan program and would not qualify for elimination.

The new fix is likely to wipe out some or all of that debt. Rabbi Gubitz, who is 39 and got married last summer, hopes to redirect the $600 a month that she now spends on loan payments into charitable donations, retirement planning and saving money to start a family.

The Education Department will also offer a temporary waiver to count payments made on ineligible payment plans, another hurdle that has tripped up many applicants. The department also intends to automate eligibility for federal employees and military service members, review all previously denied applications to find and correct errors, and offer an appeal process for those who believe they were harmed by processing mistakes.

And those on active military duty who put their loans on hold while they were deployed  a perk they are legally entitled to  will have those months counted toward their required 120 payments.

The fixes are the latest effort by the Biden administration to chip away at the extensive problems plaguing the federal student loan system, which controls $1.6 trillion in debt owed by 43 million borrowers. Progressive lawmakers have called for President Biden to cancel $10,000 or more per borrower through executive action  a move Mr. Biden has resisted.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor pursued the point. Are you going to let him testify as to what happened to him? she asked.

Mr. Fletcher would not give a direct answer. Im not prepared to make representations for the United States, especially on matters of national security, he said.

But he promised to give the court a more considered response, presumably in a letter, after consulting with other government officials.

Justice Gorsuch seemed exasperated by the governments position.

This case has been litigated for years and all the way up to the United States Supreme Court, he said, and you havent considered whether thats an off-ramp that the government could provide that would obviate the need for any of this?

Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, participating in the argument remotely after testing positive for the coronavirus last week, asked the last question, and it was an even more fundamental one. It concerned the status of the 2001 law that approved going to war against those responsible for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the Authorization for Use of Military Force, or A.U.M.F.

Is the United States still engaged in hostilities for purposes of the A.U.M.F. against Al Qaeda and related terrorist organizations? he asked, seeking to get at whether the United States still has a basis for holding Abu Zubaydah.

Mr. Fletcher said yes. That is the governments position, he said, that notwithstanding withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, we continue to be engaged in hostilities with Al Qaeda and therefore that detention under law of war remains proper.
It was 11 p.m. one night last July when a couple realized they would not make it back down the Old Bridle Path. They were with their two children just over a mile into the hiking trail on Mount Lafayette, roughly 70 miles north of Concord, N.H.

They had underestimated the time it would take to complete the 7-mile hike, rated as difficult by AllTrails.com. They had been overtaken by darkness.

The couple and their children, who were tourists from Florida, did not have flashlights or water and were tired, so they called 911, according to Col. Kevin Jordan of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department. Four officers found them around 12:30 a.m., gave them water and helped them back to the trailhead, Colonel Jordan said.

Now, in what has become an increasing trend in many states, New Hampshire plans to bill the family for the cost of the rescue. The total could be $5,000, Colonel Jordan estimated. The Florida family could not be reached for comment.
The U.N.-backed vaccine program will fail to meet its target for delivering doses to Latin America and the Caribbean this year, in part because wealthy countries that pay more for the shots are buying up most of the supply, a World Health Organization official said Wednesday.

The global Covax program, the primary source of Covid vaccines for most of the world, aimed to provide enough doses this year for Latin American and Caribbean countries to inoculate 20 percent of their people. But most countries have only received around 30 percent of the supply they contracted through Covax, said Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, assistant director of the Pan American Health Organization, a division of the W.H.O.

Producers are not prioritizing delivery to the Covax mechanism, Dr. Barbosa said at a news conference. They continue to prioritize the bilateral agreements they have because in these bilateral agreements the vaccines are more expensive.

Wealthy countries have raced far ahead of the rest of the world in vaccination rates, and continue to buy doses as demand for booster shots rises. The W.H.O. said last week that only nine of Africas 54 countries had met the goal of vaccinating 10 percent of their people by the end of September.
The United States is starting to recover from a summer surge of the coronavirus, but public health officials say the pandemic remains a potent threat. New Zealand is aiming to vaccinate up to 350,000 people in a day.

The White House says it will spend $1 billion to increase the supply of rapid at-home tests. Video transcript Back bars 0:00 / 1:06 - 0:00 transcript White House Pledges $1 Billion for At-Home Covid Tests Jeffrey D. Zients, the White Houses Covid-19 coordinator, said the investment would help make 200 million at-home rapid coronavirus tests available to Americans each month starting in December. In the past few months, testing has increased, particularly at-home testing, a convenient option that came to market earlier this year. To meet this increased demand, the presidents plan ramps up both the availability of test and access to free testing. And today were making another billion dollar investment to further mobilize testing manufacturers. This means companies will be able to expand production of tests even further based on the United States governments commitment to procure an additional 180 million rapid tests over the course of the next year, with tens of millions more tests coming to market over the course of the next 30 days. Todays billion-dollar investment to further expand testing production puts us on track to quadruple the amount of at home rapid tests available for Americans by December. So that means well have available supply of 200 million rapid at-home tests per month starting in December, with supply of tens of millions of additional tests coming on the market across the next few weeks. Jeffrey D. Zients, the White Houses Covid-19 coordinator, said the investment would help make 200 million at-home rapid coronavirus tests available to Americans each month starting in December. Credit Credit... Scott Olson/Getty Images The White House on Wednesday announced a billion-dollar investment in at-home rapid coronavirus tests that it said would help quadruple their availability by later this year. By December, 200 million rapid tests will be available to Americans each month, with tens of millions more arriving on the market in the coming weeks, Jeffrey D. Zients, the White Houses Covid-19 coordinator, said at a news conference. Mr. Zients also said the administration would double the number of sites in the federal governments free pharmacy testing program, to 20,000. The changes reflect the administrations growing emphasis on at-home testing as a tool for slowing the spread of Covid-19. President Biden in September said that he would use the Defense Production Act to increase the production of rapid testing kits and would work with retailers, including Amazon and Walmart, to expand their availability. He pledged $2 billion to the effort, or roughly 280 million tests. The Biden administrations commitment allows the manufacturers to have the confidence in the demand to scale up their production, Mr. Zients said. Its an expansion of the industrial base, so that more manufacturing occurs, based on the U.S.s commitment to the testing sector. By December, the U.S. will produce about a half billion tests a month, roughly half of which will be the at-home units, he added. The Biden administrations efforts to expand testing access received a significant boost on Monday, when the Food and Drug Administration authorized Acon Laboratories at-home test. Dr. Jeffrey E. Shuren, the director of the agencys medical devices center, said the move could double at-home testing capacity in the coming weeks. By years end, the manufacturer plans to produce more than 100 million tests per month, and this number will rise to 200 million per month by February 2022, he said. Like tests already available from Abbott, Quidel, Becton Dickinson and other makers, Acons test is made to detect proteins from the virus on a nasal swab, and produces results in 15 minutes. Mr. Zients did not say which tests the administrations investment would go to purchase. Asked why the White House had not moved sooner to spend more on tests, Mr. Zients said the administration had increased access to at-home tests as the innovation allowed for more tests to come to the market. Rapid tests can cost as little as $10, which public health experts say can still be prohibitively expensive for some people. Mr. Zients said on Wednesday that the Acon test would likely cost less than $10. As we get more and more tests approved, and manufacturing ramps up, pricing should come down, he said. Rapid tests are not as sensitive as P.C.R. tests, but experts say they are still accurate in detecting the virus in someone who is in the first week of displaying symptoms, when the viral load is likely to be highest. Some pharmacies and retailers have recently struggled to keep tests in stock, or have had to place limits on how many customers can purchase. Demand has increased with the school year underway and employees returning to many workplaces. Last week, Ellume, an Australian company that makes a widely available at-home coronavirus test, recalled nearly 200,000 test kits because of concerns about a higher-than-expected rate of false positives. The recall did not affect most of the 3.5 million test kits Ellume has shipped to the United States.

Biden says vaccine mandates are the only way to defeat the virus. Video transcript Back bars 0:00 / 1:39 - 0:00 transcript Biden Urges Private Employers to Require Covid Vaccines President Biden encouraged large private companies to mandate coronavirus vaccinations for their workers, arguing that the existing requirements his administration put in place have proved effective against Covid-19. The Labor Department is going to shortly issue an emergency rule, which I asked for several weeks ago, and theyre going through the process, to require all employees with more than 100 people, whether they work for the federal government or not, this is within the purview of the Labor Department, to ensure their workers are fully vaccinated or face testing at least once a week. In total, this Labor Department vaccination requirement will cover 100 million Americans, about two-thirds of all the people work in America. And heres the deal. These requirements are already proving that they work. Starting in July, when I announced the first vaccination requirement for the federal government, about 95 million eligible Americans were unvaccinated. This was mentioned a little bit earlier. Today, weve reduced that number to 67 [million] eligible Americans who arent vaccinated. And today, we released a new report outlining effective vaccination requirements that are already proving their worth. Im calling on more employers to act. My message is require your employees to get vaccinated. With vaccinations, were going to beat this pandemic finally. Without them, we face endless months of chaos in our hospitals, damage to our economy and anxiety in our schools and empty restaurants, and much less commerce. Look, I know that vaccination requirements are a tough medicine, unpopular with some, politics for others, but theyre life-saving and game-changing for our country. President Biden encouraged large private companies to mandate coronavirus vaccinations for their workers, arguing that the existing requirements his administration put in place have proved effective against Covid-19. Credit Credit... Doug Mills/The New York Times President Biden on Thursday appealed to private companies to mandate coronavirus vaccinations for employees, asking them to take initiative as an effort that he announced last month to require 80 million American workers to get the shot undergoes a lengthy rule-making process and may not go into effect for weeks. The president, delivering remarks at a construction site outside Chicago, said that encouraging Americans to get vaccinated had helped, but it had not gone far enough to address the pandemic. Even after all of these efforts, we still have more than a quarter of the people in the United States who are eligible for vaccinations but didnt get the shot, Mr. Biden said. Thats why Ive had to move toward requirements. He said mandates had not been his first instinct, but the requirements were already proving that they work. Mr. Biden said in September that he would use the full force of his presidency to push some 80 million American workers to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, reaching into the private sector to mandate that all companies with more than 100 workers require vaccination or weekly testing. He ordered the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to draft a new rule that would make those requirements enforceable, a process that White House officials said at the time would take at least three or four weeks. The president said on Thursday that the rule would be put in place quickly, but officials familiar with the process said it was likely to take several more weeks. In the meantime, Mr. Biden sought to shift responsibility toward companies, which he said would help lead the United States out of the pandemic: Businesses have more power than ever before to change the arc of this pandemic and save lives. Mr. Biden chose to visit the Chicago area in part because it is the home of United Airlines, one of the first major carriers to require shots for its 67,000 U.S. employees. Other airlines have followed with similar requirements, including American Airlines, Southwest, JetBlue and Alaska Airlines. The president spoke at a site controlled by Clayco, a construction company that has required vaccines and testing for its employees.

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Idahos governor and lieutenant governor duel over vaccine mandates. Image Janice McGeachin speaking at a rally in Idaho Falls, Idaho, in May. Credit... John Roark/The Idaho Post-Register, via Associated Press Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin of Idaho took advantage of an out-of-state trip by Gov. Brad Little on Tuesday to issue an executive order forbidding educational institutions to require proof of vaccination from employees. She said on Twitter that in her pursuit of individual liberty, she had fixed an order the governor had issued earlier. Governor Littles order, made in the spring, prohibits state agencies from requiring or issuing proof of Covid vaccinations, but does not specifically name universities and public K-12 schools. When he returned Wednesday from a trip to Texas, he promptly repealed Ms. McGeachins order, writing that he had notified her that no official business would require her services in an acting governor capacity during his absence. The lieutenant governor, who is elected independently of the governor, is challenging Mr. Little for the position, and the two have feuded throughout their tenure. Ms. McGeachin has consistently criticized Mr. Littles measures to contain the virus, casting his restrictions as government overreach. And this week was not their first round of political one-upping. In May, when Mr. Little was away at the Republican Governors Association conference, Ms. McGeachin issued a ban on mask mandates, which he then repealed. Idaho did not have a statewide mask mandate, but an executive order required masks at long-term care facilities and said they were strongly recommended elsewhere. Nor did Mr. Little prevent municipalities from issuing their own directives on masks. On Tuesday, Ms. McGeachin also asked about mobilizing the Idaho National Guard and sending troops to the Mexican border, where Mr. Little and other Republican governors had traveled that day. Mr. Little replied on Facebook that attempting to deploy our National Guard for political grandstanding is an affront to the Idaho constitution. In the past he has described Ms. McGeachins activity in his absence as irresponsible and self-serving. Asked about the battles, Jaclyn J. Kettler, a political scientist at Boise State University, noted that although both Mr. Little and Ms. McGeachin are Republicans, the lieutenant governor is further to the right politically and that there is tension between the two, particularly regarding coronavirus rules and restrictions. While Ms. McGeachins base might be cheering her on for defying Mr. Little, Professor Kettler said, there are many Idahoans that are perhaps baffled or frustrated with these type of developments. The Covid situation here is not great, she said. About 42 percent of eligible people in Idaho are vaccinated, according to a New York Times database. The states recent weekly average has been about 1,300 new cases a day.

With rich countries paying more for vaccines, the supply for Latin America is falling short, the W.H.O. says. Image Residents wait outside a vaccination center in hopes of getting a second dose of the Covid vaccine in Caracas, Venezuela, last week. Credit... Ariana Cubillos/Associated Press The U.N.-backed vaccine program will fail to meet its target for delivering doses to Latin America and the Caribbean this year, in part because wealthy countries that pay more for the shots are buying up most of the supply, a World Health Organization official said Wednesday. The global Covax program, the primary source of Covid vaccines for most of the world, aimed to provide enough doses this year for Latin American and Caribbean countries to inoculate 20 percent of their people. But most countries have only received around 30 percent of the supply they contracted through Covax, said Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, assistant director of the Pan American Health Organization, a division of the W.H.O. Producers are not prioritizing delivery to the Covax mechanism, Dr. Barbosa said at a news conference. They continue to prioritize the bilateral agreements they have because in these bilateral agreements the vaccines are more expensive. Wealthy countries have raced far ahead of the rest of the world in vaccination rates, and continue to buy doses as demand for booster shots rises. The W.H.O. said last week that only nine of Africas 54 countries had met the goal of vaccinating 10 percent of their people by the end of September. Indias prohibition on exporting vaccines has contributed to delays in delivering shots to other parts of the world. India, the worlds largest drug producer, imposed the ban in May as it fell behind on domestic vaccination, but it said recently that with production expanding and its own inoculation program gaining speed, it would lift the embargo this month. Covax is focusing on delivery of vaccines to countries that have so far vaccinated less than 10 percent of their population. In the Americas, that includes Jamaica, Nicaragua and Haiti. With the Covax program faltering, the Pan American Health Organization has struck separate deals to buy millions of vaccine doses from Chinas Sinopharm and Sinovac, as well as AstraZeneca. But those agreements still fall far short of meeting the need. Around 37 percent of the population in Latin America and the Caribbean has been fully vaccinated, but access in the region has been very uneven; Cuba, Chile and Uruguay are among the most highly vaccinated countries in the world. We continue to urge countries with surplus doses to share these with countries in our region, where they can have life-saving impact, said Dr. Carissa F. Etienne, director of the P.A.H.O.

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A man wrote on Facebook that someone with Covid-19 had licked items in a Texas supermarket. A federal jury sent him to prison. Image An H-E-B store in the Las Palmas neighborhood of San Antonio. Prosecutors said Christopher Charles Perez wrote on Facebook that items at another H-E-B store had been contaminated with the coronavirus. Credit... Christopher Lee for The New York Times In April 2020, Christopher Charles Perez posted a message on Facebook saying that he had paid someone infected with Covid-19 to lick groceries at a San Antonio grocery store. My homeboys cousin has covid19 and has licked everything for past two days cause we paid him too, Mr. Perez wrote in a post about an H-E-B supermarket. YOUVE BEEN WARNED. The claim was not true, and the post came down after 16 minutes, according to court documents. But someone anonymously submitted a screenshot of the post to the Southwest Texas Fusion Center, a group of law enforcement agencies that investigates possible criminal and terrorist activity. When the F.B.I. confronted Mr. Perez, he said he had been trying to scare people from going to public places to stop them from spreading the virus, according to a federal affidavit. Mr. Perez, 40, of San Antonio, was found guilty in June of disseminating false information and hoaxes related to biological weapons. On Monday, a federal judge sentenced him to 15 months in federal prison. In a statement, federal prosecutors said that Mr. Perez had been trying to frighten people with threats of spreading dangerous diseases. His arrest in April 2020 came early in the pandemic, when there was still uncertainty over how the coronavirus spread, and as people were wiping down their groceries and emptying stores of disinfectant. Perezs actions were knowingly designed to spread fear and panic, Christopher Combs, the special agent in charge of the F.B.I.s San Antonio field office, said in the statement. The sentence, he said, illustrates the seriousness of this crime. Mr. Perezs sentence, which included three years of supervised release, requires him to seek mental health treatment and take mental health medication.

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Nebraska restores its Covid data dashboard after taking it down over the summer. Image Getting tested for the coronavirus in Omaha, Neb. last July. When the state of emergency ended in Nebraska this summer, so did Test Nebraska, which gave free coronavirus tests to hundreds of thousands of residents. Credit... Nati Harnik/Associated Press Tracking community transmission is at the heart of efforts to stop the spread of the coronavirus, scientists say, and in most states the daily dashboards showing new cases have been a critical tool for public health officials trying to track the trajectory of the virus, which has killed 700,000 Americans. Yet for three crucial months this summer, Nebraska did not report any county-level information to the public. State officials stopped sharing counts of new coronavirus cases by county with the public on June 30, just as the Delta variant began surging in the United States. That was by design. Gov. Pete Ricketts, a Republican who opposes both mask and vaccine mandates, allowed his emergency order to expire in June, and the states unusually strict privacy laws were reinstated, which he said prohibited the continued release of the data. At the time, the number of new cases in Nebraska had reached a low in the state, and Test Nebraska, which gave free virus tests to hundreds of thousands of residents, ended its operations shortly after the emergency ended. The virus continued to spread in the state, however, driven by the highly contagious Delta variant. Hospitalizations increased tenfold from the end of June through mid-September. New cases rose sharply in August. Deaths increased as well. On Sept. 20, after coronavirus hospitalizations surpassed 10 percent of the states capacity of staffed hospital beds, Mr. Ricketts announced that county-level case data would once again be made public on a new hospital capacity state dashboard. But he said the data will disappear again if the number drops below 10 percent on a 7-day rolling average. And the state is still not reporting county-level deaths. Public health experts in Nebraska were dismayed all summer about the decision to delete the dashboard, and state legislators wrote a letter requesting that it be restored. Nebraska Coronavirus Map and Case Count See the latest charts and maps of coronavirus cases, deaths, hospitalizations and vaccinations in Nebraska. A handful of the states 93 counties continued to provide daily data on their websites throughout the pandemic because they have more than 20,000 residents. That meant that the only real-time data on the virus across the state that doctors like Dr. David Brett-Major, an infectious disease specialist, had during July and August was watching sick people stream into the emergency department of the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. If the tests are only happening when the cases are more severe, then youre not getting a broad look, he said in a recent interview. Susan Bockrath, the executive director of the Nebraska Association of Local Health Directors, said her group brought up the missing dashboard repeatedly with state officials, pointing out it was also a necessary tool in the campaign against pandemic misinformation. The dashboard was removed just as Stephanie Summers, board of education president in David City, was trying to determine the best policy for students and families in her rural community one hour west of Omaha. Mr. Ricketts has told Nebraskans to get vaccinated, but declined to require masks, despite pleas from some public health officials. The state cannot insist on an individuals freedom to choose to wear, or not wear, a mask, or whether or not to get vaccinated, and then also withhold the data needed for citizens to make informed decisions, she said, adding that she fully agreed with state leaders in emphasizing those individual freedoms. While the dashboard has mostly been restored, some doctors doubt the current testing system is capturing the reality on the ground. Two dozen doctors sent a letter in early September to Mr. Ricketts asking for the return of Test Nebraska. Our access to testing is so bad right now, and the turnaround so bad, that these numbers are probably vast underestimates, and not accurate just because there is not enough testing, said Dr. Bob Rauner, chief medical officer of OneHealth Nebraska, a group of 65 locally owned medical clinics across the state. The governor and his aides have defended their decision to stop the flow of data on privacy grounds, saying publishing county-level data could violate the states version of HIPAA, which prevents the release of patients personal health information without their consent. Experts say privacy becomes a concern in releasing data from counties with only a handful of cases, and for that reason, states generally suppress information in jurisdictions with fewer than five cases or deaths.

Covid toes may be caused by a powerful immune response, a new study finds. Image Discoloration on a teenage patient's toes indicates the condition known as Covid toes  painful, often red lesions resembling chilblains. Credit... Northwestern University, via Associated Press Shortly after the pandemic erupted last year, doctors were baffled by a surge of patients, mostly teenagers and young adults, who came in complaining of chilblains  painful lesions on their toes, and sometimes also on their fingers. The condition came to be called Covid toes. They were seen, like the loss of smell and taste, as yet another strange telltale sign of the disease, even though most of the patients tested negative for coronavirus. Physicians were hard-pressed to explain the association. The lesions are red or purple in white people, and often purplish or brownish in people of color. They cause painful burning or itching sensations, and sometimes make it difficult for people to wear shoes or walk. Now a study from France, published in the British Journal of Dermatology, sheds some light on the causes of Covid toes. The research indicates that the lesions may be a side effect of the immune systems shift into high gear in response to exposure to the virus, which can damage cells and tissues in the process. Image A patient of Southeast Asian descent with the Covid toe condition. Credit... Stanford Dermatology/VisualDx The French researchers analyzed blood samples and skin biopsies from 50 patients who had chilblainlike lesions for the first time in April 2020, and who were referred to St.-Louis Hospital in Paris. Slightly more than half of the patients had other symptoms suggestive of Covid-19, like coughing, shortness of breath and loss of smell, but all of them tested negative for the virus on PCR tests. The samples showed high levels of Type 1 interferon, a protein that activates the bodys immune system to fight viruses, but which may also cause damage. The researchers also found high levels of an antibody that can inadvertently attack the bodys own cells. Abnormal changes in the linings of the blood vessels may also play a role in the lesions, the study suggests. Although the relationship between coronavirus infection and chilblainlike lesions is still controversial, the authors wrote, the peaks of chilblainlike lesions concomitant with peaks of Covid-19 deaths in 2020 strongly suggest that this disorder is closely related to SARS-CoV-2 infection. The explanation for Covid toes is not entirely surprising; one of the hallmark features of the disease is an immune system overreaction called a cytokine storm, which may ultimately cause more illness than the virus itself. German scientists published a paper last year saying they had found a strong localized interferon-driven response in three young men who came in with chilblains. That paper suggested that the men, who tested negative for the coronavirus, may have developed chilblains several weeks after an initial infection caused mild or asymptomatic disease, and that the interferon-driven immune response may have led to early control of the virus and prevented respiratory disease. Dermatologists say that people with Covid toes generally do well and are unlikely to develop severe Covid, and that the symptoms reflect a healthy immune response to the virus. Dr. Esther E. Freeman, director of global health dermatology at Massachusetts General Hospital, said the new study provides insight into the links between of Covid toes and mild infection. A lot of the studies around Covid have focused on severe Covid, and mild and moderate disease has often been overlooked, Dr. Freeman said. I tell my patients with Covid toes, Its almost like a side effect of your body doing a good job of controlling the virus. The new study suggested that treating Covid toes with local or systemic anti-inflammatory agents may be effective.

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Some countries have a new strategy for vaccinating children: one dose, for now. Image A 13-year-old was among the first of her age group to get a vaccine in Minneapolis in May. Credit... Aaron Nesheim for The New York Times Even as parents in the United States wrestle with difficult questions over vaccinating their children against the coronavirus, families in other countries have been offered a novel option: giving children just one dose of the vaccine. Officials in Britain, Hong Kong, Norway and other countries have recommended a single dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children ages 12 and older  providing partial protection from the virus, but without the potential harms occasionally observed after two doses. Health officials in those countries are particularly worried about increasing data suggesting that myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart, may be more common among adolescents and young adults after vaccination than had been thought. The risk remains very small, and significant only after the second dose of an mRNA vaccine. But the numbers have changed the risk-benefit calculus in countries where new infections are mostly lower than in the United States. Advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reviewed data on myocarditis in June and unanimously voted to recommend the vaccine for children ages 12 and older, saying that the benefits far outweighed the risk. Myocarditis was among the concerns that led the Food and Drug Administration to ask vaccine makers this summer to increase the number of children in clinical trials. The issue is likely to be the focus of intense discussion when agency advisers meet later this month to review the evidence for vaccinations of children ages 5 to 11 years. Correction : Oct. 8, 2021 An earlier version of this article incorrectly described actions taken by regulators in Sweden and Denmark. They have halted use of the Moderna vaccine in younger populations; they have not begun offering single doses. The article also misstated the timing of an F.D.A. meeting on authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children. It is later this month, not next week.

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New Zealand hopes to vaccinate as many as 350,000 people in a single day next week, the countrys largest Covid inoculation effort to date, as it pushes closer to reopening its economy.

Vaccination clinics will be open all day on Saturday, Oct. 16, said Chris Hipkins, the minister leading New Zealands Covid-19 response. The facilities will be able to vaccinate 350,000 people  about 8.3 percent of the eligible population of people 12 and older, he said.

Like on Election Day, well be asking all of our civic and political leaders to contribute to our efforts to turn people out, Mr. Hipkins said.

New Zealand has had one of the most successful responses to the pandemic, recording just 28 deaths from the virus. And though it was late to begin its vaccination campaign, the country is now on pace to fully vaccinate about 90 percent of its eligible population by the end of November.
Australia said Wednesday that it would stop processing asylum-seekers at offshore detention centers in Papua New Guinea, which have been criticized by human rights groups, by the end of the year.

The announcement Wednesday said those seeking refuge would all now be processed on the island nation of Nauru, another country that has been doing that work for Australia. The plan was swiftly criticized by human rights groups, who said it simply shifted the bulk of what some called a cruel system from one island nation to another.

Anyone who attempts to enter Australia illegally by boat will be returned, or sent to Nauru, the Australian government said in a joint statement with Papua New Guinea.

Those in Papua New Guinea awaiting processing could voluntarily transfer to Nauru before the end of the year, the statement said. If they choose to remain in Papua New Guinea, they will be given access to citizenship, long-term support, settlement packages and family reunification, it said.
Ms. Keneally moved to the safe Labor seat, with the backing of party leaders, because she was in danger of losing her current seat. Her backers also note that she has been endorsed by a handful of Vietnamese, Cambodian and Middle Eastern community leaders.

Joseph Haweil, 32, the mayor of a municipality in Melbourne and a Labor Party member, said that as a political aspirant from a refugee background, he saw in the controversy over Ms. Le a glimpse of his possible future. Mr. Haweil is Assyrian, a minority group from the Middle East.

You can spend years and years doing the groundwork, the most important thing in politics  assisting local communities, understanding your local community with a view to help them as a public policy maker  and thats not still enough to get you over the line, he said.

Osmond Chiu, 34, a party member who is Chinese Australian, said the message it sent was that culturally diverse representation is an afterthought in Labor, and it will always be sacrificed whenever it is politically inconvenient.

Ms. Le spoke out in a way that others in the past have avoided, perhaps to preserve future political opportunities. She said that she was uncertain what she would do next, but that she hoped political parties would now think twice before making a decision like the one that shut her out.

Its definitely tapped into something quite uncomfortable to discuss, but I think it needs to be out in the open, she said. I dont think people will stand for it anymore.
Canada will make vaccination mandatory as of the end of October for air and rail passengers, and as of Oct. 29 for federal government workers, including members of the military and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Wednesday.

We have covered a lot of ground against Covid-19, Mr. Trudeau said at a news conference in the capital, Ottawa. But our fight is not over.

Public servants who are still unvaccinated and have no verified medical exemption will be put on unpaid leave as of Nov. 15, he said. The federal government estimates that more than 80 percent of its 300,450 civilian workers  more than 240,000 people  are already fully vaccinated. The military has about 95,000 regular and reserve members, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police has about 19,000 officers.

Its very simple, Mr. Trudeau said of the possibility that large numbers of government workers might miss the Nov. 15 deadline. If you want to continue to work for the public service of Canada you need to be fully vaccinated.
MANCHESTER, England  Declaring that Britain would not return to the broken model of the past, Prime Minister Boris Johnson vowed on Wednesday to engineer a radical transformation of the countrys economy to a future defined by highly skilled workers earning higher wages.

Projecting sunny optimism but offering few details, Mr. Johnson sketched a vision of Britain on the cusp of change. He barely mentioned the spate of fuel and food shortages that have afflicted the country in recent weeks, characterizing them as mainly the consequence of a rapidly recovering economy in transition.

In a speech to a cheering crowd at his Conservative Partys annual conference, Mr. Johnson said, We are going to deal with the underlying issues of our economy and society  the problems that no government has had the guts to tackle, the long-term structural weaknesses in the U.K. economy.

It was, Mr. Johnson said, a change of direction that has been long overdue, adding, We are not going back to the same old broken model: low wages, low growth, low skills and low productivity  all of it enabled, as a system, by uncontrolled immigration.
LONDON  When the hyper-wealthy ruler of the Middle Eastern emirate of Dubai found himself embroiled in a British court case with the Jordanian princess who was once his wife, he did more than hire top-shelf lawyers.

He also deployed high-tech software purchased from an Israeli company to hack the cellphones of his ex-wife, two of her lawyers and three other associates, according to court documents made public on Wednesday.

One of the lawyers, Fiona Shackleton, a baroness, is a sitting member of the House of Lords  potentially adding friction to the close relationship between Britain and the United Arab Emirates, which includes Dubai.

It appeared to be the first confirmed case of the software, known as Pegasus and sold by the Israel-based NSO Group, being successfully used to hack the phone of a sitting British official, according to Bill Marczak, a researcher at the Citizen Lab at the University of Torontos Munk School of Global Affairs, who examined the phones mentioned in the case and determined they had been hacked.
Were dealing with people who werent even born during the Holocaust, he said, adding that negotiators used Zoom because of the coronavirus pandemic. They still recognize their moral responsibility.

The German Embassy in Washington did not immediately comment.

Ms. Khusid, who moved to the United States in 2010 to live near her daughter, is one of an estimated 4,500 Holocaust survivors who lived through the siege of Leningrad and is eligible for a pension, the Claims Conference said.

The pensions will pay an annual benefit of about $5,200 or 4,500 euros, according to the group.

An additional 2,000 Holocaust survivors who hid in France and Romania will also qualify for the pensions, which the organization said had an income-eligibility scale  the annual limits are about $52,000, 45,000 in Europe and 168,000 shekels in Israel.

Mr. Eizenstat, a former U.S. deputy treasury secretary, pointed out that more than 50 percent of all Holocaust survivors were currently living at or near poverty levels. The problem, he said, is particularly acute in Eastern Europe.

Many of these have no extended families, he said. These pensions are lifelines. Were talking about people who have to choose between food and medicine and some socialization.

An additional 1,700 survivors who were children during the Holocaust and had previously received one-time payments will now be eligible for supplemental hardship payments of 1,200 in 2021 and 2022, the organization said.
[Read our latest coverage of the crisis at the Poland and Belarus border.]

ALONG THE EASTERN POLAND BORDER  The father had walked in circles in the rain-drenched Polish forest, cradling his sick daughter, delirious after three days with barely any food or water as temperatures dipped toward freezing. He was soaked, shivering and facing a terrible choice.

His daughter, 2, has cerebral palsy and epilepsy. He had wrapped her in a thin coat to protect her from the cold, and she needed urgent medical attention. The father, an Iraqi Kurd who gave his name as Karwan, had guided his family across the border from Belarus but was now in a forested area patrolled by Polish soldiers and border guards.

The choice for the father was pitiless: seeking medical help would mean a return to Belarus and the end of his familys desperate journey to Europe.

I can call for an ambulance for you, but border guards will come with it, Piotr Bystrianin, a Polish activist who arrived to help, told the family, who said they wanted to request asylum in Poland. He had found them after hours of searching in the dark, alerted to their whereabouts by a locator pin sent by cellphone.
VATICAN CITY  A Vatican court on Wednesday acquitted a priest on sexual abuse charges dating to when he and his accuser were teenage altar boys at a seminary within the Vatican walls. A second priest, the rector of the seminary at the time, was cleared of charges that he covered up the alleged abuses.

Prosecutors claimed that the abuse began when the priest, the Rev. Gabriele Martinelli, now 29, and his accuser, who was identified only by his initials, L.G., were young teenagers, less than a year apart, living at a seminary and that it continued for five years. Father Martinelli was not a priest at the time, but he was ordained years later.

The court rulings, based on the Vaticans own laws, found that Father Martinelli could not be punished for alleged actions when he was under 16, the age of consent in Italy. The three-judge Vatican tribunal determined that, although sexual acts had taken place after that age, there was no proof that the victim had been forced into these relations through violence or threats, it said in a news release.

The court said that during the few months when the accuser was 15 and the defendant was 16, they had engaged in consensual sex and the lesser charge of corruption of a minor might have applied. But it fell under the Vaticans statute of limitations.
Poet and independence leader Jose Marti sought to create a national Cuban identity that transcended race. Yet we cant ignore that slavery flourished there. Powerful southerners had long believed that preserving slavery in the South was also about preserving it in Cuba, you write. How have race and racism affected Cuban politics over the years?

There's a version of Cuban nationalism that is said to transcend race. However, Cuba has always had a complex history with race, in part because it was a slave society and because it has an unusual history compared to much of Latin America. Most of Latin America became independent in the early 19th century. Cuba didn't. And for most of the 19th century, an argument was made by the Spanish, and also many White people in Cuba, that Cuba could not be independent from Spain because because of the power of slavery and because it had too large of a Black population. So they would always use the example of Haiti as a kind of boogeyman: If we try to become independent, well get another Haiti, and there will be a war. So race was always used as an argument against making Cuba independent.

When you did get an independence movement in the late 19th century, it had to deal frontally with that question. So the independence movement did abolish slavery. It also, over the course of the late 1880s and early 1890s, developed a counter argument to that old Spanish assertion. Independence leaders argued that what would make Cuba an exemplary nation was precisely the fact that Whites and Blacks were fighting together for independence. So instead of treating that as an obstacle to nationhood, they treated it as a sign of its capacity for nationhoodthat Whites and Blacks could join as one to create a nation. So that was a really powerful argument that became a pillar of Cuban nationalism. But it had this other side to it, which is that if Blacks and Whites became Cuban together in the service of Cuban independence, it made it that much harder for Blacks to organize as Blacks. So when Blacks tried to reclaim rights and to say, I'm not being treated equally, White leaders would say You're being divisive, we're all Cuban.

One can read the history of the Cuban Republic as a struggle to make real that promise from the independence movement that there would be equality. And then when that didn't happen and Blacks tried to mobilize, they were shut down with these arguments. That happened throughout the whole Republican period (1902-1952). In some ways, it's also true for the revolutionary period that followed, where initially it seemed like the Cuban revolution would deal with questions of racial disparity, racism, and discrimination. And in some ways it began to. But the revolutionary government, very soon after taking power in 1959, adopted almost the same line that had dominated the Cuban Republic. So when Black activists in 1959 and 1960 tried to say, You have to deal with the question of race, Fidel Castro said, The revolution has solved the problem of racism. To talk about racism was not allowed. This is because if the Cuban government says, We solved it, and then someone responds, You haven't solved it, it's accusing the revolution of failing and it's accusing the revolution of lying.

You write that those interested in Cuba often make the mistake of thinking too much about Fidel Castro. He was but one revolutionary among many. Such perspectives amount to reading history backward, you argue. What are the consequences of that misreading?

I think that he's such a larger-than-life figure and he has attracted so much attention, and he's drawn to himself so much attention, that many Americans think of Castro and the revolution as The Communist Revolution that took power in 1959, created by Fidel Castro. And that isnt correct.

He was one of many revolutionariesand many revolutionaries were explicitly anti-communist. The revolution was not communist to begin with, so to call it the Communist Revolution of 59 completely misunderstands what that revolution was. It was an anti-dictatorial revolution that grew out of the political currents that were already present in Cuba, many of which were liberal or social democratic.

Because of what the revolution would become, a lot of Americans dont realize what the revolution originally was or how incredibly popular it was in the beginning. And it wasn't popular support for communismit wasn't clear at that point that the government would become communist. So in some sense, this discourse, which has been a mainstay of official American discourse towards Cuba, just doesnt describe what the social experience of that country was over the last 60 years.

Over the summer, in the midst of Cubans protests against their government, President Biden said, The United States is taking concerted action to bolster the cause of the Cuban people. How is the history of American intervention likely to influence a response today?

Going back to the 19th century, the U.S. has never been a liberating force in Cuban history. So for the U.S. to talk about liberation now just plays right into the hands of the Cuban state. And, now, you see that some of the anti-government protesters, especially among young activists and intellectuals, have been really disappointed with the way the Biden administration has been talking about it. These demonstrators were protesting the government. They consider themselves as forces for change and as forces for democracy. But they reject the U.S. notion of itself as a liberator. I think people in Washington just ignore or just don't know that history.
Nicole R. Fleetwood, a professor in NYUs Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, and Victor J. Torres, a professor in NYU Grossman School of Medicine, have been named MacArthur Fellows by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Alumnus Daniel Lind-Ramos joins Fleetwood and Torres as a MacArthur Fellow for the Class of 2021.

MacArthur fellows are recipients of the foundations genius grants, who each receive $625,000 over a five-year period to pursue intellectual, social, and artistic endeavors.

As we emerge from the shadows of the past two years, this class of 25 Fellows helps us reimagine whats possible. They demonstrate that creativity has no boundaries. It happens in all fields of endeavor, among the relatively young and more seasoned, in Iowa and Puerto Rico, said Cecilia Conrad, managing director of the MacArthur Fellows. Once again, we have the opportunity for exultation as we recognize the potential to create objects of beauty and awe, advance our understanding of society, and foment change to improve the human condition.

Fleetwood holds a bachelors degree from Miami University (Ohio) as well as a masters degree and a PhD in Modern Thought and Literature from Stanford University. In July 2021, Fleetwood joined NYU Steinhardt as the inaugural James Weldon Johnson Professor in the Department of Media, Culture, and Communication. From 2005 to 2021, she was affiliated with Rutgers University at New Brunswick, with appointments in the Departments of American Studies and Art History. Fleetwood is the author of Marking Time: Art in the Age of Mass Incarceration (Harvard University Press, 2020), among other works. Marking Time received a 2021 National Book Critics Circle Award, the Susanne M. Glasscock Humanities Book Prize, the Charles Rufus Morey Book Award, and the Frank Jewett Mather Award. Fleetwoods co-curated exhibitions have appeared at the Andrew Freedman Home, Aperture Foundation Galleries, and Zimmerli Museum of Art, among other venues.

Victor J. Torres received a bachelors degree from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez and a PhD from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. After completing postdoctoral training in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Vanderbilt, Torres joined the faculty of NYU Grossman School of Medicine in 2008, where he is currently the C. V. Starr Professor of Microbiology. His articles have been published in Nature, Cell Host and Microbe, PNAS, and Science Translational Medicine, among other scientific journals. In his work, Torres investigates how multidrug-resistant bacteria cause disease and identifies new therapies to fight and prevent infection. Through his research, Torres has greatly advanced scientific understanding of the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), and developed several potential treatment strategies to abate its threat to the human immune system.

Lind-Ramos received a bachelors degree from the University of Puerto Rico and masters degree from the School of Education (now NYU Steinhardt) in 1980. He is currently a senior professor at the University of Puerto Rico, Humacao Campus. His work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions at such venues as the Whitney Museum of American Art, The Drawing Center, the Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Puerto Rico, and the Grand Palais (Paris, France).
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry lands North America PR duties for Celo Foundation, an open-source blockchain ecosystem focused on making decentralized financial systems and tools accessible to anyone with a smartphone. The agency will lead media and influencer relations for Celos environmental, social and governance initiatives as well as the companys builder community while also supporting marketing and organic social media efforts. The lorries understand many of the nuances of crypto and have a strong history of landing impactful client coverage and developing compelling digital media stories, said Celo partner, marketing and communications Crystal Braswell. The lorries blockchain client portfolio also includes BlockApps and Polymath.

Xhibition is selected as agency of record for VIP Traveler, a digital travel company that pairs AI-driven recommendations with expert service. The agency will oversee the launch of several new features for the platform, including Travel Finds, a personalization technology that helps tailor trips to a customers interests and travel predispositions. VIP Traveler founders Joshua Borenstein and Mark Hoenig started beta testing the feature in January. We cannot wait to help manifest wide-scale exposure for what we feel will be a benchmark model of the 21st-century travel agency, said Xhibition principal and co-founder Ross Belfer.

Strategic Heights Media is named public relations agency of record for Aaliyah Williams, a Peabody Award-nominated producer and founder of television and film production company Just A Rebel, which focuses on contemporary stories that center and celebrate black women. The agency will manage overall publicity efforts and media strategy for Williams and Just A Rebel. The production companys first-look deal with CBS Television Studios has been renewed for a second year with several projects in development. SHM has provided media strategy to such brands as BET Networks, WE tv, IFC, TV One, ASCAP, ASPIRE, REVOLT, smartwater, ESSENCE and 20th Century Fox.
Finsbury Glover Hering has acquired The Harbour Group, long-time PR firm for the United Arab Emirates.

Joel Johnson, head of FGHs Washington office, founded THG with Richard Marcus in 2001 before leaving to join Glover Park Group in 2006.

He called THG one of the nations preeminent advisory practices supporting foreign governments and businesses as they seek to navigate the political business and policy landscape in the US.

Two veteran managing directors helm THG.

Richard Mintz joined the firm in 2006 after an 18-year run at Burson-Marsteller and a year at Brunswick Group. Matthew Triaca has 15 years of service and is an alum of DCI Group, B-M United Airlines and Edelman.

Mintz directs and manages the UAE account, while Triaca oversees day-to-day activities.

For the UAE, THG supports its DC embassys public diplomacy and communications program to sustain and enhance public awareness and understanding of the Arab state among US policymakers and opinion leaders.

The latest contract went into effect Jan. 1 and runs through 2023.

The agreement calls for THG to invoice the UAE up to $5.5M per year for professional fees, expenses, legal, compliances costs and third-party payments.

The firm also represents Abu Dhabis executive affairs authority.

THG is to be folded into FGH, which is part of WPP.
Shari Yost Gold

Shari Yost Gold, a long-time advisor to VP Kamala Harris, has joined MikeWorldWide as senior advisor.

She's been running Yost Gold Consulting in Washington since 2003, crafting visibility and influence campaigns for political campaigns, companies, nonprofits and public figures.

Yost Gold has advised the Democratic Governors Assn., ex-Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Google, Hearst, Cosmopolitan, Louis Vuitton, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Motion Picture Assn. of America, Black Economic Alliance, Gucci and the Teamsters' James R. Hoffa Scholarship Fund.

Yost Gold will partner with MWW founder Michael Kempner to meet the increasing demand for crisis and communications support at the intersection of business and government, as well as work with the firm's client teams.

MWW ranks No. 10 on O'Dwyer's roster of independent firms, with 2020 fees of $38.9M.
Strike 2's Jason Weinberger, Matt Kaminsky; SourceCode's Rebecca Honeyman, Greg Mondshein

SourceCode Communications acquires Chicago-based integrated creative agency Strike 2. The acquisition comes after a more than a year of a strategic partnership, during which the two agencies collaborated on more than 10 accounts. Strike 2 will continue to operate under its own name and will become part of the newly formed SourceCode Group, which also includes WeRaise PR, a full-service agency advancing working mothers in the industry, and the Diversity Marketing Consortium, which provides pro bono marketing support to minority and women-led startups. Strike 2 co-founders Jason Weinberger and Matt Kaminsky will remain as managing directors, joining the SourceCode leadership team. There will be no changes as regards to location or office space. Our partnership with SourceCode will allow us to offer a more integrated approach, and desilo the worlds of creative and comms. It puts us in a position not just to keep up, but to lead through a rapidly evolving media consumption landscape, said Kaminsky.

sparks & honey, Omnicoms cultural intelligence consultancy, launches its diversity, equity and inclusion consulting practice. As part of the new practice, the consutancy is introducing three offerings: Equity Forecast, which keeps up with the latest and most critical trends in the DE&I space; Equity Space Analysis, which identifies specific opportunity areas where organizations can position themselves to address systemic inequities or drive change; and Diversity OS, which is designed to holistically transform organizations seeking to modernize and embed DE&I into the ethos and operations of their business. Its not going to be a one size fits all solutionand we took that into consideration when designing these offerings. We meet clients where they are on their DE&I journey so they can drive tangible and sustained impact for their organization, said chief client officer and head of the diversity, equity & inclusion practice Davianne Harris.

Omnicom Media Group acquires performance marketing agency Jump 450 Media. Jump 450, which will continue to be led by its current management team, is intended to form the foundation for a dedicated performance media platform and business operation within OMG. The agency leverages algorithmic scaling strategies, rapid creative testing, and robust data analytics to optimize digital media spend and drive customer acquisition for high-growth and enterprise clients in industries such as consumer, health and wellness, gaming, and fintech. Jumps focus on pure performance marketing and e-commerce media will add a distinct set of capabilities to OMGs existing performance media offerings, said Omnicom Media Group global chairman and CEO Daryl Simm.
06/10/2021 - OECD Ministers have issued a joint statement at the conclusion of this weeks Council meeting at Ministerial level. Under the chairmanship of the United States, with Korea and Luxembourg as vice-chairs, Members met for discussions around the theme "Shared Values: Building a Green and Inclusive Future.





Read the final statement from the Ministerial meeting.





The Ministerial Council Meeting (MCM) is the OECDs highest-level forum, attended by ministers of finance, economy, foreign affairs, trade and other government departments from the Organisations Member and Partner countries, as well as by representatives of other International Organisations.





During the two-day meeting, Ministers welcomed:

- the Indicator Dashboard to Guide a Strong, Resilient, Green and Inclusive Post-COVID-19 Recovery

- the International Programme for Action on Climate (IPAC) Preliminary Dashboard;

- the Policy Framework for Gender-sensitive Public Governance;

- and the Report on the implementation of the Recommendation of the Council on Integrated Mental Health, Skills and Work Policy.





Additionally, Ministers adopted:

- the OECDs 60th Anniversary Vision Statement;

- the OECDs Global Relations Strategy;

- the Recommendation of the Council on Enhancing Access to and Sharing of Data;

- the Recommendation of the Council on Transparency and Procedural Fairness in Competition Law Enforcement;

- the Recommendation for Agile Regulatory Governance to Harness Innovation;

- and the 2021 Ministerial Council Statement.





More detailed information and supporting documents on meeting outcomes and key issues will be available on the Ministerial Council Meeting website at http://www.oecd.org/mcm/.





Additional background is also available across the OECD platform:

Working with over 100 countries, the OECD is a global policy forum that promotes policies to preserve individual liberty and improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.

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A LENDER is trying to take back a woman's house in Offaly even though the property was damaged by pyrite and she is paying the bank monthly.

The woman being pursued by Start Mortgages DAC is paying the equivalent of the tracker rate each month, a move which the lender disagreed with, her solicitor told County Registrar James Seymour in Tullamore.

An order for possession was sought by a solicitor acting for Start Mortgages DAC at a sitting of the registrar at Tullamore Circuit Court last week.

The application was opposed by Dublin-based solicitor Gerry Dunne who appeared for the borrower by video link.

Mr Dunne said the house was effectively a family home because it was owned by the defendant and her daughter lived there.

The arrears were less than 20,000 which were not a hugely significant amount for a 2003 mortgage, Mr Dunne said, and his client had been fully engaging with the bank and paying every month at the equivalent of a tracker rate though there was a big dispute about her entitlement to that rate.

He said a settlement meeting had been proposed by the borrower as far back as December 2018 but it had been refused.

The defendant believed she was entitled to a tracker rate as she had been offered one at an earlier date but then it wasn't made available to her when she wanted to avail of it.

He said there would have been no arrears if the woman had been on the tracker rate and negotiations with the bank were ongoing but nonetheless they were in court making an application for possession.

The first letter his client had received in 2017 was seeking the full amount of the balance including the arrears and he said that while technically the monies may have been due, it was evidence of the unreasonable approach from the outset.

The arrears at that point were around 10,000 but Start sought the full amount of nearly 100,000, said Mr Dunne.

He said a very relevant factor in this case was that the house turned out to have pyrite and that essentially made the house worthless until it was resolved.

Most of the remedial works had been carried out but there was an ongoing dispute in relation to aspects of those works.

Mr Dunne said rightly or wrongly his client believed that because of the pyrite, the bank should share the burden of what happened to her house, which is their security.

The solicitor said the defendant also believed that with all its resources the bank could have carried out due diligence at the time the mortgage was being taken out and discovered that stone from a particular quarry was being used in the construction.

The registrar Mr Seymour said he would not like the bank to be taking that sort of role in every house because then they probably wouldn't give a mortgage for anything.

He was told that the defendant was paying 426 per month to Start and the contracted payment was 686.59.

Mr Dunne said the matters had already been raised with the financial services ombudsman and even while that process was going on his client was still getting threatening letters from the bank and solicitors.

He said the bank's solicitors had been told since 2018 that the proceedings should either never have been issued, or should have been struck out and discontinued long ago.

The borrower's solicitor also said the bank on their own admission had breached data protection legislation by sending details to a third party, including her mortgage account number which had caused very significant stress to the woman.

Mr Dunne said the lender was required by the Central Bank to deal with customers on a fair and equitable and reasonable basis and we would certainly submit this has not happened.

He said the bank had even applied its legal costs to the amount it said was due but had to withdraw that because it was not entitled to do so without a court order.

Mr Dunne applied for the proceedings to be struck out and costs awarded to the defendant.

Mr Seymour said he noted on a bank statement that some of the costs had been refunded and he was concerned that while payments were being made to the bank by the woman, these cases can't go on for ever.

The registrar said that because the defendant was able to make a payment each month and it was not an insignificant one, she should consider applying for insolvency.

There is effort being made and there are payments being made and that is an important factor, said Mr Seymour.

He adjourned the matter to the sitting of the County Registrar in February, 2022 for the defendant to take advice on applying for personal insolvency and stressed that he would like to hear then that she had gone that route.

He refused the application for possession and also made no order on a request from Start's solicitor for another standard financial statement. Mr Seymour said that the arrears, though not enormous, were still mounting and remarked: I wouldn't like to be trying to clear them.
The councillors of Offaly County Council slammed the slow roll out of the Just Transition programme during their recent monthly meeting.

Director of Services Stephane Duclot told the meeting that the Just Transition project has been steadily creating more jobs in the midlands. "The funding from the programme is now supporting 44 projects in the midlands including 16 Strand One projects. This has created 44 direct jobs and 570 indirect jobs."

He pointed out that the EU's Territorial Just Transition plan will be published in the late Autumn "and will be implemented from the first quarter of next year over a period of five to six years during which Bord na Mona should create 885 jobs."

He added that a representative of the ESB will meet the Council next month to discuss the Community Gain Fund. (Community Gain Funds provide financial assistance to a community as part of the development of infrastructure in that community).

Cllr Eamon Dooley said he was taking Mr Duclot's update with just "a grain of salt". "Some of the Strand One projects may actually become a reality, they may actually happen but I doubt it. I think we are being sold a pup here.

"There are many questions we want answers to, but those answers are very unlikely to come. For example, silt is lining the beds and sides of streams and rivers. This silt runoff was created by peat harvesting. We have no idea what the peat depth is of the silt in any of the streams.

"We want a meeting with the CEO of Bord na Mona Tom Donnellan, no one else."

Cllr Dooley said the 108 million Just Transition funding granted to the region sounds a great deal but all of that money is going towards bog rehabilitation and nothing towards the communities and job creation. "As we speak Bord na Mona is selling off their assets. And yet central government is willing to throw money at them but with no positive effects for communities. Bord na Mona is financed by taxpayers' money and yet Bord na Mona has only brought promises to the table so far."

"Stephane's update," said Cllr Clendennen, "seems to be positive, but the public's mood, is anything but positive. How many jobs has Just Transition created? It seems very little. It has almost become a spending spree rather than a job creation enterprise.

He criticised Bord na Mona's handling of the bike hire contract in Lough Boora, which hasn't operated at all during 2021.

If we can't rely on Bord na Mona to provide a few bikes then how can we expect them to deal with the much bigger challenge of replacing lost jobs in Offaly? At the moment there are a lot of people coming to Lough Boora hoping to hire a bike, because they have seen it advertised, and they are leaving the place with a bad taste in their mouth because there are no bikes available.

Cllr Tony McCormack agreed. He said all of the councillors are mistrustful of Bord na Mona's statements and true intentions.

We all think that these aren't in fact real jobs which they are creating, he said. They are just moving numbers around. He said the lack of a bike hire service in Lough Boora is a shame and a disgrace. He added that Lough Boora is a vast area and it's easier to explore it using a bike.

The councillors pointed out that the current uncertainty around electricity provision to homes during winter has added more criticism of the decision to close the peat-fired plants in Shannonbridge and Lanesboro. Minister Ryan has admitted that we might be getting blackouts in Ireland during the coming winter, commented Cllr McCormack.

We should write to the ESB and demand they switch back on the plants in Shannonbridge and Lanesboro. We are a first world country and yet we are talking about possible electricity blackouts. It's a very retrograde step. Regular blackouts are things which happen in third world countries.

Cllr John Leahy said Just Transition has introduced a number of good training programmes which will bear fruit a couple of years down the line. However, the slow pace of the Just Transition programme is very frustrating. He pointed out that the tracks in Lough Boora are in poor condition and are damaging bikes. Even runners have stopped using them they are so bad.

Cllr Leahy said most families are reliant on solid fuel such as turf, briquettes, and wood for their fireplaces. He pointed out that much of the environmental chatter is missing this key point. I don't know of any family in the county which isn't using solid fuel such as turf, briquettes or wood. I don't know of any family which is using a pellet-fuelled stove. Some of the environmentalist aspirations can seem a bit divorced from the reality on the ground. I don't know anybody who has an electric car. And now there is talk of the carbon tax being increased this year. The ordinary person can't survive further increases in tax. There is a poverty out there in our society which is second to none.

Cllr Neil Feighery said Bord na Mona are very good at producing glossy brochures and making big promises. The company has promised much but not much has yet been delivered, he remarked. I like the projects which are going to cultivate crops on the cutaway bogs but this could take several years to bear fruit. I sometimes wonder if Bord na Mona is setting up Just Transition projects, like cultivating crops, to fail.

Cllr Peter Ormond called for an urgent, pre-Dail-budget meeting with TDs to discuss accelerating Just Transition. Regarding the absence of bike hire in Boora he said the big fear is that Boora won't be able to maintain its impressive annual visitor numbers if there are not bikes available to hire. Lough Boora is one of the six pillars in Offaly's tourism offering. We need to protect it.

We are being fed all these positive announcements and claims about the Just Transition process and yet on the ground the reality is very different. The amount of income coming into communities in Offaly, and west Offaly in particular, is considerably less than it was a few years ago.

Cllr Ken Smollen pointed out that homelessness remains a big problem throughout Ireland and the government is not getting on top of it at all. He said about 10,000 people in Offaly are living below the poverty line. Next Monday alone dozens of families will be appearing at repossession sittings in the local court. Retrofitting sounds great but it's not a possibility for many people.

Chief Executive Anna Marie Delaney said she concurred with Cllr Smollen's fuel poverty concerns.

Cllr Danny Owens said it might be time for the state to buy Lough Boora off Bord na Mona.
Screen Ireland, formerly known as The Irish Film Board, have unveiled their new strategy that aims to drive further growth and success in the creative screen industry.

Chief Executive Desiree Finnegan and Chair of the Screen Ireland Board Susan Bergin, have launched 'Building for a Creative Future 2024', a strategy that includes a series of new initiatives focused on developing the screen industry that contributed 289 million to the economy in the first half of 2021 and directly supports 12,000 jobs.

The strategy sets out an ambitious vision for the booming creative screen industry with a number of targeted initiatives to drive sustainable growth for the future with 3 million to be invested in developing creative screen industry skills to address growing demands for talent and crew across Ireland.

To deliver on the skills and talent development ambitions embedded within the strategy, Screen Skills Ireland will adopt a more central role as the skills team within Screen Ireland by the end of 2021.

Three new regional Crew Hubs are planned for across the country working collectively to target a national approach to crew development while two new Screen Ireland National Talent Academies for Film and TV Drama and Animation have also been established to build talent and skills regionally.

A new scheme, Pathways, will enable new entrants from a range of diverse backgrounds to gain paid work experience opportunities on film and television productions.

A range of other initiatives being announced today are designed to support this ambition which include:

A new platform called Where to Watch which will help audiences all over the world to discover Irish productions.

A new Creative Futures Fund (CFF) to build additional development capabilities and to support high-quality creative projects.

A new support fund for Irish distribution companies designed to help offset the challenges that have been created by Covid-19.

The global environment in which the Irish creative screen industry operates has become very competitive in the race for talent, well-written stories, production hubs, studios and tax incentives.

Much of the success that has been achieved in recent years is the culmination of the long-term investment in talent and in growing the industry, and as such, the continued support for incentives such as Section 481 is critical", said Susan Bergin.

CEO of Screen Ireland, Desiree Finnegan, added;

This strategy sets out our ambition for a creative future as we emerge from the pandemic. Reaching record levels of production activity in Ireland this year is a remarkable achievement and demonstrates the creative screen industrys commitment, dedication, and resilience.

We aim to strengthen Irelands creative competitive advantage in a world where storytelling on screen is a cultural and economic driver for creativity and innovation, generating highly-skilled jobs, export growth and screen tourism.

In this rapidly evolving sector, staying ahead of future trends and embracing creative innovation will be fundamental to developing new approaches to creative screen storytelling for next generation audiences.
A People Before Profit TD has told the government it's "criminal" to impose carbon taxes on vulnerable people and has suggested abolishing it altogether.

Richard Boyd Barrett made the comments during Private Members Business in Dail Eireann today, where he spoke on a People Before Profit motion to defer carbon tax hikes.

It comes in the wake of news that Ireland may face energy shortages during the winter months this year due to increasing demands for energy.

Richard Boyd Barrett TD said, "We should abolish the carbon tax. It's fundamentally regressive. Impose it on the real big polluters, the agri beef barons, huge corporations responsible for emissions, not on the poor and the sick and the vulnerable."

He continued and said, "Unless the government steps up to the mark, it's absolutely punishment for people who have no control over heating their houses to keep themselves warm, and in some cases alive."

The deputy spoke about the "unprecedented" release of emergency money during the Covid-19 pandemic, and said if it could be done then it can be done now.

He said, "It is unconscionable if you refuse to do it. Have you learned anything during the Covid pandemic about public health? Are you seriously going to allow the obscenity and the scandal for the poor and elderly to die because of a lack of heating in their homes through absolutely obscene levels of energy prices from an energy sector completely consumed by profit?"

"It shows your priorities," he concluded.
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The new report on the Electronic Potting and Encapsulating Market provides estimations of the size of the global Market and share and size of key regional Markets during the historical period of 2014  2018. The study provides projections of the opportunities and shares, both vis-a-vis value (US$Mn/Bn) and volume volume (n units), of various segments in the Electronic Potting and Encapsulating Market during the forecast period of 2021  
RAZ Mobility Partners with Affinity Cellular to Help Those with Disabilities First Wireless Provider Partnership with RAZ Mobility Dedicated to People with Dementia, Alzheimers or Intellectual Disabilities VIENNA, VA (October 5, 2021) - RAZ Mobility, a provider of mobile assistive technology, today announced their partnership with Affinity Cellular  a national wireless provider that offers low cost, no-contract plans on Americas most reliable network, to affinity groups and organizations including partnerships with various AAA Clubs for over 25 
Planting trees is a great work that one can do for this world. Hart Cunningham, the popular musician, and environmentalist is doing the same for our world. He has the aim to plant one trillion trees within a specific time span using a systematic plan. Just within 4 years, he has planted 45 million trees in various locations and is truly committed to reaching his goal as soon as possible. 
PMBJP stores increased to 8308, covering all districts across the country, medicines available under PMBJP priced 50%-90% less than branded ones.

Pharmaceuticals & Medical Devices Bureau of India (PMBI), the implementing agency of Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP), has completed the target of the opening of 8,300 Mantri Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Kendras (PMBJKs) for the FY 2021-22 before the end of September 2021. All the country's districts have been covered under Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP). Effective IT-enabled logistics and supply chain systems have also introduced to ensure real-time distribution of medicines at all outlets.

The product basket of PMBJP presently comprises 1,451 drugs and 240 surgical instruments. Further, new medicines and nutraceutical products like glucometer, protein powder, malt-based food supplements, protein bar, immunity bar, etc., have been launched.

With a vision to provide quality medicines at an affordable rate to the common man, especially the poor, the Government has set a target to increase the number of Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendras (PMBJKs) to 10,000 by March 2024. As of 5th October 2021, the number of stores has increased to 8355. These kendras will ensure easy access to affordable medicine to the people in every nook and corner of the country.

At present, three warehouses of PMBJP are functional at Gurugram, Chennai & Guwahati, and the fourth one is under construction at Surat. Further, 37 distributors have been appointed across the country to support the supply of medicines to remote and rural areas.

Janaushadhi Sugam, a mobile application for Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP), facilitates the public by providing a digital platform at the tip of their fingers.

Under the Scheme, medicines are procured from World Health OrganizationGood Manufacturing Practices (WHO-GMP) certified suppliers to ensure the products' quality. Apart from this, each batch of the drug is tested at laboratories accredited by National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL). Only after passing the quality tests, the medicines are dispatched to PMBJP Kendras. Medicines available under PMBJP are priced 50%-90% less than branded prices. During the financial year (2020-21), PMBJP has achieved sales of Rs. 665.83 crores (at MRP) during the last financial year. This has led to savings of approximately Rs 4,000 crores for the common citizens of the country.

In the wake of the COVID 19 crisis, Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) has been rendering essential services to the nation. The stores remained functional during the lockdown and maintained operations as part of their commitment to ensure the uninterrupted availability of essential medicines.

Courtesy: PIB
Mahalaya marks the start of the Durga Puja festival. Mahalaya is the combination of two words Maha, which means grand, and Alaya or abode.

Guwahati: The holy festival of 'Mahalaya' is being celebrated across Assam and Tripura on Wednesday. As per the Hindu Calendar, Mahalaya is celebrated by the devotees of Maa Durga a week before Durga Puja celebrations begin. This year the Durga Puja celebration will start on October 11. On that day, on the occasion of Maha Sashti, the formal puja of Maa Durga idols will start across Assam, Tripura and some parts of other Northeastern states. Mahalaya is marked on the last day of Pitru Paksha, which is observed today, on October 6 this year.

Mahalaya marks the start of the Durga Puja festival. On this day, the goddess Durga is believed to have descended to Earth on the occasion of Navratri and will stay for her devotees till the Bijaya Dashamasi until her idols are immersed in holy waters by the devotees.

Maa Durga devotees across Assam, Tripura wakes up at 4 am and listens to Chandi Path verses popularly known as "Mahishasura Mardini". Eight decades after it was first recorded in Kolkata, there is still no comparison with the sonorous voice of Birendra Krishna Bhadra that still rules the heart of every Bengali.

It is believed that the 'Mahisasura Mardini' verse and mantras invoke the Goddess, the most famous one being 'Jago Tumi Jago.'

Mahalaya is the combination of two words Maha, which means grand, and Alaya or abode. The auspicious occasion is celebrated with beautiful traditions and rich stories.

Mahalaya is celebrated after Pitri Paksha ends or when Hindus remember their ancestors. People participate in many rituals, like offering food and water to the needy to express their love and gratitude to their forefathers.

Mahalaya Amavasya marks the culmination of the Pitri Paksha period and the beginning of the Devi Paksha. On this day, Shradh and Tarpan rituals are performed for those who breathed their last on Purnima Tithi, Chaturdashi Tithi and Amavasya Tithi.

Worshippers also throng the banks of the holy rivers from dawn to perform the ritual of 'tarpan'. The fervour and festivity surrounding Durga Puja and Navratri start with Mahalaya. In Jorhat, for ages, people wake up before the sun rises and take part in the Mahalaya procession. Other cities like Tezpur, Sighat, Pandu in Guwahati, Dibrugarh people go to the banks of river Brahmaputra and offer puja to the Shaktiswarupini.

Hindus believe that the demon king Mahishasura was blessed with a boon that no god or human could kill him. After he received the blessing, Mahishasura attacked the Devtas, and after losing the war to him, they had to leave the Devlok. All the Devtas, along with Lord Vishnu, worshipped Adi Shakti to save them from the wrath of Mahishasura. It is believed that a divine light came out of the bodies of all the Devtas and took the shape of Goddess Durga.

The war between Maa Durga and Mahishasura lasted for nine days, and then she killed him on the 10th day. Maa Durga is considered the goddess of power, and Durga Puja is celebrated all over the country with much pomp and fervour. Devotees pray to the goddess during these ten days, as it is believed she comes to Earth to bless her people.

Meanwhile, the Assam government has asked people to celebrate Durga puja with utmost precaution due to the ongoing Covid situation. The government has issued an SOP for the same.
The opposition fears that if the laws and policies are implemented on the ground meticulously, PM Modi will benefit in the 2024 election with a much bigger victory than in 2019 and the monumental growth UP in the last four years under CM Yogi will make the state number one in the next five years

Democracy has given a right to every person to protest and express their views candidly. The intention is to make democracy vibrant and dynamic to benefit each section of society and country.

However, few political parties and their outfits have different agendas and using these democratic means to demean our society and country for selfish gains. They are least bothered about the difficulties faced by people socially and our nation on international platforms. It is even difficult to understand their motive when the Honourable Supreme Court is helping to sort out the matter without any bias and with the right intention. Do these outfits dont believe in our judicial system? Are they above the judicial system, a section of our constitution?

First, the popularity and fear of PM Modi and now CM Yogi rattled many opposition leaders and their supporters to the extent that they are opposing the laws, which are essentially required for the upliftment of almost 14 crore farmers. They are opposing the new national education policy beneficial to crores of students and make our future generations strong in every aspect of overall development.

The opposition fears that if the laws and policies are implemented on the ground meticulously, PM Modi will benefit in the 2024 election with a much bigger victory than in 2019. So the welfare of society has taken a backseat, and power, appeasement, exploitation, corruption are the priorities to destabilise the Modi and Yogi government.

Why Modi and Yogi do not fit in their agenda?

They see both the leaders as Hindutva Icon. The popularity among the masses is increasing every day, so the agenda of demeaning and dismantling Sanatan Dharma over the years is just to satisfy and help vested interest in and around India. The politics of development has become self-gain and appeasement for few leaders to garner votes at the cost of sacrificing integrity and weakening constitutionally framed policies and laws.

Every opposition leader knows the benefits of farmer laws and how they will change the prospects of our hard-working, selfless farmers and enhance value to our economy.

What are the key positives of these bills?

It allows free Intra-and interstate trade, so farmers will have free access to the market anywhere in the country based on the best price they get. It will help in FDI inflow and improve the economy.

Direct agreement between a farmer and a buyer makes the farmer not depend on cartel prices. It will assure them about better pricing in advance, reduction in transport cost, stop exploitation by middlemen and no indirect control on the market by political leaders. A regular supply of food items will stop artificial scarcity created by middlemen. Buyers, industrialists cant take control of land, even if some dues are pending. Farmers are protected from exploitation and given complete freedom to sell and make good profits, make contracts, use the e-NAM platform and make the best use of technology for more benefits.

I dont see any point in the bill against farmers, so the people or political leaders opposing these reforms must have some vested interest. Its our duty to spread facts to each and every farmer so that exploitation masters dont take advantage of their ignorance if any.

Mr. M. S. Swaminathan has suggested many initiatives for the welfare of the farmers and offered guidance/recommendations to the government from time to time on various issues. PM Modi Government has implemented many of his suggestions in the last seven years. Few actions taken by the Modi government:

Kisan Rail

MSP for many commodities

Soil Health Card

Kisan Credit Card

Pradhanmantri Krishi Bima Yojana. (Benefitted millions of Farmers)

Irrigation facilities.

Yearly direct transfer of Rs 6000.

Technology and technique-oriented farming.

Organic farming.

Providing e-NAM platform.

Providing additional storage facilities.

Mass procurement of food grains by the government.

Timely payment of dues

Solving the long-pending issue of sugarcane farmers.

Fertiliser availability in abundant quantity.

The next target is UP CM Yogi Adityanath. State elections are approaching, and a great reformer, CM Yogi, who is firmly working against miscreants, looters, exploiters seen as just a Sanatani leader. The biggest state of India was in the worst condition in all respects before Yogi Government. The monumental growth of the state in the last four years and the long-term actions initiated will make the state number one in the next five years under CM Yogi.

Dynastic politics wants people to remain backward, illiterate, and be exploited, misguided for self-gain and power. Gullible Indians are now becoming dynamic, smart, going back to cultural roots for the benefit of all and working for social, economic and spiritual growth and hence any deed with ill intention to create menace, rift, violence is not working.


Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) held its first National Executive meeting and adopted a political resolution 'Protecting the Digital Sovereignty of India', under which, it asserted that tech companies cannot, under any circumstances, overrule or circumvent the digital sovereignty of the Republic of India, said a BJYM on Tuesday.



BYJM under the resolution made several suggestions to strengthen the efforts of the government to ensure Digital Sovereignty including calling for all multi-national companies (MNCs) in the technology sector to strictly comply with domestic laws in their entirety, without any exceptions, stated the press release from BJYM.

The BJYM congratulated the government for notifying these rules (The Information Technology (IT) Rules, 2021) to enhance the overall accountability of the intermediary ecosystem by empowering the end-user, as per the press statement.



The BJYM also congratulated the government for coming up with a robust Data Protection Law and that the measures taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to achieve self-reliance in the 5G network is commendable, added the statement.



BJYM under the leadership of its National President and Member of Parliament, Tejasvi Surya, adopted three resolutions. BJP National President JP Nadda and National General Secretary Tarun Chugh were also present at the meeting.



Under the Economic Resolution 'Modinomics decisive break from Nehruvian Economics and Cronyism', the BJYM has made various suggestions that include urging the Government to also consider taking reforms under the domains of direct taxation and judicial processes.



While under the Resolution 'Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav', the BYJM has suggested continuing to promote and take various government schemes to the last mile and ensure that every youth can benefit from them.



"The BJYM is the youth wing of the largest political Organisation of the world," Surya said, commenting on the meeting."The BJYM is today at the forefront of all important youth-centric political issues in the country, promoting the message of the BJP," added Surya.



Addressing the National Executive Meeting, BJP National President JP Nadda said that "Youth is an institution of change and a catalyst of change".



"Digital Revolution will realise the dream of 2047, which we are drafting today at this national executive meeting," said Tarun Chugh National General Secretary and In-charge of BJYM.



In the meeting held at NDMC Convention Centre, New Delhi all BJYM National Office Bearers, National Executive Committee Members, State Presidents and State General Secretaries were present.



The IT Rules, 2021 were notified in February that regulate the functioning of online media portals d publishers, over-the-top (OTT platforms), and social media intermediaries. (ANI)


The saffron flag of the Hindu community already installed at a particular place was not only removed by the mob of Muslim youths at Lohar Naka Chowk, but many Muslim youth were also seen misbehaving with the flag.

In Chhattisgarh's Kawardha district, on Sunday (October 3), a clash was reported between youths of two communities for putting up religious flags. According to the information received, the Hindu community flag already put up at Lohar Naka Chowk in Kawardha was removed by the area's Muslim youth.

At the same time, they also put up their religious flag at the same place, due to which the youth of both the communities clashed with each other. Stone pelting has also been reported between both sides. Sensing the seriousness of the situation, the police imposed Section 144 in the entire area as a precautionary measure. Apart from this, a large number of police forces have also been deployed to take immediate action in case of any untoward incident.

It is being told that the saffron flag of the Hindu community already installed at a particular place was not only removed by the mob of Muslim youths at Lohar Naka Chowk but many Muslim youths were also seen misbehaving with the flag. After getting information about this incident, when the youths of the Hindu community reached the spot, a fight broke out between both sides.

During which both sides attacked each other with sticks and iron rods. However, on Sunday itself, the police organized a peace meeting with senior people from both sides. The people of both the communities have been asked to remove their flag from the square in view of the upcoming festivals. According to the information received, both sides have agreed to remove the flag of their religious symbol from the disputed place. However, people associated with the Hindu organization of the area say that the youths of the Muslim community threw the saffron flag in the police's presence.

During this, the police kept watching the whole incident as a mute spectator. Now, after the video related to this incident went viral on social media, SP Mohit Garg said that the tension still prevails in the area. In view of this, Section 144 has been imposed in the area. Although the situation is now under control, we are in constant touch with both sides. It is expected that soon normalcy shall return in the area.




China has opened geo-strategic and diplomatic tussle with Taiwan.

The Taiwanese air force have scrambled its fighter planes and monitored the movement of the Chinese warplanes on its air defence system after as many as 56 Chinese including fighter jets and bombers entered into Taiwanese air space.

Premier Su Tseng-chang said Taiwan needed to be on alert and that Chinas actions risked regional peace and stability.

Taiwan must be on alert. The world has also seen Chinas repeated violations of regional peace and pressure on Taiwan," Su told reporters in Taipei.

The Chinese actions is seen as sustained military 'intimidation' towards the self-governing island for three consecutive days.

While Taiwan insists on its independence and sovereign existence, Beijing maintains it is only a breakaway part.

The United States has condemned Chinese actions.

Taiwan has alleged 148 Chinese air force planes entering the southern and southwestern part of its air defence zone since China celebrated its National Day on October 1.

Taiwanese Foreign minister Joseph Wu has said - We are very concerned that China is going to launch a war against Taiwan at some point, even though the threat may not be imminent at this point".

Meanwhile, media reports said Malaysia has summoned Chinas ambassador to protest against the presence and activities of Chinese vessels in Kuala Lumpurs exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the South China Sea off the island of Borneo.

Chinese vessels, including a survey boat, were operating off the coasts of the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak in contravention of 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Lately, even countries like Vietnam have registered their protest against China.



China claims almost the entire area under the so-called nine-dash line that the international court ruled to be without basis in 2016; for their part Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Brunei claim parts of the South China Sea off their coasts.


Guwahati: Condoling the unusual death of young television scribe Raman Kashyap at Lakhimpur Kheri locality of Uttar Pradesh in central India, the Geneva-based global media rights body Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) demanded an authentic probe into the incident that led to demise of the rural reporter on 3 October last.

According to local sources, Raman (35) was hit by miscreants amidst a chaotic situation where a large group of agitating farmers (against farm laws) were in confrontations with some workers belonged to Bhartiya Janata Party. Raman accompanie many local reporters to cover an event, but he had to lose his life. As the agitators set a moving vehicle on fire, eight other people died during the violent incident.

Ramans family members claimed that he was shot at by the unknown assailants. Hailing from Nighasan village, Raman used to work for a news channel and left behind his wife, two minor children and other relatives. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, while expressing grief over the unfortunate incident, announced a compensatory financial package to close relatives of all the deceased.

Raman Kashyap is the 59th journalists killed so far across the globe in 2021. A day back, Afghan scribe Sayyed Marof Saadat was shot dead by miscreants at Nangarhar locality of Afghanistan, said Blaise Lempen, general secretary of PEC (https://pressemblem.ch/), adding that 92 media persons around the world lost their lives to assailants last year.

Bharat earlier lost journalist Ashu Yadav (hauled from Kanpur in UP), Sulabh Srivastava (Lucknow, UP) and Chenna Keshav (Nandyal, Andhra Pradesh) and Manish Kr Singh (Champaran, Bihar) to assailants since 1 January 2021. Acclaimed Indian photo journalist Danish Siddiqui was killed by the Taliban in Kandahar of Afghanistan. The PEC expects that the populous country may improve in the journo-murder index this year compared to 2020 which ended with 15 media casualties.


New Delhi: India has reiterated calls for the full implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, including the devolution of powers in Sri Lanka. This has been conveyed by Foreign Secretary Harsh V Shringla on Tuesday when he called on Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in Colombo. .

The Foreign Secretary reiterated "Indias position on complete implementation of the provisions under the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, including devolution of powers and the holding of Provincial Council elections at the earliest", a statement from the Indian High Commission in Colombo said.

"During his meeting with the President on October 05, 2021, Foreign Secretary underscored the importance India attaches to expeditiously taking forward mutually beneficial projects, including proposals to enhance air and sea connectivity between India and Sri Lanka. Foreign Secretary thanked President for his guidance and close cooperation in the defence and security sphere," the statement said.

Foreign Secretary held meetings with the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) delegation led by Member of Parliament and Leader of TNA, R. Sampanthan; Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) delegation led by Member of Parliament Mano Ganesan; and Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) delegation led by State Minister for Estate Housing and Community Infrastructure Jeevan Thondaman.

Mr Shringla reiterated India's longstanding support for the reconciliation that addresses aspirations of the Tamil community for equality, justice, peace and dignity within the united Sri Lanka and in accordance with the 13th Amendment.

During the four-day visit that concluded on Tuesday, Mr Shringla also called on Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, Minister of Finance, Basil Rajapaksa and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prof. G.L. Peiris; held a series of meetings and also inaugurated education and housing projects.

Sri Lanka occupies a central place in Indias Neighbourhood First policy, an MEA statement has said prior to Mr Shringla's visit that had begun on October 2.

In his meeting with the Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa held on Oct 4, Foreign Secretary had mentioned that India-Sri Lanka relations are underpinned by vibrant people-to-people ties which would be further strengthened with signing of the Inter-Governmental MoU for the USD 15 million Buddhism grant.

Recalling Indias strong cultural & civilizational links with Jaffna, the Foreign Secretary informed that India would extend support to the Government of Sri Lanka for the maintenance of the Jaffna Cultural Centre built with Indian grant assistance.

The Foreign Secretary further mentioned that the Government of India looked forward to welcoming the inaugural flight from Sri Lanka to Kushinagar which would further bolster cultural links between the two countries.




New Delhi: During his three-day visit to Nagaland beginning October 7, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu will land at the Naga historical village, Ruzazho.

It is believed that freedom fighter and leader of Indian National Army (INA), Subhash Chandra Bose had camped in this village for about two months in 1944.

According to official sources in the state capital Kohima, on October 8, the Vice President will leave for Ruzazho village by chopper.

He will also interact with the local people there.

The village is said to have been liberated from British control in 1944 by the Azad Hind Fauj, also called the Indian National Army.

Former Governor R N Ravi, who has moved to Chennai as Tamil Nadu Governor, also visited the village last month and met one of the associates of Netaji.

Naidu will also visit Pfuchama village for a programme to be organized by the Rural Development Department on October 7. The Vice President will meet Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, along with the Council of Ministers.

On October 8, Mr Naidu will also interact with students of HSLC and HSSLC toppers and Arts and Music awardees.

He will also interact with Vice Chancellor Nagaland University, officials of NIT, ICAR, etc.

Later in the evening a culture programme will also be organized for the visiting dignitary.

The Vice President is also expected to visit the historic Kohima War Cemetery on October 9, Saturday.

Mr Naidu has been in the north east of India for the last few days.




PM Narendra Modi said, Swamitva Scheme is not just a scheme to provide legal documents, but it is also a new mantra for development and trust in the villages of the country with the help of modern technology.





Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday (October 6) said that the Svamitva scheme is not just a scheme to provide legal documents, but it is also a new mantra for development in the villages of the country.

While interacting with the beneficiaries of the Svamitva scheme from Madhya Pradesh, via videoconferencing, PM Modi said, "The Swamitva Scheme is not just a scheme to provide legal documents, but it is also a new mantra for development and trust in the villages of the country with the help of modern technology."

The Prime Minister said that in the initial stage, the PM Svamitva scheme was launched in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, and Karnataka in some villages and property cards have been made for 22 lakh families in these states.

"It was launched as a pilot project. We're expanding this in other states of the nation. Madhya Pradesh worked on this scheme at a fast pace and deserves appreciation for it. Today, over 1.70 lakh families of 3,000 villages received property card 'Adhikar Abhilekh' that will bring prosperity," said PM Modi.

Earlier, PM Modi distributed e-property cards to 1,71,000 beneficiaries under the SVAMITVA scheme in Madhya Pradesh via video conferencing.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was also present during the event.

SVAMITVA is a Central Sector Scheme of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj that aims to provide property rights to the residents of rural inhabited areas. The scheme will pave the way for villagers to use the property as a financial asset for taking loans and other financial benefits, like in urban areas.

It aims to demarcate inhabited lands in rural areas through the latest surveying drone technology. The scheme has also boosted the ecosystem of drone manufacturing in the country, PMO said. (ANI)


Chief Minister Jaganmohan Reddy is aggressively pursuing his fathers Christian agenda of destroying the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam. The constitution of the TTD Board is only a tip of the iceberg. Evangelists are having a field day

Controversies have become a new routine for the Board of the Tirumala temple. The TTD Board remained in the headlines in the last few years for several mismanagements, the latest one that emerged is contentious constitution of a jumbo board with 52 special invitees besides the regular board members as per the Act. The special invitees may not have voting rights in board as per the government orders, but they do have privileges on par with TTD trust board members including the recommendation to the darshan.This is an extension of the political game of rehabilitating their party leaders followed by successive Governments in the State. The Government of YS Jaganmohan Reddy went a step more in accommodating businessmen with questionable credentials, corrupt persons, criminals, and tainted individuals. The special invitees include co-accused of Jagan in the quid pro quo disproportionate assets case and a mining baron who became infamous in the context of demonetisation. That person was nominated to the Board by the previous regime but was removed from that position in 2016 following income tax raids on him. The present Government accommodated him.The Government headed by Jagan has altered the norms for the appointment of some members. YV Subba Reddy, the uncle of CM Jagan, and also the political in-charge of the East Godavari District was rewarded a second term as Chairman of the Board.

Agenda no more hidden

Board constitution is the tip of the iceberg of pro-Christian agenda now being implemented by Jaganmohan Reddy Government. The evangelists are having a field day. While there are overt and covert restrictions on Hindu congregations in the context of epidemic, no such restrictions were ever imposed on the congregations of other religions and political gatherings of the ruling party. Cross symbols frequently appeared mysteriously on the Tirumala Hills in the recent past. Every time Hindus have to run a social media campaign to bring the government to its senses and rectify the misadventures.

Previously, there were reports of proselytisation attempts on the seven hills and recruitment of non-Hindus as employees. Many of the employees of Christian faith are appointed in the TTD and they are paid from the Hindu endowment funds. These employees though exposed on video no action was forthcoming from Jagans Government. This inaction on the part of the government has encouraged those Christian staff to convert their TTD quarters as centers of religious campaigns and conversion activity. The land on which Islamic University has come up belongs to TTD. Despite production of documentary evidence for that no action from the government is forthcoming to get that Islamic Centre out of that land.

Last year, Jagan Government tried to secretly use Lord Balajis wealth to a tune of Rs 12, 000 crore to fulfil its political promises. A massive backlash from Hindus against the Boards decision forced the TTD to rescind its intention. The main complaint against this Government is its way of looking at TTD not as religious and spiritual center but as a revenue-generating organisation only. To make money the previous Board resolved in 2020 to dispose of its unmanageable 23 properties.

Despite the protests from Hindu organisations the TTD Board is still treating Tirumala as a shrine on which they can make money. The very words of loss of income during Corona in 2020 by the TTD authorities itself confirms non-spiritual attitude of the present Board. To garner money the TTD board stopped the free darshan for people until recently while the rich were allowed to have darshan of the deity. It is very poor but highly devoted men and women who wait in the quees for over 7 to 10 hours to have glimpses of Balaji for a few seconds.The pay and pray practice undermine the faith of ordinary people. Even the rich are also forced to purchase the tickets at exorbitant rate.

Devotees have no voice

The temple administration and conducting the religious rituals was initially in the hands of the religious heads, mahants and people with spiritual bent of life. Now it is the sole responsibility of the TTD which is running at the whims and fancies of the CMs of AP through the Executive Officers appointed by them and members of the TTD Board. There are complaints about the proper conduct of rituals at the temple.The Supreme Court on September 29, asked the TTD to respond to allegations of irregularities in the conduct of sevas and rituals at the Tirupati Temple.

Jagans father YS Rajasekhar Reddy as CM has tried to restrict the Lord of Seven Hills to three hills as he has other plans in grabbing those four hills. Then he was forced to take back that grabbing attempt but this time around his son is focusing on hitting both at the religious sanctity of Tirumala shrine and take away the money given by the devotees for the specific purpose of protecting Hinduism and spreading the Hindu dharmic way. Not even rupee is going tospread Hindu Dharma. The hereditary trustees, Mahants, Archakas, other temple-oriented communities, as well as the worshippers who account for the major source of offerings and funds of the religious institutions have become passive observers and distant onlookers with practically no say in religious matters.

Jagans father YS Rajasekhar Reddy as CM has tried to restrict the Lord of Seven Hills to three hills as he has other plans in grabbing those four hills. Then he was forced to take back that grabbing attempt. but his son is focusing on hitting both at the religious sanctity of Tirumala shrine and take away money given by devotees for the specific purpose of protecting Hindutva and spreading the Hindu dharmic way



In his political campaign, Jagan made several allegations against Chandrababu Government about misuse of TTD and its wealth. The serious allegations prompted Dr Subramanian Swamy to file a writ petition in the Supreme Court in Sepember 2018 to free 11 temples under TTD from the control of the Andhra Pradesh Government and to challenge the constitutional validity of the various provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments Act, 1987. It was stated in the petition thatthe Andhra Pradesh Government has virtually usurped the fundamental religious, administrative and cultural rights of Hindu citizens and denominations, whichconstitutes an egregious infringement of their rights and their freedom to profess, practice and propagate their religion. As the Supreme Court asked to move the High Court of Andhra Pradesh, the petition is now pending before the Andhra Pradesh High Court.

The Jagan Government tried to secretly use Balajis wealth to a tune of Rs 12, 000 crore to fulfil its political promises. A massive backlash from Hindus against the Boards decision forced the TTD to rescind its intention. The main complaint against this Government is its way of looking at TTD not as religious and spiritual center but as a revenue-generating organisation only

In the same petition, an interim injunction for an external audit of the TTD accounts, utilisation of funds and properties for three financial years beginning 2014-2015 and an inventory of jewellery have been sought in the wake of a controversy over the alleged missing of valuable jewellery of Prabhu Venkateswara. Even before getting a court direction to that effect, the TTD Board suddenly announced in September 2020 that the financial accounts of the countrys richest temple would be audited by the Comptroller & Auditor General of India instead of the state Audit Department. The decision of the Board came as a pleasant surprise, though the motive behind such a major decision is not above suspicion. However, progress made in that direction is yet to be known.

Continuing colonial legacy over Hindu temples

Controlling Hindu temples is a colonial legacy. In 1817, the first Madras Regulation was passed, and the East India Company took over the temples. They plundered the enormous wealth of the temples and took away valuable gold, silver, diamonds, and jewellery. After looting them for over three decades, they were restored to trustees. The Christian Missionaries were also opposed to the idea of managing Hindu pagan temples by the Christian East India Company. By 1925, temples had emerged as centres of the freedom movement and consequently, the Madras Religious and Charitable Endowments Act was brought in to bring them again under Government control. Since the minority communities strongly protested, their places of worship were spared, and only Hindu temples were taken over. After Independence, the Tamil Nadu Religious and Charitable Endowment Act was passed. It was a pioneering legislation based on the colonial viewpoint. The Endowment laws of other states are based on this, and thus the colonial legacy is continuing.
New Delhi: In a major diplomatic engagement, Wendy Sherman, Deputy Secretary of State of the United States is on a three-day visit to India commencing Tuesday, Oct 5.

She will be in India till October 7 when the key US official will be flying to Islamabad.

On 6 October, Wednesday, Deputy Secretary of State Sherman will meet Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla.

Both the diplomats would review the India-U.S. bilateral agenda and outcomes of Prime Minister Narendra Modis recent visit to the US.

"They (Sherman and Shringla) will exchange views on regional issues pertaining to South Asia and the Indo-Pacific region and contemporary global issues," an MEA statement said.

The Deputy Secretary of State and Foreign Secretary Shringla will also participate in a special session of the India-Ideas Summit organised by the US India Business Council.

Ms Sherman will call on External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar and also National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.

The Deputy Secretary's visit to India is seen as an useful opportunity to continue the regular dialogue and further strengthen the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership.

Sherman has also lately visited Switzerland and Uzbekistan.

India and the US are scheduled to hold their first 2+2 summit under the Joe Biden administration in November.During PM Modi's visit to the US for UN General Assembly, both sides had a crucial round of bilateral engagement. President Biden had also hosted the first in person Summit of Quad - that comprises India, Japan

and Australia besides the US.

The American Embassy in New Delhi welcomed Ms Sherman to India with a Twitter missive.

"During her visit, she will participate in a series of bilateral meetings, civil society events, and the India Ideas Summit," the missive said.

On October 7, the visiting dignitary is expected to travel to Mumbai and then fly to Pakistan "to meet with senior officials".

In the meantime, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is still awaiting a courtesy tele-talks with President Biden. Both the leaders have not yet had any such conversation since Biden took over earlier this year.

There has to be some concerted effort by Pakistani officials in meetings with Ms Sherman to dispel the global notion that authorities in Islamabad have always played double games when it comes to the issue of global war against terror.

Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State, had made a two-day visit to India in July. Blinken - of course- met Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi last month.
The vaccination certificate has been made mandatory for devotees coming to Uttarakhand 15 days after receiving a double dose of vaccination.

Dehradun: A day after the High Court removed the daily cap on the number of devotees visiting the Himalayan shrines of Gangotri, Yamunotri, Badrinath and Kedarnath, the Uttarakhand government on Wednesday (October 6) issued new standard operating procedures (SOP) for Char Dham Yatra, amidst the prevalence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As per the guidelines, registration and e-pass will be mandatory for 'darshan' in the four dhams.

The vaccination certificate has been made mandatory for devotees coming to Uttarakhand 15 days after receiving a double dose of vaccination.

Along with this, devotees will need to carry a vaccination certificate issued after receiving the double dose of the COVID-19 vaccine or have a negative COVID report not older than 72 hours.

As per the guidelines, the concerned district administration and police officials have been asked to ensure proper COVID-19 guidelines during the 'Char Dham' Yatra.

Given the COVID-19 pandemic earlier, the Uttarakhand High Court limited the number of devotees visiting the four holy shrines. After the new order, there will be no daily limit from today.

Courtesy: ANI
The Biden administration is covering up its final crime in Afghanistan. Writes Daniel Greenfield.

After Biden evacuated tens of thousands of Afghan translators, refugee resettlement groups are desperately looking for translators to translate to the translators.

Why do Afghan translators, who were supposed to translate from English to their native language, need help from translators?

Its because theyre not translators.

In the last two years, FrontPage Magazine ran multiple articles like How the Interpreter Scam Brought 75,000 Iraqis and Afghans to America and Saving Afghan Interpreters is a Scam That Would Bring 100,000 Afghans to the U. S, exposing the translator scam. Now tens of thousands of Afghans are arriving in this country, and they need translators because they dont speak English.

As I previously pointed out, there were more Afghan translators applying for visas than American soldiers to translate for. But the vast majority of SIV visa applicants were never translators. The number of actual translators, Afghans embedded with U.S. forces who risked their lives by working in the field, was minuscule and was its special category.

But by the end, almost any Afghan who worked for any U.S. organization could apply for a visa.

Bidens disastrous Afghanistan retreat made that existing scam so much worse because he didnt evacuate the approved SIV visa holders who might have worked for the U.S.

State Department sources have said that the majority of SIVs were left behind.

The Biden administration claims to have evacuated 124,000 people, of them only 5,500 Americans, from Afghanistan. 60,000 have been brought into the United States. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas admitted that only 1,800 are SIV holders, another 8,000 are citizens or have green cards.

That leaves over 50,000 Afghans who were just brought here with no legal basis.

And there are tens of thousands of evacuated Afghans who might still be brought here.

According to Mayorkas, the balance of that population are individuals whose applications have not yet been processed for approval who may qualify as SIVs and have not yet applied, who qualify or would qualifyI should sayas P-1 or P-2 refugees who have been employed by the United States government in Afghanistan and are otherwise vulnerable Afghan nationals, such as journalists, human rights advocates, etc.

Mayorkas describes bringing a whole lot of people who might qualify as SIVs if they were to apply for them, who would qualify for P-1 and P-2 visas: categories that took the existing translator scam and turned it into a free-for-all and allowed virtually anyone to qualify.

The Biden administration evacuated all these planeloads of journalists and human rights advocates who immediately began sexually assaulting some of the girls they were trafficking.

Two Afghan refugees at Fort McCoy have already been charged, one for sexually assaulting two minors and another for beating his wife, who alleged that he beat me many times in Afghanistan to the point I lost vision in both eyes.

The wife also told a translator that nine women have been killed since getting to Fort McCoy and that she would be the tenth. Theres been no confirmation of this, but even well before these two criminal cases, anonymous officials at Fort McCoy were warning that older men were admitted together with young girls they claimed as brides or otherwise sexually abused.

Thats strange behaviour for human rights activists.

The human rights activists that the United States funded in Kabul were largely middle-aged women who didnt wear burkas. Weve seen and heard almost nothing from any of them at Fort McCoy or anywhere else in the resettlement system. Some have remained in Afghanistan and are risking their lives by courageously organizing protests against the Taliban.

Theyre not raping children in Wisconsin.

The Afghan evacuees lean heavily toward military age males and older men with young girls. The women in those families that have come through tend to wear burkas and appear fearful.

Whoever the hell these people are, theyre not human rights activists and journalists.

Nor are they translators since most of them need translators, and few have SIV visas.

The question no one asked Mayorkas is why the vast majority of SIV visa holders never got on board those planes, but people who he thinks might qualify did.

What process could have possibly resulted in such a strange outcome?

The answer comes in two damning parts.

Kabul embassy personnel had tainted the pool of applicants by sending out electronic credentials. State Department officials claimed that the applicants widely distributed the passes and that soon everyone had them and was demanding access to the airport.

Within an hour, everyone in the crowd had that pass, a senior official claimed.

He noted that every credential we tried to provide electronically was immediately disseminated to the widest possible pool,

And while that might explain why many people showed up who werent qualified but were waving credentials, it doesnt explain why so few of those who were qualified made it into the airport and onto a plane. The only explanation is that they were deliberately kept out.

The Biden administration outsourced security to the Taliban, which passed it along to checkpoints manned by the Haqqani Network, allied with Al Qaeda. Biden officials provided the Taliban and Haqqanis with lists of qualified people they were supposed to admit.

And yet, the Taliban repeatedly prevented some Afghans from getting to the airport while allowing others to make it through. They did so regardless of the official credentials.

The media reported on this behaviour but treated it as random sadism or malice. Its not.

The Taliban were experts at cashing in on the American presence in Afghanistan. At one point, the Jihadis were making more money from taxing contractors working for us than they did from opium. There was no chance that the Taliban would leave all the money to be made from providing access to the evacuation flights on the table. And theres no reason to think they did.

An Australian Financial Review columnist reported that Taliban fighters are allowing people to pass through if they pay thousands of dollars in bribes.

That was likely only the tip of the iceberg.

The distribution of electronic credentials was deliberately tainted in the pipeline. The Taliban controlled access to the Kabul airport to keep out legitimate SIV visa holders while allowing the tens of thousands of Afghans who were illegitimately evacuated to bribe their way in.

This wasnt an evacuation: it was a massive Taliban human trafficking scheme.

The Taliban didnt just cash in on all the reconstruction projects and the weapons left behind. They undoubtedly made a fortune from every seat in Bidens Kabul airlift.

Now that tens of thousands of Afghans are here, they wont be leaving. They cant be deported and whether or not the parolees qualify for an SIV or P-2 visa is a mere technicality.

The truly explosive question is whether the Taliban just cashed in on the usual corruption in Afghanistan, or if they got any Al Qaeda or ISIS terrorists into the evacuation pipeline?

Did any of the Taliban grab the chance to get their family members into the airport?

Probably.

Sources have said that 0.5% of Afghan evacuees have been flagged for terror ties. Thats a high percentage for translators and human rights activists. Some of the flags were reportedly triggered by terrorist family ties. In a tribal and clan society, Taliban and Al Qaeda family members are extremely unlikely working as translators or human rights activists.

Beyond just getting family members into the evacuation pipeline, did the Taliban get actual terrorists into the United States? Probably, but itll take us years and bodies to find out.

Biden and his administration had treated the Kabul airlift as a massive triumph when it was the final act of a disaster that has brought rapists and terrorists to America.

The translators need translators, children are sexually assaulted, and women are beaten before the refugees leave Fort McCoy. Afterwards, things will get much worse.

Untold billions in taxpayer money will be squandered on resettling the beneficiaries of the Talibans human trafficking scheme. The Afghans will be signed up for every possible welfare program. A fortune will be spent just on translating for the translators at resettlement agencies, government agencies, schools, hospitals, and the local police.

More money will be spent on dealing with their abuses through the criminal justice system.

The SIV holders and their families who were left behind in Afghanistan but who eventually managed to make it over here will also have to be resettled, doubling our refugee load.

And then the terrorist plots will begin.

The Kabul airlift wasnt heroic: it was a bleak farce in which the Biden administration allowed the Taliban to select who got on the planes. And then its shocked that the Afghans whom the Taliban chose are not the SIV visa recipients that were on the list, but a whole other crowd.

It will take us decades to discover exactly who are the Afghans that Biden brought to America.

The Biden administration will cling to the myth of its heroic airlift by retroactively legitimizing the tens of thousands of Afghans to cover up the final instalment of its humiliating disaster. And the Taliban, once again, will have the last laugh as their human trafficking scheme pays off.

Human trafficking isnt only for Mexican cartels. The Taliban likely made a fortune trafficking rapists and terrorists, and anyone who could pay, to Kabul airport. The old men raping young girls, the military-age men scowling at the camera, and all the best of Afghanistan is here now.

And the Biden administration will cover up its final crime in Afghanistan.

(The writer is a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the Freedom Center, is an investigative journalist and writer focusing on the radical Left and Islamic terrorism)
A rise in hate crimes against Hindus in Canada and America needs to be taken seriously. The Hudson Institutes latest report has already warned the US authorities of a spike in Pakistani and Khalistani activities from its soil with an objective to hurt India

Think Tanks belong to that part of every nations war chest that anticipates future threats from outside, and brewing, stewing threats inside, making them as important as actual tanks in a war. One such think tank, the Hudson Institute, has red-flagged an alarming trend for both India and the Indian diaspora, warning the Indian and US authorities of something called the Pakistan Destabilisation Playbook: Khalistan Separatist Activism within the US, and its possibly dangerous consequences for the Bhartiya people.

The Hudson Institute is a research organisation promoting American leadership and global engagement. Founded in 1961 by a strategist called Herman Kahn, the institute seeks to guide public policy and global leadership in both government and business through a vigorous program of publications, conferences, briefings, and recommendations, mainly by anticipating future events and trends through vast interdisciplinary research.

In their latest report, they have warned the US authorities of a spike in Pakistani and Khalistani activities being funded and played out on their soil, with only one specific aim, which is to hurt India.

Pak Safe Haven for Terrorists

The report initially mentions how for years, the United States and for that matter, most from the international community have condemned both Pakistans tolerance of and support for terrorism. Moreover, it quotes the US Department of States Country Report on Pakistan stating, Pakistan continued to serve as a safe haven for certain regionally-focused terrorist groups. It allowed groups targeting Afghanistan, including the Afghan Taliban and affiliated HQN [Haqqani Network], as well as groups targeting India, including LeT (Lashkar-e-Tayyaba) and its affiliated front organisations, and JeM (Jaish-e-Mohammed), to operate from its territory.

The report then also goes on to state how, Islamabad has yet to take decisive actions against Indian and Afghanistan-focused militants who would undermine their operational capability. The Indian Government and several independent scholars  both Indian and international  have always believed that militancy in Jammu and Kashmir, as well as the Khalistan movement, are parts of Pakistans proxy war plan for bleeding India with a thousand cuts. And how US soil is now being increasingly used to strengthen these movements, and the Government should be aware of it and discourage such activities completely and immediately.

A lot of millennials might not know the exact origin and evolution of the Khalistani movement.

Mission to Create Khalistan

For many years, a few members of the Sikh diaspora located in countries like America and Canada have supported the creation of a separate state for Sikhscalled Khalistanin the Indian state of Punjab bordering Pakistan on one side and the extremely problematic and volatile Jammu and Kashmir region on the other. While demands for a separate Sikh state were voiced even before 1947, Sikh militants did not begin employing violence to voice these demands until the late 1970s and continued to do so aggressively through the early 1990s.

In 1984, the then Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi dispatched the Indian Army to oust militants and their leaders from the holiest of Sikh shrinesthe Golden Templewhich the Khalistani militants had occupied with weapons brought from Pakistan.

This operation, called Blue Star, backfired, as it also hurt many innocents as collateral damage, and in turn served to further galvanise Sikhs living abroad, followed by Sikh militants 1984 assassination of Indira Gandhi.

Though the movement had remained dormant after the 1990s, it has risen its head and shown a spike in recent years, so curtailment of diaspora-based efforts to re-invigorate it must be undertaken.

Not only that, according to the report, cooperation between Khalistani and Kashmiri groups has become increasingly apparent in North America and should be of bigger concern. For example, in August 2020, Khalistani and Kashmiri activists staged a joint demonstration in New York against India and other such protests of Khalistani and Kashmiri separatists that have occurred in Washington DC, Houston, Ottawa, London, and European capitals.

The report reiterates how anticipation constitutes a crucial part of national security planning, and, therefore, investigating, within the limits prescribed by law, the activities of Khalistani groups located in North America is important to prevent a recurrence of the violence exhibited by the Khalistan movement in the 1980s.

Pakistan-backed Khalistan is rapidly taking roots in the US

One should note how a similar report from the MacDonald Laurier Institute provides details of recent Khalistani group activities in Canada.

The main question one should ask is: whats connecting these groups to one another, especially when Sikhs are being driven out of Afghanistan and Pakistan facing atrocities? Ethnic cleansing, forced conversion, attacks on gurdwaras, and migration have ensured that Sikhs, like Hindus and Christians, are currently a minuscule, endangered minority within Pakistan. Nonetheless, ironically, Pakistan has long championed the Khalistan struggle, both inside India and among the Sikh diaspora, and covertly supported both the Khalistan insurgency in Punjab and its anti-India recruitment and propaganda campaign around the world.

The only connecting cause here is that they have a shared political interestto destabilise India, following mostly some common modus operandi, organising joint events, and sharing lawyers, donors, and accountants.

To know the extent of this insidious, interconnected, mutually benefitting network and ecosystem, one must remember a man called Ghulam Nabi Fai.

He is an American citizen of Kashmiri origin, who founded the organisation, Kashmiri American Council in the United States and carried out lobbying apparently on behalf of Kashmiri Separatism. In 2011, the US Government found out that this was actually a front group for Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence, the ISI.

Fai was then arrested by the FBI, the same year, for concealing the transfer of 3.5 million US dollars from Pakistans ISI to fund his lobbying efforts and influence the US Government on the Kashmir conflict, in violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. His arrest came right at a time when relations between the United States and Pakistan were particularly strained, following the aftermath of the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan, and while US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was visiting India. Fai later pleaded guilty to conspiracy and tax evasion and got indicted.

The involvement of Fai and Kashmir-related groups should be taken seriously, especially in todays US-based Khalistan milieu. For years, the KAC had held itself out as an organisation, run by Kashmiris, financed by Americans and dedicated to raising the level of knowledge in the United States about the struggle of the Kashmiri people for self-determination, but according to court documents, the KAC was secretly funded by officials employed by the government of Pakistan, including the Inter-Services Intelligence.

Rise in Hate Crimes Against Hindus

Pakistans strategy has always been to damage India by exploiting its religious and political fault lines and by supporting violent, extremist, and separatist movements across various parts of India. Internal politics in the Indian state of Punjab and Pakistans ambitions are coinciding today, from which the Khalistan movement has once again emerged.

Since farmers protests broke down in India, several cases of hate crimes against Hindus have been reported, especially in Canada and America. For instance, during Holi celebrations in April this year, a group of around 100 protesters barged into the area where around 400 Hindus were celebrating. They reportedly started shouting slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian government. They also blocked the route on which the Tiranga Yatra was supposed to take place. The event was delayed for around three hours, reportedly, as Khalistani flags were raised by the protestors.

These incidents should not seem random as its becoming apparent how Khalistani forces based out of Canada have joined hands with Islamists and are working in the background to discredit or damage the image of India. In March 2021, a Jodhveer Singh Dhaliwal, a known Khalistani sympathiser came under investigation after videos of him attacking Hindus at the Tiranga rally went viral.

The Indian Government and several independent scholars  both Indian and international  have always believed that militancy in Jammu and Kashmir, as well as the Khalistan movement, are parts of Pakistans proxy war plan for bleeding India with a thousand cuts

The reason why these activities are gaining more impetus is because they want to strongly peddle an anti-Modi and anti-India narrative abroad. By talking about the farmers protest outside, the effort is to divert the conversation to a place where India is shown as undemocratic. Even within India, On January 26, the farmers' protest got hijacked and ushered it into a highly charged political space.

Kashmir 2 Khalistan Referendum 2020 was a movement, which got moved to 2022 because of COVID-19. According to the experts at Hudson, last year a group called Sikhs for Justice sent letters to President Putin, President Xi Jinping, Imran Khan for support for Referendum 2020 and the Khalistani movement. They have also sent emails to the Hudson department showing their pledge of 1mn dollars to aid the Taliban. Why would this correspondence and exchange of money take place between entities that dont seem to have that much in common?

Thats a question we all need to collectively examine. Besides the authorities, even regular people like us, and our relatives abroad, and the Indian diaspora at large should check facts before they associate with a group and start making large donations. We must know the benefactors and the cause for which the money is being used. as so far it looks like its mostly being used to change the sentiment about India, and bleed it, as the report says, by a thousand cuts.

(Source: Hudson Report, 2021)




Madam President,



At the outset, the Holy See wishes to thank the Government of Barbados for virtually hosting this Ministerial Conference. We also would like to express our sincere congratulations to Ms. Rebecca Grynspan for her appointment as UNCTAD Secretary General. Surely, the States convened in this Ministerial Conference maintain a firm conviction that our historic collaboration will result in the advancement of the core focus of this Conference: Prosperity for all.

The Covid-19 global situation has led to the most severe recession since World War II. While the pandemic has affected everyone, its fallout, in terms of health and livelihoods, has disproportionately affected people with the greatest vulnerabilities. Even in high-income countries, the economic impact has varied widely. Those with digital skills and financial assets made gains, while those without such resources fell further behind, and women, young people and migrants were hit the hardest. The damage in developing countries, where fiscal space is constrained, was greater still, with poverty levels and food insecurity rising despite years of progress in these domains. Thus, the pandemic has dramatically exposed existing fault-lines and fragilities in the prevailing economic model. As Pope Francis has noted, this is a model that strengthens the identity of the more powerful, who can protect themselves, but it tends to diminish the identity of the weaker and poorer regions, making them more vulnerable and dependent. In this way, political life becomes increasingly fragile in the face of transnational economic powers that operate with the principle of divide and conquer (Fratelli tutti, n. 12)

In addition, extreme inequality has re-emerged as a prevailing feature of the contemporary world. Many factors can explain the progressive deterioration of this scenario, both within and across countries. Technological change and high-speed (hyper) globalization have contributed to a decrease in real wages for workers as well as to accelerated deindustrialization, laying waste to many manufacturing centers. Nonetheless, technology alone can hardly explain changes of the magnitude witnessed over the past decades. The unregulated financial markets and institutions with shortterm horizons has been a catalytic factor behind these trends.

The emergency generated by the pandemic has challenged, but not eliminated, this attitude. As wages have decreased, millions of individuals have been plunged into poverty, and this has set back poverty reduction targets by nearly a decade. The fault lines of the global economy, in fact, have been dramatically exposed. Moreover, those already in vulnerable situations, people who were facing serious financial challenges prior to the pandemic, were disproportionately affected by its fallout.

Responses to the interrelated dimensions of inequalities

This crisis provides a unique opportunity for sustainable change. In the current scenario, even worse than the crisis itself, would be the tragedy of squandering potential lessons learned by closing in on ourselves. The human family has an opportunity to go beyond short-term technological or financial fixes and take full account of the ethical dimension in seeking solutions to current problems or propose initiatives for the future", aiming at authentic integral human development that can only be achieved when all members of the human family are included in the search for the common good and can contribute to it",1 as stated by Pope Francis. Moving in this direction and making substantial advancement in economic and social inclusion, however, will require important policy and regulatory shifts in several areas.

First, fighting rampant inequality cannot be achieved without fiscal redistribution and increasing the progressiveness of income taxation schedules. Adequate enforcement of corporate taxation, especially multinational enterprises (MNEs), is equally important. Better taxation can redistribute a portion of the rents accruing to big corporations and help build up tax bases, especially in developing countries. Nonetheless, this does not solve structural problems, such as the persistent productivity gap between small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and large firms, which is an important driver of the observed rise in inequality, including wage inequality.

The COVID-19 pandemic not only has increased inequality within countries, but it has also upended public budgets in many developing economies, exposing their sovereign debts to global financial instability. These economies have faced more limitationsthan developed countries in their effortsto mobilize domestic fiscal resources to respond to the pandemic. This, too, is one more example of the dangerous global divide between the haves and the have-nots. One first step in overcoming this divide was made by the decision of the G20 and the Paris Club to suspend bilateral debt service repayments for a select number of vulnerable developing countries. A much more ambitious multilateral approach to debt restructuring and relief is needed. This should aim at substantial redemption schedules for public external debts of developing economies, along with expanding the use of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) and Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) to support national development strategies. As stated by Pope Francis, it is important that ethics once again play its due part in the world of finance and that markets serve the interests of peoples and the common good of humanity2 . In fact, we should reaffirm that facilitating good global governance is an essential ingredient for an international environment capable of promoting sustainable development.

A more ambitious approach and rebalancing of the multilateral system are also needed to enable developing countries to harness policy space for structural transformation and convergence. Inequality, in fact, further blocks their successful integration into the global economy. Strengthening international cooperation and providing every country with the adequate means to cope with the current challenges would represent an investment in systemic resilience.

Health and access to medications and vaccines is yet another area characterized by significant inequalities that could pose significant repercussions in the future and dangerous risks for systemic resilience. In the rapidly evolving pandemic scenario, a waiver on World Trade Organization (WTO) intellectual property rules, as proposed by South Africa and India, and supported from the very beginning by the Holy See, would be a vital and necessary step to end this pandemic, by enabling adequate and rapid access to vaccines, diagnostics and treatments for all countries. In particular, given the different technologies and challenges related to COVID-19 vaccines, such a waiver should be combined with ensuring the open sharing of vaccine know-how and technology.

Finally, in the quest for climate stabilization and climate justice, necessary investment in decarbonization of our economies and making sufficient funds available to achieve this end, represent an opportunity to channel resources toward those areas in greater need of industrial restructuring. In addition, it is crucial that we find ways to reconcile climate, industrial and social policy within a strategic and integral perspective. In view of the current climate trends, transformation to a more sustainable economy requires enhancing the ability of countries and economies to adapt to higher temperatures, thus necessitating a better understanding of how trade and development will be affected by a warmer world. Mitigation and adaptation are two sides of the same coin in the fight against global warming, and they need to be complemented by facilitating adequate implementation in developing countries.

Conclusion

The extreme inequality that has emerged in recent decades is underpinned by an individualistic ideology that has abandoned the notion of the common good in a common home with common horizons. Investment and prosperity have been delinked from notions of a social contract and a commitment to a caring society; rather, today they are perceived merely from the perspective of sources of profit. Pope Francis warned that [r]adical individualism is a virus that is extremely difficult to eliminate, for it is clever. It makes us believe that everything consists in giving free rein to our own ambitions, as if by pursuing ever greater ambitions and creating safety nets we would somehow be serving the common good (Fratelli tutti, 105).

In this context, mutual debt has become the glue that holds our increasingly segmented and anxious communities together. However, as more and more households, firms and governments have become dependent on borrowing against a backdrop of slow productivity growth, stagnant wages, and precarious employment, debt has turned into a solvent, corroding the trust and solidarity on which a fair and healthy society depends.

A new ethics of the common good is necessary. It forms the basis for policymaking capable of both tackling the structural inequalities behind our deeply divided and increasingly fragile world and unleashing the spirit of human ingenuity and creativity, which is urgently needed to build back better from the devastation of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Such an ethical approach to development has to be embodied in a new multilateral architecture that would allow us to turn the page on years of selfishness and loss of civic values and culture. Over the last four decades, hyper-globalization has represented the guiding narrative of international relations, in which the territorial power of strong States has become intertwined with the extra-territorial power of large footloose corporations. As a consequence, the international community has been completely unable (or, even worse, unwilling) to put forward comprehensive proposals to alleviate the difficulties of poorer countries and, in particular, of the poorest communities.

Given the overwhelming impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the call for a global partnership for sustainable development goes well beyond the moral commitment to leave no one behind. In an increasingly interconnected world, it also must be rooted in long-term consideration and action related to global public goods, potential spillovers across nations, and, ultimately, to the worlds systemic resilience. In line with this, it is now time to recover the notion of interdependence and to re-build multilateralism around the ideals of social justice and mutual responsibility among and within nations. Only in this way can we hope to calibrate the global economy toward a twenty-first century vision of stability, shared prosperity, and environmental sustainability, and ensure a resilient and prosperous future for all.

Madam President,

Seventy-six years ago, a sense of international solidarity, collective action (and sacrifice), as well as local efforts provided the inspiration and motivation for those tasked with building a better post-conflict world. In that context, prosperity was considered as essential as peace, and ensuring one was deemed necessary to achieve the other. Guided by this vision and these principles, States participating in the first U.N. Conference on Trade and Development in Geneva expressed their determination "to seek a better and more effective system of international economic co-operation, whereby the division of the world into areas of poverty and plenty may be banished and prosperity achieved by all." They called for the abolition of poverty everywhere and saw it as essential "that the flows of world trade should help to eliminate the wide economic disparities among nationsThe task of development," they added, "is for the benefit of the people as a whole."3

Without UNCTAD, dialogue and consensus-building between developing and developed countries would have been less rich, effective and meaningful. In a world more and more interdependent, as shown by the effects of the current pandemic, the role of UNCTAD remains valid and necessary if we want to maximize the advantages of globalization and minimize its negative consequences. The Holy See believes, therefore, that this Conference should remain committed to its ideals, and thus focus on how the international community can ensure that UNCTAD plays its full and meaningful role in support of the new global development agenda, with a particular attention to the needs of poor countries and of poor people. The crisis that is paralyzing the WTO provides strong evidence that the stakes in this Conference are higher than ever before. UNCTAD ought to seize this timely opportunity to reaffirm the centrality of multilateralism and to relaunch the dialogue on real reforms in trade, finance and development. This would mark a significant and necessary change of pace.

Thank you, Madam President.

1 Message of Pope Francis to the World Economic Forum, 21 January 2021. Available at hiips://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2020/01/21/0038/00083.html



2 Address of Pope Francis to the participants in the Conference on impact investing for the poor, Rome 16 June 2014. Available at: hiips://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2014/june/documents/papafrancesco_20140616_convegno-justpeace.html



3 Final Act of UNCTAD I, adopted on June 15, 1964. Preamble, 1, 4.


Kyle Ocker is the editor of the Ottumwa Courier and the Oskaloosa Herald. He can be reached at kocker@ottumwacourier.com. Follow him on Twitter @Kyle_Ocker. Chad Drury is a staff writer at the Ottumwa Courier. He can be reached at cdrury@ottumwacourier.com. Follow him on Twitter @ChadDrury
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The heartbreaking abuse and neglect that occurs to some children is formally called child maltreatment. It includes all types of physical and/or emotional ill-treatment, abuse, neglect, negligence or exploitation that results in actual or potential harm to the child. Child maltreatment is a serious and important nationwide problem and Midland County is not immune. Tragically, our numbers have not changed over the years despite best efforts to reduce the incidence of child maltreatment.

Midland Kids First and delinquency

Midland Kids First (MKF), a 501(c)3 non-profit, was founded in 2008 to provide critical services for the most at-risk children in Midland County. In collaboration with the Midland County Probate Court and a large number of youth-serving agencies, significant improvements have been realized in reducing delinquent behavior and substance use disorders among our youth. Delinquency and drug use are down approximately 90%. The two-year recidivism rate among participants in MKFs Recovering Youth Futures treatment program for teens with substance use disorders is 15% compared with national rates reported to be in the 40-50% range. These are extraordinary improvements.

No change in child maltreatment numbers

Despite these gains, child maltreatment has remained stubbornly constant in the county. Over the last decade, the court has averaged about 40 cases annually involving about 100 children who experience neglect and abuse. In order to address this issue, MKF conducted a retrospective five-year study of Midland County child maltreatment cases in an attempt to excerpt common elements and risk factors that, if treated, might be useful in preventing this problem. Among the findings were the following:

 Most victims were very young; between 0-3 years old

 About 80% of child maltreatment cases involved neglect while 20% entailed abuse

 Nearly 85% of perpetrators had substance use disorders while about 75% had a mental illness

 Most perpetrators had low educational achievement. Nearly 50% did not complete high school or earn a General Educational Development (GED) certificate and only 5% completed college

2018 Child Maltreatment Prevention Forum

Thanks to a generous grant from the Charles J. Strosacker Foundation, a child maltreatment prevention forum was held in the spring of 2018 with leaders from the courts, law enforcement, schools, public health, various community organizations, and others concerned about stemming child maltreatment. Two acclaimed national child maltreatment experts, Drs. Fred Wulczyn of Chapin Hall of the University of Chicago and Joseph Ryan of the University of Michigan, presented their research findings. A summary of the Midland County child maltreatment analysis was also presented. After considerable discussion, a recommendation was developed to investigate best practices on ways to recognize and treat at the earliest possible time the risk factors identified in the analysis thereby reducing the probability of child maltreatment.

National efforts for child maltreatment prevention

A subsequent search uncovered a program developed by Dr. Howard Dubowitz of the University of Maryland called SEEK; providing a Safe Environment for Every Kid. Dr. Dubowitzs research also identified similar child maltreatment risk factors including mental illness, substance use disorders, low intellectual functioning, and harsh punishment among others. The SEEK program utilizes trained health care providers, primarily pediatricians, and family physicians, to identify these risk factors during pregnancy and/or early childhood wellness visits and provides interventions for addressing them. SEEK has been implemented in 26 states and several European countries including Sweden and Italy. Its outcomes are well documented and are very promising with 30-50% reported reductions in child maltreatment along with significant cost savings per case averted. Of course, the principal gains accrue to the children who benefit from a safer environment, a higher quality of life, and a better opportunity to flourish and thrive.

Grants facilitate SEEK implementation

Thanks to generous grants from the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation, Michigans Childrens Trust Fund, the Midland Womens 100 Club, and the Midland Exchange Club, SEEK has begun implementation in Midland County. Dr. Sasha Savage and the Midland Physicians Group of MidMichigan Health along with health care providers at Midland Family Physicians and MidMichigan Obstetrics and Gynecology have been trained and have begun screening their patients for risk factors. A 16-item questionnaire developed by Dr. Dubowitz along with a directed interview process are used to discern these issues.

Collaborative effort to provide needed child maltreatment prevention support and services

Once identified, the health care provider can either provide printed information on how to address these factors or, if they are deemed more serious, refer the patient to one of three collaborating therapy providers: Community Mental Health for Central Michigan, J & A Counseling and Evaluation, or Partners in Change. Treatment is paid for by Medicaid if the patient is eligible, private insurance if available, self-pay if affordable, and finally from the grant. This braided funding model has been used successfully to assure the most efficient use of grant dollars as the payer of last resort if other sources are unavailable or insufficient. In addition, other risk factors and needs such as food insecurity, stress, partner violence, discipline, poison control, smoke alarm, or tobacco dependence are being addressed through additional collaborative partnerships including with Safe and Sound Child Advocacy Center, Shelterhouse, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Great Start Collaborative, and 2-1-1 of Central Michigan. While the SEEK program is only in its infancy in Midland County, over 80 patients have already been screened. Of these, 21 have received flyers to provide information regarding identified issues (chiefly poison control and mild depression), 10 have been referred to therapy (primarily for serious depression and stress), and 4 to 2-1-1 for assistance regarding smoke alarms and food insecurity.

Prevention is the key

It is still too early in the process to expect any changes in the frequency of child maltreatment cases in the county. However, early intervention to identify and address the risk factors most associated with child maltreatment holds the significant promise of reducing the number of our child maltreatment cases. We also expect to see reductions in the number of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) that recent research has shown are a leading contributor to future behavioral and physical health problems. In addition to the childs improved quality of life, there promises to be considerable savings associated with the avoidance of the many social costs related to child maltreatment. The most desirable benefit, however, will be breaking the intergenerational cycle of neglect and abuse with the resultant creation of a positive story of success for the affected families and our community.

We know what needs to be done. The SEEK intervention coupled with the financial and partnering support of a caring community will enable us to achieve our objective of bending the curve downward on the number of child maltreatment cases in the county. The rest merely requires our dedication and persistence in successfully implementing the program. Only then will we be able to realize a far-reaching continuum of indispensable and consequential benefits for our children and for our entire community.

Dorene S. Allen is the Midland County Probate and Family Court judge who has been instrumental in achieving stunning reductions in juvenile delinquency and related risk-taking activities. Pamela Singer is the president and chief executive officer of Midland Kids First and leads its programs. Kelly Jensen is a research associate for Midland Kids First who is responsible for the comprehensive analyses of the SEEK program outcomes.
Midland County added 117 new COVID-19 cases between Tuesday, Oct. 5, and Wednesday, Oct. 6.

COVID-19 numbers reported from Oct. 5-6

Midland County: 117 cases were added; pandemic total is 8,583 cases, 786 probable cases, 116 deaths and four probable deaths. Bay County: 340 cases and three deaths were added; pandemic total stands at 12,607 cases, 895 probable cases, 358 deaths and 15 probable deaths. Gladwin County: 29 cases were added; pandemic total stands at 2,467 cases, 496 probable cases, 62 deaths and four probable deaths. Isabella County: 51 cases and two deaths were added; pandemic total stands at 6,858 cases, 1,244 probable cases, 102 deaths and six probable deaths. Saginaw County: 196 cases and two deaths were added; pandemic total stands at 23,567 cases, 1,766 probable cases, 634 deaths and 21 probable deaths. The state added 7,674 cases and 92 deaths between Tuesday and Wednesday. Overall, Michigan is at 1,047,011 cases and 21,231 deaths.

Recovered

According to the Midland County Health Department website, which was updated Oct. 4, 8,179 Midland County individuals have recovered from COVID. The state reported that as of Oct. 1, a total of 931,115 persons have recovered.

Testing

Midland Countys seven-day rolling positivity rate on Oct. 4 was listed at 14%, and Gladwin County's was listed at 19%. Our 12-county region was listed at 17% and Michigan was at 10%.

MidMichigan Health statistics

As of Oct. 4, MidMichigan Medical Center in Midland was listed as having a 79% bed occupancy, with 30 COVID patients and five in the ICU. MidMichigan Medical Center in Gladwin was listed as having a 32% bed occupancy, with two COVID patients and none in the ICU.

Both medical centers reported having at least 15-30 days worth of personal protection equipment (N95, surgical masks, gowns, gloves and eye protection) on hand.

Schools

As of Tuesday, Midland Public Schools reported 122 staff/students were in close contact to an individual who was confirmed COVID-19 positive and 22 staff/students currently tested positive for the virus. Schools with one or more staff/student confirmed positive for COVID-19 as of Tuesday include Dow High (3), Midland High (1), Jefferson Middle (2), Northeast Middle (2), Central Park Elementary (2), Chestnut Hill (3), Plymouth Elementary (1), Siebert Elementary (1) and Woodcrest Elementary (7).

Bullock Creek reported on Monday that there are five staff members and 33 students who are active confirmed cases. There are also 210 students (but no staff members) currently in quarantine. Schools with one or more confirmed COVID-19 cases as of Friday include Floyd Elementary (6), Pine River Elementary (3), Bullock Creek Middle School (9) and Bullock Creek High School (20).

On Monday, the state's website listed two schools in the Midland area among its new outbreaks: Bullock Creek Elementary (3), and Pine River Elementary (3).

Midland County vaccinations

The Michigan COVID-19 Vaccine Dashboard lists Midland's completed vaccine rate is 66.2%. Currently, the vaccines are not authorized to be given to those under age 12.

Midland County Health Department is hosting a weekly walk-in COVID vaccination clinic from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. every Tuesday and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Friday on the second floor of the Midland County Services Building, 220 W. Ellsworth St., Midland.

Future COVID-19 vaccine clinics in Midland County are listed at www.co.midland.mi.us/HealthDepartment/COVIDVaccineInformation.aspx. Those with questions may call 989-832-6380 or email MCDPH@co.midland.mi.us.
Our story of the country school and the part it played begins with what country schools looked like. And the country school revolved around the young men and women who taught in it.

Young women like Clara Booth Smith attended County Normal for a year and then received a teaching contract. Clara Booth Smith taught in a rural school and then married, raised a family and returned to her first love, teaching. She was a remarkable woman. A remarkable teacher. And she exemplified the very best of what a country school teacher was.

Gordons pasture was next to the little Cady School on Sturgeon Road. Fence posts and a wire fence separated the school and the pasture. During recess and lunch time, the cows would wander over to the fence, as if to see what was going on.

In 1934, 43 children attended Cady School and a young man, just out of County Normal, was our teacher: Gerald Mason. Ezra Wise, who had a prosperous farm up the road a ways from the school, was chairman of the school board. And he was the one who ordered ice cream for our picnic the last day of school in May.

We were a collection of backgrounds. Some of us were grandchildren of the men and women who settled the Village of Midland City in 1869. Some were the first generation of children in their families to be born in America.

The men either farmed or worked at The Dow Chemical Company, five miles away in the small town of Midland. The wives and mothers stayed home, raised children and kept house. Keeping house included carrying water (there was no central water system at the time) and doing the family washing on a washboard (a washing machine was considered a luxury). And they made baked beans and potato salad for the potlucks at our school.

The interior of the school was much like that of all country schools at that time. Wooden desks stretched from the back of the school up to the teachers desk. A blackboard ran across the front of the room. Two huge portraits of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln hung on opposite walls. A large circular clock with big black numbers was near the blackboard. And an American flag was prominently displayed.

A huge, hulking black furnace was placed directly inside the school, almost blocking the entranceway. A long stove pipe ran across the ceiling from the furnace to the brick chimney outside. The men who had put the furnace in and the men who had built the chimney had apparently felt no need to talk to each other about the placement of the chimney and the furnace. The long stovepipe was held to the ceiling with strips of wire.

The furnace used both coal and wood. One day, my cousin Rob (a Beginner like me) was handed a small package wrapped in newspaper and was told to put it in the furnace when the teacher wasnt looking. He would get a nickel if he did it.

As the afternoon went on, the furnace seemed to get hotter by the minute and then the stove pipe began glowing red. One of the eighth-graders was sent on the run to tell Mr. Wise that something was wrong with the furnace.

One of the perpetrators who gave Rob the newspaper-covered box, quakingly went up to Mr. Masons desk to tell him that a box of 22-caliber shells was in the furnace. We were evacuated quickly and stood outside in the snow, huddling together to keep warm. Several farmers had appeared and managed to cool the furnace down. And school continued as though nothing had happened. Rob never got the promised nickel, but he did get a scolding about putting a box of shells in a hot furnace.

Mr. Mason was respected and liked by everyone except one family. The boys father was a frequent visitor to the school, always to complain that his son was not getting the grades he deserved or was being mistreated by the big boys at recess or lunch time. The second year that Mr. Mason taught, he quit at Christmas vacation time. Coping with a complaining parent every other day was too much.

When we got back from Christmas vacation, a new teacher was seated at the teachers desk. It was a woman and her name was Mrs. Carrier. It wasnt long before the man who had managed to have Mr. Mason quit teaching, came to complain to Mrs. Carrier. During school hours.

The confrontation didnt last long. The boys dad told his side of the story and then Mrs. Carrier told her side of the story. She was the teacher. If the gentleman didnt approve of how she was teaching his son, he could complain to the school board. Otherwise, he was never to come into her school again when it was in session.

Flustered at being opposed, the man stood there for a couple of seconds. Then he put his cap on, turned and walked out of the school. His son learned an important lesson that day. Oddly enough, it was a lesson we all learned that day. Mrs. Carrier was our new teacher and she was "the boss.

In the fall of 1934, dogs were suddenly acting as though they had rabies. Running wildly across fields and yards. Foaming at the mouth. At the time, we had a little dog named Tippy. One day after I had gotten home from school, Tippy came running down the driveway, yelping wildly, foaming at the mouth.

Grandpa happened to be at our house and he yelled at Mom to keep the four of us in the house. My uncle came back shortly with a rifle and shot Tippy. Falling on a patch of colored leaves, Tippy made little whining sounds and then he was gone. I cried my heart out.

Weeks later, we found out what had happened to several dogs in the neighborhood. A farmer in the area began catching dogs if they were in his yard and rubbing turpentine on their rectums. The dogs, wild with pain, would return home running, foaming at the mouth. The classic sign of rabies.

That fall, all the farmers had abundant crops and that farmer needed some hired men. Nobody would work for him, even if they needed the money. His crops lay in the fields, spoiled. Because no one would help him.

Some names of the 43 I still remember for one reason or another. Vernice and Vera Saylor would make spit curls in my bangs. Sometimes I sat with Norma Craig. Shirley Town, my cousin Rob, Raymond Saylor and myself made up part of the Beginners. I dont remember the names of the other three. Shirley and I were the only girls among five boys.

Lillian Balcirak and her brother Steve sang Long, Long Ago at the Christmas program and it made me cry. I had just found out (by mistake) that my grandpa was Santa Claus. There seemed to be a lot of big boys in the upper grades. There was Victor Howe, Virgil and Duane Gordon, Duane Hagon (he had a sister Betty) and Bob Ohlrogge (who rode a bicycle to school because he lived on Eastman Road).

Our school had the barest of necessities, including a pail of water sitting on a bench with a dipper to drink from. The same school books were used and reused year after year. We learned to read, write, spell and do arithmetic. We got along with each other. We respected our teacher, our moms and dads. Neighbors helped neighbors. We didnt know it at the time, but we led charmed lives in that little country school, five miles from the small town named Midland, Michigan.

(The story of The Country School will continue in two weeks with Part II and will feature interviews with Harold Leigeb and Julie Sears, who had Mrs. Clara Smith as a teacher.)
Molina Healthcare of Michigan is partnering with Midland County Department of Public Health to offer One-Stop Shot flu/COVID-19 vaccine clinics for those in the Midland area. COVID-19 booster shots will also be available.

Participants at each event will have the chance to win a $50 Visa gift card, and all participants will receive a gift from Molina.
Cora Heart Crether, 64 of Palestine, died on November 10th in Tyler. Funeral service will be held Saturday at 1 p.m. at Rising Star Baptist Church in Grapeland. Burial will follow in Golden Gate Cemetery in Grapeland. The viewing will be Friday from 10 to 6 at Emanuel Funeral Home Palestine.
Geneva, Switzerland (PANA) - Improved water management, monitoring and forecasting are needed in the face of a looming global water crisis, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and partners said in a report published on Tuesday
Photo: (Photo : Arek Socha/Pixabay)

The parents of a 3-year-old boy have filed a lawsuit against the city of Arlington in Texas after their son died from contracting a brain-eating amoeba, believed to be in the Don Misenhimer Park splash pad.

Bakari Williams succumbed to the complications caused by the brain-eating amoeba in his frail body. The parents are asking for a million dollars in damages from the city as they failed to ensure that the public splash pad would be tested and cleaned daily.

Stephen Stewart, the family's lawyer, said that the splash pad did not have any chlorine and was not tested for at least 64 days. It was open to the public for 100 days before the incident. Officials from the Arlington City Hall had admitted to a human error and said they were negligent about the tests and treatments required of the splash pad.

Read Also: Half of Kids Under 6 Exposed to Lead Poisoning, New Study Says

What Happened to Bakari Williams?

Bakari and his parents frequently visited the splash pad as this was his favorite spot. He loved to play amid the blue whale and yellow-green turtle fountain with the palm tree showers.

However, following their visit to the park last September 5, Bakari quickly fell sick at home and had a 102 to 103-degree fever. The next day, Bakari did not want to eat and could not get up to go to the bathroom. His parents said he was too weak to stand up, so they took him to the hospital. He died on September 11.

Tests sent in by the hospital to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has revealed that Bakari was infected by a brain-eating amoeba known as the Naegleria fowleri. Reports showed that the rare amoeba likely entered Bakari's body through his nose, which quickly got to his brain, and caused primary amebic meningoencephalitis, a fatal infection. The CDC also confirmed that the splash pad's water samples had the presence of the amoeba.

Arlington officials shut down the splash pads after the CDC released their findings and conducted investigations among its parks and recreation employees. The city has four other splash pads that were also not properly tested and treated as they fell under the minimum requirement for chlorination levels.

Lemuel Randolph, Arlington's deputy city manager, confirmed that they had identified the gaps in their maintenance programs. He admitted that their system failed to meet the standards. Arlington Mayor Jim Ross also took responsibility for the family's loss and said the screw-up happened during his watch.

Second Death in the Family

This was the second death in the Williams family after losing another child in 2109 to sudden infant death syndrome. Tariq Williams, Bakari's dad, lamented that his son "did not deserve to die in this manner" as he was a loving, sweet and innocent boy.

The family's lawyer said that the city's negligence was unacceptable, knowing that bad things could happen if the public park's facilities were not well-maintained. Because of the incident, all splash pads in the city will be closed for the remainder of the year.

Related Article: California Parents Sue to Stop Public Schools From Letting Students Pray to Aztec Gods
Photo: (Photo : Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

California residents are getting another stimulus check between the amount of $600 and $1,100 beginning Oct. 6, 2021, as the state has released the next round of payments from its Golden State Stimulus II program.

This will be the third stimulus check release from the California Franchise Tax Board (CFTB), which has set aside $480 million for at least two-thirds of local families. The first two payments were rolled out in August and September on top of the federal government's stimulus payments and child tax credit payments.

About two million Californians can receive this payment through direct deposit or through physical checks sent by post. Those who have opted for physical checks could expect their payment based on the distribution schedule per ZIP code. The rollout will take place every two weeks until all residents have their payments.

Read Also: Stimulus Check Update: Eligible Workers in a Select Industry to Receive Extra $600

Who Qualifies for the Golden State Stimulus II?

According to Gov. Gavin Newsom, two out of three California residents are eligible to get $600 from the Golden State Stimulus II program. The standard amount of the stimulus check is $600 for families earning less than $75,000 a year. They could be eligible as well if they are a tax resident for at least six months in 2020.

Round 2 of Golden State Stimulus checks start to go out this week!



2 out of 3 Californians are eligible for $600 or more -- were putting money directly back into the pockets of those that need it most. pic.twitter.com/G0ZIzVtagD  Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) August 27, 2021

However, some families could receive an additional $500 if they have adult dependents or they are undocumented families if they declared these in their tax returns.

Newsom signed the Golden State Stimulus II order as a way to help low-income Californians. He said that it was important for the state government to address "the inequities laid bare by the pandemic" and help those who faced the greatest hardships during this period.

Earlier, California also distributed stimulus check payments for residents who make less than $30,000 a year as they were not eligible for the federal stimulus benefit. Most of the recipients from this batch were immigrants.

California has the capacity to provide stimulus check payments for its residents because of its huge budget surplus in the previous year. While it is one of America's most populous states, its unemployment rate is also lower than the average rate for the whole country.

California residents may verify if they have received the money through their MyFTB account, or they may phone CFTB for inquiries at 800-852-5711 for those in the U.S. or 916-845-6500 for residents currently abroad.

Other Stimulus Check Payments Across the States

But it's not just California distributing its state-mandated stimulus check. Florida has also doled out $1,000 for its teachers and first responders for their sacrifices during the pandemic. New Mexico has also given away $750 in emergency assistance funds to over 4,000 households.

Tennessee gave a one-time $500 to $1,000 extra payment to teachers and then raised their wages by two percent. On the other hand, Texas left it up to the school districts to distribute stimulus checks as there is no state mandate. Some used the money for retention bonuses or pay increases.

Related Article: Fourth Stimulus Check for Older Americans Proposed by Nonpartisan Senior Group
Photo: (Photo : S. Hermann & F. Richter/Pixabay )

A school district is looking into the claims of the parents of a 10-year-old girl who died of COVID-19 complications due to her exposure to other sick children. The parents said that their daughter's teacher tasked her to nurse the sick kids and gather their stuff if they were to be sent home.

Teresa Sperry died of COVID-19 on September 27, after she exhibited the symptoms five days prior. Her parents, Nicole and Jerry Sperry said that her symptoms started with a headache.

Nicole and Jerry also said that Teresa assisted sick students at the Hillpoint Elementary School because the teacher gave her the job. School authorities said that the Suffolk Public Schools district protocol is for the adults to take care of the sick kids by either asking the school nurse to fetch the child in the classroom or for the teachers to take them to the clinic.

"We are still investigating to ensure that this process was followed with fidelity," the school officials said in an email to The Washington Post.

Read Also: Newsom Announces Vaccine Mandate for Schoolchildren in California, Effective January 2022

Parents Posted on Social Media

The public got wind of Teresa's case after her parents posted on Facebook that the 10-year-old was "required" to help out the sick students. Nicole also wrote that her daughter would still be alive if other parents would stop sending their sick children to school.

According to the Daily Beast, Nicole and Jerry had been vaccinated against COVID-19, and they had followed the protocols to protect their daughter, who could not be vaccinated yet due to her age. For instance, they had chosen to drive Teresa to school instead of making her take the school bus to limit her exposure.

The parents said that they hoped other people would take the threats of COVID-19 seriously. Nicole said it upsets her when some people are still nonchalant about it while preparing for Teresa's funeral. Jerry said that her daughter was a happy and strong child. COVID-19 took her in a matter of five days.

Meanwhile, the school district has sent letters to parents to announce the tragic death of the 10-year-old to COVID-19. However, the Sperry family said that they did not receive as much as a phone call from any of the school officials.

Contact Tracing Underway

The Virginia Department of Health has conducted contact tracing following Teresa's death, but it's still unclear how the girl got her infection. The contact tracers have been interviewing people who have recently been positive. About 31 percent of those in Teresa's bubble have been interviewed, including her family, as of October 4.

According to The Virginia Pilot, Teresa is the second child to have died from COVID-19 in the Eastern Virginia locale, while 13 other children have died through the state since the pandemic started. Children's cases ticked up between August and September with more admission of children at various hospitals, including the Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters.

Meanwhile, vaccination for children between the ages of 5 to 11 could likely begin by the end of October. Pfizer has submitted data of their trials to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) early this month.

Related Article: Trial for COVID-19 Vaccines for Toddlers Gives Parents Peace of Mind
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It's being reported this morning that Apple will be hit with an EU antitrust charge over its NFC chip technology, people familiar with the matter said, a move that puts it at risk of a possible hefty fine and could force it to open its mobile payment system to rivals.

Reuters is reporting that Apple "has been in European Union antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager's crosshairs since June last year when she launched an investigation into Apple Pay.

Preliminary concerns were Apple's NFC chip which enables tap-and-go payments on iPhones, its terms and conditions on how mobile payment service Apple Pay should be used in merchants' apps and websites, and the company's refusal to allow rivals access to the payment system.

The European Commission has since narrowed its focus to just the NFC chip, which can only be accessed by Apple Pay, one of the sources said.

The EU competition enforcer is now preparing a charge sheet known as a statement of objections, which could be sent to Apple next year, one of the sources said. Such documents typically set out practices considered anti-competitive by the regulator.

NFC-enabled payments have grown in popularity due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic. Apple Pay's wide reach and superior consumer experience on a mobile website or in-store give it a competitive edge over rivals, according to some analysts.

South Korea approved a bill last month that bans major app store operators, including Apple, from forcing software developers to use their payment systems.
(Click on image to Enlarge)

Yesterday we posted a report titled "Frances Haugen, Facebook Whistle-Blower, to deliver Damning Testimony at Senate Hearing Today." Later yesterday, a Reuter's report listed some of the damning quotes from U.S. Senators on both side of the isle condemning Facebook. As an example, Senator Dan Sullivan from Alaska stated: "I think were going to look back 20 years from now and all of us are going to be like what the hell were we thinking when we recognize the damage that it (social media) has done to a generation."

Coincidentally an interview with Tim Cook published yesterday that covered the App Shine that relates to Mental Health touched on the issue of Facebook.

Charlotte Owen, Question: "Its interesting that youre drawing attention to an app like Shine, when the conversation around technology is so fraught, especially with recent reports about how Facebook and Instagram impact young people. Is that something that weighs on you?"

Apple's CEO, Tim Cook: "Ive always thought that technology should serve humanity and not the other way around. And I always worried about people using technology too much. And so, we came out with Screen Time to try to give people a true reading of the amount of time theyre really spending on their devices because generally its a lot more than they say.

But thats just one element. Its also what youre doing [on them]. Ive often worried about the endless scrolling, the surrounding yourself with negativity and so forth. And so elevating a company like Shine and getting people to go check it out  thats a great use of our technologies because that does serve humanity. Their whole company is based on this. And its how we look at the world. We want people to do things with their devices, like the photography exhibit that we both enjoyed, or connecting with family and friends with FaceTime. Not endless, mindless scrolling."

It's no secret that that Apple's CEO is not a fan of Facebook on the issue of advertising in respect to privacy and more. Zuckerberg's company is the poster child for anti-privacy policies. In another example in January "Apple CEO Tim Cook linked Facebooks business model, which uses data to serve targeted ads, with real-world consequences like violence or reducing public trust in vaccines."

The issue of Facebook aside for a moment, there was an interesting segment of the interview that started with this question: "Both of Shines founders, Naomi and Marah, told me that they find it important to talk about their mental health as leaders at work. Is that something that you ever do?"

Cook: "Yeah, I do. I always talk about what gets me away from the stresses of the day. And for me, my meditation is hiking. Its the being out in nature and feeling so insignificant in the world, and a lot of the problems tend to seem a little smaller. And I do talk about that freely. I think its important. [Pauses] You know, I dont have an S on my chest and a cape on my back. I suffer from the pandemic lows as much as everybody else does. I know that Im privileged in so many ways, but none of us are privileged to the point that mental health is not a key factor in life.

Read the Bustle report to read the full interview with Tim Cook about Mental Health and the Shine App.

Other noteworthy comments made by Senators yesterday about Facebook included the following:

Senator Marsh Blackburn, Republican from Tennessee: "The research was Facebooks internal research. So they knew what they were doing, they knew where the violations were and they know they are guilty." Blackburn added that "Facebook is not interested in making significant changes to improve kids safety on their platforms, at least not when that would result in losing eyeballs on posts or decreasing their ad revenues."

Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat from Connecticut: "The damage to self-interest and self-worth inflicted by Facebook today will haunt a generation. Big Tech now faces the Big Tobacco jaw-dropping moment of truth."

Senator Edward Markley, Democrat from Massachusetts: "Your (Facebooks) time of invading our privacy and preying on children is over. Congress will be taking action."

Here's to hoping that Markley's commentary that "Congress will be taking action" actually becomes a reality.
The Registrar Generals Department, RGD, has served notice to the Business Community and the general public that it has begun the delisting of dormant companies from the Companies Register.



The delisting process is commencing with 3,100 companies being taken off the Companies Register.



In a statement signed and copied to Citi Business News, the Registrar Generals Department said this would be the first batch of companies to be delisted this month out of the over 100,000 companies registered since 2011.



It said the exercise has become necessary after the end of the three months validation process conducted by the Department from July to September this year to review the sampled group of Companies not in good standing with the Department.



It said over 257,241 companies existing in the database had not filed their Returns or Amendments with the Department since 2011.



The statement further noted that 670,282 Companies in the Legacy System (Old database) had not carried out the update of their data dubbed Re-registration as at March 2020.



It, therefore, urged defaulting companies (whether in operation or not in operation) to take measures to regularize their business and update their records with the Department to avoid being delisted.



The statement said any Company official with knowledge of the Companys non-existence or having no more interest in the Companys Name or willfully wanting to wind-up or dissolve the Company or being no more interested in the Companys Business Name should write to the Registrar-General indicating such intention.



The Provision under section 289 of the Companies Act 2019 (Act 992) states that a Company can be stricken off the register due to the failure of the Company to file its Annual Returns on time or due to a change in the Companys Registered Office and Principal Place of Business without notifying the Registrar of Companies.



The Act mandates the Registrar of Companies to wind up Companies whose office is known not to be in operation after notices and a moratorium have been given to such companies to file their Annual Returns and yet have not complied.



A Companys status after the strike off at this period would be classified as being inactive and would not be able to be accessed for any business transaction for the next 12 years, except by a Court Order to the Department to restore it to a status of good standing in the Companies Register.





It said the Department, in accordance with the Companies Act, 2019 (Act 992), made three publications on their website and the national dailies serving notice of the Departments intent to undertake its maiden clean up exercise of the Companies Register to make it accurate and credible.



Two notifications were earlier issued on 12th May and 1st December 2020 with the final notice published on 19th March 2021, it said.



The Department entreated defaulting companies to visit its website www.rgd.gov.gh, click on News and scroll down to find the first batch of Companies listed for deletion or find them in the National dailies.



The statement said Company Officials, who find the name of their companies in the published list, could still file their Annual Returns with the Department to get their names off the list and avoid being delisted by the end of October 2021.



It said the exercise of the sampled list of Companies to be delisted on their website would continue until the end of December 2021.



The next batch of businesses to be sent notices to would be the Companies, Partnerships and Business Names in the Legacy Data from 1963 to 2011, who have still not updated their records with the Department dubbed Re-registration.



The Department, therefore, urged defaulting businesses to file their Annual Returns, Renewals, Amendments or update their records dubbed Re-registration to avoid being delisted.





It said the end of the exercise would ensure a credible, reliable and updated Register of Companies, Partnerships and Business Names that were carrying out business in compliance with the different Acts governing their operations.

Source: citinewsroom









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Dr Archibald Yao Letsa, Volta Regional Minister, has called on Members of Parliament (MPs) from the region to come together for the development of the region.



According to him, the people in the region would be happy to see MPs from both sides unite to champion the course of development for the region.



For me, it is all about the development of our region and that to me is key politics is just a means to an end and at the end of the day our people must see development.



Dr Letsa made the remarks at the maiden edition of the Volta Stakeholders Conference under the auspices of the Volta MPs Caucus held at Ho.



The conference was attended by MPs from both the majority and minority sides, chiefs, and business leaders, among others.



The objective of the meeting was to create a platform to periodically take stock of their activities and brainstorm on matters of common interest, particularly to the human and infrastructural development of the Volta region.



Dr Letsa also commended the initiative of the Volta MPs for organizing the conference, which he acknowledged was for the development of the region.



He said the initiative was also in line with what the Regional Coordinating Council was planning to do and the roles the MPs were expected to play in the agenda set for the region by attracting investments and trade for the upcoming Volta Trade and Investment Fair scheduled for November 13th to 25th, 2021.



He expressed appreciation to the MPs for the level of cooperation he has had working with them in the region, saying it is something he was very proud of.



Mr John Peter Amewu, Minister for Railway Development, speaking at the conference, gave updates on the Eastern Extended Rail Line project and the benefits the region may derive from development.



He explained that the Eastern Extended Line is a railway line that would start from the Tema port through Mpakadan, Hohoe, Nkwanta, Yendi and up to Paga border between Ghana and Burkina Faso.



He said some sections of that trunk line was awarded on contract and work was about 75 per cent complete.



He said currently the ministry was constructing a railway bridge across the lower section of the Volta River and on completion bring it to 90 per cent.



It is estimated that by July next year the railway line from the Tema port to Mpakadan which is approximately 100km would have been completed.



Mr Amewu also announced that there were proposals to connect the new port to be constructed at Keta to the existing line.



He said the ministry was now looking at this line because it was assumed that the distance from the new port of Keta would make it more competitive compare with the port of Tema linking the line.



He said the agenda of the ministry as part of its policy was to ensure that Eastern Extended Line at least passes through one regional capital, including the Volta regional capital, Ho.



Mr Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah, Chairman of the Volta Caucus, speaking at the conference explained that the purpose of the meeting was to think about the Volta region both in terms of human and infrastructural development by listening to the perspectives of both the government and minority caucus.



Also, the objective was to listen to business leaders and chiefs from the region of their expectations of the political representatives after which the meeting would proceed with a detailed discussion of the various issues with the view to establishing a common ground and eventually issue a communique on their deliberations to signify a new direction for the region.

Source: GNA









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Private legal practitioner, Akoto Ampaw, has indicated that most Ghanaians who support the anti-LGBTQ+ Bill do not have full details of the document which has been laid before parliament.



He explained that the majority of Ghanaians are only supporting the bill because they are against homosexuality and same-sex related activities.



One of the things about this bill is that most Ghanaians do not like homosexuality so all they hear is that there is a move to ban homosexuality and on that basis, they say We support it. In fact, many among them, even the educated class, have not read the bill. All they know is that this bill is to prevent homosexual activity. But the actual provisions of the bill, very few people have read it, Akoto Ampaw said on Joynews.



He further stated that the supporters of the anti-LGBTQ+ Bill who actually read the documents were taken aback afterwards.



"If you are a mother and you have a son who is a homosexual, you may not be happy about it but I can tell you apart from really crazy mothers, theyd just have to live with that situation. Now, this law puts a duty on that mother to report her son to the police. This is the duty under this law."



Is this not extremist? What social good does it promote for a mother to go and report her son because of who he is? How do you justify that? he quizzed.



In regards to the protection of persons who identify as LGBTQ+, Akoto Ampaw said the assurance in the bill will only arouse public sentiment and public hatred for homosexuals.



The provisions which talk about providing protection and so on are hypocritical. Even our police will not be interested in that portion of the law. If the law says homosexuals are to be dealt with like the bill proposes and people beat them, I tell you"



If you go and report to the police that you are a homosexual and you have been beaten, they will just look at you and say go away. That scheme of the whole bill is meaningless," Akoto Ampaw added.



A team of 8 MPs led by Sam Nartey George have jointly submitted a private bill to push for the criminalization of LGBTQI+ activities in the country.



The Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill 2021 was laid in the House on Monday, August 2 and read for the first time.



Second Deputy Speaker, Andrew Asiamah Amoako, has subsequently referred the Bill to the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Committee for consideration.









Wereko-Brobby, Tsikata, Akoto Ampaw Others Kick Against LGBTQ+ Bill



According to the group, the bill  Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill  when passed into law, would erode fundamental human rights, as enshrined in the 1992 Constitution, and send Ghana to the dark ages of lawlessness and intolerance.



The group, made up of 18 members, has already submitted a 30-page memorandum to Parliament, detailing what it described as the unconstitutionality of the bill.



At a press conference in Accra yesterday, the group said its advocacy was not about whether lesbianism or gayism was right or wrong but rather it was worried about the blatant violations of human rights, as contained in the bill.



The bill violates virtually all the key fundamental freedoms guaranteed under the Constitution, namely, the right to freedom of speech and expression, the right to assemble, freedom of association and the right to organise, the right to freedom from discrimination and the right to human dignity, it said.



It has, therefore, called on Parliament to reject the bill, adding that it has no place in our constitutional democratic Republic.



Members



The group include lawyer Mr Akoto Ampaw; author, scholar and former Director of the UN Economic Commission for Africa, Prof. Emerita Takyiwaa Manuh; a communications and media expert, Prof. Kwame Karikari; the Dean of the University of Ghana (Legon) School of Law, Prof. Raymond Atuguba, and the Dean of the University of Ghana School of Information and Communication Studies, Prof. Audrey Gadzekpo.



The Director of the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, Professor Dzodzi Tsikata; the Executive Director of the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Professor H. Kwasi Prempeh, and a former Executive Director of CDD-Ghana, Prof. Kofi Gyimah-Boadi, are also members of the group.



Others are Dr Rose Mensah-Kutin, Dr Yao Graham, Mr Kwasi Adu Amankwah, Dr Kojo Asante, Mr Kingsley Ofei-Nkansah, Mr Akunu Dake, Mr Tetteh Hormeku-Ajie, Dr Charles Wereko-Brobby, Dr Joseph Asunka and Nana Ama Agyemang Asante.













Source: Graphiconline.com









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The Chief Executive Officer of Slamm Technologies, Mr. Samuel Boateng, says mobile money operations have been poorly regulated in the country.

He said 11 years after the introduction of the service in Ghana, the country should not be battling with such high rates of fraud cases in the business.



Since its introduction in 2011, the mobile money service has driven financial inclusion in the country.



However, it continues to attract the attention of fraudsters who dupe unsuspecting customers of huge sums of money.



The incidence of mobile money fraud continues to be on the rise each year, despite numerous efforts by the telecommunications companies (telcos) to combat it.





In an interview with the Daily Graphic to mark Cyber-security awareness month in October, Mr Boateng said there were no proper policies and regulations to combat the fraud associated with mobile money.



The telcos and the government should have by now been able to introduce proper regulations and policies to combat crime in the sector, he said.



Cyber security infrastructure



Mr. Boateng pointed out that the country lacked proper cyber security infrastructure to fight fraud in the digital space.



He said the situation was not peculiar to Ghana, but common in the rest of sub-Saharan Africa.



On why the sub-region was one of the areas with the least incidence of cyber-related fraud cases reported, he said it was not because it had strong systems but rather because of the low rate of use of digital channels.



We are not seeing high incidence of cyber crimes because there is nothing to report on. We are not using systems as we should because the cash system is still high here.



So compared to developed countries where most things are now digital, we are not yet there, he stated.



Putting in place right systems



With the growing use of digital platforms due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he urged businesses to put in place the right cyber-security systems.



They need to put in place an end-point detection system that will check cyber fraud, he noted.



He said the IT infrastructure of most organisations was vague and, therefore, urged them to put in place the right systems that would protect their companies and integrity.



They need to create a system that can identify any vulnerabilities, weaknesses or risks, so that customers can be safe when using their online platforms, he said.



Policy implementation



Mr. Boateng pointed out that while Ghana had the right cyber-security policy framework, what was lacking was implementation.



We put in place the right policies, but fail to implement them. If we are to implement them, especially the security measures, we will be fine, he said.



He said while the governments decision to establish security operation centres that would serve as centralised units that dealt with security issues on an organisational and technical level in the country was commendable, it should be done in all regions to get the needed results.



The governments security operation centre is only in certain places and not all the regions and this will affect us badly. How does someone in a different region report an incident?



So until they implement the policy in all regions and train lots of security experts, we will not get anywhere. It is not only policies that will fix the problem; we need experts on the ground who will pick up data and investigate them, he said.









Source: graphiconline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Gambias Health Minister, Dr. Ahmadou Lamin Samateh says there is no doubt about Ghana's National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) often recognized as a shining model in Africa.



He extolled the NHIS when he led a delegation to the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Head Office in Accra on a study tour.



He said the Gambia was in the process of implementing its Health Insurance Scheme and needed direction from Ghana's perspective.



In his words, Ghana's experience will strengthen the implementation of Gambia's proposed Health Insurance Scheme, with a Draft Bill under scrutiny.



Dr. Ahmadou Lamin Samateh believed the interactive forum served as an eye-opener to make their proposed Health Insurance Scheme functional.



The delegation was gratified by presentations on the Overview of the NHIS, Membership Management, Benefits Management, Quality Assurance Systems and Claims Management.



The NHIA's Deputy Chief Executive in charge of Operations, Mrs. Vivian Addo-Cobbiah applauded the study tour, and pledged the Authoritys technical support to the Gambian health ministry.



She said the NHIA was on the path of attaining Universal Health Coverage (UHC), as 53% of Ghana's population are active members on the NHIS database.



Mrs. Vivian Addo-Cobbiah affirmed that the NHIS will continue to expand its operations to attract other neighbours in the Sub-Region.



The study tour offered the delegation the opportunity to exchange ideas on health-related issues and learned at first hand the operations and matters affecting sustainability of the NHIS.



Since the NHIS inception, there have been several delegations from Nigeria, Mali, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Burkina Faso, Madagascar, Niger, Cote Divoire and Mauritania.







Source: Abdul Karim Naatogmah









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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A Ugandan national identified as Suleiman Mayanja is currently being held in custody by Kenyan detectives over the gruesome murder of a 25-year-old woman.



The man and the deceased never knew each other before meeting at a popular joint, where they had a few drinks.



On their second meeting, the lady came to Ugandan national's rented apartment on Sunday October 4, before being killed around 3am on Monday morning. Her half-naked body was discovered by the apartments guard.



Mayanja who arrived the East African country last month through the Busia border point, was said to have fled from the apartment. However on the evening of Monday October 5, he was arrested by detectives at Nyali Cinemax where he was hiding.



It was gathered that he sent a runner to collect his belongings from the room which he had booked on September 30, when detectives pounced on him. Unbeknownst to the runner who is a cab driver, undercover cops had laid an ambush in the apartment.



After few minutes of interrogation, he was whisked to a waiting police vehicle that sped towards the suspects hideout.



The suspect is currently being grilled for more details relating to the incident, for the appropriate charges to be established before arraignment.









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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A Nigerian man has explained why he wants to use his parents for money ritual. The man who was questioned on his intentions, stated that even if his mum begs while he's about to carry out the act, he won't stop as her plea would only push him into killing her faster.



When asked if he can use his father for money rituals, he said that his dad is the easiest option as he doesnt ''give a f*ck'' about him.



Serving a response when asked if he would go ahead with the ritual if hes told he has only 3 months to enjoy the money, he stated that he is okay with such arrangement. He reiterated that if his parents gave a f*ck about him, they would have hustled to make him comfortable.



Watch the disturbing video below...















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Source: LIB









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The director general of the Ghana Aids Commission, Kyeremeh Atuahene, has revealed that some men are reportedly buying noodles (Indomie) for young girls from underprivileged households in exchange for sex.



Speaking on Asaase FM Tuesday (5 October), he said one of the main factors driving Ghanas high HIV prevalence rate is transactional or commercial sex.



It can be even between students: the good ones helping the less fortunate ones and demanding sex. It can be in the workplace, where a young lady or young man wants a job and the boss says, Then you have to give me sex if you want to have it.



Recently, some chiefs banned the use of okadas in their town because they said that some okada riders are impregnating the girls because they just buy them Indomie or give them GHC10 and thats it, Atuahene told the show host.



The latest HIV/Aids report released by the Ghana Aids Commission says 346,120 people in Ghana are living with the disease.



The Ashanti Region has the highest population of people living with HIV (over 73,000), followed by Greater Accra, with 70,000-plus people known to be infected.



The North East Region has the lowest HIV infection rate, with a little over 2,000 people.



Conducting a study

He said the Ghana Aids Commission will soon conduct a study in communities with high numbers of HIV/Aids to give the Commission insight into the cause of Aids infections in those areas nationwide.



Atuahene said communities dotted across the coast and middle belt of Ghana are recording the highest incidence of HIV.



Places where we have sex worker population increases, it appears to have some influence on the level of HIV infection or transmission in such communities, Atuahene said.



We are going to do a study on that. We want to see the actual contribution of at-risk group like sex workers, men who have sex with men, injecting drug users and the like, to see their contribution to the incidence and see how it influences the spread.



Statistics

Out of the 18,928 new HIV/Aids infections in 2020, 5,211 are young people between the ages of 15 and 24, representing 28% of all the new infections last year.



The latest report by the Ghana Aids Commission shows that 4,325 of these young people (83%) are female and 886 (17%) are male.



The report also shows that of the 18,928 new HIV/Aids infections recorded in 2020, adults aged 25 and above constitute 10,032, or 53% of the total.



The number of new infections involving children aged 0-14, contracted through mother-to-child transmission, was 3,596, or 19% of the total.

Source: asaaseradio.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The director general of the Ghana Aids Commission, Kyeremeh Atuahene, wants the draft anti-gay bill before Parliament to be reviewed thoroughly before passage into law.



Speaking on Asaase FM, Atuahene said the bill if passed in its current state will not help in the fight against HIV/AIDS in the gay community.



We have worked with them (LGBTQI) since 2014. We have never promoted any of their activities or done anything to suggest any of the things that the draft bill seeks to prescribe.



But the challenge is that the long arm of this bill and the widespread tentacles, first it will drive them underground and when it drives them underground it means they will not access the services and that is a major concern for us, the Ghana Aids Commission boss said.



He added: Second is how the law will be interpreted and it is not only the health service we are providing that will be affected by this, it will be affected by other state agencies as well like CHRAJ, even Parliament itself.



Atuahene is therefore appealing to Parliament to critically look at the amendments proposed by the Ghana Aids Commission before passing the bill into law.



I dont want to believe that there are no men who have sex with men in Parliament, and so how are they going to handle their own? Are they going to expose them and give them to police or they will not associate with them. Because if you associate with them, you are an ally and our advice to Parliament is that we know the law will not be carried out in its current state, Atuahene said.



Opposition to the bill

Meanwhile, a group of 18 prominent Ghanaian citizens has rejected the proposed anti-gay bill in Parliament, saying it constitutes an impermissible invasion of the inviolability and human dignity of the LGBTI community.



The first reading of the bill took place on 2 August 2021 in Parliament, and its consideration is expected to resume in October 2021.



It was initiated by some six MPs led by opposition lawmaker, Sam George, seeking to criminalise lesbianism and gayism in Ghana.



The group led by renowned legal practitioner, Akoto Ampaw, said the bill violates all the fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the 1992 Constitution, adding when passed into law it would send Ghana to the dark ages of lawlessness.



Violation of human rights

The bill violates virtually all the key fundamental freedoms guaranteed under the constitution, namely the right to freedom of speech and expression, the right to assemble, freedom of association and the right to organise, the right to freedom from discrimination and the right to human dignity, Ampaw said at a press conference on Monday (4 October).



Other members of the group are Professor Emerita Takyiwaaa Manuh, Communication Specialist, Professor Kwame Karikari, Professor Kofi Gyimah-Boadi, Professor Audrey Gadzekpo of the Department of Communication Studies, and Dean of the School of Information and Communication Studies, University of Ghana, Dr Rose Mensah-Kutin, Dr Yao Graham, Professor Dzodzi Tsikata and Professor H. Kwasi Prempeh of Centre of Democratic Development (CDD).



Others are former Secretary-General of the Trades Unions Congress (TUC), Kwasi Adu Amankwah, Dr Kojo Asante, Kingsley Ofei-Nkansah, Akunu Dake, Tetteh Hormeku-Ajie, the Dean of Faculty of Law at the University of Ghana, Professor Raymond Atuguba, Dr Charles Wereko -Brobby, Dr Joseph Asunka and Nana Ama Agyemang Asante.





Source: asaaseradio.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The Royalhouse Chapel has said Jonathan Ohene Nkunim, the rape suspect who was exposed in the Licensed Sex Predator investigative documentary, is not a member of the church.



The Director of Administration of Royalhouse Chapel, Rev. Dzifa Gakpleazi, issued a disclaimer after Jonathan Ohene Nkunim was seen in the documentary singing in a branch of the Royalhouse Chapel.



Leadership of the RoyalHouse Chapel wishes to inform the public and all interested persons that the said Dr Jonathan Ohene Nkunim is neither an officer nor a member of the church and has never been, the statement said.



The church said although Dr Jonathan Ohene Nkunim was seen in the video footage, he was only a part of a ministerial team of a guest pastor who had been invited to minister at one of the local churches of Royalhouse.



After his opening worship for the guest pastor, he immediately left the service without any interaction with the host pastor [the local Royalhouse pastor] or the leadership of our local church, the church added.



The leadership of the church is deeply saddened by the actions of this supposed minister of the gospel and prays for mercy and true repentance for his soul. We also pray for the emotional, spiritual and psychological healing of all victims affected by the actions of the aforementioned Dr. Jonathan Ohene Nkunim, even as the law to take its cause, the statement said.



Jonathan Ohene Nkunim, until his arrest, operated the Natures Hand Therapeutic Centre at Gbawe in Accra. He claimed to perform general diagnosis, neuromuscular therapy, physiotherapy, detoxification, and spine straightening.

Background



In an investigation that lasted over a year, The Fourth Estate Manasseh Azure Awuni spoke to women who had been sexually assaulted at Ohene Nkunims Natures Hand Therapeutic Centre.



Aside from these, he sexually assaulted The Fourth Estates undercover agent at the facility and sent her several flirtatious messages and a proposal on her last day of visit to the facility in April 2021.



Jonathan Nkunim was arrested following The Fourth Estates publication.



On the day of his arrest, Jonathan told Manasseh Azure Awuni that he had made efforts to tame his sexual desires three months earlier and was now in control.



The Fourth Estates sources at the police say when he was asked how many women he had violated, he reportedly said he had lost count.



Jonathan Ohene Nkunim was charged with rape and denied bail when he made his first appearance in court on Tuesday, September 28, 2021,



He is due to reappear at the Kaneshie District Court on October 12, 2021.



Read Full Story .... thefourthestategh.com >>> :









Source: thefourthestategh.com









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President Nana Akufo-Addo has said he has no favourite in the flag bearer race of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP).



My duty is in two folds: one is; first of all, to hold a balance to make sure there is a level playing field for all of them [flag bearer hopefuls] because the decision has to be the decision of the party and whoever the party elects as its flag bearer for 2024, that person is the one I will support and campaign for the person to become president, the president told a local radio station in Kumasi where he has been touring.



A few days ago, there was a gust of laughter at the Manhyia palace on Friday, 1 October 2021, when President Akufo-Addo, while introducing his entourage, with whom he visited Asante monarch Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, threw in  jovially  the presidential ambitions of his Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Trade.



I am here with the Minister of Transport, Minister of Works and Housing, the National Security boss, Chairman One  Wontumi, the Food and Agriculture Minister, Owusu Afriyie, who wants to be President; I also have here with me someone who has long eyed the presidential seat, the Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kyeremanten; a very hard-working man. All of them are doing a good job, the president said, which sparked laughter from the Asantehene and the whole palace.



The president took the opportunity to express gratitude to the Asantehene and Asanteman for supporting the New Patriotic Party and his candidature in the 2020 presidential and parliamentary elections.



I am here to show my gratitude to you and Asanteman for your support in the last elections. You have supported the NPP since time immemorial, and in the last elections, but for your unshrinking support and that of Asanteman to me and the NPP, we would not have been in government, the President said.



He continued, I am here to show you and the entire kingdom my gratitude for that solid support that has seen us in power.



President Akufo-Addo, in explaining the rationale for his visit to the Region, indicated that he is in the Region to familiarise himself with the numerous developmental projects going on in the Region, and listen for himself the concerns of residents, the traditional authority and opinion leaders.



The President also used the opportunity to assure the people of the Ashanti Region that he will not take their support for him and the NPP for granted, stressing that it is for this reason that several developmental projects have been done, with many still ongoing in the Region.



There are many ongoing projects. We can all attest to the fact that Kumasi and Asanteman have not witnessed such massive road infrastructural projects in our political history. Other projects like the 1D1F, the ongoing Kumasi Airport construction which is 77% complete and by June next year, it will be completed after which its international status will be achieved he said.



President Akufo-Addo also assured Otumfuo Osei Tutu II that, even though there were delays with respect to the Boankra Inland Port project, plans are far advanced for the project to take off.



For his part, the Asantehene praised the President for his commitment to the development of the region and the country.



He also praised the President for his tour of the country, adding that, if you stay in your office, your appointees will tell you what you want to hear. This tour will help you verify what you hear and know the truth.



I know you and you do not disappoint. I trust you and I know you will honour Asanteman, the Asantehene said.





Source: classfmonline.com









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Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi urged Islamist militants in its far north to surrender on Monday, saying they had nowhere to run, after allied Rwandan, Mozambican and southern African forces pushed them out of territory they had been occupying.



President Nyusis comments to mark Peace and National Reconciliation Day came a day after regional southern African forces said they had killed a senior Islamist militant leader along with 18 other fighters in an offensive on September 25.



Awadhi Ndanjile, a religious leader instrumental in recruiting and indoctrinating members of the Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jamaa (ASWJ), was killed on a militants base in the Nangade district of Cabo Delgado, the statement from the Southern Africa Development Communitys mission in Mozambique said, using one of the names given to the countrys militants.



We wanted to invite them not to wait for death  this is not the intention of the defense and security forces, Nyusi said. Surrender yourself  because you have nowhere to go  You are running from one forest to another being endlessly chased.



A number of areas previously held by militants have been cleared, including the town of Mocimboa da Praia, more than a year after insurgents first seized it. Insurgent bases have also been destroyed, according to security forces.



While Nyusi said it was likely the leaders of the insurgency had fled, possibly even abroad, there was concern for those lower down the chain especially if they had been forced to join their ranks.



We want our compatriots on our side, not the other side, he added.

Source: Reuters









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The government has concluded documentation for the purchase of new buses for Neoplan Ghana Limited, the Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Alan Kyerematen, has said.



He commended workers of the company for their hard work and commitment over the years and gave them an assurance that his ministry would never supervise the collapse of the company.



The minister was speaking when he accompanied President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to Neoplan Ghana in Kumasi during the Presidents four-day tour of the Ashanti Region.



Retooling



President Akufo-Addo said the government would retool the company through the injection of capital and equipment as part of the One-district, One-factory (1D1F) initiative.



The workers had requested the government to add the company to the IDIF initiative to improve its capacity for growth.



According to the President, the arrival of more buses would make the company viable.



He said he was aware of the challenges facing the company, saying that was the reason the government was working towards improving its fortunes.



Fixing challenges



The Member of Parliament for Bantama, Mr Asenso Boakye, described the current situation of the company as unfortunate and said the government was committed to fixing the challenges.



He urged the workers not to give up hope but believe in the commitment of the government to help scale-up production.



The MD of Neoplan, Mr Malek Abi Saab, appealed to the government for more support, including tax waivers.















Source: graphiconline.com









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Nine Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) have been confirmed by their respective assemblies in the regions.



From Tema, Della Russel Ocloo reports that the Presidents nominee for the position of Municipal Chief Executive for the Tema West Municipality, Ms. Anna Adukwe Addo, received an overwhelming endorsement from the 16 assembly members to become the second female to occupy the post of the assembly which was created in 2017.



The confirmation was incident-free and saw the outgoing MCE, Mrs. Adwoa Amoako, in attendance, a scene that brought about excitement on the assemblys premises where the confirmation took place.



The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Mr. Henry Quartey, who witnessed the event counselled the MCE not to confine herself to the office, since the actual work was on the field.



"You owe your constituents a responsibility to addressing the development needs of the area," Mr. Quartey said.



The Greater Accra Regional Representative on the Council of State, Mr. Enoch Teye Mensah, in his remarks also advised Ms. Addo to be a leader who would carry everybody along particularly in striving to ensure equity in the distribution of development projects.



Still in Tema, Benjamin Xornam Glover reports that Mr. Yohanes Amarh Ashitey obtained 28 out of the 29 votes to be confirmed the Chief Executive of the Tema Metropolitan Assembly.



Volta Region



Six nominees of the president have been confirmed as chief executives for their various assemblies in the Volta Region, reports Mary Anane-Amponsah from Dzolokpuita.



The six formed part of the 18 nominees expected to be confirmed or otherwise for the Volta region.



They are Mr. Daniel Noble Awumey for Hohoe, Mr. Geoffrey Kodzo Badasu for Kpando, Mr. Edmond Atta Kudjoh for North Dayi, Godwin Kwame Dzadzawa for South Dayi, James Flolu for Afadzato South and Ernest Apau for Ho West.



Messrs Badasu, Dzadzawa and Apau received 100 per cent endorsement with 28 votes, 31 votes, and 37 votes from south Dayi, Kpando, and Ho West assemblies respectively.



At North Dayi, Mr. Kudjoh polled 32 "Yes" votes representing 94.1 per cent and two rejected votes representing 5.9 per cent, Mr. Awumey for Hohoe polled 17 "Yes" out 24 votes representing 70.8 percent with six "No" votes and one rejected vote representing 4.2 while Mr. Flolu for Afadzato South polled 25 "Yes" votes out of 30.



The newly sworn-in Chief Executives assured their various assemblies of their commitment to work hard for the development of their people.



No partisan politics



The Volta Regional Minister, Dr. Archibald Yao Letsa, called for unity for the development of the districts and municipalities.



He asked the assembly members to eschew partisan politics and focus on improving the lives of their people, noting that development was not about NPP or NDC but about the nation.



Barekese



The renomination of Rebecca Yeboah as the district Chief Executive Officer for Atwima Nwabiagya North in the Ashanti Region has been endorsed by the assembly members, Daniel Kenu reports from Barakese.



She secured a 100 per cent endorsement last Friday bagging in 23 out out of 23 votes.



The elated DCE expressed appreciation to the President for the confidence reposed in her, promising to honour him with unparalleled local development projects.



Madam Yeboah urged the assembly members to bury their differences if any, and help push for more development in the area.



If we unite as one people and collaborate, nothing can stop us from seeing and enjoying development," she added.









Source: graphiconline.com









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A bill currently before Parliament which seeks to criminalise and impose jail terms on lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgenders and queers (LGBTQ+) and people who promote such activities in the country has been described as a flagrant violation of the 1992 Constitution, as it seeks to curtail freedom of expression and the media, the right to assemble and the right to join any association of ones choice.

Consequently, a group made up of academics, lawyers, researchers, civil society organisations (CSOs) and human rights activists has kicked against it.



According to group, the bill  Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill  when passed into law, would erode fundamental human rights, as enshrined in the 1992 Constitution, and send Ghana to the dark ages of lawlessness and intolerance.



The group, made up of 18 members, has already submitted a 30-page memorandum to Parliament, detailing what it described as the unconstitutionality of the bill.



At a press conference in Accra yesterday, the group said its advocacy was not about whether lesbianism or gayism was right or wrong but rather it was worried about the blatant violations of human rights, as contained in the bill.





The bill violates virtually all the key fundamental freedoms guaranteed under the Constitution, namely, the right to freedom of speech and expression, the right to assemble, freedom of association and the right to organise, the right to freedom from discrimination and the right to human dignity, it said.



It has, therefore, called on Parliament to reject the bill, adding that it has no place in our constitutional democratic Republic.



Members



The group include lawyer Mr Akoto Ampaw; author, scholar and former Director of the UN Economic Commission for Africa, Prof. Emerita Takyiwaa Manuh; a communications and media expert, Prof. Kwame Karikari; the Dean of the University of Ghana (Legon) School of Law, Prof. Raymond Atuguba, and the Dean of the University of Ghana School of Information and Communication Studies, Prof. Audrey Gadzekpo.





The Director of the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, Professor Dzodzi Tsikata; the Executive Director of the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Professor H. Kwasi Prempeh, and a former Executive Director of CDD-Ghana, Prof. Kofi Gyimah-Boadi, are also members of the group.



Others are Dr Rose Mensah-Kutin, Dr Yao Graham, Mr Kwasi Adu Amankwah, Dr Kojo Asante, Mr Kingsley Ofei-Nkansah, Mr Akunu Dake, Mr Tetteh Hormeku-Ajie, Dr Charles Wereko-Brobby, Dr Joseph Asunka and Nana Ama Agyemang Asante.



Religious dogma



According to the group, the fact that some religious groups found the activities of LGBTQ persons offensive did not mean such persons had no rights or should not be protected by the 1992 Constitution and other laws of the land.



Our Constitution forbids the imposition of a religious dogma on Ghanaians, whether Christian, Islamic or traditional, it said.



Also it said the bill sought to demonise LGBTQs as paedophiles, but records showed that most people in the country who abused children were heterosexuals.



It was its contention that the current legal regime, including the penal code, adequately dealt with issues of paedophilia or people who molested and abused children, and, therefore, there was no need for the bill.



Bill



The Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, 2021 is a private members bill initiated by eight MPs  seven from the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), with the other from the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).





They are Sam Nartey-George (NDC, Ningo-Prampram), Della Adjoa Sowah (NDC, Kpando), Emmanuel Bedzrah (NDC, Ho West), Alhassan Sayibu Suhuyini (NDC, Tamale North), Rita Naa Odoley Sowah (NDC, La Dadekotopon), Helen Adjoa Ntoso (NDC, Krachi West), Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor (NDC, South Dayi) and John Ntim Forjour (NPP, Assin South).



Section six of the bill makes it an offence for anybody to engage in sexual intercourse with the same sex, marry someone of the same sex or someone who has undergone a gender or sex reassignment.



It further makes it an offence for anyone to hold himself or herself as an LGBTQ or go through a gender assignment or create a sexual category other than the one assigned to him or her at birth.



Per the bill, anyone who engages in any the activities mentioned above commits a second-degree felony, and upon conviction will be liable to a fine of up to GHc60,000 or a term of imprisonment of up to five years.



Section 15 of the bill bans any LGBTQ group, society, association or club, while Section 16 prohibits people from forming, registering, operating, supporting or participating in any LGBTQ group or activity.



The bill imposes a jail term of up to 10 years on anyone who flouts the above-mentioned provisions.



Section five of the bill also makes it a must for people to report any LGBTQ activity to the police.



Among other provisions, the bill prohibits LGBTQs from adopting children, voids any LGBTQ marriage and prohibits the promotion of LGBTQ activities in any media platform or any public means.















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Samuel Kwabena Pyne, Metropolitan Chief Executive nominee for Kumasi has been confirmed with fifty five (55) yes votes out of a possible 58.



Government appointees and Assembly members in the Kumasi metropolis voted Tuesday afternoon to approve the President's nominee.



He is now the new Metropolitan Chief Executive for Kumasi.



Assembly members threaten to reject Sam Pyne

In four years, the KMA is said to owe its contractors and business allies over 50 million, a situation that has forced the Assembly to rely on common funds for payment for the past two years.



Speaking on Asempa FMs Ekosii Sen, the presiding member of the Assembly, Stephen Ofori, said the Assemblys indebtedness has significantly contributed to the underdevelopment of Kumasi.



In view of this, he threatened they will reject Mr Pyne if government fails to clear the debt which is swallowing the Assembly.



President Akufo-Addo urged members of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) to withdraw its decision to reject his nominee for the MCE position, Sam Pyne.

According to the President, it will be unfair to make Mr Pyne a victim of the past.



His comment comes after assembly members threatened no individual will occupy the Kumasi Mayor position until government pays off a 50 million debt the assembly owes.



The members indicated that the indebtedness has significantly contributed to the underdevelopment of Kumasi.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Head of Linguistics at the University of Ghana, Legon, Professor Kofi Agyekum, has sent a word of advice to the newly-appointed Metropolitan, Municipal and Distrcit Chief Executives(MMDCEs) and those yet-to-be approved by their Assembly members.



Some MMDCEs have received massive acceptance from their Assembly members whereas others are rejected and some still struggling to win the votes of their members.



Among the MMDCEs who have been confirmed is the Kumasi Metropolitan Chief Executive nominee, Sam Pyne.



Prof. Kofi Agyekum, affectionately called Opanyin Agyekum, making his submissions on Peace FM's morning show ''Kokrokoo'', cautioned the MMDCEs not to portray an arrogant character towards people.



Speaking to host Kwami Sefa Kayi, he advised; "Those who have been confirmed and the ones on the way to be confirmed should be humble. They shouldn't be arrogant and pompous. They should be truthful and also stop discriminating."

Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The Minority Caucus in Parliament says they will launch a probe into the unexplained disappearance of 105,927 litres of Gas Oil, a wrongful loading of 252,000 litres of Aviation Turbine Kerosene, the disappearance of 18 drums of electrical cables, the disappearance of LPG and loss of Naphtha.



The estimated cost of the stolen items according to them is in excess of GHS42 million, that is, excluding the value of the Naphtha.



"This unfortunate development comes on the heels of several corruption scandals that have characterized the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia/NPP Government particularly, in the energy sector-which is fast becoming a sector noted for naked thievery and flagrant disregard for due processes," the statement said.



In a statement signed by John Abdulai Jinapor, Member of Parliament for Yapei Kusawgu and Ranking Member for Mines and Energy, he expalined that the Tema Oil Refinery has its standard operating procedures requiring the daily briefing to management on stock accounting and inventory, which confirms to management the total quantity and quality in their tanks and the identities of parties who own such stocks.



"It is therefore untenable to hear of such huge losses without any tangible explanation," the statement added.



TOR interdicts staff over product losses



The Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) has been hit by financial and product losses in excess of GH20 million, which has led to the interdiction of some workers of the refinery.



The incidents leading to the interdictions occurred between 2012 and 2015, with others occurring in April and September this year.



The incidents border on the disappearance and wrongful loading of products, leading to TOR incurring debts, the failure of staff to pay TOR debtors their due, in spite of the availability of funds, and the taking of decisions with financial implications without recourse to the Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the refinery.



Details



The statement listed the issues to include the disappearance of 105,927 litres of gas oil that belonged to a bulk oil distribution company on September 4, this year and the wrongful loading of 252,000 litres of aviation turbine kerosene (ATK), instead of regular kerosene, into bulk road vehicle (BRV) trucks at the loading gantry between September 21 and 25 , 2021.



It said the rest were the disappearance of 18 drums of electrical cables worth GH10.4 million from the technical storehouse of TOR, discovered in April 2021; the disappearance of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) belonging to a client between 2012 and 2015, as a result of which TOR became indebted to the client to the tune of $4.8 million, as confirmed by an Ernst and Young audit, and the loss of Naphtha (a type of flammable oil) to a bulk distribution company.



The IMC



Chaired by Mr Nobert Cormla-Djamposu Anku, with Messrs William Ntim Boadu and Okyere Baffuor Sarpong as members, the IMC was put in place in June this year, after the Energy Minister, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, had relieved the substantive management members of their positions.



It was tasked to, among other things, ensure smooth transfer from the outgone directors, undertake technical and human resource audits, as well as receive and assess viable partnerships for TOR, if any.





Read Full Statement Below

MINORITY CAUCUS TO LAUNCH PARLIAMENTARY PROBE INTO THE MISSING OIL SCANDAL AT TOR



The Minority Caucus in Parliament has noted with disgust the unexplained disappearance of 105,927 litres of Gas Oil, a wrongful loading of 252,000 litres of Aviation Turbine Kerosene, the disappearance of 18 drums of electrical cables, the disappearance of LPG and loss of Naphtha. The estimated cost of the stolen items is in excess of GHS42 million, that is, excluding the value of the Naphtha.



This unfortunate development comes on the heels of several corruption scandals that have characterized the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia/NPP Government particularly, in the energy sector-which is fast becoming a sector noted for naked thievery and flagrant disregard for due processes.



The Tema Oil Refinery has its standard operating procedures requiring the daily briefing to management on stock accounting and inventory, which confirms to management the total quantity and quality in their tanks and the identities of parties who own such stocks. It is therefore untenable to hear of such huge losses without any tangible explanation.



This scandal raises issues of dereliction of duty on the part of the management of the Company which require parliamentary inquiry.



Since 2017, the Tema Oil Refinery has been mismanaged into a state of comatose, with its attendant appointment of 4 different Chief Executive Officers. Indeed it is becoming obvious that the refinery is gradually moving into a state of total collapse. This is why the current Government has proposed to turn it into a Tank farm.



Prior to leaving office in January 2017, the NDC/Mahama government had initiated, implemented and managed the restructuring of the entire refinery operations. In our quest to revamp the refinery, the NDC procured Nine (9) million barrels of crude to be refined including an indigenous crude from the TEN fields in Ghana.



The Refinery was saved millions of dollars by restructuring its existing debt of $650 million which we inherited and reduced it by 300million dollars. This was done through the issuance of the Tema Oil Refinery Bond in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Petroleum to pay off four (4) Commercial Banks.



As a matter of fact, the NDC/Mahama government bequeathed crude oil worth $2million including the TEN crude to the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government when we were leaving office in January 2017.TOR got a tolling fee on this crude oil to help finance its operations. Sadly, this crude oil was disposed off under very opaque and suspicious circumstances by the Akuffo Addo/Bawunia led NPP government.



Additionally, the NDC/Mahama government attracted the largest single investment in the downstream industry in Ghanas recent years for the Tema Offshore Mooring Systems, now called the Ghana Petroleum Mooring Systems (GPMS). An amount of $110million was brought into the TOR through this structure as at December 2016, a balance of $90million was in TOR accounts when the NDC government left office.



Despite these major interventions, TOR incurred a loss of $24 million plus, after processing just 950,000 barrels of crude which was enough to plunge TOR into further debt, leading to a forced shutdown of the Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) on the morning of Friday 30th November 2018, largely due to poor management and political interferences.



It is sad to note that the managers of the refinery failed to adequately find off-takers for the refined products before sourcing for the crude, thus rendering the products stranded in tanks. This bizarre business module means the refinery made huge losses as prices kept falling on the global commodity market and giving room for siphoning of the products.



The Minority wishes to serve notice that it will not sit unconcerned for greedy and self-seeking Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government to plunge the only oil refinery in the country into comatose.



We are well aware of the cover-up in the BOST scandal and cannot therefore trust this Government to conduct any fair, transparent and unbiased investigation. We therefore wish to serve notice that we shall in the coming weeks,

trigger the appropriate rules and processes for a full scale Parliamentary inquiry into this broad daylight thievery and embarrassing spectacle.



In the meantime, we wish to call on government to appoint competent personnel devoid of partisan parochial interest onto the management and governing Board of the refinery, and also desist from the unnecessary political interferences in the operations of the refinery.



Signed,



John Abdulai Jinapor- MP for Yapei Kusawgu and Ranking Member for Mines and Energy

Source: Isaac Kwame Owusu/Peacefmonline/[email protected]









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Astute Ghanaian media personality and ace journalist, Oheneyere Gifty has sent a message to critics and those who think her achievements in life is as a result of probably her marriage to a royal family.



Oheneyere Gifty Anti took to her Instagram page and shared some of her private lifes experiences regarding how her daily routine is like and how it sometimes even affects her family.



The illustrious entrepreneur and host of The Standpoint show revealed that sometimes, her daughter hardly sees and get to spend time with her because of her work as she sometimes get home late in the night around 11:30pm and leaves dawn the next morning.



According to her, whatever she owns and have today is as a result of her hard work, however, God amplifies it for his Glory and God is determined to reward her hard work.



Sharing a stunning photo of herself on her page, she wrote,



"When I got home last night around 11:30pm, my daughter was asleep!!



When I left home at dawn this morning, my daughter was still asleep!!!



She hasnt set eyes on me since 7pm last night!!



I have 4 recordings today for @the_standpoint



I beg you, when next you hear someone talk about me, negatively..



When you hear someone insult me.



Please tell them that everything I am today! I worked and continue to work hard for!!



But the Grace of God amplifies it for His Glory!! And God is determined to reward my hard work!!



Enjoy your Saturday my dearies. And remember, this Mama prays for you and wishes you well!!!"











Source: Eugene Osafo-Nkansah/Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Fraser Health registered nurse Kai Kayibadi draws a dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine into a syringe at a walk-up vaccination clinic at Bear Creek Park, in Surrey, B.C., on Monday, May 17, 2021. An estimated 30,000 government employees in British Columbia will have to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Dawn breaks over Twin Rivers Lake in Algonquin Park Saturday June 12, 2021. An Ontario judge is expected to deliver a verdict today in the trial of a Toronto teacher accused in the drowning of a 15-year-old student during a school canoe trip. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fred Thornhill
Logansport, IN (46947)

Today

Sunshine and a few afternoon clouds. High around 40F. Winds W at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 24F. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph.
President Joe Biden signed his $1 trillion infrastructure deal into law Monday on the White House lawn, hailing it as an example of what bipartisanship can achieve.
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A Leesville man was arrested in Aiken County on Thursday as part of a child predator operation led by the Lexington County Sheriff's Department.

Thomas J. Niles Hall, 26, is charged with criminal solicitation of a minor. His bond is set at $20,000.

On Aug. 14, police state the suspect "knowingly communicat[ed] with a person who he believed to be under the age of eighteen, for the purpose of or with the intent of persuading, inducing, enticing or coercing the person to engage in sexual activity," according to an arrest warrant obtained from the Lexington County Sheriff's Department.

During the communication, the suspect "messaged the individual that he wanted to have sex with and then discussed making plans to meet the individual he reasonably believed to be a 14-year-old child for sex," according to the warrant.

The operation targets adults accused of contacting minors online for sexual activity. More than a dozen law enforcement agencies are working together in the ongoing investigation.

Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said more arrests are expected as investigators pursue charges against other suspects identified during the operation.

Police have released the names of 17 men who have been arrested as part of the operation.

The Lexington County Sheriff's Department said "another man is wanted on charges stemming from messages exchanged with law enforcement officers posing as minors on social media apps" in a Sept. 10 news release.

However, it is unclear if the sheriff's office was referring to Hall or another suspect in the operation.

We, along with the Lexington Police Department and the South Carolina Attorney Generals Office, served as the host agencies for this operation, Koon said. Officers pretended to be underage teenagers as the suspects messaged them through apps. Some even had phone conversations with officers. After the suspect asked to meet with the child, detectives were staged at a predetermined meeting spot to arrest them.

No children were ever used or placed in danger during the operation, according to Koon.

The FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Secret Service, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Cayce Department of Public Safety, the Mount Pleasant Police Department, the Charleston County Sheriffs Office, the Orangeburg County Sheriffs Office, the Marion County Sheriffs Office and the Aiken Department of Public Safety participated in the operation, according to the release.
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COLUMBIA  Frustrating developers, the Cayce City Council refused on Oct. 5 to change its zoning to allow a mostly residential project to be built near Interstate 77.

The council voted unanimously not to change the light-industrial zoning overlay to the benefit of the project, valued by its backers at up to $50 million of investment.

Mayor Elise Partin said the move was in line with the city's plans to have 12th Street Extension become a business-oriented gateway into the city.

Still, one of the project's organizers said he was "dumbfounded" by the decision.

Turning down the project will cost thousands of dollars in tax revenue while the site along 12th Street Extension sits undeveloped, said David Slyman, one of the founders of Alabama-based WSS Development, which led the project.

For that area to grow, it needs a mix of rooftops and small businesses, which the Cottages project would have provided, Slyman said.

"Obviously, Cayce is not development-friendly," Slyman said.

The project plan for the Cottages at Cayce called for about 270 cottages and townhomes, ranging from one to three bedrooms, including some with attached garages.

Homes on the 53-acre site would all be built as rentals rather than for purchase.

The retail space in the development would have likely catered to small businesses that like to be close to customers, such as medical and dental offices and gyms, Slyman said.

A memo to council from City Manager Tracy Hegler said the the project still was overwhelmingly residential, with less than 5 percent of space likely to become retail.

Hegler's note said that the 2020 changes to zoning were intended to prohibit new single-family residential projects along that corridor.

Partin defended the council's decision in a Oct. 6 statement.

"While we are excited for more residents and housing to come to our city, thats not the vision for this area. The plan presented at last nights council meeting was almost all residential," Partin said.

The Cottages project was too far from Cayce's plan for the corridor, which includes the Dominion Energy campus, according to Wade Luther, Cayce planning and development director.

This area has long been established as one of the citys key gateways and one of the last undeveloped areas where the city can focus strategic economic development projects," Luther said in a statement.

Slyman said the project he backed was similar to the Otarre Pointe development already on 12th Street Extension, which has a large residential portion.

Cayce might have to wait a long time to put that land to a different, nonresidential use after saying no to this large investment," he said.

"To turn that down, really it was mind-boggling," Slyman said.

Casey Darnell contributed to this report.
COLUMBIA  Richland County will dip into federal COVID-19 relief money to pay for security equipment at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center in the wake of two correctional officers being injured after inmates escaped their cells in September.

But county policymakers chose not to include the stun guns that had been recommended by law enforcement and administrators, saying the county should instead consider radio equipment that might allow officers to better communicate in the event of another security breach.

County administrators had asked that $3.3 million from the county's American Rescue Plan funds be used to pay for body scanners, body cameras, stun guns, a secured parking area for jail employees, and new security cameras throughout the inside and outside of the building. The recommendations came after consulting with law enforcement and jail administrators, County Administrator Leonardo Brown said.

County Council approved the money for all but the stun guns in a 6-3 vote on Oct. 5.

Councilwoman Yvonne McBride said she had "serious concerns" about the use of the devices in the jail. She said county and jail officials should also consider morale issues among the detainees and what led the uprising on Sept. 3.

"There may be other means of addressing this," McBride said. "Let's look at it holistically."

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said an inmate was able to pop the lock on his cell and free other inmates from their cellblock the morning of Sept. 3. The men were upset about a lack of recreation time, Lott said.

Authorities said the detainees attacked two correctional officers with trash cans, chairs and other improvised weapons before the officers were pulled to safety. Twelve people have been charged with assault and kidnapping.

Ronaldo Myers, the longtime detention center director, retired Sept. 30, having given his intention in a terse memo to Brown a week earlier. Myers indicated in his memo that he had notified county administrators of his intentions in June. Brown also told The Post and Courier on Oct. 1 that the timeline for Myers' retirement had been in place for months.

Shane Kitchen, the interim jail director, told council members Oct. 5 that four supervisors at the jail currently carry stun guns and that the proposal to buy more would have expanded those who carry them to about 20.

Councilwoman Allison Terracio, who chairs the county's detention center committee, said she was concerned about arming more officers with stun guns before communications equipment that might alert others if an officer was in trouble.

Others on council said the decision-makers should trust those on the inside of the detention center to know what officers need to be safe.

"Just speaking with some law enforcement friends, that incident that occurred in the county jail could have been diffused faster if we would have had those Tasers in place," said Councilman Derrek Pugh, who with Overture Walker and chairman Paul Livingston voted against leaving the stun guns off the list.
COLUMBIA  Richland County will pay people to get vaccinated before Halloween as part of a pilot program with the University of South Carolina.

The county will pass out $100 debit cards to the first 250 people who get a shot Oct. 30 at The Meeting Place Church, located inside Columbia Place Mall on Two Notch Road. Details still being worked out include the hours and how to sign-up, if necessary.

The program's $25,000 cost comes from the $80 million the county received in federal COVID-19 aid through the spending package Congress passed in the spring. USC's medical students will give the shots.

If successful, the county could approve more money to incentivize more vaccinations by the end of the year.

In South Carolina, about 53 percent of eligible residents had completed their vaccination by Oct. 4, meaning they'd received either both shots of the Moderna or Pfizer brands or the single Johnson & Johnson. Richland County ranks seventh statewide per capita in vaccinations, with 5,527 of every 10,000 residents ages 12 and up fully vaccinated, according to the latest data from the state public health department.

Richland County Council approved the pilot program Oct. 5. Councilman Bill Malinowski was the lone "no" vote, calling the incentive a bribe that was unfair to people already vaccinated.

It's unclear if the incentive will be given to people getting a booster shot. More than 123,000 South Carolinians have received a third dose since boosters were authorized in August for people with underlying health conditions.

The county is under an emergency ordinance and currently requires masks in businesses and schools throughout the unincorporated areas.

The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control still classifies Richland County as having a high rate of spread of coronavirus. The seven-day average percentage of positive COVID-19 tests in the county was 5.2 percent as of Oct. 4.
Its entirely fitting that the Charleston Fire Departments newest station stands beside a memorial to fallen firefighters.

Because it was their loss that inspired the department, and the city, to do better. And Station No. 11 is, in a way, its own monument to those efforts.

The Sofa Super Store fire has become another bit of sad Charleston shorthand, like Hugo or Emmanuel AME. Anyone in town can tell you where they were the day it happened, when they heard the news or how it affected them.

It shouldnt have happened at all. Nine men died when the roof collapsed on a Savannah Highway furniture shop where a fire ignited and quickly raged out of control. The lives lost that evening, the mistakes made, forced the city  the fire department  to take a hard look at itself. They took it seriously.

Years of study ensued. That sort of bureaucratic hand-wringing often leads to dense reports that gather dust on shelves, and nothing much really happens. But this time, it actually worked.

In the 14 years since the Sofa Super Store fire, the city has nearly tripled the Charleston Fire Departments operating budget  from $14.5 million in 2007 to $41.8 million this year. Its capital budget has expanded exponentially, and its personnel roster has grown from about 250 to more than 400.

Sure, some of that is the sort of expansion youd expect in a growing city that constantly needs more stations in more strategic locations. But most of those changes are a result of systemic overhaul.

After the fire, there was so much scrutiny of the fire department, says Fire Chief Dan Curia. There were so many things done to modernize the department. Every facet was changed, and the Charleston Fire Department was totally reinvented as a premier fire department.

The city poured money into new equipment, ensuring firefighters had the best of everything. As The Post and Couriers Glenn Smith found, the department clamped down on fire inspections and increased staffing on every truck to make sure there were enough people on hand to fight every fire.

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Training became more intensive, aggressive  and perpetually ongoing. Chief Fire Marshal Mike Julazadeh says as the variety of calls has increased, so has the need for firefighters to be better prepared for whatever comes their way  hazardous material spills, emergency medical calls or traffic accidents.

Theres a degree of sophistication in firefighting that we didnt have a generation ago, Curia says. Anything that can happen  we want that skill set, and a high degree of coordination. Weve got to be diligent. Even the fires you see today burn differently.

What he means is that, just two decades ago, it took 10 to 12 minutes for a typical fire to reach flashover  the point of exponential spread, when every surface in a room combusts. Nowadays, its more like 3 to 5 minutes. Thats because more things today are synthetic, made of petroleum products. You know, like gasoline.

Or, some of those couches in the Sofa Super Store.

Yes, these days fires are even more dangerous than they were ... and Charleston has a bad history with them. Thats why Julazadeh is out this week promoting Fire Prevention Week, preaching the need to differentiate between the sounds of a fire alarm and a carbon monoxide alarm, the need for people to react quickly when a fire starts.

The Charleston Fire Department learned its lessons the hardest way possible, but it did learn. Within eight years of the Sofa Super Store fire, the department earned national accreditation.

One of the strongest recommendations to come out of the Sofa Super Store soul-searching was that the Charleston Fire Department needed to adopt a better incident command system to manage crises.

Its no accident that Station No. 11  next door to the Charleston 9 Memorial Park, the site of that fire  includes a command training center, to prepare firefighters for any situation.

New, state-of-the-art stations like No. 11 are going up all over the city now. The next new one is being built on Johns Island, and old ones from downtown to Cainhoy are being renovated, modernized or simply replaced. The lessons of June 18, 2007, have not been forgotten.

Station No. 11 is a monument to that.
Inside Episcopal Bishop Ruth Woodliff-Stanley's office hangs a large, framed portrait of Nelson Mandela, the South African revolutionary who fought against apartheid.

The portrait also includes a quote from Mandela: Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another.

The picture, a gift to Woodliff-Stanley from years back, embodies what she believes should be the core focus of the diocese: promoting justice and racial reconciliation in a state where many African American Episcopal congregations are still working to overcome legacies of discrimination.

Thats the work, she said.

Woodliff-Stanley was consecrated Oct. 2 as bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina, making her the first female to hold the position in the church's 230-plus years of history. Her vision is to make the church more inclusive. She wants to uplift the voices of the dioceses Black congregations and begin reaching out to Native American communities.

Woodliff-Stanley will lead 31 churches affiliated with The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion in the eastern half of the state. Six churches in the diocese have African American roots.

Promoting the needs of Black congregations will benefit the entire diocese, Woodliff-Stanley told The Post and Courier.

"I want to strengthen our understanding of who we are as a people," she said.

Woodliff-Stanley, 59, was raised in Mississippi and has served as the rector of a parish, as canon on the staffs of two bishops of the Episcopal Church, and also in churchwide ministry focused on stewardship of finances and property.

It isn't lost on her the significance of her ascent in ministry as a woman. Woodliff-Stanley hopes she might inspire the next generation of girls who hope to pursue God's calling on their lives.

"That thrills me," she said.

Woodliff-Stanleys vision largely aligns with the ideals of the Episcopal Churchs Presiding Bishop Michael Curry.

Curry, who served as chief consecrator at the consecration held at Grace Church Cathedral, comes from a family of civil rights leaders and often emphasizes the need for building a beloved community. The philosophy was popularized by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who envisioned a world that rejected oppression and racial segregation.

Woodliff-Stanley has the experience needed to help bring about such a vision for South Carolina, Curry said. Among her work in social justice includes helping establish Denvers Black Lives Matter chapter while serving in ministry in Colorado.

This is a bishop who can help us choose community over any chaos, Curry said.

Others concurred.

In the challenging days ahead, you will discover that your new diocesan bishop has a knack for helping others make possible what may initially seem quite impossible, said the Rev. Deacon Sally Brown of the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado.

Woodliff-Stanley, who was elected bishop May 1, has already been traveling throughout the state, meeting with congregations. Some have been displaced, and wanted Woodliff-Stanley's assistance in discerning the future of their churches.

Throughout the diocese's history, many Black congregations have been displaced.

Woodliff-Stanley preached Oct. 3 at Calvary Episcopal, a historically African American congregation founded in 1847 as a church for Charlestons enslaved and free Black people. In 1940, the church was forced to relocate from Beaufain Street after a housing development wanted the land to expand a White neighborhood.

The new bishop feels she's well-equipped to assist the congregations seeking new properties. Woodliff-Stanley has served as senior vice president for strategic change for the Episcopal Church Building Fund, which could offer resources to churches establishing new facilities.

"We have congregations across the diocese where, for different reasons, they've experienced a very similar pain," she said.

Woodliff-Stanley also wants to reach out to Native American communities. The church must recognize the role it has played historically in displacing Native American populations, she said.

"There's work we have to do in repentance," she said.

Woodliff-Stanley wants to see concrete changes. She sees an opportunity to help cultivate leaders through the church's Voorhees College in Denmark.

She also sees a chance for greater ecumenical collaboration.

This will begin with her participation in the Oct. 9 Micah Project peace walk. The project is the result of a collaboration between St. Stephens Episcopal and Mt. Zion AME, both in downtown Charleston. The goal is to highlight health care, education, housing and other issues.

Woodliff-Stanley takes the helm of a diocese striving to move forward after the 2012 denominational split. A hearing is scheduled for Dec. 8 to hear the church's appeal of a 2020 ruling that said breakaway congregations could keep their properties. This came after a 2017 S.C. Supreme Court decision that ruled 29 breakaway parishes be returned to the Episcopal Church.

"We pray the court upholds the 2017 decision," Woodliff-Stanley said. "Jesus is going to lead us forward no matter what happens in any legal proceedings."
BMW of North America called the Upstate manufacturing plant "pivotal" in its domestic success during the first three quarters of its fiscal year in a sales report on Oct. 1. Two of the top-selling BMW models, the X3 and X5, are manufactured in Spartanburg County at the only U.S. manufacturing facility for the German automaker.

More than 75,000 new BMW vehicles were sold in the U.S. during the company's third quarter, BMW of North America reported. Of those, 35,588 were passenger cars and 40,031 were light trucks, a combined 8.7 percent increase from the third quarter of 2020.

Certified pre-owned vehicle sales have decreased 8.7 percent during the third quarter of 2021 from the same quarter the previous year. Year-to-date certified pre-owned vehicle sales have increased 20.3 percent, however, from the first three quarters of 2020.

"It has been a challenging year, but our dealers have done an incredible job managing through it, and driving success for our business, said Sebastian Mackensen, president and CEO of BMW of North America, in a statement.

In July, the company reported that BMW Manufacturings Spartanburg County campus was not impacted by the ongoing semiconductor shortage, a problem that has plagued various industries and other car manufacturers.

The supply of semiconductor chips to Plant Spartanburg has, so far, not led to any interruptions in production, spokeswoman Sky Foster wrote in a statement sent to The Post and Courier in July.

Do you want to read more on the impact the computer chip shortage has on the automotive industry? The Associated Press reported on Oct. 1 that "J.D. Power expects U.S. automakers to sell just over 1 million vehicles in September, for an annual sales rate of 12.2 million. Thats a rate thats 4 million lower than last year, and 4.9 million below September of 2019."

Quick hits

At his retirement ceremony on Oct. 1, Tracy Newsome was presented with The Order of the Palmetto as he departed from his role as general manager of Greenville Cintas Corporation. While serving at Cintas, a company that provides first aid and safety products, Newsome hired hundred and also led teams through Meals on Wheels service projects. He served on the board of Meals on Wheels and is credited with the program's growth. Newsome also is a 1981 United States Military Academy graduate and a U.S. Army veteran. The Order of the Palmetto is the the highest civilian honor given in South Carolina. The award was presented to Newsome by state Rep. Bobby Cox.

was presented with The Order of the Palmetto as he departed from his role as general manager of Greenville Cintas Corporation. While serving at Cintas, a company that provides first aid and safety products, Newsome hired hundred and also led teams through Meals on Wheels service projects. He served on the board of Meals on Wheels and is credited with the program's growth. Newsome also is a 1981 United States Military Academy graduate and a U.S. Army veteran. The Order of the Palmetto is the the highest civilian honor given in South Carolina. The award was presented to Newsome by state Rep. Bobby Cox. On the morning of Oct. 5, Accenture , a professional services company specializing in IT services and consulting, acquired Greenville-based Advoco , a business management consultant company. Advoco, located in the NEXT Innovation Center in Greenville, is known for being a leader in Infor EAM, a software-as-service suite for enterprise asset management. The entire Advoco team will join Accenture's United States team. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

, a professional services company specializing in IT services and consulting, acquired Greenville-based , a business management consultant company. Advoco, located in the NEXT Innovation Center in Greenville, is known for being a leader in Infor EAM, a software-as-service suite for enterprise asset management. The entire Advoco team will join Accenture's United States team. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Greenville County Human Relations Commission (GCHRC) was named the Greenville Chamber of Commerce "Small Business of the Month" for September. Founded in 1972, GCHRC focuses on housing and financial education services. Since its launch, the organization has served more than 1,400 clients, helping reduce their debts collectively by $1.6 million. Greenville Chamber investors submit applications to a selection committee at the chamber for the monthly honor. Beyond receiving a personalized plaque and a blog feature, the business is automatically put in the running to be named the "Small Business of the Year."

New to town

From restaurants to retail, here are new storefronts and businesses coming to the Upstate.

ASADA pop-up, will be open Oct. 9, 16, 23 and 30: Latin American restaurant ASADA, on Wade Hampton Blvd in Greenville, will host four bakery pop-ups called Azucar during October. The pop-ups will be in the restaurant's parking lot from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on four consecutive Saturdays and feature pastries like tres leche cake, chocoflan and more. Proceeds will go to Project Host in Greenville for their CC Pearce Culinary School program.

Latin American restaurant ASADA, on Wade Hampton Blvd in Greenville, will host four bakery pop-ups called Azucar during October. The pop-ups will be in the restaurant's parking lot from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on four consecutive Saturdays and feature pastries like tres leche cake, chocoflan and more. Proceeds will go to Project Host in Greenville for their CC Pearce Culinary School program. Off The Chain Dog Park Bar, opened on Oct. 1: Two Mauldin natives opened a bar at 201 Murray Dr. in Mauldin where customers can drink alongside their favorite four-legged friends. Off The Chain Dog Park Bar features 20 taps with local brews and has a 6,500 square foot outdoor space. The bar is open Tuesday through Friday, 4-9 p.m., and 1-9 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Customers can buy a discounted annual membership for $75 now, which includes a t-shirt, 15 percent off beer and wine for a year, and a photo of their dog on the "Wall of Regulars."

Real estate spotlight

Highlighting seven-figure homes in the Upstate.

Sold for $1.9 million on Oct. 1: 220 Riverplace Street, Unit 501, Greenville, 29601. 3 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms. Buyer representative: Misty Hardaway of Coldwell Banker Caine/Williams. Seller representative: Virginia Hayes of Coldwell Banker Caine/Williams.

For sale for $1.47 million: 116 Maggie Lane, Anderson, 29625. 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 0.57 acres. Presented by: Parker Quigley of Parker Quigley Properties.

Thats all for this week. Until next Wednesday, email your thoughts, tips, releases and newsy bits to smirah@postandcourier.com.
MAULDIN  With a split Mauldin City Council set to decide later this month on a zoning ordinance that would block Habitat for Humanity of Greenville County from setting up shop in the city, representatives of the nonprofit are rallying against the rule change.

Last month, council voted 4-3 to approve first reading of the ordinance, which would limit the number of thrift stores that could operate in the city and block Habitat's plans to open a ReStore consignment shop in a former Bi-Lo on West Butler Road.

Councilwoman Carol King and councilmen Michael Reynolds and Dale Black voted against the ordinance. Mayor Terry Merritt, Councilwoman Dianne Kuzniar and councilmen Taft Matney and Jason Kraeling voted in favor.

If implemented, the new rule would prohibit secondhand stores from opening within 200 feet of the nearest residential property line and mandate they operate in a multitenant building, both of which would prohibit the new ReStore from opening as planned.

Leaders from the nonprofit and King gathered among the stripped down checkout lines and bare shelves of the empty former grocery store Oct. 5 to speak to reporters and voice opposition to the measure.

Members of council in favor of the rule change, including Merritt and Matney, have previously voiced concern that a proliferation of thrift shops in Mauldin would be inconsistent with their vision for the city's future. The former Bi-Lo's proximity to the planned site of the city center project is also an issue.

King told reporters Oct. 5 that the building is not in the planned city center district, and preventing ReStore from moving to the location would deprive Mauldin of a quality retail option. It could also leave the 49,000-square-foot building vacant for years to come.

"It's hard for me to understand how representatives within our city could oppose this store coming to our city," she said.

Habitat for Humanity of Greenville County CEO Monroe Free also spoke during the event. He said he is disheartened that Mauldin would hinder the plans of the organization, which specializes in building affordable homes at a time Greenville County faces a housing shortage. He asked Mauldin residents to reach out to members of council to voice support for the new ReStore.

Mark Steenback, Habitat's chief resource officer, said during the event that projections show the new ReStore location would create up to 30 new jobs and generate enough revenue in the first year to build at least two new homes, and an average of five to six new houses every year after that. Habitat has been in negotiations to lease the building since the Bi-Lo closed earlier this year.

Free said if the second reading of the zoning ordinance is approved, Habitat plans to challenge it in court.

Before approval of the first reading, Matney said the ordinance did not target Habitat specifically and was not drafted with the nonprofit in mind, but leadership has a specific vision for the city's central corridor that does not include thrift shops.

He said he personally supports Habitat for Humanity and would be willing to help the organization find another suitable location for the ReStore in the city.

Council will vote on a second reading during its Oct. 18 meeting.
FOUNTAIN INN  It's been nearly a month since the Greenville County School District introduced independent COVID-19 testing that could cut quarantine times, but so far not enough students are using it, Superintendent Burke Royster said.

The district's three drive-through testing sites spread across the county can cut quarantine times by 30 percent, but only 30 percent of students in quarantine are using them, Royster said during an Oct. 5 event at Fountain Inn High School.

State Department of Education Superintendent Molly Spearman joined Royster and state Department of Health and Environmental Control Public Health Director Dr. Brannon Traxler at Fountain Inn High School, the location of one of three sites.

The testing program  also located at Northside Park on the east side of Paris Mountain and MT Anderson Support Center near Southside High School  is available only to students and employees of the district.

"We want to encourage more people to take advantage of these," Royster said.

The district requires students to quarantine for 10 days if deemed to be in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.

However, as part of setting up testing stations, the district will allow students to instead quarantine for seven days if a negative test taken no sooner than five days after the close contact can be provided.

So far, the three testing sites have returned about 1,600 students to school early, said Nolan McBride, executive director of Mako Medical Laboratories, which contracted with the district to administer the tests.

The tests are so-called PCR tests, determined to be the most-accurate, and results are guaranteed to come back by the next day, McBride said.

The stations, open seven days a week, are part of a collaboration with DHEC using federal COVID relief money.

Each district across the state has its own testing programs instead of a statewide standard, which Traxler said is necessary because the spread of coronavirus varies by region and districts must meet individual needs.

We have to remain flexible," Traxler said. "Things change as we learn more about the virus, as the amount of transmission out there spreads. No two districts in our state are alike.

COVID cases fueled by the highly contagious delta variant has been declining for the past four weeks after reaching a peak at the end of a summer surge that saw record numbers of cases in some areas of the state.

"We certainly hope that continues," she said.

The drop in cases is reflected within the Greenville County School District, which last week reported a 40 percent decrease. The district cited the decline in spread last week in choosing not to impose a mask mandate after a federal judge ruled against a state budget proviso that restricted the use of funds to enforce mask mandates.
The temporary hold on a state law that inhibited school districts from requiring masks will stand for now after the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals rebuffed an effort by Gov. Henry McMaster and state Attorney General Alan Wilson.

The appeals court in its Oct. 5 order remanded the request for an emergency stay back to the district court in Columbia, which ruled on Sept. 28 the state law was discriminatory against disabled children.

In a letter to U.S. District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis the same day, the Attorney General's office expressed its intent to continue its appeal. In the end, school districts across the state can now make local decisions about whether to require masks as a COVID-19 precaution.

The discretion to require masks is pending a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of parents whose children have disabilities. The lawsuit claims masks help ensure access to an education.

The lawsuit names McMaster, state Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman and a collection of school districts, including Greenville County, where the disabled students attend.

The 4th Circuit ruling is the latest in the contentious balance between parental choice and public health that has raged since schools first shut down at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In June, just before the delta variant sent COVID cases soaring again, the state Legislature passed a proviso in its budget barring districts from using state money to enforce mask-wearing, setting off a flurry of competing laws and legal challenges.

The city of Columbia promptly voted to require masks in all schools and bypass the proviso by using its fire marshal to enforce the mandate. The Charleston County School District also voted for a mandate.

On Sept. 28, Lewis granted a preliminary injunction on the proviso, calling the decision "not a close call" in the interest of accommodating students with disabilities. She compared face masks to reasonable accommodations such as wheelchair ramps.

It is noncontroversial that children need to go to school," Lewis wrote. "And, they are entitled to any reasonable accommodation that allows them to do so. No one can reasonably argue that it is an undue burden to wear a mask to accommodate a child with disabilities.

McMaster, who has held that parents should be able to choose if their child wears a mask, promised to take the appeal all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman, a Republican like McMaster and Wilson, has endorsed an approach that would give school districts individual discretion.

In the week that followed, Greenville County opted not to impose a mandate despite the federal intervention. The district said COVID-19 spread in schools had declined by 40 percent in the previous four weeks and that its students make up 5 percent of COVID cases within schools in the state despite representing 10 percent of the states public school students.
Greenville County Council rejected a plan to refund local taxpayers millions of dollars collected since 2017 from a road maintenance fee and telecommunications fee that the state Supreme Court ruled are invalid taxes.

The council voted with a split voice vote against authorizing county staff to devise a program to refund the collected fees to residents. The vote came less than an hour after the same members of council voted 6-4 in favor of refunding the money in its committee of the whole following a lengthy executive session.

The voice vote did not require council members to state their position or how they voted. Chairman Willis Meadows and Councilmen Joe Dill and Mike Barnes said after the meeting they each supported the refunds.

Council members Lynn Ballard, Ennis Fant, Chris Harrison, Liz Seman, Stan Tzouvelekas and Dan Tripp each appeared to vote against the refunds. Councilman Butch Kirven said after the meeting that he didnt vote on the issue. Council members Xanthene Norris and Steve Shaw were absent.

The vote means the county will, at least for now, keep nearly $30 million in fees collected over the past four years. In late June, the state Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling that the fees were improper because they targeted specific residents for services that also benefited those who didnt pay the fees.

Dill and Barnes used time at the end of the meeting to make sure their votes were marked as in support of the refunds.

As council members, Barnes, Dill and Meadows each were part of a lawsuit filed in 2017 against the council that sought to invalidate the fees by arguing the councils vote to implement them was improper and that the fees were, in fact, taxes in disguise. A circuit judge dismissed the council members from the lawsuit because a member cant sue the decision-making governmental body to which they belong.

Councilman Butch Kirven, who as former chairman led the effort to implement the fees in 2017, said multiple times since June that he believes the fees should be refunded, including after the committee of the whole vote on Oct. 5.

But after he abstained from the voice vote, he said the vote was the best possible result following the court decision and that the county may have jeopardized its AAA credit rating if it was forced to use a portion of its $55 million reserve fund to give back to those who paid the fees.

I think the benefits to the citizens will be more for the funds to be spent on infrastructure, Kirven said. I didnt get any calls about the fees in the first place and didnt get any calls from citizens about refunding them.

Kirven said he found out between meetings that Tripp planned to change his vote to no longer support refunding the money to residents. He said he had planned to still support it since he previously said he would, but instead he decided to keep silent on the voice vote.

Tripp couldnt be reached for comment late Oct. 5.

Seman said she was opposed to refunding money to residents because the county needs it in order to catch up on its road infrastructure needs.

I think this is a huge opportunity to make a leap forward in infrastructure, and I havent heard from my constituents that theyre asking for the refunds, she said. I think the majority of my constituents are very concerned about the condition of our roads.

Ballard said he didnt believe the county should refund the money to those who paid the fees because the court was silent on what the county should do with fees it had already collected.

Because the money was used properly, I was not in favor of a refund, Ballard said.

The council has already approved a trimmed-down road paving list for this fiscal year, a reflection of revenue it doesnt expect to collect moving forward after the court invalidated the $10 hike in its roads fee. The county expects to lose about $7 million in revenue this year from the loss of the roads and telecom fees moving forward.

It still must figure out a long-term solution to replace the revenue the court decision invalidated, Meadows said.

Seman said she hoped the county would be able to pave more roads with the money saved by not issuing refunds.

Tzouvelekas, who also appeared to vote against issuing a refund, said he wanted to move forward with his proposal to spend $30 million to pave roads this year.
Optician Joe Venzie beckoned the little girl forward.

She stepped quietly into the mobile eye clinic parked outside Sanders-Clyde Elementary School in Charleston, and she shook her head when Venzie asked if she'd ever had her eyes examined before. He tried his best to put her at ease.

"No one is going to touch your eyes," he said. "It's going to be easy peasy. And we've got some stickers for you when we're done."

The student, who visited the mobile clinic on Oct. 4, is one of hundreds of children in Charleston enrolled in a Title 1 elementary school who have already been screened for eye problems this academic year. The nonprofit program that offers the screenings is new to Charleston and is called Vision to Learn. It's free for students, funded by donations and offers children prescription glasses at no cost if they need them. Typically, more than 30 percent of children at these schools do.

But the program is also controversial. While Vision to Learn has been up and running in other states since 2012  and has screened millions of children across the United States over the past decade  the South Carolina Optometric Physicians Association has tried to block the group from establishing a presence here.

"Its not about Vision to Learn. Its about protecting our children," said Greenville optometrist Johndra McNeely, speaking on behalf of the Optometric Physicians Association, which represents about 70 percent of licensed optometrists in South Carolina. "This is about long-term eye care for kids. Its a big deal. Like I said, basic, minimum  minimum  eye exams. Thats all weve asked for."

The Optometric Association has said Vision to Learn isn't offering basic, minimum eye exams. In fact, the association has claimed that Vision to Learn may be doing more harm than good by potentially misdiagnosing children's vision problems.

"A bad screening could make the problem worse," McNeely said. "Is something better than nothing? Not always. Definitely not."

Even so, after The Post and Courier published an article about the association's concerns about Vision to Learn in May, state legislators passed a temporary one-year law that allows Vision to Learn to offer students these eye exams during the school day through its mobile clinic. If the Legislature does not make the law permanent next year, Vision to Learn must cease operations in South Carolina.

The nonprofit is hopeful it won't come to that. Vision to Learn's lobbyist and one of its staffers met with representatives from the S.C. Optometric Physicians Association in Columbia in late September to discuss a possible compromise before the Legislature reconvenes in January. To that end, Damian Carroll, who serves as the national director and chief of staff for Vision to Learn, said they plan to add a piece of equipment to the mobile clinic called a fundus camera, which can be used to see the back of the eye.

The Optometric Physicians Association's main point of contention with Vision to Learn is that it doesn't dilate students' eyes during the exams. Dilation is a process that widens the pupil of the eye, typically through the use of eye drops. It allows more light into the back of the eye, giving the doctor a better view inside. It's a common component of most eye exams, and the American Academy of Ophthalmology recommends a comprehensive eye exam with dilation if a child fails a vision screening.

But some experts, including those at the Mayo Clinic and at Vision to Learn, contend that the necessity of dilation during an eye exam depends on age and eye health, among other factors. The Vision to Learn team says the equipment used inside its mobile eye clinic is able to diagnose a variety of common eye problems, including nearsightedness, far-sightedness and astigmatism, without the use of dilation. If a more comprehensive exam becomes necessary, Vision to Learn refers those children to doctors in the community who are able to offer a higher level of care.

Dilating every student's eyes would be disruptive, time-intensive and difficult to do without a parent present at the school, Carroll said. Dilation would also compromise the child's eyesight for several hours. The group's model is built on the premise of being as least disruptive to classroom instruction as possible, he said.

"We want to continue to compromise. Its always easiest for us to help kids when we have the support of the local optometrist association," Carroll said. "Unfortunately, (dilation) is just not practical in a school setting. Its not necessary to address these students' basic needs."

McNeely said she fears Vision to Learn isn't meeting these basic needs. The association has asked to observe the Vision to Learn mobile clinic in practice and has not yet been granted access to do so, she said.

"Were still waiting on an answer," McNeely said.

Meanwhile, other medical professionals in South Carolina are singing the praises of Vision to Learn. Dr. Patrick Cawley, CEO of MUSC Health, said the group offers a "tremendous opportunity" for students in Charleston to receive basic eye care.

Ellen Nitz, director of nursing services for the Charleston County School District, called Vision to Learn "a beautiful gift."

When registered nurse Allison Wukovits found out that Vision to Learn wanted to launch a mobile clinic for students in Charleston, she jumped at the opportunity to participate.

"It literally almost brought tears to my eyes," she said.

Wukovits is a Charleston County School District nurse who works with nurses across several schools. But when she was previously stationed full time at Sanders-Clyde, she said she struggled for years to help students with eye problems. The school used to offer simple screenings and referred students to doctors in the community if they needed glasses. But for a variety of reasons, including money and transportation, the students never got them, she said.

She was eventually able to find an eye doctor in Mount Pleasant who examined students on-site at the elementary school and gave them free glasses.

"It was the most amazing experience," she said, describing what it was like to watch children put on their prescription glasses for the first time. "They didn't know that trees weren't just a blob of green. Trees had leaves."

Then the pandemic hit and students were sent home. Some of the students in the district haven't been screened for vision problems in years, Wukovits said. Some of them haven't ever been screened.

She doesn't understand the Optometric Physician Association's opposition to Vision to Learn. If anything, she pointed out, Vision to Learn is creating a new customer base for the state's optometrists. Furthermore, public school students are similarly screened by outside providers for dental and medical issues. And she's never fielded any complaints from groups representing the state's doctors or dentists.

McNeely, speaking on behalf of the optometrists' group, countered that dentists and doctors provide these screening services to students, but they're typically not offering treatment inside the school, during the school day.

"Nobodys getting a tooth pulled at the school," she said. Vision to Learn, meanwhile, is writing and filling prescriptions, she said. "Our most vulnerable children dont deserve to have a substandard screening."

Retired Charleston banker Henry Blackford has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars over several years to launch Vision to Learn in South Carolina. It costs about $350,000 to run the program each year. The mobile clinic costs about $125,000 to purchase and outfit with equipment, he said. The Medical University of South Carolina's Storm Eye Institute is underwriting most of the mobile van's costs.

Blackford plans to keep up the fundraising, but it's hard to ask donors for multiyear commitments, he said, when it's unclear how much longer Vision to Learn will be allowed to screen students in the state. He wants lawmakers to make it permanent.

"I just don't know how you turn it down," Blackford said.

He hopes the success of the program will speak for itself when legislators take up the future of Vision to Learn next year. A bill has already been introduced by Reps. Joe Bustos and William Cogswell, both Charleston Republicans, that would give the mobile clinic permission to continue serving students. It will require a hearing and passage in both chambers of the Statehouse.

"I think its pretty clear it's an incredible initiative," Cogswell said. "Were just trying to allow a very worthwhile program to exist."

He said he doesn't anticipate any problems passing the proposed legislation.

McNeely isn't so sure.

"If it was that easy to pass, why hasnt it been passed in the last three sessions when its been filed?" she said. "Its because there are people who know this is not the right thing."

In the meantime, the mobile eye clinic will continue making its rounds to Charleston County schools. More than 10,000 students will be screened this school year in the Lowcountry.

Sanders-Clyde third-grader Braylen Shockley already had his eye exam. He said it's hard to read his teacher's screen if the words aren't big enough. And there are only so many students who can fit in the front row.

"It's frustrating," he said. "I can't see and it makes me mad sometimes."

Braylen's new glasses have been ordered. He'll get them this week or next.

"I'm going to get red glasses," the 9-year-old said. Red is his favorite color.
Summerville, SC (29483)

Today

Generally cloudy. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 78F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy. Low 54F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.
Kingstree, SC (29556)

Today

Sun and clouds mixed. High 78F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Some clouds. Low 49F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.
SOCASTEE  Tidelands Health and Encompass Health, a nationwide rehabilitation provider, are seeking state approval to construct a 36-bed rehabilitation hospital in the Socastee area.

The new hospital could fill a need in the state's fast-growing county as Horry and Georgetown counties are in need of 52 rehabilitation beds, according to South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control SC Health Plan.

This would be the medical providers' third inpatient rehabilitation hospital in the area, joining Tidelands Health rehabilitation hospitals in Murrells Inlet and Little River. The new $28.2 million hospital would employ about 65 workers.

Inpatient rehabilitation hospitals are a critical component of our regions continuum of care, Tidelands Health CEO Bruce Bailey said in a statement announcing the hospital. Bodies are healed and lives are restored every day at our rehabilitation hospitals in Murrells Inlet and Little River, and we look forward to working with our partners at Encompass Health to bring this critically important service to the people of south Horry County and surrounding areas.

The rehabilitation hospital will be "hospital within a hospital" as Tidelands Health and Encompass Health are planning to build it within the proposed Tidelands Health Carolina Bays Hospital.

The Carolina Bays Hospital is set to be located at the interchange of S.C. 31 and 707.

Though Tidelands Health received approval to build the main Carolina Bays Hospital, it is still seeking approval on their certificate of need applications on for the new rehabilitation proposal and Tidelands Health Extended Care Hospital, a 24-bed long-term acute care hospital.

Both of which would be located inside the main Carolina Bays Hospital.

South Carolina is a part of the Certification of Need program that regulates health care facilities capacity to control health care costs and access to care, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures website.

The new rehabilitation hospital plans to serve patients with numerous conditions including strokes and other neurological disorders, hip fractures, brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, amputations, orthopedic conditions and COVID-19.

Additionally, parents would receive three hours of therapy a day for five days a week, with 24-hour nursing care.

Tidelands Health is not the only hospital with plans to expand in Horry County as Conway Medical Center's proposed Carolina Forest hospital has received DHEC approval and just needs final approval from the county to begin construction.

But Horry County will not approve the project until officials are certain it wont harm a new mitigation bank nearby. It is not clear when the decision will be made.

Additionally, McLeod Health also has the green light from DHEC to build its 48-bed facility in Carolina Forest.
NORTH CHARLESTON  A right foot that was found nearly a year ago washed up on shores near Fort Sumter was identified as that of a missing woman, Charleston County Coroner Bobbi Jo ONeal said.

ONeal said Oct. 6 her office was able to identify the woman as 57-year-old Janet Robinson after submitting DNA from the case to Othram, a private company that specializes in using forensic genetic genealogy to solve cold cases.

Robinson's left foot was found months later washed up on James Island.

O'Neal said the feet separated from the body due to natural processes, and that the feet weren't injured in any way.

The DNA sample was sent to the company June 21, and within three months the company matched it with a sample Robinson's sibling had submitted to a third-party genealogy company in January 2019, O'Neal said.

O'Neal said the woman's cause of death remains under investigation, but they were able to determine she was originally from Mississippi. Robinson was living in the Charleston area at the time of her disappearance and was last seen Aug. 3, 2020, leaving an area hospital, O'Neal said. The coroner declined to say why Robinson was at the hospital.

O'Neal said her office was working closely with the Charleston County Sheriff's Office and Robinson's family to investigate the circumstances surrounding the woman's death, as well as to recover the rest of her remains.

"At this point, we're sort of stuck," O'Neal said. "We really need leads from the public, who may know her, may have seen her, and maybe can give us some information about her whereabouts when she went missing."

The Robinson family said in a statement: "Our family would like to thank the public for notifying authorities and submitting any leads that helped the missing person case of our loved one, Janet Robinson. If there is any additional information to offer us to add any additional closure, please submit any information to the law enforcement department."

Roger Antonio, a spokesman for the sheriff's office, said he had no update on the investigation.

Robinson's right foot, still encased in a green-and-black men's size 10 running shoe, washed up on shores near Fort Sumter on Oct. 25. A forensic anthropologist with the Charleston County Coroner's Office could not determine the age, ethnicity or gender of person based on the appendage.

O'Neal said her office previously sent a DNA sample from the foot to the University of North Texas so it could be compared to CODIS, the FBI's criminal justice DNA database, for a possible match.

In March, a left foot washed up onto shores in James Island, O'Neal said. Again, the foot was inside a men's size 10 shoe, the coroner said.

Still waiting on results from the University of North Texas, the coroner's office decided to submit a DNA sample to Othram, a private DNA laboratory.

O'Neal said it was the first time the coroner's office has used forensic genetic genealogy to solve a missing-persons case. The emerging practice has gained national attention in recent years after it was used to capture the Golden State Killer, Joseph James DeAngelo Jr., who committed at least 13 murders and dozens of rapes in California in the 1970s and 1980s.

It has also been used to solve high-profile unidentified person cases, such as "Delta Dawn," a toddler girl found dead in the Escatawpa River in Mississippi in 1982.

O'Neal said the DNA sample from the right foot was sent to the company, which created a genealogical profile from the DNA and compared it to publicly accessible DNA databases. The company was able to quickly match the sample to Robinson's sibling in Mississippi, O'Neal said.

"This is really advanced level forensic science," O'Neal said.

O'Neal said she hoped to continue to use forensic genetic genealogy to solve other unidentified-person cases in Charleston County.
Many state and local governments have struggled to put billions of dollars in federal rent assistance into the hands of landlords, but Charleston County has done so well that it will temporarily stop taking applications after Oct. 7.

The pause is meant to keep the number of renters applying for help from exceeding the money available. There's more federal money coming, and the county expects to resume taking applications later.

So far, the county has paid out $11.6 million in rent and utility assistance from the federal government and committed several million dollars more. The money goes directly to landlords and utility companies, but the tenants must apply for it.

We arent shutting down the program," county spokeswoman Kelsey Barlow said. We have obligated 95 percent of our current funds and have another $6 million coming, in the coming weeks, from the Treasury."

So far, the county said, more than 1,600 households have benefitted.

Charleston is among seven South Carolina counties with populations large enough to get federal funding directly. The S.C. State Housing Finance and Development Authority, known as SC Housing, received $271.8 million to help tenants in the remaining 39 counties.

While Charleston County has committed 95 percent of its funding so far, SC Housing has approved payments that amount to about 10 percent of its funding, $27.7 million.

Chris Winston, spokesman for SC Housing, said about 10,000 applications are being reviewed. Most of those were submitted after the federal eviction moratorium expired more than a month ago, he said.

In August, SC Housing reduced paperwork requirements and expanded outreach efforts, hoping to get more applicants and process applications more quickly. In some cases, renters were allowed to provide sworn statements rather than documents.

For SC Housing, call 800-476-0412. Residents of Anderson, Berkeley, Charleston, Greenville, Horry, Richland, and Spartanburg counties need to apply with their own county's program.

Thousands of applications have been rejected because they were submitted to the wrong county. In Charleston County, about 3,000 applications were rejected because they were submitted by residents of a different county, or were duplicates of existing applications, Barlow said.

Right now Charleston County has about 4,200 applications in progress, and another 3,300 that have been started but not completed.

The $45 billion federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program was aimed at preventing evictions during the pandemic, by helping people with modest incomes and pandemic-related hardships to get caught up on rent and utility payments.

States, counties and some large cities had to manage the applications and distributions, with varying levels of success. In many cases, as with SC Housing, applications for the assistance came nowhere close to the amount of money available, despite a clear need for help.

The U.S. Treasury Department, in guidance issued Oct. 4, said it plans to reallocate unspent funding to governments that had obligated at least 65 percent of their first-round funding by Sept. 30. Charleston County stands to benefit.

Charleston County was aggressive in its outreach efforts, with in-person assistance offered at libraries and a bilingual hotline to call. That hotline, Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., is 855-452-5374.

Berkeley County's number for rental assistance is 843-377-8507. The county has so far paid or committed $4.4 million, has $6.4 million remaining, and continues to accept applications.

Dorchester County residents should call SC Housing, because that county did not directly receive federal funding.
HAMPTON  Alex Murdaugh used a fraudulent bank account for years to siphon money away from his former law firm and clients, as well as the family of his late housekeeper, a pair of lawsuits allege.

The legal complaints, filed separately this week, purportedly reveal how the disgraced attorney used a dummy bank account to scam his associates out of millions of dollars.

Both lawsuits allege Murdaugh illegally funneled money from legal cases to a Bank of America account that he disguised to look like a legitimate financial firm.

The complaints allege Murdaugh named the account "Forge" so it would appear he was directing money to Forge Consulting, an Atlanta-based company that lawyers sometimes hire to facilitate legal settlement payments. From there, the money disappeared, the suits claim.

Among the alleged victims: Murdaugh's former Hampton County law firm and the sons of his late housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield.

The law office of Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth, Detrick filed its lawsuit Oct. 6, seeking to recover an untold amount of money that it claims Murdaugh drained from firm and client accounts. The lawsuit comes a month after the firm said it discovered Murdaugh had been embezzling money and forced him to resign.

Jim Griffin, one of Murdaugh's defense attorneys, called the firm's lawsuit "a very sad development."

"Alex holds every member of the (PMPED) firm in very high esteem," he continued. "He has pledged his full cooperation to the firm."

Satterfield's sons filed their lawsuit last month.

They said Murdaugh recommended they sue him in 2018 after Satterfield, 57, died from a slip-and-fall accident at his Hampton home that February. But then they never received a dime of the $4.3 million settlement that was negotiated on their behalf without their knowledge, according to their lawsuit.

Questions swirled for weeks about where the money went.

Then, this week, the Satterfields' attorneys said they had gotten to the bottom of it. They filed a more detailed claim accusing Murdaugh of conspiring with a lawyer friend and a banker to steal the Satterfields' money.

Attorneys Eric Bland and Ronnie Richter said they determined that Murdaugh worked with Beaufort lawyer Cory Fleming  the Satterfield's attorney in the wrongful death lawsuit  to direct the millions of dollars owed to the family to a "Forge" bank account controlled by Murdaugh.

From there, Satterfield's sons never received anything. In fact, they had no idea the settlement even existed, Bland and Richter said.

In a joint Oct. 6 statement with Bland and Richter, Fleming and his law firm announced they had settled with the Satterfield family and agreed to repay all legal fees he earned from the original case.

The Satterfields will also receive damages from Flemings malpractice insurance policy. Fleming acknowledged making mistakes in the case but said he was duped by Murdaugh as well.

Fleming trusted his close friend and colleague to deal with him truthfully and honorably, only to be misled and deceived in one of the worst possible ways for a lawyer: Alex Murdaugh lied to Mr. Fleming to steal client funds, the statement said.

The State Law Enforcement Division is investigating allegations Murdaugh embezzled from PMPED. Agents are also probing Satterfields death and what happened to the settlement money tied to her passing.

The lawsuits this week are just a slice of the embezzlement, fraud and obstruction of justice allegations lodged against Murdaugh, 53, in recent months.

The prominent attorney and scion of a powerful family of lawyers in Hampton County has seen his personal and professional lives unravel since the still-unsolved slayings of his wife, Maggie, and son Paul in early June. The pair was shot to death at the familys hunting lodge in Colleton County.

Last month, Murdaugh was forced out of the law firm his great-grandfather founded amid embezzlement accusations. That same weekend, he reported being shot in the head by an unknown assailant on the side of a rural Hampton County road.

Then, Murdaugh checked himself into rehab as his lawyers admitted he had stolen money from his firm to fuel a decades-long addiction to opioids.

And then, he confessed that his shooter wasn't an unknown assailant, but a longtime acquaintance who had agreed to kill him so Murdaugh's remaining son, Buster, could collect on Murdaugh's $10 million life insurance policy. SLED arrested Murdaugh and charged him with insurance fraud, among other crimes, in the scheme.

Along the way, the state Supreme Court suspended his law license, and state investigators have opened no fewer than six investigations into matters involving his family.

PMPED investigation

The PMPED firm said it began looking into Murdaugh's financial activities after discovering a suspicious check lying on his desk in early September.

The firm reviewed prior cases Murdaugh had worked and found "numerous checks" that sent settlement money to bank accounts named "Forge" or "Forge Consulting, LLC."

The firm also identified cases where Murdaugh drafted checks from PMPED accounts into his bogus accounts. But when it contacted the real Forge Consulting, the Atlanta firm said it had not provided any services to Murdaugh's clients in those cases, PMPED alleged.

"FCL was not assisting the Defendant in his scheme and had no knowledge of the improper use of its name or his conduct," the lawsuit states.

According to the lawsuit, Murdaugh admitted to stealing the money and resigned on Sept. 3 when the firm confronted him about the checks.

The firm reported the theft to the Hampton County Sheriffs Office and SLED on Sept. 4 and notified the S.C. Supreme Courts Office of Disciplinary Counsel, which handles ethics complaints against lawyers, two days later.

PMPED then hired a forensic accounting firm to review Murdaughs financial transactions during his time with the law office. The firm has not put a dollar amount on the amount of missing money, but it has been reported to be in the millions of dollars.

PMPED said it has reimbursed any clients that Murdaugh stole from. It said none of the firms attorneys had prior knowledge of his conduct.

Alleged Satterfield scam

Meanwhile, the lawsuit Bland and Richter filed alleges Satterfield's sons were victims of a similar scheme.

In a detailed Oct. 5 filing, Bland and Richter described the 2018 case as "a story of trust and betrayal."

Here is their version of how it played out:

Satterfield's sons, Tony and Brian, took Murdaugh's advice to hire Fleming for their wrongful-death lawsuit. But Murdaugh hadn't told them he and Fleming were close friends.

Fleming was Murdaugh's college roommate and the godfather of Murdaugh's son Paul.

In the fall of 2018, Fleming advised the Satterfield sons that there were business issues on the horizon that Tony, as personal representative for his mothers estate, was not experienced enough to handle. Fleming recommended Tony relinquish his title as personal representative to Chad Westendorf, a banker.

The sons agreed, allowing Westendorf to manage the case going forward. But they knew nothing of a potential settlement on the horizon.

Westendorf officially took over as personal representative of Satterfields estate on Dec. 18, 2018. The next day, Fleming filed a petition that a partial settlement of $505,000 had been reached in the case, money that would be paid by Lloyds of London, one of Murdaugh's insurance carriers.

In their filings, Bland and Richter allege the partial settlement was clearly negotiated but withheld from the Satterfield sons before they relinquished authority over the estate to Westendorf. They cited a $504,000 check for the settlement that was dated Dec. 4, 2018, two weeks before Westendorf took control.

Neither Tony, nor Brian, were told anything about the partial settlement  ever, Bland and Richter wrote.

The next month, in January 2019, Fleming began disbursing the money. At Murdaughs direction, Fleming sent a check for more than $403,000 to a payee named Forge at a P.O. box provided by Murdaugh. The Satterfields got none of it.

Meanwhile, Fleming continued pursuing the Satterfield wrongful-death claim against other insurance providers.

Through a March 2019 mediation, he secured another settlement worth $3.8 million from Nautilus Insurance Co. Fleming never told the Satterfield sons about that money, either.

Fleming requested approval of the settlement from Circuit Judge Carmen Mullen, who scheduled a hearing on the matter for May 13, 2019.

Mullen, who graduated in the same University of South Carolina law class as Murdaugh and Fleming, had recused herself just a month before from another wrongful-death case involving Murdaugh. That case stemmed from a 2019 boat crash in Beaufort that killed 19-year-old Mallory Beach. Paul Murdaugh was the alleged boat driver, and he faced criminal charges of boating under the influence.

At the Satterfield settlement hearing, Mullen was misled to believe that the housekeepers sons were fully informed of the settlement and would ultimately receive nearly $2.8 million from it after legal fees and other costs were subtracted from the total $4.3 million, the attorneys allege.

But Satterfields' sons had no knowledge of the settlement.

Mullen approved the settlement, trusting the attorneys and banker involved would handle it appropriately, Bland and Richter said. But it was never filed in the courthouse.

Mullen did not respond to a phone message or email left at her office on Oct. 6. She has not returned repeated phone calls about the matter from The Post and Courier in recent weeks.

And after the settlement was approved, Fleming did not pay the Beneficiaries a dime.

The attorney instead directed nearly $3 million to a Forge account at a Hampton P.O. box at Murdaughs direction.

Fleming also didnt collect the more than $1.4 million in attorneys fees he was owed from the case. He paid his law firm $666,000 and sent the rest to Murdaugh.

Westendorf, the banker, had told Mullen that he had received all the settlement money and would be personally responsible for making the payments. Instead, he allowed the money to be misapplied by Fleming and Murdaugh, the lawsuit states.

Westendorf has not responded to repeated requests for comment, including an inquiry made on Oct. 6.

Bland and Richter accused Fleming, Murdaugh and Westendorf of acting in direct and willful contempt of Mullens order to distribute the settlement money.

They have asked a judge to make the same finding.

Glenn Smith and Thad Moore contributed reporting from Charleston.
Nearly 10 percent of city of Charleston employees requested an exemption from the new COVID-19 vaccine mandate by the Oct. 4 deadline.

Under the city's policy, adopted Sept. 3, employees must be fully vaccinated by Nov. 22. They could, however, request an exemption from the mandate for religious or medical reasons, according to a copy of the internal policy. If the city grants an employee's exemption, that person will be subject to certain safety measures, such as periodic COVID-19 testing.

After the Oct. 4 deadline passed, 22 percent of employees, or about 375 people, were unvaccinated and had not requested an exemption.

Sixty-six percent of city employees were fully vaccinated, up from 60 percent at the time that the mandate was passed. Eight percent of employees requested an exemption for religious reasons, and just over 1 percent of employees requested an extension of the Nov. 22 deadline or an exemption for medical reasons.

The only way an employee could request a deferral on the deadline was if the employee was on family leave or had tested positive for COVID-19 within the previous 90 days. According to guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, those who have recently contracted COVID-19 should wait 90 days before receiving the vaccine.

Charleston is the largest South Carolina city to issue a vaccine mandate. The city of North Charleston and Charleston County also issued mandates within the same week.

The Medical University of South Carolina was the first large employer in South Carolina to make vaccines mandatory for staff earlier this year. When the deadline for MUSC's vaccine mandate passed this summer, a hospital spokeswoman confirmed MUSC had granted between 2,000 and 3,000 medical and religious exemptions for its workers. Some of the employees who received medical exemptions were able to prove they'd developed COVID-19 antibodies through a blood test because they had been previously infected.

More than 17,000 people work for MUSC. Only five people were eventually terminated for noncompliance with the mandate.

Each of the mandates imposed by the cities of Charleston and North Charleston, as well as Charleston County, has been met with legal action filed by employees. Two lawyers, Pawleys Island-based attorney Tom Winslow and Summerville-based Tom Fernandez, are involved in all three legal teams representing just under 90 employees.

The lawsuits allege the mandates violate state and common law. The cases also state the vaccine requirement violates their right to free speech and equal protection under the law under the First and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.

The biggest argument that these plaintiffs have is not even about the vaccine or the COVID-19 pandemic, Fernandez said. Its about their ability to maintain their own medical destinies as they see fit. ... They want to do it on their own terms. They dont want to be coerced.

Fernandez said his legal team sees legal precedent in South Carolina that protects both bodily autonomy and religious freedom.

Similar efforts to block employer vaccine efforts across the United States have not yet been successful, said Nancy Zisk, a professor at the Charleston School of Law who specializes in employment discrimination.

I dont think there is a sound legal argument to prevent a city, a county or any employer from requiring vaccines," she said. "An employer is free to make rules that protect its employees."

By providing the opportunity to request exemptions, she said, employers also maintain their employees' religious freedom and disability rights. Zisk added that employers may also fear violating federal workplace safety laws by not requiring vaccinations.

If you think about what the employer has to balance, the health and safety of its employees and of the public, because the public does business with the city all the time ... there is a very good reason why the city has enacted this mandate," she said.

Charleston officials said the city plans to enforce the mandate policy as written but will await further guidance from the courts.

We appreciate the court having taken this matter up so quickly, as we continue to work to protect our employees and community," Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg said.

The plaintiffs' lawyers are hoping to receive a preliminary injunction against the city of Charlestons vaccine mandate prior to its Nov. 22 deadline. Receiving one would prevent the city from enforcing the policy until the case is fully settled.

Lauren Sausser contributed to this report.
South Carolina school districts will have access to $56 million in federal funding to serve vulnerable student populations in the coming weeks.

The S.C. Department of Education announced the new pot of federal COVID-19 funds on Oct. 5. The money comes from the federal American Rescue Plan Act and can be used to help students who have disabilities or are experiencing homelessness.

School districts will have access to the money in the next few weeks, department spokesman Ryan Brown said. The money is in addition to the $3.3 billion that the state has received from the federal government in response to the pandemic.

Of the $56 million, over $43 million will go toward expenses that are approved under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, including general services for students with disabilities, positive behavior and intervention supports, and mental health services.

Districts can also use the IDEA funding to pay for new technology that will better serve students with disabilities, transition services to help students after they graduate and to hire additional special education staff when needed.

Charleston County School District received over $2.4 million from the total $43 million allocation. Berkeley County School District received over $1.7 million and Dorchester School District 2 got over $1.2 million.

Brown said the money will be especially helpful for students with disabilities, who have struggled to keep up with schoolwork, to get access to the resources they need over the course of the pandemic.

"Throughout the pandemic, serving students with disabilities and ensuring they get the services that they are required to receive and they need to receive to be successful has been increasingly difficult and increasingly expensive," he said.

Another $10.4 million will go directly to school districts to support homeless youth. The districts will be able to use the money to provide wraparound services, including academic support, trauma care and mental health support. The money can also go toward needed supplies for those students, including personal care items and eyeglasses.

The districts are also able to use those funds to pay for transportation services for students and access to reliable, high-speed internet.

Another $3.4 million will go directly to the state department to support its McKinney-Vento Program. The federal program works to address challenges homeless students face in enrolling, attending and succeeding in school. It requires S.C. Department of Education representatives to ensure that every student has an equal access to education regardless of their housing status.

Around 12,000 students in South Carolina were experiencing homelessness during the 2019-20 school year.

"Your schoolwork comes second to knowing where you're going to sleep and eat," Brown said. "This allows school districts to provide them some stability and additional services that vulnerable populations need."

Of the $10.4 million, Charleston County received $531,054, Berkeley County received $363,176 and Dorchester District 2 received $109,350.

"These funds will be used by school districts to address the specific needs of students with disabilities and those experiencing homelessness so that they have every opportunity to be successful now and into the future," State Superintendent Molly Spearman said in a news release.
COLUMBIA  With the threat of heavy rain, it didn't seem like an ideal day to host the annual ceremony on the Statehouse steps to remember victims of fatal domestic violence. But the forecast didn't keep people away.

S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson, alongside domestic violence advocates and other community members, led participants through the Silent Witness Ceremony under a tent the morning of Oct. 5. The state has held the event for the past 24 years.

People from different pockets of South Carolina stood at the front of the tent, clutching deep red and blue silhouettes to represent those killed in domestic violence. Peering at the figures, Wilson read the names of victims. Five people  four women and one man  in Charleston County died from domestic violence in 2020, he said.

In 2019, two people died in Charleston County, according to a report written by Wilsons office. Three people also died in Dorchester County and one in Berkeley that year.

Alicia Harris, a domestic violence survivor, said at the ceremony she was almost killed by a former partner who was abusive. Harris said surviving her violent relationship had motivated her to become a counselor.

I was given another chance at life and vow to use it intentionally, triumphantly and unapologetically, Harris said. I went from being a victim to a survivor. And today, I stand before you, a champion. Every time I share my story, I reclaim a piece of me.

The state hosted the event just days after Domestic Violence Awareness Month began on Oct. 1.

Whether you know it or not, everyone knows someone, Wilson said. Remember that this month. Remember that every month. As our state continues efforts to respond to the impact of COVID on individuals in unhealthy relationships, we must keep in mind that domestic violence affects all people from all walks of life, regardless of age, gender or race.

Charleston and North Charleston were among the top 10 cities in the state with the highest number of people contacting the National Domestic Violence Hotline, he said.

The ceremony comes less than a week after South Carolina ranked sixth-worst in the nation for women killed by men in 2019, the most recent year of available federal data, according to the annual When Men Murder Women report published by the Violence Policy Center on Sept. 28.

Where to get help My Sisters House: Domestic violence services for Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester counties Phone (843) 747-4069

Hotline (800) 273-4673 Tri-County S.P.E.A.K.S.: Sexual assault services for Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester Phone (843) 577-9882

Hotline (843) 745-0144 Family Court Charleston County (843) 958-4400

Berkeley County (843) 719-4500

Dorchester County (843) 832-0360

There are some differences in the data analyzed by the Attorney Generals Office and the Violence Policy Center, said Kristin Dubrowski, director of Hopeful Horizons, a domestic violence shelter in Beaufort.

The Violence Policy Center focuses on all homicides, whereas Wilsons office collects data based specifically on domestic violence killings, Dubrowski said. Additionally, the Violence Policy Center only examines incidents of a single woman killed by a single male offender, she said.

Dubrowski said events such as the Silent Witness Ceremony serve as an opportunity to bring awareness to the rising homicide rate.

But these events do more than raise awareness, she said. The ceremony gave space for people to mourn the loss of those who have died in the wake of the states domestic violence problem, she said.
A 60-acre lake created by sand mining is shown at a planned park in Awendaw earlier this year. The town struck a deal with a mining company owned by then-Charleston County Councilman Elliott Summey to excavate sand to create the lake, with proceeds from the sand sales helping to pay for the parks construction. That didnt happen. File/Lauren Petracca/Staff
Charleston County Aviation Authority bought about 137 acres off the left side of the airfield at Charleston Executive Airport for possible revamping of a central taxiway into a runway and extending it. A conservation deal also is in the works to protect it from ever being developed. The Stono River is in the background. File/Jonathan Sheppard/Charleston County Aviation Authority
Goose Creek, SC (29445)

Today

Overcast. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 77F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly to mostly cloudy. Low 54F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.
SPARTANBURG  With the help of a $250,000 grant through The Duke Endowment, ReGenesis Health Care is preparing a mobile medical center that will serve Spartanburg, Cherokee and Union counties.

The company also plans to expand transportation services by using vans and buses for patients who are unable to drive to their appointments.

With the mobile medical center, we will be taking delivery of that unit by the end of this week, said Marlon Hunter, CEO of ReGenesis Health Care, on Oct. 4. We will have the ability to provide comprehensive medical, dental services and school-based care to the community.

Hunter said he is working on making ReGenesis a one-stop shop for medical needs by providing a wide array of services that are easily accessible. ReGenesis has locations in Spartanburg, Duncan, Woodruff, Gaffney and Union.

ReGenesis has also partnered with Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) to provide a range of outpatient care to clients at a Northside clinic. VCOM owns the clinic, and ReGenesis helps train students while also providing care to patients. The facility, located on 220 College St., began accepting patients on Aug. 13.

When you take a look at their curriculum and the type of medical care that they're going to be providing in communities here in Spartanburg and across the U.S., their model, the osteopathic model, is in line with how federally qualified health centers like ReGenesis provide care, Hunter said.

ReGenesis provides a range of primary care services that include medical, dental, behavioral health, pediatric, school-based services and chiropractic care.

Patients receive non-generic medications at a deeply discounted price available to federally-qualified health centers called the 340B Drug Pricing Program. For those without insurance, the company has a sliding fee scale that allows patients to pay a nominal fee to receive comprehensive care. ReGenesis also has pharmacies on-site in Gaffney and at the Church Street location in Spartanburg, and a freestanding retail pharmacy in Duncan.

Hunter said ReGenesis hopes to remove price as a barrier to care.

Many folks dont go because theyre worried about how much this is going to cost me, Hunter said. The lowest nominal fee is $20, and if you dont have the full $20, we will work with you and put you on a payment plan for as low as $5 to get you in the door.

Since 2018, ReGenesis has partnered with New Morning Foundation, a nonprofit in Columbia S.C. that houses a program called Choose Well  an initiative to increase access to contraceptive services across South Carolina. Through the partnership, ReGenesis provides counseling to patients about birth control options that are available. If a patient decides to get birth control, they can do so through New Mornings grants at a low cost or free.

The last thing that we want is for a patient to not be involved in the decision about which birth control is right for their life and for their needs, said Sarah Kelley, the chief operating officer of New Morning Foundation.
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Of the Democratic presidential contenders in 2019-20 who made it past the early days of the campaign, I thought Andrew Yang was the most interesting and the only one with any appeal. Pete Buttigieg seemed interesting for a minute. Then I realized that hes just a standard leftist who happens to prefer having sex with other guys and speaks a lot of languages.

Tulsi Gabbard was interesting, especially when she took down Kamala Harris. However, I found her regurgitation of Bashar al-Assads talking points, especially the view that America was somehow to blame for his mass murders, deeply unappealing.

Yesterday, Yang left the Democratic party. He changed his registration from Democrat to independent.

Yang explains his decision in this statement. Its mostly mush, but there is also this:

Ill admit there has always been something of an odd fit between me and the Democratic Party. Im not very ideological. Im practical. Making partisan arguments  particularly expressing what I often see as performative sentiment  is sometimes uncomfortable for me. I often think, Okay, what can we actually do to solve the problem? Im pretty sure there are others who feel the same way I do.

Yang is saying that the Democratic party is very ideological and not practical. I think hes also saying he sees through the Democrats BS.

As candidate for mayor of New York, Yang clearly saw through some of it. John Sexton recalls that Yang was willing to call chronic homelessness a problem, not just for the homeless, but for the city. He was willing to say that getting the mentally ill off the streets and into treatment would make the city more livable and pleasant.

For expressing his preference for public order, Yang took abuse from liberal Democrats. They could not stand deviation from their ideology or the search for a practical solution to the problem posed by the chronically homeless and the presence of the mentally ill on the street.

I suspect there are plenty of other left-wing absurdities that stick in Yangs craw  ones that didnt come up in a mayoral race. If not, there likely will be soon, now that he has broken free from the Democratic party.

Undoubtedly, Yang would lodge the same criticisms against the GOP that he alluded to against the Dems in his statement. Indeed, he would probably do so more forcefully.

But with a small but visible and vocal number of longtime Republicans having left their party, its good to see a prominent, thoughtful, and fairly popular Democrat doing the same thing.
Last night, Joe Biden addressed the growing tension between Red China and Taiwan that Red China sparked with its aggressive military moves and gestures. Biden said:

Ive spoken with [Chinese ruler] Xi about Taiwan. We agree, we will abide by the Taiwan agreement. Thats where we are and I made it clear that I dont think he should be doing anything other than abiding by the agreement.

Sounds okay. China should abide by its agreements.

Jimmy Quinn points to a problem, though. There is no Taiwan agreement:

China experts were vexed by Bidens comments for one simple reason: There is no Taiwan agreement with Beijing. The U.S. does adhere to a One China policy, according to which it acknowledges that the Peoples Republic claims Taiwan as part of its territory, but Washington does not recognize the Chinese claim. The U.S. One China policy is based, in addition to a number of other statements and legislation, on a series of communiques issued with Beijing in which Washington offers up this careful language. This is, however, different from any sort of agreement with China.

It looks, therefore, like Biden once again doesnt know what hes talking about.

But maybe Biden was referring to a secret agreement. If so, he blundered badly by violating its secrecy. However, Quinn very much doubts the existence of a secret Taiwan agreement. He calls this an extraordinary possibility.

Referring to a non-existent Taiwan agreement plays into Chinas hands. Quinn explains that the Chinese Communist Party packages its claim over Taiwan as a One China principle, to which it attempts to hold the rest of the world, including the United States. It falsely conflates U.S. policy with Chinas claims as part of its efforts to confuse foreigners into adhering to Beijings line.

By speaking of a Taiwan agreement, Biden adds to the confusion, at best. At worst, he reinforces Chinas claim that the U.S. agrees with the One China principle.

Quinn admonishes:

The Taiwan portfolio is one where precise diplomatic terminology matters more than most, as leaders need to be capable of cutting through this thicket of Chinese obfuscation. Referring to an evidently nonexistent Taiwan agreement muddies the waters at a time when the U.S. position needs to be crystal clear.

Biden doesnt do crystal clear, except perhaps when hes lying.

We shouldnt be surprised that Biden doesnt know the ins-and-outs of China policy. As John Kerry revealed, Biden was clueless when the new AUKUS nuclear-submarine deal cratered U.S.French relationship. He was also clueless, or maybe just indifferent, to the dangers posed by the pullout from Afghanistan.

The world is a dangerous place. Clueless doesnt cut it in a U.S. president. Bidens cluelessness makes the world all the more dangerous.
Joe Tamburino is a Minneapolis lawyer who specializes in criminal defense. He observed the trial of Derek Chauvin from beginning to end in order to provide the commentary that accompanied Jason DeRushas coverage of WCCO TVs online streaming of the trial.

Last month Chauvin filed an appeal of his conviction and sentence. In the Star Tribune this morning Tamburino has a column pointing out that Chauvin has some strong legal issues on appeal. Indeed, Chauvin has one outright winner already: To begin with, Chauvins conviction for third-degree murder will undoubtedly be reversed  due to the recent Minnesota Supreme Court decision in State v. Mohamed Noor. (I noted this point last month in Noor murder charge reversed.) As Tamburino notes, however, that isnt Chauvins only strong issue on appeal.

There is only one problem. Unfortunately, the problem goes unmentioned in Tamburinos column. Chauvin doesnt have a lawyer to pursue his appeal. Chauvins insurance coverage does not extend to appeal and so far the public defender has denied him representation. See Amy Forlitis AP story Chauvin to appeal conviction, sentence in Floyds death. Chauvins appeal of the denial of a public defender is pending before the Minnesota Supreme Court.

This is a disgrace to the legal profession. Every big firm in town has skilled lawyers performing sophisticated work on a pro bono basis. At the Faegre firm where John and I worked, for example, some lawyers devoted themselves to setting aside death sentences around the United States outside Minnesota. (Minnesota has no death penalty.) Is Derek Chauvin beyond the pale?

If you polled Minnesota lawyers, half might say that were inspired to enter the profession by Atticus Finch and half by Clarence Darrow. In my case, it was Darrow. I just pulled down my copy of the 1964 Simon and Schuster paperback edition of Attorney for the Damned from the bookshelf. Edited by Arthur Weinberg, with a foreword by William O. Douglas, the book mostly compiles Darrows closing arguments and courtroom speeches on behalf of guilty clients (including himself). Ive had it since I was 14. Now published by the University of Chicago Press, the book is still in print after all these years.

At the Minneapolis office of the Robins Kaplan law firm, Darrow inspired my friend Randy Tietjen as well. On the side of his busy law practice Randy set off on an obsessive quest to collect copies of Darrows unpublished letters. In 2013 the University of California Press published In the Clutches of the Law: Clarence Darrows Letters, edited and with an introduction by Randy. I first met Randy when we were on opposite sides of a big case, but I got friendly with him talking about our mutual interest in Darrow.

Yet Derek Chauvin needs a lawyer. If you are in a position to step forward and offer your services, I should think the clerks office of the Minnesota appellate courts would be willing to serve as a middleman.
The Washington Times reports that the Marine Corps has ordered a court-martial for Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller. Hes the 17-year veteran who released several videos and social media posts sharply criticizing senior U.S. government and military leaders over operations in Afghanistan.

Lt. Col. Scheller has been charged with six violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice: contempt toward officials; disrespect toward superior commissioned officers; willfully disobeying a superior commissioned officer; dereliction in the performance of duties; failure to obey an order or regulation, and conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman.

Scheller was courageous in leveling criticisms against the government and the military over the Afghanistan fiasco, knowing what the consequences might be. However, if he did, in fact, violate the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and if similar violations have resulted in a court-martial for the same alleged violations, then the Marine Corps isnt wrong to proceed as it is doing in this case.

I hope that all relevant extenuating circumstances, as well as Schellers 17-year record, will be taken into account.

Proceeding with this court martial will have adverse consequences for the military. It will keep the Afghanistan fiasco in the news, or at least non-leftist precincts of the news. It will antagonize many Americans including, I assume, many in the military. Morale may suffer.

On the plus side from the militarys perspective, punishing Lt. Col. Scheller will send a message to others in uniform not to criticize the brass. Depending on how the Marines ultimately deal with Scheller, that goal in this context can be seen as part and parcel of the militarys decision, under Joe Biden, to take sides in our politics, for example by indoctrinating service members in the noxious, anti-American teachings of critical race theory and attacking alleged extremism in the ranks.

Even before the Afghanistan pullout, Americas trust in the military was waning a bit. I assume it took a hit as a result of that fiasco. Depending on the outcome of the Scheller case, it may soon wane some more.
Earlier today, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellin defended the Biden administrations proposal to require banks to report inflow and outflow information on all accounts with more than $600 or more than $600 in transactionsin other words, virtually all bank accounts:

During an interview on CNBCs Squawk Box on Tuesday, Yellen was pressed on whether the IRS has the wherewithal to collect more information about taxpayers and bank accounts including cash flows, something many Republicans have called invasive. Well, of course they do, Yellen said. Right now, on every bank account that earns more than $10 a year in interest, the banks report the interest earned to the IRS. Thats part of the information base that includes W2s and reports on dividends in other income that taxpayers earned. So collection of information is routine.

That is rather disingenuous. Interest paid by banks is income. Employers and many others report income that they pay out to the IRS. This proposal is different: the idea is that the IRS can compare the amounts of money going into and out of bank accounts with the income reported by a given taxpayer. If the reported income doesnt seem to match the bank records, the IRS can perform an audit.

Its just a few pieces of information about individual bank accounts, nothing at the transaction level that would violate privacy, the secretary said.

So the IRS wont see what you spent your money on, it will just know how much went into and out of your accounts.

This is from an exchange between Yellin and Sen. Cynthia Lummis during a recent hearing:

[Lummis]: Bank customers are not subjects to the federal government. Banks do not work for the IRS. Yellen defended the plan, telling the senator, Banks already report directly to the IRS the interest that they pay on accounts when it exceeds $10, and this is not a proposal to provide detailed transaction-level data by banks to the IRS. Well, $600 threshold is not usually where youre going to find the massive amount of tax revenue you think Americans are cheating you out of, Lummis fired back. Thats correct, Yellen admitted, but its important to have comprehensive information so that individuals cant game the system and have multiple accounts.

Those $600 accounts can add up.

The administration claims this measure would yield something like $46 billion a year in revenue by catching tax cheats. As an honest taxpayer, I am sympathetic to the argument that it is in my interest for cheaters to be caught. The problem is that I dont trust the Biden administration, and I dont trust the IRS.

The Democrats have politicized one federal agency after another, and they have weaponized the IRS, in particular, to weaken their political opponents. I have zero confidence that the IRS wouldnt selectively use this new data source to target Republicans in general, and vocal opponents of the Biden administration in particular. On the contrary, experience suggests that this is exactly what they would do. That being the case, and given the broader concerns about privacy that most Americans share, the last thing I want to do is give the Biden administration private information about essentially every bank account in the U.S.
RealClearPolitics co-founder Tom Bevan must read a lot of columns in connection with his work. When he singles one out, I infer it must be good. On Twitter Tom draws attention to the Wall Street Journal column Science Closes In on Covids Origins. Subhead: Four studiesincluding two from WHOprovide powerful evidence favoring the lab-leak theory. The column is written by Richard Muller and Steven Quay. Muller is emeritus professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley and a former senior scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Quay is founder of Atossa Therapeutics and co-author of The Origin of the Virus: The Hidden Truths Behind the Microbe That Killed Millions of People.

I have thought that the circumstantial evidence supporting the Wuhan lab-leak hypothesis is strong if not overwhelming. Tom pulls a key quote from the column in the tweet below.

If you're looking for one story that encapsulates all of the worst aspects about the last two years  mockery and dismissal by a corrupt left-wing media, social media censorship, Fauci's dissembling  the lab leak theory is it. https://t.co/EvzmZSgsQX pic.twitter.com/dN1pDazhUu  Tom Bevan (@TomBevanRCP) October 6, 2021

The entire column is must reading. It lays out the evidence in a more understandable form than I have found elsewhere. Three paragraphs that precede the one above are perhaps key:

A coronavirus adapts for its host animal. It takes time to perfect itself for infecting humans. But a pathogen engineered via accelerated evolution in a laboratory using humanized mice would need no additional time after escape to optimize for human infection. In their Nature Medicine paper, Mr. Andersen and colleagues pointed to what they considered the poor design of SARS-CoV-2 as evidence of zoonotic origin. But a team of American scientists mutated the stem of the coronavirus genome in nearly 4,000 different ways and tested each variation. In the process they actually stumbled on the Delta variant. In the end, they determined that the original SARS-CoV-2 pathogen was 99.5% optimized for human infectionstrong confirmation of the lab-leak hypothesis. SARS-CoV-2 contains a key mutation: the furin cleavage site, or FCS. This mutation is sufficiently complex that it couldnt have been the result of spontaneous changes triggered, for example, by a mutagen or radiation. It could, however, have been inserted by nature or by humans. In nature the process is called recombinationa virus exchanges chunks of itself with another closely related virus when both infect the same cell. The National Institutes of Health database shows no FCS in more than 1,200 viruses that can exchange with SARS-CoV-2. As the Intercept recently reported, a 2018 grant proposalwritten by the EcoHealth Alliance, a U.S.-based nonprofit, and submitted to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or Darpacontained a description of proposed experiments that would involve splicing the FCS sequences into bat viruses so a research team could look for changes in infectivity. Darpa opted not to fund the grant, but the absence of the FCS in related coronaviruses, together with the apparent desire and capability of scientists to make such an insertion, strongly argues in favor of the laboratory origin thesis.

The column concludes: We have an eyewitness, a whistleblower who escaped from Wuhan and carried details of the pandemics origin that the Chinese Communist Party cant hide. The whistleblowers name is SARS-CoV-2.
The Board of NSIA Insurance Limited has announced the appointment of Adesegun Akin-Olugbade as its new chairman.

Mr Akin-Olugbade who is a leading legal, finance and corporate governance expert, is taking over from Ituah Ighodalo who has since stepped down from the position.

The incoming NSIA Insurance Limited chairman said he felt privileged to be named to his new role and he is more than willing to push the company to greater heights.

I feel very privileged to take on this role at such an exciting time in the industry when the needs of NSIAs customers, people, regulators, and other stakeholders are changing rapidly. We are committed to making the best of these changes in thoughtful and innovative ways which will benefit all our stakeholders for years to come, Mr Akin-Olugbade said in a statement.

The outgoing chairman of the board, Mr Ighodalo wished his successor a great time leading the board, and affirmed his belief in his abilities.

My time on the Board of NSIA Insurance was an eventful one, with the support of seasoned professionals who made serving as the Chairman seamless. I trust that Dr Akin-Olugbade would experience the same, as I wish him success, he said.

In her comments, the MD/CEO of NSIA Insurance, Ebelechukwu Nwachukwu, said Dr. Akin  Olugbades long history of leadership, coupled with his experience as an accomplished multilingual and multi-skilled leader, who is passionate about the socio-economic development of Africa, makes him the ideal person for this role.

NSIA Insurance Limited (Nigeria) is part of NSIA participation which is currently present in 12 African countries: Benin, Cameroon, Congo, Cote dIvoire, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal and Togo.
ExxonMobil says it remains committed to Nigeria despite its decision to divest from the joint venture (shallow water) with the NNPC.

The firm, which has done business in Nigeria for over 60 years, said it remained as strong as ever.

Liam Mallon, its president on Upstream Oil and Gas, said this Wednesday during a visit to President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja.

He assured the president that whoever emerges the buyer of its divested asset will be a capable operator.

We wont compromise on that at all, Mr Mallon said. The party must have the capacity to make growth vision happen. And we will be very transparent about it.

President Buhari urged the company to take advantage of the new Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) to promote its investments.

I will expect the ExxonMobil companies in Nigeria to avail themselves of the opportunities created by the Petroleum Industry Act and invest in further development of the Nigerian assets in line with our national interest, he said.

It is our expectation that your company will also support our desire to deepen gas utilization and monetization aimed at reducing our carbon footprint and facilitating economic growth and development of our country.

President Buhari also urged the ExxonMobil chief to collaborate on a bigger scale with the NNPC to realise the full potential of the abundant gas resources in Nigeria.

We look forward to ExxonMobil engaging in deeper collaboration and partnership with the New NNPC and other Nigerian institutions to ensure optimum exploitation of the abundant oil and gas resources in Nigeria while also aligning the processes with the global drive towards carbon neutrality, he added.

He commended his guests for their commitment to continue to be a bigger player in the downstream sector of the petroleum industry.

We thank you very much for the reassuring words on your continued presence in Nigeria with the promise of expanding your investments in the deep-water.

This will no doubt be further facilitated by the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act which is designed to provide a competitive fiscal framework and a world class regulatory framework that is at par with our global peers, he said.

The ExxonMobil boss commended the president on the successful way the country handled the COVID-19 pandemic, and also for the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill.

We started work on the PIB about 20 years ago, you have now brought it to a closure. I know how much effort went into it. We are proud of your leadership, he said. (NAN)
HIGHLIGHTS OF FINDINGS ON PROPERTIES:

Total price paid for properties: at least* 179,214,832

(* there is no price paid data available for 39 properties)

Current value of all properties bought (as at June 2021): at least* 352,052,249

(* we were unable to calculate a current value for 19 properties)

Earliest property purchase: July 1991

Most recent purchase: February 2021

39 companies or properties subject to law enforcement interest

[Information accurate as at 31 July 2021]

A Finance Uncovered graphic reveals a wave of cash flooding into London property from elite Nigerian politicians and business figures using offshore secrecy vehicles.

The interactive visualisation, produced using data leaked in the Pandora Papers and other similar investigations, offers a further indication that there was a mushrooming of UK property purchases by Nigerian-owned offshore companies.



via GIPHY

In the last three decades at least 233 houses and apartments were bought by 166 such companies with a combined worth today of 350 million.

Behind these companies were 137 wealthy and influential Nigerians, according to an investigation by Finance Uncovered and Premium Times.

The bulk of purchases happened between 2010 and 2015 when Goodluck Jonathan was president of Nigeria. Jonathans government has been accused of allowing corruption to run rampant. Goodluck Jonathan has always strongly defended his record in office and denied any wrongdoing.

The Pandora Papers is a massive leak from firms that specialise in setting up offshore companies in territories such as the British Virgin Islands and Panama. The leaked documents have allowed journalists from all over the world to lift the corporate veil and reveal the companies true owners. The project was organised and led by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).

It is not against the law to secretly buy British properties using anonymous offshore companies. Finance Uncovered has seen no evidence in the Pandora Papers that money used to buy houses or apartments in the UK represents the proceeds of corruption or other criminality.

Indeed, many specialist advisers have routinely recommended clients invest in this manner to legally avoid tax.

Journalists from the BBC, The Guardian and Finance Uncovered spent months matching the names of company owners found in the Pandora Papers with UK Land Registry records to discover who really bought hundreds of UK properties.

In addition, Finance Uncovered then teamed up with PREMIUM TIMES to apply a similar analysis to previous data leaks, including the Panama Papers and FinCEN FIles.

The result is the most comprehensive dataset ever published focusing on rich and powerful Nigerians who have secretly bought UK property.

Stella Oduah and her properties

The property owners include Nigerias former aviation minister Stella Oduah. Now 59, she served under ex-President Goodluck Jonathan from 2011 until 2014 when she resigned amid serious corruption allegations, which she has denied.

Ms Oduah was never charged on those allegations. But she has since been indicted on separate money laundering offences relating to alleged fraud. Ms Oduah, who remains a senator, has always denied accusations of wrongdoing.

Our investigation suggests she secretly bought London property.

We have seen a confidential US suspicious activity report by Deutsche Bank. It suggested that a company owned by Ms Oduah made a suspicious payment of almost $72,000 to a London property broker in 2012.

A search of Land Registry records then showed that one month later another company, registered in Seychelles paid 5.3 million for a London townhouse.

The Seychelles company shared a name with another one owned by the Oduah family.

We asked the former minister and the London property broker to confirm that Ms Oduah, her family or associates, were involved in buying the London property but neither responded.

The Deutsche Bank suspicious activity report is part of the FinCEN Files, a leak of documents obtained by BuzzFeed News and shared with other journalists through the ICIJ.

It is not known whether any further action was taken as a result of the suspicious activity report.

Mohammed Bello-Koko and his properties

Another prominent figure whose London property appears in the data is Mohammed Bello-Koko, 52, the finance director of the powerful Nigerian Ports Authority, and reportedly, also, its acting managing director.

For much of his career, he worked in banking, working for 10 years at Zenith Bank, where he rose to be a deputy general manager.

According to the Pandora Papers, Bello-Koko and his wife were the anonymous owners behind two companies incorporated in the BVI.



Searches at the Land Registry showed that these companies bought five London properties between 2009 and 2017, for a combined total of almost 1.5 million. One of the properties has since been sold.

Elsewhere in the Pandora Papers, a 2017 letter from law enforcement officials in the BVI requested information about these BVI companies  together with seven other companies  in relation to an investigation into financial offences, including money laundering.

Aleman, Cordero, Galindo & Lee (Alcogal), the BVI registered agent for the companies, wrote back saying: To the best of our knowledge, these companies do not have any assets or bank accounts held in their name.

Asked why it had not mentioned the UK properties, Alcogal explained that it was only obliged to provide law enforcement officials with the information that it holds in its records.

READ ALSO: Offshore havens and hidden riches of world leaders and billionaires exposed in unprecedented leak

Finance Uncovered and Premium Times wrote to Mr Bello-Koko and his wife but they did not respond.

We have seen no evidence that law enforcement enquiries in the BVI led to further action against Mr Bello-Koko, his wife or their property-owning companies.

Anonymous ownership

Lanre Suraju, chair of Human and Environmental Development Agenda (Heda Resources Centre), a Nigerian anti-corruption campaign group said: For a country that is incapable of providing electricity and decent roads without external financial support, and which depends on a combination of foreign loans and aid to supply potable water and public education, it is galling to discover such a humongous outflow of Nigeria capital to London, all concealed via the use of offshore companies. 

For more than five years, under three different Conservative Party prime ministers, the British government has been promising to make the names of offshore property owners public as part of wider efforts to end anonymous ownership. But it has failed to do so.

Rachel Davies Teka, head of advocacy at Transparency International, said: This investigation shows it remains all too easy for those with suspicious wealth to acquire property in the UK whilst hiding their identities using opaque offshore companies. Not only does this harm the countries where suspect funds are siphoned from, but it damages Britains reputation as a hub for global commerce.
As a minister between 2011 and 2014 when she was accused of corruption and sacked from the federal cabinet, Stella Oduah, now a senator, secretly acquired four London properties, hiding behind an anonymous company she tucked away offshore and possibly committing a breach of Nigerias public service code of conduct law, the ongoing Pandora Papers investigation has found.

While different courts have ordered the freezing of assets linked to Ms Oduah in Nigeria over her humongous indebtedness to banks, the four anonymously acquired London properties  alongside one other bought in her own name and two others bought in the name of her Nigerian-registered company  remain owned by her. The assets are blocked from debt recovery efforts by banks and the Assets Management Company of Nigeria, AMCON.

International Trading and Logistics Company Limited, ITCL, was incorporated in Seychelles, a commonly used secrecy and tax haven, with Ms Oduah as the ultimate beneficial owner, leaked incorporation documents showed.

Ms Oduah then used the company to acquire the four London properties worth a total of 6.7 million pounds between October 2012 and August 2013. At todays naira value, that amounts to approximately N5.2billion at the black market rate of N775 to a pound sterling. If the official Central Bank of Nigeria rate of N558 naira to a pound is used, the amount would translate to approximately N3.74billion.

As we understand, anonymous acquisitions would ensure she circumvented due diligence checks in the UK about the sources of her funds as a politically exposed person. Also, anonymity, that is, hiding behind her secret Seychelles-incorporated company, meant she could avoid possible investigation and prosecution in Nigeria for owning undeclared assets or acquiring as a public servant any assets not attributable to legitimate income.

These findings were based on leaked records obtained from PREMIUM TIMES collaboration with UK-based Finance Uncovered within the larger Pandora Papers Investigation coordinated by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, ICIJ.



According to the UK Land Registry records, ITCL bought on October 19, 2012, a house at 23 St Edmunds Terrace, London NW8 7QA for 5.3 million pounds. Then, in the following year, 2013, between August 6 and 15, the following three more properties were bought in the name of ITCL:

 Flat 2, 7 Devonshire Terrace, London (W2 3DN)

Bought: on or around 06/08/2013

Price paid: 378,000.

 Top Floor Flat, 89 Brondesbury Villas, London (NW6 6AG)

Bought: on or around 12/08/2013

Price paid: 369,000.

 Fourth Floor Flat, 19 Warrington Crescent, London (W9 1ED)

Bought: on or around 15/08/2013

Price paid: 680,000.

Records show that none of the four properties was bought with mortgage financing, meaning Ms Oduah routed 6.7 million pounds through her offshore company to anonymously effect the acquisitions.

Ms Oduahs houses are among the 234 UK properties our investigation showed were anonymously acquired by offshore companies, with Nigerians as ultimate beneficial owners. The investigation exposed the hidden identities of the true owners of the properties bought in the so-called envelope structure that offers confidentiality benefits, which in the case of Nigerian public servants like Ms Oduah, mean a way of blocking the Code of Conduct Bureau from knowing undeclared assets.

By law, public servants in Nigeria are required to declare their assets and are forbidden from holding directorship of any company except the interest is in agriculture. In addition, any asset acquired after the declaration of assets must be fairly attributable to legitimate income, failing which, such acquisition is deemed to be in breach of the law.

It remained unclear how Ms Oduah raised the funds to purchase the properties. As she did not respond to our enquiry, it remained unclear if she declared some or all of the properties and the offshore company ITCL to the Code of Conduct of Bureau (CCB).

We however saw evidence that retained her directorship of the company while holding public office, thereby breaking the law.

We sent Ms Oduah a written request for comment. For weeks, she failed to explain her acquisition of the properties and provide evidence that she declared them in her Code of Conduct fillings, in accordance with the law. She also declined to provide clarity on why she continued to run her offshore company as a director while a public office holder in Nigeria, in violation of the law.

Ms Oduah was removed from office on February 12, 2014, as Nigerias aviation minister after she was indicted by two panels, which probed the purchase of two bullet-proof cars by an agency under her supervision, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, for N255 million in violation of Nigerias public procurement and appropriation laws.

The two panels were the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation headed by Nkiru Onyejiocha and a presidential panel headed by former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Bello Isa.

In December 2020, Nigerias anti-graft agency, EFCC, filed at an Abuja division of the Federal High Court 25 charges, accusing Ms Oduah, alongside Chinese construction giant, CCECC, of conspiracy, possession of proceeds of corruption, fraudulent transactions, and laundering of funds totalling N5,052,415,984 between February and June 2014.

In July 2021, Inyang Ekwo, the Abuja court trial judge, threatened to issue a warrant for the arrest of Ms Oduah, over her failure to appear in court for the corruption trial.

In a rather dramatic twist, barely a month after the judges threat, Ms Oduah cross-carpeted from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), saying she defected in the interest of the people of her native Anambra State.

In Nigeria, it is common for opposition politicians facing corruption trials or investigations to defect to the ruling party with the expectation that could save them from further troubles.

Before her acquisition of the above four properties, Ms Oduah had bought in her own name, on March 8, 2006, Apartment 209, Cavendish House, 31 Monck Street, London SW1P 2AS for 700 thousand pounds, Land Registry record shows.

Ms Oduah worked with the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company, a subsidiary of the state-owned NNPC, for seven years before starting her own business, Sea Petroleum and Gas Company Limited (SPGCL), based in Lagos. She also owns International Trading and Logistics Company Limited, exactly the same name as the company she anonymously incorporated in Seychelles. She was elected senator in 2019, representing Anambra North District.

On September 14, 2012, about one month before the purchase of the 5.3 million pounds Edmund Terrace property, SPGCL wired $71,973 bank transfer to Daniel Ford & Co., a UK property agency commonly used by Nigerian business and political elites investing in the UK property market anonymously, according to a leaked suspicious activity report submitted by Deutsche Bank to the U.S. financial intelligence agency FinCEN.

Deutsche Bank had helped facilitate the U.S. dollar transfer, acting as a correspondent bank. Reporting that Ms Oduah is the owner of SPGCL in its suspicious activity report, Deutsche Bank said it suspected the payment to Daniel Ford was money laundering.

Meanwhile, as she used ITCL Seychelles, she also invested in the UK property market through ITCL Nigeria, also while serving as minister. On July 12, 2011, just days after her assumption of office as aviation minister, she used ITCL Nigeria to buy Flats 303 and 306 Grant House, 90 Liberty Street, London SW9 0BZ for 475 thousand pounds each.

Thus, a total of seven London properties are connected to Ms Oduah  one in her name in 2006, two through her Nigerian-incorporated ITCL in 2011, and four secretly through her Seychelles offshore ITCL between 2012 and 2013  according to records from the UK Land Registry and leaked offshore documents  which helped expose her as the ultimate beneficial owner of the Seychelles company.

Research contributions from Finance Uncovered were used for this report.
Armed bandits on Tuesday morning killed 10 people and injured several others in an attack during which they also burnt shops and houses in Yasore community in Katsina State, residents have told PREMIUM TIMES.

Yasore is less than two kilometres from Batsari, the headquarter of the local government area by the same name.

Batsari is among the LGAs witnessing incessant bandits attacks in Katsina. It shares boundaries with Rugu forest, Jibia local government in Katsina and Zurmi in Zamfara State.

The state government has cut mobile telecommunications network in Batsari and 13 other local government areas in the state as part of efforts to tackle insecurity.

A resident of the area, Harisu Hamza, told PREMIUM TIMES newspaper that the attackers came on motorcycles and started shooting sporadically.

They came around Magrib prayers. Some people had concluded prayers by then. They rode on more than 20 motorcycles. It was during the sporadically shooting that they killed 10 people and wounded others, he said.

He added that they left some minutes after 10 a.m. when a combined team of the police, vigilantes and soldiers arrived at the community.

Mr Hamza, who has been living in Katsina metropolis, confirmed that the bandits also set houses and shops ablaze.

They carted away food commodities and other things they needed during the attack, he said.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that some of the wounded have been admitted at the general hospital in Katsina.

The police spokesperson in the state, Gambo Isa, said he was in a meeting when this reporter called him. He, however, did not respond to SMS sent to him.
On September 28, Governor Nasir El-Rufai had a live media chat on major radio stations in Kaduna. He spoke on diverse issues including investments in the state and the controversial response of northern governors to a demand for power shift by their southern counterparts.

Read excerpts of the interview below.

Question: You have had a busy September. So much has gone on this month, from the local government elections to KADInvest and the commissioning of projects. Just yesterday, you hosted another meeting of the northern governors and traditional rulers. How are you feeling right now? Exhausted or excited or both?

El-Rufai: I am excited that a lot of our initiatives are showing results. I am grateful to God for blessing our efforts. I thank all the people who said kind words about our elections and our investment efforts. Many of our investors spoke about what brought them to Kaduna and what keeps them here, despite our challenges.

The hard work can be exhausting because we are humans, but that is why we were elected and that is what we will continue to do till we complete our tenure.

I want to commend the people of Kaduna State for the peaceful conduct of the local government elections in most places.

Question: Media reports claim that the northern governors at yesterdays meeting said no to power shift. Is this true?

El-Rufai: Some of us have been very public about our support for power shift. I first made my views clear on this matter late in 2019. We did that because we believe that it will help advance and promote national unity. What is not proper is for our colleagues in the south to be couching their demands with words like must in a process that requires discussions, negotiations and consensus-building. What the northern governors did was to condemn that statement for saying there must be power shift. We did not condemn or oppose power shift.

What we saw and read in some newspapers was not the reason why we met, and it wasnt what we said. We were surprised by what we saw from some media outlets.

Of course, during our meeting, we talked about what we heard from the southern governors that the presidency must be zoned to the south whether we like it or not. These are the words they used and the way they said it is what annoyed us. That whether the north wants it or not, the presidency must be zoned to the south. What brought the issue of must in democracy? Democracy involves sitting down and negotiating. Northerners have supported Southerners. We supported General Olusegun Obasanjo as president. We supported Jonathan and he is also from the South.

Northerners have that spirit of cooperation, but what brought the issue of compulsion into it? There is not anywhere in the Nigerian Constitution where zoning is explicitly stated. But some parties developed the idea of zoning to promote national unity.

Every party has its own rules, but we in APC dont have anything like zoning. Even PDP that has these rules, it didnt work during Jonathan. It is unconstitutional to deny any Nigerian to contest for president just because he is from a certain part of Nigeria. This is not part of the Nigerian Constitution. If that is the case, what brought the issue of compulsion or saying must when you dont have any backing for it.

Many of the northern governors like me have expressed my opinion that after the tenure of President Buhari, the presidency should be zoned to the south. And we said that because of the relationship we have with the south, not because there is no qualified candidate from the north that wants to be president. Even when I said that many people were not happy and even challenged me that why should I even say that. I am not the only person that said such, there are other governors who also expressed the same thing.

Why would the southern governors issue that kind of statement? Is it good for us as northern governors to come out and issue a statement that we do not agree that any person from the south should contest for president? This is exactly what they did to us. We are also governors like them, why would they not invite us for a meeting and discuss it? This is how it is done. We are practicing democracy. That is the reason we are not happy with the way they made the statement. And that is the reason we came out to condemn it because it is not part of the Constitution of Nigeria and that of our parties.

And we also reminded them that in Nigeria, there is no way one can become the president until he has 25 per cent of votes cast from the 24 states, including Abuja, the capital of Nigeria. We have said these things to show that we are practicing the Constitution. It is a process where people sit to reconcile and agree on issues.

What annoyed us is where the southern governors said power must shift to the south. What brought must in this? Meaning that it is under must, whether we like it or not, power must shift to the south.

We did not reject power shift to the south, but they should come and sit down with the political leaders of the north and seek our support.

Question: Kaduna State is the first subnational in Africa to use the Electronic Voting Machine to conduct its local government election. It was first used in 2018 and it was used again on September 4, 2021. It is expensive to acquire the electronic voting machines. These electronic voting machines also take away the ability to write the results. What inspired you to chart this course, despite the costs and the risks?

El-Rufai: We are building a democracy. Elections are the basis of democracy. It is the platform that allows citizens to vote for their choice of leader or representative. We believe that the people are truly the masters and the choosers, and it is the duty of government to ensure that the peoples vote counts. We introduced electronic voting in order to promote and safeguard election integrity. We think it is desirable to use electronic voting for all elections in Nigeria and we chose to set an example in the state that God has given us the privilege to lead.

Of course, the initial cost of acquiring the electronic voting machines is high. But that also helps you to avoid the cost of printing ballot papers and buying ballot boxes. You can also upgrade the software in a cost-effective manner.

Apart from the cost, the biggest challenge in adopting electronic voting is the negative consequence of the poor political culture that has been allowed to develop in Nigeria. Many people want to win political contests by all means, whether or not they have the support of the voters. Such political forces fear the outcomes of a free and fair vote. But we must overcome such forces and enthrone free and fair elections as the norm.

Question: Electronic voting has brought national acclaim to you. Many Nigerians have given you credit for this innovation. Has the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) approached the Kaduna State Government to share the experience of your states election management body in using these Electronic Voting Machines, for adoption in national elections?

El-Rufai: Thank you for your kind words. As I said earlier, there is no reason why electronic voting cannot be adopted nationally. INEC is always welcome to engage with our SIECOM on the matter. We can all learn from each other.

Question: What is your overall verdict on electronic voting having used it twice in Kaduna State? Any lessons?

El-Rufai: So far, so good. I am delighted that we have twice proven the effectiveness and efficacy of electronic voting. We have shown that it is doable. The elections have also reminded politicians that the people matter, that their votes count and that the election results must reflect the actual votes cast.

We can still improve the technology by embedding the voters register for each polling unit into the electronic voting machine that will be deployed there.

But all that will await the final report from SIECOM and their review of what went well and what needs further improvement. We have a duty and a desire to strive to make better what we have started.

Question: What is the attitude of your government to the results of the local government elections?

El-Rufai: We commend the people of Kaduna State for peacefully exercising their democratic rights. We thank them most profoundly for reposing their trust in trust and voting for the APC. Our party is the big winner in this election. On all counts. We have reaffirmed our democratic credentials and commitment to election integrity. We have proven that you can win elections by relying on the peoples vote rather than resorting to writing results. We have won an overwhelming majority of the local government areas that have been declared. We did not win everywhere, but we remain the majority party. The evidence is clear that the APC remains the dominant party in Kaduna State. After six years in office, during which we have taken bold and difficult decisions, we still retain the confidence of the people of Kaduna State.

Question: Last week, you hosted the sixth edition of KADInvest. Vice President Osinbajo led other guests in praising you for your strides in governance and in attracting investments. Before we begin to discuss KADInvest, can you remind Kaduna people why you decided in 2015 to devote so much effort to attracting investors?

El-Rufai: We were elected to solve problems and create opportunities for ordinary people to achieve their potentials. Back in 2014, as we studied the prospects for Kaduna State, it was obvious to us that we needed to pay close attention to building the credentials to attract and retain businesses and investors. We knew that the public sector is limited in the number of people it can employ. Less than 100,000 persons work for the government of Kaduna State. Most residents of the state function within the private sector. We need to energise that sector, in order to bring jobs, technology and skills. That is our motivation. So far, we have been successful in this goal.

Question: Why do you think you have been so successful in attracting the investors and getting them to put $2.8 billion in Kaduna State? What makes them respond positively enough to choose Kaduna?

El-Rufai: Investors have many options as to where to take their money. Therefore, we must demonstrate to them that we want their money to come to Kaduna State. We did that by telling them that we are open for business and by showing them that we run a government that is efficient in its operations, and is dedicated to building human capital, providing infrastructure and upholding the rule of law.

I travelled to Singapore in 2015 to persuade Olam to invest in Kaduna. We got our agencies to sign up to the ease of doing business charter which we presented during the second edition of KADInvest. Our investors can testify that we are abiding by our obligations as outlined in the charter. We passed a new tax law, we built a digital land registry, we made business premises registration much easier and we automated applications for building approvals. It is continuous work.

Question: Vice President Osinbajo inspected the Galaxy Mall before going to commission the Kasuwan Magani Market. When will Galaxy Mall be ready?

El-Rufai: Let me quickly express our gratitude to His Excellency, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, for finding time to visit us in Kaduna. We were pleased to have him with us at KADInvest and we thank him for inspecting Galaxy Mall and for travelling to Kajuru LGA to commission the new market in Kasuwan Magani. Vice President Osinbajo did the groundbreaking for the Galaxy Mall in 2016. Our initial partners disappointed us. So, we changed the location for the project and got new partners in 2019. We are looking forward to having the Vice President back soon in Kaduna to commission the Galaxy Mall.

We have been assured that Galaxy Mall will be completed by November this year, along with many areas of the remodeled Murtala Square.

Question: How is the Covid situation in the state? Are things getting better, because we can see that public gatherings have resumed?

El-Rufai: Covid-19 is still here. There are 89 active cases being treated across the state as at today, 28th September 2021. There have been several waves of the disease in many countries. It remains deadly and we still do not have enough vaccines in the country to provide immunity for a critical mass of citizens. So far, only about 257,832 persons in the state have received at least one dose of the Covid vaccine.

Kaduna State has successfully treated 9,459 Covid cases, which is about 98.3 per cent of the total cases. Sadly, we have lost 72 persons to Covid.

So, we all need to be careful. We have to continue to practice personal responsibility, while living our lives and pursuing our livelihoods. Lockdowns are extreme measures that we can avoid if we do not allow the disease to spread.

You recall the sacrifices and pains our people endured last year as we tried to contain the virus. Nobody wants to go through that again.

Let us continue to wear masks, wash our hands and avoid crowded places as much as possible.

El-Rufai: Kaduna State Government and a US-based company called Zipline, signed an MoU in February, to begin delivering medical supplies to health facilities by drones. When will this start? How does this technology work? What do the people of Kaduna State stand to gain from it?

Zipline is planning to start in October or November this year. They have almost completed construction of their first distribution centre in Pambegua. This will serve Kauru, Kubau and Lere local government areas. Their hi-tech equipment has been shipped from the United States. Final clearance from NAFDAC and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria will be obtained, along with approval from the security agencies for the drones before the operations start.

Question: Again, Kaduna is the first state in Nigeria to sign up for the Zipline drone service. Are there people within Kaduna state that are already trained to operate this technology, given that this will be the first time that drones will be used for medical supplies in Nigeria?

El-Rufai: Zipline has trained many of the staff that will run the centres. And they will get better and better as they do the job.

Question: Your administration has changed the face of Kaduna State because of its huge infrastructural and human capital development. Will you complete all the projects?

El-Rufai: We have made a tremendous success of our infrastructure programme in Kaduna State. We made the largest investments in upgrading infrastructure ever recorded in the history of the state. Even our opponents accept this. We have created a new foundation for future governments to build upon. The markets will be completed. Our roads will be completed.

Question: Will there be new projects in the 2022 budget?

El-Rufai: We will be concentrating on completing what we started.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has approved the first malaria vaccine in history.

WHO experts concluded that the vaccine, Mosquirix, could save tens of thousands of lives every year, saying the real-world test of the jab showed it prevented 30% of severe cases of malaria even in areas with high uptake of other measures, such as bed nets impregnated with insecticide.

In a statement issued on Wednesday by the global organisation, its director-general, Tedros Ghebreyesus, described the development as a historic moment.

This is a historic moment. The long-awaited malaria vaccine for children is a breakthrough for science, child health and malaria control. Using this vaccine on top of existing tools to prevent malaria could save tens of thousands of young lives each year, Mr Ghebreyesus said.

WHO said the recommendation is based on results from an ongoing pilot programme in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi that has reached more than 800,000 children since 2019.

It added that it is recommending widespread use of the vaccine, which it tagged; RTS,S/AS01 (RTS,S) among children in sub-Saharan Africa and in other regions with moderate to high plasmodium falciparum malaria transmission.

Malaria burden

Malaria, regarded as a life-threatening disease and caused by parasites transmitted to the people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes, accounts for more deaths in Africa in particular.

According to WHO, in 2019, there were an estimated 229 million cases of malaria worldwide with Africa accounting for roughly 94 per cent.

The global body added that in 2019 alone, an estimated 409,000 deaths from malaria were recorded globally with children under the age of five accounting for an estimated 274,000, amounting to 67 per cent of the deaths.

Malaria remains a primary cause of childhood illness and death in sub-Saharan Africa. More than 260,000 African children under the age of five die from malaria annually, WHO said in its statement.

However, in spite of its endemic nature across some developing countries and particularly Africa, financial contributions for malaria control from these endemic nations remained poor.

According to WHO, the total funding for malaria control and elimination reached an estimated US$ 3 billion in 2019 with contributions from endemic countries put at a paltry 900 million dollars, representing 31 per cent of total funding.

About the new vaccine

WHO said the key findings of the pilots on the use of the vaccine spanned two years of vaccination in child health clinics in the three pilot countries, implemented under the leadership of the ministries of health of Ghana, Kenya and Malawi.

These findings, WHO listed, include delivery feasibility, saying it improves health and saves lives, with good and equitable coverage of RTS,S seen through routine immunisation systems. This occurred even in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The global body added that the vaccines also increases equity in access to malaria prevention by reaching the unreached, and that data from the pilot programme showed that more than two-thirds of children in the three countries who are not sleeping under a bednet are benefitting from the RTS,S vaccine.

WHO further stated that till date, more than 2.3 million doses of the vaccine have been administered in the three countries and that no negative impact on uptake of bednets, other childhood vaccinations, or health seeking behavior for febrile illness has been recorded.

READ ALSO:

In areas where the vaccine has been introduced, there has been no decrease in the use of insecticide-treated nets, uptake of other childhood vaccinations or health seeking behavior for febrile illness, and there has been significant reduction (30 per cent) in deadly severe malaria, even when introduced in areas where insecticide-treated nets are widely used and there is good access to diagnosis and treatment, the statement added.

The global organisation also said the vaccine is highly cost-effective, noting that; the next steps for the WHO-recommended malaria vaccine will include funding decisions from the global health community for broader rollout, and country decision-making on whether to adopt the vaccine as part of national malaria control strategies.

Acknowledgement

WHO said the pilot programme had been mobilised through an unprecedented collaboration among three key global health funding bodies: Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; and Unitaid.

It added that the vaccine is the result of 30 years of research and development by the pharmaceutical giant- GSK, and through a partnership with PATH, with support from a network of African research centres.

It also commended the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for providing what it described as the catalytic funding for late-stage development of RTS,S between 2001 and 2015.
At least 19 people have been reported killed as bandits raided Kuryar Madaro village in Zamfara State Tuesday night.

The attack comes barely 24 hours after the police commissioner in the state, Ayuba Elkana, visited special force operatives posted to strategic locations on the Shinkafi-Kaura Namoda road.

Kuryar Madaro is in Kaura Namoda local government area but shares boundaries with Zurmi and Shinkafi, two of the local government areas worst hit by banditry in the state.

Unnamed sources told BBC Hausa, as monitored by Premium Times, that the bandits attacked the village for several hours.

They said the outlaws looted shops and stole domestic animals.

A local source, Mustapha Mai Leda, confirmed the attack to this newspaper.

READ ALSO:

We have buried 19 people killed by the bandits. Several others with various degrees of injuries have been hospitalised. Among those killed were children and women who could not run away during the attack.

Another unnamed source said 13 houses and 16 vehicles, including those belonging to the police, were burnt down by the bandits.

The police spokesperson in the state, Mohammed Shehu, confirmed the attack but did not give details.
The Nigerian government will borrow N5.012 trillion to finance its budget deficit in 2022, complicating the countrys debt situation that is increasingly becoming unwieldy.

While the government insists its debt-to-GDP ratio remains within a safe range of 23 per cent, it has spent most of its revenue for years to service piling debt.

The Federal Executive Council on Wednesday approved the governments proposed N16.39 trillion budget for next year, which comes with a deficit of N6.258 trillion. The proposal will be presented to the National Assembly on Thursday.

While the deficit appears manageable when compared to the governments total projected revenue of N10.13 trillion for next year, actual revenue for recent years show that the trend of spending most of government revenue on debt servicing may continue in 2022.

In 2019, the government only managed to generate N3.86 trillion as its total revenue. Of that amount, it spent N2.1 trillion. In 2020, revenue fell to N3.25 trillion amid COVID-19 pandemic, yet debt repayment rose to N2.34 trillion.

The government spent N1.8 trillion on debt servicing in the first five months of 2021, representing about 98 per cent of the total revenue generated in the same period.

The countrys total debt as of March 31 stood at N33.11 trillion.

Government Defends Big Debt

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, on Wednesday told journalists in Abuja that the government will continue to borrow to fund infrastructure projects as it does not get enough from its revenues.

She said Nigerias revenues could barely accommodate services and its borrowings were still within acceptable limits

If we just depend on the revenues that we get, even though our revenues have increased, the operational expenditure of the government, including salaries and other overheads, is barely covered or swallowed up by the revenue, she said.

So, we need to borrow to be able to build these projects that will ensure that were able to develop on a sustainable basis.

Nigerias borrowing has been of great concern and has elicited a lot of discussions, but if you look at the total size of the borrowing, it is still within healthy and sustainable limits.

As at July 2021, the total borrowing is 23% of GDP. When you compare our borrowing to other countries, were the lowest within the region, lowest compared to Egypt, South Africa, Brazil, Mexico, the very lowest, and Angola.

We do have a problem of revenue. Our revenues have been increasing. We just reported to Council that our revenues from non-oil has performed, as of July, at the rate of 111%, which means outperforming the prorated budget.

But our expenditure, especially staff emoluments have been increasing at a very fast rate making it difficult to cope with funding of government.

So, what we have to do is a combination of cutting down our cost, as well as increasing revenue to be able to cope with all that is required for government to do, including salaries, pensions debt service, as well as capital expenditure.

The 2022 deficit will be covered by the N5.012 trillion borrowings, drawdowns on project-tied multilateral/bilateral loans  N1.156 trillion; and privatization proceeds of N90.73 billion.

As for the new debt, N2.506 trillion will be sourced within the country and N2.506 trillion from foreign lenders.
An Assistant Managing Editor and Head of PREMIUM TIMES South-west Bureau, Ben Ezeamalu, has emerged winner of the maiden edition of Chevron Recognition and Rewards awards.

The award is instituted by the American oil giant to honour the alumni of its Advanced Writing And Reporting Skills (AWARES) programme.

The training programme at the Pan Atlantic Universitys School of Media and Communication is aimed at creating opportunities for journalists to hone their writing skills as well as achieve proficiency in research and critical thinking.

The organisers say they intend to help build a critical mass of creative, investigative and innovative journalists championing social change through their reportage of the various industries across the country.

Mr Ezeamalu, an award-winning journalist, got the first prize for the AWARES Alumni Class of 2016 for his stories about the developments in Nigerias oil and gas sector.

A review faculty panel was constituted to screen and grade the articles based on established criteria and winners emerged per course year on the basis of best quality article.

Isaac-Ogugua Ezechukwu, Director, Professional Education, at the Pan Atlantic University, said in a statement that the award is to appreciate AWARES alumni who had distinguished themselves by putting to practice in special ways what they have been taught in their different classes.

The purpose of the Recognition and Rewards ceremony is to continue to promote professionalism and track the performance of sponsored journalists since the completion of their courses, Mr Ezechukwu added.

About 120 journalists, drawn from across Nigerian newsrooms, have been sponsored to participate in the AWARES training programme in the last six years.
The Hunters Group of Nigeria (HGN) and the Kogi State Vigilante Service (KVS) have rescued three Fulanis after raiding a kidnappers hideout beside Erotyi mountain in Kogi/Koto Local Government Area of the state.

The spokesperson of the hunters group, Abdullahi Yahaya, said three of the suspected kidnappers were also arrested during the operations.

Mr Yahaya said the rescued victims were not hurt and were in perfect condition, while the arrested kidnappers had been handed over to the appropriate authorities with their confiscated weapons, for further investigation.

According to Mr Yahaya, the rescued underaged Fulanis were kidnapped from Chikara settlement on the Lokoja  Abuja Road, 13 days ago by the busted kidnap syndicate which operated within that axis.

He commended the state government and the Commissioner for Solid Minerals, Bashir Gegu, for their support in providing logistics for their operations in the area.

Reacting to the development, the Security Adviser to the governor, Jerry Omodara, said the success of the operatives was a welcome development and proof that the security network of Kogi was strong and solid enough to quash all forms of crimes.

He stressed that the local vigilantes across the state had continued to record good results because of the morale boost and support that the governor continued to give them, the cooperation from the citizens and synergy between the security operatives.

READ ALSO: Hunters rescue kidnapped retired lecturer

Mr Omodara said the efforts of the state government to make Kogi the safest state in the country were yielding results.

He said the governor was committed to securing the lives and property of the citizens and making the state a no-go zone for criminal elements.

Mr Omodara said the government at all levels would continue to work to make the state unsafe for criminal elements and their sponsors.

(NAN)
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Jibrin Okutepa, says Nigeria needs a leader that can harness both natural and material resources of the country for greatness.

Rotating the presidency amongst the three major ethnic groups is an insult to the collective sensibilities of more than 240 other tribes that are parts of the federation of Nigeria.

Nigeria does not need power shift to any of these so-called majority ethnic nationalities of Igbo, Hausa/Fulani and Yoruba, Mr Okutepa, a constitutional lawyer, said.

He added: We have trusted powers in the hands of these so-called three major ethnic nationalities since the Independent of Nigeria from 1st October 1960 till date and all we have and have seen is deteriorating political, social and economic developments.

He disagreed with the recent position of the Southern Governors Forum on the rotation of Nigerias presidency.

Northern, southern governors spat over powershift

It would be recalled that a communique was issued at the end of the meeting of the Southern Governors Forum in Lagos on July 5, where it said, The Forum reiterates its commitment to the politics of equity, fairness, and unanimously agreed that the presidency of Nigeria be rotated between southern and northern Nigeria and resolved that the next president of Nigeria should emerge from the south.

Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State read the communique issued at the end of the southern governors meeting. They however did not address which sub-region of the South should produce the next president.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) introduced the provision for rotating the presidency between the North and the South in its constitution upon the nations return to democracy in 1999.

The concept was introduced by the party which would rule for 16 years before it lost the 2015 presidential election to the All Progressives Congress (APC), in recognition of Nigerias plurality of ethnicity.

Although the North would have completed an eight-year presidency at the end of President Muhammadus tenure in 2023, governors from the region under the aegis of the Northern Governors Forum, countered their southern counterparts call for return of power to the South in 2023.

Rising from their meeting in Kaduna last week, chairman of the forum, Plateau State governor, Simon Lalong, said the Forum unanimously condemn the statement by the Southern Governors Forum that the presidency must go to the South.

The statement is quite contradictory with the provision of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999) as amended that the elected President shall:- score the majority votes; score at least 25% of the votes cast in 2/3 States of the Federation.

Nigeria not in need of tribal warlords

Weighing in on the issue, Mr Okutepa argued in a statement on Tuesday, Nigeria does not need tribal leaders or tribal warlords, a reference to the three major ethnic groups.

Nigeria needs patriotic and committed Nigerian as a leader that leads by examples for others to follow.

Mr Okutepa said what Nigeria desperately needs is character shift, adding We need attitude shift. We need shift in our ways of doing things.

Speaking on Nigerias 61st independence anniversary, the lawyer decried the countrys stagnated growth.

The gathering of ethnic power shift talk is wrong. We should gather to look for leaders within us with character and integrity who can take us to good land flowing with milk and honey in all parts of Nigeria.

Therefore come 2023 let us look for any part of Nigeria and elect leaders who can restore or take Nigeria to the map of good governance and development.

We should avoid power shift talks to leadership talk. Let us shift power from failure to those who can use power for the development of the greatest good of the greatest numbers of Nigerians in the North, South, East and West.

We need leaders whose actions and decisions will not encourage agitations for separation and balkanisation of Nigeria.

We need (a) leader that has capacity to deal with banditry and bandits, kidnappers and all forms of social and political miscreants.

This is what Nigerians want and not power shift for purposes of continuous sharing of our natural resources into private pockets of those in and around power, he said.
Oluwakemi Adelagun, a Premium Times reporter, and her man, Damilare Olaoti, have tied the knot.

The wedding, which had the hashtag #KemiDre 21, a combination of the brides and grooms names, was held at Unubi hall in Surulere, Lagos, on Saturday.

Everyone was dressed elegantly with the men and women in shades of emerald green and wine in line with the couples wedding colours.

The couple had their legal marriage at the Ikoyi marriage registry in Lagos on September 29, an event graced by a few family members and friends.

The Saturday wedding was a twin ceremony, with the traditional marriage held around 10 a. m., following by a glamorous reception graced by families friends, associates, and colleagues.

Journey to I do

Narrating how she met her husband, the bride now Mrs Olaoti (nee Adelagun), said they met in a banking hall in Lagos, while she was a student at the Lagos State University (LASU).

My husband was working as a transaction officer in one of the commercial banks when we met in the banking hall in January 2019. I was in my final year at the Lagos State University then, she said.

For Mr Olaoti, it was love at first sight as he looked forward to when next he would see his dream woman in the banking hall.

Luck was on his side as he met her a few more times and kickstarted a conversation with her.

We spoke for the first time at the bank gate, I was there before 8 a.m. to make some transactions, he approached me to know what I came for. When I got inside he requested my contact and I obliged, the bride said.

The conversation between the duo paid off when they started dating in October 2019.

Both of us were in different relationships then. When he asked me out, I said no. Although I liked him instantly when I saw him at first, I brushed it off, I didnt want anything extra with him.

He was persistent for many months, but each time, I told him pointblack that I wasnt interested. Despite my continuous refusal, he would come to my hostel with his friend (Adjerho) on his way home to check up on me.

During my exams, sometimes, he would see me off to the school gate. It got to a point that I had to avoid his calls, I think there was a break-in communication for some time, the bride said.

The bride said after her previous relationship ended she gave her boo some attention, and they began their love affair.

At that time, she was undergoing her National Youth Service (NYSC) in Ekiti state and the groom was in Lagos.

It was a long-distance relationship, thanks to COVID-19 and lockdown at the time, we couldnt see physically for more than six months.

He proposed on January 2nd, 2021. We had our family introduction in April. The proposal was a beautiful surprise, he discussed it with my friends, I wasnt even aware, she said.

Mr Olaoti said since he met his wife in the banking hall two years ago, he has not been able to get his eyes off her.

She is smart and I love her character and everything about her. Im glad I have a friend and life partner in one person, he said.

The bride said she admires her partner because he is committed to making their relationship work and makes her happy.

He also pushes me to tick my goals. I see us having a more beautiful moment together forever, she said.

The couple is currently on honeymoon in Lagos.
The price of Bitcoin, the worlds most popular cryptocurrency, appreciated by 10.43 per cent in the last 24 hours, touching $55,000 mark after experiencing a sharp fall in the past five months due to market sentiments.

The coin hit an intraday low of $49,740.12 and oscillated to a high of $55,172.68 at 05:07 PM Nigerian time, according to Coinmarketcap, amid series of small developments in Washington, D.C. that have provided some comfort to institutional investors.

CNBC reported that on Tuesday, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chairman, Gary Gensler, said in a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee that he has no plans to ban cryptocurrency, and that a ban would be up to Congress.

According to data posted, the trading volume of the digital currency skyrocketed by 42.58 per cent, while its market capitalization was upped by 10.22 per cent as of 05:16 PM Nigerian Time.

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The currency last touched an all-time high of $64,863.10 on April 14, six months ago, before it suddenly dropped.

The unusual price swings of Bitcoin, noticed since then have also prompted critics to suggest it is not suitable to be an effective and sustainable currency for adoption as a fiat due to its high volatility and anonymous mode of transactions.

A string of positive reports in recent days has helped the currency regain some momentum for the first time in months.
The Senate Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe, said there are over 30 separatist groups in Nigerias South-east, besides the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) which has been proscribed by the Nigerian government.

The agitation for an independent state, Biafra, championed by IPOB, has led to killings and destruction in the South-east.

Mr Abaribe (Abia-South/PDP) who spoke on Tuesday in a Channel TVs programme, Politics Today, said the media was creating an impression that IPOB was the only group agitating for Biafra in the South-east.

The senator made the remark when the programme anchor, Seun Okinbaloye, asked him if he was IPOBs supporter.

Are you a supporter of IPOB? Mr Okinbaloye asked the senator.

I am a supporter of the cries of our people against injustice, he responded.

Continuing, Mr Abaribe said, Last Friday, I was chairman of a book launch  Children of Biafra. It is a book about the Biafran war, seen through the eyes of a child.

Several people wrote their childhood experiences, a very poignant book that everybody needs to read. And in my statement, I said that a short while ago, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar made a statement, whether jokingly or not. And that statement was that the actions and policies of this government is turning everybody into a Biafran. Everybody is complaining about injustice, everybody is complaining about marginalization, everybody is complaining about nepotism.

I stand with my people.

There are more than 30 different separatist organisations, apart from IPOB.

Why we are having agitations in different parts of Nigeria is that we arent able to manage our diversity.

Senator Abaribe blamed President Muhammadu Buharis administration for the lingering security challenges in Nigeria.

He said the administration was applying double-standard in its handling of the security challenges in the South-east and the North-east and the North-west.

He said the administration brands IPOB members as terrorists, while it continues to beautify perpetrators of insecurity in the north as bandits.

The single most dangerous part is this influx of non-Nigerians with military-grade weapons sweeping across our country, going into the countryside and committing mayhem, but no effort is made to profile them, no effort is made to ensure that there is a counter surge against them. All that has been happening is the attempt to reach (an) agreement. How do you reach (an) agreement with a terrorist who is coming from outside the country, trying to take over?

The senator faulted the argument that Mr Buhari inherited the current security challenges from the Goodluck Jonathan-led administration.

In the build-up to the 2015 election, we didnt have insurgency in the North-west, we didnt have any in the South-west, and neither did we have any in the South-east.

The problem in the South-south, in the Niger Delta, had been largely resolved by the PDP government of President YarAdua, he said.

Mr Abaribe was among those who signed a surety for the IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, to be released on bail in 2017.

Mr Kanu was intercepted in Kenya and brought back to Nigeria in June this year after he fled the country. He is standing trial in Abuja for alleged treason.

Senator Abaribe said he does not regret being a surety for Mr Kanu, and that he would do it again if he has the opportunity to do so.
The Senate has passed the revised 2022-2024 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP).

This comes barely 24 hours after President Muhammadu Buhari sought the Senates approval to make some changes in the framework.

Part of the changes the president sought was to increase the budget for 2022 from N13.98 trillion (initially approved by the the Federal Executive Council) to N16.45 trillion.

The increase, he had explained, is to accommodate allocations like N100 billion to the electoral umpire, INEC, for the 2023 elections; N50 billion as hazard allowance to health workers, among others.

He had also said the needed adjustments were important to reflect the new fiscal terms in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

But, considering his requests, the Senate Committee on Finance pegged the federal governments total expenditure at N16.39 trillion, reducing the proposed expenditure by N60 billion.

The panel also placed the fiscal deficit at N635.4 billion against the N692.0 billion proposed by Mr Buhari. The retained revenue of the federal government was put at N10.3 trillion against the presidents proposal of N10.13.

The provisions of N100 billion to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the 2023 polls and N54 billion for the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) were retained by the upper legislative chamber.

The committee also recommended that Ministries, Department and Agencies submit their revenue profile as premise for being captured in the 2022 budget proposal.

READ ALSO:

Chairman of the Committee, Adeola Olamilekan, who presented the report, said that Gross Revenue Projection was decreased by N341.57 billion, from N8.870 trillion to N8.528 trillion.

He said, deductions for federally-funded upstream projects costs and 13 per cent derivation was slashed by N335.3 billion and N810.25 million, respectively.

Net Oil and Gas revenue projection declined by N5.42 billion from N6.540 trillion to N6.535 trillion, while Non-oil taxes remain unchanged.

The MTEF/FSP contains the parameters upon which the 2022 budget will be framed.

President Buhari is expected to present the budget for the coming year to a joint session of the National Assembly on Thursday.
The management of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, has ignored the allegation of negligence levelled against the officials of the institutions health centre which reportedly led to the death of a final year student, Aisha Adesina.

However, the universitys senate, on Tuesday, directed the management to set up a committee to probe the protests by the students over the death of their colleague.

The senate of a university comprises professors and other lecturers who occupy some administrative positions in acting capacity because they are yet to be confirmed as professors.

The body also serves as the supreme organ in charge of academic matters including award of certificates in the university system.

The deceased, a final year student of the department of foreign languages, faculty of arts, was according to the protesters, poorly managed by the health centre, before she was eventually referred to the Seventh Day Adventist hospital outside the campus, where she eventually died on Thursday, 30 September.

A statement issued by the university and signed by its registrar, Margaret Omosule, noted that the senate condemned the protest by the students caused by Miss Adesinas death.

The statement reads in part: Senate unequivocally, condemned the students action in its entirety and frowned at the blocking of the Ife/lbadan and Ife/Ede highways and other adjoining roads.

The Senate commended the vice-chancellor and the entire management on the prompt and proactive decision to suspend students activities stressing that precious lives could have been lost, if actions had been delayed. It therefore affirmed its support for the decision taken by Management that: (1) students should vacate the campus and their respective halls of residence; (2) the swearing-in of the newly elected Students Union officers be put on hold.

The statement added that the committee to be set up should present its report within two weeks.

But the universitys spokesman, Abiodun Olarewaju, told PREMIUM TIMES that the committee to be set up will look at both the circumstances that led to the students death and the protest.

But reasons the university failed to indicate its intention to probe the circumstances surrounding the death of the student in its press statement could not be provided by Mr Olarewaju.

Condemnation

Some staff, students and other relevant stakeholders have condemned the position of the universitys senate, describing it as a sign of sharp degeneracy in the class of scholars on the campus.

A former lecturer on the campus and pioneer member of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Omotoye Olorode, said the universitys senates action was depressing.

Mr Olorode, in a terse reaction sent to our reporter on Wednesday, wrote: Government-sponsored decay that was born more than two decades ago. Really depressing!

When the academy dies, virtually ALL will be lost. And to know this is the same Great Ife whose unflinching tradition of truth and courage generations of faculty and students sacrificed time, careers, and blood to build! We shall overcome, comrades.

Backstory

The late Miss Adesina, who was said to be an asthmatic patient, had gone to the health centre to complain of a sore throat.

She was reportedly given an anti-malaria medication which her friends confirmed did not work and that the pains had persisted for three days before she was rushed back to the health centre on Thursday.

The public relations officer-elect of the universitys students union, Ogunperi Taofeek, said in a statement issued on Friday that; Adesinas death is not the first to happen due to negligence of duties by the workers at the health centre.

We call on the University Management to investigate this death and punish all health workers who failed in performing their duties when Aishat needed attendance which they failed to give but only transferred her in her last moments to Seventh Day Hospital where she eventually died.

Without a proper and quick investigation (one which must actively involve and be communicated to students) and punishment meted, the University Management will be putting the lives of students in danger. We cannot let our lives become toys. We will have to protest this, as we cannot afford to keep losing our lives like fowls, the statement reads in part.

PREMIUM TIMES learnt that before proceeding to block the main roads outside the university campus in protest, the protesting students had demanded to see the universitys vice-chancellor, Eyitope Ogunbodede, who reportedly refused to address them.

University campus shut

Rather than respond to the students quest to be addressed by the vice-chancellor, the university management announced the closure of the institution, putting an abrupt end to ongoing examinations.

This was announced in a statement released by the universitys spokesman, which noted that the management understands the grief after the loss of the student, but will not tolerate the continuous and uncontrolled protest by the students.

However, Management condemns in strong terms the continuous and uncontrolled protests by the students culminating in unbridled brigandage, blocking the Ife/Ibadan and Ife/Ede highways and other adjoining roads that could be used as alternative routes, and engaging in other acts that are detrimental to their health and the safety of the generality of the people, the statement added.
The Senate Committee on Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes has described the date discrepancy in the curriculum vitae of a recently confirmed nominee as a typographical error.

There were, however, other differences in the clarification.

Yahaya Mohammad was confirmed as a member of the board of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday.

The confirmation was a sequel to the consideration of the committees report.

However, prior to his confirmation, Jigawa senator, Hassan Hadejia, notified the Senate of a date discrepancy in Mr Mohammads CV.

The document portrayed the nominee as having started primary school before he was born. It showed Mr Muhammeds date of birth as 29 September 1969, and indicated he started school in 1968.

Let me bring to the notice of the House, certain discrepancies in the report that are contradictory, especially with regard to one of the nominees, Alhaji Yahaya Muhammad, on page 8.

The nominee, according to the record before us, started his primary school before he was born. There is also an overlap in the sequence of his educational experience because here, he was born on 29 September 1969 and he started his Central Primary school in 1968, he said.

Pointing out to another discrepancy, the senator said the CV showed Mr Mohammad was in Borno Teachers College from 1975 and 1988, while simultaneously he was in the College of Administration Studies from 1980 to 1981.

The Senate went ahead to confirm the nominee despite the issues raised.

This act has generated outcry from Nigerians on social media with many calling out members of the committee and the Senate at large.

Typographical error

In a statement to journalists on Wednesday, the committee said the controversial part of Mr Mohammads CV was a typographical error.

A page of Mr Mohammads CV was attached to the statement. But the page which contained his bio-data, showed his date of birth as 29 December 1959  against the 29 September 1969 earlier printed.

The statement signed by the committee chairman, Suleiman Kwari, said the screening process was thoroughly conducted by the panel and senators from the nominees districts to the full glare of the public and the media.

The findings of the Committee were thereafter forwarded to the Secretariat of the Senate for compilation, where the regrettable typographical error related to Alhaji Yahaya Mohammed emanated. It is therefore not true that an unqualified nominee was cleared by the Nigerian Senate.

In presenting the Committees report to the Senate for confirmation, an observation was made by Senator Hadejla on the floor of the Senate to point out the typographical error misstating the year of birth to 1969 rather than 1959. The Resume of the nominee, Alhaji Yahaya Mohammad is hereby attached for public scrutiny.

The resume of the nominee was not presented before the Senate. Rather, it was the report of the Senate Committee on Antr-Corruption and Financial Crimes that was presented before the Committee, part of the statement read.

It is not clear if Mr Mohammads real date of birtb is 29 September 1959 or 29 December 1959.

The confirmation of the nominees came barely two weeks after the Senate received President Muhammadu Buharis request for the nominees to be confirmed.

Mr Kwari had said the nominees appeared before the panel for screening and gave in-depth responses to questions posed by the committee.
The House of Representatives has asked the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) to immediately review the salaries of judicial officers upward.

The House also resolved that the federal government should increase statutory transfer to the judiciary.

These resolutions were a sequel to a motion moved on Wednesday by the Chairman House Committee on Judiciary, Luke Onofiok (PDP, Akwa Ibom).

Mr Onofiok informed his colleagues that the Chief Justice of Nigeria only earns N279,497 monthly, while the President of the Court of Appeal earns N206, 425 monthly.

The lawmaker described this as inadequate and called for an increase in salaries in line with economic realities in the country.

He said the existing wages are unfair, unconscionable, unjust and unrealistic in the face of the several restrictions on the conduct of judicial officers.

He said the current salaries render judicial officers vulnerable to corruption.

Poor remuneration of judicial officers is a serious threat to the judiciary, which is a critical institution of the state and starving them of funds compromises their foundational functions and could present misfortune for our democracy as the Judicial Officers may not maintain impartiality and independence in the discharge of their judicial functions, the lawmaker said.

Mr Onofiok added that the budget for the judiciary has remained at N110 billion since 2017.

The motion was passed without debate.
President Muhammadu Buhari met behind closed doors with former President Goodluck Jonathan, in his office at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Wednesday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the agenda of the meeting was unknown to journalists, while no official statement has been issued on the outcome of the meeting as at time of filing this report.

NAN observed that Mr Jonathan, who is ECOWAS Special Envoy to the Republic of Mali, had been updating Mr Buhari on efforts by West African leaders to restore stability to the country.

NAN gathered that the meeting between Messrs Buhari and Jonathan might not be unconnected with efforts toward finding lasting peace in Mali and other troubled West African countries.

Mr Buhari recently came back from New York, where he attended the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), with a special request from the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, to help in restoring socio-political order in troubled West African countries.

Mr Guterres had commended Mr Buhari for his leadership roles in Africa as well as stabilisation of the West African sub-region.

(NAN)
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has explained why it wants Nigerians below the age of 18 barred from owning a SIM card.

The telecoms regulator said the plan is to protect minors and protect them from the liabilities of that arise from the usage of such SIMs.

The age of 18 years for SIM acquisition proposed in the draft regulation is contingent on the constitutional provision, which makes 18 years the age of consent in Nigeria. Also, SIM acquisition is a contract between service providers and their subscribers, which requires the subscriber to have proper legal status, be of matured mind and rational enough to bear certain responsibilities, obligations and liabilities imposed by a contract, the commission said in a statement late Wednesday.

PREMIUM TIMES reported the NCCs proposal that says Subscriber means a person not below the age of 18 years who subscribes to communications services by purchasing a subscription medium or entering into a subscription contract with a licensee.

In its response, the NCC said the regulation had not been finalised, and claimed earlier media reports were misleading, even though it confirmed the proposed ban.

Read the commissions full statement:

*NCC not Disqualifying Nigerians from Getting SIM*

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) would like to draw the attention of the public to a publication in a section of the media, purporting that the Commission is developing a regulation to disqualify Nigerians below 18 years of age from getting Subscriber Identity Module (SIM).

For the avoidance of doubt, the Commission wishes to categorically state that the said report is not only misleading and inaccurate; but a misinformation and mischaracterization of the proceedings of the Public Inquiry on the Reviewed/Draft Registration of Telephone Subscribers Regulations, which took place on Tuesday, October 6, 2021.

The Commission considers it necessary to set the record straight for the purpose of serving existing and potential telecom subscribers , investors and other stakeholders in the industry accurate information for making informed decisions.

In accordance with sections 70 and 71 of the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA), 2003 and the Commissions consultative engagement process, which define its rule-making process, the public inquiry was held for all relevant stakeholders to provide input on the draft regulatory instrument.

The age of 18 years for SIM acquisition proposed in the draft regulation is contingent on the constitutional provision, which makes 18 years the age of consent in Nigeria. Also, SIM acquisition is a contract between service providers and their subscribers, which requires the subscriber to have proper legal status, be of matured mind and rational enough to bear certain responsibilities, obligations and liabilities imposed by a contract.

The proposal is, therefore, to protect minors. Parents and guardians can acquire SIMs in their names on behalf of their children and wards in which case they assume whatever responsibilities or liabilities arise from the usage of such SIMs, a measure expected to also strengthen national security.

While the Commission is progressively pursuing digital inclusion for all, the draft proposal is intended to guarantee increased monitoring of children and shield the minors from undue liabilities in line with NCCs Child Online Protection drive.

However, the consultative engagement process is still ongoing, as the Commission is reviewing all input from relevant stakeholders in this regard and will consider and deliberate on all comments before issuing a final regulatory instrument.

We appeal to our media stakeholders to always fact-check their stories pertaining to telecoms regulatory issues and seek necessary clarifications for informed and accurate reporting as the Commission runs an open-house system.

Signed:

Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde

Director, Public Affairs

October 6, 2021
as the State is battling to survive the twin problems of banditry and kidnapping, with the associated killings of young men, women and children; the wanton destruction of properties, rape and other criminalities never seen in the history of the State, Zamfara seems unlucky to have these compounded by a leadership that has inspired a deep trust deficit.

It is quite unfortunate that the pattern of actions that keep making the people harbour deep distrust for politicians has persisted in relation to the leadership in Zamfara State. Whether in terms of making solemn promises of retaining governance within the outlook of a particular political party and then jumping ship, as a result of ambition and political expediency, or the promise to stick with the people through a deeply troubling period of insecurity, and then reneging on this by travelling abroad, the climate of distrust in the leadership in Zamfara couldnt be deeper at this time.

It was the great physicist, Albert Einstein, who said, who ever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters. This speaks to the current situation in Zamfara State, in which the State governor, Alhaji Bello Matawalle has been found to be fast and loose with the truth, in matters that require trust and integrity. Hence, it goes without saying that it would amount to a double whammy for the people of the State to repose any strain of trust him in future.

Zamfara, which was carved out of the former Sokoto State by right, is an extension of the Caliphate and the closest to the ancient structure of civilisation. Historically, the people of Zamfara are known to be highly religious and always exhibiting the fine virtues of simplicity, humility, honesty and truth.

The State used to be one of the few that people from far and near cherish in coming to do business, without the fear of being manipulated, cheated or duped, as the average Zamfara man is known to be honest and straightforward, and without guile.

For the average Zamfara man, his word is his bond, and the leaders of the state of yore have been found to be trustworthy and responsible, which determine the level of trust reposed in them by many, far beyond the territorial extents of the State. From Mallam Yahaya Gusau, to Mallam Ali Akilu, Umaru Shinkafi, General Aliyu Gusau, IGP MD Abubakar, and others too numerous to mention, these are persons known as defined by integrity, and who have been noted as diligent and trustworthy in their duties. They have served at the highest levels in the public service of the country, without betraying the trust reposed in them and their roles, to become sources of pride to the Zamfarawa.

But lately, as the State is battling to survive the twin problems of banditry and kidnapping, with the associated killings of young men, women and children; the wanton destruction of properties, rape and other criminalities never seen in the history of the State, Zamfara seems unlucky to have these compounded by a leadership that has inspired a deep trust deficit.

It is no exaggeration to say that the administration of Matawalle has taken Zamfara back to the Stone Age, as the State is being ridiculed for its leadership, which has made the average Zamfara man appear like a crook, who is not fit to be trusted.

Like the great American leader, Thomas Jefferson once quipped, if a man cannot be trusted with the government of himself, can he, then be trusted with the government of others?

The answer, as far as Zamfara is concerned, is a resounding no and this is because Governor Matawalle has introduced falsehood, deceit, and outright lies to the art of state craft, while elevating fake promises, speaking from both sides of the mouth and a high level of inexactitude, such that in less than three years of his administration, the State has moved from its respected position as the home of Sharia to a place where one can lie with impunity.

Recently, when the governor imposed a ban on mobile telecommunications network and other draconian measures on the law abiding citizens of the State due to the escalating security challenges there, he vowed on a Friday inside the Mosque not to abandon the people by leaving the State but that he would stay with them to bear all the inconveniences, until the security situation improves.

The people sought to trust the governor in this decision and adjusted to the inconveniences, which made many make do with traveling to Sokoto and Funtua and later Zaria in Katsina and Kaduna States to make calls, send messages and carry out other mobile phone-based financial transactions.

But once the ban became effective and communication became difficult, the governor, who is said to always be keeping an eye on his numerous concerns outside the State could not bear his imposed difficulty but took off for Abuja, where things work.

No sooner thereafter, the governor not only extended the period of the telecommunications ban, but he sent his pregnant wife to America to deliver, his children overseas, and he later took the cover of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to leave for the United States, as what many consider as an uninvited guest, where he still is at the moment.

For a measure that the people of the State were compelled to pass through, the governor could not even restrain his family members from travelling outside the State and the country, as they gradually jetted out of the country, as he had done.

But this is only one instance, as many other abound in which the man has been found to have violated his honour.

More remarkably, in 2018, when Matawalle, through the magnanimity of the Peoples Democratic Party, became the gubernatorial candidate, he had invoked the wrath of God to punish him if he ever betrayed the party or its elders.

In a well circulated video clip obtained by some media houses, Matawalle was seen and heard saying in Hausa, If I ever betray you the elders or my party the PDP, may Allah never allow me to live in peace for the rest of my life, I swear by Allah. If I can leave PDP or cheat any of our members, may Allah punish me.

He repeated the pledge with even more intensity when some PDP governors visited him in Gusau to remind him of his promise and to plead with him to have trust in Allah who made him governor after he lost the election.

But less than a year after his assurances, Matawalle reneged on all the promises he made to Allah, the party leaders and his colleagues. He did not keep his honour but did exactly what he vowed not to do; he renege on the favour of Allah by defecting to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

At the defection rally in Gusau, he had said, As from today, I, Bello Matawalle Maradun, governor of Zamfara, am happy to announce my defection from the PDP to the APC. As from today, I am a full APC member and leader of APC in Zamfara.

With this kind of deceitful behaviour in the leadership, who will trust Matawalle again with any responsible position?

It is highly unfortunate that Zamfara, which prides itself as a centre of piety can be bogged with such indecorous leadership.

Allah shi sawake!

Musa Dangusau wrote from Gusau in Zamfara State.
the Federal Character Commission and the quota system are peculiar Nigerian requirements established to address the North/South dichotomy in education/civil service, with the hope that they will bridge the gap between the two regions. If we think the rotation of the presidency is no longer necessary, we might as well do away with federal character and quota system.

In 2007 and 2011, Nigeria was practically on the edge of the precipice, due to intense wrangling over zoning of the presidency. While that of 2007 was swiftly nipped in the bud, when then President Olusegun Obasanjo hand-picked late President Umaru YarAdua as a successor, that of 2011 lingered on and caused some frictions within the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Obasanjos choice of YarAdua was greeted with controversies. YarAdua was considered not too healthy to withstand the rigours of an electioneering campaign and the office itself. Secondly, YarAdua was a recluse, who before then never reached out to anyone. He practically cocooned himself in Katsina, such that some of his colleague-governors didnt even have his phone number and vice versa, but because Obasanjo had clout, power and brooked no opposing view, he single-handedly made the choice of YarAdua seamless, helped him win the presidential election, and subsequently enabled a seamless transition into power. Head or tail, the Presidency came to the North. That was then, when PDP held sway as the largest party in Africa, and could make or mar any political contender.

Slow-forward to 2011, after YarAdua had died in office, and his deputy, Goodluck Jonathan had taken over earlier in 2010; Jonathan was completing YarAduas term of four years and preparing to take the shot at the presidency, against the zoning formula in the PDP. With Jonathan running, the North was being short-changed, some people reasoned. The groundswell of opposition to Jonathan was so much that the Northern political class under the chairmanship of the late Adamu Ciroma constituted themselves into a pressure group to demand for power to shift to the North. That was in 2011. Long story cut short: Jonathan became president. One major fallout of the Jonathan presidency was that, it put paid to the South-Souths agitation for the topmost job in the country.

Meanwhile, the anger over Jonathans decision to run in 2011, despite provisions of the PDP Constitution, boiled over to 2015. It was pay-back time for Jonathan, if not in PDP but to an emerging force, after four PDP governors, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), and All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) had earlier formed an alliance for the historic emergence of a new party, the All Progressives Congress (APC). The stage was set for an epic battle in 2015, which saw the defeat of incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan.

As we approach the decisive year 2022/23, when presidential race begins, politicians are again heating up the polity. The table has turned, and this time around the agitators and demanders are Southerners. At their meetings in Asaba, Lagos and Enugu, the Southern governors unanimously resolved that after eight years of President Muhammadu Buhari, power should return to the South.

Encapsulating this history is to prove that agitations, intimidation even, is not a monopoly of one region; every group that loses out employs it to get its pound of flesh. In all this merry-go round circus, there is no mention of competence, capacity, national cohesion and patriotic fervour. It is about my group, religion and region first, before sparing a thought for the country. There lies the tragedy of Nigeria as a country; despised most often, and exploited when an opportunity presents itself.

As we approach the decisive year 2022/23, when presidential race begins, politicians are again heating up the polity. The table has turned, and this time around the agitators and demanders are Southerners. At their meetings in Asaba, Lagos and Enugu, the Southern governors unanimously resolved that after eight years of President Muhammadu Buhari, power should return to the South. The chairman of Southern Governors Forum, Rotimi Akeredolu reiterated in an interview with Channels Television thus: the Southern governors from the three major political parties of APC, PDP and APGA were unanimous in their resolution on the zoning of the presidency and would follow it to the letter. If we have anything that we have agreed, that we have unanimity about, its the issue of president in 2023any party that picks any candidate from the North will have to face all Southern governors because they will not support it. I think the demand of the Southern governors is legitimate.

Since then, there have been restiveness among Northern leaders and other commentators, but by far the most important has been that of the governors and emirs of Northern extraction who, at the end of their meeting, declared that zoning is unconstitutional, while the Northern Elders Forum emphatically rejected power rotation, saying it is not democratic. Statements credited to some members of the Northern cognoscenti are condescending, uncalled for and uncharitable. They also claimed they have the numbers to win a presidential election, with or without zoning.

Yes, in a mature democracy where leaders put the country first before identity, you can play the numbers game. However, in a country like Nigeria, peace, fair play, justice, equity and logic matter more than the pride in numbers or the law, especially with the 1999 Constitution in operation. In any case, the Federal Character Commission and the quota system are peculiar Nigerian requirements established to address the North/South dichotomy in education/civil service, with the hope that they will bridge the gap between the two regions. If we think the rotation of the presidency is no longer necessary, we might as well do away with federal character and quota system. Resorting to legalese and making incendiary statements are not only insensitive, but they are in bad faith. The law was made for man and not the other way round. Inability to manage our diversities toward a cohesive country is a failure of leadership and not zoning.

Politicians would do well to leave us out of their zoning or no zoning war and the North or South divide and concentrate on the job they are elected to do. It is a needless controversy that serves no purpose, and it looks like another season of circus show before the final showdown, while important issues of insecurity, hunger and starvationcontinue to hold us back.

For whatever it is worth, and for the sake of inclusiveness and sense of belonging, each of the six zones should have the experience of presidential power, even though this hardly impacts positively on the lives of the people presently. If in doubt, ask the people of Katsina State or Daura, in particular, how they have fared under their son, President Muhammadu Buhari, the same way the lot of the people of Otuoke or Bayelsa did not change when their son, President Jonathan, was president, even though it serves to psychologically heal the wounds of oppression, marginalisation, favouritism, and calm frayed nerves. But I must add that this war of regions and power is an elite one, and has nothing to do with their peoples wellbeing. Is it not after Buhari came to power that the North slipped into a jungle of uncontrolled anarchy occasioned by banditry and kidnapping; two vices that were not apparent at the time he took over in 2015? Is his home state of Katsina not one of three or four states ravaged and almost taken over by bandits?

Above all, lobbying, negotiation and dialogue are ingredients leading to compromise and settlement of contending issues in a democracy. What does the North stand to gain if it uses its numbers to oppress others, remains in government beyond 2023 and engulfs the country in needless controversies and conflict, whose end is uncertain? If the situation of the violence of gunmen in the South-East is borne out of perceived marginalisation, denying the South the presidency will be an invitation to more civil unrest. None serves anyones interest.

Politicians would do well to leave us out of their zoning or no zoning war and the North or South divide and concentrate on the job they are elected to do. It is a needless controversy that serves no purpose, and it looks like another season of circus show before the final showdown, while important issues of insecurity, hunger and starvation, sky-rocketing prices of all things, dwindling revenues, and a rising debt profile continue to hold us back.

zainabokino@gmail.com
As a part of their ongoing commitment to all patients, Pfizer today launched a global, week-long event from October 4  8, Patients in Focus, to recognise the influence patients have on every facet of their work. With the theme Patients are Our Why, Patients In Focus signifies a renewal of Pfizers commitment to serving patients and to achieve their goal of being the most patient-centric company.

We are made up of many local markets and differing functions, but our purpose at Pfizer is global: to develop breakthroughs that change patients lives, said Olayinka Subair, Pfizer Nigerias Country Manager & Cluster Lead, West Africa. For our work to be meaningful, every function of Pfizer needs to understand the importance of engaging patients, caregivers, and advocates in our work. Patients in Focus week will showcase where we have made an impact on patients lives and empower colleagues to learn from each other and continue putting the patient first in everything we do.

In Nigeria, were demonstrating our commitment to patients through an interactive panel discussion with our Country Manager and Cluster Lead West Africa, Olayinka Subair and Dr. Bello Abubakar, Consultant Oncologist, National Hospital Abuja and President AORTIC (African Organization for Research & Training in Cancer) and Ms MaryGloria Anulika Orji of Network of People Impacted By Cancer In Nigeria (NePICiN) to discuss health disparities and other barriers to care.

Olayinka Subair, Pfizer Nigerias Country Manager & Cluster Lead, West Africa, said Our focus is always on the patients as we deploy resources to bring treatments that extend and significantly improve their lives. We consistently seek to collaborate with stakeholders to support and expand access to reliable, affordable health care in communities all around. Patients in Focus is a global week-long event, taking place from October 4-8, 2021, where we will all take time out to recognize the influence patients have on every facet of what we do, and renew our commitment to serving them and becoming the most patient-centric company.

While were made up of many markets, and have different roles and functions throughout the organization, we all have the same Purpose at Pfizer to bring breakthroughs that change patients lives. Patients in Focus gives us a platform for sharing global success stories and best practices that empower and inspire all of us, while highlighting the benefit of global resources such as the Global Patient Advocacy team and new Patient Centricity Hub.

Patients in Focus is a time when we can host and participate in a variety of activities and events that highlight the importance patients have at every step of the work we do every day.

Patients in Focus allows us to showcase bi-directional advocacy relationships and partnerships that build trust and increase awareness of the value and benefit of partnering with patients across all functions.

Patient advocacy within pharmaceutical work is critical to ensure patients lives are being changed. Patients in Focus is an opportunity for Pfizer to further their ongoing commitment to patients by ensuring all Pfizer employees have the knowledge and resources to incorporate patient voices into their work. This effort, led by the Global Patient Advocacy Team, brings Pfizer one step closer in the goal of being the most patient-centric company and to achieve health equity.

About Pfizer: Breakthroughs That Change Patients Lives

At Pfizer, we apply science and our global resources to bring therapies to people that extend and significantly improve their lives. We strive to set the standard for quality, safety, and value in the discovery, development, and manufacture of health care products, including innovative medicines and vaccines. Every day, Pfizer colleagues work across developed and emerging markets to advance wellness, prevention, treatments, and cures that challenge the most feared diseases of our time. Consistent with our responsibility as one of the worlds premier innovative biopharmaceutical companies, we collaborate with health care providers, governments, and local communities to support and expand access to reliable, affordable health care around the world. For more than 150 years, we have worked to make a difference for all who rely on us. We routinely post information that may be important to investors on our website at www.Pfizer.com.
Governor Abubakar Bello of Niger has expressed satisfaction with the quality of work executed so far on the 15.5 km dual-carriage Minna-Bida road.

He said this on Tuesday during an inspection of the road and some other road projects under construction within and outside Minna metropolis.

Mr Bello expressed optimism that the road project would be completed within the time frame, if the contractor maintained the current pace of work.

He disclosed that compensation to the affected persons had commenced in stages.

I am happy with what I am seeing with regards to the capacity of the company and the quality of work, I am satisfied. We have just concluded the first stage of compensation to the affected persons.

Hopefully, by next week, we will start compensating those in the second stage. If they continue at this pace, they will meet up as long as we dont have any hitches as regards funding, he said.

The governor attributed the delay in the completion of the project to the delay in payment of residents living along Kpakungu road.

The Project Manager of Dantata and Sawoe, Naafey Shaukat, said that about 12 kilometres of the left-hand side of the road had been asphalted, while work was ongoing on the right-hand side of the road, running from Kpakungu to Garatu.

He disclosed that the company was to construct 15.5 kilometres dual carriageway out of the initial 83 kilometres, adding that the project was reduced to 15.5 kilometres, in order to decongest the road.

Similarly, the governor also inspected five other roads, including the 2.86 kilometres Old Alheri Road, Tunga, 2.25 kilometres Imani Road and 3.2 kilometres canal at F-lay Out 1 and 2.

Mr Bello expressed satisfaction with the level of work at the ongoing construction of Old Alheri Road and urged the contractor handling Imani Road project to hasten the work.

I am really impressed with the quality of job done on the Tunga Low-cost road, the project is a 5 number road, they are doing the first one now and they also promised that before October ends, they will lay asphalt on that road.

The Imani road is a bond project and usually with bond projects there shouldnt be any problem because the money is guaranteed, the governor said.

(NAN)
The Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) has called for prayers and sober reflection to stem the tide of the incessant killings in Anambra State, even as the political tension in the state heightens.

The Chairman of CLO in Anambra, Vincent Ezekwueme, made the call while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Enugu.

Mr Ezekwueme urged political, religious and traditional leaders to come out of their comfort zones and convene three days of fasting and prayers to seek Gods intervention in the senseless killings in the state.

What is happening in Anambra is alien and antithetical to the religion, tradition, culture and customs of the Igbos, Mr Ezekwueme said.

The Igbo people, he said, are known to have respect for the sanctity of human life.

Mr Ezekwueme said the CLO pleads with perpetrators of the violence and killings to give peace a chance.

Notably, the commandment of God, thou shall not kill is sacrosanct and must be respected by all mortals. It is noteworthy that only God gives and takes life.

It is of great relevance and significant to note that uncommon situations call for unusual solutions.2

READ ALSO:

There is nothing difficult for Almighty God, hence the urgent and inevitable need to hand over security challenges facing the country, especially Anambra, to the hand of God who has the final solution to all problems.

May our merciful Lord forgive the sins of all those who lost their lives in the horrendous killings, especially Dr Chike Akunyili, as well as accept their gentle souls in paradise.

Their supreme sacrifices will be a seed of peace, love, forgiveness and tranquillity, he said.

The agitation for the independent state, Biafra, which is being championed by IPOB, has led to killings and destruction in Anambra and other South-east states.

Anambra is holding its governorship election on November 6.

(NAN)
No fewer than 100 retired local government health workers on Tuesday staged a protest in Awka, over non-adjustment of their Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) in Anambra, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

The protesters, under the umbrella of Health Pensioners of the Anambra Local government system, carried placards with various inscriptions and marched along Enugu/Onitsha expressway, Awka.

Some of the placards read, Pay 2015 to 2019 Health retirees their retirement benefits, JAAC pay pensioners their entitlements, Cabal is in control of JAAC and retirement is not a crime.

The spokesperson of the group, Raphael Okoye, told journalists that Governor Willie Obiano had approved an increment for health workers from 40 to 60 per cent since 2015, but that the consequential adjustment for the affected members had not been done since the approval.

We have followed the file and ascertained that it was acknowledged by the office of the Head of Service, computed by the Local Government Service Commission (LGSC) and vetted by its auditor, he said.

Mr Okoye added that in spite of the approval, the JAAC office had refused to effect the payment even when all documentary processes and several reminders had been sent.

He lamented that the good intentions of Mr Obiano for retirees were being frustrated by the JAAC office, which deliberately refused to pay the retirees their due.

Mr Okoye said some of their members were passing through hardship because of the paltry sum they go home with as their monthly pensions.

Some of our pensioners get laughable amounts as monthly pensions, while their counterparts get more reasonable pay. This ugly trend had jeopardized the lives of many while some had died in the process, he said.

Mr Okoye called on Governor Obiano to order the JAAC office to pay her members their entitlements in full, without further delay.

We appeal to the governor to caution the JAAC Secretary for refusing to carry out the order of duly constituted authorities.

We further wish that the secretary be re-assigned to another portfolio suitable for his age and experience, since he is messing up the good intentions of our governor.

Once again, we thank Governor Obiano for approving 60 percent for all health workers in Anambra and all Anambra people who have been with us in the course of this struggle, he said.

NAN could not immediately get Secretary JAAC, Confidence Azodos, reaction for this report as he did not respond to calls as of the time of filing this report.

(NAN)
The Ekiti judiciary has announced the demise of Justice Adewale Fowe, a former Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in the state.

The announcement is contained in a statement signed by the Chief Registrar of Ekiti State Judiciary, Justice John Adeyeye, and made available to journalists on Tuesday in Ado Ekiti.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 65- year-old Mr Fowe until his demise was a High Court Judge.

He was born on November 25, 1956 and hailed from Ido-Osi Local Government Area of Ekiti and he had his elementary and secondary education in Ekiti, Kwara and Oyo states.

Mr Fowe bagged a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1978 from the then University of Ife now Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, and proceeded to the Nigeria Law School, Lagos, and was called to the Bar in 1979.

He also worked as a private legal practitioner and was later appointed the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Ekiti, between November 1997 and May 1999.

He was appointed a High Court Judge on January 4, 2010, and served in that capacity until his demise.

Mr Adeyeye described the former commissioner as a very courageous, humble and forthright man in all his dealings.

The pain of the exit of Justice Adewale Fowe will greatly be missed by the Ekiti State Judiciary and all concerned, the statement said.

(NAN)
Belarus is trying to push migrants across the EU border and Poland is defending Nato and EU borders from hybrid aggression, Polish President Andrzej Duda has said.

Andrzej Duda made the statement at an international security conference, Warsaw Security Forum, on Tuesday.

"At the moment here in Poland we're experiencing hybrid aggression in the form of attempts by the Belarusian services to push migrants into EU territory," the president said.

"We're defending Nato and EU borders with full determination," Andrzej Duda went on to say, adding that Poland had confirmed that people with terrorist links are among those trying to cross the country's border from Belarus.

The president said that new security challenges have emerged on the horizon, including China's "multi-dimensional actions in technology, economy, finance and cyberspace.

"This is coupled with new, breakthrough technologies whose acquisition by our adversaries may disturb the existing order," the president said, adding that terrorist threats have not gone away, either.

Turning to Russia, Andrzej Duda said the country is increasing its global military involvement, threatening Nato not only from the east, but also from the north and south. He also accused Moscow of hybrid actions aimed to undermine the stability of the democratic institutions of the West and its election system.

Commenting on the role of the United States, the president said the West needed "an America that is politically and militarily involved in the security of Europe as well as being active in Nato."

According to Andrzej Duda, "this is a guarantee for the democratic world to be able to meet numerous challenges, both those close to our borders and the ones in distant parts of the globe."

The Warsaw Security Forum is an international conference hosted by the Casimir Pulaski Foundation, an independent, non-partisan think-tank specialising in foreign policy and international security. (PAP)
The Polish and Austrian presidents hope that bilateral economic cooperation will continue to develop for the benefit of the two countries.

"We are both glad that our good economic relations have only slightly deteriorated due to the coronavirus pandemic, and that everything has been getting back to normal," Andrzej Duda told reporters after a meeting with Alexander Van der Bellen in Warsaw on Tuesday.

Another topic of conversation was the situation on the border with Belarus. "Poland is responsible for protecting the border which is the frontier of both Poland and the entire EU," said Andrzej Duda.

"Being also the border of the Schengen zone, it is the frontier of European security," he said, adding that Poland had been fulfilling its duty in the best possible way.

Having praised Austrian-Polish economic relations, the Austrian head of state said that Austrian companies operating in Poland employed around 50,000 people, and that a similar number of Poles worked in his country.

He added that Austria was one of the largest foreign investors in Poland with regard to foreign direct investments (FDI).

Referring to the Three Seas Initiative, a grouping of countries lying between the Baltic, Adriatic and Black Seas, the Polish president declared that he would be extremely satisfied if Austria decided to join the Three Seas Fund.

"Our two countries belong to the Three Seas Initiative. I hope that our cooperation will dynamically develop," he said. (PAP)
White Bear Lake, MN (55110)

Today

Cloudy with snow showers mainly during the morning. High 32F. Winds WNW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of snow 40%. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Clear to partly cloudy. Low around 20F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.
Plattsburgh, NY (12901)

Today

Showers this morning becoming a steady rain during the afternoon hours. High 54F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%..

Tonight

Cloudy early, becoming mostly clear after midnight. A shower of rain or wet snow possible. Low 32F. Winds light and variable.
Southbury, CT (06488)

Today

Sun and clouds mixed. High near 65F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy with periods of rain. Low 37F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch.
BRISTOL, England and BANGALORE, India, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Torry Harris Integration Solutions (THIS), a recognized leader in Integration strategy and API-driven transformation delivery, along with Three Ireland's trusted youth brand, 48, won this year's TM Forum Excellence award in the 'Customer Experience and Trust' category.

The TM Forum Excellence awards recognizes top communication service providers (CSPs) and solution providers around the globe for outstanding work in digitally transforming the telecommunications industry.

This year the 95 entries received from 23 countries were judged by a panel of 22 independent industry experts. As a neutral, non-profit organization, TM Forum ensures that the awards are impartial, celebrating important examples of industry success and delivering valuable peer recognition.

Shuba Sridhar, VP - Strategic Initiatives at Torry Harris says, "We are thrilled to receive this recognition. We thank TM Forum for creating awareness and for sharing best practices from 48's transformation success with CSPs around the world. We are proud to be associated with 48, Ireland's first youth-focused, truly digital mobile brand. We helped modernize and migrate their legacy IT systems to the cloud by leveraging TM Forum's open digital architecture and open APIs to create a new digital experience."

"As the winners of this year's Excellence Awards show us, unlocking growth and creating long-term value is possible through innovation, partnership, and digital transformation. Our independent, impartial judging panel has once again recognized the outstanding achievements being made to accelerate change in our industry," commented Nik Willetts, CEO of TM Forum.

About Torry Harris

Torry Harris is a multinational provider of business, technology, and IT consulting services. For over two decades, it is focused on providing solutions in the areas of Integration for digital enablement, digital marketplace services, full life-cycle API management, and digital ecosystem enablement. The company is headquartered in New Jersey (USA), with development centers in Bangalore, India. It has offices in Bristol (UK), Slough (UK), Dubai (UAE), Dublin (Ireland), Munich (Germany) and Paris (France). Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. To know more, visit https://www.torryharris.com

About 48

Three Ireland's second brand '48' is the nation's first truly digital-only youth mobile network. Three Ireland relaunched 48 in March 2020 with a new brand position, product and experience. 48 introduced totally new SIM plans that challenged the conventional wisdom of the market. 48 saw an opportunity to give the user control of their product and purchase. They created a product allowing customers to do more with their data, swap minutes for data, share data with friends, save data for a rainy day and donate data to charity, and all delivered through their my48 account. To know more, visit https://48.ie/

About TM Forum

TM Forum is an association of over 850 member companies that generate a combined US$2 trillion in revenue and serve five billion customers across 180 countries. We drive collaboration and collective problem-solving to maximize the business success of communication and digital service providers and their ecosystem of suppliers around the world. To know more, visit https://www.tmforum.org/

Media Contact:

Diganta Kumar Barooah

marketing@thbs.com

+91-80-41827200

SOURCE Torry Harris Integration Solutions (THIS)
BOLOGNA, Italy, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of the China Forum organized in MacFrut, the companies involved in the project The European Art of Taste had the opportunity to present themselves to the Asian market with a webinar that saw the participation of 111 Chinese companies and professionals and buyers in the fruit and vegetable sector.

Reen Nordin, Sales Manager, presented Origine Group, one of the most important companies in the handling and cultivation of fruit and vegetables, which collaborates with European groups and allows exports to every part of the world, counting on cultivation in Chile and the Mediterranean area which allows the availability of products all year round. The core business of Origine Group is kiwifruit, with a production area of more than 6,000 which reaches an annual production of 130,000 tons. Alongside green and yellow kiwifruit, Origine Group also produces over 70,000 tons of pears per year, exporting these products to India, USA, Canada and South Korea. Asia has always been at the center of Origine Group's operations, as demonstrated by the launch of Sweeki, the green and yellow kiwifruit line designed entirely for the Asian market, characterized by a high sugar content, bright and tender pulp and a taste of high quality.

We care a lot about the Asian market and especially the Chinese one, said Reen Nordin, for this reason we decided to produce Sweeki by selecting the best green and yellow kiwis at our disposal. To guarantee consumers a product that is always fresh and of high quality, with ideal organoleptic characteristics, we take care of all the steps using a chain that goes from collection, storage and distribution with a total traceability and punctuality, as well as a modular packaging service.

To make its products be tasted, since its foundation, Origine Group invests in direct contact with consumers, buyers and professionals, organizing promotional events, tasting, instore and in the field.

The European Art of Taste project will continue to promote the masterpieces of nature and art throughout 2021, involving consumers, journalists and professionals in incoming, in-store events and fairs, in partnership with European Union and the companies Apofruit, Origine Group, Jingold, King Fruit and RK Growers.

For further information and details: www.europeanartoftaste.com; www.europeanartoftaste.ch

SOURCE The European Art of Taste
MANILA, Philippines, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Philippines Department of Tourism partners with the Department of Trade and Industry to support the local handicrafts businesses all over the country. Through this partnership, many local producers have been able to reach a wider customer base. Projects include seminars, trade fairs and expositions, along with souvenir stops at popular destinations. Together with creating travel circuits that are based on attractions in each region, the DOT also highlights artisanal products that can showcase the local talent and culture.

The Philippine Islands is home to many proud craftsmen and artisans. These are Filipinos who create world-class products using skills and tools that have been handed down through generations. In harmony with nature and with ingenuity, they use indigenous materials that abound in their communities. These treasures await travelers to the Philippines, as beautiful souvenirs that can be brought home along with memories of a relaxing getaway in this tropical paradise.

"By showcasing local products, we are able to support livelihoods in the communities as well as help in preserving their heritage for future generations," says Tourism Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat.

There are many native materials that are transformed into beautiful works of art by Filipino craftsmen. Here are some souvenirs that travelers can bring home from the Philippines.

Baguio's woodcrafts

Woodworking in the uplands of the Cordillera Region ranges from utilitarian items used at home or in the fields, to ceremonial items used in community celebrations, and spiritual figures called Bulul that serve as house guardians that are passed on from generation to generation. Baguio's public market and roadside stalls offer many choices of hand-carved wood items to fit your fancy and your luggage space  such as the infamous 'barrel man', or larger statues of warriors and animals such as eagles that can serve as a conversation piece in your home.

The Inabel of Ilocos

The practice of weaving cotton thread into fabric on a wooden loom used to be one of the household duties of many Ilocano women. The hardy Inabel or Abel Iloco, is a soft, simple, pliable fabric with varied unique patterns and designs that can be woven to be big enough for use as blankets, table runners, and even dress material. Some Inabel items that are available at souvenir shops such as the ones in Vigan, Ilocos Sur or even online are tea towels, blankets, shawls, bags, and even made-to-order apparel from young designers who are keen to use this sustainably made and sourced fabric.

Vigan's Pagburnayan Clay Jars

Burnay is the Ilocano word for the brown clay pot used by Filipinos even before the Spanish arrived in the country. These earthen pottery pieces were used by early Filipinos as water containers because they help keep the water cool even on a hot day. They were also important household items as containers for salt and rice, or for vinegar, fermented fish paste, and they were vessels for items that were sold to the Chinese in the days of the sea trade. In Vigan, one can visit a pottery shop and learn how Burnay is made using carabao power to mix the mud, and have your own photo opportunity on the potter's wheel. You can also purchase these thick and hardy jars to use as decorative pieces or planters at home.

Cebu's Guitars and Capiz Shells

Guitars that are handmade in Cebu are famous throughout the Philippines because they are durable, affordable, and of high-quality compared to the mass produced ones in the market. The art of making guitars, which was introduced in the Spanish era, have been passed on through generations of local masters who make these musical instruments by painstakingly shaping the wood into the familiar hourglass shape. These are available at souvenir shops or at family-owned guitar stores, particularly in Lapu-Lapu City, have become local attractions for music lovers of all ages.

The Visayas is also where dainty Capiz shell art is a traditional handicraft industry. The translucent Capiz, which can still be found adorning windows of heritage homes or painted in the stained-glass windows of churches, comes from the shell of a mollusk called the Windowpane Oyster. After the meat has been eaten, the shells are gathered to be used in handicrafts. Local artists use the shells to create magnificent decor such as complicated chandeliers, pretty wind chimes, beautiful floor lamps, or smaller stationery items that can be given away to friends and family back home.

Barako Coffee from Batangas

Barako is a Tagalog word that means 'strong' and that is a good descriptor for the brew that comes from the coffee beans grown particularly in Batangas and some parts of Cavite. The farmers take pride in their coffee plants, which have been cultivated in their region since the 1800s. Coffee experts describe the taste as woody and smoky with a hint of sweetness from its floral, fruity aroma. Its bold, intense flavor from Liberica beans has been translated into local coffeehouse favorites and even into cakes and pastries. A cup of coffee made from your souvenir bag of ground beans is a great way to perk up on a cold day.

Davao's Malagos Chocolates

While growing cacao is an agricultural practice in many parts of the Philippines, Davao is hailed as the country's Chocolate Capital and the entire Davao Region as the Cacao Capital of the Philippines. One of the frontrunners of the industry in the region is the award-winning Malagos Chocolates brand which uses high-quality beans from a sustainable source for a tree-to-bar chocolate journey. Its latest award was for its 100% Premium Unsweetened Chocolate that won four Golds and one Bronze at the 2020 World Drinking Chocolate Competition organized by the International Chocolate Awards. The products offer a rich, velvety, melt-in the-mouth chocolate experience that makes it a perfect gift for the chocoholics in your circle.

Manila's South Sea Pearls Shops

There are many high-end jewelry stores located at the malls selling a sundry of pearls and other gems. But for those who want to have the element of a bargain when they shop for their jewelry and accessories can visit the bazaars of Manila, where one can find an assortment of South Sea Pearls from Palawan and some parts of Mindanao sold at stalls beside cellphone accessories and rubber shoes. There, one can browse through their collections of luminous necklaces and dainty earrings while asking for the "final price" that the vendor can offer.

Davao Oriental's Virgin Coconut Oil

Touted to have many health benefits, virgin coconut oil is produced from fresh or mature coconuts, without undergoing chemical refining, bleaching or deodorizing. VCO products that are available in the Philippines come in oil and capsule form or even as cosmetics. While coconuts grow abundantly all over the country, Davao Oriental is poised to become a big exporter of coconut products overseas, with 18 Virgin Coconut Oil processing centers set to rise within the year. Modern production at the processing plants such as the one of Oriental Golden Coco Inc., ensure high quality through multiple micro filtration processes for additional purity to result in products with that wonderful fresh coconut aroma and flavor in what is called the "purest and healthiest" form of coconut oil.

Cordillera's Heirloom Rice

Heirloom rice varieties have been grown in the Cordillera Mountains for centuries, and studies have found that there could be about 500 traditional varieties of rice that are indigenous in the region and are mostly being planted for personal or family consumption through generations. So far, there have been 88 varieties that have been identified and studies have shown these to have higher nutritional content. Try this heirloom rice with your next meal and have it the Filipino way by eating with your hands for a more authentic experience.

The Philippines' Alcoholic Drinks

Imbibe the spirit of the Philippines through its choice alcoholic concoctions. A short story by the late Don Alejandro Roces who is a National Artist of the Philippines for Literature, cheekily says, "We Filipinos Are Mild Drinkers". This is offset by the local distilled drinks such as Don Papa Rum, a premium aged single-island rum from the sugar cane fields at the foot of Mt. Kanglaon in the Visayas. Coconut Wine called Lambanog is another potent brew obtained from the distillation of naturally fermented coconut sap. Modern version of this celebratory drink now have added flavors. Travelers can bring this home to European countries if they are for personal consumption while restrictions in Muslim countries may apply.

Liliw, Laguna's Native Slippers

The town of Liliw in Laguna is known for its slipper industry, with local artisans crafting the footwear from abaca which grows abundantly in the area. These comfortable and colorful house slippers are perfect for keeping your feet warm while relaxing at home and they make great handcrafted gifts  just make sure that the recipient gives you a coin in return as Philippine superstition says that if you don't get one, you might get into a quarrel.

Filipino Designer's Modern Filipiniana

Young Filipino designers are rediscovering local woven fabrics and reimagining them for use as modern apparel in order to support traditional industries and local communities. While the National Dress of Barong Tagalog (long sleeved embroidered formal shirts) for men and Baro't Saya (that literally translates to blouse and skirt, made from fine pina cloth) for women are still worn at important occasions, designers such as the ones at Filip + Inna are coming up with stunning garments that make use of handmade woven material, beading, and embroidery that can be worn at the office or even at the beach. Bring home something old, something new with the gorgeous designs that will make you stand out in a crowd.

More Treasures to Unbox

The Philippines is a haven for those who want to enjoy local culture through tangible items. Rattan is one of the indigenous materials that are used for traditional packaging, the leaves are dexterously woven into shopping bags called bayong and boxes that are used to store items in the home. Banig, or woven mats are another Filipino woven product, used for sleeping or as bags and home accents, while abaca bags are fashionable and summery all year long. Wooden utensils are utilitarian and decorative items, which can be found both on the dining table or if in their supersized form, hanging from the walls of the dining room. For those who want to try their hand at a little Filipino cooking, local brand Mama Sita offers condiments and sauces to help capture that local palette.

Souvenir-Hunt Safely

The Tourism Department has been awarded a SafeTravels Stamp by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) in recognition of its adoption of "health and hygiene global standardized protocols" that will ensure safe travel during the COVID-19 pandemic, conducts thorough inspection and assessment, to ensure that only those who are accredited are allowed to open and receive guests.

The Philippine government through its Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) is constantly updating its protocols to safeguard Filipinos and foreign nationals who are traveling to the Philippines. To learn more about the Philippines' new and exciting adventures, as well as safety and travel updates, visit www.morefunawaits.com and https://www.facebook.com/PhilippineTourismThailand (for Thailand) and www.morefunawaits.com (for Qatar) or download the Travel Philippines app at the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

For photos: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1kkHoseZjFiHDeagcAmscE-F9jLQQ3Y8X?usp=sharing

SOURCE Philippines Department of Tourism
 The 2021 list contains restaurants from 26 countries worldwide and introduces eight restaurants making their debut, along with two returning as re-entries

 Lido 84 in Gardone Riviera, Italy, is announced as the Highest New Entry, sponsored by Aspire Lifestyles, debuting on the list at No.15

 The Chairman in Hong Kong, China receives the Highest Climber Award, sponsored by Alaska Seafood, rising 31 places to No.10

 Steirereck in Vienna, Austria, wins the Gin Mare Art of Hospitality Award

 Victor Arguinzoniz of Asador Etxebarri in Atxondo, Spain, is voted by his peers as the winner of the Estrella Damm Chefs' Choice Award

 Will Goldfarb of Room4Dessert in Bali, Indonesia, takes home The World's Best Pastry Chef Award, sponsored by Cacao Barry

 Borago in Santiago, Chile, takes home the Flor de Cana Sustainable Restaurant Award

ANTWERP, Belgium, Oct. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The stars of the restaurant world converged this evening (5th October 2021) for The World's 50 Best Restaurants Awards 2021, sponsored by S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna, hosted in Antwerp, Flanders. This year's event saw restaurants from 26 countries across five continents place on the list, culminating in the announcement of a new No.1, as Rene Redzepi and his team took to the stage to collect the double honours for Noma in Copenhagen, Denmark, as The World's Best Restaurant 2021 and The Best Restaurant in Europe 2021.
GURUGRAM, India, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --Changing working style and increasing use of technology will drive the employee training demand. Companies will shift from the traditional classroom training to the digital training set-up which will enable businesses to operate efficiently while ensuring employee safety.

As more than 70% of businesses in United States are working from home in response to the novel coronavirus, classroom trainings schedule in the month of June have been either postponed or are cancelled. Does this mean employers are going to pause the re-skilling process?

Currently, there are unprecedented economic challenges which have dampened the overall business environment. Companies are experiencing falling consumer demand and are losing excessive amount of money. Various companies are also expected to resort to downsizing to compensate for the loss. As a part of business cost cutting, companies are also expected to slacken their training expenditure.

However, companies cannot completely stop the process of employee skilling and up-skilling. Increasing digitalisation of business operation and growing need to adapt to the remote workstyle will lead to requirement of both unit-level up-skilling as well as organisation wide transformational training. As a part of the company's COVID response strategy there will be increase in demand of technical as well as non-technical training such as teaching remote-working skills, remote-management skills, leadership skills in time of crisis and others.

Online training will come to the rescue of business to help them revive from the situation and also to maintain social-distancing protocols that will ensure safety. However online training process is highly dependent on technology which will compel companies to resort to outsourcing the training to ensure efficient training delivery. Enterprises can also leverage on the train the trainer services to prepare managers. Companies will be also looking to explore different digital learning methodologies such as virtual learning, social learning, mobile learning and micro learning platforms.

According to the report by Ken Research titled "US Corporate Training Market Outlook to 2025- Driven by Growing Skill Gap due to Increasing Use of Technology and Introduction of Online Training Methodologies" the online training demand will value more than USD 40 billion by 2025. Companies will be looking for development of customised training strategies in sync to its COVID response strategy to enable employees to adapt and evolve from the crises.

Key Segments Covered:-

By End User Industry

BFSI



IT and Telecom



Healthcare



Automotive



Manufacturing

By Training Services

Technical



Leadership



Managerial



Sales



Customer Support

By Delivery Mode

Classroom Training



Blended Training



Virtual Training



Online Training (No Instructor)

By Organizational Size

Large Companies (+1000 Employees)



Medium Companies (500-1000 Employees)



Small Companies (0-500 Employees)

By Designation

Managerial



Non-Managerial



Integrated

By Deployment

On-Site



Off-Site

By Training Type

Customized



Open

Companies Covered:-

GP Strategies

Franklin Covey

NIIT

Learning Tree International

Global Knowledge

Pluralsight

Centre for Creative Leadership

Skillsoft

Udemy

Udacity

Coursera

Simplilearn

Key Target Audience:-

Corporate Training Companies

Education Platforms

Corporate Training Aggregators

Corporate Organizations

Management Consultants

Corporate Trainers

MHRD

Education Associations

Time Period Captured in the Report:-

Historical Period : 20142019

: 20142019 Forecast Period: 2020-2025

Key Topics Covered in the Report:-

Current Pain Points of Companies Leading to Development of Corporate Training Industry

Target Addressable Audience

Supply Ecosystem and Competition Parameters

Demand Scenario

Technological Stack

Revenue Streams

Marketing Strategies

Challenges Faced by Corporate Training Companies

Porter Five Force Analysis

Emerging Business Strategies

Best Practises in Business

USA Corporate Training Market

Corporate Training Market US Employee Training Industry

US Online Corporate Training Market

US Ed-Tech Market

USA Corporate E-Learning Market

Corporate E-Learning Market USA Employee Blended Training

Employee Blended Training USA Mobile Corporate Learning

Mobile Corporate Learning USA Customized Corporate Training

Customized Corporate Training USA Managed Employee Training Services

Managed Employee Training Services USA Employee Training in Healthcare

Employee Training in Healthcare USA Employee Training in BFSI

Employee Training in BFSI USA Employee Training in Automotive

Employee Training in Automotive USA Training IT Industry

Training IT Industry USA Training in Telecom Industry

Training in Telecom Industry USA Employee Education Market

Employee Education Market USA Experimental Employee Training

Experimental Employee Training USA Virtual Employee Training

Virtual Employee Training Franklin Covey Enterprise Training

Udemy Enterprise Clients

US Corporate Training Online Aggregators

USA Digital Corporate Training

Digital Corporate Training Udacity American Clients

Corporate Training in America

Corporate Training Mobile Application

Pluralsight Business Strategy

Coursera Corporate Training

US Employee Skill-Gap

Effect of COVID-19 Corporate Training

Coronavirus Effect Corporate Training

For More Information on the research report, click on the below link:-

US Corporate Training Market

Related Reports:-

Landscape of Vietnam Medical Education Market- Outcome Based Curriculum Began with Clear Explicit Articulations that Medical Graduates should Demonstrate Acceptable Professional Standards

Vietnam Medical Education Sector has been facing many macro and micro challenges. Each challenge has a direct or indirect effect on the Quality of Education and Quantity of Medical Professional prevailing in the Industry. Some of the major challenges faced by the Industry are lack of standard entrance exam, Statutory and Regulatory Body like Medical Council, Lack of standardized entry channels for Residency programmes, Diverse syllabi and heavy reliance on theoretical foundations. Major Enabler in the Vietnam Medical Education Market is mostly the capacity to accommodate medical students and imbalance in the medical ecosystem with increase in support staff like optometrist and technicians.

Landscape of Indonesia Medical Education Market- Consistent Changes In The Course Curriculum Helping Indonesian Medical Education System to Improve Skills of Medical Graduates

Indonesia Medical Education Sector has been facing many macro and micro-challenges. Each challenge has a direct or indirect effect on the Quality of Education and Quantity of Medical professionals prevailing in the Industry. Some of the common challenges faced by the Industry are high fees of medical programs, absence of standardized admission process, and difficulty to crack exams. The Industry also faces a major challenge in the form of learning outcomes, there is a disparity between the skills of graduates and the needs of employers. Hence Medical Education needs a curriculum that improves the skills of the graduates. Major Enabler in the Indonesia Medical Education Market is mostly the great environment to accommodate students especially International Aspirants provided by the country owing to factors such as a large number of medical schools, good infrastructure, high employment opportunities, and excellent scholarship schemes.

Landscape of Philippines Medical Education Market- Outcome Based Curriculum with Clear Explicit Articulations that Medical Graduates should Demonstrate

Philippines Medical Education Sector has been facing many macro and micro-challenges. Each challenge has a direct or indirect effect on the Quality of Education and Quantity of Medical Professional prevailing in the Industry. Some of the major challenges faced by the Industry are Malpractices by Education Agents, Regional Education Disparities and more. Major Enabler in the Philippines Medical Education Market is mostly the great environment to accommodate students especially International Aspirants provided by the country.

Landscape of Thailand Medical Education Market-Increasing Number of Top Rated Universities coupled with Undertaking Cutting Edge Research Driving the Industry

Medical Education in Thailand has seen a long journey with various turns with intense progress. The journey has given the system its fair share of challenges to deal with issues including keeping pace with rapidly changing knowledge and installing same coping abilities in the students, maintaining quality of training of students with their increasing demand, mental health issues arising for medical students under heavy pressure, funds and scholarships to arrange the education, to retain good quality staff and lack of private investment in medical education.

Various factors that drive the growth of Medical Education Sytem in Thailand are expensive public infrastructure and universal coverage, postgraduate program is in alignment with international standards, the brain drain is at lower level in comparison to its neighbouring countries because majority of education is in Thai, changes in the need of society, changes in the nature of students, evolution in learning and teaching processes, rapid changes in technologies supporting medical practices and education, enormous explosion in medical knowledge and changes in the health system. https://www.kenresearch.com/education-and-recruitment/education/india-ed-tech-driven-career-programs-market/303232-99.html

Australia Executive Education Market Outlook to 2024 Driven by Rising Popularity of Online Education and Launch of Innovative Programs

The Australia executive education market was observed to have a decent growth in the review period 2014-2019. Factors such as increase in the number of graduates, rise in the working professionals, growing popularity of online education, launch of new innovative executive education courses stimulated the growth in the executive education market in Australia. The report also covers the overall competitive landscape, trends and growth drivers, issues and challenge, market share in terms of enrollments and number of programs, strengths and weaknesses of major universities and government regulations. The report concludes with future projections and analyst recommendations highlighting the major opportunities and cautions.

Contact Us: -

Ken Research

Ankur Gupta, Head Marketing & Communications

[email protected]

+91-9015378249

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/661352/Ken_Research_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Ken Research
Perfect for commercial, features, music videos, and episodic productions, and more, companies looking to film at Samson Studios will enjoy Adorama Rental Co.'s exclusive "On-Set Tech Package" to support their content production needs. In addition to equipment delivery directly to Samson Stages, Adorama Rental Co. will provide a dedicated technical specialist on-site for up to 2 hours to troubleshoot, help with check-in and make adjustments as needed for the shoot. With this service, Adorama Rental Co. serves as an extension of any production's arm, providing an innovative solution for their rental customers.

"Samson Stages is revolutionizing the Brooklyn production stage scene. Adorama Rental Company is proud to partner with them so that companies of all sizes can easily fulfill their production needs with high-quality gear and our technical expertise," says Glenn Kornfeld, President of Adorama Rental Company. "The partnership ensures clients using Samson's iconic studios experience a seamless, full-service support from Adorama Rental Company."

Key features of the ARC On-Set Tech Package include:

Guaranteed special rental rate with Adorama Rental Co. & Samson Stages

Delivery of high-end cinema gear to set at Samson Stages

Free dedicated on-site technical specialist from Adorama Rental Co. for a 2-hr check-in window

Expedited rental delivery & adjustments during check-in at no cost

Available at two locations in Brooklyn

Premier 17K sq ft Facility with top-tier amenities at Samson Stages for talent and crew

To kick off the partnership, Samson Stages and Adorama Rental Co. will host an October Gathering exclusive for the Video Consortium (VC) community at Samson Stages on October 7th. The event will celebrate the global nonprofit network that supports, develops, and connects today's top emerging voices in video journalism and documentary film. To purchase tickets, VC members can visit the Eventbrite page.



To learn more about the Adorama Rental Company partnership with Samson Stages, visit https://www.adoramarentals.com/i/onsetsamson.

About Samson Stages

Founded in 2020 by a couple of guys who just wanted to revolutionize the Brooklyn production stage scene, Samson Stages has become the place to go for high-end film production in the tristate area. With the flagship sound stage featuring 17,000 square feet of column free space and 20 feet of headroom and packed with the latest installations and gear, the stages can host just about any production from TV to music videos, commercial productions, fashion shoots and just about anything the creatives will imagine. Call us to discuss your next project or to visit the stages.

About Adorama Rental Company

Adorama Rental Company (ARC) is a leading equipment rental house for high-end digital cinematography, providing the creative community with the tools and services to achieve excellence. With two premier locations in New York City spanning over 25,000 square feet, Adorama Rental Co. offers a full-service rental experience with technical support across a deep catalogue of imaging technology that includes the latest cinema cameras and lenses, grip & electric, audio, laptops and computers.

About Adorama Inc.

Adorama has been serving customers for more than 40 years and has grown from its flagship NYC store to include five successful online retailers: Adorama, Sunny Sports, Leisure Pro, Scuba.com, and PRINTIQUE. Shopping is available online or at the company's storefront in New York City, featuring both Adorama and Leisure Pro showrooms. The company also rents equipment through Adorama Rental Co. in Manhattan and Brooklyn and serves institutions via Adorama Business Solutions. Adorama customers can connect to a network of experts through its interactive blog 42West, through AdoramaTV, social media, and with live online and in-store events.

SOURCE Adorama Rental Company

Related Links

https://www.adoramarentals.com/


HOUSTON, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Aramco Americas' pledge of $5 million will include support to the following nonprofit organizations: the Greater New Orleans Foundation, Feeding America, World Central Kitchen, and All Hands and Hearts, as they continue to provide assistance to regions along the Gulf Coast and parts of the Northeast impacted by Hurricane Ida. Along with those donations, Aramco Americas is tapping into its global supply chain for much needed emergency supplies such as personal care items and other essentials.

$1 Million to Greater New Orleans Foundation

The Greater New Orleans Foundation administers over 900 charitable funds to overcome the region's challenges. Its Disaster Response and Restoration Fund supports nonprofits in Southeast Louisiana responding to immediate hurricane response activities in the wake of Hurricane Ida as well as long term recovery.

"Deep relationships with the nonprofits in our region ensure that we recover quickly," said Jilla Tombar, Corporate & Foundations Partnerships Officer, Greater New Orleans Foundation. "We are grateful for partners, like Aramco Americas, who are joining us in this critical work. We will ensure these funds help our most vulnerable residents with the highest needs."

$1 Million to Feeding America

Feeding America is the largest domestic hunger-relief organization in the United States. Through a network of 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries and meal programs, it helps provide meals to more than 40 million people each year. Aramco Americas' donation to Feeding America extends its longtime tradition of supporting local member food banks in the communities where the company operates.

"In 2020, at least 60 million people turned to the charitable food sector for help. Our neighbors continue to seek food assistance due to the ongoing effects of the pandemic and the recent natural disasters," said Casey Marsh, Chief Development Officer, Feeding America. "We're grateful to Aramco Americas for responding to the increased need by supporting Feeding America and member food banks in the Gulf Coast and the Northeast regions, who are on the ground helping our neighbors facing hunger."

$500,000 to World Central Kitchen

Founded in 2010 by Chef Jose Andres, World Central Kitchen (WCK) uses the power of food to nourish communities and strengthen economies in times of crisis and beyond. WCK has created a new model for disaster response through its work helping devastated communities recover and establish resilient food systems. Through its relief efforts, the organization has served over 50 million meals to people impacted by natural disasters and other crises around the world in countries including The Bahamas, Indonesia, Lebanon, Mozambique, Venezuela, and the United States.

"We're so grateful for Aramco Americas' support and belief in our missiontheir donation will contribute to WCK's relief response efforts providing nourishing meals to communities impacted by natural disasters, including those in New Orleans who were affected by the flooding and power outages brought upon by Hurricane Ida," said Erin Gore, VP of Development, WCK. "We know that a fresh meal in a time of crisis is so much more than a plate of foodit's hope, it's dignity, it's a sign that someone cares."

$500,000 to All Hands and Hearts

This volunteer-powered relief organization mobilizes volunteers to work alongside local area residents facing impacts from disasters. The organization believes in arriving early and staying late to address immediate and long-term needs of impacted communities. Volunteers can be seen helping to rebuild safe and resilient schools, homes, and other community infrastructure.

"We have passionate volunteers, donors, and partners. Our thanks to Aramco Americas not only for recognizing the work we do but supporting us with this financial donation," said Perry Maddox, Chief Executive Officer, All Hands and Hearts. For more than 15 years, All Hands and Hearts has provided disaster relief support to more than 1.2 million people with active programs around the world.

$2 Million for In-Kind Donations

The Aramco Americas Procurement and Supply Chain Management team is also involved in procuring and transporting critical supplies to get them where they are most needed. Working with our nonprofit partners, we look to support Hurricane Ida recovery relief efforts with items that may be difficult to get.

"These donations will address everyday needs in the wake of the storm and will complement ongoing programs Aramco Americas supports as part of its commitment to local communities," said Nabeel I. AlAfaleg, Aramco Americas President & CEO. "We have called Houston home for nearly half a century and we always seek to offer support in times like these."

About Aramco Americas

Aramco Services Company (d/b/a Aramco Americas) is the U.S.-based subsidiary of Saudi Aramco, a world leader in integrated energy and chemicals, and has had a presence in the U.S. for more than 60 years. Aramco Americas is a contributor to the U.S. energy sector through research and development, venture fund activities, asset ownership, as well as technology and digital transformation. The company is headquartered in Houston, and maintains offices in New York, Washington, D.C., Boston, and Detroit. Aramco Americas is committed to being a positive contributor in the communities where its employees live and work, and to making a difference through outreach that benefits the arts, geosciences, education, and the environment. americas.aramco.com

SOURCE Aramco Americas
NEW YORK, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ARK Investment Management LLC ("ARK" or "ARK Invest"), an investment adviser focused solely on investing in disruptive innovation, announced today the relocation of its corporate headquarters to St. Petersburg, Florida, effective November 1, 2021. In addition to the relocation, the company is pleased to announce groundbreaking for the ARK Innovation Center will take place during the first quarter of 2022. This state-of-the-art facility will retain and attract top talent by supporting entrepreneurs and tech startups in St. Petersburg and the Tampa Bay region. ARK believes that its relocation and the Center will advance its business as it scales and continues to redefine the asset management industry, and will increase collaboration between and among the communities focused on innovation at the local and national levels.

"We are thrilled to relocate our corporate headquarters to St. Petersburg, Florida, as we believe the Tampa Bay region's talent, innovative spirit, and quality of life will accelerate our growth initiatives," stated Cathie Wood, ARK's Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Chief Investment Officer. "ARK is not a traditional Wall Street asset management firm, and we are looking forward to breaking the mold further by relocating to St. Petersburg, a city investing in technology, science, and innovation. Our relocation and the ARK Innovation Center will allow us to be more innovative and to impact the broader community while shining a spotlight on the technological advances and creativity permeating the Tampa Bay region."

ARK's new corporate headquarters will be in the heart of downtown St. Petersburg at 200 Central. The space will enable ARK to scale while its team enjoys a better work-life balance. While a substantial number of employees have chosen to relocate and work in the office, ARK's hybrid back-to-work model will harness technology to accommodate working remotely. With this model, ARK hopes to maximize its productivity and attract top talent from around the world.

"Tampa has been recognized as the top emerging technology city in the US and the broader area including St. Petersburg is among the top metro areas for STEM professionals. It offers a vast network of companies, universities, incubators, entrepreneurs, and many others dedicated to advancement," stated Jana Haines, ARK's Chief Strategy Officer. "We are inspired by the area's vibrant and diverse talent base and the early success of public and private partnerships focused on innovation. As St. Petersburg is primed for exponential growth, ARK hopes to be a catalyst and connector, amplifying the efforts already underway."

"We are thrilled ARK has decided to call Florida home," stated Florida Secretary of Commerce Jamal Sowell, President and CEO of Enterprise Florida. "Their investment in the St. Petersburg area will have profound economic impacts in the years to come and will continue to set Florida apart as one of the top innovation destinations in the country."

In tandem with the relocation, ARK is collaborating with the Tampa Bay Innovation Center on a new incubator that Pinellas County will build and own. The incubator, designated as ARK Innovation Center, is scheduled to open in July 2023 and will be located on 2.5 acres donated by the City of St. Petersburg at 4th Street and 11th Avenue South in the Innovation District. By 2026, the 45,000-square-foot building is expected to impact the county by $28 million thanks to the 1,265 direct and indirect jobs expected. Moreover, its clients and graduates are expected to generate $127 million in annual revenue.

"We've worked closely with our state and regional partners to help ARK choose the City of St. Petersburg for their investment," stated Dr. Cynthia Johnson, Director of Pinellas County Economic Development. "We're honored to continue our work and excited to collaborate with Cathie and her team to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in Pinellas. We want to thank ARK for its commitment to equitable development and job creation."

"ARK represents the community of innovators and disruptors thriving in St. Pete, particularly in the financial sector," stated J.P. DuBuque, President & CEO of the St. Petersburg Area Economic Development Corporation. "We are incredibly proud that ARK has chosen not only to join us but to invest in the St. Pete community."

"ARK Innovation Center is key to the efforts by Pinellas County and the region to grow and solidify the local entrepreneurial ecosystem," stated Chris Paradies, Chairman of the Board of the Tampa Bay Innovation Center. "We are thrilled that ARK is taking such an active role as we continue to establish the region as the center for technology and innovation, while driving investment dollars and creating hundreds of jobs."

ARK will close its New York office permanently on October 31, 2021. New contact address: 200 Central Ave., St. Petersburg, Florida 33701.

About ARK Investment Management LLC

ARK Investment Management LLC is a federally registered investment adviser and privately held investment firm. Specializing in thematic investing in disruptive innovation, the firm is rooted in over 40 years of experience in identifying and investing in innovations that should change the way the world works. Through its open research process, ARK identifies companies that it believes are leading and benefiting from cross-sector innovations such as robotics, energy storage, DNA sequencing, artificial intelligence, and blockchain technology. ARK's investment strategies include Autonomous Technology and Robotics, Next Generation Internet, Genomic Revolution, Fintech Innovation, Space Exploration & Innovation, 3D Printing, Israel Innovative Technology, and the overall ARK Disruptive Innovation Strategy. For more information about ARK, its offerings, and original research, please visit www.ark-invest.com.

Shaina Tavares

[email protected]

SOURCE ARK Investment Management LLC
DALLAS, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --

What's the news? On-demand interconnectivity, simplified. AT&T Business* is introducing AT&T Dynamic Exchange (ADX), designed to give businesses streamlined, highly secure integration between the ecosystems of business partners, suppliers and customers.

ADX enables organizations using AT&T Switched Ethernet on Demand or AT&T Virtual Private Network to easily interconnect with others through their existing network. ADX can help businesses start sharing data with key collaborators within minutes.

Why is this important? Business is a team sport. Many businesses depend on other organizationstechnology partners, material suppliers, consultants, etc.to maintain and enhance operations. A recent IDC survey indicates that as many as 80% of digital leaders will "see the impact of connecting to multiple ecosystems, including improving their value to end customers."1

These working relationships require the most efficient methods for sharing information in order to reach their full potential. For businesses managing dozens, if not hundreds, of these relationships with other companies, also managing the digital flow of information between them and your business can be complicated and cumbersome, creating unnecessary barriers for critical workflows.

By creating an easier way to interconnect to multiple digital ecosystems, ADX enables businesses to provide better customer experiences, increase efficiency in business operations and enhance business continuity.

Using an intuitive, self-service portal, businesses can turn on and off, and scale, high-performing and highly secure interconnectivity. They can establish these connections with other organizations in minutes without a contract or long-term commitment.

Other ADX features include:

Flexibility to quickly set up or change bandwidth needs between organizations

Ability to connect securely with MPLS or Ethernet private networks along with using a secure authentication process

Streamlined pay-as-you go via an on-demand, 24/7 web portal

ADX is planning several enhancements next year. In 2022, AT&T Business plans to launch dynamic connectivity to public clouds, as well as an online marketplace for cloud and business ecosystem accessibility.

What are people saying?

"True business agility helps you adjust to internal changes and adapt to shifts and trends in the market. By enabling ADX virtual connections across ecosystems, enterprises can quickly collaborate and innovate to deliver business outcomes. Having this type of agility helps to prepare your business for change and sets you up to thrive in today's dynamic markets." - Sue Galvanek, Vice President, Enterprise Networking and Edge, AT&T Business

"The Future of Connectedness requires agile connectivity options to help companies successfully navigate the digital ecosystem. A secure and flexible connectivity platform that offers on demand capabilities to scale rapidly is a critical feature for Enterprises to share critical information with partners, customers and suppliers." - Courtney Munroe, Research VP, WW Telecommunications, IDC.

Where can I find more information? Please visit here for more details on AT&T Dynamic Exchange.

*About AT&T Communications

We help family, friends and neighbors connect in meaningful ways every day. From the first phone call 140+ years ago to mobile video streaming, we @ATT innovate to improve lives. AT&T Communications is part of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T). For more information, please visit us at att.com.

1 IDC FutureScape Webcast: Worldwide Digital Transformation 2020 Predictions, May 2020

SOURCE AT&T Communications
According to new figures from the CBB, there were more than 11.3 million digital transactions in Bahrain last month, valued at BD279.6 million ($743.7 million). The value of e-commerce and point-of-sale (PoS) payments rose by 50% in August 2021 compared to the same month last year. There were more than 53 million digital payments in the first half of 2021, the data shows.

The figures reflect the trend in the rest of the GCC, which is currently experiencing a region-wide surge in online and digital payments as countries accelerate their transition towards cashless societies in the wake of the pandemic.

Lockdowns last year caused a dramatic shift towards digital payment systems. Bahrain's national electronic wallet, BenefitPay, announced a 785% increase in the number of remittances through its Fawri+ service (an online payment service introduced under the Electronic Funds Transfer System) in 2020  exceeding $5 million. And research from the European Payments Council indicates that the MENA region will process around 139 billion individual non-cash transactions in 2022, which is 90 billion more than five years ago.

Bahrain is among the leaders of the Middle East's march towards a paperless financial system, thanks to its innovative regulation of FinTech. Bahrain boasts some of the world's most advanced digital infrastructure and has produced several leading start-ups that are disrupting the region's digital payments infrastructure.

Dalal Buhejji, Executive Director of Business Development Investment Origination at the Bahrain Economic Development Board, said: "Even before the pandemic, the GCC was embracing digital and mobile banking and payments. Bahrain has anticipated the trends that were catalysed by the pandemic. The Kingdom has a proven track record of reacting quickly to embrace emerging financial technologies and flexibly regulate them. An example of our forward-thinking regulatory framework is the way the Kingdom mandated the adoption of open banking. Our regulatory approach, along with our advanced digital infrastructure, is why we are at the forefront of developing the technologies, solutions and ecosystems that will form the future of the region's digital economy."

Reforms to open banking are expected to have broad ramifications for the payments business, according to a recent survey from McKinsey, published in 23 August. When respondents to the survey were asked what government- or regulator-driven action would be most effective in steering customers to digital payments, 27% nominated regulatory approval for open banking. In 2018, Bahrain made a leap forward in the financial services sector, issuing open banking rules, followed by a framework with guidelines on data sharing and governance in 2020.

*BD 1 = USD 2.65

About Bahrain Economic Development Board

The Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) is an investment promotion agency with overall responsibility for attracting investment into the Kingdom and supporting initiatives that enhance the investment climate.

The EDB works with the government and both current and prospective investors, in order to ensure that Bahrain's investment climate is attractive, to communicate the key strengths, and to identify where opportunities exist for further economic growth through investment.

The EDB focuses on several economic sectors that capitalise on Bahrain's competitive advantages and provide significant investment opportunities. These sectors include financial services, manufacturing, ICT, tourism, logistics and transport.

For more information on the Bahrain EDB visit www.bahrainedb.com; for information about Bahrain visit www.bahrain.com.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1609579/Bahrain_Economic_Development_Board.jpg

SOURCE Bahrain Economic Development Board
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, speaking about Bellevue and the other winners, said: "Congratulations to today's seven honorees for the remarkable work they've done to protect the traveling public. They are proof that we have no shortage of willpower or good ideas for improving roadway safety."

The National Roadway Safety Awards are sponsored jointly by the Federal Highway Administration and the Roadway Safety Foundation. First presented in 1999, the biennial program recognizes safety achievements that move the nation toward zero deaths and serious injuries on U.S. roadways.

Bellevue's video analytics program takes a proactive approach to identify safety improvements by leveraging its extensive traffic camera network to study near-crash conflicts and identify potential countermeasures. This greatly reduces the amount of time required to identify safety hot spots and to evaluate possible remedies  often from a matter of years to a matter of days.

"Thank you to the Federal Highway Administration and Roadway Safety Foundation for this award. Video analytics is an important aspect of our Vision Zero effort to eliminate fatal and serious-injury collisions on Bellevue streets by 2030," said Bellevue Mayor Lynne Robinson. "Looking ahead, we believe the technology development partnerships we've forged and the resulting innovations mean the greatest rewards are yet to come  preventing destructive crashes and the heartache they cause people."

The program initially launched five years ago as a partnership with Microsoft and the University of Washington. The lessons learned from that pilot led to subsequent video analytics partnerships with Transoft Solutions Inc. and the Together for Safer Roads coalition, before evolving into the current collaboration with Advanced Mobility Analytics Group, Jacobs Engineering and a renewed collaboration with Microsoft.

The smart technologies convert raw video from existing traffic cameras into flow, speed and conflict event data to swiftly identify problems and countermeasures that produce measurable results. As an example of how the video analytics program boosts safety, Bellevue utilized it in implementing traffic signal operation changes at 124th Avenue Northeast and Northeast Eighth Street, a high-volume intersection, and subsequently observed a 60 percent reduction in critical conflicts.

Initial data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Federal Highway Administration show 38,680 people died nationwide in traffic crashes in 2020, despite a 13.2 percent decline in miles traveled due to the pandemic. Fatalities increased 7.2 percent from 2019 to the highest number since 2007.

"Bellevue's video analytics program saves lives by enabling swift identification of problem areas and rapid deployment of solutions," said Roadway Safety Foundation Executive Director Greg Cohen. "Future travelers in Bellevue, whose lives and limbs will be spared by this innovation, will owe an unknowing debt of gratitude to the City's transportation engineers and planners. We urge DOTs across the nation to look at Bellevue and other awardees' innovations and replicate them wherever possible."

The National Roadway Safety Award projects were evaluated on three criteria: Effectiveness, Innovation, and Efficient Use of Resources. Selected from a nationwide pool of applicants, the awards honor outstanding projects involving infrastructure, operational or program-related innovations. The other awardees are:

Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization for its Complete Streets Master Plan;

North Carolina Dept. of Transportation for its long-life pavement markings safety effort;

Village of Whitefish Bay, WI for its community-wide roadway safety improvements;

for its community-wide roadway safety improvements; California Dept. of Transportation for its 2020-2024 Strategic Highway Safety Plan update;

Texas Dept. of Transportation's tool to assess the safety of rural highway design elements; and

Florida Dept. of Transportation for its use of smart work zone safety technologies.

Winners were selected by an expert panel of judges from a variety of disciplines. For complete details on each of the winners, and for more information on the national awards program, visit http://www.safety.fhwa.dot.gov/roadwaysafetyawards/ .

The Roadway Safety Foundation is a 501(c) (3) charitable and educational organization. Our mission is to reduce the frequency and severity of motor vehicle crashes, injuries, and fatalities through improvements to roadway systems and their environment.

SOURCE Roadway Safety Foundation

Related Links

http://www.roadwaysafety.org


DALLAS, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Brightline Dealer Advisors launches as the largest independent insurance agency to offer products exclusively for automotive dealers in finance and insurance (F&I), property and casualty (P&C) and employee benefits. Two existing companies, Risk Theory Dealer Advisors and TrueRisk Advisors, have combined forces to create one, truly dealer-centric partner in the marketplace.

Brightline Dealer Advisors combines the scale, support, and expertise of big-box providers with the flexibility, optionality and personnel stability of a local agency. As a result, they have created a competitive advantage in the market and are uniquely positioned to make their dealers Raving Fans.

"We need a trusted and reliable partner for all of our F&I and P&C needs as we expand our footprint across the country, and we have found it with Brightline Dealer Advisors," said Rich Aldahan, COO, LMP Automotive Group.

The company will initially serve over 1,000 dealers nationwide and offers a fresh and reimagined approach to products, training, and services tailored to help dealers build culture, develop personnel and maximize performance and profitability. In an otherwise cluttered market, Brightline Dealer Advisors recognizes that dealers need and deserve custom programs that give access to key markets and operate on the dealers' agenda.

"At Brightline Dealer Advisors, dealer centricity is not just a buzzword, it is in our DNA. It is the foundation of our strategy and the source of the relentless passion behind our mission to make our dealers raving fans. We have capitalized on our unique position in the market and have developed an innovative approach that has provided us a competitive advantage and fueled exponential growth," said Eric Dragoo, president and CEO, Brightline Dealer Advisors.

In addition to providing F&I, P&C, and employee benefit products that dealers need, Brightline Dealer Advisors also offers extensive hands-on training and support for dealers and employees. The company's approach to learning helps dealerships rise to their fullest potential, with ongoing resources and support geared toward a growth mindset. Brightline Dealer Advisors has tailored their products, financial structures and service model to meet dealer needs better than any alternative in the marketplace.

"In addition to all that they offer, they have always done what they say they are going to do. That is unheard of in our industry. We've been with a number of providers over the years and they're the best by far that I've seen. We consider them an invaluable partner to our business and look forward to working with them as Brightline Dealer Advisors," said Adam Kaminsky, Dealer Principal, Southern Motors, Savannah, Georgia.

As a result of the merger, Brightline Dealer Advisors has a vast network of employees across the country who are focused on dealers' needs. Their low turnover rate speaks to their business model which focuses on attracting top talent and setting them up for long term financial and personal success.

ABOUT BRIGHTLINE DEALER ADVISORS

Formed in 2021 resulting from the merger of Risk Theory Dealer Advisors and TrueRisk Advisors, Brightline Dealer Advisors is the largest independent insurance agency serving the automotive market. Brightline's unique dealer-centric business model provides convenient and cost-effective insurance products in finance and insurance (F&I), property and casualty (P&C) and employee benefits. It is a best-in-class service provider that offers all three under one roof. Based in Dallas, Texas, Brightline Dealer Advisors serves thousands of dealerships nationwide. Brightline Dealer Advisors' dynamic culture and franchise-like business model results in extended company tenure and recognizable consistency in customer service. More information can be found at www.brightlinedealeradvisors.com .

MEDIA CONTACT:

Paramount Public Relations

Jessica Prah

312-953-3257

[email protected]

SOURCE Brightline Dealer Advisors
The NIGP Annual Forum and Products Exposition is the largest North American educational conference exclusively for individuals in public procurement. Nearly 2,000 people attended this important event virtually to share best practices, explore new technologies, and participate in workshops.

Canon Solutions America hosted a virtual networking forum, titled "A Layered Approach to Securing Your Organization's Environment." This aimed to educate attendees on Canon Solutions America's Five Pillars of Security Approach, which includes Device Security, Print Security, Document Security, Information Security, and Cybersecurity. Canon Solutions America also staffed a booth at the in-person NIGP Leadership Summit in Anaheim, where attendees learned how to protect their organizations from security risks, data breaches, and malware attacks.

Building on the security theme, also seen in the Canon Solutions America booth were two solutions that aid in keeping workplaces healthy: the Whiz by SoftBank Robotics, a commercial robot vacuum built on a trusted AI platform to deliver a high quality, efficient clean; and the welloStationX hands-free kiosk, an automated, FDA-cleared, no-touch clinical thermometer providing temperature screening, instant clearance badges, and flexible reporting and alerts to help lower the spread of COVID-19 and other contagious illness in workplace settings.

"The expertise Canon Solutions America brings to the table is unmatched, as we were excited to once again have their support at this year's Forum," said Fred Kuhn, Chief Growth Officer, NIGP. "Hearing straight from the experts themselves provides an invaluable opportunity for members and allows them to gain a deeper understanding of how best practices are used throughout the industry."

David Wetzel, business development executive, Strategic Accounts, and Aimee Bivins, senior specialist, Marketing, both of Canon Solutions America, Inc., participated in the NIGP Business Council virtual presentation "Contemporary Business Practices, Finding Common Ground". The session, garnering over 120 attendees, examined how to achieve an organization's environmental, social, and governance goals. Also in attendance at the Forum were Frank J. Carroll, senior manager, State & Strategic Account Sales, Canon U.S.A., Inc. and Paul T. Murphy, vice president, Major Accounts & Vertical Markets, Canon Solutions America, Inc.

"We are proud to support the National Institute of Government Procurement Forum. As a member of the NIGP Business Council, we were excited to share our knowledge and expertise with members to enhance their day-to-day operations." said Peter P. Kowalczuk, president, Canon Solutions America. "We found it beneficial to hear directly from someone who speaks the procurement language, has hands-on experience, and who has a deep understanding of the best way to put into practice technologies and strategies for success."

About NIGP: The Institute for Public Procurement

Developing, supporting, and promoting the public procurement profession through premiere educational and research programs, professional support, technical services, and advocacy initiatives that benefit members and constituents since 1944. With more than 3,000 member agencies representing over 16,000 professionals across the United States, Canada, and countries outside of North America, the Institute is international in its reach. Visit nigp.org.

About Canon Solutions America, Inc.

Canon Solutions America, Inc. provides industry leading enterprise, production, and large format printing solutions, supported by exceptional professional service offerings. Canon Solutions America, Inc. helps companies of all sizes discover ways to improve sustainability, increase efficiency, and control costs in conjunction with high volume, continuous feed, digital and traditional printing, and document management solutions. A wholly owned subsidiary of Canon U.S.A., Inc., Canon Solutions America, Inc. is headquartered in Melville, NY and has sales and service locations across the U.S. For more information on Canon Solutions America, please visit csa.canon.com .

Editorial Contact: Canon Solutions America, Inc. Website: Nicole Esan csa.canon.com 631-330-2139 For sales info/customer support: [email protected] 1-844-443-INFO (4636)

Canon is a registered trademark of Canon Inc. in the United States and elsewhere. All other referenced product names and marks are trademarks of their respective owners and are hereby acknowledged. Neither Canon Inc. nor Canon U.S.A., Inc. nor Canon Solutions America, Inc. represents or warrants any third-party product or feature referenced hereunder.



 2021 Canon Solutions America, Inc. All rights reserved.

SOURCE Canon Solutions America, Inc.

Related Links

https://csa.canon.com


FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Human skin is a big deal. It manages a lot of important aspects of life . For instance, skin regulates the body's temperature, absorbs shocks, recognizes pain, helps regulate fluid balance, and much more. While skin is able to heal and regenerate, it's also a one-time deal. Everyone gets one skin, and if they don't care for it, it can lead to issues over time.

That's where Casa Sandra comes into the picture. The Chicago-based cosmetic brand is owned by entrepreneur Sandra Plasencia. Plasencia has operated her own spa ever since she arrived in the U.S. from Cuba back in 2004. Over that time, the owner has cared for a large base of loyal customers who look to her for their skincare needs.

Over the years, Plasencia has found that, when it comes to skincare, there's nothing quite as effective as being proactive. "You have only one skin," exclaims Plasencia, "Take care of it!"

This concept of caring for your God-given skin has inspired Plasencia's business efforts over the years. It has helped the founder create a skincare philosophy based on managing what one has rather than looking for sketchy solutions that promise to "turn back the clock." "Although it is impossible to stop time," Plasencia explains, "you have the choice to age gracefully and have beautiful skin if you properly care for it."

In pursuit of this end, Plasencia has also released her own line of cosmetic products. These have been personally developed by Plasencia herself through years of caring for her customers. "In our formulas," Plasencia says, "we include the finest quality, highest-performing ingredients in the highest concentrations that yield the desired results."

The owner elaborates that Sandra Plasencia products are created using high concentrations of standardized botanical extracts. The development process utilizes the latest technologies and ingredients are backed by clinical testing. All of this works together to enhance the efficacy of Plasencia's formulas.

Sandra Plasencia's (both the woman and her brand) message of aging gracefully is a refreshing break from the youth-obsessed mantras of the modern era. The entrepreneur wants her customers to look every bit as beautiful as they can by preserving and enhancing the quality of their own skin. It's a message that always has and likely will continue to resonate with Plasencia's growing national audience.

About Casa Sandra: Sandra Plasencia founded her Chicago salon Havana Nights Nails & Spa in April of 2004. In 2020, she rebranded her company to Casa Sandra. The rebranding also coincided with the launching of the owner's eponymous cosmetics label Sandra Plasencia. Both enterprises focus on helping women care for their skin, preserve their natural beauty, and always look their best. You can learn more about Sandra Plasencia's products on her website, sandraplasencia.com .

Please direct inquiries to:

Jackie Tanguay

(954) 754-5837

[email protected]

SOURCE Casa Sandra
BRADFORD, Pa., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Company, a leading manufacturer of premium knives, is bringing its 130-year brand legacy to modern everyday carry (EDC), an entirely new category for the brand. Now available at retail and online today, Case has introduced two modern options  the Marilla and Kinzua -- precision-built and crafted for today's doers and the new genre of outdoor enthusiasts. Case recently earned the prestigious BLADE Magazine "American-Made Knife of the Year" Award for the Marilla.

Kinzua, Marilla

"This category introduction is an important milestone for Case Knives," said Brent Tyler, AVP of Marketing at Case. "The Case brand has maintained deep roots in the outdoor enthusiast community for decades, but with our new Marilla and the Kinzua knives, we are now engaging with an outdoor consumer looking for more versatile, one-handed opening knives with modern materials and styling. These knives combine expertise perfected over generations with a modern design that meets the needs of today's trends in everyday carrying. Each is assembled by Case artisans in the same Bradford, Pennsylvania factory where our traditional pocket knives are made."

The Marilla and the Kinzua, named after local landmarks in the Bradford area, incorporate contemporary materials like high quality S35VN stainless steel blades and anodized handles that can stand up to the rigors of hard work. Each Case EDC knife is engineered with a lightweight aluminum handle and one-handed flipper opening for quick and reliable deployment. The Marilla has a Drop Point blade with a rounded belly for longer cuts, while the Kinzua features a Tanto blade that maintains its thickness to the point, making it a perfect tool for fine, precise cuts.

Both available in black, red and blue handle colors, the Marilla retails for $165 and the Kinzua for $140. The knives are available now at Case retailers and online at caseknives.com.

The Case brand is an icon of uncompromised American quality, built upon generations that have made knives under the brand for more than 130 years. From traditional pocket and sporting knives made for outdoor adventure to other specialty knives, Case carefully crafts its knives with proven materials, including premium steel blades and rich, natural handles. In addition, Case employs a unique blade tang stamping system that has turned it into one of the most collected American knife brands.

ABOUT W.R. CASE & SONS CUTLERY COMPANY

W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Company is an American manufacturer of premium knives that are built on a reputation of quality and perseverance. Based in Bradford, Pennsylvania, Case's offerings cover a wide range of product categories, from traditional folding pocket knives to fixed blade sporting knives and modern everyday carry knives. Since 1889, Case branded knives have been built with integrity for people of integrity, and that legacy continues today. Case is owned by Zippo Manufacturing Company, makers of the world famous Zippo windproof lighter. Call (800) 523-6350 or visit caseknives.com for more information; you can also follow Case (@WRCase) on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

SOURCE W .R. Case & Sons Cutlery Company

Related Links

http://www.caseknives.com


PORTLAND, Ore., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- CedCommerce proudly announces the launch of "Amazon by CedCommerce" for Shopify merchants. The update is in light of the recent closure of the official Shopify Sales channel app. This has created a gap in the market that CedCommerce aims to fill. While only paying the usual seller fees they pay to Amazon, sellers can enjoy the benefits of the Amazon by CedCommerce app, free of any subscription cost till December 31, 2021.

"Given that the official Shopify Sales Channel App for Amazon has been discontinued, we have come up with a platform to simplify the integration of Shopify and Amazon for merchants, helping them continue with their business hassle-free. Apart from a long list of amazing benefits, sellers have the opportunity to use Amazon by CedCommerce at zero cost till December 31, 2021, and establish their business operations stress-free."

- Abhishek Jaiswal, CEO, and CFO, CedCommerce.

The Amazon by CedCommerce is a one-stop solution for sellers looking for an easy, fast, no-fuss selling from a single space without an intermediate platform to deal with. Sellers can leverage unique high in-demand features that will help them stand above their competition

List new ones or Link Existing Amazon Inventory with Shopify

Simplified Order flow from Amazon to Shopify

Near Real-time Product Data Syncing

Intelligent Bulk Editing with predefined Templates

Steady Multi-Account Connectivity

Create and synchronize your listings between Shopify and Amazon to reach 300+ million active and unique visitors. The App is available to serve merchants globally including the USA, Canada, UK. The countries currently excluded are Brazil, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Turkey, Sweden, Turkey, Singapore, Japan, and Egypt.

The Amazon App has all the makings of a successful business aid all in one place. A lot of eligible merchants have now successfully aligned their Amazon and Shopify business using Amazon by CedCommerce App including Shoxtech Suspension:

"There is no way I can express my emotions. It is just perfect, regardless of this apps is new and just coming out."

- Max, Shoxtech Suspension

About CedCommerce:

CedCommerce, a leading eCommerce Solution Provider across the globe for over a decade now, has served over 30,000+ clients in 25+ countries and also has 50+ partners including the major global eCommerce Marketplaces and Platforms. CedCommerce offers exclusive after-sales service and 24x7 technical support that is unparalleled in the industry and is available at zero cost.

Visit CedCommerce or follow them on Twitter, Linked In, Youtube, and Facebook for more.

Media Contact:



Mr. Krishna,

+12027381623

[email protected]

SOURCE CedCommerce
PARAMUS, N.J., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The makers of Gayo Azul, the delicious Hispanic cheeses with a Dutch influence, are giving away a Gayo Azul Blue Rooster-Inspired Chicken Coop. The giveaway is a nod to their Blue Rooster logo, which is the translation of Gayo Azul.

Enter the Gayo Azul Blue Rooster Chicken Coop Giveaway! Celebrate Gayo Azul Cheese and Win a Chicken Coop

Whether you already have chickens or have always wanted to invest in some feathered friends, now's the time to join in on the fun and enter Gayo Azul's coop giveaway, hosted on their website: www.gayoazul.com/promotions/. Three grand prize winners will win a beautiful chicken coop from The Chicken Coop Company www.chickencoopcompany.com, some exciting egg-cessories, a gift card to get some hens, and delicious Gayo Azul cheeses valued at $700. Giveaway entries will be accepted from Now until October 24th, 2021, until 11:59 pm EST, so don't miss out and enter The Gayo Azul Blue Rooster Chicken Coop Contest today! All you have to do is click on this link (insert link) to fill in the entry form. At the close of the program, three grand prize winners will be randomly selected. Consumers can increase their chances of winning by following us on Instagram and Facebook and by sharing the contest post on your social media channels so that your friends and family can join in on the fun!

Gayo Azul's traditional premium cheeses draw on both the rich heritage of Dutch and Hispanic cheesemaking. With such an emphasis on authentic flavor and premium quality, it's no wonder Gayo Azul has been a traditional staple in homes for over half a century. The Gayo Azul versatile assortment is sure to please any cheese lover, offering a range of traditional Dutch cheeses like Gouda, Edam, and European Swiss as well as fresh Queso Blanco, Queso Para Freir, and Cotija that are offered in convenient sizes.

"The bold Gayo Azul Blue Rooster Logo is a well-known and distinctive symbol in the community and as well as a symbol of outstanding cheeses." says Debbie Seife, Marketing Director of FrieslandCampina Consumer Dairy, brand owner of Gayo Azul.

Gayo Azul will transport your taste buds to exotic places with their delicious, unique, and well-rounded cheeses. Some of the Gayo Azul varieties include:

Gayo Azul Dutch Gouda  this versatile mild and creamy cheese is excellent in wedge format on a cheeseboard, shredded in a casserole, as a topping or used in sauces and soups. Also available in slices, it is delicious on cold sandwich or melts beautifully in a hot one.

Gayo Azul Dutch Edam  this cheese is a bit firmer than Gouda yet has a rich flavor and smooth creamy texture. Easy to cut on cheese boards, shred in baking dishes, and cube in salads and vegetable dishes. Known for red wax and sphere shape when purchased as a whole Edam ball.

Gayo Azul Sliced Swiss  a rindless, European swiss with perfect eyes and a sweet nutty taste that works on both cold and grilled sandwiches.

Gayo Azul Queso Blanco  a fresh mild white cheese that holds its shape well, making it ideal for pan grilling. It also has a nice crumbly texture and is great for topping salads, soups, and tacos.

Gayo Azul Queso Para Freir a fresh, white cow's milk cheese with a slightly salty and mild flavor. A young cheese with a firm texture. Commonly used for frying and is appreciated for its high melting point which softens the cheese but leaves with an un-melted interior holding it shape. A slice of this cheese goes well with sandwiches, baked dishes and is great crumbled on fruits and salads.

Gayo Azul Cotija  Cotija is a Mexican-style aged, fresh cow's milk cheese named after the town of Cotija, Mexico. It has a sharp, slightly salty flavor and a firm, crumbly texture. This cheese is the perfect topping to enhance any dish including street corn, enchiladas, or tacos.

Gayo Azul can be found at local grocers throughout the Southeast and Northeast. To learn more about Gayo Azul, find where you can purchase their cheeses, and discover some delicious recipes, visit www.gayoazul.com or follow along on Facebook (@gayoazulcheese) and Instagram (@gayo_azul_cheese). For more information about the giveaway, please head over to www.gayoazul.com.

Royal FrieslandCampina N.V.

Gayo Azul is a brand of Royal FrieslandCampina. Royal FrieslandCampina daily provides millions of consumers spread all over the world with dairy products containing valuable nutrients from milk. The products of FrieslandCampina find their ways to over a hundred countries. The company has its Central Office in Amersfoort, the Netherlands. The company is fully owned by Zuivelcoopate FrieslandCampina U.A., which has 17,413 member dairy farmers in the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium and is one of the largest dairy cooperatives in the world. For additional information, please visit our website: www.frieslandcampina.com.

For additional information:

Stacey Bender

T + 1 (973) 650-1218

[email protected]

SOURCE Gayo Azul

Related Links

http://www.gayoazul.com


Mr. Rampe previously served as Chubb's Global Deputy General Counsel. In his new role, he will oversee all aspects of Chubb's North America commercial and personal lines claims. In addition, he will oversee efforts to provide claims insights to Chubb's underwriters, clients, agents and brokers, as well as ensure client satisfaction in the handling of all claims.

Mr. Rampe will report to Mike Smith, Senior Vice President, Chubb Group and Global Claims Officer, and will be based in Jersey City, N.J.

"Our claims operation is what distinguishes Chubb in the marketplace," said Mr. Smith. "We are always looking to further enhance the overall claims experience for our clients, agents and brokers. Kevin is a recognized figure in the industry and has a proven track record of leadership, collaboration and innovation. That combination will ensure we continue providing the exceptional service and appropriate claims outcomes our clients expect."

As Executive Vice President, Mr. Hazelton will focus on executing a number of key strategic initiatives in North America. He will report to John Lupica, Vice Chairman, Chubb Group and President, North America Insurance, and will be based in Whitehouse Station, N.J.

"We are extremely fortunate to have strong leadership depth within our organization. That bench strength provides us an enormous advantage in quickly aligning talent to meet the unique needs of our clients and distribution partners in a constantly changing business environment," said Mr. Lupica. "Bill has served in a number of leadership roles throughout his tenure at Chubb, and his knowledge of our business and the industry makes him an ideal fit to take on a number of strategic projects to improve our operations and the value we deliver to clients and distribution partners."

Mr. Rampe joined Chubb in 2005 as the company's Global Compliance Officer. He subsequently served as General Counsel of North America. Earlier in his career, he served as both President and Chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC). He was First Deputy Superintendent of the New York State Insurance Department and served as the First Assistant Counsel to New York State Governor George E. Pataki. Mr. Rampe is a graduate of Union College and the Albany Law School of Union University.

Mr. Hazelton joined Chubb in 2005 and has served in several leadership capacities. Prior to his former role as Head of Claims, he served as Chubb's Environmental, Excess Casualty and Construction Industry Practice Leader. He received a Master of Arts degree in History from Rutgers University, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science and History from James Madison University.

About Chubb

Chubb is the world's largest publicly traded property and casualty insurance company. With operations in 54 countries and territories, Chubb provides commercial and personal property and casualty insurance, personal accident and supplemental health insurance, reinsurance and life insurance to a diverse group of clients. As an underwriting company, we assess, assume and manage risk with insight and discipline. We service and pay our claims fairly and promptly. The company is also defined by its extensive product and service offerings, broad distribution capabilities, exceptional financial strength and local operations globally. Parent company Chubb Limited is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: CB) and is a component of the S&P 500 index. Chubb maintains executive offices in Zurich, New York, London, Paris and other locations, and employs approximately 31,000 people worldwide. Additional information can be found at: chubb.com.

Chubb Insurance Company of Canada has offices in Toronto, Calgary, Montreal and Vancouver and provides its products and services through licensed insurance brokers across Canada. For additional information, visit: chubb.com/ca.

SOURCE Chubb

Related Links

www.chubb.com


BALTIMORE, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Comcast Business today announced a two-year, $28 million investment in a major expansion of its advanced, fiber-rich network throughout its Beltway Region of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia. The buildout includes $13 million invested in 2020 and $15 million in projects underway or planned for 2021, extending high-performance Ethernet, internet, advanced voice solutions and more to nearly 7,000 additional businesses.

Once completed, Comcast Business will have committed a total of more than $110 million in area network expansions since 2015, to benefit nearly 35,000 of the region's largest companies and organizations.

The network expansion delivers speeds up to 1 Gigabit per second (Gbps) for small and medium-sized businesses and up to 100 Gbps for larger enterprises and will support the ability to bring new customers online quickly with advanced services, including fast business Wi-Fi for employees and guests, cybersecurity solutions, 4G LTE backup, business TV and more. Additionally, businesses of all sizes now will have access to a comprehensive portfolio of Comcast Business products and services to help meet the day-to-day demands that require large amounts of bandwidth, linking multiple sites or branch locations or connecting offices to third-party data centers.

The latest expansion deploys new fiber optic cable or densifies existing fiber services across the following areas:

Delaware : Georgetown , Ocean View , Rehoboth Beach and Smyrna

, , and Maryland : Eastern Shore, Frederick and Montgomery County

Eastern Shore, and Virginia : Ashburn , Dulles , Harrisonburg , Leesburg , Lynchburg and Richmond ; planned investments include Front Royal , Tysons Corner and Warrenton

, , , , and ; planned investments include , and Washington, D.C.

West Virginia : Huntington and Martinsburg

Ed Rowan, senior director of Comcast Business Sales Operations in Comcast's Beltway Region, said "The ability to offer both diversity of network and carrier is becoming increasingly important to help drive economic development and transformation. Connectivity is at the core of this and, more than ever, is an integral factor as businesses expand and prepare for what's next. Our network expansions across Comcast's Beltway Region are the latest example of the significant technology investments we've made to increase the availability of our multi-Gigabit Ethernet services. These investments will help foster economic development, transform our local communities, and better meet next-generation capacity needs across the region."

About Comcast Business

Comcast Business offers a suite of Connectivity, Communications, Networking, Cybersecurity, Wireless, and Managed Solutions to help organizations of different sizes prepare for what's next. Powered by the nation's largest Gig-speed broadband network, and backed by 24/7 customer support, Comcast Business is the nation's largest cable provider to small and mid-size businesses and one of the leading service providers to the Enterprise market. Comcast Business has been consistently recognized by industry analysts and associations as a leader and innovator, and one of the fastest growing providers of Ethernet services.

For more information, call 866-429-3085. Follow on Twitter @ComcastBusiness and on other social media networks at http://business.comcast.com/social.

About Comcast Corporation

Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA) is a global media and technology company that connects people to moments that matter. We are principally focused on broadband, aggregation, and streaming with 57 million customer relationships across the United States and Europe. We deliver broadband, wireless, and video through our Xfinity, Comcast Business, and Sky brands; create, distribute, and stream leading entertainment, sports, and news through Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, Universal Studio Group, Sky Studios, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, multiple cable networks, Peacock, NBCUniversal News Group, NBC Sports, Sky News, and Sky Sports; and provide memorable experiences at Universal Parks and Resorts in the United States and Asia. Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more information.

SOURCE Comcast
SAINT LOUIS PARK, Minn., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Delaget, a Minnesota-based SaaS (software as a service) company that serves restaurant operators their data analytics through seamless automation, announced today the signing of their newest partnership, ZayZoon.

Founded in 2014, ZayZoon partners and integrates with payroll companies and employers to provide employees a financial wellness platform, with one feature of the platform being access to Wages On-Demand.

Delaget and ZayZoon announce new partnership.

This is important because 69 percent of American workers live paycheck to paycheck, forcing them into difficult situations between banks that earn over $30B in overdraft fees and predatory lenders that charge upwards of 600 percent interest.

ZayZoon's Wages On-Demand product gives employees control over their paycheck, reduces financial stress and prevents the debt spiral caused by use of predatory products.

The addition of ZayZoon to Delaget's Easy Street Marketplace allows both organizations to collaborate on new opportunities and provide existing clients the opportunity to integrate seamlessly without setup fees and engineering hours. This partnership comes at an especially unique time as EWA is a highly sought-after benefit that is attracting QSR employees during the hiring crisis.

"ZayZoon is a fantastic partner that we are extremely excited to have onboard," says CEO of Delaget, Jason Tober, "Traditionally our smaller-sized clients were unable to find an earned wage access provider that would work for them, but ZayZoon solves this."

"We're thrilled to partner with Delaget as we mutually believe in the need to offer EWA and financial wellness to all employees, regardless of the size or industry of their employer.

"This partnership will help employers with recruitment and retention while providing employees with improved financial security." Darcy Tuer Co-Founder & CEO of ZayZoon.

Delaget's API Partnerships provide access to data from more than 100,000 restaurant locations with a single API, versus building costly, one-off data integrations. Delaget Marketplaces' robust partner ecosystem provides restaurant operators with vetted, secure, and seamless integration capabilities for all their operational needs and includes integrations with top service providers in payroll and accounting, HR & employee software, earned wage access, drive-thru and deliveries, POS (Point of Sale), BOH, and more.

Media Contact:

Jay Kallman

651-999-9283

[email protected]

SOURCE Delaget
ERIE, Pa., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Erie Insurance (ERIE) has earned three 2021 Diversity Impact Awards from the Global ERG Network, the world's largest network of employee resource groups (ERGs), business resource groups (BRGs) and diversity councils dedicated to making measurable progress on diversity, equity and inclusion.





ERIE's African American Affinity Network and the company's Dignity & Respect Affinity Network were both named Top 25 ERG Diversity Impact Award recipients by the organization.



Fred Johnson, vice president and Wisconsin branch manager, was also one of five recipients of Diversity Impact Executive Sponsor of the Year honors. Johnson is the executive sponsor of ERIE's African American Affinity Network.



Johnson and other ERIE affinity network leaders were recognized in September at an awards ceremony held during the 2021 ERG & Council Conference.



"The work led by ERIE's affinity networks is important to the sustainability of our organization. Educating, raising awareness and celebrating our diverse cultures is important to creating inclusive workplaces," said Christina Marsh, ERIE's chief diversity and community development officer. "I was pleased to see this well-deserved national recognition for these two affinity networks and Fred Johnson, given the deep commitments each has to advancing DEI here at ERIE."



While Erie Insurance has had a formal commitment to diversity and inclusion for more than 10 years, this national recognition also comes at a time when the company is enhancing and elevating its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts under the leadership of Marsh, who reports to ERIE President and CEO Tim NeCastro.



"Treating others with dignity and respect has been at the heart of ERIE's values for nearly a century  and we've had a team dedicated to supporting and celebrating diversity and inclusion as an insurer, employer and community partner for more than a decade." NeCastro said. "By bringing our DEI, community outreach and economic development teams together under Chris Marsh's capable leadership, we can align our priorities and expand our efforts in these critical areas. This ultimately paves the way for greater progress in the DEI space and a more significant impact on the diverse communities and people we serve."



ERIE is also a signatory member of CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion, the nation's largest CEO-driven business commitment to drive measurable action and meaningful change in advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace.



The 2021 Diversity Impact Awards leverages a data driven and scientifically validated model called The Impact Model, developed by Dr. Theresa Welbourne, senior affiliate research scientist at the USC Marshall School of Business Center for Effective Organizations and CEO of eePulse. In addition to the recognition, organizations that participate annually in the Diversity Impact Awards process receive benchmarking data to measure their own progress over time.



"As we continue our DEI journey, this recognition and these insights will allow us to build upon this strong foundation," Marsh added.



"We were inspired by the initiatives outlined in the many applications we received this year. They were all exceptional, but this incredible group really did stand out for their sacrifices and level of dedication to keeping people connected during the most trying of times," said Cile Johnson, principal and chief business officer at Talent Dimensions. "We're so proud to honor these groups and individuals who sacrificed to keep this important work moving forward, and still are."

Erie Insurance earns 2021 Diversity Impact Awards from the Global ERG Network. Tweet this

About Erie Insurance

According to A.M. Best Company, Erie Insurance Group, based in Erie, Pennsylvania, is the 12th largest homeowners insurer, 13th largest automobile insurer and 13th largest commercial lines insurer in the United States based on direct premiums written. Founded in 1925, Erie Insurance is a Fortune 500 company and the 16th largest property/casualty insurer in the United States based on total lines net premium written. Rated A+ (Superior) by A.M. Best, ERIE has more than 6 million policies in force and operates in 12 states and the District of Columbia. News releases and more information are available on ERIE's website at www.erieinsurance.com.

About the Diversity Impact Awards

The Diversity Impact Awards were launched in 2020 as the next iteration of the ERG & Council Honors Award. The ERG & Council Honors Award was the first and longest running, nationally recognized award to honor the outstanding contributions and achievements of ERGs, BRGs and Diversity Councils. It was established in 2008 by the Association of ERGs & Councils, (now the Global ERG Network) a practice group of diversity and inclusion consulting and training firm PRISM International, Inc., a subsidiary of Talent Dimensions.

About the ERG & Council Conference

ERGs and Diversity Councils are vital links for improving organizational results. However, to remain impactful and effective, they need opportunities to increase their skills and knowledge, to learn, share best practices, opportunities to network, celebrate and grow. This was the purpose of the first annual conference designed specifically for ERGs, BRGs and Diversity Councils.

About the Global ERG Network

The Global ERG Network is a practice group of Talent Dimensions and the premier resource for transforming Employee Resource Groups, Diversity Councils and Employee Network Groups to impact key organizational and business objectives.

About PRISM International, Inc.

PRISM, a Talent Dimensions company, is a full-service provider of innovative and proven consulting, training and products for leveraging diversity and inclusion, addressing unconscious bias, increasing cross-cultural competencies and creating more effective ERGs and Diversity Councils.

About USC Marshall School of Business Center for Effective Organizations

Since its founding over 40 years ago, the Center for Effective Organizations (CEO), a research center in the USC Marshall School of Business, is world-renowned for its breakthrough research and insights on organizational performance, effectiveness and talent management. Today, CEO is at the forefront, discovering and creating the latest knowledge in the design and management of organizations for companies that range from mid-sized to the Global 500. CEO's worldwide network includes research scientists, faculty experts, best-selling authors and corporate partners. Working together, they provide forward-thinking leaders with trusted insights and the hands-on learning they need to help them solve complex problems and build highly effective, sustainable organizations.

SOURCE Erie Insurance Group
DUBLIN, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global e-Cigarette Market (by Segment, Composition, Distribution Channel & Region): Insights & Forecast with Potential Impact of COVID-19 (2021-2025)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global e-cigarette market is expected to reach US$84.43 billion in 2025, progressing at a CAGR of 17.65%, over the period 2021-2025.

Growth in the e-cigarette market has accrued due to the changing consumer perception towards combustible cigarettes, upsurge in working population, decline in consumption of cigarettes, mounting-up prices of tobacco cigarettes and peer influence on youngsters.

The market is anticipated to experience certain trends like upswing in Gen Z income, emergence of flavored e-cigarettes, increasing influence of social media and rise in technological developments by e-cigarette manufacturers. However, the growth of the market would be challenged by stringent regulations, nicotine exposure in e-cigarettes and surging concerns over side effects of e-cigarettes and vapor products.

The global e-cigarette market has been categorized on the basis of segment, composition and distribution channel. According to segment, the market can be bifurcated into vape and Heat Not Burn (HNB) products.

In terms of composition, the global market can be split into nicotine and non-nicotine. Whereas, on the basis of distribution channel, the market is divided into tobacconist, online, vape shops and others such as hypermarket/supermarket.

The fastest growing regional market is the U.S. due to increasing awareness of safer tobacco alternatives, continuous efforts of anti-smoking organizations shifting the tobacco consumers to alternative forms i.e., e-cigarettes and increased customer acceptance due to cost-efficiency of these devices.

Further, the sudden outbreak of COVID-19 is causing an adverse disruption on the overall economy through halted production and logistics activities, affecting the demand and supply of e-cigarettes across the world.

The competitive landscape of the market, along with the company profiles of leading players (Imperial Brands PLC, British American Tobacco PLC, Philip Morris International Inc., Altria Group, Inc., Japan Tobacco Inc. and Turning Point Brands, Inc.) are also presented in detail.

Key Topics Covered:

1. Market Overview

1.1 Introduction

1.2 Classification

1.3 Anatomy & Mechanism

1.4 Risks

1.5 Benefits



2. Impact of COVID-19

2.1 Decline in Total Unit Sales of E-Cigarettes

2.2 Reduction in Usage of E-Cigarettes

2.3 Key Players Initiatives

2.4 Impact on Regional Markets



3. Market Analysis

3.1 Global E-Cigarette Market Value

3.2 Global E-Cigarette Market Value Forecast

3.3 Global E-Cigarette Market Value by Segments

3.3.1 Global Vape Market Value

3.3.2 Global Vape Market Value Forecast

3.3.3 Global Vape Market Value by Segments

3.3.4 Global Closed Vape Systems Market Value

3.3.5 Global Closed Vape Systems Market Value Forecast

3.3.6 Global Open Vape Systems Market Value

3.3.7 Global Open Vape Systems Value Forecast

3.3.8 Global HNB Market Value Forecast

3.4 Global E-Cigarette Market by Composition

3.4.1 Global Nicotine E-Cigarette Market Value

3.4.2 Global Nicotine E-Cigarette Market Value Forecast

3.4.3 Global Non-Nicotine E-Cigarette Market Value

3.4.4 Global Non-Nicotine E-Cigarette Market Value Forecast

3.5 Global E-Cigarette Market Value by Distribution Channel

3.5.1 Global E-Cigarette Distribution Channel Market Value

3.5.2 Global E-Cigarette Distribution Channel Market Value Forecast

3.6 Global E-Cigarette Market Penetration by Country

3.7 Global E-Cigarette Market by Region



4. Regional Market

4.1 The U.S.

4.1.1 The U.S. E-Cigarette Market Value

4.1.2 The U.S. E-Cigarette Market Value Forecast

4.1.3 The U.S. E-Cigarette Market by Product

4.1.4 The U.S. E-Cigarette Product Market Value

4.1.5 The U.S. E-Cigarette Product Market Value Forecast

4.2 Europe

4.3 China

4.4 Japan



5. Market Dynamics

5.1 Growth Drivers

5.1.1 Changing Consumer Perception Towards Combustible Cigarettes

5.1.2 Growing Popularity of E-Cigarettes

5.1.3 Upsurge in Working Population

5.1.4 Declining Consumption of Cigarettes

5.1.5 Shift Towards Next Generation Products

5.1.6 Mounting-Up Prices of Tobacco Cigarettes

5.1.7 Peer Influence on Youngsters

5.2 Key Trends and Developments

5.2.1 Upswing in Gen Z Income

5.2.2 Emergence of Flavored E-Cigarettes

5.2.3 Accelerating Growth of Vapor Devices

5.2.4 Increasing Influence of Social Media

5.2.5 Rise in Technological Developments by E-Cigarette Manufacturers

5.3 Challenges

5.3.1 Stringent Regulations

5.3.2 Nicotine Exposure in E-Cigarette

5.3.3 Surging Concerns Over Side Effects of E-Cigarettes and Vapor Products



6. Competitive Landscape

6.1 Global Market

6.1.1 Revenue Comparison of Key Players

6.1.2 Market Capitalization Comparison of Key Players

6.1.3 R&D Comparison of Key Players

6.1.4 Global Vape Market Share by Key Players (Brands)

6.1.5 Global E-Vapour Market Share by Key Players

6.1.6 Global HNB Market Share by Key Players (Brands)

6.2 The U.S. Market

6.2.1 The U.S. E-Cigarette Market Revenue Share by Key Players (Brands)

6.2.2 The U.S. E-Cigarette Market Volume Share by Key Players (Brands)

6.2.3 The U.S. E-Vapour Market Share by Key Players

6.3 China Market

6.3.1 China Vape Market Share by Key Players

6.3.2 China HNB Market Share by Key Players



7. Company Profiles

7.1 Business Overview

7.2 Financial Overview

7.3 Business Strategies

Altria Group, Inc.

British American Tobacco PLC

Imperial Brands PLC

Japan Tobacco Inc.

Philip Morris International Inc.

Turning Point Brands, Inc.

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/y7z7t0

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

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DUBLIN, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "N95 Masks - Global Market Trajectory & Analytics" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Global N95 Masks Market to Reach $11.8 Billion by 2026

The growth in the global N95 masks market has traditionally been impacted by serious emergency health conditions and periodic pandemic outbreaks.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic resulted in an exponential global demand for personal protective equipment (PPE). The deadly coronavirus infected millions of people worldwide leading to hundred-thousands of deaths. In such grave circumstances, it became extremely important for healthcare manufacturers to develop highly advanced PPE products that helped prevent the transmission of COVID-19.

The outbreak of COVID-19 has resulted in an enormous demand for N95 masks as an effective measure to prevent spread of the infection. As conventional medical masks hold limited effectiveness against viruses such as COVID-19, medical institutions and healthcare organizations are recommending the use of N95 masks capable of filtering around 95% of materials.

N95 masks are a part of the personal protective gear and protect users from airborne particles or liquids contaminating the face. Some of the other masks that are oil-proof include R99 and P100 capable of filtering at least 99% and 99.97% of airborne particles, respectively. N95 masks with replaceable filters offer protection for a longer period. These benefits of N95 masks make them a suitable option to limit the spread of COVID-19.



Amid the COVID-19 crisis, the global market for N95 Masks estimated at US$3.7 Billion in the year 2020, is projected to reach a revised size of US$11.8 Billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 18.9% over the analysis period. Offline distribution channel, one of the segments analyzed in the report, is projected to grow at a 17.8% CAGR to reach US$8.1 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 Online distribution channel segment is readjusted to a revised 21.1% CAGR for the next 7-year period. This segment currently accounts for a 30.4% share of the global N95 Masks market.



The U.S. Market is Estimated at $2 Billion in 2021, While China is Forecast to Reach $2 Billion by 2026

The N95 Masks market in the U.S. is estimated at US$2 Billion in the year 2021. The country currently accounts for a 29.54% share in the global market. China, the world second largest economy, is forecast to reach an estimated market size of US$2 Billion in the year 2026 trailing a CAGR of 20.7% through the analysis period.

Among the other noteworthy geographic markets are Japan and Canada, each forecast to grow at 18.1% and 19.8% respectively over the analysis period. Within Europe, Germany is forecast to grow at approximately 19.2% CAGR while Rest of European market (as defined in the study) will reach US$2.1 Billion by the close of the analysis period.



Market growth is expected to be spurred by stringent regulations for occupational safety, particularly in developed economies and rise in number of surgeries and ICU admissions. Continuously increasing number of physicians in both public and private healthcare facilities along with growing number of procedures performed in the healthcare sector are driving the demand for disposable facemasks.

The demand for face masks is anticipated to be also propelled by increasing number of cataract surgeries, orthopedic surgeries and ophthalmologists globally. Medical professionals perform over 23 million surgeries globally, including 53% of minimally-invasive procedures. In addition, the percentage of minimally-invasive hysterectomy performed in the US grew significantly over the last decade.

The trend is playing an important role in bolstering global demand for N95 masks. Also infections acquired in hospitals are emerging to be one of the critical drivers of demand for various face masks. Hospital acquired infections or HAIs continue to be a major concern for the healthcare sector that requires the medical staff to use disposable medical gloves for preventing spread of HAIs.

Hospitals, ambulatory care, long-term care and home care centers are at high risk of HAIs owing to rising mortality rates and morbidities, extended stay at hospitals, transmission of superbugs, inadequate infection-control programs and disease outbreaks.



Key Topics Covered:



I. METHODOLOGY



II. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY



1. MARKET OVERVIEW

Impact of Covid-19 and a Looming Global Recession

2020 Marked as a Year of Disruption & Transformation

The Race Between the Virus & Vaccines Intensifies. Amidst this Chaotic Battle, Where is the World Economy Headed in 2021?

Progress on Vaccinations, Why Should Businesses Care?

With IMF's Upward Revision of Global GDP Forecasts for 2021, Most Companies Are Bullish About a Global Economic Comeback.

How the Healthcare Industry Has & Continues to be Impacted by the Pandemic & What's the New Normal?

COVID-19 Outbreak Spurs Massive Demand for N95 Masks

N95 Masks: An Introduction

Growth Prospects and Outlook

More Transmissible Covid-19 Coronavirus Variants Likely to Increase Demand for N95 Masks

Regional Market Analysis

Competition

Recent Market Activity

2. FOCUS ON SELECT PLAYERS

3M Company

Alpha Pro Tech Inc

Ansell ltd

Cambridge Mask Co

Cardinal Health, Inc

Honeywell International Inc

JIANGSU TEYIN IMP. & EXP. CO., LTD

TEYIN IMP. & EXP. CO., LTD Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc

Makrite

Moldex-Metric, Inc

Prestige Ameritech

Reckitt Benckiser

Shanghai Dasheng

The Gerson Company

Vogmask

3. MARKET TRENDS & DRIVERS

Increasing Cases of Respiratory Infections & Rising Pollution Fuel Demand

Increase in Demand for Face Masks amid Covid-19 Leads to Innovative Designs

Select Recent Product Innovations

Few Innovative Masks

COVID-19: Priority Use of N95 or Double Mask

Antiviral Fabrics

Vaccinated People Need Masks Too

The Solution to Future N95 Shortages

3D Printed Mask Shields Extend Life of N95 Mask

Rise in Number of Surgeries and Hospital Acquired Infections Boost Demand

Consistent Increase in Risks and Threats from Infections Drive Healthy Market Growth

Increasing Healthcare Expenditure to Foster Market Growth

4. GLOBAL MARKET PERSPECTIVE



III. MARKET ANALYSIS



IV. COMPETITION

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ys5n3h

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

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DUBLIN, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Smart Elevator Market by Offering, and End Use - Global Forecast to 2028" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Global Smart Elevator Market is expected to reach $31.8 billion by 2028, at a CAGR of 11.4% during the forecast period, 2021-2028.



The smart elevators market is witnessing growth due to the growing adoption of intelligent building solutions, advanced security, increased construction of high-rise buildings, growing demand for reducing energy consumption solutions, growing number of smart cities, and need for energy efficiency tools.

Growing demand for energy-efficient building solutions drives the smart elevators market. This vertical transportation solution reduces waiting and traveling time, integrates access control, and provides better traffic control management. However, the deployment of smart components in existing elevators and security risks associated with smart elevator systems are challenges for the smart elevators market.



Based on offering, the smart elevators market is segmented into solutions and services. The solutions segment comprises control, maintenance, and communication systems. The maintenance systems segment is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

The high growth of this segment is mainly attributed to the smart elevator feature of proactive planning of maintenance to avoid the breakdown of the system. Smart elevator monitors each elevator component proactively and generates alarms, further reducing repairing costs and operational costs. Also, smart elevators provide proactive, condition-based analysis and predictive maintenance, which building owners can utilize for proper maintenance, which further boosts the demand for smart elevators.



The services segment comprises of new installation, modernization, and maintenance & repair. The new installation segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. The rapid growth of this segment is mainly attributed to the emerging construction activities across the globe.

Developing countries such as India, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, South Korea, and Saudi Arabia are expected to lead the new installation segment due to the growing construction of commercial and residential buildings. Also, the new installation of smart elevators reduces waiting time and traveling time for passengers as it cuts down unnecessary stops; thus, the new installation segment is expected to grow at the highest rate.



Based on end use, the global smart elevators market is segmented into residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional. The residential segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. The rapid growth of this segment is mainly attributed to the increasing construction of technically advanced and automated residences, homes, and apartments.

Also, the smart elevator's access control feature limits the entry of salespersons and tenants on specific floors for safety purposes. Additionally, the control system in smart elevators provides alarms for maintenance & repair, criminal activities, and property damage, further supporting the growth of the market.



The Asia-Pacific region is expected to account for the highest share in 2021 and is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Asia-Pacific follows North America in terms of share, attributed to the construction of high-rise and complex infrastructure across all industry verticals.

Key Topics Covered:



1. Introduction



2. Research Methodology



3. Executive Summary



4. COVID-19: Impact Assessment

4.1. Scenario A: Severe Impact

4.2. Scenario B: Moderate Recovery

4.3. Scenario C: Fast Recovery



5. Market Insights

5.1. Introduction

5.2. Market Dynamics

5.2.1. Drivers

5.2.1.1. Increasing Demand for Energy-Efficient Solutions

5.2.1.2. Growing Construction of Smart Residential and Commercial Buildings in Developed Countries

5.2.1.3. Rising Construction of High-Rise Buildings

5.2.2. Restraints

5.2.2.1. High Initial Investment

5.2.3. Opportunities

5.2.3.1. Implementation of AI and Analytics in Building Infrastructure

5.2.3.2. Innovation in Touchless Elevator Operations

5.2.4. Challenges

5.2.4.1. Deployment of Smart Components in Existing Elevators

5.2.4.2. Security Risk

5.3. Value Chain Analysis

5.3.1. Suppliers

5.3.2. Manufacturers

5.3.3. Agents

5.3.4. Owners, Developers, or Construction Companies

5.3.5. Installers

5.3.6. Maintenance Providers

5.3.7. Buildings and Structures



6. Global Smart Elevators Market, by Offering

6.1. Introduction

6.1.1. Solutions

6.1.1.1. Control Systems

6.1.1.1.1. Security Control Systems

6.1.1.1.1.1. Camera Systems

6.1.1.1.1.2. Visitor Management Systems

6.1.1.1.1.3. Fire Alarm Systems

6.1.1.1.2. Elevator Control Systems

6.1.1.1.3. Access Control Systems

6.1.1.1.3.1. Card-Based Access Control Systems

6.1.1.1.3.2. Biometric Access Control Systems

6.1.1.1.3.3. Touch Screen & Keypad-Based Access Control Systems

6.1.1.1.3.4. Smartphone-Based Access Control Systems

6.1.1.2. Communication Systems

6.1.1.3. Maintenance Systems

6.1.2. Services

6.1.2.1. Maintenance & Repair Services

6.1.2.2. Modernization Services

6.1.2.3. New Installation Services



7. Global Smart Elevators Market, by Application

7.1. Introduction

7.2. Commercial Buildings

7.3. Residential Buildings

7.4. Institutional Buildings

7.5. Industrial Buildings

7.6. Other Applications



8. Smart Elevators Market, by Geography

8.1. Introduction



9. Competitive Landscape

9.1. Introduction

9.2. Key Growth Strategies

9.3. Market Share Analysis (2020)

9.3.1. KONE Corporation

9.3.2. Otis Worldwide Corporation

9.3.3. TK Elevator Corporation

9.3.4. Schindler Holding Ltd.



10. Company Profiles (Business Overview, Financial Overview, Product Portfolio, and Strategic Developments)

10.1. Hitachi, Ltd.

10.2. TK Elevator Corporation

10.3. Schindler Holding Ltd.

10.4. Otis Worldwide Corporation

10.5. KONE Corporation

10.6. Mitsubishi Electric Corporation

10.7. Fujitec Co., Ltd.

10.8. Hyundai Elevator Co., Ltd.

10.9. Honeywell International, Inc.

10.10. Toshiba Corporation

10.11. Bosch.IO GmbH

10.12. Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.

10.13. Thames Valley Controls, Ltd. (A Part of Vantage Elevator Solutions)

10.14. Motion Control Engineering, Inc.

10.15. Sigma Elevator Company



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ux2gm9

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

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http://www.researchandmarkets.com


PALO ALTO, Calif., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Health Gorilla , a leading aggregator of health data in the United States, today announced their intention to become one of the first designated Qualified Health Information Networks (QHIN) under the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA). Health Gorilla has built a flexible interoperability platform, executing the goals of the 21st Century Cures Act Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA), providing connections between healthcare providers, health plans, public health agencies, and individuals. Once designated by The Sequoia Project, the Recognized Coordinating Entity (RCE) for TEFCA, Health Gorilla will operate as a QHIN in a "network of networks" structure, connecting with other QHINs to facilitate national exchanges of data between QHINs, Participants, and Sub-participants.

The 21st Century Cures Act, signed by President Obama in 2016, calls on ONC to "develop or support a trusted exchange framework, including a common agreement among health information networks nationally." The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology's (ONC) three primary goals are to provide a single on-ramp for nationwide connectivity, attach all electronic health information (EHI) to the correct patient, and support nationwide scalability; all of which establish a floor for universal interoperability across the country. In July 2021, ONC and the RCE released a timeline for completing the Trusted Exchange Framework, intending to have QHINs operational in the first quarter (Q1) of the calendar year 2022. The timeline supports the release of the final Trusted Exchange Framework in the first quarter of 2022, along with the Common Agreement V1 Final and the Qualified Health Network Technical Framework V1 Final. Once finalized, health information networks will be able to apply to become QHINs and will begin sharing data on a rolling basis after being selected and onboarded.

The Common Agreement, released in September 2021, includes six exchange purposes that organizations must support to be designated as a QHIN. The exchange purposes include Treatment, Payment, Health Care Operations, Public Health, Benefits Determination, and Individual Access Services.

Health Gorilla's proprietary platform and robust data engine make them uniquely positioned to fulfill all six permitted exchange purposes outlined in the Common Agreement. Health Gorilla's platform and FHIR-based APIs facilitate national exchanges of health information for permitted purposes and integrates with most major EMR systems and diagnostic vendors, which connects payers, labs, providers, patients, and public health officials with aggregated health data. Health Gorilla addresses the need for individual access, supporting identity proofing and connecting individuals with access to their information. Their recent entrance into the life insurance market addresses the process of Benefits Determination, securely providing life insurance underwriters, re-insurers, and risk assessors with HIPAA-compliant, permission-based access to structured and complete medical records.

"Health Gorilla is a proven leader in interoperability and is more than prepared to become a Qualified Health Information Network. For years they have operated successfully under the constantly evolving federal regulations for health IT and have built a robust and secure health information exchange platform that will benefit health care providers, the rapidly growing digital health community, and other QHINs," said Jitin Asnaani, VP Strategy & Corp Dev at Bamboo Health and former Executive Director at CommonWell Health Alliance. Jitin serves as a Health Gorilla Board Member.

Health Gorilla is committed to supporting legal, functional, and technical requirements for those health information networks designated as QHINs, and bring a robust process engine that supports:

- High-capacity networks to broker the exchange of transactions

- A flexible platform that supports a broad range of standards, including FHIR, HL7, C-CDA, and IHE Profiles

- Comprehensive master patient index (MPI) and record locator services (RLS)

- IAL2 verification and identity proofing for providers and patients

- A comprehensive security program, ensuring the security of the Health Gorilla Platform and participants. SOC-2 Type 2 certified, HIPAA-certified, and pursuing HITRUST certification

- A comprehensive governance program to ensure the highest level of compliance with industry regulations and certify exchange purposes of Participants and Subparticipants

Heath Gorilla continues to be an active stakeholder and thought leader, supplying public input on the TEFCA model as the documentation and requirements continue to evolve and are advocating for FHIR as a data format for national exchanges of data. They are participating in a number of implementation workgroups and pilot efforts, working towards the expansion of FHIR. They strongly believe that the FHIR adopted principles of reuse, performance, usability, fidelity, and implementability address the needs of the industry and align with the three overarching goals of the ONC to develop a Trusted Exchange Framework (TEF) and a Common Agreement.

Health Gorilla, an early adopter of FHIR, has built a FHIR-native data platform with substantial analytical capabilities that is compliant with FHIR R4 profiles to ensure scalable medical record retrieval. They provide a suite of industry-leading APIs and software products that power fundamental healthcare workflows and data exchange scenarios, where participants can leverage Health Gorilla's published APIs for easy "on-ramp" to the national exchange of data.

"By making this network available through FHIR-based APIs, developers can bypass complex integrations with various health information exchanges and labs while reaping all the benefits of direct connectivity. These APIs allow developers to code against an open community-based standard, leverage work already completed, ease implementations, and surface this data in their application as they see fit," said Steve Yaskin, CEO and Co-founder of Health Gorilla.

In May of 2020, Health Gorilla was recognized in the Duke University Interoperability Report as the only clinical exchange portal that met functional and security requirements for public health departments. The report stated that Health Gorilla, who is a Member of CommonWell and an Implementer on Carequality, "provides query access to all acute care sites on both networks and maintains its own set of services (MPI and RLS) and capabilities (event notifications) that could increase utility for public health."

Since that report came out, Health Gorilla continued their national expansion and recently became a member of eHealth Exchange. They are now one of the only data sources for all three national networks in the country and are well-positioned to be granted the QHIN designation.

"The success of TEFCA and the value it brings to the healthcare industry relies on a unique variety of industry leaders coming together as QHINs to create a secure and trusted network," said Paul Wilder, the Executive Director of CommonWell. "As a CommonWell member, Health Gorilla connected a variety of health care exchange participants from providers to patients and has been a valued partner as we both grew in size and scope. We look forward to working with Health Gorilla as a QHIN in the future as we all work together to improve patient data exchange nationwide."

Today, Health Gorilla acts as the single-source provider of Health Information Exchanges for the Puerto Rico Department of Health. They operate as the interoperability solution connecting payers, labs, providers, patients, and public health officials. This HIE has brought forward a new era of interoperability to Puerto Rico by streamlining care, reducing costs, empowering patients and providers, and giving public health officials the data they need to act decisively. They now connect over one million residents of Puerto Rico and enable healthcare providers to access and share patient medical record data securely and electronically across more than 430 care sites and more than 4,350 providers.

"Puerto Rico and our healthcare system have seen tremendous benefits since partnering with Health Gorilla to create the Puerto Rico Health Information Network," said Alexander Quevedo, the State Health Information Technology Coordinator at Puerto Rico Department of Health. "Together, we have built a strong network between physicians, nurses, hospitals, and health care organizations, and we look forward to seeing how Health Gorilla becoming a QHIN expands our capabilities and patient data access to the citizens of Puerto Rico."

About Health Gorilla

Founded in 2014, Health Gorilla is a secure interoperability solution that enables the entire health care ecosystem  patients, payers, providers, digital health solutions, and labs  to seamlessly share health data and aggregate each patient's entire clinical history in one place. With enterprise-grade clinical data APIs, HIPAA-compliant user authentication, and an unparalleled master patient index, the Health Gorilla network makes it easy for providers to pull their patient's information from any clinical records system while ensuring adherence to the 21st Century Cures Act and to the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA) standards that will go into effect in early 2022. For more information, visit healthgorilla.com or follow us on Twitter @HealthGorilla.

SOURCE Health Gorilla

Related Links

http://www.healthgorilla.com


NEW YORK, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Healthcare Trust, Inc. ("HTI" or the "Company") today announced that the Company successfully completed its previously announced $80 million Series B Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Stock Offering (the "Series B Preferred"). The Series B Preferred has a coupon rate of 7.125% and received an investment grade rating of BBB- by Egan-Jones Ratings Company.

"I am very pleased with the success our team and our banking partners achieved with this offering, which was upsized to $80 million from $50 million and completed at a lower coupon than our prior Series A offering," said Michael Weil, CEO of HTI. "Obtaining an investment grade rating on the Series B Preferred is an accomplishment that reflects the high quality of the HTI portfolio and is a testament to the hardworking team that continues to build, optimize, operate and manage our medical office buildings and seniors housing facilities. This offering further diversifies HTI's balance sheet and builds awareness of HTI in the market."

The Company used the net proceeds from this offering to repay amounts outstanding under the Company's revolving credit facility as required thereunder. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the revolving credit facility, the Company may then draw on the revolving credit facility to borrow any amounts so repaid for general corporate purposes, including purchases of additional properties.

About Healthcare Trust, Inc.

Healthcare Trust, Inc. is a publicly registered real estate investment trust focused on acquiring a diversified portfolio of healthcare real estate, with an emphasis on seniors housing and medical office buildings, located in the United States. Additional information about HTI can be found on its website at www.healthcaretrustinc.com.

Important Notice

The statements in this press release that are not historical facts may be forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause the outcome to be materially different. In addition, words such as "may," "will," "seeks," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "plans," "intends," "should" or similar expressions indicate a forward-looking statement, although not all forward-looking statements include these words. A securities rating is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities and may be subject to revision or withdrawal at any time. Each rating agency has its own methodology for assigning ratings and, accordingly, each rating should be evaluated independently of any other rating. Actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements, including those set forth in the Risk Factors section of HTI's registration statement on Form S-11 and other reports filed with the Commission. Further, forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and HTI undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes to future operating results over time, unless required by law.

Contact

Investors and Media:

Email: [email protected]

Phone: (866) 902-0063

SOURCE Healthcare Trust, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.healthcaretrustinc.com


"On an immediate basis. we demand transparency of finances, side effects and deaths."

Volunteers dragged a giant gravestone down Kaiserstrasse that bore the inscription, "In memory of 60,078 deaths in German psychiatric hospitals 1991-2017."

The reasons CCHR is demanding an end to ECT are described in the film Therapy or Torture: The Truth About Electroshock . According to the documentary:

ECT hits the patient's head with the force of a 40-pound cinder block dropped seven and a half feet.

Patients have described it feeling like a grenade is going off in your body.

Contrary to what many believe, ECT is not a practice of some bygone era. ECT is inflicted on a million people worldwide. Every year.

The human brain operates on 0.2 volts, nearly eight times less than the power of a watch battery1.5 voltscompared with up to 460 volts that are put through the brain in a single shock treatment. That is 2,300 times the electricity the brain uses to function.

Side effects of ECT include amnesia (substantial and permanent memory loss), confusion, disorientation, apathy, disinterest, headaches, nausea, slowed reaction time, lowered intellectual function and death .

Children under 5 years old, even infants, are administered shock.

"On an immediate basis, we demand transparency of finances, side effects and deaths," said CCHR Germany spokesman Bernd Trepping, "and a ban on the use of electric shocks in psychiatry. ECT is torture, not therapy."

CCHR Germany delivered letters to 10 local psychiatric institutions demanding under the state's Freedom of Information Act that they disclose how many electroshocks they administer each year and how many of those patients died after the treatment.

Citizens Commission on Human Rights is a nonprofit charitable mental health watchdog established by the Church of Scientology in 1969, dedicated to eradicating psychiatric abuses and ensuring patient protections.

Therapy or Torture: The Truth About Electroshock and the work of CCHR Germany's Berndt Trepping and Nicola Cramer can be viewed on the Scientology Network on DIRECTV Channel 320 and streamed at Scientology.tv , on mobile apps , and via the Roku, Amazon Fire and Apple TV platforms.

SOURCE Church of Scientology International

Related Links

http://www.scientology.org


BOSTON, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Humane Farming Association (HFA) today denounced the passage by the Massachusetts House of Representatives of S. 2481, also known as "The Rotten Egg Bill." For two years, HFA and other animal advocates have been sounding the alarm about this legislation which repeals an animal-care standard approved by an overwhelming 78% of Massachusetts voters.

In 2016, Massachusetts voters approved Question 3, a ballot measure which requires that egg-laying hens be provided no less than 1.5 square feet of floor space each. The law was scheduled to go into effect this coming January. Under the new legislation which passed the House today, the egg industry will now be allowed to ignore the 1.5 square foot standard and to inhumanely crowd 50% more hens into egg factories than permitted by Massachusetts' voter-enacted law.

"The egg industry and a few co-opted animal groups falsely portrayed this cruel reduction in floor space  to a mere one square foot per hen  as an 'enhancement' to Question 3," said Bradley Miller, national director of the Humane Farming Association. "In reality, this is an outright repeal and replacement of Question 3's central and most important anti-cruelty provision."

The bill, which passed the Senate in June, must now go to conference committee to iron out technical differences between the House and Senate versions before it is sent to the Governor's desk.

"Whether you supported Question 3 or not, every Massachusetts resident should be outraged by legislators' decision to overturn election results," Miller said. "This Rotten Egg Bill is a devastating setback to farm-animal protection and a major betrayal of Massachusetts voters."

About HFA

The Humane Farming Association (HFA) is dedicated to the protection of farm animals and operates the nation's largest farm-animal sanctuary. Founded in 1985 and over 270,000 members strong, HFA is nationally recognized for its integrity and its groundbreaking anti-cruelty campaigns.

Contact: Bradley Miller (415) 485-1495

[email protected]

Related Links

https://stoptherotteneggbill.org/

https://www.hfa.org

SOURCE Humane Farming Association

Related Links

http://www.hfa.org


MUNICH and PFORZHEIM, Germany, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Green hydrogen will play a crucial role in the climate-friendly energy mix of the future. The Green Hydrogen Manifesto, which was presented today as part of The smarter E Europe Restart 2021 at Messe Munchen, provides valuable insights and inspiration on how to promote the use of this energy source. With this manifesto, the initiators Hydrogen Europe, German Hydrogen and Fuel-Cell Association DWV, European Electrolyzer & Fuel Cell Forum EFCF and The smarter E Europe aim to send a clear signal in favor of decarbonization and a sustainable circular economy.

Whether it's the Fit for 55 package in Europe or the forming of a new government in Germany: A new foundation is being laid  also for the energy market of the future. Green hydrogen is a key element for a climate-neutral economic system. As a main feature of a sustainable energy supply, green hydrogen enables intelligent networks across the energy, heating and transportation sectors. Under the heading "The Green Hydrogen Manifesto", the manifesto aims to help drive the advancement of green hydrogen in Europe. "Against the backdrop of the current realignment in politics, our manifesto aims to encourage decision-makers to factor in green hydrogen  whether in the energy sector or the economic sector," says Werner Diwald, Chair of the German Hydrogen and Fuel-Cell Association DWV. "Because hydrogen that is produced from renewable sources is not only important for the energy transition. More importantly, it also provides huge opportunities for the economy of the European Union."

Europe as a model for the introduction of green hydrogen

Along with the German DWV, authors of the manifesto include Hydrogen Europe as the European umbrella organization for the hydrogen and fuel cell industry, the European Electrolyzer and Fuel Cell forum EFCF and The Smarter E Europe, the innovation hub for new energy solutions. The manifesto is aimed at policy makers in the European Union as well as national governments and politicians. "We want to show policy makers how important green hydrogen is for a circular economy and decarbonization, and motivate them to take action," says Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, CEO of Hydrogen Europe. "In the future, Europe must lead the way in introducing this energy source while also ensuring and enhancing prosperity and prospects. That is our responsibility for the future and for climate protection."

The manifesto defines how Europe can live up to its leadership role by laying out twelve demands, including a guiding framework and targeted incentives as well as measures to ramp up production volumes and reduce costs. The first demand is: The CO2 content of energy carriers should serve as the new currency for energy systems. Other specific recommendations include, for example, the certification of hydrogen as a global commodity, the appointment of a dedicated EU Hydrogen Special Envoy in charge of driving forward the EU Hydrogen Strategy and partnerships with third countries, and a legal framework at the EU level for the regulation of hydrogen networks.

Presenting to international trade visitors

This manifesto was presented at the Green Hydrogen Forum, part of the innovation hub The smarter E Europe Restart 2021, which is still taking place in Munich until October 8. Oliver Bucheli, President of the European Electrolyzer and Fuel Cell Forums: "With its focus area Green Hydrogen Forum & Expo, ees Europe Restart 2021 was the perfect setting to present our manifesto to an international expert audience and win over supporters. Green hydrogen will only be able to establish itself on the market with active support from the economy, science and policy makers. Europe has the means to be a worldwide leader in this industry."

Shortly after its publication, as many as 54 companies and organizations have signed the Green Hydrogen Manifesto as a sign of their support. Some of the first to sign include SAIPEM S.p.A., Forschungszentrum Juelich, Haldor Topsoe AS, the German Federal Association for Combined Heat and Power (B.KWK), ITM Power, Paul Wurth GmbH and Deutsche Kreditbank AG, among others. The large number of signatures demonstrates the importance of the demands to policy makers, according to Markus Elsasser, CEO of Solar Promotion GmbH: "We are pleased that we are able to draw attention to an extremely relevant energy issue with the Green Hydrogen Forum and the Green Hydrogen Manifesto."

Supporters can still sign the manifesto on site at ees Europe Restart 2021 until October 8. In the closing session of the Green Hydrogen Forum in hall B6 on October 8, from 2:45pm3:30pm, the manifesto will once again be discussed. Associations and industrial companies who are interested in openly showing their support can sign up using the following link: www.thesmartere.de/hydrogen-manifesto/become-a-signatory

Find out more about all of the demands in the manifesto and all signatory logos: https://www.thesmartere.de/green-hydrogen-manifesto

The smarter E Europe, which encompasses the four individual exhibitions Intersolar Europe, ees Europe, Power2Drive Europe and EM-Power Europe, will take place as The smarter E Europe Restart from October 68, 2021, at Messe Munchen.

For more information, please visit:

www.TheSmarterE.de

Image source:  Solar Promotion GmbH

The smarter E

The smarter E is the innovation hub for events and topics that drive the new energy world. Renewable energy, decentralization and digitalization are bringing lasting changes to the energy world. This development demands cross-sector, intelligently integrated concepts and solutions for the efficient generation, storage, distribution and use of energy, so that we can ensure a secure and sustainable energy supply around the clock in the future. Under the motto "Creating the new energy world", The smarter E Europe unites four exhibitions and conferences that take an in-depth look at these topics. In doing so, it is now Europe's largest platform for the energy industry.

Intersolar Europe, the world's leading exhibition for the solar industry, has been dedicated to solar energy for 30 years and has established itself as the industry's most important meeting point. The exhibition focuses on the areas of photovoltaics, solar thermal technologies and solar power plants.

ees Europe, the continent's largest and most international exhibition for batteries and energy storage systems, will take place for the seventh time in 2021, presenting the entire value-added chain of innovative battery and energy storage technologies.

Power2Drive Europe, the international exhibition for charging infrastructure and e-mobility, focuses on solutions and technologies for clean transportation.

EM-Power Europe is the international exhibition for energy management and integrated energy solutions. It focuses on the efficient distribution and use of electricity and heat generated from renewable sources of energy, smart energy management, and sector coupling in buildings and districts. Other key topics are smart grids and microgrids, grid infrastructure, energy services, and operator models.

For more information on The smarter E Europe, please visit: www.TheSmarterE.de

The smarter E Europe is organized by Solar Promotion GmbH, Pforzheim, and Freiburg Wirtschaft Touristik und Messe GmbH & Co. KG (FWTM).

The German Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association e.V. (DWV)

The German Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association e.V. (DWV) as an interest group has been working since 1996 to promote the rapid market introduction of hydrogen as an energy carrier and of fuel cell technology. The association aims to promote the development of the hydrogen economy as a component of a sustainable energy supply in order to ensure the efficient achievement of climate targets while at the same time maintaining security of supply and Germany as an industrial location.

Hydrogen produced with renewable energies will play a decisive role in this. The association's activities will focus on implementing and optimizing the necessary market, technological and regulatory framework for the hydrogen economy in the areas of plant engineering, generation, transport infrastructure and application technologies. To solve these challenges globally, DWV is also committed to international sustainable cooperation. Our 400 personal members and over 140 member institutions and companies represent more than 1.5 million jobs nationwide; the association thus represents a significant part of the German economy.

EFCF

EFCF AG organises the European Electrolyser and Fuel Cell Forum - world's leading scientific and technical conference in the field of electrolysers, fuel cells and hydrogen since 1994 in Lucerne Switzerland. The forum accommodates more than 500 experts, building bridges between science, engineering and industry.

Hydrogen Europe

Hydrogen Europe is the European association representing the interest of the hydrogen and fuel cell industry and its stakeholders and promoting hydrogen as an enabler of a zero-emission society. With more than 300 companies and 27 national associations as members, our association encompasses the entire value chain of the European Hydrogen and fuel cell ecosystem collaborating with the European Commission in the Fuel Cell Hydrogen Joint Undertaking.

For more information, please visit www.hydrogeneurope.eu

Contact:

Solar Promotion:

Solar Promotion GmbH | P.O. Box 100 170 | 75101 Pforzheim | Germany

Horst Dufner | Tel.: +49 7231 58598-0 | Fax: +49 7231 58598-28

[email protected]

fischerAppelt, relations | Otl-Aicher-Str. 64 | 80807 Munich | Germany

Robert Schwarzenbock | Tel. +49 89 747466-23| Fax +49 89 747466-66 [email protected]

DWV

Deutscher Wasserstoff- und Brennstoffzellen-Verband e. V. (DWV) | Robert-Koch-Platz 4

10115 Berlin | Germany | Philipp Markus Weiss | +49 (030) 629 29 485 | [email protected]

ECF

ECF AG | Michael Spirig | [email protected] | + 41 79 798 26 45

Hydrogen Europe

Hydogen Europe Secretariat | av. de la Toison d'Or 56-60 | 1040 Brussels | Belgium

Michela Bortolotti | Tel. +32 (0) 2 540 87 75 | [email protected]

SOURCE The smarter E Europe
PORTLAND, Ore., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research recently published a report, titled, "Hypersonic Technology Market by Launch Mode (Air Launched, Surface Launched, and Subsea Launched), End User (Military, Air Force, Navy, and Space), and Type (Hypersonic Glide Vehicle, Hypersonic Cruise Missile, and Hypersonic Spaceplanes): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20212030". As per the report, the global hypersonic technology industry was pegged at $4.98 billion in 2020, and is expected to reach $12.18 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 9.7% from 2021 to 2030.

Download Report (290 Pages PDF with Insights, Charts, Tables, Figures) at https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/14004

Major determinants of the market growth

Rise in number of territorial conflicts and surge in developments about deployment of hypersonic technologies have boosted the global hypersonic technology market. However, challenges in material development and testing of hypersonic technologies hinder the market growth. On the contrary, surge in expenses in the defense sector and development in scramjet technology would open new opportunities for the market players in the coming years.

Covid-19 scenario:

The Covid-19 pandemic led to severe economic situations across the globe, which negatively affected the deployment of high investment technologies including hypersonic technology.

Moreover, the deployment of this technology in the defense sector was put on hold due to a disrupted supply chain and challenges in the procurement of materials.

However, the demand for hypersonic technology is expected to attract investments during the post-pandemic period.

Request for Customization at https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-for-customization/14004

The air launched segment to manifest the highest CAGR through 2030

By launch mode, the air launched segment is expected to register the highest CAGR of 11.3% during the forecast period. Moreover, the segment held the lion's share in 2020, accounting for around two-fifths of the global hypersonic technology market, due to high demand for air-launched combat hypersonic technologies for military operations. The report also includes analysis of the segments such as surface-launched and subsea launched.

The air force segment held the lion's share

By end user, the air force segment dominated the market in 2020, contributing to more than one-third of the global hypersonic technology market. Moreover, the segment is expected to register the highest CAGR of 10.6% during the forecast period, due to rise in developments in the production of hypersonic technologies for the air force. The report includes an analysis of other segments such as military, navy, and space.

Interested to Procure the Data? Inquire here at https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/14004

North America to portray the highest CAGR by 2030

By region, the market across North America is expected to showcase the highest CAGR of 11.1% during the forecast period, due to rise in R&D activities, technological advancements by market players, and adoption of innovative technologies in making the hypersonic technology reliable, precise, and efficient. However, the market across Asia-Pacific held the largest share in 2020, contributing around one-third of the global hypersonic technology market, owing to increase in investments by countries such as India, China, Japan, South Korea, and others.

Major market players

BAE Systems plc

Hermeus Corp.

Dynetics, Inc.

MBDA

Lockheed Martin Corporation

Raytheon Technologies Corporation

Northrop Grumman Corporation

The Boeing Company

Reaction Engines

Velontra

Schedule a FREE Consultation Call with Our Analysts to Find Solutions for Your Business at https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/connect-to-analyst/14004

Similar Reports We Have on Defense Industry:

Hypersonic Precision Guided Munition Market by Type (Autonomous, and Semi-Autonomous), by Product (Tactical Missiles, Guided Rockets, Guided Ammunition, and Loitering Munition), by Technology (Infrared, Semi Active Laser, Inertial Navigation System (INS), Global Positioning System (GPS), Radar Homing, Anti-Radiation, and Others): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20202030.

Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) Market by Application (Defense, Scientific Research, Commercial, and Others), by Size (Small, Medium, Large, and Extra Large), by Modes of Operation (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), Mine Counter Measures (MCM), Anti-Submarine Warfare, Oil & Gas Explorations, Oceanology Data Mapping, and Others), and by Payload (Sidescan Sonar, Towed Array, Dipping Sonar, Mini Autonomous Underwater Vehicle, Expandable Mine Neutralizers, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, Geotechnical Seabed Data Collector, and Underway Water Column Profilers) - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2017-2030.

Surface to Air Missiles Market by Launch Type (Vehicle Launched and Shoulder Launched), by Product (High Altitude Missile, Hollow Missile, and Low Altitude Missile), by Application (Fighting, Air Defense, and Others) - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2017-2030.

About Us

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 domain.

Pawan Kumar, the CEO of Allied Market Research, is leading the organization toward providing high-quality data and insights. 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. 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.

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SOURCE Allied Market Research
WHEELING, Ill., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- SG360, an industry-leading provider of performance-driven direct marketing solutions, is excited to announce James (Jim) Andersen has enthusiastically accepted an appointment to the SG360 Board of Directors. SG360 anticipates benefitting from Mr. Andersen's storied decades of experience in direct marketing.

Having spent his entire careerbeginning in the late 1970sin the direct mail sphere, Mr. Andersen was most recently CEO of IWCO Direct for 20 years. His leadership skills and accomplishments over the years have been recognized and rewarded by his peers. Andersen was inducted into the Printing Impressions/RIT Printing Industry Hall of Fame in 2008, and was deeply honored to be chosen as the 2010 Harry V. Quadracci VISION Award recipient from the Printing Industries of America. Additionally, Mr. Andersen has served on numerous other boards including the Printing Industry of Minnesota, the Envelope Manufacturers Association, Minnesota Business Partnership (MBP), and the Direct Marketing Association's finance committee.

Given his affinity for team building and developing strategies, Mr. Andersen looks forward to working closely with SG360 President and CEO John Wallace and the leadership team to leverage SG360's innovative production platform and aptitude for advanced technologies to evolve the capabilities of direct marketing mail and help drive customers to greater return on investment.

"John Wallace and I have developed an excellent working relationship as suppliers and resources for each other over the years. We came to understand quickly that our values are closely aligned, and we have a genuine comfort level working together," explained Mr. Andersen.

John Wallace adds, "I am honored to have Jim join our board at this opportune time in the history of SG360. We have a variety of growth opportunities in front of us, and my leadership team and I look forward to partnering with Jim to gain valuable insight on how best to shape our journey forward."

Mr. Andersen is especially looking forward to helping Mr. Wallace address recent upheavals in the business world at large. He hopes to be a sounding board as Mr. Wallace continues to expertly navigate SG360's way through the ongoing issues related to COVID-19; supply chain irregularities, labor shortages, wage increases issues well beyond the historical norm.

"I was flattered and humbled by the offer to join the Board," continued Andersen. "I have high regard for ICV Partners (SG360's controlling owner), having dealings with them previously, and extremely high regard for John personally and professionally. Accepting this offer was an absolute no brainer."

Mr. Wallace concurs, stating "I'm very excited to see what our future together brings."

Since 1956, SG360 has thrived by anticipating and addressing client needs in the ever-changing direct marketing sphere. By continually redefining what direct mail is and what it can do, they have become an industry-leading provider of omnichannel direct marketing solutions. SG360's dedication to quality is regularly reflected in the multiple industry awards they receive annually; 12 so far in 2021.

Melanie De Caprio

SG360

312-388-4894

[email protected]

SOURCE SG360, a Segerdahl Company
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Kawasaki Engines heads to the GIE+EXPO in Louisville, Ky., with an all-new exhibit showcasing the company's products and capabilities under the theme of "Coming Together." The theme is a nod to the return of GIE+EXPO since 2019, as well as a description of Kawasaki's engines, parts, and accessories working together to deliver proven performance and quality to outdoor lawn equipment manufacturers.

"We're absolutely looking forward to GIE+EXPO and we're grateful for the opportunity to resume some face-to-face communication with customers, dealers, end-users and business associates," said Nelson Wilner, vice president of the division. "We value the relationships we have with all our stakeholders, and we invite those attending to join us in learning about our tremendous line of products and have some fun interactive experiences at the same time."

During the Oct. 20-22 gathering at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, Kawasaki Engines' indoor exhibit space #1064 will be a Kawasaki Lounge with the engine family on display, a place for attendees to rest for a few minutes while they explore the show. On Thursday and Friday, Kawasaki's taking the show and team outside at exhibit #7422D, where guests can expect a safely distanced environment in which to network, learn and interact. Display highlights will include:

Stations that allow attendees to get an in-depth look at Kawasaki Engines' products and services. Among them will be a showcase presentation of the company's recently launched line of fuels: KTECH Pre-Mixed 2-Cycle Fuel + Oil and KTECH Ethanol-Free 4-Cycle Fuel. These new formulations, developed to alleviate common problems for outdoor power equipment users, also feature various container sizes and new packaging.

Profiles on Kawasaki's broad engine family and a hospitality counter staffed with technical and sales team members to answer general questions such as, "How do I become a dealer?" and "How do I find my local Kawasaki dealer?"

broad engine family and a hospitality counter staffed with technical and sales team members to answer general questions such as, "How do I become a dealer?" and "How do I find my local dealer?" Kawasaki will again provide attendees the opportunity to participate with them in the annual GIE effort to feed hungry families through a relationship with Feeding America, the largest hunger relief organization in the country. This marks the third year that Kawasaki has incorporated the Feeding America outreach effort into its GIE display. In two previous years of participation, Kawasaki generated funds to provide thousands of meals to the under-served. Wilner said, "It has been gratifying to see the participation each year and this year we're sure the GIE attendees will recognize that the current need is even greateranother example of coming together."

will again provide attendees the opportunity to participate with them in the annual GIE effort to feed hungry families through a relationship with Feeding America, the largest hunger relief organization in the country. This marks the third year that has incorporated the Feeding America outreach effort into its GIE display. In two previous years of participation, generated funds to provide thousands of meals to the under-served. Wilner said, "It has been gratifying to see the participation each year and this year we're sure the GIE attendees will recognize that the current need is even greateranother example of coming together." Show attendees will get a real hands-on example of why Kawasaki engines have become so popular, with numerous pieces of equipment from a variety of manufacturers on hand. In addition, a precision-course Ride 'n Drive will give attendees the opportunity to test their driving skills on zero-turn and stand-on machines.

Kawasaki Engines, a division of Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A., distributes gasoline engines for landscape, industrial, and consumer markets. The division is headquartered in Grand Rapids, Mich. It sells to and services customers through a network of OEMs, distributors, and more than 7,700 independent dealers throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, select countries in Central and South America, and the U.S. Trust Territories of the Pacific, including Guam.

MEDIA CONTACT

Tiffany Young, KMC, 616-954-3027

SOURCE Kawasaki Engines
LCGC Announces the 2022 Winners of the Lifetime Achievement and Emerging Leader in Chromatography Awards Tweet this

Karger, James L. Waters Professor Emeritus of chemistry and chemical biology at Northeastern University, is one of the earliest contributors of modern high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and bioanalytical separations and analysis. He also served as director of the Barnett Institute of Chemical and Biological Analysis.

Grinias is an associate professor at Rowan University. His research focuses on the fundamental development of liquid chromatography (LC) columns in capillaries and microfluidic devices. His earlier work focused on the physical structure of the packed chromatographic bed inside a fused silica capillary and led to strategies that could be used to pack more efficient columns in capillaries and miniaturized microfluidic devices.

The LCGC Awards were launched in 2008 to celebrate the accomplishments of separation scientists. The Lifetime Achievement in Chromatography Award honors an outstanding professional for a lifetime of contributions to the advancement of chromatographic techniques and applications and the Emerging Leader in Chromatography Award recognizes the achievements and aspirations of a talented young separation scientist who has made strides early in their career toward the advancement of chromatographic techniques and applications.

For more information on previous LCGC award winners or for information on how to nominate a candidate for the 2023 Lifetime Achievement and Emerging Leader awards, click here.

About LCGC

LCGC is the largest global chromatography multimedia platform dedicated to the separation sciences. Combining all the resources of the regional editions (LCGC North America, LCGC Europe and LCGC Asia Pacific), chromatographyonline.com is the premier global digital resource for unbiased, peer-reviewed, technical information on the field of chromatography and the separation sciences. LCGC delivers practical information that can help laboratory professionals become more proficient in the use of chromatographic techniques and instrumentation, thereby making laboratories more productive and businesses around the world more successful. LCGC is a brand of MJH Life Sciences  , the largest privately held, independent, full-service medical media company in North America.

Media Contact

Kristie Luff

+1-609-516-3722

[email protected]

SOURCE LCGC

Related Links

http://www.chromatographyonline.com


RAIPUR, India, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Stratview Research announces the launch of a new research report on Lignin Market by End-Use Industry (Construction, Agriculture, Animal Feed, and Others), by Product Type (Lignosulfonate, Kraft Lignin, and Others), and by Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World), Forecast, Competitive Analysis, and Growth Opportunity: 2021-2026.

This strategic assessment report, from Stratview Research, provides a comprehensive analysis that reflects today's lignin market realities and future market possibilities for the forecast period of 2021 to 2026. The report segments and analyzes the market in the most detailed manner to provide a panoramic view of the market. The vital data/information provided in the report can play a crucial role for the market participants as well as investors in the identification of low-hanging fruits available in the market as well as formulate growth strategies.

Lignin Market: Highlights

Lignin is one of the most abundantly available biopolymers on earth and has been attributed as the most sustainable bio-resource. Lignin was traditionally used as a fuel for burning. However, over the past few years, manufacturers are exploring new revenue streams for lignin across different industrial applications like construction, agriculture, and animal feeds. Lignin producers have realized significant number of commercialized as well as potential applications for different lignin-based materials including vanillin, carbon fiber, phenols, and biomaterials which can be further processed to be used as binders & adhesives, dispersants, aromatics, etc.

In the wake of the pandemic, the lignin market witnessed a decline of -1.3% in the year 2020. Different end-use industries have experienced different degrees of impact of the pandemic. For instance, the pandemic hit the construction industry hard, causing unimaginable disruption and losses for the stakeholders. Increased use of oil-based alternatives driven by low oil prices and reduced construction activities further resulted in the decline of lignin's demand in the construction industry.

Based on primary interview results coupled with the study of recovery trajectories of previous downturns, it is anticipated that the market will cross its 2019-sales figure in 2021 only, marking a consistent growth during the forecast period. Overall, the lignin market is likely to rebound at a promising CAGR of 3.1% during 2021-2026 to reach US$ 810 million in 2026.

Click Here for Running Through the Table of Contents: https://www.stratviewresearch.com/toc/1510/lignin-and-lignin-based-products-market.html

Based on the end-use industry, construction is expected to remain the largest segment of the market during the forecast period, owing to continuous growth in construction activities across the globe. In addition to that, increasing demand for lignin in concrete additives is further expected to boost the market growth during the study period.

Based on the product type, lignosulfonate is expected to remain the dominant product type in the market during the forecast period. This is primarily due to a wide range of industrial applications for lignosulfonates, such as concrete admixture, dust suppressant and control, animal feed binders, crop protection, and fertilizer production.

In terms of regions, Europe is expected to remain the largest market for lignin during the forecast period. The presence of large number of lignin producers, such as Domsjo Fabriker, Stora Enso, and Borregaard, in Europe, is one of the major factors behind the dominance of the region. Asia-Pacific and North America are also likely to create sizeable opportunities in the coming five years, driven by an expected rebound in the construction industry and a strong expected economic rebound in the near future.

Register Here for a Free Sample of the Report: https://www.stratviewresearch.com/Request-Sample/1510/lignin-and-lignin-based-products-market.html#form

The global lignin market is highly consolidated with the top four players (Borregaard, Ingevity, Domsjo Fabriker, and Sappi) capturing more than 70% share of the total market in 2020. Some of the key players in the lignin market are:

The Borregaard Group

Ingevity

Sappi Limited

Domtar Corporation

Domsjo Fabriker (Part of Aditya Birla Group)

Stora Enso

Report Features

This report provides market intelligence in the most comprehensive way. The report structure has been kept such that it offers maximum business value. It provides critical insights on the market dynamics and will enable strategic decision making for the existing market players as well as those willing to enter the market. The following are the key features of the report:

Market structure: Overview, industry life cycle analysis, supply chain analysis.

Market environment analysis: Growth drivers and constraints, Porter's five forces analysis, SWOT analysis.

Market trend and forecast analysis.

Market segment trend and forecast.

Competitive landscape and dynamics: Market share, product portfolio, product launches, etc.

Attractive market segments and associated growth opportunities.

Emerging trends.

Strategic growth opportunities for the existing and new players.

Key success factors.

This report studies global lignin market and has segmented the market in three ways, keeping in mind the interest of all the stakeholders across the value chain. Following are the three ways in which the market is segmented:

Lignin Market, by End-Use Industry

Construction (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Agriculture (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Animal Feed (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Others (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Lignin Market, by Product Type

Lignosulfonate (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Kraft Lignin (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Others (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Lignin Market, by Region

North America (Country Analysis: USA , Canada , and Mexico )

Europe (Country Analysis: Germany , Italy , the UK, Russia , and Rest of Europe )

Asia-Pacific (Country Analysis: China , India , Japan , and Rest of Asia-Pacific )

Rest of the World (Sub-Region Analysis: Latin America , the Middle East , and Africa )

Stratview Research has several high value market reports in the chemicals and materials industry. Please refer to the following link to browse through our reports:

https://www.stratviewresearch.com/market-reports/Chemicals-Materials.html

About Stratview Research

Stratview Research is a global market intelligence firm providing wide range of services including syndicated market reports, custom research, and sourcing intelligence across industries, such as Advanced Materials, Aerospace & Defense, Automotive & Mass Transportation, Consumer Goods, Construction & Equipment, Electronics and Semiconductors, Energy & Utility, Healthcare & Life Sciences, and Oil & Gas.

We have a strong team of industry veterans and analysts with an extensive experience in executing custom research projects for mid-sized to Fortune 500 companies, in the areas of Market Assessment, Opportunity Screening, Competitive Intelligence, Due Diligence, Target Screening, Market Entry Strategy, Go to Market Strategy, and Voice of Customer studies.

Stratview Research is a trusted brand globally, providing high quality research and strategic insights that help companies worldwide in effective decision making.

Stratview Research has launched 'Composights', an online portal which offers free thought leadership reports, whitepapers, market report synopsis and much more for Composites and allied industries, worth US$ 20,000 every year.

Click here to sign up (No costs involved): https://www.stratviewresearch.com/composights/sign-in

For enquiries, please contact:

Stratview Research

E-mail: [email protected]

Direct: +1-313-307-4176

SOURCE Stratview Research
BENTON HARBOR, Mich., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Access to healthy food is an issue for millions of children and the pandemic made the situation even worse. In fact, a 2020 study cites that 27.5 percent of households with children are food insecure, which means about 14 million children in the United States are not getting enough to eat1. That is why Maytag  a leading appliance brand built on dependability  is launching the Maytag Feel Good Fridge program in collaboration with Boys & Girls Clubs of America, placing Maytag refrigerators in select Boys & Girls Clubs in underserved communities across the country. The purpose-driven initiative is launching with ten fridges with a goal to be in 30 Clubs by early 2022, to help create thriving communities that children and their families can consistently depend on.

Actor and advocate Terrence Jenkins unveils the first Maytag Feel Good Fridge at the Wilmington Boys and Girls Club, Los Angeles. Actor and advocate Terrence Jenkins celebrates the launch of Maytag brand's Feel Good Fridge program with Boys and Girls Club kids at Wilmington, Los Angeles. Actor and advocate Terrence Jenkins unveils the first Maytag Feel Good Fridge at the Wilmington Boys and Girls Club, Los Angeles. Actor and advocate Terrence Jenkins celebrates Maytag brand's first Feel Good Fridge at the Wilmington Boys and Girls Club, Los Angeles.

"Maytag believes dependability starts with ensuring that all Americans have access to their most basic needs, and having access to healthy and nourishing food is one of the most important needs of children," says Kelly Roche, Brand Manager for Maytag. "We're delighted to help provide children with this access by placing our Feel Good Fridges at the Boys & Girls Clubs, proudly expanding on our nearly 20-year relationship with the organization."

Maytag is working with Academy Award winner, producer, actor and TV host Terrence Jenkins, to launch the Maytag Feel Good Fridge efforts. Jenkins is very involved with Boys & Girls Clubs of America as an alum from North Carolina and an advocate for fighting food insecurity, most recently working with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) around the country to get healthier food to students and establish healthier habits for them. Jenkins recently visited the first Maytag Feel Good Fridge reveal in Los Angeles to officially launch the initiative.

"I am very passionate about helping meet children's needs for healthy food. So, working with Maytag for the opportunity to bring Feel Good Fridges to the Boys & Girls Clubs across the country was a no brainer to me," says Jenkins. "As someone who personally knows the importance of having a local Boys & Girls Club, I am honored to help Club kids in underserved communities get access to healthy food."

In addition to providing the refrigerators, Maytag is providing Boys & Girls Clubs of America with a small grant to help fill the Feel Good Fridges with healthy food. The Clubs will also leverage their local relationships to keep the fridges full of healthy options for kids and their families. It's estimated that each Maytag Feel Good Fridge will help provide healthy food to an estimated 130 Club kids each day.2 Club kids and teens will customize the fridge with Maytag decals, which suggest healthy food choices and healthy eating tips to support Boys and Girls Clubs' existing Healthy Habits curriculum.

"Maytag has been a dependable ally in our Club communities for nearly two decades and the Feel Good Fridge program addresses a very important effort, allowing our youth and their families to live a healthier lifestyle," says Laura Gover, Senior Director of Health & Wellness at Boys & Girls Clubs of America. "Access to healthy food encourages youth to make choices that support their overall wellness, which can change the trajectory of a youth's life entirely. Giving our Club children access to healthy food will help them to thrive and continue our mission of helping kids achieve their potential."

Boys & Girls Clubs in Los Angeles, New York, Detroit and Grand Rapids will be the first to receive official Maytag Feel Good Fridges. Once installed, the Maytag Feel Good Fridges will help ensure an important basic need is met, removing a barrier to healthier communities and helping children to thrive. To learn more, donate or volunteer at your local Club, please visit maytag.com/feelgoodfridge.

About Maytag Feel Good Fridge

The Maytag Feel Good Fridge is a donated refrigerator located at select Boys & Girls Clubs across the country that will be stocked with healthy food for Club kids and their families to take when in-need. Boys & Girls Clubs in Los Angeles, New York, Detroit and Grand Rapids will be the first to receive Feel Good Fridges and Maytag plans to place 20 additional Feel Good Fridges in Clubs around the country by early 2022. To learn more about the program or how to get involved, please visit maytag.com/feelgoodfridge.

About Maytag Brand

For more than a century, Maytag appliances have been synonymous with dependability and durability. For over 100 years- Maytag has an enduring tradition of quality production and powerful performance. Durable, commercial-grade components are found in many Maytag appliances  including Maytag front-load and top-load washers and dryers. Maytag also offers a full range of kitchen appliances - Maytag dishwashers with the PowerBlast cycle, Maytag refrigerators with the Powercold option, as well as Maytag ranges, cooktops and ovens with Power burner and Power element options. In January 2014, Maytag introduced America to the Maytag Man  a dependable machine and the human embodiment of the durability, reliability and power inside all Maytag appliances. In addition to creating durable appliances, Maytag also is a dependable partner to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America in their effort to support communities across America and help young people achieve great futures. For more information about Maytag, please visit Maytag.com, or find us on Twitter at @TheMaytagMan , Instagram at instagram.com/Maytag , Facebook at Facebook.com/Maytag or Pinterest at pinterest.com/Maytag .

About Boys & Girls Clubs of America

For 160 years, Boys & Girls Clubs of America ( BGCA.org ) has provided a safe place for kids and teens to learn and grow. Clubs offer caring adult mentors, fun and friendship, and high-impact youth development programs on a daily basis during critical non-school hours. Boys & Girls Clubs programming promotes academic success, good character and leadership, and healthy lifestyles. More than 4,700 Clubs serve over 4.3 million young people through Club membership and community outreach. Clubs are located in cities, towns, public housing and on Native lands throughout the country, and serve military families in BGCA-affiliated Youth Centers on U.S. military installations worldwide. National headquarters are located in Atlanta. Learn more about Boys & Girls Clubs of America on Facebook and Twitter.

1 As of June 2020. An analysis by the Brookings Institution

2 Based on ten Maytag Feel Good Fridges installed in LA, NY, Detroit and Grand Rapids, MI Clubs in September and October 2021

SOURCE Maytag
TAMPA, Fla., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- New office space opens adjacent to the soon-to-open Hospital for Endocrine Surgery, now home to the world-renowned surgeons of the Norman Parathyroid Center and its sister surgeons from other top endocrine centers. The state-of-the-art Hospital for Endocrine Surgery will open to the public early next year.

The Norman Parathyroid Center is uniting under one roof at their new office located at 5959 Webb Rd, Tampa, Florida, with its partners at the Clayman Thyroid Center led by Surgeon in Chief Dr Gary Clayman; the Carling Adrenal Center led by Surgeon in Chief Dr Tobias Carling; and the Scarless Thyroid Center led by Surgeon in Chief Dr Hyunsuk Suh.

"It's great to finally be working together in the same building, it's been a long time coming," says Dr. Jim Norman, CEO and Founder of the Norman Parathyroid Center. "We've been partnered with the Clayman Thyroid Center for five years, and it was exciting to expand on that last year by opening up the Carling Adrenal Center and the Scarless Thyroid Center focused on robotic surgery. Within these walls are the best endocrine surgeons in the world."

"We just celebrated our fifth anniversary at the Clayman Thyroid Center," says Dr. Gary Clayman, the Center's founder. "Our team is incredibly excited about working together at the new office and of course, the new hospital. This facility is so specialized, there's nothing else like it in the world."

HCA Healthcare announced the Hospital for Endocrine Surgery last month. In a $50 million expansion of the Memorial Hospital of Tampa campus, this new 75,000 square-foot facility is slated to start welcoming thyroid cancer, adrenal, and parathyroid patients by January of 2022. https://www.hospitalforendocrinesurgery.com

The surgeons have a global reputation and international reach with just over 50% of patients traveling from outside the state of Florida and nearly 10% from out of the country for expert surgical care of thyroid cancer and parathyroid gland tumors.

The Hospital for Endocrine Surgery will allow these surgeons to reach even more patients who are desperately seeking a cure and relief from their life altering symptoms.

"I'm one-week post-op and I can't believe what a change has occurred in my life!" says a physician and past parathyroid patient from Malibu, California. "I feel 10 years younger in one week. I underwent a 17-minute operation where my parathyroid tumor was removed and my other parathyroid glands were checked. I knew from my research that the only way to assure that I was going to be cured and not need another operation was to have them look at all four parathyroid glands. When I knew that this was done, an incredible peace came over me. A peace that I haven't had in years, knowing that the reason I felt bad, and was not enjoying life was behind me. Everyone that can get to Tampa for their surgery needs to do so. People from all over the world were there on the day I was there. Keep reading, be smart."

Become a patient here.

About Norman Parathyroid Center: Located in Tampa, Florida, the Norman Parathyroid Center is the leading parathyroid gland tumor treatment center in the world, performing nearly 4,000 parathyroid operations annually. Well known for cure rates over 99% via an operation that typically lasts about 20 minutes, the Norman Parathyroid Center's success centers on a teamwork approach by the most experienced parathyroid surgeons in the world. (813) 972-0000. https://www.parathyroid.com

About the Clayman Thyroid Center: Founded by one of the nation's best-known thyroid surgeons, the Clayman Thyroid Center is the highest volume thyroid cancer referral center in the United States. The Center boasts the most experienced thyroid surgeons in the US who provide personalized care allowing the greatest opportunity for cancer cure, wellness, and cosmetic and functional outcomes via all types of thyroid surgery from minimal incision to scarless thyroid surgery to advanced cancer care. (813) 940-3130 https://www.thyroidcancer.com

About the Carling Adrenal Center: Founded by Dr. Tobias Carling, one of the world's leading experts in adrenal gland surgery, the Carling Adrenal Center is a worldwide destination for the surgical treatment of adrenal tumors. Dr. Carling spent nearly 20 years as the Chief of Endocrine Surgery at Yale University before leaving in 2020 to open to Carling Adrenal Center, which performs more adrenal operations than any other hospital in the world. (813) 972-0000. https://www.adrenal.com/

Contact:

Julie Canan, Director of Marketing

Norman Parathyroid Center

[email protected]

SOURCE Norman Parathyroid Center

Related Links

www.parathyroid.com


MIAMI, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Oceania Cruises, the world's leading culinary- and destination-focused cruise line opened its recently unveiled 2023 Europe and North America Collection of voyages for sale to the general public. Featuring seven ships sailing 179 itineraries, which call on more than 260 ports, this new collection is the line's most expansive and diverse offering to date.

Charting the alluring coastlines of the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, Baltic & Scandinavia, Alaska, Canada, and the Colonial Americas, each voyage is a masterpiece of exploration that reveals iconic cities, off-the-beaten-path villages, and dramatic, unspoiled natural wonders.

"These new voyages are ideal for discerning travelers seeking to re-discover the world," stated Bob Binder, President & CEO of Oceania Cruises. "Whether they are retracing familiar paths or setting off to uncharted territories, they will find endearing smiles, enthralling cultural elements, and fascinating culinary experiences."

Featuring 30 to 50 percent more time in port than premium cruise lines, this new collection of itineraries features 190 overnight/multi-day stays in both marquee and boutique ports of call along with hundreds of evening and late-night departures, all of which afford guests the opportunity to immerse themselves in the history, culture, and cuisines of the destinations.

2023 Europe and North America Collection Highlights

Voyages range in length from 7 to 56 days

Nine new, off-the-beaten-path ports of call: Kalundborg, Denmark ; Nordfjordeid, Norway ; Oban, Scotland ; Runavik ( Faroe Islands ), Denmark ; Torbay, UK ; Limnos, Greece ; Jeddah, Saudi Arabia ; Lipari, Italy ; Eastport, Maine

; Nordfjordeid, ; Oban, ; Runavik ( ), ; ; Limnos, ; ; Lipari, ; 57 Grand Voyages promise epic exploration opportunities

The ultimate in small-ship Mediterranean immersion with 102 itineraries from which to choose

More than 40 cruises and Grand Voyages to the Holy Lands of Israel and Turkey

and Riviera offers 14 voyages to the British Isles, Ireland , Iceland , Norwegian Fjords and Greenland

offers 14 voyages to the British Isles, , , Norwegian Fjords and Marina reprises her perennial series of Baltic capitals and Russia voyages with more than a dozen sailings

reprises her perennial series of capitals and voyages with more than a dozen sailings The inaugural season of Vista with 18 voyages in the Mediterranean, Greek Isles, Holy Lands, British Isles, and Colonial Americas

with 18 voyages in the Mediterranean, Greek Isles, Holy Lands, British Isles, and Colonial Americas Regatta sails 13 Alaska cruises ranging from 7 to 20 days

sails 13 Alaska cruises ranging from 7 to 20 days Insignia and Vista offer 14 departures from New York , Montreal , and Boston focusing on the Canadian Maritimes, Colonial Americas, and Bermuda

Top 10 Highlighted Voyages from the 2023 Europe and North America Collection

Picturesque Mediterranean | April 14, 2023

Riviera: Venice to Barcelona, 10 Days

A truly outstanding showcase of culture, history, and exquisite cuisine is on display with nine ports of call in Croatia, Montenegro, Greece, Italy, and France.

Turkish & Hellenic Gems | May 4, 2023

Marina: Athens to Istanbul, 7 Days

This voyage overflows with history as it focuses entirely on Greece and Turkey with calls in Ephesus, Bodrum, Antalya, Rhodes, and Mykonos and culminates with an overnight stay in sultry Istanbul.

Scandinavia & Baltic Allure | June 2, 2023

Marina: Amsterdam to Copenhagen, 12 Days

Discover the ultimate expression of the beauty and wealth of culture that the great Baltic capitals are known for with cities like Oslo, Aarhus, and Berlin. An overnight in St. Petersburg offers the special opportunity to experience the White Nights festival in all its glory.

British Isles Discoveries | June 11, 2023

Riviera: London to Belfast, 18 Days

An intriguing blend of marquee ports like Edinburgh, Belfast, and Dublin blended with off-the-beaten-path ports such as Killybegs in Ireland and Kirkwall on the Orkney Islands offers numerous surprises as the voyage explores a total of 16 ports in 18 days.

Vikings, Fjords & Legends | July 1, 2023

Marina: Oslo to London, 10 Days

Sailing the return route of the Vikings, this voyage is a virtual kaleidoscope of fascinating history and fairytale landscapes. Exploring the best of Norway and the Baltic capitals, cosmopolitan flair is keenly balanced with natural splendor and the unparalleled majesty of the Norwegian fjords.

Greenland & Nordic Gems | July 21, 2023

Riviera: Reykjavik to Oslo, 15 Days

Nature takes center stage on this cruise showcasing the geysers and hot springs of Iceland, unspoiled glaciers of Greenland, ancient archipelagoes in the North Sea, and the unspoiled beauty of southern Sweden and Norway.

Alaska & California Treasures | September 7, 2023

Regatta: Vancouver to Los Angeles, 20 Days

All of the premier Alaska ports, Hubbard Glacier, the Inside Passage, Astoria and an overnight in San Francisco come together in a great adventure brimming with variety and contrasts.

Legendary European Adventure | September 26, 2023

Riviera: Amsterdam to Venice, 34 Days

This voyage encompasses the most iconic destinations of Europe's North Atlantic and northern Mediterranean coasts with overnights in Bordeaux and Venice, plus Bilbao, Lisbon, Seville, Barcelona, Provence, Portofino, Florence, Dubrovnik, and more.

Holy Land & Aegean Majesty | October 6, 2023

Nautica: Jerusalem to Rome, 11 Days

Experience 360 degrees of history with standout classics such as Rhodes, Ephesus, Athens, and Santorini, plus an overnight in Jerusalem, capped off with the inescapable allure of Sicily and the enigma that is Naples.

Canada & New England Charms | October 19 & October 30, 2023

Insignia: Boston to Montreal, 11 Days

Incomparable fall foliage, romantic storybooks ports and a bounty of American and French culinary experiences define this itinerary that showcases the crossroads of European and American history.

About Oceania Cruises

Oceania Cruises is the world's leading culinary- and destination-focused cruise line. The line's seven small, luxurious ships carry no more than 1,250 guests and feature the finest cuisine at sea and destination-rich itineraries that span the globe. Expertly curated travel experiences aboard the designer-inspired, small ships call on more than 450 marquee and boutique ports across Europe, Alaska, Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, New England-Canada, Bermuda, the Caribbean, the Panama Canal, Tahiti and the South Pacific in addition to the epic 180-day Around the World Voyages. The brand has an additional 1,200-guest Vista Class ship on order for delivery in 2025.

With headquarters in Miami, Oceania Cruises is owned by Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., a diversified cruise operator of leading global cruise brands which include Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises.

About Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: NCLH) is a leading global cruise company which operates the Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises brands. With a combined fleet of 28 ships with nearly 60,000 berths, these brands offer itineraries to more than 490 destinations worldwide. The Company has nine additional ships scheduled for delivery through 2027, comprising of approximately 24,000 berths.

SOURCE Oceania Cruises
To honor the military heroes who lost their lives while serving the United States, 36 PepsiCo drivers  who happen to be military veterans themselves  will participate in a cross-country relay, transporting an American flag first flown on a UH-60M Blackhawk Helicopter in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom between 51 nationwide stops along normal business routes.

As a like-minded partner, JetBlue, in partnership with its Vets in Blue crewmember resource group, kicked-off this year's relay on Oct. 3 with a crew consisting of veterans, flying the American flag from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to its first stop in Seattle aboard its Vets in Blue plane. The flag is now travelling the remainder of its 8,687-mile journey throughout the United States on the ground and will conclude at PepsiCo headquarters in Purchase, N.Y. on Veterans Day (Thursday, November 11). The annual event is led in partnership with PepsiCo's employee resource group, PepsiCo Valor, which supports veteran PepsiCo employees and veterans in communities across the country. This year's veteran drivers include:

Bulmaro Mendoza , a U.S. Army veteran

, a U.S. Army veteran Luis (Lou) Martinez , a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served in Okinawa, Japan

, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served in Pablo Barajas , a U.S. Army veteran who served two tours in Iraq

, a U.S. Army veteran who served two tours in Javier Castorena , a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served in Japan and South Korea

"After conducting Rolling Remembrance virtually last year, we're so proud to have it back on the ground for our sixth year," said Jim Farrell, Senior Vice President of Operations, PepsiCo Beverages North America Central Division and Executives Sponsor of PepsiCo Valor. "Honoring the sacrifices of these military heroes, supporting their families with Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation, and recognizing our own military veterans at PepsiCo is a special occasion for us every year."

Approximately 25,000 children have lost a parent in military service over the last 35 years. Through scholarships and educational counseling, Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation helps to bridge the average $25,000 gap between government assistance programs and the cost of a four-year degree that scholars face. To donate to Children of Fallen Patriots foundation, visit www.fallenpatriots.org

"We're grateful for PepsiCo's partnership and for standing with us in this commitment since 2015," said David Kim, co-founder and CEO of Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation. "Investing in the education of military children who lost a parent in the line of duty is one of the best ways we can honor those who lost their lives defending our country."

Since 2015, the PepsiCo Rolling Remembrance relay has raised $1.2 million in donations for Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation.

About Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation

Fallen Patriots honors the sacrifices of our fallen military heroes by ensuring the success of their children through college education. Since 2002, Fallen Patriots has provided over $49 million in total assistance, including college scholarships and educational counseling to over 2,100 military children who have lost a parent in the line of duty. Nearly 25,000 children from across America will need future assistance.

Help today by visiting www.fallenpatriots.org

Follow us on:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/fallenpatriots

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FallenPatriots

Instagram: https://instagram.com/fallenpatriots/

Google+: https://plus.google.com/+FallenpatriotsOrg/posts

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/FallenPatriotsFound

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $70 billion in net revenue in 2020, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker, Tropicana and SodaStream. PepsiCo's product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including 23 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales. Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in Convenient Foods and Beverages by Winning with Purpose. "Winning with Purpose" reflects our ambition to win sustainably in the marketplace and embed purpose into all aspects of our business strategy and brands. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com.

CONTACT: Gabriella Long, [email protected]

SOURCE PepsiCo, Inc.
PORTLAND, Ore., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Portland General Electric (NYSE: POR) announced it is partnering with Nest Renew from Google, a service for compatible Nest thermostats that makes it easy to support a clean energy future.1 With Nest Renew, Portland General Electric (PGE) is taking the next step toward simplifying energy management at home, deploying new tools supporting clean energy and helping customers manage their heating and cooling electricity usage for lower grid emissions or lower cost.

"Customers are looking for new and innovative ways to save energy and reduce their carbon footprint," said Maria Pope, president and CEO of PGE. "Today's announcement with Google is an example of how by coming together, we can accelerate a clean energy future for Oregonians."

There are two ways for PGE customers to use this new energy solution, including Nest Renew Basic and Nest Renew Premium. Nest Renew Basic will help customers automatically shift their heating and cooling electricity usage to times when energy is cleaner. This flexibility is key in creating options for customers and making better use of the clean energy in our region. It also makes it easy to enroll in PGE's Smart Thermostat program , which helps customers with compatible Nest thermostats automatically adjust their thermostat by a few degrees when energy demand is high and rewards customers for participating each season.

Nest Renew Premium does all of that and also includes Clean Energy Match, which can match customers' homes' estimated fossil fuel electricity usage with renewable energy credits from U.S. wind and solar projects. Nest Renew will be complementary to PGE's Green Source tariff and aims to integrate with existing programs like Peak Time Rebates, Smart Grid Test Bed and more in the future.

"Achieving the energy sector's climate goals requires a wide range of strategies, and by partnering with Google on Nest Renew, PGE provides new opportunities to engage with consumers, offer ways to save energy, increase demand response program participation and facilitate consumer support for renewable energy," said Hannah Bascom, Google's head of energy partnerships.

According to National Renewable Energy Laboratory's latest ranking, PGE has had the No. 1 voluntary renewable power program in the country for 12 years in a row thanks to its customer involvement in making clean energy choices. Nest Renew is just one example of how PGE is creating new options for customers to support clean energy and paving the way to a clean energy future.

This new service is rolling out in early preview by invitation beginning Fall 2021 and expanding over time. Learn more about PGE's integration with Nest Renew at portlandgeneral.com/nest-renew.

About Portland General Electric Company

Portland General Electric (NYSE: POR) is a fully integrated energy company based in Portland, Oregon, with operations across the state. The company serves approximately 900,000 customers with a service area population of 2 million Oregonians in 51 cities. PGE owns 16 generation plants across Oregon and other Northwestern states and maintains and operates 14 public parks and recreation areas. For over 130 years, PGE has delivered safe, affordable and reliable energy to Oregonians. Together with its customers, PGE has the No. 1 voluntary renewable energy program in the U.S. PGE and its 3,000 employees are working with customers to build a clean energy future. In 2020, PGE, employees, retirees and the PGE Foundation donated $5.6 million and volunteered 18,200 hours with more than 400 nonprofits across Oregon. For more information visit portlandgeneral.com/news.

For more information contact:

Alyssa Townsend, WE Communications

503-443-7156

[email protected]

1 Nest Renew requires the 3rd generation Nest Learning Thermostat, Nest Thermostat E, or the newest Nest Thermostat connected to a Google account (sold separately). Some Nest Renew features require a Nest Renew Premium $10/month subscription (see here). Available in select locations.

Source: Portland General Company

SOURCE Portland General Company

Related Links

http://www.portlandgeneral.com


NEW YORK, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Presidio Ventures, a Sumitomo Corporation of Americas ("SCOA") Group Company, has joined a Series B funding round for Lilac Solutions, Inc. ("Lilac"), a lithium extraction technology company headquartered in Oakland, CA. Lilac will use the funds from this round to continue expansion of its global team, build a dedicated factory in the United States to produce the company's unique ion-exchange beads, and deploy Lilac's lithium extraction technology at multiple projects throughout the United States, South America, and Europe.

"We're excited to contribute to the sustainable expansion of the world's Lithium's supply through our investment into Lilac solutions," said Mr. Doug Kuribayashi, CEO of Presidio Ventures. "We believe that Sumitomo Corporation of Americas' expertise and significant experience in the management and operations of the mining business, together with its global network in trading raw materials for battery production, will add value to Lilac Solutions in the future."

Lilac's lithium extraction technology is significantly more effective, faster to deploy, less expensive and more sustainable than conventional lithium production methods. Their Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) technology unlocks new untapped brine resources that contain low lithium and high impurities, an area deemed unusable until recently.



Dave Snydacker, CEO and Founder of Lilac Solutions, said "Electric vehicles are a low-carbon success story and are poised for decades of growth, but the lithium raw materials needed for batteries have become a serious bottleneck. The lithium industry has been plagued with technical and environmental problems that have put future supply in jeopardy. Lilac's technology solves the fundamental challenges of lithium production from brine resources, and our team is thrilled to deploy globally with support from investors like Presidio Ventures and its parent company, SCOA."

Serving as SCOA's venture capital arm, Presidio Ventures anticipates myriad opportunities to help scale and apply Lilac's unique solution throughout the company's vast business network. SCOA has extensive experience within the global mining sector and possesses a wide network of industry partners and suppliers. Lilac's technology has the potential to catalyze Lithium production and increase supply, a welcome solution to the growing demand for global electrification.

Lithium is used in the development of batteries for mobile phones, laptops and tablets, and most notably electric vehicles. According to IEA's Global EV Outlook, electric car registrations increased in all major markets in 2020 despite the COVID-19 pandemic, and 18 of the 20 largest OEMs have committed to increase their offer and sale of EVs. With these figures driving the automotive industry toward electrification, the lithium supply chain is going to be a tremendous player in satisfying this consumer demand.

Presidio Ventures

With offices in Silicon Valley and Boston, Presidio Ventures has invested in more than 160 companies over the past twenty years. Presidio's expansive network of Sumitomo affiliates and subsidiaries helps the company tailor support for start-ups, ensuring that new companies can succeed from early-stage investment all the way to IPO. Founded in Sumitomo's centuries-old business philosophy of shared prosperity, Presidio looks for opportunities to partner with entrepreneurs in key industries that shape the way we live. For more information visit www.presido-ventures.com.

About Sumitomo Corporation of Americas

Established in 1952 and headquartered in New York City, Sumitomo Corporation of Americas (SCOA) has eight offices in major U.S. cities. SCOA is the largest subsidiary of Sumitomo Corporation, one of the world's leading traders of goods and services. As an integrated business enterprise, the firm has emerged as a major organizer of multinational projects, an expediter of ideas, an important international investor and financier, and a powerful force for distribution of products and global communications through a network of offices worldwide. Its core business units include Tubular Products, Environment and Infrastructure, Steel and Non Ferrous Metals, Transportation and Construction Systems, Chemicals and Electronics, Media and IOT Applications, Real Estate, Mineral Resources and Energy, and Food. For more information, visit www.sumitomocorp.com.



About Lilac Solutions

Lilac Solutions is a lithium extraction technology company based in Oakland, California. Lilac has developed a patented ion exchange technology that facilitates production of lithium from brine resources with high efficiency, minimal cost and ultra-low environmental footprint. Lilac's mission is to scale global lithium production to support the electric vehicle transition and renewable energy storage transition.

SOURCE Sumitomo Corporation of Americas

Related Links

http://www.sumitomocorp.com


ATLANTA, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Randstad USA has been recognized as a 2021 Leading Disability Employer by the National Organization on Disability (NOD). The NOD Leading Disability Employer Seal recognizes organizations that demonstrate exemplary employment practices for people with disabilities.

It is estimated that there are more than one billion people in the world with disabilities. This annual award commends those organizations leading the way in disability hiring and encourages other companies to tap into the many benefits of hiring talent with disabilities, including higher rates of productivity and greater employee engagement across the workforce.

"Diversity and inclusion are at the heart of everything we do at Randstad," said Rebecca Henderson, CEO, global businesses and Randstad N.V. executive board member. "We are deeply committed to creating accessible and inclusive spaces for all of our employees."

The NOD Leading Disability Employer Seal is awarded based on data provided by companies in response to the NOD Disability Employment Tracker , a free and confidential assessment that benchmarks companies' disability inclusion programs.

"We recognize that the best way to attract, retain and grow diverse talent is to create an inclusive and accessible workplace," said Karen Fichuk, CEO of Randstad North America and Randstad N.V. executive board member. "Our Abilities in Motion employee resource group has played an instrumental role in educating the entire organization, in addition to providing a forum to advocate for full and meaningful employment for people with physical, intellectual, cognitive, or developmental disabilities."

Randstad USA has been repeatedly recognized for its diversity efforts, receiving honors such as being named a DiversityInc Top 50 Company , included on Forbes rankings of America's Best Employers for Diversity and America's Best Employers for Women , and received a top score of 100 from the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) and Disability:IN on the 2021 Disability Equality Index (DEI) .

"Randstad USA is comprised of individuals with many different identities, life circumstances and talents, and we encourage them to bring every part of themselves to our company," said Audra Jenkins, chief diversity & inclusion officer at Randstad North America. "I am especially proud of our diverse workforce at this moment, and I understand that our diversity makes us stronger."

For more information about Randstad USA, please visit this link . To learn more about the NOD, visit www.nod.org .

About Randstad USA

Randstad North America, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Randstad N.V., a 20.7 billion global provider of flexible work and human resources services. As a trusted human partner in the technology-driven world of talent, we combine the expertise and passion of our employees with some of the most innovative HR technologies on the market today to advance the careers and business success of our candidates and clients.

Randstad's North American operations comprise 5,700 associates and a deployed workforce of more than 86,000 in the U.S. and Canada. In addition to staffing and recruitment, Randstad offers outsourcing, consulting and workforce management solutions for generalist and specialist disciplines, including technology, engineering, accounting and finance, clinical and non-clinical healthcare, human resources, legal, life sciences, manufacturing and logistics, office and administration and sales and marketing. Global concepts available to North American client companies include RPO, MSP, integrated talent solutions, payrolling and independent contractor management and career transition services. Learn more at www.randstadusa.com or www.randstad.ca.

About the National Organization on Disability (NOD)

The National Organization on Disability (NOD) increases employment opportunities for Americans with disabilities. Our programs and services enable companies to realize the competitive advantages of hiring people with disabilities. Learn more at: www.nod.org .

SOURCE Randstad US

Related Links

http://www.randstadusa.com


Rebus Biosystems welcomes Danilo Tait as VP commercial operations, EMEA. Tweet this

Rebus Bio, which provides automated platforms to deliver advanced molecular mapping with minimal hands-on time, also announced that Bingqing Zhang will be its new Senior Director of Product Development.

"We're delighted to have Danilo and Bingqing on the team," said Paul Sargeant, PhD, CEO of Rebus Biosystems. "With so much business development experience within the genomics field, having headed up European operations for Advanced Analytical and been GM Europe and Africa for MGI, Danilo was a natural choice for our team. Plus, Bingqing is also a veteran of the industry, having developed and commercialized the suite of RNAscope products at Advanced Cell Diagnostics, and we know they will help our team of technologists put the right Rebus kit into the right researchers' hands, and together, we will truly advance science itself."

The Rebus Esper spatial omics platform was launched earlier this year, and is already shipping around the world. This fully integrated, automated instrument delivers high-throughput, quantitative, single-molecule, single-cell data with spatial context and subcellular resolution by bringing together advancements in imaging, fluidics, chemistry, and bioinformatics.

"Rebus will be launching new assay kits over the coming months, significantly increasing plex, adding FFPE and protein co-detection, all leveraging the same foundational Esper spatial omics platform and workflow," said Josh Ryu, Ph.D., CTO of Rebus Bio. "We have been actively working with our customers and look forward to the additional data from our partnerships appearing in scientific journals soon."

About Rebus Biosystems

Rebus Biosystems is a venture-backed Silicon Valley-based life science technology company creating revolutionary tools to enable spatial omics research without compromise. The company's first instrument, the Rebus Esper, is a fully integrated, automated spatial omics platform that delivers quantitative single molecule, single-cell data with subcellular resolution. Advanced imaging, on-system chemistry, and intuitive software have been combined to provide an end-to-end solution requiring minimal hands-on time. Rebus Biosystems provides all-inclusive assay kits to empower researchers with the resolution, scale and speed of the Rebus Esper for multiple applications. Learn more at www.rebusbio.com.

SOURCE Rebus Bio
BERKELEY, Calif., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Rigetti & Co., Inc. ("Rigetti"), a pioneer in full-stack quantum computing, announced today it has entered into a definitive merger agreement with Supernova Partners Acquisition Company II, Ltd. ("Supernova II") (NYSE:SNII), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company. When the transaction closes, the publicly traded company will be named Rigetti Computing, Inc. and its common stock is expected to be listed on the NYSE under the ticker "RGTI."

The company has developed the first-of-its-kind scalable approach to building quantum processors.

Transaction values Rigetti at a pro forma equity value of approximately $1.5 billion .

The combined company is expected to receive approximately $458 million in gross cash proceeds, which includes a fully committed PIPE in excess of $100 million , direct investment, and $345 million of cash held in the trust account of Supernova II, assuming no redemptions.

PIPE transaction subscribed to by top investors including funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. ; Bessemer Venture Partners ; Franklin Templeton ; and In-Q-Tel .

New strategic partners are Keysight Technologies , Palantir Technologies and Ampere Computing.

Management of Rigetti Computing and Supernova II will host an investor call at 8:30 am ET on Wednesday , October 6, to discuss the proposed transaction. Details are below.

Rigetti is a leader in scalable quantum processor technology. Scalability has been among the largest hurdles to bringing quantum computing to market, and Rigetti introduced its scalable superconducting chips in June 2021. Its patented multi-chip architecture is the building block for new generations of quantum processors that are expected to achieve a clear advantage over classical computers.

Quantum computing is one of the most transformative emerging technologies in the world today. Many of the world's most important problems remain intractable, lying far beyond the capabilities of today's supercomputers. Quantum computers process information in a fundamentally different way  solving problems simultaneously as opposed to sequentially  which will allow them, when scaled, to tackle problems of staggering computational complexity at unprecedented speed.

Quantum computing could be applied to a range of important uses such as enabling biotech companies to bring more effective therapies to market faster; researchers to develop more affordable clean energy sources; and financial companies to access faster and more accurate market insights to help reduce market volatility.

Rigetti will use the proceeds from the transaction to accelerate development of multiple generations of quantum processors and grow its commercial business. Rigetti expects to scale its quantum computers from 80 qubits in 2021, to 1,000 qubits in 2024, and to 4,000 qubits in 2026.

Rigetti's distinctive quantum computers work in tandem with existing cloud and high-performance computing infrastructure to unlock powerful new capabilities to solve complex real-world problems. The company sells access to its machines through the Rigetti Quantum Cloud Services platform.

The PIPE transaction is subscribed to by top investors including: funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc.; Bessemer Venture Partners; Franklin Templeton; and In-Q-Tel. Strategic investors include Keysight Technologies and Palantir Technologies. Ampere Computing will make a direct investment. These new strategic investors provide strong complementary technologies for advancing Rigetti's quantum advantage, and build on Rigetti's existing partnerships and collaborations with customers like Amazon Web Services, Astex Pharmaceuticals, DARPA, NASA, Standard Chartered Bank and the U.S. Department of Energy.

Rigetti CEO Chad Rigetti founded the company in 2013. The company has raised approximately $200 million in venture capital and today employs more than 130 people with offices in the United States, Canada, U.K., and Australia.

Supernova II is led by Michael Clifton, an investor who most recently helped lead global technology investing at The Carlyle Group; Robert Reid, a long-time senior partner at Blackstone; Spencer Rascoff, a serial entrepreneur who co-founded Hotwire, Zillow, dot.LA and Pacaso and who led Zillow as CEO for nearly a decade; and Alexander Klabin, founder and CEO of Ancient and former managing partner, co-CIO and co-founder of Senator Investment Group.

Clifton is expected to join the Rigetti Board of Directors after the transaction closes.

Management comments

Chad Rigetti, Rigetti Computing CEO and Founder

"In the next decade one Rigetti quantum computer could be more powerful than today's entire global cloud. Rigetti is the leading innovator in this space. Our team has solved the most pressing scientific problems associated with bringing quantum computing to market by creating a scalable computer and high-performance integration with existing computing systems. We plan to use this capital to accelerate our product development and accelerate our goal to bring this transformational computing capability to every major industry."

Michael Clifton, Supernova II

"The widespread adoption of quantum computing will have a significant impact on the economy and humanity in the next decade and beyond, on par with the advent of mobile and cloud technologies. Rigetti systems' speed and scalability set them apart amongst competitors. With its model of easy integration into existing systems, Rigetti's technology will be used by businesses, governments and institutions across the globe."

Transaction Overview

The business combination values the combined entity at a pro forma equity value of approximately $1.5 billion. Upon closing, the combined company will receive approximately $458 million in gross cash proceeds, including a fully committed PIPE in excess of $100 million, direct investment, and $345 million of cash held in the trust account of Supernova II, assuming no redemptions. The proposed transaction has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both Rigetti and Supernova II, and is subject to the approval of the stockholders of Supernova II and other customary closing conditions.

Additional information of the transaction terms and copies of the key transaction agreements will be provided in a current report on Form 8-K to be filed by Supernova II with the SEC and available at www.sec.gov.

Advisors

Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. is serving as exclusive financial advisor to Rigetti. Cooley LLP is serving as legal counsel to Rigetti.

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC is serving as exclusive financial advisor to Supernova II. Latham & Watkins LLP is serving as legal counsel to Supernova II.

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. served as placement agents to Supernova II for the PIPE financing. Sidley Austin LLP served as counsel to the placement agents.

Conference Call

Management of Rigetti and Supernova Partners II will host an investor conference call on Wednesday, October 6, 2021 at 8:30 am ET to discuss the proposed business combination. A webcast of the call can be accessed at www.netroadshow.com/nrs/home/#!/?show=057a3ce4 or by visiting https://www.netroadshow.com/ with the entry code "Romeo9374".

Alternatively the call can be accessed by dialing +1 (833) 470-1428 (domestic toll-free number) or +1 (404) 975-4839 (international) and providing the conference ID 400205. A replay of the call can be accessed by dialing +1 (855) 213-8235 (domestic toll-free number) or +1 (571) 982-7683 (international) and providing the conference ID 626929#.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release may be considered forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events or Supernova II's or Rigetti's future financial or operating performance. For example, statements regarding Rigetti's projected financial performance, anticipated growth in the industry in which Rigetti operates and anticipated growth in demand for the Rigetti's services, are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "pro forma", "may", "should", "could", "might", "plan", "possible", "project", "strive", "budget", "forecast", "expect", "intend", "will", "estimate", "anticipate", "believe", "predict", "potential" or "continue", or the negatives of these terms or variations of them or similar terminology. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by Supernova II and its management, and Rigetti and its management, as the case may be, are inherently uncertain. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to: the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against Supernova II, Rigetti, the combined company or others following the announcement of the business combination and any definitive agreements with respect thereto; the inability to complete the business combination due to the failure to obtain approval of the shareholders of Supernova II or to satisfy other conditions to closing; changes to the proposed structure of the business combination that may be required or appropriate as a result of applicable laws or regulations or as a condition to obtaining regulatory approval of the business combination; the ability to meet stock exchange listing standards following the consummation of the business combination; the risk that the business combination disrupts current plans and operations of Rigetti as a result of the announcement and consummation of the business combination; the ability to recognize the anticipated benefits of the business combination, which may be affected by, among other things, competition, the ability of the combined company to grow and manage growth profitably, maintain relationships with customers and suppliers and retain its management and key employees; costs related to the business combination; changes in applicable laws or regulations; the possibility that Rigetti or the combined company may be adversely affected by other economic, business, or competitive factors; Rigetti's estimates of expenses and profitability; the evolution of the markets in which Rigetti competes; the ability of Rigetti to implement its strategic initiatives, expansion plans and continue to innovate its existing services; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Rigetti's business; and other risks and uncertainties set forth in the section entitled "Risk Factors" and "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" in Supernova II's final prospectus dated March 3, 2021 relating to its initial public offering.

Nothing in this press release should be regarded as a representation by any person that the forward-looking statements set forth herein will be achieved or that any of the contemplated results of such forward-looking statements will be achieved. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. Neither Supernova II nor Rigetti undertakes any duty to update these forward-looking statements.

Additional Information and Where to Find It

Supernova II intends to file a registration statement on Form S-4 with the Securities Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), which will include a proxy statement/prospectus, that will be both the proxy statement to be distributed to holders of Supernova II's common shares in connection with its solicitation of proxies for the vote by Supernova II's shareholders with respect to the proposed business combination and other matters as may be described in the registration statement, as well as the prospectus relating to the offer and sale of the securities to be issued in the business combination. After the registration statement is declared effective, Supernova II will mail a definitive proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant documents to its shareholders. This press release does not contain all the information that should be considered concerning the proposed business combination and is not intended to form the basis of any investment decision or any other decision in respect of the business combination. Supernova II's shareholders and other interested persons are advised to read, when available, the preliminary proxy statement/prospectus included in the registration statement and the amendments thereto and the definitive proxy statement/prospectus and other documents filed in connection with the proposed business combination, as these materials will contain important information about Rigetti, Supernova II and the business combination. When available, the definitive proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant materials for the proposed business combination will be mailed to shareholders of Supernova as of a record date to be established for voting on the proposed business combination. Shareholders will also be able to obtain copies of the preliminary proxy statement, the definitive proxy statement and other documents filed with the SEC, without charge, once available, at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov, or by directing a request to Supernova II's secretary at 4301 50th Street NW, Suite 300 PMB 1044, Washington, D.C. 20016, (202) 918-7050.

Participants in the Solicitation

Supernova II and its directors and executive officers may be deemed participants in the solicitation of proxies from Supernova II's shareholders with respect to the proposed business combination. A list of the names of those directors and executive officers and a description of their interests in Supernova II is contained in Supernova II's prospectus dated March 3, 2021 relating to its initial public offering, which was filed with the SEC and is available free of charge at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. To the extent such holdings of Supernova II's securities may have changed since that time, such changes have been or will be reflected on Statements of Change in Ownership on Form 4 filed with the SEC. Additional information regarding the interests of such participants will be contained in the proxy statement/prospectus for the proposed business combination when available.

Rigetti and its directors and executive officers may also be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the shareholders of Supernova II in connection with the proposed business combination. A list of the names of such directors and executive officers and information regarding their interests in the proposed business combination will be included in the proxy statement/prospectus for the proposed business combination when available.

No Offer or Solicitation

This press release does not constitute (i) a solicitation of a proxy, consent or authorization with respect to any securities or in respect of the proposed business combination or (ii) an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation to purchase any security of Supernova II, Rigetti, or any of their respective affiliates.

About Rigetti Computing

Rigetti Computing is a pioneer in full-stack quantum computing. The company has operated quantum computers over the cloud since 2017 and serves global enterprise, government, and research clients through its Rigetti Quantum Cloud Services platform. The company's proprietary quantum-classical infrastructure provides ultra-low latency integration with public and private clouds for high-performance practical quantum computing. Rigetti has developed the industry's first multi-chip quantum processor for scalable quantum computing systems. The company designs and manufactures its chips in-house at Fab-1, the industry's only dedicated and integrated quantum device manufacturing facility. Rigetti was founded in 2013 by Chad Rigetti and today employs more than 130 people with offices in the United States, U.K., Canada, and Australia. Learn more at www.rigetti.com .

About Supernova II

Supernova II is led by Michael Clifton, who was most recently a technology investor at The Carlyle Group; Robert Reid, a long-time senior partner at Blackstone; Spencer Rascoff, a serial entrepreneur who co-founded Hotwire, Zillow, dot.LA and Pacaso and who led Zillow as CEO for nearly a decade; and Alexander Klabin, founder and CEO of Ancient and former managing partner, co-CIO and co-founder of Senator Investment Group.

SOURCE Supernova Partners Acquisition Company II, Ltd.

Related Links

https://www.rigetti.com/


JOHANNESBURG, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Boegoebaai "green hydrogen" development has been designated a Strategic Integrated Project (SIP) in the South African National Development Plan and is located in the Namakwa Special Economic Zone (SEZ). The project's location and classification as a SIP are key enablers to exploring Boegoebaai's potential as a global green hydrogen hub.

Sasol has been engaging with the Infrastructure and Investment Office (IIO) of the Presidency to develop a hydrogen economy in South Africa. The company has signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Northern Cape Development Agency (NCEDA) to lead the feasibility study to explore the potential of Boegoebaai as an export hub for green hydrogen and ammonia. This study is expected to take approximately 24 months. The outcomes of this feasibility study will determine the next step of development.

Sasol has signed a MOA with the Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) to leverage Special Economic Zones (SEZs) that have been earmarked as enablers to unlocking South Africa's green hydrogen market potential for domestic use, such as mobility and aviation.

In parallel, Sasol has partnered with the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) who will provide joint funding for the feasibility study.

"We are very excited to be leading this feasibility study as part of unlocking South Africa's potential to be a global green hydrogen and green ammonia export player with the potential for sustainable aviation fuels in the future. This will also be anchored by local demand for green hydrogen. It is a tangible step forward for Sasol, as we seek to play a leading role in establishing the Southern Africa green hydrogen economy," said Priscillah Mabelane, Executive Vice President for Energy at Sasol.

Sasol continues to advance several catalytic projects to develop both local and export opportunities in the region. This Boegoebaai project is one of a number of green hydrogen, ammonia and power-to-X (P2X) opportunities, which Sasol is assessing as part of the new strategy announced at its recent capital markets day. Sasol's strategy is aligned with South Africa's ambitions to establish the country as a significant green hydrogen production and global export hub.

"We believe that Southern Africa is well positioned to play in the global green hydrogen economy due to key structural advantages. In particular, our proprietary Fischer-Tropsch technologies and renewable endowments, are some of the best in the world," said Mabelane.

"There is potential to create an ecosystem anchored on localisation to enable long-term, sustainable benefits for communities and the country. The project has the potential to provide a significant number of long-term sustainable jobs, infrastructure investment and skills development in the country, enabling a Just Transition," added Mabelane.

"As the lead project integrator, Sasol will bring together strategic partners along the value chain and other enabling role players that will drive industrialisation of the Northern Cape. These include potential customers, funders, investors, technology suppliers and South African green energy providers.

"Sasol has committed to be net zero by 2050 and we see green hydrogen as core to enabling this goal. We have the capabilities and skill set, technology and solutions to co-create the South African hydrogen economy," concluded Mabelane.

Issued by:

Matebello Motloung, Manager: Group Media Relations

Direct telephone: +27 (0) 10 344 9256; Mobile: +27 (0) 82 773 9457

[email protected]

About Sasol:

Sasol is a global chemicals and energy company. We harness our knowledge and expertise to integrate sophisticated technologies and processes into world-scale operating facilities.

We safely and sustainably source, produce and market a range of high-quality products in 27 countries, creating value for stakeholders. Our Purpose 'Innovating for a better world' compels us to deliver on the triple bottom line outcomes of People, Planet and Profit, responsibly and always with the intent to be a force for good.

We have prioritised four Sustainable Development Goals to ensure our business is environmentally, socially and economically sustainable.

About Sasol's Information Privacy Policy:

We wish to inform you about the processing of your Personal Information by Sasol South Africa Limited and your rights under applicable data protection law, as interpreted and included in Sasol Information Privacy Policy.

Within our company, only Sasol Group Media Relations will receive your Personal Information to fulfil the purpose of maintaining the relationship with the receiver in his/her capacity as a member of the media. You have the right to request for the correction or deletion of your Personal Information stored by us at address: Sasol Place, 50 Katherine Street, Sandton in Johannesburg. You also have a right to restrict the processing of your Information. To exercise your privacy rights or find out more about Information Privacy Policy, kindly contact our Privacy Office on: [email protected]

SOURCE Sasol Limited
FORT SCOTT, Kan., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Spyder, Inc., a SaaS company announced today that they have expanded their product line for document storage solutions. This past summer, Spyder released a document storage solution for producers and small offices for online purchase. Their new solution is disrupting the document storage and management space with its purposeful design built to serve the needs of enterprise insurance and financial services firms. This expansion serves as part of Spyder's commitment to create robust solutions for all insurance and financial services market segments.

Spyder's mission is to modernize, digitize, standardize, and simplify outdated technology that needs to be reimagined to fit the fast-changing needs of businesses today. "We strategically created this document storage solution to meet and exceed insurance and financial services company's expectations." said Nedra Barr, Chief Executive Officer of Spyder, Inc. "We understand the world isn't the same as it once was. So, we're doing something about it, we're consciously building solutions that take today's conditions into account. We pay attention to regulations, cyber and ransom threats, and digital trends, then craft solutions to solve those problems."

Spyder's solutions also provide simple setups, monetary savings, and security protection. Document storage for companies is no exception. It offers premier multi-cloud capabilities and provides protection against cyber and ransom attacks all, purposely built to serve this industry.

"There's really nothing like this on the market," said Bob Peacock, Chief Technology Officer of Spyder, Inc. "As digital threats increase, technology must be both effective at its purpose AND provide world class security. That's my complete focus, and that's what we accomplished with this new solution for the insurance and financial services markets."

Clients are considered members of the firm's prestigious Spyderloop, a group of elite professionals that inspire growth through embracing modern technology and innovation. Learn more and experience Spyder's solutions by visiting www.spyderloop.com .

About Spyder

Spyder is a traditional SaaS company providing enterprise solutions designed to solve the decentralized business and regulatory requirements within the insurance and financial services industry. Further, Spyder also provides a digital one-stop producer shop continually adding products and services putting everything in one place to simplify the buying search. Based in Fort Scott, Kansas Spyder is a mission-driven firm that believes in bringing new technology jobs to support the revitalization of rural southeast Kansas.

SOURCE Spyder, Inc.

Related Links

www.spyderloop.com


ALBANY, N.Y., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Teleradiology refers to electronic transmission of radiographic images from one location to another with an aim to achieve rapid diagnosis and/or consultation, required for patients dealing with critical health conditions.

Consultation, general reporting, and auditing are some of the services included in the global teleradiology services market.

The analysts at Transparency Market Research (TMR) project that the global teleradiology services market will cross the valuation of 19.7 Bn by 2031.

Teleradiology Services Market: Key Findings

Growth in Utilization of Specialized Modalities Creates Lucrative Avenues in Market

The healthcare professionals across the world are increasing the use of varied modalities including CT scan, MRI, and ultrasound owing to several advantages of these technologies such as advanced detection and visibility of cancers, tumors, and soft tissues. The growing demand for specialized modalities is boosting the need for specialist radiologists who can interpret complex imaging assessments.

Request Brochure of Teleradiology Services Market Research Report - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=44438

Surge in Demand for Out-of-Hours Reporting Boosts Market Sales

Patients dealing with emergency conditions such as trauma or possible serious injuries (related to neurology) need rapid and precise diagnosis. Players in the teleradiology services market are concentrating on providing access to a team of dual-qualified radiologists that are capable to deliver acute out-of-hours reporting services.

Teleradiology Services Market: Growth Boosters

With notable growth in demand for diagnostic imaging services in comparison to the supply, there is increased need for outsourcing the diagnostic reporting workload. This factor is creating prodigious avenues for the expansion of the global teleradiology services market.

With emergence of COVID-19 pandemic, people around the world are increasing inclination toward online counseling. The increased adoption of telemedicine is projected to boost the expansion opportunities in the global teleradiology services market in the years to come.

Request for Analysis of COVID-19 Impact on Teleradiology Services Market  https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=covid19&rep_id=44438

Healthcare organizations from several developed countries are growing focus on taking help from external domestic teleradiology service providers. This factor is creating demand for teleradiology service providers across the globe.

Surge in demand for precise diagnosis of radiology procedures including MRI and CT scan is expected to drive expansion of the global teleradiology services market in the years to come.

Many developed countries in the world are witnessing the issue of radiologists' shortage, which has impacted on service delivery and hospital care in some areas of these countries. Due to limitations related to staffing onsite, the healthcare organizations in these nations are sending several scans offsite for analysis purposes. This scenario is working as one of the key drivers of the teleradiology services market.

Buy Teleradiology Services Market Research Report at https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/checkout.php?rep_id=44438<ype=S

Teleradiology Services Market: Competition Landscape

Presence of many players in the global teleradiology services market is indication of intense level of competition in it.

Leading market players are increasing participation in varied strategic moves such as new services development, acquisitions, collaborative agreements, and regulatory approvals. Moreover, many players are strategizing their business moves for regional expansions. These strategies are expected to assist them in strengthening their businesses, and thereby expansion of the global teleradiology services market in the years to come.

Request for Custom Research: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=CR&rep_id=44438

Teleradiology Services Market: Key Players

The report profiles some of key players operating in the teleradiology services market. Thus, the research document delivers all crucial information such as company overview, financial overview, product portfolio, recent developments, and business strategies of all players profiled in the market.

Some of the key players in the teleradiology services market include:

Africa Telerad Limited

4ways Healthcare Limited

Medica Group plc

Euro American Teleradiology

ONRAD, Inc.

Mednax Services, Inc.

Specialty Teleradiology, Inc.

Real Radiology, LLC

TeleConsult Europe (TCE)

StatRad (NucleusHealth)

Teleradiology Solutions

Telemedicine Clinic (UNILABS)

USARAD Holdings, Inc.

Global Teleradiology Services Market: Segmentation

Teleradiology Services Market, by Type of Service

General Reporting



Consultation



Auditing



Others

Teleradiology Services Market, by Modality

X-Ray



Ultrasound



Computer Tomography (CT)



Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)



Nuclear Imaging



Others

Teleradiology Services Market, by Coverage

Day Time Coverage



After Hours/Night Time Coverage

Teleradiology Services Market, by Specialty

Cardiology



Neurology



Oncology



Musculoskeletal



Gastroenterology



Others

Teleradiology Services Market, by End User

Hospitals



Diagnostic Imaging Centers



Ambulatory Surgical Centers



Clinics



Others

Teleradiology Services Market, by Region

North America



U.S.





Canada



Europe



Germany





U.K.





France





Italy





Spain





Rest of Europe



Asia Pacific



China





India





Japan





Australia & New Zealand

&



Rest of Asia Pacific



Latin America



Brazil





Mexico





Rest of Latin America



Middle East & Africa

&

GCC Countries





South Africa





Rest of Middle East & Africa

Modernization of healthcare in terms of both infrastructure and services have pushed the healthcare industry to new heights, Stay Updated with Latest Healthcare Industry Research Reports by Transparency Market Research:

mHealth Market: The prevalence and penetration of mobile healthcare applications such as medical and fitness apps with the well-being segment accounting for a considerable share, the growth of the mHealth market is expected to witness promising growth as new and innovative devices continue to help fuel the overall development.

Digital Health Market: A rise in the demand for remote monitoring services is driven by the augmented prevalence of chronic diseases and recent outbreak of global pandemic, COVID-19. At present, the future course of the global digital health market is influenced by the COVID-19 considerably, which is spreading at an exponential rate.

Electronic Health Records Market: According to Transparency Market Research's latest report on the global electronic health records market for the historical period 20172018 and forecast period 20192027, technological advancements, diseases prevalence and incidence rate at regional level, and reimbursement scenario of the market at regional level are projected to drive the global electronic health records market during the forecast period.

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Transparency Market Research is a global market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. Our experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information.

Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.

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Transparency Market Research

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Browse PR - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/pressrelease/teleradiology-services-market.htm

SOURCE Transparency Market Research
The 505(b)(2) Platform and Scientists Advancing Affordable Medicines, Inc. host first-ever Value Added Medicines Week Tweet this

Attendees will be able to participate in both a development and a commercialization track or select individual sessions. Each of the tracks features industry leaders from the regulatory, commercialization, legal and research fields.

Sessions offered and scheduled presenters include the following:

Traditional Pre-clinical and Clinical Development Pathways  Aloka Srinivasan , David Rosen , Yaning Wang , Ruth Stevens , Mukul Agrawal

 , , , , Initial Due Diligence and Early Conceptualization of 505(b)(2) Pathway  Brendt Stier , Julie Bullock , Jonca Bull, Ron Filler , David Rosen

 , , Jonca Bull, , 505(b)(2) Bridges  Keith Gallicano , Eric Kendig , Juan He , Mukul Agrawal , Alicia Baker

 , , , , Streamlined/Abridged Development Pathways  Charlie DiLiberti , Hao Zhu, Alicia Baker , Liang Zhan , Yaning Wang , Jim Mullins

 , Hao Zhu, , , , FDA Meeting/Communication Strategy  Catriona Roscoe-Cutting , Candis Edwards , Ruth Stevens , Aloka Srinivasan , Zan Fleming

 , , , , Commercialization is the New First Order Risk  Todd Smith , Tom Evegan , Tom Goss , Terri Bernacchi

 , , , Planning the Journey  Ed Allera , Marvin Garrett , William Humphries , Jeff Rich

 , , , Wisely Partnering to Increase  Steve Casey and Jim Iverson

 and Regulatory with a Commercial Mindset  Barbara Binzak Blumenfeld , Howard Weisman , Mark Marino

 , , Developing your 505(b)(2) IP Portfolio  Matthew Fedowitz , Christian Calcagno

About The 505(b)(2) Platform

The 505(b)(2) Platform is a non-profit 506(c) business association. We educate and advocate for manufacturers of 505(b)(2) products on best practices in drug development and commercialization. Our mission is to enhance the understanding and acceptance of 505(b)(2) products in the development, regulatory and commercial arenas. Members of The 505(b)(2) Platform enjoy access to best practice information, a partnering platform, a marketplace of verified suppliers and consultants, and in-depth analysis of the 505(b)(2) regulatory and commercial issues. Learn more at www.505b2.org.

About SAAMnow

Scientists Advancing Affordable Medicines, Inc. (operating under the SAAMnow tradename) is a 501(c)(6) Nonprofit Trade Organization that seeks to provide a dedicated platform for scientists to share cutting-edge research that facilitates the development of high-quality, affordable medicines, thereby improving their accessibility to patients. The organization will accomplish this by soliciting input from a broad group of pharmaceutical stakeholders including, but not limited to those involved in manufacturing, packaging, testing, research & development, supplying material and equipment, providing services, academia, regulatory science, and government agencies such as FDA and EMA. Learn more at https://saamnow.com/

SOURCE The 505(b)(2) Platform

Related Links

www.505b2.org


"The National Defense University Foundation's American Patriot Award honors exceptional Americans and institutions that embody the United States' ideals and principles of democracy," Foundation Board Chairman RADM Mike Manazir, USN (Ret.) said. "For more than 72 years the Office of the CJCS has demonstrated the very essence of the American Patriot Award."

The role of Chairman was developed during World War II when the need for joint  all domain expertise and guidance was vital to secure global stability. Since General Omar N. Bradley became the first Chairman, the Office of the CJCS has provided advice to civilian leadership to maintain strategic stability and strengthen national security.

"As 'The Chairman's University', the National Defense University educates national security professionals to become strategic leaders and thinkers who can operate effectively at the highest levels of decision making in an increasingly dynamic, complex, and unpredictable international security environment," noted the 17th President of NDU, Lieutenant General Michael Plehn, U.S. Air Force. "On behalf of NDU, I extend my deepest thanks to the NDU Foundation for its unwavering support of NDU's students, faculty, staff, and mission."

The rigorous education and experiences provided at NDU propel military professionals to the highest ranks of national security leadership, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

"NDU is the only joint-service, all-domain institute engaging whole-of-government, private industry, allied military, and civilian leaders from across the globe," NDU Foundation President and CEO James Schmeling, JD said. "The Foundation is proud to support NDU leaders and faculty as they translate the Chairman's priorities into curricula and deliver it to NDU's students."

Accepting the American Patriot Award on behalf of the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark A. Milley.

A list of past APA honorees dating back to 1997 can be found here.

About the National Defense University Foundation

The NDU Foundation supports the education and leadership development of national defense, security, and peacekeeping professionals studying at the National Defense University (NDU). The Foundation funds faculty excellence, student success, international relationship building, and infrastructure at NDU in alignment with the priorities of the NDU President. Learn more at NDUFoundation.org.

About the National Defense University

Under the direction of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, NDU is the nation's preeminent higher education institution for advanced national security strategy and leadership development. NDU was established in 1976 to consolidate intellectual resources and provide joint higher education for the nation's defense community. Dating back to 1924, NDU's five accredited post-graduate colleges have prepared over 20,000 civilian and military professionals from the U.S. and over 75 allied countries to serve as tomorrow's decision and policy makers at the highest levels of command in military, government, and private industry. To learn more, please visit NDU.edu.

SOURCE National Defense University Foundation

Related Links

www.ndu.edu


JAKARTA, Indonesia, Sept. 20, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Republic of Indonesia (the " Republic ") is announcing the results of its invitation (the " Invitation ") to holders of certain series of its outstanding bonds (collectively, the " Old Bonds " and each, a " series " of Old Bonds) to submit offers (the " Offers ") to sell the Old Bonds to the Republic for cash in fixed prices. The Invitation was conducted pursuant to the terms and conditions described in the Invitation for Offers dated September 13, 2021 (the " Invitation for Offers "). The Invitation expired at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on Friday, September 17, 2021. The table below sets forth, for each series of Old Bonds accepted for purchase, the principal amount accepted for purchase, the purchase price, and where applicable, the proration factor:

Old Bonds Series ISIN CUSIP Fixed Price (per U.S. $1,000 Principal Amount) Principal Amount Accepted for Purchase Proration Factor 3.750% Global Bonds due 2022 Regulation S USY20721BC22 Y20721BC2 U.S.$1,022.00 U.S.$515,193,000 100% Rule 144A US455780BK15 455780BK1 2.950% Global Bonds due 2023 SEC-registered US455780CC89 455780CC8 U.S.$1,035.00 U.S.$0 NA 3.375% Global Bonds due 2023 Regulation S USY20721BD05 Y20721BD0 U.S.$1,048.00 U.S.$239,050,000 75.9% Rule 144A US455780BL97 455780BL9 5.375% Global Bonds due 2023 Regulation S USY20721BH19 Y20721BH1 U.S.$1,102.50 U.S.$180,781,000 100% Rule 144A US455780BP02 455780BP0 5.875% Global Bonds due 2024 Regulation S USY20721BJ74 Y20721BJ7 U.S.$1,124.00 U.S.$0 NA Rule 144A US455780BQ84 455780BQ8 4.450% Global Bonds due 2024 SEC-registered US455780CG93 455780CG9 U.S.$1,092.00 U.S.$223,885,000 100% 4.125% Global Bonds due 2025 Regulation S USY20721BG36 Y20721BG3 U.S.$1,105.50 U.S.$0 NA Rule 144A US455780BT24 455780BT2 4.750% Global Bonds due 2026 Regulation S USY20721BN86 Y20721BN8 U.S.$1,149.00 U.S.$0 NA Rule 144A US455780BV79 455780BV7

Note:

"NA" means not applicable.

After review of all Offers submitted pursuant to the Invitation, the Republic has determined that the maximum cash consideration of U.S.$1.25 billion is not adequate to purchase all of the Old Bonds offered. Accordingly, the Republic has determined that it will apply the proration factors indicated in the "Proration Factor" column in the table above. Where proration applies with respect to an Offer of Old Bonds of a particular series, the principal amount of such Offer accepted in the Invitation has been determined by multiplying the principal amount specified in such Offer by the applicable proration factor and rounding the resulting amount down to the nearest US$1,000. If, after such adjustment and rounding, any holder would be left with an aggregate principal amount of less than the specified denomination of US$200,000 either (a) validly offered for sale and accepted; or (b) returned to a holder as a result of pro ration, the Republic has, in its sole and absolute discretion, accepted all of the Old Bonds the subject of such holder's relevant Offer. Old Bonds not accepted for purchase by the Republic will be returned to the originating clearing system accounts as soon as practicable on the settlement date, in accordance with the normal procedures of the relevant clearing systems.

The date on which the Republic pays for the Old Bonds purchased pursuant to the Invitation is expected to be Thursday, September 23, 2021, New York City time, or as soon as practicable thereafter. The settlement of the purchase of Old Bonds in the Invitation is subject to certain conditions described in the Invitation for Offers. The Financing Condition defined in the Invitation for Offers has been satisfied.

This announcement is not an offer or a solicitation of offers. The Invitation is made solely by means of the Invitation for Offers. The Invitation does not constitute, and may not be used in connection with, an offer or solicitation by anyone in any jurisdiction where an offer or solicitation is not authorized or in which the person making such offer or solicitation is not qualified to do so or to any person to whom it is unlawful to make such offer or solicitation.

THE OFFEROR Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia Gedung Frans Seda, 2nd Floor Jl. Dr. Wahidin No.1 Jakarta 10710 Indonesia

DEALER MANAGERS

BofA Securities, Inc. Attention: Liability Management Group One Bryant Park New York, NY 10036 United States Telephone (U.S. Toll Free): +1 (888) 292 0070 Telephone (U.S.): +1 646 855 8988 Telephone (London): +44 20 7996 5420 Email: [email protected] Citigroup Global Markets Inc. Attention: Debt Syndicate Desk / Liability Management Group 388 Greenwich Street New York, NY 10013 United States Telephone: +852 2501 2692/ +1 212 723-0859/ +44 20 7986 8969 Email: [email protected] Credit Agricole Corporate and

Investment Bank, Singapore Branch Attention: Debt Origination & Advisory 168 Robinson Road #23-00, Capital Tower Singapore 068912 Telephone: +65 6535 4988 Email: [email protected] The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited Attention: Liability Management Group Level 17, HSBC Main Building 1 Queen's Road Central Hong Kong Telephone: +852 3941 0223 / +44 20 7992 6237 / +1 212 525 5552 Email: [email protected] UEmail: [email protected] BS AG Singapore Branch Attention: Liability Management, SEA 9 Penang Road Singapore 238459 Telephone: +65 6495 8623 Email: [email protected]

TENDER AND INFORMATION AGENT



Morrow Sodali Ltd

In Hong Kong: Unit 23-106, LKF Tower 33 Wyndham Street, Central Phone: +852 2319 4130 In Stamford: 470 West Ave., Suite 3000 Stamford, CT 06902 Telephone: +1 203 609 4910 In London: 103, Wigmore Street W1U 1QS Telephone: +44 20 4513 6933 Email: [email protected] Invitation Website: https://bonds.morrowsodali.com/roi

SOURCE The Republic of Indonesia
TROY, Mich., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Most top auto suppliers' ESG reports focus mostly on the E (environmental) and neglect the G (governance), according to a recent study  "Automotive Suppliers and ESG"  conducted by automotive PR specialist firm Bianchi Public Relations.

Bianchi PR conducted the Automotive Suppliers and ESG study this summer to provide insights to help automotive supplier communicators assist their CFOs and investor relations executives in enhancing their ESG reports.

Jim Bianchi, president, Bianchi PR shared some of the report's key insights at today's virtual Original Equipment Suppliers Association (OESA) Automotive Public Relations Council (APRC) event.

"In this current era of distrust, the more focus suppliers can put on transparency about their environmental, social and governance topics, the greater the benefit will be," said Bianchi. "Yet, of the 200 specific topics covered in the supplier ESG reports we recently reviewed, approximately 1/3 related to the environment while only 3% related to corporate governance and compliance. So clearly, there is room for improvement in auto supplier ESG reporting."

Bianchi PR conducted its study in May/June of 2021 by looking at the ESG reports for the top 25 North American auto OEM suppliers, based on the most recent Automotive News ranking.

The goal of the study was three-fold: to create a snapshot in time of auto supplier ESG reporting; to identify commonalities for the auto supplier sector in ESG reporting; and to identify the greatest opportunities and areas for improvement.

"In this age of impact investing, your key publics  investors, customers, employees, recruits, partners, and others  want to know what your company is doing relative to its progress in sustainability and governance, as well as the environment," said Bianchi. "But because there isn't one common standard or format, it's hard for investors to compare companies. Our colleagues in the Public Relations Global Network recently created the Global ESG Monitor to help investors and others assess the transparency of more than 140 of the world's largest companies. That report sparked us, as a mobility-focused PR agency, to look at how the North American auto suppliers were handling their ESG reporting."

During its review, the study uncovered some key insights:

There's a big gap in coverage of the diversity, equality and inclusion efforts, with almost two-thirds of auto supplier ESG reports neglecting this topic. This is a key ESG reporting area that can help a supplier with social cause-motivated investors, automaker customers, employees and recruits;

The top North American auto supplier sector has not standardized on a single reporting standard, and many suppliers use multiple reporting standards, which makes it difficult for investors to compare companies; and

The top auto suppliers' reports don't share a common format or approach  running the gamut from sustainability reports to integrated reports with financial details and from corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports to combined reports.

The study also revealed several other insights, relating to the most and least covered topics, where ESG reports are found, goal- and metric-specific information, and report length.

For more information about Bianchi PR's Automotive Suppliers and ESG Study, visit the firm's blog (https://www.bianchipr.com/blog) or contact the agency to schedule a discussion.

About Bianchi PR

Bianchi PR, founded in 1992, offers special expertise in, and laser-sharp focus on, business-to-business PR for automotive and mobility technology suppliers, including new entrants with enabling technologies for emobility, autonomous vehicles and connected vehicles.

Ranked by PR industry trade journals O'Dwyer's and PRWeek among the top independent PR firms based in metro Detroit, Bianchi PR serves clients including Adient, Cooper Standard, Freudenberg Sealing Technologies, Munro & Associates, Rolls-Royce Power Systems/mtu brand, SAE International, Schaeffler Group and Yanfeng.

The firm's experience also includes work with automotive technology companies such as ZF TRW, Valeo and Ibeo Automotive Systems, as well as consulting firms and industry trade organizations such as the Automotive Industry Action Group, the Center for Automotive Research and the Steel Market Development Institute. For more information, visit www.bianchipr.com or call 248-269-1122.

To serve it clients on a worldwide basis, Bianchi PR has been an active member in the Public Relations Global Network (PRGN), one of the world's largest international PR networks, since 2014.

Clients across six continents depend on the combined resources of PRGN to deliver targeted public relations campaigns in markets around the world. PRGN harnesses the resources of 50 independent public relations firms in 52 locations and close to 1,000 communications professionals to connect international companies and organizations with individual and culturally diverse markets globally. Visit PRGN online at www.prgn.com or on Twitter at @PRGN.

SOURCE Bianchi Public Relations, Inc.
ORLANDO, Fla., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Tupperware Brands Corporation (NYSE: TUP) will release its third quarter 2021 results on Wednesday, November 3, 2021, prior to the opening of the market, followed by a conference call at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time (7:30 a.m. Central Time).

This call will be webcast by Intrado Digital Media and can be accessed at www.tupperwarebrands.com.

About Tupperware Brands Corporation

Tupperware Brands Corporation (NYSE: TUP) is a leading global consumer products company that designs innovative, functional and environmentally responsible products that people love and trust. Founded in 1946, Tupperware's signature container created the modern food storage category that revolutionized the way the world stores, serves and prepares food. Today, this iconic brand has more than 8,500 functional design and utility patents for solution-oriented kitchen and home products. With a purpose to nurture a better future, Tupperware products are an alternative to single-use items. The company distributes its products into nearly 70 countries primarily through independent representatives around the world. For more information, visit Tupperwarebrands.com or follow Tupperware on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.

SOURCE Tupperware Brands Corporation

Related Links

http://www.tupperwarebrands.com


BRADENTON, Fla., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A state-of-the-art U-Haul retail and self-storage facility is coming to Bradenton thanks to the Company's 10-acre land acquisition at 14703 E. State Road 64.

U-Haul acquired the property on Sept. 24.

U-Haul Moving & Storage of Lakewood Ranch, scheduled for completion by 2023, will include a four-story building with more than 100,000 square feet. The facility will house more than 700 indoor, ADA-accessible self-storage rooms with climate-control options and high-tech security features at affordable price points.

"Lakewood Ranch and the eastern Bradenton suburbs are growing at an exponential rate," said Dave Thompson, U-Haul Company of Western Florida president. "Adding a modern moving and self-storage facility is important as we continue to support this community and meet demand for our products and services."

U-Haul Moving & Storage of Lakewood Ranch will offer a spacious retail showroom, truck and trailer sharing, boxes and moving supplies, towing equipment and professional hitch installation, propane, U-Box portable storage containers and more.

While this new facility is under construction, nearby U-Haul stores and neighborhood dealers are available to serve customers. U-Haul Moving & Storage of Bradenton at 3602 14th St. W. is open 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Thursday and Saturday; 7 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday; and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday.

Reserve equipment at uhaul.com or contact Reservations at 1-800-GO-UHAUL.

Thompson plans to hire at least 12 Team Members to staff the Lakewood Ranch location. U-Haul will look to hire locally to support job growth within the Bradenton community. U-Haul, honored as a "Best for Vets 2020" leading veteran-friendly employer by The Military Times, actively recruits veterans and gives them preference in the hiring process. Find U-Haul careers at uhauljobs.com.

"As more people decide to make Bradenton their home, we're thankful for the opportunity to be part of the community's development and future," Thompson added. "We're working with the city to improve residents' quality of life through residential mobility and by meeting their storage needs."

As an essential service provider, U-Haul continues to serve communities during the COVID-19 recovery while offering contactless business programs and enhanced cleaning protocols, including added steps for sanitizing equipment between customer transactions. U-Haul products are used daily by First Responders; delivery companies bringing needed supplies to people's homes; small businesses trying to remain afloat; college students; and many other dependent groups, in addition to the do-it-yourself household mover.

About U-HAUL

Since 1945, U-Haul has been the No. 1 choice of do-it-yourself movers, with a network of more than 23,000 locations across all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces. U-Haul Truck Share 24/7 offers secure access to U-Haul trucks every hour of every day through the customer dispatch option on their smartphones and our proprietary Live Verify technology. Our customers' patronage has enabled the U-Haul fleet to grow to approximately 176,000 trucks, 126,000 trailers and 46,000 towing devices. U-Haul offers nearly 825,000 rentable storage units and 71.6 million square feet of self-storage space at owned and managed facilities throughout North America. U-Haul is the largest retailer of propane in the U.S., and continues to be the largest installer of permanent trailer hitches in the automotive aftermarket industry. U-Haul has been recognized repeatedly as a leading "Best for Vets" employer and was recently named one of the 15 Healthiest Workplaces in America.

Contact:

Andrea Batchelor

Jeff Lockridge

E-mail: [email protected]

Phone: 602-263-6981

Website: uhaul.com

SOURCE U-Haul

Related Links

www.uhaul.com


DURHAM, N.C., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- U-Haul recently acquired the former 10 Federal Self Storage property at 2215 Sedwick Road to help meet the demands of Durham students and residents seeking U-Haul moving and self-storage solutions.

U-Haul Moving & Storage of Research Triangle is now renting self-storage units with extended hours access, while offering moving supplies and more. The 6.95-acre property is home to six single-story buildings with interior climate-control and drive-up options.

"This location is just four miles from the Research Triangle Institute and is very convenient for residents in The Triangle," said Chuck Watson, U-Haul Company of Raleigh president. "We are pleased to serve our customers here by providing a trusted name in self-storage. U-Haul offers a clean, secure and well-maintained environment where people want to store their belongings."

The new facility is operated by U-Haul Moving & Storage at U.S. Highway 70. Contact U-Haul Moving & Storage at U.S. Highway 70 at (919) 246-8931. Hours of operation at the anchor store are 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Thursday and Saturday; 7 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday; and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday.

Reserve equipment at uhaul.com or contact Reservations at 1-800-GO-UHAUL.

"By using existing self-storage buildings rather than constructing new facilities, U-Haul is taking an environmentally friendly approach to serving our Durham customers," Watson added.

U-Haul, honored as a "Best for Vets 2020" leading veteran-friendly employer by The Military Times, actively recruits veterans and gives them preference in the hiring process. Find U-Haul careers at uhauljobs.com.

As an essential service provider, U-Haul continues to serve communities during the COVID-19 recovery while offering contactless business programs and enhanced cleaning protocols, including added steps for sanitizing equipment between customer transactions. U-Haul products are used daily by First Responders; delivery companies bringing needed supplies to people's homes; small businesses trying to remain afloat; college students; and many other dependent groups, in addition to the do-it-yourself household mover.

About U-HAUL

Since 1945, U-Haul has been the No. 1 choice of do-it-yourself movers, with a network of more than 23,000 locations across all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces. U-Haul Truck Share 24/7 offers secure access to U-Haul trucks every hour of every day through the customer dispatch option on their smartphones and our proprietary Live Verify technology. Our customers' patronage has enabled the U-Haul fleet to grow to approximately 176,000 trucks, 126,000 trailers and 46,000 towing devices. U-Haul offers nearly 825,000 rentable storage units and 71.6 million square feet of self-storage space at owned and managed facilities throughout North America. U-Haul is the largest retailer of propane in the U.S., and continues to be the largest installer of permanent trailer hitches in the automotive aftermarket industry. U-Haul has been recognized repeatedly as a leading "Best for Vets" employer and was recently named one of the 15 Healthiest Workplaces in America.

Contact:

Andrea Batchelor

Jeff Lockridge

E-mail: [email protected]

Phone: 602-263-6981

Website: uhaul.com

SOURCE U-Haul

Related Links

www.uhaul.com


Representing some of the very best highway safety practices, the seven winners were selected from a nationwide field of applicants for the awards, which are sponsored jointly by FHWA and RSF. Begun in 1999, the biennial program honors projects and programs that cost-effectively help the nation achieve progress toward eliminating highway fatalities and serious injuries.

"Congratulations to today's seven honorees for the remarkable work they've done to protect the traveling public," said Buttigieg. "They are proof that we have no shortage of willpower or good ideas for improving roadway safety." (Please see accompanying video of Secretary Buttigieg's remarks.)

Preliminary data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show that 38,680 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2020  a 7.2 percent increase from 2019. This increase occurred despite a 13.2 percent decrease in vehicle miles traveled due to the pandemic and is the highest number of fatalities since 2007.

"Projects like these save lives by significantly discouraging dangerous driving," said Greg Cohen, Executive Director of the Roadway Safety Foundation. "Countless future travelers, whose lives and limbs will be spared by these innovations, will owe an unknowing debt of gratitude to today's honorees. We urge DOTs across the nation to look at Bellevue and other awardees' innovations and replicate them wherever possible."

Applicants were encouraged to nominate projects and programs that are innovative, effective and cost efficient. The awards covered two categories: A) Infrastructure and Operational Improvements, and B) Program Planning, Development and Evaluation.

From dozens of entries, a highly credentialed, expert panel of judges selected the seven winners and three honorable mentions. They winners are:

Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) for its use of smart Work Zone Safety Technologies for Arterial Roads, which are burdened with higher fatality rates than interstates. FDOT studied the use of Active Work Zone Awareness Devices (AWADs), which employ radar in combination with LED signs to warn drivers of upcoming work zones, displays their travel speed and delivers safety messaging. FDOT went a step further by linking the AWADs to drivers using the Waze navigation app. The initiative's impressive results include vehicle speeds entering arterial work zones dropping by 10.6 percent, safe driving behavior increasing by 39 percent, and risky driving declining by 34 percent.

for its use of smart which are burdened with higher fatality rates than interstates. FDOT studied the use of Active Work Zone Awareness Devices (AWADs), which employ radar in combination with LED signs to warn drivers of upcoming work zones, displays their travel speed and delivers safety messaging. FDOT went a step further by linking the AWADs to drivers using the Waze navigation app. The initiative's impressive results include vehicle North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) for its Long-Life Pavement Markings Safety Initiative to reduce lane departure crashes, a major safety challenge in a state where 14,000 fatal and serious-injury lane departure crashes occurred between 2015 and 2019. Designed to help drivers better see markings when driving on curvy roads, in inclement weather or at night, NCDOT tested the long-life markings on more than 400 miles of roadway, recording an overall 13 percent reduction in lane departure crashes . The long-life markings also are designed to provide at least five to seven years of adequate retro-reflectivity and pavement delineation, as compared with approximately two years from standard markings, thereby being more cost efficient in the long term.

for its to reduce lane departure crashes, a major safety challenge in a state where 14,000 fatal and serious-injury lane departure crashes occurred between 2015 and 2019. Designed to help drivers better see markings when driving on curvy roads, in inclement weather or at night, NCDOT tested the long-life markings on more than 400 miles of roadway, recording an overall . The long-life markings also are designed to provide at least five to seven years of adequate retro-reflectivity and pavement delineation, as compared with approximately two years from standard markings, thereby being more cost efficient in the long term. Village of Whitefish Bay, WI for its Community-Wide Safety Improvements. Confronting a decade-long increase in crashes involving the most vulnerable road users, the Milwaukee suburb deployed a series of low-cost solutions to reduce risks to pedestrians and cyclists. These included dynamic speed feedback signs, "yield to pedestrian" signage, design changes such as high-visibility crosswalks, installation of median in the center of highways, lengthier pedestrian intervals at signals and better street lighting. A simple but noteworthy improvement is the installation of "Danish Offsets." Widely deployed in Denmark , crosswalk paths are oriented to provide more direct sight lines for pedestrians to observe oncoming vehicles. Since 2015, community-wide crashes are down 39 percent and signs point to a continued downward trend.

for its Confronting a decade-long increase in crashes involving the most vulnerable road users, the suburb deployed a series of low-cost solutions to reduce risks to pedestrians and cyclists. These included dynamic speed feedback signs, "yield to pedestrian" signage, design changes such as high-visibility crosswalks, installation of median in the center of highways, lengthier pedestrian intervals at signals and better street lighting. A simple but noteworthy improvement is the installation of "Danish Offsets." Widely deployed in , crosswalk paths are oriented to provide more direct sight lines for pedestrians to observe oncoming vehicles. and signs point to a continued downward trend. City of Bellevue, WA for its application of a Video Analytics Program that is helping achieve tangible progress toward the city's Vision Zero commitment. Prevailing practice in highway safety management typically relies on backward-looking crash data, an inherently reactive process. By contrast, Bellevue is utilizing cutting-edge video analytics to identify safety challenges in near-real-time, enabling the city to proactively address those challenges. The smart technologies convert raw video from existing traffic cams into flow, speed and conflict event data. In addition to identifying hot spots, Bellevue's video analytics program also provides rapid insight on how countermeasures perform. As just one example, Bellevue made traffic signal operations changes at 124 th Avenue Northeast and Northeast Eighth Street and observed a 60 percent reduction in critical conflicts at the intersection.

for its application of a that is helping achieve tangible progress toward the city's Vision Zero commitment. Prevailing practice in highway safety management typically relies on backward-looking crash data, an inherently reactive process. By contrast, is utilizing cutting-edge video analytics to identify safety challenges in near-real-time, enabling the city to proactively address those challenges. The smart technologies convert raw video from existing traffic cams into flow, speed and conflict event data. In addition to identifying hot spots, video analytics program also provides rapid insight on how countermeasures perform. As just one example, made traffic signal operations changes at 124 Avenue Northeast and Northeast Eighth Street and observed a at the intersection. Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization for its innovative Complete Streets Master Plan , which is measurably improving safety on Wilton Drive in the Fort Lauderdale area and promises similar benefits on other local roadways. With the single highest number of pedestrian fatalities in the entire nation (1,675 between 2010 and 2019), Broward worked with localities and other stakeholders to redesign the bustling Wilton Drive, eliminating a vehicular travel lane in each direction in order to install buffered bike lanes, mid-block crossing medians, wider sidewalks, better lighting and other improvements. Witnessing a 66 percent decrease in bicycle and pedestrian crashes and a 75 percent reduction in severe-injury and fatal crashes  alongside a 50 percent improvement in corridor travel times  Broward is moving forward with similar improvements for 20 other projects.

for its innovative , which is measurably improving safety on Wilton Drive in the area and promises similar benefits on other local roadways. With the single highest number of pedestrian fatalities in the entire nation (1,675 between 2010 and 2019), worked with localities and other stakeholders to redesign the bustling Wilton Drive, eliminating a vehicular travel lane in each direction in order to install buffered bike lanes, mid-block crossing medians, wider sidewalks, better lighting and other improvements. Witnessing a  alongside a 50 percent improvement in corridor travel times  is moving forward with similar improvements for 20 other projects. California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) for its transformative 2020-2024 Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) to reverse a trend of rising fatalities and injuries on state roads. With an average of 10 people dying every day on California roads, Caltrans created a highly targeted approach to safety with its SHSP update. It designates high-priority challenge areas, expands and diversifies membership of the SHSP committee, implements the program with innovative tools, and evaluates progress on a continual basis. Four newly adopted guiding principles undergird the SHSP: Integrate equity, implement a safe system approach, double down on what works, and accelerate advanced technology. The plan is instrumental to the state achieve no traffic fatalities and serious injuries by 2050.

for its transformative (SHSP) to reverse a trend of rising fatalities and injuries on state roads. With an average of 10 people dying every day on California roads, Caltrans created a highly targeted approach to safety with its SHSP update. It designates high-priority challenge areas, expands and diversifies membership of the SHSP committee, implements the program with innovative tools, and evaluates progress on a continual basis. Four newly adopted guiding principles undergird the SHSP: Integrate equity, implement a safe system approach, double down on what works, and accelerate advanced technology. The plan is instrumental to the state achieve no traffic fatalities and serious injuries by 2050. Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) for its all-new Safety Scoring Tool. With fatalities on Texas rural non-interstate roads occurring at twice the rate of other Texas roads, TxDOT partnered with the Texas A&M Transportation Institute to develop a user-friendly means of evaluating the safety performance of rural highway design elements. The scoring tool assesses the total effects of changes in lane and shoulder width, horizontal and vertical curve geometry, clearances to objects, and other factors. The tool is now required for all rural two and multi-lane non-access controlled projects, ranging from routine maintenance to complete reconstructions, fostering a proactive, rather than passive or reactive, approach to safety.

The honorable mentions are: The Florida Department of Transportation for its Local Technical Assistance Program to improve the skills and increase the knowledge of the transportation workforce on roadway safety via virtual training and technical assistance; the Montana Department of Transportation for its reconstruction of an antiquated segment of U.S. Highway 89 that provides a key entrance to Glacier National Park; and the Town of Portland, Ct. for its formation of a grassroots Complete Streets Group to coordinate with local officials in writing, adopting, and implementing a Complete Streets Policy.

Winners were selected by an expert panel of judges from a variety of disciplines. For complete details on each of the winners, and for more information on the national awards program, visit roadwaysafety.org/awards.

The Roadway Safety Foundation is a 501(c) (3) charitable and educational organization. Our mission is to reduce the frequency and severity of motor vehicle crashes, injuries, and fatalities through improvements to roadway systems and their environment.

SOURCE Roadway Safety Foundation

Related Links

http://www.roadwaysafety.org


FACTS AT A GLANCE Edition: 5; Released: April 2021 Executive Pool: 18992 Companies: 44 - Players covered include Accenture PLC; Adastra Corporation; Cisco Systems, Inc.; Dawex Systems; Emu Analytics Ltd.; Gemalto; Google LLC; IBM Corporation; Infosys Ltd.; Mahindra Comviva; Monetize Solutions; Narrative Science Inc.; Ness Technologies; NetScout Systems, Inc.; Openwave Mobility, Inc.; Optiva, Inc.; Paxata, Inc.; Reltio; SAP SE; SAS Institute, Inc.; Virtusa Corporation and Others. Coverage: All major geographies and key segments Segments: Component (Tools, Services); Data Type (Customer Data, Product Data, Financial Data, Supplier Data); Industry (BFSI, Telecom, Consumer Goods & Retail, Other Industries) 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 Data Monetization Market to Reach $4.1 Billion by 2026

Amid the COVID-19 crisis, the global market for Data Monetization estimated at US$1.6 Billion in the year 2020, is projected to reach a revised size of US$4.1 Billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 16.7% over the analysis period. Tools, one of the segments analyzed in the report, is projected to record a 16.8% CAGR and reach US$3.6 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 Services segment is readjusted to a revised 16.3% CAGR for the next 7-year period.

The U.S. Market is Estimated at $574.5 Million in 2021, While China is Forecast to Reach $722.8 Million by 2026

The Data Monetization market in the U.S. is estimated at US$574.5 Million in the year 2021. China, the world`s second largest economy, is forecast to reach a projected market size of US$722.8 Million by the year 2026 trailing a CAGR of 16% over the analysis period. Among the other noteworthy geographic markets are Japan and Canada, each forecast to grow at 14.9% and 14.3% respectively over the analysis period. Within Europe, Germany is forecast to grow at approximately 12.2% CAGR. 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


BASKING RIDGE, N.J., Oct. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Viking Pest Control is pleased to announce the opening of a new office in Dallas, PA. The company currently covers a four-state region that includes parts of Pennsylvania. This office in Dallas enables the company to widely increase its present service area in the state, expanding service to: Cumberland, Franklin, York, Lackawanna, Snyder, and Luzerne Counties.

This will also service the following cities: Carlisle, Chambersburg, Hanover, Dickson City, Selinsgrove, Whitehall, White Haven, Wyomissing, Dallas, Tamaqua, Wilkes-Barre, Scranton, Mountaintop, Pittston, Hazleton, Bloomsburg, and Tunkhannock.

Viking is the modern pest control company who prides itself in offering the most effective and efficient pest control management solution to residents and business owners.



With our expansion comes growth; if you are looking to join an environmentally friendly and innovative company that provides extensive training for our technicians, click here to apply.

"We are delighted to be able to widely extend our current services in Pennsylvania," says Pest Management Professional, Eric Gunner, "Viking Pest Control has been a household name in other parts of Pennsylvania for over 40 years, providing top-quality pest control that is customized to both residential and commercial customers."

Pennsylvania's diverse landscape is home to many ecosystems. With the changing seasons and temperatures, pests will always find opportune times to reproduce and invade homes and business premises. Having a professional exterminator trained to control these kinds of infestations within specific areas of the state ensures that treatment is customized and effective. The company focuses on controlling pest concerns from the source, minimizing impact on human health, pets or the environment.

Call 800-618-2847 or visit their website for more information on Viking's extended coverage in Pennsylvania.

Press Contact:

Eric Gunner, Pest Management Professional

Phone: 800-618-2847

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.vikingpest.com

SOURCE Viking Pest Control

Related Links

www.vikingpest.com


SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today RangeMe announces its continued global expansion with the launch across the Benelux region as it branches into continental Europe. This expansion follows recent RangeMe launches in the UK and APAC earlier this year. Buyers at retailers across Europe can now source over 750,000 products and connect with more than 200,000 global suppliers to fill their shopping aisles and online stores with curated products meeting consumer demand.

"The Benelux region represents a powerful economic area in Europe with a strong, well-organized retail sector. It provides the perfect setting for us to launch RangeMe in Europe. Like in most countries, there is a significant shift to online and retailers will be keen to stay on top of the latest demands and trends. RangeMe will offer buyers a full spectrum of choice to service this shift to remain competitive and relevant for their customers and beyond." - Nicky Jackson, Founder & CEO, RangeMe RangeMe, the global online platform that streamlines new product discovery between suppliers & retailers. With offices in US, UK, Australia & Netherlands, the platform empowers retail buyers to efficiently discover innovative & emerging products, while streamlining the inbound product submission process. For product suppliers, RangeMe enables them to grow their retail relationships with a platform that gives them the tools to manage their products, market their brand, and build awareness.

Buyers at health and wellness retailer Holland & Barrett are currently partnering with RangeMe as they seek the latest products for their customer base.

Suppliers already on RangeMe will immediately be available to European retailers, as they are to U.S., Canada, UK and APAC retailers. RangeMe invites suppliers not on the platform to register at: https://app.rangeme.com/suppliers/signup

RangeMe first launched in 2014 and is used today by nearly 15,000 retailers in the U.S., including Walmart, Sephora, Walgreens, Petco, 7-Eleven and Albertsons. It has quickly established itself as the industry leader for retail product discovery and sourcing by becoming the world's largest source of brands and products purchased by buyers in the U.S.

RangeMe has become the global online platform where retailers and suppliers can discover, connect, and grow their business. Suppliers can showcase their range, bring new products to market, increase brand visibility, and grow sales, while buyers use RangeMe to discover new products, search trends, and communicate directly with brands.

RangeMe helps retailers and their buying teams scale product sourcing efforts with streamlined submissions, simplified discovery tools, and the industry standard digital sell sheet. RangeMe lets buyers filter searches to find brands meeting exact sourcing needs, enables seamless connectivity and collaboration with suppliers, and provides curated collections to help identify and understand category trends and emerging brands.

"The Benelux region represents a powerful economic area in Europe with a strong, well-organized retail sector. It provides the perfect setting for us to launch RangeMe in Europe. Moreover, like in most countries, there is a significant shift to online and retailers will be keen to stay on top of the latest demands and trends. RangeMe will offer buyers a full spectrum of choice to service this shift to remain competitive and relevant for their customers and beyond," said Nicky Jackson, Founder and CEO of RangeMe. "We will pick up the heavy lifting for buyers and present the global product market opportunity in one screen."

"We have grown by virtue of being relevant to our customers over time, around the world. Our customers trust us to offer the widest range of products that meet the highest standards, and we do this day in, day out. Through RangeMe, our buyers will be able to provide products for a wider audience. We want to offer the latest products on our shelves quickly and, with our sustainability agenda in mind, we want to source locally. Additionally, we will quickly scale our buying operations through the platform by reducing the friction and time to get more products on our shelves," added Marc Estourgie, Managing Director, Holland & Barrett Benelux.

John van der Valk, CEO Europe at RangeMe commented, "This is an exciting development for retailers and suppliers across Europe. Retailers now have access to the latest technology to engage with buyers anywhere seamlessly to drive positive outcomes, faster. Great to have Holland & Barrett adopt RangeMe and it bodes well for our launch and expansion across the Benelux region and further into European markets."

About RangeMe

RangeMe, an ECRM company, is the leading online platform that streamlines new product discovery between suppliers and retailers. It has offices in the US, UK, Australia and the Netherlands. The platform empowers retail buyers to efficiently discover innovative and emerging products, while streamlining the inbound product submission process. For product suppliers, RangeMe enables them to grow their retail relationships with a platform that gives them the tools to manage their products, market their brand, and build awareness. Now integrated into the ECRM product offering, RangeMe adds increased breadth and depth to the industry's most complete sourcing solution for top retailers and product suppliers.

About Holland & Barrett

Holland & Barrett is one of the world's leading health and wellness retailers and the largest in Europe, supplying its customers with a wide range of vitamins, minerals, health supplements, specialist foods and natural beauty products. Holland & Barrett currently operates more than 1,600 stores across the world, of which over 800 in the UK and Ireland, as well as a rapidly expanding e-commerce business. All Holland & Barrett colleagues are highly trained in nutrition and supplements, able to advise customers on their individual needs.

Press Contacts:

U.S.

Dan Dyer

E-mail: [email protected]

Phone: 513-478-7818

Europe

Bilal Mahmood

E-mail: [email protected]

Phone: +44 (0) 20 3640 7759 and +44 (0) 771 400 7257

SOURCE RangeMe
The Sutter Home for Hope initiative began in 2001, when one of Sutter Home's founding family members, Vera Trinchero Torres, was diagnosed with breast cancer. Sutter Home fans can help continue the fight against breast cancer by sending in their Sutter Home bottle corks, capsules and screwcaps via mail. For every cork, capsule or screwcap received by mail, the winery will donate $1 to National Breast Cancer Foundation, up to $60,000. The program began Sept. 1 and will run through the end of 2021.

New this year, Sutter Home is inviting fans to further our fight against breast cancer by visiting https://fundraise.nbcf.org/sutter; through the site, fans can fund a HOPE Kit for a woman undergoing breast cancer treatment. Each package is filled with thoughtful items that patients find soothing and encouraging, including fuzzy socks, tea, lip balm, an inspirational bracelet, lotion, a HOPE journal, educational resources and a hand-written note  many of which were written by guests visiting Sutter Home's Napa Valley tasting room. $50 funds one HOPE Kit, though the one-time or monthly donation can be made for any amount.

"2021 has been another arduous year for those affected by breast cancer," said Brie Wohld, vice president, marketing for Sutter Home. "In our 21st year of Sutter Home for Hope, we at Sutter Home stand strong with breast cancer fighters and survivors and reaffirm our commitment to this exceedingly important cause. Our mission for making a difference remains twofold: providing support to charities and nonprofits like National Breast Cancer Foundation that are working to make a difference in communities nationwide, and promoting positive messages of hope and support to let those affected by cancer know they are not alone. We are truly grateful to our fans who have joined us as we take on this cause together."

Banded together to make a positive difference in the lives of families around the world, Sutter Home and National Breast Cancer Foundation are committed to Helping Women Now. The National Cancer Institute predicts that an estimated 281,550* women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and more than 43,600* will die in the United States in 2021. With the help of Sutter Home's fans, National Breast Cancer Foundation can inspire hope to those affected by breast cancer through early detection, education and support services.

"We are thankful for Sutter Home Family Vineyards' continued commitment to our mission of Helping Women Now," said Janelle Hail, founder and chief executive officer of National Breast Cancer Foundation. "Sutter Home's generosity will help us support women in need during this critical year for our community of fighters and survivors."

Sutter Home invites those looking to make a difference to "Clink for Pink" now through Dec. 31. Learn all the ways Sutter Home's little corks bring big hope, from our home to yours at www.sutterhome.com/sutter-home-for-hope/.

About Sutter Home

When the Trinchero family bought the Sutter Home winery in 1948, they had vision, passion and a keen insight into consumer tastes. In the early 1970s, Sutter Home revolutionized the way Americans enjoyed wine when it created the first-ever White Zinfandel, introducing a new, sweeter style of winealong with several other crowd-pleasing varietalsat an affordable price. By the 1980s and 1990s, Sutter Home became a household name as the second largest independent, family-owned winery in the United States. In 2005, the winery was the first to produce the groundbreaking single-serve, 187mL package in light-weight plastic bottles. Today, Sutter Home continues to reflect the evolution of its consumers, offering more than 24 different varietals in 750mL, 187mL and 1.5L bottles, 500mL Tetra Pak packages and 3L bag-in-box packages. For more information, visit www.SutterHome.com.

About National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc.

Recognized as one of the leading breast cancer organizations in the world, National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF) is Helping Women Now by providing early detection, education and support services to those affected by breast cancer. A recipient of Charity Navigator's highest 4-star rating for 15 years, NBCF provides support through their National Mammography Program, Patient Navigation, breast health education, and patient support programs. For more information, please visit https://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/.

Source: *National Cancer Institute U.S. Female Breast Cancer Statistics: https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/breast.html

Support the Cause: Send Sutter Home corks, screwcaps and capsules in an envelope labeled SHFH21 to:

Inmar Rebate Center | PO Box 426008 | Del Rio, TX 78842-6008

Social Media

Facebook: @SutterHome | Instagram: @SutterHomeWines | Pinterest: @SutterHome | Twitter: @SutterHome

SOURCE Sutter Home Family Vineyards

Related Links

https://www.sutterhome.com/


EIGHTY FOUR, Pa., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- 84 Lumber, the nation's largest privately held building materials supplier, is launching a recruitment effort to fill immediate openings at its retail store and truss manufacturing plant in the Richmond region. The company will host a Hiring Event on October 12th from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the 84 Lumber Richmond location (2510 Bellwood Road, Richmond, VA, 23237).

At the event, job seekers will learn more about the company culture and get the opportunity to be interviewed for open positions in the area that include manager trainees (MTs), warehouse and forklift associates, door shop managers, window service technicians, and more. Qualified job seekers may receive an offer of employment during the event and will be able to participate in a pre-employment drug screening at the location.

"84 Lumber is seeking to fill 10 open positions at our locations in the Richmond area to add to our team of more than 90 employees in the area," said John Hay, divisional vice president at 84 Lumber. "We're growing along with the growth in the construction industry  here in the Richmond region and across the nation. We're looking for people seeking a fresh start."

Hay went on to detail the openings in the region:



Manager trainees (MTs) hired by 84 Lumber enter an intensive, one-on-one, on-the-job training program that teaches them about the company's business and puts them on a path to become a future leader within the enterprise. Starting compensation for manager trainees is $40,000 per year.

hired by 84 Lumber enter an intensive, one-on-one, on-the-job training program that teaches them about the company's business and puts them on a path to become a future leader within the enterprise. Starting compensation for manager trainees is per year. Door shop managers are responsible for scheduling of door shop employees, reviewing and teaching all safety procedures, managing inventory control, invoicing and receiving, teaching how to build interior and exterior doors and use machinery, and maintaining quality control of product. Door shop managers are also responsible for profit and loss. Starting compensation for door shop managers is up to $22 per hour.

are responsible for scheduling of door shop employees, reviewing and teaching all safety procedures, managing inventory control, invoicing and receiving, teaching how to build interior and exterior doors and use machinery, and maintaining quality control of product. Door shop managers are also responsible for profit and loss. Starting compensation for door shop managers is up to per hour. Window service technicians are responsible for servicing windows sold to builders, including the installation of windows and screens, stocking inventory, and window and door inspections. Starting compensation for these technicians is up to $19 per hour.

are responsible for servicing windows sold to builders, including the installation of windows and screens, stocking inventory, and window and door inspections. Starting compensation for these technicians is up to per hour. Warehouse and forklift associates need no prior experience and perform essential functions behind the scenes  from the management of supply shipments to the operation of forklifts and other equipment. These associates can expect a starting pay of up to $15 per hour.

Hay added that 84 Lumber expects it might find the right fit from all types of candidates  an individual with no construction experience, military veterans ready to embark on their next career challenge, or people with some previous work experience who seek to redirect their career.

"We are hosting our recruitment events at our retail locations because it gives candidates a better sense of our company culture and how we operate," said Hay. "We are proud to be a family-owned company, and we are committed to helping our employees build and cultivate a career with us. In fact, 95% of our store managers started in our manager trainee program."

Candidates interested in participating in the Hiring Event are asked to pre-register. To sign up, go to 84 Lumber's Hiring Page and complete the form. Once you are registered, you will receive an email from 84 Lumber with the link to apply for the desired position. To save time, candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for positions online before they attend the event.

NOTE: 84 Lumber continues to follow CDC safety guidelines with regard to COVID-19. We ask that those attendees who are not yet fully vaccinated wear a mask and maintain social distancing.

To learn more about 84 Lumber, follow the company on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

ABOUT 84 LUMBER

Founded in 1956 and headquartered in Eighty Four, Pennsylvania, 84 Lumber Company is the nation's largest privately held supplier of building materials, manufactured components and industry-leading services for single- and multi-family residences and commercial buildings. The company operates nearly 250 stores, component manufacturing plants, custom door shops, custom millwork shops and engineered wood product centers in more than 30 states. 84 Lumber also offers turnkey installation services for a variety of products, including framing, insulation, siding, windows, roofing, decking and drywall. A certified national women's business enterprise owned by Maggie Hardy Knox, 84 Lumber was named by Forbes as one of America's Largest Private Companies in 2018 and one of America's Best Large Employers in 2019. For more information, visit 84lumber.com or join us at Facebook.com/84lumber and linkedin.com/company/84-lumber .

Contact: Jeff Donaldson, BLD Marketing

Email: [email protected]

Phone: (412) 347-8039

Photos: https://www.bldpressroom.com/84lumber/richmond-hiring-event

SOURCE 84 Lumber
MIAMI, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A study conducted by the University of British Columbia demonstrated that commercial fragrances containing certain essential oils also have antibacterial benefits. The study, underwritten by Doctor Aromas, showed that several fragrances could kill microorganisms tested at different concentrations in a laboratory setting. The study suggests that commercial fragrances represent a potential new approach to control pathogens in enclosed and crowded areas, especially those related to airborne diseases.

According to a recent study, the global market for aromatizing fragrances was estimated at $US 6 billion in 2018 and is projected to increase to US $8 billion by the end of 2026. The popularity of these products has increased because of their aromatherapy applications, as people seek to enhance their physical and psychological conditions while neutralizing unpleasant odors.

"With people spending much of their time at home due to a growing work-from-home culture, we have found they have placed a premium on creating an optimum home environment conducive to work and relaxation depending on the space. Home fragrances have become an essential ingredient to this end," said Marcelo Zelicovich, founder of Doctor Aromas. "The fact that essential oils derived from nature also have anti-bacterial agents is an added benefit that we felt needed to be studied further."

The study, led by noted researchers Hagar Bach and Horacio Bach, medical faculty of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, tested 25 commercial fragrances on a panel of human pathogenic bacterial and fungal strains. The findings showed that three single fragrances were able to inhibit the growth of six bacterial strains, whereas all fragrances tested showed antifungal activity, including mold that grows on various surfaces. The fragrances that showed an increase in antibacterial activity in the highest number of bacterial strains contained menthol and citral, broadly reported as antibacterial compounds. Fragrances exhibiting antifungal activity can be attributed to the presence of geranial and neral, which have also been known to have antifungal compounds. Of particular significance is the fact that two fragrances increased the secretion of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 by an unknown mechanism. In addition, these fragrances contained D-limonene and linalool, which have shown anti-inflammatory activity, an important finding particularly for individuals who have asthma.

"Future efforts should be focused on the proper distribution of these fragrances to sanitize potential disseminators of microbial pathogens such as air conditioning units in shopping centers, hospitals, or any place where a conglomeration of people might be affected by these microbes," said Horacio Bach, a clinical assistant professor of the University of British Columbia's Division of Infectious Diseases, and co-author of the study.

About Doctor Aromas

Containing the most delicate cosmetic grade fragrances and pure essential oils, Doctor Aromas' unique scents have the remarkable ability to help enhance both mental and physical wellbeing while creating an enjoyable environment. For more information, visit www.doctoraromas.com.

SOURCE Doctor Aromas
MILWAUKEE, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ademi LLP is investigating possible securities fraud claims against Ginkgo (NYSE:DNA). The investigation results from inaccurate statements Ginkgo may have made regarding its business operations and prospects.

Click here to learn more about the investigation https://www.ademilaw.com/case/ginkgo-bioworks-holdings-inc or call Guri Ademi toll-free at 866-264-3995. There is no cost or obligation to you.

The investigation focuses on whether Ginkgo was properly recognizing revenue with respect to related party transactions. A report from Scorpion Capital alleged that Ginkgo is a "Frankenstein mash-up of the worst frauds." Scorpion reported that a bulk of Ginkgo's revenue is phantom, or non-cash based, and instead is based on accounting irregularities enabled by a related shell companies. Scorpion based its allegation on research and conversations with former and current employees of both Ginkgo and the companies it works with." For example, according to Scorpion, "a senior employee [of one of Ginkgo's customers] stated unequivocally that they have never paid Ginkgo cash for foundry services and are merely using 'free' R&D credits following investments by Ginkgo and Viking."

If you wish to obtain additional information or have information about this investigation, please contact Guri Ademi either at [email protected] or toll-free: 866-264-3995, https://www.ademilaw.com/case/ginkgo-bioworks-holdings-inc.

We specialize in securities fraud and shareholder litigation. For more information, please feel free to call us. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

Contact:

Ademi LLP

Guri Ademi

3620 East Layton Ave.

Cudahy, WI 53110

Toll Free: (866) 264-3995

Fax: (414) 482-8001

www.ademilaw.com

SOURCE Ademi LLP

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STOCKHOLM, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ahlstrom-Munksjo's Cristal transparent packaging papers have recently achieved BPI compostability certification and Cristal heat sealable papers have additionally received a How2Recycle label.

How2Recycle communicates the recyclability of a package  a standardized program built to comply with legal guidance, such as the US Federal Trade Commission's Green Guides  and reduces confusion by creating a clear, straightforward label that enables brands to convey to consumers how to dispose of a package. The system provides reliability, completeness, and transparency for recyclability claims.

The How2Recycle website (www.how2recycle.info) provides additional information for consumers, from how to understand the label design, to information for other companies interested in using the label.

"We are proud that our Cristal products, both transparent papers and transparent heat seal packaging products, recently passed Western Michigan University's testing protocol for recyclability," said Zack Leimkuehler, Vice President of Ahlstrom-Munksjo's Technical Solutions business. "Achieving BPI compostability certification, in addition to adding the How2Recycle label, offers our customers and the marketplace yet another fiber-based solution to reduce traditional non-renewable substrates in packaging engineering."

Improvements in package recyclability in addition to BPI compostability certification, enables Ahlstrom-Munksjo customers to achieve their own sustainability goals. By using a scientific processes, BPI officially certifies compostable products that meet U.S. ASTM D6400 and ASTM D6868 standards for compostability. BPI Certification proves that a material will compost in a commercial composting facility, leaving behind no toxic residue or microplastics.

Cristal products offer replacement solutions for window packaging, sachets, bags, and more when a brand owner or packaging designer wishes to have their products in full view. Additionally, Cristal products are 3rd party certification from Centre technique du papier certifying Cristal's heat seal coating is recyclable to the European Union's EN13430 standards.

Learn more about Ahlstrom-Munksjo's Cristal products: https://www.ahlstrom-munksjo.com/products/technologies/transparent-technology/

Discover how Cristal products support Ahlstrom-Munksjo's from Plastic to Purpose campaign: https://www.ahlstrom-munksjo.com/campaigns/from-Plastic-to-Purpose/

Recycling Certificates | Pilot Plants | Western Michigan University (wmich.edu)

For more details, please contact:



Addie Teeters, Head of Marketing Communications & Public Affairs, Food Packaging & Technical Solutions Business Area, [email protected], +1 920 766 8304 or +1 920 202 4455

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/ahlstrom-munksjo/r/ahlstrom-munksjo-s-cristal--transparent-packaging-papers-receive-how2recycle--label,c3428114

SOURCE Ahlstrom-Munksjo
"Year after year, the Franny Award is given to the franchisee that goes above and beyond the general requirements of an AlphaGraphics center owner," said Bill McPherson, vice president of franchise development. "This year, we are excited to award Victoria and Carmine this prestigious honor. Their success is a direct representation of the dedication and commitment they have to both the community and the brand. We know that the two will continue providing value and excellence to the AlphaGraphics family."

Winners of the Franny Award are chosen using several criteria including sales achievement, an exemplary business operation, network leadership and a proven track record of contributing to the overall success of the brand with positive representation of the AlphaGraphics community.

"Victoria and I are incredibly grateful and honored to receive the 2021 Franny Award," Carmine Camerato said. "Over the past 20 years, we have worked together side by side with our teams and customers to achieve our business success. We are thankful to the countless peers and corporate staff in the AlphaGraphics network who have supported us throughout the years. We feel very blessed."

AlphaGraphics was founded in 1970, and the company began offering franchise opportunities in 1979. For more information, visit http://www.alphagraphics.com .

About AlphaGraphics

AlphaGraphics, Inc., with more than 285 locations in 6 countries, is one of the largest U.S.-based networks of locally-owned and operated Business Centers offering a complete range of print, visual communications, and marketing products. Solutions include: full-service digital, offset, and large format printing; design services; mailing; one-to-one marketing solutions; promotional products; and web to print solutions. For more information about AlphaGraphics services, visit www.alphagraphics.com . To learn about franchise opportunities, visit www.alphagraphicsfranchise.com .

About MBE Worldwide

MBE Worldwide S.p.A. ("MBE"), a privately-owned company based in Milan - Italy, is a third-party provider of shipping, fulfillment, print and marketing tech-enabled solutions to small and medium enterprises and retail consumers via a Network of mainly independently owned and operated locations. MBE Service Centers facilitate the activities of entrepreneurs, people and businesses through an easy-to-access distribution Network and customized services and products delivered with a distinguished and unique level of customer service. MBE presently operates under multiple brands: Mail Boxes Etc. (excluding the US and Canada), AlphaGraphics, PostNet, Spedingo.com, Print Speak, PACK & SEND and Multicopy and its global Network counts currently more than 2,800 locations in 53 countries, with 11,000+ associates and FY2020 System-wide Sales of 879 Million (US$1,004 Million).

For additional information please visit MBE Worldwide Group websites at www.mbecorporate.com - www.mbeglobal.com - www.postnet.com - www.alphagraphics.com - www.spedingo.com/en - www.printspeak.com - www.packsend.com.au - www.multicopy.nl - www.mbe.it - www.mbe.es - www.mbe.de - www.mbefrance.fr - www.mbe.pl - www.mbeportugal.pt - www.mbe.co.uk

MEDIA CONTACT:

Heather Ripley

Ripley PR

865-977-1973

[email protected]

SOURCE AlphaGraphics
NASHVILLE, Tenn., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- CB Insights today named Alto Solutions, Inc. (Alto) to the fourth annual Fintech 250 , a prestigious list of emerging private companies working on groundbreaking financial technology. This year's list was unveiled on stage at CB Insights' Future of Fintech conference in New York City.

"This is the fourth class of the Fintech 250, and it's also the most international, representing 26 countries. These 250 fintech startups are attacking an incredibly diverse array of financial services opportunities across 19 sectors, including digital banking, insurance, payroll, retail investing, and more," said CB Insights CEO Anand Sanwal. "After being named to the CB Insights Fintech 250 last year, the 2020 class saw 17 companies go public and 25 get acquired. They also went on to raise over $25B in additional financing and forged more than 380 new partnerships after being recognized. The Fintech 250 has a history of spotlighting the very best fintech companies, and this year is no different. We're excited to see how these fintech startups disrupt and transform financial services in the years ahead."

"Alto's mission is to provide all individuals the tools and resources they need to invest in alternative assets and secure the financial future they want," said Eric Satz, founder and CEO of Alto. "In short, we want to revolutionize the alternative investing industry to open the gates to real wealth creation for all. We have seen incredible platform growth over the past year, and receiving the honor of being named to the 2021 CB Insights Fintech 250 further validates the important work that we're doing each day to level the playing field for all investors."

Through an evidence-based approach, the CB Insights Intelligence Unit selected the Fintech 250 from a pool of over 17,000 companies, including applicants and nominees. They were chosen based on several factors, including data submitted by the companies; company business models and momentum in the market; and Mosaic scores, which is CB Insights' proprietary algorithm that measures the overall health and growth potential of private companies.

Alto is the next-generation self-directed IRA platform that makes it easy to invest in alternative assets using retirement funds. The first of its kind, Alto's platform streamlines the process for investors, investment funding portals, and investment sponsors alike. Offering both Alto IRA and Alto CryptoIRA, investors have a variety of alternative assets to choose from, including real estate, startup companies, and cryptocurrency. Alto has experienced significant company growth within the past year, including the recent successful close of a $17 million Series A funding round led by Unusual Ventures.

Fintech 250 2021: Investment Highlights

Unicorns : 118 of the 250 companies (47%) are valued at or above $1B as of their latest funding round.

: 118 of the 250 companies (47%) are valued at or above as of their latest funding round. Funding trends : In 2021 year-to-date (YTD), these 250 private companies have raised $40.3B in equity funding across 275 deals (as of Sept. 14, 2021 ).

: In 2021 year-to-date (YTD), these 250 private companies have raised in equity funding across 275 deals (as of ). Mega-rounds : Since 2020, there have been 178 mega-round ($100M+) equity investments to this year's Fintech 250, with 138 of them in 2021 YTD.

: Since 2020, there have been 178 mega-round ($100M+) equity investments to this year's Fintech 250, with 138 of them in 2021 YTD. Global representation : 36% of the 2021 Fintech 250 are based outside the U.S. After the U.S., the UK is home to the most Fintech 250 companies (25), followed by India (12). This year's winners are based in 26 countries, including France , Brazil , Germany , Indonesia , and Nigeria .

: 36% of the 2021 Fintech 250 are based outside the U.S. After the U.S., the UK is home to the most Fintech 250 companies (25), followed by (12). This year's winners are based in 26 countries, including , , , , and . Top VC investor : Ribbit Capital is the most active investor in this year's Fintech 250 companies, having invested in 62 deals since 2016. Since 2019, Ribbit has participated in 41 deals with this cohort of companies, including to Nubank, Uala, Brex, Vouch, Razorpay, and BharatPe. Tiger Global Management and Accel were close behind with 57 and 55 deals, respectively.

About CB Insights

CB Insights builds software that enables the world's best companies to discover, understand, and make technology decisions with confidence. By marrying data, expert insights, and work management tools, clients manage their end-to-end technology decision-making process on CB Insights. To learn more, please visit www.cbinsights.com .

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. Alto's current investment partners include DiversyFund, Fundr, Masterworks, Republic, and Vint, as well as financial advisors, fund sponsors, and other direct issuers. Additionally, Alto CryptoIRA is integrated with Coinbase. Alto is not a registered broker-dealer or investment advisor.

For more information, please visit www.AltoIRA.com or follow Alto on LinkedIn , Twitter , Facebook , and Instagram .

SOURCE Alto
CALABASAS, Calif., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE: AMH) today announced that the Company will release its third quarter 2021 financial and operating results on Thursday, November 4, 2021, after the market closes. The Company will host a conference call on Friday, November 5, 2021, at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time to review third quarter results, discuss recent events, and conduct a question and answer period.

Live conference call

Toll free number: (877) 451-6152 (for domestic callers) Direct dial number: (201) 389-0879 (for international callers) Passcode: Not required Simultaneous audio webcast link: www.americanhomes4rent.com under "Investor relations"



Conference call replay

Toll free number: (844) 512-2921 (for domestic callers) Direct dial number: (412) 317-6671 (for international callers) Passcode: 13723944# Webcast link: www.americanhomes4rent.com under "Investor relations" Date accessible through: November 19, 2021

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 a nationally recognized brand for rental homes, known for high-quality, good value and resident 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 June 30, 2021, we owned 54,785 single-family properties in selected submarkets in 22 states.

Additional information about American Homes 4 Rent is available on our website at http://www.americanhomes4rent.com.

Contacts:

American Homes 4 Rent

Investor Relations

Nicholas Fromm

Phone: (855) 794-2447

Email: [email protected]

American Homes 4 Rent

Media Relations

Megan Grabos

Phone: (805) 413-5088

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE American Homes 4 Rent

Related Links

https://www.americanhomes4rent.com


OAK BROOK, Ill., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Zonta International announced today that it would award physics and astronomy professor Andrea M. Ghez, one of the world's leading experts in observational astrophysics, an honorary membership in the organization, which works around the world to empower women through service and advocacy. Ghez is Lauren B. Leichtman & Arthur E. Levine chair in Astrophysics at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and heads UCLA's Galactic Center Group.

Andrea Ghez (Credit: Annette Buhl) Zonta International

"It is a great honor and privilege to welcome Professor Ghez to Zonta International honorary membership in recognition of her efforts to elevate the status of women in her field and for serving as a role model for other women scientists and girls across the globe who are interested in pursuing education and careers in STEM fields," said Zonta International President Sharon Langenbeck.

Best known for her groundbreaking work on the center of our galaxy, which has led to the best evidence to date for the existence of supermassive black holes, Ghez has received numerous honors and awards. In 2020, she became the fourth woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics, sharing one half of the prize with Reinhard Genzel (the other half of the prize being awarded to Roger Penrose). Ghez and Genzel were awarded the Nobel Prize for the independent discovery of a supermassive compact object, now generally recognized to be a black hole, in the Milky Way's galactic center.

"I'm delighted to become an honorary member of Zonta International," Ghez said. "The very first award I ever received came from Zonta. With only 10% of my class in graduate school being women, this was an important affirmation, as it helped me understand that I had potential to compete and succeed in science."

Ghez has also received the Crafoord Prize in Astronomy from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciencebecoming the first woman to receive the prize in any fieldthe Bakerian Medal from the Royal Society of London, a MacArthur Fellowship, and election to the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society. In 1987, she was a recipient of Zonta International's Amelia Earhart Fellowship, which awards women pursuing advanced degrees in aerospace engineering and space sciences.

Committed to the communication of science to the public and inspiring young girls to pursue careers in science, Ghez can be found in many public outlets including TED, NOVA's Monster of the Milky Way, Discovery's Swallowed by a Black Hole, TED, and Griffith Observatory.

The Zonta International Board awards lifelong International Honorary Membership to individuals who have helped to change societal attitudes about women or have improved conditions for women beyond the national level. Since 1970, Zonta International has recognized 41 women for their significant contributions to advancing the status of women worldwide.

Zonta International (www.zonta.org) is a leading global organization of professionals empowering women worldwide through service and advocacy. More than 27,000 members in 63 countries work together to make gender equality a worldwide reality for women and girls. Zonta International has provided more than US$59 million to empower women and girls and expand their access to education, health care, economic opportunities and safe living conditions.

Contact:

Megan Radavich

Assistant Executive Director, Programs & Advocacy

Zonta International

Phone: +1.630.928.1400

Email: [email protected]

www.zonta.org

SOURCE Zonta International

Related Links

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PORTLAND, Ore., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- AnyRoad , the leader in Experience Relationship Management (ERM), today announced the development of a new sales and engineering hub in Portland. The company, fresh off a Series A-1 funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), is expanding in the area with several recent key hires and numerous open positions for local sales and engineering talent.

"The world has shifted from a 'things' economy to an 'experience' economy, and the most category-defining brands now use experiential programs to deepen relationships with customers and capture their hearts," said Jonathan Yaffe, co-founder and CEO of AnyRoad. "Our platform enables these brands to deliver experiences that are truly data-driven, something that was not possible before, and we are confident that the talented engineers and sales pros in Portland are up for the task of building and expanding on this vision."

Hundreds of brands, including Diageo, Anheuser-Busch and Michaels Stores, turn to AnyRoad to deliver transformative experiences - and optimize the ROI in real-time with millions of data points - at scale. Ranging from experiential marketing to in-store activations to live events and more, and whether in-person, online or hybrid, brands use AnyRoad to uncover insights and understand how these engagements drive changes in behavior, perception, loyalty and, ultimately, revenue.

AnyRoad experienced rapid growth since the start of the pandemic, despite the experiential industry moving to online-only for much of 2020. Now, with many brands offering both digital and in-real-life experiences to engage with consumers, volume on the platform has surged compared to pre-pandemic highs. To keep up with demand, the company has aggressive hiring plans over the next year and today's announcement includes the addition of Marc Shiota as the new Head of Quality, Reliability & Resilience, who plans to grow his Portland-based team.

AnyRoad is actively recruiting talent for engineering and sales roles based in Portland. Engineering roles include performance engineers, full stack engineers, application backend engineers, front end engineers, security engineers and more. Sales roles include account executives and sales development representatives. For more information about AnyRoad and to learn about open positions, please visit www.anyroad.com/careers .

About AnyRoad

AnyRoad is the leading Experience Relationship Management (ERM) platform enabling global brands to properly measure, scale, and implement their offline and online experiences. AnyRoad empowers companies to create brand loyalty, change consumer behavior, and better understand their brand associations by providing them with data intelligence sourced from experience-based marketing.

Companies like Budweiser, Honda, Michaels, and Tabasco all count on AnyRoad to measure the impact of their experiential marketing. AnyRoad's software integrates into CRM, loyalty, ERP, and POS systems to complete the loop, building the model of exactly how these experiences build loyalty, increase brand perception, and increase revenue. For more information, visit www.anyroad.com.

SOURCE AnyRoad

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PUNE, India, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A New Era in Innovation: Warehouse automation market size is set to witness tremendous growth with a 14.6% CAGR during 2020-2027 periods, as per a new report by Brandessence Market Research. The market is set to grow from a valuation of USD 14.73 billion in 2020 to USD 38.23 billion in 2027. The key drivers behind the major growth of the warehouse automation market size are growing efficacy of robotics, automation, and other supporting technology like inventory management systems. Furthermore, the warehouse automation trends have also led to strong cost-effective and productivity majors with technological advancements.

The warehouse automation market is a fragmented competitive landscape. The market remains open to entry of new players despite high initial investments. Growing interest in technologies like robotics, automation, and AI offer robust opportunities for cross-industry collaborations, and mergers. Some key players in the warehouse automation market are Lucus Robotics, Toyota Industries, KUKA AG, Geekplus, Omron Corporation, and ABB Ltd.

Request a Sample Report: @ https://brandessenceresearch.com/requestSample/PostId/1697

Impact of E-commerce on the Warehouse Automation Market

According to the United Nation Conference on Trade and Development, the total e-commerce sales reached USD25.6 trillion in 2018. This was a significant 8% rise from 2017. Furthermore, the UNCTAD also reported that B2B, and B2C sales in the same year amounted to 30% of the global GDP in the same year. This is a major boost for players in the warehouse automation market. E-commerce has necessitated speediest operations, and global delivery system. Such efficiency, and connectivity mandates the use of digitalization, automation, and a global connectivity. Furthermore, B2C commerce, a key driver of global e-commerce witnessed a further increase of 7.05 to rise to $404 billion by 2018. The growing demand for e-commerce, decreasing costs of cross-border shipments, and technological advancements in automation will drive robust growth for players in the warehouse automation market.

Key Trends in the Warehouse Automation Market

According to a World Bank report, Food services displayed a 73% potential for automation in 2020, while manufacturing shows 59%, Agriculture 57%, Information technology 35%, and professional services show 34% potential. Most industries including food services, manufacturing are currently operating below par capacity in comparison to their potential. This is likely to change soon. World Bank report also highlighted the acceleration of automation due to the covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic accelerated the growth of the warehouse automation as norms like social distancing, infectious nature of the disease, and large risk of potential fatalities necessitated an instant change for companies. Furthermore, advanced robots today are capable of serving various business functions including packing, picking, transporting, inspection, sorting, and security. The increasing demand for automation and growing potential due to advancements in AI, and Robotics remain key drivers of acceleration in the warehouse automation market.

3D Printing to Open New Opportunities in the Warehouse Automation Market

3D printing is quickly becoming the new battlefield of innovation in key sectors like healthcare. The 3D printing technology promises to replace human organs with artificial ones for patient care, storage, and research. In the case of organs like kidneys, wait times can be as long as a year. Furthermore, despite the long wait times, these organs remain out of reach for most due to heavy costs associated. 3D printing can not only make the organ transfer a reality but also allow pharmacies, hospitals, research facilities and warehouses to store the organs safely. This transformation is already taking place in the case of caskets for fractures, dental models, tissues, surgical tools, and more. 3D printing will also increase in-house warehousing demand for many facilities. Furthermore, due to delicate and technical nature of its medical application, high-end automation, and storage will be essential component of 3D printing at most large healthcare facilities. Small hospitals or clinics will also require distribution services including automated warehouse to cut down times for medical products like caskets, dental modes, and surgical instruments.

Request for Methodology of this report: https://brandessenceresearch.com/requestMethodology/PostId/1697

Warehouse automation statistics: An Overview

Annual shipments for robots, and automatic guided vehicles or AGVs are expected to reach 620,000 in 2021. This stood at a modest figure of 40,000 in 2016. The numbers of shipments will likely grow at robust speed, as 40% companies worldwide are expected to invest in shuttle systems in warehouse processes. The likes of Amazon have offered major incentives, and a live case study for millions of warehouse-reliant businesses to automate. Amazon, known for its large workforce, and terrific speeds of delivery has achieved tremendous success with warehousing in recent years. This has resulted in some unforeseen challenges like collision of robots with its workers in an unfortunate incident. However, the e-commerce giant has also opened self-checkout stores in major cities, with complete automation driving inventory refills, warehousing, payment systems, and other automated advancements.

On September 21st, 2021; Locus Robotics Acquired Fellow Warehouse Automation Company Waypoint Robotics

Key Developments in the Warehouse Automation Market

The warehouse automation companies continue to innovate to make supply chains, and logistics an integral instrument for global e-commerce. As the cost of transport continue to fall, the origin of manufacturing remains largely relevant for most products. Hence, we will witness continued focus on increasing transparency, automation in supply chains.

OMRON Corporation, announced on August 5 the launch of a new PCB inspection system. The series named, 'VT-S10 series' delivers an imaging technology with AI to automate high-precision inspection process. This inspection is key for electronic substrates, eliminating the need for highly skilled inspectors. The system can be integrated with communication system like 5G, and be connected to Electric Vehicles, and can be ideal for electronic substrate identification among new AI EVs.

the launch of a new PCB inspection system. The series named, 'VT-S10 series' delivers an imaging technology with AI to automate high-precision inspection process. This inspection is key for electronic substrates, eliminating the need for highly skilled inspectors. The system can be integrated with communication system like 5G, and be connected to Electric Vehicles, and can be ideal for electronic substrate identification among new AI EVs. Geek+, a leading player in the warehouse automation market has launched a new solution for smart mixed case palletizing. The new solution launched in 2021, promises to help warehouse operators systematically handle outbound orders in combination with autonomous mobile robots. The new process promises to streamline outbound deliveries with a higher efficiency, safety, and flexibility.

Lucas Robotics announced in 2021 that the company raised another $150 million funding in series E, to take the valuation of the company near USD1 billion . Its new investors include Tiger Global Management, BOND, and its previous investors include Prologis Ventures, and Scale Venture Partners.

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Dark Fiber Market Industry Growth Analysis

Brandessence Market Research & Consulting Pvt ltd.

Brandessence market research publishes market research reports & business insights produced by highly qualified and experienced industry analysts. Our research reports are available in a wide range of industry verticals including aviation, food & beverage, healthcare, ICT, Construction, Chemicals and lot more. Brand Essence Market Research report will be best fit for senior executives, business development managers, marketing managers, consultants, CEOs, CIOs, COOs, and Directors, governments, agencies, organizations and Ph.D. Students. We have a delivery center in Pune, India and our sales office is in London.

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Criminal appeals attorney Aaron Spolin explains this new law, how it will affect criminal cases, and how prison inmates can achieve their freedom if their cases fall under the law. Mr. Spolin's analysis has been published in video form, viewable here.

The following information explains the history of the law and some details about its application.

What is Senate Bill 775?

This bill, sponsored by District 13 senator Josh Becker, was introduced to the State Senate on February 19th, 2021, passed by the Senate on June 2nd, and passed by assembly on September 10th. Now, just leaving the Governor's desk, this recently signed bill will serve justice to those wrongly convicted of a killing by expanding on the legal protections stipulated in Senate Bill 1437.

How does Senate Bill 775 differ from Senate Bill 1437?

Senate Bill 1437, passed in 2018, prohibited prosecutors from seeking first or second-degree murder sentences for a "felony murder" case in which the person on trial was "not the actual killer, did not act with the intent to kill, or was not a major participant in the underlying felony who acted with reckless indifference to human life."

Senate Bill 1437, and now its counterpart Senate Bill 775, challenged the previously established "natural and probable consequences doctrine" under which someone's malice was implied solely by their participation in the crime.

As these bills sought to highlight, such a concept had many flaws and fails to consider many very probable scenarios. As a result, those who may have participated in a crime, but were unaware of the killing and had no intent to inflict harm were put behind bars for murder in the first or second degree alongside the killer themself.

However, while Senate Bill 1437 was the first legislation to initially highlight this disparity in the criminal justice system, it did have some holes of its own that Senate Bill 775 hopes to fill and address; among the largest being the expansion of the Senate Bill 1437 protection to those convicted of manslaughter and attempted murder, not just murder.

Prior to the passage of Senate Bill 775, defendants in these situations would oftentimes plead guilty to a lesser charge than murder, like manslaughter, with hopes of a shorter sentence and a chance at a normal life once again. However in doing so, these people cut themselves out of chance to receive the post-conviction relief offered solely to murder convicts under Senate Bill 1437. Additionally, individuals convicted of attempted murder paradoxically received a worse outcome than those convicted of murder.

Senate Bill 775 has changed that, now allowing those with attempted murder and manslaughter convictions to petition to have those crimes (and the corresponding sentences) removed. Having this relief granted is not guaranteed, however, as they and their lawyer will need to convince a judge that they were not a "major participant who acted with reckless indifference to human life."

Learn More About How an Inmate Can Benefit:

To hear criminal appeals attorney Aaron Spolin provide further commentary about yesterday's new law, watch his analysis at the Spolin Law P.C. website. Spolin Law P.C. has already overturned multiple murder convictions through SB 1437 (the parent law of SB 775). The firm is excited to help more inmates with the benefit of this new law.

For further questions or to speak with Aaron Spolin or another attorney at Spolin Law P.C., call (866) 716-2805.

SOURCE Spolin Law P.C.

Related Links

https://www.spolinlaw.com/


NEW YORK, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- BizVibe has added key challenges and trends for e-commerce and mail-order retailer industry profiles on their platform. All 100,000+ company profiles will now contain 50+ company data points, including a list of potential challenges which are expected to impact market participants over the next few years.

Snapshot of key challenge impacting BizVibe's e-commerce and mail-order retailers industry group.

One challenge which is being highlighted is stricter safety and sanitization requirements. To ensure that employees and parcels remain safe and risk-free, e-commerce service providers are incurring additional expenses on initiatives such as offering COVID-19 insurance to employees, rigorous sanitization protocols, and investment in touchless payment technologies. Some e-commerce companies have also faced risks to their reputation and other repercussions on account of accusations of ignoring employee safety during the pandemic, which could also put their customers at risk. By identifying such challenges, BizVibe is helping users analyze which suppliers are right for their business, while allowing them to efficiently monitor the risk of doing business.

Get Free Access to all Industry Challenges

Key Insights Provided for E-commerce and Mail-Order Retailers

In addition to analysis on how key challenges are expected to impact businesses, BizVibe company profiles contain numerous high-quality insights to help users discover, track, compare, and evaluate suppliers or sales prospects. These insights include:

Relevance and influence of industry trends and challenges, segmented by region

Press releases and news coverage referencing key trends and challenges

Risk of doing business score, segmented by operational, financial, compliance, and country risk

Top company competitors at the global, regional, and national levels

Names of top company decision makers, including job titles and social profiles

Company financials such as annual revenue, profitability ratios, and management effectiveness

View 50+ Company Data Points for Free

E-commerce and Mail-Order Product and Service Categories

BizVibe's platform provides access to over 10 million buyer and supplier company profiles. Businesses from more than 200 countries are categorized into 40,000+ product and service categories, each providing detailed insights tailored to the needs of procurement and sales teams globally. The e-commerce and mail-order retailers industry group features 100,000+ company profiles categorized into multiple product and service categories, enabling clients to identify and connect with potential new business partners across diverse market segments.

Get Free Company Profile Access for all Categories

BizVibe for Buyers and Sellers

BizVibe is a modern B2B platform dedicated to connecting buyers and sellers from around the world. Powered by the latest best-in-class solutions, BizVibe is designed to help companies generate leads, shortlist suppliers, request proposals, and identify global companies. Evaluate companies side-by-side to compare key metrics and initiate productive partnerships.

Buyers use BizVibe to discover suppliers from among more than 5 million companies using advanced search filters and comparison tools. Features for buyers include:

Shortlist potential suppliers

Track and compare companies

Set up custom news alerts

Quickly create and customize RFIs

Explore BizVibe's buyer services: https://www.bizvibe.com/buyers

Sellers can take advantage of BizVibe's smart sales intelligence tools to discover, evaluate, and communicate with prospects across 300+ categories. Features for sellers include:

Identify and qualify sales prospects

Receive customized prospect recommendations

Analyze and evaluate potential buyers

Integrate CRMs for efficient data transfer

Discover BizVibe's seller tools: https://www.bizvibe.com/sellers

About BizVibe

BizVibe has been conceptualized and built by a team based out of Toronto, Bangalore, and London. We are a branch of Infiniti Research and have dedicated units in all three locations. BizVibe helps buyers find the most relevant suppliers from around the world and helps sellers target prospects who need their products and/or services. For more information, please visit www.bizvibe.com and start for free today.

Contact

BizVibe

Jesse Maida

Email: [email protected]

+1 855-897-5880

Website: https://www.bizvibe.com/

SOURCE BizVibe
CHESTERBROOK, Pa., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Boomi , intelligent connectivity and automation leader, is pleased to announce a new charitable donation program, led by its Boomiverse user community, that will give a total of $100,000 to nonprofit organizations dedicated to causes such as alleviating homelessness, increasing diversity in STEM, international aid, and more. Additionally, the company today announced the opening of registration for its Out of This World digital event in November.

The company is launching the charitable donation program to celebrate the milestone of surpassing 100,000 members in its online community, Boomiverse. Members will get to choose where they want to direct the funds by engaging in the community and contributing to its knowledgebase.

"At Boomi, we're passionate about transforming the world, not only through our technology but also through our core values, which include committing to continuously being better and building communities of good humans," said Christopher Port, chief operating officer at Boomi. "Boomi makes the connections that create transformational outcomes and this program is one more way that we're doing this. By engaging our Boomiverse community as we donate to these esteemed nonprofits, we will be creating innovative and awesome things while also helping communities around the world."

Community Helping Communities

Boomiverse is an online community for Boomi's customers and partners around the world to build applications, get help with complex integration projects, and explore the capabilities of the Boomi AtomSphere Platform . It includes a library of pre-built templates, called boosters, that are created and contributed by community members. Other members use these boosters to streamline their own integrations, jump-start new processes, and speed their time to value.

Each of the first 200 Boomiverse members to create and submit an approved booster to the library will get to choose one of four charitable organizations to receive $500, up to a total of $100,000. Recipients will include:

Depaul International  A global charity supporting homeless and marginalized people, Depaul International is the parent charity of the Depaul Group, a global group of charities with a mission to end homelessness and change the lives of those affected by it. Depaul's vision is of a society in which everyone, across the world, has a place to call home and a stake in their community. The group celebrates the potential in people and seeks to empower those affected by homelessness. Each year Depaul helps over 23,500 people and makes over 630,000 bed nights available to make sure people have a safe place to stay.



 A global charity supporting homeless and marginalized people, Depaul International is the parent charity of the Depaul Group, a global group of charities with a mission to end homelessness and change the lives of those affected by it. Depaul's vision is of a society in which everyone, across the world, has a place to call home and a stake in their community. The group celebrates the potential in people and seeks to empower those affected by homelessness. Each year Depaul helps over 23,500 people and makes over 630,000 bed nights available to make sure people have a safe place to stay. Girls Who Code  Girls Who Code is building the largest pipeline of future female engineers globally. In nine years, the organization has reached more than 500 million people globally and 450,000 girls through its programming, half of whom come from historically underrepresented groups in technology. The results have been striking. In 2021, there are nearly 90,000 Girls Who Code alumni who are college-aged or post-college aged  almost 3 times the number of women graduating with computer science related degrees in the U.S. in 2019. In 2019, Girls Who Code was named the #1 World's Most Innovative Non-Profit by Fast Company.



 Girls Who Code is building the largest pipeline of future female engineers globally. In nine years, the organization has reached more than 500 million people globally and 450,000 girls through its programming, half of whom come from historically underrepresented groups in technology. The results have been striking. In 2021, there are nearly 90,000 Girls Who Code alumni who are college-aged or post-college aged  almost 3 times the number of women graduating with computer science related degrees in the U.S. in 2019. In 2019, Girls Who Code was named the #1 World's Most Innovative Non-Profit by Fast Company. International Medical Corps  International Medical Corps is a global first responder that delivers emergency medical and related services to those affected by conflict, disaster and disease, no matter where they are, no matter the conditions. It also trains people in their communities, providing them with the skills they need to recover, chart their own path to self-reliance, and become effective first responders themselves. Established in 1984 by volunteer doctors and nurses, International Medical Corps is a nonprofit with no religious or political affiliation, and now has roughly 7,200 staff members around the world, more than 90% of whom are locally hired. Since its founding, it has operated in more than 80 countries, and has provided more than $3.6 billion in emergency relief and training to communities worldwide.



 International Medical Corps is a global first responder that delivers emergency medical and related services to those affected by conflict, disaster and disease, no matter where they are, no matter the conditions. It also trains people in their communities, providing them with the skills they need to recover, chart their own path to self-reliance, and become effective first responders themselves. Established in 1984 by volunteer doctors and nurses, International Medical Corps is a nonprofit with no religious or political affiliation, and now has roughly 7,200 staff members around the world, more than 90% of whom are locally hired. Since its founding, it has operated in more than 80 countries, and has provided more than in emergency relief and training to communities worldwide. ILGA World  ILGA World, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, is a worldwide federation of more than 1,700 organizations from over 160 countries and territories campaigning for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and intersex human rights. Established in 1978 and governed by an elected Board of 19 activists representing our global family, ILGA World is queer democracy in action!

Boomi customers and partners can learn more about the organizations by visiting the program page in the Boomiverse Community.

Out of This World Digital User Event Registration Opens

Learn more about the latest innovations in the Boomi AtomSphere Platform, hear real-life customer success stories, and explore new solutions in the Boomi ecosystem at Boomi's upcoming Out of This World digital event on November 10, 2021. Register here !

Additional Resources

Register for Boomi's "Out of This World" digital event taking place Nov. 10th 2021

for Boomi's "Out of This World" digital event taking place 2021 Learn more about the Boomi AtomSphere Platform

Explore the Boomiverse Community

Follow Boomi on Twitter , LinkedIn , Facebook , and YouTube

About Boomi

Boomi instantly connects everyone to everything, anywhere with our cloud-native, unified, open, and intelligent platform. Boomi is trusted by more than 17,000 customers globally for its speed, ease-of-use, and lower total cost of ownership. As the pioneer at fueling intelligent use of data, Boomi's vision is to make it quick and easy for customers and partners to discover, manage, and orchestrate data, while connecting applications, processes, things, and people for better, faster business outcomes. For more information, visit http://www.boomi.com .

 2021 Boomi, the 'B' logo, Boomiverse, and AtomSphere are trademarks of Boomi, LP or its subsidiaries or affiliates. All rights reserved. Other names or marks may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Media Contacts:

Kristen Walker

[email protected]

(415) 613-8320

Alex Cardenas

[email protected]

(650) 218-8576

SOURCE Boomi

Related Links

http://www.boomi.com


NEW YORK, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- BRANDED Group , a leading consumer goods e-commerce company, today announced the full acquisition of Puracy , a leader in plant-based natural cleaning and personal care products. BRANDED acquires and partners with top performing entrepreneurs and businesses to transform them into global consumer brands.

Puracy was founded in 2013 with the mission to provide effective, natural products to clean and care for the home while helping all families to feel secure in the products they are using around themselves and their loved ones. BRANDED brings extensive experience and centralized resources to allow Puracy to grow and thrive in a competitive environment. A portion of every Puracy sale is donated to charity, and the acquisition allows the Puracy founders the opportunity to focus its core values in natural product development, brand awareness and customer acquisition.

"Our goal is to create a legacy brand that our children will be proud of and something that will make a difference to the world," said Sean Busch, co-founder of Puracy. "We believe BRANDED not only shares this vision but is uniquely capable of helping us achieve our goals."

"Natural home and personal care products is a competitive space and Puracy is able to stand out among competitors," said Michael Ronen, president of BRANDED. "Working with Puracy marks the largest brand acquisition in BRANDED history and we continue to establish ourselves as a leader in the e-commerce space. In this partnership, we're providing expertise, resources, and infrastructure for Puracy to grow into a global household name."

BRANDED is on track to grow 50x this year since launching in 2020. Today, BRANDED has more than 200 employees around the world and has acquired over 40 brands, continuing its expansion in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

For more information on BRANDED, visit https://joinbranded.com .

For more information on Puracy, visit https://puracy.com

About BRANDED Group

BRANDED Group is a leading consumer goods e-commerce company that partners with top performing e-commerce entrepreneurs and businesses to grow them into global consumer goods leaders. BRANDED empowers small online brands by leveraging the BRANDED technology core, industry expertise and by scaling them to reach a global audience. Through its family of brands in key consumer categories, BRANDED delivers compelling consumer products that are practical, stylish, affordable, and provide value to consumers worldwide. Founded in 2020, BRANDED is headquartered in New York and Paris.



About Puracy

Puracy crafts the best natural, plant-based cleaning and personal care products without nasty chemicals or irritants. The company prides itself on using naturally-derived, uniquely effective ingredients. Developed by doctors and trusted by families, Puracy's natural and organic formulas have been thoroughly tested and are proven to work flawlessly, as evidenced by more than 30,000 five-star Amazon reviews. Founded in 2013, Puracy is headquartered in Austin, Texas.

MEDIA CONTACT

BAM for BRANDED

[email protected]

SOURCE BRANDED Group
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Business Intelligence Group today announced that it has awarded Broadvoice , a provider of hosted voice, unified communications (UC) and SIP trunking services for businesses, the 2021 Stratus Award for Cloud Computing for its all-new b-hive Communicator all-in-one communications and collaboration app.

The Business Intelligence Group's Stratus Award for Cloud Computing honors companies, products and people that are offering unique solutions that take advantage of cloud technologies.

In response to hybrid workers' growing demand for streamlined communications and collaboration tools, Broadvoice introduced its next-generation b-hive Communicator in June 2021. The all-in-one app features a redesigned user experience and new video collaboration capabilities, giving workers a single app for calling, video, text, collaboration, voicemail and fax.

"As work anywhere becomes the norm, ease of collaboration is increasingly important to businesses," said Jim Murphy, Broadvoice CEO. "We built b-hive Communicator to provide unmatched mobility, business continuity and collaboration functionality, and we are thrilled that its benefits were recognized by The Business Intelligence Group with a Stratus Award."

Broadvoice's b-hive Communicator is part of the b-hive Unified Communications-as-a-Service (UcaaS) platform, which combines cloud PBX, UC and collaboration features with virtual call center. The platform also includes integrations with Salesforce CRM and the Microsoft Teams collaboration hub.

"Broadvoice is at the forefront of the cloud, helping to drive practical innovations in the cloud," said Maria Jimenez, chief nominations officer of Business Intelligence Group. "The cloud is now part of the fabric of our personal and professional lives, and we are thrilled that our volunteer judges were able to help promote all of these innovative services, organizations and executives."

Details about the Business Intelligence Group Status Awards, along with a full list of winners, can be found at https://www.bintelligence.com/stratus-awards/.

About Business Intelligence Group

The Business Intelligence Group was founded with the mission of recognizing true talent and superior performance in the business world. Unlike other industry and business award programs , business executivesthose with experience and knowledgejudge the programs. The organization's proprietary and unique scoring system selectively measures performance across multiple business domains and then rewards those companies whose achievements stand above those of their peers.

About Broadvoice

Broadvoice simplifies communications for small and medium businesses (SMBs) by combining powerful cloud PBX, UC and collaboration features with virtual call center in one award-winning Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) platform that delivers enterprise-class features at affordable rates. The platform is connected to Broadvoice's secure, redundant network and hosting infrastructure, enabling SMBs to connect with customers securely anytime, anywhere and with any device. Broadvoice is ranked in the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 and Inc. 500 Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America. For more information, visit www.broadvoice.com.

Media Contacts:

Marisa Freeden

Vice President of Brand & Experience

626.627.6506

[email protected]

SOURCE Broadvoice
After a day of learning, attendees can participate in the Bar Booth Crawl located in the Expo Hall.

Join us Tuesday evening for a night of fun and networking in the Expo Hall. Visit our exhibitor booths and enjoy cocktails and snacks, all while meeting new and old friends!

On the bar booth crawl path, made-to-order ice cream sandwiches, macaroons, and more sweet treats can be found at booth #117. As part of a sugary visit to the Pacific Private Money booth, they are also offering a free Buy Before Sell Certification Course that can be signed up for by scanning a badge with Pacific Private Money staff members.

In an industry filled with mortgage brokers and real estate agents, this course offers a strong way to differentiate one in today's market, and it presents a powerful lending tool that can be offered to clients.

The versatility of this buy before sell loan product gives the ability to offer the following to clients:

Capacity to buy before they sell

Fast closings (as little as 7 days)

Power to make cash-like offers

100% purchase financing*

Time to stage their current home to possibly net a higher sales price

Avoid moving twice

This course will help real estate professionals become buy before sell experts with competitive game plans to compete against iBuyers and real estate tech companies. They will also learn a follow-up strategy for their buy before sell clients that need to put their old home on the market; this way, they will have the opportunity to close 2 deals instead of just 1. In a low-inventory market, this could be the antidote industry professionals are looking for.

Watch our CEO's message to industry professionals attending Inman Connect.(Video  30 second spot)

"We offered our client the power of a bridge loan, and their cash-like offer recently beat out 20 others, winning them the property, which also closed in 17 days!"  Sofia Nadjibi, Golden Gate Lending Group

Learn more about Pacific Private Money's bridge loan product by visiting our site with case studies.

*100% purchase financing requires additional real estate collateral. Must provide a combined loan-to-value (CLTV) of 75% or less.

About Pacific Private Money Inc.

Pacific Private Money is a regionally-focused alternative finance provider of short-term, real estate-secured loans in California. Since 2008, it has been one of the fastest-growing private money lenders in Northern California, with over 2000 loans funded and over $1 billion deployed.

Media Contact

Kimberly Rutherford

Marketing Director

[email protected]

SOURCE Pacific Private Money Inc.
According to a recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) , unless there are immediate, rapid, and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, limiting warming to 1.5 o C  the threshold needed to avoid the worst impacts of climate change  will be beyond reach. Many nations are still operating under insufficient emissions-reduction targets that put the planet in more serious danger. Recent analyses from the United Nations and Climate Action Tracker found that none of the world's major economies  including the G20  have a climate plan that would meet their obligations under the Paris Agreement.

Buildings are the largest source of the world's carbon emissions globally and account for approximately 40% of total emissions. When accounting for the embodied carbon of building interiors, systems, and associated infrastructure, that percentage is substantially higher. Decarbonizing the built environment is therefore essential to not exceeding the 1.5oC target.

"Those responsible for planning, designing, and constructing the global built environment are leading and transforming our sector so that it is a major part of the solution to the climate crisis," said Edward Mazria, founder and CEO of Architecture 2030. "It's long past time for governments to accelerate the pace of emissions reductions so that we don't exceed the 1.5oC target."

For example, in the United States, the building sector has not increased its energy consumption since 2005 , even though the U.S. has added more than 50 billion square feet of buildings during that time. Today, carbon emissions in the entire U.S. building sector continue to decline each year and are currently down 30% from 2005 levels.

Government leaders from around the world will be convening for climate negotiations at COP 26 October 31 through November 12 in Glasgow, Scotland. Leading up to the convening, Communique signatories aim to demonstrate their support and actions to eliminate carbon emissions from the built environment and embolden governments to do the same.

"The AIA is committed to advocating for energy-efficient, resilient, and zero carbon buildings in our cities, suburbs, and rural communities. It is imperative that world leaders meeting in Glasgow fully commit to adopting aggressive building policies, incentives, and codes that meet the 1.5oC carbon budget. As our nation's leaders set ambitious targets, architects are making them a reality," said Peter Exley, President of the American Institute of Architects (AIA).

"The 60 member firms of the AIA Large Firm Roundtable have signed the Communique because we want to let governments know that our profession is committed to the mitigation of the adverse effects of climate change. Accordingly, our member firms have committed to design practices that embrace the principles of 1.5oC now," said Griff Davenport, Chair of the AIA Large Firm Roundtable and CEO of DLR Group.

"IFLA enthusiastically supports the 1.5oC COP26 Communique," said Pamela Conrad, Vice Chair of the Climate Change Working Group of the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA). "This is aligned with the recently launched IFLA Climate Action Commitment that represents 77 nations around the world and shows the steps landscape architects are taking as global citizens to limit planetary warming to 1.5oC."

The independent, non-profit organization Architecture 2030 spearheaded this unprecedented joint initiative from the world's leading architectural, landscape architecture, engineering, planning, and construction leaders by inviting select firms and professional organizations to reach a collective commitment to decarbonize the built world by 2040, in line with the 1.5C climate target. Signatories include (see full list below):

60+ of the largest international design firms collectively responsible for over $300 billion in annual global construction

collectively responsible for over in annual global construction Union Internationale des Architectes comprised of professional architecture organizations from 124 countries and territories, representing over one million architects worldwide

comprised of professional architecture organizations from 124 countries and territories, representing over one million architects worldwide American Institute of Architects representing over 95,000 licensed architects in more than 200 chapters across the world

representing over 95,000 licensed architects in more than 200 chapters across the world International Federation of Landscape Architects representing over 70,000 landscape architects from 77 nations

representing over 70,000 landscape architects from 77 nations AIA Large Firm Roundtable representing the 60 largest architecture firms in North America

representing the 60 largest architecture firms in American Planning Association , the world's largest planning organization representing over 40,000 members.

, the world's largest planning organization representing over 40,000 members. American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers representing 57,000 members in 132 countries

representing 57,000 members in 132 countries Royal Institute of British Architects representing 44,000 members worldwide

representing 44,000 members worldwide China Engineering and Construction Association, Architecture Branch , representing more than 30 of China's largest Local Design Institutes, design institutions responsible for the majority of construction in China

, representing more than 30 of largest Local Design Institutes, design institutions responsible for the majority of construction in U.S. Green Building Council with 200,000 professional members in the US, Canada , Europe , Latin America , the Middle East , and Asia

with 200,000 professional members in the US, , , , the , and DGNB German Sustainable Building Council , Europe's largest sustainable building network with more than 1,300 members

, largest sustainable building network with more than 1,300 members Royal Architectural Institute of Canada representing over 5,000 professional members

representing over 5,000 professional members Australian Institute of Architects representing over 11,500 professional members

representing over 11,500 professional members Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) representing 2,600 members worldwide

For more statements from signatories about their commitments to meet the 1.5oC climate target and the actions they are taking, visit: cop26communique.org/media .

COMMUNIQUE LANGUAGE

We are organizations, firms, and sub-national governments responsible for planning, designing, constructing, and developing the built environment globally.

We are taking specific actions that fully harness our capacity to affect significant carbon emissions reductions in order to retain a 67% or better probability of meeting the Paris Agreement's 1.5C budget of 340-400 GTCO 2 ; a 50-65% emissions reduction by 2030, and zero CO 2 emissions by 2040.

The built environment is the largest source of the world's carbon emissions with buildings responsible for approximately 40% , and when accounting for the embodied carbon of building interiors, systems, and associated infrastructure, that percentage is substantially higher. Our professions and industries are transforming and taking significant action to mitigate and adapt to climate change. By showing what is possible, we are emboldening others to do the same.

We call on all sovereign governments to ramp up their Nationally Determined Contributions, and 2030 emissions reduction targets, to limit planetary warming in line with the remaining global 1.5C carbon budget.

1.5oC COP26 Communique Signatories:

FIRMS

 AECOM  RS&H, Inc.  NBBJ  HDR  SOM  LEO A DALY  Stantec  DLR Group  HGA  Gensler  Thornton Tomasetti  Walter P Moore  Mott MacDonald  CallisonRTKL  EwingCole  Perkins&Will  CannonDesign  Flad  HOK  SmithGroup  LPA  Arup  Perkins Eastman  HMC Architects  HKS  ZGF Architects  Cuningham  HED  The Miller Hull Partnership  Gould Evans  Clark Nexsen  BWBR  Grimshaw  Hord Coplan Macht  FXCollaborative  KieranTimberlake  LS3P  Ennead Architects  Lake|Flato Architects  KTGY  Shepley Bulfinch  Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects  Cooper Carry  BIG  Mario Cucinella Architects  CO Architects  Payette  MASS Design Group  Sasaki  Atelier Ten  Reimagine Architects  Little  Autodesk  Studio Gang  Magnusson Klemencic Associates  BNIM  Turenscape  Quinn Evans  Brooks + Scarpa Architects, Inc.  Waugh Thistleton Architects  Ayers Saint Gross  Buro Happold  WRNS Studio  Moody Nolan, Inc.  DIALOG

 Mithun





ORGANIZATIONS

 American Institute of Architects (AIA)  Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance  International Federation of Landscape Architects  AIA Continental Europe  China Engineering & Consulting Association, Architecture Branch  National Institute of Building Sciences  AIA International Region  Climate Heritage Network  Royal Architectural Institute of Canada  AIA Large Firm Roundtable  DGNB German Sustainable Building Council  Royal Institute of British Architects  AIA United Kingdom  Global Forum on Human Settlements  The Congress for the New Urbanism  ALA Assoarchitetti  Green Building Council of Australia  U.S. Green Building Council  American Planning Association  International Code Council  UIA International Union of Architects  American Society of Landscape Architects

 2030 Districts Network  ASHRAE



 Australian Institute of Architects





ABOUT Architecture 2030: Architecture 2030 is a non-profit, non-partisan and independent organization established in 2002 in response to the ongoing climate emergency. Our mission is to rapidly transform the built world from the major emitter of greenhouse gases to a central solution to the climate emergency. For nearly two decades, we've provided the leadership and designed the actions needed to achieve the CO2 emissions reductions for a high probability of limiting planetary warming to 1.5C.

SOURCE Architecture 2030

Related Links

https://architecture2030.org


WASHINGTON, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The California Department of Transportation, or Caltrans, was honored today with a 2021 National Roadway Safety Award for an intensive 15-month effort that comprehensively updated the state's Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP).

Speaking about Caltrans and the other award winners, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said, "Congratulations to today's seven honorees for the remarkable work they've done to protect the traveling public. They are proof that we have no shortage of willpower or good ideas for improving roadway safety."

The National Roadway Safety Awards are a biennial awards program sponsored jointly by the Federal Highway Administration and the Roadway Safety Foundation. First presented in 1999, the awards recognize roadway safety achievements that move the nation toward zero deaths and serious injuries on U.S. roadways.

Preliminary 2020 data from the California Highway Patrol and Caltrans show that 3,866 people died in traffic crashes, despite a 14.9 percent decrease in vehicle miles traveled due to the pandemic. Fatalities increased 7.2 percent from 2019 to the highest number since 2008.

Aimed at reversing a decade-long trend of increasing roadway fatalities and serious injuries, Caltrans authored a bold and transformative update to the 2020-2024 California Strategic Highway Safety Plan. The plan update was developed in partnership and close collaboration with executive leadership and over 400 stakeholders from key statewide, regional, local, academic, private, federal, tribal and non-governmental organizations focused on road safety, many of which had not previously been involved in highway safety planning.

The update designates high-priority challenge areas, expands and diversifies membership of the SHSP committee, implements the program with innovative tools, and evaluates progress on a continual basis. Four newly-adopted guiding principles undergird the SHSP: Integrate equity, implement a safe system approach, double down on what works, and accelerate advanced technology.

Dubbed "The Pivot" by Caltrans, the plan is focused on deeply institutionalizing the state's traffic safety culture in pursuit of eliminating fatalities and serious injuries on California roadways.

"Caltrans is irrevocably committed to achieving zero traffic fatalities and serious injuries by 2050, and seeing deep, quantifiable, and consistent reductions in those numbers in the years going forward," said Caltrans Director Toks Omishakin. "We welcome the Federal Highway Administration and the Roadway Safety Award's award because it attests to our commitment in working to combat the tragic, decade-long rise in fatal and injurious incidents on California's roadways."

Roadway Safety Foundation Executive Director Greg Cohen added: "Last year's jump in fatalities on California roads was alarming, underscoring the need for and value of the state's strategic highway safety plan update. By creating processes that swiftly identify problems and rapidly deploy resources to where they can achieve the greatest benefit, the plan will save countless lives.

"Future travelers in California, whose lives and limbs will be spared, will owe an unknowing debt of gratitude to the state's traffic safety planners," Cohen continued. "We urge DOTs across the nation to look at Caltrans, the entire California team, and other awardees' innovations and replicate them wherever possible."

Roadway Safety Foundation Executive Director Greg Cohen added: "Last year's jump in fatalities on California roads was alarming, underscoring the need for and value of the state's strategic highway safety plan update. By creating processes that swiftly identify problems and rapidly deploy resources to where they can achieve the greatest benefit, the plan will save countless lives.

The seven winners of the National Roadway Safety Award projects were selected from a nationwide pool of applicants and evaluated on three criteria: Effectiveness, Innovation, and Efficient Use of Resources. The program honors outstanding projects involving infrastructure, operational or program-related innovations. The other awardees are:

City of Bellevue, WA for its video analytics traffic safety program;

for its video analytics traffic safety program; Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization for its Complete Streets Master Plan;

North Carolina Dept. of Transportation for its long-life pavement markings safety effort;

Village of Whitefish Bay, WI for its community-wide roadway safety improvements;

for its community-wide roadway safety improvements; Texas Dept. of Transportation's tool to assess the safety of rural highway design elements; and

Florida Dept. of Transportation for its use of smart work zone safety technologies.

Winners were selected by an expert panel of judges from a variety of disciplines.

For complete details on each of the winners, and for more information on the national awards program, visit http://www.safety.fhwa.dot.gov/roadwaysafetyawards/ .

The Roadway Safety Foundation is a 501(c) (3) charitable and educational organization. Our mission is to reduce the frequency and severity of motor vehicle crashes, injuries, and fatalities through improvements to roadway systems and their environment.

SOURCE Roadway Safety Foundation

Related Links

http://www.roadwaysafety.org


GAITHERSBURG, Md., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Caring Cross, a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to accelerating the development of advanced medicines and enabling access to cures for all patients, everywhere, announced today that Boro Dropulic, Ph.D., M.B.A., Co-founder and Executive Director, delivered a presentation at the 2021 BioFuture Conference. The event was held in New York City on October 5-6, 2021, at Cure, Deerfield Management Company's vertical healthcare-dedicated innovation campus, with a virtual attendance option.

During his presentation, Dr. Dropulic provided an overview of Caring Cross, a recently launched non-profit dedicated to accelerating the development of advanced medicines. Among its many initiatives, Caring Cross is aiming to improve the accessibility, affordability and applicability of CAR-T technology and stem cell gene therapy. Additionally, Caring Cross is developing an anti-HIV duoCAR-T cell therapy designed to suppress HIV replication and eliminate HIV-expressing cells in people with HIV, as well as a stem cell gene therapy for Sickle Cell Disease and Beta-Thalassemia.

Dr. Dropulic commented, "The recent launch of Caring Cross provided the opportunity to share with the world our mission to introduce a new paradigm for enabling greater access to advanced medicines, including CAR-T technology, to patients around the world. We are eager to attract investors and entrepreneurs, alike, to our community, and presenting at the 2021 BioFuture Conference provides a valuable platform for reaching these important audiences."

About Caring Cross

Caring Cross is a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to accelerating the development of advanced medicines and ensuring access to cures for all patients, everywhere. To enable its mission, Caring Cross is mobilizing a growing community of healthcare professionals, scientists, engineers, community advocates, donors, investors and business leaders to support the development of technologies and candidate medicines and technologies. Currently, Caring Cross is advancing several initiatives that aim to improve the accessibility, affordability and applicability of CAR-T technology and stem cell gene therapy. These opportunities include developing and implementing affordable solutions for the manufacture of CAR-T cells, advancing a decentralized, place-of-care cell manufacturing model, and developing its first therapeutic candidate, an anti-HIV duoCAR-T cell therapy designed to suppress HIV replication and eliminate HIV-expressing cells in people with HIV. A stem cell gene therapy for Sickle Cell Disease and Beta-Thalassemia is also in development. For more information on Caring Cross visit https://caringcross.org/.

CONTACT

Tiberend Strategic Advisors, Inc.

Investors

Lisa Sher

970-987-2654

[email protected]

Media

Ingrid Mezo

646-604-5150

[email protected]

SOURCE Caring Cross

Related Links

https://caringcross.org


CHICAGO, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE), a leading provider of global market infrastructure and tradable products, today announced that it plans to host an Investor Day on Tuesday, November 16, 2021 from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. CT at Cboe's global headquarters in Chicago. Ed Tilly, Chairman, President and CEO, and other members of Cboe's senior leadership team will host presentations on the company's operations, strategy and future growth initiatives.

Registration for the live webcast of the event can be found here and on Cboe's Investor Relations website at ir.cboe.com. In-person attendance is by invitation only. Presentation materials will be available the morning of the event and an audio replay will be available shortly after the event on the company's investor relations website at ir.cboe.com, under Events and Presentations.

About Cboe Global Markets, Inc.

Cboe Global Markets (Cboe: CBOE), a leading provider of market infrastructure and tradable products, delivers cutting-edge trading, clearing and investment solutions to market participants around the world. The company is committed to operating a trusted, inclusive global marketplace, providing leading products, technology and data solutions that enable participants to define a sustainable financial future. Cboe provides trading solutions and products in multiple asset classes, including equities, derivatives and FX, across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. To learn more, visit www.cboe.com.

CBOE-C

Cboe is a registered trademark and Cboe Global MarketsSM is a service mark of Cboe Exchange, Inc. All other trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE Cboe Global Markets, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.cboe.com


NEW YORK, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference), announced that, in an important achievement for survivors, first-time pensions have been allotted for Holocaust survivors who survived the Leningrad Siege as well as survivors who were in hiding in France and those who survived persecution in Romania, who are not currently receiving Shoah related pensions.

Gideon Taylor, President of the Claims Conference said, "Every year these negotiations become more and more critical, as this last generation of survivors age, their needs increase. We are thrilled to be able to expand the criteria for survivors again this year, including the first-time pensions for nearly 6,500 survivors. Even 75 years after the Holocaust, these symbolic payments provide recognition and restore a piece of the dignity taken from survivors in their youth."

The newly negotiated region-specific pension program is open and currently receiving applications. Payments will be 375 ($443) per month. Child Survivor Fund payments, a symbolic one-time payment of 2,500 ($2,930), will also be paid to those who meet the persecution criteria and were born 1928 or later.

Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat, Special Negotiator for the Claims Conference Negotiations Delegation said, "As Special Negotiator, I have a commitment to survivors to continue to achieve new and further measures of justice whenever possible. I am again pleased to see more survivors recognized by the German Government for their unimaginable suffering. It has been my honor to sit alongside some of these survivors as we negotiate year over year for a continued measure of justice. Sadly, we saw the passing of our long-time colleague, fellow negotiator and friend, Roman Kent z"l amid this year's negotiations giving a special urgency to the work we have been doing and whose spirit encouraged us to seek the additional funding that we happily obtained."

Greg Schneider, Executive Vice President of the Claims Conference said, "Every year across the negotiation table we work to identify, recognize and achieve some measure of justice for every survivor and will continue to do so for as long as even one survivor remains with us. We are honored to be able to deliver this achievement to these survivors who have waited so long for this recognition. These accomplishments are deeply important symbols of Germany's recognition of suffering, and for many of these survivors the funds will also relieve crushing poverty which require survivors to choose between food, medicine, or rent." Schneider continued, "at a time when Holocaust survivors globally are facing insurmountable challenges due to COVID and their fragility, we are proud to be able to offer some hope in that roughly $767 million dollars in compensation programs will be dispersed to survivors around the world."

Last year's negotiations resulted in two supplemental payments, each of 1,200 (approximately $1,400 ), for Jewish Nazi victims eligible for the Hardship fund. Survivors will be receiving the second of two payments beginning December 1, 2021 .

), for Jewish Nazi victims eligible for the Hardship fund. Survivors will be receiving the second of two payments beginning . Holocaust survivors who previously received one-time payments of 2,556 or more, and were thus prevented from receiving additional payments, shall also now be entitled to the Hardship Fund Supplemental payments of 1,200 in 2021 and 2022. It is estimated that 1,700 Holocaust survivors worldwide will benefit from this liberalization.

The Claims Conference negotiations delegation is comprised of Special Negotiator, Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat; Co-Chair, Roman Kent z"l; Holocaust survivor leaders  Ambassador Colette Avital, Sir Ben Helfgott and Marian Turski; Ambassador Reuven Merhav; Rabbi Andrew Baker; and Claims Conference Executive Vice President Greg Schneider.

About the Claims Conference: The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference), a nonprofit organization with offices in New York, Israel, and Germany, secures material compensation for Holocaust survivors around the world. Founded in 1951 by representatives of 23 major international Jewish organizations, the Claims Conference negotiates for and disburses funds to individuals and organizations and seeks the return of Jewish property stolen during the Holocaust. As a result of negotiations with the Claims Conference since 1952, the German government has paid approximately $90 billion in indemnification to individuals for suffering and losses resulting from persecution by the Nazis. In 2021, the Claims Conference will distribute approximately $625 million in direct compensation to over 260,000 survivors in 83 countries and will allocate approximately $640 million in grants to over 300 social service agencies worldwide that provide vital services for Holocaust survivors, such as home care, food, and medicine.

For more information, please visit: www.claimscon.org

SOURCE Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany

Related Links

http://www.claimscon.org


THUNDER BAY, ON, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Clean Air Metals Inc. ("Clean Air Metals" or the "Company") (TSXV: AIR) (FRA: CKU) (OTCQB: CLRMF) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Geoff Heggie, P.Geo. as Exploration Manager and a Qualified Person for the Company's Thunder Bay North Project. Dr. Heggie replaces Mr. Allan MacTavish, M.Sc., P.Geo. who has retired from fulltime duties as Vice President, Project Manager, and will continue with the Company in a non-executive consulting capacity.

Dr. Heggie worked on the Thunder Bay North Project previously for 7 years. He earned his BSc in Geology at the University of Saskatchewan, his MSc at Lakehead University and his PhD at the University of Western Australia. Most recently with Noront Resources, Geoff is an expert in Ultramafic/Mafic magmatic systems. Previously as Senior Geologist at Noront, systematic integration of geology and geophysics by the Noront team was typified by the discovery of the McFaulds No. 8 VMS lenses of the Nikka deposit during Geoff's tenure.

New assay results are from the drilling campaign presently underway at the Company's Thunder Bay North Project (the "Project"). Assay highlights (from Table 1) include:

Hole ELR21-079 from the Escape Lake Deposit (Figure 1) which intersected 21.3m grading 4.80g/t Palladium Equivalents (PdEq)1 composed of 1.64g/t Platinum (Pt), 1.97g/t Palladium (Pd), 0.66% Copper (Cu), 0.23% Nickel (Ni) from 388.7m - 410.0m downhole including 7.5m grading 6.80g/t PdEq composed of 2.46 g/t Platinum (Pt), 2.94g/t Palladium (Pd), 0.96% Copper (Cu), 0.26% Nickel (Ni) from 400.5m - 408.0m downhole (Figure 1).

The Escape Lake Deposit has undergone systematic expansion drilling exceeding 27,000m since the maiden Indicated resource of 505,369 ounces PdEq1 (3.67 g/t PdEq in 4.28 million tonnes reported January 20, 2021).

The Current Lake Deposit 2.5km to the east (Figure 2) has a well-defined Indicated mineral resource of 1,328,789 PdEq1 ounces (3.44 g/t PdEq in 11.99 million tonnes) and is currently well advanced with a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) study to be published in Q4-2021. The PEA-level mine stope optimization in the Beaver Lake Zone area of the Current Lake Deposit maybe enhanced by the results of a recent infill drill program, including the following highlight results:

Hole CL21-014 which intersected 18.0m grading 3.10 g/t PdEq 1 composed of 1.36 g/t Platinum (Pt), 1.28g/t Palladium (Pd), 0.24% Copper (Cu) and 0.20% Nickel (Ni) from 127.5  145.5m downhole including 5.10m grading 5.90 g/t PdEq composed of 2.77 g/t Platinum (Pt), 2.72g/t Palladium (Pd), 0.43% Copper (Cu) and 0.28% Nickel (Ni) from 140.4m  145.5m downhole

composed of from 127.5  downhole including composed of from  downhole Hole CL21-015 which intersected 12.0m grading 7.90 g/t PdEq1 composed of 3.67 g/t Platinum (Pt), 3.31g/t Palladium (Pd), 0.75% Copper (Cu) and 0.38% Nickel (Ni) from 144.0  156.0m downhole including 8.0m grading 10.4 g/t PdEq composed of 4.92 g/t Platinum (Pt), 4.45g/t Palladium (Pd), 0.98% Copper (Cu) and 0.46% Nickel (Ni) from 144.0m  152.0m downhole

Mineral resource endowment and palladium-equivalents are quoted pursuant to the Technical Report and Mineral Resource Estimate for the Thunder Bay North Project, Thunder Bay, Ontario, with an effective date of January 20, 2021 (the "Technical Report"). The Technical Report was posted to SEDAR March 4, 2021 and prepared by Nordmin Engineering Ltd.- QP Glen Kuntz, P.Geo. Ontario.



1 Palladium equivalency formula can be viewed in the following Link (Click Here)

Update on Metallurgy and PEA

Metallurgical optimization studies continue with Blue Coast Research of British Columbia. The results of the metallurgical studies on drill core-derived bulk sample material and independent analysis of smelter recoveries and smelter payables are expected to input directly into a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) mine cash flow model planned for publication in early Q4/2021.

Abraham Drost, CEO of Clean Air Metals stated that "we are very pleased to welcome Dr. Geoff Heggie to the Clean Air Metals team. Geoff's prior experience at the Thunder Bay North Project with predecessor companies and his innate expertise in magmatic systems gained in a variety of geological settings is accretive to the team. We look forward with Geoff and team to unlocking the full potential of the Escape and Current chonolith deposits and locating the source of high-grade massive sulphide occurrences within the system.

We are grateful to Al MacTavish for his 14-year tenure with the Project and his considerable contributions from early discovery to present. We are pleased that, although stepping back to enjoy time with family and lead geology field trips to exotic locales like Iceland and Hawaii, Al has agreed to continue on a consulting basis to work on geological studies relevant to exploration of the Thunder Bay North Project.

The Company is looking forward to publication of a PEA in Q4/21. As with the mineral resource estimate published in March 2021, the PEA will be based on a ramp-access underground mine model constraining the existing mineral resource. In addition to the Current Lake Deposit, the potential to add scale to the Thunder Bay North Project with future feed from the Escape Lake Deposit is potentially accretive to the project."



Hole ID From,

m To,

m Length,

m Pt+Pd

(g/t) Cu+Ni

(%) Pt

(g/t) Pd

(g/t) Cu

(%) Ni

(%) PdEq ELR21-079 388.70 410.00 21.30 3.61 0.90 1.64 1.97 0.66 0.23 4.78 **incl. 400.50 408.00 7.50 5.39 1.21 2.46 2.94 0.96 0.26 6.79 CL21-011 130.50 132.50 2.00 1.01 0.27 0.53 0.48 0.11 0.17 1.53 CL21-011 140.50 148.50 8.00 1.50 0.40 0.78 0.72 0.19 0.21 2.18 CL21-011 152.50 166.50 14.00 1.41 0.40 0.73 0.67 0.18 0.22 2.13 CL21-011 170.50 172.50 2.00 1.19 0.35 0.63 0.56 0.14 0.21 1.85 CL21-012 129.20 153.20 24.00 1.69 0.38 0.88 0.81 0.19 0.19 2.27 CL21-012 163.20 167.20 4.00 1.46 0.35 0.76 0.70 0.16 0.19 2.06 CL21-012 177.20 181.20 4.00 1.52 0.39 0.78 0.74 0.18 0.21 2.19 CL21-013 132.00 158.00 26.00 2.35 0.50 1.23 1.12 0.27 0.24 3.06 CL21-013 162.00 164.00 2.00 1.22 0.33 0.64 0.58 0.14 0.20 1.85 CL21-013 174.00 182.00 8.00 2.04 0.52 1.05 0.99 0.26 0.26 2.87 CL21-013 190.00 192.00 2.00 1.42 0.51 0.71 0.71 0.26 0.25 2.34 CL21-014 127.50 145.50 18.00 2.64 0.44 1.36 1.28 0.24 0.20 3.12 **incl. 140.35 145.50 5.15 5.49 0.71 2.77 2.72 0.43 0.28 5.94 CL21-015 144.00 156.00 12.00 6.97 1.13 3.67 3.31 0.75 0.38 7.88 **incl. 144.00 152.00 8.00 9.37 1.43 4.92 4.45 0.98 0.46 10.36 CL21-015 158.00 160.00 2.00 1.01 0.34 0.51 0.50 0.15 0.19 1.67 CL21-015 164.00 168.00 4.00 1.20 0.42 0.63 0.57 0.22 0.21 1.97 CL21-016 133.00 139.00 6.00 1.69 0.35 0.87 0.82 0.18 0.17 2.19 CL21-016 143.00 151.00 8.00 1.48 0.40 0.79 0.69 0.20 0.21 2.16 CL21-016 153.00 155.00 2.00 1.25 0.36 0.66 0.58 0.16 0.20 1.89 CL21-016 159.00 163.00 4.00 1.13 0.38 0.62 0.52 0.16 0.21 1.85 CL21-016 167.00 169.00 2.00 1.26 0.40 0.68 0.58 0.18 0.22 2.01 CL21-016 173.00 179.00 6.00 1.53 0.36 0.81 0.71 0.15 0.21 2.15 CL21-016 181.00 183.00 2.00 1.15 0.34 0.62 0.53 0.13 0.21 1.79 CL21-016 204.00 207.73 3.73 1.77 0.79 0.96 0.81 0.43 0.36 3.16 CL21-017 150.00 164.00 14.00 1.30 0.30 0.68 0.62 0.13 0.17 1.81 CL21-018 133.00 138.00 5.00 2.61 0.55 1.31 1.29 0.33 0.22 3.33 CL21-018 144.00 146.00 2.00 2.05 0.40 1.09 0.96 0.18 0.22 2.64 CL21-018 153.00 190.00 37.00 2.12 0.54 1.10 1.02 0.28 0.27 2.98

Note: 1) All intercepts are estimated to be >95% of true width based on drill hole inclination 2) Mineralized intervals calculated at 1 ppm Pt+Pd cutoff

Please see the link below for Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 1: 2021 Drill Hole Intercepts in the Escape Lake Deposit Area  Link (Click Here)

Figure 2: 2021 Drill Hole Intercepts in the Current Lake Deposit Area  Link (Click Here)

COVID Policy

Clean Air Metals has adopted COVID-19 avoidance and personal protection measures for its geological staff, drilling contractor and service suppliers. Personnel are required to maintain physical distance, use Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), self-monitor and self-isolate or elect to work from home. The Company is aware of Thunder Bay Health Unit guidelines that provide for "mandatory" self-isolation for returning overseas travel. The guidelines also "strongly recommend" self- monitoring and self-isolation as needed after travel into the Northwest region from other areas of the province and interprovincially. Mineral Exploration and Development has been deemed an essential service in the Province of Ontario (http://www.netnewsledger.com/2020/03/23/ontario-covid-19-business-allowed-to-remain-open-list-march-23-2020/ ).

Qualified Person

Dr. Geoff Heggie, Ph.D., P.Geo., a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 and Exploration Manager for the Company, has reviewed and approved all technical information in this press release.

Quality Assurance/Quality Control

Clean Air Metals uses ALS Global ("ALS"), a well-established and recognized mineral assay and geochemical analytical services company. The Thunder Bay laboratory holds ISO-9000 accreditation; the Vancouver facility holds ISO-17025 registration.

All NQ-sized drill core is cut with a diamond-tipped saw blade with half of the core submitted to ALS for sample preparation and analysis. Core samples from selected intervals are individually bagged and tagged, gathered up in larger sealed poly bags and shipped to the sample prep facility in Thunder Bay, ON under custody of Clean Air personnel at all times. Sample preparation is completed at the ALS sample preparation facility located in Thunder Bay, ON and analysis is completed at the primary ALS assay laboratory located in Vancouver, B.C.

Clean Air follows a documented quality control procedure for its core assay sampling program consisting of the insertion of blind blanks, duplicates, and certified Palladium-Platinum and Copper-Nickel standards into the sample stream. The insertion procedure results in a minimum of 11% to 12% control sample frequency depending on the length of the sampled interval.

Gold, platinum, and palladium are analyzed using fire assay (FA) with an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) finish. Samples with grades above the optimal ICP-MS detection limits are analyzed using an optical emission spectroscopy method (ICP-OES).

Also, thirty-three (33) elements of each sample, including copper, nickel, silver, chromium, cobalt, and sulphur, are analyzed by a multi-element analytical method using the atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) technique following four-acid digestion of the sample. When samples have grades above the optimal detection limits for this analytical method, they are re-analyzed using a high-grade method consisting of either ICP-AES or atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) techniques.

Social Engagement

Clean Air Metals Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary Panoramic PGMs (Canada) Ltd. acknowledge that the Thunder Bay North Project is on the traditional territories of the Fort William First Nation, Red Rock First Nation and Biinjitiwabik Zaaging Anishinabek. The parties together are the Cooperating Participants in a Memorandum of Agreement dated January 9, 2021.

The Company is also in discussions with Red Sky Metis Independent Nation and the Metis Nation of Ontario and other non-proximate First Nation communities. Woodland Heritage Northwest, a Metis-owned consultancy has been retained to conduct archaeological studies on the Thunder Bay North Project and surrounding areas.

About Clean Air Metals Inc.

Clean Air Metals' flagship asset is the 100% owned, high grade Thunder Bay North Project, a platinum, palladium, copper, nickel project located near the City of Thunder Bay, Ontario and the Lac des Iles Mine owned by Impala Platinum. The Clean Air Metals project hosts the Current Lake Deposit and magma conduit and the Company is actively exploring the Escape Lake Deposit, a twin structure to the Current Lake Deposit. Executive Chairman Jim Gallagher and CEO Abraham Drost lead an experienced team of geologists and engineers who are using the Norilsk magma conduit stratigraphic and mineral deposit model to guide ongoing exploration and development studies. As the former CEO of North American Palladium Ltd. which owned the Lac des Iles Mine prior to the sale to Impala Platinum in December 2019, Jim Gallagher and team are credited with the mine turnaround and creation of significant value for shareholders.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

"Abraham Drost"

Abraham Drost, Chief Executive Officer of Clean Air Metals Inc.

Website: www.cleanairmetals.ca

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note

The information contained herein contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation, including statements regarding the potential of the Thunder Bay North Project and the Escape Lake and Current Lake deposits and timing of technical studies (include the preliminary economic assessment) and mineral resource estimates. Forward-looking statements relate to information that is based on assumptions of management, forecasts of future results, and estimates of amounts not yet determinable. Any statements that express predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not statements of historical fact and may be "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: political and regulatory risks associated with mining and exploration; risks related to the maintenance of stock exchange listings; risks related to environmental regulation and liability; the potential for delays in exploration or development activities or the completion of feasibility studies; the uncertainty of profitability; risks and uncertainties relating to the interpretation of drill results, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; risks related to the inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses; results of prefeasibility and feasibility studies, and the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations; risks related to commodity price fluctuations; and other risks and uncertainties related to the Company's prospects, properties and business detailed elsewhere in the Company's disclosure record. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. Actual events or results could differ materially from the Company's expectations or projection.

SOURCE Clean Air Metals Inc.

Related Links

https://www.cleanairmetals.ca/


"We are very pleased to hire someone of Chris' caliber to run the adPlanet business. He has deep expertise in media and digital out of home (DOOH) advertising and a strong track record of revenue growth, development and performance management," said Michael Jack, head of product at Coinstar. "adPlanet is a unique and dynamic advertising solution that has attracted top brands, and now with Chris' leadership, we expect the business to gain further recognition and continued growth."

Pezzello comes to Coinstar with more than 25 years of experience in media and advertising, with the last 16 years in the out of home (OOH) sector. Most recently, Pezzello was senior vice president for OUTFRONT Media where he drove consistent revenue growth and increased operating profit and EBITDA. Prior to OUTFRONT, he held leadership positions with Intersection, Victor Signs and Titan Outdoor Media. Earlier in his career, Pezzello worked at New York-based agency Lowe and Partners as a television network media buyer, and Comcast Spectacor in advertising sales for the Philadelphia Flyers and 76'ers.

"I've been in the media and out of home advertising business for many years, and Coinstar's adPlanet platform has a unique footprint with a tremendous amount of growth potential," said Pezzello. "I'm thrilled with the opportunity to drive and grow the adPlanet business by enhancing the brand and consumer experience in an attention economy."

The Coinstar adPlanet network delivers powerful reach, dynamic visuals, and tailored message capability by geography, demographics, brand behavior and interests. In addition, adPlanet seamlessly integrates into existing brand campaigns, and advertisers can track their content's play and performance and change and run ads in real time.

Pezzello joined Coinstar in September and is based in Chicago.

About Coinstar, LLC

Coinstar is the global leader in self-service coin counting with 23,000 kiosks in North America, Europe, and Japan. More than 800 billion coins have been processed since Coinstar's inception in the early 1990s. In the United States, consumers can convert their change to cash, a no-fee eGift card, or donate to charity at supermarket, mass merchant, drug store, and financial institution kiosk locations. Expanded cash services at Coinstar kiosks include purchasing cryptocurrencies and adding money into digital accounts. For brand advertisers, Coinstar now offers adPlanet, which enables lead generation on the interactive kiosk screen and a flexible digital advertising platform that sits atop Coinstar kiosks at select grocery locations. For more information on Coinstar or kiosk locations, visit www.coinstar.com.

SOURCE Coinstar, LLC

Related Links

http://www.coinstar.com


CHICAGO, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In the recent years, data centers are highly demanded by every organisation to maintain security and to keep the records. The COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant lockdown led to many businesses adopting cloud, and increasingly shifting to colocation and managed facilities. The implementation of 5G network 2022 will boost the digital economy and will lead to higher demand for high-bandwidth networking infrastructure in the global data center market. The rising deployment of data centers are creating lucrative opportunities for the new players to enter the market.

Observing these rapid and drastic changes in demand and supply patterns encouraged the industry analysts at Arizton to publish exhaustive and data-driven insights on these current trends in the industry. Arizton employs a comprehensive and iterative research methodology focused on minimizing deviance to provide the most accurate estimates and forecast possible. Check out wide range of insights on data center market now!

Here's a sneak peek at these reports!

Brazil Data Center Market - Investment Analysis and Growth Opportunities 2021-2026

Brazil data center market size will witness investments of USD 3.09 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 9.63% during 2021-2026. Arizton has identified about 43 unique data center facilities and 10 upcoming facilities in Brazil.

Brazil is the leading data center market in Latin America, driving in over 40% of the overall investment in the region. The Brazil data center market will witness a cumulative investment of over USD 14 billion between 2021 and 2026. Sao Paulo is the major market for data center development in Brazil. It is the most connected city in the country, with high availability of digital business centers, and established infrastructure, which is creating the city a favorable location for data center development.

Key Highlights:

The Brazil government has signed an MoU with the UK government to accelerate the digitalization and public services delivery innovation in the Brazil data center market.

government has signed an MoU with the UK government to accelerate the digitalization and public services delivery innovation in the data center market. Most of the data centers in Brazil are investing in the implementation of DCIM solutions to monitor the facility with high power consumption, carbon emissions, and reduce the OPEX of the facility.

are investing in the implementation of DCIM solutions to monitor the facility with high power consumption, carbon emissions, and reduce the OPEX of the facility. In Brazil , data center facilities are commonly adopting air and water-based cooling systems. Most of the data center facilities are utilizing water-based cooling systems that will partially supports free cooling.

, data center facilities are commonly adopting air and water-based cooling systems. Most of the data center facilities are utilizing water-based cooling systems that will partially supports free cooling. In Brazil designing of the facility is carried out by data center operators, design contractors, and infrastructure vendors with strong expertise in the data center designing and development.

Vendors Insights:

Microsoft planned to open a cloud region in Rio De Janeiro that is expected to be operational in H2 2021.

that is expected to be operational in H2 2021. Litmus, an intelligent edge computing company, has partnered with a Baumier Automation, to increase edge computing offerings in Brazil .

. In March 2021 , IBM launched its first IBM Cloud Multizone Region (MZR) in Latin America in Brazil to accelerate hybrid cloud adoption in the region.

Get more insights now! https://www.arizton.com/market-reports/brazil-data-center-market-investment-analysis-report-2025

Mexico Data Center Market - Investment Analysis and Growth Opportunities 2021-2026

Mexico data center market size will witness investments of USD 905 million by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 8.33% during 2021-2026. Arizton has identified about 17 unique data center facilities and 3 upcoming facilities in Mexico.

Over USD 1 billion will be invested in data center development across Mexico during 2021-2026. Around 215 MW of power capacity will be added in data centers across Mexico during the forecast period. Mexico is adopting AI for the detection of natural calamities such as earthquakes and storms to secure the data centers in the country. Mexico has several cities getting developed as smart cities, including Mexico City, Guadalajara, Queretaro, Monterrey, Tequila and Puebla, thereby fueling the growth of the data center market in Mexico.

Key Highlights:

DRUPS systems are major revenue contributors in the Mexico market. Several data centers have adopted DRUPS systems, and these solutions will continue to witness high demand among data centers with multiple modules.

market. Several data centers have adopted DRUPS systems, and these solutions will continue to witness high demand among data centers with multiple modules. Mexico has received investments from local and global data center operators. In 2020, Mexico received investment from companies such as Ascenty (Digital Realty), ODATA, and CloudHQ.

has received investments from local and global data center operators. In 2020, received investment from companies such as Ascenty (Digital Realty), ODATA, and CloudHQ. Investments in submarine cables will increase the connectivity between Mexico and other parts of the world, which in turn, will drive further investments in the Mexico data center market.

Vendors Insights:

IPXON Networks, Nabiax, Serveris Data Center Services, Digital Realty (Ascenty), KIO Networks, and Equinix (Axtel) are some of the major data center colocation providers in Mexico .

. Equinix entered the Mexico data center market in January 2020 , investing over USD 185 million in the acquisition of three data centers of Axtel.

data center market in , investing over in the acquisition of three data centers of Axtel. Huawei Technologies has a cloud region in Mexico , with data centers that serve Central America , the Caribbean , Colombia , and Ecuador , along with Mexico .

Get more insights now! https://www.arizton.com/market-reports/mexico-data-center-market-investment-analysis

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We offer comprehensive market research reports on industries such as consumer goods & retail technology, automotive and mobility, smart tech, healthcare, and life sciences, industrial machinery, chemicals, and materials, IT and media, logistics and packaging. These reports contain detailed industry analysis, market size, share, growth drivers, and trend forecasts.

Arizton comprises a team of exuberant and well-experienced analysts who have mastered generating incisive reports. Our specialist analysts possess exemplary skills in market research. We train our team in advanced research practices, techniques, and ethics to outperform in fabricating impregnable research reports.

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SOURCE Arizton Advisory & Intelligence
As a co-organizer of COMPUTEX, TAITRA indicated that technology has demonstrated its importance in enabling business resilience in the past year, as society experienced challenges and witnessed accelerated digital transformation in various industries. As a leading ICT trade show, COMPUTEX has embraced digital transformation and will return anew to bring better exhibition experience to attendees.

#COMPUTEXisEverywhere, a global tour to outline the technology landscape

As a warm-up for COMPUTEX 2022, #COMPUTEXisEverywhere will offer critical technology and application solutions to the global technology ecosystem along with Taiwan's top leading technology companies.

#COMPUTEXisEverywhere will be making its tour to United States, Spain, Singapore, UK, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Malaysia, Israel, and Germany. One of the latest events is Japan IT WEEK 2021. COMPUTEX will attend it at Makuhari Messe from October 27 to 29, exhibiting 30 d&i awards winning products.

By promoting Taiwanese technologies and innovations globally, COMPUTEX hopes to better engage with foreign partners for more opportunities. Stay tuned.

Register to exhibit at COMPUTEX and InnoVEX :

COMPUTEX 2022 International Exhibitor Registration: https://events.taiwantrade.com/COMPUTEX22

InnoVEX 2022 Registration: https://events.taiwantrade.com/InnoVEX22

To learn more about #COMPUTEXisEverywhere and the show updates, please visit:

COMPUTEX : https://www.computextaipei.com.tw/

InnoVEX : https://www.innovex.com.tw/

About COMPUTEX TAIPEI (also called 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 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.

SOURCE COMPUTEX Taipei

Related Links

http://www.computextaipei.com.tw


A global nonprofit think tank, Coqual's first report in a three-part series takes an in-depth look at key processes that determine professionals' career outcomes: performance evaluations, promotions, and pay. The report uncovers the practices that promote feelings of fairness among employees of different backgrounds and provides actionable solutions for companies and their leaders to create equitable workplaces for all.

"Equity is vital to a company's success and Coqual is committed to helping leaders tear down norms, dismantle current systems and rebuild them from the ground up," said Lanaya Irvin, Coqual chief executive officer. "Our study provides intersectional insights, data, and tools to navigate the process."

"We are deeply committed to building equity in the workforce and that's why we're proud to be the lead sponsor of Coqual's research on this important topic. This report provides the critical insights and tools needed to create a fair working environment for everyone," said Melonie Parker, Chief Diversity Officer, Google.

In this study, HR practitioners cite promotions as the biggest area of inequity within their organizations, yet their biggest area of focus remains locked on hiring. Hiring can seem like a quick solution, but without resources dedicated to the promotion and retention of current employees of all backgrounds, the results rarely last.

"It's time to truly understand the ways in which the workplace doesn't work for all," said Pooja Jain-Link, Coqual executive vice president, and primary research lead for the study. "Structural change is difficult, and racial equity requires more than just momentum; it requires massive culture change. Companies must allocate the necessary resources to change the current systems of power to make them equitable. They have to look beyond recruiting and hiring, deeper into the talent lifecycle."

Performance Evaluations

Performance evaluations are crucial to an individual's career, but Coqual's study found not everyone is assessed fairly. More than one in five Black men and more than one in six Latinx men say they were evaluated on different criteria than their peers. Asian professionals are the least likely of any group to feel their evaluations reflect their contributions. Among Latinx professionals, Coqual finds colorism plays a role in creating inequity in performance evaluations  those with lighter skin are 57% more likely than those with darker skin to say their evaluations reflect their contributions to the company. Veterans don't always feel they're being evaluated fairly at work: they are nearly four times as likely as non-veterans to say they are evaluated on different criteria from others at their job level and are nearly 2.5 times as likely to say they are evaluated more harshly than their peers.

To understand company practices linked to equity in performance evaluations, Coqual examined those practices that predict perceptions of fairness for employees of different races. While actionable feedback in performance evaluations was a significant predictor of fairness for all groups, other predictors like 360 performance reviews were the strongest for Black and Latinx employees and accountability for conduct stood out for Asian and White employees.

"Given the systemic issues facing underrepresented professionals, we need to know where to start," said Julia Taylor Kennedy, Coqual executive vice president and secondary research lead for the study. "To create equity, companies need processes, policies, and norms that make space for individual differences. The data in this study guides companies to effectively redesign workplace processes to better work for all."

Promotions

When it comes to promotions, Coqual uncovered steep obstacles to equity for multiple outsider groups. The study finds about one in three Black and Latinx men say their time to promotion is longer than that of their peers. This sense of career stall is more prevalent among professionals with disabilities (25%) compared to professionals without disabilities (16%), and veterans (34%) compared to non-veterans (16%).

Pay

Consistent with other research, Coqual finds that underrepresented professionals, especially women, say that their pay is lower than that of their peers. Black women (29%), White women (22%), and Latinx women (21%) were most likely to report that their pay is lower than that of their peers.

Social class can also be a powerful determinant of pay. Across all racial groups, Coqual finds individuals from a lower social class background are more likely than those from a higher social class background to say their pay is lower than that of their peers. The gap is particularly stark for Black professionals: those from lower social class backgrounds are more than 1.5 times as likely as those from higher class backgrounds to say their pay is lower than that of their peers. (30% from lower social class backgrounds vs. 18% from higher class backgrounds).

When it comes to pay, Coqual's research finds a "fatherhood bonus." Men with children are more likely than men without children to say their manager advocates for their pay increases. Women saw no such difference based on parental status.

For White, Asian, and Black professionals, pay equity analyses are the strongest predictors of fairness in the pay process at their companies. For Latinx professionals, making wage or salary ranges for different job levels available is strongly connected to their perceptions of fairness in their company's pay process.

Principles of Equity

Different practices are linked to perceptions of fairness for different employee groups, but there are commonalities. To build equity and fairness into workplaces, especially for employees of different races, companies can rely on five key principles:

Specificity: Rather than discussing equity as an abstract concept, use qualitative and quantitative data to identify specific problem areas to addressand measurechange.

Rather than discussing equity as an abstract concept, use qualitative and quantitative data to identify specific problem areas to addressand measurechange. Transparency: Leaders and companies need to clarify processes like pay, performance evaluations, and promotions, and share associated metrics with employees. Even partial disclosure helps employees trust the processes.

Leaders and companies need to clarify processes like pay, performance evaluations, and promotions, and share associated metrics with employees. Even partial disclosure helps employees trust the processes. Accountability: Companies must hold leaders accountable for the success of DE&I as a business priority.

Companies must hold leaders accountable for the success of DE&I as a business priority. Courage: Companies need to acknowledge the historical and systemic factors that have prevented equity, and implement institutional-level interventions, even in the face of vocal opposition.

Companies need to acknowledge the historical and systemic factors that have prevented equity, and implement institutional-level interventions, even in the face of vocal opposition. Sustainability: Equity is not a one-and-done deal. To embed equity into the foundations of a company, companies must continually audit, evaluate, and modify.

Methodology: The research consists of a survey; Insights In-Depth sessions (a proprietary web-based tool used to conduct voice-facilitated virtual focus groups) with over 350 participants; and one-on-one interviews with more than 40 people. The national survey was conducted online in April and May of 2021 among 4,410 respondents (2,113 men, 2,268 women, 25 who identify as transgender, non-binary, or another identity, and 4 who did not identify their gender; 2,547 identify as White, 557 as Black, 566 as Hispanic, 574 as Asian, 127 as two or more races, and 39 as another race or ethnicity). All survey respondents were over 21 and employed full time in white-collar professions, with at least a bachelor's degree. Data was weighted to be representative of the US population on key demographics (age, gender, education, race/ethnicity, and census division). The base used for statistical testing was the effective base. Unless specified, the data we reference is from our national survey.

This survey was conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago under the auspices of Coqual, a nonprofit research organization. NORC was responsible for the data collection, while Coqual conducted the analysis. In the charts, percentages may not always add up to 100 because of computer rounding or the acceptance of multiple responses from respondents. Throughout this report, "Latinx" refers to those who identify as being of Latino or Hispanic descent.

Lead Sponsor, Google; Research Sponsors: AllianceBernstein; Boehringer Ingelheim USA; Intel Corporation; Johnson & Johnson; L'Oreal USA; Pfizer; The Walt Disney Company; and White & Case

Research Advisors: Dr. Ifedapo Adeleye, Professor of the Practices of Human Resources Management, Georgetown University; Dr. Alexandra Kalev, Associate Professor of Sociology and Anthropology, Tel Aviv University; Dr. Kellie McElhaney, Professor and Founding Director, Center for Equity, Gender, and Leadership (EGAL), Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley.

About Coqual: Coqual (formerly Center for Talent Innovation) is a global, nonprofit think tank dedicated to helping leaders design diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplaces where every person belongs. Founded in 2004, Coqual provides in-depth research, thought leadership, and data-driven, actionable solutions for companies to address bias and barriers to inclusion for underrepresented populations in the workplace. Coqual's cutting-edge research and Advisory Services focus on gender, race, ethnicity, disability, veteran status and LGBTQ identities, and othersas well as the intersections among these groups. For more information, visit www.coqual.org.

SOURCE Coqual

Related Links

http://www.coqual.org


HOUSTON, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Coterra Energy Inc. ("Coterra" or the "Company") (NYSE: CTRA) today announced the final results of its previously announced offers to eligible holders (as defined herein) to exchange (each an "Exchange Offer" and collectively, the "Exchange Offers") any and all outstanding notes issued by Cimarex Energy Co. ("Cimarex") as set forth in the table below (the "Existing Cimarex Notes") for (1) up to $2,000,000,000 aggregate principal amount of new notes to be issued by Coterra (the "New Coterra Notes") and (2) cash, and related consent solicitations by Cimarex (each, a "Consent Solicitation" and, collectively, the "Consent Solicitations") to adopt certain proposed amendments to each of the indentures governing the Existing Cimarex Notes (the "Proposed Amendments"). As of 11:59 p.m., New York City time, on October 5, 2021 (the "Expiration Date"), and as indicated in the table below, approximately $1.83 billion aggregate principal amount, or approximately 91.30%, of the Existing Cimarex Notes were validly tendered and not validly withdrawn.

The following table sets forth the aggregate principal amount of each series of Existing Cimarex Notes that were validly tendered and not validly withdrawn as of the Expiration Date pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Exchange Offers and Consent Solicitations.

Title of Series

of Existing

Cimarex Notes CUSIP

Number of

Existing

Cimarex

Notes ISIN of

Existing

Cimarex Notes Aggregate

Principal

Amount

Outstanding Existing Cimarex Notes Tendered

at Expiration Date Principal

Amount Percentage 4.375% Senior Notes due 2024 171798AC5 US171798AC50 $750,000,000 $705,503,000 94.07%











3.90% Senior Notes due 2027 171798AD3 US171798AD34 $750,000,000 $687,282,000 91.64%











4.375% Senior Notes due 2029 171798AE1 US171798AE17 $500,000,000 $433,188,000 86.64%

The Exchange Offers and Consent Solicitations were made pursuant to the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the offering memorandum and consent solicitation statement dated as of September 8, 2021 (the "Offering Memorandum and Consent Solicitation Statement"). As previously announced, on October 1, 2021, the Company completed the merger transaction contemplated by the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of May 23, 2021, as amended on June 29, 2021, among Coterra (formerly Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation), Double C Merger Sub, Inc. ("Merger Sub") and Cimarex, pursuant to which Merger Sub, previously a wholly owned subsidiary of Coterra, merged with and into Cimarex, (the "Merger"), with Cimarex surviving the Merger as a subsidiary of Coterra. Completion of the Merger was a condition to the consummation of the Exchange Offers and Consent Solicitations. The final settlement of the Exchange Offers and Consent Solicitations is expected to take place on or about October 7, 2021. The requisite number of consents to adopt the Proposed Amendments were received by Cimarex prior to the Early Tender Date, and Cimarex previously executed a supplemental indenture with the trustee for each series of Existing Cimarex Notes effecting the Proposed Amendments, which amendments will automatically become effective upon final settlement of the Exchange Offers and Consent Solicitations.

The Exchange Offers and Consent Solicitations were made only to holders of Existing Cimarex Notes who completed and returned an eligibility letter confirming that they were persons (a) in the United States reasonably believed to be "qualified institutional buyers" as defined in Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), or (b) outside the United States who were not "U.S. persons" as defined in Rule 902 under the Securities Act and who were eligible to participate in the Exchange Offer pursuant to the laws of the applicable jurisdiction, as set forth in the eligibility letter ("eligible holders").

D.F. King & Co., Inc. is acting as the exchange agent and information agent in connection with the Exchange Offers and Consent Solicitations. Questions or requests for assistance related to the Exchange Offers may be directed to D.F. King & Co., Inc. at (800) 714-3311 (U.S. toll-free) or (212) 269-5550 (banks and brokers) or [email protected] You may also contact your broker, dealer, commercial bank, trust company or other nominee for assistance concerning the Exchange Offers and Consent Solicitations.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or purchase, or a solicitation of an offer to sell or purchase, or the solicitation of tenders or consents with respect to, any security. No offer, solicitation, purchase or sale was made in any jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful. The Exchange Offers and Consent Solicitations were made to eligible holders solely pursuant to the Offering Memorandum and Consent Solicitation Statement and only to such persons and in such jurisdictions as permitted under applicable law.

The New Coterra Notes have not been registered under the Securities Act or any state or foreign securities laws. Therefore, the New Coterra Notes may not be offered or sold in the United States or to any U.S. person absent registration, except pursuant to an applicable exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act.

Coterra Energy

Coterra is a premier, diversified energy company based in Houston, Texas. We strive to be a leading producer, delivering returns with a commitment to sustainability leadership.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws. Words such as anticipates, believes, expects, intends, plans, outlook, will, should, may and similar expressions may be used to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not statements of historical fact and reflect Coterra's current views about future events. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the final settlement of the Exchange Offers and Consent Solicitations. No assurances can be given that the forward-looking statements contained in this press release will occur as projected and actual results may differ materially from those projected. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates and assumptions that involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those included in this press release. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual outcomes may vary materially from those indicated. For additional information about other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements, please refer to (1) Coterra's annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and other filings with the SEC (including those filed under its former name Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation) and (2) Cimarex's annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and other filings with the SEC, which are available on Coterra's website at www.coterra.com.

Forward-looking statements are based on the estimates and opinions of management at the time the statements are made. Except to the extent required by applicable law, Coterra does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements that speak only as of the date hereof.

SOURCE Coterra Energy Inc.

Related Links

https://coterra.com/


WASHINGTON, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Counterfeit driver's licenses are used to facilitate underaged drinking, identity theft, terrorism, check & bank fraud, and returned goods fraud. These acts cost each American adult about $1,000 a year, according to a new white paper released by the Document Security Alliance (DSA).

Five ways to beat driver's license counterfeiters Insufficient funding restricts the ability to incorporate the latest overt, covert, and forensic security features on driver's licenses.

According to DSA's government, industry, and academic document security experts, the counterfeiting of state-issued driver's licenses presents an imminent threat to national security, causes colossal financial losses for state and federal governments, and enables substantial increases in identity theft and fraud losses to businesses, banks, and private citizens.

Tony Poole, President of DSA, said, "Counterfeiting thrives at multiple levels and the use of counterfeit driver's licenses is a major contributor to the staggering costs borne by our society. Federal, state, and municipal governments collectively lose billions of dollars every year to fraud, a considerable portion of which is enabled by counterfeit driver's licenses."

Driver's license agencies have severe budgetary constraints. These limits result in critical delays to upgrade the driver's license designs  which should occur every four or five years to stay ahead of counterfeiters and reduce the circulation validity of each design. Lack of funds restricts the ability to incorporate the latest overt, covert, and forensic security features due to marginal cost considerations. The consequence is that high-quality counterfeit state driver's licenses can be readily purchased from internet sites fronting for criminal organizations.

"By investing more in the security of their driver's license, states would be rewarded with lower fraud losses and fewer identity-related crimes. Our kids, families, friends  all would be safer," said Neil Ivey, Vice President of DSA. "State legislatures should allocate appropriate funding to arm states with the necessary resources to increase their card security requirements and provide their citizens with driver's licenses that have vastly improved security and resistance to counterfeiting."

ABOUT DSA

DSA is a globally recognized organization focused on advancing existing and emerging security document and mobile identity solutions. DSA is committed to identifying threats to legitimately issued identification documents, mobile identification, banknotes, document production, and issuance processes.

Our approach embodies two key principles:

Ensuring that sufficient levels of security and supporting systems are adopted to establish the optimal protection for each application.

Improving the protection and security of our institutions and citizens while complying with governing laws and safeguarding social liberties.

DSA membership encompasses the leading document security and identity experts from public, private and academic sectors. Members provide extensive technical and practical expertise, which we incorporate into every aspect of our organization. Governments rely on DSA for guidance and support when upgrading their security documents and identity strategies.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Sheila Crowley, Executive Director, DSA

202-543-5552

[email protected]

https://www.documentsecurityalliance.org/

SOURCE Document Security Alliance
Dern will deliver the keynote address at the virtual event on Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021. Tweet this

"It is an honor to have Laura Dern as this year's keynote speaker of the Lung Cancer Heroes recognition program," said Mike Hennessy Jr., president and CEO of MJH Life Sciences, parent company of CURE Media Group. "Her personal connection to lung cancer resonates with us deeply and we greatly appreciate all of the outstanding initiatives she takes part in to raise lung cancer awareness and funds. We are looking forward to having her as this year's keynote speaker."

Dern's association to lung cancer began when her grandfather was diagnosed with the disease, which he unfortunately passed away from when she was just six years old. Those memories have stuck with Dern over the years and spilled over into her acting career.

In 2014, Dern starred in "Wild", based on Cheryl Strayed's 2012 memoir "Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail". In the film, Dern portrayed Strayed's mother who died from lung cancer. Dern's experience with her grandfather gave her motivation with her character.

In 2015, Dern partnered with the American Lung Association (ALA)'s Lung Force initiative that works toward the mission of uniting women and their loved ones across the country to stand together against lung cancer. Dern has joined this year's Lung Force walk to help raise awareness and funds for lung cancer research.

Lung Cancer Heroes is being held in conjunction with the fourth biennial IASLC Small Cell Lung Cancer Meeting, a Worldwide Virtual Event on Oct. 29-30, 2021.

This event is sponsored by Takeda in partnership with Lung Force, the GO 2 Foundation for Lung Cancer, LUNGevity, the Lung Cancer Foundation of America, and the Lung Cancer Research Foundation.

About CURE Media Group

CURE Media Group is the leading resource for cancer updates, research and education. It combines a full suite of media products, including its industry-leading website, curetoday.com ; innovative video programs, such as "CURE Connections"; a series of widely attended events; and CURE magazine, which reaches over 1 million readers. CURE Media Group 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.

Media Contact

Alyssa Scarpaci, 609-716-7777

[email protected]

SOURCE CURE Media Group

Related Links

https://www.curetoday.com


HYDERABAD, India, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Cyient, a global engineering, manufacturing, and digital technology solutions company, today announced the appointment of Rajaneesh Kini as Senior Vice President & Chief Technology Officer. This new role will focus on Technology Development at Cyient. Rajaneesh will be responsible for shaping the company's technological vision, building competitive, relevant, and market-ready solutions, and seeding new skills within the organization.

Rajaneesh joins Cyient with over two decades of experience in Engineering across various industry verticals, including Communications, Health, Industrial, and Tech Platforms. He has expertise in building engineering capabilities and solutions in VLSI, Embedded, Cloud software, Data Platforms, Connectivity, Security Engineering, and Industry 4.0. Before Cyient, Rajaneesh headed the Global ER&D Solutions Delivery business for Wipro.

As the Chief Technology Officer at Cyient, Rajaneesh will be instrumental in defining and spearheading the company's technology footprint, focusing on building competencies, solutions, and offerings. Cyient is keen to implement a sound technology strategy across the key growth areas of digital, geospatial, embedded, VLSI, and networks. Rajaneesh will closely work with the team to co-create technology-led solutions to drive disruptive innovation value for our customers.

Speaking on the appointment Krishna Bodanapu, Managing Director and CEO, Cyient, said, "Rajaneesh joins us at a crucial time. We are no longer in a demand-driven market but rather in one that requires innovation and technological breakthroughs to address the evolving normal. I am confident that with his rich background in ER&D innovation and delivery, Rajaneesh will play a pivotal role in accelerating Cyient's technology landscape and strengthen CyientiFIQ, our innovation platform."

About Cyient

Cyient (Estd: 1991, NSE: CYIENT) is a leading global engineering, manufacturing, and digital technology solutions company. We are a Design, Build, and Maintain partner for leading organizations worldwide. We enable our customers across industries to apply technologies imaginatively to solve problems that matter and stay ahead of the curve. We are committed to designing tomorrow together with our stakeholders and being a culturally inclusive, socially responsible, and environmentally sustainable organization.

For more information, please visit www.cyient.com

Follow news about the company at @Cyient

Rudra Bose | Satyaki Maitra Cyient Press Office  Genesis BCW +91 9811626585 | +91 99580 41503 [email protected] | [email protected] Kiran Rajani Cyient PR Team +91 9884139184 [email protected]

SOURCE Cyient
Dr. Peter Frankopan, best-selling and award-winning author of The Silk Roads and Professor of Global History at Oxford University, will present the first of his three-part series of lectures, "Global Greece: A History," at 7 p.m. EEST (Greece)/noon EDT (U.S.) in Cotsen Hall on the American School's Athens campus. The lecture will also be broadcast live at ascsa.edu.gr/livestream and simulcast in Greek. Guests attending Cotsen Hall must wear masks and present valid COVID-19 vaccination certificates or certificates of illness along with their ID. Please visit ascsa.edu.gr for more information.

About the "Global Greece: A History" Lectures

In his three talks for the Thalia Potamianos Annual Lectures Series ("Greece: Beginnings," "Greece: Legacies," and "Greece: Futures"), Dr. Frankopan will examine the role that Greece and Greek culture, literature, and language have played for more than two and a half millennia. However, rather than exploring the familiar and limited Mediterranean context, he will discuss it from a global perspective, allowing for a better understanding of both world history and Greece itself. The second and third lectures will be presented in Washington, D.C., on March 16, 2022, and New York City on May 10, 2022.

About the Thalia Potamianos Annual Lecture Series

Established in June 2020, the Thalia Potamianos Annual Lectures Series seeks to create a stimulating environment to draw both the academic community and the general public to the Gennadius Library of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. Every year, a highly distinguished, internationally renowned scholar is selected to conduct research and develop programs on a topic relevant to the Gennadius Library. The research will culminate in a minimum of three annual public lectures, which will be delivered in Athens and the United States.

This program is being made possible by a generous grant from Phokion Potamianos, a Gennadius Library Overseer. Mr. Potamianos named the series in memory of his grandmother, a distinguished Greek doctor, academic, and philanthropist.

SOURCE American School of Classical Studies at Athens

Related Links

https://www.ascsa.edu.gr


Since 2011, Dutch Bros' annual Buck for Kids campaign has raised more than $3.7 million for local youth.

About Dutch Bros

Dutch Bros Coffee is a drive-thru coffee company dedicated to making a massive difference one cup at a time. Headquartered in Grants Pass, Oregon, where it was founded in 1992 by Dane and Travis Boersma, it's now sharing the "Dutch Luv" with more than 500 locations in 11 states. Dutch Bros serves specialty coffee, smoothies, freezes, teas, an exclusive Dutch Bros Blue Rebel energy drink and nitrogen-infused cold brew coffee. Its rich, proprietary coffee blend is handcrafted from start to finish.

In addition to its mission of speed, quality and service, Dutch Bros is committed to giving back to the communities it serves. Through its Dutch Bros Foundation and local franchisees, the company donates several million dollars to causes across the country each year.

To learn more about Dutch Bros, visit www.dutchbros.com, follow Dutch Bros Coffee on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, & TikTok, and download the Dutch Bros app to earn points and score rewards!

SOURCE Dutch Bros Coffee

Related Links

https://dutchbros.com/


TYLER, Texas, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Education Advanced, Inc. (EAI), the innovative leader in K-12 operations technology, has announced a partnership with Skyward, a leading provider of school administrative software, to expand its support of school administrators across the nation. This collaboration will empower school leaders with stronger data integrations for more efficient and accurate school master scheduling capabilities.

"Education Advanced believes in technology innovation, adding value to the K-12 industry, and empowering educators with tools to transform their schools," said Dr. Eli Crow, CEO of Education Advanced. "We are proud to partner with Skyward, who shares our passion for helping school leaders work more efficiently so they can focus their attention and resources on preparing students for a successful future."

"We are excited to partner with Education Advanced to offer this functionality to our customers," said Dave Ilkka, vice president of new business development at Skyward. "Skyward is dedicated to improving the edtech experience of K-12 education leaders. Our partnership with Education Advanced will allow data integrations and scheduling to be easier, allowing districts more time to focus on other initiatives aimed at student success."

This partnership is part of EAI's continued strategic focus on delivering seamless educational technology solutions to educators across the United States. Collaboration with fellow leading partners strengthens shared goals to make a difference in the lives of educators and the students they serve. For information on EAI partnership opportunities, visit educationadvanced.com/resources/partners.

About Education Advanced, Inc.

Education Advanced is a provider of operations management and workflow solutions for K-12 school districts that enable educators to be more efficient, allowing them to dedicate more of their time and resources to exceeding student needs. EAI's product offering includes Cardonex, TestHound, and BuildYourOwnCurriculum (BYOC). These award-winning and patented technology solutions advance the efficacy of master scheduling, staff planning, curriculum development and delivery, and assessment coordination for K-12 school districts across the country. Learn more educationadvanced.com.

About Skyward

Skyward's school administrative software solutions are used by more than 2,000 public sector organizations worldwide, from small entities to statewide implementations. Since 1980, Skyward has remained committed to a better experience for every user. To learn more, visit www.skyward.com.

SOURCE Education Advanced

Related Links

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BOSTON, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Education Resources, Inc. (ERI) announces Therapies in the School Conference 2021, a live virtual webinar set for November 18 and 19, 2021 at 9:30 am EST (US). The 22nd annual conference is back for the second year in a row as a virtual offering, where school-based therapists and professionals will learn the latest techniques from world-renowned faculty.

Sessions will be taught by Trish West Low, Jan Hollenbeck, Melissa Gerber, Teresa May Benson, Barbara Connolly, Susan Cecere and more. Plus, the return of the popular morning yoga session with Anne Buckley-Reen.

As the country emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, therapists are re-imagining what participation and performance will look like for school-aged children and how therapeutic support today impacts each student's long-term outcomes in life. Participants can expect to receive content that integrates what has been learned during the COVID-19 pandemic along with pre-COVID best practices.

Attendees from last year's first-ever virtual conference shared numerous positive experiences. Vicki Nephew, a New York based PT said, "This is an excellent resource for school-based therapy, which is often hard to find in continuing education. Sharing the latest research and strategies with presenters and other school-based therapists has been extremely helpful and affirming of what we are doing with our own kids."

Therapies in the School Conference 2021 offers up to 12 continuing education hours (1.2 CEUs) with energetic experiential learning, lively panel discussions and challenging breakout sessions related to:

Breathing, Talking and Postural Control

Praxis as a Whole Brain Process

Practical Strategies to Facilitate Independent Executive Function Skills

Long Term Outcomes Over the Life Span for Students with Special Needs

School-Based Best Practices for Beginning Therapists

Dyspraxia: Tools, Treatment and Accommodations

Visual Impairments, Motor Skills and School Performance

Sensory Processing Issues in High-Risk Populations: Down Syndrome

Plus, Much More!

Therapies in the School Conference 2021 is being offered for $439/person for both days or $225/person for one day. Group rates are available. Register HERE or email [email protected] for group rates.

About Education Resources, Inc.

Education Resources, Inc. (ERI) is an accredited provider of continuing education that helps PTs, OTs, and SLPs transform the lives of their patients. Visit www.educationresourcesinc.com.

SOURCE Education Resources, Inc.

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http://www.educationresourcesinc.com


STOCKHOLM, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Essity is investing in enhanced efficiency in the company's site in Kawerau, New Zealand, including the world's first tissue machine running a fully geothermal steam drying process. Together with a reduction in pulp consumption, reduced waste and elimination of the burning of natural gas on the machine, the improvements will contribute to a reduction of carbon emissions by 23 percent from the Kawerau site.

"We're setting new industry standards when it comes to sustainable tissue production. Investing in the world's first tissue machine running a fully geothermal steam process is groundbreaking. By reducing our carbon emissions, we can offer our customers and consumers more climate friendly products", says Magnus Groth, President and CEO, Essity.

The Kawerau site has served New Zealand's businesses through its TORK products and New Zealand households with well-known brands such as Purex, Sorbent and Handee for over 65 years. Essity has 326 employees in New Zealand, including over 200 in Kawerau.

Essity is proud to lead the industry for environmental and social sustainability performance across its operations in Australasia. Improvements include sustainable packaging supporting the Australian National Packaging Targets, certified sustainable fiber sources, ethical supply chains, and reducing manufacturing waste and water use.

The investment of approximately AUD 15m (approximately SEK 95m) is partly funded through the Government Investment in Decarbonizing Industry (GIDI) Fund, administered by EECA (Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority) in New Zealand.

The production of tissue from geothermal steam is part of Essity's work to use less energy and achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

For further information, please contact:

Henrik Sjostrom, Media Relations Manager, +46 8 788 51 36, [email protected]

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/essity/r/essity-invests-in-world-s-first-tissue-machine-running-on-geothermal-steam,c3427456

The following files are available for download:

https://mb.cision.com/Main/15798/3427456/1477424.pdf Essity invests in worldas first tissue machine running on geothermal steam https://news.cision.com/essity/i/kawerau1,c2964240 Kawerau1

SOURCE Essity
LONDONDERRY, N.H., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Edgewood Senior Solutions Group of Massachusetts, has officially broken ground on The Baldwin, an all-new, one-of-a-kind Life Plan Community (also known as a continuing care retirement community or CCRC) in Londonderry, New Hampshire.

Participating in The Baldwins ceremonial groundbreaking on October 1, were (left to right): Marlene Rotering, Edgewood Senior Solutions Group President and CEO; Maria Byrne, The Baldwin Sales and Marketing Director, Meghan Bourgoine, The Baldwin Sales Counselor; Jane Sullivan, Edgewood Senior Solutions Group Chief Financial Officer; Bob Coppola, Edgewood Senior Solutions Group Project Manager; and Michael Gould, The Baldwin Marketing Coordinator. The community is planning to open in summer 2023

Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic  and perhaps even because of them  presales for the community have been brisk, with enough apartment homes now reserved to move forward with construction and plans to open in summer 2023. Marlene Rotering, CEO of The Baldwin and its sister community, Edgewood Retirement Community in North Andover, Massachusetts, offers some possible reasons why. "What we've seen in the senior living industry over the past 18 months is that a well-managed senior living community has been a great place to live during the pandemic. At Edgewood, we provided services that helped residents remain safe, secure, healthy, and even connected during the toughest part when our country was asked to quarantine. I think people who were living in their homes have looked at their own experiences and realized their lives would have been easier had they been living in a community like Edgewood or The Baldwin."

Another thought on people's minds is what could happen in the future. With a number of impressive awards already under its belt, The Baldwin's forward-thinking design will contribute to the community's ability to keep residents safe and healthy in the event of any future public health concerns. According to its lead architect, Philippe Saad of Boston-based DiMella Shaffer, the community has been designed with infection control in mind. "Because [The Baldwin] was designed for independence, we were really ahead of Covid. The buildings are divided into smaller segments with their own elevators, entryways, and activity spaces on every floor. The buildings could be further divided into smaller segments so a smaller number of people could be 'quarantined' together but still have access to an outdoor entrance. The residential units also have direct ventilation so there's no 'borrowed air' from any other apartment or part of the building and no contamination between units."

When it comes to The Baldwin, though, flexibility and innovation didn't stop with design. The community is doing many things differently. Rotering points out that The Baldwin offers residents important choices. "We have contract options that include Life Care and fee-for-service. The ability to choose the contract that best fits their plans and goals is something that's pretty unusual in the New Hampshire senior living market," she says.

While The Baldwin will have a full continuum of healthcare services available to residents if needed, what they won't have is a traditional nursing home. According to Rotering, "With the modern focus on staying active and healthy, most senior adults will never need the type of long-term care that requires a stereotypical, clinical nursing home. Plus, most people dread the idea of ever moving to one anyway. So, what we've done with The Baldwin is come up with innovative, flexible ways to provide the care a resident may need without ever requiring them to move through a predetermined system of healthcare levels. Residents will have access to a medical clinic for acute needs, priority access to personal care and home health services, small-home model assisted living and memory support, short-term rehabilitation and more."

Rotering adds that the concept behind The Baldwin isn't just to create a community for senior adults. "We know that interacting with people of all ages helps us stay active, engaged and happier. We don't believe seniors should be sequestered in a community where they're only interacting with people their own age. Our location in the Woodmont Commons mixed-use development  as well as the shared amenity spaces we're building into our own buildings  will add an intergenerational dimension and daily interaction not found in any other senior living community in New Hampshire. In fact, it's fairly unique in the nation."

Despite the enormity of this project and the important influence it will have on senior living in New Hampshire, The Baldwin's ceremonial groundbreaking was decidedly low-key. "We originally had a big celebration planned," says Maria Byrne, director of sales for The Baldwin. "However, with the recent Covid numbers and concerns about the Delta variant, we felt it would be safest for everyone to have a smaller ceremony and broadcast it online so everyone could watch and feel part of this major event. Video of the event can be streamed from our website."

The groundbreaking was kicked off by Tim Vaill, chairman of the Edgewood board of directors, who noted Edgewood's solid 20+ year history and the importance of The Baldwin as a "significant leap forward" in New Hampshire senior living. He then introduced Mike Hawkins, a 14-year Edgewood board member and the Board liaison for The Baldwin project management team. Hawkins added, "All that we have learned [at Edgewood] about senior living, enhancing the lives of residents, and reaching outstanding standards of quality and compassion are being carried over to The Baldwin."

In her speech, Rotering said, "Over the years, our Edgewood community has developed a very special culture of serving seniors in such a meaningful and compassionate way that no other competitive community has been able to replicate. We maintain a relentless pursuit of serving residents as they desire and deserve. We knew that, someday, because of Edgewood's unique culture, we would create a sister community so more seniors could live their best and most fulfilling life with freedom and choice."

When complete, The Baldwin will offer 190 independent-living apartments for adults age 62 and up, on-site healthcare, and a full complement of services and amenities. Plans for the site include a state-of-the-art fitness center, indoor pool, and hot tub; multiple dining venues; an art studio and gallery; a woodworking shop; a library and classrooms; and underground parking. Several of the community's amenities, including a spa and salon, a convenience store and the dining venues, will be open to the public.

For more information, visit the website at TheBaldwinNH.org.

Photos from the event, high-resolution renderings of The Baldwin, and captions, are available for download.

CONTACT:

Marlene Rotering

Chief Executive Officer

The Baldwin

1E Commons Drive, No. 24

Londonderry, NH 03053

Telephone: 603.404.6080

Email: [email protected]

Website: TheBaldwinNH.org

SOURCE The Baldwin

Related Links

https://thebaldwinnh.org/


LAKEWOOD, Ohio, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- First Federal Lakewood, the largest independent depositor-owned bank headquartered in Ohio, today announces the appointment of Nora Mahoney and Jason Russell to the board of directors. Mahoney currently serves as Principal at Carleton McKenna & Co., a lower middle market investment banking firm. Russell is the General Manager, Real Estate Development and Management for the Van Aken District, a mixed-use project spread over five acres in the Van Aken neighborhood of Cleveland.

Nora T. Mahoney Jason M. Russell

"We're extremely pleased to welcome Nora and Jason to our board. Nora's legal and M&A experience gives us more insight into these critical areas while Jason's demonstrated commitment to urban planning and development strengthens our community knowledge," said W. Chas Geiger III, Board Chairperson, First Federal Lakewood. "Their knowledge and expertise will be an asset to our Board and Bank as we execute our business plans and continue to best support our customers and community."

In her current role, Mahoney provides sell-side M&A advisory services for the firm's clients. Mahoney and her team serve as 'acting Board Members' for their clients, providing transition planning and capital raising expertise to business owners and shareholders. Prior to joining Carleton McKenna, Mahoney worked in commercial litigation focused on securities, business and corporate law. She holds Series 79 and 24 licenses, received her undergraduate degree from Baldwin Wallace University, and a Juris Doctor and Master's degree from Vermont Law School. She is licensed to practice law in the State of Ohio.

In his role with the Van Aken District, Russell works closely with tenants and residents, and leads the day-to-day operations of the District including budgeting, leasing, marketing and tenant management. Previously, he was City Planner for the city of Lakewood where he administered and managed several large renovation projects, including the $2.1 million Solstice Steps development at Lakewood Park. Russell holds a master's degree in urban planning from Cleveland State University and an undergraduate degree from Lehigh University.

"Nora and Jason are accomplished business leaders and offer fresh perspectives and significant business experience that will assist us in meeting the needs of our employees and customers, and help create healthy and vibrant communities," said Timothy E. Phillips, First Federal Lakewood President and CEO.

First Federal Lakewood

First Federal Lakewood is the largest independent depositor-owned bank headquartered in Ohio with assets of $2 billion. With 20 full-service branch locations and 9 mortgage lending offices throughout Ohio, First Federal Lakewood provides deposit, commercial lending, residential mortgage lending, cash management and investment services to individuals and businesses. Since 1935, First Federal Lakewood has been a stable community owned bank committed to deploying funds that foster local economic growth. FFL.net

SOURCE First Federal Lakewood

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CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Flagship Pioneering, the bioplatform innovation company, announced today that Steven Baert has joined the company in a newly created role as Chief Human Capital Officer. In this role, Baert will bring his significant human capital and talent development expertise to lead and grow human resources, talent development, and pioneering culture across the more than 1100-strong team comprising the parent company Flagship Pioneering, Flagship Labs, and its 30 operating companies. Baert will be responsible for HR and talent development across this enterprise, and his team will build out the leadership and scientific teams for the 6-8 new companies that Flagship creates each year.

"Steven is a proven leader in building excellence and taking an innovative approach to HR and diverse and inclusive talent development," said Noubar Afeyan, Founder and CEO of Flagship Pioneering. "He will be a critical partner in expanding and implementing a strategic talent development approach for our growing Flagship enterprise. His appointment demonstrates our commitment to attracting top talent across our ecosystem and to building a culture of talent development in line with the scale and demands of our expanding platform innovation and company creation activities."

Baert spent fifteen years at Novartis where since 2014 he served as Chief People Officer, a member of the Executive Committee and an advisor to the CEO and Chairman. While at Novartis he led a 2500 person HR team and oversaw people and governance matters, facilitated a CEO succession and hiring of a new executive team, and implemented a data-driven approach to talent development while championing diversity and equity throughout the organization. His prior experience includes leadership roles in HR and people development at Bristol Myers Squibb and Unilever.

"I am delighted to join the exceptional team at Flagship Pioneering," added Steven Baert, Chief Human Capital Officer, Flagship Pioneering. "People are critical to building and sustaining a culture of innovation, and I look forward to working with my Flagship colleagues to create a best-in-class talent development and HR function that draws a diversity of talented, passionate, and disruptive minds in life sciences and company creation and supports them in their pioneering efforts to make advances in human health and sustainability."

About Steven Baert

Watch and listen to Three Questions with Steven Baert to learn more about why he's excited to join Flagship Pioneering, and how to build a diverse and inclusive company culture.

Steven Baert has over 20 years of leadership experience in human resources and talent development within the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. He spent over 15 years at Novartis AG where he served as Chief People Officer and Member of the Executive Committee since 2014. In this capacity he led a 2500 person HR team, oversaw all people and governance related matters around multiple mergers and acquisitions, developed reskilling programs for thousands of employees, introduced a data driven approach to measure people impact on business performance, and led efforts to increase diversity and build an equitable and inclusive culture. His earlier work at Novartis included serving as Global Head of HR for the oncology division, Vice President of HR for the US and Canada, VP of HR for emerging markets, and Head of HR for global and corporate functions. Prior to joining Novartis, Steven worked as HR Director for the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Belgium for Bristol-Myers Squibb. He began his career at Unilever as a People Development Manager.

Steven is on the Board of WeSeeHope USA, a charity focused on empowering children in Africa, and is a Non-Executive Director of the Pharming Group NV. He received his Bachelor of Law from Katholieke Universiteit Brussels, his Masters in Law from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, and his MBA from Vlerick Business School in Belgium.

About Flagship Pioneering

Flagship Pioneering conceives, creates, resources, and develops first-in-category bioplatform companies to transform human health and sustainability. Since its launch in 2000, the firm has, through its Flagship Labs unit, applied its unique hypothesis-driven innovation process to originate and foster more than 100 scientific ventures, resulting in over $212 billion in aggregate value. To date, Flagship has deployed over $2.5 billion in capital toward the founding and growth of its pioneering companies alongside more than $19 billion of follow-on investments from other institutions. The current Flagship ecosystem comprises 42 transformative companies, including Axcella Health (NASDAQ: AXLA), Codiak BioSciences (NASDAQ: CDAK) Denali Therapeutics (NASDAQ: DNLI), Evelo Biosciences (NASDAQ: EVLO), Foghorn Therapeutics (NASDAQ: FHTX), Indigo Ag, Kaleido Biosciences (NASDAQ: KLDO), Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA), Rubius Therapeutics (NASDAQ: RUBY), Sana Biotechnology (NASDAQ: SANA), Seres Therapeutics (NASDAQ: MCRB), and Sigilon Therapeutics (NASDAQ: SGTX).

SOURCE Flagship Pioneering
SENECA FALLS, N.Y., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Cayuga Nation announced today that Michael DuBois, a 23-year veteran of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), has joined the Cayuga Nation Police Department leadership team as Deputy Superintendent of Police.

Established in 2018, the Cayuga Nation Police Department is a federally recognized professional police force that serves as a protective unit and enforces the Cayuga Nation's laws. Like other sovereign nations, the Cayuga Nation has full authority to enforce the Nation's laws within the boundaries of its reservation.

In his new leadership role, Mr. DuBois will use his 28 years of law enforcement experience to address day-to-day administration, refinement of policy and procedures, tracking progress toward intermediate and long-term goals, and meeting the professional development needs of officers and staff.

"Deputy Superintendent DuBois is a person of integrity and a proven leader in the Central New York law enforcement community and beyond," said Mark Lincoln, Nation Police Superintendent. "His deep expertise will provide new and important perspectives for our department to help protect and serve our growing community. I look forward to working closely with Michael to better serve the Nation and address our current and future challenges in the most professional manner possible."

"I am very pleased to join the Cayuga Nation Police Department, an organization that has such an exceptional depth of accumulated law enforcement experience," said Mr. DuBois. "I look forward to using my experience and commitment to the best practices in law enforcement to help the Cayuga Nation Police Department as it continues its mission to protect and serve all the Nation's members."

"We are pleased to welcome Mr. DuBois to the Cayuga Nation Police Department's leadership team," said Cayuga Nation Leader Clint Halftown. "His decades of experience will support our ongoing efforts to increase the safety and wellbeing of those residing on our reservation."

Mr. DuBois most recently served at FBI Headquarters in Washington, DC, as a Unit Chief in the Criminal Investigative Division's Violent Crime Section, where he supervised five highly specialized FBI workgroups, forward-deployed overseas personnel, and led an international task force combating technology-facilitated child exploitation. Prior to that, Mr. DuBois served seven years as the Supervisory Senior Resident Agent overseeing criminal investigations in the FBI's Syracuse, Binghamton, Ithaca, and Utica Resident Agencies.

About the Cayuga Nation

The Cayuga Nation (Nation) is a federally recognized sovereign Indian nation established in 1794 by the Treaty of Canandaigua. The Nation's sovereign and federally protected 64,015-acre reservation is located in Seneca and Cayuga Counties in the State of New York. The Cayuga Nation Council, led by Clint Halftown, Tim Twoguns, Gary Wheeler, Donald Jimerson and Michael Barringer, serves as the official governing body for the entire Nation. With more than 500 members across the country, the Cayuga Nation and its leadership provide national benefits to Cayuga Nation members, including financial support, cultural enrichment opportunities, food distribution and community events, among other benefits. These activities have allowed Cayuga Nation citizens to return to their homeland with an opportunity for housing and employment, which helps preserve the Cayuga Nation's culture.

SOURCE Cayuga Nation
SettleForFree has successfully launched its platform to provide the public with an alternative to hiring expensive personal injury lawyers. The consumer-friendly app automates what historically has been a very manual process, from intake and contract execution to document collection and client communications. SettleForFree helps personal injury victims injured in a car accident or slip and fall settle their case within 90 days, for free. This gives personal injury victims a more transparent and easy experience, without paying 30-40% or more to an attorney.

"We are excited to announce that Mike Tannenbaum has joined us. Mike knows what it's like to negotiate multi-million dollar deals and help the athletes and teams he's managed find success. Mike shares our passion to disrupt personal injury law and provide personal injury victims with a more efficient, modern user experience using data, analytics and legal expertise," said Jonathan Broder, CEO and founder of SettleForFree. "There has never been a better time to apply his business and legal skills to help redefine the personal injury field."

Hiring a personal injury lawyer is expensive and other personal injury lawyer's advertisements convince many victims they need to hire a personal injury lawyer even though 96% of cases settle without going to trial. "Not all accident cases require litigation or expensive representation, just like not all injuries require a brain surgeon," said Broder. "Personal injury lawyers advertise that they are the most aggressive and will take a case to trial. But why would you do that if you don't need it? The problem with personal injury law is that if you're injured, you pay the same fee regardless of whether your case is simple or complex. There's no price competition or alternatives. That's why I created SettleForFree."

SettleForFree provides individuals injured in a car accident or slip and fall with a digital, user-friendly, and data-driven approach to handling their personal injury claim, with the added benefit of being represented by an attorney. SettleForFree's use of data provides a transparent experience that consumers have come to expect in other areas of their life, like when buying a car or applying for a mortgage online.

"SettleForFree is committed to making personal injury law faster and more efficient. I share its vision and am excited to join forces," said Tannenbaum. "Personal injury advertisements haven't changed much since I was a kid. They use a lot of fear and outrageous tactics to get noticed and hired. But the future of personal injury is in using data and analytics. The team at SettleForFree understands this and, together, we will help lead the industry into the future."

Visit us on the web today at www.settleforfree.com and keep your money.

Not all cases will qualify. Visit SettleForFree.com to see if your case qualifies. Restrictions apply.

CONTACT:

Karen Campbell,

+16672060208,

[email protected]

SOURCE SettleForFree.com

Related Links

https://settleforfree.com/


NEW YORK, Oct. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Get Started HK has announced the launch of its expansion to the United States, with an office to be set up in New York in the first quarter of 2022. Having already established a solid foothold in Hong Kong, the time is right to branch out and provide the in-demand services the company is renowned for in a new market.

With Get Started HK's newly opened office in New York, a highly qualified team of professional accountants will be on hand to meet with clients in the United States that are seeking out company creation and registry services.

Hong Kong is well-known for being Asia's World City and a leading business and financial hub. It is seen as the gateway to the China market and continues to uphold its reputation as a popular offshore company formation destination.

Many American companies and entrepreneurs who want to expand their business presence and set up in Asia establish their headquarters in Hong Kong. Using Get Started HK's services will enable businesses to form and register their companies seamlessly and efficiently, especially now through the New York office.

Opening the New York branch will allow Get Started HK to address company formation and registry service requests from American firms in a quick, decisive and hassle-free manner. Responding to emails and phone enquiries will also be done right away, thus eliminating frustrating delays and the lengthy time zone difference.

Get Started HK is a leading company formation and registry service provider with a proven track record of success. Visit Get Started HK's website to learn about the core services provided, such as company formation and registration, company maintenance, corporate administration, and accounting and tax advisory.

Trusted by over 8,500 entrepreneurs, Get Started HK delivers "Hong Kong company formation in just 12 hours, remotely".

SOURCE Get Started HK

Related Links

https://getstarted.hk


Giving Day for Apes is an annual global day of giving in support of qualified sanctuaries and rescue centers providing rehabilitation or long-term care for apes throughout Africa, Asia and North America. Lwiro is a nonprofit organization and the only chimpanzee sanctuary in Eastern DRC. All funds raised from the "Giving Day for Apes'' campaign will help support the organization's mission of rescuing and providing crucial care for orphaned chimpanzees who are victims of illegal animal trade in the region.

Learn more about Lwiro and #HelpTomorrowHappen for Our Wildlife at: https://givingdayforapes.mightycause.com/donate/Lwiroprimates

"For the past 19 years, Lwiro has provided a safe home for orphaned chimpanzees in the region, saving them from wildlife and humanitarian atrocities," said Ivan Carter, Founder of The Ivan Carter Wildlife Conservation Alliance and Supporter of Lwiro. "Every life matters and turning away orphans is not an option. Let's come together on October 12 and support Lwiro in continuing their work in providing specialized care and comfort for these traumatized chimpanzees."

As an added incentive, the participant who secures the most unique donors for the "Giving Day for Apes" campaign will receive a personal phone call from Lwiro CEO, Itsaso Velez del Burgo, an exclusive virtual behind-the-scenes tour of the Lwiro Primate Rehabilitation Center and an invitation to join the organization's WhatsApp group to stay up-to-date on all the exciting and important work going on at LPRC.

ABOUT LWIRO PRIMATES REHABILITATION CENTER

Since 2002, Lwiro Primates Rehabilitation Center (LPRC) has been providing a safe home for orphaned chimpanzees in the Democratic Republic of Congo. LPRC provides a shelter for the animal victims of a brutal civil war that resulted in both wildlife and humanitarian atrocities.

Today, LPRC takes care of 103 chimpanzees. Most of these are orphaned; seized and rescued as babies from poachers as a byproduct of the bush-meat trade. Some of the rescued chimpanzees were also victims of the cruel pet trade. To learn more and donate to LPRC please visit www.lwiroprimates.org/

ABOUT THE IVAN CARTER WILDLIFE CONSERVATION ALLIANCE

Founded in 2016 by world-famous wildlife conservationist and TV host, Ivan Carter, The Ivan Carter Wildlife Conservation Alliance mission is to create "More Wildlife and Healthier Ecosystems." The ICWCA works with various, proven conservation groups throughout Africa creating measurable and tangible results in the fight to protect wildlife. To learn more please visit www.ivancarterwca.org

SOURCE The Ivan Carter Wildlife Conservation Alliance
MELBOURNE, Fla., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Good Dogg Beverage , a new purpose-driven, premium hard seltzer brand, announced that it has partnered with Liquid Opportunities , a full-service beverage consulting company with over 30 years of industry experience, to manage the national distribution of its growing line of fruit-forward seltzers.

Good Dogg is preparing to bring a brand with heart to hard seltzer, a category recently infiltrated by big beer companies.

"There's no doubt hard seltzer is competitive right now," says Jason Kane, CEO, Liquid Opportunities, and former President of Mark Anthony Brands & Mike's Hard Lemonade. "But Good Dogg has several unique assets that differentiate the brand and have the potential to elevate the category as a whole."

Those assets include proprietary, custom-developed flavors, a craft-brew approach to product development, and a central purpose of giving back.

Good Dogg gives a portion of every sale to animal shelters and organizations that provide service animals for children with rare diseases.

"We're excited to be working with Liquid Opportunities to get Good Dogg out in the world," says Tony Venturoso, CEO and Founder of Good Dogg. "To us, the brand represents much more than seltzer. It's a movement to spread more positivity, purpose, and kindness in the world."

Good Dogg recently celebrated its official launch with an event held at Teddy Gallagher's Irish Pub in Franklin, Massachusetts. Good Dogg's Premium Hard Seltzers come in a 12-can variety pack and are available at several retail locations in the New England area. The initial release includes four flavors: Orange Mango, Black Cherry, Cucumber Lime, and Dragonfruit. Good Dogg seltzers have 90 calories, 0 carbs, 0 sugars, and are 4.5% ABV.

About Good Dogg

Good Dogg Beverage is a purpose-driven, fruit-forward seltzer brand on a mission to put more heart into hard seltzer with their Leverage the Beverage campaign. The company gives a portion of every sale to animal shelters and companies that provide service animals for children with rare diseases. Good Dogg Premium Hard Seltzers come in four flavors: Orange Mango, Black Cherry, Cucumber Lime, and Dragonfruit. Good Dogg seltzers have 90 calories, 0 carbs, 0 sugars, and are 4.5% ABV. Visit gooddoggbeverage.com to learn more and find out how you can be part of the Good Dogg movement to bring more heart to hard seltzer.

About Liquid Opportunities

Liquid Opportunities is a full-service beverage consulting company with over 30 years of industry experience helping growing beverage brands make the best choices and connections to accelerate growth. From product development, and implementation, to activation and management, Liquid Opportunities helps beverage entrepreneurs find and win the best opportunities to become a top-selling brand. Visit Liquidopps.com for more information.

SOURCE Good Dogg Beverage
goodblendTM Texas Announces Educational goodblend CannaBus Tour Across Texas Tweet this

"While it's great news that more Texans with specific conditions may be eligible to benefit from the Texas Compassionate Use Program, the challenge is that most Texans simply do not know that medical cannabis exists as a treatment option or that it may help address debilitating pain, inflammation, muscle spasms, stress and anxiety, and sleeplessness," said Marcus Ruark, President of goodblend Texas. "We aim to help bridge this gap through Texas' first goodblend CannaBus tour for education and awareness. The CannaBus tour represents how goodblend Texas intends to lead the way to the future of cannabis by providing patients a trusted, approachable way to demystify how to access medical cannabis and to educate on the potential benefits of our array of high-quality products, many of which are firsts in Texas."

About the goodblend CannaBus Tour

The goodblend CannaBus dispensary is a retrofitted 36 foot vehicle that is designed with a physician consultation room and an on-board cannabis dispensary featuring goodblend Texas' broad portfolio of innovative product offerings. The tour events will also include an outdoor education installation.

General admission is free and includes access to the educational installation, a 1:1 personalized Q&A session with a goodblend dispensary guide, and eligibility for exclusive product promotional offers.

Appointments with a state-registered, board-certified physician to obtain a cannabis prescription are available for $150 and include a 20 minute 1:1 consultation. Should they meet the criteria for the Program, the physician will write a prescription that can be filled immediately in the on-board goodblend CannaBus dispensary.

Prospective patients, the general public and media who are interested in attending an event can register for one of the following scheduled goodblend CannaBus tour events at tx.goodblend.com/events.

2021 goodblend CannaBus Tour Dates

10/14  Austin Launch Register

10/16  Fort Worth Register

10/23  Houston Register

11/6  San Antonio Register

11/7  Austin Register

11/20  Houston Register

goodblend Texas Patient Offerings

In addition to the goodblend CannaBus experience, medical cannabis patients across Texas already registered in the Program, and those interested in learning more about cannabis, can access board-certified prescribers, medical cannabis information, services, and products in the following ways:

The goodblend Virtual Clinic is a service in which prospective patients can schedule consultations with a board-certified prescriber through a seamless experience. To get started, visit tx.goodblend.com/clinic.

goodblend.com offers a wide variety of products, easy online ordering, and free contactless home delivery, often in as little as three days.

goodblend's partner clinics in Austin, Plano, Houston, Fort Worth, and San Antonio provide registered patients a convenient way to pick up goodblend cannabis products at locations in major metropolitan areas.

About Parallel

Parallel is one of the largest privately-held, vertically integrated, multi-state cannabis companies in the United States with a mission to pioneer well-being and improve the quality of life through cannabinoids. Parallel has ongoing operations in five medical and adult-use markets under the retail brands of Surterra Wellness in Florida; goodblend in Texas and in Pennsylvania; New England Treatment Access (NETA) in Massachusetts, and a joint venture with Cookies retail brand in Nevada. It will add a sixth market upon the pending regulatory approval of the planned acquisition of six Windy City Cannabis licenses in Illinois. Parallel has a diverse portfolio of high quality, proprietary and licensed consumer brands and products including Surterra Wellness, Coral Reefer, Float and Heights offered through its retail wholesale business. Parallel operates approximately 50 locations nationwide, including 43 retail stores, and cultivation and manufacturing sites. Through its wholly-owned Parallel Biosciences subsidiary, it conducts advanced cannabis science and R&D for new product development in its facilities in Massachusetts, Florida, Texas and a facility in Budapest, Hungary through an exclusive license and partnership. Parallel follows rigorous operations and business practices to ensure the quality, safety, consistency, and efficacy of its products and is building its business by following strong values and putting the well-being of its customers and employees first. Find more information at www.liveparallel.com, or on Instagram and LinkedIn.

For more information on goodblend Texas and its products, access tx.goodblend.com and www.facebook.com/goodblendtx.

Texas CUP License #0006

SOURCE Parallel

Related Links

www.liveparallel.com


ATLANTA and LONDON, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Grayshift, LLC, a leading and trusted provider of mobile device digital forensics, specializing in lawful access and extraction, today announced that Paul Baxter, industry innovator and customer champion, has joined the company as Director of European Sales. In line with the company's recent strategic expansion in the Asia-Pacific region, Baxter and his experienced team will expand Grayshift's presence in Europe and the United Kingdom to better support law enforcement agencies throughout the region.

Grayshift, a Leader in Mobile Device Forensics, invests in European presence to better support law enforcement agencies. Tweet this Paul Baxter, Grayshift

Prior to joining Grayshift, Baxter served as Area Sales Manager at MSAB, supporting digital forensics customers across the UK & Ireland for over a decade. Before MSAB, Baxter helped develop and deploy identity solutions with governments around the world at Entrust Datacard, which was preceded by a distinguished career in the British Army. An experienced leader and advocate for law enforcement collaboration, Baxter leads a talented team across the European region, including:

Corrina Chester , Strategic Account Manager

, Strategic Account Manager Stevie Coates , Digital Forensics Specialist

, Digital Forensics Specialist Adam Masterson , Technical Support Engineer

, Technical Support Engineer Bernhard Pawlak , Strategic Account Manager

, Strategic Account Manager Matthieu Regnery , Digital Forensics Specialist

"We're excited to have Paul on board, supported by a stellar team that will serve as the faces of Grayshift in the region. Paul is one of the industry's most respected veterans and his leadership will be invaluable to Grayshift and driving our growth throughout Europe," said David Miles, CEO and Co-Founder of Grayshift.

"There are few brands as dynamic, innovative, and fast moving as Grayshift, so it's truly an honour to join the journey as we continue to grow and support the all-important work of our law enforcement customers. Our customers are faced with constant challenges and I'm excited to be leading Grayshift's efforts in the region to help them meet those challenges head on." said Baxter.

For more information, please visit the Grayshift website.

About Grayshift

Grayshift is a leading provider of mobile device digital forensics, specializing in lawful access and extraction. Grayshift solutions are purpose-built to help law enforcement and government investigative agencies swiftly resolve critical investigations and ensure public safety. The company's innovative GrayKey technology provides same-day access, complete control, and comprehensive data extraction from mobile devices. Designed and assembled in the United States, GrayKey is trusted by 1000 agencies across 30 countries world-wide. For more information, visit www.grayshift.com.

CONTACT:

Jody Ma Kissling

(833) 472-9539

[email protected]

SOURCE Grayshift

Related Links

https://www.grayshift.com


SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- GrubMarket today announced that it has completed the monumental acquisition of Shapiro-Gilman-Shandler Produce ("SGS"), a major produce and dairy provider in the Greater Los Angeles Area. With over 112 years of history, SGS is a well-established and longstanding produce provider to a wide range of business customers including retailers, wholesalers, government institutions, purveyors, and others.

Founded in 1907, for over 5 generations, SGS has provided fresh grown products to communities nationwide and globally. Starting in the Los Angeles Produce Market, SGS grew from a small horse and buggy operation to the booming, professional business that it is today. As a certified TRUE Zero Waste Business through the U.S. Green Building Council, SGS diverts 99% of all materials generated from landfill, incineration, and the environment and operates sustainably through all aspects of its operation, for the purpose of protecting the environment. After the acquisition, the business will continue to be managed by its current leadership team.

"We are excited to join the GrubMarket team and welcome the opportunities brought forth by GrubMarket's robust technology platform and network. As a family business, every generation of the SGS team has taken innovative measures to propel the company forward, and we believe our generation's key contribution is driving world-class digital transformation and growing network effects with SGS' enduring brand resonance and deep operational know-how. Our mission is to offer superior services and the finest-quality produce to our clients. We are thrilled to learn that GrubMarket shares this same mission. We sincerely look forward to joining the GrubMarket team and bringing SGS to the next level of success." said Carole Shandler, President of SGS.

According to Mike Xu, CEO of GrubMarket: "SGS is a century-old brand that started in the Greater Los Angeles Area and grew its recognition nationwide and globally. It is a distinct honor to partner with the SGS team and to be entrusted with the great tradition and legacy of this amazing family. This acquisition enables GrubMarket to further strengthen our customer base in the western U.S. and nationally. We are excited to welcome the SGS team to the GrubMarket family. Together, we will build a greater customer base and a stronger producer network in the global food ecosystem."

As a part of GrubMarket's network of fresh food suppliers, SGS will be able to utilize GrubMarket's innovative WholesaleWare software suite, the company's software-as-a-service platform, which provides food industry suppliers and vendors with seamless financial management, easy-to-use sales and online ordering features, precise inventory management, lot traceability and tracking, and automated routing and logistics tools.

About GrubMarket

Founded in 2014, GrubMarket is a San Francisco-based food technology company operating in the space of food supply chain ecommerce for both business customers and end consumers, as well as providing related software-as-a-service solutions to digitally transform the American food supply chain. Currently, GrubMarket operates in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Michigan, New York, New Jersey, Missouri, Massachusetts, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington and British Columbia (Canada), with plans to expand to other parts of the U.S., Canada and other parts of the world.

For Media Inquiries:

GrubMarket Media Team

[email protected]

(510) 556-4786

GrubMarket Inc.

1925 Jerrold Ave.

San Francisco, CA, 94124

SOURCE GrubMarket

Related Links

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As Hankook's first Rugged Terrain product, the Dynapro XT features high-rigidity polygonal blocks and wide zig-zag grooves that offer excellent off-road traction in rugged conditions as well as an aggressive sawtoothed sidewall design that provides protection against punctures. The Dynapro XT also comes equipped with a 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake rating, allowing for excellent performance in severe snow conditions. Additionally, its optimized pattern provides a quiet and comfortable ride using arranged pitch variation technology, chamfered edges that minimize road impact and shoulder block cushions that absorb road noise.

The Dynapro AT2 Xtreme, successor to the popular Dynapro AT2, has been reimagined with a more aggressive shoulder design, enhanced noise reduction and longer mileage with a 60k mileage warranty. It's aggressive high-depth sidewall blocks and cross-combined shoulder scoops enhance off-road traction and help prevent cuts and abrasions. The Dynapro AT2 Xtreme is also 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake rated, built with multi-directional grooves and sipes as well as biting block edges that provide added traction in wet and severe snow conditions. Although more aggressive than its predecessor, the Dynapro AT2 Xtreme still provides quiet and comfortable on-road performance with its noise-reducing tie-bars and staged block edges.

"What makes the off-roading and overlanding communities so incredible is their enthusiasm and deep knowledge of every upgrade to their vehicle, and tires are no exception," said Curtis Brison, Vice President of PCLT Sales for Hankook Tire. "Having the opportunity to further support that next adventure and expand our off-road Dynapro offering to include the XT and AT2 Xtreme, along with the heavy-duty MT2, is an exciting moment."

"Built to perform in extreme rugged terrains, the Dynapro XT will provide drivers with functional off-road performance without compromising style, comfort and quietness," said Kijong Kil, Vice President of RE Development. "The Dynapro AT2 Xtreme has been upgraded from its predecessor to include a more aggressive shoulder and sidewall design to handle off-road terrains, while maintaining its highway performance. It is built for the driver who is looking for balanced, everyday functionality with added all-terrain capabilities."

With the addition of the Dynapro XT and Dynapro AT2 Xtreme, Hankook's Dynapro family of products now covers on-road, off-road, all-terrain and rugged terrain segments to suit the needs of both Light Truck and SUV/CUV consumers. The Dynapro XT and Dynapro AT2 Xtreme are available now, with the continued release of additional sizes throughout the remainder of 2021 and 2022.

About Hankook Tire America Corp.

Hankook Tire America Corp. is a growing leader in the U.S. tire market, leveraging investments in technology, manufacturing and marketing to deliver high-quality, reliable products that are safer for consumers and the environment. Headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, Hankook America markets and distributes a complete line of high-performance and ultra-high-performance passenger tires, light truck and SUV tires as well as medium truck and bus tires in the United States. Hankook Tire America is a subsidiary of Hankook & Company Co., Ltd., a Forbes Global 2000 company headquartered in Seoul, Korea.

SOURCE Hankook Tire America Corp.

Related Links

https://hankooktire.com


CHARLESTON, S.C., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Hawthorne Global Aviation Services, LLC ("Hawthorne") has executed a development lease with Chippewa Valley Regional Airport in Eau Claire, WI ("CVRA") to construct a new hangar at the field. The new facility will be 22,500 square feet and will include a 32 foot high door capable of accommodating all of the newest general aviation aircraft. Construction is slated to begin in January of 2022 with completion in the third quarter.

Jeff Husby, General Manager of Hawthorne at CVRA, said of the new hangar, "We appreciate the opportunity to grow our footprint at the airport and expand our business to meet customer demand."

Chuck Kegley, President of Hawthorne, said, "This new hangar continues our great relationship with the CVRA and we are excited to use it to strengthen our presence in western Wisconsin including enhancing our aircraft charter, management and maintenance services to aircraft owners throughout the region.

About Hawthorne Global Aviation Services

Hawthorne Global Aviation Services is a premier provider of general aviation services, with a rich history in the industry dating back to 1932. Hawthorne operates six premier Fixed Based Operators (FBO), at Long Island MacArthur Airport in Islip, NY (KISP), Cobb County International Airport in Atlanta, GA. (KRYY), Chicago Executive Airport in Chicago, IL (KPWK), Chippewa Valley Regional Airport in Eau Claire, WI (KEAU), Tuscaloosa Regional Airport in Tuscaloosa, AL (KTCL) and Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City, IA (KSUX). Its Long Island MacArthur Airport FBO in Islip, NY (KISP) offers private jet charter, maintenance and avionics; the Chippewa Valley Regional Airport in Eau Claire, WI. (KEAU) FBO offers private jet charter and maintenance and the Tuscaloosa Regional Airport FBO in Tuscaloosa, AL. (KTCL) offers private jet maintenance. For more information on Hawthorne Global Aviation Services, please visit www.hawthorne.aero.

SOURCE Hawthorne Global Aviation Services

Related Links

http://www.hawthorne.aero


AUSTIN, Minn., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE: HRL), a global branded food company, today announced its venturing company, 199 Ventures, has entered into an exclusive partnership with The Better Meat Co. to bring new mycoprotein and plant-based protein products to the marketplace. 199 Ventures was formed in 2019 by Hormel Foods to be the company's food forward incubator, which includes investing in companies that align with Hormel Foods growth strategies.

The two companies will work together to develop the next generation of great-tasting, wholesome, and sustainable alternative protein products with The Better Meat Co.'s innovative Rhiza mycoprotein ingredient. Produced via a potato-based fermentation pioneered by The Better Meat Co., Rhiza is an all-natural whole food mycoprotein with a remarkable meat-like texture. Boasting more protein than eggs and more iron than beef, Rhiza offers a new generation of sustainable animal-free protein for the burgeoning alternative meat market.

"As a global branded food company, we understand our food culture is changing at a rapid pace and people are curious and willing to try great tasting, plant-based proteins," said Fred Halvin, vice president of corporate development at Hormel Foods. "We are excited to work with The Better Meat Co. team to continue to offer delicious and convenient mycoprotein and plant-based protein products."

This partnership is the latest effort into plant-based products by Hormel Foods. The company is no stranger to plant-based protein with retail products like Planters peanuts, SKIPPY peanut butter and Justin's nut butters, as well as several plant-based pizza toppings in the foodservice industry through its subsidiary Burke Corporation and under the Happy Little Plants brand.

The Better Meat Co. is a Sacramento-based sustainable food tech start-up founded in 2018. As a business-to-business ingredients provider, it pioneers new ways of producing animal-free protein via fermentation, generating ingredients like Rhiza that empower food companies to improve sustainability while making the meatiest alt-protein possible.

"We're proud to partner with Hormel Foods to unleash the power of fermentation to build an even more sustainable food supply," said Doni Curkendall, executive vice president of operations at The Better Meat Co. "Hormel Foods has a deep bench of expertise in both animal and plant proteins, and we look forward to working together to bring our delicious mycoprotein to the world."

ABOUT HORMEL FOODS  Inspired People. Inspired Food.

Hormel Foods Corporation, based in Austin, Minn., is a global branded food company with over $9 billion in annual revenue across more than 80 countries worldwide. Its brands include Planters, SKIPPY, SPAM, Hormel Natural Choice, Applegate, Justin's, Wholly, Hormel Black Label, Columbus and more than 30 other beloved brands. The company is a member of the S&P 500 Index and the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats, was named on the "Global 2000 World's Best Employers" list by Forbes magazine for three years, is one of Fortune magazine's most admired companies, has appeared on Corporate Responsibility Magazine's "The 100 Best Corporate Citizens" list for 12 years, and has received numerous other awards and accolades for its corporate responsibility and community service efforts. The company lives by its purpose statement  Inspired People. Inspired Food.  to bring some of the world's most trusted and iconic brands to tables across the globe. For more information, visit www.hormelfoods.com and http://csr.hormelfoods.com/ .

SOURCE Hormel Foods Corporation

Related Links

http://www.hormel.com


BETHESDA, Md., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Hull Street Energy announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the AL Pierce Generation facility from the Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative. The facility is in Wallingford, Connecticut and provides 84 megawatts of flexible, fast start dual-fueled power generation capacity to the New England region.

The AL Pierce facility will be a high-quality addition to Hull Street Energy's portfolio of critical power infrastructure. With this acquisition, the firm will continue to support regional reliability standards, allowing for the integration of new variable renewable energy resources as New England states work to achieve their climate goals.

Upon closing this transaction, Hull Street Energy affiliates will own 52 power generation stations providing over 950 MW of renewable, gas-fired, and dual-fueled generation capacity to support grid operations throughout the United States.

Troutman Pepper LLP acted as legal counsel to Hull Street Energy.

Pierce Atwood LLP acted as legal counsel to Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative.

About Hull Street Energy, LLC

Hull Street Energy is a private equity firm that specializes in deploying capital into the power sector as it decarbonizes. Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, the team leverages its decades of experience and unique knowledge of North American electricity infrastructure, fundamentals and grid operations, including fuel inputs, commodity contract structuring, renewable and fossil powered generation assets, energy storage, transmission and distribution systems, and electricity demand-side businesses to build value for stakeholders. For further information about Hull Street Energy please see www.hullstreetenergy.com.

About Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative

Established as a joint action agency in 1976 by state statute, the Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative is responsible for the financing, acquisition and construction of electric generation resources and the implementation of power supply contracts on behalf of its municipal electric utility members, which include Bozrah Light & Power, Jewett City Department of Public Utilities, Groton Utilities, Norwich Public Utilities, South Norwalk Electric and Water and The Third Taxing District of Norwalk Electric Division. CMEEC also supplies the wholesale power requirements of the Mohegan Tribal Utility Authority.

Media Contact:

[email protected]

SOURCE Hull Street Energy

Related Links

http://www.hullstreetenergy.com


By application, the chemical industry segment is expected to generate maximum revenue in the hydrogen generation market during the forecast period. The increasing global demand for fuel will be crucial in driving the growth of the segment.

Based on the geography, APAC will present significant opportunities for market vendors. The growth of the hydrogen generation market in APAC can be attributed to increasing investments in industries such as chemical, fertilizer, refinery, glass, semiconductor, metal processing, and food. Also, the healthy GDP growth in countries such as China and India will fuel the growth of the hydrogen generation market in APAC during the forecast period.

Hydrogen Generation Market: Major Growth Drivers



The hydrogen generation market growth is expected to be driven by the following factors:

Growing demand for fertilizers

Growth in global refining capacity

The growth of the metal processing industry is expected to emerge as a major trend in the market during the forecast period. The global steel demand has been continuously on the rise. The strong growth of the industrial sector in countries such as Brazil, India, China, Iran, and Mexico has significantly increased the consumption of steel in the construction industry. Also, the thriving automotive sector in countries such as China and India has further increased the consumption of steel products. All these factors are leading to a rise in the demand for hydrogen in the metal processing industry, which is contributing to the growth of the global hydrogen generation market.

The report helps businesses create strategies to make the most of future growth opportunities.

Download a Free Sample Report Now!

Hydrogen Generation Market: Key Vendor Offerings

Air Products and Chemicals Inc.: The company generates hydrogen through steam methane reforming, where the steam reacts with the natural gas at very high temperatures to produce syngas which can be further processed to convert the carbon monoxide through a reaction with steam to produce more hydrogen.

Cummins Inc.: The company generates hydrogen through Cummins electrolysis technology where an electrolyzer splits water into hydrogen and oxygen and the hydrogen generated can then be used in industrial, chemical, or short, and long-term power applications.

Claind Srl: The company generates hydrogen through steam methane reformer, which has a capacity of 170 million standard cubic feet of high purity hydrogen.

Iwatani Corp.: The company generates hydrogen using renewable methods which can be used in industrial, chemical, or short and long term power applications.

LAIR LIQUIDE SA: The company generates hydrogen to meet the challenges of clean transportation by reduction of greenhouse gases, pollution in cities, and dependency on fossil fuels.

Reasons to Buy Hydrogen Generation Market Report:

CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2021-2025

Detailed information on factors that will assist hydrogen generation market growth during the next five years

Estimation of the hydrogen generation market size and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the hydrogen generation market across APAC, Europe , North America , MEA, and South America

, , MEA, and Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of hydrogen generation market vendors

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Global Industrial Gases Market for Glass Industry  Global industrial gases market for glass industry is segmented by distribution channel (merchant liquid distribution, tonnage distribution, and cylinder and packaged distribution), gas type (nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, acetylene, and others), and geography (APAC, Europe, North America, South America, and MEA).

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Hydrogen Generation Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2020 Forecast period 2021-2025 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of over 5% Market growth 2021-2025 $ 38.71 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 4.93 Regional analysis APAC, Europe, North America, MEA, and South America Performing market contribution APAC at 57% Key consumer countries China, US, Japan, Germany, and France Competitive landscape Leading companies, competitive strategies, consumer engagement scope Companies profiled Air Products and Chemicals Inc., Cummins Inc., Claind Srl, Iwatani Corp., LAIR LIQUIDE SA, Linde Plc, Parker Hannifin Corp., SHOWA DENKO K.K., Teledyne Technologies Inc., and Xebec Adsorption Inc. Market Dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID-19 impact and future consumer dynamics, and market condition analysis for the forecast period. Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized.

About Us

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

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Technavio Research

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Email: [email protected]

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SOURCE Technavio
TEL AVIV, Israel, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Israeli not-for-profit Start-Up Nation Central signed a historic MOU with TiE (The IndUS Entrepreneurs), one of the world's largest networks of entrepreneurs. The MOU aims to achieve full implementation of sustainable Israeli and Indian technologies in the Food-Tech sector, particularly in the fields of novel foods, post-harvest solutions, alternative protein, food safety, and packaging.

Avi Hasson, Chief Executive Officer at Start-Up Nation Central (Credit: Vered Farkash)

The MOU entails a special mentorship program consisting of three eight-month cohorts that seek to connect industry leaders to Israeli and Indian startups, in an effort to support their market entry process into India through matching, mentoring, connections, and onboarding strategic stakeholders. The end goal of the program is to reach commercial agreements, which is what differentiates this initiative from previous comparable programs.

TiE President Manohar Reddy and Start-Up Nation Central CEO Avi Hasson signed the MOU during the TiE Sustainability Summit (TSS 2021) held in Hyderabad, India. After the signing, the following four applicants pitched their solutions in order to be selected for the Mentorship Program. The selection process concludes on October 15th; in total, six companies will be participating in the program.

Commercial grasshopper farming company Hargol

Automated cooking manufacturer Kitchen Robotics

Vision-based robotic controller Deep Learning Robotics

Humidity control solution Umigo

Awareness of Israel as a key innovation partner is growing all across Asia, and in India in particular. This MOU between Start-Up Nation Central and TiE is yet another concrete achievement further deepening the relationships that have already been formed with multiple entities in India.

Start-Up Nation Central's MOU with TiE targets technologies addressing sustainability challenges, positioning Israel and India as global leaders in the field of impact tech.

Manohar Reddy, President of TiE Hyderabad and Chairman of the TiE Sustainability Summit 2021: "We are very excited about our partnership with Start-Up Nation Central and the Impact the collaborative cohorts program will create for startups from both India and Israel. It gives me immense pleasure to see this program getting launched at the world's largest sustainability summit for entrepreneurs on October 4th."

Adv. Anat Bernstein-Reich, the founding president of the Israeli branch of TiE: "The program will allow Israeli companies to learn of first-hand how to work in the Indian market. The Indian market is deceptive. People may speak English, but the business codes are different, the market structure is different, and working assumptions made by Israeli companies do not stand the test of India's reality. The joint program will make the market accessible to Israelis and make it easier for them to enter this important market."

Start-Up Nation Central CEO Avi Hasson: "We are proud and excited to partner with TiE on this significant program. Technological innovation and entrepreneurship have the opportunity to change the face and trajectory of nations. Farmers are facing increasingly harsher weather conditions, environmental pollutants, and soil depletion which, coupled with global population growth and increased product demand, compounds global concerns over food scarcity. Technologies that have the potential to either improve crop yields or transform, preserve, and tailor foods with improved functional and nutritional values will ensure a stable supply of food in the future. Given the size of the market and population, as well as the exciting tech scene in India, this partnership has the potential to offer incredible opportunities, in particular when it comes to the AgriFood-Tech sector."

About Start-Up Nation Central

Established in 2013, Start-Up Nation Central is a non-profit organization that helps tackle global challenges by connecting Israeli technological solutions with multinational corporations, governments, investors, and NGOs from around the world. The Global Finder Network, modelled on Start-Up Nation Finder, is a connectivity tool that enables partners to continuously develop their respective innovation ecosystems, by identifying and mapping regional innovative companies, facilitating local connectivity, and fostering international collaboration.

About TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs)

TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) is a go-to network of 51000+ global entrepreneurs across 61+ cities in 14+ countries, and Hyderabad is a vibrant and most awarded chapter worldwide, each year TiE Hyderabad impacts over 1100 start-ups and 6400+ students, conducts numerous activities under 20+ themes viz. TiE Grad, TiE Young Entrepreneurs, Open Mic, Mentor Advisor, Investor Connect, Thursday Night Talks, Leadership Series etc. to encourage, nurture next-generation entrepreneurs.

During 2020 we hosted TiE Global Summit which is applauded as the world's largest entrepreneurship summit held in a difficult year such as 2020. The Conference received an overwhelming response of over 51000 registrations and enjoyed a cumulative attendees of around 30000+ entrepreneurs & investors. TGS2020 created a new history, had remarkable 250+ marquee speakers, 150+ mentors, 180+ companies, 500+ innovation leaders, 234 Incubators, producing 60Hrs of digital content of leaders/innovators/startup founders & Investors. OpenMic event has drawn 250+ founders from 18 different countries pitching to global investors and top corporate, non-stop for 20 hours. For more details, please visit hyderabad.tie.org

SOURCE Start-Up Nation Central (SNC)

Related Links

https://www.startupnationcentral.org/


Further to the announcement of its new strategy to have a carbon-neutral portfolio by 2040, Ivanhoe Cambridge is converting its corporate program of term loans and lines of credit by indexing them to its ESG (environmental, social, governance) performance. This ambitious initiative will enable the Company to align its financing activities with its sustainable investment priorities.

MONTREAL, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Ivanhoe Cambridge, a global real estate industry leader, is pursuing its commitments to CSR1 and sustainable investment by converting its corporate program of term loans and lines of credit provided by its financial partners, including the CDPQ, by aligning them with its ESG performance. The purpose of this innovative conversion program is to index the Company's financing costs to its extra-financial performance. The corporate financings represent C$8.5 billion to date.

1 Corporate social responsibility

The key performance indicators (KPIs) that Ivanhoe Cambridge uses to improve its extra-financial performance include low-carbon investments, the carbon intensity of its portfolio and, more generally, the portfolio's ESG as measured by the GRESB score. A solid ESG performance, as measured by these KPIs, will enable Ivanhoe Cambridge to access more advantageous financing conditions. Conversely, a deterioration of its ESG performance will be penalized, confirming Ivanhoe Cambridge's ambition and genuine commitment to meet and even exceed its objectives.

This innovative and ambitious approach is an integral part of the Company's CSR strategy, with one of the key objectives being to achieve carbon neutrality for the entire portfolio by 2040, in line with the Paris Agreement. Ivanhoe Cambridge's commitment to the environment also extends to the financing of its operations and activities. Through this initiative, Ivanhoe Cambridge also intends to play an active role in promoting new financial practices that respect the environment and sustainable investment through the alignment of ESG performance with financial performance.

The CDPQ and 11 North American and European banks have approved and validated this corporate financing conversion program and are thereby making a commitment alongside Ivanhoe Cambridge. The lending banks are: Bank of Montreal (BMO), BNP Paribas, Citi, Credit Agricole (CA-CIB), Desjardins, National Bank of Canada, Natixis, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), The Bank of Novia Scotia (Scotiabank), The Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) and Wells Fargo.

In addition, Ivanhoe Cambridge continues to be especially active in securing green financing of its properties to accelerate the decarbonization of its portfolio.

"This initiative enables us to intensify and consolidate our relationships with our financial partners by demonstrating our ability to innovate in terms of sustainable financing", says Simon Lauzier, Chief Financial and Business Performance Officer, Ivanhoe Cambridge. "This is in addition to the C$1.5 billion in green financing we have deployed over the past four years through a wide range of instruments (bonds, loans, etc.). We intend to continue our efforts in the years to come by working closely with our financial and banking partners."

Stephane Villemain, Vice President, Corporate Social Responsibility, Ivanhoe Cambridge, adds: "We are convinced that sustainable investments are profitable over the long term and we are committed to combining our environmental performance with the continuous improvement of our financing terms. Our industry-leading approach to sustainable financing incorporates ESG factors into a number of our capital market transactions. These innovative tools ensure that we can finance our operations in a way that is consistent with our corporate vision of having a significant and lasting impact on our communities."

About Ivanhoe Cambridge

Ivanhoe Cambridge develops and invests in high-quality real estate properties, projects and companies that are shaping the urban fabric in dynamic cities around the world. It does so responsibly, with a view to generate long-term performance. Ivanhoe Cambridge is committed to creating living spaces that foster the well-being of people and communities, while reducing its environmental footprint.

Ivanhoe Cambridge invests internationally alongside strategic partners and major real estate funds that are leaders in their markets. Through subsidiaries and partnerships, the Company holds interests in more than 1,100 buildings, primarily in the industrial and logistics, office, residential and retail sectors. Ivanhoe Cambridge held C$60.4 billion in real estate assets as at December 31, 2020, and is a real estate subsidiary of the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec (cdpq.com), a global investment group. For more information: www.Ivanhoecambridge.com.

SOURCE Ivanhoe Cambridge Inc.

Related Links

www.ivanhoecambridge.com


In reference to a recent study by Hamburg Commercial Bank (HCOB) and the Frankfurt School Blockchain Center (FSBC) at the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, Josip Heit notes that the number of German companies offering "tokenised real estate" is second internationally behind the US.

There are currently 41 companies in 17 countries worldwide that have already tokenised real estate. These are primarily active in the USA (13), followed by Germany (6) and Switzerland (4). In general, Europe is far ahead of the rest of the world in this area, also with regard to the regulatory framework.

What is certain, however, is that some things, such as the implementation of digital land registers, will still take some time in technical terms. In principle, however, tokenisation makes it possible to denominate real estate as small as desired. According to Josip Heit, it is known that the promised annual savings can be in a wide range of up to more than 20 percent, among other things through the elimination of costs for bureaucracy and business trips.

Smart contracts also eliminate costs in the possible range of twenty per cent, and in some countries these may even be higher. If one considers that blockchain technologies can be used through the comfort zone of one's home, undreamt-of possibilities are inherited for the real estate sector, Josip Heit states in this context.I am sure that the topics of blockchain and tokenisation are more than hot for the future, especially due to the great simplifications that speak for themselves for all parties involved and the high savings potential! Therefore, there are good future prospects for tokenised real estate.

As an investment instrument, the real estate token is comparable to a share in a closed-end real estate fund that invests in one or two properties.

Josip Heit explains: "Although the market for tokenised real estate is still in its infancy, the high dynamics can become a serious challenge, especially for providers of real estate funds, because for investors, tokenised real estate can be associated with above-average returns and lower costs, which should be particularly interesting for those investors who are open to corresponding innovations. Coupled with the divisibility of real estate and the thus significantly larger potential investor group, tokenised real estate can noticeably change this investment class in the long term."

The advantages of blockchain technology for the real estate sector in this context are almost gigantic; in particular, the divisibility of real estate into small, tradable units now offers real estate a larger investor group - which is why a revolution could currently be in the offing that will open up completely different and, above all, new opportunities for the entire real estate market worldwide!

Josip Heit concludes: "The use of blockchain in the real estate industry has many advantages, especially in the real estate sector! From property transfers to price negotiations, blockchain technology offers an easy way to securely conduct complex transactions."

Website: https://www.JosipHeit.com

META KEYS: Josip Heit, josipheit.com, josipheit, real estate, tokenised real estate, real estate industry, website josipheit.com, Josip Heit entrepreneur, real estate funds, blockchain technology, real estate sector, real estate, tokenisation, capital market

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1653919/Josip_Heit.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1653918/GSB_Gold_Standard_Pay_KB_Sweden_Logo.jpg

Josip Heit,

Phone: +447470869360,

[email protected]

https://www.JosipHeit.com

SOURCE GSB Gold Standard Pay KB (Sweden)
2,035 gpt silver over 6 meters within wider intervals of 805 gpt silver over 17 meters and

333 gpt silver over 44 meters featuring a project high 9,840 gpt silver over 0.92 meters

VANCOUVER, BC, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Kootenay Silver Inc. (TSXV: KTN) (the "Company" or "Kootenay") is pleased to announce results for 6 additional drill holes from the Columba High-Grade Silver Project in Chihuahua State, Mexico. These holes, CDH-21-102 to CDH-21-107, test across the J-Z trap zone some 700 meters east of the F vein.

Importantly CDH-21-103 is the third hole that appears to be defining a very high-grade mineralized body intersected now in 3 holes and defining a zone in drilling thus far in a 40 by 60 meter east west orientation with at least 80 meters of dip extent. The body appears to be pipe like in shape and plunge moderately to the northeast and is open up and down dip.

This particularly high-grade zone of hydrothermal breccias and stockwork in CDH-21-103 has now been hit in three holes as follows.

Previously released:

Hole CDH-19-030

982 gpt silver over 1.9 meters within 721 gpt silver over 4.07 meters and 200 gpt silver over 25.85 meters and

Hole CDH-20-060

608 gpt silver over 5 meters within 361 gpt silver over 11 meters and 229 gpt silver over 22 meters

And from this release:

Hole CDH-21-103

2,035 gpt silver over 6 meters within 805 gpt silver over 17 meters and 333 gpt silver over 44 meters.

A project high assay of 9,840 gpt silver over 0.92 meters.

3D model of Columba featuring the JZ Trap Zone and select high-grade intercepts (Click to view)

Click to view plan map and cross sections (Holes CDH-21-103, 106, 107).

Kootenay President and CEO, James McDonald states, "This is a very exciting hit in hole 103 being the best drill hole to date. It indicates the high grades in holes 30 and 60 have continuity and show a vector in which to follow and expand this very high-grade zone. This certainly bolsters our confidence that the JZ area is another area on the property where high grade resource may be put together."

Gustavo Gallego, Kootenay's Chief Geological Engineer added "The hard work and commitment of our technical team has led us to the discovery and definition of the high-grade trap zone trend, we look forward to phase 4 drilling to be able to extend this zone and continue finding high silver grades at the same time that we discovered, defined and expanded the different targets at Columba. We reiterate our gratitude to our corporate office for allowing us to develop and execute our hypotheses."

Also of importance is the intercept in CDH-21-106 of 316 gpt silver over 4 meters including 406 gpt silver over 2 meters. This intercepted the O Vein some 300 meters along strike of hole CDH-21-101 which hit 459 gpt silver over 1.6 meters with 1,190 gpt silver over 0.5 meters. These two holes appear to have both hit the O Vein opening up another large area of strike potential. Hole CDH-21-107 likely hit O Vein with 111 gpt silver over 5.5 meters. Other holes in the East Block are interpreted to have hit the structure too high to encounter good silver grades.

The East Block has only been explored in the current phase 3 drill program. Results were released recently in the Company's August 26, 2021 news release. Exploring the area converging the J-Z Zone and East Block, the J-Z Trap Zone, will further elucidate the continuity, strike length, and existence of substantive high-grade mineralization.

Drill Highlights  Holes CDH-21-102 to CDH-21-107:

CDH-21-103

805 gpt silver over 17 meters within 333 gpt silver over 44 meters including:

within 333 gpt silver over 44 meters including: 2,035 gpt silver over 6 meters within 1,201 gpt silver over 11 meters; and a high of

within 1,201 gpt silver over 11 meters; and a high of 9,840 gpt silver over 0.92 meters

CDH-21-104

154 gpt silver over 2.45 meters within 100 gpt silver over 5 meters; and

168 gpt silver over 2.5 meters within 124 gpt silver over 4.12 meters; and

800 gpt silver over 1 meter

CDH-21-105

288 gpt silver over 2 meters within 174 gpt silver over 2.5 meters

CDH-21-106

417 gpt silver over 2 meters within 316 gpt silver over 4.0 meters; and

34 gpt silver over 21 meters

Detailed Drill Results  CDH-21-102 to CDH-21-107

Hole ID From

(meters) To

(meters) Interval

(meters) Silver

(gpt) Pb

(%) Zn (%) Geologic

Intersection CDH-21-102 83.2 86.95 3.75 81 0.01 0.27 Quartz Barite

Vein includes 83.2 84 0.8 163 0.02 0.062

91 92 1 94 0.01 0.05 Oxidized &

Silicified

Rhyolite CDH-21-103 65.13 66 0.87 179 0.01 0.03 Quartz Barite

Vein

166 210 44 333 0.1 0.1 Hydrothermal

Breccia with

Rhyolite Includes 179 196 17 805 0.21 0.137 and 183 194 11 1201 0.3 0.16 Hydrothermal

Breccia &

Quartz Barite

Vein Includes 188 194 6 2035 0.5 0.19 and 188 189.52 1.52 933 0.099 0.258 Quartz barite

rhyolite host and 189.52 191 1.48 657 0.128 0.161 Hydrothermal

Breccia and 191 192.15 1.15 483 0.166 0.164 and 192.15 193.07 0.92 9,840 2.59 0.08 Quartz Barite

Vein CDH-21-104 85 90 5 100 0.03 0.05 Quartz Barite

Vein Includes 86 88.45 2.45 154 0.05 0.08

120.45 124.57 4.12 124 0.05 0.43 Includes 121 123.5 2.5 168 0.05 0.54

174.5 177.5 3 120 0.04 0.24 Rhyolite with

quartz

stockwork &

hydrothermal

breccia

185 186 1 802 0.34 0.29 Quartz Barite

Vein CDH-21-105 121 123.5 2.5 174 0.33 0.43 JZ Trap Zone -

Hydrothermal

Breccia

163 165 2 288 0.01 0.03 JZ Trap Zone -

Rhyolite with

quartz breccia

243 245 2 111 0.03 0.08 JZ Trap Zone -

Hydrothermal

Breccia CDH-21-106 145 149 4 316 0.12 0.1 JZ Trap Zone 

Rhyolite with

quartz

stockwork and 147 149 2 417 0.17 0.12

184 205 21 34 0.02 0.1 CDH-21-107 24 29 5 40 0.03 0.02 JZ Trap Zone 

Rhyolite Breccia

147.5 153 5.5 111 0.02 0.07 JZ Trap Zone Includes 150 151.5 1.5 200 0.019 0.05















Notes: Notes: All widths are drilled widths. At this time the true width is not yet known in this new area as more holes are needed. All silver composites rounded to the nearest whole number.

Further results from the 2021 - Phase 3 Drill Program will be released as they are received and analysed by the Kootenay team.

Sampling and QA/QC at Columba

All technical information for the Columba exploration program is obtained and reported under a formal quality assurance and quality control ("QA/QC") program. Samples are taken from core cut in half with a diamond saw under the direction of qualified geologists and engineers. Samples are then labeled, placed in plastic bags, sealed and with interval and sample numbers recorded. Samples are delivered by the Company to ALS Minerals ("ALS") in Chihuahua. The samples are dried, crushed and pulverized with the pulps being sent airfreight for analysis by ALS in Vancouver, B.C. Systematic assaying of standards, blanks and duplicates is performed for precision and accuracy. Analysis for silver, zinc, lead and copper and related trace elements was done by ICP four acid digestion, with gold analysis by 30-gram fire assay with an AA finish. All drilling reported is HQ core and has been contracted to Globexplore Drilling from Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico.

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.

Qualified Persons

The Kootenay technical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with the Canadian regulatory requirements set out in National Instrument 43-101 (Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects) and reviewed and approved on behalf of Kootenay by James McDonald, P.Geo, President, CEO & Director for Kootenay, a Qualified Person.

About Kootenay Silver Inc.

Kootenay Silver Inc. is an exploration company actively engaged in the discovery and development of mineral projects in the Sierra Madre Region of Mexico and in British Columbia, Canada. Supported by one of the largest junior portfolios of silver assets in Mexico, Kootenay continues to provide its shareholders with significant leverage to silver prices. The Company remains focused on the expansion of its current silver resources, new discoveries and the near-term economic development of its priority silver projects located in prolific mining districts in Sonora, State and Chihuahua, State, Mexico, respectively.

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS:

The information in this news release has been prepared as at October 5, 2021. Certain statements in this news release, referred to herein as "forward-looking statements", constitute "forward-looking statements" under the provisions of Canadian provincial securities laws. These statements can be identified by the use of words such as "expected", "may", "will" or similar terms.

Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of factors and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by Kootenay as of the date of such statements, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, known and unknown, could cause actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Except as otherwise required by law, Kootenay expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any such statements to reflect any change in Kootenay's expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

Cautionary Note to US Investors: This news release may contain information about adjacent properties on which we have no right to explore or mine. We advise U.S. investors that the SEC's mining guidelines strictly prohibit information of this type in documents filed with the SEC. U.S. investors are cautioned that mineral deposits on adjacent properties are not indicative of mineral deposits on our properties. This news release may contain forward-looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt of property titles, potential mineral recovery processes, etc. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements.

This press release uses the terms "Measured", "Indicated", and "Inferred" resources. United States investors are advised that while such terms are recognized and required by Canadian regulations, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission does not recognize them. "Inferred Mineral Resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence, and as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an Inferred Mineral Resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Under Canadian rules, estimates of Inferred Mineral Resources may not form the basis of feasibility or other economic studies. United States investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of Measured or Indicated Mineral Resources will ever be converted into Mineral Reserves. United States investors are also cautioned not to assume that all or any part of a Mineral Resource is economically or legally mineable.

SOURCE Kootenay Silver Inc.

Related Links

https://kootenaysilver.com/


RESTON, Va., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Leidos (NYSE:LDOS), a FORTUNE 500 science and technology leader, was recently awarded a five-year single award contract by the National Security Agency (NSA). Through this award, which holds a ceiling value of $300 million, Leidos will provide development and modernization efforts in support of the NSA's Technical Signals Intelligence (TechSIGINT) mission.

"We're proud to continue our support of the TechSIGINT community  providing innovations and deploying efficient and effective capabilities and technologies," said Leidos Intelligence Group President Roy Stevens. "By leveraging our technical, engineering and software expertise, our teams will work to advance NSA's TechSIGINT modernization efforts, providing our nation's leaders and military troops with actionable intelligence and critical information to protect and defend our country."

Leidos will support the TechSIGINT modernization efforts that develop and deploy new systems using cloud architectures and standardized NSA corporate infrastructures and services. The company will provide the technical services to develop, deploy and sustain a wide range of new and improved TechSIGINT collection, production and analysis capabilities.

About Leidos

Leidos is a Fortune 500 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 43,000 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]

Alyssa Pettus

(571) 992-5499

[email protected]

SOURCE Leidos

Related Links

http://www.leidos.com


DENVER, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Lumen Technologies (NYSE: LUMN) will release its third quarter 2021 results on Nov. 3, 2021. The company will broadcast a live conference call on its Investor Relations website at https://ir.lumen.com at 5 p.m. ET.

Additional information regarding the third quarter 2021 results, including the company's earnings release, investor presentation, and related materials, will be available on Lumen's Investor Relations website. If you are unable to join the call via the web, the call can be accessed live at +1 877-283-5145 (U.S. Domestic) or +1 312-281-1201 (International).

The call will be archived and available as an audio replay on Lumen's Investor Relations website starting at 8 p.m. ET on Nov. 3, until 8 p.m. ET on Feb. 1, 2022. The replay can be accessed by dialing +1 800-633-8284 (U.S. Domestic) or +1 402-977-9140 (International), reservation code 21998240.

About Lumen Technologies

Lumen is guided by our belief that humanity is at its best when technology advances the way we live and work. With approximately 450,000 route fiber miles and serving customers in more than 60 countries, we deliver the fastest, most secure platform for applications and data to help businesses, government and communities deliver amazing experiences.

Learn more about the Lumen network, edge cloud, security, communication and collaboration solutions and our purpose to further human progress through technology at news.lumen.com/home, LinkedIn: /lumentechnologies, Twitter: @lumentechco, Facebook: /lumentechnologies, Instagram: @lumentechnologies and YouTube: /lumentechnologies.

SOURCE Lumen Technologies
"We're pleased to welcome guests aboard Majestic Princess today and celebrate the ship's maiden voyage from the West Coast," said Jan Swartz, Princess Cruises president. "We have we been sailing out of Los Angeles since our cruise line first began in 1965, and our guests and crew are helping the City of Angels generate substantial revenue for local businesses with our West Coast cruises homeporting from here year over year."

Princess Cruises, Los Angeles' hometown cruise line and leader on the West Coast, sails more frequently than any other cruise line in this region, contributing $594 million to the Los Angeles economy in 2019. Over the past decade, Princess had more than 700 ship visits in Los Angelesthe most of any line. The cruise line is also known for its co-starring role on the hit TV series "The Love Boat" and frequently sailed with the beloved cast members and famous guests stars from the Port of Los Angeles to the Mexican Riviera.

"Our popularity as a leading west coast cruise port is directly connected to the longstanding partnership we have had with Princess Cruises," said Port Executive Director Gene Seroka. "The convenient and premium vacation experience that travelers enjoy on Majestic Princess and other Princess vessels have helped the Port of Los Angeles evolve into a year-around cruise port, and we are excited to be forecasting a record 200 sailings in 2022."

Majestic Princess just completed a partial summer season in Alaska and is scheduled to depart from the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro on 14 roundtrip departures through the end of the year. Cruise itineraries include the Mexican Riviera, California Coast and West Coast Getaways, ranging in length from three to 10 days.

Majestic Princess offers a MedallionClass vacation, delivering the ultimate in effortless, personalized cruising. It begins with OceanMedallion, a quarter-sized, wearable device that enables everything from touch-free boarding to locating loved ones anywhere on the ship, as well as enhanced service like having whatever guests need, delivered directly to them, wherever they are on the ship.

Princess Cruises sailings onboard Majestic Princess from the Port of Los Angeles are available for guests who have received their final dose of an approved COVID-19 vaccine at least 14 days prior to the beginning of the cruise and have proof of vaccination. All fully vaccinated guests must also produce a negative, medically observed COVID-19 test (PCR or antigen) taken within two days of their embarkation on all Princess sailings.

For the latest Princess COVID-19 health protocols, please visit https://www.princess.com/plan/cruise-with-confidence/cruise-health/covid-19-guest-protocols/.

Additional information about Princess Cruises is available through a professional travel advisor, by calling 1-800-PRINCESS (1-800-774-6237), or by visiting the company's website at http://www.princess.com/.

Editors' note:

B-roll of today's event can be downloaded here and high-resolution photos can be downloaded here.

About Princess Cruises :

One of the best-known names in cruising, Princess Cruises is the world's leading international premium cruise line and tour company operating a fleet of 14 modern cruise ships, carrying two million guests each year to 380 destinations around the globe, including the Caribbean, Alaska, Panama Canal, Mexican Riviera, Europe, South America, Australia/New Zealand, the South Pacific, Hawaii, Asia, Canada/New England, Antarctica, and World Cruises. A team of professional destination experts have curated 170 itineraries, ranging in length from three to 111 days and Princess Cruises is continuously recognized as "Best Cruise Line for Itineraries." In 2017 Princess Cruises, with parent company Carnival Corporation, introduced MedallionClass Vacations enabled by the OceanMedallion device, the vacation industry's most advanced wearable device, provided free to each guest sailing on a MedallionClass ship. The award-winning innovation offers the fastest way to an effortless personalized vacation giving guests more time to do the things they love most. The company is part of Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE:CUK).

In line with the latest advice from health officials about COVID-19, Princess Cruises is currently enhancing health and safety protocols with input from medical experts and government bodies and assessing how they may impact future itineraries. Actual offerings may vary from what is displayed in marketing materials. Click on the following links to stay updated on current Cruise Updates and Health & Safety protocols.

SOURCE Princess Cruises

Related Links

www.princess.com


NEW YORK, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Unite Us, the nation's leading technology company connecting health and social care services, today announced Academy Award winning actor and New York Times bestselling author Matthew McConaughey has invested in Unite Us alongside PLUS Capital. The legendary Texas-born actor, known for his roles in "Dallas Buyers Club" and "Interstellar," who has also built a strong portfolio of investments, will serve as a speaker for the Unite Us " Health Lives Here " Town Hall to discuss the importance of investing in social care in communities.

McConaughey's involvement with Unite Us comes at a pivotal time in the country when stakeholders at all levels are focused on reducing inequities and improving health. McConaughey has been an advocate for the power of community investment and social care. His work with Unite Us not only affirms his commitment through funding and activism, but also marks a major milestone for this fast-growing company that's redefining how health and social care are delivered on a national scale.

"Now more than ever, it's essential that we connect people with the support and resources they need within their communities, to help our neighbors thrive in a healthier, more stable environment," McConaughey said. "I believe the Unite Us end-to-end solution  using technology, data and coordinated social care networks  will transform community health as we know it.

Unite Us provides the only end-to-end solution for delivering social care to communities and individuals where it's needed most. By prioritizing social determinants of health (SDoH)  the conditions in which people live, learn, work and play  Unite Us enables organizations to proactively identify and engage high-need populations, and provide coordinated services within communities that improve health at scale.

Unite Us' solution establishes a new standard of care that identifies and predicts social care needs in communities, manages enrollment of individuals in services, and leverages meaningful outcome data and analytics to further drive community investment. This infrastructure enables social care funding at scale through funds distribution, invoice management, and reimbursement for social services.

"Over the last nine years, we have worked deeply with all stakeholders to bring them together to strengthen communities and deliver coordinated care in a new ecosystem," said Dan Brillman, Unite Us Co-Founder and CEO. "We are so excited for Matthew's commitment and investment in our work, which will increase public support and understanding that's needed around social care so we can collectively transform the system and build healthier communities."

Government, health systems, payers, and community organizations are turning to this transformational work as the path to shift policy, drive generational change, and ensure that social care shares the same priority as health care. McConaughey's support and advocacy will bring much needed attention to the importance of whole person health and the drive for innovation that helps communities better care for their people.

Town Hall Details

The Unite Us "Health Lives Here" National Town Hall is open to the public. During the event, McConaughey, along with leaders from organizations such as Salesforce Ventures, ICONIQ, United Healthcare, Emerson Collective and more, will discuss some of the most effective models and data-driven tools for creating sustainable, equitable community health. The virtual event is live at 2:30 ET on Monday, Nov. 1; registration is available now at www.UniteUs.com/town-hall/ .

Learn more about Unite Us at www.uniteus.com .

About Unite Us

Unite Us is a technology company that builds coordinated care networks of health and social service providers. With Unite Us, providers across sectors can send and receive secure electronic referrals, track every person's total health journey, and report on tangible outcomes across a full range of services in a centralized, cohesive, and collaborative ecosystem. Unite Us' dedicated team builds authentic, lasting partnerships with local organizations to ensure their networks have a solid foundation, launch successfully, and continue to grow and thrive. This HITRUST-certified social care infrastructure helps communities transform their ability to work together and measure impact at scale. Follow Unite Us on LinkedIn , Twitter , Instagram and Facebook .

MEDIA CONTACT:

Next PR

551-795-6808

[email protected]

SOURCE Unite Us

Related Links

https://uniteus.com/


CHICAGO, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Intellectual property law firm McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP (MBHB) has filed a pro bono patent application on behalf of three female students currently attending Naperville North High School. The patent application was prepared under the supervision of Michael Borella, Ph.D., partner and co-chair of the firm's Software & Business Methods Practice Group.

The students' invention, "Detecting Depression Using Machine Learning Models on Human Speech Samples," uses trained machine learning models to detect whether a person has clinical depression based on a sample of their voice. The inventors identified key acoustic features that distinguish depressed from nondepressed individuals and developed a suite of models that could be used to enhance or improve accuracy rates of depression detection.

"MBHB is committed to championing and developing diverse STEM talent and is proud to support this worthy cause," said Jori Fuller, MBHB partner and co-chair of the firm's Diversity and Inclusion Committee. "These young women represent the future of innovation and it is the firm's privilege to take them on as clients with this pro bono filing."

This comprehensive approach, aided by a developed model, could help objectively and quickly screen for potential predictors of depression, which is especially critical now. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 17.3 million adults in the United States, about 7.1% of the population, are affected by depression. And the pandemic has exacerbated the issue; according to a December 2020 survey from the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 42% of respondents reported symptoms of anxiety or depression as compared to 11% the previous year. Moreover, the inventors  as students themselves  consider clinical depression a significant issue that is frequently untreated or undiagnosed in adolescents and young adults. This work resulted in the students being named First Place National Winners for their age group at the Army Educational Outreach Program's eCybermission competition.

For more information about MBHB's Committee for Diversity and Inclusion, visit https://www.mbhb.com/firm/diversity-inclusion.

About McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP

With offices in Illinois, California and North Carolina, MBHB provides a variety of intellectual property services, including litigation, prosecution and general client counseling. With a balanced focus on prosecution and litigation, MBHB attorneys are experienced in the procurement, licensing, enforcement, and defense of patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, and unfair competition actions in a number of technological disciplines and product categories including biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, cannabis, chemical, electrical, mechanical and materials, medical device and diagnostics, software and business methods, and telecommunications. Visit www.mbhb.com for more information on the firm.

SOURCE McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP
CHICAGO, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The data center market in the Middle East and African region is growing YoY due to the increasing number of internet users, big data, and IoT. The production of renewable energy in the Middle East is picking up and is expected to grow in the coming years. COVID-19 has been a strong market enabler for several digitization initiatives in the region. The government has given opportunities to vendors to digitally transform their countries and have thereby developed long-term goals. The government in various regions are using cloud-based platforms to establish new public-private partnerships. For instance, the UAE Ministry of Infrastructure upgraded its IT infrastructure to support smart government initiatives.

Observing these rapid and drastic changes in demand and supply patterns encouraged the industry analysts at Arizton to publish exhaustive and data-driven insights on these current trends in the industry. Arizton has a dedicated vertical that focuses on data center knowledge base across geographies. These market research reports cover a detailed analysis of the COVID-19-induced supply chain disruptions, innovations in technology, equipment financing, economic impact, and a detailed study of the competitive landscape.

Check out our portfolio

Saudi Arabia Data Center Market - Investment Analysis & Growth Opportunities 2021-2026

The Saudi Arabia data center market is expected to reach USD 1180 million in 2026, growing at a CAGR of 7.85% during the period 2020-2026.

The kingdom of Saudi Arabia is becoming one of the important locations across Middle East for data center investments. Riyadh hosts major ICT companies and has a leading startup ecosystem and is a major city for data center investments. Riyadh witnessed investments of over USD 55 million through data center facilities opened and underdeveloped from Jan 2020 to June 2021. In 2021, ACWA Power, a Saudi Arabia based energy company announced the opening of the 300 MW Sakaka IPP PV project, a utility-scale solar renewable energy project in the country.

The increased production and consumption of renewable energy can be utilized for data center purposes. ACWA Power signed a 25-year long power purchase agreement for the 1.5GW Sudair photovoltaic (PV) solar project in Saudi Arabia. Also, the National Renewable Energy Program (NREP) was initiated under King Salman Renewable Energy Initiative to maximize renewable energy and is expected to receive an investment of USD 20 billion for renewable energy generation for the next 10 years and will fuel data center demand in the country.

Read more now: https://www.arizton.com/market-reports/saudi-arabia-data-center-market-investment-analysis

United Arab Emirates (UAE) Data Center Market - Investment Analysis and Growth Opportunities 2021-2026

The UAE data center market is expected to reach USD 1,015 million in 2026 growing with a CAGR of 7.99% during the period 2020-2026. The UAE is one of the largest data center markets in Middle East and Africa region. Over the past 5-6 years there has been a significant growth in the market with an increase in the investment on data centers. In 2020, the total investment in the UAE market was around USD 640 million. Dubai is one of the most preferred locations for data centers in the UAE, followed by Abu Dhabi. In 2020, in Dubai, data center facilities that opened and the ones under development witnessed investments of around USD 43 million. Equinix is investing over USD 60 million for a new data center facility in Dubai (DX3 phase 1), with a rack capacity of 900 units and an IT load power capacity of 7 MW, which is expected to be operational by Q1 2022.

The adoption of cloud by companies because of COVID-19 is also driving data center demand. For instance, Dubai Airports currently uses Microsoft's Azure cloud service for Wi-Fi services. Also in 2018, SAP launched its first data center in the UAE from which it provides cloud-based services to local companies.

Read more now: https://www.arizton.com/market-reports/united-arab-emirates-data-center-market

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About Arizton:

Arizton Advisory and Intelligence is an innovation and quality-driven firm, which offers innovative research solutions to clients across the world. We excel in providing comprehensive market intelligence reports and advisory and consulting services.

We offer comprehensive market research reports on industries such as consumer goods & retail technology, automotive and mobility, smart tech, healthcare, and life sciences, industrial machinery, chemicals, and materials, IT and media, logistics and packaging. These reports contain detailed industry analysis, market size, share, growth drivers, and trend forecasts.

Arizton comprises a team of exuberant and well-experienced analysts who have mastered generating incisive reports. Our specialist analysts possess exemplary skills in market research. We train our team in advanced research practices, techniques, and ethics to outperform in fabricating impregnable research reports.

Mail: [email protected]

Call: +1-312-235-2040

+1 302 469 0707

SOURCE Arizton Advisory & Intelligence
While clients span a number of industries, mindStart has established a reputation for helping some of the newest tech start-ups manage their rapid growth mode by supporting new customers with product questions, technical troubleshooting, and returns or re-orders. Unlike offshore-based call-centers, the mindStart difference is in its intensive product training and extremely high satisfaction scores. In fact, mindStart clients average at least a 90% customer satisfaction (CSAT) score, with some clients reaching as high as 97% - which is almost unheard of in the customer service field.

mindStart recognizes that CSAT scores only tell part of the success story. "Boasting over 90% of clients renewing their annual contracts, and with revenue growth of more than 30% year-to-date, mindStart continues to be in growth mode. We are actively growing our internal team as we continue to secure new clients," says David Wise, President and Co-Founder of mindStart.

Since 2019, the team has increased 195% in full-time staffing, with several other part-time roles to service customers needing 24/7/365 coverage across their customer touch-points. Looking ahead to 2022, mindStart plans to invest in additional customer service agents, leverage the recently established nearshore team, and build out additional infrastructure to optimize team performance.

ABOUT MINDSTART

At mindStart, our goal is to change the perception of the customer service industry by offering a five-star customer service program that our clients  and their customers  actually enjoy. This includes multi-channel (phone, email, chat, social) support with various options for hours of operation, including 24x7. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, with a nearshore office in Guadalajara, Mexico, we provide a professional, highly knowledgeable experience for companies seeking premier support for their customers, with excellent customer satisfaction ratings.

SOURCE mindStart
"Providing brand-new winter coats ensures that kids can get to school on cold days and also boosts their confidence and helps them succeed academically," says Sterling Nielsen, president and chief executive officer at Mountain America Credit Union. "Mountain America is pleased to partner with our employees and Operation Warm to provide coats and shoes to kids in need throughout the Intermountain West."

Roughly 75% of the students Operation Warm serves walk or ride the bus to school, and 14.5% of Montana children are living in poverty. Without access to basic necessities, including a proper coat, a child's learning and social opportunities can be hindered. Over the past two decades, Operation Warm has provided hope, warmth and confidence to over four million kids in the U.S. through the gift of a brand-new winter coat.

"Thanks to the generous support of Mountain America Credit Union and Operation Warm, 240 Head Start children in Billings and the surrounding communities will receive the gift of a new winter coat," says Janice King, executive director at Explorers Academy Head Start. "True to Operation Warm's mission, a new coat ensures a child will thrive socially in school and will feel safe during the frigid winter months. Helping a low-income family meet this basic need for their child during the COVID-19 pandemic is paramount, as it guarantees household funds can be directed towards healthcare costs and other necessary family expenses. Explorers Academy is extremely grateful for the outpouring of support from Mountain America Credit Union and Operation Warm."

Since 2020, Mountain America's Employee Match Program has raised over $50,000 for local charities. Last year, this program provided over 104,000 meals to local food banks. Over the past two years, Mountain America has gifted more than 4,000 coats and shoes through its partnership with Operation Warm.

SOURCE Mountain America Credit Union

Related Links

http://www.macu.com


TSX andOTCQX: MPVD

TORONTO and NEW YORK, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. ("Mountain Province", the "Company") (TSX: MPVD) (OTCQX: MPVD) today announces that the Company and Stuart Brown, its President and Chief Executive Officer, have reached a mutual decision that Mr. Brown will depart the Company, effective immediately. Jonathan Comerford has been appointed Interim President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company in Mr. Brown's place. A search for a full-time replacement has commenced and the Company would hope to make an announcement on this in the coming weeks. Mr. Brown has also resigned as a director of the Company. Mr. Brown will provide assistance to the Company to facilitate the transitional period.

Mr. Comerford has been a director of the Company since September 2001 and the Chairman since April 2006. From May to July 2018, he assumed the additional role of Interim President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Comerford is resident in Dublin, Ireland. He obtained his Masters in Business from the Michael Smurfit Business School and a Bachelor of Economics from University College Dublin. Mr. Comerford has been the Investment Manager at International Investment Underwriting (IIU) since August 1995.

Mr. Comerford commented:

"On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Stuart for his strong and committed service as CEO of Mountain Province for the past three years. Stuart has guided the Company through difficult times for the Diamond sector including the very challenging Covid-19 Pandemic. He leaves the Company in a stronger position entering 2022. We appreciate his considerable efforts and accomplishments, and wish him the very best in his future endeavors."

About the Company

Mountain Province Diamonds is a 49% participant with De Beers Canada in the Gahcho Kue diamond mine located in Canada's Northwest Territories. The Gahcho Kue Joint Venture property consists of several kimberlites that are actively being mined, developed, and explored for future development. The Company also controls 106,202 hectares of highly prospective mineral claims and leases that surround the Gahcho Kue Joint Venture property that include an indicated mineral resource for the Kelvin kimberlite and inferred mineral resources for the Faraday kimberlites.

For further information on Mountain Province Diamonds and to receive news releases by email, visit the Company's website at www.mountainprovince.com.

Qualified Person

The disclosure in this news release of scientific and technical information regarding Mountain Province's mineral properties has been reviewed and approved by Matthew MacPhail, P.Eng., MBA, and Tom E. McCandless, Ph.D., P.Geo., both employees of Mountain Province Diamonds and Qualified Persons as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

Caution Regarding Forward Looking Information

This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" under applicable Canadian and United States securities laws concerning the business, operations and financial performance and condition of Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. Forward-looking statements and forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to operational hazards, including possible disruption due to pandemic such as COVID-19, its impact on travel, self-isolation protocols and business and operations, estimated production and mine life of the project of Mountain Province; the realization of mineral reserve estimates; the timing and amount of estimated future production; costs of production; the future price of diamonds; the estimation of mineral reserves and resources; the ability to manage debt; capital expenditures; the ability to obtain permits for operations; liquidity; tax rates; and currency exchange rate fluctuations. Except for statements of historical fact relating to Mountain Province, certain information contained herein constitutes forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "anticipates," "may," "can," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "projects," "targets," "intends," "likely," "will," "should," "to be", "potential" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may", "should" or "will" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made, and are based on a number of assumptions and subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Many of these assumptions are based on factors and events that are not within the control of Mountain Province and there is no assurance they will prove to be correct.

Factors that could cause actual results to vary materially from results anticipated by such forward-looking statements include the development of operation hazards which could arise in relation to COVID-19, including, but not limited to protocols which may be adopted to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and any impact of such protocols on Mountain Province's business and operations, variations in ore grade or recovery rates, changes in market conditions, changes in project parameters, mine sequencing; production rates; cash flow; risks relating to the availability and timeliness of permitting and governmental approvals; supply of, and demand for, diamonds; fluctuating commodity prices and currency exchange rates, the possibility of project cost overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry, failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated.

These factors are discussed in greater detail in Mountain Province's most recent Annual Information Form and in the most recent MD&A filed on SEDAR, which also provide additional general assumptions in connection with these statements. Mountain Province cautions that the foregoing list of important factors is not exhaustive. Investors and others who base themselves on forward-looking statements should carefully consider the above factors as well as the uncertainties they represent and the risk they entail. Mountain Province believes that the expectations reflected in those forward-looking statements are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking statements included in this news release should not be unduly relied upon. These statements speak only as of the date of this news release.

Although Mountain Province has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Mountain Province 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. Statements concerning mineral reserve and resource estimates may also be deemed to constitute forward-looking statements to the extent they involve estimates of the mineralization that will be encountered as the property is developed.

Further, Mountain Province may make changes to its business plans that could affect its results. The principal assets of Mountain Province are administered pursuant to a joint venture under which Mountain Province is not the operator. Mountain Province is exposed to actions taken or omissions made by the operator within its prerogative and/or determinations made by the joint venture under its terms. Such actions or omissions may impact the future performance of Mountain Province. Under its current note and revolving credit facilities Mountain Province is subject to certain limitations on its ability to pay dividends on common stock. The declaration of dividends is at the discretion of Mountain Province's Board of Directors, subject to the limitations under the Company's debt facilities, and will depend on Mountain Province's financial results, cash requirements, future prospects, and other factors deemed relevant by the Board

SOURCE Mountain Province Diamonds Inc.

Related Links

http://www.mountainprovince.com


WASHINGTON, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- NASA will provide coverage of upcoming prelaunch and launch activities for Lucy, the agency's first mission to explore the Jupiter Trojan asteroids.

Lucy is scheduled to launch no earlier than 5:34 a.m. EDT Saturday, Oct. 16, on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 401 rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Live launch coverage will begin at 5 a.m. EDT on NASA Television, the NASA app , and the agency's website . NASA will hold a prelaunch briefing Wednesday, Oct. 13, and science and engineering briefings Oct. 14.

Over its 12-year primary mission, Lucy will explore a record-breaking number of asteroids. The spacecraft will fly by one asteroid in the solar system's main belt and seven Trojan asteroids. Lucy's path will circle back to Earth three times for gravity assists, which will make it the first spacecraft ever to return to our planet's vicinity from the outer solar system.

Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, all media participation in news conferences will be remote dial-in only. A phone bridge will be provided for each briefing.

Full mission coverage is as follows. Information is subject to change:

Wednesday, Oct. 13

1 p.m.: Lucy prelaunch news conference with the following participants:

Thomas Zurbuchen , associate administrator, NASA's Science Mission Directorate at the agency's Headquarters in Washington .

, associate administrator, NASA's Science Mission Directorate at the agency's Headquarters in . Hal Levison , Lucy principal investigator, Southwest Research Institute.

, Lucy principal investigator, Southwest Research Institute. Donya Douglas-Bradshaw , Lucy Project Manager at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland .

, Lucy Project Manager at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in . John Elbon , Chief Operating Officer, United Launch Alliance.

, Chief Operating Officer, United Launch Alliance. Launch weather officer, 45th Weather Squadron, Space Launch Delta 45, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Omar Baez , Lucy Launch Director, NASA's Launch Services Program at Kennedy Space Center in Florida .

For the dial-in number and passcode, please contact the Kennedy newsroom at: [email protected] no later than noon, Wednesday, Oct. 13. Members of the public may also ask questions online by using #LucyMission on social media.

Thursday, Oct. 14

10 a.m.: NASA EDGE: Live Lucy Rollout Show.

1 p.m.: Lucy science briefing with the following participants:

Adriana Ocampo , Lucy program executive, NASA Headquarters.

, Lucy program executive, NASA Headquarters. Cathy Olkin , Lucy deputy principal investigator, Southwest Research Institute.

, Lucy deputy principal investigator, Southwest Research Institute. Keith Noll , Lucy project scientist, Goddard.

, Lucy project scientist, Goddard. Hal Weaver , principal investigator for Lucy's L'LORRI instrument, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory.

, principal investigator for Lucy's L'LORRI instrument, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. Phil Christensen , principal investigator for Lucy's L'TES instrument, Arizona State University .

, principal investigator for Lucy's L'TES instrument, . Dennis Reuter , principal investigator for Lucy's L'Ralph instrument, Goddard.

3 p.m.: Lucy engineering briefing with the following participants:

Joan Salute, associate director for flight programs, Planetary Science Division, NASA Headquarters.

Jessica Lounsbury , Lucy project systems engineer, Goddard.

, Lucy project systems engineer, Goddard. Katie Oakman , Lucy structures and mechanisms lead, Lockheed Martin Space.

, Lucy structures and mechanisms lead, Lockheed Martin Space. Coralie Adam , deputy navigation team chief, KinetX Aerospace.

For the dial-in number and passcode, please contact the Kennedy newsroom at: [email protected] by Thursday, Oct. 14 no later than noon for the Science Briefing and 2 p.m. for the Engineering Briefing. Members of the public may also ask questions, which may be answered in real-time during the segment, by using #LucyMission on social media.

Friday, Oct. 15

3:30 p.m.: NASA Science Live with the following participants:

Carly Howett , assistant director of the Department of Space Studies, Southwest Research Institute.

, assistant director of the Department of Space Studies, Southwest Research Institute. Wil Santiago , deep space exploration engineer, Lockheed Martin Space.

, deep space exploration engineer, Lockheed Martin Space. Donya Douglas-Bradshaw , Lucy project manager, Goddard.

, Lucy project manager, Goddard. Brittine Young , mentor for the NASA Lucy L'SPACE academy.

, mentor for the NASA Lucy L'SPACE academy. Wilbert Ruperto , ambassador for the NASA Lucy L'SPACE academy.

This episode will air live on NASA Television and stream live on the agency's Facebook, Twitter and YouTube channels. Members of the public can participate live by sending questions using #askNASA or posting a comment in the live video chat stream.

NASA TV Launch Coverage

NASA TV live coverage will begin at 5 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 16. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules, and links to streaming video, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/live

Audio only of the news conferences and launch coverage will be carried on the NASA "V" circuits, which may be accessed by dialing 321-867-1220, -1240, -1260 or -7135. On launch day, "mission audio," countdown activities without NASA TV launch commentary, will be carried on 321-867-7135.

On launch day, a "clean feed" of the launch without NASA TV commentary will be carried on the NASA TV media channel.

NASA Website Launch Coverage

Launch day coverage will be available on the agency's website. Coverage will include livestreaming and blog updates beginning no earlier than 5 a.m. Oct. 16, as the countdown milestones occur. On-demand streaming video and photos of the launch will be available shortly after liftoff. For questions about countdown coverage, contact the Kennedy newsroom at: 321-867-2468. Follow countdown coverage on our launch blog at:

https://www.blogs.nasa.gov/lucy

Interview Requests

Members of the media looking for interviews on the Lucy launch should submit media requests to Alana Johnson and Nancy Neal-Jones.

Public Participation

Members of the public can register to attend the launch virtually. NASA's virtual guest program for Lucy includes curated launch resources, a behind-the-scenes look at the mission, and the opportunity for a virtual guest launch passport stamp .

Virtual NASA Social

As NASA finalizes launch preparations, the agency invites the public to join its virtual NASA Social for the #LucyMission on Facebook. Stay up to date on the latest mission activities, interact with NASA team members in real-time, and watch the launch.

Watch and Engage on Social Media

Stay connected with the mission on social media, and let people know you're following it on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram using the hashtag #LucyMission  and tag the following accounts:

Twitter: @NASA , @NASASolarSystem, @NASASocial , @NASA_LSP , @SLDelta45

Facebook: NASA , NASASolarSystem, NASA LSP , SLDelta45

Instagram: NASA

The launch of this mission is managed by NASA's Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy, America's premiere multi-user spaceport. Goddard provides overall mission management, systems engineering, and safety and mission assurance. Lucy's principal investigator is based out of the Boulder, Colorado, branch of Southwest Research Institute. Lucy is the 13th mission in NASA's Discovery Program. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the Discovery Program for the agency's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

United Launch Alliance is the rocket provider for Lucy's launch. Lockheed Martin Space in Littleton, Colorado, built the spacecraft.

Para obtener informacion sobre cobertura en espanol en el Centro Espacial Kennedy o si desea solicitar entrevistas en espanol, comuniquese con Antonia Jaramillo 321-501-8425.

SOURCE NASA

Related Links

http://www.nasa.gov


NEW HAVEN, Conn., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Craig has over 30 years of experience as a benefits and HR leader at world class organizations like CitiGroup and WPP. He currently serves as the Vice President of Total Rewards at Bloom Insurance and Advise Insurance. Previous roles include Vice President of Compensation and Benefits for the New York Times Company.

"Craig is an insightful and smart employee benefits leader who adds a wonderful perspective to our Advisory Board. We're delighted he'll be joining Icon in our mission to deliver truly meaningful healthcare value to our employer clients in 2021 and beyond," said Nathan Scoggin, CEO of Icon Health.

Icon Health is the first comprehensive MSK solution that combines dedicated MSK expertise with outcomes-focused health data to ensure members get the most personalized and comprehensive care possible. As an advisor, Craig's in-depth knowledge of the corporate benefits space and the needs of both employers and employees will be instrumental to Icon's success. With his past experience in implementing benefit solutions for organizations of all sizes, Craig excels at providing advice on building cost-efficient, value-generating benefit programs.

"MSK is one of the biggest drivers of escalating costs for employers and a very complicated space for employees to properly seek solutions. Icon Health is bringing to the market for the first time a holistic solution that eases the pain, figuratively and literally, for both employers and their most valuable asset, their employees," shared Sidell.

Craig is also the author of The Life and Times of Fuzzy Wuzzy, a beloved children's story of a bear born without any hair. Based in NYC, he is the father of five wonderful children and enjoys exploring the vibrant city with his family to discover the best vegan food.

CONTACT: Duncan Sibson, [email protected]@iconhealthco.com

SOURCE Icon Health

Related Links

www.iconhealthco.com


JUNO BEACH, Fla., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE) today announced that it plans to report third-quarter 2021 financial results before the opening of the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2021, in a news release to be posted on the company's website at www.NextEraEnergy.com/FinancialResults. The company will issue an advisory news release over PR Newswire the morning of Oct. 20, with a link to the financial results news release on the company's website. As previously communicated, the company will make available its financial results only on its website.

Jim Robo, chairman and chief executive officer of NextEra Energy, Rebecca Kujawa, executive vice president, finance and chief financial officer of NextEra Energy, and other members of the company's senior management team will discuss the company's third-quarter 2021 financial results during an investor presentation to be webcast live, beginning at 9 a.m. ET on Oct. 20. Results for NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE: NEP) also will be discussed during the same investor presentation.

The listen-only webcast will be available on NextEra Energy's website by accessing the following link: www.NextEraEnergy.com/FinancialResults. The financial results news release and the slides accompanying the presentation may be downloaded at www.NextEraEnergy.com/FinancialResults, beginning at 7:30 a.m. ET on the day of the webcast. A replay will be available for 90 days by accessing the same link as listed above.

NextEra Energy, Inc.

NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE) is a leading clean energy company headquartered in Juno Beach, Florida. NextEra Energy owns Florida Power & Light Company, which is the largest vertically integrated rate-regulated electric utility in the United States as measured by retail electricity produced and sold, and serves more than 5.6 million customer accounts, supporting more than 11 million residents across Florida with clean, reliable and affordable electricity. NextEra Energy also owns a competitive clean energy business, NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, which, together with its affiliated entities, is the world's largest generator of renewable energy from the wind and sun and a world leader in battery storage. Through its subsidiaries, NextEra Energy generates clean, emissions-free electricity from seven commercial nuclear power units in Florida, New Hampshire and Wisconsin. A Fortune 200 company and included in the S&P 100 index, NextEra Energy has been recognized often by third parties for its efforts in sustainability, corporate responsibility, ethics and compliance, and diversity. NextEra Energy is ranked No. 1 in the electric and gas utilities industry on Fortune's 2021 list of "World's Most Admired Companies" and received the S&P Global Platts 2020 Energy Transition Award for leadership in environmental, social and governance. For more information about NextEra Energy companies, visit these websites: www.NextEraEnergy.com, www.FPL.com, www.GulfPower.com, www.NextEraEnergyResources.com.

SOURCE NextEra Energy, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.nexteraenergy.com


CHICAGO, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- NowSecure, the leading standards-based mobile app security and privacy software company, announced an early access program for NowSecure Platform Software Bill of Materials (SBOM). Now organizations can gain visibility into the critical components of any mobile app running on iOS or Android including the native and 3rd party libraries and frameworks, the endpoints and geolocation for any detected data transmission, and a summary of vulnerabilities present, so that they can better understand the risks in their mobile apps and meet new federal SBOM standards.

"Today we announce NowSecure SBOM - the world's first mobile app SBOM tool plus support for CycloneDX OWASP standard" Tweet this White House CyberSecurity Executive Order Timeline 2021 from NowSecure Mobile App Security Testing Solutions NowSecure delivers the world's first mobile app SBOM

Software supply-chain attacks have increased by 650% in the past year, with recent major incidents from SolarWinds, Microsoft, Kasaya and others. Despite mobile apps dominating all digital time spent vs. web, and mobile breaches more than doubling in 2021, there was no comprehensive mobile-specific approach to protect the mobile software supply chain. The recent White House Executive Orders have recognized the software supply chain imperative by requiring new federal SBOM standards. To close this mobile app supply chain security gap, NowSecure has extended the NowSecure Platform with new dynamic SBOM generation capabilities while making free SBOM reports available to all software developers and corporate risk and security teams.

"Mobile apps are the new gateway to the enterprise, and first-party and third-party libraries and frameworks in those mobile apps have become a primary path for attacks," said NowSecure CEO Alan Snyder. "SBOMs are foundational items that should be generated for EVERY new version of a mobile app so that everyone knows what is in the software that they are using, and so that the enterprise can protect itself from critical supply-chain risks. Organizations are already doing this for web apps and will now be able to get much needed observability into their mobile app supply chain."

As the world's first mobile SBOM solution, NowSecure goes beyond traditional SBOM source code analysis techniques to deliver more comprehensive results. Purpose-built for mobile apps, the NowSecure Platform SBOMs are generated by statically and dynamically analyzing the compiled mobile app binary running on real iOS and Android devices, generating rich details on libraries, frameworks, API endpoints, data transmission location and summary vulnerability information. Because NowSecure analyzes the compiled mobile app binary, it can process both internally developed mobile apps and public apps found in the Apple and Google app stores, providing critical insights to enterprises using any of the more than 6 million commercial apps.

Using the NowSecure Platform SBOM tool, organizations can gain visibility into four critical details of any mobile app running on iOS or Android so that they can better understand the supply chain risks in the mobile apps they build and use:

the list of first party and third party libraries and frameworks directly found or identified as transitive dependencies in the compiled mobile app binary including the most current published version

the licenses relevant to each component of the mobile app

the list of endpoints and geolocation information for any detected data transmission found during dynamic analysis

a summary of security vulnerabilities detected while dynamically analyzing the mobile app to generate the SBOM

The NowSecure SBOM provides PDF reports and machine readable industry-standard CycloneDX data feeds to deliver immediate, actionable benefits that include gaining visibility into the libraries/frameworks included in all mobile apps, pinpointing libraries/frameworks that are using older versions, identifying components that remain but were previously required to be removed, uncovering component licenses that violate internal and external policies, understanding where data is going (including unapproved APIs and destinations) and gaining visibility into summary vulnerability information that requires further testing and inspection. Furthermore, comparing SBOMs from different versions of a mobile app provides insight into changes made by the developer that may require further analysis.

"With the explosive growth in mobile, especially in the workplace, it has become increasingly important to elevate the transparency for the mobile apps we use every day  and the underlying software components they depend on," said Steve Springett, chair of the OWASP CycloneDX project. "The CycloneDX SBOM standard is a result of security experts and industry coming together to create an SBOM standard that delivers the transparency and interoperability necessary to communicate software inventory and the relationships across different systems. We're excited that NowSecure supports the CycloneDX SBOM standard  a tremendous victory for the mobile space and for NowSecure customers."

The NowSecure Platform SBOM early access program is part of the world's most comprehensive suite for mobile app security including NowSecure Platform for continuous security testing in the development pipeline for DevSecOps, NowSecure Workstation kit for pen tester productivity, NowSecure Supply Chain Risk Management, NowSecure Pen Testing Services, and NowSecure Academy training courseware for dev and security teams. Built on a foundation of standards and automation, NowSecure empowers organizations to drive their success by delivering secure mobile apps faster and by continuously monitoring their mobile app supply chains for risk. Top mobile innovators, global businesses and agencies trust NowSecure to secure their mobile apps including AT&T, Caribou Coffee, iRobot, Uber, and Zoom.

Now available in early access program, developers and security teams can register for their free NowSecure SBOM 10-pack today.

About NowSecure

NowSecure is the standards-based mobile app security and privacy software company trusted by the world's most demanding organizations and most advanced security teams. NowSecure protects millions of mobile app users across banking, insurance, high tech, IoT, retail, hospitality, energy and government sectors. Only NowSecure delivers fully automated mobile app security and privacy testing software, mobile supply chain risk monitoring, expert mobile pen testing services, mobile security training courseware with the depth, speed, accuracy, and efficiency to meet modern business demands. NowSecure provides standards-based compliance testing for OWASP, NIAP, GDPR, CCPA, FINRA, FISMA, ioXt and numerous industry regulatory standards. With more than a dozen years of mobile-first, mobile-only experience, NowSecure identifies the broadest array of security threats, compliance gaps, and privacy risks across the entire mobile app portfolio. As a trusted security expert, NowSecure was positioned as the worldwide leader in two 2019 IDC MarketScapes for Mobile Application Security Testing, Mobile DevSecOps Trailblazer by Gartner in 2020, Deloitte Fast500 Winner in 2020, and TAG Cyber Distinguished Vendor in 2021. www.nowsecure.com

SOURCE NowSecure

Related Links

nowsecure.com


SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- LF Networking (LFN), which facilitates collaboration and operational excellence across open source networking projects, today announced its 5G Super Blueprint initiative will host use case demonstrations across 5G, edge, IoT, and cloud native during Open Networking & Edge (ONE) Summit + Kubernetes on Edge Day , October 11-12, 2021.

The 5G Super Blueprint is a community-driven integration of multiple open source initiatives that, collaboratively, demonstrate end-to-end use cases of end user implementation architectures. LFN creates a framework based on these integrated initiatives and projects to then develop blueprints, defined by a community-driven process that allows end-to-end solution use cases across vertical markets.

"The open source networking ecosystem is bringing collaboration to life at ONE Summit," said Heather Kirksey, vice president, Community & Ecosystem Development, the Linux Foundation. "What started as an integration demo for a basic residential broadband use case five short years ago has now evolved into a framework for creating collaborative, end-to-end solutions for the 5G ecosystem. I am incredibly proud of the community for all the progress it's achieved to date, and I cannot wait to see what comes next."

Building on the long-running 5G cloud native network demo workstream, the LF Networking community has fortified the 5G Super Blueprint foundation by adding network slicing. Based on the ONAP Honolulu release, this proof concept demonstrates an open source approach to improving QoS in 5G networks by optimizing resources and network topologies for 5G use cases, providing network operators improved performance and greater flexibility. The demo will also showcase a custom Network Slice Subnet Management Function (NSSMF) that was developed as part of this effort.

Linux Foundation Demo Pavilion

The open source networking and edge ecosystems will demonstrate ecosystem innovations around the 5G Super Blueprint and more during ONE Summit, via the Linux Foundation Demo Pavilion . Seven demos from multiple open source projects and communities will be on display, with the developers who created them available to answer questions throughout the event. Illustrating a breadth of technologies surrounding the 5G ecosystem and beyond, the demos will cover:

5G Super Blueprint: 5G Cloud Native Network Adds Network Slicing ( LF Networking, LF Edge, ONAP, Anuket, DPDK, EMCO)

( Akraino Blueprints: Integrated Cloud Native Private Wireless ( LF Edge, Akraino)

Enabling future-proof and Open Edge App Management in Retail (LF Edge, EdgeX Foundry, Open Horizon, Secure Device Onboard)

LF Edge + Project Alvarium: Building Trust in Interconnected Ecosystems ( LF Edge, Project Alvarium, EVE)

( Introducing L3AF, a Platform to Launch and Manage eBPF Programs (L3AF)

O-RAN/OSC/ONAP-Based Multi-Operator/Multi-Vendor Resource Pooling & RAN Slicing in Disaster Scenarios ( LF Networking, ONAP, ORAN-SC)

( Magma: Zero-touch Magma Automation With LFN EMCO (Magma, EMCO)

More details, including descriptions of each demo, are available here .

US Government Mini Summit

The US GOV OPS mini summit , which takes place Oct. 11 from 2:00 - 4:50 PM PST, will examine requirements and progress of 5G, edge, and IoT technologies within enterprise and government entities. Hosted by NWIC Pacific division of the United States Navy and led by Doug Evans, Neil Hoff and Andrew Leidy from the Department of the Navy, the program will cover use cases and solutions that rely on the foundations of open source networking, edge, and cloud project communities (including LF Networking, LF Edge, CNCF, Kubernetes, Magma, and more). Specific discussion topics include:

Introduction to United States Government Open Programmable Secure (US-GOV OPS) initiative within the Linux Foundation

initiative within the Linux Foundation Overview of DARPA's Open, Programmable, Secure 5G (OPS-5G) project

(OPS-5G) project The Linux Foundation's 5G Super Blueprint

Discussion of the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (OUSD) for Research & Engineering's 5G initiative, and the Multi-site OPS-5G Joint Independent Test Option (MOJITO) project

R egistration to this mini-summit is included in the overall conference registration.

These are but a few of the informative workshops, keynotes, and sessions designed to propel the open networking industry further.

Register to Attend

Join the community virtually Oct. 11-12 for a broad look at the open source 5G ecosystem across networking and edge technologies, and learn about new innovations in networking and edge like enhanced security , 6G, and ONAP 's forthcoming Istanbul release. Register today to join the community for just $150 USD. Click here to access registration and view the conference agenda.

Members of the media may receive a complimentary media pass to the event; please contact [email protected] to register as press.

About the Linux Foundation

Founded in 2000, the Linux Foundation is supported by more than 2,000 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 linuxfoundation.org .

Media Contact

Jill Lovato

[email protected]

The Linux Foundation

SOURCE LF Networking
ROSEMONT, Ill., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS) honored more than 30 award recipients for their accomplishments in education, research, advocacy and humanitarianism at the association's 2021 Annual Meeting, Scientific Sessions and Exhibition in Nashville, Tenn.

The awards presentation was held during the Opening Ceremony of the 103rd AAOMS Annual Meeting  the largest gathering of oral and maxillofacial surgeons in the country  in September.

The Annual Meeting was dedicated posthumously to AAOMS fellows, members and residents who lost their lives to COVID-19. Since 2020, the pandemic has significantly impacted the oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMS) specialty and AAOMS members' practices. Dr. B.D. Tiner, 2020-21 AAOMS President, asked the AAOMS Advisory Committee on Awards Nominations to dedicate the 2021 Annual Meeting to the memory of those members who have lost their lives.

M. Franklin Dolwick, DMD, PhD, of Gainesville, Fla., received the Robert V. Walker Distinguished Service Award honoring significant contributions to the OMS specialty. He is recognized as an innovator in TMJ arthrography and procedures for treating TMJ internal derangement. He developed the TMJ arthrocentesis procedure in 1989 that has been used to alleviate pain in thousands.

Dr. Dolwick also has served on TMJ research committees for AAOMS, the American Dental Association and National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, written more than 100 articles and coauthored four textbooks. He is former Chair of the OMS Department at the University of Florida, where he has served as a full-tenured professor, craniofacial-cleft palate team member and sleep medicine faculty. Until 2015, he was Residency Program Director. His other honors include the 2013 Donald B. Osbon Award for Outstanding Educator, the OMS Foundation's 1993 Research Recognition Award for temporomandibular disorder studies and the 1980 Meritorious Service Award from the U.S. Air Force.

Other 2021 AAOMS award winners are:

Board of Trustees Special Citation Award  James R. Hupp , DMD, MD, JD, MBA, FACS, of Spokane, Wash. , and Daniel M. Laskin , DDS, MS, of Richmond, Va.

, DMD, MD, JD, MBA, FACS, of , and , DDS, MS, of Clinical Research Award  R. Bryan Bell , DDS, MD, FACS, of Portland, Ore.

 R. , DDS, MD, FACS, of Committee Person of the Year Award  David A. Fenton , DDS, MD, FACS, of Bristol, Conn. , and Daniel J. Meara , DMD, MD, MS, MHCDS, FACS, of Wilmington, Del.

 , DDS, MD, FACS, of , and , DMD, MD, MS, MHCDS, FACS, of Daniel M. Laskin Award for an Outstanding Predoctoral Educator  Glenn J. Reside, DMD, MS, of Chapel Hill, N.C.

 Glenn J. Reside, DMD, MS, of Donald B. Osbon Award for an Outstanding Educator  David C. Stanton , DMD, MD, FACS, of Philadelphia, Pa. (posthumously)

 , DMD, MD, FACS, of (posthumously) Faculty Educator Development Award  Ashley Manlove , DMD, MD, of Champaign, Ill. ; Gwendolyn Reeve , DMD, FACS, of New York, N.Y. ; Rabie Shanti , DMD, MD, of Philadelphia ; and Yedeh Ying, DMD, MD, FACS, of Birmingham, Ala.

 , DMD, MD, of ; , DMD, FACS, of ; , DMD, MD, of ; and Yedeh Ying, DMD, MD, FACS, of Honorary Fellowship  Laney Dezelan of Fishers, Ind. , and Michael J. Herrmann of Albany, N.Y.

 Laney Dezelan of , and of Humanitarian Award for Fellows and Members  Vernon P. Burke , DMD, MD, FACS, of El Paso, Texas , and Robert M. Lamb , DDS, of Edmond, Okla.

 , DMD, MD, FACS, of , and , DDS, of John F. Freihaut Political Activist Award  Larry J. Moore , DDS, MS, of Altadena, Calif.

 , DDS, MS, of Outstanding Legislator of the Year Award  U.S. Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and U.S. Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.)

 U.S. Sen. (R-Mont.) and U.S. Rep. (D-Mass.) Presidential Achievement Award  James A. Davis Jr. , DDS, of Tallahassee, Fla.

 , DDS, of Resident Scientific Award  Rachel B. Lim , DDS, MD, of Seattle, Wash. , and Christopher K. Ward , DMD, of Toronto, Ont.

 , DDS, MD, of , and , DMD, of Special Honorary Fellowship  British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons President Austen T. Smith, MB, BCh ( Wales ), BDS ( Wales ), FDSRCSEd, FRCSEd (OMFS), and IAOMS Immediate Past President Gabriele N. Millesi, DMD, MD

 British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons President Austen T. Smith, MB, BCh ( ), BDS ( ), FDSRCSEd, FRCSEd (OMFS), and IAOMS Immediate Past President Gabriele N. Millesi, DMD, MD William J. Gies Foundation Award  John H. (Jack) Campbell , DDS, MS, FACS, of Buffalo, N.Y.

OMS Foundation awards also were announced. In alliance with AAOMS, the Foundation strives to enhance patient care quality and safety through advancing innovation in OMS research and education:

Torch Award  Kathy A. Banks , DMD, of Barnegat, N.J.

 , DMD, of Research Recognition Award  Anh D. Le , DDS, PhD, of Philadelphia

 , DDS, PhD, of Gerald E. Hanson Outstanding Service Award  David E. Frost , DDS, MS, of Chapel Hill

 , DDS, MS, of Daniel M. Laskin Award  "Oral Lichen Planus-Associated Oral Cavity Squamous Cell Carcinoma Is Associated With Improved Survival and Increased Risk of Recurrence," Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Vol. 78, Issue 7, p. 1,193-1,202, by David L. Best , DDS, MD; Curtis Herzog , DDS; Corey Powell , PhD; Thomas Braun , PhD; Brent B. Ward , DDS, MD, FACS; Justine Moe , DDS, MD, all from Ann Arbor, Mich.

The experts in face, mouth and jaw surgery  The American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS) is the professional organization representing more than 11,000 oral and maxillofacial surgeons, OMS residents and OMS professional staff in the United States. AAOMS supports its fellows' and members' ability to practice their specialty through education, research and advocacy. AAOMS fellows and members comply with rigorous continuing education requirements and submit to periodic office anesthesia evaluations. For additional information about oral and maxillofacial surgery, visit the AAOMS websites at AAOMS.org and MyOMS.org.

SOURCE American Association of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons

Related Links

http://www.aaoms.org


WASHINGTON, Oct. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Business for Voting Rights, a group of more than 220 companies of all sizes and sectors across America, is calling on the Senate to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (VRAA). Below is the Business for Voting Rights' statement of support for the VRAA:

"Over 220 companies of all sizes from every corner of the country and doing business in diverse sectors of the economy united earlier this summer to call on Congress to build on its history of bipartisan support for the Voting Rights Act and ensure that voting rights are protected for all of America's citizens. Although our companies serve different customers and communities, we  Business for Voting Rights  agree that all eligible Americans should have free, fair, and safe access to this fundamental right, regardless of their race or ethnicity.

Today, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to move us closer as a country toward achieving that goal. This bill would revive a powerful tool to stop discriminatory election rule changes before they can cause harm, establish a more transparent system for voters when election rules are changed, and restore the ability to challenge discriminatory election rules in court.

Business for Voting Rights is proud to support commonsense legislation like the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, and we urge all members of Congress regardless of party to stand on the right side of history and support the protection of voting rights.

The right to vote transcends partisan politics and is foundational to our democracy. Every reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act has been signed into law by a Republican president and received strong bipartisan support in Congress, including unanimous support in the Senate in 2006. We urge Congress to come together again and pass this critical bill for the health of America's democracy and economy."

SOURCE Business for Voting Rights

Related Links

https://www.businessforvotingrights.com


PURCHASE, N.Y., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Pepsi officially announces the first-ever Dig In Day, a celebration of Black-owned restaurants and chefs across America. On Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021, everyone with an appetite is invited to dig in and uplift Black-owned restaurants in their community simply by enjoying delicious food and refreshing beverages.

Pepsi Dig In Day is the latest and most broad-reaching initiative the brand is spearheading to drive $100 million in sales for Black-owned restaurants over the next five years. A concerted effort to support these diverse culinary establishments that serve as the cornerstone for communities across the nation, the Dig In Day national call to action will be supported by dedicated advertising, partnerships, business resources and local events.

As Black-owned businesses encounter systemic barriers, which have been exacerbated during the pandemic, Pepsi built the Dig In platform last fall to drive awareness and support for Black-owned restaurants. Since then, Pepsi Dig In has rallied thousands of Americans to support Black-owned eateries and provided resources to help Black restaurateurs thrive. Many corporations and people vowed to support Black-owned businesses; Dig In Day gives everybody a way to reignite and sustain that commitment.

How Restaurants Can Participate in Dig In Day

Pepsi is sharing creative ways to get people ordering online or walking through the doors of Black-owned restaurants. Black restaurateurs are invited to visit PepsiDigIn.com to access resources to grow their business and make the most of Dig In Day, including dedicated toolkits to provide restaurant owners with templated brand materials to help bolster their marketing and social media efforts.

To gear up for November 6, Pepsi is collaborating with JJ Johnson, an award-winning chef, founder, TV personality, author and owner of FIELDTRIP restaurants located throughout New York City. Chef Johnson will help create immersive Dig In Day experiences for food-lovers, while also sharing the many ways industry colleagues can participate to help increase sales.

"Opening and sustaining a thriving restaurant is challenging, and these hurdles are even greater for my Black peers in the food industry," said Chef Johnson. "Pepsi Dig In Day is an opportunity to come together over a delicious meal while supporting restaurants that create jobs and uplift our communities."

How Consumers Can Support: Eat. Upload. Repeat.

Food lovers across the U.S. are invited to join together on Dig In Day to create a tidal wave of positive impact for Black-owned restaurants. The Pepsi DigInPassport.com, a new online destination, makes it easy to find one near you and earn rewards. The mobile-friendly site helps people seamlessly explore and select Black-owned restaurants, track purchases to show their support, and earn a chance for rewards that continue to pay it forward to the restaurant community.

Here's how people can get involved on Dig In Day and beyond:

Eat: Dine at a local Black-owned restaurant, in person or by ordering, and save your receipt. Upload: Visit DigInPassport.com to sign up, upload your receipt, and automatically earn a chance to win culinary rewards. For those who upload their receipts on Dig In Day, Pepsi also will offer access to a soon-to-be-announced, limited-edition premium collectible item. Repeat: Start supporting local Black-owned eateries before, during and after the special day; and encourage friends and family to do the same by sharing delicious meals on social with #DigInDay.

"Black-owned restaurants shape the food scene in our neighborhoods. Now there's a dedicated day to support them as well as a resource to make it easy for people to explore and try their wide variety of delicious cuisine," said Scott Finlow, Chief Marketing Officer, PepsiCo Global Foodservice. "We're asking people to recommit their support and make their meal count on Dig In Day and every day. And we invite restaurateurs - no matter where they are in their entrepreneurial journey - to tap into free resources to help bolster their businesses and generate greater visibility."

How Companies Can Join the Movement

As employees increasingly want employers to act with purpose and many continue to struggle with stressors of remote working, Pepsi is inviting other companies to join the movement by inspiring their employees to participate in Dig In Day. Some of the first corporate partners to commit to buying their associates lunch from a Black-owned restaurant on October 28 leading up to Dig In Day include:

James Beard Foundation, a nonprofit organization that celebrates, supports, and elevates the people behind America's food culture.

BentoBox, a marketing and commerce platform dedicated to helping restaurants accelerate growth.

Intersport, an independent media and marketing firm with services that span creative, digital, sponsorship, experiential and hospitality.

Golin, a global public relations agency that helps companies create change that matters.

About Pepsi Dig In

In 2020, PepsiCo committed more than $400 million to advance racial equality within the company, industry and communities it serves. As part of that, the company dedicated $50 million to support Black-owned businesses over the next five years. As a result, PepsiCo has developed a multi-faceted platform designed to drive access, business acceleration, and awareness including millions in grants and resources. For example:

Access : The PepsiCo Foundation bestowed a $10 million grant to the National Urban League to co-create the Black Restaurant Accelerator program, which will provide funding, mentoring and management training to 500 Black restaurant owners in 12 cities over the next five years. The program's first grantees were announced over the summer and the effort is on track to identify 100 grantees by the end of the year.

: The PepsiCo Foundation bestowed a grant to the National Urban League to co-create the Black Restaurant Accelerator program, which will provide funding, mentoring and management training to 500 Black restaurant owners in 12 cities over the next five years. The program's first grantees were announced over the summer and the effort is on track to identify 100 grantees by the end of the year. Business acceleration: Pepsi kicked off Black Restaurants Deliver, a pro bono digital and delivery consulting program that is helping restaurant owners adapt to the new consumer landscape.

Restaurateurs interested in learning more can visit pepsidigin.com/resources-for-restaurateurs and all food lovers can follow @PepsiDigIn on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $70 billion in net revenue in 2020, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker, Tropicana and SodaStream. PepsiCo's product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including 23 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.

Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in Convenient Foods and Beverages by Winning with Purpose. "Winning with Purpose" reflects our ambition to win sustainably in the marketplace and embed purpose into all aspects of our business strategy and brands. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com.

About JJ Johnson

JJ Johnson is a James Beard Award-winning chef, TV Personality and Author best known for his barrier-breaking cuisine informed by the Caribbean flavors of his upbringing. Chef JJ's signature cooking style combines culturally relevant ingredients and classically trained technique with a global point of view.

At FIELDTRIP, his made-to-order rice bowl shop that debuted in 2019, Chef JJ highlights rice as a hero ingredient and showcases it in recipes sourced from around the world. FIELDTRIP's first outpost opened in Harlem and has since grown to two additional locations throughout New York City in Rockefeller Center and Long Island City. As one of the only fast casual restaurants on Esquire's "America's Best New Restaurants" list in 2020, FIELDTRIP utilizes sustainable ingredients and ethically sourced vegetables and proteins, creating a flavorful and diverse dining experience. The brand's motto, "Rice is Culture," was born out of Chef JJ's belief that rice is the universal ingredient that connects us all and can be found at the center of the table in almost every community. Chef JJ is a Mastercard Ambassador and a television host on Just Eats with Chef JJ airing on TV One's network Cleo TV.

Media Contact

Gina Judge

[email protected]

SOURCE PepsiCo
VALLEY FORGE, Pa., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- PJM Interconnection, operator of the nation's largest power grid, has been named among the top 100 adoption-friendly companies by the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, ranking first again among energy and utility companies. It is the 15th consecutive year on the list for PJM.

PJM has been offering substantial financial assistance for adoption-related expenses incurred by full-time employees since 2006. PJM's policy reimburses families for many types of expenses related to adopting a child, including fees, travel and legal costs.

"Our commitment to supporting employees who grow their families through adoption is an essential part of who we are at PJM," said Nora Swimm, Senior Vice President  Corporate Client Services. "We're grateful to be recognized for that commitment once again."

The annual October announcement of the 100 Best Adoption-Friendly Workplaces list precedes National Adoption Month, a campaign to raise awareness for children in foster care. Wendy's founder Dave Thomas, himself an adopted child, was a lifelong champion of adoption.

Each year since 2002, the foundation has surveyed the nation's employers for its ranking of the 100 Best Adoption-Friendly Workplaces. The annual survey weighs adoption-friendly corporate policies, including financial reimbursement for the costs of adoption and paid leave for employees.

Visit the Dave Thomas Foundation website for more information on adoption and to see a listing of honored companies.



PJM Interconnection, founded in 1927, ensures the reliability of the high-voltage electric power system serving 65 million people in all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. PJM coordinates and directs the operation of the region's transmission grid, which includes over 85,103 miles of transmission lines; administers a competitive wholesale electricity market; and plans regional transmission expansion improvements to maintain grid reliability and relieve congestion. PJM's regional grid and market operations produce annual savings of $3.2 billion to $4 billion. For the latest news about PJM, visit PJM Inside Lines at insidelines.pjm.com.



SOURCE PJM Interconnection

Related Links

http://www.pjm.com


60% of US residents think the new AUKUS deal will positively affect global security. Tweet this

The importance of the US "Special Relationship" with the UK remains reinforced through public opinion, with 52% of respondents identifying it as the most valuable ally and strategic partner of the US.

The plurality (40%) of respondents say shared democratic norms and values have the most significant influence on a strong alliance between the United States and the United Kingdom.

"Americans continue to see the US-UK alliance as beneficial to our shared democratic values, security and peace," said Dr. Nell Breyer, Executive Director of the Association of Marshall Scholars. "Despite a period of deep uncertainty, it is clear that the relationship with the UK is seen as foundational to addressing global challenges."

Additionally, the majority (78%) of Americans think it is very important (51%) or somewhat important (27%) for the United States and the United Kingdom to collaborate on combating climate change. US UK collaboration on clean power was the preference of a plurality (27%) of respondents, with offshore energy and wind production (13%), and forest and ecosystem restoration (11%) being other areas of potential collaboration noted by survey respondents.

Interestingly, American perception is split on whether the United Kingdom was adequately consulted before the US's departure from Afghanistan last month: 38% think the UK was adequately consulted, 37% think they were not, and 35% are unsure.

Methodology

All respondents in this study were part of a fully representative sample of n=1,001. Data was weighted by US parameters. The credibility interval (CI), similar to the poll's margin of error is +/- 3%. The datasets were weighted by gender, education, race, and region based on US Census data. Data was collected via cellphone sample using SMS-to-web, a landline sample using IVR, and an online panel provided by Amazon MTurk.

About Emerson College Polling

Emerson College Polling has been ranked as one of the most accurate collegiate pollsters by Nate Silvers' FiveThirtyEight and Bloomberg News. Emerson College Polling is a Charter Member of the American Association of Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) Transparency Initiative.

SOURCE The Association of Marshall Scholars

Related Links

http://www.marshallscholars.org


HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Poseidon Water (Surfside) LLC, the project company for the proposed Huntington Beach Desalination Facility, issued the following statement in response to the recent oil spill off the coast of Huntington Beach, CA:

The oil spill off the coast of Huntington Beach is a man-made tragedy that must never happen again. Protection of Orange County's coastal ecology and water quality is an environmental, social and economic imperative, and the health and safety of the public and California's wildlife should never be compromised.

The long-term restoration of the Bolsa Chica Wetlands is tied to the future development of the proposed Huntington Beach Desalination Facility. As such, Poseidon Water has a vested interest in the health and viability of local wetlands as well as ensuring the Pacific Ocean is unaffected by pollution and poor water quality. In this regard, Poseidon Water is coordinating with local officials and the Bolsa Chica Wetlands Conservancy and Huntington Beach Wetlands Conservancy and will continue to offer our assistance as needed.

About Poseidon Water

Poseidon Water is a private company that partners with public agencies to deliver water infrastructure projects. The company's primary focus is developing large-scale reverse osmosis seawater desalination plants implemented through innovative public-private partnerships in which private enterprise assumes the developmental and financial risks. For more information on Poseidon's Carlsbad Desalination Plant, visit the plant website at www.carlsbaddesal.com. For more information on Poseidon's Huntington Beach desalination plant, visit the project website at www.HBfreshwater.com.

Contact: Scott Maloni

[email protected]

SOURCE Poseidon Water
The endless variations of snowflakes demonstrate the advantages of 3D printing: no matter how complex and unique the model is, production can start immediately. There are no costs and complications, for example, with mold manufacturing. The printing farm makes local manufacturing easily possible for customized outputs and products. Compared to machine milling, there is less waste and the printing material (filament), and there are plans for using recycled material in the near future.

This is a leap forward both on the hardware and software levels. The printers are different from the regular production models. Their design and construction allow for placement into a special scalable rig, featuring mechanisms responsible for automatic collection and dispensing of the finished 3D prints. In-house developed software takes care of the whole farm, with smart algorithms for assigning print tasks, monitoring all ongoing processes, and collecting data. All the user has to do is select a print using the touchscreen tablet and then wait for the finished print to be dispensed.

Prusa Research develops and manufactures 3D printers directly in their headquarters in Prague, Czech Republic. The company runs their own printing farm there, with 600 printers running simultaneously, manufacturing parts for new 3D printers. The main advantage of this method is that new or updated part designs can be put immediately into production with no extra steps or delays. While this farm is still controlled by operators working shifts, the new model introduced at EXPO 2020 Dubai is fully automated and requires very little maintenance.

"We run the biggest 3D printing farm in the world, so we have the experience to design the ideal workflow. Our priority was to make the operation as easy as possible," says Josef Prusa, CEO of Prusa Research. "The farm we are introducing in Dubai is going to be available commercially. We already have customers that run dozens of our 3D printers at once, either for prototyping or small-series manufacturing. We want to offer them this automated printing farm with uncomplicated operation and maintenance."

More info: https://expo.prusa3d.com/

ABOUT PRUSA RESEARCH

Prusa Research is a leading 3D printer manufacturer based in Prague, Czech Republic. The company was founded as a one-man start-up in 2012 by Josef Prusa, a Czech hobbyist, maker and inventor. It all started as a hobby when Prusa began to explore the possibilities of open-source 3D printers, gradually improving and expanding themmaking them accessible to mainstream users. Just a couple of years were enough to turn a small garage project into a globally recognized brand with more than 600 people on board. Today, several large development teams within the company are focused on pushing 3D printing technologies even further with new 3D printers, advanced software and better printing materials.

ABOUT PRUSA PRO AFS

The Prusa Pro AFS prototype was created under the Prusa Farm project  Self-sufficient robotic fabrication in additive manufacturing, which is funded with state support from the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic and the Ministry of Industry and Trade under the TREND Program.

SOURCE Prusa Research

Related Links

https://expo.prusa3d.com/


LUXEMBOURG, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --

REDE D'OR FINANCE.

(Incorporated in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg)

Offer to Purchase for Cash Up to U.S.$135,000,000 Aggregate Principal Amount

of its Outstanding 4.500% Notes due 2030

unconditionally guaranteed by Rede D'Or Sao Luiz S.A.

Rede D'Or Finance, a private limited liability company (societe a responsabilite limitee) incorporated and existing under the laws of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg with registered office at 17, Boulevard F.W. Raiffeisen, L-2411 Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, and registered with the Luxembourg Register of Commerce and Companies (Registre de commerce et des societes, Luxembourg) under number B221035 ("Rede D'Or"), hereby announces the commencement of its offer to purchase for cash up to U.S.$135,000,000 aggregate principal amount (subject to increase by Rede D'Or in its sole discretion under the circumstances described in the Offer to Purchase (as defined below), the "Maximum Tender Amount") of the outstanding notes set forth in the table below (the "Notes"), upon the terms and subject to the conditions described in the Offer to Purchase dated October 6, 2021 (as it may be amended or supplemented from time to time, the "Offer to Purchase").

The following table sets forth certain terms of the Tender Offer (as defined below):

Title of Notes CUSIP and ISIN

Numbers Aggregate

Principal

Amount

Outstanding Maximum

Tender Amount Tender Offer

Consideration

(1) Early

Tender

Premium(1) Total

Consideration(1)(2) 4.500% Notes due 2030 CUSIP: 75735GAA6 and L7915TAA0 ISIN: US75735GAA67 and USL7915TAA09 U.S.$885,000,000 U.S.$135,000,000 U.S.$976.25 U.S.$30.00 U.S.$1,006.25

_____________________________________________ (1) Per U.S.$1,000 principal amount of Notes tendered and accepted for purchase. (2) Includes the Early Tender Premium (as defined below).

The Tender Offer will expire at 11:59 p.m., New York City time, on November 3, 2021, or any other date and time to which Rede D'Or extends the Tender Offer (such date and time, as it may be extended, the "Expiration Deadline"), unless earlier terminated. Holders must validly tender their Notes at or prior to the Expiration Deadline to be eligible to receive the Tender Offer Consideration (as defined below) for such Notes plus Accrued Interest (as defined below). Holders must validly tender their Notes at or prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on October 20, 2021 (such date and time, as it may be extended, the "Early Tender Deadline") to be eligible to receive the Total Consideration (as defined below) for such Notes plus Accrued Interest. The Total Consideration, the Tender Offer Consideration and the Accrued Interest will be payable in cash. Tendered Notes may be validly withdrawn from the Tender Offer at or prior to, but not after, 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on October 20, 2021 (such date and time, as it may be extended, the "Withdrawal Deadline"). Notes validly tendered pursuant to the Tender Offer and accepted for purchase will be so accepted subject to the Maximum Tender Amount and may be subject to proration, all as more fully described herein.

Subject to the Maximum Tender Amount, Rede D'Or intends to accept for purchase all Notes validly tendered (and not validly withdrawn) at or prior to the Early Tender Deadline, and will only prorate such Notes if the aggregate principal amount of Notes validly tendered (and not validly withdrawn) at or prior to the Early Tender Deadline exceeds the Maximum Tender Amount. If the Tender Offer is not fully subscribed as of the Early Tender Deadline, Holders who validly tender Notes after the Early Tender Deadline but at or prior to the Expiration Deadline may be subject to proration if the aggregate principal amount of Notes validly tendered (and not validly withdrawn) at or prior to the Expiration Deadline exceeds the Maximum Tender Amount. Subject to the Maximum Tender Amount and proration, all Notes validly tendered at or prior to the Early Tender Deadline will be accepted for purchase before any Notes validly tendered after the Early Tender Deadline are accepted for purchase. Furthermore, if the Tender Offer is fully subscribed as of the Early Tender Deadline, Holders who validly tender Notes after the Early Tender Deadline will not have any of their Notes accepted for purchase, provided that such Notes may be accepted for purchase if Rede D'Or increases the Maximum Tender Amount, which it is entitled to do in its sole discretion. There can be no assurance that Rede D'Or will increase the Maximum Tender Amount. See "The Tender OfferMaximum Tender Amount; Proration" in the Offer to Purchase for more information on the proration provisions applicable to the Tender Offer.

The Tender Offer is not conditioned upon the tender of any minimum principal amount of Notes. Rede D'Or refers to the offer to purchase the Notes as the "Tender Offer." The Tender Offer is open to all registered holders (individually, a "Holder," and collectively, the "Holders") of the Notes. The Tender Offer is subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, as described in the section of the Offer to Purchase entitled "The Tender OfferConditions to the Tender Offer." The purpose of the Tender Offer is to purchase up to U.S.$135,000,000 aggregate principal amount of Notes and reduce Rede D'Or's interest expense.

Subject to the terms and conditions of the Tender Offer, the consideration for each U.S.$1,000 principal amount of Notes validly tendered (and not validly withdrawn) and accepted for purchase pursuant to the Tender Offer will be the tender offer consideration for the Notes set forth in the table above (the "Tender Offer Consideration"). Holders of Notes that are validly tendered (and not validly withdrawn) at or prior to the Early Tender Deadline and accepted for purchase pursuant to the Tender Offer will receive the Tender Offer Consideration plus the early tender premium for the Notes set forth in the table above (the "Early Tender Premium" and, together with the Tender Offer Consideration, the "Total Consideration"). Holders of Notes tendered after the Early Tender Deadline, but before the Expiration Deadline, and accepted for purchase pursuant to the Tender Offer, will receive the Tender Offer Consideration, but not the Early Tender Premium. No tenders will be valid if submitted after the Expiration Deadline.

In addition to the Tender Offer Consideration or the Total Consideration, as applicable, all Holders of Notes accepted for purchase pursuant to the Tender Offer will, on the Early Settlement Date (as defined below) or the Final Settlement Date (as defined below), as applicable, also receive accrued and unpaid interest on those Notes from the last interest payment date with respect to those Notes to, but not including, the Early Settlement Date or the Final Settlement Date, as applicable ("Accrued Interest").

The Tender Offer commences on the date of the Offer to Purchase and will expire on the Expiration Deadline, unless extended or earlier terminated by Rede D'Or. No tenders will be valid if submitted after the Expiration Deadline. If a beneficial owner whose Notes are held by a broker, dealer, commercial bank, trust company or other nominee (a "Nominee") on behalf of a beneficial owner, such Nominee may have an earlier deadline for accepting the Tender Offer. Any beneficial owner should promptly contact such Nominee that holds its Notes to determine its deadline. The Tender Offer is open to all registered Holders of the Notes. There is no letter of transmittal for the Tender Offer.

Rede D'Or reserves the right, but is under no obligation, following the Early Tender Deadline, to set an early settlement date in respect of Notes validly tendered and not validly withdrawn at or prior to the Early Tender Deadline (the "Early Settlement Date"). If Rede D'Or elects, in its sole discretion, to have an Early Settlement Date, based on an Early Tender Deadline of October 20, 2021, it is expected that the Early Settlement Date would occur on October 22, 2021. The acceptance for purchase by Rede D'Or of validly tendered Notes on the Early Settlement Date would be subject to the Maximum Tender Amount, proration (if applicable) and all conditions to the Tender Offer having been either satisfied or waived by Rede D'Or. Irrespective of whether Rede D'Or chooses to have an Early Settlement Date, it expects to purchase any remaining Notes that have been validly tendered and not validly withdrawn at or prior to the Expiration Deadline and that Rede D'Or chooses to accept for purchase, subject to the Maximum Tender Amount and all conditions to the Tender Offer having been either satisfied or waived by Rede D'Or, promptly following the Expiration Deadline (the "Final Settlement Date"). Subject to the Maximum Tender Amount and proration, all Notes validly tendered at or prior to the Early Tender Deadline will be accepted for purchase before any Notes validly tendered after the Early Tender Deadline are accepted for purchase. The Final Settlement Date is expected to occur on the first business day following the Expiration Deadline. Notes accepted on the Final Settlement Date, if any, will be accepted subject to the Maximum Tender Amount and proration, each as described herein and in the Offer to Purchase.

Notwithstanding any other provision of the Tender Offer, Rede D'Or's obligation to accept for purchase, and to pay for, any Notes validly tendered and not validly withdrawn pursuant to the Tender Offer, is subject to, and conditioned upon, the satisfaction of, or Rede D'Or's waiver of, the conditions described in the section of the Offer to Purchase entitled "The Tender OfferConditions to the Tender Offer."

The conditions to the Tender Offer are for the sole benefit of Rede D'Or and may be asserted by Rede D'Or, regardless of the circumstances giving rise to any such condition (including any action or inaction by Rede D'Or). Rede D'Or reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to waive any and all conditions of the Tender Offer, at or prior to the Expiration Deadline. The Tender Offer is not subject to a minimum principal amount of Notes being tendered. See "The Tender OfferConditions to the Tender Offer" in the Offer to Purchase.

Withdrawal rights with respect to the Notes will terminate on the Withdrawal Deadline, unless extended pursuant to applicable law. Accordingly, following the Withdrawal Deadline, any Notes validly tendered (whether before, on or after the Withdrawal Deadline) may no longer be validly withdrawn. For the withdrawal of a tendered Note to be valid, such withdrawal must comply with the procedures set forth in "The Tender OfferWithdrawal of Tenders" in the Offer to Purchase.

Subject to applicable law and the terms set forth in the Offer to Purchase, Rede D'Or reserves the right: (i) to extend or otherwise amend the Early Tender Deadline, the Withdrawal Deadline or the Expiration Deadline, (ii) to increase the Maximum Tender Amount without extending the Withdrawal Deadline or otherwise reinstating withdrawal rights of Holders except as required by law; (iii) to waive or modify in whole or in part any and all conditions to the Tender Offer; (iv) to modify or terminate the Tender Offer; and (v) to otherwise amend the Tender Offer in any respect. In the event of the termination of the Tender Offer, the Notes tendered pursuant to the Tender Offer and not previously accepted and purchased will be promptly returned to the tendering Holders.

If a Holder does not tender its Notes or if a Holder tender Notes that are not accepted for purchase, they will remain outstanding. If Rede D'Or consummates the Tender Offer, the trading market for a Holder's outstanding Notes may be significantly more limited. For a discussion of this and other risks, see "Certain Significant ConsiderationsThe Tender Offer may adversely affect the market value and reduce the liquidity of any trading market of the Notes" in the Offer to Purchase.

THE OFFER TO PURCHASE AND THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAIN CERTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION THAT SHOULD BE READ BEFORE ANY DECISION IS MADE WITH RESPECT TO THE TENDER OFFER, IN PARTICULAR, SEE "CERTAIN SIGNIFICANT CONSIDERATIONS" IN THE OFFER TO PURCHASE FOR A DISCUSSION OF CERTAIN FACTORS HOLDERS SHOULD CONSIDER IN CONNECTION WITH THE TENDER OFFER.

NEITHER THE OFFER TO PURCHASE NOR ANY OF THE OFFER DOCUMENTS RELATING TO THE TENDER OFFER HAVE BEEN FILED WITH OR REVIEWED BY THE FEDERAL OR ANY STATE SECURITIES COMMISSION OR REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF ANY COUNTRY, NOR HAS ANY SUCH COMMISSION OR AUTHORITY PASSED UPON THE ACCURACY OR ADEQUACY OF THE OFFER TO PURCHASE OR ANY OF THE OFFER DOCUMENTS RELATING TO THE TENDER OFFER. ANY REPRESENTATION TO THE CONTRARY IS UNLAWFUL AND MAY BE A CRIMINAL OFFENSE.

NONE OF REDE D'OR, ITS BOARD OF DIRECTORS, THE DEALER MANAGERS (AS DEFINED BELOW), THE TENDER AND INFORMATION AGENT (AS DEFINED BELOW) OR THE TRUSTEE (AS DEFINED IN THE OFFER TO PURCHASE) OR ANY OF THEIR RESPECTIVE AFFILIATES IS MAKING ANY RECOMMENDATION AS TO WHETHER HOLDERS SHOULD TENDER ANY NOTES IN RESPONSE TO THE TENDER OFFER. HOLDERS MUST MAKE THEIR OWN DECISION AS TO WHETHER TO PARTICIPATE IN THE TENDER OFFER, AND, IF SO, THE PRINCIPAL AMOUNT OF NOTES TO TENDER.

The Offer to Purchase and related documents do not constitute an offer to buy or the solicitation of an offer to sell notes 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 on behalf of Rede D'Or by the Dealer Managers or one or more registered brokers or dealers licensed under the laws of such jurisdiction. If Rede D'Or becomes aware of any jurisdiction in which the making of the Tender Offer would not be in compliance with such laws, Rede D'Or will make a good faith effort to comply with any such laws or may seek to have such laws declared inapplicable to the Tender Offer. If, after such good faith effort, Rede D'Or cannot comply with any such applicable laws, the Tender Offer will not be made to the Holders of Notes residing in each such jurisdiction. Neither the delivery of this announcement, the Offer to Purchase and any related documents nor any purchase of Notes by Rede D'Or will, under any circumstances, create any implication that the information contained in this announcement, the Offer to Purchase or in any related document is current as of any time subsequent to the date hereof or thereof.

The Offer to Purchase does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities (other than the Notes). Any offering of securities will only be made by an offering document and any such offering may not be registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

This release may contain certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to risks, uncertainty and changes in circumstances, which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from anticipated results, performance or achievements. All statements contained herein that are not clearly historical in nature are forward-looking and the words "anticipate," "believe," "expect," "estimate," "plan" and similar expressions are generally intend to identify forward-looking statements. Rede D'Or is under no obligation (and expressly disclaims any such obligation) to update or alter its forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. More detailed information about these and other factors is set forth in the Offer to Purchase.

D.F. King & Co., Inc. is acting as the tender agent and as the information agent (the "Tender and Information Agent") for the Tender Offer. Itau BBA USA Securities, Inc. and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC are acting as Dealer Managers (the "Dealer Managers") for the Tender Offer.

The Tender and Information Agent for the Tender Offer is:

D.F. King & Co., Inc.

48 Wall Street, 22nd Floor

New York, NY 10005

[email protected]

Banks and Brokers call: (212) 269-5550

Toll free (U.S. only): (866) 356-7813

By Facsimile:

(For Eligible Institutions only):

(212) 709-3328

Confirmation:

(212) 232-3233

Attn: Michael Horthman

Any questions or requests for assistance or for additional copies of the Offer to Purchase may be directed to the Tender and Information Agent at one of its telephone numbers above. A Holder (or a beneficial owner that is not a Holder) may also contact any of the Dealer Managers at their telephone numbers set forth below or its broker, dealer, commercial bank, trust company or other nominee for assistance concerning the Offer to Purchase.

The Dealer Managers for the Tender Offer are:

Itau BBA USA Securities, Inc.



Debt Capital Markets Team

540 Madison Avenue, 24th Floor

New York, NY

10022

U.S. Toll-Free: +1 (888) 770-4828

Collect: +1 (212) 710-6749 J.P. Morgan Securities LLC

Latin America Debt Capital Markets 383 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10179 U.S. Toll-Free: +1 (866) 846-2874 Collect: +1 (212) 834-4533

SOURCE D.F. King & Co., Inc.

Related Links

www.dfking.com


RICHMOND, Va., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Grand Opportunity USA, or "GOUSA", a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization based in Boston, recently sponsored the Second Amendment Institute's Defending Freedom Action Summit in Richmond on 9/25  9/26, where it rated and scored Virginia gubernatorial candidates Glenn Youngkin and Terry McAuliffe via its first-of-its-kind political credit rating system, the OppScore.

GOUSA, led by John Paul Moran, has a mission is to motivate, educate and mobilize citizens of all backgrounds to advance pro-American values that everyone can unite around while holding our elected officials 100% accountable to voters.

The OppScore is a non-partisan, universal political credit rating based on GOUSA's Five Points of Opportunity, a set of popular principles supported by the vast majority of voters. In short, the scoring system stands for and with the American people on the issues that matter to them most. Movies receive Rotten Tomatoes ratings... Businesses receive Yelp ratings... Everyone receives FICO credit scores... Politicians will finally receive ratings as well!

The OppScore ranges from negative 5.0 points (extreme Anti-Opportunity) up to +5.0 points (strong Pro-Opportunity). In GOUSA's view, all politicians should achieve an OppScore of at least +3.0 points to be elected or remain in office.

Republican Youngkin and Democrat McAuliffe were each scored by GOUSA's rating team, referencing the candidate's official positions, statements, interviews and records. Youngkin received a strong Pro-Opportunity score of: (positive) +4.2/5, indicating that he is strongly aligned with the majority of voters on the issues. In contrast, McAuliffe received a poor Anti-Opportunity score of (negative) -1.6/5, showing evidence that he is working against the voters' interests.

Youngkin received a high score on his support for protecting our 2nd Amendment gun rights, despite deceptive ads from Democrat-linked organizations attacking him on the issue. McAuliffe scored terribly on the subject with his far-Left, anti-2A gun control agenda. Youngkin also scored highly on all five Points of Opportunity  Personal, Economic, Social, Educational, and National Opportunity  while McAuliffe's score is underwater on all points except for Social Opportunity (Youngkin bests him 60% to 20% on the topic). With such a clear difference between the candidates, the choice for Virginia voters should be clear.

Learn more at: www.GO-USA.us

For further information, contact:

Margie Kinder, Director of Communications, GOUSA

703.962.0315

[email protected]

SOURCE Grand Opportunity USA

Related Links

https://go-usa.us/


ROCKVILLE, Md., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTCQB: RGRX) ("RegeneRx"), a clinical-stage drug development company focused on tissue protection, repair and regeneration), today announced that a new independent research paper was published identifying Thymosin Beta 4's (T4) potential in the diagnosis and treatment of acute kidney injury and reduction of mortality in patients with sepsis.

Researchers conducted a prospective observational study measuring T4 blood levels in a cohort of 191 patients within 6 hours of intensive care unit (ICU) admission after diagnosis of sepsis. Based on the T4 concentration, the cohort was divided into three groups representing low, medium and high levels of T4 in serum samples. Patients were then followed for 28 days or until death. According to the study, 92 patients developed acute kidney injury (AKI), 29 patients died within 7 days, and 53 patients died within 28 days. After statistical analyses, the research team found that lower T4 levels correlated with poorer prognosis and increased mortality risk in patients with sepsis. These correlations were statistically significant and remained significant when adjusted for demographics, co-morbidities and laboratory data.

"This study elaborates previous published research on the relationship between T4 and sepsis and demonstrates the possible role of T4 in quickly assessing the state of patients entering the ICU with sepsis or sepsis-like symptoms. Equally important, the study hypothesizes that administering T4 quickly to patients presenting with sepsis, or other systemic infections such as Covid-19, to reduce inflammation and cell death that damages internal organs such as the kidneys may be a viable treatment option," stated Dr. Allan L. Goldstein, Chairman Emeritus of The Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine at The George Washington University School of Medicine and RegeneRx's chairman and chief scientific advisor.

The study, Association between Thymosin beta-4, acute kidney injury, and mortality in patients with sepsis: An observational cohort study, was published by Zhang et. al, in International Immunopharmacology , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intimp.2021.108167, 1 October 2021.

About Sepsis

Sepsis is a systemic inflammatory response syndrome that is caused by infection and is one of the leading causes of death in intensive care unit patients. Acute kidney injury is a series of pathophysiological changes caused by the sudden decline of renal function and the inability to exclude metabolic waste from the body, which is one of the most common complications of sepsis. In the ICU, almost 50% of sepsis patients will develop AKI, thereby increasing the mortality rate by 3050%. Currently, diagnosis and treatment of septic AKI remain limited. In the United States, over 970,000 sepsis cases are admitted annually to the hospital, and the numbers have been rising year over year. Mortality increases dramatically with greater disease severity: 1020% for sepsis, 2040% for severe sepsis, and 4080% for septic shock.

About RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.

RegeneRx is focused on the development of novel therapeutic peptides, including Thymosin beta 4 (T4) and its constituent fragments, for tissue and organ protection, repair, and regeneration. RegeneRx currently has three drug candidates in clinical development for ophthalmic, cardiac/neuro and dermal indications, four active strategic licensing agreements in the U.S., China, and Pan Asia (Korea, Japan, and Australia, among others), and the EU, and has patents and patent applications covering its products in many countries throughout the world.

Forward-Looking Statements

Any statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements made under the provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to be materially different from historical results or from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this press release include but are not limited to statements from us or within research published by third parties. There can be no assurance that positive results from any research or clinical trial by the Company, its collaborators, or independent parties in the U.S. or any other country will result in subsequent clinical confirmation or future value. There can also be no assurance that any of the Company's drug candidates will result in any approved products in the U.S. or any other country. Please view risks described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including those identified in the "Risk Factors" section of the annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, and subsequent quarterly reports filed on Form 10-Q, as well as other filings it makes with the SEC. Any forward-looking statements in this press release represent the Company's views only as of the date of this release and should not be relied upon as representing its views as of any subsequent date. The Company specifically disclaims any obligation to update this information, as a result of future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

SOURCE RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.regenerx.com


ARLINGTON, Va., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Greystar, "the Global Leader in Rental Housing", will break ground on their latest development, The Commodore, on October 6, 2021. Located at 2025 15th Street North in Arlington's charming Courthouse neighborhood, the 20-story building will include 423 apartments.

The Commodore sits at the highest point between Rosslyn and Clarendon prompting spectacular views of the National Mall, Georgetown, and Northern Virginia. Apartments will range in size from micro-units to three-bedroom penthouses. Design of the residences and common areas are inspired by individual homes, giving the space a distinctly intimate and personal feel, unique for a building of this size. The Commodore will offer 24/7 concierge service, a fitness center, kitchen and dining area, children's playroom, clubroom, and a coworking space. Outdoor amenities include a park-view pool and rooftop overlooking Rosslyn and the Washington, D.C. skylines. Completion of the project is expected in Fall 2023.

"We are extremely excited to partner with Arlington County to redevelop the Courthouse Landmark site into a world-class, mixed-use project in the heart of the Rosslyn Ballston corridor," said John Clarkson, Managing Director for Greystar. "The Commodore will deliver much needed housing and placemaking retail at the seat of Arlington County government and bridge the gap between the Rosslyn and Clarendon Metro Stations," he continued. "As the first of two phases, Greystar looks forward to being a vested and long-term owner in this dynamic and strategically important submarket."

The Commodore's central location will allow its residents to take advantage of a variety of walkable amenities, with plans for placemaking retail and dining. The ground level presents a little over 18,000 square feet of retail space which will host locally loved food and drink destinations as well neighborhood, health & wellness, and personal care services for the Courthouse and Clarendon communities. Residents can easily venture into neighboring areas via The Commodore's pedestrian-only promenade, which is surrounded by lush greenery and also provides easy access to the Courthouse Metro station.

With plenty of engaging public spaces, neighboring businesses and corporate headquarters, along with an acclaimed school district, Courthouse has become a hub for young families and professionals alike. The Commodore's strategic placement further serves as a catalyst for growth in the immediate area by offering an inviting and connected living space in Arlington's pioneering destination.

Greystar will oversee development, property management and residential leasing. Cooper Carry is the lead architect, with Land Design contracted for landscape architecture. Edit Lab at Streetsense will be responsible for the interior design. CBRE is overseeing commercial leasing. The site's innovative layout features an open-space concept and thoughtfully designed outdoor areas, intended to foster a more interconnected community.

For more information on retail leasing, contact: Jared Meier, CBRE, +1 (240) 479-7195, [email protected].

About Greystar

Greystar is a leading, fully integrated real estate company offering expertise in investment management, development, and management of rental housing properties globally. Headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, Greystar manages and operates an estimated $220 billion of real estate in more than 210 markets globally including offices throughout North America, Europe, South America, and the Asia-Pacific region. Greystar is the largest operator of apartments in the United States, manages more than 748,000 units/beds, and has a robust institutional investment management platform with approximately $45.1billion of assets under management, including over $21.3 billion of assets under development. Greystar was founded by Bob Faith in 1993 with the intent to become a provider of world-class service in the rental residential real estate business. To learn more, visit www.greystar.com.

CONTACT: Charissa Benjamin/202-415-4461/[email protected]

SOURCE Greystar

Related Links

http://www.greystar.com


ATLANTA, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Resolute Software, a boutique digital modernization and software development consultancy firm, helped a global health information organization inform the whole world about health-related news via a new mobile app.

mobile app healthcare

"Thanks to Resolute's work on our new mobile app, people around the world are able to access critical health news and information in their native language, at any time, with a few clicks on their mobile device. The versatile, modernized mobile app supports our mission to publish and disseminate scientifically rigorous public health information, and deliver policy-makers, researchers, practitioners and global citizens the information they need to be healthy and thrive." - Web CMS specialist-Team Lead, client side

Recently, Resolute Software helped a wide audience of policymakers, researchers, practitioners, and global citizens get access to timely critical health information in 30 regions and in 6 languages via a mobile app with global input. The app turned out to be a huge success, especially having in mind that its launch happened right in the beginning of Covid-19 pandemic. This resulted in 500,000 downloads and a rating of 4.2+ within the first weeks!

At first, the challenge was quite serious as there were 3 outdated apps that had be combined into one - with unified user experience, modern, performant and intuitive design. Despite the complexity of the project, our team of "A" players managed to build the new updated app within only 10 weeks. The app's biggest value is the ability to deliver up-to-date, regional health information in a high-performing, accessible format via users' mobile devices.

"Our responsibility as IT executives in Bulgaria is to make sure that we support the notion that our country is being a place where the quality of IT work is excellent. We are glad we have the chance to work on such meaningful projects that help the whole world and contribute in such positive way."  Veli Pehlivanov, CTO at Resolute Software.

Learn more about how we created the mobile app with global importance here.

If you want to hear more success stories and receive insights on how you can gear up your business for growth in the new digital age, subscribe to our insights.

About Resolute Software

Resolute Software offers full-cycle software engineering and consulting services by focusing on agile, continuous and predictable delivery of future-proof solutions that help organizations transform and expand their digital presence. Visit www.resolutesoftware.com or call +1-770-901-9870 to learn more.

Contacts:

Sean Garguilo

Resolute Software

+1-770-901-9870

[email protected]

SOURCE Resolute Software
BOSTON, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Salsify, the Commerce Experience Management (CommerceXM) platform empowering brand manufacturers, distributors, and retailers to win on the digital shelf, today announced the addition of Alison Dean and Tricia Montalvo Timm to its Board of Directors. With these appointments, the Salsify Board now totals eight members.

"In the next phase of our company, we must have strong, independent voices on our board experienced in what it takes to achieve global scale with proper governance and oversight," said Jason Purcell, CEO, Salsify. "After an exhaustive search, I'm excited that Alison and Tricia bring the skills we need to scale Salsify to the next level. With their combined experience in financial oversight, corporate governance, building a diverse team and an inclusive culture, and scaling for growth, their appointments send a clear signal that we're committed to building Salsify the right way for the long term."

Alison Dean will lead the Board's Audit Committee. She brings extensive financial and governance experience working with fast-growing Software as a Service companies and brands representative of Salsify's target market. Dean served as CFO at iRobot, the leading consumer robot company, from 2013-2020. She currently serves as the Audit Committee Chair on the Board of Everbridge. This global software company provides enterprise software applications that automate and accelerate organizations' operational response to critical security events. Additionally, Dean serves on the Board at Yeti, a leading global brand for outdoor and recreational products.

"Salsify has a well-defined strategy and a strong and thoughtful management team," said Alison Dean. "They have experienced rapid growth and executed well, demonstrating the strong operational foundation they've built to facilitate future growth. I welcome the opportunity to provide my perspective and oversight to help Salsify continue to scale."

Tricia Montalvo Timm is an established Silicon Valley leader with boardroom experience in private and public companies. She served as General Counsel at business intelligence software provider, Looker, overseeing the $2.6 billion acquisition by Google. While at Looker, she also served as the executive sponsor for diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Timm has been the first in-house counsel at several high-growth start-ups and has a proven track record of building and scaling companies internationally. She has extensive public company, corporate governance, and M&A experience, advising management and boards on executive compensation, financial reporting, and compliance matters. Additionally, Timm is a member of Firstboard.io, a curated group of accomplished female executives in technology, working together to increase the representation of women on boards and at the highest level of corporate governance and management. She also serves on the Silicon Valley Executive Board of Directors for How Women Lead.

"I'm excited to bring my years of experience inside boardrooms of both public and private companies to Salsify," said Tricia Montalvo Timm. "I look forward to helping Salsify maximize their multi-faceted initiatives to grow the company, with a particular focus on building a company dedicated to diversity, equity, and inclusion."

The addition of two independent board members comes at a time of rapid growth for Salsify. Earlier this year, Salsify acquired Alkemics, a supplier experience management platform that helps retailers engage with suppliers at every stage of their commercial relationship to serve customers better. With operations in Boston, Lisbon, and Paris, Salsify has doubled both its revenue and its global employee headcount over the past two years.

For additional information, visit www.salsify.com.

About Salsify

Salsify helps brand manufacturers, distributors, and retailers in over 80 countries collaborate to win on the digital shelf. The company's Commerce Experience Management (CommerceXM) platform serves as the system of record for products, accelerates time to market for products, facilitates cross-team and cross-organization collaboration at scale, and provides the insights needed to optimize product pages across channels continuously. The result is shopper-centric, frictionless, and memorable commerce experiences. Great commerce experiences that are delivered efficiently improve brand trust, amplify product differentiation and assortments, increase conversion rate, improve profit margins, and speed time to market. Learn how the world's largest brands, including Mars, L'Oreal, Coca-Cola, Bosch, and GSK, as well as retailers and distributors such as E.Leclerc, Carrefour, Metro, and Intermarche use Salsify every day to stand out on the digital shelf.

For more information, please visit www.salsify.com.

Contact:

Ron Favali

[email protected]

727-512-4490

SOURCE Salsify

Related Links

http://www.salsify.com


HOUSTON, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- MP2 Energy, LLC1, along with other affiliate entities2, will now go to market for commercial customers in the U.S. as Shell Energy, in a move demonstrating strong customer focus and signaling the strength of one energy brand dedicated to serving customers' complete energy transition needs. The Shell Energy brand will encompass the customer-facing elements under which affiliates market wholesale and retail power, natural gas and environmental products, demand response, asset management, and energy solution sales to commercial and industrial customers.

Under the rebrand, MP2 Energy and other affiliates' existing customer contracts will not change. Shell Energy provides a comprehensive suite of integrated energy solutions  from one supplier. These integrated solutions allow Shell Energy to create tailored energy roadmaps based on business' individual needs. Existing and prospective customers will also benefit from direct access to Shell's global expertise, supported by one of the industry's largest energy trading operations.

"Integrating our energy offers under one brand is a positive step as we work to support our customers' decarbonization goals," said Glenn Wright, Vice President of Renewables and Energy Solutions for Shell in the Americas. "Our customers expect a certain level of expertise and support and providing them a consistent and recognizable brand offering allows us to build on the heritage of customer service and energy expertise that we've brought to the market for more than 20 years."

Electricity is the fastest-growing part of the energy system and, when generated from renewable sources, has a big role to play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Shell Energy is working to build momentum in the energy transition by providing more and cleaner energy solutions to commercial customers across a portfolio of gas, power, and environmental products. Shell Energy is supporting the evolving energy needs of commercial customers, helping them navigate their business challenges.

For further information, please visit: www.shellenergy.com

Enquiries

+1 832 337 4355

Notes to editors

Residential energy customers of MP2 Energy, LLC and other Shell affiliates are not impacted by this rebrand of those entities; only commercial business customers will see a change in the brand.

For more than 10 years, Shell has ranked in the top 3 power and gas wholesalers in the US and Canada .

. MP2 Energy and Shell Energy operating in the western US combined have ranked in the top 10 non-residential energy retailers in the US. *

*Wholesale rankings according to Platts' Gas & Power Rankings 2021; Retail rankings according to DNV GL 2020 Market Share Landscape report

Shell Energy offers a mix of power, gas, and renewable products that allow businesses to make bundled purchase agreements that are custom fit to their power needs and carbon goals.

Shell Energy delivers service with a deep commitment to offer customers maximum value and cleaner, integrated solutions that meet their evolving energy needs.

Shell Energy offers solutions across the entire energy value chain, and customers can lean on its scale, resources, and expert guidance to understand the full energy picture.

Progress starts with better energy management. Shell Energy's comprehensive behind-the-meter energy solutions help customers manage their energy usage and help meet their sustainability goals.



Customers can look to Shell Energy to deliver more and cleaner energy. That means they can depend on their power supply for critical infrastructure with renewable options tailored to their organization's goals.

Cautionary note

The companies in which Royal Dutch Shell plc directly and indirectly owns investments are separate legal entities. In this press release "Shell", "Shell Group" and "Group" are sometimes used for convenience where references are made to Royal Dutch Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general. Likewise, the words "we", "us" and "our" are also used to refer to Royal Dutch Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them. These terms are also used where no useful purpose is served by identifying the particular entity or entities. ''Subsidiaries'', "Shell subsidiaries" and "Shell companies" as used in this press release refer to entities over which Royal Dutch Shell plc either directly or indirectly has control. Entities and unincorporated arrangements over which Shell has joint control are generally referred to as "joint ventures" and "joint operations", respectively. Entities over which Shell has significant influence but neither control nor joint control are referred to as "associates". The term "Shell interest" is used for convenience to indicate the direct and/or indirect ownership interest held by Shell in an entity or unincorporated joint arrangement, after exclusion of all third-party interest.

This press release contains forward-looking statements (within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) concerning the financial condition, results of operations and businesses of Royal Dutch Shell. All statements other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements of future expectations that are based on management's current expectations and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements concerning the potential exposure of Royal Dutch Shell to market risks and statements expressing management's expectations, beliefs, estimates, forecasts, projections and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as "aim", "ambition", ''anticipate'', ''believe'', ''could'', ''estimate'', ''expect'', ''goals'', ''intend'', ''may'', ''objectives'', ''outlook'', ''plan'', ''probably'', ''project'', ''risks'', "schedule", ''seek'', ''should'', ''target'', ''will'' and similar terms and phrases. There are a number of factors that could affect the future operations of Royal Dutch Shell and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements included in this press release, including (without limitation): (a) price fluctuations in crude oil and natural gas; (b) changes in demand for Shell's products; (c) currency fluctuations; (d) drilling and production results; (e) reserves estimates; (f) loss of market share and industry competition; (g) environmental and physical risks; (h) risks associated with the identification of suitable potential acquisition properties and targets, and successful negotiation and completion of such transactions; (i) the risk of doing business in developing countries and countries subject to international sanctions; (j) legislative, fiscal and regulatory developments including regulatory measures addressing climate change; (k) economic and financial market conditions in various countries and regions; (l) political risks, including the risks of expropriation and renegotiation of the terms of contracts with governmental entities, delays or advancements in the approval of projects and delays in the reimbursement for shared costs; (m) risks associated with the impact of pandemics, such as the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak; and (n) changes in trading conditions. No assurance is provided that future dividend payments will match or exceed previous dividend payments. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional risk factors that may affect future results are contained in Royal Dutch Shell's Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2020 (available at www.shell.com/investor and www.sec.gov). These risk factors also expressly qualify all forward-looking statements contained in this press release and should be considered by the reader. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this press release, October 6, 2021. Neither Royal Dutch Shell plc nor any of its subsidiaries undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other information. In light of these risks, results could differ materially from those stated, implied or inferred from the forward-looking statements contained in this press release.

We may have used certain terms, such as resources, in this press release that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) strictly prohibits us from including in our filings with the SEC. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our Form 20-F, File No 1-32575, available on the SEC website www.sec.gov.

1 *MP2 Energy, d/b/a Shell Energy Solutions is a wholly owned subsidiary of Shell Energy North America (US) L.P.

2 Shell Energy North America (US) L.P. ("SENA") and MP2 Energy LLC d/b/a Shell Energy Solutions ("Shell Energy Solutions")

SOURCE Shell Energy
"We are aggressively seeking to lessen the impact of our operations on the environment and offering low-carbon fuels is one of many ways we are doing that," said Benjamin Murray, President & CEO of Skyservice. "Our objective is to achieve carbon neutrality at Skyservice by 2050. By offering SAF, we can effectively contribute to fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions reduction goals as set out by the International Civil Aviation Organization and advance our own corporate environmental protection mission."

Skyservice will make SAF available to all customers, providing the opportunity to reduce the life cycle emissions by 20% compared to traditional jet fuel, based on a life cycle assessment of 70 percent reduction in carbon dioxide for "Neat SAF" in a 30 percent Neat SAF / 70 percent JET A-1 fuel blend.

Skyservice's Toronto South Terminal, located at Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) is the first of its' Fixed-based Operations to receive its first SAF shipment from World Fuel Services. The SAF was produced by World Energy, the world's first and America's only commercial-scale SAF production company.

JET A-1 jet fuel grade is commonly used in Canada and beyond North America. Formerly known as "kerosene", it is suitable for most jet aircraft. It meets stringent international requirements, particularly the latest versions of the AFQRJOS, the British DEF STAN 91-091 standard, the ASTM D1655 standard and the NATO F-35 specification. It has a minimum flashpoint of 38C and a maximum freezing point of -47C. JET A-1 is the principal fuel used for jet turbine engines.

"We have always worked to align our values with those of our Fractional Owners and suppliers, and a commitment to sustainability has never been more important to us, and to them,"

said Jared Williams, Chief Operating Officer & Vice President, Operations at AirSprint. "Having the opportunity to purchase SAF in Canada not only helps mitigate the impacts of traditional jet fuel on the environment, but it also helps move the aviation industry forward in a more efficient and positive way."

As SAF supply increases, Skyservice plans to transition its fuel program to use SAF exclusively, reinforcing the company's focus on sustainability and environmental responsibility.

About Skyservice

Skyservice is a North American leader in business aviation dedicated to innovation, responsible operations, safety, and service excellence. Celebrating its 35th successful year, Skyservice is at the forefront of the business aviation industry with best in-class facilities across Canada. Our skilled maintenance teams, outstanding fixed base operation facilities, first-class aircraft management, charter services, aircraft sales and acquisition provide our customers with an experience that is truly above and beyond. To learn more, visit http://www.skyservice.com/.

About AirSprint

AirSprint Private Aviation is a privately held company with offices in Toronto, Montreal and Calgary. AirSprint maintains the largest fractional fleet of private aircraft in Canada, a jet collection of Embraer Praetor 500s, Embraer Legacy 450s, Cessna Citations CJ3+ and Cessna Citations CJ2+. AirSprint proudly flies Canadians from coast-to-coast including service from Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and the Maritimes. AirSprint provides discerning Canadians with a better choice for optimizing their time by enhancing the private jet ownership experience with industry-leading safety standards, exceptional turn-key service and increased flexibility; everything personalized for the Owners' individual travel needs. All at a fraction of the cost. AirSprint.com

ADDITIONAL PHOTOS CAN BE DOWNLOADED HERE.

SOURCE Skyservice Business Aviation Inc. - Mississauga, ON

Related Links

https://skyservice.com/


JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Sophros Recovery launched this past weekend with a Grand Opening event, attended by over 75 treatment professionals, who emphasized the critical need for integrated partial hospitalization (PHP), intensive outpatient (IOP), and outpatient (OP) addiction treatment. Sophros is a treatment program in Jacksonville, Florida, owned by Nick & Katie Padlo, who formed the vision for Sophros after Nick's personal battle with addiction and recovery.

The Sophros Team is composed of experienced and talented industry leaders Sophros Recovery waiting area, designed to inspire comfort and safety Founder/CEO Nick Padlo leads a group of treatment professionals on a tour of the center Sophros Recovery group therapy room #1 Sophros Group Room #2 is designed for experiential and mind/body connection

After graduating from West Point and serving in two combat tours, Nick went on to face larger challenges when he returned home. "I know what it's like to be in a dark place and see no way out, and I also know that it is fully possible to find success in recovery" says Padlo. "Trauma, depression, anxiety, and substance use disorder are at an all-time high, especially after the COVID crisis, and it's now time for so many clients and their families to begin to heal. Our only mission at Sophros is to 'help clients regain their lives,' and we do this through integrating medical treatment, group/individual therapy, case management, and ongoing alumni supportwe took the best practices from across the national treatment landscape and implemented them all in a best-in-class outpatient program." The Clinical Director of Sophros is Erin Moran, who designed a bespoke therapy program, based on elements from several evidence-based practices. Moran says, "With increases in mental health challenges in recent years, individuals are trying to find ways to cope, including addictive substances. It is crucial to learn new ways of coping, establish a healthy support system, and step into discomfort to begin the healing process." She went on to share additional details about the program components that include group therapy split into educational modules, experiential sessions, and participation in mind/body work, all with a grounding in CBT, DBT, and Trauma-informed care. During the tour, she made sure to emphasize the individualized nature of the care at Sophros, rather than a one-size-fits all approach.

Sophros also recognizes and addresses the impact that addiction and mental health issues have on those we love. Katie Padlo will be leading a free weekly SMART Recovery Friends and Family meeting. She says that "addiction affects the whole family, and loved ones have very little support in the process. We provide the tools for them to help themselves and support their loved one." The Medical Director, Dr. John Kemerer provides medical care at the facility with the nursing team. At the grand opening, Dr Kemerer shared some of his philosophy on addiction treatment: "Each client is unique, and we leverage our body of medical experience and knowledge to ensure healing for the client's physical health, which allows them to be receptive to the clinical work they will do at the centerthe medical team works closely with the clinical team to ensure seamlessly integrated client care."

It was apparent at the grand opening that Sophros Recovery has a novel approach, passionate/experienced team, and a warm & welcoming center for clients. They are now open, and they are offering day and evening outpatient treatment.

For more information about the program, including treatment programs, visit www.sophrosrecovery.com or call them directly at (904) 490-6835

SOURCE Sophros Recovery

Related Links

https://www.sophrosrecovery.com


COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. and NEW YORK, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Space Information Sharing and Analysis Center (Space ISAC) and the New York Metro InfraGard Members Alliance (NYM-IMA) announced today they have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) enabling the two organizations to collaborate on space cybersecurity endeavors. The collaboration is designed to promote broad-based participation by members of both organizations through enhanced educational initiatives, user-and operator-training, and intelligence-sharing activities in the space domain.

Erin Miller, Space ISAC Executive Director commented, "We are delighted to collaborate with the NY Metro InfraGard Members Alliance as a partner in our global space community. We can work together to increase security and resilience in the space sector and anticipate this collaboration will assist with long-term space security."

Jennifer Gold, Vice President and IT Sector Chief of NY Metro InfraGard said, "New York is a hub of technology innovation, and this joint effort is reflective of that and our unwavering commitment to advancing the security and the protection of our nation's critical assets. We view this collaboration as an opportunity to foster increased communication and promote education in space-related cybersecurity matters.

"While a critical infrastructure designation has not yet been made for space, we fully recognize the vital importance of Space to both our National Security and to our nation's commercial interests. All the Critical Infrastructure sectors are reliant upon the services within space, such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), modern communication networks, and Satellite technologies. The data collected and transmitted in space informs all sectors. In the best interest of our nation, we must secure the vulnerable technology in space to defend against the most consequential cyber threats."

Space ISAC is the only space-dedicated ISAC and serves to facilitate collaboration across the global space industry to enhance the ability to prepare for and respond to vulnerabilities, incidents, and threats; to disseminate timely and actionable information among member entities; and to be the primary communications channel for the space sector with respect to this information. This work is made possible through collaboration of a broad membership that spans the entire horizon of the space industry, including organizations large and small involved in the space supply chain, space missions, education and research, space business systems, launch, space systems engineering, payload design, space vehicles, cybersecurity, space communications, intelligence, cloud, and data processing, and more.

InfraGard is a non-profit organization serving as a public-private partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and members of the private sector for the protection of U.S. Critical Infrastructure. InfraGard is an association of individuals that facilitates information sharing and intelligence between businesses, academic institutions, state and local law enforcement agencies, and other participants dedicated to preventing hostile acts against the United States.

For more information, please visit Space ISAC and the New York Metro InfraGard Members Alliance online.

Press Contact:

Space ISAC

Erin Miller | [email protected] | 303-596-4370 | www.s-isac.org/membership

Press Contact:

New York Metro InfraGard Members Alliance

Laura Hynes-Keller | [email protected] | NY Metro InfraGard Members Alliance

SOURCE Space ISAC; NY Metro InfraGard Members Alliance
LONG BEACH, Calif., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Middle school students in Long Beach engaged in solving real-world problems in a series of week-long STEAM-based art programs at the US Sailing Center, in conjunction with the Long Beach Public Library and part of Dramatic Results' federally-funded Art of Building a City Project (ABC Project) STEAM Ecosystem. The students selected the topic of this summer's program, which was to solve a real-world problem: climate change. Tasked to build a floating city given rising sea-level projections for the area of Belmont Shore to be almost 5 ft in 2221, and using Archimedes' principle of water displacement, students worked in small groups to identify a problem in their city utilizing the five stages of the design thinking process: empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test.

Long Beach students present their floating city prototypes to their families.

The program was created over 30 hours of collaboration between pre-service teachers from local California State University campuses, community collaborators, curriculum engineers, and teaching artists. Keeping in mind the need for socially distanced best practices, the team engineered a framework for students to design their prototypes and address their chosen problem from varying entryways and viewpoints, an approach unique to the ABC Project.

Once given the challenge, students collaborated in small teams to create a unique design that fit the needs of a developing city. Consulting with community mentors from the Long Beach Public Library, students were aided in constructing their floating cities and educated on how to use sustainable materials. The student teams ultimately used the knowledge gained through collaborative research, presentations, and hands-on science stations to design and build their floating cities, which contained solutions to specific community issues, such as income, food, clean drinking water, and recreation.

"Problem-solving is an act of creativity. Creativity stems from the ability to take information from multiple sources and weave these threads into new ideas. We want students to gain confidence in their creativity, to see themselves as valuable problem solvers, and to recognize that their ideas have value," explained Gabe Gaete, Mobile Studio Coordinator at the Long Beach Public Library and ABC Project Collaborator.

The series culminated in a Family Sharing Day, where the groups presented their floating cities to their families and finally tested their prototypes in water. This fall, students will revisit the topic of climate change and explore social justice through a series of artistic, design, debate, and discussion activities.

ABOUT DRAMATIC RESULTS

Dramatic Results is a nonprofit that designs and delivers educational programming using art, design, and culture as entryways into STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). By providing in-class and out-of-school opportunities in historically underrepresented communities, innovative programs prepare learners to be empathetic, resilient, and critical thinkers using methodologies like Design Thinking and Social-Emotional Learning to fuel collaboration and creativity. Since 1992, Dramatic Results programs have had measurable impacts on 500 classroom teachers and over 35,000 students' social, emotional, and academic performance. Visit www.dramaticresults.org to learn more.

Contact:

Talia Sandoval

505-796-2594

[email protected]

SOURCE Dramatic Results
MIRAMAR, Fla., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Florida's Hometown Airline is brightening up the skies over Miami with a steady stream of its signature yellow planes. Today Spirit Airlines (NYSE: SAVE) launched service at Miami International Airport (MIA), with its first flight arriving from Atlantic City, N.J. (ACY) and first departure bound for Port-au-Prince, Haiti (PAP).

Spirit's presence at MIA begins with service to nine destinations, which will grow to 31 nonstop options by the time expansions in November and January are complete. The carrier will serve 20 markets domestically and 11 internationally.

Today's ribbon-cutting ceremony included the announcement of the Free Spirit Flyaway, a nationwide promotion in which Spirit will give away 31 pairs of roundtrip tickets in honor of each of its nonstop routes from MIA.1 Even betterthe only requirement for entering for a chance to win is to be a member of the Free Spirit loyalty program, which costs nothing to join and offers the fastest way to earn rewards and status.2

"Launching nonstop flights to 31 destinations right out of the gate in Miami is a huge milestone for us, and we want to share all that excitement with our Guests," said Ted Christie, President and CEO of Spirit Airlines. "We want our Free Spirit Loyalty winners to be able to choose their own destinations because flexibility is what we're providing in Miamimultiple daily flights that go all over the U.S. and stretch into South America. Combined with our flights from West Palm Beach and our position as the largest carrier in Fort Lauderdale, we're giving our Guests more options in South Florida than ever."

The celebration starts today at spirit.com/flyaway. Between now and Nov. 3, 2021 Guests can enter for a chance to win roundtrip tickets for two with complimentary airfare, bags, seat selection and Shortcut Boarding.3 Each of the winners will be able to plan a trip from their closest Spirit airport to any of the destinations the airline serves.4

Free Spirit Members can take advantage of Spirit's Status Match Challenge, which offers anyone with elite status on another airline the equivalent Free Spirit Status for 90 days and the ability to quickly earn Free Spirit Silver or Gold Status after that.

"Spirit Airlines is America's only major airline headquartered in South Florida, and welcoming them to our airport is extremely special," said Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. "We proudly welcome the significant investment of flights, jobs and business revenue that Spirit is bringing to MIA and to Miami-Dade County, and we are excited to see the company grow as they offer more travel options to our residents and visitors."

"We are immensely grateful for Spirit's decision to not only expand to MIA, but with a sizeable presence of service to 31 cities," said Ralph Cutie, MIA Director and CEO. "With more than 200 weekly flights by January, Spirit will instantly become one of our busiest passenger airlines, giving our travelers even more options for flying to and from Miami-Dade County."

Spirit's full schedule is large enough to earn the airline a position as MIA's second largest carrier. Adding service at MIA is the next chapter of Spirit's story as the carrier steps up to meet the demand for high-value travel to and from South Florida. The carrier is staffing MIA with more than 200 new Spirit Family Members and supporting the expansion with 16 brand new fuel-efficient Airbus A320neo planes being delivered this year. Next year, Spirit plans to accept another 24 new planes into the airline's Fit Fleet, which is among the youngest in the industry.

Spirit Airlines Routes from MIA



Destination: Available: Start Date: Destination: Available: Start Date: Atlantic City (ACY) Daily Oct. 6 Detroit (DTW) Daily Nov. 17 Atlanta (ATL) Daily Oct. 6 Hartford-Bradley (BDL) Daily Nov. 17 Baltimore (BWI) Daily Oct. 6 Houston (IAH) Daily Nov. 17 Bogota (BOG)* Daily Oct. 7 Las Vegas (LAS) Daily Nov. 17 Guatemala City (GUA)* 4x per week Oct. 7 Myrtle Beach (MYR) Daily Nov. 17 Medellin (MDE)* Daily Oct. 6 New York LaGuardia (LGA) 2x per day Nov. 17 Newark (EWR) Daily Oct. 6 Orlando (MCO) Daily Nov. 17 Port-au-Prince (PAP)* 4x per week Oct. 6 Philadelphia (PHL) Daily Nov. 17 Santo Domingo (SDQ)* 3x per week Oct. 6 Raleigh-Durham (RDU) Daily Nov. 17 Barranquilla (BAQ)* Daily Nov. 17 San Pedro Sula (SAP)* 3x per week Nov. 18 Boston (BOS) Daily Nov. 17 San Juan (SJU) Daily Nov. 17 Cali (CLO)* Daily Nov. 17 Tegucigalpa-Palmerola (XPL)* 4x per week Nov. 17 Chicago O'Hare (ORD) Daily Nov. 17 San Jose, C.R. (SJO)* 4x per week Jan. 5 Cleveland (CLE) Daily Nov. 17 San Salvador (SAL)* 3x per week Jan. 6 Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) Daily Nov. 17 St. Thomas (STT) 3x per week Jan. 6 Denver (DEN) Daily Nov. 17







*Subject to government approval.

Spirit's Elevated Guest Experience

The Miami expansion arrives alongside Spirit's continuing commitment to invest in the Guest, which entails a number of initiatives aimed at delivering the best value in the sky.

An all-new cabin interior with ergonomically-designed seats and more usable legroom, featuring the best deal in the sky with our unique Big Front Seat

Fast onboard Wi-Fi that allows Guests to watch content from their favorite streaming services 5

Spirit's Signature Service

Recognition

Spirit continues to garner awards and recognition in 2021. Spirit is one of only three U.S. airlines listed on FORTUNE's 2021 list of World's Most Admired Companies, which measures companies with the strongest reputation within their industries. The carrier is a Gold Stevie Award winner for its groundbreaking self-bag drop system with biometric photo matching, which speeds the check-in process and reduces face-to-face contact. Spirit also earned "Platinum" status in the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) Health Safety initiative powered by SimpliFlying.

Guest Safety

Spirit's commitment to Safe Travels includes enhanced cleaning, advanced air filtration and a health acknowledgement at check-in. Airlines and airports remain subject to federal law requiring Guests to wear an appropriate face covering at airports and on flights. Please visit Spirit's COVID-19 Information Center for more information on safety enhancements.

1 The Free Spirit Flyaway promotion is open to legal permanent residents of the fifty (50) United States or the District of Columbia (excluding residents of Rhode Island and New York). See promotion rules for details. 2 Based on points earned on published fares (excluding sale fares) and optional services using the Free Spirit Credit Card (the "Card"), and includes status qualifying points earned by spending on Spirit and everyday purchases using the Card. 3 Each round trip includes base fare, taxes and fees, seat selection, one carry-on bag, one checked bag and Shortcut Boarding. See promotion rules for details. 4 Guests should check entry requirements for when planning trips including international destinations. 5 Available on select aircraft. Fleetwide availability estimated in early 2022.

About Spirit Airlines:

Spirit Airlines (NYSE: SAVE) is committed to delivering the best value in the sky. We are the leader in providing customizable travel options starting with an unbundled fare. This allows our Guests to pay only for the options they choose  like bags, seat assignments and refreshments  something we call A La Smarte. We make it possible for our Guests to venture further and discover more than ever before. Our Fit Fleet is one of the youngest and most fuel-efficient in the U.S. We serve destinations throughout the U.S., Latin America and the Caribbean, and are dedicated to giving back and improving those communities. Come save with us at spirit.com.

SOURCE Spirit Airlines, Inc.

Related Links

https://www.spirit.com


SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Qwil and Talent Solutions TAPFIN announced today that Qwil, a payments and liquidity platform, is now offering an early financing solution to all TAPFIN suppliers. The Qwil solution provides payment options for contingent workforce suppliers as soon as their invoices are approved, regardless of net billing terms.

"Qwil's mission is to empower staffing suppliers with flexibility to get paid how and when they want," stated Johnny Reinsch, co-founder and CEO, Qwil. "Through our innovative partnership with TAPFIN, we are now able to provide the outstanding benefits of our solution to thousands of suppliers spanning billions of dollars of annual contingent spend. Now these suppliers can choose their payment terms, putting them in the driver's seat for the cash flow of their business on any given day. This is a huge win for staffing suppliers!"

The early payment solution integrates directly with SAP Fieldglass and is available for staffing suppliers in TAPFIN programs. Staffing suppliers who choose to enroll with Qwil continue to work in the program with TAPFIN as usual but are paid by Qwil, which provides an early payment opportunity on an invoice-by-invoice basis. Suppliers elect to take all, some, or none of the offered early payment. They have flexibility to take funds at any point up until the amount is paid by the client per the usual contract terms. TAPFIN and Qwil worked closely to ensure utmost flexibility of the program and there is no cost to the supplier to enroll.

"By partnering with Qwil, our suppliers now have more transparency over when they'll get paid and have optionality for getting paid faster when needed. This enables our clients to engage a wider network of diverse suppliers who traditionally were not able to meet expedited payment terms. We're excited to partner with the Qwil team on this much needed early payment service" said Amy Doyle, SVP and Global Brand Leader of TAPFIN.

Qwil and TAPFIN's partnership is a first of its kind offering for contingent staffing suppliers where traditional supply chain financing has been unavailable. Qwil's early payments solution works alongside existing credit facilities, is non-recourse and offers another important financial tool in the toolkit for staffing suppliers to accelerate growth of their businesses. Suppliers interested in the solution can get more info and also sign up here .

About TAPFIN

Talent Solutions TAPFIN is a leading managed service provider (MSP) dedicated to the innovation and delivery of integrated workforce management solutions worldwide. TAPFIN's customized, scalable MSP solutions for contingent and project-based spend are instrumental in driving process, performance and productivity improvements across the client organization, while providing visibility, predictability, risk mitigation and overall cost reduction. Part of the ManpowerGroup family of brands, TAPFIN offers a complete suite of workforce management solutions that fully leverages a blend of global expertise and local knowledge. For more information, please visit http://www.tapfin.com/.

About ManpowerGroup

ManpowerGroup (NYSE: MAN), the leading global workforce solutions company, helps organizations transform in a fast-changing world of work by sourcing, assessing, developing and managing the talent that enables them to win. We develop innovative solutions for hundreds of thousands of organizations every year, providing them with skilled talent while finding meaningful, sustainable employment for millions of people across a wide range of industries and skills. Our expert family of brands  Manpower, Experis and Talent Solutions  creates substantial value for candidates and clients across more than 75 countries and territories and has done so for over 70 years. We are recognized consistently for our diversity - as a best place to work for Women, Inclusion, Equality and Disability and in 2020 ManpowerGroup was named one of the World's Most Ethical Companies for the eleventh year - all confirming our position as the brand of choice for in-demand talent.

About Qwil

Qwil is a leading fintech company and early payments platform. Based in San Francisco, Qwil has raised over $30 million from venture capital funds and over $400 million in debt from various financial institutions since 2016. Qwil was named the Start-Up of the Year at the 2017 Pay Awards and was recognized in 2019 in Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies list. Learn more at qwil.com and connect with us on Facebook and LinkedIn .

SOURCE Qwil

Related Links

http://qwil.com


OMAHA, Neb., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Cryptocurrency usage is increasing worldwide, and recent consumers surveys show that most U.S. adults are now at least somewhat familiar with the term. Despite growing consumer enthusiasm, aside from exploration in the crypto industry by larger enterprise-level merchants, little information is available showing the perspective of small businesses and their sentiment regarding cryptocurrency acceptance.

To examine their attitudes toward cryptocurrency, The Strawhecker Group (TSG) conducted a survey of nearly 600 small business owners in the U.S. Results from the survey showed that most merchants still do not accept cryptocurrencies at their place of business in exchange for goods and services  less than one in ten surveyed.

The complete findings, an overview of trends in merchant crypto acceptance, and profiles of popular crypto processors, can be found in the firm's new eReport The Crypto Divide.

However, TSG found that acceptance is gaining traction; 65% of small businesses who reported taking cryptocurrency just started accepting the payment method in the past two years. Related findings point to a level of 'stickiness' within the crypto space, as 92% of merchants who accept cryptocurrencies also reported owning crypto as a store of value, while only 17% of merchants who do not accept cryptocurrencies own crypto themselves.

A thematic analysis of those who do not currently accept cryptocurrency illustrated three key themes: active avoidance, low motivation to adopt, and low awareness. Only 28% of merchants reported planning to accept cryptocurrency in the future, indicating that acceptance at the current point in time is not a widespread priority.

"We found that merchants that do not accept crypto have a variety of nuanced reasons," said Jared Drieling, Senior Director of Market Intelligence and Insights at TSG. "Some are closed off to the payment method entirely and see it as something only used by criminals. Others had a low awareness of the payment method in general but might be open to it should their customers start asking about it."

Highlights of this extensive 79-page eReport include:

The Basics of Cryptocurrency

The Status of Crypto-Acceptance by Merchants

Opportunity and Controversy

Key Players in the Crypto Space

Crypto Acceptance Merchant Survey

The Future of Merchant Crypto Acceptance

Download a free infographic covering several findings from the full report.

Companies mentioned in this report include: AlphaBTC, Bank of America, BitPay, BTCPay, Chase, Coinbase, Coingate, CoinPayments, Elavon, FedEx, FIS, Fiserv, Global Payments, GoCoin LibertyX, Mastercard, MoneyGram, NCR, OnlyFans, PayU, Remitly, Ripple Labs, Shopify, Square, Stripe, UATP, Visa, Walmart, Wells Fargo, and Western Union.

Subscribers to TSG's eReports subscription service have access to this report along with dozens of other deep dives, industry directories, country and company profiles, and educational primers.

For more information please contact us online or call 1-402-964-2617. For media inquiries, please email [email protected].

About TSG

The Strawhecker Group (TSG) is the largest analytics and consulting firm focused on the payments acceptance industry. TSG serves the entire payments ecosystem and has experience in working on large-scale projects for the world's biggest payment players. The firm has worked with all card networks, nine of the top ten merchant acquirers in the U.S., as well as leading private equity firms and investment banks. Please visit www.TheStrawGroup.com.

Contact:

Andrew Nuss

[email protected]

SOURCE The Strawhecker Group

Related Links

thestrawgroup.com


MOSCOW, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF, Russia's sovereign wealth fund) today announced the Russian single-component Sputnik Light vaccine against coronavirus has been approved by the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP) of UAE.

Sputnik Light vaccine is based on human adenovirus serotype 26 which is the first component of the Sputnik V vaccine. The single-dose vaccine has also been approved in UAE as a booster shot.

In January 2021 UAE's regulatory authorities also authorized the two-dose Sputnik V. Both Sputnik Light and Sputnik V vaccines have been approved by MOHAP under the emergency use authorization procedure.

Sputnik V, the world's first registered vaccine against coronavirus, pioneered the heterogeneous boosting approach ("vaccine cocktail" using human adenovirus serotype 26 as the first component and human adenovirus serotype 5 as the second component). With this approach proving successful in creating a longer and more durable immunity against the coronavirus, RDIF took the lead in initiating partnerships with other vaccine producers to conduct joint studies on the combination of the first component of Sputnik V (Sputnik Light) with other vaccines.

Such studies are currently ongoing in UAE, as well as in Russia, Azerbaijan, Argentina and other countries.

As demonstrated by real-world vaccination data in a number of countries, Sputnik Light is safe and highly effective. In particular, the data from the Ministry of Health of the Buenos Aires province (Argentina) shows 78.6-83.7% efficacy among the elderly. In Paraguay, Sputnik Light is 93.5% effective during the ongoing vaccination campaign according to the country's Ministry of Health.

Key advantages of Sputnik Light:

- Sputnik Light is the first component (recombinant human adenovirus serotype number 26 (rAd26)) of Sputnik V  the world's first registered vaccine against coronavirus.

- Sputnik Light has proven effective against all new strains of coronavirus, as demonstrated by the Gamaleya Center during laboratory tests.

- Sputnik Light is compatible with standard vaccine storage and logistics requirements.

- The Sputnik Light vaccine is based on a well-studied human adenoviral vector platform that has proven to be safe and effective, with no long-term side effects, as confirmed in over 250 clinical trials conducted globally over the past two decades (while the history of use of human adenoviruses in vaccine development started in 1953).

Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) is Russia's sovereign wealth fund established in 2011 to make equity co-investments, primarily in Russia, alongside reputable international financial and strategic investors. RDIF acts as a catalyst for direct investment in the Russian economy. RDIF's management company is based in Moscow. Currently, RDIF has experience of the successful joint implementation of more than 80 projects with foreign partners totaling RUB 2.1tn and covering 95% of the regions of the Russian Federation. RDIF portfolio companies employ more than 1 mn people and generate revenues which equate to more than 6% of Russia's GDP. RDIF has established joint strategic partnerships with leading international co-investors from more than 18 countries that total more than $40 bn. Further information can be found at rdif.ru.

SOURCE The Russian Direct Invest Fund (RDIF)
WALTHAM, Mass., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO) ("Thermo Fisher") announced today that it has priced an offering of 5.25 billion aggregate principal amount (the "Offering") of the following euro-denominated notes, which will be issued by Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance I) B.V., its indirect, wholly owned finance subsidiary:

1,750,000,000 aggregate principal amount of its 0.800% senior notes due 2030 (the "2030 notes"), at the issue price of 99.810% of their principal amount,

1,500,000,000 aggregate principal amount of its 1.125% senior notes due 2033 (the "2033 notes"), at the issue price of 99.732% of their principal amount,

1,250,000,000 aggregate principal amount of its 1.625% senior notes due 2041 (the "2041 notes"), at the issue price of 98.171% of their principal amount, and

750,000,000 aggregate principal amount of its 2.000% senior notes due 2051 (together with the 2030 notes, the 2033 notes and the 2041 notes, the "notes"), at the issue price of 99.331% of their principal amount.

The Offering is expected to close on or about October 18, 2021, subject to customary closing conditions. The notes will be fully and unconditionally guaranteed by Thermo Fisher. The notes will pay interest on an annual basis.

Thermo Fisher intends to use the net proceeds of the Offering to pay a portion of the cash consideration payable for the pending acquisition of PPD, Inc.

The joint book-running managers for the Offering are Barclays Bank PLC, Morgan Stanley Europe SE, BofA Securities Europe SA, Citigroup Global Markets Europe AG and Mizuho Securities Europe GmbH.

The Offering is being made pursuant to an effective registration statement on Form S-3 filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). Prospective investors should read the prospectus forming a part of that registration statement and the prospectus supplement related to the Offering and the other documents that Thermo Fisher has filed with the SEC for more complete information about Thermo Fisher and the Offering. These documents are available at no charge by visiting EDGAR on the SEC website at www.sec.gov . Alternatively, Thermo Fisher, the underwriters or any dealer participating in the Offering will arrange to send you the prospectus if you request it by calling Barclays Bank PLC at +1 888 603 5847, Morgan Stanley Europe SE at +44 (0)20 7677 4799, BofA Securities Europe SA at +33(0) 1 8770 0000, Citigroup Global Markets Europe AG at +1 800 831 9146 or Mizuho Securities Europe GmbH at +49 69 42729 3000.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the notes, nor shall there be any offer, solicitation or sale of the notes in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

MiFID II and UK MiFIR  professionals/ECPs-only / No PRIIPs or UK PRIIPs KID  Manufacturer target market (MiFID II and UK MiFIR product governance) is eligible counterparties and professional clients only (all distribution channels). No PRIIPs or UK PRIIPs key information document (KID) has been prepared as not available to retail in European Economic Area ("EEA") or United Kingdom ("UK").

This press release is addressed only to specific individuals who are individuals (i) who have professional experience in matters relating to investments falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (the "Order") and qualified investors falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order and (ii) to whom it may otherwise lawfully be communicated under the Order (all such persons together being referred to as the "relevant persons"). This press release must not be acted on or relied on by persons who are not relevant persons. Any investment or investment activity to which this press release relates is available only to relevant persons and will be engaged in only with relevant persons. By reading this press release, the reader acknowledges that it is a person either (i) outside the UK or (ii) falling within one of the foregoing categories.

This press release is an advertisement and is not a prospectus for the purposes of Prospectus Regulation (as defined below). A prospectus will be prepared and made available to the public as required and in accordance with the Prospectus Regulation. Investors should not subscribe for any notes referred to in this press release except on the basis of information contained in such prospectus. The prospectus, when published, will be available on the website of Euronext Dublin at https://live.euronext.com (opens in a new tab).

For these purposes, the expression "Prospectus Regulation" means either Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 or Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, as appropriate.

In connection with the issue of the notes, Morgan Stanley Europe SE (the "Stabilising Manager") (or persons acting on behalf of the Stabilising Manager) may over-allot notes or effect transactions with a view to supporting the market price of the notes at a level higher than that which might otherwise prevail. However, there is no assurance that the Stabilising Manager (or persons acting on behalf of the Stabilising Manager) will undertake stabilisation action. Any stabilisation action may begin on or after the date in which adequate public disclosure of the final terms of the Offering is made and, if begun, may be ended at any time, but it must end no later than the earlier of 30 days after the issue date of the notes and 60 days after the date of the allotment of the notes. Any stabilisation action or overallotment must be conducted by the Stabilising Manager (or persons acting on behalf of the Stabilising Manager) in accordance with all applicable laws and rules.

This press release is released by Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance I) B.V. and contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 ("MAR"). For the purposes of MAR, this press release is made by Sharon Briansky at Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance I) B.V.

The legal entity identifier of Thermo Fisher International is 549300SM0PJC1F3RPL91.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, statements about Thermo Fisher's intended use of proceeds. These statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from currently anticipated results, including risks and uncertainties relating to capital markets conditions, the pending acquisition of PPD and completion of the Offering. Additional important factors and information regarding Thermo Fisher's business that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements are set forth in the prospectus dated February 28, 2019 and preliminary prospectus supplement dated October 4, 2021 related to the Offering, which is on file with the SEC and available in the "Investors" section of our website under the heading "SEC Filings," and the documents incorporated by reference into the prospectus and prospectus supplement. While we may elect to update forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we specifically disclaim any obligation to do so, even if circumstances change and, therefore, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as representing our views as of any date subsequent to today.

About Thermo Fisher Scientific

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is the world leader in serving science, with annual revenue of approximately $35 billion. Our Mission is to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. Whether our customers are accelerating life sciences research, solving complex analytical challenges, improving patient diagnostics and therapies or increasing productivity in their laboratories, we are here to support them. Our global team of more than 90,000 colleagues delivers an unrivaled combination of innovative technologies, purchasing convenience and pharmaceutical services through our industry-leading brands, including Thermo Scientific, Applied Biosystems, Invitrogen, Fisher Scientific, Unity Lab Services and Patheon. For more information, please visit www.thermofisher.com.

Media Contact Information:

Ron O'Brien

Phone: 781-622-1242

E-mail: [email protected]



Investor Contact Information:

Rafael Tejada

Phone: 781-622-1356

E-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE Thermo Fisher Scientific

Related Links

http://www.thermofisher.com


NEW YORK, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Transfix Inc. , a leading, next-generation digital freight platform, today announced the appointment of Rachel Meranus as Chief Marketing Officer. In her new role, Meranus will oversee all marketing activities, including brand strategy, revenue marketing, product marketing, partnerships, communications, design, and community development.

"Rachel brings a bold vision, deep b2b marketing and enterprise software experience, with a focus on brand building and growth," said Lily Shen, CEO and President of Transfix. "She has proven experience building high-performing teams, innovative strategies, and integrated processes that drive opportunity, customer success, and long-term scalable growth. She has hit the ground running at Transfix and has already proven to be a true asset to the company, brand, team, and culture. I'm thrilled to have her onboard."

Meranus brings 25+ years of experience creating innovative b2b marketing strategies that build brands and grow market share. "Transfix's unique approach, steeped in deep industry & operational expertise and underpinned by the power of data and automation, is bringing efficiency and reliability to a highly-fragmented market, while reducing significant waste in the supply chain," she said. "The need for this has never been more apparent and I'm excited to build on our powerful momentum by elevating and activating the Transfix brand, and engaging our customers, partners, and the market at large in new and compelling ways."

"Joining a mission-based company being led by a female-CEO with such incredible strategic and operational experience, supported by such an impressive executive team and incredibly diverse broader employee base, is truly something I couldn't pass up," said Meranus. "I'm elated to be joining the company during this time of growth and innovation, and looking forward to telling the Transfix story to the world."

Most recently, Meranus served as CMO of Botify, prior to that, CMO of Olapic by Social Native, CMO of MediaMath, and held various senior-level marketing roles at PR Newswire/Cision. Meranus earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Union College.

About Transfix

Transfix is a market-leading, next-generation freight platform transforming the traditional and digital freight sector while bringing transparency, trust, and sustainability to the transportation ecosystem. The company combines deep industry expertise and a world-class class carrier network with advanced technology. The result? Competitive pricing, superior service and reliability, and an intelligent platform designed to optimize the supply chain from start to finish. Today, some of the world's most recognized brands rely on Transfix's trusted carrier network.. Transfix was named one of Forbes' "Next Billion-Dollar Startups" and is headquartered in the heart of New York City. For more information, visit www.transfix.io .

Media Contact

Chelsea Horn, Carve Communications for Transfix

[email protected]

(210) 378-8580

SOURCE Transfix Inc.

Related Links

http://transfix.io/


Company celebrates the first reopening of a former Harvest dispensary, expanding access to medical marijuana patients in Sarasota area

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Trulieve Cannabis Corp. (CSE: TRUL) (OTCQX: TCNNF) ("Trulieve" or "the Company"), the largest multi-state operator (MSO) in the United States, today announced the reopening of a dispensary in North Port, Florida. The Sarasota-area dispensary is Trulieve's 92nd location in Florida and was formerly branded as Harvest House of Cannabis.

The North Port location reopens less than one week after closing for renovation and rebranding and will welcome Harvest patients with the same dedicated team and exceptional level of service when it reopens as Trulieve. On October 1st, Trulieve announced the closing of its acquisition of Harvest Health and Recreation Inc., at which time all Harvest locations in Florida were closed for rebranding to Trulieve. The Company will continue to reopen Harvest locations in Florida throughout the month of October.

Trulieve invites the community to join in celebrating the reopening of this dispensary with all-day deals and swag giveaways. All patients, from those new to Trulieve to the dedicated Trulieve community, will be eligible for a 25% in-store discount at the North Port location on opening day.

ANNOUNCING: Trulieve North Port Dispensary Reopening

WHERE: 7050 Sumter Crossing Drive, Suite 7050, North Port, Florida

WHEN: Thursday, October 7, 2021 at 9:00 am

In stores and online, patients will find Florida's largest selection of THC and CBD products in a variety of delivery methods, including edibles, smokable flower, concentrates, tinctures, topical creams, vaporizers, and more. Trulieve also offers statewide home delivery, convenient online ordering and in-store pickup.

To assist patients with ordering, Trulieve's entire catalog of products is available for online orders, with in-store pickup or statewide home delivery options available depending on patient preference. Additionally, Trulieve offers complimentary 30-minute virtual consultations with a Trulieve consultant to help navigate questions on products, devices, or review their doctor's recommendation. Appointments can be made on Trulieve's website and are open to all patients, whether starting their journey with medical cannabis or those with experience looking for alternative treatment options.

Trulieve continues to monitor the COVID-19 situation and remains committed to slowing the spread in our communities. In addition to rigorous cleaning and safety protocols, Trulieve requires all employees to wear masks regardless of vaccination status. We ask all patients and caretakers to wear face coverings while shopping with us and have made them available in all locations.

For more information, please visit trulieve.com

About Trulieve

Trulieve is an industry leading, vertically integrated cannabis company and multi-state operator in the U.S. operating in 11 states, with leading market positions in Arizona, Florida, and Pennsylvania. Trulieve is poised for accelerated growth and expansion, building scale in retail and distribution in new and existing markets through its hub strategy. By providing innovative, high-quality products across its brand portfolio, Trulieve delivers optimal customer experiences and increases access to cannabis, helping patients and customers to live without limits. Trulieve is listed on the CSE under the symbol TRUL and trades on the OTCQX market under the symbol TCNNF.

To learn more about Trulieve, visit trulieve.com.

SOURCE Trulieve Cannabis Corp.

Related Links

https://www.trulieve.com/


ATLANTA, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Atlanta-based Mundo Hispanico, the nation's largest minority owned, Latino-focused digital media company, has unveiled a new partnership with Kiwilimon, the largest Spanish language digital food platform in the world.

The deal will create Mundo Sabor, the largest Spanish language food site in the United States, bringing Kiwilimon's world-class culinary content to Mundo Hispanico's large American audience.

"We're excited to bring Kiwilimons outstanding culinary content to Mundo Hispanico's large and growing audience," said Rene Alegria, president and CEO of Mundo Hispano Digital Network, parent company of Mundo Hispanico.

Mundo will host Kiwilimon on its website (at mundohispanico.com/mundosabor/) and promote its content to its user base. Mundo Hispanico has 10 million monthly unique visitors and a social media fan base that exceeds 9 million.

"With this and other new partnerships, we are working with like-minded companies to find and develop the best digital content for our Mundo Hispanico family," Alegria said.

With more than 11 years of experience, Kiwilimon is a global leader in food-branded content production. Led by a team of professional chefs, nutritionists, and food stylists, Kiwilimon provides their audience with the highest-quality content and the very best cooking recipes and tips. Within Kiwilimon is a culinary agency, with extraordinary production capabilities for content development, which they tailor to each brand's individual requirements.

The company continues to expand at a fast pace, with presence in countries all over the world, including the United States, where the Hispanic population is one of the fastest-growing ethnic groups. Kiwilimon has 34 million social media followers, 7.1 million unique users and generates 107 million video views globally. They also work with top tier consumer brands and major retailers such as Coca-Cola, Disney, Bimbo Bakeries USA, California Almonds, Avocados from Mexico, and many more.

The partnership gives Kiwilimon a bigger audience in the U.S., bringing the most delicious recipes of the Latino Kitchen, as well as international cuisine, to the foodie community.

Together, Mundo Hispanico and Kiwilimon will grow their partnership and make it the go-to platform for all things Latino food in the U.S. They plan to surprise and delight U.S. consumers with traditional Latino food recipes and new creations developed by Kiwilimon's professional chefs.

"This alliance between the superior digital food content created by Kiwilimon and the largest digital platform within the U.S. Hispanic market, Mundo Hispanico, couldn't come together at a better time, the time when Hispanics account for more than 50% of the growth of the U.S. population," said Maria Fernanda Ordonez, a Kiwilimon spokesperson.

About Mundo Hispanico:

With deep roots in the Latino community, Mundo Hispanico is a privately held Latino-focused digital platform in the U.S. A Certified minority-owned and operated company, Mundo Hispanico's mission is to empower, inform and bring purpose to the online Latino community, visit www.mundohispanico.com.

SOURCE Mundo Hispanico

Related Links

http://www.mundohispanico.com


ATMORE, Ala., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- UB Community Development, LLC (UBCD), a community development partner of United Bank, announced today that it has closed a $7 million New Markets Tax Credits transaction with Buc-ee's, Ltd., a Texas-based chain of convenience stores and gas stations with locations in Texas, Georgia, Florida and Alabama.

The 53,250-square-foot Buc-ee's Auburn will be located on approximately 35 acres at the northeast quadrant of Interstate 85 near Exit 50. It will have 144 retail fuel pumps, electric charging stations and more than 437 parking spaces. This will be the fourth Buc-ee's convenience store in Alabama and will create over 175 jobs in the Auburn community. The popular gas station and travel center is known for its unique food offerings, merchandise and large clean restrooms. Other features will include a bakery, deli, coffee bar and an expanded retail area.

"Having the opportunity to assist in bringing another Buc-ee's to Alabama and knowing that it will create over 175 well-paying jobs for our fellow Alabamians is very gratifying. Buc-ee's will be an excellent corporate citizen and we look forward to watching this transformative project come to fruition," said Alex Jones, President of UB Community Development.

UB Community Development was recently awarded a $65 million New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation by the Department of the Treasury. The award was the result of United Bank's ongoing commitment to enhancing the economic vitality of low-income communities in Alabama and Northeast Florida and marked the fourth allocation the company has received. The NMTC Program attracts private capital into low-income communities by awarding investors tax credits against their federal income tax in exchange for making investments in qualified projects.

UBCD uses the NMTC program to help fund small businesses and finance projects related to education, healthcare, manufacturing, hospitality, non-profits and community centers. The projects funded from UBCD's NMTCs are creating jobs, providing goods, services, and housing options, and improving access to healthcare across the region.

For more information about UB Community Development, or for help with planning your next funding project, contact Alex Jones, President, UB Community Development at (251) 446-6017 or email [email protected].

About United Bank

United Bank is a $1,000,000,000 financial institution that has enjoyed 117 years of continuous service to Atmore, Alabama and surrounding communities. United Bank has offices in Atmore, Brewton, East Brewton, Flomaton, Monroeville, Frisco City, Bay Minette, Foley, Lillian, Loxley, Magnolia Springs, Silverhill, Spanish Fort, Daphne, Semmes, and Summerdale in Alabama. United Bank serves Santa Rosa County, Florida in Jay, Milton, and Pace. For more information about United Bank, please visit our website at www.unitedbank.com. Member FDIC.

About UB Community Development

UB Community Development's strong history and experience in New Markets Tax Credit transactions, coupled with our passion for improving the communities around us, make UBCD Alabama's premier financial partner for economic and community development. Through our NMTC projects, Community Facilities Lending Program and Community Housing Capital Fund, UBCD is working with community development partners in the fields of healthcare, education, manufacturing, public works, affordable housing and more. For more information about UB Community Development, visit our website at www.UBCommunityDevelopment.com.

SOURCE UB Community Development

Related Links

http://www.ubcommunitydevelopment.com


STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2021 World's Most Attractive Employers rankings show students still prioritize high future earnings above all other employer attributes, but finding secure employment rose sharply in importance for young talent, jumping by as much as four ranking points for engineering students.

"A flight to security is typical during an economic downturn, as is the pivot away from higher risk, entrepreneurial companies," explains Richard Mosely, Global Client Director at Universum. "This is probably why more established innovators with a proven record of success like Amazon and IBM were the biggest winners in the rankings."

Universum, the global leader in employer branding, surveyed over 221,800 students in business, engineering and IT from the 10 largest economies between September 2020 and May 2021. The far-reaching survey asks students which employer characteristics are most influential as they consider future employment, and which employer brands they most admire.

Young people are pivoting their personal and career priorities: The pandemic prompted students to reevaluate what they want from an employer and a career; will industries with long, grueling schedules face a reckoning?

For young talent, a jetset career slips in favor: With borders shut and international mobility significantly more difficult and uncertain, students show a waning interest in foreign companies and multinational careers.

Virtual work formats may disadvantage younger employees: Virtual and hybrid workforces are here to stay, but talent leaders must take care not to adopt a one-size-fits-all approach  particularly with young talent, who see many potential downsides in virtual work formats.

Universum CEO Mats Rojdmark believes the new findings will help steer talent leaders who may be stuck in a reactionary mode. "There's tremendous pressure on talent leaders right now to separate what are short-term reactions to COVID-19, versus long-term changes to workplace fundamentals," says Rojdmark. "Getting insights from students in business, engineering and IT is critical for talent leaders as they negotiate a way forward in 2022."

For full report and rankings: https://bit.ly/3zWPPRJ

About Universum

Universum is a data-driven, insight-led employer branding agency. Founded in Stockholm, we are now active in over 60 countries, with key hubs in Paris, Berlin, London, New York, Singapore and Shanghai.

Media Contacts:

Jonas Barck

Universum

+46706933388

[email protected]

SOURCE Universum
"At ViewSonic, we are constantly innovating to create cutting-edge products, from monitors to digital display solutions, to enhance the business needs of everyday people. We believe in supporting passionate entrepreneurs and exciting startups with innovative devices and software to realize their dreams," says Oscar Lin, General Manager of the Monitor Business Unit at ViewSonic. "We hope that our partnership with Hustle Fund will give the movers and shakers a platform to shine and perform their very best."

"Starting a company can be incredibly lonely and challenging. But everyone who has built something great all started the same way - by just starting. At Hustle Fund, we appreciate the courage of founders and have made it a goal to unblock their talent with capital. We are excited to work with ViewSonic on The Affies as we share a similar mission to propel great founders with technology. This collaboration between our two companies will bring opportunities for entrepreneurs and startups to learn and grow together," says Eric Bahn, Co-Founder and General Partner at Hustle Fund. "We also hope to continue our partnership with ViewSonic to create more ways for upcoming businesses to thrive."

Available to early-stage and mature startups from various industries, The Affies is a program that seeks to invest and fund winning participants. To be part of the competition, keen participants have to submit details on their startup's product, current progress, and more. Winners will be chosen by a panel of esteemed judges from ViewSonic, Hustle Fund, and Tech Crunch. The five categories include Best B2B, Best Consumer, Best Creator, Best Crypto, and the public-voted People's Choice.

An exclusive online awards ceremony will be held on January 12, 2022 to announce the winners. The winning startups of each category can either choose to receive an investment of USD 10,000 funding at USD 2 million post-money[ii] valuation on a YC SAFE[iii], or participate in an exclusive six-week series of weekly one-on-one meetings with the Hustle Fund General Partners.

The top-5 startups will also get their hands on brand new ViewSonic products worth USD 6,000 to enhance their productivity. The prizes include the following:

Business displays such as VG2440V equipped with an in-built web camera, VG2456 with versatile USB-C capabilities, and the ultra-wide VG3456 for seamless multitasking

Touch displays such as TD1655 and TD2456 for creating productive workspaces

Professional ColorPro monitors designed for creative work, which includes VP2756- 2K , VP2756- 4K , VP3481, VP3881

For more information on The Affies, interested participants may visit the campaign website.

About ViewSonic

Founded in California, ViewSonic is a leading global provider of visual solutions and conducts business in over 100 countries worldwide. As an innovator and visionary, ViewSonic is committed to providing comprehensive hardware and software solutions that include monitors, projectors, digital signage, ViewBoard interactive displays, and myViewBoard software ecosystem. With over 30 years of expertise in visual displays, ViewSonic has established a strong position for delivering innovative and reliable solutions for education, enterprise, consumer, and professional markets and helping customers "See the Difference". To find out more about ViewSonic, please visit www.viewsonic.com.

About Hustle Fund

Hustle Fund is a pre-seed/seed-stage fund based in San Francisco and Singapore founded in 2017 by Elizabeth Yin, Shiyan Koh, and Eric Bahn. From their combined experience as successful founders, tech employees, and investors, Hustle Fund's General Partners learned that, despite entrenched stereotypes in the venture world, great founders look like anyone and come from anywhere. Hustle Fund's core investment strategy is to invest in teams who demonstrate relentless speed and execution (defined as 'hustle') and has turned the VC model on its head. The investment team reviews over 600 deals per month, moves quickly to invest a modest initial check, and then works with the founder to monitor their speed/execution before qualifying startups for a larger, concentrated checks. Hustle Fund has developed an incredible global reputation with founders and investors alike.

[i] The awards is hosted and sponsored by ViewSonic International Corp., located in New Taipei City, Taiwan. ViewSonic International Corp. is a subsidiary of ViewSonic Corp. located in California, USA. [ii] Post-money means that the company and the investor agree upfront on both the amount to be invested and the valuation cap of the round. The big advantage of a post-money SAFE is that it provides clarity on how much ownership of the company has been exchanged for the investment. [iii] SAFE, or Simple Agreement for Equity, is an agreement between the founders of the business and the investor (in this case, it's Hustle Fund). Under this agreement, both parties agree that the initial investment of USD 10,000 provides the investor the rights to future equity (i.e. shares of stock after going public) in the founders' company.

SOURCE ViewSonic

Related Links

http://www.viewsonic.com


U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, speaking about Whitefish Bay and the other award winners, said: "Congratulations to today's seven honorees for the remarkable work they've done to protect the traveling public. They are proof that we have no shortage of willpower or good ideas for improving roadway safety."

The National Roadway Safety Awards are a biennial awards program sponsored jointly by the Federal Highway Administration and the Roadway Safety Foundation. First presented in 1999, the awards recognize roadway safety achievements that move the nation toward zero deaths and serious injuries on U.S. roadways.

Confronting a decade-long increase in crashes involving the most vulnerable road users, Whitefish Bay deployed a series of low-cost solutions to reduce risks to pedestrians and cyclists. These included dynamic speed feedback signs, "yield to pedestrian" signage, design changes such as high-visibility crosswalks, installation of medians in the center of roadways, lengthier pedestrian intervals at the newly installed higher visibility traffic signals and better street lighting.

A simple but noteworthy improvement is the installation of "Danish Offsets," so named for their widespread deployment in Denmark, in which crosswalk paths are oriented to provide more direct sight lines for pedestrians to observe oncoming vehicles.

Since 2015, community-wide crashes are down 39 percent and the cumulative five-year impact of the program is an estimated 257 fewer law enforcement responses, 480 vehicles spared from damage, and the prevention of eight pedestrians or bicyclists from being struck by vehicles.

"Our Village is grateful for this National Roadway Safety Award recognition. We pride ourselves in being a very pedestrian and bicyclist friendly community, which requires a real commitment to safety," said Village President Kevin Buckley. "The Village Board and Staff take roadway safety seriously and never miss an opportunity to improve our roadway system through innovative means."

Initial data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Federal Highway Administration show that 38,680 people died nationwide in motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2020, despite a 13.2 percent decline in miles traveled due to the pandemic. Fatalities increased 7.2 percent from 2019 to the highest number since 2007.

"Last year's jump in fatalities was alarming and projects like Whitefish Bay's community-wide safety improvements save lives by deterring dangerous driving," said Roadway Safety Foundation Executive Director Greg Cohen. "Future travelers in Whitefish Bay, whose lives and limbs will be spared by these improvements, will owe an unknowing debt of gratitude to the Village Board and staff. We urge DOTs across the nation to look at Whitefish Bay and other awardees' innovations and replicate their efforts wherever possible."

The National Roadway Safety Award projects were evaluated on three criteria: Effectiveness, Innovation, and Efficient Use of Resources. The program honors outstanding projects involving infrastructure, operational or program-related innovations. The seven winners were selected from a nationwide pool of applicants and the other awardees are:

City of Bellevue, WA for its video analytics traffic safety program;

for its video analytics traffic safety program; Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization for its Complete Streets Master Plan;

North Carolina Dept. of Transportation for its long-life pavement markings safety effort;

California Dept. of Transportation for its 2020-2024 Strategic Highway Safety Plan update;

Texas Dept. of Transportation's tool to assess the safety of rural highway design elements; and

Florida Dept. of Transportation for its use of smart work zone safety technologies.

Winners were selected by an expert panel of judges from a variety of disciplines.

For complete details on each of the winners, and for more information on the national awards program, visit http://www.safety.fhwa.dot.gov/roadwaysafetyawards/ .

The Roadway Safety Foundation is a 501(c) (3) charitable and educational organization. Our mission is to reduce the frequency and severity of motor vehicle crashes, injuries, and fatalities through improvements to roadway systems and their environment.

SOURCE Roadway Safety Foundation

Related Links

http://www.roadwaysafety.org


JOHANNESBURG, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Vinewave, a leading software as a service provider of employee directory solutions, today announced that it is rebranding to OneDirectory.

Lawrence Cawood, co-founder & CEO of OneDirectory, said, "We've been building employee directory solutions for our customers since 2011, and our OneDirectory cloud product has seen significant growth since its launch in 2018. We decided to rebrand the company to OneDirectory to support our future growth and deliver a clearer message about what we do."

Since their launch, the company has helped over 500 enterprises transform their workplaces with innovative people directory solutions that help staff easily connect and collaborate.

"People are the center of your organization, and the problem, especially in bigger companies, is that it's hard to know who's who and where everyone fits in," says Lawrence. "OneDirectory helps people connect at work and gives them insight into their organization's structure in a way they haven't been able to do before."

With a growing demand for better employee experiences in today's digital organizations, particularly as the world shifts to remote work, people are relying on technology to make connections and collaborate with their teams. OneDirectory empowers employees with a digital representation of their company and includes a modern employee directory, org chart, employee profiles, office directory, skills directory, and features to boost remote collaboration.

"OneDirectory is a modern employee directory experience unlike anything you've used before," says Lawrence. "It's like a map of your company that you can flow through effortlessly. Imagine LinkedIn people search and profiles but for internal use throw in an org chart, an office directory, skills database, live maps, integration with Microsoft Teams, and wrap it in a beautifully simple interface. That's OneDirectory."

With the rebrand, OneDirectory is looking to the future of the directory space, where IT teams are wanting to get more value from their investment in directory platforms such as Microsoft Active Directory and Azure AD.

OneDirectory calls this new category of software "directory intelligence," and they're building technology that will help companies analyze and improve the quality of their directory data.

"Our customers keep telling us they are battling to keep their employee profile information up to date," says Craig Tarr, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer. "Bad quality directory data has a widespread impact on the usefulness of your entire digital workplace, and with directory intelligence we can solve that problem for our customers," he adds.

"We are making significant investments into our platform, and we will be releasing a number of exciting updates over the coming months," says Lawrence. "We want to help our customers improve the quality of their directory data, thereby increasing the value of all the systems that rely on this data, such as Microsoft Office 365, Microsoft Teams and SharePoint."

"With our rebrand to OneDirectory our company is better positioned to drive growth in the directory intelligence space. It's something we're very passionate about," says Lawrence.

For more information, visit www.onedirectory.com or contact us at [email protected] or follow us on LinkedIn.

Contact:

Lawrence Cawood

+12056221140

[email protected]

SOURCE OneDirectory
VANCOUVER, BC, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Visier, the recognized leader in people analytics, today announced that TrustRadius has recognized the company with a 2021 Tech Cares Award. This second annual award celebrates companies that have gone above and beyond to provide strong Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

"As an organization, we've challenged ourselves to go beyond good intentions, finding ways to hold us all accountable for creating a diverse workforce and culture of belonging," said Paul Rubenstein, Chief People Officer of Visier. "We've placed accountability, transparency and community at the center of our dialog  and we've used data to light the path to change."

In late 2020, Visier launched the "Open Mind, Open Book, Open Heart" framework. Through this program, Visier set out to combine the practices that shape individual talent decisions with the culture that fosters inclusion through the use of data. At the core of this initiative is transparency and accountability, which is reinforced by sharing data that highlights progress against stated goals.

"We're excited to announce our second annual Tech Cares Award winners," said TrustRadius CEO Vinay Bhagat. "The past two years have tested the tech community. We've been inspired by watching leaders in the B2B technology industry pursue meaningful progress in social, environmental, and cultural spaces. Not only do we feel that these companies are deserving of recognition  we also consider them a great example as we build a stronger future together."

Winners of the Tech Cares Award are B2B technology companies that demonstrated strong CSR in 2020 and 2021. Recognized organizations were selected by the TrustRadius research team, which thoroughly vetted nominees.

This is the second year in a row Visier has been recognized with this award, with last year's Tech Cares Award celebrating companies that went above and beyond to provide their communities, clients, and frontline workers with support during the COVID-19 crisis.

To learn more about Visier, visit www.visier.com.

About Visier

Visier is the recognized global leader in people analytics and workforce planning. Founded in 2010 by the pioneers of business intelligence, Visier focuses on what matters to business leaders: answering the right questions, even the ones a person might not know to ask. Questions that shape business strategy, provide the impetus for taking action, and drive better business outcomes through workforce optimization. Headquartered in Vancouver, BC with offices and team members worldwide, Visier has 11,000 customers in 75 countries around the world, including enterprises like Adobe, BASF, Bridgestone, Electronic Arts, McKesson, Merck KGaA, Uber and more.

For more information, visit www.visier.com.

About TrustRadius

TrustRadius helps technology buyers make better decisions and helps vendors tell their unique story, improve conversion, engage high-intent buyers, and gain customer insights. Each month over 1 million B2B technology buyers, over 50% from large enterprises, use verified reviews and ratings on TrustRadius.com to make informed purchasing decisions. Headquartered in Austin, TX, TrustRadius was founded by successful entrepreneurs and is backed by Mayfield Fund, LiveOak Venture Partners, and Next Coast Ventures.

Contact:

[email protected]

SOURCE Visier

Related Links

http://www.visiercorp.com


They can play an active role in promoting communication among young people around the world and facilitate people-to-people exchanges worldwide, they said at the latest Vision China event organized by China Daily on Wednesday.

Themed "Young Voices, Global Vision", the talk was held online and offline in Chengdu, Sichuan province. It invited five Gen Z speakers from China, Belarus, the United States, Pakistan and Egypt to share their views on China through their personal stories as well as thoughts on global issues.

Jayathma Wickramanayake, the United Nations secretary-general's envoy on youth, said youth have the potential and power to shape their own future.

"With more than 1.8 billion young people around the world, our generation has an enormous opportunity to transform our societies, especially as we look to recover better together from the COVID-19 pandemic," she said via video link.

When the pandemic broke out last year, young people all around the world, including here in China, sprang into action and joined the front lines of the response and recovery efforts as first responders and as health workers, leading online and offline information campaigns, supporting the vulnerable in their communities, and in so many more ways, she said.

How the world meets the needs and aspirations of young people will define the common future, especially as younger generations become a more influential consumer group and employee demographic, she said.

"Young people are creators, builders and leaders of the future. It is your unwavering passion and motivation to fulfill your dreams and to be agents of positive change that inspires me every day."

In the just-concluded Tokyo Olympic Games, it was also inspiring to see so many young people front and center, including the many young refugee athletes who competed. The determination of these young athletes is yet another example of the courage, strength, determination and hope young people bring to the table, she added.

In his speech at a ceremony marking the Party's centenary on July 1, President Xi Jinping called on young people to make it their mission to contribute to national rejuvenation.

"The future belongs to the young people and our hopes also rest with them," Xi said.

Liu Weiling, deputy editor-in-chief of China Daily, said no matter in what age and in which country, young people are the most active and vibrant forces of society.

Like galloping horses, generations of inspiring young people have pushed ahead the wheels of history and made positive contributions to their countries and the entire world, Liu said.

Aged 11 to 26, the people of Generation Z are at the critical stage of personal enrichment and learning. With abundant resources and opportunities waiting for them, they are also living in a world undergoing profound changes unseen in a century and faced with unprecedented and complicated challenges, she said.

"The world belongs to you," she said. "We believe that you will live up to the important responsibility and build a community with a shared future for mankind featuring peace, development, civilization and prosperity."

Tang Jie, who is from China and graduated from Harvard University, said China has secured victory in its fight against poverty, but this scourge lingers all over the globe.

It remains one of the most challenging human malaises. And tackling global poverty and promoting development will be one of the major responsibilities of young people in the decades to come, he said.

Zhuo Yue, a Belarusian international student at Beijing Foreign Studies University, said: "As a Gen-Zer I would like to say, like our predecessors, we will grow up one day and carry all their best qualities. The difference is that, I believe, intercultural connections are getting stronger than at any time in the history.

"Cooperation among countries is essential and as far as I'm concerned it will flourish really soon. So it is important for us to strengthen intercultural skills and be prepared for the new era of great responsibility and great achievements," she said.

According to Dylan Walker, a young communist from the United States and an international student at Beijing Language and Culture University, young Party members in China and around the world should firmly believe that socialism is good, the Communist Party of China is capable and that Marxism works.

"To inherit and carry forward human civilization, we youth should keep seeking common ground while reserving differences, learn from each other, look at our world with equality, respect and love each other and view different civilizations with an attitude of appreciation, tolerance and mutual learning."

Javaria Nasir, a Pakistani international student at Fudan University in Shanghai, said she is about to graduate and start her life as an actual doctor next year.

"I hope I can continue to study here for a postgraduate degree and work as a doctor. Hopefully, I will one day be able to repay some of the kindness that China and its people have shown towards me," she said.

Taking the idea of promoting understanding between the peoples of China and other parts across the world including the Middle East as her guiding principle, 26-year-old Mehad Mousa from Egypt has been working hard to translate Chinese literature into Arabic and conduct cross-cultural research in recent years.

Like many of her peers, Mousa once thought of China as a huge, well-known but somehow mysterious country, but what she has experienced since coming here has changed that view, she said.

Her new perspective encouraged her to share what she has learned about China, to reveal a more accurate image of the country through her translations and cross-cultural research, she added.

Launched in early 2018 by China Daily, Vision China invites political, business and academic speakers to tell China's story from a global perspective. Previous talks have been held 20 times in places such as Beijing, Tianjin, New York and London.

By Zou Shuo and Huang Zhiling in Chengdu

SOURCE China Daily
CHICAGO, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- West Monroe today released its latest results from the West Monroe Quarterly Executive Poll, showing that the C-suite is bullish on the U.S. economic recovery and has aggressive plans, despite the pandemic's lingering effects.

In the Q4 poll, 75% of C-suite respondents said their outlook is bullish heading into 2022, while 25% are bearish. While the effects of COVID-19, The Great Resignation, and supply shortages affected their businesses the most in 2021, their plans include trying new hiring and retention strategies, M&A, and new sustainability measures.

Key findings of the Q4 poll results include:

Three in four C-suite executives say they're planning M&A activity in Q4, with 44% focusing on geographic expansion, 42% on acquiring new capabilities, and 9% on merging with a competitor.

Executives are responding differently to the Biden administration's proposed rule that all companies with 100 or more employees must require the vaccine or a weekly negative COVID test: 17% already act in accordance with the mandate, 30% said they were already on their way to doing so, 44% said they'll do what they need to do to comply, and 8% said they are exploring alternative options.

Hiring plans are still hot, with 71% saying they expect to hire more people this quarter, and 25% reporting little to no change. Hiring has increased significantly throughout the year, from 49% saying they're hiring in Q1 to 60% in Q2 to 77% in Q3.

Execs are trying several strategies to address the shortage of talent, with 68% increasing wages and salaries and 51% using contingent talent resources. For 44% of executives, their contingent workforce level is higher than they want it to be.

Other poll results cover the future of business travel, hybrid workplace models, and sustainability. Read the full findings.

West Monroe's Quarterly Executive Poll takes the pulse of 150 C-level executives every quarter. This poll's data was collected September 17-21, 2021. To qualify for the survey, respondents needed to have a C-level title at a company with at least $250 million in annual revenue.

West Monroe publishes market-leading insights about the most pressing issues that face organizations today. Unlike other consulting firms, West Monroe believes digital transformation is a mythdigital is not a project, a team, or a destination, it is instead a mindset and way of working. West Monroe continually moves clients closer to running a digital organization.

Previous West Monroe Quarterly Executive Polls can be found here.

About West Monroe

West Monroe is a digital consulting firm that was born in technology but built for businesspartnering with companies in transformative industries to deliver quantifiable financial value. We believe that digital is a mindsetnot a project, a team, or a destinationand it's something companies become, not something they do. That's why we work in diverse, multidisciplinary teams that blend industry expertise with deep operational and technology capabilitiesmoving clients from traditional to digital operating models and creating products and experiences that transcend the digital and physical worlds. Our 1,800 employees also own 100% of our business, so when you partner with us you know we are committedbecause your success is our success. Our undeniably different approach breeds undeniable results. Visit WestMonroe.com to learn more.

For all inquiries, please contact:

Christina Galoozis

Senior Manager, External Communications

[email protected]

847.302.1762

SOURCE West Monroe
VANCOUVER, BC, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Western Copper and Gold Corporation ("Western" or the "Company") (TSX: WRN) (NYSE American: WRN) is pleased to announce an update to its 2021 exploration and drilling program at its wholly owned Casino Copper-Gold Project ("Casino") and the formal launching of a feasibility study on the Casino Project.

Exploration and Drilling Program

The 2021 exploration and drilling program (the "Program") was developed with input from Rio Tinto as outlined in the Investor Rights Agreement and Subscription Agreement, entered into as part of an investment by Rio Tinto Canada in Western (see news release dated May 17, 2021). The field component of the Program was completed on September 30, 2021.

The Program was comprised of several components. A summary of the status of these components follows:

Metallurgical and Geotechnical Drilling

All planned metallurgical and geotechnical drilling was completed. Diamond drilling of 1,001.3 metres of large-diameter core in three holes was completed to test amenability of the mineralization to mineral processing. Geotechnical and hydrological drilling in the Casino Deposit (the "Casino Deposit" or "Deposit") area, as well as a geotechnical program designed by Knight Piesold, targeting the ground conditions of the proposed tailings management and heap leaching facilities were also completed.

Resource Confirmation Drilling

All planned resource confirmation drilling was completed. Five holes totaling 1,484.1 metres were drilled to confirm the lithological and mineralogical settings of the deposit. Core obtained will undergo metallurgical testing as well as conventional gold and multi-element analyses.

Exploration Drilling

Exploration diamond drilling comprising 1,634.7 metres in 6 holes was completed. All holes targeted peripheral areas of the Deposit, and three of the drill targets were determined from on-site XRF analysis of soil samples collected as part of the soil sampling program.

Soil Sampling

The planned soil sampling program was completed. The soil sampling program focused on areas east and south of the Casino Deposit. The program comprised of the collection of 2.502 "B-horizon" soil samples on a 200 m by 200 m grid spacing. All samples underwent XRF analysis on site and have been sent for full geochemical analysis.

Enersoft Logging

"GeologicalAI" robotic scanning, using a device built by Enersoft Inc. of Calgary, Alberta, was completed on all core drilled in 2021 and approximately 40% of the historical core. A total of 48,673.0 metres of core was scanned. The scanning includes "LIDAR" (Light Detection and Ranging) scanning, XRF analysis, hyperspectral analysis and some geotechnical analyses.

With the completion of this field program, the focus of further technical work developed with input from Rio Tinto will move to metallurgical studies. Metallurgical programs are under development for both the sulphide material targeted for the concentrator, and oxide material targeted for heap leach extraction, and will be executed once geochemical assays on the 2021 core have been received.

Feasibility Study

The Company has engaged the services of M3 Engineering & Technology Corporation of Tucson, Arizona ("M3") to conduct a feasibility study on Casino (the "Feasibility Study"). M3 is a full-service engineering, procurement and construction management firm, recognized for its experience in copper processing and capability in development and construction of mines and mineral processing plants. M3 also completed the Preliminary Economic Assessment on the Casino Project dated June 22, 2021 (the "PEA"). Targeted completion of the Feasibility Study is 2nd quarter of 2022.

The Feasibility Study will be based on the PEA and will include: a large open-pit operation, a concentrator to recover copper, gold, silver and molybdenum minerals, and a solid waste facility to store mine waste rock and mill tailings. The project will also include a heap leach facility to recover gold, silver, and copper from oxide ore. Project infrastructure will include approximately 130 km of access road, and an on-site power generation facility to meet the project's electrical power demand.

The principal objective of the Feasibility Study will be to demonstrate positive economic indicators for the Casino Project at a feasibility study level. The Feasibility Study will also form the basis of the Environmental and Socio-economic Statement, the submission of which is the next step in the environmental assessment process under the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Act.

"We are pleased that the work program that we developed with input from Rio Tinto is going smoothly  we have completed the field program and are now moving on to the metallurgical program.", said Paul West-Sells, President and CEO. "We are equally excited to launch a Feasibility Study on the Casino Project. This will build on the PEA released earlier this year and provide a foundation for permitting and other activities as we move the Casino Project forward."

Technical information in this news release relating to the Exploration and Drilling Program has been reviewed and approved by Carl Schulze, P.Geo., and a 'Qualified Person' as defined under Canadian National Instrument 43-101. Technical information in this news release relating to the Feasibility Study has been reviewed and approved by Cameron Brown, P.Eng., and a 'Qualified Person' as defined under Canadian National Instrument 43-101

ABOUT WESTERN COPPER AND GOLD CORPORATION

Western Copper and Gold Corporation is developing the Casino Project, Canada's premier copper-gold mine in the Yukon Territory and one of the most economic greenfield copper-gold mining projects in the world. For more information, visit www.westerncopperandgold.com.

On behalf of the board,

"Paul West-Sells"

Dr. Paul West-Sells

President and CEO

Western Copper and Gold Corporation

Cautionary Disclaimer Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Information

This news release contains certain forward-looking statements concerning anticipated developments in Western's operations in future periods. Statements that are not historical fact are "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined in the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and "forward looking information" as that term is defined in National Instrument 51-102 ("NI 51-102") of the Canadian Securities Administrators (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "potential", "possible" and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions or results "will", "may", "could" or "should" occur or be achieved. These forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements regarding perceived merit of properties; mineral reserve and resource estimates; capital expenditures; feasibility study results (including projected economic returns, operating costs, and capital costs in connection with the Casino Project); exploration results at the Company's property; budgets; permitting or other timelines; economic benefits from the mine and/or the access road; strategic plans; market price of precious and base metals; or other statements that are not statement of fact. In making the forward-looking statements herein, the Company has applied certain material assumptions including, but not limited to, the assumptions that the circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, although evolving, will stabilize or at least not worsen; that the extent to which COVID-19 may impact the Company, including without limitation disruptions to the mobility of Company personnel, increased labour and transportation costs, and other related impacts, will not change in a materially adverse manner; that all regulatory approvals required to complete the Company's planned exploration and development activities will be received in a timely manner and on acceptable terms; that the Company is able to procure personnel, equipment and supplies required for its exploration and development activities in sufficient quantities and on a timely basis; and that general business conditions will not change in a materially adverse manner.

Forward-looking statements are statements about the future and are inherently uncertain, and actual results, performance or achievements of Western and its subsidiaries may differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements due to a variety of risks, uncertainties and other factors. Such risks and other factors include, among others, risks involved in fluctuations in gold, copper and other commodity prices and currency exchange rates; COVID-19 risks to employee health and safety and a slowdown or temporary suspension of operations in geographic locations impacted by an outbreak; uncertainties related to raising sufficient financing in a timely manner and on acceptable terms; and other risks and uncertainties disclosed in Western's AIF and Form 40-F, and other information released by Western and filed with the applicable regulatory agencies.

Western's forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, expectations and opinions of management on the date the statements are made, and Western does not assume, and expressly disclaims, any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as otherwise required by applicable securities legislation. For the reasons set forth above, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

SOURCE Western Copper and Gold Corporation

Related Links

www.westerncoppercorp.com


VANCOUVER, BC, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Wildpack Beverage Inc. (TSXV: CANS) ("Wildpack" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on the progress of its corporate and growth initiatives, expanded leadership and optimization projects.

Highlights

Quarterly operational guidance will be provided prior to the end of 2021, as our production platform continues to expand

Integration of newly acquired Georgia and Colorado operations are on schedule and on budget

and operations are on schedule and on budget Wildpack continues to advance its 2021 M &A targets, as part of its buy and build strategy, with active negotiations on North Central target(s) that are progressing to definitive agreements

&A targets, as part of its buy and build strategy, with active negotiations on North Central target(s) that are progressing to definitive agreements The 2022 M &A pipeline is already full, giving Wildpack ample opportunity to scale to its desired 12 facility footprint by the end of next year

&A pipeline is already full, giving Wildpack ample opportunity to scale to its desired 12 facility footprint by the end of next year Wildpack has hired 6 senior leaders from market leading businesses which has balanced our M&A heavy team with operational and execution excellence

Sara Coyle has been added to the Board of Directors and now Chairs the M&A/Finance Committee

has been added to the Board of Directors and now Chairs the M&A/Finance Committee Baltimore and Las Vegas have each added a decorating line

and have each added a decorating line The new Las Vegas Printer is on schedule to be operational in 2021Q4, further integrating in-house services

Major strides in business process and innovative standard operating procedures have been made by the new operations leadership

2021Q3 results will be released on November 29, 2021 and management will conduct our earnings call on November 30, 2021 with the link available on our website (investor.wildpackbev.com)

Corporate Update

Throughout the third quarter the operational side of Wildpack's growth strategy has come into greater focus. To that end, the Company will provide forward guidance on planned utilization by quarter prior to the end of the year 2021.

M&A Growth Strategy

In July, Wildpack announced the acquisition of Georgia based CraftPac, LLC, followed closely by the August acquisition of Colorado based Vertical Distilling, LLC, the results of two of three letters of intent (see: Press Release dated May 26, 2021). Georgia and Colorado represent key geographical targets as Wildpack continues to pursue a network solution to the fragmentation mid-market beverage brands face as they pursue national distribution. The third and fourth Targets are progressing well through the due diligence process with the former having commenced negotiation towards a definitive agreement.

The pipeline for 2022 targets is vast and has similar characteristics to those encountered in 2021, albeit upsized. Specifically, Wildpack is focused on fillers, decorators, and printers in the United States. All of the deals being considered are proprietary with little or no competition, have a long history of positive cash flow, and are located in key geographic regions in accordance with Wildpack's strategic business plan.

Since inception, Wildpack has been able to successfully purchase businesses in increasing size over the course of its four total acquisitions  approximately doubling the acquisition size in each successive deal. With the targets available to Wildpack, Management anticipates this trend to continue.

Thomas Walker, Chief Growth Officer commented: "M&A remains Wildpack's number one catalyst. Our business model is funneling a steady stream of acquisitions to achieve the scale required to benefit fully from our industry leading operations team. We have developed a strong growth team with significant expertise in completing transactions in the beverage manufacturing space. Most importantly, while we have excellent external advisors, legal, financial and otherwise, we control our own destiny by completely controlling the process with our in-house team. As we continue to scale, we expect on-going acceleration in our ability to effectively assess, acquire and integrate new facilities in a number of jurisdictions."

Enhanced Management and Board of Director

From July to September, Wildpack continued to expand its leadership team with the appointment of Mrs. Sara Coyle, MBA, BSc. to the Board of Directors. Sara brings extensive transaction and finance experience specific to the packaging and industrial distribution space. Sara was made Committee Chair of the Merger & Acquisition/Finance Committee and will lend her experience to Wildpack's growth initiatives as the scope of upsizing continues to increase.

The Company added to its leadership team with the appointment of Dan Wales to VP, People and Culture, Elijah Clare to VP, Investor Relations, Sean Delaney as VP, Supply Chain, David Cassidy as VP, Operations, Jason Leszczynski as Director, Maintenance and Engineering and Michael Maddox as Director, Center of Excellence. Dan's experience building teams and leading people and culture with progressive public companies such as his experience at Lululemon was immediately impactful as Wildpack seeks to offer differentiated people centric employment opportunities and attract talent throughout the organization. Elijah brings a wealth of capital markets experience to the Investor Relations strategy. Wildpack's Operations team was fortified with the additions of Sean, Jason, David, and Michael who played key operational roles at industry leading companies such as Coca-Cola, Adirondack, Anheuser-Busch and Grant Thornton.

"Our ability to attract tier-one talent across all divisions of our business is a strong leading indicator that we are on to something exciting. Whenever you can convince someone to leave the comfort of their well-established and in most instances quite prestigious job to join an industry disrupter setting a course for uncharted territory, that is the best vote of confidence you can receive. Our existing team is ecstatic with the leadership these individuals provide and having them allows our growth team to be laser focused on growing the enterprise," said Mitch Barnard, Chief Growth Officer.

Facility Planned Utilization Step-up  Baltimore & Las Vegas

As part of Wildpack's step-up build strategy, the Baltimore facility added a second sleeving line and Las Vegas added both a sleeving and a printing line. The continued footprint optimization and expansion of Wildpack's offering continues to contribute to the overall build-and-buy growth strategy.

Decorating lines are currently the primary driver of revenue for Wildpack and have been the early focus of build-and-buys in accordance with our strategic business plan. Printing will provide Wildpack two key advantages being a decrease in cost of goods sold by removing the third-party markup we currently pay for sleeves and labels, as well as a decrease in lead-time due to internal logistical efficiencies.

The Operations team has been concurrently implementing business processes and innovative standard operating procedures aimed at improving quality assurance, predictability of the supply chain and yield. Improvements in operations have seen a transformative acceleration under the new leadership team in this division.

Chuck Zadlo, Chief Operating Officer said: "I have dipped into my electronic rolodex and hired a number of the key leaders that I had the pleasure of working with during my journey through beverage manufacturing leadership. Wildpack is the perfect opportunity for these talented and experienced professionals to take all that they have learned through their top-notch training at market leading businesses and build it here. This is not an opportunity that presents itself very often. Those we are recruiting quickly identify what the other side looks like after we succeed and are eager to join and roll up their sleeves to make their mark."

Per: "Mitch Barnard"

Mitch Barnard

Chief Executive Officer and Director

Advisors

Stifel GMP is acting as financial advisor to Wildpack Beverage, Inc., Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP is acting as its legal advisor.

Visit our investor website at:

www.investor.wildpackbev.com

About Wildpack

Wildpack is engaged in beverage manufacturing and packaging, operating in the middle market by providing sustainable aluminum can filling and decorating services to brands throughout the United States. Wildpack currently operates indirectly through its wholly owned subsidiaries and out of facilities in Baltimore, Maryland, Atlanta, Georgia, Longmont, Colorado, Sacramento, California and Las Vegas, Nevada with a focus on digital innovation and green ready-to-drink packaging. Wildpack commenced trading on May 19, 2021 on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "CANS.V".

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws, including, without limitation, statements regarding future operational guidance, achievement of M&A targets, future definitive agreements, anticipated benefits resulting from addition of a printing line and achievement of further growth, including with respect to the increase of Wildpack's facility footprint. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties, and contingencies. These statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as "may", "should", "will", "could", "intend", "estimate", "plan", "anticipate", "expect", "believe" or "continue", or the negative thereof or similar variations. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause future results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the estimated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by those forward-looking statements and the forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. Wildpack's statements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, and conditions, many of which are outside of Wildpack's control, and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. Forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by the inherent risks and uncertainties related to Wildpack's business, including: that Wildpack's assumptions in making forward-looking statements may prove to be incorrect; the inability to achieve M&A targets as currently anticipated, if at all; the inability to enter into future definitive agreements as currently anticipated, if at all; the benefits resulting from addition of a printing line not being realized as currently anticipated, if at all; the inability to achieve further growth as currently anticipated, if at all; delays in filing of financial information; adverse market conditions; risks inherent in the beverage manufacturing and packaging sector in general; that future results may vary from historical results; and competition in the markets where Wildpack operates. Except as required by securities law, Wildpack does not assume any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, events or otherwise.

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 Wildpack Beverage Inc.
FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, Germany, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Autonomous shuttle systems will play a central role as a mode of transport when people are traveling in cities or in areas close to cities. And this will not happen in the distant future, but very soon.

We have combined our expertise in autonomous driving systems, our network as a technology group, and our range of shuttles to create an attractive all-around solution that also includes the operation and service of complete vehicle fleets. As a systems provider, we will bring the potential of autonomous shuttle systems to the road faster.

We invite you to a ZF live event with Torsten Gollewski, Executive Vice President Autonomous Mobility Systems at ZF Group on Thursday, October 7, 2021, from 8 to 9 a.m. EDT

In the run-up to the ITS World Congress (October 11-15 in Hamburg), he explains how ZF is now aligning its range of autonomous shuttle systems for cities and mobility service providers.

The live event will be webcast. Access link: zf.com/its-press

You will have the opportunity to ask your questions live after the event.

About ZF

ZF is a global technology company supplying systems for passenger cars, commercial vehicles and industrial technology, enabling the next generation of mobility. ZF allows vehicles to see, think and act. In the four technology domains of Vehicle Motion Control, Integrated Safety, Automated Driving, and Electric Mobility, ZF offers comprehensive product and software solutions for established vehicle manufacturers and newly emerging transport and mobility service providers. ZF electrifies a wide range of vehicle types. With its products, the company contributes to reducing emissions, protecting the climate and enhancing safe mobility.

In fiscal year 2020 ZF reported sales of 32.6 billion. The company employs more than 150,000 associates at approximately 270 locations in 42 countries.

For further press information and photos, please visit: www.zf.com

SOURCE ZF North America, Inc.

Related Links

www.zf.com


Lucknow, Oct 6 : The Uttar Pradesh government, late on Tuesday night, denied permission to a Congress delegation led by Rahul Gandhi to visit Lakhimpur Kheri as Section 144 has been enforced there after Sunday's violence.

Earlier, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal had sought permission for the Rahul-led delegation.

In a letter to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the Congress said the five-member delegation led by Rahul Gandhi planned to visit the district.

Party sources said that Rahul would also meet sister Priyanka who has been kept at the PAC guest house in Sitapur since Monday.

She was formally arrested on Tuesday evening and the guest house has been notified as a temporary jail.

Rahul Gandhi, according to party sources, was scheduled to reach Lucknow on Wednesday to take stock of the political developments and visit Lakhimpur Kheri.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Seoul, Oct 6 : South Korea's trade ministry on Wednesday called for the members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to hold discussions to prevent global environmental regulations, including Europe's new carbon policy, from hindering global free trade.

The European Union announced earlier that it will adopt the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which is expected to be fully implemented in 2026 following a transition period of three years.

"We need to hold multilateral discussions to avoid environment measures, such as the CBAM, from serving as new trade hurdles," Yonhap news agency quoted Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo as saying during a mini-ministerial meeting of the WTO held in Paris.

Under the CBAM scheme, European importers of cement, electricity, fertilizer, steel and aluminum must purchase "carbon certificates" corresponding to the amount of carbon directly spent on producing the products.

South Korea believes its steel and aluminium industries will be among the major victims when the European policy is fully applied.

The mini-ministerial meeting came ahead of the 12th Ministerial Conference of the WTO, which is scheduled to kick off on November 30.

Yeo added South Korea will also actively participate in the negotiations on fisheries subsidies during the ministerial meeting, which centers on prohibiting subsidies that contribute to overfishing and other illegal, unregulated fishing.

Talks for the deal began in 2001, but they have yet to reach an agreement due to a range of issues, such as special treatment for developing and underdeveloped nations.
Bengaluru, Oct 6 : The Karnataka Police have arrested a woman and her lover, on charges of killing her 16-year-son in Bengaluru, police sources said on Wednesday.

The deceased boy is identified as Nandu. Geetha, his mother, and Shakthi, her lover, have been arrested by the jurisdictional Halasuru police.

Accused Geetha resided in Murphy Town and was living separately from her husband for 6 years following a family dispute. Geetha had two children and earned a livelihood by doing household chores in the neighbourhood.

Geetha was addicted to social media and got introduced to Shakthi a few months ago. They exchanged their numbers and this turned into an affair. Shakthi started visiting the house of Geetha often, police said.

However, victim Nandu objected to it very strongly. He fought with his mother for entertaining a stranger at home. Geetha shared about the behaviour of her son to Shakthi. Shakthi in turn hatched a plan to kill Nandu, and mother Geetha consented to it, police said.

Shakthi had visited Geetha's house and quarrelled with the victim Nandu on Tuesday. The accused stabbed him in the abdomen and chest. While escaping, the police arrested him and also took the mother Geetha into custody. The investigation is on.
Geneva, Oct 6 : The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a specialised agency of the United Nations (UN), has warned that climate change increases the global risk of water-related hazards like floods and droughts, and the number of people affected by water scarcity is also expected to soar.

In its new report entitled "The State of Climate Services 2021: Water," the WMO said on Tuesday that 3.6 billion people globally had inadequate access to water at least one month per year in 2018, and by 2050 this number is expected to exceed five billion, Xinhua news agency reported.

"The situation is worsening by the fact that only 0.5 percent of water on the Earth is useable and available freshwater," the report says.

The WMO's data show that water-related hazards have increased in frequency over the past 20 years. Since 2000, flood-related disasters have risen by 134 per cent compared with the two previous decades, while during the same period the number and duration of droughts also increased by 29 per cent.

Most drought-related deaths occurred in Africa, indicating a need for stronger end-to-end warning systems for drought in that region. Most of the flood-related deaths and economic losses were recorded in Asia, while Africa was hit the most by drought-related deaths.

"Increasing temperatures are resulting in global and regional precipitation changes, leading to shifts in rainfall patterns and agricultural seasons, with a major impact on food security and human health and well-being," says WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas.

Last year saw a continuation of extreme water-related events, which displaced millions of people and killed hundreds across Asia, while in Africa more than two billion people still live in water-stressed countries and suffer lack of access to safe drinking water and sanitation, according to the WMO chief.

Underlining the important role of water resources management in reducing water-related disasters, the WMO recommends that countries, especially small island developing states and least developed countries, increase investment in integrated water resources management and in drought and flood early warning systems.

The WMO also urges countries to fill the capacity gap in collecting data for basic hydrological variables, which underpin climate services and early warning systems, and national level stakeholders to co-develop and operationalize climate services with information users to better support adaptation in the water sector.
Chennai, Oct 6 : The first phase of rural local body polls commenced in the nine districts of Tamil Nadu on Wednesday.

The State election commission has held several rounds of virtual meetings with the district administrations and the police to ensure a full-proof poll.

Elections are being held at Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, Ranipet, Tiruppatur, Kallakurichi, Villupuram, Tenkasi, Tirunelveli and Vellore districts. Polling is brisk in several constituencies since 7 a.m. when the voting began. In many constituencies at Kallakurichi and Villupuram, large queues were seen and in other districts, moderate polling was recorded.

A large contingent of police is deployed in all the districts after violence was reported in many parts of South Tamil Nadu, including Tirunelveli and Dindigul districts.

There have been allegations of huge money being changed hands and political parties trying to influence people using freebies including money, liquor, and food items to cast votes in their favour.

In South Tamil Nadu, the recent incidents of violence in which four people were beheaded within a span of five days have led to a friction in the districts of Tirunelveli and Dindigul. The elections in Tirunelveli will be held under heavy police posse as the State Election Commission does not want any violence to happen between the Dalit communities and the Thevars in this area.

Singaravelu, a farmer at Tirunelveli while speaking to IANS said, "There is an uneasy calm in the area and the heavy police deployment will prevent any untoward incidents during the polls." In Kallakuricihi and Villupuram, the district administration has seized unaccounted money that was brought for distribution among the voters. Sources told IANS that money to the tune of more than Rs 25 lakh was seized from several persons in Kallikurichi and Villupuram districts.

In many districts where elections are being held, the commission has directed the police and excise officials to stay alert and to ensure full security during the polls.

Following the Madras High Court intervention after the petition of AIADMK, CCTV cameras were installed in almost all the booths, and in booths where the cameras could not be installed, video recording is being conducted.

The district administrations have issued statements to assure voters on the measures taken in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Kallakurichi district collector, P.N. Sridhar while speaking to IANS said, "All officials engaged in the election duty are fully vaccinated and proper gears provided to the people during voting. We have taken all the measures to prevent any spread of the pandemic and people need not worry and must reach the polling stations on Wednesday." State Election Commission, V. Palanikumar told media persons that all facilities have been ensured to make free and fair voting. He said that wheelchairs are also arranged for differently-abled voters in all constituencies.
Lucknow, Oct 6 : Internet services were shut down in Lakhimpur Kheri and Sitapur on Wednesday, following reports that some Congress leaders were on their way to meet party General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and also the families of the victims.

Though there was no official communication of the shutdown of services, a senior official said that this had been done as a precautionary measure.

"We will thwart all attempts to create tension in the area. The shutdown may be lifted by evening if no untoward incident takes place," he said.

It is noteworthy that Congress MP Rahul Gandhi was scheduled to come to Lucknow and then Sitapur to meet Priyanka. However, the state administration has denied him the permission.
Los Angeles, Oct 6 : Hollywood star Jake Gyllenhaal says it was "torture" filming 'The Good Girl' with Jennifer Aniston because of his real life crush on her.

Speaking during an interview with 'The Howard Stern Show', Gyllenhaal was asked by the host if it was "torture" to film love scenes with somebody he fancied in real life, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

Gyllenhaal said: "Oh yeah, it was torture, yes it was. But it was also not torture. I mean, come on, it was like a mix of both." He said that such is the "mechanical nature" of love scenes he thankfully managed to keep his true feelings towards Aniston well-hidden.

He added: "Weirdly, love scenes are awkward, because there are maybe 30, 50 people watching it? That doesn't turn me on. It's oddly mechanical.

"And also it's a dance, you're choreographing for a camera. You can get in it but it's like a fight scene, you have to choreograph those scenes." He added that a well-placed pillow, which was actually Aniston's suggestion, helped.

The actor said: "The pillow technique was used. That was just preemptive and used generally always when actually in a horizontal place in that movie. I think that was actually a Jennifer suggestion, she was very kind to suggest it before we began. She was like, "I'm putting a pillow here.""
New Delhi, Oct 6 : A 35-year-old woman was killed while her four children were injured in an LPG cylinder blast here, a Fire Department official informed on Wednesday.

The incident happened on Tuesday evening.

According to the official, they received a call about a fire incident at Gali No 7, Anand Parbat in central Delhi around 9.05 p.m. on Tuesday.

"As many as 2 fire tenders were rushed to the spot to bring the fire under control," he said, adding that four people were rescued from the site of the accident in an injured state.

Later, one among the four people, succumbed to his injuries. It took at least two hours to completely put the fire out. "The blaze was doused at around 11.15 p.m. in the night," the official informed.

The deceased woman was identified as Sushila, 35, and four injured kids, which included three daughters -- Mansi, 8, Meenakshi, 8, Monika, 9, and a 7-year-old son named Mohan.

All the injured are currently admitted to the RML hospital.

The fire completely gutted the room where the incident took place.

The incident comes just three days after a fire broke out in a guest house located in east Delhi. This blaze was also brought under control and no casualties were reported then.
Hyderabad, Oct 6 : Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Wednesday greeted the people on the occasion of the beginning of Bathukamma festival, the symbol of Telangana culture and the State government's official festival.

He said the Telangana women folk and girls will decorate Bathukamma with a variety of flowers and worship nature amidst happiness and fervour. He noted that Bathukamma festival, which was neglected during the united Andhra Pradesh rule, is celebrated as an official festival under the self-governance.

He described Bathukamma festival as an integral part of the Telangana people's life which has spread all across different continents.

KCR said Bathukamma brought fame and name to Telangana all over the world. The state government has made arrangements to celebrate Bathukamma at every nook and corner of the state.

He cautioned people to take preventive measures at the time of immersion of Bathukamma as all the tanks and water bodies are filled with water. The CM prayed to the Goddess to bless Telangana people to live with happiness, prosperity, and longevity.

Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundrarajan has also conveyed greetings to the people of Telangana, especially the women on the auspicious occasion of Bathukamma festival.

She noted that the festival symbolises the cultural spirit of Telangana. Bathukamma is characterised by the gathering of flowers and making unique floral arrangements.

Ever since the formation of Telangana state in 2014, Bathukamma is being celebrated as the state festival.

-- Syndicated from IANS
Rahul Gandhi addressing PC in New Delhi ahead of his visit to Lakhimpur Kheri. Image Source: IANS News

Rahul Gandhi addressing PC in New Delhi ahead of his visit to Lakhimpur Kheri. Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, Oct 6 : Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said he will visit Lucknow and Lakhimpur Kheri along with Chief Ministers of Punjab and Chhattisgarh despite being denied permission by the administration.

Addressing a press conference on Wednesday here, Rahul Gandhi said, "Section 144 is not imposed for three people and only three persons will go to meet the bereaved families." He said Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi will accompany him to Lucknow and then they will proceed to Lakhimpur Kheri.

Rahul said, "When other political parties are being allowed to go to Lakhimpur Kheri, why the Congress delegation will not be allowed." On questions about Priyanka's detention, he said, "We are trained to raise peoples' issues and we are not going to deter even on being manhandled." The Congress leader alleged that the farmers were being attacked by the government.

The Uttar Pradesh government, late on Tuesday night, denied permission to a Congress delegation led by Rahul Gandhi to visit Lakhimpur Kheri as Section 144 was enforced there after Sunday's violence.

Earlier, Congress General Secretary K.C. Venugopal had sought permission for the Rahul-led delegation.

In a letter to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the Congress said a five-member delegation led by Rahul Gandhi planned to visit the district.

Party sources said that Rahul would also meet sister Priyanka, who has been kept at the PAC guest house in Sitapur since Monday.

She was formally arrested on Tuesday evening and the guest house has been notified as a temporary jail.
New Delhi, Oct 6 : After being pushed by the Supreme Court, the Centre on Wednesday told the top court that NEET-Super Speciality exam scheduled in November this year will be held as per the old question pattern.

Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, representing the Centre, submitted before a bench headed by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud that in the larger interest of students, the government has decided that the revised NEET-SS exam syllabus will be introduced from 2022 -- the new question pattern will be applicable from next year.

The bench replied that the "government has been very fair".

Bhati said the exam scheduled this year will be held as per the old pattern.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing a petitioner, submitted that this should not in any way imply that the court is accepting the revised pattern exam for the next year.

The bench recorded that the Centre states that decision has been taken in consultation with the National Medical Commission (NMC) and National Board of Examinations (NBE) and taking note of students' interest who would have commenced preparation for NEET-SS, before the change of pattern was notified.

The bench said the Centre has stated that the modified pattern will be in effect from academic year 2022-23. "Since the grievance addressed under Article 32, and in these circumstances petitions under Article 32 are disposed of", said the bench.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court pulling up the Centre on the changes in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Super Specialty (NEET-SS) 2021 pattern, said the impression and message which will go out is that the medical education and medical regulation in the country has become a business and it appears the entire haste is for filling the vacant seats.

On the aspect of syllabus change, the bench told the NBE counsel, "What was the hurry. You have an examination pattern which had been going on from 2018 to 2020." The top court said: "The impression we get is that the medical education has become a business and medical regulation has also become a business".

The bench also comprising Justices Vikram Nath and B.V. Nagarathna said this would become a tragedy for the medical education in the country.

Defending the pattern change, the Centre had proposed deferring the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) Super Speciality exam for 2021 by a period of two months.

The top court was hearing a plea by Prateek Rastogi and 40 postgraduate qualified doctors, who challenged the abrupt last-minute changes, contending that they were made to favour the general medicine candidates.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Ulan Bator, Oct 6 : Mongolia reported 2,409 new Covid-19 cases and 14 more deaths over the past 24 hours, bringing the national caseload to 317,010 and death toll to 1,303, the health ministry said on Wednesday.

One of the latest confirmed cases was imported from abroad, and the remaining ones were local infections, said the ministry, Xinhua news agency reported.

Currently, 22,158 Covid-19 patients are being hospitalised across the country, while 55,363 patients are receiving home-based care due to a shortage of hospital beds and medical staff, according to the ministry.

Although over 65 per cent of the country's population of 3.4 million have received two Covid-19 vaccine doses, the resurgence of the pandemic has continued due to the Delta wave, with more than 2,000 infections and more than 10 deaths reported every day.

Mongolian health authorities have urged the public to strictly follow all relevant health guidelines and receive the booster or a third dose of vaccines.

So far, 323,940 Mongolians have received the booster. The ministry has said that at least 50 per cent of the population should receive the booster.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Kolkata, Oct 6 : Just before the 'pujas', there is good news for the people of West Bengal. In an effort to promote indigenous and Geographical Identification (GI) tagged products, the first consignment of GI-tagged sweet dish 'Mihidana' sourced from Bardhaman, has been exported to the Kingdom of Bahrain.

This unique sweet dish exported by Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) is being displayed (also provided for tasting purposes) to consumers at Aljazira superstores in Bahrain. More consignments of the unique sweet dish would be exported to Bahrain during the forthcoming Diwali festival.

The APEDA in a tweet wrote -- In a boost to harness export potential of indigenous & #GI tagged products, a consignment consisting of unique sweet dishes from #WestBengal - #Sitabhog, #Langcha, #Chandrapuli & #Narkel Naru (#coconut #laddu with #jaggery) was exported the Kingdom of #Bahrain.

A GI tag is a sign denoting a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin. GI, a form of intellectual property right (IPR), is distinct from other forms of IPR, as it ascribes the exclusivity to the community in a defined geography, rather than to an individual, as is in the case of trademarks and patents.

A GI tag can be issued for agricultural, natural or manufactured goods that have a unique quality, reputation or other characteristics attributable to its geographical origin. Darjeeling tea, Basmati rice, Kanchipuram Silk, Mysore Silk, Hyderabadi haleem, Nagaland chilli products, etc., sold with the GI tag have premium pricing.

For the last few years, APEDA has been focusing on increasing lesser-known, indigenous, and GI-tagged food products from the country. In August 2021, India Post released a special cover on West Bengal's sweetmeats 'Mihidana' and 'Sitabhog'. West Bengal's Bardhaman got the GI tag for the century-old sweetmeats in 2017.

APEDA has been carrying out promotional activities to bring unique and GI certified products to the agricultural and processed food products export map of India. APEDA undertakes market promotion activities for export of food products, market intelligence for making informed decisions, international exposure, skill development, capacity building and high-quality packaging. It also provides assistance to set up pack houses across States which would fulfil the mandatory requirement or infrastructure for export of fresh fruits and vegetables to the international market.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Mumbai, Oct 6 : Veteran theatre and film actor Arvind Trivedi - who shot to national fame in the role of Demon King Ravana in Ramanand Sagar's 'Ramayana' - has passed away, his family said here on Wednesday. He was 82.

Trivedi was ailing since a long time with age-related issues, according to his nephew and Gujarat theatre producer Kaustubh Trivedi.

The end came late on Tuesday at his home in Kandivali west suburb and the last rites were performed at the Dahanukarwadi Crematorium.

Brother of veteran Gujarati actor Upendra, Trivedi also acted in another popular teleseries "Vikram Aur Betaal" and "Vishwamitra", and over 300 Gujarati and Hindi films.

From 1991, he briefly joined politics and was elected as a Lok Sabha MP from Gujarat's Sabarkantha constituency on a Bharatiya Janata Party ticket, serving a full term till 1996, besides serving as CBFC Chairman for a brief period in 2002-2003.

Several prominent personalities from the Gujarati and Hindi film industry, including his co-actors in Sagar's 1986 television magnum opus "Ramayana", mourned Trivedi's demise.

Condoling Trivedi's death, Prime Minister Narendra Modi described him as "not only an exceptional actor but also was passionate about public service, and for generations of Indians, he will be remembered for his work in the Ramayan TV serial".
Hyderabad, Oct 6 : One person was killed and 11 injured when a TSRTC bus fell off the road after collision with a car in Telangana's Peddapalli district on Wednesday, police said.

The accident occurred near Battupally in Manthani mandal when the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) bus collided with a car coming in the wrong direction.

Both the bus and car fell off the road. The car driver was killed while 11 bus passengers, including driver and conductor were injured. Three of them received grievous injuries. The injured were admitted to hospitals.

The bus, which was on its way from Bellampally to Hanamkonda, lost control after the collision with the car and both the vehicles fell into the roadside ditch.

According to eyewitnesses, the car driver was driving vehicle on the wrong side which led to the accident. The conductor said the car suddenly came on the right side and though the bus driver tried his best to avoid the collision, he could not control the vehicle.

Meanwhile, a police head constable was killed when a bike he was riding was hit by a truck at Kukatpally in Hyderabad. The accident occurred on Tuesday night.

Eshwaraiah was attached to the Shamshabad police station of Cyberabad police commissionerate.
Abu Dhabi, Oct 6 : Having secured a berth in the IPL playoffs, the Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will look to consolidate their position on the points table when they take on bottom-placed Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium here later on Wednesday.

Despite having 16 points, there is still a lot to play for as Kohli's team will be vying for the top-two finish. The Hyderabad unit, on the other hand, would like to end the tournament on a high note after a season in which they have struggled to find success.

Riding on Glenn Maxwell's half-century and Shahbaz Ahmed's match-defining spell, RCB crushed SRH the last time the two teams met at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal have batted with authority at the top, providing brisk starts more often. The solid platform laid by the opening duo has allowed the other batters such as KS Bharat and Glenn Maxwell to deflate the bowling attacks later on.

Maxwell's redemption has been the highlight of this edition of IPL. Whether it was the two-paced wicket in Dubai or the sluggish track in Sharjah, the Australian never looked at sea against the bowlers.

Eyebrows were raised when RCB acquired the services of the Australian in the auction. Despite a forgetful IPL 2020 season, it is not fair to judge a player of Maxwell's stature on basis of one or two matches or a season.

Batting at No.5 for Punjab Kings, he could only muster 108 runs in 11 innings in the previous season. The 32-year-old, however, has turned a new leaf this season, demonstrating why he is still the best in the business. He has silenced the critics with several match-winning performances, amassing 407 runs in 11 innings.

Maxwell credits his success to his familiarity with the role he's been assigned by the RCB. "Coming into RCB they wanted me to do the exact same role like I am playing with Australia," Maxwell has been quoted as saying.

Another vital cog, Harshal Patel too has taken the challenge of bowling the death overs head-on. He has bowled with control in the death overs. He sits atop the list of highest wicket-takers in IPL 2021 with 26 wickets in 12 innings.

Besides, Yuzvendra Chahal has been miserly in the middle overs. Interestingly, the 30-year-old holds the record for most wickets for a spinner against the Hyderabad unit.

Latest updates on IPL 2021

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Colombo, Oct 6 : Following the ban on importing organic fertiliser from China after detecting harmful bacteria, Sri Lanka will import it from India instead.

Last month, Sri Lanka cancelled the plans to import 99,000 metric tonnes of organic fertiliser at a cost of $63 million from China's Qingdao Seawin Biotech Group Co Ltd.

Agriculture Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage said in Parliament on Tuesday that laboratory tests conducted on the organic fertiliser samples sent from India have confirmed that they were suitable for the use in Sri Lanka.

Responding to an opposition question raised on the ongoing fertiliser crisis, he said the National Plant Quarantine Service had approved the fertiliser from India.

"If there is a delay, a decision has been reached to import the nano-nitrogen fertilizer from India using air freight," Aluthgamage said.

The opposition had questioned the Minister as to how the government was going to solve the problem of farmers who are waiting for fertiliser to start the major cultivation season.

The government had to drop the plans to import the Chinese organic fertiliser after scientists, activists, and political parties strongly objected the move following the detection of a harmful microorganism identified as 'Erwinia' on September 17. However government complained of "foul play" and brought another set of samples but on September 29, they too were detected with a harmful bacteria.

Agriculture experts -- both independent and those attached to the state-institutions -- had urged government to cancel the fertiliser contract from China, warning that the imported Chinese fertiliser would create an agricultural disaster in the island nation.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
October 06 : After stunning Paris Fashion Week with her gorgeous look recently, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is now in Dubai. On Tuesday, the Ae Dil Hai Mushkil actor attended an event in Dubai and represented a brand.

Aishwarya looked absolutely stunning in a black ensemble by ace designer Sabyasachi. The actress opted for an all-black traditional outfit and added a pop of colour with her dupatta that featured a multi-colour border. She completed her gorgeous look for the evening with matching earrings and left her hair loose. The diva opted for bold eyes and bold red lip colour that complimented her overall look. Pictures of the actor were shared by her team on Instagram. Aishwaryas hairstylist George also shared a selfie with her and wrote, A beautiful end to a beautiful day. How gorgeous is she.

Image Source: Instagram/aishwarya_raifan Aishwarya Rai Bachchan stuns in all-black at Dubai event

With Tuesdays event, Aishwarya became the first Bollywood actress to appear on the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, as a part of the brands event to stand up against street harassment.

Before the Dubai event, Aishwariya walked the ramp at the Paris Fashion Week. The actor tuned heads as she walked the ramp for a cosmetic brand, L'Oreal Paris, on Sunday. Pictures of the actress looking stunning in a white outfit flooded social media. Other celebs on the ramp included Aja Naomi King, Leyna Bloom, Kat Graham, Soo Joo Park, Baptiste Giabiconi, and Isabeli Fontana.

Image Source: Instagram/aishwarya_raifan Aishwarya Rai Bachchan stuns in all-black at Dubai event

The theme of this years event's was women empowerment and the brand's anti-street harassment campaign. "This year's 'Le Defile' will be a remarkable platform for women's empowerment, conveying a strong message of self-worth and disrupting the conventions of typical runway shows by inviting the public to join the Stand Up Against Street Harassment program," L'Oreal Paris global brand president Delphine Viguier-Hovasse said in a statement.
Srinagar, Oct 6 : An Indian Army officer and soldier were injured in a road accident in J&K's Anantnag district on Wednesday, police said.

Police said a Casper vehicle of 19 Rashtriya Rifles fell into a gorge in Upper Hallan village of Verinag in Anantnag, injuring two.

"Both injured soldiers were evacuated to government medical college Anantnag for treatment while the damaged vehicle is being retrieved, "The injured were identified as Major Chetan Prajapati and Lance Naik Prashar Ravi," a police officer said.
New Delhi, Oct 6 : A 40-feet long and 10-feet high wall collapsed in the national capital, injuring one person, official sources said here on Wednesday.

A fire department official said they received a call at about 7.55 a.m. that a wall located at Rajender Marg near a petrol pump in the Tis Hazari area of the city has collapsed.

Unknown people contacted the fire department after the incident and three fire tenders were rushed to the spot.

Sources said half of the wall's height comprised bricks while the rest were grills.

A man who was there at the time of accident was trapped below the debris.

The fire department officials rescued the man. "He was then immediately rushed to a nearby hospital," they said.

"The man had only minor injuries and is being given treatment at the Aruna Asaf Ali Hospital," a fire department official told IANS.
Mumbai, Oct 6 : The new season of Bigg Boss has gone on air and the audience can't keep calm. This time 'Bigg Boss 15' has been much hyped with contestants like Jay Bhanushali, Karan Kundrra, Vidhi Pandya and Tejasswi Prakash. Prateik Chaudhary, who will be seen next in the show 'Sindoor Ki Keemat', is also excited to watch the show.

He talks about who is the potential player, who would go a long way.

"I don't know them personally, so I can't comment much about any of them. But, 'Bigg Boss' is a reality show and I guess Karan Kundrra has been part of many reality shows, so we can expect him to know a few tricks of the trade. Then again, you never know what will happen, as we should never judge a book by its cover. So, let's see. Anyone can pull off the show very well, as we all know 'Big Boss' is all about surprises. I wish the very best to all the contestants out there. May the best player win," he says.

Prateik would like to do 'Bigg Boss' if things work out. "And, why not? It's the most popular non-fiction show. The audiences really love it and obviously Salman Khan as the host is the best. So yes, I would love to do the show for Salman Khan and for the audience," he adds.

Talking more about Salman Khan, the actor continues that there is a reason why Salman Khan has been hosting the show for the past so many seasons.

"A reality show like 'Bigg Boss' we need a real host, who can show the contestants their flaws and strengths without any fear or being diplomatic. And we all know Salman Khan is fearless, and all real. So, there can't be a better host than him for the show," he concludes.

Latest updates on Bigg Boss Season 15
Srinagar, Oct 6 : A day after M.L. Bindroo, the owner of 'Bindroo Medicate', was shot dead by terrorists in Srinagar, his daughter, Shraddha Bindroo, on Wednesday hit out at terrorists.

She said her father was a fighter who always said that he would die with his shoes on.

"I don't have a single tear in my eyes because he was a fighter, he died like a fighter," she said. "He always said, "I will die with my shoes on." Terrorists fired upon the owner of 'Bindroo Medicate', Makhan Lal Bindroo near Iqbal Park in Srinagar on Tuesday evening. He was shifted to hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

Speaking to reporters, Shraddha Bindroo asked the terrorists to fight with education instead of stones and guns given to them by politicians.

"Whoever is the person who shot my father dead, come before me, you have some education? My father gave me education, politicians gave you guns and stones, you want to fight with guns and stones, that is cowardice, all politicians are using you, come in front and fight with education," she said.

"I am an associate professor, I started from zero level, my father started from a bicycle, my brother is a famous diabetologist, my mother sits in the shop, that's what Makhan Lal Bindroo made us. A Kashmiri Pandit, he will never die."
Chennai, Oct 6 : Indian associations of syringes and medical devices manufacturers have urged the government not to restrict export of non-Covid vaccine syringes.

They also asked the government to come out with guidance on the quarterly needs of syringes, specially for the first quarter of 2022.

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade on Monday notified that syringes with or without needles have been shifted to the restricted list from the free list.

In a statement, the All India Syringe and Needle Manufacturers Association (AISNMA) said: "It takes lots of effort and years to build credibility as a global supplier and India's reputation as a manufacturing hub of syringes will be tarnished as being undependable." Appealing to the government not to restrict export of syringes which are not required by India, the AISNMA assured that the industry "will always prioritise the domestic needs".

Expressing dismay and disappointment at the government's action, Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AIMeD) Forum Coordinator Rajiv Nath said the supply chain management is currently challenged in the country due to increased demand for standard disposable syringes in view of the spike in dengue and typhoid and others in the July-September quarter, but the demand spike will ease from mid-November.

He said the 20-odd syringe manufacturers should focus on non-Covid curative care as priority one and followed by vaccination preventive care and honouring export commitments.

Nath urged the government not to apply the restrictions on non-Covid syringes like insulin syringes, 5 ml or larger syringe sizes or 0.3 ml auto disable (AD) syringes developed for Pfizer.

The AIMeD also urged the government to allow export of 50 per cent of the quantity shipped to a country last year during October-January of 0.5/1/2/3 ml.

AISNMA Secretary Vishal Khemka said: "Countries are counting on India to support global immunisation/vaccination projects mainly for children for yellow fever or measles, hepatitis B, pentavalent or BCG etc. Those are not the syringes used for Covax supplies of 0.5 ml AD etc." "We cannot deprive those children from those immunisation commitments as those syringes will anyways not be used for Covid vaccination in India and will lie unused in our factories, causing us huge losses. This is our ongoing global contractual commitments to support global vaccination projects," he added.

Nath also noted that to ensure there is no shortage of syringes, many Indian syringe manufacturers, on a voluntary basis, in the last quarter and presently as well, are not accepting new business export opportunities from many overseas buyers.

Khemka had told IANS earlier that the total Indian market size for syringes will be about 500 crore pieces of which the government supplies will be about 200 crore pieces and exports about 150 crore pieces, while the remaining will be for domestic institutional (hospitals, clinics) and retail sales.
Chennai: An elderly man leaves after casting his vote for the second phase of 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Chennai on April 18, 2019. (Photo: IANS) Image Source: IANS News

Chennai, Oct 6 : The first five and half hours of polling in the rural local body elections witnessed brisk voting in almost all the nine new districts.

In Tirunelveli district, which had witnessed killings on caste lines in the last couple of weeks, there was good polling.

By 12.30 p.m. on Wednesday, Tirunelveli district reported 32.1 per cent polling with women in large numbers arriving at the booths.

The rural local body polls have more of a local fervor as it determines the rulers of the panchayats and district councils which directly affect the lives of the people and hence good polling is being witnessed in these places.

Even after rains have decreased, polling in Chengalpattu and Kancheepuram districts has not caught the momentum. While Changalpattu recorded 24.3 per cent polling till noon, Kancheepuram was slightly better with 25.9 per cent.

Ramesh Kumar, who lives in Pammal, voted in Pozhiyoor school and told IANS, "There was not much rush at the polling counter and all the Covid-19 protocols were intact. I went to the polling station along with my wife and daughter. We could cast our votes in ten minutes on reaching the booth. Heavy police contingent is guarding the booth for any untoward incident." In Tenkasi, there was a slight scuffle when a few people jumped the queue and violated the Covid-19 protocol. The police personnel on duty intervened and pacified the angry voters when some people jumped the queue.

Voting in the district of Tenkasi touched 29.01 per cent at 12.30 p.m. and local people said that the polling will gain momentum in the afternoon. The polling will be conducted till 6 p.m. with the last one hour earmarked for Covid-19 patients.

At Vellore district also there were minor issues related to Covid-19 protocol and people argued with the police personnel about not having proper Covid protocol in place in some booths.

The voting percentage touched 31.19 per cent at 12.30 p.m. in Vellore and the polling is expected to gain strength in the next couple of hours.

Shanmughan, 52, a local leader of the DMK while speaking to IANS said, "DMK will sweep the polls as our Chief Minister had taken extra care for the welfare of the people of the state after assuming office on May 7. The only thing that is to be known is our majority." Mohammed Abdullah, an AIADMK worker at Vellore while speaking to IANS said, "DMK has failed the people and they will not win a majority in the rural local body elections and it will be a good victory for the AIADMK. It is to be remembered that the difference between the AIADMK and DMK in the last Assembly elections was only 1 per cent in favour of the DMK. That is not a big deal which we will overcome and we will emerge victorious in the rural local body polls." Villupuram and Kallikurichi districts also witnessed good polling with 27.84 per cent and 28.5% voting respectively by 12.30 p.m. No untoward incidents were reported from these districts. Heavy police posse is deployed in both Villupuram and Kallikurichi for the conduct of free and fair polls.

Ranipet and Tiruppatur also witnessed good polling with 30.01 per cent and 28.4 per cent respectively by 12.30 p.m.
Seoul, Oct 6 : Google's Korea head said the company will follow the country's new law that restricts app store operators from forcing their in-app payment systems on developers.

In August, South Korea's National Assembly amended the Telecommunications Business Act barring app market operators from forcing certain payment systems on mobile content businesses by abusing their market positions.

App store giants Google and Apple have been enforcing their own proprietary systems, which take commissions of up to 30 per cent from many developers, who have complained of high fees.

Kim Kyung-hoon, the country's Director for Google's local unit, said the company would follow the new law after repeated questioning by lawmakers during a parliamentary audit by the Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee, reports Yonhap news agency.

"While there are areas that are regretful, we respect the law," Kim said, affirming the company will change its business model.

In September, the country's telecommunications regulator said it will receive specific plans from app market operators on how they plan to abide by the new law and will also meet with app developers to discuss their grievances.
Islamabad, Oct 6 : In a recent interview, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan revealed that his leadership is in contact with the Pakistani Taliban and is working towards persuading them to lay down arms.

"In fact, I think some of the TTP (Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan) groups want to talk to our government for peace, for some reconciliation, and we are in talks with some of the groups", Khan revealed.

"Afghan Taliban are also helping our government in this process", Khan added.

Khan also revealed that the talks between his government and the TTP are taking place in Afghanistan.

"In the sense that the talks are taking place in Afghanistan. In that sense yes", he said.

Prime Minister's remarks have sparked anger among the locals in Pakistan, who are reminding him of the deadly attacks in schools, markets, mosques and other places, which have killed thousands of innocent people at the hands of the same TTP, who he is talking to and offering them to become normal citizens of the country.

"The terrorists who have killed our children in the Army Public School (APS) in Peshawar, who have killed innocent Muslims, who were praying in mosques, who have killed thousands of our soldiers, who have sent suicide bombers in markets and shrines to kill... Imran Khan says he is talking to them? How can he even think of talking to such inhumane people? How can he offer them to be normal citizens and give them immunity over their crimes?" said Numaish Khan, a local resident of Mardan in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa province.

The Pakistani premier believes there is no military solution to the problem, which is why negotiation with the Pakistani Taliban is the only option for an anti-military solution.

"I repeat, I do not believe in military solutions. I am anti-military solutions. So, I always believe that political dialogue is the way ahead which was the case in Afghanistan", said Imran Khan.

Khan's revelations come with a backgrounder when President Dr. Arif Alvi and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had offered the Taliban to lay down weapons and be pardoned for their crimes.

However, the offer of the foreign minster and the president was rejected by the TTP, who said that they do no seek pardon from anything as what they do is not a crime but is a religious jihad for the supremacy of Islam and Shariah.
New Delhi, Oct 6 : Minister of State for Home Ajay Kumar Mishra, whose son Ashish Mishra is in the line of fire over his alleged involvement in the violence at Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri, on Wednesday met Union Home Minister Amit Shah at his residence.

The meeting lasted over half an hour and it is understood that Mishra might have made his position clear in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case. Earlier, he went to his office in the North Block and stayed there for a while.

Ashish Mishra has been named in the FIR lodged by the Uttar Pradesh Police in the violence at Tikunia on Sunday for allegedly mowing down farmers who were going to protest against Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya's visit to the Union Minister's ancestral village for a function. A total of nine persons, including a local journalist and four farmers, were killed in the incident.

The FIR against Ashish Mishra charges him with murder and causing death by negligence, but the subsequent police inaction is fuelling the anger of the farmers as well as opposition leaders.

However, the Minister and his son have categorically denied any involvement in this incident and he claimed that his son was not present at the site of the incident.
San Francisco, Oct 6 : Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has posted a staunch defence of his company in a note to Facebook staffers, saying that recent claims by an ex-employee about the social network's negative effects on society "don't make any sense".

On Tuesday, a former Facebook product manager named Frances Haugen testified before Congress about a trove of internal documents she gave to The Wall Street Journal.

The focus of the hearing was on Facebook's internal research that showed Instagram can have a negative effect on young people, but Haugen took the opportunity to also attack the company's business model and News Feed algorithm, reports The Verge.

One of her main arguments was that Facebook's business of selling ads based on engagement leads it to keep users on the service at all costs, even when it knows that the content they are engaging with is harmful.

"The argument that we deliberately push content that makes people angry for profit is deeply illogical," Zuckerberg said in the memo, which he also posted on his public Facebook page.

"We make money from ads, and advertisers consistently tell us they don't want their ads next to harmful or angry content. And I don't know any tech company that sets out to build products that make people angry or depressed. The moral, business and product incentives all point in the opposite direction," he added.

Zuckerberg has been noticeably silent on Haugen and the internal documents she gave to The Wall Street Journal until now. On Sunday, the same day she revealed her identity on 60 Minutes, he posted a video of him sailing, which lawmakers later pointed to as evidence that he was avoiding scrutiny.

The same committee Haugen spoke to called on Zuckerberg to testify, but he didn't address the request anywhere in his 1,300-word rebuttal. And as with Facebook's earlier statements, he didn't address Haugen by name, the report said.

He touched on her claim to Congress that a 2018 News Feed change to prioritise what the company calls "Meaningful Social Interactions" actually encouraged the sharing of more hateful and divisive content.

Echoing his statements at the time of the change, he said it was done to encourage the sharing of more content between friends and family, and that Facebook knew it would lead to decreased engagement.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Beijing, Oct 6 : China's historic lunar mission Chang'e 4 has completed 1,000 Earth days on the far side of the moon, the media reported.

The Chang'e 4 lander carrying the Yutu 2 rover touched down in Von Karman Crater on January 2, 2019 and completed the 1,000-days-on-the-moon mark on September 28, the Space.com reported.

The Yutu 2 rover has covered a total of 839.37 metres of lunar ground and acquired 3,632.01 gigabytes of data during its driving, Chinese officials have said.

Together, the two spacecraft have returned stunning images and panoramas from the lunar far side, revealed secrets from below the surface, measured how much radiation astronauts would face, and have been spotted by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Yutu 2 has set a new longevity record for a rover working on the surface of the moon, surpassing the previous record of 321 days set by the Soviet Union's robotic Lunokhod 1 rover. It is now headed toward a distant basaltic area, but it may take years to reach the new site, the report said.

Despite dealing with alternating deep cold and searing heat of lunar nights and days, intense solar radiation and abrasive lunar regolith, Chang'e 4, named after the Chinese goddess of the moon, and Yutu 2 ("Jade Rabbit 2"), the mythical pet rabbit of Chang'e, are still working well, as are their scientific instruments, according to the China Lunar Exploration Programme.

The solar-powered spacecraft regularly shut down during the lunar night, each of which lasts about 14.5 Earth days. The pair began their 35th lunar day on September 29.

The satellite that allows the Chang'e 4 mission to communicate with Earth is also healthy. The Queqiao ("Magpie Bridge") relay satellite was launched in 2018 to orbit around a point beyond the moon, from where it can see both the lunar far side and Earth at all times.

Queqiao is needed to bounce data and commands between the spacecraft on the moon and mission control because the lunar far side never faces Earth.

Chang'e 4 was originally designed as a backup to Chang'e 3 and would have provided a second shot at a lunar landing and rover mission if the first failed. Chang'e 4 was repurposed for a more ambitious mission after the successful 2013 landing of Chang'e 3.

The first Yutu rover lost its ability to drive after just two lunar days due to a short circuit. Yutu 2 was redesigned to prevent rocks damaging its circuitry and has proved much more durable.

China launched its first lunar sample return mission in late 2020. The Chang'e 5 mission successfully delivered 3.816 pounds (1.731 kilograms) of fresh lunar samples to Earth in December. The country will follow up by sending Chang'e 6 to collect samples from the far side of the moon in 2024, the report said.
Lucknow, Oct 6 : Less than an hour after the Uttar Pradesh government said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi would be allowed to visit Lakhimpur Kheri, security personnel stopped him at the Lucknow airport.

An angry Rahul, who was accompanied by Chief Ministers of Chhattisgarh and Punjab, Bhupesh Baghel, and Charanjit Singh Channi, sat on a 'dharna' at the airport.

"Show this scene... they (the UP government) said that we are free to go and now they are stopping us. What kind of permission is this? This is Uttar Pradesh government's permission," he told the media.

Asked whether he was on a dharna now, Gandhi said: "'Kya karun? I will sit here'." Earlier, police officials told the Congress leader that he would be taken in their vehicles but he declined, saying that he would use his own vehicle.

None of the officials were willing to comment on the development.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
New Delhi, Oct 6 : The CIA has admitted that too many informants are being killed, captured or turned in a top secret memo to their spies across the world, as per a report in Daily Mail.

The unusual cable, sent to all CIA stations and bases, said the counter-intelligence mission centre had analysed dozens of cases over the last several years.

The memo gave an exact number of informants killed, classified information not usually shared in such cables, according to the New York Times.

Former officials have also disclosed that China and Iran cracked the agency's classified communications system, or 'covcom', and executed informants in those networks while others had to be extracted and resettled.

The memo reprimands spies for poor tradecraft, being overly trusting of sources, underestimating foreign intelligence agencies and 'putting mission over security' by moving too fast and not paying enough attention to potential risks.

Russia, China, Iran and Pakistan have had success in hunting down informants in recent years -- and in some cases turning them into double agents.

In Iran and China, some intelligence officials believe that Americans provided information to the adversarial agencies that could have helped expose informants.

The rival counterintelligence agencies are utilizing biometric scans, facial recognition, AI and hacking tools to track CIA officers to discover their sources.

In 2019, former CIA officer Jerry Chun Shing Lee was sentenced to 19 years in prison for providing secrets to the Chinese government, which they then used to arrest and execute at least 20 of his fellow agents.

US officials suspect China shared the information Lee gave them to Russia, who used it to expose, arrest and kill American spies.

Those findings led the CIA to temporarily shut down human spying in China and re-evaluate how it communicates with intelligence assets worldwide, the report said.
Lucknow, Oct 6 : After haggling for over an hour over the mode of transport, senior UP officials finally allowed Congress MP Rahul Gandhi to leave the Lucknow airport.

A huge crowd had gathered at the airport to welcome the Congress leader who was accompanied by Chief Ministers of Chhattisgarh and Punjab, Bhupesh Baghel and Charanjit Singh Channi, respectively.

Less than an hour after the Uttar Pradesh government said Gandhi would be allowed to visit Lakhimpur Kheri - where violence at a farmers' protest on Sunday had left at nie dead, security personnel stopped him at the Lucknow airport.

An angry Rahul, who was accompanied by Baghel, and Channi, sat on a 'dharna' at the airport.

"Show this scene... they (the UP government) said that we are free to go and now they are stopping us. What kind of permission is this? This is Uttar Pradesh government's permission," he told the media.

Asked whether he was on a dharna now, Gandhi said: "'Kya karun? I will sit here'." Earlier, police officials told the Congress leader that he would be taken in their vehicles but he declined, saying that he would use his own vehicle.

Meanwhile, the two Chief Ministers have announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 50 lakhs each to the families of those killed in Sunday's violence at Lakhimpur.
Chennai, Oct 6 : A woman tried to immolate herself in front of the residence of Tamil superstar Ajith, alleging that she lost her job as a nurse in a private hospital after she took a video of him and his actor wife Shalini during their visit there.

The incident occurred on Monday evening.

Farzana, who was employed as a staff nurse in the private hospital, was dismissed by the hospital management after finding that she had uploaded the video, which had gone viral, for violating employment rules.

The woman told police that she approached Shalini to help her get the job back but reportedly did not get support from her.

Farzana reached the actor's residence on Monday evening with another woman to protest and the police personnel posted there tried to pacify her. But, police said that she suddenly screamed that it was due to Ajith that she had lost her job and poured kerosene over her head in a bid to immolate herself.

Police and passers-by restrained her and poured water over her. She was arrested and taken to the police station and given counselling. However, police sources told IANS that no case was registered against her.
New Delhi, Oct 6 : Amid the continuous criticism of the Tripura government and the state leadership by BJP MLA Ashis Das, the party central leadership said the situation was under control in the state, and it was keeping a close eye on the developments.

BJP national secretary and Tripura in-charge, Vinod Sonkar told IANS that no one has left the party and everything was fine in all ranks and cadres. "Till now no one has left the BJP to join any other opposition party and there is nothing to worry about. Everything is under control and the central leadership is in touch with the state leadership," Sonkar said.

Sonkar also denied any resentment in the party cadre against Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb.

"There is no resentment against the state government and things are blown out of proportion," Sonkar added.

Speculation is rife that Das will join Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress after he praised her. In Kolkata, Das had said that political anarchy and chaos are prevailing in BJP-ruled Tripura where people are unhappy with the performance of the state government.

Refusing to disclose whether he would join the Trinamool Congress, the 43-year-old BJP MLA had said, "You will find out everything soon." A party insider said that the central leadership is constantly monitoring the developments in Tripura. "The BJP leadership is aware about the happenings within the party in Tripura and will take necessary action accordingly as per the requirement. There are a few voices of dissent against the state government but the overall situation is under control," party insiders said.

On Monday, talking to the media in Kolkata, Das, an MLA from the Surma Assembly seat in northern Tripura, also criticised the Prime Minister for "selling most of the government properties to private parties".

Praising Banerjee for winning the bypoll in Bhabanipur by a record margin, Das had said that many people and organisations want Banerjee as the Prime Minister and her elevation to the post is very crucial as she is a Bengali.

Das and four other BJP MLAs -- Sudip Roy Barman, Ashis Kumar Saha, Diba Chandra Hrangkhawl and Burba Mohan Tripura -- recently held a big gathering in Agartala, which was attended by many local BJP leaders and workers.
Hyderabad, Oct 6 : The brisk shoot of the Telugu laugh riot "F3" saw a brief respite when "Stylish Star" Allu Arjun made a surprise visit to the sets on Wednesday. The movie, a standalone sequel to hit comedy movie "F2", stars Venkatesh and Varun Tej.

Allu Arjun interacted with the stars and director Anil Ravipudi. In pictures released by the movie unit, the star is seen intently listening to the team. Allu Arjun also spent time with senior actor Rajendra Prasad and other members of the cast. The movie is being produced by Dil Raju's Sri Venkateswara Creations; Devi Sri Prasad has composed the music.

For the "F3" crew and the cast, Allu Arjun's arrival on the sets provided some much-needed lighter moments. Pleasure writ large on their faces, actors Venkatesh and Varun Tej looked happy to be spending some time with the "Stylish Star".

The movie, which also reprises Tamannaah Bhatia and Mehreen Pirzada as the female leads, is expected to be a laughter bonanza, much on the lines of its predecessor "F2", released in 2019.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Kathmandu, Oct 6 : In a bid to reach out to the Indian leadership, Prime Minister of Nepal Sher Bahadur Deuba is sending a high-level delegation to India at the invitation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Nepali Congress Joint Secretary, former Foreign Minister and head of party's international department Prakash Sharan Mahat is leading a three-member delegation to India and is arriving in New Delhi on Thursday, the party has said.

Mahat said that he is visiting India at the invitation of Vijay Chauthaiwale, in charge of BJP Foreign Department who had earlier visited Kathmandu in early September.

The visit aims to strengthen the party to party ties and will deepen interaction between the political leadership of the two countries, Mahat said.

The delegation will spend four days in New Delhi and will brainstorm on how to improve the ties and how to move ahead in the future too, Mahat added.

Nepali Congress leaders said that Deuba is sending Mahat, one of his close confidants, to New Delhi in order to repair the ties and to seek India's goodwill towards his government.

There are some outstanding issues between Nepal and India mostly created by the previous K.P. Oli government which Deuba wants to mend the ties and move ahead.

The Mahat-led delegation will stay four days in India.

In New Delhi, the delegation of Nepal's ruling party will meet BJP National President, J.P. Nadda, National General Secretary Arun Singh and Chauthaiwale as well as S. Jaishankar, India's External Affairs Minister, among others. The delegation will later visit Lucknow and Banaras too where they will hold talks with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and will participate in an interaction at Banaras Hindu University.
Moscow, Oct 6 : Russia has confirmed 929 Covid-19-related fatalities over the past 24 hours, the highest daily count in the country, bringing the national death toll to 212,625, the official monitoring and response centre said on Wednesday.

A total of 25,133 new infections were registered, taking the nationwide tally to 7,662,560. The number of recoveries increased by 19,841 to 6,778,900, Xinhua news agency reported.

Meanwhile, Moscow reported 3,589 new cases, taking the city's total to 1,658,065.

Russia is close to surpassing the threshold of 30,000 new cases a day amid a surge in infections, Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said on Tuesday during a meeting with President Vladimir Putin.

She noted that infection rates remain the highest among the elderly, and citizens over the age of 65 need special attention as they are more likely to develop severe forms of illness.
Puducherry, Oct 6 : The BJP in Puducherry which has not won a single seat in the municipal council elections when it was last held in 2006, is planning meticulously for a good show this time.

The Puducherry Election commission is to issue a new notification for the municipal elections after its plea to withdraw the already issued notification was allowed by the Madras High Court on Tuesday. The BJP which had a weak organisational structure earlier, now has developed a base after the 2021 assembly polls in which the party won six seats.

The party has also nominated three leaders as legislators and has a Rajya Sabha MP in party leader Selvaganabathy.

Party state president Swaminathan, national secretary in charge of the Union Territory, Nirmal Kumar Surana, and state Home Minister and party leader, A. Namasivayam are now working on the strategy for a good show in the municipal elections.

While BJP is trying hard to get a footprint in the municipal elections which would give it much-needed leverage at the grassroots level, the lack of known public faces is a major concern for the party in the union territory.

There is no leader who has a mass appeal and no credible face who can swing the votes.

A senior BJP leader told IANS, "The party will have to project some good leaders to support us and for this, either we may have to increase the efficiency level of our existing leaders or have to rope in established leaders of other parties. Trying leaders from our ally parties is also an option." While BJP may not have a public figure or a known face to pull an election victory, it is chalking out an efficient election strategy with full-timers being deputed across the union territory to win the municipal elections. The idea of the BJP is to stamp its popularity among the masses and thereby be in power in the UT independently.

The BJP currently is in alliance with All India NR Congress to share power in Puducherry with AINRC leader, N. Rangasamy leading the coalition government as Chief Minister.

Mohammed Riyas of Mahe Institute of Development Studies, a think tank in Puducherry, told IANS, "The attitude of the people towards the BJP has changed for the better. However, it cannot rest on its laurels and have to work hard among the people to pull off some exciting victories in the municipal elections."
Berlin, Oct 6 : In a major raid against organised crime, German police forces searched homes and offices and made ten arrest warrants in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony and Bremen on Wednesday.

The operation was directed against "members of an internationally operating money laundering and hawala network," Duesseldorf police said in a statement.

More than 1,000 forces, including special units, have searched over 80 properties, Xinhua news agency reported.

Investigations already started in May 2020 after a gym bag with 300,000 euros (around $346,000) in cash was found in a crashed car by a customs patrol, public broadcaster WDR reported.

One of the two car occupants is said to have supported IS fighters in the Syrian province of Idlib.

According to the police, both men are believed to be part of a larger group that collects money from refugees in Germany, among others, to channel it to Turkey or Syria.

Police assume that at least 100 million euros have been laundered. (1 euro = $1.16)
Stockholm, Oct 6 : Scientists at a German and US institutes were on Wednesday awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2021 for developing an ingenious tool that revolutionised construction of molecules.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded Benjamin List from Max-Planck-Institut fur Kohlenforschung (Max Planck Institute for Coal Research), Mulheim an der Ruhr, Germany and British-born David W C MacMillan of Princeton University, "for the development of asymmetric organocatalysis", said a statement.

List and MacMillan developed a precise new tool for molecular construction called organocatalysis.

Many research areas and industries are dependent on chemists' ability to construct molecules that can form elastic and durable materials, store energy in batteries or inhibit the progression of diseases.

This work requires catalysts, which are substances that control and accelerate chemical reactions, without participating in the reaction.

The laureates findinsg "had a great impact on pharmaceutical research, and has made chemistry greener," the statement said.

While catalysts are fundamental tools for chemists, researchers long believed that there were, in principle, just two types of catalysts available: metals and enzymes.

But, in 2000, List and MacMillan, independent of each other, developed a third type of catalysis called asymmetric organocatalysis, building upon small organic molecules.

"This concept for catalysis is as simple as it is ingenious, and the fact is that many people have wondered why we didn't think of it earlier," said Johan Aqvist, who is chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry.

Organic catalysts have a stable framework of carbon atoms, to which more active chemical groups can attach. These often contain common elements such as oxygen, nitrogen, sulphur, or phosphorus. This means that these catalysts are both environmentally friendly and cheap to produce.

"Organocatalysis has developed at an astounding speed since 2000. List and MacMillan remain leaders in the field, and have shown that organic catalysts can be used to drive multitudes of chemical reactions," the statement said.

"Using these reactions, researchers can now more efficiently construct anything from new pharmaceuticals to molecules that can capture light in solar cells," it added.
Bengaluru, Oct 6 : Former Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy shrugged off his soft approach with the ruling BJP by continuing attack on the RSS.

Kumaraswamy on Wednesday said that the present RSS cannot be compared to the RSS of 30 or 40 years back. This RSS is preaching to loot the government treasury to the party leaders.

Mentioning a media report, he on Tuesday had questioned how could 646 candidates from a single IAS training institute got selected to Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). What about transparency here? he asked.

"I am not against any organisation. I am only saying the reality. People claim that RSS workers have taken door to door campaigns, built hospitals and schools. If it was true why did so many lost their lives not being able to get treatment at hospitals? Don't they have any shame? BJP ministers in Karnataka do not have the liberty to give advertisements to the media. Keshava Krupa (known as RSS headquarters in Bengaluru) decides on it," he charged.

Kumaraswamy alleged that as many as 4,000 IAS and IPS officers are RSS workers. They are trained by RSS and are discharging duties on the wishes of the Sangh. He defended his statement that these things are mentioned in books that are in the public domain.

"The country is not ruled by an elected government. It is being ruled by RSS and it is gradually taking executive into its fold. IPS and IAS officers with RSS mindsets are being recruited. The country is being taken into the era of 'Manusmruthi'. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai are puppets in the hands of RSS," he maintained.

Hitting back at Kumaraswamy, National General Secretary C.T. Ravi said that UPSC selections are not made on alliances. He indirectly referred to allegations against JD(S) in selecting candidates to Karnataka Administrative Services (KAS) based on the candidate's decision to marry daughters of JD(S) sympathizer officers and followers.

BJP Vice President B.Y. Vijayendra has also reacted that Kumaraswamy should have spoken to his father H.D. Deve Gowda who has praised the RSS.

Prabhu Chauhan, Minister for Animal Husbandry said that if not for RSS, India would have become Pakistan a long time ago. "Kumaraswamy is jealous of BJP which is ruling both at the Centre and the state. The statements do not suit the dignity of a former chief minister," he stated.

Minister for Panchayat Raj, K.S. Eshwarappa alleged that Kumaraswamy wants to please the minority vote bank. RSS is constructively working on nationalism. The organisation has not only helped IAS and IPS officers, but it also helped one and all.

Minister for Water Resources Govind Karajol maintained that Kumaraswamy's statements are aimed at getting publicity. He should not put RSS in a bad light, he said.

Kumaraswamy when asked about whether he is trying to please minorities, said, BJP is aggressively pursuing the policy of pleasing Hindus through Hindutva. "What rights do they have to question us on minority appeasement," he quipped.
Guwahati, Oct 6 : Model and 2016 Miss India finalist, Rajkanya Baruah, who injured eight roadside workers last week in Guwahati while driving her car allegedly at high speed and in an inebriated condition, was rearrested on Wednesday, police said.

The police said the 29-year-old model was arrested again from a hospital after the six-member board of the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) led by Purujit Choudhury submitted a report to the police that she has no health complications and is completely fine.

"She (Baruah) is fit to appear before the Investigating Officer... does not require any hospitalisation. In case of any medical emergency, she may visit GMCH Emergency Department or OPD," the report said.

GMCH Superintendent Abhijit Sharma told the media that the medical board team has also had an extensive discussion with Baruah as well as the other doctors.

The model, who was granted bail in less than 12 hours after the accident on Friday night, did not appear before the Investigating Officer on Tuesday, despite being summoned, citing health complications.

Police had said that her family members had sought two weeks time for her to appear as she is undergoing treatment at a hospital.

Police have then sought a medical board report on Baruah and it was submitted on Wednesday.

A police official said that Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who also holds the Home Department, intervened in the matter to reinvestigate the accident case after the police drew criticism for registering a weak case against Baruah under bailable sections of the Indian Penal Code.

Senior police officials are also probing the role of the policemen who earlier dealt with the case.

On Saturday night, eight PWD workers were injured, one of them seriously when Baruah's speeding Chevrolet rammed into a van at the Rukmini Nagar area. The Dispur police seized the car and Baruah was picked up by police for further investigation but she was released on bail subsequently.

The model, who was allegedly drunk, reportedly drove her Chevrolet car at high speed while returning home after attending a party in a hotel in the Khanapara area.
Bhubaneswar, Oct 6 : Revealing a Pakistan link in the DRDO espionage case, the Odisha police on Wednesday said four Facebook accounts of the suspected female operative were operated from Pakistan.

Speaking to reporters here, Additional Director General (ADG) of Odisha police (crime branch) Sanjeeb Panda said four out of seven Facebook accounts of the female operative, who is suspected to be the 'handler' of the spy ring engaged in leaking sensitive information from the ITR Chandipur, were operated from Pakistan.

"The accounts were operated through proxy IP addresses to keep the location secret. Out of the four accounts, three were operated from Islamabad whereas one was from Rawalpindi," Panda said.

However, it has not been confirmed so far whether the mysterious woman belongs to Pakistan or not, he said.

Some of the Facebook accounts still remain active and further chats are being noticed by the crime branch, whose details the ADG refused to share as an investigation is still in progress.

The crime branch has collected some chats between the accused and the suspected woman operative while some of the chats were deleted, he said.

"First phase interrogation of the arrested five accused has been done and we are seeking further technical data from concerned agencies. If required, we may take the five accused on remand for further interrogation," Panda informed.

He said that the crime branch has sought the technical data from the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (ICERT).

The Odisha police on September 14 had arrested five former contractual employees of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) unit at Chandipur, on charges of sharing classified defence information with unknown foreign agents, who were suspected to be from Pakistan.
New York, Oct 6 : The upcoming Disney Princess Concert tour has been postponed due to concerns over the spread of Covid-19, Disney Concerts announced Tuesday in a statement posted on Twitter and Instagram, reports Billboard.com.

"Out of the best interests for the health and safety of our ticket buyers and their families, Disney Princess - The Concert shows scheduled to take place between Nov. 1 and Dec. 12, 2021 are being rescheduled to 2022," the statement read. "Shows scheduled between Feb. 1 and April 16, 2022 remain as planned." The show celebrates popular Disney princesses through songs, animation, and stories.

The 85-city tour was expected to begin in Macon, Georgia, and include Broadway performers like Christy Altomare, who originated the role of Anya in Anastasia; Susan Egan, who played Belle in Beauty and the Beast; Courtney Reed, who starred as Jasmine in Aladdin; and Aisha Jackson, who portrayed Anna in Frozen. Anneliese van der Pol, who is known for her work on Disney Channel's That's So Raven and Raven's Home, will also star in the production.

The postponement follows news last week that 'Aladdin on Broadway' is currently pausing shows for two weeks after breakthrough Covid-19 cases within the company.
Panaji, Oct 6 : The Goa Congress will draw inspiration from a vision document compiled by former Director General of the Council for Science and Industrial Research Dr Raghunath Mashelkar, to draft its manifesto for the 2022 state assembly polls.

Interestingly, the report drafted by the committee 'Goa 2035: Vision and Strategy' headed by Mashelkar in 2012 has recommended toning of both excessive mining and unplanned tourism in the coastal state.

"When we draft our manifesto we are thinking of incorporating certain things from that report. That report was prepared by eminent personalities," Kamat said.

"Unfortunately, when the report was submitted, I was not the Chief Minister. The report was kept under wraps. We are going through the report now," Kamat, a former Chief Minister, also said.

The Mashelkar-headed committee was appointed when Kamat was the Chief Minister of Goa from 2007 to early 2012, but the report was submitted after Kamat lost power, and another dispensation led by the BJP assumed power under the leadership of former Chief Minister late Manohar Parrikar, which chose to keep the report under wraps.

While the committee was headed by Mashelkar, it comprised of renowned personalities like former chairman of the Atomic Energy Establishment Dr Anil Kakodkar, economist and former professor of economics at Indian Institute of Management - Ahmedabad Prof Errol D'Souza, litterateur like Girish Karnad, environmentalist like Prof Madhav Gadgil, architect Charles Correia, among others.

The vision document had recommended that mining in Goa should be curbed to one third of the quantum of ore extraction at the time.

"Close all mines that have been extracting ore beyond limits allowed by environmental clearance given... Close all mines, if any, operating within the sanctuaries and protected areas and cancel leases in ESZs as proposed by the Panel... Mining leases in WL Sanctuaries to be permanently cancelled... and mining leases in the buffer of dams to be terminated," the report had said.

"A cap on mining at around 20 MMT (exclusive of dump mining) between 2010-2015 to reduce the ecosystem and social stress in the region... The companies do acknowledge that there is considerable social disaffection and that the mining industry could and should do much more for local people. Many of them did reiterate that the social fabric is stressed," it had added.

Vis a vis the tourism sector, the committee had suggested that the Goa government's thrust of promoting Goa as a destination for sun, sand and fun should also be toned down and said that the position of the tourists state should be more broad-based.

"There is a need to review the Goa Tourism Policy and evaluate its direct and significant impact on the Goan culture and heritage. Goa is not only the land of sun & sand but a state having (a) rich yet diverse mosaic of culture blended with religious and communal harmony," the Vision document had said.
Bhubaneswar, Oct 6 : A leopard skin has been seized in Odisha's Kandhamal district and a person has been arrested, police said on Wednesday.

On the basis of reliable information, the special task force (STF) team of Odisha crime branch on Wednesday conducted a raid with the help of Baliguda forest officials near Siptiguda village in Kandhamal district. The accused has been identified as Bidyadhar Nayak of Kandhamal district, the police said in a statement.

During the last one year, the STF has seized 16 leopard skins, nine elephant tusks, two deer skins, four live pangolins and 15 kg pangolin scales and arrested 33 wild life criminals.
Patna, Oct 6 : A shocking video of a woman being molested and assaulted by a gang of goons, in the middle of the day and in front of her husband, went viral in Bihar on Wednesday.

Preliminary investigation reveals that the incident took place in Saran district on Tuesday. However, police are not confirming the date and time of the incident.

District SP Santosh Kumar said that a video came to his knowledge and he has initiated immediate investigation into it.

As per the viral video, a woman pillion rider on a bike and a man, said to be her husband, are seen surrounded by around five to six persons, who are continuously molesting her. They were touching her private parts and also trying to remove her sari as she shouts for help. The woman and her husband were also beaten by the goons, who also shot a video of the incident and uploaded it on social media platforms.

Sources have said that Saran police have arrested three persons in this connection.
Chennai, Oct 6 : A distress alert transmitter (DAT), developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation in consultation with Indian Coast Guard, enabled the rescue of nine sailors of a mechanised vessel on the high seas.

According to Coast Guard, its Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in Chennai has successfully coordinated the rescue operation of nine crew members of Mechanised Sailing Vessel (MSV) Annai Vailankanne Arockia Vennila.

The vessel, on passage from Tuticorin to the Maldives, reported a technical snag when she was about 170 nautical miles from Tuticorin and 230 NM from Maldives and requested assistance through transmission of DAT alert amid rough seas.

The distress message was received by the MRCC, Chennai at about 4 p.m. on Tuesday, and launched the National Search and Rescue Services and activated International Safety Net for coordinating the search and rescue (SAR) operations.

Two merchant vessels, namely MV SKS Mosel and MV MCP Salzburg, were identified as potential SAR units and diverted to the location.

MV MCP Salzburg reached first and safely rescued all nine crew of MSV Annai Veilankanne Arockia Vennila at 2.30 a.m. on Wednesday and has proceeded to its next port of call in the Maldives, where she will be disembarking the rescued crew.
New Delhi, Oct 6 : As Facebook experienced a nearly six-hour outage across its services this week, messaging app Telegram gained over 70 million new users.

According to CEO Pavel Durov, Telegram experienced a record increase in user registration and activity amid the massive Facebook outage.

"The daily growth rate of Telegram exceeded the norm by an order of magnitude, and we welcomed over 70 million refugees from other platforms in one day," Durov said in a statement.

"I am proud of how our team handled the unprecedented growth because Telegram continued to work flawlessly for the vast majority of our users," Durov added.

Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger went down for millions of users, including in India, on Monday evening, as they were unable to send or receive messages on social media platforms.

According to DownDetector, a website that tracks WhatsApp outages, 40 per cent users were unable to download the app, 30 per cent had trouble in sending messages and 22 per cent had problems with the web version.

People took to Twitter to report the problems they were facing with Facebook family apps, including posting memes and GIFs.

In January, Durov announced that Telegram has crossed 500 million monthly active users.
New Delhi, Oct 6 : Pandemic-battered multiplexes have turned a page with pent-up demand along with new content drawing in moviegoers, thereby accelerating the industry's recovery.

The sector, formally known as 'cinema exhibition industry', has been one of the hardest hit due to the Covid-19 pandemic, causing revenue and employment loss.

Till recently, cinemas and multiplexes in many states remained in the list of prohibited activities to curb the spread of the pandemic.

However, accelerated pace of vaccination as well as easing Covid restrictions and lower transmission rates have turned the tide for the sector.

Besides, new local, global and regional content have once again lured many moviegoers back from the clutches of online streaming platforms to the theatres.

"The rise in overall footfalls that the industry is witnessing is due to the accelerated vaccination drive, and big-ticket movie releases, especially more international content," Kamal Gianchandani, President, Multiplex Association of India, and CEO, PVR Pictures, told IANS.

"We have been seeing the rising trend since the opening up of key markets and the recent tweet from the office of the Maharashtra Chief Minister on theatres and auditoriums in the state reopening after October 22," Gianchandani added.

Gianchandani also exuded confidence about a faster recovery on the back of the upcoming festive season and healthy line-up of movie releases.

"Unlike last year, this time we have a host of new content coming in from international and domestic studios," he said.

"From October till February next year, many new releases are expected to take place and this will drive moviegoers to the cinemas," Gianchandani added.

In addition, the industry has evolved to offer more services and products to keep the moviegoers engaged.

"We have hastened our revival with some path-breaking innovations revolving around the giant screen, like private screenings, alternate content screening, unique brand collaborations, introduction of new F&B concepts etc.," Alok Tandon, Chief Executive Officer, INOX Leisure, told IANS.

"With a good content pipeline in the months to come, I strongly believe that the remaining part of 2021-22 will be a treat for movie lovers across the country.

"There will be heavy flow of top quality content across genres and languages with some amazing storytelling concepts releasing every Friday," Tandon added.

The film exhibition industry in India mainly comprises multiplexes and single screen theatres.

At present, there are around 9,527 cinemas across the country, including 6,327 single screen theatres and 3,200 multiplexes.

(Rohit Vaid can be contacted at rohit.v@ians.in)
Bengaluru, Oct 6 : The Karnataka police have busted a fake surrogacy racket selling children to childless people, by claiming that they are born of surrogate mothers in Bengaluru on Wednesday.

The accused were identified as Devi Shanmuga, Mahesh Kumar, Rajana Deviprasad, Janardhan aka Janarthan and Dhanalakshmi. The kingpin of the racket Ratna died after contracting coronavirus.

The police have traced 11 kids and it is suspected that the accused have sold 18 more children. They allegedly charged Rs 2 to Rs 3 lakh per child and got the money in instalments from the people who were given the child.

DCP (South) Harish Pande explained that the police got a breakthrough in busting the racket after they found out 28 mothers' cards were issued to pregnant and lactating mothers from the house of one of the accused persons. "At that point, we did not know that the mother's card was fake or belonged to original mothers. The police department tracked 11 kids one by one. Mother's card was manipulated to show parents who bought the children as biological parents," he stated.

A nurse and compounder of a private nursing home were involved in this racket and they issued the mothers' cards with fake signatures. The accused sold the kids in various districts in Karnataka. The police are also booking the fathers who sold their kids to the accused persons. However, the people who bought the kids are not being booked, the official said.

"We have arrested the middlemen and woman. The department needs to trace and identify a few more children. Some of the people who are presently bringing up the children are willing to adopt them. However, the Child Welfare Committee has to give official orders," he said.

The surveillance cameras have shown the movements of the accused in various hospitals in Bengaluru. They would visit hospitals and make offers of money to gullible and poor parents to sell their newborn babies. They also collected information about parents who are getting treatment at fertility centres. They had access to the contact numbers and approached them with the offer of surrogacy, he said.
Mumbai, Oct 6 : The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) said on Wednesday that two persons -- Manish Bhanushali and Kiran Gosavi -- were among more than half-a-dozen of its 'independent witnesses' during the October 2 rave party raid on the luxury ship Cordelia Cruise.

However, the NCB scoffed the claims of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) spokesperson and Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik as "baseless, with malice to malign the agency's image and in retaliation against an earlier actoin of the NCB".

On Wednesday afternoon, Malik had made the sensational claim that a BJP 'vice-president', Manish Bhanushali, and another 'private detective', Kiran Gosavi, were involved in the NCB operation on Sunday.

Terming the NCB raid as 'fraudulent', he had also raised questions over the NCB's seizures, not following due processes of law, and allegedly involving 'outsider private persons' in its operations.

The NCB has asserted that it functions in a professional and legally transparent manner, and carries out its duties without any bias, and that even the 'panchnamas' were done as per the law.

Meanwhile, Bhanushali spoke to a private Marathi TV channel and said that he had given the tip-off about the rave party to the NCB and was accompanying them as a 'witness' to affix his signature on the relevant case papers.

Defending the NCB, BJP's Leaders of Opposition (Assembly) Devendra Fadnavis and Pravin Darekar (Council) dismissed Malik's charges as arising out of 'frustration' for the agency's action of nabbing his son-in-law in January 2021 in a drugs case.
Hyderabad, Oct 6 : Hyderabad Police on Wednesday announced the arrest of six more persons in connection with the Rs 64.5 crore Telugu Akademi fixed deposit fraud case.

With this, the number of arrested persons in this case rose to 10. Four accused were arrested two days ago.

Those arrested on Wednesday include the mastermind of the fraud, Chunduri Venkata Koti Sai Kumar.

The Central Crime Station (CCS) of the Detective Department made the arrests while probing three cases registered on the basis of complaints by Telugu Akademi, Union Bank of India and Canara Bank.

Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar and Joint Commissioner Avinash Mohanty announced the arrests at a news conference here.

The case relates to fraudulent withdrawal of fixed deposits to the tune of Rs 64.5 crore from two public sector banks.

The fraud was committed by a group of bank agents in connivance with some bank officials and an employee of Telugu Akademi.

Those arrested on Wednesday include Sagoori Ramesh, administrative officer and in-charge accounts officer at Telugu Akademi; M. Sadhana, manager of Canara Bank's Chandanagar branch; Sai Kumar, a businessman from Hyderabad; his associates N. Venkata Raman, Venkateshwar Rao alias Dr Venkat and Somasekhar.

The police had earlier arrested Sheikh Mastan Vali, chief manager, Union Bank of India's Karwan branch; B.V.V.N. Satyanarayana Rao, chairman and MD, AP Mercantile Cooperative Credit Society Ltd; Vedula Padmavathi, manager (operations), AP Mercantile Cooperative Credit Society, who is the sister of Satyanarayana; and Sayyad Mohiuddin, relationship manager, AP Mercantile Cooperative Credit Society.

Most of the accused are from the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and are into real estate business. The police are probing the role of 8-9 other suspects in the case.

Investigations revealed that a total of 43 FDs were withdrawn fraudulently between December 2020 and September 2021.

The police commissioner said that 26 FDs were withdrawn from Union Bank of India's Karwan branch, 11 from Union Bank of India's Santosh Nagar branch and 6 from Canara Bank's Chandanagar branch.

According to the police, Ramesh alias Ravi, an administrative officer, was the main link with the criminal gang involved.

According to the police, Sai Kumar is the mastermind of the fraud. As per his own confession, Sai Kumar was involved in three similar cases in the past.

The previous cases relate to AP Minorities Welfare Society in 2012 and AP Housing Board scam of 2015, which is pending trial. The third case relates to Northern Coal Field in Chennai.

The FDs withdrawn from the three branches of the two public sector banks were transferred with forged documents to Telugu Akademi's account created by the accused in AP Mercantile Cooperative Credit Society. The money was then transferred to the society's account in Agrasen Bank, Siddiamber Bazar branch.

The accused withdrew the cash from Agrasen Bank and distributed among themselves, as per their role with the biggest share going to Sai Kumar.

They used a large part of the money to give loans, acquire properties and for business dealings.

The joint commissioner of police said that some accounts were freezed and some money was recovered from the possession of the accused, but it was a very small amount, around Rs 15-17 lakh.

Mohanty said the police will seek remand of the accused to gather more information as to where they spent the money.

The police commissioner said that as per the rules, the entire liability lies with the banks to compensate the money to their owner, which in this case is the government of Telangana.
Kathmandu, Oct 6 : With the Indian soft loan, Nepal has constructed a 220 KV Double Circuit Koshi Corridor power transmission in eastern Nepal and handed over to Nepal Electricity Authority, a semi-autonomous body to oversee the power generation and distribution in Nepal. With the construction of the new strategic transmission line, Nepal can evacuate power up to 2000 mw, said officials, which will also ease power evacuation and distribution in eastern Nepal.

The strategic power corridor was built with the soft loan of India's Exim Bank.

The 106-km Koshi Corridor transmission line, costing a total of NRs 10.40 billion (USD 86.8 million) is being built under government of India's Line of Credit of USD 550 million, extended by the EXIM Bank of India, Indian Embassy in Kathmandu said in a statement on Wednesday.

The package 1 of this project, worth NRs 4.5 billion (USD 37.3 million), was executed by India's Kalpataru Power Transmission Ltd (KPTL) and handed over to Nepal Electricity Authority after successful completion and charging of the line.

Once the remaining two packages are completed, the project will ensure smooth power evacuation from the generation projects coming up in the Arun and Tamor river basins, with power output totaling about 2000 MW.

Considered as one of the longest transmission lines in Nepal, Koshi corridor will help connect various big and small hydropower in Nepal in the national grid. Around 28 various macro and micro hydropower stations are in different stages and once the construction is completed, this dedicated line helps to evacuate the power and its distribution.

Bishowjeet Garg of EXIM Bank of India handed over the key of the transmission line to the senior officials of Nepal's Ministry of Energy and Managing Director of Nepal Electricity Authority, Kulman Ghising.

"With the completion of this dedicated transmission line, we have created a backbone for power evacuation in eastern Nepal," said Ghising and added, "once we complete construction of the more hydropower stations, we will be able to evacuate more reliable power from this new transmission line." A ceremony was held in eastern Nepal of Dhankuta district on Wednesday. In the occasion, Deputy Chief of Mission in Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, Namgya Khampa underscored India's commitment to strengthen bilateral cooperation in power sector in all its dimensions, including development of power projects in Nepal, support for construction of transmission lines (both within Nepal and cross-border) and trade of electricity with India. She also congratulated KPTL for the quality and timely completion of the work and thanked the government of Nepal, Nepal Electricity Authority and the local administration and representatives for their support in its completion. In addition to the Koshi Corridor, India is supporting the construction of two other domestic power transmission lines in Nepal: the Modi-Lekhnath line and the Solu Corridor line, both 132 kV. In addition, it continues to support construction of several cross-border transmission links between India and Nepal, between national as well as state grids. This is a key element of India's emphasis on enhancing cross-border economic connectivity as part of our larger "Neighbourhood First" policy.
Patna, Oct 6 : The war of words between Janata Dal (United) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has escalated ahead of bypolls in Bihar. JDU President Lalan Singh on Wednesday hit back at Lalu Prasad who on Tuesday said that it was he who had first sent a Dalit Minister by helicopter to his native village for the first time.

Lalan Singh said, "This is only the half truth. Lalu Prasad narrated the story how he sent a minister in his government Bhola Ram Toofani by helicopter, but he did not say how he got Toofani to sign the files of fodder scam." Lalan Singh said Lalu Prasad did not say how he got the files of fodder scams signed by Bhola Ram Toofani as per his wish.

Lalu Prasad was virtually addressing RJD's training camp from Delhi on Tuesday, in which he recounted a story that he had sent Bhola Ram Toofani, a Dalit leader from humble origins whom he had made a minister, to his village for the first time in a helicopter. Lalu Yadav also mentioned how the people of his village reacted when they saw Toofani alighting from a helicopter for the first time.

Lalu's statement has drawn flak from the JDU. The JDU president said, "Lalu Prasad robbed Bihar's treasury by getting Toofani ji to sign forged documents and made immeasurable wealth for himself. Bhola Ram ji died due to shock and conspiracy in the fodder scam." Singh said that Lalu Prasad made Toofani a scapegoat and made him an accused in the fodder scam.

He said that Lalu Prasad is insulting the Mahadalits with his statements.
Chennai, Oct 6 : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin announced a new welfare board for the Tamil people living abroad. The Chief Minister in a statement here on Wednesday said that the Tamil Nadu Non-Resident Welfare Act was enacted during the period of the previous DMK government on March 1, 2011. Stalin's father Kalaignar Karunanidhi was the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu then.

He said that setting up of a welfare board for the Tamil diaspora was also announced then but the AIADMK government that assumed office after that did not take it forward.

The proposed Welfare board named, "Pulampeyar Thamizhar Nala Variyam" and he announced that January 12 would be celebrated as "World Tamils Day" and Tamil people living in several parts of the world would be brought together.

Pulampeyar is a Tamil word used in reference to emigration and emigrated people and Thamizhar Nala Variyam stands for the Welfare Board.

The state government, according to the Chief Minister's statement, would constitute a benevolent fund of Rs 5 crore for non-resident Tamils.

An amount of Rs 20 crore would be earmarked for the Welfare board which includes Rs 8.10 crore for Welfare schemes, the statement said.

Dr Vijay Prabhakar, a Medical doctor from Tamil Nadu who lives and works in Chicago while speaking to IANS said, "This is a good decision and I welcome the steps taken by the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Thiru M.K. Stalin to constitute a welfare board for Tamil diaspora and January 12 as World Tamil Day."
Patna, Oct 6 : After the acquittal of Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, his Jan Adhikar Party (JAP) is brimming with confidence and its leaders believe that they are capable of negotiating with the Congress party.

Raghwendra Kushwaha, state president of the JAP, said that the Congress should rethink its decision to contest the by-election from Tarapur assembly constituency in Munger district.

"We request the Congress party to rethink its decision to contest from Tarapur assembly constituency seat and give it to JAP. We will wait till tomorrow (Thursday) and then announce our candidate," Kushwaha said.

"We have selected the candidates for Tarapur and Kusheshwar Asthan. We have already given a ticket to Yogi Chaupal to contest Kusheshwar Asthan. If the Congress party will not withdraw its candidate from Tarapur, we will contest the election on our own." The leaders of the JAP are looking for sympathy votes from these two places due to its leader Pappu Yadav serving a jail term for five months after he exposed BJP MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy for keeping unused ambulances during the peak of the second wave of the corona pandemic. He was arrested in a 32-year-old alleged kidnapping case in Madhepura district.

After the acquittal of Pappu Yadav, the Congress party has also reportedly realized that the sympathy votes for Pappu Yadav may help the Congress to gain political ground in Bihar once the negotiations between it and Pappu Yadav take place.

Congress leaders MLC Premchandra Mishra and Ajit Sharma, the CLP leader of Bihar, hinted at negotiations with the JAP.

"The ideology of the Congress party and Pappu Yadav is similar and his relationship with the party is also smooth," Mishra said on the day of Yadav's acquittal on Monday.

Ajit Sharma said: "Pappu Yadav is considered as the second biggest Yadav leader of Bihar after Lalu Prasad. The Congress party is in contact with him. If Pappu Yadav expresses his desire to contest the election, we will give the Tarapur seat to him." Though political mathematics on the negotiation of seats may be underway between the Congress and the JAP, the voters of these two constituencies know that the contest would mainly be between the RJD and the JDU.
Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 6 : The daily new Covid cases in Kerala on Wednesday stood at 12,616 after 98,782 samples were tested in the past 24 hours, while the daily test positivity rate went up to 12.77 per cent, said a statement from Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

The statement further pointed out that 14,516 people turned negative, while the number of active cases across the state was 1,22,407, of which 11 per cent were in hospitals.

A total of 134 Covid deaths were reported in the last 24 hours taking the total death toll to 25,811.

On the vaccination front, 93.04 per cent (2.48 crore) of the above 18 years of age have been given their first dose, of which 42.83 per cent (1.14 crore) have received both the jabs.

Meanwhile, State Health Minister Veena George expressed hope that before the end of this month, all above 18 will have received their first dose.
New Delhi, Oct 6 : Irked by the submissions made by the counsel of ex-Unitech promoters Sanjay Chandra and Ajay Chandra, the Supreme Court on Wednesday gave go ahead to the ED, SFIO and Delhi Police to proceed with 'full-fledged' investigation against the Chandras' family members in the case related to duping of Unitech home buyers.

A bench comprising justices D.Y. Chandrachud and M.R. Shah was not impressed by the submissions made by senior advocate Vikas Singh, representing the Chandra brothers.

Singh submitted, "I don't want your lordships to repent later that you did not take timely action. I am sure the court has nothing personal against the Chandras." He urged the court to provide them access to the forensic auditor Grant Thornton report and requested the court not to proceed in an ex-parte manner.

Singh said his clients should be given a chance to show that there is no diversion of funds and if it is found in trial that there is no diversion of funds, then can the clock be turned backwards? Singh further added, "How many companies will this court run? Amrapali you are running, Unitech you are running, Supertech you are running. You have arrested my father, my wife, and also my children... put us all behind bars. At least let me defend the Grant Thornton report." At this juncture, Chandrachud warned Singh not to make such allegations against the court, saying: "Before you make allegations against this court, what is this language? What is this repent later on? Listen to me, Is this the way of addressing the court?"

Shah replied that there were reasons for not disclosing the grounds for their arrest, saying: "Don't say such things and level allegations against this court. We never expected this from Mr Vikas Singh, with all seriousness." Chandrachud told Singh that "we can see that the client has not briefed you well." To which, Singh said, "I have taken a lot of briefings." At the end of a stormy hearing, the top court gave a firm go ahead to ED, SFIO and Delhi Police to proceed with full-fledged investigation against former Unitech bosses Sanjay Chandra and Ajay Chandra, Sanjay's wife Preeti Chandra and father Ramesh Chandra in the money laundering case against the Unitech group.

The top court also declined to pass on the forensic auditor report, saying, "It will not be in accordance of law to provide underlying material, which forms subject matter of investigation, to the accused at this stage." The bench also ordered immediate suspension and a full-fledged probe against some Tihar jail officials, who were identified by Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana in his report for providing undue facilities inside the jail to the Chandra brothers.

Delhi Police said that they will also register a fresh case under Prevention of Corruption Act and criminal conspiracy against the Chandras and Tihar jail officials.

The top court asked the Home Ministry to file a report in this connection.

Earlier, Sanjay and Ajay Chandra were shifted from Tihar jail to Mumbai's Arthur Road jail and Tajola jail following a report by the ED that they colluded with Tihar jail authorities.
New Delhi, Oct 6 : The Congress amid the faceoff with the BJP over the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, is seen giving more importance to Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and Rajasthan leader Sachin Pilot.

Baghel went twice to Lucknow, once with Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday and previously alone on Tuesday and had even sat on a sit-in protest while Pilot was called from Jaipur to go to Lucknow by road. The Congress through this agitation is trying to put its house in order where the internal rift has deepened.

The Congress is facing internal problems in the states specially in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan where T.S. Singhdeo and Sachin Pilot have claimed the post of Chief Minister and the party is finding it tough to balance both the factions in the two states.

Similarly in Haryana, Priyanka took Deepender Hooda with her while Randeep Singh Surjewala accompanied Rahul Gandhi to Lucknow. After the Punjab issue, the party is facing a tough task in the states where it is in power. Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi too accompanied Rahul Gandhi to Lucknow.

Over the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, the Congress is trying to establish itself not only in Uttar Pradesh but also eyeing Uttarakhand and Punjab as well. All the three states will go to the polls early next year.

Earlier, UP officials finally allowed Congress MP Rahul Gandhi to leave the Lucknow airport. A huge crowd had gathered at the airport to welcome the Congress leader who was accompanied by the Chief Ministers of Chhattisgarh and Punjab.

Less than an hour after the Uttar Pradesh government said Gandhi would be allowed to visit Lakhimpur Kheri - where violence at a farmers' protest on Sunday had left at least nine people dead, security personnel stopped him at the Lucknow airport. An angry Rahul, who was accompanied by Baghel and Channi, sat on a 'dharna' at the airport.

"Show this scene... they (the UP government) said that we are free to go and now they are stopping us. What kind of permission is this? This is Uttar Pradesh government's permission," he told the media.

Asked whether he was on a dharna now, Gandhi said: "Kya karun? I will sit here."
Kolkata, Oct 6 : West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging for an immediate and permanent solution to the recurring flood situation in the state.

In a four-page letter written to the Prime Minister, the chief minister terming the flood as "man-made" alleged that the "unplanned discharge of water from DVC dams at Panchet and Maithon has led to unprecedented deluge in many districts of the state".

Giving a detail of releasing more than 5 lakh cusecs in a span of three days, the chief minister alleged that DVC (Damodar Valley Corporation) authorities did not pay heed to IMD warnings of heavy rainfall, and "kept the water discharge from the dams at a low level and when there was heavy rainfall, it discharged about 10 lakh acre-feet of water between September 30 and October 2, which caused serious devastation in lower Damodar region before the festive season".

"DVC which was conceived as a multi-state public organisation, has failed completely to regulate inter-state flow and discharge of water into Damodar and take corrective measures to either increase the water holding capacity of its dams or maintain and upgrade its existing infrastructure by way of desiltation and dredging of the dams. We have been highlighting this requirement on the part of DVC for the last 10 years. Due to the failure of DVC, the people of Bengal have to face this recurrent wrath of floods every year," she alleged.

"Moreover, the Government of West Bengal has to bear the brunt of the unplanned discharge of DVC and to pay for the inadequacy and structural deficiency of the DVC management. It has to compensate for the damages caused to a vast multitude of the people in the districts of south Bengal from out of its own meagre resources, while adequate funds are not made available by Government of India/NDRF," the chief minister said.

Similarly, heavy discharge from Sikatia Barrage under the control of Government of Jharkhand, resulted in flooding of Ajoy river.

Referring to an earlier letter she had written on August 4 in this connection, Banerjee said, "I had highlighted the structural factors that give birth to grave man-made flood situations in southern Bengal, repeatedly, pitifully and tragically. Unless the Government of India addresses the basic underlying structural and managerial issues, both on a short term and on a long-term basis, the disasters will continue unmitigated in our lower riparian state." The TMC chief said she hasn't received any reply to her previous letter.

"The issues that I raised affect millions of lives, and I request that the Government of India should get into some serious actions without further delay," the letter read.

"This annual problem requires immediate short-term and long-term measures so that the sufferings of the people are mitigated and the national loss in terms of loss of life and property is avoided.

"I seek your kind immediate intervention so that the Ministry concerned of the Government of India is requested to engage with the Governments of West Bengal and Jharkhand and the authorities of the DVC, to help in arriving at a permanent solution to this problem of our state occurring year after year," she said.
Delhi, Oct 6 : The national capital may have the graded response system if Covid cases rise again in the city, said Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Wednesday.

Talking to media, Satyendar Jain said that the Delhi government has granted permission for Ramleela and other events amid the ongoing Covid pandemic. However, he said that the government is taking complete care and full precaution that all Covid protocols must be followed during the festive season.

Appealing to people to avoid social gathering during the festive season, Jain said, "We have given permission for Ramleela with videography to ensure that Covid protocol is not violated." The Health Minister inaugurated 3 oxygen plants with one MT capacity each at Delhi government-run LNJP hospital on Wednesday. He said that all the wards of the hospital will be connected to this plant through a pipeline. There are a total of five plants at LNJP hospital. Dr Suresh Kumar, medical director of Lok Nayak Hospital, said that the oxygen production capacity of LNJP has now increased to 5 MTs. He said that the hospital's consumption per day is 6-7 MT this time, which was around 35 MT during the second Covid wave.

On being asked about the third Covid wave, Satyendar Jain said that only the health experts can predict about this, adding that, if the daily caseload increases in the city, a graded response system will be implemented which has already been prepared. He said, "If five out of 1000 people are detected with Covid, the system will be implemented. Currently only 3 or 4 people out of 10,000 test positive for Covid infection.

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New Delhi, Oct 6: There are two primary geographic imaginations of the Western periphery of the Indo-Pacific region. The area as imagined by Australia (and until recently, by America), ends at the Western coast of India. As per this visualisation, this region is defined as the one stretching from Bollywood (located in Mumbai) to Hollywood (located in Los Angeles on the Western Coast of America).

The second definition championed by India and Japan includes the Eastern African seaboard as an inalienable part of the Indo-Pacific construct. In fact, in 2016, Japan launched its Indo-Pacific strategy, known as "Free and Open Indo-Pacific", in Nairobi in Kenya. In 2018, when India outlined its vision for the region, Eastern and Southern African littoral was included as part of the Indo-Pacific.

For India, Kenya being a littoral state and a maritime neighbour located on the Eastern African seaboard, it is important to understand its approach towards the Indo-Pacific. Three recent developments help us to comprehend Kenya's view of the Indo-Pacific: the remarks by Kenya's Chief Administrative Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Ababu Namwamba, at the Bled Strategic Forum; remarks Kenya's President at the United Nations Security Council debate on maritime security and India-Kenya joint statement.

At the Bled Strategic Forum, held in September 2021, Kenya's Chief Administrative Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Ababu Namwamba explained his country's approach towards the Indo-Pacific region. He divided the region into three sub-regions: Eastern, Central, and Western. He argued that Kenya is located in the Western Indo-Pacific and has three key concerns: Militarization, especially of the Red Sea, Piracy and Transnational Crimes, and finally, Oceanic Pollution. Each of these concerns presents challenges as well as opportunities for littoral states.

Kenya is positioning itself as a gateway between Africa and the Indo-Pacific. Kenya's geographic location, political stability and economic dynamism enables it to play the role of the gateway. Namwamba observed that Kenya is interested in engaging with the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) as a platform that would be useful in bringing prosperity.

As the Indo-Pacific is primarily a maritime region, maritime security has emerged as a key focal point for debates about the Indo-Pacific region. In August, at the behest of India, UN Security Council discussed the issue of maritime security. It was the first time that such a holistic debate took place on maritime security. Kenya is a non-permanent member of the UNSC and President Uhuru Kenyatta delivered remarks at the debate.

Kenya links Africa and the Indian Ocean, and therefore, Kenyatta noted that Kenya's "wealth and security rely on the building of sound trade and security linkages between these two regions." However, Kenya is worried about the threat posed by terrorism in its neighbourhood of East Africa and the Horn of Africa. Moreover, for Kenya, "piracy and other sea-based crimes, including attacks on vessels and illicit trafficking of persons, firearms and narcotics, remain a concern." He observed that "competition for influence in the Red Sea region, particularly by extra-regional Powers, has intensified over the years." Kenyatta said that threats to maritime security arise from "land-based situations." Moreover, he "encouraged more thinking and innovation in developing and launching fair-trade regimes in areas such as the Indian Ocean rim." Kenyatta underscored the need "to build robust coast guard capacities" and stressed "the threat of climate change to the existence of some small island States." For Kenya, the immediate maritime periphery and the extended region from the Red Sea to the Mozambique Channel matters in its Indo-Pacific security calculations. The concerns it has expressed, such as extra-regional military presence and maritime piracy, are primarily important in the context of this broader region. Therefore, it is clear that Kenyatta's concerns about maritime security and the views expressed by Chief Administrative Secretary on the Indo-Pacific cover more or less similar points. Their emphasis on economic prosperity and trade is noteworthy as well.

The third relevant development was the India-Kenya joint statement issued after the visit of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in June. The statement alluded to the Indian Ocean and Indo-Pacific. The joint statement noted that, India and Kenya are "maritime neighbours" and that both countries "recognized the importance of ensuring through shared endeavours greater security, safety and prosperity of the Indian Ocean Region." Furthermore, they also "held extensive exchanges on global and regional issues including the security situation in the Indo-Pacific region and the Horn of Africa." East African littoral is attaining greater strategic importance as a theatre in its own right as well as a vital sub-region in the Indo-Pacific. Regional security and geopolitics are undergoing changes due to the strategic rivalries between the extra-regional players. Therefore, an important littoral state like Kenya is voicing its concerns, articulating its priorities and by doing so, hopes to influence the debates about the region and to place itself in an advantageous position.

Kenya understands the necessity of building the coast guard and security capabilities for tackling threats like terrorism and maritime piracy. It is also interested in drawing economic benefits by engaging with key Indo-Pacific powers through RCEP or otherwise. It has managed to build resilient ties with China on the one hand and America, Britain and Japan on the other. The balancing between major powers is a normal strategy for smaller yet strategically important states. Kenya is no exception to this.

For India, Kenya is a key partner in East Africa and in the Western Indian Ocean region. With Kenya demonstrating greater interest, India could perhaps engage Kenya in an Indo-Pacific framework.

(Sankalp Gurjar is a Research Fellow with the Indian Council of World Affairs, New Delhi. This is a revised version of the original article by the author that appeared at the Indian Council of World Affairs website. Read the original article here. Views expressed are personal) (The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative
Chennai, Oct 6 : While the first phase of the rural local body polls in Tamil Nadu concluded with no untoward incident except for some small skirmishes, the residents of Ammundi panchayath in Vellore district boycotted the elections.

The boycott was due to the panchayath president post has been reserved for SC woman. No person voted in any of the five polling booths set up in the village. The village has 2,045 voters.

The residents of the Village had filed a case in the High Court against the panchayath president post being reserved for Scheduled Caste (Woman).

The villagers were protesting against this since September and had wanted to revert the seat to the general category. The village elders said that they boycotted the polls as of the 2,045 voters in the Ammundi panchayath, 2,042 are under the general category and SC women and male voters numbered only 2 and 1 respectively.

AIADMK Vellore Urban district secretary, S.R.K. Appu who had brought the discrepancy before the district administration told IANS, "The villagers agitated as they want justice and reclassify the village panchayath under the general category. The district administration was not properly responding even after repeated queries and there was no alternative other than boycott the polls."
Hyderabad, Oct 6 : A team of officials from Triton Electric Vehicle on Wednesday visited National Investment & Manufacturing Zone (NIMZ) at Zaheerabad in Telangana where the US-based company is setting up a manufacturing unit for electric vehicles.

The company representatives flew into Zaheerabad in Sangareddy district by a helicopter and visited the land allotted for the manufacturing unit by the state government.

Triton is set to invest Rs 2,100 crore in the electric car manufacturing unit coming near Yelgoi village in Jharasangam mandal.

Managing director of Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TSIIC) Narasimha Reddy and other senior officials accompanied the Triton team during the visit.

It was in June that Triton Electric Vehicle announced setting up of a manufacturing unit for electric vehicles at NIMZ, Zaheerabad.

The EV company, a subsidiary of Triton Solar, entered into a MoU with the Telangana government to establish an ultra-modern electric vehicle manufacturing unit with an investment of Rs 2,100 crore.

It was announced that the project will employ more than 25,000 persons and produce 50,000 vehicles over the first five years, including semi-trucks, sedans, luxury SUVs, and rickshaws.
Chennai, Oct 6 : The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested a former member of the intelligence wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) from Tamil Nadu. The arrest was made following the seizure of a Sri Lankan boat, Ravihansi on March 18 this year with Rs 3,000 crore worth of drugs and 5 AK 47 assault rifles, and 1,000 rounds of 9 mm ammunition off the Minicoy coast.

The NIA in a statement on Wednesday said that he was arrested on Tuesday from his residence at Valsaravakkam in Chennai.

The arrested person is Satkunam alias Sabesan and the investigating agency said that he was a former intelligence member of the LTTE.

A Sri Lankan national Suresh Raj who was staying in Aluva in Kerala was also arrested in this case. Suresh Raj was in the possession of fake Indian identity cards.

According to the NIA, Satkunam had convened a meeting of LTTE sympathizers in Tamil Nadu and was instrumental in the smuggling of drugs and arms from various countries including Pakistan. The money was used for regrouping the LTTE.
New Delhi, Oct 6 : Jailed former Unitech promoter's lawyer told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that "arrest my children also and put all of us behind bars", citing the recent arrest of his father and wife in a money laundering case.

This line of argument miffed the bench comprising justices D.Y. Chandrachud and M.R. Shah, which asked senior advocate Vikas Singh, representing ex-Unitech promoters Sanjay Chandra and Ajay Chandra, to change the course of argument.

The top court also gave go ahead to the ED, SFIO and Delhi Police to proceed with 'full-fledged' investigation against the Chandras' family members in the case related to duping of Unitech home buyers.

Singh submitted, "I don't want your lordships to repent later that you did not take timely action. I am sure the court has nothing personal against the Chandras." He urged the court to provide them access to the report by forensic auditor Grant Thornton and requested it not to proceed in an ex-parte manner.

Singh said his clients should be given a chance to show that there was no diversion of funds and if it is found in trial that there was no diversion of funds, then can the clock be turned backwards? Singh added, "How many companies will this court run? Amrapali you are running, Unitech you are running, Supertech you are running. You have arrested my father, my wife, now arrest my children also... put us all behind bars. At least let me defend the Grant Thornton report." At this juncture, Chandrachud warned Singh not to make such allegations against the court, saying: "Before you make allegations against this court, what is this language? What is this repent later on? Listen to me, Is this the way of addressing the court?"

Shah replied that there were reasons for not disclosing the grounds for their arrest, saying: "Don't say such things and level allegations against this court. We never expected this from Mr Vikas Singh, with all seriousness." Chandrachud told Singh that "we can see that the client has not briefed you well". To which, Singh said, "I have taken a lot of briefings." At the end of a stormy hearing, the top court gave a firm go ahead to ED, SFIO and Delhi Police to proceed with full-fledged investigation against former Unitech bosses Sanjay Chandra and Ajay Chandra, Sanjay's wife Preeti Chandra and father Ramesh Chandra in the money laundering case against the Unitech group.

The top court also declined to pass on the forensic auditor report, saying, "It will not be in accordance of law to provide underlying material, which forms subject matter of investigation, to the accused at this stage." The bench also ordered immediate suspension and a full-fledged probe against some Tihar jail officials, who were identified by Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana in his report for providing undue facilities inside the jail to the Chandra brothers.

Delhi Police said that they will also register a fresh case under the Prevention of Corruption Act against the Chandras and Tihar jail officials.

The top court asked the Home Ministry to file a report in this connection.

Earlier, Sanjay and Ajay Chandra were shifted from Tihar jail to Mumbai's Arthur Road jail and Tajola jail following a report by the ED that they colluded with Tihar jail authorities.
New Delhi, Oct 6 : Gearing up for the next Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, over 20,000 workers of the BJP state unit will collectively work for two lakh hours among the people at booth level to expand the party base in the state.

BJP Madhya Pradesh in-charge P. Murlidhar Rao told IANS that 20,000 'Vistarak' will hit the ground to strengthen the party ahead of next assembly polls in the state. "The party has planned a 'Vistarak Abhiyan' for the state. In the campaign 20,000 office bearers at district, mandal and booth level will be made Vistarak and they will spend time among people to strengthen the party at grassroots level." As per the plan, Mandal president and general secretary, head of booth unit and office bearers above them, only be appointed as Vistarak. The state unit is to deploy 80 to 90 Vistaraks in each assembly constituency of Madhya Pradesh in all 230 assembly constituencies.

"In Madhya Pradesh, the party is already strong and after this campaign it will expand to new areas," he said.

Party will be sending two Vistaraks on every five to seven booths. Each of them will work to strengthen the party at ground level by spending 10 hours per day for 10 days. In total 20,000 Vistaraks will together work for two lakh hours for the party," Rao added.

Preparation has been started to launch the campaign after November. "We have started listing the names of Vistaraks, manuals are being prepared about the duties and they will be trained to reach out to the people. By December, we will launch the campaign," the BJP Madhya Pradesh in-charge said.

Madhya Pradesh assembly elections will be held in November-December 2023. Since 2003, the saffron party has been in power in the state, except for 15 months from December 2018 to March 2020 when Congress leader Kamal Nath was the Chief Minister.

In March 2020, Shivraj Singh Chouhan was again sworn as chief minister after the fall of the Kamal Nath led Congress government.
New Delhi, Oct 6: Gunmen, whose identity was not immediately known but are widely thought to be the separatist militants, spread a wave of terror across the Kashmir valley with three back-to-back civilian killings in 80 minutes on Tuesday evening. Those targeted in the three fatal attacks-two in Srinagar and one in the Bandipora district in northern Kashmir-include 60-year-old Makhan Lal Bindroo, a Kashmiri Pandit chemist who refused to leave the valley in some extremely challenging situations in the last 31 years.

Seemingly part of a fresh chain of attacks, which began immediately after the Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's belligerent address to the UN General Assembly session last month, the terrorists first gunned down Bindroo at his famous pharmacy, Bindroo Medicate, near Iqbal Park, in the heart of the capital city of Srinagar. The pharmacy is yards away from a military installation as well as the office of Senior Superintendent of Police Srinagar at Haft Chinar.

In 30 minutes, the terrorists shot dead a bhel puri vendor, Virender Paswan, near Alamgari Bazar in the city interior. In the next 50 minutes, they also shot dead Mohammad Shafi Lone of Nayidkhai Sumbal at Shahgund in Hajan. Lone was a driver and president of the local union of cab drivers.

Even as over a dozen of such civilian and Policemen killings have taken place in Srinagar this year, Tuesday's assassinations evoked condemnation from all quarters. The officials mentioned the killers as "terrorists" without identifying them in their tweets and the evening press releases.

In two separately issued statements, purportedly the spokespersons of two terror outfits-'The Resistance Front' (TRF) and 'Freedom Seekers of Kashmir' (FSK)-claimed that the cadres of their organisations had planned and executed the three attacks. According to the Police and the security forces, TRF is a front for the formidable jihadist organisation Lashkar-e-Tayyiba "so as to lend local and indigenous colour to a jihadist movement". The statement issued on behalf of 'United Liberation Front' (ULF), Jammu and Kashmir', mentioned Bindroo as "RSS stooge" while it alleged that Paswan and Lone had been functioning as the informers of the security forces.

The FSK, claiming responsibility for Lone's killing in Hajan area today, alleged that the cab driver had been working as an informer with the security forces. It alleged that security forces had eliminated two active militants of the organisation on Lone's tip off. However, friends and family members of the three slain civilians insisted that none of them had ever associated with the security forces or any extremist religious organisation.

While the Netizens came out with unequivocal condemnation to all the three civilian killings in the social media, the politicians maintained that such assassinations would only spread terror and multiply the hardships of the average Kashmiris.

Bindroo, with his first pharmacy near the Hanuman Mandir (Amirakadal) had refused to migrate to the safer cities of Jammu, Delhi et al, even as many of his friends and relatives, according to the family, had advised him to shut his businesses and settle somewhere outside the valley in 1990. His pharmacy had an unparalleled reputation of selling 'only the original medicines'.

Even the separatist leaders were known to be the customers of Bindroo Medicate. Bindroo's mannerism and relationship with the residents of Srinagar and other districts made him extremely popular. Bindroo's daily sales, according to some traders, were the 'highest in Kashmir'.

Early this year, Police had arrested a youth who had posted in social media that the owner of one pharmacy at Dalgate, also a resident Kashmiri Pandit, had helped the security forces in a counterinsurgency in which a top ranking terror commander had been killed. Both the Pandit pharmacy owners, according to the official sources, had been alerted by the Police against possible terror attacks on them.

Bindroo's son Sidhartha, who lived with the family in the high security zone of Indira Nagar, is a doctor. A pall of gloom descended on the entire Srinagar when the residents heard that Bindroo had been shot dead mercilessly at his pharmacy.

Former Chief Minister and the senior National Conference leader Omar Abdullah tweeted: "What terrible news! He (Bindroo) was a very kind man. I've been told he never left during the height of militancy and remained with his shop open. I condemn this killing in the strongest possible terms & convey my heartfelt condolences to his family. God bless his soul." "No words are strong enough to condemn the cowardly and barbaric attack on owner of Bindroo Medicate in which he lost his life. May his soul rest in peace. We express our sympathies with the bereaved family", Omar added. He also condemned the other civilian killings.

President of the Peoples Democratic Party and another former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti tweeted: "Condemn the killing of Shri M L Bindroo who chose to stay back in Kashmir even during peak insurgency. Such acts of violence have no place in our society. May his family find the strength to deal with this loss".

"The fatal attack against the owner of Bindroo medicates is outrageous and unacceptable. I knew the gentleman personally. He never left the valley. And terrorists made him pay for that. May he live in peace", Peoples Conference chief and a former Minister in the PDP-BJP government, Sajad Lone, posted on Twitter. He too condemned Paswan's and Lone's killing while broadcasting the slain vendor's picture on his handle.

Srinagar-based physician working in CRPF, Suneem Khan, who had a long time association with the Bindroos, especially Dr Sidhartha, expressed his emotions on Twitter: "Over a period of time, lot of emotions of a #Kashmiri had come to be attached with this name; #Bindroo. This would be the very second thought coming to a Kashmiri mind whenever a doctor wrote the prescription of a patient. All that stands mercilessly murdered today. Mercilessly!" Social media was flooded with condemnations of the three civilian killings.

(The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative
Chandigarh, Oct 6 : Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Randhawa on Wednesday condemned the vandalism in the historic Gurdwara Karte Parwan Sahib in Kabul by extremists, saying the Taliban had eventually shown their true colours.

In a statement here, he said the worst has started coming true as the Taliban have started showing their true colours by way of complete intolerance towards the minorities leading to their intimidation and destruction of their religious places.

The Deputy CM appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take up the matter at the United Nations level.

He said since India did not have any diplomatic relations with Afghanistan, the country should use the good offices of the UN and other international organisations to ensure that the minorities and their religious places are not harmed there.
Mumbai, Oct 6 : In a significant development, the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi allies Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party-Congress have called for 'Maharashtra Bandh' on Monday (October 11) to protest against the killing of eight persons, including four farmers, in Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh on October 3.

In another rare gesture, the state Cabinet, presided over by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, observed two minutes' silence and passed a unanimous resolution condoling the farmers' deaths, expressing its anguish over the incident.

The MVA strongly condemned the Lakhimpur Kheri development and accused the BJP-led governments at the Centre and in Uttar Pradesh for the "oppression and misuse of power", and expressed the state government's support for the farmers' agitation.

Senior MVA ministers like Eknath Shinde (SS), Jayant Patil (NCP) and Balasaheb Thorat (Congress) briefed the media on the proposed 'Maharashtra Bandh', and said that all essential services will be kept out of its purview.

Earlier, NCP President Sharad Pawar had warned that the BJP would have to pay "a heavy price" for the brutal attack on farmers, and reiterated that the country's entire opposition is with the peasantry.

"The responsibility for this lies with the BJP governments at the Centre and in UP. A similar situation was created in Jallianwala Bagh, we are witnessing the same scenario in UP now. The people will show them their place," said Pawar.

Calling for united action by the three allies, Shiv Sena chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut said that the "Lakhimpur Kheri violence has shaken the nation".

He said a senior Congress leader has been illegally arrested by the UP government and other opposition leaders are barred from meeting the farmers or their families.

Flaying the BJP for the farmers' deaths, Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole said that the UP and Central governments are "scared" of the Gandhi siblings.

He demanded the dismissal of the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Centre and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in UP for the deaths of eight persons, including four farmers.
New Delhi, Oct 6 : To give a boost to the employment intensive textile sector, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the setting up of seven mega integrated region and apparel (PM MITRA) parks.

Accordingly, these seven parks have been allotted a total outlay of Rs 4,445 crore for a period of five years.

Besides, these parks will be set up at greenfield or brownfield sites located in different states.

Subsequently, the Centre has invited proposals from state governments having ready availability of contiguous and encumbrance-free land parcel of more than 1,000 acres along with other textiles related facilities and ecosystem.

Under the scheme, a 'Maximum Development Capital Support' (DCS) of Rs 500 crore to all 'Greenfield PM MITRA' and a maximum of Rs 200 crore to 'Brownfield PM MITRA' will be provided for development of 'Common Infrastructure'.

Furthermore, Rs 300 crore of Competitiveness Incentive Support (CIS) will also be provided to each PM MITRA park for early establishment of textiles manufacturing units.

"State Government support will include provision of 1,000 acre land for development of a world class industrial estate." As per the Cabinet's communique, PM MITRA will develop 50 per cent area for pure 'Manufacturing Activity', 20 per cent area for utilities, and 10 per cent area for commercial development.

"PM MITRA park will be developed by a 'Special Purpose Vehicle' which will be owned by State Government and Government of India in a Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode." "The 'Master Developer' will not only develop the 'Industrial Park' but also maintain it during the concession period. Selection of this Master Developer will happen based on objective criteria developed jointly by State and Central Governments." Additionally, the SPV in which the state government has a majority ownership will be entitled to receive part of the lease rental from developed industrial sites and will be able to use that for further expansion of textiles industry in the area by expanding the 'PM MITRA' park, providing skill development initiatives and other welfare measures for workers.

On its part, the industry welcomed the Cabinet's approval for the scheme.

According to Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) Chairman A. Sakthivel: "It will attract massive foreign and domestic investment in the sector making it globally competitive while helping create lakhs of jobs." "These steps will help India regain its dominant position in textiles. I am confident that the textiles sector will increase its annual exports to over $100 billion in the next few years. The sector, which is the second largest employment generator in the country, alone will play a major role in realising Aatmanirbhar Bharat." In addition, Confederation of Indian Textile Industry's Chairman T. Rajkumar said the 'PM MITRA' is another landmark decision to empower the 'Indian Textile & Apparel' (T&A) industry.

He said that 'PM MITRA' will attract huge investment in the Indian T&A Industry and is likely to generate 7 lakhs direct and 14 lakhs indirect employment opportunities.

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
Hyderabad, Oct 6 : Forest officials in Telangana's Mulugu district have arrested five tribals for killing a tiger in Tadvai forests.

The district forest officials apprehended five men from Guttikoya tribe from Lingala village and recovered snares, knives, axes used to kill the tiger. The body remains of the tiger were also recovered from their possession.

The arrests were made after Forest Range officer, Lingala received credible information about possible whereabouts of some Guttikoyas involved in the incident.

Forest Division Officer Tadvai, Shiv Aasheesh Singh, Forest Range Officers Shirisha, Gowtham Reddy, Sathish and staff conducted intensive cordon and search operation on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday.

Investigation party located the hutments of Guttikoyas in the village, and cordoned off the area. Search of the hutments revealed the Guttikoyas. Upon questioning by the local panchas and forest officials they revealed their names.

They have been identified as Madakam Ramu, Muchaki Andha, Madakam Sathish, Kovasi Iduma and Muchaki Rajkumar, all residents of Chintala Katapur.

The accused are involved in disposal of tiger remains and extraction of the skin, fat from tiger. District Forest Officer (DFO) said a wildlife offence case has been registered against the accused and they will be presented before magistrate for remand.

Cordon and search operations involving forest officials, police officials and sniffer dogs are underway in Mulugu district and investigation is under progress, DFO said.

The accused reportedly killed the tiger after laying traps. The animal was killed two weeks ago but the remains without the skin and nails were found on Sunday. The search operations were launched after reports that some people were going to Chhattisgarh to sell skin and nails of a tiger.
New Delhi, Oct 6 : The Supreme Court has taken suo moto cognizance of the violence in Lakhimpur Kheri, where farmers were allegedly mowed down by a car on October 3, triggering a violent backlash.

Nine persons, including four farmers, were killed in the violence that had erupted during a farmers' protest in Lakhimpur Kheri.

A bench headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana and comprising justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli will hear the matter on Thursday. The matter has been listed as 'violence in Lakhimpur Kheri (UP) leading to loss of life'.

Earlier, two apex court lawyers had written to the Chief Justice seeking a CBI probe into the matter under the supervision of the top court.

The letter, written by advocates Shiv Kumar Tripathi and C.S. Panda, said: "With regard to the seriousness of the killing of the farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh, it is incumbent upon this Hon'ble Court to intervene in the matter as flashed in the press." The lawyers had claimed that of late, violence has become the political culture of the country.

The lawyers said that there is a need to protect the rule of law in 'violence-ravaged' Uttar Pradesh, which is evident from media reports.

The letter said the Lakhimpur Kheri incident calls for direction against the UP government and the concerned bureaucrats along with the 'law-breaking police' machinery under the administrative control of the Ministry of Home, so that the "cult of violence comes to a grinding halt".
Hyderabad, Oct 6 : Rebel MP of Andhra Pradesh's ruling YSR Congress Party K. Raghu Ramakrishna Raju has moved Telangana High Court challenging CBI court's order dismissing his petition for cancellation of bail given to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and MP V. Vijaya Sai Reddy in the quid pro quo case.

However, the High Court registry sent back Raju's petition on technical grounds. He is likely to file a fresh petition.

The CBI court headed by principal special judge had last month dismissed his petition.

Raju had filed the petition in April this year seeking cancellation of bail of Jagan and his close aide Vijaya Sai on the ground of alleged violation of bail conditions.

Raju, a member of the Lok Sabha from Narsapur, had also voiced the apprehension that Jagan Mohan Reddy may try to influence the witnesses in the case.

However, both Jagan Mohan Reddy and Vijaya Sai Reddy had submitted to the court that they did not violate any bail conditions. They claimed that Raju filed the petition for political and personal gains.

In his counter-affidavit, Jagan Mohan Reddy alleged that Raju is trying to use court as a platform to settle personal scores. He described the MP as a dishonest man, who defrauded banks.

Describing Raju's petition as an attempt to tarnish his reputation, Jagan claimed that the petitioner failed to make out a case for cancellation of bail.

Before the pronouncement of orders by the CBI court, the MP had also approached Telangana High Court seeking transfer of his petitions to any other court. However, the High Court dismissed his plea.

The High Court had observed that there should be reasonable grounds for seeking transfer of a case from one court to the other. The court felt that the petitioner is seeking the transfer on imaginary grounds.

Raju while seeking the transfer of petition had expressed his apprehensions citing the permission given by the trial court to Vijaya Sai Reddy to undertake foreign tours.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had opposed Raju's petition. Its counsel submitted to the court that judges deliver such reliefs to scores of individuals.

The allegations against Jagan Mohan Reddy relate to the period 2004-2009, when his father Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy was the chief minister of united Andhra Pradesh.

The CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) probed the allegations that Jagan Mohan Reddy, in criminal conspiracy with others, received bribes from various persons/companies in the guise of investments in his group companies as 'quid pro quo' for undue favours granted to them by the then Andhra Pradesh government.

Jagan Mohan Reddy was arrested in May 2012 in the DA case when he was an MP. In 2013, the special CBI court had granted conditional bail to Jagan, after he spent 16 months in jail.
Agartala, Oct 6 : Vice President of India M. Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday urged the people, particularly youngsters, to buy and promote Indian handicraft, handlooms, Khadi and other products made by local artisans instead of foreign items.

The Vice President, who after visiting Assam, Meghalaya and Manipur arrived in Tripura on Wednesday and inaugurated an exhibition of handloom and handicraft products in Agartala, and interacted with a group of achievers who have excelled in the fields of Self Help Groups, primary sector and frontline healthcare workers.

Urging people to be 'Vocal for Local', Naidu said that he was hugely impressed by various products like bamboo bottles, bamboo handbags, artificial flowers, agarbati, Risha (traditional tribal stole), mulberry silk products and agar tree perfume-oil that were on display.

"Handlooms and handicraft occupy a very special place in Indian society and culture. They are not only important markers of our shared cultural heritage, but also provide livelihood to millions of people. It is our duty to support our handloom and handicraft and take pride in them," he said.

Praising the talent and craftsmanship of the artisans, weavers and makers of other traditional products, he said they needed to be encouraged.

The Vice President said there was enormous talent and knowledge among Indians and India is uniquely blessed with a demographic dividend with about 65 per cent of the population below the age of 35 years and 50 per cent below 25 years.

He said the need of the hour is to identify the talent and impart training to artisans and craftspersons to upgrade their skills.

He also urged the Centre and state governments to accord more importance to providing timely and affordable credit and marketing avenues to artisans and weavers to enable them to generate income and stand on their own feet.

Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, Industry and Commerce (HHS) Mevar Kumar Jamatia, North Eastern Council Secretary K. Moses Chalai among other dignitaries were present on the occasion.

The Tripura government has accorded a civic reception to the Vice-President and a colourful cultural function was organised by the state government in his honour.
Chennai, Oct 6 : Oil major Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC) will set up a new research and development (R&D) centre at an outlay of Rs 3,200 crore in Faridabad in Haryana, a senior official said on Wednesday.

The official also said that the oil major is focusing on converting its refineries into integrated complexes where differentiated petrochemicals are made while going ahead with development of alternative fuels.

Speaking to reporters here, S.S.V. Ramakumar, Director, R&D and Business Development, IOC, said the company will invest Rs 3,200 crore to set up the new R&D centre.

He said the new centre will be ready by 2023. It will have five centres of excellence and the total R&D headcount will double to 1,000.

According to Ramakumar, the proposed centre will do research on areas like alternative and renewable energy, nanotechnology etc.

Spending about Rs 500 crore annually on R&D, IOC has monetised its research outcome.

One such technology is INDMAX, a novel technology which produces high yield of light olefins and high octane gasoline from various petroleum fractions.

The technology has been successfully licensed to first overseas client Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS) at the Panceo Refinery, Serbia.

Ramakumar said the INDMAX technology is also selected as the preferred choice by the Numaligarh Refineries Limited (Assam) in competitive global bidding.

The selection of INDMAX for Numaligarh Refineries is first success outside IOC's own refineries in the domestic refining sector.

Ramakumar said that discussions with six more refineries in the Asia Pacific region are on for licensing of the technology.

IOC's has 1,142 active patents, out of which 795 are foreign patents.

The R&D investments over the last one decade has resulted in a notional income of Rs 5,000 crore (savings in expenditure and others) for IOC, he said.

With regard to the asset monetisation plans of IOC, he said the company may hive off some of its hydrogen plants.

During the run-up to BS VI fuel production, IOC had set up hydrogen plants and there is surplus now.

To start with, the hydrogen plant at its refinery in Gujarat may be monetised, Ramakumar said.

IOC also plans to convert 10 per cent of its hydrogen consumption to green hydrogen and its Mathura refinery will become green by 2024.

Ramakumar said the green hydrogen can be converted to ethanol.

The IOC also has plans to set up a pilot plant to make biofuel with ethanol to power aircraft.

Ramakumar said the Central government may mandate refining and fertiliser industries to use green hydrogen, i.e., hydrogen made from non-fossil sources.

Queried about IOC's plans to run hydrogen fuel cell buses in Kerala, he said the company has asked the state government to provide land to locate its unit at the Kochi airport and Thiruvananthapuram.

The Kerala government plans to ply hydrogen powered buses between Kochi airport and Thiruvananthapuram, he said.

Ramakumar said IOC ran 50 Ashok Leyland buses in Delhi mixing small quantities of hydrogen with CNG and the report will be submitted to the Supreme Court.

Efforts are also underway to collaborate with the state transport undertakings of Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh to introduce hydrogen-based mobility solutions.

The country's first commercial hydrogen refuelling station is all set to be commissioned soon at IOC's Gujarat refinery.

The oil major is also looking at investing in coal bed methane blocks and integrating all its refineries with petrochemical products.

The company also funded 24 startups in two rounds of funding.
New Delhi, Oct 6 : Condemning the October 3 violence in Lakhimpur Kheri that claimed nine lives, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to dismiss Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Kumar Mishra, whose son Ashish Mishra is the prime accused in the incident.

The Delhi Cm also urged the PM to meet the bereaved families.

"Indian citizens are watching what's happening in Lakhimpuri Kheri. They're expecting justice. But what kind of justice is this where a murderer is being shielded? Politicians and journalists are being stopped on their way to Lakhimpur," Kejriwal asked in a virtual address.

Ashish Mishra has been named in an FIR in connection with the violent incident at Tikunia village in Lakhimpur Kheri for allegedly mowing down farmers who were protesting against UP Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya's visit to the Union minister's ancestral village for a function.

A total of nine persons, including four farmers and a local journalist, were killed in the incident.

"India is celebrating 75th year of Independence with 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav'. This is what the tyrannical British used to do. Our forefathers did not sacrifice their lives for the country's Independence to see this day. What kind of celebration of Independence is this? What kind of message are we giving to our people," Kejriwal asked.

He went on to say that the Uttar Pradesh government is protecting the killers, otherwise why they have not been arrested yet, and why the murderers are being protected? "Criminals mercilessly ran their cars over innocent people only to have the entire system bow down before them and shield them from the law. The car not only crushed the farmers present there, but also crushed the soul and spirit of the farmers of this country," Kejriwal said.

Demanding Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention in the matter, Kejriwal said, "You should sack the minister involved and meet the families of the victims, they will get some strength if the PM supports them." Meanwhile, Ajay Mishra said on Wednesday that the Lakhimpur Kheri case is being investigated in a fair manner by multiple agencies.
Aizawl, Oct 6 : The tiny northeastern state, Mizoram on Wednesday crossed the one lakh-mark of Covid cases with 1,471 people testing positive for the virus even as a four-member multi disciplinary central team is now studying the alarming positivity rate of 15.36 per cent, health officials said on Wednesday.

According to the health officials, 1,01,327 people so far tested positive for the Covid-19 and 336 people succumbed to the disease with the mountainous state's recovery rate is 84.80 per cent against the national average of 97.94 per cent.

However, according to the Union Health Ministry data, against the national average of 1.33 per cent, Mizoram's Covid fatality rate is 0.33 per cent, lowest among all states in the country.

With only 11 lakh population, bordering Myanmar and Bangladesh, the northeastern state on Wednesday evening had 15,006 active cases, while 85,925 men and women have been recovered of the infectious disease so far.

Mizoram health officials said that the state for the past more than one month has been undertaking mass testing of people mainly through the Rapid Antigen method and might be due to this, the number of positive cases have gone alarmingly high.

The mass testing is being done in each small habitation and locality in collaboration with the local task force and health workers. Of the state's 11 districts, Aizawl has registered the highest number of cases at 64,289 besides recording 250 deaths, followed by Lunglei (7,577 cases, 19 deaths), Kolasib (7,177 cases, 24 deaths) and Khawzawl is the only district where no death has been reported though 630 people have tested positive there so far.

Health officials said that the central team, headed by National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) consultant-epidemiologist, Dr Vinita Gupta, arrived in Aizawl on Tuesday and held a virtual review meeting with the chief medical officers of all the 11 districts on Wednesday.

The team would visit some districts bordering Myanmar and Bangladesh.

The officials said that the state-level expert team on Covid-19 management, which was formed on September 23 headed by F. Lallianhlira, who is also principal director of state health department, has suggested to give more focus on the symptomatic patients, people with high risk factors including pregnant women, elderly people and those with comorbid status to check high mortality rate.

The Mizoram government with effect from Sunday has issued new Covid-19 guidelines with fresh relaxations to ease economic and other activities in Aizawl Municipality Corporation (AMC) area and other parts of the state.

The new guidelines allowed the re-opening of churches in Covid-19 hit AMC area and other parts of the state twice a week -- Sunday and Saturday -- during daytime with 50 per cent seating capacity.

Churches in les affected areas outside the AMC vicinity have been already re-opened since August 22.

According to the new order, most educational institutions would continue to remain shut in the AMC area but training institutes would be allowed to function with 50 per cent seating capacity.

Most educational institutions and Anganwadi centres are functioning in the Covid free areas since August 15.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
New York, Oct 6 : US Deputy Secretary of State, Wendy Sherman, thanked India on behalf of the US for resuming Covid-19 vaccine exports when she met India's Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla in New Delhi on Wednesday, according to State Department spokesperson Ned Price.

She also assured Shringla of Washington's commitment to India's national security during their meeting when they reviewed security issues relating to Afghanistan and China, Price said in a readout of the meeting.

Sherman, who is on a two-day visit to India, also met External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, who tweeted after their meeting, "A good conversation on our relationship, its significance and its growth. Appreciated the successful visit of PM @narendramodi to the US and the Quad Leaders' Summit." In the readout of the meeting with Shringla, Price said that Sherman "expressed the US' gratitude for Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi's announcement that India, which is the world's largest vaccine producer, would soon resume exports of Covid-19 vaccines to the US." Providing vaccines to countries in the Indo-Pacific region is a major commitment by the Quad, the grouping of India, the US, Australia and Japan, and it was reiterated at the summit of their leaders in Washington last month.

The expression of thanks came while they "discussed the growing security, economic, and Indo-Pacific convergence between India and the United States, including around ending the Covid-19 pandemic, combating the climate crisis and accelerating clean energy deployment, deepening trade and investment ties, and expanding cooperation on cybersecurity and emerging technologies", according to Price.

"The Deputy Secretary assured the Foreign Secretary of the US' ongoing commitment to India's national security and they reviewed pressing regional and global security issues, including Afghanistan, Iran, Russia, and the People's Republic of China," he said.

"The two expressed their mutual commitment to upholding democracy and human rights and agreed on the importance of continued close cooperation on shared global challenges," Price said.

In particular, they "discussed the ongoing efforts to return Myanmar to a path to democracy", he added.

She also spoke at the US-India Business Council's India Ideas Summit on the theme 'Recovery to Resurgence', which looks at planning for the post-Covid future.

Her visit follows the meetings in Washington between President Joe Biden and Modi and their Quad summit with Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia and Yoshihide Suga, who was then the leader of Japan.

Sherman, the second-highest-ranking US diplomat, is visiting India after visits by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and CIA Director Bill Burns.

She will be in Mumbai on Thursday and will go to Pakistan from there.

Sherman also met with US diplomatic staff in New Delhi and visited the Mahatma Gandhi memorial on Wednesday.

She tweeted, "It was humbling to visit the peaceful grounds of Gandhi Smriti, where Mahatma Gandhi spent the last days of his life, and to honour his commitment to democracy and human rights." (Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed @arulouis)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Belagavi : , Oct 6 (IANS) In a tragic incident, seven people of the same family including three children died after a house collapsed due to incessant rains in Badala Ankalagi village in Belagavi district of Karnataka on Wednesday.

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has announced Rs 5 lakh compensation for each of the deceased.

The wall of the house collapsed due to incessant rains late in the evening and five members of the family died on the spot. Three were rescued from the spot and shifted to the hospital. Among three, two have succumbed to injuries in the hospital.

The deceased have been identified as Gangavva Khanagavi (50), Satyavva Kahanagavi (45), Pooja (8), Savitha (28), Keshav (8), Lakshmi (15) and Arjun. All of them were at home when the tragedy struck.

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has said that it is an unfortunate incident and he will pray for them.

Bommai has also announced Rs 5 lakh compensation for each of the deceased person. He has spoken to the District in-Charge Minister of Belagavi, Govind Karajol regarding the incident and directed him to speed up relief measures immediately. He has also asked him to visit the place.

According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), extremely heavy rainfall activity is expected to continue for the next two days at least. Earlier in the week, the IMD had said that due to systems in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, many places in South Interior Karnataka including Bengaluru will receive very heavy rainfall with thunderstorms and lightning.
United Nations, Oct 7 : The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) is in talks with India for wheat donation to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan that is facing a food crisis, according to the WFP official in that country.

Mary-Ellen McGroarty, the WFP country director in Afghanistan, said on Wednesday that discussions have taken place over the last two weeks and she hoped donations from India will resume to that country.

After she spoke of a looming threat of mass starvation in Afghanistan, McGroarty was asked if India, which had donated 75,000 tonnes of wheat last year to that country had been asked to resume food aid.

She said, "It's a conversation that's going on with my office, locally in India. So this conversation has been going on for a couple of weeks now. So hopefully, we can bring that to a good conclusion and hopefully we'll see another donation coming in because ... there's a big deficit of 2.5 million tons this year in Afghanistan." "So really we need all the help we can get," she said remotely at a news conference.

Pakistan blocking land routes is a major obstacle to India sending food aid to Afghanistan.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar pointed out this problem at a high-level meeting convened last month by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on emergency aid for Afghanistan, saying, "Among the challenges that the current situation poses, is that of efficient logistics." "It is therefore essential that humanitarian assistance providers are accorded unimpeded, unrestricted, and direct access to Afghanistan," he said.

India did not make any aid commitments at the meeting but other donors pledged aid worth more than $1 billion, according to the UN.

But most of the donors like the US, which pledged $64 million, face the dilemma of aiding Afghan people without handing over the aid to the Taliban.

Prevented by Pakistan from sending food aid directly by land, the 75,000 tonnes of donated wheat took a circuitous route last year by sea to the Indian-built port at Chabahar in Iran and from there into Afghanistan via roads constructed by India.

The US exempted India's construction and operation of the port from sanctions for dealings with Iran because of its importance in feeding Afghanistan while Washington had a military presence in Afghanistan supporting the democratically-elected government of President Ashraf Ghani.

Neither of the Taliban's patrons, Pakistan and China, are wheat exporters.

Only India and, to some extent, Kazakhstan have large quantities of exportable wheat surpluses in the region. Russia is also a wheat exporter, but is far away.

Afghanistan may have to rely on India for quick supplies of wheat to avert a crisis.

Describing the situation in Afghanistan where there have been two droughts in three years, McGroarty said at her news conference, "They are not eating every day, they're decreasing the portion sizes, they're eating less healthy foods, and many parents are forgoing to feed their children." "In Herat, we saw the hospitals that are becoming overcrowded with severely malnourished children. We've met women who are able to feed their children," she said.

According to the WFP, about 3.2 million Afghan children under five could suffer from acute malnutrition by the end of the year and without immediate treatment, at least one million are at risk of dying.

It said that according to a survey, 95 per cent of households in Afghanistan are not consuming enough food, adults are eating less and skipping meals so their children can eat more.

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed @arulouis)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
By Gods grace, were revolutionizing the Bible publishing industry through artificial intelligence and automation. Those who invest in Revival AI will own part of a company dedicated to proclaiming, promoting, and protecting Gods Word.

Revival AI, a Bible customization firm driven by some of todays most groundbreaking technology, is pleased to announce the launch of its Regulation A+ equity crowdfunding campaign. This offering welcomes investors of all levels of experience and income, allowing them to own part of the future of Bible publishing and customizationone that ensures beauty, efficiency, precision, and affordability. From start to finish, that future is made in the USA.

A Better Way

A growing number of traditional manufacturing and industrial practices are being transformed by smart technology and automation. Revival AI, recognizing the demand shift toward customization, is harnessing todays most cutting-edge technologies to bring Bible publishing into the 21st century.

Unlike todays tedious and error-prone Bible design and manufacturing processes, almost all of which are completed by hand in China, Revival AIs system is driven by AI-powered software, allowing users to customize their Bibles in real time. Each Bible is then printed and finished autonomously via robotics, lasers, and ultrasonic technology. Customization options include translations and verses, fonts (and sizes), devotional notes, branding, cover designs, finishings, and more.

Preserving & Securing the Unaltered Word

Even with a vast array of personalization options, Revival AI embraces the importance of remaining faithful to Gods sacred, unaltered Word. We are not changing the words of the Bible in any way, co-founders Bill and Kristin Robinson noted. Were simply utilizing the most advanced technology to make the Gospel as personalized as possible. For the first time ever, mature and new believers alike can dive deeper into their faith by building custom Bibles that suit their individual needs. And the final products will likely be priced between $30 and $200, because as part of our mission, affordability means accessibility.

Revitalizing American Industry

Part of Revival AIs mission is to bring Bible printing back to the U.S. Currently, the vast majority of Bibles are mass-printed in China, which is costly and detrimental to the environment. By harnessing the most advanced technology and automation, Revival AI is not only revolutionizing the Bible printing industry, but also eliminating the waste associated with mass production overseas. Moreover, Revival AI plans to license its technology to Christian publishers and ministries, which aims to increase their margins while allowing them to sell custom Bibles that are made in America. Finally, the companys technology and content will be stored on Revival AIs own world-class servers, protecting against outside influences and censorship.

A People-Led Effort

Under its Regulation A+ offering, Revival AI seeks to raise $20 million. Shares are $1 each, with a minimum investment of $100. This offering is open to investors of all income and experience levels, and is accessible on our website, where investors can also find our SEC-qualified Offering Circular.

Regulation A+, also known as equity crowdfunding, allows the general public to own a part of Revival AI. We opted for the crowdfunding route because it allows both everyday people and large investors to be a part of the future of Gods Word, Kristin stated. Revival AIs technology allows custom Bibles to be individually printed with the language, translation, and study and devotional notes that the customer choosesand bound in as modest or ornate a cover as the customer designs. On top of that, those with visual impairments, such as poor eyesight and dyslexia, now have the unique ability to choose the font size and style of a custom Bible, helping to remove unnecessary physical barriers to reading and understanding Scripture.

At the end of the day, we are utilizing advanced technology to fulfill the Great Commission, Bill added. By Gods grace, were revolutionizing the Bible publishing industry through artificial intelligence and automation. Those who invest in Revival AI will own part of a company dedicated to proclaiming, promoting, and protecting Gods Word.

Revival AI launched its paid advertising campaign on Monday in honor of the anniversary of the first complete English translation of the Bible, printed in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1535.

To learn more about Revival AI and its mission, as well as how to invest, please visit link.

Securities are offered pursuant to Regulation A+ by Entoro Securities, an SEC-registered, FINRA-member broker-dealer. Investors are encouraged to read the Offering Circular prior to investing.
Second Chances Garage is a nonprofit located in Frederick County, MD, and seeks to make a difference in the community by offering second chances for individuals and families on their journey to independent living by providing assistance with their personal transportation needs. By working with Partner Agencies, Second Chances Garage provides vehicles to low-income families in Frederick County. Each agency assists with vetting applicants and assisting them in the application process. With the generous support of the community and businesses, Second Chances Garage has been able to place more than 250 cars since April 2010.

Second Chances Garage is doing GREAT work for the Frederick County community. The staff in the garage are all very kind and knowledgeable when it comes to car repair. They have an awesome program for low-income families. I recommend everyone donate their used cars to this organization instead of "trading in" at the dealership to help build up this community and give back to this great cause! said Erin Garrett-Glaspell.

Second Chances Garages Road Rally fundraiser is a yearly fall foliage tour of beautiful Frederick County. This scenic rally will be held on October 16, 2021, from 9 am to 1 pm beginning at Gravel & Grind, on 6th street, and will wind through the picturesque roadways of Frederick County. Clues will be provided along a specified route as a fun way to test each teams ability to observe their surroundings and follow directions. Coffee and donuts will be available in the morning at Gravel & Grind, lunch will be available for purchase from Bub-B-Que in the Gravel & Grind parking lot, and drinks will also be available at Olde Mother Brewing.

Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available for the 8th Annual Second Chances Garage Road Rally. Sponsorship gives businesses additional exposure throughout the community with advertisements leading up to, and on the day of the event. For the low cost of sponsorship, your company may be advertised at the start, at each checkpoint, and the finish line, as well as on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and our website. Ticket purchasing options and prices are $15 per person or $50 for a car of 4 people.

Everyone is encouraged to learn more about fun, engaging, and supportive fundraiser by calling 240-724-1919, or visiting the Second Chances Garage website at https://secondchancesgarage.org/road-rally-annual-fundraiser/. You can also connect with Second Chances Garage on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

About Second Chances Garage

Second Chances Garages mission is to make a difference in the community of Frederick County, Maryland, by creating second chances for individuals and families on their journey to independent living by providing assistance with their personal transportation needs.
Abel Communications is pleased to announce the hiring of four new employees: Emily McDermott, Michelle Subbiondo, Nick Brandon Jones and Katie Beecher. Were thrilled to welcome such innovative and passionate individuals to the team.

Abel Communications, an award-winning public relations firm, is pleased to announce the hiring of four new employees to support the agencys continued growth. New hires include Emily McDermott, Michelle Subbiondo, Nick Brandon Jones and Katie Beecher.

McDermott joins as a senior account director with 15 years of PR agency and nonprofit communications experience. She has successfully led PR programs for a variety of clients with an emphasis on integrated communications strategies including paid, earned, shared and owned media. McDermott currently serves as vice president of the PRSA Maryland Chapter and received the chapters Paul E. Welsh Award in 2019 for developing and implementing creative and effective solutions to the most challenging issues in public relations. She graduated from Appalachian State University with a Bachelor of Science in communications.

Subbiondo joins Abel as a senior account executive following seven years at Living Classrooms Foundation, most recently as director of communications. At Living Classrooms, Subbiondo provided the foundation with project management, media relations, social media, and marketing leadership and implementation. She earned a Bachelor of Science in mass communications with a specialization in advertising and marketing from Towson University.

Jones, Abels newest account executive, earned a Bachelors in business administration with a concentration in finance from Loyola University Maryland. He also holds a Master of Arts in communications from Johns Hopkins University. Jones most recently worked for Johns Hopkins University as a grants and contracts specialist, providing editorial, research, financial and internal communications support.

Beecher joins Abel as an associate account executive after spending a year as a staff writer for Mid-Atlantic Media. Her former role included writing articles and providing social media support for five local publications - Baltimore Style, Montgomery Magazine, Baltimores Child, Fredericks Child and Washington FAMILY. Beecher graduated from Loyola University Maryland with a Bachelor of Arts in writing.

Were thrilled to welcome such innovative and passionate individuals to the team, said Greg Abel, founder and chief executive officer of Abel Communications. Emily, Michelle, Nick and Katie each bring a unique background and new areas of expertise that will allow us to continue to pursue new opportunities as we grow with both our current and new clients.

These hires follow a successful year that saw Abel Communications awarded the PRSA Maryland Chapters PR Team of the Year for 2020 along with three additional industry awards. The Abel team was notably recognized for its relentless commitment to client success and community engagement.

About Abel Communications

Abel Communications is a full-service public relations firm, delivering strategic communications programs for its regional and national clients. We provide strategic counsel to help clients navigate that vast intersection of media relations, content development, social media and digital strategy. We are not just a publicity shop. We unleash the power of relationships and connections. We deliver great ideas and get results for clients including Loyola University, National Apartment Association, UnitedHealthcare and GardaWorld. For more information, visit https://www.abelcommunications.com.
Agilitas Energy's under-construction project in Auburn, MA "By coupling the energy storage system with the solar array, we are now able to ensure more persistent, cost-effective, and cleaner power supply for the local community, said Barrett Bilotta, President of Agilitas Energy.

Leading northeastern distributed energy developer Agilitas Energy is acquiring another ground-mount solar photovoltaic and energy storage project under the SMART program, Massachusettss long-term, sustainable solar incentive program to promote cost-effective solar development, in the Town of Williamsburg, MA. This marks Agilitas Energys 7th large-scale hybrid solar and battery storage project in Massachusetts, putting it at the top of the list of SMART developers of distributed solar and energy storage systems in the Commonwealth.

The current system design contemplates a 6 MW-dc solar array coupled with a 2.8 MW/ 6 MWh battery energy storage system. We are excited to bring renewable energy and energy storage to yet another town in Massachusetts. By coupling the energy storage system with the solar array, we are now able to utilize the energy production to its fullest, and level-set the intermittent nature of solar energy to ensure more persistent, cost-effective, and cleaner power supply for the local community," said Barrett Bilotta, President of Agilitas Energy.

The project is located on 19.5 acres of land leased from a local landowner. We are happy to work with Agilitas Energy on the project and bring actual benefits to our community from the otherwise unused land. As business owners, we also look forward to the power expense savings from the community solar program, said Larry Lashway, President of Lashway Lumber, Inc. and owner of the property on which the solar facility will be built.

Like the rest of Agilitas Energys SMART projects, the Williamsburg project also qualifies for community solar, allowing local businesses to receive clean energy and cost-saving benefits without having to install solar systems on their own roofs. Community Solar is a vital cost-saving and easily accessible sustainability option for all businesses across the Commonwealth, from small cafes and corner markets to large corporations, non-profits and everyone in between. We are excited to work with Agilitas Energy to bring the benefits of Community Solar to Massachusetts organizations, said Nate Owen, CEO of Ampion, Inc., a Public Benefits Corporation whose mission is to make it easy for everyone to access clean, renewable energy. The subscription for the Williamsburg project community solar program will open soon and could bring energy savings to more than 130 local businesses, depending on how much electricity each business consumes. Agilitas Energys previous two under-construction SMART projects have both passed the 80% benchmark in community solar subscription.

Four of the Agilitas Energys SMART projects totaling 29 MW of solar, and 53 MWh of energy storage are currently under construction. The projects are located in the towns of Auburn, Rochester, Warren, and West Brookfield. Agilitas Energy is dedicated to leveraging energy storage to stabilize power supply, provide extra revenue streams for municipalities and landowners, and reduce energy consumption costs for local businesses.

Agilitas Energy is not only the largest integrated solar and energy storage developer in Massachusetts, but also a market leader in the Northeast. The team is also actively developing integrated solar and energy storage projects in New York, Rhode Island, and Maine, with a current active pipeline of more than 300 MW of solar and energy storage projects.

About Agilitas Energy

Agilitas Energy is the largest integrated distributed solar and energy storage developer and owner / operator in the Northeast U.S. The Company invests in energy projects at various stages, from inception, full entitlement to commercial operation. The Company is an expert in the full cycle of development, construction, and distribution of large-scale distributed energy projects. The Agilitas Energy team has developed and/or built over 450 megawatts of solar PV systems collectively since 2014 and is currently developing and constructing more than 300 megawatts of solar and energy storage projects throughout the Northeast. The Company also owns and operates several standalone energy storage systems in Maine.

More information can be found at: http://www.agilitasenergy.com


"This move helps with two strategic initiatives; the addition of an immigration practice, and the expansion of our Firm into Virginia." Ross Albers

Albers & Associates, a Maryland Law Firm Headquartered in Carroll County, announced today the addition of Mr. Hale Hawbecker, along with a new office in Northern Virginia. Mr. Hawbecker has been leading an Immigration Law group from his Woodbridge, Virginia office.

For several years now, Albers & Associates has been adding to a team of talented attorneys. Mr. Hawbecker has been named a Partner with Albers & Associates, and joins as the Chair of the Immigration Law practice area.

Mr. Hawbecker, and his existing team of lawyers and support personnel will remain in the Woodbridge, Virginia Office. According to Mr. Ross Albers, Managing Partner of Albers & Associates Were excited to have Hale and his team join our Firm. This move helps us with two strategic initiatives; the addition of an immigration practice, and expansion of the Firm into Virginia. He continues, We've wanted to expand regionally for a number of years and it feels great to have people of their caliber join our team.

According to Mr. Hawbecker, I'm super excited to be joining Albers & Associates. This is a great move for our clients, our team, and our community as we'll be able to leverage Albers' existing practice areas. Ross has strong systems, outstanding marketing, and a keen business acumen that we will leverage toward the success of every member of our now combined teams. Were excited about the opportunities we have together.

Mr. Albers adds, Hale is among the most well-regarded lawyers in the area. He continues, Hale's practice areas fit nicely with all of our Firm's current practice areas. Through this move were able to serve more clients throughout the Region.

About Albers & Associates

Albers & Associates has offices located throughout Maryland. We represent clients in Maryland DUI/DWI, personal injury, and criminal matters throughout Maryland. Conveniently located throughout Maryland, we offer free consultations with experienced attorneys. Evening and weekend appointments are available.

At Albers & Associates, we take a personal interest in each client. You need an attorney that will listen to you and understand your unique situation, whether it be a criminal arrest, complex divorce and custody case, drunk driving charges, or an injury caused by an automobile accident. We are fully prepared to advocate for you every step of the way. For more information, visit our website at http://www.rossalbers.com

About Growth Solutions Team

The Growth Solutions Team is a leading provider of Business Consulting Services including, Strategic HR, CFO Advisory, Sales & Customer Service Training, and Small Business Advisory services. Our team assists companies with growth in sales, profitability, and improved cash flows. For more information visit the website at https://growthsolutionsteam.com
We are immensely grateful to bring each one of these experts vision and innovation to our table, said Joe Diamond, CEO of All Campus. Together, they will add value to our current and prospective university partners, our students, and All Campus business.

All Campus, which partners with leading, traditional higher education institutions to grow online enrollment and maximize market share, today announced the appointment of five visionary pioneers in higher education and online learning to join its new advisory council: Stephen Burnett, Sandra Chrystal, Jim Ellis, Jeffrey Goldberg and Andrew Safyer.

With the goal of furthering All Campus mission of driving down the cost of education, the company will leverage each council members expertise to help both current and prospective university partners. The council will advise on curriculum and program design, as well as All Campus own strategic growth and advancement.

Our advisory council is a curated group of renowned experts who are true visionaries in virtual learning. Each recognizes the impact that online programs can have on increasing diversity and accessibility and driving down the cost of higher education, said Joe Diamond, CEO of All Campus. They have dedicated their careers to making a difference through education, and were thrilled that they have selected All Campus as a vehicle to continue effecting change in higher education. Their vision, vast knowledge and experience will add immense value to our current and prospective university partners and thousands of students.

Each member of All Campus advisory council was chosen because they were pioneers in online education, leading the adoption of online programs at their respective institutions much earlier than others in their fields. All advisors are prominent figures in their industries and are advocates for the OPM model within higher education.

Members of All Campuss advisory council named today include:



Stephen Burnett, former tenured professor and director of the law library at George Mason University School of Law: With more than four decades of online legal education and technology expertise, Burnett will lead All Campus expansion into the growing field of law program partnerships and online legal education offerings. From his early role as a tenured professor and director of the law library at George Mason University School of Law to his advisory position at All Campus, Burnett has an impressive track record of building successful online Master of Jurisprudence (MJ), hybrid Juris Doctor (JD),and Master of Laws (LLM) programs from the ground up in partnership with some of the countrys most well-regarded law schools.

Sandra Chrystal, former vice dean for Online Learning Programs and Centers of Research Excellence at the University of Southern California: As one of the pioneers of online business education, Chrystal is recognized for innovative teaching and learning, teaching with technology, and online course design. She currently serves as professor emeritus at the University of Southern Californias Marshall School of Business, and has held several leadership and deanship positions with USC, including vice dean for Online Learning Programs and Centers of Research Excellence and director at the Center for Management Communication. Chrystal has also provided counsel to several academic resource groups, including the Provosts diversity council and community-based learning committees. Before her tenure at USC, Chrystal developed one of the first online hybrid writing classes at the University of Notre Dame, where she also created a digitally annotated text for a sophomore seminar.

Jim Ellis, former dean of the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California: With a background as an award-winning and successful entrepreneur, Ellis is a well-rounded leader in higher education who kept one foot in the business world throughout his academic career. At the University of Southern California, he served as dean of the Marshall School of Business, among other administrative roles. Ellis also served as a tenured professor in the universitys marketing department, where he was named Professor of the Year and rated one of the top five professors at USC by its very own students.

Jeffrey Goldberg, emeritus dean and emeritus professor at the University of Arizonas College of Engineering: A leader in higher education and a respected engineering educator and administrator, Goldberg helped transform the brands of engineering colleges and pioneered online education in the field of engineering. He serves as emeritus dean and emeritus professor of systems and industrial engineering for the University of Arizonas College of Engineering. Goldberg co-led some of the earliest online learning initiatives at the College of Engineering and is also responsible for developing high school-to-college engineering programming that now serves as a national model.

Andrew Safyer, academic dean at the Institute for Clinical Social Work: Safyer oversees psychodynamic graduate studies in his current role as an academic dean at the Institute for Clinical Social Work. He has over 30 years of experience in higher education, including leadership positions at Boston University and Adelphi University. Safyer has dedicated his career to helping universities positively contribute programmatically  both on campus and within their larger communities  and has helped forge unique partnerships between universities and non-profit organizations working on a range of social justice issues.

We are immensely grateful to bring each one of these experts vision and innovation to our table, said Diamond. Together, they will add value to our current and prospective university partners, our students, and All Campus business.

For more information on All Campus advisory council, please visit: https://www.allcampus.com/about-all-campus/advisory-council/. To learn more about All Campus and its services and university partners, please visit: http://www.allcampus.com.

About All Campus

All Campus creates value for leading universities by expanding their reach and cultivating relationships with students who seek to advance their lives through education. It offers comprehensive, tailored online program management (OPM) services, powered by industry-leading technology  all with the universitys unique identity and brand top of mind. It has built its reputation on delivering measurable results, being an honest broker, and providing high levels of service to its two primary constituencies: prospective and enrolled students, and university administrators. All Campus deep research, powerful insights and understanding of current job market and employer needs helps its partners tailor their offerings to optimize student outcomes and return on investment. The companys flexible payment and service options include bundled or unbundled offerings and fee-for-service management or a customized low and sustainable revenue share plan.
Our mission at Alterra is to build a premier power generation sales and service organization with the support of the great people and products from HIPOWER. We are excited to offer the HIPOWER SYSTEMS portfolio to our customers said Mike Biltimier, President of Alterra Power Systems.

Alterra Power Systems is pleased to announce the signed agreement with HIPOWER SYSTEMS (a division of Himoinsa, S.L.; A member of the YANMAR Co. Ltd. Group of Companies) as a new partner in the HIPOWER DEALER NETWORK providing sales and service for their entire diesel and natural gas generator lineup. The Alterra Power Systems territory includes Texas, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana. The newly established Alterra Power Systems organization builds on 45+ years of off-highway experience from the Palmer Johnson Enterprises (PJE) family of companies.

The Palmer Johnson team is excited for the growth opportunity the power generation market provides. The investment in Alterra allows us to leverage our existing infrastructure throughout North America. The partnership between Alterra and HIPOWER SYSTEMS builds on their strong commitment to providing quality power gen-sets and our commitment to great customer service said Craig Parsons, CEO/Owner Palmer Johnson Enterprises.

We are thrilled to announce our new partnership agreement with Alterra Power Systems. We believe Alterra, as part of the Palmer Johnson Enterprises, will be a tremendous addition to our entire US Dealer Network, especially on the Service side. Due to their extensive experience in the field, they will play a main role supporting the brand and product said Rino Sbriglia, VP of Sales & Clients Experience.

Our mission at Alterra is to build a premier power generation sales and service organization with the support of the great people and products from HIPOWER. We are excited to offer the HIPOWER SYSTEMS portfolio to our customers said Mike Biltimier, President of Alterra Power Systems.

About Alterra Power Systems:

Alterra Power Systems specializes in selling and servicing Diesel and Natural Gas Power Generation systems for Commercial and Mission Critical applications. We serve Healthcare, Manufacturing, Datacenters, Financial, Hospitality, Utility, Construction, Water Pumping/Treatment, Infrastructure, Telecommunications, Greenhouse, Agriculture, and other Power Generation markets. Alterra Power Systems is part of the Palmer Johnson family of companies, headquartered in Madison, WI and operating in 14 states throughout the Midwest, Texas and Northwest United States.

About HIPOWER* SYSTEMS:

HIPOWER SYSTEMS, is a vertically integrated power generation manufacturer, with a state-of-the-art 515,000 sq ft North American headquarters and manufacturing center in Olathe, Kansas. As part of the YANMAR Group of companies, HIPOWER specializes in the engineering and manufacturing of diesel and Spark-Ignited standby and mobile generator sets from 10 to 2000 kWe. Since its founding in 2002, HIPOWER SYSTEMS has enjoyed a very healthy growth in the North American marketplace. Our products are sold through a network of dealers strategically located in the U.S. and Canadian markets. These same highly qualied dealer-partners provide the end-user the industry expertise and post-sale support needed to meet any standard or unique application requirements.
The women on this list are at the forefront of significant changes across the financial services industry and in society more broadly. Bonnie McGeer, Executive Editor of American Banker and Chair of the Most Powerful Women in Banking and Finance program.

Today, American Banker announced the 2021 honorees of THE MOST POWERFUL WOMEN IN BANKING. Now in its nineteenth year, the program recognizes individuals and teams for demonstrating exceptional leadership skills, strong performance and a commitment to driving real outcomes for diversity, equity and inclusion in financial services.

This years honorees include many recognizable leaders as well as several new additions including:



Emily Portney, Chief Financial Officer, BNY Mellon

Titi Cole, Head of Global Operations and Fraud Prevention & Chief Client Officer, Global Consumer Banking, Citigroup

Beth Johnson, Chief Experience Officer and Chief Marketing Officer, Citizens Financial

Cassandra McKinney, Executive Director, Retail Bank, Comerica

American Banker recognizes leaders in multiple lists: The Most Powerful Women in Banking, The Most Powerful Women to Watch, The Most Powerful Women in Finance, Top Teams and  in a special recognition this year  Standouts. This new group was included in 2021 to recognize specic areas that have taken on outsized importance in recent years and call attention to some outstanding women in those roles for their leadership: Human Resources, Audit, Community Banking, ESG, Risk, Asset Management, and Technology. The full list, including profiles of all the honorees for 2021, can be found on American Bankers website, as well as in the October issue of American Banker Magazine.

In another year full of disruption and uncertainty, THE MOST POWERFUL WOMEN IN BANKING honorees continue to advocate for the health and wellness of their employees and support their teams during the evolution of work, all while rising to meet the needs of clients and customers. Their dedication, resilience and compassion make them true role models  everything modern leaders should be.

The women on this list are at the forefront of significant changes across the financial services industry and in society more broadly, said Bonnie McGeer, Executive Editor of American Banker and Chair of the Most Powerful Women in Banking and Finance program. "They are leading reinvigorated efforts to increase diversity of all kinds in the senior ranks, concepting the future of work and helping central banks explore the idea of developing digital currencies, to name just a few of the many initiatives they have underway."

The annual gala returns to an in-person event

This year, the highly anticipated event will be held at The Glasshouse in New York City on October 21. This is a chance for the honorees to gather, connect and celebrate their achievements in the face of unprecedented challenges. It is also an important opportunity for the financial services community to convene and recommit to driving toward a more equitable and inclusive industry. In addition to recognizing the honorees, the gala will feature a keynote address from Maria Contreras-Sweet, Founder of ProAmerica Bank, former head of the U.S. Small Business Administration, and former Secretary of Californias Business, Transportation and Housing Agency.

For 19 years, this list has honored trailblazers, change-makers and unparalleled achievers  individuals who have helped transform the industry despite countless obstacles, said Gemma Postlethwaite, CEO of Arizent, publisher of American Banker. This year's honorees are a testament to the perpetual resilience required of leaders today."

An online conference will extend the live event

In light of the overwhelming success of last years virtual event, 2021 will feature an expanded online conference taking place over the course of three days. This conference will take place from November 3-5 and registration is open to anyone in the financial services community.

The online event will gather 2021 honorees and other influential leaders to share insights covering a range of topics, including the economy, social change, business innovation and so much more. The conference provides a unique opportunity to engage with the most innovative, successful minds in financial services and the broader business world  and gain from their combined experience. This years speakers include:



Mary Callahan Erdoes, Chief Executive Officer, JPMorgan Chase Asset & Wealth Management

Cathy Bessant, Chief Operations and Technology Officer, Bank of America

Diane Reyes, Global Head of Liquidity and Cash Management, HSBC

Karen Lynch, CEO of CVS

Kate Quinn, Chief Administrative Officer, U.S. Bancorp

Ida Liu, Global Head of Private Banking, Citi

For more information, and to register for the event, visit: https://www.americanbanker.com/conference/the-most-powerful-women-in-banking

About American Banker

American Banker empowers banking professionals with unique insight and analysis into the ideas transforming their business and industry. Across its journalism, events, research, and benchmarking, it helps drive the way forward through the complexity of business innovation, retail and commercial disruption, technology, regulation, and reform. With a banking community 850M strong, American Bankers transformative content connects leaders online, in person, and in print every day.

About Arizent

Arizent is a business information company that advances professional communities by providing insights and analysis and convening industry leaders. The company uses deep industry expertise and a data-driven platform to deliver its services, which include subscriptions, marketing services, live events and access to Leaders, an executive forum. Arizent also connects business communities through leading financial services brands like American Banker, The Bond Buyer, Financial Planning and National Mortgage News, as well as professional services brands like Accounting Today, Employee Benefit News and Digital Insurance.
Amprion R&D Assoc Director, Luis Concha, runs experiments "Our technology detects the prion biomarkers in CSF samples years before patients show symptoms. Early diagnosis is crucial because it enables physicians to steer their patients to proper treatments. - Claudio Soto, Ph.D. -Amprion Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer

Amprion has announced the commercial rollout of its innovative SYNTap Biomarker Test, a first-in-class laboratory-developed test (LDT) for accurate and reliable detection of -synuclein aggregates, a hallmark in various brain diseases.

The SYNTap Test aids in diagnosing synucleinopathies such as Parkinson's, Lewy Body Dementia, and Multiple System Atrophy (MSA). In addition, the novel test helps distinguish underlying synucleinopathies in other neurodegenerative conditions, such as Alzheimer's. Based on Amprion's proprietary technology, Seed Aggregation Assay (SAA), the SYNTap Test identifies prion-like -synuclein aggregates using a few drops of CSF (about one hundred microliters), confirming the presence of progressive brain disease. Test results are intended to accompany other clinical and diagnostic findings for patient case management.

"Before the SYNTap Test, there has been no specific, objective laboratory test for the diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases such as PD, LBD, and MSA. Traditionally, patients are diagnosed based on clinical symptoms, which means their disease is relatively advanced," said Amprion Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer Claudio Soto, Ph.D. "Our technology detects the prion biomarkers in CSF samples years before patients show symptoms. Such early diagnosis is crucial because it enables physicians to steer their patients to proper treatments. In addition, patients can make lifestyle changes early when their brain is healthier and more responsive to intervention. Until now, early diagnosis was not an option.

"Brain diseases affect individuals differently. For instance, ten patients can have ten different biomarker profiles," said Dr. Russell Lebovitz, MD, Amprion CEO and co-founder. "Symptoms often overlap, leading to misdiagnosis 40 to 50% of the time. In addition, diagnosis significantly impacts drug treatment as wrongly prescribed medication can harm patients instead of helping them. The SYNTap Test provides physicians a molecular tool to greatly improve diagnostic accuracy. This is vital because personalized medicine is the key in treating neurodegenerative disorders.

Recently awarded a US FDA Breakthrough Device Designation, Amprion's prion detection research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health under award numbers 1R42AG058333 and 1U44NS111672, Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF), The University of Texas McGovern Medical School, and The Michael J. Fox Foundation.

Performed exclusively at Amprion's CLIA-registered laboratory in San Diego, California, the SYNTap Test is available throughout the US except for Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. Market rollout in these states is expected within the next six months.

Currently, 5.8 million people are diagnosed with Alzheimer's in the US annually, 1.4 million with LBD, and 1.5 million with Parkinson's, adding to the millions already suffering from these diseases without a cure. And these numbers are expected to triple by 2050.

"Our ultimate goal is to find a cure for brain diseases. Now that we can accurately detect the biomarker early, we'll make great strides to accelerate research and innovation. Amprion is on a mission to advance personalized medicine through biomarker testing," said Dr. Lebovitz.

To order the SYNTap Biomarker Test, doctors can register online. For more information, please visit Amprions Physicians Center.

ABOUT AMPRION

A leader in prion detection research, Amprion innovates biomarker testing, enabling doctors to accurately diagnose Parkinson's, Lewy Body Dementia, and other synucleinopathy. The test identifies misfolded protein aggregates driving various neurodegenerative conditions at all stages. The company anticipates rolling out other biomarker tests, including abeta and tau.


ArangoDBs goal from day one is to make it extremely easy to handle data of any kind. Our Series B funding will allow us to accelerate our mission to make it even easier to generate real value from data, as well as enter new markets.

ArangoDB, the most scalable open source graph database, today announced a $27.8 million Series B financing round led by Iris Capital, with participation from existing investors Bow Capital and Target Partners, alongside New Forge. Curt Gunsenheimer, Managing Partner at Iris Capital, and New Forges Mirko Novakovic, co-founder and former CEO of Instana, join ArangoDBs board of directors. This Series B investment brings ArangoDBs total financing to $47 million since its foundation.

ArangoDB continues to gain traction for its graph and beyond database: the ability to natively store data for graph, document, and search needs. The new funding will allow the company to accelerate its continued development of advanced analytics  in particular scalable graph analytics  and machine learning capabilities. New roles are open across engineering, marketing, product management, sales, and recruiting, most of which are fully-remote. ArangoDB also recently strengthened its management team, appointing Frank Swain as Chief Revenue Officer and promoting Jorg Schad to Chief Technology Officer.

The key challenge of the 21st century is to get real value out of data. Enterprises worldwide are looking for easy ways to improve business insights, use new analytics methods, and advance their AI usages, said Claudius Weinberger, CEO and co-founder of ArangoDB. ArangoDBs goal from day one is to make it extremely easy to handle data of any kind. Graph and beyond enable everyone to combine graphs, structured, unstructured, and more kinds of data in one solution, at enterprise-scale with advanced graph analytics. Our Series B funding will allow us to accelerate our mission to make it even easier to generate real value from data, as well as enter new markets.

Since its founding, ArangoDB has natively supported graph in combination with additional data formats, including JSON documents, key-value, and full-text search. Over time, graph technologies have continued to become increasingly important and adopted by businesses of all sizes to extract value from data, despite most pure graph databases not being able to scale to support large volumes of data from various sources. ArangoDB is natively designed to scale to enterprises needs, relying on its unique approach of sharded data across large clusters. It has been adopted by industry leaders with novel use cases such as Altair, Barclays, Cisco, Juniper Networks, Refinitiv, RE/MAX, and VMware.

Leveraging data in all its diversity and at  often massive  scale has become an imperative for all enterprises. ArangoDB delivers the power of graph together with high scalability and performance, true enterprise capabilities, multimodel support and the credibility and velocity of open source. The team has proved its incredible savviness and expertise and we are proud to join them to boost the companys global expansion and product leadership, said Curt Gunsenheimer, Managing Partner at Iris Capital.

Over the past few decades, Ive seen firsthand how complex applications are in the enterprise. ArangoDBs ability to provide graph analytics at scale across various data formats is a game-changer as businesses grapple with how to extract value out of their data as easily as possible, said Mirko Novakovic, angel investor at New Forge. Im thrilled to join ArangoDBs board of directors to provide guidance and advice as they continue to build the next-generation of graph ML analytics.

Upcoming Conference: ArangoDB Dev Days 2021

In order to better support its community and customers, ArangoDB is hosting its first-ever virtual developer conference, ArangoDB Dev Days. From October 18th through the 22nd, ArangoDB Dev Days occurs over a five-day period with more than 23 hours of content, including live demos, hands-on workshops, as well as an Ask Me Anything session with the ArangoDB development team. To register, visit http://www.arangodb.com/dev-days-2021.

Learn more



About ArangoDB

ArangoDB is the most scalable open source graph database, with more than 11,000 stargazers on GitHub. Building on the concept of graph and beyond, ArangoDB combines the analytical power of graphs with JSON documents, a key-value store, and a full-text search engine, enabling developers to access and combine all of these data models with a single, elegant, declarative query language. It serves as the scalable backbone for graph analytics and complex data architectures across many different industries.

Founded in 2015, ArangoDB Inc. is a privately-held company backed by Bow Capital, Iris Capital, New Forge, and Target Partners. It is headquartered in San Francisco and Cologne, Germany with offices and employees around the world. Learn more at http://www.arangodb.com.
bitsIO expands it's Splunk Services to EMEA

bitsIO, an international leader in Splunk consulting solutions, is pleased to announce Aleem Cummins as VP EMEA to lead regional expansion initiatives. Aleems deep roots in the Splunk community, as well as his reputation for thought leadership and a passion for creating positive outcomes through Splunk clients and partners, make him a valuable addition to the bitsIO team. As a member of SplunkTrust and an active participant in the global Splunk ecosystem since 2013, Aleem brings a wealth of experience and will be driving opportunities-for-all initiatives with bitsIOs EMEA internship and outreach programs.

bitsIOs excellent services earned us Splunk Partner of the Year for Professional Services in 2020. Aleems addition to the team will help us grow in EMEA and around the globe by providing a consistent level of excellence in helping clients on their Splunk journey commented Suman Gajavelly, bitsIO CTO & Co-Founder.

As VP EMEA, Aleem will focus on expanding bitsIOs Splunk professional services suite and managed services suite in the region, as well as helping clients with implementations, building custom solutions, growing the organizations EMEA footprint, promoting Splunk in the region, and supporting bitsIOs dedication to delivering excellent service and outcomes.

Were excited about adding Aleems deep Splunk expertise to the bitsIO team, said Kalpana Krishnamurthi, bitsIO CEO & Co-Founder. We know our clients will benefit from his technical, business and regional knowledge.

In addition to helping clients extract maximum value from the powerful Splunk platform, bitsIO clients will benefit from his enthusiasm for energizing continuous improvement and optimizing well-formed outcomes, as well as his commitment to supporting the global Splunk community. Previously, Aleem had a key role on the team awarded Splunk worldwide channel partner of the year and Splunk EMEA channel partner of the year for 2016. He advises business organizations, government agencies, startups, and global leaders on the value and utility of the Splunk platform.

About bitsIO

Awarded the 2020 Partner of the Year for Professional Services, bitsIOs expert consultants help clients with enterprise security, application performance, IT Operations, Services and Observability and DevOps. with offices in the US, UK, India, and Costa Rica, bitsIO helps large and small businesses around the world harness their powerful Splunk platform and maximize their ROI.

As dedicated Splunk experts with 20 years of IT experience, bitsIO integrates, deploys best practices, develops targeted customizations, and scales the platform to meet each clients specific needs. bitsIO delivers comprehensive Splunk Managed Services by working as an extension of the clients team to extract analytics, maximize machine data utility, service day-to-day issues, provide training, and manage upgrades allowing clients to focus on their core business while bitsIO manages their Splunk environment.
We are always evaluating our business through the lens of, What is in the best interests of our clients.

CIG Capital Advisors (CIG), a leading independent wealth management and business advisory services firm, is pleased to announce the launch of its geographic expansion to the East Coast of the U.S., initially focused on the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut tri-state region. Brian Lasher, Chief Investment Strategist at CIG, who is leading the East Coast expansion, will be based in Wilton, CT.

This expansion, something we have been blueprinting over the past year, is designed to enable us to better meet the growing and evolving needs of our clients in the region through direct interactions, said Osman Minkara, CIGs Founder and Managing Principal. While our focus is initially on the New York tri-state area, we are envisioning expanding our physical presence into other regions based on client needs.

Since 1997, CIG has remained dedicated to providing successful medical professionals and entrepreneurs and senior executives from other fields, with wealth management and business advisory solutions specifically designed to support their increasingly complex financial lives. CIGs non-exclusive focus on medical professionals has been especially beneficial to the unique needs of individuals, physician groups and healthcare systems.

Brian Lasher, Chief Investment Strategist at CIG, said of the expansion initiative, We are always evaluating our business through the lens of, What is in the best interests of our clients, and this expansion, its scope and timing has been engineered to ensure we continue to deliver an exceptional client experience. I am excited by this opportunity for us to present our expertise, capabilities and service offerings and to be able to orchestrate the strength of our multi-disciplined Southfield-based team in-person to the tri-state area on an on-demand basis. We seek to continually innovate, and while innovation traditionally looks to what is being done, we expanded our field of view to how it is being done. Specifically, how we could enhance the delivery of our wealth management and business advisory services for greatest impact to the client.

About CIG Capital Advisors

Founded in 1997, CIG Capital Advisors (CIG) is a wealth management and business advisory services firm serving high-net-worth clientsenabling these individuals and families to focus on what is most important to them. CIG tailors its delivery of service based on the situation, goals and aspirations of each client it works with. CIG is headquartered in Southfield, MI. To learn more, please visit http://www.cigcapitaladvisors.com.
Determining what the veteran can wrap their mindset around, figuring out their why, and how they can mold that into their next career, or entrepreneurship is something I learned and feel would be extremely helpful.

Curtis Kindred, CEO of ONIT Home, will speak at GallantFews 2021 VetXpo on October 9 in Roanoke, Texas at Cinnamon Creek Ranch. Kindred will meet with the military community at 1:00 p.m. to discuss how to start a successful business. GallantFew is a nonprofit providing individualized transition services to veterans.

Transitioning out of the military can be difficult when working for an organization that does not have an understanding of what a veteran is coming out of, or has been through in their career, Kindred said. Determining what the veteran can wrap their mindset around, figuring out their why, and how they can mold that into their next career, or entrepreneurship is something I learned and feel would be extremely helpful.

The VetXpo takes place on October 7-9 in DFW to foster a community where veterans can learn from and establish a bond with professionals, businesses, and other individuals. ONIT Home is partnering with GallantFew in September and October through their year-long donation campaign to raise money for the organization.

ONIT Home is raising donations for GallantFew through comments and shares on posts within their social media channels: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Since starting this campaign, ONIT Home has raised almost $3,000 for various organizations in DFW. Join the movement and learn more about this initiative on the companys blog or by sharing ONIT Homes social media posts.

Throughout the year, ONIT Home will feature different small businesses and donate to an organization. Some highlights from the campaign include:



Raising $600 for the Dallas Warriors in May for National Military Appreciation Month and partnering with Carry The Load for their National Relay in Fort Worth, Texas on May 29.

Collecting 2755 school supply items for the Cancer Support Community North Texass Back to School Drive. Raising $404 in monetary donations for the organization throughout Junes Cancer Survivor Month.

Meeting $1,000 donation goal for DFW non-profit organization, Patriot PAWS, in July.

If you are interested in joining ONIT Homes donation campaign, visit their social media or blog for more information.

Since 2021, ONIT Home has been helping families and businesses create a space they can enjoy. Started by Curtis Kindred and based out of Texas, ONIT Home installs security systems, water filtration systems, and solar panels for home. Other areas of focus include home and auto insurance, roofing services, and concierge for TV, internet, and utilities. Our certified technicians install our products nationwide. Whatever you need, were ONIT!
Cybereason, the leader in operation-centric attack protection, today published a new threat intelligence report that unmasks a highly-targeted cyber espionage operation targeting global aerospace and telecommunications companies. The report identifies a newly discovered Iranian threat actor behind the attacks dubbed MalKamak that has been operating since at least 2018 and remained unknown until today. In addition, the still-active campaign leverages a very sophisticated and previously undiscovered Remote Access Trojan (RAT) dubbed ShellClient that evades antivirus tools and other security apparatus and abuses the public cloud service Dropbox for command and control (C2).

The report, titled Operation GhostShell: Novel RAT Targets Global Aerospace and Telecoms Firms, details the stealthy attacks against companies in the Middle East, United States, Europe and Russia. The investigation reveals possible connections to several Iranian state-sponsored threat actors including Chafer APT (APT39) and Agrius APT. This report follows the August publication of the DeadRinger Report by Cybereason that similarly uncovered multiple Chinese APT campaigns targeting telecommunications providers.

Key Findings in the Operation GhostShell Report Include:



New Iranian Threat Actor MalKamak: A newly discovered Iranian threat actor that has been operating since at least 2018 and remained unknown thus far. The investigation draws possible connections to other Iranian state-sponsored threat actors including Chafer APT (APT39) and Agrius APT.

Discovery of New ShellClient RAT: The Cybereason Nocturnus team discovered a sophisticated and previously undocumented RAT (Remote Access Trojan) dubbed ShellClient used for highly targeted cyber espionage operations.

Targeting Aerospace and Telecom Companies: Based on the telemetry, this threat has been predominantly observed in the Middle East region but has also been observed targeting organizations in the U.S., Russia and Europe, with a focus on the Aerospace and Telecommunications industries.

Ongoing Development Since 2018: The investigation revealed this threat was first operationalized in 2018 and since then has been under active development with each new version adding more features and stealth. This threat is still active as of September 2021.

Abusing Cloud Services for C2: The most recent ShellClient versions were observed to be abusing cloud-based storage services for Command and Control (C2), in this case the popular Dropbox service, in order to remain undetected by blending in with legitimate network traffic.

Designed for Stealth: The authors of ShellClient invested a lot of effort into making it stealthy to evade detection by antivirus and other security tools by leveraging multiple obfuscation techniques and recently implementing a Dropbox client for command and control (C2), making it very hard to detect.

Using the ShellClient RAT, the threat actor also deployed additional attack tools to perform various espionage activities on the targeted networks including additional reconnaissance, lateral movement in the environment, and the collection and exfiltration of sensitive data. Operation GhostShell is assessed to be run by a state-sponsored threat actor, or Advanced Persistent Threat (APT).

The Operation GhostShell report revealed a complex RAT capable of evading detection since as early as 2018, and the recent DeadRinger report also uncovered a similarly evasive threat from as early as 2017, which tells us a lot about how advanced attackers are continuously defeating security solutions, said Cybereason CEO and co-founder Lior Div. Layering on more tools to produce even more alerts that overwhelm defenders is not helping us stop sophisticated attacks, which is why Cybereason takes an operation-centric approach that detects based on very subtle chains of behavior where the adversarys own actions work against them to reveal the attack at the earliest stages.

The full report can be downloaded here: https://www.cybereason.com/ghostshell

About Cybereason

Cybereason is the champion for todays cyber defenders, providing operation-centric attack protection that unifies security from the endpoint, to the enterprise, to everywhere the battle moves. The Cybereason Defense Platform combines the industrys top-rated AI-powered detection and response (EDR and XDR), next-gen antivirus (NGAV), Anti-Ransomware Protection and Proactive Threat Hunting to deliver context-rich analysis of every stage of a MalOp (malicious operation). Cybereason is a privately held, international company headquartered in Boston with customers in more than 50 countries.

Learn more: https://www.cybereason.com/

Follow us: Blog | Twitter | Facebook

Media Contacts:

Bill Keeler

Senior Director, Global Public Relations

Cybereason

bill.keeler@cybereason.com

(929) 259-3261
With Cynerio Now!, small hospitals can effectively address burgeoning security concerns so that they can continue to focus on their primary mission  caring for patients.

Cynerio, the leading provider of healthcare IoT cybersecurity, today announced the launch of Cynerio Now!, the first healthcare industry specific solution to help small hospitals reduce risks to medical IoT devices.

Cyber attacks on the healthcare industry have increased dramatically over the last 18 months  more than doubling in 2020 alone  with small hospitals among the most at-risk due to limited technical, human and financial resources to combat cyber threats. Built with the affordability and ease-of-use needed to help small hospitals, Cynerio Now! will empower these organizations to reduce the spread of malware, ransomware and other device security threats to an organizations connected medical devices.

Small hospitals face unique challenges, often with limited IT budgets and staff, but they are still expected to provide the same level of patient care, security and compliance as larger hospitals and health systems, said Leon Lerman, CEO and co-founder, Cynerio. With Cynerio Now!, small hospitals can effectively address burgeoning security concerns so that they can continue to focus on their primary mission  caring for patients.

Cynerio Now! ensures short- and long-term risk reduction from ransomware, breaches, and threats to patient safety from IoT and OT medical device risks. Eliminating critical risks in under 30 days and adding IoT incident response capabilities to small hospitals from day one, the solution enables hospital IT teams with security visibility into IoT environments, automating threat detection, mitigation and remediation to simplify IoT security management. Additionally, with Cynerios virtual segmentation validation engine, small hospitals can contain and micro-segment device threats while devices are connected to patients, allowing patient care to continue securely even in the event of a security threat.

Cynerio Now! will be offered in two subscription options, including:



Basic subscription: Includes product training and 10 days of professional services

TAM support: Extend your team and guarantee long-term risk reduction with on-call services

Cynerio is a provider of healthcare IoT security solutions, empowering hospitals and healthcare systems to detect and combat medical device threats. Cynerios platform secures every connected asset, including IoMT, IoT and OT devices, ensuring the security of both new and outdated medical devices. With this new solution, the company is pushing forward its mission to empower healthcare facilities with the control, foresight and adaptability to maintain security and compliance, making its platform more accessible to small and rural hospitals.

For more information on Cynerio Now!, visit cynerio.com or download a datasheet with more information here. If your hospital is in need of an affordable solution to ensure IoT device security now, contact info@cynerio.com.

About Cynerio

Cynerio is the one-stop-shop Healthcare IoT security platform. With solutions that cater to healthcares every IT need  from Enterprise IoT to OT and IoMT  we promote cross-organizational alignment and give hospitals the control, foresight, and adaptability they require to stay cyber-secure in a constantly evolving threatscape. We give healthcare organizations the power to stay compliant and proactively manage every connection on their own terms with powerful asset management, threat detection, and mitigation tools so that they can focus on healthcares top priority: delivering quality patient care. For more information visit http://www.cynerio.com, or follow Cynerio on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
When we began discussing the need for a new Power Center in the Western U.S., Las Vegas immediately came to mind because of the large number of rental companies here who support the citys important trade show and convention industry.

DEUTZ Corporation has chosen a location for its newest DEUTZ Power Center. The new facility, DEUTZ Power Center West, will be located at 6150 East Tropical Parkway, Suite 135 in North Las Vegas, Nevada. The new location will be open for business on November 1, 2021.

When we began discussing the need for a new Power Center in the Western U.S., Las Vegas immediately came to mind because of the large number of rental companies here who support the citys important trade show and convention industry, said Dominick A. Nick Vermet, vice president, Power Center Operations for DEUTZ Corporation. Were excited to have found an excellent facility in North Las Vegas that will help us not only serve that industry, but also our customers in nearby California who will now have far better access to DEUTZ service and parts.

Jacob Tillack of Las Vegas has been hired as the new locations service manager. Tillack comes to DEUTZ with extensive experience that includes positions as a field service technician and as a technical service manager for companies in the Las Vegas metropolitan area.

We formed a solid base for DEUTZ Power Center West by bringing Mark Guriel out from our facility in Norcross, Georgia to become the branch manager here, Vermet said. Now, weve brought another extremely competent and talented individual on board by hiring Jacob. His experience working with and managing technicians in the trucking industry has given him just the right perspective on the value of quick, quality service. Jacob understands that downtime means lost revenue, and we know he will bring that sense of urgency to his work with DEUTZ Power Center West.

DEUTZ Power Center West has a fully stocked parts counter and provides regularly scheduled and emergency service of DEUTZ engines, either at the Power Center location or at the customers site via a team of mobile service technicians. Some mobile technicians will be permanently located in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Bakersfield, California, making it possible to quickly assist customers in those areas.

Like all DEUTZ Power Centers, the new North Las Vegas location also provides OEMS with dedicated application engineering and technical sales resources. These manufacturers can receive custom, value-added production and assembly services that result in the best possible DEUTZ solutions for their engine specification and configuration needs. DEUTZ Power Center customers can also purchase new DEUTZ engines, as well as DEUTZ Xchange remanufactured engines.

To learn more about DEUTZ Power Centers, please visit http://www.deutzsupport.com. For more information about DEUTZ Corporation and its complete line of diesel and natural gas engines, please visit http://www.deutzamericas.com.

ABOUT DEUTZ CORPORATION:

For more than 150 years, DEUTZ engines have supplied customized, cost-effective power to a broad array of machine types and market segments. The nine millionth DEUTZ engine was produced in 2015. From its headquarters in Norcross, GA, DEUTZ Corporation, a subsidiary of DEUTZ AG, supports a broad range of engines with capacities up to 620 kW that are used in construction equipment, agricultural machinery, material handling equipment, stationary equipment, commercial vehicles, rail vehicles and other applications.

The company is committed to providing optimized power solutions from the drawing board to prototype to production release. The organization serves as a sales, service, parts, and application engineering center for the Americas, employing nearly 300 people. DEUTZ Corporation also operates a value-added production facility for some of its key OEM partners, as well as an engine remanufacturing facility in Pendergrass, Georgia. Strategically located DEUTZ Power Centers and Service Centers are designed to uniquely support both OEM partners and end users. For more information, visit http://www.deutzamericas.com.
Dr. Kevin Dalby - principal investigator at the College of Pharmacy at the University of Texas at Austin The program led by Dr. Kevin Dalby was awarded a grant in the amount of nearly $4 million.It is among the 73 cancer prevention and research grants CPRIT recently awarded.

Dr. Kevin Dalby, the principal investigator at the College of Pharmacy at the University of Texas at Austin, is one of six faculty members set to receive a recent grant to support ongoing, innovative cancer research.

Recently, the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute awarded the six grants to UT faculty members as part of 73 grants they gave statewide that total more than $142 million.

At the College of Pharmacy, Dr. Kevin Dalby is leading the investigation that will use the CPRIT award toward the Targeted Therapeutic Drug Discovery and Development Program.

The goal of this particular program is to use new and integrated approaches to targeted molecular drug discovery. By doing this, it will increase the number of new compounds in the state of Texas that process needed qualities to eventually inhibit growth targets in tumors.

Many researchers in the field of cancer have identified critically important targets related to cancer. However, a critical challenge remains in advancing the new molecules from a "discovery" phase to a phase of pre-clinical testing. And a major reason for this is the lack of access the researchers have to multi-disciplinary experiences and specialized resources they would need for the earliest phases of drug development.

The program led by Dr. Kevin Dalby was awarded a grant in the amount of nearly $4 million.

It is among the 73 cancer prevention and research grants CPRIT recently awarded. As the organization's CEO Wayne Roberts explained:

"Today illustrates the powerful return on Texas' investment in cancer research and prevention. Not only is the state enhancing its reputation as the center for innovative cancer research with more than 250 preeminent scientists recruited to Texas through our CPRIT Scholar program, but the eight new clinical trial grants will expand Texans' access to promising cancer treatments."

In total, CPRIT has awarded $2.9 billion in grants to organizations and research institutions throughout Texas. These grants help fund product development research, prevention, and academic research programs.

Funding from CPRIT has also helped to advance clinical and scientific knowledge, providing 7.4 million early detection and cancer prevention services that have reached residents all over the state of Texas.

In addition to leading the College of Pharmacy's Targeted Therapeutic Drug Discovery and Development Program, Dr. Kevin Dalby also is the co-director of the Texas Screening Alliance for Cancer Therapeutics.

He's also the lead on a $2.3 million grant from CPRIT that gives scientists in Texas access to resources for research on drug discovery.

About Kevin Dalby

Dr. Kevin Dalby is a professor of chemical biology and medicinal chemistry, currently working on cancer drug discovery. At the College of Pharmacy at The University of Texas, he is examining the mechanisms of nature and cancer to develop new treatments, and teaching and motivating students to conduct research. Dalby is optimistic about the future of cancer treatments.
We are honored to be recognized for our work with New York State. Our team has always been committed to supporting agencies that advocate for immigrant rights and promote diversity, and we are excited to expand our work in this area.

Eriksen Translations Inc., a leading Language Services Provider, received the WBEC Access New York State Award at the Women's Business Enterprise Council (WBEC) Metro New York Virtual Annual Breakthrough Breakfast. The award honors the Women Business Enterprise (WBE) that reported the most Done Deals with the State of New York during the challenge period.

For more than 20 years, Eriksen has supplied translation and typesetting to help New York State agencies make public services and programs accessible to people with Limited English Proficiency. This years Done Deals award recognizes Eriksens work with the New York State Department of Health. Eriksen supports the agency by translating public health-related information into the languages spoken by New York residents.

Eriksen is proud to announce that it recently expanded its work with New York State. The company was awarded a five-year contract to provide language services to the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA). OTDA helps vulnerable New Yorkers meet their essential needs and advance economically by providing opportunities for stable employment, housing, and nutrition.

"We are honored to be recognized for our work with New York State, said Vigdis Eriksen, Founder and CEO of Eriksen Translations. Our team has always been committed to supporting agencies that advocate for immigrant rights and promote diversity, and we are excited to expand our work in this area.

While this award recognizes Eriksen for its work with the State, the company also serves as a language partner to many New York City agencies, including the Mayors Office of Immigrant Affairs, the Comptrollers Office, the Commission on Human Rights, and the Department of Sanitation. The company also supports clients in financial services, marketing and advertising, education, healthcare, and law, as well as nonprofits and leading museums and cultural institutions.

The Done Deal Challenge was developed to celebrate and publicize business conducted between WBEs and WBEC Metro NY corporate sponsors, as well as the public sector. This is the ninth time that Eriksen has received a Done Deals award, attesting to the companys leadership as a woman-owned business. Eriksen was also named as a finalist for three additional awards, the Access New York City Award, the WBE Champion Award, and the WBE Connections Award.

ABOUT ERIKSEN TRANSLATIONS INC.

Eriksen Translations delivers best-in-class multilingual services in 100+ languages. Founded in downtown Brooklyn in 1986, Eriksen supports clients worldwide with a full range of services, including translation, typesetting, web and multimedia localization, transcreation, transcription, voiceover and subtitling, and live Zoom interpreting. Eriksen is certified as a woman-owned business enterprise (WBE) by the Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) and the City and State of New York. For more information, visit eriksen.com / @eriksentrans.

ABOUT WBEC METRO NEW YORK

WBEC Metro NY is a dynamic community of certified women-owned businesses, building on their success through mutually beneficial partnerships with Fortune 1000 corporations and other WBEs. The organization provides WBENC certificationthe gold standard in diversity certificationat the regional level, and serves as an advocate for certified women-owned businesses in the New York and Washington, D.C. regions, offering them educational programs, networking opportunities, and recognition. For more information, please visit http://www.wbenc.org/rpo/wbec-metro-ny
Exabeam, the leader in next-gen SIEM and XDR, today announced the winners of its third annual Cybersecurity Scholarship Program. With an emphasis on diversity, inclusion, and closing the security skills gap, Exabeams third annual scholarship is designed to support the next generation of professionals pursuing an education and career in the security field. This years winners are Bryan Alvarez, who studies computer science at University of Houston, and Andrew Loaiza, who studies engineering at The University of Kansas.

According to The Life and Times of the Cybersecurity Professional 2021, a research report by the Information Systems Security Association (ISSA) and Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG), the cybersecurity skills crisis has continued its downward, multi-year trend. Additionally, the cybersecurity industry lacks diversity. According to a report by (ISC)2, minority cybersecurity professionals hold fewer leadership roles than their counterparts.

Recognizing its responsibility to help with these issues, Exabeam founded the Exabeam Cares program, which invests in various give-back programs focused on diversity, inclusion, and education. The Exabeam Cybersecurity Scholarship Program is part of this broader effort, and this year, for the first time, Exabeam has also awarded the first-place winner a paid internship in the department of their choice along with a $10,000 scholarship. The second-place winner will be awarded $5,000.

Applicants were asked to submit academic transcripts along with a five-minute video covering various values-based questions that touched on their background, the importance of increasing diversity in cybersecurity, their experiences in cybersecurity to date, and any contributions theyve already made to the field. Exabeam is thrilled to share that Alvarez, the first-place winner, has accepted an internship in the Exabeam Engineering department. In addition, Loaiza has accepted and will be applying his $5,000 award to continued studies in cybersecurity. Both winners have demonstrated that they are up to the challenge of embarking on a distinguished career in the cybersecurity industry.

Exabeam walks the talk when it comes to supporting our community and aspiring security professionals. Awarding scholarship funds and real-life, paid work experience provides a unique opportunity to break into the cybersecurity industry with a world-class company, said Adam Geller, chief product officer at Exabeam. I have no doubt that Bryan and Andrew, who have both shown great passion and integrity, will make the most of this opportunity and be excellent examples of our values for future cybersecurity scholars to follow. It fills us with pride to play such a huge role in our winners developing careers.

To learn more about the Exabeam Cybersecurity Scholarship program, visit https://www.exabeam.com/about/scholarship/.

About Exabeam

Exabeam is a global cybersecurity leader that adds intelligence to every IT and security stack. The leader in next-gen SIEM and XDR, Exabeam is reinventing the way security teams use analytics and automation to solve threat detection, investigation, and response (TDIR), from common security threats to the most critical that are difficult to identify. Exabeam offers a comprehensive cloud-delivered solution that leverages machine learning and automation using a prescriptive, outcomes-based approach to TDIR. We design and build products to help security teams detect external threats, compromised users and malicious adversaries, minimize false positives and best protect their organizations. For more information, visit http://www.exabeam.com

Exabeam, the Exabeam logo, Exabeam Fusion, Threat Hunter, Smart Timelines, Security Operations Platform, and XDR Alliance are service marks, trademarks or registered marks of Exabeam, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective owners.  2021 Exabeam, Inc. All rights reserved.
said she was inspired by 'my love for storytelling, my love for my home, Texas, and my love for my beautiful grandson, Ashton James.'

Author Sunnie Zenger inspires childrens imaginations with The Shooting Star Cowboy($14.99, paperback, 9781662829055; $5.99, e-book, 9781662829062).

Ashton James is the Shooting Star Cowboy, who lassoes shooting stars and leads them to the Pecos River so they can transform into amazing creatures.

Zenger said she was inspired by my love for storytelling, my love for my home, Texas, and my love for my beautiful grandson, Ashton James.

Sunnie Zenger is a native Texan currently living in Colorado, the mom of three amazing men, and the proud Lolly of five beautiful little super humans. She grew up in inner city Houston on authentic Texmex and Antones Poboys. You will find her playing in the mountains with her grandchildren, and writing books that bring Gods creation to life for children everywhere. Zenger is also the author of The Little Mountain Mermaid.

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Xulon Press, a division of Salem Media Group, is the worlds largest Christian self-publisher, with more than 15,000 titles published to date. The Shooting Star Cowboy is available online through xulonpress.com/bookstore, amazon.com, and barnesandnoble.com.
Author and former BBC journalist Chris Woolf in Afghanistan Available just before the twentieth anniversary of the United States invasion of Afghanistan, the book is at once a story of trauma, military and political history, and journalistic achievement.

Former BBC international journalist, History Guy and The World Editor Chris Woolf, now a Greater Boston resident, announces the publication of his new memoir, Bumbling Through the Hindu Kush: A Memoir of Fear and Kindness in Afghanistan.

Available just before the twentieth anniversary of the United States invasion of Afghanistan, the book is at once a story of trauma, military and political history, and journalistic achievement.

It begins 30 years ago when Mr. Woolf, a 27-year-old cub reporter at the stations London headquarters, decided to visit a colleague who was based in Afghanistan. Shortly after he arrived in Kabul, he and his fellow reporter wandered into a war zone replete with land mines, and a cold fear unlike anything hed ever known kicked in.

That experience was just the beginning of ten surreal days as they traveled through the country, guided by Abdullah Abdullah, who later became Afghanistans chief executive. While desperately trying to get Mr. Woolf back to the airport, they also became the first reporters to cross battle lines and interview legendary Mujahidin leader, Ahmed Shah Massoud.

Dr. Jonathan Schroden, former senior adviser to the US militarys Central Command, and to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, has noted, Chris Woolf has written a truly personal tale that is both gripping and historically significant. His mix of personal, cultural, and wartime reflections make this  well worth the time of Afghanistan aficionados and casual readers alike.

Self-published through IngramSpark, Bumbling Through the Hindu Kush is available in paperback and eBook formats, with the audiobook coming shortly. The memoir is also available for booksellers and libraries to purchase in bulk. ISBN numbers include:



Paperbook: 978-1-7375303-5-0

Ebook: 978-1-7375303-0-5

Audiobook: 978-1-7375303-1-2

For more information, please see https://chriswoolfbooks.com/ or go to Amazon.com.
Receiving recognition from SIA, the USPS Next Generation Campaign Award, and the ADDYs earlier this year speaks to the incredible effort and talent of the Gunderson Direct team that created an engaging mail package that motivated individuals to support the Alameda Food Bank.

Gunderson Directs GunderSmile Happier Holidays Mask mailer has been recognized by both the Summit International Awards and the USPS Next Generation Campaign Awards in September 2021.

Summit International Award

Among thousands of submissions from 20 countries, the GunderSmile Happier Holidays Mask mailer received silver in the Industry Self-Promotion Collateral category and bronze in the Direct Mail  B2B category of the 2021 Summit Creative Awards.

The Summit Creative Awards recognize the best in websites, design, video, advertising, mobile, and social from firms under $30 million in billings.

USPS Next Generation Campaign Awards

The GunderSmile Happier Holidays Mask mailer was also named the winner of the 2021 Innovative B2B Campaign Award by the USPS during the National Postal Forum 2.0 virtual conference.

In March, the GunderSmile Happier Holidays Mask mailer also received two bronze ADDYS at the 2021 Greater San Francisco American Advertising Awards Gala.

Mike Gunderson, Founder and CEO of Gunderson Direct, commented, Receiving recognition from SIA, the USPS Next Generation Campaign Award, and the ADDYs earlier this year speaks to the incredible effort and talent of the Gunderson Direct team that created an engaging mail package that motivated individuals to support the Alameda Food Bank.

The Gunderson Direct Happier Holidays Mask mailer arrived in recipients mailboxes in Fall 2020, packaged in an oversized metallic orange padded envelope. Inside was a dimensional mailer, plus three branded #GunderSmile face masks, each with a graphic smile.

The holiday mailer featured a charitable social component: each time a recipient posted a picture of themselves or a loved one wearing a Gunderson Direct mask on social media with #GunderSmile, the agency would donate $5 to the Alameda County Food Bank. With three masks, as many as three individuals pictured in a post could help contribute $15 per post.

Through recipients repeated interactions with the gift + social + charitable components, Gunderson Direct was honored to give over $500 on behalf of participants to the Alameda County Food Bank.

About Gunderson Direct

Gunderson Direct is an advanced agency partner specializing in helping start-ups, SMBs, and enterprises drive leads and close business through turn-key direct mail services. From consultation and planning to execution and analysis, Gunderson Direct delivers value on your marketing investment.

About the Summit International Award

The Summit Awards organization dedicates itself to recognizing excellence in the communications and marketing industry. It administers three distinguished marketing award competitions each year to acknowledge standout work. It is independent and not tied to any advertiser, magazine, trade association, ad club, or other outside influencer.

About the USPS Next Generation Campaign Award

The USPS Next Generation Campaign Awards recognize mail owners, agencies, and printers that produce engaging and interactive direct mail campaigns. The contest includes two categories: the Grand Champion Award for consumer campaigns and the Innovative B2B Campaign Award.


Harbor Compliance announces its acquisition of Labyrinth. The result is a comprehensive solution for nonprofit state registration. Labyrinths exceptional service model and Harbor Compliances technology form an integrated solution that will further simplify licensing. This merger will enable more organizations to maintain compliance while focusing their resources on advancing their missions.

Harbor Compliance announces the acquisition of Labyrinth, Inc., a leading provider of charitable solicitation registration services for the last 32 years. Labyrinth manages state registrations for nonprofits and fundraisers so that they can solicit and operate throughout the U.S.

Mike Montali, CEO of Harbor Compliance, stated, Labyrinths exceptional service model and Harbor Compliances technology form an integrated solution that will further simplify licensing. This merger will enable more organizations to maintain compliance while focusing their resources on advancing their missions.

Our clients will continue to enjoy the same personalized registration experience theyve come to expect, said Stephen Urich, President of Labyrinth. Harbor Compliances cloud-based software is an excellent addition that will enhance our client experience.

As a long-term partner of our clients, we continue to listen and respond to their evolving needs, stated Brian Tully, President of Harbor Compliance. Were excited to keep developing innovative solutions that make compliance accessible to even more organizations.

CIBC Innovation Banking provided financing support for the transaction.

Harbor Compliance is a technology company that enables nonprofits and businesses to maintain compliance throughout the United States. Its software and services simplify licenses and registrations with federal, state, and local governments. For more information, visit http://www.harborcompliance.com and http://www.labyrinthinc.com.
Hiperbaric team wins PMMI's Technology Excellence Award for HPP In-Bulk Technology. From left: Jorge Coll, Sales, Hiperbaric; Roberto Peregrina, director, Hiperbaric, USA, and Glen A. Long, SVP, PMMI This technology is being used in Europe with great success and due to the latest trends in packaging sustainability, we remain positive that this will be another success story in the near future for the U.S., said Roberto Peregrina, director, Hiperbaric USA.

Hiperbaric received The Association for Packaging and Processing (PMMI)s Technology Excellence Award for its HPP In-Bulk technology at PACK EXPO 2021, Sept. 27-29, in Las Vegas.

Hiperbaric Bulk technology is a global innovation for high volume juice processing. Based on a revolutionary concept, in which beverages are processed in-bulk prior to bottling, the process obtains a 90% filling volume, nearly double that of in-pack HPP technology. It also allows for any type of packaging, including glass, paper cartons, or aluminum cans. A fully automated process, HPP in-bulk results in an 80% reduction in labor costs and nearly 50% cut in energy.

This technology is being used in Europe with great success and due to the latest trends in packaging sustainability, we remain positive that this will be another success story in the near future for the U.S., said Roberto Peregrina, director, Hiperbaric USA.

Hermes Boissons, a French copacker, uses Hiperbarics in bulk equipment for its customer, Juste Presse, a natural fruit and vegetable juice company, which recently launched the world's first HPP juice in carton packaging.

Alexia Chassagne, co-owner of Juste Presse, said, Hiperbaric HPP in-bulk technology has allowed us to develop a product that is 100% aligned with our brand identity. We see this product as a game-changer in the HPP beverage industry since it provides premium quality and taste with environmentally friendly packaging.

High pressure processing (HPP) is a cold pasteurization technique by which products, already sealed in their final packaging, undergo high pressure transmitted by water. HPPs benefits include food safety, clean label and extended shelf life. HPP enhances flavor, texture and nutritional properties of food, without preservatives.

Laura Thompson, vice president, trade shows, PMMI, said, Congratulations to our winners and their outstanding technologies. It was a tough task to narrow down all the innovative entries that the panel received. We are proud to continue to convene the best the industry has to offer and look forward to the Technology Excellence Awards growing stronger each year.

About Hiperbaric

Formed in 1999, Hiperbaric designs, develops, produces and markets its high pressure processing equipment internationally. The company is recognized for its trust, customer support, teamwork and continuous R&D efforts.

Hiperbaric has installed more than 300 machines in more than 40 countries across five continents, making the company the global leader in HPP technology with the most reliable and economic machines on the market. Hundreds of companies worldwide use Hiperbaric equipment to process juices and beverages, meat, fish and seafood, fruits and vegetables, dairy and ready-to-eat meals.

With headquarters in Burgos, Spain, a U.S. office in Miami, and commercial and technical offices in Mexico, Asia and Oceania, Hiperbaric continues to explore HPP technology with new applications in different industrial sectors. For more information, visit http://www.hiperbaric.com.
While the number of data breaches is slightly down in Q3, the number of victims has seen a significant rise due to a handful of data leaks. While the total number of data breaches dropped slightly in Q3, we are only 238 data breaches away from tying the all-time record for data compromises in a single year, said Eva Velasquez, President and CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center.

Today, the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC), a nationally recognized nonprofit organization established to support victims of identity crime, released its U.S. data breach findings for the third quarter (Q3) of 2021. According to the data breach analysis, the number of data breaches publicly-reported in the U.S. decreased nine (9) percent in Q3 2021 (446 breaches) compared to Q2 2021 (491 breaches). However, the number of data breaches through September 30, 2021 has exceeded the total number of events in Full-Year (FY) 2020 by 17 percent (1,291 breaches in 2021 compared to 1,108 breaches in 2020). The trendline continues to point to a record-breaking year for data compromises (the all-time high of 1,529 breaches was set in 2017).

For Q3 2021, the number of data compromise victims (160 million) is higher than Q1 and Q2 2021 combined (121 million). The dramatic rise in victims is primarily due to a series of unsecured cloud databases, not data breaches. Also, the total number of cyberattack-related data compromises year-to-date (YTD) is up 27 percent compared to FY 2020. Phishing and Ransomware continue to be, far and away, the primary attack vectors.

Download the ITRC's 2021 Q3 Data Breach Analysis and Key Takeaways

While the total number of data breaches dropped slightly in Q3, we are only 238 data breaches away from tying the all-time record for data compromises in a single year, said Eva Velasquez, President and CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center. Its also interesting to note that the 1,111 data breaches from cyberattacks so far this year exceeds the total number of data compromises from all causes in 2020. Everyone needs to continue to practice good cyber-hygiene to protect themselves and their loved ones as these crimes continue to increase.

Other findings in the analysis include:



There have been no publicly-reported data breaches to date in 2021 attributed to payment card skimming services.

Some organizations and state agencies are not including specifics about data compromises or reporting them on a timely basis. One state has not posted a data breach notice since September 2020.

The ITRC will testify before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation today to present the findings from our Q3 Data Breach Analysis. Watch the hearing on enhancing data security live at 10 a.m. EST/7 a.m. PST.

For more information about recent data breaches, or the increase in the number of data breaches discussed in the latest trend analysis, consumers and businesses should visit the ITRCs data breach tracking tool, notified.

Anyone can receive free support and guidance from a knowledgeable live-advisor by calling 888.400.5530 or visiting idtheftcenter.org to live-chat.

About the Identity Theft Resource Center

Founded in 1999, the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) is a national nonprofit organization established to empower and guide consumers, victims, business and government to minimize risk and mitigate the impact of identity compromise and crime. Through public and private support, the ITRC provides no-cost victim assistance and consumer education through its website live-chat idtheftcenter.org and toll-free phone number 888.400.5530. The ITRC also equips consumers and businesses with information about recent data breaches through its data breach tracking tool, notified. The ITRC offers help to specific populations, including the deaf/hard of hearing and blind/low vision communities.

Media Contact

Identity Theft Resource Center

Alex Achten

Head of Earned & Owned Media Relations

888.400.5530 Ext. 3611

media@idtheftcenter.org
IFF announced today the launch of CHOOZIT FIT, a culture series for pasta filata cheese makers in Brazil. Unlike other solutions available on the market, CHOOZIT FIT is a unique phage-robust culture series that allows medium-sized cheese producers to create high-quality, stretchable mozzarella with a extremely robust and consistent quality.

Mozzarella, found on around 80 percent of the worlds pizzas, is the top-selling type of cheese in Brazil, enjoyed by pizza lovers for its characteristic stretch and meltability. Increasingly, consumers are looking for affordable pizzas with consistent cheese quality, and cheese makers who deliver delicious, reliable mozzarella are in demand.

Medium-sized pizza cheese makers have long struggled to produce consistent, quality mozzarella due to challenges in the production process, including inconsistent vat-to-vat performance, a slow fermentation process and excessive moisture loss. The CHOOZIT FIT series offers key advantages, including providing cheese makers optimum control over the fermentation process, uniform vat-to-vat quality, and optimum yield  all with maximum cost efficiency and an improved cheese quality.

The CHOOZIT FIT series  with four true, biodiverse rotations  was designed to overcome the risk of fermentation delays due to challenging phage issues at the plant. The cultures deliver on performance, providing fast and consistent acidification that gives mozzarella optimal stretchability and melting properties with reduced moisture loss.

As the demand for high-quality mozzarella rises across the global pizza industry, pizza cheese makers are looking for solutions that help them meet their potential for consistent, delicious cheese that is still affordable for consumers, said Annie Mornet, senior business director, Cheese, IFF. With the CHOOZIT FIT series, medium-sized mozzarella makers can create a delicious, stretchy, consistent cheese that pizza lovers in Brazil are craving for.

Mornet continued, Moreover, with its highly biodiverse strain compositions within its four rotations, the CHOOZIT FIT series gives cheese makers peace of mind when it comes to phage issues during production unlike any other cultures on the market.

The pizza market in Brazil is growing strong at 8 percent per year with a USD5 billion annual market value. Sao Paulo is the second largest city for pizza consumption in the world, after New York City and 99 percent of pizza makers are small entrepreneurs. Yet the cheese industry continues to face varying challenges  from manufacturing high volume productivity-driven industrial cheese to making premium specialty cheese where brand identity and taste differentiation are key factors of success.

IFFs range of solutions will be able to help cheese manufacturers meet those challenges, improve the efficacy of their production, achieve higher productivity, maximize yield and deliver consistency. The CHOOZIT FIT series is available globally. Please contact our regional sales offices for more information. To learn more about the CHOOZIT FIT series of cultures, and other food and beverage solutions, visit http://www.dupontnutritionandbiosciences.com/products/choozit-fit-new-phage-robust-culture-series.html

About IFFs Health & Biosciences division

Inspired by nature and distinguished by its world-class bioscience and microbiome capabilities, IFFs Health & Biosciences (H&B) platform is a leading innovation partner for customers across a broad range of consumer product, industrial and agricultural sectors. H&B works closely with our customers to enhance products  and their processes  to deliver safer, healthier and more sustainable solutions.

Welcome to IFF

At IFF (NYSE: IFF), an industry leader in food, beverage, health, biosciences and sensorial experiences, science and creativity meet to create essential solutions for a better world  from global icons to unexpected innovations and experiences. With the beauty of art and the precision of science, we are an international collective of thinkers who partners with customers to bring scents, tastes, experiences, ingredients and solutions for products the world craves. Together, we will do more good for people and planet. Learn more at iff.com, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

2021 International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (IFF). IFF, the IFF Logo, and all trademarks and service marks denoted with , SM or  are owned by IFF or affiliates of IFF unless otherwise noted. All Rights Reserved.
The employees at KnowBe4 are dedicated to a variety of causes that help to make our organization and our community a better place. -Stu Sjouwerman, CEO, KnowBe4

KnowBe4, the provider of the worlds largest security awareness training and simulated phishing platform, today announced that TrustRadius has recognized KnowBe4 with a 2021 Tech Cares Award. This second annual award celebrates companies that have gone above and beyond to provide strong Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

KnowBe4 has always been an organization that has put forth goodwill efforts throughout the community via various initiatives, such as environmental cleanups, helping to feed needy families, charitable donations, days off for employees to volunteer for positive causes and more, said Stu Sjouwerman, CEO, KnowBe4. The employees at KnowBe4 are dedicated to a variety of causes that help to make our organization and our community a better place. We are elated to win this award from TrustRadius and look forward to finding even more ways to show our strength in CSR.

We're excited to announce our second annual Tech Cares Award winners, said TrustRadius CEO Vinay Bhagat. The past two years have tested the tech community. We've been inspired by watching leaders in the B2B technology industry pursue meaningful progress in social, environmental, and cultural spaces. Not only do we feel that these companies are deserving of recognitionwe also consider them a great example as we build a stronger future together.

To be accepted for the Tech Cares Award, each nominated organization had to be a B2B technology company that demonstrated strong CSR in 2020 and 2021. Everyone was welcome to nominate an organization for this award, including those who work for or with the company. All nominations were thoroughly vetted by the TrustRadius research team.

Last year, KnowBe4 launched The Good Neighbor program to create awareness and support for local community businesses that were struggling during the global pandemic. Another recent community initiative that KnowBe4 supported was the creation of a free health and wellness clinic run by Empath Partners In Care (EPIC) near downtown St. Petersburg, Florida. These are just a few examples of the many ways that KnowBe4 is paying it forward.

For more information on KnowBe4, visit http://www.knowbe4.com.

About KnowBe4

KnowBe4, the provider of the worlds largest security awareness training and simulated phishing platform, is used by more than 41,000 organizations around the globe. Founded by IT and data security specialist, Stu Sjouwerman, KnowBe4 helps organizations address the human element of security by raising awareness about ransomware, CEO fraud, and other social engineering tactics through a new-school approach to awareness training on security. Kevin Mitnick, an internationally recognized cybersecurity specialist and KnowBe4's Chief Hacking Officer, helped design the KnowBe4 training based on his well-documented social engineering tactics. Tens of thousands of organizations rely on KnowBe4 to mobilize their end users as their last line of defense.

About TrustRadius

TrustRadius helps technology buyers make better decisions and helps vendors tell their unique story, improve conversion, engage high-intent buyers, and gain customer insights. Each month over 1 million B2B technology buyers, over 50% from large enterprises, use verified reviews and ratings on TrustRadius.com to make informed purchasing decisions. Headquartered in Austin, TX, TrustRadius was founded by successful entrepreneurs and is backed by Mayfield Fund, LiveOak Venture Partners, and Next Coast Ventures.
Bernard A. Krooks, JD, CPA, LLM, CELA, AEP (Distinguished), Amy C. OHara, Esq., and Marion M. Walsh, Esq., partners in the law firm Littman Krooks LLP, have been named as top attorneys in New York for 2021 by Super Lawyers magazine. In addition, Stephanie L. Goldstein, Esq., and Arshi Pal, Esq., have been named Rising Stars by Super Lawyers magazine.

Their selection is the result of a rigorous, multi-step selection process based on peer recognition, professional achievement as well as independent research on each candidate. Only five percent of the attorneys in New York State earn this distinction.

Krooks is a founding partner of the law firm Littman Krooks LLP and Chair of its Elder Law and Special Needs Department. He is a nationally recognized expert in all aspects of elder law and special needs planning. He is a member of the Estate Planning Hall of Fame by the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils (NAEPC). He is also past President of the Board of Directors of the Arc of Westchester, the largest agency in Westchester County serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Along with Krooks, OHara is recognized as a Certified Elder Law Attorney (CELA) by the National Elder Law Foundation. She is Treasurer of the Board of Directors of the Special Needs Alliance, a national organization comprised of attorneys who practice law and advocate for people living with special needs and disabilities, the elderly, and their families. OHara is also President of the Board of Directors of Westchester Disabled on the Move, Inc., a not-for-profit organization that aims to improve the quality of life and the rights for all people with disabilities.

Walsh has been named to Super Lawyers in recognition her work in education law. She brings 20 years of experience to the practice and has led the firms special education department for the past nine years. Walsh has extensive experience in advocacy, impartial hearings, state review proceedings and federal appeals and works tenaciously for clients in all capacities. Her practice focuses on assisting students with complex disabilities and/or mental health challenges to obtain an appropriate school placement and services. She also serves on the Board of Directors of NAMI Westchester, a not-for-profit organization that aims to support those with mental health conditions and their families.

Goldstein focuses her practice on estate litigation and planning as well as guardianship. She has extensive experience litigating in New York State Supreme Courts and at all levels of administrative hearings. She received her J.D. from Syracuse University College of Law where she was involved in the Childrens Rights and Family Law Clinic. Goldstein is a member of the New Your State Bar Association and the Technology Committee of the Westchester County Bar Association.

Pal focuses her practice on special education advocacy and elder law. She has worked with children from diverse backgrounds and academic levels. Pal has successfully advocated for many families at impartial hearings. She graduated Brooklyn Law School in the two-year Accelerated JD program. Pal is a Brooklyn Law Students for the Public Interest Fellow. She has interned for the NYC Department of Social Services and US Attorneys Office Immigration department at the graduate level.

Read more about the firm here.

About Littman Krooks LLP

Littman Krooks provides sophisticated legal advice and the high level of expertise ordinarily associated with large law firms along with the personal attention and responsiveness of smaller firms. These ingredients, which are the cornerstone of effective representation and are necessary to a successful lawyer/client relationship, have become the foundation of the firms success.

Littman Krooks LLP offers legal services in several areas of law, including elder law, estate planning, special needs planning, special education advocacy, and corporate and securities. Their offices are located at 399 Knollwood Road, White Plains, New York and 655 Third Avenue, New York, New York. Visit us at http://www.littmankrooks.com.
Livingston County Land Bank Corporation joins the Empire State Purchasing Group The Livingston County Land Bank Corporation invites all potential vendors to register online.

The Livingston County Land Bank Corporation has officially joined the Empire State Purchasing Group, one of bidnet directs regional e-procurement solutions, providing vendors throughout New York easy online access its upcoming solicitations. The Livingston County Land Bank Corporation invites all vendors to register online at http://www.bidnetdirect.com/new-york/livingstoncountylandbank.

The regional purchasing group connects local governments with vendors looking to do business with public agencies. On the Empire State Purchasing Group, vendors seeking business with 275 participating agencies can register online to gain access to a single point of entry for opportunities throughout New York. By posting upcoming bids and RFPs on the Empire State Purchasing Group, the Livingston County Land Bank Corporation ensures an entire community of vendors can view their solicitation, download documents, and receive notification of addenda. The vendors self-register and ensure their contact information is up to date.

Because we arent the only agency posting and distributing bids, the Empire State Purchasing Group provides the Livingston County Land Bank Corporation more vendor competition, which we hope will help cut costs, said Joseph Gunther, Program Specialist of the Livingston County Land Bank Corporation when asked why their department decided to join the Empire State Purchasing Group. We also like that it saves on paper and can help our current vendors expand their business opportunities.

The Livingston County Land Bank Corporation invites all local vendors to visit http://www.bidnetdirect.com/new-york/livingstoncountylandbank and register to receive access to its upcoming solicitations as well as the upcoming bids and RFPs from 274 other public agencies participating on the Empire State Purchasing Group. Registered vendors have the option to upgrade their service to receive customized bid alerts, notification of term contract expiration, and notification of a real-time addendum.

About the Livingston County Land Bank Corporation:

The Livingston County Land Bank is a not-for-profit corporation with the mission returning vacant, underutilized, tax-delinquent properties to productive use.

About bidnet direct:

bidnet direct, powered by mdf commerce, is a sourcing solution of regional purchasing groups available at no cost to local government agencies throughout the country. bidnet direct runs regional purchasing groups, including the Empire State Purchasing Group, across all 50 states that are used by over 1,600 local governments. To learn more and have your government agency gain better transparency and efficiency in purchasing, please visit https://www.bidnetdirect.com/buyers
Mamas Tamales: a fun-filled story that explores the importance of helping others. Mamas Tamales is the creation of published author Marge Mendoza, a loving wife, mother, and grandmother who has over thirty years of experience working with children. She retired as a childcare director in Los Angeles.

Mendoza shares, There is NO DOUBT that Mamas tamales are a family favoritea true culinary delight! Mama has always invested the time and hard work required to make her aromatic, delicious tamales as a way of showing her family how very much she loves them! And they show their appreciation by eating them! But is that all Mamas tamales are meant to provide?

If you are a fan of the beloved story The Little Red Hen, with its myriad of potential lessons on familial, community and social dynamics; if you appreciate childrens books with storylines centered around great food (recipe included!), you will love Mamas Tamales!

Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Marge Mendozas new book is dedicated to her beloved daughter, Jennifer, who was tragically killed in a hit-and-run car accident in February 2020.

Mendozas tale is a delightful rework on a classic story that presents an important lesson to young readers and spreads awareness of homelessness.

Consumers can purchase Mamas Tamales at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or inquiries about Mamas Tamales, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919.
Jacksonville recipients award badge Who an employer chooses as their insurance broker has significantly more impact on the cost and quality of their benefit plan than who they chose as their insurance carrier.

Mployer Advisor, the leading independent platform for employers to research, review and evaluate insurance brokers, is pleased to announce the Jacksonville, Florida-based recipients of its inaugural Top Employee Benefits Consultant Awards for 2021. Mployer Advisors Top Employee Benefits Consultant Award Program evaluates brokers based on industry experience, company size, online ratings and reviews and recognizes esteemed brokers that demonstrate market-leading competencies and a proven track record of success among employers, insurance providers and peers. Our list recognizes consultants who primarily work with mid-to-large sized employers, as well as brokers who work with small businesses.

Who an employer chooses as their insurance broker has significantly more impact on the cost and quality of their benefit plan than who they chose as their insurance carrier, said Brian Freeman of Mployer Advisor. We are proud to honor this distinct group of insurance consultants who have demonstrated a wide range of experience and positive employer feedback on service and quality. The industry has been dependent on referrals and existing relationships instead of data-driven outcomes for too long. With Mployer Advisor, we celebrate this distinguished group of brokers and consultants.

The Jacksonville, FL market is a competitive job market in the U.S. South, employing more than 790,000 people with a slightly lower unemployment rate than the rest of the country. Offering industry-leading, competitive employee benefits is a critical factor in hiring and engaging top talent for Jacksonville employers. Finding and partnering with a highly rated insurance consultant is imperative to retaining talent in any market.

The recipients of the 2021 Top Employee Benefits Consultant Awards for the Jacksonville area as follows:



Abentras

BKS Partners

Brown & Brown Insurance

Cecil W. Powell & Company

Harden, a Gallagher Company

HUB International

Hylant

USI Insurance Services

The above winners are a brief snapshot of Mployer Advisors matrices and proprietary M Score on June 30, 2021. To determine award winners, Mployer Advisor analyzed each brokerage based on historical data, business experience across employer size, industry and products, as well as relevant online ratings and reviews from employers across several platforms.

To view a full list of consultants in Jacksonville, visit MployerAdvisor.com.

About Mployer Advisor:

Mployer Advisor is changing the way employers search, evaluate and select insurance advisors. The intuitive platform connects employers and employees to great benefits and insurance plans by providing employers with actionable data to easily evaluate and select the best advisor for a companys specific needs. Most brokerages have a profile on Mployer Advisor, which provides independent ratings of insurance advisors to support employers. Insurance brokers cannot pay to influence their Mployer Advisor rating. Only highly rated brokerages are allowed to advertise on the platform. To learn more about Mployer Advisor, visit https://mployeradvisor.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

Disclaimer: Rankings are dynamic, and this report may not reflect the rankings currently listed on Mployer Advisors website. Since Mployer Advisors research is ongoing, interested companies that want to join next years list are encouraged to claim their free profile on Mployer Advisor.

Media Contact:

Jacob Westfall (Public Relations Consultant)

Jacob.Westfall@mployeradvisor.com
Oakland recipients award badge We are proud to honor this distinct group of insurance consultants who have demonstrated a wide range of experience and positive employer feedback on service and quality.

Mployer Advisor, the leading independent platform for employers to research, review and evaluate insurance brokers, is pleased to announce the recipients of its inaugural Top Employee Benefits Consultant Awards for 2021 in Oakland, California. Mployer Advisors Top Employee Benefits Consultant Award Program evaluates brokers based on industry experience, company size, online ratings and reviews and recognizes esteemed brokers that demonstrate market-leading competencies and a proven track record of success among employers, insurance providers and peers. Our list recognizes consultants who primarily work with mid-to-large sized employers, as well as brokers who work with small businesses.

Who an employer chooses as their insurance broker has significantly more impact on the cost and quality of their benefit plan than who they chose as their insurance carrier, said Brian Freeman of Mployer Advisor. We are proud to honor this distinct group of insurance consultants who have demonstrated a wide range of experience and positive employer feedback on service and quality. The industry has been dependent on referrals and existing relationships instead of data-driven outcomes for too long. With Mployer Advisor, we celebrate this distinguished group of brokers and consultants.

The Oakland-Hayward-Berkeley, CA market is a competitive job market in the U.S. West, employing more than 700,000 people. Offering industry-leading, competitive employee benefits is a critical factor in hiring and engaging top talent for Oakland employers. Finding and partnering with a highly rated insurance consultant is imperative to retaining talent in any market.

The recipients of the 2021 Top Employee Benefits Consultant Awards for the Oakland area as follows:

-Alliant Employee Benefits

-Brown & Brown Insurance

-EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants

-Filice Insurance

-Heffernan Insurance Brokers

-HUB International

-McGriff

-USI Insurance Services

The above winners are a brief snapshot of Mployer Advisors matrices and proprietary M Score on June 30, 2021. To determine award winners, Mployer Advisor analyzed each brokerage based on historical data, business experience across employer size, industry and products, as well as relevant online ratings and reviews from employers across several platforms.

To view a full list of consultants in Oakland, visit MployerAdvisor.com.

About Mployer Advisor:

Mployer Advisor is changing the way employers search, evaluate and select insurance advisors. The intuitive platform connects employers and employees to great benefits and insurance plans by providing employers with actionable data to easily evaluate and select the best advisor for a companys specific needs. Most brokerages have a profile on Mployer Advisor, which provides independent ratings of insurance advisors to support employers. Insurance brokers cannot pay to influence their Mployer Advisor rating. Only highly rated brokerages are allowed to advertise on the platform. To learn more about Mployer Advisor, visit https://mployeradvisor.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

Disclaimer: Rankings are dynamic, and this report may not reflect the rankings currently listed on Mployer Advisors website. Since Mployer Advisors research is ongoing, interested companies that want to join next years list are encouraged to claim their free profile on Mployer Advisor.

Media Contact:

Jacob Westfall (Public Relations Consultant)

Jacob.Westfall@mployeradvisor.com
New household energy solutions are poised to help consumers support clean energy. A new study by RMI assesses one example of this kind of solution, Googles Nest Renew, and finds that similar services could help households eliminate more than 80 percent of their carbon footprint by 2030.

Household-level energy decisions are key in accelerating our efforts to reach ambitious US climate targets set by President Biden. RMIs analysis found that adoption at scale of emerging household energy solutions could cut the sectors carbon emissions by 50 percent from 2005 levels by 2050.

Household energy decisions drive 40 percent of US energy-related carbon emissions, but that means that they can also be 40 percent of the solution. New solutions can empower people to fight climate change on the home front, says Mark Dyson, principal on RMIs Carbon-Free Electricity team.

RMIs latest analysis, Bringing Clean Energy Home, looks at innovative market solutions to help consumers align their household energy decisions with climate goals. RMI identifies four emerging opportunities that technology-based solutions, such as Googles Nest Renew service, can prioritize to make home energy solutions most impactful:



Customized insights and offers

Automation and optimization

Aggregation and collective action

Deployment innovations

New products and services are not the only tools needed to increase clean energy adoption. RMIs report also discusses the challenges that may limit current households choices in prioritizing clean energy solutions and that make it complex and costly to adopt such solutions, thus resulting in fragmentation of value for the customers and the grid.

According to Lauren Shwisberg, a manager on RMIs Carbon-Free Electricity team, Policymakers, regulators, and utilities have an opportunity to accelerate adoption of climate-aligned home energy solutions by aligning incentives, programs, and data access rules with household-focused outcomes and decarbonization metrics.

To read the full report, please visit: https://rmi.org/insight/bringing-clean-energy-home/

Media Inquiries please contact:

Alex Chin, Associate - Media Relations, T: +1 973-262-0002, E: achin@rmi.org

Notes to Editors

About RMI

RMI is an independent nonprofit founded in 1982 that transforms global energy systems through market-driven solutions to align with a 1.5C future and secure a clean, prosperous, zero-carbon future for all. We work in the worlds most critical geographies and engage businesses, policymakers, communities, and NGOs to identify and scale energy system interventions that will cut greenhouse gas emissions at least 50 percent by 2030. RMI has offices in Basalt and Boulder, Colorado; New York City; Oakland, California; Washington, D.C.; and Beijing.

More information on RMI can be found at http://www.rmi.org or follow us on Twitter @RockyMtnInst.
The papers focus on the role of human-animal interaction (HAI) in helping to alleviate loneliness and social isolation during the pandemic.

The Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) and Mars Petcare, with support from a broad Consortium of partners, today announced the publication of three papers in the open-access Journal Animals, part of a special issue focused on the role of companion animals during the COVID-19 pandemic, Social Isolation and the Roles That Animals Play in Supporting the Lives of Humans: Lessons for COVID19. The papers focus on the role of human-animal interaction (HAI) in helping to alleviate loneliness and social isolation during the pandemic. These papers were authored by working group members of the Consortium on Social Isolation and Companion Animals, established by HABRI and Mars Petcare in 2018.

These publications represent a critical aspect of our Consortium effort to explore the potential of companion animals to help address the epidemic of loneliness and social isolation, which has only grown more pressing since the pandemic began, said Steven Feldman, president of HABRI. As these papers highlight, the human-animal bond has served as a key source of emotional and social support for so many over the last year-and-a-half, underscoring the importance of future research investigating this impact.

Social isolation and loneliness are immense societal challenges, affecting people in many ways, which require different interventions and treatment approaches, said Rena Crumplen, Global Vice-President of Research and Development, Mars Petcare. These publications represent an important scientific milestone in bridging research and practice  helping bring evidence-based solutions to those affected by social isolation and making the case for multidisciplinary efforts to further the field of HAI more broadly.

The paper led by Dr. Dawn Carr, Department of Sociology, Florida State University analyzed longitudinal survey data obtained from a Florida community-based sample of adults aged 60+ in September 2018 and October 2020. Researchers set out to test the association between social consequences of COVID-19 and changes in loneliness and the buffering effect of dog walking on this relationship. Results indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with related increases in loneliness, and that walking a dog daily buffered this relationship, suggesting a potential therapeutic effect of dog walking for promoting mental health in older adults, particularly in the context of stressful situations that accentuate risks for loneliness.

A commentary led by Dr. Angela Hughes, DVM, PhD, Global Science Advocacy Senior Manager, Mars Petcare, focused on the impact of the HABRI-Mars Petcare Consortium on Social Isolation and Companion Animals, and how this collaboration has yielded actionable insights and research projects, serving as a model for future cross-disciplinary thinking to elevate HAI for the mutual benefit of people, companion animals and communities.

Dr. Zenithson Ng, DVM, MS, Dipl ABVP, of the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine, led a paper focused on discussing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the ways in which people interact with different types of companion animals, including owned pets, therapy animals and service dogs, and provides solution-focused suggestions for sharing the power of the human-animal bond during a time in which physical connections are limited, but when the world needs social connection the most.

Being a part of the Consortium working groups over the last three years has opened up new avenues for collaboration with researchers and experts from various backgrounds that all care about loneliness and social isolation as a public health crisis and believe in the potential of companion animals to make a positive impact, said Dr. Dawn Carr, Associate Professor, Florida State University. Our publication in Animals is one example of how working together can produce new, valuable insights and advance research in this area.

The Consortium on Social Isolation and Companion Animals is a multidisciplinary effort led by HABRI in partnership with Mars Petcare to explore the potential of companion animals to provide effective relief and to serve as a complementary treatment for social isolation, loneliness and related health outcomes. In May 2019, HABRI and Mars co-hosted the first-ever Summit on Social Isolation and Companion Animals in Washington, DC. The Summit engaged experts and stakeholders in advancing scientific research, sharing best practices, and overcoming societal barriers to facilitate the vital role of companion animals and human-animal interaction (HAI) in addressing the crisis of social isolation and loneliness.

In 2020, HABRI and Mars Petcare released a report, Addressing the Social Isolation and Loneliness Epidemic with the Power of Companion Animals, which brought forward the recommendations from the Summit. The Consortium effort has also resulted in working groups made up of a wide array of experts in human-animal interaction, mental health, healthy aging, and more. Continued engagement by the Consortium on Social Isolation and Companion Animals working groups in coming years will be aimed at developing further events, publications, and resources to make HAI more accessible and effective for people suffering from social isolation and loneliness and who might derive the most benefit, while advancing the welfare of companion animals.

Citations:

Carr, D., Friedmann, E., Gee, N. R., Gilchrist, C., Sachs-Ericsson, N., & Koodaly, L. (2021). Dog Walking and the Social Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Loneliness in Older Adults. Animals, 11(7), 1852.

Hughes, A. M., Braun, L., Putnam, A., Martinez, D., & Fine, A. (2021). Advancing HumanAnimal Interaction to Counter Social Isolation and Loneliness in the Time of COVID-19: A Model for an Interdisciplinary Public Health Consortium. Animals, 11(8), 2325.

Ng, Z.; Griffin, T.C.; Braun, L. The New Status Quo: Enhancing Access to HumanAnimal Interactions to Alleviate Social Isolation & Loneliness in the Time of COVID-19. Animals 2021, 11, 2769.

About HABRI

HABRI is a not-for-profit organization that maintains the worlds largest online library of human-animal bond research and information; funds innovative research projects to scientifically document the health benefits of companion animals; and informs the public about human-animal bond research and the beneficial role of companion animals in society. For more information, please visit https://www.habri.org/.

About Mars Petcare

Part of Mars, Incorporated, a family-owned business with more than a century of history making diverse products and offering services for people and the pets people love, the almost 100,000 Associates across 130 countries in Mars Petcare are dedicated to one purpose: A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS. With 85 years of experience, our portfolio of almost 50 brands serves the health and nutrition needs of the world's pets  including brands PEDIGREE, WHISKAS, ROYALCANIN, NUTRO, GREENIES, SHEBA, CESAR, IAMS and EUKANUBA as well as the WALTHAM Petcare Science Institute which has advanced research in the nutrition and health of pets for over 50 years. Mars Petcare is also a leading veterinary health provider through an international network of over 2,000 pet hospitals and diagnostic services including BANFIELD, BLUEPEARL, VCA, Linnaeus, AniCura and Antech. We're also active in innovation and technology for pets, with WISDOM PANEL genetic health screening and DNA testing for dogs, the WHISTLE GPS dog tracker, and LEAP VENTURE STUDIO accelerator and COMPANION FUND programs that drive innovation and disruption in the pet care industry. As a family business and guided by our principles, we are privileged with the flexibility to fight for what we believe in  and we choose to fight for our Purpose: A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS.

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Our organization has an extensive history of partnering with financial institutions for Merchant Services. Through these experiences, we developed a keen awareness of the needs of financial institutions and their constituents.

Newburyport Bank, a premier community bank serving the Massachusetts North Shore and New Hampshire Seacoast, is now partnering with Paystri for Merchant Services. The partnership gives Newburyport Banks commercial clients access to Paystris solutions that empower businesses of all sizes to accept card payments quickly and affordably.

Newburyport Bank offers a wide array of Treasury solutions that are designed to simplify cash flow management for businesses. Partnering with Paystri for Merchant Services gives the banks commercial clients access to innovative payment solutions that can boost revenue and provide the payment experiences that todays consumers expect.

At Newburyport Bank, everything we offer is designed with our communities and customers in mind, explains Kevin Noyes, SVP, Director of Retail Banking at Newburyport Bank. Therefore, its imperative to select partners that embrace a similar focus. Paystri built its business on a foundation of putting customers first and has deep roots in the North Shore business community. Partnering with Paystri for Merchant Services is a natural extension of Newburyport Banks business-focused solutions.

Paystri partners with financial institutions like Newburyport Bank to deliver seamless payment experiences to their commercial clients. Paystris solutions can be tailored to the unique needs of any business, no matter its target market or size. Through close consultation with business owners, Paystri designs and delivers fully customized payments acceptance solutions that streamline transactions no matter how customers choose to pay.

Jonathan Arst, Founder and CEO of Paystri, comments, Our organization has an extensive history of partnering with financial institutions for Merchant Services. Through these experiences, we developed a keen awareness of the needs of financial institutions and their constituents. By leveraging our partnership, Newburyport Banks business community can benefit from this knowledge and implement payments acceptance programs that are built for long-term success.

ABOUT NEWBURYPORT BANK

Founded in the shipbuilding and maritime center of Newburyport, MA in 1854, Newburyport Bank is now the premier community bank in the Greater Seacoast Region. While other banks have come, gone, and been bought and sold, Newburyport Bank remains a strong, independent mutual savings bank dedicated to serving the financial needs and responsibilities of individuals, families, businesses and municipalities throughout the Massachusetts North Shore and the New Hampshire Seacoast. At the heart of our mission is our commitment to be a partner in the communities we serve by providing financial support, professional guidance, and volunteerism in ways that maintain their health and wellbeing. Learn more at newburyportbank.com.

ABOUT PAYSTRI

Paystri is a payments technology and strategic solutions company that serves financial institutions independent software vendors (ISVs), and businesses of all sizes. The Paystri Payment Platform is a flexible, fully customizable payments acceptance solution that delivers frictionless payment experiences to customers. In-house payment experts are easily accessible to provide strategic support and guidance. Paystris unique blend of optimized payments technology, straightforward pricing, and concierge-level customer service creates value that is unparalleled in the payments industry. Visit paystri.com to learn more.
Mare Mediterranean We are ready to expand and open Mare Mediterranean which will offer superior guest service and exquisite cuisine, said Nino Cutraro, Mare Mediterranean founder.

Nino Cutraro, owner of Bella Piatti, announced today the opening of a second restaurant in late October called Mare Mediterranean.

Located at 115 Willits Street in Birmingham, Mare Mediterranean will host a 4-day job fair to fill 60 positions in the restaurant. With so much excitement surrounding the new restaurant, Cutraro has already started receiving job applications from workers eager to join his chic new establishment.

The job fair will be held at Mare Mediterranean and on-site interviews will be conducted for all types of positions: host/hostess, servers, bartenders, kitchen support, and administration.

Applications will be accepted Wednesday Oct. 6 through Friday Oct. 8 - 9:00am to 4:00pm.

We are ready to expand and open Mare Mediterranean which will offer superior guest service and exquisite cuisine, said Nino Cutraro, restaurant founder. This will be a contemporary seafood restaurant concept with Greek, Italian and Spanish influences. Cutraro said fresh fish will be imported daily from Italy, Portugal and Greece, and guests will see the display with the chance to select their entrees and how they would like them prepared. Mare Mediterranean will also offer meat options and Cutraro anticipates the same customer enthusiasm he has experienced at Bella Piatti which he has owned for nearly a decade.

At Mare Mediterranean, Cutraro has partnered with Jay Feldman, CEO of Feldman Automotive Group. They are working together to be sure Mare Mediterranean is one of the coolest places in town with a remodel and redesign of the 6,800-square-foot restaurant, which closed as Cameron's in 2019. "Mare Mediterranean will be an exciting place to work and dine because there is no other restaurant like it in the city, says Feldman who has known Cutraro for many years.

Both Cutraro and Feldman are delighted to be opening a new business that is creating 60 new jobs on day one.

This is what entrepreneurship is all about, they said. We invite job seekers to come out and see what an incredible opportunity we have to offer. We think of our team as family and joining Mare Mediterranean is a great way to start a new exciting career or grow in an industry you already love!
With our deep tree care industry knowledge and expertise, offering workers compensation coverage was the next logical step for the evolution of this program, said Thomas Doherty, SVP, Specialty Programs at NIP Group.

NIP Group, a market leader in insurance program administration, is proud to collaborate with AmTrust Financial Services to announce the launch of their Tree Care Workers Compensation Program, providing additional coverage to their tree care insurance program, TreePro, that provides specialized coverage to tree care professionals nationally.

Tree care companies are faced with a challenging work environment, full of potential risk to their employees on a daily basis. Falling branches, overhead electrical lines, and the use of dangerous tools and equipment all contribute to a hazardous workplace environment for tree care professionals. Though tree care companies and their employees go to great lengths through training to make safe working conditions, accidents still occur. To help support these companies and their employees, NIP Group has partnered with AmTrust Financial to offer workers compensation specially designed for the tree care professional.

The addition of workers compensation to the TreePro Program completes the product offering, allowing a full solution for brokers and business owners in a single, coordinated program. The program will now protect employees from lawsuits and help manage financial risk in the event of a workplace injury. The program covers job-related illness or injury, including missed wages, medical costs, any ongoing care, and funeral expenses.

With our deep tree care industry knowledge and expertise, offering workers compensation coverage was the next logical step for the evolution of this program, said Thomas Doherty, SVP, Specialty Programs at NIP Group. Workers compensation coverage will allow our tree care professionals to continue to work effectively, remaining focused on business growth with the assurance that their business and employees are properly covered.

The TreePro insurance program has been insuring tree care professionals for more than 30 years and is the largest program of its kind. Its a multi-line package that provides better tree service insurance coverage and value than standard commercial products. In addition to specialized coverage, the TreePro insurance program also offers arborist-specific risk control services, client level claims management, and a library of industry-related resources.

About NIP Group

NIP Group is a market-leading specialty insurance program manager that designs unique commercial insurance solutions and risk services for more than 24 niche industries. Working with more than 5,500 broker partners, we help clients gain control over their costs, secure customized coverage and create safer work environments. NIP Group employs more than 150 professionals globally, is headquartered in Woodbridge, NJ and draws upon the expertise of highly talented business partners throughout the country and abroad to meet the needs of its clients. For more information about NIP Group, visit http://www.nipgroup.com.

About AmTrust Financial Services, Inc.

AmTrust Financial Services, Inc., a multinational holding company headquartered in New York, offers specialty property and casualty insurance products, including workers compensation, business owners policy (BOP), general liability and extended service and warranty coverage. For more information about AmTrust, visit http://www.amtrustfinancial.com.
Houston visitors (from Houston photo library) We are up close to the selfie, the pandemic and the millennial mindset and what that means to the future of destinations that want to attract thoughtful visitors who will stay awhile, the brightest minds as future, and next-generation residents in a truly mobile universe...

Since 2009, Omnitrak, a leading strategic research firm, has been exploring the emotional connection between communities and consumers, examining trust in businesses and travel destinations through a program called BrandHeart. Early aspects of BrandHeart influenced Omnitraks respected Resident Sentiment Surveys conducted in Hawaii, Nevada and Guam.

This has given us a long viewhistoric memory along with the modern response of building a future strategy, said Patricia M. Loui, Omnitrak Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer. We are up close to the selfie, the pandemic and the millennial mindset and what that means to the future of destinations that want to attract thoughtful visitors who will stay awhile, the brightest minds as future, and next-generation residents in a truly mobile universe as well as embracing wellness as a community way of life. We are looking more deeply and differently to accommodate this paradoxical zeitgeistexamining, questioning, and gathering on different platforms, traditional to TikTok.

Omnitraks new suite of research tools provides insight and anticipation of predictive behavior in todays fast-changing markets, from benchmarking against competitive regions to tapping into the restless mindsets of Gen X and Gen Z as travelers and new residents. This research also integrates Omnitraks proprietary and updated BrandHeart brand-equity model to understand whats needed to further emotional bondsan important factor in building a trusted relationshipas cities and destinations evolve in the new world of extreme mobile travelers and stable residents.

Research Tool #1: Omnitraks Custom Resident Sentiment Survey (RSS) Tests the Present for the Future

Omnitraks RSS findings in Hawaii (the most watched state in the U.S. for tourism/community issues) helped shape the Destination Management Action Plan community programs on each island, just as other destinations such as Venice have created new environments for visitors in other parts of Italy. This is a natural evolution, said Chris Kam, Omnitraks President and COO. Everywhere, tourisms initial appeal was its ease and the dream opportunity of entering as an hourly wage employee and rising to a corner suite. We thought it left little eco-prints and there were just three partners: the travel industry, consumer and government. Now, as resident communities become a centerpiece of future travel decisions and consideration, trust is even more important in these new and complex relationships.

The Omnitrak RSS, customized to each destination, is based on the Omnitrak core belief: a happy place to live is a happy place to visit.

Resident sentiment plays a major role in striking a balance with economic growth and sustainability, helping leaders to address community concerns about housing prices, traffic, pollution and other issues while supporting vital jobs, payrolls and tax revenues.

Resident input helps the state build forward-looking managed tourism initiatives that educate visitors on local values, helping them care about the sustainability of the land and culture.

Research Tool #2: Omnitrak Quality of Place

Omnitrak Quality of Place helps cities and destinations build their brand by analyzing factors ranging from climate, housing, job markets and safety to business environment, recreation and transportation. The custom surveys measure both resident and non-resident perceptions via a quality-of-life index, which is integrated with perceptions of the area as a place to live, work, play, study and visit.

A city that wants to be known as a world-class business location and a great place to visit, or to identify issues and attract new and keep local millennials in their real-estate buying prime, can use Omnitraks new QOP tool to accurately gauge the way forward. This insight can help a city appeal to skilled residents and investments as Americans seek out areas with a high Quality of Place for themselves and their families, Kam said. Quality of Place takes a metro areas branding to the next levelit goes beyond visitors perspectives to assess the values of a place and what they stand for.

With more than 35 years experience in research and advisory services, Omnitrak specializes in travel intelligence, market engagement, brand-building and product development. The companys syndicated TravelTrak America survey, one of the worlds largest profiling programs, reaches thousands of U.S. households every month and has talked with more than a million travelers in the last five years.

Omnitrak has created data-driven solutions for clients over nearly four decades of economic cycles, business trends, social shifts and changing consumer tastes, Loui said. The pandemic has created a new consumer mindset and these tools can help a destination adapt--building trust through collaboration.

About Omnitrak

Omnitrak, founded in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1981, is a leading strategic research firm with a strong presence in the consumer, travel and retail sectors in North America and Asia. Omnitrak works with some of North Americas largest state tourism offices, which subscribe to the companys Traveltrak America monthly tracking study of U.S. trips. The company serves a broad array of public- and private-sector clients, helping to grow their markets, develop new products and increase brand loyalty. For more information, visit http://www.omnitrakgroup.com.

Suggested Interview Topics: with Omnitraks Chris Kam, President and COO can include research findings on mobility and community, diversity and inclusivity in tourism and the resident, questions a reporter would like added to Omnitrak surveys, how to make a city appeal to millennials, Hawaii and other destinations; nature and city living, the new community table.

Past Press Releases:



Generation X Travelers to Lead Travel Industry's Pandemic Recovery in 2021: Omnitrak: https://www.dropbox.com/s/4ork10mtcnou6sq/Omnitrak%20Compass%E2%84%A2%20Press%20Release.pdf?dl=0

COVID-19 Concerns Rattle U.S. Travelers, but Nearly Half Plan to Travel in the Next Six Months: Omnitrak: https://www.dropbox.com/s/4ork10mtcnou6sq/Omnitrak%20Compass%E2%84%A2%20Press%20Release.pdf?dl=0

Omnitrak In the News:



SKIFT, "Hawaii Tourism Greeted With About-Face: 70 Percent of Residents Now Support": https://skift.com/2021/06/29/hawaii-tourism-greeted-with-about-face-70-percent-of-residents-now-support/

Forbes, "Thinking Of A Trip To Hawaii? Book Now Before Its Too Late": https://www.forbes.com/sites/margiegoldsmith/2021/07/01/thinking-of-a-trip-to-hawaii-book-now-before-its-too-late/?sh=2b9ba95b328c

Omnitrak Assets & Research:


OpenStack now powers more than 100 public cloud data centers and thousands of private clouds at a scale of more than 25 million compute cores.

The OpenStack community today released Xena, the 24th version of the most widely deployed open source cloud infrastructure software. Highlights of the Xena release include support for new hardware features, improved integration among components, and reduction of technical debt to maintain OpenStacks stable and reliable core.

OpenStack is one of the most active open source projects in the world, supported by a vibrant and engaged community of developers globally. Over the span of just 25 weeks, almost 15,000 changes authored by over 680 contributors from over 125 different organizations were included in the Xena release.

This release comes at a time when the OpenStack project is deployed in production more widely than ever. Over 100 new OpenStack clouds have been built in the past 18 months, growing the total number of cores under OpenStack management to more than 25,000,000 cores. Organizations with deployments ranging from hundreds of cores to six million cores have logged significant growth according to the 2021 OpenStack User Survey. The User Survey report will be made available ahead of the OpenInfra Live: Keynotes, November 17-18, where several of these production users will be sharing the details of their growing OpenStack use cases.

***The OpenStack Xena release is available for download. Learn more about features and enhancements.***

OpenStack pioneered the concept of open infrastructure 10 years ago and is now the open infrastructure-as-a-service standard. Recently, new workload demands like artificial intelligence, machine learning, edge computing and IoT have given rise to the projects support for new chip architectures, automation at scale down to the bare metal, and integration with myriad open source components. OpenStack now powers more than 100 public cloud data centers and thousands of private clouds at a scale of more than 25 million compute cores. OpenStack is the one infrastructure platform for deployments of diverse architecturesbare metal, virtual machines (VMs), graphics processing units (GPUs) and containers.

Xena Release Highlights

The enhancements delivered in the Xena release underscore OpenStacks highly flexible project integration capabilities. A key example is the integration of Cyborg, Neutron and Nova. In Xena, Nova merged a patch series that adds support for creating Nova servers with Neutron ports that are actually backed by PCI devices (SmartNICs) managed by Cyborg. This new feature provides the same user experience of offloading network-related workload to a PCI device, but proposes a different operator experience by offering use of an external management service (Cyborg) to ease the configuration. Additionally, Novas libvirt virt driver now supports any PCI devices, not just virtual GPUs, that are using the VFIO-mdev virtualization framework, such as network adapters or compute accelerators.

Xena delivers numerous other examples of integration among projects, including the following:



Blazar has added OpenStackClient support to python-blazarclient, allowing users to interact with Blazar using OpenStack reservation commands, which provides users with a similar command-line interface as when interacting with other OpenStack projects.

Glance has added support for unified quotas using Keystone limits.

OpenStack-Ansible, the most popular deployment tool (selected by 47% of OpenStack User Survey respondents), has added a role for Freezer deployment.

Manila has significantly increased feature parity between the manila-client shell utility and the unified OpenStackClient, enhancing usability of the Shared File Systems API.

Another prominent theme among Xena enhancements is support for advanced hardware features; Novas support for SmartNICs (as described above) leads a list of examples, including the following:



In Cinder, many current backend storage drivers now have added support for features exceeding the required driver functions, such as multiattach and the ability to take advantage of backend optimizations.

Ironic delivers substantial API improvements in node list retrieval performance, support for boot_mode and secure_boot state visibility on a bare metal node, as well as the capability to set these states as API actions.

Production usage of Kolla among OpenStack User Survey respondents has increased from 17% in 2020 to 28% in 2021. In the Xena cycle, the Kolla team added integration with Hashicorp Vault for control plane secrets.

In Neutron, ECMP routes are now supported. Multiple routes with the same destination address are now consolidated into a single ECMP route.

In Manila, the NetApp driver has added support for petabyte scale file systems as well as support for readable replication of shares alongside dr (disaster recovery) style replication. Users can mount read-only copies of their shares provisioned across availability zones while still having read/write access to the primary share.

In addition, the Xena cycle was the occasion to buy back some technical debt accumulated during the previous releases of the platform. Notable examples include:



Cinder: Cinder has removed the long-deprecated Block Storage API version 2.

Cyborg: Cyborg offers refactoring documentation structure including API docs, user guide and contributor guide.

Horizon: Horizon and all Horizon plugins now support nodejs14, which is the current LTS version of nodejs.

Neutron: Neutron has added a new quota driverDbQuotaNoLockDriver. This driver does not create a unique lock per (resource, project_id). Such locks could lead to a database deadlock state if the number of server requests exceeds the number of resolved resource creations.

OpenStack-Ansible: OpenStack-Ansible now uses ceph-ansible 6.0 (Pacific), and the Ansible version has been updated to the ansible-core 2.11.

Twenty-four releases in and we are still seeing a growing, vibrant, global community contributing to OpenStack, said Kendall Nelson, upstream developer advocate for OpenStack at the OpenInfra Foundation. The OpenStack community continues to rank among the most actively developed open source projects in the world, with over 130 changes merged per day on average. OpenStack Xena showcases how successful community collaboration keeps the software robust and efficient, drives innovation to support emerging use cases, and continually delivers interoperability across projects and platforms.

About the Open Infrastructure Foundation

The OpenInfra Foundation builds communities that write open source infrastructure software that runs in production. With the support of over 110,000 individuals in 187 countries, the OpenInfra Foundation hosts open source projects and communities of practice, including infrastructure for AI, container native apps, edge computing and datacenter clouds. The success of the OpenInfra projects relies on the support of over 70 member organizations, including the most recent addition, Microsoft. Join the OpenInfra movement: http://www.openinfra.dev

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Our dashboard monitors symptoms and then collates lists of residents with diarrhea or a fever, two of the symptoms of the delta variant so that nurses can catch cases days in advance, said Charles Oliver, the director of customer success at Texas-based Experience Care.

Last month, nursing homes in Maryland reported an astronomical rise in infections of the delta variant of the COVID-19 virus. In addition to vaccinating staff members, long-term care facilities are using electronic health records from vendors like Experience Care to help combat the spread of potentially fatal infections to Americas seniors.

Back in July, fewer than 10 Maryland nursing homes had outbreaks of COVID-19. By early August, that number skyrocketed to 33. And at the start of September, the total nearly tripled again, with 92 nursing homes reporting outbreaks. This is just one example of the reemergence of the fatal virus among the nations most vulnerable population. From mid-July to mid-August, the number of nursing homes in Texas with active cases of COVID-19 ascended from 56 to 489.

Vaccinating staff members is the first step being taken by many facilities. But that has posed challenges, as many nurses refuse to get vaccinated, creating an unprecedented staffing crisis.

In the midst of this turmoil, nursing homes have found another option for preventing outbreaks: implementing and utilizing electronic health records (EHRs) to identify COVID-19 heat maps and act quickly upon the observance of concerning signs.

Features like a key performance indicators (KPI) dashboard allow facilities to view any potential warning signs in one place and choose a course of action far earlier than was possible on paper. Our dashboard monitors symptoms and then collates lists of residents with diarrhea or a fever, two of the symptoms of the delta variant so that nurses can catch cases days in advance, said Charles Oliver, the director of customer success at Texas-based Experience Care (http://www.experience.care). As a result, Oliver noted, diagnoses happen much more rapidly, and infected residents can be separated from the others before it is too late.

EHRs also allow facilities to see who has and has not been vaccinated and print out heat maps that show nurses how the symptoms of residents in certain sections of the facility compare with those of others so as to better prevent outbreaks. In the case of Experience Care, many measures were determined to be helpful during user meetings with the leadership team. We discuss infection control strategies in our user groups each month, Oliver said. From basic management to placing vaccinated patients in one hall and unvaccinated individuals in another, these meetings allow leaders to share the strategies that work for them.

Such modern measures offer new hope for an industry that has been ravaged by a virus that puts seniors in great danger and a staffing crisis exacerbated by debates over President Joe Bidens vaccination mandate for nursing homes.

About Experience Care LLC: Founded in 1969, Experience Care LLC is one of the largest providers of electronic health records, revenue cycle management, and financial systems to skilled nursing facilities, assisted living, continuing care retirement communities, long-term acute care, and other long-term care organizations in the U.S. Experience Cares mission is to make every long-term care organization a fulfilling place to live and work by helping maximize financial success and compliance to achieve the best teams, care, and outcomes.
Pilot Growth is the kind of investor where the most experienced entrepreneurs would want to partner again and again because of their vast technology experience and network of relationships.

Inc. Magazine announced the annual Founder-Friendly Investors list, honoring Pilot Growth Equity and other leading private equity and venture capital firms with the best track record of successfully partnering with technology entrepreneurs.

Inc. Magazine concluded that entrepreneurs can trust and collaborate with Pilot Growth while receiving the capital they need to help accelerate their growth. Inc. Magazine recognized Pilot Growths successful track record of remaining actively involved in the businesses after their investment.

Supporting the entrepreneurs vision and driving growth is more than just a financial investment. Its about building a relationship and supporting the founders beyond that initial year. These private equity firms treat the founders like partners, says Scott Omelianuk, editor-in-chief of Inc. media.

Being revenue-funded for our first many years, we were never looking to raise financing, but Pilot recognized the unique market and potential of CB Insights and ultimately invested in us, remarked Anand Sanwal, Co-founder and CEO of CB Insights. Since then, they've added value in the places where it makes sense, and they give the team and I the autonomy to operate and lead without distraction. They've been a very founder-friendly partner.

We created Pilot Growth over a decade ago as a platform for entrepreneurs to accelerate the growth of disruptive technology companies, declared by Neil Callahan, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Pilot. We have great respect and admiration for our founders and by working together we realize remarkable results of business growth and long term value creation. Its a real honor to be recognized by Inc. Magazine for the creation of Pilot Growth. Yuri Frayman, a 5-time serial entrepreneur with successful exits including being the Co-founder and Past CEO of Zenedge, a Pilot Growth portfolio company that sold to Oracle, stated Pilot Growth is the kind of investor where the most experienced entrepreneurs would want to partner again and again because of their vast technology experience and network of relationships.

Pilot Growth adds value with their team of Operating Advisors composed of experienced and diverse industry experts. Founders benefit from the up and out and down and in approach to drive growth initiatives at each portfolio company. I am very proud of the work I do with Pilot. I believe our portfolio companies create amazing innovative technology, and I help match them with those who we feel most need it; sometimes a company or a place or just everyday people added Julianna Smoot, an Operating Advisor at Pilot Growth Equity.

We are focusing on finding the best growth stage companies to partner with, says Will Lee, Co-Founder and Managing Partner. We use NavPod to source our deals, an artificial intelligence platform that we developed to identify the best bootstrapped technology companies. I cant wait to partner with our next class of founders and live up to this prestigious recognition by Inc. Magazine concluded Lee.

About Inc.

The worlds most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community they need to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit http://www.inc.com.

About Pilot Growth Equity

Pilot Growth created a platform to partner with bootstrapped b2b technology entrepreneurs to accelerate their growth. We provide first institutional capital to software and data companies that have found product market fit. We source deals through NavPod, our proprietary artificial intelligence-based deal sourcing engine. And we deploy an Operating Advisor team comprising business executives and diverse industry professionals who advise and help grow our portfolio companies. To learn more about Pilot Growth Equity, please visit us at http://www.pilotgrowth.com.

Please visit us at https://www.linkedin.com/company/pilot-growth-equity/mycompany/?viewAsMember=true
Rev1 continues to be focused on supporting entrepreneurs at the earliest stages through capital and strategic services, and we are proud to have brought together leaders in our community who want to fuel early-stage growth and fill the gap that we all know is growing.

Today, Rev1 Ventures, the startup studio that combines capital and strategic services to help startups scale and corporates innovate, is announcing its first investment from the Rev1 Future Value Fund I (FVF), the companys $10MM pre-seed fund and the largest pre-seed stage fund in Columbus history. The funding for Redi.Health, provider of health management technology that improves total patient health, signals an important step in Rev1s mission to support the growth of the Central Ohio startup ecosystem.

2020 was a record-setting year for venture capital, including $632MM in 53 transactions for companies in the Columbus region; however, nearly three-quarters of that funding went to just 13 later-stage deals. Launched six months ago with the support of The Ohio State University and Ohio Third Frontier, FVF is focused on closing the capital gap and supporting earlier stage startups that need financing to accelerate technologies and build great companies.

While more venture capital is flowing to companies in the U.S. and in Central Ohio than ever before, the lack of support for pre-seed stage startups has never been more apparent, said Tom Walker, CEO of Rev1 Ventures. That disparity hinders entrepreneurs from building businesses that are scalable, which ultimately stifles our innovation pipeline and hinders our regions economic development. Rev1 continues to be focused on supporting entrepreneurs at the earliest stages through capital and strategic services, and we are proud to have brought together leaders in our community who want to fuel early-stage growth and fill the gap that we all know is growing. Redi.Health has an impressive team, with a proven track record of success in digital health, and we are thrilled to help them broaden availability of their groundbreaking platform.

Redi.Health combines health management and partnered pharmaceutical manufacturer support into one tool to deliver a truly patient-centric platform that helps polychronic patients (those with three or more chronic diseases) improve their adherence as well as their quality of life.

This news marks an important moment for Redi.Health and for all early-stage startups in Central Ohio, as it signals the commitment from leaders in our own backyard, said Luke Buchanan, co-founder and CEO of Redi.Health. Having experienced the wealth of support and services available in Columbus during my time at CoverMyMeds, I know were fortunate to build our business in this region because were able to scale here.

Redi.Health is the first of up to 15 companies the new Fund will support--with a particular focus on those in digital health, healthcare IT, HR technology, fintech, insurtech, data analytics, and enterprise software-as-a-service (SaaS). The Fund will also invest in spinouts from The Ohio State University in advanced materials, alternative energy, sensors and hardware, and ag and food tech. In addition to financing, FVF provides companies with the strategic resources needed to validate their product with key customers and markets, identify and recruit early talent, and build the right foundation for establishing and scaling the businesses.

Rev1 funded 25 companies in 2020, making it one of the most active seed investors nationally. For more information about Rev1s industry-leading startup studio approach, visit https://www.rev1ventures.com/.

About Rev1 Ventures

Rev1 Ventures is the startup studio that combines capital and strategic services to help startups scale and corporates innovate. Based in the Midwest, Rev1 aligns innovators and founders with corporate and research partners to access customers and markets, helping entrepreneurs build great companies. With a proven track record Rev1 is one of the more active investors in the nation. For more information, visit http://www.rev1ventures.com.

About Redi.Health

In 2021 Redi.Health was founded with a simple goal: Empower patients to take control of and contribute to their health journey. We believe that when it comes to healthcare, the patient is often forgotten and left to navigate the overwhelming world of healthcare on their own. To fix this problem we developed Redi.Health. Redi puts more simplified tools in the hands of patients than ever before and creates novel pathways of connectivity to the support and resources patients wouldnt otherwise have access to. Its simple  we believe in patients and give them the tools to take control of their health.
Shawn Harris of Turing AI "Im excited for this opportunity to join the prestigious RAC Advisory Board at Northwestern. The Retail AI Lab is on the leading-edge of using AI in applied retail analytics," Shawn Harris Senior Director of Global Strategy & Business Development at Turing AI.

Shawn Harris, the Senior Director of Global Strategy and Business Development at Turing AI, has just been named a member of the Retail Analytics Council (RAC) Retail AI Lab Advisory Board at Northwestern University. Shawn brings 20 years experience in retail analytics to the RAC Retail AI Lab at Northwestern and to his position within Global Retail at Turing AI.

The RAC Retail AI Lab is the leading university-based applied retail analytics and AI research institute. They also publish industry-relevant and academically rigorous research. Through the university's profound reputation, the RAC Retail AI Lab educates companies on how AI can impact their business by running various experiments.

Mr. Harris provides valuable skills in robotics, AI, and retail analytics to the Advisory Board. In addition to this new appointment, Shawn keeps a keen eye on the AI and technology horizon by staying closely involved in the Boston, New York, and Silicon Valley startup communities. Shawn has served as the program lead for the Startup Leadership Program, and has participated in and supported startup programs through XRC Labs, Techstars, MassChallenge, and New York Fashion Tech Lab. He is also a long-standing member of the Consortium for Operational Excellence in Retailing (COER) out of HBS/Wharton.

When asked about his new appointment, Mr. Harris shared, Im excited for this opportunity to join the prestigious RAC Advisory Board at Northwestern. The Retail AI Lab is on the leading-edge of using AI in applied retail analytics. The innovations in AI technology and retail analytics make for a stimulating atmosphere  its a great time to be working in this space and I feel fortunate to be able to contribute through both the RAC Advisory Board and my position at Turing AI.

About the RAC Retail AI Lab: The RAC unites industry, faculty, students, and its Retail Advisory Board members for the study and exchange of ideas and research. The RAC is a global initiative between the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications and the McCormick School of Engineering, Computer Science Department.

About Turing AI: Founded in the heart of Silicon Valley in 2017, Turing AIs mission is to reimagine safety, security, and operations with AI. At our very core, we develop complex, machine learning models to integrate with industry-proven robotics, video analytics, and health solutions to create interconnected AI-enabled solutions unlike any other in the world. Our diverse team of engineers and entrepreneurs creates an environment rich in ideas, explorations, and solutions. Turing AI is the winner of the A.I Excellence Award (Business Intelligence Group), CRN Emerging Vendor Award, and was recognized as a finalist for the Edison Awards.
Phoenix-based start-up, The Jenesis House, has answered the call for a renewed interest in self-care with the debut of its luxury crystal candle collection. Formulated from a blend of essential oils, 100% soy wax and a wood wick The Jenesis House Crystal candles will have what feels like an everlasting burn of up to 50 hours.

The collections candles are all non-toxic, vegan, cruelty-free, and are hand-poured by the creator herself, Creative Director Jenesis Laforcarde.

With the debut of the luxury candle line, Laforcarde is on a much bigger mission to operate the first Black female-owned wellness resort in Arizona for everyone to experience -- especially people of color. According to the National Association of Black Hotel Owners, Operators, and Developers (NABHOOD), less than 1% of all hotels are owned by African American women. When asked about her motivation for creating the candle collection, Laforcarde explained: The Jenesis House is currently self-funded, so I wanted to launch a luxury candle line to help contribute to the thousands of dollars in startup costs to make this dream a reality.

Keeping wellness and self-care at the forefront, those interested in making a smaller contribution can purchase candles from the collection at a cost of $65 each. Available in 3 enchanting fragrances: Cheque In, Cheque Out, and Cheque Ya Self. The candles are packaged in luxury glass jars available in crystal, rose gold, and matte black.

To help push the agenda forward, The Jenesis House has also launched a crowdfunding campaign that is hosted on ifundwomen.com a crowdfunding platform for women. The campaign goal is $500,000 and anyone can show their support by simply donating or pre-booking a heavily discounted 3-night stay at The Jenesis House for $1,500 for one person or $2,500 for two people. The reward night stays will feature a welcome bottle of champagne, complimentary spa treatments, and mediation time as well as an all-inclusive culinary experience.

Laforcarde is also offering complimentary refills on luxury candles for those who plan to visit the highly anticipated resort. For those that love the lavish candles and can not wait for the resort's doors to open, Laforcarde is encouraging customers to send in their crystal candle jars for complimentary refills as well.

The candles are currently available for sale on the companys website. To purchase a candle, get further information and updates on the new resort, visit: http://www.thejenesishouse.com.
At their 89th annual meeting, the United States Conference of Mayors (USCM), which represents mayors from over 1,400 of Americas largest cities, passed a resolution to create community Blue Zones well-being initiatives to combat chronic disease and comorbidities in a show of support for public health and well-being.

The resolution encourages cities and leaders to take a proactive approach to well-being with a focus on prevention and healthy lifestyle as mental health awareness, a stressed-out workforce, lifestyle-related diseases, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the coming silver tsunami of an active and vibrant older population are all driving demand and innovation for well-being solutions and communities with higher well-being have lower healthcare costs, vibrant economies, and thriving workforces.

Just five years after launching the Blue Zones Project in the city, Fort Worth went from the 185th to the 31st healthiest city in the nation, observed Fort Worth, TX Mayor Mattie Parker, who introduced the resolution. We are tackling the global health crisis of our lifetime and now, more than ever, we need to promote and advance evidence-based solutions that are critical in the face of the current pandemic and our nationwide healthcare crisis. Blue Zones Project Fort Worth shows the tremendous impact that a systems-focused multi-dimensional effort can have to improve the health, wealth, and well-being of an entire city."

The full text of the resolution is available here.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors, founded in 1932, is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of over 30,000 and contributes to the development of national urban policy. Resolutions, when passed, collectively represent the views of the nations mayors and become the official policy of the UCSM. They are also distributed to Congress and the President of the United States.

Mayor Stephen Benjamin, the Immediate Past President of the USCM and current mayor of Columbia, SC said: As the elected leaders closest to the people and the ground, we rely on informed and thoughtful policymaking to improve the health, wealth, and quality of lives of our constituents.

Mayor Francis Suarez of Miami commented in support of the resolution, As mayors, we are committed to guiding our people toward a better future. That brighter future cant happen unless we make a concerted and strategic effort to improve our collective health and well-being.

Blue Zones uses their proven model to help cities, counties, and organizations through community well-being programs that lower healthcare costs, improve productivity and happiness, and increase social connectedness and economic vitality. Ben Leedle, CEO of Blue Zones, said, Improved well-being has a direct impact on health, innovation, productivity, and resilience, so placing it at the center of city policy and planning is imperative to ensure a healthy and happy future for all."

Blue Zones and partners will be holding a webinar in November to discuss reducing comorbidities and creating healthier, happier communities.

About Blue Zones

Blue Zones employs evidence-based ways to help people live better, longer. The company's work is rooted in explorations and research done by National Geographic Fellow Dan Buettner, who identified the blue zones regions around the world where people live extraordinarily long and happy lives. The original research and findings were released in Buettner's bestselling books The Blue Zones Solution, The Blue Zones of Happiness, The Blue Zones, Thrive, and Blue Zones Kitchenall published by National Geographic books. Using original Blue Zones research, Blue Zones Project works with cities to make healthy choices easier through permanent and semi-permanent changes to a city's human-made surroundings. Participating communities have experienced double digit drops in obesity and tobacco use and have saved millions of dollars in healthcare costs. Currently, 60 communities across North America have joined Blue Zones Project, impacting more than 4 million Americans nationwide. For more information, visit bluezones.com.
The Trillist Companies, Inc. announces the record-setting sale of YOO on the Park We knew Atlanta was ready for this high level of sophisticated and playful design, said Scott L. Leventhal, president and CEO of Trillist. Demand has remained strong for its unparalleled features, amenities and incredible design."

The Trillist Companies, Inc. and its joint venture equity partner, Atlantic American Partners, announced the record-setting sale of YOO on the Park, its 25-story, 243-unit luxury multifamily property in the heart of Midtown adjacent to Piedmont Park, to Lincoln Property Company Residential alongside partner Cadillac Fairview for $112.5 million ($522 per square foot). Ushering in a new era of luxury living when it opened in 2017, the sale of YOO on the Park marks the highest purchase price per square foot in Atlanta history. YOO on the Park continues to command some of the citys highest rents per square foot and was 94% occupied at the time of sale.

We knew Atlanta was ready for this high level of sophisticated and playful design, said Scott L. Leventhal, president and CEO of Trillist. Demand has remained strong for its unparalleled features, amenities and incredible design, and we very much look forward to launching our next iteration of the YOO brand in Midtown.

Designed by the world-renowned YOO Design Studio, YOO on the Park boasts striking interiors and finishes, resort-style amenities, stunning city and park views, spacious floor plans and terraces. It was Trillists first foray into the YOO Design Studio partnership. Following the sale of the community, YOO on the Park will be rebranded and called The Registry on the Park.

Robert Stickel, Alex Brown and Ashlyn Warren led Cushman and Wakefields team who advised and represented Trillist and Atlantic American Partners in connection with the sale of YOO on the Park. This core multifamily property provided a unique opportunity to acquire a trophy high-rise asset adjacent to Piedmont Park, convenient to Midtowns dynamic job growth, said Robert Stickel, Executive Vice Chair of Cushman & Wakefields Multifamily Advisory Group. Several ultra-high-net-worth private groups along with institutional investors including pension fund advisors joined the bidding process for this special opportunity, and we were ecstatic about the market response.

About Trillist:

The Trillist Companies, Inc. was formed for the purposes of developing the most innovative and sought after residential and mixed-use buildings in the United States. Combining over 50 years of proven experience in commercial real estate development, construction management, and strategic investment, Trillist continues to bring forth signature, design-driven properties, always striving to reimagine the relationship between resident and residence through new technologies, thought-provoking art and globally significant architecture. Rooted in its core, Trillist practices The Art of Development and implements in The Art of Living in all of its communities. To learn more, please visit http://www.trillist.com.

About Atlantic American Partners:

Atlantic American Partners (AAP) is a private equity fund manager headquartered in Tampa, Florida. AAP manages a series of private equity funds exclusively for EB-5 investors operating under the names Atlantic American Fortune Funds. In addition, AAP sponsored and manages the Campus Life series of funds focusing on student housing across the U.S. AAP provides JV equity for ground up development with a focus on student housing, multi-family and hospitality. For more information, please see our website at http://www.atlanticamericanpartners.com.

About YOO:

YOO has now grown, since its inception in 1999, from a pioneering lifestyle brand to the worlds largest residential design brand: a revolutionary mix of visionary design talent  Philippe Starck, Marcel Wanders, Jade Jagger, Steve Leung, Kate Moss and YOO Studio  underpinned by branding, marketing and development knowledge. Its unlike any offering in the industry and its why the worlds most visionary developers have partnered with YOO in over 70 residential communities for like-minded people over 30 countries. Together, the YOO Studio and Creative Directors create communities that are enhanced through quality, original design. John Hitchcox and Starck have created a winning formula that influences the way we live, bringing the otherwise unreachable designs of Starck, Jagger, Wanders and Leung, to new homes and hotels around the globe. YOO has led the way in branded hotel and residential design projects that are now springing up everywhere as fashion houses and major brands adopt strategies to capitalize on this growing market fueled by design savvy customers. Get to know http://www.yoo.com.

About Cushman & Wakefield:

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. To learn more, visit http://www.cushmanwakefield.com or follow @CushWake on Twitter.

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Users will talk about deploying hybrid cloud scenarios in production and how open source projects like OpenStack and Kubernetes help them scale.

The Open Infrastructure (OpenInfra) Foundation today unveiled a new virtual eventand the return of its flagship in-person event, the OpenInfra Summit.

OpenInfra Live: Keynotes is a new virtual event taking place November 17 and 18 at 9am CT / 1500 UTC. Highlights of this two-day special edition of OpenInfra Live will include opportunities to learn why OpenStack deployments at Walmart, Workday and others are growing, and to meet the newest players in the OpenInfra community. At the event, participants will interact with leaders of open source projects such as OpenStack and Kubernetes to hear new examples of how these projects support OpenInfra use cases like hybrid cloud. Other sessions present insights into the role open source plays in public cloud economics. Also, the community will announce this years Superuser Awards winner at the OpenInfra Live: Keynotes event.

Confirmed speakers for OpenInfra Live: Keynotes include:



Martin Casadopartner at Andreessen Horowitz, will deep dive into his research around hybrid cloud economics

Gerald Bothellodirector of cloud at Walmart, will share how the retail giant is doubling down on OpenStack, citing exponential growth in its OpenStack production deployment

Charlotte DarthCEO of Binero, will join Johan Christensen, CEO of City Network, to discuss OpenStack-powered public cloud momentum and the trends driving the growing footprint

Imtiaz Choudhurysenior principal software engineer at Workday, will share why his team has doubled their OpenStack footprint in one year, now exceeding 1 million cores in production

Aeva Black  OSI Board Member and Open Source Hacker in the Azure Office of the CTO at Microsoft, will discuss how open source communities that embody the Four Opens endure across changes in the tech landscape

Plus Airship, Kata, StarlingX and Zuul users in production

At OpenInfra Live: Keynotes, participants can expect announcements from the OpenInfra Foundation, including new Platinum members and open source projects. Users will talk about deploying hybrid cloud scenarios in production and how open source projects like OpenStack and Kubernetes help them scale. OpenInfra production deployment stats and growth rates will be revealed, as will details of the forthcoming OpenStack User Survey, highlights of which include 10x growth among largest deployments and 25 million cores of OpenStack in production.

Red Hat is the headline sponsor of OpenInfra Live: Keynotes. Supporting sponsors comprise Cloud&Heat, Component Soft, Coredge, InMotion Hosting and iVolve. For more information about sponsorship opportunities, email events@openinfra.dev.

***Register today to participate in the OpenInfra Live: Keynotes virtual event ***

The Return of the In-Person OpenInfra Summit

The OpenInfra Foundation also announced the return of its flagship, in-person event, the OpenInfra Summit. The event returns to Berlin June 7-9, 2022 at the Berlin Congress Center. Information on registration and sponsorship opportunities will be available in November 2021, and activities for media and analysts will be shared shortly thereafter.

About the Open Infrastructure (OpenInfra) Foundation

The Open Infrastructure Foundation (OpenInfra) supports the development and adoption of open infrastructure globally, across a community of 100,000 individuals in 187 countries, by hosting open source projects and communities of practice, including datacenter cloud, edge computing, NFV, CI/CD and container infrastructure.
Dr. Deborah H. Atkin West is the leader in dermatology and provides incredible services and support to both its doctors and its patients. As weve always done at Dermatology & Laser Del Mar, I love that West puts patients first.

West Dermatology is pleased to announce the addition of Dermatology & Laser of Del Mar (DLDM), owned by Dr. Deborah H. Atkin, a board-certified dermatologist, to its growing number of providers and clinics. Dr. Atkin has been serving patients in the Del Mar community for over 20 years and will continue to provide cosmetic and general dermatology services at her practice post acquisition.

Dr. Atkin and her team are an incredible addition to the West family, said Dr. Mitchel Goldman, Medical Director of California. Her commitment to her patients and her community through her dermatology services and philanthropy is impressive. Clinically, she and her team are world-class. We are so happy to have them join our growing team.

Deborah H. Atkin attended the University of California, Santa Barbara as an undergraduate and then went on to attend the University of California, Los Angeles for medical school. It was at UCLA where she was credited with cofounding the first ever student-run medical clinic for the homeless population. This clinic continues to successfully operate today. During her final year of medical school, Dr. Atkin worked as a volunteer surgeon in South Africa and was involved in research in Photodynamic Therapy. For over a decade, Dr. Atkin has been active in philanthropic efforts including fundraising for the American Liver Foundation and Nicks Picks, a charity originally founded with her son Nick, just before his successful liver transplant in 2012.

"We are absolutely thrilled to join the West Dermatology family, said Dr. Atkin. West is the leader in dermatology and provides incredible services and support to both its doctors and its patients. As weve always done at Dermatology & Laser of Del Mar, I love that West puts patients first. In addition to Dr. Atkin, DLDM services are also provided by Danielle Patton, a board-certified Physician Assistant. Danielle received her medical education from Touro University California. She also has a Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies along with a Master of Public Health. Danielle is a member of the American Academy of Physicians Assistants (AAPA), the Society for Dermatology Physician Assistants and is currently a Diplomate Fellow candidate in Dermatology.

Adding a practice in Del Mar to our family, and one as well-respected and clinically excellent as that of Dermatology & Laser of Del Mar with Dr. Deb Atkin, is an exciting next step for us. This clinic and remarkable team will allow us to expand our services to help more patients access the dermatology care they need in San Diego, said Brian Stern, Chief Executive Officer of West Dermatology.

About West Dermatology

West Dermatology is committed to providing comprehensive dermatology services and education to patients so that they can have longer, healthier, happier lives. Committed to clinical excellence, the providers at West Dermatology are world-class experts in skincare, have decades of experience across dermatology, and all the doctors are board-certified. Recognized as the clinical leaders in dermatology in the country, West Dermatology continues to expand its footprint and service offerings to best care for the patients in the communities they serve.

Headquartered in Newport, CA, the company offers access to medical, cosmetic, and surgical dermatology services in Arizona, California, and Nevada. West Dermatology also has an industry-leading research department and a best-in-class dermatopathology lab. West Dermatology continues to grow and is always looking to add great providers and top talent to its family of practices. Patients interested in being seen at one of the many West Dermatology locations can schedule appointments directly on the West Dermatology website, where they will find additional information on the West Dermatology providers, locations, and the conditions they treat. WestDermatology.com
Car insurance companies are known for rewarding their customers with various types of discounts. Drivers should try to obtain some of these discounts in order to lower their insurance costs, said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company.

Cheapquotesautoinsurance.com has launched a new blog post that explains to drivers what should they know about car insurance discounts.

For more info and free online quotes, please visit: https://cheapquotesautoinsurance.com/what-you-should-know-about-car-insurance-discounts/

To make car insurance more affordable, car insurance providers reward policyholders with various types of discounts. Some of these discounts can be earned by drivers after meeting certain criteria. Other discounts are based on factors that a policyholder has no control over them.

The most common types of discounts offered by insurance companies are the following:



Driving history discount. To obtain this type of discount, drivers will have to maintain a clean driving record. Insurance providers will reward drivers that are not involved in accidents and are not making claims for a period that can range from three to five years.

Installed safety devices discount. Drivers that invest in their vehicle's safety will gain multiple benefits. One of them is a large discount provided by the insurance companies that want to make sure their customers are driving safe vehicles. But before installing one of the multiple safety devices that are available on the market, drivers should contact their insurers and see which ones are approved by them.

Graduating a defensive driving course discount. Drivers that attend and graduate a defensive course can obtain this type of discount. Defensive driving courses will help drivers improve their driving skill and learn new safe driving techniques.

Paying for the whole policy upfront discount. Policyholders that choose to pay for the whole policy at once can get a small discount. Besides saving money, drivers will also save time by not having to go to one place every month and pay the insurance bill.

Demographic and geographic-based discounts. The types of discounts can significantly lower the price of insurance. Young drivers and senior citizens will pay much more on their insurance, compared to drivers are between 30 and 60 years old. Married drivers also pay less on their insurance compared to single or divorced persons. Policyholders that live in low-crime rate neighborhoods will also pay less on their coverage.

For additional info, money-saving tips and free car insurance quotes, visit https://cheapquotesautoinsurance.com/

Cheapquotesautoinsurance.com is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc.
Explorations of class, race, and sexuality play into many of this falls notable fiction debuts, including a novel about a young Black woman working in financial services, a South Korean gay romance, and more.

Nawaaz Ahmed

Supersized and Fully Formed

In 1994, Nawaaz Ahmed left India for a graduate program in computer science at Cornell. I dont think in India you go around saying, I want to be a writer,  he says from his home in Brooklyn. Like his debut, Radiant Fugitives (Counterpoint, Aug.), which PW called dazzling in a starred review, the path to writing a novel was long and windy, and informed by his political consciousness as a gay Muslim immigrant.

Ahmed took a job in the Bay Area with Inktomi in 2000, touted at the time as the next Microsoft, he says. Two years later its stock plummeted from a peak of $241 to a quarter a share, and the company was sold to Yahoo. By 2007 hed become involved with book clubs and writing groups mainly comprising other South Asians and went part-time at Yahoo to focus on his writing. In 2009 he left for the University of Michigan, expecting to finish a book by the time his MFA scholarship support ran out. But it took 10 years, he adds, laughing.

The first drafts of Radiant Fugitives, about an Indian woman condemned by her father for being queer, were shorter and more focused on a family drama. But as Ahmed became galvanized by the uncertainty around the marriage equality fight during the early Obama years and the rise in anti-Muslim sentiment, after having already taken part in actions with Asian LGBTQ groups in the Bay Area, those issues began entering the book.

He says it was both exciting and scary to write explicitly about homosexuality, because of the small number of gay Muslim writers who were published. But I was like, how can you not? I have to take part in the struggle for visibility, he adds.

The draft Ahmed worked on with agent Anjali Singh sprawled to 800 pages, almost twice the length itd ultimately publish as. Dan Smetanka at Counterpoint read all of it. Its that moment when the lightning comes down and your hair is on fire and all of those terrible metaphors that editors use, he says. It was such an ambitious draft, supersized and fully formed.

Xavier Navarro Aquino

A Wicked Dew

Four days after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in 2017, Xavier Navarro Aquino returned there from Lincoln, Nebr., where he was completing a PhD in English, to help his family. His mother lives in Vega Baja, where he was raised, and much of his family lives in various parts of the islands northern coast.

It wasnt easy for me to process and want to write about it, Aquino says from his home in Lincoln, where he is preparing to move to South Bend, Ind., to teach at Notre Dame. But from that experience came the idea for a story of a girl named Camila who finds her sister encased in a mudslide. It became the germ for Velorio (HarperVia, Jan. 2022), a polyphonic novel of Marias aftermath.

I used the framework of Lord of the Flies to imagine a society after the natural disaster because it wasnt far from reality, Aquino says. I saw how the rules and laws had degraded, and how degradation mixed with fears of abandonment, which had exacerbated a very fragile electric grid, economic system, and diaspora.

By then, Aquino already had an agent, Jin Auh, whom hed met at the Sewanee Writers Conference. During a residency at MacDowell in 2019, he wrote a full draft of Velorio in a fever pitch. I was very surprised with how it just fell into my imagination and the words would just flow, but it was a strange time, he says. I think I felt a little crazy, and told I friend I felt like I was hearing voices.

When Aquino met with Tara Parsons, editor and associate publisher at HarperVia, he was excited to hear that she understood what he was doing with the multitude of voices, and that she didnt want him to change itsomething Jin had warned him might happen with other editors. One of the most important voices was that of the complex character Urayoan, whom Aquino hesitatingly calls an antagonist, because Urayoan speaks to the effects of U.S. colonization, sometimes in ways that are not immediately coherent. I was sort of trying to draw from Derek Walcotts commentary on Caliban, Aquino says. In The Tempest, Caliban carries the most beautiful language but is often overlooked.

Natasha Brown

Everybody Hurts

I think STEM careers are really good options for a lot of people, says Natasha Brown, a writer from London who studied math at Cambridge and spent a decade working in financial services. They can really be good opportunities to buy yourself some time to produce creative work.

In 2019, after writing on the side and taking workshops, Brown received support from the London Writers Award and finished her first novel, Assembly (Little, Brown, Sept.), which PWs starred review called a stunning achievement of compressed narrative and fearless articulation.

Assembly follows a young Black woman working at an investment bank, whose visit to her white fiances family estate is dampened by her recent breast cancer diagnosis, and whose career success is met with blatant racism and sexism from bitter associates at her workplace. Clocking in at 112 pages with a small trim size, and punctuated by fragments of prose and verse along with references to theories from bell hooks and Claudia Rankine, its not a conventional novel, but it tells an age-old story.

Its like a to be or not to be story, but about race, says Jean Garnett, an editor at Little, Brown, who acquired the book during Frankfurt last year. You have a character whos thinking, is this worth enduring? Except Natashas character is way less whiny and indulgent than Hamlet.

Its a story thats more commonly told in white literary fiction. The stories Ive really enjoyed have been about middle-class lack of satisfaction, Brown says. But for people of color, for Black women specifically, if we do get a story about someone being successful, its always a story of being grateful. Its kind of limiting and a little bit dehumanizing to not recognize that everybody feels dissatisfied with their lives sometimes.

Reading Rankines Citizen and Dont Let Me Be Lonely helped show Brown new possibilities for writing about Black experiences, she says, and Lydia Daviss and Maggie Nelsons work opened up a sense of playfulness in mixing genres and weaving tangential threads.

As a result, Assembly sometimes has the feeling of an essay. The narrator looks out at the reader to say, I see you,  Garnett says. Im not encased in a fictional universe, Im here in the same world and were having a conversation about that world.

Ash Davidson

Paradise Lost

Ash Davidson was too young to remember her early few years in Klamath, Calif., but her parents stories formed a powerful mythology of a seaside idyll destroyed by logging. My parents were very clear that this was the most beautiful place theyd ever lived, she says. But the herbicides used by loggers poisoned their drinking water, prompting the family to develop a habit of never drinking from a tap, no matter where they are.

Davidsons novel, Damnation Spring (Scribner, Aug.), is set in a place similar to Klamath in the 1970s, where a logger buys a grove of redwoods to invest in his familys future. It explores the tension between a working-class communitys economic livelihood, the health risks posed by logging, and the environmentalists who spotlight its devastation. PW called it a heart-wrenching modern American tragedy.

To write the book, Davidson took a trip back to Klamath for research, hoping to talk to people who were affected by the pollution. I didnt know what the hell I was doing, and couldnt get people to speak with me, she says. Then, with her mother, she went to a community dinner. We walked in and you could just hear the heads turn.

After a woman recognized her mother, she introduced Davidson to a former logger. He told me hed actually been sprayed while he was working, and shared how it affected his eyes, his breathing, and his skin, she says. That was the moment that I realized: this persons family was drinking the water.

At that point, Davidson says, she was able to approach the characters with empathy.

The book took a decade to write, and her agent, Chris Parris-Lamb, helped her across the finish line. Theyd met when Davidson was working on short stories at the Iowa Writers Workshop and he suggested she write a novel. I sent him an email five years later saying, Hi, I dont know if you remember me, but you were right, and heres this novel, would you look at it?  she recalls.

He did, and when Parris-Lamb sent it to Kathy Belden, executive editor at Scribner, it didnt take long for her to respond. I like fiction that does societal work being done in service of the story, Belden says. It feels like an old-fashioned big American novel.

Jo Hamya

Do They Owe Us a Living?

When did it become ridiculous to think that a stable economy and a fair housing market were reasonable expectations? asks the unnamed narrator of Jo Hamyas Three Rooms (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Aug.). Its a spiky riff on Virginia Woolfs A Room of Ones Own, dialing into the dwindling prospects for university graduates in the U.K. and the conservative politics behind Brexit.

After taking an MA at Oxford, Hamya faced her share of precarity while working an unstable magazine job, which she ended up quitting because it didnt line up with her long-range goal to be a university lecturer. My protagonist is the sort of person I would hate to end up becoming, Hamya says. Shes very indecisive and ineffectual, and confined by circumstance.

The book developed after the Brexit referendum as Hamya and her friends began to feel that they would never be able to buy their own homes. Hamya is half Polish and grew up watching her parents achieve progressively better lives. They had kind of gotten the better deal out of Blairism and social mobility, she says, and I had maybe slightly naive expectations of how life should turn out.

Hamya finished the book in March 2020, a week or two before England went into lockdown. Id sent it to a handful of agents who hadnt responded, and so Id sort of given up, she says. But a few friends asked to read the manuscript, one of whom worked at Penguin, and though the friend said she wouldnt be able to do anything, the book got passed around. Two weeks later Hamya received a call from Ana Fletcher, senior editor at Jonathan Cape.

Sort of halfway through the conversation I began to clock that she was interested in acquiring it, Hamya says. Fletcher helped her connect with agent Harriet Moore to negotiate the deal, and by August, the North American rights were sold to HMH at auction.

Hamya says she wasnt sure how the book would be received in the U.S., given its focus on British politics, and was heartened to receive an enthusiastic letter from a bookseller in Alabama. Maybe its because there was this overlap of news feeds in 2016 and 2020, where we had Boris Johnson and you guys had Trump, she notes. Both sides of the Atlantic were melting.

Tracey Lange

Breaking the Bonds

In the opening scene of Tracey Langes We Are the Brennans (Celadon, Aug.), a young woman named Sunday Brennan drives into a Los Angeles freeway divider while drunk, prompting her bar-owner brother to bring her back home to New York City. With the crash, Sunday has reached the end of the line in an attempt to start a new life away from her Irish Catholic family.

I come from a big Irish Catholic crew, says Lange, who now lives in Oregon and was raised in an Upper West Side apartment building where her father worked as the super. My dad was one of 15 kids from Ireland, and I just loved being around that kind of clan feeling. Theres so much fodder to dig into.

The story isnt autobiographical, but Lange, like Sunday, also headed west once she came of age, settling first in Arizona, where, with her husband, she built and ran a business providing behavioral health services for 15 years. The focus was so much about the family, and what makes a family work and not work, she says.

Several years ago, Lange was able to focus solely on her writing, and completed the manuscript while enrolled in an online novel writing program at Stanford. The program came at a great time because I trying to wrap my mind around the novels multiple point of view, she says. In doing so, she was able to get underneath the surface of the guarded members of the Brennan clan.

Describing her own extended family, Lange says, Theres a great closeness, but theres also a lot of hiding flaws and a lot of shame, whether its mental illness issues, drug use, financial worries, or divorce. I felt very connected to Sunday, growing up in a family where theres a bit of keeping things on the down low.

Lange met agent Stephanie Cabot at a writers conference in Kauai, Hawaii. Cabot was impressed by her pitch and her professionalism, and saw how the book fit in her wheelhouse. Im always drawn to this idea that history is always with us, Cabot says. I think she pulled it off really well. Theres a lot of heart and emotion and compassion.

Claire Luchette

Out of the Habit

In summer 2016, Claire Luchette was in graduate school at the University of Oregon, broke and eating expired yogurt while working on short stories. She remembered something her nun macroeconomics teacher would always say at her Jesuit high school back in Chicago: Theres no such thing as a free lunch. The line inspired her to write the story New Bees, which was published in Ploughshares and became her meal ticket for a series of writing residencies.

The story also became her way into the novel Agatha of Little Neon (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Aug.), which PW called a lovely story of... cross-cultural exchange. It takes place in a halfway house in Rhode Island, where a group of nuns explore their sense of agency as well as their sexuality.

I was wondering how nuns could live with the fact that in the eyes of the church theyre second-class citizens, Luchette says. At the time, Donald Trump was on the rise and she was thinking a lot about power and inequality. It stoked a lot of rage.

She also developed the theme of conviction. What if you revisited this thing you always assumed was true about yourself? she asks. Thats something the church doesnt really make possible. At the time, I was starting to ask questions about my own sexuality, and it seemed natural for the characters.

In 2018 Luchette finished what she calls a crappy first draft and sent it to agents. One of them was Julie Barer, whom she cold queried despite having a friend already represented by Barer. I was insistent on doing it myself and not have anyone, you know, introduce me and make it easier, she says.

Barer encouraged Luchette to coax out the themes of identity in the story, which Luchette thinks was the right move. I never wanted this to be a coming-out story, she says, but I did want it to ask some of the same questions, and she made that seem possible.

As early readers start to weigh in, Luchette finds the responses really moving, but she also continues to feel anxious. Im still not sure how to manage the fact that people will find in it what they will, she says. Its a really specific kind of vulnerability to share the last five years of ones life with complete strangers.

Wanda M. Morris

A New Kind of Legal Thriller

After I started this book 13 years ago, I put it down, says Wanda M. Morris, speaking of All Her Little Secrets (Morrow, Nov.). I convinced myself nobody was going to want to read a story about a 40-ish Black woman who has to bring down a group of awful people.

Morris continued her career as a corporate lawyer in Atlanta, where she has lived and worked for the past two decades, and where the book is set. It follows a woman named Ellice Littlejohn who has a corporate counsel job and discovers her bosss dead body, with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Ellice and her boss had been having an affair, and hed asked her to meet him that morning. As the plot unfolds, readers will be reminded of John Grishams The Firm for the way Ellice uncovers criminal activity at the company and confronts an ethical dilemma.

After a health scare several years ago, Morris realized it was time to finish the project. I thought, Im in this high-pressure job and I have a family and Im trying to do all these things and be all these things to everyone else, she recalls. And what am I doing for me?

Morriss longtime interest in writing was partly what made her want to become a lawyer. She reads widely, from biographies to poetry to literary fiction, but shes mainly drawn to mysteries. I like that whole figuring out the puzzle, she says. But she hungered for stories that featured smart Black female protagonists.

I like the idea of, you know, a Black woman chasing down bad guys in dark office towers, Morris says. But I just didnt see a lot of books like that on the shelf. I think Toni Morrison probably launched a lot of careers when she said, If theres a book that you want to read, but it hasnt been written yet, then you must write it. And so I did.

Sang Young Park

A Cosmopolitan Romance

Alexander Chee turned more than a few heads this past winter when he interviewed Korean writer Sang Young Park and announced on Twitter that Parks Love in the Big City (Grove, Nov.; trans. from the Korean by Anton Hur) was the first gay novel published in South Korea, where it appeared in 2019. Previously, Hur has heralded the work of Park's queer South Korean predecessors.

There are things that would be very relatable for American millennial readers, like an experience someone could be having in Brooklyn, says Peter Blackstock, editor at Grove. And then theres the dimension of mandatory military service.

Early on, the narrator recounts how he has a female friend send him love letters while in boot camp, so his fellow trainees wont think hes gay. Later, back in Seoul, he has a string of sexual encounters until he finds love.

For Park, Seoul loomed in his early years as a promise of liberation. I was raised in Daegu, he says via his translator, Hur, which is notorious for being conservative. Throughout my teenage years all I could dream of was escaping. After leaving to study at Sungkyunkwan University, he found in Seoul a good place for anyone in the minority to meet others anonymously and stay hidden in the crowds.

As a writer, Park was inspired by Han Kangs The Vegetarian, as well as by French writers such as Annie Ernaux and Margeurite Duras, and he also drew on Korean and American pop culture. His story Searching for Paris Hilton won him a debut writer prize. Maybe Paris Hilton herself was a deeply inspirational figure to me, he jokes.

He hopes American readers will dive into the Korean references in his work. I mention a lot of K-pop acts that are not BTS and Blackpink, who are already super famous in America, so I hope readers check them out, Park says.

Blackstock notes that Grove editorial assistant Yvonne Cha, who read the whole book in Korean, was instrumental to the acquisition, and says they hope to reach an audience of Korean American readers. It was really cool to have her make the case, he adds.

Javier Serena

Books Nobody Wants to Read

What if a blockbuster author of the Spanish-speaking world, whose stature reached mythic proportions just before he died, had toiled for years in obscurity because his early work wasnt all that great? Spanish writer Javier Serena explores this question in Last Words on Earth (Open Letter, Sept.; trans. from the Spanish by Katie Whittemore), about a Roberto Bolano-esque writer named Ricardo Funes.

Asked about how the book was received in Spain, where it was first published in 2017, Serena, who aspired to become a writer as Bolanos work began to make a splash in the late 1990s, says via Whittemore, Bolano is still a delicate topic among the Spanish literary elite. Hes still treated with kid gloves by the people who were close to him. Its not a topic that people just jump into.

At least not in Madrid, where Serena lives and works for Latin American cultural exchange program, or Barcelona, near where Bolano lived when he was in Spain. But Chad Post, publisher and editor at Open Letter, was more than happy to take it on. Its an incredibly moving book, says Post. I think it really hits home with people who work in creative fields where you dont know where your success and value is going to come from and at what point in time.

Post received a sample from Whittemore before the 2019 AWP conference in Portland, Ore., and then at the conference, Whittemore told him about Serenas other book, Atila, about the writer Aliocha Coll, and a third forthcoming in Spanish. So we started conceiving of this as a three-book project that groups together novels about the writing life and an unwavering commitment to your art and how that plays out for people, Post says.

Serena wants to make clear that his character Funes is not Bolano, but says he was inspired by the gulf between Bolanos day-to-day life and the image hed cultivated. We like to think of him as this sort of like punk hippie writer on the margins, but for a while, he was just like, dithering around this town and trying to write books that nobody wanted to read.

This article has been updated with additional information.
I feel like comics chose me, rather than the other way around, Matt Madden says from his home in Philadelphia. His wife Jessica Abel, an acclaimed cartoonist in her own right, and a chair at the illustration department of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, hurries by on her way to work. After years of teaching the art and theory of comics, Madden is a stay-at-home dad, refocusing on being a cartoonist who sometimes teaches rather than a teacher who sometimes draws comics. His new graphic novel, Ex Libris: A Comic, published this month by Uncivilized Books, channels a lifetime of comics scholarship into a playful metafictional mystery.

Born in New York City, Madden grew up primarily in Greenwich, Connecticut; his family also lived in Paris for five years, which left him with a lifelong connection to French language and culture. He became seriously interested in comics as a student at the University of Michigan, where he discovered classic strips, such as Little Nemo and Krazy Kat and the alternative comics published in National Lampoon, Heavy Metal, and Art Speigelman and Francoise Moulys legendary art comics magazine RAW. While working as a radio DJ, he met indie cartoonist Terry LaBan, who introduced him to minicomicsphotocopied comics zinesand creators such as minicomics pioneer Matt Feazell.

I started hanging out with those guys for coffee once a week, says Madden, and we would doodle and talk about comics. The 1990s zine review magazine Fact Sheet Five introduced him to a vibrant underground of DIY cartooning and inspired him to try his hand at making comics of his own. I was getting into storytelling, I was getting into filmmaking, and I was also into drawing and doodling, Madden recalls. Comics hit all these buttons in the same time. It was a community and an art form that felt wide open.

After college, Madden stayed in Ann Arbor, working at the original Borders bookstore and drawing minicomics, then moved to Texas. He began work on his first graphic novel, Black Candy, about a man who takes a job as a human guinea pig at a lab but experiences strange side effects from the black pills hes given. He began corresponding online with Abel, who was already self-publishing her comic Artbabe and had recently won a Xeric Grant. He moved to Chicago to be with Abel, then the two moved to Mexico, where Madden taught ESL.

The Mexico sojourn was one of several foolhardy, over-ambitious plans weve gotten involved in over the years and managed to come out okay, Madden says, and laughs, but the experience provided Madden and Abel with fodder for comics and the chance to mingle with a broader community of artists and writers. There was a sense that we were part of a larger cultural community, which is a feeling you dont always get as a cartoonist, especially back then in the 1990s.

During this time, Madden began drawing his 2005 graphic novel, 99 Ways to Tell a Story: Exercises in Style. He was inspired by French novelist and critic Raymond Queneaus book Exercises in Style, which retells the same anecdote through 99 different literary approaches. Madden wondered if he could do something similar with comics.

The visual element of different drawing styles opened up a whole new field, he says. Even the graphic design element of the comics page seemed interesting for me to play around with. In 99 Ways to Tell a Story, Madden draws himself walking downstairs to the kitchen (actually his kitchen in Mexico City) 99 times, employing different page layouts, art styles, materials, and genres ranging from superhero comics to religious tracts to the Bayeaux Tapestry.

After Mexico, Madden and Abel moved to New York City to teach at the School of Visual Arts. While teaching, they collaborated on two expansive textbooks on comics, Drawing Words and Writing Pictures (2008) and Mastering Comics (2012). Comics were becoming more widely accepted as art, and Maddens 99 Ways to Tell a Story was one of many graphic novels showing up in comics curricula. Suddenly, Madden recalls, there was an excitement about this medium and a desire to have textbooks about how to do it. Though Madden worried that he might not have enough published work under his belt to tell others how to make comics, he and Abel decided that their classroom experience gave them the know-how to help other teachers approach this deceptively complex art form.

Madden finds that teaching comics involves constant code-switching. His classes address art, writing, the blend of storytelling elements unique to comics, and the craft and business of comics publishing. New technologies and computer art techniques are increasingly part of the curriculum, forcing instructors trained in traditional illustration to look beyond dip pens, brushes, and hand lettering. Pretty much everyone can find something they can latch on to, Madden says, whether its drawing, writing, publishing, or pushing the frontiers of the field.

Teaching aspiring creators is invigorating but challenging. Sometimes you find yourself in a room and everyone there has a different aesthetic approach, a different technical approach, a different idea of what comics is, a different idea of what they want to do with it, Madden says. It can get a bit exhausting. But teaching has given him the opportunity to expand his own work and keep up on what other artists are doing with the form.

After 11 years at SVA, Madden and Abel received a Maison des auteurs residency in Angouleme, France. Home of Europes largest comics festival, Angouleme offers this residency to comics and animation artists looking for space to work on long-term projects. Madden and Abel stayed for four years, returning to the U.S. in 2016. During the last two years of the residency, Madden developed the outline of Ex Libris.

In Ex Libris, an initially unseen protagonist awakens in a room containing a bookshelf full of comics, from graphic novels to vintage comic books to collections of comic strips. To figure out how they got there and how to escape, they must learn how to read comics and, eventually, create their own. Maddens original inspiration came from Italo Calvinos postmodern novel If on a Winters Night a Traveler, in which a reader traces a story through a series of literary fragments from imaginary novels. I got drawn into that world of potential, says Madden, where whatever you imagine is more exciting than what the actual unfolding of that novel would be like in real life.

Madden calls Ex Libris a bit of a puzzle box that offers readers multiple ways to experience the story. Some people might enjoy spotting easter eggs and references to other works, he says, while others will go down the rabbit hole with the protagonist as they try to solve the deepening mystery. Madden is fascinated by the idea of creating comics that exist mostly in the readers mind, like the novel fragments in If on a Winters Night a Traveler or the fictions of novelist Jorge Luis Borges. One of the comics the protagonist flips through, for example, is a 900-page graphic novel called Escape. Even though only a few pages are shown, the readers mind can full in the gaps and, in some sense, in your imagination, that book really exists now.

Ex Libris gives Madden the chance to experiment with art styles and genres to an even greater extent than in 99 Ways to Tell a Story. Hes especially proud of the four-page excerpt he created for Library of Terror, a pastiche of 1950s EC horror comics introduced by a cackling hostess called The Librarian. Other genres represented in Ex Libris include action manga, vintage comic strips, funny animals, superheroes, and an assortment of modern graphic novel styles. The most challenging panels, he says, were the brief glimpses of comics that he had to invent from whole cloth, rather than replicating an existing style. Though he considers himself mostly a traditionalist working in pen and ink, he used digital effects on Photoshop to give the comics-within-comics the right vintage look.

Though Madden is happy to be known as a formalist, he wants to tell engaging stories, too. I love the experience of opening a new book and reading the first few pages, trying to figure out what kind of world we're in, who the characters are, and whats going to happen, he says. So I decided to make a book where that experience repeats itself throughout, while at the same time serving to move a compelling narrative along. With Ex Libris, he hopes to share his love for comics and perhaps call others to the form.
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The Asian American Writers Workshop is celebrating its 30th anniversary with a series of digital events and a three-month fundraising campaign. Its a lot of different pieces and thats intentional, said Jafreen Uddin, executive director. Retrospectives are critical for taking stock of where you came from and how you got there, but its also important to look forward. The workshop hopes to take on the past and the future while raising $75,000 throughout the remainder of 2021 to help support the organizations programming and operations.

One of the first things I wanted to do when I started as executive director a year and a half ago was to have a big gala for the 30th anniversary, Uddin explained. Covid and the delta variant, however, made that unfeasible. Digital isnt anything new for the workshop, though. We were one of the first organizations to go all out on virtual programming, said Uddin. Even pre-pandemic, we always thought about offering our events transnationally. The workshop has been recording their in-person events and posting them on YouTube routinely.

The organization was started by Curtis Chin, Christina Chiu, Marie Myung-Ok Lee, and Bino A. Realuyo as a means of finding community in New York City because they didnt feel at home in the standard literary scene. This mission has continued to drive everything we do, Uddin said. Though gone are the days of hosting their events in a basement at St. Marks Place, the organizations everyday operation contains that drive for sustaining community.

As Uddin and her staff look at the future of the workshop, they arent slowing down with their venerable programming. Uddin took on her new role at the beginning of 2020, a month before the pandemic hit. The workshop closed weeks before the lockdown. Im generally overcautious and figured, lets try telecommuting for two weeks,' but weve been at home since. Like many organizations, the workshop discovered that digital events attract a wide audience.

I think a lot of the future is going to be hybrid, Uddin said. In the nearly 60 events it has hosted since the pandemic started, the positive response and sizable attendance, especially with regards to people viewing events after the initial night, have bolstered the workshop's confidence in thinking of events as more than just in-person.

Among the remaining events planned for the year on October 27, Uddin will join Snigdha Sur, Cathy Linh Che, and Lawrence-Minh Bui Davis to discuss the idea of home and what it means to create a home in different forms. Novembers signature event will look back at the legacy of the organizations print magazine and its evolution into a digital only. The campaign rounds out with a star-studded digital gala in December that celebrates the 30th anniversary of the workshop and the conclusion of the fundraiser.

These events are in conjunction with, rather than a replacement, for the workshops usual activities. Were continuing to launch books and host conversations, Uddin said. Were celebrating but were also doing the work that weve always done.

We do a lot on purpose, Uddin added. We want to provide as many channels as possible for people to plug into the worksop.
Novel innovations from inventors around the state of Indiana will be on display at the 2021 Purdue Technology Showcase, being held virtually this year Feb. 10-11. (Purdue University image)

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.  Novel innovations from inventors around the state of Indiana will be on display at the 2021 Purdue Technology Showcase. This years theme is State of Innovation.

The Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization is hosting the annual showcase, being held virtually this year Feb. 10-11. Registration by Feb. 9 is required to receive the link for joining the showcase.

The showcase will feature novel innovations from inventors at Purdue University, Crane Naval Base, Indiana University and the University of Notre Dame. Startup companies working with the Purdue Foundry also will be featured at the showcase.

This year we decided to include technologies from our peer in-state institutions alongside Purdue to shine a light on the exciting innovation occurring across the state of Indiana, said Brooke Beier, vice president of OTC. The virtual showcase will reach audiences around the world and will connect commercialization partners with incredible innovators and technologies.

Each presenter will have about five minutes to present their discoveries during the fast-paced event. The showcase also will feature several opportunities to network with the inventors.

Members of the research, business and entrepreneurial community can RSVP online for the showcase. Questions may be directed to showcase@prf.org.

Here is a list of the categories of innovations being highlighted at the showcase:

Feb. 10  Life Science

10:30 a.m.  Diagnostics

11:15 a.m.  Drug Discovery and Development

1 p.m.  Therapeutics

2 p.m.  Food and Agriculture

2:45 p.m.  Medical Device and Health Care

Feb. 11  Physical Science; National Inventors Day

10:25 a.m.  Computer Technology and Cybersecurity

11 a.m.  Artificial Intelligence and Smart Sensors

1 p.m.  Materials and Manufacturing

2 p.m.  Chemistry and Chemical Processing

About Purdue Research Foundation

Purdue Research Foundation supports Purdue Universitys land-grant mission by helping the university improve the world through its technologies and graduates. Established in 1930, PRF is a private, nonprofit foundation. The foundation helps patent and commercialize Purdue technologies; builds places to encourage innovation, invention, investment, commercialization and entrepreneurship; and makes equity available to students to finance their Purdue education. For more information on licensing a Purdue innovation, contact the Office of Technology Commercialization at otcip@prf.org. For more information about involvement and investment opportunities in startups based on a Purdue innovation, contact the Purdue Foundry at foundry@prf.org.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a top public research institution developing practical solutions to todays toughest challenges. Ranked the No. 5 Most Innovative University in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, Purdue delivers world-changing research and out-of-this-world discovery. Committed to hands-on and online, real-world learning, Purdue offers a transformative education to all. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue has frozen tuition and most fees at 2012-13 levels, enabling more students than ever to graduate debt-free. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap at purdue.edu.

Writer: Chris Adam, cladam@prf.org

Source: Brooke Beier, blbeier@prf.org
Through research, Extension and education activities, the #DiverseCornBelt team will build resilient intensification through diversity at the farm, landscape, and market levels that ensures needs of diverse people are met.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.  A $10 million project seeks to make Midwestern agriculture more resilient by diversifying farms, marketing and the agricultural landscape.

Weve all heard of hedging a bet or diversifying a portfolio to be able to weather ups and downs, and this is the same concept, said Linda Prokopy department head and professor of horticulture and landscape architecture at Purdue University, who leads the project.

Whats new is that market and environmental research tailored to this part of the U.S. will inform our next moves, and individual farmers and stakeholders will be involved in every step of the process, she says. Growing only a rotation of corn and soybeans is not necessarily sustainable economically, environmentally or socially. We will be working with farmers in Indiana, Illinois and Iowa to evaluate alternative cropping systems that can be used in the Midwest  we will be evaluating small grains and/or forage crops in rotations, perennial forage or bioenergy crops, agroforestry, horticultural food crops and grazed livestock.

The USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture selected the project, titled #DiverseCornBelt: Resilient Intensification through Diversity in Midwestern Agriculture, which has a multidisciplinary team that spans the life, physical and social sciences.

This project draws upon the talents of our faculty and can make a crucial contribution to diversifying Midwest agriculture. The lessons learned can benefit farmers throughout the region, said Karen Plaut, the Glenn W. Sample Dean of Purdues College of Agriculture.

The team pulls expertise from across Purdue Agriculture. In addition to Prokopy, Purdue faculty on the team include Shalamar Armstrong, associate professor of agronomy; Steve Hallett, professor of horticulture and landscape architecture; Ian Kaplan, professor of entomology; Sarah LaRose, assistant professor of agricultural education; Elizabeth Maynard, clinical engagement associate professor of horticulture; Aaron Thompson, assistant professor of horticulture and landscape architecture; and Ariana Torres, associate professor of horticulture and landscape architecture and agricultural economics.

Kaplan specifically addressed the biophysical research component of the project.

We are planning to collect large-scale field data across a wide range of cropping systems in the Corn Belt region  from Indiana to Iowa  that vary from traditional corn monocultures to highly diversified farms, he said. This sampling effort will test how diversification practices at realistic spatial scales impact biophysical variables important to farmers. For example, we anticipate collecting data on soil health, water quality and insect biodiversity. By measuring these variables across three states, we will be able to understand how the implementation of specific farming practices simultaneously affect agroecosystem function, crop yields and long-term sustainability.

Stakeholder listening sessions, surveys and interviews will also inform the five-year project, Prokopy said.

We will examine the environmental costs and benefits of diversified systems through on-farm research, as well as identify economic and social barriers to change. The COVID-19 pandemic showed us the lack of resilience in our current system and how farmers suffered because of it, she said. We hope such pandemics will be rare, but, unfortunately, we cant say the same about climate change. There will be challenges ahead and we must prepare for the future. We hope this project will bring together farmers, researchers and the agri-food community to figure out how.

Letters of support for the teams proposal came from farmers, industry, academic institutions and environmental organizations, including General Mills, Smithfield, Kelloggs, Red Gold, the Indiana Agriculture Nutrient Alliance, the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, National Association of Conservation Districts, the Hoosier Young Farmers Coalition, the Iowa Soybean Association and the National Wildlife Federation.

#DiverseCornBelts Extension program will support farmers and local markets as they transition to a more diverse environment.

We dont know what kinds of diversification this project will identify as the most promising, but the Extension team will be ready to get the word out, help stakeholders evaluate the findings and provide resources needed to make changes for a more sustainable Midwest agriculture, said Elizabeth Maynard, Extension specialist and clinical engagement associate professor of horticulture and landscape architecture.

The project also will engage the future workforce through educational modules and immersive learning experiences.

Students will take field courses where they travel together and learn how to create a sustainable system, Prokopy said. It is like a study abroad course, but across the region. Students will learn from farmers, market organizers and researchers to gain a better sense of the entire agricultural system.

Partner institutions on the project include the American Society of Agronomy, Conservation Technology Information Center, Sustainable Food Lab, USDA Economic Research Service, USDA Forest Service, Illinois State University, Iowa State University, Montana State University, The Nature Conservancy, Practical Farmers of Iowa, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Iowa, University of Minnesota, and University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of Wisconsin-Platteville.

Farmers, agricultural advisors and marketers, community leaders, and landowners, interested in participating in the project through surveys, interviews and stakeholder listening sessions should contact Prokopy at lprokopy@purdue.edu.

The U.S. Department of Agricultures National Institute of Food and Agriculture (Project No. 2021-68012-35896) funded this work.

Writer: Maureen Manier, mmanier@purdue,.edu

Source: Linda Prokopy; lprokopy@purdue.edu

Agricultural Communications: 765-494-8415;

Maureen Manier, Department Head, mmanier@purdue.edu

Agriculture News Page
A repurposed cancer drug has been shown to be 100% effective in treating malaria in a Phase 2 clinical trial. Purdue University professor Phillip Low led the international team that made the discovery. (Purdue University photo/John Underwood)

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The fight against one of the world's deadliest infectious diseases  malaria  may soon have two new weapons.

The World Health Organization this week endorsed a vaccine, Mosquirix, made by British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, that prevents malaria and, according to The New York Times, could save the lives of tens of thousands of children in Africa each year.

Meanwhile, a second approach is still in clinical trials. A cancer drug repurposed to treat malaria has been shown to be nearly 100% effective in helping to defeat the disease in just three days. This is according to the results of a Phase 2 clinical trial, the results of which were published recently in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.

The trial of the therapeutic drug shows that addition of the drug Imatinib to the customary malaria therapy enables clearance of all malaria parasites from 90% of patients within 48 hours and from 100% of patients within three days, says Philip Low (rhymes with "now"), Purdue Universitys Presidential Scholar for Drug Discovery and the Ralph C. Corley Distinguished Professor of Chemistry in the College of Science, who co-directed the international research team. The patients receiving Imatinib were also relieved of their fevers in less than half of the time experienced by similar patients treated with the standard therapy.

In our trial, 33% of the patients treated with the standard therapy (but without the Imatinib supplement) still suffered from significant parasitemia after three days, Low said. Delayed clearance rates are a precursor to and an indicator of potential drug resistance, which has been a problem with malaria for decades. So, this could be significant.

Imatinib was originally produced by Novartis for the treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia and other cancers. It works by blocking specific enzymes involved in the growth of cancers.

"When we discovered the ability of Imatinib to block parasite propagation in human blood cultures in petri dishes, we initiated a human clinical trial where we combined Imatinib with the standard treatment (piperaquine plus dihydroartemisinin) used to treat malaria in much of the world," Low said. "The phase 2 clinical trial that is described in the paper in Journal of Experimental Medicine compares the standard treatment with Imatinib plus the standard treatment. We did not test Imatinib alone because it would have been unethical to treat patients suffering from a potentially lethal disease with an untested therapy."

Malaria infects human red blood cells, where it reproduces and eventually activates a red blood cell enzyme that in turn triggers rupture of the cell and release of a form of the parasite called a merozoite into the bloodstream. Low and his colleagues theorized that by blocking the critical red blood cell enzyme, they could stop the infection. The data from the drug trial confirms that.

Low said that for the past 50 years, malaria treatments have used drugs that target the parasite itself, but the microorganism eventually developed resistance to the drugs.

Because were targeting an enzyme that belongs to the red blood cell, the parasite cant mutate to develop resistance  it simply can't mutate proteins in our blood cells, Low said. This is a novel approach that will hopefully become a therapy that cant be evaded by the parasite in the future. This would constitute an important contribution to human health.

Malaria is caused by a single-cell parasite, Plasmodium, which is carried by mosquitoes. The World Health Organization estimates that the disease caused 409,000 deaths in 2019 (the most recent year for which data is available). The WHO also notes that 67% of those deaths were in children under 5 years old.

The deadliest form of the parasite is P. falciparum, and although most malaria deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa, a variant of P. falciparum that is developing drug resistance has become established in a corner of Southeast Asia, particularly in Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. In some regions of the area, up to 80% of malaria parasites are at least partially drug resistant.

In 2019, professor Olivo Miotto from the Wellcome Sanger Institute of the University of Oxford, told the BBC the rise of the drug-resistant variant in Southeast Asia raises the terrifying prospect of the drug-resistant variety traveling to Africa. A similar event occurred in the 1980s with malaria resistant to the then-standard treatment of chloroquine, which resulted in millions of deaths.

Low and his colleagues tested Imatinib in a hot zone of drug-resistant malaria on the border of Vietnam and Laos, in the Quang Tri Province of Vietnam.

Its such a remote region of the country that most of the clinics are one- or two-room cinder block buildings with just six or seven cots where people can come in and get treated, Low said. Not only was the drug 100% effective after three days, but the patients saw their fever disappear on the first day, and they felt much better sooner.

Although malaria is not a significant disease in North America, Low is planning to apply for approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The FDA is so widely respected around the world that if they approve it, almost all other nations, especially developing countries that suffer from malaria, will rapidly adopt it, he said. The FDA requirements for Phase 3 approval are very rigorous. You have to demonstrate the drug combinations efficacy and safety in a large patient population and then show that you can manufacture and store it safely and reproducibly. You also have to start from scratch and end up with a product that is more than 99% pure.

An international priority patent application has been filed in Vietnam by Purdue Research Foundation, VinUniversity in Vietnam, University of Sassari in Italy, and Italian company NUREX SRL.

Low said he has been in discussions with drug manufacturers in India and Vietnam to produce the drug and estimates that they can produce the drug for roughly $1 per pill.

Well turn over the technology to any company committed to distributing it to developing malaria-infested areas, he said. Im not interested in making a penny off of this. I just think its important for humanity to have it.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a top public research institution developing practical solutions to todays toughest challenges. Ranked in each of the last four years as one of the 10 Most Innovative universities 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: Steve Tally, steve@purdue.edu, @sciencewriter

Source: Phillip Low, plow@purdue.edu

ABSTRACT

Imatinib Augments Standard Malaria Combination Therapy Without Added Toxicity

Huynh Dinh Chien, Ph.D.1, Antonella Pantaleo, Ph.D.2, Kristina R. Kesely, Ph.D.3, Panae Noomuna, MSc3, Karson S. Putt, Ph.D.4, Tran Anh Tuan, Ph.D.5, Philip S. Low, Ph.D.3-4,*, and Francesco M. Turrini, Ph.D.6.

1 College of Health Science, Vin University, Hanoi, Vietnam

2 Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy

3 Department of Chemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette IN 47907 USA

4 Institute for Drug Discovery, Purdue University, West Lafayette IN 47907 USA

5 Huong Hoa District Health Center, Quang Tri, Vietnam

6 Department of Oncology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy

DOI: 10.1084/jem.20210724

To egress from its erythrocyte host, the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, must destabilize the erythrocyte membrane by activating an erythrocyte tyrosine kinase. Because imatinib inhibits erythrocyte tyrosine kinases and since imatinib has a good safety profile, we elected to determine whether co-administration of imatinib with standard-of-care (SOC) might be both well-tolerated and therapeutically efficacious in malaria patients. Patients with uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria from a region in Vietnam where 1/3 of patients experience delayed parasite clearance (DPC; continued parasitemia following 3 days of therapy) were treated for 3 days with either the regions SOC (40mg dihydroartemisinin+320mg piperaquine/day) or imatinib (400mg/day) + SOC. Imatinib+SOC-treated participants exhibited no increase in number or severity of adverse events, a significantly accelerated decline in parasite density and pyrexia, and no DPC. Surprisingly, these improvements were most pronounced in patients with the highest parasite density, where serious complications and death are most frequent. Imatinib therefore appears to improve SOC therapy with no obvious drug-related toxicities.
The 26th Busan International Film Festival opened Wednesday with a full slate of in-person events and screenings, a striking departure from last year when it was held almost entirely online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Asia's largest international film festival, which runs from Oct. 6-15, kicked off with opening ceremonies held in the outdoor theater of the Busan Cinema Center, situated in the heart of South Korea's second-largest city.

More than 1,000 guests attended the gala, which was hosted by Song Joong-ki, star of the recent Netflix hit Vincenzo, and Park So-dam, who starred in the 2019 Academy Award-winning Parasite.

After last year's scaled-down affair, in which no opening and closing ceremonies were held, glamour made a return as stars such as Han So-hee and Yoo Ah-in walked the red carpet and director Bong Joon-ho waved to cheering crowds.

A limited number of international filmmakers, actors and industry professionals are also making the trip to Busan this year.

French filmmaker Leos Carax will arrive with his film Anette, which opened this year's Cannes Film Festival, while Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi will present two films: Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy, winner of the Silver Bear Prize at the Berlin film fest and Drive My Car, awarded best screenplay at Cannes.

Carax will host a master class at the festival and Hamaguchi will take part in a discussion session with Bong Joon-ho on Thursday.

In all, the film festival will screen 223 films from 70 countries in several theaters around Busan, a significant expansion from last year's online-centric festival.

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Virus control measures will limit seating to 50% capacity, and all festival attendees are required to be either fully vaccinated or to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test.

The festival's opening film Wednesday was Heaven: To the Land of Happiness, a road movie by director Im Sang-soo that features veteran stars Choi Min-sik and Park Hae-il. The film had originally been scheduled to premiere at the 2020 Cannes Film Festival, which was canceled due to the pandemic.

In addition to screenings, a full program of offline events will be held during the 10-day fest, including director talks and live interview sessions with leading South Korean actors.

A new section called "On Screen" is dedicated to series on streaming platforms, arriving in a year that has seen South Korea soar to the top of the global market with hits such as Netflix's Squid Game.

Episodes of Hellbound, by Train to Busan director Yeon Sang-ho and My Name by Kim Jin-min will be screened ahead of their releases on Netflix, while Thai supernatural thriller Forbidden will premiere before it makes its way to HBO Asia.

The festival is taking place as South Korea prepares to enter a new phase of eased social distancing as soon as next month. The country still is battling a fourth wave of infections driven by the highly contagious Delta variant, but vaccination rates have climbed rapidly over the past several weeks.

As of Wednesday, 77.5% of the population have received at last one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 54.5% are fully vaccinated.
Rose McIver said she's excited that her new series, Ghosts, premiering Thursday, returns her to the supernatural realm after her CW series, iZombie, ended in 2019.

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McIver played a zombie on iZombie and now plays a woman who can see and speak to spirits on Ghosts.

"I guess I found my niche," McIver said on a recent Television Critics Association Zoom panel.

Ghosts is a remake of a British series that began in 2019. In the American version, Sam (McIver) and her husband Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar) renovate a 300-year-old country home they inherit from Sam's aunt.

A fall down the stairs puts Sam in a coma. When she wakes up, she's able to see the past residents of the house. McIver said Sam's brush with death brought back iZombie memories.

"I'm starting to wonder if I'm ever going to get a regular job not playing somebody at least half dead," McIver said with a smile.

While Sam and Jay are living in the home and planning the renovation, nine ghosts of people who died in different eras appear before Sam. McIver, 32, said her experience in supernatural programming dates to well before iZombie.

"I grew up in New Zealand doing bit parts on all the shows that came out to New Zealand," McIver said. "We call ourselves the sword and sandals country."

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From ages 7 to 11, McIver guest starred on Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess, which were based in her home country. At 21, McIver was a regular on Power Rangers R.P.M., a spinoff of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

"As an actor you get this chance to like go into this other world, whatever that might mean," McIver said. "The best part of the job is being able to get in and dress up and become something that isn't just you."

On Ghosts, McIver said her spiritual co-stars make the show funny. Brandon Scott Jones, Asher Grodman, Richie Moriarty, Danielle Pinnock, Roman Zaragoza, Sheila Carrasco, Rebecca Wisocky, Devan Chandler Long and Hudson Thames play the ghosts in the half-hour comedy.

McIver said the chemistry between characters from different eras lends itself to comedy. Thorfinn (Long) was a Viking. Sasappis (Zaragosa) is a Native American from the frontier.

Older ghosts become confused when more recent ghosts mention modern things like movies. Flower (Carrasco) is a hippie from the '60s. Trevor (Grodman) is the most recently deceased, a Lehman Brothers broker from the '90s.

The variety of characters was another aspect that appealed to McIver, saying she enjoyed seeing iZombie fans dress up as characters from the show at Comic-Con, and was happy to be on another show with fantastical characters.

"Some of the fans are the most dedicated, creative, imaginable people out there," McIver said.

However, as much as McIver said she enjoys exploring fantasy at work, she remains empirical in real life. Asked if she believes in ghosts, McIver said she's unsure.

"I haven't witnessed or experienced something myself, but a lot of people I love and trust have," McIver said. "I'm definitely open to it."

Ghosts airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. EDT on CBS.
Lala Kent says the term "California sober" doesn't "sit right" with her.

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The 31-year-old television personality discussed her sobriety and why she dislikes the term during Tuesday's episode of Watch What Happens Live.

Kent will celebrate her third year of sobriety this month. She previously said on the one-year anniversary of her sobriety that it was the "biggest accomplishment" of her life.

On WWHL, Kent was asked for her thoughts on her Vanderpump Rules co-star Raquel Leviss saying her boyfriend, James Kennedy, is "California sober," or someone who doesn't drink alcohol but still uses marijuana.

"It's not a real thing," Kent said of the concept. "The term is 'dry.'"

"I'm obviously in the program, I'm with a lot of incredible men and women who do everything in their power to never pick up any sort of substance," she added. "So to hear someone say, 'I'm California sober' ... it doesn't sit right with me, because I'm a person who only drank and smoked weed, and almost lost my entire life. So I don't like it."

Kent the issue is a matter of respect.

"Just don't disrespect people who work really hard to never pick up anything and remain in their right frame of mind at all times," she said.

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Kennedy has struggled with substance abuse issues and said on WWHL in March 2020 that he had been sober for nearly nine months. He said he got sober in an effort to improve his life and relationship with Leviss.

Kent got engaged to Randall Emmett in September 2018, shortly before getting sober. The couple welcomed their first child, daughter Ocean, in March.
Traverse City, MI (49684)

Today

Snow showers. Temps nearly steady in the mid 30s. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 50%..

Tonight

Becoming partly cloudy later with any flurries or snow showers ending by midnight. Low near 30F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 30%.
Despite their small numbers and the challenges they face, Native American students at UGA are banding together to examine the troubled past of the university and look toward a future that is hopefully more accepting of Indigenous people.
As the weather cools and leaves begin to fall in Athens between Sept. 15 and Oct. 15, local Hispanic and Latinx people take time to celebrate their histories, cultures and contributions to the society of the United States.
In a new effort to end the stigma surrounding mental health, Athentic Brewing Co. has teamed up with other independent breweries to release THINGS WE DONT SAY IPA: Craft Beer for Mental Health.
This semester, I am balancing two internships alongside my 13-hour course load and raising my son. Some professors, however, think that their class is all I have on my plate.
Greenville, NC (27833)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun. High 78F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Rain showers this evening with overcast skies overnight. Low 46F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
Masks will continue to be required for students and staff in Pitt County Schools, the Board of Education decided in a split vote this week.
Brattleboro, VT (05301)

Today

Cloudy skies with a few showers this afternoon. High 62F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

Rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers overnight. Low 34F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
Beckley, WV (25801)

Today

Partly cloudy early then becoming cloudy with periods of rain this afternoon. Morning high of 61F with temps falling to near 40. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%..

Tonight

Some passing clouds. A shower of rain or wet snow possible. Low 27F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph.
Beckley, WV (25801)

Today

Partly cloudy early then becoming cloudy with periods of rain this afternoon. Morning high of 61F with temps falling to near 40. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%..

Tonight

Clear to partly cloudy. A shower of rain or wet snow possible. Low 27F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph.
WATERBURY  The Mattatuck Museums annual MIXMASTER is an exhibition that seeks to discover and recognize the talents of the museums artists members working in New England and the Tri-state region. Initiated to support and recognize contemporary art, MIXMASTER provides an opportunity for established and emerging artists to debut their most recent work, done in the last three years, according to a statement.

Mattatuck Museum membership at any level required. MIXMASTER is open to all resident artists in Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont, age 18 and over.

Original works accepted in all media. Work submitted must have been executed in the past three years and not previously exhibited in a Connecticut Museum. A $20 entry fee will be charged for each submitted work. Up to three works per artist may be submitted. All entrants must have a current Mattatuck Museum membership to be eligible to submit work.

Artists can learn more about MIXMASTER at the Museums website, mattmuseum.org, and submit entries on artcall.org

Submissions will be judged this year by Kyle Harris, director at Peter Blum Gallery in New York City since 2019. He was previously the Director of Susan Sheehan Gallery in New York and the Gallery Associate of Holden Luntz Gallery in Palm Beach. Harris holds an MA in Art History with a specialization in Museums and Collections from Universiteit Leiden, Netherlands, and was a Curatorial Intern at Rijksmuseum Volkenkunde, Netherlands.

Peter Blum Gallery opened in 1993 in SoHo exhibiting work by Louise Bourgeois, Yayoi Kusama, and Francesco Clemente among others. The gallery has maintained a presence in New York for almost three decades exhibiting leading voices in contemporary art and publishing prints and books as Peter Blum Edition. Five exhibitions are organized per year and the gallery participates in art fairs that include Frieze New York and Art Basel Miami Beach. The gallery is a member of the Art Dealers Association of America as well as the International Fine Print Dealers Association.

Submissions will be open Oct. 18; the deadline for submissions is Dec. 17. The show runs from Jan. 30-March 6, with a reception and awards event Jan. 30 from 1-3 p.m. at the Mattatuck Museum, 144 West Main St, Waterbury.

First Prize: $500 and a solo show with the Museum, Sept. 11-Nov. 27, 2022; second prize, $300, and third prize, $200.
MANCHESTER  Shell casings were recovered after a shooting on Lyness Street Monday night, according to police.

Officers responded to a report of gunshots in the area of Lyness Street around 7:35 p.m. and arrived to find multiple shell casings in the road, police said. There were no victims located.

Multiple witnesses told police they heard the gunshots. A dark-colored sedan was reportedly seen speeding away from the scene after the shots were fired, police said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Investigative Services Unit at 860-645-5510.
After assuming the post of the Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari held his first press conference on Tuesday ahead of IAF's 89th anniversary. Addressing the press brief, the IAF chief discussed an array of topics ranging from the present situation at the LAC, to the possible threats posed by the Taliban in Afghanistan and the retirement of India's longest-serving fighter plane- MiG 21.

"We have four squadrons of the MiG-21s and the drawdown will happen in the next three to four years," he stated, adding that India would meet its requirements for 5th Generation fighter aircraft through the AMCA- an indigenous aircraft developed by the DRDO.

The decision to retire India's oldest fighter plane has followed a series of tragic events and more than 400 accidents in the last 6 decades. The supersonic MiG-21s were used for training pilots between the 1980s to early 2000s and served as a bridge between subsonic trainers and supersonic fighters before the induction of the British-origin Hawks in 2008. However, MiG-21s were plagued with safety problems and have accounted for the lives of 170 Indian pilots since 1970.

Owing to the number of accidents that it has been in, the aircraft has been dubbed as the 'flying coffin' and the 'widow maker'. Notably, Soviet Air Force, ie Russia which built the aircraft doesn't use it anymore. Several other countries such as America and Vietnam, which possessed the fighter plane have retired it long back.

Even as countries phased out MiG-21s, India continued to upgrade its technology, the latest version- the Bison aircraft. More than 100 MiG-21s have been upgraded to Bison, and several of these have been instrumental in cross-border strikes in Pakistans Balakot. In a notable chapter in the history of the aircraft, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman downed a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) F-16 using a Bison in 2019 despite the former's numerical and technological superiority. At present, India possesses four squadrons of MiG-21 Bison aircraft  each with 16 to 18 fighter jets.

Next step for IAF

On Tuesday, the IAF chief confirmed the drawdown of MiG 21s. To replace the ageing aircraft, the IAF now plans to induct different variants of Tejas LCA in the coming years for which the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited has been awarded a Rs 48,000-crore contract.

"We are on the verge of getting 6 Light Utility Helicopters from the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)," VR Chaudhari said. Moreover, the induction of Rafale and Apaches have significantly added to India's combat potential. "Our offensive strike capability has become even more potent with the integration of new weapons on our fleets," he added.

Additionally, India is planning to procure 114 Fighter Aircraft under its 'Make In India' project. The project under the Make In India initiative includes top contenders such as Lockheed Martin's F-21, Boeing's F/A-18, Dassault Aviation's Rafale, the Eurofighter Typhoon, Russian aircraft MiG 35 and Saab's Gripen. Efforts are also being made to work on indigenous Anti-drone capability. "We are giving benefit to startups to design and develop counter UAS system for Air Force," the IAF chief stated.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is expected to travel to Tajikistan this week to attend a key meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on the situation in Afghanistan after its takeover by the Taliban, people familiar with the developments said on Monday.

Jaishankar is also likely to hold a series of bilateral meetings at Tajik capital city Dushanbe with his counterparts from Russia, Iran and Tajikistan among others, they said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to virtually participate in the annual SCO summit on September 17 that is expected to deliberate extensively on the developments in Afghanistan as well as the overall regional security scenario.

The people cited above said Jaishankar will attend a meeting on Afghanistan of the heads of state of SCO and the Collective Security Treaty Organisation.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian and Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi are expected to be in Dushanbe for the SCO meetings.

Earlier this month, Jaishankar spoke to his newly-appointed Iranian counterpart and discussed the situation in Afghanistan as well as bilateral issues.

The SCO, seen as a counterweight to NATO, is an eight-member economic and security bloc and has emerged as one of the largest transregional international organisations.

India and Pakistan became its permanent members in 2017.

The SCO was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

India has shown keen interest in deepening its security-related cooperation with the SCO and its Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS), which specifically deals with issues relating to security and defence.

India was made an observer at the SCO in 2005 and has generally participated in the ministerial-level meetings of the grouping which focus mainly on security and economic cooperation in the Eurasian region.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) informed on Wednesday, 6 October, that it has detained a Sri Lankan national and a former member of the intelligence branch of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Chennai, a major conspirator in the Vizhinjam Arms case in Kerala.

Satkunam alias Sabesan, 47, was arrested on Tuesday, 5 October, from his current residence in Chennai's Valsaravakkam in connection with the Vizhinjam Arms case for his involvement in the trafficking of arms and drugs from Pakistan to Sri Lanka and using the proceeds to further and support the revival of the LTTE, a Tamil militant organisation based in northeastern Sri Lanka.

The case was filed against six Sri Lankan nationals based on the Narcotics Control Bureau's (NCB) complaint that five AK-47 rifles and thousands of rounds of 9mm ammunition, as well as 300 kg of heroin, were seized off the coast of Minicoy on March 18 this year during the interception of the fishing vessel Ravihansi by the Coast Guard.

Vizhinjam Arms case

According to the NIA investigation, the accused Satkunam organised conspiracy meetings of LTTE sympathisers in India and played a critical role in routing drug trafficking proceeds to former LTTE cadres in Sri Lanka for the rebirth of the LTTE.

In August, NIA personnel conducted searches at the homes of the accused and suspects engaged in the trafficking of weaponry, ammunition, and drugs from Iran and Pakistan to Sri Lanka, in the districts of Chennai and Tiruvallur in Tamil Nadu, and Ernakulam in Kerala.

On August 2, 2021, the NIA took over the investigation and detained two additional suspects, Suresh and Soundarajan. Various incriminating materials, including publications connected to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a proscribed terrorist organisation, and seven digital gadgets, including mobile phones, SIM cards, and tablets, were recovered during the searches, according to a prior statement from the agency.

Also, the NIA arrested a Sri Lankan national Arasaratinam Ramesh, 37, in connection with the Vizhinjam arms case in September from Kerala's Ernakulam, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) official had said. A large number of narcotics was also recovered from a Sri Lankan fishing boat in the Arabian Sea in March, according to the official. The accused possessed five AK-47 firearms and 1,000 9mm rounds, the NIA official had added.

(with inputs from ANI/ PTI)

Image: PTI
The NIA on Tuesday filed a charge sheet before a special court here against six persons for their alleged involvement in an organised international trafficking racket across the India-Sri Lanka maritime boundary, an official said.

Dhinakaran, Kasi Viswanathan, Rasool, SathamUshen, Abdul Muheetu and Socrates, all residents of Tamil Nadu, have been charged under various sections of the IPC, the official of the premier investigation agency said.

They have been charged for their involvement in the organised international trafficking racket across India-Srilanka maritime boundary by luring Srilankan nationals on the pretext of emigration to Canada and confining them in different places in India, the NIA official said.

The case was registered in June in Mangaluru against 25 Sri Lankans, based on the information that some Sri Lankans were staying in a lodge without valid documents, the official said, adding that during the subsequent raids, 13 more Sri Lankans were apprehended.

These 38 Sri Lankans were trafficked to India in four batches during the period from February to April, the NIA official said.

The charge-sheeted accused, as part of the larger conspiracy with Sri Lankan suspects/ accused, had trafficked and confined the said Sri Lankans at various places in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka without any contact with their families to misguide them that these people were on a ship going to Canada, the official said.

All the trafficked 38 Sri Lankans were promised that they would be sent to Canada and were charged from 3.5 to 10 lakh in Sri Lankan Rupees totalling to about 1.83 crore Sri Lankan rupees by absconding accused Easan, a Sri Lankan national, and his other associates in Sri Lanka and India, the NIA official said.

Further investigation in the case continues, the official added.

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Jeff Bezos' space company Blue Origin is nearing its next human spaceflight that will see the oldest man to ever reach outer space. The company recently announced 'Star Trek' fame William Shatner as the fourth and final member who will be 90 years old at the time of his flight. As per multiple media reports, Blue Origin's rocket 'New Shepard' will lift off on October 12 from the company's Launch Site One near Van Horn in Texas, over two months after its first launch.

What we know about the launch

Blue Origin, on October 4, revealed the fourth member of its manned mission named 'NS-18' in William Shatner, who is known for his iconic role as Captain Kirk from 'Star Wars'. After the mission ends successfully, the actor will become the oldest man to ever fly to outer space. In his statement given to the Associated Press, he had said, "Ive heard about space for a long time now. Im taking the opportunity to see it for myself. What a miracle." Moreover, he also shared a post on Twitter expressing his excitement.

Two incredible and inspirational people will join the #NS18 crew. Actor @WilliamShatner and Blue Origins Vice President of Mission & Flight Operations Audrey Powers @AudreyKPowers. pic.twitter.com/xqI9nw1KX8  Blue Origin (@blueorigin) October 4, 2021

Prior to Shatner's inclusion in the crew, Blue Origin had revealed three other names including Chris Boshuizen, co-founder of Earth observation company Planet Labs. The other two members are Glen de Vries, vice chair at French software company Dassault Systemes and Audrey Powers, Blue Origin's vice-president of mission and flight operations. Company founder Jeff Bezos will not board the capsule this time.

Two incredible and inspirational people will join the #NS18 crew. Actor @WilliamShatner and Blue Origins Vice President of Mission & Flight Operations Audrey Powers @AudreyKPowers. pic.twitter.com/xqI9nw1KX8  Blue Origin (@blueorigin) October 4, 2021

Blue Origin announced New Shepards 18th mission, NS-18, will lift off on Tuesday, October 12, carrying four astronauts to space and back, including: Chris Boshuizen (left) and Glen de Vries (right). @blueorigin #newshepard pic.twitter.com/BPAv4iL2In  Luigi Pizzimenti (@LuigiPizzimenti) September 27, 2021

When and where to watch the launch?

Blue Origin will stream the launch live on its official website, as per Space.Com's report. Besides, space enthusiasts can also keep up with the updates on the company's official Twitter handle. The lift-off will take place at 7:00 pm and the broadcast is likely to commence an hour earlier.

Blue Origin's last manned flight lasted 11 minutes in space which also had four crew members including Jeff Bezos and his brother Mark Bezos. Interestingly, last time Bezos flew with another senior citizen crew member Wally Funk, who was 82 years old. Besides, the fourth crew member was18-year-old Oliver Daemen, who made it to space due to a last-minute schedule conflict of an auction winner who had won the seat for $28 million, reported Space.Com.

Image: Twitter/@BlueOrigin/@Luigipizzimenti
After facing repeated criticism from national as well as international platforms, the Australian government on Wednesday announced that it will stop sending asylum seekers to Papua New Guinea (PNG), one of the controversial detention centres situated in the world's second-largest island.

Notably, the United Nations criticised the Australian government to run two remote Pacific detention centres. Before the announcement on October 6, the Australian government used to detain the asylum seekers trying to reach Australia by boat at the South Pacific island nation of Nauru and PNG's Manus Island.

According to the new timeline announced by Canberra, the processing in PNG will permanently end on December 31 this year. "The Australian government regional processing contracts in PNG will stop on 31 December 2021 and will not be renewed," a joint statement read.

It is worth mentioning that the Australian government had arranged the system back in 2013 under the Labour government then. They authorised regional processing in PNG. According to a report by SBS News which cited the data revealed by the Australian government, there were 124 asylum seekers in PNG as of July this year.

According to the joint statement, from January 2022, PNG will take care of those who remain in the prison, which means any shelter seekers still in PNG will be granted a pathway to permanent migration, including citizenship. Further, the statement said Papua New Guinea would also offer assistance to those momentarily in the country expecting transfer to a third country.

More than 1,200 people died in an attempt to reach Australia by boats: Report

"This government's strong border security policies - including a responsibility to regional processing - have not changed," SBS media quoted Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews as saying. "Anyone who attempts to enter Australia illegally by ship will be returned, or sent to Nauru."

Notably, the Australian government signed a new agreement with Nauru earlier in September this year. Citing the government, SBS media said that there are 107 detainees in Nauru.

"Between 2008 and 2013, more than 50,000 people arrived in Australia on more than 820 boats and at least 1,200 died at sea," SBS News quoted the government officials as saying.

Image: AP/Pixabay
Frustrated by Washington's recent unilateral moves, some members of the European Parliament (MEPs) urged the European union to reposition itself with increased autonomy, the Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday. The relations between the European Union (EU) and the United States came under fire after Washington signed a trilateral security partnership between Australia and the United Kingdom, called AUKUS. The members also raised questions over America's unilateral decision to withdraw the troops from the war-torn country, Afghanistan.

In a two and half-hour-long debate, the members of the European Parliament discussed the recent unilateral decisions taken by Joe Biden-led US government. "I am disappointed by President Biden," Xinhua quoted Belgian MEP Hilde Vautmans as saying. "He claims America's back. Fair enough. But does that mean that in his perception, in his mind, and in his strategic approach, also Europe is back? No," Xinhua quoted Belgian MEP Vautmans. According to her, the Biden government did not take the advice of its European partners before announcing the abrupt withdrawal of the troops from Afghanistan. She said the United States had also totally sidelined the Europeans before taking any steps in the AUKUS deal.

'The honeymoon is over', says Belgian MEP

Moreover, Biden did not even exert action to eliminate American tariffs on European steel, said Belgian MEP. Meanwhile, German MEP Bernd Lange also took a dig at the United States government and highlighted the trade conflicts among the EU and Biden administration. "The honeymoon is over," Xinhua quoted Lange as saying during the Parliament debate. He warned the United States of doubling the counter-measures if the Biden government would not offer clarification by the end of November.

The United States submarine deal with Australia "is certainly not something which has helped to make our association more durable," Xinhua reported. Meanwhile, Maximilian Krah from the Identity and Democracy Group recommended the Parliament to build a partnership with the United States based on 'real concerns rather of pure faiths'. "The best way ahead on this planet is to try to accommodate and not assume that we are the exclusive bodies who know the actual truth," Xinhua quoted Maximilian Krah.

Image: Twitter/@Europarl_EN/AP
Sweden's health officials suspended the use of Moderna's COVID vaccine for persons aged 30 and under on October 5, citing the need for prudence. The reason for the pause, according to Sweden's Public Health Agency, is 'signals of an elevated risk of side effects such as inflammation of the heart muscle or the pericardium'  the double-walled sac containing the heart and the roots of the main veins.

Sweden's top epidemiologist, Anders Tegnell, stated that they will "monitor the situation closely and act fast to guarantee that COVID-19 immunizations are always as safe as possible while also providing effective protection" against the disease, AP reported. In July, the European Medicines Agency recommended that the COVID-19 vaccine from Moderna be approved for children aged 12 to 17, marking the first time the vaccine had been approved for those under the age of 18.

In January, the European Union's 27-nation European Union approved Moderna's vaccine for use in anybody aged 18 and up. It has also been granted licences in nations such as the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States, although its use has not yet been extended to children. In Europe and North America, the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is the only one licenced for children under the age of 18.

Swedish authorities recommend Pfizer over Moderna

Adults have already received hundreds of millions of doses of Moderna. In a study of more than 3,700 youngsters aged 12 to 17, the vaccination elicited the same signals of immunological protection, and there were no COVID-19 diagnoses in the vaccinated group, compared to four cases in the dummy injection group.

The most prevalent side effects among young vaccine recipients were sore arms, headaches, and lethargy, which were the same as in adults. However, both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccinations appear to be associated to a rare reaction in teenagers and young adults-chest pain and heart inflammation, according to US and European regulators.

The cardiac symptoms "generally fade away on their own," according to Swedish health officials, although they must be evaluated by a doctor. The disorders are particularly common in young males, and they are linked to viral infections like COVID-19. Myocarditis was treated in hospitals by over 300 patients under the age of 30 in 2019.

Data show an increased incidence of COVID-19 infection in adolescents and young adults, particularly boys and men, in association with immunisation against the virus. A new preliminary report Nordic analyzes, show that the link is particularly strong in the case of Moderna's vaccination, particularly after the second dose.

The Pfizer vaccine is instead recommended for these age ranges, according to the Swedish authorities. The suspension of the Moderna vaccination is in effect until December 1.

The Danish Health Authority announced October 5 that people under the age of 18 will not be administered the Moderna vaccine as a precaution. It added that data from four Nordic nations shows that there is a possibility of an elevated risk of heart inflammation after receiving Moderna shots, despite the fact that the number of cases of heart inflammation is still quite low.

The first results of the Nordic research have been given to the European Medicines Agency's adverse response committee, where they will be evaluated. The researchers worked with the Statens Serum Institut in Denmark, the Medical Products Agency in Sweden, the National Institute of Public Health in Norway, and the Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) in Finland to map the distribution of the coronavirus in the country. According to the Danish official, the final results should be available in approximately a month.

Futhermore, Pfizer/BioNTech has invited children and young people aged 12 to 17 in Denmark to receive the COVID-19 vaccination.

(With inputs from AP)

Image: AP
Israeli President Isaac Herzog met his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his first foreign trip as president.

Herzog came to Kyiv to participate in a ceremony to mark 80 years of the Babi Yar tragedy.

Babi Yar, a ravine in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, is where nearly 34,000 Jews were killed within 48 hours in 1941 when the city was under Nazi occupation.

The killing was carried out by SS troops along with local collaborators.

Ukraine has started the construction of the Babi Yar memorial complex and a museum at the site of the mass executions and is planning to open it by 2026.

IMAGE: AP

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
Taliban has announced 38 new members in its caretaker government of Afghanistan, in both civil as well as military positions leaving out women and other mainstream politicians. As per the TOLO News report, the new appointments announced by the extremists late Monday, 4 October, include a Political Deputy for the Prime Minister, acting Minister for the Ministry of Martyrs and Disabled, deputy ministers and commanders of corps. Notably, even the name of Afghanistans military corps has been changed from 209 Shaheen Corps to Mazar corps in the newest list.

A former military figure, Mohammad Sadeq Shinwari was quoted by the media outlet saying, We hope the new army can defend Afghanistan's territorial integrity and respond to any possible movements by enemies and forces opposed to the current government. The report added the Taliban officials said that they believe hiring experienced military people will be the first step towards putting together a strong army. As per TOLO News, Rohullah Omar, a member of the cultural commission, We are forming a powerful army. Introducing corps leadership is the first step forward.

Some of the new members of the caretaker cabinet include Political Deputy for Prime Minister, Mawlawi Abdul Kabir, acting Minister for the Ministry of Martyrs and Disabled Affairs- Mullah Abdul Majid, the head of Afghan Red Crescent Society- Mawlawi Muti-ul Haq, Deputy Head of the Red Crescent Society- Mawlawi Nooruddin Turabi, the Commander of Kandahar Corps- Mullah Mehrullah Hemad, the Commander of Kabul Corps- Mawlawi Hamdullah, the Commander of Mazar Corps- Mawlawi Attaullah Omari.

The Taliban took over control of the country on 15 August and announced its caretaker government earlier in September. The western troops left the country along with the United States which completed its pullout on August 31 under the previously agreed peace deal with the Taliban signed in Doha last year.

Taliban announced 17 ministers in September

The latest list of 38 ministers came after earlier in September, the Taliban announced at least 17 and 33 ministers separately in the caretaker government for Afghanistan. Similar to previous members, even the latest list has left out women and mainstream politicians. As per ANI, Mullah Muhammad Hassan Akhund, who is appointed as the Prime Minister of Afghanistan is also the co-founder of the Taliban and is famous for being short-tempered, religious and is considered one of the most unreasonable Taliban leaders.

IMAGE: AP


The internal documents obtained by Danish Radio suggests that at least 27 heavily armoured military vehicles were left in Afghanistan during Denmark's exit from the war-torn country, which may give the Taliban an advantage. In 2014, the Danish mission in Afghanistan leased Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles from the United States to provide mobility, protection and fighting power. The vehicles were designed specifically for counter-insurgency operations in cities and are bomb-resistant. A machine gun can also be put on the roof of the cars, which is covered by a spinning tower.

The armoured vehicles were employed by the Danish escort and emergency services until the end of May this year. The trucks were returned to Kabul 10 weeks before the Taliban took control of the capital and the Western coalition began a frantic retreat, according to Sputnik. The abandonment plainly contradicts the Danish Armed Forces' slogan "Leave nothing to the enemy," which is depicted in a video by the Danish Armed Forces.

Armoured vehicles weigh up to 18 tonnes

The armoured vehicles, which can weigh up to 18 tonnes, might provide the Taliban with a military advantage in Afghanistan's internal power battles, according to experts. A soldier characterised them as "damn nice cars that can take a battering" in a 2016 video posted on the Danish military's Facebook page. Hans Peter Michaelsen, a fellow defence researcher, believes the vehicles could be useful for transporting fighters safely through shelling and roadside bombs.

According to Peter Viggo Jakobsen, a Danish author, abandoned cars fit a trend in which Denmark shifted responsibility for inflamed situations to other countries. As per the reports of Sputnik, he said that they witnessed this in Iraq, where a ploy was constructed so that Denmark would not be held liable if the captives suffered harm.

Denmark no longer bears legal responsibility for the armoured vehicles

Experts claim that Denmark no longer bears legal responsibility for the armoured vehicles, even if they are deployed in a future civil war in Afghanistan, as per the reports of Sputnik. The Danish military presence in Afghanistan spans over two decades, with the first Danish troops arriving in 2002 and reaching a peak of 760 men. The Danish mission has cost millions of kroner and resulted in 43 deaths and over 210 injured.

Image: AP
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid is set to travel to the United States next week for his first diplomatic visit to the White House. He will be meeting the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during his three-day trip to the country.

"Lapid will travel to the United States next week at the invitation of his US counterpart, Secretary of State Blinken," said Israel's Foreign Ministry in a statement as reported by Xinhua News Agency.

Lapid also serves as Israel's Deputy Prime Minister. Iran is likely to be the focus of the meetings between Lapid and Blinken, according to Israel's state-owned Kan Radio. It should be mentioned here that Israel strongly opposes any extension of the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers.

Last month, Lapid met his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Moscow and discussed matters related to Iran's nuclear weapons. Lapid, who was on his first visit to Russia since taking charge as Foreign Minister in June, told Lavrov that Iran must be stopped from obtaining nuclear weapons at any cost, The Times of Israel reported.

Speaking at a press conference after the meeting, Israel's Foreign Minister had said that Iran's advancement towards nuclear weapons will not only create problems for Israel but for the entire world. Expressing his concerns, Lapid further stated that a nuclear arms race will begin in the Middle East if Iran is successful in obtaining nuclear weapons.

Israeli Foreign Minister warns of action if Iran does not stop building terror bases

Terming Iran as the world's number one exporter of terror, Israeli Foreign Minister Lapid went on to say that there will not be peace and stability in Syria, or in the wider Middle East amidst Iranian presence. Israel will take the necessary actions if Iran does not stop building terror bases and supplying weapons to terror organizations, Lapid warned.

He also took note of reports from the International Atomic Energy Agency about Irans nuclear program, which stated that Iran has continued to increase its stockpile of uranium, violating the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), according to The Times of Israel.

Meanwhile, on October 2, a top Israeli military intelligence official openly stated that despite possessing enough enriched uranium, Iran still has a long way to go before creating a nuclear bomb that can threaten Israel. In an interview with the Wall News service, Israels Military Intelligence head Maj Gen Tamir Hayman claimed that the country's long-time foe, Iran, is still not in a position to build a nuclear bomb despite having a "disturbing" amount of enriched uranium.

However, Iran has repeatedly denied seeking nuclear weapons, but it is assumed that the Western Asian country continues to build the capability to do so.

Image: AP
A fresh tension erupted between Mali and France after French President Emmanuel Macron made an "unfriendly" remark on Mali. The Foreign Minister, Abdoulaye Diop, summoned France's ambassador to register their disappointment over Macro's statement on Tuesday, October 5. The Mali government expressed displeasure over Macron's remarks and announced a strong protest against the French government.

According to a report published by Sputnik, Mali's foreign affairs ministry issued a statement expressing outrage and condemnation and saying these types of remarks may harm the development of friendly relations between the two states. The French authorities were also asked to show restraint and a constructive approach based on mutual respect to fight against Islamic terrorists in the Sahel region. On Tuesday, Macron said that terrorists based in the Sahel region did not seize power in Mali due to the presence of the French Army, which sparked disputes between the two countries.

Mali Foreign Ministry expresses outrage over Macron's 'unfriendly' remark

Communique du Ministere des Affaires etrangeres et de la Cooperation internationale. pic.twitter.com/SjzWf83dAZ  Ministere des Affaires etrangeres du Mali (@MaliMaeci) October 5, 2021

On the other hand, Mali's Prime Minister also accused Paris of abandoning its military force in the joint operation against Islamist terrorists. A week ago, Macron rejected the claim and questioned the legitimacy of the Malian regime since the country witnessed two coups in just one year. Both France and Mali are witnessing an armed uprising in the Sahel region. Meanwhile, Paris is also seeing that its influence in the region is being challenged, particularly by Russian forces. France's reduced influence in the region under Barkhane's operation is the major cause of tension between neighbouring countries. Meanwhile, Mali's year-old junta leader, Assimi Giota, is aiming to recruit mercenaries from Russias private Wagner company, and France has launched a diplomatic drive to prevent Russian forces from entering the Sahel region, citing the arrangement as incompatible.

Mali-France relations

Paris has also warned the Malian government that they will withdraw their troops completely from the country if the Mali Junta deploys Russian forces. Over the years, violence and the presence of armed militants in the Sahel regions have increased. Violence in the arid land adjoining the southern edge of the Sahara Desert has drastically increased despite the presence of thousands of United Nations troops.

Image: AP
General Director of the Officer's Union for International Security Alexander Ivanov opined that 1,000 to several thousand Russian military personnel should be dispatched to Mali to assist with counterterrorism efforts.

"Based on my assessment of the scenario and the strength of their armed forces, I estimate that 1,000 to tens of thousands of instructors will be required. I'm afraid I can't provide you exact figures," Ivanov explained, Sputnik reported.

Mali's growing alliance with Russia affecting ties with EU

Following France's decision to considerably downsize its military force engaged in the war against terrorism, Malian authorities requested the help of a private Russian enterprise in September. Russia dispatched two Mi-171Sh and two M-175V combat helicopters to Mali on September 30. Colonel Sadio Camara, Mali's defence minister, praised the country's growing relationship with Russia after receiving four Russian military helicopters.

On the sidelines of last week's UN General Assembly, European governments advised the Malian government against employing paramilitaries from the infamous Wagner group, a Russian private security agency. To France's dismay, the growing presence of Russian paramilitary groups and consultants in the Central African Republic (CAR) has been witnessed. Wagner's forces are also said to be deployed in Libya, Sudan, and Mozambique. Since 2012, when instability began in the north of the nation, Mali has been fighting an insurgency linked to al-Qaida and Daesh terrorist groups.

Attack on UN peacekeepers

In recent weeks, several attacks in northern Mali have targeted the UN mission. On October 2, an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded in Mali's northeast, killing one UN peacekeeper and injuring four others.

Since 2012, Mali has been engulfed in a catastrophic multifaceted crisis on the security, political, and economic fronts. Separatist insurgencies, jihadist invasions, and intercommunal violence have killed thousands of people and displaced thousands more, despite the deployment of UN, African, and European soldiers.

The Malian Conflict

The "multidimensional" Malian crisis began after Muammar Gaddafi's administration in Libya fell apart, according to the Sipri organisation. Since 2012, the volatility in western Mali, particularly in the Sahel region, has increased. This has thrown the country into a multidimensional catastrophe, including a dire economic situation and a humanitarian disaster. Thousands have been killed and displaced as a result of local incursions and intercommunal violence fuelled by jihadists.

Image: AP
Nearly 74 Houthi rebels, as well as eight Yemeni army soldiers, have been killed during a fight between the two sides in the central province of Marib, Yemen, on October 5, Tuesday. While speaking anonymously, a government military source from the frontline informed Xinhua that the combat occurred near the Lam'aa frontline of the Marib district, which is around 60 kilometres southwest of the government-controlled Marib city centre.

Furthermore, the representatives from the Houthis did not comment on this. The Lam'aa frontier serves as a vital link between Marib and the Safer oil fields. The Houthi militia, which is supported by Iran, started a massive attack on Marib in February in an attempt to gain power over the oil-rich province, which is the final foothold of the Saudi-backed Yemeni government in the north area.

Airstrikes on a Houthi settlement in the Marib region

Meanwhile, on September 20, airstrikes led by Saudi Arabia on a Houthi settlement in Yemen's central province of Marib killed almost 35 of the Houthi rebels. A Saudi-led aircraft hit four rebel reinforcement convoys in and around the western Sirwah area, destroying almost 13 pick-up carts and killing over 35 Houthi fighters, according to a Yemeni government military source in Marib who requested anonymity.

Whereas al-Masirah TV, which is operated by the Houthis, reported that 23 Saudi-led coalition airstrikes were launched on Sirwah. They did not provide any further details regarding the strike.

Battle between Yemeni government and Houthis

Yemen, a small country on the Arabian Peninsula, has devolved into a hotspot of civil war and suffering. Yemen's conflict with the Houthis started in September 2014, when an Iran-backed militia seized command of Sanaa, the capital city. The rebel army toppled President Abed Rabbi Mansour Hadi's regime and established the Supreme Political Council with the aid of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Yemen's legitimate state has been at odds with the rebel organisation since March 2015, with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) supporting it. Hadi, the country's former president, fled to Saudi Arabia as a result of the conflict. Since 2015, hundreds of people have been killed in a series of attacks and counter-attacks, driving Yemen closer to famine and humanitarian calamity.

(Image: AP/ Representative Image)
Kabul, Oct 5 (AP) Afghanistan's Taliban leaders met with Iranian officials in an effort to boost trade relations key to filling the country's cash-starved coffers as it teeters on the brink of economic collapse, a spokesman said Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Taliban said they arrested 11 members of the rival Islamic State group.

The Taliban met Monday with a delegation from neighbouring Iran to regulate trade between the countries, Taliban spokesman Bilal Karimi said.

They agreed to increase trading hours at the Islam Qala border crossing from eight hours per day to 24 and to better regulate the collection of tariffs and improve roadworks.

Customs are a key source of domestic revenue for Afghanistan.

The United Kingdom separately sent two envoys to meet with top Taliban officials Tuesday, the UK prime minister's spokesperson said. No additional details were provided.

Afghanistan, an aid-dependent country, is grappling with a liquidity crisis as assets remain frozen in the US and disbursements from international organisations that once accounted for 75 per cent of state spending have been paused.

Taliban officials said Tuesday they arrested 11 members of the Islamic State group, a rival and bitter enemy of the insurgents, in Kabul.

The IS affiliate  based in eastern Nangarhar province  has claimed responsibility for a spate of recent attacks targeting Taliban forces in eastern Afghanistan and elsewhere.

Karimi posted on Twitter that the raid was carried out Sunday night in the Afghan capital's Fifth Police District. He provided no further details. The raid came just hours after a bombing that targeted the Eid Gah Mosque in Kabul, killing at least five people.

IS claimed responsibility for the mosque attack late Monday, saying in a posting by its Amaq news agency that one of its suicide bombers targeted senior Taliban figures following a mourning service.

Sunday's bombing was the deadliest attack in Kabul since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan with the chaotic departure of the last US troops on August 31.

IS had also claimed responsibility for the horrific bombing on August that killed more than 169 Afghans and 13 US military personnel outside the Kabul airport, where thousands of people were trying to reach the airport to escape Taliban rule.

The world has been watching whether the Taliban will live up to their initial promises of tolerance and inclusiveness toward women and ethnic minorities.

However, Taliban actions so far, such as renewed restrictions on women and the appointment of an all-male government, have been met with dismay by the international community.

Protests against the Taliban's policies toward women continued Tuesday, with a demonstration in a Kabul private school by female teachers and students who held up signs saying Education is a right. The protest was held indoors to avoid backlash from the Taliban, who have recently outlawed demonstrations held without permission from the government.

The UN continued to sound the alarm about the country's dire economic situation, saying a humanitarian crisis is imminent. The world body's children's agency warned that half of Afghanistan's children under age 5 are expected to suffer from severe malnutrition as hunger takes root amid serious food shortages.

There are millions of people who are going to starve and there is winter coming, COVID raging, and the whole social system collapsed, said Omar Adbi, UNICEF's deputy executive director for programs, during a visit to a Kabul children's hospital.

At the hospital, a woman named Nargis sat with her 3-year-old child, who was suffering from severe malnutrition.

She had come from Kunar province in the northeast, where fighting between the Taliban and the Islamic State group has deprived communities of accessing basic needs, including food. Nargis declined to give her full name. (AP) RUP RUP

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
Kabul, Oct 5 (AP) Afghanistan's Taliban leaders met Tuesday with UK officials for the first time since taking power, a move the group hopes will pave the way for the country to refill cash-starved coffers as it teeters on the brink of economic collapse.

The Taliban said meanwhile they arrested 11 members of the rival Islamic State group.

The Taliban's meeting with British diplomats in the capital Kabul came a day after they met with an Iranian delegation  another first since assuming the helm  to discuss trade relations, a key driver of Afghanistan's economy.

The Taliban met with Sir Simon Gass, the British prime minister's high representative for Afghan transition, and Martin Longden, the charge d'affaires of the UK mission to Afghanistan in Doha.

The meeting marked Britain's first diplomatic visit to the country since the Taliban seized Kabul on August 15, and took control of Afghanistan following the US exit.

After the meeting, Longden tweeted that substantial discussions were held with the Taliban leadership covering a wide range of topics, including the humanitarian crisis, terrorism and the importance for safe passage for UK and Afghan nationals, and the rights of women and girls.

He fell short of recognising their government officially, a Taliban wish, and described the meeting as a test." It's early days and unsurprisingly, there are points of difference between us. But such difficult challenges lie ahead for Afghanistan (and beyond), he tweeted.

It's right to test if we can engage pragmatically and find common ground  in the interests of both the UK and Afghan peoples. In a statement, the Taliban said it was committed to good relations with all countries.

In return, we want the international community to return the cash capital of the Afghan nation to our nation, it said, referring to billions in Afghan assets frozen in US accounts.

The Taliban met Monday with a delegation from neighbouring Iran to regulate trade between the countries, Taliban spokesman Bilal Karimi said.

They agreed to increase trading hours at the Islam Qala border crossing from eight hours per day to 24 and to better regulate the collection of tariffs and improve roadworks. Customs are a key source of domestic revenue for Afghanistan.

Afghanistan, an aid-dependent country, is grappling with a liquidity crisis as assets remain frozen in the US and disbursements from international organisations that once accounted for 75 per cent of state spending have been paused.

Meanwhile, Taliban officials said Tuesday they arrested 11 members of the Islamic State group, a rival and bitter enemy of the insurgents, in Kabul.

The IS affiliate  based in eastern Nangarhar province  has claimed responsibility for a spate of recent attacks targeting Taliban forces in eastern Afghanistan and elsewhere.

Karimi posted on Twitter that the raid was carried out Sunday night in the Afghan capital's Fifth Police District. He provided no further details. The raid came just hours after a bombing that targeted the Eid Gah Mosque in Kabul, killing at least five people.

IS claimed responsibility for the mosque attack late Monday, saying in a posting by its Amaq news agency that one of its suicide bombers targeted senior Taliban figures following a mourning service.

Sunday's bombing was the deadliest attack in Kabul since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan with the chaotic departure of the last US troops on August 31.

IS had also claimed responsibility for the horrific bombing on August 26 that killed more than 169 Afghans and 13 US military personnel outside the Kabul airport, where thousands of people were trying to reach the airport to escape Taliban rule.

The world has been watching whether the Taliban will live up to their initial promises of tolerance and inclusiveness toward women and ethnic minorities.

However, Taliban actions so far, such as renewed restrictions on women and the appointment of an all-male government, have been met with dismay by the international community.

Protests against the Taliban's policies toward women continued Tuesday, with a demonstration in a Kabul private school by female teachers and students who held up signs saying Education is a right. The protest was held indoors to avoid backlash from the Taliban, who have recently outlawed demonstrations held without permission from the government.

The UN continued to sound the alarm about the country's dire economic situation, saying a humanitarian crisis is imminent. The world body's children's agency warned that half of Afghanistan's children under age 5 are expected to suffer from severe malnutrition as hunger takes root amid serious food shortages.

There are millions of people who are going to starve and there is winter coming, COVID raging, and the whole social system collapsed, said Omar Adbi, UNICEF's deputy executive director for programs, during a visit to a Kabul children's hospital.

At the hospital, a woman named Nargis sat with her 3-year-old child, who was suffering from severe malnutrition. She had come from Kunar province in the northeast, where fighting between the Taliban and the Islamic State group has deprived communities of accessing basic needs, including food. Nargis declined to give her full name. (AP) RUP RUP

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
The United Arab Emirates authorised the Russian-made single-shot Sputnik Light, as a stand-alone vaccine, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) announced on October 6. UAE authorities have also approved Sputnik Light as a booster shot. In the official release, the company stated that Sputnik Light vaccine is based on human adenovirus serotype 26, which is the first component of the Sputnik V vaccine.

UAE authorises Sputnik Light vaccine

Taking to Twitter, Sputnik V informed about the authorisation of Sputnik Light in the UAE. Moreover, they mentioned that UAE also approved Sputnik Light as a booster shot. In the official release, Sputnik V said that UAE authorities had authorised the two-dose Sputnik V in January 2021. Furthermore, they informed that both Sputnik Light and Sputnik V vaccines have been approved by the Ministry of Health and Prevention(MOHAP) of United Arab Emirates.

BREAKING | RDIF: UAE authorizes 1-shot Sputnik Light, 1st component of #SputnikV, as a stand-alone vaccine. UAE also approved Sputnik Light as a booster shot.

More countries see Sputnik Light with its strengthening protection over time as an ideal booster. pic.twitter.com/kWT70cATnn  Sputnik V (@sputnikvaccine) October 6, 2021

Both Sputnik Light and Sputnik V vaccines have been approved by the Ministry of Health and Prevention(MOHAP) under the emergency use authorisation procedure. According to the official release, "Sputnik Light is safe and highly effective as demonstrated by real-world vaccination data in a number of countries. In the official release, it cited the data from the Ministry of Health of the Buenos Aires province (Argentina) that has shown the efficacy of 78.6-83.7 per cent among the elderly.

Besides, the official release stated that Sputnik Light has been found to be 93.5% effective during the ongoing vaccination campaign in Paraguay, according to the countrys Ministry of Health. Furthermore, the official release said that Sputnik V, the worlds first registered vaccine against coronavirus, has a heterogeneous boosting approach "vaccine cocktail" and used human adenovirus serotype 26 as the first component and human adenovirus serotype 5 as the second component.

The release further stated that the newly approved vaccine is being studied to produce "cocktails" for immunisation and is also being used as a standalone immunity booster. Earlier in September, the Russian-made single-component Sputnik Light vaccine received the approval of the Egyptian Drug Authority (EDA), announced the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF). The two-dose Sputnik V vaccine was approved in Egypt in February 2021. In the official release, it is stated that both Sputnik Light and Sputnik V vaccines have been approved by the Egyptian Drug Authority(EDA) under the emergency use authorisation procedure.

Egypt, the most populated country of the Middle East with over 100 mn people, authorized one-shot Sputnik Light vaccine, the first component of #SputnikV

https://t.co/FGOvRlwTO0  Sputnik V (@sputnikvaccine) September 24, 2021

Image: Twitter/@SputnikVaccine_
The United Nations specialised agency, World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has cautioned the world against climate change that elevates the danger of water-related disasters such as floods. It also warned that the number of people to be affected by water shortages is likely to rise in near future. According to the WMO's latest report titled 'The State of Climate Services 2021: Water', nearly 3.6 billion people worldwide have insufficient access to water for approximately one month each year in 2018, and this figure is estimated to surge to five billion by 2050.

The situation is worsening by the fact that only 0.5 percent of the water on Earth is useable and available freshwater," the report said.

Water-related disasters becoming more common

The WMO report showed that water-related disasters like floods are becoming more common. It was reported that disasters related to floods have grown by 134 per cent since 2000 when compared to the preceding two decades, whereas during the same period the frequency and duration of droughts have also climbed by 29 per cent.

The highest number of deaths occurred mostly in Africa, highlighting the need for more efficient drought warning systems in that area. Drought has even caused the greatest economic losses in North America, Asia, and the Caribbean, according to the research. While, the majority of flood-related fatalities and financial damages have occurred in Asia last year, where heavy rains triggered severe floods in countries like China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Nepal, and Pakistan, AP reported.

The UN report also found that nearly 25 per cent of all cities worldwide are already facing frequent water shortages. It claims that the planet's total supplies of surface water, groundwater, and water found in soil, snow, and ice have decreased by 0.4 inches each year during the last two decades.

According to ANI, WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas stated, "Increasing temperatures are resulting in global and regional precipitation changes, leading to shifts in rainfall patterns and agricultural seasons, with a major impact on food security and human health and well-being." The WMO chief Taalas further informed that severe water-related events had happened last year, displacing millions of individuals and killing over hundreds in Asia, whereas over two billion people in Africa dwell in water crisis nations, facing lack of access to clean drinking water and hygiene.

Highlighting the critical role of water resources management to curb water-related catastrophes, the WMO has advised the countries, particularly small island nations, developing as well as least developed countries, to increase investment in integrated water resources management and in drought. The organisation also encouraged nations to support climate operations and to build early detection systems, and national level stakeholders to co-develop and implement climate services with information consumers to better assist water sector adaptability.

(Image: AP)
Continuous rise in sea temperature due to climate change has cost the world 14 per cent of its coral reefs, thats more than the size of Australias reefs combined, experts from the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network funded by the UN Environment Programme UNEP said on Tuesday, October 5. According to the Sixth Status of Corals of the World: 2020 Report, which was compiled from the data input by more than 300 scientists from 73 countries, over a span of 40 years, including two million individual observations, the worlds coral reef is witnessing a sharp decline.

This deterioration corresponds with rapid increases in sea surface temperatures, stated the UNEP report, indicating their vulnerability to temperature spikes. The report also found that this phenomenon is likely to increase as the planet continues to warm. According to scientists, underwater coral reefs support up to 800 different species of hard coral and are home to more than 25 per cent of all marine life. The hard corals, furthermore, provide additional homes for fish, snails and other marine creatures.

New #WorldCoralReefStatus report:



Between 2009 and 2018, the world lost about 14% of the coral on its coral reefs, which equates to around 11,700 square kilometres of coral, more than all the living coral in Australia.



Learn more#ForNature https://t.co/PlsAC8G8Jy  UN Environment Programme (@UNEP) October 5, 2021

Coral reefs are under threat from climate change, ocean acidification, and land-based pollution; as well as sediments from agriculture, marine pollution and overfishing, the report published by UNEP said on October 5.

Maintaining the integrity and resilience of coral reef ecosystems is essential for the wellbeing of tropical coastal communities worldwide, and a critical part of the solution for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, underscored the Status of Coral Reefs, it added.

Coral reefs harbour the 'largest biodiversity' of world's ecosystem

Reefs harbour the highest biodiversity of any of the worlds ecosystems, making them one of the most biologically complex and valuable on the planet, stated the Sixth Status of Corals of the World report. But due to global warming and climate change, when the sea waters get too warm, corals released their colourful micro-algae, turning a skeletal white colour in a phenomenon known as coral bleaching. During the bleaching, the naturally producing a protective layer of neon pigments are produced that destroy the coral reefs.

Bleaching can be thought of as the oceans version of the canary in the coral mine since it demonstrates corals sensitivity to dangerous and deadly conditions, the Status of Coral Reefs explained.

Another phenomenon that flared due to the climate change noticed by the scientists was the shift from coral to algae-dominated reefs which makes the marine regions less biodiverse. According to the report, there has been a steady decrease in hard coral cover since 2010 with the worst impacts occurring in South Asia, Australia, the Pacific, East Asia, the Western Indian Ocean, The Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Scientists had also earlier warned of seaweed that was spreading rapidly in remote northwestern Hawaiian islands, killing large patches of pristine coral. This newly discovered highly destructive species of seaweed easily breaks off and tumbles around, eventually settling on corals to block their space and sunlight.

Even as the coral reefs cover only 0.2 per cent of the seafloor in more than 100 countries they underpin the safety, coastal protection, wellbeing, food and economic security of hundreds of millions of people, the report warned. It is said that the coral reefs generate an estimated $2.7 trillion per year of goods for humans, including $36 billion in coral reef tourism.
On Tuesday, October 5, former US National Security Adviser (NSA), HR McMaster held the Trump administration's February 2020 Afghan peace pact with the Taliban as the reason behind the chaotic US pullout from Afghanistan.

The retired Army general testified before the US House Foreign Affairs Committee that the US-Taliban peace deal was a capitulation agreement based on concessions made by the United States, reported The Washington Times. McMaster, who served as Trump's security aide for a short span of time, claimed that the Trump administration's compromises bolstered US foes and weakened Washington's Afghan partners.

"We must stop pretending that our February 2020 surrender to the Taliban and subsequent concessions to that terrorist group, which bolstered our foes while weakening our Afghan partners, were not the main causes of a lost war and its repercussions in the war-torn country," McMaster was quoted as saying by The Washington Times.

McMaster's statement comes as President Joe Biden continues to be chastised over the hasty US pullout from Afghanistan. According to McMaster's testimony, the Doha agreement "doubled down" on the Obama administration's embrace of peace talks, which began in 2010 and was rejected by then President Donald Trump in 2017. However, it was resurrected in the final year of his presidency.

According to McMaster, flaws in the agreement include a mandate for the Afghan government to surrender terrorists, the cessation of active Taliban pursuit, the withdrawal of all US aircraft, and the termination of contractor support for Afghan security forces. Earlier, President Biden had argued that the Trump administration's deal with the Taliban tied his hands to a full, time-based pullout from Afghanistan. However, some have questioned Biden's decision to go ahead with the previous administrations policy while undoing several others.

McMaster publicly parted with Trump on several issues

It should be mentioned here that McMaster has publicly feuded over a number of issues against his former boss, Donald Trump. In 2018, he resigned in the wake of alleged disagreements with then-President Trump and other senior administration officials. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, October 5, former Vice President of the United States Mike Pence termed the Biden administrations messy pullout from Afghanistan as the "greatest foreign policy disaster" since the Iran hostage crisis in 1979. He also accused President Joe Biden and his administration of bolstering America's enemies abroad while oppressing Americans at home, news agency Sputnik reported citing Fox News.

(Image: @H.R. McMaster/Twitter/AP)
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on October 5 urged the NATO alliance to maintain interaction with Russia in order to deter another cold war or a new arms race during his visit to Washington DC, US on Tuesday. After a series of meetings with senior US officials including President Joe Biden, Pentagon head Lloyd Austin, Biden national security advisor Jake Sullivan, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said at an event hosted by Brookings Institute and Georgetown University that the NATO and the allies needed a dialogue with assertive Russia as it continues to pose a threat to the alliance and its allies and partners.

We have to talk to Russia because we don't want a new Cold War. We don't want a new arms race and Russia is our neighbour so we need to engage with them, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in his keynote speech. He also stressed in his address, updated on the NATO website, that the need for transatlantic unity was now greater than at any time since the end of the Cold War. We must always take our differences seriously and address them, but they do not change the big picture: the importance of Europe and North America standing together in NATO, he said.

Good to be back at the Capitol to meet senior United States lawmakers. There is strong bipartisan support for #NATO and future-proofing our transatlantic Alliance. pic.twitter.com/2jDkRQ152v  Jens Stoltenberg (@jensstoltenberg) October 5, 2021

NATO chief warns about 'military might' of China, meets with Biden

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg emphasized that the relations between the "transatlantic family" of the Western bloc and Moscow had deteriorated. Accusing Russia of thwarting the ties, Stoltenberg stated that NATOs approach to Russia would continue to consist of both "deterrence and dialogue. Furthermore, he added that NATO must not abandon efforts to push Russia's neighbours, Ukraine and Georgia, to join the alliance. "It's only for NATO members and Georgia and Ukraine to decide when they are ready to join, not Russia," the secretary-general stressed in his address in Washington DC.

Stoltenberg also warned about the regional expansion and growing military might of China, as he said that the Asian countrys "huge and strong military capability," has been growing "year by year." He stressed that Europe and North America were at the pivotal moment for our shared security and face a more dangerous and more competitive world.

Russia is more aggressive abroad and more oppressive at home, and China is using its economic and military might to control its own people, coerce other countries, and assert control over global supply chains, critical infrastructure, and other assets, said NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.

Thanks to @POTUS, @SecBlinken, @SecDef & @JakeSullivan46 for great talks in Washington D.C. on the need to strengthen #NATO even more in an age of global competition. Europe & North America are stronger together. pic.twitter.com/KRSd7AyYtB  Jens Stoltenberg (@jensstoltenberg) October 4, 2021

Stoltenberg met President Joe Biden at the White House to discuss how to further strengthen the transatlantic bond and prepare the NATO Summit in Madrid next year. NATO chief told the US President that the great power competition in the world was on rising, along with cyber threats, terrorism, and the security impact of climate change. The discussions also addressed Afghanistan. Secretary-General met with members of the Senate NATO Observer Group led by Senator Jeanne Shaheen and Senator Thom Tillis. He then met with the US House Foreign Affairs Committee and NATO Parliamentary Assembly (NPA) hosted by Congressman Gerald E. Connolly, President of the NPA.
A post office in west Houston has been renamed in the honour of its trailblazing Indian-American Sikh police officer, Sandeep Singh Dhaliwal, who was shot dead in an ambush style attack in 2019. A father of three, 42-year-old Deputy Dhaliwal was gunned down during a traffic stop on September 27. He made national headlines in 2015 when he became the first Texas deputy approved to wear his turban and beard while performing his duty.

A dedication ceremony was held on Tuesday where Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher, who brought the renaming legislation to the US House of Representatives, said it was fitting to rename the post office at 315 Addicks Howell Road after someone who committed his life to serving the community.

I am honoured to play a role in commemorating Deputy Dhaliwals remarkable life of selfless service, said Fletcher. He represented the very best of our community: he worked for equality, connection, and community through his life of service to others. I was glad to work with a bipartisan delegation, our community partners, and those in the Sikh community, to pass legislation to rename this building the Deputy Sandeep Singh Dhaliwal Post Office, Fletcher added.

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said the remarkable commemoration serves as a permanent reminder of Dhaliwal's lasting contributions to our community. We are thankful to Congresswoman Fletcher and the entire Texas delegation for honouring a committed public servant who touched countless lives and served as a trailblazer. He was a true hero who inspired everyone to love their neighbours, Gonzalez said.

According to the sheriff, Dhaliwal joined the agency as a detention officer in 2009 after feeling compelled to bridge the gap between law enforcement and the Sikh community. He later became a patrol deputy leading the way for other Sikhs to serve with the Harris County Sheriff's Office.

Im thankful that visitors to the newly renamed post office will see his name and be encouraged to learn how special he was, said Commissioner Adrian Garcia, who originally hired Dhaliwal in his capacity as previous sheriff of Harris County. Deputy Dhaliwal made the ultimate sacrifice to protect us, and he will never be forgotten. I am thankful to Representative Fletcher and the United States Postal Service for this important recognition. Sandeep lived his life with the purpose to spread dignity and respect to all he came in contact with, and I am hopeful that the Deputy Sandeep Singh Dhaliwal Post Office will inspire all who visit to follow in Sandeeps example," Garcia said.

Father of the slain police officer, Pyara Singh Dhaliwal, expressed gratitude towards the people of Houston for their support. Since my son was taken from our family in a senseless act of violence, we have received an outpouring of support and love from the greater Houston community. We are so grateful and so honoured that Sandeep is being memorialised in this wayforever becoming a part of the city that he served faithfully both in and out of uniform, he said.

Meanwhile, US Postal Service District Director Julie Wilbert said getting a post office renamed is not a common occasion and is reserved for a select group of individuals. "To put it in its proper perspective, the postal service has over 31,000 retail and post offices. There are less than 900 that have been dedicated in honor of an individual," Wilbert said.

Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF) Southwest Regional Director Bobby Singh said: Sandeep Singh Dhaliwal did not set out to be a trailblazer, he simply approached life with a caring heart, a generous spirit, and a warmth that brought people together. Along with the many friends here today, our community has been forever changed by his death but this building will forever serve as a recognition of his life. He lived the true Americanand Houstonianlife, he added.

In the wake of Dhaliwals death, Fletcher led the entire Houston delegation in introducing H. Res. 616, a resolution to honour the life and mourn the loss of the police officer and spoke on the House floor about his remarkable life and tragic death. In 2020, the Congresswomans bill, H.R. 5317, the Deputy Sandeep Singh Dhaliwal Post Office Act, was passed and signed into law by then President Donald Trump. However, this isn't the first dedication for Deputy Dhaliwal. A year after his death, a portion of Beltway 8 near Highway 249 was renamed in his honour.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
Eight days into the school year, all five of Amber Cessacs daughters, ages 4 to 10, had tested positive for COVID-19.

Having them all sick at once and worrying about long-term repercussions as other parents at their school, and even her own mother, downplayed the virus, broke something inside of me, Cessac said.

The anxiety and the stress has sort of been bottled up for me, she said. It just felt so, I dont know, defeating and made me feel so helpless.

Like parents everywhere, Cessac has been dealing with pandemic stress for over 18 months now.

There's the exhaustion of worrying about the disease itself made worse by the spread of the more infectious delta variant, particularly among people who refuse vaccinations, which has caused a big increase in infections in children.

Online school disrupted kids' educations and parents' work. Then the return of in-person school this year brought rising exposures and community tension as parents fought over proper protocols. The politicization of masks, vaccines and shutdowns have worn many parents out. Deciding whats OK for children to do and what isnt can feel fraught.

Parents are exhausted on a level weve not seen before, said Amanda Zelechoski, a Valparaiso University psychology professor who founded the website and nonprofit Pandemic Parenting. We have been in survival mode for a year and a half now and it is relentless.

Schools are, for many, a constant worry. There's evidence that masks in schools help reduce the spread of COVID-19, and a majority of Americans support requiring masks for students and teachers. But that breaks down sharply along partisan lines. Some Republican governors have tried to ban mask mandates. District policies on masks, testing and quarantines vary widely. Soon after schools reopened in August, the rate of coronavirus infections forced dozens of districts to back off in-person learning.

The charter school Cessac's four older daughters go to in the Austin, Texas, suburbs doesn't require masks. Her children, who are too young to be vaccinated, told her they were among only a handful of kids in their classes to wear masks. But she's sent them back to school as they recovered.

Its not any better anywhere else, she said. All the moms, we feel stuck in this situation. There's nothing we can do.

More than 5.5 million children in the U.S. have tested positive for COVID-19, with 20% of all child cases coming since this school year began, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Kids are at lower risk of severe illness or death, but at least 498 have died.

Vaccines have been available for children as young as 12 since May, but vaccination rates lag behind adults. Federal data show about half of 16- and 17-year-olds are vaccinated, while 43% of 12- to 15-year-olds are; two-thirds of U.S. adults are vaccinated.

And while a vaccine for younger children is expected before the end of the year, they remain more vulnerable. Many parents felt lost on how to best protect them. You still had parents struggling with decisions, and what is safe for my family, and feeling left behind or invisible because other segments of society were able to move on, Zelechoski said.

Over a million students left U.S. public schools in the 2020 school year, which was marked by widespread remote classes. It's not yet clear what's happened this academic year, but fights over mask mandates have led some parents to alternatives.

Sheila Cocchi, a single mom still dealing with health problems after suffering COVID-19 in February, is paying a teacher to give her 10- and 14-year-olds classes at home for 10 hours a week along with an online program. She also works from home in Fernandina Beach, Florida, just north of Jacksonville.

Last year, it was like OK, the whole worlds gone crazy and were all having to adjust to this. Now its a different kind of stress, she said. Were trying to get this under control as a nation, or at least as a state, and theres so many people who are not participating in that. I would like for my children to be in school as much as anyone.

Other parents say they know being back at school is what's best for their kids, and they just hope it's OK.

In Fort Worth, Texas, Heather Buen, who works for a local utility and is a Democratic politics organizer, keeps at her kids to wear masks and wash their hands, even when other children or even teachers don't.

It's a lot of effort to maintain that, she said. She thinks seeing their dad, an electrician, get COVID-19 helped scare them into sticking to preventive measures. The five children in school have not gotten sick, and Buen said she feels reassured because it seems more students and staff are wearing masks now than at the beginning of the school year. Still, parents from three districts, including hers, have sued, saying schools are violating students' constitutional rights because there's no mask mandate.

The lawsuits, school board meeting fights, dissension between family members and friends is also a source of stress.

The bashing on both sides, thats been the hardest thing, said Sarah Brazwell, who has a 3-year-old in day care and a 9-year-old in elementary school. She's not ready to get vaccinated and wearing masks in her Florida Panhandle town is a little pointless, she said, because so few people do.

Child care  finding it, paying for it, worrying about the spread of sicknesses from it  has been a huge stress during the pandemic. Labor is in short supply and it can be difficult to find a spot. Infections and exposures, and even minor colds at day cares can mean children get sent home for days or weeks, forcing parents to scramble repeatedly for child care.

Deanna Manbeck, board president of her child's small, non-profit day care in Wilmington, Delaware, carries the weight of responsibility to the roughly 20 families there. Masks are required for teachers but not vaccines out of fear staff will quit.

How could I tell parents that we can no longer care for their children and they have to find a new center over an optional mandate? As a mom, I want all teachers to be vaccinated  but were not in the position to mandate them, she said.

Jeff Sheldon and his wife began interviewing nannies for their two sons, a 3-year-old and a baby, after day care closures and routine childhood illnesses kept their children home for weeks at a time this summer. He and his wife took sick days and worked from home. Their mothers also helped.

"We cant keep living with the uncertainty of class closing at a moments notice, he said of the day care in Lincoln, Nebraska, noting that his older son has thrived there.

While Sheldon was more able than his wife, who works for the public school system, to work from home, the pandemic has underscored the burden for women in particular balancing child care and work, and millions of women have left the work force.

Taking a leave was a brief consideration for Dr. Ankita Modi, a pediatrician in Charlotte, North Carolina. She was upset the thought even crossed her mind, she said, but she was that desperate. In her school district, masks are optional, there's no remote school option and she says the contact tracing is ineffective. Local health officials agreed and threatened legal action against the district before agreeing on new procedures at the end of September.

Her youngest child, 11, isnt old enough to be vaccinated; the other two are. It feels like youre knowingly putting them at a real concrete risk every day," she said. "That, as a parent, is really unnerving. I dont think anybody has slept well since school has started.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
The democratic island's defense minister says the situation is the 'grimmest' he has seen in 40 years.

China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) will have the capacity for a "full-scale invasion" of Taiwan by 2025, the democratic island's defense minister warned on Wednesday.

Taiwan defense minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said the PLA already has the capability now to invade Taiwan, which the U.S. has pledge to "assist" to defend itself.

But China will be capable of limiting the cost to itself of a "full-scale invasion" by 2025, Chiu told the Legislative Yuan's foreign affairs, defense and finance committee.

He described the current situation across the Taiwan Strait as "really the grimmest I have seen in more than 40 years of military service."

The Taiwan defense ministry said it is investing in weaponry capable of "long-range strikes," with a defensive focus, creating heavy-duty deterrence.

The Legislative Yuan session reviewed Taiwan's military budget proposals, which include a U.S.$8.57 billion upgrade for the country's navy and air force.

Under the plan, 64 percent of spending will be allocated to domestically produced anti-ship weapons, with slightly more than half of that amount including the fast-tracked development and procurement of the Hsiung Feng anti-ship missile system.

"The [ministry]'s plan to strengthen Taiwan's sea and air defenses is likely a response to increased provocations, including recent Chinese activities within Taiwan's territorial waters and incursions into its air defense identification zone (ADIZ)," Taiwan's Central News Agency reported.

The PLA flew 150 aircraft into Taiwan's ADIZ in the first five days of October, with 56 planes making incursions on Oct. 4 alone, the largest recorded number in a single day.

Chiu told the session that the incursions have stepped up psychological pressure on Taiwanese pilots who have to respond, although he said Taiwan wouldn't fire first.

The U.S. warned on Monday that the incursions were destabilizing and risked "miscalculations," calling on Beijing to cease its military, diplomatic, and economic pressure and coercion against Taiwan.

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that he had raised the issue with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

"I've spoken with Xi about Taiwan," Biden said. "We agree...we will abide by the Taiwan agreement."

Taiwan's Presidential Office said in a statement that Washington has confirmed to Taipei that its policy toward Taiwan remains unchanged, although it was unclear what agreement Biden was referring to.

'Catastrophic consequences'

Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen has warned of "catastrophic consequences" if China invades Taiwan.

In an Oct. 5 op-ed article in the Foreign Affairs journal, Tsai warned: "If Taiwan were to fall, the consequences would be catastrophic for regional peace and the democratic alliance system."

"It would signal that in todays global contest of values, authoritarianism has the upper hand over democracy," she said, adding that Taiwan is on the front line of a global struggle between liberal democracy and authoritarianism.

She said Taiwan is committed to modernizing and reorganizing its own military, including mobile land-based antiship cruise missiles, and will launch an all-out training and recruitment drive for a military reserve in 2022.

"Such initiatives are meant to maximize Taiwans self-reliance and preparedness and to signal that we are willing to bear our share of the burden and dont take our security partners support for granted," Tsai wrote.

"Taiwan does not seek military confrontation ... But if its democracy and way of life are threatened, [it] will do whatever it takes to defend itself," she said.



Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
Tutors are sneaking into people's homes disguised as domestic helpers or repair workers, as underground tutor fees skyrocket.

College students and graduates sit with signs offering tutoring services in Xian, in central China's Shaanxi province, in a file photo.

Teachers across China are being reported and punished for offering paid catch-up sessions to students amid an ongoing crackdown on the tutoring industry by the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) under Xi Jinping.

On June 15, the Ministry of Education set up a new department to monitor off-campus education and training provisions and to implement "reforms to the off-campus education and training sector," and the CCP leadership then signaled on July 30 that it would crack down on private tuition schools and other measures aimed at slashing homework and out-of-hours educational activities.

Training institutions were banned from offering subject-based tutoring on national statutory holidays, rest days, or winter and summer vacations.

More than 75 percent of students in primary and secondary education attended after-school tutoring in 2016, the most recent industry figures showed, and the need to hothouse children privately to get them into the best schools was criticized by CCP leader Xi Jinping in March as a barrier to boosting birth rates.

Former cram school insider Zhou Xia told RFA that parental demand hasn't gone away, however.

"They have banned out-of-school training centers and cram schools now, but the need of parents [for tutoring] is still there," Zhou said. "Many teachers are now doing underground tutoring."

"The policy was supposed to reduce the burden on parents, but both parents and students are now under even greater pressure than before."

Parents are turning to private tutoring, either in-person or online, and are relying on private introductions or hiring tutors to come to their homes in the guise of domestic helpers or electrical appliance repair workers.

"Parents are under even more pressure than before, because it's harder to find teachers on the black market, and so the financial burden is also heavier," Zhou said. "The prices are definitely going up ... these are black market prices now."

Zhou said one-to-one tutoring currently commands a fee of at least 3,000 yuan (U.S.$465) per hour.

Inspections carried out

Recently authorities in Shenzen carried out spot inspections of more than 5,000 tutor centers and cram schools, closing hundreds of them, the municipal education bureau said in a social media post.

It said the teams were also on the lookout for tutors entering people's home disguised as other kinds of service providers.

Current affairs commentator Wang Zheng said the private tuition industry has gone underground in order to survive.

"They are now conducting one-to-one tutoring in the guise of housekeeping and other services," Wang said. "Far from falling, the fees may be increasing."

"But the risks are high, and this may affect students' learning," he said. "It's psychologically harmful for the kids to do this on the quiet when they used to do it openly."

State media reported recently that local governments have shut down around 700,000 buxibans, leaving around 10 million former teachers and tutors unemployed.

The moves came after a March 6, 2021 speech by CCP general secretary Xi Jinping, who hit out at "chaos" in the tutoring industry, calling it "a stubborn disease that is hard to manage."



Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
Carrie Lam also unveils plans to retrain civil servants and build a new metropolis near the border with Shenzhen.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam on Wednesday vowed to extend a citywide crackdown on anyone trying to "destabilize" the city and oppose China, with new laws in the pipeline targeting the media and online service providers, as well as expanded definitions of "espionage" and "terrorism."

Lam also called for a new urban area near the border and a second high-speed rail link to neighboring Shenzhen, in line with ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) plans to integrate Hong Kong and Macau into the Pearl River delta "Bay Area," vowing to release more land for development in the process.

Lam said the authorities "have spared no effort to fulfil our responsibility to prevent, suppress, and punish acts and activities that endanger national security in accordance with the law."

But she added that "there is still a substantial amount of work" to be done, citing further national security legislation under Article 23 of the Basic Law "to prevent those who are opposed to China and attempt to destabilize Hong Kong from taking advantage of the situation to mislead the public with ill intentions."

The national security law, which took effect on July 1, 2020, ushered in an ongoing and citywide crackdown on all forms of public dissent and political opposition, with election rules changed to ensure only pro-CCP candidates can run and dozens of former opposition lawmakers now behind bars on "subversion" charges.

Lam said in her annual policy address on Wednesday that her administration will push ahead with further legislation on espionage and other "covert" activities to continue a crackdown on what Beijing insists was an attempt by hostile foreign powers to foment a "color revolution" in Hong Kong during the 2019 protest movement.

New laws will also be needed to "combat fake news" and "safeguard cybersecurity," Lam said, with more regulations relating to "schools, social organizations, the media, and the internet."

Oath-taking ceremonies for anyone holding public office will continue, she said. Dozens of pro-democracy politicians have been expelled from the Legislative Council (LegCo) and the District Council in recent months, after an administration official judged their oaths invalid.

Lam said forthcoming elections for her replacement and for LegCo in December would be run on the basis of "patriots administering Hong Kong."

Electoral changes brought in after a landslide victory for pro-democracy candidates following months of mass popular protests will likely ensure that no pro-democracy candidates will be approved to run in the LegCo election, while the proportion of candidates chosen by a Beijing-backed committee has grown.

Lam welcomed the mass resignation of pro-democracy lawmakers in protest over the expulsion of their colleagues in late 2020.

"Since those members who opposed for the sake of opposing left LegCo in November last year, the current legislative session has seen fruitful outcomes," she said.

She said government broadcaster RTHK and LegCo have both been ordered to "show respect for the national flag, national emblem, and national anthem," following a restructuring at RTHK that means program content is subject to the approval of a government-backed committee.

Civil servants will also be given further training at senior level in "national studies," with visits to mainland China, Lam said.

Developing the border area

Lam also discussed plans for greater social and economic integration with neighboring Shenzhen, unveiling projects to develop the border area into a "a metropolitan area" of 300 square kilometers.

She also announced plans for a new cross-border Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Railway linking Hung Shui Kiu to the special economic zone of Qianhai, another part of the economic integration plan.

Democratic Party chairman Lo Kin-hei said Lam's policy address wasn't aimed at Hong Kong's seven million residents, but at her bosses in Beijing.

"The main audience for this policy address wasn't the people of Hong Kong, but the central government [in Beijing]," Lo told reporters. "She's fighting to get re-elected [by Beijing's supporters], not for the support of the people."

Hong Kong media quoted government sources as saying that a new cybersecurity law will regulate water and electricity suppliers, the Mass Transit Railway, and other large infrastructure service providers, who will be required to appoint a person responsible for ensuring security.

While details of Hong Kong's new legislation have yet to be made public, some are concerned it will include legislation similar to that passed in Singapore on Oct. 4, which forces internet service providers to "avoid threats to national security and sovereignty."

Singapore's new legislation requires ISPs, social media platforms and website owners to provide data, block content and remove apps that spread "hostile" content.

'Provisions too vague'

Zhuang Jiaying, associate professor of the Department of Political Science at the National University of Singapore, said many of the law's provisions are too vague.

"The regulations talk about participation in matters of public controversy or political disputes, which is a bit vague," Zhuang said. "One of the possible ways you can violate the law is 'lowering confidence in the Singapore government,' which is also a bit vague."

"Some people are wondering whether the Prevention of Foreign Intervention Act is actually aimed at political opponents ... as there is a lot of room for interpretation by administrative officials and law enforcement officers," he said.

"Some of the interpretations are made at the policy level rather than at the legislative level, and can be changed at any time at the whim of the decision-maker of the day."

Journalist Han Liying said she could be targeted under the law simply for receiving foreign funding, in a manner similar to the suppression of civil society under the national security law in Hong Kong.

"We have clarified many times that we have not participated in activities subject to foreign interference, but these clarifications are of no use," she told RFA. "What I am worried about is that this law will give the ruling party more powers to go after my [organization], or other independent media and civil society organizations."

"This bill is actually very easy to abuse," Han said.

Zhuang said the new law on foreign interference gives the Singaporean government extra powers to regulate the internet, which weren't in the city-state's national security legislation.



Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
People's Defense Force soldiers aim their weapons at junta troops in Loikaw, eastern Myanmar's Kayah state, in an undated photo.

Ethnic rebels and militiamen engaged in 265 armed clashes with Myanmar junta forces in September, killing nearly 300 national soldiers in Kayin and Kayah states, officials from the groups said Wednesday, amid an intensified effort by ethnic soldiers to resist the military regime that overthrew the elected government eight months ago.

The powerful Myanmar military ousted the democratically elected National League for Democracy (NLD) government on Feb. 1, claiming the party had stolen the countrys November 2020 ballot through voter fraud.

Fighting against military forces escalated across the nation after the shadow National Unity Government (NUG) on Sept. 7 declared a nationwide state of emergency and called for open rebellion against junta rule.

The move by the group of ousted NLD politicians, activists, and representatives from ethnic minority groups, sparked an escalation of attacks on military targets by various allied pro-democracy militias and ethnic armed groups. The number of civilians displaced by the violence numbers in the hundreds of thousands, and aid workers face a humanitarian crisis.

The central committee of the Karen National Union, a political group with an armed wing, which represents the ethnic Karen people in mountainous eastern Myanmars Kayin state, said that the clashes fought by armed groups under its umbrella resulted in 234 deaths of junta soldiers and five ethnic troops. Ten KNU soldiers were injured as well.

Lt. Col. Saw Kalae Do of the Karen National Liberation Armys (KNLA) 5th Brigade told RFA that 215 of the clashes occurred in the territory controlled by the brigade, with fighting occurring on an almost daily basis in September because Myanmar soldiers had become more aggressive in expending their territory and securing troop reinforcements.

For us, we have to maintain the control of our territory, so there were shootouts between the two forces, he said. There were armed engagements almost every day.

If they hadnt provoked us, we would not have responded, he added.

The KNLA saw far fewer casualties from the clashes because its soldiers are familiar with the terrain and have better guerilla combat skills than national forces, Saw Kalae Do said.

National soldiers fired more than 160 rounds of heavy artillery in the brigades territory, injuring three civilians, he added.

In August, there were 130 armed engagements in which 118 military soldiers died and 68 others were injured, though there were no casualties among the KNLA troops, Saw Kalae Do said.

RFA could not independently confirm the number of casualties.

In neighboring Kayah state, Karenni National Defense Force (KNDF) militia engaged in at least 14 clashes with Myanmar troops in the past few months, with 40 national troops and three Karenni soldiers killed, said a KNDF official who declined to be named.

Now the fighting could intensify after national forces brought about 500 more troops into the area, the KNDF official said.

Future fighting will depend on the actions of the military council troops, he said. There could be some of the biggest fighting in a month or it could cool down to the level of regular fighting, but I think there are more prospects for the former.

Junta forces set fire to at least 55 civilian homes, killed two civilians, and critically injured two others during the September clashes, KNDF officials said, though RFA could not independently confirm the number of causalities.

RFA could not reach junta spokesman Maj. Gen Zaw Min Tun for comment.

Political analyst Than Soe Naing said fighting across Myanmar would intensify with civilians forming defense forces to fight alongside the ethnic armed groups while the volunteer Peoples Defense Force, the armed wing of the National Unity Government that has declared itself to be the legitimate government of Myanmar, battle junta soldiers in central Myanmar.

This fighting will only be the beginning, he said. We are heading towards a nationwide civil war. Thats why these clashes are not decisive wars. The real decisive wars are forthcoming.

Reported by RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Ye Kaung Myint Maung. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
The attack was along a strategic highway connecting Myanmars central area to the northwest.

Soldiers stand next to a military truck parked near the headquarters of the National League for Democracy party in Yangon, Myanmar, Feb. 15, 2021.

Anti-junta forces in central Myanmar attacked a 50-vehicle military convoy Tuesday, killing more than 40 soldiers and injuring 30 others, members of the attacking militia told RFA.

The Yaw Defense Force (YDF), one of many Peoples Defense Force (PDF) militia groups formed to resist the military after it ousted the countrys democratically elected government on Feb. 1, told RFA they used remote-controlled landmines in their attack along the Gangaw-Kalay Highway, which connects Magway with the western Chin state and northern Sagaing region.

The Gangaw-Kalay Highway is a strategic route, and it would be difficult for the military if this road were cut off They would have to send food and supplies by air, a member of the YDF told RFAs Myanmar Service Wednesday.

When the rains are gone, they wont be able to use the waterways because the rivers will be dried up. So they need this road to go up into the mountains of Chin state, the YDF member said.

RFA was not able to independently verify the exact number of casualties in the attack.

Junta spokesperson Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun confirmed to RFA that a convoy was attacked with landmines near Gangaw township but said that only two vehicles had been damaged and a few soldiers injured.

Nearby residents told RFA that fighting between the military and the YDF and its allies had intensified in recent days.

Sources close to the military last week told RFA that the junta had been sending armored vehicles, artillery, and attack helicopters to its forces in Gagnaw in hopes of gaining a tactical advantage.

Though the Gangaw-Kalay Highway is normally very busy, a resident of Gangaw told RFA on condition of anonymity that fighting had caused traffic there to come to a complete standstill.

We heard they are conducting a military operation along the Gangaw-Kalay Road The pressure is on the PDFs because of the large presence of troops in the area, and there are frequent clashes. Travelling in the area is difficult now as cars are not allowed to leave the city, the Gangaw resident said.

She said that the local flow of goods had been disrupted and commodity prices had skyrocketed. Living conditions had also deteriorated and businesses had been shuttered, she added.

Fighting has also intensified in neighboring Kalay in the Sagaing region.

The Kalay PDF said nine government soldiers died on October 4 when militias attacked a convoy of 10 military vehicles that had stopped near a crossing at the Pan Mon Chaung Bridge to search for mines.

A Kalay resident who spoke on condition of anonymity said junta troops have now set up checkpoints and sentry posts all along Gangaw-Kalay Road, and that more are arriving in large numbers from the Magway region, forcing residents to flee the heavy fighting.

"A lot of military vehicles are coming towards Gangaw. The whole population is holding its breath and waiting, as the junta appears to be set to take total control of the Gangaw-Kalay region, the Kalay resident said.

People are all scared and worried about the increasing military presence in our area. The situation is very bad. If they stay here, it will be very difficult for us," the resident said.

Residents in the Sagaing and Magway regions and Chin State are panicking as the military has shut down internet access in the area and is sending in massive reinforcements. They fear a major operation is looming over the horizon, and local PDF groups are also preparing for impending battles, sources said.

Military spokesman Maj.Gen. Zaw Min Tun confirmed the military was taking full control of the area due to the rising number of military casualties.

Reported by RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
Vietnamese authorities on Monday arrested a Facebook user, charging him with abusing freedom and democracy for writing a series of online posts they said had defamed the countrys leaders, state media reported on Monday.

Vo Hoang Tho, 36 years old and a resident of the Ninh Kieu district of southern Vietnams Can Tho City, had published 47 posts on his Minh Long Facebook page criticizing government efforts to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19 in the one-party communist state, media sources said.

Containment efforts, including community lockdowns and other harsh restrictions, are widely unpopular in Vietnam, and Thos arrest was just the latest in a continuing crackdown on Facebook users who use the popular social media platform to voice dissenting views.

Can Tho Citys Investigation Agency said Tho had formerly worked as a journalist but did not identify the media organization for which he worked.

RFA has reported nearly 30 cases in which Vietnamese citizens have been arrested for political offenses over social media posts since the beginning of this year. Among those now serving sentences for Facebook posts are journalists, bloggers, and another citizen who had posted complaints about coronavirus policies.

On Sept. 10, Vietnamese authorities arrested and charged a woman with carrying out activities to overthrow the government, making her the third person apprehended this year for joining an exile Vietnamese organization called a terrorist group by Hanoi, according to state media reports.

Le Thi Kim Phi, 62, had used a Facebook profile under the name Phi Kim to connect with members of the Provisional Government of Vietnam, a U.S.-based opposition group, said the investigation division of southern An Gian provinces police department.

And on Sept. 8, authorities in Can Tho indicted five journalists from the Bao Sach (Clean Newspaper) Facebook-based news outlet for publishing reports and videos dealing with politically sensitive social issues.

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.
NATO has expelled eight members of Russia's mission to the alliance after they were revealed to belong to Moscow's intelligence services and cut the mission's size in half, a NATO official told RFE/RL.

The official said that the alliance had "strengthened our deterrence and defense in response to Russia's aggressive actions," but was still willing to engage in dialogue.

"We can confirm that we have withdrawn the accreditation of eight members of the Russian Mission to NATO, who were undeclared Russian intelligence officers," the official, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, told RFE/RL.

"We can also confirm that we have reduced the number of positions which the Russian Federation can accredit to NATO [from 20] to 10.

"NATO's policy towards Russia remains consistent. We have strengthened our deterrence and defense in response to Russia's aggressive actions, while at the same time we remain open for a meaningful dialogue," the official said.

Relations between NATO and Russia have been tense recently and official contacts have been limited since Moscow annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014.

The 30-member Western alliance is also concerned over Russia's nuclear missile development, aerial intrusions into NATO airspace, and the buzzing of allied ships by Russian fighter planes.

The main forum for dialogue between the two sides, the NATO-Russia Council, is stalled.

"NATO proposed to hold another meeting of the NATO-Russia Council over 18 months ago, and that proposal stands. The ball is in Russia's court," the official said.

There was no immediate official reaction from Moscow, but a senior Russian lawmaker, Leon Slutsky, told Interfax that Moscow will retaliate against NATO's decision.

Slutsky, head of the lower house of parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, was quoted as saying that Russia would retaliate, "and not necessarily in a symmetrical way."

NATO's move was the second time the alliance has taken action against Russia on such a scale, after it expelled seven Russian diplomats from the mission following the 2018 poisoning of former Russian military intelligence officer Sergei Skripal in the English city of Salisbury.

Those expulsions were part of mass ejections of Russian intelligence officers across allied countries.

At the time, NATO also reduced the size of the Russian mission to 20 from 30 people.

Skripal and his daughter Yulia nearly died after being exposed to what British authorities later concluded was Novichok, a military-grade nerve agent. A British woman who accidentally came into contact with the substance died.

The latest move, which was apparently agreed on October 5 by all 30 alliance members, is reported to have come after revelations emerged in April about suspected Russian involvement in a deadly explosion at an ammunition depot in the Czech Republic in 2014.

With reporting by Rikard Jozwiak, Reuters, Sky News, TASS, and Interfax
Afghan artist Omar Khamosh fled to Vahdat, Tajikistan, in early 2021 after he escaped from Taliban militants who threatened him and killed his father. In his new home, he opened a studio and started offering art classes to young students. There's little money in it, but the classes bring together a small community of Afghans for whom art provides a respite from the uncertainties of life in a new country.
MINSK-- A Belarusian court has sentenced a senior official at the Justice Ministry to two years in prison for taking part in an unsanctioned mass protest last year against official election results that handed authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka a sixth consecutive term.



Minsks Frunze district court on October 5 found Alyaksey Syankou, who held the rank of colonel, guilty of "taking part in public events that blatantly violated the social order and led to the disruption of transportation" in the center of the capital in August 2020.



Judge Natallya Buhuk sentenced him the same day.



Syankou, 43, was arrested in early July and fired from his job at the Investigative Committee, where he had held various positions since 2012.



He has maintained his innocence.



Belarus was engulfed by protests last year after the August 9 presidential election, which the opposition and the West say was rigged.



The mass protests demanding Lukashenka's resignation were met with the the heavy-handed -- and sometimes violent -- detention of tens of thousands of people.



Several demonstrators have been killed and there have been what human rights groups call credible reports of torture in the crackdown.



Much of the opposition leadership has been jailed or forced into exile.



During his trial, Syankou told the court that he was at the August rally to take pictures, and that he did not take part in the clashes between riot police and protesters that day.



He said he was accompanied by his younger brother Yury Syankou, who was arrested in April and later sentenced to three years in prison on similar charges and for inciting social discord via social networks.



The younger Syankou headed the financial department of Minsks Lenin district.
Leaders from North Macedonia and EU member Bulgaria appear to have mapped out a possible exit from a yearlong dispute over shared culture that has stalled Macedonian hopes for progress toward accession talks with the bloc.

But without a decisive breakthrough to lift Sofia's objections to opening such negotiations, EU officials acknowledged that the failure to decide to open membership talks with Skopje was likely damaging the bloc's "credibility."

A tentative route out of the 10-month deadlock emerged on October 6 after a meeting between Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of an EU-Western Balkans summit at Brdo Castle in Slovenia.

"During the talks, mutual readiness and interest were expressed by North Macedonia and Bulgaria to continue the dialogue between the two countries with the intention of reaching a solution," Zaev said in a statement.

Sofia raised its objection to EU accession talks with North Macedonia in November 2020, accusing Macedonians of marginalizing historical, cultural, and linguistic ties and appropriating Bulgarian heritage.

Radev, who faces a reelection battle in November alongside his disunited country's third parliamentary elections this year, announced at Brdo Castle that a bilateral protocol was being drafted between Sofia and Skopje and would be presented next month.

He said a road map with specific decisions could follow that Sofia will insist on including in the framework for North Macedonia's EU membership negotiations.

Radev listed three demands from the Bulgarian side before Sofia would withdraw its objection to EU talks for Skopje: a previous insistence on the inclusion of Bulgarians as a nationality in the Macedonian Constitution; the enumeration of Macedonian Bulgarians "adequately reflected as a nationality and as a number" in the upcoming Macedonian census; and recognition by North Macedonia of "the historical truth in relations with Bulgaria."

The European Commission has repeatedly said the futures of Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia lie in the 27-member bloc.

But divisions among EU states about taking in new members and the slow pace of reform in the six hopefuls has put enlargement on ice for years.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen acknowledged at Brdo on October 6 that the blocked accession talks of North Macedonia and nearby Albania were damaging the EU's credibility in the Western Balkans.
Welcome back to the China In Eurasia briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter tracking Chinas resurgent influence from Eastern Europe to Central Asia.

Im RFE/RL correspondent Reid Standish and heres what Im following right now.

Beijing's Attention Turns To Security In Central Asia And Afghanistan

The Taliban has removed Uyghur militants from an area near Afghanistans border with China in a move that signals growing coordination between Beijing and the Afghan militant group, RFE/RLs Tajik Service and I reported.

Finding Perspective: The relocation of Uyghur militants marks the first known instance of the Taliban taking action on the ground to assuage Chinese fears since they toppled the Afghan government in August.

It is not known whether the Taliban will hand over the fighters to Chinese authorities or simply plans to relocate them, but it marks a new sign of cooperation with Beijing.

However, analysts caution that the Taliban is still walking a fine line in its burgeoning partnership with China.

During the Talibans previous reign in 1996-2001, the group also relocated Uyghur militants from the border regions to other parts of Afghanistan to calm Chinese concerns but stopped short of handing over fighters to Chinese authorities, which strained ties between Beijing and the Taliban.

Andrew Small, a fellow with the German Marshall Fund in Berlin who tracks Chinese activities in South Asia, said that the Taliban may be looking to replicate that strategy.

This is in keeping with what happened when they were in power before, Small said. The Taliban have sought to avoid embarrassment with China as a result of any Uyghur militant activities, but it would be a very different matter if they actually handed them over.

Why It Matters: Beijing is focused on security concerns in Afghanistan and how they could spill over into neighboring Central Asia, leaving China with a complicated hand to play.

Working with the Taliban on counterterrorism is one way to help mitigate that, but the jury is still out on whether China and the group can fully cooperate together.

In the meantime, China is worried about an impending humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and is aiming for sanctions against its neighbor to be lifted as part of a wider push by Beijing to gain more international political support for the Taliban.

Such measures could also give Beijing more sway over the group, as I explained in this article. The West, however, still controls many of the large financial levers over Afghanistan.

Read More

 Afghanistans Central Asian neighbors have also begun engaging more directly with the Taliban. Both Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan sent delegations and my colleague Bruce Pannier explains the significance here.

 Tensions between Tajikistan and the Taliban continue to simmer, with the militant group providing Tajik militants based along the border between the two countries with new military vehicles, weaponry, and other equipment over the past two weeks, RFE/RLs Tajik Service reported.

 Has Chinas global power already peaked? Thats the argument that Hal Brands and Michael Beckley make in Foreign Policy magazine. Read it here.

Expert Corner: Central Asia's Not-So-Great Games

Readers asked: Washington is talking with Russia about using its bases for counterterrorism operations in Afghanistan. What does this mean and where do Beijing and Moscow stand?

To find out more, I asked Alexander Gabuev, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Moscow Center.

What Russia is offering is that the United States can use their facilities [in Central Asia] and can be stationed there with Russian forces. Its mostly about some monitoring and the ability to launch drone strikes from a closer location than at the moment, which is from the Gulf.

A lot depends on what the U.S. presence there would actually look like, but its not necessarily against Russias interests, or even Chinas to an extent, for the U.S. to still be conducting counterterrorism operations in Afghanistan.

I dont know if the United States will take such an offer. Washington would prefer to have their own base and not be so close to Russian forces, where they would be spied on and watched closely.

I also dont know if the Central Asian countries want to host a U.S. base again and start up these dynamics that they previously had with American military bases in the region, but again, lets see where the talks go.

Do you have a question about Chinas growing footprint in Eurasia? Send it to me at StandishR@rferl.org or reply directly to this e-mail and Ill get it answered by leading experts and policymakers.

Three More Stories From Eurasia

1. The View From The Ground

At the top level, ties between Beijing and the Kremlin are deepening, but in Ulyanovsk, a region of Russia some 850 kilometers east of Moscow, a different portrait of the China-Russia relationship is unfolding.

Paper Vs. Reality: Unpacking this complex dynamic is the focus of a recent series by RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service, which took an up-close look at ties between the two countries at the ground level.

Through interviews with local officials, activists, and experts, the Ulyanovsk region is seen as a potential future location for China's economic footprint to grow in Russia.

At the local level in Ulyanovsk, this has included deepening trade links, a burgeoning tourism sector, and future infrastructure deals -- including plans for a Chinese-funded highway project through Russia that is meant to connect Europe to western China.

But this development faces pushback from local residents. There are also difficulties in translating deals into real projects on the ground, despite the partnership's top-level endorsement.

For instance, much of the cooperation is frozen due to COVID-19 precautions and many local officials and business owners told RFE/RLs Tatar-Bashkir Service that they had no idea when or if they would resume.

2. Belt And Road Woes

Over the past several years, hidden debt and problematic projects have begun to emerge as a feature of Chinese leader Xi Jinpings signature Belt And Road Initiative (BRI).

A new deep-dive study from AidData, a research center at the College of William and Mary in Virginia, adds to this body of research and paints a picture of growing headwinds against Beijings infrastructure initiative.

Key Takeaways: The study found 42 low- and middle-income countries that now have debt exposure to China exceeding 10 percent of their annual gross domestic product (GDP).

Among those nations, the researchers identified $385 billion in Chinese loans that were not included in official statistics. That equates to nearly half of Chinas overseas lending for the construction of roads, railways, and other projects being hidden.

Other notable findings from the report are that an estimated 35 percent of Chinese infrastructure projects have been hit by scandals involving corruption, environmental problems, or labor violations.

Spotlight On Eurasia: My colleagues at RFE/RLs Kazakh Service and Uzbek Service both dug into Central Asias presence in the study.

While Uzbekistans debt to Beijing continues to grow, Kazakhstan -- along with Turkmenistan -- were among the countries with a particularly high hidden debt.

Nur-Sultans official debt owed to China was below 10 percent of GDP, but the study showed that its hidden levels exceeded the 10 percent threshold, making it part of the reports top tier.

3. Ukraines China Window

China is investing more and more in Ukraine, a trend welcomed by both the Chinese and Ukrainian governments. But as my colleague Yevhen Solonyna from RFE/RLs Ukrainian Service reports, that cooperation may come with hidden costs for Kyiv.

The Price Tag: Chinese investment in Ukraine has quadrupled in the past five years to $260 million. While thats a big jump, the overall figure is quite small, and Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) accounts for just 0.5 percent of Ukraines total.

But Chinese investment continues to grow, and Ukraine is weighing the costs.

Kyiv has also already faced pressure from China -- with Beijing holding up a vaccine shipment in order to get Ukraine to drop its support for added scrutiny of human rights abuses in Xinjiang, as Solonyna and I reported in July.

Moving forward, Kyiv is trying to walk a fine line between attracting much-needed Chinese funds and shielding itself from geopolitical pressure, a balance that might be too difficult to hold, officials and experts told Solonyna.

Across The Supercontinent

Damage Control: Kazakhstan's human rights commissioner, Elvira Azimova, held a rare meeting with a group of protesters whose relatives are being held in custody in Xinjiang, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reported.

600 Days And Counting: Chinas Xi Jinping hasnt left the country in more than 600 days, but the European Union is hoping that they can get some much needed face time with the Chinese president, the South China Morning Post reported.

Xi is expected to have a phone call with European Council President Charles Michel to talk about rising tensions between China and the bloc. A summit between Beijing and the EUs 27 members is a possibility, but many countries are reportedly only interested if Xi will meet in person.

Green Promises: Xi announced at the UN General Assembly that Beijing would look to stop building coal-fueled plants abroad. As my colleague Milorad Milojevic from RFE/RLs Balkan Service reports, the call caught several Chinese projects in the region off guard.

Crunch Time: China is experiencing blackouts as part of an energy crisis spurred by coal shortages and rising fuel prices. Energy experts are warning that Europe may face power outages this winter and Chinas factories could temporarily shut down.

One Thing To Watch

The September 22 release of two Canadians from China -- former diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor -- and the return of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou serves as an opportunity to take stock of the Chinese telecommunications giants current fortunes.

When Meng was arrested in Vancouver at the request of U.S. authorities over accusations of violating U.S. sanctions on Iran, Huawei was riding high.

But since then, the tech giant has experienced a quiet decline as it has been the target of global blowback against China and pummeled by a U.S. diplomatic and sanctions campaign.

In August, Huawei announced that its revenue had dropped by 29 percent in the first half of 2021, with its chairman saying that the companys aim is to survive.

This leaves Huawei as an early casualty of the tech war between China and the United States. Expect more to come as things intensify.

Thats all from me for now. Dont forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you might have.

Until next time,

Reid Standish

If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition, subscribe here. It will be sent to your inbox on Wednesdays twice a month.
EU leaders have reaffirmed the bloc's commitment to the stalled enlargement process for six Western Balkans states, but they brushed aside calls for a concrete timeline at a summit in Slovenia on October 6.

The European Commission has repeatedly said the future of Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia lies in the 27-member bloc. But divisions among EU states about taking in new members and the slow pace of reform in the six hopefuls has put enlargement on ice for years.

"In all frankness, there is discussion among the 27 about our capacity to take in new members," European Council President Charles Michel told a news conference following the one-day summit between Balkan and EU leaders in Slovenia.

In a joint declaration, the EU leaders said that the bloc "reaffirms its unequivocal support for the European perspective of the Western Balkans and welcomes the commitment of the Western Balkans partners to the European perspective."

Several EU members led by France have held up the enlargement process out of concern about further expanding the bloc with less-developed states with weak institutions. The club has brought in 13 countries since 2004, most of them less-wealthy former communist states, causing expansion fatigue among some members. Croatia was the last nation to join the EU when its accession was completed in 2013.

Western Balkan countries are at different stages of integrating with the bloc.



Montenegro and Serbia are the most advanced, having opened accession negotiations and chapters. Albania and North Macedonia are awaiting the official opening of accession talks, while Bosnia and Kosovo are potential candidate countries.

Addressing the summit, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reiterated that the Western Balkan countries belong in the EU.

"We want them in the European Union, we are one European family," she said. "We share the same history, we share the same values, and I'm deeply convinced we share the same destiny too."

"I know that still work has to be done, for example, on the rule of law, on the judiciary, on the freedom of the media, to name some. But I think we should also acknowledge the effort that has been done in the past and the progress that has been done," von der Leyen added.

French President Emmanuel Macron stressed the need to show the region's countries that they are on a short-term path toward the EU.

"Our wish is to give the Balkans a [European] perspective again in the short-term," Macron told reporters after the summit, saying that would help European stability.



However, there are few illusions about the hurdles to bring the Western Balkans in to the EU, which expects stringent reforms to bring rule of law, anti-corruption efforts, organized crime fighting, functioning democratic institutions, and freedom of the media into line with the blocs standards. Meanwhile, disputes between Serbia and Kosovo have only raised questions about their commitment and qualifications to join the bloc.

Acknowleding the situation, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said his country would not be able to join the EU unless it resolves outstanding issues with Kosovo.

"There is enlargement perspective, but it is clear that not all [EU] member states have same appetite," he told reporters.

"Without resolving issues with Pristina, Serbia would not be able to join EU," said Vucic, who met with Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti on the sidelines of the summit. They were joined by Macron and outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Macron and Merkel also met on the sidelines of the summit with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, whose country has blocked North Macedonia's opening accession talks because of a dispute over language and national identity. The talks was aimed at overcoming the impasse, according to a spokesperson for the German government.

Von der Leyen conceded that the blocked accession talks of North Macedonia and Albania were damaging the EU's credibility in the region.

States like Germany and Austria worry that failing to live up to EU commitments to move on with accession could push the Western Balkans states into the arms of other international players, as Russia and China seek to expand their influence in the region.

However, Merkel on October 6 rejected calls to set a date for the accession of Western Balkans countries, telling reporters: "I don't really believe in setting dates, I believe in making good on our promises: Once the conditions are met the accession can take place."

A deadline would put the EU under pressure, whether the Western Balkans fulfilled the conditions set out by the 27-nation bloc or not, the chancellor said.



Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa, the summit host, said EU enlargement is "strategic" for the bloc.



"If the EU doesn't expand, others will expand," he told German broadcaster ARD, referring to Russia and China.



In an interview with RFE/RL last month, Gabriel Escobar, the deputy assistant secretary of state overseeing U.S policy toward the Western Balkans, said the United States would make a renewed push to help the countries of the region achieve EU integration.



On the eve of the EU-Western Balkans summit, EU leaders gathered at Brdo Castle in Slovenia for a dinner where they were to discuss U.S.-EU relations, China, and the situation in Afghanistan following the Talibans takeover of the country in August.



"It will be the occasion to address the EU's role on the international stage -- especially after the latest geopolitical developments in Afghanistan, in the Indo-Pacific, also our relations with China," EU Council chief Charles Michel said at the start of the sit-down.

With reporting by AFP, ARD, dpa, AP, and Reuters
Moldova's top prosecutor has been suspended and detained for alleged corruption as President Maia Sandu vowed that nobody in the Eastern European country would remain above the law.



Prosecutor-General Alexandru Stoianoglo was taken to a pretrial detention facility in the capital, Chisinau, on October 5 after masked men from the country's intelligence and security service searched his office and home.



Anti-corruption prosecutor Victor Furtuna said Stoianoglo was accused of abuse of office, exceeding official duties, corruption, and making false statements.

President Maia Sandu hailed the move, saying every citizen had to respond before the law for any crimes committed, regardless of his position.

"As president of the country, I want what the citizens want: strict respect for the law, no abuses, and lawfully punishing whoever committed abuses," she said in a Facebook message.

Sandu later signed a decree appointing Dumitru Robu, a former anti-corruption prosecutor and deputy head of the Chisinau prosecutor's office who was nominated by the High Council of Prosecutors, as Stoianoglo's acting replacement.

The 41-year-old Robu pledged to investigate high-profile cases and "make efforts" to improve the Prosecutor-General's Office's reputation.

Stoianoglo was appointed in 2019 by the former president, the Moscow-backed Igor Dodon.

Sandu defeated Dodon in an election in November 2020 on a platform of reforms and tackling corruption as she seeks to bring Moldova closer to the West.



Justice Minister Serdgiu Litvinenco accused Stoianoglo of being a "puppet in the hands of large corrupt officials and thieves who have been robbing Moldova for decades."



Dodon said the government had made a "fatal political mistake," accusing Sandu of capturing state institutions.



"Today we are convinced how dangerous it is for the rule of law when the dictatorship camouflages itself in democracy and the usurpation of power hides behind pro-European slogans," he said in a Facebook post.



Moldova, Europe's poorest country, has been dogged by instability and corruption scandals in recent years, including the disappearance of $1 billion from the banking system.

With reporting by Reuters
The Moscow jury decision finding five Chechen men guilty of murdering opposition leader Boris Nemtsov is the latest chapter in a series of high-profile killings that have punctuated Vladimir Putins 17-year presidency.

Nemtsov's 2015 killing also put him on an even longer list, stretching back into the wild 1990s, when assassinations and gangland killings of politicians, business people, and other public figures were commonplace during Boris Yeltsins term.

Theres one notable difference in the list of murders, Yeltsin-era vs. Putin-era. While the motives for the killings in the 1990s tended to be more diffuse -- just as the Russian state and political elite were more fragmented -- in the Putin era, they appear to be more straightforwardly directed at critics of the regime.

Here are a few of the prominent, Putin-era cases:

Valentin Tsvetkov

October 18, 2002: Valentin Tsvetkov, the governor of Magadan Oblast in Russia's Far East, is shot dead by a sniper just blocks from the Kremlin. Tsvetkov, who earned the dubious distinction of becoming the first regional governor assassinated in post-Soviet Russia, had been trying to crack down on crime in his Pacific region's gold and oil industries.

Sergei Yushenkov

April 17, 2003: Sergei Yushenkov, a veteran politician and leader of the anti-Kremlin party Liberal Russia, is shot in front of his Moscow home. Yushenkov had been at the forefront of efforts by liberal lawmakers to investigate the possible involvement of the Federal Security Service in a series of deadly apartment bombings in 1999. The bombings, which killed some 300 people, were blamed on Chechen rebels and used by Moscow as a pretext to launch its second Chechen war.

Yury Shchekochikhin

July 3, 2003: Yury Shchekochikhin, a liberal lawmaker and investigative journalist, dies after suffering a mysterious illness. Authorities blamed his death on an allergic reaction, but many suspected Shchekochikhin was deliberately poisoned because of his muck-raking reporting into sensitive cases including the 1999 apartment bombings.

Nikolai Girenko 

June 21, 2004: Nikolai Girenko, one of Russias leading experts on racism and xenophobia, dies after being shot through the door of his St. Petersburg apartment.

Paul Klebnikov

July 9, 2004: Paul Klebnikov, the American editor of Forbes-Russia, is gunned down outside his Moscow office. Klebnikov had written at length about corruption, and Forbes had published a list of Russia's richest people. A Chechen businessman and boxer, Kazbek Dukuzov, was linked to the killing, but was later acquitted by a jury. In 2013, Dukuzov was among 18 people blacklisted by the Untied States under the Magnitsky Act,  law aimed at punishing Russians implicated in rights abuses.

Anna Politkovskaya

October 7, 2006: One of Russia's most prominent journalists and a dogged chronicler of rights abuses in Chechnya, Politkovskaya is shot dead in her apartment building, in an execution-style killing. Two men were sentenced to life in prison and three others to long prison terms in 2014 for their involvement, but her family said officials failed to bring the masterminds to justice. Earlier this month, relatives of Lom-Ali Gaitukayev, one of those convicted for Politkavskaya's killing, said he had died in prison.

Aleksandr Litvinenko

November 23, 2006: The former Russian security agent-turned-Kremlin critic dies in London after being poisoned with highly radioactive polonium-210. Litvinenko had fled to Britain in 2000 after publicly accusing the Federal Security Service of plotting to kill oligarch Boris Berezovsky. He later co-authored a book blaming the agency for the 1999 apartment bombings.

The British investigation found Litvinenko drank tea laced with polonium during a meeting in a London hotel several weeks earlier with two Russians, Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitry Kovtun. Moscow has refused to extradite them. In January 2017, the United States blacklisted both under the Magnitsky Act.

Stanislav Markelov, Anastasia Barburova

January 19, 2009: Markelov, a leading human rights lawyer, is shot dead in broad daylight in central Moscow as he left a news conference. Baburova, a young reporter who had been interviewing Markelov for the muck-racking newspaper Novaya Gazeta, attempts to protect Markelov and later dies of her gunshot wounds.

Markelov had been fighting against the early release of Russian military officer convicted of killing a young Chechen woman. In April 2011, two nationalists, Nikita Tikhonov and his girlfriend Yevgenia Khasis, were convicted of murdering Markelov and Baburova.

Natalya Estemirova

July 16, 2009: The body of the renowned human rights activist, with bullet wounds to her head and chest, is found in Ingushetia, hours after her abduction in the capital of Chechnya, Grozny. Natalya Estemirova had been personally investigating hundreds of cases of rights abuses in Chechnya including kidnapping and murder.

The rights group she worked for, Memorial, said initial investigation pointed to the possible involvement of local law-enforcement officers. Memorial's head, Oleg Orlov, was later sued for defamation after accusing Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov of orchestrating Estemirova's killing, but he was eventually acquitted.

Sergei Magnitsky

November 16, 2009: The whistle-blowing lawyer who had implicated Russian officials in a $230-million tax fraud dies one year after being jailed on similar charges. Sergei Magnitsky suffered from pancreatitis and was denied medical care in pre-trial detention and -- according to the Kremlin's own human rights council -- was badly beaten before his death.

The United States in late 2012 passed the Magnitsky Act, which targets Russians implicated in rights abuses with visa bans and asset freezes. In July 2013, a Russian court found Magnitsky guilty of tax evasion in a posthumous trial.

Mikhail Beketov

April 8, 2013: A crusading journalist who had reported on large-scale corruption, Mikhail Beketov dies five years after being savagely beaten in the Moscow suburb of Khimki. Beketov had been left severely brain damaged from the attack. Supporters linked it to his work uncovering corruption surrounding the construction of a controversial highway through a protected forest.

Compiled by Kathleen Moore. An earlier version of this article was published in February 2015.
Anna Politkovskaya's last interview was with RFE/RL's Russian Service, just two days before she was gunned down in Moscow. The date of the interview, October 5, 2006, was also the birthday of Ramzan Kadyrov, then Chechnya's prime minister, and it was a particularly significant birthday: now aged 30, he could legally run for president.

Kadyrov was the target of much of Politkovskaya's most critical reporting, and in this interview Politkovskaya expresses her forthright view of a man she calls "a Stalin of our times," dreams of a day when Kadyrov will stand trial, and talks about the subjects of much of her work -- the victims of torture and abduction in Chechnya.

RFE/RL: A Moscow journalist recently wrote that Ramzan Kadyrov has switched from the role of "destroyer" to the role of "creator," and that, as far as human rights are concerned, "all that remains for us is to cry about them." What's your reaction to this statement?

Anna Politkovskaya: I am not even going to comment on this, because it's total nonsense. I think that the new Kadyrov is the one who gives a ride in his car to Moscow ladies who long for more brutality. That is the only difference.

What does that mean, to "cry about human rights?" There is no need to sit and cry about human rights. One simply needs to meet not only with Kadyrov, but also with those people who have suffered as a result of Kadyrov's actions, and not just in a hypothetical way but directly -- people whose relatives died, who were tortured, and who were forced to flee. The majority of these people are truly admirable; I know many of them personally.

Right now I have two photographs on my desk. I am conducting an investigation about torture today in Kadyrov's prisons, today and yesterday. These are people who were abducted by the Kadyrovtsi [members of Kadyrov's personal militia] for completely inexplicable reasons and who died. They died as part of a PR campaign.

I plan to say that these people who were abducted, whose photographs are on my desk, these people -- one of them is Russian, the other is Chechen -- were made to look as though they were fighters who battled against the Kadyrovtsi in the village of Aleroi. It's a well-known story, one that was all over our TV screens, on the radio, in the newspapers, when Kadyrov gave an interview before TV cameras from state and other channels with bodies in the background. But in fact these were people whom they had seized, had "disappeared" for some time, and were then killed.

RFE/RL: Some say such incidents are just a small percentage, that these are individual cases that are the price paid for improvements in the region. What is your view?

Politkovskaya: I want to say here that there were more abductions in the first half of this year than in the first half of last year... And those are figures just of those people whose relatives reported abductions and whose bodies were never found. I'd like to call attention to the fact that we talk about "individual cases" only because these people aren't our loved ones -- it's not my son, my brother, my husband. The photographs that I'm telling you about, these were bodies that had been horribly tortured. You can't reduce this to a small percentage -- it's an enormous percentage.

Kadyrov is a Stalin of our times. This is true for the Chechen people. Many of our colleagues have gone out of their way to make us believe that this is a small percentage, that absolute evil can triumph today so that in some hypothetical future this evil can become good. This is absolutely not true.

As for the admiration felt for Kadyrov, you know, the situation is as it was under Stalin. If you [hear someone] speaking officially, publicly, openly, there is admiration. As soon as you [hear someone] speak secretly, softly, confidentially, you're told, "We hate him intensely." This split is absolute in people's souls. This is a very dangerous thing.

The Future Of Ramzan Kadyrov

RFE/RL: Do you agree with journalists who say that the presidency of Ramzan Kadyrov is linked to the presidency of Vladimir Putin?

Politkovskaya: I link Kadyrov's fate to the number of [people who want to take revenge on him], that's all. Of course, I don't wish death on anyone, but as far as this particular person is concerned, I think he should take serious care of his security.

Journalists who don't know this region say that he is reviving Chechen traditions. That is complete nonsense. He's destroying them. You know, I'm no supporter of the custom of the vendetta, but it did ensure some kind of stability in this region for many years. He has destroyed that, too.

RFE/RL: Assuming Kadyrov is not killed, do you think he is likely to bring about early elections?

Politkovskaya: He is a puppet, nothing depends on him now. I don't think he's more powerful than anyone else. He's a coward armed to the teeth and surrounded by security guards. I don't think he will become president [of Chechnya]. That is my strong inner belief, perhaps an intuition. It's not something rational, and nor has it been confirmed by Alu Alkhanov... Alu Alkhanov himself is a very weak person. That is his particular problem and the main reason for Kadyrovs increasingly draconian methods.

Personally I only have one dream for Kadyrov's birthday: I dream of him someday sitting in the dock, in a trial that meets the strictest legal standards, with all of his crimes listed and investigated.

By the way, no other newspaper writes anything about this, but criminal cases have been launched against the Kadyrovtsi and Kadyrov personally on the basis of three articles published by our newspaper. I myself am a witness in one of these cases. These cases are about abductions, including one criminal case about the abduction of two people carried out with the participation of Ramzan Akhmedovich Kadyrov.
Natasha Zotova was in ninth grade when Anna Politkovskaya, a pathbreaking investigative journalist at the independent newspaper Novaya gazeta, was shot dead in her Moscow apartment building on October 7, 2006.

"Soon afterward, Novaya gazeta began to appear in our mailbox," Zotova, who went on to work at the newspaper and now works for the BBC, wrote on Facebook during a recent virtual flash mob in which journalists described their path to the profession and their concerns about the state of Russian journalism under President Vladimir Putin. "Later my mother told me that when she heard about the murder, she became very angry: 'I wanted to do at least something.'"

So she subscribed to the newspaper, from which the teenage Natasha learned about violently suppressed demonstrations, falsified elections, and other aspects of life under Putin that rarely made it onto state television. And her dream of following Politkovskaya's footsteps to Novaya gazeta was born.

Politkovskaya was 48 when she was killed on Putin's 54th birthday. In a career that featured death threats and a purported poisoning attempt, she gained a reputation for her humane coverage of human rights violations, particularly in the North Caucasus republic of Chechnya, and her outspoken criticism of Putin.

"We are hurtling back into a Soviet abyss, into an information vacuum that spells death from our own ignorance," she wrote in her 2004 book Putin's Russia. "All we have left is the Internet, where information is still freely available. For the rest, if you want to go on working as a journalist, it's total servility to Putin. Otherwise, it can be death, the bullet, poison, or trial -- whatever our special services, Putin's guard dogs, see fit."

Fifteen years after her death, Putin remains firmly in control of Russian politics, and journalists say Politkovskaya's assessment of the situation for independent journalism was on the nose.

'No Facts'

"Practically every day we get news of repressions against whole outlets or individual journalists," Sofya Rusova, co-director of the independent Union of Journalists and Media Workers, told RFE/RL. "Ten years ago, an outlet wrote about torture within the Interior Ministry. Within two days, all the advertisers -- down to a mattress dealership -- had torn up their contracts. Now this happens much more quickly.

"Over the last decade, the situation has changed a lot," she added. "Now they pass new repressive laws practically every week."

Vladimir Solovyov, chairman of the Russian Union of Journalists and a member of the advisory presidential council on human rights and civil society, told RFE/RL that he signs letters to law enforcement agencies in support of journalists under legal assault "almost every day."

Among the laws adopted in recent years are the so-called "foreign agent" laws, the law on undesirable organizations, and laws purportedly aimed to combat "extremism" -- all of which have been used in an accelerating campaign to vilify or shut down independent media and civil society organizations. Many of the Internet-based media outlets that Politkovskaya considered Russia's last hope have been targeted, driven from the country, or forced to shut down in just the last few months. Individual journalists have been designated "foreign agents," jailed, or driven abroad.

"According to our lawyers, whenever a media outlet or journalist is designated a 'foreign agent,' there is no explanation for why that was done," Solovyov said. "No facts are presented. This, of course, is of great concern to journalists because all of us, most likely, had some contact with foreign colleagues and many have received honoraria from foreign media."

"I'm glad that my mother hasn't lived to see what has happened lately," Zotova, who worked at Novaya gazeta from 2010 until 2017, wrote at the end of her flash-mob post. "At least she doesn't have to worry about becoming the mother of a 'foreign agent.'"

In his post for the flash mob -- which was created to popularize the Russian-language hashtag for "banned profession" (#_) -- Meduza journalist Pavel Borisov outlined how the environment for Russian journalism has changed since Politkovskaya's killing:

In 2008, he said, an honest journalist could find a job in "a private media company with ethics and standards." By 2011, he said, such a journalist had to find a private media company with ethics and standards and an owner that has not been co-opted. In 2014, that journalist had to find an outlet that was registered abroad and had an owner insulated from pressure. By 2018, he or she had to find work with "a foreign media outlet like the BBC or Radio Liberty." By 2020, that journalist had to create their own media vehicle via a blog, a YouTube channel, or something similar. But by 2021, Borisov wrote, such a journalist "was screwed."

'Shared Tragedy'

Nikolai Podosokorsky, a media analyst and member of the St. Petersburg PEN Club, said the Russian government's assault on freedom of the press has not just targeted journalists and media outlets but also the civil society organizations and activists that might otherwise defend them.

"Now there are nominally many organizations, associations, and public movements," he said. "But, in reality, we see that those who really defend human rightsare attacked, how they are given various labels, from 'foreign agents' to 'undesirable' organizations. This is really our shared tragedy."

Galina Arapova, a St. Petersburg media lawyer, agreed, saying that court hearings in media cases "rarely last more than 10 or 15 minutes."

"That is why the only hope for journalists is to defend their rights through the European Court of Human Rights," Arapova told RFE/RL.

Denis Kamalyagin, editor in chief of the newspaper Pskovskaya gubernia in Pskov and one of the first Russian journalists to be added to the 'foreign agent' list in December 2020, told RFE/RL that Russian society has been far too passive in the face of the ongoing repressions.

"They are ready to demand that an opposition lawmaker defends their rights, but they won't defend him," Kamalyagin said. "They are ready to demand that the media write the truth and defend them, but they are not ready to defend the media. That is our society. Unfortunately, we are reaping the fruits of our communist history."

Nadezhda Isayeva is a journalist for Novaya gazeta who also wrote a short essay for the press freedom virtual flash mob in August in which she lamented the destruction of reputable media outlets and the virtual expulsion of talented journalists.

"Independent journalism is really becoming a banned profession," she wrote on Facebook. "When you hand in a story, you always wonder if they might not come and search your office or open a criminal case against you. But then you pull yourself together and get back to work.

"There has to be someone in the country with the courage to write the truth. At Novaya gazeta, I sit in the office where Anna Politkovskaya worked. Every time I look at her photograph, I understand that independent journalism is an important value for which we must fight. Because if we don't, who will?"

RFE/RL's Russian Service contributed to this report.
MOSCOW -- A Russian nongovernmental organization that has defended the rights of conscripts in the Russian Army for more than two decades says it has ceased its activities because it faces possible persecution from the authorities.



Soldiers' Mothers of St. Petersburg made the announcement on October 5, citing "serious restrictions" imposed by Russia's main domestic security service on the groups activities.



The move comes days after the Federal Security Service (FSB) published a 60-point list of nonsecret topics that could result in people or organizations being designated as "foreign agents" if they cover or write about them, and face criminal prosecution.

The document is the latest in a widening net of restrictions under a nine-year-old law that has been used to target independent media outlets, civil society groups, rights activists, and others.



Soldiers' Mothers of St. Petersburg was established in the 1990s.



"We clearly understand that at this moment neither the state nor society needs our work, the NGO said in its statement.



"The state has chosen a different path of development, and society has found itself frightened and has to comply" with new realities.



The FSB list, dated September 28, includes broad topics, such as collecting information about "the moral-psychological climate inside the armed forces, investigations of crimes in the military, as well as "the location, numbers, and armaments" of military forces, military purchases, and contracts.
An opposition activist in Siberia says he has left Russia to avoid possible detention amid an ongoing crackdown on people and organizations linked to jailed opposition politician Aleksei Navalny.



Lev Gyammer, the former coordinator of the Protesting Kuzbass opposition movement in the city of Novokuznetsk, wrote on the VKontakte social network on October 5 that he is now "safe" in Georgias capital, Tbilisi.



Gyammer wrote that he had decided to flee Russia because he could face charges of creating an extremist group.



Many opposition activists and politicians have left Russia in recent years amid an increasing crackdown on opposition groups and independent media across Russia.



Before working as a coordinator for Protesting Kuzbass in Novokuznetsk, Gyammer lived for several years in Moscow where he worked for groups linked to the now jailed opposition politician Aleksei Navalny.



Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) and several other organizations were labeled as extremist and banned in Russia earlier this year.

Navalny, who has been incarcerated since February, and several of his associates who are currently living abroad have been charged with creating an extremist group.



In his post, Gyammer said that the Investigative Committee last week released a statement saying that a new criminal probe had been launched into "the creation of 'an extremist community.'"



The investigation "targets all people who set up FBK and Navalny's teams between 2014-2021," he wrote, adding that many activists will most likely be persecuted as part of the new probe.



"It is painful. Russia is my home. My friends and my family are in that country. My mom was buried in that country. Starting today, I am living in Tbilisi," his post also reads.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said it is still reviewing data about Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine before approving it for emergency use.



"As with other candidate vaccines, WHO continues to assess Sputnik V vaccines from different manufacturing sites and will publish decisions on their EUL (emergency use listing) status when all the data are available and the review is concluded," the WHO said in a statement on October 5.



Russia's Health Minister Mikhail Murashko has said recently that administrative issues were delaying the WHO's decision-making process.



Russia is pushing for the WHO to provide emergency approval to boost confidence in its domestically developed vaccine that is already being used in dozens of countries.

Approval could also open up the possibility for Sputnik V to be included in the UN and its partners' COVAX program, which ships COVID-19 vaccines countries around the world.



The vaccines WHO has approved are Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, Sinovac, and Sinopharm.



Without WHO recognition, people that have taken the Sputnik V vaccine may be limited in their travel if other countries with entry restrictions don't recognize the shot.



Once WHO receives all data and inspects production sites, the UN group can schedule a meeting to validate a candidate vaccine for an emergency use listing.



No such meeting has been set for Sputnik V. The next vaccine on the groups agenda is one from Indias Bharat Biotech, which is expected to be discussed this month.

Based on reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters
Turkey and Azerbaijan have launched joint military drills as the two nations expand defense ties in the wake of last year's war against Armenian forces over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.



The "Unshakable Brotherhood" exercise running from October 5 to October 8 comes amid heightened tensions between Baku and Tehran, with Iran launching rare war games along its border with Azerbaijan in recent days.



Azerbaijan and Iran have long been at loggerheads over Tehran's backing of Armenia, but normally friendly relations began to deteriorate following joint military drills that Azerbaijani troops conducted alongside their Turkish and Pakistani counterparts last month.

Azerbaijans restrictions on Iranian truck drivers' access to Armenia and the detention of two drivers, as well as Azerbaijan's ties to Iran's archenemy Israel are also fueling a spiraling standoff between the two neighbors.



NATO member Turkey threw its weight behind Azerbaijan in its victory against ethnic Armenian forces in a six-week war last fall over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The war ended following a Russian-brokered cease-fire agreement reached on November 9.



Since the war, defense ties have been deepening between the Turkic allies.



The Turkish Defense Ministry said the drills in Azerbaijan's Naxcivan exclave -- which is sandwiched between Turkey, Armenia, and Iran  include mechanized, commando, aviation, and drones.

There have been several skirmishes between Armenia and Azerbaijan along the Naxcivan border in recent months, leaving several soldiers on both sides killed or wounded.



"The purpose of the exercise is to develop friendship, cooperation, and coordination between the Turkish and Azerbaijani land forces, and share knowledge and experience to improve interoperability," the Turkish Defense Ministry said.



The military exercises come amid a flurry of Russian-mediated diplomacy between Baku and Yerevan, and even hints at reviving efforts to normalize relations between Turkey and Armenia as part of a broader regional peace effort in which Iran seeks to preserve its interests.
KYIV -- The chairman of Ukraine's state export-import bank has apologized for an assault on journalists from the Schemes (Skhemy) program during an interview earlier this week, and announced that he was stepping down until the completion of a criminal investigation launched into the incident.



"The situation around the bank is unacceptable. My overly emotional reaction and unrestrained behavior toward journalists have no justification," Ukreksimbank chief Yevhen Metsher said in a statement on October 6, two days after the incident that drew condemnation from Ukrainian journalists, politicians, the prosecutor-general, and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's office.



Metsher said he would "immediately write a resignation statement for the duration of the necessary investigative actions by the National Police and an internal review by the bank" in order to "remove at least part of the damage to the bank's reputation."



The incident took place in Metsher's office in Kyiv on October 4, after Kyrylo Ovsyaniy -- a reporter for Schemes, a joint investigative project run by RFE/RL and UA: Pershy television -- asked him a question about a controversial loan given to a client.

Metsher instructed security personnel to stop the journalists and take their cameras and video materials away, after which physical force was used against cameraman Oleksandr Mazur to forcibly seize his two cameras and memory cards.



The journalists were allowed to leave the office after the interview was apparently deleted from their memory cards.



But Schemes' technicians managed to retrieve video showing the incident.

The clip shows how Metsher instructed the head of Ukreksimbank's press service, Volodymyr Pikalov, and security personnel to take the cameras and memory cards. Bank personnel can be heard saying that the memory cards "must be cleaned up to zero."



Meanwhile, Zelenskiy's office condemned the "unacceptable" assault on the journalists, saying freedom of speech is "one of the fundamental values in Ukraine."



"Therefore, it is the duty of officials at all levels to communicate correctly with journalists and to respect their right to ask any questions of public importance," Mykhaylo Podolyak, an adviser to the chief of the presidential office, said in a statement.



Podolyak noted that the office's position on the incident "fully coincides with the public condemnation of the actions of the state bank's management."

Prosecutor-General Iryna Venediktova also condemned what she called "a brutal use of force against journalists."



"There must be a fair and effective investigation, charges, a trial, and a verdict. We in the Prosecutor-General's Office cannot and will not cover, excuse my language, the madness shown by the employees of the state bank," Venediktova wrote on Facebook.



The previous day, Ukraine's National Police announced that they had launched a criminal probe into the obstruction of the journalists' work.

RFE/RL President Jamie Fly welcomed the probe, and said he expects that "those involved in physically abusing our two journalists and erasing their recorded interview materials will be held accountable under Ukrainian law."



"Journalists must be allowed to do their work without fear of physical intimidation or harassment," he added.



Journalists are expected to hold a protest outside Ukreksimbank's headquarters in Kyiv later on October 6, while the parliamentary committee on press freedom is to discuss the incident.



In a statement on Facebook on October 5, the bank did not address allegations that force was used against media staff.



The statement said the press service was "forced to stop the interview" because Ovsyaniy asked questions that had not been agreed on. It said the questions were related to information about clients, which it said the bank did not have the right to provide to journalists, and that Ovsyaniy also "made assumptions about alleged violations committed by the bank."



The Schemes interview was part of an investigation that the journalists plan to make public in the coming days.

Oleksandr Parashchiy, an industry analyst at Kyiv-based Concorde Capital, said the scandal "uncovers the poor governance and corporate culture in the state bank, as well as the poor skills of the bank's technical staff."



Metsher's suspension by Ukreksimbank's supervisory board "does not guarantee" that the CEO will be removed from the position, Parashchiy added.



And his possible dismissal "does not guarantee any changes in the bank's corporate culture or corporate governance, which seems to remain the worst among Ukraine's state-controlled banks."
The head of the State Export-Import Bank of Ukraine, Yevhen Metsher, announced he was stepping down pending an investigation of an assault on RFE/RL journalists during an interview with him in Kyiv. Angered by the reporter's questions, Metsher instructed security guards to take their cameras and video cards. The guards thought they had deleted the content, but the video was later recovered and published. It has sparked a police investigation and outrage in the country, including from President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's office.
The top U.S. and Russian diplomats have discussed their shared interest in the restoration of the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced his conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during a visit to France on October 6.

"The United States and Russia, I think, [are] sharing an interest in seeing a mutual return to compliance with the JCPOA," Blinken said in reference to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action that Washington pulled out of in 2018 before reimposing sanctions on Iran.

"We had an opportunity to compare notes on where we stand, and where we hope to go," Blinken said of his conversation with Lavrov.

Blinken's remarks followed Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian's suggestion during a visit to Moscow the same day that included talks with Lavrov that Tehran expected the EU-mediated talks to revive the nuclear deal to restart "soon."

Lavrov was quoted as saying that the talks on the JCPOA "should be resumed as soon as possible" and he urged Washington to return to compliance with the deal.

Lavrov urged the United States to end what he described as "illegal restrictions on Iran and all of its trading partners."

Six rounds of tough, often indirect, negotiations in Vienna were interrupted by the election in June of hard-line Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who was inaugurated in early August.

"We are now finalizing consultations on this matter and will soon restore our negotiations in Vienna," said Amir-Abdollahian, who has publicly noted that it took U.S. President Joe Biden's administration months to begin the talks after it took over in January on a pledge to revive the JCPOA.

The conservative Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee spokesman, Mahmud Abbaszadeh Meshkini, was quoted by Tasmin news agency as saying the talks would resume "in the coming days."

"The messages and signals from Western countries point to the start of a new cycle of talks," Meshkini said.

The financial and other sanctions slapped on Iran by then-President Donald Trump in 2018 have badly hurt Iran's economy and its currency, with conditions for many Iranians worsening considerably during the coronavirus pandemic.

Blinken was in France seeking to calm waters over a recently announced military pact to counter Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific.

With reporting by Reuters and AFP
Nine-year old Althea Blake Madden poses for a portrait with her mother Kerri and father Jared in his office for osteopathic medicine in Manchester, Ky., Wednesday, September 22, 2021. Alie Blake is part of a clinical trial testing the Moderna vaccine for approved on children under 12.
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.

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Rahul Gandhi and Chief Ministers Bhupesh Baghel

Uttar Pradesh: Rahul Gandhi, Chief Ministers Bhupesh Baghel, and Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi have left for Lucknow, from where they intend to go to Lakhimpur Kheri to meet the families of the victims of the violence. Before leaving, Gandhi said farmers were being systematically attacked in the country, and targetted the government for insulting them.

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Reports said that the situation was now calm in Lakhimpur Kheri where the body of the 18-year-old Gurvinder Singh was cremated this morning. The family members claimed that he was shot dead and the cremation was postponed yesterday to have a second post mortem that was conducted afterward. The results are awaited and the bodies of the three other farmers were cremated on Tuesday.

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In other news, MoS Mishra, who told this morning that he was coming to Delhi for some work, arrived at the Ministry of Home Affairs in the national capital just afternoon.



Farm leaders have given the Uttar Pradesh government a week to arrest Ashish Mishra, the son of Union Minister of State Ajay Mishra, who was allegedly driving one of the three cars which plowed through a group of farmer protesters in Lakhimpur Kheri on Sunday. Four farmers were killed in the incident, while four others died in subsequent clashes.
Navratri 2021

New Delhi: Navratri, which means the 'Nine Nights', is the festival celebrated annually at the starting of the winter season in South Asia. It's one of the most popular and auspicious festivals celebrated widely in many parts of India, especially Gujarat and the North region. The celebrations are special in this state. Devotees worship the nine forms of Goddess Durga, who destroyed the demon, Mahishasura.

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People all around observe fast, perform puja, and dress according to specific colors associated with each of the nine days. This year, Navaratri starts on October 7. The highlight of this festival in Gujarat is GARBA, a dance form with origins in the Saurashtra and Kutch regions of the state. Garba is performed around a centrally lit lamp or a picture or idol of Shakti. In modern times, the dance form has evolved and mega gatherings are organized where thousands of people participate. The state comes alive at night, with people dressed in colorful attire heading to various Garba venues to swing on the beats.

Mata Ki Chowki

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This festival is dedicated to the FEMININE DIVINITY, which is referred to as Lord Shakti. Special pujas are held for Goddess Shakti, and devotees religiously perform aarti every evening by conducting MATA KI CHOWKI. An earthen pot, called Garbi, is used for the aarti which is considered auspicious.

Nine Days followed by Nine Goddesses



The nine days will be as followed along with Time and Dates -

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October 7: Pratipada

October 8: Dwitiya

October 9: Tritiya and Chaturthi

October 10: Panchami

October 11: Shashti

October 12: Saptami

October 13: Ashtami

October 14: Navami

October 15: Dashami

Timings of Puja For Ashtami, Navami, Dashami -

Ashtami Tithi will last from 9:47 pm on October 12 to 8:07 pm on October 13.

will last from 9:47 pm on October 12 to 8:07 pm on October 13. Navami Tithi will start at 8:07 pm on October 13 and end at 6:52 pm, October 14.

will start at 8:07 pm on October 13 and end at 6:52 pm, October 14. On Dashami, October 15, the Vijay Muhurat falls between 1:59 pm and 2:46 pm, while Aparahna Puja is between 1:12 pm and 3:33 pm.

Garba Night

People on this occasion usually perform Garba in their traditional attires which is sometimes also accompanied by dandiya and dance performance with two wooden sticks in circles. This year also, the celebrations are likely to be muted again due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Gujarat government has only allowed Garba in housing societies and private events but has urged people to follow COVID-appropriate behavior and norms. The crowd limit for Navratri celebrations has been restricted to 400 people and no big Garba events will be allowed this time.
CABINET MINISTER DR. RAJ KUMAR VERKA PROMISED TO SOLVE THE PROBLEMS OF NURSING TRAINING INSTITUTES

Chandigarh: Medical Education and Research Minister Punjab, Dr. Raj Kumar Verka assured to solve the problems of the Nursing Training Institutes and at the same time, he appealed to the Nursing Training Colleges to provide a better environment and facilities to the nursing students for the quality education.

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While reviewing the issues raised by the representatives of Nursing Training Colleges Associations at the Punjab Bhawan here today, Dr. Verka said he will take steps to address the problems of nursing colleges after studying the rules of the Indian Nursing Council and the methods adopted by the rest of the states. The issue raised by the associations regarding the very low enrollment in nursing colleges this year on the basis of the entrance test, he asked the Vice-Chancellor of Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Dr. Raj Bahadur to review it. It may be recalled that at present there are 103 nursing colleges in Punjab with 5060 seats.

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The issues raised regarding the current system of re-registration of students of other states, an inspection of colleges every year, and reduction of existing land limits for colleges, Dr. Verka also promised to study these issues and find a solution. He asked the nursing colleges to play a healthy role in the field of education so that the nursing students could make their best contribution in the field of health and play a constructive role in society.



During the meeting, Principal Secretary Social Justice, Empowerment and Minorities Raji P. Srivastava, Principal Secretary Medical Education and Research Alok Shekhar, Additional Secretary Rahul Gupta, Vice-Chancellor of Baba Farid University of Health Sciences Dr. Raj Bahadur, Director, Medical Education, and Research Dr. Sujata Sharma, former Minister Ashwani Sekhri, former Minister Malti Thapar besides office bearers of various associations were present.
Ravneet Kaur , Special Chief Secretary Revenue

Chandigarh: Special Chief Secretary (SCS, Revenue) Ravneet Kaur informed that under its commitment towards citizen-centric reforms, the Revenue department has started issuing a 'Dogra' certificate online. Earlier, the 'Dogra' certificate service was available through Sewa Kendras only in offline mode and manually signed certificates were being issued to the applicants.

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Now citizens can obtain this certificate by submitting the online application at https://eservices.punjab.gov.in from home and there would be no requirement of submission of physical file at any office. She added that the Department of Revenue has continuously been improving its services for the citizens and apart from curtailing time limits, the department is also ensuring transparency in the whole process.

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Special Chief Secretary (Revenue) said that the new online service has been digitized with the help of the Department of Governance Reforms and NIC, Punjab and necessary training has been imparted to the concerned field functionaries. The applicants, who belong to Dogra Community, may submit his/her application online or could also visit the nearest Sewa Kendras. Once issued, the applicant can download the certificate from the link received through SMS or in his/her ID by clicking on the link Verify Your Certificate on the home page of the website.
PUNJAB GOVT. TO REVIEW PERMISSION TO PROCURE BASMATI PADDY

Chandigarh: State Government will review the permission to procure from other states the Basmati Paddy varieties that are not produced in Punjab, assured OP Soni Deputy Chief Minister(DCM) Punjab in a meeting with the Punjab Rice Millers Exporters Association at Punjab Civil Secretariat here today. The meeting was jointly chaired by Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal and Food and Civil Supplies Minister, Bharat Bhushan Ashu.

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OP Soni Deputy Chief Minister(DCM) Punjab



Punjab is a vibrant Agricultural State; the Basmati Rice of Punjab has made a mark at the international level, said DCM assuring the Basmati Manufacturing and Export Units of all support to run their operations seamlessly. He conceded to the demand of the Rice exporters to establish a Rice-Pesticide Testing Laboratory in Amritsar wherein exporters can get pre-purchase sample testing to safeguard refusal of International Basmati Shipments. The lab would be set up at Skill Development Centre, near Guru Nanak Dev University Amritsar. The rice exporters in turn promised to give a premium to farmers who would produce pesticide-free paddy basmati.

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"The government will examine the demands of the association in a fortnight and will honor all commitments made to the rice industry as per the letter of law and the intent of the Cabinet'' assured Finance Minister.



The Food and Civil Supplies Minister categorically informed that the department was forced to impose restrictions on the influx of paddy from other states since the mal-practices by the black sheep in the Industry had adversely affected the interests of the farmers and the revenue of the State in the past. However, an officer was deputed to re-look into the genuine demands of the association pertaining to Market fees, Fiscal incentives, and others.


Roanoke Rapids, NC (27870)

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By Jerusalem Post Staff, OCTOBER 4, 2021, The Jerusalem Post

A 4,500-year-old jar, a number of bowls, and food fossils, have been unearthed at a tumulus (ancient burial ground) in southern Turkey.

The discovery was made at the tumulus of Yumuktepe Hoyuk, near the city of Mersin, which is one of the oldest settlements in the Anatolia region, dating back to 7,000 BCE.

A 25-person team headed by Dr. Isabella Caneva, an archeology professor at the University of Lecce in Italy, found the 4,500 year-old jar, which Dr. Caneva believes belongs to the Middle Bronze Age.

Dr. Caneva also revealed the discovery of around 700 bowls, and told Anadolu Agency that researchers believe the site was a location "where public or ceremonial meals [were] held or food [was] distributed to the public."

She notes that annual excavations of Yumuktepe reveal important information about civilization in the region. The settlement has traces from the Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Bronze and Byzantine periods.
Columbus Day is a federal holiday that commemorates Christopher Columbuss landing in the Americas. However, many states have changed the holiday to Indigenous Peoples Day to honor Native Americans. No matter which holiday you celebrate, you may be wondering, is the post office open on Columbus Day? If you need to mail some packages, heres everything you should know about the post offices holiday hours.

Is The Post Office Open on Columbus Day 2021?

Columbus Day falls on Monday, October 11th this year. Since its a weekday, you may need to run some errands and mail some letters. But unfortunately, you wont be able to visit the post office on Columbus Day. Since its a federal holiday, the post office closes to observe it.

But luckily your local post office will be open the next day (Tuesday, October 11th) during its usual business hours. And if you cant wait to send out your packages, here are some alternatives to USPS that you can try.

Post Office Alternatives

Although the post office is closed on Columbus day, UPS and FedEx will both be open during their regular business hours. Every store has a different operating schedule, so you may need to use the online store locator tool to find out when your local UPS or FedEx will be open.

You can also drop your letters in USPS mailboxes even though the post office is closed. If you need stamps, you can get them at grocery stores, gas stations, and pharmacies, which are usually open on Columbus Day.

You can also access your USPS.com account on Columbus Day. So youll still be able to order stamps and shipping supplies, print any shipping labels you need, and schedule package pickups.

Post Office Holiday Schedule 2021

Driving to the post office and realizing that its closed for a federal holiday can be a big headache. Thats why its a good idea to familiarize yourself with the USPS holiday schedule. The post office is closed on Columbus Day as well as nine other holidays throughout the year, including:

New Years Day

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Presidents Day

Memorial Day

Fourth of July

Labor Day

Veterans Day

Thanksgiving

Christmas Day

The post office is also closed on Sundays. But luckily your local UPS may be open even if the post office is closed. UPS only shuts its doors on four holidays: New Years Day, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. Most UPS locations are also open on Sundays, so youll still be able to send out important packages and letters that cant wait until Monday.

Although its inconvenient that the post office is closed on Columbus Day, now that you know you can plan ahead. And if you really need to mail something on Columbus Day, you can head to your local UPS or FedEx instead.

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Is Target Closed on Columbus Day 2021

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When a federal holiday rolls around, many people get to take a day off of work, making it a great time to catch up on some errands. If youre hoping to shop on Columbus Day  which falls on Monday, October 11, 2021  its normal to be curious if heading to Costco would be an option. If youre trying to figure out, Is Costco open on Columbus Day2021? heres what you need to know.

Is Costco Open on Columbus Day 2021?

Yes, Costco is open on Columbus Day 2021. Additionally, the warehouse stores will use their typical Monday operating schedule, so you dont have to contend with a late opening or early closing either.

Additionally, Costco in-store services  including the tire center, pharmacy, and vision departments  are usually open as well. However, those may have slightly altered schedules.

Does Costco Have a Columbus Day Sale?

Technically, Costco doesnt have a Columbus Day sale. However, the October coupon book is brimming with discounts that are available during the holiday, so you can still find great deals.

If you want to find bargains, check the circular or the Costco website for more information about discounts. That way, you can focus your shopping on the sale prices. You can also sign-up for a membership at Costco.





Costco Holiday Schedule 2021

Most major retailers dont close often. However, Costco recognizes more holidays than the average chain store, causing them to close more often.

Here is an overview of the Costco holiday closures in 2021:

Friday, January 1, 2021  New Years Day

Sunday, April 4, 2021  Easter Sunday

Monday, May 31, 2021  Memorial Day

Sunday, July 4, 2021  Independence Day

Monday, September 6, 2021  Labor Day

Thursday, November 25, 2021  Thanksgiving Day

Saturday, December 25, 2021  Christmas Day

Additionally, Costco warehouse stores might close early on a few days. For example, some reduce their hours on Christmas Eve and New Years Eve. As a result, its best to check with your local Costco if you want to shop on the night before certain holidays to see if it is closing ahead of its usual schedule.

Costco Warehouse Store Hours

Aside from specific holidays, most Costco stores use a very similar operating schedule. Usually, its close to the following:

Monday through Friday  10:00 am to 8:30 pm

Saturday  9:30 am to 6:00 pm

Sunday  10:00 am to 6:00 pm

It is important to note that those hours are just the typical schedule, so they arent universal. Usually, its best to check with your preferred Costco specifically if you want to shop early or late. That way, you can confirm that it is welcoming customers at your preferred time.

Additionally, its important to note that Costco Business Centers may follow different schedules. Here is a look at a typical Business Center schedule:

Monday through Friday  7:00 am to 6:00 pm

Saturday  7:00 am to 4:00 pm

Sunday  Closed

Finally, unexpected events can lead to schedule deviations. That includes inclement weather, utility issues, or COVID-related restrictions. When in doubt, always check with your local Costco before shopping to confirm if they are open.

Do you plan on heading to Costco or any other store on Columbus Day? Do you have other plans besides shopping in mind for the holiday? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Read More:

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Orhun U

Built with monarchical lines of a British Tudor, this stunning abode perched over Seattle's Elliott Bay was built in 1900. You could be the next to call the castle-like 1706 Magnolia Way West your kingdom, for $2 million.

The home is impressive on many levels, its size being one: there are 4,290 square feet here, with four bedrooms and four bathrooms. The opulence of the original design lives on in the ornate fireplaces, massive exposed beams, wood floors and paneled walls, peaked ceilings, and stone and brick accents.
Rents in Seattle are climbing back to where they would be if the pandemic-related slowdown had never happened.

A new market report from Seattle-based Zillow found that typical rent in Seattle rose to $2,125 in July, marking a 6.2% increase year over year. The company estimated that typical rent would have been $2,194 if pre-pandemic trends had continued.

Rising rental prices are being felt across the country as the economy continues to slowly recover from the impacts of the pandemic. Nationwide, Zillow found that rents rose to $1,843 in July, up a total of 9.2%  or $156  from the same time last year.

Despite the current increase in COVID-19 cases being experienced in Washington and nationwide, experts noted that the current increases are erasing any small affordability gains renters made amid the pandemic. During the height of the winter surge last year, rents in Seattle saw dramatic declines and dropped by 20% year over year, but began to stabilize earlier in the spring.

"With the economy continuing to reopen, employees receiving more long-term guidance on remote work, and as students find their way back to college campuses, the rental market is picking back up," said Nicole Bachaud, Zillow economic data analyst, in a news release. "As high demand puts pressure on rents and incomes are unable to keep up, affordability will become more of a challenge in the coming months."

Rents for single-family homes are at a 16-year high according to another study, with prices increasing by 7.7% in the Seattle area in June compared to the same time last year. The average renter living in a single-family home in the Seattle metro area now pays $2,833 per month.

But some experts are predicting that the housing market may begin to cool down heading into the fall months, providing some relief for those looking to buy a home. The Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS) found that competition for homes in Seattle eased slightly in July, with brokers adding more listings and less homes going under contract.

Zillow also found that home inventory in Seattle was up 4.6% in July from the previous month, but still down 6.7% compared to July 2020.

"All signs point to the likelihood that the housing market is beginning to ease off the gas pedal," said Bachaud.

While inventory appears to be increasing slightly, home values are continuing to soar. The average home value for the Emerald City was priced at $670,473 last month according to Zillow, up 2.6% from June and a staggering 22.7% compared to the same time last year.

Another study estimated that prices would soar by 18% in Seattle over the next year driven by historically low inventory. And it's not homes in the city that are seeing increases in prices: suburban counties along the Interstate 5 corridor have also seen sharp jumps in price.

"Prices in Lewis County are up 54.2% from the July 2019 level, Snohomish County is up 40.6%, and Island County is up 44.3%," said James Young, director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at the University of Washington. "The search for value in the suburbs with sharp price increases suggest households are making their housing preferences known. They want to own rather than rent."
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A federal appeals court rejected a challenge by groups of freelance journalists and photographers Wednesday to a California law that limits employers ability to classify workers as contractors, saying the law regulates economic activity and does not restrict free speech or a free press.

The law, AB5, took effect in 2020 and affirmed standards set by the state Supreme Court in 2018. It defined workers hired by a company as employees unless they performed work for their own business that was outside the scope of the companys usual activities and were free of the hiring companys control.

Under that test, most workers are classified as employees, with the right to minimum wages, overtime, workers compensation and other labor benefits that are generally denied to contractors. But organizations representing hundreds of freelancers in California said companies were unwilling to hire them because of the additional expenses, and they filed suit claiming the law violated their First Amendment rights as journalists.

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco was unpersuaded.

The California law regulates economic activity rather than speech, Judge Consuelo Callahan said in the 3-0 ruling, which upheld a federal judges decision in favor of the state. It does not, on its face, limit what someone can or cannot communicate. Nor does it restrict when, where, or how someone can speak. It instead governs worker classification.

Although AB5 may make some jobs less available, Callahan said, workers remain able to write, sculpt, paint, design, or market whatever they wish, and the state is not regulating the content of their speech.

The ruling came two days after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal by trucking companies challenging the classification of thousands of truck owner-operators as employees under AB5, although that issue is still pending in another case before the court. A lawyer for the freelancers in Wednesdays case said they would either ask the full appeals court for a new hearing before a larger panel or appeal directly to the Supreme Court.

The high court has ruled that discrimination based on the function or purpose of speech violates the First Amendment, said James Manley of the Pacific Legal Foundation, which represents the freelance groups. Under California law, freedom to freelance depends on what type of speech you produce.

He was referring to provisions in AB5 and a follow-up law that allow some categories of professionals whose work involves expression  artists, marketers, writers of applications for financial grants  to be classified as independent contractors if they work on their own, under less-demanding standards than the law sets for freelance journalists.

But Callahan said the state law does not target the press, and applies more broadly to freelance writers and photographers who submit their work to the news media or other publications.

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Its applicability does not turn on what workers say but, rather, on the service they provide or the occupation in which they are engaged, she wrote.

Manley acknowledged that some freelance journalists want to be classified as employees. But he said the hundreds of members in the two organizations he represents, the American Society of Journalists and Authors and the National Press Photographers Association, prefer the freedom and flexibility of being independent contractors.

Attorney General Rob Bontas office, which defended the state law, said it was pleased with the ruling. We'll continue to defend laws that are designed to protect workers and ensure fair labor and business practices, the office said in a statement.

Callahan, a George W. Bush appointee who is generally one of the courts most conservative members, was joined in the ruling by Judge Danielle Forrest, an appointee of Donald Trump, and U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg of San Francisco, a Barack Obama appointee temporarily assigned to the appeals court.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko
2 1 of 2 Santiago Mejia/The Chronicle 2020 Show More Show Less 2 of 2 Leah Millis/San Francisco Chronicle 2014 Show More Show Less



California on Tuesday became one of the first states to ban a class of harmful chemicals, known as PFAS, from food packaging and from infant and childrens products after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two bills.

PFAS have been linked to reproductive problems, cancer and other health issues, and consumer and environmental groups say the new laws will protect Californians from what are known as forever chemicals because they stay in the body and environment for years.
Local surfers had already begun to gather on the bluffs overlooking the Sonoma coast on Tuesday morning when a state parks ranger pulled up the beach closure signs posted two days earlier when a shark bit into the leg of a surfer.

A great white shark at least 10 feet long critically injured surfer Eric Steinley on Sunday in the waters at Salmon Creek Beach  the eighth documented shark bite, bump or other physical encounter at the beach in 70 years of records. Fellow surfers carried Steinley up the bluff on a surfboard after stanching the bleeding with the board leash as a tourniquet.

Steinley had improved to fair condition Tuesday in the intensive care unit at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, officials said. He declined an interview through a hospital spokesperson.

Steinley told the Santa Rosa Press Democrat that he was sitting on his surfboard when he felt something bite into his leg and pull him under. He felt the sharks face with his hand, grabbed it in the eye and pushed it away. He paddled toward shore and other surfers assisted him.

At the beach on Tuesday, the threat of a fine for violating the closure gave surfers pause, but not the remote possibility of another shark encounter.

I pulled up this morning thinking Im not going in, said Michael Leddy, 32, of Bodega Bay, who eyed the waves as he recalled hearing someone yell shark as he suited up the day of the attack.

But Im going in, Leddy said.

California Fish and Wildlife staff confirmed the shark species through DNA samples collected from Steinleys wetsuit and board. John Ugoretz, environmental program manager with California Fish and Wildlifes pelagic fisheries and ecosystem program, said the results confirmed what they would expect in Northern California, prime ground for mature white sharks on their migratory routes hunting marine mammals like seals and sea lions.

These incidents are extremely infrequent and its certainly unfortunate when they occur, he said. When you do go into the ocean, youre in their turf and you have to be aware.

Alvin A.H. Jornada/Special to The Chronicle

There have been 47 documented shark attacks since 1926 from the Sonoma coast to Monterey, according to the International Shark Attack File. In June, a San Francisco man was bitten by a shark while snorkeling in Gray Whale Cove off the San Mateo County coast. He told the Mercury News that he felt a sharp pain as he reached for a Dungeness crab, then saw what looked to be a juvenile sharks nose and beady black eyes.

Sharks sense their world through their mouths, said Chris Lowe, a professor in marine biology and director of the Shark Lab at California State University Long Beach. Lowe said they may bite out of curiosity, hunger, fear or another instinct. He cautioned against using the word attack to describe shark bites because it is impossible to understand the animals motivation.

We still dont really understand why sharks occasionally bite people, Lowe said.

Lowe contributes to the International Shark Attack File, a record of shark incidents started by the U.S. Navy in the 1950s, now run by the Florida Museum of Natural History. He investigates each California shark encounter for the database, documenting DNA results when available, estimating the shark size by measuring markings left behind by the bite and interviewing victims.

Lowe estimated the shark that bit Steinley was at least 10 feet long, and possibly longer. Juvenile sharks are more common off the coast of Southern California, where they feed on stingrays and fish. Mature sharks feed on marine mammals.

Thats a decent-size shark, Lowe said. Usually around that size, theyre more interested in marine mammals, which explains why its up there.

More for you Surfer critically injured in shark attack near Bodega Bay

Standing on the bluff with fellow surfers Tuesday, Travis Vail recalled that he went in after the bite Sunday but before the closure signs went up, figuring the shark had already satisfied any curiosity and moved on.

I had a particularly stressful day at work, so going out into the ocean was the least of my problems, said Vail, 33, of Bodega Bay, who works in real estate.

Just last month, Vail was fishing in an 8-foot inflatable boat with Heath Lesik, 39, of Bodega Bay when they saw a massive shadow swim under their boat.

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I think about it every time Im out there, Lesik said.

Thats never stopped him.

On the beach, Sharon Siegler meditated next to her boogie board and wetsuit. The 46-year-old Sebastopol therapist had first gone to the more protected Doran Beach down the coast, but the water was too still. She wanted waves, and found them at Salmon Creek. She heard about the shark bite from a friend, a surfer who had been on the beach.

You have to have a lot of respect for the ocean, a lot of humility, Siegler said. And you have to be brave.

With the signs gone, Leddy suited up in neoprene armor and was the first to hike down the bluff trail onto the long beach and into the water. The waves were shoulder high and soft, mostly closed out. The skies overcast.

You have to trust your gut, Leddy said.

Once he paddled out, he felt calm again. And it was hard to get out.

Julie Johnson is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: julie.johnson@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @juliejohnson
Filipa Ioannou/The Chronicle

A San Francisco man was arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the death of a man who succumbed to injuries three days after he was punched in the face, police said.

Asafo Ia, 32, surrendered to San Francisco homicide investigators late Monday night after police developed information that identified him as the suspect who punched the victim, who fell and hit his head, police said in a statement Tuesday. Ia was booked at San Francisco County Jail on suspicion of murder and failure to register as a sex offender, police said.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously rejected a group home development that would have added 316 micro-units in the heart of the Tenderloin, arguing that the projects micro-units would become tech dorms for transient workers rather than homes for families with children who have been increasingly moving into the neighborhood.

The project at 450 OFarrell St. would have allowed property owner Fifth Church of Christ, Scientist to knock down an existing structure and replace it with a 13-story group housing complex. A church would have been built on the ground floor, along with a Christian Science reading room.

While the project was backed by some pro-housing advocates, it was opposed by several prominent Tenderloin groups that argued that the neighborhood lacks larger family-size units with full kitchens and private bedrooms. U.S. census figures show the Tenderloin is home to roughly 2,200 children, although a city study puts that number at closer to 3,000.

The builder, Forge Development Partners, took the project over from a previous developer that won approvals in 2018 to build 176 larger family-size apartments. While that project had widespread neighborhood support, Forge said it shifted gears to group housing because Tenderloin rents are not high enough to justify the cost of building larger apartments, roughly $1.2 million a unit.

The Planning Commission approved the projects conditional use authorization in June. That decision was appealed to the Board of Supervisors by the Tenderloin Housing Clinic.

In upholding the Tenderloin Housing Clinic appeal, several board members characterized the proposed units, which would average over $3,000 a month rent, as temporary corporate housing disguised as permanent residences.

Several took issue with the city law regulating market rate group housing, a category of residential development that allows developers to exceed density limits by building communal kitchens rather than providing cooking facilities in the studio apartments.

Supervisor Matt Haney, who represents the Tenderloin, said he worked with planning staff to see if the unit sizes could be increased while still meeting the group housing definition. In the end, it couldnt be done, he said.

The vague definition of group housing made that very challenging, he said. We have come to the conclusion that the conditional use authorization does not meet the needs of the neighborhood.

In addition, Haney objected to the fact that the project, because of its 2018 approval, was obligated to make only 13.5% of the units affordable, not the 25% that would be required under current affordable housing laws.

I cant imagine a project of just 13.5% being approved today, he said.

The fight over the OFarrell Street site also veered into questions of religious freedom. At a hearing last week, Ela Strong, president of the churchs board, said that rejecting the group housing would mean that the church would be unable to build a new home for its congregation. She said that would be tantamount to violating our civil rights under the Constitution.

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But Haney pointed out that the property owner still has approvals to build the 2018 project. That project also includes a new church and reading room.

Supervisor Aaron Peskin said the project would have added to a glut of group housing in the Tenderloin and Mid-Market areas, including those with a very high rate of turnover. He said the lack of adequate food storage and cooking facilities would be especially harmful in a neighborhood with the citys highest level of food-insecurity.

There is a a very good case to be made that this housing is not intended for permanent residents, he said.

At last weeks hearing, Forge founder Richard Hannum argued that technological innovation and efficient use of space would combine to make the micro-units livable for small families. He said that the previous builder, Trammell Crow, abandoned the project because the economics didnt work.

In the end, our goal is to create housing that people can afford to live in, and to build the church, said Hannum.

J.K. Dineen is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jdineen@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfjkdineen
The latest of the hundreds of Zodiac Killer theories floated each year emerged this week from a private team of investigators who named a man from the Sierra foothills who died three years ago as the killer, but FBI and police officials say the Zodiac case remains unsolved.

The team, calling itself the Case Breakers, said it is basing its theory on several factors, including a similarity in photos of their suspect to a 1969 police sketch of the Zodiac, particularly with what appear to be identical forehead scars, and on anagrams they say reveal their suspects name. They also say they have proof that their suspect killed Cheri Jo Bates, a woman slain in Riverside in 1966 that some have attributed to the Zodiac  a theory that Riverside police said in August they have debunked.

I absolutely feel we solved this case, Tom Colbert, a member of the Case Breakers, told The Chronicle. He said his team, which includes former journalists and law enforcement officers, has been investigating cold cases for 10 years and also believes it solved the D.B. Cooper hijacking-ransom mystery and the disappearance and apparent murder of union boss Jimmy Hoffa.

Theres no ego here, he said. We do this to solve cases.

The Chronicle traditionally has not named Zodiac suspects unless law enforcement investigators confirm they are being actively looked into. The only man named as a suspect was Arthur Leigh Allen of Vallejo, who died in 1992.

Federal and police investigators tasked with solving the 52-year-old Zodiac mystery, however, said this new tip doesnt hold up. The Zodiac killed five people in 1968 and 1969 in the Bay Area, his last victim being cab driver Paul Stine in San Francisco, and mailed taunting letters with ciphers to The Chronicle and other newspapers.

The Zodiac killer case remains open. We have no new information to share at the moment, the San Francisco office of the FBI said in a statement Wednesday. The San Francisco Police Department echoed the statement. Sources at both agencies told The Chronicle the evidence presented by the Case Breakers does not appear to be conclusive.

Is there a chance that (the Case Breakers suspect) killed Cheri Jo Bates? No, Riverside Police Officer Ryan Railsback told The Chronicle. If you read what they (the Case Breakers) put out, its all circumstantial evidence. Its not a whole lot.

As for any Zodiac links to Bates murder, Railsback said his department worked with FBI agents to debunk a letter and other indicators that had purportedly pointed to the Zodiac, and in August announced that information along with a $50,000 reward for tips leading to Bates actual killer. The Case Breakers called him about the reward, he said, but they didnt follow up when he asked for more information.

The Chronicle and police get hundreds of tips every year on potential Zodiac suspects and solutions to the ciphers, pointing to everyone from peoples fathers to killers like Charlie Manson and even newspaper columnists.

The Chronicle was called six years ago by a relative of the Case Breakers suspect, who said the man lived in Groveland (Tuolumne County) and had tried to kill him with a hammer. He contacted investigators, but when The Chronicle followed up with law enforcement, they said the Zodiac connection did not appear to be there.

The Groveland mans former daughter-in-law told The Chronicle on Wednesday that she was intimately familiar with the other relatives fears, and she believes the Case Breakers have nailed the killer. She lives out of state and said she moved to get away from threats from the man and his supporters. The Case Breakers suspect died in 2018 of natural causes, she said. County records show he was 80.

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Its my birthday today, and this all coming out is a great birthday present for me, said Michelle Wynn, 52. The Case Breakers suspect is the Zodiac, without a doubt. Being around him, knowing his demeanor and his shadiness and twistedness  I have an intuition, I can read people.

Wynn said the 1969 police sketch was like a bell-ringer for me. ... I saw that and thought, Thats him. Totally, she said.

David Oranchak of Virginia, who led a team that the FBI confirmed cracked the Zodiacs 340 Cipher in December, said Wednesday it was improbable that the Case Breakers were correct in their analysis that the killers ciphers contained their suspects name. The Case Breakers were interpreting anagrams, he said, and that technique can produce a dizzying array of names and words with easy manipulation.

It seems ... unlikely that the name is actually in there, he said. Colbert said Oranchaks team was largely right in its solution to the cipher, but that it missed the anagram that contained the Case Breakers suspects name.

Other teams over the years, including some that involved former law enforcement officers like the Case Breakers, have come up with different suspects. Perhaps the most prominent group was based in Vallejo, led by former California Highway Patrol Officer Lyndon Lafferty. It stated in 2011 that the Zodiac was a 91-year-old former real estate salesman in Fairfield. Both Lafferty and the salesman have since died, and investigators say there wasnt enough evidence to prove their suspect was the right man.

Kevin Fagan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kfagan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @KevinChron
The Zodiac case, 50 years later Tracing the decades-long fascination with our Jack the Ripper, responsible for a series of unsolved Bay Area slayings

The Zodiac case, 50 years later Tracing the decades-long fascination with our Jack the Ripper, responsible for a series of unsolved Bay Area slayings

He is our Jack the Ripper.

Fifty years ago this week, a psychopath with a .22-caliber semiautomatic pistol sneaked up on two high school students parked on a windswept lovers lane in Benicia. Shot down as they scrambled in terror, the young couple died in a spray of gunfire. It was an unusually messy crime scene.

The killing on Dec. 20, 1968, of David Faraday, 17, and his 16-year-old date, Betty Lou Jensen, marked the beginning of what became the twisted legend of the Zodiac Killer. By the time he was done, five more victims across the Bay Area would be shot or stabbed  three of them killed, two left barely alive but scarred for life.

Although the carnage spanned less than a year, the moniker Zodiac Killer was cemented into history. He would never be caught.

Considering the homicidal tumult of the 1960s and 70s, the number of his victims was actually somewhat low. Charles Manson murdered eight people. Ted Bundy killed 36, the Zebra Killers 14. Unhinged San Francisco preacher Jim Jones ordered the deaths of more than 900 in Jonestown, Guyana.

But this sadistic murderer had a repulsively unusual characteristic.

As he killed, the Zodiac mailed a flurry of taunting letters and cryptograms to The Chronicle and others. This is the Zodiac speaking, they opened, and were often signed with a rifle-sight crosshairs symbol.

He claimed to love killing because man is the most dangerous game, and once threatened to massacre a dozen people unless The Chronicle printed his message. The paper published the letter. The Zodiac also threatened to wipe out an entire school bus by shooting out the front tire so he could pick off the kiddies as they come bouncing out.

Fifty years later, with the case still unsolved, the Zodiac Killers death crusade is perhaps the most infamous murder mystery in America.

There have been a lot of terrible crimes in the city, but nothing ever quite like the Zodiac case, said San Francisco Police Homicide Inspector Gianrico Pierucci, who investigated the case for several years before retiring last year. It was crazier than hell. There are thousands of potential suspects and lots of evidence, and its a tough one. Nobody ever even got arrested.

Hes our Jack the Ripper. Its been 50 years, and all we have is two sketches of a white male with glasses? he said in exasperation. Very frustrating.

Written on greeting card mailed to a San Francisco newspaper (Chronicle) by a killer who calls himself Zodiac and included a letter and a cryptogram in San Francisco on Nov. 11, 1969. Police say Zodiac has killed five, but in his new communications Zodiac claims seven. The writer lists the months the killings took place at the bottom, with the total ?and I can?t do a thing with it!? refers to a drawing on the card showing a dripping wet pen with the salutation: ?Sorry I haven?t written, but I just washed my pen?? less Written on greeting card mailed to a San Francisco newspaper (Chronicle) by a killer who calls himself Zodiac and included a letter and a cryptogram in San Francisco on Nov. 11, 1969. Police say Zodiac has ... more Photo: Associated Press 1969 Photo: Associated Press 1969 Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close Zodiac Killer case, 50 years later: Tracing the legend of our Jack the Ripper 1 / 8 Back to Gallery

Like the Zodiac, Britains Ripper had five confirmed kills within the space of one year in 1888 London, sent taunting letters to newspapers and never was caught. The havoc he wreaked had the same sort of effect on the population that the Zodiac did.

The Zodiacs murders and taunts terrified people across Northern California from 1968 to 1970. His crimes inspired the 1971 movie Dirty Harry and spawned generations of amateur sleuths around the world who have named literally thousands of suspects they believe are absolutely, without doubt, the killer. Police investigators, meanwhile, have named only one suspect: convicted child molester Arthur Leigh Allen of Vallejo.

Allen owned boots identical to those worn by the Zodiac, and said in an interview once that his favorite short story was The Most Dangerous Game, which the killer had referenced in one of his letters. He was picked out in a photo lineup many years after the attacks by one of the Zodiacs surviving victims. He also wore a watch with the Zodiacs crosshairs symbol on it, reportedly partially confessed to a friend interviewed by investigators  and was fingered as the culprit in former Chronicle political cartoonist Robert Graysmiths authoritative 2002 book, Zodiac Unmasked.

Allen, however, died of a heart attack in 1992 at age 58 before detectives could make enough of a case to charge him. Ever since, police from Napa, Solano and San Francisco counties, where the killings occurred, have continued to scrape through every clue they have filed in teeming storage cases and closets, not to mention the streams of tips that still pour in.

San Francisco alone has about 30 boxes of evidence, including the blood-spattered door of the taxi in which the Zodiac shot to death his last victim, cabbie Paul Stine, 29, in the Presidio Heights neighborhood on Oct. 11, 1969. Other departments also have car parts from the murder scenes and plastic rope the Zodiac used to tie up victims.

Between the first homicides in Benicia and the Stine killing, there were two more Zodiac attacks on dating couples: In July 1969 in Vallejo, he shot Michael Mageau, 19, and Darlene Ferrin, 22; and in September 1969 at Lake Berryessa, he stabbed Cecelia Shepard, 22, and Bryan Hartnell, 20. Mageau and Hartnell both survived and gave descriptions of the killer. They rarely speak about the Zodiac in public.

None of the investigators working the case today would speak on the record for this story. A few who worked it in the past, however, refuse to give up on the idea that the killer will be identified some day. If the Zodiac turns out to be someone other than Allen and is still alive, he probably would be in his mid-80s or 90s, given that he was described at the time as appearing to be 35 to 40 years old.

I cant help but believe he is somewhere in our files, that the answers are in there somewhere, said long-retired San Francisco homicide Inspector Frank Falzon, one of the earliest investigators on the case. With all these different law enforcement agencies, its got to be solved someday.

Through 1974, well after his last known victim, the Zodiac sent about two dozen letters to The Chronicle, San Francisco Examiner and Vallejo Times Herald, ultimately claiming 37 slayings. But investigators only ever confirmed those five killings and the two survivors.

For many years, the most hopeful new direction in the case has been DNA testing  the science that cracked the decades-old Golden State Killer case this year. Investigators in that case turned to genealogical sites to match a profile to an ex-police officer who now faces 13 counts of murder and 13 more of rape.

The Zodiac case, however, is more complicated. The letters and the few possible shreds of DNA evidence were handled extensively by detectives and others long before anyone knew DNA analysis was even a tool. The Zodiac also was apparently very careful about minimizing helpful clues in the form of saliva, fingerprints or blood. So, many investigators believe the chance of a useful hit turning up in the profiles is slim at best.

Said one police source, who couldnt speak publicly: With the Golden State Killer, they had a full strand of DNA. Not Zodiac. We have crumbs, and not good ones.

I think the hunt for DNA is an illusion, a dog-and-pony show, said Mike Rodelli, who wrote the 2017 book The Hunt for Zodiac after 20 years of research. He believes the killer is not Allen, but a deceased San Francisco businessman.

The evidence is way too old and overhandled, he said.

Tom Voigt, another private sleuth who has researched the case for decades, disagrees.

The only thing that could solve it is the DNA  and that could happen tomorrow, he said.

He could be drinking coffee next to you, he could be sitting at the bus stop. Or he could be dead. But absolutely, it will be solved, said Voigt, who runs the exhaustively researched Zodiackiller.com site. His top suspect: a long-dead Martinez newspaperman.

Of all the Zodiac evidence, the three things seized upon most by detectives and amateur sleuths are the handwritten letters, the ciphers and the sketches generated by the two survivors. But all are so open to interpretation that new tips are made to investigators and The Chronicle every month or so from people claiming to have solved the case.

Among the many theories: The Zodiac was the Unabomber, a gang of demented cops, the crazy uncle upstairs, the edgy neighbor, and so on. Dozens insist the killer was their father. But except for one long cipher sent in pieces to The Chronicle, Examiner and Vallejo papers in 1969, no detectives have been able to confirm a translation of the killers cryptograms, a crazy quilt of letters and symbols laid out in straight lines. The one that was solved  by a Salinas schoolteacher and his wife  offered little beyond the boast, I like killing because it is so much fun. The rest, according to FBI code experts, appear to be gibberish.

The killers handwriting also is easy to match to numerous people because its in such a simple hand, and the artists rendering depicts the typical early-1960s fellow with a crew cut and horn-rimmed glasses. In the minds of many, this leaves the lone named suspect  Allen, of Vallejo  as the mostly likely guy.

I believe he did it, no doubt. There are just way too many coincidences that make way too much sense, said John Henslin of Texas, who was a friend of victim Betty Lou Jensen  and whose sister, Sharon Stutsman of Nevada, was Jensens best friend. Him murdering our friend ruined Christmas for all of us for life. Every year, every anniversary, we remember that killing all over again.

In an email, Stutsman, who is ill and cannot speak clearly, fondly remembered Jensen as an artist in every way ... funny, always happy. Her father worked at the same Vallejo school district where Allen was employed as a janitor, and Henslin recalled that the family thought he was creepy.

Thats an impression shared by former KTVU-TV crime reporter Rita Williams, the last person known to have interviewed Allen, shortly before he died, at Allens home in Vallejo.

Williams said that although Allen denied being the Zodiac, he fit the killers profile in many ways. After the interview, Allen wrote Williams a letter containing a handwritten Z identical to the one on a widely publicized letter that some believe the Zodiac sent in 1967 to the father of an unconfirmed Riverside victim, before the Bay Area killings began. The letter to Williams also had bad grammar similar to the Zodiacs.

I remember him showing me tons of things on his shelves, and so many looked like clues, Williams said. It was almost like a game with him ... eerie.

I said to the cameraman when we got into our car afterward: We just talked to the Zodiac.

Kevin Fagan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kfagan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @KevinChron
Bay Area health officials report they are encountering some confusion about the difference between a booster and a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Though both involve an additional shot, the rules and guidelines differ in several ways  depending on the vaccine brand, who the recipient is, and when the dose can be administered.

Heres what you need to know.

Boosters: Pfizer only

 Which brand: Booster shots received Food and Drug Administration approval in late September only for the Pfizer vaccine  not the other two vaccines approved for use in the U.S., made by Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.

 Who theyre for: Pfizer boosters have been approved for groups including people 65 and older, people who live in long-term care facilities, and people age 18 to 64 with underlying health conditions or jobs that put them at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19.

 When they can be administered: Pfizer recipients in eligible groups must wait at least six months after they received their second shot in the initial two-dose series to get their booster.

Third doses: Pfizer and Moderna

 Which brands: Third doses were approved in August for certain people with weakened immune systems who received the Pfizer and Moderna brands, which are the two mRNA vaccines approved for use in the U.S.

 Who theyre for: Moderately or severely immunocompromised people who received the Pfizer or Moderna series may receive third doses. Technically, this third shot is not a booster, according to the New York Times. Rather, its part of the recommended immunization schedule for these patients, who constitute about 3% of the population, because they arent as well protected from the virus after two shots.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

 When they can be administered: Those eligible can get their third dose at least 28 days after their second dose.

The Food and Drug Administration has scheduled meetings of its expert advisory committee Oct. 14 and 15 to consider amending emergency use authorization to include boosters for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. The panel will also hear presentations and review data on using boosters of a different vaccine from the one received in the primary series.

In the Bay Area, those eligible for boosters can book appointments through their health provider, at pharmacies like CVS or Walgreens, and through county health clinics.

Annie Vainshtein is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: avainshtein@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @annievain
Last year, COVID-19 canceled Halloween. This year, federal and Bay Area health officials are giving trick-or-treating the green light  but urging some modifications for holiday activities, with the coronavirus still circulating and young children still ineligible for COVID vaccines.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released updated guidelines for the upcoming holiday season that included vaccinations for those eligible, and wearing a protective mask at public events and gatherings  anywhere you will be around other people.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nations top infectious disease expert, told CNN on Sunday that families can go out there and trick-or-treat safely  and that vaccinations offer an extra degree of protection for those eligible, the Associated Press reported.

CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said in a recent television interview that it should be safe for children to trick-or-treat this year, especially if they are outdoors and avoid crowds.

Stephen Lam / The Chronicle

I wouldnt necessarily go to a crowded Halloween party, but I think that we should be able to let our kids go trick-or-treating in small groups, Walensky said on Face the Nation.

The health restrictions in most Bay Area counties are tighter than federal recommendations  most notably, masks are required in indoor public spaces regardless of vaccination status. Still, some health departments in large counties are already saying holiday activities are OK, with some caveats.

San Franciscos Department of Public Health encouraged safe Halloween and Dia de los Muertos activities, including trick-or-treating, but residents are urged to exercise caution to avoid the spread of COVID-19.

The department recommends wearing protective face coverings outdoors in large crowds, bringing hand sanitizer while trick-or-treating, washing hands before and after Halloween activities, and opting for outdoor Halloween events as much as possible.

Alameda County Department of Public Health officials added that costume masks are not a substitute for a well-fitted protective mask, and should not be worn over a protective mask. They also emphasized that children should keep as much distance as possible from others while trick-or-treating.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

Because were talking about a population who predominantly will not be vaccinated because they cant be, there are still some prudent things that can be done so that kids can enjoy trick-or-treating, said UC Berkeley infectious disease expert John Swartzberg  though he added that it doesnt feel necessary for children to wear masks outside unless they are in very large groups.

Along with the guidelines already outlined by local health officials, Swartzberg advised that parents make sure that everyone in the trick-or-treating group feels healthy, and that when parents answer the door for trick-or-treaters, a face covering would provide them another layer of protection.

I know Im going to, he said.

But overall, he said, he was pleased to see the regions COVID-19 numbers coming down significantly over the last few weeks. On Tuesday, San Francisco Countys most recently recorded seven-day rolling average for new cases per day was 79, a steady decline from a little over 300 in early August at the height of the delta variant surge, according to data from the county.

Annie Vainshtein is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: avainshtein@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @annievain
Dr. Grant Colfax was about halfway into a community meeting on how San Francisco has weathered the pandemic when the topic of masks, perhaps inevitably, came up.

Wearing them indoors, in spaces where everyone is vaccinated, feels performative, said Manny Yekutiel, owner of Mannys, the Mission District restaurant hosting the event last week with San Franciscos head of public health. Yekutiel gestured around the space, where three-dozen people  all of whom had provided proof of vaccination before coming inside, all wearing face coverings  gathered on sofas and folding chairs to listen.

Colfax couldnt say when mask mandates might be lifted, though he and his peers are now expected to offer some guidance on Thursday. At the meeting, Colfax conceded masks might be around in some high-risk settings for the foreseeable future. Yekutiel said he understood, but after nearly two years of living under the fear and uncertainty of a pandemic and facing down four surges, he was exhausted.

Not being able to plan for what a future looks like ... not being able to go into a shop because I forgot my mask, that not knowing  its grinding down on me, Yekutiel said. Im proud of San Francisco, Im proud to be here. And also Im tired of all this.

Even in the Bay Area, where people have largely supported, and even celebrated, public health restrictions that have likely saved thousands of lives, masks have become the target of more than 18 months of cumulative, communal frustration.

On Thursday, Bay Area health officials are expected to reveal the criteria that counties need to meet before they can lift, or at least loosen, indoor mask mandates. The criteria likely will include case, hospitalization and vaccination rates. Its not clear yet if any counties will immediately meet those metrics and lift mandates right away.

Jessica Christian / The Chronicle

Colfax and others have implied that mandates will be loosened in phases  perhaps dropped in places where people have to prove vaccination. They may remain in places where vaccinated and unvaccinated people mingle. Due to state orders, unvaccinated people will still be required to wear masks even if the local mandate is lifted, though that requirement is often poorly enforced.

Setting goals should help alleviate some of the public backlash to masks that has escalated in recent weeks, public health experts said.

I dont know what criteria they will come up with, but I will say its the right thing. You should always have clear ideas, said Dr. Monica Gandhi, an infectious disease expert at UCSF. If health officials cant give people goals, if they cant explain the decisions they make, people get frustrated, and at some point it will boil over, she said.

Thats already happening. At a public meeting in late August, a Santa Clara County supervisor pressed Dr. Sara Cody, the widely popular health officer, on when mandates might be lifted there, arguing that setting goals is critical for maintaining public trust. In mid-September, Mayor London Breed  whos been famously supportive of her public health department  came under scrutiny when she was spotted in a club without a mask, and she lashed out in response; this week she said revisiting the mandate was overdue.

Santa Cruz County last week became the first county in the Greater Bay Area to drop its indoor mask mandate after it reached moderate transmission levels as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Though the county still urges all residents wear masks indoors, most businesses immediately stopped requiring them.

When the county health department reinstated the mask mandate on Aug. 19, it included criteria for ending the mandate. That was deliberate, said Dr. David Ghilarducci, the deputy health officer.

Clara Mokri/Special to the Chronicle

We felt it was important to communicate to the community that there was a shutoff switch to it, that it wasnt perpetual, he said. We felt it was important to give the public a break, to give them some credit for their collective action that helped things improve. And, of course, if things get bad again we still have that tool in our back pocket.

Masks have come under scrutiny lately in part because theyre among the last universal pandemic protocols in play in the Bay Area. Theres no more social distancing or capacity limits. Vaccine mandates apply, but impact only those who havent been vaccinated.

And masks are also the most visible sign that the region is still under attack in this pandemic.

Weve had relatively little of that libertarian idea of freedom and liberation with masks in the Bay Area, said Dr. Robert Wachter, chief of medicine at UCSF. But the psychological piece of I want my life back, its a powerful human instinct. This whole thing sucks and weve been going on a long time. Masks have taken on a symbolic role as the most visible day-to-day sign were still in it.

Bay Area counties were among the first in California to reinstate mask mandates in early August, when cases began to soar in the delta surge. The California Department of Public Health never did bring back universal masking, though state orders requiring masks in schools and health care settings are expected to remain in place for the foreseeable future.

Like the rest of the state, the Bay Area had largely dropped its mandates when California reopened June 15. Health officials were buoyed by early reports that the highly effective vaccines could prevent infections and stop the spread of disease.

But delta quickly undermined the states reopening and forced many health experts to reevaluate their understanding of vaccine effectiveness. The vaccines continue to protect strongly against severe illness and death, but dont do as well at halting infection or transmission. That meant everyone needed to mask up again.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

In some ways, determining when masks can come off again is a far more complicated challenge. Masks are appealing for pandemic control because of their cost-benefit ratio  its not that hard to ask people to wear masks, and they clearly help slow the spread of disease.

Jessica Christian/The Chronicle

The moment you give up a mask mandate youre giving up one of your key interventions, said Dr. Abraar Karan, a Stanford infectious disease expert. Bringing back masks this summer likely played an important role in squashing the delta surge before it could overwhelm hospitals, he said. It worked, and I understand why many health departments are hesitant to pull back on that.

The Bay Area is currently averaging about 10 coronavirus cases per 100,000 residents a day  less than half of the summer peak in August, but still three or four times higher than the rate when the state reopened in June. Hospitalizations similarly have dropped rapidly from the summer peak  from about 1,100 in mid-August to under 500 this week  and are still three times higher than June.

And the region is heading into another fall and winter, when most experts are predicting another swell in cases. Waning immunity may also present challenges, with boosters having only just started rolling out  and kids under 12 still not eligible for the vaccine. It may not be the best time to be hasty pulling back on masks, Karan said.

To many people who are experiencing mask fatigue, the frustration is less about wanting to take off their face coverings right away and more about not understanding how decisions about mandates are being made.

When Yekutiel asked Colfax at the Mission District event when the mandate might be lifted, Colfax was vague in his reply. At one point he implied he might wait until children ages 5-11 become eligible for vaccination, which could happen as soon as this month  but those kids wont be fully vaccinated until November or December at the earliest.

It feels like the goal posts keep moving, Yekutiel said in an interview this week. I dont envy folks in public health because their job is to keep everyone safe, and theyre using the best information they have. But theres this feeling of, you told us all to get vaccinated, and we did. You asked us to restrict our spaces to be vaccine-only, and we are. But were running out of things to do on our part.

Even those who support masks in general say theyre struggling with not knowing how long the mandates will be in place. Terry Asten Bennett, who co-owns Cliffs Variety, a gift shop in the Castro District, said San Franciscos mask mandate has helped her stay open and keep her staff and customers safe. Keeping the mandate around through the winter would help give her stability during the critical holiday shopping season.

Theres already a whole lot of uncertainty about this winter, said Bennett, who is dealing with inventory shortages for Halloween and bracing for a chaotic Christmas. Financially, we need this winter to be successful. We need to keep our economy open and healthy. And masks are the easiest way to do that.

Erin Allday is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: eallday@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @erinallday
San Franciscos Japantown is a visitor attraction centered on the Japanese Center, ramen shops, Ruth Asawas sculptures, bookshop Kinokuniya and the many Japanese-import stores. But it wasnt always so. The neighborhood we see now is the product of a complicated history of racism, segregation and displacement. As a consequence, it has long been a home to marginalized San Franciscans struggling for recognition, community and a safe place to call their own.

As the debate over the proposed conversion of the neighborhoods Buchanan Hotel into permanent supportive housing for unhoused San Franciscans grows heated  with accusations of uncaring NIMBYism directed at the Japanese American community  it is essential to look back at the neighborhoods history to understand the stakes of the debate for community members.

To tell the story of Japantown is to tell a tale of almost constant crisis.

Japantown was born from the crisis left by the great earthquake and fire of 1906. As one of the few districts to survive the devastation, the Western Addition suddenly found its once quiet, middle-class quarters crammed with most of the citys displaced residents. Japanese Americans were among those who sought refuge there. As the years passed, white San Franciscans moved out of the neighborhood or rebuilt homes elsewhere. But Japanese migrants and their children were hemmed in by virulent racist violence, racially restrictive housing covenants, and, as The Chronicle reported, zoning laws specifically written to keep the Japanese population where it is.

Like all Asian migrants at the time (and only Asian migrants) Japanese were prohibited from naturalization by the Supreme Court decision Ozawa vs. United States (1922). Without citizenship, they lacked a political voice to protect their interests. This was the origins of, as it was called at the time, Nihonjinmachi (Japanese People Town), Japanesetown, or Japtown, the latter by this very newspaper.

Prior to World War II, despite their struggles with racism, Japanese Americans created a rich community in Japantown. The neighborhood held hundreds of Japanese-owned businesses and ethnic organizations, including Yabuno Brothers Grocery, Benkyodo confectionary, the Japanese YWCA, employment companies and the Fuji Hotel for migrant laborers passing through town. Unlike in Chinatown, these institutions primarily served the local ethnic community with little interest in tourists.

World War II, however, upended this stasis in Japantown. The immediate aftermath of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor left everyone in a daze in Jap Town, according to an observing sociologist, as white gawkers flocked to the neighborhood and FBI agents rounded up hundreds of suspect Japanese men  none of whom were ever convicted of espionage or sabotage.

By May 20, 1942, all Japanese Americans except those too ill to safely move were expelled from the city. Japantowns former inhabitants were held first at the Tanforan racetrack assembly center in San Bruno, in quickly constructed barracks or hastily vacated horse stalls, often with flies or manure whitewashed to the walls. By October of that year, most were moved behind barbed wire and armed guards at the Topaz incarceration camp in the Utah desert.

Japantowns fragile community persisted through this trauma and loss. Federal policy kept neighbors together in these camps to preserve desirable institutions, an astonishingly ironic ambition.

During and after the war, some residents resettled in other parts of the country, but many survivors eventually returned to Japantown. They returned to find a neighborhood fundamentally changed from the dismal stretch of yesterday known as Japtown, as legendary columnist Herb Caen described it in 1942. The vacancies left by Japanese Americans had filled quickly, especially by segregated Black defense workers seeking well-paid jobs and respite from Jim Crow in the Bay Areas defense industry.

The Japanese area became San Franciscos Harlem in a matter of months, in poet and former San Franciscan Maya Angelous words.

Japanese Americans returning from incarceration thus joined a thriving Black community. And it stayed that way for years. In 1950, Japanese Americans made up less than 16% of Japantowns population (although this was about two-thirds of all Japanese San Franciscans) and African Americans 34%.

The Black Emmanuel Church of God in Christ was on the same block as the Japanese Presbyterian Church. The famed jazz club Jimbos Bop City and the legendary Black promoter Charles Sullivans music shop were steps from the Nippon Pool Room and Five Star Fountain. Old institutions also regrew in this new environment: language schools, social clubs, Azumaya Tofu, Suzuki Apartments, Gosha-do Bookstore and more.

The multiracial residents (including Chinese American, Filipino and Jewish residents) gave the neighborhood a vibrant life. But wartime conditions and postwar segregation had taken their toll on the development environment. Japantowns population had increased 15% during the war, with segregation exacerbating a citywide housing shortage. White absentee landlords had subdivided already tight quarters to accommodate wartime arrivals, and the demand offered little incentive for maintenance. Further, while the 1948 Supreme Court case Shelly vs. Kraemer struck down racially restrictive housing covenants, long-held traditions of discrimination proved far more enduring. Racist violence against people of color integrating white neighborhoods discouraged out-migration through the 1950s. Philanthropist Tomoye Takahashi recalled a shot fired into her house after her family bought in the then lily-white Richmond District in 1955.

Already hemmed in by state-sanctioned racism and white supremacist violence, Japantowns third crisis arrived when city officials announced they would clean up the slum conditions of the Western Addition, whose area included most of the commercial and residential heart of Japantown. Residents were more aware than most of their neighborhoods dilapidated condition, but their long history with discrimination convinced many that the proposed redevelopment might eventually clear out all minority groups, as Progressive News and Press editor Michi Onuma predicted in 1948. Having experienced the 1942 evacuation, another Japantown newspaper, the Pacific Citizen, editorialized, residents now feel that the redevelopment plan may in actuality be a final evacuation.

That skepticism was well founded.

Despite both vigorous challenges to the redevelopment program by the community and determined efforts at preservation, 27 blocks including Japantowns and formerly housing over 6,000 people were largely demolished by the late 1950s. A second redevelopment program destroyed much of another 62 blocks with 13,000 residents over the following decades.

Even as the Japanese American population grew to almost 12,000 in San Francisco, renewal decimated their numbers in Japantown to less than 2,000 by 1970. Businesses were forced to leave or fold: Post Pool Hall, Takahashi Trading Co., Nakagawa Apartments, Kiks Smoke Shop, N.B. Department Store, Evergreen Fountain, Hori Employment Agency, Yamato Auto Repair and so many others. Hotels like the Aki and Fuji  that housed aging Japanese bachelors, worn down by a lifetime of poorly paid migrant labor and whose final work years had been swallowed by incarceration  were shuttered, leaving many of their residents to join the ranks of the unhoused.

The struggle for affordable housing is nothing new to poor San Franciscans, in Japantown or elsewhere.

Redevelopment filtered out these vulnerable people and businesses, leaving only a highly select community by the 1970s. The crown jewel of the districts first redevelopment program was the Japanese Center, a complex for Japanese goods and services conceived around connections with the booming Japanese economy. Japanese American businesses that could adapt to the Centers focus on tourism survived. Their owners joined with other property-owners, professionals and community investors to create Nihonmachi, a hard-won commercial and residential renewal project just north of the Japanese Center, which housed stable businesses, professional practices and market-rate housing.

But this success came at the expense of low-income residents and many non-touristic small proprietorships.

Japantowns transformation from ethnic community to tourist economy did not occur without struggle, among participants themselves as well as their critics. For low-income residents, vulnerable shop owners and the Japanese American activists who organized with them in the late 1960s and 1970s, this transformation carried a dreadful foreboding: a community dependent on the performance of a particularly palatable version of Japanese culture - one that could accommodate little heterogeneity and would be forever dependent on visitors dollars and expectations.

This vexing compromise, negotiated in a constricted set of options, has maintained San Franciscos Japantown as one of only three remaining Japantowns in the United States  out of what had been dozens. Its inherent vulnerability remains all-too apparent to those who know its history.

The current debate over housing revives troubling questions of how a community economy can survive, or who can live in Japantown. History does not point us in any particular direction, but community members hesitations arising from this complicated history must not be dismissed. And neither must the needs of todays unhoused San Franciscans, whose own lineage of marginalization likely has roots in the neighborhood.

Meredith Oda is the author of The Gateway to the Pacific: Japanese Americans and the Remaking of San Francisco.
The tension was almost unbearable aboard the dangerously packed cargo jet as it sat on the runway, waiting to take off. Mothers latched their crying babies to their breast, rocking them back and forth. There were young children and teenagers who were visibly terrified. No one was saying a word.

Just as the pilot finally put the plane in motion, he stopped it unexpectedly, causing many on board to fall. I watched with my family in terror as the pilot turned his head and yelled, We need a few strong men to help with securing some bolts and screws on the plane, otherwise we cant take off.

The passengers around looked at one another, fear on their faces. My mother, her voice shaking, said to my father, What if this plane crashes? We all will die.

My father replied, We dont have any other option, we either all die together at once if this plane crashes or die slowly if we stay back.

Thats how my family fled Afghanistan for Pakistan in 1995. We were on the last flight out of the city of Herat before it was overtaken by the Taliban. I was 14.

In August, I watched the scenes of chaos at Kabuls airport and was jolted back to that day in 1995, when thousands of people like myself fled our native land to avoid persecution and life under the tyranny of the Taliban.

I cried and screamed. I felt my chest tighten up. My heart started racing rapidly as my body shivered. Sweat rolled down my spine. I was experiencing my first anxiety attack.

I was reliving my earliest days as a refugee in Pakistan and the trauma of leaving ones homeland, identity, mother tongue and roots. I now know that to heal from this takes time and a lot of work

Like millions of Afghans, I too was retraumatized by the images of the Taliban taking over Kabul. Im a mental health clinician and have access to mental health care. It took me years to progress to where I am now. I worked with a therapist who was open to learn about me and my culture, and those sessions were uplifting and healing for me. Though I had a successful career, I realized I wanted to do more to help others and changed the path of my life.

Im receiving the assistance that I need but many Afghans in Afghanistan and beyond its borders dont have the access to help that I have. We must create it for them.

Decades of violence have left many Afghans experiencing deep psychological wounds, as well as physical ones, Jonathan Pedneault, conflict and crisis researcher at Human Rights Watch, said in a 2019 report. There is an urgent need for expanded psychosocial services to support Afghans exposed to violence, suicide bombings, and airstrikes, and prevent the long-term effects that can be debilitating to survivors, families, and entire communities.

As Afghan refugees now make their way anew to the United States to start new chapters in their lives, its imperative to recognize the trauma and stress that the people of Afghanistan have endured in nearly 42 years of war.

The haphazard withdrawal of the U.S and NATO, the humanitarian crisis at the Kabul airport, the displacements of tens of thousands of Afghans have exacerbated the collective mental health of an already traumatized population, one impacted by war, violence, poverty and injustice  and now by the fall of a nation and the loss of hard-earned progress and freedom.

Indeed, entire communities of Afghans who have recently been resettled in the U.S. and other countries may experience trauma symptoms. And when a whole community is traumatized, healing is very difficult. When youre surrounded by friends and family who are struggling with trauma, you are more likely to mirror those symptoms. This is common and referred to as vicarious trauma.

This type of trauma is likely to have a domino effect in the greater Afghan diaspora and eventually impact people beyond the Afghan community. A collective sense of loss and depression can stifle people from pursuing economic and education opportunities that is destructive to the entire community.

Now is the time for mental health workers to acknowledge this mass trauma and to create opportunities that will allow the vulnerable resettled Afghans to process their grief.

This requires nonprofits and organizations who provide mental health services to bring more culturally competent practitioners on board so they can help heal this trauma that eventually will impact people outside the Afghan community.

Moreover, even if youre not a mental health professional, you can play a significant role in providing support.

After four decades of war and displacement, simply letting your friends or family in the Afghan community know that you see them, and you hear them, will go a long way toward starting their healing journey. Lend a helping hand now, it will lighten the burdens of their pain for years to come.

When I reflect on my journey, I realize that acknowledging my trauma as a war refugee was my path to overcoming its symptoms. And that aha moment led me to leave my thriving Silicon Valley career in marketing to become a therapist and help others find their way through the silent pain. Today, displaced Afghans everywhere, including in the U.S., need this more than ever.

Nahid Fattahi is an Afghan American human rights activist, a mental health therapist and an adjunct faculty member at Pacific Oaks College in San Jose.
SACRAMENTO  Since California legalized assisted death more than five years ago, potentially thousands of terminally ill patients seeking the lethal medication have died before obtaining a prescription that would have allowed them to end their lives on their own terms.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation Tuesday to reduce that barrier, shortening a mandatory waiting period for the life-ending drugs during which advocates say many patients become too sick to continue the process.

SB380 by state Sen. Susan Talamantes Eggman, D-Stockton, requires patients to wait just 48 hours, rather than 15 days, between making two separate requests for the assisted death medication. It also extends the law, which was set to expire in 2026, for five additional years.

Newsom signed the bill without comment.

State lawmakers narrowly approved assisted death in 2015, with stringent rules meant to assuage concerns  raised by Catholic groups and other religious organizations, as well as advocates for disabled people and some legislators  that vulnerable patients might be coerced into ending their lives prematurely or change their minds after initially seeking a lethal prescription.

Currently, California adults seeking the lethal medication must confirm with two doctors that they have less than six months to live and are mentally capable of making their own medical decisions. They must make two spoken requests, a minimum of 15 days apart, and submit a written request, signed and dated by two witnesses, to the physician who will write them a prescription. Then they must fill out a final attestation, 48 hours before ingesting the drug, that they are doing so voluntarily.

But advocates for assisted death say there have been no documented cases of abuse with the law, while the lengthy process has likely prevented many qualified patients from accessing it.

One hospital study found that a third of patients who inquired about assisted death died before completing the process or became too ill to continue. Fewer than a quarter of the patients ultimately received the lethal prescription.

Only 2,858 state residents obtained a prescription and 1,816 died by ingesting the medication between June 2016 and the end of last year, according to state data. That means there could be thousands more who have unsuccessfully pursued assisted death.

Eggmans bill, which takes effect in 2022, also eliminates the final attestation for patients before they take the lethal medication and requires doctors who refuse to participate in the assisted death law, which is optional, to document a patients request and transfer their medical record.

Despite continuing opposition from disability rights and Catholic groups, who raised concerns that the high cost of medical care could pressure some patients into choosing death instead, the bill passed the Legislature last month with few objections  a reflection of how assisted death in California has since established itself as a widely accepted option at the end of life.

Alexei Koseff is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: alexei.koseff@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @akoseff
San Franciscos vaccine mandate for certain city workers appears to have prompted about 1,000 employees to get vaccinated during the days preceding the deadline, as many faced the risk of losing their jobs if they continued to refuse the shot.

Due to a state order, all San Francisco employees who routinely work in high-risk settings  such as hospitals, clinics and nursing homes had to be fully vaccinated by Sept. 30.

All 35,000 city employees must be vaccinated by Nov. 1, regardless of their role, in accordance with city regulations.

According to data shared with the Chronicle on Sept. 23, 2,706 city employees said they were not vaccinated and 939 had not reported their status. By Wednesday, that number dipped to 1,705 unvaccinated employees and 364 unreported.

San Franciscos vaccine mandate for city employees is one of the strictest in the country, and so far it appears to be working as intended: to coax holdouts to finally get the shot. Thats in line with trends at the state and federal level, as well as in the private sector, when such mandates have been put in place.

Data show the vaccines are extremely safe and effective at preventing severe COVID-19.

But the hundreds of employees who are still unvaccinated are beginning to face consequences after the first of several deadlines to get the shot went into effect last week.

According to the Department of Human Resources, unvaccinated employees who work in high-risk settings are starting to receive letters telling them that they can no longer do their jobs until they are vaccinated.

Those workers will be placed on paid leave until their so-called Skelly hearing, in which the employee will have a chance to refute the allegations made against them. If their appeal is denied, they will lose their jobs.

As deadlines for other city departments loom, some agencies with large numbers of unvaccinated employees are starting to warn the public of potential ramifications to city services.

On Tuesday, Municipal Transportation Agency Director Jeffrey Tumlin said about 640 employees, or about 11% of the workforce, were unvaccinated as of Sept. 30. Its unclear how many have been vaccinated since.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

If rates dont improve by Nov. 1  when all other city workers must be vaccinated  and several hundred employees would be terminated, Tumlin said riders could see significant impacts to Muni service by Halloween weekend.

That could be particularly painful timing, with San Francisco set to host the massive Outside Lands music festival at Golden Gate Park that weekend.

Meanwhile, the San Francisco Police Department is facing a similar dilemma: According to an email obtained by the Chronicle last week, so many San Francisco police officers hadnt been vaccinated that officials were preparing to shuffle jobs to ensure unvaccinated police officers dont put themselves and the public at risk.

Employees such as police officers and firefighters who intermittently or occasionally work in high-risk settings must be vaccinated by Oct. 13.

But, according to recent data, the email and looming deadline appears to have had an impact on the department: According to Sept. 23 city data, 366 employees were unvaccinated in the 2,835-member police force. About half of the unvaccinated requested religious exemptions.

As of Tuesday, the number of unvaccinated dipped to 189 employees.

Trisha Thadani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tthadani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TrishaThadani
Twenty-three tents filled the southern sidewalk of Stevenson Street on the stretch bounded by beleaguered Sixth Street on one end and the luxury shops of Fifth Streets Westfield San Francisco Centre on the other. Furniture, rugs, tarps and bicycles filled the area, and clothes hung from hangers on a chain-link fence.

The scene screamed San Francisco, though no resident could find it humane, compassionate or safe. But what to do about it and numerous encampments like it has become a huge point of contention at City Hall, in advocacy circles and in debates among regular residents alike.

The controversial Healthy Streets Operations Center did diligent work that morning of Sept. 28 on Stevenson Street, cleaning the sidewalks, helping some people to move into shelters and loudly crunching discarded items in a huge truck. But, as usual, the improvement proved short-lived.

Its clear these encampments cant be left to grow without intervention. Sam Dodge, the new head of HSOC, said theyve been the sites of fires, overdoses, sexual assaults, weapon use  and even people trapped inside homemade wooden structures with locks on the outside. Without sanitation, garbage cans or toilets, the camps become unhealthy places to live and can be beset with needles, trash and rats.

But its also clear HSOCs work to keep sidewalks clean and passable often fails to do much permanent good and that its strategy needs work. For example, Dodge said the team has visited Willow Street in the Tenderloin on 24 days throughout 2021, removed 377 tents and placed 161 people into some form of treatment or shelter. Still, parts of the alley remain filled with tents.

I asked to shadow the HSOC team  which includes staff from police, public works, public health, the homeless department and other agencies  and see its work for myself after receiving copies of emails sent by Jeff Kositsky, its former head, just before he left city government last month. Hed clearly reached a breaking point, tired of listening to others disparage his work and wanting to defend it.

Lea Suzuki / The Chronicle

In one email, sent to a variety of city officials as they drafted a response to questions about HSOC from the office of Supervisor Dean Preston, Kositsky unloaded. Prestons questions came after police arrested a homeless advocate during a sweep on Caltrans property in late July.

Kositsky said the city needs to stop apologizing for trying to hold two goals at the same time: providing services and assistance to clients while making our public spaces safe. He accused the Coalition on Homelessness of repeatedly interfering with the workers operations and even telling homeless people not to accept services and just wait it out on the streets.

He also said he suspects that 20% of the people staying in sidewalk tents are housed or have beds in shelters but opt to stay in encampments due to the fentanyl and meth crisis, implying they can access drugs more easily outside. We cannot continue spending $100/night to shelter/house folks while using resources to clean up after them on the streets, he wrote.

In a different email to Sebastian Luke, a man who lives near the often-tent-filled Willow Street, Kositsky called the incident on Caltrans property unchecked madness that makes my job virtually impossible.

I am very sad about the state of the community I have called home for 30 years, he wrote. I am referring to the quality of public discourse.

Apparently not willing to participate in public discourse himself, Kositsky did not respond to requests for comment via email before he left City Hall or on Tuesday via a text to his personal cell phone. Both Luke and the city official who shared Kositskys emails with me said they appreciated his hard work, perspective and candor.

But Jennifer Friedenbach, director of the Coalition on Homelessness, said the notion that advocates tell homeless people to refuse shelter and services is ridiculous.

Why would we do that? We fight like hell to get them services, she said. Weve been observing sweeps since (Mayor) Frank Jordan was in office, and weve never been accused of this.

She said the only time advocates interfere with HSOCs work is when it is breaking its own guidelines, such as destroying peoples belongings or citing people for not moving along quickly enough. She said advocates sometimes film the crews on their phones, which they could interpret as interfering.

The coalition plans to release a report Thursday about what it views as HSOCs failures. Friedenbach wouldnt go into detail about its contents but said the gist is that the crews move through encampments too quickly, take peoples belongings against city policy and place too few people in shelter.

She said outreach and cleaning is important, but that teams should move with more deliberation and hold deeper conversations with homeless people to ascertain what would truly help them. She said, for example, some people refuse large shelters because they suffer from mental illnesses made worse by being in crowded situations. It seems theres more agreement between city officials and advocates than either side likes to admit, and that they could accomplish more by working together.

HSOC launched in January 2018 to respond to homeless encampments and urge people living in them to move inside. But its been controversial since its inception, and especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, with federal guidelines urging cities to leave tents in place if theres nowhere for homeless people to go.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

Dodge, Kositskys replacement, said crews always notify people in tent encampments in advance of work on their blocks, only require them to move if theres a shelter space for them, and only remove belongings that are discarded or abandoned. The citys normal shelter capacity is 2,100, but its currently housing just 1,354 people in shelters and navigation centers due to the pandemic and the need for social distancing. The goal is to refill the shelters by next summer.

On my visit with HSOC to Stevenson Street, the workers seemed patient and kind. Darryl Dilworth, an assistant superintendent with Public Works, said homeless people living there could decide what to keep and what to discard  and that a tent crushed by a truck had been soiled and abandoned.

A woman walking with a cane paused over a sprawling array of items, looking stressed. Dilworth told the crews to give her all the time she needed. Just then, a woman driving a white Tesla zoomed past. Dilworth said hes even seen self-driving Waymo cars drive through alleys dotted with tents  perhaps the most San Francisco visual ever.

Down the block, Zarinah Williams, 42, sat against a wall. She said shed been homeless for years and had stayed on Stevenson for a few months. She said the HSOC workers are nice, easy people to deal with and told her she could get a bed in a navigation center that night. She said she planned to call her three children, ages 10, 12 and 18, who are staying with her aunt in the East Bay later that day.

Ill tell them I got somewhere to stay inside, and Im going to get a place so they can come visit, she said.

The block looked significantly cleaner after the crews moved through. Dodge emailed later that the team placed three people into navigation centers and five into a shelter. Seven people declined services, he said.

But on Tuesday morning, Stevenson looked miserable. A woman screamed incoherently. Two people hunched over, clutching foil used to smoke fentanyl. Needles and piles of trash dotted the street. And a line of 15 tents once again filled the sidewalk.

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Heather Knight appears Sundays and Wednesdays. Email: hknight@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @hknightsf
Donald Trump, a businessman, entertainer and former U.S. president whose personal brand has always been closely intertwined with his wealth, is no longer in the top tier of America's richest people.

At least not according to Forbes.

The former president was left off the Forbes 400 list of America's richest people for the first time in a quarter-century, the magazine reported Tuesday.

The business magazine estimates his net worth fell by about $600 million during the coronavirus pandemic as big-city properties - the core of his assets - lost value, leaving him with a $2.5 billion fortune. The 400th entry on Forbes;s list, the Arkansas-based investment banker Warren Stephens, logged a net worth of $2.9 billion by comparison.

Losing a spot on Forbes' widely followed ranking marks a turn for Trump, whose wealth made him famous long before he entered politics.

Trump's stewardship of the real estate business he inherited from has father brought him world renown as a dealmaker, setting him up for a hit television show and later paving the way for his presidency. But his exact net worth has often been the subject of speculation and controversy, in part because he refused to release his tax returns when he entered office.

Trump has previously said rankings like the Forbes 400 fail to accurately estimate his holdings. In a 2015 appearance on MSNBC's Morning Joe, Trump claimed he was worth more than $10 billion, or more than twice what Forbes had estimated. "They have no idea what I own, and it's irrelevant," he said at the time, referring to Forbes.

To his point, it can be hard to calculate net worth for individuals' whose holdings are tied up in private companies, as is the case with the Trump Organization.

Forbes' job in calculating the former president's wealth is made all the more difficult by the fractured way in which Trump's real estate empire is organized. The Trump Organization consists of hundreds of privately owned corporations whose individual valuations have been disputed.

Forbes calculated Trump's net worth by adding up the individual properties and establishing their value based on public disclosures and conversations with local real estate agents, and others who are familiar with the various real estate markets, said Dan Alexander, a senior editor at Forbes. Then they subtract any debts or related liabilities, similar to how someone might conduct a property appraisal on a house.

"We take this approach with other real estate executives as well, but Trump probably gets the most detailed look of anybody," Alexander said Tuesday in a phone interview.

Trump's decision not to divest his assets when he took office five year ago turned out to be pivotal, Alexander noted. Trump opted to hang onto his company and real estate assets, then valued at $3.5 billion, despite the potential conflicts of interest his financial entanglements would create.

Had he divested those assets and invested the money in a simple S&P 500 market-tracking index fund the day he entered the White House, and received a common ethics sign-off allowing him to avoid capital-gains taxes, he would be worth about $7 billion today, according to Forbes.

There were 24 other real estate magnates who did make the list despite pandemic-related head winds, such as the District of Columbia's Ted Lerner or California's Donald Bren.

But the top echelons of America's wealthy in 2021 made their money in the technology sector. Nine of Forbes' 10 wealthiest Americans  all except Berkshire Hathaway chairman Warren Buffett  founded or led a major tech firm.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, with an estimated net worth of $201 billion, topped the list for the fourth year in a row, Forbes said. He also owns Blue Origin, an aerospace company, and The Washington Post.

Rounding out the top five are Tesla and SpaceX chief Elon Musk ($190 billion); Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg ($134 billion); Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates ($134 billion); and Google co-founder Larry Page ($123 billion).
This article was first published on NerdWallet.com.

If youre traveling with a pet for the first time (or maybe just the first time in a year), a lot has changed. Some airlines that used to happily ship your pet in cargo will transport them no more. Your emotional support animal likely can no longer fly for free. COVID-19 upended many facets of the travel industry, and flying with pets is no exception.

We analyzed the nine largest U.S. airlines on 11 different variables to find the most pet-friendly airlines. We combed through the fine print, fees and policies of all the major airlines to find which ones charge the lowest fees, are the most flexible in terms of what pets you can bring and how well they handle pet transport.

Here are the best airlines for traveling with pets.

Our analysis

We analyzed the nine major U.S. airlines based on factors including whether pets are even allowed, the average pet fee and airline safety records to determine what airline is best for pet travel.

Here are all of the airlines we reviewed and their overall ranking:

Alaska Airlines leads the pack to edge out Hawaiian and American Airlines, which tied for second place. Frontier and Southwest are solid options for your pets, with more pet-friendly policies than Spirit, JetBlue and Delta. United is the least pet-friendly airline according to our analysis.

The best airlines for flying with pets

1. Alaska Airlines

Alaska Airlines is the best airline for traveling with a pet. It had among the lowest fees and the most flexible pet policy in terms of what types of pets you can bring.

Pet travel in the main cabin

Alaska has among the lowest pet fees for the main cabin, charging $100 each way per kennel or carrier. Since up to two pets of the same species and similar size may travel in the same carrier, thats just $50 per pet if traveling with two.

You could fly with up to four pets. The Alaska pet policy lets you bring up to two pet carriers in the main cabin, but that gets pricey, as youll have to purchase the adjacent seat too.

While many airlines restrict main cabin pets to just cats and dogs, Alaska is more flexible, allowing rabbits and household birds, too.

Like most airlines, your pet carrier also counts toward your carry-on bag allotment, so plan to check bags  or pack light.

Pet travel in cargo

Alaska will transport not just dogs, cats, birds and rabbits in checked baggage or cargo, but also ferrets, guinea pigs, hamsters, non-poisonous reptiles, pot-bellied pigs and tropical fish. Fees to transport pets as Alaska pet cargo vary by route and your pets size and start at $250.

Before your flight

If youre heading to an Alaska lounge, your pet can come too  as long as its well-behaved. The lounges, which are accessible to passengers with certain levels of elite status or people who purchase a separate membership, accept quiet service animals and pets in carry-on kennels. Some Alaska lounges are also accessible to Priority Pass members.

2. American Airlines

American Airlines charges $125 for main cabin flights for pets within North America, but we didnt think the $25 difference was significant.

Pet travel in the main cabin

The American Airlines pet policy lets you bring one kennel that fits under the seat in front of you in lieu of a carry-on bag, and you must keep your pet in the kennel the entire time.

Pet travel in cargo

American passengers have the option to transport pets as checked baggage, which can be imperative for some pet owners, especially those with animals too large to fit in the main cabin. Fees start at $200 on American.

Before your flight

And if youre heading to an Admirals Club lounge before your flight, your pet can come too, as long as it remains in its kennel.

2. Hawaiian Airlines

Hawaiian Airlines also charges $125 for main cabin flights for pets within North America.

Pet travel in the main cabin

Hawaiian accepts pets in the main cabin on almost all North American flights (no pets are allowed on New York-JFK, Boston, Orlando or Austin routes) as long as the carrier fits under the seat and it weighs less than 25 pounds with the pet inside. However, pets cannot fly first class on any North American flights on Hawaiian due to space limitations.

Keep in mind that flying to Hawaii with your pet is extra-complicated because the Hawaii Department of Agriculture requires a quarantine for all pets, which comes with its own separate costs starting at $185 per pet.

Pet travel in cargo

If your pet weighs more than the pet carry-on policy allows or you're flying in first class, your pet can travel in the belly of the plane. Fees start at $225 on Hawaiian for travel between Hawaii and North America.

Before your flight

Pets can also enter any Hawaiian Airlines lounge, as long as it remains in its carrier.

The challenges of flying with pets

Read the fine print before attempting to travel with pets on a plane.

Even with the most pet-friendly airlines, there are still many restrictions around a pets size and how free (or confined to the kennel) they can be when traveling within the main cabin. Some individual routes or aircraft have their own unique limitations beyond the standard airline pet policy. Plus, beyond fees, youll likely also incur a bunch of paperwork and phone calls before your pet can fly.

Here are a few road bumps to watch out for.

Reserve your pets spot before booking your seat

Even on the best airline for flying with pets, Alaska, its not a guarantee that your pet can fly. Thats because all airlines limit the overall number of pets allowed in the main cabin and cargo. For example, Alaskas first-class cabin can only accommodate one pet carrier per flight, and the main cabin accommodates up to five.

Youll generally need to contact the airline to reserve a space for your pet. Always call and confirm space is available before booking your own seat, as you dont want to deal with the headache of canceling should there be no room for your pet.

Emotional support animals are no longer recognized as service animals

In past years, you may have traveled with your emotional support animal for free. Thats no longer the case. These days, all pets  regardless of their emotional supportiveness  are subject to pet policies and fees on all of the major airlines we reviewed.

Thats due to a December 2020 ruling from the U.S. Department of Transportation that eliminated a requirement that airlines allow emotional support animals free of charge. By early 2021, all of the major airlines announced that they would no longer recognize emotional support animal air travel.

Certified service animals are still permitted at no additional cost under the Air Carrier Access Act.

Fewer airlines will transport your pets in cargo or checked baggage

Of the major U.S. airlines, only Alaska, American and Hawaiian  our top three best airlines for traveling with pets  will transport pets in checked baggage and/or cargo.

Prior to the pandemic, both Delta Air Lines and United Airlines also offered pet cargo shipping but rolled back the service due to challenges like changing schedules and staffing shortages. Delta paused service on April 1, 2020, and an airline spokesperson told NerdWallet that the airline couldnt provide more details on whether cargo pet services would return.

United suspended its pet cargo services on April 12, 2020, and also has yet to resume it.

Other major airlines, including Southwest Airlines and Spirit Airlines, never accepted pets in cargo  pandemic or not.

Other reasons airlines might not let your pet fly

Flying, even on our highly ranked airlines, can be annoyingly uncertain. Other reasons airlines may not let your pet fly include:

Its the holiday season: Some airlines dont accept pets in the baggage or cargo compartments during the holidays. On Alaska, pets arent accepted in baggage or cargo for the entire period from Nov. 15 to Jan. 10.

Your pet is a certain breed: Most airlines will not transport brachycephalic or "short-nosed" dogs and cats in cargo, though they might still be allowed in carry-on.

Veterinary experts say that short-nosed animals commonly have abnormalities that can compromise their breathing, according to Alaska. Stress associated with flight can make those conditions worse.

If youre flying with one of those breeds, which includes pit bulls, Boston terriers and many types of bulldogs and pugs, check the airlines specific policy.

You dont have proper paperwork: Most airlines require a valid health certificate issued by your vet, certifying that your pet is fit to fly. Most airlines also require proper vaccines.

Your pet isnt behaving: Most airlines will deny boarding to misbehaving pets. The definition of a poorly behaved pet can be subjective, but most airlines outline growling, excessive whining or barking, or urinating or defecating in the cabin or gate area as reasons.

Even if your pet is an angel at home, dont assume it will behave the same way at an airport. Have a backup plan if theres any chance your pet will be unpredictable on a plane.

If youre considering flying with pets

Animal air travel is far from a walk in the park. Often, the fee to store your pet under the seat in front of you (while sacrificing your own precious legroom) is pricier than your own airfare. Before arriving at the airport, expect paperwork to sign and phone calls to make. Upon arrival, theres a chance youll be denied boarding if the gate agent hears or sees any disruptive behavior.

If you must fly with a pet, but the restrictions feel burdensome, consider skipping the commercial aircraft entirely. Many private and semi-private jets allow pets to roam freely, wont clamp down on breeds or sizes, and wont make you wrestle your way through security with a pet in tow. While expensive, its not like flying on a commercial aircraft with a pet is cheap anyway.

When it comes to air travel with pets, you dont exactly have your pick of the litter. Alaska was the best of the bunch, but even animal travel on Alaska has limitations. Know what youre getting into before planning a flight with a pet. And accept that sometimes a road trip (or even a private jet) might be better.

Sally French writes for NerdWallet. Email: sfrench@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @SAFmedia.

The article The Best Airlines for Traveling With Your Pet originally appeared on NerdWallet.
Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE

Bay Area health care giant Kaiser Permanente is placing thousands of unvaccinated workers nationwide on leave as it ramps up its internal COVID-19 vaccination efforts.

The company, headquartered in Oakland, initially announced a vaccine mandate for its workers and physicians in August  and within two months, the vaccination rate companywide increased by 14%, from 78% to 92%, Kaiser Permanente said.
LOS ANGELES - California lawmakers demanded a stop to oil drilling off their state's coast Tuesday as outrage grew over an enormous oil spill, as new questions and details emerged about the source and reporting of the leak.

With as many as 144,000 gallons of oil continuing to spread through the waters off Orange County, legislators said they would push to block any new federal drilling leases in the Pacific Ocean along the West Coast. A moratorium on new leases in California's state waters - which extend three miles from shore - has been in place since a massive 1969 oil spill off Santa Barbara.

"The majority of Californians oppose offshore drilling and with aging infrastructure, we're likely to see more oil spills in the future if we don't make a change now," California Democratic Reps. Ted Lieu and Julia Brownley said in a statement. "It's time to put an end to offshore drilling in California. Our environment and our communities depend on it."

Legislation by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., to ban new federal oil leases off the entire West Coast could be wrapped into the mammoth budget bill Democrats are fighting over on Capitol Hill. State lawmakers said they would be pushing Gov. Gavin Newsom, D, who declared a state of emergency in the area Monday night, to take additional action where possible. Newsom planned to visit the site of the spill for later Tuesday.

But the spill from Amplify Energy's oil platform also underscored the limits to what elected officials can do to halt offshore drilling. Around two dozen drilling sites are leased off the coast of California, and they can keep operating in perpetuity even if no new leases are approved, according to environmental groups.

For years, the visible drilling rigs, pumps and refineries that line portions of the Southern California coastline have stood in strange contrast to the palm trees and surf culture for which the area is known.

"You're not going to completely eliminate the threat of leaks in pipelines around existing operations until existing operations cease," said Damon Nagami, senior attorney and director of Southern California ecosystems project for the Natural Resources Defense Council, an advocacy group. "So that's our long-term goal. How to get there is a different question."

On the shores on and around Huntington Beach, impacts of the spill continued to spread Tuesday. The City of Huntington Beach announced that the first oiled birds were being rescued and stabilized at the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center. Miles of beaches remained closed to the public, as did fisheries. Boats were blocked from entering or exiting the harbors at Dana Point and Newport Beach, the largest recreational harbor in Southern California. On shore, crews remained at work scooping up globs of oil from the sand.

"What I'm seeing outside my window right now is so costly to our environment and to our economy," said Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris, D-Laguna Beach, whose district includes Huntington Beach, in a phone interview. "I hope this terrible disaster does not just end up in the history books but leads to real change."

Coast Guard and Amplify Energy officials said at a news conference Tuesday that divers, along with a remote operating vehicle, had identified the likely source of the spill: a 13-inch split in a portion of pipeline around four-and-a-half miles offshore that had been displaced 105 feet from where it was supposed to be.

"The pipeline has essentially been pulled like a bowstring," said Martyn Willsher, chief executive of Amplify Energy. "It is a 16-inch steel pipeline; it is a half-inch thick and covered by concrete. For it to be displaced 105 feet is not common."

Willsher, along with state and federal officials, had previously identified a ship's anchor as a likely cause of the split. But on Tuesday, officials declined to speculate further amid the ongoing investigation.

Questions on when the spill was detected emerged after the Los Angeles Times reported, based on state documents, that officials with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife were aware of a possible spill Friday night. But even though residents began reporting suspicious smells, the spill was not officially reported or made public until Saturday morning.

Willsher reiterated Tuesday that his company was not aware of the leak until Saturday morning and responded within a half-hour.

In a joint statement Tuesday, the U.S. Coast Guard, California Department of Fish and Wildlife and Amplify Energy said the National Response Center "received a report of an unknown sheen of unknown source on Friday evening."

"These types of reports are common and in many cases, the sheen reported can be natural seepage of oil or sheen that is never located," the statement said, adding that early Saturday morning satellite imagery from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration showed "a possible oil anomaly."

Crews from Fish and Wildlife's Office of Spill Prevention and Response investigated before sunrise but conditions were foggy and the crew returned to shore, officials said. Once the fog lifted, they added, personnel from the Coast Guard and the Orange County sheriff's office deployed to investigate.

"On Saturday morning, the company confirmed a release of oil from a pipeline," the statement said.

Officials were pressed repeatedly Tuesday to clarify exactly who knew or was notified about the sheen Friday night, and why action was not taken more quickly. Coast Guard Capt. Rebecca Ore, a leader of the response, insisted that the agency followed all its normal procedures and did little to elaborate beyond the joint statement.

A federal criminal investigation is underway, and the Orange County district attorney has also threatened to bring charges if possible.

Pressed on exactly what his company knew about the timeline, Willsher said, "We will turn over all the information to the investigative authorities."

Lieu said in a statement that he intended to press officials about how a delay in reporting might have occurred.

"It is distressing that there may have been a delay in reporting the oil spill to the public," he said. "Every hour an oil spill goes unnoticed or unreported translates to that much more oil spilling into our oceans, killing wildlife and destroying habitats."

"Once again we are seeing a horrifying disaster unfolding off our coast with the heartbreaking images of blackened beaches and wetlands, oil slicked birds and fish floating in a sheen of oil," said California Coastal Commission Chair Steve Padilla. "Sadly, the images of these kinds of environmental tragedies will continue until we get drilling and oil production out of the ocean."

- - -

The Washington Post's Scott Wilson contributed to this report.
Early on in the pandemic, uncertainty was a word largely used to describe the health crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted life as we knew it.

This uncertainty, along with many other factors, have contributed to what some experts call COVID fatigue.

In this week's Midland County Board of Commissioners meeting, members of the public attended to provide comments on current issues relating to the pandemic. The main concerns were mask mandates in schools, contact tracing and the constitutionality of particular procedures.

After hearing three members of the public discuss COVID-19, Midland County Board of Commissioners acknowledged, thanked the community members and shared their own remarks on the pandemic.

District 3 Commissioner Steve Glaser said Midland County is ready to move on from mask-wearing as a COVID-19 precaution.

Families, parents and folks who are representing their children, my heart goes out to you, he said. I certainly support your position. I think a lot of people are dealing with fear, stress and uncertainty. I try to have the proper mindset that people are acting out of goodwill and for the best interests of their constituents that you're dealing with. But I do believe we're at a point where we need to move on in terms of masks. I think the data supports that children are the least susceptible toward death, they're least likely to carry and transmit disease and certainly they're the least likely candidates for vaccines. So we hear you.

Regarding the above quote, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, children and adolescents can spread COVID to others when they do not have symptoms or have mild, non-specific symptoms and thus might not know that they are infected and infectious. It is true that children are less likely to develop severe illness or die from COVID-19.

Back to this week's commissioners meeting, Glaser continued: And, we're trying to cut the grass in our backyard - what we're responsible for and, the school board has responsibility and accountability for their domain, Glaser continued. We try to stay out of the business and poking each other in the eye. So, thank you for coming here.

Glaser represents Greendale, Homer, Jasper, Lee and Porter townships in District 3.

During public comment, Midland resident Melissa Buczec said she attended the meeting to discuss the mask mandates in Midland Public Schools. She said her goal was to communicate that shes a peaceful parent advocate for a group that does not support mask mandates in schools.

Buczec said she has not been able to communicate with leaders, including officials with the health department, about pandemic measures taken in Midland County. She also noted that she doesnt believe some measures in place are directly related to health concerns  but are done rather to appease some parents.

I voiced my concerns about surrendering my medical and parental rights with the school board, the superintendent, the principal and my childrens teachers  as have others  yet, were being dismissed as a large growing group of concerned parents

The CDC, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services support universal masking in K-12 schools.

Since school began this year, Midland County Health Officer Fred Yanoski said forms of a mask mandate have been adopted by Midland area schools due to virus transmission.

We certainly applaud the schools that have done that because we're starting to see some data that supports that masks do have a positive impact on transmission in schools, Yanoski said. It is not a mandate from the health department. Those schools have mandated that internally within their district, but it is a recommendation of public health (entities) from the beginning that K-12 universal masking  from the CDC on down  was recommended for the schools.

Midland County is currently designated as having a high COVID transmission rate.

Midland, along with a majority of counties across the United States, has a high level of community transmission with 100 or more cases per 100,000 in a seven-day period.

Yanoski said right now, the health department is encouraging mask use regardless of vaccination status in crowded indoor and outdoor spaces  as the CDC recommends.

As a part of a recommendation, compliance is strongly encouraged not enforced. In a mostly maskless room, Commissioner Gaye Terwillegar was the only commissioner, and one of two people in the entire room, wearing a mask. She said she was recovering from a cold she got from her grandchildren.

At any rate, I look forward to having our (COVID-19) numbers go down to help the schools  its a concern, so thank you for coming to talk to us, she said to those in attendance.

With the current transmission rate, Yanoski said its important to have recommended precautions.

We understand that everyone is tired of COVID and tired of wearing a mask, and I'll be as happy as anyone when we lift some recommendations, he said. However  currently, the transmission rates are so high.

He also noted the health department is following recommendations from federal entities with more resources, such as the CDC.

Yanoski said the health department regularly updates the board of commissioners on where Midland County stands in terms of the pandemic. And he said a formal update is provided monthly.

Commissioners also used their opportunities to comment on the Employee Appreciation award ceremony. Commissioners thanked the Midland County employees who were recognized for their recent work and efforts during the pandemic.

Midland County added 117 new COVID-19 cases between Tuesday, Oct. 5, and Wednesday, Oct. 6. For a full update on the regions COVID-19 status, click here.

Related content:

Midland County employees recognized for work throughout pandemic
As an avid hiker and a perpetual novelty seeker, setting foot on a new trail always gives me a rush. As far as I know, Ive hiked every trail in San Francisco as well as many trails in the East Bay, Marin and on the Peninsula. But Im always looking for something new. One weekend while browsing AllTrails.com, I came across an intriguing listing for the Landfill Loop in Richmond. With a name like that, I knew I needed to check it out.

The 2.8-mile route circles the 180-acre,158-foot-tall Republic Services landfill known as Garbage Mountain. It has been open since 2011 and is part of the San Francisco Bay Trail. It was created to provide public access to the shoreline of San Pablo Bay, close a gap in the Bay Trail and provide public access as part of the landfills closure plan.

Despite the off-putting name, I could see by glancing at a map that the start and end of the trail would run along the Wildcat and San Pablo Creek marshes, respectively, and that the middle of the trail would face San Pablo Bay. On a recent Sunday, I headed out to hike to see it for myself, bringing my mom along for the adventure. As I got closer to the start, I noticed the area was very industrial and I didnt see traces of nature ... anywhere. The trail parking lot looked like a business lot, and workers were eating on their lunch break. But a colorful Wildcat Marsh & Landfill Loop Trail sign and trail guide dispenser assured me I was in the right place, so we walked up to a fence at the back of the lot, opened the gate and started our stroll.

Alexandra Kenin

Upon entering the trail, you quickly pass a Republic Services power station, which transforms methane produced from the landfill into renewable energy, and a transfer station where waste is sorted and transferred to other active landfill facilities. In the distance, plumes of condensed water vapor rise before you from Chevron refinery cooling towers. On your right is Garbage Mountain. Not quite living up to its title, there is no trash in sight, but the hill does indeed have a trashy past. It was an active landfill between 1953 and 2006, and hazardous waste  pesticides, paint and other industrial waste  was dumped here between 1960 and 1985. It seemed incongruous to have a mountain of waste alongside marshes where wildlife lives, but informational signage assured me that a thick layer of bay mud prevents waste from leaking into the water below. The dirt and grass atop Garbage Mountain is just the final cap on a series of layers of topsoil, gravel, plastic and compacted clay keeping anything noxious from escaping the top.

Liquids called leachate that collect at the base of the landfill stay above the protective mud layer and are collected and treated at an on-site treatment facility before being discharged to the neighboring West County Wastewater District. Harmful gases such as methane and carbon dioxide that are produced as waste decomposes are not freely released into the atmosphere but instead transferred to an on-site power station for abatement. About 40% of the electricity produced is used to power on-site equipment. Then, the remaining 60% is delivered to PG&Es power grid to bring electricity for local homes. The landfill plans to continue producing energy as long as waste materials (including methane and compost) are available, said Ed Baquerizo, environmental compliance manager at Republic Services

Doug Donaldson

As you continue on the first mile of the trail toward San Pablo Bay, you hear the low crackling of electrical towers on the adjacent property and pass a 40-acre retention pond. While dry and empty during my visit, this pond fills up with rainwater  as well as ducks and wading birds  during the winter months.

As we arrived at the 0.3 mile section along the San Pablo Bay, we found ourselves close to the water with serene views of Mount Tamalpais. There was a turnoff for an upper trail for some higher-up views, but we decided to stay waterside, where we spied a few pelicans fishing for lunch some 30 feet away. The area was peaceful, smelling not of garbage as a few AllTrails reviews warned, but of fennel, and we spotted just one other person on the trail.

We then arrived in the northwest corner of the park, the viewshed, where we took in a panorama that included China Camp State Park, Mount Burdell and Point Pinole. There was also a picnic area to enjoy the views.

We strolled the north side of the park for 1.18 miles to reach San Pablo Creek Marsh, where we saw some gulls resting in the water. And finally, we rounded a corner to continue the final 0.32 miles back to the start.

East Bay Regional Park District

Is this the most scenic hike in the Bay Area? Probably not, but I found the coexistence of nature and industry here very compelling. Just outside the trail, 89 solar panels owned by the West County Wastewater District provide electrical power to run the companys equipment. The treated water is sent to the Chevron Refinery and to irrigate the Richmond Country Club. Its an industrial- and green-energy ecosystem that somehow all seems to work.

After the initial industrial views, the hike was serene  especially after the first mile. If you stopped for a moment on the trail and closed your eyes, you could listen to water lapping up against the shore, hear the shorebirds call and have this piece of the Bay Area all to yourself.

Alexandra Kenin runs a hiking tour company called Urban Hiker SF and has authored two hiking guidebooks for the Bay Area: "Urban Trails San Francisco" and "Urban Trails: East Bay." Find her on instagram at @urbanhikersf and email her at alexandra@urbanhikersf.com.
Chasing Paper

Giving the "Bay Area Toile" a run for its money as the best local wallpaper ever, Yelp has released a new San Francisco-themed wallpaper on Wednesday. It features sketches of 12 beloved San Francisco institutions, including House of Prime Rib, Green Apple Books, Liholiho Yacht Club, Oasis bar, and more.

The Yelp wallpaper is in collaboration with Chasing Paper, which also designed wallpaper highlighting iconic businesses in New York and Austin. A portion of sales made from each design will also go towards non-profit organizations that help small businesses in their designated cities. Here, La Cocina Municipal Marketplace will benefit from sales from the San Francisco-themed wallpaper.
Liz Boeder may have the teeniest art gallery in all of San Francisco.

Perched on the corner of New Montgomery and Market streets, Boeder sells her artworks, ranging from original watercolors to classical realist oil paintings and even hand-drawn notebooks, from an old JCDecaux newspaper kiosk.

More for you Bay Area fall concerts and festivals calendar

Here, before the decline of print journalism, paper boys could sell their wares, ranging from newspapers and magazines to gum and cigarettes. Back then, sellers hawked one daily newspaper in the morning (that would be the San Francisco Chronicle) and one in the afternoon (the San Francisco Examiner). (SFGATE and the San Francisco Chronicle are both owned by Hearst but operate independently of one another.)

Back then, the Chronicle and the Examiner were different corporations but they had a joint venture for the distribution of the newspaper, said Francois Nion, the executive vice president of JCDecaux. That was fun. That was good.

In the mid-2000s, when digital journalism began overtaking its print predecessor, the JCDecaux kiosks fell into disuse. About a decade ago, JCDecaux (you may recognize the name from its many public restrooms around the city) started what it calls micro-activations, in which people can rent the old, foldout kiosks to do pretty much whatever theyd like.

Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE

The program, a joint venture between JC Decaux and San Francisco, is completely free. Yes, you read that right. This might be the best  and only  rent deal in all the city.

The themes of the kiosks run the gamut. Some people sell handcrafted jewelry and artworks, others rent the spaces to create mini museums or art installations.

The only catch: The kiosk must be connected to the city in some way, whether its themed as such or the renter lives here.

It's pretty cool the city allows us to make that space available and people can benefit, Nion said. The question, he continued, is How to make the public space more relevant, more in sync with its surroundings?

Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE

We could have talked to corporations, of course, but thats not the spirit of what we do, he said. The concept is to [showcase] local artists and nonprofits who need the space because they cannot afford another store.

JCDecaux has about 60 kiosks scattered around the city, Nion said. Fewer than 10 are in use. Some sell magazines and used books, others take a more creative approach and craft installations about the area where the kiosk resides.

How do you secure a kiosk of your own? Simply reach out to JCDecaux, which will hand you a map and set you up (if they think youre right for the program).

Boeder connected with JCDecaux through the San Francisco Arts Commission. She filled out an application through JC Decaux, and months later, in a process slightly delayed by COVID-19, she was set up with her own space, called the Liz Boeder Gallery. Shes open for business most Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.

Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE

Though foot traffic downtown can be minimal, especially as people continue to work from home, Boeder said shes been shocked by the success of the business, which she opened in June of this year.

Whenever I'm there people respond really well, she said. And many even purchase her artworks. Her hand-drawn journals have been an especially big hit. But whats most surprising is that folks on their lunch break or passing through will stop to take a look and sometimes leave with a full-blown oil painting, created by Boeder herself.

The best part of all this? Ive met amazing people and had amazing conversations, she said.

It's an extraordinary and beautiful way to meet other humans in this time after isolation, she continued. Its a welcome way to be able to reintegrate back into humanity.
There's always fear around becoming the victim of crime. We worry for our physical safety, and we worry for the safety of those nearest and dearest to us. It's a primal fear firmly rooted in the lizard brain depths of every human who's ever lived.

But as much as we fear the thought of physical harm coming to us or those we love in the form of an assault or robbery, there's a new fear that's become almost as horrifying and debilitating: What if someone steals my identity and literally ruins me digitally?

In 2020, the Federal Trade Commission reported more than 2.1 million Americans were impacted by identity theft and fraud, a crime that cost those victims more than $3.3 billion. And that doesn't even factor in the countless hours spent tackling the aftermath of such an attack as well as the emotional turmoil caused by that massive violation.

Considering the incalculable overall damage that can be done to you, your family, and your sensitive information, doesn't it make sense to add identity theft protection?

Just in case you're still on the fence, here are 5 major reasons everyone needs staunch data protection online.

1. To monitor your credit report

If you're going to fall prey to compromised data and cybercrime, your credit report is often one of the first indications that something has gone terribly wrong. Lines of credit in your name for car loans, mortgages, and personal loans that you didn't sign up for can hit your credit report like a freight train. Of course, if you aren't monitoring that critical financial snapshot regularly, you may not realize you've been victimized until days, weeks, or even months after the fact.

With proper identity theft coverage, your protection service can keep an unblinking eye on your credit files at all times, ready to give members a heads up at the sign of any unusual activity.

2. To alert you to problems

Of course, a credit report isn't the only place where your personal information can be used and abused by criminals. If an identity thief steals your Social Security number, they can open bank accounts and run up debts in your name. If they use your SSN to get employed, the taxes that person accrues on their wages could end up in a big IRS bill for you.

Top-notch identity theft protection will send you near real-time alerts when your data is used on applications or to open online accounts, so you'll quickly know if your information has been compromised.

3. To help recover any losses

In the event that your data was used and money was stolen, you aren't just interested in protection anymore. You're also interested in recovering and fixing that damage. Many identity theft protection services will offer up to $1 million in insurance to help cover losses and fees incurred if you become the victim of identity theft.

4. To protect the children and seniors you love

Your 5-year-old doesn't have a credit report. Or at least, they shouldn't. Unfortunately, all a crook needs to do is steal a child's Social Security Number to start establishing accounts, opening lines of credit, and start running up bills in their name, putting the victim behind the financial 8-ball before they're old enough to even know what money is.

On the other end of the spectrum, seniors are often especially vulnerable to scams that can expose their sensitive data. Whether it's phishing schemes in their email or just an old-fashioned scammer calling on the phone, seniors are not only more susceptible to falling into a cybercrook's clutches, but it can often take longer to spot that trouble once it's happened.

Several of the top identity theft protection outfits offer family plans to extend protection over yourself as well as those closest to you.

5. To protect you from yourself

If we're being honest, the biggest vulnerability in your data protection shield could well be you. That starts with basics like not establishing staunch passwords attached to all of your accounts. "12345", "qwerty" or the ever-popular "password" are practically open doors for an enterprising cybercriminal to crack your accounts and start draining your resources.

It also extends to those without proper home data security defenses, including adequate home network firewalls as well as using a virtual private network (VPN) to encrypt and safeguard your activities on the web.

A service like Aura Identity Theft Protection can help protect you from all of those pitfalls  even if that pitfall is you. Their all-in-one protection covers all of those potential trouble spots, shielding your identity, finances, home, and devices.

Trusted by over 1 million customers, Aura is the umbrella that helps protect your sensitive information online. It monitors your credit files reports for potential signs of odd activity. It keeps an eye on your Social Security Number and other sensitive data to stave off bank fraud, unauthorized wire transfers, and more. They're also watching to see if any of your personal accounts, passwords, or other identifying data have been compromised around the web.

In the event any of your information is spotted in any of those arenas, Aura will alert you immediately so you can take steps to stop the activity. They also offer $1 million* in identity theft insurance to help recoup losses if you ever become a victim. Aura also has a U.S.-based customer support team available 24/7/365, an experienced crew of operatives with an average of 7 years on the beat resolving more than 150,000 fraud cases.

Thanks to their simple transparent pricing structure, you can secure Aura protection in a matter of minutes at a simple fee, ranging from $7 to $20 a month. And, you can secure up to 50 percent off that price with this offer from Aura right now.

Prices subject to change

* Identity Theft Insurance underwritten by insurance company subsidiaries or affiliates of American International Group Inc. or Assurant. The description herein is a summary and intended for informational purposes only and does not include all terms conditions and exclusions of the policies described. Please refer to the actual policies for terms conditions and exclusions of coverage. Coverage may not be available in all jurisdictions.
To the Editor:

Having served on Sheltons Board of Education and Board of Apportionment & Taxation, I am very familiar with the tremendous cost of providing school buses for students. Bus services contracted by former Shelton Board of Education members were expensive, and all vendors had problems meeting BoE scheduled runs.

The current bus driver shortage is not only in Connecticut but, in fact, nationwide. The Massachusetts Governor deployed 90 National Guard members to be school bus drivers; Hamden and other municipalities were forced recently to cancel routes.

Shelton is constantly recruiting bus drivers and adding a driver does not happen overnight. The approval process includes vetting, drug testing, fingerprinting, and passing a background check. To secure the special CDL required, a training program must be completed and Connecticut safety and driving tests must be passed. Appointments for safety and driving tests are not always available, further extending the licensing process.

Mr. Gidwani has falsely bashed and demonized the Mayor and Shelton Student Transportation Service (SSTS) in the press and on social media. If he had conducted a proper review beforehand, he would have learned that SSTS is not an incompetent, unorganized or poorly managed organization:

1. During FYs 2019-20, 2020-21, and the current year, the City saved $1.6 million/year compared to the previous vendors contract by taking over the management of school buses.

2. Shelton drivers receive comparable rates to what other vendors pay and will be voting on a new contract soon.

3. During January 2021 to June 2021, there were 6,413 scheduled bus runs; only 26 runs were missed during that time.

4. No bus runs were missed during May-June, 2021.

5. SSTS completed 99.59 percent scheduled runs during January-June, 2021.

6. Shelton schools never closed due to a lack of drivers. If Shelton schools were open, SSTS buses were rolling.

I find Mr. Gidwanis mischaracterization of the bus driver situation a clear indicator of his true character or lack thereof  and he needs to issue a public apology to the Mayor, SSTS and the bus drivers for his false accusations. Based on his inaccurate reporting of the bus situation, I wonder if his other public criticisms about the citys administration, departments, boards, commissions, police and crime are also flawed or flat out made up.

I am voting Row B on Nov. 2, 2021 for Mayor Mark Lauretti and his team for a fiscally stable city with low taxes, balanced economic growth, responsible spending, and a transparent government  and I urge you to join me in doing the same.

Eugene Kierce

Shelton
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Connecticut employers must disclose wage ranges to applicants and employees for vacant positions, as the state's new law aimed at eliminating gender-based pay discrimination"An Act Concerning the Disclosure of Salary Range for a Vacant Position"took effect Oct. 1. Here's what employers need to know about this new legal obligation.



The Basics



This law, which is an extension of Connecticut's existing pay equity laws, expands the prohibition on sex-based pay discrimination from "equal" work to "comparable" work. "Comparable" work will be viewed as a composite of "skill, effort and responsibility" when performed "under similar working conditions." This subtle yet significant shift could open the door to increased liability for employers.

What's Now Prohibited?

Under this law, employers cannot:

Fail or refuse to provide an applicant for employment the wage range for a position for which the applicant is applying, upon the earliest of (A) the applicant's request, or (B) prior to or at the time the applicant is made an offer of compensation.



Fail or refuse to provide an employee the wage range for the employee's position upon (A) the hiring of the employee, (B) a change in the employee's position with the employer, or (C) the employee's first request for a wage range.

The law defines "wage range" as "the range of wages an employer anticipates relying on when setting wages for a position, and may include reference to any applicable pay scale, previously determined range of wages for the position, actual range of wages for those employees currently holding comparable positions or the employer's budgeted amount for the position."

While there are currently no regulations or court decisions to help clarify the limits of this law, employers are advised to take a reasonably conservative approach in complying with this new law.

Who Is Covered?

Under this new law, the provisions apply to employees who work in a Connecticut office, work from home in Connecticut, or live in Connecticut and report to an office outside of the state. Additionally, employers should be prepared to proactively provide wage ranges for vacant roles to applicants and employees even if the applicant or employee does not request that information.

What Should You Do?

Employers should take steps to determine appropriate wage ranges for each position and be prepared to disclose the ranges upon request by employees or applicants, or proactively. You will want to work with your hiring teams to adjust your policies and practices to ensure compliance with the law. This could also serve as a reminder that it could be to your benefit to conduct an attorney-client privileged pay audit at your organization sooner rather than later.

Jeffrey A. Fritz is an attorney with Fisher Phillips in Boston. Setareh Ebrahimian is an attorney with Fisher Phillips in Washington, D.C.  2021 Fisher Phillips. All rights reserved. Reposted with permission.
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Effective Aug. 28, Missouri employers with at least 20 employees in the state must provide unpaid leave for employees who are victims of domestic or sexual violenceas defined by state statuteor have family or household members who are victims of such violence. Covered employers must also notify current employees of their right to leave under the law by Oct. 27 or upon commencement of employment for future employees.

The new lawtitled the Victims Economic Safety and Security Act (VESSA)provides employees with protected leave time to: seek abuse-related medical attention and counseling, or recover from abuse-related injuries (physical or psychological); obtain services from a victim services organization; participate in safety planning; temporarily or permanently relocate to a safer living space, or take other actions to increase the safety of the employee (or family or household member); and/or pursue legal remedies to ensure the health and safety of the employee (or family or household member), including preparing for civil and criminal actions resulting from the violence. Of note, not only may employees take VESSA leave relating to their own experience with domestic or sexual violence, they may also take leave to deal with such abuse suffered by a "family or household member," including individuals who reside in the same household as the employee, immediate family members by blood or marriage, and people who "share a relationship through a son or daughter."

Similar to the FMLA and other protected leave frameworks, an employee who takes VESSA leave must be returned to the same or other equivalent position upon their return to work, and the employer may not deprive them of any employment benefits they had before the leave. Unique to VESSA, the amount of leave available will vary depending on the employer's number of employees. Specifically:

1-19 employees = no leave entitlement.

20-49 employees = 1 week unpaid leave per year.

50 or more employees = 2 weeks unpaid leave per year.

The employee's VESSA leave need not be used on consecutive days, but the employee is required to give the employer at least 48-hour notice of anticipated leave usage. If prior notice is not practicable under the circumstances, the employee may provide a certification that the unscheduled absence was VESSA-related within a "reasonable period" after the absence, though "reasonable period" is not defined in the statute. Employers may require employee certification of the reason for leave in either situation and may request periodic updates from the employee regarding their expected return date. Types of permissible employee certification are outlined in the statute.

In addition to leave, employers must provide reasonable safety accommodations to employees affected by domestic or sexual violence to the employee (or their family or household member) so long as the accommodation does not pose an undue hardship on the employer's operations. The statute provides that reasonable safety accommodations include actions such as adjustment to a job structure, work facility, or work requirementfor example, transfer, reassignment, modified schedule, leave, a changed telephone number or seating assignment, installation of a lock, implementation of a safety procedure, or assistance in documenting actual or threatened domestic violence that occurs in the workplace or work-related settings. In determining whether a safety accommodation is reasonable, employers may consider any exigent circumstances or danger facing the employee or the worker's family or household member. Employers may require employees who request safety accommodations to provide a written statementsigned by the employee or an individual acting on the employee's behalfcertifying that the accommodation is for an authorized purpose.

Finally, as noted above, covered employers must notify all current employees of their rights under the law on or before Oct. 27 or upon commencement of employment for future employees. The new law does not contain a penalty for failure to comply with the notice requirement, but compliance is relatively straightforward to achieve and may be provided to employees electronically. The Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations has also published a poster that must be posted in common areas along with other required employee notices.

Employers should take action to implement VESSA-related leave and accommodations policies, and prepare to meet the notice requirement on or before Oct. 27. In addition, employers should educate and train supervisors on identifying situations that may trigger an obligation to provide VESSA leave or accommodations to employees.

Jennifer Chierek Znosko is an attorney with Littler in St. Louis. Whitney L. Fay is an attorney with Littler in Kansas City, Mo.  2021 Littler. All rights reserved. Reposted with permission.
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Florida employers should be prepared to comply with important changes to the state minimum wage and the requirement to report the use of independent contractors.

Minimum Wage Increase

Florida's hourly minimum wage rate (currently $8.56) will increase to $10.00 on Sept. 30. The minimum wage then will increase by $1.00 each year until it reaches $15.00 an hour in 2026.

The minimum wage rate applies to all public- and private-sector employers, regardless of size or number of employees.

This increase was the result of Amendment 2, passed on Nov. 3, 2020, by over 60 percent of Florida voters, amending Florida's Constitution.

Florida employers may continue to take a tip credit of up to $3.02 per hour for properly classified tipped employees meeting the eligibility requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act, as Amendment 2 did not change the allowable tip credit. Thus, the minimum cash wage rate for eligible tipped employees will increase to $6.98 per hour on Sept. 30.

Updated Florida Minimum Wage Posters are available from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity's website.

Report Independent Contractors



A new law, which takes effect on Oct. 1, requires Florida employers to report newly retained independent contractors in the same manner as new employees to the Florida Department of Revenue's State Directory of New Hires. This requirement was a component of Senate Bill 1532, which updated state family law. The goal of the new reporting requirement is to increase child support collections.

The law requires a service recipient to report to the Florida Department of Revenue's State Directory of New Hires any newly engaged non-employee to whom the service recipient pays more than $600 in a calendar year for services performed by the individual in the course of the service recipient's trade or business. Previously, the law required only that employers report newly hired employees to the State Directory of New Hires, while reporting independent contractors was optional.

To comply with the law, employers must report:

The independent contractor's name; address; Social Security number (or other identifying number assigned under Section 6109 of the Internal Revenue Code).

The date services for payment were first performed by the individual.

The name, address and employer identification number of the service recipient.

The information may be submitted on the same Florida New Hire Reporting Center website as is used for employees. This information must be submitted within 20 days after the first payment to the independent contractor or on the date the business and independent contractor entered into the contract, whichever is earlier.

Employers should consider updating their onboarding procedures and reporting schedules to ensure compliance with this reporting requirement. While there is no indication in the law that the Florida Department of Revenue will use this information for auditing purposes or share it with other agencies, this would also be a good time for employers to review worker classifications to ensure independent contractors are properly classified.

Joanne Braddock Lambert and Justin S. Swartz are attorneys with Jackson Lewis in Orlando.  2021 Jackson Lewis. All rights reserved. Reposted with permission.
The second definition championed by India and Japan includes the Eastern African seaboard as an inalienable part of the Indo-Pacific construct. In fact, in 2016, Japan launched its Indo-Pacific strategy, known as "Free and Open Indo-Pacific", in Nairobi in Kenya. In 2018, when India outlined its vision for the region, Eastern and Southern African littoral was included as part of the Indo-Pacific.

For India, Kenya being a littoral state and a maritime neighbour located on the Eastern African seaboard, it is important to understand its approach towards the Indo-Pacific. Three recent developments help us to comprehend Kenya's view of the Indo-Pacific: the remarks by Kenya's Chief Administrative Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Ababu Namwamba, at the Bled Strategic Forum; remarks Kenya's President at the United Nations Security Council debate on maritime security and India-Kenya joint statement.

At the Bled Strategic Forum, held in September 2021, Kenya's Chief Administrative Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Ababu Namwamba explained his country's approach towards the Indo-Pacific region. He divided the region into three sub-regions: Eastern, Central, and Western. He argued that Kenya is located in the Western Indo-Pacific and has three key concerns: Militarization, especially of the Red Sea, Piracy and Transnational Crimes, and finally, Oceanic Pollution. Each of these concerns presents challenges as well as opportunities for littoral states.

Kenya is positioning itself as a gateway between Africa and the Indo-Pacific. Kenya's geographic location, political stability and economic dynamism enables it to play the role of the gateway. Namwamba observed that Kenya is interested in engaging with the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) as a platform that would be useful in bringing prosperity.

As the Indo-Pacific is primarily a maritime region, maritime security has emerged as a key focal point for debates about the Indo-Pacific region. In August, at the behest of India, UN Security Council discussed the issue of maritime security. It was the first time that such a holistic debate took place on maritime security. Kenya is a non-permanent member of the UNSC and President Uhuru Kenyatta delivered remarks at the debate.

Kenya links Africa and the Indian Ocean, and therefore, Kenyatta noted that Kenya's "wealth and security rely on the building of sound trade and security linkages between these two regions." However, Kenya is worried about the threat posed by terrorism in its neighbourhood of East Africa and the Horn of Africa. Moreover, for Kenya, "piracy and other sea-based crimes, including attacks on vessels and illicit trafficking of persons, firearms and narcotics, remain a concern."

He observed that "competition for influence in the Red Sea region, particularly by extra-regional Powers, has intensified over the years." Kenyatta said that threats to maritime security arise from "land-based situations." Moreover, he "encouraged more thinking and innovation in developing and launching fair-trade regimes in areas such as the Indian Ocean rim." Kenyatta underscored the need "to build robust coast guard capacities" and stressed "the threat of climate change to the existence of some small island States."

For Kenya, the immediate maritime periphery and the extended region from the Red Sea to the Mozambique Channel matters in its Indo-Pacific security calculations. The concerns it has expressed, such as extra-regional military presence and maritime piracy, are primarily important in the context of this broader region. Therefore, it is clear that Kenyatta's concerns about maritime security and the views expressed by Chief Administrative Secretary on the Indo-Pacific cover more or less similar points. Their emphasis on economic prosperity and trade is noteworthy as well.

The third relevant development was the India-Kenya joint statement issued after the visit of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in June. The statement alluded to the Indian Ocean and Indo-Pacific. The joint statement noted that, India and Kenya are "maritime neighbours" and that both countries "recognized the importance of ensuring through shared endeavours greater security, safety and prosperity of the Indian Ocean Region." Furthermore, they also "held extensive exchanges on global and regional issues including the security situation in the Indo-Pacific region and the Horn of Africa."

East African littoral is attaining greater strategic importance as a theatre in its own right as well as a vital sub-region in the Indo-Pacific. Regional security and geopolitics are undergoing changes due to the strategic rivalries between the extra-regional players. Therefore, an important littoral state like Kenya is voicing its concerns, articulating its priorities and by doing so, hopes to influence the debates about the region and to place itself in an advantageous position.

Kenya understands the necessity of building the coast guard and security capabilities for tackling threats like terrorism and maritime piracy. It is also interested in drawing economic benefits by engaging with key Indo-Pacific powers through RCEP or otherwise. It has managed to build resilient ties with China on the one hand and America, Britain and Japan on the other. The balancing between major powers is a normal strategy for smaller yet strategically important states. Kenya is no exception to this.

For India, Kenya is a key partner in East Africa and in the Western Indian Ocean region. With Kenya demonstrating greater interest, India could perhaps engage Kenya in an Indo-Pacific framework.

(Sankalp Gurjar is a Research Fellow with the Indian Council of World Affairs, New Delhi. This is a revised version of the original article by the author that appeared at the Indian Council of World Affairs website. Read the original article here. Views expressed are personal)

(The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)

--indianarrative
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There has been a lot of anticipation around the outcome of the Biden administrations review of the US trade policies towards China. Their unveiling this week, however, showed little change, at face value, from the blunt-force tactics employed by the Trump administration.

The US tariffs on $US350 billion ($480 billion) a year of Chinas exports to the US will remain; the US reserves the right to add to them to punish China for its failure to live up to the Phase One agreement it struck with the Trump administration; the US will continue to complain about Chinas subsidies of strategic industries.

Katherine Tai unveiled the White Houses approach to trade with China in Washington this week. Credit:AP

The Biden policies as outlined by the US Trade Representative, Katherine Tai, in a speech to the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, do, however, point to some subtle shifts in the administrations approach.

The Trump administrations approach to China was initially naive, crude and evolved into something quite different at its end to its beginnings.
The operator of a Manhattan gallery known for its expertise in ancient Asian artefacts has pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and possession of stolen property in connection with the trafficking of looted treasures from India and Southeast Asia  some of which were purchased by the National Gallery of Australia.

The Seated Buddha, sold to the NGA by Nancy Wiener in 2007, was among the works that were found to be stolen. Credit:

Some of the items she sold to museums and others were sold on the auction block at Christies and Sothebys, according to investigators. The items ranged in value from $US100,000 to $1.5 million ($137,000 to $2 million).

The dealer, Nancy Wiener, 66, whose mother had also been a well-known expert in the field, acknowledged Thursday that she had taken possession of items that showed possible signs of looting, such as dirt and debris encrustation, and presented them for sale with false statements of provenance.

For decades I conducted business in a market where buying and selling antiquities with vague or even no provenance was the norm, Wiener said during her appearance in Manhattan Supreme Court. Obfuscation and silence were accepted responses to questions concerning the source from which an object had been obtained. In short, it was a conspiracy of the willing.
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Canvas tents billow in the hot wind as the mercury nudges 35 degrees and eddies of brown dust rise and fall. A trio of white men waltz through the crackling dry bush as if they own it, firing gunshots into the air and threatening the local blacks. Down the ridge, a Chinese settlement buzzes with activity. Its the gold rush, Jim, but not as we know it  its the set of New Gold Mountain, SBS first foray into home-grown historical drama, and Yellow Gum Park, a patch of native bushland on the Plenty River in the outer-north of Melbourne, is doubling for the Victorian goldfields circa 1857. Here, the Chinese camp  all timber poles, canvas sheets and commerce  has been beautifully crafted by production designer Paddy Reardon and his team. But for booming Ballarat, the show has made use of a tourist attraction 130 kilometres away, just outside the town itself. We actually wrote the series based around the locations at Sovereign Hill, says executive producer Kylie Du Fresne of Goalpost Pictures (who also produced The Invisible Man, the sci-fi thriller starring Elisabeth Moss). How else are you going to get a Ballarat-in-the-1850s ready-made town? Shing (Yoson An) is a man with one foot in the Chinese world and the other in that of the whites. Credit:SBS Du Fresne happily confesses to having an obsession with Deadwood, the mud-blood-and-lots-of-swearing American gold rush epic created by David Milch for HBO, and wondered why we didnt have a comparable tale here. Probably the last time the story was told was the ABCs Rush in the 1970s, she says. One answer, of course, is money. While Du Fresne found in SBS a like-minded broadcaster with a pile of research on the era to show it was serious, its drama budgets are a fraction of HBOs. In fact, just building the set of an 1850s town would have cost more than the entire series did. Which is where Sovereign Hill, the so-called living museum of the goldfields, entered the picture  and riding right beside it was the pandemic.

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One of the very small silver linings of the COVID world is that they were closed, so we basically had our own back lot, which was amazing, says Du Fresne. If we were shooting this outside of COVID, we would have been working around their opening hours, a couple of hours a day after 5pm. It would have been very challenging. One other benefit was that the inevitable delays  production was meant to start in February 2020, but was pushed to November  meant more time to develop the scripts, with Du Fresne and director Corrie Chen able to work with writer Peter Cox for an additional six months, finessing characters and storylines. Loading And that was just an absolute gift, says Du Fresne. So often were rushing into production, were still writing as we go, were trying to work out logistical impacts at the same time as youre trying to bed down the story. And we didnt have any of that. We had it completely unencumbered, just the writers, Corrie and myself, for six months, going whats the vision, and actually looking at it like a big film. It was such a gift, in fact, that she says Goalpost is looking at ways it can factor in a similarly extended development phase for all future projects. What sets New Gold Mountain apart, though, isnt the Deadwood-size aspiration, or the shutdown-gifted development period. Its that it tells the story of the gold rush  which is arguably one of this resource-dependent nations great foundational tales  through the eyes of Chinese and, to a lesser degree, Indigenous and female participants as well as the white men typically at its centre. In many ways, I feel like Ive been preparing for this show my entire life and career, says Taiwanese-Australian director Chen. The gold rush has always been something thats had a special place and obsession in my heart because its simply the Chinese-Australian story thats been waiting to be told. And in many ways, its the origin story in all its complicated ways, the birth of multiculturalism. Opportunities like these only come around once a career really.

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The story opens with the murder of a white woman, and while the evidence seems to point to the involvement of the Chinese, headman Leung Wei Shing (Yoson An) is determined to find an alternative explanation in a bid to avoid the racial violence he fears will erupt if he cant. Its so raw, says An of the dynamics that exist between the various ethnic groups  Irish, English, Chinese, Indigenous  in the show. Theres not a whole lot of room for wanting to understand one another, not a lot of room for compassion or acceptance, because everyone is in survival mode. Shing strolls through the Chinese camp with Zhang Lei (Mabel Li), who represents the interests of the shadowy and powerful Brotherhood. Credit:SBS That includes Shing, a character loosely based upon the real Fook Shing, a Chinese immigrant to the goldfields in the 1850s who was headman in a camp near Bendigo before becoming the first Chinese detective in the Victorian police force (a position he held until the 1880s, despite his prodigious opium habit). And it includes Belle Roberts (Alyssa Sutherland, from Vikings), a widow who has inherited a goldfields newspaper and teams with Shing to produce a Chinese-language version. Shes a concoction, and sort of representative of a white female at the time, says Sutherland. Belle is recently widowed, she was in an abusive marriage, theres a lot of mixed feelings about the husband passing away. I think its pretty scary to begin with for her to have to make a go of it. For Mulan star An  who was born in China, moved to Australia as a child, but largely grew up and lives in Auckland  an Asian actor taking the lead in SBSs first historical drama is a fact worth celebrating. And the fact Shing is far from a clear-cut hero makes it doubly so. I think its great that I play such a morally ambiguous and complex character. Its important for any actor to play a character thats three-dimensional, thats outside of the model minority type of characters, because at the end of the day its all about the human experience. And Shing being morally ambiguous at times, its a very human trait, regardless of whether Im Asian, white or black.

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In the ongoing discussion around diversity and representation, its not just the stories that matter. Its also who gets to tell them. And for Chen, having someone from a Chinese cultural background directing New Gold Mountain wasnt just a nice aspiration, it was critical. When I first heard about this project, the overwhelming emotion I felt was desperation, she says. I was desperate to see a Chinese-Australian direct this story, it didnt even have to be me, I just wanted someone who could bring a level of personal authenticity that this era deserves. I know what it feels like to be Chinese in this country, I know what it feels like when you step down the street and start speaking with an accent and the way people look at you. Its not an intellectualised experience or aesthetic to me, and for this story, on this show, I really wanted that to happen. And, she adds, I think the desperate energy I put out into the universe allowed it to be so. New Gold Mountain, SBS October 13, 9.30pm. Find out the next TV, streaming series and movies to add to your must-sees. Get The Watchlist delivered every Thursday.
When women rallied in the March 4 Justice in support of Brittany Higgins, whose alleged rape happened just metres from the Prime Ministers office, Scott Morrison couldnt cross the road to meet them. All he could muster was a statement that they were lucky to live in a country where they could protest without being shot. Thanks, pal.

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But this isnt a problem confined to the Prime Minister. Think of the women who have met institutional resistance, inbred sexism, or outright anger when they seek power and agency. Think of Liberals Julia Banks and Julie Bishop, the former Human Rights Commission president Gillian Triggs, Sudanese-Australian writer Yassmin Abdel-Magied, Indigenous law professor Larissa Behrendt, Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young  all women who speak out and seek power, and who still face a backlash.

We must teach our daughters that power is not a dirty word. Power is not about dominating; it is about delivering. Without it, we will change very little. With power  in our lives, in our homes, in our communities, in our politics  we can change womens lives for the better. As women, we must back one anothers claims for power as legitimate.

On the day Gladys Berejiklian was elected leader of the NSW Liberal Party, the media hounded me to give her advice on what it would be like to be a female premier. I refused. Instead, I gave some advice to the media on how to cover women in politics. I said Berejiklian and I wouldnt agree on much, but I advised the media to see her as a premier, first and foremost. That meant not focusing on what she wore or how she styled her hair, but rather what she did: scrutinise her policies, her decisions and her actions. Treat her as you would any man in the job. Because she had as much right to be premier as any man.
Cr Maytom also detailed long delays for ambulances, including two instances where men died; a reduction in the number of births at the hospital from more than 100 a year to fewer than 10; and a severe shortage of doctors and nurses that meant many of the towns 12,000 residents were afraid to attend the hospital because a doctor often wasnt available.

In evidence to a NSW Parliamentary inquiry into rural health, the mayor of Leeton Paul Maytom detailed the mind-boggling reasons given by NSW Health to explain why a refurbished operating theatre in the south-west NSW town sat unused since 2016, surrounded by what was described as ghost wards. As a result, locals needed to travel long distances for surgery.

An operating theatre in a 66-bed hospital in a NSW country town lay idle for years because of ridiculous excuses, including the wrong wallpaper and a recovery room that was 11 centimetres too small to meet NSW standards.

Councils, doctors and representatives from the Country Womens Association (CWA) told the hearing on Wednesday that rural families were travelling hundreds of kilometres to seek healthcare, there was a shameful shortage of qualified staff including doctors, nurses and ambulance officers, and locals were moving because healthcare was so poor.

Cr Maytom said when he asked why the operating theatre wasnt used despite a major upgrade done with great fanfare, he was given excuses.

These ranged from the type of wallpaper to the air conditioning system, the theatre staff being out of practice. And most recently, the recovery room being marginally too small. These are all ridiculous excuses. Accountability is lacking, transparency is missing and genuine co-operation is absent.

The councils submission said the operating theatre was upgraded at an estimated $3 million cost over the past nine years. Since being advised it would open fully in 2015 it was downgraded in 2020 to operating as part of a circuit. More recently, council was told it wouldnt reopen at all because the recovery room was too small by 11 centimetres.

Cr Maytom said the entire third floor of the hospital was vacant, and it was a waste to leave this valuable space to deteriorate.
Private schools are asking students for their vaccination status, with Moriah College in Sydneys eastern suburbs going further by also asking parents, siblings and regular contacts of students to provide their vaccination certificate ahead of a return to face-to-face learning.

Moriah, in Queens Park, sent a letter to parents last week, asking them to email the information to the school by October 11. Vaccination status will only be considered as confirmed on receipt of a copy of a vaccination certificate, the school said.

[The information] will assist us with the planning of events and activities as we analyse the risk of inviting parents and family members onto campus. All information would be confidential, and a spokeswoman for the school said supplying the information was not compulsory.

Moriah College has asked parents for copies of their vaccination certificates. Credit:Louise Kennerley

Other schools  such as Kings, Trinity Grammar, Kincoppal Rose Bay and SCEGGS Darlinghurst  have asked parents to update their childrens vaccination status. Santa Sabina has asked for the vaccination status of both parents and students.
New Premier Dominic Perrottet will overhaul and rename the NSW crisis cabinet to focus on economic recovery ahead of Sydneys reopening, with the states chief economist set to advise the powerful committee.

Mr Perrottet also flagged changes to the NSW COVID-19 road map on Wednesday, with the former treasurer promising to prioritise business and consumer confidence in the months ahead.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet with Deputy Premier Paul Toole on Wednesday. Credit:James Brickwood

As NSW hit the long-awaited 70 per cent full vaccination threshold late on Wednesday, the government confirmed the crisis cabinet would be renamed to the COVID and Economic Recovery Committee, with NSW Chief Economist Stephen Walters to provide regular advice to the group.

As we hit the key 70 per cent and 80 per cent vaccination targets in coming days we need to ensure that our focus remains on keeping people safe and continuing to strive for above 90 per cent vaccination rates, Mr Perrottet said.
NSW has reported 594 new local coronavirus cases, as daily infections in the state continue to decline.

Ten people have died since Tuesdays update, including four Sydney aged care residents.

A man in his 60s and two men in their 80s have died after acquiring their infections at the Allity Beechwood aged care facility at Revesby.

NSW Deputy Chief Health Officer Dr Marianne Gale. Credit:Rhett Wyman

Another man in his 70s who died at Westmead Hospital was the second resident of Northcourt aged care facility at North Parramatta to die in its outbreak.
The NSW Spring Racing Carnival is about to kick off, but the sports peak racing body is at a leadership crossroads.

Better Regulation Minister Kevin Anderson has thrown open the contest to fill four positions on the Racing NSW board, including the chair and deputy positions. These are occupied by former ABC managing director Russell Balding and former Tabcorp deputy chairman Tony Hodgson. Both directors have clocked up a decade on the board which puts them at a critical juncture given legislation caps board tenure at 10 years. Its deja vu for both men.

Two years ago, Balding and Hodgson were on the verge of being forced to step down after reaching the permitted maximum eight-year tenure. But Anderson enacted a legislative change and lifted the maximum length to a decade.

Now the talk is that both men are attempting to Vladimir Putin an extension and Anderson is considering repeating the move again.

Balding told CBD on Wednesday he would nominate again for the board after being humbled by industry members who asked him to stay on. Meanwhile, Anderson is said to be weighing up all options after making it clear that continuity on the board is his priority.
Senior students in Melbournes north who returned to school on Wednesday said they were glad to be back but feared the next COVID-19 outbreak was just around the corner.

After two months stuck at home, year 12 student Tafa Malumu was equal parts eager and apprehensive about arriving at school on Wednesday morning.

Year 12 student Tafa Malumu returned to the classroom on Wednesday. Credit:Simon Schluter

Im excited, but its a bit scary with the numbers now. You are kind of putting yourself at risk by coming back to school.

Tafa, 17, is in her final year at Penola Catholic College in Broadmeadows, a part of Melbourne with some of the highest COVID-19 case numbers.
The two people who died were a woman in her 60s from Wyndham, and a woman in her 70s from Hume. Victorias total number of active coronavirus cases stood at 15,074 after NSW and the ACT were downgraded under the states traffic light travel permit system from 11.59pm on Wednesday. The state recorded the nations highest daily case number on Tuesday  1763 cases. Teenagers test positive after 16th birthday party

St Columbas College Essendon principal Rita Grima wrote to families on Wednesday saying she was aware of a number of student gatherings taking place to celebrate events, such as 16th birthdays. I have been informed that one such event involved year 10 students from St Columbas College as well as two other local schools, and that a number of young people from that party have now tested positive to COVID-19, she said. I am given to understand that one of the young people who attended this party is in ICU. Ms Grima reminded families about restrictions on social gatherings. She said, although she understood young people were frustrated at not being allowed to celebrate milestones, it was important to make plans for a time when celebrations can occur safely, and focus on gratitude.

Boost for disability vaccination program Minister for Disability and Ageing Luke Donnellan said almost a quarter of Victorias new 1638 COVID-19 cases were aged in their 20s as he announced a dedicated push to vaccinate people living with disabilities. Vaccination rates for people with disabilities in Victoria were still lower than for the broader population. NSW and the ACT were downgraded under Victorias traffic-light travel permit system at 11.59pm on Wednesday. Credit:Jason Robins However, the rate in Victoria was higher than the national rate. As of September 30, more than 71 per cent of Victorian NDIS participants aged 16 and over had received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, compared to 67 per cent nationally.

Mr Donnellan said 10 pop-up vaccination hubs would be set up in local government areas of concern as part of a $5 million program that will also fund 16 additional disability liaison officers to help arrange in-home vaccination, group bookings, and advice. Were going to go out, we need to keep pushing, harassing and just non-stop getting this vaccination rate up for our community living with disabilities, he said. Its just not acceptable where it is at the moment. We cant open up when weve got people living with disabilities, with vulnerabilities, if theyre not at a higher rate of vaccinations, and thats what were pushing to do today. Martin, a travel writer who was left quadriplegic 10 years ago after an accident, said it was everybodys social and moral obligation to get vaccinated.

He said he relied on professional support workers who had many other high-risk clients, and those relationships showed how each member of the disability community had a responsibility to each other to be vaccinated. I would be devastated to think that I was part of a transmission chain that led to somebody else who was in a high-risk category either being hospitalised or, even worse, dying. I could never live with myself if that was the case, Martin said. So I think everybody has a real moral duty, and particularly people with disability have an imperative, to get vaccinated. More than 96,240 Victorians received a COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday, including 36,672 at state-run clinics, while more than 77,238 test for the virus were processed.

More than 40 per cent of active cases in Melbournes north Victorias Acting Chief Health Officer Ben Cowie said Thursdays new 1638 coronavirus cases included: Loading In Melbournes northern suburbs, 566 cases;

In the western suburbs, 485;

In the south-eastern suburbs, 351 cases;

In the eastern suburbs, 114 cases;

In regional Victoria, 115 cases, including 11 in Shepparton, eight in Ballarat, 16 in Geelong, 17 in Mitchell, 11 in Mount Alexander, four in Mildura, 15 in Latrobe, and 11 in Baw Baw;

Another seven cases elsewhere. Professor Cowie said there were now more than 6500 cases in Melbournes northern suburbs; about 43 per cent of the states active cases.

COVID-19 transmission had happened at 10 Victorian abattoirs or meatworks in a little more than a week, and more than 30 active cases were so far associated to those sites. Professor Cowie defended the Moderna vaccine after Sweden and Denmark paused its use by young people. The data underlying those decisions was yet to be published, and the Therapeutic Goods Administration and Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation would work through possible implications, he said. Its a bit premature to draw a conclusion on those decisions, Professor Cowie said. What I would say is, certainly from the United States experience, [and] to my knowledge, there was no increase relative to, for instance, the Pfizer vaccine in these side effects in the American experience thats been reported to date.

Loading These side effects are incredibly rare. If were looking at the incidence of myocarditis or inflammation around the heart  most of which is actually quite mild and settles within days with simple management  the incidence of that was something like one in 30,000. Its much more likely [you will] actually get that side effect if you get COVID-19. The numbers on Thursday showed there were 707 active COVID-19 cases outside metropolitan Melbourne, but the majority of those were linked to existing cases. In the previous seven days, Victoria had about 10,000 new cases of COVID-19. Professor Cowie said 79 per cent of those cases were unvaccinated, 15 per cent partially vaccinated, and 7 per cent were fully vaccinated. Mr Donnellan said there were 564 people in hospital in Victoria with COVID-19, 115 of them in intensive care. Seventy-four were on ventilators.

As of Wednesday, 66 per cent of Victorias COVID-19 hospital patients were unvaccinated, 27 per cent were partially vaccinated, and 7 per cent were fully vaccinated. NSW, ACT downgraded under travel permit system From 11.59pm on Wednesday, locked-down areas of NSW and the ACT were downgraded from extreme risk zones to red zones under Victorias travel permit system. Only Victorians are eligible for red-zone permits. The downgrading means a person travelling from one of those zones would no longer have to be fully vaccinated to be allowed back into the state, and would no longer need to produce a negative COVID test in the 72 hours before they entered Victoria.

However, they would still have to quarantine at home for 14 days on their return, and would be required to have two COVID tests during that quarantine period. Previous red zones  parts of regional NSW and the ACT that were not in lockdown  became orange zones at 11.59pm. That meant both residents and non-residents of Victoria in those areas could come into the state on an orange zone travel permit. The permit requires them to isolate on arrival, get tested for COVID-19 within 72 hours, and stay isolated until they return a negative test result.

Child cancer patients wake up in quarantine Child cancer patients and their families woke up in quarantine on Thursday morning after part of the Royal Melbourne Childrens Hospital was declared a tier-1 coronavirus exposure site. Loading Children receiving treatment in the Kookaburra cancer ward and their parents were ordered to isolate for 14 days in their childs hospital room, or at home if they were due to be discharged, after the oncology unit was deemed a tier-1 exposure site. Hospital chief executive Bernadette McDonald said a parent who had stayed in the cancer ward tested positive to the virus.
The body of a heavily pregnant woman found dead inside her home in Perths northern suburbs sat in a pool of blood for almost a day before being discovered by her family.

Janet Dweh, 36, was just weeks away from giving birth to her fourth child when she was allegedly murdered by someone known to her in her Dayton house on Sunday night.

Her body was found by her older brother about 6pm the next evening after she failed to attend a family commitment in what police described as a distressing scene.

Major Crime Superintendent Rod Wilde said there were no signs of forced entry to the property, leading police to believe the assailant had a key or was let in by Ms Dweh.
Law enforcement agencies would be banned from accessing QR code check-in data under a bill to be introduced by the Greens after police sought to use the applications on at least six occasions as part of criminal investigations.

The federal Labor opposition hasnt ruled out supporting the proposed laws, which would set national standards for the use of the mandatory check-in applications, saying it is vital that Australians were not discouraged from using the QR code check-in applications.

Police have been accessing QR code check-in data in a bid to solve crimes. Credit:Joe Armao

There have been growing calls from backbench MPs and civil liberties groups to stop law enforcement agencies from accessing the compulsory check-in applications.

NSW, South Australia, the Northern Territory and Western Australia have already banned their police forces from using the check-in app data, which is meant to help contact tracers track down COVID-19 cases.
The ACT Court of Appeal has struck an important blow for transparency and the publics right to know in a judgment on Tuesday in the case of Bernard Collaery, the lawyer who blew the whistle on Australias illegal spying operation against East Timor.

Mr Collaery and his client, the former Australian Secret Intelligence Service officer known as Witness K, revealed to East Timor that Australia had planted bugging devices in its offices in 2004 during sensitive negotiations over multibillion-dollar undersea oil fields.

The information allowed East Timor to bring a case in 2013 at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, which tried to overturn the deal on the basis that Australia cheated. Mr Collaery is also charged with leaking the news to the media at about the same time.

Australia eventually renegotiated the deal and East Timor dropped the case in The Hague without a public hearing.

Yet the Australian government then decided to prosecute Mr Collaery and Witness K. It has charged Mr Collaery with five counts of leaking classified information and conspiring with Witness K.
Voters in the nations two biggest states have cut their support for the Coalition since the last election in a setback for Prime Minister Scott Morrison despite a rebound for the government in Queensland over the past three months.

Primary vote support for the federal government has fallen to 40 per cent in NSW and 37 per cent in Victoria amid a series of disputes over the response to the pandemic, down from 43 per cent and 39 per cent at the last election.

But Labor has also lost ground in the two states since the election, down from 35 to 32 per cent in NSW and 37 to 35 per cent in Victoria, in a sign that some voters may have shifted their allegiance to smaller parties and independents until closer to the election.

The exclusive results compile responses over the past three months from 4820 voters in the Resolve Political Monitor conducted for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, producing estimates with a margin of error of 1.4 per cent.
As the West Australian government mandates vaccines for the mining industry and considers expanding them to more sectors including construction, Parliament itself has not yet reached 100 per cent double-dose vaccination status.

A WAtoday and Nine News Perth survey of the states 95 lower and upper house members revealed 90 have been fully vaccinated, while one is awaiting his second jab, two havent gotten around to it, while two others refused to reveal whether they were vaccinated or not.

WA Premier Mark McGowan recieved his jab back in May. Credit:Hamish Hastie

Labor member for Geraldton Lara Dalton is the only lower house MP who has not received a COVID vaccine, while Pilbara MLA Kevin Michel has received one AstraZeneca dose.

Ms Daltons office said she was booked in for her first dose this week. Nationals upper house MLC Colin de Grussa has also not received the jab, but his office said he was booked in for later this month.
While Microsofts first two-screen mobile device, the Surface Duo, drew criticism over its sluggish processor, poor camera, buggy software and a hefty price tag, the company is doubling down on a sequel in an effort to cement its place in the smartphone business.

The Surface Duo 2 boasts all the features you would expect from a flagship phone including the latest and greatest chip from Qualcomm, 5G connectivity, NFC for contactless payments and a proper triple rear camera system. Microsoft is also expanding on the dual screen form factor by increasing display sizes and enabling full compatibility with its Surface Pen stylus.

Microsofts Surface Duo 2 has bigger screens and is compatible with its new stylus

Microsoft went to great lengths to paint the original Duo as not a phone in 2019, but theres no mistaking Microsofts intentions with the Duo 2. Its looking to entice those who want a more complete companion device to their Windows PC  in the same way the iPhone seamlessly integrates with Apples desktop operating system  while also hoping to court the foldable crowd who want to get more done on their smartphone.

One could argue theres little for Microsoft to gain in making its own smartphone; the companys existing partnership with Samsung sees Microsoft apps installed on every handset the South Korean company makes. With the Surface Duo, Microsofts reliance on software rival Googles Android operating system means its also forced to have a number of Google apps installed alongside its own.
In Wednesdays lecture, which focused almost entirely on Penny Lane, Tessler encouraged students to think of the Beatles as a cultural brand, using the terms narrative theory and transmediality. Students and staff members of the Beatles postgraduate program at the University of Liverpool, in England. Credit:Duncan Elliott/The New York Times Then she applied those ideas to a recent Beatles-related event. Last year, Tessler said, street signs along the real Penny Lane were defaced as Black Lives Matter protests spread across Britain. There was a long-standing belief in Liverpool, she explained, that the street was named after an 18th-century slave trader, James Penny. (The citys International Slavery Museum listed Penny Lane in an interactive display of street names linked to slavery in 2007, but it now says there is no evidence that the road was named after the merchant.) What would happen if they did change the name to  I dont know  Smith Lane? Tessler asked. That would deprive Liverpool of a key tourist attraction, she said: You cant pose next to a sign that used to be Penny Lane. The furore around the street name showed how stories about the Beatles can intersect with contemporary debates and have an economic impact, she said. The courses students  three women and eight men, age 21 to 67  all said they were long-term Beatles obsessives. (Two had named their sons Jude, after one of the bands most famous songs; another had a son called George, after George Harrison.)

Dale Roberts, 31, and Damion Ewing, 51, both said they were professional tour guides and hoped the qualification would help them attract customers. The tour industry in Liverpool is fierce, Roberts said. Alexandra Mason, 21, said she had recently completed a law degree but decided to change track when she heard about the Beatles course. I never really wanted to be a lawyer, she said. I always wanted to do something more colourful and creative. The pencil case of a student in the Beatles course. Credit:Duncan Elliott/The New York Times She added, In my mind, Ive gone from the ridiculous to the sublime, but said that some might think shed done the opposite. A postgraduate qualification in the Beatles is a rarity, but the band has been studied in other contexts for decades. Stephen Bayley, an architecture critic who is now an honorary professor at the University of Liverpool, said that when he was a student in the 1960s at Quarry Bank High School in Liverpool  John Lennons alma mater  his English teacher taught Beatles lyrics alongside the poetry of John Keats.

In 1967, Bayley wrote to Lennon asking for help analysing songs on Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. Bayley said Lennon wrote back basically saying, You cant analyse them. But these days a growing number of academics are doing just that. Tessler said researchers in several disciplines were writing about the Beatles, many exploring perspectives on the band informed by race or feminism. Next year, she plans to start a journal of Beatles studies, she said. Some people in Liverpool, however, were not convinced about the bands academic value. In interviews around Penny Lane, two locals said they thought the course was an odd idea. What are you going to do with that? Youre not going to cure cancer, are you? said Adele Allan, owner of the Penny Lane Barber Shop. Its an entirely silly course, said Chris Anderson, 38, out walking his dog, before adding that he thought almost all college degrees were entirely silly.

Others were more positive. You can study anything, said Aoife Corry, 19. You dont need to prove yourself by doing some serious subject. Loading Tessler concluded the inaugural class by outlining the subjects for the semesters remaining lectures. It was a program that any Beatles fan would savour, including field trips to St Peters Church, where Lennon and McCartney first met in 1957 in the church hall, and Strawberry Field, the former childrens home the band immortalised in song. Classes would cover key moments in the bands history, including a famous live television appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show and Lennons murder in 1980, Tessler said. She then gave students a reading list, topped by a textbook called The Beatles in Context. Were there any questions, she asked? Whats your favourite Beatles album? called out Dom Abba, 27, the student with the yellow submarine tattoo.
Washington: In recent years, a select few issues have managed to pierce the cavernous partisan divide between Democrats and Republicans in the US Congress.

An increasingly hawkish approach to China on both the left and right stands out as one. So does the bipartisan view that social media giants such as Facebook have amassed far too much power and need to be reined in.

The saving grace for Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has been that while Democrats and Republicans both have major gripes about his creation, their animosity is coming from very different places.

Calls for change: Whistleblower former Facebook data scientist Frances Haugen speaks during a Senate hearing about Facebook. Credit:AP

Republicans have been mostly concerned about the alleged suppression of conservative voices. Democrats have been alarmed by the spread of Russian disinformation during the 2016 election campaign and, more recently, scaremongering about COVID-19 vaccines.
WILLEMSTAD:--- Prime Minister Gilmar Pisas of Curacao was presented with the first copy of the Social Economic Council's (SER) of Curacao 2020 Annual Report on Monday, October 4, 2021. The annual report accounts for the SER activities and results in the corona year 2020 and reflects on the need for a rapid transition from crisis management to sustainable recovery policies.

The foreword emphasizes that COVID-19 has increased the contradictions and uncertainties in Curacao and that, unlike what has been the case so far, it is necessary to focus as a collectivity on the resolution of the structural factors that stand in the way of a balanced and sustainable socio-economic development of the island. "The ever-growing and exacerbated by the corona crisis poverty gap, job insecurity, declining quality of labor, shortages in social sectors, backlogs in the implementation of public services and declining educational performance are symptomatic of the apparent collective inability and lack of decisiveness and urgency to removing structural institutional, legal and administrative barriers," the preface states. According to the SER of the leeward island, it is therefore of great importance that "the causes of this are tackled and that substantial investments are made in welfare improvement and welfare growth: in future earning capacity, insecurity of work and income, in strong public services such as education, care, and security, in restoring the confidence of citizens and entrepreneurs in the government, in more equality of opportunity and in a sustainable living environment, now and in the future."

Creative socio-economic program.

The SER of Curacao, therefore, expects that the coming period will demand much of our adaptability. "Global transitions, such as rapid digitalization, globalization, and an aging population will bring about major shifts in employment between sectors and changes in the nature and content of work. To adequately cope with these transitions as a society, an ambitious, multifaceted, and creative socio-economic program is needed to strengthen the agility and resilience of our economy and to offer people more security. It is important that promising trajectories, arising from the agreements made in the Kingdom context (the Land package Curacao), are quickly taken up and implemented."

The SER of Curacao considers it important, in the light of the above, to invest in necessary adjustments in the context of these major transitions: in training and (lifelong) development, in the organization and building an infrastructure to offer people the possibilities to remain employable in the current job or to guide them to new jobs that offer fair pay, security and control, and improved social security. "Investments are needed now in our public sectors, in our future earning power through greater innovativeness and higher productivity, in greater inclusiveness through more equal opportunities and fairer sharing, and in a sustainable living environment, now and in the future, in short: in our prosperity."

Broad prosperity

"In doing so, we as a society must focus on broad prosperity, which involves basic questions that live among the population. Do I live comfortably and safely? What about the future of my children? Will I still be able to pay the bills at the end of the month? Does my study offer the prospect of finding a suitable job? Broad prosperity is about the quality of life and the quality of the living environment and the interaction between the two. It is essentially about three interrelated pillars: productivity, inclusiveness, and the living environment. These force us to look at economic growth in a different way that also takes serious account of social and environmental challenges."

Based on the ambition to allow everyone to share in that broad prosperity, the SER of Curacao will focus on three areas in particular in the medium term:

- Investing in broad prosperity, public sector, and future earning power

- Labour market, income policy, and equal opportunities

- Budgetary policy

The SER: critical and constructive thinker

Starting from cautious hopeful signals that, as far as the acute health problems of COVID-19 are concerned, the worst is behind us, the transition should be made as soon as possible from crisis management to sustainable recovery policy. The SER of Curacao will support this transition by continuing to think critically and constructively and by continuing to act as a problem solver. As a permanent advisory and consultative body of employers, employees, and independent experts, the SER will support all steps towards the labor market of the future that offers people sustainable employment and income security and companies flexibility. The SER of Curacao will monitor progress intensively in the coming period and, where necessary, formulate additional proposals.
Pond Island:--- TelEm Groups mobile provider, TelCell will be handing out three times the number of FREE sim cards given to members of the public in a massive sim card promotion last year. According to promotion organizers, the mobile company TelCell, will be randomly giving out 1,500 SIM Cards this year, compared to the 500 given out last year.

TelCell says 1500 lucky residents will soon receive mail in their mailbox with a SIM card and a $10 credit! But this year there is, even more, to welcome new subscribers upon activation of their SIM cards - with one (1) lucky winner set to receive at 100 times the $10 credit offered last year for a whopping $1000 in credit!



SIM card distribution began this week via the Post Office mailboxes.

Persons lucky enough to receive a free SIM card are requested to activate the SIM card following instructions in an attached letter.

Please note that All SIM cards have to be activated before December 31st, 2021, in order to be used.



Lucky subscribers who have any issues at all upon activation are requested to reach out to the TelEm Group Helpdesk for assistance at 611 or 548-HELP (4357).
PHILIPSBURG:--- The Finance Committee of Parliament is scheduled to meet on Wednesday, October 6, 2021. The Committee meeting is scheduled for 10.00 hrs. Representatives of the Central Bank of Curacao and Sint Maarten (CBCS) will be present.

The agenda points are:

1. Presentation by the Central Bank of Curacao and Sint Maarten on dollarization

2. Discussion on St. Maarten having its own Central Bank

3. Update on our foreign reserves

Agenda points 2 and 3 were requested by MP G.C. Pantophlet (15/078/2021-2022 dated October 1, 2021).

Due to measures taken to mitigate the coronavirus (COVID-19), the House of Parliament is only allowing persons with an appointment to enter the Parliament building.

The parliamentary sessions will be carried live on St. Maarten Cable TV Channel 115, via SXM GOV radio FM 107.9, via Pearl Radio FM 98.1, the audio via the internet www.sxmparliament.org, www.pearlfmradio.sx and Parliaments Facebook page: Parliament of Sint Maarten
~In a roundtable discussion with accommodations General Managers & Owners~

Willemstad:--- Yesterday, CHATA hosted a roundtable discussion at Dreams Curacao Resort, Spa & Casino for its accommodations members General Managers and Owners and aligned to the topic CHATAs insurance company members were also present. CHATA organizes roundtable discussions to gain a better understanding of different topics related to CHATAs goals. In the future, there will be more roundtable discussions with different subsectors within CHATA to reflect on various topics. As always, CHATA adheres to social distancing and hygiene measures.

At yesterdays Roundtable Discussion on Health & Wellness Tourism, CHATA invited Mr. Gilbert Martina, CEO of Curacao Medical Center (CMC), to elaborate on their vision for Medical Tourism. Before giving the floor to Mr. Martina, CHATAs Managing Director, Mrs. Maria-Helena Seferina-Rojas, welcomed those present and gave a brief introduction on why Health & Wellness is interesting for the development of the tourism sector. CHATA is dedicated to exploring how wellbeing, healthcare, hospitality, and travel merge to realize growth for our Tourism & Hospitality sector on Curacao. And it will be important to determine a competitive DNA strategy for Health & Wellness Tourism for Curacao said Mrs. Seferina-Rojas.

Once Mrs. Seferina-Rojas concluded her introduction, Mr. Martina started his presentation titled Medical journey at Curacao Medical. It is important to acknowledge the opportunities that Medical Tourists can offer Curacao to develop an additional pillar of foreign exchange. This possibility will not only benefit the hospital, but also CHATA members in terms of accommodation packages. Every cloud has a silver lining, said Mr. Martina. The COVID-19 situation allowed CMC the opportunity to prove itself while strengthen its relationship with other Dutch Caribbean islands. This was made possible when flights from these islands to Colombia were no longer possible and patients were transported to Curacao instead for their medical treatments. The feedback from our sister islands proved the quality and standards of CMC, expressed Mr. Martina.

Another reason for CMC to seek growth through medical tourism is to decrease the dependency on the SVB for its healthcare budget. Currently 85% of patients are from SVB that has only covered 60% of the costs thus far. In addition, Medical Tourism also create more high skilled jobs, continued Mr. Martina.

Furthermore Mr. Martina mentioned that CMC is heavily involved in continuous quality improvement. Last year, CMC partnered with CHATA to create a training program titled Sirbi ku Amor, to guide personnel of all levels on how to provide excellent customer service to its patients and thus clients. This training is still underway and will eventually be provided to the entire team. Later this year, CMC will start with a Patient Satisfaction Survey program to rate its services and will also continue putting all processes in place to achieve the JCI accreditation in 2 to 3 years. This accreditation is the highest level of recognition for a hospital.

CHATA is planning a follow up session with Health Tourism Worldwide on this topic to discuss additional possibilities on how to give Curacao a competitive advantage and determine a unique strategy for the destination resulting into substantial growth for the sector and our economy.

CHATA looks forward to continuing these meetings to stimulate interesting discussions open windows of opportunity.
Helen Hummel, 77, Lancaster, KY, passed away Monday, November 15, 2021 at her residence. Funeral arrangements are pending and will be announced later by Morris & Hislope Funeral Home. Condolences may be expressed to the family at www.morrisandhislope.com.
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Sunshine and clouds mixed. Areas of patchy fog. High 77F. Winds light and variable..

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Clear to partly cloudy. Low around 45F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.
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News

spotlight

ARTour an invitation into the studios of area creatives

Lyn Rein and Donna Johnson specialize in rosemaling and artwork inspired by their Norwegian heritage. The mother and daughter are just two of the nearly three dozen artists in this weekends Studio Art Tour. (Tom Nelson photo) Lyn Rein paints a place using a technique begun in eastern Norway called rosemaling. (Tom Nelson photo) Artwork from Lyn Rein and Donna Johnson. (Tom Nelson photo) Ornaments decorated using the rosemaling style. (Tom Nelson photo) Viking shield inspired earrings created by artist Annie Larson. (Photo courtesy of Annie Larson) Work created by Northfield artist Annie Larson. (Photo courtesy of Annie Larson) Viking shield inspired necklaces created by Northfield artist Annie Larson. (Photo courtesy of Annie Larson)

One of the areas fall traditions, the Studio ARTour is back for its 17th year, taking place Friday through Sunday at locations in Faribault, Farmington and Northfield.

Admission for the Studio ARTour is free and the hours are 4-8 p.m. Friday (some studios only), with all studios scheduled to be open Saturday (10 a.m.-6 p.m.) and Sunday (10 a.m.-5 p.m.).

This years tour will feature 36 local artists showing their work at 17 studios. Due to safety concerns about COVID, visitors will be requested to wear masks at all of the tour locations.

The range of work offered in the tour includes weaving, glass, jewelry/gemstones, clay, carving, welding, photography and painting. The tour offers visitors a chance to meet the artists, ask questions about their work and see the studios in which they create their art.

The tour was started 17 years ago by a group of local artists led by Judy Saye Willis, who is taking part in this years tour at Sunset Studios in Northfield.

Judy and some of her friends decided it would be a good idea to have a place and time each year in this area to have a tour, 2021 Studio ARTour organizer Tami Resler said. There were other art tours but this area really didnt have one.

She saw a need, jumped in and filled it.

We really have a rich group of artists in this area, and (before the Studio ARTour) they didnt have a good venue for everybody to be showcased at the same time. The tour allows for people to get to know artists and see where they work  and to see a lot of different artists at the same time.

Resler, who will exhibit her ceramics work at the Bachrach Building in Faribault during the tour, believes the success of the event is driven by the focus on quality art created by the participating artists and the large number of art supporters in the area.

The artists are representing themselves, so there are not any retailers or anything like that who are participating, Resler said. So, I think there is a lot of pride that goes into their work and the artists are always putting their best foot forward. Also, I think we have a lot of art supporters in this area, who really appreciate the opportunity to get out and see all of these artists and their work.

Resler previously worked at the Paradise Center for the Arts in Faribault before devoting herself full-time to her home-based pottery business. In 2021-22, Resler also works as a pottery/sculpture instructor at Shattuck-St. Marys School. Her involvement with the 2021 event helps provide an important resource to artists.

It is important that people are able to see your work and be able to touch it, Resler said. When they get an opportunity to talk to you, and you can tell them about the work and you can show them the progression of pieces and they can actually hold the piece, I think it heightens the educational component for people, and therefore their appreciation for it.

As an artist, what I get out of it (the Studio ARTour) is that I get somebody who is interested in the work and I also get to meet some really awesome people.

Northfield artist Annie Larson will also participate in the Studio ARTour in 2021. She will be part of the tour stop at Eureka Pots in Farmington.

I have always been a maker of things. I grew up in that kind of house. I have been making jewelry since college and although I started out being self-taught, I have since taken quite a few classes on specific techniques like lamp working, silversmithing and bead weaving, Larson said. We have such great opportunities with the Northfield Arts Guild to learn all kinds of new things and we have an amazing community of artists that share and collaborate. We are really lucky to live here and have access to great art and music and still have the charm of a small town.

Larsons work features jewelry and ornaments, and many of her creations include repurposed items from her grandmothers and mothers old jewelry collections along with other found treasures. She also likes to incorporate a Scandinavian flavor to her work.

I have also been researching my Norwegian ancestry over the past few years, which has led me to make earrings and necklaces inspired by Viking shields, Larson said. I have also taken a few Norwegian sweater knitting patterns and modified them to make beaded earrings.

Much like Resler, the tour provides Larson with an opportunity to showcase her work each year.

The tour is the best of both worlds for the artist and the community. Artists dont have to haul their work to an art fair and the customers get to see where the art is made, especially if you are into pottery or painting or other art that requires a larger space or specific equipment, Larson said.

Folk arts

On the topic of Nordic inspired creations, mother Donna Johnson and daughter Lyn Rein will be part of the tour at their Modnordicarts studio in Faribault this year. The pair specialize in the Scandinavian art of rosemaling, which is a decorative style of folk painting particularly popular in Norway.

The pairs work is inspired in part by Johnsons mother Bernice Verdugt, who was a self-taught rosemaler at her home in central South Dakota.

I think she just picked it up, Johnson said of her mothers introduction to rosemaling. She didnt really have formal training, because back then in the middle of South Dakota there really wasnt any classes to take.

As a hobby, Johnson took art classes at the Faribault Art Center in the early 1980s while her children were growing up. She also became involved with rosemaling and worked with local rosemalers Pat Caron and Eleanor Johnson.

Rein got into the world of rosemaling when she took a course taught by Patti Goke, while living in St. Cloud, Minn. She also took pottery courses in St. Cloud and later continued to take art courses after a move to Maryland. Rein later returned with her family to her hometown of Faribault and the began painting with her mother.

The pair have since averaged about three rosemaling workshops per year, including many from noted local rosemaler Ken Magnuson of Zumbrota.

Johnsons work is strictly painting, while Rein paints and also creates ceramics and pottery work with a rosemaling theme.

The designs I use on my ceramics are informed by the Norwegian motifs in the rosemaling. Sometimes I paint on a design and sometimes I carve it into the piece, Rein said.

A unique feature of her work includes Norwegian sayings with an English translation incorporated into her pottery pieces. The pair will exhibit their work in their home studio at 608 Division St. E in Faribault. The studio was designed by Rein and constructed with help from her father and other neighbors.

We have met great people on the art tour, Rein said. People, who honestly appreciate Norwegian art. The tour really allows more people to find out about what we do.
News

spotlight

Southern Minnesota not immune to intimate partner homicide, violence

In 2020, 21 people in Minnesota were murdered by an intimate partner. The number for 2021 is already to 19  including at least one individual from southern Minnesota. (Photo by Maxim Hopman/Unsplash)

Editors Note: This is the first in a weekly series to be published in the Owatonna Peoples Press.

Horrific domestic violence does not always result in death, but advocates assert that the warning signs are apparent every single day  including in southern Minnesota.

On the night of July 19, 32-year-old Amanda Schroeder dialed 911 from the Faribault home that she shared with her boyfriend. Schroeder said her boyfriend had been drinking, was getting violent, and that she was trapped.

She also said he had two guns.

While collecting information, the dispatcher heard Schroeder scream and lost contact. Calls back went unanswered.

Minutes later, officers found Schroeder dead as a result of multiple gunshot wounds. Her boyfriend, 27-year-old Brandon Akermark, was also found dead as a result of a single gunshot wound to the head.

Next year, Schroeders name will be found in the annual Femicide Report, recently renamed the Intimate Partner Homicide Report. She is one of 19 people already confirmed in 2021 to have died at the hands of intimate partner violence  approaching the 30 known victims in 2020.

Victims from all demographics

On Friday, Violence Free Minnesota held a press conference to release the 2020 intimate partner homicide report. While those involved in the conference did touch on the unique pressures of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the high-profile intimate partner homicide case of Gabby Petito, the message stressed remembering marginalized victims.

Flanagan

Anyone from any community can become a victim, said Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan. It doesnt matter the gender, race, sexual orientation, or socio-economic status. But far too often these victims become invisible.

In Steele County, local advocates are working toward promoting help for victims among minority populations. Missie Boone, the domestic violence coordinator for the Crisis Resource Center of Steele County, said the victims in this group are often hesitant to seek help.

We want to open the eyes of the community to see that [domestic violence] does affect the LGBTQ+ community  we cant forget about them, Boone said. Boone added that another group of victims often forgotten about is men, noting that male victims have a difficult time asking for help because of societal pressures.

Intimate partner violence against men does happen, however, including a recent incident in Owatonna where a woman allegedly stabbed her boyfriend in March. Tierrah Vachon Lee Wells, 34, of Waseca, was charged April 1 with one-count of second-degree attempted murder, The victim, 42-year-old Charles W. Ellis, of Owatonna, was severely injured after sustaining two stab wounds to the chest. Ellis reportedly stopped breathing while officers were administering first aid.

Wells

A jury trial is scheduled to begin Feb. 14, and Wells defense has stated they may claim self defense, despite the incident taking place in Ellis apartment. Witnesses claim Wells took a kitchen knife from a drawer while verbally arguing with Ellis and then stabbed him, according to court documents.

Wells two small children allegedly witnessed the stabbing.

Officers later discovered Ellis had an Order for Protection out against Wells, according to court records.

Though this display of violence may seem unique, Boone said 3 in 10 men are victims of domestic violence. Last year, one man in Minnesota died from intimate partner violence after he was stabbed in the chest by his female partner.

While it can be difficult for men to reach out for help, Boone encourages them to take advantage of resources like the Crisis Resource Center, where all calls are completely confidential. In turn, Boone said if more men asked for help it could help break the cycle of violence before another death occurs.

No one should feel ashamed for being a victim, or for speaking out, Boone said. Statistics have shown that it just takes one person to tell their story to create a domino effect and others will reach out for help or tell their stories.

The red flags

According to Maggie Royer, the youth and prevention manager with Violence Free Minnesota, the number of victims in this category that Minnesota continues to see is horrifying.

We have consistently remained in the double digits for three decades, Royer said. But even if we get down to and remain in the single digits, we will say one is too many.

Violence Free Minnesota is a statewide coalition, founded in 1978, that works to end relationship abuse, create safety, and achieve social justice. The coalition began putting together the femicide report in 1989.

700 block Third St NW In July, Faribault police found a man and a woman dead inside a home in the 700 block of Third Street NW in an apparent murder-suicide. The police had responded to the home at least once before for a domestic violence report. (File photo/southernminn.com)

In cases like Schroeders, murder was far from the first act of violence experienced in her relationship. According to the Faribault Police Department, officers had been called to the home previously at least once on a domestic call. With information provided by Royer, this intimate partner murder-suicide hit all four major factors on what leads to intimate partner homicide: the victim being unable to leave, the suspect having access to guns, threats, and a history of violence.

Attempts to leave

Though most individuals leaving abusive relationships are not killed, a large number of those who are killed were attempting to separate from their abuser, according to the 2020 report. Even when victims are able to leave an abusive relationship, there may be a period of increased risk in the months after leaving.

Violence Free Minnesota said at least six of the 2020 victims (30% of adult women victims), had either attempted to leave or left the relationship. The majority of these cases involved documented or undocumented abuse histories, pointing to the importance of community-based interventions and safety planning.

Access to firearms

National studies also show that firearms are the most commonly used weapon when there are multiple people killed by an intimate partner.

A 2020 study using data from the FBIs Supplementary Homicide Reports found that, among male perpetrators of domestic violence homicide, the use of a firearm was associated with a nearly two times higher likelihood of having at least one additional victim, compared to domestic violence homicides through other means.

Due to restrictions that prevent the Minnesota Department of Health from gathering and analyzing firearms data, advocates with Violence Free Minnesota report they are unable to confirm how perpetrators gained access to firearms used to commit intimate partner homicide.

Threats

Threats by the abuser to kill the victim, as well as the victims belief that the abuser will kill them, are among the most reliable indicators of lethality, according to Violence Free Minnesota. They add, however, that these indicators are often overlooked by the criminal and civil justice systems.

While the absence of threats to kill does say much, advocates say their presence can be a significant indicator of an abusers risk of lethality.

History of violence

At least nine perpetrators in 2020 had documented histories of violence against their current and/or former partners, children, or partners family members, and at least five had known but undocumented histories.

Perpetrators histories of violence often do not begin or end with one victim, according to the intimate partner homicide report. While it is unclear how many victims in 2020 filed for or obtained orders for protection, at least two previous partners of perpetrators had obtained civil orders for protection against them.

Royer said the mission of Violence Free Minnesota is to create change so that we no longer have victims, but also to ensure that the victims are remembered for more than their last minutes.

They are more than the way they died, Royer said.

Flanagan also stressed the importance of honoring victims of intimate partner homicide, not just during Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October, but forever.

Everybody was someones somebody, Flanagan said. And that feeling of loss never goes away.
News

spotlight

A LIFE WELL LIVED: Waseca mourns the loss of its first  and only  female mayor

Bailey Grubish / By BAILEY GRUBISH bailey.grubish@apgsomn.com Fitch Srp

Judy Kozan is known as the person in Waseca who got things done.

Judy took on some challenging times in Waseca, said Ann Fitch, executive director of Waseca Area Chamber of Commerce. There are not too many mayors of a town our size that can hang their hat on bringing hundreds of jobs in. Judy Kozan led that.

Judy died at home on Sept. 22 following a seven-year battle with metastatic cancer. She was 72 years old.

More than just her political accomplishments as Wasecas first and only female mayor, though, Judy is described as somebody who wanted everybody to be included in the direction of their citys future.

She didnt always agree with everyone ... and she did have her own opinions and she was not afraid to express them, said Mayor Roy Srp. However, she was always good about listening to others.

Jim Kozan, her husband of 44 years and manager of Waseca Music Co., echoed Srps sentiments.

She never, never tried to keep somebody out of the argument, Jim said. She tried to make sure everybody had their say.

The early days

Born in Franklin, Minnesota, on Sept. 16, 1949, Judy met her future husband, Jim, in 1976. She was a booking agent for BHE in Minneapolis at the time. He was a touring musician.

She swore that she would never have a relationship with a musician, he said. I dont blame her  but finally, I dont know, sometimes when youre not looking, thats when you find somebody.

Judy Kozan met her husband Jim Kozan in 1976. They enjoyed 44 years together. (Submitted photo)

Thinking about the early days of their relationship, Jim remembered when Judy once bought him a pound of fudge, and he ate the whole box right in front of her.

She knew that was the right guy for her, he laughed, followed by paused. I know, I know. Life is life, right?

After a brief stint in Duluth, the couple moved to Waseca to build a life together running Waseca Music Co., which Jims parents opened in 1952. It was only a matter of time before Judy was elected to Waseca City Council in 1983, representing Ward 3. She was elected mayor in 1993, encouraged to run by Steve Manthe, who served as mayor from 1989 until 1993.

Judy Kozan was elected to Waseca City Council in 1983, representing the 3rd ward, before she was elected mayor in 1993. (Submitted photo)

It was one of those moments in my life that I cant explain with words, said Amber Kozan, Judys daughter, who was 14 at the time of her mothers mayoral election. The excitement, the pride of seeing my mom be the first woman mayor of our town, and also feeling the energy of the community around her  it was absolutely incredible.

As a mother herself now, Amber talked about the elections influence on her as a young girl, and then watching her mother move mountains for her town. She went to every council meeting as a kid, she said, claiming to have a better attendance record than many of the council members.

As an adult, she said those experiences have made her want to raise her own kids a certain way, to be motivated, strong citizens who want to roll up their sleeves and get active in the community.

Raising my children to be like my mom, Amber said.

Judys service for Waseca

Fitch, a former city council member herself, emphasized how instrumental Judy was in bringing hundreds of jobs into Waseca through the Federal Correctional Institution and the manufacturer Itron, Inc. When the University of Minnesota  Waseca closed, the community was divided on whether or not to house a prison in their town, Fitch said in an email to the Waseca County News.

I recall her not being afraid to use her gavel to regain control of some rowdy crowds at council meetings, Fitch said. Ive been in some council meetings like that and it takes a lot of fortitude to bang that gavel to quiet the room.

In Fitchs own unsuccessful bid for mayor, she wrote, she thought a lot about the misogyny Judy ran up against, as well as the importance of having women in city council.

As of September 2021, the whole Waseca City Council  all six council members, the mayor and the city manager  is composed of men.

Not only was she the first woman mayor, she was the person that got it done, Amber said.

For Srp, who was a councilor under Judy, that effective governing style was an influential and inspiring force.

In my transition to mayor, that thoughtfulness, that open-mindedness made a big impact on me, Srp said. I was in awe of her ... as to how she was able to negotiate and deliberate city policy.

Thinking back to that time, Jim said that what sticks with him is how seriously she took her job. Rather than coming to council meetings and trying to figure out the issues on the spot or through discussion, she was someone that did her homework beforehand, making phone calls and researching the issues.

She knew the facts before she started arguing what she thought was correct, he said. People knew that.

Theres a lot of nice people in this town

The night after Judy died, Amber posted a tribute to her mother on her personal Facebook page, which garnered an unexpectedly large outpouring of support  more than 500 comments.

Though she included a number of photos in the tribute, Amber said its striking to her that her mother is not in that many photos that Amber can find. The reason, it occurred to her, is that her mother was always the one taking the photos. Even as mayor, she was more interested what other people were doing, and how she could help lift them up.

She was so proud of everyone, her family, her friends and her community, she said. She wanted people to succeed, and she loved that town.

Judy Kozan was an inspiration to her children, Clint, Amber and Clayton, and to her husband Jim. (Submitted photo)

When Judy got out of local politics  even years after she was no longer on the council  Jim said she still got calls from people asking her to get things done in the community.

If they wanted to get something done, they would call Judy, he said. She put her heart and soul into it.

Many years later, after beating breast cancer, Judy developed throat cancer, and even had a problematic spot on her lung in her last few months. Jim said he learned a lot about Waseca through the seven years of his wifes cancer, as members of the community stopped by to offer condolences and show respect.

Theres a lot of nice people in this town, he said.

Judy Kozan battled cancer for seven years before she passed. (Submitted photo)

It was touching, he said, if a little heartbreaking, to see that outpouring on social media of love and gratitude and respect for his wife the day after she died. It was heartbreaking because it drove home to him the fact that people often dont say those things to each other when theyre still alive, but wait until theyre no longer around to hear them.

It almost brings me to tears, he said. We really need to do this to each other, let people know that theyre valuable.

CELEBRATION OF LIFE A celebration of Judy Kozan's life was held 1-5 p.m. on Oct. 2 at the State Street Chapel, 711 N. State St., of Dennis Funeral & Cremation Services in Waseca. Visit dennisfuneralhomes.com for more information.

Pull Quote There are not too many mayors of a town our size that can hang their hat on bringing hundreds of jobs in. Judy Kozan led that."  Waseca Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Ann Fitch
David R. Anderson is president of St. Olaf College, and Steve Hunegs is executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas.
Reach Regional Managing Editor Philip Weyhe at 507-931-8579 or follow him on Twitter @EditorPhilipWeyhe. Copyright 2021 APG Media of Southern Minnesota. All rights reserved.

Reach Regional Managing Editor Philip Weyhe at 507-931-8579 or follow him on Twitter @EditorPhilipWeyhe. Copyright 2021 APG Media of Southern Minnesota. All rights reserved.
CT State Police / Contributed

HARTFORD  An oversized tractor-trailer hit an overpass on a highway that connects with Interstate 91 on Wednesday morning, according to Connecticut State Police.

Troopers reported the crash shortly before 7 a.m. There was no immediate word on possible injuries.
Milton, PA (17847)

Today

Considerable cloudiness. Occasional rain showers this afternoon. High 62F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy early, then clearing overnight. A shower of rain or wet snow possible. Low 31F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.
Jeff Hankin passed through the area Thursday from Boston and stopped for lunch at Panera Bread in Wilkes-Barre Twp., where he found the dining room was closed.

A Panera Bread manager, who asked not to be identified, would only say the dining room closed because of a staffing issue.

A big now hiring sign was on display next to cars lined up at the drive-thru that remained open. Customers also could order takeout inside.

Hankin ordered a sandwich on a kiosk and sat at an outdoor table to eat it while he worked remotely on a laptop after seeing job interviews take place inside.

Im fine with it. We just got to do what we got to do, Hankin said. Businesses have to figure out ways to operate in this time.

Similar scenes played out Thursday at other nearby restaurants including Popeyes Chicken and Chick-fil-A in Wilkes-Barre Twp.

Cars lined up at the drive-thru at Chick-fil-A while a few people picked up their orders inside. A sign on the door at Chick-fil-A said, Dining room seating remains temporarily closed. Safe service is our top priority.

The dining room also remains closed at Popeyes Chicken but the drive-thru is open. Signs outside the restaurant said people could order food through platforms like Uber Eats, Grubhub and DoorDash or pick up orders inside.

The McDonalds restaurant at 1950 N. Memorial Highway in Shavertown announced on Facebook Wednesday that it would return to takeout from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. staff permitting and would no longer offer indoor dining.

The restaurants add to many throughout Pennsylvania and the U.S. shutting down dining rooms amid worker shortages and rising COVID-19 cases.

John Longstreet, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Restaurant & Lodging Association, said a huge staffing crisis remains in restaurants and other industries.

A National Restaurant Association survey said although the industry added back many of the jobs lost during the pandemic, a majority of restaurants remain understaffed.

Eighty-nine percent of Pennsylvania operators say their restaurants do not have enough employees to support existing customer demand.

Among the restaurants that are understaffed, 91% of operators say their restaurants are more than 10% below the necessary staffing levels and 41% say they are more than 20% below necessary staffing levels.

Restaurants remain understaffed despite the fact federal pandemic unemployment compensation benefits that provided an extra $300 per week came to end earlier this month, Longstreet said.

We are hearing members say there has been a slight uptick in applications but it certainly hasnt solved the problem, he said.

Longstreet said one of the top reasons restaurants have been struggling to hire employees is because of child care issues since schools closed for much of last year and many day care centers couldnt survive the pandemic.

Since restaurants were ordered to shut down at various times throughout the pandemic, Longstreet said some workers also went to work in other industries.

By closing dining rooms and offering takeout, delivery and drive-thru service only, he said restaurant operators can reduce their staffing considerably. Some restaurant owners have chosen to cut the days or hours of operation.

The National Restaurant Association found through a survey that a majority of consumers have changed their dining behavior due to the delta variant, putting acute pressure back on the restaurant industry.

The survey found that 6 in 10 adults have changed their restaurant use due to the rise in the delta variant, 19% of adults have stopped going out to restaurants, 19% have chosen to sit outside instead of inside when going to a restaurant and 37% have ordered takeout or delivery instead of going out to a restaurant.

Restaurant operators said in the survey that business conditions deteriorated in recent months with 56% of Pennsylvania operators saying conditions for their restaurants are worse now than they were three months ago.

According to the survey, 77% of operators said their restaurants experienced a decline in customer demand for indoor on-premises dining in recent weeks.

Costs for restaurant operators are up and profits are down with 92% saying their total food costs are higher and 84% saying their labor costs are higher than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Most Pennsylvania operators said they do not expect a return to normal business conditions anytime soon with 21% of operators saying business conditions will never return to normal for their restaurants.

The rise of coronavirus variants like delta threaten to push these restaurants closer to permanently closing their doors, Longstreet said.
Ashtabula, OH (44004)

Today

Cloudy. Periods of rain this morning. High 46F. Winds W at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy. Rain and snow showers this evening. A few snow showers overnight. Low around 35F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of precip 50%.
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Bilateral economic exchanges with Germany have continued to recover visibly after a relative stagnation in 2020 and could exceed 33 billion EUR this year, Romania's ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany, Adriana-Loreta Stanescu, said on Tuesday at an event organized by AHK Romania.

"Germany is the first and by far the largest trading partner of Romania, the bilateral trade representing over one fifth of the total external trade of Romania. Bilateral economic exchanges continued to recover visibly after a relative stagnation in 2020, reaching at the end of July about 19 billion EUR, respectively above the level of 2019, which encourages us fully motivated to believe that this year we will exceed the threshold of 33 billion EUR. The investment activity of the German companies is also consistent and growing, with approximately 5 billion EUR of capital invested, respectively over 10 billion EUR actual investments and I am talking here about the Romanian statistics. Thus, we are talking about over 23,000 companies with German capital registered in Romania that have generated approximately 300,000 jobs in various sectors of activity. There is a broad appreciation for the quality of German investment in Romania, which makes the bilateral economic relationship a strong one and with the potential for further growth," the ambassador said.

The diplomat mentioned that Romania's trade deficit is increasing in relation to Germany too and represents an element in the attention of the decision-makers in Bucharest. However, in relation to the total volume of trade, the imbalance in relation to Germany is lower than that recorded in relation to other trading partners.

"The Romanian-German bilateral relations, as it is known, are at an excellent level, a fact reflected in the substantial and beneficial political dialogue, in the consistent and growing economic relations, in the intensity of the people-to-people contacts, cultural, academic, powered by the existence of large and dynamic communities of the German minority in Romania and of the ethnic Germans and of the Romanian citizens emigrated to Germany, respectively, representing a solid bridge of connection between our countries," ambassador Adriana-Loreta Stanescu stressed.
The opposition Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR) will participate in consultations with President Iohannis, but it is not contemplating an alliance for government with the opposition Social Democratic Party (PSD), just having talks with PSD national chairman Marcel Ciolacu on a good formula for a government made up of specialists, AUR co-chair George Simion said on Wednesday.

"We are always open to dialogue and we will always participate in consultations. (...) We forge alliances with the Romanian people only, but we talk instead with Mr Ciolacu to find a good formula for a government of specialists," Simion said at the Parliament House.

He added that AUR will never endorse an alliance of the National Liberal Party (PNL), Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR) and Save Romania Union (USR) because it is toxic."Never. That toxic coalition has shown what it can do. We will not enter an alliance with or endorse them by our vote. We move forward, as we have described the solutions that AUR sees. I think they are the only solutions on the table as we speak. The other parties have no solutions. Either that, or we head for early elections, where I am convinced a majority of Romanians will change the composition of the current Parliament," said Simion. A
Relationship with the US is a priority with CCIR from many points of view, as the US is the country with the highest density of multinationals, which offers investors a huge potential to penetrate other markets, according to Chairman of the Romanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIR) Mihai Daraban.

In a press statement released on Wednesday, Daraban is said to have welcomed a delegation of the US state of Arizona House of Representatives to identify areas and ways to expand collaboration between the business communities of Arizona and Romania.

"To CCIR, the relationship with the US is a priority from many points of view. Apart from the strategic partnership with the US, a partnership intensely promoted by our agency in the domestic business community, we are very interested in the internationalisation of Romanian business. The US hosts the highest density of multinationals, which offers investors a huge potential to penetrate other markets, with America being a hub for many economic trends and more. Given the context, we are glad that we have a reliable partner in the Romanian Embassy in the United States, which makes a meeting like today's possible," says Daraban.According to him, for the implementation of joint projects with the Arizona House of Representatives boosting the activity of county chambers as an interface for the Romanian and American entrepreneurs is required."Romania offers many advantages to American investors, and we want to paint an accurate picture of the target areas considered by the American side. CCIR will provide direct and unmitigated support to American investors to identify the best solutions for business development."Russell W "Rusty" Bowers, speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives, is quoted as saying that the United States has long expressed interest in the development of entrepreneurship and the private sector in Romania, which is the base for the strategic partnership between the two countriesRomania, he said, is an important European target for Arizona business, as evidenced by the prospecting visit today, which he called very important in the development of future relations with CCIR. He said there is interest in investment in mining, energy, IT and high tech and that concrete requests related to them will be submitted to CCIR. Also proposed will be university education cooperation with student exchanges, as well as joint training programmes with Romanian university hubs of Cluj, Constanta and Iasi.Data with Romania's National Companies Registry Office (ONRC) show total trade between Romania and the United States amounted to almost two billion euros in late 2020 and 1.26 billion euros at the end of August 2021. As of June 2021, 8,112 American companies were active in Romania running on a total subscribed share capital of 1.21 billion euros.
In the past 24 hours, entry was denied to Romania for 37 foreign citizens, which did not fulfill the conditions set by law, announced on Wednesday the General Inspectorate of the Border Police (IGPF), in a release sent to AGERPRES.

Furthermore, exit was not allowed for 11 Romanian citizens for various legal reasons, the IGPF adds.

According to the source, approximately 93,300 persons, Romanian and foreign citizens, with over 32,900 vehicles (of which 17,400 trucks) have conducted control formalities through the border crossing points at the level of the entire country in the past 24 hours. Entering the country were 43,900 persons with 15,000 vehicles, while 49.400 persons were exiting with 17,900 vehicles.

The border with Hungary was crossed by approximately 28,300 persons with 15,300 vehicles (8,000 trucks), of whom 17,000 persons were exiting, using 9,400 vehicles.

In what regards specific activities, in the competence areas - border crossings and the green frontier - border policemen, in the past 24 hours, started proceedings regarding 62 illegal acts (36 felonies and 26 misdemeanors) committed both by Romanian and foreign citizens.

Independently, or in collaboration with other institutions, border policemen discovered undeclared goods (which were to be illegally brought into Romania), which exceeded the admitted customs cap or were suspected of being counterfeit, worth in total 208.100 RON.

The value of fines issued is over 16,700 RON. (1 EUR = 4.9485 RON).
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bogdan Aurescu, opened on Tuesday evening the anniversary event held at the headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in Paris, dedicated to marking 65 years since Romania's accession to UNESCO, alongside the general director of this forum, Audrey Azoulay.

According to a press release sent by MAE (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), in the opening speech Minister Aurescu evoked the importance of Romania's accession to UNESCO and the collaboration over the years, with this organization that has a strategic role in consolidating international cooperation in the areas of culture, education and science.

"Minister Bogdan Aurescu highlighted the opportunity of promoting cultural heritage and Romanian values which Romania offers as a UNESCO member and showed that equally, through its membership and activity within the organization, Romania reaffirms its strong attachment towards multilateralism, towards democratic values, human rights and the principles that are at the foundation of the United Nations," the quoted source shows.

The head of the Romanian diplomacy also highlighted UNESCO's contribution to the joint effort of protecting universal heritage and highlighted our country's commitment of continuing the actions of introducing national objectives of universal importance to the UNESCO heritage list. Furthermore, he pointed out the political importance and the impact on the dynamics of the regional cooperation of the initiatives, partnerships, cooperation and cross-border cases where Romania is involved.

The general director of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, sent her congratulatory message to Romania and thanked the Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs for the "very active and substantial contribution of Romania to the organization's activity".
President Klaus Iohannis stated, on Wednesday, that any person supported by a parliament majority can become Prime Minister.

"Any person supported by a parliamentary majority can become Prime Minister. Obviously. That's what's written in the Constitution, there is no hindrance," said Iohannis.

He was asked if Florin Citu can still be Prime Minister in any formula of Government after the vote in Parliament on the censure motion and if he is taking into account a new designation of him.

The head of state is participating, on Wednesday, in the EU-Western Balkans Summit, which is taking place in Brdo, Slovenia. On Tuesday, the head of state attended the informal meeting of the European Council.
President Klaus Iohannis said on Wednesday that, after the informal meeting of the European Council, the European Commission has committed itself to come up with some solutions on increasing energy prices.

"We had an informal discussion last night and I think two conclusions are very important, which were drawn from the discussions that lasted until late at night. The first is related to the way in which we, the EU, see ourselves in the global politics, the conclusions are good for us and important. Everybody stressed the importance and relevance of NATO and the importance, relevance and need to keep the transatlantic relationship strong. On the other hand, we had a first discussion about energy prices, especially electricity prices, and we agreed to speed up all the steps. The Commission has committed itself and we expect it to keep to this issue, to come very quickly, within a week, with an approach proposed by the Commission that has to come up with some solutions, because we cannot pass the winter with increasing electricity prices," the president said.

He also specified what the discussions at the EU-Western Balkans Summit, taking place in Slovenia, will be aimed at.

"Today we are discussing about the states in the area, there are six states that all want to become members of the European Union, there are economic issues, there are issues of conditionalities, but the most important thing here is that we, in the Union, want to give a European perspective to the states of the Western Balkans, and these states obviously want to confirm their interest in becoming member states and are willing to meet all the conditions. So today I do not expect complicated discussions, everyone wants us to make progress in these accession processes," Iohannis said.

The Romanian president is attending the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Slovenia in Brdo on Wednesday. On Tuesday, Klaus Iohannis attended the informal meeting of the European Council, also held in Brdo.
President Klaus Iohannis declared on Wednesday, regarding the possibility of restoring the coalition by co-opting USR (Save Romania Union) to govern, that it is "difficult to negotiate with a former partner who voted to bring down your Government".

"When a Government is formed, the person appointed by the president must look to make a majority, so the problem comes down to the one who will be appointed to look for a majority, but of course this concerns me. (...) If we want to analyze the facts and the political stories, we see that USR was in the Government, abandoned governing, USR voted along with PSD (Social Democratic Party) and AUR (Alliance for the Union of Romanians) for bringing down the Government where they were part of. These are some political steps with quite a weight and I do not know if the parties will wish to get over these matters. It is difficult to negotiate with a former partner who voted to bring down your Government," Iohannis said.

President Iohannis was asked if he believes it is possible to restore the coalition, co-opting USR to govern after the vote of no confidence and after the last statements made by the leaders of these political formations.

The head of state is participating in the EU-Western Balkans Summit, in Brdo, Slovenia.
President Klaus Iohannis explained, on Wednesday, the reason why the consultations with the parties will only take place next week.

"I think it takes good days for everyone to get down to earth, because this crisis is different from other government crises. (...) Only through maturity and not through ill humour is this government crisis to be resolved," said Iohannis.

The head of state is participating on Wednesday in the EU-Western Balkans Summit, which takes place in Brdo, Slovenia. On Tuesday, the head of state attended the informal meeting of the European Council.
His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel has expressed his deep sorrow for the tragedy that took place on October 1 at the Infectious Diseases Hospital in Constanta, basilica reports.

In a message published following the fire that broke out in the intensive care unit treating COVID-19 patients in the Black Sea port city of Constanta on the back of two other deadly hospital fires within the last year in Romania, Patriarch Daniel offered prayers to God to rest the souls of the dead in the light, peace and love of the crucified and risen Christ.

The Romanian Patriarch said he offers his prayers in moments of deep suffering and turmoil.

The Patriarch of Romania expressed his condolences to the families, relatives and friends of those who lost their lives in the blaze.

The Patriarch also conveyed a warm message of encouragement to the entire medical staff, who is fighting the pandemic in particularly difficult conditions.
His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel reflected on Sunday on the unusual command that the Saviour Jesus Christ gave in the Sermon on the Mount, that of loving ones enemies (Luke 6:35), basilica reports.

We have an unusual command. No legislator in the world, throughout history, has ever commanded anyone to love their enemy. Therefore, the Saviour Jesus Christ surpasses all by showing the need for a new attitude that seems unnatural in the nature of the fallen, selfish man. Namely, that of loving ones enemies, of repaying evil with kindness.

The Saviour does not confirm the widespread mentality of loving ones neighbour and hating ones enemies as healthy, said the Patriarch. He commands that those who follow Him and bear His name, that is, those who call themselves Christians, should love their enemies and do them good.

How to love those who hurt you

It seems a challenging exhortation to fulfil in daily life, the Patriarch added.

The Saviour never asks people for anything beyond their power. Only that some of His exhortations cannot be fulfilled without His help. He says, Without Me, you can do nothing, that is, nothing good, the Patriarch explained.

The gospel of Christ is not a simple book of the law, a moral or legal code. It is the very thought of the Saviour Jesus Christ that can only be assumed, assimilated and put into practice by man with the help of Christ.

So, only if we ask Christ to give us His merciful and forgiving love, then can we fulfil the commandment to love our enemies.

The gospel tells us that we must not remain in that state of loving only those who love us, of helping only those who help us, but of changing our attitude and doing good constantly toward those who love us and to those who harm us.

When we do only good, not evil to our fellow people, we are in a healthy state of mind.

When we repay evil with evil, we are in a sick state. Since God created man in His image, and He is Merciful and Good, man is like God as long as he is merciful and good. That is why Christ demands that man be constantly good and merciful, not just selectively, episodically, from time to time.

In time, the wickedness of others becomes our own wickedness

In practice, however, it is not easy, the Patriarch of Romania stressed October 3.

Because a man who has been wronged, harmed, humiliated, has been hurt by the wickedness of other people remembers more the evil he has suffered from others than the good. So we remember more those who offended us, wronged us, hurt us or humiliated us, and we forget faster those who did us good.

And because we bear in our souls the desire for vengeance and the suffering accumulated in the soul because of the wickedness of others, in time the wickedness of others becomes our own wickedness; it becomes a disease of our soul, and we carry in us the wickedness of others that has become our own wickedness, an unbound tie.

Forgiveness does not only do good to the one who is forgiven, but also to the one who forgives because the soul returns to its state of spiritual health, namely to do only good, in the image of the Good and Merciful God, the Patriarch of Romania added on Sunday, at Brancusi Parish in Bucharests Sector 6.

His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel visited Brancusi Parish to sanctify the place of worship built by the community since 2008. On this occasion, the Parish Priest Costel Burlacu was awarded the Patriarchal Cross.

Therefore, only through forgiveness can we free ourselves from the wickedness of others that we have stored up in our souls.
President Klaus Iohannis said on Wednesday that the interim government will remain in office until a solution is found and voiced his skepticism that a solution would take form in the first round of consultations with the parties and parliamentary formations.

He was asked what solutions he sees to the current crisis - minority government, technocratic government or early elections.

"These very solutions will have to be resulted from the consultations that will take place. And if I said that the situation is more complicated than before, I am not convinced that after the first round of consultations a solution will take form. Another round of consultations might be needed and parties need to sit down in various combinations to find solutions. Coalition policy is not conducted just through consultations at Cotroceni [Presidential Palace]. Coalitions are formed between parties. People need to have the courage to leave that pathetic rhetoric behind, to sit down and discuss concretely what can be done for Romania, because Romania must be governed. There must be a Government, or if the parties do not get along (...) then this interim Government will remain in office until a new solution is found. There is no substitute, the country cannot remain completely ungoverned and I believe that in the end everyone will understand that it is better to have a Government with full powers than an interim government," said Iohannis.

Asked whether he is ruling out the possibility of dissolving Parliament and triggering early elections, President Iohannis replied: "I do not rule out any constitutional step, but whatever we do must lead to a solution, or the solution, no matter how we approach it, must ultimately be the formation of a government that goes further and solves the problems of Romania and of Romanians, this is the goal of politics".

The head of state is participating on Wednesday in the EU-Western Balkans Summit, which takes place in Brdo, Slovenia. On Tuesday, the head of state attended the informal meeting of the European Council.
National chairman of the opposition Social Democratic Party (PSD) Marcel Ciolacu said on Wednesday that President Klaus Iohannis has to fulfill his constitutional duties as he is the most able to settle the ongoing political crisis, showing that PSD remains consistent with advocating early elections as the solution, and would like a government of specialists to lead the country until then.

"I think that at this moment the President of Romania has no solution. First of all, he has no solution to what he has created, because what we are experiencing now, this crisis, is a consequence of the fact that the President of Romania has violated the spirit of the Constitution and created this alliance of right-wing losers, and we all see what we are all experiencing right now, both economically and in terms of the pandemic. We remain consistent, and our clear opinion is that at this moment the political class must return to the Romanians, and the Romanians should decide who will lead Romania," Ciolacu said at the PSD headquarters.

Asked about Iohannis's recent statements, Ciolacu added: "It means that the president has come to the PSD's conclusion that early elections must be held."

"PSD does not have a majority to enter the government. We are not connected to any principle of USR [Save Romania Union], of PNL [National Liberal Party]. (...) We understand that PNL also made some statutory decisions within the party that it does not negotiate with us. (...) I am glad that the President has come to the same conclusion as us that early elections are coming," the Social Democrat leader added.

Ciolacu said that it is out of the question for PSD to vote for a PNL minority government.

He also said that recently ousted Prime Minister Florin Citu receiving any vote from PSD after a motion against him cleared Parliament on a 2810 to nil vote is excluded.

Asked about the intention of the opposition Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR) to trigger the removal from office of President Iohannis, Ciolacu said: "My opinion is that a party with 10 percent support cannot suspend a president."

Iohannis said on Wednesday that a caretaker government will stay in office until a solution is found, and voiced scepticism that a solution would become apparent in the first round of consultations with parliamentary parties and formations.
Romania's pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai will host on Wednesday the seminar "The Future of Energy, Bringing Together Conventional and Alternative Sources", which is intended to promote the exchange of best practices as a platform for the identification of sustainable energy solutions.

On the sidelines of the event, Secretary of State with the Energy Ministry Akos Derzsi had a meeting on Tuesday with Secretary of State with Poland's Environment Ministry Ireneusz Zyska, a press release published on the website romaniaexpo2020.ro informs.

The two officials discussed the conditions for energy distribution to end users in Romania and Poland and ways to streamline this service. Also, the need to modernize the energy infrastructure in the two countries was highlighted, with comparisons between different technical aspects of the supply and consumption calculation process. The need for integrating alternative sources in sustainable energy development strategies was also emphasized, in the light of the goals set out for the European Union through the Green Deal.

On this occasion, Secretary of State Akos Derzsi said that Romania is making sustained efforts to increase the share of renewable sources, such as wind and solar power, and that developing such energy sources is very important for Romania's energy future.

In his turn, the Polish official emphasized the benefits of initiating a bilateral exchange of best practices, and appreciated the set of advantages Romania holds in the energy field.

On the same occasion, General Commissioner of Romania's pavilion, Ferdinand Nagy, gave the two delegations a comprehensive presentation of the national exhibition space.
Secretary of State with the Ministry of Health Andrei Baciu told a press conference on Wednesday that up to this time 4,541,456 digital certificates were generated.

He said that 30 companies still carry out vaccination for their own employees.

According to the Secretary of State, a sale was completed on Friday to South Korea of about 436,000 doses of vaccine Pfizer Biontech.
Alexis Thurber, who lives near Seattle, was insured by Anthem when she got an $18,192 hospital bill in May for radiation therapy that doctors said was essential to treat her breast cancer.

The treatments were experimental and not medically necessary, Anthem said, according to Thurber. She spent much of the summer trying to get the insurer to pay up  placing two dozen phone calls, spending hours on hold, sending multiple emails and enduring unmeasurable stress and worry. It finally covered the claim months later.

Its so egregious. Its a game theyre playing, said Thurber, 51, whose cancer was diagnosed in November. Trying to get true help was impossible.

Privacy rules prevent Anthem from commenting on Thurbers case, said Anthem spokesperson Colin Manning.

When insurers fail to promptly pay medical bills, patients are left in the lurch. They might first get a notice saying payment is pending or denied. A hospital might bill them for treatment they thought would be covered. Hospitals and doctors often sue patients whose insurance didnt pay up.
Theres precious little reason to describe the plot of a Bond film; suffice to say they play all the hits: He dashes from exotic location to exotic location, flirting with dangerous women, looking good in a suit, delivering his signature catchphrases, tangling with M (Ralph Fiennes) and Moneypenny (Naomi Harris) and playing with cool gadgets from Q (Ben Whishaw), all in the name of saving the world from a high-tech weapon.

But the most notable innovation is also the most exciting, in Lynchs ultra-confident and ultra-cool performance as the newest 007 on the block, Nomi, who is gunning for Bonds neck, before they reluctantly become allies. Lynch is magnetic on screen and easily makes her case for taking over the whole franchise herself. Ana de Armas also makes a memorable appearance, and her twist on the Bond girl, as a bubbly novice rather than femme fatale, is criminally charming and all-too brief.

On the other hand, Rami Maleks stiff, disfigured villain, who sows revenge from a remote island lair, feels like an unfortunate throwback; he might as well be straight from the Roger Moore years. Billy Magnussens sub-villain, an American intelligence agent, would have been the far more fascinating and contemporary character, but hes jettisoned too soon.
A funny thing happened on the way to Netflix for the musical Diana. The company of the show, which had a rackety premiere in 2019 at La Jolla Playhouse, appears to have boned up on The Crown.

The musical, which is streaming ahead of its November premiere on Broadway, is still a crassly commercial noise machine. But the ensemble has grown a touch more dignified. The characters have been flecked with a few human lineaments.

Jeanna de Waal, who stars as a gullible but quick-learning Diana, and Roe Hartrampf, who plays a bratty playboy Prince Charles, are more plausible as the mismatched royal couple. In La Jolla, they seemed to be impersonating cartoons. Now theyre cartoons with ambiguous smiles and furrowed brows.

For those encountering this theme park musical for the first time, it might strain credulity to hear that the show has actually improved. But the fundamental flaw of Diana  the glaring disconnect between story and score  remains unchanged by these cosmetic refinements.

The book by Joe DiPietro and the music by David Bryan (the team behind the Tony-winning musical Memphis) still have their insoluble problems. Together, they compound each others faults  nowhere more so than in the co-written lyrics, which may be the worst Ive heard in a theater.
Above all, there is an activist impulse at work here, foreshadowed in the opening credits, which stylistically cribs from punk rock and agitprop posters; Stewarts guests will be stopping by not because theyre on a promotional tour, but because they can speak with some authority to the issues the episodes big theme proposes.

War presents a group of veteran-activists working to bring attention to, and to get the Veterans Administration to recognize and treat, the toxic and carcinogenic effects of the open burn pits the military routinely used during various Gulf wars to destroy everything from armaments to uniforms to amputated body parts to feces by dousing them in jet fuel and setting it alight.

Freedom brings together Philippine journalist Maria Ressa, facing prison for cyberlibel; former Venezuelan political prisoner Francisco Marquez; and Stewarts old friend Bassem Youssef, known as the Egyptian Jon Stewart, to discuss the slippery slope to autocracy. COVID-themed segments in the same episode look at the way some Americans refuse to get vaccinated or wear a mask in the name of their imagined right to do whatever they want  not exactly a hot topic by now but stubbornly evergreen.
Ann said the letter made her wonder more about another boy in their care whose biological father is in prison for armed robbery and assault. Ann said the boys biological grandmother was an SSM employee who reached out to her on Facebook, which alarmed Ann. She said theyd met before during a supervised visit with a caseworker but names werent exchanged.

You dont know what sets crazy people off, Ann said.

In late July, Ann said she and her husband included their concerns in a letter to SSMs board of directors.

Drug addiction and violent crime was an everyday reality for our son when he was with his biological family, they wrote. His great grandmother went so far as to pull a gun on a social worker attempting to assist a child in dire need of help. His mother is not able to care for him as she is frequently homeless due to drug addiction. We were ecstatic when we were told we would be able to formally adopt our son but there was a very real and genuine fear that his family members might show up on our doorstep, putting us and the rest of our growing family in jeopardy.

Ann and her husband are suspicious of cars driving by their house. They bought a German shepherd guard dog. The children arent allowed in the yard unattended.
WINDYVILLE, Mo.  Two southern Missouri men have been charged in the kidnapping of a woman who went missing in July, after investigators found photos of her, nearly naked and apparently locked in a cage, on one of their phones.

Fifty-eight-year-old James Phelps and 56-year-old Timothy Norton have been in jail since mid-September on a kidnapping charge in the disappearance of Cassidy Rainwater. Their attorneys didnt immediately return Associated Press phone messages Tuesday seeking comment.

According to court documents, Dallas County Sheriffs Office deputies interviewed Phelps after a missing persons report was filed in August because he was believed to be the last known person to have contact with the 33-year-old Rainwater, the Springfield News-Leader reports.

Phelps told police at the time that Rainwater had been staying in a loft on his property while she got back on her feet. But he said she left in the middle of the night, possibly to go to Colorado.
The law, Senate Bill 5, said St. Louis County municipalities could only generate 12.5% of their annual budgets from minor traffic offense revenue; the limit for the rest of the state was set at 20%. It had been 30% statewide.

The Supreme Court said in 2017 the state provided no substantial justification for the special requirements, which would have allowed the law to stand. But in late 2019, in a separate case, the court instituted a rational basis test, changing the criteria for determining whether a law with special requirements may take effect.

Schmitts office in early 2020 moved for the Cole County Circuit Court to put in place St. Louis County-specific limits. Circuit Judge Jon Beetem, in a decision issued late last year, allowed the state to enforce the requirements.

Sauer said Wednesday the problems of taxation by citation were uniquely entrenched in St. Louis County and that there was a rational basis for the law.

There was a very urgent public necessity to address, Sauer said.
ST. LOUIS COUNTY  A 10-year-old girl was honored by police on Tuesday for helping hide her little brother as her father, armed with a gun, wounded her mother and killed her grandfather in 2020.

Kate Kempf was one of 10 students presented a Do the Right Thing award during a ceremony hosted by multiple St. Louis-area police departments, associations and a nonprofit, Do The Right Thing of Greater St. Louis.

Kate, who was just 8 when the shooting happened, said Tuesday that the award was a "pretty big deal," and she was thankful for it. Its pretty cool.

On Jan. 23, 2020, Kates grandfather, John Colter, 66, was buckling Kate and her little brother into a vehicle at their Fenton-area home to meet up with the children's father. Colter's daughter, Kristine Kempf, was estranged from James Kempf, 45, and they were in the process of a divorce.

What Colter didn't know was that James Kempf was watching the house from afar, as he was under a court order to stay away from Kristine Kempf.

When Colter had his back turned, James Kempf burst into the home and shot Kristine Kempf in the leg. Colter rushed in, allowing his daughter to escape, but he was fatally shot.
Parson also paid Deloitte Consulting nearly $800,000 to design a new pay plan for state workers. In 2020, lawmakers refused to fund the blueprint.

But earlier this year the Legislature inserted money into the budget to implement Deloittes work, but Parson vetoed the funds.

The state also has paid McKinsey & Co. $2.7 million to study how Missouri could save money on the states Medicaid health insurance program, known as MoHealthNet.

As governor, Parson has attempted to increase employee pay in the state, calling on the Legislature to approve incremental 2% raises for all state workers during his tenure.

Departmental budgets submitted to the governors budget office show agency heads are continuing to try and bring up the pay of the states workers.

The current low pay rate has contributed to a high rate of employee turnover in the states child welfare agency, which is under fire on a number of fronts, including for its handling of runaway foster children.
It penalizes them for exercise of the right to organize and bargain collectively, by denying them payroll deduction authority, while other employee associations, who seek to promote the welfare of employees and to lobby like MOCOA, continue to receive the benefit, Beetem wrote.

OAs willingness to act contrary to its purported guidelines, or to use different interpretations of the rules, for some vendors, but not MOCOA, is arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable, the judge wrote.

It is unclear why the administration made the decision. The two sides had been at the bargaining table for four months before the state stopped deducting dues, leaving Tim Cutt, the lone remaining union officer, to suggest it was a union busting tactic at the time.

The court ruling is the latest in an ongoing tug-of-war between Parson and rank-and-file state employees, who are among the lowest paid in the nation.
Page said last month that he reprimanded Khan for the gesture but declined to release more details.

The council, as a committee of the whole, voted unanimously to meet behind closed doors to discuss Khans appointment based on recommendation from County Counselor Beth Orwick that the fallout from the July 27 meeting was a personnel matter.

After reconvening in public session, the council opted to send a letter to Page requesting he release the countys internal report to them and review video of the meeting. Trakas, who suggested the idea, said the letter would give Page a week to respond.

If he denies the request, the council could vote to try to compel Page to release the report, Trakas said.

What does the report contain, and does the punishment reasonably reflect that what that report contains in terms of all the evidence  or not? It is important that we find out whats in that report if we can, Trakas said. If we cant, then I think we resort to litigation if we have to.

Because the position is a political appointment, the council vote would not be binding. Page plans to keep Khan in the position as acting director should the council vote against his confirmation.

Electric car chargers

In other action, the council delayed a vote for final approval of a bill that would require the addition of electric-car charging stations into some new construction and major building or parking rehabs in unincorporated areas of the county. Kelli Dunaway, D-2nd District, asked the council to hold the bill.

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The U.S. Navy is still developing aggressor/adversary aircraft for their Top Gun adversary training program. This program requires aircraft and pilots who can accurately emulate the performance of hostile aircraft and their pilots. Currently the navy is upgrading 22 Swiss F-5E fighters recently acquired to serve as aggressor aircraft. The latest upgrade turns the aircraft into an F-5N and reflects upgrades in comparable enemy aircraft.

The latest F-5 acquisition is in addition to the initial 44 F-5E fighters obtained from Switzerland nearly two decades ago. The U.S. uses F-5s, a 12-ton fighter roughly similar to the MiG-21 (or Chinese J-7), for training American pilots to realistically deal with potential enemies. The F-5 is normally armed with two 20mm cannon, and three tons of missiles and bombs. The U.S. Navy modified and refurbished the Swiss F-5s so they performance of current MiG-21/J-7 models.

The Swiss once had a fleet of 110 F-5s, but have been selling them off since 2000. They have 56 left, and a recent opinion poll showed that 65 percent of the voters want to keep them, possibly because the government wants to buy $50 million aircraft to replace them. The U.S. paid the Swiss about $1.2 million for each of the F-5s, then spent a little more per aircraft to refurb them. Acquisition and upgrade cost for the latest 22 are about the same as for the first 44.

The MiG-21/J-7 is still widely used even though it is a 9.5 ton, 1950s design, that became the most widely produced post World War II fighter with over 10,000 built. It is cheap and easy to maintain but no longer effective. Many nations keep them in service because of their low cost, and because a wide range of avionics and weapons upgrades are available. The Chinese have long offered their copy of the MiG-21, the J-7 and produced and upgraded them even after Russian halted production in 1985. J-7 production ceased in 2013. Not really designed for ground attack, these aircraft can carry 1.5 tons of bombs. U.S. pilots are much better at killing MiG-21/J-7s once they have trained against an F-5 being flown like these similar aircraft.

The new batch of F-5Ns will be distributed in about ten smaller detachments to operate at air bases where fighters are stationed and want to provide all their pilots with some adversary training. Normally pilots do not have such access to the three aggressor squadrons (two navy, one marine) which are based at special training facilities where all the participants can be tracked electronically to provide a more accurate post-training commentary on how the pilots reacted and performed during the confrontations with the aggressor aircraft.

When acquiring aircraft to be used for adversary training there are sometimes unique problems. That was the case as the navy and air force began receiving F-35 stealth fighters. Air Force and Navy pilots faced a training problem, one they have encountered before when they encountered unexpected results with new aircraft and weapons going into combat for the first time. After American participation in the Vietnam War ended in 1972 Israel became the country that got to use new American aircraft and new weapons first. Th Israeli also benefited from the American development of adversarial training during the Vietnam war.

The first time the lack of adversarial training was during was during the 1960s when the air force and navy aviation suffered unexpectedly high combat losses because their aircraft and pilots were not prepared for the lower tech Russian aircraft used against them over Vietnam. The initial solution was for fighters to be again equipped with cannon because the new air-to-air missiles were not yet reliable enough to replace the old fashioned cannon. That did not change the situation a lot and that led to a solution that did work. This was the concept of using your own aircraft for "aggressor (or dissimilar or adversarial) training." This began in 1969 when the U.S. Navy established the original "Top Gun" fighter pilot school. As the years went by the air force and navy acquired more Russian warplanes to use for training in addition to using Western fighters equipped and flown in the same manner as the potential opposition.

In the 21st century the 1960s solution did not work as well. This is becoming a serious problem as more air force and navy pilots prepare to switch from F-18s, F-15s and F-16s to F-35s. These transition pilots are finding that Top Gun type training needs much better adversary aircraft because potential foes (China and Russia) have improved their tech considerably since the American stealth aircraft entered service in 1983 (F-117) and 2005 (F-22). Potential opponents hustled to deal with that and Russia and China had both adopted adversarial training and were working on solutions. The F-35 began entering service in 2015 and Israel was the first export customer to receive F-35s, in 2017, and put them to work against Iranian forces in Syria. Russia had their most modern air defense systems in Syria and found that their preparations to deal with the F-35 were inadequate. That had already been demonstrated when F-22s earlier flew missions over Syria.

For the Americans the F-35 success in Syria meant that adversarial training against new Chinese and Russian stealthy aircraft would have to do better than Russian efforts. U.S. Navy F-35s have since operated in the West Pacific and within range of Chinese air defenses but nothing has been made public yet about Chinese reactions. The Chinese have stealth aircraft operational but they have not yet been deployed against F-35s. That may change soon because South Korea and Japan have also received F-35s and two countries often get unwelcome visits by Chinese aircraft,

Given the prospect of stealth versus stealth aircraft, the old rules of adversarial training must adapt. That means adversary aircraft equipped with the advanced tech (like AESA radars and more complex electronics in general). One aspect of this problem is that the military uses commercial firms to supply aircraft and retired (and very experienced) military pilots to fly the dissimilar aircraft. Current laws prohibit the commercial firms from obtaining the high-tech fighters required to adequately challenge F-35 and F-22 pilots. Using the more advanced dissimilar aircraft is also more expensive and the senior air force and navy leadership now understand that this is an essential cost. But there is general agreement that these changes are needed. Apparently Israeli experience with their F-35s have reinforced the call for more realistic Top Gun opposition.

This is a relatively recent problem. The F-22 began development in the late 1980s, first flew in 1997, and entered service in 2005. The F-22 has performance that was (and still is) far superior to that of any other aircraft in service. The combination of speed, advanced electronics, and stealth technology has created such a decisive advantage that F-22s are often matched up against as many as six F-15s to ensure their pilots face a challenge during training. So why is the F-35, with somewhat lower performance, causing such a commotion? The problem is that because of high cost only 187 F-22s were built. But more than 20 times as many F-35s will enter service, many of them with allied air forces. For the dissimilar training to work the F-35 must face aircraft that can realistically mimic what the latest Russian and Chinese fighters are capable of. That led to some little-publicized innovations, like taking some F-117s out of retirement and putting them back to work as adversarial aircraft. The last of the 64 F-117s built was officially retired, but not destroyed, in 2008. As early as 2009 F-117s have been spotted in the air and more followed as they were needed for Top Gun and Red Flag.

Before dissimilar training, American pilots practiced against American pilots, with everyone flying American aircraft and using American tactics. It worked in World War II, because the enemy pilots were not getting a lot of practice and were using similar aircraft and tactics anyway. Most importantly, there was a lot of aerial combat going on, providing ample opportunity for on- the- job training and development of new tactics. Not so in Vietnam, where the quite different Russian trained North Vietnamese were giving U.S. aviators an awful time. The four-week Top Gun program solved the problem. The air force followed shortly with its Red Flag school. In the early 1980s, the Russians established a dissimilar air combat school and the Chinese followed in 1987 as did the Russians in the 1990s.

Since the 1970s the two American training programs have developed differently, and the entire concept of "dissimilar training" has changed. The navy kept Top Gun as a program to hone fighter pilot's combat skills. The air force made their Red Flag program more elaborate, bringing in the many different types of aircraft involved in combat missions (especially electronic warfare). But after the Cold War ended in 1991, it became increasingly obvious that none of our potential enemies was providing their fighter pilots with much training at all. In other words, the dissimilar training for U.S. fighter pilots was not as crucial as it had been during the Cold War. It had been noted that flying skills of Soviet pilots were declining in the 1980s, as economic problems in the Soviet Union caused cuts in flying time. During that period American pilots were increasing their flying time. Moreover, U.S. flight simulators were getting better. American pilots were finding that even the consumer grade combat flight simulators had some training value.

Because the Cold War was over and no similar opponent appeared, in the late 1990s Top Gun and Red Flag found their budgets cut. But the programs remain, as does the memory of why they were set up in the first place. In the 21st century China was rapidly improving its combat aviation and giving its fighter pilots more flying time. Chinese politicians maintain a bellicose attitude towards the U.S. and it is accepted that there is a need to increase American Top Gun training. Because of the new Chinese "dissimilar training" effort, the U.S. Top Gun and Red Flag schools were restored to their former prominence, sort of. The Chinese move is certainly a very meaningful one, as it shows that they are serious about preparing their pilots to fight and defeat Taiwanese and American pilots. Dissimilar training is how that is done.
by Austin Bay October 6, 2021

On Oct. 4, 56 mainland Chinese combat aircraft crossed the Taiwan Strait and illegally penetrated sovereign Taiwanese airspace. That aerial "show of force" rated as the largest mainland Chinese airspace violation since 1949 when Chinese Nationalist soldiers retreated to the island and dug in.

According to numerous media reports, the 56-plane demonstration by the Chinese Communist Party's Peoples Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) culminated three days of sustained military saber-rattling harassment. There have been other sustained military displays, including combat engagements, such as the air and artillery battles in the late 1950s.

The Eisenhower administration's support for Taiwan led to a stalemate and a ceasefire.

But with Ike in charge the Communists thought twice.

In the 2021 President Joe Biden geopolitical context, the Oct. 4 violation was a multidimensional diplomatic and military probe in the form of a calculated outrage designed to generate maximum media headlines.

The headlines erupted. At the military tactical and operational levels behind the headlines, the intrusion probed Taiwanese air defenses. It was recon. Very possibly the CCP's military gleaned valuable intelligence on technical capabilities, such as radar range and missile battery readiness. The probe could have provided insight into the Taiwan military's decision-making. How long will the Taiwanese wait before intercepting the PLAAF attack formation?

The strait is narrow. Delay has fatal consequences.

At the strategic level, the penetration was another provocative Beijing test of Taiwan's faith in reliable American support of its defense. To be frank, U.S. support for the defense of Taiwan translates into protecting the small democracy's very existence.

In a theoretical frame, the Chinese show of force air operation was a classic example of a "power cocktail," mixing what strategists dub basic elements of power, in this instance diplomatic, intelligence/information and military power.

However, Communist China's threat to Taiwan isn't theory. From Mao Zedong on, senior Chinese Communist leaders have vowed to seize Taiwan. Often Beijing obfuscates that vow with rhetoric like a "formal declaration of Taiwan independence" will immediately lead to a cross-Strait war.

The Pentagon and several open-source analysts also identify other camouflage for Beijing aggression. In addition to formal independence, the cases include:

No. 1: Unrest within Taiwan, and note Beijing could seed unrest

No. 2: Foreign intervention in Taiwan's internal affairs, and that could mean anything from selling Taiwan F-16 parts to providing loans

No. 3: Taiwanese acquisition of nuclear weapons -- and like Japan and South Korea, Taiwan has the brains to produce them

No. 4: A foreign nation stationing military forces on Taiwan.

That is a warning to the U.S. Every so often commentators -- like me -- mull deploying a U.S. Army armored brigade combat team to Taiwan. Think tripwire forces in South Korea and, during the Cold War, West Germany.

In the larger lens of willingness to fight a war for freedom: The probe was a material manifestation of the giant sucking sound, the huge Asian power vacuum and credibility vacuum created by Biden's disastrous Afghanistan bugout.

The withdrawal was a self-inflicted disaster. The world knows it, even if the Washington Beltway media refuses to admit it.

Power abhors a vacuum, and autocratic states and tyrannies like Communist China rush to fill power vacuums. The Oct. 4 show of force suggests that after the post-Afghanistan debacle Beijing senses opportunity.

Communist China is America's foremost security threat. Chinese president Xi Jinping is already arguing Biden's bugout demonstrates American promises are unreliable. China wants South Korea and Japan to observe closely, and India as well.

Without strong leadership by democratic nations, primarily from the powerful U.S., our weaknesses, especially our self-inflicted weaknesses, could quickly become debilitating wounds the authoritarians will leverage, to our great loss.
The military government continues threatening to bring in Russian military contractors to replace French troops. The reality is that Russia is too broke to provide foreign aid, and if you want Russian weapons or military contractors, you must pay for them, preferably in advance. The current military government in Mali is considered temporary and is supposed to be replaced by elections in early 2022. The five colonels who run the military government want to remain in power.

The Malian military has staged three government takeovers since 2012. The last one, in May 2021, was an internal dispute within the military. Since the May coup foreign donors have warned that most of the foreign aid will stop coming if Mali does not carry out a significant reduction in corruption, government ineffectiveness and overall instability. None of these three military takeovers were about corruption, but rather anger at the corrupt politicians stealing money meant to finance operations against Islamic terrorist and separatist minorities in the north. The unrest up there had been getting worse for several years before the 2012 coup. An increase in unrest in the north was not unexpected but the intensity of the violence up there was. By 2011, the fighting in the north was more than the army could handle. Mali never needed much of a military and that was reflected in how decades of corrupt rulers treated it as another source of jobs for supporters. Many of the officers were professionals who thought otherwise and argued for more realistic treatment of the military and the threats it was facing up north. That was ignored because the corrupt politicians feared being replaced by corruptible military officers,

Foreign aid donors agreed with the minority of Mali officers who called for more professionalism. The most popular, in the army, officers were both professional and corrupt and thats how we got a military government that staged a coup in 2020 and another in 2021 against. That may turn out to be a coup too far.

The May coup was not well received by foreign aid donors. This includes France, which pays for its 5,100 counterterrorism troops who operate throughout the region. The military was not happy with foreign donor demands that they cooperate with political factions that made possible the 2020 coup. These groups and the coup leaders formed the interim (and foreign donor approved) CNT (National Transitional Council) government. The foreign donors insisted that a civilian lead the CNT with one of the military coup leaders as his deputy. The army and civilian members of the CNT did not get along. The main disagreement that triggered the May coup was about efforts to negotiate with Islamic terror groups and ineffective measures to prosecute corrupt politicians.

The May coup was led by the army colonel who was appointed deputy head of the CNT, and he replaced the civilian who originally held that job. The May coup promptly replaced many CNT officials with army officers or civilians known to be pro-military. When foreign donors, including France, criticized this, the army threatened to seek financial aid elsewhere. There was no elsewhere for the Mali coup leaders. The Mali officers threats said a lot about their motives, which was mainly about maintaining their power and helping themselves to a portion of foreign aid. The coup leaders did have one source of wealth, the Mali gold mines.

The Russian Option

The military government needs more money to survive the loss of foreign aid because of the two coups since 2020. They sought to address that problem in late 2020 when they announced that they were reviewing the existing contracts with mining companies. Since the 1990s, when Mali offered terms foreign mining companies would accept, Mali has become the third largest gold producer in Africa behind South Africa and Ghana. Mali exported a record 67 tons of gold in 2019. Gold production maintained those levels in 2020, a year in which gold prices rose and Mali income from gold went up 13 percent. Over ten percent of Mali GDP comes from gold and gold income represents most of the export income. The military government negotiations with the mining companies appears to have increased the military procurement budget and the military is threatening to expel French counter-terrorism forces, but not the AU peacekeepers. France has been reducing its counter-terrorism forces and replacing them with special operations troops from African nations also threatened by the growth of Islamic terrorism in Africa during the last decade. The local G5 Sahel counterterrorism forces is seen as a better peacekeeping solution because it consists of the best troops from five Sahel nations (Mali, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad) and is capable of dealing with Islamic terrorism throughout the Sahel, which is the semi-desert belt below the Sahara Desert that extends across most of Africa. The problem is that the least effective G5 contingent comes from Mali, which has long had a reputation for the least effective military in the area,

G5 began operations in early 2018 after three years of planning and preparation. In late 2016 the countries involved agreed on the details of G5. This included who would provide what in terms of the 5,000 soldiers and police needed and where they would be based. The G5 force was to be stationed in three operational areas along with troops familiar with local conditions. Sahel East consists of troops from Chad and Niger. Sahel Central is staffed by troops from Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso while Sahel West mainly uses troops from Mali and Mauritania. The G5 force has been most active in the three borders area (where borders of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso meet) and found itself spending more and more time in this terrorist hotspot. A successful G5 Force would enable France to shrink and eventually disband the force of 4,000 French troops it has deployed in the Sahel since 2013 and reduce the 13,000 strong UN peacekeeper force in Mali. Increasingly, central Mali is where there has been more and more Islamic terror group activity, not all of it violent.

The Mali military is trying to obtain foreign aid from Russia that could replace French efforts. Russia cannot and will not do so because the Cold War Soviet Union is gone and Mali is dealing with a Russia that is much different than it was before 1991. One of the things that caused the Soviet Union to go bankrupt and disappear in 1991 was all the cheap or free weapons they provided to African dictatorships in order to get their support in the UN and against the West. The Russians are back but looking for profitable sales opportunities. Russia offers cheap weapons as well as contractors who, for a price, will maintain and even operate aircraft. Russia also offers armed contractors, who work for Russian firms like the Wagner Group and a few others. The military government in Mali wants to spend $10.8 million a month to hire a thousand Wagner Group military trainers. These trainers will also accompany some Mali troops into combat zones but will not operate as combat units unless paid for that and the combat surcharge is more than what Mali is paying for training. Wagner Group had been busy during the last decade and still has, or recently had contingents in Libya, Syria, Central African Republic and Mozambique. Against poorly armed and trained local irregulars the Wagner personnel are effective, but against professionals. like Turks in Libya and Americans in Syria, they take heavy losses and back off. They took casualties in Mozambique because the government refused to use its own troops and sought to suppress an Islamic terrorist uprising using a small number of Russian and South African military contractors. That worked for a while but at the cost of heavy casualties among the contractors. This sort of thing is bad for business and recruiting and the contractors pulled back from Mozambique, which has brought in Rwandan troops.

October 3, 2021: France was told today that its military aircraft could no longer cross Algerian airspace to reach Mali, or anywhere else. The day before Algeria had recalled its ambassador to France because France had cut the number of visas granted to Algerians and Moroccans by half and Tunisia by 30 percent because all three countries refused to allow their citizens to be returned for being in France illegally. France and Algeria had been cooperating to deal with Islamic terrorists in northern Mali, who often tried to operate from Algeria.

October 2, 2021: In the north ( 200 kilometers north of Kidal) a roadside bomb was used to attack a peacekeeper patrol, leaving one dead and four wounded. The site of the attack, near Tessalit, has long been an area where Islamic terrorists from nearby Burkina Faso and Niger operate.

September 30, 2021: Russia delivered four Mi-8 type transport helicopters the military government had ordered in early 2020. The Russians donated some smaller weapons and ammunition as part of the deal. The U.S. and EU (European Union) cut off military aid after the August 2020 coup. The military already received two Mi-35 helicopter gunships and two more are on order. Russia supplied most of the military aircraft Mali purchased since independence in 1961. Low-c0st military aircraft from the Soviet Union ceased after the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991. By 2011 the Mali Air Force lacked any combat aircraft and it was French aircraft along with American and AU peacekeeper UAVs that provided air support for the last decade.

September 28, 2021: In the south, a mining company convoy guarded by soldiers was attacked while on the main highway to Bamako, the capital. Five people were killed and four wounded. Traffic on this road has seen several attacks a month by bandits, rebels and Islamic terrorists. Most attacks do not involve convoys with military escorts but apparently Islamic terrorists as well as locals unhappy with the military government realize that gold income is keeping the coup leaders in business.

September 24, 2021: I n the northeast (south of Gao) in the three-borders (Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso) area, French special operations troops, seeking Islamic terrorists operating in the area, lost one of their soldiers in a brief clash with the Islamic terrorists. Since 2012 France has lost 52 of their counter-terrorism troops in Mali.

September 20, 2021: In central Mali (Mopti) four soldiers in a military ambulance were killed by a roadside bomb. The ambulance and its crew of three were carrying an army officer wounded in another attack in the area.

September 15, 2021: France confirmed that it had recently killed Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi, the leader and one of founders of Islamic terror group ISGS (Islamic State in Greater Sahara). Sahrawi was apparently killed over a month ago but it takes time to confirm exactly who a dead terrorist is. ISGS has been around since 2018 and is one of the two ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) provinces in central Africa. ISGS was formed from Islamic terrorists dismayed with the failure of al Qaeda affiliated groups to make any progress. The loss of a senior leader tends to disrupt operations and recruiting for a while. There is also the possibility of internal violence before a new leader emerges.

ISGS is currently active in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. The other, slightly older, and larger, ISIL province was ISWAP, which began as a faction of the Nigerian Boko Haram Islamic terror group, which saw itself as the African Taliban and has been around since 2004. For a few years Boko Haram was, in terms of people killed, more of a problem than any other ISIL group, including the combined ISIL operations in Syria and Iraq. ISWAP personnel are mostly in northeastern Nigeria as well as smaller numbers in Chad, Niger and northern Cameroon. ISWAP is undergoing some internal strife since their claimed takeover of Boko Haram this year. This took place because ISWAP killed the Boko Haram leaders and has been trying to absorb Boko Haram. That is encountering a lot of resistance.

There is also ISCAP (Islamic State Central Africa Province) which is only present in southern Africa and currently active in the southeast African state of Mozambique. The problem with ISIL in southern Africa is that Moslems are a small minority there, while the majority Christian and pre-Christian religions fight back, often while ISIL is trying to get established locally. Another tiny ISIL affiliate is ISS (Islamic State in Somalia) which was never popular with the local Islamic terrorists (al Shabaab). ISS spends most of its time and effort trying to survive in the northern mountains.
Friday, November 5, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. ET

BROOKFIELD, News, Oct. 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Brookfield Renewable Partners will hold its Third Quarter 2021 Conference Call and Webcast on Friday, November 5, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. ET to discuss results and business initiatives.



Results will be released on Friday, November 5, 2021 at approximately 7:00 a.m. ET and will be available on our website at http://bep.brookfield.com under Press Releases.

To participate in the conference call, please dial 1-866-688-9430 toll-free at approximately 8:50 a.m. ET If calling from outside Canada or the U.S., dial 1-409-216-0817. When prompted, enter the conference ID, 9977936. The conference call will also be webcast live at https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/6tzxt5r7, where it will be archived for future reference.

For those who are unable to participate in the conference call, a taped rebroadcast will also be available until November 12, 2021. To access this rebroadcast, please call 1-855-859-2056, or from outside Canada and the U.S., please call 1-404-537-3406. When prompted, enter the conference ID, 9977936.

Brookfield Renewable operates one of the worlds largest publicly traded, pure-play renewable power platforms. Its portfolio consists of hydroelectric, wind, solar and storage facilities in North America, South America, Europe and Asia, and totals over 20,000 megawatts of installed capacity and an approximately 31,000 megawatts development pipeline. Investors can access its portfolio either through Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. (NYSE: BEP; TSX: BEP.UN), a Bermuda-based limited partnership, or Brookfield Renewable Corporation (NYSE, TSX: BEPC), a Canadian corporation. Further information is available at www.bep.brookfield.com and https://bep.brookfield.com/bepc. Important information may be disseminated exclusively via the website; investors should consult the site to access this information.

Brookfield Renewable is the flagship listed renewable power company of Brookfield Asset Management, a leading global alternative asset manager with over $625 billion of assets under management.
FILE PHOTO: The new GM logo is seen on the facade of the General Motors headquarters in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., March 16, 2021. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook

By Joseph White and Ben Klayman

DETROIT (Reuters) -General Motors Co Chief Executive Mary Barra told investors on Wednesday that the automaker plans to double revenue by 2030, expanding profits from combustion vehicles even as it rolls out new electric vehicles and new digitally powered services to catch up with Tesla Inc.

GM said if it succeeds, annual revenue by 2030 would be about $280 billion, and the automaker would be the leader in U.S. electric vehicle sales. Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson said GM expects pre-tax profit margins of 12 to 14%, which could beat current levels. That would imply annual pre-tax profits of as much as $39 billion.

Jacobson said GM can fund $9 billion to $10 billion in annual capital spending for electric vehicles and other initiatives while returning money to shareholders.

"This won't all happen at once," Jacobson said.

GM projects its combustion vehicle business can grow even as annual electric vehicle revenues rise to $90 billion by 2030 from $10 billion projected in 2023, Jacobson told investors after markets closed. The company also plans to add $80 billion from new businesses such as the Cruise autonomous vehicle ride service by 2030.

Barra has been campaigning to convince investors that General Motors can top Tesla in technology development and profitability as the auto industry navigates the most profound technology revolution since the mass-produced Ford Model T. She and other GM executives began a two-day series of presentations to investors at the automaker's Technical Center in Warren, Michigan.

They said GM can transform itself "from automaker to platform innovator" - a reference to Silicon Valley digital platform companies such as Apple Inc that have far higher stock valuations than GM and other incumbent auto manufacturers.

Barra took the helm at GM in 2014 and at one point almost doubled the share price from a narrow band around its 2010 initial public offering price of $33. The shares rose after hours on Wednesday after closing at $53.93.

Still, GM's market capitalization of about $78 billion remains far behind Tesla's $773 billion market cap, reflecting investor skepticism that GM can match Tesla's battery and software prowess.

Barra and GM President Mark Reuss outlined a plan for a transition to an all-electric fleet by 2035 that starts gradually, then accelerates after 2030, by which time more than half of GM's factories in China and North America will be "capable of EV production."

AGILE FACTORIES

GM has said it aspires to produce nothing but electric vehicles by 2035. Reuss said that will depend on the "agility" of GM's factories, which will build both combustion and electric vehicles.

"We want to take the entire workforce along with us, Barra said. She and Reuss insisted that GM's current workforce and factories are assets, not liabilities. Electric vehicle startups are building new factories at great expense, she noted, while GM already has plants and people it can repurpose.

In 2022, GM plans to launch an electric version of its best-selling North American model, the Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck. Barra will unveil it at the CES technology show on Jan. 5, GM said. Suppliers have said that vehicle will be launched in late 2022.

No one will be able to touch us in the electric truck space, Reuss said.

Ford Motor Co, which is on track to beat GM to market with the battery-electric Ford F-150 Lightning early next year, recently said it will double capacity for the Lightning at its Dearborn, Michigan, factory. Ford plans even more electric F-150 production at a complex planned for Tennessee. Startup Rivian began production of its electric pickup last month. https://www.reuters.com/article/rivian-production/amazon-backed-startup-rivian-starts-production-of-electric-pickup-truck-idUSKBN2GA235

Tesla has delayed the launch of its futuristic Cybertruck.

GM executives have been careful not to make a hard commitment to abandon internal combustion vehicles by 2035, saying that will depend on market demand and government policy.

ELECTRIC DREAMS

Still, GM's embrace of electrification has won over investors increasingly concerned about climate change. On Monday, hedge fund Engine No. 1 said GM had carved a leadership position on battery technology and had a lot of growth ahead.

GM also aims to expand profits from internal combustion vehicles, such as the Chevrolet Silverado large SUVs such as the Cadillac Escalade.

Barra has expressed confidence GM can build profitable, higher-margin software-driven services and capture new customers with electric vehicles, such as a $30,000 electric Chevrolet crossover wagon.

GM is majority owner of autonomous vehicle services company Cruise, and projects that company should deliver $50 billion in annual revenues by 2030. Last week, Cruise received licenses in California to begin accepting passengers, though it cannot yet charge for rides.

GM is also investing in the BrightDrop e-commerce delivery unit and insurance offered through its Onstar telematics brand. In all, GM said it is managing 20 startups to develop new lines of business.

Tesla's impact was evident. GM said that by 2023 it will offer a new version of its Ultra Cruise hands-free driving system using sensors to enable hands-free driving in "95% of all driving scenarios."

Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk has made similar claims for future versions of the electric automaker's Autopilot technology.

(Reporting By Joe White and Ben Klayman, additional reporting by Paul LienertEditing by Nick Zieminski and David Gregorio)
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - October 6, 2021) - Riverside Resources Inc.(TSXV: RRI) (OTCQB: RVSDF) (FSE: 5YY)("Riverside" or the "Company")is pleased to report the mineral tenure consolidation and expansion of La Union Polymetallic Project in Sonora, Mexico. The acquisition of these additional concessions provides Riverside with an expanded land position and further control of the historical mines and old workings across the district. This consolidation through the acquisition of small internal concessions provides Riverside an option on the high-grade, previous small scale mine properties, internal to the larger surrounding 100% Riverside owned mineral concessions and increases the property total area to over 26 km2 (2,604 hectares). This transaction expands upon the original property acquired from Millrock's Mexico portfolio in 2019 (see press release of June 26, 2019).

La Union is located in western Sonora and is part of the orogenic gold trend. The old mining areas at La Union have seen very little drill testing and the broader structures are wide open for further regional exploration. Riverside is in contact with the local surface owners and knows the region from previous work with partner Hochschild Mining which allows Riverside to initiate exploration immediately.

Riverside's initial field work included selective rock sampling from abandoned mine workings and dumps with results returning up to 59.4 g/t Au and 833 g/t Ag (see Table 1). Further exploration work will begin shortly as the Company is pleased to have completed this expansion step, opening the door to follow up work.

La Union Polymetallic Project has been previously defined as a manto-chimney style deposit. The ongoing work has been demonstrating significantly high-grades in gold, silver, lead and zinc across mineralized areas identified. Near surface, the oxide gossan cap and carbonate replacement are particularly extensive with strong similarities with the Leadville polymetallic system in Colorado, USA. At La Union the Paleozoic carbonate stratigraphic section is a composite of over 1,000 m thick regionally and the mineralization of chimneys and mantos is open in multiple directions.

Table 1: Sample Results from La Union Polymetallic Project

Sample ID Au (g/t) Ag (g/t) Pb (%) Zn (%) Cu (%) Type Description RRI7891 59.4 833 5.76 4.16 0.3 rock chip massive sulfide - dolomitic breccia RRI7895 40 3.3 0.13 mine dump massive sulfide and jasperoid RRI7894 8.3 239 0.17 mine dump jasperoid RRI7890 1.367 50 1.63 1.43 mine dump sulfide-oxide bearing breccia RRI7893 0.473 12.4 rock chip brecciated contact - dolomite/quartzite RRI7889 0.072 76.4 rock chip brecciated contact - dolomite/limestone



Note: Six of the higher-grade due diligence samples out of eight total are shown in Table 1.





Figure 1: Photo of sample RRI7891 from La Famosa Mine and RRI7895 from Plomito Mine

To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6101/98673_78761357c45a0b0c_003full.jpg







Figure 2: Map of Riverside's La Union Polymetallic Project, Sonora, Mexico. Highlights of the most recent results from rock sampling from Riverside (see Table 1)

To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6101/98673_78761357c45a0b0c_004full.jpg

Riverside's President and CEO, John-Mark Staude: "We are excited to complete the acquisition of multiple key pieces of the project area at La Union, including the historic mines of Famosa and Plomito. Riverside is moving forward with growing projects, and generating exploration results at our properties, which continue to demonstrate the value of applying the Riverside property database and local team knowledge to capture and progress excellent mineral projects. The next steps for the La Union district will consist of field work and geophysics, which are expected to refine drilling targets."

Transaction Details for the Acquisition:

Riverside has optioned over a 4-year term the properties with staged cash payments without any retained NSR. The terms for each respective property (La Famosa and Plomito) are presented below:

YEAR PAYMENTS LA FAMOSA PLOMITO 0 On Signing $ - $ - 1 12 months $ 10,000.00 $ 10,000.00 2 24 months $ 15,000.00 $ 15,000.00 3 36 months $ 25,000.00 $ 25,000.00 4 48 months $ 50,000.00 $ 40,000.00 5 60 months $ 75,000.00 $ 75,000.00 TOTAL $ 175,000.00 $ 165,000.00

Geology and previous work at La Union Polymetallic Project:

Mineralization is primarily located within the Paleozoic sedimentary sequence, known in this area for reaching up to 1,000 m in thickness and hosting multiple historical workings. The mountain range is characterized with alternating limestone, dolomite and quartzite, at which contact mineralization has been observed to grow into a manto-chimney style deposit. These types of deposits tend to have higher metal grades, making this style of deposition attractive for exploration.

Local historical productions in the 1950's mined high-grades averaging 7-20 g/t Au, 300 g/t Ag, 10-20% Pb and 5% Zn, for which mineralized bodies were traced for at least 80 m depth within oxides (Yantis, 1957). Since then, only small exploration programs followed and including Paget Mineral Exploration Company and Millrock with sampling programs yielding up to 22.5 g/t Au and multiple high-grade polymetallic samples over the project area. The presence of many high-grade areas, the thickness of the host rock and extent of the system across multiple known historic mines are favorable evidence for an extensive system.





Figure 3: Map representing historical samples including rock chip, and mine dump as stated above and part of the Millrock and Paget database acquired from 2012 to 2019

To view an enhanced version of Figure 3, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6101/98673_78761357c45a0b0c_005full.jpg





Figure 4: Photo (left) of the mineralization as seen at La Union, showing quartzite bed bounded by oxide horizons. La Famosa (right) shows the old working from 1980s

To view an enhanced version of Figure 4, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6101/98673_78761357c45a0b0c_006full.jpg

Geophysics and sampling will be additional tools deployed by Riverside in advancing the knowledge of this project, with a view to initiating a drill program that will allow the Project to extend high-grade at depth and define the limit of the oxide cap.

Qualified Person & QA/QC:

The scientific and technical data contained in this news release pertaining to La Union Project was reviewed and approved by Freeman Smith, P.Geo, a non-independent qualified person to Riverside Resources, who is responsible for ensuring that the geologic information provided in this news release is accurate and who acts as a "qualified person" under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

Rock samples from the exploration program discussed above at La Union were taken to the Bureau Veritas Laboratories in Hermosillo, Mexico for fire assaying for gold. The rejects remained with Bureau Veritas in Mexico while the pulps were transported to Bureau Veritas laboratory in Vancouver, BC, Canada for 45 element ICP/ES-MS analysis. A QA/QC program was implemented as part of the sampling procedures for the exploration program. Standard samples were randomly inserted into the sample stream prior to being sent to the laboratory.

About Riverside Resources Inc.:

Riverside is a well-funded exploration company driven by value generation and discovery. The Company has no debt and approximately 71M shares outstanding with a strong portfolio of gold-silver and copper assets in North America. Riverside has extensive experience and knowledge operating in Mexico and Canada and leverages its large database to generate a portfolio of prospective mineral properties. In addition to Riverside's own exploration spending, the Company also strives to diversify risk by securing joint-venture and spin-out partnerships to advance multiple assets simultaneously and create more chances for discovery. Riverside has additional properties available for option, with more information available on the Company's website at www.rivres.com.

ON BEHALF OF RIVERSIDE RESOURCES INC.

"John-Mark Staude"



Dr. John-Mark Staude, President & CEO

For additional information contact:

John-Mark Staude

President, CEO

Riverside Resources Inc.

info@rivres.com

Phone: (778) 327-6671

Fax: (778) 327-6675

Web:www.rivres.com

Raffi Elmajian

Corporate Communications

Riverside Resources Inc.

relmajian@rivres.com

Phone: (778) 327-6671 x312

TF: (877) RIV-RES1

Web:www.rivres.com

Certain statements in this press release may be considered forward-looking information. These statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology (e.g., "expect"," estimates", "intends", "anticipates", "believes", "plans"). Such information involves known and unknown risks -- including the availability of funds, the results of financing and exploration activities, the interpretation of exploration results and other geological data, or unanticipated costs and expenses and other risks identified by Riverside in its public securities filings that may cause actual events to differ materially from current expectations. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/98673
Two B-1B Lancers assigned to the 9th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron fly over RAF Fairford, United Kingdom, Oct. 6, 2021. Four B-1s and approximately 200 airmen assigned to U.S. Global Strike Command and U.S. Air Forces Europe Air Forces Africa have traveled to RAF Fairford in support of a Bomber Task Force Europe deployment. (Colin Hollowell/U.S. Air Force)

Four B-1B Lancers arrived Wednesday at RAF Fairford in England as part of a long-planned bomber mission to Europe, the Air Force said.

The bombers deployed with 200 personnel from the 9th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, according to a U.S. Air Forces in EuropeAir Forces Africa statement Wednesday.

The B-1 heavy bomber carries the largest conventional payload of both guided and unguided weapons in the Air Force inventory, according to the service.

A B-1B Lancer assigned to the 9th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron lands at RAF Fairford, England, Oct. 6, 2021. The B-1, is a multi-role, strategic bomber and carries the largest payload of both guided and unguided conventional weapons in the U.S. Air Forces inventory. (Colin Hollowell/U.S. Air Force)

The aircraft deployed as part of a regularly scheduled bomber task force mission for U.S. European and U.S. Strategic commands.

Bomber task force missions amplify our coalition reach and project our collective airpower across theaters, Gen. Jeff Harrigian, USAFE-AFAFRICAs commander, said in a statement.

Since 2018, EUCOM has been conducting bomber task force missions, which consist of rotations of Lancers as well as B-52 Stratofortresses and B-2 Spirit stealth bombers.

B-1Bs deployed most recently to Europe in March along with B-2s, training with Norwegian and Swedish aircraft and marking the first time a B-1B had landed in the Arctic Circle.
The 7th Army Training Command rehabilitated St. Agid Bergheim Church's apse as a bat sanctuary. The apse provides additional roosting habitat for the brown and gray long-eared bat, the pygmy bat, the pug bat and the greater horseshoe bat. Part of the project focused on saving the only reproducing population of greater horseshoe bats in Germany. (Macario Mora)

GRAFENWOEHR, Germany  The apse of a former church on a U.S. Army base in Bavaria has been transformed into a bat sanctuary  in every sense of the word.

Restoration of the St. Agid Bergheim Church in Hohenfels into a haven for a handful of bat species began in 2012, and with funding from the Defense Department, the Army began building a new apse onto the remnants of a 15th century Gothic chapel.

The holy bat habitat received a few finishing touches just before a Sept. 27 dedication ceremony attended by Army and German officials.

The apse has been in the works since before 2019, said Gary Hart, the U.S. Army Europe-Africa, Hohenfels Integrated Training Area management coordinator. The bats were in the church structure during the apse renovation process.

The 7th Army Training Command celebrated the rehabilitation of the Bergheim Church apse serving as a bat sanctuary with Germanys forest service, U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria, the Joint Multinational Readiness Center and Training Support Activity Europe.

Reconstruction of the apse at St. Agid Bergheim Church in Hohenfels Training Area, Germany, has turned the building into a sanctuary for a handful of bat species. (Nathaniel Gayle/U.S. Army) St. Agid Bergheim Church in Hohenfels Training Area, Germany, was restored and converted into a bat sanctuary. A ceremony Sept. 27, 2021, marked the completion of the project. (Nathaniel Gayle/U.S. Army)

The project was geared toward protecting the population of greater horseshoe bats after a colony was discovered at the northern border of the Hohenfels Training Area in 1992, an Army statement said.

That colony has grown from just a few bats in 1992 to a few hundred, according to 7th Army Training Command data.

The greater horseshoe bat is the rarest bat species in Germany. Hohenburg, which is adjacent to Hohenfels, has the last reproducing greater horseshoe bat population in the country, said Juli-anne Jensen, a 7th ATC spokeswoman. The Bergheim church is their secondary home, she said.

Other species besides the greater horseshoe bat are finding the refuge to their liking. The apse also houses brown and gray long-eared bats, pygmy bats and pug bats.

The Hohenfels Training Area is home to 19 species of bats, five of which are federally protected.

In terms of home security, this bat sanctuary leaves little to be desired. Besides being situated on a U.S. military installation, its constructed with walls that proved indestructible even when subjected to modern explosives.

The original Gothic chapel on the site was expanded into a Baroque church in the 18th century, said Markus Perpeet, the Hohenfels director of the German forestry service, or Bundesforst.

Safety concerns prompted the Bundeswehr to raze the church in 1972, but the Romanesque walls defied all attempts to blow them up. Further efforts to destroy the stubborn structure were called off, Perpeet said.

The bats enter and exit the apse via louver access points in the boarded-up windows of the church, Hart said.

He added that the sighting of three greater horseshoe bats during the Sept. 27 ceremony showed that the denizens had not been disturbed by the years of renovation work.

Officials said neither German nor American soldiers had ever used the building as a church. But thanks to some Army repurposing, it has an all-new congregation.
A banner promotes the Armys Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention, or SHARP, program outside the SHARP 360 building at Fort Hood, Texas, on March 1, 2021. (Sgt. Evan Ruchotzke/U.S. Army)

Six Army bases were selected for a one-year pilot program that creates an additional location for soldiers to report sexual harassment and assault that will hold all the resources needed for personal recovery and prosecution, the service announced Wednesday.

The fusion directorate is part of the planned redesign of the Armys Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention program, known as SHARP, which was found by two recent independent reports to be failing the needs of soldiers who report these crimes. The directorate is a physical building that will include care providers, investigators and criminal prosecutors, allowing them to maximize their efforts and keep victims better informed at each step of an emotional and complex process, the Army said.

The program doesnt replace other reporting mechanisms, but serves as an additional resource for soldiers that is outside of the chain of command, such as the SHARP hotline. However, it does not completely remove a soldiers chain of command from the process, Army officials said Wednesday during a call with reporters.

Soldiers and [Army] civilians must feel comfortable raising allegations of sexual harassment or sexual assault, quickly receive the care and services they need, and be treated with dignity and respect throughout the process, said Lt. Gen. Gary M. Brito, the deputy chief of staff for the Armys personnel office. He also serves as one of three chairpersons of the People First Task Force, which is leading efforts to redesign the SHARP program.

The fusion directorate is designed to ensure that sexual-assault victims experience a supportive and compassionate response from a team of professionals working under the direct oversight of a senior commander, he said.

Bases that will host the pilot program are Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, Fort Bragg, N.C., Fort Irwin, Calif., Fort Riley, Kan., and Fort Sill, Okla. They are expected to open in early 2022. In addition, the Army Reserve will pilot a virtual fusion directorate for the 99th Readiness Division, located in New Jersey.

At each of the seven pilot sites, the director of the fusion directorate will report to the senior installation commander, increasing the level of oversight, the Army said.

As we looked at the locations that were out there, we really wanted to get a broad variety of sizes and types of commands so that we can get the best overall assessment on Army-wide implementation, said Col. Kelly L. Webster, deputy director of the People First Task Force.

These locations involve leadership of Army Materiel Command, Army Forces Command, Training and Doctrine Command and Army Service Component Command, as well as varying populations, to measure how the centers function within each type of base.

The Army National Guard is not participating in this pilot program, but it is being included in discussions of how it could be implemented, said Col. Erica Cameron, SHARP redesign leader.

Right now they're looking at developing a state-based approach that will work with their specific circumstances, she said.

Though the impetus for this redesign stems from the disappearance and death of Army Spc. Vanessa Guillen, who was killed by a fellow soldier at Fort Hood, Texas, the base is not included in the pilot program. Before her death, Guillen was sexually harassed on base by a supervisor and informal reporting failed her, according to an administrative investigation into her time at Fort Hood and how all levels of her command chain managed her case.

Many of the recommendations on how to improve the SHARP program come from the Fort Hood Independent Review Committees report, which was released in December 2020 and found soldiers did not have trust and confidence in the program, largely because of its ties to the chain of command.

Fort Hood has already begun to make a number of changes to its own SHARP program, including adding victim advocates, overhauling training and adding more oversight to the program. It wasnt chosen for the new program because it would be difficult to determine whether the outcomes were caused by the new fusion center or the changes already in place.

While we recognize that Fort Hood would have been a good location, it would have been really hard to take lessons from that specific location, Cameron said.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced in February a second 90-day independent review of the Defense Departments handling of sexual harassment and assault. The Independent Review Commission on Sexual Assault in the Military offered many of the same recommendations as the Fort Hood report, but it went a step further and recommended the military completely remove sexual assault cases from the military chain of command.

Congress is poised to pass a measure that paves the way for this change in the pending 2022 National Defense Authorization Act. The Army said it believes this fusion center pilot program will segue into that change, should Congress act as expected.

When a soldier goes to a new fusion center to report a sexual assault as a restricted case, which does not seek criminal prosecution, the staff will only notify the chain of command that they have a victim in their unit, but not by name, Cameron said. These soldiers can continue to receive treatment and other recovery-related resources available to sexual-assault victims.

If the soldier chooses to make an unrestricted report, which does attempt to hold their perpetrator accountable, the chain of command receives all the same information that it would from any other method of reporting.

The program is based off on a similar one launched in 2014 that was never implemented Army-wide due to shifting priorities and limiting resources at the time, Cameron said.

She said they will use the lessons learned from the previous program as a starting point to develop metrics by the end of this month to track the progress of the new program. The data will allow senior leaders to determine whether the program should be expanded throughout the Army.

Our metrics are going to focus on improving the accountability, transparency and efficiency for victims, she said. Trained response coordinators and victim advocates will gather information from victims about their experiences with the program to see whether it actually improved their experiences.

The Army will also gather information from the same people about their own experiences helping victims to determine whether it was an improvement. In the end, the goal is to have measured success before expanding it to the rest of the Army.

Its one of several initiatives that the Army has rolled out recently to help improve victim care and services, Webster said. By placing our people first, we strengthen the very foundation of the Army and readiness.
Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Santiago, 33, a signal support systems specialist, was charged in connection with the death of Meghan Santiago, as well as with the injury of their unborn child, according to an Army statement. (Grayson County Detention Center)

A soldier assigned to the Fifth Special Forces Group at Fort Campbell, Ky., has been charged with murder in the death of his pregnant wife, Army officials said Wednesday.

Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Santiago, 33, a signal support systems specialist, was also charged with injuring the couples unborn child and he was first taken into custody Sept. 28, one day after the incident, the Army said.

The Army did not say how or when his wife, Meghan Santiago, died. However, a senior Army enlisted soldier who spoke on condition of anonymity said she suffered a brain stem injury that left her on life support.

Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Santiago, 33, a signal support systems specialist, was charged in connection with the death of Meghan Santiago, shown here in an undated photo provided by family. (Varcak family)

Meghans death is a tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends, said Col. Brent Lindeman, commander of 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne). This tragic event has shaken our entire unit. We take all allegations of domestic violence seriously, and we will provide every resource to ensure a thorough investigation.

Following the incident, the couples two other children were placed in the temporary custody of the Tennessee Department of Childrens Services, the Army said.

The Army also said no further information will be released at this time because the service needs to protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation.

The charges in this case are merely accusations and all soldiers accused of a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty, according to the Army.

On Facebook, commenters offered an outpouring of support for Meghan Santiago.

Im so sorry that you went through all of the pain and that the person you vowed to share your life with hurt you, one person wrote.

Cindy Lamotta, who identified herself as a family friend, wrote: Miraculously, the baby survived.
In a screenshot from a video posted to Facebook, Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller, a Marine battalion commander, calls for accountability for senior military and civilian leaders for failures in Afghanistan, hours after a blast in Kabul killed 13 U.S. troops. (Facebook/Stuart Scheller)

A Marine officer who filmed a viral video says that hes risking his career of nearly two decades to call out senior military and civilian leaders for failures in Afghanistan.

Lt. Col. Stu Scheller posted the video on social media hours after a blast in Kabul killed 13 U.S. troops. He appears in uniform and responds directly to Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger's letter to troops and veterans asking whether the nearly 20-year-long war in Afghanistan was worth it.

The reason people are so upset on social media right now is not because the Marine on the battlefield let someone down, Scheller says. People are upset because their senior leaders let them down. And none of them are raising their hands and accepting accountability or saying, We messed this up. 

The video garnered more than 70,000 views and 6,000 shares in its first 10 hours on Facebook and LinkedIn, spurring both praise and criticism in the more than 1,000 comments.

It's the latest in a spate of calls from veterans and others demanding that senior officials answer for mistakes over the course of the war, especially in its final months. Some have blamed the precipitous U.S. withdrawal for undermining the Afghan government and allowing the Taliban to seize the country.

Critics have also likened the Afghanistan failure to the Islamic State group's sweep through Syria and Iraq in 2014, during President Joe Biden's term as vice president and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's leadership of U.S. Central Command.

An officer who commands the Advanced Infantry Training Battalion at Camp Lejeune, N.C., Scheller is a veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, according to a biography posted on his commands website. It states that he started his career in 2005 with the 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, which is one of the units deployed to Kabuls airport to support the U.S. airlift.

At least 10 Marines and a Navy corpsman were among the U.S. troops killed in the attack Thursday that was claimed by the Islamic State group. About 169 Afghans were killed, two officials told The Associated Press on Friday, though a final count is expected to take more time. Scores of others were wounded, along with at least 18 U.S. troops.

Scheller says he knows one the people killed in the blast, but he declines to name the person until the family had been notified.

Not making this video because its potentially an emotional time, he says. Making it because I have a growing discontent and contempt for  perceived ineptitude at the foreign policy level.

Scheller cites remarks Austin gave earlier this year suggesting that the Afghan security forces could withstand a Taliban advance. He also notes that two Marine generals are supposed to be advising the president: Berger, in his position on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and CENTCOM boss Gen. Frank McKenzie, though he does not name McKenzie.

Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller called for accountability from senior military and civilian leaders for failures in Afghanistan, in a video he posted on social media platforms. (U.S. Marine Corps)

Im not saying weve got to be ... in Afghanistan forever, Scheller says. But I am saying, Did any of you throw your rank on the table and say, hey, its a bad idea to evacuate Bagram Airfield, a strategic air base, before we evacuate everyone? Did anyone do that?

A Marine of his rank and position would be fired immediately over the simplest live-fire incident or equal opportunity complaint, he says. He then suggests that the lives lost over the past 20 years could all be for naught if high-level political and military leaders don't take responsibility for their actions.

Potentially all those people did die in vain if we dont have senior leaders that own up and raise their hand and say, We did not do this well in the end,  he says. Without that, we just keep repeating the same mistakes.

Scheller participated in the noncombatant evacuation of American citizens from Beirut in 2006 and deployed to Ramadi, Iraq, the following year.

Beginning in 2010, he spent a year in Afghanistan, where he led a team in Paktika and Ghazni provinces that destroyed explosives caches and sought to prevent attacks with improvised explosive devices.

Obviously new generation Marine Corps, LinkedIn user Erik Watson, whose profile lists five years as a Marine officer, wrote in response to Scheller. There are proper channels [to voice concerns] and if it is not addressed to your satisfaction, so sorry so sad, keep it moving. Submit resignation ASAP.

But others defended Scheller. Facebook user Craig Lowell called his video probably the most incredible act of leadership Ive ever seen.

It's definitely out of the ordinary but almost certainly violates military rules, said Jim Golby, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security and a 20-year Army veteran.

Im not sure the last time Ive seen an active-duty battalion commander openly and directly challenge senior military officers, including the Commandant of the Marine Corps, in this way, he said.

Scheller echoes what many are feeling, but the video could be used to sow division in the ranks, Golby said, and in the end likely does more harm than good.

Scheller has no plans to resign, he said in a comment, though in the video he says his critique could cut his career short, if I have the courage to post it.

I think what you believe can only be defined by what youre willing to risk, he says. I think it gives me some moral high ground to demand the same honesty, integrity, accountability from my senior leaders.

Ive been fighting for 17 years, he continues. Im willing to throw it all away to say to my senior leaders, I demand accountability.

___

Scheller isn't the only Marine having serious misgivings about the way the U.S. military has handled its pullout from Afghanistan.

On Friday, Retired Marine Corps 1st Sgt. John Bennett released a video in which he first offered his condolences to the families and loved ones of the U.S. service members who died in Thursday's suicide bombing. He then added that the loss of life was unnecessary, and Bennett laid the blame squarely on Joe Biden and his failing administration.

Bennett offered up plenty more strongly-worded sentiments in his six minute video.
The future USS Daniel Inouye (DDG 118) transits the Kennebec River, sailing away from General Dynamics Bath Iron Works shipyard in Bath, Maine, on Oct. 4. The ship will be in Newport on Friday. ()

NEWPORT (Tribune News Service)  For the first time in two years a U.S. Navy vessel will visit Naval Station Newport.

The Navys newest guided missile destroyer, the future USS Daniel Inouye will be visiting Naval Station Newport as the ship makes its way to its homeport in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and a commissioning ceremony planned for December.

The Pre-Commissioning Unit left the General Dynamics Bath Iron Works Shipyard on Oct. 4 to begin its voyage to Hawaii and future service with Destroyer Squadron 31 at Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet.

The future USS Daniel Inouye is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer named in honor of Daniel Inouye, who served as a United States Senator for Hawaii from 1963 until his death in 2012. He received the Medal of Honor on June 21, 2000 for his extraordinary heroism in action while serving with the 442nd Infantry Regimental Combat Team in Italy during World War II.

In the Navy: Navy prep school seeks sponsor families to give students home away from home Following delivery to the Navy in March 2021, the entire team has continued to prepare DDG 118 for this important readiness milestone, said Capt. Seth Miller, DDG 51 program manager, Arleigh Burke-class program office, Program Executive Office, Ships, in a statement. The fleet will soon be receiving an advanced warship capable of performing the core roles of sea control and power projection.

Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are multi-mission ships able to hold targets on land, at sea, in the air, and underwater at risk with a suite of sophisticated weapons and sensors.

2021 www.newportri.com. Visit newportri.com.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Buy Photo (Stars and Stripes)

Frankfurt, Germany, April, 1956: Two of the legendary military figures of World War II are reunited at the Rhein-Main airport. Gen. Maxwell D. Taylor, Army chief of staff (left), was welcomed by Gen. Anthony C. McAuliffe, USAREUR commander-in-chief. Both men parachuted into Normandy in advance of the D-Day landing and guided the 101st Airborne Division toward Germany. McAuliffe is best remembered for his succinct reply to a German demand that he surrender during the Battle of the Bulge: Nuts! Taylor later served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and ambassador to South Vietnam.
Chinese President Xi Jinping walks through the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Aug. 17, 2017. (Dominique Pineiro/U.S. Navy)

Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered his military to pump up pressure on the southwestern region of Taiwan, according to sources quoted by a Japanese news agency this week.

The order was issued at a recent meeting of Chinas top military body, the Central Military Commission, after three aircraft carriers from the United States and United Kingdom participated in weekend drills near Taiwan, Kyodo News reported Tuesday.

Nearly 150 Chinese warplanes buzzed through Taiwans air defense zone between Friday and Monday, the islands Ministry of National Defense said in a series of press statements this week.

Taiwan said it is preparing to defend itself after the record-breaking number of incursions. The comments were made Monday by Foreign Minister Joseph Wu on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Television program China Tonight.

China and Taiwan have been governed separately since splitting, in 1949 after a civil war. The U.S. military had troops on the island until 1979, when President Jimmy Carter withdrew from the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty. Congress responded by passing the Taiwan Relations Act, which requires the U.S. to sell arms to the island.

Xi is thought to believe that the recent carrier drills, which also involved more than a dozen warships from Japan, New Zealand, Canada and the Netherlands, were aimed at stopping Beijing from unifying democratic Taiwan with the mainland and from capturing the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands, which are also claimed by China, Kyodo reported.

At the Central Military Commission, Xi said China should demonstrate that it is "always ready to fight, though he wants to avoid a head-on confrontation with the U.S., according to unnamed sources quoted by Kyodo.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden has sent White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan to Switzerland for meetings with senior Chinese foreign policy adviser Yang Jiechi, the White House said in a statement Tuesday.

The talks, slated for Wednesday in Zurich, are to be a follow-up to Bidens call with Xi last month as the administration continues to seek to responsibly manage the competition between the two countries, National Security Council spokeswoman Emily Horne said in the White House statement.

Chinese aircraft have been flying into Taiwans airspace since last year, but the large number of warplanes in the latest incursions have attracted attention, said Norah Huang, director for international relations at the Prospect Foundation, a security and foreign affairs think tank in Taipei.

The incursions send a stronger message, which security experts have correctly characterized as psychological warfare and intimidation, she said in a telephone interview Wednesday.

This kind of action wont win the hearts and minds of Taiwanese people, she said, noting that even the islands opposition politicians have blamed Beijing for the incursions rather than trying to score points against the ruling party.

The Chinese military activity may also be an effort to pressure the Biden administration not to push forward with a plan to rename Taiwans mission in Washington, D.C., Huang said.

Last month, Taiwan asked to change the name of the office from "Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office" to "Taiwan Representative Office, according to the Financial Times.

China does not want to give Taiwan an international identity that is distinctive from China, Huang said. They dont want people to easily differentiate Taiwan from China.

The U.S. and Taiwan should protect their interests, she said in a follow up email.

The decision to allow the name changing or not should not [be based] on Beijing's reaction, she said.
Guam Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero speaks during a meeting earlier this year at the Ricardo J. Bordallo Governor's Complex in Adelup, Guam. (Shaina O'Neal/U.S. Navy)

Guam recorded its 200th COVID-19 fatality on Monday  a 27-year-old unvaccinated man  and the U.S. territory has announced 10 more deaths from the coronavirus respiratory disease since then.

Fatality No. 200 was pronounced dead upon arrival at Guam Memorial Hospital on Sept. 30, according to a news release from the islands Joint Information Center. He had underlying health conditions and tested positive that day.

Of the 10 deaths that followed, six had not been vaccinated, the information center said. However, the 208th fatality, a 68-year-old woman, was announced nearly a year after it occurred on Oct. 31, 2020, when COVID-19 vaccines were unavailable.

Too many families and loved ones have experienced the greatest loss and sadness over the course of this pandemic, Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero said in a statement Wednesday. May their passing not be in vain  that we each take the extra precautions to protect ourselves and those around us with all the tools available to us.

Since the pandemic began, Guam has recorded 15,789 coronavirus cases, 2,452 of which were active as of Wednesday evening. There were 159 new patients identified that day.

Guam has vaccinated more than 80% of its eligible population; however, the islands hospitals are at capacity and have been struggling amid a shortage of health care works, The Associated Press reported Sept. 30.

The state surgeon for the Guam Army National Guard, Dr. Mike Cruz, said nurses are being offered more than $100 per hour in some states, according to the report. Because of this, Guam is losing out to places offering higher wages and cant afford to bring in more nurses, he said.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, right, walks with South Korean President Moon Jae-in during an Inter-Korean Summit, April 27, 2018. (Inter-Korean Summit Press Corps)

CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea  The former head of a CIA center tasked with countering serious threats from North Korea expects that countrys leader to meet again with South Korean President Moon Jae-in before he leaves office next year.

However, such a summit will likely happen online and not face to face, said Andrew Kim, a veteran CIA officer and founding director of the Korean Mission Center established in 2017.

Kim, who served as the point man for summits between the North Korean leader and then-President Donald Trump, made his comments during a panel discussion with The Washington Brief on Tuesday.

The Moon administration has been cautiously optimistic about improving relations with North Korea. The president, whose term ends in March, frequently calls for the Korean War signatories to declare an official end to the conflict and has volunteered to meet with Kim Jong Un and other North Korean leaders without preconditions.

Moon and Kim held three summits in 2018, where they discussed the goals of formally ending the 1950-53 Korean War and restarting inter-Korean programs. The results of those meetings were widely panned by critics for lacking specific details and requirements.

Andrew Kim did not elaborate on why he believed the next summit would be held virtually; however, orchestrating the highly choreographed meetings can be time-intensive and financially costly. The cost of hosting the Singapore summit was roughly $15 million, that nations leader, Lee Hsien Loong, told reporters in 2018.

An in-person summit would also require delegates from both nations to account for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, of which little is known about within North Koreas borders. Pyongyang has rejected millions of coronavirus vaccines and said it has zero confirmed infections, a claim that is widely disputed by international health experts.

Trump and Kim met first in Singapore in 2018, then again in Hanoi the following year. The leaders also met briefly at the Joint Security Area inside the Demilitarized Zone in 2019, during which Trump stepped across the border and became the first sitting U.S. president to visit North Korea.

Kim described his negotiations with North Korean officials leading up to those meetings as very challenging.

We werent going anywhere with any kind of a meaningful, detailed agreement," he said of his discussions with North Korean officials prior to the Singapore summit. They wanted to pursue a kind of a bigger, overall agreement. We wanted more detail  it went through several meetings and it led up to almost a day before the summit.

Kim retired from the CIA in November 2018 after 28 years. He is now a non-resident fellow with the Korea Project at the Harvard Kennedy Schools Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.
Buy Photo The post office at Camp Kinser, Okinawa, where a soldier attempted to smuggle the drug MDMA, is seen on Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021. (Frank Andrews/Stars and Stripes)

CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa  An Okinawa-based soldier found guilty of attempting to smuggle drugs into Japan through the mail received a three-year suspended sentence from a Japanese court on Monday.

Spc. Kenyatta Lane, 22, pleaded guilty to violating the countrys Narcotics and Psychotropics Control and Customs Law in his first appearance in Naha District Court, a spokeswoman from the Naha District Public Prosecutors Office told Stars and Stripes by phone Tuesday. The soldier works at a communications facility on the Army base Torii Station in Yomitan, she said.

Lane was accused of having 0.92 grams of powder containing MDMA, an ingredient in the drug ecstasy, sent through the mail from the United States to the Marine Corps Camp Kinser, the spokeswoman said.

With the help of unidentified individuals, Lane sent the powder through the post on March 29, the spokeswoman said. The parcel arrived at Narita International Airport on April 5 and then at Kinsers post office, where it was detected by a customs officer four days later.

It is unclear who sent the drugs, the spokeswoman said, but Lane was the intended recipient.

An Army spokeswoman at Torii Station said Tuesday she was working to get information on Lanes case but had not responded to questions by Wednesday afternoon.

The soldier was held under house arrest on base until he was charged Aug. 12, the prosecutors spokeswoman said. He was never taken into custody by Japanese police.

Lane pleaded guilty Monday and was sentenced by Judge Koji Oohashi to one year and six months in prison, which was then suspended for three years, the spokeswoman said. He likely wont serve actual jail time unless he commits another crime in Japan.

It is not clear if Lane will appeal the judges decision, the spokeswoman said. He had 14 days from Monday to do so.

Its customary in Japan for some government officials to speak to the media on condition of anonymity.

MDMA, or 3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine, is a synthetic drug that alters mood and perception and is chemically similar to both stimulants and hallucinogens, according to a National Institute on Drug Abuse factsheet. Often referred to as molly, the drug is known for producing feelings of increased energy, pleasure, emotional warmth, and distorted sensory and time perception.

MDMA use can lead to a slew of health problems from depression and anxiety to liver, kidney, or heart failure and sometimes even death, the factsheet said.
White flags in the village of Sinzai, Afghanistan, mark the spots where U.S. airstrikes killed Afghans. (Lorenzo Tugnoli/For The Washington Post)

SINZAI, Afghanistan  The white flags flutter in the apple orchards of this serene hamlet ringed by oatmeal-colored mountains. They mark the precise spots where U.S. airstrikes killed Afghans. In the village center lies the destroyed shell of a building that once housed shops; down the road is a mangled, rusted car.

There are white flags there, too.

Together, theyre reminders of the legacy the United States has left in many rural areas across Afghanistan.

Everyone here hated the Americans, said Zabiullah Haideri, 30. His shop was shattered by an airstrike in 2019 that killed 12 villagers. They murdered civilians and committed atrocities.

In Kabul and other Afghan cities, the United States will be remembered for enabling two decades of progress in womens rights, an independent media and other freedoms. But in the nations hinterlands, the main battlegrounds of Americas longest war, Afghans view the United States primarily through the prism of conflict, brutality and death.

Here in Wardak province, 25 miles southwest of the capital, the U.S. military, the CIA and the ruthless Afghan militias they armed and trained fought the Taliban for years. Trapped in the crossfire were villagers and farmers. Many became casualties of U.S. counterterrorism operations, drone strikes and gun battles.

A visit to Sinzai and the surrounding Nerkh District offered a glimpse of life in a post-American rural Afghanistan, home to nearly three-quarters of the population, where peace has emerged after 20 years of war. The visit offered clues to how the Taliban will govern the country and helped explain how the militants were able to seize power across the nation so swiftly.

They were abetted by the harsh tactics of U.S. forces and their Afghan allies and by the corruption and ineffectiveness of the U.S.-backed Afghan government. Exacting any justice or compensation from the U.S. military or the government was elusive. So the killings of their relatives and the lack of accountability drove many villagers to support the Taliban.

Buildings targeted in 2019 remain in ruins. MUST CREDIT: photo for The Washington Post by Lorenzo Tugnoli. (Lorenzo Tugnoli/For The Washington Post)

To be certain, the Taliban controlled the villagers through fear, intimidation and their own brand of viciousness. But rural Afghan society is largely conservative, and residents mostly agreed with the militants harsh interpretation of Islam.

The villagers never got to see the other face of America: its generosity. Hardly any of the billions of dollars in U.S. aid that poured into Afghanistan reached Sinzai, less than two hours drive from Kabul. Reconstruction efforts outside the capital were thwarted by insecurity, corruption and inefficiency, the U.S. governments own watchdog agency concluded. Homes in Sinzai and nearby villages still dont have electricity or running water.

The Americans left us nothing, said Khan Mohammed, the 32-year-old owner of a shop outside an abandoned U.S. military compound in the district center. Only that empty base.

Still, with the departure of U.S. forces and the fall of President Ashraf Ghanis government, theres now a calm unlike any the villagers have experienced in two decades. With the conflict ended and the Taliban in control, the violence has stopped.

The major change is there is peace and security now, and the killings of the people have stopped, Mohammed Omar, the village imam, said in front of a mosque peppered with bullet holes. You can move freely now anywhere. Death has disappeared.

But any sense of relief is tempered by new woes. The Taliban takeover triggered freezes in funds in Afghanistans central bank and humanitarian aid; international charities have pulled out of the district, and the economy is in free fall.

There are no airstrikes, no night raids, no bombings, said Haideri, tall and wiry with a black beard and wavy hair. But the problem now is there is no work and no money. People here are facing hunger.

Now that the Taliban controls Afghanistan, villagers wait to see if the militants will tighten their grip on Sinzai. (Lorenzo Tugnoli/For The Washington Post)

Years before the airstrike that destroyed Haideris shop and 16 other businesses, the people of Wardak were seething with resentment.

Nationwide protests erupted in 2009 after U.S. soldiers allegedly burned a Koran, Islams holiest text, during a raid in Wardak. The accusation was denied by the U.S. military. An Army Special Forces A-team was accused of killing at least 18 Afghan civilians between 2012 and 2013, prompting President Hamid Karzai to order the A-team out of Wardak and the Pentagon to launch an investigation.

By then, Wardak was the site of the U.S. militarys greatest single loss of life in the war. On Aug. 5, 2011, Taliban fighters shot down a Chinook military helicopter in the Tangi Valley, killing 31 U.S. military personnel, seven Afghan National Security Forces members and an Afghan interpreter.

By 2015, U.S. forces were no longer based in the province. Still, the fighting intensified. U.S.-backed Afghan national and village-based forces, including at least one militia directed by the CIA, were battling the Taliban in Nerkh.

The Taliban, by then, controlled much of Nerkh. The government was entrenched in the districts center. The villagers were caught in between. Even mundane tasks became matters of life or death. If Haideri shaved, for example, would the Taliban consider him loyal to the foreigners and the government? If he grew out his beard, would the government or U.S. forces consider him a spy?

Whenever we left our homes we told our families, goodbye,  he said. We didnt know whether we would return home alive.

The family of Sher Mohammed was inside their home in the village of Sarmarda in April 2019 when Afghan forces raided the compound. When his son refused to come out, Mohammed said, they called an airstrike on the house. His son, his sons wife, their three children and two other relatives were killed. The only survivor was his granddaughter, now 11.

Mohammed said his son occasionally communicated with the Taliban, like almost every villager, but he was not a militant. The day after the strike, the Taliban sensed an opportunity. The villagers were gathered, Mohammed said, and ordered to take the seven corpses to the provincial capital, Maidan Shahr, to protest the strike.

Why this? Why this? some villagers chanted as they carried the bodies of the children, wrapped in white cloth, in footage shown on the Kabul News network.

A month later, in the predawn hours, airstrikes hit the shops in Sinzai and killed villagers in different parts of the hamlet. Witnesses described huge balls of flames and large plumes of dark smoke. By then, villagers said, they knew the sounds of drones and U.S. bombers circling the sky. It was the Americans, Haideri said. No one else had such modern airplanes and drones.

The villagers went to the governors office to make a complaint and seek compensation for the damage to their shops. They never heard back, they said, adding to their resentment.

The villagers acknowledged that two of those killed were members of the Taliban, but they said the 10 others were civilians. That made them angrier.

Whenever the Americans came here and conducted raids or any operations against the Taliban, they indiscriminately fired at anyone, said Ahmed Khan, who lost his shop in the airstrike. Thats why we all supported the Taliban. The Americans were killing the people while the Taliban protected them.

The family of Sher Mohammed, far left, was inside their home in the village of Sarmarda in April 2019 when Afghan forces raided the compound. When his son refused to come out, Mohammed said, an airstrike was called on the house. His son, his sons wife, their three children and two other relatives were killed. (Lorenzo Tugnoli/For The Washington Post)

Strict sharia law

In Kabul, Afghans are waiting to see how the Taliban will govern.

In Sinzai, they already know.

Life is governed by strict sharia law - which the villagers embrace. It is acceptable here as it is divine and according to our Afghan values, said Omar, the imam.

Girls are educated only until sixth grade. For decades before the Taliban first came to power in 1996, villagers said, no woman here had gone to secondary school or a university.

On the rocky, unpaved roads, women float by in blue burqas that cover them from head to toe. They may be accompanied by a child in the village, but there are limits. She cant go by herself to the city without her husband or son to accompany her, Omar explained.

Music and satellite dishes are banned, though few people have television sets because the only electricity is solar-powered and theres no normal antenna reception. Weddings are segregated, and only women sing the traditional songs in their section.

If we listen to music in public the Taliban will beat us, said Rohullah, 22, a grandson of Sher Mohammed, who like many Afghans uses one name.

The Taliban has a three-level court system and a police force, typically fighters not in uniforms. Thieves who are first-time offenders are given public whippings. No one can recall a time when the punishment was amputating a hand, as directed by sharia. The militants tax the villagers, usually 10 percent of their farm production or store revenue.

The Taliban has been relatively lenient by its hard-line standards to avoid alienating villagers. Villagers may listen to music or watch movies inside their homes on smartphones. Some secretly pop up satellite dishes, Omar said.

The militants have not enforced a requirement that men grow long beards. The Talibans morality police patrol the village, but they preach about their dictates rather than use force, residents said.

Now that the Taliban controls the country, it remains to be seen whether it will clamp down harder in Sinzai. For now, the militants are basking in their glory.

The victory is an achievement for all the people, said Maulavi Shafiqullah Zakir, 33. A Sinzai native, he was so enraged by the night raids and airstrikes that he said he joined the insurgency to wage jihad against the Americans. Hes now the Taliban official in charge of the village. People who havent seen each other in two decades are now traveling to far-flung areas to see relatives.

But he acknowledged the militants face huge challenges.

Poverty, which has always been deeply rooted here, is worsening. Prices of staple foods are rising. The few Western aid agencies that provided food, health care and other necessities have left. Theres only one doctor and a midwife. Medicines are scarce.

Before, there were four to five doctors, one vaccinator and a nurse in the village, Omar said. But after the Taliban took over, everyone has gone.

Some people are hardly getting food for their families, Haideri said. One man the other day told me that he has been boiling potatoes and eating it for the last four days.

That has made Haideri and other shop owners more resentful of the urban elites in Kabul. Two years after the airstrike, they have been unable to rebuild their destroyed shops or properly feed their families. Yet theyve watched millions of dollars flow to shady contractors and corrupt politicians in the capital. They say they are the same people who have fled with the help of the United States.

Those who left Kabul, they did not leave Afghanistan due to hunger, Haideri said. They have collected a lot of wealth, and they have gone to enjoy a luxurious life abroad. No one likes the Americans here, so how could those people be liked?

Taliban fighters in pickup trucks now patrol roads dotted with banners that proclaim the nation free of foreign troops. Every day, the fighters drive past the sprawling former U.S. military base in the district center, known as Combat Outpost Nerkh.

It sits like an ancient ruin. Visitors stroll through the silence, past dusty sandbags, strands of concertina wire and other faded symbols of U.S. military power.

Americas legacy here haunts Shukrullah Ibrahim Khail.

His younger brother, Nasratullah, was an alleged victim of the A-team. The Special Forces unit raided their home and grabbed him on a cold night, he said, and took him to the U.S. base. His family sought the help of tribal elders to secure his release. Two days later, they found Nasratullahs body near a bridge, badly tortured. Months later, the remains of 10 missing Afghan villagers were uncovered in graves near the base.

The U.S. military denied the allegations. Two years later, a criminal investigation was reopened. Khail said he was called to Kabul to give testimony to the government, U.S. and U.N. officials. But after recounting the incident, he said he never heard back.

The Pentagon did not respond to emails asking about the status of the investigation.

Our demand was to punish those who were responsible for those killings, Khail said. There was no justice done. Nor was there any compensation for the victims families.

What can we do now when they have all gone?
SAN DIEGO, Calif. (Tribune News Service)  A San Diego civilian defense contractor is accused of repeatedly meeting with and receiving cash payments from a woman tied to Chinese intelligence services while he worked on several classified and proprietary projects, including unmanned surveillance aircraft used by the U.S. military, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court.

Shapour Moinian, 66, was a U.S. Army helicopter pilot, serving for 23 years in the military, before switching to a career in defense contracting, according to the complaint.

He is charged with one count of failing to disclose foreign contacts as part of his regular national security background checks  a crime that could send him to prison for up to five years if convicted.

Moinian, who lives in Mira Mesa, was arrested Friday. While he is being held on the single charge, the FBI and Naval Criminal Investigative Service are continuing to investigate, and more serious charges could follow.

The complaint does not specify which companies Moinian worked for  except to say one had offices in San Diego  or which projects may have been compromised.

According to the complaint, Moinian first connected in 2015 with a Chinese national who posed as a job recruiter on an employment services website  a tactic that both Germany and France have identified as a technique used by Chinese spies. She asked if he was interested in part-time consultancy work; he said yes, but later said his security clearance prohibited it. The woman then suggested they keep in touch.

The following year, the same woman reached out to Moinian again, under a different name, and played up his rich experiences and skills, which were needed for consulting on aircraft design, according to the complaint.

Authorities allege Moinian traveled to China and other destinations  including Macau, Bali, and Taiwan  from 2017 to 2019 to meet up with the Chinese contact and her associates.

At times, he used his stepdaughters South Korean bank account to receive payments from his contact, then had them wired to the U.S., the complaint states. Other times he smuggled cash payments back to the U.S.  sometimes with help from his wife, she told investigators, according to the complaint.

Moinian and the contact are believed to have communicated via email and encrypted cellphone apps, where Moinian would update her on the progress of his work and they would talk of missing one another, the complaint states.

Investigators say after returning from another overseas meeting with the contact and her associates in 2018  during which he was paid in cash  Moinian searched online for information on sabotage, espionage, spying and selling military information to a foreign country, the complaint says.

In 2019, he is accused of requesting $20,000 from his contact, telling her it was for a friend in financial distress, the complaint states. Two months later he met with her and others and received a large cash payment, authorities allege.

Moinian was regularly required to disclose whether he had close or continuing contact with a foreign national or if hed been asked to work as a consultant, or considered employment, by a foreign national, within the past seven years as part of his national security clearance. He denied such contact in multiple questionnaires, authorities say.

This case serves as a stark reminder of the social media exploitation strategies Chinese intelligence agencies will utilize to target, recruit, and maintain contact with valuable foreign assets, FBI Special Agent in Charge Suzanne Turner said in a statement.

At the time of his arrest, Moinian was preparing to move to South Korea to work for another defense contractor producing a military aircraft for the Korean government, prosecutors said. Hed already given many of his belongings to the international shipping company and had given notice to his landlord that he was vacating in a week.

Moinian made his first appearance Monday in San Diego federal court, where a magistrate judge set bond at $60,000. He may be placed on home detention upon release.



2021 The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Visit sandiegouniontribune.com .

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The seal of the U.S. Department of Justice is shown in this undated illustration. (U.S. Department of Justice)
A soldier assigned to Kunsan Air Base, South Korea, salutes on Sept. 10, 2021. (Gabrielle Spalding/U.S. Air Force)

WASHINGTON (Tribune News Service)  For more than 100 years, young men have registered for the draft. Now, Congress is poised to make a historic change by requiring women, for the first time in American history, to do the same.

But while support for the change is bipartisan, Congress is leaving the details for later.

Thats the easy thing to do, considering the military hasnt drafted anyone since the Vietnam War and its possible it never will need to again. But if a crisis of monumental proportions were to emerge, the logistics of incorporating women into a much larger military could prove complicated.

Would drafted women be expected to serve in combat roles? And if not, what would their roles be? Would they be housed with men? It appears that neither Congress nor the Pentagon has thought that through.

Still, included in the House version of the fiscal 2022 National Defense Authorization Act, which that chamber passed last month, was an amendment by Pennsylvania Democrat Chrissy Houlahan and Florida Republican Michael Waltz that would require women to sign up with the Selective Service, a government agency that keeps records of Americans eligible for a potential draft.

And the Senate Armed Services Committee also included language that would require women to register when it marked up its version of the NDAA in July, although the full Senate has not yet taken it up.

Proponents of the change see the move as a victory for womens rights.

Equity is important, Houlahan told CQ Roll Call in an interview, and women have constantly had to fight for a level playing field  and this change is a step in the right direction.

Waltz argues that were a crisis requiring a draft to emerge, the United States would need every available person.

The country would need everybody  man, woman, gay, straight, any religion, Black, white, brown, he said recently on the House floor.

According to Houlahan, she and Waltz paired up on the amendment out of a shared belief that Congress should change the current outdated way of thinking about things.

Waltz is a former Army Green Beret who served in Afghanistan. Houlahan spent 17 years in the Air Force and Air Force reserves, leaving as a captain.

Democrats seem united on making the change. Republicans are split, but a critical mass seems to now favor it. Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, Jack Bergman of Michigan and Pat Fallon of Texas all voted in favor of the amendment when it came up at the Armed Services markup last month.

A momentous change

There has not been a draft in the United States since the Vietnam War, and the military is currently an all-volunteer force.

The United States has used some form of conscription since the Revolutionary War. A draft system was used during World War I, and the nations first-ever peacetime draft was held in 1940 prior to the American entry into World War II. Ten million men were drafted during World War II. From the end of WWII until 1973, men were drafted to fill vacancies in the military.

The Selective Service went into a standby period after 1973, but registration resumed in 1980. Since then, young men not yet old enough to legally drink have had to register with the agency within 30 days of their 18th birthday and are eligible for a draft until they turn 26.

The Houlahan amendments passage follows the release of a March 2020 report from the 11-member National Commission on Military, National and Public Service, a panel created by Congress in the fiscal 2017 NDAA that recommended women be included in the Selective Service.

The panel found that the inclusion of women was in the national security interest of the United States.

During a March 11 hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, the panels chairman, Joseph Heck, an Army veteran and Republican who represented a Nevada district in the House for three terms, said including women would improve the militarys ability to maintain high personnel standards.

It is the equal obligation of all Americans to defend the nation if called to do so. Registering women for Selective Service and, if necessary, including women in a draft acknowledges the value women bring to the U.S. armed forces and the talents, skills and abilities women would offer in defending the nation in a national emergency, Heck said.

According to Houlahan, including women in the Selective Service is just part of a larger overhaul that the system needs. The Selective Service should not just be about combat roles but also be about calling upon Americans to fill other military positions, including cybersecurity and engineering roles, Houlahan said. Women have been eligible to serve in all the same military occupations, including combat roles, as men since December 2015.

Integration challenges

Currently, women make up 16% of the militarys total force, according to an analysis from the Brookings Institution.

But Houlahan demurred when asked about the logistical challenges of integrating women into the military in greater numbers, and she acknowledged that there would be some complications and that no work had yet been done to that end.

According to the Selective Services website, the agency is capable of registering and drafting women with its existing infrastructure if given the mission and modest additional resources. Some elements of the military, however, have already studied potential effects of integrating women into the services on a large scale and found reason for concern.

A 2015 study conducted by the Marine Corps found that all-male ground combat teams outperformed their mixed-gender counterparts in nearly every capacity during an infantry integration test.

In June, the Marine Corps paid the University of Pittsburgh $2 million to study the sociological and physical training effects of increased gender integration in recruit training. The results of that study are not yet available.

The Marine Corps was just 8.6% female in 2018, about half that of the other services, a 2020 GAO report found.

In March, the Marine Corps opened its training facilities at Camp Pendleton in San Diego to women for the first time  after Congress forced its hand. A provision in the fiscal 2020 defense authorization law ordered the service to fully integrate women into its training battalions at Parris Island, South Carolina, by 2025 and in San Diego by 2028.

GOP opponents

Logistical challenges are not the only sticking point for some opponents of the change. For some Republicans, the inclusion of women in the Selective Service is a moral issue  one that may come up when the House and Senate conference the defense policy bill later this year.

At the Senate Armed Services markup over the summer, five Republicans voted against the amendment by the panels chairman, Democrat Jack Reed of Rhode Island, requiring women to register.

Ranking member James M. Inhofe of Oklahoma was among the five, along with Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Roger Wicker of Mississippi and Mike Rounds of South Dakota.

Cotton tweeted at the time that he would work to remove it before the defense bill passes.

In 2016, both the House and Senate Armed Services panels approved the change, but it did not make it into the final fiscal 2017 defense authorization bill.

In the House that year, the Republican majority effectively stripped the provision out of the NDAA on the floor without a vote when the Rules Committee adopted a so-called self-executing rule that turned the required registration into a mandate for a study of the issue.

But with Congress now entirely in Democratic hands, the likelihood that women will have to register has increased.

Roll Call's John M. Donnelly contributed to this report.

2021 CQ-Roll Call, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

Visit cqrollcall.com.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin briefs reporters at the Pentagon on Feb. 19, 2021. Austin said Wednesday that national security could be at risk and Defense Department personnel might not receive their regular paychecks should Congress not vote to suspend the U.S. debt limit. (Staff Sgt. Jackie Sanders/U.S. Air Force)

WASHINGTON  National security could be at risk and Defense Department personnel might not receive their regular paychecks should Congress not vote to suspend the U.S. debt limit by the impending deadline, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Wednesday.

Congress must vote to suspend the limit on federal borrowing by Oct. 18, which is when the Treasury Department can no longer continue delaying a government default on its credit, according to The Associated Press. The House passed a bill to suspend the debt limit last month, but Republicans and Democrats in the Senate have yet to come to an agreement.

They need to stop playing Russian roulette with the U.S. economy, President Joe Biden said Tuesday in a public address at the White House. If you dont want to help save the country, get out of the way so you dont destroy it.

Failing to raise the debt limit would stop the U.S. from being able to pay its bills, something Austin said would undermine the economic strength on which our national security rests.

A default risks undermining the international reputation of the United States as a reliable and trustworthy economic and national security partner, he said in a statement. A default also risks undermining the stature of the U.S. dollar as the global reserve currency of choice.

A default could also hinder the Pentagons ability to pay troops, civilian personnel and defense contractors their regular paychecks, which Austin said would seriously harm our service members and their families.

As secretary, I would have no authority or ability to ensure that our service members, civilians or contractors would be paid in full or on time, he said.

That could also have widespread effects that could spill into the private sector where federal contractors that depend on government contracts could have their payments delayed, jeopardizing their operations and many American jobs, the secretary said.

In addition, a default would also prevent the Defense Department from paying out retirement and other benefits earned by and owed to 2.4 million military retirees and 400,000 survivors, he said in the statement.

Congress has voted to raise or suspend the self-imposed borrowing cap nearly 80 times since 1960, according to the AP. The process was routine for years before it was weaponized as a political tool to force concessions from opponents.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has held two unsuccessful votes so far to suspend the borrowing cap. A third is scheduled for Wednesday, which Senate Republicans plan to block in protest of Bidens economic spending plans, according to the AP.

"They basically want us to be aiders and abettors to their reckless spending and tax policies, and we just aren't going to do it," said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, according to the AP.

Democrats need at least 10 Republican votes to pass the bill to suspend the debt ceiling. Austin said it is imperative that politics be put aside to ensure funding for the nation.

Our service members and Department of Defense civilians live up to their commitments, he said. My hope is that, as a nation, we will come together to ensure we meet our obligations to them, without delay or disruption.
An Air National Guard C-130 out of Reno, Nev., flies over plumes of smoke after dropping fire retardant on the Beckwourth Complex Fire on July 9, 2021 near Frenchman Lake in Northern California. Military aircraft fighting fires this year had the second-busiest season on record since the Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems program was established in the 1970s. (Paula Macomber/U.S. Air National Guard)

Military firefighting crews battling blazes in California wrapped up their second-busiest fire season in nearly half a century, U.S. Northern Command said.

The crews were part of a program that converts military C-130 aircraft into air tankers able to disperse fire retardant. The military planes are the last line of defense, used when all commercial tankers that combat wildfires are unavailable.

This year, aircraft assigned to the Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems program, or MAFFS, flew 945 sorties and dropped over 2.5 million gallons of fire retardant, U.S. Northern Command said in a statement.

Thats the second-highest total since the MAFFS program was established in the early 1970s, and it was surpassed only during the 1994 fire season.

An Air National Guard C-130 out of Reno, Nev., drops fire retardant on the Beckwourth Complex Fire on July 9, 2021 near Frenchman Lake in Northern California. Military aircraft are generally asked to join firefighting efforts when all commercial air tankers are already at work or unavailable. This was one of the busiest years for military firefighting aircraft on record. (Paula Macomber/U.S. Air National Guard)

Much of this years efforts focused on containing the Dixie Fire in Northern California, the second-largest wildfire in the states history. It destroyed about 1 million acres, according to state data.

Military C-130s were also used to help the U.S. Forest Service and other federal agencies contain other blazes in the state, including the Caldor, Antelope, River Complex, Monument and French fires, the Air Force said last month.

At one point in August, all eight aircraft assigned to the MAFFS program were being used simultaneously to support the joint effort, the U.S. Northern Command statement said.

That hasnt happened in nearly a decade despite eight of the 10 biggest wildfires in Californias history occurring in the past five years.

This was an exceptional year that saw each unit contribute to a highly successful interagency firefighting effort, Lt. Gen. Kirk Pierce, the commander of Air Forces Northern, was quoted in the statement Monday as saying.

Still, the Dixie Fire alone devastated an area larger than the state of Rhode Island and claimed over 1,300 buildings, California state data show.

Hundreds of other soldiers and airmen have also assisted firefighting efforts, both on the ground and in different aircraft, NORTHCOM said.

C-130s assigned to the MAFFS program were first requested in late June, a month earlier than in 2020, marking the earliest request in about a decade.

However, all eight of the programs aircraft were used simultaneously only for a few weeks at most during the 96 consecutive days MAFFS was activated.

No plans are in the pipeline to increase the number of C-130s in the MAFFS fleet, NORTHCOM spokesman Capt. Nathanael Callon told Stars and Stripes. Climate scientists have stated that increasingly large fires will likely continue to batter the Western U.S. in the coming years because of climate change.

The U.S. Forest Service contracts with private companies to provide tankers to drop fire retardant as part of wildfire suppression efforts. But during periods of high activity there often arent enough of these contracted airtankers to meet demand, according to the Forest Service.

When needed, the Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System is inserted into the military C-130s without any major structural modifications to the planes.

The system consists of a series of five pressurized fire-retardant tanks and associated equipment that can be carried in the aircrafts cargo bay and drop up to 3,000 gallons in less than 10 seconds.

The systems belong to the Forest Service, but the C-130s and their crews must be pulled from their regular military duties with the Air National Guard or Air Force Reserve.
Army Pfc. Patrick J. Hernandez was killed in a military vehicle crash at Fort Bragg, N.C., on Monday, Oct. 4, 2021. (U.S. Army)

The military police officer killed in a vehicle wreck Monday at Fort Bragg, N.C., was a recent enlistee from Texas with two children and two stepchildren, Army officials said Wednesday.

Pfc. Patrick J. Hernandez was killed in the crash midday Monday on the installation, Fort Bragg officials said in a statement. Hernandez, 30, was assigned to the 108th Military Police Company, 503rd MP Battalion, 16th MP Brigade at Fort Bragg.

Lt. Col. Andrew Till, Hernandezs battalion commander, said the incident, which also injured four other soldiers, had been difficult for the unit.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Pfc. Hernandezs family as they grieve the loss of their loved one, Till said in a statement. The 503rd MP Battalion is grieving as well, and we will honor Pfc. Hernandezs life and service.

Army officials have provided few details about the incident, including the kind of military vehicle in which Hernandez and the other soldiers were traveling or whether the crash occurred during a training event. Army investigators from the U.S. Army Combat Readiness Training Center traveled this week from Fort Rucker, Ala., to lead the examination into the incident, the Army said.

Hernandez enlisted in the Army in August 2020 as a military policeman and had recently graduated from airborne school at Fort Benning, Ga., according to the Army. He was a native of Harlingen, Texas, and he was married with two daughters and two stepchildren.

Fort Bragg plans to hold a memorial for Hernandez in the coming weeks, said Capt. Perianne Duffy, a spokeswoman for the installation.

A soldier who served with him said he made a big impact in a short time in the Army.

He was always willing to provide advice on fatherhood when he discovered I was soon to become a father. Pfc. Michael D. Sanders said. He was always available to mentor me and give guidance from his past experiences. I am heartbroken I had such a short time to know such a great individual and a great father.
Jerry Glenn Howell, 88, passed away on Monday, November 15, 2021 at his home in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Visitation will be held on Friday, November 19, 2021 from 5-7pm at Dighton Marler Funeral Home in Stillwater. www.dightonmarler.com.
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.
A seafood company owner has been fined heavily fined for a commercial scam responsible for almost $1 million worth of black market paua and crayfish from the Chatham Islands

Michael Vernon Weaver, 42, and his company Southen Ocean Seafoods Limited faced 19 joint charges under the Fisheries Act 1996 for the offending.

He pleaded guilty to charges related to trading more than 12 tonnes of unreported seafood, valued at more than $900,000. He was sentenced in the Manukau District Court in July, but name suppression was in place until today.

Appearing before Judge Grau in July, he was sentenced to 12 months home detention and fined $525,000.

Additionally, his company Southen Ocean Seafoods Limited - for which Mr Weaver is the sole director - was fined $525,000. More than 1.6 tonnes of his companys crayfish quota shares valued at over $1.2 million have also been forfeited to the Crown.

MPI's investigation found that under Mr Weavers management, Snapper Seafoods Ltd received unreported seafood between January 2017 and March 2018 from Chatham Islands fishers.

These fishers, Kevan Huia Clarke and Robin Andrew Page, have already been sentenced for their roles in the offending (2020).

MPI Director of Compliance Services, Gary Orr, says Mr Weaver was critical to the illegal operation.

Without Mr Weavers company, Southen Ocean Seafoods Limited, this offending by the commercial fishers would not have been possible.

"He colluded with the fishers involved, agreeing to false amounts of fish to declare for the record.

"It should be noted that Mr Weaver deliberately misled Snapper Seafoods, the company he used to receive the illegal catch. Snapper Seafoods were not aware of the deception and were not charged.

Mr Weavers sentence ends a long running MPI investigation into the offending and sends a strong message  This kind of offending will be investigated and placed before the courts.

"Whether youre a commercial fisher or involved in the management of landed fish product  records will be inspected. If we find evidence of illegal operations, we will hold you to account, Gary Orr says.

"The investigation unfolded after Fishery Officers found more than half a tonne of unreported paua in Chatham Island fisher Kevan Clarkes catch documentation.

"Further investigation found more discrepancies between reported catch and what had been reported as received by Mr Weaver and his company Southen Ocean Seafoods Ltd.

To report any suspicious fishing activity, phone the MPI 0800 4 POACHER hotline (0800 47 62 24).
Some staff at the Waikato Hospital have been sent home and told to get tested after a patient tested positive for Covid-19.

A case has also been identified in Cambridge.

Stuff understands a person who visited the Waiora Waikato Hospital Emergency Department on Friday night has now tested positive for Covid-19.

They were sent to the childrens ED area as they were not symptomatic on entry and it was prior to Waikato having any locations of interest.

It is understood the person was infectious and any staff who were working that night have been contacted, stood down and asked to get tested.

A nurse at the hospital, who did not want to be named, says staff have been advised to get tested for the virus.

Stuff understands the affected staff are now self-isolating at home and rapid testing results are expected Wednesday afternoon.

Further investigations was being done to see if further isolation and testing is needed.

Contact tracing is also underway with patients or visitors to the ED.

One positive case of Covid-19 has been confirmed in Cambridge, according to the Chamber of Commerce chief executive.

Kelly Bounzaid told Stuff she had been contacted by mayor Jim Mylchreest on Wednesday morning confirming the positive case.

There is a pop-up testing station being set up now at Lake Karapiro and we should know more at the 1pm announcement.

Waipa deputy mayor Liz Stolwyk, who also manages the Mighty River Domain, said she had been contacted by the Waikato DHB to ask if the domain could be set up as a testing station.

-Stuff.
The Bay of Plenty District Health Board says they have an escalation plan in place to increase Intensive Care capacity in case of a Covid-19 outbreak in the community.

However, they also confirm Covid-19 workforce training is still ongoing amid a nationwide staffing issue among ICU facilities.

Recent cases of Covid-19 in Auckland and Waikato have raised fears over the Bay of Plentys potential exposure to the Delta variant.

Tauranga has seemingly dodged three bullets in recent months, the Rio de la Plata shipping container cases, the infected Auckland truck driver and the recent positive wastewater tests, all of which underscore the delicate nature of the regions Covid-19 vulnerability.

With vaccination rates in the Bay of Plenty currently below the national average per 1,000 for both first and second doses, and among the worst in the nation for Maori uptake, the potential impact of a Covid-19 outbreak in the region is clear.

The Bay of Plentys two main hospital centres, Tauranga and Whakatane, have Intensive Care Units run as combined critical care units. Tauranga ICU has six ICU beds and four High Dependency Unit beds. Whakatane Acute Care unit has two beds available for Intensive Care patients.

The BOPDHB serves a population of approximately 255,110, according to their 2020 Annual Report. That figure is split between 199,571 served by Tauranga Hospital and 55,359 by Whakatane Hospital.

Those figures equate to roughly one ICU or HDU bed per 20,000 people in Tauranga and one ICU bed per every 28,000 in Whakatane.

However, ICU beds differ from HDU beds. ICU beds are the preferred option when dealing with Covid-19 patients. An ICU bed allows for ventilation, better organ management and one-to-one nursing care.

In fact, when dealing with Covid, that ratio often needs to be higher, due to the added pressure of exposure which could lead to isolation or illness among healthcare staff.

Tauranga has one ICU bed for every 33,261 people. That figure is roughly three beds per 100,000, below the national average of 4.6 beds per 100,000. However, it is important to note that as a smaller regional hospital, some patients requiring ICU treatment are transferred to other specialist tertiary centres nationwide.

While that figure may be seen as low it needs to be put into context, explains New Zealand College of Critical Care Nurses chairperson Tania Mitchell.

If you need a heart operation, for instance, that is unable to be done locally. So there are often patients who are transferred to another DHB to receive the specialist treatment and care required.If you had a major car accident, you might be transferred to Waikato or Auckland for the care you need. It is about overall capacity across New Zealand.

There are six ICU beds and four HDU beds at Tauranga Hospital. File Image. SunLive.

That does not mean ICU beds, particularly in Tauranga, are often unoccupied. Over the past three months, by average midnight census, ICU and HDU occupancy at Tauranga Hospital is at 76 per cent. Whakatane Acute Care unit, accommodating two ICU and nine high acuity beds, has been 54 per cent occupied in the same time span.

Any increase in demand due to Covid-19 would need to fit into the difference or surgeries and treatment for non-Covid patients is likely to be impacted.

The Bay of Plenty District Health Board says they have plans in place to deal with any increased influx of patients.

The BOPDHB has ICU capacity contingency plans for mass casualty presentations and a potential pandemic outbreak in the region, says BOPDHB chief operating officer Bronwyn Anstis.

This includes increasing the number of ICU beds and utilising post anaesthetic care unit beds, along with additional training of staff in progress.

The ICU has an escalation plan to increase capacity of ICU beds that is integrated with the CCU/HDU and the Perioperative Department.

When asked whether the DHB is confident staffing issues are adequate to deal with a Delta outbreak in the Bay of Plenty, Bronwyn comments on the nationwide ICU staffing issues.

A lot of DHBs across New Zealand are currently experiencing some staffing issues in this area, she says.

As a result, the BOPDHB have been provided with Ministry of Health funding for 1.5 full-time equivalent staffing to facilitate Covid-19 workforce training. This process is currently underway.

This resource is focused on developing a range of skills for managing patients with Covid-19 across the hospital setting.

NZCCCN chairman Tania is unable to speak about the issue from a regionalised perspective. She is of the hope and belief that DHBs have been preparing for the eventuality where capacity will need to be increased due to community outbreaks.

That is what is needed in the case of Covid, she says.

In terms of Covid preparedness, the Ministry of Health have been working with DHBs nationwide to increase physical beds and equipment to be able to care for more patients that they anticipate we will see with Covid.

This has also included funding to be used for providing basic ICU training for nurses working in other areas to be able to assist the experienced ICU nurses to care for patients during a Covid surge.

But Tania explains that this work has had to be balanced with the pressure DHBs are already under without an acute Covid outbreak as well as the ongoing nursing shortage.

With that in mind, there is still concern that across the country, ICU resources may struggle to cope with the extra demand.

From a nationwide point of view, what we are seeing is DHBs struggling to cope with a nationwide shortage of nurses, including Intensive Care nurses, which means it can be challenging to keep up with business as usual.

So with a surge of Covid cases or endemic Covid, there is a concern we are not resourced for that.
Andalusian health service goes back to in-person appointments with the doctor This region is the first in Spain to restore the service since the pandemic began

The Junta de Andalucia regional government announced this week it is bringing back the opportunity to see a doctor in person at its public health centres from 1 October.

Regional president, Juanma Moreno, said that Andalucia was the first region in Spain to reinstate the service. However, he added that the option to have a telephone consultation instead would remain, as some prefer it or are still worried about Covid-19 contagion.

Regional Health Service officials believe it makes sense for repeat prescriptions and results of tests to be dealt with over the phone in the future.

Unions have backed the move but urged that safety measures in health centres should stay in place.

Whoever wants to see their family doctor face to face can do so, and whoever wants a telephone call [instead] can do so,Moreno explained.

Health officials say phone calls could still be useful to get the results of tests or ask for repeat prescriptions, and so they will introduce the option of a phone call from now on.

It is understandable that many people dont want to travel due to lack of transport, caution or fear of contagion, and we respect them, Moreno added, highlighting that Andalucia is the first region in the country to guarantee a face-to-face appointment again if required.

The Medical union in Malaga has indicated that it is in favour of going back to face-to-face appointments again.

In fact, this didnt completely disappear during the pandemic. We demand that measures controlling access and separate Covid routes [within health centres] are maintained, to guarantee safety for both patients and staff. For the same reason, we are in favour of keeping phone consultations (20%of activity), the union said.

To make an appointment call Salud Responde (955 54 50 60), use ClicSalud+ online, the app Salud Responde or go to your health centre.
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As the User you are solely and exclusively responsible for your identification to access the service. If your users secret access code (password) or user name is used by a third party, used badly or forgotten, this will be your sole and exclusive responsibility.

General characteristics of the services.

The services which you can access on the Website are, as a general rule, free of charge so Users do not have to pay anything to enjoy them, apart from the cost of the connection via the telecommunications network provided by your contracted supplier. However, despite this, access to certain content on the Website may not be free of charge, depending on other factors such as the volume of access by the User or the type of content. In that case you will be advised accordingly and, where relevant, asked to subscribe or register.

Content or services offered by third parties.

Through the Website you can access other services from the same Company or services offered by collaborators, which will have their own general conditions of use or contracting. These will specify whether they are free of charge or have to be paid for, and the Company bears no responsibility in this respect.

In accordance with article 17 of Law 34/2002 of 11 July regarding companies information and electronic commerce services (LSSI), unless the Company has effective knowledge that an activity or information contained on the Website, or on the website to which you are directed, is illegal or damages the property or rights of a third party which may be eligible for protection, the Company will not be responsible for the information offered on or from the Website by third parties or Users.

5.- How the Website should be used.

The Users promise to use the services, channels and all content of the Website in accordance with these Conditions, the law, morality, generally accepted standards of behaviour and public order.

You are also obliged not to use the Website for ends or effects which are fraudulent, illegal, contrary to the terms of these Conditions, harmful to the rights and interests of the Company or third parties, or which in any way could damage, disable, overload or deteriorate the services and channels of the Website and its contents or impede the normal use, functioning or enjoyment of the same by the Users; nor will you modify or alter in any way either the content or other elements of the Website. You thereby promise not to carry out any of the following activities:

I. Send any type of advertising or communication to the Website with the aim of selling it or others of a commercial nature, or send it to a plurality of people who are users of the Website without prior application and consent. II. Send any other unsolicited messages without prior consent to a plurality of people who are users of the Website. III. Send chains of unsolicited electronic messages to users of the Website without prior consent. IV. Use any distribution lists which may be accessed via the Website or its services and channels to carry out the activities indicated in sections i) to iii) above. V. Make available to third parties, for any reason, data acquired from distribution lists. VI. Obtain or attempt to obtain information and any type of material accessible via the Website or its services or channels, using processes for this purpose which are distinct from those placed at your disposition. VII. Make incorrect use of the contents of the Website, use them for purposes which differ from those for which they are intended, reproduce them, modify them or transform them. VIII. Store, publish and/or transmit data, texts, images, archives, links, software or other contents which are considered objectionable under the law or are considered to be so by the Company because they are illegal, damaging, threatening, abusive, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, racist or objectionable in any way, or anything which may cause harm of any type to under-age children, especially pornography, tributes to violence or which could be dangerous in any other way for young people. IX. Hinder other Users access to the service by mass consumption of the IT resources through which the Company provides the service, or carry out actions which damage, interrupt or generate errors in the said systems or services.

In addition, we inform you that the Website is principally financed by income from publicity messages and announcements, through which advertisers publicise their products and services on the Website. By accessing the Website as a User, you agree to receive this information. For this reason, as a necessary condition for using the Website, it is not permitted to install or use any type of technology which could in any way impede access to and/or the receipt of the Website contents in their entirety (whether these are informative, advertising or any other type). The Company reserves the right to restrict, suspend or impede access to the Website for any Users who do not respect the above, and the Company will take any technical measure it deems necessary for this purpose.

Users are informed that in the event that they do not comply with these Conditions, the Privacy Policy y Policy regarding Cookies or any other particular terms and conditions of the Website, the Company reserves the right to restrict, suspend or end access to the Website, using any technical measure which may be necessary for this purpose.

Finally, we advise Users that the Company reserves the right to decide, at any time, whether or not to continue the services of the company and the information provided via the Website.

6.- Forms of Participation on the Website.

Users may participate in the Website in the sections which are set up for this purpose (for example blogs, forums, chats, comments, sharing etc.). The Company only provides these areas for participation and cannot take part in them in any way, so the contributions or opinions of the Users are their own responsibility. Allowing Users to make these contributions in no way signifies that the Company identifies with or shares the ideas, opinions or statements expressed. The Users are obliged to use these areas in accordance with the terms in section 5 above, How the Website should be used. Simply by posting comments or by participating in these areas, you irrevocably authorise, free of charge and without restriction, the Company and its business group to publish the most outstanding comments in its print editions (whether online, offline or via any other medium) or on the websites of the same.

The Company reserves the right to suspend or eliminate any contributions or comments which do not comply with current regulations or these Conditions.

Users who send images, photos, comments etc. guarantee that they are the owner of the same and have all necessary authorisations (especially in the case of data or images of third parties, and in particular if they are under-age children) so that the Company can use the Website, freely and with no associated charge whatsoever, to reproduce, distribute, make available to others and communicate them publicly. The Users, guaranteeing that they hold these rights, grant the Company and its group free and unlimited use of the material.

If, directly or through notification or complaints from third parties, illegal practices or similar are discovered, the Company will remove the offending content or take any other measure it considers necessary to prevent the situation continuing. Identical measures will be applicable if a use is detected which, because of its characteristics such as size, format etc., complicates the functioning of the Website, or if the content and/or links contain propaganda or spam, or if comments are repeated, do not make sense or are on a different topic. Without prejudice to the above, the Users agree that the Company will be able to notify the administrative or judicial authorities about anything which could constitute an illegal activity, without having to notify the User in advance.

In the event that the Company decides to suspend (temporarily or definitively) a Users participation in the areas where participation is possible, the Company will inform the User of this suspension by sending them a message via email, if they have previously provided an email address.

The Company reserves the right to cease to provide the service in any area of participation at any time, merely by communicating this fact on the access screen to the service at least fifteen (15) days in advance.

7.- Intellectual and Industrial Property.

The rights of intellectual property of the Website, its source code, design, navigation structures and different elements of the content are the property of the Company. The Company has exclusive rights to use these in any way, and especially the rights of reproduction, distribution, public communication and transformation, in accordance with Spanish and European Union legislation. At the same time, the Website consists of information of different types related to the activities of the Company (information created by the Company or created by third parties), which permits the Users to make personal and non-commercial use of it.

ALL RIGHTS ARE RESERVED with regard to the contents of the Company, the Media, other companies within the group of which the Company forms part, or third parties. It is prohibited to reproduce totally or in part, distribute, make available, communicate publicly or use, totally or in part, the contents of this website, in any way or form, without previous and express authorisation in writing. This includes, in particular, simply reproducing any content and/or making it available as a summary, comment or press review for commercial or directly or indirectly lucrative purposes, which is expressly forbidden. The presentation of pages from the Website is also prohibited, nor may images from the Website be displayed on pages which do not belong to the Company (no matter what technique is used). The unauthorised use of these contents will give rise to legally established responsibilities. The Company, in accordance with the LSSI, will not be responsible for any infractions committed by the User of the Website which affect third parties, unless it had effective knowledge of the said infraction. The Company informs Users that, without previous and express authorisation in writing, no licence or express or implicit authorisation will be granted regarding the rights of intellectual and/or industrial property, or regarding any other right or property related directly or indirectly with the contents included on the Website, and any alteration or modification of the contents or any other element of the Website is also prohibited.

In the case that Users place content onto the Website, the Company informs you that you will still retain ownership of the rights over your content if, when loading or publishing content on the Website (the Content), you agree to grant the Company a worldwide licence, which is non-exclusive and transferable (with the faculty of sub-licencing to third parties), for the maximum duration of rights in accordance with the applicable legislation. This licence authorises the Company to use, reproduce and distribute the Content, communicate it publicly (including making it available to the public), carry out works deriving from it, transforming, displaying and executing this Content in relation to the provision of the services of the Website, the functioning of the Website and the activity of the Company. It includes, with no restriction whatsoever, the promotion and redistribution of the Content (and works deriving from it) on the whole or part of the Website in any format and/or methods of operation and through any channel of communication. The licence granted by the User with regard to the content they provide will cease to be effective when the User eliminates or erases their content on the Website.

All commercial names, brands or distinctive signs, logos, symbols, combined figurative or nominative brands which appear on this Website belong to the Company, or it holds the licences for use of the same.

8.- Policy regarding links.

Links to other websites.

The Website may include links to sites controlled by third parties. The User should remember that when they use a link to access another website from this one, the Websites Privacy Policy and Policy regarding Cookies will cease to have effect. The Websites Privacy Policy does not apply to third party sites. In accordance with article 17 of the LSSI, unless the Company has effective knowledge of an illegal deed being carried out, or one which damages the property or rights of a third party who may be eligible for compensation, it holds no responsibility of any type with regard to other websites privacy and treatment of data. Navigation of and interaction with any other website, including those with links on this Website, are subject to the regulations and policies of that site. We recommend that Users read the other websites policies regarding treatment of data and privacy when they visit them via a link on the Website or any other method.

Links from other websites to this Website.

If any third party, entity or website wishes to establish any type of link to this Website, they should respect the following:

The link should be directed to the principal page of the Website.

The link should be absolute and complete; in other words, it should take the User, via a click, to the URL of the Website, showing the whole of the screen. Under no circumstances, unless the Company expressly authorises it in writing, may the website which places the link reproduce the Website in any way, include it as part of its own website or in one of its frames or create a browser on any of the pages of the Website. The page where the link is located must not state that the Company has authorised such a link, unless this has been expressly authorised in writing by the Company. If the entity which is placing the link via its page to the Website wishes to include the brand, denomination, commercial name, sign, logo, slogan or any other type of identifying feature of the Company and/or the Website, it must have express authorisation in writing before doing so.

Under no circumstances does the Company authorise a link to the Website from any web pages which manifestly promote hate, contempt or discrimination for reasons of birth, race, gender, religion, nationality, opinion or any other personal or social circumstance in general which contravenes morality, public order or generally accepted social rules.

The Company takes no responsibility for any aspect of a web page which places a link to the Website, specifically and without limitation regarding its operation, access, data, information, archives, quality and reliability of its products and services, its own links and/or any of its contents in general.

9.- Protection of personal data and policy regarding cookies.

Aspects relating to the treatment of Users personal data when using the Website are regulated in the texts of thePrivacy Policy and the different data collection forms on the Website.

Like other Internet portals, the Website uses technology called cookies to collect information about the way the Website is used. For detailed information about how the Company uses cookies, consult the Policy regarding Cookies.

10.- What you can do if you detect illegal or unsuitable contents.

If you discover that any type of information or content on the Website, or content which is facilitated through it, is illegal, harmful to the rights of third parties, contravenes these Conditions or is any another way damaging or contrary to morality, use and custom, you can contact us as explained in the Legal Notice, giving:

Your identity and contact details;

A description of why you think the content or information is illegal or unsuitable and the specific details of where it can be seen;

In the case of an alleged violation of third party rights, you should give details of the person who holds the right which has been infringed if it is somebody other than yourself. You should also provide evidence to prove ownership of the rights which may have been infringed and, where applicable, authorisation for you to act on behalf of the person who owns those rights if it is somebody other than yourself.

The fact that the Company has received the communication referred to in this clause does not imply effective knowledge of the activities and/or the content reported, when it is not obvious or evident. In any case, the Company reserves the right to suspend or remove contents which, although not illegal, contravene the regulations established in these Conditions, and will consider any legal responsibilities in each case.

11.- Responsibilities.

Given the way the Internet operates, the Company holds no responsibility for:

A lack of availability and continuity regarding the operation, use and reliability of the services and the Website, nor services which have to be paid for or are not free for Users, deriving from an Act of God, force majeure or which are not directly attributable to the Company.

Any alteration of privacy and security in the use and contents of the Website and its services by third parties which are unconnected to it, in accordance with current legal regulations.

The presence of a virus or presence of other false elements in services offered by third parties via the Website which may produce alterations to the IT system, electronic documents or user files.

Any lack of veracity, precision, exclusivity or topicality of the contents offered by the Website, whether these contents are offered by the Company itself or by third parties, unless the Company has effective knowledge that an illegal deed has been committed or the property or rights of a third party have been damaged.

The Company is not responsible for damages or prejudices caused to Users as a consequence of the inherent risks in the medium used, nor for those caused by vulnerabilities in their systems and tools which derive from an Act of God, force majeure or are not directly attributable to the Company.

The Company does not guarantee total security of its systems, and although it has adopted adequate security measures the existence of vulnerabilities through a cause of force majeure or a fortuitous event cannot be discounted. As a result, you should always be cautious in your interaction with the Website.

12.- Miscellaneous.

These Conditions are subject to change, and any changes will be notified by being published on the Website.

In the event that the Company does not exercise any right or legal action included in the Conditions (or which correspond to it under current legislation), this will not indicate that it is giving up its rights.

The relations between the Company and the Users as a result of using the services we provide to you through the Website will be regulated by current Spanish law regarding applicable legislation and competent jurisdiction. However, if under current legislation the parties may submit themselves to a particular jurisdiction, the Company and the Users, expressly renouncing any other jurisdiction which may correspond to them, submit themselves to the jurisdiction of the Courts and Tribunals of the city which is indicated in the Legal Notice.
Ibiza good times travel It's time to hit the hotspots of the white island and have some much needed summer fun: it's the turn of the sociable south and east of the island

The travel trend for seeking out secluded destinations seems to be growing a pace following the pandemic; thanks to a desire to escape the crowds and find the authentic.

Yet if you are anything like me, after so long avoiding crowds and being obliged to keep a distance, I'm ready to have a laugh on my holidays, to reconnect with people, to socialise and to have fun!

Looking for authenticity? Well, when it comes to Ibiza what can be more genuine to white island life than hip hotels, sociable beach clubs and a lively soundtrack?

Some years ago, I wrote about Ibiza's charming 'agroturismo' farmstead B&Bs, country retreats and boutique hotels hidden amongst aromatic pine forests within the interior of the island. So now it's the turn of the sociable south and east of the island, all within easy access from the airport and Ibiza town.

Ibiza town

Eivissa capital epitomises the alluring mix of age-old island charm with contemporary, cosmopolitan Ibiza. Whilst approaching the island's airport, the skyline of the town becomes instantly recognisable thanks to the UNESCO Dalt Vila, the fortified old town. The ancient architecture gives a few clues that this was once one of the most strategic ports in the Mediterranean.

Now old town is a chic hub of restaurants, galleries and boutiques. It makes for an enjoyable morning stroll, taking in the centuries old cathedral, the castle and medieval city walls. Expect superb views over the town and the port.

The other side of the port, on Botafoc Marina one finds upscale hotels, like the Gran Hotel Ibiza, home to gourmet restaurants, Ibiza's casino and also Open Spa, probably the best wellness facility on the island.

Nightlife is also returning to this small, lively city, both at the beach clubs and at the hotels.

Talamanca bay, just north of Ibiza town, has the upscale Nobu Hotel Ibiza Bay, a popular choice for visitors that want that lively Balearic buzz of Ibiza, close to the vibrancy of town, yet within the quieter setting of a Mediterranean bay. Talamanca also retains plenty of typical, local Spanish restaurants.

Playa d'en Bossa

For Balearic beats and an inclusive, friendly vibe, head for the island's most famous beach, Playa d'en Bossa. This year Ibiza won't quite be living up to its usual hedonistic reputation, since some of the biggest parties and concerts have been postponed until next year.

So, this year is the time to enjoy a lively, yet not so raucous Ibiza; the perfect time to hit Playa d'en Bossa. Running south from Ibiza Town, for around three kilometres, it's also the white island's longest beach.

Here are the family-friendly resorts like the Grand Palladium Hotels and iconic beach clubs including the party favourite Nassau Beach Club and the neighbouring relaxed Tanit Beach. Expect mornings to be mellow, perfect for a quiet swim or walk along the sands. From early afternoon the music will begin to spill out from the hotels and beach clubs.

The beauty of Playa d'en Bossa is its diversity. There's a feeling of openness that embraces people of all ages, from couples and families staying at the hip Hard Rock Hotel, the youngsters enjoying the beats at the uniquely styled Ushuaia Ibiza Beach Hotel, as well as the young at heart retirees staying in apartments that line the beach.

Barefoot south coast

If you want to stay close to town but find a more mellow Ibiza, then the south coast is for you. The protected landscapes and wild coast of the Ses Salines Natural Park, the southern tip of Ibiza that reaches out and almost touches Formentera, is the place for laid back, barefoot relaxation. At the heart of this area are the colourful UNESCO salt flats where Ibiza's 'white gold' is harvested.

This is the Ibiza of hidden coves and friendly, lively beach bars. Playa es Cavallet is of course where you'll find El Chiringuito Ibiza, probably one of the island's best known restaurants, (sister to El Chiringuito Marbella).

It's the place for posh bites like Marinated Seabass Tartare Bruschetta and King Crab and Prawn Salad. Stroll a little further down the coast, and such is the beauty of Ibiza's diversity, you'll find a beach popular with LGBTQ+ travellers and the Chiringay beach restaurant, serving seafood and salads in a relaxed inclusive environment.

Head across to the other side of the salt flats peninsula and that's where there are low key spots to enjoy Ibizan sunsets. Experimental Beach at Cap des Falco is one of the best for cocktails on the island.

Casa Jondal on Jondal beach, ideal for quintessential beachside dining, with pared-back simple design and a standout menu from co-founder and chef Rafa Zafra.

Formentera beckons

Formentera is the smallest inhabited island of the Balearics and boasts quite extraordinary beaches and pristine waters. Surrounding the island are meadows of sea grass called Posidonia, which filter the water making it exceptionally clear. Accommodation options in summer on this little jewel can be limited, and expensive, but it's easy to enjoy the unique environment for the day. Regular fast ferries connect Ibiza town with Formentera's port. No need to have a car, as you can rent bicycles, scooters, or even small cars on arrival.

Then explore the magnificent beaches like Ses Illetes, which is evocative of the Caribbean or Maldives. In the southeast the protected coast of pine clad cliffs offers impressive hiking routes, especially near the Far de la Mola lighthouse.

Santa Eularia des Rui

This, the second largest town on Ibiza, brings together the hippy heritage of the island with modern day tourism.

The beaches and coastline here are impressive, with a mix of developed areas and picturesque, untouched coves.

On your way up from Ibiza town, enjoy the large beach at Cala Llonga. There's always something going on, and lots of activities for families too. If you're looking for a secluded spot for lunch, I particularly like Amante Ibiza, set among pines on a sandstone cliff overlooking a picture perfect cove. Modern Spanish and Italian dishes include mini burrata with deliciously refreshing tomato and cherry salmorejo; Iberian squid ink risotto with scallops; and salads including artisan Ibizan goats' cheese - all flavours of a Mediterranean summer.

Accommodation is a mix of rental apartments, family hotels and some flagship properties like the iconic W Ibiza Hotel.

Dining out is all about fish and seafood at the sophisticated, yet relaxed beach restaurants. This area is particularly family-friendly and a good choice if you looking to avoid the livelier beach clubs of Playa d'en Bossa.

Head inland just a little from Santa Eularia and you'll discover the trendy boho market of Las Dalias in San Carlos, fun for homemade crafts and hippy chic fashion.

The charming chapel overlooking the new resorts of Santa Eularia is worth a morning hike to see it and enjoy the views - you can always reward yourself with an afternoon cocktail on the stunning rooftop pool bar of W Ibiza - after all, this is your holiday.
'I adore what I do - I'm probably a little too passionate about it' Pete Jackson MBE talks to SUR in English about his passion for exploring the tunnels and caves in Gibraltar

If you've ever had a tour of the tunnels or caves in Gibraltar, there is a very good chance your guide was Pete Jackson.

Since he arrived in Gibraltar in 1989, he has shown more than 3,000 people around some of the Rock's most mysterious sights - including members of the Royal Family.

But how did this 60-year-old man from the North of England come to call Gibraltar his home?

Born in 1961, Pete grew up in Scarborough and as a schoolboy would explore the caves in North Yorkshire and Derbyshire.

Pete, who now works as a freelance guide in Gibraltar, explained: My Environmental Studies teacher was really into caving, so we had some great trips away. Some of his friends were in the Cave Rescue Team, and, when it was safe to do so, they would take kids from our school with them.

Then at the age of 15, Pete joined the army as a Junior Gunner in the Royal Artillery.

And after two years of intense basic training that turned me into a soldier, he went off to serve the Queen in the German cities of Paderborn and Dortmund, also serving tours in Northern Ireland.

Pete met the love of his life Lesley while on leave in Scarborough in 1981. They married in 1983 and have three children: Peter, Rachael and Georgina.

After 12 years in the British Army, Pete, who learned to speak reasonable German during this time, came to Gibraltar in 1989, to instruct on an Air Defence Missile system to the Gibraltar Regiment.

But it was also love at first sight for Pete when he first saw Gibraltar.

My mind was blown away during the landing, he recalled.

The aircraft circled the Rock twice and I fell in love with it before it touched down.

I tell everyone, you can't step in a puddle here without it oozing military history through your toes - and I got caught up in it.

Shortly after leaving the Royal Artillery in 1991, he joined the Gibraltar Regiment (as it was then called) at age 30.

During the first Mess Dinner, I was sat next to a Sergeant called Tito Vallejo (a very prominent cave and tunnel guide). We got talking and he invited me to a tour of Lower St Michael's Cave the next morning. I was mesmerised.

In 1994, Tito left the regiment, and Pete took over from him as Chief Tunnel Guide for the Ministry of Defence, a position that he held for the next 17 years.

He continued: It was not my main role though; it was a second hat, something I did for the love of it.

I adore what I do; I'm probably a little too passionate about it; it does give me a lump in my throat.

So what is it exactly that Pete loves about his job?

He replied: A lot of it, especially the military history side of it, is the sacrifice that's gone on here. The number of people that have laid down their lives in the defence of the Rock, and to try and win it. It's important to those servicemen who have fallen in battle that that is recognised and understood by the present generation. That's what keeps me motivated to do what I do.

When asked what was his favourite location to show people around, Pete replied without hesitation: The Northern Defences.

As to why, he said: Because it's been manned on a military footing since the Moors carried spears. This is a serious defensive location, you can stand in a position and know that a Moorish soldier stood there in 1309 defending it against the Spanish, followed by Spanish soldiers, who stood there in 1333 defending it against the Moors. In 1704 the Anglo-Dutch came and they took it. Soldiers have been manning the same positions from 711. By World War II you've got the Brits covering the same arcs with a machine gun rather than a musket.

Pete does have spare time for other interests, however: he has a passion for motorbikes, which he has three of.

He's also on the board of trustees for the Gibraltar Heritage Trust and spends many weekends restoring artillery pieces around the Rock - the latest being Lord Airey's Battery, which, according to Pete, is in dire need of attention.

The artillery battery, which was completed in 1891, is found in the Upper Rock Nature Reserve and has commanding views over the Straits and the waters surrounding Gibraltar.

As for famous faces he's shown the inside of the Rock, Pete recalls Princess Anne being one of the most interesting.

She was very astute, he said.

She asked more questions than you can imagine and was interested in tunnel warfare and how you could clear a tunnel system of an enemy. She wanted to know every little piece of information.

His encounter with the member of the Royal Family was the precursor to a funny anecdote with Prince Charles, who presented Pete with his Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2005.

Pete, said: When it was my turn, I was chatting with Prince Charles, and he made me feel very comfortable in his company. He asked me if we were keeping the Rock in British hands? And I replied: 'Just about Sir.' He then asked me if I was still conducting tunnel tours, to which I replied: 'I am Sir, ooh and I took your sister in there last year!'

I suddenly thought, 'Oh sh*t, I shouldn't have said that, I should have called her the Princess Royal!' He replied 'Really? Nice to meet you.'

And that was it! He made the gesture for me to leave! Looking back I was so embarrassed, but I suppose it was a funny moment.

Pete added that he received his MBE for Services to Gibraltar.

He explained: I have worked with a lot of veterans and helped to show them where they used to work. I have also helped in finding where people's relatives have died in some cases placing memorial plaques at the spot. It is very rewarding.
Gibraltar stand proves popular at UK political conferences On Sunday, Boris Johnson gave a barnstorming speech in support of Gibraltar and its peoples right to self-determination

As it did at the recent Labour conference in Brighton, the Gibraltar government has a presence at the ongoing Conservative conference in Manchester and a number of prominent politicians and supporters have made a point of visiting the Gibraltar stand, including the UKs new foreign secretary, Liz Truss, pictured here on Monday.

The government of Gibraltar also organises a reception at the party conferences, although this year the chief minister, Fabian Picardo, was unable to attend the event at the Tory conference as he tested positive for Covid-19 shortly after returning to Gibraltar from Brighton. He is self-isolating at home and has no symptoms.

He has been following the proceedings closely, and on Sunday he posted on Twitter, saying: This evening I would have been hosting the #Gibraltar @GibraltarGov reception at #CPC21. Unfortunately, as I contracted #COVID19, I was unable to attend. The Prime Minister @BorisJohnson gave a barnstorming speech in support of The Rock!

In that speech to the packed room, Boris Johnson wished the chief minister well, saying he was sure he will be fine because he has been double-vaccinated.

He also insisted that unity between this country and Gib will be cemented forever and referred to Gibraltars free, independent spirit, their right to choose their destiny. they have chosen to be British and we love them for it! he said to cheers from his audience.
Gibraltar will work closely with UK's new Foreign Secretary The chief minister has expressed his thanks to Dominic Raab for all his support and has also written to Liz Truss to congratulate her

The UK prime minister, Boris Johnson, held a cabinet reshuffle on Wednesday and made a number of major changes, including the appointment of Liz Truss as Foreign Secretary to replace Dominic Raab, who will be Justice Secretary, Lord Chancellor and deputy prime minister.

This means that Liz Truss will now be playing an important role in the negotiations regarding Gibraltar's future relationship with the EU.

Gibraltar's chief minister, Fabian Picardo, wrote immediately to Dominic Raab to thank him for his support while in office. He said it had been a pleasure to work with him and he had been a real support for Gibraltar in the negotiations leading up to the New Year's Eve agreement and on all Brexit matters, as well as the Covid pandemic, the supply of vaccines and the 500m loan guarantee. Picardo said he wanted to express the "fulsome gratitude of the people and government of Gibraltar for his work in partnership with us".

The chief minister also wrote to Liz Truss to congratulate her on her new post and to thank her for her support of Gibraltar in her previous position as International Trade Secretary. He said he was looking forward to working with her in relation to Gibraltar and as she takes on the wider role of leading the United Kingdom's diplomacy around the world. "I am sure we will work well together," he said.
Talks with EU over Gibraltars future relationship can now begin It is hoped that the negotiations can be completed by the end of this year, but Gibraltars chief minister has always made it clear that his government will not accept anything that is not in Gibraltars interests

The keenly-awaited negotiations over Gibraltars future relationship with the European Union are now able to begin, as the European Council has today, Tuesday 5 October, approved the European Commissions mandate for the talks.

These will be based on the framework agreed by Gibraltar, the UK and Spain on 31 December last year, in what has become known as the New Years Agreement. That was an agreement in principle, which covered a number of aspects but the one which has aroused the most interest was the idea that Gibraltar, which like the UK has never been part of Schengen, could have tailor-made access to the Schengen area.

If this is agreed, it will mean that the existing land border between Spain and Gibraltar would disappear and the external Schengen border will be at Gibraltars airport and port. The control of such a border has been the subject of debate: normally it would be controlled by Spain, but the Gibraltar government insisted that this would be unacceptable and proposed that the border should be controlled by the EUs Frontex force instead.

If this were to be the case, then entry to Gibraltar from the UK would be exactly as it is now: arrivals are controlled by the Gibraltar Borders Agency and all passengers, including the British, have to show photo ID. The only difference would be that all passengers would then pass through a Schengen control  in a way, this is not unlike the existing system at the land border, where those wishing to cross into Gibraltar have to show ID to the authorities of both countries.

If agreement can be reached, it will be in force for four years and the parties would then decide whether they wished to continue, make changes or terminate it. Gibraltar chief minister Fabian Picardo has always been adamant that his government will accept nothing that is not in Gibraltars interests or which threatens its sovereignty, and that he is prepared to walk away from the talks if this were to be the case.

Although Gibraltar led the negotiations which resulted in the New Years Eve agreement, it is the UK government which will hold the talks with the EU, because it is responsible for Gibraltars international relations. This does not, however, mean that the UK could agree anything on Gibraltars behalf without Gibraltars authorisation. If agreement is reached, it will become a Treaty between the United Kingdom and the European Union, which cannot be overturned by any subsequent change of governments.
Yanito - a tale of two languages Gibraltar's curious language is dying out and evolving into Spanglish, says a local historian

For any English speakers who have visited Gibraltar, there's a good chance you've stumbled into a 'Spanglish' conversation.

Maybe you've been greeted with a warming buenos morning while walking into a shop on Main Street.

Or perhaps like me recently, you smiled when you were told the price of something you wanted to buy was ninety nueve pence.

Whether or not you've experienced this delightful mix of languages yet, you've probably heard that some people speak Yanito (or Llanito) in this linguistically rich region.

This curious mixture of Andalusian Spanish and British English is peppered with vocabulary from Genoese, Hebrew, Maltese, French and Portuguese - thanks to the fascinating history of Gibraltar.

Yanito also borrows words from Haketia, a Judeo-Spanish language once spoken by Sephardic Jews in Northern Morocco, Ceuta and Melilla. Today, the language is spoken in Gibraltar by the Llanitos, which is what the Gibraltarians call themselves, and also by some across the border in the Spanish town of La Linea.

It involves a lot of jumping back and forth from English to Spanish and can be difficult for both Spanish or English speakers to follow.

However, Yanito, which is spoken by only a few thousand in this tiny part of the world, is slowly dying out, according to local historian Tito Vallejo.

Spanish workers pre 1967 / SUR

Fewer speakers

Speaking to SUR in English, he explained how modern text speak on mobiles, a higher level of education in the post-war years and exposure to

pure English and Spanish has seen the numbers of those who speak it slowly dwindle.

Yanito is the necessity to invent words or corrupt them to what they sound like, said Tito, 65.

It's come from people speaking very bad English and using the wrong words when they don't know the right one.

But it's not Spanglish, that is what they speak in the Americas where Spanish and English speaking people live close together.

It [Yanito] started back at the turn of the 19th century in Gibraltar when the British started building the dockyards. They employed thousands of workers to do the labour, the majority of whom were Spanish. But there were also Genoese, Portuguese and other nationalities employed. So you had this melee of languages where nobody could understand each other. Spanish people could not pronounce the names, which gave rise to Yanito.

Tito explained that up until World War Two, there was no law saying you had to attend school, so many children worked at the expense of their education.

According to Tito, English was on the verge of disappearing from the local population, so religious orders such as the Irish Christian Brothers and the Loreto Nuns arrived in the tiny British overseas territory to help teach English at school.

However, the death knell for Yanito was sounded with the advent of World War 2, when the entire civilian population of Gibraltar was evacuated to the UK, Madeira and other parts of the world.

In the UK they were exposed to pure English for several years and on their return to the Rock brought a wealth of accents from the various regions.

Tito, 65, said: There was a change in the law when everyone returned and we started educating people properly. And you had to go to school whether you liked it or not.

Today a lot of people are Yanitising sentences using proper English words - so Yanito is evolving into Spanglish.

It's a pity that young people are not using it any more, but that's because a lot of their parents are not using it either. Yanito is what you used to hear at home. But I'm a sinner too as I speak to my kids in English.

Border closure

Tito, whose father was Spanish but grew up Gibraltarian, and whose mother was English, further explained how the closing of the border with Spain - which lasted from 1969 to 1982 - created a rift during which there was minimal contact with Spain.

He said this was adverse in keeping up with spoken Spanish, meaning English cemented itself as the predominant language.

And with the advent of TV we started listening to good Spanish. We spoke Andalusian Spanish, but many of the programmes on TV were dubbed in South American Spanish, so our Spanish improved.

Unfortunately, Yanito is dying out. And with this new chat language that is being used on mobile phones, it's corrupting everything.

Nevertheless, Tito, who worked for the MOD and Gibraltar Territorial Army before retiring, started making notes of Yanito words in his late teens, and published a Yanito dictionary, which is now on its third edition.

In 2014 he published the first Spanish edition, which sold out in two weeks in the Campo de Gibraltar area.

SUR

He added: Luckily I made notes of all these words growing up, as half of them are not used any more.

Origins of a name

As for the name of the language itself, the dad of four said there are two popular explanations as to how the name came about.

When Gibraltar was Spanish, it was a bit like Dodge City, he explained.

Nobody wanted to live here because the Barbary Pirates kept attacking. All your sins were pardoned if you came to live in Gibraltar, to encourage people here. Still no one came to live, so they opened it up to the common people, which in Spanish is 'gente llana', which was corrupted to 'Llanito'.

The second version, which is my favourite, is that the name came from the 'llano', which means 'plain' in English. The Spanish workers who came to help build the fortifications in Gibraltar were not allowed to stay at night and the Spanish military would not allow them to build houses behind the defensive wall. So they lived in tents and shacks on the plain between the mountain behind La Linea and the Spanish fortifications.
Fearless seniors take to the sky in aid of Age Concern More than 20 fundraisers were launched at speeds of up to 100 km per hour on the new zip line attraction in Alhaurin de la Torre last Friday

More than 20 members and supporters of Age Concern Benalmadena/Fuengirola/Mijas took part in the charity's annual fundraising challenge last Friday. The first major event for the charity since before the lockdown, the daredevil senior citizens signed up for a flight on the new zip wire attraction at the Sunview Adventure Park in Alhaurin de la Torre.

Organisers had feared that the flight might have had to have been cancelled due to high winds and bad weather conditions, but, fortunately, the event was able to go ahead.

The fearless participants were launched in a superman pose at speeds of up to 100 kilometres an hour on the 1,350-metre-long zip wire, the longest in Andalucia.

President, David Long (82), a former motorcycle racer and someone who has no fear of hair-raising activity, was the first to be launched, followed by the rest of the brave participants, all of whom said that they "thoroughly enjoyed" the experience.

Along with members of Age Concern, the event was supported by the La Cala de Mijas Lions Club, and the Mijas-based Simply Surviving support group, who had chosen Age Concern as its designated monthly charity.

Simply Surviving co-founder Alan Boardman said, "Five intrepid members of our group took part in the challenge. We expect to raise around 2,000 euros in sponsors, so that puts the seal on a wonderful experience."

Age Concern members are no strangers to valorous activity: previous challenges have included the cross-border zip wire from Spain to Portugal, a sky dive in Seville and abseiling down the side of the Sunset Beach Hotel in Benalmadena.

Secretary Steve Marshall told SUR in English that he was "delighted" at the amount of support the challenge had received, adding that he was hopeful that the money raised would be more than in previous years.

"It will be a little while until all the sponsorship money is collected and counted, but we are confident that it will be the best so far. All of us at Age Concern wish to extend our heartfelt thanks to our brave and slightly crazy flyers and their sponsors, as well as for the help and support provided by Simply Surviving. We could not have done this without the continued support of the local community," the secretary explained.
The Japanese artist who became a 'perote' The painter Shinji Nagawana was born in Japan's fourth largest city but he visited Spain and began a new life in Alora, where he has lived for over thirty years

Shinji Naganawa was born in 1949 in Nagoya, the fourth biggest city in Japan, with 2.2 million inhabitants. When he was 25 he decided to travel around Europe to obtain new experiences and find his place in the world. That place turned out to be Alora, a small town of 13,000 inhabitants which gave him a home and a family.

I feel more 'perote' [the name by which people of Alora are known] than Japanese, says Naganawa, who has been painting since he was a child.

His house in the centre of the village has a light-filled studio on the top floor, where he talks to us amid books, pictures and sketches for his highly colourful works.

Naganawa's adventure in Europe began in the late 1970s. The artist, who started painting when he was 13, following in his father's footsteps, had saved money throughout his adolescence so he could go and explore the world.

His first stop was Paris, where he spent nearly two years soaking up French culture.

After that I couldn't stand the cold any longer and decided it was time to move on, he says.

That was when he went to Madrid, in 1981. After several weeks there, the Japanese artist came down to Andalucia to visit its main cities, including Malaga.

While I was in Malaga, a Japanese friend told me that he had a house in Alora and he said I could go and stay there, says Naganawa, who at that time spoke no Spanish at all.

I could only speak French. When I bought my ticket for Alora it was very difficult to explain where I wanted to go, because at first they couldn't understand me, he jokes.

When he got off the train in Alora, he was disconcerted.

I couldn't see a town. I didn't know where I was. Then somebody pointed upwards and I realised that was where the town was. I was amazed; it looked beautiful, a town of white houses that seemed to embrace you like a swan, he says.

His friend hadn't given him an exact address for the house, just an infallible method of finding it.

He told me to ask people for 'casa de Ise' and they would know where I had to go, he says.

After asking around the village he found his destination, an empty house where he could stay during his visit, which he expected to be short.

A neighbour told me he would bring sheets and towels the next day, but he didn't turn up until two or three days afterwards, and I had bought sheets by then. That's when I found out that when people say 'manana' they don't mean the next day, it will be sometime after that, he says, laughing.

Of all the cultural differences between Spain and Japan, he believes the main one is that life here is less restricted. It's much more fun and straightforward, he says.

The friendliness and kindness of local people captivated him, and after spending a few months in Alora he decided it was time to collect the belongings he had left in Madrid and Paris and make the town his home.

Every day someone would invite me to the bar for a drink. One time, a neighbour took me to his house, where some of his family were. And that was how he met his wife, Dolores Cortes, a local flamenco artist.

It wasn't easy, marrying her, because she is from a gypsy family so it wasn't well regarded, he says.

More than 30 years later they are still together and have two children. After their marriage, they moved to Nagoya, where they lived for a year.

In the end we came back, because it was a very different way of life and we couldn't adapt to it, says Naganawa, who still travels to Japan several times a year but always returns home to Alora.

The landscape inspired him to create new works of art which now form part of his collection: streets and other views of Alora, which he has taken to numerous art galleries he still works with in Japan.

My style has been evolving and now I am trying new challenges, I want to do something different, explains Naganawa, but he says his life is firmly tied to Alora now. I'm staying here forever, he says.
A world without restaurant awards The raucous award ceremonies have all been cancelled or are being Zoomed, and without these media circuses the normal functioning of the guides will take a long time to recover

The silence from several famous restaurant guides that used to be household names has been deafening of late. Covid is to blame, since although the guide-compilers can get on with their usual tasks, the choice of restaurants has been limited by the pandemic.

The raucous award ceremonies have all been cancelled or are being Zoomed, and without these media circuses the normal functioning of the guides will take a long time to recover.

WINE OF THE WEEK Gargalo Godello 2020

No apologies for nominating another white from the Monterrei region that butts onto the Rias Baixas (Albarino) area This one has just been praised by USA's top critic, James Suckling, as well as being awarded gold medals in the Mundus Vini and Berliner Wein Trophy. At the International Wine Challenge it was nominated as one of Spain's Five Best White Wines. Around 12.

Nevertheless, The World's 50 Best Restaurants, sponsored by S Pellegrino and Acqua Panna, will announce its awards live on 5 October in Antwerp, to be broadcast on digital channels.

Can all this ever compensate for the usual real-time events with hundreds of jubilant chefs and restaurateurs throwing themselves around the stage in uncontrolled glee? Not a chance, but it is better than cancelling altogether.

Obviously there have had to be new procedures, the most welcome being the fund of 1.5 million euros that has been set up for helping the hardest-hit restaurants and bars. At the last count 200 will benefit.

As far as most people can remember, this is the first time a guide has actually done something positive to help the trade, rather than just milking it for its own advantage.

There won't be many surprises though, as the winner of the 50 Best Icon Award has already been announced - a good-looking lady chef working in San Francisco, Atelier Crenn.

Erroneously described as a '3-Michelin star chef' (everyone knows there is no such thing, as there are only Michelin-starred restaurants), Crenn has previously achieved the 2016 title of the World's Best Female Chef.
Driver dies after car smashes into a motorway toll booth A female employee who was working in the payment booth on the AP-46 was injured and transferred to a hospital in Malaga

A 33-year-old man died on Tuesday afternoon (28 September) after his car slammed into one of the Las Pedrizas toll booths on the AP-46 motorway in Malaga.

Sources have told SUR that the incident happened at around 5.15pm when the red vehicle entered the toll payment area at kilometre 6 of the AP-46, heading towards Antequera, at a high speed.

Despite the fact the toll booths are protected by large concrete blocks, an employee working inside was injured by the impact.

Emergency services arrived on the scene to find that there were two people trapped, one inside the cabin and the other in the vehicle.

Specialists from the Malaga fire brigade had to release the two people. While the man lost his life, the 20-year-old woman, from Casabermeja, was transferred to the Regional Hospital in Malaga city.

Guardia Civil traffic officers are investigating the circumstances of the incident.
It is less than ten years ago, when she was just 25 years old, that she began to learn the secrets of working with esparto grass from an octogenarian neighbour. Now, she has a shop of her own in her village, Frigiliana, thousands of followers on social media and clients in Spain and abroad. Lourdes Bueno never imagined that something that for her was just a hobby would end up being her very own business opportunity.

She has had excellent teachers. The first, mentioned above, was Serafin, who was 86 and shared the secrets of plaiting and other techniques used to work with esparto. I used to go to a stable with him for the lessons, and people used to see me there and laugh, she says. Youre always trying something new, they used to say

Little by little she gained the skill needed to create different things from esparto. Serafin died, and she continued to learn from others, who had no professional qualifications but a huge amount of experience, such as Francisco in Mijas and Joaquin, from Nerja.

It may seem an anachronism to work with esparto in the 21st century. For hundreds of years this plant was used to make essential items for everyday life, such as espadrilles and baskets. However, as Lourdes points out, these days it is a popular decorative element, which is elegant and rustic at the same time.

Some of the creations in the shop and Lourdes Bueno outside Rincon del Esparto.

After learning, Lourdes began to receive her first commissions from friends and relatives, and then she opened her own shop in Frigiliana, nearly five years ago. It is called El Rincon del Esparto, and is in Calle Don Inigo, one of the streets that runs parallel to Avenida Andalucia, in the newer part of the village.

There, in her workshop, she makes an extensive range of items from esparto, from earrings and pendants to an elephants head. It was the latter that contributed to her success last year: the writer, journalist and former government minister Maxim Huerta bought one, and then shared photos of it on social media. Thanks to that, El Rincon del Esparto, which is on Facebook and Instagram, not only gained many new followers but also new clients. That elephants head became a trend and now people all over the country are buying them as a decorative feature.

Lourdes was so delighted with the way that Huerta had raised her profile that she decided to send him a bell made of esparto as a Christmas gift. Once again, that had the result of increasing her followers on Facebook and Instagram, which are her tools for online sales (she does not have an online shop).

Another celebrity who bought from her in 2020 was TV presenter Samantha Vallejo-Nagera. She came to Frigiliana for a Masterchef programme and bought a donkeys head, says Lourdes. The result of that sale was also good for this young craftswomans business.

Thanks to some well-known interior designers, Lourdes esparto creations now grace some very prestigious restaurants, including a log basket which was commissioned for chef Dani Garcias Lobito de Mar, in Marbella, and some lamps for Yucas Beach in Benalmadena.

She has also received international commissions, such as a collection of baskets for a fashion shop in Puglia, Italy. Before the pandemic, Lourdes also travelled to Ibiza in 2019 to take part in the Natural Adlib show.

Beyond fame and success, though, this is a passion for Lourdes Bueno. Every day she opens her shop from 10am to 1pm to attend to clients who come to see her creations for themselves. These include many foreigners who are visiting Frigiliana, one of the prettiest villages in Spain. A lot of people from abroad like esparto, especially the Swedish visitors, she says.

Baskets sold to a fashion boutique in Italy. Items can be personalised.

For the rest of the day Lourdes looks after her son and in the evening she spends some time creating new items or working on commissions. She also has to find time for another task, which is essential for her business: collecting the esparto grass from the mountains. From Serafin, her first teacher, she learned not only to make things with esparto but also how to find it and cut it. When you can start using it depends on what it is like, she says, referring to the greenest esparto. She has also used the cocido technique, which is an easier and more comfortable way of working, but it requires more complicated preparation, because the esparto needs to be kept in water for nearly a month.

The price of her creations depends on the amount of effort they have involved, and they normally range between 15 and 70 euros. Although she sells through social media, she also accepts commissions, including for personalised items.

Serafin also taught her how to manually weave the esparto in different ways, depending on the complexity of the creations. Francisco, from Mijas, taught her how to do the more complicated designs, such as the heads of donkeys, elephants and bulls. She has made and sold all of these. She has also tried making rams heads, but says they are so difficult to do that she wont be trying again. She has even made headdresses, which were the most unusual commissions she has received.

Nowadays this entrepreneur from Frigiliana has not only found a secure job without having to leave her village, but has also become the youngest espartera in Malaga province, extending the existence of an ancient tradition which is in danger of dying out.
Costa resident launches fundraiser for hero firefighters family Members of the public are being asked to donate to an online campaign for the family of a man who died fighting the recent fires in Estepona

An Australian expat is appealing for help to raise 10,000 for the family of a firefighter who died in the Estepona fires last month.

Graham Pagden has so far raised 8,345 euros after launching the Go Fund Me page for Carlos Martinez Haro - the firefighter who lost his life battling the Sierra Bermeja blaze.

The father of two is now appealing for SUR in English readers to help him reach his fundraising target.

Graham, 51, who has lived in the Acedia Valley, near Casares, since 2011, said: As you already know on the Sierra Bermeja we had one of the worst fires in Spains history and very sadly one of the firefighters that went up to fight the fires did not come back.

So I thought as a father of two children of the similar age as those of Carlos, how sad it is that they will never get to see their father again. It really touched me, so I thought maybe we can make life a little better for them by donating money and also it could be a way for us as neighbours from the Sierra Bermeja to show how much we appreciate the sacrifice he had to make.

He added that 100 per cent of the money raised will be going to the wife and children of Carlos.

So far we have had donations from all sorts of people, from my kids giving 5 out of their piggy banks to an anonymous donor giving 2,500!

Graham explained that his family were lucky to escape the fires unscathed.

He continued: The fire was in the top end of our valley but luckily the wind was taking it parallel to us, although there was a point where it looked like we could have been in trouble as the wind was constantly changing. I had my car packed up with all my belongings ready to evacuate from the third day onwards!

To donate visit www.gofundme.com/f/para-la-familia-de-carlos-martnez-haro
Malaga's Costa del Sol airport gets a 90-million-euro investment to increase capacity With the scheduled improvements to the airfield and terminal, between 2022 and 2026, the airport will eventually be able to handle 30 million passengers a year

Monday's queues at the check-in counters, on the day the United Kingdom lifted the travel restrictions on Covid vaccinated people. / NITO SALAS

Authorities have announced an 88.3 million euro investment in improvements at Malaga airport, between 2022 and 2026, to increase its capacity to handle 30 million passengers a year.

Pre-pandemic the Costa del Sol saw close to 20 million travellers passing through its doors every year, a level that it is expected to be reached again by 2026.

The Airport Regulation Document (DORA II), the roadmap for the Spanish airport operator Aena for the next five years, forecasts that in 2026 some 20,778,145 passengers are expected to pass through the Malaga infrastructure in 150,810 aircraft movements.

Before then, during 2022 it is forecast that passenger levels will recover to match the 2007 figure, with around 13.5 million.

Passenger number forecasts at Malaga airport / SUR

The DORA II document confirms that Malaga airport will remain the fourth most important for passenger numbers in the network as a whole, with Madrid, Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca remaining ahead of the Costa del Sol.

The president and CEO of Aena, Maurici Lucena, considers that "this DORA provides stability and will be the necessary boost to guarantee an environmentally sustainable recovery in the airline and tourism sectors."

In addition, he said that "the great challenge of the sector for the next five years will be to recover the levels of air traffic prior to the pandemic and work together with the airlines to achieve that common objective."

Energy efficiency and sustainability

To do this, the document establishes a strategy of priorities, focused on energy efficiency and sustainability, and global investments in the network's airport services for the period 2022-2026 of some 2.25 billion euros. Of this, 88.3 million will be allocated to Malaga for improvements on the airfield and the terminal as well as environmental sustainability projects. With these investments, the new DORA increases the capacity of Malaga airport to 30 million passengers, which was previously set at 27 million.

Across Andalusian airports, Aena will invest a total of 155.8 million until 2026. In addition to the 88.3 million euros allocated to Malaga, 37.1 million are assigned to Seville; 14.8 million to Granada; 10.9 million to Jerez; 3.6 million to Almeria and 750,000 euros for Cordoba.

Seville airport, is expected to handle 5.5 million travellers in 2022 and it is forecast that 2026 will close with 7.2 million passing through its terminal. Granada is forecast to reach 948,659 next year and reach 1,244,046 passengers in 2026.
Welcome to the new surinenglish.com The Costa del Sol's favourite English-language newspaper launches its new site, taking reliable information from southern Spain to readers wherever they are

If you're reading this that means you've already discovered the new, improved surinenglish.com - a complete change in design and technology that aims to deliver an easier, faster and more sophisticated online experience.

The new web of the Costa del Sol's favourite English-language newspaper is designed to meet the needs of today's readers, using responsive technology to adjust to different devices, from PC to smartphone.

Readers will find a neater, better structured home page and more news sections, making it easier to navigate to information from any one particular town or district, from the Axarquia to Gibraltar.

Lifestyle, travel and special features are organised into comfortable sections, and articles on this new site will be accompanied by more multi-media galleries.

With these changes, SUR in English aims to strengthen its commitment to taking local news from across the Costa del Sol and inland areas of southern Spain to English-speaking residents and holidaymakers, as well as to thousands of others around the world who wish they were here.

Readers know that with the online edition of SUR in English, as with the printed newspaper, they will find quality information they can trust, gathered and written by dozens of journalists on the Costa del Sol and around Spain.

And all this with no paywall, no click bait and no overly intrusive advertising.

surinenglish.com has undergone numerous redesigns and upgrades since it was first set up in 1996. Today, the site has taken one more step forward, keeping up with changing habits, trends and technology, while providing the same reliable information to readers.
Policing with no borders in EUs officer swap scheme Spains National Police force welcomed an officer from the German State Police this summer as part of the Comisarias Europeas safe tourism project

His waistcoat bears the word Polizei. His uniform is lighter blue in colour than the ones we normally see in Spain, almost sky blue, and his cap is white. Dennis Paffrath is an officer with the German State Police, but at the moment he has left his own country and is working on the Costa del Sol. He is one of over 30 officers from different European countries who have been deployed around Spain as part of a scheme called Comisarias Europeas 2021; this is a police cooperation plan which aims to enhance safe tourism and provide assistance to the public beyond the frontiers of individual European nations.

Although the work is similar, I feel the Spanish police are a bit closer to the public than we are in Germany; we want to be close, but I think they have achieved it better here, says Paffrath, in perfect Spanish.

He has two more weeks in Malaga city to go, and most of his work during that time will be with the Foreign Tourist Assistance Service (SATE), which is based in the Plaza de la Marina. However, he will also be taking part in static and mobile security operations at the port and the airport, mainly as part of the National Polices Prevention and Reaction Unit (UPR).

Paffrath is a State officer - in Germany there is a Federal Police force and a State police as well as municipal police forces. At home he normally works in the training section, but also participates in operations against drug trafficking and other types of investigations, both criminal and administrative. His duties here on the Costa del Sol, however, have been very different.

International patrol

Most of the time Im at the SATE office, but I also go on patrol in the streets, on the seafront, and on Muelle Uno. We want people to be able to see the uniform, to read the word for police in their own language, and not just Germans, actually, but people from other countries who speak German as well, he explains.

In his first two days in Malaga, he had to take part in two arrests for offences against public health and faking documents, but Paffrath says that is not his principal mission: I can take action if necessary, (he says, instinctively pointing to his firearm and defence equipment), but that is not the intention; what we want to do is to make people feel safer and to feel reassured when they see that the German police is here.

One of the National Police officers who runs SATE, Pablo Campos, says the presence of a German officer has been very useful when providing a service to tourists. This summer he has seen for himself how German visitors (and those from elsewhere who speak German) have reacted when they have seen a uniformed police officer here.

They are always surprised and the impact is very positive. People feel more supported and understood, he says.

At the SATE office, where Local Police officers also attend to the public, most of the tourists come to report thefts and the loss of documents, so they feel somewhat defenceless when they arrive.

Seeing a police officer from their own country makes them feel that someone is going to understand them, because he knows their idiosyncracies and culture and what they are like, says Campos.

For Paffrath, going on patrol on the Costa del Sol has been a real adventure and it is an experience that he would not hesitate to repeat, mainly because it has enabled him to know a different way of policing and a different society first hand. However, when asked what, in his opinion, is the most striking difference between wearing his police uniform in southern Spain and his native Germany, he instantly responds: The heat!

The Ministry of the Interior describes this Comisarias Europeas project as an initiative which is becoming more and more popular every year.

These exchanges aim to prevent street crime by being in contact with the public in general and tourists of all nationalities in particular, and helping them by translating and providing assistance where needed, say sources there.

New countries

Comisarias Europeas was launched in 2008, in collaboration with France, and it was exended to include Portugal in 2012, Italy in 2014 and Germany last year. More police officers take part each year, because the scheme is working very well.

Spanish officers from the National Police force also go to other countries as part of this project. This year they have been assigned to Paris and elsewhere in France and Lisbon, Nazare, Oporto and Villa Real de San Antonio in Portugal, among other places.

They always wear their own uniforms when they are on patrol, because then they are easily recognisable by people from both countries, explain sources at the Ministry.

The Spanish Guardia Civil and Portugals GNRalso have separate cooperation agreements for the area around the border between the two countries and these are also focused on tourism, with the aim of assisting visitors there.
'Nothing is an permanent as a temporary government spending programme' THE BIGGER PICTURE In 1803, the UK government devised income tax as a temporary measure to pay for the Napoleonic Wars. It's still here!

Economist Milton Freidman was right about 'temporary' government spending. In 1803, the UK government devised income tax as a temporary measure to pay for the Napoleonic Wars. It's still here! In 1971, President Nixon removed the physical gold backing of the US dollar. He promised in his speech to the nation that it would be temporary and that the move would stabilize the currency. Fifty years later, the US dollar is not only unstable, but it has lost around 95% of its value against gold since Nixon made the announcement!

Meanwhile, since 1971, gold has returned to the investor a gain of approximately 4,457% or an 8% compound annual growth on capital, outperforming the S&P 500 Index of large US businesses over the same period. Gold is a proven hedge against the destruction of the USD's purchasing power. Since 1971, the history of gold and the case for gold ownership has not been taught in economics classes nor included in MBA or FCA curriculum. It's as if gold has disappeared from the financial system, when in fact it has never gone away. Whilst he was Chair of the Federal Reserve Bank, Alan Greenspan disparaged gold, but in his book The Map and the Territory 2.0, he admits that gold is the real asset underpinning the international monetary system.

The gold price moves on fear and uncertainty, and since the financial crash of 2009, central banks around the world have been aggressive buyers of gold. China is the world's largest producer and importer of gold to hedge their position in US Treasuries and the USD. Because they do not file with the World Gold Council, we can only guess at their current reserves, guarded by the People's Liberation Army under a mountain somewhere in China. Meanwhile the US holds around 11,000 metric tons, which are stored at Fort Knox and West Point. Recently Brazil, Thailand and Russia, along with EU countries like Hungary and Poland, have increased their reserves of gold. Do they know something we don't?

Investors should own gold as insurance in a long-term investment strategy. If an allocation of 10% to gold declines by 20%, this results in an overall loss of 2%, which is hardly a catastrophe. But if this 10% allocation gains 500%, it will go a long way to protect other risk assets. Since 1971, we have experienced two bull markets (rising prices), during which the gold price gained 2,000% and 700%. Both cycles lasted about ten or eleven years. Currently, we are four years into a third bull market in gold with some six years left to run, if history 'rhymes'.

Sensible investors own physical gold, avoid any counterparty risk and allocate 10% of their net worth to avoid instability caused by our governments.

The author is a member of the Society of Trustees and Estate Practitioners and an investment counsellor. The comments and observations by the author are a reflection of his opinion and do not constitute an offer to buy and hold securities, nor does he receive any remuneration of any kind from names referred to
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British students caught in post-Brexit visa lottery SUR in English explores the trials and tribulations for UK youngsters trying to obtain the coveted passport sticker to study legally in Spain

Five of the Malaga University students who are participating in the Erasmus scheme this year. / francis silva

The prospect of a year abroad is an exciting and necessary part of a university degree for many students.

However, this year for British students the complications triggered by Brexit have meant that what was previously a straightforward process to study in the EU has been tainted for the first time by the stress of attempting to secure a study visa.

With many having to delay or cancel their plans entirely due to bureaucratic delays, this process is proving to be both financially and emotionally taxing.

Katie Watson (not her real name) who is studying Spanish at a university in the south of England and wishes to remain anonymous, unsuccessfully explored multiple avenues in her attempt to obtain an internship visa to work in Spain.

Beginning the application process in April, she was one of the first students at her university to apply for the documentation.

She told SURin English, The information on the [Spanish] consulate website, particularly surrounding the requirements for a visa application, was significantly lacking, which was coupled with a distinct lack of support from her university in the UK.

It was an expensive and lengthy process which Katie estimates cost her 500 pounds (about 580 euros).

One element was particularly troublesome to obtain: proof that she did not have a criminal record in the UK, a request unheard of pre-Brexit.

The document demanded a sworn translation and legalisation, which took weeks to come back.

Then began the obstacle of obtaining a resolucion de autorizacion para practicas, which the Spanish authorities stated was needed for work experience but didnt say what it was or where to get it, she said.

Eventually the application was submitted but was rejected due to invalid health insurance (though Katie maintains that it was perfectly valid).

Given 10 days to appeal, her updated documents were sent on the ninth day, however she received an email saying they were submitted too late.

She then asked to appeal that and was told that they would be looking at appeals from January next year.

Drained, and faced with the possibility of not being able to make it abroad at all, Katie was advised by the lawyer from her place of work to do an unpaid internship for less than 90 days, removing the necessity for an internship visa. She has since returned to the UK.

She said, This has become the reality for British students who want to work in Spain. For those who wish to study, the process is marginally more straightforward, but just as time consuming.

A University of Glasgow student who is still in the UKwaiting a study visa said, My biggest issue is how long everything is taking to come back.

Also wishing to remain anonymous for fear of affecting her application, she has so far spent 300 pounds attempting to acquire her study visa, facing significant delays.

The British legalisation office took a month to return her forms, which, to her dismay, just contained a simple stamp. She is now in limbo waiting for Spain to issue the visa.

SUR in English spoke to David Walkden, the Senior Exchange Coordinator at Plymouth University, who said that of their seven students trying to get to Spain, One is a Spanish citizen so had no problem; two went on tourist visas hoping to convert whilst there; two have deferred their mobilities; and two have reduced their mobility durations so that they could enter without visas. So a mixed bag and not at all satisfactory.

Mirroring the sentiments of the students SUR in English spoke to, he explained, The Spanish embassy in the UK was not helpful... Universities UK tried their best to intervene and engender a sense of importance in getting the matter resolved but didnt appear to be taken seriously by either the UK or the Spanish government authorities.

Despite this, he believes that this is a consequence of Britains own actions: The Spanish embassy was not prepared to revise its visa procedures to accommodate the increased visa demand from UK citizens. And why should it? It was the UKs decision to leave the EU after all and these are the additional burdens and consequences that occur as a result.

Sixty-eight students were due to come to Malaga University this term from the UK, and while the university recognised that some were experiencing delays with their visas, they echoed the advice from the Spanish authorities to obtain the appropriate paperwork and not travel as a tourist to study.

With their degrees in the hands of bureaucratic processes, it remains to be seen whether these students, who are eligible to receive the Erasmus grant for a final year before the transition to the replacement Turing Scheme, will be able to experience their years abroad.
Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont arrested in Italy After spending Thursday night at the Alghero airport police station in Sardinia, he was released but may not leave the island until a decision has been made regarding his possible extradition

Carles Puigdemont, the Catalan separatist leader, was arrested on Thursday in Sardinia after fleeing Spain some four years ago.

The former president of the Generalitat was arrested by officers at Alghero airport, where he spent the night in the police station, before being released on Friday by a local court.

He will have to remain on the island, however, until a decision has been made about his possible extradition to Spain.

The separatist leader had travelled to the Italian island to meet with Sardinian breakaway leaders.

Puigdemont was arrested by two plainclothes police officers under a European search and arrest warrant issued by Spains Supreme Court. His lawyer, Gonzalo Boye, confirmed the arrest.

The current head of the Generalitat, Pere Aragones, who has called an emergency meeting this Friday, condemned the arrest and expressed his support: "We are by your side, President Puigdemont."

Second arrest

Puigdemont has been hiding out in Belgium since October 2017, when he escaped arrest by the Spanish authorities for his role in the illegal Catalan independence referendum earlier that month. Since then he has successfully fought off Spain's attempts to have him extradited.

In his absence from Catalonia Puigdemont was elected as an MEP in 2019. But, back in July, the Court of Justice of the European Union stripped the former Catalan president and separatist leader of his immunity as a member of the European Parliament.

This is the second arrest of Puigdemont since he fled to Brussels, hidden in the boot of a car, on 30 October, 2017, days after the unilateral declaration of independence was approved in the Catalan Parliament.

He was arrested on 25 March, 2018, under a European extradition order issued by the Supreme Court. Puigdemont spent twelve days in jail until the Higher Regional Court of Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, allowed his release on bail of 75,000 euros and declared that the crime of rebellion against him by the Spanish courts was not admissible.
European Medicines Agency authorises a third Pfizer jab for the 35.2 million over-18s in Spain The European regulator recommends this 'booster' vaccination from six months after the second injection. And only the Pfizer formula will be used, regardless of the vaccine that was originally administered

The more than 35.2 million people in Spain over 18 years of age who have already had the full coronavirus vaccination schedule, or who are still receiving it, will be called again over the next six months to receive a third dose of a Covid vaccine. In all cases it will be from Pfizer, regardless of the formula they received the first time.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has this Monday, 4 October, authorised the administration of an "additional" ('booster') dose to all adults of the 27 EU member states.

Since 6 September, the EMAs Committee for Human Medicines (CHMP), has been immersed in an "accelerated evaluation" of the application of the North American giant, Pfizer, that "shows an increase in antibody levels when a booster dose is given approximately six months after the second dose in people aged 18 to 55 years.

Delta variant

The laboratory pointed out that a third dose produces levels of antibodies against the Delta variant five times higher in people between 18 and 55 years old and more than 11 times in people between 65 and 85 years old, compared to the levels that are reached. after only two doses.

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla noted two months ago that the company's own studies confirmed that the effectiveness of its vaccine with just two doses drops to 84 per cent four to six months after administration. Bourla explained that the company's data shows that the maximum effectiveness of its formula is 96.2 per cent, but only during the two months after receiving the two inoculations. Then, the effectiveness drops an average of 6 per cent every two months, according to the study by Pfizer itself, in which 44,000 people from the United States and other countries participated but which, as is the case with research on the vaccine and Delta, has not yet been peer-reviewed.

Revaccination of adults

The decision of the regulator gives the green light for universal revaccination of adults, regardless of their health status or whether they are in groups more or less exposed to the virus.

With this ruling, the EMA goes even further than authorities in the United States, United Kingdom or Israel, who had limited themselves to recommending the third jab only in the oldest age groups and certain groups of workers.

In Spain, until now, this booster dose was reserved exclusively for people with organ transplants, hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients, patients receiving anti-CD20 drugs or very high-risk immunosuppressive treatments and those residents nursing homes.

Today's decision by the EMA is a near total victory for the consortium of Pfizer and BioNTech, which had actually requested authorisation to revaccinate the entire population over 16 years of age. The EMA, under pressure from most European countries, who are in favour of giving third doses to the largest number of their inhabitants, even rejected the opinion of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), which considered that "a booster dose is not urgent" in the general population.

Pfizer vaccine stocks

Practically all European countries have excess stock of Pfizer doses to start this new campaign with minimal delay. In the case of Spain, the regions keep more than 4 million injectables in their refrigerators, which could begin to expire in the coming weeks if they are not released.
Guardia Civil officers could face having to remove tattoos from their hands, head and neck The draft proposal has been tabled by the Ministry of the Interior but police officer associations say the department should concentrate on more important matters

Spain's Ministry of the Interior is proposing new measures to regulate the appearance of the Guardia Civil officers. However, the draft document that would force officers to, within a year, erase from their bodies any tattoos they have on their hands, neck and head has been rejected by staff associations.

A spokesman for the Unified Association of Civil Guards (AUGC) in Malaga province, Francisco Gonzalez, explained that, until now, current regulations do not prohibit officers from having tattoos on any part of the body: This measure not only seems retrograde to us, but also violates the rights of our members, who, if they go ahead with the measure, will have to pay out of pocket for an expensive and very painful procedure. It could affect dozens of our local members."

Gonzalez said that he expects the ministry to reconsider and amend the draft, saying that it would not be the first time. "First they wanted to erase all tattoos of more than 70 square centimetres on visible parts of the body and this was rejected," he pointed out.

The Professional Civil Guard Association, JUCIL, has also rejected the measure. Spokesperson, Agustin Leal, said that every year they try to establish the rule but that it never goes ahead.

In addition, the proposal also covers aspects such as the regulation of hair length and hairstyle, nail colour, shaving or the use of makeup and other accessories. Both the AUGC and JUCIL hope that the draft, which is currently going through an approval phase, will not go ahead.

Both organisations consider that the ministry should take care of other more important matters, such as providing the necessary means to the officers who risk their lives on the street every day. An obsolete fleet, a shortage of staff or the fact that colleagues sent to foreign countries are not collecting the allowances due are, for example, some of the problems that have been suggested.
Hunting wolves to be banned across the whole of Spain from tomorrow The regions of Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria and Castilla y Leon, where 95 per cent of the specimens of the Iberian wolf live, have protested the decision

The Iberian wolf (Canis lupus) has been included in the list of protected species in Spain this Tuesday, 21 September, so that starting tomorrow its hunting will be prohibited throughout the whole of the country.

The order was published in the BOE Official State Gazette. The protected species list (Lespre) and the Spanish catalogue of threatened species have been modified as a result of the decision.

Up until now, wolf hunting was allowed north of the Duero river, while it was prohibited south of this river, where the it was already included in the Lespre list.

The regions of Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria and Castilla y Leon, where 95 per cent of the specimens of the Iberian wolf live, have protested the decision and have announced that they will appeal the decision through the courts.

The UCCL hunting association in Castilla y Leon has also criticised the decision and warned that it will mean that the region will not be able to control the population of this species in areas that require it, through "effective and controlled" hunting.

It claims that in 2020 in Castilla y Leon 4,500 attacks by wolves were recorded that caused the death of 6,000 head of cattle, not counting the injured and / or missing animals, nor the abortions that occur as a result of the stress they are subjected to after an attack.

The association estimates the losses to the farmers of Castilla y Leon at more than 5 million euros every year and the authorities only compensate for a around 20 per cent of the losses.

"This situation is becoming unsustainable for farmers now that it will not be possible to carry out a population control of the wolf, and it will pose a serious threat to the survival of the livestock farms", said the organisation.
Spain is ready to Covid jab the nine million people over 65 years of age again The regions have been asked not to dismantle their mass vaccination centres, yet, so they are prepared if the third 'booster' jabs get the go-ahead

As the Spanish authorities wait for the European Medicines Agency's ruling on who should receive a third coronavirus 'booster' jab, the Ministry of Health has asked the regions not to dismantle their mass vaccination centres, just yet, in anticipation of giving a third dose to the nine-million people over the age of 65.

Sources have suggested that the EMA could this Monday, 4 October, "significantly" expand the group of people for whom a third dose of a Pfizer vaccine is "recommended".

Spain has already begun to revaccinate the nearly 350,000 residents of nursing homes - although without the approval of the European regulator.

Spanish authorities have said that if the EMA gives the green light to the revaccination of all those over 65 years of age new a massive administration campaign could be launched "in a matter of days or weeks at most" to reach the more than 9 million inhabitants in Spain who are over 65 years of age.

No problem

It is estimated that Spain currently has 4 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine stored in freezers and the Ministry of Health is confident that the remaining 5 million doses will arrive in a timely manner from the German-American consortium, that has more than fulfilled their commitments, after the initial production problems in January. Department officials are confident that there will be "absolutely no problem" getting the extra dose of Pfizer to everyone over the age of 65 before the end of the year.

More complex will be establishing schedules for the revaccination of the general population. In the Ministry of Health they believe it "unlikely" that the EMA, in the short term, will recommend a third jab for all those over 16 years of age. The position of the EMA in recent weeks has been the same as that of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), which advocates that an "additional dose" should be injected to people with weakened immune systems, but "did not consider the need for a booster dose in the general population as urgent.

Jabs for under-12s

There is also no short-term likelihood of Spain being able to establish a vaccination schedule for children under 12 years of age. Pfizer has not yet formally submitted the results of its trials on the effects of its prophylaxis among children aged 11 to 6 years and among children aged 5 years to 6 months to the EMA.
Spain received 5 million international air passengers in August The Minister of Tourism, Reyes Maroto, is even more optimistic about the autumn-winter period following the UK government's decision government to relax some of its coronavirus travel regulations as of 4 October

Despite the fact that the new variants of the coronavirus are delaying the arrival of some international tourists to Spain, the recovery of the sector is starting.

The latest data from Turespana shows that Spain received 5 million passengers from international airports in August, representing an increase of 172 per cent compared to last year, when it was fewer than 2 million. But still the figure represents only half (48.6 per cent) of the international arrivals in August 2019, before the pandemic.

Spains Minister of Tourism, Reyes Maroto, has claimed that this year is "the beginning of the recovery" said the numbers "confirm the consolidated recovery trend that began in March." She added that the countrys successful vaccination campaign and introduction of a Covid certificate have helped this .

In addition, Maroto is optimistic about the autumn-winter campaign due to the decision of the British government to relax its regulations for vaccinated tourist trips as of 4 October. "It will contribute to increasing travel with our main issuing country," acknowledges the minister.

So far this year, Spain has received a total of 15.6 million international passengers by air, which is 10 per cent more than in the same period last year, but still remains 76 per cent below the 65 million of 2019.

The increase in international passengers was seen in all the main issuing countries, but the fact that the United Kingdom - for the first time this year - is once again positioned as first in the issuing markets stands out. Passenger arrivals from British airports have tripled compared to August 2020, bringing almost 822,000 people to Spain, who went mainly to the Balearic Islands.

Second place in the issuing market was Germany, with almost 804,000 tourists, followed by France (540,000), Italy (492,000), the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Portugal, Ireland, Poland and Denmark, all above 75 per cent compared to the figures for August last year.

The Balearic Islands ranks as the main destination for international passengers, accounting for more than a quarter of them (26 per cent). They are followed by Madrid, Catalonia, Andalusia, the Canary Islands and the Valencian region.
Spanish face new travel requirements to the UK from 1 October The transitional process which, since the UK left the European Union, has allowed Spaniards to continue to travel with their DNI cards, ends next month

Since the UK's departure from the EU it has still been possible for Spaniards to travel to and from the UK with a DNI identity card; but from 1 October, a valid passport will be required instead.

October sees the end of the transition agreement, which, following the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union, allowed EU nationals to continue to travel to and from the UK with their national identity documents (DNI in Spain).

Spaniards who arrive in the United Kingdom and the British who do so in Spain are now treated as third-country citizens and, therefore, are subject to Schengen area border controls, which may entail additional waiting time.

In addition, the Spanish have been reminded that it is necessary for the them to apply for a visa to work, access studies or establish a business in the United Kingdom.

For now, Spaniards will be able to continue driving in the United Kingdom as holders of a Spanish or any EU country driving licence. For those who plan to live in the United Kingdom, after applying for residency, the Spanish card will no longer be valid and drivers will need to swap it for a British licence.

The Spanish government has also made it clear, on the Moncloa website, that, UK nationals will continue to be exempt from the obligation to be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders of the European Union for short stays, that is, up to 90 days in any 180-day period, but stresses that this visa exemption does not provide the right to work in the European Union and is subject to the
Unicaja bank plans 1,500 job cuts and 400 branch closures after merger with Liberbank The announcement follows other recent cuts in Spain's banking sector with about 6,500 jobs lost at CaixaBank, Santander (3,500), BBVA (2,700) and Sabadell, with ongoing negotiations for 1,700 losses

After months of speculation, the scope of the cuts that Unicaja Banco plans to implement once the integration of Liberbank is completed have been announced.

On Tuesday, 5 October, the Malaga-based bank announced that it plans to cut 1,513 staff  508 from central services and 1,005 from branches  which represent more than 15 per cent of its workforce. These job losses would be added to the 415 early retirement deals that have already been signed.

The staff cuts at Unicaja, now the fifth largest banking entity in the country, will be added to the recent job losses that have shaken Spains banking sector with about 6,500 at CaixaBank, Santander (3,500), BBVA (2,700) and Sabadell (1,700).

Modification of working conditions

The banking groups proposal also involves the substantial modification of staff working conditions in terms of geographical mobility which, until now, was limited to 25 kilometres, a maximum that the bank intends to suspend. Unicaja has also announced that the human resources policies of both merged companies would be "harmonised", according to sources, "but without incurring more costs than the current ones", something that could harm Liberbank's workforce, who generally have higher salaries. The unions translate this as "downward wage harmonisation."

Unicaja Banco has also put the closure of 395 branches, about 30 per cent of all its offices, on the table. The company says that the job cut and branch closure process "is subject to negotiation" and is aimed at "improving the profitability and efficiency of the bank."

The company and workers' representatives met for the first time for talks on Tuesday after the establishment of the negotiating board at the end of September. The company's proposals confirmed the worst suspicions of the unions, who feared the cuts that the merger by absorption (59.5 per cent of the new entity for Unicaja Banco and 40.5 per cent for Liberbank) would bring.

Union opposition

The General Union of Workers (UGT) yesterday showed its opposition "to any process that entails non-voluntary departures" and demands that workers on compensated leave of absence from Liberbank (about 700) "be included in the numbers.

The next meeting of the negotiation process between the bank and the unions will take place in Madrid next week, on 14 and 15 October.
Patrick Jones is branch manager for the Chanhassen and Victoria libraries. For questions about services, contact staff at www.carverlib.org/about-us/contact-us or reach out to Jones directly at 952-227-1504 or pjones@co.carver.mn.us. For more info, visit www.carverlib.org.
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Chevron's Patty Canessa (third from left) and Aera's Ted Witt (right) tour classroom where students are using technology funded by donations from their companies.
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Not sure where to begin when it comes to reducing your carbon footprint? If you have a Nest thermostat, Googles new Nest Renew service can help ensure that the energy youre using is both cleaner and cheaper.

Slated to roll out in the coming weeks, Nest Renew packs a feature called Energy Shift that allows a compatible Nest thermostat to prioritize heating and cooling activities at times when cleaner energy is available on your local power grid.

Speaking during an event Tuesday during which Google outlined a series of new sustainability measures and features, Nest Director of Product Management Ben Smith said that Energy Shift can also work with the time-of-use rate plans that an increasing number of public utilities are offering. Under these plans, consumers can realize steep discounts on their energy bills by shifting their consumption to off-peak hours, when theres less demand.

If your power company has a time-of-use plan, Nest Renews Energy Shift feature can adjust your Nest thermostats temperature targets so your HVAC system operates to heat and cool your home during off-peak hours, while maintaining the comfort of your home, Smith said. Energy Shift users will still be free to manually adjust their Nest thermostats, Smith added.

Using Energy Shift also lets you earn Renew Leafs, similar to the Leafs that Nest thermostats currently display when youre saving energy. Earn enough Renew Leafs to reach a milestone, and you can vote to direct Nest Renew funds to your favorite green nonprofits (or at least those partnering with Google, such as GRID Alternatives and Elevate) through Googles Energy Impact Program.

In addition to the basic version of Nest Renew, which is free, Google will also offer a Nest Renew Premium subscription that lets you more directly support providers of renewable energy.

For $10 a month, the Clean Energy Match feature in the Premium tier will match your estimated fossil-fuel energy consumption with high quality Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs)aka green tagsfrom Googles portfolio of U.S. wind and solar energy projects, starting with the Bethel Wind project in Falls County, Texas.

One REC (for those who arent aware) is a tradeable commodity representing the generation of one megawatt-hour of power from renewable resources such as the wind or the sun. When companies or individuals purchase and retire RECsi.e., they take them off the market once theyve purchased them, so they can no longer be bought or soldthey can also claim that their homes or businesses are either partially or fully powered by renewable energy. This is based on the number of RECs retired as a percentage of their actual energy consumption. Head over to Vox for an excellent explainer on RECs.

Google says that Renew Premium subscribers in select markets will be able to pay their energy bills through Nest Renew, meaning youd get a single bill with your Renew Premium monthly fee, your standard utility charges, and a rundown of how your sustainability efforts are helping the planet.

Next Renew and Next Renew Premium will arrive soon as an early preview for U.S.-based Nest thermostat users, with the Premium tier available in select markets.

To use Nest Renew, youll need a third-gen Nest Learning Thermostat, the Nest Thermostat E, or the recently released Nest Thermostat.

In addition to Nest Renew, Google touted a variety of other features and projects during its sustainability event, such as an eco-friendly routing option on Google Maps that optimizes your drive to conserve fuel, Google search results that detail the CO2 emissions of commercial flights and highlight energy-efficient appliances, and even AI-optimized traffic-light models that can help cities reduce delays (and thus fuel consumption) at busy intersections.
Tor is a network of virtual tunnels that allows people and groups to improve their privacy and security on the Internet. It also enables software developers to create new communication tools with built-in privacy features. Tor provides the foundation for a range of applications that allow organizations and individuals to share information over public networks without compromising their privacy.

Note: You can also download the latest beta version here.

Tor began gaining popularity among activists and tech-savvy users interested in privacy, but it was still difficult for less-technically savvy people to use, so starting in 2005, development of tools beyond just the Tor proxy began. Development of Tor Browser began in 2008.

With Tor Browser having made Tor more accessible to everyday internet users and activists, Tor was an instrumental tool during the Arab Spring beginning in late 2010. It not only protected people's identity online but also allowed them to access critical resources, social media, and websites which were blocked.

Individuals use Tor to keep websites from tracking them and their family members, or to connect to news sites, instant messaging services, or the like when these are blocked by their local Internet providers. Tor's hidden services let users publish web sites and other services without needing to reveal the location of the site. Individuals also use Tor for socially sensitive communication: chat rooms and web forums for rape and abuse survivors, or people with illnesses.

Journalists use Tor to communicate more safely with whistleblowers and dissidents. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) use Tor to allow their workers to connect to their home website while they're in a foreign country, without notifying everybody nearby that they're working with that organization.

Groups such as Indymedia recommend Tor for safeguarding their members' online privacy and security. Activist groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) recommend Tor as a mechanism for maintaining civil liberties online. Corporations use Tor as a safe way to conduct competitive analysis, and to protect sensitive procurement patterns from eavesdroppers. They also use it to replace traditional VPNs, which reveal the exact amount and timing of communication. Which locations have employees working late? Which locations have employees consulting job-hunting websites? Which research divisions are communicating with the company's patent lawyers?

A branch of the U.S. Navy uses Tor for open source intelligence gathering, and one of its teams used Tor while deployed in the Middle East recently. Law enforcement uses Tor for visiting or surveilling web sites without leaving government IP addresses in their web logs, and for security during sting operations.

Welcome Screen

Our old screen had way too much information for the users, leading many of them to spend great time confused about what to do. Some users at the paper experiment spent up to 40min confused about what they needed to be doing here. Besides simplifying the screen and the message, to make it easier for the user to know if they need to configure anything or not, we also did a 'brand refresh' bringing our logo to the launcher.

Censorship circumvention configuration

This is one of the most important steps for a user who is trying to connect to Tor while their network is censoring Tor. We also worked really hard to make sure the UI text would make it easy for the user to understand what a bridge is for and how to configure to use one. Another update was a little tip we added at the drop-down menu (as you can see below) for which bridge to use in countries that have very sophisticated censorship methods.

Proxy help information

The proxy settings at our Tor Launcher configuration wizard is an important feature for users who are under a network that demands such configuration. But it can also lead to a lot of confusion if the user has no idea what a proxy is. Since it is a very important feature for users, we decided to keep it in the main configuration screen and introduced a help prompt with an explanation of when someone would need such configuration.

As part of our work with the UX team, we will also be coordinating user testing of this new UI to continue iterating and make sure we are always improving our users' experience. We are also planning a series of improvements not only for the Tor Launcher flow but for the whole browser experience (once you are connected to Tor) including a new user onboarding flow. And last but not least we are streamlining both our mobile and desktop experience: Tor Browser 7.5 adapted the security slider design we did for mobile bringing the improved user experience to the desktop as well.

What's New:

Tor Browser 11.0 is now available from the Tor Browser download page and our distribution directory. This is the first stable release based on Firefox ESR 91, and includes an important update to Tor 0.4.6.8.

Tor Browser Gets A New Look

Earlier this year, Firefoxs user interface underwent a significant redesign aimed at simplifying the browser chrome, streamlining menus and featuring an all-new tab design. Firefox ESR 91 introduces the new design to Tor Browser for the first time.

To ensure it lives up to the new experience, each piece of custom UI in Tor Browser has been modernized to match Firefoxs new look and feel. That includes everything from updating the fundamentals like color, typography and buttons to redrawing each of our icons to match the new thinner icon style.

In addition to the browser chrome itself, the connection screen, circuit display, security levels and onion site errors all received a sprucing-up too  featuring some small but welcome quality of life improvements to each.

Final Deprecation Of V2 Onion Services

Last year we announced that v2 onion services would be deprecated in late 2021, and since its 10.5 release Tor Browser has been busy warning users who visit v2 onion sites of their upcoming retirement. At long last, that day has finally come. Since updating to Tor 0.4.6.8 v2 onion services are no longer reachable in Tor Browser, and users will receive an Invalid Onion Site Address error instead.

Should you receive this error when attempting to visit a previously working v2 address, there is nothing wrong with your browser  instead, the issue lies with the site itself. If you wish, you can notify the onion sites administrator about the problem and encourage them to upgrade to a v3 onion service as soon as possible.

Its easy to tell if you still have any old v2 addresses saved in your bookmarks that are in need of removal or updating too: although both end in .onion, the more secure v3 addresses are 56 characters long compared to v2s modest 16 character length.

Known Issues

Tor Browser 11.0 comes with a number of known issues:

Bug 40668: DocumentFreezer & file scheme

Bug 40671: Fonts don't render

Bug 40679: Missing features on first-time launch in esr91 on MacOS

Bug 40689: Change Blockchair Search provider's HTTP method

Bug 40667: AV1 videos shows as corrupt files in Windows 8.1

Bug 40677: Since the update to 11.0a9 some addons are inactive and need disabling-reenabling on each start

Bug 40666: Switching svg.disable affects NoScript settings

Bug 40690: Browser chrome breaks when private browsing mode is turned off

Last week we announced a new discussion and user support platform: the Tor Forum. Starting today, were going to be doing things a little bit differently  rather than commenting on the blog posts themselves, wed like to invite you to create an account and join in the discussion on the forum instead:

 Tor Browser 11.0 discussion thread

Give Feedback

If you find a bug or have a suggestion for how we could improve this release, please let us know. Thanks to all of the teams across Tor, and the many volunteers, who contributed to this release.

Full Changelog

The full changelog since Tor Browser 10.5.10 is:

Windows + OS X + Linux

Update Firefox to 91.3.0esr

Update Tor to tor-0.4.6.8

Bug 32624: localStorage is not shared between tabs

Bug 33125: Remove xpinstall.whitelist.add* as they don't do anything anymore

Bug 34188: Cleanup extensions.* prefs

Bug 40004: Convert tl-protocol to async.

Bug 40012: Watch all requested tor events

Bug 40027: Make torbutton_send_ctrl_cmd async

Bug 40042: Add missing parameter of createTransport

Bug 40043: Delete all plugin-related protections

Bug 40045: Teach the controller about status_client

Bug 40046: Support arbitrary watch events

Bug 40047: New string for Security Level panel

Bug 40048: Protonify Circuit Display Panel

Bug 40053: investigate fingerprinting potential of extended TextMetrics interface

Bug 40083: Make sure Region.jsm fetching is disabled

Bug 40177: Clean up obsolete preferences in our 000-tor-browser.js

Bug 40220: Make sure tracker cookie purging is disabled

Bug 40342: Set `gfx.bundled-fonts.activate = 1` to preserve current bundled fonts behaviour

Bug 40463: Disable network.http.windows10-sso.enabled in FF 91

Bug 40483: Deutsche Welle v2 redirect

Bug 40534: Cannot open URLs on command line with Tor Browser 10.5

Bug 40547: UX: starting in offline mode can result in difficulty to connect later

Bug 40548: Set network.proxy.failover_direct to false in FF 91

Bug 40561: Refactor about:torconnect implementation

Bug 40567: RFPHelper is not init until after about:torconnect bootstraps

Bug 40597: Implement TorSettings module

Bug 40600: Multiple pages as home page unreliable in 11.0a4

Bug 40616: UX: multiple about:torconnect

Bug 40624: TorConnect banner always visible in about:preferences#tor even after bootstrap

Bug 40626: Update Security Level styling to match Proton UI

Bug 40628: Checkbox wrong color in about:torconnect in dark mode theme

Bug 40630: Update New Identity and New Circuit icons

Bug 40631: site identity icons are not being displayed properly

Bug 40632: Proton'ify Circuit Display Panel

Bug 40634: Style updates for Onion Error Pages

Bug 40636: Fix about:torconnect 'Connect' border radius in about:preferences#tor

Bug 40641: Update Security Level selection in about:preferences to match style as tracking protection option bubbles

Bug 40648: Replace onion pattern divs/css with tiling SVG

Bug 40653: Onion Available text not aligned correctly in toolbar in ESR91

Bug 40655: esr91 is suggesting to make Tor Browser the default browse

Bug 40657: esr91 is missing "New identity" in hamburger menu

Bug 40680: Prepare update to localized assets for YEC

Bug 40686: Update Onboarding link for 11.0

Build System

Windows + OS X + Linux

Update Go to 1.16.9

Bug 40048: Remove projects/clang-source

Bug 40347: Make the list of toolchain updates needed for firefox91

Bug 40363: Change bsaes git url

Bug 40366: Use bullseye to build https-everywhere

Bug 40368: Use system's python3 for https-everywhere

Windows + Linux

Bug 40357: Update binutils to 2.35.2

Windows

Bug 28240: switch from SJLJ exception handling to Dwarf2 in mingw for win32

Bug 40306: Update Windows toolchain to switch to mozilla91

Bug 40376: Use python3 for running pe_checksum_fix.py

OS X

Bug 40307: Update macOS toolchain to switch to mozilla91

Linux
In brief: Today's foldable phones might be more durable than their predecessors, but theyre still easy to break, especially if youre careless with them. As such, Samsung will make sure that any warranty claims for its Galaxy Z Flip 3 arent false by checking all acceleration-based free-fall events, which engineers can access when assessing a claim.

Its no secret that, like all foldable phones, users need to be careful with the $1,000 Galaxy Z Flip 3more so than with standard handsets. Even Samsung stresses the importance of proper care.

SamMobile writes that Samsung isnt going to replace or repair every Galaxy Z Flip 3 thats damaged by users dropping the device, whether or not theyre still under warranty. It seems the phone uses its accelerometer to record all free falls of distances of one meter (3.2 feet) and higher.

If someone brings a Galaxy Z Flip 3 in for repair, claiming it inexplicably broke and engineers discover its been dropped, Samsung could refuse to carry out the work. Twitter user @FrontTron highlights cases of users being denied warranty claims because of this reason.

DO NOT THROW your Flip3 to your bed or sofa.



Galaxy Z Flip3 records all past acceleration based free-fall to be used to point out customer's fault for broken Z Flip3 during official repair.

Free-fall criterion is 1 meter.

(1/2)  Tron  (@FrontTron) October 4, 2021

There is, however, an incident of someone whose Galaxy Z Flip 3 cracked along the hinge when not in use. Engineers discovered it had been dropped three times, the last one coming 10 hours before the crack, but the warranty claim was accepted as they had bought the handset less than two weeks ago. Though, its worth remembering that not everyone might be this lucky.

The takeaway here is that if youre the kind of person who likes to throw your phone onto the bed or sofa from a distance, you might want to reel in that reckless attitude if you own a Galaxy Z Flip 3; otherwise, a genuine warranty claim could be rejected.
In brief: Microsofts Windows 11 was released recently with a few worrying bugs, most notably a memory leak issue, but the problems for the operating system dont stop there as more emerge with Microsoft updating its known issues page.

A new bug was discovered for devices running Intel's Killer networking software. The compatibility issue could result in users dropping User Datagram Protocol (UDP) packets "under certain conditions."

"This creates performance and other problems for protocols based on UDP. For example, some websites might load slower than others in affected devices, with videos streaming slower in certain resolutions. VPN solutions based on UDP might also be slower," Microsoft detailed.

It doesnt stop there, though: the same issues are also affecting any Windows 11 device running Dells SmartByte software, which is an application designed to boost signal strength for browsing, streaming and downloading. It now comes pre-installed on some of Dells laptops and is enabled by default.

The fix is due for release in the upcoming security update on October 12. Beyond the aforementioned bugs, Microsoft listed another compatibility issue pertaining to Oracles VirtualBox; users may be unable to start Virtual machines (VMs) and encounter errors. Oracle is currently ironing out the complications, with a patch scheduled for a release sometime later this month.

A bug that Microsoft has yet to acknowledge the existence of is the memory leak reported by users. File Explorer is accumulating RAM and not releasing it when users open a new window, effectively slowing ones system down.

Over 60 percent of PC users are unaware of Windows 11s launch, and based on these prominent problems, Microsoft may prefer it remains that way while it works on a more stable version. The general consensus for the OS latest iteration asserts its still a work in progress, with reviewers having mixed feelings. One unpopular decision in particular was Microsofts controversial system requirement, TPM 2.0.
In brief: GlobalFoundries is getting ready for an IPO, and analysts expect it to be valued at around $25 billion. The company is still working out the details behind the upcoming share sale, but it looks like it's in a good position to capitalize on the chip boom, especially when it comes to mature process nodes.

Back in July, the rumor mill was abuzz with reports that Intel was interested in buying semiconductor giant GlobalFoundries for around $30 billion, presumably as a quick way to strengthen its IDM 2.0 initiative that led to the creation of Intel Foundry Services. It could have been one of the largest deals in history, but the rumors were quickly shot down by GlobalFoundries CEO Tom Caulfield.

Caulfield said at the time that his company was instead pursuing a bigger and bolder plan that involved an initial public offering. In a filing this week, the company listed the size of its offering as $1 billion, likely a placeholder for the real value that is to be determined once the terms of the share sale are agreed upon. Analysts expect a valuation as high as $25 billion.

Also revealed in the filing are a couple of interesting details about the company's financial performance. 2020 saw the company record a $1.35 billion net loss on revenue of $4.85 billion. As for the six months ending in June, net revenue was $3.05 billion, which is a 13 percent year-over-year increase compared to the same period a year earlier.

Some of you may remember that GlobalFoundries was founded in 2009 when AMD sold its manufacturing operations to the Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala Investment Company. The AMD spinoff was later merged with Singapore's Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd., and since then it has grown into the world's fourth largest chip foundry by revenue, after TSMC, Samsung, and UMC.

GlobalFoundries is in a good position to ride the current wave of demand for chips, particularly when it comes to older, more mature process nodes. Foundries like TSMC and Samsung have prioritized more advanced EUV-based chipmaking technologies, but some companies, most notably automakers, aren't willing to embrace them. The auto industry is expected to close the year with a $210 billion loss due to chip shortages, so GlobalFoundries is one of the few companies that can make automakers an offer they can't refuse.

In related news, TSMC chairman Mark Liu claims some companies have been hoarding chips, which is one of the primary reasons for the ongoing chip shortage.

Image credit EPA/Jiji
Why it matters: A company that routes billions of text messages around the world every year recently (and quietly) revealed that someone had unauthorized access to its systems for five years. They aren't saying what information was accessed or if any text messages were exposed.

Syniverse is used by mobile carriers like Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T to route SMS text messages. Late last month it sent a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission to propose merging with another company. The filing is hundreds of pages long, but tucked away in the section laying out the risks Syniverse brings to the merger, near the bottom of page 69, is an admission that it was hacked in 2016 and didn't find out about it until earlier this year.

The filing describes an incident in May 2021, which is when Syniverse became aware that an unknown entity had accessed its operational and information systems. An investigation revealed that they had accessed Syniverse's systems several times between May 2016 and May 2021, compromising the login information for 235 of its Electronic Data Transfer (EDT) customers.

In the filing, Syniverse says it "promptly" contacted law enforcement, legal council, and the affected customers. While it says it didn't detect any attempt to monetize or otherwise misuse the accessed data, Syniverse says it can't be sure it won't uncover more evidence related to the hack in the future. Syniverse also says it updated its systems after finding out about the hack, but didn't go into detail as to how.

According to Ars Technica, neither Syniverse, Verizon, T-Mobile, nor AT&T have given any more information on the potential for compromised SMS messages. Vice's Motherboard section also hasn't gotten any more information from Syniverse, but their sources tell them anyone who accessed Syniverse's systems could've gotten to extensive information about calls including length, phone numbers, location data, and SMS message content. The infiltrator could've gotten that information for millions of customers worldwide during those five years.

As an example of how wide-reaching Syniverse is, in 2019, over 100,000 text messages were delayed by months because one of their servers failed. When the server was reactivated, Valentines Day messages ended up being delivered in November.

Image credit Eddy Billard
In brief: Samsung provided an update on its process technology migration during its fifth-annual Samsung Foundry Forum digital event. The company is now scheduled to start producing the first 3nm-based chip designs for customers in the first half of 2022. The first 3nm Gate-All-Around (GAA) process node utilizing Multi-Bridge-Channel FET (MBCFET) will allow for up to a 35 percent decrease in area, 30 percent higher performance or 50 percent lower power consumption when compared to 5nm chips.

The company further noted that 3nms logic yield is approaching a similar level to that of 4nm, which is already in mass production.

Looking even further out, Samsung said its second-gen 3nm is now expected in 2023 and that its 2nm process note with MBCFET is currently in the early stages of development with mass production tentatively slated for 2025.

Samsung originally planned to have 3nm enter volume production in late 2021, but seemingly underestimated the difficulty level associated with shrinking down to such a small process. The ongoing chip shortage spurred by the global pandemic certainly didnt help the situation, either.

On that front, Samsung said it is continuing to improve its FinFET process for cost-effective and application-specific use cases. The company highlighted its 17nm FinFET process, noting that it provides up to a 43 percent decrease in area, 39 percent higher performance or a 49 percent increase in power efficiency compared to the 28nm process.

Indeed, as the chip shortage lingers, many customers are turning to mature manufacturing processes to meet their needs. That may seem like a step in the wrong direction but the truth is, not all electronics require cutting-edge manufacturing techniques.
"Is Rivian copying Tesla FSD?" That is now the question that has surfaced over social media as the former company has been spotted with a new filing that suggests an autonomous driving feature coming.

A Twitter user had reacted to this news, saying that it waited for FSD's release before it filed a new venture, to which Elon Musk reacted.

Rivian Copying Tesla FSD?

Rivian was spotted with a new listing for its autonomous driving feature, and a Twitter user has replied to an article posted about it, saying that Rivian waited for Tesla to release the FSD so it could copy it. This has been one of the many reactions to Rivian's latest venture, with some saying that it is copying Tesla's autonomous driving feature.

That being said, the reaction of the Twitter user has brought Tesla CEO Elon Musk to react on it, and his reaction is to laugh at what the netizen said.

  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 5, 2021

While this does not fully suggest that Musk is agreeing to the statement of the user saying Rivian ripped it off, it still shows that it is a Full Self-Driving feature successor.

Nevertheless, a lot of companies have self-driving features available on their cars or are still working on it, as they apply it to most electric vehicles which they aim to bring. One of Tesla's early rivals is Ford's Blue Cruise, which has been a massive debate on social media with regards to its functions, and how it matches against Tesla.

Read Also: Tesla Chip Shortage: Not a Problem This Q3, Engineering Team Found a Way Says Elon Musk

Rivian Autonomous Driving Feature

Rivian's Autonomous Driving feature was spotted in a new S-1 filing of the company that a $10,000 self-driving suite that would soon come for the company's electric vehicles. It is unsure if it would be released, though, because not all ventures and listings may necessarily come as a feature if the company wishes to stop it at the moment.

This only suggests that Rivian has a plan to bring a self-driving feature, something which could line it up with its rival, Tesla, in the automotive industry. However, not having autonomous driving for its electric vehicles does not make Rivian less of a company or inferior to Tesla, as it still brought massive competition to the latter.

Rivian vs. Tesla

Rivian is known to be one of the biggest rivals of Tesla in terms of its upcoming electric vehicle venture, the R1T, which is nearing its release this year. Tesla's Cybertruck is currently at odds and ends, as it cannot be distributed by 2022 and sees the year only for release.

It was said that the Tesla Cybertruck would be released by the company by 2023, and it is not something that buyers or fans are happy about.

Related Article: Tesla Model Y Bodies With Two Giant Single Castings Now in Works! Here are Its Benefits

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Isaiah Richard

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Microsoft is celebrating the release of Windows 11 by giving away free ice cream to everyone, and it serves up the "Bloomberry" flavor, which takes a theme from the new operating system. The special day for Microsoft means a special treat for all its clients and customers, and what better reward than free ice cream.

October 5 is the supposed day that Windows 11 will be releasing, and it is now being celebrated with a frozen treat from Mikey Likes It Ice Cream.

Microsoft Windows 11 Free Ice Cream from Mikey Likes It

Free Ice Cream ALERT: Microsoft is celebrating the Windows 11 release date with Mikey Likes It, and they are giving it away without any costs for everyone in New York City. The giveaway dessert treat for all users is limited to New York only, but that does not mean that only New Yorkers can receive this treatment.

Introducing Bloomberry, our collab flavor with @Microsoft to celebrate the brand new @Windows 11!



This blueberry ice cream w/ blueberry pie filling, pound cake & candy chocolate pieces is FREE today at our East Village & Harlem locations while supplies last! pic.twitter.com/nkKnASfTDl  Mikey Likes It Ice Cream (@MikeyLikesItNY) October 5, 2021

Everyone who happens to come across any of the Mikey Likes It Ice Cream New York City branch are welcome for this freebie from Microsoft. The software company is celebrating the release of Windows 11, which was originally meant for October 5, but has been released a day early for users. Still, October 5 remains as its release date, hence the arrival of the ice cream freebie today.

Read Also: Microsoft Windows 11 Releases Today, and Here's How to Upgrade from Windows 10 for Free

Limited New Flavor: Bloomberry

Windows 11 said that Mikey Likes It is a "pop culture dream maker" ice cream company, and it greatly captures the look of the operating system's new user interface and theme, which is called "Bloom." Yes, the ice cream is patterned from the theme of the new Windows 11, and it only fits that it brings a look that is close to what the OS is.

Pop culture ice cream dream-maker @MikeyLikesItNY has upgraded #Windows11 with serious flavor. If you're lucky enough to taste "Bloom-berry" for yourself, give us the scoop!  pic.twitter.com/Mq1gIHJqLs  Windows (@Windows) October 5, 2021

The frozen treat is a blueberry ice cream that comes with blueberry pie filling, pound cake, and candy chocolate pieces. The ice cream is free today only and until supplies last.

It remains unknown if this would be available for a limited time after today, or it would only be a limited flavor that is special to Windows 11.

Microsoft Windows

Microsoft's Windows 11 was teased last June, and during the Build conference of the company, something which has greatly signified that it would bring a new system to the public.

Nevertheless, it still brought the public to get excited about the new operating system, something that was a breath of fresh air for Microsoft, especially with Windows 10 already six years old since its 2015 release.

The Redmond giant has been widely known for its software development and operating system, a venture in which they have been very popular and has been widely used by the world now.

Windows remain the most used OS for desktop and laptop PCs now, and Windows 11 has a great impact on this, as it changes the landscape now.

Related Article: How to Sync Smartphone Notifications to Your Windows 11 PC via Your Phone App Feature

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Isaiah Richard

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
"Star Trek's" William Shatner, who played the role of Captain James T. Kirk in the franchise, is set to be the oldest person to fly to space when Blue Origin's second crewed flight launches on October 12. Shatner is 90 years old.

Shatner is one of the four passengers of Blue Origin's next crewed flight, which will also include the space company's vice president of mission and flight operations.

'Star Trek's' William Shatner to be the Oldest Person to Fly to Space

"Star Trek's" very own Captain James T. Kirk will make history as the oldest person to fly to space when Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin launches its second crewed flight on October 12.

90-year-old William Shatner will join three other passengers aboard the New Shepard's next flight. Blue Origin's second crewed mission, which is called NS-18, is scheduled for launch at 8:30 a.m. local time, according to a report by Space.

Until then, Wally Funk, who was one of the passengers in Blue Origin's maiden crewed flight, holds the title of the oldest person to fly to space. She was 82 years old when the New Shepard launched into space last July.

A separate report by Space quoted the "Star Trek" star during his appearance on NBC's "Today Show."

"I'm going to see the vastness of space and the extraordinary miracle of our Earth and how fragile it is compared to the forces at work in the universe."

Related Article: Jeff Bezos is Going To Space With an 82-Year-Old Aerospace Pioneer

Blue Origin's NS-18 Mission

Two incredible and inspirational people will join the #NS18 crew. Actor @WilliamShatner and Blue Origins Vice President of Mission & Flight Operations Audrey Powers @AudreyKPowers. pic.twitter.com/xqI9nw1KX8  Blue Origin (@blueorigin) October 4, 2021

The NS-18 mission is Blue Origin's second crewed flight, which will launch from Blue Origin's Launch Site One in Texas.

The flight will have no pilot as the New Shepard has an automated system. Joining the "Star Trek" star on the list of passengers for the NS-18 mission are the following:

Audrey Powers - Blue Origin's vice president of mission and flight operations

Chris Boshuizen - Co-founder of Earth observation company Planet (otherwise known as Planet Labs)

Glen de Vries - Life sciences and healthcare vice chair of Dassault Systemes

While it is the New Shepard's second crewed flight, the Blue Origin spacecraft has actually already performed 17 flights prior to the NS-18 mission.

The flight is expected to last for 11 minutes. Should the second crewed flight be similar to the New Shepard's previous flights, the spacecraft will go beyond the Karman line, the recognized boundary of space.

How to Watch the NS-18 Mission

Want to watch "Star Trek's" Captain James T. Kirk as he actually flies to space in real life? You totally can!

According to the report by Space, the launch of Blue Origin's NS-18 mission will be broadcast on the company's official website. The report indicated a "likely" starting time of 8:00 a.m. EDT. Liftoff is expected to take place at 9:30 a.m. EDT.

Also Read: Blue Origin Breaks Multiple Guinness World Records for its First Crewed Mission with Jeff Bezos

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Isabella James

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
(Photo : Image from Commons.Wikipedia.com) Roman Catholic Church NFTs to be Officially Minted as Proceeds Go to School in Thailand

The Roman Catholic Mission of Bangkok has just announced that it will be publicly releasing its first-ever NFT minted officially by the Catholic Church. This Catholic NFT will be minted on Kalamint.

Catholic NFT on Kalamint

Kalamint tweeted out that the Roman Catholic Mission of Bangkok has just announced that it will be publicly releasing its NFT officially minted by the Catholic Church on Kalamint. It was noted that all of the proceeds coming from the drop would directly go to Communita Incontro School located in Pathum Thani, Thailand.

According to an article by XTZ, the Archbishop of Bangkok, Francis X. Cardinal Kriengsak Kovithavanij noted that with the release of the NFT, the official Roman Catholic Mission of Bangkok is now looking forward to exploring a different way to engage those that are within their community and beyond. The cardinal added that the youth of today use technology not just for practical purposes but also to express their own faith and identity.

Pope Francis NFT

The NFT that is set to be released is a detailed photo mosaic of an image of Pope Francis, which was taken during the Holy Father's Apostolic Visit to Thailand that happened in November 2019. It is said to be made up of 350 different unique photos that come from the visit and also signifies the 350th anniversary of the arrival of Catholicism in the said Kingdom of Thailand.

Marketing Director at LiCAS.news, Nattha Nuchsuwan, who is also the English language social communications arms of the official Roman Catholic Mission of Bangkok, gave a comment stating that they have hand-selected the photos that make up the mosaic from thousands of different photos that LiCAS.news was able to take during the papal visit.

Read Also: Doja Cat Launches NFT Collection As Tezos' Price Skyrockets in 24 Hours--Greener Alternative to Ethereum?

Why the Church Chose Kalamint?

It was noted that they hoped that the individual photos stitched together would convey the excitement as well as devotion which Thailand had welcomed the pope with. It was noted that the mosaic is being released officially as an NFT in order to help ensure its permanence and in order to enhance the Roman Catholic Mission of Bangkok's own engagement along with online communities stretched around the world.

The Executive Director of LiCAS.news, as well as the project's own technical lead, Dr. Peter Monthienvichienchai, noted that they are pleased to be using the supposedly environmentally-friendly Tezos blockchain technology on Kalamint in order to drop their NFT. NFTs have also been used for other noble purposes like helping to rebuild Brazil's rainforest.

Kalamint CEO Chris Deschenes also noted that they are extremely excited that the Roman Catholic Mission of Bangkok has chosen them and also share the ideals that NFTs can still be created and sold within a sustainable and energy-efficient process. For those that want to understand more, this is the difference between NFTs and cryptocurrencies.

Related Article: Fiance Gets Mad at Man for Proposing to Her with NFT Instead of Ring | Man Lost Half of Savings on Dogecoin

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Urian B.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Google Maps will now show the most fuel-efficient route to its car driving users.

Alongside that feature, the search engine giant is also introducing new features that seek to lessen carbon footprint for the Search, Travel, and Nest platforms.

Google and Carbon Footprint

The latest move of Google, which now extends to the features of their apps, comes after the tech giant announced its goal to lessen its carbon footprint.

To be precise, Google announced last 2020 that it seeks to be solely powered by low-carbon energy after ten years or in 2030.

Now, the tech titan is extending its efforts to lower greenhouse gas emissions to its users.

Google Maps' Most Fuel-Efficient Route

As per The Verge, Google Maps will start showing its users the most fuel-efficient route as an option to take on Oct. 6, Wednesday.

The tech giant first hinted about the Google Maps feature last March. It will now be rolling out for its users in the United States.

The fuel efficiency feature has numerous benefits. It does not only cut down the user's gas cost. It also helps reduce the pollution produced by the tailpipe of the vehicle.

Google said that if ever the most fuel-efficient route is also the quickest option, it will be the default direction.

On the other hand, if the fuel-efficient option is slower, Google Maps will still suggest it to its users while noting its benefits.

How about the Google Maps users outside the US?

The search engine giant announced that its users in Europe will also get to experience the said feature in 2022.

On top of that, Google Maps will also suggest the nearby scooter or bike-sharing locations in almost 300 cities globally, which includes New York, Taipei, Berlin--to name a few.

Google Search and Carbon Footprint

As for the Google Search platform, the firm plans to improve the "climate change" results, prioritizing "high quality climate-related info."

The tech giant also announced that it plans to share information on climate change from reputable sources like the United Nations.

Also, Google Search will encourage its users to shop more eco-friendly. For instance, the results in the US for those looking for a specific car model or brand will show their hybrid and electric variants.

Read Also: Google Maps for Android Replaces Search Pin with Search for COVID-19 Vaccine to Encourage Users

Google Nest Thermostat to Reduce Carbon Footprint

According to TechHive, Google further announced a feature called Nest Renew service that promotes less carbon footprint, which will be rolling out in the coming weeks.

The newly introduced feature will roll out the Energy Shift option, which gives Nest Thermostats users an option to automatically prioritize both cooling and heating when there is clean energy available in the power grid.

However, users are still given an option to freely adjust their thermostats.

Related Article: [VIRAL] Google Maps Trending Loch Ness Map Photo Receives Thousands of Views: Experts Confirm Pranksters are Behind It

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Teejay Boris

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Alibaba Earmarks US$1 Billion for Cloud Investment Across Asia Pacific

Guest Blog: Alan Shen, Director, Alibaba Cloud UK, discusses how Alibaba Cloud supports SMEs in their digitalization journey in APAC

Alibaba Group has ranked third globally and first in the Asia Pacific region in the global Infrastructure-as-a-Service market, according to reports by consultancy Gartner[1]. Alibaba Cloud, the digital technology and intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group, has pledged to invest an initial US$1 billion supporting talent and start-ups across the Asia Pacific region over the next three years.

Alibaba Cloud grew out of the groups need to operate at scale and address the core commerce businesss complexity, including payments and logistics. In 2009, the group founded Alibaba Cloud to make these technologies available to third-party customers. It offers cloud services to customers worldwide, including elastic computing, database, big data analytics, a machine learning platform and IoT services.

Alibaba Cloud recently launched its first data center in the Philippines[2], built an innovation center in Malaysia[3], and officially launched the third data center in Indonesia. The chunky investment into the region is the largest by Alibaba Group this financial year, underscoring the groups confidence in the regions digital transformation.

We are committed to bettering the regions cloud ecosystem and enhancing its digital infrastructure, said Jeff Zhang, President of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence.

Focusing on the APAC market, Alibaba Cloud also recently launched an e-commerce livestreaming solution for merchants to reach shoppers digitally. The solution guarantees image quality while reducing bit rates, enabling a high-resolution livestreaming experience with low bandwidth costs. Users can enjoy livestreams with a latency of around two seconds, essential to the experience of flash sales.

Low latency is critical across Southeast Asia where the digital infrastructure is nascent, but where policymakers are keen to see greater economic and financial inclusion that internet connections offer their citizens. Southeast Asias internet sector is poised to grow to over US$300 billion in gross merchandise value by 2025, said Google and Singapores Temasek in a widely cited report.

Livestreaming e-commerce solutions are quickly evolving as a response to increasing demand during the Covid-19 pandemic. Retailers globally have flocked to China, where the economy rebounded relatively quickly from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and adopted digital tools to reach shoppers.

Innovative technology is critical to the recovery from Covid-19, said Jeff Zhang, President of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence.

Built upon Alibaba Clouds extensive content delivery networks with over 2,800 nodes in more than 70 countries and regions, the livestreaming solution leverages the cloud real-time video processing technology to ensure an uninterrupted signal transfer between sellers, buyers and the nearest distribution center.

Alibaba Cloud has operations and offices in the UK supporting UK businesses grow across the APAC market. Please reach out to our representative for more information:

Alan Shen, Director, Alibaba Cloud UK

Email: [email protected]

Address: 8th Floor, Millbank Tower, 21-24 Millbank, London SW1P 4QP

[1] https://www.alibabacloud.com/press-room/alibaba-group-ranked-third-in-global-iaas-market-and-first-in-asia-pacific?spm=a3c0i.8288105.9593763490.27.2a546a37M5KOlU

[2] https://www.alibabacloud.com/press-room/alibaba-cloud-further-expands-asia-footprint-with-first-data-center-in-the-philippines?spm=a3c0i.8288105.9593763490.18.2a546a37M5KOlU

[3] https://www.alibabacloud.com/press-room/alibaba-cloud-launch-first-international-innovation-center?spm=a3c0i.8288105.9593763490.21.2a546a37M5KOlU
GUTHRIE [ndash] Darris Dean Flowers passed away on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021. He was born Jan. 26, 1942, to Denman Marion Flowers and Margie Gray Flowers. A Celebration of his life occurred on Oct. 9 with family and friends at his home in Guthrie, OK. Darris was especially proud to donate his bod
When untreated sewage poured from a treatment plant in southern East Baton Rouge Parish last week, flooding residential streets and homes, it was the fifth time that plant overflowed this year, state records show.

The sewage flowed from the South Wastewater Treatment Plant along Gardere Lane for about two hours on Sept. 29 amid a downpour. Pumps failed around 3 p.m., causing the waterways to back up and overflow, city-parish Assistant Chief Administrative Officer Kelvin Hill said.

At least 31 apartment units flooded during the event. The cause of the pumps failure was still under investigation Tuesday, city-parish spokesman Mark Armstrong said.

Its unknown how much sewage escaped from the plant during the most recent event. But the two largest incidents earlier this year released a combined 38 million gallons of sewage onto plant grounds and the surrounding areas, according to Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality records.

The four prior events this year all occurred during heavy rainfall that caused flooding at the plant, Armstrong said.

Following the most recent flood, residents who live nearby complained of longstanding issues with sewage odors emanating from the plant.

One of the incidents at the plant occurred Sept. 15, just two weeks before the recent flood, when heavy rain from Tropical Storm Nicholas caused equalization tanks,  the large white storage containers near the back of the property  to overflow. Roughly 22 million gallons of untreated wastewater flowed onto plant grounds and into Bayou Fountain, according to a report of the incident.

A May storm that caused flooding across much of the southern portion of the parish also caused sewage to escape from containers at the plant. On May 18, tanks again overflowed at the plant, although no sewage escaped plant grounds, according to an incident report. The report did not include an estimate of how much wastewater overflowed from the tanks.

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On March 23, another overflow occurred when electrical issues caused a pump to fail amid a storm. An estimated 25,000 gallons of wastewater flooded onto the grounds of the plant during that event, according to an incident report.

The first event of the year occurred Feb. 12, when heavy rainfall caused an overflow at the plant. An estimated 16 million gallons of sanitary wastewater spilled onto the plant grounds and into nearby woods over the course of seven hours. Two tanks at the plant were shut down in order to prevent an overflow near the residential properties to the east of the plant, according to an incident report.

None of the previous four events caused flooding in any residential properties, Armstrong said.

While the cause of the Sept. 29 flood is still under investigation, Armstrong attributed the four prior overflows to heavy rainfall and illicit tie ins, or illegal drainage systems in the area that run into the plants pipes. Those causes do not explain the Sept. 29 incident, Armstrong said.

When the investigation is complete and the cause is determined, corrective action will be taken, Armstrong said. A very serious event happened out there, and were taking it very seriously.

The city-parishs sewage system has been under scrutiny from state and federal regulators for decades. In 1988, the plant and the city-parishs overall system entered into a consent decree, an agreement with federal regulators aimed at bringing out of compliance systems into compliance with federal laws.

LDEQ was unable to comment on the recent overflows due to the ongoing consent decree because infractions are handled under the agreement with federal regulators, LDEQ Press Secretary Greg Langley said.

The agreement requires the city-parish to make improvements at all of its wastewater plants, which had been violating water quality regulations under the federal Clean Water Act, according to a city-parish factsheet on the agreement.

The agreement has been revised several times since its implementation, most recently in 2009. The city-parish is undertaking projects to improve its wastewater storage and treatment facilities and expand its wastewater storage capacity, according to the agreement.
When the 3-year-old girl told relatives that her 2-year-old sister Nevaeh Allen was in the forest, no one knew what to make of it.

Days later, law enforcement revealed their narrative about Nevaehs disappearance, and it became clear what the girl meant.

After Nevaehs death  which allegedly happened after her mother, Lanaya Cardwell, 24, punched her  police say two other children in the household were brought along to a remote patch of woods in Mississippi while Nevaehs self-described stepfather disposed of her body.

Authorities found the childs remains buried beneath trees by the bank of the Pearl River, making her the first of three Louisiana children to die that week at the hands of a parent.

The secret grave was one of many chilling details to surface in arrest records released last week by the Baton Rouge Police Department, which laid out a timeline of the girls death and disappearance.

For the public, the story began the afternoon of Sept. 24, with reports of a child missing from a Belaire neighborhood apartment.

Mother, stepfather of Nevaeh Allen arrested on second-degree murder after child reported missing The mother and stepfather of Nevaeh Allen  the 2-year-old who was reported missing last week and whose body was found in Mississippi on Sunda

Nevaehs distraught mother told investigators that her live-in boyfriend  30-year-old Phillip Gardner  set the girl down for a nap that morning, only for her older siblings to return from school a few hours later to an empty apartment and an open door.

In an emotional television interview, Cardwell said the last time she saw her daughter was when Gardner drove her to work with Nevaeh and two other children in the car the morning the girl disappeared.

I dont know what could have happened, I dont know what went wrong, Cardwell told WAFB-TV that evening. I wish I would have stayed home from work. I dont know.

A high-profile search ensued, spanning two states and involving nearly a dozen law enforcement units, including the FBI.

But affidavits accusing Cardwell and Gardner of murder say the tragedy began to unfold much earlier than Cardwell let on.

A fatal blow, a frantic cover-up

According to BRPD, the crime began to take shape hours before anyone reported Nevaeh missing.

Cardwell was in the bathroom preparing to go to work for the day, police say, when Nevaeh picked up her moms contact lenses; her mother responded by striking her daughter in the torso with a closed fist.

Arrest records go on to say that Nevaeh fell backwards and hit her head on a cabinet before her mother forcefully grabbed her and took her to another room. Gardner later told police that from the next room, it sounded like two adults fighting.

Cardwell's mother, Jessica Billiot, and younger brother, Casey Amacker, also said Gardners older children told them Cardwell shouted at the toddler.

Lanaya got real mad about it and she was talking to Nevaeh like Nevaeh was a grown woman, saying f--- you b----, you aint s---, Amacker said. Thats what the kids was telling us.

When Cardwell and Nevaeh emerged from the room, Gardner said the girl was crying and had a large bruise on her forehead.

He told investigators he then drove Cardwell to work, and when he returned to the apartment, the toddler refused to eat and complained about stomach pain.

She then lay down on the couch and fell asleep. Gardner said he was later unable to wake her, telling police he tried to resuscitate the girl.

When his attempts failed, he put Nevaeh in a suitcase and drove to southern Mississippi to bury her, ultimately placing her in a makeshift grave deep in the woods.

Its possible, police say, that Nevaeh was unconscious but alive when Gardner placed her limp body in the suitcase.

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A day before the childs body was discovered, her father, Marcus Allen, who described Nevaeh as the perfect 2-year-old, told The Advocate he last saw his daughter two days before her disappearance, when he dropped her off to spend the rest of the week with Cardwell and Gardner. He was supposed to pick her up the following Sunday  the day Gardner was arrested for disposing of the girls remains.

Meanwhile, Billiot described her daughters relationship with Gardner as toxic and said it was often marked with violence. She recalled one incident where she witnessed Gardner have a fit at the toddler after she spilled a slime toy on the carpet.

Billiot said Gardner yelled at the girl and forced her to hold a vacuum as he attempted to make her clean up the mess.

Both Cardwell and Gardner face counts of second-degree murder.

The count was leveled against Gardner because police say he failed to help the girl after she complained of stomach pain and because the coroner was unable to determine whether Nevaeh was still alive after he stuffed her in the suitcase.

Despite the coroners initial findings, East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore III cautioned that final autopsy results can take weeks, adding that details known about the case may change as police continue their investigation.

There are a lot of other pieces of potential evidence still out there, Moore said. We still have a long way to go.

A tragic trend

Allens death was one of three child homicides to take place throughout the state in the span of a week.

On Sept. 28, Thibodaux resident Jake Guidry, 26, was arrested after he told police he allegedly hit his 11-month-old daughter, Zabria, too hard, killing her.

On Sept. 29, the same day BRPD announced Cardwells arrest, 33-year-old Shreveport resident Ureka Black allegedly threw her sons, 10-month-old Joshua and his 5-year-old brother, from the Cross Lake Bridge. The older child survived. Joshua did not.

A doctoral candidate in law and policy at Northeastern University and child safety advocate who spent 20 years working for the Louisiana State Police, including seven as part of the Louisiana Clearinghouse for Missing and Exploited Children, said the deaths highlight a need for more research on what leads parents to kill their offspring.

Baton Rouge toddler died after mom punched her torso, causing her to hit head, police say A Baton Rouge mother was accused of murder after police say she punched her toddler in the torso for playing with her contact lenses, causing 

Theres typically a confluence of factors at play when a parent commits filicide, Stacey Pearson explained.

Those factors can include previous child abuse or neglect, domestic violence, poverty, the parents ages, mental health issues, or whether or not there have been multiple pregnancies in the family in a short period of time.

Its an understudied phenomenon, Pearson said.

Its so complex, she added, We just dont want to believe that parents can harm their children, and I think that prevents us from seeing the red flags.

Referencing Nevaehs case, she noted that its not uncommon for parents who have killed their children to make false missing or abducted child reports in order to mislead the community and direct law enforcement attention elsewhere.

According to statistics released by the U.S. Department of Justice, about 7% of the nations 2,629 AMBER Alerts issued from 2006 to 2019 were determined to be hoaxes.

Pearson said this could be because its often easier for the public to believe a stranger took a child than to believe a parent would harm them. By way of example, she cited the case involving Nevada resident Taylor Nicholson, who told Las Vegas police in June that her 2-year-old son, Amari, was kidnapped, leading to an extensive search. Nicholsons boyfriend later confessed to beating the boy to death.

In 2019, Another parent, Nakira Griner of New Jersey, told police her 23-month-old son, Daniel, was abducted. Daniels dismembered body was eventually found under a shed at the womans home and Griner was charged with murder.

Although the circumstances surrounding the state's recent cases vary, Pearson said studying these situations closely and understanding potential warning signs may help prevent more deaths.

You want families to be aware of a parent in crisis, she said. We cant avert our eyes. As ugly as it is, as heartbreaking as it is, and as traumatic as it is, we have to look at this case and examine it in the hopes of preventing something like it in the future.
The Louisiana Supreme Court has agreed that Baton Rouge police were not responsible for a 2008 alcohol-related crash that left a man permanently brain-damaged and others injured.

An East Baton Rouge Parish jury reached that same conclusion in 2018, and a state appeals court earlier this year let the verdict stand.

Jury finds Baton Rouge police not at fault in 2008 crash that left man with brain damage Baton Rouge police aren't to blame for a 2008 alcohol-related crash between a car and an 18-wheeler that occurred 30 minutes after officers st

The wreck between a car and an 18-wheeler occurred 30 minutes after officers stopped the car's driver, Jean Paul Palmer, for running a stop sign but did not arrest him for driving with a suspended license. The car also had an expired inspection sticker and only one working headlight. A baby was in the car with no car seat.

Palmer was issued traffic citations after the stop for an expired inspection sticker, driving with only one headlight and having no car seat available for the child.

About 15 minutes after police left the predawn traffic stop, Palmer ran another stop sign and collided with the truck at Florida Boulevard and O'Neal Lane. More than two hours after the crash, his blood-alcohol level registered at 0.21%  well beyond the 0.08% considered presumptive evidence of drunken driving in Louisiana for people 21 and older.

Those injured, which included the truck driver and several people in Palmer's car, sought nearly $5 million from the city-parish when the case went to trial in 2018.

The plaintiffs argued that officers were negligent in letting Palmer go after seeing him run a stop sign and becoming aware of his suspended license and four outstanding misdemeanor warrants. They also claimed police acted negligently in merely warning Palmer against driving the car instead of remaining on scene to ensure his compliance.

BR officer: I trusted driver to get off road minutes before drunken crash with 18-wheeler A police officer testified Tuesday that he trusted a Baton Rouge man's word that he wouldn't get back behind the wheel after a pre-dawn traffi

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Plaintiffs further alleged that police acted unreasonably in failing to ask Palmer if he had been drinking, failing to get close enough to smell his breath, failing to perform a field sobriety test, horizontal gaze test or look into his eyes, and failing to tow the car.

Police testified they had no reason to believe Palmer was intoxicated when they stopped him at 2 a.m. on July 10, 2008, in the Melrose East area.

In its May ruling, a three-judge panel of the 1st Circuit Court of Appeal said the jury listened to and observed all of the fact witnesses and expert witnesses, weighed the evidence, made credibility determinations and viewed the video of the traffic stop in whole and in part numerous times throughout the trial.

"In this unfortunate case, we are unable to replace our opinion with the opinion of the jury and are constrained to rely upon the jury's view of the conflicting testimony and evidence," Circuit Judge Chris Hester wrote for the panel that included Judges Mitch Theriot and Beth Wolfe.

The state Supreme Court last Friday rejected the plaintiffs' appeals without issuing written reasons.

City-parish attorneys argued at trial that Palmer was 100% at fault for the crash. The plaintiffs' lawyers argued that Palmer's arrest would have prevented the crash.

Palmer was 29 at the time of the wreck and had a prior DWI conviction.

He pleaded no contest in 2011 to four counts of first-degree vehicular negligent injury stemming from the 2008 crash and was sentenced to five years in prison, with all but two years suspended, to be followed by four years of probation. His probation was revoked in 2013 and he was sentenced to five years in prison. Court records show he tested positive for cocaine in 2012.
James Finn writes for The Advocate as a Report For America corps member. Email him at JFinn@theadvocate.com or follow him on Twitter @RJamesFinn.

To learn more about Report for America and to support our journalism, please click here.
Damage from Hurricane Ida was so great that Louisiana may delay for a month both the October and November elections.

UPDATE: Louisiana fall elections postponed because of Hurricane Ida damage; see adjusted dates

The Oct. 9 ballot is full of primaries for three legislative seats, along with the mayor, sheriff, assessor, and seven city council members in New Orleans. It also has four Constitutional amendments.

Gov. John Bel Edwards and Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin met Tuesday afternoon to talk over the problems in southeast Louisiana caused by the storm. Much of the region is still without power, some precinct locations are damaged, the postal service hasnt resumed regular deliveries everywhere. Additionally, the Secretary of State's Office reaches out to nursing home residents to help them with absentee voting and many of those facilities have been evacuated.

State government operations arent expected to get back to normal in many parishes until after early voting begins on Saturday, Sept. 25. With the exception of Sunday, Sept. 26, early voting is scheduled to continue through Oct. 2 from 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m. A general election, to decide the outcomes if the primaries do not result in one candidate winning outright, is scheduled for Nov. 13.

Louisiana wont expand mail-in voting, other COVID precautions for fall elections Louisiana Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin said Wednesday that he won't be seeking to expand absentee-by-mail voting, increase the early voting 

The storm affected 42% of the states registered voters, Ardoin said.

Ardoin said he spoke to local registrars and clerks of court  including those in the parishes with the most damage as well as Orleans Parish, which will have the biggest election filling most of the city's high level posts, including mayor, sheriff, assessor, clerk for criminal courts and city council members. They were telling us the problems they were encountering and the damage they saw, Ardoin said, and what it would take to get the election going in time.

Legal deadlines are looming. The deadline for in-person registration is Wednesday. For nursing home residents the deadline is Thursday. And by Friday election commissioners across the state have to be chosen, though many local officials don't where all their commissioners are. In 11 days, Ardoins office has to publish the locations of the polling places.

On top of all that, Ardoin said people trying to tear out sheetrock or repair their homes or dog assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency or otherwise recover from the storm, really shouldn't have to also worry about a pending election.

John Bel Edwards wont echo state leaders call for blue roof expansion; latest on Ida recovery Gov. John Bel Edwards said Tuesday he is not ready to echo complaints by Louisiana's congressional delegation that federal officials are being

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Ardoin proposed delaying the election a month  pushing the Oct. 9 primary to Nov. 13 and delaying the general election until Dec. 11. That gives us enough time for our locals to get their bearings, Ardoin said.

Edwards said he needed to study the law and the legislation. He acknowledged he couldnt wait too long.

I did not make a decision immediately, Edwards said. One is going to be forthcoming soon.

Ardoin said he understands that all the i's need to be dotted and the t's need to be crossed, but got the impression the governor would order postponing the elections sometime this week.

+3 White House proposes long-sought relief for southwest Louisiana over 2020 disasters LAKE CHARLES  The White House on Tuesday issued a long-sought request for relief for southwest Louisiana more than a year after Hurricane Lau

The state last went to extraordinary election efforts after hurricanes Katrina and Rita, including allowing evacuees to cast ballots from Texas and other states. The postponement in Katrina/Rita was far longer than a month. But Ardoin said once they get a handle on how many voters remain evacuated to new addresses because of Ida, hell draft an emergency plan that address displaced voters.

On every ballot across the state Oct. 9 are four Constitutional amendments, two of which are key components of the bipartisan comprise that would revamp of Louisianas tax system that were passed during the legislative earlier this year.

Amendment 1 would lead to centralizing the collections of sales taxes, which are gathered on a local level now under the state Constitution. The change in language would allow the state to set up the system that would collect the taxes on sales and distribute the local portion of the proceeds, rather than the other way around.

With Louisiana hotels prioritizing Hurricane Ida helpers, it might be hard to get a room Gov. John Bel Edwards has authorized hotels and motels to cancel reservations and other contracts with future guests to ensure electrical line

Proponents argue the system would streamline collections, lower administrative costs, and align Louisiana with other states as Internet sales across state lines increase. Opponents fear that taking away local governments Constitutional ability to collect their own taxes could jeopardize the amounts local voters have approved.

Amendment 2 would drop maximum personal income tax rates from 6% to 4.75% and allow legislators to set a permanent new rate of 4.25% in statute, where it could be changed easier. The amendment also would eliminate the deduction on state tax returns for income taxes paid the federal government. Louisiana is one of the few states that allow that exemption and it comprised $795.5 million of the $6.5 billion of forgiven taxes that otherwise would go into state budgets, according to a Louisiana Department of Revenue report.

About eight tax revamp measures are dependent on these two amendments being approved by a majority of the participating voters statewide.
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In Louisiana, we are attached to our communities and the huge impact of Hurricane Ida requires more innovation on the part of the government to keep people close to their homes to rebuild.

We welcome the temporary housing program undertaken by state government, with the blessing of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. It will provide whatever it takes, whether mobile homes or recreational vehicles, even crew barges that can keep people in their communities.

For the longer term, FEMA has a direct housing program but it wont be until mid-November that units start arriving and then they will only be placed after clearing a number of hurdles, such as not being in a flood zone.

That is an age-old post-hurricane problem, making the emergencies in peoples lives fit into the requirements of federal programs with well-intentioned but  is there a better word for it?  clunky bureaucratic rules.

In Terrebonne Parish, for example, there are an estimated 10,000 homes destroyed. FEMA aid for temporary lodging is an expedient that does not meet the need, as hotel rooms have filled up around the region.

Do what it takes, maybe our states new motto after devastating storms of 2020 and 2021.
Sydneys Lockdown 2.0 is not like the last one. My son, aged two, never a fan of the childcare drop-off, brought that home to me in late August when he came up one morning and said: Mummy, go to school?

He was itching to jump in our car and get out of the house. So was I. Catching two trains for the commute to work, maybe with a sneaky stop off at Town Hall to window-shop in the QVB, and even brunch at the Palace Tea Rooms, would be such a breath of fresh air.

The novelty of lockdown has worn off this time around. Credit:SMH

Last year, when the call went out in late 2020 for people to return to the office at least 60 per cent of the time after Lockdown 1.0, I have to admit I was crestfallen. I felt like the cloistered Sister Agnes in Australian miniseries Brides of Christ who, faced with the dismantling of wimple and habit, couldnt see her way out of institutionalised life in the convent to the light of the modern day.

The novelty of working from home had entranced me into believing, despite the extra five or six kilograms I carried, that I was living the dream. No hour-long commute, no budget line items for transport or eating out, more time with the family and the tranquillity of a restful home office listening to whatever I preferred.
From Our Special Representative CANBERRA, TuesdaysAfter the Prime Minister (Mr. Curtin) and his Ministers had been sworn in by the Governor-General (Lord Gowrie) at Government House this morning, a short meeting of Cabinet was held. It was of a formal nature.

Mr. Curtin, accompanied by the former Prime Minister (Mr. Fadden), lift by car for Sydney to open the 100 ,000 ,000 loan in Sydney town hall.

The new Ministers to-day were reluctant to discuss their probable immediate departmental activities or questions of policy. All said they preferred, before announcing policy, to make a thorough survey of the work of their predecessors. All, however, are pledged wholeheartedly to devote their maximum energies towards the successful prosecution of the war.

Winning of the War

The Minister of the Army (Mr. Forde) pledged himself to the utmost effort in organising the defences of Australia to ensure a maximum war effort. The gallant young men of the A.I.F. deserve the best equipment Australia can give them, he said, and the taxpayers are entitled, by improved organisation in the Defence department, to get the best result from the millions of pounds which are being spent. The winning of the war for the democracies and the maintenance of Australias security, as an outpost of the Empire, are matters of transcendent importance today.

Mr. Forde said that having been a member of the War Advisory Council, he was thoroughly familiar with the work of his new department. Mr. Forde will meet the Army chiefs in Melbourne at the weekend, and for some time will spend at least four days a week at army headquarters.
A former school teacher and mayor of Bathurst, the new Deputy Premier Paul Toole will take a markedly different approach to leading the NSW Nationals, according to colleagues who describe him as the polar opposite to his firebrand predecessor.

The 51-year-old was sworn in as the states deputy leader on Wednesday after a resounding win at a party room ballot earlier in the day over Water Minister Melinda Pavey.

NSW Deputy Premier Paul Toole on Wednesday. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

Known as Toolie to his colleagues, the unassuming National arrived on Macquarie Street in 2011, before being appointed the Minister for Local Government in 2014. He was later tasked with implementing the governments disastrous local government mergers and was appointed Minister for Racing and Regional Transport in 2017.

The father of three listens to Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen and Def Leppard in his ministerial ute, supports the St George Dragons and puts wasabi on his sandwiches, according to his staff.
No new community cases of coronavirus have been reported in Queensland overnight, the Premier revealed on Wednesday.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk described the result, including three overseas acquired cases - two in hotel quarantine and one in hospital quarantine - as unbelievable.

This is a great effort from everyone in Queensland doing the right thing, she said.

Queenslanders have avoided being plunged into a sixth lockdown, despite a COVID-positive masseuse, whose case was not linked to any existing clusters in the state, being infectious in the community for 10 days.
The rise and rise of Luba Grigorovitch continues. The national executive of the Rail, Tram and Bus Union has appointed the Victorian branch secretary as the first female national president of the organisation, which has 31,500 members.

Luba Grigorivitch. Credit:Scott McNaughton

As they are fond of saying at the union, RTBU LOUD, RTBU PROUD.

It is another historic appointment for Grigorovitch, who in 2014 was the youngest person and first woman to become Victorian secretary, aged 28.

The national president post is honorary, but Grigorovitch will still do nicely out of her state secretary gig, collecting $164,000 (plus super, plus vehicle, plus parking) for looking after 7796 branch members.
It is our human right to live in a safe community Human rights are based on principles of dignity, equality and mutual respect and are the cornerstone of strong communities. I must say that I am a little confused when people state that mandating vaccinations is inconsistent with their human rights (The Age, 6/10). Isnt it also our human right to live in a safe community during a pandemic? It is recognised that getting vaccinated is the only way we can begin to see our way through living with this virus, and respect is about recognising the value and dignity of each human life.

Julie Ottobre, Forest Hill Using coercion to force people to be vaccinated Whether you are vaccinated or not, any mandatory health direction is abhorrent. To enforce any form of mandatory medical action upon a person who has chosen otherwise is essentially an act of violence. We all have the human right to personal sovereignty and choice. Vaccines administered under this direction are done under duress, through coercion and manipulation. I am outraged that we have come to this. With the vaccine rate as high as it is, this mandate against all authorised workers who choose otherwise, needs to be immediately withdrawn.

Melissa Ort, Fitzroy North Authoritarian rules and reasonable conditions

Mandated vaccinations for workers are conditions of employment. Mandated vaccinations for restaurants, etc, are a condition of entry. Building workers must wear hard hats, and restaurants are allowed to have a dress code. Mandate implies authoritarian application of rules. This is offensive to some. Conditions of employment and entry are widely accepted as reasonable rules. Lets change the terminology to reflect reality, at least.

Gavin Youl, Maldon THE FORUM The right to be vaccinated While it is wonderful that Australia has reached the 80per cent first dose vaccination rate, Scott Morrison cannot start celebrating until he can explain why our First Nations peoples are still well behind this statistic and if our disabled community are anywhere near this figure as well. It seems that once again our most vulnerable are being left behind by the Coalition government.

Bruce McMillan, Grovedale What about the teachers?

Re Students in COVID-19 hotspots wary of return to class (The Age, 5/10). Teachers in hotspots are expected to return to work without any discussion around their wellbeing or the safety of their workplace. It is all very well for principals and the unions to say follow COVID safety protocols. Twenty-eight kids who have been hanging out with their extended families, crammed together in under-ventilated classrooms. Oh yes, they will be compliant when the request comes through to please wear your mask properly.

Vicki Mills, Herne Hill Mask and kids? Of course. Having two primary school-aged children who are too young to be vaccinated, I am all for recommending that children wear masks in school. However, most adults cannot wear one properly, over their mouth and nose, and constantly touch it and pull it off to talk, so how can we expect children to get it right? Oh yeah, kids are smart and respect the dangers of COVID-19.

Amanda Peucker, Flemington No excuses, mask up

For the past two weeks, construction workers in Victoria have been stood down due to rising COVID-19 cases in their industry, mainly due to non-compliance of health orders. On day one of their return to work I walked past four construction sites in our suburb and there was not a mask to be seen. Working during Victorias extended lockdown has been a privilege extended to a lucky few and with that privilege comes responsibility. So, come on guys, put on those masks and start playing by the rules.

Sandra Bennett, Hawthorn East More empty promises Last year Dan Andrews promised to fund and staff 4000 intensive care beds to cope with a potential increase in COVID-19 cases. The promised beds have not eventuated. Now, to cope with the expected surge in cases, elective surgery at some private hospitals has been cut by 50per cent (The Age, 6/10) to free up beds and staff. So once again Dan Andrews has failed and others (elective surgery patients and surgeons) must pay the price while he refuses to take responsibility, let alone apologise. No doubt his PR team will spin the circumstances while any responsible journalist who questions his failure will be deflected or belittled. Those who believe what he says are at best gullible, at worst, foolish.

Kevin Ruljancich, Hawthorn East Rationing out treatment?

As intensive care beds become scarce, how will hospitals prioritise between selfish, unvaccinated patients and double vaccinated patients with other life-threatening issues? I suppose the heroic, anti-establishment freedom fighters will readily accept the care of the state if they become sick.

Jack Ginger, South Caulfield Lockdown through love? Melbourne is the worlds most locked down city. That sounds very different to being the worlds most liveable city as we were for several years. But we have had far fewer deaths per capita than many cities which have opened up earlier. So is Melbourne now one of the worlds most caring cities?

Marguerite Marshall, Eltham Six hours of trauma What a relief to know that Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram can all be turned off at once (The Age, 5/10). Where is the switch so that it can be done permanently? What a concern that there are people who are so addicted to these services, they cannot handle it when an outage takes them down.

Bruce Watson, Clifton Springs

Blame everyone else A brilliant article by Shaun Carney  Its too early to be sending Berejiklian tributes (Opinion, 6/10). Poor Gladys, it is all the fault of the Independent Commission Against Corruption. Substitute Dan Andrews and imagine the outpouring of vitriol and bile from Scott Morrison, Josh Frydenberg, Greg Hunt, Alan Tudge and their News Corp sycophants.

Ian Panther, North Ringwood The womens support Tributes from her Gladys Berejiklians colleagues in the Liberal Party can be regarded as unsurprising expressions of loyalty to a former premier. More interesting is the widespread sympathy for her coming from many women, particularly on social media. Much of this portrays her as a victim of the bad boyfriend experience many women can relate to. Other sympathisers see her as representative of the way women are treated in politics more broadly. Regardless of the allegations levelled against Berejiklian, many women clearly feel sorry for her.

Rod Wise, Surrey Hills Our childrens problem

Sussan Ley has approved three new coal mines within a month. How can this be justified? We are on the brink of an existential crisis that is confirmed with each bushfire season and a record number of storms. This government simply does not care about the next few decades because it will not be its problem  but it certainly will be our childrens.

Irene Zalstein, East Doncaster Warned, 44 years ago Climate scientists have been warning of impending climate catastrophe for a lot more than 20 years (Letters, 6/10). In July 1977, during a meeting at oil giant Exxons New York headquarters, scientist James F.Black put on a slide show warning that the burning of fossil fuels could endanger humanity.

He later said, Present thinking holds that man has a time window of five to 10years before the need for hard decisions regarding changes in energy strategies might become critical, and general scientific agreement that the most likely manner in which mankind is influencing global climate is through carbon dioxide release from the burning of fossil fuels. It is not as though anyone has been blindsided.

Helen Moss, Croydon Children before profits So safety breaches at childcare centres leading to penalties have disproportionately happened at those run by for-profit providers (The Age, 6/10). It is a simple question, really: education and care for children or for profit? An uncomfortable truth for governments.

Brian Newman, Brunswick

My need to read books I am a tertiary-educated 79-year-old who was homeless. I now live on a long-term rental basis at a motel. I am longing for some decent reading material. I have just been informed by a local library that I cannot join because I live in a motel. Is this an issue at all libraries? Do they believe that motel residents are only temporary and may move on without returning their books?

Robyn Marxsen, Box Hill Fearful of federal ICAC Do these Liberal ministers and backbenchers who are asking for a rethink on the national integrity commission (The Age, 6/10) really believe that political survival is more important than integrity? Is this group (and their leader, I suspect) aiming to have an official promulgation of the 11th commandment  Thou shalt not be found out?

Ian Grandy, Nunawading Learning from the master

Scott Morrisons guilty until proven innocent characterisation of NSWs Independent Commission Against Corruption is straight out of the Trump playbook. He is trying to undermine confidence in a public institution for political gain. He is conflating the investigative process, and the court process where the onus is on the state to prove its case. Our courts would be rather empty if the police assumed everyone were innocent.

Mike St Clair-Miller, Seddon Nothing to hide, no worries The federal Coalition has made clear it they do not not want an integrity commission like the one in NSW as they think it has too much power to investigate and prosecute possible corruption, and this would hinder their job. This is the same party that has passed stringent security laws. Any opposition to these, the reply is, If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to worry about. It seems to me that an integrity commission with power to do its job properly should hold no fear to politicians because, after all, if they have nothing to hide, they have nothing to worry about.

Frances McKay, Kensington What else do we expect? Politicians are put into electorates by deal-making, number-crunching, favour-granting party apparatchiks. Why, therefore, is the electorate surprised when politicians act in the same deal-making, favour-repaying manner when they are in office?

Peter Roche, Carlton

Religion and politics Your correspondent says that these days we do not criticise politicians for their religious beliefs (Letters, 6/10). Really? What we do do is to try and determine if their religious beliefs affect their political judgments. For example that NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet considers it to be a leadership virtue to be passionate about policy (The Age, 6/10) would be insidious if this were religiously motivated.

Peter Drum, Coburg A national treasure Ive just read Richard Flanagan  Looking away wont save us (Spectrum, 25/10)  and blown away by the mans mastery of thought and expression. How lucky we are to have this wisdom. I am deeply moved.

David Marshall, West Brunswick AND ANOTHER THING

Credit:Illustration: Matt Golding COVID-19 Did the vaccine cause Facebook to crash?

Bronwyn Petrie, Portland Translation of anti-vaxxer saying Ive done my research: Ive been reading my Facebook feed.

Joan Kerr, Geelong So the CFMEU protests have become super-spreader events. Well, who is surprised?

Jan Dwyer, Rosebud

There have been about 29 million jabs in Australia. Weve seen every one of them on television.

Cor Peeters, Doncaster Will anti-vaxxers berate their dear old mums for getting them vaccinated as children?

Anne Bennett, Blackburn Politics Gary Sayer (6/10), local party members are there to sell raffle tickets and give out pamphlets on election day, nothing more.

Ian Powell, Glen Waverley Harry Truman had a plaque on his desk that read The buck stops here. If Andrews had one, it would be Its not my problem.|

Lara Blamey, Mount Eliza

Matthew Guys special subject: the bleeding obvious.

Tim Durbridge, Brunswick If it takes shakedowns and extortion to extract support from the federal government to keep the national population alive and well, bring it on.

Dorothy Waterfield, Seaholme Morrison: We will not listen to anyone about what we should do about climate change. Well wait until everything else has failed.

Rob Gardner, Clifton Springs Who to trust: an ICAC commissioner or a politician under investigation?

John Johnson, Venus Bay We wanted a federal watchdog but have been offered a whiteboard.

Denis Fielding, Geelong
Daniel Craigs James Bond has always been missing something.

Its not the actor himself, nor the way the writers have developed the character. Craigs Bond bears the closest resemblance to the man in Ian Flemings original novels: a cold, calculated, chauvinist British spy whose advances are not always charming and glorified.

But beyond fighting a shadowy terrorist organisation, devoid of any geopolitical backdrop, and navigating gender politics in the 21st century, what is the point of the Craig Bond?

Daniel Craigs Bond films ignore the current state of geopolitics. Credit: Supplied

For years we have debated whether Bond is culturally relevant: whether he is too sexist or if he could be black or a woman. The films started becoming more self-aware about these issues when Judi Denchs M called him a sexist, misogynist dinosaur in 1995s Goldeneye.
Sensitive details surrounding Australias alleged bugging operation of East Timor will be heard in public after the ACT Court of Appeal ruled that requiring large parts of the case against Bernard Collaery to be held behind closed doors created a real risk of damaging public confidence in the legal system.

The unanimous judgment has been hailed as a win for transparency because it overturns a previous ruling made under national security laws which would have required large parts of the hearings into his alleged efforts to expose a secret Australian operation to bug East Timors government to be held behind closed doors.

Lawyer Bernard Collaery is being prosecuted for allegedly helping his then client, Witness K, reveal aspects of an alleged secret bugging operation against East Timor. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Mr Collaery has always accepted that some sensitive information should not be publicly disclosed but wanted the disclosure of six specific matters during the trial.

The former lawyer for an ex-spy known as Witness K challenged an order made by the ACT Supreme Court last year to accept former attorney-general Christian Porters application to invoke the National Security Information Act, which governs how courts should handle sensitive information. The act requires the court to give greatest weight to the Attorney-Generals views about the national security implications of a case, which has resulted in large portions of the hearings being held in secret.
Actor Cynthia Harris, known to television audiences for her portrayal of Sylvia Buchman on the NBC sitcom Mad About You, died on October 3. She was 87.

Harris had a decades-long stage career before her role on Mad About You. In 1992, the same year she began work on that show, she co-founded the Actors Company Theatre (TACT), the off-Broadway troupe that regularly revived neglected gems that offer great roles for actors. "We noticed that in New York theater today, which is highly commercial, there is a whole body of theatrical literature that would never be approached because of the confines of professional Broadway or Off-Broadway productions, which are so expensive," Harris explained the rationale for the company in a 2001 interview with TheaterMania.

Harris served as co-artistic director of the company for many years. It ceased operations in 2018 following the production of Three Wise Guys.

Before the Actors Company, Harris appeared in a number of Broadway productions, including Terrence McNally's Bad Habits (1974) and Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's Company as a replacement for original cast member Barbara Barrie (1971).

Off-Broadway, she performed at the Cherry Lane Theatre, Playwrights Horizons, and the Delacorte Theatre (playing Mistress Ford in the 1974 Shakespeare in the Park production of The Merry Wives of Windsor). Most recently, she appeared opposite Charles Busch in his 2014 comedy, The Tribute Artist, as a wealthy widow living "like exiled royalty" in a West Village townhouse.

Cynthia Harris's last major off-Broadway production was in Charles Busch's 2014 comedy, The Tribute Artist.

( James Leynse)

That role may have been a cheeky nod toward one she had played before: In 1979, Harris was nominated for a BAFTA Award for her portrayal of Wallis Simpson in the British miniseries Edward & Mrs. Simpson. More television roles would follow, with Harris making appearances on Three's Company, Knots Landing, Archie Bunker's Place, L.A. Law, Ann Jillian, Murder, She Wrote, Law & Order, and, of course, her celebrated run on as Paul Reiser's overbearing mother on Mad About You, including two episodes of the 2019 reboot.

According to her New York Times obituary, Harris is survived by her partner Nathan Silverstein, her assistant Terrence Mintern, her brother Dr. Matthew Harris and his wife Frances, her sister-in-law Maryjane Harris (her brother David, Maryjane's husband, predeceased her), and many nieces and nephews.
2021 Volkswagen ID.4 First Drive - Review by Larry Nutson

2021 Volkswagen ID.4 First Drive

By Larry Nutson

Executive Editor and Bureau Chief

Chicago Bureau

The Auto Channel

Volkswagens new ID.4 went on sale in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2021. Were now half-way through the year and total ID.4 sales tally at 5,756 units. VW says the ID.4 is now one of its fastest selling models, ranking among the fastest sellers in the industry.

The ID.4 is Volkswagens first all-electric utility vehicle (UV) and the brands first global battery electric vehicle (BEV).

Notably, the Volkswagen ID.4 has been named World Car of the Year 2021, prevailing over strong global competition. The World Car Awards are presented by more than 90 international automotive journalists from 24 countries, who vote on the best innovations on the world market.

The ID.4 competes in the worlds largest market segmentcompact utility vehiclesand is currently produced in Germany and China. It will also be assembled in the United States with production expected to begin in 2022 at the Volkswagen Chattanooga Assembly Plant.

The ID.4 has seating for five, is a compact 180.5 inches long and has 30.3 cu.ft. of cargo space behind the rear seat. Its a very versatile and urban-friendly vehicle.

At introduction the 2021 ID.4 is offered in Pro, Pro S, and 1ST Edition trims all of which are rear-wheel drive. The 1ST Edition has in the meantime sold out. ID.4 has an 82kWh battery and a rear-mounted AC permanent-magnet synchronous motor with 201 horsepower and 229 pound-feet of torque. The EPA-certified range for the Pro S and 1ST Edition models is 250 miles whereas the Pro is rated at 260 miles.

The EPA-estimated fuel economy for the Pro S and 1ST Edition models is 104 MPGe for city driving; highway driving is rated at 89 MPGe, and combined city/highway at 97 MPGe.

Later this year Pro and Pro S trims with all-wheel drive will be offered. They will be equipped with a second, front-mounted electric motor powering the front wheels.

Pricing starts with the Pro at $39,995 MSRP. Pro S is priced at $44,495 and the sold-out 1ST Edition was priced at $43,995. When it becomes available the ID.4 Pro with AWD will be priced at $43,675 and the Pro S AWD will be $48,175.

Each of these are eligible for the $7,500 Federal tax credit. Destination charge on all is $1,195. A Gradient Package is available for the Pro S priced at $1,500 and includes larger wheels and further design differentiators.

Simply put, the ID.4 is a well-designed and executed compact UV powered by a battery and electric motor instead of a gasoline fueled engine.

My drive experience in the ID.4 was in a 1ST Edition finished in Dusk Blue with a black roof. This actually was my second time seeing the ID.4 in person, but my first behind the wheel and driving it. Back in March Volkswagen of America completed a drive across the U.S. with the ID.4. Starting in New York City, a small team crossed the States on a predominantly southern route, wrapping up the drive on schedule in 18 days in Sacramento, California.

The team covered more than 6,700 miles and crossed 19 states plus Washington, DC. On their stop in Chicago I met up with the team and spoke with Dustin Krause, Director, e-Mobility who emphasized that Range anxiety is a thing of the past and the drive is to prove that not only is long-distance driving an easy task, but its also affordable.

The vehicle was charged at 32 Electrify America charging stations, among a few other opportunities that included overnight charging at selected hotels. A video of the entire drive is embedded below my review

Overall the ID.4 is very stylishly designed and executed. The gently sloping roof line with the bright trim that sweeps from the windshield to the C-pillar in combination with the black roof give the ID.4 a car-like look. The interior is very fresh and inviting.

Upon entering ID.4 says Hello and lights-up for you to start driving. A small drivers instrument cluster and a large center display provide driving information and access to infotainment. Controls and functions are tech-forward. Some require a bit of familiarization and then become second nature to use.

Acceleration is decent, in the mid-seven second range, coming from the instant torque of the electric motor. Ride is firm, but not too. BEVs are heavy, for example around 4,600 lbs. for the ID.4, and have a low center of gravity. Youll notice a bit of a different feel compared to a gasoline powered vehicle. I was pleased with the overall driving dynamics of the ID.4.

Theres a full contingent of advance driver-assist safety (ADAS) features. With no internal combustion engine things are nicely quieta real plus of all BEVs. The regenerative braking system in the ID.4 puts charge back into the battery. The D (Drive) position is the default mode, automatically activated upon start-up. The B (Brake) position enables a heavier amount of regeneration, and I used this a lot in Chicagos stop and go driving.

In partnership with Electrify America 3 years of unlimited charging on MY21 ID.4 vehicles begins upon vehicle purchase. Its important to understand that charging times will vary and depend on a variety of factors, including ambient temperature, charger type, battery condition and initial state of charge, vehicle condition and others.

Charging to full on an 11kW Level 2 240-volt charger can take 7.5 hours, and on a 7.2kW Level 2 charger it can take 11.5 hours. At a public DC fast-charging station, with 125 kW charging, the ID.4 can go from five to 80 percent charged in about 38 minutes. The kW rating of the charging equipment is important for faster charging times.

More details on the ID.4 can be found at www.vw.com.

About half of U.S. adults support a proposal to phase out production of gasoline-powered cars and trucks. More than 80% of customers buying an ID.4 are trading in a gasoline powered vehicle. More Americans are steering toward electrified vehicles and the industry has likely passed the point of peak gas-powered mobility according to Michelle Krebs, executive analyst, Cox Automotive.

ID.4 can be compared to other BEVs such as the Ford Mustang Mach-e, Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Bolt EV. Or, the Honda CR-V, Mazda CX-5, Subaru Forester or Toyota RAV4 are more conventionally powered if that suits your needs. No matter what, BEVs have become quite good with good driving range and faster recharging. At this point in time, if you can easily install a Level 2 charger at your residence, I would give the ID.4 serious consideration.

Happy motoring!

 2021 Larry Nutson, the Chicago Car Guy
HOUSTON, Oct. 6, 2021 -- MP2 Energy, LLC1, along with other affiliate entities2, will now go to market for commercial customers in the U.S. as Shell Energy, in a move demonstrating strong customer focus and signaling the strength of one energy brand dedicated to serving customers' complete energy transition needs. The Shell Energy brand will encompass the customer-facing elements under which affiliates market wholesale and retail power, natural gas and environmental products, demand response, asset management, and energy solution sales to commercial and industrial customers.

Under the rebrand, MP2 Energy and other affiliates' existing customer contracts will not change. Shell Energy provides a comprehensive suite of integrated energy solutions  from one supplier. These integrated solutions allow Shell Energy to create tailored energy roadmaps based on business' individual needs. Existing and prospective customers will also benefit from direct access to Shell's global expertise, supported by one of the industry's largest energy trading operations.

"Integrating our energy offers under one brand is a positive step as we work to support our customers' decarbonization goals," said Glenn Wright, Vice President of Renewables and Energy Solutions for Shell in the Americas. "Our customers expect a certain level of expertise and support and providing them a consistent and recognizable brand offering allows us to build on the heritage of customer service and energy expertise that we've brought to the market for more than 20 years."

Electricity is the fastest-growing part of the energy system and, when generated from renewable sources, has a big role to play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Shell Energy is working to build momentum in the energy transition by providing more and cleaner energy solutions to commercial customers across a portfolio of gas, power, and environmental products. Shell Energy is supporting the evolving energy needs of commercial customers, helping them navigate their business challenges.

For further information, please visit: www.shellenergy.com

Enquiries

+1 832 337 4355

Notes to editors
The Texas A&M University System will commemorate World Teacher Day by lighting several buildings across campus blue on Tuesday, Oct. 5.
Up for debate:

Live legislation tracker

Check out the latest developments on bills pending before state lawmakers in four key topics.
Associate Editor

Brent Addleman is an Associate Editor and a veteran journalist with more than 25 years of experience. He has served as editor of newspapers in Pennsylvania and Texas, and has also worked at newspapers in Delaware, Maryland, New York, and Kentucky.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks to journalists following a round table on Cuba, Tuesday, July 13, 2021, at the American Museum of the Cuban Diaspora in Miami.
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb receives his Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine during the state's first mass vaccination clinic at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Friday, March 5, 2021, in Indianapolis. The state health department said nearly 17,000 people had filled up four days of appointments for the speedway clinic.
One year after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Iowa's small businesses are poised for a comeback  but finding enough employees to fill positions may be a challenge.
Migrants walk on a dirt road after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, Tuesday, March 23, 2021, in Mission, Texas. A surge of migrants on the Southwest border has the Biden administration on the defensive. The head of Homeland Security acknowledged the severity of the problem but insisted it's under control and said he won't revive a Trump-era practice of immediately expelling teens and children.
Army veterans gather with currently serving soldiers in Point State Park as part of the Steel City Supports the Troops event to honor Veterans Day, Saturday, Nov. 11, 2017, in Pittsburgh.
The University of Wisconsin Union building and gym are seen Aug. 8, 2019, at the campus in Madison, Wisconsin.
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Towanda, PA (18848)

Today

Partly cloudy early then becoming cloudy with periods of rain this afternoon. High 61F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%..

Tonight

Cloudy skies this evening will become partly cloudy after midnight. A few flurries or snow showers possible. Low 33F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.
Oneonta, NY (13820)

Today

Partly cloudy skies this morning will give way to cloudy skies and rain during the afternoon. Morning high of 59F with temps falling to near 45. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Rain early. Decreasing clouds overnight. Low 29F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.
Oneonta, NY (13820)

Today

Partly cloudy skies this morning will give way to cloudy skies and rain during the afternoon. High near 60F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Cloudy with rain ending overnight. Low around 30F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.
Melanie joined The Daily Times in the early 90s and has served as the Life section editor since 1993. A William Blount and UT alum, Melanie is generally the early arriver who turns on the lights in the newsroom.

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WARNING to all online shoppers!

USPS (The United States Postal Service) has suspended its services to New Zealand, due to the unavailability of transportation.

In an update on the USPS website, New Zealand has been included in the companys list of 22 countries that were affected, also including Australia and Samoa.

The statement reads The Postal Service is temporarily suspending international mail acceptance for certain destinations due to impacts related to the Covid-19 pandemic and other unrelated service disruptions.

USPS said New Zealand services disrupted by the suspension include priority international mail, first-class packages as well as surface mail.

Transport Minister Michael Wood said following the update that it was unfortunate USPS has had to suspend its mail service to New Zealand and Australia, and he would be asking officials what the implications were.

New Zealand's closed borders as a result of Covid-19, combined with record low passenger numbers, had resulted in a decline in air cargo capacity and rising freight costs.

Covid has caused massive disruptions to the global supply chain, which has meant delays and increased costs for mail and freight for every country around the world.

It looks as though we may have to do a bit of online window shopping or better yet buying from local stores here in NZ!
Shooting Reported at Texas High School, Suspect in Custody: Police

An 18-year-old student who opened fire during a fight and injured four people on Wednesday has been taken into custody, authorities told The Associated Press.

Officials have identified a suspect involved in the shooting as Timothy George Simpkins, 18. Hes accused of opening fire at the Timberview High School on Wednesday morning in Arlington, a Dallas-area suburb.

We currently have multiple agencies, including the U.S. Marshals task force that is looking for this individual. Again, this is a collaborative effort between state, local, and federal agencies to bring this person to justice, Arlington Police Assistant Chief Kevin Kolbye said at a news conference.

We are looking for a shooting suspect in todays incident at @mansfieldisd Timberview School. Please call 911 if you know the whereabouts of 18-year old Timothy George Simpkins who may be driving a 2018 Silver Dodge Charger with license plate PFY-6260. pic.twitter.com/npaNVBDXRp  Arlington Police, TX (@ArlingtonPD) October 6, 2021



Earlier update:

We are on scene at a shooting at Timberview High School, said the Arlington Police Department in its initial Twitter post. We are doing a methodical search and working closely with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) and other local law enforcement agencies, it added.

The Mansfield Independent School District stated that Timberview High School was placed on lockdown Wednesday morning.

We are on scene at a shooting at Timberview High School. We are doing a methodical search and working closely with @ATFHQ @mansfieldisd Police, @MansfieldPDTX @GrandPrairiePD and other agencies. We will be announcing a parent staging location soon once the location is identified pic.twitter.com/R08TuHPMHh  Arlington Police, TX (@ArlingtonPD) October 6, 2021

My daughter just texted me that there was a  school shooting at Timberview H.S. In Mansfield ISD in Arlington, TX. She sent this video thats out. Her nearby school is on lockdown also, and we hear police sirens rushing in. Police confirm there is an active shooter. Praying, wrote Nerissa Knight, who claimed to be a parent of one of the students at the high school.

Schools in the area were placed on lockdown, and students and staff were locked in their classrooms or offices, the Mansfield Independent School District told local media in a statement.

An Arlington Police Department spokeswoman told The Associated Press that she couldnt confirm whether there were any injuries. Students and staff were locked in classrooms, offices, or other rooms, the school district told the news agency.

Other details about the incident were not provided by officials.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Craig Smith, 52, says he's set to be fired by his employer Seadrill for refusing a COVID-19 vaccine. (Courtesy of Craig Smith)

Americans Who Chose to Be Fired Rather Than Take CCP Virus Vaccine Share Their Stories

Craig Smith says he may soon be working his last shift aboard the West Vella, an ultra-deepwater drillship operating in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Smith is a drilling optimizer with about 15 years of experience working for Seadrill, a deep-water drilling contractor for the petroleum industry.

Smith told The Epoch Times that Seadrill, like many companies, is requiring a COVID-19 vaccine as a condition of employment, and hes opting to lose his job about 10 years ahead of his retirement rather than get the shot. He says he was told by his employer that if hes not fully vaccinated by Nov. 30, he would no longer have a position at Seadrill.

Ive never been fired from any job in my life, said Smith, 52. And to think with a perfect record out here  that Im actually going to be fired over not taking a shot that I just dont feel comfortable taking.

Smith says hes not opposed to vaccines and has taken others for his work in the past, but would like to be given the option to wait a while and research potential long-term effects of the COVID-19 vaccines before committing to taking one.

New requirements to get vaccinated are affecting workers nationwide, and the impact is being felt across different industries in both the public and private sectors.

The new rules issued by businesses as well as states and the federal government, which require workers to take the jab or lose their job, have been mostly met with compliance. Vaccination rates have soared to above 90 percent at many companies that have put mandates in place, and nationwide, about 185 million Americans are now fully vaccinated.

The White House, along with leadership at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, tout the growing vaccination rate as evidence that the mandates are effective.

Each day this week, as organizations hit their vaccination deadlines, weve got new data showing vaccination requirements work, said counselor to the president Jeffrey Zients at a White House COVID-19 Response Team press briefing last week.

But while the vaccination rates may be high, many Americans, like Smith, are choosing to change careers rather than take the shot.

Im going to get back into the trucking industry, Smith said.

Northwell Health, a large health system in New York, on Oct. 4 said it fired 1,400 workers because they declined to get a COVID-19 vaccinethats in addition to the thousands more statewide that have been put on unpaid leave following a Sept. 27 deadline in New York for health care workers to get vaccinated.

United Airlines said last week that its set to terminate 593 of its employees who have chosen to not comply with the companys vaccine mandate. Southwest also recently announced vaccine requirements for its more than 54,000 employees ahead of the implementation of a federal rule, expected in the coming weeks, that will require all businesses with more than 100 employees to put mandates in place.

The number of job postings listing COVID-19 vaccine requirements jumped 20 times in the past two months, according to LinkedIn.

Public-sector workers are also losing their jobs over the new rules. Vaccine requirements for teachers and other staff members in New York Citys public school system took effect on Oct. 4.

Orline Borno, a history teacher at Benjamin N. Cardozo High School, at a rally against COVID-19 vaccination mandates, in Brooklyn, N.Y, on Oct. 4, 2021. (Petr Svab/The Epoch Times)

Orline Borno, 51, has taught history at the Benjamin N. Cardozo High School in Bayside, Queens, for going on three decades. Now shes being stripped of her job for refusing the needle.

I call it medical tyranny, she told The Epoch Times, saying she found the mandate unconstitutional and immoral.

It pains me, Borno said, lamenting the sudden end of her career. I gave 26 years to the Department of Education, to my students, to a wonderful profession, and for them to just turn their backs on us, dedicated educators  I feel betrayed.

Borno says her students were devastated to learn of her departure, while parents have backed her decision.

They understand. They support us, she said.

In her view, the vaccination shouldnt be required, because teachers are able to ensure a sufficient level of safety regardless, as they did before the vaccines release, with mask-wearing and testing for infections.

We were doing it fine, she said.

Borno says shes not yet convinced of the safety of the novel vaccine, which was approved in record time. And what information is available, Borno says shes found to be politicized.

Its political science now. Its not real science thats happening right now. Its causing a divide, she said.

She suggested that the efforts to contain the virus have gone too far in limiting peoples liberties, and that authorities may want to hold onto those things.

If we dont stop this now, its never going to end, she said.

Kara Lindstrom pictured with her dad, Kris.

Kara Lidstrom, 30, is an intern at the Human Development Center in Cloquet, Minnesota, working toward becoming a licensed alcohol and drug counselor. She told The Epoch Times that last month, her employer announced its mandates. She says shes choosing to not get vaccinated; shell go through what the center is calling voluntary termination and ultimately switch her career path.

Lindstrom says she has already had COVID and is concerned that a COVID shot will affect her fibromyalgia.

COVID did affect my heart, and some doctors are saying if you get the shot, maybe it will make it better, but then there are other stories coming out where its making it worse, said Lindstrom.

Besides that, its my choice.

President Joe Bidens executive order, announced Sept. 9, requires all federal employees and federal contractors to take the shot, as well as CMS medical workers. Its also set to require all workers at private businesses with 100 employees or more to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or show a weekly negative test.

Many of the private sector mandates are coming out ahead of an Emergency Temporary Standard expected from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration meant to implement the new rule in the coming weeks.
The logo for AstraZeneca is seen outside its North America headquarters in Wilmington, Del., on March 22, 2021. (Rachel Wisniewski/Reuters)

AstraZeneca Seeks US Authorization for COVID-19 Preventive Treatment

A European biotechnology firm on Tuesday announced its seeking emergency authorization of a treatment it says can prevent symptomatic COVID-19.

AstraZeneca said it submitted an emergency use authorization (EUA) request for an antibody combination drug dubbed AZD7442.

Vulnerable populations such as the immunocompromised often arent able to mount a protective response following vaccination and continue to be at risk of developing COVID-19. With this first global regulatory filing, we are one step closer to providing an additional option to help protect against COVID-19 alongside vaccines, Mene Pangalos, executive vice president for biopharmaceuticals for AstraZeneca, said in a statement.

AZD7442 combines tixagevimab and cilgavimab, two long-acting antibodies. The antibodies are derived from B-cells donated by convalescent patients who contracted COVID-19.

The drug is administered as a shot through intramuscular injection and meant to prevent symptomatic COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus. It has had mixed results in clinical trials. In June, the British-Swedish biotech company said it failed to provide evidence it protected people exposed to a confirmed COVID-19 case. Two months later, though, it said a trial showed it was 77 percent effective.

The trial showing positive effects has not yet been peer-reviewed and the side effects werent detailed.

The primary medicines used prophylactically in the United States for COVID-19 are monoclonal antibodies, which are expensive and in short supply after the Biden administration recently started rationing courses. The antibodies are also used to treat confirmed non-hospitalized patients.

Medicines developed for another use, such as the HIV treatment ivermectin, have also shown promise as a prophylaxis. Its used widely in India and studies show it helped reduce COVID-19 infections among healthcare workers. U.S. government authorities have recommended against its use but some outside experts have said the drug can be used to prevent the CCP virus.

AstraZeneca also makes a COVID-19 vaccine, but it has not yet asked U.S. regulators for authorization for the shot. There was a flap in the spring where AstraZeneca said an interim analysis of a trial showed strong results but U.S. officials said the company used outdated information, prompting an update. The vaccine has also been linked to thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome, a disorder that includes severe blood clots.

Results from a phase 3 trial involving more than 32,000 participants were published in the New England Journal of Medicine last week. The trial showed the vaccine was overall 74 percent effective.

A spokesperson for AstraZeneca told The Epoch Times via email that the company plans to seek authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the jab before the end of the year.

Meiling Lee contributed to this report.
Australian Medical Manufacturer Recalls Nearly 200,000 COVID-19 Tests in US Over False Positive Results

Nearly 200,000 at-home COVID-19 tests in the United States have been recalled by Australian medical tech manufacturer Ellume after the company identified that they were producing incorrect positive results.

Ellume was given an emergency authorization in December 2020 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to supply the COVID-19 Home Test for nonprescription use by symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals aged 2 years and older. The home tests deliver results within 15 minutes.

The Biden administration signed a $231.8 million deal with the company, which initially got the green light from the Trump administration in 2020, to produce more than 633,000 tests kits per day (19 million per month), of which 8.5 million units were reserved for Americans.

But the FDA on Oct. 5 stated that its alerting test users, caregivers, health care personnel, and the public of the potential for false positive results with certain lots of the Ellume COVID-19 Home Test, due to a recently identified manufacturing issue.

For these tests, a false positive is a test result that indicates that a person has the virus when they do not actually have it. Negative results do not appear to be affected by the manufacturing issue, the notice reads.

The FDA added that its working closely with Ellume to assess the companys additional manufacturing checks and other corrective steps to help ensure that the issue is resolved.

In the meantime, test users are being asked to check if their home tests are included in the recall by comparing the lot number on the test carton to the lot numbers on the companys website.

Users are also asked to contact their health care provider or urgent care facility to request a COVID-19 molecular diagnostic test if they have received a positive result with the potentially defective at-home test within the past two weeks, and havent yet had a follow-up with a health provider to confirm the positive result.

You should not assume that you had COVID-19 or have immunity to COVID-19, the FDA stated, while recommending at-home test users still take precautions in line with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations.

A spokesman for Ellume told AFP on Oct. 6 that 195,000 out of 3.5 million tests that were shipped to the United States had been affected.

Some of the recalled tests were provided to the U.S. Department of Defense, according to a report by The New York Times.

The company said in a statement on its website that it had identified the incidence of false positives in specific lots of the tests following a thorough investigation.

We offer our sincere apologies for the stress or difficulties people may have experienced due to a false positive result. We have and will continue to work diligently to ensure test accuracy, in all cases, the statement reads.

Ellume is one of several companies that has received emergency use authorization by the FDA for rapid antigen COVID-19 tests, and the recall comes amid growing demand for home tests in support of the Biden administrations efforts to combat COVID-19.

On Oct. 4, the FDA granted emergency use authorization for ACON Laboratories Flowflex COVID-19 Home Test, which can be used at home without a prescription.

ACON, a San Diego-based company, plans to produce more than 100 million tests per month, and 200 million per month by February 2022, the FDA said in a statement.

Caden Pearson contributed to this report.
Australian Police Officers, Health Workers Quit Over Vaccine Mandates

Police officers and health workers in Australia have resigned amid COVID-19 vaccine mandates issued in two states, local media reported on Oct. 6.

At least 136 health workers in New South Wales and an unknown number of police officers in Queensland have resigned in the face of mandates on the two industries in the respective states.

Health workers in NSW needed one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by Sept. 30. Since then, 1,200 workers have been idled and put on paid leave, which is set to expire after two weeks, 7 News Australia reported.

According to the outlet, the health union wasnt surprised and said the loss of employees is negligible, compared to about 140,000 employees in the NSW Health Department. However, the government expects further resignations.

A health worker prepares to take swab samples from residents at a COVID-19 drive-through testing site in western Sydney on Aug. 4, 2021. (Saeed Khan/AFP via Getty Images)

The resignations of NSW health workers come amid an effort by the state to recruit nurses from interstate and overseas to be prepared for what authorities predict may be a peak in COVID-19 cases that require hospitalizations in October, The Guardian reported. Some NSW regional hospitals also are offering travel and pay incentives.

Police Officers Out

In Queensland, an undisclosed number of police officers have also resigned in connection with the Oct. 4 deadline for officers to have at least one vaccine dose. However, the states deputy commissioner, Steve Gollschewski, told reporters on Oct. 5 that the total number of those who resigned might be fewer than 100 of the states 15,000 police officers.

We have had some people resign, and that number has changed on a daily basis, but the numbers are low, he said, according to the Brisbane Times. We expect, at the end of the day, there will be very few numbers who refusesome people willand were working through that at the moment.

He didnt disclose the exact number of people who resigned when pressed but said it was a handful per district across the state, adding that a more precise number may be available by the end of the week.

A Queensland police officer at The Gabba in Brisbane, Australia, on Jan. 15, 2021. (Jono Searle/Getty Images)

The Queensland Police Service (QPS) said in a statement on Oct. 4 that it was checking to see who among its members havent been vaccinated and may need to face disciplinary action.

The QPS is working through internal records as a priority to identify which members have not been vaccinated and do not have an approved exemption, the QPS said in a statement, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. From today, QPS members who refuse to follow the Commissioners Direction and do not have an exemption will be suspended from duty with pay with a seven-day Notice to Show Cause process commenced.

As a front-line service agency, we are more exposed to the risk of COVID-19 than most occupations, and sadly we have seen police officers die as a result of the virus around the world, including 90 officers in the United Kingdom alone.

Separately, a group of seven officers began a legal challenge against Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll over the vaccine mandate in the Supreme Court last week. The officers, who are currently on stress leave, won that challenge, which gave them a 12-day delay to the mandate. However, they would need to seek further exemptions to continue their professions.

Australians workers against mandatory vaccinations last week mounted a nationwide strike in dozens of cities across the country as deadlines loom for workers across various sectors. Police, paramedics, firefighters, nurses, health care workers, construction workers, miners, airline staff, truck drivers, and teachers were invited to join in the peaceful demonstration.

Efforts among Australians to resist lockdowns and vaccine mandates continue among organizations such as National Education United and Reignite Democracy Australia. Telegram groups have also become a hub for Australians to coordinate and share about their efforts and resources, including by sending letters, signing petitions, launching lawsuits, and organizing peaceful demonstrations.
Cars are seen in a traffic jam during morning rush hour in a period of social isolation in Brasilia, amid the COVID-19 outbreak in Brazil, on April 16, 2020. (Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters)

Auto Output Dives in Brazil, Mexico as Chip Shortages Bite

MEXICO CITY/SAO PAULOAutomotive production in Brazil and Mexico, Latin Americas two largest economies, plummeted in September, dragged down by an industry-wide semiconductor chip shortage and railroad blockades in Mexico, data showed on Wednesday.

Brazilian auto production was down 21.3 percent to 173,287 units in September from the same month in 2020, when the industry was scrambling to resume production from a coronavirus-induced shutdown, Brazilian automakers association Anfavea said.

In Mexico, auto output plunged 33.30 percent from September 2020 to 208,092 vehicles, while auto exports fell by 24.18 percent to 195,294 units, data from national statistics agency INEGI showed.

All of this is due to the shortage of semiconductors, which at this point is affecting all levels of production for all participants in the domestic market, said the head of the Mexican Automotive Industry Association (AMIA), Fausto Cuevas.

A semiconductor chip shortage is causing major auto production cuts around the globe and auto industry officials have warned the problem is getting worse.

In the latest fallout from the chip shortfall, Japanese automaker Nissan told Reuters it plans to carry out temporary stoppages at two Mexican plants for several days in October due to adjustments needed to manage the situation.

AMIAs Cuevas forecast Mexican automotive exports would decline between 3.8 percent and 4.2 percent this year from 2020 and projected production to fall by between 4.7 percent and 5 percent, saying Mexicos auto industry would only return to pre-pandemic levels in 2024.

A senior executive at Mexicos Automobile Distributors Association (AMDA) said analysts were forecasting that supply and demand for semiconductor chips would be in balance around the second quarter of 2022.

Compounding carmakers woes in Mexico have been 86 days of railroad blockades as of Oct. 5 in the western state of Michoacan, home to the key port of Lazaro Cardenas, according to analysis by Grupo Financiero BASE.

Automakers in Brazil lowered projections for sales, output, and exports this year, blaming a shortage of parts and a slow economic recovery.

Anfavea, which represents global carmakers such as General Motors, Volkswagen, and Fiat in Brazil, now expects sales of new automobiles in Brazil to either fall by 1 percent or rise by no more than 3 percent this year. In July, the association had forecast 13 percent sales growth from 2020.

Vehicle sales in Brazil fell 10.2 percent in September from August to 155,075 units, according to Anfavea. Still, automotive output in Brazil did rise 5.6 percent in September from August.

By Alberto Alerigi Junior
Battery Giants Face Skills Gap That Could Jam Electric Highway

SEOULThe South Korean battery giants powering many of the worlds electric vehicles face a skills shortage that could drag on the global race towards zero-emissions transport.

The countrys three major players, which command a third of the global electric vehicle (EV) battery market, told Reuters they were all grappling with a shortage of research and engineering specialists as demand for the technology balloons.

LG Energy Solution (LGES), SK On, and Samsung SDI Co Ltd. all rank in the top-six global battery makers, and supply the likes of Tesla Inc., Volkswagen, and Ford Motor Co. among others.

Yet they are facing growing demands from big automakers and cant find enough technicians with the training needed to keep advancing cutting-edge tech such as solid-state batteries.

Although we are seeing such a growth in the industry, it appears that we are facing a shortage of talent, an official at LGES said. It is crucial to recruit external talents as well as nurturing our own talent.

This was echoed by its two big domestic rivals, with SK On describing the sectors expansion as exponential.

Indeed the global battery sector has doubled in size over the past five years and South Korea is short of almost 3,000 graduate degree-level positions in areas such as research and design, according to the most recent data from the Korea Battery Industry Association, from late 2020. LGES, SK On and Samsung SDI currently have a total of about 19,000 employees.

The Korean crunch reflects a growing talent shortage across a wider global battery market that, according to IHS Markit forecasters, will triple in size to almost $90 billion by 2025.

The EUs European Battery Alliance planning group, for example, says re-/up-skilling is needed in the bloc because its battery industry needs 800,000 new workers by 2025.

If the global skills gap is not plugged, some industry experts say it could slow the pace of advances in batteries.

Talent demand in the battery industry outweighs supply, and battery makers are anxious to ensure that they have got this small group of people who can work on this technology, and wont be left behind in the fast-growing market, said Samsung Securities analyst Cho Hyun-ryul.

Competitive Packages

In a sign of the skills pressure, LGESSouth Koreas No.1 battery maker by volumeplans to launch a new battery-smart factory department at the prestigious Korea University next spring with guaranteed jobs for graduates.

More immediately, executives have been flying to the United States to lead recruiting events at schools there. The LGES CEO and his managers went to Los Angeles last month while the SK Innovation CEO and staff hosted an event in San Francisco on Saturday.

These companies are not only competing with other established Asian players, including market leader CATL from China and Japans Panasonic, but fast-growing U.S. and European rivals like Swedens Northvolt bridging the technology gap.

The talent shortage in South Korea is being compounded by some existing employees moving to foreign competitors that had offered better pay, according to two industry sources with knowledge of the matter. They declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.

Northvolt, which counts Volkswagen as a client, has previously said that some of its employees were recruited from top battery makers, including LGES and Panasonic.

We do have few people working for Northvolt that are from South Korea, which is obviously a very impressive country when it comes to battery manufacturing and development with several well-respected companies active in this space, a spokesperson for the company told Reuters last week.

We try to offer competitive packages to our employeeseveryone working here is a shareholder in the company for instance, he added, though did not specify pay details.

Battery specialists in South Korea newly graduated with doctorate degrees can earn as much as 100 million won ($85,000) a year, and those without that level of qualification average about 80 million won after gaining a few years of experience, according to two sources at major South Korean battery firms.

South Koreas average annual salary was 37.4 million won in 2019, according to tax agency data.

Win for American Autos

The Korean sector has also been mired in internal conflict, with LGES and SK Innovation, which wholly owns SK On, locked in a two-year dispute over technology, trade secrets, and staff poaching until April this year when they settled their differences.

In a sign of the global importance of the two conglomerates, U.S. President Joe Bidenwho has made boosting EVs a top prioritydescribed the settlement as a win for American workers and the American auto industry.

We need a strong, diversified and resilient U.S.-based electric vehicle battery supply chain, he added.

Even in the face of the growing skills gap, the worldwide demand for their products has supercharged the battery makers expansion plans.

LGES expects its production capacity to reach 155 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of batteries by the end of this year and plans to raise that to 430 GWh in 2025 that could power about 7.2 million EVs.

SK Innovation aims to boost its annual production capacity more than five-fold to 220 GWh by 2025 and last week announced the plan to invest 10.2 trillion won with Ford to build three battery plants in the United States.

Richard Kim, principal analyst at IHS Markit, said the skills gap was likely to be a problem for years to come.

The labor shortage in the battery industry has already been a global issue, and the reality is that there has been an imbalance of supply and demand of manpower as many companies start to expand their capacity, he added.

By Heekyong Yang
Chiu Kuo-cheng, defense minister of Taiwan, at a press conference in Taipei, Taiwan, on Aug. 2, 2019. (SAM YEH/AFP via Getty Images)

Beijing Will Have Full Ability to Invade Taiwan in 4 Years, Islands Defense Minister Says

The regime in Beijing will be fully capable of mounting a full-scale invasion of Taiwan by 2025, the islands defense minister warned on Oct. 6.

The remarks follow four days of escalated Chinese military pressure targeting Taiwan, which saw nearly 150 warplanes fly into the islands air defense zone.

It is the toughest situation I have seen in more than 40 years of my military life, Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said at a parliamentary committee hearing on Oct. 6. For me as a military man, the urgency is right in front of me.

While the Chinese Communist Party currently has the ability to invade Taiwan, the costs of doing so may be too high, Chiu told reporters. But by 2025, Beijing would be able to do so at a minimal cost and thus have the full ability to mount an invasion, he said.

The Chinese regime views the self-ruled island as one of its territories, to be taken by force if necessary.

Chius remarks were made before a parliamentary committee reviewing an $8.6 billion spending plan to build and mass-produce homegrown missiles and ships for the next five years. The proposal would be in addition to the 2022 military budget of $13.4 billion, implemented in response to Beijings increased military spending and increased air force and navy activities near Taiwan.

The defense ministry noted in its spending proposal that more than 600 Chinese military aircraft have flown into its air defense zone thus far in 2021, almost doubling the 380 incursions of 2020, according to state news agency CNA.

In March, Adm. Philip Davidson, then-head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, said during a Senate hearing that the Chinese regime could invade Taiwan in the next six years. The admiral expressed his concern that Beijings growing assertiveness posed a threat to the United States in the Indo-Pacific, an area which he described as the most consequential region for Americas future.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said in an essay published on Oct. 5 that failure to defend the island would cause catastrophic consequences for regional peace and democracy.

It would signal that in todays global contest of values, authoritarianism has the upper hand over democracy, Tsai wrote, regarding a potential fall of Taiwan.

On Oct. 5, President Joe Biden said that he had spoken with Chinese leader Xi Jinping about Taiwan and that they agreed to abide by the Taiwan agreement.

We agree. We will abide by the Taiwan agreement. Thats where we are, and I made it clear that I dont think he should be doing anything other than abiding by the agreement, Biden told reporters.

Biden appeared to be referring to Washingtons long-standing one-China policy, under which it officially recognizes Beijing rather than Taipei, and the Taiwan Relations Act, which makes clear that the U.S. decision to establish diplomatic ties with Beijing instead of Taiwan rests upon the expectation that the future of Taiwan will be determined by peaceful means.

In contrast, the Chinese regime stands by its own one-China principle, under which Beijing asserts sovereignty over Taiwan. The Chinese regime has a known track record of demanding other governments adopt its stance on Taiwan, which the United States hasnt accepted.

Cathy He and Reuters contributed to this report.
President Joe Biden briefly speaks to reporters about his Build Back Better legislation and Taiwan after returning to the White House in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 5, 2021. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Biden Says He and Chinas Xi Talked About Taiwan Issue

President Joe Biden told reporters on Tuesday that during a phone call, he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping committed to abiding by the Taiwan agreement.

Biden made the statement following days of provocations from the Chinese regime, which has deployed dozens of warplanes into Taiwans air defense zone.

Ive spoken with Xi about Taiwan. We agree. We will abide by the Taiwan agreement. Thats where we are and I made it clear that I dont think he should be doing anything other than abiding by the agreement, Biden said.

However, the two leaders might have different interpretations of what constitutes the agreement. For Biden, he appeared to be referring to Washingtons decades-long one-China policy, which asserts that there is only one sovereign state with the name China.

In contrast, the Chinese regime stands by its own one-China principle under which Beijing asserts sovereignty over Taiwan. The Chinese regime has a known track record of demanding other governments adopt its principle on Taiwan, which the United States has not accepted.

The United States currently is not a formal diplomatic ally of Taiwan, since Washington changed its diplomatic recognition in favor of Beijing in 1979. Since then, the United States has maintained a non-diplomatic relationship with Taiwan based on the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA). The act authorizes the United States to supply Taiwan with military equipment for the islands self-defense.

Biden also appeared to be referring to a 90-minute phone call he had with Xi on Sept. 9, the first call between the two in seven months, during which the president told his Chinese counterpart that both nations must ensure that competition does not veer into conflict.

In recent days, the Chinese regime has been escalating its military aggression towards the democratic island it claims as its own. Beijing sent 56 warplanes into Taiwans air defense zone on Oct. 4, the largest on record. It capped off four days of provocations involving nearly 150 military aircraft.

The incursions on Monday occurred despite condemnation and a demand to stop the activities issued by the United States a day prior.

The United States is very concerned by the Peoples Republic of Chinas provocative military activity near Taiwan, which is destabilizing, risks miscalculations, and undermines regional peace and stability, State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement on Oct. 3.

We urge Beijing to cease its military, diplomatic, and economic pressure and coercion against Taiwan.

Beijing responded to the mounting criticism on Monday by warning Washington that its arms sales to Taiwan and U.S. warships sailing through the Taiwan Strait would affect bilateral relations.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen warned in an essay published on Oct. 5 that there would be catastrophic consequences for regional peace and democracy if Taiwan fell to the CCP.

Taiwan is on the frontlines of the global contest between liberal democracy and authoritarianism, Tsai wrote, adding that the country is not seeking war and expects peaceful, stable, predictable, and mutually beneficial coexistence with its neighbors.

But if its democracy and way of life are threatened, Taiwan will do whatever it takes to defend itself, Tsai said.

The Chinese Communist Party claims Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to take it by force if necessary. TRA requires that Taiwans future be determined peacefully.

The Epoch Times has contacted the White House and State Department for further clarification on Bidens comments.

Eva Fu, Frank Fang, Dorothy Li, and Katabella Roberts contributed to this report.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey greets the GOP midterm elections watch party after being re-elected in Phoenix, Arizona, on Nov. 6, 2018. (Nicole Neri/Reuters)

Biden Official Warns Arizona It Cant Use Federal Funds to Circumvent School Mask Mandates

The Department of Treasury told Arizonas governor that the state cannot use federal funds to pay for programs designed to circumvent school mask requirements.

Over the summer, Gov. Doug Ducey said that he would provide more funding to schools that remain open for in-person classes and dont require masks for children.

Arizona state programs, which use funds from the American Rescue Plan Act, would undermine evidence-based efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19, Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo warned in a letter to Ducey. The Republican governor now has 30 days to explain how the state could comply or risk losing the funds.

A program or service that imposes conditions on participation or acceptance of the service that would undermine efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19 or discourage compliance with evidence-based solutions for stopping the spread of COVID-19 is not a permissible use of [the] funds, Adeyemo wrote.

The Biden administration is concerned that two recently created Arizona grant programs undermine evidence-based efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19, Adeyemo also wrote.

In August, Ducey started a $163 million grant program using federal funding that makes it only available to schools that dont have mask mandates. He also established a $10 million funding program offering vouchers to families at public schools that require masks or require quarantining.

The $10 million funding, his office said, will provide choice for parents who are facing financial and educational barriers due to unnecessary closures and school mandates and that are not in compliance with the provisions set forth in state law.

In a statement to news outlets on Tuesday, C.J. Karamargin, a spokesperson for Ducey, explained that the grant programs are designed to aid students after school shutdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Following the challenges during the 2020 school year, everyones primary focus should be equipping families with the resources to get their kids caught up, Karamargin said in response to Adeyemos letter, adding that Duceys administration is reviewing the letter and would soon respond. Thats exactly what this program doesgiving families in need the opportunity to access educational resources like tutoring, child care, transportation, and more.

Arizona is one of at least eight states that have laws or executive orders that ban mask mandates in public schools. This year, a number of GOP-led states have also passed laws or used orders to bar the use of vaccine passports or vaccine mandates.

The federal Department of Education in August, meanwhile, opened civil-rights investigations into five Republican-led states that did away with mask mandates in schools, saying their actions could violate the rights of certain students.
Bidens New China Policy: Restrictions Stay for Now

News Analysis

So far, President Joe Biden is keeping most of the Trump-era China policies, including tariffs.

In his first extensive conversation with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Biden said, We will maintain a strong military presence in the Indo-Pacific just as we do with NATO in Europenot to start a conflict but to prevent one [and] America wont back away from our commitment to human rights and fundamental freedoms and to our alliances.

In a press conference, Biden also said that a rising China is the primary threat to the United States. Just as his military policies and general stance on China echo the Trump era, so does his position on trade. So far, the administration has announced no fundamental changes in the U.S.-China trade relations, not even a removal of the tariffs.

According to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, the United States is maintaining a lot of the Trump tariffs, while keeping all options open for future policy. Meanwhile, the administration is calling on China to engage in talks and to stop using state money to subsidize industries such as semiconductors, steel, and others. In line with Tai, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo told NPR that the Chinese need to play by the rules, and the United States needs to hold their feet to the fire.

Tai is seeking a meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He to discuss Chinas failure to meet the terms of the phase 1 trade deal. Expressing hawkish sentiment, Tai told the media that the United States must be protected from damage caused by years of unfair competition. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) fell short of its agreed upon purchases of U.S. goods by 40 percent. At the same time, the CCP continues to restrict American access to many Chinese business sectors, while providing its companies with government protection, soft loans, and subsidies.

Among the many tools in the Biden administrations arsenal is cooperation with other nations. Forming trade blocks and alliances, similar to U.S. military strategy designed to curb the Chinese regime, would provide a good opportunity for the United States to strengthen its relationship with allies around the world. This was evident during the G-7 summit when Biden recommended Europe to take a stronger stance on China trade, demanding that Beijing refrain from non-market economic practices.

Tariffs are another tool. While many U.S. economists denounce tariffs, few, if any, have come up with a workable alternative. Some complain that U.S. consumers actually bear the brunt of the tariffs in the form of higher prices. Others point out that high prices for consumer goods is inconsequential compared to the real problems, namely, national security, economic security, and supply chain stabilityissues that both the Trump and the Biden administrations sought to address through a number of initiatives, including negotiations and tariffs.

Although the Biden administration is looking into reducing tariffs for certain goods, this does not signal a softening on their general China stance. Currently, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is considering launching a Section 301 investigation, under the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2411). The USTR has the responsibilities and authority to investigate when it suspects that U.S. trade interests have been infringed upon. The USTR also has the power to take action to enforce trade agreements. This new investigation into subsidies could result in even more tariffs.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai testifies before the Senate Finance Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 12, 2021. (Pete Marovich/Pool via Reuters)

Another Trump-era policy which the Biden administration has maintained is restrictions, which prevents Chinese companies from gaining access to U.S. technology. Furthermore, the list of Chinese officials being sanctioned for their role in Hong Kongs loss of freedom has also been growing.

One area where the two administrations differ is that the Biden administration has stressed other objectives such as the climate. Beijing has used this as a bargaining tool, signaling that it will only cooperate with Washington on climate issues if the United States lifts its tariffs. So far, it seems that China is not moving toward meeting its 2030 carbon emissions goals. In fact, in 2020, the CCP commissioned 38 gigawatts of new coal-fired power, which is equal to the entire capacity of Germany. With the Chinese economy in a downward spiral, it seems unlikely that Beijing will cut the power it needs for its factories or curb the questionable trade policies it needs to remain competitive.

Of course, the lifting of tariffs is contingent on China changing its trade policies. Tai said she believes China may not change. The CCP has even implemented a Buy China procurement policy, which is expected to funnel $1.5 billion in subsidies into selected sectors over the next five years.

U.S. trade groups support policies that suppress the Chinese regime, but they have been critical of the Biden administrations policies, rightly stating that apart from keeping Trump-era policies, the new administration has been extremely vague about what it actually intends to do or how, exactly, it plans to make China trade fairly.

For the moment, however, the general tone of the trade policy seems to be similar to the Trump administrations, namely, that the Chinese regime has been cheating on trade for decades and the United States will no longer tolerate it.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken attends a meeting with his German counterpart at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Sept. 8, 2021. (Olivier Douliery/Pool via Reuters)

Blinken Calls on Beijing to Cease Provocative Actions Toward Taiwan

The Chinese regime should cease its provocative military maneuvers near Taiwan, which is dangerous and risks miscalculation, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Oct. 6.

The actions weve seen by China are provocative and potentially destabilizing, Blinken told Bloomberg Television in Paris. What I hope is that these actions will cease because there is always the possibility of miscalculation, of miscommunication, and thats dangerous, he said.

Beijing has ramped up military aggression toward the self-ruled island, over which it has for decades sought to claim sovereignty.

Since Oct. 1, an anniversary marking the founding of the Chinese communist regime, Chinese warplanes have flown over the islands air defense zone for five days straight, which on Monday with a record 56 aircraft sent in a single day. The campaign saw 150 military flights dispatched by Beijing.

Provocative actions go in exactly the wrong direction. And its very important that no one take any unilateral actions that change the status quo by force, said Blinken.

We really need to see China cease some of the actions that its taken because they are potentially a source of instability, not stability, he added.

Blinken said in a press conference in Paris the same day that the United States will continue to deepen our ties with a democratic Taiwan.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a closing session at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Developments Ministerial Council Meeting in Paris on Oct. 6, 2021. (Patrick Semansky/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

The United States has a commitment to Taiwan that is rock solid and, over many years, has contributed to the maintenance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and within the region, he told reporters.

Tensions between Taiwan and China have sunk to their worst in 40 years, warned Taiwans defense minister Chiu Kuo-cheng on Wednesday. The island has recorded more than 600 Chinese aircraft in its air defense zone as of Oct. 5, compared to 380 in total during the past year.

Within four years, the regime will be fully capable of mounting an invasion of Taiwan, Chiu said in a parliamentary committee hearing.

For me as a military man, the urgency is right in front of me, he said.

Taiwan was one of the subjects covered during President Joe Bidens Sept. 9 call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Wednesday. She said Biden had reiterated the U.S. resolve to uphold Taiwan Relations Act, a 1979 federal law defining the U.S. policy to maintain an unofficial diplomatic relationship with Taiwan.

Taiwan soldiers exit from a US-made CH-47SD helicopter during military drills in Taoyuan, Taiwan on Oct. 9, 2018. (Photo by Sam Yeh / AFP)

In a press conference two days earlier, Psaki vowed to assist Taiwan in maintaining a sufficient self-defense capability. Like Blinken, she criticized Beijing for undermining regional stability, saying that U.S. officials have been privately conveying clear messages through diplomatic channels.

Over the weekend, the United States, the UK, and Japan together sent four aircraft carriers in a joint six-country drill in the Philippine Sea.

Taiwan has proposed an extra $8.69 billion defense spending to revamp its weaponry, which its defense minister said is necessary in the face of severe threats from Beijing.

The islands president Tsai Ing-wen said there would be catastrophic consequences if democratic Taiwan were to fall into communist Chinas hands.

Taiwan is on the frontlines of the global contest between liberal democracy and authoritarianism, Tsai wrote in an Oct. 5 op-ed for Foreign Affairs magazine.

If Taiwan were to fall, it would signal that in todays global contest of values, authoritarianism has the upper hand over democracy, she said, adding that Taiwan will do whatever it takes to defend its democracy and way of life.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a closing press conference with the secretary-general of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) at the 60th OECD Ministerial Council Meeting in Paris on Oct. 6, 2021. (Ian Langston/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Blinken Tells China to Act Responsibly in Evergrande Crisis

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has urged China to act responsibly in handling the debt crisis of real estate developer China Evergrande Group, warning that the effect of Beijings decisions will resound around the world.

Evergrande, which has more than 1,300 housing projects in about 280 cities, is now the worlds most heavily indebted developer, with more than $300 billion of debt.

Fears of Evergrandes imminent collapse has triggered a market sell-off and invoked speculation that it would lead to a Lehman momentthe idea that the crisis in one large company could send shock waves around the world. When Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy in 2008, it had a contagion effect on other major financial institutions, triggering the United States worst economic disaster since the Great Depression and a global market meltdown.

China has to make sovereign economic decisions for itself, but we also know that what China does economically is going to have profound ramifications, profound effects, on literally the entire world because all of our economies are so intertwined, Blinken said in an Oct. 6 interview with Bloomberg Television in Paris.

So certainly when it comes to something that could have a major impact on the Chinese economy we look to China to act responsibly and to deal effectively with any challenges.

Several more Chinese developers have recently missed payments, prompting fears of broader turmoil in Chinas real estate sector. Fantasia Holdings Group, which like Evergrande is based in Shenzhen, China, failed to make a total of more than $300 million in payments on Oct. 4, causing at least two credit rating agencies to assess its status as nearing default.

Yi Gang, director of Chinas central bank, the Peoples Bank of China, led a meeting last week with top Chinese banking regulators and authorities from the countrys top 24 banks, telling them to focus on stabilizing housing prices and ensure the stable and healthy development of the real estate market.

The logo of China Evergrande is seen outside of the China Evergrande Centre building in Hong Kong on Sept. 23, 2021. (Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

Evergrande has halted trading in Hong Kong, pending a major transaction. Chinese state-affiliated media Cailian Press has reported that Evergrandes rival Hopson Development plans to acquire 51 percent of the indebted companys property services management arm.

The struggles of Evergrande, and that of the real estate sector, typifies the troubles facing the Chinese economy, according to Chinese American author and economic analyst Cheng Xiaonong.

For decades, real estate investment has been a main pillar driving Chinas economic growth. Real estate and construction sectors combined account for around 29 percent of the countrys gross domestic product in 2016, a level comparable to Spain and Ireland before the 2008 financial crisis, according to a 2020 research paper published in the National Bureau of Economic Research.

This real estate binge caused local officials to become ever more dependent on housing construction to meet their economic targets. Local governments have also been heavily borrowing debt to invest in the sector and drive growth, which in part spurred regulators to tighten housing market regulation since 2017, Cheng told NTD, an affiliate of The Epoch Times.

But, as much as authorities try to regulate real estate activities to keep the housing bubble from bursting, its simply a mission impossible, he said.

Evergrande is the first Chinese property giant to collapse, but it wont be the last, he said, stating that following an eventful autumn, the Chinese economy will see a long winter ahead.
Orange County supervisor Katrina Foley cuts the ribbon for the grand opening of Collage Culinary Experience at South Coast Plaza mall in Costa Mesa, Calif., on Oct. 1, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Bloomingdales at South Coast Plaza Holds Grand Opening Celebration After Renovations

COSTA MESA, Calif.Despite fears of a recession, supply chain disruptions, and ongoing COVID-19 restrictions in many other parts of the state, Bloomingdales South Coast Plaza in Orange County recently held a grand opening to celebrate its new Collage Culinary Experience and other new renovations.

The store teamed up with StyleCon for its Eat, Play, Together VIP red-carpet celebration on Oct. 1, with over four hundred guests from the community coming together to be the first to experience the food and beverage offerings of Collage. Live music included a performance by Anatalia Villaranda of American Idol and The Voice.

A special ribbon cutting ceremony was led by Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley, Costa Mesa Mayor John Stephens, Costa Mesa City Councilmembers Manuel Chavez and Jeff Harlan, Collage Culinary Experience founder Morgan Zhang, and Bloomingdales General Manager Preston Antonini.

It is so wonderful to see South Coast Plaza back and vibrant with such a diverse cuisine here, Supervisor Foley told The Epoch Times. Everybody here at Bloomingdales and Collage are doing everything they can to bring tourism back to Orange County and we are just so excited. And its great its owned by someone local, right here in Newport Beach.

The grand opening of Collage Culinary Experience at South Coast Plaza mall in Costa Mesa, Calif., on Oct. 1, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Bloomingdales originally announced the grand opening of its South Coast Plaza store on Sept. 16 after the completion of a year-long renovation of the second floor of the building.

This opening is spectacular, Mayor Stephens told The Epoch Times. Do you know that 300 people line up (at South Coast Plaza) at 11:30 a.m. every day to get in. That type of foot traffic and exposure to Costa Mesa restaurants after the pandemic is something we couldnt even imagine being possible.

Once they are done eating this beautiful food in this beautiful place, where do they go? They go to Bloomingdales, they go to Nordstrom, and they spend money, and it feels amazing, Stephens said. This is a big deal. South Coast Plaza has been doing very well, they were very creative during the pandemic. The first to shut down and the first to think of a way to reopen was South Coast Plaza.

Listed as number 6 in the top 10 most valuable malls in the country, by Compass Point Research & Trading, LLC, South Coast Plaza, owned by Orange Countys Segerstrom Family, had over $1.27 billion in pre-pandemic tenant sales.

Located on two upper and lower floors within Bloomingdales, Collage is a hip culinary hangout showcasing international cuisine, such as the renowned Singapore eatery Paradise Dynasty, which boasts more than 100 world-wide locations.

The grand opening of Collage Culinary Experience at South Coast Plaza mall in Costa Mesa, Calif., on Oct. 1, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Also making its long-awaited United States debut during the event was Mah Jongs by Chef Mike, as well as Le Shrimp Ramen. Additional eateries soon joining Collages collection are Bruxie, Egg LXII, Mochinut, PhoHolic, Churrino, Cha Redefined, and others.

The three days of events around the Collage grand opening included the unveiling of Bloomingdales luxury fragrance hall and fine jewelry pavilion, the first of their kind in Bloomingdales department stores throughout the nation.

On Thursday evening, Alzheimers of Orange County was the chosen non-profit beneficiary of a private one-night only shopping opportunities event where guests enjoyed tastings from the popular South Coast Plaza restaurant, Anqi, along with a live standup comedy show.

The grand opening of Collage Culinary Experience at Bloomingdales at South Coast Plaza mall in Costa Mesa, Calif., on Oct. 1, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

A live show was held on Saturday in Bloomingdales, presented by StyleCon, showcasing trends in international cuisine, beauty, and fashion. The StyleStage was co-hosted by TikTok phenom Leah La Rosa and television and syndicated radio personality Chef Jamie Gwen.

Thousands of shoppers joined the event throughout the day, including more than one hundred social media influencers, and all guests were treated to Collage restaurant tastings.

It is really something to see the community come together in such a big way for the first major post-pandemic event, Bloomingdales general manager Antonini said in a statement, describing the grand opening weekend as signaling the turning of the corner on economic revitalization in Costa Mesa and Orange County as a whole.
Gabrielle Petito, 22, poses for a photo with Brian Laundrie in this undated handout photo. (North Port/Florida Police/Handout via Reuters)

Brian Laundrie Used Gabby Petitos Bank Card in Days After She Disappeared: Attorney

Brian Laundrie used fiance Gabby Petitos bank card in Wyoming just three days after the 22-year-old woman was last seen alive, the Petito family lawyer said Tuesday.

Petito was spotted at a Wyoming restaurant on Aug. 27, while Laundrie returned without her on Sept. 1. Laundrie has since been named a person of interest in the case, and the FBI last month said he was indicted on bank fraud charges.

You can look at his state of mind by his actions, Petito family attorney Richard Stafford told the Dr. Phil show.

Laundrie ran, he stole her credit card, he used her credit card to get home, and then ran from the police, Stafford said. Thats going to show a lot what he was thinking back then.

Stafford later added: I dont know what story hes going to try to tell, but its not going to make any sense when you put it together with his actions from that moment forwardthat hes running, that hes hiding, that hes trying to deceive everybody around him.

Authorities in September accused Laundrie of using an unauthorized card after Petitos death, according to an arrest warrant. They did not say whether it belonged to Petito.

Petitos body was found in the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming on Sept. 19. Her manner of death was later ruled a homicide.

Laundrie was reported missing by his parents on Sept. 17. Authorities are attempting to locate his whereabouts, spending a considerable time searching a wildlife preserve near North Port, Florida.

On Tuesday, Laundrie family attorney Steven Bertolino told news outlets in a statement that upon further communication with the FBI, officials now believe that Laundrie left the house on Sept. 13.

Bertolino also said that Laundrie flew home on Aug. 17, five days after he and Petito were stopped in Moab, Utah, returning back to his parents home in North Port on Aug. 23four days after Petito was last seen alive.

Brian flew home to obtain some items and empty and close the storage unit to save money as they contemplated extending the road trip, he said in a statement.
Goran K Hansson, Permanent Secretary of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, centre, announces the winners of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, in Stockholm, Sweden, on Oct. 6, 2021. (Claudio Bresciani/TT New Agency via AP)

Chemistry Nobel Awarded to 2 Scientists for Building Molecular Construction Tool

The 2021 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded on Wednesday to two professors for developing a new tool for molecular construction that has helped pharmaceutical research and is also more environmentally friendly.

Building molecules is a difficult art, the Nobel Assembly at Swedens Karolinska Institute said in a statement announcing the winners.

Benjamin List and David MacMillan are awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2021 for their development of a precise new tool for molecular construction: organocatalysis, the assembly said. This has had a great impact on pharmaceutical research, and has made chemistry greener.

List, a 53-year-old German professor who is the head of the Max Planck Institute, along with Scottish-born MacMillan, who is also a 53-year-old professor but works at Princeton University in the United States, independently discovered a third type of catalysis in the year 2000. The technique they discovered is called asymmetric organocatalysis.

Benjamin List  awarded the #NobelPrize in Chemistry  wondered whether an entire enzyme was really required to obtain a catalyst. He tested whether an amino acid called proline could catalyse a chemical reaction. It worked brilliantly. pic.twitter.com/YXpA0RnbPm  The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 6, 2021

2021 #NobelPrize laureate David MacMillan worked with metal catalysts that were easily destroyed by moisture. He wondered whether he could develop a more durable type of catalyst using simple organic molecules. One of these proved to be excellent at asymmetric catalysis. pic.twitter.com/yEThOzVwuD  The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 6, 2021

The pairs work has improved chemists ability to drive catalysis, a slow chemical reaction that can occur when two different molecules are formed, where one is a mirror image of the other. Before asymmetric catalysis, man-made catalyzed substances would often contain not only the desired molecule but also its unwanted mirror image.

The Nobel Committee for Chemistry has described organocatalysis as a new and ingenious tool for molecule building. The technique has also helped in the development of plastics, perfumes, and flavors.

This concept for catalysis is as simple as it is ingenious, and the fact is that many people have wondered why we didnt think of it earlier, said Johan Aqvist, who is the chair of the committee.

Catalysts are molecules that remain stable while enabling or speeding up chemical reactions performed in labs or large industrial reactors. Before the laureates breakthrough findings at the turn of the millennium, only certain metals and complex enzymes were known to do the trick.

This undated photo, provided by Princeton University, shows David W.C. MacMillan, one of two scientists who won the Nobel Prize for chemistry on Oct. 6, 2021. (Princeton University/ Sameer A. Khan via AP)

This undated photo provided on Oct. 6, 2021, by the German Max-Plank-Society shows the German scientist Benjamin List. (Frank Vinken, Max-Plank-Society via AP)

Many research areas and industries are dependent on chemists ability to construct molecules that can form elastic and durable materials, store energy in batteries or inhibit the progression of diseases, the assembly said.

Organocatalysis has developed at an astounding speed since 2000, it added. Using these reactions, researchers can now more efficiently construct anything from new pharmaceuticals to molecules that can capture light in solar cells. In this way, organocatalysts are bringing the greatest benefit to humankind.

The prestigious Nobel award comes with a gold medal and prize money of 10 million Swedish crowns (more than $1.14-million). The money comes from a bequest left by the prizes creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel, who died in 1895.

The chemistry award is the third of this years crop of Nobel prizes and follows the prizes for medicine and physics.

Reuters contributed to this report.

From NTD News
A person walks past flags outside the United Nations headquarters in New York City on May 20, 2021. (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)

China Seeks UN Crackdown on Internet Freedom

Regular citizens must protect their internet freedoms from China, the UN

News Analysis

Democracies are failing to oppose Beijings unprecedented plan to restrict the worlds internet freedom.

Beijings proposal to rewrite internet rules and reengineer its plumbing, supposedly to achieve security at 6G speeds, might lead to more censorship by dictatorships, the BBC told lawmakers in Britain.

China is currently promoting a new method of managing internet traffic that will, if successful, provide an easy means to inhibit the flow of international media, according to the BBC.

Those plans also include a requirement for users around the world to register for internet use. They could then be deregistered according to the will of governments.

The BBCs warning came in evidence submitted to the UK Parliaments Foreign Affairs Select Committee. The Chinese proposal would radically change internet standards and has a high probability of passing the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), which is a United Nations agency that regulates information and communication technologies.

Chinese and Russian state media currently have free access to Western markets, but the proposed U.N. internet rules could stifle users access to Western media far beyond Chinas borders. International media that manage to leap Chinas digital firewall are a critical counterweight to the fake news fed to citizens in countries such as China that have access to few other Western outlets.

The groups proposing internet restrictions include Chinas Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Huawei, and other Chinese state-run companies. In promotional materials provided to the ITU, they label the draconian restrictions with nondescript names such as New IP (internet protocol) and future vertical communication networks.

Beijing proponents argue that giving governments greater control over internet traffic will build in security, and optimize network speeds and efficiency for technologies such as virtual and augmented reality. Current internet protocols, designed for academic and military use, they argue, are outdated.

Huawei representatives proposed that national governments take control of the internet from its current owners: everybody and anybody with a server. They attempted to wow ITU representatives with images of life-sized holograms and self-driving cars when they first presented the idea, which lacked technical details, in 2019.

China proposes itself, of course, to build this New IP for a brave new world, which is central to the regimes digital foreign policy. The Financial Times in 2020 paraphrased a Huawei representative claiming that it is leading an ITU group that is focused on future network technology needed by the year 2030, and [the] New IP is being tailored to meet those demands.

Attendees walk past a display for 5G services from Chinese technology firm Huawei at the PT Expo in Beijing, on Oct. 31, 2019. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo)

Some argue that the unregulated internet is currently controlled by Americas big tech companies, including Apple, Google, Facebook, and Amazon. So a shift from this unregulated system that Americans dominate to a regulated system that China might dominate would be a major loss to democracy and decentralization on a global scale. Even if China doesnt dominate the internet, the new regulations it proposes could empower governments at the expense of citizens.

The US, UK and Europe, for example, are interested in adapting the current system to introduce more regulatory power, and give intelligence agencies greater access to users personal data, according to the Financial Times (FT).

This might explain the failure of leading democracies to oppose Beijings illiberal ideas for a future internet. They themselves are looking for ways to narrow privacy protections that could help them enforce laws, for example, against terrorism.

Another explanation for the failure of the West to defy Beijings plans for the national balkanization of the internet is that Western governments may be powerless against Beijings proposal, other than to sanction its proponents economically. The unregulated nature of the global internet makes the web into a power vacuum waiting for authoritarian governments to fill.

According to the FT, sources who were present at ITU meetings in 2019 and 2020 claimed that Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Russia have previously shown support for Chinese proposals for alternative network technologies. Furthermore, the proposals revealed that the blueprints for this new network have already been drawn up, and construction is underway. Any country will be free to adopt it, the report said.

Ultimately, national capitals control the data pipes through which the internet flows. The West allows free data flow, but China is innovating controls on that data that can be adopted by other countries.

According to experts from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies: Intrinsic security means that individuals must register to use the internet, and authorities can shut off an individual users internet access at any time. In short, Huawei is looking to integrate Chinas social credit, surveillance, and censorship regimes into the internets architecture.

The BBC made the point that many nations, including the UK, werent vocally opposing the measure, which China could get passed through its checkbook diplomacy among most nations at the U.N. Western media sometimes falls into repeating CCP talking points on the issue, which demonstrates the BBCs concerns.

In 2020, FT reporters wrote, Governments everywhere seem to agree that todays model of internet governanceessentially, lawless self-regulation by private, mostly American companiesis broken.

Really? Then governments everywhere need to get schooled on the importance of freedom of speech and democracy. America currently leads in the defense of these principles, in an admittedly weak fashion, but more thoroughly than most European and Asian democracies.

In sum, the CCP seeks to export its censorship of the internet globally and make money in the process. Democracies arent doing their job, which is to protect the freedoms for which their founders fought and died.

Regular citizens must step up and pressure their governments to more aggressively defend their internet freedoms. Citizens in democracies are lucky enough to have the option today to accelerate the use of the very free speech that they are about to lose tomorrow.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Visitors look at the Chinese militarys J-16D electronic warfare airplane (left) and the KJ-500 airborne early warning and control aircraft (right) during the 13th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, China, on Sept. 29, 2021. (Ng Han Guan/AP Photo)

Chinas New Airliner: A No-Show at the Airshow

News Analysis

The Zhuhai Airshow is Chinas biannual event intended to showcase its aerospace industry. One important aerospace product, however, was noteworthy for its absence: the C919.

The event was held in late September, after being postponed by COVID-19 last year. No foreign visitors were permitted, but it was heavily covered in the international press.

Beijing particularly likes to use the airshow to highlight Chinas growing self-reliance in aviation and aerospace. This years event included new electronic warfare aircraft, new drones, and powerful, new heavy-duty rockets intended to take a manned mission to the moon.

The C919 is Chinas latest entry into the passenger jet business. Its nonappearance is significant since Beijing has so much riding on this plane.

The C919 is Chinas torchbearer for breaking into the big boys club of commercial aircraft production. It is a 160-seat narrow-body jet, roughly in the same category as the Boeing 737 and the Airbus A320, two workhorses of the skies. It is being developed and built by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), a state-owned company created in 2008 to take charge of national passenger jet development.

COMAC predicted in 2012 that it would conduct the first flight of the C919 in 2014 and begin deliveries by 2016.

That hasnt happened. In fact, the C919 did not fly until 2017, and it has yet to enter full-rate production.

Chinas commercial aerospace industry has historically overpromised and underdelivered. Its first attempt to develop a passenger jet, initiated by Mao Zedong in the 1970s, was the Y-10. This aircraft was basically a clone of the Boeing 707, a few of which China acquired in the early 1970s. The Y-10 flew a couple of times in the early 1980s and then was quietly shelved amid rumors that it was overweight and poorly balanced, and that if improperly loaded it would fall back on its tail.

Chinas next effort was the ARJ21, a 90-seat regional jet designed for short-haul flights. Initiated in the early 2000s, it faced numerous delays and did not enter service until 2016; even then, only about 60 ARJ21s have been built. Noted aviation industry expert Richard Aboulafia called the aircraft stunningly obsolete.

The ARJ21 is too small for most Chinese air routes, while the countrys growing high-speed rail network is cutting into short-haul air traffic. Not surprisingly, therefore, the larger Chinese airlines, such as Air China and China Southern, have resisted buying the plane, and there are only firm orders for perhaps 225 ARJ21s.

The C919 isnt much of a step up. According to Aboulafia, it features no new technology, nor is it more fuel efficient. There is, he said, no technological selling point for this jet.

Chinas first self-developed large passenger jetliner C919 is presented after it rolled off the production line at Shanghai Aircraft Manufacturing Co. in Shanghai, China, on Nov. 2, 2015. (VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

The C919 is believed to have already cost China over $20 billion, and it has missed its milestones for first flight and first deliveries by three years. In addition, neither it nor the ARJ21 has yet been awarded airworthiness certification by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), without which it is almost impossible to sell the airliners outside of China.

So far, in fact, nearly all the orders for the C919 and ARJ21 have come from Chinese airlines, making it highly likely that Beijing strong-armed these companies into buying the planes. The first airline to receive the ARJ21, for example, was Chengdu Airlines, which is partly owned by COMAC.

Moreover, perhaps only a third of the orders for these aircraft are firm. The rest are either optionsthat is, nonbinding purchase agreementsor unconfirmed orders.

All this may hardly matter to Beijing, however. Economic nationalism and pride are mainly driving the C919 and ARJ21. The decision to enter into the large commercial aircraft market was made at the very top, by the State Council of China and by the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

COMAC is the very embodiment of aeronautical patriotism, and it views the production of large commercial aircraft as its contribution to Xi Jinpings China dream.

In addition, COMAC and the C919 are part of Chinas gigantic and inefficient state-owned enterprises (SOE) system. This Big SOE approach is increasingly favored by the CCP, and consequently billions are being poured into an airliner program with few prospects for global success.

Therefore, the C919 is basically a huge vanity project for Xi and the CCP. Great nations must have their own airliners. Furthermore, as Aboulafia has put it, incompetent autocrats love huge national passenger airliner projects, and only autocratic regimes have the ability to allocate resources to national jetliners without anyone questioning why.

Some have even called the C919 a practice airplane, intended to build up Chinas skills in designing and manufacturing commercial aircraft. If so, then it, along with the ARJ21, is a rather expensive way to climb up the learning curve. When does China actually build something marketable?

In all likelihood, China will eventually sell a lot of C919s. Even if only Chinese airlines buy it, the domestic aviation market is huge (Boeing estimates that China could spend up to US$3 trillion on nearly 8,100 new planes by 2038). And Beijing is prepared to throw a lot of money at commercial aircraft development, despite COMACs inefficiencies and lack of experience in designing and engineering large passenger planes.

In fact, Beijing is putting a lot of emphasis on COMAC and the C919 because it lacks experience and expertise. Aboulafia has termed the C919 Chinas divorce jet. Currently, the C919 relies on Western companies to supply such critical items as flight controls, landing gear, thrust reversers, and especially jet engines. These systems, however, are increasingly subject to export restrictions, which has slowed the C919 program.

Consequently, Beijing is using the C919 to promote homegrown solutions like CJ1000 turbofan engine and nacelles. This strategy may eventually workand money appears to be no objectbut it will make the aircraft even harder to sell overseas.

If Beijing succeeds in forcing its domestic airlines to buy the C919 (and subsequent Chinese-made passenger jets), the Chinese passenger jet sector could ultimately be a success in terms of numbers, if not in commercial viability. For now, however, the industry is a no-show.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
People pose for photos among a field of cosmos flowers in a car park before high-rise apartment buildings in Goyang, west of Seoul on Sept. 22, 2020. (Ed Jones / AFP via Getty Images)

Chinese Man Acquires Upscale South Korean Real Estate Amid Restrictive Loan Measures

While the South Korean Government tightens its mortgage rules to mitigate its growing household debt, a 33-year-old Chinese national purchased a luxury penthouse apartment worth 8.9 billion won ($7.51 million) in Seouls upscale district with 100 percent of the purchase price coming through a bank loan, drawing widespread concern.

South Koreas household debts have continued to rise due to the prolonged CCP virus pandemic. To prevent excessive loans from causing an economic crisis, the South Korean government has implemented restrictive measures on loans, making it extremely difficult to obtain mortgage loans for both citizens and foreigners. Since 2019, it has been impossible to acquire mortgage loans from South Korean banks when purchasing real estate of more than 1.5 billion won ($1.25 million) in high speculation areas designated by the government, such as Gangnam District. Foreign banks operating in South Korea must also comply with the rules.

According to the office of Rep. So Byeong-hoon of the Democratic Party of Korea on Oct. 1, a 33-year-old Chinese man, Mr. A (real name undisclosed), bought a 4,391 square foot penthouse apartment in the Samsung Tower Palace in Dogok-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

The Samsung Tower Palace consists of seven towers, lettered AG, built in the early 2000s. They range from 4272 floors and are all used as luxury residential complexes. They are known as commercial and residential apartments for wealthy buyers. Mr. A purchased a duplex apartment with a lower floor of 2,616 square feet and an upper floor of 1,774 square feet. It is one of the few penthouses.

The incident caused widespread concern among South Koreans because the financing plan submitted by Mr. A to the Gangnam District government stated that the purchase price was entirely made up of bank loans, and no cash was involved.

However, supposing foreigners receive loans from an overseas bank, they would not be supervised under the South Korean financial authorities and domestic laws when acquiring Korean real estate. Therefore, many South Korean media speculated that Mr. A may have received a bank loan from overseas.

The growing controversy is that the South Korean financial authorities have no way to regulate foreign banks loans when they do not operate in South Korea. Loans obtained by foreigners from their foreign banks are usually processed in accordance with the laws of the other country.

Large Quantities of South Korean Real Estate Acquired by Foreigners, Mainly Chinese

In addition, on Sept. 29, Kim Ju-young, a Democratic Party member and a member of the South Korean National Assemblys Strategy and Finance Committee, released data obtained from its National Tax Service. The data showed that from 2017 to May of 2021, Chinese nationals purchased 13,573 properties in South Korea, totaling over 3.16 trillion won ($2.64 billion).

Foreigners purchase of South Korean real estate is increasing every year. According to Assemblyman Hong Kee-wons office, foreigners domestic housing purchases rose from 5,713 in 2016 to 8,756 in 2020. As of August this year, 1,961 foreigners owned two or more properties in South Korea, of which 26 foreigners owned ten or more properties. Among foreigners who have bought property in South Korea over the past five years, Chinese buyers accounted for the largest number with 67.1 percent, followed by Americans with 17 percent.

Hong emphasized that it is very abnormal for foreigners to own more than ten properties in South Korea when it is difficult for South Koreans to purchase a home due to restrictions on loans. For the situation where foreigners own multiple houses, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport (MOLIT) needs to establish a detection and data collection system for issues such as high-priced acquisitions that cause price speculation chaos in the real estate market, Hong added.
Members of the Supreme Court pose for a group photo at the Supreme Court in Washington on April 23, 2021. 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. (Erin Schaff/Pool/Getty Images)

Civil Liberties Group Tells Commission to Reject Lefts Supreme Court Packing

A Texas-based civil liberties group delivered a letter and petition telling the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States (PCSCUS) that it should reject proposals to expand the nations highest tribunal to make it more amenable to progressive legislation to expand the federal government.

Since our countrys founding, the Constitution has stood as a bulwark against threats to liberty and fundamental rights. Time and again, courts have protected Americanssmall and great alikefrom government overreach and the silencing of dissent, Kelly Shackelford, president and chief executive of the Plano, Texas-based First Liberty Institute (FLI), wrote in a Sept. 15 letter made public on Oct. 6.

The letter was addressed to professors Bob Bauer and Christina Rodriquez, co-chairs of the PCSCUS. President Joe Biden appointed the PCSCUS in April to study proposals to expand the Supreme Court from its current nine members to as many as 13.

Biden described the purpose of the PCSCUS as to closely study measures to improve the federal judiciary, including those that would expand access the court system.

Many Democrats in the most liberal wing of the party want to expand the high court in the hope that doing so will prevent its current 63 conservative majority from ruling as unconstitutional proposals to expand the federal governments authority and powers.

If politically motivated schemes to reform the Supreme Court are successful, the judiciary will no longer be a safeguard of our civil liberties. Instead, it will be little more than a political tool of the executive and legislative branches used to crush the freedom of all Americans, the letter stated.

Current discussions of court reform are transparent, partisan plots designed to achieve purely political objectives through the use of raw power. The commission should reject such reforms that attack the integrity of our courts and open the door to the demise of our freedoms.

Signing the letter along with Shackelford was a lengthy list of top officials from conservative and evangelical Christian nonprofits and advocacy groups, including Franklin Graham of Samaritans Purse, former Attorney General Edwin Meese, Heritage Foundation President Kay James, Dr. James Dobson, L. Brent Bozell of the Media Research Center, Katherine Glenn of Americans United for Life, Star Parker of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education, Tim Wildmon of the American Family Association, and Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council.

Attached to the letter were the signatures of more than 402,000 Americans collected from FLIs supremecoup.com website. A spokesman for FLI told The Epoch Times the group spent many hours de-duping the names.

The letter referenced the 1937 controversy when President Franklin D. Roosevelt considered a proposal to expand the high court to as many as 15 judges. The letter quoted the Senate Judiciary Committees Sen. Burton K. Wheeler, a Montana Democrat, who rejected Roosevelts proposal, saying create now a political court to echo the ideas of the executive and you have created a weapon  that can extinguish your right of liberty, of speech, of thought, of action, and of religion.

The letter also quoted the Senate committees conclusion that independent courts are the last safeguard of the citizen, where his rights, reserved to him by the express and implied provision of the Constitution, come in conflict with the power of governmental agencies.

The United States isnt the only country that has dealt with controversy about the proper number of judges on a nations highest court, according to the letter.

International experience readily demonstrates the dangers posed when political branches influence or seize control of the judiciary. In Hungary, Poland, Turkey, and Venezuela, governments packed their courts, weakening the judiciary and strengthening the political power of the executive branch. Such reforms proved fatal, eventually undermining each nations constitutional system, the letter stated.

In the case of Venezuela, the letter noted, then-President Hugo Chavez succeeded in expanding that nations supreme court to 34 from 20 justices.

Soon thereafter, he added another 14, thereby more than doubling the courts size. In more than 45,000 total rulings since the political expansion of the nations judiciary, the Venezuelan high court has issued zero rulings critical of the Chavez or [the succeeding Nicolas] Maduro regimes, the letter stated.

The letter also noted multiple recent polls showing public opposition to court expansion, ranging from 61 percent to 74 percent.

Most Americans (63 percent) view the [PCSCUS] primarily as a partisan proposal to increase political power. Indeed, the American public regularly views the judiciary as the more trustworthy and reasonable of the separate and equal branches of our republic, the letter stated.

A White House press office spokesman didnt immediately respond to The Epoch Times request for comment.
Codependent?

This toxic relationship dynamic can undermine a healthy connection

Codependency was a popular topic of discussion not so many years ago, and although out of the spotlight today, it hasnt gone anywhere.

Codependency refers to an excessive emotional or psychological reliance on a partner. And while spoken of infrequently today, its still here. Its a sneaky and deceptive quirk that can affect marriages and any relationships in which we humans find ourselves.

Codependency works behind the scenes and often goes unnoticed as the source of a relationship malfunction. If not stopped in its tracks, it can destroy a relationship. Fortunately, it cant exist within a healthy relationship. It runs counter to the healthy interdependence two mature people create with each other. And if we want healthy relationships, we owe it to ourselves to understand how codependency works and how to remove ourselves far from it.

A Hard Lesson

Marriage and all other relationships are renewed when you stop being a codependent person. I didnt accomplish this feat until my husband stopped berating me, and I stopped letting himbecause marriage is a two-way street.

Everyone said it was a match made in heaven, and indeed it seemed to be. I was an innocent 19-year-old maiden when I first laid eyes on him: a dashing young European gentleman standing across the room from me. His name was Brian, and I loved him at first sight. I know he loved me too. We immediately began a storybook romance, and we were married six months later. I settled in to live happily ever after with him, a perfect husband, an ideal lifenaturally complete with a white picket fence and 2.5 kids.

Soon after we married, Brians deep-seated anger began to erupt. Seething with wrath, he lined up a series of demands for me, most of which were insignificant. What had just happened? What had I done to make him mad at me?

When I failed to meet his demands like he thought I should, he exploded in a fit of rage. Even worse, when I did fulfill his requirements, he forgot he had even demanded them of me. I later learned that his anger was rooted in the unforgiven experiences of childhood, namely his dad treating him with the same anger that he was pouring on me.

He told me that I never wanted to do the things he liked to do, and when I tried to learn about them, he sabotaged my efforts.

He said he liked nothing about the things that were dear to me. Consequently, I buried or severely camouflaged my God-given gifts and talents so that I could sit on my rear with him while he watched TV. Did this make him happy? No, he didnt even notice.

The things he demanded were so ridiculous that I hesitate to mention them, but so that you get the picture:

I had to wear my waist-length hair down with no barrettes or scrunchies, even in the heat of summer, while he loved ponytails and braids on other women.

If the expression on my face wasnt what he thought it should be, he would criticize me and say I didnt care or didnt believe whatever he had said.

He would tell me what I was thinking and then be angry at what he thought I thought.

Enough about him; now about me: How could I react to that? How did I react? I did the only thing that I thought would help, the only thing I knew to do.

I tried to meet every demand, and I changed myself from the inside out, including my appearance and God-given personality, so that I might give him what he wanted. Surely that would make him happy, I thought. It didnt. Instead, I was dying a slow death because of what I was doing to myself.

Ours had become the classic codependent relationship. I was addicted to Brian and psychologically dependent on him in an unhealthy way. He had become addicted to self-destructive behavior because of his unresolved anger and inability to forgive his father. I reinvented myself to be who he expressed he wanted me to be.

We were both about to crash and burn if something didnt change. Brian somehow had to forgive his father. He had to face what his anger was doing first of all to him, then to me, and ultimately to every relationship in his life. He had no close male friendships, and if one started to develop, he demolished it by finding all sorts of things wrong with the other person. I had to learn to stop responding to Brians sarcasm and meanness in a way that was toxic to me. Although I sincerely wanted to help him be happy and peaceful, my reactions to his destructive behavior, far from helping him, were instead enabling him to keep it up.

Was this match made in heaven? I am blessed to say, Yes, it was! Once we got past the sickness of codependency, our marriage blossomed into something fresh and new, even better than in the beginning!

Please, take my story to heart and let it help you and, if necessary, change you. You are too precious to squelch or ignore the fantastic gifts that you possess. Dont feed into a codependent relationship, build a true and open connection. Forgive and be forgiven. We are all flawed individuals, and we mess up regularly. However, that deep-rooted anger and hurt from childhood must be forgiven. Our own anxieties and insecurities need to also be resolved. If we need counseling or any help, its available for us. You must be your true self and live your life to the fullest.
Chinese women stand in front of a large Communist Party logo at a ceremony marking the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party, at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, on July 1, 2021. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

Conservative College Student Group Suspended for Handing out Meme Stickers Mocking CCP

Emerson College has suspended a conservative student group after its members handed out stickers that ridicule the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

According to the Emerson chapter of Turning Point USA, the group is under investigation for allegedly violating the schools code of conduct after an event on Sept. 29, during which stickers featuring a hammer and sickle with the caption CHINA KINDA SUS were distributed on the Boston, Massachusetts, campus.

Sus, which is short for suspicious, is an expression used in popular online game Among Us, where players have to actively look out for any suspicious behavior in order to identify the impostor who is sabotaging a spaceship and killing unsuspecting crew members.

The sticker thus portrays the CCP as the impostor whose suspicious behaviors must be made known to the international community before any nation falls victim to the communist regime. The sarcastic meme, however, has been interpreted by some Emerson students and administrators as promoting hatred toward people of Chinese or Asian descent.

It has come to my attention that several individuals were distributing stickers yesterday that included anti-Chinese messaging that is inconsistent with the Colleges values and will not be tolerated on our campus, Emersons Interim President William Gilligan said in a Sept. 30 letter to the campus community.

At this time in particular, when there has been a rise in anti-Asian sentiment, it is important to denounce all instances of anti-Asian bigotry and hate, and affirm our support and solidarity with the Asian and Asian-American community on campuses and around the world, he added.

Emersons Office of International Student Affairs has also sent out an email consoling foreign students about the incident. In the message obtained by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), the office alleged that the TPUSA stickers expressed anti-China hate and vowed to stand with students from China to denounce the use of free speech platforms for statements that are used as xenophobic weapons.

In response to the outrage, the TPUSA Emerson posted a video to Instagram, clarifying that the stickers are meant to criticize Chinas communist regime, and have nothing to do with Asian ethnicity or Asian culture.

The sticker intends to criticize the Chinese government, the regime responsible for the largest genocide in the world right now, said TPUSA Vice President Kjersten Lynum, who identifies as Chinese-Singaporean. The sticker contains the symbol of the Chinese Communist Party, which should make it obvious that its about the tyrannical party that rules China, not the people who live or come from that country.

FIRE, an advocacy group focusing on First Amendment rights on college campuses, voiced support for the TPUSA Emerson, arguing that while the private institution doesnt have a constitutional burden, it should drop the investigation and reaffirm its commitment of free expression.

Criticism of governments is core political expression protected by principles of free expression that Emerson pledges to uphold, the organization wrote in a letter to Emerson.

In response to a request for comment, the Emerson College said it takes these matters seriously, and is addressing reports of the events on campus.
US Constitutional focus groups gather in Asheville, North Carolina in July to discuss their constitutional rights in the wake of increasing local mandates. (Photo by Matt McGregor)

Constitution Focus Groups Form in North Carolina to Question Local Governments Authority

'School boards being misled' into making draconian mandates, says legal expert.

Amid a climate of tightening restrictions, mandates, and dwindling freedoms, U.S. Constitution focus groups have formed to sort through much of what has gone unchallenged until last year, when a growing number of people began asking if what the government is doing is legal.

As the U.S. Constitution has been reinterpreted over time, the teaching of it has diminished in the classroom, leaving the average person having little understanding of how it applies to ones own rights.

Though the initial document was written for We the People, today it seems only experts are able to untangle the legal knots surrounding our liberties.

North Carolina Citizens for Constitutional Rights

Thats where Matthew Ceradini, with Ceradini Law in Raleigh, North Carolina, comes in. He represents the North Carolina Citizens for Constitutional Rights, an organization formed in February.

We believe in We the People over political agendas because its the political agendas of the past that got us into this mess, one of the founders, Lynn Hoosier, said on the purpose of the group. People are fed up with the lies.

An inhumane standard is being forced upon society, Hoosier said, reflecting the mechanisms of communism and socialism.

As a grandfather and a father, I refuse to let that happen while Im still breathing, Hoosier said.

Plan of Action

In a Zoom meeting on Friday, Ceradini, Hoosier, and group members met to discuss a legal plan of action against what they determined as governmental overreach, focusing on school boards where nationwide, lines have been drawn in the sand over mask requirements, with parents who challenge the mandates now targets of the Justice Department.

Ceradini explained the content of what he referred to as an open information letter (pdf) he sent to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and the chairperson of school boards in North Carolina.

The letter questions the StrongSchoolsNC Public Health Toolkit (K-12) guidelines adopted by many school boards.

The letter also questions the policies the toolkit alleges will reduce the spread of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus, the pathogen that causes COVID-19.

Conclusory Statements

One of the many problems with the toolkit is its word salad of undefined terms and conclusory statements, Ceradini said.

In legal terms, a conclusory statement that presupposes the facts without actually substantiating the facts, Ceradini said. In this toolkit, there are a bunch of conclusory statements without saying that these things prevent COVID-19, but there is no real reference to the material associated with this document.

Though it links to the CDC website, the toolkit never answers questions as to why these actions need to be taken, how effective they are, and what level of threat is being mitigated, Ceradini said.

Instead, it puts what I call overly burdensome policies onto the school board to make a decision about whether or not they are going to adopt it, Ceradini said.

If the school board doesnt adopt the policy, as the Union County School Board had chosen not to do, it gets threatened with legal action by the NC Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS).

Guidelines, or Orders?

The NCDHHS has the authority to quarantine and implement control measures for communicable diseases under the North Carolina statute. However, the statute itself says the NCDHHS must issue an order, Ceradini said.

But the current guidelines issued by the NCDHHS are not orders, Ceradini said. They are recommendations.

Thats what we are driving at here: the state is trying to get the school board to do the states job, Ceradini said. But the state should be the entity assessing the risk and implementing control measures in the least restrictive manner because it is really stepping on a lot of constitutional rights and liberties.

Under the pretense that the pandemic is an emergency, these measures are being accepted by some. However, Ceradini said there are many studies that contradict, or dont support, what the toolkit is claiming as safe and effective policy.

I like to think of it as the school boards being misled into making these decisions, Ceradini said. Maybe it wasnt intentional that they are violating the statute, but, nevertheless, they are, and now that they know that they are, we expect them to make appropriate decisions based on the factual information we provide in the letter.

An Education System Federalized

In his research, Ceradini said, hes found patterns in which states, by implementing certain policies, get access to billions of dollars of COVID-19 relief aid from the federal government.

Obviously, under constitutional law, if you take federal money, you must abide by the terms of the federal government that gives you the money, Ceradini said. In this caseand I am speculating on thisbut I can almost guarantee that its a requirement that each school implement CDC guidelines for COVID-19.

The federal money allows for the local school boards to be unaccountable to their constituents, he said, because then the boards no longer depend on tax dollars.

Its a way of federalizing our state education system, and thats a violation of the North Carolina Constitution because, under that law, the state is supposed to be providing education to the students, not ceding its authority up to a different body.

The implications of this suggest that the federal government can step in and buy off local politicians, he said.

Its unethical, and in some waysyet to be provencriminal, Ceradini said.

The authority of the NCDHHS should be exercised for these control measures (masks, testing, and quarantines) when all other reasonable means have been exhausted, Ceradini said.

This is the part they are violating here: they have not exhausted all other reasonable means, and they have not gone with less restrictive alternatives, have they? Ceradini said. No. It was just a blanket adoption of CDC policy.

Its Not Complicated

Ceradini later told The Epoch Times that the Constitution was not meant to be complicated.

Though the supreme court has adopted broad interpretations, in other instances, it has upheld the documents original meaning, despite the change in times.

There are two camps of interpretation, he said: the originalists versus the living constitutionalists.

Im in the originalist camp and believe the Constitution is fundamentally a contract with and between the people of the country, Ceradini said. To change a contract you need an amendment, which is exactly how our Constitution operates. Thus, when the government acts outside of the Constitution, they are in breach of the public trust.

Under contract law, when one party breaches a contract, it relieves the non-breaching party of further performance, which, he said, is where we are right now.

My goal is to obtain a legal finding that the laws of the country have been breached, to enjoin the breaching parties from committing further breaches, and to obtain accountability for the damages caused by those unlawful actions, Ceradini said.

Philosophically and practically, the government is the administrator of the peoples rights, and its role is to handle areas of common concern for society where empowered to do so.

When government acts outside of those enumerated powers, it does so without authority, and actions taken under these circumstances are void from the beginning.

Undeserved Credibility

The only reason these government agencies currently appear to have the authority, Ceradini said, is because we comply.

When we comply with unlawful acts we give them undeserved credibility, Ceradini said. If we continue to do so then we will lose our rights and slip into tyranny. Thus, it is critical that we not comply, resist unlawful edicts made under color of law, and hold those committing the wrongful acts accountable.
A view of security officers near the site of a shooting onboard Amtrak, in Tucson, Ariz., on Oct. 4, 2021. (@evancourtney/via Reuters)

DEA Agent Killed in Shooting at Arizona Train Station

A Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent was killed and two other law enforcement officers were injured in a shooting aboard an Amtrak train in Tucson on Monday, officials said.

One suspect was in custody while another one died in the shooting that erupted during a routine check at the downtown Tucson transportation hub by officers with a regional drug task force, Tucson Police Department Chief Chris Magnus told a news conference.

None of trains passengers and no bystanders were injured as the incident unfolded, he added.

I just think its kind of incredible here that there werent other people that were hurt, Magnus said.

Authorities did not identify the DEA agent killed in the shooting. Among the members of law enforcement agencies injured was a DEA agent, as well as an officer with the Tucson Police Department, authorities said.

As officers boarded the train on Monday morning, they made contact with two individuals on the second level of a double-decker car on the stationary Amtrak train, Magnus said.

As they detained one, a second suspect pulled a handgun and opened fire on law enforcement. The man later barricaded himself in one of the cars bathrooms, where he was found dead, the chief said.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Senator Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) attends a Senate Administration and Rules Committee mark up business meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, May 11, 2021. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

Democrats Suggest Unorthodox Plans to Address Debt Ceiling

As Republicans and Democrats continue to duke it out over raising the debt ceiling, some in the majority party are considering bold, unorthodox ways to address the situation.

Since August, Republicans have definitively rejected aiding Democrats in raising the debt ceiling. In a petition signed by forty-six Senate Republicans, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) explained that Republicans would not aid Democrats in their unprecedented deficit spending spree, and challenged the party to raise the debt limit on their own.

In a letter to President Joe Biden, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), a signatory of the petition, defended he and other Republicans refusal to help Democrats to raise the debt limit, blasting congressional Democratic leadership for their partisanship.

McConnell claimed that Democrats inherited bipartisan trends from COVID relief to appropriations but have chosen to govern alone.Democrats have broken that spirit, McConnell wrote, with another staggering taxing and spending spree without any Republican input or support.

He added, Bipartisanship is not a light switch that Speaker Pelosi and Leader Schumer may flip on to borrow money and flip off to spend it.

For two and a half months, we have simply warned that since your party wishes to govern alone, it must handle the debt limit alone as well, wrote McConnell, demanding that Democrats use the often partisan reconciliation process.

During a Sept. 27 vote on a bill that included provisions to increase the debt ceiling, Republicans backed up their promises with action and filibustered the bill by denying it the 60 votes needed to open debate.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told reporters Wednesday that he saw no way for the bill to pass without going through the reconciliation process.

But this is a course of action Democrats have been hesitant to take. At the beginning of September, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) rejected proposals to include the debt ceiling in the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill. After Republicans Sept. 27 vote, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called the option a non-starter.

Now, as the mid-October deadline to raise the debt ceiling draws closer, Democrats are scrambling for a solution to the problem as Republicans re-up their challenge, threatening to filibuster any bill that is not advanced with the reconciliation process.

Democrats Consider the Nuclear Option to Avoid Filibuster

One proposed solution to the problem of continued Republican resistance has been the so-called nuclear option, a parliamentary procedure that allows the Senates rules to be changed by a simple majority.

Under Senate rules, most types of legislation must be approved by 60 members of the upper chamber to advance to open debate, a rule which allows the minority party to still wield considerable influence. However, with the nuclear option, the majority can vote to allow certain types of legislation to be advanced to debate by a simple majority, avoiding the filibuster altogether.

Republicans wielded this political hammer at the end of 2020 when they changed the Senates rules to advance the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. Now, Democrats are considering doing the same with debt ceiling legislation.

Sen. Ed Merkley (D-Ore.) noted a mood change among Democrats about changing the filibuster. Theres a lot more conversation because  Mitch McConnell is threatening to blow up the economy by standing in the way of an ordinary process of holding a vote, he said.

Merkley said that even his opinions have changed on it. My argument all along has been that the Senate is a better place if the minority can slow things down, he said. But the minority party blocking the political process altogether is another matter entirely, he noted.

The Oregon Democrat concluded: No tyranny of the majority. And no tyranny of the minority. Right now we have a tyranny of the minority, and our founders warned absolutely we were just not to let that happen.

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), when asked about the option by reporters, replied that all options oughta be on the table, including the nuclear option. Warner has often been considered a moderate, even leading negotiations between the White House and other moderate senators over the $3.5 trillion budget bill.

To my mind, this isnt a debate about policy, Warner explained. The ramifications of failing to raise the debt ceiling, Warner trailed off, speaking about the dangers to the U.S. credit rating.

With Afghanistan, with Chinas jets flying around Taiwan, the idea that we are going to self-inflict a major economic wound? asked Warner.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) was noncommittal but indicated his own openness to reforming the filibuster.

The senator deferred to Schumers judgment on the appropriate course of action, but suggested that he would be open to the use of the nuclear option: my bottom line is this has to get done.

Several other Democrats agreed, and this option is by far the most popular among the majority party, but some other options have been floated as well.

Warner Calls $1 Trillion Coin Idea Kooky, But Accepts It as Last Resort

This debt ceiling crisis has renewed an option originally put forward in 2011 under President Barack Obama: a $1 trillion platinum coin produced by the U.S. mint.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has dismissed the idea, calling it a gimmick. In a CNBC interview, Yellen explained, Im opposed to it, and I dont think we should take it seriously.

Despite her opposition, the move would be legal. A now decades-old law allows the executive branch to authorize the minting of coins with no restrictions on the denomination, so long as they are made of platinum.

And the idea has gained some traction in the House of Representatives among progressives. Pelosi said at a Sept. 28 press conference that the idea had been raised by Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) during a caucus meeting.

Another House progressive, Rep. Rashida Tlaib also signaled her support for the proposal, writing #MintTheCoin in a tweet.

However, Senate Democrats have taken the idea less seriously. But on Wednesday, Warner suggested that he would be open to the move as a last resort.

What about the trillion-dollar coin? Is that even viable or is that just too kooky to contemplate? a reporter asked the Virginia Democrat.

Warner replied noncommittally that The only thing kookier would be a politically inflicted default.

Despite the Treasury Secretarys resistance to the move, President Joe Biden could ask her to go ahead with the coin, which could extend the debt ceiling deadline if the situation is not resolved before the United States would default.

Executive Branch Solutions Still On the Table

During a press conference, Pelosi suggested another solution to the problem: the executive branch, under the authority of the president.

When the Republicans refuse to cooperate on this, they are jeopardizing the full faith and credit of the United States of America, which is guaranteed in the Constitution, she said.

Here, Pelosi is referencing the so-called public debt clause of the 14th amendment, which reads, The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. Though the clause was a post-Civil War amendment meant to deal with immediate issues at the time, some have interpreted the clause as giving the president unilateral authority to raise the debt ceiling.

President Bill Clinton, discussing a similar standoff over the debt ceiling in the mid-90s, interpreted this cause to give the president authority to raise the debt limit on his own authority if Congress fails to do so. Clinton said he would have used the clause without hesitation, and force the courts to stop me. But many, including President Barack Obama, have been unconvinced of the constitutionality of this move.

Though it is unclear how such an executive action would work, Pelosi indicated that Democrats were considering it. Tuesday, Warner indicated that the option was still a live one for the majority party.

A reporter asked Warner if the 14th amendment could be used to allow the president to raise the debt limit unilaterally.

The truth is I dont know, Warner admitted. But if it appears in the text, I mean, Warner trailed off. He said as well that the option was discussed in a Tuesday meeting, along with other potential constitutional solutions.

Its in the Constitution, Warner said, echoing Pelosis earlier comments. He concluded, But I dont know.
A police car is seen in Holbaek, Denmark, on March 2, 2021. (Mads Claus/AFP via Getty Images)

Denmark Charges 3 Citizens With Planning Terror Attacks

COPENHAGEN, DenmarkDanish prosecutors said Tuesday that they have charged three people with attempting to carry out acts of terrorism by acquiring bomb-making chemicals and equipment that were to be used for an attack in an unknown place either in Denmark or abroad.

Copenhagen chief prosecutor Lise-Lotte Nilas said police foiled the plot when the two male suspects were arrested. The men and a woman were detained in December 2019 and have remained in custody since then.

None of the suspects was named. In a statement, Nilas said the men are ages 22 and 23, and the woman is 39. One of the men has Danish citizenship, and the other man and the woman have dual citizenships. Their other nationalities were not given.

If found guilty of the main terror charge, they would be eligible for life prison terms, although defendants sentenced to life in Denmark serve an average of about 16 years.

The woman faces additional charges. She was charged with financing terrorist activities by acting through an intermediary to transfer money to people associated with the ISIS group.

Prosecutors also charged her with promoting terrorist activities by allegedly helping several people affiliated with ISIS to create social media profiles and communicate on the internet, as well as by having spread the extremist groups propaganda online.

A trial is scheduled to begin in November in Copenhagen.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds speaks at a press conference on the border situation while other governors look on, in Mission, Texas, on Oct. 6, 2021. (Marina Fatina/NTD)

10 Governors Call on Biden to Take Action on Border Crisis

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, was joined by nine peers on Oct. 6 at the U.S.Mexico border, with the group calling on President Joe Biden to take 10 steps to address the worsening border crisis.

We need Joe Biden to step up and lead. We can do this by enacting commonsense policies, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, told reporters at the briefing in Mission, Texas.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, another Republican, added: Either hes unwilling to solve this crisis, or he doesnt know how. So were here to offer solutions.

The group wants the Biden administration to fully reimplement the remain in Mexico program, which cut down on illegal immigration; resume construction of the border wall; stop the release of illegal immigrants into the U.S. interior; dedicate additional judges and other resources to clear the growing backlog of asylum cases; and deploy more federal officers to the border.

The governors are also urging Biden and other top officials to state clearly and unequivocally that our countrys borders are not open, continue using Title 42 pandemic powers to expel illegal immigrants, reenter agreements with Northern Triangle countries and Mexico, resume deporting all criminals, and dedicate federal resources to address human and drug trafficking.

Theyve pressed Biden to meet with them in person, but he has so far refused.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at a press conference on the border situation while other governors look on, in Mission, Texas, on Oct. 6, 2021. (Marina Fatina/NTD)

Top Biden administration officials have defended the administrations approach to immigration enforcement, arguing that the Trump era system was cruel and inhumane and that it takes time to reform it.

Supporters say the revamped system treats immigrants better and better represents U.S. values. But critics note that the skyrocketing number of illegal border crossings has been accompanied by drug trafficking, human trafficking, and transmissible diseases, including COVID-19. They also note that some of the Biden administrations actions violate federal law and court orders, including the administrations announcement that it will ultimately end remain in Mexico in defiance of the Supreme Court.

I want to make clear that while Biden continues to dither, Texas and other states are taking action to do the federal governments job, Abbott said.

Texas is cracking down on border enforcement, allocating $3 billion to the problem while deploying thousands of National Guard personnel and Texas Department of Public Safety officers. The state is also emphasizing the arrest of illegal immigrants, jailing them on trespassing charges.

White House officials didnt respond by press time to a request for comment on the governors remarks and demands.

White House deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Oct. 5 that the federal government is working with Texas authorities to prepare for a surge of tens of thousands of Haitians who are heading to the U.S.Mexico border.

We continue to have the push factors in telling folks, This is not the time to come, and were going to continue to do what weve been doing in the past, she said.

Correction: This article has been updated to correct the number of governors who joined the press conference.
The logo of Quebec's Caisse de Depot pension fund seen in Montreal, on Feb. 25, 2021. (The Canadian Press/Ryan Remiorz)

ESG Investing Soars as Blind Eye Turned to China, Energy Crisis Worsens: Analysts

Environmental considerations said to dominate social, governance factors in ESG investing

News Analysis

The growing prominence of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in investing is unmistakable, but major downsides to the trend are emerging.

ESGs social and corporate governance components are ostensibly to compel investors to assess if a company is, for example, complicit in human rights violations or putting employee health and safety at risk. But the environmental component, which appears to be overwhelming the other two considerations, itself turns a blind eye to communist Chinas record and the undeniable need for fossil fuel energy currently.

A Sept. 22 report by Hong Kong Watch (HKW) highlights the paradox that investment in China soared even as ESG factors rapidly grew in adoption.

The report, titled ESG, China and Human RightsWhy the time has come for investors to act, says that most of the attention of ESG investors has been placed on environmental costs, with little attention given to human rights.

There is considerable investment by pension funds and other institutional investors into Chinese firms which have troubling human rights records, stated the news release announcing the report.

Should Be Boycotted

Canadas biggest pension funds are among those that are very bullish on China. But they also want to be seen as doing their part for the environment, and they are all-in on ESG.

This worries Alex Epstein, founder of the Center for Industrial Progress and author of the New York Times bestseller The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels.

ESG should be publicly shamed as a virtue-signalling, financially idiotic, and most importantly immoral movement, Epstein tweeted on June 10 as part of a Twitter thread.

He added that ESG is starving cost-effective energy of capital and should be boycotted wherever possible.

Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec (CDPQ), Canadas second-largest pension plan, with over $390 billion under management, on Sept. 28 announced that, as part of its new climate strategy, it aimed to completely exit from investments in oil production by the end of 2022.

It [CDPQ] will dispose of its remaining assets in the sector, which make up 1 percent of its portfolio, and therefore avoid contributing to the growth of the worlds oil supply, said its press release.

If anything, however, the world is currently clamouring for greater oil supply.

The United States and India have pressured OPEC and non-OPEC partners for more supply to dampen rising oil prices. Despite this, the cartel said on Oct. 4 that it would stick to its existing agreement of implementing a gradual oil supply increase.

The price of the U.S. oil benchmark West Texas Intermediate has gradually risen all year from just below US$50 a barrel to nearly US$80.

Playing Into Chinas Hands

By working to prevent fossil fuel extraction, especially in poorer countries, ESG is perpetuating poverty, Epstein says.

The ESG movement is also an enormous threat to the security of the free world, because by depriving free countries and poor countries of low-cost, reliable energy, it furthers Communist Chinas ambitions to become the worlds superpower using low-cost, reliable fossil fuels, Epstein added.

The HKW report notes that China produces the worlds highest carbon dioxide emissions. It accounts for just 17 percent of the worlds gross domestic product and 18 percent of the population but produces 28 percent of the worlds greenhouse gas emissions. This is partially due to 60 percent of Chinas electricity coming from coal, states the report.

As CDPQ ramps up its green spending and dials back support for fossil fuels, HKW singled it out for holding investments in 18 companies sanctioned by the United States, including Chinese state-owned oil giant China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC).

The U.S. Department of Commerce maintains on its entity list a blacklist of companies that it regards as threats to national security or foreign policy interests. Many of those companies are Chinese and some form part of the holdings of Canadas big pension funds.

In addition to CNOOC, on Dec. 31, 2020, CDPQ held a sizable position in Tencent, which owns WeChat, the most popular social app in China. Beijing has been found to monitor content shared on the platform to train censorship algorithms, as reported by the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto.

Other companies held by CDPQ that are generally known to assist in surveillance techniques include iFlytek and Zhejiang Dahua.

Furthermore, one of the four categories of problematic Chinese firms identified by HKW is the fossil fuel giants.

HKW noted that the Chinese state-owned Sinopec, the worlds largest oil and gas refining company, receives considerable pension fund investment. On Dec. 31, 2020, CDPQ held a position in Sinopec, though a relatively small one. HKW adds that the company has close ties to the Chinese military and is heavily subsidized by Beijing.

And Sinopec has found abundant natural gas and crude oil in the Uyghur region in Xinjiang.

Investors must monitor whether Uyghur forced labour is used in the mining of these resources, stated the report.

CDPQ did not respond to a request from The Epoch Times regarding the status of its holdings in the aforementioned Chinese companies.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), a strong proponent of ESG and sustainable finance, said in an Oct. 4 blog that proper regulatory oversight is needed to prevent greenwashing, ensuring that labels fairly represent funds investment objectives.

Missing Out on Gains

RBC U.S. equity strategist Sara Mahaffy reported on Sept. 28 that launches of sustainable funds are on pace to surpass 2020 levels, which was a breakout year for fund launches.

And while the large pension funds are overwhelmingly endorsing ESG, Mahaffy, who monitors ESG investing globally, reported on Sept. 30 that assets under management in dedicated small and mid-cap sustainable funds nearly doubled in 2020 and totalled US$87 billion globally in August.

Large investment funds are pushing for change in the firms they invest in. The IMF reported that investment funds have stepped up proxy voting behaviour with firms on climate-related matters.

Activist investors stunned the investment and energy industries by winning seats on Exxon Mobils board as part of their bid to change its climate strategy, the IMF said.

But with the evident need for energy from fossil fuels, equity analysts are seeing better opportunities for higher returns in oil and gas stocks as opposed to green energy stocks.

Investor and editor of Smart Money Monday Thompson Clark notes that TAN, an exchange-traded fund that tracks solar and other green energy stocks, is down over 20 percent this year, while XLE, which holds traditional energy companies like Exxon Mobil and Chevron, is up over 40 percent.
Former Facebook employee Frances Haugen testifies during a Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing entitled 'Protecting Kids Online: Testimony from a Facebook Whistleblower' on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., Oct. 5, 2021. (Jabin Botsford-Pool/Getty Images)

Facebook Whistleblower Accuses Platform of Fanning Ethnic Violence in Myanmar and Ethiopia

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen during Tuesdays Senate hearing cited ethnic violence in Myanmar and Ethiopia as examples of the destructive impact that the social media platform has had on society.

The former Facebook employee suggested before lawmakers that there is a link between Facebook activity and the violence in the regions. The social media platforms algorithms facilitate hate, Haugen said, and therefore put profit before user safety.

My fear is that without action, divisive and extremist behaviors we see today are only the beginning. What we saw in Myanmar and now in Ethiopia are the opening chapters of a story so terrifying no one wants to read the end of it, Haugen, a former product manager for Facebook, said before the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security.

Facebook officials didnt immediately respond to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.

In 2018, Facebook officials said that the company hadnt done enough to limit the spread of posts fuelling violence against Myanmars persecuted Rohingya minority, but earlier this year, the company pledged to curb the spread of misinformation following recent bloodshed and a military coup in the country.

Haugen suggested that to prevent the viral spread of content and misinformation, something she said could fuel repressive actions in such countries, Congress could make changes to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects online platforms from being held responsible for content posted by third parties.

The change would make Facebook responsible for the consequences of their intentional ranking decisions, she said.

I encourage reform of these platforms, not picking and choosing individual ideas, but instead making the ideas safer, less twitchy, less viral, because that is how we scalably solve these problems, Haugen said, criticizing the platforms engagement-based ranking as literally fanning ethnic violence in countries such as Myanmar and Ethiopia.

Facebook also knows, they have admitted in public, that engagement-based ranking is dangerous without integrity and security systems, but then not rolled out those integrity and security systems to most of the languages in the world. And thats what is causing things like ethnic violence in Ethiopia, she added.

Responding immediately after Haugens testimony, Facebook suggested that Haugens credibility was in question, saying she was a former product manager at Facebook who worked for the company for less than two years, had no direct reports, never attended a decision-point meeting with C-level executives.

We dont agree with her characterization of the many issues she testified about. Despite this, we agree on one thing; its time to begin to create standard rules for the internet, said Lena Pietsch, Facebooks director of policy communications.
As more and more parents are going to their local school boards to complain about critical race theory being taught to their children, mask mandates, and forced vaccinations, the school boards have responded.

The National School Board association sent a letter to the Biden administration, asking the federal government to treat these angry mobs of parents as domestic terroristsand it looks like the Biden administration might be doing just that.

Meanwhile, later this week, we will get the answer to a very pressing question: if you increase the number of Justices on the Supreme Court, but you dont call it court-packing, is it really packing the court?

Resources:

 Sign the Supreme Court Petition:

https://ept.ms/3uIbIU3

 School Board Letter:

https://ept.ms/3izCvgv

 School Board Article:

https://ept.ms/3BerkB5

 Merrick Garland Letter:

https://ept.ms/3AeqKBS

https://ept.ms/3ldzyE3

 Supreme Court Commission:

https://ept.ms/3a6Y8QF

https://ept.ms/2YlwjBV

 Critical Race Theory:

https://ept.ms/3lfO8us

https://ept.ms/3lfO8us

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Federal Court Blocks California Law Banning Private Prisons

A federal court on Oct. 5 blocked a California law that bans private prisons, finding it violated federal law.

The California law impeded the federal governments immigration policy, a panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in its majority ruling granting a preliminary injunction and overturning a lower courts decision.

The law in question, Assembly Bill No. 32, bars the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from entering into or renewing a contract with private, for-profit prisons to incarcerate inmates. It also states that after Jan. 1, 2028, no state prison inmates can be imprisoned in a private facility, and it bars, with limited exceptions, the operation of any private detention facility within the state.

The Democrat-controlled California Legislature passed the bill in 2019, and Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, signed it into law later that year.

During my inaugural address, I vowed to end private prisons, because they contribute to over-incarceration, including those that incarcerate California inmates and those that detain immigrants and asylum seekers, Newsom said in a statement at the time. These for-profit prisons do not reflect our values.

But Geo Group, a private prison operator, and the U.S. Department of Justice sued over the law, alleging it infringed on federal jurisdiction.

The unlawful effect of AB-32 is to undermine and eliminate the congressionally funded and approved enforcement of federal criminal and immigration law by immigration enforcement agencies, one of the suits stated. They were consolidated into one docket last year.

Two judges on the appeals court panel agreed, noting that laws Congress passed give the secretary of Homeland Security broad discretion over immigrant detention, including enabling contracts with private companies to operate prisons or other detention facilities.

AB 32 cannot stand because it conflicts with this federal power and discretion given to the Secretary in an area that remains in the exclusive realm of the federal government, Circuit Judge Kenneth Lee wrote in an opinion joined by Judge Bridget Bade. It bars the Secretary from doing what federal immigration law explicitly permits him or her to do.

Lee and Bade were both appointed by then-President Donald Trump.

Circuit Judge Mary Murguia, an Obama appointee and the third judge on the panel, dissented.

She argued that while Congress has not prevented private immigration detention, it also hadnt clearly authorized such detention. The law also doesnt mention that the federal government and its provisions are within a states purview, she alleged.

The Department of Justice declined to comment on the ruling, and Geo Group didnt respond to an inquiry.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who as a Democrat state representative authored the bill in question, said in a statement that he would keep battling over the law.

When we passed AB 32, we sent a clear message that putting an end to for-profit detention centers is key to achieving that goal. Prisons and detention centers shouldnt be places of profit, he said. We will continue the fight to ensure the dignities and rights of everyone in California are protected. As a Filipino American who was brought to this country as an infant, this fight is personal to me. While the road ahead may feel a little longer today, our work continues and we will keep pushing forward.
Florida Gov. DeSantis Promises to Defend Parents at School Board Meetings Against DOJ

Following a Department of Justice announcement Monday that it would direct the FBI to mobilize against parents who allegedly threaten teachers and school board members, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis promised that the state would defend parents amid GOP outcry against the move.

Attorney General Garland is weaponizing the DOJ by using the FBI to pursue concerned parents and silence them through intimidation, DeSantis wrote. Florida will defend the free speech rights of its citizens and will not allow federal agents to squelch dissent.

The Justice Department stated that it would create a task force to see how the federal government can be used to prosecute any criminal conduct toward teachers or how to assist state and local authorities investigate such threats. It came after a national association of school boards asked the Biden administration to use extraordinary measures to prevent alleged threats against school board staff, accusing parents who oppose teaching critical race theory and mask mandates of lodging them.

DeSantiss office on Tuesday released a statement saying Florida law already prohibits harassment of teachers, while adding that Florida law enforcement is perfectly capable of responding to crimes in Florida, and we have never heard the FBI suggest otherwise.

However, disagreement is not harassment. Protest is not terrorism, unless it involves rioting, looting, and assault, like some of the left-wing protests of summer 2020. Again, all of those actions are crimes in Florida and will be prosecuted, regardless of political context, the statement added.

According to the Justice Department, it will create a task force to determine how to use federal resources to prosecute offending parents along with how to provide advice to states where no federal laws have been broken. Training will also be provided to school staff members on how to report threats from parents.

During school board meetings across the United States over the past several months, heated discussions have been held by parents, teachers, and school board staff on whether critical race theory or associated ideologies should be taught to children. The Department of Justices announcement did not elaborate on whether threats against teachers and staff are widespread.

This week, Republican lawmakers sharply criticized the Justice Department and Attorney General Merrick Garlands directive, arguing the Biden administration is attempting to silence dissent.

Your memorandum is a politically-motivated abuse of power and displays a lack of reasoned, sound judgment  confronting parents to oppose the views of the Biden administration and its socialist agenda, wrote Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) in a letter to the agency.

Parents are speaking out against Critical Race Theory in schools. Now the Biden administration is cracking down on dissent, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) wrote on Twitter.
The U.S. Department of Justice seal on the stage at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, on Dec. 5, 2019. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

Former US Military Pilot Accused of Concealing China Ties

A former U.S. military pilot from San Diego is accused of lying about repeatedly meeting with and receiving cash payments from a Chinese national with links to intelligence services, the Justice Department (DOJ) has said.

According to court documents filed in federal court, Shapour Moinian, a former helicopter pilot for the U.S. Army, worked for various defense contractors and as a civilian contractor for the U.S. Navy for several years.

Moinian, from Mira Mesa, California, was arrested on Oct. 1 and is charged with one count of failing to disclose foreign contacts when required as part of routine national security background checks from 2017 to 2020.

The 66-year-old allegedly first communicated with the Chinese national, who had posed as a recruiter on a job-services platform, in 2017. The DOJ stated that this method has been publicly identified by both Germany and France as one used by Chinese intelligence services.

Moinian, while working as a defense contractor on multiple projectsincluding a high-altitude, unmanned surveillance aircraft used by the U.S. military and various alliestraveled to China in March 2017 to meet with the Chinese national and again months later in September 2017, when he used a relatives South Korean bank account to receive payment from the individual.

He then wired the sum to his bank account in the United States, court papers state. Moinian allegedly failed to disclose his contact with the foreign national during a 2017 national security check.

In 2018, the same Chinese national contacted Moinian again under a different name.

Prosecutors say Moinian traveled to China and other areas, including Hong Kong, Macau, Bali, and Taiwan, from 2017 to 2019 to meet up with his contact and her associates and received further cash payments.

As recently as 2020, when completing another national security background check, Moinian allegedly knowingly and willfully made materially false, fraudulent, and fictitious statements and representations when he reaffirmed that he hadnt had close or continuing contact with a foreign national and hadnt been asked to work as a consultant or to consider employment by a foreign national within the past seven years.

FBI Special Agent in Charge Suzanne Turner said in a statement that Moinians case serves as a stark reminder of the social media exploitation strategies Chinese intelligence agencies will utilize to target, recruit, and maintain contact with valuable foreign assets.

Let this arrest serve as a deterrent to those who may consider hiding their foreign contacts in the hopes they can live a double-life and not get caught, Turner said.

Special Agent in Charge Michelle Kramer of the NCIS Office of Special Projects said that the 66-year-olds alleged false statements on security background forms about his contact with foreign nationals posed a significant threat to our national security.

This arrest should serve as a warning that NCIS and our law enforcement partners remain committed to rooting out any and all criminal attempts to compromise our nations national security interests, Kramer said.

According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, a magistrate judge set Moinians bond at $60,000 on Oct. 4. If convicted, Moinian faces up to five years in prison.
Former Vietnam War Combat Artist Finds Renewed Passion for Painting

Edward Bowen carried a .45-caliber pistol, pencils, a sketchpad, Kodak Instamatic camera, and compact Bible into Vietnam in January 1969 for an unusual missiondocumenting the war as a combat artist.

A 24-year-old art teacher at Villa Park High School, Bowen was drafted into the U.S. Army, where he would spend 10 weeks at basic training and 10 weeks studying to be a transmission mechanic and door gunner for military helicopters.

In an interview 52 years later from his home in Newport Beach, California, Bowen, now 78 years old, said it was an intervention from God that saved him from a job in Vietnam his sergeant said he would likely kill him. It led him to become a military artist and art teacher, helped him start his own successful Christian jewelry company, and allowed him to teach people of all ages about his craft and war experience.

Bowen said he had learning blocks all his life, which made it difficult to do the task he was assigned during advanced individual training in 1968. He flunked all the helicopter mechanic tests and his superiors accused him of being a shirker. Things werent looking good.

I was in utter despair, Bowen said. I cried out to God.

Former combat artist Ed Bowen reflects on his time during the Vietnam War in Newport Beach, Calif., on Sept. 14, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

While marching in formation, he slipped away and found a quiet pond on the outskirts of Fort Eustis in Southeast Virginia. He pulled out his Bible and read, eventually falling asleep in the picturesque wilderness.

Thats when God began to intervene and He got me out, Bowen, a devout Christian, said. He made me different and I need help. I want to be an artist.

Shortly after that encounter, he frantically went to track down the master sergeant, who was in charge of the helicopter mechanic school. Bowen told the front desk he needed to speak to the sergeant about personal business and was granted an immediate meeting with him, a rare occurrence in the military.

The two ended up talking about art for an hour, and Bowen was commissioned to paint a helicopter battle scene in the mess hall. That was the spark that led Bowen to become 1 of 46 combat artists who would help tell the story of the Vietnam War.

Art is a gift from God. Mystery and beauty would sum it up, Bowen said. In the mystery of war, youve got pain, youve got sorrow, youve got fear, youve got confusion, loneliness, emptiness. I can convey some of what they experienced and what I experienced in my art.

During the past four years, Bowen, typically accompanied by 6 to 15 other veterans, has spoken at 12 middle and high schools through the Freedom Committee of Orange County, an organization that allows veterans to share their stories from World War II, the Korea War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, Afghanistan, and Iraq. In his talk, he teaches the history of combat art, which has been around since the Civil War, and his personal, professional, and faith story interspersed with his military art. Hes also presented at local homes, museums, and churches.

While Bowen was assigned as a combat artist, the choice to ultimately deploy to Vietnam and put his life in danger was his. He rarely was involved in front-line action, but there were plenty of times when he feared for his life.

Combat artist Ed Bowen shows an article written about him in The Daily Pilot in 1969, in Newport Beach, Calif., on Sept. 14, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

He joined a group of five artists operating out of Long Binh Post, the armys largest base in South Vietnam. They flew north to experience different parts of the war effort and draw inspiration for their art.

One of the bases Bowen visited was besieged by North Vietnamese forces, and no one was allowed in or out. He was told thousands of soldiers, many of them naked so they could feel the tripwires, were probing the perimeter for a weakness. If they found one, a soldier would signal and send in a wave of people to try to break through the defenses.

Even as the mortars fell from the Northern Vietnamese army, the bunkers were at capacity and Bowen had nowhere left to stay that night but tin shacks. He made a quick decision to move to an old abandoned swimming pool, a relic from Vietnams colonial era, and the series of catacombs underneath. Every now and then the mortars would illuminate the cave and he could see water trickling down the stone walls.

As a Christian, Im not supposed to fear, but when that fear came on me, I couldnt ignore it, Bowen said of that attack. I didnt understand what I do now that theres angelic protection. And I think there probably was that night.

The wall wasnt breached and Bowen lived another day. When he got out of the military, Bowen used the GI bill to get his masters degree in fine art. He went on to teach at Fountain Valley High School, get married, and have two kids.

While teaching jewelry, he decided to sell some rings on the side for a local Christian bookstore. When he started making more there than he did at his teaching job, he started his own company Ed Bowen Jewelry in 1975 and continued to run it until 2015.

Combat artist Ed Bowen has art he painted during the Vietnam War hanging within his garage in Newport Beach, Calif., on Sept. 14, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

It wasnt until after 2015 that Bowen rediscovered his love for painting scenes from the Vietnam War. Talking to the younger generations about his story through the Freedom Committee has also multiplied his passion for military art.

Bowen recently had three of his paintings accepted for the Through Their Eyes exhibit, which will display art from veterans at Heroes Hall, refurbished military barracks honoring veterans, at the OC Fair and Event Center starting Oct. 13.

In his old age and battle with a rare lung disease called pulmonary sarcoidosis, Bowen is happy to be living for a purpose, continuing to explore the realities of war through art while informing younger generations about the sacrifice of their forefathers.

I just thank the Lord for his goodness to give me the ability at my age to be able to get out and do something. And Ill say this, everybody needs a vision, something to shoot for, a dream, Bowen said.
The logo of French defense and electronics group Thales is seen at the company's headquarters in Merignac near Bordeaux, France on March 22, 2019. (Regis Duvignau/Reuters)

Frances Thales Partners With Google on Secure Cloud Services

PARISDefense company Thales and Google are partnering to offer state-vetted cloud computing services for the storage of some of Frances most sensitive data, the companies said on Wednesday.

The alliance between Thales, Europes largest defense electronics supplier, and the Alphabet unit fulfils a May government plan under which France acknowledged U.S. technological superiority in the field.

The French government said then that cloud computing services developed by Google and Microsoft could be used to store Frances most sensitive state and corporate data, provided the services were licensed to French companies.

The logo of Google is seen on a building at La Defense business and financial district in Courbevoie near Paris, France, on Sept. 1, 2020. (Charles Platiau/Reuters)

In their joint statement, Thales and Google Cloud said they will create a France-based company and Thales will be the majority shareholder.

That company will provide the whole range of Google Clouds services but its network and servers would be separate from those used for regular Google clients.

The company is going to run Google software on its infrastructure  with layers of security to ensure cyber-security and protection of data from extraterritorial rules, said Marc Darmon, head of secure communications and information systems at Thales.

Google and Microsoft, along with market leader Amazon.coms Amazon Web Services, dominate cloud storage worldwide, fuelling concerns in Europe over the risk of surveillance by the United States in the wake of the adoption of the U.S. CLOUD Act of 2018.

The Thales-Google partnership will need the blessing of Frances cyber-security agency ANSSI to get a trusted cloud label.

However, its head, Guillaume Poupard, has already welcomed the project, saying in a statement it fulfilled the criteria needed for the certification.

The company should be created in first-half of 2022 and be running by the start of 2023, the two groups said.

It would compete against Bleu, a joint company to be set up by IT consulting firm Capgemini and telecoms group Orange and which aims to use Microsofts cloud technology.

By Mathieu Rosemain
French senator Alain Richard, is shown the way by a Taiwanese official upon arrival at Taoyuan International Airport in Taiwan on Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021. (Pool Photo via AP)

French Senators Arrive in Taiwan Amid Tensions With China

TAIPEI, TaiwanA group of French senators arrived in Taiwan for a five-day visit on Wednesday following a large Chinese show of force with fighter jets near the self-ruled island, and Beijing warned the trip will hurt its ties with France.

The group, led by senator Alain Richard, will meet with President Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwanese economic and health officials, and the Mainland Affairs Council. Richard, a former French defense minister, previously visited Taiwan in 2015 and 2018, according to Taiwans semi-official Central News Agency, and heads the Taiwan Friendship Group in the French Senate.

China tried to discourage the visit, with its embassy in France saying ahead of the trip that it will damage Chinas core interests and undermine Chinese-French relations.

The visit is part of normal and regular parliamentary exchanges between France and Taiwan, which were not politicized in the past, said Mathieu Duchatel, director of the Asia Program at the Institut Montaigne in Paris.

The Chinese regime claims the island as its own, despite the fact that Taiwan is a de facto independent country, with its own military, democratically-elected government, and constitution.

The regime thus opposes any international engagement with the island such as visits by foreign government officials. It also has aggressively poached Taiwans remaining diplomatic allies.

In its most recent display of sustained military harassment, China flew fighter jets 149 times toward Taiwan over four days from Friday to Monday. The White House called the flights risky and destabilizing, while China responded that the U.S. selling weapons to Taiwan and its ships navigating the Taiwan Strait were provocative.

Taiwans Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng told legislators on Wednesday that the situation is the most severe in the 40 years since Ive enlisted. Chiu was answering questions as the legislature decides whether to approve a special budget for air and naval defense purchases.
Gov. Newsom Approves 12.5 Percent Tax to Curtail Vaping Products Among Teenagers

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 395 into law on Oct. 4 to impose an additional excise tax on the retail cost of vaping products on top of the existing wholesale tax.

Senate Bill 395, introduced by Sen. Anna Caballero (D-Salinas) in February, aims to curb teen vaping by adding an excise tax to electronic cigarettes. The bill requires all revenues, interest, and penalties collected from the tax to be deposited into the California Electronic Cigarette Excise Tax Fund. Funds will then be distributed to youth tobacco prevention programs and health education plans.

The new law will take effect on July 1, 2022, and will require electronic cigarette purchasers to pay a 12.5 percent tax of the sales price of electronic cigarettes.

California Governor Gavin Newsom signs multiple bills in Los Angeles on Sept. 29, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 3.6 million youth reportedly used e-cigarettes in 2020, and the majority of them reported using flavored e-cigarettes. The number includes 82.9 percent high school e-cigarette users and 73.9 percent middle school e-cigarette users.

Eliza Tong, a practicing physician and tobacco research expert who works at the University of CaliforniaDavis, said in a hearing that vaping products are alarming because they may cause brain damage for young adults, as the brain develops until 25-years-of-age.

So the high potency of nicotine levels and marijuanas psychoactive component THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) in these vaping products is really alarming, she said.

In fact, the Surgeon General has released a warning to young adults for both of these components because the developing brain is especially vulnerable through age 25.

Nicotine itself is not harmless, with potential for cardiovascular effects of seizures, and even poisonings. Its used in pesticides.

Vapor Technology Association, a leading vapor trade association that has been actively fighting against for flavor ban posted on Twitter that Adult smokers rely on vapor product to stay away from dangerous cigarettes. Its time to implement policies that prioritize public health over cheap political wins.

Newsom expressed his concerns over the teen use of vaping products two years ago and plans to take executive action. His executive order includes three initiatives: $20 million on a vaping awareness campaign, removal of counterfeit and illegal vaping products, and warning signage on e-cigarette advertisements.

Now, the use and abuse of vaping productsparticularly now with flavored e-liquid products [as] we estimate over 15,500 of these flavored e-liquid products are available on the marketweve seen [a] skyrocket increase in the use of these flavored products by our children and vaping products are now being seen almost ubiquitously, said Gov. Newsom in 2019.

He continued As a father of four. This has been an issue thats been brought to the forefront of my consciousness, not because my children per se, but by family members, of their friends that are increasingly concerned and anxious about what theyre seeing in schools.
Gov. Newsom Signs, Vetoes Bills on Voting and Family Leave

Commentary

Every year the California legislature passes and the governor signs around 700 to 1,000 bills. A few are necessary for the operation of the state or repealing previous bad legislation. But most bills are unneeded and clog an already sclerotic system, making life more difficult for nearly 40 million Californians.

Here are four notable bills, two recently vetoed and two recently signed. Three are about voting, which is always controversial.

Lets start with the two vetoes.

AB 123

Assembly Bill 123 is by Assembly Member Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego). Shes the author of some of the worst legislation of recent years, such as Assembly Bill 5 from 2019, which severely regulated gig workers. It was partly repealed in 2020 by AB 2257 and Proposition 22.

AB 123 would have increased payments to those receiving disability insurance and paid family leave. As Newsom wrote in his veto message, This bill would create significant new costs not included in the 2021 Budget Act and would result in higher disability contributions paid by employees. I look forward to continued partnership with the Legislature to ensure that workers have true access to programs providing family leave.

He also noted, In 2019, I signed SB 83  which extended the maximum duration of paid family leave benefits from 6 to 8 weeks and AB 406  which required [paid family leave] applications to be provided in multiple languages.

Companies still are trying to recover from COVID-19 and dont need higher expenses. Whats really needed is a complete overhaul of both the disability system and the workers compensation system.

AB 616: Agricultural Worker Elections

Assembly Bill 616 is by Assembly Member Mark Stone (D-Monterey Bay). It followed in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision earlier this year in Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid. The decision essentially banned allowing agricultural-worker unions to access workers for organizing, unless just compensation is paid for using the property.

Partly to address that decision, AB 616 would have allowed agriculture workers to vote by home in a ballot card election.

In his veto message, Newsom said, This bill contains various inconsistencies and procedural issues related to the collection and review of ballot cards. Significant changes to Californias well-defined agricultural labor laws must be carefully crafted to ensure that both agricultural workers intent to be represented and the right to collectively bargain is protected, and the state can faithfully enforce those fundamental rights.

AB 37: Vote by Mail Made Permanent

Assembly Bill 37 is by Assemblyman Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park), and was signed by Newsom on Sept. 27. It made permanent the COVID-19 expedient of sending ballots to all registered voters.

Ironically given his veto of AB 616, allowing mail-in ballots for agricultural worker elections, Newsom still signed AB 37.

As states across our country continue to enact undemocratic voter suppression laws, California is increasing voter access, expanding voting options and bolstering elections integrity and transparency, he explained. Last year we took unprecedented steps to ensure all voters had the opportunity to cast a ballot during the pandemic and today we are making those measures permanent after record-breaking participation in the 2020 presidential election.

Ironically, although Newsom decried other states for voter suppression laws, such as asking for an ID to vote, he is increasing COVID-19 vaccination mandates, such as requiring students to show a vaccination ID card.

The Election Integrity Project of California objected, saying, AB 37 mandates acceptance of mail-in ballots up to seven days after the Election Day deadline, up from three days. Vote by mail voters have at least three weeks to fill out and mail a ballot, and post their ballot as early as necessary for timely arrival. Introducing an additional four days for timely arrival is a gift to would-be bad actors and a threat to election integrity.

And: EIPCs main objection to AB 37 lies in the continued disarray of VoteCal, the statewide voter database.

AB 796: Motor Voter

Assembly Bill 796 also is by Berman. In the summary by the ACLU, which supported it, the bill would improve and refine the California New Motor Voter (NMV) program to ensure its continued success and effectiveness.

This is the infamous motor-voter program, which offers to sign a person up to vote when one applies for or renews a drivers license.

Except the NMV has been a disaster. The Sacramento Bee reported in October 2018, The DMV reported last month that it made 23,000 voter registration errors resulting from technicians toggling between multiple screens and having registration information improperly merged. In May, the Los Angeles Times reported that a software error affected 77,000 voter records generated at the DMV.

Then-Secretary of State Alex Padilla promised reforms. Nothing came of it.

A real reform was proposed by Sen. Pat Bates (R-Laguna Niguel). Senate Bill 57 would have changed the Motor Voter system to an opt-in system. That is, instead of every DMV license applicant automatically being given the option of registering to vote, he or she would have been given that opportunity after first requesting it. SB 57 was turned down by the Democratic majority on the Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee.

This became a big issue for then-Sen. John Moorlach (R-Costa Mesa), back when I served as his press secretary. He wrote in an op-ed:

Although the DMV is a troubled department, Padilla must take ownership of Motor Voters problems. He sponsored the bill establishing the program in 2015, Assembly Bill 1461 by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez-Fletcher, a San Diego Democrat. 

Expanding access is worse than worthless without voting integrity. This is not a partisan issue. Its about protecting the righteousness of our election system, which is a sacred responsibility in a democracy and one that rests with the Secretary of State. 

In hearings on the bill, Padilla actually testified twice that AB 1461 would make the registration process more secure. Asked how much confidence he had in the DMVs record-keeping systems, Padilla replied: I dont assume the incompetence of the DMV.

Apparently, he never has spent hours in a DMV line, as many Californians have done.

Moorlach wasnt listened to, either.

In May, CBSLA reported, 4 More People Indicted In Widening Federal Investigation Into California DMV Corruption.

Padilla? This year Newsom promoted him to the U.S. Senate.
In this May 31, 2017, file photo, Sgt. Ed Mullins, the head of the Sergeants Benevolent Association, center, speaks to the media outside of the Bronx Supreme Court in the Bronx borough of New York. (Frank Franklin II/AP Photo)

Head of NYPD Sergeant Union Resigns After FBI Raids Office, Home

Ed Mullins, the head of the NYPDs Sergeants Benevolent Association, has resigned from his role just hours after FBI agents raided his home and the groups Manhattan headquarters.

Dozens of federal agents were seen carrying boxes out of the unions Manhattan headquarters and loading them into a van on Tuesday morning as part of a law enforcement action in connection with an ongoing investigation, FBI spokesperson Martin Feely said.

Feely did not provide specific details as to what the investigation was about but the FBI also searched union president Mullins home in Port Washington, Long Island.

The investigation may be examining possible mismanagement of funds, the New York Post reported, noting that a high-ranking law enforcement official said the investigation involved suspicions of mail and wire fraud, or misappropriations of SBA funds.

Just hours after the raids, Mullins resigned from his role at the request of the Sergeants Benevolent Association Executive unions board, as per a letter shared to Twitter.

The letter acknowledges that it is clear that President Mullins is apparently the target of the federal investigation and that the union has no reason to believe that any other member of the SBA is involved or being targeted in this matter.

Given the severity of this matter and the uncertainty of its outcome, the SBA Executive board has requested that President Mullins resign from his position as SBA president. This evening, President Mullins has agreed to tender his resignation as President of the SBA,  the board wrote.

Like all of us, Ed Mullins is entitled to the presumption of innocence, and we ask you to withhold judgment until all the facts have been established. However, the day-to-day functioning and the important business of the SBA cannot be distracted by the existence of this investigation, the board said.

The union also noted that it was cooperating with the investigation and would update its members with more information as it comes in.

Mullins led the Sergeants Benevolent Association, which represents some 13,000 New York active and retired police sergeants and controls a $264 million retirement fund, since 2002.

However, he has often been seen as a controversial figure and has publicly butted heads with New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYPD leadership, and has been outspoken on Twitter regarding a number of issues.

Last month he faced department disciplinary proceedings after violating department guidelines in 2020 when he tweeted NYPD paperwork regarding de Blasios daughter, Chiara de Blasio, who was arrested during protests over the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody.

Mullins department trial began last month but was postponed indefinitely after one of his lawyers suffered a medical emergency. His lawyer denies he violated department guidelines, and has argued that arrest papers with Chiaras personal identifying information, including her date of birth and address, were already posted online.

As well as the department disciplinary proceedings, Mullins, who has been a police officer since 1982, is currently suing the department. He claims they tried to silence him in retaliation over his outspoken opinions online, which have included claims that officers were at war with city leaders.

Mullins has claimed a First Amendment right to speak out on behalf of the union, including regarding an incident when he wrote on Twitter that Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) was a first class w-, and when he called former city Health Commissioner Oxiris Barbot a b- with blood on her hands.

De Blasio has some words for the sergeant following news of his resignation on Tuesday.

Ed Mullins dishonored his uniform, his city, and his union more times than I can count. It was just a matter of time before his endless hatred would catch up with him. That day has come, he wrote on Twitter.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A landslide destroys nearly 200 homes in Northwest China, and the situation may be even worse than official reports describe.

Northeast China endures similar inclement weather, as the area gets drenched by heavy rain.

Another Chinese real estate developer has failed to pay millions of dollars in debt. The companys financials have triggered fear about the health of the sector.

As intermittent power shortages wreak havoc, China loosens its unofficial ban on Australian coal.

At the same time, the country is looking to buy even more coal elsewhereand commits to its first-ever purchase from a small Asian nation.

Concerns rise over a new U.S.China trade plan. After months of planning, some say it doesnt outline enough specifics.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more first-hand news from China.

For more news and videos, please visit our website and Twitter.
High Oil Prices but Slow Growth in Canadas Energy Sector

The highest oil prices in seven years will encourage drilling, investment, and employment in Canadas energy sector, but not as much as in past years, say analysts.

The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil price exceeded US$79.10 per barrel on Oct. 5, and some analysts expect prices to rise higher still. The last time the price was this high was 2014, a year that 11,222 oil and gas wells were drilled in Canada, according to the ARC Energy Institute. Yet ARC expects just 4,247 wells to be drilled this year.

Richard Masson, an executive fellow at the School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary, said hesitancy owes to a few factors.

Everybody was scared silly last year when prices really collapsed, and so theyre not anxious to make commitments until they know prices are going to be firm for a while and we can count on them, Masson said in an interview.

The average WTI oil price in 2020 was US$39.16 a barrel, the lowest price since 2003, even in nominal dollars. From 2011 through 2016, the sector reinvested more money back into drilling and oilsands development than its after-tax revenues. This year ARC expects it to reinvest just 37 percent of a record $77.6 billion in after-tax cash flow.

Wall Street and Bay Street are both very much of the opinion that companies shouldnt start spending a lot of money on production. They should instead return this excess money to investors. And thats happening a lot right now, said Masson.

Theres not a lot of point in drilling for new oil if you cant get your oil to market effectively. And until Oct. 1, when Line 3 started up, there hadnt been new pipeline capacity for a long time.

Line 3, operating since 1968, sends oil from Hardisty, Alberta, to Superior, Wisconsin. Enbridge began replacing the entire line in 2017 and can now send 760,000 barrels of crude a day, an increase of 370,000 from the former line.

Kevin Birn, vice president and analyst at IHS Markit, said better pipeline capacity reduces the price volatility for Alberta oil, making it more favourable for investment. Still, he said the push for net-zero emissions dampens the enthusiasm of investors.

[What] the delay of pipeline infrastructure ultimately did was contribute to greater price volatility in Western Canada than it would have otherwise been, Birn told The Epoch Times.

[Oil companies] see multiple scenarios saying [oil production] has to peak, it has to come down for net zero to be achieved, which is what a lot of the countries want now.  So theyre increasingly discounting the future potential of these companies, which, again, whittles down their interest in investing.

Birn added that while drilling is currently higher than it was, its not consistent with historical norms.

As foreign companies have divested in the oilsands, it has become increasingly Canadian-owned. In March this year, Calgary-based Cenovus Energy Inc. bought Husky Energy Inc. Its one reason Calgary has the highest vacancy of office space in Canada, at 30 percentalmost double the Canadian average and more than Edmontons 21 percent.

Where you had two companies, you have one, and they dont need the same level of governance and accounting and oversight, Birn said.

It definitely results in a consolidation, a reduction in the head office. So you dont have the same number of EMP teams, you dont have the same number of geologists, you dont have the same number of captains.

Birn says the Western Canadian energy sector can focus on optimizing its operations and profits now and enjoy the capacity it has built up.

The challenge of the oilsands is building this stuff, and thats we what went through, this build cycle. But now what were sitting on is a very large installed asset base that can run a long time, being very competitive with other sources of supply globally, he said.

Higher oil prices have very positive implications, he adds, and certainly it paints a picture of a significant revenue boost to the province of Alberta.

Birn believes employment and investment will improve, though not as much as when prices were last this high.

Masson agrees.

Companies are going to start to hire again because there is so much money to be made, he said.

The world needs more oil. We can see that because the [WTI] prices are almost 80 bucks. So its going to come, but its not probably going to come like a big wave, like a big boom.
A worker at the Suez Alpena wastewater treatment facility in Alpena, Mich., in this file photo. (COURTESY OF SUEZ)

House Panel Hears From Witnesses on Risks to Water From Forever Chemicals

The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructures Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment held a hearing on per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS), or forever chemicals, questioning witnesses on the chemicals dangers and sparking debate over the proper role of the federal government in managing the countrys waters.

The hearing comes amid heavy media coverage of PFAS regulation, including an Oct. 3 segment on John Olivers Last Week Tonight, and shortly after California banned PFASs from many consumer goods.

This is our first hearing in about 10 years on emerging and persistent threats to our water and how these threats affect human health and the health of our communities and our environment, said Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-Calif.), chair of the subcommittee, in her opening statement.

She went on to claim that the Trump administration had needlessly weakened provisions of the Clean Water Act while also politicizing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and otherwise undermining its activities.

Rep. David Rouzer (R-N.C.), the senior Republican on the subcommittee, said he supported efforts to have the EPA prioritize PFAS.

Theres a lot that we still dont knowmore study, research, and development are needed, he said.

With this gap in knowledge, we need to ensure any regulatory actions or requirements are backed by science and done thoughtfully to protect communities and reduce risk. A good, strong manufacturing base that produces products American consumers want I believe can coexist with efforts to improve the environment, if done properly.

Elizabeth Southerland, retired EPA director of science and technology, told the committee that the United States is suffering from a reactive system rather than one that proactively addresses pollution.

Congress should require the federal government to develop and maintain a priority list of newly identified harmful chemicals for use by federal and state water monitoring programs. Once monitoring data identified where these contaminants pose risk, EPA and the states can control these discharges to the nations waters using Clean Water Act authorities, she said.

Elise Granek, an associate professor of environmental science at Portland State University, testified that there is ample scientific evidence that these contaminants affect freshwater and marine organisms, with potential implications for human consumers, adding that policymakers and scientists should address the impact of concurrent exposure to more than one contaminant.

The other witnesses were Chris Kennedy, town manager of Pittsboro, North Carolina; Captain Charles Moore of the Moore Institute for Plastic Pollution Research; Katie Huffling of the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments; and James Pletl, director of water quality with the Hampton Roads Sanitation District, who spoke on behalf of the National Association of Clean Water Agencies.

In response to questioning from Rouzer, Pletl said that an EPA proposal to use a particular method for tracking PFAS chemicals will pose problems, as its performance has only been established in a single laboratory.

Its extremely important when we start to talk about regulating compounds that the foundation of that whole process, the analytical measurement, were sure that the information is reliable, so that permit actions, and the legal liability that comes along with those permit actions, are defensible, he said.

In response to questioning from Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Pletl said he supported eliminating the nonessential use of PFASs in household items.

I think people forget you have to deal with everything we flush down the drain, Huffman told Pletl. I agree that polluters, not ratepayers, should really bear the bulk of the cost of controlling things like PFAS pollution.

Southerland and Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.) debated the extent to which farmers are affected by the Clean Water Act, which is now interpreted more broadly after a U.S. district court decision in August struck down the Trump administrations Navigable Waters Protection Rule.

The Clean Water Act already envisioned your concerns, said Southerland. They told the agricultural community, You dont have to apply for any permits on your farm ponds, on your irrigation ditchesyou dont have to worry about gullies or puddles that form during storm water

Sorry to interruptthe EPA in concert with the Army Corps of Engineers is doing that very thing in Northern California, said LaMalfa. Theyre making people get permits to plow their lands to change crops because of some waterways of the United States interpretation that theyre so far getting away with.
A Marine with Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force-Crisis Response-Central Command provides assistance during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Aug. 22, 2021. (Sgt. Samuel Ruiz/U.S. Marine Corps via AP)

ISIS-K Terrorist Responsible for Kabul Airport Bombing Was Prisoner Freed by Taliban: Congressman

The ISIS-K terrorist who carried out a suicide bomb attack in August outside of the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, had reportedly been released from prison just days before the Talibans overthrow of the government, according to a U.S. lawmaker.

U.S. national security officials have now confirmed to me the reports that the Aug. 26 Kabul bomber was a known ISIS-K terrorist that was previously detained at the Bagram prison and was released along with thousands of others just days before the deadly attack, Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.) said in a statement.

President Bidens disastrous handling of our withdrawal from Afghanistan led to a series of events that culminated with the tragic loss of life on Aug. 26 outside of the Kabul airport, he continued. Thirteen Americans, including one of my constituents, were killed because of the poor judgment and execution of our troop withdrawal.

Calvert, who is a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, told Fox News last week that he obtained information from intelligence sources that said the bomber was one of the 7,000 prisoners housed at Bagram prison, from which he was released by the Taliban terrorist group.

Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.) speaks as some House Republicans listen during a news conference in Washington, on Dec. 11, 2015. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

The Kabul bomber has been identified as Abdul Rehmana known member of the ISIS-K terrorist group. He was incarcerated in Afghanistan for the past four years after being arrested in New Delhi, India, following a failed suicide-bombing plot, senior Indian intelligence sources familiar with the case confirmed to Firstpost, an English-language news agency based in India that also was first to report on Rehmans release.

Rehman was reportedly handed over to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency by the Research and Analysis Wing in September 2017 after his arrest in New Delhi.

Americas disorganized retreat from Afghanistan has led to hundreds of highly competent and highly committed terrorists being set free to rejoin the Islamic State, al-Qaeda, and other terrorist groups, an intelligence officer told the network. Literally, a decades work on counter-terrorism has been undone by the United States failure to secure key prisoners in Bagram.

Calvert blamed the Biden administration for the prisoners release, questioning why these prisoners were not transferred and secured at another location.

Those responsible for these grave errors not only put our brave service members in harms way but have nowby our militarys own admissionplaced Americans in greater danger than they were before, he said.

A regional counterterrorism source told CNN that in mid-August, the Taliban emptied the prison in Bagram, along with another prison near Kabul, which together housed several hundred members of ISIS-K, as well as thousands of other prisoners.

Just about a week later, Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul was hit by the deadly terrorist attack that killed 13 U.S. service members, including 11 Marines, one soldier, and one sailor, along with more than 100 Afghans.

ISIS-K claimed responsibility for the attack, bragging about a suicide bomber managing to penetrate all the security fortifications put into place by U.S. forces and the Taliban.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby also confirmed in August that thousand of ISIS-K terrorist members escaped Afghan prisons when the countrys government fell and the Taliban took over.

Department of Defense spokesman John Kirby speaks during a news briefing at the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., on Aug. 16, 2021. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Calvert told Fox News he will keep investigating the matter, saying he has a lot of questions he is trying to get to. He also noted that he believes the intelligence he received is credible, as he is part of the committee that funds the CIA, NSA, NRO, U.S. Marine Corps, Army, Navy, the entire enterprise.

We need to know who they were, and also, where are the other 6,999 prisoners released? Calvert said. These prisoners were not just from Afghanistan, but from a lot of different placesGod knows where theyre at right now.

You have thousands of these terrorists running around, he said, adding that the release of prisoners from Bagram has undone decades of U.S. counter-terrorism work.

It is a threat, and it could be a major threat, he said. The administration might as well come out and tell the truth.

From NTD News
Taiwanese Air Force F-16 fighter jet flies alongside a Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) H-6K bomber in the western Pacific, one of the Chinese military aircraft that reportedly flew over Bashi Channel and Miyako Strait near Japans Okinawa island chain on the morning of May 11, 2018. (Photo released by Taiwan ROC Air Force)

Japan Making Preparations After China Flies Warplanes Near Taiwan

Japans Foreign Ministry warned on Tuesday it would make necessary preparations to support Taiwan if the Chinese regime persists in its military intimidation of the island.

When asked by a reporter how Japans government views Beijings record-breaking flyovers inside Taiwanese airspace in recent weeks, Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu said he wants the military tensions resolved peacefully between the two parties through direct talks.

Additionally, instead of simply monitoring the situation, we hope to weigh the various possible scenarios that may arise to consider what options we have, as well as the preparations we must make, he added in a press briefing.

Japanese Defense Minister Kishi Nobuo appeared to walk back Motegis statement in comments to the media on Tuesday, reiterating that Tokyo wants Taiwan and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to resolve their disputes via dialogue.

It is Japans consistent stance that we hope the issue surrounding Taiwan will be resolved through direct dialogue between the party involved, Kishi told reporters.

Japan has some stake in a potential wider conflict as the CCP has claimed the nearby Japanese-controlled Senkaku islands as its own. Taiwan is located a short distance from the small island chain.

According to Japanese officials, Chinese military vessels have ventured into Japanese territorial waters, or within 12 nautical miles of Japanese land, about 88 times between Jan. 1 and August of this year.

As the Chinese regime sent dozens of fighter aircraft into Taiwans air identification zone over the weekend, Japan was partaking in one of its largest naval exercises near the coast of Okinawa, which houses thousands of U.S. troops. U.S. and United Kingdom aircraft carriers, as well as surface ships from the Netherlands, Canada, and New Zealand took part.

Earlier this week, Japans new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held his first talks with President Joe Biden and confirmed the two will work to strengthen their alliance and cooperate in regional security matters, namely to counteract North Korea and China.

Biden provided a strong statement about U.S. commitment for the defense of Japan, including  Senkaku, Kishida told AP, adding that the two leaders also reaffirmed they would tackle together the challenges facing neighboring regions such as China and North Korea.

Tokyo and Washington have a mutual defense treaty, meaning the United States is obligated to defend Japanese territory under law.

Kishida has previously said that acquiring the ability to strike enemy bases was a viable option and that he would appoint an aide to monitor the CCPs treatment of its Uyghur minority, which some have described as a genocide.
Kyle Rittenhouse, the teenager charged with killing two people and injuring another during demonstrations on the streets of Kenosha, Wisconsin, listens to defense attorney John Pierce during an extradition hearing in Lake County in Waukegan, Ill., on Oct. 30, 2020. (Nam Y. Huh/Pool via Reuters/File Photo)

Judge Keeps Weapons Charge Against Rittenhouse

A judge refused to dismiss a weapons charge Tuesday against an Illinois man accused of shooting three people during a protest against police brutality in Wisconsin last year.

Kyle Rittenhouse, of Antioch, Illinois, shot and killed Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and wounded Gaige Grosskreutz during the protest in Kenosha.

Prosecutors charged Rittenhouse, who was 17 at the time of the protest, with multiple counts, including homicide and being a minor in possession of a firearm. His trial is set to begin Nov. 1.

Rittenhouses attorneys have argued that he fired in self-defense after Rosenbaum, Huber, and Grosskreutz attacked him.

They asked Kenosha County Circuit Judge Bruce Schroeder to dismiss the weapon possession charge during a hearing Tuesday.

Corey Chirafisi, one of Rittenhouses attorneys, argued that the statute only prohibits minors from possessing short-barreled rifles.

Rittenhouse used an AR-style semiautomatic rifle with a 16-inch barrel the night of the shootings, according to Chirafisi.

The only other prohibitions on minors possessing firearms lie in the states hunting statutes, which state that children under 12 cant hunt with guns.

That doesnt apply to Rittenhouse because he was 17 on the night of the shootings, Chirafisi said.

Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger countered that the Legislature clearly intended to bar anyone under 18 from running around with a dangerous weapon and that the hunting statutes dont apply because Rittenhouse wasnt hunting on the night of the protest.

Schroeder sided with Binger, but he said he might revisit the question later because the statutes arent clear.

The attorneys also sparred over whether to allow John Black, an expert on the use of force by police, to testify for the defense at the trial.

Binger maintained that it wasnt necessary and that jurors could decide for themselves whether Rittenhouses actions were reasonable.

Richards argued that Black could help jurors get to the facts.

Schroeder allowed Black to testify during the hearing to get an idea of what he would present at the trial.

Black asserted that Rittenhouse maintained control of his gun at all times, tried to move away from Rosenbaum, Huber, and Grosskreutz, and only fired when he was attacked.

He noted that Huber hit Rittenhouse with a skateboard and Grosskreutz approached him with a pistol in his hand.

Schroeder took a lunch break before allowing Binger to cross-examine Black.

Prosecutors also were looking for permission to introduce a video showing Rittenhouse saying hed like to shoot some men he thought were shoplifting from a pharmacy 15 days before the protest.

Schroeder said last month that he was leaning toward excluding it. It wasnt clear if he would rule on that request Tuesday.
Jury Finds Self-Proclaimed Proud Boy Guilty on Several Charges Linked to Portland Clashes

A self-proclaimed Proud Boy involved in clashes with counter-protesters in Portland last year was found guilty by an Oregon jury of 11 charges on Tuesday including the unlawful use of a weapon.

The charges stem from clashes between right-wing and left-wing demonstrators in Portland on Aug. 15 and Aug. 22 last year.

Alan Swinney, 51, according to court documents, fired a paintball gun and unlawfully discharged bear mace to hurt others on Aug. 15 last year. In a separate incident a week later, Swinney shot a woman in the chest with a paintball gun during a street brawl that involved members of the Proud Boys and Antifa in downtown Portland.

The woman who was fired at by Swinney testified she was left with significant bruising and had sleepless nights, a statement from the Multnomah County District Attorneys Office said.

Swinney became a known entity in Portland during last years protests, calling himself a Patriot and appearing at multiple demonstrations in the Northwest wherein he instigated and committed violent acts under the banner of free speech and pro-police sentiments, the statement said.

After a six-day trial, a 12-person jury found Swinney guilty of one count of assault in the second degree, two counts of unlawful use of mace in the second degree, two counts of unlawful use of a weapon (paintball gun), menacing, attempted assault in the fourth degree, attempted assault in the second degree, pointing a firearm at another, assault in the fourth degree, and unlawful use of a weapon (firearm).

Swinney was found not guilty of one of the assault charges filed against him.

On the witness stand Swinney, was unapologetic for his actions at two flag-waving events in Portland which he said were harassed by left-wing agitators who threw bottles, rocks, and other objects, reported Oregon Live.

Im tired of it. I dont know what to do anymore. When the city wont let the police protect you, and then they wont let you protect yourself, then  Im human too, Swinney said Friday. I dont feel bad for them when stuff happens to them, whenever theyre doing bad things. You know, the karma bus came and hit them.

Swinney testified that he brought the handgun to the Aug. 22, 2020 flag-waving event after he received death threats following an event a week earlier, stated the Oregon Live report.

The former U.S. Army serviceman said he pulled and pointed the handgun after he ran out of bear spray and paintball ammunition, while counter-protesters were shooting at him and others in the flag-waving group with some type of projectiles, the report said.

Alan Swinney fires a paintball gun in Portland, Ore., Aug. 22, 2020. (Nathan Howard/Getty Images)

Some news outlets reported that Swinney is a Proud Boys member and has Proud Boys tattooed on his left arm. Enrique Tarrio, the Proud Boys leader, told journalist Andy Ngo last year that Swinney is not a member and never has been.

Proud Boys says it advocates for the Second Amendment, closed borders, and minimal government. Members have been involved in violent clashes with Antifa, a far-left, anarcho-communist group, in several cities in the past.

Last year, Portland was the scene of numerous bouts of political street violence as well as riotous behavior by Antifa members that included attacking a federal courthouse. The city also had to deal with months of unrest by Black Lives Matter activists and other left-wing demonstrators.

One Patriot Prayer supporter was killed in Portland on Aug. 29, 2020, by a self-described Antifa member who was later shot dead by law enforcement officers carrying out an arrest warrant days after the initial killing.

Swinneys sentencing date hasnt been set yet. He has been held in detention since his arrest on Sept. 30, 2020.

Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.
Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen appears before the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee during a hearing entitled 'Protecting Kids Online: Testimony from a Facebook Whistleblower' at the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington on Oct. 5, 2021. (Matt McClain/Pool via Getty Images)

Six Key Takeaways From Senate Hearing With Facebook Whistleblower

The Senate heard testimony Tuesday from former Facebook employee Frances Haugen, who came before the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security to raise the alarm about practices in Facebook that she said demanded congressional action.

While there was broadly bipartisan consensus that regulations on the social media platform should be strengthened, Democrats and Republicans emphasized different concerns throughout the course of the hearing.

After the hearing, Facebook issued a statement suggesting it was open to having the government begin to create standard rules for the internet.

The hearing itself was initially prompted by an expose by The Wall Street Journal that showed Facebook had hidden research data on the harmful effects of its platform. However, the conversation between Haugen and the subcommittee delved deeper into the companys practices.

Here are the six key takeaways from the three-hour-long hearing:

Targeting Children Is Facebooks Big Tobacco Moment

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) immediately identified the stakes of the hearing in his opening statement.

This is Facebooks Big Tobacco moment, said Blumenthal. He compared the revelations about Facebook hiding data about its service to similar efforts by the tobacco industry to hide information that cigarettes caused cancer.

Blumenthal said that [Facebook] doubled down on targeting children. Specifically, the senator said that the company was guilty of pushing products on preteensnot just teens, but preteensthat it knows are harmful to our kids mental health and wellbeing.

Though children aged 12 and under are prohibited from using Facebook and its subsidiary Instagram under its terms of service, often they are able to fly under the radar on both platforms. Haugen said later that the sites algorithms can then work to target ads at these children through information it gathers on them even though they are not allowed on the platforms.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), left, and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), right, speak to former Facebook data scientist Frances Haugen, center, during a hearing of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Oct. 5, 2021. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Blumenthal cited a claim from a Facebook representative that the information in The Wall Street Journal expose is not a bombshell. He countered, This is the very definition of a bombshell.

He said that the documents showed that Facebook executives value their profit more than the pain that they cause to children and their families. Haugen nodded to show her agreement with the line.

Haugen said that she had seen internal company documents that emphasized the importance of getting tweenschildren between 8 and 12 years oldonto the platform. These children can help bring their parents onto the platform, Haugen explained.

They understand the value of younger users for the long-term success of Facebook, she said.

Haugen also emphasized at various points throughout the hearing that Facebooks overarching goal is to get more people onto the platform for longer, as this maximizes their ad revenue. For this as well, Haugen said, children make ideal consumers.

She explained, I would assume [children are profitable to Facebook] based on advertising for things like television. You have much higher advertising rates for customers who dont yet have preferences or habits.

Zuckerberg Blasted for Sailing

In a jab at Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg that would be repeated by senators from both parties through the course of the hearing, Blumenthal blasted the executive for not appearing before the Senate and instead choosing to go sailing.

Mark Zuckerberg ought to be looking at himself in the mirror, Blumenthal began. And yet, rather than taking responsibilityshowing leadershipMr. Zuckerberg is going sailing.

He alleged that Zuckerbergs new modus operandi [is] no apologies, no admission, no action, nothing to see here.

Mark Zuckerberg, you need to come before this committee, you need to explain to Frances Haugen, to us, to the world, and to the parents of America what you are doing and why youre doing it, said Blumenthal.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), the subcommittees ranking Republican member, opened her remarks with similar criticism of Zuckerbergs absence.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) echoed Blumenthals remarks, saying that despite the severity of the accusations against his company, Mark Zuckerberg is going sailing and saying no apologies.'

Democrats, Republicans Join in Promising Action

In a rare show of bipartisanship, Republicans and Democrats in the hearing came together to demand federal action against the tech giant.

Both Republicans and Democrats during the hearing put forward their support for abandoning or significantly reforming Section 230 protections for the social media platform. Under a 1990s U.S. law, tech companies are not responsible for the content shared by users on their platforms.

By contrast, traditional and online media companies do not have the same protections and are able to be sued for the content they publish.

The notion of abandoning the protections was put forward by President Donald Trump in 2020 but was not followed by legislative actions. With the information provided by Haugen, which Blumenthal called a bombshell, senators on both sides of the political aisle seem to be strongly considering moving ahead with stripping these protections from Facebook and Instagram.

Haugen encouraged lawmakers to move ahead with the action but emphasized that the platforms problems could not be solved by Section 230 reform alone.

A company with such frightening influence over so many people needs real oversight, she said.

Haugen concluded, Congress can change the rules that Facebook plays by and stop the many harms it is now causing. We now know the truth about Facebooks destructive impact  we must act now. Im asking you, our elected representatives, to act.

Beyond reforming Section 230, other suggestions were put forward.

Blackburn said that privacy had been a concern for her since she was in the House of Representatives, where she noted that she had put forward federal privacy laws.

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and ranking member Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) talk before a Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Oct. 5, 2021. (Drew Angerer/Pool via AP)

Moreover, Blackburn said that Facebook may be acting in violation of existing federal law, including the Childrens Privacy Protection Act. She said that Congress should look into whether such violations are happening.

I think it will be this Congress and this subcommittee that will lead the way to online privacy [and] data security, she posited.

Blackburn also nodded to Klobuchar, a longtime advocate of strengthening and using antitrust laws. The Tennessee Republican indicated that she agreed with these sentiments, suggesting that antitrust may be used in conjunction with new federal privacy legislation and Section 230 reform.

Democrats and Republicans Diverge on Specific Problems

Despite the show of bipartisanship for a solution, Democrats and Republicans are not quite united on the specific nature of the problems.

Divergence between the two parties views of social media giants like Facebook and Twitter have long been evident.

For years, Republicans and Republican-aligned conservatives have claimed that their voices are unfairly censored by the companies. Such censorship takes many forms for critics, including outright banning of an account, deleting tweets or posts, or shadow banning an account, meaning that the account is not banned but its posts are shown only to followers, stunting the accounts growth.

These concerns only grew after Donald Trump, while still the sitting U.S. president, was removed from Twitter. Even some critics of the former president, like progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), said that they were not comfortable with the move.

Democrats, on the other hand, have emphasized the platforms role in spreading alleged misinformation. They say that these platforms have not done enough to crack down on such misinformation. These critics also allege that social media laxity contributed to the Jan. 6 Stop the Steal protest, during which a small number of people among the protesters entered the U.S. Capitol building.

These differing approaches to the problems were on full display during the Tuesday hearing.

Klobuchar spoke most forcefully for the Democratic critics, saying that Facebook found that its algorithms [foster] polarization, misinformation, and hate but that the company allowed 99 percent of violent content to remain unchecked on their platform, including lead-up to the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said during his questions to Haugen that Facebook and other social media platforms had shown a pattern of engaging in political censorship.

Even with the general feeling that action is needed, the hearing showed that understanding of the nature of Facebooks problems continues to divide Republicans and Democrats.

Dont Break Up Facebook With Antitrust: Haugen

During another portion of the hearing, Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) asked Haugen whether breaking up the social media kingpin would solve the problems discussed during the hearing.

While Blackburn and Klobuchar have especially floated the idea, Haugen indicated that she disagrees with any such measure.

Haugen promptly responded, Im actually against the breaking up of Facebook. She explained that such antitrust action would not address the root problems, which she said lie with the artificial intelligence used to power Facebooks powerful algorithm.

She digressed, Facebook is the internet for lots of the world, especially noting poorer regions of Africa as a prime example. If you go to Africa, the internet is Facebook.

If Instagram and Facebook were split up, which has been the main thrust of demands for antitrust action, Haugen said that its likely that most advertising dollars would go to Instagram.

Facebook will still be this Frankenstein that is altering lives around the world, only now there wont be money to fund it.

Facebook Calls For New Standard Rules

Facebook immediately responded following the whistleblowers testimony. In a response to the Senate hearing, the company suggested that Haugens credibility was in question, saying she was a former product manager at Facebook who worked for the company for less than two years, had no direct reports, never attended a decision-point meeting with C-level executives.

The response from Lena Pietsch, the companys director of policy communications, continued: We dont agree with her characterization of the many issues she testified about. Despite this, we agree on one thing; its time to begin to create standard rules for the internet.

The companys response reflected Zuckerbergs previous statements that expressed he is open to action by the government to regulate his platform.

The short response ends, Its been 25 years since the rules for the internet have been updated, and instead of expecting the industry to make societal decisions that belong to legislators, it is time for Congress to act.
LA County Employees Lawsuit Alleges COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Unconstitutional

Five Los Angeles County employees sued the city over the recent COVID-19 vaccine mandate for city workers, arguing that the mandate is unconstitutional.

Back in August, Los Angeles Board of Supervisors Chair Hilda Solis issued an executive order mandating all county workers receive COVID-19 vaccination by Oct. 7an order which the rest of the board later ratified.

L.A. County should lead by example, Supervisor Sheila Kuehl told The Epoch Times in a previous interview. The best step we can take for the health of all our residents is for as many working adults as possible to be vaccinated, so we are starting with our own 100,000 plus employees, insisting that, for a start, they either be fully vaccinated or get a COVID-19 test each week and eventually get vaccinated, unless they are exempted for health or religious beliefs.

A medical volunteer prepares the Moderna coronavirus vaccination for a patient at Lestonnac Free Clinic in Orange, Calif., on March 9, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

County Employee Lawsuit

While the order allows for exemptions for religious or medical reasons, many county employees say that the exemptions were not enough, and that the mandate is unconstitutional.

The county must consider and offer reasonable accommodations as a middle ground between individual freedoms and collective rights, the lawsuit stated. It did not do that. Instead, it viewed this sensitive personal issue through the lens of partisan politics.

The lawsuit also alleged the order exceeds the countys power under the Emergency Services Act, and claims it was implemented during proceedings that violated the states open-meeting law; it also claims the boards ratification of the order was done without sufficient notice to the public.

A spokesperson for Los Angeles County told The Epoch Times in an email statement that while the county cannot comment on pending litigation, Los Angeles County is the largest municipal workforce in the nation, and we are encouraged that more than 81 percent of our employees have already registered their vaccination status.

The lawsuit alleges that thousands of county employees, including the five plaintiffs, have not complied with the countys mandate. The plaintiffs are Sheriffs Department employees Vincent Tsai and Oscar Rodriguez, Probation Department worker Enrique Iribe, Sanitation Department employee Mohamed Bina, Department of Public Health worker Shayne Lamont and nonprofit group Protection for the Educational Rights of Kids.

Some Angelenos Call for Alternative Options to Vaccine Mandates

The Coalition of County Unions called for the expansion of categories of medical exemptions to include natural immunity for those who have already had COVID-19.

An Israeli study reported in September said that the immunity conferred by recovering from COVID-19 is better than the protection afforded by COVID-19 vaccines.

Service Employees International Union (SEIU) 721 represents about 55,000 workers, including probation officers, foster care workers, and healthcare workers like nurses and lab technicians, and is the countys largest union. SEIU said in a statement that about 30 percent, or about 16,500, of their members are vaccine-hesitant. SEIU advocated for a regular testing option for its members who are vaccine-hesitant.

Given the significant challenges around vaccine hesitancy and the urgent need to contain the Delta variant spike, SEIU 721 will continue to strongly advocate for a robust, regular testing option for unvaccinated members, the group said in a statement.

L.A. City and County Employees Plan on Seeking Vaccine Exemptions

Last month, the city of L.A. reported that more than 6,000 people, or 11 percent, of city employees plan to seek vaccine exemptions. Roughly 48 percent of city employees are fully vaccinated, and 50 percent reported that they were at least partially vaccinated. A total of 23,000 city employees have not reported their vaccination status, while 5,688 said they were unvaccinated.

Nearly half of the 6,000 employees seeking exemptions come from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), where 2,651 employees plan to file for religious exemptions, and 368 plan to file for medical exemptions. On Sept. 11, six LAPD employees filed a lawsuit in federal court against the city, claiming the citys vaccine mandate violates their rights and that the LAPD failed to create a formal process to submit requests for medical or religious exemptions.

Supervisor Chair Hilda Solis, plaintiffs attorney John Howard, and PERK Group did not respond to a request for comment by press time.
LA Sheriffs Department Gets $5 Million to Shut Down Illegal Grow Operations, Dispensaries

LOS ANGELESLos Angeles County officials agreed Oct. 6 to spend $5 million to crack down on illegal cannabis grow operations in the Antelope Valley and dispensaries in unincorporated areas countywide as part of a $39.3 billion budget for the 2021-22 fiscal year.

Supervisor Kathryn Barger had pushed hard for the funding, even as community advocates sought to shut down any new funds going to the Sheriffs Department.

Illegal cannabis operations continue to threaten the well-being of our residents, water supply, and environment, Barger said Tuesday. By empowering and equipping our law enforcement partners with the resources they need, we can better protect our communities.

Roughly half of the $5 million will go to bolster Sheriffs Department efforts to shut down grow operations that steal water and damage the environment. That includes 10 trucks needed to investigate on rough, rural terrain.

Another unit within the department will target illegal dispensaries in unincorporated areas, including the Antelope Valley.

The Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department (LASD) also has a $500,000 grant that can be used to fund both efforts.

Barger said that during a 10-day operation this summer, the LASD worked in partnership with local, state, and federal partners to seize 16 tons of illegal cannabis plants worth $1.19 billion in the Antelope Valley.

Arrests in the operation totaled 131, and 180 animals living on grow sites were rescued, according to Barger, who said grows in the Antelope Valley have increased from 150 in 2020 to more than 500.

In July, Barger unsuccessfully sought support from her colleagues for tougher criminal penalties for commercial cannabis and hemp grow operations that she said are using dangerous pesticides, stealing water from fire hydrants and frightening neighbors into silence.

Its not just local residents who are affected, Barger said in July, noting that unregulated chemicals can harm buyers even beyond the Los Angeles Basin.

During public comment at that July meeting, residents painted a picture of a lawless environment in which locals were challenged at gunpoint and enforcement was close to nonexistent.

This is not the Wild West. Our taxpaying citizens should be safe in the Fifth District and not be intimidated by cartel thugs, Green Valley Town Councilmember Joe Randles said at the time. Our groundwater is being contaminated by grow chemicals, our water systems are being compromised by theft, our land is being decimated along with the protected Joshua trees. This is an unfolding disaster.

Chris Minsal, a lifelong resident of the north county and president of the Pearblossom Rural Town Council, said he wanted to see commercial cannabis regulated, rather than banned, to generate tax dollars for enforcement against illegal operators.

Never in my life [have] I ever seen lawlessness like Ive witnessed over the last year, with people doing whatever they want, because they all know theres only one, maybe two sheriffs at any given time covering an area the size of the San Fernando Valley, Minsal said in July. Its easy to hide, threaten people, take over a town, ruin quality of life for its residents.

As for dispensaries, they are illegal in all unincorporated areas of the county, even as they operate profitably elsewhere.

The countys prohibition on marijuana dispensaries in unincorporated areas has been in place since 2010 and was broadened in 2017 to include the cultivation, manufacture, testing, and distribution of the drug for other than personal use.

California voted to legalize cannabis in 2016 and legal recreational sales began in January 2018. The county agreed in July to reconsider its ban.
Demonstrators take part in a protest against government-imposed COVID-19 measures, which include an attempt to introduce a mandatory health pass for access to cafes, shops, public transportation vehicles and other venues in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Sept. 10, 2021. (Paulius Peleckis/Getty Images)

Lithuanian Government to Offer Seniors 100 to Get COVID-19 Shots

The Lithuanian cabinet on Wednesday has approved a proposal to pay 100 euros (about $115) to those aged 75 and older to get vaccinated against the CCP virus as one-third in this age group hesitates to get the jab.

There are over 270,000 people in Lithuania who are aged 75 years and over; they belong to a high risk group and their immunization rates are significantly lower than those of other high-risk groups, Social Security and Labour Minister Monika Navickiene said during a cabinet meeting while presenting the proposal,

Lithuanian news agency LRT English reported.

In this group, we have about 80,000 people who have not been vaccinated or have not had the virus, she added.

The one-time payment for seniors getting the shots will not only be given to those who are yet to be vaccinated against the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, but also to those who take a COVID-19 booster shot by the end of March next year.

Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte said during a televised government meeting she hopes the one-time payment will boost the inoculation rate for the group, explaining authorities are unable to convince them to vaccinate otherwise.

Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte poses ahead of a meeting at the European Council in Brussels, Belgium, on June 3, 2021. (Stephanie Lecocq/Pool via Reuters)

The cabinet estimates that the government will spend more than 27 million euros ($31.1 million) if every eligible senior over the age of 75 gets their full vaccination between September and November.

If the Seimas, or the parliament of Lithuania, approves the draft law next week, seniors choosing the one-time payment could expect the money in December or April 2022, LRT English reported.

Simonyte said she believes that if the payment of 100 euros helps at least some people to get vaccinated against the disease, the new law will be an investment worth doing.

According to government data, 73 percent of all Lithuanian adults are vaccinated while about one-third of those aged 75 or older remain unvaccinated.

Since the start of the CCP virus pandemic nearly two years ago, about two-thirds of the 5,116 COVID-19 deaths in the country have been in this senior age group.

People with flags and banners protesting against COVID-19 policies in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Sept. 10, 2021. (Paulius Peleckis/Getty Images)

Last month, several thousand protesters staged a rally on the central Cathedral Square of Vilnius in Lithuania to denounce several COVID-19 policies such as vaccination passports, the requirement to wear face masks in schools, among some other measures.

Im not against vaccination in principle, but it must be possible for a person to choose for himself, and not create conditions in which he simply has to be vaccinated, Rima Junel, a 56-year-old protester, told news agency AFP.

The Baltic European country requires people to be in possession of a COVID-19 vaccination passport prior to entering many economic activities such as shopping malls, restaurants, and beauty salons.

The passport is given to those who are fully vaccinated against the CCP virus, have recently recovered from the disease, or have tested negative in the last 48 hours.

Reuters contributed to this report.

From NTD News
Ships wait to be offloaded at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach on Jan. 12, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Long Beach Port to Remain Backlogged Until Next Summer, Officials Say

LOS ANGELESThe Los Angeles and Long Beach ports located in the San Pedro Bay are expected to remain backlogged until at least next summer due to a record number of container ships arriving, Long Beach Port Deputy Executive Director Noel Hacegaba told The Epoch Times.

Hacegaba said the extended port congestion may negatively impact the global supply chain.

The two ports, with cargo that passes through its docks reaching all 435 congressional districts, is expected to accept a whopping 20 million container units this yeara 16 percent increase over the 17.5 million it took in 2020 and 16 million in 2019.

Currently, there are 63 container ships anchored in the bay waiting to berth, a slight decrease from the record number of 73 anchored ships last week, although still far beyond what is usual. The 63 ships at anchorage are carrying at least 750,000 container units among them.

Ships wait to be offloaded at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach on Jan. 12, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

The uptick in ships at the port was first noticed back in July 2020, when manufacturing in Asia began to increase again after slowing down due to the pandemic. Additionally, Americans began spending their money on goods instead of services due to increased time spent at home.

The slowdown in processing time for container ships has been felt across the supply chain, with stores often needing to wait months to stock up on certain items.

Currently, the average time a vessel waits at anchorage is five to eight days, and once at berth, takes another three to five days to discharge all its containers onto land.

In an effort to decrease processing time, the Long Beach Port has worked to increase the rate of unloading the containers.

We are literally working around the clock to get those ships to berth and get those containers unloaded so that the goods can make their way to the store shelves, Hacegaba said. Just last week, we launched a 24-hour pilot program, and the idea is to keep the terminals open 24 hours to maximize the opportunities to move those containers out of the port throughout the day and throughout the night.

Ships wait to be offloaded at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach on Jan. 12, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

In addition to expanding operating hours, the port is looking to address supply chain issues by activating vacant land within the port complex.

In January, the port activated 17 acres of space to serve as a temporary staging site for containers that had yet to be picked up by trucks, and that space has now grown to 65 acres. Utilizing the space, the terminals are able to move the containers as soon as theyre off the ship in order to allow more ships to berth, Hacegaba said.

While the port has done what it can to expand operations, it can only go so far without the rest of the supply chain adjusting to allow for extra cargo. Truckers, and warehouse space to hold the merchandise, are operating in a limited capacity, adding to bottlenecks in the chain.

Were encouraging all segments of the supply chain to maximize hours of operation and maximize resources, because the truck driver shortage existed before the pandemic, but now we also have a labor shortage at the warehouses. So in our view, its even more reason to expand hours of operation, because we need those facilities open, and we need those trucks to be moving, and we need all the equipment to be circulating in the supply chain, Hacegaba said.

While the supply chain continues to ramp up to accommodate the goods, cost is definitely a factor affecting how fast the chain will adjust.

If you were to ask me, Why is the supply chain not 24/7 to date, I would say cost is probably one of the major factors. But when you consider the situation were in right where you have 60 ships in anchorage, you have six- to eight-month delays of goods arriving to stores, the question we have to ask is whats the cost of not having the merchandise in stores, he said.

So its going to be incremental, its going to be something thats going to be done over time. We dont expect the supply chain to readjust overnight. However, we hope that this pilot program we launched last week will serve as a catalyst to get the broader supply chain moving in that direction.

Cranes offload shipping containers at the Port of Los Angeles, in Long Beach, Calif., on Jan. 12, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Jumpstarting the supply chain after it originally slowed down during the pandemic may be more difficult than imagined, according to Salvatore Mercogliano, an associate professor of history at Campbell University in North Carolina and adjunct professor at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.

Mercogliano said the flow of goods is like cars going down a freewaywhen traffic is flowing, everything moves nicely. But if theres a traffic jam, it takes a long time to get that flow back to normal even after the initial issue is dealt with.

We have that stoppage just due to COVID, and what happened is now were catching up, he said. And so all these goods are now flowing across, but the problem is you can offload these vessels faster than the goods can get off the terminals.

Another big limitation right now is the chassis, which are the back ends of the trucks that the containers sit on, Mercogliano said. Like other parts of the supply chain, the increased demand has caused an increased need for chassis.

And so now you literally have truck drivers arriving at the port of LA and Long Beach, and the containers are there, the trucks are there, but theres nothing to pull [the containers] on, he said.
This illustration photo shows a person looking at the app for the New York State Excelsior Pass, which provides digital proof of a COVID-19 vaccination, in front of a screen showing the New York skyline, taken in Los Angeles on April 6, 2021. (Chris Delmas/AFP via Getty Images)

Los Angeles Passes One of the Strictest US COVID-19 Vaccination Mandates

The Los Angeles City Council on Oct. 6 approved one of the strictest COVID-19 vaccination mandates in the country, requiring proof of vaccination to enter indoor restaurants, movie theaters, salons, shopping centers, and many more indoor venues.

People will have to provide vaccination proof at gyms, sports arenas, museums, spas, indoor government facilities, malls, restaurants, and bars. For people with religious or medical exemptions, negative COVID-19 tests within 72 hours of entry will be required, according to the ordinance, which doesnt make mention of natural immunity afforded by a previous COVID-19 infection.

Unvaccinated individuals attempting to use government services will be provided with alternative arrangements for access to government services, including online or outdoor services, or providing proof of a negative test to enter, according to the ordinance.

Retail establishments such as grocery stores and pharmacies arent included.

The city council vote on Oct. 6 was 112, with Councilmen John Lee and Joe Buscaino voting to oppose the new mandate. The earliest the mandate can take effect is in one month, or on Nov. 6.

The mandate would have been allowed to take effect immediately had the measure received 12 votes.

The mandate essentially adds to the health order that was approved on Sept. 17 that forces bars, lounges, breweries, wineries, and nightclubs to require that patrons show proof of vaccination to enter. The ordinance also said that events with more than 10,000 attendees need to require proof of vaccination or a negative test.

Similar mandates have also been implemented in New York City, New Orleans, San Francisco, and West Hollywood. Some European countries, Israel, and other nations have also implemented vaccine passport-type systems, while Israel recently announced that residents will have to get a booster dose six months after they receive their second shot in order to be considered fully vaccinated.

Earlier this year, Lee told reporters that he had concerns with the proposal and argued that its arbitrary and will not lead to increased vaccinations of our residents.

The Los Angeles County Business Federation criticized the new restrictions, saying it would place Los Angeles businesses at a competitive disadvantage to other neighboring areas, while raising questions about how businesses could fight false accusations. Meanwhile, the United Chambers of Commerce of the San Fernando Valley said the mandate is impractical and unreasonable to enforce.

Other critics, including residents, said that the mandate is divisive, a form of discrimination, and would create a two-tiered society of vaccinated and unvaccinated people.

I am appalled that the City Council is even putting forth such a draconian, unconstitutional, immoral mandate, one said in a letter to council members, the Los Angeles Times reported.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fully vaccinated individuals can still contract COVID-19 and transmit it to others. Federal health officials have suggested that theyre less likely to develop symptoms, require hospitalization, or die.

COVID-19 is the illness caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.
Lt. Col. Scheller to Face Oct. 14 Trial by Court-Martial

Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller has been reportedly charged with six violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice and will face trial by court-martial on Oct. 14.

According to a source familiar with the matter, the trial will be open to the public.

The source said Schellers defense team has requested a larger courtroom to accommodate the numerous reporters, lawmakers, family members, and other members of the public who are interested in the case.

Schellers attorney, Brian Ferguson, has declined to comment publicly on the matter.

Scheller was freed from pretrial detention on Oct. 5 after being placed in the brig in September for criticizing senior military officials over the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

According to the Army Times, he has been charged with Article 88 (contempt toward officials), Article 89 (disrespect toward superior commissioned officers), Article 90 (willfully disobeying a superior commissioned officer), Article 92 (dereliction in the performance of duties), Article 92 (failure to obey order or regulation), and Article 133 (conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman).

Numerous lawmakers and Schellers family have spoken out against what they view to be political persecution against the Marine veteran.

This confinement appears to be simply for messaging, retribution, and convenience in flagrant violation of R.C.M. [Rule for Court Martial]: a person should not be confined as a mere matter of convenience, reads a Sept. 29 letter from 35 members of Congress calling for Schellers release.

He is an American war hero. He has fought for his men and women that follow him. Hes fought on the battlefield for them. I believe he has risked his life for his fellow service people and Americans. He is now risking his livelihood for them. He saw a misjustice happening at the top, and he felt that they should be held accountable for it, Cathy Scheller, Stuart Schellers mother, said on NTDs The Nation Speaks.

Stuart Schellers father, Stu Scheller Sr., said support from fellow Americans will greatly help his son. The Marine Corps will win the battle.

But America is going to help Stuart win the war, he said.
An aircraft takes off from Heathrow airport in west London, on Sept. 2, 2014. (Andrew Winning/Reuters)

Man Accused of ISIS Membership Remanded in Custody

An alleged member of the ISIS terrorist group has appeared in court charged with terror offences after he was arrested at Heathrow Airport.

Shabazz Suleman is alleged to have manned ribats (fortifications), performed guard duty, and carried out military police patrols for ISIS.

Prosecutors say the 25-year-old received weapons training from the terror group after travelling to Syria from Turkey, having left the UK in 2014.

Suleman was arrested at Heathrow last week after flying back into the country from Pakistan.

He appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court on Wednesday, wearing a blue sweater and grey tracksuit bottoms.

Suleman, from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, stood in the dock, speaking only to confirm his name, date of birth, and address during the brief hearing.

He was not asked to enter pleas to charges of preparing for acts of terrorism, under Section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006; membership of a proscribed organisationnamely ISISunder Section 11 of the Terrorism Act 2000; and receiving weapons training, under Section 54 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

His lawyer, Sanjeev Sharma, made no application for bail and Suleman was remanded in custody by Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring ahead of his next court appearance at the Old Bailey on Oct. 15.

By Henry Vaughan
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) speaks to reporters outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Sept. 30, 2021. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Manchin Signals He Wont Support Filibuster Exception Over Debt Limit

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) signaled on Oct. 6 that he wont support carving out an exception to the filibuster for the federal debt limit, meaning Democrats dont have enough votes to employ the so-called nuclear option.

Ive been very, very clear where I stand on the filibuster. I dont have to repeat that. I think Ive been very clear. Nothings changed, Manchin told reporters in Washington.

Some Democrats want to nuke the filibuster to boost the debt ceiling because theyre refusing to use reconciliation to address it, and Republicans oppose their current plans on the limit.

President Joe Biden said late Oct. 5 that theres a real possibility Democrats in the Senate will invoke the option, which would lower the voting threshold to a simple majority from 60.

But Democrats only hold 50 seats in the upper chamber, which means they cant afford a single no vote from a Democrat. With Manchins newest comments, reinforcing his continued opposition to altering the filibuster, hopes of carving out an exception are doomed.

A carve-out always depends on whether the votes are there, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) told reporters shortly before Manchin spoke, adding that they should speak to Manchin and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), who has also said she will not support changing or removing the filibuster.

The United States faces a recession if the debt ceiling isnt raised or suspended by Oct. 18, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned this week. Democrats are so far refusing to fold it into a budget package they hope to pass through reconciliation, which enables them to ram it through Congress with no Republican votes. Even if they turn to reconciliation, Republicans can jam up the process in the Senate. And with so-called progressive and moderate Democrats, including Manchin, at loggerheads on the package, theres no guarantee that Democrats can whip up enough support for it.

The House of Representatives last week approved a bill that would suspend the debt limit until December 2022. The Senate was scheduled to hold a procedural vote on it on Oct. 6, but Republicans planned to filibuster it. Once the filibuster is entered, 60 votes would be needed to advance the legislation.

Few Republicans have indicated an openness to vote for the bill.

Even now, while the Democratic leader complains that hes short on time, he continues to waste time with partisan stunts that are dead on arrival. He scheduled yet another vote this afternoon, which he knows will fail, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said on the Senate floor ahead of the vote.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) later shot back, accusing Republicans of obstructing plans to address the ceiling.

Weve already presented Republicans with numerous opportunities to do what they say they want, including by offering a simple majority vote so Democrats can suspend the debt ceiling on our own, as Republicans have asked, but each time Republicans have chosen obstruction and kept us, unfortunately, on a path to default, Schumer said.

Biden said after returning to Washington from Michigan that he planned to speak with McConnell, and Manchin urged McConnell and Schumer to work out some kind of agreement.

I truly implore both leaders  to engage, start working, work this out, Manchin said. There should not be a crisis.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) walks to his office at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Oct. 6, 2021. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

McConnell Proposes Deal With Democrats on Suspending Debt Limit

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Wednesday proposed a deal with Democrats that would help them suspend the debt ceiling before the United States defaults.

McConnell in a statement said Republicans would help Democrats expedite the process known as reconciliation to address the debt limit. He also said the GOP would let Democrats pass an emergency debt limit extension at a fixed dollar amount, which would cover current spending levels into December.

This will moot Democrats excuses about the time crunch they created and give the unified Democratic government more than enough time to pass standalone debt limit legislation through reconciliation, he said. Alternatively, if Democrats abandon their efforts to ram through another historically reckless taxing and spending spree that will hurt families and help China, a more traditional bipartisan governing conversation could be possible.

The proposal seeks to quench Democrat complaints that Republicans may seek to delay a reconciliation vote, making it a risky maneuver because the U.S. faces a crisis if the ceiling isnt suspended or raised by Oct. 18, while reinforcing McConnells position that most Republicans wont vote with Democrats to address the limit.

Democrats were facing the prospect of being unable to muster 60 votes to bypass a filibuster on a House of Representatives bill that would suspend the ceiling until December 2022. A procedural vote on the measure was expected to happen on Wednesday afternoon.

Party leaders have repeatedly exhorted Republicans not to filibuster the bill but McConnell and other top GOP senators say Democrats should turn to reconciliation, which the party has already used once this year and plans to use at least once more to ram through a mammoth, multitrillion spending package.

Democrats are willing to step up and stop this economic catastrophe if our Republican friends just get out of the way, President Joe Biden said during a meeting with business leaders at the White House.

President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting with business leaders about the debt limit in the South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington on Oct. 6, 2021. (Evan Vucci/AP Photo)

Democrats mulled carving out an exception to the filibuster for the debt limit but were stopped by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who refused to back that play.

McConnells new statement comes after he harshly criticized Democrats on the Senate floor, noting that Democrats in both legislative chambers have admitted this week they could handle the debt limit crisis using reconciliation.

Our colleagues have plenty of time to get it done before the earliest projected deadline. There would be potential for time agreements to wrap it up well before any danger, but the Democratic leaders wanted solutions. They wanted to turn their failure into everybody elses crisis, playing risky games with our economy, using manufactured drama to bully their own members, indulging petty politics instead of governing. Their entire failed approach to governing in a nutshell on full display for the country to see, he said.

McConnells offer is going to give us a way out of the woods, which is what we want, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) told reporters on Capitol Hill.

Democrats, though, appeared unimpressed.

Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) unleashed an expletive, telling reporters, What kind of an offer is that?

That sounds like a terrible idea, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) added. Im obviously willing to listen to any new ideas, but just pushing this crisis off for a couple of months sounds like a disaster. It sounds like an invitation to get downgraded.

Others were more willing to consider the offer.

Im going to have to look at it and see what it is. I want to get this done, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said.
In this image taken from video, former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin addresses the court as Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill presides over Chauvin's sentencing, at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis, Minn., on June 25, 2021. (Court TV via AP, Pool)

Minnesota Supreme Court Denies Chauvins Request for Public Defender

Minnesotas top court on Wednesday denied former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvins request for a public defender to represent him in his bid to appeal his conviction and sentence in George Floyds death last year.

Chauvin was convicted in April of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in Floyds death. He was later sentenced to more than 22 years in prison earlier this year.

Last month, Chauvin filed an appeal and sought pauper status, meaning that he wouldnt have to pay court costs and filing fees. Chauvin also applied to receive a public defender because his debts currently exceed his limited assets.

The Office of the Minnesota Appellate Public Defender ruled him ineligible. On Wednesday, the Minnesota Supreme Court agreed.

Having reviewed Chauvins request, the information provided regarding his assets and debts, and the OMAPDs (Minnesota Appellate Public Defender) determination, we conclude that Chauvin has not established that he is entitled to appointed representation at this time, the state Supreme Court ruled.

Chauvin could seek a public defender in the future if hes not able to pay for a lawyer, the Supreme Court also contended.

Chauvin and the three other ex-Minneapolis police officersTou Thao, Thomas Lane, and J. Alexander Kuengare also charged with federal civil rights offenses. The four on Sept. 14 pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The former officer also filed an affidavit saying he has no attorney in the appeals process and has no income aside from nominal prison wages. The Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Associations legal defense fund paid for his case before Judge Peter Cahill.

I have been informed that their obligation to pay for my representation terminated upon my conviction and sentencing, he wrote.

In his appeal, Chauvin alleged that the court abused its discretion when denying the defenses motion for a change of venue and sequestration of the trial. He also claimed there was prejudicial prosecutorial misconduct committed by state prosecutors.

Other issues he raised were the courts move to not allow Morries Hall, who was with Floyd during the night of his death, to testify, the courts denial of the defenses post-verdict motion for a new trial due to juror misconduct, and several other complaints.

After Chauvin was seen on Floyds neck during a viral video captured in Minneapolis on Memorial Day 2020, demonstrations, riots, arson attacks, and vandalism erupted in Minneapolis and in other cities across the United States. Some police groups have alleged that protesters anti-police animus triggered an increase in violent crime last year and in 2021.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan (R) speaks as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken looks on at the opening session of U.S.China talks at the Captain Cook Hotel in Anchorage, Alaska, on March 18, 2021. (Frederic J. Brown/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

National Security Adviser Sullivan Will Meet Chinese Envoy in Europe

President Joe Bidens national security adviser Jake Sullivan will meet Chinas top diplomat Yang Jiechi this week, the White House announced on Oct. 5.

The meeting will take place in Zurich, one of the stops on Sullivans trip to Europe that will also take him to Brussels and Paris. The announcement did not specify which date of the week the talks will take place.

They will follow up on President Bidens September 9 call with President Xi [Jinping] as we continue to seek to responsibly manage the competition between the United States and the Peoples Republic of China, the White House said in a statement. Sullivan will also brief European allies and partners on his meeting with Yang.

Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping talked about a number of issues during the phone call, including how both nations were responsible to ensure competition does not veer into conflict. Biden revealed on Tuesday that the two leaders have also previously spoken about Taiwan, that the two agreed to abide by the Taiwan agreement.

China has recently stepped up its coercion against the self-ruled island. For four days ending on Oct. 4, the Chinese regime flew 149 military planes into Taiwans air defense identification zone, raising regional tensions to a new height. Australia and Japan have expressed concerns about Chinas aggression, as have several Democratic and Republican lawmakers.

On Oct. 6, Taiwans Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng told the islands Parliament that tension between Taipei and Beijing is now at its worst in 40 years. He also warned that China would be capable of launching a full-scale invasion against Taiwan by 2025.

China claims Taiwan as a part of its territory despite the island being a de facto independent country with its own military, constitution, and democratically-elected officials.

Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a short statement on the meeting, saying that Sullivan and Yang will exchange views on ChinaU.S. relations and relevant issues.

The Zurich meeting will come at a time when tensions are high between China and the United States, not only over Taiwan, but also on a number of other issues, including bilateral trade.

On Monday, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai pledged to hold talks with Beijing over its failure to meet the terms of former President Donald Trumps trade deal, after ending a months-long policy review of trade with China.

The bigger question surrounding the upcoming talks is whether Sullivan and Yang will be able to make some progress on issues concerning both nations, considering that their last face-to-face meeting in Alaska in March ended acrimoniously.

In a public tirade, Yang dressed down Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Sullivan over what he described as the United States poor treatment of minorities and struggling democracy. Chinas Foreign Minister Wang Yi also took part in the meeting.

In February, Yang warned the Biden administration not to cross Beijings red line, meaning not to interfere in Chinas affairs in Hong Kong, Tibet, and Xinjiang, during an online event hosted by New York-based nonprofit the National Committee on U.S.China Relations.

Whats more, Chinas state-run media have attacked Sullivan over his recent remarks.

In July, Sullivan told Fox News that China will face isolation in the international community if it fails to cooperate with future probes into the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.

In response to Sullivans warning, Chinas hawkish state-run media Global Times published an editorial, saying that Sullivan has shown typical American arrogance of calling white black. The article also questioned if the national security adviser had any normal self-esteem, and said his remarks were as hilarious as a bad boy in an elementary school class.

I think the hope is that it will lead to a BidenXi Jinping meeting, which may have to be virtual, Bonnie Glaser, an Asia expert at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, told Reuters.

There has been speculation that Biden and Xi could meet in person during the G-20 summit in Italy, which is scheduled to be held for two days starting on Oct. 30 in Rome.

Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated the timing of the phone call between Biden and Xi. The Epoch Times regrets the error.
A child looks out from a door as a Uighur woman walks by in a residential area in Turpan, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, on Oct. 31, 2013. (Michael Martina/Reuters)

New COVID-19 Cases in Chinas Xinjiang Region Triggers Lockdown of Prefecture

Homes have been sealed and large numbers of travelers are stranded in a prefecture in Chinas Xinjiang region bordering Kazakhstan where two new cases of COVID-19 have been found, according to residents.

The Xinjiang Health Commission reported on Oct. 3 two new cases of asymptomatic infections in Khorgos City, Ili Kazakh Prefecture (Ili Prefecture). On the same day, the city, with a population of 85,000, reportedly contact traced 192 people, all of whom were quarantined.

Local residents told the Chinese language Epoch Times about the current situation in the affected region which is on the China-Kazakhstan border.

This place is under complete lockdown and no outsiders can come in, a resident surnamed Li in Khorgos City said on Oct. 4.

A large number of travelers are stranded here and not allowed to leave. They have been put in hotels and monitored by government-designated personnel, she said.

Li said that she was also required to quarantine at home, and her door had been sealed off.

We are all isolated at home  We are all very anxious being locked inside at home, she said.

Li said she was very worried. It was a mother and daughter who were diagnosed. The official did not say how they were infected. We are scared.

Li revealed that at present, all supermarkets and shops are closed, and all the goods in the supermarket have been sold out.

There are community volunteers delivering rationed food [to community residents], she said.

The Epoch Times obtained a video of local residents panic shopping and emptying out local supermarkets.

Shutting Down Transportation

Mainland Chinese media reported that on Oct. 3, that a large number of flights to and from Urumqi Diwopu, Korla, Aksu, Yining, and other airports in Xinjiang were canceled. As part of that 13 domestic inbound flights and 11 outbound flights were canceled at the airport at Yining, a mid-sized city in the prefecture

With a population of more than half a million, Yining City has also implemented traffic controls, and the railway station has also suspended any transportation of passengers.

A homestay owner in Yining said that the city has always had the most strict COVID-19 control measures, even before the report of the recent cases.

Now all residential communities have been locked down and residents are not even allowed to go downstairs, the woman said.

I told my guests who are from Beijing about the new cases and lockdown, so they left when they still could. Otherwise, they will not be allowed to leave. Guests in other homestays are stranded, she said.

They are only allowed to go downstairs in batches, when they need to buy food, she said. Buses and private cars are banned on the streets, only taxis can still operate, and there are checkpoints everywhere, she added.

Due to a lack of transparency, the ruling communist regime has been suspected of covering up the real COVID-19 situation and the actual infection number remains unknown.

Hong Ning and Gu Xiaohua contributed to the report.
Its been about a month since the chaotic full withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan. Since then, there have been many reports of violence and even murder of Afghans left there who allied with the United States. There are also reports of journalists, protesters for womens rights, and others being targeted by the Taliban. What are the hopes for basic human rights to be recognized and press freedom in this climate?

Twenty years on from the ousting of the Taliban, Afghans have experienced greater freedoms and access to education. Are they better equipped to negotiate the totalitarianism now bearing down on them? In this edition of The Wide Angle, we probe these questions with award-winning journalist and Kabul University lecturer Sami Mahdi.

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A tick at the French National Institute of Agricultural Research in Maison-Alfort, on July 20, 2016. (Bertrand Guay/AFP/Getty Images)

New Tick-Borne Virus Found in Japan

Researchers in Japan have discovered an infectious tick-borne virus in Hokkaido that can infect humans, according to a study published in Nature on Sept. 20.

At least seven people have been infected with this new virus in Japan since 2014, but, so far, no deaths have been confirmed, said Keita Matsuno, a virologist at Hokkaido University, in a statement.

The Hokkaido-based researchers discovered the novel Yezo virus after investigating two Japanese patients who had developed fever and systemic illness after presumed tick bites.

The name Yezo is the historical Japanese name for the island of Hokkaidoone of Japans main islandswhere the virus is thought to originate.

Gene segments of the Yezo virus were identified in the blood and urine of both cases. Researchers also further identified five positive cases from blood samples of 248 patients suspected of bearing tick-borne diseases since 2014.

The two most recent cases were infected in a forest in Sapporo, Hokkaido, when both men were bitten by an unidentified arthropod, suspected to be a tick, that latched onto the skin for at least 30 minutes.

Neither men had previous medical conditions. Both developed symptoms of ongoing fevers for three to four days, low platelet and white cell counts, and some form of skin reaction to the tick bite.

Researchers also screened samples from wild animals to determine the likely source of the virus. They found viral antibodies in the Hokkaido sika deer and raccoons indigenous to the region. They also found the virus RNA in three major species of ticks in Hokkaido.

The Yezo virus seems to have established its distribution in Hokkaido, and it is highly likely that the virus causes the illness when it is transmitted to humans from animals via ticks, said Matsuno.

While Yezo virus has yet proved to be fatal, Matsuno said it is likely that the disease is found beyond Hokkaido and emphasized the need to investigate its spread.

More hospitals should test for the virus in patients who complain of the symptoms, a press release from Hokkaido University said.

In the United States alone, state and local health departments reported 50,865 cases of tick-borne diseases to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2019.

Between 2016 and 2019, Lyme disease remained the most common tick-borne disease in the United States.

According to the CDC, there has been an upward trend in the number of tick-borne diseases annually between 2004 and 2019.
NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (Oct. 6)

Four victims are injured with one in critical condition after a shooting at a Dallas-area high school, senators meet in Washington and governors meet at the southern border to discuss potential border solutions, and hundreds of thousands of COVID-19 test kits are recalled.
The logo of Nvidia Corporation is seen during the annual Computex computer exhibition in Taipei, Taiwan on May 30, 2017. (Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

Nvidia Offers EU Concessions Over $54 Billion Arm Deal

BRUSSELSNvidia has offered concessions in a bid to secure EU antitrust approval for its $54 billion acquisition of British chip designer Arm, a European Commission filing showed on Wednesday.

The deal announced by worlds biggest maker of graphics and AI chips last year has sparked concerns in the semiconductor industry over whether Arm could remain a neutral player licensing intellectual property to customers and rivals.

The EU competition enforcer, which did not provide details of the concessions in line with its policy, set an Oct. 27 deadline for its decision.

It will now seek feedback from rivals and customers before deciding whether to accept the concessions, demand more, or open a four-month long investigation.

Nvidia has said it would maintain Arm as a neutral technology supplier as it aims to allay concerns from customers such as Qualcomm Inc., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd, and Apple Inc.

Arm customers Broadcom, MediaTek, and Marvell are supporters of the deal.

Arm, owned by Japans SoftBank Group Corp., is a major player in global semiconductors. Its designs power nearly every smartphone and millions of other devices.

By Foo Yun Chee
Teachers and others protesting against COVID-19 vaccination mandates cross over the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City on Oct. 4, 2021. (Petr Svab/The Epoch Times)

Unvaccinated Teachers in NYC Blame Union for Losing Their Jobs

BROOKLYN, N.Y.Teachers who were put on unpaid leave for non-compliance with a recent CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus vaccine mandate say New York Citys largest teachers union should have fought harder against the citys vaccination requirement for school staff.

Several hundred teachers and other school staff and supporters chanted, We will not comply, and other slogans as they marched on Oct. 4 from the Brooklyn offices of the citys Department of Education (DOE) over the Brooklyn Bridge and to the Australian consulate in Manhattan in protest of the citys vaccination mandate for school workers as well as other aggressive measures used in many countries to curb the spread of the virus, which they see as stifling freedom.

Where is the UFT? Why arent they here? What kind of union is this? somebody in the crowd shouted, referring to the United Federation of Teachers (UFT).

Wheres is Mulgrew? the crowd soon followed in a chant, referring to the UFT head Michael Mulgrew.

UFT didnt respond to a request for comment.

The city gave school staff until the night of Oct. 3 to get at least one shot of the vaccine lest they face a year of unpaid leave or resign with a severance package. Over 90 percent of the staff made the deadline, leaving several thousand resisting, based on data released by the DOE.

When the news of the mandate first came out during the summer, the UFT seemed ready to put up a fight. All it managed to do, however, was get the city to recognize religious and medical exemptions. About 3,000 teachers asked for those, but anecdotal accounts indicate they are sparingly approved. The DOE didnt respond to a request for data on the matter.

They caved in, and they shouldnt have, said Kay Ellis, 29, special education teacher in the Bronx.

Ellis said she was the only one in her family holding off on taking the vaccine.

I dont trust the government, she told The Epoch Times.

The authorities have been very fishy about the vaccine, in her view.

Im not usually against vaccines, but theres somethings that underneath this, she said.

She said she suspects that through crises such as pandemics, the government pursues goals beyond the mere welfare of the populace.

I dont think that theyre very honest and upfront about what the main motive is, she said.

It heightened her suspicion to see media avoid news about resistance to the vaccine.

This is how you know theyre hiding something, she said.

Orline Borno, 51, was a high school teacher for 26 years before being stripped off her job for refusing the jab.

I call it medical tyranny, she told The Epoch Times, adding that she found the mandate unconstitutional and immoral.

She lamented the abrupt end to her decades-long career.

It pains me. I gave 26 years to the DOE, to my students, to a wonderful profession, and for [the government] to just turn their backs on us, dedicated educators  I feel betrayed, she said.

Her students were devastated to learn of her departure, while parents have backed her decision, she said.

They understand. They support us.

In her view, the vaccination shouldnt be required because teachers are able to ensure a sufficient level of safety regardless, as they did before the vaccines release with mask-wearing and testing for infection.

We were doing it fine, she said.

She wasnt yet convinced of the safety of the novel vaccine, which was approved in record time. What information is available, she found politicized.

Its political science now, she said. Its not real science thats happening right now. Its causing a divide.

She suggested the measures to contain the virus went too far in limiting peoples liberties and authorities appear reluctant to let them go.

If we dont stop this now, its never going to end, she said.

Borno, who was teaching history at the Benjamin N. Cardozo High School in Bayside, Queens, finds the current period critical to set societys course on track to freedom.

This is not the future I want for my students, she said.

Leeann Barrett, 32, whos been teaching for eight years, now at the same school as Borno, declined the shot as its still too new to be trusted, she indicated.

The vaccine hasnt been tested long enough and there hasnt been enough data to put a lot of concerns aside, she told The Epoch Times.

She found it irresponsible that natural immunity acquired through COVID-19 infection isnt recognized by authorities in lieu of vaccination, despite studies showing natural immunity provides equivalent or even better protection from the CCP virus.

Its become a political thing more than a medical thing, she said.

Queens teacher Rose Giacalone, 47, was also put off by the rushed rollout of the vaccine.

All past vaccines  theyve gone through years of experimentation phase, she told The Epoch Times.

She doesnt believe the DOE is dealing with the staffing shortages caused by the mandate as well as it says it is.

They are lying about the substitutes that they have. They really dont have enough people, she said. They have people who are not qualified. You cant replace my 23 years of experience with somebody off the street or even a new teacher.

This issue gave Ellis hope that the mandate may be reversed due to future lawsuits against the DOE.

The agency will have to break its own rules to cope with the shortages, she anticipated. There are a lot of things theyre going to have to do illegally  with our students, she said.
Ships await to be offloaded in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach on Jan. 12, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Californias Oil Spill May Have Been Caused by Hooked Anchor

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif.Preliminary findings of the massive oil spill off the coast of Huntington Beach show it may have been caused by a ships anchor.

Federal transportation investigators said Oct. 5 the spill was possibly caused by an anchor that hooked the pipeline, causing a partial tear, according to the Associated Press.

We do not have confirmation as to how the pipeline ruptured, Petty Officer Steve Strohmaier of the U.S. Coast Guard Joint Information Center told The Epoch Times. We are looking into a dropped or dragged anchor as a possible cause, but this is all under investigation currently.

The head of the company that operates the pipeline said after the line was ruptured, it was dragged across the ocean floor.

The pipeline has essentially been pulled like a bowstring. And so at its widest point, it is 105 feet away from where it was, Amplify CEO Martyn Willsher said at a news conference.

Cleanup efforts are underway in Huntington Beach, Calif., to clean a massive oil spill the struck the coastline on Oct. 3, 2021. Oct. 5, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

As the massive lineup of arriving container ships grows each day, it is now taking weeks to reach their port destinations in Los Angeles and Long Beach resulting in many of the ships dropping anchor to wait it out, thus expanding the anchorage field into areas not normally so broad-reaching.

This has happened with ships anchoring and hitting pipelines and cables, Dr. Sal Mercogliano, associate professor of history at Campbell University in North Carolina, told The Epoch Times.

As the anchorage gets fuller, the issue is safe anchorage sites.

Mercogliano referenced a November 2016 article in Popular Mechanics magazine about a ships anchor slicing through three different undersea or submarine internet cables running along the seabed of the English Channel, likely caused by the ship at fault dragging its anchor along the channels floor scraping an off-limits area where the cables ran. Fixing the issue took the companies involved almost three weeks to remedy.

As of Oct. 5, there are 63 container ships anchored at the port of Long Beach, which is one more than last week.

Clean-up efforts are underway for an oil spill of the coastline of Orange County in Huntington Beach, Calif., on Oct. 4, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

A similar blunder occurred in 2008 when a ship dropped anchor and severed cable to Dubai leaving 75-million people in the city and region with severely limited internet access.

Of the many issues plaguing seaports around the nation is the difference in working shifts when it comes to outgoing and incoming traffic from around the world.

One of the issues here, is Long Beach is unique in that if you look at terminals and ports around the world, theyre much more automated, using much more technology to facilitate the moving of goods, and thats one of the problems you have, Mercogliano said.

The cargo there is being loaded in terminals in East Asia that are working 24/7. Whereas the receiving ports, at least on our end, are not. They are working two shifts in L.A. and Long Beach and weekends are hit and miss depending on the port and the terminal.

Leak Contained, Cleanup Response in Full Swing

On Saturday, Amplify Energy Corp. announced that its subsidiary Beta Offshore first observed and notified the U.S. Coast Guard of an oil sheen approximately four miles of the coast of Southern California and initiated its Oil Spill Prevention and Response Plan, sending its remotely operated vehicle to investigate and attempt to confirm the source of the release.

The company said it has shut down all production and pipeline operations at the Beta Field until further notice, and that it is working cooperatively with the Coast Guard and California Department of Fish and Wildlifes Office of Spill Prevention and Response (CDFW-OSPR).

That same morning, the U.S. Coast Guard, California state officials, Orange County Harbor Patrol, and Huntington Beach Marine Safety Division responded to reports that the oil spill was approximately 13 square miles in size, located about three miles from the Newport Beach coast.

There are third-party oil spill response organizations that are on the water in skimmer vessels and individuals on land helping to safely dispose of the oil, Coast Guard Petty Officer Strohmaier said.

There is no oil leaking from the pipeline and the rigs have been shut down. The company has not experienced anything like this in the past.

Cleanup efforts are underway in Huntington Beach, Calif., to clean a massive oil spill the struck the coastline on Oct. 3, 2021. Oct. 5, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Over the weekend, we saw our worst fears come to life with the catastrophic oil spill off our coastline. I live in Laguna Beach and I am personally devastated by this news, said California Assembly Woman Cottie Petrie-Norris in a statement released Monday. Petrie-Norris represents the 74th District being affected by the spill.

As your representative, Im working to ensure that all of our resources are being used to fight this. I just joined the U.S. Coast Guard for an aerial tour of the oil spill site and want to share as much information with you as possible, she said.

Shutdowns Continue, Resources Available

Officials are reporting that the spill involves approximately 144,000 gallons of oil and that Amplify and Beta Offshore are cooperating with the Coast Guard and incident management team to repair the leak, clean the spill and protect the environment from greater impact.

As of Sunday, a total of 3,150 gallons of oily water contaminants had been recovered, nine boats were dispatched for oil spill recovery operations, three shoreline assessment teams dispatched and 5,360 feet of boom deployed.

A cargo ship waits to port off the coast of Huntington Beach, Calif., as a Huntington Beach Lifeguard tapes off the beach due to an oil spill, on Oct. 5, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

A significant amount of ecological damage has already been incurred, including the loss of birds and fish reported washing up on shores from Huntington Beach to San Clemente and beyond. All fisheries in the impacted area are now closed until further notice to allow for investigations into fish populations in the impacted area. Boats will not be allowed to enter or exit Newport Beach Harbor at this time. Impacted boaters are requested to go to Huntington Beach Harbor or Long Beach Harbor. At this time there is no date or time to re-opening Newport Beach Harbor.

As the oil slick continues to move, discussions are underway of the possible closure of harbors south of Newport Beach. Boaters are advised to make appropriate preparations at this time.

In addition, the County of Orange and the Cities of Laguna Beach, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach have closed all beaches. The Orange County Health Care Agency issued a brief health advisory for residents exposed to oil contaminants.

Members of the public are being asked to avoid assisting with cleanup in the oiled areas. Trained spill response contractors are working to clean up the oil. Public volunteers are not requested at this time, but information can be found at https://calspillwatch.wildlife.ca.gov/Volunteer. If anyone encounters oiled wildlife, please avoid contact and call the Oiled Wildlife Care Network at 1-877-823-6926.

Those experiencing business revenue loss or damage to their property from the disaster can call a special hotline established by Amplify and their partners to help impacted parties file claims. That number is (866) 985-8366.
Boxes of Kellogg's Frosted Flakes cereal are seen displayed inside a Wal-Mart store in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, in a file photo. (Tim Boyle/Getty Images)

Over 1,000 Kelloggs US Cereal Plant Workers Go on Strike Over Cut to Benefits and Pay

Over 1,000 Kelloggs cereal employees went on strike for more than 18 hours at various plants across the United States on Oct. 5, amid failed negotiations over the payment and benefits terms of a new contract for workers.

The food manufacturing company has been at loggerheads with union members for more than a year over over a dispute involving a cut to pay and benefits such as premium health care, holiday and vacation pay, and reduced retirement benefits.

The companys existing contract with employees expired at midnight on Monday.

Workers walked out of plants on Tuesday morning and began marching outside, many of them brandishing signs reading fighting corporate greed and support essential workers. An angry-looking mascot of Kelloggs Tony the Tiger was also paraded by employees on strike.

Roughly 1,400 Kelloggs cereal plant employees went on strike across across Michigan, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee over the wage disparities.

Kelloggs employees are on strike this morning. Some of the signs say fighting corporate greed and support essential workers. @WGAL pic.twitter.com/5YAgksSuu7  Kate Merriman (@kateWGAL) October 5, 2021

Anthony Shelton, president of Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers, and Grain Millers International Union, said Kelloggs has threatened to send additional jobs to Mexico if workers do not accept its new proposals.

A lot of Americans probably dont have too much issue with the Nike or Under Armor hats being made elsewhere or even our vehicles, but when they start manufacturing our food down where they are out of the FDA control and OSHA control, I have a huge problem with that, Daniel Osborn, president of the local union in Omaha told NPR.

Osborn said workers plan to continue the strike, which had already been going on for more than 18 hours, noting that the company has a pretty good idea on how long they are willing to hold out and we are going to stand fast as long as we have to.

Kerry Williams, the union president at Landisville, Lancaster County, said workers want to obtain fair and equal contracts for all.

We worked through COVID for two years. We worked 24/7, 365 days a year. Were doing a lot of forced overtime to meet the cereal demand, but the members are tired of being taken advantage of, Williams told WGAL.

But Kelloggs, which brings in about a third of its sales from cereals, believes its compensation and benefits for U.S. cereal plant employees are fair.

We are disappointed by the unions decision to strike. Kellogg provides compensation and benefits for our U.S. RTEC (ready to eat cereal) employees that are among the industrys best. Our offer includes increases to pay and benefits for our employees, while helping us meet the challenges of the changing cereal business, the company said in a statement.

The majority of employees working under this Master Contract enjoy a CPG industry-leading level of pay and benefits, which include above-market wages and pension or 401k. The average 2020 earnings for the majority of RTEC employees was $120,000.

Kelloggs also said the majority of its workers have no-cost health insurance.

The company acknowledged that it is implementing contingency plans to limit supply disruptions for consumers, including internal and third-party resources.

Kelloggs shares were down 0.86 percent on Wednesday amid the strike.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Parents Allege Hostility Against Religion in School-Funding Lawsuit

A group of Michigan parents is seeking to overturn a long-standing state constitutional amendment outlawing public funding of private and religious schools.

One of the plaintiffs, Jessie Bagos, told The Epoch Times: To have the federal court declare the so-called Blaine Amendment unconstitutional will open up real school choice for all the people of Michigan.

Bagos, a mother of twin first-grade boys, said: This is a step in a much bigger process. Without this step, thousands of parents will have no alternative but the public school. They will have nowhere else to go.

School choice is very important to Bagos and her husband, Ryan.

Because, she said, our public school district handled the pandemic horribly. Two young boys forced to do kindergarten on a computer! Can you imagine? They cried every morning.

Ryan and Jessie Bagos and their identical twin sons Jackson and Jameson on October 4, 2021. STEVEN KOVAC/The Epoch Times

We believe our children were harmed by that experience. One son developed anxiety. He just kept clinging to me and crying.

Ryan and I wanted to switch the boys over to St. Marys (a nearby religious school). It stayed in-person all year long during the 20202021 school year. But, we couldnt afford it.

I never want to be in that position again. I want choice! Bagos said.

In August, at the suggestion of a friend, Bagos asked for help from the Mackinac Center, a free-market think tank based in Midland, Michigan.

By mid-September, the Bagoses had joined four other Michigan families and the Parent Advocates for Choice in Education Foundation as plaintiffs in a complaint filed on Sept. 23 in the U.S. District Court, Western District of Michigan, Southern Division.

The plaintiffs are suing Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, and State Treasurer Rachael Eubanks in their official capacities.

Elementary school students at Blue Water Christian Academy flanked by teacher Keegan Lauzon (L) and Pastor-Principal Jared Witkowski on Oct. 4, 2021. STEVEN KOVAC/The Epoch Times

The suit asks the court to overturn as unconstitutional Article 8, Section 2, Paragraph 2 of the state constitution, which prohibits public funds from going to private or religious schools, and to rule on the constitutionality of other state statutes and policies.

The complaint alleges that the state constitution violates the free exercise clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution on the grounds of religious animus, differential treatment, and conditioning the availability of benefits on a recipients willingness to surrender its religiously impelled status.

The complaint also alleges that Michigan law violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution by the creation of political structure that discriminates against religion.

According to the complaint, discrimination occurs when parents contributing to the Michigan Education Savings Plan are treated differently.

A couple may contribute to a plan up to $10,000 annually, receive a tax deduction for it on their state income tax form, and use the money to pay for school tuition at a public school they like outside of their district of residence. However, under state law, another couple who uses the same money to pay for tuition at a religious or private school will lose the deduction.

Thats unfair! said Bagos. Its my money. Cant I spend it where I want to? Why are they telling me what to do with it?

The complaint also alleges Michigans private secular schools can request to be changed into charter schools, which enables them to receive public funding. Private religious schools arent afforded that opportunity unless they sacrifice many of their beliefs and values.

Pastor Jared Witkowski, of Community Baptist Church of Kimball, told The Epoch Times that he would be leery of accepting public funds to help support the Christian school at his church because of possible strings attached.

I think money should go to the parents and the government should leave its hands out of the church, he said.

Pastor and school principal Jared Witkowski on Oct. 4, 2021. STEVEN KOVAC/The Epoch Times

Patrick Wright of the Mackinac Center, one of the lead attorneys on the case, told The Epoch Times that the complaint would be defended by lawyers from the office of Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat.

We are encouraged by the U.S. Supreme Courts recent interest in religious liberty cases. If successful, this case will bring educational choice to Michigans 1.6 million schoolchildren, said Wright.

Ben DeGrow, director of educational policy at the Mackinac Center, says of the lawsuit: It is a significant case. Victory would mean the extension of educational and religious freedom. It will help thousands of families find, and help them afford, a better education for their children.

The health and future of our nation depends on a well-informed citizenry. Not just academically well-prepared, but also in the understanding of the values of our country that can guide them for the rest of their lives.
Pennsylvania AG Charges Pipeline Builder With Dozens of Environmental Crimes

Pennsylvania prosecutors have charged pipeline builder Energy Transfer with 48 criminal charges related to the construction of the Mariner East 2 natural gas liquids pipeline project, including a felony count of failing to report pollution.

The states Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced the charges on Oct. 5, alleging that, while constructing the pipeline, Energy Transfer let thousands of gallons of drilling fluid escape underground, leading to environmental contamination. Shapiro said the drilling fluid sometimes surfaced in streams, lakes, and residential backyards, impacting the drinking water of some Pennsylvanians who rely on wells.

If convicted, this company will be sentenced to fines and restitution. There is no jail time for these environmental crimes, and fines are not enough, Shapiro said, adding that his office was calling for stronger laws to hold these companies accountable.

Energy Transfer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Grand jury fact-finding documents (pdf) noted a number of specific allegations of residents in the vicinity of the pipeline reporting various contaminants in their well water, including an oily sheen, volcanic ash, dirt, and grit. The documents also alleged numerous instances of unapproved additives used in the drilling fluid, including one called Fuse-It, which may cause skin and eye irritation and be potentially toxic to fish.

The product was also used near locations where drilling affected aquifers that fed home drinking water supplies, the document stated.

Shapiro also alleged that, on numerous occasions, Energy Transfer failed to report losses of drilling fluid as required by state environmental protection laws.

There is a duty to protect our air and water, and when companies harm these vital resources through negligenceit is a crime, Shapiro said.

Mariner East transports liquids from the Marcellus/Utica shale in western Pennsylvania to customers in the state and elsewhere, including international exports from Energy Transfers Marcus Hook complex near Philadelphia.

Energy Transfer started work on the $2.5 billion Mariner East expansion in February 2017 and originally planned to finish the 350-mile pipeline in the third quarter of 2017. The expansion project has been slowed by numerous work stoppages ordered by officials, mostly due to sinkholes near the pipeline or spills of drilling fluids used to bore under waterways.

Since May 2017, Pennsylvania has issued about 125 notices of violation to Mariner East, mostly for drilling fluid spills, including two in September.

Energy Transfer said recently it planned to complete all phases of the pipeline expansion by the end of 2021.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Pennsylvania Democrats Protest Curriculum Transparency Bill

The idea of parents having easy access to their childrens school curriculum was vigorously debated Wednesday in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

Pennsylvania code already allows parents to have access to school curriculum, but house Bill 1332 proposes putting that information on school websites.

Some school districts already do this, but other districts require parents to ask for curriculum or even file a Right to Know Request, Republican state Rep. Andrew Lewis told The Epoch Times in a phone interview.

Democrats opposed the transparency bill, saying it would create an administrative burden on schools, that it is not clear on describing curriculum, and that it could create copyright issues.

It is going to bleed precious time from our already stressed classroom teachers, state Rep. Mark Longietti, minority chair of the education committee, argued on the floor. They dont need another burden placed at their doorstep, because theyre going to be hearing from their administrators, saying you better get everything together, and every time it changes, you better give to me, so we can comply with the law and post it on the website. We dont need that.

An amendment to the bill requires that administrators, likely school Internet Technology (IT) departments, post the information online, not teachers.

But Democrat state Rep. Dan Frankel believes there is a sinister motivation behind the bill.

This bill will drag education right into the middle of the culture wars, Frankel argued. Your neighbor, your grandfather in Florida, your crazy uncle, and his best friend in California can all weigh in on what the schools are teaching your child. Lets be clear: nobody is hiding school curricula now.

Parents who dont get enough information from teachers can view the history books that come home every day, or simply ask their child what they learned in school today, Frankel said, adding that if parents dont have good communication with their children, this legislation wont help.

Our educational system is already about as transparent as you can get. So if this bill isnt about transparency, what is it about? Its about bringing the fights that get started on Fox News to the kindergarten classroom near you, Frankel said. Its about forcing our overburdened school districts to post every single thing they do online so that right-wing muckrakersor for that matter, left-wing muckrakerscan waste precious educational resources fighting these battles. This legislation is an invitation to the book burners and anti-maskers to harass our schools and teachers.

Frankel went on dramatically until he said, There is no reason to invite QAnon supporters from around the country to weigh in on our teachers choices.

The comment drew groans from the chamber, and Republican House Speaker Bryan Cutler stopped Frankel, saying he was questioning the motivation of the bills author. Cutler instructed him to rein in his comments and Frankel did.

Lewis sponsored the bill, which passed the House in a vote split along party lines; 110 Republicans for the bill and 89 Democrats opposed. The bill next moves to the Senate where it will likely pass, then to Governor Tom Wolfs desk. The governor has not indicated his intentions for the bill and his communications office did not respond Wednesday to a request for his position.

There have been cases where children came home with curriculum that parents found offensive, and they didnt know what was being taught until it was too late, Lewis said, but he would not detail what offended the parents, saying he wants the bill to focus on transparency.

Many schools already meet the requirement. This is information parents are already entitled to by code. It brings current code into the 21st century, Lewis said.

The bill requires public schools to post curriculum that will be taught for each grade and subject. The information must include a link or title for every textbook used, and it must be updated.

The Pennsylvania School Board Association opposes the bill.

School districts are already required under state regulations to be transparent regarding the courses and activities taking place in the classroom, and to give parents the right to have their children excused from specific instruction, The association wrote. House Bill 1332 represents a new mandate on school districts. Not only would school leaders be required [to] spend staff time and resources to collect, collate, and post all materials considered curriculum, they would then have to maintain the data on their websites.
A view of Patrick Terminals in Melbourne, Australia. Maritime Union of Australia has agreed to halt strikes as two employees tested positive for COVID-19. (Supplied)

Port Strikes in Australia Halted After 2 Positive Cases of COVID-19 Detected

A union-led strike at the Port of Melbourne has been halted after two cases of COVID-19 forced over 100 workers into isolation, heavily impacting operations.

Two employees at container terminal operator Patrick Terminals have tested positive for COVID-19, forcing 109 workers into a 14-day self-isolation period just as Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) began its series of strikes.

MUA planned to hold 12-hour strikes every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for the entire month of October after negotiations with Patrick Terminals over wages broke down.

On Wednesday morning, Patrick Terminals CEO Michael Jovicic urged MUA to withdraw their industrial action to allow operations to recover during this critical situation.

Currently, 32 percent of our Melbourne workforce are unavailable to attend work and will need to isolate for a 14-day period, Jovicic said. This is not a time to be holding our Melbourne terminal to ransom when so many importers and exporters are relying on our services for the movement of their cargo.

In response, the MUA has agreed to stop its industrial action at Port of Melbourne temporarily.

In an act of good faith, the MUA and its members have lifted industrial action at the Port of Melbourne until further notice because of the reduced numbers of workers available as a result of some workers being placed into quarantine, MUA assistant national secretary Jamie Newlyn told The Epoch Times in a statement.

But the union is again calling on Patricks to return to the negotiating table and resolve the wage dispute so everyone can get back to work.

While the MUA recognises the need to lift its action to maintain operation of the port because of the impact of COVID, the union has twice called on Patrick to come back to the bargaining table to discuss enterprise agreement issues which remain unresolved, Newlyn said.

Patrick Terminals in Port Botany, Sydney, Australia. Workers across Australia are currently holding industrial action over a wage dispute, causing delays ahead of Christmas. (Supplied)

The first COVID-19 case at Port of Melbourne was found on Friday, which forced 22 close contacts into isolation. A second positive case was found on Tuesday, forcing a further 87 close contacts into isolation.

Patrick expects delays to exponentially increase at its Melbourne terminal, where vessels are already berthing up to four days behind schedule. It also has no capacity for subcontracting for at least the next week.

Meanwhile, farmers in Western Australia are upset that the MUA-led port strikes in Perth have delayed the delivery of critical machinery needed to harvest an anticipated record season of crops.

Were the collateral damage in this, Pastoralists and Graziers Association President Tony Seabrook told the ABC. Theres been no consideration whatsoever of the impact of what their actions will have in a year when we have a record crop to come off, and these machines are desperately needed.

The MUA strikes continue in other cities across Australia, including Sydney, Brisbane, and Perth.
President Joe Biden talks with reporters after returning to the White House in Washington on Oct. 5, 2021. (Susan Walsh/AP Photo)

Real Possibility Senate Democrats Nuke Filibuster Rules to Raise Debt Ceiling: Biden

Democrats in the Senate may very well end up applying the nuclear option to the filibuster in order to raise the debt ceiling, according to President Joe Biden.

I think thats a real possibility, the president told reporters after arriving back in Washington on Tuesday from a trip to Michigan.

The Senate started debating at 10 a.m. Wednesday a bill the House of Representatives passed that would suspend the debt ceiling until next year. The Senate planned to hold a procedural vote that would advance the bill in the afternoon but requires 60 votes if Republicans filibuster it, as they plan on doing.

With virtually no Republican support for the bill, Democrats are faced with few options. Top Democrats, including Biden, argue that folding a debt limit suspension into a process called budget reconciliation would take too much timethe United States faces not being able to pay all of its bills on Oct. 18even as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) urges them to do so.

That leaves convincing Republicans not to use the filibuster on the House bill or employing the nuclear option.

The term refers to when the Senate decides to alter voting rules. A simple majority can approve a change. Its been used twice in recent yearsonce by Democrats and once by Republicans.

By employing the option, Senate Democrats can lower the voting threshold from 60 to a simple majority. The party controls the 5050 Senate through Vice President Kamala Harris, who as president of the upper chamber can cast tiebreaking votes.

Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Gary Peters (D-Mich.), among others, have expressed openness to nuking the filibuster for the debt limit. Others have said they would support the move, including Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.).

Theres not many options if theyre going to be that irresponsible, Biden said, referring to Republican plans to block the House bill.

Top GOP members say Democrats have pursued their agenda on a partisan basis, pointing to the blocking of a bipartisan infrastructure bill in the House at the behest of so-called progressives, and are trying to spend too much. Democrats, they say, are free to deal with the debt ceiling on their own. And they note theyve expressed their opposition for months, which gave Democrats enough time to utilize reconciliation.

Democrats have had two and a half months notice to use the fast-track, party-line reconciliation process, which they have already used happily this year and already intend to use once again. But the Democrats who run Washington have done nothing. They squandered week after week after week, McConnell said on the Senate floor on Wednesday. Even now, while the Democratic leader complains that hes short on time, he continues to waste time with partisan stunts that are dead on arrival. He scheduled yet another vote this afternoon, which he knows will fail.

If Democrats want to spend trillions of dollars to execute their socialist agenda, they need to pay for it themselves. I cannot and will not support raising the debt limit to pay for their purely partisan wish lists, Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) added on social media.

Nuking the filibuster may prove difficult. Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) have long rebuffed plans to alter or remove it.

Sinemas office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Pressed on his position on Tuesday, Manchin told reporters, Im not going to say anything about it. He said Senate leaders should reach an agreement.

Biden spoke ahead of an Oct. 6 meeting with business executives. They planned to discuss the urgent need for Congress to take immediate bipartisan action to address the debt limit and avoid default on the U.S. governments financial obligations and the economic catastrophe that would follow, according to a White House statement.

The executives include Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase; Greg Hayes, CEO of Raytheon Technologies; and Pat Gelsinger, CEO of Intel.

Editors Note: This article has been updated with additional details.
Cleanup efforts are underway in Huntington Beach, Calif., to clean a massive oil spill that struck the coastline on Oct. 3, 2021. This photo of the Huntington Beach pier was taken on Oct. 5, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Residents and Visitors Reflect on Huntington Beach Oil Spill

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif.As the operation to clean up the Huntington Beach oil spill proceeds, county residents and visitors reflect on the accident.

The shore of Huntington Beach remains closed to the public with yellow caution tape, prohibiting beachgoers from crossing. Despite the tape, bystanders were observed walking through the water and sitting near the shoreline as if the oil spill hadnt occurred.

Taylor Griffith, a photographer from Alhambra, California, spent three days on the coast of Huntington Beach and on the border of the Newport Beach River Jetties, where the beach reopened, capturing the progression of the oil spill.

Sunday I was here, and I went home and my feet were completely covered with black tar, Griffith told The Epoch Times. It was really bad, especially right here. The tide had gone out, and there was a group of fish that were stuck in one of these puddles here.

Griffith turned on the television that night to see images of dead fish from the exact same puddle of water he observed earlier in the day.

Cleanup efforts are underway in Huntington Beach, Calif., to clean a massive oil spill the struck the coastline on Oct. 3, 2021. Oct. 5, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

While observing the coast on Oct. 3, Griffith noticed tar tracing along the shoreline where it would usually be wet sand.

When I came back up here on Monday, I had noticed a significant improvement in the amount of oil that was gone, Griffith said. There are still some tar balls here and there, but it was really heavily reduced.

In the distance, Griffith pointed toward the twin oil rigs offshore, Ellen and Elly, with Eureka sitting further away.

In June 2021, Griffith dove off the two rigs to create hydrophone recordings and underwater video and still images for his masters thesis.

The subsea structure of the rigs is really encrusted with life, he said. So they arent this sterile piece. There are thousands and thousands of griddle stars, scallops, and mussels. Theyre really generative productive ecosystems.

As Griffith reflected on the marine life he had witnessed from down below, he anguished over the sea creatures that would be significantly impacted by the spill.

These are going to be lasting ramifications of what happened here, he said. Theres all the small living organisms that really affect that bottom base layer of the food chain. Were going to see the long-term effects sort of balloon out from there.

To avoid the oil from leaking past the ocean, crews began building berms at the mouth of the Santa Ana River in between Newport Beach and Huntington Beach, just in time for the unexpected storm on the night of Oct. 5.

While the beach earlier that afternoon showed scarcely a trace of oil, the Santa Ana River mouth contained patches of oil with fish continuing to swim through the contaminated water.

Truckloads of cleanup crews and materials were observed along the coast and the Huntington Beach Wetlands center while some workers secured themselves in hazmat suits.

A bike rider roamed the boardwalk on the sunshine-filled day, unaware of the spill, questioning the noise brought about by the cleanup crews. Another was devastated by the threat to the citys livelihood when the news broke on Oct. 2.

When I saw the spills, it was awful, the Huntington Beach resident told The Epoch Times. I started to cry. I told myself I hoped it wasnt true.

The oil spill off the coast of Huntington Beach that occurred on the evening of Oct. 2 resulted in the cancellation of the last day of the Pacific Airshow.
Romanian Prime Minister Florin Citu address to the Romanian Parliament during a non-confidence vote session at the Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, Romania, on Oct. 5, 2021. (Daniel Mihailescu/AFP via Getty Images)

Romanian Government Falls After No-Confidence Vote

BUCHAREST, RomaniaRomanian Prime Minister Florin Citu of the governing National Liberal Party was ousted Tuesday after a no-confidence motion in his government passed overwhelmingly, deepening an ongoing political crisis.

The motion censure was filed by the opposition Social Democrat Party (PSD) and supported by former coalition partner USR-Plus and the far-right AUR party. The motion passed with 281 votes; only 234 were needed.

The fall of the government caps a political crisis that began a month ago when Citu fired Justice Minister Stelian Ion of USR-Plus for not signing off on a regional development program. USR-Plus called the move an abusive revocation and quit the three-party cabinet.

During the debates in parliament Tuesday ahead of the vote, Citu lashed out at USR-Plus, saying he had tolerated a team of incompetents.

President Klaus Iohannis will now consult with lawmakers on appointing a new prime minister, while Citu may remain at the governments helm as a caretaker for 45 days. Citu could be reappointed if lawmakers fail twice to agree on a new premier.

Romanian Prime Minister Florin Citu is pictured before addressing the Romanian Parliament during a non-confidence vote session at the Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, Romania, on Oct. 5, 2021. (Daniel Mihailescu/AFP via Getty Images)

In a press conference after Tuesdays vote, Iohannis said it was a crisis generated by cynical politicians and that he will convene Romanias political parties next week.

We are in the midst of a pandemic, wave four has hit us hard, he said. We are in an energy prices crisis  but what did some politicians think? To add another crisis!

Claudiu Tufis, an associate professor of political science at the University of Bucharest, told The Associated Press that he expects politicians to create a Liberal cabinet with support from the Social Democrats in parliament, but not in the cabinet.

USR-Plus have expressed a wish to restore the governing coalition with a different prime minister.

The Liberal-led government came to power following a parliamentary election last December.

The ongoing crisis could hamper Romanias efforts to tackle an alarming surge of COVID-19 infections in the European Union nation of 19 million, which is currently putting the countrys hospitals under serious strain.

On Tuesday, Romania recorded its highest number of daily COVID-19 infections15,037 casessince the pandemic started.
A person holds a visual representation of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, at the "Bitcoin Change" shop in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv on Feb. 6, 2018. (Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images)

SEC Chief Says the US Wont Follow China in Banning Cryptocurrencies

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler told Congress on Tuesday that his agency would not follow Chinas lead in implementing a ban on cryptocurrencies.

Speaking before the United States House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services, Gensler was asked by Rep. Ted Budd (R-N.C.), a supporter of cryptocurrencies, whether the SEC would move to prohibit the digital currencies.

No, that would be up to Congress, Gensler said, adding: I am technology-neutral. I think that this technology has been and can continue to be a catalyst for change, but technologies dont last long if they stay outside of the regulatory framework.

I believe that the SEC, working with the CFTC [Commodity Futures Trading Commission] and others, can stand up more robust oversight and investor protection around the field of crypto finance.

Gensler did express some concern over the crypto market, noting that right now, large parts of the field of crypto are sitting astride ofnot operating withinregulatory frameworks that protect investors and consumers, guard against illicit activity, and ensure for financial stability.

He also acknowledged that currently there was not enough investor protection with regard to crypto finance, issuance, trading, or lending.

Frankly, at this time, its more like the Wild West or the old world of buyer beware that existed before the securities laws were enacted. This asset class is rife with fraud, scams, and abuse in certain applications. We can do better, Gensler said.

The SEC chair noted that he has asked staff to work with regulators to ensure investor protection and called on Congress for assistance with regard to issues of sales of crypto tokens, crypto trading and lending platforms, and custody of crypto assets.

With respect to investor protection, were working with our sibling agency, the CFTC as our two agencies each have relevant, and in some cases, overlapping jurisdiction in the crypto markets, Gensler explained.

With respect to a broader set of policy frameworks, were working with not only the CFTC, but also with the Federal Reserve, Department of Treasury, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and other members of the Presidents Working Group on Financial Markets, on these matters, he added.

He also said platforms and projects should talk to the SEC, as many of these have dozens or hundreds of tokens on them, and under law, whenever there are securities on trading platforms, they must register with the commission unless they qualify for an exemption.

Genslers comments come after Chinas central bank last month declared all cryptocurrency-related transactions illegal while vowing to suppress the virtual currency market.

The Peoples Bank of China said in a statement, translated by CNBC, that services offering trading, order matching, token issuance, and derivatives for virtual currencies are prohibited. Overseas crypto exchanges providing services in mainland China are also illegal, the PBOC said.

Cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Tether, are among those specifically cited as not being fiat money and cannot be circulated, according to the banks statement, Bloomberg reported on Friday.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) asks questions during a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Sept. 21, 2021. (Ken Cedeno/AFP via Getty Images)

Sen. Cruz and Republican Colleagues Decry Biden Border Crisis

At a press conference discussing the ongoing crisis at the U.S.Mexico border, several Republican senators led by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) railed against the Biden border crisis and President Joe Bidens refusal to address the problem.

Currently, the United States is experiencing record levels of immigration after Biden quickly overturned several of the reforms made by President Donald Trump. Throughout the conference, Senate Republicans emphasized that the border is vulnerable to drug smugglers, human traffickers, and terrorists, and warned that the humanitarian crisis at the border must be addressed.

The Biden border crisis, Cruz said, is a crisis that, on the merits, should dominate the news each and every day because it continues to get worse.

Biden and Harris Refuse to Enforce the Law: Cruz

Cruz pointed to a Washington Times report that found that catch and release numbers increased a whopping 430,000 percent from August 2020 to August 2021.

Thats a percentage so big, you almost think its a typo, Cruz quipped.

Cruz also said that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was also gearing up for up to 400,000 illegal immigrants to cross the border in October, including thousands of Haitians.

The cause of all of this is simple: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris refuse to enforce the law. Specifically, Cruz referenced three decisions made by the administration.

The first policy that contributed to the crisis, Cruz said, was the day one decision to halt construction on the border wall. Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) said later that the United States was paying millions of dollars to be able to watch pieces [of the border wall] sit on the ground, and noted that work could be quickly resumed on the wall if Biden wanted to do so.

Second, Cruz continued, was re-instituting the failed policy of catch and release. Catch and release allows illegal aliens to be released into the country after being arrested by border patrol agents; Under the conditions of their release, these illegal immigrants are expected to appear for a court hearing at a later date.

However, the Center for Immigration Studies, which describes itself as a non-partisan, non-profit research organization, found that about half of these released illegal immigrants failed to appear to court between 2015 and 2017 (pdf). In 2017, 43 percent did not show up to their court date.

This low success rate led the Trump DHS to announce in 2019 that the catch and release policy would be ended.

Cruz said that the administrations most indefensibl[e] policy was ending the incredibly successful remain in Mexico international agreement.

The Trump-era policy allowed the DHS to require that illegal immigrants stay in Mexico until their court date, averting the chance that they will fail to appear. Cruz said that because of this policy, 2020 saw the lowest rate of illegal immigration in 45 years.

In January, Biden suspended the program, and formally ended it permanently in June.

Lankford noted later during the press conference that a federal court had overruled the president, and demanded that Biden restart the program. Lankford criticized the administration for dragging its feet in reinstituting the policy. To avoid protecting the southern border, he said, Biden is ignoring the courts.

Cruz described the policies effects on his constituents in Texas. He said that farmers near the border described finding bodies on their property on a daily basis. Others living near the border, he reported, told him that they would not let their children go outside without a firearm due to the huge presence of human and drug traffickers.

This is a humanitarian crisis, a public health crisis, its a national security crisis, and right now Joe Biden and Kamala Harris arent doing a damn thing about it, Cruz fumed.

He criticized Biden and Harris for refusing to even visit the southern border, concluding This tragedy needs to end, and Joe Biden and Kamala Harris need to follow the law.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) took to the podium next.

He claimed that the greatest beneficiary of the Biden border crisis are the criminal organizations that are getting richer by the day. These organizations overwhelmed border agents by sending thousands of illegal aliens across the border at a time, leaving border patrol unable to stop traffickers smuggling drugs into the country.

While Biden is playing checkers at the border, Cornyn ruled, criminal organizations are playing 3D chess.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) emphasized during his short speech that the border crisis is not a Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California problem, this is a problem for all fifty states in the United States.
Senators Concerned About US Ability to Conduct Over the Horizon Defense After Afghanistan Exit

Republican senators are concerned that the United States is less safe since the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan and abandoning a strategic location from which to strike terrorist groups like al-Qaeda and ISIS. Sen. Debra Fischer (R-Neb.) said unlike what President Joe Biden said, the United States does not have the capability to conduct successful drone strikes against terrorists without a reliable partner in that region.

[Biden] was stating that we dont have to have an on-the-ground presence in Afghanistan to keep Americans safe and that we can rely instead on over-the-horizon strikes, where we use drones and other assets to take out terrorists from hundreds or even thousands of miles away. Since then, weve learned that the president wasnt being truthful, said Fischer.

Fischer was referring to comments Biden made on Aug. 16

We conduct effective counterterrorism missions against terrorist groups in multiple countries where we dont have a permanent military presence, said Biden during a speech in which he explained his decision to have complete military withdrawal from Afghanistan.

He added that If necessary, we will do the same in Afghanistan. Weve developed counterterrorism over-the-horizon capability that will allow us to keep our eyes firmly fixed on any direct threats to the United States in the region and to act quickly and decisively if needed.

Republican senators, however, said they have doubts about how quickly and effectively the United States can actually conduct counterterrorism strikes after being briefed by top military leaders.

Marine General Kenneth McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, speaks with U.S. troops while visiting Forward Operating Base Fenty in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, on Sept. 9, 2019. (Phil Stewart/Reuters)

At the Senate Armed Services committees open hearing on Afghanistans disaster, CENTCOM commander General Kenneth McKenzie testified on the immense challenges that we face in preventing terrorist groups like al-Qaeda and ISIS from using Afghanistan as a launching pad to attack us here at home, said Fischer.

Fischer said the United States is currently not able to successfully identify, locate, or reach terrorist targets because of a lack of a strategic partnership in the region.

To do this effectively, we first need a U.S. presence in the region or at least a reliable on-the-ground partner there. Without that, our ability to gather the intelligence necessary to pick the right targets is severely degraded. We saw the tragic consequences of acting on incomplete intelligence on Aug. 29 when a drone strike mistakenly killed 10 innocent Afghans, including seven children, and an aid worker with ties to the United States, said Fischer.

Our general has confirmed that its exactly extremely difficult and costly to get the intelligence and conduct the types of operation the president said he would do, said ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), piggybacking on Fischers comments.

The Nebraska senator criticized the botched Aug. 29 U.S. drone strike that had killed innocent Afghan civilians, citing it as an example of the difficulty that the United States faces in conducting remote military strikes.

We knew the strike hit civilians within four to five hours after the strike occurred, and U.S. Central Command issued a press release saying that, Central Command (CENTCOM) Commander Gen. Kenneth Frank McKenzie told members of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) on Sept. 29, in responding to questions from Rep. Trent Kelly (R-Miss.).

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also said the Pentagon knew about civilian deaths within several hours of the strike, as did Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

During an Aug. 31 speech from the White House, Biden told the American public that the United States does not need a physical presence in Afghanistan to keep Americans safe from terrorists.

We will maintain the fight against terrorism in Afghanistan and other countries. We just dont need to fight a ground war to do it. We have whats called over-the-horizon capabilities, which means we can strike terrorists and targets without American boots on the groundor very few if needed, Biden said during his remarks about the Afghanistan withdrawal.

Weve shown that capacity just in the last week. We struck ISIS-K remotely, days after they murdered 13 of our servicemembers and dozens of innocent Afghans, Biden said of the botched Afghan drone strike on Aug. 29.

Afghan residents and family members of the victims gather next to a damaged vehicle inside a house, day after a U.S. drone airstrike in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Aug. 30, 2021. (Wakil Kohsar/AFP via Getty Images)

Fischer said unlike countries like Yemen and Syria, Afghanistan is landlocked so it makes it impossible to strike a target remotely without permission from at least one regional partner.

When it comes to Afghanistan, our drones have to cross over other countries on the way. And those countries are not obligated to allow us to use their airspace. General McKenzie confirmed to me during our hearing that because we have withdrawn from Afghanistan, we need to rely on Pakistans airspace, said Fischer, adding that Pakistan is a supporter of the Taliban and could revoke the use of their airspace.

She said that the Afghanistan withdrawal has put the United States in a vulnerable military position.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Milley said during last weeks hearing that presidents are elected to make strategic decisions. He also told us that Afghanistan withdrawal was a strategic failure.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ken Silva contributed to this report.
Student Loan Forgiveness Program Gets Overhaul, Promises $1.74 Billion Relief for 22,000 Borrowers

The Biden administration on Wednesday unveiled details of a major overhaul of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, making it easier for long-time public-sector workers to qualify for student loan debt relief.

Congress created the PSLF program in 2007 to encourage college graduates to pursue public service careers. Borrowers who are employed 10 years in public service, including teachers, firefighters, law enforcement, and some nonprofit workers, while also making 120 qualifying monthly payments toward their student loans, could request to have the remainder of those loans wiped out.

The PSLF program, however, has spawned much confusion and frustration, largely because there are different types of federal student loans, but only those who take whats known as Direct Loans can qualify. The Education Department has previously allowed borrowers to consolidate their debt into Direct Loans, but didnt count payments made before the consolidation.

Just about 5,500 borrowers have received PSLF discharges since the program was launched, the department said in June.

Under the changes announced Wednesday, all federal student loan payments will be counted toward the PSLF program, regardless of loan type, if borrowers consolidate their student debt by Oct. 31, 2022. Previous monthly loan payments that were disqualified for being received late or different from the amount required will also be counted.

Military service members will also get credit toward PSLF. All months spent on active duty will now be counted toward the program, even if the borrower has paused payments during that period.

The changes, which are introduced as a time-limited measure, will make 22,000 borrowers who have consolidated loans immediately eligible for $1.74 billion in forgiveness without the need for further action on their part, the department said. Another 27,000 borrowers could potentially qualify for an additional $2.82 billion in forgiveness, if they certify additional periods of employment.

Overall, the Department estimates that over 550,000 borrowers who have previously consolidated their loans will be brought closer to being debt-free, with the average borrower receiving two years of progress toward loan forgiveness.

Borrowers who devote a decade of their lives to public service should be able to rely on the promise of Public Service Loan Forgiveness. The system has not delivered on that promise to date, but that is about to change for many borrowers who have served their communities and their country, said Education Secretary Miguel Cardona. Teachers, nurses, first responders, service members, and so many public service workers have had our back especially amid the challenges of the pandemic. Today, the Biden Administration is showing that we have their backs, too.
Sweden, Denmark Halt Use of Moderna Vaccine for Younger Age Groups Due to Side Effects

Swedish health officials on Oct. 6 paused the use of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for younger people and children after reports of possible side effects including myocarditis, while Denmark also announced that it halted the shot for those under the age of 18.

Officials have decided to pause the use of Modernas vaccine, Spikevax, for everyone born in 1991 and later, for precautionary reasons, reads a statement from the Swedish health agency, according to a translation from Swedish to English.

The agency further added there is an increased risk of side effects such as inflammation of the heart muscle or heart sac, noting that the risk is very small.

The agency stated that it now recommends the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine instead for people born in 1991 or later, noting that the decision is valid until Dec. 1. Those from that age group who got the first Moderna dose shouldnt get a second dose, the agency added.

New data from Swedish and other Nordic sources indicate that the connection is especially clear between Modernas vaccine and side effects especially after the second dose.

Both myocarditis and pericarditis often go away on their own, without causing any lasting problems, but suspicious symptoms should be assessed by a doctor at  a health center or emergency room, the agency stated. But it noted that medical treatment and monitoring in hospital may be needed in established cases.

The Swedish health agency stated earlier in the week that people aged 12 to 15 can only get the Pfizer vaccine.

In July, the European Medicines Agency, the European Unions chief drug regulator, recommended authorizing Modernas COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 12 to 17. It came months after the Moderna vaccine was given approval for use in anyone aged 18 and older across the 27-nation bloc in January.

Both U.S. and European regulators have cautioned that the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, which use mRNA technology, are linked to chest pain and heart inflammation in young people and children, although those agencies have frequently said those reactions are rare.

In neighboring Denmark, those under the age of 18 cant be given the Moderna vaccine out of precaution, its health regulators said on Oct. 6. The agency said that data obtained from four Nordic nations show there is a link of an increased risk of heart inflammation when younger people receive the Moderna shots.

Based on the precautionary principle, we will in future only invite children and young people to receive this vaccine, not least in view of the fact that it is for this vaccine that the largest amount of data from use exists for children and young people, especially from the USA and Israel, Danish health official Bolette Soeborg said in an interview with The Associated Press.

COVID-19 is the illness caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.

Moderna officials didnt immediately respond to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.
Teacher Creates Educational Guide to Counter CRT in the Classroom

A teacher who quit her job in California and moved to Florida over what she saw as the political indoctrination of students and staff has helped to produce a guide to help educators spot critical race theory (CRT) in the classroom.

The Blexit Foundation rolled out the new guide, developed by Kali Fontanilla, to its 35 chapters across the United States on Oct. 4.

Its Blexits answer to CRT, Pierre Wilson, the organizations national director, told The Epoch Times.

Liberal cities, especially those with large minority populations, are aggressively advocating for CRT, which is based on Marxist themes, to be taught in American classrooms, Wilson said.

This is an attack on all of America, he said. Theyre pushing it extremely hard right now, so we felt it was something that we had to respond to right away, by offering an alternative, he said.

A graphic promoting the guide shows the foundations co-founder, Candace Owens, surrounded by a crowd of supporters, carrying the banner Blexits Stand Against CRT. It states: As part of our ongoing education initiative, the Blexit Foundation has launched a new tool kit outlining how parents and teachers can identify and fight back against the creeping influence of CRT in Americas classrooms.

(Courtesy Blexit Foundation)

Blexits mission is to lead a black exit from the decades-long grip of the Democratic Party.

The digital guide will be available in print this month, Wilson said.

Fontanilla, who is known for her strong background in teaching, has done a fantastic job on the guide, he said.

Though others reached out to help write the guide, Blexit ultimately chose Fontanilla because of our experience with her and the work that shes done in her community, Wilson said. She is a social media influencer now and has made quite a few videos also expressing her passion and belief that CRT is wrong for this country.

Fontanillas guide is designed for teachers across the nation to help students see alternative views to the CRTs narrow hyper race-focused lens, she said. Its not just in ethnic studies in California.

Its a guide for parents and teachers on how to spot it, what to do if theyre forced to teach it, what it is because a lot of people dont know what critical race theory is, and all the key terms that are in it, she said.

In the public schools right now, its almost a given, especially in California or in any blue state, that your curriculum is going to be left-leaning. That is just the default, she said.

For example, health classes usually have a pro-abortion message and history classes tend to paint white people in a bad light, she said.

The Blexit guide includes lessons to counter CRT, including equity versus equality and learning about the Quakers and their fight to abolish slavery. It shows teachers how to instruct students in a way that helps them to critically think about CRT rather than just brainwashing them into going along with these narratives that America is super racist, and every institution is either oppressing them or benefiting their oppressor, Fontanilla said.

While the California School Boards Association has claimed the words critical race theory appear only once in the curriculum, references to CRT ideology are prevalent throughout the states Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum.

Its just silly to me that they deny it, because its just everywhere right now, Fontanilla said.

This is why its important to be able to spot the concept of CRT being inserted in lessons for our students that may not explicitly be labeled as CRT, she said.

Terms such as privilege, intersectionality, hegemony, dominant ideologies, and decolonization, even diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as the four Is of oppression (ideological, institutional, interpersonal, and internal) are just CRT rebranded, she said.

Fontanilla is an advocate for school choice and has encouraged everyone to speak out at school board meetings.

School board meetings are public forums in which all members of the community should be welcome to comment even if they dont have a child in the school. Do not be afraid to speak up. We need every voice in this fight, she writes in the guide.

Fontanilla taught for about 15 years in California and told The Epoch Times in June she decided to leave her teaching position at Rancho San Juan High School in Salinas, California, after being threatened and bullied on social media for opposing CRT components in the ethnic studies program and denouncing the group Black Lives Matter (BLM).

Since then, Salinas Union High School District (SUHSD) has resisted reading aloud a letter she wrote criticizing school board president Phillip Tabera, who attacked opponents of CRT as anti people of color on social media following a June 22 board meeting.

Tabera hasnt responded to multiple inquiries since the incident, and the school board has failed to heed the concerns of parents who spoke out against the SUHSDs ethnic studies curriculum, seen by some as anti-American and anti-Christian.

I am disgusted and insulted that he would say such derogatory words about those that were brave enough to speak up about this indoctrination happening in the classroom, Fontanilla wrote. Some of those that spoke up were people of color, including myself. To be told that we are anti people of color because we are against the district forcing all of our students to receive lessons that are racist and divisive is disgraceful.

A Real Blexit Story

Even as Californias political leaders are known for trying their hardest to be the most progressive state in the country, Wilson said no matter what their agenda is called, he believes its the same old story of victimhood.

Theyre trying to change Americas history. They want the story to be told only from certain points of view, and they want us always thinking about the past. They want minorities, such as myself and others, to feel like victims, he said.

Im actually a real Blexit story. I was a hardcore Democrat for a very long time, Wilson said.

Like others who joined the organization, he says he got tired of blaming others and decided to exit the party. Wilson now believes in Blexits message that change begins on the inside, not looking outside for someone or something to blame.

But CRT teaches the total opposite, he said. Its pointing your finger at everyone else and its being a victim. Who did you wrong? Who can you blame? Thats not how we operate.

Those who claim CRT is uplifting and sheds light on the truth are mistaken, Wilson suggested.

Its not true. Its a political stance thats now being pushed into our schools, he said. Im black, and I dont feel oppressed. I dont feel like there is systemic racism in this country. I feel like the day that I decided to change my life, my life changed.

While perhaps well-intentioned, constantly telling black teachers they are appreciated, special, or that black educators matteras Fontanilla was told at her California teaching jobsingles them out for how they look rather than their accomplishments, he said.

We want to be celebrated because we worked hard. We want to be celebrated because we gave our all, not because we received a handout, or we were treated like victims. Thats what Blexit is all about. Were all about victors, not victims, he said.

What about the kids who are growing up, who really dont see race, like black and white girls who are playing together who are having a great time who dont see anything negative? he asked. But now, theyre in school, and now theyre being forced to look at each other a little bit differently because one side or family has oppressed the other?

Were teaching them anger, hatred, division, and were saying were doing this in the name of love, but were not, he said. Its sickening when you really think about it. Theyre saying that theyre doing this out of love, and theyre doing this because they just want everyone to understand history.

If CRT proponents really wanted everyone to understand history, they would understand that white people werent the only ones who owned slaves, not to mention that it was white people who helped free the slaves, Wilson said.
In this undated file photo by China's Xinhua News Agency, two Chinese SU-30 fighter jets take off from an unspecified location to fly a patrol over the South China Sea. (Jin Danhua/Xinhua via AP)

Tensions Flare as Chinese Flights Near Taiwan Intensify

TAIPEI, TaiwanWith record numbers of military flights near Taiwan over the last week, China has been showing a new intensity and military sophistication as it steps up its harassment of the island it claims as its own and asserts its territorial ambitions in the region.

Chinas Peoples Liberation Army flew 56 planes off the southwest coast of Taiwan on Monday, setting a new record and capping four days of sustained pressure involving 149 flights. All were in international airspace, but prompted Taiwanese defense forces to scramble in response and raised fears that any misstep could provoke an unintended escalation.

The sorties came as China, with growing diplomatic and military power, faces greater pushback from countries in the region and an increasing naval presence from the United States and other Western democracies in Asia as Taiwan pleads for more global support and recognition.

The U.S. called Chinas latest actions risky and destabilizing, while China responded that the U.S. selling weapons to Taiwan and its ships navigating the Taiwan Strait were provocative.

At the same time as the flights, the U.S. stepped up naval maneuvers in the Indo-Pacific with its allies, challenging Beijings territorial claims in critical waterways.

Taiwanese Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng told legislators Wednesday that the situation is the most severe in the 40 years since Ive enlisted.

While most agree that war is not imminent, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen warned that more is at stake if Beijing makes good on past threats to seize the island by force if necessary.

If Taiwan were to fall, the consequences would be catastrophic for regional peace and the democratic alliance system, she wrote in an impassioned op-ed in Foreign Affairs magazine published Tuesday. It would signal that in todays global contest of values, authoritarianism has the upper hand over democracy.

China regularly flies military aircraft into Taiwans air defense identification zone, international airspace that Taiwan counts as a buffer in its defense strategy, although previous flights have usually involved a handful of planes at most.

Perhaps more significant than the number of planes was the constitution of the group, with fighters, bombers, and airborne early warning aircraft, said Euan Graham, a defense analyst with the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Singapore.

Thats the level of sophisticationit looks like a strike package, and thats part of the step-up in pressure, he said. This is not a couple of fighters coming close and then going straight back after putting one wing across the median; this is a much more purposeful maneuver.

Controlling Taiwan and its airspace is key to Chinas military strategy, with the area where the most recent sorties took place also leading to the west Pacific and the South China Sea.

The latest maneuvers bring the total number of flights to more than 815 as of Monday since the Taiwanese government started publicly releasing the numbers a little more than a year ago.

China has been rapidly improving and strengthening its military, and the most recent flights demonstrate a greater level of technical expertise and power, said Chen-Yi Tu, a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research in Taiwan.

Its a marked contrast from 20, 30 years ago, when Chinese forces couldnt refuel in the air, or fly across the water, said Oriana Skylar Mastro, a fellow at Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University and non-resident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C.

I think China is trying to remind the U.S. and Taiwan that this is not then, that they have options, she said.

At the same time, many democracies have been increasingly vocal in their support of Taiwan and have stepped up naval operations in the area.

As China was conducting its most recent flights, 17 ships from six naviesthe U.S., Britain, Japan, Netherlands, Canada, and New Zealandincluding three aircraft carriers and a Japanese helicopter carriercarried out joint maneuvers off the Japanese island of Okinawa, northeast of Taiwan, meant to show their commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.

A few days earlier, the British frigate HMS Richmond transited through the Taiwan Strait, announcing its presence on Twitter and angering China, which condemned the move as a meaningless display of presence with an insidious intention.

The international actions are an attempt to counter Chinas frequent claim that its own actions are in response to American moves, and demonstrate that democracies intend to defend established maritime laws and norms, Graham said.

When the U.K. sends a ship through the Taiwan Strait for the first time since 2008 and it sailed down the median line, the point that its making is that they know China knows where that line is, he said. In order for the status quo to be meaningful, it has to be upheld and the most emphatic way to do that is to physically demonstrate with a government asset like a warship.

Australia, which also spoke out against Chinas recent flights, last month announced a deal with the U.S. and Britain to obtain nuclear-powered submarines, which was seen as a strong statement it planned to play a greater role.

And Japan, which has long been cautious with its relations with China, a key trading partner, now considers the country a security threat amid Beijings increasingly assertive activity in the regional seas and around the Taiwan Strait. New Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said dialogue with China is important but Japan should also team up with like-minded democracies and step up its security alliance with the U.S. and other partners while Tokyo also strengthens its defense capabilities.

We are seeing a slow emergence of some sort of coalition of democracies in the region that are trying to come together to build some sort of mechanism to respond to Chinese behavior in the region, said J. Michael Cole, a Taipei-based senior fellow with Global Taiwan Institute in Washington, D.C.

Under longstanding policy, the United States provides political and military support for Taiwan, but does not explicitly promise to defend it from a Chinese attack.

Its more signaling and psychological warfare and a warning to the U.S. to not be so close to Taiwan, Mastro said.

By Huizhong Wu And David Rising
Terrorist Asks Supreme Court to Let Him Depose Ex-CIA Contractors for Polish Criminal Probe

A Muslim terrorists lawyer asked the Supreme Court to allow his client to depose two former Central Intelligence Agency contractors about waterboarding at CIA black sites in connection with a Polish criminal investigation into that nations involvement in the CIAs clandestine detention and interrogation program.

Zayn al-Abidin Muhammad Husayn, 50, also known by his nom de guerre, Abu Zubaydah, was an associate and longtime terrorist ally of Osama bin Laden, according to the government.

Respondent Zubaydah is the first high-value terrorist captured after the 9/11 attacks, according to the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). According to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Although he never pledged bayah [loyalty] to Usama bin Ladin, Abu Zubaydah functioned as a full member of al-Qaida and was a trusted associate of al-Qaidas senior leaders.

He is being held at the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. The government has refused to make the high-profile detainee available to provide evidence about his alleged torture by the CIA to assist the Polish investigation, asserting that doing so could undermine U.S. national security.

The case is United States v. Zubaydah, court file 20-827.

At oral arguments on Oct. 6, Acting Solicitor General Brian H. Fletcher appeared for the government; attorney David F. Klein appeared for the respondent. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who has been diagnosed with COVID-19, participated in the in-person hearing by telephone.

Klein summed up his clients position for the justices.

What he does need to know is what happened inside Abu Zubaydahs cell between September 2002 and September 2003, so I want to ask simple questions, like how was Abu Zubaydah fed? What was his medical condition? What was his cell like? And yes, was he tortured?

Replying to Justice Elena Kagan, Fletcher said the governments decisions concerning U.S. security must be respected.

Predictive national security judgments, I think, deserve deference no matter how great the showing of necessity.

The CIA captured Zubaydah in Pakistan in 2002 and detained him until 2003 as an enemy combatant in Poland. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit found that two now-former CIA contractors, James Elmer Mitchell and John Jessen, exposed him to enhanced interrogation techniques, which the European Court on Human Rights held constituted torture. He was later sent to Guantanamo, Ballotpedia summarizes.

In 2017, Zubaydah figured in a Polish criminal investigation into CIA practices. He asked a U.S. district court to force the U.S. government to produce evidence provided by Mitchell and Jessen but the government argued against this, saying some of the documents contained state secrets and were privileged. The district court ruled for Zubaydah, finding the government was worrying about a hypothetical and could bring the issue up later in the proceedings.

When the two ex-contractors were subpoenaed, the government tried to cancel the subpoenas, citing U.S. v. Reynolds (1953), in which the Supreme Court laid out criteria under which courts may block the revelation of state secrets and dismiss cases if U.S. national security interests are deemed to be at stake. The district court threw out the subpoenas, and the 9th Circuit agreed with it that the governments state secrets privilege applied to some of the requested information. But the circuit court found that the district court made a mistake by striking the subpoenas in their totality instead of allowing limited discovery and access to information not considered privileged.

Justices pressed Fletcher about the governments decision to keep Zubaydah out of the courtroom.

Referring to Zubaydah, Justice Neil Gorsuch asked, Why not make the witness available?

What is the governments objection to the witness testifying in his own treatment and not requiring any addition from the government of any kind?

Justice Stephen Breyer questioned why the detainee is still being held at Guantanamo.

I dont understand why he is still there, he said.

Fletcher told the court larger issues are at stake.

Our nations covert intelligence partnerships depend on our partners trust that we will keep those relationships confidential. Respondents seek discovery that would compel a breach of that trust by confirming or denying the existence of an alleged CIA facility in Poland  not to vindicate any rights under U.S. law but instead in a discretionary  application aimed at sending evidence abroad to a foreign investigation whose very purpose is to reveal and prosecute the alleged involvement of Polish officials in covert CIA activities.

The CIA director explained why that compelled disclosure would seriously harm the national security, Fletcher said. The 9th Circuit should have afforded deference to that expert judgment.
President Joe Biden (L) greets Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe during a campaign event at Lubber Run Park, Arlington, Virginia on July 23, 2021. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

Terry McAuliffe Issues Warning: Biden Is Unpopular Here in Virginia

Terry McAuliffe, the Democrat candidate for the Virginia governors race, warned that President Joe Biden is unpopular in Virginia in off-the-cuff remarks during a video conference.

Weve got to get Democrats out to vote, McAuliffe, the former governor of the state, said in the Tuesday night virtual event with Virginia Democrats. We are facing a lot of headwinds from Washington, as you know. The president is unpopular here in Virginia, so we have got to plow through, McAuliffe said, referring to Biden.

Virginias off-year elections are viewed as a bellwether contest for the party that controls the presidency and could serve as a preview of the 2022 midterms.

A spokesperson for the McAuliffe campaign said on Wednesday in a statement to news outlets that the candidates point was clearly that Democrats cant take anything for granted and must turn out to vote this year: Glenn Youngkin is running on a divisive, Trumpian agenda that puts election conspiracy theories and banning abortion first. Youngkin is the Republican nominee for governor.

McAuliffes campaign hasnt yet responded to a request for comment.

During debates and public events, McAuliffe has frequently attempted to distance himself from the agenda pushed by Democrats in Congress and the Biden administration. At one point during his debate with Youngkin, McAuliffewho has been longtime friends with Bidencalled the $3.5 trillion reconciliation package too expensive.

Nonetheless, Vice President Kamala Harris recently reportedly headlined a fundraiser for McAuliffe, while her husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, campaigned for him in Loudoun County over the previous weekend. Biden attended an event for McAuliffe in late July.

Election analysts at the Cook Political Report have noted that the race between McAuliffe and Youngkin is a toss-up, which could be a problem for Democrats in the state moving forward. Republicans havent won a statewide election in Virginia in more than a decade.

Outside of Virginia, some Democrat analysts have sounded the alarm for the 2022 midterms, which are just over a year from now.

Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-N.J.), who represents a swing district, told other members of his party that Democrats could lose their House majority next year and pressed fellow Democrats to pass the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill.

All that stuff is real, the New Jersey Democrat said, referring to some polls showing dropping approval ratings for Biden and Democrats. If the election were held right now, I dont think we would win, he contended.

Before that, Douglas Schoen, who had worked for former President Bill Clinton and was an adviser to Michael Bloombergs short-lived presidential campaign, issued a warning about the upcoming 2022 contests. Generally, the party of the president loses at least one house of Congress during the midterms.

The marked decline in support for President [Joe] Biden and his administration nationally and in key swing states indicates that the Democratic Party could endure a blowout defeat in the 2022 midterm elections, he wrote for The Hill in an opinion piece last month.
The logo of car manufacturer Tesla is seen at a dealership in London on May 14, 2021. (Matthew Childs/Reuters)

Tesla Faces Investor Test After Big Jury Award Over Racism

SAN FRANCISCO/BOSTONA contract worker has won a $137 million jury award over workplace racism against Tesla Inc., raising pressure on the electric vehicle maker whose shareholders will vote on Thursday on a proposal to review how it addresses similar complaints for full-time employees.

The nonbinding shareholder resolution asks Teslas board to study the impact of the companys current use of mandatory arbitration to resolve complaints of harassment and discrimination in its workplace. Tesla opposes the plan.

On Monday, a San Francisco federal jury made the award to former Tesla worker Owen Diaz. The verdict sends a message to corporate America that you need to make sure that racist conduct is not occurring, Lawrence Organ, his attorney told Reuters.

Diaz was able to face a public trial because contract workers were not subject to Teslas mandatory arbitration, which forces employees to resolve disputes outside judiciary courts.

Tesla advised against the resolution because, it said, arbitration benefits both parties with a fair resolution and a speedier return to their respective priorities without miring them in lengthy litigation.

Some technology companies have scaled back or eliminated mandatory arbitration. Uber and Lyft no longer require mandatory arbitration in cases over sexual harassment. Google ended mandatory arbitration in 2019. In April, nearly half of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. shareholders voted in favor of examining the banks use of mandatory arbitration.

Imre Szalai, a law professor at Loyola University New Orleans, said such a verdict against Tesla would create shaming and awareness of problems at the company.

The public becomes aware that Tesla needs to change and increases more pressure for the company, as opposed to confidential arbitration award that doesnt get that much publicity, he said.

Tesla arbitration agreements with employees and customers effectively bar them from publicly fighting in court disputes about pay, sexual harassment, race, disability, and other kinds of discrimination, as well as product defects.

There are around 100 cases in U.S. federal and state courts where Tesla sought to compel arbitration including lawsuits against the company over employment, personal-injury, and contract matters, according to Reuters review of Westlaw case data.

SpaceX owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks during a conversation with legendary game designer Todd Howard (not pictured) at the E3 gaming convention in Los Angeles, Calif., on June 13, 2019. (Mike Blake/Reuters)

Kristin Hull, CEO of Nia Impact Capital who filed the resolution, said Mondays jury verdict could help boost support. A similar measure last year garnered a 27 percent share of votes cast. Musk has 23.1 percent of Tesla shares.

This will be alarming, she told Reuters after the verdict. Thats a huge brand risk for Tesla to have these cases.

Teslas clean-transportation credentials have made it a popular investment for Environmental, Social, and Governance investors. This has taken a lot of environmental investors by surprise and theyre not happy, she said.

Nia Impact Capital has tried to sway major shareholder BlackRock Inc., whose funds voted against the resolution last year. BlackRock declined to comment.

Tesla said that in the years since Diaz worked at the company it has added employees to investigate complaints and to promote equal opportunity.

In a blog post after the jury verdict Tesla Vice President Valerie Capers Workman wrote that we will continue to remind everyone who enters the Tesla workplace that any discriminatory slursno matter the intent or who is using themwill not be tolerated.

Still proxy advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis both have recommended investors support the proposal, as they did the similar proposal last year.

By Hyunjoo Jin, Ross Kerber, and Rick Linsk
Signage for people to stay home is seen at Federation Square in downtown Melbourne, Australia, on Aug. 6, 2021, (Con Chronis/AFP via Getty Images)

The Making of an Endemic Disease

Commentary

When does a pandemic end? How does a pandemic end? These were the questions I was asking myself after Megyn Kelly hosted Dr. Monica Gandhi on her podcast last week. As it turns out, sooner or later, well have to admit that our COVID-19 pandemic is morphing into the endemic stage of the disease.

A disease can be classified as endemic when its persisting in a population or region, generally having settled to a relatively constant rate of occurrence, or, as Dr. Gandhi put it, youve reached endemic levels of a disease when its gone down to a level where you live with it.

The end goal of manageable endemic levels of disease was originally openly embraced. Our two weeks to slow the spread game plan was focused on preventing the hospital system from being overwhelmed while also acknowledging that the disease would indeed circulate. We initially set out clearly defined goalposts and pragmatically plotted a course forward.

Then we started moving the goalposts further and further away. As lockdowns dragged on, long-term goals became ill-defined. All of a sudden, the dialogue turned from keeping COVID-19 levels manageable to eradicating it entirely. The new endgame was zero cases. In other words, the goalposts were not just movedthey were entirely dismantled.

If our objective is wiping COVID-19 off the face of the Earth, well have to hunker down for the rest of time. Gandhi says, Im sorry to say this because a lot of people dont think this, but were not going to eradicate COVID.

High transmissibility, low vaccination rates, breakthrough cases, booster shots reserved for select portions of the population, and the movement of people across regions and borders all mean one thing: COVID-19 cant and wont be contained.

And yet many of our leaders have refused to accept the endemic future of our present pandemic. Reopening dates have been pushed back further and further: Spring 2020  Fall 2021  until we hit a certain vaccination rate  as soon as were all vaccinatedthe end is always just in sight, and then it changes yet again.

Soon well be able to hug our family members again, they told us. But the deadlines have come and gone. Lockdowns have dragged on and even ratcheted to new heights, such as in Australia. Now Dr. Anthony Fauci says its too soon to tell if we can host Christmas gatherings this year. But are we really still waiting for his permission? If our elites can have their maskless Met Gala, you best be sure Ill be having eggnog with Grandma this Christmas.

Any pragmatic policymaker should realize there will be no back to the way it was before. Just as countless other viruses regularly and seasonally circulate, COVID-19 will join the ranks of endemic diseases. Its unfortunate, but its our realityour new normal. We must accept that there will be no stuffing this disease back into Pandoras box.

But that doesnt mean we must throw up our hands in defeat. We can still take reasonable precautions in our daily lives and assume personal responsibility. We can and must continue to protect the vulnerable. Fortunately, the recently approved booster shots appear to be a great way to insulate the at-risk from inordinate danger.

In short, we can and should learn to live our lives again. We must reconstruct the goalposts and keep them in place by deciding what acceptable endemic levels look like for our nation. Other countries such as Denmark have already done so with success thus far. Only then can we work to make progress against COVID-19 with a clear mission in mind.

Life will go on.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Lt. Gen. Wright and Armand Sedgeley (L) look at the book Maine to Corsica and Beyond" by Thom Mindala, which details Sedgeley's life. (Courtesy of William Sedgeley)

The Tale of Armand Sedgeley, World War II Hero

It was traditional in Maine when I was growing up. Most families had baked beans and brown bread Saturday nights. My mother used to make it for us, soon-to-be 100 years old Lt. Armand Sedgeley said.

This World War II hero is now in hospice care just outside of Denver. How I came to know him is as intriguing as his bravery on Feb. 14, 1944, when, while on a mission to bomb enemy rail yards in Verona, Italy, his B-17 was attacked by five Nazi Messerschmitts.

Sedgeley joined the Air Cadets as a teen with his buddies. With the attack on Pearl Harbor, he immediately applied for flight school with the U.S. Army Air Corps. He wanted to be a pilot. He was selected for bombardier school. He graduated and was assigned to a crew destined to fly a B-17 to England. They were soon transferred to North Africa, where sorties were being flown against targets in fascist Italy.

On this mission, Sedgeleys 36th, fate would change his life forever. Seeing his B-17 coming under attack, Sedgeley jettisoned the bomb load. Almost immediately, a 20 mm explosive shell hit the bomb bay. If it hadnt been for his quick thinking, the B-17 would have exploded.

The enemy attack damaged three of the B-17s four engines. Repeated attacks shot up the crew. In a final attack to finish off the stricken B-17, a Messerschmitt came in with machine guns blazing. Sedgeley took the machine gun in his bombardier compartment up to the nose of the aircraft and shot down the enemy fighter.

The tail gunner was screaming in agony into the intercom. Sedgeley gave up his oxygen unit to the navigator because, as a young man, he was able to withstand high-altitude flying without oxygen. He saved the navigators life. He then obtained morphine from the pilot and went back into the shot-up fuselage to see to the wounded and dying. He turned the radio operator over and saw he was dead, shot through the left eye. He saw a waist gunner who appeared uninjured until a hole showed fatal wounds to his body. Sedgeley made his way aft. The tail gunner had both legs almost shot off. His agony was only allayed when Sedgeley gave him a morphine injection. He couldnt remove the tail gunner from his cramped post and left him to attend the others as soon as morphine took effect.

The pilot, with only one engine functioning at full power, diverted his plane to the island of Corsica, now in Allied hands, located roughly 200 miles away. It wasnt possible to land the B-17 on Corsicas airfield. Capt. Frank Chaplick ditched his B-17 in the sea just in front of the walled citadel city of Calvi.

Thats where I found it in 1993. I was doing marine research with Dr. Daniel Bay, director of the University of Liege research station. Commercial divers, long after World War II had ended, discovered the sunken B-17, found human remains inside the aircraft, and notified U.S. authorities, who sent a mortuary team to Corsica to retrieve the dead.

Three dead were left inside the B-17 when it sank just minutes after it was ditched. Sedgeley had been able to get the hatch open and deploy a life raft, despite his own grave injuries. But he became pinned behind a chart table. It was only by a miracle that, as the B-17 sank and he was underwater, that he pulled carbon dioxide cartridges on his life vest, freeing him. He was propelled upward and out of the hatch, where he was pulled aboard the inflatable life raft.

(LR) Lt. Armand Sedgeley, Commmandant Philippe Tailliezthe man who taught Jacques-Yves Cousteau to diveand the author, John Christopher Fine, with a dog tag and the plaque to be placed on the sunken B-17 in 1995. (John Christopher Fine)

The sunken B-17 bomber that Lt. Sedgeley and his crew flew in. (Courtesy of John Christopher Fine)

John Christopher Fine places the memorial plaque on the sunken B-17. (Courtesy of John Christopher Fine)

During my filming and research, I entered the fuselage of the sunken B-17 in about 121 feet of water. What possessed me to fan the sand and silt away in one particular place, I dont know. The light fanning revealed a box cover. Underneath it was an ampoule of iodine. I recognized it as the first aid kit. I fanned again and saw immediately what I recognized to be a military dog tag. By this time, the fuselage was silted from my air bubbles hitting the overhead. There was little visibility. I fanned again. The dog tag was propelled up. I grabbed for it, missed, fanned again, and took it in my fingers. Pressing the metal identification tag to my dive mask, I could read it: R.H. Householder, Wellington, Colo.

That led to a two-year odyssey to find survivors and discover the history of the B-17, as well as an idea that had immediately come to mind and was approved enthusiastically by Bayto have a memorial service for the crew.

It was only when I was preparing to leave for Corsica to preside over the International Underwater Film Festival that a colonel in the secretary of the air forces office called me. He was shredding secret documents, found my letter to the secretary, and called.

Did anyone help you on this? He asked.

I said no. I could get nowhere with the U.S. Armythey never responded. The colonel was a history major in college, and once I told him of the plan to have a memorial service, he asked if it would be alright for him to try to help find survivors.

Within two hours the colonel had found two survivors. At the time, Chaplick was alive, but had medical issues and his brother was dying, thus when I called him, he couldnt participate in the service. Sedgeley, the bombardier hero of the mission, was enthusiastic. He said he had no funds to travel to Corsica. As a result of a front-page story in The Denver Post, a United Airlines chief pilot got Sedgeley and his son first-class air tickets to Corsica.

The event was momentous. It became, with then-President Bill Clintons endorsement, the last World War II 50th Anniversary Commemoration in 1995. Sedgeley was honored. The ceremony took place at sea, and I had my friend Philippe Tailliez aboard the dive boat with me to place a memorial plaque on the sunken bomber with a U.S. flag. Tailliez was the father of deep-sea diving, the man who taught Jacques-Yves Cousteau to dive and was Cousteaus commanding officer in the French Navy.

We remained in casual contact, Sedgeley and Ioccasional Christmas cards and a call now and then. It was only about four years ago that Sedgeley told me that he never received his Silver Star medal. He was transferred to a hospital in the United States for his injuries, received five air medals with oak leaf clusters, and a Purple Heart, but never the Silver Star that was awarded to three others in his crew, including the navigator, whose life he had saved.

I havent been able to persuade the U.S. Army or the U.S. Air Force to issue it. Now, there are no other survivors from that crew, save for Sedgeley.

On Oct. 26, 2021, he will turn 100 years old. They insisted on personnel records from his file. Those burned in a warehouse fire in St. Louis in 1972, as they well knew. I obtained group records from the National Archives and bomb group records from U.S. Air Force history. Good people in charge got it done and the records document clearly the heroism in combat of this valiant man.

The silver star is on appeal now. Hopefully an appeal board, given the support of three senators, one representative, a governor, retired USAF Lt. Gen. Bruce Wright, retired USAF Maj. Gen. J.P. Klein, and others will be staffed with good-hearted, caring people with honor and they will issue this medal to a deserving combat hero.

Wright and his wife Kerri visited Sedgeley recently and gave him a medallion from the U.S. Air Force Association. I met a family with t-shirts emblazoned with Rolling Thunder on them. They put me in touch with Randy Taylor, the president of the nonprofit Rolling Thunder in Colorado. As it would happen, perhaps only as God ordains such miracles, Taylor and his wife live 10 minutes away from where Sedgeley is in hospice care.

Retired USAF Lt. Gen. Wright gives retired Lt. Armand Sedgeley a medallion from the U.S. Air Force Association. (Courtesy of William Sedgeley)

Pat Taylor, chairman of the board of Rolling Thunder, cooked homemade baked beans and brown bread for Lt. Sedgeley. (Courtesy of Randy Taylor)

Taylor visited Sedgeley and installed a basket on his walker so he could put things in and not trouble his caregiver with minor chores. Best of all, Taylor and his wife shopped for navy beans and brought Sedgeley his favorite Saturday meal: homemade baked beans and brown bread.

Americans rise up to the heritage that so many defended with their courage, so many with their lives, and so many with their youth. The United States is a beacon of freedom to enslaved people everywhere. Let that beacon shine as the goodness of our words are preserved by our actions through the heroism of the defenders of liberty.

Take a lesson from Sedgeley, who at 21 years of age brought hope to the oppressed so long ago.
A hydro tower is seen with the CN Tower as a backdrop in downtown Toronto on Nov. 11, 2002. (Kevin Frayer/CP Photo)

Top US Utility Providers Cut Power to Nearly One Million Homes Despite Receiving Huge COVID Tax Bailouts: Report

Some of the top utility providers in the United States cut off power to customers across the nation despite receiving tax bailouts through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report.

In September, The Center for Biological Diversitys Energy Justice Program and BailoutWatch released its Powerless in the Pandemic report which found that the nations top utilities received a collective $1.25 billion from last years administration bailouts, allowing them to grant customers temporary relief.

Under the $2.2 trillion economic stimulus bill passed by Congress on March 25, 2020, and signed into law on March 27, 2020, businesses in the energy sector were able to get hefty tax bailouts if they were at risk of taking an economic hit as a result of the pandemic.

But instead, the top utility providers continued to shut off families electric services almost a million times, according to the new report.

Sixteen of the providers suspended or canceled electric services to almost one million households between February 2020 and June 2021 alone, leaving people without access to hot water and other utilities, and forcing some to vacate their home altogether, the Center for Biological Diversitys Energy found.

Nine companies received tax bailouts amounting to $1.25 billion, of which 8.5 percent could have been used to prevent every shutoff reported.

Together, Duke Energy and DTE Energy received a combined total of $845 million in government bailouts, which amounts to more than 75 percent of the tax bailout money the report identified in the utilities sector.

Yet those companies cut off power to customers homes more than 203,000 times, despite their tax bailout providing them with enough funding to allow customers to forgo utility bill payments more than 150 times, the report states.

The worst offenders were NextEra Energy, parent of Florida Power & Light, Duke Energy, Southern Company, Dominion Energy, Exelon, and DTE Energy, who were behind about 94 percent of the documented shutoffs. Of those shut offs, NextEra alone accounted for nearly half.

According to The Center for Biological Diversity, the money these utility services spent paying executives and increasing shareholder dividends could have afforded them instead to bail out their customers over 500 times.

Its appalling that utility companies cut power to countless families throughout the pandemic while raking in taxpayer bailout money, said Jean Su, director of the Center for Biological Diversitys energy justice program. This greedy, heartless practice hurts low-wealth communities and communities of color most of all. It needs to stop. Complicit state regulators who fail to make shutoff data public should stop cowering and start shedding light on utilities bad behavior.

Chris Kuveke, data analyst with BailoutWatch called for the utility companies to be tightly regulated and accused them of prioritizing profits and shareholder satisfaction over all else, including customer health and the climate.

The Center for Biological Diversitys energy justice program also said the report reveals that utility companies lack transparency, noting that they were only able to analyze dataincluding annual and quarterly financial disclosures filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commissionof 16 utilities because that is all thats publicly available.

In an emailed statement to The Epoch Times, Duke Energy said, No one has done more than Duke Energy to support customers throughout the pandemic. Duke Energy was one of the first companies to immediately halt disconnections for unpaid bills and waive credit card and late payment fees. The company also set up flexible payment plans to ensure customers who were experiencing economic hardships could have flexibility.

In addition, the company provided more than $11 million dollars in support of hunger relief, local health and human services, educational initiatives public utility assistance and small business relief.

The Florida Power & Light Company, a subsidiary of NextEra Energy, said in an emailed statement that the report presented a blatantly false narrative that is nothing more than a publicity stunt.

The company accused the report of having omitted several very important data points about how it worked with its customers during the pandemic. It said that it had provided customers a total of $75 million in financial assistance in multiple initiatives that include ongoing bill credits for eligible low-income and small business customers.

The company said that the authors of the report had intentionally omitted how the vast majority of customers disconnected for nonpayment were quickly reconnected, most within just 24 hours.

Disconnections for nonpayment have always been a last resort and a decision we dont take lightly. In fact, FPL suspended disconnections for nonpayment for six months in 2020, the company added.

The Epoch Times has also contacted Southern Company, Dominion Energy, Exelon, and DTE Energy for comment.

Editors note: This article has been updated with further details.
Larry Nassar, a former team USA Gymnastics doctor who pleaded guilty in November 2017 to sexual assault charges, stands in court during his sentencing hearing in the Eaton County Court in Charlotte, Mich., on Feb. 5, 2018. (Rebecca Cook/Reuters)

U.S. Justice Department Renews Inquiry Into FBIs Failures in Larry Nassar Probe

WASHINGTONThe U.S. Justice Department has launched a fresh inquiry into the FBIs botched handling of its sex abuse investigation into disgraced former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, after previously declining to prosecute the agents involved, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said on Tuesday.

The recently confirmed assistant attorney general for the Criminal Division is currently reviewing this matter, including new information that has come to light, Monaco told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, adding that she is constrained on what more she can say.

I do want the committee and frankly, I want the survivors to understand how exceptionally seriously we take this issue, she added.

In an emotional hearing last month, famous gymnasts including Simone Biles and McKayla Maroney appeared before the same Senate panel, where they blasted the FBI for failing to properly investigate abuse they suffered under Nassars care.

The hearing was prompted by a scathing investigation by the Justice Departments inspector general Michael Horowitz, which uncovered widespread and dire errors which allowed Nassar to continue to abuse at least 70 more victims before he was finally arrested.

Two former FBI agents were singled out in the report  the former Indianapolis field office Special Agent in Charge W. Jay Abbott and a former supervisory special agent who has since been identified as Michael Langeman.

Horowitz said the agents waited five weeks before conducting a phone interview with just one victim  Maroney  while failing to contact other victims.

Langeman did not properly document Maroneys interview until more than a year later, and when he did, it contained misstatements and omissions. He was only recently fired from the bureau.

Horowitz also said that Abbott violated ethics rules by trying to get a job with the U.S. Olympic Committee in the midst of the investigation, and later lied during his interview with the inspector generals office. Abbott retired in 2018.

The inspector general referred both former agents for prosecution, but the Justice Department declined to bring charges against them in September 2020.

After the declination, the inspector general managed to compel interviews with more witnesses, but in May 2021, the department declined to revisit the issue.

Republican Senator John Cornyn on Tuesday expressed skepticism the Justice Department would take any action six years after the misconduct occurred, and asked Monaco what the statute of limitations is for lying to criminal investigators. Monaco said she believed the limit is five years.

So here we are six years later. Isnt it likely that any criminal charges for lying to the FBI would be barred by the statute of limitations? Cornyn asked. The FBI first learned of the allegations of sexual abuse against Nassar in July 2015.

Monaco said she did not wish to get into specifics about what evidence or legal theories could apply in the case.

Her testimony comes after she faced harsh criticism from some of the lawmakers on the panel and the gymnasts themselves, who chastised her for declining a request to testify and answer questions about the departments decision to decline charging the agents.

The Justice Departments policy prohibits publicly discussing decisions not to prosecute.

Monaco told lawmakers she was outraged to learn about the inspector generals findings.

I am deeply sorry that in this case, the victims did not receive the response or the protection that they deserved, she said.

An attorney for Abbott could not be immediately reached. Langeman could not be reached.

By Sarah N. Lynch
Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney in Manchester to attend the official opening of the Consulate General of Ireland for the North of England on Oct. 1, 2021. (Peter Byrne/PA)

UK Not Likely to Trigger Brexit Safeguard Measures: Irish Foreign Minister

Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney said on Wednesday that he doesnt believe the UK will trigger the safeguard measure in the Northern Ireland Protocol any time soon.

Coveneys comment came after the UKs Brexit Minister David Frost hinted that he could trigger the Article 16 safeguard mechanism if the UK and the EU cant agree on a solution to address the impact of the protocol on Northern Ireland soon.

Speaking on RTE radio, Coveney said he wouldnt read too much into the tough talk at a Conservative Party Conference.

My understanding is that the British government is not likely to trigger Article 16 any time soon, he said.

The minister said he believed the UK was committed to an intensive negotiation process for the rest of this month, with the European Commission, who are developing a new package of measures to try to ensure that we can take on board legitimate concerns that have been expressed with the implementation of the protocol.

Coveney said the Irish government and the EU had listened very carefully to Frosts comments but he believed negotiations between the two sides would continue.

What were trying to do here is ensure that it is implemented in as flexible a way as possible to reduce its impact, Coveney added.

The Northern Ireland Protocol was put in place to avoid a hard border within the island of Ireland, leaving Northern Ireland in the EUs single market, but it has instead effectively placed a trade barrier in the Irish Sea between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.

The UK has demanded significant changes to the protocol since July.

Unionists want Prime Minister Boris Johnson to tear up the protocol, a move he has so far resisted as the government presses for a renegotiation with Brussels.

At a conference fringe event this week, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said his party needs to see the government take action within weeks.

We need the government to set up, and to take action to remove this Irish Sea border, remove the barriers to trade within the United Kingdom, and fundamentally, to restore Northern Irelands place within the UK internal market, Donaldson said.

Triggering Article 16 has its use in the short term, but legislation was needed to restore Northern Irelands place fully within the United Kingdom, he said.

PA and Reuters contributed to this report.
Flames come out of a domestic gas ring of an oven in Durham, Britain on Sept. 23, 2021. (Lee Smith/Reuters)

US Natgas Volatility Jumps to a Record as Prices Soar Worldwide

Volatility in U.S. natural gas futures jumped to a record on Tuesday on the back of an energy crunch in major world markets that has sent prices soaring globally.

Natural gas prices are at record levels in Europe and Asia, as major markets like China struggle to find enough fuel to meet demand that has bounced back from the coronavirus-induced downturn faster than anticipated.

In Europe, prices this year have rocketed more than 500 percent, on worries that current low levels of storage will be insufficient for the winter.

That has fed through to U.S. natural gas futures, which recently closed at 12-year-highs of $6.31 per million British thermal units (mmBtu).

While that is still a far cry from prices in Europe and Asia where natural gas is over five times more expensive, the market has grown increasingly volatile as competition for limited U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports increases.

In the United States, implied volatilitya measure of expected fluctuations in the marketsurged to an all-time high of 122.5 percent on Tuesday, topping the prior record of 117.5 percent reached in November 2018.

Part of the reason for the wild moves is merchant commodity firms, hedge funds, and other major investors in the market finding themselves exposed to unexpected price rallies. Companies that bet the wrong direction on markets are sometimes forced to shift positions quickly to cover their losses, further adding to the volatility.

There have been no recent reports of hedge funds failing, but Statar, which invests in gas, reportedly lost about $130 million. By contrast, commodities giant Andurand has posted big returns due to rising prices.

Graphic: Natural gas volatility surges to a record:

Competition between Europe and Asia for limited LNG cargoes and other energy supplies has led to manufacturers curtailing activity in Europe and sparked power crises in China. Global gas prices have spiked to record highs of around $40 per mmBtu in Europe and $35 in Asia.

The last time volatility spiked so aggressively in November 2018, volume in gas traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) soared to a record 1.6 million contracts.

On Tuesday, volume on the NYMEX held around 500,000 contracts, a little higher than over the past 30 days but only the most in a day since last week.

However, volumes in the U.S. Natural Gas Fund, an exchange-traded fund designed to track gas prices, soared over 30.2 million shares on Sept. 28, its biggest daily volume since hitting a record 43.1 million shares in November 2018.

Analysts do not expect U.S. prices to reach the lofty levels in Europe or Asia because the United States should have enough gas in storage for the winter heating season and because U.S. LNG export plants were already producing all of the super-cooled gas they can.

The United States only has the capacity to turn about 10.5 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) of gas into LNG, or about 13 percent of what the nation consumes domestically.

Global markets will have to wait until later this year to get more from the United States when the sixth liquefaction train at Cheniere Energy Inc.s Sabine Pass and Venture Global LNGs Calcasieu Pass in Louisiana are expected to start producing LNG in test mode.

By Scott DiSavino
Heather Mack of Chicago (C) is escorted by police officers as she arrives in the courtroom for her sentencing hearing at a district court in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, on April 21, 2015. (Firdia Lisnawati/AP Photo)

US Woman in Bali Suitcase Murder to Be Released Oct. 29

JAKARTA, IndonesiaA Chicago woman convicted of assisting her boyfriend in her mothers murder and stuffing the body in a suitcase on Indonesias resort island of Bali in 2014 is being released early from a 10-year sentence, a prison official confirmed Wednesday.

Heather Mack, who was 18 when she was arrested a day after the discovery of Sheila von Wiese-Macks body in the trunk of a taxi parked near the St. Regis Bali Resort, will be freed and deported to the United States on Oct. 29, said Lili, the Kerobokan Female Prison chief.

Lili, who goes by a single name, told The Associated Press that Mack received a total of 34 months of sentence reductions, which are often granted to prisoners on major holidays, including a six-month remission of sentence awarded to her by the Indonesian government during the countrys Independence Day in August.

She has shown to be a good person, she was entitled to the sentence reduction, Lili said. She looked happy when she learned this  and began to pack up excitedly.

Mack and her then-boyfriend, Tommy Schaefer, were detained in August 2014 and convicted in April 2015. Schafer received an 18-year sentence.

Heather Mack of Chicago (C) is mobbed by reporters as she arrives in the courtroom for her sentencing hearing at a district court in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, on April 21, 2015. (Firdia Lisnawati/AP Photo)

Before Mack was convicted, she gave birth to her and Schaefers daughter, Stella Schaefer. There were also reports of a troubled relationship between Mack and her mother, with officials confirming that police had been called to the familys Oak Park, Illinois, home dozens of times.

In 2016, Robert Bibbs, a cousin of Schaefer, pleaded guilty to helping to plan the killing in exchange for $50,000 that Mack was expected to inherit, and was sentenced the next year to nine years in prison.

Upon her release, Mack can under Indonesian law be reunited with her daughter, who is now 6.

But her Indonesian attorney, Yulius Benyamin Seran, has said earlier that Mack, who has not seen the little girl for about 20 months because authorities halted prison visits during the coronavirus pandemic, had asked Indonesian authorities to let the girl remain with her foster family to avoid media attention.

Under Indonesian law, a deported foreigner will be rejected entry to Indonesia for up to a maximum of six months.

By Niniek Karmini
NASA Expedition 35 Flight Engineers Chris Cassidy (pictured) and Tom Marshburn (out of frame) conduct a spacewalk to inspect and replace a pump controller box on the International Space Station's far port truss (P6) leaking ammonia coolant, on May 11, 2013. (NASA/Handout via Reuters)

With Scenes From Space, TV Series Shines Light on Team Fixing Spectrometer

LONDONFilmmaker Ben Turner has turned his lifelong passion for space exploration into an original mini series centered around American astronaut Chris Cassidy.

Among the Stars, a six-episode docuseries, takes viewers behind the scenes with Cassidy and an international team of experts as they embark on a mission to repair the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, a $2 billion science experiment designed to discover the origins of the universe.

Starting off with former Navy Seal Captain Cassidy as he prepares for what may be his last space mission in 2019, the series soon focuses on the highly skilled specialists in 16 countries working towards a communal goal.

You speak to an astronaut, they tell you theyre just the tip of the iceberg. And to tell the story properly, you need to tell the story of the whole iceberg, Turner told Reuters.

Theres one path to success and a million paths to failure on a mission. And watching them overcome all the stages along the way is really where the drama lies.

The series marries intimate video diaries filmed by the space crews with explainers and interviews with scientists, engineers, and flight controllers, offering unprecedented access to the nerve centers of the operations.

NASA archives take audiences back in time to relive Cassidys earlier expeditions, including a 2013 spacewalk with Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano which was aborted after water leaked into Parmitanos helmet, nearly causing him to drown.

To Turners surprise the scenes shot in space turned out to be the easiest part of the project. Despite begging and pleading, his request to be sent to the International Space Station was turned down and he relied on his subjects to do the filming.

When Chris said he was going to help me film the show  that was a mission for him, Turner said. And he was going to do it amazingly.

But even Cassidys can-do attitude nearly met its match in a series of hurdles that put at risk his eventual departure, including the COVID-19 pandemic.

Something Ive learnt through my life is to understand what piece of the jigsaw you are and what part you can play in a bigger machine, Turner said.

And I hope that thats on display in our series because its as much the technicians, the designers, just such a big team of skills who come together to make what is essentially impossible possible.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney during a debate about coronavirus vaccine passports, at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, UK, on Sept. 29, 2021. (Fraser Bremner/Scottish Daily Mail/PA)

Work on Childrens Rights Bill Will Continue, Says Swinney

Work on a bill to incorporate a U.N. treaty on childrens rights into Scots law will continue despite the original being sent back to Holyrood by the UK Supreme Court, Deputy First Minister John Swinney has said.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill passed unanimously earlier this year but was referred by the UK Government to the countrys highest court in order to assess if the legislation was within the scope of the Scottish Parliament.

In a judgment on Wednesday, Supreme Court justices insisted they did not take issue with the Scottish Parliaments decision to incorporate these sets of standardsbut that the manner in which the bills had sought to do this breaches the limitations imposed on the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament by the Scotland Act.

In a statement to Holyrood, the Deputy First Minister said: There is no doubt that the implications of this judgment are significant, from a childrens rights perspective and in terms of this government and indeed this parliaments aspiration for the country we want our children to grow up in.

The Scottish Government remains absolutely committed to the incorporation of the UNCRC into Scots law to the maximum extent possible.

We want to ensure that we pursue that policy in a way that can be enacted and therefore made real in practice.

He added: It is regrettable that this Bill has been delayed and will not now become law in the form which our parliament has agreed.

Another bill, which was also passed unanimously and sought to incorporate the European Charter of Local Self-Government, was also found not to be in the competence of the Scottish Parliament.

Originally introduced by former independent MSP Andy Wightman, Green MSP Mark Ruskell will now act as the lead member on the bill.

Tory MSP Donald Cameron said his party warned that some parts of the bill would be legally problematic.

To their shame, the SNP did not listen and instead politicized this from the very beginning, he said.

He added: That political posturing has been comprehensively demolished by the definitive judgment of the Supreme Court today.

When Tory MSP Meghan Gallacher accused the Deputy First Minister of stirring up constitutional grievance, Swinney replied: The straightforward way through this would have been for our Bill to get royal assent without objection from the UK law officers.

It was supported by every single member in this parliament. Why on earth are the Conservatives objecting to the passage of legislation that they themselves supported?

Do they not understand how absolutely ridiculous their argument is today?

This parliament made its choices about how it wanted to deliver the maximum protection for children and young people in our country and the people whove got in the road of that, the people whove interrupted it, are the UK Governments law officers.

Children and Young Peoples Commissioner Bruce Adamson said: The last 18 months have shown just how urgent it is to strengthen rights protections for children.

We will work with the Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament in its role as a human rights guarantor to get this done as soon as possible.

Alison Evison, president of local authority umbrella body COSLA, said: We will now seek to work with the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government to ensure that all the work done around both Bills will not be lost.

Obviously todays judgment will require scrutiny and full consideration. Local government must have a meaningful role in whatever comes next and as a valued sphere in the governance of Scotland.

However, Scottish Secretary Alister Jack welcomed the decision, saying it provides vital legal clarity on these two Bills.

As set out in the Scotland Act 1998, the Scottish Parliament cannot legislate outwith its areas of competence, he said.

As we have been clear, our concerns were never to do with the policy of the Bills, but about whether they are within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament.

We will continue to work collaboratively with the Scottish Government to address any competence concerns with future Scottish Parliament legislation.

By Craig Paton and Katrine Bussey
Zuckerberg Responds to Facebook Whistleblowers Testimony, Says Claims Dont Make Sense

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has responded to claims made by former employee and whistleblower Frances Haugen in testimony before Congress on Oct. 5.

Haugen, who used to work as a lead product manager for Facebooks civic misinformation team, spoke before the Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security where she discussed the companys internal practices, particularly regarding how they disproportionately affect children.

The hearing was initially prompted by an expose by The Wall Street Journal that showed that Facebook had hidden research data on the harmful effects of its platform.

Haugen accused Facebook of prioritizing profit before the well-being of its users, telling Congress that she believes Facebooks products harm children, stoke division, and weaken our democracy.

Zuckerberg was notably absent from the hearing, having gone sailing instead.

However, the Facebook CEO took to his own platform later on Oct. 5 to respond to the testimony in a lengthy post in which he reiterated that the company places a special emphasis on the safety and well-being of its users, while stating that Haugens claims simply dont make sense.

Now that todays testimony is over, I wanted to reflect on the public debate were in. Im sure many of you have found the recent coverage hard to read because it just doesnt reflect the company we know. We care deeply about issues like safety, well-being, and mental health, Zuckerberg wrote.

Its difficult to see coverage that misrepresents our work and our motives. At the most basic level, I think most of us just dont recognize the false picture of the company that is being painted.

Many of the claims dont make any sense. If we wanted to ignore research, why would we create an industry-leading research program to understand these important issues in the first place? If we didnt care about fighting harmful content, then why would we employ so many more people dedicated to this than any other company in our spaceeven ones larger than us?

He questioned why Facebook would establish an industry-leading standard for transparency and reporting if it wanted to hide the results of its findings.

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen appears before the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee at the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington on Oct. 5, 2021. (Matt McClain/Pool via Getty Images)

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) (L) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) (R) speak to former Facebook data scientist Frances Haugen (C) during a hearing of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Oct. 5, 2021. (Alex Brandon/AP Photo)

At the heart of these accusations is this idea that we prioritize profit over safety and well-being. Thats just not true.  The argument that we deliberately push content that makes people angry for profit is deeply illogical, Zuckerberg wrote.

Much of his post then turned to claims about the companys research into children while simultaneously touting Facebooks Messenger service for kids, which was released in 2017.

But of everything published, Im particularly focused on the questions raised about our work with kids. Ive spent a lot of time reflecting on the kinds of experiences I want my kids and others to have online, and its very important to me that everything we build is safe and good for kids, he wrote.

Zuckerberg noted that Facebook has worked on bringing a similar app for children under 13 to Instagramwhich is owned by Facebookhowever, the company has currently paused those plans after being urged to do so by some 44 state attorneys general from both major parties.

Like many of you, I found it difficult to read the mischaracterization of the research into how Instagram affects young people, he said.

The CEO stated that the companys internal research into Instagram found that the platform helps them when theyre struggling, contrary to reports that its harmful to the mental health of teenagers.

In fact, in 11 of 12 areas on the slide referenced by the Journalincluding serious areas like loneliness, anxiety, sadness, and eating issuesmore teenage girls who said they struggled with that issue also said Instagram made those difficult times better rather than worse, he said.

Zuckerberg reiterated that Facebook is committed to doing more research into how the app affects the mental health and well-being of children, and advocated for Congress to update internet regulations.

Were committed to doing the best work we can, but at some level, the right body to assess tradeoffs between social equities is our democratically elected Congress. For example, what is the right age for teens to be able to use Internet services? How should Internet services verify peoples ages? And how should companies balance teens privacy while giving parents visibility into their activity? Zuckerberg said.

If were going to have an informed conversation about the effects of social media on young people, its important to start with a full picture. Were committed to doing more research ourselves and making more research publicly available.

Elsewhere in his statement, Zuckerberg also touched on the platforms global outages on Oct. 4, which saw Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp go down for up to seven hours.

He called it the worst outage weve had in years and said Facebook has looked into how they can bolster systems to prevent such a failure from happening again.

This was also a reminder of how much our work matters to people, he said.
Some may say they can not start or go on with their day without coffee, for those people, there is a new cafe opening in South Norwalk.

Andrea Lombardi, owner, plans to open The Breakroom on 14 N Main Street in mid-October and said he is very excited for people to enjoy the atmosphere.

I wanted to name it The Breakroom because I see there are so many similar places having the words cafe or coffee shop in them, Lombardi said. I wanted my coffee shop to stand out and be outside of the box. No one would know what 'The Breakroom' is without going inside and seeing it for themselves.

The Breakroom will serve Italian coffee, including CBD-infused coffee. "It helps me so much when it comes to focusing and being calm so why not let others experience that too," he said.

Lombardi will offer a fusion menu with all food will be made in-house using recipes Lombardi created. Im working on getting my liquor license so in the future, we can open late and serve cocktails, he said.

Lombardi was born in Ischia, Italy and used his 16 years of manager and hospitality experience to open his two businesses: The Breakroom and an existing cafe in New Canaan. Dolce Italian Cafe has been open in New Canaan for three years, and he was looking to expand but was not in a rush.

I did want to open a new cafe around the area. Once I got the call from Joe, who is the landlord of the building, that the space was open, I came to see it and knew this is where I wanted to open my second business, said Lombardi.

Lombardi plans to open more "Breakrooms" around Connecticut in the future.
STAMFORD  Alan Kalter was known around the country as the quirky, red-headed announcer and comedic counterpart to David Letterman on The Late Show for two decades.

But, in Stamford, Kalters legacy was defined less by his professional success than his charitable spirit, said Sandy Goldstein, the former president of the Stamford Downtown Special Services District and a close personal friend of Kalter.

Kalter died at age 78 on Monday at Stamford Hospital with his wife, Peggy, and their two daughters at his side, according to Rabbi Joshua Hammerman of Temple Beth El, the local synagogue Kalter attended.

While most remember Kalter for his resonant voice and penchant for comedy, Goldstein said what she holds most dear about Kalter was his dedication to his surrounding community.

Goldstein said Kalter was always quick to lend his celebrity to a good cause, whether that meant working as a master of ceremonies at any number of city events or galas or donating his time as a volunteer at a domestic violence center or other local nonprofits.

What he gave to the community as a celebrity speaks volumes about the generous person that he was, she said.

Kalter served as the master of ceremonies for the citys annual Thanksgiving Parade from 2003 until the most recent parade in 2019. The parade has been canceled in each of the past two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

David Kooris, the current president of the DSSD, said Kalters off the cuff humor and star status helped to elevate the citys parade.

He was a charming and witty emcee who added star talent to our festivities, helping to evolve the parade over those decades to a regional tourism draw, Kooris said. Stamford Downtown is saddened by his loss, but we are forever grateful for his talent and generous commitment to our community.

Kalter was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., on March 21, 1943. Nicknamed Big Red for his hair, he provided the opening introductions on the Late Show with David Letterman" on CBS from September 1995 until Letterman's last episode on May 20, 2015, having taken the mantle after Bill Wendell's retirement.

As Letterman would walk and run onto the stage, Kalter would introduce him with a sarcastic flair as the king of unsocial media, nocturnal rainforest mammal and other monikers.

Whatever else, we always had the best announcer in television, Letterman said in a statement. "Wonderful voice and eagerness to play a goofy character of himself. Did I mention he could sing? Yes, he could. He enthusiastically did it all. A very sad day, but many great memories.

Before Letterman, Kalter was the voice of the Michelin Man and the USA Network and the announcer for Commander USA's Groovie Movies" on the USA Network. He also was the announcer for New York-based game shows, including To Tell the Truth" and The $10,000 Pyramid."

Kalter taught high school English on Long Island in the late 1960s before moving into radio broadcasting.

In addition to being active in the Stamford community, Kalter was also a devout Jew.

Hammerman said he recalls the day he arrived at Temple Beth El in Stamford nearly 35 years ago.

He said Kalter, who was serving as president of the synagogue at the time, invited him and his wife to spend their first Friday night Sabbath with his family.

That already tells you how deeply instilled in Jewish values he and his family were and have always been, Hammerman said. He was a deeply spiritual man and dedicated to human causes and the Jewish people. He was a true mensch.

A private funeral will be held at the Stamford synagogue on Wednesday starting at noon. The funeral will be livestreamed.

The Associated Press contributed to this story
WESTPORT  As an anonymous online group has criticized the towns increasing focus on racism, some parents this week praised the Board of Educations efforts to address diversity and equity in the schools.

The group Westport Parents 06880 has stirred a recent debate after claiming on its website to reject political activism and moralizing intrusions into the classroom.

In particular, the group has criticized the the school districts equity study, which was part of a three-year strategic plan initiated in 2017.

However, during the public-comment portion of Mondays Board of Education meeting, multiple parents voiced their support for the equity study and for the school districts effort to address diversity.

Im here in support of the equity study, Westport parent Kristi Law said. To me, it was a necessary step for our district.

Law said she feels its important for her children to interact with people from different backgrounds. Law said the change was needed because she was concerned that her children would not be properly prepared growing up in a community like Westport, which she described as lacking diversity.

We have heard from multiple alumni who feel that they were unprepared for life outside of the bubble of Westport, she said. That is not acceptable.

Another parent, Jonathan Alloy, said his family recently moved to Westport and praised the district for examining equity and diversity. He also said he believes its important to teach students about how racism is part of American history.

Racism is as American as apple pie, he said.

Alloy stated that racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination are built into the U.S. Constitution.

These are facts, he said. To deny them is racism. To prevent the teaching of them is systemic racism.

However, not everyone spoke in favor of the equity study or how racism is taught in schools.

Camilo Riano said he has four children in Westport schools and is concerned about the direction the district is taking.

I believe in education, not indoctrination, he said. I believe in American values. I dont believe in socialist experiments with equity.

The Westport Parents 06880 group has criticized the New York Universitys Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools, which conducted the equity study, for being based in critical race theory.

CRT is a controversial academic framework through which to view systems of racism and oppression in America. Even though it is generally considered a college-level theory, not taught as part of K-12 curriculum, the term is used by some conservatives to refer to certain school programs that encourage inclusion, diversity and equity.

Westport Superintendent of Schools Thomas Scarice has said CRT is not part of the towns curriculum.

The Westport Parents 06880 is an anonymous group that was formed by 37 parents in June, according to its website. There is no information listed to contact members behind the effort and the group does not appear to have a social media presence.

The group offers to send updates if people provide their email addresses. Once subscribed, the website shows the groups mailing address as 110 Myrtle Ave.  Westports Town Hall.

Westport officials, however, said the group has no affiliation with the town.

The group has no association with the town or the BOE, so we would have no knowledge of their membership, said John Bayers, Westport Public Schools assistant superintendent for human resources and general administration.

Bayers said no one to date has contacted the town or the BOE with concerns about the group's choice to list Town Hall as its address.

Bayers said since the group is not associated with the town, any postal deliveries would be returned.

Westport interim operations manager Lynn Scully declined to comment about whether Westport has a policy about groups using Town Hall as a mailing address.
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Phuket Vegetarian Festival gets underway

PHUKET: The Phuket Vegetarian Festival got underway yesterday afternoon (Oct 5) as every shrine taking part in the festival this year held the traditional ceremony to raise the Go Teng poles, welcoming the Jade Emperor and the Nine Emperor Gods to descend from the heavens.

ChinesecultureCOVID-19health

By The Phuket News

Wednesday 6 October 2021, 10:00AM

The poles, tall slender trees gilded with gold-coloured paper, were all raised at the auspicious time of 5:09pm, indicating that the nine-day festival was quietly underway. The prayers, rituals and blessing ceremonies will begin today.

As the rain fell, participants at the main Jui Tui Shrine in Phuket Town hoisted their Go Teng high into the sky, joined by a host of Phuket officials including Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew, Vice Governors Pichet Panapong and Piyapong Choowong, Phuket Provincial Administration Organisation (PPAO, or OrBorJor) President Raweat areerob, among others.

Instead of the maddening throngs taking part in the Go Teng ceremony as in years past, yesterday saw a much more subdued affair, with far fewer participants in attendance at the shrine.

The festival this year is to be held under tight COVID-19 restrictions, with limits on the number of people attending and taking part in the ceremonies and other COVID-prevention measures in force.

This year Ma Song spirit mediums taking part in the street processions will travel by vehicle, instead of walking the routes along the streets of Phuket Town.

Ma Song are also to refrain from performing miracles, such as fire walking, bladed-ladder climbing or any of the other acts performed that may be deemed as at risk of spreading COVID-19.

Attendees and participants must have their temperatures checked before being allowed into any shrine or take part in any ceremony, and they must observe social distancing and wear a face mask at all times.

The same is to apply to the ceremonies and street processions held by the smaller Chinese shrines across the island, including the Bang Neow Shrine, the Samkong Shrine and the Kathu Shrine, the spiritual home of the Phuket Vegetarian Festival.

Governor Narong and shrine administrators have warned that any shrine or festival event that results in 10% of the attendees contracting COVID-19 will be shut down for three days while the attendees are tested for the virus and the site is disinfected.

If more than 20% of the participants are found to be infected in a continuous cluster, the event will be cancelled, Governor Narong warned last week.

The administrators of Jui Tui Shrine this year have asked for no stalls selling food and other items be set up in front of the shrine along Ranong Rd as precaution against any cluster of infections from forming at the usual crowds that visit the stalls to enjoy the vegetarian fare available there.
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Hundreds march in Montreal to honour Truth and Reconciliation

Chelsey St-Pierre / By Chelsey St-Pierre The Suburban Atikamekw Grand Chief Constant Awashish speaks to the crowd gathered at Place du Canada on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30th, 2021.

A demonstration and march were held last Thursday to address native issues in Quebec and Canada on the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The demonstration started at Place du Canada and marchers proceeded to the Quartier des Soectacles. Two focal points of the Montreal event were to commemorate Joyce Echaquan as well as the children who died in the residential school system. Multiple demonstrations occurred across the country.

A number of speeches were given by respected leaders in the native community. Many wore orange shirts with Every Child Matters printed on the front or back of the shirts. Several large orange flags with the same words were waved over the crowd by attendees as well. A moment of silence was dedicated to Echaquan as well as the mothers and grandmothers of the children who died and to the children who never returned home.

There was also a sign placed on the Sir John A. MacDonald statue with one word, decolonization. It began to rain towards the end of the speech period, however demonstrators were encouraged to stay for the march and the majority did while others joined along the way.

The sentiments of one speaker was shared widely. Today, it is finally the bodies of the children that never came home that got their attention. Why did it take that tragedy? Ms. Gabriel asked. But I am happy that your eyes are open now to the first people of this country.

To honour our lives we have shared the troubled legacy of the residential school system and the pain and suffering that is amongst the living survivors which is also transgenerational, Atikamekw Grand Chief Constant Awashish said. We are here to gather today to remember everybody who suffered through what was done by this country (to our nation), mothers, fathers, grandmothers, aunties and uncles and those who never came home,.

Prior to attending the demonstration, Chief Awashish attended what he called a birthday celebration held earlier in the day for the children who did not return home from the residential schools.
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THE WRITER is dean of the University of California-Berkeley School of Law and a contributing writer to the Los Angeles Times Opinion page. He is the author most recently of Presumed Guilty: How the Supreme Court Empowered the Police and Subverted Civil Rights.
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CARLINVILLE  Ground was broken Monday for the renovation of the former Frontier Building at 225 N. Broad St. in Carlinville into a multi-purpose Public Safety Center.

The 6,800-square-foot building will be the home of a new state-of-the-art police station and public safety facilities.

Carlinville Mayor Sarah Oswald was joined by state Rep. Avery Bourne, R-Morrisonville, Carlinville Police Chief David Haley, representatives from the city council and CTS Group/Veregy representatives.

A $250,000 state grant through the Rebuild Illinois plan allowed Carlinville to more than double the size of its police department building. Using the grant, the city purchased the Frontier Communications property.

The new police station and Public Safety Center will contain four main areas. The first area will be the public area with a secure lobby, emergency response center, and public space. The second area will be administrative offices, dispatch and a duty call room. The third area will be restrooms, locker rooms, and a breakroom for employees. The fourth space will be dedicated to police processing activities and an evidence room.

Through the outstanding partnership with CTS/Veregy, our city will see great improvements in our police station operations plus well have new capabilities for public safety such as emergency management services, a child safe room, and a public assistance office, said Oswald. From the planning stages through the implementation, the CTS/Veregy team has designed a highly functional and aesthetically pleasing building.

One of the most noticeable improvements will be on the backside of the building where police can safely bring in suspects through a secure vehicle entry, she said. We greatly anticipate seeing the completion of the renovated building. We envision many years of use by our police department, as well as our community.

The new police station benefits from CTS/Veregys energy efficient upgrades such as a new HVAC system, LED lighting, electrical components, and water efficient plumbing. Also, advanced technology for IT, security, and video surveillance will be installed. In addition, new upgraded infrastructure components, such as new floors, ceilings, and walls, will be a part of the renovation.

The most positive aspect of these building improvements is the impact on staff and the public. Increased space and comfort, thoughtful design, and expanded capabilities, all lend themselves to a long-term positive effect of prosperity and productivity.
Union workers at the Kellogg Company are on the picket lines striking against pay and benefit issues.

Kellogg, which is based in Battle Creek, Michigan, is best known for their cereal brands Frosted Flakes, Raisin Bran, and Rice Krispies.

Cereal workers with the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers, and Grain Millers Union went on strike after contract negotiations fell through, according to the Associated Press. Additional Kellogg facilities in Omaha, Nebraska, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Memphis, Tennesse are also on strike with their union counterparts in Battle Creek.

"Kelloggs response to these loyal, hardworking employees has been to demand these workers give up quality health care, retirement benefits, and holiday and vacation pay. The company continues to threaten to send additional jobs to Mexico if workers do not accept outrageous proposals that take away protections that workers have had for decades," Union President Anthony Shelton said in a statement on the union's website.

Overall, about 1,400 workers are on strike.

The Kellogg company had about 31,000 employees worldwide to start 2021, according to a company filing, meaning that less than 5% of its workers worldwide are on the picket line. Kellogg factories are also located in California, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Ohio, and New Jersey, according to CNN Business, in addition to the factories facing strikes.

Battle Creek Michigan Mayor Mark Behnke addressed the Kellogg strike by encouraging both sides to negotiate.

"No matter how you look at it, its unfortunate, because they need to sit down and talk," the mayor said.

Kellogg had announced at the beginning of September that more than 200 jobs were going to be cut at its Michigan plant in Battle Creek over the next two years, as reported by WWMT-TV. "We are committed to helping our talented and dedicated employees, and we are devoted to working with them and their union to ensure they have outplacement assistance, resources and support through this transition," Kellogg spokesperson Kris Bahner told the station in a written statement.

Bahner told CNN Wednesday that the company was "disappointed" with BCTGM moving forward to strike.
EDWARDSVILLE  A Missouri man was charged Monday with home invasion following an Oct. 3 incident in Granite City.

Luis D. Bracho-Gonzalez, 18, of Ferguson, Missouri, was charged Oct. 4 with home invasion, a Class X Felony.

The case was presented by the Granite City Police Department.

According to court documents, on Oct. 3 Bracho-Gonzalez allegedly entered a home in the 3200 block of Maryville Road while the resident was there, and pushed the victim against a wall and grabbed their arms, injuring them.

Bail was set at $100,000.

Other felony charges filed Oct. 4 by the Madison County States Attorneys Office include:

 James D. Hughes, 56, of Bethalto, was charged with two counts of aggravated battery, both Class 3 felonies. The case was presented by the Madison County Sheriffs Department. On Oct. 1 Hughes allegedly strangled a man and grabbed the arm of a woman 60 years or older, causing a laceration. Bail was set at $75,000.

 Nathan A. Chester, 41, of East Alton, was charged with aggravated unlawful use of weapons, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the Alton Police Department. On Oct. 2 Chester allegedly was found to have a loaded and accessible .22 caliber revolver without a valid Firearm Owners Identification Card or concealed carry license. Bail was set at $20,000.

 Orran I. Keglar, 19, of Collinsville, was charged with aggravated unlawful use of weapons, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the Collinsville Police Department. On Oct. 2 Keglar allegedly was found to be carrying in a motor vehicle a loaded and accessible Springfield Armory 9 mm handgun without a concealed carry permit. Bail was set at $15,000.

 Daquwan D. Scott, 19, of St. Louis, was charged with aggravated unlawful use of weapons, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the Collinsville Police Department. On Oct. 2 Scott allegedly was found to be carrying in a motor vehicle a loaded and accessible Smith & Wesson .40 caliber handgun without a valid concealed carry permit. Bail was set at $15,000.

 Dontay M. Lee, 19, of Collinsville, was charged with aggravated unlawful use of weapons, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the Collinsville Police Department. On Oct. 2 Lee allegedly was found to be carrying in a motor vehicle a loaded and accessible Smith & Wesson .40 caliber handgun without a valid concealed carry permit. Bail was set at $15,000.

 Nathaniel T. Hunsell, 26, of Wood River, was charged with aggravated unlawful restraint, a Class 3 felony. The case was presented by the Wood River Police Department. On Oct. 2 Hunsell, while armed with a butcher knife, allegedly refused to allow the victim to leave the property. Bail was set at $50,000.

 Michael E. Totty, 56, of Collinsville, was charged with unlawful failure to register as a sex offender (second subsequent offense), a Class 2 felony. The case was presented by the Collinsville Police Department. On Oct. 1 Totty allegedly failed to register a change of address with the Collinsville Police Department. Totty is listed as a sexual predator on the Illinois State Police sex offender registry database. He has a conviction out of Madison County for child pornography/film/photos, and failure to report a change of address/employment. According to the database the victim was 12 and he was 43 at the time of the offense. Bail was set at $43,000.

 Christopher M. Rodriguez, 20, of Granite City, was charged with forgery and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, both Class 4 felonies. The case was presented by the Collinsville Police Department. On Oct. 3 Rodriguez allegedly was found to be in possession of counterfeit currency and a loaded and accessible Smith & Wesson M&P Shield handgun without a valid concealed carry permit. Bail was set at $25,000.

 Korey M. Nichols, 20, of Collinsville, was charged with forgery, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the Collinsville Police Department. On Oct. 3 Nichols allegedly was found to be in possession of counterfeit currency. Bail was set at $15,000.

 Ryan R. Lilly, 28, of Wood River, was charged with aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the SIUE Police Department. On Oct. 1 Lilly allegedly was driving a 2002 Chevrolet Avalanche when he tried to flee from an SIUE police officer, reaching speeds in excess of 21 miles above the posted speed limit. Bail was set at $10,000.
According to Forbes magazine's latest tally of the country's richest people, the top 400 billionaires in America added $4.5 trillion to their wealth last year, a 40% rise, even as the pandemic closed large swaths of the country.

Illinois billionaires saw their wealth increase over the pandemic and many rose on the list of America's richest.

44 new billionaires were placed on the list, the highest number since 2007, including Steven Sarowitz, now the 10th richest person in Illinois, according to Forbes, tied for 300 on the Top 400 list, who made his money as the founder of online payroll firm Paylocity. In addition, Noubar Afeyan, co-founder of the Covid-19 vaccine maker Moderna, also made the list for the first time.

To make this year's list, people now have to have a minimum net worth of $2.9 billion, up from $800 million from a year ago.

The pandemic initially triggered a record-setting wave of layoffs, according to the Guardian. The job market has recovered significantly but the economic impact of the coronavirus is still shaking large parts of the US economy. States are bracing for an avalanche of evictions after the expiration of federal protections.

Stock markets and property prices have continued to soar, trends that have disproportionately padded the wealth of the richest.

"Despite the uncertainty and the ever-changing market economy, the 2021 Forbes 400 shows that Americas wealthiest have grown far richer," Kerry Dolan, assistant managing editor, wealth at Forbes, told the Guardian.

All 13 of the Illinois billionaires on the list (and the Ricketts family, owner of the Chicago Cubs, from Wyoming) saw their wealth rise in 2021 and moved up the list. Those 14 people or families accounted for $77.7 billion in wealth.

Those 13 people are Ken Griffin (estimated net worth: $16.1 billion, 47th on the list), Pat Ryan ($7.4 billion, tied for 120), Neil Bluhm ($6.4 billion, tied for 151), Joe Mansueto and Sam Zell ($6 billion, tied for 172), Mark Walter ($5.4 billion, 204), Thomas Pritzker ($4.5 billion, tied for 247), Ty Warner ($4.3 billion, tied for 261), Eric Lefkofsky ($4.1 billion, tied with the Ricketts at 273), Sarowitz ($3.8 billion, tied for 300), J.B. Pritzker ($3.6 billion, tied for 318), Penny Pritzker ($3.1 billion, tied for 368 and the richest woman in Illinois) and Joseph Grendys ($2.9 billion, tied for 389).

But not all of the wealthy have had a good pandemic. Former president Donald Trump has dropped off the Forbes 400 for the first time. Trumps estimated $2.5 billion fortune is $400 million short of this years cutoff, according to Forbes. Additionally, Oprah Winfrey also fell off the list.

The magazine calculates that the pandemic hit to Trumps portfolio of big-city properties shrank his fortune by $600 million. Trump had an opportunity to offload those assets at the start of his presidency.

Had he divested those assets and invested the money in a simple S&P 500 market-tracking index fund the day he entered the White House  and received a common ethics sign-off allowing him to avoid capital gains taxes  he would be worth about $7 billion today, according to Forbes, within the top 150 on the list.

"If Trump is looking for someone to blame, he can start with himself," Dan Alexander, senior editor at Forbes, wrote. "Five years ago, he had a golden opportunity to diversify his fortune. Fresh off the 2016 election, federal ethics officials were pushing Trump to divest his real estate assets. That would have allowed him to reinvest the proceeds into broad-based index funds and assume office free of conflicts of interest ... Trump decided to hang onto his assets."
SPRINGFIELD  State Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville, was recently appointed as a member of the Illinois Commission on Equitable Public University Funding.

This measure will help us to build the research and work of the House Higher Education Working Group, said Stuart. From the working group we will bring recommendations for the adequate and equitable funding model for higher education. It will allow universities to have stable funding to provide their students with academic and financial support.

The Commission on Equitable Public Funding was created by Senate Bill 815, which passed the General Assembly this spring and sets guidelines for the commissions goals. As a member of the commission, Stuart will help provide the General Assembly with recommendations and criteria to adequately fund public universities.

As an educator who taught on the collegiate level, it has been my goal in Springfield to address the lack of funding and resources for our schools and universities, continued Stuart. Lacking fair funding for our universities impacts their ability to best serve their students. I look forward to being a part of the commission and helping to find solutions to provide fair funding for all our public universities to give them the best tools to help our students succeed.
Target, which has multiple locations across the Metro East and Riverbend areas, including a location in Edwardsville and a location in Alton, said in a press release Tuesday that it will pay $2 an hour more to employees who pick up shifts during peak days of the holiday season.

This comes while many retailers are struggling to fill jobs and are focusing on retaining employees ahead of the peak shopping season. The big-box retailer had previously stated it would scale back holiday hiring and give more hours to existing staff.

The extra pay will go to store employees and service center employees who work on Saturdays and Sundays from Nov. 20 to Dec. 19, on Christmas Eve or on the day after Christmas. Select headquarters employees also qualify, Target said in the announcement on its website.

"For our current store team members, we're offering an additional 5 million hours, which adds up to more than $75 million in pay throughout the holiday season," Target stated. "We're also hiring an additional 100,000 seasonal team members at stores across the country to support our team during this extra busy time (and many of those team members will have the opportunity to stay on board after the holidays)."

There are open jobs in Target stores across the state, including in both Alton and Edwardsville.

Hourly supply chain employees can get the additional pay for peak two-week periods between Oct. 10 and Dec. 18, a crucial time for moving goods to shelves and packing boxes. The specific timing will depend on where the employees work.

Target is also hiring 30,000 new positions to their supply chain facilities nationwide, including in Chicago and DeKalb, the company said.

Targets minimum wage is $15 an hour. The company is offering even higher pay for holiday workers as many retailers struggle to fill jobs and focus on retaining employees. Korn Ferry, a talent consulting firm, polled 176 U.S. retailers in September to see if the companies were having trouble hiring, and only 2% responded that it wasnt an issue, CNBC reported.

Target said last month that it would scale back on seasonal hiring and instead give more hours to its roughly 300,000 current store employees. It also launched an app that allows workers to pick up an extra shift on demand, if they prefer a more flexible schedule that they can juggle with child care or college classes.
Scranton, PA (18503)

Today

Partly cloudy early then becoming cloudy with periods of rain this afternoon. High 64F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%..

Tonight

Cloudy and damp with rain early...then becoming partly cloudy. Low 34F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%.
SAM MONTALTO, Stonington, Boys Soccer, Senior; Montalto scored three goals including the 100th of his career in the Bears 4-0 victory over Plainville in the Class M state tournament. Montalto, who missed the first three games of the season, has 32 goals and nine assists this season.

GIRLS & BOYS Soccer Team, Chariho; It wouldnt be fair to single out a player from either team, both of which captured Division II titles over the weekend of Nov. 12. The girls tied their game with Prout with 1:02 left in regulation and prevailed in penalty kicks. The boys scored the winning goal in the final two minutes of the second overtime to beat North Smithfield.

ZACK TUCK, Westerly, Football; Tuck rushed for 150 yards on 29 carries in a loss to unbeaten St. Raphael in the Division II semifinals. Tuck has rushed for 1,533 yards and scored 19 touchdowns this season for the 7-3 Bulldogs.

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The bubble seems to have burst for former stock market darling The Hut Group with the companys shares sinking for nearly a month.

Over the past four weeks the hi-tech fashion firm has lost nearly 40 per cent of its value following another fall of almost 5 per cent yesterday.

It marks a uncomfortable downturn in fortunes for chairman and chief executive Matt Moulding after THG floated last September amid much fanfare and a pandemic-fuelled online boom.

The Hut Group sell-off was triggered by rumours chairman and chief executive Matt Moulding (pictured with wife Jodie) wanted to split the group

The sell-off was triggered early last month by murmurings around the market that Moulding wanted to split the group. On September 16 that was confirmed.

At the companys half-year results, THG put out under-par numbers and said it would list its beauty division separately in 2022, while also pursuing stock market listings for its other nutrition and technology businesses.

One analyst said: I was gobsmacked. The growth numbers were weaker than expected and here was Moulding essentially telling us that the band was breaking up.

There was no thorough explanation for the decision and no breakdown for what the individual businesses could be worth. THG is shaping up to be a very different business to the one that listed a year ago.

Moulding has defended his stance, stating that he believes the market has undervalued all three of these businesses, adding that they would be better off on their own.

But others disagree, arguing that there has been no pressure from big shareholders for him to make this move.

If anything, the call may have alienated heavyweight backers, including Goldman Sachs and The Capital Group, who soon after the results sold large chunks of their stakes.

Analysts have since crunched the numbers and believe THG Beauty, which includes brands such as Espa and Lookfantastic, could float at a value of 4billion.

No value has been assigned to THG Nutrition, although that could also be in the billions.

Analysts at Barclays cautioned that valuing the businesses looks a bit challenging without disclosure of standalone margins.

The first analyst added: To be honest, it is back-of-a-fag-packet stuff at the moment. There simply isnt enough information to know exactly what the different parts are worth.

Moulding has in the past defied the doubters and his sometimes unconventional approach has paid off handsomely so far.

But some investors are unsure about THG plans to spin off its Ingenuity division, a tech business that helps other brands to sell online.

Ingenuity accounts for just 9 per cent of group sales but it has established blue-chip clients, including Toblerone and Coca-Cola.

Rumours about the future of the business started in May when THG struck a complex joint venture deal that gave Softbank the option to acquire a 19.9 per cent stake in Ingenuity, valuing the technology arm alone at 4.2billion.

Moulding, at the time of the half-year results, said: From the moment we announced the Softbank deal it was a matter of when, not if we would do this [beauty] spin-off.

All eyes now switch to Tuesday next week when a capital markets day hosted by Moulding will try to allay investor fears about the future of the company.

It cannot come fast enough for Moulding who needs to stem the share price slump.

In truth, question marks have long hung over THG and 49-year-old Moulding.

He is a genuine self-made entrepreneur and generous charity donor who has risen from a working-class background. But there are governance issues that have still not been resolved.

He has been criticised for holding both the executive chairman and chief executive roles, along with a golden share that allows him to block hostile takeover attempts for three years.

At the time of the float THG also sold off many of its property assets to Moulding, leaving the company to pay its founder 19million in rent annually.

The company has still not disclosed what the property portfolio was worth, and all investors know is that THG is renting from him 15 warehouses and offices, which include giant facilities in Warrington in Cheshire and another near Wroclaw in Poland, as well as a string of office blocks in Northwich, also in Cheshire.

Neil Wilson, an analyst at Markets, said: I think we all got a little bit carried away with Moulding. The City should have been much more sober in its dealings with him.

Moulding has had an impressive rise from modest beginnings to success in the Square Mile. Now he is facing one of his biggest challenges to win back the favour he worked so hard to gain.
Sanjeev Gupta has launched a legal offensive against a US private equity firm to stop it seizing control of an aluminium smelter in Dunkirk.

The steel tycoon's GFG Alliance  which has considerable operations in Britain  said it will seek to block any 'predatory' attempts by American Industrial Partners (AIP) to take over the smelter in northern France.

The smelter is part of GFG's Alvance aluminium business.

Sanjeev Gupta's GFG Alliance said it will seek to block any 'predatory' attempts by American Industrial Partners to take over the smelter in northern France

Earlier this year, AIP bought part of Alvance's debt from other lenders and said last week that it had acquired the Dunkirk smelter and two other French businesses as a result of debt defaults by Gupta's group.

However, GFG retorted by saying AIP's statement that it had defaulted was 'incorrect' and the private equity firm had instead been refusing to accept loan repayments.

'This is a cynical and predatory effort to try to acquire our business on the cheap,' Gupta said.

'We will fight this with all of our efforts to ensure Dunkirk remains inside our international steel and aluminium group.'
Rizla owner Imperial Brands has said it is set to meet revenue and profit forecasts thanks to high tobacco prices and reduced losses in its next-generation products (NGP) division.

Adjusted organic operating profits for the last financial year are expected by the company to show growth in the low to mid-single digits, while net revenues are expected to rise by about 1 per cent.

The FTSE 100 firm also said total tobacco volumes are in line with projections and that it was anticipating its overall market share of cigarettes to rise modestly.

Lightening up: Imperial Brands has been boosted by strong tobacco pricing, but warned that loosening travel restrictions are providing a smaller boost to revenues than in the past

But it warned that the tobacco arm's adjusted operating profits are set to be lower due to the cost of legal settlements with the US states of Minnesota and Texas, and around 90million in lower stock revenues and profits from Australia.

In addition, it stated that the pandemic-era travel restrictions, which have hampered cigarette smuggling, have started to loosen and are subsequently not providing such a significant revenue boost.

By contrast, the Bristol-based firm expects second-half revenues in its NGP business to be broadly similar to that in the previous six months as a result of its exit from several unprofitable markets and a stronger focus on more profitable products.

As part of the five-year strategy that chief executive Stefan Bomhard launched in January this year, the Gauloises producer is putting greater focus on expanding healthier alternatives for customers.

Trials of heated tobacco products are taking place in the Czech Republic and Greece, and a trial of marketing strategies for vapour product blu is happening in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Sara Welford, a director at equity research firm Edison Group, said the company's NGP division 'has underperformed, so Imperial's challenge now is to demonstrate that it can still compete in this important source of future growth.

New markets: 'Combustibles is still the growth engine for Imperialbut NGPs is ultimately the future,' remarked Laura Hoy, an equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown

'Further debt reduction could allow the group to have firmer plans regarding future capital allocation, although the group will want to make greater progress here before making changes.'

Also part of the strategy is a more concentrated focus on its five strongest combustible markets, the UK, US, Australia, Spain and Germany.

Bomhard said the company had made good progress in implementing the strategy, even though it was seeing some of its long-term market share growth rates in the five markets 'beginning to stabilise.'

He added: 'We are building a high-performance culture with the introduction of new, more consumer-focused ways of working and have made a significant number of new hires to enhance our capabilities in key areas.'

Old market: Gauloises producer Imperial Brands is also putting greater focus on expanding its five strongest combustible markets as part of its five-year strategy

Despite the increasing popularity of vaping products and long-term concerns about the harm of cigarettes, figures released in August showed the amount of young adult smokers in the UK rose by 650,000 during the first lockdown.

Researchers from University College, London (UCL) and the University of Sheffield suggested that the growth may have been because of rising stress levels.

But it also found that the level of people successfully quitting smoking across all age groups doubled.

Laura Hoy, an equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: 'Combustibles is still the growth engine for Imperialbut NGPs is ultimately the future. So far, it's had a lukewarm reception, but management's managed to trim some of the fat by exiting less profitable markets.

'While the second half will still show the impact of these abandoned markets, a narrowed focus should help the group build out more successful cigarette-alternatives.'

Shares in Imperial Brands closed trading 3.8 per cent lower at 14.95 on Wednesday.
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Tillamook, OR (97141)

Today

Rain showers early will evolve into a more steady rain for the afternoon. High 53F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Rain likely. Low 46F. SSE winds shifting to W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a half an inch.
Cresaptown, MD (21502)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun this morning followed by increasing clouds with showers developing this afternoon. High 66F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Cloudy skies this evening will become partly cloudy after midnight. A shower of rain or wet snow possible. Low 32F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph.
Local_photos

Berlin board has questions about 'new town center'

BERLIN  There may yet be a showdown with the Washington Central School Board, but with the fate of Berlins state-sanctioned new town center development district potentially hanging in the balance, the Select Board agreed Monday night a candid conversation with the Planning Commission should come first.

It was as if the new town center designation  one that was successfully pursued with the Select Boards blessing and embraced at several key junctures by its members  was being discussed for the first time.

It wasnt.

However, it appears board members werent paying attention to the fine print when they reluctantly, but unanimously agreed to conditions without which they were told during a March-ending special meeting the towns application for new town center designation would be denied by the Vermont Downtown Development Board.

Pitched at the time as a take it or leave it offer, the proposal radically altered the boundaries of the subsequently approved new town center and imposed a number of conditions, including one that raised the stakes with respect to a small parcel of property now owned by the Washington Central Unified Union School District.

That 7.4-acre parcel is a wetland away from the main property upon which Berlin Elementary School was built and has been the subject of discussions between the town and the school district for nearly a year.

Those discussions hit a roadblock last month when Berlins three school directors questioned the land transfer, while at the same time expressing their support for the new town center concept.

The result?

The School Board deferred action on the request they were told was needed to accommodate the planned realignment of the currently private drive that serves as the Berlin Malls entrance from Route 62.

Zoning Administrator Tom Badowski wasnt making that up when he brought the request to the School Board last month, but left the meeting without an answer.

One of the conditions the downtown board included in its provisional approval of Berlins new town center development district speaks directly to its expectations with respect to the future of what, according to permits, is the malls main entrance.

The Route 62 gateway must include the street block on the official map and regulating street map (as envisioned on p.8 of application and the center plan) unless a traffic/engineering study  or other state regulations demonstrate that it is not feasible as envisioned, the condition states, noting the traffic study  if there is one  must be conducted in conjunction with the Central Vermont Regional Planning Commission and the state Agency of Transportation.

The referenced map included in the application was prepared by the planning commission, approved by the Select Board and would require using at least a portion of the school-owned property. It is why the school district was one of several signatories to a community investment agreement that accompanied the application.

The agreement affirms the parties commitment to activities and programs that support and enhance the economic and social health and viability of the town center designation and acknowledge and affirm the maps, land use and development regulations, capital improvement plans, official map, town plan, municipal center plan, wastewater letter and wastewater ordinance, it states.

A process that took years came together quickly and things have started to happen fast  in part because the downtown boards conditional approval in April requires the town to present a progress report at the two-year point.

However, Select Board members expressed some frustration over the speed with which things seem to be moving and requests they didnt completely understand.

I dont think we have a good idea whats going on, Select Board member John Quinn said, calling for tighter communication for a board he felt was operating in the dark.

Quinn said that was true of the request of the school district land and of a proposal to apply for a $20,000 municipal planning grant to evaluate the need for future municipal facilities that could be constructed in the new town center.

Are we really ready for something like this? Quinn asked with respect to the $20,000 grant that would require a 2% local match.

Im just wondering if this is the best way to spend our money right now, he added.

Though it wasnt awarded, Town Administrator Vince Conti said the town applied for the same grant, for the same reason last year.

The evaluating of municipal facilities need is viewed as a first step toward eventually meeting the civic use requirement of the new town center designation. The town used a similar grant to help finance the effort that culminated with Berlin becoming host to the states third designated new town center in that programs 25-year history. The other two  Colchester and South Burlington  are in Chittenden County.

In the interest of clarity, board members agreed meeting with representatives of the Planning Commission and Badowski with respect to the new town center proposal would be helpful before acting on the grant application.

Chair Justin Lawrence had plenty of questions Monday night and on Tuesday he had a possible solution to the problem with respect to the school property. It is one, he said, which could allow the road to be constructed as envisioned in the application, while shifting the location of the proposed municipal building from property that is owned by the school to a developable lot that would be created by reorienting the road.

It could be a win-win, he said, noting it would allow construction of the proposed road, preserve land for future development of a municipal building, and significantly reduce the amount of land needed for the reoriented road.

david.delcore@timesargus.com
Barre, VT (05641)

Today

Cloudy with rain developing this afternoon. High 59F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Cloudy with rain ending overnight. Low 32F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.
Carolyn Sue Bryant Ellis, 78, of Fort Walton Beach, FL, passed away on Sunday, October 24, 2021 at Somerby of Santa Rosa Beach, FL. Born March 15, 1943, at Dr. Daniel's Hospital in Pavo, Georgia, Carolyn was the youngest of nine children born to Franklin and Marie (Dailey) Bryant, of Route 2
Immediate past Director of Schools Evelyn Rafalowski was rehired in a 6-0 school board vote with one absent at the same meeting where board member learned a turn lane leading to the school won't happen in time for the Aug. 9 opening, the planned widening of all of Lynn Road won't happen by then and there could be water runoff problems affecting adjoining property.
US President Joe Biden says he has spoken to Chinese President Xi Jinping about Taiwan, with them agreeing to abide by the Taiwan agreement, as tensions ratchet up between Taipei and Beijing.

Ive spoken with Xi about Taiwan. We agree  well abide by the Taiwan agreement, Mr Biden said.

We made it clear that I dont think he should be doing anything other than abiding by the agreement.

Mr Biden appeared to be referring to Washingtons long-standing one-China policy under which it officially recognises Beijing rather than Taipei, and the Taiwan Relations Act, which makes clear that the US decision to establish diplomatic ties with Beijing instead of Taiwan rests upon the expectation that the future of Taiwan will be determined by peaceful means.

The comments to reporters at the White House  made after Mr Bidens return from a trip to Michigan touting a spending package  come amid escalations in the Taiwan-China relationship.

Tensions most serious in more than 40 years

China claims Taiwan as its own territory, which should be taken by force if necessary.

Taiwan, officially the Republic of China, says it is an independent country and will defend its freedoms and democracy, blaming China for the tensions.

The island nation split from the mainland in 1949 after the Communist Party of China won the Chinese Civil War, leaving Taiwan the last refuge of the pre-communist government.

Taiwan has reported 148 Chinese air force planes in the southern and south-western part of its air-defence zone over a four-day period beginning on Friday, the same day China marked a key patriotic holiday, National Day.

One more Chinese air force aircraft was reported on Tuesday.

Asked in Parliament about the current tensions, Taiwan Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said the situation was the most serious in the more than 40 years since he joined the military, adding there was a risk of a misfire across the sensitive Taiwan Strait.

For me as a military man, the urgency is right in front of me, he told a parliamentary committee reviewing a special military spending of $TW240 billion ($11.82 billion) for homemade weapons including missiles and warships.

Mr Chiu said China already had the ability to invade Taiwan and it would be capable of mounting a full-scale invasion by 2025.

By 2025, China will bring the cost and attrition to its lowest. It has the capacity now, but it will not start a war easily, having to take many other things into consideration, he said.

The United States, Taiwans main military supplier, recently confirmed its rock-solid commitment to Taiwan and also criticised China.

Beijing blames Washingtons policies of supporting Taiwan with arms sales and sending warships through the Taiwan Strait for raising tensions.

Taiwans special military spending over the next five years will go mostly toward naval weapons including anti-ship weapons such as land-based missile systems.

The United States urged China on Sunday to stop its military activities near Taiwan.

The United States is very concerned by the Peoples Republic of Chinas provocative military activity near Taiwan, which is destabilising, risks miscalculations, and undermines regional peace and stability, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement on Sunday.

Mr Bidens comments on Tuesday also appeared to reference a 90-minute call he held with Mr Xi on September 9, their first talks in seven months, in which they discussed the need to ensure that competition between the worlds two largest economies did not veer into conflict.

REUTERS
ALBANY  State Office of General Services Commissioner RoAnn Destito is to retire this month, she told the agency in an email sent Wednesday morning.

Destito, the first woman to lead OGS, is the latest commissioner to leave their post ahead of Gov. Kathy Hochul's self-imposed 45-day deadline to set up her new administration in a post-Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo era.

"It is with mixed emotions that I am announcing my retirement," Destito said in a letter to staff. She is scheduled to step down on Oct. 21.

Health Commissioner Howard Zucker, the subject of substantial criticism from Republicans and progressives, announced his resignation last month. Michael C. Green, executive deputy commissioner of the state Division of Criminal Justice Services since 2012, was asked by Hochul recently to also submit his resignation, according to a Times Union report. Elected officials are expecting other commissioners to step aside by Friday, which will mark 45 days in office for Hochul.

Destito was appointed OGS commissioner in May 2011, when Cuomo helped swear her in. She said she has worked in the public sector for 40 years, which also included time as a legislative staffer and member of the Assembly.

Sign up for The Knick  Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter.

She reflected on the accomplishments she viewed while in the job: renovations to the Capitol and other state buildings; reopening Empire State Plaza's ice rink and adding businesses and restaurants to the plaza; creating the Division of Service-Disabled Veterans Business Development; and building a new expo center at the State Fair. Destito also thanked her colleagues for their work during the COVID-19 pandemic, including their efforts to ensure the reopening of state offices as the pandemic has subsided.

"I am incredibly proud of all we have accomplished during my time as your commissioner and am grateful to have had the opportunity to know so many of the dedicated, talented, generous, and hard-working people who make up team OGS," Destito said.
Across the region, the Hudson Valley is seeing a bevy of spaces where art and agriculture are explored as one. Perhaps the most overt site combining the two disciplines is the newly opened Barns Art Center in the former East Fishkill IBM campus.

Its mission is to highlight art and artists in dialogue with food, farming, ecology, and sustainability. And to christen the space, which officially opened in August, the gallery is bridging its mix of art and agriculture with a Harvest Festival on Oct. 9-10.

Sure there will be gourds, pumpkins and other signals of the fall season, but this isnt a hokey corral with corn mazes and apple bobs. Lest anyone forget, the harvest festival has throughout all cultures been a religious, even superstitious, ritual of reaping bounty before winter comes.

This interplay between the land and all that it yields will be on view this weekend, which doubles as a coming-out party for the budding art hub. The patois of programming includes a provisions market organized by River Valley Guild , a musical groundbreaking ceremony, mushroom painting, and the premiere of Lost Arts, a film series featuring 10 Hudson Valley farmers doing extraordinary work for food, farming, ecology and social justice.

Many of the farmers hail from well-known institutions, like Jack Algiere of Stone Barns Center and Ken Greene of the Hudson Valley Seed Company, while some are new names to follow, such as Karen Washington of Rise & Root or Jalal Sabur of Sweet Freedom Farm.

Each film in the series, conceived and created by the Barns Art Center and produced with Kingston-based studio, Northguild, is a portrait of sorts, wherein every farmer has the opportunity to share their stories, wisdom and counsel in a way that gallery director/chief curator Tara Dalbow says is immersive, really beautiful and enjoyable. Its not a Netflix documentary thats gonna depress the hell outta me.

Lost Arts will be shown in the three-screen film space in the center that only holds about 10 people (masked, of course). It was designed that way for intimacy and full-on immersion. The project combines a celebration of the Hudson Valley landscape, and a platform for solutions to the challenges of our climate, agriculture and food justice.

Rommel Demano, courtesy The Barns Art Center

Each farmer, Dalbow says, is doing the work that we all need to know about. They spend their lives working with the earth, and they do know how we can fix things.

In Karen Washingtons film, for example, she describes farming as a kind of social consciousness: A place where weve been honored to take care of, to be stewards of the land, and pay homage to the ancestors before us.

Just as deeply connected food is to community, so is dialogue.

We want to engage the public in a more meaningful way than they would maybe get at their Sunday farmers market, where they simply have a retail experience and then leave, says Dalbow. Barns allows her to facilitate conversation, and if what we get to do is create space for these conversations, that's how it starts.

But its not all talk. The opening will include hands-on experiences, too.

Downtime is the best time Make the most of your Hudson Valley weekend, every week with our newsletter.

An impressive interactive artwork by the internationally renowned art collective FutureFarmers will have its premiere at the event. Called Of Furrows and Lands in Harps, it consists of three spaces  a bakehouse (to make bread for everyone), a meeting space and a musical space.

Its in this last space that one will find the mother stone of the project, a 5-foot rotating instrument comprised of repurposed millstones, designed by FutureFarmers Michael Swaine.

Dalbow felt it was essential to have a larger more permanent piece with longevity to anchor the center, and so each year, a new composer will be invited to carve a score into a new set of millstones, to be played on the mother stone. On Saturday, between 3 and 6 p.m. during the Harvest Festival, its maiden performance will be part of the groundbreaking ceremony.

I do believe that art has the ability to catalyze community and economic development, says Dalbow. We all saw what Dia did for Beacon.

As a new generation reshapes the region, these towns, says Dalbow, are facing a resurgence and reimagination, and a lot of it is through art and culture.

The Harvest Festival takes place this weekend, Oct. 9  10 from 11 a.m.  4 p.m. both days. Pre-registration is required for the free film screenings, as well as talks with the farmers and workshops like a marzipan art-making class. The Barns Art Center is located at 736 South Dr, Hopewell Junction, NY 12533
Shaken, not stirred. British spy James Bonds martini order is one of the best-known movie catchphrases of all time.

And in honor of this weekends U.S. premiere of No Time to Die, the 25th film in the James Bond franchise, we asked a Hudson Valley mixologist how to make the perfect martini at home.

For a drink thats (usually) made with just two ingredients and a garnish, theres a lot of room for interpretation. Gin or vodka? Shaken or stirred? Vermouth or no? Water?!

The classic martini was originally created with gin, a spirit that can contain as many as 10 botanicals, said Pia Bazzani, bar manager at The Maker Hotel in Hudson, who once ran a craft cocktail bar in Kingston.

Theres a reason why dry vermouth and gin are basically an amazing marriage, said Bazzani. They bring out the best in each other.

That being said, not everyone loves a classic, and Bazzani said theres room for riffing.

Yes, there is a classic martini and its delicious, and some people really like it, but others really dont. It doesnt have to be a certain way  it should be about what the consumer likes, said Bazzani, who personally is a fan of a vodka martini.

Shes in good company: Bond himself takes his big-screen martinis with vodka, not gin. Except when he combines the two (more on that later).

What makes a Bond-worthy martini

To make a vodka martini fit for Bond, Bazzani recommends a batch recipe that can be stored in the freezer. The big difference? This one doesnt need to be shaken.

The purpose of shaking or stirring is to chill a martini and dilute it a touch. But the same effect can be achieved by adding mineral water  and this approach leaves room for less human error.

[This way] brings out this velvety texture feel in your mouth, which is what you would like in an alcohol, said Bazzani. With ice, you can bruise it too much. It can be finnicky and you dont know exactly what youre getting.

The role of vermouth? As a botanical-flavored wine, vermouth can bring out the fragrances and aromas of gin. The less vermouth thats used, the drier the martini is considered to be. A so-called 50/50 martini  or a halfsies martini  is made with equal parts vermouth and either gin or vodka and lowers the overall alcohol punch. A blanc or bianco, like Dolin Blanc, can be used in place of dry vermouth to add even more depth, Bazzani suggested.

Paula Lobo/ABC via Getty Images

Vodka martini at home

A vodka martini can be made with popular Ketel One or Stoli, but Bazzani is partial to the locally made vodka from The Albany Distilling Company, which she describes as good, clean and crisp.

She recommends applying a 2 to 1 to 1 ratio, meaning 2 parts vodka, 1 part dry vermouth or Dolin Blanc vermouth  for those looking for additional floral notes or a citrus-forward option  and 1 part mineral water. (Tap water can be used, but since water from a faucet tastes different everywhere, it isnt always the best option.)

Pour each ingredient into a bottle (going up to 750-milliliter for larger batches). Seal the bottle with a lid or plug and turn it over gently once or twice to let the three ingredients blend together. Do not shake. (Sorry, Bond.)

Put the bottle in the freezer for at least 30 minutes, or ideally as long as overnight.

To serve, grab either a V-shaped martini glass, a Nick & Nora glass, or a coupe and fill it with ice to chill it for 30 seconds. To serve, remove the ice and pour three ounces of the prepared martini mixture into the cold glass.

Garnish with either one or three olives  never two, said Bazzani, because its bad luck  or a citrus peel.

Gin martini at home

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For a regionally made gin, Bazzani recommends Isolation Proof gin out of Delaware County.

While the same recipe can be used for a gin martini, with personal adjustment as to the amount of vermouth for how wet or dry you prefer your drink, Bazzani recommends stirring it instead.

It brings out the flavors and aromatics in gin a little better, said Bazzani.

Put the ingredients in a mixing glass or empty pint glass. If you dont have a long bar spoon to stir, use a metal chopstick (ideally not the disposable kind, which can splinter).

For a wet martini, pour 2.25 ounces of gin  whether it be citrusy or a London-dry style  and .75 ounces of dry vermouth. For a dry martini, Bazzani suggests 2.75 ounces of gin and .25 ounces of dry vermouth. For a 50/50 martini, 1.5 ounces of both. For extra dry, rinse the glass in a light coating of vermouth before adding gin.

Stir the ingredients together for 45 to 60 seconds, making sure not to press on the ice. Bazzani recommends gently gliding the back of the spoon around the glass, moving the ice together in cohesion.

Strain the mixture into a chilled glass and add either a lemon twist or olives if you want salinity. Bazzani said you can even top with both olives and a lemon peel if youd like.

Pure Bond

The original Bond martini is a Vesper  a drink that doesnt make you choose between vodka or gin at all. It combines both.

A Vesper, which Bond first ordered in the 1953 Ian Fleming novel Casino Royale, is made with three parts Gordons gin, one part vodka, and half part Kina Lillet  although since the latter is no longer available, Lillet Blanc can be substituted. Shake it over ice and add a thin slice of lemon peel.

No matter which route you take, its hard to go wrong with this cocktail classic.

I always feel fancy when I drink a martini, said Bazzani.
Running a string of Airbnbs in Austin, Texas, gave Kendra Sinclair and Jared Vengrin a feel for rehabbing homes. So when they returned to Bengrins hometown of Red Hook during the pandemic, it was only natural that they would throw themselves into fixing up their new home.

What came next was unexpected.

We noticed a listing for a motel on Nextdoor, said Sinclair. Jared said hed passed the motel every day on the way to middle and high school, and it felt like a fun excuse to get out of the house on a dreary November day.

When they arrived at the motel on Albany Post Road, they were instantly struck by the beauty of the setting and the promising bones of the structure. The motel was built in 1960, and the most recent owner bought it in 1973, eventually flipping it from mostly overnights to short and long-term rentals.

The mid-century aesthetic appealed to us for several reasons, Sinclair says. With the way were redesigning it, we hope to not just create a beautiful space that people can escape to for adventures in the Catskills, but also show them that not everything has to be bought new. They can be upcycled and recycled, and used in new ways. Thats also why we named it the Reclaimed Motel.

The name could not be more spot on for the current wave of interest in revamped roadside motels. Once a quick object of fascination that you whizzed by on your way to somewhere else, these staples of the 1950s and 60s have become destinations in and of themselves.

This is partly due to convenience  COVID has made it safer and easier for urbanites to drive to the Catskills than fly to Cairo  but its also due to a trend of design-forward buyers taking them over and zhuzhing them up.

Now, even home improvement shows are capitalizing on the fixation. Magnolia Networks new (RE)motel series features the transformation of the Catksills motel Graham & Co. and the Starlite Motel.

Two of the regions pioneering moteliers who brought the classic, mid-century motel into the 21st century are Alix Umen and Adriana Farmiga, owners of the Starlite in Kerhonkson. The pair weekended in the Catskills for years while working in New York City during the week in visual merchandise and design (Umen) and as an artist and associate dean at Cooper Union School of Art (Farmiga).

Both brought their professional and personal backgrounds to the revamped Starlite, which opened in 2019. It was an instant and constant hit, until the pandemic made them press pause for an uncertain few months. Once things began to reopen, they realized their motel was perfectly suited for socially distanced travel.

We created a contact-free check-in system, and that saved us, Umen says. Motels are blessed with exterior entrances for rooms, cutting out potential cramped elevators and hallways for guests  which is likely another reason theyre having a moment.

Umen spent years traveling to Palm Springs and South Beach to visit her grandparents and fell hard for the Miami motel aesthetic, while Farmiga grew up weekending in the Catskills and is inspired by mid-century, Caribbean, Scandinavian and Japanese design movements. Their inspirations came together to create an entirely reimagined, but strangely familiar, cozy space.

This juxtaposition is part of the appeal of the revamped roadside motel: it has one foot in the last century, and another firmly placed in the here and now. But often its the past that new owners find irresistible.

Victoria Nelson describes seeing her soon-to-open Terrace Motel in Ellenville for the first time as bittersweet because we fell in love with the mid-century modern design, and the beautiful setting, but we felt overwhelmed by the idea of buying and renovating an entire hotel.

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Once she and her business partners factored in the potential of hosting events, they realized a rehab would be a safe investment. They plan to open in 2022.

The bones are gorgeous, and the space, on eight acres, is incredible, says Nelson.

Revamped roadside motels of the Catskills and Hudson Valley

Columbia County The Alander Copake The Alander Co-owners and partners Jason Seiler and Reid Kendall are revamping The Alander, which soft opened in late August but will be rolling out new rooms, a pool and bar and restaurant in the year to come. The bedrooms are tastefully appointed and unique, a sophisticated blend of antique store rugs and Scandinavian furniture, sprinkled throughout with locally sourced amenities (Irving Farm coffee, Harney & Sons teas). Until Kendall opens dining on site  he has vast experience at hotels and hotel restaurants including The Bowery Hotel in NYC and The Thompson in Seattle  you can opt for delicious options nearby like the new Zinnias Dinette. 7519 NY-22, Copake; currently 3 renovated rooms, with 2 more to come in November, $165/night; all 12 rooms will be available in 2022 along with a restaurant, bar and pool. Book a room

Ulster County Starlite Motel Kerhonkson Starlite Motel The Starlite Motel incorporates beautiful vintage and upcycled decor in their rooms, and an almost-completely booked 2020 allowed them to invest in renovating and revitalizing the motel further. Owners Alix Umen and Adriana Farmiga also invited Baba Truck, a Black-owned local vegan food truck, to serve socially distant fare. It has become a really lovely relationship, and their food and spirit fit right in here, says Umen. When things fully return to normal, they plan to have full-fledged events like group movie viewings and workshops on wood carving and essential oils. 5938 US Route 209, Kerhonkson; 16 rooms, prices start at $250/night Book a room

Greene County Spruceton Inn West Kill Spruceton Inn Playfully nicknamed a Bed & Bar (as opposed to a Bed & Breakfast), this nine-bedroom, one fabulous bar motel rests on the ancient seasonal hunting grounds of the Haudenosaunee and Mohicans, in the middle of Catskills Park. Protected state lands flank the motel on all sides. Partners in love and business Casey Scieszka and Steven Weinberg have created a relaxing, urbane getaway in a pastoral setting, with a hammock, meandering creek and meadow to wander. Within easy driving distance of Spruceton are hiking paths (Hunter Mountain Fire Tower, Diamond Notch Falls and more), farm-to-table restaurants (including the Phoenicia Diner and Sylvia), beer (on site and at Westkill Brewery down the road) and antique and farmers markets. Currently they are only booking weekends. The rest of this year is fully reserved, but email to be placed on the waitlist for cancelations; their 2022 calendar opens later this month. 2080 Spruceton Road, West Kill; 9 rooms, $239/night for a standard, and $249/night for rooms with a kitchenette Book a room

Dutchess County Reclaimed Motel Red Hook Reclaimed Motel Kendra Sinclair and Jared Vengrin are branching into new renovation territory by renovating a 1960s motel into the Reclaimed Motel. We realized this was an opportunity to stretch ourselves, Bengrin says. Because the motel is structurally sound, theyre focusing on a redesign of the rooms, with an emphasis on vintage and mid-century decor sourced from local antique stores. 7958 Albany Post Road, Red Hook; 8 rooms, $250/night; opening spring or summer 2022 Visit Site
Pumpkins are popping up everywhere, Halloween candy is stacked on grocery shelves, and the nights and mornings are cold. What a great time to sit in your favorite chair with a warm drink and lose yourself in a riveting book. Here are a few suggestions of books by some local authors. Many can be found in area independent bookstores.



Now Say Youre Sorry by Barbara Fournier (self-published)

Theres nothing more fun than scaring yourself with an exciting mystery, and thats what youll do from the first sentence on in Fourniers first book of fiction. The author, who lives in North Greenbush, has set the story in South Dakota where detectives Emerson Lake and Reese Clayton, who are not exactly on the best of terms, must work together to solve a series of murders in their community. This book will have you in suspense right up to the last page. Proceeds from the sale of her book for the months of October and November will go to the Wellspring counseling center in Malta.

Your Conscience: The Key to Unlock Limitless Wisdom and Creativity and Solve All of Lifes Challenges by Leonard Perlmutter (Ram Lev) with Jenness Cortez Perlmutter (AMI Publishers)

Perlmutter is the founder and director of The American Meditation Institute in Averill Park, and he has written a concise book on the importance of looking inward to discover your conscience. That introspection, he says, will give you the confidence to know whats to be done and whats not to be done, no matter what the challenge is. Perlmutter and his wife, Jenness, have studied and applied yoga science and philosophy for 55 years, and this book explains in simple terms how you can improve your life by tapping into the extraordinary power within each of us. This book is especially important today with the clutter of noise and information from our mobile devices, cable news shows, emails and social media feeds.

Maison Cristina by Eugene K. Garber (Transformations Press)

Garber is a retired professor of English at the University at Albany so he knows the power of a good story and how it can transform a persons life. He has written a memorable work of fiction whose main character, octogenarian Peter Naughton, now lives in the care of Catholic nuns in a New Orleans facility for the mentally ill. I liked the character of Naughton and how he was using the art of storytelling to help a haunted young woman named Charlene regain consciousness. This is a richly, rewarding work about these characters striving to redeem themselves.

Fallout: Spies, Superbombs and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown by Steve Sheinkin (Roaring Brook Press)

Saratoga Springs author Steve Sheinkin has once again written an exciting thriller that feels like a sequel to his 2012 award-winning Bomb. This book picks up after World War II when the United States and the Soviet Union emerged as the worlds two superpowers and competed to build the most destructive bombs and to conquer the space race. Its all in here: Gary Powers and the U-2 spy plane he flew, the Cuban Missile Crisis and Harry Seidel, a bicycle racer who risked his life to assist hundreds of East Berliners to escape across the Berlin Wall to freedom. A fast-paced read for young adults and adults.



Beneath the Middle Sun by Jim & Carol McCord (Shanti Arts Publishing)

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Jim McCord, a retired emeritus professor of English, and his wife, Carol, a lifelong hiker and former yoga instructor, have published a beautiful collection of poems and photographic images of a summer spent in southern France. Carol McCord's photographs include many ancient structures by the Romans along with lush landscapes, colorful markets and delectable food. I could feel the warmth of the sun as I gazed at much of her work, and Jim McCord's poetry brought to life beautiful images and captured the people and places of the land. I especially loved his poem Country Dining where he writes, I want to talk common fare and country / manners at Cafe de Pays where they serve / local wines to wash down local meat, / bread fresh from Le Pain Levain around / the corner, fruit plucked from nearby / orchards, greens from roadsides. Flavors / natural like aliment from paradise.



That Day by Anne OBrien Carelli (Independently Published)



Anne OBrien Carelli has written another inspirational middle-grade fiction book. This one is her attempt to help children understand what happened on 9/11. The main character is Kate, and her dad was a firefighter 20 years ago in New York City. He survived but is now suffering some health problems from that day. The story is also a mystery that may unite the family as Kate tries to figure out more about that mysterious dragon postage stamp her dad found years ago at Ground Zero.

North by Brad Kessler (The Overlook Press)

During a spring blizzard Father Christopher, a cloistered monk at the Blue Mountain Monastery in Vermont, discovers a young Somali refugee named Sahro Abdi Muse. This suspenseful novel takes the reader on Sahros epic journey from her home through Central America, Mexico, New York City and now into Vermont where she hopes to escape into Canada and find freedom. This is a powerful novel that confronts us with how we treat refugees and if we are doing enough to support them. For Father Christopher it also brings into question his life as a monk and how relevant that is in todays world. This is a novel you will think about long after you have finished reading it.

Jack Rightmyer is an adjunct English teacher at Siena College and a freelance writer.
Slingerlands

Marylou Kelly Streznewski is the poet laureate of Beverwyck, an independent senior living community.

At 87, she is an advertisement for commitment to the writing craft, resilience and having a very thick skin.

Her first book, published when she was 65, was rejected 72 times before it found a publisher.

On Saturday, Streznewski submitted a short story to the literary journal Sequestrum after it had been turned down more than once by other publications.

Rejection is what you live with as a writer, she said. I keep all my rejections in a folder and it gets fatter and fatter. My writer friends and I joke that were going to wallpaper a bathroom with rejection letters one day.

I met Streznewski when I spoke at the womens luncheon on Sept. 21 at Beverwyck. We talked about her writing career and she invited me to see a display of her poetry in an exhibit space. She printed and mounted on foam board a dozen poems and included copies of her published work, which also includes fiction, non-fiction and journalism.

I was drawn to a stanza in her poem Pandemic Morning, which hung in the hallway. Maple buds sprinkle rubies in the flower beds/Daffodils turn their trusting faces toward the light.

I think she is a marvelous wordsmith, said Evelyn Bernstein, 82, an organizer of the womens luncheon speaker series and editor of a community newsletter, Beverwyck Bulletin. She has beautiful descriptions. Shes a marvelous addition to Beverwyck and our vibrant community.

Streznewski moved to Beverwyck in March after her husband of 63 years, Thomas Streznewski, an electronics engineer, died in August 2020 at 90. They lived for decades in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where Streznewski taught high school English for 28 years.

Streznewski started fooling around with poetry a little bit while earning a masters degree in English from The College of New Jersey and admired the powerful poems of W.H. Auden and Richard Wilbur.

She raised four children and joined a community writing group at Bucks County Community College led by Christopher Bursk, a noted poet and activist who died in June at 78. Bursk became her mentor. She dedicated her new poetry volume, Sitting in the Shade of My Own Tree to her father and to Bursk who inspired me to keep trying to make the words into art.

Streznewski began writing feature stories for The Intelligencer in Doylestown, Penn. She served as poetry editor of the Bucks County Writer, a local journal. Her high school English classes, which spanned from failing students to college-bound academic achievers, gave her the idea for her first published book.

After 72 rejections, John Wiley & Sons published Gifted Grownups: The Mixed Blessing of Extraordinary Potential in 1999 to solid reviews and strong sales. She interviewed 100 intellectually gifted men and women between the ages of 18 and 90. One surprising finding from Streznewskis research was this: Gifted adults comprise as much as 20 percent of prisoners in the U.S.

The book is still in print and I am still collecting small royalty checks, Streznewski said. The book was also translated into Chinese and was published in Taiwan. More than 100 libraries worldwide acquired the book and it is used as a textbook in several graduate courses.

In 2006, after recovering from open-heart surgery, Streznewski published Heart Rending  Heart Mending, a research-based memoir that described her use of integrative medicine. She advocates the healing qualities of meditation, acupuncture and yoga  which she continues to practice in a class at Beverwyck.

In 2015, Streznewski published an anti-war poetry collection, Dying with Robert Mitchum, which debunks the myth perpetuated by the Hollywood actors persona of dying gallantly in romanticized wars. She writes in one poem: If this is Armageddon, if this is how we end/I would want them to know, those who dig/in our ruins, who we were, how we lived.

While Streznewski likes to extol the beauty of nature, she also turns a sardonic eye to social constructs in her poem titled Minimum Security Facility  Suburban.

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She writes: I was on my honor/not to flee,/but sometimes/when all my lost music/sang across the blazing death/of an autumn afternoon,/here,/where no one watches,/I danced.

I warmed to her verses because her poetry is very evocative, said Estelle Yarinsky, 89, who purchased a book of Streznewskis poetry. Yarinsky is a textile artist who previously displayed in the gallery a series of self-portraits made during the pandemic lockdown.

Both women attend a Beverwyck poetry group, led by Roger Kessel, where residents read, analyze and discuss published poems they select.

Some of Streznewskis poems, as well as those discussed by the poetry group, confront issues around aging.

Theres kind of a stigma around aging, Bernstein said. Before I moved here, some of my friends said why would you want to live with a bunch of old people. I said because Im old.

Yarinsky noted that she forced herself to look carefully in the mirror every day during the COVID lockdown to sketch a self-portrait. Seeing the aging process up-close can be shocking, she said.

Streznewski continues to submit to publishers her novel, Watching Anna, which centers on a 90-year-old woman quarreling with family members. Anna wants to be allowed to age in place instead of moving into a nursing home, where her children feel she would be safer and more comfortable.

I get a lot of rejection letters that praise my dialogue, but say the novel is not what theyre looking for, Streznewski said. I get it. Whats hot in publishing now is underrepresented populations. I want to say, Hey, how about senior citizens? Arent we underrepresented, too? 

Paul Grondahl is director of the New York State Writers Institute at the University at Albany and a former Times Union reporter. He can be reached at grondahlpaul@gmail.com
ALBANY  The overwhelming majority of healthcare workers at the Capital Region's largest hospitals are vaccinated.

Yet tiny numbers are requesting religious exemptions for vaccines.

Forty-one workers from a pool of 11,456 have sought an exemption at Albany Medical Center. Ellis Medicine has logged 79 religious exemptions from their roughly 3,000 full- and part-time staffers. And at St. Peters Health Partners, 268 staffers across the 11,000-worker system have sought an exemption, with 251 of 268 those having been approved.

After quietly being used for years to get out of being inoculated from diseases ranging from measles to whopping cough, religious objections are now squarely in the public spotlight.

Employers must now determine if the objections are legitimate religious beliefs. But before making a decision, health administrators are in a holding pattern, citing the thicket of cases winding their way through court dockets.

Those 79 employees may continue to work as the issue plays out in the courts, said Ellis Medicine spokesman Philip Schwartz on Tuesday. Like everyone, these 79 employees are screened prior to entering our facilities.

Whether the religious belief is sincerely held is a primary metric used by employers when determining whether to grant the requests, said Margaret Susan Thompson, an associate professor of history and political science at Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.

The general argument used by those citing religious objections to COVID vaccines is that their development was the result of experiments conducted using fetal lines of tissue from the 1970s and 1980s.

However, those tissues have also been used to develop widely-used over-the-counter medications, from ibuprofen to laxatives and antihistamines.

The question is whether people are consistent, Thompson said.

When weighing objections, administrators must also determine if granting the request poses an undue hardship on the employer or presents a direct threat to public health.

President Joe Biden last month issued sweeping vaccine mandates covering more than 100 million Americans.

New Yorks mandate for many health care workers, which took effect on Sept. 27, prompted a series of lawsuits across the state, which scrapped religious exemptions in 2019 following a measles outbreak.

Three primary types of litigation are currently working their way through the courts, said Albany Law School President and Dean Alicia Ouellette.

There are constitutional claims that the government cannot force a vaccine without offering a religious exemption.

There are claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for employees religious practices.

The third category are challenges to the denial of available exemptions.

It becomes a question of whether a particular exemption is granted, Ouellette said. Its complicated and depends whether the party being sued is the government, a private employer and what types of claims are being made  whether religious exemptions are allowed at all or denied on specific grounds.

Thompson agreed the emerging landscape is inconsistent and the court decisions have varied.

Were all over the place, Thompson said, citing a range of opinions from judges taking more liberal interpretations of Title VII to more rigid rulings.

Another lawsuit is unfolding in the federal District Court in Utica, where over a dozen plaintiffs  doctors and nurses among them  have argued that the mandate restricts their First Amendment right to practice their religion and intrudes on federal anti-discrimination law, according to the New York Times.

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The judge in that case has temporarily barred the state from trying to force any hospital or nursing home to fire those seeking the exemption. Yet hospitals still can refuse to grant the requests and nothing is stopping administrators from firing unvaccinated workers who have sought them, the newspaper reported.

And there's also the lawsuit filed by four medical professionals who work for a Catholic hospital in Binghamton.

Those plaintiffs pointed at Gov. Kathy Hochul's recent comments that God is responsible for the creation of the COVID-19 vaccines and the vaccinated should be her "apostles," help convince others to fulfill God's will by getting the shots.

"The governor, the plaintiffs wrote, has declared open war against those who oppose vaccination on religious grounds because these religious beliefs are in conflict with her own."

Another closely-watched case is litigation filed in Denver against the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus by the Thomas More Society, which argues that the university's administrators are judging the veracity of personal religious beliefs in violation of the First Amendment.

Thats a more hardline view, Thompson said, and one that overlooks the embrace of the vaccine by major religious denominations, including the Roman Catholic Church, which urged its congregants to get the shot - with the Pope calling it "an act of love.

In effect, that means the Thomas More Society is an example of somebody trying to be more Catholic than the Pope, explicitly, Thompson said  which leads to another tricky area: If someone declares themselves exempt, does it have to be on the basis of a specific denominational teaching, Thompson said, or can someone hold a conviction that is not rooted in a specific ideology?

We dont know the answer to that, Thompson said.

Ouellette, the Albany Law School dean, said the Supreme Court has consistently upheld rules of the regulation of religious practice when the government demonstrates an interest in safeguarding public health.

So the requirement that there be vaccines  and not have religious exemptions authorized  has behind it lots of precedent, Ouellette said. There is a lot of case law that suggests the right to practice religion does not include the liberty to expose the community to communicable diseases.

On the other hand, the makeup of the right-leaning U.S. Supreme Court, which started their new nine-month term this week, presents yet another dangling question mark.

The U.S. Supreme Court has justices that are looking at a stricter view of the right to religious liberty, Ouellette said. I think were going to hear a lot about constitutional liberties as these cases get decided.
ALBANY  Attorney General Letitia James skirted questions about a potential run for governor when she appeared in Albany Tuesday to announce up to $32 million in opioid settlement funds for the Capital Region.

After a visit to Westchester County earlier in the day, James stopped at Albany Medical Center in the afternoon as part of her new HealNY tour to announce the opioid funding. The monthlong tour, which kicked off Monday in the Bronx, will take her to communities across the state as her name is being floated as a likely gubernatorial candidate.

Today were only talking about lives and saving lives, James told reporters who pressed her on the question of her candidacy. This is not about politics. This is about saving lives and bringing people to recovery and providing them some hope.

Surrounded by local officials, elected representatives and advocates, James revealed that the Capital Region is in line to receive anywhere from $17.8 million to $32.5 million in funding as part of settlements her office has negotiated with drug manufacturers and distributors accused of fueling the opioid crisis.

Statewide, up to $1.5 billion could soon pour into local communities as a result of the settlements. Under a new state law that passed with James' help, the money cannot be used to pad the state's general fund and must instead be used to fund addiction education, prevention, treatment and recovery services.

It happens too many times. We get settlements and the money goes toward another cause than the one that started the settlement," said Albany County Executive Dan McCoy, referring to the massive settlement reached with tobacco companies more than two decades ago. Funds from that settlement largely ended up in the state's general fund.

Albany County is slated to receive up to $4 million from the recently negotiated opioid settlements, with additional funding going directly to the city of Albany, James said.

For more than 20 years, the Capital Region has seen the dangerous and deadly results of opioid addiction... With these funds, we can heal New York and turn the tide on the opioid crisis by investing in opioid prevention, treatment, and recovery," James said. "While no amount of money will ever make up for all those we have lost to this lethal addiction, these funds will be vital in helping to prevent future deaths.

The more municipalities that sign on to the settlement agreement, the larger the pot of funding grows, according to terms of the settlements James reached this past year with various drugmakers and distributors. James said Tuesday that part of the reason for her tour is to bring awareness to the funding pot for municipalities that have yet to sign on.

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Money will start rolling out next year, with additional funds expected from litigation still underway. Here are the minimum and maximum awards each county in the region is eligible to receive from the settlements negotiated so far:

Albany County (including the city of Albany): $3,237,298 to $5,725,908

Columbia County: $552,102 to $964,528

Greene County: $666,825 to $1,164,952

Rensselaer County: $1,068,187 to $1,866,136

Saratoga County: $1,411,644 to $2,466,158

Schenectady County: $1,023,352 to $1,787,807

Warren County: $514,588 to $898,991

Washington County: $403,410 to $704,762

The funds come from different settlements James negotiated following her office's March 2019 lawsuit against drugmakers accused of downplaying the risks of their products and distributors accused of shipping massive quantities of painkillers into communities nationwide for more than two decades with little oversight.

Manufacturers named in the suit included Purdue Pharma (and their owners the Sacklers), Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Mallinckrodt LLC, Endo Health Solutions, Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. and Allergan Finance, LLC . Distributors named in the complaint were McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health Inc., Amerisource Bergen Drug Corporation and Rochester Drug Cooperative Inc.

Settlements have been reached with all but Mallinckrodt and Rochester Drug Cooperative, whose cases are now moving separately through U.S. Bankruptcy Court, and Teva Pharmaceuticals USA and Allergan Finance, whose trials are currently under way in state court.

The companies have denied wrongdoing.
Rensselear County has turned to Dutchess County to provide medical examiner services to conduct autopsies and lab tests under a new agreement reached after Rensselaer's medical examiner was shut out of Capital Region hospitals because he is not vaccinated for COVID-19.

The county is weighing whether to end Dr. Michael Sikiricas appointment as chief medical examiner at salary of $78,773 plus benefits due to his inability to work in approved medical settings because of his lack of the vaccination.

Sikiricas status led Capital Region district attorneys to hold a conference call Tuesday to discuss what they will do as they prosecute murder cases in which his testimony as a forensic pathologist is critical.

The deal between Rensselaer and Dutchess counties was announced Tuesday by their county executives after Rensselaer County was left without a way for autopsies to be performed as required by state law in homicides, drug overdoses and other suspicious death cases.

This is not a situation that is of Rensselaer Countys making, and our team has responded very well under challenging circumstances. There is already a solid working relationship between our offices, and for years, Dutchess transported prisoners to our county lock-up, said Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin. We want to extend sincere appreciation to County Executive (Marc) Molinaro and his team for working with us in a difficult situation, and helping to quickly find an effective solution to maintain an important service, McLaughlin said.

Dutchess County, where Dr. Dennis Chute is chief medical examiner, has the licensed facilities required for autopsies under state law, Rensselaer County officials said. Molinaro said it's the latest example of county governments working together for the benefit of their residents.

The costs for Rensselaer County to ship its autopsy cases south has not yet been calculated, officials said. It sees about 100 to 120 bodies autopsied annually.

The county is reviewing Sikiricas employment status, said Richard Crist, county director of operations. It discovered the problems caused by Sikiricas vaccination status Friday when he was no longer allowed to work at Albany Medical Center. The county said that Glens Falls Hospital terminated their agreement to perform autopsies there.

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McLaughlin said the county is working on a long-term solution.

Thats what the Capital Regions district attorneys need to hear. There is a nationwide shortage of forensic pathologists, who provide expert testimony in critical trials. Sikirica was called upon by as many as 14 counties between Dutchess County and the Canadian border to testify as a prosecution witness.

Were trying to find a solution. Its a regional problem, Schenectady County District Attorney Robert Carney said.

Since Friday Sikirica has either referred phone calls to Rensselaer County or not returned them.
SCHENECTADY - The co-owner of a restaurant and bar that some neighbors want the city to close down said the business has taken steps toward more safety and security after separate meetings with city leaders and a small group of homeowners.

But Mavis Diaram reiterated that Tropics Restaurant & Bar is being scapegoated for larger quality-of-life issues that plague the neighborhood and city that don't just happen on Fridays and Saturdays.

She said during a meeting at the police station, Chief Eric Clifford and Mayor Gary McCarthy suggested they block off the Duane Avenue entrance and exit so motorists can only access the business from Brandywine Avenue.

A car is now parked there to prevent vehicles from coming and going after someone apparently drove through the rope that Mavis' husband Vakanand Diaram had erected.

The meeting came in response to a petition to city leaders signed by nearly three dozen residents, mostly on Strong Street and Duane Avenue, calling for the business to be closed.

After prolonged efforts, and outreach to the owner and to police to no avail, we are left with no further options, said the petition, submitted Monday under the banner of the Hamilton Hill Neighborhood Association.

The petition outlines what residents claim is a raft of problems associated with the restaurant at 201 S. Brandywine Ave., which converts to a nightclub in the evenings, including loud music, revving of car engines at 2 a.m. in the morning, broken bottles on the sidewalk, loud vulgar language, and lately gun violence that has (led) to the loss of life.

The owner of the Brandywine Avenue building that houses Tropic was also in on the meeting Thursday at the police station .

The couple are also looking into putting up fencing to better delineate the boundaries between their establishment and the adjacent Speedway gas station.

"We're trying to work to separate the property that it's not so easy for people to run through both parking lots," she added.

Diaram said she would like to see Speedway, which is open round the clock, considering close up shop at either 11 p.m. or midnights and just leave the drive up window so people can pay for their gas or other merchandise.

Data released by city police confirmed an escalating number of calls to the Speedway location at 229 S. Brandywine Ave. over the past half-decade, from 242 in 2016 to nearly 400 in 2020. Authorities received 510 this year.

Officials, however, were quick to add that not every call was generated from the gas station, but included all encounters involving police action, including traffic stops and property checks using that address.

Speedway did not respond to a lengthy list of questions Tuesday.

Asked about the fatal shooting last month in the parking lot of Tropics, Diaram said that footage captured by their surveillance cameras, which has been handed over to police, shows that that "the shooter and the person who got shot were not at Tropics."

She said the suspected gunman drove into Tropics parking lot off Duane Avenue and sat in his car for upwards of 30 minutes," and never came out of his vehicle at all. Then when he got the clear shot, he fired at the intended target that Diaram said was standing in a grassy area behind another vehicle on Speedway's property. Two other people who were shot got caught in the crossfire when, after leaving the club, they stopped to talk to a group of guys hanging out the area where the shooting occurred, Diaram said.

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Police said Tuesday no one had been arrested in connection with the shooting death of 23-year-old E-Shawn Amir Berkely of Albany.

Diaram said she also met Sunday with a half dozen homeowners who live on streets around the business, including a woman who resides on Duane Avenue The woman, she said, was against shuttering Tropics or the Speedway gas station because of the services they offer in what is a food desert.

Like the others at the gathering, Diaram mostly complained about the lack of signs, speeding that causes motor vehicle accidents, loud music from cars, littering and loitering.

Its not related to Tropics, it didnt come from Tropics, its the entire community as a whole, and nobody is helping them, added Diaram.

My husband and I dont mind as business owners being a part of the community because if theres something that we can help, if theres something that we can take a little bit more accountability for that were not aware of, were more than happy to do so, but we as business owners should not be responsible for cleaning up the streets with garbage thats four, five blocks out of our parking lot.

She said they felt a few individuals at Sundays meeting at Tropics were happy to vent because they havent been able to air their concerns at the Hamilton Hill Neighborhood association meetings, which for the past year or so have not been held because of the coronavirus.



"If the community had better communication and even had their own meetings then maybe they could have voiced their concerns instead of whoever it is that circled that petition with those items that are on there that was never brought to our attention," added Diaram.

Marva Isaacs, president of the neighborhood association, said Tuesday that petitioners are only seeking to have Tropics to close down early on Fridays, which seems to be when people act up.
The following is from a St. Louis Post-Dispatch editorial:

Former Congressman Todd Akin, the Missouri Republican who died late Sunday, sparked one of the biggest political firestorms in the country during the 2012 election year, when he claimed that legitimate rape doesnt cause pregnancy  thus implying that women who seek abortions claiming to have been impregnated by rape are lying. That medically absurd claim sunk Akins U.S. Senate candidacy.

In hindsight, Akins fall is a measure of just how far the Republican Party has sunk now. He became a pariah in the party with his remark, to the point that Republicans ceded the Senate seat rather than defend him. All indications are that, today, a power-obsessed and ethically rudderless GOP would rally around an Akin-like figure no matter what hed said.

Akin, 74, died late Sunday after battling cancer for years, according to a statement from his family. In 2012, he was a conservative Christian congressman representing suburban St. Louis and an apparent shoo-in to unseat struggling Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill.

That changed when Akin was asked during a television interview about his opposition to abortion rights even for rape victims. He responded: From what I understand from doctors, thats really rare. If its a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.

That ludicrous claim lit the national political landscape with justifiable fury, and not just from Democrats. Mitt Romney, the GOPs 2012 presidential nominee, led other top Republicans in demanding that Akin exit. When Akin refused, the party yanked his funding. Republican voters ultimately abandoned a winnable race rather than countenance Akins extremism.

The anti-abortion movement today has largely ditched from its once-common caveat of acknowledging abortion rights for rape victims  a caveat not found in an oppressive new Texas law. More broadly, the kind of uninformed radicalism displayed by Akin has been transformed from a liability to an asset among Republican candidates today.

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Majorities of Republicans still support ex-President Donald Trump despite (or because of) his attempt to overthrow last years valid election. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., who played a key supporting role in that un-American endeavor, is enjoying presidential buzz from the right. Missouris disgraced ex-governor, Eric Greitens, credibly accused of sexually abusing his mistress, is a serious contender for the GOPs 2022 Senate nomination. Meanwhile, red-state politicians everywhere score points with the base by prohibiting mask mandates and vaccination rules in defiance of medical science, endangering their own constituents to pander to the anti-science crowd.

Functioning political parties purge corrosive radicalism from their midst, as 2012s Republicans did with Akin. Dysfunctional parties embrace an anything-to-win ethos, unencumbered by norms, principles or even their own stated beliefs  as todays GOP now does routinely. Pity Akin that he wasnt running under this Republican Party. Hed have been a star.
ALBANY  A video of a restaurant owner reacting to a customer's startling reason for sending back a dish has gone viral, drawing nearly 6 million views and 7,000 comments in its second day online.

In the 15-second TikTok video from the joint kitchen of Yono's and dp: An American Brasserie, posted around 7 p.m. Tuesday, co-owner Dominick Purnomo is seen wordlessly shaking his head, his expression neutral beneath a caption: "When they send back the steak tartare because it's raw."

A dish of chopped raw beef mixed with shallots or onions, capers and other seasonings, often topped with a raw egg yolk, steak tartare has been popular in this country since the late 19th century; it was common enough to be called "steack a l'Americaine" by the early 20th century in Europe, and the 1938 edition of the culinary bible "Larousse Gastronomique" defined the dish as essentially the same as it is still served today. Variations including tuna tartare have ben popular since the mid-1970s.

In many culinary circles, "tartare" is understood to mean that at least the central ingredient is raw.

But even at a sophisticated restaurant like dp, not everyone knows that. And the menu of Tuesday's featured items didn't mention it, simply reading, "Steak tartare: beef tenderloin, shallots, capers, olive oil, sambal, mustard, feather ridge farm hen egg yolk." (A photo and description on social media, where the beef and yolk are both clearly uncooked, went further, adding the hashtags #tartare #steak #foodporn #delicious #raw.)

"It would never dawn on me to say on the menu that the steak tartare is raw," Purnomo said Wednesday morning, adding, "That's the definition. And, personally, if my server told me, 'Oh, by the way, you do know the tartare is raw,' I would feel like they were talking down to me."

Many commenters on TikTok agreed, saying things including:

"Tartare means raw beef."

"No different than sending back mashed potatoes because they're mashed."

"God forbid my meal comes out how I ordered it."

"Waiter, my water is wet. Take it back."

But a strong contingent were in the customer's camp, offering comments that either expressed ignorance of the definition of tartare or questioned the safety of eating it, including:

"So completely raw steak and eggs is a thing?"

"Are you supposed to just eat it like that or do they put a burner on the table or something?"

"Why ain you just say raw I'm sending that back too how dare you try and take my life."

Although the federal Food Safety Inspection Service holds the official stance that the "safe minimum internal temperature" for beef is 145 degrees, for many that is considered overcooked; as a general guide, rare beef is 120 degrees, and 145 is the beginning of the spectrum for medium well. Experts generally acknowledge that eating quality eggs and cuts of beef (not commercially ground) when raw, as long as it has been properly refrigerated and prepared, carries a small risk but is widely practiced by millions without ill effect.

Eugene Muller, a professor of microbiology, medical microbiology and immunology at Framingham State University in Massachusetts, told Esquire magazine, "You are gambling every time you eat an oyster on the half shell, and there is no other way to eat an oyster in my opinion. And yes, I do eat raw beef."

Moving beyond the safety question, chefs and restaurateurs said they are long accustomed to having food sent back for what they consider eye-rolling reasons. Someone returned meatballs at Cafe Capriccio in Albany because they contained garlic and were in a tomato sauce with garlic.

"Italian restaurant, meatball, garlic. Most people would understand you can't have one without the other," said owner Jim Rua.

Jimmy Vann, who has worked for Bombers Burrito Bar in Albany and Schenectady for more than 20 years and owned it for the past four, recalled a customer who specifically requested crispy chicken wings but sent them back for being too crispy.

Vic Christopher of Clark House Hospitality in Troy, which produces up to 100 pizzas a night at its Donna's Italian Restaurant, said a small but regular minority of customers complain about charred blisters on the pizza's leopard-print crust, not understanding they are prized as hallmarks of artisan Neapolitan pizza.

Jaime Ortiz, owner of 677 Prime in Albany and Toro Cantina in Colonie, said customers have sent back tuna tartare because it was raw. Ditto for hamachi crudo. ("Crudo" means raw in Italian.) Others rejected French onion soup for having "too many onions," Ortiz said; a whole trout because it "still looked like a fish"; and the highest grade of wagyu beef, famed and cherished globally for its dense marbling of intramuscular fat, for being "too fatty."

And Dimitrios Menagias, head chef of The City Beer Hall in Albany, recalls a customer at his father's former diner in Schenectady returning food and coffee only because it was served on plates or in cups with a decorative black ring around the rim.

By now, though, Menagias said, he refuses to ask the reason for an item's return.

"Explanations take too long," Managias said. "I just want to know what they need on the fly."

Few in the hospitality business subscribe to the adage that the customer is always right, because, often, they're wrong. Instead, the belief is that the customer is to be accommodated.

In the video, Purnomo is seen dumping the plate of raw, chopped beef tenderloin, smeared with runny egg yolk as a result of the customer starting to eat the dish, into a hot saute pan.

"This was a first for tartare in my my 28 years in the business," Purnomo said. "The server said, 'She wants to know if you can pan-sear this?' I said, "Yes, I can pan sear that.' And I did."

Although a prolific user of Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, with thousands of followers, Purnomo had only four followers on TikTok before Tuesday's video. He said he signed up for the platform primarily so his daughters, ages 4, 7 and 8, could watch videos, and he'd posted only three prior videos himself, the most-viewed of which had been seen by about 5,000 people before Tuesday.

By midday Thursday, when the tartare video had been online less than 48 hours, it had reached 5.7 million views, nearly 560,000 likes and 7,000 comments. Purnomo had gone from four followers to more than 2,600.

Steak tartare will remain on the daily features menu at dp through the weekend, provided the restaurant doesn't run out of tenderloin.

"That might depend on how many TikTokers come in," Purnomo said.

The menu description will not include the word "raw."

However, Purnomo said, "We will gladly prepare it pan-seared again, should anyone want to try it."
Farmington, WV (26555)

Today

Periods of rain. Morning high of 61F with temps falling to near 45. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%..

Tonight

A few clouds. Low 28F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.
A man runs a dice game by firelight and entices the group at the Pithole Lantern Tours to try their hand at his game on Saturday. The man won every game that took place, almost taking the photographers camera.
[October 06, 2021] Arlington Capital Partners Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire Systems Planning & Analysis, Inc. and Combine it with MCR, LLC

Arlington Capital Partners ("Arlington"), a Washington, DC-area private equity firm, today announced that an affiliate has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Systems Planning & Analysis, Inc. ("SPA") from CM Equity Partners and SPA Management. The agreement is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Following closing, Arlington's existing portfolio company, MCR, LLC ("MCR") will be combined with SPA. Dr. William Vantine, SPA President and CEO, will serve as President and CEO of the combined company (the "Company"). Arlington's investment facilitates the creation of a combined company that will provide specialized advisory solutions to the most critical and complicated government missions. In joining forces, the companies represent the premier independent advisory firm with over 1,200 employees, approximately half of which hold advanced degrees, ~$350 million in revenues and 125 proprietary software tools. The transaction brings together two great companies to form an organization that is not only specifically built to serve government customers in a non-conflicted fashion, but also to provide a workplace that is tailor-made to cultivate and support highly-credentialed subject matter experts who are invaluable to missions of national importance. Founded in 1972, SPA provides systems engineering, modeling and simulation, advanced analytics, strategic advisory, industrial policy and program management to government and defense customers in the United States and Australia, including Strategic Systems Programs, the broader undersea and surface warfare community within the US Navy, Office of the Secretary of Defense ("OSD"), Defense Threat Reduction Agency ("DTRA"), Space Force, Air Force and the Australian Department of Defence. Dr. William Vantine, CEO of SPA, said, "We are thrilled to be partnering with Arlington and MCR to fill an important void in the market and create an unmatched leader within the technical government advisory ecosystem. By leveraging the historical individual successes across each of our companies and pooling our organic investments in facilities, R&D and our employees, we are excited to move out to achieve our strategic vision after closing." David Wodlinger, a Partner at Arlington, said, "We have long recognized the invaluable contributions to the mission that a unique cadre of elite advisory firms like SPA and MCR provide. We are excited to honor that proud tradition and help further the reach nd deepen the capabilities of SPA and MCR by creating a combined enterprise that builds upon their complementary customer bases, geographies and intellectual property."



Peter Schulte, Managing Partner at CM Equity Partners, said, "We are so pleased to have Arlington Capital Partners carry on the culture, quality, and great work of SPA and look forward to seeing the company continue its success and important service to its National Security customers." Bill Parker, CEO of MCR, said, "MCR and SPA are two sides of the same coin. Our strength with customers such as the Space Force and Air Force perfectly complement SPA's unique positions with customers like the Navy, DTRA and OSD. The combination will provide significant career advancement opportunities for our employees, and new capabilities and offerings for our customers."

Ben Ramundo, a Vice President at Arlington, said, "We are eager to build another platform serving the most important missions within the national security community. Through a combination of internal investments to supercharge what makes both companies special and potential acquisitions of other industry leading firms, the organization is primed to deliver its technical excellence to an ever expanding customer set." Sheppard Mullin and Morrison Foerster are serving as legal advisors to Arlington. Baird is serving as financial advisors with Squire Patton (News - Alert) Boggs and Rees Broome serving as legal advisors to SPA. The transaction is expected to close in the coming weeks. About Arlington Capital Partners Arlington Capital Partners is a Washington, DC-based private equity firm that is currently investing out of Arlington Capital Partners V, L.P., a $1.7 billion fund. The firm has managed approximately $4.0 billion of committed capital via five investment funds. Arlington is focused on middle market investment opportunities in growth industries including government services and technology, aerospace & defense, healthcare, and business services and software. The firm's professionals and network have a unique combination of operating and private equity experience that enable Arlington to be a value-added investor. Arlington invests in companies in partnership with high quality management teams that are motivated to establish and/or advance their company's position as leading competitors in their field. For more information: www.arlingtoncap.com About Systems Planning and Analysis, Inc. SPA provides innovative and leading-edge solutions that integrate technical, operational, programmatic, policy, and business factors in support of important national security objectives. Our differentiated capabilities include Advanced Analytics; Software Tool Development; System Engineering and Safety Analysis; Strategy, Policy and Compliance; and Program and Acquisition Management. Our employees have expertise in many domains, including Land, Undersea, Surface and Air Warfare Operations; Radar and Sensor Systems; Unmanned Systems and Counter Systems; Nuclear Deterrence Policy, Safety and Security; Defense Industrial Base; Space Systems; Ballistic Missile Systems; and Hypersonics. For more information: www.spa.com About MCR, LLC MCR transforms the delivery of cost analysis and engineering and software development for defense and civilian agencies, NATO, and European ministries. A global company based in McLean, Virginia, MCR has developed an integrated approach to service delivery that combines visualization, analytics, and high-performance talent acquisition. MCR applies this approach through CommandEdge, its internal operational platform. For more information: www.mcri.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005976/en/

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[October 06, 2021] ASEAN leaders convene in Special Ministerial Conference to shape resilient healthcare systems through regional collaboration

Renewed lockdowns and the COVID-19 Delta variant outbreak have impacted the economic recovery of ASEAN-5  comprising Malaysia , Thailand , Vietnam , Indonesia , and the Philippines

Organised by EVYD Knowledge Hub, in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and Economy in Brunei Darussalam , Ministry of Health in Brunei Darussalam , Brunei Investment Agency and Temasek Foundation, the conference gathers over 50 speakers across the ASEAN region and internationally, including Ministers of Health, Finance and Economy, public health officials, researchers, industry experts and financiers

With a focus on regional collaboration, cross-learning, research and digitalisation in empowering scientific policymaking in healthcare, the conference aims to spearhead discussions and strategize viable solutions to build resilient public health systems that can withstand future challenges SINGAPORE, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, EVYD Knowledge Hub by EVYD Technology announces the launch of the Special Ministerial Conference for ASEAN Digital Public Health, themed "Collaborate for a Happier and Healthier World Post Pandemic", on 6th to 7th October 2021. Organised in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and Economy in Brunei Darussalam, Ministry of Health in Brunei Darussalam, Brunei Investment Agency and Temasek Foundation, the conference highlights the urgency for ASEAN leaders to collaborate and strategize viable and sustainable solutions to build resilient healthcare systems that can withstand the challenges ahead. COVID-19 and the Delta variant outbreak have exposed vulnerabilities in global healthcare systems, reinforcing the need for regional collaboration in navigating a pandemic of this scale. According to the Institute of International Finance (IIF)[1], renewed lockdowns and the outbreak of the COVID-19 Delta variant have cast a negative impact on the economic recovery of Asean-5  comprising Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines. Recognising the urgency to strengthen public healthcare infrastructure, EVYD Knowledge Hub co-led this conference alongside its partners as a shared platform to create awareness on the importance of collaboration, cross-learning, research and digitalisation in empowering scientific policymaking to improve public health. "As a company that was conceived during the pandemic, we witnessed first-hand the toll it took on our healthcare systems and healthcare providers as they work relentlessly on the frontlines to serve the people. As such, we are honoured to have the opportunity to co-organise this conference with the Ministries of Brunei Darussalam and Temasek Foundation, with the goal of bringing together ASEAN leaders to spearhead conversations on the importance of sharing of knowledge and the role of data and technology in improving public healthcare policymaking," said Chua Ming Jie, Chief Executive Officer, EVYD Technology. The two-day conference which sees over 50 speakers participating has successfully kickstarted with day one, where opening remarks were made by Dato Lim Jock Hoi, Secretary-General ASEAN and welcome remarks were made by Dato Seri Setia Dr Amin Liew Abdullah, Minister at The Prime Minister's Office and Minister of Finance and Economy II, Brunei Darussalam and Dato Seri Setia Dr. Haji Mohammad Isham bin Haji Jaafar, Minister of Health, Brunei Darussalam. Comprised of four panels, two keynote sessions and a fireside chat, day one focused on discussions around lessons learnt from COVID-19, the role of research and digitalisation in shaping public health policies, as well as recovery and future preparedness. The first panel discussion, Ministerial Panel: Lessons Learnt From Managing The COVID-19 Pandemic In ASEAN saw participation from ministers including Dato Dr Isham Jaafar, Minister of Health, Brunei Darussalam; Budi G. Sadikin, Minister of Health, Indonesia; Dr Bounfeng Phoummalaysith, Minister of Health, Lao PDR; Dr Or Vandine, Secretary of State for Health, Cambodia moderated by Dr Jeremy Lim, Director of the Leadership Institute for Global Health Transformation, Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore. They shared insights around the importance of navigating between finding a balance in safeguarding citizens' health and the nation's economy and deliberated on how the ASEAN region can better prepare for future pandemics. Beginning with The Science Behind Pandemics: Why Are We Now More At Risk?, a keynote session by Professor Wang Linfa, Professor and Director, Emerging infectious Diseases Program, Duke-NUS Medical School, tracing the origins of COVID-19 and the SARS-CoV-2 virus from zoonotic diseases, the conference transitions into solutions-centric discussions on the importance of digitalisation, public health research and a strong economy in preparing the region for future pandemics and emergencies. They include How Can The ASEAN Region Prepare For Disease X?, Fireside Chat: Brunei Darussalam Healthcare Digital Transformation, Role of Research in Public Health and Building A Resilient Economy Post Pandemic. The first day of the 2-day conference concluded with the keynote session by Professor George F. Gao, Director General, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, on The Chinese CDC Experience. "While the pandemic has affected many ASEAN countries, it has also demonstrated our spirit of resilience as we stand together in solidarity. Moving forward, it is crucial for us countries to continue to rally together and collaborate to ensure public health safety. Internally, it will also require the collective efforts of all sectors of our society including healthcare, finance, social and politics to ensure that we are well-prepared to deter any emerging pandemics, or new variants of the COVID-19 virus," shared Dato Dr Isham Jaafar, Minister of Health, Brunei Darussalam. On the conference, Mr Benedict Cheong, Chief Executive, Temasek Foundation International, shared, "The COVID-19 pandemic holds many lessons for what we should be doing as a community in ASEAN. It is critical that regional communities come together to collaborate and share knowledge so that we can better respond to future health crises. We are pleased to co-host this conference together with the Brunei Ministry of Health, Ministry of Finance and Economy, Brunei Investment Agency and EVYD Technology, and hope that the discussions over the two days will lead to new partnerships and platforms for regional engagements and collective action." EVYD Technology was founded in 2020 with the mission of transforming healthcare through Big Data and Artificial Intelligence to optimise sharper insights and outcomes for public health research. As part of its commitment to do so, it has recently launched EVYD Knowledge Hub with the objective of creating a knowledge-sharing community that connects and engages key stakeholders in public health.







[1] Institute of International Finance 2021, 'Macro Notes: ASEAN-5 - Delta Variant Threatening Recovery', https://www.iif.com/Publications/Members-Only-Content-Sign-in?returnurl=/publications/id/4565

About EVYD Technology EVYD Technology is a healthcare AI and Big Data company with the mission to transform healthcare using data intelligence. Their solutions enable value-based healthcare that is safer, better and more accessible for global communities. They offer solutions to policymakers to enhance public health monitoring, generate insights for policymaking and implement initiatives such as value-based healthcare and population health management. They also offer solutions to the research community to enhance the efficiency and quality of their research, from which insights generated could be leveraged to benefit the broader ecosystem. Their flagship EVYDENCE operating platform aggregates raw data that reside in disparate information systems and convert them into computable, structured and standardised data so that they could be further processed to derive deep insights and knowledge using natural language processing, machine learning and other AI technologies. EVYD Technology is a Brunei Investment Agency investee company. For more information, visit https://www.evydtech.com/ SOURCE EVYD Technology

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[October 06, 2021] Asensus Surgical, Inc. Announces Hirosaki University Hospital to Initiate Senhance Robotic Surgery Program

Asensus Surgical, Inc. (NYSE American: ASXC), a medical device company that is digitizing the interface between the surgeon and the patient to pioneer a new era of Performance-Guided Surgery, today announced Hirosaki University Hospital has entered into an agreement to lease and utilize a Senhance Surgical System. "We are excited to add a system at Hirosaki University Hospital to help build out its Senhance Robotic Surgery Program," said Anthony Fernando, Asensus Surgical President and CEO. "We are very encouraged by the continued momentum we are seeing in Japan and look forward to further expanding our footprint in the region.'' Asensus Surgical's technology platform, Senhance Surgical System, is the first of its kind digital laparoscopic platform that leverages augmented intelligence to provide unmatched performance and patient outcomes through machine learning. Senhance goes beyond the typical surgical robotic systems, providing surgical assurance through haptic feedback, eye-tracking camera control, and 3D visualization, and is the first platform to offer 3 mm instruments (the smallest instrument available in the world on a robotic surgical platform). The Senhance Surgical System is powered by the Intelligent Surgical Unit (ISU). The ISU enables machine vision-driven control of the camera for a surgeon by responding to commands and recognizing certain objects and locations in the surgical field, and allows a surgeon to change the visualized field of view using the movement of their instruments. The newest ISU features expand upon these capabilities and introduce more advanced features including: 3D measurement, digital tagging, image enhancement, and enhanced camera control based on real-time data from anatomical structures while performing surgery. "The initiation of the Senhance program contributes to our emphasis on the delivery of innovative medicine," said Dr. Kenichi Hakamada, Professor and Chairman, Department of Gastroenterological Surgery Department of Pediatric Surgery. "We look forward to exploring Senhance's potential as a novel and differentiated treatment option for our patients, and as a powerful tool for our physicians." About Hirosaki University Hospital Since 1944, Hirosaki University Hospital has been continuing o develop as one of the most distinguished centers for medical care, clinical research and medical education in the northern part of Japan. The mission of the Hirosaki University Hospital is to practice leading-edge medicine, to deliver advanced medical education, and to conduct innovative medical research in accordance with the established ethical standards, thereby bringing physical and psychological health and hope to the lives of patients and contributing to the community wellbeing.



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 clinical intelligence for surgeons 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.

Forward-Looking Statements This press release includes statements relating to the Senhance Surgical System and Hirosaki University Hospital initiating a program with the Senhance System. These statements and other statements regarding our future plans and goals 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, and are intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that are often difficult to predict, are beyond our control and which may cause results to differ materially from expectations and include whether the lease of Senhance Surgical System by the Hirosaki University Hospital, along with our dedicated training center in Japan and a growing number of active systems at prestigious institutions will further accelerate adoption of the Senhance System in the Asia-Pacific region in the future. For a discussion of the risks and uncertainties associated with the Company's business, please review our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ( SEC (News - Alert) ), including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, filed with the SEC on March 11, 2021 and our other filings we make with the SEC. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward looking statements, which are based on our expectations as of the date of this press release and speak only as of the origination date of this press release. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005067/en/

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[October 06, 2021] Black & Veatch to Design, Build Canada's First Electric 'Smart Grid'

As the electric industry addresses growing demands for lower carbon footprints and heightened reliability and resilience, a Canadian community is entrusting Black & Veatch (News - Alert) to transform its power system into a technology-driven, enhanced "smart grid" meant to lower consumer costs and slash greenhouse gas emissions. Billed as the first such community-wide utility effort in Canada, the Sault Smart Grid project for PUC Distribution Inc. - the local electricity distribution utility in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario - includes Black & Veatch's designing and deploying a state-of-the-art network with proven technologies that enhance reliability and efficiency, improve outage management and reduce energy consumption. That more intuitive grid, expected to be completed by late 2022, positions PUC to accommodate new distributed energy resources (DERs) such as rooftop solar, battery storage, co-generation and electric vehicles (EVs) while supporting smart city and other community growth initiatives. Once operational, the smart grid will offer two key components - voltage optimization and distribution automation. Voltage optimization constantly regulates a consumer's electricity supply and gives them precisely the voltage they need, saving energy and lowering electric bills. Distribution automation essentially embeds intelligence into the system, using a network of sensors and controls that provide greater reliability, flexibility and agility. Those features enable the system's "self-healing" during power disruptions, minimizing the size of the outage and the number of affected customers. "As the energy sector evolves, with broader investments in ecarbonation, reliability and resiliency, this comprehensive smart grid initiative represents the promise of lowering generation and distribution costs while propelling the community's modernization," said Gary Johnson (News - Alert) , Black & Veatch's regional director. "Sault Ste. Marie is leading the charge in Canada, and we're confident other utilities, regions and communities will follow suit once they see the enormous benefits."



"With expectations that we'll see more demand for electric vehicle hookups, rooftop solar energy and other new technology in the next decade, the Sault Smart Grid project smart grid system will help the city modernize and leap forward in meeting those challenges and opportunities," added Kevin Bell, PUC's vice-president. "We are excited about this project bringing our customers an energy system that is more reliable, resilient and responsive." Editor's Notes:

For more about Black & Veatch's grid modernization solutions, click here. 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. About PUC Distribution Inc. PUC Distribution distributes electricity to residences and businesses within the boundaries of the city of Sault Ste. Marie, the Batchewana First Nation (Rankin Reserve), Prince Township and parts of Dennis Township. The management, maintenance and operations of the distribution system is carried out by PUC Services Inc. For more details about PUC, click here. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005121/en/

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[October 06, 2021] Blue Vista Forms New Joint Venture to Acquire Core Student Housing Projects in the United States

Blue Vista Capital Management, LLC ("Blue Vista"), a leading Chicago-based real estate investment firm, today announced the formation of a new joint venture partnership ("the Partnership") with Koramco Asset Management, one of South Korea's top real estate investment management firms, and a second South Korean institution, to invest in top-tier core student housing assets across the United States. Through the Partnership, Blue Vista completed the acquisition of Villas on Rio, a 856-bed property at the University of Texas at Austin, in addition to the recapitalization of Theory Syracuse, a 601-bed property at Syracuse University. These initial student housing investments represent approximately $250 million in total combined asset value. Jason Schwartz, Blue Vista's Managing Principal of Student Housing said, "Blue Vista is proud to be the partner of choice for two well-established Korean institutions. The properties at the University of Texas at Austin and Syracuse University highlight the type of premier student housing investments that this partnership will pursue, as well as our commitment to providing students with highly amenitized living accommodations. We look forward to cultivating a strong relationship going forward as we continue to execute on our strategy of investing in Class A assets at leading U.S. universities." Nick Lee, Vice President at Blue Vista also said, "This partnership is a testament to our team's extensive real estate investment expertise and dedicated effort to developing meaningful cross-border relationships with international investors, especially in South Korea where we have made a long-term concerted effort. We are pleased with the support that we have received from leading South Korean investment institutions and look forward to working together to identify strategically-positioned core student housing properties across the U.S." KN Kim, Head of Overseas Real Estate Investment Team 1 at Koramco added, "We are thrilled to be partnering with Blue Vista to invest in this exciting sector. There is significant demand for investment into core U.S. student housing, and this strategic joint venture between Blue Vista and our Korean partner showcases the global momentum in the sector." The Partnership's two initial investments are well-located, Class A student housing properties whih leverage Blue Vista's investment platform and vertical integration with affiliate PeakMade Real Estate, one of the largest student housing management and development companies in the U.S. Comprised of 245 units and 601 beds, Theory Syracuse is walking distance from Syracuse University's main campus and nearby downtown amenities. The property was initially developed in 2018 by Blue Vista and Peak as part of its value-add student housing strategy. Comprised of 279 units and 856 beds, Villas on Rio is centered within the University of Texas' highly popular West Campus. Villas on Rio offers top-tier amenities and is within walking distance of campus, restaurants, retail, and nightlife options, and just a short drive from downtown Austin.



Since 2003, Blue Vista has acquired and/or developed over $3.0 billion in student housing properties, representing nearly 40,000 beds and approximately 80 properties across the U.S. and Canada. Blue Vista's student housing strategies are focused on taking advantage of the unique dynamics of the sector, which Blue Vista believes include resilience to economic cycles, stable enrollment trends for top-tier, traditional four-year universities, continued demand for purpose-built student housing stock and the ability to generate attractive annual cash yields based on stable occupancy trends at well-located, well-managed properties. Blue Vista's strategic focus is paired with the firm's vertical integration with affiliate PeakMade Real Estate, one of the largest student housing property management companies in the U.S., which offers the firm the ability to leverage operating data and manage portfolio operations efficiently. About Blue Vista Capital Management

Blue Vista is a Chicago-based leading real estate investment firm dedicated to developing long-term relationships, serving investor interests and delivering consistent performance through a rigorous academic and research-driven investment process. Blue Vista's value-creating platform offers national footprints in the U.S. and Canada, local operating expertise, and best-in-class investment strategies focused exclusively on student housing, middle market real estate and lending. Since the firm's inception in 2002, Blue Vista has invested over $11.2 billion in total capitalized value through institutional real estate vehicles. For more information, please visit https://bluevistallc.com/. About Koramco Asset Management Co., Ltd. Koramco Asset Management Co., Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of Koramco REITs & Trust with a market share of more than 24% in the private REITs market in the Republic of Korea, is a leading real estate investment company managing over $3.0 billion of overseas commercial real estate transactions on behalf of various blue-chip Korean investors. For more information, please visit https://www.koramcofund.co.kr. About PeakMade Real Estate PeakMade Real Estate, based in Atlanta, GA, is a vertically integrated real estate management, development and consulting services company for student, multifamily and build-to-rent communities. As one of the nation's largest third-party management companies, PeakMade manages 80 communities valued at over $2.8 billion across 60 markets in the United States. For more information, please visit https://peakmade.com/. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005217/en/

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[October 06, 2021] CRM&BONUS Raises Over R$280 Million to Accelerate Its Global Expansion Plans and Consolidate Its Position as the Leading Giftback Platform in Brazil

CRM&BONUS, the first and only full service giftback platform in the world, today announced it has raised over R$280 million, which values the company at R$1 billion. The round was led by the SoftBank Latin America Fund, Riverwood Capital, Igah Ventures and Volpe Capital. Founded in 2018 by Alexandre Zolko (CEO), Luiz Fernando Dias Guedes (COO) and Eduardo Luis dos Santos Vieira (CTO), CRM&BONUS is a platform that allows real-time control of giftback delivery to consumers, making it possible to measure the increases in billing and customer retention. The creation of the platform enabled TVZ / MyShoes, a fashion company founded and owned by Zolko's family, to measure sales growth of around 15%. These results encouraged the founders to expand the operation of the platform. Quickly, CRM&BONUS revolutionized the giftback market in Brazil. Currently, the solution serves more than 12,000 physical stores and e-commerce companies in Brazil and Portugal, with renowned clients such as Ambev, Arezzo, Vivara, Itau, Adidas, L'Occitane, Alpagartas, MadeiraMadeira, Grupo Soma and Chilli Beans. The company aims to increase the sale and profit of any store owner in the world, regardless of the size and segment, from 5% to 20%, over the course of three months. If the growth target is not reached, nothing is charged to the store owner; however, 98% of retailers achieve the result. Zolko, Founder and CEO of CRM&BONUS, said, "We have a real opportunity to expand our platform and methodology globally to help hundreds of thousands of stores sell more and profit faster. Our primary focus will be on the team and the product, as we intend to quickly bring the CRMPAY component to Brazil, enabling our 15 modules to service stores, such as bars and restaurants, with an addressable market of more than 1 million businesses in Brazil." Zolko added, "We plan to use the proceeds to accelerate our growth across Brazil and expand internationally in 2022, including opening offices in at least five new countries, with a particular focus on the USA and Europe." Alex Szapiro, Operating Partner and Head of Brazil at the SoftBank Lain America Fund, said, "We're excited to lead this round in a company that has a high level of innovation as CRM&BONUS. The quality of the platform is the materialization of Zolko's entrepreneurial vision and his team's dedication that goes beyond Brazil's and Latin America's borders. The company has the potential for outsized growth globally by addressing sales issues across hundreds of thousands of businesses, at a low cost and an excellent ROI."



Francisco Alvarez-Demalde, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Riverwood Capital, said, "We are impressed with Zolko and the CRM&BONUS team for their vision and execution in building one of the leading loyalty and giftback platforms in Brazil. Bootstrapped until now and with a fanatic focus on customer success, CRM&BONUS has built a scalable and easy to adopt software solution for retailers, merchants and brands to foster purchaser loyalty, understand and engage with consumers, and improve recurrency, driving more revenues and better service." Joaquim Lima, Partner at Riverwood Capital, said, "CRM&BONUS has an incredible giftback technology and offering with broad appeal for any size retailer in any location. I look forward to working alongside Zolko on the Board and supporting the entire team on their scalability journey as CRM&BONUS reinforces its positioning as the dominant loyalty platform."

About CRM&BONUS CRM&BONUS is the first and only full service giftback platform in the world. It is a complete software and consultancy with 15 modules, such as Authenticated Loyalty, Member Get Member (MGM), Relationship Rules, Mass Reactivations, B2B Bonus, NPS and others. No setup is needed and the company offers 90 days money back guarantee in case the retailer does not increase sales and profit, regardless of size and segment, from 5% to 20%. Through the giftback tool and consultancy, it's applied bonus and rewards campaigns for the brand's customers. Currently, with renowned clients such as Ambev, Arezzo, Vivara, Itau, Adidas, L'Occitane, Alpagartas and Chilli Beans. About SoftBank The SoftBank Group invests in breakthrough technology to improve the quality of life for people around the world. The SoftBank Group is comprised of SoftBank Group Corp. (TOKYO: 9984), an investment holding company that includes stakes in telecommunications, internet services, AI, smart robotics, IoT and clean energy technology providers; the SoftBank Vision Funds, which are investing more than US$135 billion to help extraordinary entrepreneurs transform industries and shape new ones; the US$5 billion SoftBank Latin America Fund, the largest venture fund in that region; the newly-launched US$3 billion SoftBank Latin America Fund II; and the SB Opportunity Fund, a US$100 million fund dedicated to investing in enterprises founded by entrepreneurs of color in the U.S. To learn more, please visit https://group.softbank/en. About Riverwood Capital Riverwood Capital invests in high-growth companies in the technology and technology-enabled industries. Riverwood offers a unique combination of operational, strategic, technology, and financial insight to portfolio companies that typically need growth capital and expertise to scale on a global basis. The firm seeks to invest in established businesses with a proven technology and business model, and the proper fit in terms of culture and values, in both minority and control situations. Riverwood has offices in Menlo Park, CA (News - Alert) ; New York, NY; Sao Paulo, Brazil; and Miami, FL. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005627/en/

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[October 06, 2021] FB Financial Corporation Announces 2021 Third Quarter Earnings Call

FB Financial Corporation ("FB Financial" or "the Company") (NYSE:FBK) announced today that it will release its 2021 third quarter results of operations on Monday, October 18, 2021, after the close of the market. The Company will host a conference call at 8:00 a.m. Central Time on Tuesday, October 19, 2021, to discuss its third quarter results of operations. For investors or analysts who want to attend the call, the listen only dial-in number is 888-317-6003, confirmation code 5735028. A live online broadcast of FB Financial's conference call will also begin at 8:00 a.m. Central Time, on Tuesday, October 19, 2021, at FBK 3Q21 Webcast. An online replay will be available approximately two hours after the call ends for 12 months. A telephone replay will begin approximately two hours after the call ends and will be available for seven days. To listen to the telephone playback, please dial 877-344-7529, confirmation code 10160849.



About FB Financial Corporation

FB Financial Corporation (NYSE: FBK) is a bank holding company headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. FB Financial operates through its wholly owned banking subsidiary, FirstBank, the third largest Tennessee-headquartered community bank, with 82 full-service bank branches across Tennessee, Alabama, Southern Kentucky and North Georgia, and a national mortgage business with offices across the Southeast. FirstBank serves five of the largest metropolitan markets in Tennessee and has approximately $11.9 billion in total assets.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005858/en/

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[October 06, 2021] Frank Recruitment Group Announces Plans to Hire More Than 1,500 New Staff Across the Globe

Cloud technology staffing specialist firm Frank Recruitment Group announced today its plan to create more than 1,500 new jobs in the next 12 months. As the recovery of the tech market outperforms expectations, the growing need for talent is fueling enormous demand for Frank Recruitment Group's expert cloud staffing services. To address this demand and help it continue to deliver the best professionals in the cloud ecosystem to businesses worldwide, Frank Recruitment Group aims to recruit a huge number of new staff. Frank Recruitment Group currently employees almost 2,000 people across offices in Europe, North America, Australasia and Asia. The company is already hiring around 130 people every month, with this new hiring drive set to increase global headcount by roughly 80%. Around half of these new roles will be created across Frank Recruitment Group's nine North American offices, equating to almost 800 jobs. The vast majority of these newly created positions will be entry-level sales roles, open to anyone with a drive to succeed. Frank Recruitment Group provides a comprehensive training program so no previous experience in the industry is necessary, as all new hires will be fully supported through their upskilling journey. Original forecasts by Forrester (News - Alert) estimated a return to 6.5% annual growth for the tech market, following the recession of 2020. This estimate was recently updated in light of the market's robust economic performance, with Forrester now predicting that US tech budgets will expand by 7.4% in 2021 and 6.7% in 2022. This significant boom is being driven primarily by growth in the software market, which is expected to expand by 10% in 2021 and 2022. Adoption of security platforms as the world increases its online footprint, the uptick in AI functionality in software, and the custom app development revival are all expected to contribute to the increase in software and SaaS (News - Alert) spending. With this growth comes an increasing outlay on tech consulting and outsourcing services. As the global economy recovers, project spending from CIOs and IT leadership is expected to fuel demand for tech consulting and outsourcing services, particularly in fields such as system integration, cloud platform services, and training and upskilling. The news comes after Frank Recruitment Group revealed plans for a new office in Toronto, Ontario, set to open its doors later this month. The Canadian hub will take Frank Recruitment Group's total global locations to 22, far from its beginnings in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, with just three employees. "The demand for tech professionals right now is unprecedented," sad Rowan O'Grady, President of Americas at Frank Recruitment Group.



"Businesses are implementing new platforms and processes that will enable them to be more efficient and more competitive, and they cannot do that without access to tech talent." "The rise in digital transformation has led to the creation of a number of new roles across the cloud technology field, and the need for our support not only to help organizations source professionals with the right skills to get the job done, but retain and develop them as well, has never been greater.

"We're absolutely thrilled to be in a position to help ambitious people benefit from this amazing opportunity and offer exciting, rewarding careers to so many new employees." Note to editors: ABOUT FRANK RECRUITMENT GROUP Frank Recruitment Group is a division of Tenth Revolution (News - Alert) Group, the world's leading experts in cloud talent solutions. Founded in Newcastle upon Tyne, in 2006, Frank Recruitment Group creates and delivers highly sought-after professionals in some of the industry's most skills-scarce ecosystems. The company employs almost 2,000 people across over 20 offices, including Dallas, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Tampa, Denver, Scottsdale, Charlotte, Irvine, and Toronto in North America. EMEA and APAC are served by nine offices across the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland, with further locations in Singapore, Japan, and Australia. The group operates seven trading brands that each focus on a specific technology product: Jefferson Frank (AWS), Nigel Frank International ( Microsoft (News - Alert) Dynamics and Azure), Mason Frank International (Salesforce), Washington Frank (enterprise ERP), Anderson Frank (NetSuite), Nelson Frank ( ServiceNow (News - Alert) ), and FRG Technology Consulting (Marketing Automation and emerging technologies). Frank Recruitment Group was named one of Europe's fastest-growing companies and appeared in the 2021 Sunday Times BDO Profit Track 100 after increasing its profits by 36% over three years. The group plans to expand its outreach globally and attract more trainee recruiters in strategic hubs to meet demand for its services. For more information, visit: www.frankgroup.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005696/en/

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[October 06, 2021] Gabriel Raises US$12 Million in Series A Round to Improve Public Safety Across Latin America with Low-Cost Intelligent Cameras

Gabriel, a technology and security-focused AI startup, today announced that it has raised US$12 million in its Series A funding round led by the SoftBank Latin America Fund, with participation from Canary, Norte Ventures, Globo Ventures, Indie Capital, QMS Capital, Montlacer Investments, CamelFarm Ventures, Endeavor ScaleUp Ventures and Wayra, the startup investment arm of the Spanish Telco Telefonica (News - Alert) group. Gabriel will use the capital raised to invest in resources aimed at building Brazil's largest safety surveillance camera network, starting in Rio de Janeiro, with plans for further expansion in other major cities. Gabriel was founded in 2020 by Erick Coser, Otavio Miranda and Sergio Andrade, born out of their ambition to solve one of the biggest problems in Brazil and Latin America - the lack of public safety. The founders observed crime reduction best practices from various places, including London, New York, Israel and Beijing, and found that these areas all had best-in-class technology companies backing the development of solutions for efficiency and transparency of the security agents and police forces at work. Recognizing the complexity of the security challenges in Latin America, Gabriel's founders developed a system of interconnected, low-cost intelligent cameras. Gabriel offers its members the support of thousands of intelligent cameras and proprietary technology, resilient by design. The company operates the camera park entirely, spread over multiple neighborhoods in Rio de Janeiro and soon-to-be-launched new capitals. The startup currently manages five times more cameras than the government's network in the city. By becoming a Gabriel subscriber, users can share images from their public facing cameras with the Gabriel network through the company's platform. Gabriel can then carry out complex investigations and notify the police in a few minutes - all at no cost to the government and significantly benefiting users with a public security system that works. With increasingly higher criminal activity, a harsh result of pandemic-led unemployment and growing inequality, the company contributes decisive intel to police operations. In the last month alone, the company participated in more than one investigation a day and multipleidentifications and arrests of criminals in Leblon and Ipanema (News - Alert) .



Erick Coser, CEO of Gabriel, said, "Across Latin America, people spend billions of dollars every year on security, and our lives didn't get any better. Home and commercial technology and security products are outdated, non-resilient and often unreliable, despite the growing private spending on security. Our streets and neighborhoods of capital cities have not become safer in recent years and it's time for our generation to take responsibility for solving yesterday's legacy problems with a brand new set of ideas. At Gabriel, we are tackling this issue head on with our suite of cameras, vast network and rapid investigation process." Otavio Miranda, Co-Founder of Gabriel, added, "We are fighting crime with intelligence. Ensuring public safety is a collective duty of every citizen, not only government officials. Information asymmetry is what makes us uncertain about the protection of our beloved ones and homes. That's why we built a security infrastructure that prevents uncertainty, impunity and injustice. It is only through knowing every nook and cranny of the streets we live in that the reality of security will change for the better."

Paulo Passoni, Managing Partner at the SoftBank Latin America Fund, stated, "Gabriel is challenging an industry that is ripe for change and disruption and aiming to solve one of the biggest problems in Latin America: being and feeling safe. We are beyond excited to support a brilliant group of entrepreneurs." Marcos Toledo, Managing Partner at Canary, said, "We enjoy supporting founders who have the vision to solve big problems - and security is one of the biggest problems we have in Brazil. So, when we met Gabriel's team, we were thrilled with the potential they had. Today, we are happy to see this potential being unveiled for the public good, making people safer." About Gabriel Founded in January 2020 by Erick Coser, Otavio Miranda, and Sergio Andrade, Gabriel is a technology startup that solves one of the biggest problems in Brazil: public safety. Using computer vision and IoT, the company is building the country's most extensive protection and security network, using smart cameras positioned in buildings, homes, and commercial establishments, aimed at public space and integrated. Its work fights crime with technology, also making the work carried out by the security forces more efficient and transparent. Gabriel already has the largest active camera park in the city of Rio de Janeiro. To learn more, visit: https://gabriel.com.br About SoftBank The SoftBank Group invests in breakthrough technology to improve the quality of life for people around the world. The SoftBank Group is comprised of SoftBank Group Corp. (TOKYO: 9984), an investment holding company that includes stakes in telecommunications, internet services, AI, smart robotics, IoT and clean energy technology providers; the SoftBank Vision Funds, which are investing more than US$135 billion to help extraordinary entrepreneurs transform industries and shape new ones; the US$5 billion SoftBank Latin America Fund, the largest venture fund in that region; the newly-launched US$3 billion SoftBank Latin America Fund II; and the SB Opportunity Fund, a US$100 million fund dedicated to investing in enterprises founded by entrepreneurs of color in the U.S. To learn more, please visit https://group.softbank/en. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005631/en/

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[October 06, 2021] The Hartford Hosts Second Annual National Junior Fire Marshal Day; Deputizes 65,000 New Junior Fire Marshals

The Hartford, which has provided fire-safety education to more than 111 million children since 1947, deputized more than 65,000 new Junior Fire Marshals in one day as part of its second annual Junior Fire Marshal Day. The company created the live, virtual fire-safety event in 2020 to address the critical lack of in-person, fire-safety education available to elementary school students because of the pandemic. On Oct. 5, thousands of kindergarten through third-grade students in more than 200 cities across the country participated in the live-stream event as part of Fire Prevention Week. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005632/en/ Barbara Fisher's first-grade classroom from Seiberling Community Learning Center in Akron, Ohio participates in National Junior Fire Marshal Day. (Photo: Business Wire) "We value our long-standing partnerships with local fire departments and continue to work with them to adapt fire safety education to meet the varied needs of today's elementary school classroom," said The Hartford's Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Claire Burns. "Our Junior Fire Marshal Day program enabled thousands of kindergarten through third-grade students across the country to be together virtually and learn the life-saving lessons they need to help keep themselves and their families safe." Led by a teacher and a firefighter, along with the partnership of the Safe Community Project and the Glendale, Calif. Fire Department, the 30-minute event guided students through important fire safety lessons like: Matches and lighters are for grown-ups;

Smoke alarms are important;

Create and practice your escape plan; and

Establish your outside meeting place. The event also featured a fire station tour and a video congratulations from firefighters around the country, recognizing them for their achievement. The event culminated in students earning the title of "Junior Fire Marshal" and becoming officially deputized. "As the pandemic continues to affect Americans across the country, fire safety education programs, such as The Hartford's Junior Fire Marshal program, are essential to keeping our most vulnerable population safe," said Glendale, Calif. Fire Chief Silvio Lanzas. "With so many children still unable to learn fire safety in-person, connecting with them through this program will help to keep them and their families fire safe. I am proud to be a part of this wonderful program and look forward to its impact on our youth." Parents and educators nationwide can view a replay of the event by visiting https://www.juniorfiremarshal.com/register.



The History of the Junior Fire Marshal Program The Junior Fire Marshal program was started in 1947 by an employee of The Hartford, making it one of the country's oldest corporate-sponsored public education programs. Since the program's inception, The Hartford has deputized more than 111 million Junior Fire Marshals.

The company's signature red fire helmets have been displayed proudly by generations of children who have learned the basics of fire safety and prevention through this innovative and educational program. These lessons, along with other fun, engaging and educational activities, help parents and teachers have meaningful and vital fire-safety conversations with children. Over the years, celebrities such as Mariano Rivera, Ron Howard, Dick Van Dyke, Jack Benny, Jimmy Dean, Captain Kangaroo, Carol Channing, Red Skelton, Johnny Carson, Robert Young, Henry "the Fonz" Winkler and Presidents John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan have helped The Hartford recognize children who participated in the Junior Fire Marshal program. In 2020, The Hartford committed to educating an additional 1.5 million students in kindergarten through third grade and donating more than $1.5 million to school districts and fire departments in the 150 U.S. cities with the highest risk of home fires according to The Hartford's Home Fire Index. For more information about The Hartford's Home Fire Index and Junior Fire Marshal program, visit www.juniorfiremarshal.com. About The Hartford The Hartford is a leader in property and casualty insurance, group benefits and mutual funds. With more than 200 years of expertise, The Hartford is widely recognized for its service excellence, sustainability practices, trust and integrity. More information on the company and its financial performance is available at https://www.thehartford.com. Follow us on Twitter (News - Alert) at @TheHartford_PR. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., (NYSE: HIG) operates through its subsidiaries under the brand name, The Hartford, and is headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut. For additional details, please read The Hartford's legal notice. HIG-C Some of the statements in this release may be considered forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We caution investors that these forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results may differ materially. Investors should consider the important risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ. These important risks and uncertainties include those discussed in our 2019 Annual Report on Form 10-K, subsequent Quarterly Reports on Forms 10-Q, and the other filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We assume no obligation to update this release, which speaks as of the date issued. From time to time, The Hartford may use its website and/or social media outlets, such as Twitter and Facebook (News - Alert) , to disseminate material company information. Financial and other important information regarding The Hartford is routinely accessible through and posted on our website at https://ir.thehartford.com, Twitter account at www.twitter.com/TheHartford_PR and Facebook at https://facebook.com/thehartford. In addition, you may automatically receive email alerts and other information about The Hartford when you enroll your email address by visiting the "Email Alerts" section at https://ir.thehartford.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005632/en/

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[October 06, 2021] HireRight Files Registration Statement for Proposed Initial Public Offering

HireRight today announced that it has filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the " SEC (News - Alert) ") relating to a proposed initial public offering of its common stock. The number of shares offered and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined. HireRight intends to list its common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "HRT." Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC are acting as lead bookrunners for the proposed offering. Barclays, Jefferies, RBC Capital Markets, William Blair, Baird, KeyBanc Capital Markets, Stifel and Truist Securities will act as bookrunners for the proposed offering. Citizens Capital Markets, SPC Capital Markets LLC, Penserra Securities LLC, R. Seelaus & Co., LLC and Roberts & Ryan will act as co-managers for the proposed offering. The proposed offering of these securities will be made only by means of a prospectus. Copies of the preliminary prospectus relating to the proposed offering may be obtained when available from: Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Attention: Prospectus Department, 6933 Louis Stephens Drive, orrisville, North Carolina 27560, telephone: 1-800-221-1037 or by email at usa.prospectus@credit-suisse.com; or Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Attn: 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.



A registration statement on Form S-1 relating to these securities has been filed with the SEC but has not yet become effective. These securities may not be sold nor may offers to buy be accepted prior to the time the registration statement becomes effective. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction. Any offers, solicitations or offers to buy, or any sales of securities will be made in accordance with the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. About HireRight

HireRight provides comprehensive background screening, verification, identification, monitoring, and drug and health screening services for more than 40,000 customers across the globe. HireRight offers services via a unified global software and data platform that tightly integrates into their customers' human capital management systems enabling highly effective and efficient workflows for workforce hiring, onboarding, and monitoring. In 2020, HireRight screened over 20 million job applicants, employees and contractors for its customers. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005508/en/

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[October 06, 2021] LD FEB UI Research: GoTo Financial, Part of GoTo Group, Accelerates Financial Inclusion for MSMEs and Communities in Indonesia

GoTo Financial's digital financial products and services enable the unbanked and underbanked population to access formal financial services; 1 out of 4 consumers, who were previously not exposed to banking services, now use banking services after using GoPay.

GoPay serves as the gateway to digital finance; 60% of MSMEs and 46% of consumers made their first cashless transaction with GoPay.

GoTo Financial's MSME partners' turnover is estimated to increase by 37% or equivalent to IDR 53.2 trillion by the end of 2021, compared to the previous year. JAKARTA, Indonesia, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- GoTo Financial, the digital financial ecosystem under GoTo Group[1], has successfully increased financial inclusion for MSMEs and consumers. The platform serves as the gateway for the general public to access and use a broader range of digital financial products and services. This was the main finding of the research carried out by the Lembaga Demografi, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Indonesia (LD FEB UI) titled "GoTo Financial's Role in Indonesia's Financial Inclusion in 2021." Turro Wongkaren, Ph.D., Head of LD FEB UI, explained, "The usage of digital platforms, including digital financial services, has increased rapidly during the pandemic. Electronic payments have even replaced cash as the main payment method. It will be interesting to examine how platforms, such as GoTo Financial, including electronic payments platform GoPay, serve as a gateway to accelerate financial inclusion, especially in supporting economic recovery. We chose GoTo Financial because it not only provides electronic payment services, but also offers a comprehensive financial services ecosystem for consumers and MSMEs in Indonesia." There are a number of interesting findings in this research, particularly on how GoPay and other GoTo Financial products not only increase financial literacy but also increase financial inclusion. This has promoted the use of financial products and services, especially among the unbanked and underbanked population. GoPay is the first digital payment method used by MSMEs and consumers

The majority of MSMEs (60%) used GoPay as their business' first digital payment method.



A similar trend is also seen on the consumer side, where the majority of consumers (46%) chose GoPay for their first cashless transaction.



GoTo Financial products help MSMEs adapt and grow during the pandemic

Almost half (49%) of the merchants used GoTo Financial products to help them sell online for the first time.



3 out of 10 GoTo Financial merchants started a business for the first time during the pandemic.



4 out of 5 GoTo Financial MSME partners are motivated to expand their business after using GoTo Financial services.



Accelerating financial inclusion

1 out of 5 GoPay users do not have or use a bank account. GoPay is their first exposure to digital financial products.



1 out of 4 people, who were previously not exposed to banking services, now use banking products and services after using GoPay.



4 out of 5 GoPayLater users do not have access to a credit card. GoPayLater is the most accessible postpaid solution for the low-income population.



Consumers from various educational, employment, and income backgrounds equally use GoPay to make digital investments, such as in mutual funds and gold. This changes the perception that investments can only be accessed by people who have high income levels and education backgrounds.



1 out of 4 GoPay users are interested in opening a bank account through GoPay. In other words, the public is more open to using other financial services. LD FEB UI Researcher, Dr. Alfindra Primaldhi said, "Digitalization serves as a catalyst for increasing financial inclusion across various levels of society. This research shows that digital technology, such as the GoTo Financial ecosystem, has been able to reach untapped markets and even promote financial products, such as loans and investments, that were not commonly used by the general public." Digital Financial Inclusion Drives Indonesia's Economic Recovery In addition to increasing public participation in financial services, the digitalization carried out by the GoTo Financial ecosystem also creates economic and social impact at a larger scale for a longer time frame. From an economic perspective, GoTo Financial helps its MSME partners by increasing turnover and improving business efficiency, such as by reducing operational costs. Deputy Head of LD FEB UI, Dr. Paksi C.K Walandouw stated that the research findings estimate that the turnover of MSME partners in the GoTo Financial ecosystem will increase by 37% or approximately IDR 53.2 trillion in 2021, compared to 2020. "The partners' turnover increase in 2021 indicates that digital platform solutions are able to help MSMEs grow and is also a sign of economic recovery. I believe this growth will be further strengthened because GoTo Financial products also change the public's perceptions of formal financial services. The majority of MSME players are now more confident in financial products and optimistic about the potential of digital businesses," said Paksi. The research respondents are consumers and business actors who have used GoTo Financial services and products prior to the pandemic (before March 2020). A total of 7,355 respondents filled out the questionnaire in a complete manner and were eligible for data analysis, consisting of 5,639 consumers and 1,716 MSME merchants of GoTo Financial. The majority of respondents (95%) are distributed across 21 cities, namely Manado, Samarinda, Balikpapan, Pekanbaru, Makassar, Palembang, Lampung, Medan, Denpasar, Solo, South Tangerang, Depok, Semarang, Malang, Bogor, Yogyakarta, Tangerang, Bekasi, Surabaya, Bandung, Jakarta. Online data collection was conducted in the second week of August 2021 using the simple random sampling method (M.o.E 2%, C.I. 95%)







[1] GoTo is the largest technology group in Indonesia, combining on-demand, e-commerce and financial services through the Gojek, Tokopedia and GoTo Financial brands.

About LD FEB UI Lembaga Demografi FEB UI is a leading research institution that adopted the concept of demographic-based development. LD's vision is to be a center of excellence in the area of demographics and population-related factors that contribute to the development. LD's research covers demographic bonuses, employment, digital economy, social protection, health, MSMEs, SDGs, and CSR. SOURCE Lembaga Demografi, Faculty of Economics and Business Universitas Indonesia (LD FEB UI)

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[October 06, 2021] Mastercard Economics Institute: U.K., U.S. and Australia lead in new small business formation, which grew 32% year-over-year globally

To shed light on the impact the global health crisis - and ongoing recovery - has had on small businesses globally, Mastercard today released Recovery Insights: Small Business Reset. Looking at 19 markets around the world, the report reveals that sales at small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) lagged larger companies by up to 20 percentage points at the peak of the crisis. However, spending has recovered in 2021. Total sales at SMBs rose 4.5% through August 2021 year-to-date compared to the same period in 2020, while e-commerce sales are up 31.4%. Drawing on the Mastercard Economics Institute's new Small Business Performance Index* of aggregated and anonymized sales activity within the Mastercard network, Recovery Insights: Small Business Reset identifies several key trends: Closures: Globally, small businesses that closed early in the pandemic were about three times as likely as larger businesses to remain closed long term. One-third of small businesses that closed in April 2020 remained closed after six months, and about one-fifth were still closed after 12 months. Locally, the situation varied: in the U.S., roughly one in four small retailers remained closed after 6 months, vs. roughly one in 12 large retailers.

One-third of small businesses that closed in April 2020 remained closed after six months, and about one-fifth were still closed after 12 months. Locally, the situation varied: in the U.S., roughly one in four small retailers remained closed after 6 months, vs. roughly one in 12 large retailers. Location: Spending at SMB retailers in central business districts is down 33% vs. 2019, while sales within more residential neighborhoods grew 8%. As tourists and workers stay closer to home, small businesses in commercial districts are seeing sales suffer.

As tourists and workers stay closer to home, small businesses in commercial districts are seeing sales suffer. E-Commerce: Following shutdowns, the number of businesses going online each month tripled from pre-pandemic levels, peaking in July 2020. This reflects increased demand for an online sales channel, as well as the slight lag after lockdowns began to bring it into reality. The shift to digital has persisted at an elevated level globally since.

This reflects increased demand for an online sales channel, as well as the slight lag after lockdowns began to bring it into reality. The shift to digital has persisted at an elevated level globally since. Entrepreneurship: One-third more small retailers launched in 2020 than in 2019, nearly 8x the number of larger firms created. This trend of considerable new SMB formation in 2020 is reflected around the world: U.K. (+101%), U.S. (+86%), Australia (+73%), Germany (+62%), Brazil (+35%) and South Africa (+13%).

This trend of considerable new SMB formation in 2020 is reflected around the world: U.K. (+101%), U.S. (+86%), Australia (+73%), Germany (+62%), Brazil (+35%) and South Africa (+13%). Sectors - Restaurants & Lodging: Small lodging businesses outperformed large by a wide margin during the summers of 2020 and 2021. Where people are traveling, the trend to stay local has benefited small lodging companies (and hurt big cities' big hotels). Restaurants were a different story, with SMB eateries underperforming large ones globally by roughly 17 percentage points in 2021 YTD. "Supporting neighborhood businesses has been a rallying point throughout the pandemic. However, the challenges faced have been very real, due to their dependency on local markets, local supply chains and tighter cash flows," said Bricklin Dwyer, Mastercard chief economist and head of the Mastercard Economics Institute. "But, we see brighter opportunities ahead. The shift to digital opened the door to the pandemic's silver lining: a resurgence of entrepreneurship and innovation." Supporting small business owners is a contiued priority for Mastercard, which pledged to bring 50 million small businesses and 25 million women entrepreneurs into the digital economy by 2025. Mastercard's Digital Doors curriculum helps businesses get online and stay protected, ensuring they have the right tools to maximize their digital presence and integrate e-commerce seamlessly, including the free Small Business Digital Readiness Diagnostic. Most recently, Mastercard committed $25 million to help more than five million micro and SMBs digitize through the Strive initiative.



Mastercard also works closely with governments, businesses and other organizations around the world to create environments, programs and policies so small businesses can flourish. Mastercard provides high-frequency, local spending insights to dozens of city, state and federal governments as part of our City Possible and Recovery Insights programs, as well as content such as the recent policy paper addressing ways governments can support SMB recovery. You can view the full Recovery Insights: Small Business Reset here. This is the fifth report in the Recovery Insights series; other reports can be found here.

*Methodology The Mastercard Economics Institute developed the Mastercard Small Business Performance Index as a more universal classification system for SMBs. The Index leverages a comprehensive AI-driven algorithm to identify unique indicators, such as number of locations, sales volume, number of transactions, within aggregated and anonymized sales activity in the Mastercard network. Disclaimer This presentation and content are intended solely as a research tool for informational purposes and not as investment advice or recommendations for any particular action or investment and should not be relied upon, in whole or in part, as the basis for decision-making or investment purposes. This presentation and content are not guaranteed as to accuracy and are provided on an "as is" basis to authorized users, who review and use this information at their own risk. This presentation and content, including estimated economic forecasts, simulations or scenarios from the Mastercard Economics Institute, do not in any way reflect expectations for (or actual) Mastercard operational or financial performance. About Mastercard Economics Institute Mastercard Economics Institute launched in 2020 to analyze macroeconomic trends through the lens of the consumer. A team of economists, analysts and data scientists draws on Mastercard insights - including Mastercard SpendingPulse - and third-party data to deliver regular reporting on economic issues for key customers, partners and policymakers. About Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Mastercard is a global technology company in the payments industry. Our mission is to connect and power an inclusive, digital economy that benefits everyone, everywhere by making transactions safe, simple, smart and accessible. Using secure data and networks, partnerships and passion, our innovations and solutions help individuals, financial institutions, governments and businesses realize their greatest potential. Our decency quotient, or DQ, drives our culture and everything we do inside and outside of our company. With connections across more than 210 countries and territories, we are building a sustainable world that unlocks priceless possibilities for all.

www.mastercard.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005797/en/

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[October 06, 2021] Microsoft for Startups: Aniai Picked for Global Grand Final

SEOUL, South Korea, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Aniai, a member of Born2Global Centre, got selected as one of the 10 companies that will participate in "Microsoft for Startups". Aniai, one of the most promising Korean startups, has developed a labor solution for quick service restaurants by building a robotic kitchen. Aniai was selected as one of the 10 startups in Q3 by Microsoft. "Microsoft for Startups" is a startup accelerator run by Microsoft that identifies a rising startup that has already acquired its own core technology. Through this program, Microsoft provides strong support fr the startup to enter the global markets. Microsoft assists with Azure credits equivalent to 120,000 dollars and also provides an opportunity to take part in Co-Sell with Microsoft.



Aniai develops a robotic kitchen based on its core robot technology to design/control robots. Its robots are further reinforced by its unique cognitive technology with artificial intelligence(AI). With these technologies, Aniai presents a shining solution for the quick service restaurants as the robotic kitchen can accelerate Digital Transformation(DX). A majority of the quick service restaurants and other restaurants are struggling with labor shortage due to the shrinking HR pool of young men and women. Aniai intends to supply the required labor force with the robotic kitchen and to guarantee the hygiene and quality of the food prepared in the restaurants. Moreover, Aniai will lower the work intensity in the kitchens which will lead to the higher employment rate for the senior workers in the entire food industry. It is anticipated that Aniai will head for rapid growth with Microsoft for Startups. The program consists of an empowering process and networking programs with both domestic and overseas venture capital corporations. The Co-Sell with the partners of Microsoft will also result in the business opportunities with the domestic and overseas partners. Technology-wise, Aniai can use Microsoft's Azure Cloud to build the operating system of the robotic kitchen, allowing it to manage thousands of the equipment from headquarters.

Aniai as one of the most promising startups in Korea, has won the first prize in the K-Startup League 2020. Aniai aims to build up its presence in domestic markets and expand into international markets as well. For more detailed information on Aniai, visit https://aniai.ai/. Media contact Aniai: jungeun@aniai.ai

Born2Global Centre: jlee@born2global.com View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/microsoft-for-startups-aniai-picked-for-global-grand-final-301393929.html SOURCE Born2Global Centre

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[October 06, 2021] Minerva Announces Strengthening of Management Team

VANCOUVER, BC, Oct. 6, 2021 /CNW/ - Minerva Intelligence Inc. (TSXV: MVAI) ("Minerva" or the "Company"), an artificial intelligence software company focused on building decision support tools for climate risk, mineral exploration and mining, is pleased to announce the following changes and additions to the Company's management team. Jake McGregor, formerly Minerva's Chief Operating Officer, has been promoted to President of Minerva. Mr. McGregor has been with Minerva since its inception. Having a background both in business and geographic sciences, he plays a significant role in strategic decision-making regarding the administration of Minerva as well as the development of its technology. Jake will continue to lead the growth of a team and culture capable of delivering industry-leading technology. Jake is Minerva's member representative to the Open Geospatial Consortium, and represents Minerva's interests within the Standards Council of Canada and the International Standards Organization. Sharon Lam has been promoted to the Company's Chief Operating Officer. Ms. Lam previously was Section Head of Minerva's Geospatial department, which will be folded into the software team. Prior to Minerva, Sharon worked in a variety of application development and process management roles, ranging from enterprise mapping solutions for the telecommunications industry, to ERP systems for a local manufacturing business. Sharon's role continues to lead the development and management of web mapping applications to effectively communicate the results of Minerva's AI technology, while taking over more day-to-day management responsibilities. Her experience in cartographic visualization and change management has contributed to the successful launch of Minerva's geospatial environment, most notably Minerva's Sea to Sky Hazard Map and GAIA Flood Hazard Map, Minerva's publicly available AI-powered hazard maps. Chris Ahern has been appointed the role of Chief Technology Officer of Minerva, replacing Clinton Smyth. Mr. Ahern is a software engineer with 25 years of experience, ranging from the administration of back-end Unix and Windows servers and databases, to front-end web development. After graduating from the University of Natal, South Africa, he started his career in the telecommunications industry, first with Telkom South Africa and later at MTN, a large mobile carrier in South Africa. After moving to Vancouver, he worked in a small consulting firm installing and configuring wholesale billing solutions for various telecom cmpanies around the world until he joined Georeference Online Ltd (GOL) in 2007. At GOL he was intimately involved in the development of the company's AI software, as well as being Product Manager of its cloud-based exploration logistics management system, CampControl. Chris heads up our software development team and has overseen the implementation and deployment of all our products at Minerva.



Finally, Mr. Clinton Smyth, one of the original founders of Minerva Intelligence has accepted an advisory role with the Company. "The promotion of Jake, Sharon and Chris speaks volume to the bench strength we have developed at Minerva, and I am confident that they will play a pivotal role in taking Minerva to the next stage in the commercialization of its Climate Risk technology," said Scott Tillman, CEO of Minerva Intelligence.

About Minerva Intelligence Inc. Minerva Intelligence Inc. is a software development company based in Vancouver, Canada, with a subsidiary office in Darmstadt, Germany. Their proprietary technology is empowering organizations to make defensible decisions in the face of climate change. Although Minerva's applications focus on the search for critical metals and the assessment of physical climate risk, their technology has application in diverse industries and domains. Minerva's common shares are currently listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (symbol MVAI). For further details, please refer to their website www.minervaintelligence.com or follow Minerva on Twitter or LinkedIn. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Forward Looking Information: This news release includes certain information that may be deemed "forward-looking information". Forward-looking information can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may", "will", "expect", "intend", "estimate", "anticipate", "believe", "continue", "plans" or similar terminology. All information in this release, other than information of historical facts, including, without limitation, the availability of financing to the Company are forward-looking information that involve various risks and uncertainties. Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in such forward-looking information are based on reasonable assumptions, such expectations are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is based on a number of material factors and assumptions. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking information include changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, future metal prices, availability of capital and financing on acceptable terms, general economic, market or business conditions, regulatory changes, delays in receiving approvals, and other risks detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulatory authorities in?Canada. Mineral exploration and development of mines is an inherently risky business. Accordingly, actual events may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. For more information on the?Company and the risks and challenges of our business, investors should review our continuous disclosure filings which are available at?www.sedar.com. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. The TSX Venture Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved of the contents of this press release. 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 Minerva Intelligence Inc.

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[October 06, 2021] NeuroBlade raises $83 Million in Series B Funding to Massively Accelerate Data Analytics

NeuroBlade, the next generation of data acceleration solutions, announced today that it has secured $83 million in Series B funding, bringing total invested capital to $110 million. The investment was led by Corner Ventures with contribution from Intel (News - Alert) Capital, and supported by current investors StageOne Ventures, Grove Ventures and Marius Nacht. Additionally, technology companies including MediaTek, Pegatron (News - Alert) , PSMC, UMC and Marubeni also provided funding during this round. The financing will be put to work as the company expands its engineering teams in Tel Aviv and builds out its sales and marketing teams globally. NeuroBlade has developed a new data analytics architecture that eliminates major data movement bottlenecks by integrating the data processing function inside memory, better known as processing-in-memory (PIM). PIM has been a pipe dream for decades, and NeuroBlade is the first company to successfully bring this innovation to production. NeuroBlade accelerates data analytics and unclogs traditional bottlenecks by integrating its technology into a full system-level easy-to-deploy appliance. With more than 100 employees and growing, NeuroBlade has begun shipping its data accelerator to leading-edge customers and partners worldwide. This has seen these partners starting to integrate and deploy NeuroBlade into the world's biggest data centers. "We invented a new building block in computer architecture so organizations can quickly answer critical problems facing society and vastly improve business opportunities," said Elad Sity, CEO and co-founder of NeuroBlade. "Our team is at the core of this uccess. Together, we built a data analytics accelerator that speeds up processing and analyzing data over 100 times faster than existing systems. Based on our patented XRAM technology, we provide a radically improved end-to-end system for the data center."



Existing system architectures show that the constant shuffling of data between storage, memory, and central processing is the primary cause of poor application performance and slow response times. NeuroBlade recognized that current architectures cannot scale to meet future data analytics needs, which led them to build a computational architecture that eliminates the data movement requirements and massively speeds data analytics performance. "Despite being tested like never before this past year, the data center kept the world operating at a critical time. We think that this market is poised for explosive growth and NeuroBlade looks to have a promising journey ahead," said Lance Weaver, vice president and general manager of Data Center & Cloud Strategy at Intel. "Intel is proud to power NeuroBlade's platform with our portfolio of products. We look forward to our continued collaboration with NeuroBlade to optimize end-to-end performance."

" SAP (News - Alert) looks forward to continuing to work with NeuroBlade on their new PIM-based data analytics acceleration solution," said Dr. Patrick Jahnke, head of the innovation office at SAP. "The performance projections and breadth of use cases prove great potential for significantly increased performance improvements for DBMS at higher energy efficiency and reduced total-cost of ownership on-premises and in the cloud. Through this exciting collaboration with NeuroBlade, SAP will unlock new possibilities to build the data center of the future." "Organizations run at the speed of their data. NeuroBlade is here to alter the pace of the race. Such is the impact that this technology will have on the global data center market. We fully expect NeuroBlade to be a major player in a very short time and why we are excited to join them at this critical moment in their growth," said Corner Ventures partner Jonathan Pulitzer. "In an increasingly digitized world, data empowers businesses to make more informed and precise decisions than ever before," said Roi Bar-Kat, Head of Intel Capital Israel. "With NeuroBlade's scalable solution, organizations are better equipped to quickly extract insights needed to make key decisions. Intel Capital is looking forward to supporting the NeuroBlade team as they work to bring increased efficiency and scale to data processing." To learn more about NeuroBlade visit: https://www.neuroblade.com/ NeuroBlade was established in 2018 with the stated goal of enabling faster time to data insights by freeing analytics from memory constraints. Led by a team seasoned in system and silicon design from companies like Intel, Marvell (News - Alert) , SolarEdge and TI, NeuroBlade has set a new standard in query processing speed and has received investments from a number of top-tier VCs and strategic investors, including, Intel Capital and MediaTek (News - Alert) . View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005172/en/

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[October 06, 2021] In Partnership with Forrester, Dashlane Presents: Zero-Trust Strategies to Manage and Secure Passwords

NEW YORK, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Dashlane, in partnership with Forrester , will host a discussion with Dashlane CEO, JD Sherman, and Forrester Security & Risk Senior Analyst, Brian Kime, on October 13, 2021 at 1pm EST. The webinar, " Zero-Trust Strategies to Manage and Secure Passwords ," will focus on a common culprit behind high-visibility security incidents in 2021: unsecure password management. Sherman and Kime will discuss how the cybersecurity situation over the past couple of years has caused the U.S. government to call for businesses to use zero-trust architecture. These two skilled cybersecurity professionals will also dive into how every employee contributes to an organization's security, ways to combine password management practices with zero-trust strategies, and ultimately, what to do to keep your data safe. Register here to join the compelling and thought-provoking conversation.



Brian Kime is a senior analyst at Forrester serving security and risk professionals. He covers cyber threat intelligence, vulnerability risk management, and industrial control system security. In this role, Brian helps organizations identify, assess, and prioritize cyber and physical threats; prepare for emerging attack vectors; and reduce cyber risk in enterprise IT and operational technology (OT) environments. Prior to entering the information security field, Kime spent many years on active duty in the US Army, including a deployment to Afghanistan, where he provided tactical intelligence support to US Army special forces teams building local security forces. Kime is qualified as an Army cyber operations planner. He continues to serve in the US Army Reserve supporting the Army's future force modernization enterprise. Currently leading a 300+ global team across New York, Paris and Lisbon and supporting Dashlane's continued commitment to building the best password management service for both businesses and consumers, JD Sherman has decades of experience from leadership roles at IBM, Akami and HubSpot. Sherman presently serves on the Board of Directors of Citrix Systems, a software company that provides workspace, networking, and professional services worldwide. He has also served on the Boards of Fiserv, Cypress Semiconductor, 3Com, and AMI Semiconductor.

About Dashlane

Dashlane is a web and mobile app that simplifies password management for people and businesses. We empower organizations to protect company and employee data while helping everyone easily log in to the accounts they needanytime, anywhere. A better digital future starts with secure access. Our team in Paris, New York, and Lisbon is united by a strong sense of community and passion for improving the digital experience. Over 15 million users and 20,000 businesses in 180 countries use Dashlane for a faster, simpler, and more secure internet. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/in-partnership-with-forrester-dashlane-presents-zero-trust-strategies-to-manage-and-secure-passwords-301394379.html SOURCE Dashlane

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[October 06, 2021] Payment Technology Focus Dominates Fintech Developer Workload, Finds Report by Rapyd

LONDON and MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Rapyd today published a new report "The State of the Global Fintech Developer" to assess the market dynamics of fintech developers around the world. The report was conducted by 451 Research, part of S&P Global Market Intelligence , and commissioned by Rapyd , a global Fintech as a Service company. Key findings in the report include a growing demand for fintech developers to create payment applications and building in-house tools as well as general job dissatisfaction. "Strong developer expertise has become one of the most essential inputs for driving differentiation and diversification in fintech," said Jordan McKee, Principal Research Analyst, Customer Experience & Commerce at 451 Research, part of S&P Global Market Intelligence. "Given the intense level of complexity, regulatory scrutiny and competition associated with fintech, there is no single role that will be more important to the sector's continued evolution."[1] The report indicates a clear prioritization of payments-related applications over the last 12 months, with 56% of respondents stating that they have been involved with those projects, besting the next closest category (investments) by 15 percentage points. Underscoring how critical having a strong in-house developer base is, only 26% of respondents answered that most of their tools are commercially available off-the-shelf, with the majority of their tools and products designd in-house. Nearly half of the developers surveyed said they are spending more time developing in-house tools than their other job responsibilities.



"On a global scale we are seeing increased focus by developers on Payments, Investing and Digital Banking as a priority for embedding fintech services," said Drew Harris, Senior Manager of Developer Relations at Rapyd. "Improving payout processes and integrating local payment methods are top priorities, according to 36% and 33% of respondents respectively, demonstrating the growing need for business to support sophisticated payment integrations. Fintech developers are being tasked with creating new frontiers of embedded finance on which entire business models rely, no small feat." Despite the meteoric growth of the industry, the report also identified a troubling level of dissatisfaction among developers, with 26% of respondents somewhat or very dissatisfied with their current jobs, a cause for concern for companies that have come to learn just how critical their developer workforce truly is.

The survey was conducted in Q2 2021 and was based on a global survey of 502 fintech developers in the US, UK, Singapore, New Zealand, India, Hong Kong, and Australia. Respondents to this survey represented a variety of fintech categories, such as payment processors, e-commerce businesses, mobile app developers, authentication/security vendors, digital banks, and money transfer providers. Examples of job titles surveyed include front-end/back-end/full-stack developers, systems administrators, IT managers, and system/solution architects. The report can be found here: https://go.rapyd.net/fintech-developer-survey About Rapyd Rapyd is the fastest way to power local payments anywhere in the world, enabling companies across the globe to access markets quicker than ever before. By utilizing Rapyd's unparalleled payments network and fintech as a service platform, businesses and consumers can engage in local and cross-border transactions in any market. The Rapyd platform is unifying fragmented payment systems worldwide by bringing together 900-plus payment methods in over 100 countries. Rapyd's investors include Stripe, General Catalyst, Oak HC/FT, Coatue, Tiger Global, Durable Capital, Target Global, Fidelity Management and Research Company, Altimeter Capital, BlackRock Funds and Tal Capital. To learn more about the company that is accelerating the fintech as a service revolution, visit www.rapyd.net , read our blog , or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter . Media Contacts: Headline Media

Raanan Loew

raanan@headline.media

1-347-897-9276 [1] The State of the Global Fintech Developer, 451 Research, part of S&P Global Market Intelligence, August 2021 Infographic - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1653166/Rapyd_Infographic.jpg View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/payment-technology-focus-dominates-fintech-developer-workload-finds-report-by-rapyd-301393952.html SOURCE Rapyd

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[October 06, 2021] PDQ Acquires SimpleMDM to Expand Support to Apple Devices

PDQ.com, a leading provider of IT asset management software, announced today that it has acquired SimpleMDM, an Apple (News - Alert) device management platform. The deal marks the expansion of PDQ's Windows-based software management products into Mac and iOS software management and reinforces PDQ's position as one of the industry's most versatile and valuable solutions for systems administration. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005373/en/ "PDQ is aggressively looking for ways to help IT professionals focus their time and energy where it's needed most," said Dan Cook, CEO at PDQ.com. "The powerful combination of PDQ and SimpleMDM will reinforce our strategy of helping sysadmins effectively keep all types of devices healthy and up-to-date. We're thrilled to work with SimpleMDM to accelerate growth, and to welcome their customers, employees and products to PDQ." PDQ.com provides more than 19,000 organizations with Windows software deployment and inventory reporting through their top-rated software management platforms, PDQ Deploy and PDQ Inventory. Utilized by businesses of all sizes, from startups to multinaional corporations, SimpleMDM allows system administrators to manage Apple devices and applications with a single intuitive, powerful cloud interface. With the addition of SimpleMDM, PDQ.com expands its ability to support both Windows and Apple-based devices while adding more than 3,000 customers to its community.



"We wanted to partner with a company that values building strong products and fostering a tight knit community of IT professionals, and we found that partner in PDQ.com," said Taylor Boyko, CEO of SimpleMDM. "We're extremely excited to join PDQ and utilize our shared values and vision to drive growth." About PDQ.com

PDQ is an industry leader in software and IT asset management. PDQ helps IT professionals across small and large companies to manage and organize hardware, software, and configuration data for Windows and Apple-based devices. PDQ's tools seamlessly automate patch management and other software deployments. Founded in 2001, PDQ is headquartered in South Salt Lake, Utah. For more information, please visit www.pdq.com. About SimpleMDM SimpleMDM is a leading mobile device manager that provides an easy-to-use, robust solution to managing Apple devices. With over 3,000 customers, SimpleMDM offers customers of all sizes - from small business to global organizations - uncomplicated solutions to help their businesses run more efficiently. SimpleMDM's cloud-based solution provides simple onboarding and effective tools to manage macOS, tvOS, and iOS devices. SimpleMDM is headquartered in Portland, Oregon. For more information, please visit simplemdm.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005373/en/

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[October 06, 2021] RAADR, Inc. Applauds Facebook Whistleblower Francis Haugen For Her Congressional Testimony

PHOENIX, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- RAADR, Inc. (OTC PINK: RDAR), a technology and software development company that monitors cyber-bullying and social media platforms with artificial intelligence announced today that it applauds and unequivocally endorses the testimony of SEC Whistleblower Francis Haugen in a hearing in front of the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security. The hearing which was chaired by Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut featured scathing testimony on how platforms such as Instagram which is owned by Facebook affect the lives of young children. Ms. Haugen, a former employee of Facebook and Google testified how platforms such as Instagram and Facebook target children and how the highly sophisticated algorithms and tools of the social media giants affects young children in a negative way. In her opening statement, Ms. Haugen said, "I'm here today because I believe Facebook's products, harm children, stoke division, and weaken our democracy. The company's leadership knows how to make Facebook and Instagram safer, but won't make the necessary changes because they have put their astronomical profits before people. Congressional action is needed. They won't solve this crisis without your help." Ms. Haugen added in her opening statement, "The choices being made inside of Facebook are disastrous for our children, for our public safety, for our privacy and for our democracy. And that is why we must demand Facebook make changes." Ms. Haugen was interviewed on 60 Minutes this past Sunday. 60 Minutes reporter Scott Pelley summarized the results of a recent study that said that 13 and a half percent of teen girls say Instagram makes thoughts of suicide worse. 17% of teen girls say Instagram makes eating disorders worse. Ms. Haugen shockingly responded, "And what's super tragic is Facebook's own research says as these young women begin to consume this eating disorder content, they get more and more depressed and it actually makes them use the app more and so they end up in this feedback cycle where they hate their bodies more and more. Facebook's own research says it is not just that Instagram is dangerous for teenagers, that it harms teenagers, it's that it is distinctly worse than other forms of social media." The Wall Street Journal also recently published a series of stories regarding Facebook's products. In an article written by Georgia Wells, Jeff Horwitz and Deepa Seetharaman of the Wall Street Journal, the article said that researchers at Instagram which is owned by Facebook have been studying for years how its photo-sharing app affects millions of youngusers. Repeatedly, the company found that Instagram is harmful for a sizable percentage of them, most notably teenage girls, more so than other social-media platforms.



Within the next 60 days, RAADR, Inc. will release its new RAADR Parental 2.0 smart phone application. The new 2.0 application will allow parents to track their child engaging in cyber-bullying , inappropriate content and or harmful posts. The new 2.0 application will track the child by keywords and images which will be with a new addition of facial recognition software. The new 2.0 application will be able to monitor on multiple social media platforms simultaneously. RAADR Inc. Chairman and Chief Jacob Dimartino commented, "Finally major media and government bodies such as the United States Congress are publicizing the dangers of social media and how it affects young people. Protecting children on social media is the essence on why our company exists. The congressional testimony by Ms. Haugen was riveting. Obviously, much good comes from social media but today's testimony highlighted the ugly. Our products create a much safer social media landscape for kids by stamping out bullies and by arming parents with an easy to use app that allows parents to make certain that kids always have a safe atmosphere while enjoying their experience and interactions on social media."

About RAADR, Inc. RAADR, Inc., publishes software and apps that protect children who use social media and the internet. Known as the "internet anti-bullying company", RAADR produces products that allow children, parents, and school districts to monitor bullying and other threatening behavior on the Internet in real time. Armed with many features including keyword tracking, real time alerts, facial recognition and site filtering, RAADR's apps determine in real time whether children or young adults are the victim of stalkers, bullies and other threatening behavior. Parents love the facial recognition feature because in seconds, the app allows parents to upload the child's image and parents can be armed with one of the most powerful tools available to receive alerts each time their child's image appears on a social media site. RAADR Parental 2.0, which is the parenting app that helps parents and adults protect children by using real time monitoring on social media will be released sometime in late 2021. Bully RAADR which arms the kids with RAADR's powerful suite of products allows children to protect themselves and other kids from threatening and dangerous behavior on the internet and social media will be released by the Spring of 2022. RAADR Inc. is committed to making our world and social media a safer and better place for kids and young adults." Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined in Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. 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. Such factors include, among others, the inherent uncertainties associated with new projects and development stage companies. 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. Investors should consult all of the information set forth herein and should also refer to the risk factors disclosure outlined in our annual report and for the most recent fiscal year, our quarterly reports, and other periodic reports filed from time-to-time with OTCMarkets.com Video :

Link : youtu.be/1juAWI14jgA Media Contact:

Jacob Dimartino,

jacob.d@raadr.com View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/raadr-inc-applauds-facebook-whistleblower-francis-haugen-for-her-congressional-testimony-301393775.html SOURCE RAADR, Inc.

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Socure Names Digital Identity Leader Matt Thompson as General Manager of Public Sector Solutions

Socure, the leading provider of digital identity verification and fraud solutions, today announced that Matt Thompson has joined Socure as General Manager of Public Sector Solutions. In this executive leadership role, Thompson will accelerate Socure's growth and enormous success by bringing private-sector best practices and industry-leading identity verification solutions to the public sector. Thompson is a recognized thought leader and innovator in the digital identity space, with a proven track record of successfully working with government agencies and leading large-scale digital transformation projects.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005321/en/

Matt Thompson, general manager of public sector solutions at Socure. (Photo: Business Wire)

Prior to Socure, Thompson led IDEMIA's Civil and Digital Identity Business in North America, where he led the company's efforts to drive the industry-wide transition from physical to digital driver's licenses. He is an innovator in the identity industry, having co-founded ID.me, where he led the company's entrance into the public sector and healthcare industries. He has also been awarded three patents covering mobile biometric liveness detection, as well as tiered and third-party authentication.

Thompson joins Socure at an opportune time, as government online systems are heavily reliant on the ability to remotely and accurately verify the identities of citizens. But, as the pandemic drove citizens online, those systems failed on a massive scale with 2020 identity fraud losses in unemployment alone totaling $400B.

"I believe that identity is the driver of government digital transformation. The public sector continues to move more interactions online, while the proportion of those interactions that are risky is increasing and has been exacerbated by the pandemic. This isn't a cresting wave - it is a rising flood of interactions, and the legacy ways of determining who is on the other end of an interaction for fraud prevention and inclusion aren't sufficient," said Thompson. "My goal is to replicate the success Socure has had in the commercial space into the public sector, because we have the industry's most accurate and inclusive identity verification and fraud detection platform in the market to answer that need."

Thompson also currently serves as President of the Board of Directors for the Kantara Initiative. The Kantara Initiative is the leading global community commons improving the trustworthy use of identity and personal data through innovation, standardization and good practice. He formerly served as the Chair of the Management Counsel for The Identity Ecosystem Steering Group in support of the Obama administratio's National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace.







"The entire Socure team is excited to partner with Matt to build the deep and long-lasting government partnerships that are required to solve the identity verification and fraud challenges that are rampant in the public sector today," said Johnny Ayers, founder and CEO of Socure. "He brings a tremendous wealth of experience and market credibility to this role, and shares a personal vision that it's our civic responsibility to be the first to equitably verify 100% of good identities in real-time, while completely eliminating identity fraud for every transaction on the internet."

Thompson has spent many years working in the public and private sectors to promote privacy-enhancing, secure, interoperable, and user-friendly ways to give individuals and organizations confidence in their online interactions. He was recognized by Luminal as one of the "Top 100 Leaders in Identity" in 2017 and 2018.

Thompson serves as a member of the Board of Directors and Chair of the Audit Committee for the largest homeless veterans support organization in the country. In this capacity, he works directly with the CEO on strategic initiatives in the area of preventive services and care for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.

A graduate of the Virginia Military Institute and Harvard Business School, Thompson is a proven business leader, successful entrepreneur, Ironman triathlete, and decorated combat veteran. He served as an Army Special Operations Officer, completing four deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Thompson's civilian experience includes positions at McKinsey & Company, Goldman Sachs, and Capital One (News - Alert) .

About Socure

Socure is the leading platform for digital identity verification and trust. Its predictive analytics platform applies artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques with trusted online/offline data intelligence from email, phone, address, IP, device, velocity, and the broader internet to verify identities in real time. The company has more than 750 customers across the financial services, gaming, healthcare, telecom, and e-commerce industries, including four of the top five banks, seven of the top 10 card issuers, three of the top MSBs, the top payroll provider, the top credit bureau, top crypto exchanges, top Buy Now, Pay Later providers, the largest online gaming operators, and over 100 of the largest fintechs. Marquee customers include Chime, Varo Money, Public, Stash, and DraftKings. Investors include Accel, Commerce Ventures, Scale Venture Partners, Flint Capital, Capital One Ventures, Citi Ventures, Wells Fargo (News - Alert) Strategic Capital, Synchrony, Sorenson, Two Sigma Ventures, and others.

Socure has received numerous industry awards and accolades, including being named to the 2021 Forbes Cloud 100 List, Forbes' Fintech 50 List 2021, and Forbes' America's Best Startup Employers 2021, being named to CB Insights: The 2021 Fintech 250 for the third year in a row, being awarded Best New Technology Introduced Over the Last 12 Months-Data and Data Services at the 2020 American Financial Technology Awards (AFTAs), being ranked number 70 in Deloitte's Technology Fast 500, being listed as a Gartner Cool Vendor, being recognized by Forbes as one of the Top 25 Machine Learning Startups to Watch, and being awarded Finovate's Award for Best Use of AI/ML, to name a few.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005321/en/
[October 06, 2021] Taiwan Excellence's "Hot Hand Tools" Webinar Highlights Innovative Hardware and Hand Tools from Taiwan

National Hardware Show - Are you a buyer looking for the latest in advanced hardware and hand tools? If so, now's your chance. Taiwan Excellence - the symbol of the most innovative Taiwanese products - will hold a "Hot Hand Tools - Innovations from Taiwan for the US Hardware Market" webinar on October 13, 2021, to showcase some of the country's most technologically advanced tools designed to dramatically improve performance and durability for professionals and DIYers in a variety of uses, including construction, upholstery and even auto repairs. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005406/en/ Unveiling Hardware and Hand Tools Breakthroughs from Taiwan for the US Market. Register here: https://bit.ly/3DhFl1k (Graphic: Business Wire) Organized by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), Taiwan's foremost trade promotion organization, the webinar will spotlight advancements from four trailblazing Taiwan Excellence award winners in the hardware and hand tools industry: APACH and AirBoss, pioneers and innovators in pneumatic tool design, Mitcorp, a leader in industrial videoscope inspection devices, and Unitacker, an ingenious staple gun developer. The event will also feature opening remarks from Joe Derochowski, vice president and home improvement industry advisor for the market research firm NPD Group. He will provide insights and trends on the US hand tools and hardware industry. The United States is the largest market for imported hand tools worldwide, valued at US$3.7 billion, according to Global Trade magazine, and Taiwan constitutes North America's 4th largest trade partner in the hand tool field.



"Rising trends have set up the US hand tools market for significant growth. As a major global supplier, Taiwan accounts for a majority of the world's medium- and high-end hand tools - the "Kingdom of Hand Tools" is poised to meet that demand," said Ana Tzu, project manager, TAITRA. The "Hot Hand Tools" webinar, which will broadcast on Taiwan Excellence's YouTube channel, will take place at 2:00PM EDT on Wednesday, October 13, with the innovative hardware and hand tool firms showing off their latest products:

AirBoss Air Tools AirBoss will feature two new pneumatic hand tools. Its Mini Air Impact Wrench, the world's shortest at only 3.3 inches (84mm), has been adapted into a long handle version, with a 40% higher torque compared to other products on the market. AirBoss is also showcasing a new 1-inch swing hammer which is 25% lighter than other tools. A pioneer in pneumatic tool design and manufacturing, AirBoss has decades of experience in producing pneumatic screw drivers, wrenches, and other air-impact hand tools for heavy and light industrial uses in industries including construction and auto repair. APACH Industrial Another pioneer in the pneumatic tools market is APACH who will be showing off Super Stubby. Super Stubby is like having several power tools in one! It's flexible in multiple applications such as automotive, motorcycle, agriculture machine, and packaging, crates, and pallets. Its design allows the tool to be used with one-hand for forward & reverse and 3 positions for each side. Founded in 1994, APACH is named after the Native American "Apache" tribe, which symbolizes bravery and victory - a spirit APACH aims to emulate in its durable, top-end tools. Its diverse line of pneumatic hand tools are designed for construction and home improvement uses. Mitcorp Two new non-destructive inspection products will be shown by Mitcorp: a portable high-quality Pipe Inspection System with a self-leveling camera that ensures the camera stays upright at all times and the X750 videoscope with ultra-high resolution and intuitive software to meet a wide range of complex industrial applications-helping users make smart decisions, fast. Mitcorp has been at the forefront of developing and manufacturing industrial videoscopes since 2003. Certified by well-known brands such as Audi and Volkswagen, it creates affordable, reliable, and accurate products for industries ranging from oil and gas to aviation. Unitacker Taking an innovative approach to stapling is Unitacker's ground-breaking 3-in-1 staple gun. With the faceplate's special design, the stapler can perform two extra functions - one as a paper stapler to fasten up to 50 sheets of A4 paper; the other, as a stapler for temporary fixing purpose - the staple stays above the object and is easily removed, leaving no staple on the wall. Unitacker brings more than 20 years of design and development experience to the staple gun market, resulting in multiple patents and an innovative approach to stapling that combines several uses in one device. "Hot Hand Tools" Webinar Registration On Wednesday, October 13, TAITRA will host the webinar at 2:00PM EDT. The webinar will provide access to these innovative companies' spokespeople and their products. The first 60 registered attendees will receive a free $25 Amazon gift card. Interested buyers and media representatives are encouraged to register in advance as well as to request for one-on-one briefings here. Information about TAIWAN EXCELLENCE and TAITRA: The symbol of Taiwan Excellence was established in 1992 by Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs, and subsequently the Taiwan Excellence Selection was launched the following year. The selection is based on the distinct criteria of R&D, quality, design, and marketing. Products that have been selected for the Taiwan Excellence Awards would serve as examples of the domestic industries and be promoted by the government in the international market in an effort to shape the creative image for Taiwanese businesses. This year marks the 26th selection, making the symbol of Taiwan Excellence a prestigious brand for enterprises in Taiwan to strive and be recognized by, and is highly reputed throughout the world. Please visit www.taiwanexcellence.org for more information. Organized by: Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) is the foremost non-profit, semi-governmental trade promotion organization in Taiwan. Founded in 1970 to help promote foreign trade, TAITRA is jointly sponsored by the government, industry associations, and several commercial organizations. TAITRA assists Taiwanese businesses in strengthening their international competitiveness and in dealing with the challenges they face in foreign markets. TAITRA boasts a well-coordinated trade promotion and information network consisting of over 1,200 trained specialists stationed throughout its Taipei headquarters and 60 branches worldwide. Together with its sister organizations, the Taiwan Trade Center (TTC) and Taipei World Trade Center (TWTC), TAITRA has created a wealth of trade opportunities through effective promotion strategies. www.taitra.org.tw View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005406/en/

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[October 06, 2021] TECNO Brings Ultra-steady and Ultra-clear Gimbal Camera Phone CAMON 18 Premier

SHENZHEN, China, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- TECNO, a rising as a global smartphone brand of the new generation, today released its newest CAMON18 series -- CAMON 18 Premier, CAMON18P and CAMON18, pushing the boundaries for what it means to be a professional camera smartphone in anti-shaking and clarity. The new CAMON 18 Premier brings together the best of the CAMON series, such as TAIVOS, Super Night Mode, Selfie Mode to combine with an all new Ultra-steady Gimbal Camera, a 60X Hybrid Zoom and even more enhanced AI features for achieving professional videography. Featuring AMOLED screen with 120hz refresh rate makes every touch experience faster and smoother. Furthermore, TECNO's CAMON 18 Premier with Low Blue Light Certification from TUV Rheinland will provide consumers with best eye care possible. Powered by the latest MediaTek Helio G96 chip and supported by a redesigned HiOS 8.0 showcase the CAMON series at what it does best, exceeding expectations once again to produce the best photos and videos that technology can offer. "We always seek for breakthroughs of product and technology to inspire our consumers to unlock the world of possibilities. The CAMON 18 Premier is the first TECNO product to take Ultra-steady Gimbal Camera technology innovations to create brand-new experience to users. With "Stop At Nothing" as TECNO's brand spirit,we aim to continually make breakthroughs in product and design innovations as we have delivered through CAMON 18 Series," said Stephan Ha, General Manager of TECNO.



Ultra-steady Gimbal Camera, a Smart "Shaking" Lens to Cancel External Shaking Motions The CAMON 18 Premier is now imbued with unparalleled anti-shaking technology at 300% the effectiveness of other smartphones without the anti-shaking technology. When combined with a wide angle lens, the CAMON 18 Premier is now capable of 109 degrees wide-angle shooting, allowing users to create truly beautiful videos anywhere, while doing anything, with sublime clarity. The CAMON 18 Premier's rear camera follows the meticulously ratioed design philosophy that enhances the three lenses -- a 64MP main camera, a 12MP Ultra-steady Gimbal Camera with widened frame, and a 8MP periscope lens housed within a new elegant glowing and ceramic backing and a cleaner, tougher flat surface design.

Ultra-clear 60X Hyper Zoom, See Further Than the Eyes Can Perceive The CAMON 18 Premier uses a 5X periscope lens and Galileo algorithm engine, which accesses multiple frames and gathers pixel information to enhance resolution and clarity. By combining the 5X optical zoom capability with up to 12X AI algorithm-based digital zoom, users can achieve an incredible 60X hybrid zoom and travel as far as the moon in photography, elevating smartphone astrophotography to spectacular levels. Stylish & Exquisite Design from Color to Texture CAMON18 series adopts natural and flexible design language, and interprets flowers and trees, natural breezes and drizzle in the product design. It also advocates the most dynamic and energetic elegant fashion design sense, which is perfectly integrated into the urban language. The ceramic elements are added to bring a new aesthetic perspective and give the products more imagination. The 6.7" AMOLED display (1080x2400) has a full HD resolution with up to 550 nit brightness and 100% NTSC for maximum visual satisfaction. The display boasts a 120Hz refresh rate; this unprecedented high refresh rate in a phone promises higher display fluidity and a more coherent and intuitive experience -- the scroll is smoother and touch feedback is more sensitive. Moreover, as a TUV Rheinland Low Blue Light (Hardware Solution) certified product, the CAMON 18 Premier can reduce blue light to provide comfort for your eyes all day long. With "Stop At Nothing" as its brand essence, TECNO is passionately unlocking the best contemporary technologies for progressive individuals and bringing them innovative stylish smart devices with the latest technologies. SOURCE TECNO

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[October 06, 2021] Todos Medical Announces Positive Data in Hospitalized and Outpatient Setting for TolloTest, a Novel SARS-CoV-2 3CL Protease Biomarker Assay

Data demonstrated very high correlation with PCR ct values in positive patients Data demonstrated 100% sensitivity, as early as 1-3 days post-exposure, in identifying fully vaccinated asymptomatic patients infected with COVID-19 New York, NY, and Tel Aviv, ISRAEL, Oct. 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NewMediaWire -- Todos Medical, Ltd. (Todos Medical) (OTCQB: TOMDF), a comprehensive medical diagnostics and related solutions company, together with its joint venture partner NLC Pharma, today announced positive clinical validation data for its 3CL protease biomarker assay TolloTest in a clinical study evaluating its sensitivity compared with PCR in hospitalized COVID-19 patients, patients hospitalized for conditions other than COVID-19 and individuals exposed to confirmed COVID-19 subjects in the community outpatient setting and healthy controls. The results clinically validated the sensitivity of the 3CL protease biomarker compared with SARS-CoV-2 PCR confirmed positive results in both the hospital and outpatient setting, and provided key insights on the potential role the 3CL protease biomarker could play in assessing the COVID infectivity status of infected patients being released from quarantine and opening the diagnostic window to include earlier diagnosis of individuals from time of time known exposure. The Company sees multiple use cases for the 3CL protease biomarker as an adjunct to both PCR testing and antigen testing for SARS-CoV-2. The 3CL protease is the main protease found in coronaviruses. When a cell becomes infected with the virus, one of the first viral components made is the 3CL protease, which is an enzymatic saw that cleaves coronavirus polypeptides into usable viral proteins. Since a healthy human body doesnt contain any traces of 3CL protease its an ideal biomarker that will show up only if there is active infection. In theory a 3CL protease test is a much better test for pandemic management because it could identify patients who are capable of spreading the disease and help them. We believe that the 3CL protease could become a very important biomarker in the overall COVID-19 diagnostic landscape, said Jorge Leon, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer at Todos Medical. To date, the only questions that the widely used PCR and antigen testing tools can answer is whether or not a person has certain fragments of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in their system, not whether that virus is actively replicating and can be spread to others. Neither PCR or antigen tests have the ability to measure infectivity. As we move forward in dealing with this deadly pandemic, key questions about whether an infected person, or someone who continues to test positive by PCR for weeks/months despite recovery from viral infection, is actively infectious are becoming increasingly important if we want to control community spread. We believe a potential solution to address this question is the 3CL protease biomarker. Additionally, it appears the 3CL protease biomarker assay may open the diagnostic window to more accurately reflect the initial presence of SARS-CoV-2, as well as a more accurate measure of when a person is no longer infectious post-diagnosis than mandatory 7-, 10- or 14-day quarantine measures. The length of quarantine should be driven by infectivity biomarkers, not by relatively arbitrary estimates of how long infectivity may last. The initial format of the TolloTest assay is immunofluorescence. The TolloTest lab assay performance has been optimized for use with nasal mid-turbinate (NMT) collected samples, consistent with the most widely used specimen collection protocols, with fluorescent reaction occurring within 10 minutes of the sample being applied into the assay. The result yields a quantitative assessment of the activity of 3CL protease, which is highly consistent with PCR cycle time values (ct values). Based upon the data generated, the Company is confident that it can optimize TolloTest for various point-of-care (POC) assay formats that would allow for ease of use similar to current rapid COVID tests, including a qualitative lateral flow assay format that could be used as an adjunct to currently available antigen tests to improve their sensitivity for earlier diagnosis, asymptomatic screening, and release from quarantine, or a quantitative POC test that could provide a non-lab test based tool to monitor the level of viral infection, providing data that mirrors PCR ct values. At-home testing formats are also possible. In the first part of the clinical study, 58 hospitalized patients and research staff were recruited and evaluated for SARS-CoV-2 infection as measured by PCR, with 30 negative subjects and 28 positive patients enrolled being treated for COVID-19. Of the 30 subjects who tested negative by PCR, 12 were in a subgroup determined to be positive by TolloTest. These 12 individuals may have had SARS-CoV-2 exposure or may have been infected with another coronavirus such as a common cold (HCoV-229E). Of the 28 hospitalized patients who tested positive by PCR, 25 tested positive by TolloTest. Of the 3 PCR positive patients who tested negative by TolloTest, all three had PCR cycle time values (ct values) of 30 of higher, indicating they were likely nearing or at the end of their viral disease process and were likely no longer infectious. As expected, there was a consistent inverse correlation between ct value and 3CL protease activity in both hospitalized and non-hospitalized subjects. A table of the hospitalized patient set is available below: PCR Negative PCR Positive 3CL Positive 12 25 3CL Negative 18 3 N=58 30 28 Sensitivity (TP) 0.89 Sensitivity (TN) 0.60



Following completion of the data gathered in the hospital setting, the Company was able to recruit an additional 17 subjects, all fully vaccinated, into the study from a community event setting held from July 12-17, 2021 in Israel. All 17 enrolled individuals attending the event were notified of close exposure to a known positive COVID-19 patient, with some patients becoming symptomatic several days post-exposure. Beginning on July 15th, 2021 and ending on July 27th, 2021, all 17 patients were enrolled into the study. Of the 17 patients enrolled, 16 were positive by PCR and 1 was negative by PCR. Of the 16 positive patients, TolloTest identified all 16 as being COVID-19 positive and identified the only negative subject as negative. In this very small group of patients the TolloTest performed flawlessly, with a perfect score of 100% sensitivity and 100% specificity.

A table of the COVID-19 community outbreak data is available below: PCR Negative PCR Positive 3CL Positive 0 16 3CL Negative 1 0 N=17 1 16 Sensitivity (TP) 1.00 Sensitivity (TN) 1.00 Todos now intends to evaluate various assay formats to optimize ease of use in the POC setting and turnaround times in the lab setting to address these multiple use cases. The company plans on conducting additional confirmatory studies with the final, optimized POC assay formats with the goal of eventually submitting for an EUA. The Company is in active discussion with potential partners with POC products on the market to help accelerate bringing this critically important biomarker on to the market. For more information, please visit www.todosmedical.com. For more information on the Companys CLIA/CAP certified lab Provista Diagnostics, Inc. please visit www.provistadx.com. About Todos Medical Ltd. Founded in Rehovot, Israel with offices in New York City, Todos Medical Ltd. (OTCQB: TOMDF) engineers life-saving diagnostic solutions for the early detection of a variety of cancers. In 20201, Todos completed the acquisition of U.S.-based medical diagnostics company Provista Diagnostics, Inc. to gain rights to its Alpharetta, Georgia-based CLIA/CAP certified lab currently performing PCR COVID testing and Provista's proprietary commercial-stage Videssa breast cancer blood test. The Company's state-of-the-art and patented Todos Biochemical Infrared Analyses (TBIA) is a proprietary cancer-screening technology using peripheral blood analysis that deploys deep examination into cancer's influence on the immune system, looking for biochemical changes in blood mononuclear cells and plasma. Todos' two internally-developed cancer-screening tests, TMB-1 and TMB-2, have received a CE mark in Europe. Todos is focused on the commercialization of Videssa and will bring the TBIA tests to market thereafter. Todos has entered into a joint venture with NLC Pharma targeting diagnostic and testing solutions to address the COVID-19 pandemic. The Joint-Venture is pursuing the development of diagnostic tests targeting the 3CL protease, as well as 3CL protease inhibitors that target a fundamental reproductive mechanism of coronaviruses. The Companys proprietary therapeutic candidate Tollovir is currently in a Phase 2 clinical trial to treat hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Israel, and is preparing to initiate Phase 2/3 clinical trials for both hospitalized and non-hospitalized patients in Israel. Todos is also developing blood tests for the early detection of neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease. The Lymphocyte Proliferation Test (LymPro Test) is a diagnostic blood test that determines the ability of peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) and monocytes to withstand an exogenous mitogenic stimulation that induces them to enter the cell cycle. It is believed that certain diseases, most notably Alzheimer's disease, are the result of compromised cellular machinery that leads to aberrant cell cycle re-entry by neurons, which then leads to apoptosis. LymPro is unique in the use of peripheral blood lymphocytes as a surrogate for neuronal cell function, suggesting a common relationship between PBLs and neurons in the brain. Todos is also distributing certain (COVID-19) testing materials and supplies to CLIA-certified labs in the United States. The products cover multiple suppliers of PCR testing kits, extraction kits, automation materials and supplies, as well as COVID-19 antibody and antigen testing kits. For more information, please visit https://www.todosmedical.com/. Forward-looking Statements Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements. For example, forward-looking statements are used when discussing our expected clinical development programs and clinical trials. These forward-looking statements are based only on current expectations of management, and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements, including the risks and uncertainties related to the progress, timing, cost, and results of clinical trials and product development programs; difficulties or delays in obtaining regulatory approval or patent protection for product candidates; competition from other biotechnology companies; and our ability to obtain additional funding required to conduct our research, development and commercialization activities. In addition, the following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements: changes in technology and market requirements; delays or obstacles in launching our clinical trials; changes in legislation; inability to timely develop and introduce new technologies, products and applications; lack of validation of our technology as we progress further and lack of acceptance of our methods by the scientific community; inability to retain or attract key employees whose knowledge is essential to the development of our products; unforeseen scientific difficulties that may develop with our process; greater cost of final product than anticipated; loss of market share and pressure on pricing resulting from competition; and laboratory results that do not translate to equally good results in real settings, all of which could cause the actual results or performance to differ materially from those contemplated in such forward-looking statements. Except as otherwise required by law, Todos Medical does not undertake any obligation to publicly release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. For a more detailed description of the risks and uncertainties affecting Todos Medical, please refer to its reports filed from time to time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Todos Corporate and Investor Contact: Richard Galterio Todos Medical 732-642-7770 rich.g@todosmedical.com



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[October 06, 2021] Torry Harris and 48 from Three, Ireland, win TM Forum's Excellence award

BRISTOL, England and BANGALORE, India, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Torry Harris Integration Solutions (THIS), a recognized leader in Integration strategy and API-driven transformation delivery, along with Three Ireland's trusted youth brand, 48, won this year's TM Forum Excellence award in the 'Customer Experience and Trust' category. The TM Forum Excellence awards recognizes top communication service providers (CSPs) and solution providers around the globe for outstanding work in digitally transforming the telecommunications industry. This year the 95 entries received from 23 countries were judged by a panel of 22 independent industry experts. As a neutral, non-profit organization, TM Forum ensures that the awards are impartial, celebrating important examples of industry success and delivering valuable peer recognition. Shuba Sridhar, VP - Strategic Initiatives at Torry Harris says, "We are thrilled to receive this recognition. We thank TM Forum for creating awareness and for sharing best practices from 48's transformation success with CSPs around the world. We are proud to be associated with 48, Ireland's first youth-focused, truly digital mobile brand. We helped modernize and migrate their legacy IT systems to the cloud by leveraging TM Forum's open digital architecture and open APIs to create a new digital experience." "As the winners of this year's Excellence Awards show us, unlocking growth and creating long-term value is possible though innovation, partnership, and digital transformation. Our independent, impartial judging panel has once again recognized the outstanding achievements being made to accelerate change in our industry," commented Nik Willetts, CEO of TM Forum.



About Torry Harris Torry Harris is a multinational provider of business, technology, and IT consulting services. For over two decades, it is focused on providing solutions in the areas of Integration for digital enablement, digital marketplace services, full life-cycle API management, and digital ecosystem enablement. The company is headquartered in New Jersey (USA), with development centers in Bangalore, India. It has offices in Bristol (UK), Slough (UK), Dubai (UAE), Dublin (Ireland), Munich (Germany) and Paris (France). Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. To know more, visit https://www.torryharris.com

About 48 Three Ireland's second brand '48' is the nation's first truly digital-only youth mobile network. Three Ireland relaunched 48 in March 2020 with a new brand position, product and experience. 48 introduced totally new SIM plans that challenged the conventional wisdom of the market. 48 saw an opportunity to give the user control of their product and purchase. They created a product allowing customers to do more with their data, swap minutes for data, share data with friends, save data for a rainy day and donate data to charity, and all delivered through their my48 account. To know more, visit https://48.ie/ About TM Forum TM Forum is an association of over 850 member companies that generate a combined US$2 trillion in revenue and serve five billion customers across 180 countries. We drive collaboration and collective problem-solving to maximize the business success of communication and digital service providers and their ecosystem of suppliers around the world. To know more, visit https://www.tmforum.org/ Media Contact:

Diganta Kumar Barooah

marketing@thbs.com

+91-80-41827200

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[October 06, 2021] YellowBlocks officially announced the TOP 6 Vietnamese representatives to join the International Blockchain Olympiad (IBCOL 2021)

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam., Oct. 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The National Pitching Day and Award Ceremony for the International Blockchain Olympiad 2021 (IBCOL 2021) - Vietnam National Selection Round (VN-BCOL) was held by YellowBlocks - the Head of the National Organizing Committee, and the co-organizers: Hub Global, National Startup Support Center (NSSC, under the Ministry of Science & Technology), Vietnam National Student Association Hanoi Chapter, Tech Founder Institute, RedFox Labs, and LaunchZone.

The Vietnam Selection Round for IBCOL 2021 was held for more than two months, acquiring more than 100 whitepaper submissions from Vietnamese undergraduate and postgraduate students across the country. Most submissions came from students from top-tier universities in Vietnam, such as VinUniversity and RMIT University. At the National Pitch Day, the top three team contestants won prizes totaling $5,000, awarded by the Headline Sponsor RedFox Labs. The top six finalists have been revealed and given the opportunity to be the representatives of Vietnam to participate in the Final Global Round, held virtually on October 8-10, 2021, in Bangladesh. The International Blockchain Olympiad (IBCOL) is an annual global competition that invites current and recent students to propose complete solutions for real-world problems with blockchain technology. The IBCOL 2021 theme revolves around the application of blockchain technology in seven areas: e-Government, FinTech, HealthTech, EduTech, Identity/Privacy, Supply Chain Provenance, and Document/Authentication. This is the second time Vietnam has participated in the competition along with over 59 countries from the Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Middle East, and Africa. The Champion: LifeLink with the project A blockchain-based platform using Federated Learning to empower AI in medical research without centralizing and sharing patient data.

1st Runner-up: Team ?KidKat - "Blockchain-based Children Trafficking Prevention System".

2nd Runner-up: DLA Squad - "A Blockchain Application for Electric Vehicles Battery Leasing Service Management".

Merit Awards: The Blockers with the project "Certchain"; Trang Le with the project "Blockchain Technology In Healthcare"; and ViFaChain with the project "Vietnamese Food Export Traceability & Quality Management System". Sharing thoughts on the VN-BCOL 2021, the Champion LifeLink said: Being selected to join the Global Final Round at IBCOL played a crucial step in making our idea in reality. Our idea was inspire while undergoing the Covid 19 pandemic. We realized that AI technology could be applied to speed up vaccine research, predict symptom severity, and save more lives. However, the application of AI raises concerns about the leakage of patient information, which is a huge barrier. Realizing the potential of AI in treating not only Covid-19 but also in other serious diseases such as cancer, chronic, we thought that 'AI should be best utilized to save more lives. patient', but at the same time, we need to respect the patient's right to privacy."



Ms. Kimiko Doan, the Founder of YellowBlocks and Head of the National Organizing Committee made her commentary: In 2020, three Vietnamese Representatives joined the IBCOL and won the Award of Merit at the Global Final Round (HebiLife from RMIT University Vietnam). In 2021, Vietnam participated in the IBCOL for a second time. This year's whitepapers are of great quality, showing the team-contestants academic knowledge and ability to utilize blockchain in practice. Following the National Pitching Day and Award Ceremony, we will move into the Mentoring Round where team contestants are given the opportunity to connect with and be mentored by leading blockchain experts. I believe that many young blockchain professionals from Vietnam will be nurtured thanks to IBCOL, helping promote the Vietnam blockchain ecosystem to the world. Furthermore, Mr. Ben Fairbank, the Founder of RedFOX Labs explained RedFOX Labs is thrilled to be a part of the Blockchain Olympiad (VN-BCOL) and to work alongside our esteemed colleagues. The Vietnamese talent is something the whole country can be proud of, and we look forward to seeing Vietnam represented on the world stage. RedFOX Labs launches companies in the fastest growing sectors of the internet economy, so we are well versed in what a company must overcome to go to market and be successful. We take great pride in helping to unearth the next big companies out of Vietnam and are honoured to be a part of this event."

According to the Head of the National Organizing Committee for VN-BCOL, YellowBlocks, The Global Final Round of IBCOL 2021 will be held online from October 8-10, 2021. For further information, please visit: https://www.ibcol.org The Closing Ceremony and Awards Ceremony were livestreamed and got 1,200 views on Facebooks "Vietnam Blockchain Olympiad." The livestream welcomed the participation of Mr. Le Toan Thang, a representative from the National Startup Support Center (under the Ministry of Science & Technology). Other participants included representatives from the Board of Partners of RedFox Labs, LaunchZone, Tech Founder Institute, Hanoi Student Union, RMIT University Vietnam, VinUniversity University, Vietnam Blockchain Corporation, ABCD Tech Vietnam, Vietnam Blockchain Innovation, Barefoot Ventures About IBCOL 2021

The International Blockchain Olympiad (IBCOL) is an annual global competition that invites current and recent students to propose complete solutions for real-world problems with blockchain technology. More on the Vietnam Selection Round (VN-BCOL): https://yellowblocks.org/ibcol2021

More on the International Blockchain Olympiad (IBCOL): https://www.ibcol.org/ About YellowBlocks

YellowBlocks is the trusted Vietnam tech gateway to provide local insights, premiere networks, and business / marketing / tech strategies for leading companies in emerging tech (ABCD  AI/ML/Robotics, Blockchain, Cloud, Data). Website: https://yellowblocks.org Contact: hello@yellowblocks.org Photo: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/fa799490-25e1-441a-b57f-4be7d86c9423



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[October 06, 2021] ZIM Establishes Ship4wd, a New Digital Freight Forwarding Company

HAIFA, Israel, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. (NYSE: ZIM) announced today the creation of a new subsidiary, Ship4wd, a digital freight forwarding platform offering an online, simple and reliable self-service end to end shipping solution. Ship4wd will launch on October 18 2021. Ship4wd will target US & Canadian small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) importing and exporting from China, Vietnam and Israel. Relying on ZIM's vast experience and in-depth knowledge of the shipping industry, along with its proven track record in digital shipping, the new digital freight forwarding company will provide small and medium businesses, as well as entrepreneurs worldwide, a simple and direct solution for shipping cargo  through an advanced 'one-stop-shop' digital platform. The digital service offered by Ship4wd is based on one-stop-shop service covering all aspects of the complex international shipping process. It enables customers without previous experience in cross-border shipping to manage their import and export business simply and efficiently, with live chat 24/7 expert support throughout the process. The Ship4wd platform will offer each customer the optimal solution  either the most economic or the fastest option  according to the customer's preferences. The platform offering consists of both sea and air shipping services up to the final destination, including land & rail transport, with associated logistic services, all backed up by a variety of professional vendors. Headed by Carmit Hoshen-Glik, an entrepreneurial executive with vast experience in digital transportation and global freight forwarding solutions, Ship4wd is located in Herzliya, one of Israel's main innovative startup hub. Eli Glickman, ZIM President & CEO, said: "As a leader of the accelerating digitalization trend within the shipping industry, we ar leveraging our expertise to launch an independent digital multi-function freight forwarder, consistent with our strategy of developing growth engines adjacent to our core business. Ship4wd undertakes to manage the entire logistic chain end to end, harnessing our core assets as a leading global carrier with a unique customer-centric approach to provide the optimal digital solution for the SMB segment, backed up by a wide network of vendors including ZIM. The global need for digital services via personal mobile phones and tablets is increasing, especially among small and medium businesses, and Ship4wd is the ultimate solution. We are confident that with Ship4wd's excellent team it can become a significant player in the multi-billion dollars freight forwarding industry as it will meet a much-needed demand for its services in the market."



Assaf Tiran, ZIM VP Global Customer Service, also heading Digital Innovation, added: "Similar to the way other groundbreaking platforms such as Airbnb in tourism and Uber in transportation have transformed their industries, we are aiming to enable everyone to be a self-shipper, by simplifying and streamlining the transfer of goods worldwide down to its essence  a 'few clicks' shipping solution." Carmit Hoshen-Glik, Ship4wd CEO, added: "We believe it's time for international shipping to become simple, easy and trustworthy for SMBs. Our promise of unremitting reliability and support from industry professionals will offer a much-needed solution for small businesses and entrepreneurs relying on relatively small shipments for their ongoing business."

About ZIM ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. (NYSE: ZIM) is a global, asset-light container liner shipping company with a leadership position in the markets in which it operates. Founded in Israel in 1945, ZIM is one of the oldest shipping liners, with over 76 years of experience, providing customers with innovative seaborne transportation and logistics services, with a reputation for industry-leading transit times, schedule reliability and service excellence. About Ship4wd Ship4wd is a best-in-class digital-first freight solution that gives small businesses the personal freedom, ease and control to better manage their imports and exports. With full end-to-end visibility and built-in flexibility, Ship4wd is helping businesses to progress and thrive. Forward Looking Statements This release contains certain forward-looking statements (as such term is defined in Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) concerning future events, including forward-looking statements regarding Ship4wd ability to successfully launch the freight forwarding platform to serve SMB customers, as well as ZIM's ability to benefit from Ship4wd's digital freight platform and develop additional growth engines adjacent to its core business. These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to other factors detailed from time to time in ZIM's periodic reports and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including ZIM's annual report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC on March 22, 2021. ZIM expressly disclaims any obligation to update or revise any of these forward-looking statements, whether because of future events, new information, a change in its views or expectations, or otherwise. ZIM does not make any prediction or statement about the performance of any of its respective securities. ZIM Contacts Media: Avner Shats

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd.

+972-4-8652520

shats.avner@zim.com Investor Relations: Elana Holzman

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd.

+972-4-865-2300

holzman.elana@zim.com Leon Berman

The IGB Group

212-477-8438

lberman@igbir.com Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1653943/Ship4wd_Platform.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1458457/ZIM_Logo.jpg

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[October 05, 2021] Vaccine Mandate for Provincial Public Service Makes Sense-CUPE BC

Today's announcement from the B.C. government implementing mandatory vaccinations across the public service makes sense as they are the best proven measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in our communities, CUPE BC President Karen Ranalletta said today. "Throughout the pandemic CUPE BC has supported the efforts of public health officials as they've led the fight against COVID-19, and the introduction of a vaccination mandate for the public service is the next logical step to protect our communities," said Ranalletta. "Given the rise in COVID cases in our schools, we think it also seems prudent to apply this mandate to the K-12 system." Ranalletta said that CUPE locals representing workers in the B.C. K-12 education system are ready to work with school districts and the provincial government to ensure any immunization plans are effective, efficient, and respect the rights of K-12 shool workers.



"Although individual school districts are responsible for bringing in such a mandate, there can't be a patchwork quilt of differing approaches to this across the province," said Ranalletta. "We are urging the provincial government to develop a uniform set of standards to guide the implementation of mandates so that all districts-and all employees-have a consistent framework. And of course, there needs to be reasonable accommodation for the small number of education workers with recognized human rights exemptions." CUPE BC continues to strongly encourage all its members to get vaccinated, as it is the best way to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in our communities. In addition to considering vaccine mandates, CUPE is urging school districts to expand safety measures that promote clean and healthy schools, such as permanent daytime custodial services.

ABOUT CUPE BC

CUPE BC is the largest union in British Columbia, representing more than 100,000 workers delivering important public services in nearly every community in the province, including more than 30,000 members in K-12 public education, including: education assistants, school secretaries, custodians/caretakers, Indigenous support workers, IT workers, Strong Start facilitators, trades and maintenance workers, and bus drivers. cope491 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211005006235/en/

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[October 05, 2021] Ceridian Announces Dayforce HR Service Delivery

TORONTO and MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 05, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ceridian (NYSE: CDAY; TSX: CDAY), a global leader in human capital management (HCM) technology, today announced plans to deliver Dayforce HR Service Delivery, an end-to-end employee solution that provides instant, always-on HR and compliance support.

Powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), Dayforce HR Service Delivery continuously learns and evolves to deliver a reimagined employee experience in an increasingly remote and fluid workplace. Responses to employee questions will be delivered through a simple search experience, consistent with what employees expect in their personal lives. In todays borderless world, employees need access to the right information at the right time at their fingertips, said Joe Korngiebel, Chief Product and Technology Officer, Ceridian. With our reimagined HR Service Delivery, were empowering employees and creating efficiencies to drive more value-added work. Dayforce HR Service Delivery approach includes: Dayforce Intelligent Search

With optimized search capability within the Dayforce platform, employees can access a breadth of HR information simply and instantly, such as vacation schedules and return-to-work policies. Employees can search for information anytime, anywhere, with simple text or voice queries. Omni-channel HR knowledge delivery

Todays increasingly remote workforce demands simplicity. Organizations that offer timely, tailored information delivered through the ay employees work and live, such as mobile, email, and collaboration tools, create experiences employees love.



AI-first Case Management

Differentiated from the traditional ticket model, Dayforce HR Service Delivery uses AI to continuously learn and expand its knowledge base from the questions asked so that a ticket is the last resort. Ceridian plans to deliver Dayforce Intelligent Search in 2021 as part of Dayforce Hub and HR Service Delivery will follow in 2022.

About Ceridian Ceridian. Makes Work Life Better. Ceridian is a global human capital management software company. Dayforce , our flagship cloud HCM platform, provides human resources, payroll, benefits, workforce management, and talent management functionality. Our platform is used to optimize management of the entire employee lifecycle, including attracting, engaging, paying, deploying, and developing people. Ceridian has solutions for organizations of all sizes. Visit Ceridian.com or follow us @Ceridian . Forward-Looking Statement This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Statements that are not historical facts, and our expectations, hopes, intentions or strategies regarding the future are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on management's beliefs, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management. Because such statements are based on expectations as to the future and are not statements of fact, actual results may differ materially from those projected. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. This press release should be read in conjunction with the risks detailed in the Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information, Forward-Looking Statement, and other sections of Ceridians Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Annual Reports on Form 10-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Media Contact:

Fahd Pasha

647.417.2136

Fahd.Pasha@Ceridian.com



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[October 05, 2021] Mobile Operator Elisa to sell Spacetalk in Finland

Highlights Finland's largest telecommunications and digital services company Elisa to range Spacetalk Adventurer in all its 50 Stores and On-Line

Targeted launch in November 2021 and marks Spacetalk's first Pan European expansion ADELAIDE, Australia, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Spacetalk Ltd. (ASX:SPA) ("Spacetalk"), developer of innovative technologies that keep families safe and connected, is pleased to announce that Elisa Corporation ("Elisa") will range Spacetalk Adventurer across its Finland retail stores and online channels. Elisa is a Finnish market leader in telecommunications, digital services and technologies, providing sustainable solutions for over 2.8 million customers in Finland, Estonia and internationally. Elisa is the first telecom operator in the world to receive the significant six-star certificate in the EFQM Global Award assessment. Spacetalk and Elisa are targeting to launch in November 2021, with the Adventurer smartphone watch to range in Elisa branded stores across Finland and online. With the help of Spacetalk Adventurer, Elisa is expanding its range of smartwatches to enhance child safety and wellbeing. Spacetalk Adventurer received Global Certification Forum certification[1] last month and Spacetalk watches and App are currently being upgraded to support eight key European languages, in time for Elisa's launch, positioning Spacetalk for further and faster global distribution expansion. Elisa has developed a SIM (or subscription as called in the Nordics) especially for Spacetalk at a very competitive price and will be selling the Adventurer watch and SIM service on a monthly plan, making the offering very attractive for Nordic families. The financial impact on Spacetalk of selling through Elisa is currently unknown, with no guaranteed or minimum level of revenue, however, the Company expects it to have a direct positive impact on the total revenue of the Company and be reflected in the disclosure thereof. Spacetalk CEO Mark Fortunatow said: "We are delighted to have Elisa launching Spacetalk in the Nordic region, a market where the awareness and growth of the connected kids wearables category is advanced. This partnership recognises Spacetalk's appeal, brand equity in the category, and our shared history and passion about child safety and family connectivity." This announcement has been authorised by Spacetalk CEO Mark Fortunatow.







[1] https://www.globalcertificationforum.org/pub_product/10083.html

About Spacetalk Ltd. Spacetalk Ltd. (ASX: SPA) is a global technology provider of secure communication solutions for families to stay connected and protected. Spacetalk's range of all-in-one smartphone GPS watches for children (Spacetalk Kids and Spacetalk Adventurer) and seniors (Spacetalk Life) are purpose built with tailored features, design qualities and best practice data encryption, security and privacy technologies, for families to stay confidently connected. Fun, fashionable, secure and technologically advanced, Spacetalk devices deliver confidence for the child and senior wearer, enhanced controls for the guardian, and engaging functionalities for the whole family to stay connected. The Spacetalk App is designed to provide a family environment for fun, engaging and secure media consumption beyond its device control functionalities for the guardian. Every linked contact  parents, grandparents, extended family members and friends  regardless of whether they are Android or iOS users, can interact with linked Spacetalk devices and each other through the Spacetalk App. Spacetalk was founded in 2001 and listed on the ASX in 2003 as MGM Wireless Limited, which developed the world's first SMS student absence notification platform for schools and went on to become Australia's most successful school messaging company. On 12 November 2020 the Company changed its name to Spacetalk Ltd. To learn more about the Spacetalk devices and app platform, and the Company, please visit: https://www.spacetalkwatch.com/. Investor Centre: https://investors.spacetalkwatch.com/. SOURCE Spacetalk Ltd.

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[October 05, 2021] Regtank Delivers Full Compliance Solution For Singapore's Inaugural Non-Fungible Token Charity Auction 'Blockchain For Good'

SINGAPORE, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Regtank, the leading provider of a one-stop software-as-a-service compliance solution, has been designated as one of the supporting collaborators for Blockchain Association Singapore (BAS) and the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) U Care Fund Non-Fungible Token (NFT) charity auction event, 'Blockchain For Good' (BFG). The auction has taken place over a week in Singapore, from 4th October 2021 to 10th October 2021, and supported by partners including Ether Cards, Singapore Airlines, KrisShop, Singapore FinTech Festival, Drew & Napier LLC, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Aleta Planet, Nexia TS, Ode To Art Gallery, Coinhako and Regtank Technology. Blockchain For Good aims to raise funds for the NTUC-U Care Fund; the proceeds raised will go towards supporting several assistance initiatives, such as helping families with living expenses and education fees for their children, as well as caring for the elderly. "We are pleased to partner with our members like RegTank to provide the technology to ensure a safe and compliant NFT platform for a very meaningful cause." - Chia Hock Lai, Co-Chairman of Blockchain Association Singapore The NFT platform powered by Mars Panda and hosted by BAS is one of the first NFT platforms to host a complete compliance solutin. BAS has partnered with Regtank for its cutting-edge biometrics and AI for an end-to-end, holistic compliance solution that can deliver results in a matter of seconds.



"We are delighted to work collaboratively with Blockchain Association Singapore and bring our eKYC and Digital Onboarding solution to deliver a broader range of innovative compliance solutions. As more and more companies embrace digital transformations, we want to make compliance easy for businesses around the world." -? ??Megan? ?Lee,? ?Founder of Regtank Technology Regtank's SaaS platform consists of four main features - Know Your Customer (KYC), Know Your Transactions (KYT), Intelligent Risk Engine, and a 360-degree Risk Profile. The automated KYC helps manage KYC obligations such as AML screening, risk assessment, record keeping and ongoing due diligence in a single, intuitive platform.

Regtank's latest Digital Onboarding with facial recognition provides a better user experience and allows for straight-through efficiency during the remote onboarding process. The real-time facial liveness detection feature reduces the risk of a cybercriminal deceiving the system. The facial comparison verification conducted through AI also allows for more flexibility in compliance. About Regtank Technology Pte Ltd Regtank is the leading provider of a one-stop software-as-a-service compliance solution, seeking to revolutionise the compliance landscape. Adopting a risk-based approach (RBA) that incorporates both KYC and KYT into a single platform, Regtank has innovated a comprehensive and advanced AML/CFT smart risk assessment engine that can automatically classify the risk of individuals tailored to the risk matrix of the clients. Today, Regtank provides risk assessment, management, screening, record keeping, ongoing due diligence, transaction monitoring, blockchain analytics, and the identification of the origin of funds. For more information, you can visit us at https://regtank.com/ About Blockchain Association Singapore Blockchain Association Singapore (BAS) is an effective platform for members to engage with multiple stakeholdersboth regional and internationalto discover solutions and promote best practices in a collaborative, open, and transparent manner. BAS seeks to empower its members and the community to leverage blockchain and scalable technologies for business growth and transformation. It also aims to promote blockchain literacy and build a strong talent pipeline for the digital economy in Singapore. SOURCE Regtank Technology Pte Ltd

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[October 05, 2021] PRT returns to the international stage via the biggest global auto shows

BUFORD, Ga. and SINGAPORE, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Performance Ride Technology (PRT), a leading global leading brand of Automotive Shocks, Struts and Complete Strut Assemblies, will be introducing its class-leading products to the global audience in major upcoming auto shows and exhibits. This comes as amid the global auto industry restart amid recovery from the pandemic. PRT will be present at international shows worldwide including:

APPEX ( Nov. 2-4, 2021 / Las Vegas, Nevada , U.S.A)  Held in Sands Expo & Caesar's Forum, this event gathers the big names in the automotive aftermarket industry



Feria Internacional Expopartes ( Nov. 10-11, 2021 / Colombia )  An exclusive fair for the automoive sector to be held at the Corferias venue in Bogota, the capital of Colombia







Autoexpo Kenya ( Nov. 18-20, 2021 / Nairobi, Kenya )  An international trade fair for automobiles, spare parts, supplies and transportation to be held at the Sairt Expo Centre



Automechanika Shanghai ( Nov. 24-27, 2021 / Shanghai, China )  One of Asia's largest trade fairs for automotive parts, accessories, equipment and services suppliers to be held at the National Exhibition and Convention Centre





Automechanika Dubai ( Dec. 14-16, 2021 / Dubai )  This biggest automobile event in the Middle East will host exhibitors from at least 57 countries. During these shows, PRT will showcase its new innovations and products such as the first complete aftermarket strut assembly for the 2019 Toyota Camry as well as the 2019 Jeep Cherokee along with over 2,700 high-quality OEM quality products that are part of the brand's comprehensive portfolio. "The pandemic is a serious challenge but it won't stop us from innovating and serving our customers better," says Bruno Bello, Category and Marketing Manager at PRT. "We're very excited to be on international stages once again to show our customers that we've made great improvements despite the pandemic. About PRT PRT (Performance Ride Technology) has been operating for more than 25 years and has a major presence in over 67 countries. The brand produces parts for almost all types of vehicles, from cars, to SUVs, and even trucks. PRT is ISO-certified and adheres to the strictest quality standards of car manufacturers. For more information, call PRT's customer service hotline +66 (61) 541-5546 or email: ann.budsamalee@add-asia.com . You can also visit its website: www.prtautoparts.com SOURCE PRT (Performance Ride Technology)

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[October 06, 2021] Eutelsat Raises Its Shareholding in OneWeb

Regulatory News: Eutelsat (News - Alert) Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) has exercised a call option on a portion of the latest OneWeb funding round subscribed by Bharti, for a consideration of $165 million, taking its shareholding from 17.6% to 22.9%. The transaction was undertaken on identical financial terms to Eutelsat's initial investment of $550 million announced in April and completed on 8 September. The completion of this latest transaction is expected around year-end 2021 subject to regulatory authorisations. Since Eutelsat's initial investment, OneWeb has gained significant traction, both operationally, with a 100% launch success rate leading to nearly half of the constellation now in orbit, and commercially, with numerous distribution partnerships secured ahead of its partial entry into service, which remains on track for end-2021. In the meantime, as already announced by the company, OneWeb's capital structure has been further strengthened with an additional $500 million commitment by Bharti completing the funding of its first-generation constellation and a $300 million capital injection from South Korea's Hanwha. Following the exercise of the call option and the completion of Hanwha's invesment, Eutelsat's 22.9% holding will make it the second largest shareholder behind Bharti with 30.0%, thereby strengthening its position as a key shareholder and partner of OneWeb.



Eutelsat's investment comes after it delivered a strong FY 2021 performance in terms of cash flow generation and leverage reduction, and is compliant with Eutelsat's financial framework. At 30 June 2021, Eutelsat's liquidity amounted to 1.9bn in cash and undrawn credit lines. Commenting on the transaction, Rodolphe Belmer, Eutelsat's Chief Executive Officer stated: "We are hugely excited to grasp this opportunity to deepen our commitment to OneWeb. The significant progress it has made in the run-up to its now imminent entry into service, together with the vote of confidence demonstrated by the commitment of both its investors and future customers, makes us even more convinced of OneWeb's right-to-win in the low earth orbit (LEO) constellation segment."

About Eutelsat Communications Founded in 1977, Eutelsat Communications is one of the world's leading satellite operators. With a global fleet of satellites and associated ground infrastructure, Eutelsat enables clients across Video, Data, Government, Fixed and Mobile Broadband markets to communicate effectively to their customers, irrespective of their location. Around 7,000 television channels operated by leading media groups are broadcast by Eutelsat to one billion viewers equipped for DTH reception or connected to terrestrial networks. Headquartered in Paris, with offices and teleports around the globe, Eutelsat assembles 1,200 men and women from 50 countries who are dedicated to delivering the highest quality of service. For more about Eutelsat go to www.eutelsat.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211005006269/en/

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[October 06, 2021] Swarm Markets Opens up First Regulated Decentralised Finance Platform to General Public

LONDON, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Swarm Markets, which operates the world's first regulated decentralised trading exchange (DEX), today announces it is available to the general public. This is the first unified platform where both retail and institutional investors will be able to trade securities alongside crypto. The launch comes as total value locked in DeFi platforms has swelled to almost $90 billion, according to DeFi Pulse, since summer 2020, and regulators across the globe begin to crackdown on unlicensed crypto platforms. Swarm Markets operates under regulatory license from the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) in Germany, provided to Swarm Capital GmbH Branch Office Berlin, and is supported by Swarm Markets GmbH (together "Swarm Markets"). Co-founder of Swarm Markets, Philipp Pieper, said, "Swarm Markets is skating to where the puck is heading by having regulatory authorisation from a globally-recognised regulator from the outset. BaFin has been extremely forward leaning and provided clarity on how it will govern DeFi, giving entrepreneurs confidence that will allow a healthy market to develop with a regulatory approach. "We have the privilege of working with some of the most progressive legal minds in the crypto space and have been engaging in an ongoing dialogue with BaFin for the past two years, interpreting securities laws and applying them to assets on the Blockchain. "Regulators are starting to see the benefits of integrating traditional markets with blockchain technology, namely the transparency of transactions so regulators can lift the hood themselves and see what is happening in real time, reducing their reliance on companies reporting to them." The platform employs the same know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) protocols as other licensed financial service providers like banks, removing counterparty risk for users and enabling it to welcome new types of market participants and assets to DeFi. Early adopters of the platform will enjoy greaer rewards for adding liquidity and trading. Rewards are paid out weekly and boosts are available for users who hold SMT, the Swarm Markets payment token that facilitates efficient transactions on the platform. The platform reimburses gas fees on all transactions involving trading and adding liquidity.



Similar to other DeFi protocols, users on Swarm Markets can enjoy networked liquidity with self-custody. Timo Lehes, co-founder of Swarm Markets, added, "The opening of Swarm Markets is a historic step to move corporate cryptocurrency trading out of its legal grey area and offers sophisticated institutional investors and their clients the full scope of benefits from trading digital assets, including the high APYs attendant to DeFi, for the very first time.

"There are several layers of uncertainty that need to be addressed with regulation in order to build trust. More than just a DEX with KYC, our regulatory status means we can onboard new assets and participants into the DeFi ecosystem that others cannot. We believe assets on the Blockchain can be regulated to provide the same consumer protections as in traditional finance without sacrificing the benefits of innovation. "Our goal is to integrate traditional markets with Blockchain technology. Not only can existing market infrastructure be replicated on the Blockchain with greater efficiencies, but this technology will enable traders and asset holders to do more and have greater autonomy over the markets they want to participate in." Ethereum, Wrapped Bitcoin, SMT, DAI and USDC are currently available on the platform, with new types of assets being introduced in the near future. Swarm Markets launched its liquidity provider programme in July 2021. To date, nearly 2,000 people have registered for the programme, pledging over $100 million in aggregated assets. Notes to Swarm Markets operates on the following provisional licenses under the German Banking Act (KWG) provided to Swarm Capital GmbH: Commission Business; Agent Broking; Trading on own account; and Custodian Business. More information can be found here: https://docs.swarm.markets/about/license

under the German Banking Act (KWG) provided to Swarm Capital GmbH: Commission Business; Agent Broking; Trading on own account; and Custodian Business. More information can be found here: BaFin modernised its securities laws, making an amendment to the German Banking Act in January 2020 , stipulating all DLT-issued and crypto assets should be classified as securities.

its securities laws, making an amendment to the German Banking Act in , stipulating all DLT-issued and crypto assets should be classified as securities. More information on Swarm Markets' payment token, SMT, can be found on our website .

. Rewards information for liquidity providers and traders can be found here .

. Sign up to the Swarm Markets platform using this link . About Swarm Markets

Berlin-based Swarm Markets is the world's first BaFin-regulated DeFi platform, providing a high liquidity protocol to financial institutions and retail traders. For the first time, financial products like stocks can be digitised and traded alongside crypto on one unified platform, bridging the gap between CeFi and DeFi. It's co-founders have been engaged in crypto since 2016 and initiated the non-profit DAO Swarm Network. Crypto holders can trade with verified counterparties, earn by providing liquidity and find liquidity for tokenized assets in one regulated environment. For more information, visit the website and Medium page . Katie Evans, Global Head of PR and Communications, katie@swarm.markets, +44 7903 073 570

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[October 06, 2021]

ImpactNFT Alliance and Project Ark Debut Asia's First Hybrid Exhibition Bridging Traditional Art Collectors to The Metaverse

HONG KONG, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ImpactNFT Alliance announces today the launch of Asia's first art exhibition that demonstrates how non-fungible tokens (NFTs) can be a force for good. This is a project to revolutionize the way corporations meet sustainability goals, also transform the lives of people in marginalized communities across the world.

The ImpactNFT Exhibition, curated by the Alliance in partnership with Project Ark and Sovereign Art Foundation , will be held at the Soho House Hong Kong from October 15-24, 2021. It is also accessible online at OpenSea.io , Project-Ark.co and ImpactNFT.org .

Supported by decentralized finance platform MANTRA DAO , the initiative invites both NFT newcomers and seasoned collectors to experience this unique opportunity and purchase artworks made for global impact projects built around the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals , which include climate actions as well as social targets such as access to education and gender equality.

"We want to show Hong Kong and the world the power of NFTs for social and environmental impact by creating a win-win for artists, charities, and our partners," says Roy Weissbach, Business Development Advisor at Project Ark and its parent company Carbonbase . "The ImpactNFT Exhibition is spotlighting projects merging art and technology to change the face of sustainability forever."

The exhibition showcases Impact NFTs from Sovereign Art Foundation, Earth.Org , Project Ark's Genesis Drop as well as SnarkySharkz and Purple Penguin . Also on display are amazing artworks by VintageMozart in support of the Nashulai Maasai Conservancy in East Africa, and by DOT, an art collective, will also pesent NFTs by eight Mexican artists minted for charity.







"We are proud to present a selection of shortlisted artworks from the 2021 Sovereign Asian Art Prize in digital form," says Tiffany Pinkstone, Sovereign Art Foundation Executive Director. "For our first NFT project, it is an honor to be exhibiting alongside a host of important local and international charitable projects, and to harness this new artistic medium for a worthwhile cause."

There will also be a preview of the South China Morning Post 's upcoming NFT auction in aid of Operation Santa Claus (OSC) that includes new works by Frog King, the Hong Kong legend renowned for his live performances, and four other local artists, Evangeline Chan, Ophelia Jacarini, Rainbow Tse and Natalie Wong.

Anti-wildlife trafficking group Break The Chain will provide augmented reality (AR) experiences onsite with a parallel Metaverse demonstration curated by The Nemesis .

MANTRA DAO Senior Marketing Manager Joanna Chan says, "Promoting positive influence in the community is a core part of our mission. Our initiative to integrate NFTs across all of our ecosystem services makes the ImpactNFT Exhibition a perfect partnership opportunity."

"The world already knows that blockchain technology is a decentralised infrastructure for a more transparent, secure, and efficient financial system. At RioDeFi we firmly believe that it is also an enabler of yet to be explored applications that will have a profound social impact. We are honored to join the ImpactNFT Exhibition," says RioDeFi's Chief Marketing Officer Stephane Villedieu.

There are curated programs and talks to shed light on NFTs as an emerging technology at the intersection of code, community and conservation that can help society pave the way towards achieving carbon neutrality. In-person access and nightly events demonstrating ImpactNFT projects that catalyze positive social and environmental change will be open by invitation only. To RSVP, register by October 11.

Photo caption:

(L - R): African family by VintageMozart ; Rights free image by Project Ark; Nicky Whelan with the lionese created by ChickenWaffle

About

ImpactNFT Alliance's mission is to ignite and accelerate impact creation by galvanizing web3 projects around the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals using NFTs. Bringing together a vibrant community of all those interested in Impact, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and blockchain, the ImpactNFT.org platform aims to catalyse a cross-industry alliance that can promote, explore and discuss ideas where NFTs can be used to drive positive SDG impact.

Project Ark, created in partnership between Carbonbase and World Wildlife Fund Panda Labs, is an international team offering solutions to creators, collectors, and corporates who want to realize the promise of ImpactNFTs. As a founding member of the ImpactNFT Alliance, Project Ark works with global NGOs to create the standards and mechanisms of ImpactNFTs for the community to adopt and use.

Sovereign Art Foundation (SAF) is a charitable organization founded in 2003 to recognize, support and promote contemporary art talent, and to bring the therapeutic benefits of art to disadvantaged children. They administer contemporary art prizes for professional artists and students of art, the most established being The Sovereign Asian Art Prize. SAF also fund and run programs that use expressive arts to support children from low-income backgrounds and for children with special educational needs.

Soho House Hong Kong is a member's club for Hong Kong's creative community, with views over Hong Kong Island, Victoria Harbour and Victoria Peak. Founded in London in 1995, today Soho House has over 30 Houses in the UK, Europe, North America and Asia. Each House is designed for the city and neighbourhood it is in, but all share the same ethos: to create a comfortable home from home for a community of like-minded people, wherever they are..

MANTRA DAO is a community-governed DeFi platform focusing on Staking, Lending, and Cross-Chain Multi-Asset services. MANTRA DAO leverages the wisdom of the crowd to create a community-governed, transparent, and decentralized ecosystem for web 3.0. Built on Parity Substrate for the Polkadot ecosystem, MANTRA DAO gives financial control back to the people to grow wealth together.



Operation Santa Claus (OSC) is an annual charity campaign jointly run by the South China Morning Post (SCMP) and Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK). Its aim is to make a difference to the community and beyond by combining the fundraising power of two of the most respected news organisations in the city. Since 1988, OSC has brought joy, goodwill and over HK$333 million to 320 charities.

Please follow us on Social Media: #ImpactNFT2021

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PR Newswire is the Official Newswire Distribution Partner of ImpactNFT Alliance.

SOURCE ImpactNFT Alliance
[October 06, 2021] cloudHQ Releases a New Way to Collect Emails in Google Docs

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- cloudHQ is a work productivity company focusing on email, and is based out of San Francisco, California. This morning, it announced the release of Export Emails to Google Docs by cloudHQ , a brand new solution available in the Google Chrome webstore marketplace. Export Emails to Google Docs is Chrome extension that works right out of Gmail and lets you select the emails you want to export into Google Docs. This is designed to handle any kind of selection the client wants to export by: sender, keyword, date, or even a whole Gmail Label. The app can collect all the selected emails into a Google Doc that can be commnted on and shared with a team.







Key Features Include: Save individual email messages or multiple conversations to Google Docs Automatic continuous save of a Gmail Label to Google Docs All emails are saved as PDF documents to Google Drive and are organized by: sender, date, keyword, Gmail Label, and more All email attachments are saved as well "There are many reasons why someone wants to save their emails in Google Docs," said Naomi Assaraf, CMO of cloudHQ.

"From the human resources department who's investigating an employee's email communications, to the legal industry while in legal discovery, or even the education industry where educators want to bring all parent email communications to parent-teacher conferences; we see the necessity of having an organized and shareable report of your emails in Google Docs." Export Emails to Google Docs has a free basic plan that includes 10 email exports per month, or a Premium plan with an unlimited amount of email exports per month, along with a dedicated customer service team. cloudHQ, LLC is located in San Francisco, California, with a distributed workforce of just under 10 people, all working remotely and are dedicated to creating helpful work productivity apps in order to keep everyone productive, one click at a time. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cloudhq-releases-a-new-way-to-collect-emails-in-google-docs-301393828.html SOURCE cloudHQ

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[October 06, 2021] GetSwift Technologies Limited Announces Cease Trade Order Issued by the British Columbia Securities Commission

GetSwift Technologies Limited ("GetSwift" or the "Corporation"; NEO: "GSW"), a leading provider of last mile SaaS (News - Alert) logistics technology, announces that the British Columbia Securities Commission (the "Commission"), the Corporation's principal regulator, has issued a cease trade order (the "Order") as a result of the delay in filing the Corporation's audited annual financial statements for its year ended June 30, 2021 and related management's discussion and analysis (collectively, the "2021 Annual Financial Statements"), the Corporation's Annual Information Form for the year-ended June 30, 2021 (the "AIF"), and the CEO and CFO certifications to be delivered in respect of the 2021 Annual Financial Statements and the AIF (the "Certifications"). The delay in the filing of the 2021 Annual Financial Statements is due to the Corporation's auditor requiring more time to complete its audit procedures related to the Corporation's annual financial statements for the year ended June 30, 2021. As a result of the Order, a person or company must not trade in or purchase a security of the Corporation in any jurisdiction in which the Corporation is a reporting issuer, except in accordance with certain conditions that are contained in the Order, for so long as the Order remains in effect. The Order provides that, despite the Order, a beneficial security holder of the Corporation who is not, and was not as at October 5, 2021 (the "Order Date"), an insider or control person of the Corporation, may sell securities of the Corporation acquired before the Order Date if (1) the sale is made through a "foreign organized regulated market", as defined in section 1.1 of the Universal Market Integrity Rules of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada and (2) the sale is made through an investment dealer registered in a jurisdiction of Canada in accordance with applicable securities legislation. Holders of the Corporation's securities are urged to consult with their own investment or legal advisors about the implications of the Order. The Order takes automatic effect in each jurisdiction of Canada that has a statutory reciprocal order provision, subject to the terms of the local securities legislation, and provides that trading cease in respect of each security of the Corporation. In addition, commencing October 6, 2021, the common shares of the Corporation listed on the NEO Exchange will be halted from trading while the Order remains in effect. As disclosed in the Corporation's news release dated October 4, 2021, the Corporation has provided its auditor with all information within the time required by the auditor to complete its audit procedures in compliance wih applicable laws. The Corporation stands ready to assist, and provide any resources necessary, for the auditor to promptly complete its audit so that the 2021 Annual Financial Statements, the AIF, and the Certifications can be finalized and filed as soon as practicable.



The Corporation anticipates the filing the 2021 Annual Financial Statements, AIF, and Certifications will initiate the review process by the Commission for a revocation of the Order, which the Corporation anticipates will be issued in due course following such filing. A copy of the Order has been posted on the website of the Commission at: https://www.bcsc.bc.ca/-/media/PWS/New-Resources/Decision-and-Orders/Cease-Trade-Orders/2021/2021-BCSECCOM-387.pdf

About GetSwift Technologies Limited Technology to Optimise Global Delivery Logistics GetSwift is a technology and services company that offers a suite of software products and services focused on business and logistics automation, data management and analysis, communications, information security, and infrastructure optimization and also includes ecommerce and marketplace ordering, workforce management, data analytics and augmentation, business intelligence, route optimization, cash management, task management shift management, asset tracking, real-time alerts, cloud communications, and communications infrastructure (collectively, the "GetSwift Offering"). The GetSwift Offering is used by public and private sector clients across industries and jurisdictions for their respective logistics, communications, information security, and infrastructure projects and operations. GSW is headquartered in New York and its common shares are listed for trading on the NEO Exchange under the symbol "GSW". For further background, please visit the Corporation's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and the Corporation's website at www.getswift.co. Certain statements contained in this news release constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information may relate to matters disclosed in this news release and to other matters identified in public filings relating to the Corporation, to the future outlook of the Corporation and anticipated events or results and may include statements regarding the future financial performance of the Corporation. In some cases, forward-looking information can be identified by terms such as "may", "will", "should", "expect", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "intend", "estimate", "predict", "potential", "continue" or other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. Forward-looking Statements in this press release include statements related to the anticipated timing for filing of the 2021 Annual Financial Statements, AIF, and Certifications, the anticipated timing of the Commission's review in respect of the revocation of the Order, and the anticipated timing of the revocation of the Order. Forward-looking Statements involve various risks and uncertainties and are based on certain factors and assumptions. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Corporation's expectations include, without limitation, the availability and capacity of management and the Corporation's auditor to complete the audit procedures required under applicable laws and the Corporation's ability to file the 2021 Annual Financial Statements, AIF, and Certifications, the Commission's timing to complete its review in respect of the revocation of the Order, the Commission's timing for issuance of an order revoking the Order following its review of the 2021 Annual Financial Statements, AIF, and Certifications, and the Corporation's continued compliance with its obligations under applicable securities laws. The Corporation 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 the Corporation 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 press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005488/en/

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[October 06, 2021] PAR Government Systems Corporation Names Dr. Leah Rowe to Director of Training and Readiness

PAR Government Systems Corporation (PGSC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of PAR Technology Corporation (NYSE: PAR), today announced the appointment of Dr. Leah Rowe as Director of Training and Readiness. Dr. Rowe will be working out of PGSC offices in Dayton, Ohio. Dr. Rowe is responsible for managing the transition and transfer of advanced training technology from the Air Force Research Laboratory (News - Alert) (AFRL) to PGSC and creating new business with operational users within DoD, non-DoD Federal, and commercial/international settings. Dr. Rowe joins PGSC following a distinguished career in public service at the Air Force Research Laboratory, where she led a robust research and development portfolio focused on advanced training technology and human performance. This included the development of the Networked Integrated Tactical Environment (NITE), a modular simulator infrastructure and human performance research environment. NITE provides rapid and performance-based training for the tactics, techniques, and procedures necessary to be effective in today's military. Under sponsorship of AFRL's Entrepreneurial Opportunities Program (EOP), Dr. Rowe will be spearheading both the transition and transfer of technology from the NITE program to a wide range of use cases that align with PGSC's business areas. "Leah is an internationally recognized expert in her field, and the NITE technology complements our expertise in special operations, unmanned vehicles, and advanced situational awareness," said PGSC President Matthew Cicchinelli. "Leah will provide us with an important corporate presence in the training community and advance our business in an area of strategic growth for the company." About PAR Government Systems Corporation



PAR Government Systems is a leader in providing computer-based system design, engineering and technical services to the Department of Defense and various federal agencies. An ISO 9001:2015 and 27001:2013 certified company, PAR Government is a wholly owned subsidiary of PAR Technology Corporation. (www.pargovernment.com). About PAR Technology Corporation

For more than 40 years, PAR's (NYSE Symbol: PAR) cutting-edge products and services have helped bold and passionate restaurant brands build lasting guest relationships. We are the partner enterprise restaurants rely on when they need to serve amazing moments from open to close, during the most hectic rush hours, and when the world forces them to adapt and overcome. More than 100,000 restaurants in more than 110 countries use PAR's restaurant hardware, software, drive-thru, and back-office solutions. With the recent acquisition of Punchh Inc., a leading SaaS (News - Alert) based customer loyalty and engagement solutions provider, PAR has become a Unified Commerce Cloud Platform for Enterprise Restaurants. To learn more, visit www.partech.com or connect with us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005237/en/

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[October 06, 2021] Qlik and the Blacks In Technology (BIT) Foundation Team Up to Increase African-American Tech Inclusion in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Blacks In Technology (BIT) Foundation is proud to have Qlik as a partner to support efforts to increase representation of people of African descent in the greater Philadelphia technology industry. As a regional sponsor Qlik will collaborate with BIT Philadelphia to provide training and upskilling for workers who are transitioning into tech and technology industry workers who aspire to advance their career.

Due to COVID-19, nearly one in five Black Pennsylvanians was unemployed as 2020 ended, according to a report by the Economic Policy Institute. That was the highest rate of unemployment for Black people in any U.S. state at the time, and the unemployment rate remains higher than any other racial group in Pennsylvania. The median annual income for computer and information technology occupations in the Philadelphia region is $90,200, according to recent United States Bureau of Labor Statistics data, and according to CompTIA, there are approximately 300,000 open tech industry and tech occupation jobs available in the Philadelphia metropolitan area.



Qlik looks to partner with organizations that truly make a difference and create positive impact towards a more sustainable, equitable and inclusive world. Partnering with BIT will enable Qlik to expand access for the underserved Black community to a range of resources and opportunities in the fast-growing data and analytics field, which is accelerating change across every industry. Growing companies are looking for candidates that have a high level of data literacy  the ability to read, work with and analyze data for action, and Qlik is an established leader in this area. Through internship programs to help create career paths, free data literacy training courses and more advanced upskilling courses, Qlik will directly provide to BIT members the chance to truly transform their skills and career trajectories.



As a regional sponsor, Qlik can have an immediate and long-lasting impact on the Philadelphia Black community. By removing barriers to entry into tech for unemployed and under-employed workers, through technical training certification grants, scholarships, and mentorship, I visualize BIT and Qlik changing lives for the better, said Dennis Schultz, Executive Director of the Blacks In Technology Foundation. He added, BIT has programs and initiatives to assist workers at scale and transition them into new careers with family sustainable wages. Qlik believes we have a responsibility to create a more equitable and inclusive environment for underserved communities to succeed and benefit from technology, especially so in the greater Philadelphia area with our worldwide headquarters based in King of Prussia, said Julie Kae, VP of Sustainability and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Qlik. Were excited to partner with BIT to create career opportunities for the Black community in the field of data and analytics, which is growing and transforming the way every company operates across the globe.

Qlik is sponsoring the upcoming virtual BITCON event, October 13-15, with a panel conversation on October 13 at 1 pm ET titled, What Black ERGs Need to be Successful, and a virtual booth where visitors can find out more about career opportunities with Qlik and its various programs. For more information visit: https://hopin.com/events/bitcon-2021#schedule. About Qlik Qliks vision is a data-literate world, where everyone can use data and analytics to improve decision-making and solve their most challenging problems. A private SaaS company, Qlik provides an end-to-end, real-time data integration and analytics cloud platform to close the gaps between data, insights and action.?By transforming data into Active Intelligence, businesses can drive better decisions, improve revenue and profitability, and optimize customer relationships.?Qlik does business in more than 100 countries and serves over 50,000 customers around the world.?? About the Blacks in Technology Foundation Founded in 2008 and established in 2012, Blacks In Technology LLC is the largest community and media organization that focuses on people of African descent in the technology industry. Through community-focused activities, events and outreach, The Blacks In Technology (BIT) Foundation is Stomping the Divide by establishing a blueprint of world-class technical excellence and innovation by providing resources, guidance, networking, and opportunities for members to share their expertise and advance their careers. For more information on the Blacks In Technology Foundation visit: https://foundation.blacksintechnology.net/  2021 QlikTech International AB. All rights reserved. All company and/or product names may be trade names, trademarks and/or registered trademarks of the respective owners with which they are associated. Media Contact:

Derek Lyons

derek.lyons@qlik.com

617-658-5310



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[October 06, 2021] IDC Forecasts Worldwide Carrier Multi-access Edge Cloud (MEC) Software Market to Grow to More Than $16 Billion in 2025 as Telco MEC Deployments Rapidly Increase

International Data Corporation (IDC) sees 2021 as an accelerated year for multi-access edge cloud (MEC) investments. MEC buildouts are being carried out by a broad cross-section of edge stakeholders (e.g., wireless and wireline communications service providers, cable companies, content delivery networks (CDNs), and cloud providers) to deliver latency-sensitive edge network services. Beyond connectivity, MEC buildouts will also provide opportunities for organizations to host applications both on premises and in edge cloud sites. Potential benefits include the ability to meet stringent data traffic policies, enhance security, and improve real-time control and decision making. The use cases, go-to-market alignments, product development, and move to cloud-native architectures by players in the market - the telcos, the hyperscale players, and carrier infrastructure vendors - remain in development. IDC (News - Alert) believes that the acceleration in the development of the mobile edge cloud ecosystem, cable MSOs investing in edge capabilities, and cloud service providers hosting network edge workloads and partnering with communications service providers to provide MEC solutions for enterprises will drive the majority of carrier MEC investments over the forecast period. IDC forecasts worldwide revenue for the multi-access edge cloud (MEC), including virtual network functions (VNFs), network functions virtualization infrastructure (NFVI), and cloud-native network functions (CNFs), at the carrier edge cloud across the four market subsegments (mobile edge, wireline edge, cable edge, and CDN edge), will grow from $3.5 billion in 2020 to $16.7 billion in 2025. This represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 37.0% over the 2020-2025 forecast period. "As MEC emerges as a viable option for various enterprise verticals, it is becoming a key driver of new revenue streams beyond connectivity and critical for mobile network operators as they attempt to monetize 5G. Although edge investment is mostly related to 5G/MEC today, we expect edge spending to expand in the wireline market as well as cable MSOs, CDNs, and wireline service providers build edge platfors for low-latency, availability, and security for next-generation enterprise applications," said Ajeet Das, research director, Carrier Network Infrastructure at IDC.



The IDC report, Worldwide Carrier Multi-Access Edge Cloud Software Forecast, 2021-2025 (IDC #US47309321), presents the worldwide market forecast for the multi-access edge cloud (MEC) carrier infrastructure software (VNF/CNF and NFVI) for the 2021-2025 period. As part of this forecast, IDC breaks out carrier MEC software spending across mobile edge cloud (e.g., cloud radio access network [RAN] applications, data plane of the packet core and other 5G core functions deployed on a MEC platform, and virtual backhaul), wireline edge cloud (virtual OLT, virtual Broadband Network Gateway (News - Alert) [BNG], and virtual CPE and virtual edge routers for MEC deployments), cable edge cloud (virtual CMTS), and carrier CDN edge featuring virtual CDNs that will be collocated with the other three edges. The report also provides a market overview, including drivers and challenges for communications service providers and advice for technology suppliers. 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/20211006005294/en/

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[October 06, 2021] Leading Payment Processor VizyPay Welcomes Two Directorial New Hires From Outside the Payment Processing Industry

WAUKEE, Iowa, Oct. 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- VizyPay , an award-winning leader in the payment processing industry for small businesses, today announces the appointment of Jason Bahnsen, as General Counsel and Director of Risk/Compliance, and Mana Thongvanh, as Director of Operations. Each is the first to hold their respective roles within the company; both will help to drive the organization forward through streamlined operational workflow, as well as with the development and implementation of a risk and compliance program.

With VizyPays continued growth and success, we knew the next step in our expansion was appointing these directorial roles, said Austin Mac Nab, CEO and co-founder of VizyPay. In hiring outside of the payment processing space, we hope to continue disrupting the industry by bringing forth new ideas and innovative offerings, specifically from those who are able to look at the field through a fresh lens. As General Counsel and Director of Risk/Compliance, Bahnsen hopes to leverage his legal and compliance knowledge and experience in the financial services industry to help VizyPay develop and implement a risk and compliance program. I look forward to bringing my own personality to the VizyPay atmosphere and culture, said Bahnsen. Im also excited about the opportunity to partner with the people who have worked so hard to bring VizyPay to the level that it has chieved in such a short amount of time. Im certain my good attitude and strong work ethic will allow me to quickly learn the nuances of the industry, enabling me to assist VizyPay in taking the next step in its already impressive growth.



Thongvanh, as Director of Operations, will work to streamline the operational processes for five different departments - customer service, tech support, the POS department, file building for equipment and shipping and deployment - including external and internal communications, program implementation, adoption and more. Ive known Austin Mac Nab, VizyPays CEO and co-founder, for quite some time and have loved watching the company grow, explained Thongvanh. Now, I've been offered the opportunity to help drive this growth and success forward, and couldnt be more excited about both mine and VizyPays next chapter together. Prior to this role, Bahnsen was with a private law firm where he practiced for 14 years in Creditors Rights Litigation as a Supervising Attorney and then Senior Litigation Attorney. Later, Bahnsen transitioned to a national bank where he served as Compliance Officer in Consumer Lending Compliance - Cards, Retail and Merchant Services for nearly 2 years before accepting the role at VizyPay.

Before VizyPay, Thongvanh was in the construction field for 17+ years holding positions including project engineer and project manager, for 13 of those years. In these roles, Thongvanh oversaw 20-25 million dollar projects such as the building of hotels, hospitals, casinos, apartment buildings and more, managing budgets, plans and contractors. For more information, visit https://www.vizypay.com/ . About VizyPay

VizyPay was founded in West Des Moines, Iowa, by entrepreneurs who each had either significant credit card processing experience or were previously small business owners. Their combined understanding of these different industries created the perfect cocktail for a credit card processing company that could truly look out for the business owner. VizyPay is growing rapidly by being honest and simple in an industry that is known for being complicated and deceitful. Their business model is unique and making a huge splash nationwide. Media Contact

Brittany Johnson

Uproar PR for VizyPay

bjohnson@uproarpr.com

312-878-4575 x246



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[October 06, 2021] Zapata Computing Partners with University of Hull to Leverage Quantum Computing in Search for Life in Deep Space

BOSTON, Oct. 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zapata Computing, Inc. , a leading enterprise quantum software company, today announced a partnership agreement with the U.K.-based University of Hull . The partnership will support research to evaluate Orquestra , Zapatas quantum workflow platform, to enhance a quantum application designed to detect signatures of life in deep space.

The evaluation will run for eight weeks before the team publishes an analysis of the research. It is expected to be the first of several collaborations between Zapata and the University of Hull for quantum astrophysics applications. In 2016, MIT researchers suggested a list of over 14,000 molecules that could indicate signs of life in exoplanets atmospheres. However, little is currently known about how these molecules vibrate and rotate in response to infrared radiation generated by nearby stars. The E.A. Milne Centre for Astrophysics at the University of Hull aims to generate a database of detectable biological signatures usig new computational models of molecular rotations and vibrations, including models that leverage quantum computing.



Quantum computers allow for extremely accurate calculations of the key variable defining atom-atom interactions  electronic correlation  and thus could improve scientists ability to detect the building blocks of life in space. This is particularly important because even simple molecules, such as oxygen or nitrogen, have complex interactions that require very accurate calculations. With Zapatas support, we are one step closer to discovering life beyond Earth, said Dr. David Benoit, senior lecturer in Molecular Physics and Astrochemistry at the University of Hull. Although quantum computers are still early and cannot yet outperform classical hardware, Zapata has made it possible to generate valuable insights from the Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum (NISQ) devices currently available. With Orquestra, we can build applications that use these NISQ devices today with the capacity to leverage the more powerful quantum devices of the future.

Zapatas Orquestra platform empowers enterprises and research organizations to build quantum-enabled workflows, execute them across the full range of quantum and classical devices, and then collect and analyze the resulting data. With Orquestra, organizations can harness quantum capabilities to generate augmented data sets, speed up data analysis, and construct better data models for a range of use cases. Importantly, it provides organizations with the most flexible, interoperable, and forward-compatible toolset for building quantum capabilities without getting locked in with a single vendor or architecture in the years to come. The research being done by Dr. Benoit and his colleagues has the potential to redefine our place in the universe, and were humbled that Orquestra will have a supporting role, said Christopher Savoie, CEO and co-founder of Zapata Computing. We hope our research together will clearly demonstrate the potential for quantum computing to answer some of our greatest questions today, while providing a glimpse of the transformative impact quantum computing will have on our society in the future. About Zapata Computing

Zapata Computing, Inc. builds quantum-ready applications for enterprise deployment through our flagship product Orquestra  the only workflow-based toolset for enterprise quantum computing. Zapata has pioneered a new quantum-classical development and deployment paradigm that focuses on a range of use cases, including ML, optimization and simulation. Orquestra integrates best-in-class classical and quantum technologies, including Zapatas leading-edge algorithms, open-source libraries in Python and more. Zapata partners closely with hardware providers across the quantum ecosystem such as Amazon, Google, Honeywell, IBM, IonQ, Microsoft and Rigetti. Investors include BASF Venture Capital, Honeywell Ventures, Itochu Corporation and Merck Global Health. Media Contact:

Anya Nelson

Scratch Marketing + Media for Zapata Computing

anyan@scratchmm.com

617.817.6559



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[October 06, 2021] Techstrong Group Launches As The Power Source For People And Technology

Unified Techstrong brand is the go-to source for unbiased information, insights and connections for IT professionals looking to excel personally and professionally BOCA RATON, Fla., Oct. 6, 2021 /CNW/ -- Techstrong Group, the power source for people and technology, announced its launch today. Techstrong Group is the combination of several market-leading businesses and brands in the DevOps, cybersecurity and cloud-native space. MediaOps, DevOps Institute, Prospera Events and Accelerated Strategies Group are now all part of Techstrong Group. Techstrong Group's integrated businesses set it apart from others and offer IT professionals and technology providers multiple ways to learn and engage. MediaOps , a two-time Inc. 5000 winner, is the company behind brands including DevOps.com, Security Boulevard, Container Journal and Techstrong TV. DevOps Institute , a 2021 Inc. 5000 recipient, is the globally recognized professional member association for advancing the human elements of DevOps and the leading certification authority in the DevOps space. For more than 15 years, Prospera Events has run the InnoTech series of conferences as well as other events for organizations in the technology field. Accelerated Strategies Group, founded two years ago, provides research and analysis in DevOps, cybersecurity, cloud and cloud-native, as well as digital transformation. "Today marks a major milestone as we take the next step in our growth journey by forming Techstrong Group. This also is a major milestone for the industry as we focus on our IT communities, ecosystem and customers," said Alan Shimel, Techstrong Group CEO and co-founder. "So, to all of our readers, members, customers, employees and ambassadors, thank you for helping us to reach this point in our journey. Today we are launching Techstrong Group, but we have big plans beyond today, so stay tuned. We are just getting started." Techstrong Group is uniquely positioned as the go-to source for unbiased information, insights and connections that help IT professionals understand new technologies to exce both personally and professionally. With a broad set of IT-related communities and offerings, Techstrong Group is the only organization serving the needs of IT leaders, practitioners and industry ecosystem with news, research, analysis, events, education, certifications and professional development.



"The goal in forming Techstrong Group is to create a safe and holistic ecosystem for today's digital culture that powers their careers and their organizations with content, events, research, education and certification," said Jayne Groll, co-founder and chief strategy officer, Techstrong Group. At today's hyper-fast pace, it is critical for technology professionals at all levels to understand how technology can improve business processes, revenue, profitability and customer satisfaction. Techstrong Group aims to be the place where technology leaders and practitioners gather to exchange ideas and continually learn, grow and succeed.

"Quality and up-to-date information is what the industry has come to expect from Techstrong brands such as DevOps.com, DevOps Institute, Security Boulevard and others. It only makes sense to align these individual IT information properties, covering news, community, membership associations, broadcast and research under one organization," said Shlomi Ben Haim, co-founder and CEO, JFrog. "With this move, Techstrong Group has created a unique powerhouse to scale IT resources, enabling us to tap into those resources across a variety of different channels." To effectively deliver on this broad array of knowledge offerings and benefits, Techstrong Group is organized into several business units, including: Techstrong Media: Our media business serves IT communities that are reshaping the world of technology. Today DevOps, cloud-native, cybersecurity and digital transformation are the communities we live in. The operational brands and sites serving these communities are DevOps.com, Security Boulevard, Container Journal and TechstrongTV.

Our media business serves IT communities that are reshaping the world of technology. Today DevOps, cloud-native, cybersecurity and digital transformation are the communities we live in. The operational brands and sites serving these communities are DevOps.com, Security Boulevard, Container Journal and TechstrongTV. Techstrong Associations: Our professional associations focus on the people side of technology. With the fast pace of technology, professional associations have become more important than ever to keep members up to date on the latest career-defining skills and knowledge. DevOps Institute is a community for practitioners and their leadership, consultants, vendors and recognized thought leaders to come together. DevOps Institute's global ambassador community offers experts with a rich mix of industry experience, extensive practical knowledge and regional awareness.

Our professional associations focus on the people side of technology. With the fast pace of technology, professional associations have become more important than ever to keep members up to date on the latest career-defining skills and knowledge. DevOps Institute is a community for practitioners and their leadership, consultants, vendors and recognized thought leaders to come together. DevOps Institute's global ambassador community offers experts with a rich mix of industry experience, extensive practical knowledge and regional awareness. Techstrong Research: Techstrong Research analysts from around the world leverage their industry expertise to offer research services, analysis and knowledge to deliver insightful, intelligent and useful information in a variety of formats relevant to the IT communityreports, assessments, digital events, videos, workshops and implementation projects with IT organizations, business leaders and tech vendors.

Techstrong Research analysts from around the world leverage their industry expertise to offer research services, analysis and knowledge to deliver insightful, intelligent and useful information in a variety of formats relevant to the IT communityreports, assessments, digital events, videos, workshops and implementation projects with IT organizations, business leaders and tech vendors. Techstrong Learning: Our educational business offers online education in various formats for IT leaders and practitioners. Techstrong Learning will be an online learning platform catering to topics and capabilities unique to digital transformation from the developer to the executive.

Our educational business offers online education in various formats for IT leaders and practitioners. Techstrong Learning will be an online learning platform catering to topics and capabilities unique to digital transformation from the developer to the executive. Techstrong Live!: Our events serve all of our communities with trends, knowledge, strategic and pragmatic insights and hard-hitting thought leadership in multiple formats including in-person, virtual, hybrid, remote live feed, webinars, seminars and workshops. "The Techstrong Group brands have been a solid go-to resource for news, updates, research and industry events for many years. The brands have achieved this status by not only keeping a daily pulse on the industries they serve, but by developing long-standing relationships with industry and thought leaders," said Derek E. Weeks, SVP and CMO, The Linux Foundation. "It is great to see the Techstrong Group brands come together to help the industry keep up with rapidly evolving technologies and in a way that helps us to understand how to gain maximum business value from technology." Additional Resources Read the blog from Alan Shimel , CEO, Techstrong Group

Read the blog from Jayne Groll , CSO, Techstrong Group

Learn more about Techstrong Group About Techstrong Group

Techstrong Group is the power source for people and technology. Techstrong accelerates understanding of technologies that drive business. With a broad set of IT-related communities and offerings, Techstrong is the only media company serving the needs of IT leaders and practitioners with news, research, analysis, events, education, certifications and professional development. Our focus is digital transformation, DevOps, cybersecurity, cloud and cloud-native. Techstrong Group business units include: Techstrong Media, Techstrong Associations, Techstrong Research, Techstrong Learning and Techstrong Live!. For technology providers, Techstrong business units offer many ways to reach IT professionals and tell their story. Techstrong Group is based in Boca Raton, Florida. For more information, visit us on the web and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram. Media Contact

Jeremy Douglas

Catapult

jdouglas@catapultpr-ir.com View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/techstrong-group-launches-as-the-power-source-for-people-and-technology-301393890.html SOURCE Techstrong Group

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[October 06, 2021] New First Orion Survey Finds 85% of Consumers Consider Brands Illegitimate if They Use Unidentified Numbers to Contact Them

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark., Oct. 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- First Orion , a provider of digital call experiences for the worlds leading mobile carriers, enterprises, and mobile apps, today released findings from its 2021 Brand Impact Report. The report surveyed U.S. mobile subscribers to better understand their experiences with unidentified callers and their preferences with how brands communicate with them.

Findings show that 93% of survey respondents have received a scam call to their mobile phone, 90% say they dont feel comfortable answering their phone when the caller is someone they dont recognize, and 78% have missed an important call for this reason in the past month. For companies that rely on making phone calls, like food delivery services calling to confirm arrival or financial services companies calling to verify transactions or assist in loan applications, getting the right person on the phone at the right time can make all the difference in making a sale or providing a great customer experience. However, the rise in scam calls have cost over 59 million Americans nearly $30 billion dollars in 2021 alone; as a result, consumers are apprehensive about answering unidentified callers. The Brand Impact Report indicates consumers want call transparency from the brands and marketers calling them to make an informed decision on whether they wish to engage with the call. Brands and Marketers: Transparency Matters

When a business can effectively reach customers by phone, it can lead to a better customer experience, higher call answer and conversion rates, and increased revenue. When a business is unable to reac customers by phone  appearing as a missed, unidentified caller  61% of respondents indicated that it could create a negative perception of the business. Additional findings from the Brand Impact Report show that brands who identify themselves dramatically improve the chances of their phone call being answered and improve consumer trust.



85% of mobile subscribers surveyed consider brands who call with unidentified numbers as illegitimate

of mobile subscribers surveyed consider brands who call with unidentified numbers as illegitimate 90% indicate that if brands would properly identify themselves while their phone was ringing, they would feel comfortable answering their phone again

indicate that if brands would properly identify themselves while their phone was ringing, they would feel comfortable answering their phone again 84% would feel more valued if brands utilized call enhancement solutions like branded calling

The phone call has become a pivotal tool in brand marketing and customer experience but with the rise of spam/scam calling, companies now have a responsibility to protect consumers during this essential touchpoint, said Scott Hambuchen, Chief Information and Chief Product Officer at First Orion. Brands who arent utilizing branded calling solutions are putting both their customers and their reputation at risk, and they are missing their chance to establish a trusted, human connection  one that their customers unquestionably want. The Brand Impact Report surveyed 5,000 U.S. mobile subscribers across all 50 states and was nearly evenly split by gender with about 70% of respondents aged 25-44, resulting in an even sampling of the U.S. mobile subscriber market at large.

A leader in digital branded calling and call protection technology, First Orions mission is to provide transparency in communication to help businesses and consumers create meaningful connections. First Orions INFORM and ENGAGE branded calling suite helps businesses brand their outbound calls while empowering consumers to connect over a trusted, verified call. First Orion also works directly with mobile carriers to provide real-time call protection services to combat scam and fraudulent calls and empower consumers to trust their phones again. For more information or to access the First Orion Brand Impact report, visit http://www.firstorion.com/2021-brand-impact-report About First Orion

First Orion provides true digital call experiences for the worlds leading mobile carriers, enterprises, and mobile apps developers. The companys Branded Calling Suite  INFORM and ENGAGE  allow businesses to brand their outbound calls while empowering consumers to connect over a trusted, verified call. First Orions Call Protection Suite offers scam, fraud, and spoof protection solutions to hundreds of millions of consumers. Processing more than 110 billion calls annually, First Orion powers digital call experiences for T-Mobile, Metro by T-Mobile, and Boost Mobile networks along with Fortune 500 brands, PrivacyStar, and other mobile apps. Headquartered in North Little Rock, Arkansas, First Orion was founded in 2008 and employs more than 300 people across its global offices. For more information, visit www.firstorion.com . INFORM, ENGAGE, and PrivacyStar are registered trademarks of First Orion. Media/PR Contact:

Uproar PR for First Orion

Sarah Aller

saller@uproarpr.com

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[October 06, 2021] Presidio Ventures Makes Strategic Investment in Lilac Solutions, Inc.; Plans to Leverage Sumitomo Corp of Americas' Network to Enhance Value of Lithium Extraction Technology

NEW YORK, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Presidio Ventures, a Sumitomo Corporation of Americas ("SCOA") Group Company, has joined a Series B funding round for Lilac Solutions, Inc. ("Lilac"), a lithium extraction technology company headquartered in Oakland, CA. Lilac will use the funds from this round to continue expansion of its global team, build a dedicated factory in the United States to produce the company's unique ion-exchange beads, and deploy Lilac's lithium extraction technology at multiple projects throughout the United States, South America, and Europe. "We're excited to contribute to the sustainable expansion of the world's Lithium's supply through our investment into Lilac solutions," said Mr. Doug Kuribayashi, CEO of Presidio Ventures. "We believe that Sumitomo Corporation of Americas' expertise and significant experience in the management and operations of the mining business, together with its global network in trading raw materials for battery production, will add value to Lilac Solutions in the future." Lilac's lithium extraction technology is significantly more effective, faster to deploy, less expensive and more sustainable than conventional lithium production methods. Their Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) technology unlocks new untapped brine resources that contain low lithium and high impurities, an area deemed unusable until recently.

Dave Snydacker, CEO and Founder of Lilac Solutions, said "Electric vehicles are a low-carbon success story and are poised for decades of growth, but the lithium raw materials needed for batteries have become a serious bottleneck. The lithium industry has been plagued with technical and environmental problems that have put future supply in jeopardy. Lilac's technology solves the fundamental challenges of lithium production from brine resources, and our team is thrilled to deploy globally with support from investors like Presidio Ventures and its parent company, SCOA." Serving as SCOA's venture capital arm, Presidio entures anticipates myriad opportunities to help scale and apply Lilac's unique solution throughout the company's vast business network. SCOA has extensive experience within the global mining sector and possesses a wide network of industry partners and suppliers. Lilac's technology has the potential to catalyze Lithium production and increase supply, a welcome solution to the growing demand for global electrification.



Lithium is used in the development of batteries for mobile phones, laptops and tablets, and most notably electric vehicles. According to IEA's Global EV Outlook, electric car registrations increased in all major markets in 2020 despite the COVID-19 pandemic, and 18 of the 20 largest OEMs have committed to increase their offer and sale of EVs. With these figures driving the automotive industry toward electrification, the lithium supply chain is going to be a tremendous player in satisfying this consumer demand. Presidio Ventures

With offices in Silicon Valley and Boston, Presidio Ventures has invested in more than 160 companies over the past twenty years. Presidio's expansive network of Sumitomo affiliates and subsidiaries helps the company tailor support for start-ups, ensuring that new companies can succeed from early-stage investment all the way to IPO. Founded in Sumitomo's centuries-old business philosophy of shared prosperity, Presidio looks for opportunities to partner with entrepreneurs in key industries that shape the way we live. For more information visit www.presido-ventures.com.

About Sumitomo Corporation of Americas

Established in 1952 and headquartered in New York City, Sumitomo Corporation of Americas (SCOA) has eight offices in major U.S. cities. SCOA is the largest subsidiary of Sumitomo Corporation, one of the world's leading traders of goods and services. As an integrated business enterprise, the firm has emerged as a major organizer of multinational projects, an expediter of ideas, an important international investor and financier, and a powerful force for distribution of products and global communications through a network of offices worldwide. Its core business units include Tubular Products, Environment and Infrastructure, Steel and Non Ferrous Metals, Transportation and Construction Systems, Chemicals and Electronics, Media and IOT Applications, Real Estate, Mineral Resources and Energy, and Food. For more information, visit www.sumitomocorp.com.

About Lilac Solutions

Lilac Solutions is a lithium extraction technology company based in Oakland, California. Lilac has developed a patented ion exchange technology that facilitates production of lithium from brine resources with high efficiency, minimal cost and ultra-low environmental footprint. Lilac's mission is to scale global lithium production to support the electric vehicle transition and renewable energy storage transition. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/presidio-ventures-makes-strategic-investment-in-lilac-solutions-inc-plans-to-leverage-sumitomo-corp-of-americas-network-to-enhance-value-of-lithium-extraction-technology-301394030.html SOURCE Sumitomo Corporation of Americas

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[October 06, 2021] Nuveen Real Estate Selects EVPassport to Drive Engagement to Portfolio Properties with Fastest Level 2 EV Charging Experience

EVPassport, the EV charging hardware and software platform for purpose-driven organizations, today announced that Nuveen Real Estate, one of the largest real estate investment managers globally with $139 billion of assets under management, is installing EVPassport chargers on portfolio properties to provide a frictionless charging experience and strengthen property engagement. Nuveen is installing its first EVPassport chargers, the Howard L2 19.2KW charger, which provides the fastest Level 2 EV charging experience in the United States, at 20 Westport Road, Wilton, CT; 600-650 College Road, Princeton, NJ; and 501 Boylston Street, Boston, MA. "Nuveen is at the forefront of innovation when it comes to tenant experience," said Hooman Shahidi, President, EVPassport. "We are excited by their vision for EV charging with EVPassport and look forward to playing a key role in advancing property engagement and sustainability goals." Nuveen selected EVPassport for its ability to provide short-stay visitors and all-day tenants with Nuveen-branded Howard L2 chargers and a frictionless charging experience built around the ability to scan a QR code, pay and go. Open APIs enable integrations with popular services like Google Maps and Apple (News - Alert) Pay, allowing drivers to see charger location and click directly through to start a charging session without having to download an additional app or create a separate provider account.



EVPassport's robust APIs allow Nuveen to integrate live EVPassport chargers directly into existing tenant software platforms, providing a branded charging experience that is compatible with any vehicle. "We are committed to providing innovative environments that can be tailored to any tenant's needs, so partnering with EVPassport to deploy charging stations on our properties was an easy choice, given their open APIs and universal availability," said Ines Olesen, Director of New York Investments and Head of Dispositions, Office and Life Science, Americas at Nuveen. "EVPassport will be instrumental in helping us deliver a sophisticated workplace experience to our tenants."

About EVPassport EVPassport is the EV charging hardware and software platform for purpose-driven organizations. Brands committed to sustainability rely on EVPassport to provide their customers with the most seamless payment experience to charge any electric vehicle without requiring a separate app, account or a top-up balance. And EVPassport is the only platform that enhances customer engagement for these companies by providing custom branded hardware with API-powered software that easily integrates with their existing applications and services. For more information, follow EVPassport on Twitter (News - Alert) (@EVPassport), Instagram (@EVPassport) and LinkedIn, or visit www.EVPassport.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005623/en/

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[October 06, 2021] Twilio Announces Michelle Obama as Special Guest at SIGNAL 2021

Twilio (NYSE:TWLO), the leading cloud communications platform, today announced a lineup of special guests for SIGNAL, its annual customer and developer conference, including Former First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama and Simu Liu, star of the new movie Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. In its seventh year, SIGNAL will take place virtually on October 20-21, 2021. To register for a free Explorer pass visit https://signal.twilio.com/. Customer preference for communicating with businesses has drastically shifted to digital. Businesses need to deliver digital experiences that drive not only customer satisfaction but customer loyalty -- and creating these kinds of experiences starts with great data. This year, SIGNAL will explore how businesses can use data to elevate every digital interaction into a personalized, engaging customer experience. Twilio (News - Alert) CEO Jeff Lawson will be joined by special guest Michelle Obama for A Moderated Conversation with Michelle Obama." As a transformative First Lady, Mrs. Obama launched and led four key initiatives: Let's Move!, to address the challenge of childhood obesity; Joining Forces, to support veterans, service members and their families; Reach Higher, to inspire young people to seek higher education; and Let Girls Learn, to help adolescent girls around the world go to school. Mrs. Obama's work on girls' education continues through the Girls Opportunity Alliance at the Obama Foundation.



Twilio COO George Hu will sit down with actor Simu Liu to discuss Asian representation in film, television and storytelling, and how we can all challenge racial stereotypes in our careers and industries. Simu will also share how starring in the first Asian-led film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has impacted his life and community. This year, SIGNAL will feature:

Speakers from ServiceNow, Peloton, Intuit (News - Alert) , The Trevor Project, Allianz Direct, Procter & Gamble, and more.

Interactive sessions, panels and workshops breaking down how businesses can use data to foster deeper and richer customer relationships, no matter how the world changes or how customer needs evolve.

An engaging virtual platform experience powered by Twilio's own technology, where customers and attendees can connect in real-time on the channels of their choice.

Up close previews of new Twilio products.

Superclass, an immersive training designed for developers of all skill levels. Attendees will have access to hands-on exercises with Twilio APIs, 1:1 sessions with industry experts, and code-based workshops. Conference Tracks Over 50,000 builders from all over the world are expected to come together at SIGNAL to brainstorm and build the next generation of customer-centric solutions. The SIGNAL agenda serves developers of all skill levels, whether they be brand new to working with APIs or ready to deliver tangible business value with Twilio. Code of Conduct Twilio SIGNAL is dedicated to providing a harassment-free conference experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ability, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or religion (or lack thereof). Twilio does not tolerate harassment of conference participants or staff at any time nor in any form. About Twilio Millions of developers around the world have used Twilio to unlock the magic of communications to improve any human experience. Twilio has democratized communications channels like voice, text, chat, video, and email by virtualizing the world's communications infrastructure through APIs that are simple enough for any developer to use, yet robust enough to power the world's most demanding applications. By making communications a part of every software developer's toolkit, Twilio is enabling innovators across every industry - from emerging leaders to the world's largest organizations - to reinvent how companies engage with their customers. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005223/en/

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[October 06, 2021] Geotech Leader Rocscience Acquires NovoTech Software

Rocscience Inc., Canada's largest provider of geotechnical software solutions announced today that they have acquired Vancouver-based geotechnical software provider, NovoTech Software. This strategic acquisition strengthens Rocscience's current position in the market and will allow the company to branch out into new areas of geotechnical software development. Rocscience's track record of creating value for its users through continuous feedback and innovation will now also extend to NovoTech customes.



"At Rocscience, our goal is creating software solutions based on user needs and our tagline, 'Geotechnical tools, inspired by you' embodies the message of how we operate as an organisation. NovoTech Software shares a similar sentiment when it comes to their users which is why we fully believe that customers of both organizations will only stand to benefit from this acquisition," Dr. Thamer Yacoub, CEO and President of Rocscience Inc., said. Over the next few months, Rocscience will be working with the team at NovoTech to streamline the operations of both companies. At present, NovoTech Software will continue to operate under its own name and NovoTech customers will not face any immediate change with regards to their subscriptions and purchases.

As part of the arrangement, CTO of NovoTech Software, Alireza Afkhami will join Rocscience and lead the Web Applications Development team. "I have always been impressed with the technical depth and customer focus of the Rocscience team," says Alireza. "I am thrilled to be part of their success going forward - which includes having access to their global resources and expertise to provide an even brighter future for NovoTech customers." About Rocscience Inc.: Founded in 1996, Rocscience is a world leader in developing 2D and 3D software for civil, mining, and geotechnical engineers. For over 20 years, we have built on leading-edge research to create the best geotechnical software available. As engineers ourselves, we know the importance of having reliable and easy-to-use software. That is why we constantly develop and refine our programs to make expert solutions that work for thousands of geotechnical engineers around the globe. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005633/en/

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[October 06, 2021] Steve Kurzeja Named Chief Revenue Officer of Life Sciences Tech Innovator P360

P360, a leading developer of technology for life sciences companies, today announced that veteran pharmaceutical industry executive Steve Kurzeja was appointed the company's first chief revenue officer (CRO). The fast-growing technology innovator, which to date has experienced 50% Year-Over-Year growth, will rely on Kurzeja to drive better integration and alignment between all of the organization's revenue-related functions including sales, marketing and customer experience. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005006/en/ P360 Chief Revenue Officer Steve Kurzeja (Photo: Business Wire) "Steve's vast experience leading revenue-generating initiatives for pharmaceutical companies makes him the perfect fit to serve as chief revenue officer of P360," stated P360 CEO and Founder Anupam Nandwana. "As we continue to grow, it is important that all functions within our organization are aligned towards our revenue-related goals. We are excited for what the next year will bring to our customers, partners, staff and our overall operations." Steve Kurzeja comes to P360 with more than 20 years of pharmaceutical commercial industry experience, starting his career at Warner-Lambert and later spending time at Pfizer World HQ in sales operations. He then went on to hold various positions of increasing responsibilities at Warner Chilcott within field sales and operations until Actavis purchaed them. Kurzeja then joined Valeant Pharmaceuticals, now Bausch Health, to head up sales operations across several business units and therapeutic classes. While there he was involved in building out Commercial Operations and integrating several strategic acquisitions earning him operational excellence awards and recognition.



Most recently, Kurzeja was instrumental in designing, implementing and supporting commercial infrastructure initiatives at Kyowa Kirin and Biotech Startup, BioXcel Therapeutics. His diverse background and expertise led to successful product launches across various therapeutic classes including rare diseases. "I am thrilled to be joining such an innovative and passionate group of industry disruptors," said P360 Chief Revenue Officer Steve Kurzeja. "The continued digital transformation of the life sciences industry is of critical importance for both patients and care providers because it is the key to improving therapeutic development, time to market and better patient outcomes. I couldn't think of a better company to be with than P360 for this purpose."

The appointment of Steve Kurzeja as chief revenue officer comes just as P360 announced that its ZING Communication Module has been enhanced with several new enterprise-grade unified communication features. Not only does the ZING unified communications as a service (UCaaS) platform enable life sciences sales teams to send custom branded, templated SMS text messages and other digital assets to healthcare professionals (HCPs), it now features two-way calling, activity tracking, smart automations, flexible integrations and more. With the ZING UCaaS platform, life sciences sales reps can exchange compliant two-way unified messaging with healthcare professionals without barriers. There are no apps for end-users to download and there are no subscriptions for them to deal with. To HCPs, ZING offers a seamless, hassle-free experience that's seen as nothing different than their normal method for receiving texts. ZING is the HCP engagement solution the pharmaceutical industry has been waiting for. Within the first six months of launch, over 50 pharmaceutical organizations have expressed interest in ZING, including each of the top 10 global companies - with five of them currently engaging in deployment discussions. For more information about the ZING Communication Module, please visit the product landing page HERE. For more about P360, visit P360.com. About P360 Based in Piscataway Township, New Jersey, P360 is a leading developer of technology for the life sciences industry. Product offerings include BirdzAI, PatientJourney360, Data360, Trials360 and Swittons. To learn more about P360, visit P360.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005006/en/

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[October 06, 2021] Moneris acquires UEAT to broaden unified commerce solutions for restaurant businesses across Canada

UEAT to become a wholly owned subsidiary of Moneris TORONTO and QUEBEC, Oct. 6, 2021 /CNW/ - Moneris Solutions Corporation ("Moneris"), a Canadian leader in unified commerce, announced it has completed the acquisition of UEAT, a provider of innovative online ordering solutions for restaurateurs. The relationship originally started as a partnership where Moneris was the preferred payment processor for UEAT's customers in Canada providing a unified commerce solution. This acquisition will further strengthen each company's go-to-market alignment while maintaining UEAT's integration flexibility. As the shift to digital commerce has accelerated over the past few years, Moneris continues to identify and invest in value-added services to offer to Canadian business owners. Already familiar with UEAT, the acquisition is a natural fit and evolution of the ongoing relationship. By combining Moneris' suite of digital offerings with UEAT's online ordering solutions, restaurateurs will be able to easily engage in omni-channel ordering and sales, optimize capacity, access customer data, address the current labour shortage, and increase the overall lifetime value of repeat customers. "The food service industry has changed dramatically over the past few years. Omni-channel ordering and sales is a must have feature for these businesses and Moneris' acquisition of UEAT furthers our commitment to delivering innovative, digital-first solutions to our merchants," said Angela Brown, President and CEO, Moneris. "We're excited to welcome UEAT to the Moneris family and work with them to deliver market-leading solutions for restaurateurs across Canada and globally." UEAT will become a subsidiary of Moneris. The company will continue to operate with no changes to their structure, culture or management. A proud start-up from Quebec, QC, UEAT will maintain its headquarters in the city and further oneris' already significant presence in the province. The acquisition is another example of Moneris' strategic focus on delivering creative technology solutions that help Canadian businesses shift to, and grow in, the digital commerce space, giving them the opportunity to thrive in Canada and internationally.



"UEAT has carved an enviable reputation in the market unlike any other online ordering platform. We have built our robust restaurant technology on the latest best practices in UX and artificial intelligence. We offer a wide range of tools to help restaurateurs leverage online ordering to grow their business. And we provide simplified support and training for time-strapped restaurateurs to boost digital sales," explained Martin Lafrance, President and Co-founder of UEAT. "We are thrilled to become a part of Monerisall while continuing to expand our presence, creating more jobs in Quebec, and stimulating our local economy." As both companies are privately held, the terms of the acquisition agreement were not disclosed.

About UEAT Based in Canada, UEAT creates innovative online ordering solutions to help restaurant chains and independents across North America increase the overall lifetime value of their customers as well as their profit margins thanks to a range of online ordering and payment solutions based on artificial intelligence that personalizes each customer experience. For more information please visit www.UEAT.io and follow @UEATSolutions. About Moneris Moneris is Canada's largest provider of innovative, unified solutions for mobile, online and in-store payments, processing more than one in three transactions. Serving businesses of every size and industry, Moneris offers hardware, software and solutions to help transform the way businesses grow and operate, in payments and beyond. For more information please visit www.moneris.com and follow @moneris.

SOURCE Moneris

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[October 06, 2021] Modern Treasury Raises $85 Million, Passes $2 Billion Valuation

Modern Treasury, a payments operations software provider, today announced an $85 million Series C funding round led by Altimeter Capital, with participation from existing investors Benchmark and Quiet Capital. The funding, which pushes Modern Treasury's valuation above $2 billion, occurs amid explosive growth for the company. Its platform transforms the way teams move and track money, catalyzing growth in the economy's most important sectors, from real estate and healthcare to education and financial services. Annually more than $750 trillion in bank transfers occur each year via wire, ACH and checks. Many of these payments, especially those between companies, take one to three days to lear and finance teams spend hours tracking them from initiation and approvals to accounting and reporting.



Modern Treasury offers an API into the banking system, as well as software to support finance and treasury teams, so that each step of the process is automated. This enables companies to build and scale innovative products, manage payments via dashboard or API, and automatically reconcile cash across multiple bank accounts. ??"Modern Treasury is fundamentally modernizing the payment infrastructure behind the economy's most important sectors," said Ram Woo, Partner at Altimeter Capital. "They've clearly tapped a need in this massive market and we're thrilled to help support the company's exceptional growth."

Modern Treasury customers reconcile over $2 billion per month using the platform, representing over 20x growth year over year. This is also up from $1 billion in March 2021 and $100 million a month last fall. "We're making big strides with product development and customer traction," says Dimitri Dadiomov, Modern Treasury CEO and co-founder. "As we continue to grow, we invite leading banks to partner with us in delivering best-in-class experiences for our mutual clients." Modern Treasury recently named Shruthi Murthy, formerly of WhatsApp, as head of engineering. The company also opened a new office in San Francisco and plans to open one in New York to meet the needs of its fast-growing team. To date, Modern Treasury has raised $133 million in funding. The latest round will enable it to broaden its product suite, partner more deeply with banks, and help more customers of all sizes modernize their finance function, the lifeblood of any business. "Modern Treasury's remarkable growth is a testament to its unique product and value proposition in the payments ecosystem. Modern Treasury is enabling more and more of the economy to take advantage of modern payment technology," said Chetan Puttagunta, General Partner at Benchmark and Modern Treasury board member. To learn more about Modern Treasury and the funding news, please visit our blog post here. About Modern Treasury Modern Treasury provides payment operations software for companies, enabling teams to move and track money with confidence. Our tools automate the full cycle of money movement-from payment initiation, through approvals, to reconciliation. Using Modern Treasury products, innovators are reinventing the way businesses are built, run, and scaled. We are a catalyst for growth in the economy's most important sectors, from real estate and healthcare to education and financial services. Founded in 2018, San Francisco-based Modern Treasury is backed by Altimeter Capital, Benchmark, and Y Combinator. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005329/en/

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[October 06, 2021] CareerArc Unveils First-of-its-Kind Platform to Transform Companies' Social Media Presence into a Strategic Source of Hire

BURBANK, Calif., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- CareerArc , the only social recruiting platform purpose-built for talent acquisition, announces the next evolution of its award-winning platform that helps organizations turn their social media presence into a strategic source of hire through social media recruiting strategy, automation, publishing, and intelligence. Top brands such as Ulta Beauty, Boston Market and CVS Health have used CareerArc to achieve notable accomplishments such as a 50% increase in hires, 85% retention rate for candidates hired through the platform, lowest cost for applicants and hires and a per-client average of more than 800 hours of work saved on recruiting each year. "The talent landscape has shifted significantly over the past 18 months due to the pandemic. Candidates are reassessing what matters to them in their next jobs, and the resulting Great Resignation poses both challenges and opportunities in talent acquisition and retention," said Jim Bramante, Chairman and CEO of CareerArc. "Many traditional recruiting techniques are becoming more expensive and yielding fewer results, which calls for talent acquisition leaders to evolve their approach. Employer brand - the embodiment of what it means to work for a company and what the employee experience will be like - is critical to attracting talent in today's market. The new and improved capabilities in CareerArc's social recruiting platform answers this new reality, making it easier, more effective, and less time-consuming for recruiters to use social media strategically to showcase their employer brand and attract and hire top talent." According to CareerArc's 2021 Future of Recruiting Study , 82% of job seekers consider employer brand and reputation before applying to a job, 79% interact with brands on social media, and 63% say they check social media for employe and consumer comments around workforce diversity, or lack thereof, at a company.



CareerArc's platform is the industry's only jobs-integrated social media publishing tool that syncs job data from clients' applicant tracking systems (ATS) to automatically create and publish unique, social-optimized job posts at scale around the clock. Additional features of the newly released version include: Magic Posts, an intelligent publishing technology that automatically mixes and matches similarly tagged jobs, text, hashtags, images, and video links to provide a constant stream of fresh, relevant, and diverse posts that amplify a company's social media presence and save thousands of hours of work per year.

Automated post recommendations that suggest the best imagery, publishing times, frequency, and more for posts based on data-driven social media best practices.

Employer brand campaigns around themes such as DEI, culture, employees, and more with campaign-specific publishing schedules.

A content studio that enables talent teams to create powerful, attention-grabbing graphics without any graphic design knowledge needed. Comparable to any well-known social media content creation tool, users can upload images from their own libraries or select an image from Pexels, crop it, add a filter, drop in preformatted and stylized text, and finish it off with a sticker or an emoji.

Integration with daily work tools such as Dropbox, Google Drive, SharePoint, OneDrive, YouTube, and Vimeo to produce a seamless experience.

A social recruiting health score to help teams track how their social recruiting strategy is improving over time and an ongoing action-based analytics dashboard with topline metrics, best-performing posts, and more. "This evolution of CareerArc's social recruiting platform was driven by extensive market input every step of the way. Our goal is to solve real problems talent acquisition teams are facing every single day as they fight for the best talent with limited time and resources," said Anna Bersudsky, Chief Product Officer of CareerArc. "Our approach is guided by several user mantras - never a bad post, I always know what to do next, and as few clicks as possible - with alignment and validation checkpoints throughout the process to deliver a solution that is as fun and easy to use as it is effective. We're extremely proud of our platform and can't wait to continue the journey as we help our clients be the best in the world in social recruiting."

CareerArc is working closely with social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. The platform successfully works with a wide variety of ATS programs, ranging from established ATS providers to custom-built, in-house systems. As traditional ways of hiring continue to change, CareerArc allows companies to set up multiple brands on one account and recruit for multiple locations. The new features are available now: get a sneak peek here. The company has plans to roll out additional features within the coming months. About CareerArc Founded in 2009, CareerArc has over a decade of experience helping the world's largest, most exciting brands transform their social media presence into a strategic source of hire. Clients report notable achievements such as a 50% increase in hires, 85% retention rate for candidates hired through the platform, and a per-client average of more than 800 hours of work saved on recruiting each year. CareerArc's social recruiting software and services give talent acquisition teams the power to communicate their employer brand at scale and drive meaningful brand awareness, affinity, and engagement to achieve their critical hiring demands and recruiting goals. Visit www.CareerArc.com to learn more. Contact:

BAM for CareerArc

careerarc@bamtheagency.com View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/careerarc-unveils-first-of-its-kind-platform-to-transform-companies-social-media-presence-into-a-strategic-source-of-hire-301393799.html SOURCE CareerArc

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[October 06, 2021] WARPSPACE Finalized Series A Fundraising

WARPSPACE Co., Ltd. (Hereinafter "WARPSPACE," Director CEO: Satoru Tsunemachi), a spin-out space startup from the University of Tsukuba, announced that it has closed Series A round with Japanese leading venture capitals, such as SBI Investment Co., Ltd. and Mizuho Capital Co., Ltd. It is the final close of the Series A round and the total amount of funding has exceeded 9M USD since it was founded in 2016. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005381/en/ (Graphic: Business Wire) We will accelerate the development of the data relay satellite, "WARP-02" which consists of the world's first inter-satellite optical communication service in the commercial sector, named "WarpHub InterSat". On top of that, by raising from Mizuho Capital Co., Ltd., all three Japanese megabanks are now listed on our investors. ? Mitsubishi (News - Alert) UFJ Financial Group, Inc., Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. Comment from CEO

It is 5 years since the founding of WARPSPACE, we marked the world's first startup, among the inter-satellite optical communication providers, who have been able to close Series A thanks to lots of support. The prosperity of human beings has been along with the development of communication all the time. In the "Universal Century" when the border of human activities expands into outer space in earnest, our inter-satellite optical communication network certainly contributes to realizing a sustainable society. Comments from Underwriters



Mizuho Capital Co., Ltd.

Investment Manager: Mr. Kato

Removing the communicational bottleneck in outer space is inevitable in order to more utilize the earth observation data captured by satellites. We believe that making use of earth observation data will be accelerated by the communication infrastructure provided by WARPSPACE, and it will be able to contribute to various industries seamlessly. Mizuho Capital shall support the global activity of WARPSPACE as a member of Mizuho Financial Group. SBI Investment Co., Ltd.

General Manager: Mr. Yusuke Matsumoto

Manager: Mr. Jun Hasegawa

In recent years, low-orbit satellites observing the earth are rapidly increasing, so data obtained from satellite is also increasing and can be expected to solve social issues in various industries. We believe that WARPSPACE can solve communication bottlenecks in the space industry through constructing inter-satellite optical communication network, which will contribute to the development of the space industry and human society in the future. For the above reason, we decided to invest in WARPSPACE. We would like to support and hope that WARPSPACE will provide a new communication infrastructure for the new age of space.

About "WARP STATION Conference"

We have a free online conference on the 8th Oct. 21:00-24:30 EDT. The purpose of this conference is to connect the space industry (specifically EO) with different fields, such as Human Rights and Cyber Security to further publish the value of space (EO data). As a guest speaker, we are having experts from Secure World Foundation (US) and a cyber security specialist from Japan. Please register via following link.

https://eventregist.com/e/warpstation_day2 About "WarpHub Intersat"

WarpHub InterSat is the world's first inter-satellite optical communication relay network service using small optical relay satellites. We are aiming to launch the service in 2023. The number of satellites is increasing exponentially in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), which is between 500 to 800 km from the surface of the earth. WarpHub Intersat enables the satellites to constantly communicate with the ground stations with high-speed optical communication, which also enables the satellite operators to access more satellite data in near real-time, which contributes to realizing a more sustainable global economy of the earth. [WARPSPACE Co., Ltd.]

Established in 2016. WARPSPACE has launched three communication satellites including the one made in the predecessor university project. In addition to our expertise in satellite engineering, we are developing our space business by taking advantage of our partnerships with research institutes such as JAXA and the abundant experimental and test facilities owned by Tsukuba Science City. Website: https://warpspace.jp/ View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005381/en/

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[October 06, 2021] Grant Thornton survey: Employees value flexibility over salary increases - one-third looking for new jobs

Grant Thornton (News - Alert) LLP, a leading professional services firm, has released a survey that helps explain why millions of people have left their jobs in recent months. The firm's State of Work in America survey engaged more than 1,500 full-time employees of U.S. companies. Through questions about hybrid work, healthcare, culture and benefits, Grant Thornton has shone a light on what employees value - and what companies can do to retain talent. According to the survey, the trend that experts have dubbed "The Great Resignation" may not end anytime soon: 33% of survey respondents say they are actively looking for a new job. "There is most definitely a war for talent occurring, with an intensity unseen in recent years," says Tim Glowa, a principal and leader of Grant Thornton's employee listening and human capital services offerings. "Our survey finds that workers want flexibility. But 'flexibility' does not mean working from home 100% of the time, and physically returning to work does not mean being in the office five days a week." Instead, Glowa explains employees want workplaces that are understanding of responsibilities like childcare and eldercare. "Everyone has a unique set of responsibilities outside of the office," Glowa adds. "As companies return to the office, it will be more crucial than ever to give people the time they need to take care of what's important at home." Return to work Among those polled for Grant Thornton's State of Work in America survey, 56% are looking forward to physically returning to the office. However, it appears the requirement to be in the office full-time is a driving factor that is motivating record resignation. According to the survey, 79% of survey respondents say they want flexibility in when and where they work, while 40% say they will look for another job if forced to return to the office full time. "The challenge that companies face is creating an engaging experience for all employees, whether they are working in an office or remotely," says Jennifer Morelli, a principal and leader of Grant Thornton's Business Change Enablement practice. "Organizations need to make sure they are providing meaningful opportunities and reasons to come into the office. For example, in-person working sessions, an important meeting or a team-building event." Ultimately, the State of Work in America survey revealed that flexibility is perhaps one of the most desired attributes in the modern workplace. More than half (51%) of the employees interviewed by Grant Thornton say they would give up a 10%-20% salary increase for more fleibility.



"People value employers that respect their time, their family responsibilities and their work-life balance," says Glowa. "Employers that put that respect into action are well-positioned to win the ongoing war for talent." Retaining talent during "The Great Resignation"

While employers have been pondering their return-to-work strategies, the benefits landscape has changed. Grant Thornton's State of Work in America survey shows that many employees are satisfied with their benefits, but a large contingent have significant concerns over healthcare. Approximately 30% of survey respondents feel like the amount they pay for healthcare is not transparent, and they are not confident that they have chosen the best medical plan. Grant Thornton leaders say that addressing those concerns will require both detailed communication and ongoing benefits evaluation. Through a process called 'employee preference optimization,' companies can find ways to enhance the benefits people use and value - and save money at the same time. Frequent check-ins and active listening are also vital, as is a concise yet effective internal communications plan that relays key benefits information. "To better attract and retain employees - especially in a tight labor market - requires thinking like a marketing professional," Glowa adds. "You need to understand employee pain points, then brainstorm potential solutions and benefits to address them. If you can fix that pain point, you've made a big difference in the eyes of employees - ideally, in a way that is difficult for competitors to replicate." Those concerns about healthcare also seem to have a direct impact on workplace stress. As this survey reveals, medical issues are one of the most common sources of stress, surpassed only by personal debt. Ability to retire, work-life balance and mental health round out the list of top five sources of stress. However, some of the most common pain points are directly related to workplace culture. Almost half (45%) of survey respondents say they do not believe their employer understands their needs as an employee, and 40% say they do not feel like their voices are heard at work. Further, 34% indicate interacting with their manager is the most stressful part of the day. This could be due to management style or the sheer fact some managers don't have the proper training. Grant Thornton leaders emphasize that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to these issues. Yet, as Glowa puts it, "thinking like a marketing professional" can lead to better value propositions for employees - and ultimately help retention. Companies may need to focus on training stronger managers, optimizing their benefits and total reward packages, or enhancing workplace culture. But no matter what steps companies take, the State of Work in America survey indicates that the employee experience - and understanding what keeps your people up at night - must take precedence. "There is a bright spotlight on leadership and how leaders are treating employees," Glowa concludes. "Leaders need to walk the talk, because employees are watching closely." To see additional findings from Grant Thornton's State of Work in America survey, visit www.grantthornton.com/library/articles/tax/2021/assessing-the-state-of-american-workers. To view a webcast that examines the State of Work in America survey in more detail, visit: www.grantthornton.com/events/tax/2021/10-07-the-state-of-work-in-america. About Grant Thornton LLP

Founded in Chicago in 1924, Grant Thornton LLP (Grant Thornton) is the U.S. member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd, one of the world's leading organizations of independent audit, tax and advisory firms. Grant Thornton, which has revenues of $1.97 billion and operates more than 50 offices, works with a broad range of dynamic publicly and privately held companies, government agencies, financial institutions, and civic and religious organizations. "Grant Thornton" refers to Grant Thornton LLP, the U.S. member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd (GTIL). GTIL and the member firms are not a worldwide partnership. Services are delivered by the member firms. GTIL and its member firms are not agents of, and do not obligate, one another and are not liable for one another's acts or omissions. Please see grantthornton.com for further details. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005291/en/

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[October 06, 2021] Small Business Owners Across California Do Their Part to Save Energy and Keep California Golden

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Energy Upgrade California (EUC), the statewide program encouraging Californians to save energy, is in the business of helping small businesses. In honor of National Energy Efficiency Day, October 6, 2021, Energy Upgrade California is working closely with the California Green Business Network and Chamber of Commerce organizations from across the state to remind small business owners that going green has benefits for their business and the environment. Experience the interactive Multichannel News Release here: https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8949051-energy-upgrade-california-small-business-owners-fight-climate-change/ Energy efficiency isn't always at the top of the priority list for small businesses who are faced with making tough decisions on operational needs. However, being energy efficient can help businesses reduce their energy use which impacts their bottom line and the environment. Hear directly from California small business owners who are saving energy from everyday actions like unplugging and lighting to long-term investments like appliances and certifications. For small businesses, learning how to operate a more energy efficent business can help more than just their bottom line. When we make small changes to our energy use, we can breathe cleaner air, fight climate change, protect ecosystems and wildlife and create positive, lasting change in California. For more information and to join these businesses in the Keep it Golden movement, visit www.energyupgradeca.org.



About Energy Upgrade California:

Created by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) in 2011, Energy Upgrade California (EUC) is a statewide education, advocacy and outreach initiative to promote energy management concepts, energy efficiency actions and clean energy opportunities for the state's residents and businesses. Energy Upgrade California is uniting the state in a movement to help California thrive through smarter energy use. For more information visit www.energyupgradeca.org.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/small-business-owners-across-california-do-their-part-to-save-energy-and-keep-california-golden-301393921.html SOURCE Energy Upgrade California

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[October 06, 2021] Social Solutions Wins 2021 Tech Cares Award from TrustRadius

Social Solutions Global, the leading cloud software provider for nonprofit and public sector social service organizations, today announced it has won a 2021 TrustRadius Tech Cares Award. The company was recognized for its exceptional support and care for its employees, customers, communities and the environment. "Our core values as an organization are being impact-obsessed, delivering client-inspired innovation, ensuring everybody belongs and winning as one," said Erin Mulligan Nelson, CEO of Social Solutions. "Being recognized with a Tech Cares Award for the second consecutive year reinforces our steadfast commitment to live these values through activities and programs that support our employees, clients and communities. We are proud to be acknowledged alongside other technology companies that are innovating and banding together to make a difference during this unprecedented time." The second annual Tech Cares Award celebrates B2B technology companies that have gone above and beyond to provide strong Corporate Social Responsibility ( CSR (News - Alert) ) in 2020 and 2021. Everyone was welcome to nominate an organization for this award, including those who work for or with the company. All nominations were thoroughly vetted by the TrustRadius research team. "We're excited to announce our second annual Tech Cares Award winners," said TrustRadius CEO Vinay Bhagat. "The past two years have tested the tech community. We've been inspired by watching leaders in the B2B technology industry pursue meaningful progress in social, environmental, and cultural spaces. Not only do we feel that these companies are deserving of recognition-we also consider them a great example as we build a stronger future together." Social Solutions is committed to accelerating impact in the social good space and empowering communities to drive last social change. The company instituted several initiatives as part of its core values before and during the pandemic that reinforce the passion the company has for its employees, custoers and community, including:



Charitable Donations and Fundraising. Social Solutions was the first organizations to contribute to the Austin Disaster Relief Fund in response to the immediate needs families and communities across Central Texas faced as a result of the devastating winter storms in 2021, they inspired others to follow suit.

Employee Resource Group (ERG). ERG members serve as liaisons between Social Solutions employees and leadership to ensure all voices are heard and supported throughout the organization. The ERG also facilitates ongoing education and discussion sessions around various Diversity, Equity and Inclusion topics.

TreeFolks Partnership. Social Solutions partnered with TreeFolks to plant a tree in honor of every employee and client, reinforcing the company's commitment to environmental sustainability.

Volunteer Impact Program. Each employee is given 32 hours a year to spend volunteering with an organization that supports a cause they care most about.

Wise and Well Program. This program connects employees to resources through various benefits partners, offers educational resources, and gives employees the opportunity to engage in fun wellness challenges. About TrustRadius: TrustRadius helps technology buyers make better decisions and helps vendors tell their unique story, improve conversion, engage high-intent buyers, and gain customer insights. Each month over 1 million B2B technology buyers, over 50% from large enterprises, use verified reviews and ratings on TrustRadius.com to make informed purchasing decisions. Headquartered in Austin, TX, TrustRadius was founded by successful entrepreneurs and is backed by Mayfield Fund, LiveOak Venture Partners, and Next Coast Ventures.

About Social Solutions Global: Social Solutions, a Public Benefit Corporation, is the leading provider of cloud software for nonprofit and public sector social service organizations. Our Apricot, Penelope and ETO products offer clients the most comprehensive and secure social good platform available, including case management, participant connection, data insights, outcome analytics and funder enablement solutions. Based in Austin, Texas, Social Solutions was founded over 20 years ago by social workers who saw the potential of technology to improve outcomes and help accelerate lasting social change in the communities they serve. To date, more than 90,000 users have adopted the Social Solutions platform to improve their data by measuring and optimizing outcomes. It was recently announced that Social Solutions is combining with EveryAction and CyberGrants to create the second-largest and fastest-growing social good software company in the world. Social Solutions is backed by APAX and Vista Equity Partners and serves clients in the US, UK, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. For more information, please visit our website, www.socialsolutions.com, or follow us on LinkedIN and Facebook. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005323/en/

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[October 06, 2021] The Garage Scales Services, Technology and Talent to Drive Impact in Value-Based Care

In the last eighteen months, the Garage, an advanced population health management platform company, has felt the welcome impact of a healthcare system on the brink of transformation - and it has risen to meet the challenge. The latest release of Bridge 5.2 has enabled unprecedented visibility into data, insights and actions at every level of a subscriber's organization, and point-of-care tools that engage physicians and their practice in entirely new ways. User adoption of the Garage's platform during the period has doubled, driving increases in both quality and cost control. As a result, the Garage has more than doubled both the size of its team and the volume of patient data it manages, now in excess of 2 petabytes. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005750/en/ David Smeltzer - VP, Data Engineering (Photo: Business Wire) As the pandemic continues to highlight the need for change in healthcare, value-based care has become the answer many physicians, payers, and communities are looking for. Community health centers, hospital systems and direct contracting entities are joining the quest for value over volume, and as a result, the Garage has experienced double-digit growth in lives managed on its platform. "Last year alone, we helped our ACO healthcare partners secure $178 million in gross Medicare savings and increase their quality scores, which could not have been achieved without the proficient knowledge andskill of every single member of our team. That is what we mean when we say our goal is to change healthcare for good, one community at a time," said Pranam Ben, Founder and CEO of The Garage. "Having the right talent on board allows our company to be an essential partner to the more than 120 organizations that turn to us daily to make healthcare more efficient and affordable."



The Garage continues to partner with large, complex and diverse healthcare entities who are increasingly focused on value-based care strategies, so ensuring continued evolution of technology and density of talent has been a top priority. Added Jeramey Ward, Director of Data & Analytics: Value Based Analytics for HCA Healthcare - a valued partner of The Garage, "Not only is their Bridge platform best-in-class, but The Garage also has the right mix of experience and expertise with technology, data, and services to be our ideal partner as we serve very diverse, value-driven care needs and help our providers scale across multiple markets."

Building on that expertise, the Garage announced this week the addition of new senior-level executives to add depth and sustainability to its capabilities: As Vice President of Data Engineering, David Smeltzer brings the team a decade of experience in software architecture and information technology with Confident Health and Chautauqua County Health Network. Before joining the Garage, he founded Adaptable Health Solutions, a customizable software solution to support a wide range of clinical data from physician and hospital electronic medical records. Smeltzer earned a Master of Science in software engineering from Pennsylvania State University. As Vice President of Customer Success, Sarah Bauer will lead a team of Customer Success directors and specialists to assist the Garage's partner clients in meeting their clinical and financial objectives. Bauer has a history of helping customers attain and exceed goals through her previous roles at Trella Health, Cohere Health and Signify Health. She holds a Master of Business Administration degree with a focus on healthcare management, and a Master of Science in management and leadership from Western Governors University. 2022 will mark the Garage's tenth year of "changing healthcare for good!" A growing pool of diverse talent, infrastructure proven at scale, and a long-standing commitment to customer success, have positioned the Garage to amplify its impact with new partnerships in the landmark year ahead. About The Garage Based in Orlando, Florida, The Garage is a population health management technology company dedicated to changing healthcare for good  one community at a time. The company works with more than 120 healthcare organizations and more than 18,000 providers across 30 states. Through its collaborative population health management platform, Bridge, The Garage touches more than 14 million patient lives, allowing providers to achieve the Quadruple AIM of lower cost, better care, improved health and improved work life of healthcare providers. For more information, visit www.TheGarage.health. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005750/en/

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[October 06, 2021] Schneider Electric to Detail Benefits of EcoStruxure Automation Expert for Water/Wastewater at WEFTEC 2021

Automation architectures have remained fundamentally unchanged for 30+ years. They struggle to accommodate complex business challenges because they were never designed with today's technology in mind. This challenge has greatly impacted Water/Wastewater, increasing operating costs and limiting modernization opportunities. Advances in machine learning, augmented reality, and the IoT hold great promise to meet the demands of today's agile and digital world. However, realizing this promise is limited by closed automation platforms that make it difficult to integrate third-party components and are expensive to upgrade and maintain. Kaishi Zhang, Global Director, Product Management at Schneider Electric (News - Alert) shares that it does not have to be this way. It's Water's turn to embrace the benefits of open-operating platforms. Universal automation is the world of interoperable "plug and produce" automation software components. Learn how this "industrial app store" will allow operators to select from best-of-breed technologies-without regard to vendor. Interview Opportunity: Kaishi Zhang, Schneider Electric

Shares the benefits that Universal Automation offers the Water/Wastewater industry and details the latest release of EcoStruxure Automation Expert for the water segment.







Who: Kaishi Zhang, Global Director, Product Management, Schneider Electric What: "Not Business as Usual Automation" - Speaker Presentation Booth 761 - South Hall A https://weftec21.mapyourshow.com/8_0/sessions/session-details.cfm?scheduleid=594 Where: WEFTEC 2021 Exhibition & Conference, Chicago When: Tuesday, October 19, 2021; 2:00 - 2:25 PM CT Contact: Thomas Eck, Media Relations Manager, Schneider Electric - thomas.eck@se.com Contact today to schedule your interview.

Additional Information For additional information on Schneider Electric solutions for Water and Wastewater, please visit: https://www.se.com/us/en/work/solutions/for-business/water/. About Schneider Electric Schneider's purpose is to empower all to make the most of our energy and resources, bridging progress and sustainability for all. We call this Life Is On. Our mission is to be your digital partner for Sustainability and Efficiency. We drive digital transformation by integrating world-leading process and energy technologies, end-point to cloud connecting products, controls, software and services, across the entire lifecycle, enabling integrated company management, for homes, buildings, data centers, infrastructure and industries. We are the most local of global companies. We are advocates of open standards and partnership ecosystems that are passionate about our shared Meaningful Purpose, Inclusive and Empowered values. www.se.com Hashtags #SchneiderElectric, #LifeIsOn, #WEFTEC, #UniversalAutomation, #EcoStruxure View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005785/en/

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[October 06, 2021] General Mills Becomes First U.S. Investment Grade Consumer Packaged Goods Company to Execute a Sustainability-Linked Bond

General Mills (NYSE: GIS) today announced its inaugural sustainability-linked bond aligned to the company's efforts to combat climate change. The 10-year, $500 million sustainability-linked bond is tied to measurable improvements on the pathway to General Mills' commitment to reduce absolute greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent across its value chain by 2030. "Climate change and its effects are having an impact on our planet, people's lives and on General Mills' ability to live out our purpose of making food the world loves," said Kofi Bruce, chief financial officer, General Mills. "General Mills is focused on reducing emissions across our value chain, and we are making strategic financial investments connected to our sustainability goals to further advance and support this important work." With the issuance of this bond, General Mills links the coupon of the bond to the performance against the company's 2030 greenhouse gas reduction goal. The interest owed to bond investors will increase if the company fails to reach the interim reduction targets (Scope 1 and 2) by 2025. Company initiatives to reduce carbon emissions include energy efficiency at plant locations, shifts to renewable electricity and continued pursuit of other innovations. General Mills structured its bond to align with International Capital Market Association's Sustainability-Linked Bond Priciples 2020. General Mills published a Sustainability-Linked Bond Framework, which can be found on the company's website, and obtained a second party opinion on the framework from ISS ESG. An external verification from a qualified third party on General Mills' performance will be made public annually and the emissions data will be communicated through the company's Global Responsibility Report.



BNP Paribas Securities Corp., Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC served as joint book-running managers on the offering. BNP Paribas Securities Corp. and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC were the Co-Sustainability Coordinators to General Mills. In 2015, General Mills was the first company across any sector to set a greenhouse gas reduction commitment approved by the Science-Based Target (News - Alert) Initiative across its full value chain, from farm to fork to landfill. Earlier this year, General Mills was the first U.S. consumer packaged goods company to enter into a sustainability-linked revolving credit facility, which included a pricing structure tied to progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and purchasing renewable energy certificates to cover electricity usage.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, including the sustainability-linked bonds. There shall not be any sale of the securities described herein in any state or other jurisdictions in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or other jurisdiction. About General Mills General Mills makes food the world loves. The company is guided by its Accelerate strategy to drive shareholder value by boldly building its brands, relentlessly innovating, unleashing its scale and being a force for good. Its portfolio of beloved brands includes household names such as Cheerios, Nature Valley, Blue Buffalo, Haagen-Dazs, Old El Paso, Pillsbury, Betty Crocker, Yoplait, Annie's, Wanchai Ferry, Yoki and more. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, General Mills generated fiscal 2021 net sales of U.S. $18.1 billion. In addition, the company's share of non-consolidated joint venture net sales totaled U.S. $1.1 billion. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005786/en/

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Anesthesia Business Consultants' Fall 2021 Issue of Communique-Current News for the Anesthesia Specialty-Available Now

Anesthesia Business Consultants (ABC), a leading provider in billing and practice management for the anesthesia and pain management specialties, is pleased to announce that the Fall 2021 issue of its quarterly newsletter, Communique, is now available.

Communique is a publication dedicated to bringing practical and tangible articles and advice, specific to the anesthesia and pain management community. Communique features articles focusing on the latest hot topics for anesthesiologists, nurse anesthetists, pain management specialists and anesthesia practice administrators. ABC offers Communique electronically, as well as in hard copy, both on a complimentary basis.

Tony Mira, president & CEO explains, "With this issue of Communique, we have striven to poll some of the most respected industry experts for their take on today's challenges and opportunities. As always, we hope their insights and perspectives will help you craft a productive strategy for your practice."

In this issue, the question of whether to outsource your anesthesia billing and revenue cycle management (RCM) operations or keep the processes in-house is pondered by Bellinger Moody, RHIA, CPC, Chief Compliance Officer, MiraMed Global Services, Inc., N. Augusta (News - Alert) , SC, in his helpful article, In-House or Outsource? The Proverbial Quandary : Compelling Considerations for Outsourcing.

In Popularity Contests and Disruptive Physicians: Avoiding the Death of Your Anesthesia Group, frequent contributor Mark F. Weiss, JD, owner of The Mark F. Weiss Law Firm, Dallas, TX, Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, CA (News - Alert) , cautions readers on the dangers lurking inside groups. According to Weiss, the dangers can be just as concerning, or maybe even more so, than dangers from the outside.







Coding is always a challenging topic. And the ever-helpful Kelly Dennis, MBA, ACS-AN, CANPC, CHCA, CPMA, CPC (News - Alert) , CPC-I, owner of Perfect Office Solutions, Inc., Leesburg, FL, illustrates that point effectively in her article, Both New and Seasoned Coders Should Know the Many Risk Areas in Anesthesia Coding .

For these and past Communique articles, please log on to ABC's website at www.anesthesiallc.com and click the link to view the electronic version of Communique online. To be put on the automated email notification list, please send your email address to info@anesthesiallc.com. We look forward to providing you with in-depth articles on important trends in practice management through Communique.

About Anesthesia Business Consultants

Anesthesia Business Consultants (ABC), established in 1979, is the nation's largest billing and practice management company dedicated to the complex and intricate specialties of anesthesia and pain management. ABC's quality reporting program for all clients is able to ensure compliance with MACRA and can be extended to cover any quality initiatives requested by payers or the facility. Our registry allows participation and successful compliance with the MIPS measures, ensures providers are protected from payment adjustments and offers bonuses for successful reporting. Join the 20,000,000+ patients and 17,000+ anesthesia clinicians already reporting their performance through the MiraMed certified registry program.

The heart of our perioperative suite of products is ABC's proprietary practice management software, F1RSTAnesthesia. F1RSTClient, the premier client portal, allows clients secure and seamless access to ABC's applications. F1RSTAnalytics, our powerful suite of dashboards and reports, provides "Insight at Your Fingertips," offering real-time data prowess and providing the data to aid in operating your anesthesia practice as an effective clinical organization and successful business. Our solutions provide accurate, prompt and complete billing and revenue cycle management. Our exclusive focus improves your cash flow and profitability. Visit ABC at: www.anesthesiallc.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005792/en/
[October 06, 2021]

NASA Invites Media to Webb Telescope Launch Coverage Discussion

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- NASA and its mission partners will host a briefing at 9 a.m. EDT on Friday, Oct. 8, for media interested in covering the James Webb Space Telescope launch. Webb, an international partnership with ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency, is targeted for launch Dec. 18.

The briefing will stream live on NASA's website.

This informational call will review media coverage opportunities at:

Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana , Webb's launch site.

Spaceport in Kourou, , launch site. Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore , Webb's

, ESA's European Space Research and Technology Centre in Noordwijk, Netherlands , site for a launch day event.

, site for a launch day event. Canadian Space Agency headquarters in Saint-Hubert, Quebec, Canada , site for a launch day event.







Alise Fisher

The discussion will cover logistics, travel requirements, and registration instructions before media accreditation opens for launch. NASA also will preview the schedule of upcoming Webb media events.

NASA's Webb telescope will serve as the premier space science observatory for the next decade and explore every phase of cosmic history  from within our solar system to the most distant observable galaxies in the early universe, and everything in between. Webb will reveal new and unexpected discoveries, and help humanity understand the origins of the universe and our place in it.

For more information about the Webb mission, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/webb

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nasa-invites-media-to-webb-telescope-launch-coverage-discussion-301394348.html

SOURCE NASA
[October 06, 2021] ME&A Welcomes Teresita Perez as President and Chief Executive Officer

The Board of Directors of ME&A - an international development firm headquartered in Bethesda, Md. - has appointed Teresita Perez as President and Chief Executive Officer. Ms. Perez succeeds Thomas C. England, who led ME&A since the firm's founding more than 35 years ago. "I am deeply honored to be able to serve ME&A and the countries and communities where we work. In the world today, the COVID-19 pandemic is demonstrating the dangerous links that exist between health and inequality. In many places, COVID-19 is also worsening the impacts of climate change and natural and man-made crises. These and other COVID-19 impacts threaten to roll back some of the most vulnerable countries' development gains," Ms. Perez said. "But people everywhere are resilient and, with the right support will recover, overcome these challenges, and create a brighter future for themselves and their communities. I'm looking forward to furthering ME&A's work supporting and enhancing quality of life, fighting inequality, and promoting economic growth around the globe in the years to come."



Ms. Perez, one of the co-founders of ME&A, has held multiple leadership positions in the company, including Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President. She is an expert in international development programs and management, government contracting, and institutional capacity building with experience overseeing government-funded projects in the United States, Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean. She holds both a Bachelor of Arts and a Master's degree in Psychology from the University of Puerto Rico. "Everyone who has worked with Teresita over the past 35 years knows her commitment to action, quality, integrity, and people," Mr. England said. "Her extensive experience with ME&A makes her perfectly positioned to guide ME&A through these challenging times with grit, agility, integrity, and unwavering dedication to ME&A's values."

Before co-founding ME&A, Ms. Perez served as Special Assistant to the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, Presidential and National Commissions Appointment Office; Senior Policy Analyst at the U.S. Conference of Mayors; co-author of a study of federal support for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and a consultant to multiple USAID-funded projects. About ME&A Ms. Perez, Mr. England, and Senior Vice President Carlos Beale founded ME&A more than 35 years ago in Washington, D.C., and San Juan, Puerto Rico, to provide consulting services to U.S. federal, state, and municipal governments. Beginning with a hands-on background in federal and local governance, ME&A has branched out into a variety of development sectors working with U.S. government agencies and international organizations in more than 80 countries worldwide. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005813/en/

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[October 06, 2021] Tauriga Sciences Inc. Upgrades its Exhibitor Booth at the Upcoming MJBIZCon Tradeshow; Las Vegas, Nevada October 19-22, 2021

NEW YORK, NY, Oct. 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NewMediaWire -- Tauriga Sciences, Inc. (OTCQB: TAUG) (Tauriga or the Company), a New York based diversified Life Sciences Company, today announced that it has upgraded its Exhibitor Booth at the upcoming MJBIZCon Tradeshow, which will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada  October 19-22, 2021. The Company has upgraded its Exhibitor Booth (New Booth # C3057) to a Corner Booth  Dimensions: 10ft by 20ft. This decision was made due to strong levels of interest in the Companys products and product lines.

The MJBIZCon Tradeshow will take place at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Link to Event: https://mjbizconference.com ABOUT TAURIGA SCIENCES INC. Tauriga Sciences, Inc. (TAUG) is a revenue generating, diversified life sciences company, engaged in several major business activities and initiatives. The company manufactures and distributes several proprietary retail products and product lines, mainly focused on the Cannabidiol (CBD) and Cannabigerol (CBG) Edibles market segment. The main product line, branded as Tauri-Gum, consists of a proprietary supplement chewing gum that is Kosher certified, Halal certified, and Vegan Formulated (CBD Infused Tauri-Gum Flavors: Mint, Blood Orange, Pomegranate), (CBG Infused Tauri-Gum Flavors: Peach-Lemon, Black Currant), (DELTA 8 THC Infused Tauri-Gum Flavor: Evergreen Mint), (Vitamin C + Zinc Infused Tauri-Gum Flavor: Pear Bellini), (Caffeine Infused Tauri-Gum Flavor: Cherry Lime Rickey), & (Vitamin D3 Infused Tauri-Gum Flavor: Golden Raspberry). The Companys commercialization strategy consists of a broad array of retail customers, distributors, and a fast-growing E-Commerce business segment (E-Commerce website: www.taurigum.com). Please visit our corprate website, for additional information, as well as inquiries, at http://www.tauriga.com



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

DISCLAIMER -- Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains certain forward-looking statements as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 which represent managements beliefs and assumptions concerning future events. These forward-looking statements are often indicated by using words such as may, will, expects, anticipates, believes, hopes, believes, or plans, and may include statements regarding corporate objectives as well as the attainment of certain corporate goals and milestones. Forward-looking statements are based on present circumstances and on managements present beliefs with respect to events that have not occurred, that may not occur, or that may occur with different consequences or timing than those now assumed or anticipated. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed in forward looking statements due to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, such as are not guarantees of general economic and business conditions, the ability to successfully develop and market products, consumer and business consumption habits, the ability to consummate successful acquisition and licensing transactions, fluctuations in exchange rates, and other factors over which Tauriga has little or no control. Many of these risks and uncertainties are discussed in greater detail in the Risk Factors section of Taurigas Form 10-K and other periodic filings made from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Such forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this release, and Tauriga assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Contact: Tauriga Sciences, Inc. 4 Nancy Court, Suite 4 Wappingers Falls, NY 12590 Chief Executive Officer Mr. Seth M. Shaw Email: sshaw@tauriga.com cell # (917) 796 9926 Company Instagram: @taurigum Personal Instagram: @sethsms47 Twitter: @SethMShaw Corp. Website: www.tauriga.com E-Commerce Website: www.taurigum.com Attachment 1) CORRECT MJ BIZ CON IMAGE



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[October 06, 2021] Newest Vehicle Technologies Going Unused-Many Owners Don't Intend to Ever Use Them, J.D. Power Finds

While new-vehicle technology is a leading reason why buyers choose one vehicle over another, many new vehicles are equipped with some features that they want no part of, according to the J.D. Power 2021 U.S. Tech Experience Index (TXI) Study,SM released today. This ends up being costly to automakers and buyers alike. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005387/en/ J.D. Power 2021 U.S. Tech Experience Index (TXI) Study (Graphic: Business Wire) "New-vehicle prices are at an all-time high, partly as a result of an increased level of content," said Kristin Kolodge, executive director of human machine interface at J.D. Power. "This is fine if owners are getting value for their money, but some features seem like a waste to many owners." The study finds that, for more than one in three advanced technologies, fewer than half of owners have used the technology in the first 90 days of ownership. Non-users most often say they don't need these technologies. For example, 61% of owners say they have never used the in-vehicle digital market technology, and 51% of those saying they have no need for it. Owners feel similarly about the driver/passenger communication technology, with 52% saying they have never used the technology, and 40% of those saying they have no need for it. When technology is effectively executed in a vehicle, it positively influences an owner's decision to purchase another vehicle equipped with that technology. The highest execution scores in the study are for camera rear-view mirror and ground view camera, both of which are ranked among the top three by owners wanting them on their next vehicle. "J.D. Power has a wealth of transactional data showing that automakers suffer a hit to profits and sales velocity if they build the wrong mix of features on their vehicles," Kolodge said. "The TXI research quantifies the benefits when there is alignment between what owners truly want and what the automakers produce." Following are key findings of the 2021 study: Dealers can influence how owners feel about value of technology: Dealer demonstrations at delivery are instrumental in keeping owners engaged with emerging technologies. For example, for safe exit assist technology, owners can get a very strong understanding of the system when they learn it from a dealer. Without dealer education, however, owners often do not fully understand the technology and its value, presenting a challenge for its overall acceptance. Similarly, when a dealer demonstrates trailer assistance technology, satisfaction improves to 8.69 (on a 10-point scale) compared with 7.83 for learning from an outside source. However, owners are more than twice as likely to learn about this technology from an outside source (71%) than from a dealer (30%). Some technologies make driving experience better, while others do not: Many owners indicate poor performance with interior gesture controls technology, which responds tohand motions instead of touch. Owners of this feature indicate an extremely high 41 problems per 100 vehicles (PP100). This technology also has the lowest overall satisfaction score in the study for a second consecutive year. In contrast, one-pedal driving technology offered in some electric vehicles receives very high satisfaction levels and owners cite relatively few problems (8 PP100). Tech desires not always transferable across global markets: J.D. Power TXI studies for the United States and China include 21 of the same advanced and emerging technologies, but scores for owner satisfaction vary by country. While camera rear-view mirror technology receives high scores in the United States, owners in China have the most problems (18 PP100) with this technology. For ground view camera technology, 62% of U.S. owners say they "definitely will" want the technology again, while only 24% of owners in China say the same. Tesla's unofficial score is highest in study: Tesla receives an Innovation Index score of 668 (on a 1,000-point scale). The automaker is not officially ranked among other brands in the study as it doesn't meet ranking criteria. Unlike other manufacturers, Tesla doesn't grant J.D. Power permission to survey its owners in 15 states where it sells vehicles. Based on that limitation, Tesla's score is calculated based on a sample of surveys from owners in the other 35 states.



Highest-Ranking Brands Genesis ranks highest overall and in the premium segment with an Innovation Index score of 634, offering a high level of advanced technologies across its product lineup. In the premium segment, Cadillac (551) ranks second, followed by Volvo (550), BMW (545) and Mercedes-Benz (523).

Hyundai ranks highest in the mass market segment with a score of 519. Kia (510) ranks second, followed by Nissan (502), Subaru (499) and GMC (498). Advanced Technology Award Recipients The TXI Study analyzes 36 technologies, which are divided into four categories: convenience; emerging automation; energy and sustainability; and infotainment and connectivity. Only technologies classified as advanced are award eligible. Cadillac Escalade is the premium model receiving the convenience award, for camera rear-view mirror technology. Ram 1500 is the mass market model receiving the convenience award, also for camera rear-view mirror technology.

is the premium model receiving the convenience award, for camera rear-view mirror technology. is the mass market model receiving the convenience award, also for camera rear-view mirror technology. Lexus IS receives the premium model emerging automation award, for reverse automatic emergency braking technology. Hyundai Elantra is the mass market model receiving the emerging automation award, for front cross traffic warning technology.

receives the premium model emerging automation award, for reverse automatic emergency braking technology. is the mass market model receiving the emerging automation award, for front cross traffic warning technology. Lexus IS receives the award for infotainment and connectivity in the premium segment, for virtual assistant connectivity to vehicle technology. Kia K5 receives the infotainment and connectivity award in the mass market segment, also for virtual assistant connectivity to vehicle technology. The 2021 U.S. Tech Experience Index (TXI) Study is based on responses from 110,827 owners of new 2021 model-year vehicles who were surveyed after 90 days of ownership. The study was fielded from February through July 2021. The TXI Study complements the J.D. Power Initial Quality Study (IQS)SM and the J.D. Power Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) StudySM by measuring how effectively each automotive brand brings new technologies to market. The TXI Study combines the level of adoption of new technologies for each brand with the excellence in execution. The execution measurement examines how much owners like the technologies and how many problems they experience while using them. For more information about the U.S. Tech Experience Index (TXI) Study, visit https://www.jdpower.com/business/automotive/us-tech-experience-index-txi-study. See the online press release at http://www.jdpower.com/pr-id/2021100. About J.D. Power J.D. Power is a global leader in consumer insights, advisory services and data and analytics. A pioneer in the use of big data, artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithmic modeling capabilities to understand consumer behavior, J.D. Power has been delivering incisive industry intelligence on customer interactions with brands and products for more than 50 years. The world's leading businesses across major industries rely on J.D. Power to guide their customer-facing strategies. J.D. Power has offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. To learn more about the company's business offerings, visit JDPower.com/business. The J.D. Power auto shopping tool can be found at JDPower.com. About J.D. Power and Advertising/Promotional Rules www.jdpower.com/business/about-us/press-release-info View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005387/en/

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[October 06, 2021] The Law Office of Bret D. Cook, P.C. Partners With Potter Handy Parkinson & BensonTM and Files Lawsuit Against PG&E for Starting Massive Dixie Fire

Local Plumas County attorney, Bret D. Cook, and partner Potter, Handy, Parkinson & BensonTM filed a lawsuit "Case No. CV21-00187" on Thursday, September 30, 2021, against Pacific Gas & Electric ( PG&E (News - Alert) ) for its role in causing the catastrophic Dixie Fire in Northern California. The law firms represent more than 500 victims of the fire that burned nearly 1,000,000 acres, destroyed over 1300 structures and leveled the historic Northern California community of Greenville and neighboring communities. The fire is the largest single wildfire in California history According to the complaint filed in Plumas County, California, the Dixie Fire started on July 13 when a tree came into contact with PG&E's power lines located near Cresta Dam in Feather River Canyon. Although PG&E was on notice of a power outage near the Cresta Dam early that morning, the utility company did not consider the event urgent, failed to send a repairman to the scene for many hours, and failed to shut off power in the area. The lawsuit alleges that PG&E's negligence in maintaining the vegetation arund the power line, along with the power company's failure to properly respond to the situation in a timely fashion, led to the massive fire that could have otherwise been avoided.



Mark Potter and Brett Parkinson signed the complaint on behalf of Potter, Handy, Parkinson & BensonTM. Mr. Parkinson stated: "Unfortunately, this appears to be another example of PG&E starting a massive fire in California that could have been avoided if the company had taken proper preventive measures and acted appropriately." Mr. Parkinson seeks justice for those affected by the wildfire, saying: "I am honored to represent so many good people of Plumas County. I understand the suffering they are going through and want to get them the compensation they deserve for their devastating losses." Mr. Parkinson has previously represented victims of wildfires throughout the state for the past 10 years. He is honored to be partnered with local attorney, Bret Cook, who brings his diverse legal practice and intimate knowledge of Plumas County to the case. Mr. Cook has lived in Greenville and practiced law in Plumas County for the past 18 years and is excited to be working with Potter, Handy, Parkinson & BensonTM to bring justice to his community.

Mr. Cook is a fire victim himself. The Dixie Fire destroyed his family's home and his law office. Mr. Cook stated, "The fire not only destroyed homes, buildings and trees, it devastated my community. I am committed to holding PG&E accountable and bringing some measure of justice to my friends and neighbors." Mr. Cook hopes the lawsuit will help the community start the rebuilding process: "We are resilient. This event has been painful for so many. But there is a desire in the community to rebuild and come back stronger than ever. My goal is to help everyone have that opportunity." Together, the Law Office of Bret D. Cook, P.C. and Potter, Handy, Parkinson & BensonTM have the local knowledge, wildfire litigation experience, and resources to bring justice to those devastated by this terrible situation. For more information, please visit wildfirelegalcenter.com or call 530-631-3379. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005847/en/

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[October 06, 2021] Industries Explore New Uses for 5G

BELLEVUE, Wash., Oct. 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- With global 5G networks providing new enhanced technical capabilities serving over 429 million connections, modern industries are examining how 5G wireless cellular connectivity impacts their businesses. Today, 5G Americas, the voice of 5G and LTE for the Americas announced the publication of a new white paper entitled 5G Vertical Use Cases, which provides a deep dive on the benefits, opportunities, and requirements for enterprise adoption of 5G.

Said Chris Pearson, President of 5G Americas, The 5G architecture allows for innovation. In 2021, the world approaches 200 5G networks and millions of connected 5G devices, entities are thinking hard about what the faster data rates, lower latency, and precision management of connected sensors and devices will do for  and to  their businesses. 5G Vertical Use Cases is the second white paper 5G Americas has produced this year relating to 5G in the enterprise, serving as a companion piece to Private and Enterprise Networks published in August 2021. Where the previous 5G Americas white paper focused on network operating models and architectures, as well as tools for enterprise private network deployment, 5G Vertical Use Cases explains the benefits and requirements that are specific to certain industry verticals. The new 5G Vertical Use Cases white paper identifies how 5G offers numerous innovations, which make it very different from 4G LTE. These inovations include higher speed and enhanced connectivity through new spectrum, dedicated resource management with network slicing, highly reliable communication for latencies less than 10 milliseconds, improved security, a distributed packet core that spreads core network functions to the network edge, and flexible service creation and deployment with Service-Based Architecture (SBA).



Additionally, the white paper clarifies the different factors that all decision-makers should consider, irrespective of industry, including availability of spectrum, intended use of spectrum or spectral determinism, area of coverage over corporate buildings, cybersecurity needs, connectivity availability and reliability requirements, data sovereignty issues, ease-of-use, and liability, responsibility, and ownership of network assets. 5G Vertical Use Cases looks at specific use cases in the following key industries:

Manufacturing - perhaps the most opportunistic and demanding industry for wireless enhancements which 5G promises to fulfill.

- perhaps the most opportunistic and demanding industry for wireless enhancements which 5G promises to fulfill. Mining  which has been using 4G LTE technology for several years, offering numerous key lessons.

 which has been using 4G LTE technology for several years, offering numerous key lessons. Utilities - a huge emerging sector where 4G LTE and 5G technologies can provide benefits at a tremendous scale.

- a huge emerging sector where 4G LTE and 5G technologies can provide benefits at a tremendous scale. Healthcare and Education  which offer immediate returns for better wireless connectivity due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

 which offer immediate returns for better wireless connectivity due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Gaming  which can take advantage of unique aspects of technology such as Multi-Access Edge Compute and AR/VR.

5G technology has opened the doors to a new era of improved, faster network performance, making innovative connected experiences possible and meeting many of the current and future needs of businesses across industries, said Azita Kia, Sr. Product Manager of Mobility at Cisco, and project lead author and editor of the white paper. The 5G wireless ecosystem as a whole continues to progress as this next generation of connectivity paves the way for new use cases, applications, and vertical markets. Additional 5G Americas white papers can be found here About 5G Americas: The Voice of 5G and LTE for the Americas 5G Americas is an industry trade organization composed of leading telecommunications service providers and manufacturers. The organizations mission is to facilitate and advocate for the advancement and transformation of LTE, 5G and beyond throughout the Americas. 5G Americas is invested in developing a connected wireless community while leading 5G development for all the Americas. 5G Americas is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington. More information is available at 5G Americas website and Twitter. 5G Americas Board of Governors Members include Airspan Networks Inc., Antel, AT&T, Ciena, Cisco, Crown Castle, Ericsson, Intel, Liberty Latin America, Mavenir, Nokia, Qualcomm Incorporated, Samsung, Shaw Communications Inc., T-Mobile US, Inc., Telefonica, VMware, and WOM. Contact:

5G Americas

Viet Nguyen

+1 206 218 6393

Viet.Nguyen@5GAmericas.org



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[October 06, 2021] AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of Primerica, Inc. and Its Subsidiaries

AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A+ (Superior) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICR) of "aa-" (Superior) of Primerica Life Insurance Company (Nashville, TN) and its affiliates, National Benefit Life Insurance Company (Long Island City, NY) and Primerica Life Insurance Company of Canada (Mississauga, Ontario), collectively referred to as Primerica Life. Additionally, AM Best has affirmed the Long-Term ICR of "a-" (Excellent) of Primerica, Inc. (Primerica) (headquartered in Duluth, GA) [NYSE: PRI], which is the holding company for the group's insurance and noninsurance operating companies. AM Best also has affirmed the Long-Term Issue Credit Rating of "a-" (Excellent) on $375 million, 4.75% senior unsecured notes, due 2022, of Primerica. The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. The ratings reflect Primerica Life's balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its very strong operating performance, favorable business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management. Primerica Life's ratings recognize the group's strongest risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured by Best's Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), along with good liquidity, financial flexibility and an investment portfolio that traditionally is more focused on fixed income with no alternative asset classes, as well as very modest mortgage exposure, limited to commercial mortgage-backed securities. Primerica's product risk is almost exclusively composed of term life insurance, which is viewed as low risk on AM Best's product continuum. However, the group continues to maintain higher allocations to NAIC class 2 bonds relative to industry averages. Risk-adjusted capitalization ratios are dampened qualitatively by high reinsurance leverage with heavy reliance on captive reinsurance solutions to fund its Regulation XXX reserves, which should moderate over time as new business is issued under principles-based reserving practices. The company also has solid financial leverage and interest coverage ratios that are within AM Best's guidelines for these ratings. Operating leverage is still within AM Best's overall GAAP tolerance; however, it is at the upper range, driven primarily by the use of operating leverage related to Regulation XXX reserves. Primerica Life's earnings have been consistent with AM Best's expectations, as the group continuously has generated solid levels of GAAP and statutory net income due to favorable loss ratios, although there has been some uptick in claims as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, although more recently that has tempered. Primerica has emonstrated consistent premium growth in its insurance segment and favorable revenue growth in its investment and savings products segment. The company successfully has been able to pivot life insurance sales efforts during the pandemic. Premium growth has been offset partially by higher-than-industry lapse rates and historically high dividend payout ratios, along with insurance and other operating expenses as the company continues to invest in infrastructure. Primerica Life's operating profile benefits from noninsurance revenue that represent a substantial portion of overall GAAP revenue, through the sale of mutual funds and other investment savings products, along with distribution of other manufacturers' annuity products, which generates fee-based revenues and provides a source of earnings diversification.



The pandemic created strong demand for financial solutions for Primerica Life, which is one of the largest writers of term life insurance in the United States, with a continued strong market position attributable to its dedicated distribution affiliate, Primerica Financial Services, LLC. This integrated distribution includes approximately 135,000 life agents with almost 26,000 mutual fund-licensed representatives across the country. Primerica Life's business profile in the United States and Canada is reinforced further by its experienced management team, which successfully built and supports its sizable sales force. However, its business model is heavily reliant upon the need to recruit agents continuously to maintain its competitive advantage, and the COVID-19 pandemic initially created some challenges with agent licensing. However, this has since normalized. Offsetting rating factors is Primerica Life's somewhat narrow insurance business profile focus, which has been focused on term life products. At the same time, however, Primerica continues to expand its affiliated relationships, and AM Best notes a new mortgage brokerage program initiated in partnership with Quicken Loans, whereby Primerica's licensed mortgage loan originators can now broker mortgage loans in an effort to diversify its business profile further. Furthermore, Primerica announced the acquisition of e-TeleQuote, a direct-to-consumer broker focused on distribution of Medicare Advantage policies, for approximately $600 million to diversify its business profile further.

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 use of Best's Credit Ratings, Best's Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Best's Ratings & Assessments. 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/20211006005895/en/

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[October 06, 2021] EQ Works to Present at the Small Cap Growth Conference

TORONTO, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- EQ Inc. (TSXV: EQ) ("EQ Works" or the "Company"), a leader in geospatial data and artificial intelligence driven software, is pleased to announce its participation in the OTC Markets' Small Cap Growth Conference, taking place virtually on October 7, 2021. Geoffrey Rotstein, President and CEO of EQ Works, will discuss the Company's comprehensive data platforms, which utilize proprietary mapping applications, predictive algorithms, and data partnerships to scan billions of data points to create new insights for customer behaviours. The Company's SaaS platforms and machine learning framework provide partners in retail, automotive, advertising, and insurance verticals with a deeper understanding of where and how people move, enabling them to understand their customers better, enhance customer engagement and gain market share. The conference will be a live, interactive online event where investors are invited to ask the Company questions in real-time. An archived webcast will be made available for attendees ho cannot join the event live on the day of the forum.



Event: Small Cap Growth Virtual Investor Conference Presentation Date & Time: Thursday, October 7 at 10:00 AM ET

Webcast Registration Link: https://bit.ly/3ibN610 About EQ Works EQ Works enables businesses to understand, predict, and influence customer behaviour. Using unique data sets, advanced analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence, EQ Works creates actionable intelligence for businesses to attract, retain, and grow the customers that matter most. The Company's proprietary SaaS platform mines insights from movement and geospatial data, enabling businesses to close the loop between digital and real-world consumer actions. For more information, visit www.eqworks.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. About Virtual Investor Conferences

Virtual Investor Conferences (VIC) is the leading proprietary investor conference series that provides an interactive forum for publicly-traded companies to meet and present directly with investors.

A real-time solution for investor engagement, Virtual Investor Conferences is part of OTC Market Group's suite of investor relations services specifically designed for more efficient Investor Access. Replicating the look and feel of on-site investor conferences, Virtual Investor Conferences combine leading-edge conferencing and investor communications capabilities with a comprehensive global investor audience network. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/eq-works-to-present-at-the-small-cap-growth-conference-301394544.html SOURCE VirtualInvestorConferences.com

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[October 06, 2021] AT&T and Frontier Communications Strike Network Deal

DALLAS, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- What's the news? AT&T* will work with Frontier Communications to bring fiber-optic connectivity to large enterprise customers outside AT&T's current footprint. The two companies signed multi-year strategic agreements that will also support deployment of AT&T's 5G mobility network. Why is this important? As the demand for edge computing and 5G networks grows, so too does the need for resilient fiber pathways for a connected society. Enterprises need more bandwidth to keep data moving fast. By collaborating with Frontier, AT&T will be able to offer large enterprise customers high-speed, low-latency and highly secure connectivity in markets where it does not own a fiber network or currently plan to build one. What are AT&T and Frontier providing? AT&T is building out additional fiber across its wired footprint and plans to reach about 2.5 million incremental customer locations passed by the end of 2021 and 30 million locations by the end of 2025. AT&T's business fiber network enables high-speed connections to over 2.5 million U.S. business customer locations as of September 30, 2021. Nationwide, more than 9 million business customer locations are within 1,000 feet of AT&T fiber.1 This year, Frontier announced a new strategy to Build Gigabit America. An aggressive fiber expansion plan that will pass 10 million locations by the end of 2025 is central to this strategy. The company expects to make fiber available to 600,000 new locations in 2021, resulting in approximately 4 million fiber locations passed by the end of the year. This agreement will enable AT&T to quickly reach additional locations by utilizing Frontier's complementary fiber network. Together, the two companies will enable high-speed connectivity to large enterprise customers within Frontier's 25-state footprint. Who can use this? AT&T will be able to utilize Frontier's fiber network to help reach enterprise customers in Frontier's service territories reaching 25 states. AT&T will also use Frontier's network to strengthen nationwide deployment of the Nation's Best 5G Network2 and, for the fourth straight year, America's Best Wireless Network.3 In addition, AT&T will tap Frontier's Ethernet network to boost connectivity between cell towers and the core network. What are people saying?

"With Frontier building out its own fiber network where we are not building, we'll be able to work together to provide large business customers with the high-speed, low-latency data connectivity they need to grow and thrive," said Scott Mair, President, Network Engineering and Operations, AT&T. "As demand for broadband connectivity grows, we will be able to plug and play into Frontier's network to support businesses and help grow our 5G mobility network for consumers." "We're bringing together two complementary networks to benefit business customers that require fiber-optic connectivity," said Mike Shippey, Frontier's Executive Vice President of Business and Wholesale. "As part of this deal, we'll use our expanding fiber network to provide AT&T high-speed connections for large enterprise customers and the expansion of its 5G mobile network across our markets." About Frontier Communications Frontier Communications offers a variety of services to residential and business customers over its fiber-optic and copper networks in 25 states, including high-speed Internet, video, advanced voice, and Frontier Secure digital protection solutions. Frontier Business offers communications solutions to small, medium, and enterprise businesses. More information about Frontier is available at www.frontier.com *About AT&T Communications We help family, friends and neighbors connect in meaningful ways every day. From the first phone call 140+ years ago to mobile video streaming, we @ATT innovate to improve lives. AT&T Communications is part of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T). For more information, please visit us at att.com. Cautionary Language Concerning Forward-Looking Statements Information set forth in this news release contains financial estimates and other forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results might differ materially. A discussion of factors that may affect future results is contained in AT&T's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. AT&T disclaims any obligation to update and revise statements contained in this news release based on new information or otherwise. This news release may contain certain non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations between the non-GAAP financial measures and the GAAP financial measures are available on the company's website at https://investors.att.com















1 The over 2.5 million U.S. business customer locations, which AT&T provides high-speed fiber connections, is included within the >9M U.S. business customer locations on or within 1,000 feet of our fiber. 2 AT&T awarded Best 5G Network by GWS OneScore 2021. GWS conducts paid drive tests for AT&T and uses the data in its OneScore analysis. AT&T 5G requires compatible plan and device. 5G not available everywhere. Go to att.com/5Gforyou for details. 3 AT&T awarded Best Network by GWS OneScore 2021. GWS conducts paid drive tests for AT&T and uses the data in its OneScore analysis. AT&T 5G requires compatible plan and device. 5G not available everywhere. Go to att.com/5Gforyou for details.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/att-and-frontier-communications-strike-network-deal-301394526.html SOURCE AT&T Communications

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[October 06, 2021] Crown Castle Announces Third Quarter 2021 Earnings Conference Call Details

HOUSTON, Oct. 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Crown Castle International Corp. (NYSE: CCI) ("Crown Castle") plans to release its third quarter 2021 results on Wednesday, October 20, 2021, after the market closes. In conjunction with the release, Crown Castle has scheduled a conference call for Thursday, October 21, 2021, at 10:30 a.m. eastern time. The conference call may be accessed by dialing 800-263-0877 and asking for the Crown Castle call (access code 7393600) at least 30 minutes prior to the start time. The conference call may also be accessed live over the Internet at http://investor.crowncastle.com. Any supplemental materials for the call will be posted on the Crown Castle website at http://investor.crowncastle.com.



A telephonic replay of the conference call will be available from 1:30 p.m. eastern time on Thursday, October 21, 2021, through 1:30 p.m. eastern time on Wednesday, January 19, 2022, and may be accessed by dialing 888-203-1112 and using access code 7393600. An audio archive will also be available on the companys website at http://investor.crowncastle.com shortly after the call and will be accessible for approximately 90 days. ABOUT CROWN CASTLE

Crown Castle owns, operates and leases more than 40,000 cell towers and approximately 80,000 route miles of fiber supporting small cells and fiber solutions across every major US market. This nationwide portfolio of communications infrastructure connects cities and communities to essential data, technology and wireless service  bringing information, ideas and innovations to the people and businesses that need them. For more information on Crown Castle, please visit www.crowncastle.com.

CONTACTS

Dan Schlanger, CFO

Ben Lowe, SVP & Treasurer

Crown Castle International Corp.

713-570-3050



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[October 06, 2021] MetLife to Hold Conference Call for Third Quarter 2021 Results

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET) today announced that it will hold its third quarter 2021 earnings conference call and audio webcast on Thursday, November 4, 2021, from 9-10 a.m. (ET). The call will follow MetLife's issuance of its third quarter 2021 earnings news release and Third Quarter 2021 Financial Supplement on Wednesday, November 3, 2021, after the market closes. The news release and Third Quarter 2021 Financial Supplement will also be available on the MetLife Investor Relations web page (https://investor.metlife.com). The conference call will be available live via telephone and the internet. To listen via telephone, dial 877-692-8955 (U.S.) or 234-720-6979 (outside the U.S.). The participant access code is 2510803. To listen to the conference call via the internet, click the link to the webcast on the MetLife Investor Relations web pae (https://investor.metlife.com). Those who want to listen to the call via telephone or the internet should dial in or go to the website at least 15 minutes prior to the call to register, and/or download and install any necessary audio software.



The conference call will be available for replay via telephone and the internet beginning at 11:00 a.m. (ET) on Thursday, November 4, 2021, until Thursday, November 11, 2021, at 11:59 p.m. (ET). To listen to a replay of the conference call via telephone, dial 866-207-1041 (U.S.) or 402-970-0847 (outside the U.S.). The access code for the replay is 7756549. To access the replay of the conference call over the internet, visit the above-mentioned website. About MetLife

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET), through its subsidiaries and affiliates ("MetLife"), is one of the world's leading financial services companies, providing insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management to help its individual and institutional customers navigate their changing world. Founded in 1868, MetLife has operations in more than 40 markets globally and holds leading positions in the United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. For more information, visit www.metlife.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211006005757/en/

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[October 06, 2021] Heil Strengthens Northeast Presence With New Dealer Location in Upstate New York

DOWNERS GROVE, Ill., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Heil, part of Environmental Solutions Group (ESG) and Dover (NYSE: DOV), and one of the nation's largest refuse truck body manufacturers, announced the growth of its nationwide dealer network with a new Environmental Equipment Sales and Service (EESS) location in Rochester, New York. Since opening its original New England facility in 2016, EESS has quickly become one of the fastest growing Heil dealers, serving Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont from their headquarters in New Oxford, Massachusetts. It offers the full line of Heil garbage trucks, services, and parts, as well as automated carry containers from The Curotto-Can. "EESS perfectly represents the qualities for which Heil dealers have been known for over 100 years. Their vast industry and product expertise, commitment to world-class customer service, and dedication to Heil customers make them the ideal candidate to represent our company to the large number of Heil customers in Upstate New York," said Dave Young, Vice President of Sales, ESG. The new EESS location provides sales, parts, service, and support, and is fully equipped with four working bays, parts trucks, and mobile service vehiles, operated by experienced, highly trained technicians.



"In the waste industry, equipment productivity and reliability are critical, as is the level of support provided by the manufacturer. In my experience as an end-user, there is no better refuse equipment than Heil, and I am incredibly proud to represent them to waste haulers across the Northeast," said Dan Cowher, President of EESS. About Heil:

Established in 1901, Heil is one of the world's premier manufacturers of ultra-durable, high productivity, custom-configured garbage truck bodies with optimized chassis integration and automation solutions that help customers achieve the lowest cost of ownership. Their refuse collection bodies include a wide variety of front loaders, side loaders, and rear loaders. Heil bodies are known throughout the waste industry as being legendary for productivity, long life, ease of maintenance, and operator safety. Heil is a part of the Environmental Solutions Group family of companies serving the waste industry. Heil has a nationwide network of more than 40 dealers in over 60 locations across the United States. They are proud to be a leader in customer service and provide world-class training, and after-the-sale support. For more information about Heil, visit heil.com, the Heil Facebook page or follow Heil on Twitter. About Dover: Dover is a diversified global manufacturer and solutions provider with annual revenue of approximately $7 billion. We deliver innovative equipment and components, consumable supplies, aftermarket parts, software and digital solutions, and support services through five operating segments: Engineered Products, Fueling Solutions, Imaging & Identification, Pumps & Process Solutions and Refrigeration & Food Equipment. Dover combines global scale with operational agility to lead the markets we serve. Recognized for our entrepreneurial approach for over 65 years, our team of over 24,000 employees takes an ownership mindset, collaborating with customers to redefine what's possible. Headquartered in Downers Grove, Illinois, Dover trades on the New York Stock Exchange under "DOV." Additional information is available at dovercorporation.com . Environmental Solutions Group Contact:

Jeffry Swertfeger

(423) 648-5257

jswertfeger@doveresg.com Dover?Media?Contact:

Adrian?Sakowicz, VP, Communications????

(630) 743-5039????

asakowicz@dovercorp.com???? Dover Investor Contact:

Andrey?Galiuk, VP, Corporate Development and Investor Relations???

(630) 743-5131???

agaliuk@dovercorp.com View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/heil-strengthens-northeast-presence-with-new-dealer-location-in-upstate-new-york-301394496.html SOURCE Dover

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[October 06, 2021] Field Support Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) Provider Opsivity Launches in U.S. Market Targeting Fast-Growing Remote Field Operations Sector

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Augmented Reality (AR) enable field technicians to solve technical issues faster, increasing productivity in a labor-challenged industry PORTLAND, Ore., Oct. 6, 2021 /CNW/ -- Opsivity, a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) provider of field support solutions, officially launched today. Opsivity uses AI and AR to harness knowledge and share operational expertise across field teams to rapidly solve technical issues in real-time to increase productivity for sectors that are challenged by labor shortages. The capability to capture and share knowledge is particularly useful as companies face a potential brain drain due to retiring baby boomers in Covid environment. Industry innovator and former RealWear co-founder and CEO, Andy Lowery, has been named as President of the new company. Technology veteran and former Samsung and Intel leader, David Fosberg, will serve as Chief Customer Officer and will be joined by Chief Technology Officer, Patrick Neise, and Madhu Augustine as VP of SaaS Product Development. Opsivity, SAAS for field support solutions launches. Market worth $600 million , combats bain drain in Covid environment



"The field service industry is experiencing a shortage of skilled field technicians due to the COVID-19 pandemic, retiring baby boomers and difficulty in hiring their replacements, explained Lowery. "Providing field technicians access to our AI-enabled KnowledgeBase, that learns continuously, enhances and retains problem-solving expertise across field teams, and eliminates the worry that operational know-how gets lost when employees leave." Opsivity addresses the needs of the remote field support industry using unique AI algorithms to power its KnowledgeBase, which stores expertise such as operational procedures, checklists, articles, and previous solutions. The active KnowledgeBase combined with advanced and easy-to-use, real-time collaboration features can intelligently locate and connect a field technician via chat or video call to a Subject Matter Expert (SME) to assist in issue resolution. Opsivity runs on devices that field technicians already use and trust such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, and wearables to access operational insights that keep businesses running

"There are more than 600 million field workers globally across the heavy and light industry sectors," said Andy Lowery, President of Opsivity. "Many of these professionals are responsible for keeping critical equipment running or solving issues quickly to prevent costly disruptions. When downtime occurs, it can cost industries trillions of dollars. Opsivity enables field technicians' access to problem-solving expertise across their organization to resolve technical issues quickly. This reduces costly equipment downtime and improves operational productivity." Opsivity's AR features provide field technicians the ability to take photos and videos of the issues they encounter and annotate specific notes which can be shared with Subject Matter Experts (SME) to help get to a quick solution. Companies ranging from utilities, oil and gas, transportation, logistics, Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC), and simple service repair can all benefit from empowering their field technicians with Opsivity to help solve issues faster. Opsivity also announced key partnerships with RealWear, the world's leading provider of assisted reality wearable solutions, and simPRO Group, a global provider of job and project management software for the trades and services industry, to bolster its cloud-based field support offering. Opsivity is a wholly owned subsidiary of Harvest Technology Group Ltd., a publicly listed company on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX: HTG). Opsivity is the new company and brand emerging from Harvest's earlier acquisition in May of this year of Silicon Valley startup SnapSupport. About Opsivity Opsivity is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) provider of field operations support focused on harnessing knowledge and sharing operational expertise that solve technical issues in real-time. Based in Vancouver, WA, Opsivity is a wholly owned subsidiary of Harvest Technology Group Ltd., a publicly listed company on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX: HTG). Opsivity's cloud-based solution uses AI and AR to provide real-time remote field support to customers in all industries and geographic regions. Opsivity runs on devices that field Technicians already use and trust such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, and access operational insights that keep businesses running. Learn more about Opsivity by visiting www.Opsivity.com Contact: Otto@Loudwhispers.net (North America) or Josie@loudwhispers.net (Asia) View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/field-support-software-as-a-service-saas-provider-opsivity-launches-in-us-market-targeting-fast-growing-remote-field-operations-sector-301394610.html SOURCE Opsivity

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[October 06, 2021] MTX Group Commits to Paid Leave for Family Members Fighting Cancer

FRISCO, Texas, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- MTX Group Inc (MTX) , a leading global technology consulting firm, today announced they will cover 100% of the medical expenses for MTX employees, which the company refers to as family members, who are diagnosed with cancer. In addition, MTX will grant family members up to one-year paid time off to care for themselves or their loved ones battling the disease. MTX is driven by culture and keeping family members happy, healthy and safe. MTX Founder and CEO Das Nobel also said: "When we have members fighting cancer, finances and job security should be the last thing they have to worry about. As a family, we serve a larger purpose of creating good for our communities and our people by improving health, happiness, and economic outcomes. We are a family and will be together on the journey to fight cancer." October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, honoring millions of people from all walks of life who have been impacted by the most common form of cancer in the U.S[1]. A cancer diagnosis is often accompanied by immense financial hardship, with work pulling caretakers from their families or not being able to support those who have fallen ill. MTX Chief Brand and Culture Officer Nipa obel said:



"MTX is happy to announce these new benefits for our family members who are battling cancer or providing care for a loved one with cancer. As an organization with a deep dedication to our people and culture, we want to ensure our MTX family members are able to prioritize their health and that of their loved ones. We believe that family is the most important thing and will always put our people first." Prior to today's announcement, MTX has enacted several initiatives in line with this commitment to their family members, including offering a one-year paid maternity leave, on-ground and financial support for family members battling COVID-19, and vaccination sponsorships for all MTX family members and dependents in India. The Nobel Foundation is also providing funding for cancer research. MTX is now building upon this foundation to make all employees feel supported and valued by the organization and not feel that they have to choose between earning a living and caring for themselves or supporting their loved ones at home.

ABOUT MTX GROUP INC

MTX Group Inc . is a global technology consulting firm powered by the Maverick Quantum ( mavQ ) Artificial Intelligence platform that enables organizations to modernize through digital transformation and strategy. With data as the new currency, MTX helps organizations transform their long-term strategy with outcomes in mind around happiness, health, and the economy. MTX improves decision-making for organizations with speed and quality by leveraging the mavQ AI platform and partnering with other leading cloud technologies such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud, and Salesforce. [1] https://www.cancer.gov/types/common-cancers#:~:text=The%20most%20common%20type%20of,prostate%20cancer%20and%20lung%20cancer . View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mtx-group-commits-to-paid-leave-for-family-members-fighting-cancer-301394616.html SOURCE MTX Group Inc.

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[October 06, 2021] Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP, a Leading Securities Fraud Law Firm, Announces Investigation of Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc. (DNA) 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 Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc. ("Ginkgo" or the "Company") (NYSE: DNA) investors concerning the Company's possible violations of the federal securities laws. If you suffered a loss on your Ginkgo 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/ginkgo-bioworks-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 6, 2021, Scorpion Capital published a 175-page research report alleging that Ginkgo Bioworks is a "colossal scam" and that its business model is a "shell game." According to the report, Ginkgo Bioworks is highl dependent on related party transaction revenues and the Company is a "Frankenstein mash-up of the worst frauds of the last 20 years."



On this news, the Company's share price fell as much as 17% during intraday trading on October 6, 2021, thereby injuring investors. Follow us for updates on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook.

Whistleblower Notice: Persons with non-public information regarding Ginkgo should consider their options to aid the investigation or take advantage of the SEC (News - Alert) Whistleblower Program. Under the program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. For more information, call Charles H. Linehan at 310-201-9150 or 888-773-9224 or email shareholders@glancylaw.com. About GPM Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP is a premier law firm representing investors and consumers in securities litigation and other complex class action litigation. ISS Securities Class Action Services has consistently ranked GPM in its annual SCAS Top 50 Report. In 2018, GPM was ranked a top five law firm in number of securities class action settlements, and a top six law firm for total dollar size of settlements. With four offices across the country, GPM's nearly 40 attorneys have won groundbreaking rulings and recovered billions of dollars for investors and consumers in securities, antitrust, consumer, and employment class actions. GPM's lawyers have handled cases covering a wide spectrum of corporate misconduct including cases involving financial restatements, internal control weaknesses, earnings management, fraudulent earnings guidance and forward looking statements, auditor misconduct, insider trading, violations of FDA regulations, actions resulting in FDA and DOJ investigations, and many other forms of corporate misconduct. GPM's attorneys have worked on securities cases relating to nearly all industries and sectors in the financial markets, including, energy, consumer discretionary, consumer staples, real estate and REITs, financial, insurance, information technology, health care, biotech, cryptocurrency, medical devices, and many more. GPM's past successes have been widely covered by leading news and industry publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, 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/20211006005935/en/

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About 48 hours ago . . . Bullets at bowling alley started a week of violence.

Tonight, urban core gunfire tops local headlines . . .



Police said the shooting happened near East 50th Street and Prospect Avenue around 4:15 p.m.



The other victim has non-life threatening injuries. All three victims arrived at a Kansas City hospital in a private vehicle.



Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com news link . . .

Kansas City police investigating after three shot near 50th and Prospect by: Makenzie Koch Posted: / Updated: KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kansas City police are investigating a triple shooting Tuesday in which two of the victims are in critical condition. Police said the shooting happened near East 50th Street and Prospect Avenue around 4:15 p.m. The other victim has non-life threatening injuries.

3 shot, 2 critically injured in Kansas City, Missouri, shooting KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Police in Kansas City, Missouri, are investigating the city's third triple shooting in the last four days. Around 4:15 p.m., police were called to 50th and Prospect Avenue on a reported shooting. Police dispatchers tell KSHB 41 News that officers located three gunshot victims. Two of the victims' injuries were described as critical.

Kansas City police investigate triple shooting at 50th & Prospect KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) -- The Kansas City Police Department is investigating another triple shooting. According to the KCPD, the shooting happened in the area of E. 50th Street and Prospect Avenue around 4:15 p.m. Two victims are in critical condition and one has non-life-threatening injuries.

Developing . . .
Credit where it's due . . . A local animal jail has a better record fighting the latest global plauge than most hospitals can claim.



Check-it . . .



Zookeepers said all six of the gorillas have shown COVID-19 symptoms, but some have already returned to normal. The zoo said others are still responding to treatment and their conditions are improving.



The animals' care specialist first reported a gorilla named Charlie did not appear well on Sept. 22. The animal began coughing three days later, according to the zoo. The veterinary health team started treating the animals immediately, but within 72 hours, additional gorillas started to develop symptoms. The zoo treated all of the gorillas with medications including expectorants, Vitamin C, Zinc, and ibuprofen.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com news links . . .

Kansas City Zoo gorillas recovering from COVID-19 Today, the Kansas City Zoo has announced via press release that one of their western lowland gorillas recently had the Delta variant of COVID-19. The other five gorillas that make up the zoo's troop, are presumed to also be positive.

Gorilla at Kansas City zoo recovering after testing positive for COVID-19 by: Heidi Schmidt Posted: / Updated: KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Kansas City Zoo says one of its Western lowland gorillas tested positive for the delta variant of COVID-19. The zoo presumes the other five gorillas are also positive for the virus, but are waiting on test results for confirmation.

Developing . . .
Legal questions concerning regulating headshrinkers come into play as a political movement garners real life concerns over liability.



Here's an important passage drilling down on courtroom consideration that don't always match progressive politics . . .



City attorney David Waters mentioned there is a circuit split among federal courts of appeals when it comes to the constitutionality of conversion therapy bans. Currently the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, which includes Kansas, has not considered the question.



There is at least nationally some question as to the enforceability of these ordinances. It may be the case that ultimately this has to be decided by the United States Supreme Court in order to resolve what we call the circuit split differences among courts of appeals, Waters said.



The proposed ordinance could fine any licensed practitioner up to $1,000 for practicing conversion therapy within city limits.



Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com news link . . .
Sadly, activists against the death penalty don't have much mercy for the families of three workers murdered by a convicted killer who was executed this evening.

Still, we understand the debate against state sanctioned death and respect for life that our progressive friends conveniently forget when discussing abortion.

Accordingly, here's a peek at the conversation surrounding this sordid topic . . .



Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com news link . . .

Convicted killer Ernest Johnson executed despite questions over his intellectual capacity Missouri on Tuesday executed Ernest Johnson, despite claims by his attorney and death penalty opponents that he has an intellectual disability and killing him would violate the Constitution. Johnson, 61, who was convicted in the murders of three convenience store employees almost three decades ago, was executed by lethal injection at a state prison in Bonne Terre, The Associated Press reported.

Missouri man executed for killing three workers in '94 robbery A Missouri man was put to death Tuesday for killing three workers while robbing a convenience store nearly three decades ago, an execution performed over objections from racial justice activists, lawmakers and even the pope.Ernest Johnson died from an injection of pentobarbital at the state prison in Bonne Terre.

Groups hold vigil in Kansas City ahead of planned execution for Ernest Johnson KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Advocates for a Missouri inmate held a vigil in Kansas City on Tuesday, hours before he was set to be executed. The group, along with Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, were hoping the U.S. Supreme Court would stop the execution of Ernest Johnson.

Missouri executes man with intellectual disabilities despite plea from Pope Francis A Missouri man with intellectual disabilities was executed Tuesday for killing three people during a 1994 robbery at a convenience store, per the New York Times. Why it matters: Pope Francis, lawmakers and activists called for Ernest Lee Johnson's life to be spared because of his low IQ showing he had the intellectual capacity of a child.

Advocates continue call for change following execution of Ernest Johnson in Missouri KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) -- Ernest Johnson was executed for the 1994 murders of Mary Bratcher, Fred Jones and Mabel Scruggs at the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre, Missouri. He was pronounced dead at 6:11 p.m.

Developing . . .
An important message from citizen media and a bittersweet perspective on recent events . . . Here's an ALTERNATIVE perspective . . .



Guv Parson Gives The Pope A Bums Rush

They Killed. Ernest Johnson A Disabled black Man



Twice as many out here at the Death House that the last time I was here 3 executions ago.



I pull in to park and notice theres a pot belly pig standing beside the guards at the gate? I hear someone say "I can't believe Carlos saw that"!



We stop off at the state capitol in Jefferson City to do a "wellness check" on Guv Mike Parsons to ask why he has not picked up the phone or answered his email?



Our sister at Missourians Against The Death Penalty in Kansas City has been do I interviews since sunrise.



The skies were overcast by the time we got to Oak Grove heading west to St Louis. The best drive for a sad day.

###########



Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com news link . . .

A Missouri man is executed for killing 3 workers in 1994 robbery BONNE TERRE, Mo. - A Missouri man was put to death Tuesday for killing three workers while robbing a convenience store nearly three decades ago, an execution performed over objections from racial justice activists, lawmakers and even the pope. Ernest Johnson died from an injection of pentobarbital at the state prison in Bonne Terre.

You decide . . .


Johnstown, PA (15901)

Today

Showers this morning, becoming a steady rain during the afternoon hours. Morning high of 62F with temps falling to near 45. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy. A shower of rain or wet snow possible. Low 29F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph.
Johnstown, PA (15901)

Today

Rain showers early will evolve into a more steady rain for the afternoon. Morning high of 61F with temps falling to near 45. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%..

Tonight

Some clouds. A shower of rain or wet snow possible. Low 28F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph.
Terre Haute, IN (47803)

Today

Some clouds this morning will give way to generally sunny skies for the afternoon. High near 45F. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Mainly clear skies. Low 22F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph.
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Acceptable test for USA entry from Ireland - please help!

Acceptable test for USA entry from Ireland - please help!

Hi all, I really can't find what I'm looking for and panicking a bit...

We are travelling to Florida from Dublin on Monday 27th December at 9am as a group of 8.

We are all double vaccinated with a recognised vaccine.

We need a negative test result to be able to enter USA and board United Airlines from Dublin. That is not the issue, as their testing policies are fine. It is the cruise element.

We will arrive into Orlando MCO around 6pm on Mon 27th Dec.

We are to board a Royal Caribbean Cruise in Florida (Port Canaveral) on Tues 28th Dec around 4pm, day after our arrival.

Royal Caribbean website states what is acceptable - "A molecular test, also called a PCR test or NAAT test OR An antigen test, also called a rapid antigen test.

The test must be supervised by a health professional, such as a doctor, pharmacy technician, public health worker, or telehealth professional. Telehealth testing at home is only accepted for vaccinated guests, and only when it is conducted under live video supervision.

You must receive a valid results document from your test provider that includes provider name, your name, the date the test was taken, type of test, and your negative result. This can be a printed document, email, or telehealth app notification. Handwritten doctors notes will not be accepted.

^^^^^

This is very awkward. It has to be within 2 days which means we need to take one on Sunday 26th December. I am searching google but cant find any telehealth tests here in the UK or Ireland that can be taken on a sunday that are done via video call with a professional...

The only other option we have is to travel to a company like Randox on Sunday and get a rapid PCR? We would need results on the Sunday night 26th at the very latest.

With us travelling Monday 27th Dec all day, it would be risky to leave it to try and find somewhere on Monday night in Orlando, or on Tuesday AM in Orlando area.It would cause a LOT of stress.

We'd rather know before we leave Ireland if we have a negative/positive test.

Thank you in advance , any help would be appreciated.
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BETHEL  Despite commands not to drive, a state trooper charged with driving under the influence last weekend told an officer to watch this before driving away, a police report obtained Wednesday shows.

Andrew Murphy, a trooper assigned to the Troop A barracks in Southbury, is facing charges of operating under the influence of alcohol, disobeying the signal of an officer and interfering with an officer. He was released from custody after a friend posted $500 bond and is due to appear Monday in state Superior Court in Danbury.

Murphy, a state trooper since July 2019, has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, state police officials said.

In a police report obtained by Hearst Connecticut Media, Bethel police said Murphy repeatedly told them he was a state police officer, and claimed they were hurting one of their own in a expletive-laden interaction.

The report also said Murphy refused a urine test, and was uncooperative during questioning after his arrest, forcing officers to repeatedly ask him to stop yelling, according to the report.

The incident began around 2:10 a.m. Sunday when a patrol officer spotted Murphy standing by the open door of his Mazda sedan in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven on Stony Hill Road, according to the report.

As the officer approached, he reported that he saw Murphy was having difficulty keeping his balance, the report said. He shouted at Murphy to ask if he was all right, and was told in very slurred speech that he was fine, according to the report.

The officer told Murphy he looked like he needed a ride and did not want him to be driving, the report read.

When the state trooper got into his car, the officer wrote in the report that he yelled at him to stop and not to drive, but Murphy told him watch this, watch me!

Murphy then pulled out of the lot without wearing his seat belt and drove to his home about a mile away, the report said.

When the officer spotted a tire on Murphys car go off the road, he put on his lights and siren to pull Murphy over, but he did not stop, the report said. Along the way, the officer claims Murphy was drifting around turns and driving at around 10 mph, the report said.

When Murphy pulled into the driveway of his home, the officer requested backup.

As Murphy got out of his car, he had such poor balance  he needed to brace himself on his vehicle, the report said.

When the officer asked Murphy why he didnt stop, he told the officer he wanted to go home, and pointed to his Connecticut State Police cruiser in the driveway, according to the report.

The officer wrote in the report that he smelled a strong odor of alcoholic beverage coming from Murphys breath, and that the trooper told him he had had four drinks that night, the report said.

The officer conducted a field sobriety test, during which Murphy told police he needed an ambulance because everything hurt, the officer wrote in the report.

When police questioned Murphy about whether his firearm was in the car, he became aggressive and began yelling, according to the report, claiming Bethel police were (expletive) one of your own.

He was transported to Danbury Hospital before being taken to the Bethel Police Department and processed, according to the report.

About two hours after arriving at the police station, the officer reported that Murphy began talking with me and appeared able to gather his words better than before. Murphy began asking me questions about the motor vehicle stop and how he ended up getting arrested.

The questions included how Murphy ended up at the 7-Eleven, the officer wrote in the report.

Murphy is not the only state police trooper to face a DUI charge in recent years. State police charged one of their own, Sgt. John McDonald, with driving under the influence in 2019. State police said McDonald was leaving a retirement party for another officer at a Brewery in Oxford when he drove through a stop sign and struck a car carrying a woman and her daughter.

McDonald pleaded nolo contendere to to two counts of second-degree reckless endangerment last month as part of a plea agreement that will allow him to complete a pretrial alcohol education program and have the DUI charge dismissed. State police said Wednesday McDonald remains on administrative suspension.
U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema sits silently as immigration reform advocate Karina Ruiz, right, confronted her on an airplane flying from Phoenix to Washington, D.C., on Oct. 4, 2021.
Airiel was the first-born child of Synetra Hughes, 40, and Airic Hughes, 33. She lived in Arkansas Childrens Hospital in Little Rock for nine months following her birth.
Teresa Corbett stands with members of a refugee family she co-sponsored at their high school graduation.
Students reflect on #BlackatUARK movement, need for further progress on campus inclusivity
Fulbrights name and likeness are polarizing to many students and faculty on campus. His statues location in the shadows of Arkansas famous Old Main leave many in distress.
Interim Chancellor Charles Robinson is the first Black administrator to serve in the role of chancellor in UA history.
UkraineUAE Business Forum was held in Dubai during the National Day of Ukraine at Expo 2020.

Holding the National Day of Ukraine in the first days of the exhibition is significant. For the first time, Ukraine participates in the World Expo exhibition with its own pavilion. I am confident that our country's participation in the words largest fair will help find new forms of cooperation, strengthen partnerships with business circles of the UAE, as well as other participating countries, said Iryna Novikova, head of the official delegation of Ukraine, Deputy Economy Minister of Ukraine, the Ministrys press service informed on October 5.

As part of the National Day, a tour of the Ukraine Pavilion for the official delegations of the UAE and Ukraine and the UkraineUAE Business Forum was held.

During the forum, a Memorandum of Cooperation was signed between the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the UAE Federation of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

The program of the event was divided into three thematic sessions: energy (energy for sustainable development), agro-industrial complex, IT and innovation. According to the deputy minister, these are currently "the most promising areas of economic and investment cooperation between Ukraine and the UAE."

Read also: Ukraine opens pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai

The official ceremony on the occasion of the National Day of Ukraine at the World Expo 2020 was attended by UAE Minister of Tolerance Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan and UAE Minister of State for Food and Water Security Mariam bint Mohammed Saeed Hareb Almheiri.

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President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and President of Israel Isaac Herzog made a joint statement following the first day of a two-day official visit of the President of Israel to Kyiv.

The text of the statement has been published on the website of the Ukrainian Presidents Office, according to Ukrinform.

The Presidents reaffirmed the desire of both countries to maintain active political dialogue and bilateral cooperation in trade, economic, investment, scientific and technical, cultural and humanitarian fields, and to encourage contacts between representatives of business, scientific and academic circles. Ukraine and Israel also reaffirmed their commitment to the fundamental principles of international law, respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of States, the document reads.

The parties positively assessed the implementation of the bilateral Free Trade Agreement provisions, which came into effect on January 1, 2021 and said they expect that negotiations on the introduction of a free trade regime between the two countries in the field of services will be soon launched.

They also stressed the importance of resuming the work of the Ukrainian-Israeli Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation as soon as possible, considering the epidemic situation in both countries.

The Presidents of Ukraine and Israel also stressed the importance of coordinating efforts to overcome the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic through, inter alia, the prompt mutual recognition of vaccination certificates and welcomed bilateral cooperation in this area, the document reads.

In addition, the Israeli side praised Ukraines efforts aimed at creating appropriate conditions for Jewish pilgrims to visit historical and holy places on its territory and perform religious rites, including organization of the annual pilgrimage of Bratslav Hasids to Uman.

The Presidents of Ukraine and Israel together with other high-level delegations will participate in the events to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Babyn Yar massacre. In this regard, the Parties stressed the need to preserve the memory of the Holocaust and the importance of educational efforts at the national and international level to prevent a recurrence of such horrific crimes, the document reads.

In turn, the Ukrainian side noted with gratitude President Isaac Herzogs commemoration of the Holodomor victims in Ukraine. The parties stressed the importance of continuing educational efforts aimed at memorialization and spreading the information about the Holodomor of 1932-1933 in Ukraine.

The Heads of State strongly condemned all manifestations of chauvinism, intolerance, xenophobia and anti-Semitism. The Israeli Side praised the efforts of the President, Government and Parliament of Ukraine in the fight against anti-Semitism in Ukraine, in particular, the adoption of the Law on Prevention and Counteraction to Anti-Semitism in Ukraine, the document reads.

As Ukrinform reported, on October 5-6, 2021, President of Israel Isaac Herzog is paying a state visit to Ukraine at the invitation of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky.

On October 5, 2021, official negotiations between the heads of the two states took place.

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Russia's occupation of Crimea has destroyed the security situation in the Black Sea region, but cooperation between Ukraine and NATO countries can restore the security balance in the region, according to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

He said this at the Warsaw Security Forum on Tuesday, October 5, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"Russia's occupation of Crimea not only destroyed Ukraine's territorial integrity but also affected the security situation in the Black Sea region, striking a blow to the international order," Kuleba said.

He stressed that only greater NATO presence in the Black Sea region and close cooperation between the countries of the region will help restore the security balance.

He added that close cooperation between the countries of the region will also protect trade in the Black Sea region.

Kuleba also drew attention to Belarus' aggressive actions towards its neighbors. He recalled that the Lublin Triangle was created last year with the participation of Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania. It was planned to invite Belarus to join the union, but now it has become impossible.

He stressed that Ukraine has more than 1,000 kilometers of the border with Belarus, but it never expected a threat in this direction. However, now this threat has become real.

According to him, Ukraine is now trying to strengthen the security of its own border, taking into account the artificially created migration crisis by Belarus in relation to Lithuania, Latvia and Poland. Kuleba said that the Russian-Belarusian integration program would take five to seven years. Therefore, the democratic world must start a "big conversation" about a new strategy for Belarus, he said.

"We must involve the EU, NATO and Ukraine in this issue - all those who care about the security of this region, because the security situation in Central Europe will change and it is a threat to all," Kuleba said.

Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau earlier said at the Warsaw Security Forum that so far there is no indication that the United States is ready to leave Europe militarily or politically, especially the Eastern European region.

The Warsaw Security Forum is taking place on October 5-6.

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President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has enacted the National Security and Defense Councils decision "On application and amendment of personal special economic and other restrictive measures (sanctions)."

The relevant decree, No.497/2021 of October 5, was published on the presidents website, Ukrinform reports.

"To put into effect the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine as of October 5, 2021 On application and amendment of personal special economic and other restrictive measures (sanctions), the document reads.

According to the document, the NSDC secretary has been tasked with exercising control over the implementation of the NSDC decision enacted by the decree.

In particular, sanctions have been imposed against candidates for members of the State Duma of Russia, members of territorial election commissions for organizing Russian elections in the occupied territories of Ukraine.

The decree also introduces amendments to the NSDCs decisions on sanctions as of March 19, 2019, May 14, 2020, and June 24, 2021.

The decree comes into force from the date of its publication.

As Ukrinform reported, on September 17, the NSDC decided to apply personal restrictive sanctions against 33 candidates for members of Russias State Duma, 53 members of territorial election commissions for organizing Russian elections in the occupied territories of Ukraine, and against 7 employees of the Federal Security Service, who were involved in the poisoning of Alexei Navalny.

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NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg believes that NATO countries should step up cooperation with aspirant countries that want to join the Alliance, including Ukraine and Georgia.

He said this at Georgetown University in Washington on Tuesday, October 5, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"So therefore, my message to NATO Allies, and also something I discussed actually yesterday with President Biden, is that we need to step up and do more for those aspirant countries," Stoltenberg said.

According to him, the Alliance should provide more support, more training, more capacity building, help to implement reforms, fight corruption and build the security and defense institutions.

Speaking about the prospects for NATO enlargement, including the accession of Ukraine and Georgia, Stoltenberg noted that it's obvious that "it won't happen tomorrow." However, he criticized the position, including by some Western politicians, that this allegedly irritates Russia.

"First of all, it is important to establish some basic principles and values. And that it is the right for any sovereign nation to decide its own path. The whole idea that it's a provocation to Russia that small neighbors join NATO is absolutely wrong," Stoltenberg said.

Read also: Kuleba calls for greater NATO presence in Black Sea region

In his opinion, it is the Russian side that provokes when it focuses on this.

"Some voices in the West would say: no, no, we should be careful because we're provoking Russia. But then you're saying that small countries don't have the right to choose their own path which is again a violation of their sovereignty," Stoltenberg said.

He recalled that Norway had once exercised this right in 1949, despite the fact that at that time the USSR and Joseph Stalin personally opposed it. "So we joined. We provoked Russia, maybe, but we are part of a very happy family," Stoltenberg said.

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First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Emine Dzheppar invited UN member states to join the Crimea Platform.

As the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reports, Dzheppar took part in the Interactive dialogue with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on the findings of OHCHR report on the situation of human rights in Ukraine. The event took place within the framework of the 48th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

In her speech, Dzheppar noted that Ukrainians living under the Russian occupation in Crimea and Donbas were deprived of their fundamental rights and freedoms.

Illegal searches, arrests, detentions, enforced disappearances, torture in places of detention are taking place in the temporarily occupied Crimea. Nariman Dzhelyalov, first deputy chairman of the Mejlis of Crimean Tatar People, Aziz and Asan Akhmetovs remain behind the Russian bars along with hundreds of other political hostages, the deputy minister noted.

The so-called elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation held two weeks ago are illegitimate and their results are null and void as Crimea continues to be an integral part of the sovereign territory of Ukraine, Dzheppar stressed.

The deputy foreign minister spoke about the establishment of the Crimea Platform  an international consulting platform to consolidate efforts to de-occupy Crimea.

I want to draw your attention to the fact that the Crimea Platform is open to the participation of other UN member states. We invite you to join this international platform to end gross human rights violations and restore respect for international law, she said.

Dzheppar expressed hope that the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, in particular through the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, would actively participate in the implementation of the goals and principles of the Crimea Platform.

Photo credit: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

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Ukraine and three European countries have joined the extension of the EU sanctions against Russia over actions against Ukraine's territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence.

This is said in the Declaration by the High Representative on behalf of the EU on the alignment of certain countries with the EU decision, which was published on the European Councils website, according to Ukrinform.

On 10 September 2021, the Council adopted Decision (CFSP) 2021/1470 amending Decision 2014/145/CFSP. The Council Decision renewed the existing restrictive measures for a further 6 months, until 15 March 2022. The Candidate Countries Montenegro and Albania, and the EFTA country Norway, member of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine align themselves with this Council Decision, the document reads.

It is noted that the countries will ensure that their national policies conform to this Council Decision.

The European Union takes note of this commitment and welcomes it, reads the document.

As Ukrinform reported, on September 10, the EU Council decided to extend sanctions against Russia over actions undermining the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine for a further six months, until March 15, 2022.

Restrictive measures in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine were first introduced on March 17, 2014.

The restrictive measures provide for travel restrictions, the freezing of assets, and a ban on making funds or other economic resources available to the listed persons and entities. Sanctions will continue to apply to 177 individuals and 48 institutions.

In addition, other EU measures implemented in response to the crisis in Ukraine include economic sanctions targeting specific sectors of the Russian economy, currently in place until January 31, 2022 and restrictive measures in response to the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol, limited to the territory of Crimea and Sevastopol and currently in place until June 23, 2022.

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Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba discussed monitoring of uncontrolled section of the UkraineRussia border with OSCE Secretary General Helga Schmid.

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the Warsaw Security Forum on October 5, the MFAs press service informs.

As noted, Kuleba expressed gratitude to Schmid for the OSCEs efforts to resolve the RussiaUkraine armed conflict and minimize the negative consequences of Russian aggression for the citizens on both sides of the contact line.

The Ukrainian foreign minister called the decision of the Russian Federation to close the OSCE Observer Mission at the Russian Checkpoints Gukovo and Donetsk a conscious step towards the destruction of the Minsk agreements."

He noted that Paragraph 4 of the Minsk Protocol of 5 September 2014 provides for the OSCE permanent monitoring and verification of the areas adjacent to the state border between Ukraine and Russia.

Kuleba believes that Russia prevented the presence of OSCE observers on the border in order to supply weapons, ammunition, and mercenaries to the temporarily occupied territories in Luhansk and Donetsk regions with even greater audacity, and to further fuel the armed conflict.

The minister also stressed that Ukraine supported the resumption of monitoring of the uncontrolled part of the UkraineRussia border.

The counterparts discussed the enhancing of the capacity of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine to monitor the uncontrolled segment of UkraineRussia border and the situation in the temporarily occupied Crimea.

They also paid attention to the implementation of the goals of the Crimea Platform aimed at the de-occupation of the Crimean peninsula.

The Warsaw Security Forum is held on October 5-6 in hybrid format.

Photo credit: mfa.gov.ua

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Ukraine is ready to negotiate with Hungary on complex problems in bilateral relations, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said in an interview with Ukrinform during the Warsaw Security Forum.

"I know that [Hungarian Foreign Minister] Peter [Szijjarto] also participates in the forum, but we did not meet here. At the same time, I am open to this conversation. We do not lock the door. We need to find a way out of any situation and make a decision that will suit all parties," Kuleba said.

Read also: Gas TSO of Ukraine refutes reports about resumption of gas transit to Hungary

Earlier, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry condemned Hungary's decision to sign a 15-year gas supply contract with Russia. The fifth meeting of the Ukrainian-Hungarian intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation was scheduled for September 29-30 in Budapest, but Kuleba did not attend the meeting. Szijjarto said that Kyiv would not decide for Budapest how to deal with the country's energy security.

Hungary agreed to buy 4.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Russia each year, with 3.5 billion cubic meters to be transported via Serbia and 1 billion cubic meters via Austria. Prior to that, Hungary received all gas volumes through Ukraine.

On October 1, Gazprom halted natural gas transit to Hungary through Ukraine.

Photo: Ukrainian Foreign Ministry
Mikheil Saakashvili detained in Georgia will receive full support and protection from the Ukrainian consular services as he is a citizen of Ukraine.

The position of the Ukrainian state is as follows: regardless of surname and social status, a citizen of Ukraine enjoys the full support and protection of Ukraine anywhere in the world. That is why Ukraine provides Mr. Saakashvili with the same amount of consular assistance that is granted to any other citizen who gets into trouble abroad, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba said in an interview with Ukrinform.

He noted that the consul had visited Saakashvili on Monday, while the Ukrainian embassy in Georgia should establish a mechanism for prompt cooperation with the Georgian authorities so that issues related to the case could be resolved at any time.

The minister added that further actions would depend on the procedural steps taken by the Georgian authorities against Saakashvili.

"But we will protect him because he is our citizen," the foreign minister summed up.

As reported, on Friday morning, October 1, Saakashvili posted a video on Facebook, in which he said that he was in Batumi.

In the evening of the same day, Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili announced that Mikheil Saakashvili had been detained on October 1. In turn, the former president went on a hunger strike, saying he considered himself a political prisoner.

Mikheil Saakashvili was the president of Georgia in 2008-2013. After losing the 2013 election, he left the country. Several criminal cases were instituted against him in his homeland, within some of which he was sentenced to imprisonment in absentia.

In 2015, Saakashvili was deprived of Georgian citizenship and has been a citizen of Ukraine for almost six years. He currently heads the Executive Committee of the National Reform Council of Ukraine.

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At a meeting with the ambassadors of the G7 countries, Interior Minister of Ukraine Denys Monastyrsky has outlined the main directions for the ministrys system development.

Ukrinform reports this with a reference to the Interior Ministrys communications department.

According to Monastyrsky, increasing public confidence in law enforcement officers, creating a safe environment, improving technical support, digitalization and development of services and involving the Interior Ministry in anti-corruption reform are key areas for further development of the ministry.

"The Interior Ministry will focus its efforts on five areas of work. As for increasing public confidence, we will focus on the following projects - police community support officer, body cameras for all patrol police officers, human rights monitoring Custody Records, safe childhood and combating domestic violence," said Monastyrsky.

The minister also noted that one of the key principles of a new team is to eradicate corruption in the ministrys system.

"We are implementing tools that are able to identify, neutralize and eliminate causes and conditions that contribute to corruption, strengthen internal control, prevent conflicts of interest," Monastyrsky added.

As Ukrinform reported, Monastyrsky earlier said that Ukraine should build a state border with the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus in 2022-2023.

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Over 117,000 people were vaccinated against COVID-19 in Ukraine on October 5, the Ukrainian Health Ministry has reported on Facebook.

"As many as 117,234 people were vaccinated against COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, on October 5, 2021. Some 58,659 people received their first dose, and 58,575 people were fully vaccinated," the report reads.

According to the ministry, 887 mobile vaccination teams, 2,938 vaccination sites, and 346 vaccination centers were operating across the country in the past day.

A total of 13,180,072 doses have been administered in Ukraine since it launched the COVID-19 vaccination campaign, with 7,300,774 people receiving their first dose and 5,879,300 people receiving both doses (two people received their first dose abroad).

The Ukrainian Health Ministry emphasized that vaccination is the only effective way of protection against COVID-19.

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As part of her official visit to Switzerland, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Emine Dzheppar has met with the Ukrainian community in Geneva.

The first deputy minister wrote about this on her Twitter account, Ukrinform reports.

"We discussed priorities of foreign policy set by the Strategy of Foreign Policy of Ukraine, as well as the situation in the temporarily occupied territories - Donbas and Crimea," she wrote.

Dzheppar added that the program of her visit also includes participation in the 48th session of the UN Human Rights Council, political consultations, as well as a number of bilateral meetings with representatives of human rights and humanitarian non-governmental organizations.

As Ukrinform reported, in May 2021, Emine Dzheppar discussed the Crimea Platform's advocacy plan with representatives of the Ukrainian World Congress.

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German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier visited the village of Koriukivka in Ukraine's Chernihiv region on Wednesday to honor the victims of the 1943 Koriukivka massacre, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"The fact that so many people have gathered here today shows that honoring the victims of the Koriukivka tragedy of 1943 is important here," Steinmeier said after laying flowers at the monument dedicated to the tragic event.

He then inspected a respective exposition at the local history museum.

According to Chernihiv Regional State Administration's press service, Steinmeier is also to visit the reburial site of the victims of the tragedy in the Hai tract, where a memorial is to be built in honor of Ukrainian civilians shot dead and burned alive during World War II. He will also talk to local students, teachers and young people at Koriukivka School No. 1.

Head of Chernihiv Regional State Administration Viacheslav Chaus, Koriukivka Mayor Ratan Akhmedov, other honored guests and officials are accompanying Steinmeier on his visit.

On March 1, 2 and 9 in 1943, the Nazis killed all residents of Koriukivka (about 7,000 people), and burned down the village. The materials of the Nuremberg trials define this tragedy as the largest mass extermination of the local population in occupied territories during the Second World War. The majority of Koriukivka residents killed at that time were children, women and the elderly.

The Nazis carried out the punitive operation in response to the destruction by Soviet partisans of the German garrison stationed in Koriukivka.

Steinmeier arrived in Kyiv on October 6. He is scheduled to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Israeli President Isaac Herzog and honor the victims of the Babyn Yar tragedy in Kyiv.

Photo credit: Nataliia Potapchuk
The opening ceremony of the Ukrainian office of the world's oldest Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) took place in Kyiv on Wednesday, October 6, Vice Chairman of the Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) Hernan Felman has said in a statement obtained by Ukrinform.

The event was attended by Israeli President Isaac Herzog, the KKL-JNF vice chairman and the leaders of the Jewish communities around the world.

"After about 100 years, KKL-JNF's Ukraine office is back to work with great pride. It is very important for us to take these first steps in Ukraine," Felman said.

According to him, KKL-JNF has recently responded to a request from the Ukrainian government for cooperation, knowledge transfer, and technology for the establishment of forests and the planting of billions of trees throughout Ukraine, as part of a government program to address the climate crisis. Felman called this a historic moment, symbolizing the success of the dream and the friendship that exists between the countries.

He added that the opening of the KKL-JNF office in Ukraine will strengthen relations between the two countries.

Isaac, in turn, thanked all those involved in the establishment of the Ukrainian branch of the Jewish National Fund.

"The well-being of the Jewish community, every Jewish community, is closely linked to the well-being of the State of Israel. Thank you to those who do for the community, who deal with public needs and may God bless you with success," the Israeli president said at the fund's opening ceremony.

Moreover, at another ceremony held today at the Babyn Yar Memorial Site, KKL-JNF commemorated a memorial boulevard and, in cooperation with the Ukrainian government, planted 80 trees to mark the 80th anniversary of the horrific massacre.

KKL-JNF, as the largest green organization in Israel, has over the years accumulated considerable experience in long-term forest planning to create long-lasting forests.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in June this year announced the launch of the Green Country environmental project aimed at increasing forest areas in Ukraine by one million hectares in ten years and plant one billion trees in the country in the next three years.

The Government of Israel and KKL-JNF have reaffirmed their readiness to help implement this initiative. In addition, KKL-JNF will actively develop its activities in Ukraine in order to strengthen friendly ties between the two countries.

Isaac is on a state visit to Ukraine on October 5-6, 2021 at Zelensky's invitation.

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Published Oct. 5, 2021

The Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors and the Contractors Education Trust Fund presented a $250,000 donation to the ULM Foundation for the ULM School of Construction Management. The organizations have donated more than $1.5 million to contribute to the programs growth. Pictured, from left, back row, are Sen. Glen Womack, Andy Dupuy, Garland Meredith, and ULM President Ron Berry, and in front, SCM Director Dr. Ed Brayton, Dean of the College of Business and Social Sciences Dr. Michelle McEacharn, and Vic Weston.

Siddharth Gaulee/ULM Photo Services

To date, the LSLBC had donated $1,142,000 to ULM's School of Construction Management, and the CETF has given $400,000 plus funded a $1 million endowed chair

The Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors and the Contractors Educational Trust Fund know graduates from the University of Louisiana Monroe School of Construction Management are among the best in the world at what they do.

That is why the organizations visited ULM on Sept. 30, 2021, to present a check for $250,000 to the ULM Foundation for the SCM. This marks the second year LSLBC and CETF donated $250,000 to the school.

A check presentation and reception were held to thank the organizations for their many years of support, which has allowed the SCM to improve facilities, technology, and student experiences.

Guests included Vic Weston of LSLBC and CETF; from the LSLBC, Executive Director Michael McDuff and Treasurer Andy Dupuy; from Louisiana Associated General Contractors, CEO Ken Naquin, Operations Manager Michael Demouy, North Louisiana Regional Area Manager Wes Mouk, and Past President and ULM alumnus Robert Billeaud; from the SCM Industry Advisory Council Andrew Barber; and state Sen. Glen Womack.

I want to thank all of you for being here and for your phenomenal support, said Michelle McEacharn, Ph.D., Dean of the College of Business and Social Sciences. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for everything that you do, which advances not only the Construction Management program but the College of Business and Social Sciences and ULM.

Weston said construction is the engine that drives the economy,   and the students that you turn out modernize the industry.

Weston noted that the LSLBC had donated $1,142,000 to ULM to date, and the CETF has given $400,000 plus funded a $1 million endowed chair.

If you think were here brazenly giving you a check, we are here humbly giving you a check, Weston said.

SCM Director and CETF Endowed Chair Ed Brayton, Ph.D., said the schools progress through the years is thanks to the two organizations.

We have spent that $1.4 million. Last year we finished up the atrium area, and we also added an additional computer room. This year were looking at doing a pre-engineering building that will be used for the construction practices area, Brayton said. We have been able to do what weve done because of these private funds. We have really turned this program around because of them.

The SCM has a 100 percent passage rate on licensing examinations, and a 100 percent placement rate, with most seniors accepting positions before they graduate. The starting salaries of SCM graduates are the highest in the universitys undergraduate programs.
King County woman in late 30s becomes first person in Washington to die of J&J vaccine complication
A sign that reads No Jab is held by a person taking part in a demonstration at the state Capitol in August opposing mask and COVID-19 vaccine mandates. Dozens of Washington State Patrol troopers, firefighters and other government employees have sued Gov. Jay Inslee over the vaccine mandate affecting state workers, health-care workers and school employees.
Mo and Dimeji Lawal pose for a photo at their home on Friday, Oct.1, 2021 in Davie, Florida. Nine months ago, Dimeji spent over two months on a ventilator in the Intensive Care Unit at Cleveland Clinic in Weston battling COVID-19. (John McCall/South Florida Sun Sentinel/TNS)
Travis Warner, of Dallas, got tested for COVID-19 at a free-standing emergency room in June 2020 after a work colleague tested positive. The bill included a $54,000 charge for one test. (Laura Buckman/Kaiser Health News/TNS)
Linda Layson White, 70, passed away Wednesday. Nov. 10, 2021. Services will be held at a later date. Interment will be at West View Cemetery. Mrs. White was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico on June 16, 1951, to Howard Winkfield Layson and Toy Curry Layson. She grew up in Macon and graduated f
The University of Nebraska Foundation has announced the election of Don Voelte of Omaha as chair of its board of directors and Angie Muhleisen of Lincoln as chair-elect. The positions were announced at the foundations annual meeting of trustees on Oct. 1.

Voelte replaces Bill Jackman of Dallas, whose term as board chair has concluded.

Voelte is an alumnus of the UNL College of Engineering and is co-owner of VoKee Group of Companies. He began his career as a structural engineer at Mobil in 1975, ultimately becoming the CEO of several companies, the last being Seven Group Holdings, an Australian operating and investment group concentrated in industrial services, oil, gas and media. In 2013 he was awarded an honorary award of the Order of Australia, in recognition of his services to industry and philanthropic contributions to arts and education. He has been a foundation trustee since 2001.

Voelte and his wife, Nancy Keegan, who served as the chair of the foundations board of directors from 2009-2011, operate a private foundation focused on education. In 2012, UNL named its new Nanotechnology and Metrology Research Center for the couple.

A civil engineering degree from the University of Nebraska absolutely changed my life, Voelte said. I am dedicated to this cause of higher education because I believe it is a great provider, a great enablerthe ultimate delta in society and in life. So, I am pleased to serve in this volunteer role as the chair of the foundations board of directors and continue giving back to the University of Nebraska.

Muhleisen is the president and CEO of Union Bank and Trust Company and will become the chair of the foundations board of directors in 2023. She has been a foundation trustee since 1998 and is a graduate of Avila University.

The foundations trustees also elected Julie Jacobson of North Platte and William Lester of Lincoln to the board of directors.

Jacobson is an alumna of UNL and took masters degree studies at UNK. She is director of M.B. Jacobson Farms and became a trustee of the foundation in 2016.

Lester is an alumnus of UNL and is the president and CEO of Ameritas Mutual Holding Company and of Ameritas Life Insurance Corporation. He has been a trustee of the foundation since 2007.

Dan Bahensky of Kearney, Robert Kelley of Scottsbluff, Rodrigo Lopez of Omaha and JoAnn Martin of Lincoln all concluded their terms of service on the board of directors.

Were grateful for the volunteer service of these community and business leaders who give of their time and talents to assist the University of Nebraska Foundation in its mission to grow relationships and resources that enable the university to change lives and save lives, said Brian Hastings, president and CEO of the foundation. The foundation was founded 85 years ago by volunteers who wanted to strengthen the university, and they have been providing steadfast leadership ever since.
As the gas prices are skyrocketing, it is important to invest in renewables, as this is more stable, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th October, 2021) As the gas prices are skyrocketing, it is important to invest in renewables, as this is more stable, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday.

"We have to be very clear that the gas prices are skyrocketing, but in the renewables the prices have decreased over the last years and are stable.

So for us (it) is very clear that ... in the long-term it is important to invest in renewables, that gives stable prices and (is) more independent because the EU imports more than 90% of gas," von der Leyen said upon her arrival to the EU-Western Balkans summit in Slovenia.

Next week, the European Commission will "put forward a communication on the energy topic" that will later be discussed in the council, von der Leyen added.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

Australia's coronavirus vaccine rollout has hit a major milestone, with 80 percent of adults having received at least one dose

CANBERRA, Oct. 6 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Oct, 2021 ) --:Australia's coronavirus vaccine rollout has hit a major milestone, with 80 percent of adults having received at least one dose.

According to the latest data released by the Department of Health, 80.5 percent of Australians aged 16 and older have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 58.4 percent are fully vaccinated.

Lieutenant General John Frewen, the head of the COVID Vaccination Taskforce, on Wednesday said authorities were working to address "pockets" with low rates, urging some states and territories relatively unaffected by the Delta variant to "make the assumption" that they will experience outbreaks of the variant.

"We are working with the state and territory authorities to try to figure out the best way to keep people coming forward," he told Nine Network television.

"There's certainly an element of complacency because they haven't had the major outbreaks."Australia on Wednesday reported more than 2,000 new locally-acquired cases and 22 deaths as the country continues to battle the third wave of infections.
(@FahadShabbir)

London, Oct 6 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Oct, 2021 ) :British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has long defied political gravity, but is hoping his characteristic optimism can sustain him through the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, Brexit and global supply problems.

Labour shortages and rising energy prices are fuelling a cost-of-living crisis.

But he is set to adopt a bullish tone when he addresses his ruling Conservatives' annual conference on Wednesday, in person for only the second time since becoming prime minister in 2019.

The previous 18 months have already been challenging after death tolls from Covid-19 in Britain soared to among the highest in Europe and Johnson himself nearly died in the pandemic.

- Adversity - Johnson, 57, became prime minister in July 2019, consolidating power six months later with a landslide general election victory on a pledge to "Get Brexit Done" -- and reap the benefits.

But despite agreeing to a trade deal with Brussels, leaving the bloc -- ending free movement of people and workers -- has been less than orderly, and exacerbated by the pandemic.

A lack of foreign workers, locked out by new post-Brexit immigration rules or Covid-19 travel restrictions, has caused staff shortages in several sectors, including haulage.

That has hit supply chains, leaving supermarket shelves empty, and raised fears of a less-than-merry Christmas with turkeys and toys running short.

Meanwhile, with energy prices on the rise, Johnson has faced a backlash after breaking an election promise by raising taxes on workers starting next April to fill budget gaps in health and social care.

But the prime minister, who admires strong Conservative predecessors such as Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher, has remained adamant he is setting Britain on a prosperous course.

With some in his party increasingly nervous about what the coming winter could hold, Johnson is counting on his innate positivity and vows of future "sunlit uplands" still resonating with voters.

- 'World king' - Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson was born in New York in 1964. His sister said that as a child he wanted to become "world king".

He spent part of his childhood in the EU capital Brussels, where his father Stanley worked for the European Commission, and later attended the elite Eton school in England before studying Greek and Latin at Oxford University.

In his biography "Boris Johnson: The Gambler", released last October, journalist Tom Bower recounts the serial womanising that put paid to Johnson's two marriages and his relaxed relationship with the truth.

Johnson is believed to have at least six children, including a baby boy with his latest wife Carrie Symonds, 33, who is also expecting their second child.

He first worked as a journalist for The Times, where he was sacked for making up a quote, and moved on to become Brussels correspondent for the Daily Telegraph newspaper.

There he made his name by writing "Euro-myths" -- exaggerated claims about the EU such as purported plans to standardise the sizes of condoms and bananas.

Johnson then entered politics but, in 2004, he was sacked from the Conservatives' shadow cabinet for lying about an extra-marital affair.

He rallied to become mayor of Labour-voting, staunchly pro-European London in 2008, an achievement commentators put down to his brazen refusal to respect convention.
Taiwan Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said on Wednesday that mainland China may consider mounting a full-scale invasion of the island by 2025

BEIJING (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th October, 2021) Taiwan Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said on Wednesday that mainland China may consider mounting a full-scale invasion of the island by 2025.

"At the moment, the Communist Party of China already has the ability to invade Taiwan, but the island has done nothing to provoke such actions. However, by 2025, the CPC will have all the wherewithal to conduct a full-scale invasion," the defense minister said.

The Taiwanese Ministry of Defense is carrying out all necessary preparations, he added.

The statement comes after China sent close to 150 military aircraft into Taiwan's air defense zone since October 1.

Taiwan has been governed independently from mainland China since 1949. Beijing views the island as its province, while Taiwan  a territory with its own democratically elected government  maintains that it is an autonomous country and has political and economic relations with several other nations that recognize its sovereignty.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th October, 2021) US President Joe Biden said he spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss China's military activity near Taiwan and both sides agreed to abide by the Taiwan agreement, the White House press pool said in a report.

"I've spoken with Xi about Taiwan.

We agree, we will abide by the Taiwan agreement. That's where we are and I made it clear that I don't think he should be doing anything other than abiding by the agreement," Biden said on Tuesday as quoted by the press pool.

China recently sent close to 150 military aircraft, including fighter jets and bombers, near Taiwan as the United States and allies conduct military drills near the South China Sea.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday discussed the issue of Venezuela during separate meeting with Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares and Colombian Vice President Marta Lucia Ramirez, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th October, 2021) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday discussed the issue of Venezuela during separate meeting with Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares and Colombian Vice President Marta Lucia Ramirez, State Department spokesperson Ned price said.

"Secretary Blinken and Foreign Minister Albares discussed plans for future diplomatic engagement and humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan, along with ways that Spain and the United States can cooperate to address issues of democracy and human rights in Latin America and a range of other global and regional issues, including ongoing efforts to support the Venezuelan people as they work to restore democracy in their country," Price said.

Blinken discussed the situation in Venezuela with Ramirez as well.

"Secretary Blinken reaffirmed the United States' commitment to bringing the COVID-19 pandemic to an end and thanked Vice President Ramirez for Colombia's support in addressing regional migration," Price said.

The Venezuelan crisis broke out in January 2019 when opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself interim president after disputing incumbent President Nicolas Maduro's re-election in May 2018. Guaido is recognized by the United States and many of its allies but Russia, China and several other states have backed Maduro as the only legitimate president of Venezuela.
(@FahadShabbir)

Up to 20,000 Haitian migrants in northern Colombia are expected to head north and more migrants continue to arrive daily to make the same trip, the United Nations Refugee Agency's (UNHCR) regional spokesperson for Central America and Mexico Sibylla Brodzinsky told Sputnik

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th October, 2021) Up to 20,000 Haitian migrants in northern Colombia are expected to head north and more migrants continue to arrive daily to make the same trip, the United Nations Refugee Agency's (UNHCR) regional spokesperson for Central America and Mexico Sibylla Brodzinsky told Sputnik.

"There are still large groups of Haitians in northern Colombia in Necocli and basically waiting for transportation to then be able to cross the Darien Gap into Panama and then sort of continue their journey northward," Brodzinsky said on Tuesday. "There are still fairly large groups whose intentions appear to be to head north. The number of Haitians, for example in Necocli, poses a huge humanitarian challenge. We're talking somewhere between 18,000 and 20,000 people and more people arriving almost daily."

Brodzinsky said the UN Refugee Agency is also concerned about the vast number of Haitian migrants applying for asylum in Mexico, which is putting a substantial strain on Mexico's asylum system.

"We're supporting the Mexican refugee agency COMAR to be able to handle this increase of numbers," Brodzinsky said. "There are obviously people who do need international protection but for those who do not necessarily, we're calling for alternative migration pathways.

"

Some 15,000 migrants, mostly from Haiti, arrived in Del Rio, Texas, in September, prompting Texas to declare a state of emergency and deploy additional state police officers and National Guard troops to stem the surge.

US media reported, citing DHS officials, said the US has conducted flights to Haiti to transport about 5,500 individuals who tried to cross the southern border of the United States. The US Special Envoy for Haiti Daniel Foote resigned from his post in protest, claiming the deportations were inhumane.

On Thursday, the UNHCR said in a press release that a group of United Nations agencies is calling on countries to refrain from deporting Haitian migrants in groups without properly assessing their protective needs.

The UNHCR said the situation is expected to worsen as a result of the earthquake that struck Haiti on August 14, which strains any capacity to receive returning Haitians.

Haiti suffered a devastating earthquake in August in which more than 2,000 people died in addition to suffering poverty, rampant gang violence and a political crisis following the assassination of previous President Jovenel Moise in July .
EU leaders on Wednesday refused to set a timeline for granting the Western Balkan nations membership, despite reassurances to the region the bloc remained committed to letting them join

Brdo Castle, Slovenia, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Oct, 2021 ) :EU leaders on Wednesday refused to set a timeline for granting the Western Balkan nations membership, despite reassurances to the region the bloc remained committed to letting them join.

Brussels is keen to show it remains the best hope for its neighbours in the face of growing worries that frustration with years of waiting could push some candidate countries closer to Russia and China.

But there were no breakthroughs at the meeting with the leaders of Albania, Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Kosovo on the tortuous path towards membership.

The 27-nation club instead talked up economic support worth billions of Euros for its eastern neighbours at a rain-drenched summit at Brdo castle in Slovenia, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency.

"The Western Balkans is part of the same Europe as the European Union. We share the same history. We share the same interests, the same value values and I'm deeply convinced, also the same destiny," European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said.

"The European Union is not complete without the Western Balkans." - 'Geostrategic interest' - The EU's push for enlargement -- once a key policy for the bloc -- has ground to a halt in recent years. Some richer members fear sparking a new wave of migration and some applicants are struggling with the required reforms, especially on democratic norms.

A final declaration from the summit said after much haggling that the bloc "reconfirms its commitment to the enlargement process".

But it also said that the EU had to first "deepen its own development, ensuring its capacity to integrate new members".

That came after members states rejected a demand by host Slovenia to commit to absorbing the aspirants from the Western Balkans by 2030.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that she was opposed to setting a deadline for the membership process that "puts us under pressure in the end".

But she still insisted the EU had an "immense geostrategic interest" in letting the Western Balkans in eventually.

This reflected the EU's increasing concern over inroads being made by Moscow and Beijing, which have sent millions of coronavirus vaccines to the region.

Moscow has deep cultural ties with fellow Orthodox nations while Beijing has extended major loans in the region, including a controversial $1 billion for a road, which Montenegro is struggling to pay off.

The EU in response touted an "unprecedented" 30 billion euros ($35 billion) economic investment package for the region.

Officials also promised "tangible" improvements for people in the Balkans, such as bolstering vaccine rates to match EU levels this year and ending phone roaming charges.

This may be cold comfort to the candidate countries who are still smarting after France, Denmark and the Netherlands initially held up accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia in 2019.

Bulgaria has since become the main obstacle to progress, refusing to let North Macedonia start the process because of a dispute over history and language.

The leaders of the two countries met together with counterparts from France and Germany, but no progress was made ahead of elections in Bulgaria next month.

- 'No illusions' - "I have no illusions about a quick accession to the EU," said Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, whose country applied for EU membership in 2009.

"The political needs of the EU are such that Balkan enlargement is neither a dominant nor a popular issue." Brussels scored a minor diplomatic victory in the run-up to the summit by mediating a deal to ease a flare-up in tensions between Serbia and Kosovo.

The former foes were at loggerheads after Kosovo banned cars with Serbian registration plates from entering its territory.

Kosovo proclaimed independence from Serbia in 2008 a decade after a war between independence-seeking ethnic Albanian guerrillas and Serbian forces.

Roughly 100 countries, including all but five EU members, recognised the move, but not Serbia or its allies China and Russia.

EU-brokered dialogue between the two Balkans neighbours, launched a decade ago, has failed to achieve normalisation of their ties.
MEXICO CITY (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th October, 2021) Bolivia will begin to vaccinate residents over 16 years old against coronavirus after October 19 with the Pfizer vaccine, President Luis Arce said.

"More than a million Pfizer vaccines will arrive in Bolivia on October 19 as part of the COVAX mechanism," Arce said on Telegram.

"We will have a total of 1,188,720 doses to start vaccinating minors aged 16-17," he said.

In the South American country with a population of 11.6 million people, 6.

87 million people (60.3 percent) were vaccinated against coronavirus, of whom 3.4 million were inoculated with the full scheme. Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Sinopharm, Janssen and Sputnik V vaccines are used.

Vaccination against COVID-19 began in Bolivia in January with medical personnel. For this purpose the authorities used the first batches of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine. Mass immunization of residents started in March and proceeded at a slow pace due to delays in the supply of medicines from manufacturers.
Valdosta, GA (31601)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun during the morning will give way to cloudy skies this afternoon. Areas of patchy fog. High around 80F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy after midnight. Low 54F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph.
Lincoln, RI (02865)

Today

Sunshine and clouds mixed. High 66F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy with periods of rain. Low 38F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch.
Lincoln, RI (02865)

Today

Sunshine and a few clouds. High 66F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Periods of rain. Low 38F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch.
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Lesothos first Cardinal and Bishop emeritus of Mohales Hoek, Koto Sabastian Khoarai, remembered for his down to earth simplicity.

Paul Samasumo  Vatican City.

The Church in Lesotho has announced that the countrys first Cardinal, Koto Sabastian Khoarai, OMI, will be interred on 4 May 2021 at St Patricks Cathedral Mohales Hoek.

St Patricks -a fitting resting place

St Patricks Cathedral Mohales Hoek is a fitting rest place for a Cardinal who still felt compelled to do his bit towards its completion even after his retirement.

At the time of his appointment as Cardinal, he told The Lesotho Times, My nomination as a Cardinal comes at a time when I was still pondering about completing the work that I started in Mohales Hoek, which is the construction of St. Patricks Mission. The construction of the Church had already started during my tenure.. It bothers me a lot that I didnt finish what I started. Even though I am now retired  I still wanted to complete the St Patricks Church because I started it, Cardinal Khoarai told the Lesotho newspaper.

A grandfather image - concern for orphans

In his message of condolences, Pope Francis commended the Cardinal for, among other achievements, his commitment to the churchs educational apostolate in Lesotho.

So committed was he to young peoples education, formation and welfare, that he even took the care for orphans in an institution as a personal responsibility. He worried that perhaps his appointment as Cardinal would deprive the children at the orphanage of his support.

The other task I still wanted to pursue was to take care of the orphanage I had already established in Mohales Hoek. We have about 27 children in that orphanage, and without my presence, the situation could be difficult sometimes. You know when you have started something, it remains in your heart. One of the ladies who still takes care of these children was here to congratulate me after she heard about my nomination (as Cardinal). She even told me there were two more children added to the orphanage. Sometimes when they have nothing to eat, they come to me for assistance. I share what I have with them. I wanted to dedicate the rest of my retirement working with them, said the Cardinal.

A life of service to the Church

Cardinal Khoarai, who died at 91, was 87 years old at the time of his elevation to the office of Cardinal. He could not make the trip to Rome for the consistory due to advanced age and infirmity. He received the insignia of his new office from a Papal emissary.

The Cardinal served as Bishop of Mohales Hoek for 36 years retiring in 2014, and was appointed Cardinal in 2016.

(paul.samasumo@spc.va)
This week on Monday 4 October, Mozambique commemorated the 29th anniversary of peace accords that ended 16 years of civil war.

Herminio Jose - Maputo, Mozambique and Paul Samasumo  Vatican City.

In an interview with Vatican News, a representative of the SantEgidio Community in Mozambique, Fr. Giorgio Ferreti, said that 29 years of peace is a great gift for Mozambique and Mozambicans. However, Father Ferreti warned that Mozambicans must continue to build consensus and strive for national reconciliation.

Community of SantEgidio and the peace accords

On 4 October 1992, Mozambiques ruling party, the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo), and the Mozambican National Resistance (RENAMO) signed the peace treaty in Rome that ended the countrys civil war that broke out immediately after independence from Portugal in 1975. The peace agreement was reached thanks to the mediation of Italys-based Community of SantEgidio; then Archbishop of Beira, Jaime Pedro Goncalves Jaime Goncalves and the representative of the Italian government, Mario Raffaelli. There were also others whose efforts were significant and led to the truce.

Signs of hope in Cabo Delgado

Today Mozambique is still struggling with the full implementation of the Rome accords and the jihadist violence in the northern province of Cabo Delgado. Fortunately, the security situation in Cabo Delgado has recently significantly improved. Rwandan forces have helped secure much of northern Mozambique, destroyed by a brutal Islamist insurgency since 2017.

As some Mozambicans began returning to their destroyed and burnt homes in Cabo Delgados troubled Province, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) bloc, this week, also extended the deployment of a standby force to Mozambique.

Pope Francis visited Mozambique to encourage peace

Peace in Mozambique has been close to Pope Francis heart. In September 2019, the Holy Father visited the countrys capital to encourage Mozambicans to stay the course of peace. Speaking at a Mass to wrap up his Apostolic visit to the country, Pope Francis told Mozambicans at an open-air Mass held at Maputos Zimpeto Stadium to forego conflicts and embrace a future marked by reconciliation. The Pope said it was not possible to build a nation or a future based on violence.

A daily commitment to treat everyone with mercy and goodness

Overcoming times of division and violence calls not only for an act of reconciliation or peace, in the sense of an absence of conflict. It also calls for daily commitment on the part of everyone to an attentive and active concern that makes us treat others with the same mercy and goodness with which we ourselves want to be treated. An attitude of mercy and goodness above all towards those who, by their place in society, quickly encounter rejection and exclusion, Pope Francis told Mozambicans.
Archbishop Gabriele Caccia spoke at the 69th Red Mass on Sunday marking the opening of the new term of the US Supreme Court. In his homily, the Vatican Permanent Observer to the UN called attention on Pope Francis encyclical "Fratelli Tutti on fraternity and social friendship.

By Lisa Zengarini

Justice must always be administered in a spirit of fraternity and mercy, the Holy Sees Permanent Observer to the United Nations told judges, lawyers and other officials in Washington D.C. on October 3.

Justice without fraternity is cold, blind and minimalistic. Instead, when it is infused by fraternity, it never remains an abstract application of norms to situations. Rather, it is transformed into an attentive application of laws to persons we care about, said Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, who has served as Papal Nuncio to the UN since 2019.

The Italian prelate was speaking in the homily he delivered at the Red Mass presided over by Cardinal Wilton Gregory of Washington in St. Matthews Cathedral .

The Red Mass is a special Mass held each year on the Sunday before the Supreme Courts new term to invoke Gods blessing on those responsible for the administration of justice. It is attended by Supreme Court justices, judges and lawyers, members of Congress, members the Presidents cabinet and other government officials and lawmakers, as well as members of the diplomatic corps. The name refers to the red vestments of the celebrants recalling the Holy Spirit.

Administration of justice is something "sacred"

In his homily, Archbishop Caccia noted that the Red Mass is a powerful reminder that justice has to do with something sacred and that those who practice its administration are at the service of something larger and greater than themselves.

He warned that, like the Pharisees in Jesus' times, there is always the risk of using justice as a pretext to challenge and condemn, of exploiting justice instead of delivering it and, ultimately, of using God for personal ends instead of serving Him.

Just laws can result in injustice when not accompanied by a just heart

Those who receive God and draw near to Him, draw near to His justice, Archbishop Caccia remarked. Without this humble attitude, we risk repeating what the ancient Romans expressed: that even just laws can result in injustice when unaccompanied by a just heart.

Administering justice in the spirit of fraternity

Recalling Pope Francis encyclical Fratelli tutti on human fraternity and social friendship, published on 4 October 2020, Archbishop Caccia urged attendees to remember that every time we treat others as objects that we can grasp and use for our own purposes, we lose them.

If we, however, receive them as a gift, we can start a relationship that may last a lifetime. This is the relationship that God envisages for us and we are called to embrace this revelation with gratitude and let it inform our whole life, he said.

The Papal Nuncio concluded his homily imploring divine assistance to become ever more just and fraternal in our relations with one another.

Bishops present at the "Red Mass" included among others, Archbishop Christophe Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States.
The Vatican on Tuesday organized a meeting of representatives of the worlds religions with Pope Francis, to discuss how, through the Global Compact on Education, religions can promote an open and inclusive education for the common good.

By Robin Gomes

By means of education, religions contribute to promoting the human person, and they aim to cooperate actively with international organizations to educate young people to a culture of peace and fraternity. The Vatican Congregation for Catholic Education made the statement in a communique on Tuesday, at the end of the meeting of some 20 representatives of the worlds religions with Pope Francis in the Vatican, on the theme, Religions and Education: Towards a Global Compact on Education.

The Congregation organized the meeting for October 5, World Teachers Day of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), to actuate all necessary measures to put education and the human person at the centre of the international agenda.

The event was part of the Global Compact on Education, an initiative that Pope Francis originally launched on 12 September 2019. Due to the pandemic, he launched it again on 15 October 2020.

Appeal to governments

In his address to Tuesdays gathering, Pope Francis stressed the special relationship that religious traditions have with education. He said that religions are called to add their voice to the movement for a new education that can redirect the world towards universal fraternity. In this regard, he urged everyone who cares about education to sign the pact.

On this background, the Congregation said, the representatives of religions, who for the first time have met to discuss matters of education, direct an appeal to governments to rediscover the priority of education in their countries political agendas, by offering better support to educators and giving more consideration to all aspects of this category of professionals.

Educational Pacts 5 areas of action

The contributions and reflections of the meeting will help further research in the five areas of the Global Compact on Education: human dignity and rights; fraternity and cooperation; technology and holistic ecology; peace and citizenship; and culture and religions. These themes will be analyzed in subsequent events with the aim of actualizing the undertakings of the educational pact both locally and globally, in cooperation with a wide network of universities.

The Congregation for Catholic Education has noted a rising number of educational projects around the world since the Popes initial launch of the project in 2019. We are all invited to place ourselves at the service of the common good, by promoting open and inclusive education, it said.

Message to teachers

This has been made clear in the participants message to the teachers and educations on the occasion of World Teachers Day. They expressed gratitude to teachers and educators for their dedication and sacrifice in carrying out their noble mission of educating young people, and for encouraging them to continue on this path with hope, despite the challenges made acute by the pandemic.

Contribution of religions and youth

Stressing that the Global Compact on Education is not only an idea but also has practical implications, the Congregation said young people are already making an energetic contribution to it. Placing themselves in the frontline of the culture of dialogue and of a civilization of harmony, they are challenging the adults.

The Congregation noted that representatives of religions at the meeting have made suggestions and ideas about education arising out of their different experiences and traditions. Knowing and appreciating each others plans for education is a way to consolidate contacts among the members of diverse confessions, with a view to ecumenism and interreligious dialogue, the Vatican Congregation said.
SANDRA ESPARZA is a News and Features Reporter for The Vidette. Esparza can be contacted at smespa1@ilstu.edu. Follow Esparza on Twitter at @esparzasandra21

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Chiu Kuo-cheng, Taiwans defense minister, said on Wednesday, Oct. 6, that the communist regime in mainland China would be prepared for a full-scale invasion of the island by 2025.

The Peoples Republic of China (PRC), is already capable of invading Taiwan  which it claims as a renegade province  at present, but such an operation would be very costly, Chiu told the China Times.

By 2025 China will bring the cost and attrition to its lowest. It has the capacity now, but it will not start a war easily, having to take many other things into consideration, Chiu said.

The defense minister also warned of misfire incidents amid the rising tensions.

Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), has been technically in a civil war with the PRC since 1949, when communist armies forced the ROC off the mainland.

Chius remarks came as the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) air force sent more than 150 aircraft into the Taiwanese air defense identification zone over a period of four days. While such shows of force have been common in recent years, the latest moves are unprecedented in scale.

And though the Taiwanese air force has been recently equipped with new F-16V fighter jets, the constant harassment by the PLA is keeping the islands defenses on edge, piling stress on pilots and machinery.

READ MORE:

Taiwan Rebuffs Chinese Propaganda Claims That Afghanistans Fate Is an Omen for the Island

Taiwan Deployed Anti-Air Assets in Response to the PLAs Sept. 23 Sortie of 24 Aircraft

Chiu Kuo-cheng, then the chief of Taiwans main intelligence agency National Security Bureau (NSB), attends his first press conference since taking office at NSB headquarters in Taipei on August 2, 2019. (Image: SAM YEH/AFP via Getty Images)

The same day as Chius warning, U.S. President Joe Biden said he had spoken with PRC leader Xi Jinping and that the two leaders had reached an agreement concerning Taiwan.

We agree  well abide by the Taiwan agreement, he said. We made it clear that I dont think he should be doing anything other than abiding by the agreement, Biden said in the morning.

Regarding the PLAs aerial activity, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Washington strongly urge[s] Beijing to cease its military, diplomatic and economic pressure and coercion directed at Taiwan, and that the U.S. was firmly committed to the islands defense.

Beijing sees the reunification of Taiwan as a political necessity, despite the fact that the PRC has never ruled the island. It has vowed to take Taiwan by military force if needed, and warns of consequences should Taiwan declare independence.

Last year, Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen said that there was no need for such a declaration, since the ROC (Taiwan) was already independent.

Prior to 1971, the United Nations recognized the ROC as the legitimate representative of China, but this status was shifted to Beijing as more countries, including the U.S., warmed up to the mainland. In 1979, Washington dropped official diplomatic ties with Taiwan, though it maintains a de facto embassy.

Taiwan has recently boosted its military spending, with $8.7 billion to be allocated over the next few years.

On Tuesday, an essay by Tsai was published in Foreign Affairs, with the Taiwanese leader warning of the consequences should Taiwan fall to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Tsai noted that Taiwan represents at once an affront to the narrative and an impediment to the regional ambitions of the Chinese Communist Party.

As countries increasingly recognize the threat that the Chinese Communist Party poses, they should understand the value of working with Taiwan. And they should remember that if Taiwan were to fall, the consequences would be catastrophic for regional peace and the democratic alliance system. It would signal that in todays global contest of values, authoritarianism has the upper hand over democracy, she wrote.

Jessica Drun of the Asia-focused think tank Project 2049 told the Guardian that it was unclear which agreement or phone call Bidens remarks on Oct. 6 referred to.

Then-Trump administration official Alex Azar (left) meets with President Tsai Ing-Wen (right) during his visit to Taiwan. (Image:  via flickr CC BY 2.0 )

The U.S. abides by a one China policy, which recognizes Taiwan as a Chinese territory, but does not specify whether that means the ROC or the mainland regime. The Taiwan Relations Act, meanwhile, carries the expectation that Taiwans future status is to be determined by peaceful means.

Drun said its possible that the agreement Biden spoke of was the one China policy, but said that she would not characterize that as a consensus between the U.S. and PRC leaders.

From my understanding its standard procedure in interactions with Chinese counterparts for each side to convey its respective views. For Washington, that is affirming its one China policy  which is its own policy, formulated independently, and which is assuredly not the same as Beijings one China principle, she told the Guardian.

The PRC on Oct. 4 said that the U.S. one China policy was something Washington had cooked up unilaterally.

On Sept. 9, Biden had a 90-minute phone call with Xi, during which they discussed how to amend U.S.-China relations within a broad strategic framework, according to the White House.

Bidens national security adviser Jake Sullivan held an hours-long talk with Yang Jiechi, the Chinese Communist Partys top diplomatic cadre, in Zurich on Wednesday, in a conversation aimed at managing tensions between Washington and Beijing.
The European Unions (EU) drug regulator, the European Medicines Agency (EMA), has discovered a potential link between Johnson & Johnsons Janssen COVID-19 vaccine and incidents of blood clots in an individuals deep veins. The issue was highlighted in a Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) meeting during the last week of September.

In its meeting highlights, published on the EMA website, the agency states that PRAC has concluded there is a possible link between rare cases of venous thromboembolism (VTE) and the Janssen vaccine. VTE is a medical condition in which a blood clot forms in a deep vein, potentially traveling to the lungs. This can cause a blockage of blood supply that could threaten a persons life. The deep vein clot is usually formed in the arms, leg, or groin.

According to the EMA, VTE was included in the risk management plan for Janssen. This was done after it came to light, in a recent study, that a higher proportion of VTE cases occurred among a vaccinated group rather than the placebo group. Taking all evidence into account, PRAC concluded that there is a reasonable possibility of VTE risk from the vaccine. As such, the committee has recommended J&J to list VTE as a rare side effect of the Janssen vaccine in its product information.

PRAC also identified potential ties between Janssen and immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), a condition in which the blood cells called platelets are mistakenly targeted by the immune system. As with VTE, PRAC also recommended including ITP as a potential adverse reaction in the product information of Janssen.

If an individual has a history of ITP, healthcare professionals should consider the risk of developing low platelet levels prior to administering the vaccine. In individuals with a history of ITP, it is recommended to monitor platelet levels following vaccination with COVID-19 Vaccine Janssen, the agency said in its meeting highlights. The risk of VTE should also be taken into consideration when administering the Janssen vaccine to people with high risk factors for blood clots.

The EMA decision comes as one of the EUs member states, Slovenia, temporarily suspended the use of the J&J vaccine on Sept. 29 following the death of a 20-year-old woman. The victim died of a stroke and had been administered a J&J vaccine two weeks earlier. The suspension will continue until experts are able to ascertain whether there was a link between the womans death and her vaccination.

The patient had blood clots and bleeding in the brain at the same time, intensive care was not successful, Igor Rigler, a neurologist at the Ljubljana hospital center, told a local news agency.

Around 120,000 people in Slovenia have been administered the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The government has placed an order for an additional 100,000 doses. Slovenia has seen large protests against the administrations vaccination measures.

In the United States, the company is seeking Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for using its vaccine as a booster shot among citizens aged 18 and above. J&J claims that booster shots administered after six months of the one-shot vaccine increase antibodies by 12 times in the first month.

Our clinical program has found that a booster of our COVID-19 vaccine increases levels of protection for those who have received our single-shot vaccine to 94 percent. We look forward to our discussions with the FDA and other health authorities to support their decisions regarding boosters, Mathai Mammen, the Global Head of Janssen Research & Development at Johnson & Johnson, said in a statement.
Former US President Jimmy Carter and his wife, former first lady Rosalynn Carter, celebrate their 75th wedding anniversary Wednesday. VOAs Kane Farabaugh reports on some of the secrets behind the partnership of the longest-married presidential couple in US history. VOA Khmer's Pin Sisovann narrates.
The Biden administration announced shipments of millions of Moderna vaccine donations for Guatemala and Vietnam on Tuesday, after pledging to donate 4 million doses to Indonesia last week. But overall, the U.S. fell short of its target of sending 80 million doses to countries in need by the end of June. White House correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has this report on the challenges facing the U.S. effort to help vaccinate the world. VOA Khmer's Pichchinda Sou narrates.
July 1st marks the 24th anniversary of the moment when Hong Kong reverted from a British colony back to Chinese rule. While changes to the financial hub were gradual at first, China has been quickly reshaping Hong Kong in the past year. VOAs Elizabeth Lee has more. VOA Khmer's Sisovann Pin narrates the story in Khmer.
On this edition of Straight Talk Africa, host Hayde Adams discusses the attributes of free and fair elections and the signs of a rigged voting system. The guests include Rushdi Nackerdien, an advisor at the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, Patsy Widakuswara, VOAs White House bureau chief, Phiwokuhle Mnyandu, a lecturer of African Studies at Howard University and Vincent Makori, managing editor of VOAs English to Africa TV.
Russias Federal Security Service  or FSB  has issued an arrest warrant for prominent investigative journalist Roman Dobrokhotov, founder and editor-in-chief of the Insider news website. The journalist is being accused of illegally crossing the border into Ukraine in August and could face up to two years in prison.
Americans are being warned to beware of potentially deadly fake prescription pills that are laced with the powerful opioid fentanyl and the highly addictive stimulant methamphetamine. The counterfeit tablets are linked to a wave of drug overdoses killing unsuspecting users.

In its first warning in six years, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said international and domestic criminal networks were mass-producing fake pills and falsely marketing them as legitimate prescription medication.

Counterfeit pills that contain these dangerous and extremely addictive drugs are more lethal and more accessible than ever before, said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram at a news conference in Washington.

The notification was issued last week after the DEA announced it had seized more than 1.8 million fake pills during a two-month undercover operation and had arrested more than 810 people. In a statement, the agency said it had confiscated more than 9.5 million potentially lethal pills in the last year.

Illicit fentanyl was responsible for nearly three-quarters of the more than 93,000 fatal drug overdoses in the United States in 2020, said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. Health officials report fentanyl was responsible for nearly 70,000 of the overdose deaths.

Powerful pills

U.S. law enforcement investigators say the majority of counterfeit medication found in America is being made in labs in Mexico using chemicals imported from China. The DEA believes Chinese traffickers have switched from primarily manufacturing finished fentanyl to exporting precursors of the synthetic opioid to Mexican cartels, which then manufacture illicit fentanyl. U.S. officials are now seeking greater cooperation from Mexican law enforcement agencies to disrupt trafficking in the country.

DEA laboratory testing revealed that two out of five fentanyl-laced fake pills seized contained a potentially deadly dose of just 2 milligrams. Fentanyl can be 100 times more powerful than morphine. Drug researchers say a deadly dose of fentanyl is small enough to fit on the tip of a pencil.

The fake pills seized were capable of killing more than 700,000 people, Milgram noted, adding that law enforcement agencies have sought to shut down criminal distribution networks selling tablets that look exactly like name-brand prescription medications. We are alerting the public to this danger so that people have the information they need to protect themselves and their children.

The DEA alert said medications prescribed by doctors and dispensed by licensed pharmacists were safe, but pills acquired by other avenues were potentially deadly.

Decades of death

Since 1999, more than 500,000 Americans have died of opioid overdoses, both prescription and nonprescription. Deaths rose in nearly all states, with the highest increases in California, Kentucky, Vermont, South Carolina and West Virginia, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The more than 9.5 million fake tablets seized this year represented 430% more than the number seized in 2019. The DEA also confiscated ingredients used to make tens of millions of pills, including more than 4,000 kilograms of methamphetamine.

The pervasiveness of these illicit drugs, and the fatal overdoses that too often result, is a problem that cuts across America from small towns to big cities and everything in between, said Monaco.

The most common counterfeit pills are being made to look identical to prescription medications such as Oxycontin, Xanax, Vicodin or stimulants like amphetamines. Investigators say the fake medications are widely available and sold on social media platforms as well as on the streets.

The illicit drug supply introduces even greater uncertainty about what people are taking, and that contributes to overdoses. Dr. Caleb Alexander, a professor of epidemiology and medicine at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland, told VOA. If someone combines fentanyl with heroin or methamphetamine or another illicit product, it can be deadly.
Taiwan has asked has Australia for help following the increase in recent days of incursions by Chinese jet fighters into Taiwans air defense identification zone.

China considers Taiwan to be a breakaway province that will someday rejoin the mainland. However, authorities in Taipei consider the island a sovereign state.

Like most other countries, Australia does not formally recognize Taiwans self-declared independence. However, there are important bilateral economic and social ties.

Taiwans foreign minister, Joseph Wu, this week urged Australia to increase intelligence sharing and security cooperation as Beijing intensified its military presence in Taiwanese airspace.

Australias spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Monday that the resolution of differences over Taiwan and other regional issues must be achieved peacefully through dialogue and without the threat or use of force or coercion. The statement echoes concern from the U.S. State Department, which also said it was very concerned by Beijings pressure on Taiwan.

Richard McGregor is a senior fellow for East Asia at the Lowy Institute, a Sydney-based research and policy organization. McGregor told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that Canberra could be drawn into mounting tensions over Taiwan after China sent dozens of fighter jets and bombers into its airspace.

It is psychological pressure, you know, to wear Taiwan down. I mean, China does not want to invade Taiwan, they do not want to fight a war over Taiwan. They want to put enough pressure on Taiwan that eventually Taiwan, kind of, gives up and agrees to terms as it were, McGregor said.

Last month, Australia and the United States announced plans to strengthen ties with Taiwan, describing it as a leading democracy and a critical partner for both countries. Due to escalating tensions, such partnership is now critical, McGregor says.

It is going to become a more difficult position for Australia because, of course, if the U.S. decides that it will up its support for Taiwan, it wants help from countries like Australia and Japan, McGregor said.

Australia also signed a new security partnership with the United States and Britain to share defense technologies in what analysts said was an effort to counter the potential threat from China in the Indo-Pacific region.

China is Australias biggest trading partner, but the relationship has become increasingly fraught in recent years because of various geopolitical, diplomatic and trade disputes.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that his talks this week with top French officials were very productive and could lead to new collaboration between Washington and Paris to contain Chinas military ventures in the Indo-Pacific region.

It is vitally important to the U.S. that Europe in general, France in particular, be a strong and engaged partner in the Indo-Pacific, Blinken said at a news conference in the French capital. He concluded his trip to Europe after talks with other foreign ministers at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Blinken suggested the U.S. and France also could work together on joint concerns in the Sahel region of Africa and on U.S.-European security.

While in Paris, Blinken met with French President Emmanuel Macron and Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, talks aimed at continuing to patch up strained ties between the long-time allies following a dispute about a security partnership among the United States, Britain and Australia. Macron and U.S. President Joe Biden could announce joint projects when they talk later this month in Rome on the sidelines of a meeting of Group of 20 leaders.

The Biden administration last month announced the new security pact with Australia and Britain that angered Paris. Under the deal, Australia will get at least eight nuclear-powered submarines to be built domestically using American technology. The agreement came as Australia pulled out of an earlier deal with France for diesel-electric submarines.

We could and we should have communicated better, Blinken told France 2 television in an interview after his meeting with Macron. We sometimes tend to take for granted a relationship as important and deep as the one that links France and the United States.

At Wednesdays news conference, Blinken said, From my perspective, the conversations we had just in the last 24 hours were very positive, very productive and reflect a lot of important work thats in progress.

Theres a lot of work that goes into this, he added. Weve had teams meet in a variety of ways in the last days and thats going to continue.

The top U.S. diplomat said Biden told him to take what is one of the most important relationships in the world and make it even better, make it even stronger. Biden and Macron talked by phone after French anger at the submarine deal became apparent last month.

At the opening of the OECD meeting on Tuesday, Blinken highlighted several challenges the member countries face, including the coronavirus pandemic, the climate crisis, inequity and setting rules for a technologically advancing world.

The principles at the heart of this organization and our democracies are being challenged by authoritarian governments that argue their model is better at meeting peoples basic needs. Some of these same governments are actively seeking to undermine the rules-based order that has been fundamental to security and prosperity of our countries for generations, Blinken said, without naming specific nations.

Blinken said member nations must prove that our approach can make a better life for people  in all countries and in a way thats more equitable than in the past while holding ourselves accountable.

Blinkens weeklong trip also includes a stop at Stanford University in the western U.S. state of California, and meetings in Mexico City on Thursday and Friday for the U.S.-Mexico High Level Security Dialogue.

He will join Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Attorney General Merrick Garland to discuss security issues, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said this week.

The high-level meeting comes amid a recent migration crisis as tens of thousands of Haitian migrants gathered at the U.S.-Mexico border last month. Thousands were allowed to enter the U.S. pending immigration hearings on asylum requests while more than 2,000 were deported back to the Caribbean country.

Ken Bredemeier, Wayne Lee and Chris Hannas contributed to this report.
Gunfire echoes from a nearby trocha, an informal border crossing, where Venezuelan migrant Yuberthi once made her living.

Yuberthi would scrape money together to pay for a room in the nearby border town and feed her 12 and 4-year-old kids by carrying the bags of border-crossers between Venezuela and Colombia. Her last name has been withheld for her security.

But since battles for territorial control between armed groups in the region have deepened, those dirt and river passageways have turned deadly. The hundreds of corridors have become frequent sites of rape and other gender-based violence, and Yuberthi left in search of other work.

Unable to make ends meet, Yuberthi was forced into survival sex, risking trafficking and exploitation the streets near the border, charging less than $4 a person.

She risked trafficking and abuse, including violence. Oftentimes, those men work with militias, she said.

Still, selling sex to survive seemed safer.

Ive been doing it for months because I dont like that my children go to bed without eating, Yuberthi said. I see working in the trochas as healthier, but you face a lot of danger in the trochas.

Aid workers, local officials and researchers warn that intensifying armed group violence along the border has strengthened human trafficking networks and deepened gender-based violence. Migrant women like Yuberthi bear the brunt of the consequences.

The Venezuelan border has always been a hub for militias: Right-wing paramilitaries, Colombian guerrillas from the National Liberation Army, ELN, dissidents of the demobilized guerrilla group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC, and the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua criminal organization.

Territorial war

The groups use the border for trafficking and to escape the grip of Colombian law enforcement. Conflict between the criminal organizations has deepened in past years, but only in recent months has the territorial war escalated in urban zones like Cucuta.

There are just accelerating rates of intensity. Its a constant reconfiguration of control, and a constant contestation for the trafficking corridors, said Elizabeth Dickinson, an analyst with Crisis Group. Thats trafficking of goods, of drugs, of weapons, and of course, of people,she said.

In June, a car bomb at a military base supposedly carried out by FARC dissidents left 44 people injured including two U.S. military advisers. Weeks later, gunmen fired on Colombian President Ivan Duque aboard his helicopter near the citys airport.

The violence has intensified during the pandemic, which has created conditions that make the city ripe for groups to prey on vulnerable migrant populations, explains Ana Teresa Castillo, an aid worker living at the mouth of one of the informal border crossings.

La Parada has always been violent, but right now, the situation is an economic war, said Castillo, as smoke lingered from a recent clash near her house. Theres no work and a lack of opportunities.

Castillo and other womens groups reported that they have recently seen more cases of sexual violence perpetrated by illegal actors, specifically members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang, which has been making power grabs in a zone once largely controlled by Colombian fighters.

In late July, Colombias Ombudsman Office, which oversees the protection of human rights, warned of a troubling uptick in the targeting of women, including killings and sexual violence in the region.

Over the past year and a half, the office said it received more than 830 reports of gender-based violence, though observers say that is likely a fraction of the actual cases due to low reporting and impunity.

The Ombudsman's Office rejects these acts of gender-based violence and makes an urgent call to the authorities to carry out .. urgent and effective investigations of the events that occurred, said Ombudsman Carlos Camargo in a statement.

Aid organizations in the zone say those warnings have gone unheeded and that the cases of trafficking and sexual violence they see are more extreme than before.

Child prostitution

Right now were seeing girls of 14, 13, even 8 years old in the streets prostituting themselves, Castillo said. A few nights ago, I saw little girls of 8 years old out at 10 p.m. at night prostituting themselves.

Colombian police rejected the criticisms.Officials told VOA they have active operations combating trafficking networks in Cucuta, and blamed neighboring Venezuela for making it easier for the criminal organizations to traffic.

Yuberthi said she has endured violence and abuse in her sex work because, she said, she has no other choice.

The men are abusive. You have to put up with violence and they want to manipulate you, as if youre not worth anything, she said.

She said the men would physically hurt her, force her into sex acts she did not want to do, and verbally abuse her.

Yuberthi keeps the sexual violence a secret from her children, dropping them off at a local education center in the morning, trying to earn money during the day, and picking them up at night.

She said she doesnt let her daughter walk outside the small apartment they share with nine other migrants because she worries gang members will prey on her.

Armed groups seek control

Dickinson said gender-based violence serves a strategic purpose for the armed actors.

The fact that theyre moving to target specifically women is, first of all, an indicator of the depth of the conflict under way, she said. It's also an indicator that these groups are seeking more than territorial control, theyre also seeking social control.

That is also compounded by deepening impunity, explains Magaly Castaneda, director of Fundacion Frida Kahlo, an organization that helps human trafficking victims.

Castaneda and other organizations said they cannot officially report human trafficking networks and cases of sexual violence because they will receive threats and become targets of violence by the perpetrators.

We denounce anonymously, why do we do it anonymously? Because we dont want it to affect our security, to be a target for human trafficking networks, Castaneda said. Its a risk. Its a high risk that we take.

While aid leaders like Castaneda express worry that the situation will only continue to worsen, Yuberthi also worries, but says she has to focus on the day-to-day.

I want to leave this all behind. I dont want to live like this anymore, she says, But I also dont want my daughters to live through the same thing I have.
A 61-year-old African-American man was executed Tuesday in the U.S. state of Missouri, despite pleas for clemency from the Vatican and his lawyers on the grounds that he was intellectually disabled.

Ernest Lee Johnson was put to death by lethal injection for the 1994 murders of three convenience store workers during a botched robbery in Columbia, Missouri.

He was pronounced dead at 6:11 pm (2311 GMT), according to a statement from the Missouri Department of Corrections.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson, a Republican, on Monday had rejected appeals to halt the execution, which took place in Bonne Terre, Missouri.

"The state is prepared to deliver justice and carry out the lawful sentence Mr. Johnson received," Parson said in a statement.

"The evidence showed Mr. Johnson went to great lengths to plan and conceal his crime," he said. "Three juries have reviewed Mr. Johnson's case and recommended a sentence of death.

"Mr. Johnson's claim that he is not competent to be executed has been reviewed and rejected by a jury and the courts six different times, including a unanimous decision by the Missouri Supreme Court," the governor said.

Johnson's lawyers repeatedly have sought to block his execution on the grounds that he is intellectually disabled, arguing that would violate the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment.

Vatican request

The Vatican's envoy to the United States sent a letter to the governor on behalf of Pope Francis last week urging him to halt the execution.

"This request is not based upon the facts and circumstances of his crimes; who could not argue that grave crimes such as his deserve grave punishments," said the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Christophe Pierre.

"Nor is this request based solely upon Mr. Johnson's doubtful intellectual capacity. Rather His Holiness wishes to place before you the simple fact of Mr. Johnson's humanity and the sacredness of all human life," he said.

In a filing with the U.S. Supreme Court, Johnson's attorneys said he averaged scores of 67 on IQ tests, the range of intellectual disability.

They said his mother and a brother were intellectually disabled, and Johnson was born with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.

"Mr. Johnson was held back twice in second and third grade because of his intellectual shortcomings," they said, and dropped out of school after a second attempt at ninth grade.

But the U.S. high court Tuesday denied Johnson's attorneys' motion for a stay of execution.

'Grave act of injustice'

Two Democratic members of the House of Representatives from Missouri, Cori Bush and Emanuel Cleaver, also issued an appeal for clemency, saying Johnson's execution "would be a grave act of injustice."

"Killing those who lack the intellectual ability to conform their behavior to the law is morally and legally unconscionable," they said in a statement.

"Like slavery and lynching did before it, the death penalty perpetuates cycles of trauma, violence and state-sanctioned murder in Black and brown communities."

"This wasn't justice. This was cruelty," Bush tweeted after the execution was confirmed, and called to abolish the death penalty.

Johnson was convicted of killing three convenience store employees  Mary Bratcher, Mabel Scruggs and Fred Jones  while robbing the store to get money to buy drugs.


Officials from Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria have agreed to work together to reconstruct the Lake Chad Basin. The region has been a hotbed of insecurity due to attacks from Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram and its offshoots. The officials met in Cameroons capital this week and said the area is gradually returning to normalcy, but unemployment is pushing young people to join militant groups.

Close to 400 representatives of rights groups, funding agencies, United Nations agencies and the African Union met in Yaounde to map out ways of improving living conditions in the troubled Lake Chad Basin.

In a statement, governors from the region said member states and funding agencies will intensify rebuilding and stabilization efforts of the area.

Ahunna Eziakonwa is U.N. assistant secretary general and the regional director for Africa at the U.N. Development Program. She said many of the towns and villages in the Lake Chad Basin need to be rebuilt from the ground up.

Houses have been destroyed, schools have become nonfunctional, markets, stores destroyed. The rule of law is completely erased with police stations completely destroyed, so a stabilization program tries to rebuild the livelihoods and lives of people who have been affected by first of all making sure we reconstruct those facilities that serve the police for instancem," said Eziakonwa.

Since the death of Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau earlier this year, thousands of the groups fighters have defected or surrendered, according to regional governments and officials of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), a regional military alliance fighting the Boko Haram insurgency.

The task force made up of troops from Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria said attacks by its troops in Boko Haram-controlled areas have made Shekaus militants weaker.

Richard Fonteh Akum is the executive director of the Institute for Security Studies based in Pretoria, South Africa. He said now is the time to launch sustainable development efforts, while Boko Haram is in apparent decline.

What may seem as normalcy right now could actually be the silence before another storm of attacks. A few years ago, there was a fracturing within Boko Haram which saw the groups splinter and see the emergence of the Islamic State West Africa Province, but at the same time Boko Haram came out stronger. So, I think unless we have a framework which allows for multi-level peace and stabilization, it will remain extremely challenging to move towards normalcy and effective reconstruction, he said.

Akum said to stop endemic poverty in the area, roads should be improved for fishers, herders and crop farmers to transport their produce to markets.

The amount of money needed to for rebuilding efforts of the Lake Chad Basin wasnt disclosed during the meeting, but Cameroon said it will allocate $300 million to spend on infrastructure destroyed by Boko Haram.
The investigation into last years massive explosion in Beirut has been slow due to what observers say is interference by the powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah group. Lebanese judge Tarek Bitar has survived two removal attempts. The latest was Monday when a court dismissed complaints against Bitar, but Hezbollah continues to oppose him and the probe he is conducting. Observers say a real national front is needed to confront obstacles posed by Hezbollah, while getting Lebanon on track to start needed economic and political reforms.

Bitar has faced pushback from powerful Lebanese factions trying to stop his investigation into the August 4, 2020, Beirut port blast, one of the biggest non-nuclear explosions in history. Reports said a huge quantity of ammonium nitrate - commonly used to make fertilizer or bombs - was left unsafely stored there for years.

Three former ministers of interior, finance and transport, are defendants in the case and allied to Hezbollah, the countrys powerbroker. They tried to get Bitar removed from the probe as he has sought to question them. Hezbollahs chief, Hassan Nasrallah, accused Bitar of being politicized, despite having a position that is considered neutral. Hezbollah security officer Wafiq Safa warned the judge that if the group did not like his legal work, he would be removed.

He would be the second judge dismissed.

Political analyst Dania Koleilat Khatib with the Issam Fares Institute at the American University of Beirut told VOA why she believes Hezbollah is threatening Bitar with removal.

Hezbollah always tries to intimidate because probably he is going to unveil something that they dont want him to unveil. Thats why they are trying to block him," she said. "Did they store the nitrate? Did they not store it? The fact that they told him to stop and sent him this message shows that they really feel threatened by the investigation.

Another former interior minister, Ahmed Fatfat, told the Saudi Arab News daily that Hezbollahs actions suggest it is afraid of the developments taking place.

Hezbollah accuses all those who disagree with it of treason, while it admits that it receives its orders and money from Iran, Fatfat said. He said that unless a real national front is established to confront the party, the country will fall under Iranian occupation.

Many Lebanese, especially families of the more than 200 blast victims, are furious that no senior official has been held accountable for the tragedy more than a year on.

The position of Bitar is important," said Analyst Dania Koleilat Khatib. "The Lebanese people are so demoralized. When I saw the parents of people who died 4th of August, someone speaking in their name, he said though we dont believe in the government, the judiciary has showed us that despite everything, justice can still emerge and this is very important. This is where the international community, the EU, the US should support someone like Bitar; should make sure that he will not be subject to political pressure and should send this very strong message not only to Hezbollah, to anyone that if anyone touches him, they will be subject to very strong punishment.

The probe has been the subject of international criticism.

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have accused Lebanese authorities of brazen obstruction of justice and of callous disregard for victims' families as the probe drags on.
Shortly after Augusts collapse of the Afghanistan government to the Taliban, the Canadian government announced it would initially welcome 40,000 refugees.

The resettlement is happening amid upheaval in Afghanistan and at the height of the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. The first refugees to arrive on Canadian soil were immediately quarantined for 14 days in one of five hotels in Toronto. They were then inoculated with COVID-19 vaccines. They are now being resettled in various parts of Canada.

Chris Friesen is the chief operating officer at the Immigrant Services Society of British Columbia, a government-funded agency. Friesen has spent 30 years helping immigrants and refugees in Canada and says assisting Afghan refugees is unique.

Whats the difference between the Afghan movement and other movements is the fact that Canadians, particularly to the armed forces, had spent, many years in Afghanistan, he said. There was a personal connection to Afghans and Afghanistan.



Friesen said most Afghan refugees left quickly with hardly any possessions, presenting unique sets of challenges for resettlement. None of the usual preparatory paperwork was completed before they arrived in Canada, he said.

During quarantine in Toronto, Afghan refugees were also given laptop computers or tablets. This allowed Canadian immigration workers to offer English lessons and childrens programming remotely for access to education.



Among the refugees is Adbul, currently in Vancouver with his family. He is not using his full name to protect relatives still in Afghanistan.



Abdul has a brother in the United States but wanted to come to Canada because of previous connections he had with Canadians.



He spent more than 45 years living in Afghanistan, and worked as a journalist based in Kabul. Working for both Afghan and American media outlets for more than 20 years, he saw the risks due to his profession given how the Taliban mistreated journalists.

I think my life was in danger. Not only my life, but because of me, my familys life was in danger, he told VOA. And thats why I was very, I was trying too much to go out because I was in direct threat, even when the government, the ex-government was going on, I was [feeling threatened].



Abdul arrived in Canada with his wife and children, who range in age from grade school to university. He is hoping to one day help his mother immigrate. He said he and his wife will take some English courses and other classes and will work toward becoming Canadian citizens.

My family is safe here it is very important for me that the future for my kids is somehow defined, Abdul said. They will go to school, inshallah [Arabic for if God wills] soon and then they will go to college, [some] who were in at university in Afghanistan.
A group of French senators arrived in Taiwan for a five-day visit Wednesday following a large Chinese show of force with fighter jets amid the highest tensions in decades between China and Taiwan.

The group, led by senator Alain Richard, will meet with President Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwanese economic and health officials and the Mainland Affairs Council. Richard, a former French defense minister, previously visited Taiwan in 2015 and 2018, according to Taiwans semi-official Central News Agency, and heads the Taiwan Friendship group in the French senate.

Chinas ambassador to France Lu Shaye sent a warning letter in February calling on Richard to cancel the Taiwan visit, according to local media reports.

The visit will likely provoke a rebuke from China, which claims self-ruled Taiwan as its own territory and therefore opposes any international engagement with the island such as visits by foreign government officials. It also has aggressively poached Taiwans remaining diplomatic allies.

In its most recent display of sustained military harassment, China flew fighter jets 149 times toward Taiwan over four days from Friday to Monday. The White House called the flights risky and destabilizing, while China responded that the U.S. selling weapons to Taiwan and its ships navigating the Taiwan Strait were provocative.

Taiwans defense minister Chiu Kuo-cheng told legislators Wednesday that the situation is the most severe in the 40 years since Ive enlisted. Chiu was answering questions as the legislature decides whether to approve a special budget for air and naval defense purchases.

China and Taiwan split amid civil war in 1949. Today they have extensive trade and investment ties but no official relations, and China has increasingly mobilized military, diplomatic and economic pressure to undermine Tsais independence-leaning administration.
Afghan semifinalists for next year's Fulbright scholars' program are asking the U.S. government about the status of their candidacies, following the closure of the U.S. Embassy in Kabul as American troops withdrew from Afghanistan in August.

"After the fall of Kabul on August 15, we did not hear back from the U.S. State Department on the Fulbright program regarding the status of our applications," said Maryam Jami, a law school graduate and applicant from Herat, referring to the Taliban takeover of the Afghan capital on that date.

The Fulbright Foreign Student Program "enables graduate students, young professionals and artists from abroad to study and conduct research in the United States," according to the program's website, which says about 4,000 foreign students are awarded a scholarship each year.

The prestigious awards offer educational opportunities at little cost, through the State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, in conjunction with the Institute of International Education, which is headquartered in New York. The scholars teach or do research for one year or longer.

Jami, who said she wants to study for her master's degree in law in the U.S. through the Fulbright program, said applicants have reached out to the program to no avail. The last week of August, "they sent us an official email stating that they are going to inform us in the coming weeks," she said.

VOA this week reached out to a State Department official who responded that the agency is aware of the applicants' worries.

"We are tracking events in Afghanistan closely and are reviewing the future of the Fulbright program. We are committed to the aspirations of Afghan students and scholars," the statement said.

"This fall, we have welcomed onto U.S. campuses the largest cohort ever of Fulbright students from Afghanistan. We appreciate the continued interest of next year's semi-finalists in study in the United States. We know that this is a challenging time for these Afghan students and their families. Interviews were postponed from June to September due to staffing and logistical constraints presented by the COVID pandemic."

With the U.S. Embassy in Kabul closed, the official web page for the diplomatic mission shows an error message.

The State Department has canceled its Fulbright program in the past for safety reasons, such as when a country has experienced turmoil, after the candidates are selected. At such times, the scholarships were rescinded, and the finalists had to reapply if they wanted to pursue the Fulbright again.

The program has also been cut short because of COVID-19. U.S. Fulbright students had the option of returning to the U.S. or remaining in their host countries during the 2020 pandemic.

Applicants said their hopes to leave Afghanistan to participate in the Fulbright program feel shaken.

"If the Department of State and the Fulbright program do not reply to my request and don't hold an interview, I do not have any future," said Farhad Ehsani from Kabul. Ehsani said this is his second time applying for the program.

"I will migrate to Pakistan, Iran or some other country because if I stay in Afghanistan, I will not have a good future," he said.

Esmatullah Muslim from Kandahar applied for an environmental management program in the U.S.

"The Fulbright scholarship program is an educational program, and it should not be politicized, or it should not be political. We demand that it should continue as normal, as well as for the following year," he said.

"The situation is really heartbreaking, especially for women, because we are denied education now in Afghanistan," Jami said. "Girls do not have access to even secondary education after elementary school. They cannot continue. They must stay home. We thought the international community will help us.  We all have plans for Afghanistan, and we want to pursue those plans through education."

Niamatullah Sayed received a bachelor's degree in law and wants to pursue a master's in banking and finance. He said the semifinalists are awaiting word from the State Department.

"We have given our high efforts and waited a long time. We deserve to be interviewed," he said. "We know that as of now, we do not have official governmental relations with the U.S., but this is an academic and cultural exchange program that shall not be affected by political relations.

"We are potential future leaders of our country in our respective fields. We will be guiding our homeland towards prosperity and development considering international standards," Sayed told VOA. "Therefore, the State Department should not cancel the program, because it isn't the solution."

The Afghan Fulbright semifinalists for 2022 have also launched a hashtag on Twitter to call attention to the issue. #supportafgfulbrightsemifinalists2022


Germanys Social Democrats (SPD), winners of last months nationwide parliamentary elections, said Wednesday they are holding talks with the nations Green Party and Free Democratic Party (FDP)  the respective third- and fourth-place finishers in the election, to try to form a ruling coalition.

While any deal is far from being made, the announcement puts SPD leader and outgoing Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz closer to leading Germanys next government.

The SPD narrowly defeated Chancellor Angela Merkels ruling conservative Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) 25.7% to 24.1% in the September 26 elections, handing Merkels ruling coalition its worst-ever defeat.

But that narrow victory  and the fact that no party won a clear majority in parliament  left some room for the CDU to form a ruling coalition with one or both of the smaller parties. Immediately following the election, the Greens and the FDP agreed to meet with both parties and each other to see what could be negotiated.

On Wednesday, following preliminary talks last week with both the top two parties, Green Party leaders said serious negotiations with Scholzs SPD makes the most sense. Green co-leader Robert Habeck told reporters that while there is still a lot to be discussed, last weeks talks showed this is where the greatest overlaps are conceivable, especially in the broad area of social policy.

FDP leader Christian Lindner confirmed the three-way talks could begin as early as Thursday.

CDU leader Armin Laschet told reporters they are still open to more talks but that decision lies with the two smaller parties.

Merkel was asked about her partys chances Wednesday while speaking to reporters at a European Union Summit in Slovenia.

"The CDU did not get the best of voting results, she said.

Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse.
In Burkina Faso, at least 400 people have been awaiting trial on terrorism charges for years, including several minors. In this report from Ouagadougou, Henry Wilkins speaks to family members of those living in legal limbo.



Camera: Henry Wilkins


In Burkina Faso, at least 400 people have been awaiting trial on terrorism charges for years, including several minors.

Houretou Sidibe says three relatives, including her son, have been held in a Burkina Faso maximum security prison for three years.

Sidibe, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, says she does not know why they're being held.

Since Burkina Faso began its war against armed groups linked to Islamic State, al-Qaida and local bandits seven years ago, at least 400 citizens have been arrested on suspicion of terrorism-related offenses and are being held in custody. Some are children under the age of sixteen.

"It has been more than a year since I've been able to visit them, because I have no means to do it," Sidibe said. "Two weeks ago, my brother was able to visit them and gave me some of their news."

The West African country created a penal code for terrorism offenses in 2019. But so far, only two people have been to trial and convicted on terrorism charges.

Sidibe says her relatives are being held at a prison in the town of Ziniare, which is housing double its official capacity.

"I really need some judicial assistance, a lawyer, to follow up their case and free them, because it really is a long time that they've been remanded in prison," she said.

Koumbo Barry, whose name has also been changed to protect her identity, says her son has been held for almost two years without trial.

"I can't stop crying, because I haven't been given any reason for their arrest," she said. "I want the government authorities to help me find the reason why my sons were arrested and dropped in that prison. Today, I am old and I can't work. I am living with their wives and children. It's difficult to feed them. My husband is old, everyone is suffering at home because of this situation."

Daouda Dialo is a Burkinabe human rights activist who runs the rights group, The Collective Against Impunity and Stigmatization of Communities. He says some detainees have been awaiting trial for as long as five years.

"As a human rights defender, we find that this pre-trial detention is excessive," he said. "It is an abuse that must be corrected at the level of the law, because we cannot detain someone indefinitely to wait for his or her trial. The fact that justice isn't working can contribute to further violence and worsening vigilantism."

Attending a conference on the processing of terrorism offenses Friday, Burkina Faso President Roch Kabore said the country will continue to prosecute terrorism suspects despite funding concerns.

"We're pleased we've been able to hold the first trial of a terrorist and I can tell you that I've noted all the concerns and we will ensure that the state can effectively meet these conditions," he said. "It is true that we have to take into account the fact that we have financial difficulties, but I think that an effort can be made to reinforce what we already have."

Although the trial of two men is a sign of progress, it remains to be seen how quickly more trials will follow.


Malawi's President Lazarus Chakwera has ordered sign language to be used on all television stations and at official functions, and to be recognized as a national language.

Chakwera said he was concerned with challenges deaf people in the country face largely because of a lack of sign language interpreters.

"We must stop thinking of sign language as a favor to deaf people," he said. "That kind of condescension has no place in this new Malawi. We need a re-education of our minds to regard sign language as a human right."

Chakwera said every person has a right to acquire language from the moment of birth, including sign language for people born with hearing impairments.

"In this new Malawi, we want the use of sign language to be adopted everywhere for every function and by every institution," he said.

Chakwera said his administration will work with the Malawi National Association of the Deaf, MANAD, to make life easier for the country's 400,000 sign language users.

"It is because of this commitment that we are supporting the reproduction of the first ever Malawian sign language dictionary developed by MANAD to help harmonize the existing sign languages in Malawi into one sign language," he said.

Chimwemwe Kamkwamba, a partially deaf student at Exploits University in Lilongwe, said youths with hearing difficulties are denied loans to start their businesses.

"We are excluded because they feel like we cannot pay back, which is not a right thing because we are also persons," she said. "We are also people with needs. We are also people who need to be somewhere. And to be denied that, we (are) being denied our right to do what we believe we can do."

Stephano Maneya, chairperson for the Malawi National Association of the Deaf, said another challenge is there is only one secondary school for deaf learners in Malawi.

"So, our plea is that government should help us with special secondary schools for the deaf so that after these learners who do better from primary school, they should also get specialized support in special secondary schools and be able to excel with their education," he said through an interpreter.

Chakwera said his government will look into that, but will first focus on training more people who can use sign language in government offices. Malawi currently has five professional sign language interpreters.


NATO's top official is signaling that it would be a mistake to see the withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan or simmering tensions between France and the United States as a weakening of the trans-Atlantic alliance.

Instead, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned would-be adversaries that NATO will remain unified and resolute against a growing number of threats from old adversaries and new ones.

"Questions are being asked about the strength of the bond between Europe and North America," Stoltenberg told an audience at Georgetown University in Washington following a series of meetings with top U.S. officials.

"They do not change the big picture," he said. "We do not know what the next crisis will be, but we do know that whatever happens, we are safer when we stand together."

Specifically, Stoltenberg pushed back against charges that U.S. President Joe Biden cast aside NATO allies when he decided to make good on the previous U.S. administration deal to pull American troops from Afghanistan.

"The idea that the United States did not consult is wrong," Stoltenberg said. "That's factually wrong."

The NATO leader also said that while France was "disappointed" by a new security pact between the U.S., United Kingdom and Australia  the so-called AUKUS deal in which the U.S. and the U.K. will share technology with Australia to help it build nuclear-powered submarines  "NATO allies agree on the big picture that we need to stand together also working with our Asia-Pacific partners."

"China has the second-largest defense budget in the world. They're investing heavily in new military capabilities, including nuclear long-range weapons systems," Stoltenberg said. "I expect that the upcoming new strategic concept for NATO will actually reflect a much more comprehensive and unified position on how to relate to China."

But the NATO secretary-general saved his toughest talk for Russia, warning that relations between NATO and Moscow are "at the lowest point since the end of the Cold War."

"They have deployed new, advanced weapon systems. They have violated one of the cornerstones of arms control, the INF (Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty) that banned all intermediate-range weapon systems," he said. "And we have seen a more aggressive Russia abroad, in many places, and then a more repressive Russia at home."

And Stoltenberg went even further, appearing to chastise Moscow for its stance on NATO enlargement, specifically its opposition to membership for Georgia and Ukraine.

"It is the right for any sovereign nation to decide its own path. The whole idea that it's a provocation to Russia that small neighbors join NATO is absolutely wrong," he said. "That's the provocation, that anyone is saying that."

Stoltenberg declined to say when Georgia or Ukraine might gain NATO membership, calling it a matter for the two countries and the alliance, and "no one else."

Stoltenberg also said that during his time in Washington, specifically during his meeting Monday with Biden, he pushed for NATO members to do more to help aspiring members.

"We need to step up and do more for those aspirant countries, because as long as they are not members, we should provide more support, more training, more capacity building, help them implement reforms, fight corruption and build the security and defense institutions," Stoltenberg said.

"We need to establish that there is a lot in between nothing and full membership," he added.

A White House readout of Monday's meeting said the two leaders, "discussed the international security environment and NATO's ongoing efforts to safeguard Transatlantic defense."

It also said Biden "reaffirmed his strong support for NATO and the importance of bolstering deterrence and defense against strategic competitors and transnational threats."


NATO said Wednesday it expelled eight members of Russia's mission to the military alliance for allegedly working in secret as intelligence officers.

"We can confirm that we have withdrawn the accreditation of eight members of the Russian Mission to NATO, who were undeclared Russian intelligence officers," an unnamed NATO official said.

NATO also said it would cut the number of positions that Russia could accredit to NATO from 20 to 10 at the end of October. The alliance did not immediately explain why the decision was made.

The official said, "NATO's policy towards Russia remains consistent. We have strengthened our deterrence and defense in response to Russia's aggressive actions, while at the same time we remain open for a meaningful dialogue."

Senior Russian lawmaker Leonid Slutsky, head of the Russian lower house of parliament's international affairs committee, said Moscow would retaliate but did not provide specifics, according to Interfax.

NATO-Russian relations have steadily deteriorated since Moscow annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014. NATO and Russia also disagree over issues such as Russia's nuclear missile development and aerial intrusions into NATO airspace.

Some information for this report came from the Associated Press and Reuters.


Pope Francis has expressed sorrow and shame after an inquiry into sexual abuse within the Catholic Church in France revealed that some 330,000 children had been abused since 1950.

"I would like to express to the victims my sadness, my sorrow for the trauma that they have suffered. And also my shame. Our shame, my shame, for the Church's too-long inability to put them at the center of its concerns. I assure them of my prayers, and we pray together, all to you, Lord, the glory, and to us the shame," Pope Francis told an audience Tuesday at the Vatican.

The independent commission was set up by French bishops in 2018. Investigators went through court, police and Church records and interviewed thousands of victims and witnesses. The findings, which were published Monday, revealed that at least 216,000 children, mostly boys, were abused by up to 3,200 priests and other clerics since 1950. When lay members of the Church are included, the number of victims is estimated at 330,000.

Jean-Marc Sauve, the president of the commission, said the scale of the abuse was overwhelming. "Above all, there was a series of neglects, failures, silence, an institutional cover-up, which were systemic in nature," he said at a press conference Monday.

Under French law, many of the offenses are too old to prosecute. The commission called for the Church to increase financial compensation to the victims, which is scheduled to begin next year. Some victims say the Catholic Church itself must undergo historic reform.

"This involves a process of profound change in the practices, relationships and governance of the Church," said Eric Boone, now 49 years old, who said he was abused by a member of the Catholic clergy when he was a teenager.

Boone said the commission had been a cathartic process. "This is really the most beautiful moment in this shameful story; it is the moment that helped me the most. I arrived trembling and I came out of it deeply appeased, because I had the feeling that I was really being listened to, over a long period of time, with people who knew how to listen to what I was saying, who rephrased it, who tried to understand without any judgment."

Earlier this year, Pope Francis changed Catholic laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse. Amicie Pelisse de Raussas, president of the group "Catholic Voices" in France, told VOA that progress had been made.

"I think this report is the first step of this rebuilding of trust. Because it's a report that was commissioned by the bishops and it shows that the Church, the institution, is really trying to dig out the truth and not hide, to be done with the sort of culture of cover-up that has been systemic until today.

"I think as long as you have one case left, one predator, one victim left, you need to do more," she added. "But Pope Francis, be that as it may, I think has really begun a culture of change."

The French commission follows similar investigations in other countries, including the United States and Australia. Pope Francis has described sexual abuse within the Catholic Church as a "worldwide catastrophe."


Russias opposition activists and rights groups had hoped the Kremlin would ease off on a crackdown on dissent, independent media outlets and civic organizations once the elections for the Duma, the lower house of parliament, concluded last month.

But theres little sign of that happening, they say.

The Justice Ministry has added nearly two dozen activists and journalists, an independent rights watchdog and a news site to its Soviet-style blacklist of designated foreign agents. The moniker can mean the death knell for a media outlet as it prompts nervous advertisers to pull out. Both Russians and non-Russians can be branded as foreign agents.

Russian authorities have intensified their efforts to silence independent voices, Human Rights Watch said in a statement. The rights group says the authorities are using a battery of laws that allow even greater infringements on freedoms of expression, association, and assembly.

In the runup to Russias parliamentary elections in September, which saw the ruling United Russia party retain its majority in the 450-seat Duma, opposition leaders and critics of President Vladimir Putin complained of an intensification of a campaign of repression that saw an exodus of dissidents.



The Kremlin barred most genuinely independent candidates  first and foremost supporters of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny  from running in the polls.

Last week, Russias domestic spy agency added to its list of topics and issues that can earn the moniker of foreign agent. The Federal Security Service listed 60 non-classified topics, many related to the armed forces, including military procurement and soldiers' morale, that can be exploited by foreign enemies. The topics include gathering or publishing information about corruption within the military as well as Russias space agency, Roscosmos.

The expansion of the list will add to the risks for journalists trying to report on Russias military, rights lawyers complain.



In an interview with the Reuters news agency after the elections, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the authorities would continue to take a tough line against what he termed the non-systemic opposition. He said opponents had crossed a red line a while ago. And, he added, What they were doing was using provocations and all methods to try to stir up social unrest.

Peskov said, Naturally, any authorities would adopt as tough a position as possible to that. The aim is to maintain stability in society. There is no place for lawlessness and we are ready to force people to obey the law. This is not connected to the Duma elections. This is our line and it will continue to be our line.

People designated as foreign agents can be fined and jailed for up to five years for failing to meet various administrative requirements, including filing regular financial reports.

They are also required to add this statement to anything they publish: This message is created and/or distributed by a foreign media outlet carrying out the functions of a foreign agent, and/or by a Russian legal entity carrying out the functions of a foreign agent.

Russia's law on foreign agents was initially introduced in 2012 but has been beefed up and amended several times since. Last month, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, a global network of 50 independent media outlets, announced it was halting operations in Russia in order to protect its Russian journalist collaborators.



More than 70 individuals are on the foreign agent blacklist, nearly one-third of them added since the parliamentary elections. The most recent additions include Sergey Smirnov and Pyotr Verzilov, respectively the editor-in-chief of the independent news site Mediazona and its publisher, Zona Prava; a rights organization founded by the Pussy Riot protest punk rock band to monitor abuses in Russias prison system; and several members of the election watchdog Golos.

Three members of the feminist Pussy Riot were jailed after staging what authorities considered a sacrilegious and unauthorized performance in 2012 inside Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Savior.

The incident, which gained the group international notoriety, was billed as an anti-Putin demonstration. Putin was prime minister at the time.

The Mediazona news site published Tuesday three videos obtained by an NGO, Gulagu.net, showing inmates being beaten and tortured by guards in several prisons across the country, including in the city of Saratov. Gulagu.nets website was blocked by state media watchdog Roskomnadzor earlier this year following requests from Russias security agencies.

Russian authorities have amassed a wide array of tools to intimidate, marginalize, and punish human rights defenders, said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

HRW has raised concerns also about a crackdown on two Russian rights groups, both of which have won cases against Russia at the European Court of Human Rights, and a migrant rights campaigner, Valentina Chupik, an Uzbek barred last month from re-entering Russia, where she has been a resident since 2005.

Border officials handed Chupik a notice saying she would be prohibited from entering the country for 30 years.

Whether the moves against these three are coordinated or not, they are certainly consistent with the authorities wider efforts to stifle effective critics, in particular groups that work to rectify human rights abuses, says Williamson.

A group of 45 Western countries demanded Tuesday that Russia provide urgent answers about the poisoning of Kremlin critic Navalny. Western nations say Navalny was poisoned in Russia with a Soviet-era nerve agent in August last year. He was treated in Germany before returning to Russia, where hes now in jail.

Moscow has 10 days to respond to the questions posed by the EU, the United States, Canada and Australia, under the rules of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). It is essential that Russia sets out in detail the steps taken to investigate and shed light on the use of a chemical weapon on its territory," said the statement by the 45 countries.





Moscow denies any involvement in Navalnys poisoning. Navalny was jailed on his return to Russia on fraud charges, which his supporters say were trumped up. He is being held at Penal Colony No. 2 in Pokrov in the Vladimir region of Russia.

His prison sentence is due to end in mid-2023, but Russian authorities have launched a new case against Navalny and other directors of his Anti-Corruption Fund and he could face new extremism charges, each of which carries a possible sentence of 10 years.

The organization that I founded specializes in fighting against corruption. And this, evidently, is enough to make it extremist in the eyes of my countrys authorities, Navalny said Wednesday in a speech delivered for him at the Oslo Freedom Forum in Miami.

Information from Reuters was used in this report.
Russias Federal Security Service has issued an arrest warrant for investigative journalist Roman Dobrokhotov, editor of the Insider news website. He's being accused of illegally crossing the border into Ukraine in August and could face up to two years in prison. Anna Rice has the story.
The state parole board in the southeastern U.S. state of Texas has recommended that Governor Greg Abbott grant a posthumous pardon to George Floyd, whose death while in the custody of Minneapolis police sparked global protests against racial injustice and police brutality.

Floyd was arrested in his hometown of Houston in February 2004 and charged with selling $10 of crack cocaine, for which he served 10 months in jail after reaching a plea deal with prosecutors.

But Floyds conviction came under renewed scrutiny after the narcotics officer who arrested him was indicted on two counts of felony murder in a botched 2019 drug raid that ended in the deaths of a Houston couple. The deadly raid sparked allegations that the officer, Gerald Goines, fabricated evidence to justify the warrants that led to hundreds of drug raids and arrests. He is also facing federal civil rights charges in the case.

At least 150 convictions from Goiness cases have been dismissed by prosecutors, while several officers with his unit have been indicted. Goines is no longer with the Houston police force.

The seven-member parole board voted unanimously on Monday to recommend Floyds pardon to Governor Abbott. There has been no response from the governors office.

Floyd died in May 2020 after then-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck for several minutes while Floyd was being arrested on suspicion of passing a counterfeit $20 bill at a convenience store.

The incident was captured on cellphone video, triggering outrage over the treatment of Blacks at the hands of police. Chauvin was convicted of Floyds murder earlier this year and is serving a 22-and- year prison sentence.



Some information for this report came from the Associated Press.
For over a year Thailand has been rocked with political unrest as youth-led demonstrators demand political reform and a reduction in powers for the Thai monarchy.

With criticism against the Thai monarchy forbidden and pressure mounting on Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ochas administration, including over its pandemic response, authorities have attempted to limit news.

Early on, authorities issued an emergency decree in October 2020 that banned publishing or broadcasting news and information that could incite public fear. And in July 2021 the government attempted to pass Regulation 29, which would have given it far-reaching powers to block content deemed a danger to public order.

Pravit Rojanaphruk, an award-winning journalist who works for the news website Khaosod English and who has advocated for greater media freedom, told VOA the attempts show that authorities want to control the narrative.

I think the mentality is shifting towards the Chinese model, and thats clear. They feel theres a need to try and intervene, clamp down or restrict the free flow of news, Rojanaphruk said. I can see the directions where theyre heading seems to be sharing more ethos or mentality with that of the Chinese regime than Western countries.

Media laws

Ultimately, the governments attempt to pass Regulation 29 failed. Media groups and lawyers filed a complaint to the civil court, which later issued an injunction blocking the move.

If it had passed, the decree would have allowed authorities to censor online expression, investigate individuals deemed as instigating fear, and empowered the National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission to cut individuals internet access.

Thailand is already known for strict media laws, with those convicted of defaming the royal family under the lese-majeste legislation facing up to 15 years in prison.

At least 148 people have been charged under the law since protests began, with 62 cases related to online expression, according to the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights group, an organization that documents rights violations.

The lese-majeste law has been such an obstacle for press freedom and freedom of expression in Thailand, a long-standing one. Now [we have] COVID-19, the government's attempt, and the arrests of people who express themselves, Rojanaphruk said.

The journalist said that media mostly are unwilling to write anything that could be seen as critical of the monarchy.

Censorship and self-censorship have been the norm for the vast majority of the Thai press, Rojanaphruk said. They think the law does not impede their duty and work, and reporting critically about the monarchy, and unfortunately that is still the case.

In its press freedom index, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said that coverage of the protests showed the laws impact on self-censorship, with a key demandreform of the monarchylargely missing. Thailand ranks 137 out of 180 countries, where 1 is freest, on the media watchdogs annual index.

Protest coverage

Rojanaphruk said the protest movement is now focusing less on monarchy reforms and more on mishandling of the pandemic and its impact on the economy.

The government has been slow to roll out its vaccine program, with around 40% of the 70 million population vaccinated, according to a Reuters tracker, and until recently, strict curfews were in place.

Since August, clashes between small groups of protesters and police have been a daily occurrence. Each evening, exchanges of fireworks and teargas transform sections of Bangkok into chaos.

Local media are reporting on events, but some journalists say they feel targeted by police.

In September, authorities arrested two journalists, including one who reports via Facebook, for allegedly violating curfew orders, according to local reports.

Kan Sangtong, an observer with Amnesty International and the Thai human rights organization iLaw, said he has seen police obstruct journalists during street demonstrations.

Many times during the field the police try to block journalists when they try to capture protests, he told VOA.

Santong said the relationship between the police and media worsened last year, after a water cannon was deployed when clashes first escalated.

Others including Rojanaphruk said that police are clamping down on those they deem are not bona-fide media organizations, such as reporters who stream events on Facebook.

The attempt to draw the line and put a blueprint as to who is a real journalist and not a real journalist. It is very anachronistic, out of sync. Anyone can become a so-called citizen journalist or a citizen reporter, Rojanaphruk said.

Other journalists who spoke with VOA said that in recent weeks, police have been segregating reporters to check for press identification, leaving some independent reporters vulnerable because they dont have the required documents.

But deputy police spokesman Colonel Kissana Phathanacharoen questioned the legitimacy of some reporters and said police have a duty to keep everyone safe.

There are a lot of people who claim they are journalists, [but] they are protesters, and are just out there doing live streaming, targeting the police operations, Phathanacharoen told VOA.

We dont allow bystanders to get in the enforcement area and intervene in our police job, he said. You have to be able to prove to the authorities you belong to some [media] organizations.

The spokesperson said police are not trying to prevent people from doing their jobs and issue four warnings before taking action such as using a water cannon or rubber bullets.

Varuth Pongsapipatt, a journalist for online news magazine Plus Seven, said he has seen riot police change their mood toward the press depending on the event.

The authorities, officers, always say via microphone, Press, please photograph and film to record the evidence [to show] that [the] police didn't do any violence and five minutes later they will change and say Press, go away. If you are on the street we will arrest you, he told VOA.

The journalist is suing police after being hit by rubber bullets earlier this year.

The obstructions, coupled with attempts to further restrict independent reporting, could result in Thailand declining on media freedom rankings, journalist Rojanaphruk said.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that he had spoken with his Russian counterpart about restoring Iran's nuclear deal and that the issue is of mutual concern to the United States and Russia.

"We had an opportunity to compare notes on where we stand and where we hope to go," Blinken said at a Paris news conference.

After the discussion, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that talks to restore the deal "should be resumed as soon as possible." The global community wants the U.S. to return to the obligations of the nuclear deal and halt "illegal restrictions on Iran and all of its trading partners," he said.

After meeting with Lavrov in Moscow, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Wednesday, "We are now finalizing consultations on this matter and will soon restore our negotiations in Vienna."

U.S. President Biden has indicated a willingness to reenter the pact, but Blinken said last week that time was running short to work out details with Iran.

The 2015 agreement between Iran, Germany, China, France, Russia, Britain and the U.S., known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), provided Iran with relief from sanctions in exchange for limits on its nuclear program.

Then-President Donald Trump withdrew in 2018 and began unilaterally ratcheting up sanctions on Iran as he criticized the deal for not doing enough to stop objectionable Iranian behavior. Iran retaliated a year later by exceeding the JCPOA's nuclear activity limits.

Some information for this report comes from AFP, AP and Reuters.
The U.N. Children's Fund reports that Islamist insurgents are recruiting young children to fight in northern Mozambique's volatile, oil-rich province of Cabo Delgado.

UNICEF says it has received numerous reports of children being forcefully recruited by the Mozambican militant group al-Shabab. It says the group  not affiliated with the Somali insurgency of the same name  has reportedly taken boys and girls from their families and villages.

UNICEF notes there is evidence of sexual violence against girls and of young girls being forced into marriage with their abductors.

Human Rights Watch recently said the boys, some as young as 12, are being trained in bases across Cabo Delgado and forced to fight alongside adults against government forces.

UNICEF spokesman James Elder says there is no accurate count of the number of children that have been recruited, but it is believed to be in the thousands. He says some of the children have been rescued, but none have been released by their militant captors.

"The recruitment and use of children by armed groups destroys families and communities," Elder said. "Children are exposed to incomprehensible levels of violence, they lose their families, they lose their safety, they lose their ability to go to school. And, of course, the recruitment and use of children is a grave violation of international law."

Elder says the recruitment of child soldiers has been going on since al-Shabab and other armed groups attacked Cabo Delgado in March. The United Nations reports dozens of people were killed and nearly 40,000 people fled to safer areas in the region.

Two weeks ago, Elder says, UNICEF signed an important Memorandum of Understanding with the Mozambican defense forces which spelled out what government forces should do when they encounter children with armed groups.

"So that training is very, very important so that they know to treat children as children and as victims and then immediately get the support of organizations like UNICEF," Elder said. "And that can be everything from help to psychosocial support. Those early stages of support for a child who is being recruited, whether as a helper, whether as someone armed, are absolutely critical."

International law states any child associated with an armed group is to be considered a child and a survivor of violations. Elder says children who have been associated with armed groups are double victims and must be treated as such.


U.S. Supreme Court justices Wednesday questioned why the U.S. government will not let a suspected high-ranking al-Qaida figure held at the American naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba testify about his torture at the hands of the CIA.

Three of the nine justices pressed U.S. Acting Solicitor General Brian Fletcher on the subject as the court heard oral arguments in the government's bid to prevent two former CIA contractors from being questioned in a criminal investigation in Poland examining the treatment of detainee Abu Zubaydah.

Zubaydah, a Palestinian man captured in 2002 in Pakistan and held by the United States since then without charges, repeatedly underwent waterboarding, a form of simulated drowning widely considered torture.

While the justices in general seemed skeptical that Zubaydah's lawyers could overcome the government's national security arguments, some raised the option of Zubaydah testifying himself as an alternative.

'Off-ramp'

"Why not make the witness available?" asked Justice Neil Gorsuch, referring to Zubaydah. "What is the government's objection to the witness testifying to his own treatment and not requiring any admission from the government of any kind?"

Zubaydah's testimony, Gorsuch said, would provide an "off-ramp ... that would obviate the need for any of this." Justices Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor seemed to agree, with Breyer questioning why Zubaydah remains at Guantanamo.

"I don't understand why he is still there," Breyer said. "We want a clear answer," Sotomayor added.

Fletcher would not commit on whether Zubaydah could testify but said he could report back to the justices. Zubaydah's lawyers have said he is not permitted to testify under the conditions of his Guantanamo confinement.

The government is appealing a lower-court ruling that Central Intelligence Agency contractors James Elmer Mitchell and John Bruce Jessen could be subpoenaed under a U.S. law that lets federal courts enforce a request for testimony or other evidence for a foreign legal proceeding.

Poland is believed to be the location of a "black site" where the CIA used harsh interrogation techniques against Zubaydah.

Zubaydah, now 50, has spent 15 years at Guantanamo and is one of 39 detainees still held there. He lost an eye and underwent waterboarding 83 times in a single month while held by the CIA, U.S. government documents showed.

He was "an associate and longtime terrorist ally of Osama bin Laden," the leader of the al-Qaida Islamist militant group killed by U.S. forces in Pakistan in 2011, a Justice Department filing said.

The justices have turned away multiple cases brought by Guantanamo detainees challenging their confinement. Zubaydah's own case has been pending in lower courts for 14 years.

Zubaydah's lawyers want Mitchell and Jessen to testify and provide documents in the criminal investigation in Poland. The U.S. government has asserted what is known as the "state-secrets privilege" to prevent them from being questioned, saying it would jeopardize national security.

Not a secret

Zubaydah lawyer David Klein said the fact that there was a "black site" in Poland is widely known, not a state secret. Mitchell and Jessen could testify about what they saw and heard without mentioning the location, according to Zubaydah's lawyers. The government disputes that assertion.

Chief Justice John Roberts appeared sympathetic to the government's position, noting that if the United States confirms facts that implicate Poland's government, "that would be a breach of faith with our allies."

Justice Samuel Alito said the entire point of Zubaydah's request is to confirm that the torture occurred in Poland. "That's what this all boils down to," he said.

The U.S. government has disclosed that Zubaydah was held overseas and interrogated using "enhanced interrogation techniques" but has not revealed locations. The European Court of Human Rights determined that Zubaydah was held in Poland in 2002 and 2003.

The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in 2019 that Mitchell and Jessen could be subpoenaed. The Supreme Court's ruling is due by the end of June.

Details of CIA activities were confirmed in a 2014 U.S. Senate report that concluded that the interrogation techniques were more brutal than originally disclosed and that the agency misled the White House and public about its torture of detainees captured overseas after al-Qaida's September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
A California verdict ordering Tesla to pay a Black former employee $137 million in damages for turning a blind eye to racism the man encountered at the firm's Silicon Valley auto plant is a resounding message to corporate America in the eyes of his attorney.

"They awarded an amount that could be a wake-up call for American corporations," civil rights attorney Larry Organ told AFP on Tuesday.

"Don't engage in racist conduct, and don't allow racist conduct to continue."

Owen Diaz was hired through a staffing agency as an elevator operator at the electric vehicle manufacturers Fremont factory between June 2015 and July 2016, where he was subjected to racist abuse and a hostile work environment, according to the court filing.

In his lawsuit filed in 2017, Diaz said African American employees at the factory, where his son also worked, were regularly subjected to racist epithets and derogatory imagery.

Instead of a modern workplace, the plaintiffs "encountered a scene straight from the Jim Crow era," said the suit, originally filed by Diaz, his son Demetric and a third former employee.

"Tesla's progressive image was a facade papering over its regressive, demeaning treatment of African-American employees," the court filing said.

Diaz alleged that despite complaints to supervisors, Tesla took no action over the regular racist abuse.

The jury at the federal court in San Francisco on Monday awarded Diaz $130 million in punitive damages and $6.9 million for emotional distress, Organ confirmed.

"I knew all along Owen was telling the truth. I just had to prove it to eight strangers," he said, referring to the panel of jurors.
A U.S. Navy veteran freed as part of an Iran prisoner swap last year had a hidden marriage in California, something he did not disclose to Iranian authorities when pursuing a new Iranian wife prior to his 2018 arrest in Tehran.

Michael Ray White, 49, was released last year after being jailed for 20 months in Iran. He had presented himself as a single, unmarried man who went to Iran only to win approval to marry from his Iranian girlfriend, her family and Iranian authorities.

But Whites story is contradicted by previously undisclosed records tracked down by VOA, and by his wife Guadalupe White, who confirmed to VOA that the two were wed under Californias unusual confidential marriage law on April 9, 2004.

A subsequent divorce filing was never finalized. Instead, the couple maintained their relationship and lived together, she said, up until Michael White left for Iran in July 2018.

The California law, unique among U.S. states, allows for weddings with no witnesses and protects the official marriage license from disclosure except to the principals.

It is not known whether Whites marital status played a role in his arrest and detention by Iran, although White has said Iran asked him for proof that he was unmarried. Iranian authorities and U.S. officials involved his case declined comment to VOA.

In a July interview with VOAs Persian language service, White said he was unmarried. Asked by VOA in August to explain older news reports saying he was married, White stuck by his claim of being single, insisting he was not and never has been married.

After VOA confirmed his marriage records, White said in a September 20 email: I stand by my previous statements that I am unmarried. He has declined further comment.

The discrepancy adds a puzzling twist to Whites entanglement in the long-running tensions between the U.S. and Iran over the Islamic republics nuclear program.

Then-President Donald Trump had called White a hostage at the time he was freed in June 2020. In exchange, the U.S. released an Iranian-American doctor who had been convicted of violating U.S. export sanctions on Iran and financial reporting laws.

The swap came five months after the U.S. assassination of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad and a retaliatory Iranian missile strike on U.S. forces in Iraq.

In the July 8 interview with VOA Persian in San Diego, White said his 20-month detention and mistreatment in Iran had cemented a desire to become a vocal advocate for regime change. After his arrest, he was accused by Iran of spying, violating privacy laws and insulting Irans supreme leader and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

I'm not just an advocate. I'm one kind of person who likes to take action against those who do harm to me, White said in the interview, which VOA dubbed into Persian and published on August 17. My future plans will be hopefully to work with various groups to bring more pressure [on Iran].

In the interview, White also described how his pursuit of marriage led him to visit Iran, not once but multiple times.

White said he made three trips  in 2014, 2015 and then July 2018  to woo a woman about 15 years his junior. The woman, Samaneh Abbasi, and he had begun an online relationship in 2012, White said.

White posted several photos of Abbasi on his Instagram page, some showing them together. VOA was unable to find social media profiles or contact information for Abbasi.

White said Abbasi had asked him before his 2015 visit to her home in Mashhad, in northeast Iran, to bring proof that he was single so marriage plans could move ahead.

So, I brought my tax return, which showed me filing single, unmarried. And I brought a report from a background-check agency which also has a section that shows whether or not there are any marriage records on file anywhere in the U.S. And it didnt show anything, he told VOA.

White said Iranian authorities did not accept those documents on his 2015 trip and demanded that he instead provide certification of unmarried status through a Pakistan embassy office that oversees Iranian interests in Washington, D.C.

In August, while preparing an English report on the interview, VOA discovered news stories by U.S. networks ABC and CNN published during Whites captivity that identified a woman named Guadalupe White as his wife.

That prompted follow-up reporting on Michael Whites claim to be unmarried.

In the news reports, Guadalupe White said her husband acted suspiciously before he left their home in Imperial Beach, south of San Diego, in July 2018. Though he claimed it was for a business trip, she said she believed he was off to see an Iranian girlfriend.

Responding to VOA questions about the ABC and CNN reports by email on August 23, Michael White called them incorrect and stated: Im not married, never have been.

He also said that during his 2015 visit to Iran, he traveled with Abbasi from Mashhad to Tehran. At the U.S. interests section of the Swiss embassy, he signed an affidavit stating that I was single, unmarried and had the document certified, White said.

After Iran rejected it, however, White said the Iranian office in Washington instructed him to provide a California document showing he had no marriage records on file. "I got a document from the state of California and they [the Iranians] certified it, he wrote.

In fact, White does have marriage records on file.

Although confidential marriage licenses themselves are not public under California law, anyone, for a fee, can get a letter verifying whether a confidential license exists.

VOA obtained from San Diego County a letter confirming the existence of a confidential license for Guadalupe Kester, her previous name, and Michael Ray White.

Guadalupe White, 63, also shared with VOA a copy of the original marriage license and photos of her and White, including one from their April 2004 wedding day and two from 2008, when they celebrated graduating from courses at San Diego City College.

Guadalupe White, a Mexican citizen and U.S. permanent resident, told VOA she agreed to marry Michael White after starting a divorce in 2003 with her then-husband. A clerk at San Diego Superior Court confirmed that divorce was finalized on January 11, 2004.

Her new marriage to White soon ran into trouble.

San Diego court dockets show a dissolution request on November 4, 2004, a month after Guadalupe White received a domestic violence restraining order against White.

The protective order was lifted on February 14, 2005, the docket shows, and the dissolution case was closed on July 26, 2005, without being finalized in divorce.

No other records involving the couple could be found in the San Diego court system.

Guadalupe White told VOA that she and White moved to an Imperial Beach apartment in 2007 and lived together until he left for Iran in July 2018. In the year prior, she said she spent several months caring for him when he received chemotherapy for cancer.

She provided photos of Michael White in his hospital room, with food she said she brought, including a cake.

Jonathan Franks, a publicist and volunteer spokesman for Michael White, told VOA that he believes the 2004 confidential marriage was never a legal one. Asked for proof, Franks declined to provide any.

Michael Whites mother, Joanne, reached by phone at her home in Arizona, told VOA that her son also had told her that he did not have a legal marriage to Guadalupe White.

A State Department official declined comment, citing privacy reasons.

Mickey Bergman, a senior adviser to former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who helped in the prisoner swap negotiations over White, also declined comment.

It is not our practice to discuss any details of the personal life of a prisoner, unless it is critical in the effort to release that prisoner, Bergman said.

This article originated in VOAs Persian Service. Kambiz Tavana contributed from San Diego and Lynn Davis contributed from Washington.
American Navy veteran Michael White, whom Iran freed in a 2020 prisoner swap with the U.S., has shared new details of his 20-month detention in the Islamic Republic, including alleged physical abuses that he said he suffered at the hands of Iranian guards.

White shared the details with VOA Persian in a one-hour-and-45-minute conversation filmed in San Diego, California on July 8. VOA dubbed the interview into Persian and published it on August 17.

It was only the second published media interview with White since his release in a June 2020 U.S.-Iran prisoner exchange. His description to VOA of his detention and alleged mistreatment in Iran went beyond the information he shared in his first post-release interview with the Associated Press, published in January.

VOA could not independently verify White's entire account of his detention as it is barred from reporting inside Iran.

After publishing the White interview in August, VOA also learned that he made misleading statements in the first part of his narrative about the three trips that he made to Iran in the past decade in pursuit of a marriage to his Iranian girlfriend. His last trip, to the northeastern city of Mashhad in July 2018, led to his arrest and sentencing by Iran to 10 years in prison for alleged national security offenses that U.S. officials and his supporters dismissed as trumped up.

Those alleged offenses included spying, violating privacy laws and insulting Iran's supreme leader.

In the interview, White said he explained to Iranian officials and others that he was traveling to Iran as a single man and said he brought documentation with him to try to prove his unmarried status to his girlfriend, her family and Iranian authorities. But legal records and statements later obtained by VOA show that White, 49, married a Mexican woman and U.S. permanent resident, Guadalupe White, 63, in April 2004 and there has been no evidence of a subsequent dissolution of the marriage.

When asked by VOA for a response to 2019 news reports naming Guadalupe White as his wife, White said he is not and "never" has been married. He provided no evidence to prove his assertions.

In analyzing the second part of White's narrative about his detention in Iran, VOA found that some of the details he shared were consistent with another account of his detention provided to VOA by a former Iranian cellmate of his at Vakilabad prison in Mashhad.

Ali Gholilou, an exiled Iranian women's rights activist now based in Istanbul, sent VOA a voice message last month about his own detention at Vakilabad, which overlapped with that of White.

Gholilou said White was brought to Vakilabad in mid-September 2018 and detained in ward three with several other foreigners including a Pakistani and a Kuwaiti who spoke English. He said he encountered White several times in a recreational area and heard from an English-speaking Iranian prisoner that White repeatedly asked why he had been arrested.

White, in his VOA interview, gave a similar timeframe for his transfer to Vakilabad from an initial two-month detention at an Iranian intelligence ministry-run detention center. He also said he was placed in ward three of the prison with other foreigners including a Pakistani and an English-speaking Kuwaiti and had repeatedly asked authorities at the time why he was arrested.

Gholilou said he was released from the prison about 20 to 25 days after White's arrival.

Other aspects of White's account of suffering alleged physical abuses in Iranian custody were deemed credible by two sources whom VOA contacted in recent weeks  a second former U.S. hostage in Iran and a prominent Washington-based Iranian rights activist.

White told his VOA interviewer that Iranian intelligence agents sexually assaulted him after detaining him in July 2018 as he was en route to Mashhad's airport to return to the U.S. White said the agents grabbed his crotch several times as they walked him blindfolded through the hallways of the intelligence jail.

Roya Boroumand, co-founder of Washington-based rights group Abdorrahman Boroumand Center, told VOA it is "possible" that White suffered such abuse, given documented cases of other prisoners in Iran saying they were sexually assaulted to humiliate them into making confessions of guilt for supposed crimes.

White also said in his VOA interview that his previously reported suicide attempt at the intelligence jail prompted agents to beat him up. He said he had been distraught due to not being told why he was being detained and tried to hang himself inside his cell with a prison jumpsuit that he tied into a noose. CNN first reported the suicide attempt in January 2020, citing audio of a phone call made by White to his mother in the U.S.

Xiyue Wang, a Chinese American historian who was detained in Iran for three years on national security charges also rejected as bogus by the U.S., told VOA that he too believes White's assertions of suffering physical abuse are credible. Wang was freed in a December 2019 prisoner swap between Washington and Tehran.

"There is a reason why the Iranian regime keeps most foreign hostages in harsh prison conditions rather than house arrest," Wang said. "The regime wants to treat them in the way they imagine that Iranian prisoners are treated abroad. The regime wants tit for tat."

VOA asked Iran's U.N. mission in New York to respond to White's assertions that Iranian guards physically abused him in detention, sending multiple messages by phone, email and Twitter on August 20. There was no response.

In the final part of the VOA interview, White said he is considering suing the Iranian government for what he called the devastating impact of his detention. VOA's unanswered questions to Iran's U.N. mission in New York included one about White's threatened lawsuit.

Iranian authorities granted White a medical furlough from Vakilabad in March 2020 after he developed COVID-19 symptoms, placing him in the care of Swiss diplomats. In his VOA interview, White said the Swiss diplomats confirmed that he had contracted the coronavirus, oversaw his treatment in Tehran until he recovered, and accommodated him for several weeks at a Tehran hotel.

Iran did not allow White to leave the country until the June 2020 prisoner exchange with Washington. As part of the deal, the U.S. granted an early release to an Iranian American medical doctor, Matteo Taerri, also known as Majid Taheri, who had served 16 months in prison for violating U.S. sanctions against Iran and U.S. banking laws. Taheri flew to Iran days after White flew to Zurich on the first leg of his return to the U.S.

This article originated in VOA's Persian Service. Kambiz Tavana contributed from San Diego.


The United States is taking new steps to make sure the country's air and surface transportation sectors will not be crippled by ransomware or cyberattacks.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced the measures Tuesday at a virtual cybersecurity conference, warning that recent incidents such as the SolarWinds hack and the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack showed that "what is at stake is not simply the way we communicate or the way we work, but the way we live."

The new security directives target what the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration describe as "higher risk" rail companies, "critical" airport operators, and air passenger and air cargo companies.

Cybersecurity coordinators

Mayorkas said that going forward, the rail companies will have to name a cybersecurity coordinator who will report any incidents and create contingency plans in the case of a cyberattack.

The aviation companies will also be required to appoint a cybersecurity coordinator and report incidents to the DHS's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

Similar cybersecurity directives are already in place for 2,300 critical maritime companies that, starting this month, will have to submit plans to identify and address cyber vulnerabilities.

The U.S. Coast Guard is also working with the International Maritime Organization to require that passenger and cargo vessels arriving in U.S. ports have plans to deal with cyber emergencies.

"Whether by air, land or sea, our transportation systems are of utmost strategic importance to our national and economic security," Mayorkas said.

Spike in ransoms paid

Top U.S. officials, including Mayorkas and FBI Director Christopher Wray, have warned that cyberattacks and ransomware attacks, in particular, have become a persistent threat.

"Last year, victims paid an estimated $350 million in ransoms, a 311% increase over the prior year, with the average payment exceeding $300,000," Mayorkas told U.S. lawmakers at a hearing last month.

"We're now investigating over 100 different types of ransomware, each with scores of victims," Wray added.

U.S. officials have blamed Russia for many of the attacks, saying that despite Moscow's assurances, they have seen few indications the Kremlin is doing anything to address the problem.

Russian officials deny any role in the recent, high-profile ransomware attacks.

Speaking at a separate cybersecurity forum Tuesday, the head of U.S. Cyber Command warned the problem with ransomware is likely to persist.

"Our adversaries are targeting everyone," General Paul Nakasone told the Mandiant Cyber Defense Summit. "What was once viewed as criminal behavior has become a national security issue."

To help facilitate the fight against cyberattacks and ransomware attacks, U.S. lawmakers are considering several bills that would require private companies to report intrusions and attacks on the government.

"We're optimistic the legislation will pass," Mayorkas said Wednesday at the annual Billington CyberSecurity Summit.

"I think we're at a point, seeing the arc of cybercrimes and the cyberthreats, that really there's an urgency to it," he said.
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Captain cook, hi (63 km WNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : Couch shook. Dog got up from sleeping and looked around!! | 3 users found this interesting.

Honokaa, Hawaii, Hawaii (92.4 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / single lateral shake / 1-2 s : One strong jolt. Windows rattled | 2 users found this interesting.

Royal Hawaiian Estates / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / vertical swinging (up and down) / 2-5 s Loud thud like something hit the side of the house sound just before quake.House felt like it was lifting side to side and up and down | 2 users found this interesting. (reported through (reported through our app / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / vertical swinging (up and down) / 2-5 s

Naalehu, HI / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single vertical bump / 10-15 s : I heard a loud roaring noise more than I felt ....he house seem to just have a big bump..... like someone jumping on the outdoor wooden lanais. The sound and movement of the house seem to come from north to south. And the pig roaring noise outside came | 2 users found this interesting.

Pahoa, HI - Leilani Estates / Light shaking (MMI IV) / vibration and rolling / 5-10 s : Big jolt and shaking. Woke myself and both my dogs. Dogs jumped up to high alert! Brought back memories of pre-eruption earthquakes prior to 3mos of eruptions in our subdivision in 2018. | 2 users found this interesting.

Mountain View / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging : Very shaking and im trying to calm my self. I've never felt something so strong scared me,but ok | 2 users found this interesting.

Captain Cook (56.8 km WNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : On the laptop, bed was vibrating from the floor. Knew it was great than a 3.0 | 2 users found this interesting.

Mountain View (46.7 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 s : Me and my dogs felt it and just looked at each other shocked scared it was kinda strong in my parlor kinda strong | 2 users found this interesting.

Hilo, hi / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single vertical bump / very short : Sitting in chair & felt 2 bumps of chair | 2 users found this interesting.

Fern forest / Light shaking (MMI IV) / vibration and rolling / 1-2 s I could hear it coming just a second before I felt it.. From south to north rolling | 2 users found this interesting. (reported through (reported through our app / Light shaking (MMI IV) / vibration and rolling / 1-2 s

Hawaii (58.3 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : Shaking was felt for a second, furniture and walls rattled, then a small vibrating felt for a few seconds more. Noticeable but not worrying | 2 users found this interesting.

Pahoa / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : sitting on the couch and it started to shake. i didnt think anything of it until it lasted a few seconds, long enough for my kids to come out of the room and ask if i felt it too. so pretty sizable shaking. | 2 users found this interesting.

Volcano Village, Hawaii, Hawaii (28.8 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / vertical swinging (up and down) / 2-5 s : Felt about 4 strong shakes. Stopped abruptly. | One user found this interesting.

Mountain View, Hawaii, Hawaii (48.6 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s Light shaking, windows rattling. | One user found this interesting. (reported through (reported through our app / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s

Kalopa Rd Honokaa Hawaii 96727 (92.5 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : Very Slight low rumble for ? Several seconds before it really was noticable into shaking for 2-3 seconds. | One user found this interesting.

96720 (65.7 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : Swayed | One user found this interesting.

OCEAN VIEW / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 1-2 s : one sharp bump with sound | One user found this interesting.

Orchidland on 39th (54.6 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single vertical bump / very short : Felt like a keeerTHUNK Like something big ramed house | One user found this interesting.

Keaau / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s : Weak shaking | One user found this interesting.

Captain Cook, Hawaii / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : Weak shaking | One user found this interesting.

Mt.view,Hawaii at home (49 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 5-10 s : Short jolt,couple little things fell off of shelf. | One user found this interesting.

Hilo ,hawaii (321.1 km NW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : Laying in my bed felt light jolt. | One user found this interesting.

Honokaa / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single vertical bump / very short : Quick light jolt | One user found this interesting.

Honomu / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 1-2 s : The house briefly shook hard and rattled loudly | One user found this interesting.

Laying down (53.4 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : Shift back and forth | One user found this interesting.

Kealakekua / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : Felt like an earthquake | One user found this interesting.

Pahoa Hawaii / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 1-2 s : Shake, rattle & roll | One user found this interesting.

Kealekekua at home / Weak shaking (MMI III) / vibration and rolling / 2-5 s : Light shaking | One user found this interesting.

Pepeekeo / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single lateral shake / 2-5 s : My bed moved | One user found this interesting.

Hilo / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single lateral shake / 1-2 s : One single jolt | One user found this interesting.

Kumukoa St. Hilo / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / very short Heard my house shake and felt like a sudden jolt and was gone | One user found this interesting. (reported through (reported through our app / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / very short

Hawaiian beaches / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / very short : Loud noise and one shake. | One user found this interesting.

mt view hawaii (43.8 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) : light shaking | One user found this interesting.

Kealakekua, Hi (63.7 km WNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : Windows rattled, slight shaking | One user found this interesting.

kurtistown (47.8 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) : shook entire house. only lasted a second. on sofa. about 4 is my guess. moderate | One user found this interesting.

papaikou big island (70.1 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) : Quite strong; shook whole house; lasted about 20 seconds | One user found this interesting.

Hilo Hawaii (62.1 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 s : Laying on the ground | One user found this interesting.

Keaau hawaii (57.8 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : Weak shaking | One user found this interesting.

Honokaa (92.2 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 2-5 s : Sound of loud truck or thunder | One user found this interesting.

Fern Acres, Hawaii, Hawaii (38.6 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) Rattled the house. Hard and quick. Unlike CA soft and long shakes. (reported through (reported through our app / Moderate shaking (MMI V)

Pahala, Hawaii, Hawaii (15.7 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s

Hilo, Hawaii, Hawaii (64.6 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s

Pahala, Hawaii, Hawaii (0.8 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

Waikele Hilo / Very weak shaking (MMI II)

Kailua, HI / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : Vibrating in floors and walls. Glass doors in shower rattled.

ainaloa hawaii / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s

Huapala place hilo / Weak shaking (MMI III) / very short : Single house creaking

Pahoa Hawaii / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 1-2 s : Shake, rattle & roll

Kamuela / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 1-2 s

Hilo, Hawaii / Light shaking (MMI IV) / vibration and rolling / 5-10 s : It felt like several jolts or vibrations that last several seconds getting more intense as time elapsed. Then it subsided.

kalapana, hawaii / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 s : i was sitting on my couch and myself and the couch swayed back and forth (horizontally) and then i heard dogs barking from the neighbors and my cat was hiding in my room

88-1507 Eono Ave captain Cook Hawaii / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : I was sleeping, I had ear plugs in had taken a sleeping pill, my cat was next to me. Heard a big crash, then the whose hose rattled and shook for about 10 seconds I guess. My cat freaked out!!!

Kailua-kona / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single vertical bump / 1-2 s : We were listening to tv when we felt the sofa shakened for a fraction of seconds. We weren't sure what just happened before we looked on the web for an answer.

Papaikou, HI, in town / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : Pretty strong shaking with moderate duration.

Pahoa, HI (65.4 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt

Captain cook hawaii / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 1-2 s

opihikau / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : jolts and light shaking

Ocean View / Light shaking (MMI IV) / complex motion difficult to describe / 2-5 s : The air mattress shook and the water in the water bottle moved a lot. I involuntarily moved with the mattress.

At work / not felt

Hawaiian Paradise Park, HI (63.5 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt : Felt nothing

PAHOA / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : Rattled my sliding glass

Pahoa, HI (65.4 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt

Mountain View / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : A load roar followed by 3-5 seconds of shaking that skoke our entire small house

Pahoa, HI (65.4 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt

Kailua Kona / not felt / 2-5 s : Heard the rumble. No shaking

Volcano, HI / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 5-10 s

Maku`u, Pahoa, HI (47.3 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / very short : one single large lateral jolt, like a big boar just ran right into the side of the hale

Kailua Kona / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 20-30 s : Dog barked first then I noticed the gladd in the patio doors vibrating.

Ocean View, HI / Light shaking (MMI IV) / complex motion difficult to describe / 15-20 s

Leilani estates pahoa / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s

hilo / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single lateral shake / very short

Pahoa, HI (65.4 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt

Captain Cook / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

Hilo / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single lateral shake

Piihonua, Hilo / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 s

Hpp / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s

Ocean view / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s (reported through our app / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s

Mountain View Hawaii / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / complex motion difficult to describe / 5-10 s

Hilo / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 2-5 s

Honaunau, Hawaii (54.6 km WNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s

Kailua-Kona, Hawaii / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s

Leilani Estates (58.3 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s

kalani 12-6860 Kalapana-Kapoho Beach Road, Pahoa, / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 s

72 km NW of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 2-5 s

Naalehu, Hawaii / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / vibration and rolling / 2-5 s (reported through our app / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / vibration and rolling / 2-5 s

Holualoa HI / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

Pahoa , Hawaii / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single vertical bump / 1-2 s

hawaiian acres / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 2-5 s

Honaunau (52.2 km WNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s

Kailua Kona / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s

Captain cook / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

Nanawale estates Hawaii (59.7 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 15-20 s

Ocean view / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s

Kailua Kona (67.8 km NW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single vertical bump / 1-2 s

Kurtistown / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 s (reported through our app / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 s

Volcano Hawaii (32.3 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) (reported through our app / Light shaking (MMI IV)

62.5 km N of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s

Waikele Hilo / Very weak shaking (MMI II)

Ocean View / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s

HPP in Keaau / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s (reported through our app / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s

North Kohala, HI / Weak shaking (MMI III)

Laupahoehoe / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s
Stowe, VT (05672)

Today

Cloudy with occasional rain during the afternoon. High 57F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Cloudy with occasional rain...mainly this evening. Low 33F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.
Workers at the Kellogg Company  maker of breakfast staples such as Corn Flakes and Rice Krispies  are on strike, after yearlong negotiations between union and management broke down.

The Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union said in a press release Tuesday that 1,400 of its members in the company's hometown of Battle Creek, Michigan, as well as Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Omaha and Memphis, hit the picket lines Tuesday morning. The union indicated workers in these cities produce Rice Krispies, Raisin Bran, Froot Loops, Corn Flakes and Frosted Flakes.

"For more than a year throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, Kellogg workers around the country have been working long, hard hours, day in and day out, to produce Kellogg ready-to-eat cereals for American families," said Anthony Shelton, president of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union.

"Kellogg's response to these loyal, hardworking employees has been to demand these workers give up quality health care, retirement benefits, and holiday and vacation pay. The company continues to threaten to send additional jobs to Mexico if workers do not accept outrageous proposals that take away protections that workers have had for decades," Shelton said.

In a statement, Kellogg spokesperson Kris Bahner said the company was "disappointed by the union's decision to strike."

"Kellogg provides compensation and benefits for our US [ready to eat cereal] employees that are among the industry's best," Bahner said. "Our offer includes increases to pay and benefits for our employees, while helping us meet the challenges of the changing cereal business."

A shortage of available workers much of this year, with a record number of job openings and many more employees quitting jobs, has led to increased wages across the economy, and made more employers ready to settle with unions. So there have been fewer strikes this year. The Labor Department reported nine strikes of 1,000 or more workers through the end up August, compared to 17 in the same period of 2019, ahead of the pandemic.

Kellogg had a total of 31,000 employees as of the start of this year, according to a company filing, meaning that less than 5% of its workers worldwide are on the picket line. The company lists factories in California, Georgia, Kansas; Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and New Jersey in addition to the ones that are being struck.

Although the union is concerned about the company shifting US jobs to Mexico, many of its foreign employees are working providing products to overseas markets. The company got 40% of its sales outside of North America in 2020.

For the first half of this year Kellogg reported that excluding currency adjustments and special items, sales were up 2% from a year earlier and earnings were down 3%.

Overall sales for the company have been flat for an extended period, rising only 6% total in a five-year period from 2016 through 2020.

But Kellogg was trailing the broader cereal industry in its sales, especially recently. During the early days of the pandemic, people rushed to stock up on breakfast cereals, leading to shortages in some brands. The surge in cereal sales marked a dramatic turnaround: In 2019, industrywide cereal sales dropped 0.6%, following a 1.4% drop in 2018, according to Nielsen data. In 2020, sales jumped nearly 9%.

Before the pandemic, ready to eat cereals were passed over by many consumers who were looking for fresh ingredients or ate breakfast on the go. But restrictions designed to curb the spread of Covid-19 led more people to eat breakfast at home, and stock up on familiar, shelf-stable products.

-- CNN Business' Danielle Wiener-Bronner contributed to this report.

The-CNN-Wire

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The Alabama attorney general is weighing in on the killing of Sheffield Police Sgt. Nick Risner by a man who only served three years and two months of a 10-year sentence for manslaughter.

Brian Lansing Martin, the man accused of shooting Risner and two others Friday, previously pleaded guilty to killing his dad. He was arrested and indicted on a murder charge but got a plea deal for manslaughter in 2013.

Martin got out in 2016 on good time served, despite having numerous infractions while in prison.

AG Steve Marshall said he's frustrated with how Alabama and lawmakers continue to let violent offenders out of prison. He said if a person is prosecuted and sentenced to 10 years, they shouldn't be able to get large amounts of time taken off their sentence.

Martin had six years and 10 months of his sentence knocked off. If he were still in prison, he wouldn't have been able to cause so much chaos last Friday and ruin so many lives, Marshall said.

"When you look at how good time credit is calculated across the country, Alabama has the third most liberal rate compared to other states across the country, and we fall behind California and Oklahoma," Marshall said. "When somebody can have almost a 72% reduction of their sentence for somebody who is in jail for less than 15 years, we already recognize that on the front end and then the Legislature continues to pass bills and take violent offenders out even earlier, where is the accountability for public safety?"

Marshall said right now is a time of honoring Risner and his sacrifice, but it's important to look at how this could have been avoided and if any laws can be changed.

Risner did a pit maneuver to stop Martin from getting into a crowded Walmart parking lot. The Sheffield police chief is calling on Shoals lawmakers to draft bills and make changes to keep violent offenders in prison and call it Nick's Law.
The Marshall County Health Department will be provided flu vaccinations at a drive-thru flu shot clinic Wednesday, Oct. 13.

The event will be held on the grounds of the Marshall Technical School, 12312 U.S. 431, Guntersville. Individuals, families and groups can receive the vaccine without leaving their vehicle.

Shots will be available for those 6 months and older between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. The clinic is free for those who present a Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Medicare or Medicaid insurance card. For everyone else, cost is $5 but MCHD said no patient will be turned away for inability to pay.

Flu shots will be administered by MCHD nurses on a first-come, first-served basis until 3 p.m. or the vaccine supply is exhausted, MCHD said. Patients are encouraged to wear short-sleeved shirts for easier access to the upper arm. Spanish-speaking personnel will be onsite to assist as needed.

Health officials recommend the flu vaccine for anyone 6 months or older, those with chronic disease or who are immunocompromised, health care workers and caretakers, as well as their family members.

Partners in next weeks clinic include the Marshall County Emergency Management Agency, MCHD, Marshall Technical School-Public Safety, Guntersville Police Department, Marshall County Sheriffs Office, Guntersville Fire & Rescue, North Alabama Health Care Coalition, Marshall Medical Centers and the Alabama Department of Public Health.
On Oct. 12, some of the music industry's biggest stars will be in Huntsville for the "All-Star Salute to Lee Greenwood."

Greenwood is partnering with the group Helping a Hero to provide a custom-built home for a wounded veteran in North Alabama as part of his celebration and tribute to veterans.

"It really transformed our lives into such a positive manner," said retired Army Staff Sgt. Shilo Harris.

He knows just how meaningful a custom-built home can be for wounded veterans. As a burn survivor, his home allows him to not only survive the day-to-day, but also to thrive.

"The home I received is really focused on the A/C, the air filtration and that sort of thing," he said, "so that way I could have a better quality of living so I wouldn't stay sick all the time."

Harris now serves as the national ambassador for the organization.

"We're looking for severely wounded veterans that are in potential need of a home," Harris said. "A lot of these veterans need to have mobility issues, quality-of-life issues."

Helping a Hero is in the middle of a 100-home push. With Greenwood's generosity, one of those homes will be given to a veteran right here in North Alabama.

"These individuals are about service, as well as their families," Harris said. "Their families are about service, so that's why we're really counting on Alabama to help us identify these service members."

Click here to nominate a veteran and learn more about the Helping A Hero organization.
Grief for an adult webs and flows throughout the course of a lifetime, but for a child, the emotion may be brand new  especially when a death happens unexpectedly and impacts a whole community.

Every family is different, but Laura Adair and her husband wanted to be transparent and open about the death of Sheffield Police Sgt. Nick Risner. Like many kids, her 9-year-old son, Hudson, asked a lot of questions.

"He wanted to know why. He wanted to know, are we still in danger?" said Adair, a Muscle Shoals parent. "He was very, very solemn during the escort."

The weight adults feel on their chest when losing someone is a feeling kids can carry, too, no matter their age.

"We just sat right there, on our back porch, and talked to them about what we knew," said Adair.

Sometimes, the load may feel extra heavy on a young child. Allison Fisher, a licensed counselor, said parents should be as honest as their kids can handle.

"We want to consider their developmental stage and what they can appropriately process, but we want to be honest whenever we're able to," Fisher said.

On Facebook, Adair shared a post about a conversation she had with her son, Hudson. Her son had asked, "Wasn't the Lord protecting Sgt. Risner?"

Adair said, "How do you explain evil to a child?"

It's a hard question for a parent to digest.

"I think that's each parent's role," said Fisher. "Each parent needs to know what their framework is, what their real view is, and based on that perception, they can answer those questions."

Fisher said the first step in discussing an unexpected death with your child is acknowledging that something did happen and it's OK to feel a number of emotions.

"Starting off by saying, 'You're probably feeling kinda scared, kind of shaken about what happened in our area,' and those things we should normalize," Fisher said.

Adair said she wants to preserve her child's innocence as long as she can, but a conversation about Risner's death was one she couldn't let pass.

"We really have kept the focus on the police officers and Sgt. Risner," Adair said.

The Adair family didn't know Risner personally, but they went to the police escort. It was a moment for her children to see the imprint that Risner left on his community.

"It was very important to Blayne and I to explain to them that Sgt. Risner was a hero," Adair said.

Fisher said parents should be aware of any changes in their child's behavior or lack of feeling.

The Healing Place in Muscle Shoals is a center for kids under the age of 17. A resource for parents if their child is struggling with the loss of Risner.
The National Weather Service in Huntsville Alabama has issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for West central Marshall County, Southern Madison County, and Southeastern Morgan County until 4:45 p.m.

At 354 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located 10 miles west of Arab, moving north at 35 mph.

HAZARD...60 mph wind gusts and quarter size hail.

SOURCE...Radar indicated.

IMPACT...Hail damage to vehicles is expected. Expect wind damage to roofs, siding, and trees.

Locations impacted include... Southern Huntsville, Madison, Redstone Arsenal, Owens Cross Roads, Triana, Marshall Space Flight Center, Morgan City, Baileyton, Eva and Valhermoso Springs.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A Tornado Watch remains in effect until 1000 PM CDT for the warned area. Tornadoes can develop quickly from severe thunderstorms. Although a tornado is not immediately likely, if one is spotted, act quickly and move to a place of safety inside a sturdy structure such as a basement or small interior room.

For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building.

Continuous cloud to ground lightning is occurring with this storm. Move indoors immediately. Lightning is one of nature's leading killers. Remember, if you can hear thunder, you are close enough to be struck by lightning.

Turn to WAAY 31 for everything you need to know to stay safe during severe weather. Chief Meteorologist Kate McKenna, Meteorologist Rob Elvington, Meteorologist Carson Meredith and Ashley Carter will provide you with the most accurate information on storms by using our StormTracker Early Warning Radar Network.

Stationed in Muscle Shoals, Decatur and Guntersville, the radars provide the best data for all of North Alabama by scanning EVERY community in North Alabama.

See all the radars HERE

Access the Muscle Shoals radar HERE

Access the Decatur radar HERE

Access the Guntersville radar HERE

And download our news and weather apps HERE
Sheffield Police Sgt. Nick Risner's death is shining a light on the dangerous situations faced by law enforcement officers every day, and the tragic event could help the law enforcement community in the long run.

Risner's heroic death is a reminder of everything the law enforcement community does for civilians by putting their lives on the line to protect others. That reminder might be the exact thing that pushes more people into law enforcement.

Sgt. Nick Risner escort Sgt. Nick Risner escort

"I think people will obviously see Sgt. Risner as a hero, and he truly is," said Everette Johnson, president of the Alabama State Fraternal Order of Police. "And that may inspire some folks to want to go into this line of work."

Johnson said a strong desire to help others is what ultimately draws people into the police force.

"This profession is something that we are called to do," Johnson said. "Having a servant's heart is something that draws us to do this profession."

But in the past couple of years, recruiting new officers has been difficult. Johnson said numbers have dropped so much, "recruiting is just at an all-time low."

He believes it's from nationwide anti-police rhetoric.

"[It's] making our law enforcement not feel supported by our communities and our leaders, and they're leaving in massive groups because of that," he said.

However, seeing the love and support for Risner could help recruit more officers.

"Unfortunately, sometimes it takes a terrible event like this for the community to rally and get behind our law enforcement," Johnson said.

He hopes the community support will continue through this tragedy, so police feel the appreciation as they go on with their jobs.

"It was a tragic day," Johnson said. "You know, law enforcement is resilient. We'll pick ourselves up and continue fighting the good fight, and do so even more resoundingly just for the memory of Sgt. Risner."

According to the FBI's Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted Data Collection, 45 officers have been shot and killed in the line of duty this year across the United States, two of them here in Alabama.
HUNTSVILLE | The University of Alabama in Huntsville volleyball team was tripped up on Tuesday night at Kelly Court at Spragins Hall by No. 15 West Florida by a score of 3-1 (26-28, 25-21, 13-25, 15-25) in Gulf South Conference action. UAH slips to 10-5 (4-1 GSC), while UWF improves to 18-1 (6-0 GSC).

Molly Presnell led the Chargers offense in the midweek matchup with UWF with a team-high 14 kills on a .303 hitting percentage to go along with seven digs, two total blocks, and two service aces.

Gracie McGee followed Presnell with 11 kills while adding seven digs as well, with Paris Morris rating third on the team with eight kills on the night.

Shayla Libby anchored the Blue & White's defense with 10 digs against the Argos, followed by Sabrina Duncan with eight scoops. Duncan nearly achieved a double-double by posting a team-high 38 assists on Tuesday.

UAH led most of the way through the opening set before West Florida came from behind for the 28-26 win in the first. The Chargers rebounded to take the second 25-21 to tie the match, withstanding a late push in the frame by the Argonauts.

West Florida went on to win the ensuing frames by scores of 25-13 and 25-15 to complete its four-set win.

The Chargers look ahead to another GSC matchup at Spragins Hall on Saturday as Auburn Montgomery visits for a 2 p.m. contest.
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In Ancient Rome, a law prohibited burying the dead inside the city for architectural and health reasons. Therefore, the construction of the first catacombs began when Pope Zephyrinus, in charge between 199 A.D and 217 A.D, entrusted deacon Callisto with the task of supervising the cemetery of the Via Appia, marked as the location where the most important pontiffs of the 3rd century were buried.

These underground structures were excavated into tuff, a fragmental rock easy to dig into, as it consists of the smaller volcanic detritus which is usually less stratified than solid grounds. For this reason, catacombs are mostly found in central Italy, as well as in its islands, as there is a high concentration of tuffaceous soils. The access to the catacombs consists of stairs that lead to enclosed galleries with vaulted ceilings that extend to a vast network of corridors and chambers.

The burials of the ordinaryalong the walls of the galleries called loculi, that are covered with marble slabs or bricks. There are also various spaces designed to host kids, due to the high infant mortality at the time, as well as some large loculi to bury entire families.The loculi represented the most humble and egalitarian sepulchral system to respect the sense of community across the Christian community; however, there are also more complex tombs, such as arcosolia, which involve the excavation of an arched niche larger than loculi in spaces called cubicles, that are mostly found in burial chambers rather than across the walls.

Furthermore, the catacombs are decorated with narrative and symbolic art such as paintings, mosaics, and engravings on the loculi recalling the stories of the Old and New Testament. In fact, the marble plates covering the loculi are often engraved with symbols related to the life of the deceased, such as the tool used for their profession, or the food consumed in their remembrance. In addition, most of the symbols refer to eternal salvation, such as the doves, palms, peacocks, phoenix, and lambs.

The architectural and artistic structure of catacombs reflect the iconographichat attracts tourists from all over the world and locals to discover, explore and live through ancient Romes customs and rituals. If youre coming to Rome, consider visiting its catacombs as they could deliver an unforgettable experience and expand your vision of the past. Here is a list of the must-see catacombs in Rome:
Italy's Eurovision host city still yet to be announced.

Mika, the Lebanese-born British pop star, is rumoured to be the presenter for next year's Eurovision Song Contest which is to be held in Italy in May 2022.

The news - neither confirmed nor denied by Eurovision organisers - was announced by television personality Gabriele Corsi on Radio Deejay today, reports Italian newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano.

In recent weeks the tv presenter Alessandro Cattelan has also been touted for the role in addition to Mika who is best known for hits such as Relax, Take it Easy and Grace Kelly.

While social media in Italy is abuzz with Eurovision hype, the song contest organisers have still yet to reveal the host city for next year's event, despite promising to make the announcement by early September.

There are five Italian cities in the running - Milan, Turin, Bologna, Pesaro and Rimini - with the first two seen as the favourites.

Italy will host the event for the third time in the Eurovision's 66-year history, after Rome band Maneskin won the title in May with Zitti e Buoni.
Remove the nicotine that drives people back to Facebook and Instagram. Haugens alternative is chronological ranking with a little bit of spam demotion.(2) That means going back to what Facebook looked like in the early days, where newsfeeds were simply ordered by time. Algorithms could still go in to remove spam, though what that entails will be up to debate, but time and people  rather than machines  would be the ultimate curators of what people see. This will hit Facebooks profits hard, and Zuckerberg may have resisted such a move because of his fiduciary obligation to shareholders. Thats why Congress needs to step in.
The regulator has filed a complaint with Frankfurt prosecutors about potentially misleading financial disclosures by another big German technology hope: Northern Data AG, which owns infrastructure for Bitcoin mining and other data-heavy applications. The companys shares tumbled more than 20% on Friday. It was unable to comment when I reached a representative on Monday. Not a promising sign for a business mulling a Nasdaq listing to increase investor transparency. We reject the allegations made therein, in particular of market manipulation. We are confident that we will clarify the matter in full cooperation with the authorities, the company said in a statement on Tuesday
The system operates like a pyramid: At the top is the government, which gets most of its revenue from oil before distributing it to ministries.  Political parties earn these ministries (yes, they use this verb) based on the votes they get and the power they wield. They claim government funds and gain influence by awarding contracts and apportioning payroll  appointing supporters and, often, so-called ghost or fictitious employees. An official who ran a ministry reckons that these practices ate up half of his budget.  The remainder trickles down to citizens through public-sector jobs, with some (mostly young and marginalized) left out of the system altogether.
The agencys denial noted that none of the fires were related to fast charging in the U.S., unlike those that occurred elsewhere. It added that there hadnt been any incidents globally since May 2019. It is unlikely that an order concerning the notification and remedy of a safety-related defect would be issued due to any investigation opened as a result of granting this petition, it said. The petition referred to fires in the U.S., China and Germany.
It may well be that the U.S. dodges the worst of the gas shortage seen elsewhere. But the crypto diaspora shouldnt rest easy given the frustration already on display. Colin Read, the former mayor of Plattsburgh, New York, told CNBC in July that welcoming Bitcoin miners during his tenure had generated a handful of jobs  versus a heap of uproar from residents over spiking electricity prices. The city was diverting 10% to 15% of its supply to miners, putting pressure on the grid and everyone else. In 2018, the city passed a moratorium on new crypto mining for one year.
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The company has grown by way of acquisition. And that raises the risks that come from integrating its various parts, which will stretch the capacity of management. Such expansion also makes it hard for investors to ascertain how the underlying business is performing. Even though the metric would be useful, the company doesnt disclose what growth would have been without the deals. Many of them add behind-the-scenes functions such as manufacturing plants, rather than sales.
An ecosystem of legal and financial experts help the rich move their assets. The ICIJ says information for the Pandora Papers investigation came from 14 separate legal and financial-services firms. One law firm -- Panama-based Aleman, Cordero, Galindo & Lee, or Alcogal -- is tied to almost half of the politicians whose names appear in the leaked records and nearly 2 million of the 11.9 million documents, according to the ICIJ. In total, the consortium tallied 14,000 entities including shell companies, trusts and holding companies in Belize, the British Virgin Islands, Panama and other tax havens created with Alcogals support for some 15,000 clients over 25 years. (Alcogal said in a letter to the ICIJ that it performs enhanced due diligence and operates in full compliance with all requirements for every jurisdiction in which it operates.)
Former Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou engaged Beijing in a series of negotiations culminating with an unprecedented meeting with Xi in 2015. But the landslide defeat of Mas Nationalist Party in 2016 elections upended any plans for reconciliation and installed as president Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party, which was founded on the promise of independence. Rejecting the Nationalist position that both sides belong to One China, Tsai was comfortably re-elected in 2020. Beijing has responded by cutting off communication, curbing travel, resuming efforts to lure away Taiwans few remaining diplomatic partners and pressuring airlines, retailers and other multinationals to revise policies that treat Taiwan as a country. Chinese forces also have stepped up naval and air exercises near the island, sending ripples through financial markets. In October, China sent more than 140 military planes into Taiwans air defense identification zone over four days.
As a former CIA intelligence officer (and author, with my husband, Ryan Hillsberg, also former CIA, of License to Parent: How My Career as a Spy Helped Me Raise Resourceful, Self-Sufficient Kids), I know how much women can do in the field (and everywhere else)  and I think we are ready for a female James Bond, or perhaps even a new 00-agent blazing her own trail altogether. As Waller-Bridge said: I think Bond is James Bond. We just need to cook up someone to rival him. Seven recently published books by women who worked in intelligence show us what it looks like when women take the lead in the world of espionage.
Yes, it will cost money, but it seems a logical start to showing that the citys Vision Zero plan  which calls for eliminating traffic deaths by 2024  does not reflect zero vision. Of course, if the city has better ideas on how to keep children in crosswalks safe, then leaders should tell the community about them and get to work. We already know what doing too little, too slowly will bring: More children getting injured or worse. This past month has shown us that.
The emergency bill also calls on the city to increase asymptomatic coronavirus testing to 20 percent of students at each school every week by Nov. 15. Currently, the city says it aims to test between 10 percent and 20 percent of students each week, but it has struggled to hit 10 percent. The bill would also allow students to receive excused absences if they remain home for pandemic-related reasons and requires the city to publish more data about virus cases detected in schools.
There is nothing more important you can do right now than to take your shot and then go home and tell five other people to take their shot, acting D.C. state superintendent of education Christina Grant said at an event Wednesday at Digital Pioneers Academy to present Travanna with the $25,000 check. It is the only way we can stop the spread of the coronavirus.
In the past two weeks, Simonson said, more than 50 students were tapped for quarantine at an Olney school; at least four classes were sent home at two Bethesda schools, and more than two classes were sent home at a Silver Spring school. More needs to be done to identify who is really at risk, rather than sending home classes of children, she said.
Straka admitted his guilt in court and in a signed statement of facts. But on Facebook this week he addressed 357,000 followers as Dear Patriots, thanked them for their patience, and urged them to tune out negative press . . . likely coming down the pike as he took the first meaningful step toward concluding the perils of the situation I am in.
Up until the point the district judge makes his or her decision, the U.S. can amend its request, said Vamos. He cautioned that if the changes came after those preliminary hearings were held, it would be considered by the defense and the judges extremely annoying, because you have to go back to the start. Its very bad practice to do that.
In 2019, five men who collectively spent 120 years in prison for crimes they didnt commit were awarded a total of $9 million by the state panel. The men submitted applications for compensation for nearly 20 months, but the board never took action because Hogan said the panel did not have a clear-enough process to decide the size and other details of such payments. After public pressure from advocates, the board approved the compensation in October 2019 and the legislature changed the process earlier this year. Hogan did not comment on Wednesdays vote.
In later years, Mr. Elliott continued to work on fair-housing matters. He went into private law practice and served on the boards of the nonprofit National Committee Against Discrimination in Housing as well as Fannie Mae, a government-backed entity that buys home loans and packages them into securities. On his own, he would travel to cities  including New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005  to fight against efforts to raze damaged public housing units and to help build affordable housing for low-income residents.
The man, identified as Jaron Wimbish, 25, was shot after police said he fired what was initially believed to be a firearm at an officer in the basement of the home in the first block of McDonald Place NE, in the Manor Park neighborhood. Officials said they later determined that Wimbish had a paintball gun that resembled a semiautomatic handgun.
There is now a very important opportunity . . . to deepen this cooperation and coordination, whether in the Sahel, in the Indo-Pacific or on transatlantic issues or even other issues on which we are already working together and for which we could do even more, he said.
The cause of the drop-off is that most of the Haitians taken into custody last month at a makeshift camp in Del Rio, Tex., have been processed by immigration authorities, and far fewer Haitians have crossed since the camps closure on Sept. 24, according to the three officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the data with reporters.
I could, in five minutes, go to Chuck Schumer, the Senate majority leader, and say, Chuck, I cant support this bill unless you have a Medicare-for-all provision. But Im not going to do that, Sanders said. It is wrong and it is really not playing fair that one or two people think that they should be able to stop what 48 members of the Democratic caucus want, what the American people want, what the president of the United States wants.
Will the government make Petitioner available to testify as to his treatment during these dates? asked Gorsuch, who was seconded at oral argument in the case by Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Justice Stephen G. Breyer already had raised the idea of letting the eyewitness testify to what happened in Poland. Additionally, Breyer raised another issue: Why is the prisoner, who goes by the nom de guerre Abu Zubaida, or Abu Zubaydah, still being held at Guantanamo Bay, one of 39 remaining detainees?
One day, while meeting with Mrs. [Melania] Trump alone, she asked how I was holding up after our breakup, Grisham wrote in the Post op-ed, which comes as she is promoting a book about her time in the White House. My eyes started to well up. I had been holding in the fact that the end of our relationship had become violent, reaching its worst point on the day I left. I told the first lady that he got physical with me.
In the past 12 months, four homes have sold in Southpointe Estates, according to Janice Coleman. All are four-bedroom, detached, single-family homes. The highest price was $1.2 million for a four-bedroom, three-bathroom home with one acre. The lowest was $825,000 for a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home with just less than an acre. The two other sales were a $1.1 million home with four bedrooms, three bathrooms and five acres and a four-bedroom, three-bathroom house on a little less than an acre for $870,000. The average sales price was $1 million. One house is on the market. It is a four-bedroom, three-bathroom house on just over an acre for $750,000.
The funny thing is that I do not see really anything that [President] Biden has done regarding Taiwan, said Wang Kao-Cheng, vice president for international affairs at Tamkang University in Taiwan. Rather than responding to individual instances, China appears to be displeased with the overall tenor and trend of U.S.-China relations. Its a kind of accumulation, one thing after another, that ends in a decision to really escalate military pressure on Taiwan.
The E.U. last expanded in 2013, when it accepted Croatia, a neighbor to the six current hopefuls. Since then, a cascade of crises  over the economy, migration, Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic  has pushed enlargement down the blocs to-do list. But the prospect of bringing in new countries raises fundamental questions about the identity of the union, its strategic goals and how it sees itself on the world stage.
During the meeting, Lavrov interrupted Stoltenberg, in an exchange two European officials described as rude, and accused NATO of supporting neo-Nazis in Ukraine and abandoning Afghanistan. Lavrov, according to a European official and a person familiar with the meeting, also said the NATO-Russia Council  a forum established in 2002 to promote cooperation between the two sides  was pointless, complaining that NATO members often gang up on Russia.
I dont believe that power can be overturned through elections or by force through street protests, he said. I do believe in grass roots. I believe that people should unite and work together doing all kinds of things at different levels and not necessarily take part in elections.
The trial broke new ground for the church, where abuse accusations have generally been dealt with behind closed doors or in canonical trials, where offenders can be defrocked or ordered to a life of prayer and penitence. But in this case, because the alleged abuse took place within the city-states territory, the Vatican prosecutors had the opportunity to pursue criminal charges. Pope Francis, in 2019, wrote a special provision that allowed the trial to go forward.
Migrants warm themselves near a fire as they gather at the Kuznica checkpoint at the Belarus-Poland border near Grodno, Belarus, on Wednesday. (AP)

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenkos regime is struggling over what do with thousands of stranded people he lured from the Middle East and beyond  and the man often called Europes last dictator is trying to save face after trying to punish his neighbors over sanctions.
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ARHS 'tops off' new hospital building

Photo by Moss Brennan The tallest beam with a tree and flag on it was hoisted up on Sept. 30 in a topping off ceremony at Watauga Medical Ceremony. Photo by Moss Brennan Chuck Mantooth, president and CEO of ARHS, speaks at the topping off ceremony on Sept. 30.

BOONE  In a celebration that spans back hundreds  if not thousands  of years, Appalachian Regional Healthcare System celebrated its new hospital building reaching its final height on Sept. 30.

The bones and final height of the new 48-bed hospital tower were completed about three to four weeks ago, but ARHS and the construction company wanted to celebrate reaching the pinnacle of the four-story structure.

I want to thank the board for making a bold and courageous decision to never pump the brakes during this whole project, said Chuck Mantooth, president and CEO of ARHS. Ive never felt like, working with the partners that we have, that this has been a construction project. What this means to me is that we have a group of people in organizations that have come together that really dont see this as construction project. What they see, this is an investment in healthcare investment.

The building  which will be named the Schaefer Family Patient Care Tower at Watauga Medical Center  is ahead of schedule. The steel structure that can currently be seen was supposed to be completed in 12 to 13 weeks, but project manager Joe Hoglund said it was completed in 10 weeks as the crew put in a great effort.

Hoglund said the topping off ceremony traces back to the development of the human shelter.

Those who inhabited that forest were dependent upon trees for their survival, Hoglund said. Because of this great dependence on the forest, people began to revere trees. In fact, trees were the most common deity in Europe prior to the adoption of Christianity.

He said that when humans began constructing their shelters with wood, the topmost leafs of a tree would be set atop the roof so the tree spirit would not be rendered homeless.

The gesture was supposed to convince the tree spirit of the sincere appreciation of those building, Hoglund said. The custom placing of a tree on a completed structure came with immigrants to the United States and became an integral part of American culture and barn raising.

Today, the custom continues most frequently on completed structures such as bridges, skyscrapers and, in this case, hospitals.

While others join the celebration of topping out, its the iron workers and their skills that make them the first to reach the pinnacle of the structure, and it is around this group of workers that topping out results, Hoglund said.

In 10 weeks, construction crews placed 1,272,000 pounds of steel to form the structure of the building, Hoglund said. He also said the building will have 4,900 cubic yards of concrete, 962,000 linear feet of wire  enough to span 182 miles. He said there will be an estimated 655,000 man hours in the field working on the building with a peak of 175 workers there on a daily basis. It will also have 148,000 bricks on the building.

He said the desire is to complete the building by the end of 2022.

After Hoglund spoke, a beam with a flag and a tree was placed at the highest point on the building. A banner that read Happy birthday Mark Vannoy was also on the beam.

Its a very exciting time, said President of Watauga Medical Center Kim Bianca. Im not that great of a spatial person, but to actually start seeing the bones of it is amazing. Its going to be so exciting for our patients and our staff.

Just before the beam was raised, Mantooth talked about how he thought back to March 2020 when many of the construction workers  who were gathered around for the ceremony  were not there yet.

The reason its so important for me is because just right over here in my shoulder, there was an army tent there and there were no cars in the parking lot, which was just an eerie, eerie feeling, Mantooth said. We were speculating and really uncertain about our future in the healthcare system.

Right in the middle of all that, he said they were also concerned about how they would move forward with the biggest building construction project in the history of ARHS.

Mantooth also thanked all the partners that were gathered at the ceremony who helped get the hospital project to its current point.

After the beam was raised, construction workers and those in attendance shared in a meal together.
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Australian shares climbed on Thursday as investors followed the optimism that the US would solve its debt ceiling woes.

The S&P/ASX 200 finished the session 0.7 per cent higher to 7256.7, with technology stocks leading the way with gains of 2.3 per cent. US futures edged upwards during Thursdays Australian trading session as the US senate worked towards a temporary solution to the countrys debt ceiling crisis, discussing plans to extend the nations borrowing limit until December.

Stabilising US bond yields also helped the tech-heavy Nasdaq overnight and Australian tech stocks provided the biggest rebounds on Thursday. Afterpay provided gains of 3.1 per cent to $120.63, Xero was ahead 2.8 per cent to $137.41 and Wisetech Global finished the day up 2.9 per cent to $52.28.

Head of M&A at EY Oceania Duncan Hogg said the local market was being impacted by economic unknowns in Australia and overseas.

The downward pressures on the market include the US debt ceiling coupled with New South Wales reopening and what impact that might have - but on the upside, there is positive sentiment, he said.

Further details of Australias COVID-19 reopening plan became clear on Thursday as New South Wales reached a milestone of 70 per cent of its over 16 population being vaccinated against the virus. Premier Dominic Perrottet also brought forward a number of new freedoms for vaccinated citizens.

Local real estate stocks jumped throughout the afternoon. Goodman Group was up 1.2 per cent to $21.28, Charter Hall gained 2.1 per cent to $16.75 and retail owner Vicinity Centres was ahead 0.6 per cent to $1.70.

Despite this, travel stocks were mixed: Qantas finished the day down 0.7 per cent to $5.58, Flight Centre edged 0.4 per cent higher to $22.90, and Corporate Travel Management was down 0.9 per cent to $23.65.

Energy stocks were the only sector lagging, down 0.8 per cent as oil prices eased over Wednesday evening, but the sector is still up 16.8 per cent for the month.

Some of the biggest gainers of the day had tasty updates for their investors: fast food operator Collins Foods finished the session ahead 6.9 per cent to $12.81 after the business confirmed it had signed a franchise agreement for KFC in the Netherlands.

Priceline pharmacy operator API was up 1.7 per cent to $1.52 after Wesfarmers confirmed it had bought a 19.3 per cent stake in the business. Both Wesfarmers and pharmaceuticals wholesaler Sigma have made recent bids for the API business.
China is releasing Australian coal from bonded storage as it seeks more fuel to relieve its stressed power system, Reuters reported.

It is about a year since Chinese leaders unofficially banned Australian coal amid escalating tensions between the countries. Some cargoes had been unloaded from ships and placed in bonded storage, with authorities not letting the fuel pass through customs to be used in the country.

Now that coal is being released, Reuters reported, citing unidentified sources. About 1 million tonnes remains in bonded storage, with some previously having been diverted to India, according to the report.

China increased purchases of coal from other countries after banning Australian coal last year. Credit:AP

Chinas General Administration of Customs didnt answer calls seeking comment on Wednesday, during the nations public holiday.
Child cancer patients and their families have been forced into quarantine for 14 days after a parent unknowingly infected with COVID-19 visited the Royal Childrens Hospital.

Children receiving treatment in the Kookaburra cancer ward and their parents were told they must isolate for 14 days in their childs hospital room, or at home if they were due to be discharged, after the oncology unit was deemed a tier-1 exposure site.

Royal Childrens Hospital chief executive Bernadette McDonald speaking to reporters this afternoon. Credit:Getty Images

The hospitals chief executive, Bernadette McDonald, said the exposure inside the hospitals cancer ward was detected because a parent who stayed in the ward tested positive to the virus.

The positive result has just come through a couple of days ago, Ms McDonald told reporters on Wednesday afternoon. But [the patients] mum and dad had been in a couple of days before that.
Australians infected with the coronavirus will be asked to rely on community care at home to get through the illness under a plan presented to national cabinet amid a dispute over state demands for more federal cash to prevent hospitals being overwhelmed.

The advice to national cabinet, presented last Friday but not released to the public, says that community care will be the mainstay when treating COVID-19 as the nations growing vaccination rate eases pressure on hospitals.

With hospitals under pressure, the federal government is working on ways to expand community care. Credit:Kate Geraghty

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has called for more federal money for public hospitals and suggested the state might not open up if the load on the health system was too great, while the Australian Medical Association has also called for more federal cash.

But Health Minister Greg Hunt stared down the demands on Tuesday by saying states were responsible for dealing with a case load they had always known would come.
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.
FILE - In this Nov. 14, 2019, file photo, Kentucky Gov.-elect Andy Beshear, left, with Lt. Gov.-elect Jacqueline Coleman, speaks with reporters following the concession of incumbent Gov. Matt Bevin in Frankfort, Ky. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley, File)
Mystery, Murder and Comedic Mayhem Take Center Stage in Weber State Theatre Production

October 6, 2021

OGDEN, Utah - Ten party guests. One dead body. Will the cast of SOMETHINGS AFOOT at Weber State University solve the gruesome murder mystery and escape a booby-trapped mansion before the clock runs out?

SOMETHINGS AFOOT lovingly pokes fun at the murder mystery genre and musical theatre, says director and WSU theatre professor Andrew Barratt Lewis. We chose this show to open our season because its an overall laugh-fest - we wanted to work on something light, fun and funny as we return to in-person performance.

The cast of ten WSU student performers and production crew of more than 50 students, faculty and staff present the musical whodunnit on the Allred Theatre in the Val A Browning Center for the Performing Arts. Not only will SOMETHINGS AFOOT be the first in-person theatre production in the building since the start of the pandemic, it will also be the first event to use the Allred Theaters newly installed sound system and stage floor.

Like all good mysteries, SOMETHINGS AFOOT takes place on a dark and stormy night in a mysterious British manor. Ten unsuspecting guests are invited to a dinner party, only to find out that the host is dead. Someone (or something) is causing the visitors to die one by one in surprising, and often hilarious, ways. Its up to the remaining guests to sleuth out who the murderer is and stop the madness before its too late. Audience members can expect witty banter, showstopping musical numbers and carefully timed special effects to bring the show to life and the characters to their deaths.

This show is a love letter to the cozy murder-mystery genre, says Lindquist College marketing manager Cassie Smith, noting the ways SOMETHINGS AFOOT satirically plays with and subverts classic genre tropes and characters. Think of it as the live theatre equivalent to curling up with a detective novel on a rainy day.

The production will run October 8-9 and 13-16 at 7:30 p.m., with a matinee on October 15 at 2 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at weberstatetickets.com and prices range between $12 and $15.

The book, music, and lyrics of SOMETHINGS AFOOT were written by James McDonald, David Vos, and Robert Gerlach, with additional music by Ed Linderman. SOMETHINGS AFOOT is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals.

Promotional Photographs can be found here.

Promotional Video can be found here.

About the Telitha E. Lindquist College of Arts & Humanities

The Weber State University Telitha E. Lindquist College of Arts and Humanities teaches students to excel as they seek, understand, question and express complexities critical to the experience of being human. Community events highlight student talent and allow audiences to engage with professionals in the industries we teach.

Lindquist College serves nearly 2,000 undergraduate students and 200 graduate students in Ogden, Utah. It offers degrees in Communication, English, Foreign Languages, Performing Arts, Visual Art and Design, and Film Studies.

Learn more at weber.edu/arts-humanities.
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GREENWICH  Officers arrested a Massachusetts man who is accused of attempting to arrange a sexual encounter with a minor in Greenwich, police said.

Detectives from the police departments Special Victims Section had been engaged for several weeks in what was described as an internet undercover sexual predator investigation, according to a statement from Greenwich police Tuesday.

The suspect believed one of the detectives was a 13-year-old female and began extensive conversations, which included him sending explicit text messages, police Capt. Mark Zuccerella said.

The suspect set up a meeting in Greenwich with whom he believed was the female minor, and he was arrested Sunday without incident, police said.

John Cesarini, 36, of Abington, was charged with criminal attempt at sexual contact with a minor, criminal attempt at sexual assault and criminal attempt at enticing a minor by computer, police said. All of the charges involved are felonies, police said.

Cesarini was held in police custody on $750,000 bond as of Tuesday, police said. A court appearance was scheduled for Oct. 18.

Police said he was also in possession of marijuana that he brought as part of the attempt to meet the teenager.

Our Special Victims Section is at the forefront of initiatives to keep our children safe, said a statement from Deputy Police Chief Robert Berry. However, we urge parents to remain vigilant and monitor their childrens online activity, and who they engage with through phone, text, email and social media. We will remain proactive in addressing threats and encourage the community to keep us aware of suspicious activity.

Reports of inappropriate or unlawful online sexual solicitations or activity can be reported to the departments special victims unit by contacting 203-622-8030.
About The Show

Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce President and CEO, Tony Iannelli, has hosted Business Matters for 17 years! This award-winning program airs Monday nights at 7:30pm on WFMZ-Ch. 69. WFMZ reaches 2.7 million cable, satellite, and over air with antenna households from Hazelton to the New Jersey Shore. This interactive and fast paced half-hour program gets inside the minds of business and community leaders to talk about their successes and challenges, as well as regional public policy issues and world trends.



Topics range from legislation affecting the business community (immigration, minimum wage, taxes) to community at large issues (gun rights, marijuana legalization, police reform) Each week the show offers new guests, and topics to keep all the viewers up to date on current events. The show format varies from panelist style and one-on-one discussions, to debates and conversations with up to 5 Members of Congress at once!



The show never fails to represent both sides of an issue. Some VIP guests to appear on Business Matters are U.S. President Joe Biden, U.S. Senators Pat Toomey and Bob Casey, Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as well as Formula One Racing world champion Mario Andretti...just to name a few!
BOYERTOWN, Pa.  Police in eastern Berks County are looking for the vandal or vandals who defaced a mural that promotes tolerance.

Damage to the "No Place for Hate" mural in the 300 block of East Philadelphia Avenue was done some time between 10:30 p.m. Tuesday and 7:15 a.m. Wednesday, according to the Eastern Berks Regional Police Department.

The vandalism included the website address for an organization that the Anti-Defamation League describes as a white supremacist group that espouses racism, anti-Semitism, and intolerance. It was founded in 2017.

Multiple members of the community, including Boyertown Mayor Marianne Deery, rallied at the mural Wednesday night, calling for unity.

"There's no place I'd rather be than right here," Deery said. "It's despicable. How can you hate? How can you try to destroy something that says 'No Place for Hate'?"

"I would like to see us come out with a better awareness of the differences that people have and understand that differences are to be celebrated and not to be feared," said Jon Emeigh, who helped organize Wednesday night's rally.

The Boyertown Area School District implemented the Anti-Defamation League'sNo Place for Hateprogram more than a decade ago. The program provides a model for challenging bigotry and intolerance in schools, college campuses, and communities across the country.

"This is a mural that has unfortunately been vandalized in the past," said Shira Goodman of the Anti-Defamation League.

The most recent vandalism happened nearly 12 years after the 18-foot-by-36-foot mural was dedicated during the community's sixth annual Unity Walk on Oct. 11, 2009.

"This is just sort of another shameful incident of vandalism," she said, "trying to attack an important symbol in the community."

It is behavior Deery said will not be tolerated.

"We will come out of this," she said. "Boyertown is a town of 'No Place for Hate.'"

Crime Alert Berks County is offering a cash reward for information that leads to an arrest in the case. Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling 877-373-9913 or by sending a text message to 847411, starting the message with keyword alertberks.
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A federal magistrate determined Friday that Maryland Gov. Larry Hogans former chief of staff can remain free before his trial on charges that he defrauded a state agency he led by inducing it to pay him nearly $280,000 in mostly severance pay before moving to the governors office
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The Canadian Museum for Human Rights announced Tuesday an advisory council for a major project surrounding the LGBT Purge, a period in Canadian history marked by systemic discrimination against members of the LGBTTQ+ community working in the federal government and Canadian Armed Forces.



The Canadian Museum for Human Rights announced Tuesday an advisory council for a major project surrounding the LGBT Purge, a period in Canadian history marked by systemic discrimination against members of the LGBTTQ+ community working in the federal government and Canadian Armed Forces.

Throughout the Purge, which started in the 1950s and began to end in the 1980s, thousands of Canadians lost their jobs or faced harassment and interrogation due to their sexual identity, which federal agencies viewed as a threat. Subject to ridicule, professional disgrace and psychological trauma, with their identities labelled as "abnormal or deviant," a great many suffered financial ruin and self-harm, in some cases, dying by suicide.

"People dont know it happened," says Michelle Douglas, the executive director of the LGBT Purge Fund, a non-profit corporation created in the wake of a historic $145-million class-action suit filed against the federal government in 2018.

When Douglas was 23 years old, she was a lieutenant in the Canadian Armed Forces. By all accounts, she was the exact type of recruit  ambitious, capable, strong-willed  any federal organization was looking for.

DAVID KAWAI / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Michelle Douglas is the executive director of the LGBT Purge Fund, a non-profit corporation created in the wake of a historic $145-million class-action suit filed against the federal government in 2018.

But then, an abrupt end. In 1989, it became known that Douglas was in a relationship with a woman, and the young officer was swept away by the military police to a hotel in Toronto, interrogated for two days, and shuttled to Ottawa, where she said federal colleagues forced her to take a polygraph, or lie detector, test.

While hooked up to the machine, facing mounting pressure, Douglas admitted to being a lesbian. "And that led to me being dismissed," she recalled this week. Her release documents reasoned that she was "not advantageously employable due to homosexuality."

Douglas was not alone, and today is one of thousands of survivors of the LGBT Purge.

Despite its recency, most Canadians dont know the Purge occurred, Douglas said, which is why she was heartened the fund established a relationship with the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in 2017.

PHIL HOSSACK / FREE PRESS FILES Protesters rally for gay right at the Manitoba legislature in 1984. Throughout the LGBT Purge, which started in the 1950s and began to wane in the 1980s, thousands of Canadians lost their jobs or faced harassment and interrogation due to their sexual identity.

The relationship began on a positive note, with the national museum looking to highlight and interrogate the injustices that occurred within organizations as embroiled with Canadian identity as the Armed Forces, mounted police and federal public service.

That mutually respectful relationship was marred last summer by allegations levied against the museum, which opened in 2014. Former and current employees alleged that on some school tours between 2015 and 2017, LGBTTQ+ content was censored and excluded, an accommodation made for certain groups that the museum later acknowledged in an apology was contradictory to its mission statement.

Other allegations of racism and discrimination followed, including complaints of sexual harassment, bullying and abuse. An external investigation in August 2020 concluded the federal institution suffered from a culture burdened by "pervasive and systemic" racism, which for years had gone unaddressed by senior management.

The investigation, conducted by Winnipeg lawyer Laurelle Harris through interviews with more than 25 former and current (at the time) employees, found experiences of sexism, heterosexism, homophobia and transphobia, plus pay diparities and promotion politics which Indigenous, Black, and employees of colour felt favoured white candidates over themselves.

People dont know it happened.  Michelle Douglas

Forty-four recommendations were made to repair the organizations relationship with the public and its employees, including that the next CEO be a member of a BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour) community and that the board be more representative of marginalized groups. In June, the museums president and CEO, John Young, resigned early, opening the door for a replacement.

Partnering organizations, including the LGBT Purge Fund and Pride Winnipeg, were put in an awkward spot and had to reconsider their relationships with the museum. Pride Winnipeg cut ties in June 2020, and the Purge Fund paused its work temporarily.

"I was personally shattered to read about the allegations made against the CMHR," Douglas said Tuesday. "So we undertook a very serious, deliberate effort to consider what it would take for us to re-engage and reconcile."

In August 2020, human rights lawyer Isha Khan was named as Youngs replacement, though she applied to the post in the winter, long before the museum faced public scrutiny. The former executive director of the Manitoba Human Rights Commission was tasked with righting the ship, and implementing the recommendations made in Harriss report.

I was personally shattered to read about the allegations made against the CMHR.  Michelle Douglas

On her first day, Khan phoned Douglas to tell her she knew the challenges ahead and was ready to meet them, wanting to get started as soon as possible. "That was important to us," said Douglas. "We considered it a very good sign."

Conversations continued with the museums new senior leadership, as well as with museum staff, said Douglas, and soon, the fund reached a consensus that it could recommence the relationship and move forward on the exhibit and other educational opportunities. A second report compiled by Harris was released last June, highlighting progress in certain areas of equity and diversity as well as persisting concerns over discrimination, accountability and representation.

"I think were making progress," Khan told the Free Press in June. "I think were making change and it takes time, and I knew that it would take time but Im certainly not doing it alone. Im doing it with a whole team of people, so the work for us is making sure everyone takes responsibility and everyone sees themselves in the work."

Douglas said her organization also hired an independent consultant to gauge community concerns, and drafted a letter to the institution highlighting areas of concern.

We wanted to see a plan for the exhibit to be inclusive and for any council to reflect a diverse and inclusive membership, and I think theyve done just that.  Michelle Douglas

"We wanted to see a plan for the exhibit to be inclusive and for any council to reflect a diverse and inclusive membership, and I think theyve done just that," Douglas said.

The 19-member body features 10 survivors of the Purge, Douglas included, plus academics, elders, legal scholars, historians, and educators. Co-chairs are CMHR vice-president of external relations and community engagement, Riva Harrison, and Douglas Elliot, an LGBT Purge Fund board member and the lead lawyer of the class action. Local members include U of M history professor David Churchill and two-spirit elder Albert McLeod.

Harrison, who joined the museum earlier this year, said a lot of work has been going on to make amends over the past year, and the council is one part of it. "I think when it comes to what happened at the museum, we have to accept responsibility for our failings and acknowledge what went on. That includes apologizing, reaching out, having conversations about what can be done better," she said, adding that the museum has boosted diversity hiring, set up a rainbow equity council, and implemented many of the recommendations.

"Its about saying never again to the things that happened," she said. "I think we are working together on an extremely important project, but we still have trust to build... We still have work to do and were honoured to be able to do it."

PAUL DELESKE / FREE PRESS FILES A picket at CBC in 1977. The LGBT Purge was a period in Canadian history marked by systemic discrimination against members of the LGBTTQ+ community working in the federal government and Canadian Armed Forces.

In the coming years, the council will use lived experience as a basis for the work museum staff do in developing curatorial and educational materials, an action Douglas said is needed to rebuild trust. By 2024, an exhibition on the Purge will open in the museums Level 1 gallery, previously the site of the well-received Mandela: Struggle for Freedom exhibition.

Ultimately, she said, this work is vital in not only educating Canadians about the discrimination faced historically by members of the LGBTTQ+ community, but today, in many fields and in different ways.

"We know as victims of the purge that many of our neighbours, friends and people across the country dont know these stories," she said. "But we think they must."

ben.waldman@freepress.mb.ca

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LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP)  Evidence emerged Tuesday that a ships anchor snagged and dragged an underwater pipeline that ruptured and spilled tens of thousands of gallons of crude oil off Southern California, an accident the Coast Guard acknowledged it did not investigate for nearly 10 hours after the first call came in about a possible leak.

Cleanup contractors deploy skimmers and floating barriers known as booms to try to stop further oil crude incursion into the Wetlands Talbert Marsh in Huntington Beach, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 3, 2021. One of the largest oil spills in recent Southern California history fouled popular beaches and killed wildlife while crews scrambled Sunday to contain the crude before it spread further into protected wetlands. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP)  Evidence emerged Tuesday that a ships anchor snagged and dragged an underwater pipeline that ruptured and spilled tens of thousands of gallons of crude oil off Southern California, an accident the Coast Guard acknowledged it did not investigate for nearly 10 hours after the first call came in about a possible leak.

The pipe was split open and a nearly mile-long section apparently pulled along the ocean floor, possibly by an anchor that hooked the pipeline, causing a partial tear, federal transportation investigators said.

The pipeline has essentially been pulled like a bow string, said Martyn Willsher, CEO of Amplify Energy Corp., which operates the pipeline. At its widest point, it is 105 feet (32 meters) away from where it was.

Huge cargo ships regularly cross above the pipeline as they head into the massive Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex. They are given coordinates where they are to anchor until unloading.

Even when anchored, cargo ships continually move from shifting winds and tides. If a ship fails to properly set its anchor in the ocean floor, those forces of nature come into play and can push the ship and drag the anchor along the bottom, potentially catching anything in its way, said Steven Browne, a professor of marine transportation at California State University Maritime Academy.

Lifeguards ready to post signs warning that water contact may cause illness, as they close the beach after an oil spill in Huntington Beach, Calif., Sunday., Oct. 3, 2021. The closure stretched from the Huntington Beach Pier nearly 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) south to the Santa Ana River jetty amid summerlike weather that would have brought beachgoers to the wide strand for volleyball, swimming and surfing. Yellow caution tape was strung between lifeguard towers to keep people away. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

Anchors on large ships can weigh 10 tons or more and are attached to hundreds of feet of thick steel chains. Whatever the anchor gets fouled on will come along with the ship, Browne said.

The spill sent up to 126,000 gallons (572,807 liters) of heavy crude into the ocean off Huntington Beach. It then washed onto miles of beaches and a protected marshland.

The beaches could remain closed for weeks or longer, a major hit to the local economy. Coastal fisheries in the area are closed to commercial and recreational fishing. On shore, animals rescuers have been pleasantly surprised to find few birds covered in oil.

An aerial photo shows the closed beach after oil washed up on Huntington Beach, Calif., on Monday, Oct. 4, 2021. A major oil spill off the coast of Southern California fouled popular beaches and killed wildlife while crews scrambled Sunday, to contain the crude before it spread further into protected wetlands. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

The time of the spill was still unclear Tuesday, and there was no indication whether investigators suspect that a particular ship was involved.

Democratic Congresswoman Katie Porter, a Democrat who chairs the oversight and investigations subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee, said the panel would investigate the incident.

We are going to make sure that we have answers as to how this happened, and to make sure that we hold the responsible party accountable, said Porter, who represents a district a few miles inland from the spill area.

Boats deploy floating barriers known as booms after an oil spill in Newport Beach, Calif., on Monday, Oct. 4, 2021. A major oil spill off the coast of Southern California fouled popular beaches and killed wildlife while crews scrambled Sunday, to contain the crude before it spread further into protected wetlands. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

Coast Guard officials defended their decision to wait until sunrise Saturday to investigate a possible spill first reported by a commercial ship at 8:22 p.m. Friday near a cluster of boats that were anchored off Huntington Beach.

That sighting was supported by a report to the National Response Center, a hazardous spill hotline staffed by the Coast Guard, at 2:06 a.m. Saturday from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which said satellite images showed the strong likelihood of an oil slick.

Residents in nearby Newport Beach had also complained Friday evening about a strong stench of petroleum, and police put out a notice to the public about it.

A worker in protective suits cleans the contaminated beach after an oil spill in Huntington Beach, Calif., on Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021. The Coast Guard received the first report of a possible oil spill off the Southern California coast more than 12 hours before a company reported a major leak in its pipeline and a cleanup effort was launched, records show. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

The Coast Guard was alerted to a sheen on the water by a good Samaritan but did not have enough corroborating evidence and was hindered by darkness and a lack of technology to seek out the spill, Coast Guard Rear Adm. Brian Penoyer told The Associated Press.

He said the Coast Guard put out a broadcast to the many cargo and tanker ships anchored off the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports, along with oil rigs, seeking more information but did not receive any response.

Coast Guard Capt. Rebecca Ore later disputed that account. She said the Coast Guard did not broadcast any information to ships or oil platforms, and Penoyer later said he needed to check his facts.

Workers in protective suits clean the contaminated beach after an oil spill in Huntington Beach, Calif., on Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021. The Coast Guard received the first report of a possible oil spill off the Southern California coast more than 12 hours before a company reported a major leak in its pipeline and a cleanup effort was launched, records show. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

Penoyer said it was fairly common to get reports of oil sheens in a major seaport.

In hindsight, it seems obvious, but they didnt know that at that time, Penoyer said.

Federal pipeline safety investigators put the time of the spill at 2:30 a.m. Saturday, which is when they said an alarm sounded in the control room of an Amplify-owned offshore oil rig. It was an alert that pressure had dropped in the pipeline, indicating a possible leak.

Crews continue to clean the oil in the Wetlands Talbert Marsh after an oil spill in Huntington Beach, Calif., on Huntington Beach, Calif., on Monday, Oct. 4, 2021. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration said the pipeline was shutoff at 6:01 a.m. Saturday.

Willsher, however, said the company was not aware of the spill until it saw a sheen on the water at 8:09 a.m.

The pipeline company did not report the spill Saturday until either 8:55 a.m., based on a state report, or 9:07 a.m., according to PHMSA. At that point, the Coast Guard had been on the water for a couple hours and discovered the spill as Amplify was making the report.

Workers clean oil from the sand south of the pier in Newport Beach, Calif., Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021. A leak in an oil pipeline caused a spill off the coast of Southern California, sending about 126,000 gallons of oil into the ocean, some ending up on beaches in Orange County. (Jeff Gritchen/The Orange County Register via AP)

The companys spill-response plan calls for the immediate notification of a spill. Criminal charges have been brought in the past when a company took too long to notify federal and state officials of a spill.

Speaking at a news conference, Gov Gavin Newsom repeated his calls for the U.S. to move beyond oil. Newsom last year signed an executive order banning the sale of new gas-powered vehicles by 2035.

Its time, once and for all, to disabuse ourselves that this has to be part of our future. This is part of our past, he said from Bolsa Chica State Beach, where he was joined by local, state and federal officials to discuss the spill.

During a two-hour boat tour off Huntington Beach coastline, an AP video journalist saw no visible oil. Pelicans and other sea birds floated on calm waters, and four dolphins swam by the boat.

Dozens of cargo vessels were seen anchored offshore, sharing space with about a half dozen oil platforms. Dozens of workers in white suits dotted the shoreline removing deposited oil.

The break in the line occurred about 5 miles offshore at a depth of about 98 feet (30 meters), investigators said. Those findings were included in an order from the Department of Transportation that blocked the company from restarting the pipeline without extensive inspections and testing.

The order did not identify the source of the investigators information, and agency officials did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.

___

Associated Press journalists Michael Blood and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles, Kathleen Ronayne in Sacramento, Michael Biesecker in Washington, and Eugene Garcia and Amy Taxin in Huntington Beach, California, contributed to this report.
HALIFAX - Nova Scotia is expanding its vaccine mandate, announcing Wednesday that it will require 11,000 direct government employees to be fully vaccinated by Nov. 30.

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston fields a question at a COVID-19 briefing in Halifax on Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan

HALIFAX - Nova Scotia is expanding its vaccine mandate, announcing Wednesday that it will require 11,000 direct government employees to be fully vaccinated by Nov. 30.

The move comes a week after the province announced the mandate for public sector employees such as health workers and teachers and as health officials reported one new death related to COVID-19 and 25 new cases of the virus.

"If you are deciding not to get vaccinated that's your choice, but the consequences of your choice are clear," Premier Tim Houston said during a media briefing.

Like the previous groups of workers covered by the mandatory vaccine policy, government civil servants who don't get two shots by the deadline will be placed on unpaid administrative leave, unless they have received an employer-approved medical exemption.

Under the rules, full vaccination will also be a condition of employment for new staff being hired by the province.

Houston said expanding the mandate was part of a plan that began with requiring shots for those working with the most vulnerable in society.

"I think we signalled early on that we would be expanding it as we thought necessary," he told reporters. He added that there likely wouldn't be more employee groups included in the mandatory requirement.

"I think we're pretty much there," the premier said.

Houston noted that the province instituted its proof-of-vaccination policy on Monday. It obliges people over the age of 12 to show proof of vaccination to access services and businesses the government deems non-essential, such as restaurants, movie theatres and gyms.

The premier said he believes most people are on board with the measure, although he pointed to anecdotal reports of abuse given to some service industry workers who are tasked with checking customers for proof of vaccination at their businesses.

"If you're unhappy, feel free to flip me the bird when I'm walking down the street or yell at me, but don't yell at the person that's just doing their job," he said.

Officials said the death reported Wednesday was a woman in her 70s who lived in the Halifax area. There have been 98 deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus in the province since the beginning of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, 20 of the new cases were identified in the Halifax area, while there were two in the province's western zone, two in the northern zone and one in the eastern zone.

Dr. Robert Strang, chief medical officer of health, said the province is averaging about 40 cases a day  a figure he said was "largely expected" during the fourth wave of the virus.

"So far our (Nova Scotia's) situation is relatively stable, which is good news, but we all have to work together to keep it that way," said Strang.

According to provincial data, 81.2 per cent of the population has had at least one shot of COVID-19 vaccine, while 75.6 per cent are fully vaccinated.

Strang said while the percentages are good, the emergence of the Delta variant means they have to go higher, to at least 80 per cent of the province's population.

"Everyone who can needs to get vaccinated  period," he said.

Nova Scotia has 254 active virus cases, with 15 people in hospital due to an infection, including five patients in intensive care.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 6, 2021.
Winnipeg has succeeded in attracting another large employer in the information technology business.

Winnipeg has succeeded in attracting another large employer in the information technology business.

Burnaby, B.C.-based Traction on Demand, one of the fastest growing companies in the country, is North Americas largest Salesforce consulting and app development firm.

The company is in the process of hiring about 100 people in Winnipeg to tap into the diverse labour force in Winnipeg to help fuel its growth.

"We recognize the evolving, competitive landscape in this city and look forward to expanding our team with this diverse, rich pool of talent" said Jolene Chan, chief impact officer, with Traction on Demand.

The company has experienced exponential growth in the last 10 years, with over 1,200 employees with operations. Company officials said that it recognizes the potential for tech growth and opportunities outside of Vancouver and it is continuing its expansion by locating new operations in Manitoba.

It will be the companys fifth location in Canada. It also has offices and employs people in Seattle, Jaipur, India as well as Australia and New Zealand.

Megumi Mizuno, chief of staff at Traction on Demand said the company does not plan to open a bricks and mortar office right away in Winnipeg but expects to do so in the new year.

"But meanwhile," she said, "The crew we have already hired are champing at the bit to have a place to get together."

The company is hiring mostly junior developer, administrative and sales positions in Winnipeg. They are being recruited in groups of 15-to-20 every two months until they get to about 100 employees in Winnipeg.

Mizuno said the company has lots of experience in hiring non-IT professional and then turning them into IT professionals.

The Manitoba government is investing $520,000 over the next two years to provide skills training. Traction on Demand is a certified B Corp and the Winnipeg hires will be representative of the local population in line with the companys diversity and inclusivity targets.

(Certified B Corporations are businesses that meet verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability standards that balance profit and purpose. )

Economic Development Winnipeg did a lot of work attracting Traction on Demand to Winnipeg

Dayna Spiring, EDWs president and CEO said, "Traction on Demand was particularly interested in our diverse talent pool, and were proud to help connect them to the talent they need. Its another win for our expanding tech sector and our city."

Traction on Demand works on all sorts of solution for users of Salesforce, the popular customer relationship management software platform.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca
MISSISSAUGA, Ont. - Baylis Medical Co. Inc. says it has signed a deal to sell its cardiology business to Boston Scientific Corp. for US$1.75 billion.

This Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017, file photo shows an exterior view of the Boston Scientific offices, in Fremont, Calif. Baylis Medical Co. Inc. says it has signed a deal to sell its cardiology business to Boston Scientific Corp. for US$1.75 billion.THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Marcio Jose Sanchez

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. - Baylis Medical Co. Inc. says it has signed a deal to sell its cardiology business to Boston Scientific Corp. for US$1.75 billion.

The company is a developer of medical devices used in cardiology.

The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of next year, subject to customary closing conditions.

Baylis Medical's affiliate  Mississauga-based Baylis Medical Technologies  is not part of the deal and will remain a separate entity.

The company says Baylis Medical Technologies will continue its development and production of medical devices focused on radiology and neurosurgery.

Baylis Medical Technologies will also continue to offer contract manufacturing services to other medical device companies.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 6, 2021.
PHOENIX (AP)  A federal agent who was shot and killed by an Amtrak train passenger concealing large amounts of marijuana in Arizona was a revered leader whose career spanned almost two decades, the agency said Tuesday.

A Tucson Police Department SWAT truck is parked near the last two cars of an Amtrak train in downtown Tucson, Ariz., Monday, Oct. 4, 2021. One person is in custody after someone opened fire Monday aboard an Amtrak train in Tucson, Arizona, police said. The shooting happened just after 8 a.m. on a train parked at the station in the city's downtown. Authorities say the scene has been secured and no threat remains. (Mamta Popat/Arizona Daily Star via AP)

PHOENIX (AP)  A federal agent who was shot and killed by an Amtrak train passenger concealing large amounts of marijuana in Arizona was a revered leader whose career spanned almost two decades, the agency said Tuesday.

Michael Garbo, who also went by Mike, was a group supervisor with the Drug Enforcement Administration. He possessed expertise and a manner that were legendary, DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said in a statement.

Garbo was loved and respected throughout the agency "for his leadership and for his unrelenting passion to protect the safety of the American people, she said. Above all else, he was a devoted and loving father and husband.

Garbo joined the DEA in 2005. As a special agent and supervisor, he pursued criminal drug traffickers at the U.S.-Mexico border and in Afghanistan.

This photo provided by Evan Courtney shows two officers embracing near the scene of a shooting aboard an Amtrak train in Tucson, Ariz., Monday, Oct. 4, 2021. One person is in custody after someone opened fire Monday aboard an Amtrak train in Tucson, Arizona, police said. The shooting happened just after 8 a.m. on a train parked at the station in the city's downtown. Authorities say the scene has been secured and no threat remains. (Evan Courtney via AP)

Members of the law enforcement community took to social media to describe Garbo as an excellent police officer who started out in Nashville, Tennessee. The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department said someone with the same name worked there between 1993 and 2005 but could not confirm he was the deceased agent.

Gov. Doug Ducey ordered flags at state buildings remain at half-staff until sunset Wednesday in Garbo's honor.

Garbo was killed Monday after gunfire erupted while a regional task force of DEA agents and Tucson police officers were doing an inspection of passengers luggage for illegal money, weapons or drugs. The inspection was prompted by tips from Amtrak, according to a federal criminal complaint released Tuesday that revealed more details about the events leading to the shooting.

A second agent and a Tucson officer also were shot several times, and a suspect was killed. The agent and officer remained in stable condition Tuesday, the DEA said. Authorities have not released their identities.

The Sunset Limited, Train 2, was carrying 137 passengers and 11 crew members traveling from Los Angeles to New Orleans, and arrived at the downtown Tucson station at 7:40 am, said Jason Abrams, an Amtrak spokesman.

Federal Bureau of Investigation agents work at the crime scene after a shooting aboard an Amtrak train in downtown Tucson, Ariz., on Monday, Oct. 4, 2021. (Rebecca Sasnett/Arizona Daily Star via AP)

The shooting occurred about 20 minutes later and sent panicked passengers running.

According to the complaint, an officer noticed a man in his 20s on the upper level of one of the double-decker train's cars leave a backpack and two bags a few rows away. When asked, the man, identified in the complaint as Devonte Okeith Mathis, denied they were his. The officer moved them to the train platform for further inspection.

At the same time, Garbo and another DEA agent spoke with a second man in the same row as Mathis. They all went to the platform where the agents were given permission to use a drug-sniffing dog on several other bags. The man then returned to the car.

That's when the officer questioning Mathis discovered two large bulk packages of marijuana in the backpack, the complaint said. He alerted Garbo and the other agent.

According to the complaint, Garbo and his fellow agent went back into the car to talk to the second suspect again and were ambushed by gunfire.

Garbo was pronounced dead. The second agent was rushed to the hospital in the back of a Tucson police car. That's also when gunfire hit a Tucson police officer.

Several additional officers then responded to the scene. The armed suspect was shot and killed after firing on them, the complaint said. He was found dead inside a train restroom, according to Tucson police. His identity has not been released.

Mathis was arrested and faces federal charges of knowingly and intentionally possessing with the intent to distribute less than 50 kilograms (110 pounds) of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of marijuana, according to the complaint. It was not immediately known Tuesday if he had an attorney.

A search warrant for the bags belonging to him revealed 2.4 kilograms (5.3 pounds) of raw marijuana, 50 packages containing 3.5 grams (0.12 ounces) each of marijuana edibles and other marijuana and cannabis products. The FBI is overseeing investigation.

There were no other injuries among the train's passengers or crew.

___

Associated Press writer Mike Balsamo in Washington contributed to this report.
Amplify Energys emergency response plan for a major oil spill like the one its now dealing with in coastal Southern California depended heavily on a quick shutdown of the San Pedro Bay Pipeline if its sensors picked up a sudden loss of pressure. Thats not what happened, investigators revealed Tuesday.

Workers clean oil from the sand, south of the pier, in Newport Beach, Calif., Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021. A leak in an oil pipeline caused a spill off the coast of Southern California, sending about 126,000 gallons of oil into the ocean, some ending up on beaches in Orange County. (Jeff Gritchen/The Orange County Register via AP)

Amplify Energys emergency response plan for a major oil spill like the one its now dealing with in coastal Southern California depended heavily on a quick shutdown of the San Pedro Bay Pipeline if its sensors picked up a sudden loss of pressure. Thats not what happened, investigators revealed Tuesday.

After an alarm went off in a company control room at 2:30 a.m. Saturday  signaling a rupture that would spill tens of thousands of gallons of crude into the Pacific Ocean  the company waited more than three hours to shut down the pipeline, at 6:01 a.m., according to preliminary findings of an investigation into the spill.

The Houston-based company took another three hours to notify the U.S. Coast Guard's National Response Center for oil spills, investigators said, further slowing the response to an accident for which Amplify workers spent years preparing.

How come it took so long? Thats a fair question, said Richard Kuprewicz, a pipeline consultant and private accident investigator from Redmond, Washington. If you have any doubt, your action should be to shut down and close. ... Somethings not quite right here.

Pipeline control room alarms dont always mean a leak and can be tripped by numerous factors  from a faulty signal from a sensor along the line, to a pump that goes offline and causes a sudden pressure change, according to Kuprewicz and other industry experts. But the alarms also are supposed to trigger immediate follow-up actions to quickly ascertain if anything is wrong.

Its uncertain why that process dragged out hours in San Pedro Bay, potentially worsening a spill that left some birds coated with oil and has stirred worries about broader environmental impacts.

Amplify Energy Corp. CEO Martyn Willsher discusses the Huntington Beach oil spill during a news conference in Long Beach, Calif., Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021. Willsher said company divers were inspecting the area of the suspected leak reported Saturday. Willsher said an anchor from a cargo ship striking the pipeline is "one of the distinct possibilities" behind the leak. The Coast Guard received the first report of a possible oil spill more than 12 hours before the company reported a major leak in its pipeline and a cleanup effort was launched, records show. (AP Photo/Stefanie Dazio)

The cause of the pipeline break just offshore from Los Angeles remains under investigation. Early findings point to a ship anchor possibly catching the line and dragging it across the seafloor, tearing a gash in the half-inch-thick (12.7 millimeter) steel pipe.

The timeline of the companys response appears to contradict statements from Amplifys CEO, Martyn Willshire, who told reporters on Monday that the company first became aware of the spill after receiving a report from a boat of a sheen in the water.

Willshire acknowledged the companys equipment was supposed to help detect spills, then said, we did not have any notice that there was a leak prior to the sheen report.

In documents released Tuesday detailing the companys actions, federal transportation officials did not comment on the time lag in shutting down the line or reveal any potential explanation that the Amplify executives may have offered.

Company representatives did not respond to emailed questions about the delay between the alarm and the shutdown.

Problems with faulty leak detection procedures have plagued the industry for years, including during a massive 2010 oil spill that polluted 40 miles (64 kilometers) of Michigan's Kalamazoo River. In that case, an Enbridge Inc. pipeline leaked at least 843,000 gallons (3.2 million liters) of crude over 17 hours, even as alarms kept going off in a company control room.

The company later settled pollution violations in the case for $176 million.

The accident spurred calls for more stringent leak detection rules and the installation of more automatic or remote-control shut-off valves that can quickly halt the flow of oil in a leak.

A dearth of such valves was also cited in another 2010 pipeline accident  a natural gas transmission line explosion in San Bruno, California, that left eight dead and dozens injured after the line continued burning like a massive blowtorch for almost 90 minutes before the line was shut down manually.

Federal officials began crafting new leak detection and valve rules under former President Barack Obama, but they were never finalized.

A new rule proposed last year under former President Donald Trump and now awaiting final approval would mandate more valves only for new or replaced oil pipelines, not the thousands of miles that are already in use. The change came after oil industry lobbying groups including the American Petroleum Institute said retrofitting lines with valves would cost up to $1.5 million per device.

The pending rule does not set standards for leak detections, giving companies significant leeway in how sensitive to leaks their equipment needs to be, said Bill Caram with the Pipeline Safety Trust, a Bellingham, Washington-based group that advocates for safer pipelines.

It makes us worry for our country's aging energy infrastructure, Caram said. "We fear this could become a bigger and bigger issue."

John Stoody with the Association of Oil Pipe Lines said companies and industry groups are working hard to improve leak detection technologies. Fine-tuning equipment is part of that, to make sure companies can detect even small leaks but not have to respond to false alarms.

If you're riddled with false alarms, people have a harder time reacting, Stoody said.

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Follow Matthew Brown on Twitter: @MatthewBrownAP
A former Facebook employee told members of Congress Tuesday that the company knows that its platform spreads misinformation and content that harms children but refuses to make changes that could hurt its profits.

Former Facebook employee and whistleblower Frances Haugen testifies during a Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021, in Washington. (Drew Angerer/Pool via AP)

A former Facebook employee told members of Congress Tuesday that the company knows that its platform spreads misinformation and content that harms children but refuses to make changes that could hurt its profits.

Speaking before the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, former Facebook data scientist Frances Haugen told lawmakers that new regulations are needed to force Facebook to improve its own platforms. But she stopped short of calling for a breakup of the company, saying it wouldn't fix existing problems and would instead turn Facebook into a Frankenstein" that continues to cause harm around the world while a separate Instagram rakes in most advertising dollars.

Efforts to pass new regulations on social media have failed in the past, but senators said Tuesday that new revelations about Facebook show the time for inaction has ended.

Here are some key highlights from Tuesday's hearing.

FACEBOOK KNOWS IT'S CAUSING HARM TO VULNERABLE PEOPLE

Haugen said Facebook knows that vulnerable people are harmed by its systems, from kids who are susceptible to feel bad about their bodies because of Instagram to adults who are more exposed to misinformation after being widowed, divorced or experiencing other forms of isolation such as moving to a new city.

The platform is designed to exploit negative emotions to keep people on the platform, she said.

They are aware of the side effects of the choices they have made around amplification. They know that algorithmic-based rankings, or engagement-based rankings, keeps you on their sites longer. You have longer sessions, you show up more often, and that makes them more money.

THE WHISTLEBLOWER TOUCHED A NERVE

During the hearing, Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn, the committees ranking Republican, said shed just received a text from Facebook spokesperson Andy Stone pointing out that Haugen did not work on child safety or Instagram or research these issues and has no direct knowledge on the topic from her work at Facebook.

Haugen herself made it clear several times that she did not directly work on these issues but based her testimony on the documents she had and her own experience.

But Facebook's statement emphasized her limited role and relatively short tenure at the company, effectively questioning her expertise and credibility. That didn't sit well with everyone.

Facebook's tactic demonstrates that they dont have a good answer to all these problems that theyre attacking her on," said Gautam Hans, a technology law and free speech expert at Vanderbilt University.

SMALL CHANGES COULD MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE

Making changes to reduce the spread of misinformation and other harmful content wouldn't require a wholesale reinvention of social media, Haugen said. One of the simplest changes could be to just organize posts in chronological order instead of letting computers predict what people want to see based on how much engagement  good or bad  it might attract.

Another was to add one more click before users can easily share content, which she said Facebook knows can dramatically reduce misinformation and hate speech.

A lot of the changes that Im talking about are not going to make Facebook an unprofitable company, it just wont be a ludicrously profitable company like it is today, she said.

She said Facebook won't make those changes on its own if it might halt growth, even though the company's own research showed that people use the platform less when theyre exposed to more toxic content.

One could reason a kinder, friendlier, more collaborative Facebook might actually have more users five years from now, so its in everyones interest, she said.

A PEEK INSIDE THE COMPANY

Haugen portrayed Facebooks corporate environment as so machine-like and driven by metrics that it was hard to hit the brakes on known harms that, if addressed, might dent growth and profits.

She described the companys famously flat organizational philosophy -- with few levels of management and an open-floor workplace at its California headquarters that packs nearly the entire staff into one enormous room -- as an impediment to the leadership necessary to pull the plug on bad ideas.

She said the company didnt set out to make a destructive platform, but she noted that CEO Mark Zuckerberg holds considerable power because he controls more than 50% of the voting shares of the company and that letting metrics drive decisions was itself a decision on his part.

In the end, the buck stops with Mark, she said.

BIPARTISAN OUTRAGE

Democrats and Republicans on the committee said Tuesdays hearing showed the need for new regulations that would change how Facebook targets users and amplifies content. Such efforts have long failed in Washington, but several senators said Haugen's testimony might be the catalyst for change.

Our differences are very minor, or they seem very minor in the face of the revelations that weve now seen, so Im hoping we can move forward," said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., the panels chairman.

Still, Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota acknowledged that Facebook and other tech companies wield a lot of power in the nations capital, power that has blocked reforms in the past.

There are lobbyists around every single corner of this building that have been hired by the tech industry, Klobuchar said. Facebook and the other tech companies are throwing a bunch of money around this town and people are listening to them.



AP Technology Writer Matt O'Brien contributed to this report.
Maple Leaf Foods is sinking another $182 million into its Manitoba pork complex, building a pre-cooked bacon expansion at its already sprawling Lagimodiere facility.

Maple Leaf Foods is sinking another $182 million into its Manitoba pork complex, building a pre-cooked bacon expansion at its already sprawling Lagimodiere facility.

The 73,000-square-foot expansion also means the company will expand its workforce by about 350 people. Some have already been hired and more will be added as the new operation gets to full production by the end of this year or early in the new year.

Photos Submitted The expansion means the company will expand its workforce by about 350 people. The jobs Maple Leaf is creating come with some of the best wages and benefits in the industry, said Jeff Traeger, president of UFCW Canada Local 832.

Maple Leaf has been selling branded pre-cooked bacon but it used assistance from third-party partners in the U.S. up until now.

Iain Stewart, Maple Leaf Foods senior vice-president, operations, supply chain and purchasing said the companys investment in its own production capabilities in this product category has been in the works since before the pandemic.

"But with all the disruption in supply chains and the fact that it is close to Brandon (where Maple Leaf slaughters all its hogs for its North American pork business) and we had the bacon plant there, it just made sense that if we were going to invest somewhere we would invest again in Lagimodiere and start building out our pre-cooked bacon business out of that plant," he said.

All of the pork bellies used in the bacon production will come from the Brandon plant.

Stewart said pre-cooked bacon production capacity was getting harder to find from third party operations and he said that it is likely to become more pronounced as the demand for the product is expected to continue to increase.

Submitted Maple Leaf Foods expansion to its Lagimodiere Bacon Centre of Excellence facility.

Maple Leaf acquired that facility in 1997 when it bought Burns Meat. Since then it has had a couple of major expansions such that it is now the companys main ham and bacon production facility.

The expansion includes the most modern state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment and will turn the Winnipeg plant into the companys Bacon Centre of Excellence with the capacity to expand to meet the demand.

The workforce there has also grown substantially over the years and after the pre-cooked bacon line is fully up and running it will rival the Brandon operation for employment with close to 2,000 people. Brandons workforce is currently around 2,100.

"It was never close to the size of our Brandon operation, but its getting closer," Stewart said.

With a workforce of 4,000 in the province, not counting the people who work in hog production  close to 50 per cent of the hogs Maple Leaf slaughters in Brandon come from hog barns that Maple Leaf also owns  Manitoba has been a good place for Maple Leaf Foods.

The company also acquired an existing plant on Paquin Road in the St. Boniface Industrial Park in 2019 and has been doing construction and preparing it for an opening by the end of the year. It will be a packaging plant for its value-added fresh pork business and will employ over 100 people when fully operational.

"It has been fantastic," Stewart said of the companys activities in the province.

The feeling is probably mutual, as the province is investing about $1.9 million through the Industry Expansion Program to support skills training over a two year period.

Jon Reyes, Manitobas minister of economic development and jobs said, they are always open to conversation with business to help them grow especially during these uncertain times.

"Any time we can help companies invest in Manitoba and create employment it is good for the province," Reyes said. "If we are going to recover we have to grow."

The jobs Maple Leaf is creating may not be sexy tech-sector positions, but they do come with some of the best wages and benefits in the industry, according to Jeff Traeger, president of UFCW Canada Local 832.

Workers at the Lagimodiere plant ratified a new contract at the beginning of the year that takes them to 2025.

Traeger said workers there receive pensions, dental and health care and good vacation schedules along with good wages.

"Our members are pretty excited," he said. "We have a good relationship with Maple Leaf Foods. They treat our members extremely well."

The union also just signed its first collective agreement with the workers at the packaging plant on Paquin Road late last month. That five-year agreement includes wages and benefits similar to the agreement at the Lagimodiere plant.

Stewart said many new hires have already taken place and the company is giving itself time to ramp up production in what he said is a complex operation.

"The building is jammed with equipment," he said, including microwaves for the cooking, a smokehouse and slicing equipment.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca
WASHINGTON (AP)  The Biden administration is trying to prevent evictions from public housing for nonpayment of rent, seeking to shore up protections following the end of the nationwide eviction moratorium.

FILE - In this Jan. 13, 2021, file photo, tenants rights advocates demonstrate outside the Edward W. Brooke Courthouse in Boston. The Biden administration is taking steps to prevent evictions from public housing for nonpayment of rent, as it seeks to shore up protections following the end of the national eviction moratorium. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, file)

WASHINGTON (AP)  The Biden administration is trying to prevent evictions from public housing for nonpayment of rent, seeking to shore up protections following the end of the nationwide eviction moratorium.

Under a new rule from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, tenants in HUD-subsidized public housing cannot be evicted for nonpayment without providing them 30 days' notice and information about available federal emergency rental assistance. The rule is scheduled to be published Thursday in the Federal Register.

Technically, the rule would go into effect 30 days after publication, but a senior HUD official told The Associated Press that public housing authorities across the country were expected to comply immediately. The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the rule change was due to significant concern about a looming wave of evictions as cases begin to work their way through courts.

In an official statement set for release Wednesday, HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge called the change a significant step in raising tenant awareness about the availability of funds that can assist them with past due rent and allowing them additional time to access relief that may stave off eviction entirely.

Elements of the new rule are not new. The 30-day notice requirement is part of the original COVID-19 relief package. But the change will be coupled with specific guidance for housing authorities on how to steer tenants toward the billions of dollars in available emergency rental assistance. It's also designed to buy some extra time for those funds to work their way through the system.

Besides public housing residents, the rule change will apply to those living in project-based rental assistance properties  a program whereby private for-profit or nonprofit property owners enter into a contract with HUD to provide affordable housings units. All told, HUD estimates that the change will cover 4.1 million people.

Biden administration officials have complained in the past that the rental relief funds are bottlenecked by bureaucracy at the state and local level. The senior HUD official said the funds' dispersal has been proceeding a little slower than officials had hoped.

The federal moratorium, a response to the coronavirus pandemic, expired in late August, and Congress did not extend it. While the federal government now focuses on pumping money into rental assistance programs, the nationwide moratorium has devolved into a patchwork of localized bans, in places like Washington state, Boston and New York state  all expiring on different schedules.

The senior HUD official said one of the primary goals of the change is to bring all jurisdictions under the same banner.
After attempts to sell the Jay Peak ski area were halted at the start of the pandemic, sale discussions have been taking place with several parties this year, according to a update from the receiver appointed after the former owner was accused of fraud in 2016.

After attempts to sell the Jay Peak ski area were halted at the start of the pandemic, sale discussions have been taking place with several parties this year, according to a update from the receiver appointed after the former owner was accused of fraud in 2016.

Receiver Michael Golderg filed the ninth interim report in federal court in Florida on Friday about the Jay Peak and Burke Mountain resorts in northern Vermont, covering March 1, 2020, through July 31, 2021.

As the COVID-19 pandemic hit and the resorts were shut down in mid-March of 2020, the sales process was paused as Goldberg and Houlihan Lokey, the investment bank retained to help with the sale, determined that 2020 was not an ideal time to pursue sale of the Resorts given the vast uncertainty in the market, particularly in the hotel/resort/ski industry, the filing states.

Starting in late fall of 2020, Houlihan Lokey resumed its marketing of Jay Peak, and since then Goldberg and his colleagues have been actively engaged in sale discussions with several interested parties whereby draft forms of asset purchase agreements have been exchanged, the report states.

The intent is to conclude a transaction, Goldberg stated in the report.

The report did not provide details on the status of the sale of the Burke Mountain Resort.

Both resorts have reopened on a restricted basis and in compliance with government mandates and COVID-19 guidelines, the report states.

Jay Peak and Burke rely on visitors from Canada, and the closure of the U.S.-Canadian border during the pandemic hurt over 50% of the resorts' business, according to the report.

The resorts have received several state and local grants to help with COVID-19-related costs, but the pandemic has had and will likely continue to have substantial impact on the Resorts finances, the report stated.

Former Jay Peak owner Ariel Quiros, of Miami, and former president William Stenger were accused by the Securities and Exchange Commission of misusing more than $200 million of about $400 million raised from foreign investors for area developments in Ponzi-like fashion.

Quiros and Stenger settled with the SEC, with Quiros surrendering more than $80 million in assets, including Jay Peak and Burke ski resorts.

They were indicted criminally in 2019 along with two others over a failed plan to build a biotechnology plant using millions raised through the EB-5 visa program. The program encourages foreigners to invest in U.S. projects that create jobs in exchange for a chance to earn permanent U.S. residency.

Quiros pleaded guilty last year to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering and the concealment of material information, with nine other charges dropped. Stenger pleaded guilty in August to providing false documents, also with nine other charges dropped.

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This story has been corrected to reflect that the marketing of Jay Peak resumed in late fall of 2020, not 2021.
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP)  A massive cargo ship made a series of unusual movements while anchored in the closest spot to a Southern California oil pipeline that ruptured and sent crude washing up on beaches, according to data collected by a marine navigation service.

A floating barriers known as booms is set up to try to stop further incursion into the Wetlands Talbert Marsh after an oil spill in Huntington Beach, Calif., on Huntington Beach, Calif., on Monday, Oct. 4, 2021. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP)  A massive cargo ship made a series of unusual movements while anchored in the closest spot to a Southern California oil pipeline that ruptured and sent crude washing up on beaches, according to data collected by a marine navigation service.

The Coast Guard is investigating whether a ship anchor might have snagged and bent the pipeline owned by Amplify Energy, a Houston-based company that operates three offshore oil platforms south of Los Angeles.

The Associated Press reviewed more than two weeks of data from MarineTraffic, a navigation service that tracks radio signals from transponders that broadcast the locations of ships and large boats every few minutes.

Workers in protective suits clean the contaminated beach after an oil spill in Huntington Beach, Calif., on Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021. The Coast Guard received the first report of a possible oil spill off the Southern California coast more than 12 hours before a company reported a major leak in its pipeline and a cleanup effort was launched, records show. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

That data shows the Rotterdam Express, a German-flagged ship nearly 1,000 feet (305 meters) long, was assigned to anchorage SF-3, the closest to where the pipeline ruptured off Huntington Beach. The ship made three unusual movements over two days that appear to put it over the pipeline.

In a statement to AP, Hapag-Lloyd, the shipping company that operates the Rotterdam Express, denied any role in the spill.

A U.S. official told the AP on Wednesday that the Rotterdam Express has become a focus of the spill investigation. The official cautioned the ship is only one lead being pursued in the investigation, which is in the early stages.

The investigators are seeking to collect tracking and navigational information from the vessel that could help them identify its exact movements, the official said. They are also seeking preliminary interviews with at least some crew members.

Workers clean oil from the sand, south of the pier, in Newport Beach, Calif., Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021. A leak in an oil pipeline caused a spill off the coast of Southern California, sending about 126,000 gallons of oil into the ocean, some ending up on beaches in Orange County. (Jeff Gritchen/The Orange County Register via AP)

The official could not discuss the investigation publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

Petty Officer Steve Strohmaier, a Coast Guard spokesperson, declined to comment on the Rotterdam Express but said the agency is analyzing electric charting systems from its vessel traffic service to see what ships were anchored or moving over the spill area.

The MarineTraffic data shows the Rotterdam Express arrived outside the Port of Long Beach early on Sept. 22 and dropped anchor about 2,000 feet (610 meters) from the pipeline.

The following day, at about 5 p.m., the data for the ships locator beacon indicated that while anchored it suddenly moved thousands of feet to the southeast, a track that would have taken it over the pipeline lying on the seafloor about 100 feet (30 meters) below. The ship appears to have then engaged its engines to return to its anchorage about 10 minutes later.

In this aerial image taken with a drone, workers in protective suits clean the contaminated beach after an oil spill in Newport Beach, Calif., on Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021. Some of the crude oil that spilled from a pipeline into the waters off Southern California has been breaking up naturally in ocean currents, a Coast Guard official said Wednesday as authorities sought to determine the scope of the damage. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

The ship then moved again around midnight and a third time shortly before 8 a.m. on Sept. 23, each time moving back to its assigned anchorage, according to its online location data. The Rotterdam Express remained at spot SF-3 until Sunday, when it moved into the port to unload.

The first report of oil in the water near the pipeline were made Friday evening. Amplify said the pipeline was shut down early Saturday morning but has not said how long it believes oil flowed from it.

Amplifys CEO Martyn Willsher said Tuesday divers determined a 4,000-feet (1,219-meter) section of the pipeline was dislodged 105 feet (32 meters), bent back like the string on a bow. Oil escaped through a slender crack.

The amount is unclear. Amplify has said publicly that no more than 126,000 gallons (476,962 liters) leaked but told federal investigators it may be only 29,400 gallons (111,291 liters).

A seagull rests as workers in protective suits clean the contaminated beach after an oil spill, Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021 in Newport Beach, Calif. A major oil spill off the coast of Southern California fouled popular beaches and killed wildlife while crews scrambled Sunday, to contain the crude before it spread further into protected wetlands. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

AP first contacted Hapag-Lloyd on Tuesday evening, seeking an explanation for the ships movements on Sept. 22 and 23.

Nils Haupt, a spokesman at its headquarters in Hamburg, Germany, denied in an email Wednesday that the ship ever moved off anchor from spot SF-3 during that period. He said the transponder data displayed by MarineTraffic is erroneous.

We have proof by the logbook, which is updated hourly, that the vessel did not move, Haupt said. MarineTraffic in this case is wrong and the position is indeed incorrect.

Haupt said Hapag-Lloyd would cooperate with any investigation.

A worker looks over the edge of the Rotterdam Express at the Port of Oakland, Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021 in Oakland, Calif. The Rotterdam Express, a massive cargo ship made a series of unusual movements while anchored in the closest spot to a Southern California oil pipeline that ruptured and sent crude washing up on beaches, according to data collected by a marine navigation service. (AP Photo/Josh Edelson)

On Wednesday morning, AP sent an email that included a screenshot of the Rotterdam Express movements as indicated on MarineTraffic to the Unified Command Joint Information Center for state and federal agencies responding to the oil spill. Senior Chief Petty Officer Lauren Jorgensen said the command was unable to discuss matters involving an ongoing investigation.

Nikolas Xiros, a professor of marine engineering at the University of New Orleans, said it would be highly unlikely that the transponder data for a ship, which works through a global network called the Automatic Identification System, would be off by several thousand feet.

AIS transporters are very accurate and the whole system is also very accurate, Xiros said after reviewing the location track for Rotterdam Express. I think probably the ship moved, thats what I think. And with the anchor down, which was a big problem.

Xiros, who has spent more than two decades teaching marine navigation and electronics to future ship captains and crew, said the only alternative explanation he could think of was that either someone had hacked the AIS system to make the Rotterdam Express appear to move or that the ships transmitter somehow became unfastened from its mast, fell in the water and drifted away before being retrieved by the crew, only to have it come unfastened two more times.

The Rotterdam Express is seen at the Port of Oakland, Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021 in Oakland, Calif. The Rotterdam Express, a massive cargo ship made a series of unusual movements while anchored in the closest spot to a Southern California oil pipeline that ruptured and sent crude washing up on beaches, according to data collected by a marine navigation service. (AP Photo/Josh Edelson)

Xiros said he could provide no reasonable explanation for why the ship might have moved so far off its assigned station. Records show relatively calm weather and seas during the days in question.

There is a series of peculiar things and all that need to be explained, Xiros said. It may very well be some kind of an accident, but not necessarily a human error. We will have to see. But  I think he most probable explanation is the ship with anchor down moved both back and forth and possibly caused damage to the pipeline.

If a ships anchor were to become entangled with an underwater obstacle such as a communications cable or petroleum pipeline, the operator is required by federal law to notify the Coast Guard. The locations and movements of ships are also regularly monitored by both the AIS system and radar, according to the Coast Guard.

Xiros said if he were investigating the cause of the oil spill, he would seek to review the digital logs for both location and engine operations aboard the Rotterdam Express.

According to MarineTraffic data, the ship left Long Beach on Monday for the Port of Oakland, where it was moored at a dock Wednesday night.

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Associated Press writer Michael Blood in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

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Follow AP Investigative Reporter Michael Biesecker at http://twitter.com/mbieseck

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Contact APs global investigative team at Investigative@ap.org.
LOS ANGELES  Los Angeles leaders have voted to enact one of the nations strictest vaccine mandates.

FILE - In this June 23, 2021, file photo, supporters of Britain remaining in the European Union protest against Brexit and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's handling of the coronavirus outbreak, on the edge of Parliament Square in London. Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson ends the four-day conference Wednesday, Oct. 6, with a speech promising that Britain will emerge from Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic as a stronger, more dynamic country  even if the road is slightly rocky. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

LOS ANGELES  Los Angeles leaders have voted to enact one of the nations strictest vaccine mandates.

The sweeping measure requires the shots for everyone entering bars, restaurants, nail salons, gyms and a Lakers game. The City Council on Wednesday voted 11-2 in favor of the ordinance that will require proof of full vaccination by Nov. 4.

Supporters say its a way of preventing more coronavirus surges. Critics say the measure raises concerns about enforcement.

The nations second-most populous city faced a huge rise in infections and hospitalizations last winter and a smaller surge this summer linked to the spread of the highly contagious delta variant.

Mayor Eric Garcetti is expected to sign the ordinance into law. Garcetti expressed his support for a vaccine measure last week, saying: I dont want to bury another city employee, police officer, firefighter.

The county reported 35 deaths and 964 virus cases on Tuesday. Current vaccine eligibility includes people age 12 and up. About 78% of the countys 10 million residents have received at least one vaccine dose and 69% are fully vaccinated, according to public health officials.

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MORE ON THE PANDEMIC:

 Los Angeles OKs one of strictest US vaccination mandates

 US to increase at-home coronavirus rapid tests in coming months

 Scandinavians curb Moderna shots for some younger patients

 AP: Flush with COVID-19 aid, schools steer funding to sports

A demonstrator holds up a flag in front of police during a protest against vaccinations and coronavirus measures in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021. EU leaders are meeting Tuesday evening in nearby Kranj, Slovenia, to discuss increasingly tense relations with China and the security implications of the chaotic U.S.-led exit from Afghanistan, before taking part in a summit with Balkans leaders on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

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See all of APs pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic

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HERES WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

TOLEDO, Ohio  The number of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. is falling and the number of new cases per day is about to dip below 100,000 for the first time in two months.

All are encouraging signs that the summer surge is waning. Government leaders and employers not wanting to lose momentum are looking to strengthen and expand vaccine mandates.

Los Angeles is poised to enact on Wednesday one of the nations strictest vaccine mandates. Minnesotas governor is calling for vaccine and testing requirements for teachers and long-term care workers. Health experts say there are still far too many unvaccinated people. In New York, a statewide vaccination mandate for all hospital and nursing home workers will be expanded Thursday to home care and hospice employees.

Across the nation, deaths per day have dropped by nearly 15% since mid-September and are averaging about 1,750. New cases have fallen to just over 103,000 per day on average, a 40% decline in the past three weeks.

The number of people in the hospital with COVID-19 has declined by about one-quarter since its most recent peak of almost 94,000 a month ago.

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LITTLE ROCK, Ark.  Arkansas lawmakers have given final approval to legislation requiring employers to let their workers opt out of getting the COVID-19 vaccine.

The Senate approved the legislation on Wednesday despite opposition from the states Republican governor, Asa Hutchinson, business groups and hospitals. The bill is among several attempts to limit or prohibit vaccine requirements that have dominated the Legislatures attention during a session intended to focus on congressional redistricting.

The proposals came primarily in response to President Joe Bidens order that all employers with more than 100 workers require them to be vaccinated or test for the virus weekly.

A football field, top, and baseball field under construction are lit up at Whitewater High School Friday, Oct. 1, 2021, in Whitewater, Wis. A growing number of school districts in the U.S. are using federal pandemic funding on athletics projects. When school officials at Whitewater learned they would be getting $2 million in pandemic relief this year, they decided to set most of it aside to cover costs from their current budget, freeing up $1.6 million in local funding thats being used to build new synthetic turf fields for football, baseball and softball. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

The bill approved by the Senate on a 22-12 vote would require a process for employees to opt out of vaccine requirements if they are tested weekly for the virus or can prove they have COVID-19 antibodies. Health officials say antibody testing should not be used to assess immunity against the coronavirus and people who have recovered from COVID-19 should still get vaccinated.

Some of the states largest employers, including Bentonville-based Walmart, have mandated vaccinations for some or all employees. Its still uncertain whether the bill will take effect immediately or early next year, if its enacted.

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TORONTO  Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says all domestic air travelers over age 12 will need to provide proof of full vaccination or a negative coronavirus test starting Oct. 30.

Beginning Nov. 30, travelers must be fully vaccinated and wont have the option of a negative test.

Officials say all core federal government workers, members of Canadas national police force and the armed forces must be fully vaccinated by Oct. 29. Federal public servants who arent fully vaccinated and dont obtain medical exemptions must take unpaid leave.

The new policy will affect more than 267,000 core public-service and Royal Canadian Mounted Police workers and apply to those who work from home and outside of the country.

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ANKARA, Turkey  The number of daily coronavirus cases in Turkey surpassed 30,000 on Wednesday, the highest number of infections since April 30.

The Health Ministry reported 30,438 new cases and 228 confirmed deaths. Fahrettin Koca, the health minister, says with the number of daily cases hovering between 28,000 and 30,000 since mid-September. There were approximately 300,000 active cases in the country during a 10-day period.

We have to be aware that this situation presents a critical burden, he said. The fact that most of the current active cases are among the young means that our health system is not strained. Still, such high numbers of infected people is not acceptable.

He urged people to get vaccinated. Nearly 73% of the adult population has been fully vaccinated, according to the ministry figures.

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Pima County Constable Kristen Randall signs an eviction notice to a rental resident after taping the notice to the apartment window Friday, Sept. 24, 2021, in Tucson, Ariz. Long delayed evictions are rolling out more than a month after the end of a federal moratorium that had protected tenants, including some who hadn't paid rent for many months during the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

TRIPOLI, Libya  Libyan health authorities have started vaccinating migrants in the country, in cooperation with the U.N. migration agency.

The vaccination campaign kicked off in Tripoli, with migrants received the first shot of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine at the National Center for Disease Control.

Federico Soda, the head of the International Organization for Migration in Libya, was present in the launching ceremony.

It wasnt clear whether authorities would vaccinate thousands of migrants in detention centers. Tens of thousands of others live in the communities.

Libya has reported 34,440 confirmed cases and 4,720 confirmed deaths. The tally is likely higher in part due to limited testing.

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TIRANA, Albania  Albania on Wednesday postponed the launch of the university school year by a week, urging all students to get the vaccine.

Authorities declared next week the Week of the students mass vaccination. The vaccine is mandatory for education and health staff, including students, or proof of a negative test. Many students have declined to take the shots so far.

Albania reported 617 daily cases and seven deaths on Wednesday. The country is maintaining an overnight curfew, masks in all closed areas and no gatherings of more than 50 people.

About one-third of the 2.8 million population has received two shots of the vaccine. Authorities are considering a booster shot for certain groups who have compromised health.

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WASHINGTON  The U.S. is on pace to have about 200 million at-home COVID-19 rapid tests available per month beginning in December, about four times more than earlier this year.

The White House says the supply boost is the result of a new $1 billion federal investment, on top of the $2 billion committed to increasing the availability of the convenient diagnostic tests in September. Its also due to the Food and Drug Administrations authorization of a new test from ACON labs this week.

FILE - In this Dec. 24, 2020, file photo, a COVID-19 vaccination record card is shown at Seton Medical Center in Daly City, Calif. Los Angeles leaders are poised to enact one of the nation's strictest vaccine mandates, a sweeping measure that would require the shots for everyone entering a bar, restaurant, nail salon, gym or even a Lakers game. The City Council on Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021, is scheduled to consider the proposal and most members have said they support it as a way of preventing further COVID-019 surges. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

More than 18 months into the pandemic, the U.S. trails other nations in supplies of at-home tests, which are widely used overseas as part of regular testing programs to catch asymptomatic infections. While less accurate than PCR tests, at-home kits are cheaper and faster, allowing for serial screening of schoolchildren, long-term care residents and office workers.

The White House says it is also working to double the number of local pharmacies offering free coronavirus testing to 20,000 in the coming weeks to improve access to testing.

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IOWA CITY, Iowa  A growing number of school districts in the U.S. are using federal pandemic funding on athletics projects. One school district in Wisconsin is spending $1.6 million on new synthetic turf fields. One district in Iowa is spending $100,000 on a weight room renovation.

School officials argue the projects support students physical and mental health, but critics tell The Associated Press the spending clashes with the intent of the pandemic relief. Education experts say the funding should go toward tutoring and other costs to help students recover learning loss.

The funding is part of the American Rescue Plan signed in March by President Joe Biden that sent money to schools, giving larger shares to those with higher poverty. Its the latest of several rounds of funding Congress funneled to the states to address education needs. The AP has tracked more than $157 billion distributed so far to school districts nationwide.

Schools have wide flexibility in how they use the money but only three years to spend it, a deadline that has led some to look for quick purchases that wont need ongoing funding after the federal money is gone.

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BUCHAREST, Romania  Romania hit a record of 328 coronavirus deaths on Wednesday, a day after reaching more than 15,000 confirmed cases.

Romania is the second-least vaccinated country in the EU with just 35% of adults fully vaccinated. Government data indicates that more than 90% of the 328 who died were unvaccinated against COVID-19.

President Klaus Iohannis on Wednesday called the unfolding coronavirus situation a catastrophe.

Romania, a country of 19 million, has confirmed more than 1.3 million cases and 38,260 confirmed deaths.

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Bruna Paula Chaves, whose mother and stepfather died from complications related to COVID-19, cries during an interview before a meeting with the support group Solidarity Friends in the Pain of Grief at the Penitence Cemetery in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021. Brazil is approaching an official COVID-19 death toll of 600,000, the second-highest in the world after the U.S. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

HELSINKI  Latvia has reported 1,671 coronavirus cases, the second-highest number since the start of the pandemic.

Latvian health officials said Wednesday that 16 deaths were reported. A record of more than 1,800 cases were registered on Dec. 31, 2020.

The cumulative 14-day number of coronavirus cases per 100,000 population stands at 68, according to health officials. In the past two weeks, 12,884 people have tested positive.

Latvia, a nation of 1.9 million, has registered 164,810 confirmed cases and 2,773 confirmed deaths.

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MOSCOW  Russias daily coronavirus death toll has surpassed 900 for the first time in the pandemic.

The record reported Wednesday comes amid a low vaccination rate and the governments reluctance to impose tough restrictions to control new cases.

Russias state coronavirus task force reported 929 new COVID-19 deaths and 25,133 new confirmed infections on Wednesday.

The Kremlin has blamed the surge on too few Russians getting vaccinated. Almost 33% of Russias 146 million people had received at least one shot of a coronavirus vaccine and 29% are fully vaccinated.

Russian officials have rejected the idea of imposing a lockdown and say regional authorities would take local steps to stem the spread of the virus. On Tuesday, the presidential envoy in the Ural Mountains district -- a part of central Russia that encompasses six regions -- said 95% of the hospital beds for COVID-19 patients have been filled.

The situation is very dire, Vladimir Yakushev was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.

Overall, Russias coronavirus task force has reported over 7.6 million confirmed cases and more than 212,000 confirmed deaths. However, reports by Russias state statistical service Rosstat suggests thats an undercount.

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STOCKHOLM  Swedish health authorities decided Wednesday to suspend the use of Modernas COVID-19 vaccine for those born in 1991 and later, saying it was a precautionary measure related to heart inflammation.

The Swedish Public Health Agency says the reason is signals of an increased risk of side effects such as inflammation of the heart muscle or the pericardium.  Thats the double-walled sac containing the heart and the roots of the main vessels. The agency added the risk is very small.

U.S. and European regulators have cautioned about Moderna and Pfizer vaccines and an extremely rare reaction in teens and young adults of chest pain and heart inflammation. The Swedish agency says the vaccine from Pfizer is recommended for these age groups instead. Its decision to suspend is valid until Dec. 1.

In Denmark, people under 18 wont be offered the Moderna vaccine out of precaution, according to the Danish Health Authority on Wednesday. The agency says data, collected from four Nordic countries, show there is a suspicion of an increased risk of heart inflammation when vaccinated with Moderna. It adds the number of cases of heart inflammation remains very low.

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PRAGUE  Czechs are casting ballots from their cars in the parliamentary election, a novelty forced by the coronavirus pandemic.

A total of 82 drive-in temporary ballot stations have been established by the armed forces across the country for those ordered to quarantine due to coronavirus infections or those who need to self-isolate.

Those who cannot use a car can ask for a visit of a special electoral committee with a mobile ballot box at their homes. The measure was first tested a year ago at the regional elections.

Besides the vote in cars on Wednesday, the rest of the Czechs will select a new lower house of Parliament in a ballot on Friday and Saturday.

The nation of 10.7 million has nearly 30,500 confirmed deaths.

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GENEVA  The World Health Organization says the number of newly reported coronavirus cases fell in the last week, continuing a declining global trend that first began in August.

In its latest assessment of the pandemic, the U.N. health agency reported Tuesday that there were 3.1 million new COVID-19 cases, a 9% fall, and about 54,000 deaths in the last week, roughly similar to the week before. WHO said there were declines in case numbers in all world regions except for Europe, where the number was about the same as the previous week.

COVID-19 cases fell by about 43% in Africa, by about 20% in both the Middle East and Southeast Asia and 12% in the Americas and the Western Pacific. The largest decline in deaths was seen in Africa, where numbers decreased by about a quarter.

WHO also said nearly a third of African countries managed to vaccinate at least 10% of their populations by the end of September. The WHO chief has repeatedly urged rich countries to pass on giving booster doses until at least the end of the year.

On Monday, the European Medicines Agency gave its endorsement to EU countries offering a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech shot to people 18 and over.

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LONDON (AP)  The World Health Organization on Wednesday endorsed the world's first malaria vaccine and said it should be given to children across Africa in the hope that it will spur stalled efforts to curb the spread of the parasitic disease.

FILE - In this file photo taken Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2019, health officials prepare to vaccine residents of the Malawi village of Tomali, where young children become test subjects for the world's first vaccine against malaria. The World Health Organization recommended that the worlds first malaria vaccine be given to children across Africa, in a move officials hope will spur the stalled progress against efforts to curb the spread of the parasitic disease. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File)

LONDON (AP)  The World Health Organization on Wednesday endorsed the world's first malaria vaccine and said it should be given to children across Africa in the hope that it will spur stalled efforts to curb the spread of the parasitic disease.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called it a historic moment after a meeting in which two of the U.N. health agencys expert advisory groups recommended the step.

"Todays recommendation offers a glimmer of hope for the continent, which shoulders the heaviest burden of the disease. And we expect many more African children to be protected from malaria and grow into healthy adults, said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO's Africa director.

WHO said its decision was based largely on results from ongoing research in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi that tracked more than 800,000 children who have received the vaccine since 2019.

FILE - In this Oct. 30, 2009 file photo, a mother holds her baby receiving a new malaria vaccine as part of a trial at the Walter Reed Project Research Center in Kombewa in Western Kenya. The worlds first malaria vaccine should be given to children across Africa, the World Health Organization recommended Wednesday Oct. 6, 2021, a move that officials hope will spur stalled efforts to curb the spread of the parasitic disease. (AP Photo/Karel Prinsloo, File)

The vaccine, known as Mosquirix, was developed by GlaxoSmithKline in 1987. While its the first to be authorized, it does face challenges: The vaccine is only about 30% effective, it requires up to four doses, and its protection fades after several months.

Still, scientists say the vaccine could have a major impact against malaria in Africa, home to most of the worlds more than 200 million cases and 400,000 deaths per year.

This is a huge step forward, said Julian Rayner, director of the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, who was not part of the WHO decision. Its an imperfect vaccine, but it will still stop hundreds of thousands of children from dying.

Rayner said the vaccines impact on the spread of the mosquito-borne disease was still unclear, but pointed to those developed for the coronavirus as an encouraging example.

The last two years have given us a very nuanced understanding of how important vaccines are in saving lives and reducing hospitalizations, even if they dont directly reduce transmission, he said.

FILE - In this Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2019 file photo, a baby from the Malawi village of Tomali is injected with the world's first vaccine against malaria in a pilot program. The worlds first malaria vaccine should be given to children across Africa, the World Health Organization recommended Wednesday Oct. 6, 2021, a move that officials hope will spur stalled efforts to curb the spread of the parasitic disease. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, file)

Dr. Alejandro Cravioto, head of the WHO vaccine group that made the recommendation, said designing a shot against malaria was particularly difficult because it is a parasitic disease spread by mosquitoes.

Were confronted with extraordinarily complex organisms, he said. We are not yet in reach of a highly efficacious vaccine, but what we have now is a vaccine that can be deployed and that is safe.

WHO said side effects were rare, but sometimes included a fever that could result in temporary convulsions.

Sian Clarke, co-director of the Malaria Centre at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said the vaccine would be a useful addition to other tools against the disease that might have exhausted their utility after decades of use, like bed nets and insecticides.

In some countries where it gets really hot, children just sleep outside, so they cant be protected by a bed net, Clarke said. So obviously if theyve been vaccinated, they will still be protected.

In recent years, little significant progress has been made against malaria, Clarke said.

If were going to decrease the disease burden now, we need something else, she explained.

Azra Ghani, chair of infectious diseases at Imperial College London, said she and colleagues estimate that giving the malaria vaccine to children in Africa might result in a 30% reduction overall, with up to 8 million fewer cases and as many as 40,000 fewer deaths per year.

For people not living in malaria countries, a 30% reduction might not sound like much. But for the people living in those areas, malaria is one of their top concerns, Ghani said. A 30% reduction will save a lot of lives and will save mothers (from) bringing in their children to health centers and swamping the health system.

The WHO guidance would hopefully be a first step to making better malaria vaccines, she said. Efforts to produce a second-generation malaria vaccine might be given a boost by the messenger RNA technology used to make two of the most successful COVID-19 vaccines, those from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, she added.

Weve seen much higher antibody levels from the mRNA vaccines, and they can also be adapted very quickly, Ghani said, noting that BioNTech recently said it would begin researching a possible malaria shot. Its impossible to say how that may affect a malaria vaccine, but we definitely need new options to fight it.
VICTORIA - The British Columbia government's inadequate support during an extreme heat wave this summer "compounded risks" for people with disabilities and those who are older, says an independent international human rights group.

Pinky, who asked to be identified only by her first name, wipes her face after cooling off in the water at a temporary misting station in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, B.C., on Monday, June 28, 2021. A report by a global human rights organization says the British Columbia government's inadequate support during last summer's deadly heat dome for older people and those with disabilities compounded the risks they faced. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

VICTORIA - The British Columbia government's inadequate support during an extreme heat wave this summer "compounded risks" for people with disabilities and those who are older, says an independent international human rights group.

Human Rights Watch says in a report released Tuesday that while those two groups are at greater risk of heat stress, many were left to cope with the dangers of record-high temperatures on their own.

Data released by the BC Coroners Service and the province on July 30 reported 569 "heat-related deaths" in the province from June 20 to July 29. Most of the the fatalities were people 70 years and older.

The report says Canadian governments and authorities must listen to and provide better supports to those with disabilities and older people before the next heat event.

"British Columbia does not have a heat action plan, and lack of access to cooling and targeted support for at-risk populations contributed to unnecessary suffering and possibly deaths," says the report, "Canada: Disastrous Impact of Extreme Heat."

Researchers examined the days from June 25 to July 1 for the report when B.C. "experienced a heat dome, a high pressure weather system that traps heat, with record temperatures of 49.6 Celsius."

Human Rights Watch says it interviewed 31 B.C. residents about their experiences during the heat wave period. The organization says it also contacted service providers, community leaders, human rights advocates, the B.C. government and City of Vancouver.

The Opposition Liberals and Greens were highly critical of the New Democrat government's response to the heat wave Tuesday in the legislature, pointing to earlier government reports that warned about the risks of heat events.

Interim Liberal leader Shirley Bond said Premier John Horgan's initial response to the potential dangers of the heat wave was "appalling."

"He said, and I quote: 'Fatalities are a part of life and there's a level of personal responsibility,' end quote," said Bond in the legislature. "Today, can the premier explain his government's failure to respond effectively to the deadliest weather situation in Canadian history?"

Horgan was not in the legislature during question period, but Health Minister Adrian Dix said the government was faced with a once-in-one-thousand-years weather event, but now that it's happened the government must learn lessons.

"It's no longer one-in-a-thousand years and it requires action to deal with resiliency and to support people," said Dix. "Everyone in this house is gutted by the fact people that we know in our community passed away that weekend. Gutted by it."

The minister acknowledged the people affected by the heat wave were the most vulnerable.

Dix said the government's efforts to fight climate change, increase income assistance payments, hire more staff at long-term care facilities and increase ambulance personnel will give the province more strength to battle the next challenging event.

"All of these actions make us more resilient but we need to do more," he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 5, 2021.
VICTORIA - Social workers, sheriffs and administrative assistants are among an estimated 30,000 government employees in British Columbia who will have to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or risk losing their job.

Fraser Health registered nurse Kai Kayibadi draws a dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine into a syringe at a walk-up vaccination clinic at Bear Creek Park, in Surrey, B.C., on Monday, May 17, 2021. An estimated 30,000 government employees in British Columbia will have to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

VICTORIA - Social workers, sheriffs and administrative assistants are among an estimated 30,000 government employees in British Columbia who will have to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or risk losing their job.

The BC Public Service Agency said Tuesday that a deadline of Nov. 22 has been set for workers in core government services or ministries to show proof of being fully vaccinated using the BC Vaccine card.

Paul Finch, treasurer of the British Columbia General Employees Union, said he has been supportive of vaccines but wants to see the full policy to get an understanding of how exemptions and accommodations will be handled.

"We've been strongly advocating for robust health measures. We campaigned and asked for a mask mandate and got that," he said, adding members want all workers to wear masks, not just those who are working with the public.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said there will be consequences for workers in B.C.'s long-term care and assisted-living facilities if they decide not to get vaccinated, with the first deadline for them set for next week under a previously announced policy.

"People who are ineligible to work after Oct. 12 because they have not yet received at least one dose will be off work, as of that day, without pay," she said. "If you do then decide to get your first dose it will be seven days before you're able to work, with additional precautions."

Workers must get their second dose 35 days after the first shot, Henry said.

Anyone hired in the high-risk facilities after Oct. 25 will need to be fully vaccinated and official medical exemptions will be needed for those who are not immunized, Henry said.

"We know that vaccination rates are high, but in some places they are not yet high enough."

Health Minister Adrian Dix said health authorities are reporting that up to 94 per cent of long-term care and assisted living workers have received both doses of a vaccine, as in the case of those employed in Vancouver Coastal Health. But that number is only 79 per cent in the Northern Health region, from which 26 patients with COVID-19 have been transferred to intensive care units elsewhere in the province. All of them were unvaccinated, he added.

Nearly 82 per cent of eligible British Columbians aged 12 and up have had both doses of a vaccine, the province said Tuesday. It reported 593 new cases of COVID-19 and said those who were not fully vaccinated accounted for 78 per cent of hospitalizations in the last couple of weeks. There were no new deaths.

Henry also updated a policy for visitors to long-term care facilities on Tuesday, saying they must be vaccinated as of Oct. 12. Those entering acute-care settings are required to have both doses by Oct. 26, in line with a vaccination order for employees there.

She called on B.C. residents to gather in small groups over Thanksgiving and to be particularly mindful of older family members and those who are immunocompromised.

The province began providing booster shots to seniors in long-term care facilities this week and is now preparing to administer third doses to another 100,000 people, including those who are severely and moderately immunocompromised. People who are on dialysis or have severe kidney or renal disease will also be notified about when they can expect to receive their third shot.

Henry said information on booster shots for others, including First Nations, people over age 60 and health-care workers who were vaccinated early, is expected to be provided by the end of the month after continuing consultation with a national advisory panel on vaccination.

She said the decision of some mayors in the Northern Health region to promote vaccination as a personal choice could have further negative outcomes in the area, where intensive care units have been overwhelmed.

"Choice is one thing, but choice has consequences. And when those choices you make are having effects on the rest of the community, then that has implications and you are restricted from doing certain things. And that's the point of the BC Vaccine card."

 By Camille Bains in Vancouver

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 5, 2021.
OTTAWA - Voters in four ridings are still waiting for confirmation of who their MP will be, following demands from candidates that ballots be counted again.

A sample ballot box is seen ahead of the 2019 federal election at Elections Canada's offices in Gatineau, Que., Friday, Sept. 20, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

OTTAWA - Voters in four ridings are still waiting for confirmation of who their MP will be, following demands from candidates that ballots be counted again.

As Elections Canadas deadline passed for parties to challenge local election results, four ridings were facing recounts.

In two close Quebec ridings  Trois-Rivieres and Chateauguay-Lacolle  votes were being counted again on Tuesday, after judges accepted demands for an official recount.

In two other ridings  Davenport in Toronto and Brome-Missisquoi in Quebec  parties have applied to the courts to have the votes recounted.

The Bloc Quebecois candidate has called for a judicial recount in Brome-Missisquoi after losing the riding to the Liberals. Radio-Canada reported that Marilou Alarie said around 60 issues were raised, including the number of votes cast not corresponding to the number of voters.

In Davenport, the NDP lost to the Liberals by 76 votes. On Tuesday, NDP candidate Alejandra Bravo went before a court to ask for votes to be counted again.

According to the NDP's director of communications, Melanie Richer, the judge granted permission for the recount in Davenport to proceed on Tuesday. Elections Canada has yet to officially confirm the Davenport recount will go ahead.

Richer said that when votes were tallied during a "quick recount" after polls closed in Davenport, 90 extra votes were "found" for the NDP.

The Davenport result was one of the closest in the federal election. Liberal Julie Dzerowicz defeated Bravo with 42.1 per cent of votes cast, compared to Bravo's 42 per cent. Dzerowicz has represented Davenport for the Liberals since 2015.

The result was so close this time that it almost triggered an automatic recount.

Parties can go to court to request a judicial recount after votes have been checked and validated.

An automatic judicial recount is triggered if there is a tie between the two leading candidates or if the difference in votes is less than one one-thousandth of the total votes cast.

On Tuesday, votes were being recounted in Chateauguay-Lacolle, where the Bloc Quebecois candidate defeated his Liberal rival by 286 votes.

The Liberals asked for a recount after a "potential anomaly" was discovered with a ballot box after the votes were validated. Typos in recording votes in the riding also had to be corrected by the returning officer.

A judicial recount also began on Tuesday in Trois-Rivieres, where the difference between the Bloc and Tories was 92 votes.

The Conservative candidate, Yves Levesque, requested that the votes be recounted. The Liberals came in a close third in the riding.

Matthew McKenna, a spokesman for Elections Canada, said in Brome-Missisquoi and Davenport, requests for recounts have been submitted.

Its up to the courts at this point to accept or deny those requests."

Ballot papers from every riding are stored for 10 years after a federal election in an Elections Canada warehouse in Ottawa.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 5, 2021.
OTTAWA - The federal Liberals have picked up another seat in Quebec after a judicial recount Wednesday.

A Liberal Party of Canada logo is shown on a giant screen as a technician looks on during day one of the party's biennial convention in Montreal, Thusday, Feb. 20, 2014. Federal Liberals say they've picked up another seat in Quebec after a judicial recount. They say incumbent Brenda Shanahan will be returning to Parliament after the recount declared her the winner in Chateauguay-Lacolle over her Bloc Quebecois rival by just 12 votes. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

OTTAWA - The federal Liberals have picked up another seat in Quebec after a judicial recount Wednesday.

Elections Canada confirmed that incumbent Brenda Shanahan will be returning to Parliament after the recount declared her the winner in Chateauguay-Lacolle over her Bloc Quebecois rival by just 12 votes.

That overturns preliminary results from the Sept. 20 election, which had Shanahan losing to the Bloc's Patrick O'Hara by 286 votes.

The recount bumps up the total number of seats won by Justin Trudeau's Liberals to 160, although the winner in one of them  Kevin Vuong in Toronto's Spadina-Fort York  will be sitting as an Independent MP after failing to disclose to the party a past sexual assault charge that was ultimately dropped.

It boosts the Liberal seat tally in Quebec to 35, the same as the party won in 2019; the Bloc emerges with 32 seats, also unchanged from 2019.

The Conservatives took 10 seats in the province and the NDP one, also unchanged.

However, the results of two other judicial recounts in Quebec and another in Toronto are yet to come.

As it stood Wednesday, Liberal party spokesman Braeden Caley said Trudeau is the first prime minister since his late father, Pierre Trudeau, to win the most seats in Quebec three elections in a row.

Elections Canada spokeswoman Natasha Gauthier said this is the first time since 2008 that a judicial recount has overturned the preliminary result in a riding.

In the case of Chateauguay-Lacolle, she said "human error" was to blame for incorrectly recording the count from one box of advance poll ballots.

Gauthier said 396 Liberal votes were mistakenly recorded as being NDP votes, while 70 votes for the NDP candidate were mistakenly attributed to the Liberal contender, Shanahan.

A recount in the Quebec riding of Trois-Rivieres  where preliminary results had the Bloc edging out the Conservatives by 92 votes  is expected to conclude Thursday.

Recounts are to start Tuesday in the Toronto riding of Davenport  where incumbent Liberal Julie Dzerowicz was running just 76 votes ahead of her NDP challenger  and Quebec's Brome-Missisquoi  where the Liberals were running 197 votes ahead of the Bloc.

None of the recounts will change the overall result of the election, which returned Trudeau's Liberals with a minority government, short of the 170 seats required for a majority.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 6, 2021.
HALIFAX - Nova Scotia's highest court has concluded there is systemic discrimination in the province against people with disabilities who are seeking services and housing in the community.

Beth MacLean, the woman at the centre of a human rights case dealing with persons with disabilities and their attempts to move out of institutions, testifies at the inquiry in Halifax on Tuesday, March 6, 2018. Nova Scotia's highest court has issued a landmark decision finding there is systemic discrimination against people with disabilities seeking services and housing in the community. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese

HALIFAX - Nova Scotia's highest court has concluded there is systemic discrimination in the province against people with disabilities who are seeking services and housing in the community.

In a landmark decision issued Wednesday, the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal sided with an advocacy group called the Disability Rights Coalition, agreeing that the province's failure to offer people with disabilities "meaningful" access to housing and care in the community amounts to a violation of their basic rights.

However, the government could still bring the case before another human rights board of inquiry, where it could attempt to prove the discrimination is "a reasonable limit prescribed by law" that can be justified in a free and democratic society.

Wednesday's court ruling came as the result of an appeal of a human rights decision that found three people with intellectual disabilities had been discriminated against by being kept in a Halifax psychiatric hospital despite medical opinions stating they could live in the community.

But the decision by board chairman Walter Thompson concluded that only the three plaintiffs had suffered discrimination and the ruling could not be applied to other Nova Scotians with disabilities who didn't have access to community housing and other care.

In a unanimous ruling, the three-judge court panel disagreed with Thompson's argument that a finding of systemic discrimination required there be evidence of each individual person being mistreated. The court said such a legal test would "result in the vast majority of legitimate claims of systemic discrimination being dismissed."

During the appeal hearing last November, Claire McNeil, the lawyer for the coalition, argued the mistreatment of people with disabilities included unnecessary institutionalization, lengthy wait times, and forced removal to remote areas of the province far from family and friends.

The judges said in their decision Wednesday that at the time of the hearing, there were 400 people receiving no support and assistance, and acknowledged evidence there were about 1,500 people on the wait-list for services.

"There is ample evidence in the record and the findings of the (human rights) board to support the conclusion that the manner in which the province provides social assistance to persons with disabilities  creates a disadvantage that is unique to them and not applicable to assistance given to non-disabled persons," said the decision signed by Chief Justice Michael Wood and justices David Farrar and Cindy Bourgeois.

The Appeal Court upheld the board's ruling that Beth MacLean, Joseph Delaney and Sheila Livingstone had suffered discrimination because they were held at the Emerald Hall psychiatric unit in Halifax despite opinions from doctors and staff that they could live in the community. MacLean died recently, while Livingstone died before the hearing ended.

The judges ruled the government's payment to Delaney should be increased from $100,000 to $200,000 and the payment to MacLean should be increased from $100,000 to $300,000, though the court noted it reserved the right to determine what effect MacLean's recent death will have on that amount.

The coalition said in a news release issued Wednesday that the new Progressive Conservative provincial government should not appeal the decision and must "stop the fight against people with disabilities in court and set a new direction that recognizes the inherent dignity and equality of people with disabilities."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 6, 2021.
VICTORIA - Forty per cent of British Columbia's long-term care staff who were surveyed by the province's advocate for seniors said they went into work at least once in the past year feeling sick, a report reveals.

B.C. seniors advocate Isobel Mackenzie is photographed at her office in Victoria on Friday, December 15, 2017. Mackenzie is set to release her review of COVID-19 outbreaks in the province's care facilities. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

VICTORIA - Forty per cent of British Columbia's long-term care staff who were surveyed by the province's advocate for seniors said they went into work at least once in the past year feeling sick, a report reveals.

Seniors advocate Isobel Mackenzie said Wednesday she considers expanding and improving sick pay benefits for care-facility workers the top recommendation of the seven she makes in her report, which examined COVID-19 outbreaks from March 2020 to February 2021.

She said the report found B.C. long-term care and assisted living residents are three and a half times more likely to contract COVID-19 and 33 times more likely to die of the disease.

The review examined 365 outbreaks at 210 facilities, where there were 4,484 COVID-19 cases and 782 deaths.

Mackenzie said improving sick pay along with hiring more people to work at care facilities will ease the financial and workload burdens many staff at care facilities face.

"It is No. 1, I think, for COVID and a whole host of other reasons," she said at a news conference."We've got tohave people who work in long-term care and assisted living stay home when they don't feel well."

More than 6,500 staff were questioned for her review. They reported their primary reasons for going into work, even though they felt unwell, were an obligation to their co-workers and the residents, that they felt pressured by their employer to attend or that they wouldn't be paid.

Staff reported they were concerned about infecting residents and their own family members, and reported their overall health and well-being was compromised by working through the pandemic, the report says.

"Every site experienced significant increases in overtime and those sites that experienced a large outbreak saw a 178 per cent increase in their overtime in the past year," the report says. "This speaks to the tremendous dedication of staff and management in caring for residents in long-term care and assisted living sites in B.C."

Mackenzie said sick pay benefits run from zero days to 18 days depending on where a person works and for which company or public agency.

"There isn't anybody out there, I don't believe, who thought they had COVID-19 and went to work," said Mackenzie. "There are people who didn't feel well, but they didn't think it was COVID."

The B.C. government is currently conducting a survey on sick pay ahead of permanent pay provisions due early next year.

Mackenzie's report recommends expanding paid sick-leave provisions, hiring more registered nurses, eliminating shared rooms and increasing the scope and frequency of COVID-19 testing.

Two other recommendations  mandatory vaccines for all staff and booster shots for residents  are in the process of being implemented.

Health Minister Adrian Dix said the government has an obligation to improve the quality of life for residents in long-term care.

"These recommendations are being acted upon," said Dix.

Residents are getting their booster shots, staff and visitors to care homes require vaccinations, shared rooms are being eliminated and more staff have been hired, Dix said.

"We've raised care standards everywhere," he said.

Recent data posted by the province's Centre for Disease Control says there were 368 COVID-19 outbreaks at B.C. care facilities from January 2020 to September 2021 and 1,092 deaths of residents.

Mackenzie said while everybody has been affected by the ongoing pandemic, seniors, particularly those living in care facilities, have felt the deepest impact since they are disproportionately at risk of serious illness from COVID-19 or death.

B.C. has almost 40,000 seniors living in long-term care and assisted living at 487 facilities, says the report.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 6, 2021.
OTTAWA - The core public service, air travel and rail employees and passengers must all be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of October, according to Canadas new mandatory vaccine policy.

OTTAWA - The core public service, air travel and rail employees and passengers must all be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of October, according to Canadas new mandatory vaccine policy.

The federal government announced Wednesday public servants must attest they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Oct. 29, or be put on unpaid administrative leave.

Travellers on board with vaccine mandate Click to Expand Daniel Crump / Winnipeg Free Press Files Travellers arrive at James Richardson International Airport in Winnipeg. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Wednesday that as of the end of October, everyone over the age of 12 who travels by air or rail must be fully vaccinated at least two weeks before they depart. Posted: 5:40 PM Oct. 6, 2021 Travellers who arrived in Winnipeg Wednesday welcomed news of the national vaccine mandate that will mean everyone who boards a plane or train must be fully vaccinated by the end of this month. "(It's a) huge sigh of relief!" said Sheila Smyth after she and her husband landed in Winnipeg to visit their daughter, whom they haven't seen since before the pandemic. Read Full Story

Meanwhile, the government is working with employers of airport businesses, airline and rail companies to develop their own mandatory vaccine policies by the end of the month.

Anyone over the age of 12 who plans to hop aboard a plane at a Canadian airport or Via Rail or Rocky Mountaineer train must have received a second dose of a Health Canada-approved vaccine at least 14 days before their travels.

For travellers, there will be a short transition period to allow the unvaccinated to show a negative molecular COVID-19 test instead, though the grace period will last only until Nov. 30.

Cruise companies will also be asked to implement mandatory vaccines for employees and travellers in time for the 2022 season.

The new policy will affect more than 267,000 core public-service and RCMP workers, and will apply even to those who work from home and outside of the country.

"This  is about the government taking action on behalf of that majority who spoke in the election, to be sure that a minority of people cannot sabotage Canada's economic recovery and cannot allow the fourth wave or other variants to cause real problems for us," Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said at a press briefing Wednesday.

But the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), which represents more than 160,000 federal workers, said the government did not properly consult with bargaining agents or incorporate any feedback from unions.

Travellers are directed to take a COVID-19 test after arriving on a international flight at Pearson International Airport. The core federal public service, air travel and rail employees and travellers must all be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of October, according to Canadas new mandatory vaccine policy. For travellers, there will be a short transition period to allow the unvaccinated to show a negative molecular COVID-19 test instead, though the grace period will last only until Nov. 30. THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES/Nathan Denette

"We see that this is being rushed, without meaningful consultation," said Chris Aylward, PSAC national president.

The Treasury Board Secretariat of Canada did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The union has questions about how the government plans to protect workers' private health information and how it will keep unvaccinated contract workers and visitors out of federal workspaces, he said.

"And of course, human rights, members' human rights must be protected under the Canadian Human Rights Act, including the duty to accommodate," Aylward said.

Workers will have to provide an attestation of their vaccine status online. The attestations will be tracked and audited by departments, and managers can ask for proof of vaccination at any time.

"It's very straightforward. If you want to continue to work for the public service of Canada, you're going to need to be fully vaccinated." Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

Employees who provide false attestations will be punished with disciplinary action, including firings.

People who have had only one dose will be given 10 weeks to get their next one before they are put on unpaid leave.

They will not be allowed back at work until they are either vaccinated or the policy is no longer in effect.

Employees put on unpaid leave will generally not qualify for employment insurance benefits, officials said.

Aylward said options should be explored to accommodate unvaccinated workers.

"What about if this work can be done remotely? What about reassignment of duties? None of that was explored," he said.

A dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is given to a recipient at a vaccination site in Vancouver Thursday, March 11, 2021. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will make good today on his election promise to require all federal employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

But the government has opted for a blunt approach.

"It's very straightforward. If you want to continue to work for the public service of Canada, you're going to need to be fully vaccinated," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday.

Approximately 82 per cent of eligible Canadians have received a double dose of Health Canada-approved vaccines.

PSAC does not have a record of how many of its members are vaccinated, but expects the vast majority have had their shots.

There will be accommodations made for people who are unable to receive a vaccine on grounds protected under the Canadian Human Rights Act, which includes religious and health reasons for not having a full slate of vaccines.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said exemptions will be difficult and onerous to obtain, and simply having a personal conviction that vaccines are "bad" will not be sufficient.

The policy will be reviewed every six months, as it is closely tied to public health measures.

Stephane Aubry, vice-president of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC), said his union is concerned about how those accommodations will play out.

While his union is not planning to challenge the new policy, they may have to file grievances on a case-by-case basis, he said.

"This is a concern for us because it's pressure on the employees, and we will defend our members as much as we can," Aubry said in an interview Wednesday.

The Union of Canadian Correctional Officers wrote to members that it will represent them through the grievance process if they choose not to get a COVID-19 vaccine, but warned the process could take two or three years and there is no court precedent that could predict the outcome.

Other federally regulated workplaces like Crown corporations and government agencies will be asked to mirror the public service mandatory vaccine policy for their employees.

The acting chief of the defence staff Gen. Wayne Eyre will also issue a directive requiring vaccination for the Canadian Armed Forces.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 6, 2021.
OTTAWA - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he regrets the mistake of travelling to British Columbia to join his vacationing family on a day meant to honour Indigenous survivors of Canada's residential school system.

The Peace Tower glows orange as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau participates in a ceremony on Parliament Hill on the eve of the first National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, in Ottawa, Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021. Trudeau says he regrets the mistake of travelling to British Columbia to join his vacationing family on a day meant to honour Indigenous survivors of Canada's residential schools system. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

OTTAWA - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he regrets the mistake of travelling to British Columbia to join his vacationing family on a day meant to honour Indigenous survivors of Canada's residential school system.

Trudeau's presence in Tofino, B.C., last Thursday came as a shock after his itinerary initially said he was in Ottawa.

Global News filmed the prime minister walking along a beach and the resulting video shows him declining to offer any comment.

Reports of his activities on that day sparked widespread backlash from Indigenous leaders, who felt it was disrespectful of him not to join other politicians in attending events held to honour the children who never came home.

Trudeau acknowledged Wednesday that the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was an important moment for all people, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to reflect.

"Travelling on Sept. 30 was a mistake, and I regret it," he said during a news conference held to announce mandatory vaccination rules for federal workers and travellers.

Trudeau's office said Sunday the prime minister spoke with Tk'emlups te Secwepemc Nation Chief Rosanne Casimir on Saturday and apologized for failing to accept invitations to mark Sept. 30 in the community where more than 200 unmarked graves were located at the site of a former residential school.

"I want to thank Chief Casimir of Tk'emlups for the conversation we had over the weekend in which I apologized for not being there with her and her community for this important day," Trudeau said.

"I committed to going to visit the Tk'emlups te Secwepemc community in the coming weeks. There's a lot of work for us all to do. And I'm committed to doing it."

The prime ministers itinerary for Sept. 30 originally said he was in private meetings in Ottawa. But spokeswoman Ann-Clara Vaillancourt later confirmed that Trudeau had in fact flown to B.C. to be with his family for a few days.

She pointed out that he had participated in a ceremony on Parliament Hill on Sept. 29, the eve of Canadas inaugural Truth and Reconciliation Day.

Trudeau rejected a suggestion Wednesday his published schedule for Sept. 30 was untruthful.

"There was no lie. The itinerary said that I had private meetings. And I had calls for a number of hours that day with survivors of Indian residential schools."

Trudeau noted that during the Parliament Hill ceremony he spoke of the need for all people to focus on what happened in the schools and to understand the truths of the past, but also to be present for healing and to build better for the future.

"That's also what I heard from survivors, who I spoke to throughout the day. We all have work to do and I assume my responsibility to do better in the future."

Trudeaus government created the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to commemorate the estimated 150,000 Indigenous children forced to attend residential schools.

Many children suffered physical and sexual abuse, malnutrition and neglect and more than 4,000 are believed to have died.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Wednesday that Trudeau's actions last week were careless and "really hurt a lot of people."

Lynne Groulx, chief executive of the Native Women's Association of Canada, thanked Trudeau for the apology, but added: "Please do better in the future. Sadly, we recognize that this moment of contrition comes after much public pressure, not necessarily because you have suddenly seen the light. It will now be up to you to rebuild trust with our communities."

Trudeau could start by implementing the recommendations of the national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, Groulx added.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 6, 2021.
Ali Saeed is swamped. People seeking asylum in Canada are contacting him daily for help with forms, a place to stay and information.

Ali Saeed is swamped. People seeking asylum in Canada are contacting him daily for help with forms, a place to stay and information.

The human-rights advocate is a former political prisoner and refugee from Ethiopia. Since coming to Canada in the 1980s, hes sponsored more than 100 people. He has been volunteering with newcomer services for three decades and has earned a reputation as someone in Winnipeg who can be counted on to help.

In the past, people could file refugee claims and begin to get accustomed to Canadian culture through Welcome Place, a residence and service provider for asylum seekers on Bannatyne Avenue.

But Welcome Place has been slow to return calls lately, leaving many people feeling abandoned, Saeed said.

Welcome Place has been slow to return calls lately, leaving many people feeling abandoned, says human rights advocate Ali Saeed. (Mike Sudoma / Winnipeg Free Press)

"They have to change their name," he said. "I would call it Unwelcome Place. You leave a message, you dont get an answer."

Some of the people looking for help  many of whom are Ethiopian and Syrian women  turn to Saeed because they don't know what else to do, he said.

Saeed is well-acquainted with helping refugees, and he does a lot of it. But, hes frustrated with Welcome Places opaqueness and inability to provide the services its supposed to offer.

"If I was an organization, thats fine," he said. "Im not an organization. Im an individual, (and Im) working every day to bring the bread (to) the table."

The agency has only a quarter of the staff it had three years ago. There are 11 unionized employees now, compared to the more than 40 there in 2019.

"This is an organization that has had struggles with funding, primarily from the federal government, stemming back to 2019," said Scott Clark, a national representative for CUPE, the union representing Welcome Place staff.

In 2019, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada rejected Welcome Places Resettlement Assistance Program funding proposal. The money made up one-third of its budget.

"A move (by the Manitoba Interfaith Immigration Council) to lock out their staff for three months and prevent services to be provided to their clients that would give (the federal government more reason) to not give funding to this organization."  Scott Clark, a national representative for CUPE

Theres no apparent reason for the contract loss, Clark said, but the funding went to St. Boniface-based Accueil francophone, an agency that provides assistance to francophone and allophone immigrants and refugees.

Since then there has been a great deal of change and staff reshuffling at Welcome Place.

In early 2020, it laid off its roughly 40 staff members and then recalled half of them. It switched its executive director. There were changes to workers benefits, including reduced vacation and paid time off, Clark said.

"(They had) far more concessions than we have ever experienced in CUPE in recent memory," he said.

The union accepted the layoffs and salary cuts but fought back on the other changes. Meanwhile, the COVID-19 pandemic halted most refugee intake, along with regular fundraising opportunities.

In April, workers were locked out when CUPE and the Manitoba Interfaith Immigration Council, which runs Welcome Place, couldnt come to an agreement. Staff had been without a contract for more than 13 months.

In April, Welcome Place employees were locked out when CUPE and the Manitoba Interfaith Immigration Council, which runs Welcome Place, couldnt come to an agreement. Staff had been without a contract for more than 13 months. In July, the two sides went to arbitration and, while some employees returned to work, others had quit. (Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press files)

In July, the two sides went to arbitration and, while some employees returned to work, others had quit, Clark said.

"A move (by the MIIC) to lock out their staff for three months and prevent services to be provided to their clients that would give (the federal government more reason) to not give funding to this organization," he said.

In August, Welcome Place laid off another seven staff, he said. The dispute went to the Manitoba Labour Board on Sept. 16; last Wednesday, the board decided against most concessions, including reduced vacation and paid time off, among other things, Clark said.

"(The MIIC) were proposing things that did not have any clear connection to funding problems," Clark said. "(The) attention needs to turn back to the employer and (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) to get their act together and figure out what it is they need to do to get ongoing programming."

Shane Henderson, the MIIC's executive director, expressed disappointment over the labour board's decision.

"The result will create continued difficulty for the organization moving forward," he wrote in an email. "However, we remain committed to our processes and will continue to endeavour to keep the organization operating as a going concern, until such time as it is no longer feasible."

The MIIC will focus on the future, he said.

"We hope that we can continue our work to provide much needed and important services to our clients," he said.

In April, after 13 months without a contract and no sign of coming to an agreement, Welcome Place employees were locked out. (Alex Lupul / Winnipeg Free Press files)

Its unclear what staff are being assigned to, given the funding cuts, Clark said.

"It is our expectation that the staff reduction was intended to align with the current level of client services," he wrote in an email.

Welcome Place receives funding from the IRCC, the province, United Way Winnipeg and individual donors, according to its 2019-2020 report.

University of Manitoba law students volunteer there, helping asylum seekers with the process and providing legal information.

This year, two students are participating, but that number could easily increase, according to Kevin Tabachnick, a co-ordinator for the Manitoba chapter of Pro Bono Students Canada, which pairs students with the program.

"The more people that need the services, the more law students we can give," Tabachnick said, adding that six or seven law students would volunteer per year in the past.

"Its an uncomfortable time for all agencies that are attempting to rescue refugees," said Tom Denton, former executive director for the International Centre of Winnipeg (now called Immigrant Centre Manitoba), and someone who used to work closely with Welcome Place.

The pandemic has tightened already squeezed funding opportunities, he said.

"Its been a weakened program for the last couple years," he said.

Saeed just wants to see more staff at Welcome Place, as soon as possible.

"We are suffering," he said.

CUPE has a campaign on its website where people can write to Ottawas immigration minister to call for more funding to Welcome Place.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com
It will be a short and tumultuous session  with one prominent voice missing and another booming from a distance  when Manitoba MLAs resume sitting Wednesday.

It will be a short and tumultuous session  with one prominent voice missing and another booming from a distance  when Manitoba MLAs resume sitting Wednesday.

When the legislature rose for the summer on June 1, Brian Pallister was premier, Heather Stefanson was health minister and the province's ICUs were drowning under a third wave of COVID-19.

Now, the province is in the fourth wave of the pandemic, Pallister has resigned and his presumptive heir, Stefanson, is in the fight of her political life to become premier, as an outspoken critic of the Tory caucus  Shelly Glover  challenges her for the party leadership.

Interim Premier Kelvin Goertzen  who refers to his role as "caretaker" until after the Progressive Conservative party chooses a new leader Oct. 30  laid out the government's agenda Tuesday for the rest of the session. To allow for physical distancing, just two-thirds of MLAs will be present in the chamber with the rest participating online.

The seating allocation was agreed upon by house leaders: 24 members of the PC government, 12 New Democrats and two Liberals. (Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press files)

Members will sit for three days this week and three days next week as the PC government expects to receive the unanimous consent required to withdraw five contentious bills, including Bill 64, which would have scrapped elected English school boards.

Two bills are expected to be passed: the budget implementation bill and Bill 72 (the Disability Support Act), which creates a new income-support program for people with severe and prolonged disabilities and removes the need for them to continually prove they are affected by their disability.

Budget 2021 "helps make life more affordable for Manitobans while providing support in the fight against COVID-19," Goertzen said Tuesday.

"We continue to act to protect the physical and financial health of Manitobans as we deal with the challenges of COVID-19 today while looking forward to a strong economic recovery in the future," he said in a news release.

Pallister may be gone but his budget and the caucus who supported his cost-cutting priorities remain, says the opposition NDP.

"There is no new money in this budget for long-term care," NDP Leader Wab Kinew said Tuesday, referring to the deaths of residents of Maples Personal Care Home during the second wave of the pandemic.

"Even though the PCs have this leadership race going on, we have two candidates trying to distance themselves from Mr. Pallister, we have an interim premier in place. In spite of all those things, the PCs are still making the same mistakes heading into the fourth wave that they did heading into the second and third wave, and we saw how disastrous that was for Manitobans."

The NDP and Liberals say they plan to challenge the majority government's handling of the pandemic and the bills it introduced under Pallister's leadership that it now seeks to withdraw.

"I think question period will be messy," said Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont. "What are we doing about the fourth wave? What happened in the third wave? How can the entire government justify pulling a bunch of bills they were all vocally in favour of in June?"

Anyone not sitting in person will participate virtually and be shown on monitors that hang above the Speaker. (Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press files)

On top of the health and economic crisis, there's added tension and uncertainty for the PC caucus, Lamont said. The majority backed Stefanson, expecting a victory for the veteran Tuxedo MLA with cabinet experience who could slide into the premier's job right away. If Glover wins, she may run in a byelection for the seat vacated by Pallister in Fort Whyte. The next session of the legislature could begin Nov. 16 as scheduled or not until March, Lamont said.

"We have no idea," he said.

Both women running for leader say they're ready to be premier but neither would do an interview Tuesday.

"Heather is the only candidate ready to get to work starting on Nov. 1," said a statement from Stefanson's campaign.

"I plan to run in a byelection as soon as possible, but it is premature to comment on where or when that may occur," Glover said in an email.

Normally, the premier is expected to be a member of the legislature and available to answer questions during question period, said Paul Thomas, University of Manitoba political studies professor emeritus.

Back to business Click to Expand The third session of the 42nd legislature will resume Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. Members will sit for six days: Wednesday through Friday this week; Tuesday through Thursday next week. There are 56 MLAs following the resignation of Brian Pallister from his Fort Whyte seat on Monday. COVID-19 safety protocols will be in place, with one-third of members required to participate virtually. The seating allocation was agreed upon by house leaders: 24 government members, 12 New Democrats, two Liberals Masks are to be worn when entering, leaving or moving around the chamber. Masks can be removed when MLAs are seated or standing at a microphone. Staff will be masked. Measures for sanitizing are in place. An Indigenous land acknowledgment won't be included until the next session of the legislature, Premier Kelvin Goertzen said earlier.

"If a premier loses her seat, or if she is selected as party leader-premier mid-term without holding a seat, the unwritten constitutional convention is that she must seek to gain a seat as soon as reasonably possible," Thomas said, noting that "reasonably possible" is open to interpretation and controversy.

"It would not be appropriate and sustainable for a premier to stay in office without being an MLA for a long period of time," he said, offering an example.

In 1988, after the defeat of the NDP government on a budget vote  in which Jim Walding voted against his party  Howard Pawley resigned as premier and Gary Doer won the ensuing leadership contest. Doer chose not to assume the position of premier pending the outcome of the election that was forced by the defeat of the government, Thomas said.

If Glover wins the PC leadership, she could preside over the Tory caucus and informally set directions for the government, but she shouldn't assume the position of premier until she's secured a seat in the legislature, Thomas said. It would be "constitutionally problematic" for her to lead cabinet without winning a seat, he said.

"All ministers appointed to cabinet become legally responsible for a department and sign an oath of confidentiality respecting the proceedings of cabinet. Without being sworn into office, she would not be bound by these requirements," Thomas said.

With the shortened fall session lasting just six days, there will be ample time to plan a byelection and have Glover installed for the spring session, if she wins the leadership, he said.

"Most of the work will be inside government on the budget and the planning of a legislative program for the spring session," he said.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca
Access to third doses of COVID-19 vaccines is being expanded in Manitoba.

Access to third doses of COVID-19 vaccines is being expanded in Manitoba.

Front-line health-care workers, as well as anyone who previously received two doses of AstraZeneca, will soon be able to get a third dose.

Third doses are being expanded to doctors, nurses and pharmacists who have direct contact with patients, and they'll also be offered to any Manitobans who were vaccinated with AstraZeneca or the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, according to a health department memo obtained by the Free Press.

The memo, signed by vaccine task force medical lead Dr. Joss Reimer, was circulated to doctors and pharmacists Tuesday. It says Manitoba is recommending that anyone who received a viral vector vaccine (which includes two doses of AstraZeneca and the one-dose Johnson&Johnson a.k.a. Janssen vaccine) get a third dose of an mRNA vaccine (such as Pfizer or Moderna).

Eligibility for health-care workers is set to include personal-care home staff, staff at addictions treatment and mental-health facilities, northern nursing station staff, as well as others who have direct contact with patients, including health-care aides, cleaners and support staff, the memo states.

The province is recommending the third dose occur at least six months after the second dose.

Eligibility for third doses in Manitoba has so far been limited to First Nations staff and residents at personal-care homes, people who are immunocompromised or who need the third dose for international travel. All personal-care home residents in Manitoba became eligible for the third dose this month.

More information on the expanded eligibility is expected to be released Wednesday.

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @thatkatiemay
After four years without a contract and being run ragged on the front lines of the pandemic, Manitoba nurses have reached a tentative deal with their employer  a win for the Progressive Conservative government that's been hammered by the opposition for its treatment of the health care workers it called "heroes."

After four years without a contract and being run ragged on the front lines of the pandemic, Manitoba nurses have reached a tentative deal with their employer  a win for the Progressive Conservative government that's been hammered by the opposition for its treatment of the health care workers it called "heroes."

"We know our nurses have made huge sacrifices to keep our system afloat and more than deserve a fair collective agreement," Manitoba Nurses Union president Darlene Jackson said in a release Wednesday. The union, which represents 12,000 nurses, said it won't reveal details of the tentative agreement until its members had been informed.

The seven-year deal provides wide-ranging improvements for all nurses, including retroactive wage increases, a Shared Health spokesman said, expressing gratitude to nurses "for delivering outstanding and continuing care to all Manitobans."

The new Manitoba legislative session kicked off Wednesday with an announcement that Manitoba nurses have reached a tentative deal with the government. (Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press)

In the last four years, the PC government "cut health care to the bone," said NDP health critic Uzoma Asagwara, one of the opposition politicians who assailed the Tories to do more for overworked and understaffed nurses. The severity of the situation was laid bare during the third wave of the pandemic when ICU patients with COVID-19 had to be transported out of Manitoba because of a lack of critical care nurses.

"All Manitobans will be pleased that MNU and health-care employers have reached a tentative agreement for all of our dedicated nurses," Health Minister Audrey Gordon's press secretary said in an email Wednesday, commending both sides of the bargaining process.

There remain "significant weaknesses" in the health care system but the tentative contract contains "improvements that are a necessary and positive first step in addressing nurses serious concerns," the union statement said. The deal was reached after seven weeks of collective bargaining with a mediator and goes to a ratification vote that closes Oct. 14.

Sergeant-at-Arms, Dave Shuttleworth, carries the mace into the Chamber prior to the start of the third session of the 42nd Legislature on Wednesday. (Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press)

The tentative deal is a win for the Tories as it puts to rest an issue that dogged the party under the leadership of former premier Brian Pallister. News of the agreement came on the same day the Manitoba legislature resumed sitting.

Earlier, five unpopular government bills were, literally, trashed in a ceremony outside the legislature before members of the house formally withdrew them by a unanimous vote.

Parents, teachers, hydro workers and representatives from the labour movement dumped copies of the five pieces of legislation at a press conference organized by the NDP.

"We've proven through our ability to stop parts of this damaging agenda that we can get things done in opposition and we hope to earn your trust to form the next government in Manitoba," NDP Leader Wab Kinew said.

The bill that provoked the most outrage was Bill 64, the Education Modernization Act. It would've collapsed Manitobas 37 English school boards into 15 regional entities reporting to the province, and eliminated elected school trustees. The province promoted it as a way to empower parents, who could volunteer to make decisions on some files that have traditionally been handled by school trustees.

Interim Premier Kelvin Goertzen said he has no expectation the withdrawn bills will be revived. (Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press)

"Within 10 days we had 4,000 parents from all over Manitoba opposed to that bill," said Luanne Karn, one of the founders of Parents for Public Education in Manitoba that formed last November out of concern about the pandemic response in schools.

"I think this government felt that there would not be a response to what they were doing, but parents and others got together," Karn said before trashing the bill Wednesday. The grassroots group organized news conferences and information campaigns in response to the legislation.

Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont said the NDP delayed the bill but Manitobans made sure it died.

"Every year, they hold up bills," he said. "This year was different because tens of thousands of Manitobans had signs saying 'I don't want this'. It was a grassroots victory for Manitobans."

Opposition leader Wab Kinew and the NDP party held up five bills earlier this year that were eventually abandoned by the provincial government. (Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press)

The NDP strategy made sure the bills were delayed long enough for Manitobans to organize and speak out before the PC majority could pass them, Kinew said.

"Even though we have defeated these five bills here today, we know the PC party is still going to recycle these ideas," he said.

Pallister may no longer be in charge but the Progressive Conservative government will follow his agenda of cutting services and lowering taxes, said Kinew, before he and the other party leaders in the house thanked the former premier for his service.

New bill introduced Bill 74, the Budget Implementation and Tax Statutes Amendment Act, doesn't include a cabinet-imposed Dec. 1 Manitoba Hydro rate hike of 2.5 per cent announced in July. Instead, Hydro will apply to the Public Utilities Board for an interim rate application. It eliminates retail sales tax on personal services except for tanning services that use ultraviolet rays. It dissolves the Funeral Board of Manitoba and transfers its role to the Consumer Protection Office. It dissolves the Manitoba Learning Resource Centre and transfers any amounts in its account to general revenue. click to read more Bill 74, the Budget Implementation and Tax Statutes Amendment Act, doesn't include a cabinet-imposed Dec. 1 Manitoba Hydro rate hike of 2.5 per cent announced in July. Instead, Hydro will apply to the Public Utilities Board for an interim rate application. It eliminates retail sales tax on personal services except for tanning services that use ultraviolet rays. It dissolves the Funeral Board of Manitoba and transfers its role to the Consumer Protection Office. It dissolves the Manitoba Learning Resource Centre and transfers any amounts in its account to general revenue. Bills that were killed Bill 16 would have allowed an employer to fire an employee for "strike-related misconduct" (even if the employee has not been convicted of a criminal offence) and eliminated the right of striking workers to access binding arbitration after 60 days of strike action or lockout. Bill 35 would have had the Public Utilities Board approve rates in five-year intervals rather than annually, with the provincial cabinet setting rates in the interim. Bill 57 would have restricted the rights of protesters by allowing owners or operators of "critical infrastructure" (highways, pipelines, food-processing plants, hospitals and courthouses) to apply for a court order to halt or limit demonstrations. Bill 40 allowed third party liquor sales. Bill 64: the Education Modernization Act. Close

Pallister resigned his Fort Whyte seat Monday and wasn't in the chamber to say farewell or hear his colleagues and adversaries wish him and his family well. Kinew and Lamont both spoke of Pallister's warmth and friendliness when they encountered him outside of the political realm.

"All the best in what lies ahead," Kinew said in the chamber. "To the remaining PCs trying to distance themselves from his legacy, good luck."

Interim Premier Kelvin Goertzen said he has "no expectation" that the withdrawn bills will be revived. Outside the chamber, he didn't admit the bills were a mistake but said withdrawing them showed that his party had listened to Manitobans.

The new leader  to be chosen by the Progressive Conservative party on Oct. 30  will ultimately set the agenda for the next session, the date of which has yet to be determined, Goertzen said.

One bill that might be revived is Bill 40, which would allow third-party liquor sales, Goertzen said.

"I know there's many in the industry who'd like to see some modernization because some of the rules are archaic."

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca
First, his message was "stay home." Then, "get vaccinated." Now, a year-and-a-half into a pandemic that has splintered relationships on the basis of vaccination status, a Steinbach pastor has switched to a nuanced conversation.

First, his message was "stay home." Then, "get vaccinated." Now, a year-and-a-half into a pandemic that has splintered relationships on the basis of vaccination status, a Steinbach pastor has switched to a nuanced conversation.

"This is a long-term thing. Right now, everything is (about) vaccines, but when this is all over, we're going to have to find ways to live together down here," says Kyle Penner, a pastor at Grace Mennonite Church.

After nearly a year advocating for public health and safety in the community where he grew up, Penner sees his role evolving.

"I will still gladly encourage vaccinations for everyone," he said in a recent interview with the Free Press.

"I think the role has shifted for me to try to find ways to name some of the division and give tools to deal with our frustration and our anxiety and our anger, and try to find a different way through that."

Penner began to speak out publicly last fall, when Steinbach had one of the highest COVID-19 infection rates in Canada. The Bethesda Regional Health Centre was overrun, Manitoba was weeks away from hitting peak second-wave intensive care admissions, and anti-maskers (largely from surrounding communities) chose to rally in Steinbach. Penner tracked local health data and took to Twitter. He started speaking to reporters, and never stopped urging his congregation, friends and neighbours, to do what's best for the common good. He volunteers on the provincial government's Protect MB Advisory Committee, has communicated public-health-order feedback from local churches to the province, and has personally convinced several vaccine-hesitant people to get vaccinated in a region that still has the lowest vaccine uptake in Manitoba.

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS His ability to successfully navigate these tough conversations may be thanks in part to his experience as a pastor, but Penner said preachiness doesn't get the point across.

Over 10 days last month, three people decided to get their first shots after speaking with Penner. His ability to successfully navigate these tough conversations may be thanks in part to his experience as a pastor, but he said preachiness doesn't get the point across.

"I think anybody can do it. Anybody can say 'I love you and I want the best for you,'" Penner says.

For others who try to have the vaccine conversation with loved ones, he breaks down the process into two steps. The first, and perhaps most difficult right now, is to make sure they know the relationship is not in jeopardy regardless of their decision.

"I try to explain that our relationship is not at stake," he says, even if that means picking it back up when the pandemic is over.

The second step is finding a common goal: helping to keep hospitalizations down, supporting health-care workers, travelling, or going to a Jets game.

"Everybody has different reasons for not getting the vaccine, everybody has different reasons for getting the vaccine, and there's got to be some sort of common vision that we have together. Once you've established we're on the same team, and that your relationship's not going to end in shambles in the next two minutes, then those conversations help better," he says.

Each of the people he helped convince had their own reasons for ultimately getting vaccinated. In one case, Penner offered to help with some accessibility barriers to getting the vaccine: things like transportation and scheduling. In another instance, he offered to answer questions and help find information without pushing to change someone's mind. And he exercised the power of inclusivity by planning to attend a vaccinated-only event with someone who needed a nudge off the fence.

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS The way through, he says, is not pitting the vaccinated and unvaccinated against each other. Neither side has set out to be selfish, Penner says, and shaming doesn't work.

Some people will never change their minds, but Penner says his work now involves telling people their place in the community is not threatened. Penner's family has called Steinbach home for generations, since 1874, and those roots will remain long after the pandemic ends.

"I've often asked myself, how are we going to heal from this? I don't have any great answers," he says.

"I am holding on to hope that when this is all over, we're going to have to work very hard at telling truths, holding each other's pains, admitting we were wrong on some things, and trying to find ways to forgive people who have hurt us, or whose decisions have hurt us, directly or indirectly."

The way through, he says, is not pitting the vaccinated and unvaccinated against each other. Neither side has set out to be selfish, Penner says, and shaming doesn't work.

"We have to remember that we are not enemies, that we are neighbours, and we have to figure out: how do we live together? Both now, in the midst of a fourth wave, but also in the future, when COVID is not going to be the only thing that we ever talk about."

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @thatkatiemay
The accused in a Winnipeg police chase and collision that led to the death of another driver Monday has more than 50 criminal convictions to his name.

The accused in a Winnipeg police chase and collision that led to the death of another driver Monday has more than 50 criminal convictions to his name.

On Monday, city police attempted to pull a vehicle over for a traffic stop on eastbound Provencher Boulevard. It was about noon, and there was a lunch-hour rush, according to witness Don Williamson.

Williamson said he had changed lanes to give space for a police vehicle and a silver car it had flagged.

"As I was going by, the car started driving away," Williamson said Tuesday.

"I thought, 'Oh, guy got a ticket, the thing's over.' Well, then he flew right in front of me and went flying down... swerving through traffic, and the police cars went after him."

The suspect vehicle weaved through traffic until it hit a median. The car rolled several times, struck a white vehicle going westbound and smashed its roof.

The second vehicle's driver, a woman, died at the scene near Nadeau Road, police said.

The suspect car stopped, wheels-up, near a sidewalk and bus bench.

The vehicle fleeing police lost control and mounted the median and rolled, striking an oncoming vehicle. (Graem Poole photo)

"I was shocked," Williamson said. "It was really bad... There were so many parts all over the place, you couldn't tell what the car was."

A man crawled out a window of the silver car and tried to run, but police officers caught him, Williamson said. "They walked him back slowly, put him in the (police) car slowly."

When Graem Poole stepped outside to grab lunch, he saw the rolled-over car and some seven police vehicles diverting traffic and officers attending the scene.

A bit earlier, he'd heard a loud crunch from his office, which borders Provencher Boulevard. "I thought maybe it was garbage trucks of something, but it was quite a bit of a different sound," he said.

As Poole walked, he saw the white vehicle; officials had put a tarp over it.

"You really feel quite... vulnerable when you see something like that, because the person that got struck, that could've been anybody," he said.

Police arrested James Joseph Wieler, 31. He faces several charges, including operating a vehicle causing death while impaired, fleeing from peace officers, and operating a vehicle while prohibited pursuant to a federal or provincial act.

He remains in custody; his next court date is Oct. 15.

Wieler has previously faced drug and weapons charges  and has 36 convictions for breaching court orders.

A man crawled out a window of the suspect vehicle and tried to run, but police officers caught him, a witness says. (Graem Poole photo)

In January, he was sentenced to time served plus 13 months custody for possession of methamphetamine for the purpose of trafficking.

At the time, court heard Wielers criminal involvement was linked to a long-standing substance abuse problem.

"I have a pretty bad drug problem," he told Judge Cindy Sholdice. "I've been trying to get help for it.

"I'm trying to change my life. I'm sick of coming to jail all the time. I'm at my wit's end."

Portions of Provencher Boulevard were closed for roughly 12 hours Monday.

"That intersection was a bit of a mess due to the collision," Winnipeg Police Service Const. Dani McKinnon said, adding officers were needed for pedestrian and vehicle traffic.

The Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba has opened a file on the case, as it probes all serious on- or off-duty incidents involving police officers.

Anyone who has information or video footage on the incident can call the IIU at 1-844-667-6060.

 with files from Dean Pritchard

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com
A Winnipeg mother is urging the Manitoba government to cover the cost of a new revolutionary drug for cystic fibrosis that she hopes could dramatically improve her son's life.

A Winnipeg mother is urging the Manitoba government to cover the cost of a new revolutionary drug for cystic fibrosis that she hopes could dramatically improve her son's life.

Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec have all recently announced they will cover Trikafta  which costs about $300,000 a year  for eligible patients.

"There's so much hope that comes with this beautiful medication and and the miracles that it is performing for so many people," said Desniege Meyer, whose son lives with the genetic disease.

To read more of this story first reported by CBC News, click here.

This content is made available to Free Press readers as part of an agreement with CBC that sees our two trusted news brands collaborate to better cover Manitoba. Questions about CBC content can be directed to talkback@cbc.ca.
A new first-come, first-served system for Winnipeg Transit Plus was scheduled to be in place today , replacing priority levels for trip requests.

The Winnipeg Jets host the Calgary Flames in their final home game of the pre-season at 7 p.m. The teams first regular-season game at Canada Life Centre is on Oct. 21.

Facebooks vice-president of infrastructure says a worldwide outage of the social-media platform, and Instagram and WhatsApp, was caused by an error during routine maintenance, not malicious activity.

A six-day session of Manitobas 42nd legislature resumes this afternoon under a new premier.
Finally, we can all exhale. The great contest is over. We have a new government in Ottawa. Well, not entirely new; in fact, one that bears an uncanny resemblance to the government its replacing. But what the heck.

Opinion

Finally, we can all exhale. The great contest is over. We have a new government in Ottawa. Well, not entirely new; in fact, one that bears an uncanny resemblance to the government its replacing. But what the heck.

We also have a new government in Manitoba, more or less, with the departure of premier Brian Pallister, who, by all accounts, was the government. Our new interim premier has promised to do more listening than talking. Well, listen to this: events in Ottawa and Winnipeg are conspiring to drop a huge opportunity in our lap.

The old government  not the one now taking up residence in Ottawa  was in the midst of a painfully slow birthing of a new Canada Water Agency (CWA). The lead agent in this exercise was, and presumably will remain (since it seems he may be too competent for a cabinet post), re-elected Winnipeg South MP Terry Duguid.

Also, during the recent electoral clash, the New Democratic Party, correctly reading the winds that would see it once again propping up a minority government, promised to support the establishment of the Canada Water Agency. The Liberals reinforced their 2019 promise with promises of post-election funding for the agency.

Recall the model for the agency, spawned in western Canada, patterned on the highly successful Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA) and first trotted out by the Liberals in their 2019 election platform: this vision was of a western-based institution that would focus on the critical water-agricultural nexus crucial to Canadas ability to cope with the now seemingly inevitable three- to five-degree increase in global temperature that scientific authority is finally beginning to acknowledge.

Duguid led a major (virtual) consultation effort last winter to garner ideas on how the agencys mandate might gather in a menu of water-related functions under the concept umbrella modelled on PFRA. Admittedly, there were some flaws in the dialogue. The advance background materials prepared by a federal bureaucracy allergic to regional autonomy de-emphasized the original western-agricultural-water oriented nature of the promise.

And by far the weightiest feedback came from the water community  individuals and organizations doing good work and dedicated to improving water management in Canada, but nonetheless with a vested if benign interest in the outcome. Many of the recommendations can and should be incorporated in the agencys mandate. It ought to be the team captain for all federal water programs and for both in-house and external water research. It should also be the home of Indigenous water management.

But there are very good reasons for adhering to the original, regionally focused model. The most important is to replicate PFRAs success in co-operative federalism. Without strong provincial support, the agency while useful, will fall far short of its potential and will likely melt into the Ottawa bureaucracy at the next change in government. In matters related to water, as with most things that affect our daily lives, the rubber hitting the road is on provincial tires.

The agency can and should be the federal flagship for climate-change adaptation. Currently the government  and here I really mean the Liberal government, which can drive the policy bus with no fear that any other party will bring down the government and force an election anytime soon  is placing great weight on mitigation; that is, reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

This is important to adapting our economy to function in a carbon-neutral future, putting us ahead of the curve, anticipating inevitable global measures. Of course, in the absence of those measures our efforts will affect climate not one iota.

The Liberal election package was not silent on adaptation; in fact, it had quite a lot to say. But it conveyed the notion that mitigation was the senior partner and therefore grossly underestimated both the importance and the magnitude of the adaptation challenge. Water is the one major environmental component that we can manage for adaptation, and food production is the one sector of our economy that we must render adaptable.

All this leads to opportunity rapping solidly on Manitobas door. We have a promised agency modelled on the PFRA, an organization that was firmly rooted in the Prairie provinces with a long-standing and positive connection to Manitoba. We have a Manitoba member of Parliament managing the organizations startup. To be effective, the CWA needs provincial support.

Manitoba needs to begin to re-engineer its agricultural water management system. A new CWA needs a solid partnership with one or more provincial governments. Both need to get serious about climate-change adaptation.

Perhaps not a marriage made in heaven, but a potential partnership to serve regional and national goals, just as the PFRA did in responding to the great drought of the 1930s. But it will only happen if Manitoba takes the initiative, and soon.

Norman Brandson was deputy minister of the former Manitoba departments of environment, water stewardship and conservation from 1990 to 2006.
The recently announced deal on nuclear submarines between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, known as AUKUS, likely seems irrelevant to many Canadians.

Opinion

The recently announced deal on nuclear submarines between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, known as AUKUS, likely seems irrelevant to many Canadians.

But AUKUS is about far more than submarines. And Canadas exclusion from the pact represents growing suspicions about the Canadian commitment to the rules-based international order.

The problem stems from Canadas tacit "grand strategy" underlying our defence policy. A countrys grand strategy typically outlines geopolitical realities alongside a plan to achieve its diplomatic goals.

In 1924, Liberal politician Raoul Dandurand famously said "Canada is a fireproof house, far removed from flammable materials," putting into words Canadas approach to defence since 1867. Simply put, three oceans and a superpower sufficiently shield us from having to think about how to achieve national security.

Canadian defence policy has never varied from three priorities  defend Canada, defend North America and contribute to international peace and security  that have appeared in every defence department white paper since the 1950s, regardless of the governing party. This attitude was evident in the recent election campaign, when discussions about defence were largely absent, despite growing threats from abroad and the turmoil within our own military.

Diminished Canadian military

Since the heydays of defence spending of the 1950s, the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) have been gradually shedding fundamental capabilities  including long-range artillery, tanks, fighters that are now obsolete, submarine forces, destroyers and maritime logistics. The current #MeToo moment racking military leadership, creating a turnstile for key senior positions, hasnt gone unnoticed among our allies.

And while the CAF specifically faces new challenges in terms of diversity, its traditional approach to leadership has alienated thousands within the ranks, causing a rush to the exits, especially among the most experienced of personnel. The lack of support for modern equipment has also contributed to this problem.

Canadians, meantime, remain blissfully unconcerned by these things.

Harper dithered too

The need to replace CF-18 fighter jets has been evident for more than two decades. Governments have had all the information they need to make a decision. Yet even the pro-defence Conservatives under former prime minister Stephen Harper dithered.

Our fireproof-house defence strategy encourages this antipathy. When you think you live in a gated community, the pressure to invest in alarms for your home disappears. We remain steadfastly convinced that we are far removed from flammable materials. In recent weeks, some have even suggested that all Canada requires is some sort of constabulary force whose primary responsibilities involve fighting wildfires or search and rescue missions.

Perhaps thats so. In the foreseeable future, only the U.S. would likely have the ability to invade Canada. In that unlikely event, our policy would have to be in a faint hope the international community would come to our rescue. But what if the unthinkable happened? In the future, Canadas geographic situation wont save us from having to make hard decisions, just as it hasnt in the past.

We could not avoid going to war in either 1914 or 1939. In 2001 and 2003, we were compelled by circumstances to send Canadian soldiers to Afghanistan to demonstrate our reliability as a partner. In 1941, 2,000 unprepared and very poorly supported Canadian troops were sent to safeguard Hong Kong: 800 of them were either killed in battle or through mistreatment as prisoners of war, a direct outcome of our fire-proof mentality.

China and the future international order

The two Canadian prisoners in China  Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, known as the "two Michaels"  paid the price for Canadas arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou following an extradition request from the United States, another decision the Canadian government could not avoid.

Australia clearly would have preferred not to have to choose between the two biggest global superpowers, especially given its proximity to China. The country is also Australias biggest trading partner.

In 2018, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison declared: "Australia doesnt have to choose and we wont choose" between China and the U.S. But a global order based on submitting to the whims of a renewed China clearly would have been intolerable to liberal-minded Australia. In the end, the Australians really had no other choice.

Canada has skated on thin ice so far this century. Its avoided confronting the erosion of its strategic defence. We can continue to drag our heels, but eventually the bill will come due when our government commits our forces to a mission they can no longer fulfil because we thought we didnt need to concern ourselves with the health of the military.

In recent years, the "unthinkable" took place as we committed to a land war in Afghanistan and a bombing campaign over Libya. These will not be the last such surprises.

An honest rethinking of our strategy is the first step out of this dangerous situation.

Paul T. Mitchell is a professor of defence studies at Canadian Forces College.

This article was first published at The Conversation Canada: theconversation.com/ca.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP)  An 18-year-old student opened fire during a fight at his Dallas-area high school on Wednesday, injuring four people and then fleeing before being taken into custody hours later, authorities said.

A law enforcement officer walks in the parking lot of Timberview High School after a shooting inside the school in south Arlington, Texas, Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP)  An 18-year-old student opened fire during a fight at his Dallas-area high school on Wednesday, injuring four people and then fleeing before being taken into custody hours later, authorities said.

Timothy George Simpkins was taken into custody without incident, the Arlington Police Department tweeted. He was booked in the Arlington jail on three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and was being held on $75,000 bail.

One person was in critical condition, another was in good condition and a third person was treated for minor abrasions and was scheduled to be released from the hospital Wednesday afternoon, police said. A fourth person was hurt but did not require treatment at a hospital. Police said earlier that three of the four injured were students.

The shooting at Timberview High School, which is in Arlington but belongs to the school district in neighboring Mansfield, stemmed from a fight that broke out in a classroom, Arlington Assistant Police Chief Kevin Kolbye said at news conference before Simpkins' arrest.

This is not a random act of violence, he said. This is not somebody attacking our school.

Law enforcement officers from different agencies gather in the parking lot of Timberview High School after a shooting inside the school located in south Arlington, Texas, Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Timberview serves about 1,900 students in the ninth through 12th grades. The sprawling complex opened in 2004.

After news of the shooting spread, parents gathered at the Mansfield Independent School District Center for the Performing Arts about 5 miles (8 kilometers) from the high school to be reunified with their kids, who were bused over. Among them was Justin Rockhold, whose ninth-grade son had texted him to let him know he was OK.

Rockhold said he has served in the military and he drew on that experience to instruct his son, telling him to keep his head down and be still to stay safe. When asked whether he had thought a shooting could happen at the school, he said his military training is also a reminder of lifes dangerous realities.

Lines of vehicular traffic are directed by authorities to a parking area for families to be reunited with their school children, Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021 in Mansfield, Texas, following a shooting at Timberview High School in Arlington. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Obviously in America  in the world we live in today  its always something. ... Its in the back of your mind, Rockhold said, adding that he was praying for the injured. Im just blessed today that my kids safe.

The shooting happened just days after a shooting at a Houston charter school that injured an administrator. Texas deadliest school shooting occurred in May of 2018 when a then-17-year-old armed with a shotgun and a pistol opened fire at Santa Fe High School near Houston, killing 10 people, most of whom were students.

___

An earlier version of this story was corrected to reflect that the suspect's last name is Simpkins, not Simpkin.

___

Bleed reported from Little Rock, Arkansas. Acacia Coronado in Austin contributed to this report. 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.
The governors of five Great Lakes states have agreed to collaborate on the development and installation of electric vehicle charging infrastructure to help accelerate vehicle electrification across the Midwest.

A memorandum of understanding signed last week by the leaders of Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota pledges a coordinated effort to optimize charging infrastructure, standardize regulatory schemes, and develop a common customer charging experience.

The nonbinding agreement also calls for shared efforts to advance clean energy and mobility manufacturing, grow the region's share of electric vehicle production, and train workers for the electric vehicle jobs of today and tomorrow.

"As the Crossroads of America, transportation plays a vital role in Indiana's economic success and continued growth," said Gov. Eric Holcomb, a Republican.

"I'm proud to partner with our neighboring states to put the Midwest region on the leading edge of providing the charging infrastructure needed to future-proof our transportation network and meet the demand as rapid adoption of electric vehicles continues."

An estimated 105,000 new utility sector jobs are expected to be needed to deploy electric vehicle charging infrastructure by 2030.

The agreement calls for initially focusing on the installation of publicly accessible charging facilities near interstate and regionally significant commercial corridors to help maintain the Midwest's existing role as a shipping and logistics hub.

The governors expect expanded electric vehicle use also will help reduce pollution in communities located along transportation corridors, especially historically disadvantaged groups that have been harmed by vehicle emissions and their negative environmental impacts.

"Illinois' Climate and Equitable Jobs Act puts us on track to be the best state in the nation to manufacture and drive an electric vehicle  but were just getting started, and the work doesn't stop at our state borders," said Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat.

"By working together with our Midwestern neighbors, we can accelerate the region's growth in the transportation sector, create jobs across our communities, and prioritize the environment that makes the Great Lakes region so great along the way."

Under the agreement, a task force of senior leaders from each state must regularly meet to identify barriers to vehicle electrification and develop recommendations for overcoming them.

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Peshtigo, today a small city located in northeastern Wisconsins Marinette County, was the site of the largest (areal) and deadliest single wildfire in North American history. It happened nearly 150 years ago. Todays wildfires are not unprecedented.

On October 8, 1871, a great wildfire destroyed a thriving 19th Century lumber community and its forested surroundings. A total of more than 1.2 million acres burned in Marinette County, in adjoining portions of Michigans Upper Peninsula, and across Green Bay in Door County, Wisconsin.

Ironically, the Peshtigo fire broke out on exactly the same day as the more celebrated Great Chicago Fire. Both were driven by a bone-dry windstorm arriving from the southwest. Lumber used in constructing post-Civil War Chicago had come from Marinette County and other parts of Wisconsin.

Legend has it Mrs. OLeary kept a cow in a shed behind her house in southwest Chicago. The hired hand responsible for milking it that night instead joined a poker game next door and left behind a burning lantern. The impatient cow kicked over the lamp that ignited nearby hay at about 8:30 p.m. A big wind intervened and the fire spread quickly to other nearby structures. It gathered steam as it headed for downtown Chicago in an ever-expanding wall of fire. The rest of the story is well-documented. The OLeary residence survived the fire, but 100,000 Chicago residents were left homeless.

Not so well documented is what was happening some 250 miles north. By 1871 lumbering was in its hay day in northern Wisconsin. Timbering methods were primitive by modern standards. Two burly men drew a broad saw across the trunk of a pine at chest height. The cuts left 4-foot-plus stumps to dry in the sun. Trimmings fueled occasional wildfires.

The months before had been exceptionally dry. The last measurable rain fell on July 3. That afternoon woodsmen had been setting a few small fires to clear harvested areas. When the wind arrived unannounced, the small, separate fires consolidated into one expanding wall of fire that moved rapidly northeastward.

Peshtigo residents remained unaware of what awaited them until about sundown. Those outdoors began to smell smoke and observed a red glow in the southwest. Soon firebrands carried by the wind were blowing overhead and set fire to wooden roofs and structures around town.

Now fully alerted to the disaster, groups of people on the west side of the river rushed toward the wooden bridge over the Peshtigo River. On the east side, others, believing they were in greater peril, tried to cross to the west. In the confusion many fell into the river and drowned. Others tried to cross directly. The large stream, undammed at the time, contained rapids menacing to whoever dared cross. But some managed. Others wisely decided to remain in the water and survived the firestorm soon to pass overhead.

Fire quickly leaped over the river that was supposed to provide a barrier. Those prepared for the crossing brought along blankets. Wetted, they provided a thermal barrier against the intense heat.

The minority who survived spent the night in the cold river. By the time the fire receded to the north, they were chilled and came onto the bank seeking smoldering embers to warm themselves. As daylight arrived, they surveyed the scene in shock.

By official accounts, more than 1,200 perished in the flames within the city and in surrounding areas. Fire experts now believe the loss of life totaled more than 2,500. Many victims, among those were the undocumented, had worked in nearby forests, lumber mills and the massive wood products plant.

By comparison the Chicago fire claimed the lives of about 300. Yet the damage there was much greater in dollar value.

With the telegraph line destroyed, the fire left Peshtigo temporarily isolated from the rest of the world. Messengers were dispatched on foot to inform the outside world what had just happened.

East Coast newspapers and wire services focused on the Chicago fire. Peshtigo became a footnote to history.

* * *

In contrast, the 2021 summer of wildfires Out West need not have happened. But for the nearly 50 years of official neglect and poor forest management, many western forests had become overgrown with brush, diseased and insect-infested trees, and tinder lying deep on the forest floor, long before these fires predictably broke out.

During times before the European-American settlers, Mother Nature and Native Americans prevented excess build-up of combustible material in the woodlands and prairies. Using controlled burns, the partnership limited then what have become the frequent large wildfires of today.

California officials in Sacramento bow to political pressure from misguided activists, who have succeeded in transforming workable forest management practices into the massive wildfires witnessed in recent summers.

Power lines and drought attributed to man-caused climate change were never the primary causes. These merely serve as convenient scape-goats for the California and Oregon governors offices.

No, the deadliest wildfire in US history happened 150 years ago in Wisconsin, not in Oregon and California during 2021. The national media gets it wrong over and over again.

William D. Balgord heads Environmental & Resources Technology, Inc. in Middleton, WI.

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Winona, MN (55987)

Today

Cloudy with snow showers mainly during the morning. Temps nearly steady in the low to mid 30s. Winds WNW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of snow 60%. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Clear to partly cloudy. Low near 20F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.
COLUMBUS  Columbus is looking to fill two city council positions, one currently empty and a second that will be vacated later this month when an alderperson moves out of the district.

The council, which met over zoom on Monday due to increased COVID numbers in Columbia County, originally had planned to bring in possible candidates to fill the positions as quickly as possible in order to maintain its meeting schedule.

Columbus City Council president Ian Gray said the big reason for attempting to fill the positions quickly was because with being two members down, the council would only have four members and wouldnt have a quorum if one member was ill.

The position of Ward 3 has been vacant for a while, but Paul Pyfferoen will hold the ward 2 seat until Oct. 19, so the council would have a quorum at its next meeting if someone is ill.

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Columbus Mayor Mary Arnold said there were some concerns from residents that the positions were not open to all the residents in those two wards.

Alderperson Shelly Albright asked if they should wait until the redistricting for voting wards is done in Columbus. District 2 will extend into District 3 and District 3 will extend into District 1.
JUNEAU  A 30-year-old Hartford man was found guilty of first-degree reckless homicide on Tuesday and sentenced to prison after a 28-year-old woman overdosed on opioids in 2019 at a home in Ashippun.

Mitchell McDonald, currently housed at Stanley Correctional Institution, entered a no contest plea during his plea and sentencing hearing.

Dodge County Circuit Court Judge Martin De Vries found him guilty and sentenced De Vries to four years and five months in prison and six years of an extended sentence. As conditions of his extended sentence, he may not possess any controlled substances without a doctors prescription. He may not have contact with known drug dealers. He may not enter any establishment whose primary business activity involves the sale of alcoholic beverages. He must maintain absolute sobriety.

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According to the criminal complaint, Dodge County Sheriff Deputies responded to a possible drug overdose, at 2:45 a.m., April 19, 2019. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene. The deputies found evidence of drug use in the room.
Samira Ahmed describes herself as bossy and naturally combative. Which seems hard to buy. She talks fast; she comes across as a linear, structured personality. She waves her hands so much as she talks I keep waiting for her to swat her iced tea off the table. But shes also sunny, wry, blunt. She says when she started writing, she realized she had no idea how to write books. So she Googled: How do you write a whole book?

I was a kid during the Iranian hostage crisis when I had my first experience with racism, she said. I mean, I can tell you the exact spot on the street where it happened. We were in the family car, windows rolled down, on Michigan Avenue, right in front of the Fine Arts theater. Traffic is crawling, its super hot. Two white guys roll up beside us. They seemed old to me but they were probably in their 20s. They pointed right at me, this little girl, and one had a genuine snarl and he screamed, Go home, you (expletive) (expletive) Iranian! I was gobsmacked. First of all my parents never used that language so I didnt know it. It was scary, traffic moves and they pull ahead  it all probably happened in a second. But it felt longer, and I thought: How do they know we live in Batavia? Thats what I thought the Go home meant. Did it say Batavia on the license plates? My next thought was, Why Iranian? Oh, is that person being racist or prejudiced or something? So then I thought: Wow, I guess racists are really bad at geography.
When police arrived they found Edwards slumped in a hallway, between the buildings rear entrance and Edwards apartment. He was taken to UW Hospital, where attempts to revive him were stopped and Edwards was pronounced dead, the search warrant states.

A doctor said Edwards had three stab wounds to his back  two under the left shoulder and one under the right, according to the document.

Fitchburg police records indicated there had been a call to the apartment only about two weeks earlier, on Sept. 17, after the couple got into an argument that became physical. The search warrant states Quinn was trying to leave the apartment and was struck by Edwards, who was arrested and tentatively charged with domestic disorderly conduct and domestic battery.

The couple told police they had been in an on and off relationship for 10 years. Edwards had been on the lease at the apartment since July 31, a building manager told police, according to the search warrant.
This is not something that either party should have witnesses on, he said. The jury is capable of making an opinion.

Binger said Blacks expertise would be useful in a police-involved shooting, but not in this one.

This is not that type of a case, he said. ... (The jury) will make a decision about what a reasonable person should have done. They have all the requisite information they should need.

Richards said he didnt seek out Black as an expert to speak on anything police-related.

When Dr. Black testifies, he will testify he did this evaluation, not from a law enforcement standpoint, but from a citizens standpoint, Richards said. I wanted this to look at (the situation) through the eyes of a 17-year-old.

Schroeder, who spoke before any ruling was made later in the afternoon, said he didnt necessarily agree that Blacks expertise wouldnt be useful to a jury.

I definitely think theres much value (to an expert), if its supported, Schroeder said. That could be useful to the jury in reaching their verdict of the case. What constitutes self-defense instructions will come from me, not somebody else. Thats the law.
RACINE  A former corrections officer with the Racine County Sheriffs Office will do time in the County Jail for skimming money from the fees she was supposed to collect.

Barbara Teeling, 40, was sentenced on Tuesday to eight months in the County Jail for two counts of theft in a business setting and attempted misconduct while in office, all misdemeanors.

The charges were originally felonies but were reduced to misdemeanors in a negotiated settlement with the Racine County District Attorney's Office.

The investigation into Teelings actions determined she took approximately $11,458 between Jan. 18, 2018 and Dec. 30, 2020. She paid back the money prior to sentencing.

However, Judge Robert Repischak told Teeling she could not pay back what she had taken  that is, the public trust.

This country and society is going to hell in a handbasket, Repischak said. And you know why? Because people do not trust government institutions, and we have whole swaths of the community that dont trust law enforcement.

He continued and said people who were ripping off the taxpayers made things worse  especially for those still employed in law enforcement.
An alert sent to smartphones within radius of more than three miles from the home told residents to "remain in your homes until the situation has been resolved."

Rihannah Morales, who lives on Biscayne Avenue, said she was awakened at 7:30 a.m. "to the sound of police sirens." She saw law enforcement officers in unmarked vehicles swarming the home. Later, she saw a woman being taken out of a home in handcuffs.

At about 9:20 a.m. a witness, Erna Sabic, said she heard the sounds of breaking glass and tear gas being deployed by law enforcement.

As of 9:40 a.m., the scene remained active but calm, with dozens of law enforcement personnel in the area and the street blocked off with police tape.

At about 11:15 a.m., a woman and a young boy were escorted from the area.

At 11:25 a.m., loud booms  possibly flashbangs  were heard coming from the area.
The deadly shooting on an Amtrak train in Arizona on Monday erupted after US Drug Enforcement Administration agents recovered large amounts of marijuana on board, according to court documents filed Tuesday.

DEA Special Agent Group Supervisor Michael G. Garbo was killed in the shooting while another special agent was in critical condition, and a Tucson police officer working on the DEA task force was in stable condition, Tucson Police Chief Chris Magnus said Monday.

Devonte Okeith Mathis was accused of possessing with the intent to distribute less than 50 kilograms of a mixture or substance containing marijuana, according to the court filing. A search of bags associated with Mathis uncovered 2.39 kilograms of raw marijuana, 50 packages of marijuana edibles and "other marijuana and cannabis products," according to the court documents.

Mathis along with another alleged associate --who was identified in the document as D.T. -- were on a list the DEA agents were given "that contained names of several individuals on an Amtrak train that was arriving in Tucson" as part of their routine investigative activities, according to the complaint.

The train, traveling from Los Angeles to New Orleans, had arrived at the station just before 8 a.m. local time Monday.

D.T. and Mathis were sitting across the aisle from each other when one of the agents saw Mathis "retrieve a blue colored backpack, a black drawstring bag, and a white plastic bag" and then move the bags a few rows away before returning to his seat, the document says.

Mathis allegedly denied the bags belonged to him when a DEA agent questioned him. The agent took the bags off the train to search them and found "what he believed to be two packages of bulk marijuana," according to the document filed in the US District Court of Arizona on Tuesday.

Other DEA agents spoke with D.T. and "conducted a consensual K-9 sniff of several bags on the platform of the Amtrak Station" before D.T. got back on the train, the filing says.

When the agent who found marijuana in the bags associated with Mathis informed the other agents, those agents attempted to talk to D.T. again, the documents say, and that's when the shooting occurred.

Mathis was later arrested, and D.T. was fatally shot after firing at other officers, the court filing says.

There were 137 passengers and 11 crew members on board the train, Amtrak said. All were evacuated.

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It's time now to welcome the newest member of our Morning Mug Club -- brought to you by Holland Farms Bakery & Deli.

The folks at Brookdale Senior Living in Clinton are working to honor our nation's heroes this Veterans Day, by hosting a food drive.

The food drive is taking place from now through Nov. 3, 2021, and this is to benefit the Veterans Outreach Center of Utica.

They are collecting canned goods and non-perishable food items at the Brookdale Clinton Independent Living facility on 99 Brookside Drive, in Clinton.

To learn more, call 315-853-1224.

Organizers say the donations will be dropped off to the Veterans Outreach Center on Nov. 5, 2021.
UTICA, N.Y. -- The Utica Zoo has many exciting home (habitat) improvements and events planned for the near and far future. They're hoping some will include a nursery, for one of their animal families.

Soon, female zebra, Zecora, will arrive at the Utica Zoo, from Disney. Zoo staff hopes she will make a love connection with male zebra, Rundu.

"What we're hoping to do hereby bringing in a female, her name is Zecora, from Orlando, from Disney, is to be able to integrate them in and hopefully be able to create and build our own breeding and family group here," says Jay Pratte, Deputy Director of Life Sciences and Facilities for the Zoo.

The two will begin by "talking" to each other and getting familiar with one another's scents. Once they show zoo staff they're ready to meet, staff will begin eliminating barriers.

The Zoo is also holding a fundraising raffle, to help fund improvements to the popular red panda display. First prize is $10,000, and the drawing is right before Christmas. The Zoo is also seeking donations for the expanded exhibit, which they expect will cost between $300,000 and $500,000. And the red pandas aren't the only ones who will benefit from it. For more information on the raffle, click here.

"Their exhibit needs some love. We're actually gonna be building a new exhibit. We're looking for sponsors and financial support for that new habitat. It's gonna be very naturalistic, and it's gonna be four seasons, so our visitors can see them inside and outside, when they're cold and when they're warm," says Zoo Executive Director, Andria Heath.

The Zoo also has a new event planned this fall, for their bipedal friends. The adult event is Friday night, Oct. 22, and will include wineries, craft brew from Saranac, live music, fireside storytelling of legends and lore of animals, and food trucks. To buy a ticket, click here.
ONEONTA, NY  Its unanimous. The city of Oneonta has approved the implementation of its state-mandated police reform policy.

Following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers, and the riots that followed, then New York governor Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order requiring communities to adopt policing reform.

The council had previously approved a reform plan developed by a community advisory board working in conjunction with the Oneonta police department back in April. Because there were so many questions regarding the plan, Mayor Gary Herzig appointed a committee of council members to develop a detailed plan to implement it.

After many meetings and public hearings, they came up with a plan that they could all agree to.

I think that this is an important step forward, said Mayor Herzig. I think this is a plan for real policing reform. It has meaningful reform in it, but there will be many people that say it's gone too far, and there will be many people that say it hasn't gone far enough. Everybody has different perspectives and everybody has different life experiences, but there is real reform in it.

As part of the plan, the council will create a community police board to make sure the reforms are being followed.
UTICA, N.Y.  The State University of New York has put Mohawk Valley Community on notice for failure to comply with the SUNY systems student vaccine mandate.

The SUNY COVID-19 policy required colleges to begin unenrolling unvaccinated students by Sept. 28.

However, MVCC doesnt plan to enforce this policy until the spring semester. MVCC is giving students until Oct. 18 to get fully vaccinated to be able to register for next semester, but students will be required to get tested weekly while unvaccinated.

Senior vice chancellor and general counsel for SUNY, Anta Cisse-Green, sent a letter Tuesday to MVCC President Randall VanWagoner, saying You have expressly stated to SUNY System Administration that Mohawk Valley Community College (MVCC) has decided not to adhere to this Policy by refusing to unenroll non-compliant students for the Fall 2021 semester, and, instead, only intends to enforce the Policy beginning in the Spring 2022 semester. This is a direct violation of and failure to comply with the Policy voted upon and mandated by the SUNY Board of Trustees.

Cisse-Green says MVCC must submit documentation showing compliance with the fall unenrollment policy by Friday, Oct. 8. She does not say what would happen if the college does not comply.

VanWagoner sent a statement Tuesday evening in response to the notice, saying both MVCC and SUNY have the same goal  to keep students safe.

Below are all of the actions MVCC has taken to comply with SUNYs safety guidelines:

All of MVCCs residence halls students were required to be fully vaccinated prior to move-in. We delayed two students entrance into the residence halls due to non-compliance.

Throughout the fall semester MVCC has mandated weekly testing for all unvaccinated students with progressive discipline measures and actions for non-compliance communicated to students regularly.

MVCC continues to promote vaccinations through personal conversations with unvaccinated students at our weekly testing events and have assembled a phonebank of staff to call these students to communicate the value of getting vaccinated, along with the ease of access through the Oneida County-sponsored POD on our Utica campus.

MVCC has been diligent in the vaccination exemption process, having approved only 6 out 78 religious exemptions and, with extensive communications regarding medical exemptions, we approved all eleven of those well-documented requests.

MVCC is making all student events and activities require participants to show proof of vaccination to attend in-person or attend remotely if they are not  again, to apply additional consequences in the student experience for not being fully vaccinated.

Per the SUNY COVID-19 Vaccination Policy Section III C: Additional Considerations for Students with Exceptions, MVCC has imposed additional health and safety restrictions including a stricter visitor policy in which: All individuals or groups who may have significant interaction with the campus community and be within six feet of College community members for a cumulative of 15 minutes or longer over a 24-hour period must be fully-vaccinated against COVID-19. All guests also must wear facial coverings/masks regardless of being fully vaccinated.

With rare exception (under extra safety protocols), MVCC has eliminated all outside rental groups coming to campus unless all attendees can provide proof of vaccination  this decision impacts a significant number of long-standing community events.

MVCC has transitioned several on-campus workforce development training programs with local employers to alternative locations off campus to accommodate their employees to the extent possible.

MVCC has already communicated to students that they must be fully vaccinated by October 18, less than two weeks away, in order for them to be able to register for spring semester courses beginning November 8.

MVCC continues to work diligently to comply with the SUNY COVID-19 Vaccination Policy and keep our campuses and locations as safe as possible.

VanWagoner says MVCC has unenrolled 18 students in its nursing and health career programs who were unable to attend their clinicals as a result of the hospital employee vaccination mandate across the state.

Cisse-Green says 26,000 SUNY students got vaccinated over the last two weeks because of the SUNY mandate.

SUNY Spokesperson Jackie Orchard sent NEWSChannel 2 the following statement Tuesday:

The vast majority of our students98 percentare in compliance with the State mandate to get vaccinated in order to be on campus. But we still need to get to 100 percent compliance, and we need every campus, including Mohawk Valley Community College, to help make sure all students are in compliance by the deadline. This is a public health and safety issue for all students who wish to learn on campus in a safe environment. Our hope is that any de-registration due to non-compliance would be a temporary leave of absence.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - Police in Texas have arrested a student suspected of opening fire during a fight at his Dallas-area high school, leaving four people injured.

Police say 18-year-old Timothy George Simpkins fled from Timberview High School in Arlington and drove away in a 2018 silver Dodge Charger after the Wednesday morning shooting.

They say two people were shot and two others received unspecified injuries. At least three of the four are students.

The school has about 1,900 students in grades nine through 12.

(Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.)
WATERTOWN, N.Y. (AP) - A Watertown mother and son have been charged with theft in aiding the disappearance of a laptop belonging to the staff of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Maryann Mooney-Rondon and her son, Rafael Rondon, of Watertown, New York, appeared in federal court Friday and were released pending further proceedings.

The arrest came months after the FBI initially raided a home for the computer 4,500 miles away in Alaska. Marilyn Hueper of Homer, Alaska, bears a striking resemblance to Maryann Mooney-Rondon. Hueper was in Washington that day, but says she didn't take part in the riot.

Maryann and Rafael are charged with the following:

Obstruction of an official proceeding, a felony

Theft of government property,

Entering/remaining in a restricted building

Disorderly conduct in a restricted building

Entering/remaining the gallery of congress

Entering/remaining in certain rooms of the capitol building

Disorderly conduct in the capitol building

In an unrelated case, Rafael is also charged with possession of an unregistered sawed-off shotgun, which was found at his residence, according to the justice department.
Police searching for Brian Laundrie have found the remnants of a campsite that appeared to have been recently used at the Florida reserve that has been the focus on efforts to find him, a source close to the family told CNN's Chris Cuomo on Wednesday.

Earlier, law enforcement had asked his father to show them trails that his son was known to have used, but then told him that because of the discovery, they wanted to search the area alone.

The 24,565 acre Carlton Reserve in Venice is currently closed to visitors.

North Port police told CNN the FBI is the lead in the case and that the North Port Police Department would not be making those decisions or taking those actions.

"The FBI would have to answer if that was true," said Josh Taylor, spokesperson for the police department.

CNN has reached out to the FBI for comment.

Earlier, Laundrie family attorney Steve Bertolino told CNN that Laundrie's father was asked to help North Port police search for him Wednesday but police had to postpone.

"Chris Laundrie was asked to assist law enforcement in their search for Brian at the preserve today," Bertolino said. "Since the preserve has been closed to the public Chris has not been able to look for Brian in the only place Chris and Roberta believe Brian may be. Unfortunately North Port police had to postpone Chris' involvement but Chris and Roberta are hopeful there will be another opportunity to assist."

CNN asked Bertolino whether Brian's parents believe he's in the reserve or another area. "No, they don't believe he's in another area. They believe he is in the preserve," Bertolino said.

Also Wednesday, the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office was asked to help in the search for Laundrie at the reserve. Aerial video recorded above the Carlton Reserve showed police vehicles in the area.

Bertolino confirmed to CNN that authorities are communicating with him about any developments.

Police are looking for Laundrie following the death of his fiancee, Gabby Petito, whose remains were found last month in Wyoming after the pair took a cross-country road trip.

Though authorities have not explicitly connected Laundrie to Petito's death, they've been looking for him, in part over a federal arrest warrant accusing him of illegally using another person's debit card.

North Port police have said Laundrie returned to the couple's home on his own from their trip on September 1 -- roughly 10 days before Petito's family reported her missing. The white van the couple had been traveling in was later recovered at the home.

More than two weeks later, Laundrie's parents -- who had not been communicating with authorities, other than through their attorney -- requested police come to their home where they shared they hadn't seen their son since September 14.

This week, Bertolino told CNN that upon further communication with the FBI, "we now believe the day Brian left to hike in the preserve was Monday, September 13."

"The Laundries were basing the date Brian left on their recollection of certain events," Bertolino said Wednesday. "Upon further communication with the FBI and confirmation of the Mustang being at the Laundrie residence on Wednesday September 15, we now believe the day Brian left to hike in the preserve was Monday September 13."

North Port police confirmed Wednesday that an abandoned vehicle notice was placed on a Ford Mustang belonging to the Laundrie family outside the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park on September 14.

Myakkahatchee park is an entrance to the Carlton Reserve.

Bertolino told CNN that Laundrie's father, Chris, went to look for him on the night of September 13 when he didn't return from the park.

The next day, on September 14, both of Brian's parents returned to the area to look for Brian and saw the citation on the car, Bertolino said.

The parents returned again the next day, September 15, to retrieve the vehicle.

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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI)  Friday marks the 150th anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire.

That's why fire departments around the country are taking part in fire safety week.

At the West Lafayette Farmer's market Wednesday anyone can practice putting out a fire. The West Lafayette Fire Department will have a booth at Cumberland Park from 3:30 until 7:00 p.m.

The fire department will have a booth set up with a hose weighed down by sand. That's so it feels as heavy as it would if it were filled with water, and people of all ages can try to put out a digital fire using a laser from the hose.

There will also be a training session with an electronic fire extinguisher. West Lafayette Fire Chief Jeff Need said the community should take advantage of this learning opportunity.

"That's a message that's kind of new for us that we're really wanting to put out to our community," he said. "Do you know how to use a fire extinguisher? They're hanging in almost every public building. You know, they're hanging in every fraternity, sorority, and every commercial building in our community. But do you really know how to use it?">

Certified car seat technicians will also be present at the Farmer's Market today. They can help anyone who needs a car seat installed to do it properly.

Need said fire safety is especially important this time of year.

"You know it's no coincidence either that we have it going into winter," Need told News 18. "Because everybody, you know, has fires in their fireplaces, we have heaters, we have candles for Christmas decorations and things that can cause problems and cause fires during those winter months so it's important to focus on that right ahead of winter."

Chief Need also encourages the community to check the batteries in their smoke detectors.
INDIANAPOLIS - Indiana Town Halls will host its first Town Hall. The Town Hall will feature Senator Mike Braun and will focus on the economy.

The live stream will be on Thursday, October 7, from 7 to 8 p.m. Senator Braun will address questions related to Hoosier jobs, wages, and future economic opportunities. Jim Shella, political reporter, will moderate.

Indiana Town Halls said the goal of the Town Hall is to empower civic engagement and enhance access to members of Congress in a time of deep political division.

To watch the live online stream, visit www.indianatownhalls.org
LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - Lafayette police are still investigating a shooting on Oct. 3 at Velocity Venue at 109 Beck Lane, Suite 115. The shooting sent three people to the hospital with non-life threatening gunshot woulds, according to Sgt. Ian O'shields.

"Upon arrival, you know tons of people running from the scene, officers located a female who had been shot in the leg, and she was also dragged by a car," O'shields said.

Officers arrived around 2:46 a.m. after they heard gunshots and received numerous 911 calls.

Now, the future of Velocity Venue is uncertain. O'shields said the property manager is seeking to terminate the lease.

"We do depend on the community, the property managers, property owners, witnesses or whoever to do their part to help us solve that problem," O'shields said."

"I personally have been in direct communication with property owners, property management, providing them with information with what's going on there, and you know they are working with us to solve the problem and prevent anything like this from happening again."

The investigation is still ongoing, and no arrests have been made. Anybody with information should contact the Lafayette Police Department at 765-807-1200.
ELKHART, Ind. (AP)  Police in a northern Indiana county are seeking the public's help as they investigate a string of fires that have destroyed or damaged eight barns since last spring.

Monday's request from the Elkhart County Sheriffs Office came after two fires about one mile apart destroyed two barns in the southern part of the county last Friday.

They were a total loss, said Capt. Mike Culp.

Friday's fires brought to eight the number of barns in the county that have been hit by fires since April, The Elkhart Truth reported.

Culp asked anyone who lives near the locations of those eight fires and has home security cameras to review footage from the dates of the fires and report anything suspicious to the sheriff's office.

The sheriffs office is investigating the fires with the State Fire Marshals Office.

Culp said property owners in the rural areas where the fires have occurred should not to dismiss anything they may consider suspicious.

If theyve heard anything regarding any of the fires, if they do have any footage or if they can at least review their footage if they live anywhere in those areas, report that back to us to try to assist in these investigations; that would be appreciated, he said.
BENTON COUNTY, Ind. (WLFI)-The Benton Community School Corporation updated its COVID-19 response plan at the school board meeting on Tuesday. Masks will now be optional.

The Corporation will monitor COVID-19 cases on a school-by-school basis.

If one school building reaches a 2.5 percent positivity rate the corporation will have that school require masks for two weeks.

After two weeks, the corporation will re-evaluate and adjust the policy depending on how many cases the school has.

As we previously reported, before tonight's decision masks were required in all schools if six feet of social distancing wasn't able to be accommodated.

Superintendent Scott Vanderaa says the corporation's numbers are trending in the right direction.

"The number of positive cases in our corporation as far as students right now is 4," said Vanderaa. "We have 0 in one building and two at the other two buildings. Now that we have had such a decrease in the numbers, that's one of the motivations to say let's go back to masks optional."

There is a drawback of the corporation making this decision. Close contacts of positive cases will now have to quarantine. due to an executive order made by the governor.

Vanderaa says that's why now it's even more important for students to stay home if they have symptoms or are sick.

The new plan goes into effect on Wednesday.
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson confirms that the state will move forward with the execution of convicted killer Ernest Lee Johnson. This image taken from file video shows Lee at trial. He was convicted in 1994.
Eco-friendly Wrexham bakery helps M&S relaunch environmental campaign

The boss of Marks and Spencer has hailed a new super bakery in North Wales as one of the best in the world.

The praise from CEO Steve Rowe came during a visit to the Jones Village Bakerys new state-of-the-art, 140,000 sq ft production facility on Wrexham Industrial Estate.

Mr Rowe was there for a major relaunch of retail giants Plan A environmental strategy to combat climate change, reduce waste, use sustainable raw materials, trade ethically and help customers to lead healthier lifestyles.

He chose the eco-friendly Jones Village Bakery for the reboot following a visit to see the new bakery after it started production in July.

It was built to replace the family firms flagship bakery which was destroyed by a devastating fire in 2019 and is four times the size of the original.

While he was there, Mr Rowe was also given a guided tour of the six-acre Erlas Black Wood next door by managing director Robin Jones and his brother, Christien, the projects director.

The Jones Village Bakery have teamed up as official partners with the North Wales Wildlife Trust to conserve the woodland that was once part of a large area of medieval hunting parkland before the area was industrialised during the Second World War.

The broad leaf woodland includes native species like oak, ash and willow and its known there are tawny owls nesting there, as well as being an important habitat for greater crested newts.

Beneath the canopy of trees, the woodland is carpeted with an array of colourful plants including Wood Anemones, Wild Garlic, Dog Violets and Early Purple Orchids.

The bakery has also created three ponds to provide a haven for the wildlife and has plans to set aside part of the site for allotments where bakery staff can grow their own fruit and vegetables.

The woodland will also be available to the public and workers from neighbouring factories on the industrial estate.

Following his visit Mr Rowe pledged a 10,000 donation to further develop the woodland as a local amenity.

He said: The Village Bakery has been a partner of Marks and Spencer for 14 years.

I came to see their new premises a while ago and I was inspired by the work that Robin, Christien and the team have done.

What theyve done is create a new factory facility that makes outstanding products and bolted on the pinnacle of our Plan A aspirations.

I think this is something we can use as a model across the business, not only on our journey to reinvigorate Plan A but also play a part in the race to zero carbon emissions by 2040.

We launched Plan A in 2007 and at the time it was a sector leading scheme to reduce our carbon footprint to protect the planet.

Over the course of 14 years we have achieved many things but its time to go again because the challenges we face in the world have got bigger not smaller.

We can only succeed in our ambitions by working with our partners in the supply base like the Village Bakery, and our customers and our colleagues.

This is one of the highlights of my career because what we do today will make a real difference. The message will go to 70,000 colleagues and a 1,000 suppliers across the world and I know this will galvanise action.

Mr Rowe added: The fire was one of the saddest days for colleagues here and the Jones family. It was an absolute tragedy.

The response from them, in conjunction with us, was first class. They took that piece of adversity and turned it into something which I think is extraordinary  the phoenix from the ashes.

I would describe it one of the finest breadmaking facilities I have seen in the world, with the opportunity to grow and continue to enhance the technology behind the products.

The products that are going to come from this plant for many, many years are phenomenal.

Robin Jones, who was interviewed for the video, said: To have Steve Rowe here today is wonderful  were blown away.

Dad is a keen countryman and it was vital to him to ensure that we look after the environment and do the right thing. And lo and behold, here we are today helping to relaunch Plan A by the UKs best loved retailer.

Conserving Erlas Black Wood and opening it up as a local amenity is a lovely way for the Village Bakery to play our part.

As we grow, were doing it in a sustainable way and its nice to give something back to the community and ultimately back to the environment.

Also there for the relaunch was young environmental campaigner Luisa Walford, 15, from Bakewell, in Derbyshire, who wrote to M&S about her concerns for the future of the planet.

She said: The response from M&S has been great, its been very inspiring because I know there are people listening to young voices and the fact that I can work with them now to make a change is great.

Its amazing that I am speaking directly with the CEO and he is definitely on the same wavelength. I know he is very passionate about keeping the environment safe.

This nature reserve at the Village Bakery is amazing. I think it is something all businesses should do.
Hopes raised for announcement on Wrexhams levelling up funding bids in near future

Hopes have been raised that an announcement will soon be made on whether two multi-million pound bids to regenerate parts of Wrexham have been successful.

Senior councillors approved a request for a combined total of 28.5m from the UK Governments Levelling Up Fund in June.

A bid of 18.3m was put forward as part of plans to transform the Mold Road gateway into the town, which could see a new 5,000-seat stand built at the Kop end of Wrexham AFCs Racecourse Ground.

A four-star hotel, multi-storey car park and conferencing and hospitality facility have also been suggested as part of efforts to boost the areas economy.

A separate application was made for 10.2m from the same pot to improve the area around the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in Trevor.

The scheme includes proposals to alleviate parking problems at the World Heritage Site, along with the creation of a visitor centre, treetops walk and campsite.

Wrexham Councils chief executive Ian Bancroft said the local authority had recently requested an update on the bids and was hopeful of an announcement before the end of autumn.

Speaking at a media briefing held on Tuesday, October 5, he said: I had correspondence on Friday as we chased the UK Government just in terms of their timings.

Their answer was: Wed always said the autumn and anticipate it will be shortly.

The feedback were getting is that theyre very good project submissions, in terms of having all the detail thats required.

What weve learned is a lot of bids were put in, so it is going to be quite a competitive process.

If the applications are approved, money will be provided via a 4.8 billion capital fund announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak in March to invest in local infrastructure across the UK.

Wrexham has been identified as one of three priority areas in north Wales and the bids have been backed by Wrexham MP Sarah Atherton and Clwyd South MP Simon Baynes.

All money provided through the fund must be spent by March 31, 2024, which means the projects are likely to move forward quickly if successful.

By Liam Randall  BBC Local Democracy Reporter
Man who carried out serious attack on North Wales paramedic receives suspended prison sentence

A man who attacked a paramedic and left him with life-changing injuries has been handed a suspended prison sentence.

Cemlyn Hughes, of Manod, Blaenau Ffestiniog, Gwynedd, pleaded guilty to assaulting an emergency worker, and was given an 11-week custodial sentence suspended for a year at Caernarfon Magistrates Court on Monday.

The 29-year-old was also ordered to abstain from alcohol for 120 days and pay 500 compensation to his victim, the Welsh Ambulance Services Dylan Lloyd Davies.

Paramedic Dylan was called to reports a man had been stabbed in Blaenau Ffestiniog in December, but on entering the property, found the defendant to be uncooperative.

In the presence of North Wales Police, Hughes launched a physical attack on Dylan, leaving him with a serious shoulder injury which meant he has been unable to work ever since.

Dylan, 45, recalls: The initial report we had was that a man had been stabbed six times, but when we got there, there wasnt a lot of blood.

We were trying to understand what had happened to the man and make a scene assessment but he turned aggressive, and shouted to be left alone.

He squared up to me so I put my hand out to create some space, but at that point he rugby tackled me across the room, physically lifting me off my feet.

When I tried to defend myself, we both fell on top of the metal bed frame, him landing on top of me.

Ive been doing this job for a long time and you get a sixth sense when something is about to go wrong, but I didnt get that here which is the frightening thing.

I didnt feel threatened at all until it was too late.

Police arrested Hughes, but it was only later into his shift that Dylan realised he had sustained a serious injury.

He said: Between the shock and the adrenaline, I felt fine initially. I went back to station to report it and de-brief with my colleagues, then while we were on the way to the next call, I realised I couldnt lift my arm.

Ten months on and Im in as much pain now as I was in day one.

Doctors suspect that Dylan has torn a piece of cartilage in his shoulder, but the results of an MRI scan he had last week will confirm definitively.

If it is a significant tear, he will require surgery to fix it  but if not, he will continue with physiotherapy until he has regained his strength and mobility.

Dylan, who has been working from home on alternate duties since the attack, said: My frustration on a scale of 1-10 is eleven, to be honest.

Paramedicine is the job Ive been doing for 17 years, and this split-second act by one man means I can no longer do that  I cant help people.

My partner Kirstie is an Emergency Medical Technician so I hear first-hand how stretched the service is, and youre desperate to play your part but you cant.

The nature of our work means you sometimes come to expect aggression from members of the public  but it doesnt mean you should stand for it.

In May, the Welsh Ambulance Service launched its milestone new With Us, Not Against Us campaign in response to a rise in assaults on emergency workers in Wales.

More than 4,240 assaults were committed emergency workers, including police, fire and ambulance crews, in the period April 2019  November 2020, representing a monthly average increase from 202 in 2019 to 222 in 2020, or 10%.

Assaults ranged from kicking, punching and head-butting, to spitting, biting and verbal abuse.

The Trusts Chief Executive Jason Killens said: Our ambulance crews are there to help people, but they cant fight for someones life if theyre fighting for theirs.

Our crews might have no choice but to leave a scene if their personal safety is compromised, and this isnt helpful for anyone, least of all the patient.

A split-second act of violence can have a devastating and long-term impact on our staff, both physically and emotionally.

The debt of gratitude we owe to our emergency workers has never been greater, so now more than ever, were asking the public to work with us, not against us.

Pledge your support and join the conversation on social media using the hashtag #WithUsNotAgainstUs or #GydaNiNidYnEinHerbyn.
Wrexham Glyndwr University offering support to small, local businesses in food industry

The North Wales Business School of Glyndwr University now specialises in advising and supporting local small businesses in the food industry on how they can grow, in addition to its offering of Undergraduate and Postgraduate courses.

Research indicates that approximately 20 per cent of small business start-ups failed in the first year, around 30 per cent in the second year and around 50 per cent in the fifth year.

This has led to organisational struggle, and leaves the practitioners with unanswered questions.

Professor Graham Jackson said: We support and mentor small business start-ups to increase the survival rate in the food sector.

I have recently worked with small and medium-sized businesses in North East Wales such as Patchwork Foods Ltd and Natural Wholefoods Ltd to identify fundraising and business restructuring so they will have more opportunity to be more successful.

The North Wales Business School applied for the LEADER grant and received funding through the Welsh Government Rural Communities  Rural Development Programme 20142020, which is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the Welsh Government.

The project investigates managerial skills required to succeed in small business start-ups in the food sector.

The findings were used to design online learning for enhancing the managerial skills of small business owners.

Supporting small businesses are critical because these parts of knowledge transfer from academia to local businesses.

In addition, small businesses are considered as the engine of economic growth improving local economies and gross domestic product.

If you live in Wrexham, Flintshire or Denbighshire and are thinking about opening your own business in the food sector, you can contact us to register your interest, or if you want any advice on how to begin your entrepreneurial careers. Places are limited to 20 people.

Please contact Professor Jackson at g.jackson@glyndwr.ac.uk telephone 0197829066 or 07783372747 or Dr Binsardi at b.binsardi@glyndwr.ac.uk
NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - An ATF agent was injured and the man officers were trying to arrest died after a shooting on Murfreesboro Pike near the Metro Police headquarters.

Metro Police spokesman Don Aaron said law enforcement was attempting to arrest the suspect in connection with a drug investigation in the parking lot near Country Cafe, across the street from police headquarters.

Both the officer, an agent with the ATF, and suspect were taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Metro Police said the ATF agent was seriously wounded.

Corey Wellman Corey Wellman was identified as the person shot and killed in a shootout with law enforcement near Metro Police headquarters on Murfreesboro Pike.

Metro Police said the suspect, identified as Corey Daniel Wellman, 40, of Nashville, died after being taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Police said he has a criminal record. According to Davidson County court records, Wellman was convicted of aggravated assault and voluntary manslaughter in 2000 and several drug offenses in 2008.

Police have not released the name of the officer, pending notification of the next-of-kin for both.

Aaron said no Metro Police officer was involved in the shooting, though police were present on the periphery of the scene.

The FBI is investigating the shooting.

Aaron said law enforcement were attempting to arrest a suspect in the parking lot next to Country Cafe, located at 605 Murfreesboro Pike. As a result of that, gunfire took place. According to dispatch logs, police were called to the scene of a shooting at 2:16 p.m.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers are at the scene.

Metro Police are attempting to reopen one lane of Murfreesboro Pike in both directions near the shooting scene.
A recent study by Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) has found that the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) has paid compensation for the deaths of at least 289 Afghan civilians killed and 240 injured between 2006 to 2013 during the UKs military operations.

This is the first official indication of the number of civilian deaths caused by British troops as the UK government has sought for years to systematically suppress the extent of casualties, including lying about the existence of its own documents and emails revealing official concerns about the killing of innocent Afghans.

The British government frequently reports that 457 British soldiers lost their lives and 616 soldiers suffered serious or very serious injuries but has failed to report Afghan casualties or to provide any estimate of the overall harm caused by British operations in its largest deployment since World War II. Yet the war has led to between 170,000 and a quarter of a million Afghans dead, hundreds of thousands of wounded, and millions forced from their homes.

British Army soldiers in Afghanistan [Photo: British Army]

The military intervention in Afghanistan, planned well in advance of the bombing of the twin towers in New York in 2001, was not launched to prosecute a war on terrorism but rather to project US military power into Central and South Asia. The US was intent on seizing control of a country rich in untapped mineral resources that bordered on the oil-rich former Soviet republics of the Caspian Basin, as well as China, with the support and cover of its NATO allies.

Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair seized the opportunity to push himself forward as US President George W. Bushs chief emissary for the global war on terror. In so doing, he sought to bolster Britains much-diminished global position while preventing Washington from pursuing a unilateralist course and the European Union from developing a policy that would leave Britain out in the cold.

Blair, like Bush, has never been held to account for his role in ordering the invasion of Afghanistan and later that of Iraq, which gave rise to unspeakable crimes, including torture, extraordinary rendition, the indefinite military detention of US-proclaimed enemy combatants at Guantanamo Bay and the cold-blooded murders of civilians.

With the typical duplicity, UK junior Armed Forces Minister James Heappey claimed that the cost of Operation Herrick was 22.2 billion, omitting to say that this operation, which officially ended in 2015, covers only part of the 20-year war in Afghanistan. Frank Ledwidge, an academic at the University of Portsmouth, who wrote Investment in Blood in 2013, believes that this will have risen to a staggering 38-39 billion now, without considering the ongoing costs of caring for wounded veterans.

According to Brown Universitys Cost of War project, around 47,245 Afghan civilians suffered violent deaths as a direct result of the conflict between 2001-2019. The UK-based charity Airwars estimated, using data from the United Nations and Nation magazine, that a minimum of 4,815 civilian deaths were the direct result of US airstrikes.

In the case of Britain, the charity AOAV, which analysed nearly 7,000 compensation claims paid out by the Ministry of Defence (MoD), found that of the 289 payouts, 84 were for children, and at least 43 were for females. The MoD only made the compensation claims available in response to numerous Freedom of Information (FoI) requests.

AOAV has a well-founded belief that this number of civilian deaths linked to British military operations in Helmand province is likely to be an underestimate of the real numbers, given the difficulty Afghan citizens would have had in applying for military compensation. Records show that the MoD rejected most compensation claims submitted by the families, denying responsibility for 885 claims of death and 285 claims of injury.

Overall, the British military paid out a miserly 688,000 for 289 deaths, an average compensation of 2,380. Even this inflates the value placed on an Afghan life, as some of these payouts were combined with injuries and property damage.

One family received 586.42 for the death of their ten-year-old son in December 2009 and another just 104.17 for a confirmed fatality and property damage in February 2008, less than others received for a damaged crane (873), for the death of six donkeys when they wandered on to the rifle range (662), for Warthog damage in Nahr-e-Saraj, Helmand (240) and less than the 110 for a lost mobile phone in Camp Bastion.

The sums paid were far lower than for claims in Cyprus and other European countries. AOAV stated that Britain paid out 36 percent more in the two decades of the War on Terror to claims originating in Cyprus (8.44 million) than in Afghanistan (6.18 million). The MoD paid out more in Cyprus (1.04 million), where most claims were for crop or livestock damage, or in Europe (1.17 million), mostly for traffic accidents, than for the 289 civilian deaths in Afghanistan (688,000).

The MoD also recorded payments to operations involving the elite Special Air Service (SAS), which has been accused of involvement in the execution of civilians, including paying 3,634 to the family of three Afghan farmers allegedly killed in cold blood in 2012 within three weeks of the incident. This unusually prompt payment was recorded as an assistance payment to be made to calm local atmopherics [sic].

AOAV say that based on documents they obtained from the MoD under an FoI, 17 British military personnel have been charged in relation to civilian casualties and 15 prosecuted in relation to the 529 deaths and injuries for whom the MoD paid compensation.

What happened to Sergeant Alexander Blackman is illustrative of British imperialisms attitudes to such crimes.

In 2011, Blackman was filmed by a fellow soldier shooting a man, already seriously injured by gunfire from an Apache helicopter, in the chest at close range with a 9mm pistol. After he shot the prisoner, Blackman was captured on camera stating, There you are. Shuffle off this mortal coil you c***. Its nothing you wouldnt do to us. He turned to those watching and stated, Obviously this doesnt go anywhere, fellas. I just broke the Geneva Convention.

The Geneva Conventions governing the treatment of captured and wounded prisoners of war requires that those who have laid down their arms or who cannot fight due to sickness, wounds or detention should be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, colour, religion or faith, sex, birth or wealth, or any other similar criteria.

In 2013, Blackman was found guilty of murder by a military court and sentenced to 10 years in prison, reduced on appeal to eight years. In 2017, five senior judges at Londons Court Martial Appeal Court downgraded the original finding from murder to manslaughter, accepting a plea of diminished responsibility and allowing him to be released from prison after serving just three and a half years.

The government has introduced legislation that will put a five-year limit on prosecutions for soldiers serving outside the UK. With its presumption against prosecution that gives the green light to future war crimes, including the mass murder of civilians, the law will free the military from all constraints.

It is not just those soldiers who perpetrated these crimes on behalf of the imperialist powers, but crucially those at the very top of the political and military ladder who planned and executed this criminal war, that have escaped punishment.

Instead, the only two people who have faced criminal repercussions are those who reported the crimes: Chelsea Manning, who has endured a decade of persecution, and Julian Assange, whoafter first being arrested in London over in 2010is imprisoned in Britains maximum-security Belmarsh Prison awaiting a US appeal to the Supreme Court for his extradition to the US where he faces 175 years imprisonment under the Espionage Act.
Workers at Stellantis plants have contacted the World Socialist Web Site Autoworker Newsletter about the spread of COVID in their plants and the abandonment of already inadequate safety provisions. Despite the spread of the virus, cases are being covered up by management and the United Auto Workers.

Enormous financial pressure is being exerted on workers to report to work despite being sick. Workers who do stay home due to illness face difficulty collecting sick pay and unemployment benefits. Workers report that management is often refusing to pay workers who are self-quarantining or report symptoms.

Workers on the line at Tipton Transmission (FCA) in Tipton, Indiana, May 13, 2014 (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

Supply chain disruptions and the shortage of microchips and other key parts have led to periodic layoffs, adding to the financial uncertainty workers face. At factories producing more profitable vehicles where Stellantis has decided to concentrate production, such as Sterling Heights Assembly near Detroit, workers are being forced to work around-the-clock shifts seven days a week. These conditions are hardly conducive to a clean and safe work environment.

At the Stellantis Tipton, Indiana transmission plant a worker reported that COVID-19 was rampant in the factory, which supplies transmissions for a wide range of Stellantis models. Things have been really, really messed up in the Tipton plant because of COVID-19. We have an outside janitor service thats been lying about disinfecting and cleaning. Its unbelievable how many people have gotten sick and now the people who have been on layoff are going to lose all their vacation time and all their PA days because of COVID-19.

Thats not the workers fault, but the workers are going to get screwed and the international (UAW) reps will not help any of us at all.

The reopening of schools has led to a surge of COVID cases, deaths and hospitalizations across the US. Indiana is seeing about 2,000 COVID infections a day. While this is down from mid-September, it is still far above the 300 cases per day reported in June and July.

At Stellantis factories, outside of masking, few COVID safety protocols remain, including extra time between shifts for cleaning and social distancing in break areas or workstations.

The worker said, There are workers in the Tipton plant that are catching COVID-19 and then taking it home and their family members who are catching it. I heard there was a man on another team whose elderly father, who lived with him, died from COVID and now the man is blaming himself for his father's death because he brought it home.

From the very beginning of COVID, the international reps and all of the employees at the international level were being allowed to work from home and draw a 40-hour paycheck, and thats just dirty as hell to me. But it also speaks volumes of what the international reps think of the workers. If thats not proof, [what is?] They care nothing about the workers on the floor who are being forced to come in. The union looks at us the same way farmers look at farm animals.

A worker at the Stellantis Jeep complex in Toledo, Ohio said that management was harassing workers who take time off for legitimate health reasons. The worker, who is suffering the lingering effects of COVID, said that he faced a Catch-22 situation with management.

Ive had fever chills, weakness, bad cough, runny nose, muscle joint pain  management forces us to stay home and wont pay us, but we have to have money. I am still waiting for SUB (supplemental unemployment benefits) from July when we were forced to shut down.

We get sickness and accident benefits, but they always fight it. Last time I was off I didnt get it. If I tested positive for COVID I could get paid. But if I dont test positive  either I go to work sick and possibly get disciplined for it or I do the right thing and not come in. They literally have their knee to our neck.

You go to work you get fired. You dont go to work; you dont get paid and lose your house.

It is almost like slave labor; you are a slave to the company you work for. Losing a week's pay, a month, who can afford that? Thats $10,000 a year.

All the major automakers are facing financial pressure due to supply chain disruptions related to COVID as well as the ongoing shortage of computer microchips. This has forced periodic plant shutdowns and loss off production resulting in less product and lower sales. General Motors, Honda, Nissan as well as Stellantis reported significant declines in sales in the quarter that ended September 30. Stellantis sales were down 19 percent for the quarter. GM sales fell 33 percent. Ford also reported a sharp recent drop.

The auto companies have attempted, with some success, to maintain profit levels by running their most profitable plants at full production levels. Stellantis management has used language agreed to by the UAW in the 2019 national agreement to impose critical plant status to enable seven day, 24-hour production at Sterling Heights Assembly, making the highly profitable Dodge Ram light truck.

Stellantis workers at the Detroit Assembly Complex; the Jefferson North plant and the new Mack Avenue plant, have been facing periodic layoffs. A young worker at Mack told the Autoworker Newsletter, Workers were sent home at 9 PM Thursday and production was cancelled on Friday and Saturday because of a parts shortage. You must be a full-timer for at least a year to qualify for a short work week of 38.5 hours of pay.

Those full-timers with less than a year and TPTs (temporary part time workers) will only be paid for the time they worked, even if its 15 hours. If you are a qualified full-timer, if you work at least 1 hour you are guaranteed 38.5 hours pay. The others have to try to get unemployment and its a lot less. Most of the workers at the Mack plantId say 60 percentdont qualify and only got paid for 31 hours last week.

Workers at Jefferson North, which builds the Jeep Grand Cherokee, just came back from a two-week shutdown. One week due to a parts shortage and another week due to a chip shortage. A worker told the Autoworker Newsletter, There was talk that when we come back from retooling [next year] we will go under critical status. 10 hours four days is a lot. But who wants to go 7 days, everyday? No way!

As far as COVID safety measures at Jefferson, the extra 10 minutes for cleaning before shifts was eliminated long ago. You are supposed to still fill out the questionnaires, but nobody checks it, the worker added.

Tell us what is happening at your plant. Email the World Socialist Web Site Autoworker Newsletter atautoworkers@wsws.org.
Health care workers at the state-owned Charite and Vivantes hospitals have been on strike for more than three weeks in the German capital of Berlin. While corporate management and the Social Democrat (SPD)/Left Party/Green Berlin state government, known as the Senate, refuse to make concessions, the Verdi trade union is desperately trying to shut down the strike and codify the constant overworking of staff in collective agreements.

With over 25 days of strike action, the labour dispute at the two hospital groups is one of the longest strikes in the history of the German health care system. Since all campuses of the Charite and eight clinics of the Vivantes group are still affected, thousands of operations and treatments have been postponed or cancelled since the beginning of the strike. Around 1,200 beds are currently out of service and around 2,000 patients are waiting for an operation or appointment for treatment.

Health care workers in Berlin

Although the strike is extremely stressful for patients and for those employees who are unable to participate because of the need to provide necessary patient care, support for the strikers remains unbroken. The catastrophic working conditions in the clinics, which endanger the health of patients every day, are plain for all to see.

The Berlin strikers are representative of the many hundreds of thousands of health care workers across Germany who are confronted with the same working conditions.

This was recently made very clear in a damning letter from the nursing staff at the Hamburg University Hospital (UKE). In it, two-thirds of the approximately 300 intensive care staff at the UKE described their working conditions and demanded that the legally applicable regulations are enforced at a minimum. Even the legally applicable minimum staffing levels, which are totally inadequate to guarantee quality patient care, are consistently not adhered to.

Instead of the required minimum ratio of one nurse for every intensive care patient, the ratio is sometimes one to four. As a result, important medications are not administered in a timely manner and treatments such as caring for wounds cannot be carried out correctly.

Unfortunately, patients often have to lie in their own faeces for a considerable amount of time, the nurses wrote with regard to the hygiene situation. This suggests that under these conditions, measures of basic hygiene, which are all the more important during the pandemic, often cannot be adequately observed.

In order to ensure that the patient is cared for, many colleagues regularly forego their breaks outside of the ward, write the nurses. Many suffer from the feeling that they are doing more than is actually humanly possible. Many colleagues cry during or after work and no longer have the strength for leisure activities after work.

These descriptions do not differ from the conditions in Berlin hospitals. In numerous interviews, nurses report on completely overworked employees and poorly cared for patients due to major staff shortages.

While the nursing staff at Charite and Vivantes are fighting for better working conditions and relief from unbearable workloads, Vivantes management interrupted the negotiations for several days until Monday this week.

The last offer from management was an outright provocation. The offer not only contained no improvements for nursing staff, but even called for further concessions in some areas. For example, a staff-to-patient ratio on a normal ward of 10 patients to every nurse during the day and 20 patients to one nurse at night. It is impossible to provide quality care under these conditions.

Instead of intensifying and expanding the strike in response to managements provocations, Verdi is determined to reach an agreement as quickly as possible. At the Charite, the negotiations between Verdi and the management are well advanced and Verdi believes an agreement is possible in the next few days. While concrete terms for minimum staffing levels on wards are currently still being negotiated, the parties have agreed on what they refer to as burden compensation. The system awards a point to a staff member who works five shifts while understaffed. Each point can be converted into eight hours of free time. However, days off accruing from this scheme will be capped at five per year.

Such an arrangement would neither end the overworking of nurses nor improve patient care. If a nurse works two shifts lasting eight hours while understaffed, they are not even entitled to two hours of free time. With the Verdi proposal, the company would still make a hefty profit with every overworked nurse and health care worker who breaks down crying at the end of the shift.

In view of the real situation of constant overwork, the capping of time off at five days means that it would have little impact. Most nurses already work massive amounts of overtime that is almost impossible to reduce due to the lack of staff. Verdis proposal aims merely to legally codify this permanent state of overwork in a collective agreement.

Nursing staff cannot expect much from the minimum staffing rules under negotiation. As early as 2016, after the conclusion of the historic collective bargaining agreement with similar rules, Verdi announced with great fanfare that working conditions would improve massively. In fact, nothing has changed. On the contrary, the situation is so catastrophic today that nurses are prepared to strike for over three weeks.

At Vivantes, the management recently offered one day of leisure time compensation after 12 hours of understaffed work. Trainees would only receive the free day after working 48 shifts. Nonetheless, union representatives expressly stated that here, too, they were optimistic that an agreement could be found soon.

Verdis despicable role is also evident in the negotiations for the workers employed by Vivantes subsidiaries. The staff in the cleaning, catering, laboratory and security services departments have also been on strike for many weeks. These workers receive up to 900 less for the same work as employees in the parent company. According to the union, many do not even receive the minimum wage of 12.50.

Vivantes, whose supervisory board chairman is the Berlin Senator for Finance Matthias Kollatz (SPD), has refused to give any ground. Verdi and the employers have agreed to call on the former Brandenburg Minister-President Matthias Platzeck (SPD) to serve as a mediator. The worn-out Social Democrat was not chosen at random. Under Platzecks leadership, the strike by workers at Charite subsidiary CFM, which had been rumbling on for years, was only settled at the beginning of this year.

Verdi and Charite management sought to appease the approximately 2,500 employees with the prospect of an adjustment of wages to the TVOD (public sector collective agreement) after they had previously earned several hundred euros less for years. Even today, wages are still well below the TVOD. Verdi deliberately excluded the CFM from the current strike at the Charite. Platzeck is now supposed to enforce a similar fraud at Vivantes.

This shows how closely Verdi, management and the political establishment work together against the workers. This week, incoming mayor Franziska Giffey (SPD) met again in the Zionskirche with employees of the state-owned hospitals. Workers can only expect a further deterioration in their conditions under a new state government formed in the House of Representatives.

Giffey stated that in the upcoming exploratory talks with all parties, hospital financing will be an important topic. The main focus will be on how savings can be made at the state-owned hospitals. In the past few years, the municipal hospitals have received only a small amount of funds for investments, so that they had to finance them with their own funds that could actually have been diverted into patient care. The SPD has headed the Berlin government since 2001 and is therefore responsible for the current miserable conditions, together with the Left Party and the Greens.

It is becoming increasingly clear that the health care workers at Charite and Vivantes have to organize themselves in rank-and-file committees independently of Verdi in order to successfully lead the fight against the SPD/Left Party/Green Senate. The strike must be extended across the country and internationally. The whole working class must take action to come to the defence of health care workers.

The strike vote on an unlimited strike at the Brandenburger Asklepios hospitals in Brandenburg/Havel, Lubben and Teupitz concluded on October 5. Workers at these facilities recently organised a four-day warning strike. They are fighting for an increase in salaries, some of which are more than 10,000 per year below those of other Asklepios hospitals.
Educators from across Canada and their supporters met Sunday to discuss the significance of the October 1 school strike and how to take forward the fight for an eradication strategy to bring the COVID-19 pandemic to an end. The meeting was organized by the Cross-Canada Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee (CERSC), which fights to mobilize educators and other workers to close all in-person schooling and nonessential businesses, with full compensation for all impacted workers, until the deadly virus is suppressed.

Protest against the unsafe conditions in British Columbia's schools (source: BC Safe Schools)

Educators from Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia participated in the meeting, which concluded with the passage of a resolution declaring the CERSCs support for the school strike. The text of the resolution read:

The Cross-Canada Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee enthusiastically welcomes the October 1 school strike, which developed into an international demonstration of working-class opposition to the ruling elites murderous pandemic policy. The strike was initiated by British parent Lisa Diaz to protest the mass infection of children in schools for which governments in every country are responsible. It won support from educators, parents and students in Canada, the United States, Germany, France, Australia and other countries around the world.

The school strike powerfully demonstrated that if workers are to fight for a strategy to eradicate COVID-19 and save lives, they must take up a struggle independently of the nationalist trade unions. A central feature of the October 1 strike was that it was organized independently of the unions and capitalist parties. In every country in which educators participated, not a single trade union endorsed or even mentioned the event. The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) showed on the eve of the strike where the unions in every country really stand by holding a joint meeting with the right-wing extremist parents group Open Schools USA. The purpose of their meeting was to give a pseudo-scientific justification for keeping schools open and allowing children to get infected en masse.

The CERSC pledges to fight for the building of similar strikes and protest actions in Canada and internationally. October 1 underscored that widespread opposition exists to the ruling class policy of mass infection and death. What that opposition requires is organization and leadership. The CERSC is fighting to build rank-and-file safety committees in every school, arm educators and their supporters with a scientific understanding of the pandemic and an eradication strategy, and unify educators struggles around the world through the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees.

The meeting heard from Laurent, an educator from Quebec who posted a video last Friday declaring his solidarity with the school strike, as part of a global online picket against COVID-19. Laurent explained that the strike marked an important step forward in the development of a global movement of working people against the ruling elites policy of prioritizing corporate profits over the safeguarding of human lives. This is all the more necessary under conditions where governments the world over are abandoning even limited measures to restrict the spread of COVID-19, he added. Laurent noted the comments of Quebecs national director of public health, Horacio Arruda, who recently stated that the Quebec government was no longer trying to contain COVID-19 school outbreaks.

An Ontario parent informed the participants that he observed the school strike by keeping his children home and formally removing them from in-person schooling. Well over 2,000 COVID-19 cases have been detected in schools in the province since they opened one month ago. Kieran Moore, the provinces chief medical officer of health, notoriously remarked in August that it is necessary to normalize COVID-19 in our schools.

WSWS writers Alexandra Greene and Dylan Lubao also addressed the meeting. Lubao summarized the state of the pandemic across the country, laying particular stress on the horrendous conditions in Albertas hospitals. New infections in Alberta have risen above 1,600 per day as a result of the United Conservative Party governments decision last summer to abandon all public health measures, including testing and contact-tracing. The crush of sick people requiring health care has forced some hospitals to deny care to those least likely to survive.

Lubao continued, There is a concerted attempt by the press, and by prominent political figures, to contrast one provinces response to the pandemic favourably with another. As if we should be okay with five to ten daily deaths from COVID-19 in Ontario, compared to 20 or more per day in Alberta. The truth is, the entire country is embroiled in a raging pandemic, and no province can claim to be totally free of it until the world has eradicated it.

In her contribution, Greene focused on the importance of fighting for an eradication strategy. She noted that the official global COVID-19 death toll surpassed 5 million last Friday, which amounts to one death every five seconds since the pandemic began. It took just over a year for the official death toll to hit 2.5 million, she added. The next 2.5 million deaths were recorded in just under eight months, since February. So essentially, during the very same time frame that weve been told that life can return to normal, the pandemic has ended, we did all we could, the population is X percent vaccinated, things have not only not gotten better, they have gotten significantly worse.

An educator from British Columbia attending his first meeting said he has followed the work of the CERSC and is holding discussions with colleagues about the need to establish a rank-and-file committee. He remarked that only a left-wing broad-based popular movement could bring the pandemic under control, and denounced the trade unions for their role in suppressing opposition among educators. Noting the universal support within the political establishment for the prioritization of corporate profits over the protection of human life, he described the pandemic policies pursued by Jason Kenneys hard-right Conservative government in neighbouring Alberta and the New Democratic Party (NDP) government of John Horgan in BC as virtually identical.

Another parent participating in the meeting from BC recounted how the NDPs policy of systematically covering up outbreaks in schools and kindergartens had impacted his family. His daughter participated in an outing with her kindergarten class, which resulted two days later in an outbreak being declared. His daughters class was closed for two weeks as a result. Pointing to the fact that he is vulnerable to a COVID-19 infection, he expressed concern about what to do going forward. Should he keep his daughter at home or live apart from his family to protect himself, he asked.

A teacher from Ontario described how her unions suppression of opposition among educators had led her to the CERSC. She detailed how she was part of an initiative by rank-and-file educators last year to launch a sickout at their school after a COVID-19 outbreak occurred. Management got wind of the plan, which she strongly suspects was due to the union informing them. She was subsequently formally reprimanded by her local union president for trying to organize opposition to mass infections in schools.

Over the coming weeks, the CERSC will work to build the October 24 online webinar organized by the World Socialist Web Site and the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees: How to end the pandemic: The case for eradication. We urge all educators, parents, students, and workers who are unwilling to tolerate the criminal pandemic policy of the ruling elite to support the committees work. Follow our Twitter and Facebook accounts, share our statements and articles, and make contact to join us at: cersc.csppb@gmail.com.
The Committee for Public Education condemns this months dangerous reopening of schools in Melbourne and Sydney amid widespread COVID-19 community transmission. We urge teachers, school workers, students and working families to form and join rank-and-file action safety committees fighting for a scientifically-based eradication program to defend the lives of staff and students, including the right to fully-resourced online learning.

There is no scientific basis whatsoever for the rushed return to face-to-face teaching mandated in Victoria by the state Labor Party government and in New South Wales (NSW) by its Liberal-National counterpart. Epidemiological knowledge as well as bitter international experience leaves no doubt that if the school reopening drive goes unchallenged, the result will be entirely preventable serious illnesses and deaths of children and their educators.

A family walks past a fence near the harbour foreshore ahead of New Years Eve in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

This has been seen already in countries such as Britain and the United States, where schools have been forced open. Like its international counterparts, the ruling elite in Australia is being driven not by medical science but by a class agenda. Schools must be open and children brought back into classrooms in order for their parents to be herded into their workplaces. This is the keystone of the economic reopening, with corporations given free rein to maximise profits without regard for health and safety.

Even in the previous conditions of lockdown and remote learning, schools have been widely affected by coronavirus infections. Despite being available only for children of essential workers, and staffed on site by small numbers of teachers and administrators, 200 schools have had to close in Sydney and over 100 in Melbourne due to outbreaks. In response, authorities are changing the infection response guidelines, with new cases to see only specific classrooms asked to isolate, instead of whole schools.

Federal and state governments, Labor and Liberal-National alike, are seeking to condition the population to endemic COVID-19 infection. Not only has a scientifically-based strategy of eradicating the virus been dismissed, but many basic mitigation measures are being junked as part of the new let it rip agenda.

Face-to-face teaching imposed amid soaring infections

The Victorian Labor governments plan reflects the reckless and criminal character of the national plan for reopening. Melbourne has been in lockdown for nearly 250 days since the beginning of the pandemic. In-person teaching has been suspended for most of this period, with teachers and school staff working diligently to ensure children continued to learn while staying safe in their homes. Now, however, Premier Daniel Andrews is reopening the schools just as the states daily infection rate approaches 2,000, the highest level since the beginning of the pandemic. This infection tally has doubled in the past eight days.

More than 50,000 Year 12 students and their teachers have been forced back into the schools in Victoria this week. They will be followed by other year levels on a staggered basis between October 18 and November 5. In NSW, classrooms return between October 18 and November 1, though significant numbers of students are already returning to schools.

The Year 12s in Victoria were rushed back in order to do the General Achievement Test (GAT), part of final year assessments that determine post-secondary course qualification. In the weekend before the GAT, about 8,000 students were tested and 33 were positive. How many positive cases were missed among the untested student cohort remains unknown. The entirely unnecessary face-to-face administration of the test represented a potential super-spreading event. Today it was reported that four Year 12 students have tested positive after sitting the test.

Mandated so-called COVID-safe measures in all the states and territories are manifestly inadequate. Their primary purpose is to create the illusion of safety for the premature school reopening that is inherently unsafe.

Insufficient time has been allowed for school staff and students aged 12 and over to be fully vaccinated. Younger children remain unable to be vaccinated, with international safety trials still being finalised. The vaccine mandate for school staff in Victoria requires two doses of vaccine only by November 29, nearly two months after the reopening drive has begun. Students are not required to be vaccinated. Mask-wearing is only required for secondary, not primary, students. With children unvaccinated in primary schools, not wearing masks in often large class sizes, with no social distancing, classroom infections are expected to surge.

Similarly inadequate preparations are being made to improve ventilation in classrooms. In many older public schools, windows can only be partially opened and sometimes not at all. Where windows can be opened, the approach of summer will make classrooms unbearable on hot days. There is a large shortfall of air purification devices. The Victorian government has purchased 51,000 of these for public and low-fee private schools. With not enough for every classroom, the reported plan is to use the air purifiers in only areas deemed the highest risk, such as staffrooms, sick bays and music rooms. In NSW, the government has ordered only 10,000 purifiers.

Australias media and political establishment now insists that children and young people are not at significant risk from COVID-19. This is a blatant liebelied both by scientific research into the effects of the Delta variant of the coronavirus and by tragic experience around the world.

Tragic international experience

In Britain, the first two weeks of the schools reopening saw 59,000 children infected with COVID-19. In the United States, more than 200,000 children have been infected every week for five weeks, mostly the consequence of the return to face-to-face teaching. Behind these and similar statistics internationally lie countless preventable tragedies. In light of the media blackout in Australia, it is worth highlighting even a small number of cases:

In England on September 28, 15-year-old Jorja Halliday died of COVID-19, on the same day that she was booked to be vaccinated. A preliminary investigation indicated that she had myocarditis, which inflames the heart muscle and triggers chest pain and shortness of breath.

Earlier this year in the US, 10-year-old DaeShun Jamison died after contracting the coronavirus and Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C), a highly dangerous condition triggered in certain cases by COVID-19. He died after enduring a series of desperate medical interventions, including the amputation of his hands and legs. Three children are now dying of COVID in the US every day, alongside three educators.

Separate scientific studies published earlier this year from Israel and Britain indicated that as much as 10-15 percent of children who contract coronavirus develop long COVID symptoms, including serious respiratory issues, chronic fatigue and pain, and cognitive issues such as brain fog. One affected student, previously high-achieving 15-year-old Will Grogan, told the New York Times in August that science and maths work he mastered one day became incomprehensible to him the next, while he unknowingly inserted French vocabulary in his English assessments.

How many deaths and serious illnesses in children have authorities in Australia calculated as the acceptable price to be paid for the reopening? Such macabre forecasts have undoubtedly been developed behind closed doors, yet no genuine public debate has been permitted on the potential implications of the school systems reopening.

The worst-affected schools will be those in working-class areas. This is for two reasons: firstly, these areas have much higher rates of coronavirus infection, with low-paid and insecure workers who cannot work from home exposed to the virus in their workplaces, and secondly, the dilapidated and overcrowded nature of many public schools, which lack the facilities, support staff and infrastructure of the wealthiest private institutions.

Teacher unions complicit

A critical role is being played by the teacher unions. Throughout the pandemic, the Australian Education Union and NSW Teachers Federation (NSWTF) have functioned as the accomplices of state and federal governments, echoing every official pronouncement on the status of the schools while undermining every effort of teachers and school workers to defend their safety and that of their students in the face of efforts to keep classrooms open.

The unions are now complicit with the reopening of the schools. In a September 30 statement, NSWTF President Angelo Gavrielatos characterised the governments plan as necessary, but not without its challenges.

The AEU in Victoria has not issued a statement directly addressing the return to in-person teaching. Its lockstep support for the government was indicated in a September 22 press release enthusiastically welcoming the announcement of the inadequate number of air purifiers to be provided to schools.

The unions contempt for the safety and wellbeing of ordinary teachers has been expressed in social media replies to school workers concerns, insisting that COVID-19 issues should be addressed through individual schools union sub-branches and health and safety representatives. In other words, it is up to teachers in each school to fend for themselves, with the AEU washing its hands of any responsibility for the casualties that are to come.

This approach has been accompanied by the unions active suppression of opposition among teachers and school staff. Anti-democratic mechanisms have been utilised in several online union regional and town hall meetings, blocking critical voices and shutting down discussion. Several pseudo-left groups such as Socialist Alternative and Solidarity have collaborated with the bureaucracy, with the latter urging the unions to go even further in opposing lockdowns and other health restrictions.

Mounting global opposition

Opposition is nevertheless growing, evident in increasingly hostile social media comments directed against the unions from school workers. Some students are also speaking outthe Age reported yesterday that significant numbers of senior students in Melbournes working-class northern suburbs are refusing to return to their classrooms. Some schools, defying government guidelines, are offering online learning options.

Opposition from teachers and students also found expression in the support from Australia and internationally for the October 1 school strike in Britain initiated by Lisa Diaz and parent groups independent of the teacher unions.

The Committee for Public Education has fought from the beginning of the pandemic for the formation of rank-and-file safety committees, independent of the unions, in every school. We have sought to mobilise teachers and school workers in defence of their independent interests, in the face of the unions insistence that nothing could be done other than following the governments official health advice. Safety committees must be connected with similar committees that are being developed in schools and workplaces around the world, through the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC).

Ruling class fears of a movement from belowof teachers, construction workers, warehouse and retail staff, and health workers among otherswere a primary factor in the decision to implement previous lockdowns. Now, however, there is unanimous agreement within the political establishment that lockdowns, once lifted this month, will never again be permitted, even though the health risks to the population have never been as great.

Teachers, school workers, and students need to urgently mobilisethere are no grounds for a wait and see attitude given that large scale COVID-19 infection is inevitable if federal and state governments get their way!

The Committee for Public Education proposes the following measures:

No return to school in any area where there is COVID-19 community transmission! The only children who ought to be on site are those of emergency workers, who do not have other family to care for them, and this must be organised with the strictest safety precautions.

Cancel all end-of-year exams for senior students! No student or exam supervisor ought to have their lives threatened by entirely avoidable face-to-face assessments. University and other post-school applications can be equitably processed on the basis of teacher judgment and online classroom assessment.

Close non-essential workplaces, providing full financial and social support for parents who must stay home with their children until the pandemic is contained, within the framework of an international drive to eradicate coronavirus.

Full funding and resources for high-quality remote learning, including high-speed broadband access for all, and expert technical support to train and assist educators.

Proper personal protective equipment and other necessary supplies for all school staff. Nurses and medical professionals must be allocated to every school, with vaccinations made available to every student, school worker and nearby residents. Thousands more cleaners, provided with proper equipment, should be employed to stop the spread of the virus and overcome decades of neglect in public schools. Publicly-funded psychologists must be made available to students who are at risk from the disruption and potential trauma of their interrupted education.

No teacher should be victimised for calling attention to unsafe conditions! Teachers voices must be heard and acted on to protect safety and lives. All gag measures, such as public service codes of conduct, which restrict teachers from speaking publicly about what is happening in the schools, must be abolished. Ongoing and accessible information must be provided of COVID-19 outbreaks at schools.

Workloads must be reduced, including through lowered face-to-face teaching hours. Teachers should not be expected to do both online learning and in-class teaching, adding to already unbearable workloads. Those continuing online learning must be provided with extra time and professional development, and technical assistance to develop online skills. Extra staff must be employed to conduct such teaching as permanents and on full salary.

These necessary measures will require billions of dollars to sustain. Any claim there is no money is a self-interested lie, promoted by a wealthy corporate aristocracy and the Labor and Coalition governments that serve it. Nuclear submarines ordered from the US as part of the preparations for war against China are set to cost more than $100 billion. The personal wealth of the richest 200 families and individuals has soared during the pandemic and now totals nearly $500 billion. These resources must be redirected to public education, healthcare and to meeting the social needs of ordinary people.

These demands, crucial to ensuring the safety of educators and of all workers, can be realised only through a political struggle against the state and federal governments, and the capitalist profit system they defend. The experiences of the past months have demonstrated that the basic social rights of workers are incompatible with a society subordinated to the dictates of big business.

The growing opposition in the international working class must be mobilised to oppose the homicidal policies of the ruling class and fight for the eradication of COVID-19.

The CFPE calls for the widest discussion among educators on the necessity for a socialist program, which would involve the establishment of a workers government, the transformation of the banks and largest corporations into publicly-owned utilities under the democratic control of the working class, and free, high-quality education for all, from kindergarten to the tertiary level.

Contact the CFPE:

Email: cfpe.aus@gmail.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/commforpubliceducation

Twitter: @CFPE_Australia
This week, a new multinational study was released in preprint form investigating the burden of COVID-19 in developing countries. As the authors noted, the lack of appreciable detailed systematic data at national and subnational levels in low-income countries has made estimating the impact of COVID-19 in these regions complex.

The generally low reported deaths from COVID-19 in low-income countries has given the appearance that these regions, because of the populations overall younger age, as some have observed, have skirted the pandemics impact compared to high-income countries. However, the true toll may be hidden due to underreporting. It remains a pressing issue, as a global response to the pandemic requires an accurate assessment of the devastation wrought by the pandemic in every part of the world.

The World Health Organization has assessed that the deaths from COVID-19 at the end of 2020 were at least three million instead of the officially reported 1.8 million. They wrote, COVID-19 deaths are a key indicator to track the evolution of the pandemic. However, many countries still lack functioning civil registration and vital statistics systems with the capacity to provide accurate, complete, and timely data on births, deaths, and causes of deaths.

The Economists analysis of excess deaths recently placed the burden of the pandemic at over 15 million deaths, even though reported COVID deaths were less than five million at that time. Many low-income nations had excess deaths many times as high as their official figures for COVID deaths, though they also acknowledged the uncertainty of these estimates due to inadequate data.

Even the model of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, one of the more conservative, places the current excess COVID-19 deaths at 12.35 million globally. In contrast, their current projections for reported COVID-19 deaths stand at 5.2 million, a vast undercounting indeed.

The latest study also acknowledges that substantial undercounts in developing countries may be contributing to these discrepancies. A study from Zambia noted that only ten percent of those who died from COVID with a documented positive PCR test had their deaths appropriately registered. The epidemiological investigation found that COVID may have caused up to 87 percent of all deaths in the country in mid-2021.

Similarly, the cumulative COVID deaths as of September 2021 in India are reported at 450,000. However, a study posted in preprint form in July 2021, estimating excess deaths through a review of civil registration system data, facility-based death reporting systems, and national-level surveys, found that more than three million lives had been lost to COVID or seven to eight times higher than reported.

Accordingly, the authors sought to determine the overall prevalence of COVID-19 infection in developing nations, establish the relationship between seroprevalence in relation to age, and then establish Infection Fatality Rates (the proportion of deaths among all those infected, including both detected and undetected cases) by age for these countries. Finally, they attempted to compare the IFR to those from high-income countries.

The rationale for using IFR is that many infected people are asymptomatic or have only mild symptoms and remain undetected. While proportion of deaths to diagnosed cases, or Case Fatality Rate, is easier to determine, IFR provides a more accurate assessment of the burden of the disease in the population.

As previously mentioned, the relationship between age and COVID-19 mortality is a critical factor to investigate. In many developing countries, the populations median age is much lower than in high-income regions, leading many to conjecture that these countries are indubitably protected. The authors wrote, Several recent studies have assessed the severity of COVID-19 in high-income countries with advanced healthcare systems, and several have documented a strong relationship between IFR and age. Indeed, one study found that differences in the age composition of the population and the age-specific prevalence of COVID-19 accounted for nearly 90 percent of the variation in population IFR across locations.

Their findings have refuted previously held views that such regions were spared the pandemics devastation and provide the necessary context for the discrepancies between reported COVID deaths and excess deaths as documented in the cited sources.

The IFR was estimated on the basis of seroprevalence , the presence of antibodies to coronavirus in the blood serum of those tested . This measure of the level of infection in the population was considerably higher across developing countries after a single wave of infections compared to high-income countries. The authors write, Where the majority of high-income locations have seroprevalence below 20 percenta large number of developing countries have seroprevalence far exceeding this rate. This means that in the course of a surge of infections, a large swath of the population became infected.

Figure 1 Age-Specific Seroprevalence by Location

A significant finding of theirs noted that seroprevalence across age groups in developing countries was essentially the same, which meant that young people were as likely to become infected as the elderly.

The abject poverty across many of these developing regions, including Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia, is crippling. Many families are forced to live together in cramped dwellings. Those fortunate enough to find employment work in demanding manual labor in proximity to other workers, which gives the virus ample room to spread deep into communities. In such instances, the idea that the elderly populations can be insulated is preposterous.

Regarding estimates of regional IFR for a developing countrys population compared to high-income countries, these were more heterogeneous. Five regions were below the estimates for high-income countries, and four were equal. Broken down to smaller locations, sixteen were higher, of which eight areas had IFR double that of high-income estimates. Such differences may seem perplexing, but more on this later.

When the IFR between high and low-income countries was stratified by age, the real burden of the pandemic on developing countries became clearer. For instance, even though the virus rarely kills young people, the age-specific fatalities in developing countries compared to high-income countries for those under 25 were 2.3 times higher. In other words, someone of the same age in a developing country had more than double the risk of dying from COVID than his counterpart in a country with significantly more resources.

Figure 2 Table showing Comparison of the ratio of IFR between Low and High income areas by age

As the age groups rose, the differences in fatality ratios narrowed but never converged. For instance, those between 40 and 50 years had an IFR nearly twice those at the same age in high-income nations. Between 60 and 70, the IFR was 1.5 times higher in developing countries.

These discrepancies in fatality ratio underscore the significant impact socioeconomic factors have on any country. Early in the pandemic, it quickly became known that early medical intervention saved lives. Access to hospitals, high concentration oxygen, intensive care units, and variety of pharmaceuticals are indispensable to someones chances of surviving COVID-19.

The massive waves that struck diverse regions such as Brazil, Eastern Europe, Africa, and India demonstrated how quickly a developing countrys health sector became inundated. Scenes of families waiting in line with empty canisters of oxygen juxtaposed with mass graves and funeral pyres on fire were replete in the press. The graph of excess deaths from Poland and South Africa below captures the true hidden magnitude of devastation when these surges swept through the country.

Figure 3 Daily Excess Deaths (Red Line) vs COVID reported deaths (Grey shade) across Poland and South Africa.

Regarding the discrepancies in IFR by various regions, the authors compared these estimates with the percent of well-certified death registrations. As the figure below demonstrates, countries that more accurately documented the cause of death generally had a higher population IFR. In contrast, countries like India, Pakistan, Nepal, Kenya, and Ethiopia, with low population IFR, were deficient in certifying deaths properly.

The authors wrote, In general, the most likely explanation for large differences in reported IFR appears to simply be the recording of deaths in each region. While other factors such as GDP are correlated with death rates, they are also highly correlated with death reporting, and a likely explanation appears to be that the majority of places with very low IFRs are simply those places that cannot capture COVID-19 deaths adequately.

In other words, poor countries did not escape the impact of the pandemic, they simply lacked the reporting capacity to document this impact systematically.

Figure 4 Population IFR and well-certified death registrations

The study underscores first and foremost the global character of the pandemic. No region has been spared the devastation caused by the capitalist policies that have allowed the virus to move freely so as not to impede the insatiable drive for profits. It also has glaringly exposed the tremendous inequity in access to resources that have produced such social misery.

Though global GDP fell by 3.3 percent in 2020, the collective wealth of the worlds billionaires increased by nearly $4 trillion in the same period.

The economic loss, in real terms, means the equivalent of 255 million jobs were erased across the globe, but particularly in Latin America, Southern Europe, and Southern Asia. The IMF predicts that 95 million more people have fallen into extreme poverty, with an additional 207 million by 2030 as a byproduct of the severe long-term impact of the pandemic.

Not only are more people becoming infected in the poorer countries than in high income countries, because of the inability to carry out social distancing, masking and other mitigation measures, the mortality rate associated with COVID infections is higher, for lack of health care infrastructure. Weak reporting systems mean that there is a vast burden of death hidden from the eyes of the world.

Only an international strategy based on a socialist revolutionary perspective can address these massive and harrowing disparities.

The ruling elites are not only refusing to use the resources needed to combat COVID-19 because it would lower their profits. They see the pandemic as a welcome natural catastrophe that will rid the planet of what they deem to be unproductive people who are only a drain on their ability to extract more surplus value. This is the other unspoken and criminal aspect of their policy towards the coronavirus.
Since New Zealand first went into a nationwide lockdown in March 2020, it has been one of a very small handful of countries with a stated policy of eliminating COVID-19 from the community.

On Monday, the Labour Party Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that this strategy is now being abandonedin the middle of an outbreak in the largest city, Auckland. She told a press conference that the highly-infectious Delta variant was a game changer and the government would be transitioning from our current strategy into a new way of doing things.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern addresses a post-Cabinet press conference at Parliament in Wellington, New Zealand on October 4, 2021. (Mark Mitchell/Pool Photo via AP)

Ardern justified the about-face by saying that long periods of heavy restrictions has not got us to zero cases... Elimination was important because we didnt have vaccines; now we do, so we can begin to change the way we do things. New Zealand would shift towards using everyday public health measures and relying on vaccination.

The announcement was gleefully reported in the media internationally, which insists that there is no alternative to allowing the virus to spread and infect the population, killing large numbers of people. The ruling elites in every country view shutdowns and school closures as an intolerable burden on profits. Their perspective was summed up by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnsons infamous statement: No more f...ing lockdownslet the bodies pile high in their thousands.

New Zealand and China, and to some extent Australia, have demonstrated that it is possible to stamp out the virus and protect lives using strict lockdowns and other public health measures. Since the start of the pandemic, just 28 people have died from COVID-19 in New Zealand. The countrys record has been cited by workers internationally, including teachers and parents, who are seeking to fight back against the homicidal reopening of schools and workplaces which has led to countless preventable deaths.

Contrary to Arderns claims, even the Delta variant can be eliminated. New Zealand was on track to eliminate its current outbreak with a strict level 4 nationwide lockdown imposed on August 18. The total number of active cases in the community peaked at 725 on September 2, then dropped to a low point of just 202 on September 28, as most people had recovered from the infection.

In response to pressure from big business, however, the government lifted the lockdown outside Auckland on September 8, and on September 22 lowered restrictions in the city to level 3. Against the advice of public health experts, it allowed more than 200,000 people to return to workplaces. Auckland schools and early childhood centres reopened for small groups. Following these changes, the size of the outbreak has again expanded, reaching a total of 350 active cases today.

The government is responding, not by reimposing restrictions, but by further easing the lockdown. Ardern announced that as of this week, people in Auckland can resume outdoor recreational activities, friends can meet outside in small groups, and more children can return to early childcare centres. In coming weeks, more retail outlets will open, and on October 18 the citys schools are scheduled to reopen.

Echoing politicians in the US and other countries, Ardern said the reopening roadmap was safe because more people are now vaccinated. She told the media yesterday the vaccine is a ticket to freedom, it is the most effective tool we have to lower restrictions.

In fact, vaccination alone cannot stop significant numbers of deaths from COVID-19. Even countries where more than 80 percent of the eligible population is vaccinated, such as Singapore and Israel, are experiencing a surge in cases and deaths.

In New Zealand, the risk is much greater because only 39 percent of the total population has been fully vaccinated (48 percent of the eligible population aged over 12). This is lower than in the UK, where up to 1,000 COVID-19 deaths are being reported each week and hospitals are in a state of crisis.

Modelling by Professor Shaun Hendy, one of the Ardern governments key advisors, shows that even with 80 percent of eligible people fully vaccinated, New Zealand could experience 7,000 deaths from the virus, and more than 58,000 hospitalisations over the course of one year.

The hospital system is grossly understaffed and underfunded, and will be quickly swamped in a significant outbreak. Tania Mitchell, chairperson of the College of Critical Care Nurses, told Newshub on Monday: Im afraid for the public. Im afraid for the hospitals, the health service. Im afraid for my colleagues, our team that this will be overwhelming for us. New Zealand has 4.6 intensive care beds for every 100,000 people, fewer than the UK (6.4) and Australia (8.9).

Microbiologist Dr Siouxsie Wiles pointed out that any outbreak will hit the poor and working class hardest, telling TVNZ: Whats so distressing about the approach that were taking is the burdens not going to be felt equally. She pointed out that those calling for lifting restrictions were the wealthy and the privileged, and thats because they have access to private healthcare and theyre not going to be as affected. Wiles was particularly concerned about reopening schools, which have been a major source of infections and deaths internationally.

These comments are especially significant because Wiles had previously broadly supported the governments pandemic policies. In March, she was awarded New Zealander of the Year by Ardern.

The governments decision has undoubtedly come as a shock to many workers, who overwhelmingly support lockdowns. A New Zealand Herald poll of 1,000 people in August found that only 13 percent believed the country should learn to live with the coronavirus, while 85 percent supported an elimination policy.

An anti-lockdown protest over the weekend by the far-right Destiny Church, which received a huge amount of coverage in the media after police allowed it to go ahead, prompted significant anger among ordinary people. An online petition for the church leader Brian Tamaki to be prosecuted quickly gained almost 150,000 signatures. Yesterday, police laid charges against Tamaki for breaking the lockdown.

There is clearly concern within the political establishment about a resurgence of opposition in the working class. A statement from the Green Party, which is part of the Labour-led coalition government, opposed Arderns announcement, saying: Elimination has protected thousands of lives in Aotearoa [NZ]. We have to stay the course to keep everyone safe.

The Greens and the Maori Party highlighted the vulnerability of Maori and Pacific Island people, who have lower vaccination rates and more health problems that increase the danger of severe illness if they get COVID-19. By encouraging the illusion that Labour can be pressured to change course, these parties are trying to ensure that opposition does not get out of hand.

Meanwhile, the left Daily Blog editor Martyn Bradbury, despite denouncing the opposition National Party as death cult capitalists for seeking a rapid end to restrictions, has leapt to the defence of Arderns reopening policy. Basically accepting that it is now impossible to eliminate the virus, he falsely declared: Delta will become endemic and nothing short of perpetual lockdown will end that. You cant tell double vaccinated people they must curtail their freedom forever.

Working people must reject the abandonment of the elimination strategy, which threatens to unleash mass deaths and severe illnesses. This requires a conscious political break from Labour, the unions, and their apologists.

As the WSWS has warned, Labour, a capitalist party, has never been seriously committed to elimination, and has repeatedly sought to accommodate the demands of big business. In March 2020, the Labour government and the trade union bureaucracy initially opposed the closure of businesses and schools. Ardern was forced to change course and impose one of the worlds strictest lockdowns only after the emergence of mass opposition among healthcare workers, teachers and others independently of the unions.

Workers, teachers and parents in New Zealand and internationally should build rank-and-file safety committees and to prepare strikes and other actions in opposition to the reopening of schools and workplaces while COVID-19 is still spreading in Auckland.

We urge readers to attend the upcoming webinar, organised by the World Socialist Web Site and the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees, How to end the pandemic: The case for eradication, where scientists, socialists and workers will discuss the necessary steps to stamp out the virus on a global scale.
The state of Missouri carried out the execution of Ernest Lee Johnson on Tuesday after Governor Mike Parson denied clemency for the intellectually disabled prisoner. The US Supreme Court denied a final appeal Tuesday afternoon.

Johnson was put to death by lethal injection at the state prison in Bonne Terre. He died at 6:11 p.m., according to the Missouri Department of Corrections.

Ernest Lee Johnson

Aged 61 at the time of his execution, Johnson was convicted in 1995 of first-degree murder for the killings of Mary Bratcher, 46, Mable Scruggs, 57, and Fred Jones, 58, during a robbery at a Caseys General Store in Columbia, Missouri.

Johnsons lawyers and anti-death penalty advocates argued that his execution was illegal due to his intellectual disability and called for his sentence to be commuted to life in prison. In 2002, the US Supreme Court ruled in Atkins v. Virginia that the use of the death penalty against individuals with intellectual disability (known at the time as mental retardation) violated the Eighth Amendment to the US Constitutions prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment.

Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty organized rallies around the state as the time of execution approached. Ernest Johnson is someone with an intellectual disability, the groups executive director Elyse Max said. He is very, very kind. He is a mentor to many people, he is strong in his faith  There is no logical reason or no public safety issue. Hes not a threat to future safety. Its not a deterrent. This is immoral to take away someones life in the name of public safety.

Johnsons lawyers also said that the drug used by Missouri in its execution protocol could cause him painful and violent seizures, given that he still has part of a benign tumor in his brain. He had about 20 percent of his brain removed in surgery in 2008 to treat the condition.

A press release from the governors office quoted Parsons, a Republican, saying, The state is prepared to deliver justice and carry out the lawful sentence Mr. Johnson received in accordance with the Missouri Supreme Courts order. The states high court last month refused to halt the execution, ruling that Johnson was not intellectually disabled, in part because he had planned the murders.

Johnsons original death sentence in 1995 was overturned because his lawyers did not present testimony about his traumatic childhood and his drug addiction. His second conviction was overturned based on the US Supreme Courts 2002 ruling barring execution of the intellectually disabled.

According to advocates for the condemned man, Johnson had developmental delays since birth, when he was born with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder to a mother who battled addiction and drank regularly while she was pregnant. Johnson was assessed as reading at a third-grade level and has consistently scored in the intellectually disabled range on standardized tests since the age of 8.

In ruling against Johnson, Missouris high court relied on the opinion of a prosecution expert who was never called to testify and whose test results contradicted key opinions expressed in his own expert report, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. The court also repeatedly discounted defense evidence of Johnsons functional impairments, saying nonsensically that Johnson failed to prove a causal connection between his [impairments in day-to-day-functioning] and his alleged intellectual impairment.

In the time leading up to Johnsons execution, Pope Francis and two Democratic members of the Missouri congressional delegation issued calls for his sentence to be set aside. US Representatives Cori Bush and Emanuel Cleaver II petitioned Governor Parson to halt the execution. The fact of the matter is that these death sentences are not about justice. They are about who has institutional power and who doesnt, they wrote. Like slavery and lynching did before it, the death penalty perpetuates cycles of trauma, violence and state-sanctioned murder in Black and brown communities.

Former Missouri Supreme Court Justice Michael Wolff, who voted with the majority of the court 13 years ago to deny Johnsons appeal, as well as former Missouri Governor Bob Holden, a Democrat who oversaw 20 executions while in office, also called on Parson to grant Johnson clemency.

The Kansas City Stars editorial board criticized Parson for failing to convene a board of inquiry into Johnsons sentence, writing: When the state, our state, does kill this man, as it almost certainly will, it will be yet another indictment of a system so bloodthirsty that it delights in vengeance against those who dont even know why theyre being punished.

While blacks and Latinos are disproportionately sentenced to death in the US, with Johnsons execution Missouris death row is now comprised of six blacks and 14 whites. The death penalty is overwhelmingly reserved for workers and the poor, many of whom, like Johnson, are victims of an abysmal legal defense.

In keeping with the ruling elites homicidal herd immunity policy in the COVID-19 pandemic, the state-sponsored killing machine has not been put on hold.

So far during the pandemic, from January 2020 to the present, 19 death row prisoners have been sent to their deaths, including 10 in states that still practice capital punishment (Texas, Missouri, Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia) and nine by the federal government. The nine federal executions were pushed through by the Trump administration and its fascistic attorney general, Bill Barr, before Trump left office, ending a two-decade moratorium on federal executions.

Eight executions are scheduled for the remainder of 2021, including four in Texas, one in Alabama and three in Oklahoma.

Oklahoma is seeking to resume executions in the state after they were paused for more than five years after a series of executions went horribly wrong, leaving the condemned writhing on the execution gurney, due to untested lethal injection protocols devised when the deadly chemicals formerly used were in short supply.
On the advice of the trade unions and establishment political parties, many companies had postponed their announcements of rationalization measures, mass layoffs and plant closures until after the election.

The aim was to prevent further workers protests during the election campaign and on election day, in addition to the strike by train drivers, the protests by Siemens Energy workers in Berlin against massive job cuts at the gas turbine plant, and the strike by workers at Berlins two largest hospital groups.

But as soon as the polling stations were closed, there was a hail of bad news from factories and corporate headquarters.

Opel Eisenach

Company management suddenly announced short-time working until the end of the year, which means massive wage losses for employees. There are also clear indications that the production stop will be used to prepare the closure of the plant in close collaboration with the works council and IG Metall union.

Opel plant in Eisenach (Photo by CEphoto, Uwe Aranas

Ford Saarlouis and Cologne

On the sidelines of the Automotive Congress in Saarbrucken last week, Ford workers again demonstrated against the massive job cuts at the Saarlouis plant. The future of the historic plant, which celebrated its 50th anniversary last year with great pomp, is completely uncertain. In his provocatively arrogant manner, Ford Germany boss Gunnar Herrmann told the S aarbrucker Zeitung that if there was any future at all for the plant, it would only be if all employees brought gigantic flexibility with them in the future. Gigantic flexibility is apparently the new term for the slave-like exploitation of labour.

In Cologne, Ford has stopped Fiesta production until the end of October because of the shortage of materials. What will happen to the plants after the crisis is still completely unclear. Last week, the groups management suddenly announced that it would focus its transition to electric mobility heavily on the US and build new plants in the states of Kentucky and Tennessee.

VW Wolfsburg

Gigantic flexibility is also to be introduced at VW. Company management announced a radical restructuring to compete against Tesla and the competition from China.

Last Thursday, Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess and brand boss Ralf Brandstatter called all 120 top managers together in Wolfsburg for a crisis meeting. They said there had to be a revolution at the main plant, similar to open-heart surgery. The VW bosses stressed: Without a massive increase in productivity and profitability, the group would not be able to hold its own in the international market.

Tesla, but also the many new Chinese manufacturers, produce more cheaply and faster. At the same time, the quality of their vehicles is improving all the time and has now reached European standards. As a result, more than 70 percent of Chinese customers have already decided to buy their next premium vehicle from a Chinese manufacturer, according to automotive experts from the consulting firm Kearney. In addition, a Tesla 3 is built in ten hours, more than three times as fast as a VW ID.3 in Zwickau. This puts Tesla in a different dimension in terms of productivity and profitability.

Bolta-Werke

Bavarian automotive supplier Bolta Werke from the Nuremberg region has filed for bankruptcy. Bolta says it has around 1,000 employees at its Diepersdorf headquarters. In terms of the number of employees, it is one of the largest companies in the Nuremberg region. The company has subsidiaries in the south of the USA and in Mexico. Worldwide, 2,400 people work for the Bolta Group.

FAM

The long-established machine and plant manufacturer FAM is cutting 100 of the total of almost 600 jobs at its Magdeburg site. According to the report, employees were informed of details of the job cuts at a works meeting last Wednesday. To prevent protests, the works council and IG Metall immediately announced there would be a transfer company and severance pay for those affected.

Blohm+Voss

The long-established Hamburg shipyard Blohm+Voss is facing mass layoffs. At a staff meeting last Friday, the management of the parent company Lurssen, from Bremen, announced that a large part of the workforce will have to leave. Currently, the shipyard has about 580 employees. The union announced it would hold negotiations.

Evonic

The Essen-based Dax-listed group made a surprise announcement a week ago that the Niederkassel-Lulsdorf site, in the Rhine-Sieg district of North Rhine-Westphalia, is to be abandoned in the foreseeable future. The aim is to sell the entire Niederkassel site to a new owner. The future of the 600 employees is completely uncertain.

This list could go on and on, and it grows longer every day.

After the elections, the ruling class is implementing a general attack on workers. The hundreds of billions of euros that flowed primarily into the large companies and banks in the course of the so-called coronavirus rescue packages are now being recovered. At the same time, the German economy is to be made more profitable in the face of international competition. All this requires massive attacks on wages, working conditions and jobs. In the auto industry alone, half a million jobs are at stake.

Workers who take up the fight to defend jobs, and against social cuts and wage reductions, are confronted not only with all the parties in the Bundestag (federal parliament), but also with the unions and works councils, which form a close pact with management and corporate executives. They act as co-managers and develop concepts for the corporations and government to assert the interests of German industry in the global competition for markets and profits.

In doing so, they use their extensive apparatus of functionaries, including works council representatives and shop stewards, to suppress a real struggle to defend jobs, wages and social standards. This strategy also includes pseudo-protests that serve only to spread frustration and site-specific campaigns that divide and pit workers against each other. But the unions are increasingly failing to control and suppress the growing resistance in the workplaces.

The Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (Socialist Equality Party, SGP) has prepared the working class for this development. During the election campaign, we explained the importance of building rank-and-file committees in which workers organize independently of the corporatist unions and network internationally.

In the perspective Germanys federal election and the intensification of the class struggle, we wrote a few days before the election:

All over the world, workers are facing the same multinationals and financial interests. That is why they cannot allow themselves to be divided. They can only defend their rights and gains if they coordinate their struggles internationally. This requires a break with the trade unions and the building of the International Workers Alliance of Action Committees (IWA-RFC).

At the same time, we have stated that workers need their own party to develop and provide political leadership for their struggles. The SGP is the only party that bases itself on an international, socialist programme to give the working class a clear and principled perspective in the present and coming struggles with corporations, government and unions.

Building independent rank-and-file committees in the workplaces and the SGP as the new mass party of the working class is now crucial.
New Yorks Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul said last week she is prepared to deploy the National Guard to hospitals facing critical staffing shortages. On top of existing labor shortfalls, an estimated 8 percent of hospital staff are facing dismissal for refusal to receive the COVID-19 vaccine by the state deadline.

The deployment comes as over 2,000 nurses and other health care workers in Buffalo, New York, are on strike. In addition to protests and strike action by health care workers across the country to demand safe staffing ratios, many are leaving the profession due to stress and overwork caused by the massive surge in the pandemic. National Guard members are paid by the state and cannot refuse deployment without risking arrest, fines or even prison.

In addition to being deployed to shore up vacant medical staff positions, the National Guard has been activated to drive school buses and function as nursing home caretakers, construction workers, school cafeteria workers and meat processors. The widespread mobilization of the National Guard to fill positions underscores the state policy of maintaining production and reopening schools despite the catastrophic spread of the pandemic throughout the country.

Deployments have become more common in the health care industry. In the past month alone, thousands of National Guard have been called up to fill in vacant staffing at hospitals in Vermont, Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee, Oregon, California and Georgia. They are also fulfilling roles in logistics, triage, administration and in some cases working as medics performing vaccinations. As Megan Wade-Taxter of the Indiana Health Department put it, the National Guard are being utilized to support hospitals that have exhausted all other staffing options.

Tristar Regional, the recipient of National Guard deployment in Kentucky, is a subsidiary of the largest health care organization in the United States. The company, which reported $1.45 billion in second quarter profits in 2021, is relying on state-funded labor to maintain operations. In fact, the three largest hospital companies in the United States, recipients of over $1.1 billion in federal stimulus as well as National Guard deployments, have posted over $2 billion in profits last quarter alone.

Guard deployments are not only a financial windfall for for-profit medical but also help spin a narrative that a shortage of doctors and nurses is due to vaccine hesitancy and not exhaustion and poor working conditions.

A study by the American Nursing Association and a coalition of universities independently found that while peripheral health care workers may show higher rates of vaccine hesitancy that correlate to a number of factors, vaccination rates of doctors and nurses trend well above 90 percent.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta told CNN a week ago, If you dig into the data in New York, 95 percent of nurses [are] vaccinated and 98 to 99 percent of doctors are vaccinated, but there are a lot of people who make up health care workers.

The Republican Party is seeking to blame short staffing on vaccine mandates, while the Democrats are blaming it on the very small percent of nurses who remain unvaccinated. In fact, the crisis in health care is the product of the decades-long attack on the health care infrastructure, the subordination of the entire industry to private profit and the catastrophic impact of the reopening of schools and the economy, supported by both big business parties.

Many nurses have expressed concerns about the capability of field medics working in unfamiliar hospital situations. One pediatric nurse observed in a Reddit post that the deployments meant the state is going to subsidize hospitals at the expense of nurses. Another asked, Isnt this kind of a six of one, half dozen of the other solution? Most National Guard people I know who have medical Military Occupational Specialty also work in health care as their full-time jobs. Activating them helps out whoever they get sent to help, but it short-hands wherever it is that they usually work.

These Guard personnel may also not have sufficient expertise to support civilian hospitals. One Guard member stated in a Reddit discussion on the deployments, I was a medic with EMT-B certification. In a military hospital or clinic, I could do IVs, catheters, suture removals or placements, etc. But in a civilian hospital, our training would not be good enough.

Staffing shortages have led to the relaxation of standards all over the country. In New York, executive orders have loosened medical practice requirements to allow the employment of retired professionals and former medics whose certifications have lapsed. One Florida nurse shared, They have podiatry residents now working in the ER here.

Short staffing will only continue to increase as COVID-19 hospitalization rates peak and medical professionals continue to quit. Surveys of doctors and nurses leaving their jobs cite overwork, disorganization, lack of agency in the workplace and, most tellingly, the trauma of witnessing so much death as their main reasons for leaving the profession, not vaccine mandates.

California and Maine also enacted vaccination mandates for health care workers on September 30 and October 1. The vaccination of health care workers is medically necessary to protect staff and patients from COVID-19, and mandates are proven to work to raise vaccination levels significantly where in place. In the week leading up to the mandate in New York, vaccination rates jumped from between 82-84 percent of all 650,000 hospital and nursing home workers to a total 92 percent by the deadline.

Mass vaccination must be accompanied by a scientifically driven comprehensive response to the pandemic, utilizing all public health measures to bring cases down to zero. What is needed is a clear, science-based plan for the eradication of COVID-19 combined with expansion of medical resources to treat those affected by illness.

Leading global scientists and epidemiologists insist that eradication is possible even now. Through vaccination, masking, robust contact tracing and social distancing measures, such as school closures and restrictions on public gatherings, experts predict that COVID-19 could be eradicated in as little as 60 days.

Instead of pursuing an end to the pandemic, the ruling classes have implemented the herd immunity policy which has morphed into insistence that workers must learn to live with the virus. They have called for the lifting of essentially all COVID-19 mitigations, relying solely on the vaccines. Meanwhile they are attempting to supplement the skeleton staffing at for-profit hospitals with military labor.
Dominic Perrottet, a right-wing figure closely associated with the corporate drive to lift all lockdowns and COVID-19 safety restrictions, was yesterday installed as the premier of New South Wales (NSW). Perrottet overwhelmingly won Tuesdays party room ballot to determine the leader of the Liberal Party, and consequently, of its coalition government with the Nationals.

The result means that amid the countrys worst coronavirus outbreak, the plans to lift the NSW lockdown and fully reopen the economy, beginning next Monday, will be overseen by a representative of the Liberals hard right faction who has opposed any imposts on private profit, including public health measures, throughout the pandemic.

Dominic Perrottet (Photo: CEBIT Australia)

It has often been said that the real content of a political crisis becomes apparent by what emerges out of it. Such is the case with Perrottets elevation and accompanying wholesale change in the leadership of the state government.

Gladys Berejiklian announced her sudden resignation as premier last Friday, after the states Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) told her it would be issuing a public statement naming her as a subject of investigation. Her forced removal has largely been presented in the media as the outcome solely of the allegations against her.

But as Berejiklian herself noted, the substantive accusations against her had been known publicly since last October. They hinge on the fact that she did not disclose a personal relationship with Darryl Macguire, a former Liberal MP who has since been accused of corruption.

That more was involved in Berejiklians ouster was indicated by the rapid departure of other senior figures in her government. Nationals leader and deputy premier John Barrilaro announced on Monday he was quitting politics, citing the stresses of public life. Andrew Constance, a cabinet minister, declared that he was leaving state politics to seek pre-selection for a federal electorate.

In effect, the governments senior leadership stepped down within 48 hours. The upheaval was clearly linked to factional conflicts within the government, with senior figures leaking against one another to the media for months.

More fundamentally, however, as statements from Perrottet have made clear, the cleanout is bound up with a broader shift from limited measures aimed at mitigating the worst effects of the pandemic, to a let it rip policy that allows the unfettered spread of COVID so that full profit-making activities can resume.

Throughout the pandemic, Berejiklian herself agitated against lockdowns and other restrictions, a policy upon which her political fate largely hinged. The NSW governments refusal to institute any safety measures after Delta infections were first identified in mid-June, led to the countrys worst outbreak, which continues to result in daily infections of more than 500 in NSW and soaring case numbers exceeding 1,700 in the neighbouring state of Victoria.

Amid widespread opposition and fears of a collapse of the hospital system, Berejkilian was compelled to institute limited lockdown measures in late June. The inadequate restrictions, which never extended to widespread workplace closures, have nevertheless been a source of frustration in corporate circles.

Leaks to the media indicate that Perrottet has articulated these sentiments through much of the COVID crisis.

In June, when the Delta outbreak began, Perrottet, according to the ABC, was keen to keep things as open as possible. In July, he allegedly argued against any extension of lockdown measures, calling instead for a full reopening. At that point, fewer than 20 percent of the states adults were fully-vaccinated.

Berejiklian last month announced a roadmap for the end of restrictions, including the lifting of the lockdown on October 11, a further easing in November and a full reopening at the beginning of December. The plan, based on arbitrary inoculation levels that have failed to halt COVID surges internationally, was welcomed by the corporate and financial elite, but frustration was voiced over the pace of the roadmap.

Even before his formal installation yesterday, Perrottet flagged a faster reopening. According to the Australian, on the very first day of his premiership, Perrottet was in discussions with Health Minister Brad Hazzard about accelerating the return of schooling and easing restrictions around religious services. The issue was to be discussed at the first cabinet meeting chaired by Perrottet today, along with a proposal to reshape the states crisis cabinet to prioritise economic recovery and community wellbeing over day-to-day emergency management.

This is an agenda dictated by the financial elite. Perrottets references to economic recovery are a euphemism for forcing teachers and students into classrooms as quickly as possible, and workers into their places of employment.

The recovery envisaged by the ruling class also involves a stepped-up offensive against the jobs, wages and conditions of working people, and a further pro-business restructuring of workplace relations, centering on the destruction of full-time employment. Former Prime Minister John Howard endorsed Perrottet before yesterdays ballot, on the grounds of his commitment to such economic reform and tax changes that would favour the wealthy.

Perrottet has previously railed against even the current poverty-level welfare payments for the unemployed and the poor, declaring that they result in delinquency, dysfunction, crime and family breakdown. He contemptuously labelled the working-class Sydney suburb of Mount Druitt, one of the citys poorest, as a tangle of pathologies.

At the same time, he has campaigned against civil liberties, including abortion and same-sex marriage. Perrottet hailed fascistic Donald Trumps election as US president in 2016, describing it as a blow against persecution by the left.

While some corporate outlets have voiced nervousness over Perrottets extreme-right positions, these are closely connected to the agenda that the ruling class is demanding. Perrottet is tasked with imposing a reopening that the NSW authorities themselves predict will likely overwhelm the hospitals and result in mass infections and increased deaths.

Prior to Perrottets installation, a number of financial publications insisted that strong leadership was required to deliver this program, which is opposed by millions of workers, students and young people.

Official fears over mounting social anger were hinted at by the selection of Stuart Ayres as deputy NSW Liberal leader. It was intended to send a message to Sydneys western suburbs, where he holds the seat of Penrith, that they would be represented by the new government. Residents of the citys working-class western and southwestern suburbs have been hardest hit by the pandemic, with tens of thousands of infections, the majority of deaths and a massive police-military deployment.

Some commentators have also voiced concern over how rapidly Berejiklians government, previously touted as a model of stability, unravelled. The upheaval points to a deepening crisis of the Liberal-National Coalition, and the entire political establishment, which will inevitably find expression in other states and at the federal level. The resignations mean that three by-elections will need to be held in NSW under conditions in which the Coalition is already a minority government.

The Labor Party has again demonstrated that its priority is to help enforce the reopening and shore up the parliamentary set-up. Its NSW leader Chris Minns responded to the departure of Constance and Barrilaro by bemoaning the by-elections and urging them to reconsider their resignations and put the interests of NSW first. His concern is that the disarray in the government could embolden social opposition and result in the development of a movement of the working class against it.

The political turmoil and disarray in NSW once again underscore the motivations behind the ramming through in late August of anti-democratic election laws at the federal level by the Coalition government of Scott Morrison with Labors backing. By legislating to deregister non-parliamentary political parties unless they submit details of 1,500 memberstriple the previous requirement, the political establishment is seeking to shore up the tottering two-party system by blocking alternative political avenues for the expression of widespread opposition.
For the last week and a half, British petrol stations have been gridlocked by drivers seeking scarce supplies of fuel.

Petrol stations normally operate with their storage tank at 40 percent capacity and rely on just in time deliveries to replenish stocks. Two weeks ago, the ongoing shortages of HGV and fuel tanker drivers disrupted supply chains, leading to panic buying.

Between September 22 and 29, there was a 190 percent increase in the number of people driving to petrol stations, peaking at over 400 percent on September 25. Each customer bought 22 percent more fuel on average than normal.

At the height of the crisis on the weekend of September 25-26, average fuel capacity at petrol stations fell to 16.6 percent, with 50 to 90 percent running completely dry in different areas of the country. On September 28, national traffic fell to 86 percent of pre-pandemic levels. Healthcare staff and other key workers warned they would be unable to get to work.

A sign reading "We Have No fuel, waiting on delivery" at a fuel station in southern England (WSWS Media)

Although stocks have begun to increase again, one fifth of stations in London and the South East are still without fuel, and 18 percent had only one grade available. In the rest of the country, 8 percent are empty and a further 6 percent have only one grade.

Shortages have contributed to a sharp rise in the price of fuel, with petrol at an eight-year high and closing in on a record. This has also been driven by a global increase in the cost of oil, up ten percent over September and is expected to climb further.

After first ignoring the problem for days, the government announced on September 25 that it would launch a temporary visa scheme asking 5,000 lorry drivers to come from Europe to work in the UK delivering fuel and food from the end of this monthuntil Christmas Eve when they would be thrown out again.

Popular uproar forced the extension of this scheme to the end of February. But whereas the government is seeking to recruit around 300 drivers immediately, the Times and the Department for Business report that so far just 27 have applied. Prime Minister Boris Johnson claims the number is 127.

On September 30, Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab suggested using low-level offenders to plug the HGV shortage.

On October 4, the army was deployed to much fanfare to help with fuel supplies. Two hundred soldiers were made available, but only half have the skills necessary to drive tankers.

The fuel crisis has sparked a wave of well-deserved outrage against the government and its catastrophic Brexit policy. But the events of the last two weeks point to a broader crisis of the European economy.

According to think tank Transport Intelligence, the UKs shortage of roughly 76,000 lorry drivers (elsewhere estimated at 100,000) is part of a general shortage of some 400,000 drivers across Europe. Poland is the worst affected, with a shortage of 124,000, 37 percent of positions, though this is most likely the result of Polish drivers working in more prosperous European Union countries. In Germany, 45,000-60,000 are missing; in France, 43,000; in Spain and Italy, 15,000; in Denmark, Norway and Sweden, between 2,500 and 5,000.

Shortages have been affecting the road freight sector for 15 years and have been aggravated by the pandemic and the recent reopening of the economy driving up demand. This pan-European breakdown in such a vital economic sector is the result of decades of private profiteering and deregulation which have eroded logistics workers pay and conditions.

There are over half a million people with HGV licenses in the UK, but well over 200,000 of them are choosing not to take up vacancies. A survey of over 600 industry figures in the UK by the Road Haulage Association found that retirement, changing working rules, the pandemic, low pay, (not to mention appalling working conditions) and drivers leaving the industry were some of the main reasons for the lack of workers.

The average age of a UK lorry driver has climbed to 55less than 1 percent are younger than 25. From 7,500 retirements a year in 2010, the sector went to 10,000 a year in 2020, or 4 percent of the workforce. The total number of people employed as drivers fell 7 percent between 2019 and 2020.

The same process has been at work in Europe. Politico reported EU advocacy director at the International Road Transport Organisation, Raluca Marian warning that it was easy to calculate an apocalyptic scenario for the EU, based on events in the UK. In Europe, the average age of a driver is 44.

The crisis is more acute in Britain in part because of Brexit. Somewhere between 10,000-20,000 EU drivers left the UK after it withdrew from the union. Brexit-related delays at ports and disruption to import-export routes have also played a role, exacerbating the longstanding export imbalance between the UK and Europe which requires many lorries to return from Britain empty and making the routes relatively less desirable for businesses.

But the dominant factor is the UKs more rapid destruction of workers protections and wholesale embrace of the free market since the Thatcher government came to power in 1979. UK hauliers have so thoroughly gutted the conditions of their workers, including by hyper-exploiting cheap, predominantly Eastern, European labour, that UK-based workers have left the industry in droves.

Over 55,000 domestic drivers left the industry in just the last 18 months. The World Socialist Web Site has reported on the especially appalling conditions these workers have confronted throughout the pandemic, and on strike action organised by rank-and-file drivers this August. Richard Simpson, former editor of Trucking Magazine, wrote in the Guardian, Why would they want to return to the job? Facilities are poor, the hours brutal and the responsibilities onerous. And these are only going to get worse.

Fundamentally the same causes lie behind shortages of agricultural workers, abattoir workers, construction workers, care home staff and nurses, among others. Basic socio-economic infrastructure has been run down under the rule of a super-rich oligarchy whose only concern is the debt and speculation fuelled expansion of their stock market portfolios, with scant regard paid to the maintenance of even the most basic industries and social infrastructure, let alone the development of a skilled and adequately paid workforce.

Even senior Tory politicians have, anonymously, blamed the current crisis on a failure of the free market and accused UK businesses of being drunk on cheap labour, according to the Telegraph .

The deployment of the armed forces to an increasing range of basic social tasks5,000 to aid with testing, vaccination and medical care during the pandemic, and now roughly a hundred each to help the Scottish ambulance service and the fuel tanker sectoris the most striking confirmation of British capitalisms ongoing collapse.

Not only can the free market not provide the necessary workers, but the state also has no resources to mobilise except its armed forces, and even these can barely muster a few hundred people with the required skills.

No amount of social hardship will prompt the oligarchs or their representatives to change course, whether under Johnson or the far-distant prospect of a Labour government. Their solution is the stepped-up exploitation of the working class and a reflexive turn towards authoritarian measures. The use of the army will inevitably lead to demands for stepped up recruitment to plug gaping holes in the economy. But these forces will then be employed to break workers resistance to poverty wages and sweatshop conditions.

For the working class, the only way out of this crisis is to utilise its immense social power as the engine of the European and world economy to seize control of society from the super-rich. Production must be organised not on the basis of anarchic, cut-throat competition for private profit, but rational, democratic planning to fulfil social needs.
The Murdoch medias Australian ran a somewhat alarmed headline on Monday: Newspoll: More voters turning towards the fringes.

The article reported that the newspapers latest Newspoll had found that the proportion of electors intending to vote for what it labelled fringe parties and independents had reached 13 percentits highest level in at least four years.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison [Source: Facebook/Scott Morrison]

This result sheds further light on why the Liberal-National Coalition government and the Labor Party opposition jointly rushed through Australias parliament new electoral laws designed to de-register most parties not currently represented in parliament.

These non-parliamentary parties, including the Socialist Equality Party (SEP), have been given only until December 2 to submit the details of 1,500 memberstripling the previous requirementor be barred from having their party names alongside those of their candidates on ballot papers. That would prevent voters from knowing the political identities and programs of the candidates they are considering voting for.

These laws, suddenly unveiled behind the backs of the population, accompanied by a virtual corporate media blackout, are a naked bid to stifle dissent and shore up the political establishment.

Carefully orchestrated media opinion polls, with questions that only offer choices within the official political framework, provide only a distorted picture of the widespread discontent.

Nevertheless, the Newspoll results are revealing. They show that intended voting support for others, excluding Labor, the Coalition, the Greens and Pauline Hansons far-right One Nation, has risen quickly by five percentage points since August.

This level is almost double that others received in April last year, during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, when their support was at 6 percent and the media claimed that governments would bring the disaster under control within months, or at least before Christmas.

The latest survey was conducted amid a worsening crisis, with new infections surging above 2,000 a day, even as governments accelerate the lifting of safety restrictions and are about to reopen schools. Significantly, the polling also came just after the announcement of the AUKUS alliancea US-UK-Australia pact for war against China.

Other polls, conducted by the Lowy Institute and Australia Institute, show high levels of oppositionalmost two-thirdsto joining a US-led war against China, even in a suggested scenario of China incorporating Taiwan. This result is despite an escalating anti-China campaign by the political and media establishment.

With both the Coalition and Labor sitting on lows of only 37 percent each, the prospect is looming of another hung parliament and unstable minority government, with the next federal election due by May.

Prime Minister Scott Morrisons net approval rating has plunged to minus one, a 21-point fall from May, when his media-inflated approval rating was at 58 percent and his disapproval was at 38 percent.

But Labor has been unable to capitalise on the mounting opposition to Morrisons Coalition government and its New South Wales state counterpart, which has spearheaded the big business reopening drive.

Labors primary vote has dropped three points in the past five weeks, from a brief high of 40 percent in late August. That is a reflection of Labors bipartisan backing for both the scrapping of pandemic safety measures and the AUKUS pact.

Moreover, Hansons One Nation formation, which seeks to channel the discontent in nationalist and anti-immigrant directions, has dropped to an equal post-2019 federal election low of 2 percent.

The Australian gave no explanation for the sharp shift in the polling, except to speculate that the re-emergence of billionaire Clive Palmers United Australia Party had produced a deepening split in the conservative vote.

Palmers group is vying with several other right-wing formations to propagate anti-lockdown and anti-vaccine demagogy, feeding into the corporate demand that governments must coerce the population into living with the virus, regardless of the costs in human health and lives.

Of far greater concern in ruling circles is the danger that the deepening political disconnect will move in the direction of socialism, as the only answer to the homicidal policies of the capitalist class. That is why the electoral laws also hand the election authorities the power to deregister parties that have socialist in their name, as well as labor, liberal and green, if a previously registered party has claimed that label.

The alienation of the population from the major capitalist parties is accelerating and workers struggles are growing despite being suppressed for years by the trade unions. That is because of a decades-long assault on the jobs, wages and living standards of the working class, and the concentration of obscene levels of wealth in the hands of a tiny minority. This hostility has been intensified by the pandemic, and is being compounded by the rising war danger.

During the post-World War II period, Australia was regarded as politically stable. At the 1949 election, the Coalition and Labor parties obtained more than 96 percent of the vote. By 2019, the combined Senate vote for the Coalition, Labor and the Greensnow the third party of the parliamentary orderhad dropped to 76 percent.

It is now six years since the BBC dubbed Australia the coup capital of the democratic world in 2015. In 2007, the Coalitions John Howard had become the first prime minister in eight decades to lose his own parliamentary seat in a landslide defeat. Since then, governments and leaders, both federal and state, have fallen in rapid succession, either by election defeats or sordid backroom plots.

After Howard came Labors Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard and Rudd again, followed by the Coalitions Tony Abbott, Malcolm Turnbull and Morrisonseven replacements in a decade. Gillard presided over the first minority government since World War II, propped up by the Greens, and no government since has proven any more stable.

As governments intensify the drive to ram through the corporate agenda, the political ferment must be transformed into the building of an independent political movement of the working class on the basis of a socialist program that addresses the root cause of the pandemic catastrophe, widening social inequality and the drive to warthe capitalist profit system itself.

The only party that fights for this program is the Socialist Equality Party. The SEP is demanding the repeal of the anti-democratic electoral laws and the removal of all restrictions on the right of parties and individuals to run in elections.

At the same time, the SEP is appealing to all supporters and readers to become electoral members of the SEP, and urge others to do the same. Help us recruit the extra 1,000 electoral members that we need to retain our party registration and take forward the fight for the essential socialist alternative.
On September 22, World Socialist Web Site writer Diana Green was banned from the Facebook group Washington for a Safe Return to Campus, which has over 10,000 members. This act of political censorship took place without explanation after Green had attempted to post articles from the World Socialist Web Site. On October 2, Kayla Costa, a writer for the WSWS, was also censored after attempting to share a WSWS page that provided continuous updates on the October 1 global school strike that had taken place the previous day.

A ban was enforced on Green after she had been censored twice without explanation. First, on September 15, her attempt to post the WSWS article Hundreds of COVID-19 cases reported in first week of school in Washington state was declined. On September 20, Greens post of the WSWS perspective entitled As fall begins in Northern Hemisphere, school reopenings fuel global spread of COVID-19 was removed from the group. Both of these articles provide detailed information that exposes the lie that in-person schooling is safe, while outlining the need for a scientifically based global strategy aimed at eradicating COVID-19.

Front page of the 'Washington for a Safe Return to Campus' Facebook group

Significantly, the banning of Green occurred only two days after the publication of the official statement announcing the formation of the Washington Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee on September 20. At the committees founding meeting, parents and educators unanimously agreed on the scientific necessity of pursuing an eradication strategy and to fight against the Democrat- and union-backed school reopening campaign in Washington.

Seeking to clarify the science behind the WSWS articles call for eradicating COVID-19, Green made a principled appeal to the Facebook group administrators, writing, Ive recently had one post declined and another removed. I believe that the first one was declined because of political disagreement and therefore censorship and the other was removed because of misinformation. When a country has zero transmissions for a period of time, they have effectively eliminated COVID-19. This has occurred in both New Zealand and Australia. I demand the right to post WSWS material, all of which is scientifically grounded and expresses the interests of the working-class. No response was given by the administrators.

In response to the unexplained rejection of her post, Kayla Costa also asked the administrators to provide justification, writing, Hello. Im reaching out again because another post yesterday was declined. What was false or inappropriate about posting an international day of protest led by a sincere parent in the UK? No response was provided to this question either.

The Washington Facebook group consistently promotes the Biden administration and the trade unions, even as American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten held an online conference with fascistic elements on September 30. The pseudo-scientists Dr. Jay Bhattacharya and Dr. Tracy Heg, who oppose even the most minimal safety measures, were promoted and given a platform by the AFT. The Biden administration, on the other hand, dropped necessary public health measures within the first three months of his administration, creating the conditions for the ongoing surge of the Delta variant.

This censorship of the WSWS is taking place as current prevalence exceeds the peak levels observed in the winter surge of 2020, according to the Washington State Department of Healths (DOH) September 22 report. This is despite the fact that 70.7 percent of Washingtonians have received both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. The number of confirmed cases in the state stands at 592,680 as of October 3, according to the Washington DOH. However, there are 75,154 probable cases, raising the total case number to 667,834. The lack of contact tracing and mass testing has guaranteed that these are significant under-counts. Nationwide, deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic now exceed the total deaths resulting from the 1918 influenza pandemic.

Under these conditions, Washington for a Safe Return to Campus administrators are attempting to stifle the left-wing opposition of teachers and parents to the policies of the Democrats and the trade unions, which are committed to defending the interests of the financial oligarchy. All parents, teachers and workers must oppose the censorship of left-wing organizations.

Washington for a Safe Return to Campus Facebook group was formed in July 2020, amid the Trump administrations ruthless campaign to reopen schools. Following Bidens election and the return to in-person instruction in the winter and spring of 2020, the administrators viewed any criticism of the Democrats policy of fully in-person instruction as unacceptable, even as 145 children have died of COVID-19 nationwide since July 1, 2021, including an average of three children every day over the past six weeks.

The increased censorship of the WSWS on the Washington for a Safe Return to Campus Facebook group is a response to the growing recognition among teachers, parents, and workers more broadly, that they must be the spearhead of the fight to eradicate COVID-19. This found sharp expression in the October 1 school strike, which the Washington Facebook group administrators sought to suppress.

The censorship of the WSWS is part of an international trend. In May of this year, the Saginaw unions no holds bar Facebook group heavily censored WSWS articles exposing the United Auto Workers betrayal of autoworkers. That same month, WSWS education writer Evan Blake was banned from the Badass Teachers Association Facebook group for posting articles critical of Randi Weingarten. In December 2020, the UK Educators Rank-and-File Committee issued an open letter to the Facebook group Boycott Return to Unsafe Schools (BRTUS) and Parents United Against Unsafe Schools protesting censorship of WSWS articles and writers.

The Biden administration, trade unions, the CDC, and the Democratic Party as a whole have all distorted science to force open schools and workplaces. Under these conditions, the WSWS has deepened the fight for fully funded, high-quality, remote instruction as necessary for the eradication of COVID-19. By banning Green and consistently censoring the WSWS, the Washington for a Safe Return to Campus administrators aim to prevent more than 10,000 educators from ever seeing a political perspective advocating for these measures.

The WSWS Educators Newsletter urges all educators and other workers to oppose the censorship of the WSWS on the Washington for a Safe Return to Campus group, and to call for the readmission of Diana Green into the group. Send statements of opposition to this censorship to educators@wsws.org and share this article with co-workers and on social media.
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI)- In 1925, President Calvin Coolidge declared national fire week, which makes it the longest public health observance. Therefore, the week of October 3rd to the 9th is dedicated to fire prevention week.

In an effort to promote fire safety Vigo County firefighters are going to different preschools, grade schools, and businesses to teach important safety measures. Some safety tips include turning off electronics before leaving your house, eliminating oil from stoves, and making sure fire and smoke alarms are working properly. Firefighters will be going to various businesses to show how to properly use a fire extinguisher.

The "close before you doze" campaign works to encourage people to close their doors before they go to sleep to prevent fires from spreading. Closing doors can even put out a fire by depriving it of oxygen.

The Assistant Fire Chief at the Terre Haute Fire Department, Brent Lloyd, shares the importance of this week.

"We go out and we meet with kids and tell them about the importance of fire alarms, the importance of having an exit plan, and to have a place to meet up so you can have accountability" says Lloyd.

For more fire safety tips click here to go to the National Fire Protection Association.
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) -- Squirrels, mice, and even deer are just a few wild animals that love to eat pumpkins. Whether it's on the vine or on your porch, no pumpkin is off-limits.

Hugh Carpenter, the Co-Owner of Country Bumpkins Pumpkin Patch in Terre Haute, told News 10 this is his second year a part of the family business. Just before their season-opening, he noticed a few of the pumpkins had chunks bitten out of them.

"I've experienced a lot with rodents eating on the pumpkins. At first, I was throwing the pumpkins away that they were eating on, and I came to the conclusion that it's best to leave them," Carpenter explained.

His current solution is that if he leaves the pumpkins the rodents are going after, they'll leave the others alone.

"As of Friday, I left them, and they haven't destroyed any more pumpkins. They've just eaten on the ones that I left," Carpenter explained.

Joe Caudell, whose the State Deer Research Biologist for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, said deer love pumpkins because of their variety of nutrients. However, there are ways to keep them from going after your jack-o-lanterns.

"If there's like one person in the neighborhood and they spray their prized jack-o-lantern because they don't want deer getting into it, and reapply that every time it rains, that's usually enough to keep them out," Caudell said.

News 10 found deer and rodent repellents at the Apple House in Terre Haute. Experts say the key to keeping the wildlife away is spraying a scent they don't like. Some DIY methods people have tried are spraying a concoction of hot sauce, soap, and water onto the pumpkin or covering the pumpkin with petroleum jelly.

Carpenter said if his current plan doesn't work, he'll check out repellents and make sure they're kid-friendly. Country Bumpkins Pumpkin Patch is open on Friday 3 pm-9 pm, Saturday 10 am-9 pm, and Sunday 1 pm-5 pm (or until the crowd disperses).

After Halloween, you can turn your jack-o'-lantern into a wildlife treat.

One way you can do that is by cutting it up into pieces and leaving it outside. As for your pumpkin seeds, you can dry them and leave them out for birds.
VIGO COUNTY, Ind. (WTHI) - Vigo county employees may have something to look forward to next year.

Tuesday evening, the Vigo County Council met to take a first look at the proposed budget for 2022. Each year the council makes a yearly update to the overall budget. As of now, the budget is higher than last year's budget, but, with this increase, there are some positive benefits for county employees.

Currently, the proposed budget for 2022 is about $71.5 million dollars. This is an increase of $485,000 from 2021.

"The cost of running the county goes up every year, and really $400,000 isn't that much when you consider a $72 million dollar budget," Vicki Weger, one of the Vigo County council members, said.

However, with this increase, there are some positive benefits for all county employees including up to a 5% salary increase.

"They had some years where they didn't get an increase at all and that set them back," she said. "If they can get a 5% raise, we [can] bring it up to what comparable counties in Indiana are making because we don't want to lose our employees"

Weger says raising the salaries is one of the key ways to encouraging locals to stay and continue to live in Vigo County.

"Hiring people now is very tough so we want to make a really special effort to keep our people," she said. "They are valuable to us."

There are still several things to be considered before the final budget vote. But with everything considered, council members say they want to make the best decisions to benefit everyone in the county.

"We want the government to function the best it can with the money we have, " Weger said.

The council is expected to vote on the final budget at next week's meeting. That is Tuesday, October 12 at 5:00 PM at the Vigo County Annex.
WASHINGTON (AP)  Johnson & Johnson asked the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday to allow extra shots of its COVID-19 vaccine as the U.S. government moves toward expanding its booster campaign to millions more vaccinated Americans.

J&J said it filed a request with the FDA to authorize boosters for people 18 and older who previously received the company's one-shot vaccine. While the company said it submitted data on several different booster intervals, ranging from two to six months, it did not formally recommend one to regulators.

Last month, the FDA authorized booster shots of Pfizers vaccine for older Americans and other groups with heightened vulnerability to COVID-19. Its part of a sweeping effort by the Biden administration to shore up protection amid the delta variant and potential waning vaccine immunity.

Government advisers backed the extra Pfizer shots, but they also worried about creating confusion for tens of millions of other Americans who received the Moderna and J&J shots. U.S. officials don't recommend mixing and matching different vaccine brands.

The FDA is convening its outside panel of advisers next week to review booster data from both J&J and Moderna. Its the first step in a review process that also includes sign-off from the leadership of both the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If both agencies give the go-ahead, Americans could begin getting J&J and Moderna boosters later this month.

J&J previously released data suggesting its vaccine remains highly effective against COVID-19 at least five months after vaccination, demonstrating 81% effectiveness against hospitalizations in the U.S.

But company research shows a booster dose at either two or six months revved up immunity even further. Data released last month showed giving a booster at two months provided 94% protection against moderate-to-severe COVID-19 infection. The company has not yet released clinical data on a six-month booster shot.

FDA's advisers will review studies from the company and other researchers next Friday and vote on whether to recommend boosters.

The timing of the J&J filing was unusual given that the FDA had already scheduled its meeting on the company's data. Companies normally submit their requests well in advance of meeting announcements. A J&J executive said the company has been working with FDA on the review.

Both J&J and FDA have a sense of urgency because its COVID and we want good data out there converted into action as soon as possible, said Dr. Mathai Mammen, head of research for J&J's Janssen unit.

The vaccine from the New Brunswick, New Jersey, company was considered an important tool in fighting the pandemic because it requires only one shot. But its rollout was hurt by a series of troubles, including manufacturing problems at a Baltimore factory that forced J&J to import millions of doses from overseas.

Additionally, regulators have added warnings of several rare side effects to the shot, including a blood clot disorder and a neurological reaction called Guillain-Barre syndrome. In both cases, regulators decided the benefits of the shot still outweighed those uncommon risks.

Rival drugmakers Pfizer and Moderna have provided the vast majority of U.S. COVID-19 vaccines. More than 170 million Americans have been fully vaccinated with the companies two-dose shots while less than 15 million Americans got the J&J shot.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (WTVA) - The Mississipi Congressional delegation recently sent a letter to President Biden urging him to approve Governor Tate Reeves' request for a major disaster declaration for Hurricane Ida.

The delegation includes U.S. Senators Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), and U.S. Representatives Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), Steven Palazzo (R-Miss.), Trent Kelly (R-Miss.), and Michael Guest (R-Miss.).

If the request is approved, additional federal resources would be available to assist state recovery efforts.

The letter says that state and local government resources have not been adequate to help Mississippi fully recover from the damages caused by Ida.

Damages referenced in the letter include those to Highway 26 in George County that killed three Mississippians and injured 10 others, as well as at least 1,600 homes that were damaged and a total estimate of $22.5-million dollars in Emergency and Permanent Work costs across 19 counties.

To view the full letter sent to the office of the President by the Mississippi congressional delegation, click here.
HOUSTON, Miss. (WTVA) - New federal funding will soon make air travel safer at a local community airport.

Work is starting now on a $1.1 million upgrade at the Houston Municipal Airport.

Runway at Houston Municipal Airport in Houston, Mississippi. Photo Date: Oct. 5, 2021. Runway at Houston Municipal Airport in Houston, Mississippi. Photo Date: Oct. 5, 2021.

The money came as a grant from the Federal Aviation Administration.

The airport is using the money to resurface the runway and other areas at the airfield.

Mayor Stacey Parker said the work will take about six weeks to complete, weather permitting.
JACKSON, Miss. (WTVA) - Tyson Foods is investing $61 million into its Vicksburg facility - a move that will create nearly 50 new jobs at the plant.

The investment is part of the company's commitment to meet increasing demand and accelerate the long-term growth of the Tyson brand.

The expansion will increase production capacity of chicken products for foodservice customers such as restaurants and schools. It's expected to be completed by summer 2022.

The Mississippi Development Authority is providing assistance for improvements to infrastructure; Warren County and Entergy Mississippi are also assisting with the project.

Right now, the Vicksburg facility employs approximately 500 people. It paid more than $17 million in wages during the 2020 fiscal year. Locally, the facility has an economic impact of $58 million annually.

Recently, Tyson raised total compensation for team members, including raising hourly wages at the Vicksburg facility to at least $15 an hour.

Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves complimented Tyson, saying it's commitment to the expansion points back to the state's business culture.

For three decades, Tyson Foods has been a valued employer and major economic contributor in Warren County," Reeves said. "The companys ongoing investments in its Vicksburg operations are a testament to Mississippis strong business environment and capable workforce.

For current career opportunities with Tyson, you can visit the Tyson Foods Careers website.
CRAWFORD, Miss. (WTVA) - Someone vandalized a company's new building in Oktibbeha County.

HogEye Trap Cameras will soon move into the former East Oktibbeha High School building on Moor High Road in Crawford.

The company planned to move into the new location by next month. However, the vandalism is a setback.

Operations Manager Brooks Taylor discovered the mess on Sunday.

And I pulled up and saw that the windows had been busted in the front doors, she said. And I said, Oh my goodness. I called my dad immediately and we had the sheriff's department meet us out here.

Inside they saw a busted sink, shattered glass, and the equipment had been thrown about.

I dont have the final budget of what the constructions going to cost, but it will be significant, company partner Jack Robertson said.

Weve been working up here seven days a week," Taylor said. "All of my family has put in a lot of effort making this building better. For someone to do that, I was just really upset.

As of Tuesday, Oct. 5, there have been no arrests.
A Dutch flag with a school bag, a tradition in the Netherlands when a student graduates. Dafinchi/Getty Images

When Dutch kids graduate from school, you can see backpacks hanging from flagpoles in celebration.

The Dutch also celebrate the parents for the important milestone of a kid's birthday.

Celebrating your 12.5th wedding anniversary is very important.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

My American family lived in the Netherlands for three years, and our Dutch neighbors showed us touching ways to commemorate milestones that we've continued even after repatriating to the United States.

The first time I passed a window with pink streamers and a giant decal spelling "Lotte," I didn't think much of it. When my Dutch landlord shook my hand to congratulate me on my son's ninth birthday, I thought he was just being polite. I soon learned that these are full-blown traditions across the Netherlands. And when backpacks start flying from flagpoles in every neighborhood in Holland, well, there's no mistaking how deep these customs go.

By stepping outside our own culture, my family has grown to look at milestones differently (like our 12.5th wedding anniversary), and our celebrations are even more meaningful because of it.

Announcing when a baby is born with yard decorations

When a baby is born in the Netherlands, Dutch families decorate their front windows or put up a yard sign to broadcast the little one's arrival. The sign typically announces the infant's name alongside streamers, pennants, or even a decorative stork.

If you're feeling fancy, custom window decals with the baby's name and birthdate are also popular.

Celebrating parents on a child's birthday

On birthdays, you don't just praise the birthday boy or girl, you congratulate the honoree's parents. And I'm not just talking about newborns - you applaud the parents every single year.

As any parent knows, it's a job that never ends. So it doesn't matter if your child is turning 7 or 17 - expect a hearty "Congrats!" and three kisses or a handshake from your Dutch friends and neighbors.

Story continues

Bringing your own birthday cake

If you want to celebrate your special day with coworkers, in the Netherlands, the onus is on you: You bring in the cake or tart to share at the office. If you're not up for celebrating your birthday, that's your call.

Even though you have to pay for it yourself, you're guaranteed to get your favorite birthday treat, since you're the one picking it out.

Flying a backpack on a flagpole to celebrate a student's graduation

When there's a new graduate in a Dutch household, they announce the milestone by flying the student's backpack - and sometimes even final exam papers - up the flagpole of their home.

It's a satisfying way to show off all that hard work and look back on (or up to) your child's success and achievements.

It's beautiful in late May to see all the backpacks flying in neighborhoods in Holland, papers flapping in the wind, alongside red-white-and-blue flags. Talk about a unique way to show your family's pride in the new grad.

Celebrating 12.5th wedding anniversaries

The Dutch celebrate 12.5 years of marriage. When I first heard this, I thought it might be a joke - until I spotted "12.5" banners, napkins, and other supplies at party stores along with custom cake designs at our local bakeries calling out this odd anniversary.

The Dutch laud this milestone because 12.5 is halfway to 25 and a quarter of the way to 50 years of matrimony.

Now that we've returned to the United States, I still love congratulating parents on their children's birthdays. You also can bet my husband and I got a cake for our 12.5th anniversary. When our kids earn their diplomas, you know where you'll find their backpacks, though we'll be flying a different red-white-and-blue flag alongside them.

Read the original article on Insider
From the beginning, Alicia Keys makes it clear  this is a woman with newfound confidence.

I like challenging myself to say exactly what I feel, she says in the introduction of Noted: Alicia Keys The Untold Stories, her four-part docuseries now available on her YouTube channel.

Fans might feel as if theyve evolved with Keys in the 20 years since her heralded debut, Songs in A Minor. And while theyve cheered her artistic accolades (15 Grammy Awards, more than 40 hits, her well-received stints as Grammy host), the quartet of videos, each about 18-20 minutes, entrenches viewers in her everyday life.

Sharing secrets: Alicia Keys talks the 'Divine Feminine'

Filmed over three months this summer, Keys said that the cameras documenting her professional endeavors (such as a trip to record in the Bahamas with J Cole) and family time with sons Egypt, 11, and Genesis, 6, and husband Swizz Beatz, werent an intrusion, but just a way to capture a particular tone.

Alicia Keys says there will be "a lot of surprises to a lot of people" when they watch her YouTube docu-series, "Noted."

In an interview with USA TODAY, the ever-sincere Keys  who emanates an Earth Mother vibe even in phone conversation  talked about sharing her inner sanctum with fans, her close relationship with her mother, Terria Joseph, and the positive effects of turning 40.

Q: Your performance last month at the MTV VMAs with Swae Lee (LALA Unlocked) was so glamorous. What were you going for with it?

Alicia Keys: The new music coming is super exciting and is opening us up to a whole new world and energy and it comes on the heels of the docuseries very well. These experiences have gotten me to the places today to be completely uninhibited and the music is stressing our greatness, your grandness, your excellence, your freshness. (With the VMAs performance), I wanted this return to New York elegance and this energy that feels like you can completely be as you are, as brilliantly as you can imagine yourself. We wanted to create this golden experience with the New York skyline and the finesse and the fun of it.

Story continues

VMAs on stage: Brutally honest rankings of MTV performances

Q: So what is coming now, after LALA?

Keys: So much is coming. The music is incredible. Its an album Ive been dying to make. As time goes on, Im so much clearer about what I want to create. I cant talk too much about it yet, but there will be a lot to fill you in on.

Q: In the first episode of Noted, you talk about how now you know you dont have to sacrifice any part of yourself for success. What led to that discovery?

Keys: Its been a constant growth process for me since (2016 album) Here. That really was the beginning of opening up and expressing in the way I never had the courage to do before. And then moving to my book (More Myself: A Journey) and the Alicia record last year, all of those pieces are furthering the uncovering of me as a woman and a being and at a certain point you get more comfortable sharing your truth. Im able to verbalize things I didnt have the capacity or readiness to do before. It feels super right. What I love the most about it is that people have said to me, I can see that youre healing and it makes me encouraged about my healing.

Alicia Keys allows fans a glimpse into her personal life with husband Swizz Beatz in her YouTube docu-series.

Q: How did turning 40 earlier this year affect you?

Keys: Man, I just feel so in my skin, in my element. I dont want any more of the nonsense or bull(expletive). Its such a freedom and strength that comes from knowing who you are and who you want to be and all the things were all looking for and for our kindred spirits to connect. Im loving it. Im feeling so good. I expect it will keep getting better. (In the series) I was talking about how Swizz is a really big dreamer and he has this ability to expect his dreams to become real and Ive learned that. I was completely the opposite  Oh, thats too much. Let me come up with a backup plan. Those are the things were taught to think or believe and now I 100 percent expect my greatest vision for myself and my friends to come true.

On the move: Alicia Keys sells her Phoenix mansion

Q: Do you think people will be surprised at seeing you and Swizz interact on such a personal and intimate level?

Keys: I think there are gonna be a lot of surprises to a lot of people when they watch this! What surprised me the most is that Ive never put on an act or character. Some people find in performing they have to become a character, but Ive always been who I am 100 percent. People who have known me since day one have watched (this series) and said, Wow, I never knew that about you.

Q: The episode with your mom is so revealing.

Keys: We wanted to create this very casual conversation. Obviously theres a ton of stuff we talked about that didnt even make it in. But I really wanted to talk to her and ask questions I hadnt before.

Q: Had you never asked before how she felt when she found out she was pregnant with you?

Keys: I didnt. I think at a certain point you realize how complex peoples experiences are. As a kid, youre never thinking about those things. But as you become more of a young adult and then I became a mother and we had a different relationship because I could understand things in a different way, I can look back and say wow, how did you feel during this time? What was it like for you? And it was so beautiful and powerful and honest to hear her experience and just listen and take it. In so many ways Ive felt that she gave me everything she wanted to achieve and I really am super grateful that she made sacrifices to give me those opportunities.

Alicia Keys shares details of her life in the four-part YouTube series, Noted: Alicia Keys The Untold Stories.

Q: Watching Egypt play the piano, its pretty obvious he picked up some genetic talent. Would you and Swizz encourage your kids to pursue music?

Keys: (Laughs) Egypt is half and half. Hell play melodies on the piano like Swizz and chords that sound like my vibe. Its pretty awesome to see him have this outlet and tap into different sides of expression. The majority of our kids (Swizz Beatz has three from previous relationships) are very musical and they write amazing songs. Theyre artists, producers, creating a lot and its pretty phenomenal We do have a lot of experience to be able to help them to keep their heads on about the whole process, but whatever they love, we want them to love.

Q: You should bring them to meet (record label mogul who signed Keys) Clive Davis.

Keys: We actually went to visit Clive (recently) and give him love and say hi and that was the first time weve gone since (my sons) arent babies and they talked with him and played piano for him. Egypt is always ready to play piano for anybody, like, Im ready, lets play!

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Alicia Keys discusses her new confidence, turning 40, in YouTube series
As former White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham has started appearing in the media with the publication of her new book, she wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post on Tuesday that elaborated on her breakup with her boyfriend, Max Miller, one of Donald Trumps aides.

Grisham claimed that he became physically abusive as she ended their relationship, but he has responded by filing a defamation lawsuit against her on Tuesday.

More from Deadline

In the op-ed and her book, Ill Take Your Questions Now: What I Saw at the Trump White House, Grisham doesnt identify Miller by name, but he claims in his lawsuit that it is widely publicly known that she is referring to him.

His lawsuit contends that in the Post op-ed, Defendant Grisham writes numerous false and defamatory statements about Plaintiff, including, but not limited to, the relationship turned abusive; the end of our relationship had become violent; he got physical with me; I confided the same story about the physical abuse; and this great guy had anger issues and a violent streak.'

The thrust of Grishams piece was that, even though she informed Trump and first lady Melania Trump that her relationship with Miller had turned abusive, they didnt seem to care. The former president, in fact, endorsed Miller in his bid for a Ohio congressional seat now occupied by Anthony Gonzalez. Gonzalez, a Republican, announced last month that he would not seek another term, after having voted to impeach Trump following the January 6 insurrection.

In her book, Grisham writes about her relationship with Miller and how it deteriorated, but she did not explicitly say that it turned abusive. She did talk about it in an interview Tuesday on The Lead with Jake Tapper.

Story continues

Miller filed his defamation claim in the Court of Common Pleas in Cuyahoga County, OH. The assigned judge, Emily Hagen, set a hearing for Oct. 13 after denying a request for a temporary restraining order to prevent Grisham from claiming that he was physically abusive.

A spokesperson for Grishams publisher, HarperCollins, did not immediately return a request for comment.

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Infamous former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein has experienced what would happen if he got on Peter Jacksons bad side.

While reflecting on his time filming Lord of the Rings, its star Elijah Wood appeared on the Armchair Podcast and told host Dax Shepard that one of the orcs in the movie was designed to look like Weinstein. The actor explained he recently brought up the subject on a podcast run by Lord of the Rings costars Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd called The Friendship Onion.

More from Deadline

They were talking to Sean Astin about his first memory of getting to New Zealand for the first time, Wood told Shephard and his cohost, Monica Padman. He had seen these orc masks. And one of the orc masks  and I remember this vividly  was designed to look like Harvey Weinstein as a sort of a f*ck you.

I think its okay to talk about this now, Wood continued after sharing the story. Hes f*cking incarcerated.

Jackson and Weinstein had simmering tension as the franchise was initially to be developed under Weinstein at Miramax. Things soured when the producer wouldnt let Jackson make three movies based on Tolkiens books. Lord of the Rings eventually went to New Line Cinema which approved his vision for three films.

Weinstein is serving 23 years in a New York prison for rape and sexual assault, though he is currently in Los Angeles where he faces more charges and up to 140 years in prison if convicted.

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OneRepublic Malibu Livestream - (Photo: Michael Kovac/Getty Images

OneRepublic will host a special digital performance, dubbed One Night In Malibu, on live media platform Moment House later this month.

The one-off livestream concert will be broadcast globally, with select showings for different time zones, on October 27 and 28.

One Night In Malibu will see the Ryan Tedder-led, Grammy-nominated group perform a 17-song set, including tracks from their latest album, Human, which was released in August. It will also feature two distinct setups and an additional string section, according to a press release.

As the concerts name suggests, it will be held in Malibu, California, and promises to bring a cinematic, large-scale and captivating live music experience to viewers.

The show will be broadcast in North and South America on October 27 at 6 pm PDT. The next day it will then be broadcast in Asia, Australia, and New Zealand at 6 pm JST and 7 pm AEST, before airing in Europe, the UK, and Africa at 6 pm BST.

Fans will also be able to join an exclusive afterparty with the six-piece band straight after the performance finishes, while exclusive merchandise designed specifically for the event will also be available. Tickets for One Night In Malibu are on sale now.

Speaking to the Official Chart Company ahead of Humans release, Tedder said of the record: [It] is re-calibrating everything. The last album, we stopped promoting it and kinda pulled the plug. I didnt have it in me to do anything for it. This is us returning back to what the original sound was: strings; orchestral; emotive.

A deluxe edition of the album featured two new songs in Wild Life and Ships + Tides, an acoustic version of Someday and a collaboration with Norwegian DJ and producer Kygo, called Lose Somebody.

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Tedder also recently took the stage of the Global Citizen Festival in Los Angeles at the Greek Theater, along with OneRepublic.

Buy or stream OneRepublics Human.

For the latest music news and exclusive features, check out uDiscover Music.

uDiscover Music is operated by Universal Music Group (UMG). Some recording artists included in uDiscover Music articles are affiliated with UMG.
Over the last five years, Dave Chappelle has delivered five Netflix specials that have influenced the culture in every way possible.

The five specials were all shot in different locations  "Deep in the Heart of Texas," "The Age of Spin," "Equanimity," "The Bird Revelation," and "Sticks and Stones"  and all carried Chappelle's signature style of honesty and comedy. The series of specials earned Chappelle three straight Grammy wins for Best Comedy Album. The Washington Post / The Washington Post via Getty Images

Aside from the Netflix specials, Chappelle has been pretty busy. The legendary comedian ran socially distanced comedy shows in cornfields last year to help fuel his town's economy amidst the pandemic-caused recession.

As a bi-sexual black male, it's easy to discern how many of the topics inThe Closer straddled the line of comfort and controversy. This is no surprise though. Chappelle's dangerous style of comedy has always caused an uproar within several communities, even his own.

His jokes from the special have been reviewed with harsh criticism. Eric Deggans of NPR writes that, "the message Chappelle has for those who have criticized him about transphobic, homophobic or any other phobic jokes seems to be: Race trumps all." Deggans asserts that Chappelle treats the Black experience as the end-all of suffering, and often brushes the suffering of others to the side.

In the special, Chappelle says , "gender is a fact" and that "every human being on Earth had to pass through the legs of a woman to be on Earth." His comments have garnered him mountains of backlash. Both GLAAD and The National Black Justice Coalitions executive director David Johns have rallied against the comedian.

Dave Chappelle's brand has become synonymous with ridiculing trans people and other marginalized communities. Negative reviews and viewers loudly condemning his latest special is a message to the industry that audiences don't support platforming anti-LGBTQ diatribes. We agree. https://t.co/yOIyT54819 09:57 PM - 06 Oct 2021

Chappelle has long touched on controversial topics. His classic sketch comedy show, Chappelle's Show, always found ways to touch on social issues involving race, sex, and politics.

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The "Black Bush" skit is a standout piece of work because it highlights the disparity in politics and race in one stroke. The "Mad Real World" episode was also a precious piece of art. It showed how television framed people of color in certain environments by flipping the situation. Although his depictions of people, even his own race, have stirred up controversy  his comedic style hinges on highlighting difficult topics. Comedy Central / AComedy Central/Courtesy Everett Collect / Everett Collection

Chappelle's latest stand-up special for Netflix, The Closer, is the evolution of that style  the intangible ability to discern social issues and create vivid arguments in the form of comedy.

The Closer caps off one of the biggest comedy special runs of all time, and it's packed with jokes. The veteran tackles several social issues that are relevant now more than ever. And he caps the special off with a truly heartbreaking story. Kevin Mazur / Getty Images for FF

Comedy is hard to review, because context is important.

There is so much more context that is needed to understand a joke than we allow in an article. Not to mention, comedy is not a realm of political correctness. Remember, this is a comedian who repeatedly played a crack head on Chappelle's Show. He also did a sketch highlighting what would happen if you gave Black people reparations, and showed them squandering their money.

Taking both of these examples out of context would appear that Chappelle is speaking down on the Black community. However, the importance of the topics (financial literacy, drug addiction) within the bigger context of the conversation was crucial.

The Closer finds Chappelle pushing the envelope once again, in any way he sees fit. Here are the ways that Dave Chappelle's latest special highlights controversial social issues in America today.

Spoilers Ahead for The Closer

1. The Johnson & Johnson Vaccine

Chappelle jokes about choosing the "third best option" when it comes to vaccines. "I'll have what the homeless people are having," he quips. The ongoing public debate between the three vaccines has definitely caused some interesting conversations around the nation. Despite the laughs, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has proven effective, and you can find more information here. Donald Bowers / Getty Images

2. The Definition of a Feminist

After joking about having a very negative view of feminism, Chappelle admits that the textbook definition is actually something he agrees with. Oxford defines feminism as, "the belief and aim that women should have the same rights and opportunities as men." Chappelle can stand behind that. However, his jokes about being Team TERF! (the acronym for trans-exclusionary radical feminist) in relation to J.K. Rowling's horrendous comments on gender make it hard for many feminists to take his support seriously. Chappelle co-signing on her comments not only further exasperates the issue, but is hurtful to many of the trans people that counted themselves among his fans. Paras Griffin / Getty Images for BET

3. The Intersection of Race & LGBTQ

Chappelle tells a potent story in relation to a specific disparity in America. The comedian tells the audience about a time he got into an altercation with a large gay man, and how the situation almost escalated to a physical fight. However, the man ended up calling the police on Chappelle. "Gay people are minorities until they need to be white again," he jokes. This is a jab at white privilege. This joke has created quite a big conversation about members of the LGBTQ community that are not white males, much like myself. What this joke really highlighted for me, is the amount of violence that is perpetrated against Black trans and queer folk. If you are not only Black, but you are also queer, you face more danger. Lester Cohen / WireImage / Getty Images

4. What to Do With DaBaby

By now, everyone has read about DaBaby's insensitive and ignorant comments regarding the LGBTQ community and those who have AIDS. His erroneous assumption that these groups belong in the same sentence is the seed of the issue, which grew into an enormous moment of cancellation. Chappelle proclaims that DaBaby's comments were way out of line before telling a story about the rapper's past. The comedian highlights that DaBaby shot and killed a man in a Walmart in North Carolina and had little to no consequence; however, his controversial comments nearly ended his career. "In our country, you can shoot and kill, but you better not hurt a gay person's feelings," he jokes. Chappelle touches on the court of public opinion. The public has held DaBaby accountable for his comments about the LQBTQ community  as they should. However, the shooting and killing went largely under the public's radar. Noel Vasquez / Getty Images for Hennessey

5. Cancel Culture

6. Performance Activist

Chappelle claims he supported the #MeToo movement in spirit; however, the performance activists really got under his skin. "I want everybody to wear crochet pussy hats so they know we're serious," he declares, in a mimicking tone. Chappelle also touches on how groups of women went to the Golden Globes wearing black as a sticking point. He then pivots and hits back at the actors who have given him grief for his jokes about the #MeToo movement. Chappelle reminds the audience that he walked away from $50 million for his beliefs, while many performative activists in Hollywood won't even fire their agents for their causes. Bamlou / Getty Images

7. Bathroom Laws in North Carolina

"No American should have to present a birth certificate to take a shit at a Walmart in Greensboro, North Carolina, where DaBaby shot and killed a motherfucker." Preach, Dave. Preach. Catherine Mcqueen / Getty Images

8. Getting COVID-19

Chappelle contracted COVID-19, but luckily remained asymptomatic. "I'm the Magic Johnson of coronavirus," he proclaimed. There's a very big national debate about asymptomatic COVID-19 patients and the severity and strength of different strains. Without getting too preachy or political, Chappelle touches on vaccinations and contracting the virus in a way that is relatable. For more information on vaccines, head here. Photo By: Priscilla Grant/Everett Collection

9. The Intersection of Race and Feminism

Chappelle discusses how Sojourner Truth had to fight to have a voice in the women's rights movement because she was Black. The majority of the women, who were white, instructed her to remain silent and docile in an effort to separate abolitionism from feminism. Truth's "Ain't I a Woman" speech was inspired by this struggle. Urbazon / Getty Images

10. The Use of Pronouns

The acclimation to using pronouns to properly classify ourselves has become a controversial topic in America. Chappelle acknowledges this with a joke where he claims that someone came up to him and said, "Careful, Dave, they after you," to which he responded, "One they, or many theys?" Chappelle recognizing that "they" does not have to be plural shows his acclimation to using pronouns properly, despite some of the other jokes from this special that have offended many. Jena Ardell / Getty Images

11. Chappelle's Dear Friend Daphne

I heard Chappelle tell this same story when I saw him live in Las Vegas on 4th of July weekend. In short, Daphne was a trans woman who befriended Chappelle. She was a comedian who had a dark sense of humor and brought light and wisdom with her wherever she went. It sounds like she and Chappelle were cut from the same cloth. He calls her one of his people, and a true comedian in her soul. Tragically, Daphne died by suicide just weeks after she received a shoutout from Dave Chappelle in his 2019 Netflix special, Sticks and Stones. He reflects on his friendship with Daphne in a moving monologue and really brings to light the struggle of all humans, our learned responses from our environments, and the importance of mental health. Jason Miller / Getty Images

Were there any social issues The Closer touched on that hit home for you? Let us know in the comments below.
There's no time like now to plan your winter escapes to Hawaii, and Southwest Airlines just slashed 40% off the price of winter flights to the island paradise in preparation.

The Southwest Airlines sale runs through Oct. 7 and is valid on travel between January 6 and March 9, and you don't have to fly from the west coast to take advantage of the offer.

Southwest, which launched flights to Hawaii in 2019, has been aggressively expanding its service and now flies to Hawaii from several California cities as well as from Las Vegas, Phoenix, Chicago, and Baltimore. Discounts are off of base fares and don't apply to government taxes and fees. Still, there are deals to be had, especially for anyone with a mastery of Southwest's low fare calendar.

Flights from Chicago O'Hare International Airport to Honolulu are currently under $500 roundtrip in January, while a trip from Baltimore to Honolulu is $600 round trip. If you've got Maui on your mind, consider a roundtrip ticket from Las Vegas for under $350. Or, fly from Phoenix for under $400 roundtrip.

To book, use the promo code HAWAII2022.

In addition to Oahu and Maui, Southwest Airlines also flies to Kauai and Hawaii Island. And of course, there also are deals to be had from popular Hawaiian gateways including Los Angeles, Oakland, and San Francisco.

Southwest Airlines plane

Courtesy of Southwest Airlines

Hawaii is currently under an emergency order that limits capacity at restaurants, bars, and other types of gatherings. Face masks also are required indoors through at least November 30.

The state also went as far as asking visitors to postpone their trips, a measure Hawaii Gov. David Ige said was helping in ushering the state through the latest coronavirus surge spurred by the delta variant.

"We will be considering getting to a point where we will be inviting visitors back to the islands," he said in a recent news conference.

Domestic travelers to Hawaii can skip the state's mandatory quarantine by providing proof of Covid vaccination or a negative COVID test.

Travelers are encouraged to consult official websites like the CDC or Hawaii's Tourism Authority for current protocols before departure.

Meena Thiruvengadam is a Travel + Leisure contributor who has visited 50 countries on six continents and 47 U.S. states. She loves historic plaques, wandering new streets and walking on beaches. Find her on Facebook and Instagram.
WASHINGTON  Nikki Haley told fellow Republicans Tuesday that they have an urgent mission to renew their conservative convictions, the latest in a series of high-profile speeches by potential GOP presidential candidates maneuvering in the shadow of former President Donald Trump.

"A large portion of our people are plagued by self-doubt or even by hatred of America. Its a pandemic much more damaging than any virus," Haley said in a heavily promoted speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute in Simi Valley, Calif.

Like former Vice President Mike Pence, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie before her, Haley joined a "Time for Choosing" speaker series sponsored by the the institute dedicated to a Republican icon, President Ronald Reagan.

Many of the speeches are seen as overtures to possible presidential campaigns in 2024.

Stressing her experience as governor of South Carolina and then ambassador to the United Nations, Haley said Republicans also need to confront enemies abroad and face down Democratic pessimists at home.

Haley made few direct references to Trump  she defended him against media criticism of his Russia policy  but spent more time attacking President Joe Biden and the Democrats as well as foreign antagonists like China and Iran.

More: 'We shouldnt have followed him': Nikki Haley sharply condemns Trump's post-election behavior

More: Republican feud: Donald Trump goes after Paul Ryan for going after him

Many political analysts say other Republicans probably hope Trump does not run again, given his fundraising, his high name recognition and his remaining support among Republican voters despite the tumultuous ending of his presidency in January.

"If Trump runs, they probably don't have a chance," said Jack Pitney, professor of government at Claremont McKenna College in California.

Clemson: Nikki Haley, politician

If Trump doesn't run in 2024, Pitney said, the other would-be candidates "want to be ready for a window of opportunity that will open and close very quickly. Otherwise, somebody else will seize the moment, leaving them behind, probably forever."

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Haley told The Associated Press in April that she would support Trump if he ran again and not run herself.

Citing China, Russia, Iran and Islamic terrorists as formidable adversaries, Trump's ambassador to the United Nations said the U.S. is engaged in a "clash of civilizations" and that "the bad guys think the good guys lack the will to win."

As for Biden and the Democrats, Haley hit them on points ranging from the Afghanistan pullout to the claims of some that the United States is a racist nation.

"The most important mission of our time is to stop our national self-loathing and to regain our courage and renew our convictions," Haley said.

Arguing that Democrats "don't even believe in America" and have "given up on America as a colorblind society," Haley said that they "see Americas flaws as more profound than its strengths. They deny the massive progress weve made, and they punish anyone who disagrees."

The daughter of Indian immigrants and a businesswoman before entering politics in South Carolina, Haley said: "I havent just seen the American story. Ive lived the American story."

"Where we lead, the world follows," Haley said. "When we speak, the world listens. What we are, the world wants.

Haley also discussed her decision in 2015 to remove the Confederate battle flag from the top of the South Carolina State Capitol less than a month after a white man killed nine Black people at a church in Charleston in a racially motivated mass murder.

Urging Republicans to expand their political coalition nationwide, Haley said "we cannot ignore minorities and women."

More: Nikki Haley: Confederate flag could not be taken down in South Carolina in today's 'outrage culture'

More: Ex-White House press secretary warns Trump 'will be about revenge' if reelected

Since Trump left the White House on Jan. 20, Haley has offered mixed messages on the former president.

Shortly after the Jan. 6 insurrection by Trump supporters at the U.S. Capitol, Haley told Politico that Trump "let us down" and added that "he went down a path he shouldn't have, and we shouldn't have followed him, and we shouldn't have listened to him. And we can't let that ever happen again."

Just months later, Haley told The Associated Press that "I would not run if President Trump ran, and I would talk to him about it."

In an interview published Tuesday before her speech, Haley told The Wall Street Journal that she disagreed with Trump's claim about a "stolen election" in 2020, saying that "there was fraud in the election, but I dont think that the numbers were so big that it swayed the vote in the wrong direction."

Haley also told the Journal: "We need him in the Republican Party. I dont want us to go back to the days before Trump.

Other potential Republican candidates have navigated the Trump question in their speeches at the Reagan institute.

Last month, New Jersey's Christie said Republicans "need to renounce the conspiracy theorists and truth deniers." He also urged Republicans to face the "realities" of the 2020 election: "Pretending we won when we lost is a waste of time and energy and credibility."

Pence, Trump's vice president, praised Trump in his speech in June and compared him favorably to Reagan. Pence also touted his decision to reject Trump's demands that he spike or delay certification of electoral votes that sealed Biden's victory in the Electoral College.

"There's almost no idea more un-American than the notion that any one person could choose the American president," Pence said.

Former House Speaker Paul Ryan, who is not running for president in 2024, offered the most anti-Trump speech in the Reagan speakers series.

"If the conservative cause depends on the populist appeal of one personality, or of second-rate imitations, then we're not going anywhere," Ryan said in his remarks in May.

Keeping his own eye on 2024, Trump has resumed his political rallies, including an event Saturday in Iowa. He and his political action committees are raising money at campaign-style rates. While he remains banned on Twitter and Facebook, Trump is issuing a steady stream of written statements attacking the Biden administration and other critics like Ryan.

In a series of interviews, Trump has taken aim at potential Republican rivals.

Asked last week about the prospects of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Trump told Yahoo Finance: "I think most people would drop out. I think he would drop out. And, if I faced him, I would beat him like I would beat everyone else, frankly."

Trump also said he hasn't formally declared a 2024 election run: "I said that if I do run, I think that I'll do extremely well, and I'm looking not only at polls, I'm looking at the enthusiasm."

The former president does have potential headwinds, including an investigation by prosecutors in New York into past financial dealings. Prosecutors in Georgia are investigating his efforts as president to pressure local officials into altering the election results in the state.

The Reagan institute will continue the speakers series in 2022. On Tuesday, it announced a speakers' list that includes prominent critics of Trump but not Trump himself.

The list of speakers includes Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., one of 10 House Republicans to vote for impeachment of Trump over Jan. 6 and now the target of a Trump-backed primary challenger; and Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who also has said he wants the party to move past Trump.

Other speakers include Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse, both of whom have questioned Trump's leadership of the party.

Trump enjoys high approval ratings from Republicans, many of whom believe his false claims about the election. Many observers believe Trump will run again, barring health or legal problems.

Said Pitney: "Unless he is in a hospital bed or jail cell in 2024, hes running."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nikki Haley plots the Republican Party future (with or without Trump)
An all-new season of 90 Day Fiance's The Single Life spinoff premieres next month with several returnees looking for another shot at love, TLC announced Wednesday.

Seven 90 Day favorites  including Big Ed and Colt's mom, Debbie!  will embark on new journeys as they move past failed romances and re-enter the dating world. And for the first time in 90 Day history, two singles from different 90 Day relationships connect and spark an interest in each other after ending things with their American exes.

Below, meet the season 2 singles courtesy of official network descriptions.

Debbie, 69 (Las Vegas, Nevada)

Debbie

TLC

Like mother, like son! Ever since her son Colt got engaged on season one of The Single Life and eloped with his now-wife Vanessa, Debbie has realized that it's time for mama to make a life of her own. As she dips back into the dating pool after being widowed for 13 years, Debbie quickly learns how much the dating landscape has changed over the years. Going on blind dates and testing out dating apps, she is hopeful that she'll find a partner who can fill the void left by her beloved husband of 27 years and by her son.

Ed, 56 (San Diego, California)

Ed

TLC

Over the years, Ed hasn't had the most luck with women  but he's not giving up! Big Ed is back this season in pursuit of love and his dream woman. He's trying new things and expanding his criteria, dating women of different ages and in different area codes. His love journey takes him from San Diego, to Las Vegas and even to Mexico, where his beloved mother was born. Is true love waiting for Ed abroad, or will he find love closer to home?

RELATED: Is 90 Day Fiance's Big Ed Engaged to Former Flame Liz? New Photos Hint at Relationship Status

Syngin, 31 (South Africa)

Syngin

TLC

Syngin is at a crossroads in his life. When he met his wife Tania in South Africa and moved across the world to marry her on a K-1 Visa in 90 Day Fiance season seven, he was convinced that he'd found his soulmate. But, after two years of a rocky marriage, their relationship has crumbled, and they have agreed to get a divorce. In order to make that change however, Syngin first needs to move out and decides to go big, moving across the country to start over and hopefully find his true soulmate.

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RELATED: 90 Day Fiance's Kalani Says Lines 'Got Crossed' During Explosive Fight with Asuelu's Family

Natalie, 37 (Ukraine)

Natalie

TLC

As viewers saw on the latest season of Happily Ever After?, things between Mike and Natalie seemed broken beyond repair. Now, Natalie is starting on a journey of new beginnings in sunny Florida, leaving her estranged husband behind in Sequim, Washington. As she processes the imminent divorce, Natalie looks to find a new man who she can be more compatible with and who can be the father of her future children. Along the way, she discovers that American dating customs differ drastically from those in the Ukraine, and finding Mr. Right is going to be harder than she thought.

Stephanie, 30 (New York, New York)

Stephanie

TLC

Returning to the franchise and to the United States after leaving her ex-girlfriend Erika behind in Australia a year and a half ago, Stephanie has been through many highs and lows over the past few years. Continuing to manage her aplastic anemia, a life-long and life-threatening condition that causes bone marrow failure and weakens her immune system, Stephanie is now in remission and is looking to end her celibacy after two and a half years. Identifying as bisexual, she looks to try her luck dating men and women, but, she learns that getting back in the saddle isn't going to be easy.

Never miss a story  sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Jesse, 28 (Netherlands)

Jesse

TLC

Five years after meeting his fiery American ex-girlfriend, Darcey, Jesse has emerged from the flames and is living his life to the fullest. Now based in Russia, Jesse has his dream career working in the luxury travel industry, but he still hasn't found the meaningful connection he has long searched for. Enter one Colombian model who shares more in common with Jesse than he could have ever imagined. After getting to know each other online and from a distance, Jesse is ready to travel across the world to see if they have enough in-person chemistry to make sparks fly.

Jeniffer, 27 (Colombia)

Jeniffer

TLC

After her relationship with Tim on Before the 90 Days season three flopped, Jeniffer moved on with her life and aspirations for love. Looking for a "real man" who can satisfy all of her needs, she seems to have found a potential candidate online. Jesse and Jeniffer seem like a match made in heaven, but a secret Jeniffer has been keeping threatens to ruin the relationship before it truly begins. While her connection with Jesse is growing to the point where he has decided to meet her in Colombia, Jeniffer already has a man that she has been seeing locally and needs to decide what her heart wants, before it's too late.

Season 2 of 90-Day Fiance: The Single Life begins streaming on Friday, Nov. 12 on discovery+.
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI

A young woman who claims she was sexually abused by a prominent member of New Yorks Hasidic Jewish community three decades ago is going after his greatest legacy: a massive brass menorah in the heart of Brooklyn.

The plaintiff, a 36-year-old woman now living in Israel, claims celebrated silversmith Hirschel Pekkar sexually assaulted her more than a dozen times in the 1990s, starting when she was 5 years old. Pekkar died this July, but his menorahwhich the lawsuit describes as one of the most important pieces of Jewish artwork of the 20th centurylives on, displayed every winter outside the world headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch Jewish movement.

The plaintiff hopes to get possession of the 6-foot-tall menorah, her lawyer told The Daily Beast, and melt it to the ground.

Our client has been revictimized every year, watching it light up globally knowing what happened to her, attorney Susan Crumiller said. The menorah has become a real symbol to our client, and to us, of justice in this case.

Asked about the allegations in the lawsuit, Pekkars son, Moshe Pekkar, who is also a silversmith, said he had not seen the court papers but was not aware of anything like that. He did not respond to further requests for comment. A spokesman for the Chabad Lubavitch said his heart goes out to this woman, but that the movement was not party to the suit and thus would not be commenting further.

What Happened to the Jerusalem Temples Menorah?

The Chabad-Lubatvich movement is one of the largest and best-known Hasidic Jewish communities in the world. Founded in Russia in 1775, its world headquarters moved to Brooklyn during World War II; today, the community in Crown Heights alone is said to number between 10,000 and 16,000. One of its most prominent outreach strategies is the lighting of some 15,000 public menorahs around the world to raise awareness for Hanukkah.

In 1982, followers of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersonthe most recent leader of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, also called the rebbecommissioned Pekkar to create a giant menorah in the image of what the rebbe believed a traditional menorah would have looked like. The resulting piece was displayed outside the Chabad-Lubavitch world headquarters, and quickly became a prized symbol for the community worldwide. (A Jewish Hasidic Chabad Lubavitch Rebbe 770 Menorah Sweatshirt is currently available on Amazon.)

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The plaintiff claims she met Pekkar a decade after he created the famous menorah, when her father began working with him at the jewelry-making studio adjacent to his Crown Heights apartment. The plaintiff and her family were not members of the local Chabad synagogue, she said, but visited often to meet with the rebbe, who they considered a spiritual leader. She grew up visiting the menorah every Hanukkah, she said, and idolizing the man who made it.

The abuse she allegedly suffered, she said, was like Santa Claus doing something bad.

Everything with Santa is so cute, she said. Everything with [Pekkar] is so holy.

One day in 1991, while visiting her father at the jewelry studio, the plaintiff asked to use the restroom. Because there was no bathroom in the studio, the suit claims, Pekkar volunteered to bring the plaintiff to the bathroom in his apartment. He led her to the bathroom, the suit claims, but stopped outside, sat down on a stool, and began to touch the plaintiffs vagina under her clothes.

Because the 5-year-old was completely unaware what was happening or how she should respond, the suit claims, and because she trusted Pekkar as a friend of the family, and a notable figure in her community, she stood frozen and silent while he abused her. Afterward, he allegedly engaged her in friendly conversation to make her feel comfortable with what had happened, but also warned her never to tell anyone. It was the first of at least a dozen such instances, the suit claims.

The plaintiff claims that when her parents learned of the abuse, they brought her allegations to the local rabbinical court, located right next to the Chabad-Lubavitch headquarters. What the plaintiff says is the tribunals August 1993 decision, which was reviewed by The Daily Beast, states that Pekkar admitted that he has committed an offense, but sentences him only to treatment and the observation of a specialist. (The decision was reached by three rabbis, one of whom is dead; the other two could not be reached for comment.)

A month later, the lawsuit claims, Pekkar sent a letter to the plaintiffs father threatening to tarnish his name if he ever raised the allegations again. Fearing retribution from Pekkar and worried that her reputation would be tarnished, the plaintiff said, her parents buried what had happened to her for years.

The plaintiff moved to Israel at age 8 to live with family, but continued to suffer from pervasive and fragmented memories and dreams about Pekkar, according to the suit. At home in New York on summer breaks, she tried cold-calling people named Pekkar out of the phone book, pretending to be a police officer. Finally, at age 18, the suit says, she discovered a copy of the tribunal's verdict in her fathers files, confronted him about it, and demanded to confront Pekkar.

According to the suit, Pekkar did not deny the abuse when the plaintiff approached him about it, but claimed she had wanted it. It claims he even gave her a tour of his house, pointing out the areas where he abused her. More than a decade later, when she was 30, the plaintiff tried again to confront Pekkar. This time, the suit claims, he threatened to take legal action against her.

I just let it go, the plaintiff said. Talking to him was always really hard, so I just tried to forget about it and go on with my life, understanding that no one is going to listen anyway.

Then, last year, she heard about the Child Victims Acta 2019 New York law that allows victims of child sexual abuse a chance to file their claims that would otherwise be outside the stuate of limitations. It had been years since they last spoke, but, when I heard I could sue [Pekkar], I actually called his house, the plaintiff said. I asked for him and they said one second and I hung up. I just needed to know he was alive.

It took time to find a lawyer who would take her case, and more to compile a complaint from a more than 30-year-old incident. The plaintiff was finally prepared to file the lawsuit this summer when she got the news she had been dreading most of her life: Pekkar was dead.

When he died it was just an absolute shock, to her especially, Crumiller recalled. Now [was] like, We have to figure out how to sue a dead person.

Doing so required a novel legal strategy, which involved requesting a lien on the menorah and demanding an administrator be put in charge of Pekkars estate. The ownership of the menorah itself is still unclear, as is who will be appointed to take over the Pekkar estate. But Crumiller said she is hopeful it will result in her client seeing justice, after 30 years of being denied it.

The plaintiff knows the lawsuit will likely be unpopular in the Chabad community. ([Its] kind of telling a person that that piece of art youve been looking at for 40 years might just not be as holy as you think it is, she said.) But she said she doesnt resent the Chabad movement; in fact, shes grown closer to it in recent years, drawn to the beauty and spirituality of its fundamental texts.

She also still feels love for Schneerson, who died in 1994. In a strange way, she said, she is doing this to help him.

For a whole decade he was lighting [the menorah] and loving it, and he was loving something that wasnt holy, she said. He touched a lie. And if he knew, maybe he wouldn't touch it.

But she is also, she said, doing this to help other people who endured abuse and are too afraid to speak up about it.

No one talks about it, so you think its a big secret you have to not talk about and keep to yourself, she said. You don't even think about other people being hurt, but maybe they did.

She added: I think once you're strong enough and able to take care of other people, you should.

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Hampton County Detention Center

Alex Murdaugh, the once prominent South Carolina lawyer accused of orchestrating his own murder in a twisted insurance plot, allegedly funneled money from his clients and former law firm into a fake bank account for years, according to a new lawsuit.

Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth, and Detrick (PMPED), the law firm founded a century ago by Murdaughs great-grandfather, made the shocking allegation in a suit filed Wednesday in Colleton County court. It alleges that Murdaugh, who was ousted from the firm last month over allegations of theft, was able to covertly steal these funds by disguising disbursements from settlements as payments to a fraudulent Bank of America account.

For several years Murdaugh submitted false documentation to the firm and to clients that allowed him to funnel stolen funds into fraudulent bank accounts, PMPED said in a Wednesday statement. In addition, the suit states, "Murdaugh, on occasion, used firm assets in an unauthorized manner and without the consent or knowledge of his former partner to further his scheme to defraud.

The law firm is also seeking information on where the ill-gotten funds went and if any of it is hidden away and hopes to recover stolen funds.

Murdaugh Hid Millions From Dead Housekeepers Sons: Court Docs

The allegations suggest Murdaugh had been embroiled in wrongdoing well before his familys legal dynasty was thrust into the public spotlight by a cascading series of dramas, from allegations of drug addiction to homicide and insurance fraud. The suit comes a day after Murdaugh was accused in another lawsuit of diverting millions of dollars from a wrongful death settlement meant for the sons of his former housekeeper into a fake bank account.

This is a very sad development. Alex holds every member of the Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth, Detrick law firm in very high esteem, Jim Griffin, one of Alex Murdaughs lawyers, told The Daily Beast in response to the PMPED lawsuit. He has pledged his full cooperation to the firm.

Story continues

The family first made national headlines in June when Murdaughs wife and son were found fatally shot at their estate. At the time, the son, Paul, was facing criminal charges over his role in a fatal 2019 boat crash.

Months later, Murdaugh made headlines again after calling police to say hed been shot in the head by a mystery truck driver on a Lowcountry backroad. In reality, prosecutors now allege, Murdaugh and his former drug dealer attempted to stage his murder to arrange an insurance payout to his surviving son, Buster.

Alex Murdaugh Finally Arrested for Trying to Orchestrate His Own Killing

Just hours after the shooting, Murdaugh issued a surprise announcement stating he had quit his familys firm and was entering rehab for drug dependency.

Both Murdaugh and the alleged dealer face criminal charges in the bizarre episodebut Murdaugh was allowed to leave jail and go to rehab in another state after allegedly admitting to police what hed done.

PMPED then issued their own statement last month claiming Murdaugh had actually been forced out after they discovered hed misappropriated funds. The South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division is investigating the firms allegations.

According to PMPEDs lawsuit, obtained by The Daily Beast, the firm learned in early September that Murdaugh had a bank account with Bank of America in the name of Alexander Murdaugh d/b/a Forge, a fictitious entity that provides no services and makes no products for sale.

It was further learned that Alex Murdaugh used this account to convert monies owed to PMPED and its clients to his own personal use, the lawsuit states.

Alex Murdaugh knew that his actions would evade detection based on his experience with PMPED and its long-standing business relations with Forge Consulting, LLC (FCL) in Columbia, South Carolina, the suit added.

Its not the first time that Murdaughs alleged connection with Forge Consulting LLC, a Georgia-based financial firm, has been called into questionthough FCL have previously denied any involvement with the scion.

Murdaugh Mess Spirals in New Lawsuit Over Fatal Boat Crash

Court documents filed Tuesday allege that after the Murdaughs former housekeeper Gloria Satterfield died on their property in 2018, her sons were supposed to get upward of $4.3 million in a wrongful death lawsuit from Murdaughs insurance company. Instead, checks for the court-approved 2019 settlement were made out to Forge and allegedly sent to a P.O. Box in Hampton County, South Carolina. Satterfields sons have allegedly yet to see a dime of the settlement.

Murdaugh allegedly chose the name because PMPED had a long-standing business relationship with Forge Consulting, including brokering settlements and financial advice to its attorneys, the law firms suit alleged.

The lawsuit adds that while the firm was not aware of Murdaughs alleged scheme until Sept. 2, PMPED had inquired about the status of at least one fee owed to the firm from a case that Murdaugh worked on.

Questions regarding the check for the fees owed to PMPED failed to produce a satisfactory explanation, the suit states, adding that on Sept. 2, a check was found on Murdaughs desk that appeared to be for some of the fees.

The check was notably made out to Murdaugh and not the firm, prompting PMPED to open a review of prior settlements of his cases.

The review yielded numerous checks made out to Forgeand when the firm asked Forge Consulting LLC they confirmed that it had not provided any services for the clients identified by PMPED, the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit says that on Sept. 3, PMPED confronted Murdaugh about the missing funds and he admitted to the scheme and resigned.

Days later, after the botched assisted-suicide plot, PMPED notified the South Carolina Supreme Courts Office of Disciplinary Counsel of the suspected ethical violation and his law license was eventually suspended pending an investigation.

PMPED has reimbursed all client trust accounts who have suffered a known loss as a result of Alex Murdaughs action while he was an employee of PMPED and working on behalf of clients of PMPED, the lawsuit states. It is anticipated that additional information may become known that could lead to more losses to PMPED as it protects its clients interests.

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Yakima police arrested two juveniles in what they believe is a gang-related shooting.

A YPD dog found the gun that was believed to have been used, YPD Capt. Jay Seely said.

The incident triggered a secure and teach lockdown at Robertson Elementary School.

This story is developing and will be updated.
If you watch enough old movies, you know that there are two types of bank robberies. The fir
Greensboro, NC (27407)

Today

Lots of sunshine. High 74F. Winds SW at 15 to 25 mph..

Tonight

Showers early, then partly cloudy overnight. Low near 35F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
As a U.S. Navy veteran, Mike Sanchez wanted to do something special for his military brothers.

Sanchez owns Texas Brewery Tours along with Caleb Corbell. The business launched earlier this year and together they run a bus service that starts at Margaritaville Lake Resort on Lake Conroe or from a designated location and takes thirsty patrons on wine and beer tours in the area.

As Veterans Day 2021 approaches, they wanted to give back to the first responders who do so much for the community and for the military veterans who sacrificed so much for their country.

On yourconroenews.com: Margaritaville taps Texas Brewery Tours

They have set up charity tours in October and November for local veterans and first responders.

The first responders tour is set for 4 to 9 p.m Oct. 28  National First Responders Day and 4 to 9 p.m. Nov. 11  Veterans Day.

They are now taking nominations of veterans and first responders for both tours.

We want to honor and celebrate the veterans and first responders and we thought this would be a fun way of doing that, Corbell said.

A veteran or first responder can be nominated at txbrewerytours@gmail.com or through direct message from their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/txbrewerytours.

Corbell and Sanchez met through their affiliation with the Omega Delta Phi fraternity at Sam Houston State University.

Sanchez originally had the idea for a beer tour and met with Corbell last summer to get it going. They now launched from Margaritaville and the touring has taken off. Tours are offered on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from the resort traveling to B-52, Copperhead and Southern Star breweries. In May, they expanded their tours to wineries featuring Bernhardt Winery near Plantersville, H-Wines in Montgomery and Blue Epiphany Winery in Conroe.

As National First Responders Day and Veterans Day approach however they wanted to do something to give back to those groups.

On yourconroenews.com: Texas Brewery Tours expands to local wineries

Sanchez grew up in Wharton, Texas.

Ive always had a sense of patriotism in my country, Sanchez said. He was a freshman at Wharton High School sitting in art class when he heard the news about the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

When that happened, I just felt like I needed to do something about it, he said.

By his senior year of high school, he had enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He was in service four years active and seven years as a reserve.

He became a yeoman serving in Florida, Cuba and Bahrain. He described his role as administrative support for Naval criminal investigative services.

I know what its like to be stationed in a place youre not familiar with and working with people you have never met and do a job you never even knew existed and live in that type of environment. It just does something to a human being. It builds character, but it also challenges them, he said. Anyone who goes through that, I just want to show them that theyre not alone and theyre appreciated. Theres many times that we feel we are alone and feel that were not appreciated. This is just a small way of saying, hey, lets come together, lets have a drink and celebrate life.

Visit https://www.txbrewerytours.com/ for more.

shernandez@hcnonline.com
If you just read this title and still are sad over what you may have recently done or said, then this weeks writing is just what youve been waiting to read. Lets think for a moment about little Joseph, who was one of 11 brothers and was favored by his father, Jacob. So the brothers, out of jealousy, threw Joseph into a pit to be sold to the next caravan of Midianite traders going into Egypt.

Many other things happened to Joseph while he was in Egypt as a slave, but he never forgot God. The Lord gave him favor to interpret many of Pharaohs dreams but Joseph was always quick to give the Lord credit for the interpretations. Joseph also went gathering food for a great famine which God sent to all the land of Egypt. There was so much grain there that the Bible says:
Hungarys two largest trade unions of teachers are setting up a joint strike committee in support of their demands for an immediate pay hike and a reduction in their workload, union leaders announced on Tuesday.

Zsuzsa Szabo, head of the Trade Union of Teachers (PSZ), and Erzsebet Nagy, a board member of the Democratic Trade Union of Teachers (PDSZ), said that they would inform the prime minister of their demands later in the day.



They added that under the law the government had five days to name their negotiating partners for the strike talks.



Ferenc Kalmar, ministerial commissioner for the development of Hungarys neighbourhood policy, noted that Hungary has broad experience in terms of minority protection, adding that the protection of minorities in Europe was important for maintaining peace and stability.





MTI Photo: Tibor Illyes
Editors note: The byline for this feature includes the late Jean Hylton, Pastor Michael Eickhoff and YNT staff.

YORK  One hundred and fifty years ago, on July 22, 1871, eight pioneer Christian men and women met together under the sprawling elms on the south bank of Beaver Creek. Under those trees, located on land which is now Harrison Park, the First United Presbyterian Church of York, Nebraska observed its birth.

Here it is 2021, and the congregation of the First Presbyterian Church of York is celebrating its 150th anniversary.

When the church was born in York County, the group was led by Rev. George R. Carroll, who represented the Presbytery of the Missouri River.

The next year, in 1872, with just $1,000, the small but determined congregation built the first church building (measuring 24x40 feet) on the southwest corner of Lincoln Avenue and Eighth Street. For the first eight months, a minister from Seward served the congregation and was followed by their first pastor, the Rev. J. B. Fleming.
New Delhi: Model-actress Urvashi Rautela has often turned heads for her sartorial choices and stunning looks. Recently, the actress went for a lavish breakfast at Habtoor Palace and it's the price of her outfit which is jaw-dropping.

Urvashi Rautela wore an Elisabetta Franchi short sleek white blazer dress. The gold hoop chain at the centre made her stand out. The elegant blazer designer dressed costed for around Rs 50,000, she paired it with white gumboots by international Italian Luxury Brand Giuseppe Zanotti, and the price of those pair of gumboots cost around Rs 1,36,000 lakh.

The entire look was really very captivating to our eyes as this talented beauty had tied up her hair into a bun with side hair parting, the actress had minimal makeup with a winged eyeliner as she completed her look with a nude lip shade. Talking about the accessories Urvashi opted to wear long earrings.

She was grateful for receiving a 10 year UAE Golden Visa as she became the first Indian actress to receive that recognition.

On the work front, Urvashi Rautela will be soon seen in a web series titled 'Inspector Avinash' opposite Randeep Hooda in a lead role. The actress is going to play the lead role in a bilingual thriller Black Rose along with the Hindi remake of Thiruttu Payale 2.

The actress recently got a blockbuster response for her song "Doob Gaye" opposite Guru Randhawa and "Versace Baby" opposite Mohamed Ramadan.

Urvashi Rautela will be also making a Tamil debut with the 200 crores big-budget film "The Legend" opposite Saravana.
Mumbai: Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole on Wednesday said the party will protest and resort to a 'jail bharo andolan' if their leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who was detained on her on way to Lakhimpur Kheri, is not released by the Uttar Pradesh Police.

Talking to reporters here, Patole said everyone can go and meet the families of the farmers at Lakhimpur Kheri but not Priyanka or Rahul Gandhi. This, he said, shows that the BJP government at the Centre or in Uttar Pradesh is 'scared' of the Gandhi siblings.

"Priyanka Gandhi should be released with grace or else Congress will undertake a jail-bharo andolan. They should apologise to her and the farmers and also repeal the (three farm) laws," he said.

"The BJP government at the Centre or in Uttar Pradesh is scared of the Gandhi family. Everybody can go there, but not Priyanka ji or Rahul ji," he said.

Priyanka Gandhi, the Congress general secretary, on Tuesday, alleged that she was being held illegally at the PAC compound in Sitapur and no notice or FIR has been provided to her.

Officials said the Uttar Pradesh Police has booked her and 10 other people under sections related to preventive custody due to apprehension of breach of peace.

ALSO CHECK | Lakhimpur Kheri incident: A timeline of events since eight people died in violence

Priyanka Gandhi was on her way to meet the kin of farmers who were killed in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence. A total of eight people were killed on Sunday.

Four of the total eight persons who lost their lives were farmers, knocked down by vehicles allegedly driven by BJP workers travelling to welcome Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya to an event in the area.

The others, including BJP workers and their driver, were allegedly pulled out of the vehicles and lynched by the protesters.

The Uttar Pradesh Police has lodged a case against Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra's son Ashish but no arrest has been made so far.

Patole said Priyanka Gandhi has been detained by the Uttar Pradesh Police at the behest of the Central government.

Referring to Haryana Chief Minister ML Khattar's 'tit for tat' remarks during a meeting of the BJP's Kisan Morcha on Sunday when he told the gathering to form groups of 500 to 1,000 and be prepared to even go to jail, Patole said it reflects that the days of the BJP government are numbered.

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court will take up the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case on October 7, Thursday. A bench headed Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, Justice Surya Kant and Justice Hima Kohli will be hearing the case tomorrow.

As many as eight people died in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident on Sunday, October 3. Tne incident has triggered a major political row after the alleged involvement of a union minister's son.

Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena-Congress-NCP alliance 'Maha Vikas Aghadi' (MVA) in Maharashtra announced a statewide bandh on October 11 as a mark of protest against the Lakhimpur Kheri violence. The state cabinet passed a resolution expressing regret over the death of farmers in the incident.

'Maha Vikas Aghadi' calls for a statewide bandh on October 11 against the Lakhimpur Kheri violence incident, Minister and NCP leader Jayant Patil said. A statement from the Chief Minister's Office said the ministers stood in silence as a mark of respect and described the deaths as unfortunate.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of several farmer unions, alleged that Ashish Mishra Teni, son of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Mishra Teni mowed down the farmers.

However, Ashish Mishra refuted SKM`s allegations and said he was not present at the spot where the incident took place.

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Dehradun: Five tourists, who recently came to Nainital from Delhi, tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday, said the state health department. According to officials, five tourists had come to Nainital from Delhi on Saturday. Before leaving for Nainital, they gave swabs for COVID-19 testing in Delhi which were found positive on Monday.

According to health officials, the tourists are untraceable.

By the time their COVID-19 test results came out, the tourists had already arrived in Nainital.

As the health department learned that the tourists have reached on Monday, they rushed officials to Nainital.

The department has informed the district administration and police about the presence of tourists in Nainital.

The officials are making all efforts to trace the tourists, said an official.

Dr KS Dhami, Principal Medical Superintendent of BD Pandey Hospital in Nainital, said "The efforts are being made to contact but no information has been received. Police have been informed about this."

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New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said that farmers are being "systematically attacked" and there is "dictatorship" in India now with politicians not being allowed to visit Uttar Pradesh to meet the families of the victims of the Lakhimpur Kheri incident.

Gandhi charged that farmers are being mowed down and the name of a union minister and his son is coming up, but no action is being taken.

Farmers are being mowed down by a jeep, they're being murdered, the name of a union minister & his son is coming up in this incident (Lakhimpur Kheri). Y'day, PM visited Lucknow but he didn't visit Lakhimpur Kheri. It's a systematic attack on farmers: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi pic.twitter.com/ajyrCdt8Dx  ANI (@ANI) October 6, 2021

Farmers of the country are being "systematically attacked", he alleged. "There used to be democracy, there is dictatorship in India now. Politicians cannot go to Uttar Pradesh. We are being told since yesterday that we cannot go to Uttar Pradesh," Gandhi said.

Addressing a press conference, the Congress MP said he along with two Congress Chief Ministers - Bhupesh Baghel (Chhattisgarh) and Charanjit Singh Channi (Punjab) - will try to visit Lakhimpur Kheri to meet the families hit by the violence.

Today, with two CMs we will visit Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh to understand the situation there and support the farmers' families. Yes, Priyanka has been put under detention (in Sitapur) but this is a matter relating to the farmers: Rahul Gandhi, Congress pic.twitter.com/IzTVk6HSKd  ANI (@ANI) October 6, 2021

Lucknow Police Commissioner D K Thakur has said that the Uttar Pradesh government has not given permission for Gandhi's visit, and he will not be allowed to go to Sitapur or Lakhimpur.

Rahul Gandhi said, "Section 144 is not imposed for three people and only three persons will go to meet the bereaved families." He said Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi will accompany him to Lucknow and then they will proceed to Lakhimpur Kheri.

Rahul said, "When other political parties are being allowed to go to Lakhimpur Kheri, why the Congress delegation will not be allowed." On questions about Priyanka`s detention, he said, "We are trained to raise peoples` issues and we are not going to deter even on being manhandled."

The Uttar Pradesh government, late on Tuesday night, denied permission to a Congress delegation led by Rahul Gandhi to visit Lakhimpur Kheri as Section 144 was enforced after Sunday`s violence.

Earlier, Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal had sought permission for the Rahul-led delegation. In a letter to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the Congress said a five-member delegation led by Rahul Gandhi planned to visit the district.

Party sources said that Rahul would also meet sister Priyanka, who has been kept at the PAC guest house in Sitapur since Monday. She was formally arrested on Tuesday evening and the guest house has been notified as a temporary jail.

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New Delhi: Any country deciding to use the S-400 missiles is "dangerous" and not in anybody's security interest, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said on Wednesday (October 6) referring to Washington's position on the matter even as she hoped that the US and India will be able to resolve differences over New Delhi's procurement of the Russian weapons system.

Sherman told a small group of journalists that any decision on possible sanctions on the S-400 deal will be made by President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhary on Tuesday said that the first batch of S-400 missile defence system will arrive in India from Russia by this year.

Indian government sources said the issue of India procuring the S-400 missile system from Russia figured in Sherman's wide-ranging talks with Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla and that both sides hoped to find a way out on the issue through dialogue. "We've been quite public about any country that decides to use the S-400. We think that is dangerous and not in anybody's security interest. That said, we have a strong partnership with India," Sherman said.

"We want to be very thoughtful about the ways ahead, and discussions between our countries try to solve problems and I hope we will be able to in this instance as well," she said while replying to a question on the issue. The US has already imposed sanctions on Turkey under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) for purchase of S-400 missile defences from Russia.

In October 2018, India had signed a USD 5 billion deal with Russia to buy five units of the S-400 air defence missile systems, despite a warning from the Trump administration that going ahead with the contract may invite US sanctions. India made the first tranche of payment of around USD 800 million to Russia for the missile systems in 2019. The S-400 is known as Russia's most advanced long-range surface-to-air missile defence system.

Following US sanctions on Turkey, there have been apprehensions that Washington may impose similar punitive measures on India.

Also read: Shooting at Texas school, police say multiple victims injured, hunt on for gunman

Russian ambassador to India Nikolay Kudashev said in April that both Russia and India do not recognise bilateral sanctions as they are "illegal tools" of "unlawful and unfair" competition and pressure. Sherman arrived in Delhi on Tuesday (October 5) on a three-day visit, nearly two weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with Biden in Washington. Besides holding talks with Shringla, she met NSA Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

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New Delhi: Hours after officials informed that a case has been registered against Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the Congress general secretary on Tuesday (October 5, 2021) said that she has been illegally confined and alleged that she has not been allowed to meet her legal counsel. As per Priyanka's official statement that was released by Congress, she has not been served with any order or notice, nor has she seen the FIR registered against her.

Priyanka also stated that she has not been produced in front of a magistrate or any other judicial officer.

Referring to FIR registered against 11 people including Congress leaders, Priyanka said that eight of those named were not even present at the time she was arrested and that the police have also named two persons who brought her clothes from Lucknow on October 4 afternoon.

"I have been placed under arrest as verbally informed to me by the arresting officer DCP Piyush Kumar Singh, CO City, Sitapur, under section 151 at 4.30 am on the 4th of October, 2021. At the time I was arrested I was travelling within the district of Sitapur, approximately 20 km from the border of Lakhimpur Kheri district which was under section 144. However, to my knowledge, Section 144 was not imposed in Sitapur," Priyanka said in a statement.

"No security car or congress workers other than the four persons accompanying me were with me. I was then driven to the PAC compound, Sitapur accompanied by 2 female and 2 male constables. Having been brought to the PAC compound, no further communication regarding the circumstances or the reasons, or the sections under which I have been charged have been communicated to me by the UP Police or administration until now - 38 hours later at 6.30 pm on October 5," she added.

Priyanka further stated, "I have not been served with any order or notice. Nor have they shown me an FIR. I have myself seen a portion of a paper on social media in which they have named 11 people - 8 of whom were not even present at the time I was arrested. In fact, they have even named the two persons who brought my clothes from Lucknow on the 4th afternoon. I have not been produced in front of a magistrate or any other judicial officer either."

"Presently I am not going into the details of the completely illegal physical force used on my colleagues and me at the time of my arrest as this statement serves merely to clarify the continuing illegality of my confinement at the PAC compound in Sitapur, UP," she said.

Presently I am not going into the details of the completely illegal physical force used on my colleagues & me at the time of my arrest as this statement serves merely to clarify the continuing illegality of my confinement.: Smt. @priyankagandhi pic.twitter.com/Hwyagg7Re7  Congress (@INCIndia) October 5, 2021

This is to be noted that Priyanka and other party leaders were detained on Monday when they were going to meet the victims of the violence that erupted during a farmers' protest in Lakhimpur Kheri a day earlier. Eight people were killed including farmers and BJP workers.

Samyukta Kisan Morcha, a coalition of over forty farmers' unions, has alleged that son of Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra Teni was involved in the violence. However, Mishra and his son have refuted SKM's allegations.

Meanwhile, a 5-member delegation of the Congress party led by Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to visit the violence-hit Lakhimpur Kheri on Wednesday, however, the Uttar Pradesh government has denied permission for the same. The Yogi Adityanath-led government has denied permission to the Congress delegation in the wake of Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) that has been imposed in Lucknow.

A five member delegation of INC led by Shri @RahulGandhi propose to visit Lakhimpur Kheri tomorrow to express condolences to the bereaved families & to know the facts firsthand.: Shri @kcvenugopalmp letter to UP CM. pic.twitter.com/5gbheTbIta  Congress (@INCIndia) October 5, 2021

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New Delhi: The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Wednesday (October 6, 2021) morning informed that India reported 18,833 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours and that the active count has now dropped to its lowest in nearly 7 months. The country's active coronavirus caseload currently stands at 2,46,687, which is the lowest in 203 days.

The health ministry stated that active cases account for less than 1% of the total cases and is now at 0.73%, the lowest since March 2020. The daily rise in new coronavirus infections remained below 30,000 for the 12th straight day.

#Unite2FightCorona  India's Active Caseload (2,46,687) constitute 0.73% of Total Cases. pic.twitter.com/aTmH2TV9g2  Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) October 6, 2021

24,770 recoveries were also registered in the last 24 hours that took the total number of recoveries to 3,31,75,656. The recovery rate currently stands at 97.94%. The death toll climbed to 4,49,538 with 278 fresh fatalities. The new deaths include 151 from Kerala and 39 from Maharashtra. According to the health ministry, more than 70 per cent of the COVID-19-related deaths have occurred due to comorbidities.

ALSO READ | Mass gatherings can worsen possible third COVID-19 wave, say experts, advise responsible travel

As many as 14,09,825 tests were conducted on Tuesday taking the total cumulative tests conducted so far in the country to 57,68,03,867. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 1.34 per cent and has been less than three per cent for the last 37 days. The weekly positivity rate was recorded at 1.68 per cent and has been below three per cent for the last 103 days, the health ministry said.

Meanwhile, the cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive has crossed 92 crores after 59,48,360 vaccine doses were administered in the last 24 hours. The health ministry informed that over 6.93 crore balance and unutilized COVID-19 vaccine doses are still available with the states and UTs to be administered.

#Unite2FightCorona#LargestVaccineDrive  Indias Cumulative #COVID19 Vaccination Coverage crosses the landmark of 92 Cr (92,17,65,405).  More than 59.48 Lakh doses administered in last 24 hours.https://t.co/7aQlf0hhln pic.twitter.com/JGIggiMILL  Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) October 6, 2021

ALSO READ | China's COVID-19 pandemic may have begun in May 2019: Report

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Chennai: Distress Alert Transponder (DAT), an indigenous device developed by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) in consultation with the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has saved the lives of nine Indian sailors.

Nine-crewed Mechanised Sailing Vessel (MSV) Annai Vailankanne Arockia Vennila, was stranded at the high seas and faced with on-board flooding amid rough sea conditions when it was sailing between Tuticorin (south Tamil Nadu) and Maldives, owing to a technical snag.

The Indian Coast Guards Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC), Chennai received the vessels distress message, sent via DAT by 4 pm on Tuesday. At the time of incident, the vessel was 170 nautical miles from Tuticorin and 230 NM from Maldives. The MRCC launched the National Search and rescue Services and activated International Safety Net (ISN) for coordinating the search and rescue.

Two merchant vessels - MV SKS Mosel and MC MCP Salzburg, in the region were identified and diverted to the location of the distressed vessel. MV MCP Salzburg reached location of the distressed vessel and safely rescued all nine crew in the early hours of Wednesday (2:30 am) and proceeded to its next port of call (NPC) Maldives, where the rescued crew will be disembarked.

DATs are carried by Indian fishing boats, Mechanised Sailing Vessels, Coastal Vessels and other small vessels. The distress alert is monitored 24x7x365 by the Coast Guard MRCC at the respective regions.

Jointly developed by the ISRO and ICG, the DAT is a low-cost and effective satellite transmitter built for fishermen. At a press of a button, this device transmits distress alerts to the search and rescue authorities through the INSAT series of satellites. In case of emergency, the user can select a distress message (boat sinking/fire/medical help/other emergencies). The DAT combines the message with the boats position (based on GPS) and transmits the same, every few minutes, till it is switched off manually or until the battery lasts.

The ICG has been emphasising that fishermen must carry the DAT device and also register it for effective, timely search and rescue. The DAT unit also helps fishermen receive other information such as potential fishing zone, weather alerts etc.

The Indian National Satellite (INSAT) system is one of the largest domestic communication satellite systems in Asia-Pacific region with multiple operational communication satellites placed in geo-stationary orbit. Established in 1983 with commissioning of INSAT-1B, it initiated a major revolution in Indias communications sector and sustained the same later.

According to ISRO, the INSAT system with more than 200 transponders provides services to telecommunications, television broadcasting, satellite news-gathering, societal applications, weather forecasting, disaster warning and search and rescue operations.

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Chandigarh: The Punjab Congress, led by state unit chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, will take out a protest march on Thursday (October 7) to Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri over the issue of killing of farmers. The march will begin from Mohali at noon, party sources said here on Wednesday. Sidhu on Tuesday had said that the party's state unit would march towards Lakhimpur Kheri if Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra's son is not held in connection with the violence in Lakhimpur.

Earlier in the day, Sidhu had slammed the Uttar Pradesh police for detaining party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and accused it of violating the spirit of the constitution. "54 hours passed !! @priyankagandhi Ji has not been produced before any Court  unlawful detention beyond 24 hours is a clear violation of the fundamental rights. BJP & UP Police :- You are violating the spirit of the Constitution, impinging on our basic human rights !!" Sidhu said in a tweet.

Here's the October 4 tweet of Sidhu's hailing Priyanka Gandhi's courage:

On October 5, Sindhu had said that the activists of Punjab Congress will walk towards Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh if Priyanka Gandhi is not released and the Union Minister's son accused of murder not arrested. "If, by tomorrow, the Union Minister's son behind the brutal murder of farmers is not arrested, and our leader @PriyankaGandhi being unlawfully arrested, fighting for farmers is not released, the Punjab Congress will march towards Lakhimpur Kheri!" Sidhu tweeted today (October 5).

Eight people including four farmers and three BJP workers were killed in the violence that erupted in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri ahead of the visit of the state's Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Sunday (October 3, 2021). On October 4, the UP Police had tweeted, "In the unfortunate incident of Lakhimpur, 8 casualties have been reported till now as per the district administration. ADG LO, ACS Agriculture,IG Range & Commissioner are on the spot & situation is under control. Adequate deployment has been done to prevent any untoward incident."



(With Agency inputs)

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Bahraich: Bhartiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait on Tuesday gave a week's ultimatum to the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government for arresting Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Kumar Mishra's son, accused in an FIR of being behind farmers' death in Lakhimpur Kheri.

"We have given a week to the government to arrest the son of the Union MoS (Home). We all will gather here again on the day of 'bhog' (a ritual during the 13-day post-death mourning period) and then will discuss and decide the future strategy," Tikait told newspersons here.

Tikait, who visited the house of Gurvinder Singh, a farmer from Moharnia village here killed in the Lakhimpur violence, said the minister's son was seen by many people at the spot on a fateful day.

"People have several videos that will come up as soon as the net is restored," he said.

ALSO READ | Will discipline protesters in two minutes: MoS Ajay Mishra in purported viral video

"The district administration has said they will arrest the minister's son in a week. If it does not happen, we will assemble at one place on the day of 'bhog' of all four farmers, when it is held in eight to ten days. We will then discuss and decide our next strategy," he added.

Tikait said people of the area have told him that the minister and his son are criminals.

"They are involved in diesel theft. They have three petrol pumps in Nepal where diesel is cheaper by Rs 15 to 20," he said.

Union MoS (Home) Misra's son Ashish Misra alias Monu has been named in an FIR lodged at a Lakhimpur Kheri police station.

ALSO READ | MoS Ajay Mishra demands fair probe, says ready to face any inquiry panel

According to a report from Lakhimpur Kheri, district officials on Tuesday night handed over compensation cheques of Rs 45 lakh each to the kin of two Kheri farmers under the agreement between agitating farmers and authorities.

The deceased farmers whose kin were given the compensation cheques are Lavpreet Singh of Palia tehsil and Nakshatra Singh of Dhaurahra tehsil.

Lakhimpur Information Office, in a statement on late Tuesday night, said Kheri District Magistrate Arvind Kumar Chaurasia handed over a cheque of Rs 45 lakh to the family members of deceased Lavpreet Singh at their residence at Chaukhara Farm.

It further said Chief Development Officer Anil Singh along with ADM (Finance & Revenue) Sanjay Kumar Singh reached Namdarpurwa in Dhaurahra tehsil and handed over the compensation cheque to the family members of Nakshatra Singh.

ALSO READ | Samyukta Kisan Morcha writes to Prez, seeks dismissal of Ajay Mishra

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New Delhi: The Shiv Sena-Congress-NCP alliance 'Maha Vikas Aghadi' (MVA) in Maharashtra on Wednesday (October 6) announced a statewide bandh on October 11 as a mark of protest against the Lakhimpur Kheri violence.

'Maha Vikas Aghadi' calls for a statewide bandh on October 11 against the Lakhimpur Kheri violence incident, Minister and NCP leader Jayant Patil said.

The state cabinet passed a resolution expressing regret over the death of farmers in the incident.

A statement from the Chief Minister's Office said the ministers stood in silence as a mark of respect and described the deaths as unfortunate.

Patil moved the resolution to pay tributes to the deceased farmers which was seconded by Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat (Congress) and Industries Minister Subhash Desai (Shiv Sena).

Eight people including four farmers were killed after a vehicle owned by MoS Home Ajay Mishra mowed down the protesting crowd. The ministers son Ashish Mishra has been accused of carrying out the act. An FIR has been filed against him that includes murder charge.

Also Read: Lakhimpur Kheri: Navjot Singh Sidhu to lead Punjab Congress protest against BJP in UP

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Srinagar: A day after well known pharmacist Makhan Lal Bindroo was gunned down by terrorists in Srinagar, his daughter came out in support of her father and spoke fearlessly and passionately while addressing the media.

The incident took place near Iqbal Park in Srinagar where terrorists fired upon the owner of Bindroo Medicate, Makhan Lal Bindroo. He was at his shop when he was reportedly shot from a close range. Following this, Makhan Lal was shifted to hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

His daughter, talking to the media said, " I am an associate professor, I started from zero level. My father started from a bicycle. My brother is a famous diabetologist. My mother sits in the shop, a woman. That is what Makhan Lal Bindroo made us. A Kashmiri Pandit, he will never die."

She added, "You can just kill the body. I being a Hindu, I have read the Quran. And the Quran says, yeh jo sharir ka chola hai, woh badal jayega, but a person's spirit doesn't go anywhere. Makhan Lal Bindroo will be alive in the spirit."

She challenged the terrorist who shot her father saying, "And Mr, who shot my father dead while he was working, if you have the guts come in front and have a debate with us face-face. Then we will see what you are." Makhan Lal's daughter also said that the terrorists can only attack from behind, throw stones and shoot from behind.

Reacting to this news, Omar Abdullah had tweeted yesterday (October 5), "What terrible news! He was a very kind man. Ive been told he never left during the height of militancy and remained with his shop open. I condemn this killing in the strongest possible terms & convey my heartfelt condolences to his family. God bless his soul."

Two more civilians were killed in separate incidents on the same day. Terrorists fired at a man identified as Mohd Shafi Lone in the Shahgund area of Bandipora. Lone was a resident of Naidkhai, police said. A street hawker, Virender Paswan, originally from Bihar, was also shot dead by terrorists in Srinagar.

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday (October 6) said the recent spate of civilian killings in Kashmir lays in "tatters" the Centre's "fake narrative" of normalcy in the Valley.

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New Delhi: The National Investigative Agency (NIA) on Wednesday (October 6) took up the investigation into the Mundra port heroin seizure case on the direction of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) had seized 2,988.21 kg heroin worth Rs 21,000 crore from two containers at the Mundra port in Gujarat's Kutch district on September 13.

The consignment, disguised as semi-processed talc stones had arrived at Mundra Port from Kandhar, Afghanistan via Bandar Abbas, Iran.

Eight persons including three Indians, four Afghans and one Uzbek have been arrested in the case so far.

The DRI had arrested M Sudhakar and his wife Durga Vaishali who allegedly ran Vijayawada-registered Aashi Trading Company which had imported the consignment of talc stones'.

The drug haul is considered to be one of the biggest in the world with the value of the seized heroin estimated to be Rs 21,000 crore in the international markets.

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New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate has attached assets worth Rs 26.98 crore of Rose Valley Group of companies in a chit fund case.

Rose Valley Group chairman Gautam Kundu and others had allegedly collected a huge amount of money from the public by floating fake and fictitious schemes.

The ED had initiated a money laundering investigation on the basis of FIRs registered by West Bengal Police against the accused.

These group companies had collected a huge amount of money from the common gullible public by floating fake and fictitious schemes and defaulted the re-payments, said ED in a statement.

Earlier in August, the agency carried out a search operation and seized 7 luxurious vehicles including 2 BMW, 2 Mercedes, 1 Honda Civic, 1 Toyota Fortuner and 1 Mahindra worth Rs 2 Crore belonging to the accused.

ED had also secured the conviction of one of the accused in February this year.

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Mumbai: The BJP on Wednesday won 22 of the 85 zilla parishad seats across half a dozen Maharashtra districts where bypolls where held, while the Congress bagged 36 of the 144 Panchayat Samiti seats which were on offer under their jurisdiction, according to results announced by the State Election Commission (SEC).

By-elections for 84 vacant seats across 6 Zilla Parishads (ZPs) - Dhule, Nandurbar, Akola, Washim, Nagpur, Palghar and also 141 seats in 37 Panchayat Samitis falling under the jurisdiction of these districts were held on Tuesday and the votes were counted on Wednesday.

Candidates in one ZP seat (total 85) and three Panchayat Samiti wards (total 144) were elected unopposed. Of the 85 seats on offer in six ZPs, the BJP won the highest 22, while the Congress, the NCP and the Shiv Sena - all constituents of the ruling MVA - bagged 19, 15 and 12 seats, respectively, (total 46). Independents secured four seats, the CPI (M) one and others won 12 seats, the SEC said.

In Panchayat Samiti bypolls, the Congress won the highest 36 of the 144 seats on offer followed by the BJP 33, the Shiv Sena 23 and the NCP 18 seats, the SEC results showed.

Independent candidates won seven, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena one and other registered parties bagged 26 Panchayat Samiti seats. The MVA (Maha Vikas Aghadi) allies won 73 of the 144 Panchayat Samiti seats.

As many as 367 candidates were in the fray for the ZP seats and 555 contestants for the Panchayat Samiti seats in the bypolls where the voter turnout was around 63 per cent. The by-elections were necessitated following a Supreme Court ruling on quota for OBCs in local bodies.

Maharashtra PWD minister Ashok Chavan of the Congress said the BJP has suffered a "major blow" in the ZP and Panchayat Samiti by-elections due to its "double standards" on Maratha reservation (in jobs and education) and political quota for OBCs (other backward classes).

"Whether it is Maratha reservation or OBC's political reservation, the BJP has adopted double standards every time. The BJP did not take right decisions when its government at the Centre had the opportunity to play a decisive role in maintaining both these reservations," Chavan said.

The minister, who heads the cabinet sub-committee on Maratha quota, said out of the 85 vacant seats in ZPs, the Congress had 13 members earlier, but it now has won 17 seats.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi allies won 46 ZP seats this time, as compared to 37 earlier, despite contesting the bypolls separately, he said. Chavan said on the other side, the BJP's seat count dropped to 22 from 31 earlier, while the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi 's tally fell to eight from 12.

BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis said bypoll results show who is growing at the cost of the Shiv Sena and how the Uddhav Thackeray-led party's base is going further down. The former Chief Minister claimed the BJP is growing steadily in the state.

The Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly said, "The BJP's base is steadily increasing and the base of others is declining. The Shiv Sena is going further down." Fadnavis thanked voters for making the BJP, the "No. 1 party" in these Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti by-elections. The BJP has won 25 per cent of the Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti seats and Independents and smaller parties, too, have won 25 per cent of the seats.

The remaining 50 per cent includes the three MVA parties, he CM said.

State BJP president Chandrakant Patil said in these by-elections, the ruling MVA allies made full use of their power, but voters gave first preference to his party. "While in power in the state from 2014 to 2019, the BJP was the number one party in local body elections and despite being in the opposition now, the same trend continues," Patil said. He said in the 2019 assembly elections, the BJP won an absolute majority by forming an alliance (with the Shiv Sena).

Despite that it has to sit in the opposition (after the Sena walked out of the saffron alliance), but the BJP still has the support of the people, the former minister said. Patil expressed confidence that the BJP will win the upcoming assembly bypolls in Deglur in Nanded district. The Supreme Court in March this year had read down the OBC quota in local bodies. Following the SC order, the OBC seats in Dhule, Nandurbar, Akola, Washim, Nagpur and Palghar ZPs and Panchayat Samitis falling under them got converted to general category seats.

As a result, seats in the 85 wards of these six ZPs and 144 wards in the Panchayat Samiti fell vacant. Candidate in one of these seats from Dhule ZP, nominees from two seats from Shirpur Panchayat Samiti in Dhule, and one from Akkalkuwa Panchayat Samiti were declared elected unopposed. Last month, the Maharashtra State Election Commission had declared byelections to six ZPs and the panchayat samitis under them for the seats that fell vacant after the SC order.

The SEC had earlier declared that these bypolls will be held on July 19, but they were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. On September 9, the Supreme Court ruled that COVID-19 restrictions were not applicable for bypolls and directed the Maharashtra SEC to announce fresh dates.
New Delhi: Actor Kartik Aaryan is climbing the ladder of success with some meaty roles in his kitty. Taking to his social media today, Kartik Aaryan shared a picture with his mom and sister.

Hailing from Gwalior the actor has very close ties with his family. His mother and sister have been a strong pillar of support for Kartik, the actor is a complete family man. He captioned the post, "All I need"

The actor is working tirelessly, tight on schedules to wrap one project and soon get on the other. He had recently wrapped up 'Freddy' in a short span of time and is speculated to get on another project soon.

Kartik's lineup of films includes Dhamaka, Freddy and Bhool Bhulaiyya 2.
New Delhi: State Bank of India (SBI) has introduced a slew of offers using which taxpayers can save on filing income tax returns or ITR. As part of the offer, taxpayers will be able to file ITR for free using the Indias largest state-owned banks SBI YONO app.

Taxpayers need to visit the Tax2win section under the SBI YONO app to file ITR for free. They, however, will need to submit five essential documents required for filing income tax returns.

In a tweet, SBI said, Do you want to file an ITR? You can do it FREE with Tax2win on YONO. All you need is 5 documents.

Here are the five documents that are required for filing ITR for free on the SBI YONO app:

1. PAN card

2. Aadhaar card

3. Form-16

4. Tax deduction details

5. Interest income certificates and investment proofs for tax saving.

Moreover, SBI customers will be able to receive the assistance of digital CA or eCA at discounted prices. SBI said that customers will just need to pay Rs 199 to get eCA assistance. The bank pointed out that the ongoing offer is valid till October 31, 2021.

ITR filing deadline

The last date to file ITR for the financial yer 2021 is now December 31. The deadline was extended by the Finance Ministry last month from September 30, 2021, after several taxpayers had complained of glitches in the income tax filing portal, which was developed by Infosys. Also Read: Gold Price Today, 06 October 2021: Gold prices plunge below Rs 45,620

However, the last date to file the ITR in India usually is July 31. On consideration of difficulties reported by the taxpayers and other stakeholders in filing of Income Tax Returns and various reports of audit for the Assessment Year 2021-22 under the Income-tax Act, 1961, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has decided to further extend the due dates for filing of Income Tax Returns and various reports of audit for the Assessment Year 2021-22, the finance ministry said in a statement. Also Read: IRCTC Bharat Darshan: Indian Railways to run special tourist train to let travellers explore North India
New Delhi: Amazon.com Incs live streaming e-sports platform Twitch said on Wednesday it was hit by a data breach, without providing further details. An anonymous hacker claimed to have leaked Twitch data, including information related to the company`s source code, clients and unreleased games, according to Video Games Chronicle, which first reported the news of the hack.

Twitch confirmed the breach and said its "teams are working with urgency to understand the extent of this".

The company declined to comment further and said it would "update the community as soon as additional information is available". Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The hacker`s motive was to "foster more disruption and competition in the online video streaming space", according to the Video Games Chronicle report.

About 125GB of data was leaked, including information on Twitch`s highest paid video game streamers since 2019, such as a $9.6 million payout to the voice actors of popular game "Dungeons & Dragons" and $8.4 million to Canadian streamer xQcOW, the report said.

"Twitch leak is real. Includes significant amount of personal data," cyber security expert Kevin Beaumont tweeted Twitch, an online e-sports platform with more than 30 million average daily visitors, has become increasingly popular with musicians and video gamers where they interact with users while live streaming content. Also Read: DNA: What did Dr.Subhash Chandra say about being called the father of the private TV industry?

The platform, which was boycotted earlier this year by users for not doing enough to block harassment, previously made a move to ban users for offenses such as hate-group membership and credible threats of mass violence. Also Read: DNA: If Invesco will fight, then I will be compelled to fight this battle.: Dr. Subhash Chandra
Samsung is planning to launch its next premium flagship, the Galaxy S22, Galaxy S22+ as well as the Galaxy S22 Ultra and now a new report has claimed that the company is planning on producing 20 million units of the latest flagship phones.

According to The Elec, around 50 per cent or more of the production and shipping will be for the base Galaxy S22. This model will reportedly sport a smaller 6.1-inch display compared to the 6.2 inch on its predecessor, the Galaxy S21.

The Plus version would account for 20 percent of the total units of the entire series being produced and shipped while the Galaxy S22 Ultra will make up for the remaining 20 to 30 percent.

The upcoming series will enter mass production in November this year. (Also Read: Apple to launch iPad Pro with low-power LTPO OLED display in 2023: Report)

The smartphones in the lineup will be available for purchase from January 2022 and all the models in the series are expected to come powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 898 chipset.

In terms of specifications, the upcoming series may feature a new 10MP telephoto sensor with 3x optical zoom capabilities as opposed to a high-resolution sensor with poor optical zoom.

Samsung is planning to take a different approach on the Galaxy S22/S22+ models that will arrive early next year. The Galaxy S22 series smartphones will pack a 10MP telephoto lens that supports 3x optical zoom rather than the hybrid zoom of the Galaxy S20/S21 era. (Also Read:

Previous rumours suggested that the Galaxy S22 Ultra is expected to continue the dual 10-megapixel telephoto camera setup on the Galaxy S21 Ultra. One of the lenses will be a periscope lens that will offer 10x optical zoom.

Galaxy S22+ is expected to be equipped with a 4500 mAh battery. In terms of software, Galaxy S22 will be pre-installed with OneUI 4.x based on Android 12.
New Delhi: Superstar Salman Khan-hosted controversial reality show Bigg Boss 15 has begun and the contestants are fighting it out for their survival already. In last night's episode, during a jungle task, after Pratik Sehajpal tore off the map, the other contestants barged inside the main house and hell let loose.

Due to this, Shamita Shetty was visibly not happy with the way the task turned violent. When contestants living in the jungle side of the house were called 'classless', Karan Kundrra was seen telling Nishant Bhatt that this won't be tolerated and tell this to 'aunty' (Shamita Shetty).

While is Kundrra is 36 and Shamita 42, netizens have bashed the former for age-shaming the actress. Fans have defended the actress saying that she did not even make that 'classless' comment.

Bada ayaa classy ott wale next time classless bolke toh dekho

Tum logo ke class ko glass me dal ke pila dega #KaranKundra #BB15 #BiggBoss15  Nikki Sandhu (@SandhuDkaur) October 6, 2021

NIshant bhat said classless. It was NOT #ShamitaShetty. #KaranKundra has abused her mathechod mujhe classless bolegi to #ShamitaShetty and said aunty. aur bola woh bhi bina matlab.#BB15 #ShamitaShetty  Rohini (@robhise62) October 6, 2021

It's disgusting to another level, he abused her also, mujhe lga gentlemen hoga #KaranKundra but sorry glt lga mujhe #ShamitaShetty  Lisha (@Lisha74771315) October 6, 2021

Truly classless was #Karan to call just a few years elder one as #Aunty in a demeaning way..

Never expected from #KaranKundra ,shows how hollow he is  BaluTweets (@CBKARS10) October 6, 2021

With just 3 days into the show, catfights and verbal war of words have already begun. Bigg Boss OTT contestants Shamita Shetty, Nishant Bhatt and Pratik Sehjpal are in the main house, enjoying the luxuries while other contestants of this season are in the jungle side of the house.
New Delhi: It less than a week that Bigg Boss 15 aired up and the house has been getting heated up because of the fights among the contestants. Last night, we saw Pratik Sehajpal getting into a massive fight with 'junglewasis' including Jay Bhanushali and breaking up house properties during a rage. Later, as a punishment, Bigg Boss announces that all the junglewassis are nominated for the coming week because of the damage caused to the house by Pratik.

Yesterday, after the argument got over, Karan Kundrra was seen discussing the incident with Nishant Bhatt when he said he would not tolerate anyone calling them classless. While interacting, he used the word 'Aunty' to describe Shamita Shetty, as according to him she had used the word 'classless'. However, as per viewers, it was not Shamita but Nishant himself who had used the class word during the fight.

Now, Shamita's close friend and former Bigg Boss OTT contestant Neha Bhasin has slammed Karan for age-shaming a woman on the show. She shared a long note on Instagram, writing, "Karan kundra kindly grow up and stop targeting @shamitashetty_official on Bigg Boss. Calling grown up women Aunty is become a, lame way of shaming them when you are 37 yourself."

She also hit out at Jay Bhanushali for body-shaming Pratik Sehajpal, writing, "Calling @pratiksehajpal chotey and abusing his mother are cheap tactics to hit below the belt @ijaybhanushali I really liked you in the opening and I hope you come through cleaner on the show. I hope fans don't engage in fan wars and for once stand by what's right."

Kashmera Shah, who has been a following Bigg Boss, also was quick to slam Karan Kundrra for his distasteful remark on Shamita and said it was very uncool on part of people to indulge in this. She wrote, "Though I like his advice #karankundra I wish he had not called @ShamitaShetty aunty. Whats this age bashing happening all over again. Aunty is much younger than many in spirit and fire and rationality and may actually lift the #bb15 trophy this year. @ColorsTV @ShamitaShetty."
Lucknow: Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday left for Lakhimpur Kheri from the Lucknow airport in his own vehicle after being asked to travel in a police vehicle, a party spokesperson told PTI.

"Rahul Gandhi left for Lakhimpur Kheri from the Lucknow airport," UP Congress spokesperson Ashok Singh told PTI. Gandhi is accompanied by senior party leaders including Bhupesh Baghel, Charanjit Channi, KC Venugopal and Randeep Surjewala.

A 5-member Congress delegation led by Rahul Gandhi leaves for violence-hit Lakhimpur Kheri from Lucknow airport pic.twitter.com/8JKDieNVy9  ANI (@ANI) October 6, 2021

Earlier today, Gandhi alleged that the UP police were not letting him exit the airport. Officials were seen telling Gandhi to take the police vehicle which he refused.

"We want to go in our own vehicles, but they want that we should go in their vehicle. I want to know that why are you not allowing me to go? First, I was told that I can go in my own vehicle, now you are saying that you will go in police vehicle. They are doing some mischief," Gandhi told reporters.

He said, "You can put me or Priyanka in a jail. It does not have any meaning. The question is that six people were crushed by criminals. Those who should have been in a jail, are not being put in a jail. We are being stopped from meeting the aggrieved families of the farmers."

Meanwhile, BJP hit out at Rahul Gandhi over the Lakhimpur Kheri incident and accused him of trying to incite violence. "Irresponsibility is another name of Rahul Gandhi, Congress and Rahul are trying to incite violence. He raised questions on post mortem. Is he a medical expert? Who is he to question expert body opinion. He is trying to spread rumours," BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra told reporters in New Delhi.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of several farmer unions, alleged that Ashish Mishra Teni, son of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Mishra Teni arrived with three vehicles around the time that farmers were dispersing from their protest at the helipad and mowed down farmers.

However, Ashish Mishra refuted SKM`s allegations and said he was not present at the spot where the incident took place.

As many as eight people died in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident on Sunday.

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NEW DELHI: Union Minister of State (MoS) Ajay Misra has reiterated that his son Ashish was not present in the car that mowed down farmers in the Lakhimpur Kheri district on Sunday. He, however, said on Wednesday that the car is registered with them.

The BJP leader also categorically said that his son - Ashish - was not present in the car which was attacked by some miscreants on that fateful day.

My son wasn't there in the car. After the car was attacked, the driver was injured, the car lost its balance and ran over a few people present there. I've expressed sympathies towards those who've lost their lives. There should be an unbiased probe, MoS Ajay Misra Teni on Lakhimpur Kheri incident.

My son wasn't there in the car. After the car was attacked, driver was injured, car lost its balance& ran over a few people present there. I've expressed sympathies towards those who've lost their lives. There should be an unbiased probe: MoS Ajay Teni on Lakhimpur Kheri incident pic.twitter.com/a2jFsHIlja  ANI (@ANI) October 6, 2021

Misra and his son Ashish have been named in the police complaint into the deadly violence in the Lakhimpur Kheri district that left eight people dead on Sunday.

"From day one, we have been saying that the (Mahindra) Thar belongs to us. The vehicle was going to receive someone after picking up our workers. My son was at another venue. From 11 am till the evening, he was organising another event. My son was present there, there were thousands. I can provide videos and photos. Our call records, location can be checked, MoS Ajay Misra told a TV news channel.

The Union Minister also categorically refuted reports that he has been summoned to Delhi by the party high command. Misra said that he will be reaching Delhi by tonight or tomorrow as I have few works lined up.

The party high command has not summoned me. I will be reaching Delhi by tonight or tomorrow as I have few works lined up: MoS Home Ajay Misra Teni on being asked if he has been summoned by the party leadership following the Lakhimpur Kheri incident  ANI (@ANI) October 6, 2021

Referring to an unverified video that has surfaced in connection with the incident, the Minister said, Only a portion of audio from my address to farmers at an event is being played in the media.

Some miscreants present among farmers were behind the incident. At the place where this incident happened some Khalistani elements were present there, Bhindranwale posters were also put up, MoS Teni added.

The clarification from the Union Minister came a day after a controversial and unverified video purportedly showing an SUV linked to his family running over slogan-shouting farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri surfaced on social media.

The farmers have alleged that the protesters were run over by an SUV driven by Ashish Mishra.

The incident took place when a group of protesting farmers in the Tikonia area of Kheri tried to block Misra and Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya from visiting. The protesters were upset over a recent speech by Mishra.

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New Delhi: The Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday gave its permission to Congress leaders to visit the Lakhimpur Kheri district where eight people were killed in the violence on Sunday.

The state government has given permission to Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and three other people to visit Lakhimpur Kheri, Home Department, UP Government said.

"Permission has been given to political parties to visit Lakhimpur. Only five people will be allowed," Additional Chief Secretary (ACS), Home, Awanish Kumar Awasthi was quoted as saying by PTI.

Before this, ACS, Information, Navneet Sehgal had said that permission had been given to five leaders of the Congress, including Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, to visit Lakhimpur.

After being briefly stopped, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday boarded a flight for Lucknow ahead of his visit to Uttar Pradesh`s Lakhimpur Kheri district. Several Congress leaders along with Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi also boarded the flight.

Sources had earlier said that a 5-member delegation of the Congress Party led by Rahul Gandhi is likely to visit Uttar Pradesh`s Lakhimpur Kheri on Wednesday to meet families of victims killed in a violent incident.

The Uttar Pradesh Government had earlier denied permission to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to visit the Lakhimpur Kheri district in wake of a law and order situation.

"The government has denied permission to Rahul Gandhi. If he arrives in Lucknow, we will request him at the airport not to visit Lakhimpur Kheri and Sitapur. Superintendent of Police (SP) and District Magistrate (DM) of Lakhimpur and Sitapur urged us to stop him from coming in wake of local law and order situation," said Lucknow Police Commissioner.

Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) has been imposed in Lucknow. The District Magistrate of Lakhimpur Kheri has also imposed section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which prohibits assembly of five or more people at a time, following the Sunday incident.

Uttar Pradesh Police on Tuesday registered an FIR against Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Varda and 11 others for "disturbing the peace" in the state. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had claimed that she has been detained for the last 40 hours without any order or FIR.

In a related development, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Mishra Teni reportedly met Union Home Minister Amit Shah. He was seen entering and then leaving the Ministry of Home Affairs, North Block in Delhi.

#WATCH MoS Ajay Mishra Teni at Ministry of Home Affairs, North Block in Delhi pic.twitter.com/ONNQILY80P  ANI (@ANI) October 6, 2021

Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of several farmer unions, alleged that Ashish Mishra Teni, son of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Mishra Teni arrived with three vehicles around the time that farmers were dispersing from their protest at the helipad and mowed down farmers and towards the end also attacked SKM leader Tajinder Singh Virk directly, by trying to run a vehicle over him.

However, Ashish Mishra refuted SKM`s allegations and said he was not present at the spot where the incident took place. As many as eight people died in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident on Sunday, said Uttar Pradesh police.

MoS Teni also said that his son was not present at the spot, adding that some miscreants mingled with protesting farmers and pelted the stones at the car which led to the `unfortunate incident`.

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Lucknow: A 5-member delegation of the Congress party led by Rahul Gandhi will visit the violence-hit Lakhimpur Kheri on Wednesday, however, the Uttar Pradesh government has denied permission for the same.

The state government has denied permission to the Congress delegation to visit the Lakhimpur Kheri district in the wake of Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) that has been imposed in Lucknow.

As per the official note, "Section 144 of CrPC implemented in the state capital Lucknow with immediate effect. Section 144 will remain in force in the capital till November 8 to maintain law and order and ensure adherence to COVID-19 rules in view of upcoming festivals, various entrance exams and farmers` protests."

Lucknow Police imposes restrictions under Section 144 of CrPC till November 8 to maintain law & order and ensure adherence to COVID rules in view of upcoming festivals, various entrance exams and farmers' protests pic.twitter.com/fBd1jImHhE  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) October 5, 2021

Earlier Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal had sought permission for Rahul Gandhi-led delegation to visit the area as the leaders from Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) was allowed to visit the district on Tuesday.

Congress leader Sachin Pilot returned to New Delhi on Tuesday to accompany Rahul Gandhi to Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri. Pilot, Rajasthan's former deputy chief minister, was on a two-day visit to his assembly constituency of Tonk when he decided to cut short his trip and return to the national capital.

Speaking to reporters in Tonk, Pilot demanded a judicial probe by a sitting Supreme Court judge into the Lakhimpur Kheri violence. Soon after the violent incident at Lakhimpur Kheri, political leaders made a beeline to visit the site and expressed their desire to meet the families of the victims.

Opposition leaders like Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Deepender Hooda (Congress), Sanjay Singh (AAP) and Chandrashekhar Azad (Bhim Army) have been detained enroute to Lakhimpur, while SP chief Akhilesh Yadav has been placed under house arrest in Lucknow where clashes resulted in eight deaths on Sunday.

Uttar Pradesh Police on Tuesday registered an FIR against Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Varda and 11 others for "disturbing the peace" in the state.

Earlier in the day, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had claimed that she has been detained for the last 40 hours without any order or FIR. Eight people including four farmers had died in the violence in the Lakhimpur Kheri district in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday.

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Beijing: Several months have passed the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) first broke out in Chinas Wuhan but the global debate over how it began, and its origin still continues.

And as a group of researchers of the World Health Organization are trying to trace the origins of the coronavirus, it has now emerged that the COVID-19 pandemic may have begun in China in May 2019  much earlier than previously thought.

Research conducted by an Australian cybersecurity firm has shown that Chinas Wuhan in Hubei province that was initially declared as ground zero for the COVID-19 pandemic had made significant purchases of equipment used to test for infectious diseases.

All this happened months before China officially notified international authorities of the emergence of a new coronavirus. Back then, Chinese officials cited Wuhans Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market as ground zero for the COVID-19 pandemic.

China's pandemic coverup is bigger, way bigger, than the world initially suspected. The pandemic may have begun in May 2019. That's when Chinese officials started buying PCR tests worth millions of dollars. Were they preparing for an outbreak or containing it already? #Gravitas pic.twitter.com/ufVu9qGvle  Palki Sharma (@palkisu) October 5, 2021

However, Australia-based cybersecurity company Internet 2.0 found in its research that the purchases of PCR (Polymerase chain reaction) tests in China`s Hubei province surged months before the first official reports of the COVID-19 case there.

The polymerase chain reaction or PCR test allows scientists to amplify DNA samples to screen for infectious illness or other genetic material.

In its report, the Australian cybersecurity firm stated that about 67.4 million Yuan (10.5 million dollars at current rates) was spent on PCR tests in Hubei during 2019, nearly double the 2018 total, with the upswing starting in May.

According to Internet 2.0, the data has been collected and analysed from a website that aggregates information on public procurement bids in China. The analysis team consists of former officials from intelligence agencies in the US, the UK, Australia, and other countries, as per the report.

Orders of the PCR tests doubled from universities, jumped fivefold from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and surged tenfold from animal testing bureaus.

Purchases from hospitals declined by more than 10 per cent. According to the publication, monthly procurement data shows a spike in orders in May, especially from CDC buyers and the People`s Liberation Army, according to the report.

"We believe the increased spending in May suggests this as the earliest start date for possible infection," the report said.

Purchases rose sharply from July through October as well, in particular from the Wuhan University of Science and Technology. The institution spent 8.92 million yuan on PCR tests in 2019, about eight times its total for the previous year.

The university, along with local hospitals and public health authorities, plays a direct role in responding to outbreaks of new diseases, according to the report.

The involvement of these groups provides evidence that "the increase of purchasing was most likely linked to the emergence of COVID-19 in Hubei Province in 2019," the report said.

"We assess with high confidence that the pandemic began much earlier than China informed the (World Health Organization) about COVID-19." Firm said in its report.

According to US media, the WHO is looking to revive an investigation into the origins of the COVID-19 virus by assembling a team of 20 scientists to hunt for new evidence against China.

According to the Wall Street Journal report, the new probe comes following an initial WHO inquiry found that that the data provided by Chinese scientists was insufficient to answer key questions about the virus` origin.

(With Agency inputs)

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KABUL: Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the top Taliban leader and the Deputy Prime Minister in the new Afghanistan government, has returned to capital Kabul and assumed his duties.

According to media reports, upon his return to Kabul, Baradar is being guarded by his own security men. The influential Taliban leader has refused to take security from the Interior Ministry, which is being headed by Sirajuddin Haqqani of the Haqqani Network.

Baradars move to bring his own security is being linked to a recent fight with the Haqqani faction in Kabul in which he was reportedly injured. Amid widespread rumors about his death, Baradar and Taliban issued audio statements saying the former was in good health.

While Haqqani had insisted that he take security from the Interior Ministry, Baradar refused the same.

Defence Minister, Mullah Yaqoob the son of Taliban founder Mullah Omar, is still in Kandahar. The reports further said that Baradars return to Kabul could aggravate tensions in the capital.

Friction between the Taliban and the ISI-backed Haqqani Network is likely to increase in the days to come.

Interestingly, Baradar has been ranked among the 100 most influential people by Time Magazine.

Time Magazine said that Baradar was making all the major decisions. This included offering amnesty to members of the former regime, the lack of bloodshed when the Taliban entered Kabul. He was also responsible for the Taliban's contacts and visits to other countries, especially China.

Baradar had been arrested by Pakistan's security forces. He was however released in 2018 when the peace negotiations with the United States intensified.

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New Delhi: Almost two months into Taliban rule in Afghanistan, worries are mounting over the situation of minorities in the country as the famous Karte Parwan Gurudwara in Kabul saw vandalization on Tuesday (October 5, 2021). According to the Sikh community at the Gurudwara, the Taliban had entered the holy place and had broken the CCTV cameras.

This is the first such development since the Taliban takeover of capital Kabul.

No reaction has so far come from the Taliban's spokespersons, who are normally quite media savvy and quick to react on social media.

ALSO READ | Mullah Baradar, senior Taliban leader and Afghan Deputy PM, returns to Kabul with his own security

Puneet Singh Chandhok, President Indian World Forum called the development "alarming" and one that "abused the sanctity of the holy place".

In a separate incident, Anas Haqqani, leader of the Haqqani network and part of the Afghan Taliban dispensation was seen praising Mahmud Ghaznavi and his action of "smashing the idol of Somnath".

Haqqani, who spent the early days of his life in Pakistan had visited the grave of Mahmud Ghazni to pay homage to him.

In a tweet on Tuesday, he said, "Today, we visited the shrine of Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi, a renowned Muslim warrior & Mujahid of the 10th century. Ghaznavi (May the mercy of Allah be upon him) established a strong Muslim rule in the region from Ghazni & smashed the idol of Somnath."

Today, we visited the shrine of Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi, a renowned Muslim warrior & Mujahid of the 10th century. Ghaznavi (May the mercy of Allah be upon him) established a strong Muslim rule in the region from Ghazni & smashed the idol of Somnath. pic.twitter.com/Ja92gYjX5j  Anas Haqqani( ) (@AnasHaqqani313) October 5, 2021

The number of Afghan Sikh and Hindu minorities have drastically reduced in the country. The Jalalabad suicide attack in 2018 saw 19 members of the Sikh community being killed. Since then, many have come to India and found refuge in the country. In the month of August, India had brought back many members of the Sikh/Hindu community from the country amid the turmoil as Kabul fell to the Taliban. This also included two Afghan Sikh MPs -- Anarkali Honaryar and Narendra Singh Khalsa.

Sikh MP Narendra Singh Khalsa thanks India for evacuating them from Kabul. He represents Sikhs in Lower House of the Afghan Parliament (Wolesi Jirga). His father Avtar Singh Khalsa died in 2019 Jalalabad suicide attack. https://t.co/f0nFljkFTd pic.twitter.com/meqI9TTrLh  Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) August 21, 2021

The situation of minorities under the Taliban in the 1990s was bad and included rules like wearing yellow bands as a mode of identification. The group had back then blown the historic Bamiyan Buddhas leaving the world in a state of shock.

The developments come even as the Taliban have been pledging to support the right of minorities. But the group is already seen reneged on their promises when it comes to women's rights and an inclusive government in Kabul. There are no women and members of the minority Hazaras in the Taliban government. Also, around 30 members of the cabinet had 17 members on the UN terror list.

ALSO READ | 'It's like a prison, a city of zombies', Afghan resident opens up on 'Life under Taliban'

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